First Challenge Complete

Yay! I'm a daring baker! For those who don't know Daring Baker's are a group of individuals who challenge themselves to a different recipe each month and then post about it on the same day. This month was laminated dough hosted by Kelly of Sass & Veracity, and Ben of What’s Cooking?.

I had an easy enough time making the dough. Although, I thought I'd use the same orange for the zest and the juice and discovered why naval oranges aren't used for juicing. I did't use the cardamom as that was a bit pricey but I have since found some at a decent price at and Indian grocer that I didn't know existed before. So, I will be trying it soon.

So, I made half the braid one day earlier in the month then froze the rest of the dough and made the rest last week. It was interesting and a bit difficult not to get to talk about it before now. I made the apple filling that we were given and then on the later braid and danish I made a cream cheese filling and a peach amaretto filling. I have to say that I was quite proud of myself with my peach filling. I made up the recipe on my own but with the influence of a jam I had tried. Well, I was proud of myself all the way around really for meeting this challenge and being mostly successful at it. I did have issues with the dough rising. I'm not sure what it is with me and yeast breads or could it be the Florida humidity? I don't know, but it tasted good anyway.

Back to simpler things

I just wanted to quickly update on my baking endeavors. Last week I made some white chocolate chip cookies with amaretto soaked cranberries. The recipe calls for brandy soaked berries but I like amaretto and didn't have any brandy. They still turned out pretty tasty though. I also upped the amount of brown sugar and lowered the white sugar. Next time I'll leave out the extra liqueur because they cookies were a bit flat.

This weekend I did my own little taste test experiment with brownies. I have pretty much always stuck with the boxed mixes. They're easy and still taste good to me. But I'm trying to break from my comfort zone and try new things. Brownies are not difficult to make but the recipes I tried did step up the process a little by involving a double boiler. I tried three different recipes and two types of cocoa with one of them for a total of four types of brownies. I made Alice Medrich's Best Cocoa Brownies one with dutch process cocoa and the other with natural cocoa. I also made Alton Brown's cocoa brownies and then Dorie Greenspan's Bittersweet brownies. I meant to keep everything basic and go by the recipe exactly but I found myself not able to resist adding a tad bit of almond extract to Dorie's recipe. OMG, were they good. I still don't have a favorite yet out of the results. I think I need to do more tastings. Dorie's definitely gets most gooey and I liked the natural cocoa over the dutch process which surprised me because the blackness of the latter really appeals to me.

I also barbecued out again this weekend. My neighbor friend came down to eat with me. I made sangria to go with it all and we had a very enjoyable time. I like throwing things on the grill to see what the outcome is. I tried tomatoes, bell peppers, asparagus and mushrooms this time along with pork chops and chicken. I just have to keep watch because flare ups happen quickly on my little grill and cause the food to get charred more than I'd necessarily like.

So, a more basic weekend with no real problems. Just yumminess.

Chocolate overload

I should have posted sooner about the chocolate party I went to last week, but I just hadn't gotten around to it before now. However, it was a lot of fun and I learned some things about using chocolate molds. The party was at a store called Farris and Fosters http://www.farrisandfosters.com/. They sell chocolates by weight but they also host chocolate parties where you get to participate in creating your own chocolate candies. I had done it once before a few years back but didn't get very creative that time and I wanted to do something different this time. I worked with the molds that I didn't attempt before. I had a bit of a heavy hand when filling so I kept overflowing, so my butterflys had some extra edges to them. I made some flat butterflies to be used in decorating future baked goods, but I also filled some other molds with goodies ranging from reeses pieces, to oreos, to rice krispies. They have quite of a selection to choose from. I also made peanut butter cups and completely covered an Oreo with chocolate. Your session gets you a pound of chocolate and if you go over that amount, you get it at a discounted rate.

As far as baking over the weekend...I made two things. I made Dori's Gooey Chocolate Cakes and zucchini bread. My experience for the cakes was much like others who made them for TWD in that my middle wasn't exactly oozing with 13 minutes of bake time. They did still tast fabulous though. If/ when I make again, I will shorten the bake time. I have a little disclaimer that I was on the phone the whole time I was preparing the batter, so I'm just glad they turned out at all.:-)

The zucchini bread was good also. I took the recipe from Allrecipes.com. I did substitute apple sauce for the oil and it still turned out well. Here is the link to the recipe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Moms-Zucchini-Bread/Detail.aspx I felt like I had to counter balance the fat in the cakes by leaving it out of the bread. That works right?

Cookies and (attempt at) Macaroons

Well, this weekend I kept up my momentum of baking but thought I was keeping it pretty safe with my choices. That didn't turn out to be the case. I had some cinnamon chips that I wanted to try in a cookie, but wasn't sure which to try. I decided to try the recipe on the bag which was an oatmeal cookie. The cinnamon chips are insane with cinnamon flavor. It's really impressive when first trying them. The cookies turned out pretty well, but the recipe didn't call for any salt and I think in the end it could have used a touch. So, I'll probably do some more searching for another attempt at using these morsels. I know there are some mentions on other blogs about them so I'll have to look out for other ideas.

I attempted macaroons using a recipe from the book I got the genoise recipe from. Again, I didn't have so much luck. I have to figure out this whipping egg whites thing. I second guess it all, like it that a stiff peak, maybe I should beat it a little more but I don't want to beat it too much. So, I'll keep working on that skill. However, the cookie dough was not thick enough but I pressed on and baked them anyway. They ran but I was able to salvage a few for consumption and they still tasted pretty good. Maybe I need to use a different book. I'm 0 for 2 from this one. But then again, it's probably me...more so than the recipes.

I also made shortbread for the first time. I used a recipe from My Sweetest Dreams blog. Around the holidays last year I was out with my mom shopping in the small town she lives in and I grew up in. There aren't many stores to go to but we make our usual rounds. This day we checked out a little thrift store that had some really cool things in it. We found this piece of stoneware that had pretty flower designs in it. I wasn't sure what it was used for but liked it and it was like $2 so we got it. I discovered that it was a shortbread pan. Now, six months later I decided to finally try using it. The recipe was great and they tast awesome. I did have a little trouble getting the cookie loose and away from the pan in one piece, so I'll have to be more careful next time.

All in all I was satisfied with my endeavors this weekend. I also tried my hand at grilling with a little gas grill that I got over a year ago. I bought it as a hurricane supply but we've been lucky since the 2004 ones when I didn't have a grill. So, I finally put it together and cooked up some chicken, shrimp, and burgers. Then last night my neighbor friend had me down for steaks which we cooked on the grill also. They turned out really good.

The weekend didn't go without it's hiccups though. I had an incident Saturday morning. I still don't know how I accomplished this mess, but it was a good one. I some how managed to splatter a half a cup of coffee all over myself, the floor, the refrigerator, wall and cabinets in a 360 degree manner. I didn't know so little liquid could make such a mess. Good thing I had planned on cleaning the floors that morning anyway. :-)

Some success and some problems

Wow, I'm tired. I was a bit ambitious this weekend. I wanted to attempt petit fours. What a mistake that turned into. The base of the cakes was a genoise...which I deflated. I still made it but the cake was flat and dry. So, then I tried to turn that failure into a success of cake balls like Bakerella has on her site. I made another mistake of trying to use a miniature cupcake paper to make the chocolate base. That did not work for me. I persevered and finished the experiement. They looked all right, but messy to eat, so I won't be sharing...

Otherwise, I made the biscotti and crumb cake that I wanted to make. I did not get to the coconut macaroons. Maybe next week. Oh, and I haven't coooked any real food.




I also made pancakes from a recipe from AllRecipes.com called Truck Stop
Buttermilk Pancakes. Oh, these were good. I made 1/5th of the recipe
and added a little vanilla. They were very light and fluffy. Yum!

I have made several of the biscotti recipes from this book (Biscotti by Lou Seibert Pappas) and today the one I hadn't tried before turned out more cake like and didn't get very crisp. They still taste good though. These were the cinnamon ones. The chocolate ones turn out good. The chocolate didn't call for butter where the other one did.


Swedish Cinnamon Slices

2/3 cup blanched slivered almonds
1 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 tablespoons sour cream
½ tsp almond extract
2 ¾ cups unbleached or all-purpose flour
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp soda

¼ tsp salt

Place nuts in a shallow pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for 6 to 8 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool. In a mixing bowl cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, sour cream and almond extract. In a bowl combine the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture, mixing until blended. Fold in nuts. Divide dough in half. On a greased and floured baking sheet pat out into two logs about ½ inch high, 1 ½ inches wide, and 15 inches long, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Bake in the middle of a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the baking sheet to a rack. Let cool for 5 minutes. Place on a cutting board. With a serrated knife slice diagonally at a 45 degree angle about ½ inch thick. Place the slices upright on the baking sheet ½ inch apart

and return to a 325 degree oven for 10 minutes longer to dry slightly. Let cool on rack. Store in a tightly covered container.


Makes about 3 ½ to 4 dozen

Changes I made to this one: I added cinnamon chips and cappaccino chips to half the dough

Biscotti al Cioccolato


¾ cup hazelnuts
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp almond extract
1 ¾ cups unbleached or all purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tbsp powdered coffee
1 tsp baking soda
Dash of salt

Place nuts in a shallow pan and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. While still warm, rub nuts between a double layer of paper towels to remove the papery skins. Let cool. In a small bowl beat eggs, vanilla and almond extract with a wire whisk. In a mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa, coffee powder, baking soda and salt. Add egg mixture and mix until blended, about 1 minute. Fold in the nuts. Divide dough in half. On a greased and floured baking sheet, pat out dough into two logs about ½ thick, 1 ½ inches wide and 12 inches long, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Bake in the middle of a preheated 300 degree oven for 50 minutes or until set and baked through. Transfer from the baking sheet to a rack. Let cool 5 minutes. Place on cutting boar. With a serrated knife slice diagonally at a 45 degree angle about ½ inch thick. Lay the slices flat on the baking sheet and return to a 275 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes, turning them over once, to dry slightly. Let cool on rack. Store in a tightly covered container.

Chocolate glaze variation: Coarsely chop 3 ounces of bittersweet chocolate and place in a small bowl that fits snugly over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Heat until melted. Stir to blend. Or place chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave on medium for 2 minutes or until chocolate melts. Stir to blend. With a spatula spread chocolate over entire top surface of cookies. Let cool at room temperature until set.

Makes about 3 ½ dozen

I didn't really change anything to this recipe, except I do stand the biscotti upright when drying so to not have to flip them over. Also, as far as the nuts go, I buy the ones now that are ready to bake with so those first steps aren't that necessary. When I first bought the book over 10 years ago, hazelnuts weren't readily available around here and when I did find them they were whole and all those steps had to be taken. Thank goodness that is not the case anymore.

I also tried the Martha Stewart recipe for NY Crumb Cake. It turned out pretty well, but I wanted more cinnamon flavor. We'll see what the reviews are tomorrow from my coworkers. I was suprised that the cake part of the recipe was very dough like. I expected it to be more like a cake batter, so that threw me off. Now I know.

New York Crumb Cake(from Martha Stewart)

2 tbsp vegetable oil

4 cups all purpose flour, divided

1/2 cup granulated (white) sugar

2 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 large egg

½ cup milk (lowfat is fine)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup light brown sugar

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

1 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 325F and grease and flour a 9×13 baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups flour, the granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, canola oil, and vanilla.

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and spread into pan (you might want to grease your spatula). Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk together remaining 2 1/2 cups flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon (and allspice, if using). Pour melted butter over flour mixture, and stir with a rubber spatula until large crumbs form. Spread evenly over batter in pan.

Bake at 325F for 25-30 minutes, rotating once, until a tester comes out clean.

Cool completely on a wire rack before serving in large pieces.

Makes 12 servings.

I'm learning a lot though. Pictures and recipes to come...