Cookies Daring Bakers' July Challenge

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

This month's challenge was a real sweet treat! Cookies are some of my favorite things to make! They are easy to put together, fairly quick to make and delicious to eat. In fact, I do not buy store bought cookies. By making cookies from scratch for my kids' lunch box treats, I can control the ingredients and avoid all the bad ingredients like artificial colors and flavors, fats and assorted odd chemicals.

Making homemade marshmallows has been on my list things to make for a few years and this recipe was super. I don't know much about marshmallows but I do wonder why some take egg whites and others don't?

One problem I did have was the chocolate did not set on the mallow cookies. I don't know why it didn't - I wondered if it was due to the amount of oil in the recipe or maybe I was supposed to temper the chocolate (something I want to learn to do) or maybe because I live in the desert and it is summer (though the house is at a comfortable temperature). I was afraid to refrigerate the marshmallows because I thought they would get hard but they are actually quite good cold.

The Milano cookies were tasty. I was afraid to make these due to a bad experience making a Martha Stewart recipe but these came out great and they smelled wonderful as they baked! These cookies really spread so don't place them too close.

These cookies are a big hit in the house. Someone even said they reminded them of Moon Pies. Thank you to Nicole at Sweet Tooth. See the blog roll for all the other bakers who tried their hand at this recipe.

Mallows(Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies)
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Serves: about 2 dozen cookies

• 3 cups (375grams/13.23oz) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (112.5grams/3.97oz) white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter
• 3 eggs, whisked together
• Homemade marshmallows, recipe follows
• Chocolate glaze, recipe follows

1. In a mixer with the paddle attachment, blend the dry ingredients.
2. On low speed, add the butter and mix until sandy.
3. Add the eggs and mix until combine.
4. Form the dough into a disk, wrap with clingfilm or parchment and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
5. When ready to bake, grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
7. Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, on a lightly floured surface. Use a 1 to 1 1/2 inches cookie cutter to cut out small rounds of dough.
8. Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.
9. Pipe a “kiss” of marshmallow onto each cookie. Let set at room temperature for 2 hours.
10. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or silicon mat.
11. One at a time, gently drop the marshmallow-topped cookies into the hot chocolate glaze.
12. Lift out with a fork and let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl.
13. Place on the prepared pan and let set at room temperature until the coating is firm, about 1 to 2 hours.

Note: if you don’t want to make your own marshmallows, you can cut a large marshmallow in half and place on the cookie base. Heat in a preheated 350-degree oven to slump the marshmallow slightly, it will expand and brown a little. Let cool, then proceed with the chocolate dipping.

Homemade marshmallows:
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 3/4 cup (168.76 grams/5.95oz) sugar
• 1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 2 egg whites , room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. In a saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and sugar, bring to a boil until “soft-ball” stage, or 235 degrees on a candy thermometer.
2. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let dissolve.
3. Remove the syrup from the heat, add the gelatin, and mix.
4. Whip the whites until soft peaks form and pour the syrup into the whites.
5. Add the vanilla and continue whipping until stiff.
6. Transfer to a pastry bag.

Chocolate glaze:
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 2 ounces cocoa butter or vegetable oil

1. Melt the 2 ingredients together in the top of a double boiler or a bowl set over barely simmering water.

Milan Cookies
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

Prep Time: 20 min
Inactive Prep Time: 0 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min
Serves: about 3 dozen cookies

• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups (312.5 grams/ 11.02 oz) powdered sugar
• 7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons lemon extract
• 1 1/2 cups (187.5grams/ 6.61 oz) all purpose flour
• Cookie filling, recipe follows

Cookie filling:
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 orange, zested

1. In a mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter and the sugar.
2. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts.
3. Add the flour and mix until just well mixed.
4. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.
6. While waiting for the cookies to cool, in a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream.
7. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well.
8. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools).
9. Spread a thin amount of the filling onto the flat side of a cookie while the filling is still soft and press the flat side of a second cookie on top.
10. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.

Chicken Rigatoni

I admit, I catch Rachel Ray on the Food Network once in a while (like when I am on treadmill and there is nothing else is on). I am not too fond of her not only because she has totally saturated the market with her stuff (I understand making your money while your hot) but also because her original quirkiness has now become obnoxious, ie., EVOO, to me. Despite my annoyance, her Pasta in Vodka Sauce is a standard dish in my house and now I am adding another one - her chicken rigatoni. Apparently, this dish is common in upstate New York and it is quite good especially if you like things a little spicy.

Spicy Chicken Rigatoni
1 pound rigatoni
3/4 pound chicken
3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Black pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
2 large or 3 small cubanelle peppers, seeded, chopped - I used anaheim peppers available in my supermarket
3 roasted red peppers, chopped
6 hot cherry peppers pickled in jar, in Italian section of grocery stores - I used a spicy pepper
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/3 to 1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup grated Romano or Parmigiano plus more to pass at table
1/2 cup basil, about 10 leaves, thinly sliced

Directions
Bring a pot of water to a boil for pasta. Salt water and cook pasta to al dente. Reserve 2/3 cup of cooking water just before you drain the pasta.

Trim and chop all the chicken into bite size pieces. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.

Heat 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in a large high sided skillet over medium-high to high heat.

Add chicken to hot pan and brown all over, 7 to 8 minutes. Add onions, garlic, local mild fresh peppers such as cubanelle or anaheim then season with salt and pepper and cook 6 to 7 minutes to soften then add roasted red peppers. Cut tops off the hot peppers and scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon then chop the hot peppers and add them to the skillet. Stir in tomatoes. Bring sauce to a bubble then stir in some starchy cooking water from the pasta - about a cup, then add the cream, twice around the pan, about 1/3 to 1/2 cup. Reduce heat to lowest setting and simmer a couple of minutes. Add pasta and 1/2 cup cheese and toss to combine.

Top the pasta with shredded basil.

I plan on making this dish without the pasta and making grinder style sandwich out of it with melted mozzerella.

Bakewell Tart

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamon Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Tradtional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er ...Pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

After my first read through of this month's Daring Bakers' challenge, I was a bit perplexed as to what it was we were to make. I had never heard of frangipane and wondered what it would be like on top of jam spread in a short crust. Then after reading that the Bakewell Tart is so popular in the UK that it is mass produced, I was intrigued.

The tart came together quite easily in my mother's kitchen. I was able to manage without all of kitchen equipment! I made a microwave jam out of strawberries that we picked at a local farm.

It is waiting to be served at a family Sunday dinner. The taste results will be in soon.
We had the tart and I must say it was okay. I wasn't in love with it. Other tasters liked it but didn't love it.

Find the recipe here.

Strudel Daring Bakers May Challenge

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

I must admit I was scared of this challenge. Strudel evokes memories of my grandmother telling stories about her mother making strudel and the hard work and special technique of stretching the dough across the dining room table. I thought only someone from the old country could accomplish a feat of such a magnitude, I mean the dining room table! I never once thought about making strudel myself and I actually didn't really know what strudel was, that is, until now.

I don't know what I was so afraid of! This was so easy and quick to make (keeping the dough rest time in mind). Everything about this recipe was straightforward. The resulting flaky crust surrounding my apple, raisin, cherry, nut mixture was delicious. Most importantly, the dough stretched like a breeze across my island counter, no special skills required. I recommend this recipe and I am looking forward to making a spinach ricotta version.

Thank you Linda and Courtney for choosing a great recipe.

Strudel

Apple strudelfrom “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers
2 tablespoons (30 ml) golden rum (I used amaretto)

3 tablespoons (45 ml) raisins

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (80 g) sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick / 115 g) unsalted butter, melted, divided

1 1/2 cups (350 ml) fresh bread crumbs

strudel dough (recipe below)

1/2 cup (120 ml, about 60 g) coarsely chopped walnuts

2 pounds (900 g) tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch-thick slices (use apples that hold their shape during baking) (I added some cherries I froze last year)
1. Mix the rum and raisins in a bowl. Mix the cinnamon and sugar in another bowl.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the breadcrumbs and cook whilst stirring until golden and toasted. This will take about 3 minutes. Let it cool completely.
3. Put the rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with baking paper (parchment paper). Make the strudel dough as described below. Spread about 3 tablespoons of the remaining melted butter over the dough using your hands (a bristle brush could tear the dough, you could use a special feather pastry brush instead of your hands). Sprinkle the buttered dough with the bread crumbs. Spread the walnuts about 3 inches (8 cm) from the short edge of the dough in a 6-inch-(15cm)-wide strip. Mix the apples with the raisins (including the rum), and the cinnamon sugar. Spread the mixture over the walnuts.
4. Fold the short end of the dough onto the filling. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it. Curve it into a horseshoe to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter.
5. Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room temperature. It is best on the day it is baked.

Strudel doughfrom “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers
1 1/3 cups (200 g) unbleached flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

7 tablespoons (105 ml) water, plus more if needed2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough

1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
1. Combine the flour and salt in a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour with the mixer on low speed. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary.Take the dough out of the mixer. Change to the dough hook. Put the dough ball back in the mixer. Let the dough knead on medium until you get a soft dough ball with a somewhat rough surface. (I used the food processor - whizzed the wet ingredients first, then added the flour done in 90 seconds)
2. Take the dough out of the mixer and continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally.Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better).
3. It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36 inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with table cloth, dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle and roll it out as much as you can.Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.
4. The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it's about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled.

Here are some process photos - can you see that hand through the dough!

Juicy Lucy

It could be said that the cheeseburger defines America along with apple pie, drive through restaurants, jazz music, baseball, skateboarding, Hollywood, the internet, Microsoft and Apple. While sometimes I feel bereft that America lacks the culture and history of Europe but then again we have our own bit of wonderful to add to the world and one bit is hamburgers! Try this decadent and delicious version.

Juicy Lucy
for 4 burgers
1 1/2 pounds of ground beef
2 slices of bread (wheat or white) torn into pieces
1/3 cup of milk
dash of Worcestershire
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of granulated garlic
4 slices of American cheese folded, individually

-In a bowl add milk, salt, Worcestershire and garlic. Add bread and soak for 3 minutes or so then mash with a potato masher until smooth. Add beef and mix together gently.
-Divide meat into equal pieces. Working with one portion take off a small portion and wrap around the cheese. Then place smaller cheese wrapped meat and wrap the bigger portion of meat around the smaller portion. This helps the cheese from melting out. Gently form a patty.
-Repeat with the rest of the portions.
-Grill on the barbecue - 8 minutes a side.

Chocolate Pudding

Chocolate pudding is one of the most heart warming and comforting desserts, especially if it is served warm. Warm chocolate pudding or cold is like a love potion and sure path to a persons heart. Growing up, we ate pudding but it was the instant boxed version - so easy and quick to make. I always wanted prepackaged pudding cups and my mother bought them a couple times on sale but I am sure our consumption rate outpaced the benefit of the money saved and they didn't make it into many sack lunches. My father loved tapioca pudding, and still does, but the children did not. I don't know why we didn't like the tapioca - maybe it was because my father teased that the tapioca pearls were frogs' eyes and acted like he loved to eat frogs eyes. To little kids, frogs eyes are serious business - I wasn't eating frogs eyes.

Today when I ask my children what they would like for a special treat, they say pudding!

Chocolate Pudding
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large egg yolks
3 1/2 cups whole milk
7 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla

Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, salt, and yolks in a 3-quart heavy saucepan until combined well, then add milk in a stream, whisking. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking, then reduce heat and simmer, whisking, 1 minute .
Force filling through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, then whisk in chocolates, butter, and vanilla. Spoon into serving containers of your choice. Cover surface of filling with plastic wrap.
Chill at least 6 hours.

Cheesecake - Daring Bakers - April

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

I love cheesecake! It is one of my favorite desserts. I have waxed on about cheesecake in a previous post and my Aunt Julie but it is her cheesecake recipe that reminds me of this one. Aunt Julie (really my great aunt) was born in the U.S. but her parents were immigrants from Italy. She married my Slovakian grandmother's brother and she brought her cheesecake recipe into the family. It was a real treat to have Aunt Julie's cheesecake. Her recipe called for 1 pound of cream cheese and 1 pound of ricotta cheese, 5 eggs, 1/4 pound of butter and 1 pint of sour cream - talk about a cheesecake with some heft! Certainly the recipe came about before we knew the dangers of cholesterol! The trick was to bake it for the appointed time and don't open the oven door until morning!!! Of course, it was topped with canned cherry pie filling!

This cheesecake came together in a snap. Thank you Jenny for a lovely challenge. I used David Lebovitz's Speculoos recipe for the crust and made my cheesecake a lemon cheesecake. I will be topping half with lemon curd and the other half with ganache for the chocolate lovers. I have to dispatch my lemon harvest and thought lemon cheesecake - yum.

This cake was super creamy! I recommend this recipe.

P.S. this is the first time water did not seep into the foil!

Speculoos Crust

2 Tbs softened butter

3 Tbs packed brown sugar (light or dark)

1 large egg yolk

1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground allspice

Preheat oven to 350

Beat together butter and brown sugar until to smooth. Stir in the molasses and egg yolk.

In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients and add to butter mixture until smooth. Pat batter onto parchment or silpat into 5 inch rounds. Bake for 18 minutes. Process in the food processor with 1 stick of butter and 2 Tbs of sugar. Pat firmly into springform pan.

cheesecake:

3 sticks of cream cheese,

8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature

1 cup / 210 g sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream

2 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)

DIRECTIONS:1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.
2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.
3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.
4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.
5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.