let's end on a sweet note!

no stress
no snow
no drama
...in my kitchen anyways! (and that's where i'm hiding out next year during the holidays...)


i originally saw these on smitten kitchen and i had no idea what they were. ironically, they showed up in a gift basket later that week at work and i was sold. almond paste AND chocolate...good gawd, count me in!!


in the chaos of making these, i was also chugging out a couple of other baked goods at the same time (for the holiday gift baskets) and these are the only pictures i managed to take. but if this last picture is any inspiration...you'll get your bum into the kitchen now!


happy new year!

7 layer cookies
from smitten kitchen

my own notes...

1. i didn't bother to butter the wax paper...i used parchment paper with no problem.
2. i totally agree with evenly dividing the jam.
3. i actually found them harder to cut when frozen. frozen chocolate has a "snap" to it that just shattered every time i tried to cut it with a serrated knife. i got much cleaner cuts at room temperature using a sawing motion with a standard flat cleaver-type knife.

best of luck!

anything with a british accent...

if i had watched love actually before getting married, i swear i would have found me a cute british boy to whisper sweet nothings in my ear...the english just get some things so right. rpatz, anyone??


this toffee is another one of those things that the english just got so right...
really simple ingredients that chemistry changes into something magical! the toffee is firm but not so tough that you would crack a filling. i had made this recipe for a dinner party on saturday but the hubby kept going back into the fridge that by the time the dinner party rolled around, i almost had to make another batch!!


english toffee

1 lb unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoon water
1 cup slivered almonds
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1 cup lightly toasted pecans, finely chopped

1. melt three-fourths of the chocolate in a microwave oven at half power for 2-3 minutes. after melting, stir in the remaining chocolate and set aside. line a large jelly roll with heavy duty foil and butter the foil.
2. melt the butter with the salt in a heavy 3 QT saucepan over medium heat. slowly add the sugar, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. add the water about halfway through this process.
3. after all the sugar is added, begin testing the mixture to see if the sugar is dissolved. place a drop of the mixture on wax paper. allow it to cool before rubbing it between your fingers to make sure it doesn't feel grainy. continue to cook until all the sugar has dissolved, testing intermittently. (the mixture will most likely be boiling by this point.)
4. when the sugar has dissolved, add the almonds and increase the heat to medium high. cook to the hard crack stage (310 - 320 degrees) stirring constantly to prevent the candy from burning on the bottom. when it is done, the candy should be a medium-amber color.
5. remove from heat and pour into the prepared pan, spreading as evenly as possible with an offset spatula. set the pan on a cooling rack. after 2-3 minutes, pour reserved chocolate on top and spread evenly. sprinkle with chopped nuts and press them gently into the chocolate to set.
6. allow the toffee to harden 6-8 hours (but preferably overnight). break into pieces using a sharp knife. store in an airtight container in a cool place.

mommy...where does sushi come from?

...sometimes from a H U G E fish!


we had lunch today with a couple of our most favorite people in the world at one of the most delicious places in the tri-state area. life doesn't get much better than that!

they were holding a tuna cutting performance and i wasn't quite sure what to expect. apparently, a fish is worth 10x more if it is caught before it begins its migration. by the time the fish has migrated, it has lost much of its fatty goodness...and that would just be a sin!!


freakin' amazing...totally worth having to park at trader joe's and walk over!!

the holiday decorations are already up...

can you believe it?!

i happened to catch the martha stewart show one day while she was making these cookies and i was hooked. i had to make them.

i know nothing about martha's stock scandal nor do i have an opinion on it...but dayam, that woman knows cookies. i think i made these on at least *3* separate occassions last holiday season...and it takes a lot to remake a recipe when your stack of to-make recipes keeps spilling over onto the floor!

especially when these require quite a bit of work to make...the dough is incredibly sticky, uses an ingredient i use NO WHERE else and requires two hours to chill. i hate having to wait longer for goodness in my belly!!

but gawd, these are worth it!! (i also double the recipe to minize the pain...)

chewy chocolate gingerbread cookies

from martha stewart

7 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate*
1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup unsulfered molasses

1 teapoon baking soda

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1. chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks and set aside. in a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and cocoa.
2. in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened (about 4 minutes). add brown sugar and beat until combined. add molasses and beat until combined.
3. in a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons of boiling water. beat half of the flour mixture into the butter mixture. beat in baking soda mixture and then add the remaining flour mixture. mix in chocolate. turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap. pat dough out to about 1 inch thick and seal with plastic wrap. refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
4. preheat oven to 325 degrees. line two baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats. roll dough into 2-inch balls. place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. refrigerate for 20 minutes. roll dough balls into granulated sugar and return to baking sheets. transfer to oven and bake for about 18 minutes until surfaces crack slightly. let cool 5 minutes and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

NOTE: if you have to get these into your belly quickly, you can use chocolate chips instead. they don't have the same texture and you won't get the small pieces that will just melt into the batter but they're still pretty darn good. =)

the only time i watch scary movies...

without a doubt when the leaves change color and the weather turns cooler, this is the hubby's favorite time of year. it also means that his favorite holiday is approaching...and he gets to pick one scary movie to watch and we make spooky halloween cookies.


sadly, i was out of town for the week leading up to halloween so we made them a day late but enjoyed them none the less! cutout sugar cookies are a challenge...too much butter or soft dough and the cookie ends up looking like a blob with no semblance of the cutter. but not enough butter or sugar and the cookie tastes like bland dough.


i came across this recipe last year and LOVE it. it's a bit of a pain to roll quickly and keep the dough chilled at the same time but the end result is worth it!

sugar cookies
by alton brown

3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (my addition)

powdered sugar for rolling out dough

1. sift together flour, baking soda and salt. set aside.
   
2. place butter and sugar in the bowl of a mixer and beat until light in color.
   
3. add egg, milk and vanilla extract and beat to combine. put mixer on low speed and gradually add the flour, beating until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl.
4. divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper (or plastic wrap) and refrigerate for 2 hours.
5. preheat oven to 375 degrees.
6. sprinkle powdered sugar on the surface where you will roll out the dough. remove 1 pack of dough and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness. move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. if dough has warmed during rolling, place a cold cookie sheet on top for 10 minutes to chill.
7. cut into desired shape and place 1-inch apart on lined baking sheet.
8. bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges. (rotate cookie sheets halfway through baking time.)
9. let sit for 2 minutes after removing from oven and then move to wire rack to cool completely.

fake royal icing
(note: fake because the recipe does not contain egg whites.)

1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 tablespoon milk
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1. combine all the ingredients until smooth.
2. divide and color!
   

another one bites the dust

since this is the current state of affairs in my kitchen...
i'll just tell you about some of the yummy things i ate this w-end! the hubby and i decided to take a little drive down to princeton...they have the cutest little town! it reminds me a lot of wellesley...quaint square filled with pretty things catering to the not-college crowd. the town also happens to have a fairly decent number of good eats though - something wellesley sorely lacked. i mourned the loss of alden merrell after my first year (while it wasn't great eats, they definitely satisfied my sweet tooth!)

i tried to convince the hubby that we needed to leave the city by 8AM...sadly it wasn't happening. by the time we made it to the little chef, it was almost 5PM and they were sold out of practically everything!! a couple of sad napoleons stared at us from behind the glass...we managed to score a tiny treat - a cassis something or other.


this is what it looked like after surviving a two hour trip back to the city...(we made a few stops along the way.) thank goodness it tasted WAY better than it looked!! the cassis was tart but not overpowering and the chocolate mousse on the bottom was silky, soft and heavenly. the hubby and i were sharing the dessert after dinner but i think at one point i told him to stop eating...=D

the little chef
8 south tulane street
princeton, nj 08540
note: try to get there early enough to try the croissants!

a second chance

i looooooove peanut butter...i mean love.
back in the good ol' days when it was just me and the pups, we'd regularly sit on the futon in front of the tv licking peanut butter off the spoon straight out of the jar. and the crunchier the better!

the first time i made these i was terrified of overbaking them...especially since the instructions specifically said "do not overbake." so of course...i totally underbaked them. they ended up in the trash can.
s i g h...but they smelled SO good that i had to try again. and the second time was lovely washed down with a cold glass of milk. yum!

peanut butter cookies
a couple of changes from the magnolia bakery cookbook

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup chunky-style peanut butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips (they used peanut butter chips.)
sanding sugar

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. in a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. set aside.
3. in a large bowl, beat the butter and peanut butter together until fluffy. add the sugars and beat until smooth. add the egg and mix well. add the milk and vanilla extract. add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. stir in the chocolate chips. chill the dough for 30 minutes.
   
4. drop by rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheets. (you can make the crisscross patterns with a fork if you like - but mine did not turn out as pretty.) lightly sprinkle with sanding sugar.
5. bake for 14 minutes (they said 10-12 minutes.). cool the cookies for 1 minute on the sheets and then tranfer to a rack to cool completely.

for adults only...

like many immigrants to america, my parents have quite a few interesting stories to tell and when they first arrived, my mom was a nurse who was studying to pass the exam here in the states. well the first week they were here, they happened across a bookstore...


they went in looking for nursing books for my mom to study. the guy in the bookstore was kind enough to let them know when they entered that they didn't carry what they were looking for...and it wasn't until several years later that they learned what "adult" bookstore actually meant.


these cupcakes are just as sinfully delicious and will ruin whatever innocent preconceived notions you may have about them. =)

black bottom cupcakes

by david lebovitz

cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

5 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup water

1/3 cup unflavored vegetable oil

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

filling

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

2 ounces bittersweet / semisweet chocolate, chopped

1. beat together the cream cheese, granulated sugar and egg until smooth. stir in the chopped chocolate pieces. set aside.
2. adjust the rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. line a muffin tin with cups.
3. in a medium bowl, sift together flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. in a separate bowl, combine the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla.
4. make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients, stirring until smooth. (be careful not to overstir! it will make the cupcakes tough...)
5. fill the muffin cups until 2/3 full and top with a tablespoon of filling into the center of each cupcake.
6. bake for 25 minutes (until the cupcakes feel springy when pressed).

NOTE: the original recipe says it makes 12 muffins...but i got more than that out of the batter.

a what?

"a snickerdoodle"

"what's that?"

"basically a sugar cookie covered in cinnamon sugar"

i haven't the slightest idea where these came from or how they ended up with that name. but an old co-worker first suggested them years ago and i just got around to making them. (yes, my to-do list is insanely long and growing!)

don't be like me.

they're the perfect cookie with your afternoon tea...or your morning cup of coffee...or before the morning cup of coffee, after the morning cup of coffee, before lunch, after lunch, afternoon snack, before dinner...i basically ate them all day long!

snickerdoodles
adapted from Martha Stewart

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, room temperature

1. sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. set aside. cream together butter and 1 1/2 cups of sugar using electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. beat on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). scrape down the sides and add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. add the dry ingredients and beat to combine. chill the dough for an hour.
2. after the hour is up, preheat oven to 400 degrees with rack set in the middle. line baking sheets with silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
3. combine 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. form balls of dough using 1.5 teaspoons of dough. roll each dough ball in the cinnamon sugar and place about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
4. bake for about 10 minutes until the cookies are set in the center and begin to crack. (they will not brown.) transfer cookies to wire rack after 5 minutes to finish cooling.

long time no sweet!

let's catch up...

the temperature has dropped considerably...the boots have made an appearance. scarves are slowly starting to show up...and the jackets are patiently waiting! fall always makes me think of back to school and buying new supplies. nothing said back-to-school quite like brand new pens and fresh 3-ring notebooks!

so to kick off the season, i started with a classic...my gfs and i love the crumbly topping so much that i usually double the recipe for it!

apple crisp

from allrecipes.com

the best part of waking up...

...besides the folgers in your cup would be one of these beauties!

of the recipes i've tried for cinnamon rolls, i like this one best (so far) because it doesn't call for an artery-clogging amount of butter that makes me just want to immediately run to the treadmill. the dough is remarkably easy to work with and really allows the brown sugar and cinnamon to sing. and it does taste just like the cinnamon rolls from cinnabon!

instead of waking up at some gawd-awful hour, i made the dough at night and stuck them in the freezer right before the second rising. just defrost at room temperature for about 15 minutes while the oven is preheating and add a few minutes to the baking time.

now THIS is the way to start a morning...=)

cinnamon rolls
adapted from allrecipes

1 cup warm milk, about 110 degrees F
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast / active dry yeast
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
4 1/2 cups white flour

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/4 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, melted

3-4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
a pinch of salt

1. dissolve the yeast in the milk in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. in a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, butter and sugar. add the egg mixture to the milk in the bowl and stir to combine. whisk together the flour and salt in a separate large bowl.
2. gradually add the flour mixture to the milk mixture, kneading with the dough hook as you add. continue to knead (either with the dough hook or by hand) until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth.
3. proof the dough for 1 hour in a warm place covered with a moist towel.
4. roll the dough into a 16" x 21" rectangle on a lightly floured surface. spread the softened butter over the dough and sprinkle with the sugar/cinnamon mixture. roll up the dough and pinch to close the ends.
5. cut into 12 pieces and place rolls in a lightly greased baking pan. cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 30 minutes.
6. preheat oven to 400 degrees.
7. bake rolls until golden brown, about 15 minutes.
8. beat together the cream cheese, butter, confectioner's sugar, vanilla and salt to make frosting.
9. spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

meet my eleanor...

speed + nice cars + action = a movie that the hubby would love
(yes, he loves the fast and furious franchise...yes, all of them!)
if you've never seen gone in 60 seconds less than 8 times (consider yourself lucky), but then you've probably never heard of eleanor. eleanor is a 1967 shelby gt that is nicolas cage's achilles heel in the movie. he is enamored with the car even though she trips him up...

...much like this cake does to me. (s i g h)...coconut cake.
the first time i made this cake, i dropped it on the floor after i had just finished icing it. the second time i made this cake, i didn't bother to level off the crown and the icing would not cooperate. and yet, this is the cake i want when i'm craving coconut cake and nothing else will suffice.the frosting tastes just like a soft marshmallow and it's really cool to watch the egg whites turn into this glossy, gorgeous mess as the hot sugar heats up the egg whites and changes them...like magic! (and in spite of having dropped the cake on the ground, the frosting is actually quite resilient! God bless them southern cooks...)

miss essie brazil's three-layer coconut cake

a pain in the bundt

it's been awhile since i've made a bundt cake...and now i remember why. while pretty, cleaning the pan is a pain in the bundt!! (i know...hardy har har...)

yet another dorie recipe... =)

she adds ground walnuts to the recipe which i thought was really interesting. i didn't notice them flavor-wise but definitely noticed the difference in texture. it made for a slightly heavier, "meatier" mouth feel.

i got a little overzealous and accidentally poured more than half of the batter with the chocolate. so instead of a pretty marble cake, i ended up with a chocolate cake with speckles of white. oh well...all's well that tastes well!
mocha-walnut marbled bundt cake
from baking from my home to yours by dorie greenspan

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely ground walnuts
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup coffee, hot or cold
1 teaspoon finely ground instant coffee or espresso powder
1 3/4 cup sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk, room temperature

1. center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. butter and flour a 9- to 10-inch (12 cup) bundt pan.
2. whisk together the flour, ground walnuts, baking powder and salt.
3. set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water. put 2 tablespoons of butter into the bowl along with the chocolate, coffee and instant coffee (or espresso) powder. heat the mixture, stirring often, until the butter and chocolate are melted and everything is smooth and creamy. remove the bowl from heat.
4. working with a stand mixer, beat the remaining 2 sticks of butter and sugar at medium speed until combined (about 3 minutes - this will not be light and fluffy.). beat in the eggs one by one beating after each addition. add in the vanilla extract. reduce the mixer speed to low and add in the dry ingredients with the milk alternating, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
5. scrape a little less than half of the batter into the bowl with the melted chocolate and using a spatula, stir to blend thoroughly.
6. alternate spoonfuls of light and dark batter into the ban and swirl with a table knife to marble them.
7. bake for 65 to 70 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. transfer the bundt cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes. unmold the cake and cool completely on the rack.

not quite peaches and cream

the weather has turned in nyc, which just means that it's no longer blazing hot and humid. but it also means that summer is ending...sadness!! the good part? stone fruits are starting to pop up everywhere and these peaches were too pretty to pass up.
again, my eyes were bigger than my tummy and we had way more peaches than two people could reasonably eat before they started to spoil. so i went hunting for a recipe to use them and came across a recipe for peach cobbler. i haven't had one in ages!!good gawd, what is wrong with me?! sweet juicy peaches bathing in their own luscious sauce covered in a flaky pastry dough...i promise that i'll never wait that long again!
peach cobbler
adapted from the dallas morning news (1987) via saveur

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup crisco
1 egg
1/4 cup ice water

3 pounds peaches (6-8 cups), peeled and sliced
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup butter

2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter

1. sift flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. add butter and shortening. work into the mixture until it is crumbly. whip egg and ice water together. sprinkle on flour mixture. form dough into a ball and chill for 30 minutes.
2. preheat over to 350 degrees while chilling.
3. roll half of the dough on wax paper to 1/8-inch thickness. place in a deep 9 x 13-inch pan or long oval baking dish, covering bottom and up 1/2-inch on sides of pan. bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
4. slice the peaches and combine with lemon and orange juice. in a separate bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch.
5. put peaches and butter in a non-aluminum pan and heat until butter is melted. then stir in the sugar mixture. remove from heat.
6. roll second half of dough to 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 1/2-inch strips. assemble lattice top on wax paper.
7. pour filling into pan over baked bottom crust and cover filling with lattice top. brush top with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.
8. bake for 35-40 minutes until top is crust is golden brown.

*note: it was easier to assemble the lattice top on the wax paper instead of over the hot peach filling. if the dough gets to soft at any time, place in freezer for a couple of minutes until it is a little more "solid" and easier to work with. also the original recipe makes enough peach cobbler for two people to eat for 37 days...i cut the recipe in half (yes, even the one egg) and we still have leftovers after seconds (and thirds...but who's counting??).