My First Daring Bakers' Challenge

The August 2011 Daring Bakers’ Challenge was hosted by Lisa of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drive and Mandy of What the Fruitcake?!. These two sugar mavens challenged us to make sinfully delicious candies! This was a special challenge for the Daring Bakers because the good folks at http://www.chocoley.com offered an amazing prize for the winner of the most creative and delicious candy!

This was my first Daring Bakers' challenge and I was excited. I would have rather baked something, but making chocolates was fun, too. For my two candies I did two different types of truffles. Both were dipped truffles, one is a Hazelnut Coffee Truffle (Frangelico liqueur and instant espresso on the inside, and rolled in crushed chocolate covered coffee beans) and the other is an Amaretto Truffle (Amaretto liqueur and rolled in toasted, chopped almonds). 

The main challenge of the challenge was tempering chocolate. This ended up being difficult for me because I didn't have an appropriate thermometer. I'm sure my tempering technique wasn't perfect, but after dipping the truffles in the tempered chocolate I rolled them in the toppings so any imperfections were hidden =) Here's how they turned out:

I like the Amaretto Truffles the most because I really like the Amaretto and almond flavor. Also, with the Hazelnut Coffee Truffles I used instant espresso, which I think made the chocolate bitter (and I wasn't using a very sweet chocolate to begin with).

Overall, I liked doing this challenge and I'm looking forward to having something new to try every month.

4th of July Oreos

Homemade Red and Blue Oreos

For the 4th of July I wanted to make something patriotic and decided on red and blue Oreos (I actually planned on having white ones, too, but after some miscounting I ended up with just blue and red). I don't actually like real Oreos except in Cookies 'n Cream ice cream so I was wary of how these would turn out. Overall, I think I prefer store bought Oreos because my homemade ones didn't come out as crisp as store bought. They were chewy, but not soft...just kind of a weird texture.

Here's the link to the recipe I used. I added food coloring to the filling to make them red and blue.

Happy Birthday, Ryan!

For Ryan's birthday I made him chocolate molten lava cake...ooey, gooey and chocolate-y. I had bought a special pan for making molten cakes, but I didn't use the recipe that came with the pan. This turned out to be a mistake, because the method for the recipe I used just did not work with the pan. I ended up following the recipe and putting the batter into a ramekin, which definitely worked a lot better. Next time, I will use the recipe that goes with the pan and see how that comes out and so the pan doesn't go to waste!

I bought a giant box of Scharfenberger chocolate bars so look forward to many more chocolate recipes...hopefully soon!

P.S. Excuse the grainy picture it's from my iPhone...not that my other pictures are all that great though.

Chocolate-Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake

After making a coffee cake awhile ago, I realized how easy it is to put one together. This time I used cocoa powder and cinnamon in the swirl, but I felt like the chocolate flavor didn't come through even though I increased the amount of cocoa. Still, the coffee came out moist and with a delicious crumble on top. This is an easy way to impress someone for breakfast or even dessert with a cup of coffee.

Birthday Macarons

Pink Macarons with Chocolate Ganache

I made more macarons for Melissa's birthday last week. This time I made plain cookies, colored pink, and again filled them with chocolate ganache. They are pink because I was originally going to fill them with strawberry buttercream but it didn't turn out =( Luckily, I think the macarons taste pretty good with chocolate filling. At Berkeley Bowl I found almond meal - already ground almonds, which was lot finer than my mini food processor can get the almonds, resulting in a better texture. I used a different recipe this time and I think I like the results better. Also, I used silpats this time (it helped a lot!) plus I baked them slightly longer, which I think helped the cookies come off the baking sheets more easily.

I found some boxes at a baking supply store and bought a few different ones to see which would work. I think they look really cute in the box, although this isn't a very good picture of them. I added a bow before I gave them to Mel.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
225g powdered sugar
125g almond meal/flour
25g sugar
100g egg whites (about 4), aged

red food coloring (7-8 drops)

chocolate ganache to fill cookies

Directions:

1. DO AHEAD: Separate eggs and place egg whites in a container and cover with plastic wrap. Leave at room temperature for 12-24 hours. 
2. COOKIES: Add a drop of food coloring at a time to the granulated sugar and whisk together until evenly colored (the sugar will be darker than the final macaron). Set aside and let dry (a few minutes).
3. In the meantime, grind the almond meal and powdered sugar in a food processor until thoroughly mixed. 
4. Whip egg whites until foamy, slowly add the granulated sugar and continue to whip until they reach soft peaks and are glossy. Don’t overbeat the whites (some recipes say to beat to stiff peaks but I think that it would be better to beat to soft-medium peaks).
5. Carefully, fold the almond and powdered sugar mixture into the whites with a wide spatula. The mixture should remain shiny and flow easily. 
6. Fill a pastry bag, fitted with a plain round tip (I think mine is about 3/4-in in diameter) with the batter and pipe small rounds baking sheets lined with silpats or parchment paper. Let the macarons rest for 1 hour. 
7. Preheat the oven to 315°F and bake for 13-15 minutes.
8. Let cool completely on baking sheet/silpat then remove from the paper.
9. Match up by size and fill with your choice of filling.

Nothing Beats Homemade - Mint Milanos

Homemade Mint Milanos

I love Pepperidge Farms Mint Milanos. I used to buy them whenever I saw them on sale at the grocery store, but haven't bought them for awhile now. I saw this recipe and I knew that I wanted to make them. The original recipe is for orange-chocolate filled Milanos so I substituted peppermint extract in the filling. 

It was difficult to get the correct size of the cookies. The recipe said to make them 1 inch long and that resulted in very small, bite-size cookies....not exactly what I was looking for.  When Ryan and I were making them we experimented with different lengths and widths. If you are going to make these I would make them about 2 inches long. They spread out, but I would try to get the cookies to be about 1/2 - 3/4 inch wide before baking. Next time I will try using a bigger piping tip. Lastly, because we made them larger than the original recipe 10 minutes was not long enough and the cookies came out too soft and pliable. Next time I will make sure they get a darker golden brown.

Here is the recipe with my changes:

Homemade Mint Milanos

adapted from Gale Gand's Milan Cookies

Ingredients:

12 tbs (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)

2 tbs vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

Cookie filling, recipe follows

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place silpats on baking sheets and set aside (I tried one baking sheet with parchment paper and my cookies came out very mishapen).
2. Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment or hand mixer fitted to cream the butter. Add powdered sugar and mix until combined and fluffy.
3. Gradually add the egg whites and mix in the vanilla extract.
4. Slowly add the flour and mix until just incorporated. 
5. Fill a piping bag with a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 2 inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread. Bake for 10-14 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.
6. When cookies are cool, match cookies up by size. Spread filling on one cookie and sandwich together with the other. Repeat with the rest of the cookies.

Cookie Filling:

1/2 cup heavy cream

8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

1 tsp peppermint extract

Directions: 

1. Pour heavy cream into a small saucepan and heat, but do not boil.
2. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl. Let sit for a couple minutes.
3. Whisk to melt chocolate, add peppermint extract and blend well. Set aside to cool (put in the fridge to speed this up).

Baking Trends - Macarons

Chocolate Macarons with Espresso Ganache

It seems like colorful macarons are a big trend right now. Shops sell beautifully colored cookies stacked up in pretty boxes. Note: these are macarOns not macarOOns (the coconut cookies)...people seem to get the names confused calling both macaroons.

Before baking this recipe I had never had a macaron let alone baked them. It takes a while to make macarons (you have to let them sit for an hour on the baking sheet before going into the oven) but the process isn't that difficult. It is important to pay attention to all the instructions because the cookies are very sensitive. This meant using a scale to weigh out the ingredients instead of just using measuring cups. This ensures that you get the exact right amount of each ingredient. Another weird aspect of making macarons is that you need to "age" your egg whites. This kind of grossed me out, but after you separate the eggs you let the whites sit at room temperature anywhere from 12 to 48 hours. I let mine sit about 16-18 hours. Apparently, this helps the egg whites become more liquidy, yet they will still be safe to eat. Lastly, I used parchment paper to baking my cookies on, but I think I need to invest in silicone baking mats because a lot of my cookies stuck to the parchment and I lost a lot of cookies =(

Chocolate Macarons

Ingredients:

110 gm blanched slivered almonds
200 gm minus 2 tbs confectioners’ sugar
2 tbs cocoa powder
100 gm egg whites (about 4 eggs), aged at room temperature for 12-24 hours
50 gm granulated sugar

Espresso Ganache (see below)

Directions:

1. Put the almonds in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add the confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder and process until well blended. 
2. In a large bowl use a hand mixer with whisk attachments (you could use a stand mixer), beat the egg whites until they are foamy. Slowly add the granulated sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. The egg whites should be smooth and shiny.
3. Add the ground almond mixture to the bowl with the meringue and using a rubber spatula, gently fold mixture until there are no streaks. The mixture should be thick, but should be able to fall in ribbons off your spatula.
4. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats (or parchment paper). Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a plain wide round tip (I used a #12 tip). Pipe into small rounds onto the baking sheets (1 or 1 1/4 inches in diameter) leaving about 1 inch inbetween. 
5. Let cookies sit at room temperature for about an hour to develop a hard shell.
6. Preheat the oven to 300˚F. Bake for 9-11 minutes, depending on size. Transfer the pans to a wire cooling rack and let cool completely before moving the cookies.
7. Match all the cookies into pairs of equal size. Pipe a layer of ganache onto the flat side of one cookie of each pair. Carefully, sandwich the two cookies together. Continue with the rest of the cookie pairs. Store in an airtight container (can be stored in the fridge for about a week).

Espresso Ganache

Ingredients:

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbs unsalted butter
1 tbs granulated sugar
  1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  3 tsp espresso powder

Directions:

1. Place the chopped chocolate in a small heatproof bowl.
2. Combine the cream, butter and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to simmer and pour over the chocolate. 
3. Let stand 2 minutes, then whisk gently until chocolate is melted and mixed in. 
4. Add espresso powder and mix until combined. 
5. Let the mixture cool (place in refrigerator to speed cooling) until it is thick enough to pipe.

Girl Scout Cookies...Made at Home!

Samoas Cookie Bars

Usually, when I eat Girl Scout cookies I choose Thin Mints. I actually never really liked Samoas, but these Samoas Cookie Bars looked like they would be fun to make and eat. The end result was really yummy! I wish I could have used better quality caramels for the topping, but there was only one type at the store so I didn't have a choice. 

The bar is a shortbread crust that is baked and cooled. Then you melt the caramel and mix it with toasted shredded coconut and spread the mixture over the top. After the bars have cooled completely the bars and dipped and drizzled with melted chocolate. I cut the bars into small squares to more resemble the size of cookies rather than normal bars such as brownies. The result is a rich cookie with a great chewy texture. Yum.

Get the recipe here.

Black and White pt. 2

Crinkle Cookies

Cookie number two is Crinkle Cookies apparently also known as Black and Whites (how appropriate!). They are a fudge-y chocolate cookie that is rolled in powdered sugar before they are baked. As they bake and expand it forms all the nooks and crinkles as the chocolate peeks through the sugar coating. These were my favorite of the two cookies because they were moist inside, but the dough wasn't too sweet and the powdered sugar added that extra sweetness.

The recipe comes from Joy of Baking.

The Holidays in Black and White

It's a yearly tradition for my girlfriends and me to do secret santas. We are all on a budget so this is a great way for us to give and receive without breaking the bank. Of course, we have to include a cookie exchange as well. Everyone brings their gift and cookies to dinner/lunch and after we eat we exchange gifts and cookies.

The cookie exchange is simple. Bake and bring enough cookies to give to everyone else. For us, we bring 7 cookies/sets of cookies (or 8 if you want one of your own). Then we all trade cookies and can enjoy a variety of cookies for the next few days.

This year my cookies have a black and white theme. The first of two cookies I made for the exchange were Chocolate and Vanilla Moonstones. First you make the vanilla dough and then take part of it out and add melted chocolate to make chocolate dough. When you form the cookies you mix both colors together and it when bakes they come out half and half. They didn't come out exactly how I expected they would, but they tasted pretty good.

Here is the recipe for the cookies. I don't have a picture of the cookies I baked becaused I was in rush and now I'm too lazy to take the cookies out of the tupperware and take pictures. They do look pretty similar to the ones on the recipe's website though.