Celebrating Holidays with Food II

This Upcoming Friday is Purim, a Jewish holiday which is celebrating with dressing up in costumes and making Hamantaschen. The recipe I used was actually really easy to use, and the results were better than anything store-bought! 

These are them before they went into the oven. I thought they looked pretty good, but in the first batch, the corners separated and they opened up. The second batch turned out much better because my friend showed me how to mercilessly pinch the corners of the cookies until you can't pinch anymore. 

The results were delicious! I used pre-made poppy seed filling in some and raspberry jam in others. There were also one or two we stuffed with chocolate chips, but that didn't work so well.

Here's the recipe, from the Food Network, for the Hamantaschen dough. 

Ingredients:
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold unsalted butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 egg white
1/2 orange, zest grated

Equipment:

2 1/2 to 3-inch round cookie cutter

To make the Dough: Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, egg, egg white, and orange zest. Add it to the processor and pulse to mix, being careful not to over mix. (Or just mix it up and combine it with your hands, like I did.) Divide into 2 disks and chill 30 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Roll out the dough on a floured work surface to 1/4-inch thick. Cut out 2 1/2 to 3-inch disks. (You can re-roll the scrapes to make more disks.) Place a disk of dough down and place 1 teaspoon of filling in the center. Pinch the disk in 3 places to form a triangular shape with the filling still showing in the center. They will look like 3 cornered hats. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Continue until all the disks are made.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes.

Celebrating Holidays with Food I

The months of February and March are filled with so many great holidays that are made better by homemade food. Valentine' s Day is one of my favorite occasions to cook and avoid the crowds, Purim is a great excuse to cook some of my favorite desserts, and St. Patrick's Day brings Irish Soda Bread and Scones. Easter is around the corner too, which means Cadbury Creme Eggs and Chocolate Bunnies. 

For a Valentine's Day at home, I used grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil to make these cute appetizers on colorful plastic swords. 

I cooked up some wild rice while I was preparing the appetizers. Then it was mixed with dried currants, dried apricots, craisins, toasted pecans, thyme, chopped celery and chopped onion.  

Next came the Cornish hens. I found them in Whole Foods, and they were all ready cleaned and prepared. All I had to do was unwrap them, stuff them with the wild rice, and brush a little melted butter on top. 

Voila! Beautiful Dinner for Two, with leftovers!

Royal Icing Recipe

This recipe made AMAZING royal icing that went perfect on Christmas cookies. Of course, me being who I am, I was have freaking out the whole time that I was eating raw egg whites. Well, I did some research, and although it is not recommended to eat raw eggs, if you are going to it helps if they are from cage-free hens or from an organic market, since they live in healthier conditions. It is supposedly also safer to eat raw egg whites than raw egg yolks. Or if you can plan ahead, just buy pasteurized egg whites - then you are completely in the clear :) 

Royal Icing
2 large egg whites or 5 tablespoons meringue powder
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
Food coloring, if desired

For Royal Icing:
With a hand mixer, beat the egg whites with the lemon juice or extract until frothy. Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined, smooth, and shiny. Turn to high and beat approximately 5 minutes till stiff and glossy. Add food coloring, if desired, and transfer to a pasty bag to pipe onto cookies.

Bubbe doesn't work for the Food Network

Even in the picture you can tell that these Kolachky cookies are sticky and shiny. I can tell you when I split them in two, they definitely weren't cooked all the way through. The insides were doughy even after they cooked for forty minutes and they were burned on the outside. I got the recipe from the food network website from an episode of Sweet Dreams called "Bubbe's Bakeshop", but in this case I think you just need to go to real people to find out the tricks. On All Recipes, someone said to knead the dough until it lost its stickiness, and I bet when I try this again it will turn out better. After all, I used a pound of prunes to make the homemade filling, now I have to find a way to use it all up!

Tea Parties require Tea Cakes

These tea cakes were perfect bite size treats for our roommate tea party. I only filled the muffin cups half way so they wouldn't overflow - so cute! Adapted from Taste of Home.

Almond Tea Cakes
60 Servings
Prep: 30 min. + chilling Bake: 20 min.

Ingredients
2 cups butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
4 teaspoons almond extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Filling:
1 egg white
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Milk
Sliced almonds

Directions
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs and almond extract; mix well. Add flour and baking powder (dough will be soft). Chill.
For filling, in a small bowl, stir egg white, sugar, almonds and lemon juice. Remove a portion of the dough at a time from the refrigerator. Place 1-in. balls of dough into miniature muffin cups, pressing slightly into sides and bottom. Place 1/2 teaspoon of filling into each. Cover with quarter-sized circles of dough.
Brush with a little milk and top with an almond. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

Yield: about 5 dozen.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 each) equals 119 calories, 7 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 23 mg cholesterol, 73 mg sodium, 13 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 1 g protein.

King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion: Harvest Pumpkin Bars

I finally got a chance to use my AMAZING new cookie recipe book.There was a bake sale friday to raise money for Children's Literacy and pumpkin bars seemed like the perfect thing two days before Halloween. I quadrupled the recipe from 16 bars to 64 bars, and it was definitely less than I expected; I guess those 64 bars are pretty small. Scaling up the recipe also gave me an excuse to use less oil, which I am always trying to do.

Quadrupled Harvest Pumpkin Bars
(makes 64 bars)

Ingredients
1 cup canola oil
8 large eggs
2 15 oz cans pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
4 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
5 cups AP Flour
Pecans, for topping

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine oil,  eggs, pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl and use a mixer to combine. Stir in flour gradually and mix. Pour batter into several pans and bake for 30 minutes, taking them out half-way in between to spread pecans on top.

Midnight Apple Pie

The Scenario: It's midnight. I don't want to do homework. There are four large apples staring at me across the room in my lovely fruit bowl. There are pre-made pie crusts in the fridge. I am going grocery shopping tomorrow. I need to clear out the fridge before I go... 

Darn, I guess that means I'm making pie.  (And in case you're wondering, it's supposed to be a flower.)

Ingredients

1 Premade Double Crust Pie Pastry
6 Cups Of Fresh Skinless Chopped Green Apples
1 Cup Of White Superfine Sugar
2 Tablespoons Of Real Softened Unsalted Butter
2 Tablespoons Of White All Purpose Baking Flour
1/4 Teaspoon Of Freshly Ground Nutmeg
1/8 Teaspoon Of Fine Ground Table Salt
1 Teaspoon Of Freshly Ground Cinnamon


Instructions

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, or 225 degrees Celsius. Take out a nine inch pie dish, and carefully add into it the bottom crust pastry layer. Next take out a small mixing bowl, and sift together the white superfine sugar, white all purpose baking flour, fine ground table salt, fresh ground cinnamon, and freshly ground nutmeg. Next take out a large sealable mixing bowl, and add in the fresh skinless chopped green apples, melted butter and the sugar mixture. Place a lid over the bowl, and then vigorously toss the fruit until they are evenly coated with the sugar, flour, and spices. Spoon the apples into your pie dish. You can now add the top pie crust layer over the filling, and then bind the two layers of crust together at the seams. Be sure and make several slits into the pie top so that the filling can breath. Now that you are ready to bake the dessert, slide it into the oven for fifteen minutes. Cover the pie with aluminum foil on the outer edges, and bake the pie for an additional forty minutes, or until the crust is golden, and the apples are tender and juicy. Serve the pie warm with a single scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

Adapted from: http://www.applepie.org/moms-apple-pie-recipe.html

I was looking for a Baked Pear recipe. This one from Disney Family was easy and hard to resist (see above). If you don't have a melon baller or a peeler (like me), slice the pear, cut off the skins and cut the slices into small chunks. 

Juicy pears are the star of this flavorful baked dessert.

Hands-On Time: 1 hour

Ready In: 2 hours

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

1 ripe pear (Bosc, Anjou, or Bartlett)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

Pinch of cinnamon

Pinch of nutmeg

1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Pinch of salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the pear in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeded centers with a teaspoon or melon baller. Then spoon out most of the flesh onto a cutting board, leaving the pear shells intact. Put the shells in a baking dish. Chop the scooped pear into bite-sized pieces and transfer to a small bowl. Cut 1 tablespoon butter into small pieces and add to the bowl.

Your child can add the cinnamon, nutmeg, and 1 teaspoon brown sugar to the chopped pear mix and toss with a spoon. Then she can spoon the filling back into each pear half. Give her some aluminum foil and have her crumple it into balls, placing them around the pears to keep them from tipping.

Put the flour, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 2 tablespoons butter, and the salt in a small bowl. Let your child use her fingers to smush the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, then sprinkle half the topping over each pear.

Bake pears, uncovered, until the topping is golden brown, about 35 minutes. Cool 15 minutes before serving.

Paula Deen's Sugar Cookies

There were no cookies in the apartment, so darn, I had to make some. I went back to Paula Deen to supply me with these sweet sugar cookies. The combination of Almond and Vanilla is DELICIOUS! Instead of making cut-outs I just rolled the dough into balls and flattened them with a fork, like you do with peanut butter cookies. Only you press it once instead of twice, or else they flatten too much and burn the edges. 10 minoutes in the oven makes perfectly soft cookies, 14 minutes makes crispier ones. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Granulated sugar
Royal Icing, recipe follows

Directions

In a bowl, cream together the sugar and butter, then mix in the egg and vanilla and almond extracts. In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and cream of tarter; mix the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, then cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours, or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Divide the chilled dough in half and roll it out on a lightly floured pastry cloth to a 1/4-inch thickness. Lightly grease some baking sheets. Cut the dough with a floured cookie cutter; sprinkle with sugar. Transfer the cookies to the prepared sheets and bake for 9 minutes.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/monogrammed-sugar-cookies-recipe/index.html

These Coconut Macaroons Set Off the Fire Alarms

I am trying a new thing where the only cookies and sweets I eat are the ones I make myself. This gives me an excuse to try all the super unhealthy cookie recipes by Paula Deen. The other day I made her coconut macaroons. They went really well except that they kept making all this steam and setting off the smoke alarm every time I opened the oven door. Only later, when I told my mom that the macaroons stuck to the wax paper, did I find out that the steam was the wax paper burning of the wax. Oops! Hope I didn't inhale wax or something. Next time, I will be sure to use parchment paper.

Ingredients:

3 cups shredded coconut
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 egg whites, stiffly beaten
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine coconut, almond extract, and salt. Mix in condensed milk to form a thick paste. Fold in egg whites with cream of tarter. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

Themed Meal: Wow! Fastest Dessert EVER!

       For my food service class, I have to plan a big three or four course meal, and I decided I would make tiramisu for dessert. Although there are many complicated recipes, this one by Sandra Lee who is known using preprepared ingredients and simple preparation methods, took only about 20 minutes. The most time-consuming part is layering the ladyfingers, cream cheese frosting and whipped cream. I didn't have wine glasses so I experimented with making parfaits in bowls before trying them in some plastic cups. 

       It didn't take me long to figure out that if you dip ladyfingers in hot coffee they pretty much disintegrate, so I began spooning coffee over the cookies instead. Spreading the cream cheese mixture on top was also a little frustrating. But when I used a cup instead, I could just drop a generous tablespoon in and press it down with the next layer of ladyfingers to spread it out. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup sugar, divided
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (7-ounce) package ladyfingers
• 1 cup strong black coffee
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder

Directions

Have 4 (8-ounce) wine glasses ready.

In a chilled bowl combine 3/4 cup of heavy cream and 1/4 cup sugar. Whip with a hand mixer until soft peaks form. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

In a large bowl combine the cream cheese, 1/4 cup heavy cream, vanilla and the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. Whip with a hand mixer until light until fluffy.

Reserve 4 ladyfingers for garnish. Using1 lady finger at a time, snap or cut in half, then dip it quickly into the coffee, and drop it into the bottom of a wine glass. Repeat with the other 3 glasses. Put a heaping tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture on top of the ladyfingers in each glad. Do another layer of ladyfingers dipped in coffee, another of the cream cheese mixture, then 1 more layer of ladyfingers. Top with remaining filling and dollop with the whipped cream. Break the reserved 4 ladyfingers in half and insert 2 halves into the top of each glass.

Put the cocoa powder into a small sieve and tap it gently over each glass to dust the tops. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/tiramisu-recipe/index.html

These Almond Cookies Are So Much Better

These Honey Almond Flower Cookies turned out so much better! But they could have tasted a little bit more like almonds - gotta keep looking for the perfect Almond Cookie Recipe!

These look like my kind of cookie...

Courtesy of hotpolkadot.com

Honey Almond Flower Cookies
Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
4 tbsp honey
2 tsp almond extract
3 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Slivered almonds for garnish
1 egg yolk for egg wash
1 tsp water for egg wash

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the center. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper then set them aside.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer cream together the butter and sugar until it's light a fluffy. Add the egg, honey and almond extract then beat it until it's combined well.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt then add it to the butter mixture and mix it well.

Scoop a heaping tbsp of dough for each cookie and roll them into balls. Lightly compress the balls into thick discs between your palms. Carefully press five of the slivered almonds into each cookie in a flower arrangement. Whisk together the egg yolk and water then, using a pastry brush, coat the tops of each cookie in the egg wash making sure not to knock off the almonds. This will make the cookies shiny, golden brown and act as an almond flower glue to hold the garnish.

Bake them for 10 minutes until they turn a light amber brown. Transfer them to a cooling rack and enjoy!

The Last Two Didn't Burn... but the other 18 Almond Cookies weren't so lucky...

The Two that Didn't Burn

Fluffy, Chewy, Sweet, Almondiness with Burnt edges is how I would describe these cookies from AllRecipes. I was so excited to use my new almond paste, I just picked the first recipe with good reviews that I had all the ingredients for. What I realized afterwards? This cookie is basically just sugar, flour and egg whites! I think there needs to be a little more substance!

I tried to improve with each batch, and the last batch was definitely the best. The first one I left in for exactly 15 minutes and they all were burnt and stuck to each other. I used Pam spray to coat the baking sheet, and sometimes I think Pam seeps into the edges and cooks them faster, so I decided to use butter in the next batches. 

The First Batch

The second batch, I used a stick of butter to lightly grease the baking sheet and I made much smaller cookies. I was sitting by the oven, checking on them every minute and some how, they still ended up crispy. They were still tasty, and they came up off the baking sheet much easier, but still I was not satisfied!

The Second Batch

The third batch was only three cookies because that was the only batter I had left. I was so determined not to burn these cookies, that when one cookie started browning, I just pulled them out. One of the reviewers suggested using parchment paper, which I bet would have helped with the crisp edges. They also said to chill the dough in the fridge for twenty minutes and use an ice cream scoop. But for now, I'm going to try almond cookies with some more substance.

THE RECIPE

Ingredients

1/2 pound almond paste

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 egg whites

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets.

2. In a large bowl, use your hands to mix together the almond paste, flour, egg whites, white sugar and confectioner's sugar until well blended. The mixture will be very sticky. Scoop out rounded teaspoonfuls of the dough and drop them onto the cookie sheet. Place 2 inches apart.

Got Bananas?

If given the choice to eat 4 overripe bananas or make them into a cake - I would make them into a cake every time. This recipe was so much fun to try with my boyfriend and I was happy to have the extra hands when we were preparing the caramel.

As a general rule, I like to cut the fat in half in my baking recipes - it almost never has an effect on the flavor. The butter may be needed for the caramel sauce, but the vegetable oil can definitely be cut in half from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup.

Caramelized Banana Loaf Cake 

Rachel Ray Magazine, December 2009

Ingredients:

3 to 4 large bananas

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, in 1 piece

1 large egg plus 1 large egg white

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees. Grease a 5-by-9 loaf pan. Trim both ends off each of 3 bananas to fit crosswise in the pan; reserve the ends. Halve the long banana pieces lengthwise; peel and transfer to a plate

2. In a large, heavy skillet, bring 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons water to a boil, without stirring. Cook until the water has evaporated and the mixture starts turning amber. Remove from the heat and swirl in the butter with a fork. Add the long banana pieces cut side down and cook over low heat for 1 minute; transfer to the prepared loaf pan, arranging them crosswise, cut side down. Drizzle the remaining caramel on top.

3. In a medium bowl, mash the banana end pieces to equal 1 cup (add more banana if necessary). Mash in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Beat in the whole egg, egg white and vanilla. 

4. In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add the banana mixture and oil; whisk until blended. Scrape the batter over the bananas in the pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, 50 to 55 minutes. Let cool on rack for 10 minutes; invert the cake onto a platter and let cool completely.

Strawberry Rhubarb - Take 2

With no pie crust, and a topping made with oatmeal, I am hoping the nutritional analysis will prove this to be healthy.

Ingredients:
1 pint of strawberries
1 lb rhubarb
1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup oatmeal
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp softened butter

I am gonna find out... But maybe after my exam tomorrow...
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Tis the Season for Strawberry and Rhubarb

We made mini pies and mini crumbles... The crumbles were sooo delicious... For topping we used butter, flour, brown sugar and oats. But probably need to perfect this recipe...

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Earl Grey, my all time favorite kind of tea, in Cupcake form - a no brainer!

I'm not sure when my obsession with Earl Grey tea started, but tea time in my apartment at school is a regular ritual morning, noon and night and I have had the opportunity to try a lot of different teas. Earl Grey is the only tea that I can ask my parents for because no matter whether it's made by Twinings, Bigelow or Celestial Seasonings, I know it will be wonderful. Essence of bergamot was a big mystery to me for a while, I couldn't quite place the flavor, but with a little research I learned bergamot is a citrus fruit in between a lemon and a grapefruit. In fact, Lady Grey tea is almost exactly the same as Earl Grey except it also has lemon added. Bergamot is also used in perfumes and soaps - right next to jasmine as one of my favorite scents. With so much passion for tea, and having just made guiness cupcakes, I am determined that my next baking project will contain earl grey. How lucky for me this recipe was in April's Food Network Magazine...
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/tea-cakes-with-earl-grey-icing-recipe/index.html

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St.Patty's Day means Guiness, but when you're under 21 it means Guiness Cupcakes

Also from the food network, I stumbled upon this recipe when looking for Irish recipes other than beef hash and braised cabbage or whatever it is called. I did not realize it would make so many (30 cupcakes in all), so I sent some with my boyfriend to his work. I am told they were devoured early this morning.

www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dave-lieberman/chocolate-stout-cupcakes-recipe/index.html

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When you have lemons, make Lemon Bars!

No meal is complete without a little dessert, and for my spaghetti and meatball dinner there was a whole lot of dessert! A 9" x 13" cake pan full of lemon bars was enough dessert for probably 10-15 people! Well, maybe 10-15 girls...3 grown men could wolf them down pretty easily! I don't own a food processor, so after beating the crust batter with an electric mixer, I just molded it together with my hands until it had the consistency almost of cookie dough. It was actually really easy for me, but I am starting to realize that maybe some of my projects are no longer what I would consider beginner baking... I guess I forget what it was like to never know what they want or what it was supposed to look like. It means I have improved, but that this blog may no longer be just a college-age girl struggling to figure out how to cook. It may actually be about sharing a passion for cooking that is increasing everyday with every new ingredient or recipe that comes my way. 

On the other hand, making this big meal on Sunday was truly exhausting. Waiting for everything to cook so I could put the next thing in the oven, worrying about times and temperatures... it was a little stressful. I hope in the future I can plan my meals better so that both dinner and dessert do not require the use of the oven - even though it is by far my favorite kitchen appliance. That I even have a favorite kitchen appliance! It is such a change from a year ago when most of the meals I ate were at the Campus Dining Hall and I thought I was doing well when I cooked pasta in a hot pot and sauteed vegetables from the salad bar. In the past few weeks, I have been doing a lot of reflecting on my cooking and it really has become a major hobby of mine - I love experimenting with food in my free time, but also sharing food with others and learning how to accommodate everyone's dietary needs and desires. If I could find a meal that would satisfy vegetarians, avoid allergies, be kosher and most of all be healthy. It probably doesn't exist...

Wow I got way excited for a second there...I need to calm down about food...