In a bowl, mix together 3/4 cupgranulated sugar, 3 large eggs, 2 egg yolks, 1 teaspoonvanilla extract, 3/4 cup melted butter, and 2 tablespoonsred liquid food coloring
Add in 1 1/3 cupscake flour, 2 tablespoonsunsweetened cocoa, 1/2 teaspoonbaking powder, and 1/4 teaspoonsalt
Fill madeleine pan and bake for 7-8 minutes. Allow to cool then dust with powdered sugar.
Last week on one of my days off I made the most of my down time by reading through a few back issues of Martha.
One of which was the issue with macarons on the cover.
My two friends (who conveniently share the name Danielle) have both been making these aesthetically pleasing cookies for a little while and I've always been tempted to try.
The only negative being that the recipe calls for ground almonds which I can't eat.
So, my readiness to get into the kitchen emboldened by the Martha recipe, I gave it a whirl, substituting ground almond for ground coconut as my friend had once suggested I try.
Well.
Where Martha's macarons looked perfect, mine....were another story.
In a food processor or a blender, ground 2/3 cup coconut very finely.
Add in 1 cup of confectioners/icing sugar and ground again until very fine.
Pass the mixture through a sieve, put remaining mixture back into processor until no more than 2 tbsp remain left behind in the sieve.
Whisk by hand 2 large egg whites with 1/4 cup granulated sugar to combine.
Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, then medium-high for 2 minutes, then on high for 2 minutes. The egg whites should hold stiff glossy peaks.
Add in colouring or flavouring (I added in a few drops of cherry flavouring) then beat on highest speed for 30 seconds.
Add dry ingredients all at once, folding from bottom of bowl upward with a spatula until the mixture flows like lava (about 35-40 complete strokes).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer batter into a piping bag with a 3/8-inch round tip.
With piping tip 1/2 inch above sheet, pipe batter into a 3/4-inch round, then swirl tip off to one side. Repeat, spacing rounds 1 inch apart. Tap sheets firmly against counter 2 or 3 times to release air bubbles.
Bake 1 sheet at a time, rotating halfway through, until risen and just set, 13 minutes. Let cool. Pipe or spread filling on flat sides of half of cookies; top with remaining half. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate.
This was the one macaron that almost was.
Almost.
Mine were macaruined appearance-wise. They still tasted amazing.
The cherry-coconut flavour was wonderful.
If you want to try making your own, be ready for disappointment. Cause they are a notoriously tricky cookie to master.
My advice is to try one of these tested and approved recipes from either of the Danielles:
The first step in getting better is admitting you have a problem.
I have a problem.
My diet as of late has been shameful.
Just absolutely shameful.
I wake up and the first thing I do after brushing my teeth is I throw on a bunch of layers and take the dog for a long walk in the park.
Usually I grab something to stuff into my mouth as I'm heading out the door and this, unfortunately, is usually a cookie or 2 or 3 Quality Street chocolates.
Then I get home and have another cookie or more chocolates and make myself a giant mug of coffee.
Then I'll think about having a real meal.
But you better believe there are plenty more holiday treats sprinkled in between.
I should probably slow down on the sugar.
Anyway, it was a sugar craving and need to get into the kitchen that got me making these cake based cookies.
They're soft and chewy (or can be crispy if you don't put them into an airtight container) and delicious.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix 1 box of red velvet cake mix with 1 egg, 1/2 cup softened butter and 2 tbsp canola oil.
Mix in 1 cup green & red mini m&ms.
Drop a tablespoon of dough on a greased cookie sheet and press flat. Bake for 10-12 minutes then let cool.
Place cookies in an airtight container to maintain their softness.
And that's it!
Easy and delicious and festively coloured for the holidays.
This week I've had a lot of time off which has been wonderful.
It means long walks in the park with the pup every morning which has given me a greater appreciation of quiet mornings spent surrounded by nature.
Last week during the cold snap we had I was lucky enough to snap this picture on my phone of Reese enjoying the snow.
As cold as it was it was hard to be upset when it looked that beautiful outside.
I also put the finishing touches on John's Advent jar (minus one gift that I'll need to pick up still). It's been a trial in patience not eating any of his Lindt or Terry's chocolate orange chocolates.
I used tickets I bought from the dollar store for the Bad Christmas Sweater fundraiser raffle two years ago. On them I stuck numbers from a bunch of sheets I had (I used a lot of the letters but thankfully had almost all of the numbers I needed left). Then I stapled them to the chocolates or taped them onto the gifts and left them for John to take.
I also had some time to bake up a batch of sugar cookies and a batch of gingerbread cookies. There's more dough in the freezer just waiting for the next time I want cookies.
The gingerbread batch turned out phenomenal - easily the best batch I've made. No cracks in the dough, perfect colour, and that lovely taste of molasses.
I used the Martha Stewart recipe from her Cookies book which can be found here.
Tonight John and I are hitting the Christmas Market in the Distillery District (and going to see the Nutcracker on the 28th!). Aside from missing the Cavalcade of Lights (I was working, maybe next year) I will have done everything on my Christmas To Do list.
I made these cookies on the weekend and they were very well received.
I wanted to use some of the spicy balsamic jam that John had made a few weeks back and I felt like this recipe worked well to compliment the flavours in the jam.
To make your own you could mix some ground cloves into blueberry or blackberry jam.
Chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks; set aside. In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter with brown sugar until combined. Add fresh ginger and mix until combined. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Slowly add to butter mixture, mixing until well combined.
Add baking soda mixture and molasses; mix to combine. Stir in chocolate; Transfer to refrigerator. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Using a 2-inch ice cream scoop, scoop dough onto baking sheet, 2 1/2 inches apart. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Roll dough balls in granulated sugar and return to baking sheets. Transfer to oven and bake until surfaces crack slightly, about 18 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
** For my version omit the granulated sugar for rolling and press thumbprints into the cookies prior to baking and immediately out of oven (be careful, obviously, those cookies will be warm). Then once cooled, dollop in your jam.
It's a bit ridiculous how quickly Christmas has snuck up on us this year. For me anyway it feels like just yesterday I was walking down the aisle in the hot humid August air.
But here we are!
It's been raining for most of the week in Toronto but there was some hail coming down this evening on my drive into work.
Perhaps we'll have at least a white pre-Christmas.
The holidays are going to be a busy time - especially since I'm working every night this wekeend, off for the 24th, then back for nights on the 25th and 26th, then driving (correction: John is driving while I pass out in the passenger seat) to the Ottawa area on the morning of the 27th to visit with my family for a few days.
I was scheduled to work the night of the 28th which was going to make for a lot of driving in 2 days but one of my wonderful co-workers agreed to work for me so I have a whole bunch of days off which excites me to no end.
I'm off from the 26th until Jan 2nd!
Glorious.
I'm giving away a lot here - apologies to those involved.
Every year we do a secret Santa-esque gift exchange among my cousins.
For part of my gift I'm going to get busy in the kitchen as this person is a big fan of a particular type of cookie.
I'm going to give him/her a selection of sugar cookies!
Here are the recipes I plan to use:
(all pictures and recipes are from Marthastewart.com)
Today's recipe is another one for a cookie that I found in the Toronto Star.
Having eaten one (or two) earlier, I can attest that these are very good (soft in the middle with a slightly crunchy outer shell depending on how long you bake them for) and their different shape makes them a nice addition to any gift of assorted cookies.
1-2/3 cup (410 mL) ricotta cheese
2 large eggs
1 cup (250 mL) granulated sugar
1 cup (250 mL) unsalted butter, melted, cooled
1 tbsp (15 mL) pure vanilla extract
4 cups (1L) all-purpose flour
4 tsp (20 mL) baking powder
1. In large bowl using wooden spoon, mix ricotta, eggs, granulated sugar and vanilla until well-blended. Stir in butter. Gradually mix in flour and baking powder to form dough. Separate dough into 4 balls. 2. On lightly floured surface, roll each ball into 10-inch (25-cm) circle. Cut each circle into 8 triangular wedges. From the thicker, outer edge to the thinner, inner edge, roll each triangle into a mini croissant.
3. Place 1 inch (2.5-cm) apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake in preheated 350F (180C) oven until cookies are firm and just hinting at golden, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on sheets. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Using fine-mesh sieve, dust with icing sugar. Store in airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week or freeze up to 1 month.
A few hours from now I will ... still be in a considerable amount of pain but at least I'll be short one or two teeth and hopefully that pain will be relieved with painkillers because this pain has progressed to the point where NOTHING relieves it.
Not the T3 I took last night, not the orajel I rubbed all over my gums, not the Motrin I took this morning.
John had to come hold me while I cried in the bathroom last night.
I'm clearly not good with pain.
It's time for me to go put on some comfy sweat clothes for my appointment with the oral surgeon but here's a recipe for the cookies I whipped up last night.
1 cup (250 mL) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cup (310 mL) granulated sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup (60 mL) poppy seeds
4 cups flour (1 L) all-purpose flour, sifted
2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder
1/4 tsp table salt
In large mixing bowl using electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs and poppy seeds.
In another mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Sift into sugar mixture in several batches. Stir with spatula until dough forms.
Roll dough until thin, about 0.6 inch (1/2 cm), on lightly floured board and cut into shapes, if desired. Place on ungreased baking sheet about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Bake in preheated 375F (190C) oven until puffed but firm, about 10 to 12 minutes.
Cool 5 minutes on baking sheets. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Store in airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week or freeze up to 1 month.
Today: Christmas movies in my jammies with my sister and hubby. And soup. Lots of soup.
About a month, maybe two months, ago I chipped my wisdom tooth.
My bottom 2 were extracted when I was 14 and my top 2 grew in a few years ago.
I ignored it until little by little more of my tooth started to chip away.
A week or so ago a huge chunk of it fell off and I've been covering it with wax to keep the jagged edges from cutting up my cheek. It wasn't sore, so I made an appointment with my dentist for the 17th.
On Sunday night at work it started to ache a bit, but nothing that an extra strength tylenol couldn't fix.
It was sore again yesterday and got worse as the day wore on.
Last night at work I was so overcome with pain I thought I was going to throw up. The pain radiated all across my jaw and up into my ears.
Tylenol didn't work, so I ended up taking 1500 mg (bad, I know but there were no other painkillers on hand and no lidocaine or numbing agents anywhere!) of tylenol within about 3 hours.
The 2 tabs brought the pain down to an acceptable level but I was in agony.
This morning I hopped into bed to sleep off a terrible night, only to wake at 11 in agony again.
I popped a motrin (worked MUCH better) and called my dentist.
He saw me today and now I have an appointment to extract this troublesome wisdom tooth tomorrow at noon!
I'm going to push for 2 things to happen:
1. Get both of those wisdom teeth out in one go. I don't want to have to deal with the same thing again in a few months or years.
2. Put me under. Put me in a pleasant state of unconscious nothingness. Then when I wake up, pump me full of T3s or percs.
Please.
I'm a big baby and don't like painful things.
Although I was awake for my dental implant surgery and it wasn't so bad.
But in my twisted mind, drilling into the jawbone and putting something IN isn't as bad as yanking and cutting something out.
Anyway, I'll be a chipmunk this week.
All swollen and bruised and sore.
Which leads me to today's christmas song.
(even though everyone knows the best chipmunk song involves wanting a hulla hoop)
Yesterday I got busy in the kitchen in what I hope is the start to a week of cookies and cakes.
I came across this recipe in the Toronto Star and, being a lover of the combination of mint and chocolate, knew I had to make these.
If you like the mint girl guide cookies you will LOVE these.
The mint isn't overwhelming, it just adds such a nice kick to the cookie.
1 cup (250 mL) unsalted butter, at room temperature 3/4 cup (185 mL) dark brown sugar 1/2 cup (125 mL) granulated sugar 1 large egg 1 tsp (5 mL) mint and peppermint extract 1-2/3 (410 mL) cup all-purpose white flour 1/2 (125 mL) cup cocoa 1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda 1/2 tsp (2 mL) table salt 1 cup (250 mL) package Hershey's mini kisses chocolate chips (*what I used)
In a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy, about two minutes. Beat in egg and extract.
In another bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Using spatula, add to sugar mixture in several batches. Stir in chocolate chips.
Bake in preheated 375F (190C) oven until puffed but firm, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Cool 5 minutes on baking sheets. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Store in airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week or freeze up to 1 month.
I came across this today on pintrest and I'm obsessed. I wish I had seen this before cinquo de mayo cause I may have made them and had a little Mexican bash for myself.
I do plan on making these for some event in the near future though. What an incredibly cute idea!
Here's the video tutorial from sheknows.com on how to make them, cause it's probably a lot easier than me explaining it considering I've yet to attempt this.
Also since the closing of picnik I've been using picmonkey to edit my photos. I just came across iPiccy and I think it's my new favourite.
You'll have to excuse the fact that this is a repeat offender recipe.
In my defense I baked up a batch for John as he's away for work this upcoming week and requested these AND I have an exam tomorrow so I can't be baking every second of the day.
Except that I am and I'm finding a lot of other things to do rather than study.
But as soon as I post this I'm back to studying!
I only have the one exam so I have no excuse.
In a bowl, cream 1 cup butter and 1 cup sugar together. Mix in 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla.
Mix in 2 1/2 cups flour and the tea inside 8 tea bags of whatver tea you'd like to use. Stir to combine. Wrap cookie dough and put in the fridge for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Once chilled, roll out dough on a floured surface and cut out in circles.Bake for 7-10 minutes then allow cookies to cool before enjoying.
To fancify (yep, a word) this recipe for holiday gift-giving, find a specialty tea store and grab some different flavoured teas to make the cookies more unique. If you have a David's Tea anywhere nearby they have a ton of flavours. Yesterday I had a chocolate chili chai tea! Pretty good.
Tomorrow you get a recipe PLUS a how-to on cleaning dried brittle off your kitchen cupboards, floor, and counter.
I'll be sad to leave but happy to regain free time and be closer to the holidays.
Yesterday I was finally "abused" by a client - I use quotations because it really wasn't abuse at all and I say finally only because I've been waiting for a hilarious moment like this.
The patient was confused and disoriented and trying to climb out of the bed. Not a great idea when you have a central venus access device in your jugular vein, IVs and arterial lines, and you're receiving dialysis from a machine at the bedside. We had to keep him loosely restrained so that he wouldn't escape from the bed.
He was becoming more and more agitated and I tried to reorient him to where he was. He told me he had to go to a dentist appt and that I needed to let him loose. I apologized and tried to explain as best I could why he had the restraints on (believe me, there's a policy of least restraint that is followed so people aren't just tied to beds for fun). He responded with, "ahhh let me loose you dickhead".
I had to turn and walk away to keep from laughing.
It might be the best name I've ever been called. Ever.
I wouldn't let just anyone call me a dickhead but this man endeared himself to me by doing so. The poor guy just wanted to get to that dentist appointment!
Anyway, the year is now officially winding down and free time is on the horizon.
John's work crew are taking turns bringing in baked goods every day for the next two weeks and John's turn is tomorrow. He said he was going to bring in his camping stove and make hot chocolate for everyone. I volunteered to bake. We decided biscotti would go nicely with hot chocolate as it's perfect for dunking.
I looked up a holiday biscotti recipe and went with gingerbread. I halved the recipe because in the comments section someone said it made 5 dozen (it didn't) and I was left with one measley cookie per person. So I made another batch. I was going to do double chocolate but I ran out of chocolate chips. I did however have some raspberries. So in they went.
In large bowl of an electric mixer, beat 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup molasses, and 1/4 cup fresh ginger until smooth. Add 3 eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition.
In a bowl, stir 3 cups flour, 1/2 tbsp baking powder, 1 tbsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp nutmeg, 1/2 tbsp cloves, and 1/2 tbsp allspice. Add to egg mixture; stir to blend.
On two greased 12x15 inch baking sheets, use well-floured hands to pat dough into 2 flat loaves, spacing them evenly on sheets. Bake in a 350 F. oven until browned at edges and springy to touch, about 25 minutes.
Let loaves stand on baking sheets until cool to touch, then cut into long, 1/2-inch thick diagonal slices. On baking sheets, arrange slices close together with a cut side down. Return to oven and bake at 350 F. until cookies are brown, 15 to 18 minutes longer. Let cool and enjoy!
Raspberry Chocolate Biscotti
(Taken from Martha's Double Dark-Chocolate & Ginger Biscotti Recipe)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup flour, 1/3 cup cocoa powder, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, and 1/4 tsp salt until well combined; set aside. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, and 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy; beat in 1 tsp vanilla and 1/4 cup oil until well combined.
With the mixer on low, beat in dry ingredients until combined. Mix in 1 cup fresh raspberries and use a spatula to mix well.
With moistened hands shape the dough into 2 logs, each about 9 inches long and 2 1/2 inches wide. Bake until set on top, about 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pan. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
Transfer logs to a cutting board and, with a serrated knife, cut each log on the diagonal into 16 slices, each 1/2 inch thick. Bake until crisp, about 20 minutes, turning the biscotti over midway through. Cool 5 minutes on a baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to a week
Hey!
My LCBO gift basket came!
Not too shabby for a losing blog entry!
It's not a great picture what with the cellophane and all but there are 4 wine glasses, a tray, a bowl, kitchen towels, bread dipper, crackers, olives, a spread, a cheese board, cheese plates, and more that I can't see from where I'm sitting.
I've been MIA again but this time I had a very valid excuse.
John was in Chatham, Ontario doing some work for the past week and he took his laptop with him to get some work done. That left me with no working computer. So as much as I wanted to I was unable to get onto the internet. I switched my phone plan so I have unlimited social stuff - facebook, twitter, etc, but I can't browse the internet on my blackberry.
Woah is me.
But I'm back!
I did the Mitsubishi City Chase with my friend Kashyap on Saturday and it was so much fun. We began the morning at Yonge-Dundas Square and were given a clue to find the location of our cheat sheets. Once we grabbed our cheat sheets from Nathan Phillips Square, we had to solve some clues to find the 40 locations where we could collect chase points. Once you found the location you travelled to it and then completed an activity. We did a photo scavenger hunt, ate organic dog food, pushed a car, played wheelchair basketball, and retrieved hockey pucks from a pool among other things.
It was a ton of fun and a great way to experience the city.
If there's one in your city or if there's one in a city you would like to see I highly recommend participating in it!
Before John left for his week away, I asked him if there was anything he would like to take with him. He told me one of the girls on his crew had requested earl grey tea cookies. I've made them a few times but to mixed results. The cookie is of the ice box variety and as such, often has waaaaay to much butter to hold its shape when I bake it.
Not wanting to get realy frustrated and throw out batch after batch of cookies, I changed the recipe slightly.
For delicious, fool proof tea cookies follow this recipe!
(and feel free to substitute any other type of tea you want in place of earl grey)
Jamie's Earl Grey Tea Cookies
In a bowl, beat together 1 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup butter, 1 tsp vanilla, and 1 egg.
In a seperate bowl, mix together 2 1/2 cups flour and 1 tsp baking soda. Cut open 8 earl grey tea bags and mix the tea into the dry ingredients. Stir into the butter mixture and mix until combined.
Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out half of dough on a floured surface. Cut out cookies into desired shapes and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.
My friend had been talking about making cookie dough cupcakes so I googled a recipe and come across this thing of beauty.
Who doesn't like raw cookie dough?
It's one of those things where you knowingly risk the consequences of eating raw eggs because even violently throwing up is worth it to indulge in raw cookie dough.
My mom's old school used to have a fundraiser where you purchased tubs (yes, I said tubs) of raw cookie dough to keep in your freezer and take out whenever you wanted to bake some cookies. And it may not come as a surprise to you to hear that I frequently snuck down to the basement freezer with a bowl and a spoon.
What I'm getting at is that the combination of cookie dough and cupcakes is a match made in heaven.
It's a bit of a lengthy process but I'm going to be baking these this weekend.
Cookie DoughCupcakes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 24 cupcake tins with liners.
Mix 1 1/2 cups butter and 1 1/2 cups brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in 4 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Combine 2 2/3 cups flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda and 1/4 tsp salt in a medium bowl then add to the wet ingredients alternating with 1 cup milk but beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Blend in 2 tsp vanilla extract and fold in 1 cup chocolate chips.
Divide the batter among the 24 cupcake liners and bake for 18-20 minutes. Allow to cool.
In another bowl, combine 4 tbsp butter and 6 tbsp light brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in 1 cup + 2 tbsp flour, 7 ounces sweetened condensed milk, and 1/2 tsp vanilla until smooth. Stir in 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about half an hour.
Cut a cone shaped hole in the bottom of each cooled cupcake. Fill each hole with the refrigerated cookie dough.
Make the frosting: in a bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups butter and 3/4 cups light brownsugar until creamy. Mix in 3 1/2 cups icing sugar, until smooth then add in 1 cup flour and 3/4 tsp salt. Mix in 3 tbsp milk and 2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract until smooth.
Frost each cupake and sprinkle the tops with some mini chocolate chips. The serve and enjoy!
Continuing on from the cookie exchange, there's one more recipe I have to share with you.
These cookies are amazing. The flavour combination of the white chocolate and the cranberries is one of those meant-to-be things and the cookie itself is so soft and chewy.... make these next time you want to impress someone with something a little bit different.
Kashyap's White Chocolate & Cranberry Cookies
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease or line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Cream together 1 cup softened butter, 1 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Beat in 2 eggs and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.
Add 1 cup flour, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt. Mix until combined.
Add in 1 pkg white chocolate chips and 1 cup dried cranberries.
