Mint-Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

These cookies come from the September 2010 issue of Everyday Food. Crisp little chocolate mint sandwich cookies...perfect for dipping into a mug of hot cocoa.

Mine tasted like a Milano...now to work on getting them to look like a Milano.

1 1/4 cups flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
4 oz semi sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 tsp pure peppermint extract

Preheat oven to 325, with racks in upper and lower thirds. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar on high, scraping down bowl as needed, until light and fluffy, four minutes. Add vanilla and beat to combine. Add egg and beat to combine. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture and beat just until combined.

Transfer dough to a quart-size zip-top bag. With scissors, snip a 3/4-inch hole in one corner (or use a pastry bag with a plain tip). Pipe 54 cookies (3/4 by 2 inches), 1/2 inch apart, onto two parchment-lined baking sheets. (Mine didn't pipe out so pretty, so I had to reshape them a bit by hand.) Chill until firm, 20 minutes.

Bake until cookies are light golden at edges, about 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer immediately to wire racks and let cool.

Place chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until melted, 2 minutes. Remove bowl from pan. In another medium bowl, whisk together confectioners sugar, peppermint extract, and 4 teaspoons water. With a small offset spatula or table knife, spread chocolate on flat side of half the cookies and mint glaze on the other half. Sandwich cookie halves together.

Orangettes

My mother in law has always had a special fondness for orange sticks. As long as I have known her, she has had a stockpile somewhere within her reach.

When I found this recipe last year, I immediately thought of her. We have made them for her the last couple of Christmases. While they take some time to make (a few hours if you're not a chocolatier---I am NOT), these really are better than the store bought variety. Instead of an orange flavored jelly center, these are filled with the real thing.

If you're out of the holiday goody making mood, bookmark this recipe for next December. They will make a perfect addition to a holiday sweet exchange (if you can bear to part with a few).

Orangettes

adapted from the food network

4 large oranges
8 ounces (1 cup) water
8 ounces sugar (it may not be precise, but I used 1 cup)
16 ounces good chocolate (These would probably work out better with a good dipping chocolate, but as I am not Willy Wonka, I always just melt up some Guittard milk chocolate chips)

Directions:
Slice the ends off of the oranges, score the peel from one end to the other, and remove the peels off the oranges.

Slice the peels into thin strips and trim the edges.

Using a medium size pot, place the peels in boiling water and blanch them for about five minutes. Rinse the peels, and repeat this process a second time. This is done to remove the bitterness of the peels (and it makes your kitchen smell wonderful).

Prepare the simple syrup by combining the water and sugar in a sauce pot. Bring the syrup to a simmer, place the peels in the pot, and simmer for 1 hour. Check them often to make sure the syrup hasn't boiled off. Once the peels have cooked, remove them from the pot, and place on a rack to cool and drain.

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Dip the candied orange peels in the chocolate, remove them quickly. Allow them to dry completely on waxed paper. Store these tasty treats in an airtight container.

Orange Sherbet with Sugar Cookie Spoons

You know that refreshing, tart-sweet flavor of store bought orange sherbet?

Mmmmm...sherbet.

Make it yourself and you get refreshing and tart-sweet times ten plus an incredibly fresh flavor.

I found the little cookie spoons in Martha Stewart Living. They are so cute. The kids will love them (as will the adults). Make a few per person. You will probably break one or two.

After all, you'll be eating this sherbet with gusto.

Sally's Orange Sherbet
6 cups FRESH SQUEEZED* orange juice, strained (I bought a box of oranges from Costco and used about 3/4 of the box...sorry, I should have counted the oranges)
1 1/2 cups FRESH SQUEEZED* lemon juice, strained
4 to 4 1/2 cups sugar (depending on the sweetness of your oranges)
3 cups whipping cream
6 cups whole milk

Mix all together and freeze in a six quart ice cream freezer. (I have a four quart maker, so I split it into two batches.)

*Some of you may be asking "Can I use store bought orange juice if it's 'not from concentrate'?"

Sorry. No.

All I have is a little hand held juicer, but I juiced and I juiced (and I juiced). It probably took me thirty minutes or so. But believe me, the sacrifice is well worth it.
Sugar Cookie Spoons
adapted from Martha Stewart Living
Makes about 30 cookies
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 T cream or milk (my addition...see below)

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In separate bowl, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture, and mix until dough comes together. (I made two batches. The first batch I made as written and my dough was quite dry and crumbly and rather difficult to work with. The second batch, I added a tablespoon of cream and it made a world of difference. The dough was soft and rolled out beautifully. You can play it by ear. The taste and texture of both batches was the same.) Shape dough into 2 disks, wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour (or up to 2 days).
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Roll out 1 disk of dough to just less than an inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Using a paring knife, cut out spoon shapes, each about 3 inches long. (I looked around for a spoon shaped cookie cutter, but couldn't find one. Go to your baking supply store and see what they have. A tennis racket would work perfectly. I found a guitar shaped cutter and manipulated it into a spoon shape.)
Transfer to baking sheets. Roll out scraps, and repeat once. (I took a cookie baking class from an expert cookie baker once and she gave the same advice. Roll your dough out more than twice and your cookies will be tough.)
Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, about 12 minutes. Transfer sheets to wire racks to cool. Repeat with remaining dough.

Cinnamon Ice Cream

Homemade Ice Cream is completely worth the effort. Trust me.

This is a variation of a basic vanilla ice cream recipe

2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
7 whole cinnamon sticks
8 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine milk, cream, 1/4 cup of each sugar, and cinnamon in large heavy bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and cover. Let stand for one hour to steep. Strain the mixture; discard the cinnamon sticks. Return the milk mixture to the saucepan.

In bowl of electric mixer, beat egg yolks and remaining sugar until well blended and thick. Bring the milk mixture to a simmer. With mixer on low speed, whisk 2 cups of the hot milk mixture into the yolk mixture; return to the saucepan. Stir the mixture over medium-low heat with a wooden spoon, until it thickens and becomes a custard that will leave a path on the back of the wooden spoon when a finger is drawn across it -- do not allow the mixture to boil! Pour through a strainer into a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or waxed paper directly on the surface of the custard. Chill until very cold, at least 8 hours.

Stir the chilled custard mixture. Pour into container of ice cream maker and mix until thickened, about 25 - 30 minutes*. Turn the machine OFF. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in the freezer for about 2 hours (or longer) until firm. If made ahead, take ice cream out of freezer 10- 15 minutes before serving.

*I use a Cuisinart counter-top ice cream maker. I don't know how long it would take to freeze in a back porch freezer with the ice and rock salt. Check after about 30.

Soft Pretzels

Last Monday, while skimming through my new favorite magazine, my second born and I stumbled upon this recipe. I told her we could make them over the weekend. We couldn't wait. We ended up having them as an appetizer for Tuesday dinner.
They were simple to make and tasted delicious. Our only problem (and I use that word loosely) was that we couldn't get the dough to stretch into 30 inch ropes. We stretched it as much as we could and then formed the pretzels. They shrunk a bit in the oven, and as you can see, ours ended up pretty squat and round. We actually think it made them even better. You know how the middle of the cinnamon roll is the best? So is the middle of the pretzel!


Ingredients
For the Pretzels:

* 1 cup milk
* 1 package active dry yeast
* 3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
* 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
* 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
* 1 teaspoon fine salt
* 1/3 cup baking soda
* 2 tablespoons coarse salt

For the Sauce:

* 1/4 cup mayonnaise
* 1/4 cup dijon mustard
* 3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

Directions

Make the pretzels: Warm the milk in a saucepan until it's about 110 degrees; pour into a medium bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. Let the yeast soften, about 2 minutes; stir in the brown sugar and 1 cup flour with a wooden spoon. Dice 2 tablespoons butter and soften; stir into the mix. Add the remaining 1 1/4 cups flour and the fine salt to make a sticky dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding more flour if needed, until smooth but still slightly tacky, about 5 minutes. Shape into a ball, place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and grease a large baking sheet. Punch the dough to deflate it, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface. (If the dough seems tight, cover and let rest until it relaxes.) Divide the dough into 6 pieces. Roll and stretch each piece with the palms of your hands into a 30-inch rope, holding the ends and slapping the middle of the rope on the counter as you stretch. Form each rope into a pretzel shape.

Dissolve the baking soda in 3 cups warm water in a shallow baking dish. Gently dip each pretzel in the soda solution, then arrange on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with the coarse salt. Bake until golden, 10 to 12 minutes.

Prepare the sauce: Combine the mayonnaise, mustard, brown sugar and vinegar in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate.

Melt the remaining 8 tablespoons butter in a shallow dish. Dip the hot pretzels in the butter, turning to coat; place on a wire rack to let excess butter drip off. Serve the pretzels warm with the sweet mustard sauce.

Apple Fritters, or "From Scratch Challenge: The Third"

I'm excited to present another classic fall sweet. And I'm proud to say that it doesn't contain pumpkin!

When the cyclist put in his request for a homemade apple fritter months ago, I'll admit I was nervous. I'm not a great fryer. But the cyclist is charming. So here they are.

These take a bit of work, but I'm confident anyone who can follow directions can make them. Read the entire recipe before you start (I read it a couple of times).

You will use a vanilla bean-this was my first time. I found it in the spice aisle. It smelled divine.

Also, there is hot oil involved, so have a deep fry thermometer handy. And as with any recipe that's prone to spatter, it is not advised that you try them on a "naked cooking day".

The fritters are delicious while they are hot, but save a few to cool to room temperature. We couldn't decide which we loved best.

Apple Fritters
adapted from CDKitchen.com

Start to finish time: about 3 hours
Inactive prep (rising) time: 2 1/2 hours

DOUGH:

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2/3 cup whole milk
3 1/4 cups plus 2 T unbleached flour
4 extra large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup sparkling apple cider
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Apples:

1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 vanilla bean
7 granny smith apples, peeled and cubed
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup sparkling apple cider

Glaze:

1 cup plus 4 T powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

To prepare the dough; place the yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer. In a small saucepan, over medium heat, heat the milk until warm to the touch. Pour the milk over the yeast. Let soften, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 2 cups of the flour to the milk mix, without stirring. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place, about 30 minutes.

In a small bowl combine the egg yolks and sugar. Add the cider, melted butter, salt, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and 1 1/4 cups of the flour and mix until combined. Add this mix to the yeast. Using the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, mix on low for thirty seconds, then turn up to medium for about 1 minute. Add the remaining 2 Tablespoons of flour and mix on low for thirty seconds, then on medium for another thirty seconds. The dough will be very sticky.

Sift an even layer of flour onto the work surface; scrape the dough out of the bowl onto the work surface Clean the mixing bowl and lightly coat it with vegetable oil. Gather the dough and return it to the oiled bowl. Cover it tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

To prepare the apples, in a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Using a small paring knife, split the vanilla bean lengthwise. With the back of the knife, scrape out the pulp and the seeds of the vanilla bean and add the scrapings and the pod to the butter. Heat the butter until bubbly. Add the chopped apples, tossing to coat them with butter. Add the cinnamon and sugar, and saute 3 to 5 minutes until slightly softened. Add the vinegar and cider, and cook over medium high heat about 5 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean pod and place the apples on a baking sheet to cool.

Scrape the dough out onto a floured surface and stretch into a rectangle about 1/2" thick. Spread half of the apples over the dough and fold into thirds like a business letter, by bringing the bottom up and the top down, patting with your hands to flatten slightly. Roll dough again to stretch it out slightly. Scatter the remaining apples on top and fold into thirds again. Gather the dough together by tucking under the edges and return it to the oiled bowl. Cover and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

Heat the oil to 375.

Scrape the dough out onto a floured surface and gently roll or pat it into a rectangle about 1" thick, flouring the surface of the dough as necessary. Cut the dough with a pizza cutter into rough triangles. Stretch dough slightly. Let sit 10 minutes while you make the glaze.

To prepare the glaze, in a small stainless steel bowl set over a pot of gently simmering water, combine the powdered sugar, cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Heat until just warm, stirring frequently. The glaze should be thin and translucent; if necessary, thin it down with more cream.

Drop fritters directly into the hot oil and fry until golden brown. Flip and fry second side.

Drain on paper towels and brush the fritters with glaze while they are warm.

"You can make those from scratch? Part II", or Homemade English Muffins

After the success of the homemade bagels, English muffins just seemed like the natural next step. These were absolutely delicious. Reminiscent of the ones you buy at the store...only better.




English Muffins
adapted from the Food Network
makes 12-14 muffins

1 cup non-fat powdered milk
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt, divided
2 tablespoons shortening
2 cups hot water
2 envelopes (4 1/2 tsp) dry yeast
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2/3 cup warm water
4 cups flour, sifted
Non-stick cooking spray
cornmeal
equipment: electric griddle, 3-inch metal rings (There are English muffin rings, but I used 8 oz pineapple cans. Make sure you remove the top and bottom.)

In a bowl, combine the powdered milk, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, shortening, and hot water, stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. In a separate bowl combine the yeast and 1/4 teaspoon of sugar in 2/3 cup of warm water and set aside until yeast has dissolved. Add this to the dry milk mixture. Add the sifted flour and beat thoroughly with wooden spoon. Cover the bowl with a dish cloth and let it rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes.

Preheat the griddle to 250 degrees F.

Add the remaining teaspoon of salt to mixture and beat thoroughly. Place metal rings onto the griddle and coat lightly with cooking spray. Sprinkle griddle inside each ring with a pinch of cornmeal.

Using #20 (it should hold about 4 tablespoons) ice cream scoop, place 2 scoops into each ring and cover with a cookie sheet and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and flip rings using tongs.

Cover with the lid and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a cooling rack, remove rings and cool.

Split with fork. Serve hot with butter and honey.

Before we cooked them all, we did a test run with just one muffin to make sure the griddle wasn't too hot.



P.S. Stay tuned...at the cyclist's request, part three in the series is already in the works. It has the potential to ROCK. It could also fail miserably. Don't worry, my sweet husband will happily eat it either way.

Homemade Bagels and Cream Cheese, or "The one where the Bake-aholic accepts a challenge from the Cyclist"

Periodically I get an urge to make something from scratch that most people (including myself) would normally just buy at the store.
I made flour tortillas once. For all the time and effort, I expected them to taste as yummy as the ones at Cafe Rio. Mine didn't.
One valentines day, after watching Martha Stewart, I was inspired to make homemade marshmallows. These were cute and pink and I cut them into heart shapes. But why spend 12 minutes beating gelatin and corn syrup to get something that tastes identical to the Kraft marshmallows from the grocery store? Plus the grocery store variety have an indefinite shelf life. Mine went moldy within 3 days.
But some things are just really super good when they are homemade.
For instance:
While skimming through a favorite cookbook, I came across a recipe for Vegetable Cream Cheese. "I know what to do for brunch next Sunday", I told the Cyclist. "How about you pick up some bagels from Rich's and I'll whip up some flavored cream cheese?"
"How about you make the bagels?" he challenged.
So I started scouring cook books and found a recipe that I could handle (I am only now starting to feel confident making yeast breads).

These were a little time consuming (I started boiling the water for the potato at 10:00 and we were eating them by 12:15), but that includes 1 hour of rising time that one might utilize to, let's say, take a shower and blow dry 4 blond bobs (that includes me). As soon as #4 grows hair, and there are 5 blond bobs, I'm going to have to either talk a couple of the girls into buzz cuts, or these Sunday breakfasts might become a thing of the past.

Anyhow, these bagels were REALLY good. Think Rich's. You should all make them. I challenge you.



Egg Bagels
from Baking Bread, Old and New Traditions by Beth Hensperger

My batch made 2 dozen

1 large russet potato (about 3/4 lb)
2 1/2 c water
2 T active dry yeast
1 1/2 T sugar
1 1/2 T salt
7-7 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/4 c vegetable oil (I used canola)
4 eggs
3-4 quarts water
2 T salt or sugar
2 egg whites
2 T water
assorted toppings: poppy seeds, sesame seeds, salt and rosemary, etc. (our two favorites were Asiago Cheese and Cinnamon Sugar)

1. Peel the potato and cut into large chunks. Place in a small saucepan and cover with the 2 1/2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered until the potato is soft. Drain the potato (use for other purposes), reserving 2 cups of the potato water. Let cool to 120 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, using a whisk, or in the workbowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the yeast, sugar, salt and 2 cups of the flour.
3. Add the potato water and the oil. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of the flour and the eggs. Beat again for 2 minutes. Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time to form a soft dough that just clears the sides of the bowl, switching to a wooden spoon when necessary if mixing by hand. (I ended up adding just under 7 cups).
4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until a smooth, firm, and springy dough is formed, about 3 minutes, adding flour 1 Tablespoon at a time as necessary to prevent sticking. Place in a greased deep container, turn once to coat the top, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
5. Preheat oven to 425 and grease or line 2 baking sheets with parchment or silpat liners. Meanwhile, in a large pot, bring 3 to 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add 2 Tablespoons salt or sugar to the boiling water, depending on the flavor you want the crust to have. (We used two pots, one with sugar and one with salt). Maintain a gentle low boil over medium heat.
6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into quarters. Divide each quarter into 6 equal portions. To form bagels: Shape each ball of dough into a smooth round, tucking the excess dough underneath. Flatten with your palm. Poke a floured finger through the middle of the ball. Stretch the hole with your fingers to make it about 1 inch in diameter. Spin the dough around your finger. The hole will be quite large as you spin, but will shrink slightly when you stop. Set aside on a lightly floured surface while forming the other bagels. Once you get the hang of this, it goes really fast. The bagels will need no further rising at this point.
7. With a slotted spoon, lower 3 to 4 bagels at a time into the gently boiling water.
They will drop to the bottom and then rise to the surface. As they come to the surface, turn each bagel and boil it for 3 minutes on the other side. This goes very quickly.
8. Remove from the boiling water with a slotted spoon and place 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. When all the bagels have been boiled, brush with an egg wash (combine 2 egg whites and 2 T water) and top how you wish. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes rotating pan halfway through, or until deep golden. Remove from baking sheets and cool on racks.

We ate ours schmeared with Ina Garten's Vegetable Cream Cheese:

16 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
2 T minced scallions (green onions), white and green parts
2 T finely chopped carrot
2 T finely chopped celery
2 T finely chopped radish (2 radishes)
2-3 pinches kosher salt
1 pinch finely ground black pepper

Place all ingredients in bowl of electric mixer and mix on low speed until blended.