hungarian shortbread

It's been such a long time... and, it's good to be back! I'm so happy to have this opportunity to catch-up on one of the recipes I missed while I was busy with kids and work and Rotary and dozens of other things that got between me and baking bliss.

I love shortbread. And I've made my share of it, especially for holiday gift giving, and I don't recall a "stick to your fingers stubbornness." I love the dry, sandy texture of shortbread, and I love the subtle flavor. So I was looking forward to this treat, and I even made my own delicious rhubarb jam. But I'm a little disappointed with the outcome.

The dough came together easily enough, and I used a food processor to grate the dough - brilliant! The rhubarb jam was amazing. But the the finished product is a little soggy. The shortbread tastes great - it just isn't shortbread. Perhaps I used too much of the jam? I thought the shortbread might dry and firm as it cooled, but it didn't. Perhaps I should have baked longer? We will see... I have the pan back in the oven now and I'm hoping an extra 10 minutes will do the trick.

Or then again, perhaps I need to follow the best cooking/baking advice I ever received - just call it something else!

happy baking!

pizza rustica

Our newest submission is Pizza Rustica. This savory tart with a slightly sweet crust is absolutely delicious. More to follow... I just wanted to make sure I posted before the deadline!

Happy baking!

 

irish soda bread

Easy-peasy Irish soda bread is the latest item on the TWD: Baking with Julia agenda. I am reminded of the days of beer bread - who remembers beer bread?

These very simple, rustic Irish loaves are great for lazy rainy days, when you don't want to do much but snuggle under a blanket and read. I considered adding dried apricots but decided to go the purist route; only flour, soda, salt and buttermilk. The bread was so easy to make I was certain I had done something wrong. I took the admonishment to not 'overwork the dough' quite literally and ever so gently formed it into a sloppy, sticky disc. I did turn it a few times trying to find a smooth side for up, but finally gave in and just tossed it in the oven.

The flavor is very nice and while the bread is delicious slathered in Irish butter, I must admit I am rather jealous of the TWD:BWJ participants who went the extra mile with our last assignment and now have homemade lekvar to accompany their Irish soda bread.

I'm looking forward to toasted bread in the morning, but for now I will enjoy memories of a different time and a different girl who felt pretty cool making beer bread.

Happy baking!

rugelach

The latest selection for TWD: Baking with Julia is Rugelach. Prior to this project, not only had I not baked Rugelach, before last night I had never even tasted it. But what a delight!

I always forget how much I adore dates - I rarely think to add them to dishes. I love nuts of all kinds, and try to add them to everything. And the scent of warm cinnamon wafting from the oven...it is the very essence of baking bliss.


And how I love recipes! I like reading them and comparing different versions and ultimately developing something that appeals to me. This time I consulted with Dorie (of course), Ina, Martha and Sarabeth Levine, as well as my fellow bakers who posted so many great ideas on the TWD: P&Q. This being my first time with Rugelach and all, I wanted to try a few subtle variations. So many posted about their preference for the crescent shaped cookie that I decided to try forming half the dough that way. I really liked the jelly-rolled and sliced variation a la Lauren Groveman. But, I also decided to try two crescent batches with Sarabeth's cocoa powder filling in one crescent batch. And, what's all the fuss about a yield of four dozen being too large? I'm struggling to parse out 48ish little cookies!

My fruit selection included dates, apricots and currants, which I plumped by steaming. Nuts included toasted pecans, almonds and pistachios. For the dough, I followed Lauren Groveman's directions to the letter and it came together beautifully.

I knew from the beginning that I would not go the homemade lekvar route and used organic apricot preserves instead. I'm certain the homemade lekvar is spectacular and brightly flavored and that it adds something very special to this cookie, but this is a recipe that really does not need one more step!

I might have layered the nuts and fruit a bit thick as it was a challenge to roll that 14" long strip of skinny dough. But then I recalled one step from another recipe... press the filling into the dough with wax paper. This little step made a big difference and the second strip of dough rolled up much more easily.

These babies go into the refrigerator for four hours to overnight, but I was hoping to taste a cookie a little sooner than that, so I'm certain that influenced my choice to also try crescents as they didn't require so much time resting.


I thought the crescent shaped cookies would be better somehow, but they were messier to make and I don't think the finished product looked as nice. Sarabeth's filling variation called for no fruit and were neater/easier to roll, and the presentation was bit more refined. And even though they were not much to look at, the fruit and nut filled crescents were delicious! But not pretty...

Sunday morning arrived and it was time to work with the Rugelach rolls that chilled overnight. The first roll I cut in the recommended 1 to 1.5 inch pieces. I baked them cut side down as directed, and a few burst open while baking. They also seemed just a bit too large to enjoy in a lady-like fashion, and they were not particularly lovely on a plate.

The second log I cut a bit smaller - less than one inch - and I was much happier with the presentation. I really like my baked goods to be pretty. Tasting great is a requisite, but pretty is very, very important. The two qualities truly go hand-in-hand, and one can't stand the full test without the other.

I was a little disappointed with my outcome at first - notice I didn't post (or even take) pictures of the unlovely, messy, imperfect crescent shaped cookies. But I'm glad I persevered. This recipe is delicious and while I originally thought I would never make Rugelach again, I've already softened on that position.

It's still all about the process and finding a way to make it my own. The blog is still a bit of a chore for me, but it is also a process. And one that I am working to embrace.

Happy baking!

blueberry pistachio meyer lemon cornmeal muffins

Lemons, lemons everywhere... but what oh what to do? A generous co-worker brought in bags and bags of freshly picked lemons. And I already had a bag of Meyer lemons and another bag of other lemons in my refrigerator. another co-worker strongly encouraged me to make lemon bars, but I felt like something a little less sweet. I set out in search of an inspired lemon scone recipe and found some interesting options. Then I stumbled across a post from Irvin Lin's very wonderful Eat the Love, and with a few adjustments I had the perfect concoction. These muffins are absolutely delicious and I will certainly be making them again and again with other fruit and nut pairings.


Happy baking!

Blueberry Pistachio Meyer Lemon Cornmeal Muffins 

Muffin Batter
280 g (2 cups) all purpose flour
1 cup white granulated sugar
 90 g (1/2 cup) cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
zest of 1 Meyer lemon
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup Meyer lemon juice
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup shelled & chopped pistachios

Streusel Topping
140 g (1 cup) all purpose flour
110 g (1/2 cup) white granulated sugar
60 g (1/4 cup) dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a regular muffin tin with paper cups or spray generously with cooking oil.

2. Place flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and zest in a large mixing bowl. With a whisk, stir vigorously until well blended.

3. Place the buttermilk, olive oil, Meyer lemon juice, egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract in a medium mixing bowl. Stir with a whisk until well blended.

4. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a large spatula, until most of the dry ingredients are incorporated. It’s okay if there are some dry pockets of flour, as you don’t want to over-mix the batter.

5. Fold the blueberries and chopped pistachios into the batter until just incorporated and distributed. Divide the batter into the prepared muffin tins.

6. Make the streusel topping by placing the flour, sugars, cinnamon and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Drizzle the butter over the dry ingredients, tossing with a fork until the topping starts to come together in clumps. Sprinkle the clumps of streusel topping over the muffins evenly.

7. Bake in the oven for 24-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool in the muffin tins for 10 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 12 muffins.

cake pop adventures

It all started with an email from a 4th grade room mother... What would you like to contribute to the class "friendship" (formerly known as Valentine's Day) party?

I offered to provide three dozen cupcakes, of course. The Hot Chocolate Cupcakes I made for the winter holiday party were a big hit and cupcakes are so fun and easy. But then I thought... Cake Pops would be fun to try... Obviously, I'm not an early adopter with these baking trends. So, I did a little online research and found wonderful information and tutorials. The undisputed cake pop queen, of course, is Bakerella.

It seems the way to go is with "your favorite cake mix and your favorite canned frosting," and I almost, almost talked myself into that. How easy! But then I thought... buttercream would taste so much better than canned frosting... and... you know, cake from scratch is not that much more work... And that is exactly where things began to spin out of control...

When you're making treats for a class of 35 fourth graders, it's nice to have at least two flavor options so I decided to make a White Butter Cake and a Devil's Food Cake (both from The Simple Art of Perfect Baking by Flo Braker), and a swiss meringue buttercream (Martha) and a chocolate buttercream (Flo). Well, that's a Saturday afternoon attached to the Kitchen Aid right there. The cakes and buttercreams baked and whipped nicely and I took the night off to enjoy dinner at a funky little Thai restaurant.

Sunday afternoon came and it was time to crumble the cakes, stir in the buttercream and start forming cake balls. My advise is to refrigerate the dough before forming. I formed room temperature chocolate dough into little cake balls and it was a big mess!

Rolling the dough is easy enough, and each cake will make at least 48 cake balls. Smaller cake balls are a little easier to work with and decorate, and they actually look better too. After the dough is formed into balls, chill for about an hour before attaching the lollipop sticks.

I used Winton candy melts, and I read that Paramount Crystals would help smooth the coating and make dipping easier, but I didn't have any. A quick google search revealed that a little bit of shortening stirred into the melted coating would yield a similar result - and it did! Dipping was much easier with the shortening enhanced candy coating. Dipping is also easier and yields a better finished product when the cake balls are well chilled. I mixed a few candy colors to vary my shades of pink, and covered some with sanding sugar or sprinkles and piped little designs on others using a small disposable piping bag.

In the end, I had 8 dozen very cute and tremendously delicious cake pops. Most of them went to fourth and fifth grade class parties, but shared a few with my valentine, took a batch to share with coworkers and even delivered a little cake pop bouquet to a client.

This undertaking was similar to having a baby... right afterwards I thought "never again!" But now... what kind of cake pops should I make for St. Patrick's Day?

Happy baking!

chocolate truffle tartlets

The next recipe selection for TWD: Baking with Julia is Chocolate Truffle Tartlets - a real treat for most, but sadly I am not a lover of chocolate.

I had been looking forward to the project for a few weeks, imagining it to be a bit more complicated than it actually was. The best part for me was that the need for fluted tartlet pans with removable bottoms necessitated a visit a restaurant supply store!

One small shopping excursion later... I assembled my ingredients and food processor for the Chocolate Dough. The dough was quite easy to make in the food processor, but I found that forming the dough in the tartlet pans was a little bit of a challenge. The dough is so delicate, and the bottomless pans so small that I felt a bit awkward.

The filling came together very easily. The little tarts baked nicely and popped out of their pans readily (even though I neglected to coat them with cooking spray). The tartlets were pronounced "delicious" by those who love very rich chocolate desserts, but they were a bit much for me. But then again, that's one of the things I enjoy about baking - as I don't have much of a sweet tooth, I get all of the fun without the burden of those pesky extra calories!

Happy baking!

baking bread

So this is my first post on TWD: Baking with Julia. And, really, my first baking post ever. I have learned something about myself right from the get-go - the idea of blogging is more fun than actually blogging, at least for me. But baking, well that's another story altogether.

The prospect of baking bread, and not just 'bread,' but White Loaves for this first TWD: BWJ assignment, got me out of bed on a Sunday morning while everyone else was still asleep. You don't know me, but my every Sunday goal is to stay in bed as long as possible, completely skipping breakfast and arising only to avoid that look of scorn from my lonely children. However, this Sunday I was anxious to get out of bed well before 10 (aka before dawn) for a cup of French press coffee while I considered my baking task.

My Heavy Duty KitchenAid mixer has been boxed-up for almost two years and I couldn't wait to unpack it and fire it up. But this dough was bigger than my mixer and for fear of a burnt-out motor, I turned the dough out on a lightly floured surface and began to knead. I had forgotten how great it is to work bread dough - it's been quite a while. I must confess to having been spoiled by "culinary" school (my friend Shirin says, "why do you always call it cooking school?"). There were Hobart mixers almost as tall as me and no bread dough would ever best a mixer. But this is home baking and I am happy I got to knead my dough for a while, on a Sunday morning, with a great cup of coffee and a sleepy house. 

The dough rose...

And the dough formed nicely into pretty little loaves...

And then it was time to watch bread bake... and I couldn't stop. I felt like I was watching an egg, waiting for it to hatch. I turned the oven light on, and off, and on again. Opened the door just a bit...

I took a pale golden loaf out to check it's temperature (only 120)... and really enjoyed watching this blob of dough become something wonderful.

But now, what to do with it? I decided on croque-monsieur sandwiches to start (no photos). As my niece Jessica used to say, "it tastes almost as good as real...[bread]."

So, I was reminded of how much I love baking and how the process is always what I really enjoy. The blogging is probably good for me... I always struggle to find a successful recipe again because I love trying something new. And, the end result? I've already moved on... Valentine's Day cake pops for my daughter's 4th grade class party!

Happy baking!

getting ready

My book arrived yesterday and I sat right down and turned every page. Some of the recipes look a little intimidating, and some sound like something I would really rather not eat, but most look absolutely delicious!

I am really excited about the project. I've been roaming around some other TWD blogs and I am relieved to find so many others who are new to blogging. And, I'm inspired by some of the really lovely sites I've found as well.

First project - white loaves. There are few scents as wonderful as that of freshly baked bread!

Happy baking!

resolving to bake

After hearing the story about the Tuesdays with Dorie blog and the interview with Dorie Greenspan on All Things Considered, and then visiting the blog and learning about the new adventure, Baking with Julia, here I am with my very first post on my very first blog.

While I am new to blogging, I'm not new to baking. I attended the California Culinary Academy in the 90s and discovered my love for baking and the pastry kitchen there. After so many twists and turns, here I am, baking and really loving it. But I don't do it nearly often enough, so I am resolving to bake my way through Julia, along with other home bakers and bloggers from all over the world.

Happy Baking!