Macadamia Lemon Cookies with Blueberry Creme
We're having a cookie contest at work next month so I thought I had better start getting prepared. There's some tough competition in that place!
We bake a ton of cookies every year, but trying to come up with one cookie for a contest can be rather daunting. It needs to be slightly over-the-top.
I've actually been thinking about this concept for a while since getting the idea from a cookie I saw in La Cucina Italiana and finally decided to give it a try, tonight. I think with a couple of little tweaks, it's a winner!
The cookie is lemon and macadamia nut. It has a bright, crisp flavor on its own, but paired with the blueberry creme filling and a dunk of white chocolate, it shoots right up to the top of the class. I know it had both of us calling for more!
You should make the filling first, since it really needs to refrigerate a couple of hours before putting everything together.
Macadamia Lemon Cookies with Blueberry Creme
filling:
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 4 tbsp butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
cookies:
- 1/3 cup macadamia nuts, finely ground
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg white
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
topping:
- 6oz white chocolate
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
filling:
In a small saucepan, combine blueberries, sugar and 2 tbsp water. Bring to a boil, then cook, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes. Stir in butter until melted and combined. Use an immersion blender or transfer to a blender and purée until smooth. Place in a heatproof medium bowl. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, lemon juice and cornstarch.
Add water to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Set bowl with blueberry purée over but not touching water. Slowly whisk egg mixture into purée. Keep whisking until filling is smooth and thickened. Cover and chill until thick - at least 2 hours or overnight.
cookies:
Preheat oven to 350º.
Cream sugar and butter. Add nuts, flour, salt, egg white, and zest; blend until a soft dough forms.
Form dough into 1-inch balls and place 2" apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Flatten balls to 1/4 inch thick. Bake cookies until lightly golden on bottom, about 12 minutes. Cool cookies completely.
Spread half the cookie bottoms with blueberry creme. Sandwich with remaining cookies.
topping:
Place white chocolate in double boiler. Add 1 tbsp oil and slowly melt, stirring occasionally.
Freeze cookies on sheet pan about 10 minutes and then dip half of each cookie in white chocolate.
I'm heading into the kitchen for another...
Brownies
Sometimes I want dessert but really don't feel like spending six hours in the kitchen creating a culinary Mona Lisa. That's when a boxed brownie mix, a jar of caramel sauce, and a bag of candied pecans come in handy.
- Bake brownies.
- Heat caramel sauce.
- Stir in pecans.
- Spoon sauce over brownie.
- Eat.
And it tasted even better than it looks.
Miracle Canned Caramel
I have baked and cooked for more years that I care to admit to. I have learned a bazillion tricks of the trade over the years and have probably forgotten more things than the average person will ever know. That's not a brag, it's just that food has been my passion since forever and I have always made it a point and taken the time to learn new things.
And today, I learned another one.
Did you know you could boil a can of sweetened condensed milk - in the can - for three hours and turn it into caramel? It's a freakin' miracle!
A dear friend of ours down in Atlanta posted a Facebook comment looking for the best Thanksgiving desserts. I answered with my mom's Walnut Pie recipe I'll be making. Another friend posted a Southern Comfort Caramel Apple Pie recipe that I will have to make some day. Another for a Bourbon Chocolate Pecan pie. Chocolate and Vanilla custards...So many desserts, so little time...
And then I saw a recipe for mini caramel tarts. As I read I couldn't believe my eyes. All it was was a can of sweetened condensed milk that had been boiled in water for three hours. I immediately got up and put a can on to boil.
Three hours later, I pulled it out of the water, opened the can - it spit at me so be careful - and swooned. OMG! A deep caramel sauce was staring back at me! I was dumbfounded. I spooned it into the filo cups that just happened to be in the cabinet - we do have some odd things lying about - and then topped a few with chocolate chunks and the rest with candied pecans.
Stellar. Simply stellar.
The actual recipe is pretty simple. Tracie tops them with whipped topping but I thought they screamed for a pecan. And her instructions are simple and to the point: Take the label off the can fill a pot with enough water to cover the cans or can. Boil the cans for three hours. Just glance at it once in awhile to make sure still covered. When it's done, let it cool a bit, or all the way. Open can, stir up and spoon into shells. Let chill in the fridge till completely cool.
It makes enough for about 2 packages of prepared mini phyllo shells.
The mind is spinning with more possibilities. I think I have a new toy to play with!
Pumpkin Apple Streusel Cake
I didn't roast my pumpkin this year. It's been tradition for a while that I get a huge fairytale or cinderella pumpkin, roast, puree, and then freeze the puree in 2-cup containers for use throughout the season. Pumpkin soup, pumpkin risotto, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cake... I like pumpkin.
Alas, Nonna really doesn't care for pumpkin, so I decided I'd just pick up a couple of cans this year and have it on hand for the occasional dish. At last count, I had picked up 10. Time to use up some pumpkin. Granted, it's not going to go bad any time soon, but, still... 10 cans is a bit obsessive.
I decided I wanted a dessert since Victor is cooking a fabulous lasagne today - complete with homemade lasagne noodles - so I headed off to Epicurious to see what ideas they had.
Right away, I found a recipe that not only would use up some pumpkin, but also use up a couple of apples that were in the fruit bowl. Win-win!
I haven't cut into this one, yet, but dayum! does it ever smell good! It is just wafting through the house.
I followed the recipe pretty much as written. It seemed very straightforward. I'll let ya know later how it actually tasted, but I don't think anyone will be disappointed.
Pumpkin Apple Streusel Cake
adapted from Bon Appetit
Apple Topping
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 cups diced apples
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Cake
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup (firmly packed) brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamom
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp nutmeng
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 large eggs
preparation
For apples:
Melt butter in skillet Add apples and sauté until they begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add sugar and cinnamon and sauté about 3 minutes longer. Cool.For cake:
Preheat oven to 350°. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan. Combine flour, brown sugar, butter, and salt in large bowl. Beat until mixture resembles coarse meal. Set aside 2/3 cup of mixture for topping. Beat pumpkin, sour cream, 2 tablespoons sugar, spice, and baking soda into remaining flour mixture, beating just until smooth. Beat in eggs.Transfer batter to pan. Scatter apples evenly over top. Sprinkle reserved topping over apples.
Bake cake until topping is golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 20 minutes. Remove pan and place on platter.
Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream.
Okay. This rocked the casbah!
Make it. Right now.
Apple Cranberry Crostata
Who says you can't have a fabulous dessert in minutes?
Well... it's minutes if your frozen puff pastry is already thawed, otherwise you do have to plan a bit.
I planned a bit.
But it really was simple and came together in minutes.
Once the pastry is thawed, preheat oven to 400°.
Lay out pastry on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Spread a layer of cranberry sauce to within an inch of the edges. Into a bowl, mix 2 sliced apples - I used a granny smith and a cortland - with 2 tbsp melted butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 2 tbsp flour - and some nutmeg and cinnamon.
Pile into the center of the pastry and fold the sides up, pinching the pastry here and there to keep it over the filling. Place into the hot oven and bake about 30 minutes.
Cool and enjoy.
The beauty of crostatas is they're supposed to be rustic. They're hand-formed and can take on any shape you want - they are not perfect round machine-made-mass-produced.
And regardless of shape - they are delicious
I had leftover homemade cranberry sauce but any would work - and any apple that will hold its shape would work, as well. I didn't peel them because I was feeling lazy. Your call.
Have fun with it - and remember that the beauty is in the eating!
Puff Pastry with Almond Cream
'Tis the season for Puff Pastry!
I have made puff pastry more times than I care to admit to, but I tell ya... there is just nothing better than a good-quality puff pastry coming out of the freezer. Making puff pastry from scratch is a serious all-day affair. It's rolling, folding, and refrigerating over-and-over-and-over... It's worth the trouble, sometimes, but as I said, it's nice having a good-quality puff pastry in the freezer. And I do mean a good-quality puff pastry sheet - not the national brand franken-food version found in your typical supermarket frozen food case.
There is just so much that can be done - from sweet to savory, dessert to dinner to hors d'oeuvres - filled or topped, rolled or sliced.
Armed with my thawed sheets and a can of almond paste that has been in the cupboard since the last Republican administration, I went looking for ideas.
I found a recipe on Epicurious that gave me an idea - and off I went...
Puff Pastry with Almond Cream and Mascarpone
- 8 oz can pure almond paste
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp butter, softened
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp amaretto
- 3 tbsp flour
- 4 oz mascarpone
- 1 (2 sheet) package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
Preheat oven to 450°.
Mix almond paste, granulated sugar, butter, and a pinch of salt with mixer until smooth. Add egg and amaretto and mix until light. Add flour and mix until incorporated.
Roll out 1 puff pastry sheet into a square. Place on parchment-lined sheet pan.
Spread mascarpone to about 1 inch from edges. Spread almond cream generously on top of mascarpone. Top with remaining sheet.
Crimp edges to seal and cut small vent holes on top to allow steam to escape.
Bake in lower third of oven until puffed and golden, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool.
It was like the perfect almond croissant or danish pastry. I can see some fun variations on this...
Apple Cake
Victor has been charged with making his Apple Cake for great-nephew Miles' Christening.
This is one of those perfect foods - it works for any meal from breakfast to late-night noshing. It is a lush dessert or a simple coffee cake - simply by changing the time it is served. You can't beat that kind of flexibility.
You also can't beat the flavor. This is one good cake.
Victor made one to bring to the Christening and then decided we needed one, too! Two cakes in one day. See my tummy smile!
Naturally, in order to make a good apple cake, you need good apples. He used a combination of granny smith and honeycrisp apples for these. Not all apples are created equal when it comes to baking. Any apple will make a good cake but granny smith and another flavorful apple suitable for cooking will always make a great one!
Apple Cake
- 3 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup oil
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 4 tsp sugar
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 5 large apples
Preheat oven to 350°. Peel and cut apples into small chunks. Add 4 tsp sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon and stir together.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and set aside.
Beat together eggs, OJ & vanilla. Add oil, mix in flour mixture.
In a well-greased tube pan, pour alternate layers of batter and apples. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top.
Bake at 350° for 1 1/2 hours or until cake tests done.
Cool before slicing.
Don't try and cut back on the oil. It's a full cup for a reason. Eat small pieces. It's cake - not health food. It's not supposed to be eaten in large quantities. It's c-a-k-e.
Yummy cake.
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
I do not remember whoopie pies growing up, and as an adult - chronologically, anyway - I'm not really crazy about them. They're like chocolate-covered pretzels. I just don't get the concept. My childhood store-bought treat of choice was always a Langendorf Lemon Pie. They only cost a dime back in the days of 29¢ loaves of bread. I still remember that tart lemon filling...
But just because I don't care for one thing doesn't mean I'm not up to trying something different. Homemade treats are infinitely better than their mass-produced, chemical-laced, store-bought counterparts, so, after coming across a recipe for Pumpkin Whoopie Pies on Epicurious, I thought I'd give them a whirl.
I'm rather glad I did.
These are little pumpkin cakes with a sweet bourbon cream cheese filling. The flavors of fall in a hand-held treat. It doesn't get any better on a Sunday afternoon...
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
cakes:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup neutral oil
- 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
filling:
- 8 ounce pkg cream cheese, softened
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- Pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp bourbon
for cakes:
Preheat oven to 350°. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and spices in a bowl.
Mix sugar, oil, pumpkin, egg, and vanilla, then stir in flour mixture.
Using a #30 scoop or tablespoon, drop a scant scoop of batter or 2 scant tablespoons of batter onto a lined baking sheet to form a mound keeping them about 2 inches apart. Form and bake remaining batter on the other parchment-lined sheet. You should have a total of about 32 cakes.
Bake until springy to the touch, about 14 minutes. Transfer cakes to rack to cool.
for filling:
While cakes are baking, beat cream cheese, butter, and salt in a bowl with mixer until smooth. Add powdered sugar and bourbon and mix on low speed until smooth.
assemble whoopie pies:
Spread 1 heaping tablespoon of filling each on flat side of half the cooled cakes, then top with other half of cakes.
These were definitely fun little treats. I can envision a mini-version for Thanksgiving!
Because our house is always bereft of desserts on Thanksgiving...
Pear Crumble
Fresh pears. Yum. I had picked up 4 pears - 2 bartlett and 2 reds - on a whim, and when I got home, decided it was dessert-time!
I started off by peeling the pears and then slicing them fairly thin. I put them into a bowl with about a quarter cup of flour and the same of melted butter. I added in about a half-cup of brown sugar and a tsp of vanilla - and a tad bit of nutmeg. After it was all mixed, I placed it in an 8"x8" pan and topped it with about 2 cups of pumpkin granola.
I covered it with foil and placed it into a 350° oven for about 40 minutes.
It's a no-brainer simple concept. Just about any granola will work - as will just about any fruit.
The beauty of a dessert like this is you really can't screw it up. It's fruit and a bit of sugar with a topping. You can add ice cream on top, or whipped cream - or serve it as-is. Warm or cold.
Delish.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
It is a perfect Fall day. Weather is stupendous, windows wide open... Perfect weather for baking cookies.
Not that any day and weather isn't perfect for baking cookies, but some days are just more perfect than others.
Like today.
I had picked up some mini peanut butter cups thinking I'd make a standard toll house cookie and just substitute the cups for the chips, but by the time I had made it to the kitchen, a chocolate cookie was born.
Unlike the chocolate cookies I made last time, these are made with cocoa powder, not melted chocolate. More traditional and quicker to pull together!
And, since they're a baking soda cookie, it's natural cocoa powder, not Dutch process. Dutch process cocoa are cocoa beans that have been soaked in a potassium solution to neutralize the natural acidity of cocoa. It creates a darker cocoa with a smoother chocolate flavor. But neutral cocoa doesn't react to baking soda, so it shouldn't be used if the only leavening is baking soda. You can generally substitute natural cocoa powder in recipes but you usually can't substitute Dutch process for natural. Make sense?!?
And that's just for baking. If you're making frosting or chocolate ice cream, use whatever cocoa is in the house. And be sure to invite me.
If in doubt, just use the one listed in the recipe. If it doesn't say, it's natural.
I have to admit I rarely have Dutch process cocoa in the house, although I may pick up a box during the holidays. It's always good to be prepared and use the best ingredients for the product.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- pinch salt
- 2 cubes (1 cup) butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 12 oz mini peanut butter cups
Preheat oven to 350°.
Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix well.
Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in mini peanut butter cups.
Use #30 scoop (1 1/2 tablespoons) and place about 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake about about 12 minutes.
They taste as good as they look. maybe even better...
Chocolate Cookies
I was really in the mood for cookies, tonight.
I suppose I'm always in the mood for cookies - which is why I make them and don't buy them. We try to keep the instant gratification foods to a minimum around the house. If we want a treat, we have to make it. It's not like either of us can't have a batch of cookies out of the oven in 20 minutes or less, but it's still more effort than going to the cupboard and getting down the box. Treats take a modicum of planning.
My first thought was a basic chocolate chip - I can make those in my sleep - but as I was starting to pull ingredients together, I remembered a double chocolate cookie that starts off with a pound of melted chocolate. And I just happened to have a pound of chocolate waiting to be melted!
The joys of a well-stocked larder...
All I needed to do was find the recipe - which I did in a matter of minutes.
I'm glad I found the recipe. These are some fine cookies! Much more cake-like and really really chocolaty. They're light, fudgy, and and intense - all at the same time! I ate four of them - and then went back for one more!
As with all things, the better the ingredients, the better the end result. I used a really good 72% dark chocolate. I wouldn't waste my time melting chocolate chips...
These would handle crushed peppermint candy really well. I may have to think about making a batch at Christmas...
Double Chocolate Cookies
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 pound good-quality dark chocolate
- 1 stick butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
Preheat oven to 350°.
Line cookie sheets with parchmant paper.
Mix together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
Coarsely chop chocolate. Melt together 3/4 of the chocolate and 1 cube of butter in medium bowl - in double boiler or microwave. Stir in sugar.
Stir in eggs 1 at a time and then add flour mixture until just combined.
Chill dough about 20 minutes.
Use a 1 tbsp scoop and dish out cookies about 1" apart. Bake in middle of oven about 8 minutes.
Cool cookies on sheet pan about 5 minutes and then place on rack to cook completely. Makes about 42 cookies.
Yeah... I definitely see more of these in our future...
Peach Strudel
Peaches. Did I mention we had a lot of them? We still do - but they've been re-purposed!
I came upon this concept from Saveur. They made it with plum jam and ground walnuts. I made a fresh peach filling and used chopped walnuts. It really was quick and easy, although the dough does need to sit in the fridge for a good hour.
Peach Strudel
- 2 cups flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup walnuts
- 6 peaches
- 1/3 cup sugar
INST RUCTIONS
Process peaches and 1/3 cup sugar in food processor. Place in medium saucepan and cook until thick, stirring and making sure it doesn't scorch.
Process flour, sugar, butter, baking powder, and salt in a food processor until pea-size crumbles form. Add 2 eggs and 1/4 cup ice-cold water; pulse until dough forms. Form into a disk; wrap, and chill for 1 hour.
Heat oven to 37 5°. Cut dough into thirds; roll each into an 11″ × 7 ″ rectangle; line an 11″ × 7 ″ baking dish with a rectangle. Spread over half the apricot spread; sprinkle with one-third walnuts. Top with second rectangle; spread over remaining preserves and half remaining walnuts. Top with last rectangle, and prick with tines of a fork. Brush with remaining egg; sprinkle with remaining walnuts.
Bake until golden, 25–30 minutes.
The peaches will get nice and thick - just like jam.
And then you cut them into little squares. And eat a lot of them!