I've been screwing around with shortbread recipes for some time now, and I just haven't had any luck getting the results I've been after. Recently I found this blog entry and I knew that this was the recipe for me. Which began my quest to find caster sugar. I went everywhere, which is to say all four grocery stores we have here, and I came up totally blank. Eventually I was pointed to superfine sugar, at which point I Googled it and realized "caster sugar" is just British for "superfine sugar." Blargh;alrkgj.
Anyway, the making of this recipe also involved learning a neat new trick. I had the butter out on the counter for an hour or so and it was still pretty firm because, well, Potsdam, winter, old apartment: It's cold in here. So I figured someone on the Internet must have figured something out beyond microwaving it and getting little pockets of melty bits in between chunks that are still solid. And lo: Someone has. You know, I remember life before Google and I still don't know how we ever got anything done back then.
Also, don't measure your almond extract over the mixing bowl unless you have a very steady hand or enjoy your cookies smelling like they've been soaking in Amaretto. Whoops.
A word on bake times: Use your judgement. The original recipe called for 15-17 minutes, I wound up doing more like 22. The final bake step is essential, in my opinion, as it substantially improved the quality of the end product.
One final note, that has just now occurred to me: I was doubling this recipe and I'm quite sure I forgot to double the quantity of chocolate chips. But these are pretty chip-heavy. I really wouldn't enjoy having twice as many chips. As always, your mileage may vary.
Anyway.
awesome chocolate chip shortbread cookies
2 sticks butter, softened
2/3 cup superfine sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
~1/4 tsp almond extract (optional)
2 cups flour
"3/4 cup" mini chocolate chips (see note above!)
Cream butter & sugar extensively. Add extracts. Add flour, beat on low, stop when flour has just become incorporated. Stir in chips.
Transfer dough to gallon storage bag. Roll dough inside bag until it is 1/4 inch thick. You'll want to make sure the height is as uniform as possible; it really will make a difference in cooking time. Oddly, this step is kind of fun. Maybe it's an OCD thing.
Put the entire flattened mass, still in the bag, in the fridge to chill for at least two hours.
Once it's done, preheat the oven to 325°. Cut the bag off, put the dough on a cutting board, and use a pizza cutter to chop it into squares. Put them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or the like, bake for ~20 minutes (see note above). Rotate them halfway through (top rack to bottom, front to back) for even cooking. Note that top of cookie will stay very pale throughout baking process, and cookies will likely be slightly flexible even when actually completely cooked. You just really have to guess. Sorry.
Put the cookies on trays, let them cool thoroughly. Put them back on the cookie sheets, "top" side down, then put them back in the oven for another 3-odd minutes. Cool and enjoy.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
red lentil soup
Since the other recipe from my Canadian pen-pal was such a success, I decided to give the other a whirl. I fudged this recipe a bit more than usual, largely because I had to go to three different stores to get everything I needed, but oh my yes, do I like the results. Actually, I have two comments on the results:
1. It becomes exponentially better when served over jasmine rice. This might just be my texture preferences, though--I don't think I'm cut out to be a vegetarian.
2. On a related note, I kept thinking this really needed chicken, and I wasn't sure why until I realized I'm pretty sure I've stumbled upon the recipe Cedars uses for their butter chicken. I could be wrong--it's been ten years--but if I had hair on the back of my neck, it would be standing up. I think this is really it. Further experimentation will occur with great haste, I assure you.
Without further ado:
red lentil soup
3 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 carrot, chopped fine
1 tbsp curry powder (I strongly recommend Auntie Arwen's Whirling Dervish)
1 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped fine (or grated! I need to get a ginger grater)
4 cups vegetable broth (I used some organic mushroom broth, it was awesome)
~6 oz coconut milk
~5 oz tomato paste
1 cup red lentils (dry)
In your soup pot, melt butter, sauté onion, garlic, and carrot.
Add the curry powder, let it work its magic.
Inhale deeply. It smells delightful. Seriously. Enjoy it.
Add ginger, broth, coconut milk, tomato paste. Bring to boil.
Add lentils. Cover & simmer for 20 minutes.
As noted above, I recommend serving over rice, but your mileage may vary.
1. It becomes exponentially better when served over jasmine rice. This might just be my texture preferences, though--I don't think I'm cut out to be a vegetarian.
2. On a related note, I kept thinking this really needed chicken, and I wasn't sure why until I realized I'm pretty sure I've stumbled upon the recipe Cedars uses for their butter chicken. I could be wrong--it's been ten years--but if I had hair on the back of my neck, it would be standing up. I think this is really it. Further experimentation will occur with great haste, I assure you.
Without further ado:
red lentil soup
3 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 carrot, chopped fine
1 tbsp curry powder (I strongly recommend Auntie Arwen's Whirling Dervish)
1 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped fine (or grated! I need to get a ginger grater)
4 cups vegetable broth (I used some organic mushroom broth, it was awesome)
~6 oz coconut milk
~5 oz tomato paste
1 cup red lentils (dry)
In your soup pot, melt butter, sauté onion, garlic, and carrot.
Add the curry powder, let it work its magic.
Inhale deeply. It smells delightful. Seriously. Enjoy it.
Add ginger, broth, coconut milk, tomato paste. Bring to boil.
Add lentils. Cover & simmer for 20 minutes.
As noted above, I recommend serving over rice, but your mileage may vary.
Friday, December 10, 2010
buckeyes and a chemistry lesson
'Tis the season, by which I mean the end of Fall semester, and consequently time for ritual bribery. Which is to say I make baked goods and take them to various departments on campus, partly in thanks for all the help I've received, and partly in thanks for all the help I'll no doubt need in the future. Plus, for all my (considerable) cynicism, I really do enjoy baking for large quantities of people, and it pleases me to hear from a few dozen people how much they loved whatever I made that year.
At any rate, this year I decided cookies were passé, and I was going to make candy. Mostly because I wanted an excuse to make buckeyes. So I started with this recipe, doubled it, and then kind of made it up as I went along. I agonized over my peanut butter choices for a while, because I had this strange urge to use the all-natural kind. (The hippiness of this town is getting to me, I think.) I came to my senses while staring at the shelves, though: This is candy. It's not supposed to be healthy. So I bought a giant tub of Peter Pan. Your mileage may vary.
Also, you'll note below that I tell you to use Rice Krispies or their ilk. I can't give you a measurement because I just kind of poured them in until I liked how it looked. Also, I had significantly less left in the box than I thought I did. So I supplemented with Cocoa Pebbles. Don't judge me! The result is awesome.
Anyway, while doing the chocolate dip, I encountered a weird issue. I don't have a double boiler, so I was using a medium saucepan floating in a giant pot. This works fine in the short term, but as it turns out, it isn't good for extended dipping. Let me explain: As I got in to the second cookie sheet of buckeyes, I noticed that the chocolate was getting oddly gritty. Not unpleasant, but it was solidifying in little chunks in the pan. So I idly wondered how to thin it out. I didn't want to add more shortening because that just seemed excessive, and I flashed back to my family's cake. "Well," I thought, "if I mix chocolate in with water there ... let's try it!" So I splashed just a tiny little bit of water into the chocolate.
Whoops. Chemistry fail. So the chocolate immediately seized, and I went a-Googlin', only to find that I'd done something pretty stupid. No big deal, but lesson learned, certainly.
Once I made a new batch to dip the rest, I had a fair amount left over, so I mixed in a half-bag of butterscotch chips that I keep around for pancakes, and then poured in a bunch of Rice Chex. The result is messy but tasty.
Oh! And seriously! Parchment paper is the most awesome thing for cooking ever! I cannot believe I've been living without this for years! Why wasn't I told?!
Anyway, on to the recipe:
Candy center
1 stick softened butter
~20 oz creamy peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
~1 lb. confectioners' sugar
1-2 cups? of Rice Krispies or the like
Cream butter, peanut butter, and vanilla.
Add sugar until you like the consistency.
Add some sort of crisp rice cereal until you like the looks of that, too.
Roll into 1/2 inch balls, place on cookie tray lined with parchment paper. I say 1/2 inch because I always wind up making things bigger than I mean to and these work way better when they're roughly bite-sized.
Chill. My fridge is weird but they were in overnight and that seemed to work fine.
Candy coating
2 cups (1 pkg) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp shortening
Mix in double boiler. Insert toothpick into peanut butter ball. Dip, cover about 3/4 of candy. Put back on tray. Put back in fridge. Enjoy.
At any rate, this year I decided cookies were passé, and I was going to make candy. Mostly because I wanted an excuse to make buckeyes. So I started with this recipe, doubled it, and then kind of made it up as I went along. I agonized over my peanut butter choices for a while, because I had this strange urge to use the all-natural kind. (The hippiness of this town is getting to me, I think.) I came to my senses while staring at the shelves, though: This is candy. It's not supposed to be healthy. So I bought a giant tub of Peter Pan. Your mileage may vary.
Also, you'll note below that I tell you to use Rice Krispies or their ilk. I can't give you a measurement because I just kind of poured them in until I liked how it looked. Also, I had significantly less left in the box than I thought I did. So I supplemented with Cocoa Pebbles. Don't judge me! The result is awesome.
Anyway, while doing the chocolate dip, I encountered a weird issue. I don't have a double boiler, so I was using a medium saucepan floating in a giant pot. This works fine in the short term, but as it turns out, it isn't good for extended dipping. Let me explain: As I got in to the second cookie sheet of buckeyes, I noticed that the chocolate was getting oddly gritty. Not unpleasant, but it was solidifying in little chunks in the pan. So I idly wondered how to thin it out. I didn't want to add more shortening because that just seemed excessive, and I flashed back to my family's cake. "Well," I thought, "if I mix chocolate in with water there ... let's try it!" So I splashed just a tiny little bit of water into the chocolate.
Whoops. Chemistry fail. So the chocolate immediately seized, and I went a-Googlin', only to find that I'd done something pretty stupid. No big deal, but lesson learned, certainly.
Once I made a new batch to dip the rest, I had a fair amount left over, so I mixed in a half-bag of butterscotch chips that I keep around for pancakes, and then poured in a bunch of Rice Chex. The result is messy but tasty.
Oh! And seriously! Parchment paper is the most awesome thing for cooking ever! I cannot believe I've been living without this for years! Why wasn't I told?!
Anyway, on to the recipe:
Candy center
1 stick softened butter
~20 oz creamy peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
~1 lb. confectioners' sugar
1-2 cups? of Rice Krispies or the like
Cream butter, peanut butter, and vanilla.
Add sugar until you like the consistency.
Add some sort of crisp rice cereal until you like the looks of that, too.
Roll into 1/2 inch balls, place on cookie tray lined with parchment paper. I say 1/2 inch because I always wind up making things bigger than I mean to and these work way better when they're roughly bite-sized.
Chill. My fridge is weird but they were in overnight and that seemed to work fine.
Candy coating
2 cups (1 pkg) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp shortening
Mix in double boiler. Insert toothpick into peanut butter ball. Dip, cover about 3/4 of candy. Put back on tray. Put back in fridge. Enjoy.
Monday, November 15, 2010
two day pound cake
I found this recipe on 17 and Baking some time ago, and I set it aside because I knew a cake would never survive untouched for two whole days in my house. We had a party last weekend, though, and I was called upon to make a non-chocolate cake option, and since my better half was out of town, I figured I'd go for it and hide it in my closet.
I've been asked to post the recipe, so I am doing so. Everyone who tried this cake raved about it ... except for me. It really didn't do anything for me. It's not like I don't enjoy a good plain pound cake, either, so I have no idea what my problem is. So I post this without my own endorsement, but with the recommendation of a half-dozen people who worship at the altar that is this cake. Your mileage may vary.
Buttermilk pound cake
1 1/2 cups room temperature butter
3 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup cultured buttermilk (or 1 tablespoon lemon juice then fill to 1 cup w/ milk)
1 lemon worth of juice (if you're lazy like me it's 2-3 tablespoons of the bottled stuff)
Preheat oven to 300°. Grease & flour bundt pan.
Sift together flour, salt, baking soda. Cream butter, adding sugar slowly. Add one egg at a time, mix thoroughly after each. Add vanilla. Add flour & milk in alternating parts, mixing thoroughly after each. Stir in lemon juice.
Bake 75-90 minutes. Cool 20 minutes in pan, then on rack. Put in cake carrier or equivalent, then hide cake away for about 48 hours. Serve.
I've been asked to post the recipe, so I am doing so. Everyone who tried this cake raved about it ... except for me. It really didn't do anything for me. It's not like I don't enjoy a good plain pound cake, either, so I have no idea what my problem is. So I post this without my own endorsement, but with the recommendation of a half-dozen people who worship at the altar that is this cake. Your mileage may vary.
Buttermilk pound cake
1 1/2 cups room temperature butter
3 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup cultured buttermilk (or 1 tablespoon lemon juice then fill to 1 cup w/ milk)
1 lemon worth of juice (if you're lazy like me it's 2-3 tablespoons of the bottled stuff)
Preheat oven to 300°. Grease & flour bundt pan.
Sift together flour, salt, baking soda. Cream butter, adding sugar slowly. Add one egg at a time, mix thoroughly after each. Add vanilla. Add flour & milk in alternating parts, mixing thoroughly after each. Stir in lemon juice.
Bake 75-90 minutes. Cool 20 minutes in pan, then on rack. Put in cake carrier or equivalent, then hide cake away for about 48 hours. Serve.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
my family's cake
I've been meaning to post this recipe for ages now. The story of its origin gets a little blurry, but my understanding is that my great-grandmother came up with this during the Depression as a way of not wasting spoiled milk. It seems a little strange to make an entire cake to avoid throwing out a little milk, but it's also the kind of crazy "logic" my family has been known to practice.
At any rate, this makes an excellent cake. It's a very mild flavor, with a dense texture. The only problem is I can't get the damn thing to come out solid enough--assuming I can get the cake out of the pan without it tearing in half, it often crumbles while I'm frosting it, and I make the frosting nice & fluffy just to avoid that. So I don't know. Any advice would be welcome.
I've also included my favorite frosting recipe, which is incredibly simple, but I love the outcome. You may remember it from the chai frosting experiments of yore. It came from here originally.
Depression-era sour milk cake
1 cup boiling water
2 squares bitter chocolate
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
2 eggs (separated, but you do use both parts)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sour milk (if not available, use 1 tablespoon vinegar & fill to 1 cup w/ milk)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Stir chocolate into boiling water until dissolved, set aside.
Combine flour, salt, baking powder - set aside.
Cream shortening, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla.
Add dry ingredients and sour milk in alternating parts.
Add baking soda to chocolate (must wait until cooled), stir.
Blend chocolate in to batter.
Beat egg whites, fold in to batter.
Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, two round cake pans.
Buttercream frosting
1 lb. confectioners' sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. milk
Combine. Add more milk until you're happy with the outcome.
At any rate, this makes an excellent cake. It's a very mild flavor, with a dense texture. The only problem is I can't get the damn thing to come out solid enough--assuming I can get the cake out of the pan without it tearing in half, it often crumbles while I'm frosting it, and I make the frosting nice & fluffy just to avoid that. So I don't know. Any advice would be welcome.
I've also included my favorite frosting recipe, which is incredibly simple, but I love the outcome. You may remember it from the chai frosting experiments of yore. It came from here originally.
Depression-era sour milk cake
1 cup boiling water
2 squares bitter chocolate
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
2 eggs (separated, but you do use both parts)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sour milk (if not available, use 1 tablespoon vinegar & fill to 1 cup w/ milk)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Stir chocolate into boiling water until dissolved, set aside.
Combine flour, salt, baking powder - set aside.
Cream shortening, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla.
Add dry ingredients and sour milk in alternating parts.
Add baking soda to chocolate (must wait until cooled), stir.
Blend chocolate in to batter.
Beat egg whites, fold in to batter.
Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, two round cake pans.
Buttercream frosting
1 lb. confectioners' sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. milk
Combine. Add more milk until you're happy with the outcome.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
ginger maple chicken
A while back I got an email chain letter that proposed a recipe exchange. I thought this was pretty awesome, and it became pretty much the first email chain letter that I passed along. Very few others thought it was awesome, sadly, but I did get this excellent recipe from a Canadian pen-pal (are they still pen-pals if there's no pens involved?). I finally got around to make it last weekend and I was absolutely delighted by the results.
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 teaspoons of fresh ginger, grated
- 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons of soya sauce
- 1/2 cup of maple syrup
- 1/3 of flour
- 1 1/4 lb of chicken breasts
- 2 teaspoons of oil (I use olive oil, but whichever I guess)
1. Put the oven on - 325 F
2. Cut the chicken in pieces and cover them in flour.
3. In a pan, add the oil and cook the chicken pieces for 5 minutes (or until they're golden on all sides).
4. In a bowl, mix the maple syrup, cider vinegar, soya sauce, ginger, garlic, and pepper.
5. Pour the sauce on the chicken and cook in the oven for 5-10 minutes.
Edited 11/13/2010: I can now recommend using almond. I crushed some up and put it in the skillet with the raw chicken and it added a nice texture to the end result. Also, this combination of cider vinegar/soy sauce/maple syrup went very well in a chicken soup that I made a few days later.
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 teaspoons of fresh ginger, grated
- 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons of soya sauce
- 1/2 cup of maple syrup
- 1/3 of flour
- 1 1/4 lb of chicken breasts
- 2 teaspoons of oil (I use olive oil, but whichever I guess)
1. Put the oven on - 325 F
2. Cut the chicken in pieces and cover them in flour.
3. In a pan, add the oil and cook the chicken pieces for 5 minutes (or until they're golden on all sides).
4. In a bowl, mix the maple syrup, cider vinegar, soya sauce, ginger, garlic, and pepper.
5. Pour the sauce on the chicken and cook in the oven for 5-10 minutes.
Edited 11/13/2010: I can now recommend using almond. I crushed some up and put it in the skillet with the raw chicken and it added a nice texture to the end result. Also, this combination of cider vinegar/soy sauce/maple syrup went very well in a chicken soup that I made a few days later.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
the good lord's own cookies
Once upon a time, I went to a Methodist Sunday school in a very small town in Maryland. One of my teachers had a cookie recipe that she would bust out when we were leaning about a specific part of the Bible. The cookies are light, fluffy, whitish in color, kind of springy-textured, and sweet. These cookies, she told us, were manna cookies. That's right. The food God threw down for people to eat. God's own dessert food. For real.
So if these cookies have another name, I do not know it. I will say that they are very tasty. A friend of mine tested the first batch and said, "They're nice and sweet and then there's this aftertaste that makes me want to hug my grandmother. Your cookies make me want to hug my grandmother." To be honest, I'm not quite sure what that means. But I'm taking it as a compliment.
The only down side to these cookies, which I always forget until it's too late, is that they're going to stick to each other. If you're packing them, put something between them (wax paper would probably work just fine). Otherwise, they're easy to make and don't disappoint.
Maryland Methodist Manna Cookies
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups flour
Preheat oven to 400. Cream butter, adding sugar gradually. Add eggs and beat thoroughly. Add honey, salt, and vanilla.
In a different bowl, combine baking powder and flour; add to butter mixture. Drop by half teaspoonfuls onto buttered cookie sheet.
Bake at 400 degrees for 5-6 minutes. Watch very closely. They don't really brown, per se; you just have to wing it. Cool on wire rack. Makes 6 dozen.
So if these cookies have another name, I do not know it. I will say that they are very tasty. A friend of mine tested the first batch and said, "They're nice and sweet and then there's this aftertaste that makes me want to hug my grandmother. Your cookies make me want to hug my grandmother." To be honest, I'm not quite sure what that means. But I'm taking it as a compliment.
The only down side to these cookies, which I always forget until it's too late, is that they're going to stick to each other. If you're packing them, put something between them (wax paper would probably work just fine). Otherwise, they're easy to make and don't disappoint.
Maryland Methodist Manna Cookies
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups flour
Preheat oven to 400. Cream butter, adding sugar gradually. Add eggs and beat thoroughly. Add honey, salt, and vanilla.
In a different bowl, combine baking powder and flour; add to butter mixture. Drop by half teaspoonfuls onto buttered cookie sheet.
Bake at 400 degrees for 5-6 minutes. Watch very closely. They don't really brown, per se; you just have to wing it. Cool on wire rack. Makes 6 dozen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)