Shortbread

Posted on May 14, 2012

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms and soon-to-be moms in your life!

My mom is awesome. How do I know she’s awesome? Because I’m the biggest pain in the butt known to man and she’s dealt with me for this long. If I were her, I would’ve sold myself back to the gypsies years ago. I’m not saying that she can’t be a pain in the butt too, but for what it’s worth, I still love her. My mom introduced me to some of my favorite artists before I was even old enough to crawl. My mom knows me better than I know myself and is the first person I go to if I need someone to talk to which makes her my best friend. When my cooking sucks, she deals with me stomping around the kitchen, huffing and puffing. Not to mention, when something comes out good, she’s the first to say so.

For example, she was the first to tell me that these rocked. The second time around that is…

You see the first time I made these shortbread was a little over two months ago and let’s just say they weren’t fabulous. Not because the recipe was bad, because it’s not and this batch proves that, but because when I’m in a rush I have a bad habit of not reading recipes thoroughly… which never ends well.

With some time and patience though, this batch came out wonderfully, just like every other recipe from this book.

For me, opening up my copy of Tartine is like walking into a candy shoppe. Each page has a wonderfully written recipe along with beautifully detailed pictures. Like your favorite restaurant, it doesn’t matter what you choose, it’ll be good. Alright go make your momma a plate of shortbread and thank her for raising your sorry butt.

In the meantime, what’s something special your mom always did when you were growing up?

Shortbread

Recipe from Tartine by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson

Note: *The butter must have the consistency of whipped cream. I leave mine out on the counter while I sift my rice flour and flour.

** If you don’t have superfine sugar (which I never do) just pulse granulated sugar in a food processor 1-2 times.

1 + 1/8 cup unsalted butter (very soft)*

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 + 3/4 + 1/8 cup flour

1/2 + 1/8 cup cornstarch, potato starch, or rice flour ( I use rice flour)

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup super fine sugar for topping**

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter a 6 x 10 glass baking dish (I used a 9 x 9). Place butter in mixing bowl, add salt and mix well with spoon or whisk until dissolved. Sift flour and starch (rice flour,corn starch, or potato starch) together in separate bowl. Add granulated sugar to butter and mix until just incorporated. Add flour mixture and mix just until soft dough comes together.

Pat dough into baking dish, dough should be less than an inch deep. Bake until lightly golden on top and bottom, though center should stay light, about 30-35 minutes. Let cool until warm to touch.

Sprinkle shortbread with superfine sugar and tilt pan to evenly coat, tipping out excess sugar. While shortbread is still warm (once cold, shortbread becomes hard to slice), slice 1/2 x 2 inch cookies with a very thin, sharp knife. Chill thoroughly before removing from baking dish.

Cookies will keep in airtight container for up to two weeks (as if, ours were gone in 3 hours….)

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

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Sugar Cookies

Posted on April 21, 2012

by Aislin

Every once in awhile you have those days when all you want is a batch of sugar cookies. Nothing fancy or complicated. Just sugar cookies. Today is one of those days. Stuck at home doing Law Studies homework while it pours cats and dogs outside. Yeah it’s that time of year.There’s six weeks left of school and I’d love to just be done already. I’m sure my teachers would say the same…

Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 + 1/8 cups granulated sugar
1/8 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, (1 stick), softened
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon milk

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What would have been a cookie recipe….

Posted on April 16, 2012

by Aislin

You see those cookies? Yeah, they’re never going to be replicated. Not because they weren’t good (they were) but because I meant to post about them such a long time ago that I forgot the recipe. So there is no recipe for these cookies at the end of this post. That’s because this is a post about how I don’t post enough. If you also run a blog you probably know how frustrating it is to not have the time to write.

Even if you don’t write a blog, you can probably still relate if you have a hobby. Most likely there are times when you wish you could put everything on pause so you could do that one thing. Maybe it’s playing piano or knitting. Heck maybe you’re the more exciting kind of person and you pine to go lead climbing, meanwhile you’re stuck at home doing your English homework….

In spite of the frustration, this little man still manages to bring a smile to my face. After all, everything else aside, family is all that really matters.

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Candied Peanuts

Posted on April 3, 2012

by Aislin

A little warning ahead of time… These will make you fat.

Don’t ask me how I know.I just do. In all seriousness though , these little suckers are kind of amazing because it’s crazy just how addictive they are.Not to mention it’s takes practically nothing to make them. Sugar,water,peanuts and you’re good to go.

Peanuts aside, I’ve been feeling pretty nutty lately with all the homework I’m trying to catch up on. With graduation just around the corner I’ve been cramming to get everything done. Meanwhile, all I want to do is bake and climb. I promise I won’t whine, at least not for too long. On the bright side, these peanuts have got me thinking about peanut butter cookies……..

Candied Peanuts

2 cups raw peanuts

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup water

Combine all the ingredients in a large pan and bring to medium high heat and stir frequently until the sugar crystallizes and the peanuts become sandy. Lower heat and coat peanuts in syrup that collects at the bottom of the pan. Continue to do this until the cookies are coated. Remove the pan from the heat and stir the peanuts if they begins to smoke.

Scrape peanuts onto a baking sheet and let cool. Break into smaller pieces and don’t eat too many.

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Rainbow Cookies (gluten & dairy-free)

Posted on January 22, 2012

by Aislin

Have you ever seen an elephant fly?I’ve seen a horse fly. I’ve seen a dragon fly. I’ve seen a house fly.Well I done seen ’bout ev’rything when I see a cookie fly. I guess that means I’ve done seen ’bout ev’rything because these cookies were flying from the fridge. 3 dozens cookies disappeared from my kitchen in less than 3 days. In case you’re like me and can’t do basic math, that’s 36 cookies…

After I saw these on Deb’s Smitten Kitchen, I knew gaining 5 pounds was only a matter time. Rainbow cookies are just downright delicious. Almond flavored cakes sandwiched together with apricot jam, dyed with food coloring to look like the Italian flag and coated on top and bottom with a thin layer of dark chocolate.It may sound weird at first, but trust me. They’re addictive.

Rainbow Cookies (gluten & dairy-free)

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

4 eggs,seperated

1/4 and 3/4 cup sugar

can almond paste

1 1/4 cup (2 1/2 sticks) dairy-free margarine

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 cups rice flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

red and green food coloring

apricot jam, heated and strained

1 cup dark chocolate,chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Line a 9×13 inch pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on both sides of pan.(You’ll need to lift the cake out of the pan.)

Beat egg whites until stiff peaks are formed, then gradually add 1/4 cup of sugar. If using a stand mixer, transfer egg whites to seperate bowl and switch to paddle attachment. Beat almond paste and add 3/4 cup of sugar until combined thoroughly. Beat in butter until fluffy. Add egg yolks and almond extract and beat until well combined.

Gradually add the flour and salt and mix until just incorporated.

Fold in half of egg whites to lighten, then fold in remaining egg whites delicately, but thoroughly.

Divide batter evenly between 3 bowls (Don’t be like me, do this right. It pays off later.)

Mix red food coloring in one bowl, green in another and leave one plain.

Place green batter in the fridge and leave white batter on the counter as you bake the red batter.

Bake batter for 12 mins (it’ll look underdone but you want it like that, trust me)

When finished baking, take out of pan and place on cooling rack. Let cool for at least 20 minutes. Line the pan again. Bake white batter and remove the green batter from the fridge to bring back to room temperature. Repeat again for green batter.

Once the layers have each cooled, heat the apricot jam in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until simmering. Stir often.Place strainer over a bowl and strain the apricot jam. Using a spatula, spread a thin layer of apricot jam over green cake evenly. Place white cake on top of green cake. Spread jam on white cake evenly. Place red cake on top of white cake. Cover the top of the cake with plastic wrap and place a heavy pan ( I used a heavy cookie sheet) on top of the cakes and place in the freezer for at least 6 hours. Trim cake. Feed scraps to toddlers.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes, but continue to stir. Spread chocolate over red cake with spatula. Once chocolate has hardened, flip the cake over and do the same to the green cake. Place in the freezer for another hour. Take cake out of the freezer and slice the cake lengthwise into strips about an inch apart and slice again so the cookies have a width of about 1/2 an inch.

Cookies keep well in the fridge. I didn’t bother wrapping them or storing them in a container. They went on a plate and were put in the fridge. They were gone within 48 hours. nuf said.

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Pumpkin Pie (gluten & dairy-free)

Posted on January 19, 2012

by Aislin

I know, I know. Pumpkin pie is meant for the months of October and November, and occassionaly December if you’re feeling a little audacious.

But my mother is pregnant. She wanted pumpkin pie. So I made pumpkin pie.

There is one thing about this pie though that makes it a bit different from your traditional pumpkin pie. This pie is both gluten and dairy free.

Let me tell you a little bit about my previous venture into the makings of a gluten free pie crust.

I had attempted to make this pie for Thanksgiving, following a Paleo recipe, but it failed rather miserably.

Since then, I’ve sort of been turned off by the idea of another rock hard, bitter crust.

However, this time I didn’t feel like scrounging the internet for a gluten free pie crust recipe, so I just went with my gut and used whatever was in the pantry. Let me tell you, I was pretty impressed with how well this came out too. I sort of expected to make a big blob of dough that would either crumble to bits or have the consistency of tapioca pudding. Instead, the dough was like pasta dough in that it didn’t stick and was very pliable.

However, the crust did taste “gluten-free”. It definitely wouldn’t fool anyone, but for those that eat gluten free and don’t really believe in paying $8 for a 16 oz bag of gluten free flour, this pie does it’s job.

Until next Thanksgiving rolls around (or my mom has another pumpkin pie craving within the next 9 months…) I’ll be revisiting this post to find a way of adapting it until I’m 100% happy with the results.

Pumpkin Pie (gluten & dairy-free)

Note: I went with my gut instinct while making the crust so this is just an approximation. (work with me here…)

Crust:

1 1/2 cups oatmeal

1 1/2 cups Rice Chex

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/8 cup sunflower seeds

1/8 cup almonds

8 tablespoons(1 stick) dairy-free margarine,chilled and cut into pieces

Pumpkin filling:

1 can pure pumpkin puree

1 can coconut milk

3 eggs

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vannila extract

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon clove

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon black pepper

To make the crust

Blend Rice Chex in food processor until resembles flour. Add oatmeal and blend again until resembles flour.Add seeds, almonds and brown sugar and process again until crumbly mixture is formed. While processor is still on, add pieces of butter one at a time until a ball of dough forms in the food processor. Get out two sheets of saran wrap and lay one on the counter. Take the dough and roll into a ball with your hands and place on saran wrap. Then place second piece of saran wrap on top and flatten dough into a disc. Refrigerate the dough while you make the pie filling.

To make the pumpkin filling

Whisk together spices and sugars. Beat in eggs. Add pumpkin puree and coconut milk. Whisk until combined and then add in vanilla.

Assemble the pie

Take out disc of dough and leave it between the two pieces of saran wrap. Roll out the dough into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Put the pie dough on a cutting board and remove the top sheet of saran wrap.Now here’s the tricky part. Place the pie dish on top of the pie dough and carefully flip the cutting board over so that the pie dish is on the counter and the cutting board is on top. Remove the cutting board and saran wrap. Gently shape the dough to fit in the pie dish dish and cut off the excess dough. Place the pie dish back in the fridge. Roll the excess dough into a ball and place between the two sheets of saran wrap and roll it out to be about 1/8 inch thick. Now cut strips about an inch wide;they don’t have to be long. Now take the dish out of the fridge and use the strips to make a crust around the rim of the pie by pressing the strips into the pie shell and shaping.

Pour filling into pie and place back in the fridge. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, placing rack in the middle of the oven. Bake for about 1 hour, checking every so often. The center of the pie should jiggle a little when taken out of the oven. As the pie cools it will set.

Don’t be like me. Let your pie cool for at least 30 minutes before digging in or else you’ll end up with a plate of pumpkin pie pudding…

This pie is wonderful after it’s chilled for a few hours.

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Apple Cranberry Pie

Posted on December 31, 2011

by Aislin

As my first time making pie from scratch, I have to say I’m pretty happy. Sure the cranberries were a little tart and sure, the fact that after 24 hours of not getting to eat this sucker after it got out of the oven(sadly there is such a thing as too full for pie on Christmas Eve) the apples sunk, making the lattice look a bit like a cage…

All that aside, this was a learning experience for me. Profanities were muttered (and exclaimed) in the kitchen as pie dough was transferred to its pie dish only for it to concave half way over the dish, ripping a beautiful tear right down the middle. Maybe even a few sniffles were heard from the living room by family members as I pulled the pie out of the oven only to realize a good portion of the crust broke off. But, again this was a learning experience.

In the end though, learning experience or not, there is a magical sense of pie bliss that comes over everyone when they take that first bite of flaky buttery crust, almost matrimonially paired with whipped cream. The kind of bliss that distracts from the crazy relatives around you and the 2 year olds busting into the pantry to steal a bag of marshmallows.

Ok, maybe not that distracting..

Apple Cranberry Pie

2 pounds apples; peeled, cored, and sliced.

1 pound cranberries

2 cups toasted oats

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar

juice and zest of 1 orange

tablespoon cinnamon

teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon clove

1/2 teaspoon ginger

After peeling, coring, and slicing apples place them in a large bowl with the cranberries. Zest and juice the orange into the bowl. Add both sugars, mixing well. Sift spices into bowl. Put the bowl in the fridge to marinate while you make the pie dough.

For my pie dough, I followed the recipe given by Mrs. Debbie at SmittenKitchen.

Setting your oven rack to the lowest position with a baking sheet and preheat to 500 F.

After creating your pie dough and placing it in your pie dish, stick it in the fridge for a bit. Get a pan and turn to medium-high heat and toast the oats until they’re golden brown and create a rich oat aroma.

Take out your pie dish and the bowl. Sprinkle half of the oats onto the bottom of the pie shell. Pour contents of bowl over the oats and then top off with remaining oats. If you’re making a lattice pie, ut the dish back in the fridge.

Cut out your lattice strips and reserve the strips to braid for the crust. Lattice your pie and place in the oven, reducing the temperature to 425 F. Bake until crust is golden brown, about 25 minutes. reduce oven temperature to 375 F and bake until pie starts to bubble, another 30 minutes.

Let cool for a few hours before serving.

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Semolina Braid

Posted on December 29, 2011

by lucinecuisine

Winter Break is halfway over and I don’t even want to think about all the things I need to do for my Pre-Calculus and Chemistry classes. So instead of sitting down at my desk with my laptop and working on my long over-due assignments like a good student, I find myself on the couch in front of the fireplace reading cookbooks until I find just the right bread recipe to give myself a bit of a challenge. Yes I know, I’m setting a bad example for the children. At least they have food…

I find it rather funny that my family still buys bagged loaves of bread from Wal-Mart when there are these beautiful little things resting on the counter. I mean let’s compare…

When my bread is in the oven, the whole house smells like a bakery.

When the Wal-Mart bread is taken out of it’s bag it makes the whole house smell like….well, nothing.

I have to say though that if you’re trying to cut back, my bread isn’t such a good idea. For example,

After my bread comes out of the oven it’s impossible to stop with one slice..or two slices.

With Wal-Mart bread it’s hard enough to get through the first slice.

This recipe is my favorite so far. I adapted it from a recipe in “The Bread Bible” by by Rose Levy Beranbaum. It was my first time working with Semolina flour and I could honestly ramble about how amazing Semolina is for a good day and a half, but I’ll spare you.

Semolina Braid

Adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum

Sponge:

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

3 cups lukewarm water

2 cups Semolina flour

2 cups bread flour

Combine Ingredients for sponge and mix well until smooth. Let rise at room temperature until doubled in size; about 2-3 hours.

Dough:

1 tablespoon salt

3 tablespoons olive oil

sponge

1 cup Semolina flour

2 1/2-3 cups bread flour

Glaze:

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 tablespoon honey

dash of milk

Combine salt,olive oil, and sponge. Mix until smooth. Add semolina flour and 1/2 cup bread flour. Mix well. Add the rest of the bread flour half of a cup at a time until the dough just clears the side of the bowl.

Turn dough out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface and knead vigorously for 6-7 mintues. Dusr with a tablespoom of flour at a time to keep dough from sticking. Don’t overwork the dough. It’s important that this dough is soft and springy, but not sticky.

After kneading, place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turning the dough to cover completely and cover bowl. Let rise at room temp until tripled in bulk; about 2-3 hours.

After the dough has tripled in bulk, deflate the dough and then rise again until doubled in size.

Slit dough into six sections(3 sections for each loaf) and roll each section into a foot long rope, and finish by braiding each rope and attaching the braid in a circle.

Place braids on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkled with semolina. Cover loaves loosely and let rise until doubled in size. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Before baking, brush each loaf with glaze. Place in the oven to bake for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, reglaze the loaves and turn the oven down to 375 degrees and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes or until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.

Remove from the oven promptly and let cool for about 10 minutes. If you don’t plan on eating all of it in 1-2 days, freeze a portion of the bread to eat later. Enjoy!

bread

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