Oreos

Oreo (noun) Two crisp chocolate wafer cookies sandwiched together by vanilla cream.

Back in January, I visited Flour bakery in Boston where they offered homemade oreo cookies. Intrigued, I had to try one. Their cookies were similar to oreos, but the chocolate wafers tasted extremely buttery and much thicker, more like a shortbread. They were good, but not exact replicas of my favorite cookie. Taking matters into my own hands, I googled Oreo recipes as soon as I got home and decided I must try to make them myself. I've had this recipe sitting around for a few months now and I finally tried it today.

I usually tend to stay away from making complicated cookies, especially the ones calling for multiple steps (aka. make dough, bake cookies, make filling, build cookie, clean up giant mess)...ack. But working the night shift at the paper today left me with plenty of time to kill this morning.

These cookies proved they were worth the effort. The chocolate wafers were thin, but not brittle thin, and the buttercream filling was the perfect consistency. I am happy with the way these turned out! Who needs Nabisco??

Homemade Oreos

Cookies
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room- temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg

Vanilla-Cream Filling
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preparation
Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375 degrees.

In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.

Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.

To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2-3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.

To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream.

Makes 30 sandwich cookies.

Red velvetly goodness

Red velvet cake is one of my favorites. I can't say why. Maybe it's the shocking color. Or maybe it's the hard-to-put-your-finger-on-it flavor. The cake has cocoa powder in it which makes it taste slightly like a chocolate cake, though it don't really taste that chocolatey. It tastes smooth, sweet, and rich. Red velvet cake recipes differ widely in proportions of ingredients and secret ingredients, but they will always call for buttermilk, vinegar and of course, red food coloring!

The bright red batter is quite a fun change from the usual white or chocolate battered cakes.

This pic makes them look browner than they really were. In real life, they were actually pretty red!

Lemon Strawberry Layer Cake

Lemon Strawberry Layer Cake

Scrumptious! This cake is a modified version of 'Nathan's Lemon Cake' from Cooking Light. The original was supposed to make 16 servings, so I halved it and made the cake in 6'' ramekins. 4 of us managed to polish off the supposed 8 servings in about 10 minutes! The frosting is tangy and rich, matching perfectly with the lemony moist cake. I doubt that 16 servings would have posed much of a challenge--next time I'm making full-size.

Ingredients

object2="> Cake:
object2="> Cooking spray
object2=">2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
object2=">2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
object2=">1 teaspoon baking powder
object2=">1/2 teaspoon baking soda
object2=">1/2 teaspoon salt
object2=">1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
object2=">1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
object2=">3 large eggs
object2=">1 cup nonfat buttermilk
object2=">2 tablespoons finely grated lemon rind
object2=">2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. To prepare cake, coat 2 (8-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray; line bottoms of pans with wax paper. Coat wax paper with cooking spray. Dust pans with 2 tablespoons flour, and set aside.

3. Lightly spoon 2 cups flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

4. Place granulated sugar and 1/2 cup butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and nonfat buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat in 2 tablespoons lemon rind and 2 tablespoons lemon juice.

5. Pour batter into prepared pans; sharply tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350° for 32 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack; remove wax paper from cake layers.

6. To prepare icing, combine powdered sugar and the remaining ingredients (except lemon rind strips) in a large bowl; stir with a whisk until smooth. Place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread half of icing on top of cake. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining half of icing over top of cake. Garnish with lemon rind strips, if desired. Store cake loosely covered in the refrigerator.

Yield

16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 317(27% from fat); FAT 9.5g (sat 5.6g,mono 2.6g,poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 3.6g; CHOLESTEROL 56mg; CALCIUM 52mg; SODIUM 165mg; FIBER 0.6g; IRON 1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 55.7g

Nathan Coulon , Cooking Light, MAY 2008

Pawts dee kreem

What's better together than chocolate and cream? Amy and I, of course!

Tonight we got together to make the NYT's recipe for Pots de Creme. PDC, which is pronunced: poh duh KREHM, is a creamy, custardy French dessert. Each portion is baked in an individual little ramekin. Basically anything and everything rich and creamy gets melted together and then baked in a water bath. This recipe calls for dark delicious bittersweet chocolate. I like my chocolate like I like my guys - dark and rich.

HA. Just kidding!! ... not.

We made the pots tonight and now they have to get their beauty rest in the refrigerator overnight before we can taste them tomorrow. I'm betting they'll be awesome!

Extra-Bittersweet Chocolate Pots de Crème

Time: 55 minutes, plus chilling

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
4 egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Crème fraîche or whipped cream, for serving.

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a heavy saucepan, bring cream and milk to a boil. Remove from heat; whisk in chopped chocolate until smooth.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the yolks, sugar and salt. Whisking constantly, slowly pour hot chocolate into yolks. Strain through a very fine mesh sieve into a large measuring cup or bowl.

3. Divide mixture among 2- to 4-ounce espresso cups or small ramekins. Set filled cups in a large roasting pan that has been positioned on center rack of oven. Add hot tap water to pan, halfway up sides of cups. Cover pan with foil; use a fork to prick holes in foil.

4. Bake until edges are lightly set (lifting foil to check) but center is still jiggly — it will set as it cools — 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer cups to a wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving with crème fraîche or whipped cream.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Recipe to try!

Tsai sisters are back from foraging Taiwan for tasty treats. Pics to come soon. Not sure if Blogger can handle massive amount of food photos we have though...

In the meantime, here's a recipe that sounds very promising. I'm marking it as a recipe to try soon!

Dot's Blondies with Chocolate Chips

Start to finish: 7 minutes preparation, plus approximately 20 to 25 minutes baking time and 20 minutes cooling time

2 sticks unsalted butter (plus more for greasing the pan)
1 pound (2 cups firmly packed) light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour (see Cook's note)
2 large eggs
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans, optional

Cook's note: To get the proper texture, do not use an electric mixer. You do not need to sift the flour, but spoon the flour into the measuring cup so as not to pack it down too much. Use the spoon handle to brush away extra flour and thereby "level" the top of the measuring cup.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9-inch-by-12-inch baking pan well with butter. Set the pan aside.

Melt the 2 sticks of butter in a 2-quart microwave-safe bowl covered with a paper towel. Remove the bowl from the microwave, and add the brown sugar. Stir well. Add the baking powder, salt and vanilla extract, stirring until completely incorporated. Stir in the flour, again stirring until it is well mixed. The batter will be very stiff.

Crack the eggs into a small bowl, and beat them well with a fork or whisk. Add the eggs to the batter and stir with a spoon until they are completely incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips (and the nuts, if using).

Spread the batter in the greased pan. The batter will be stiff and sticky. You may have to spread it to the edges of the pan with the back of a spoon, but don't worry too much about getting it exactly even, as the batter will spread as it bakes.

Bake until the top begins to get golden brown and the blondies just begin to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 20 to 25 minutes. (Baking time will vary depending on your oven and the type of pan.) Do not overbake! Cool for at least 20 minutes, and cut into small squares. Store in an airtight container or cover well with plastic wrap. These bars freeze very well and improve in flavor after the first day.

Makes 2 dozen

Approximate values per blondie: 216 calories (41 percent from fat), 10 g fat (6 g saturated), 38 mg cholesterol, 2 g protein, 31 g carbohydrates, 1 g dietary fiber, 59 mg sodium

Will Work for Cookies

While MLF (he hates that name, btw...."my little friend") installed my living room ceiling fan the other night, I felt like it'd be a nice thing to do if I offered to bake him up something sweet for all his grunting efforts up on the ladder. I told him to pick ANYTHING he wanted and I'd make it right then. He picked my oatmeal cookies, typically made with raisins and chocolate.

Impressively (and surprisingly), the ceiling fan was looking pretty good so far, so I decided that I'd reward MLF with some extra-special oatmeal cookies. No same ol' raisins and chocolate this time around. I broke out the good stuff - dried cranberries, toffee bits, and semi-sweet chocolate chips. I even made an ice cream sandwich with the cookies which was stuffed with caramel pecan ice cream.

The ice cream sandwich was eaten before I could snap a pic. I'll post pictures of the cookies later though!

I used a recipe from Martha Stewart, but made some tweaks. This is my favorite oatmeal cookie recipe ever. The cookies come out chewy and very crispy at the same time.


Prissy's Oatmeal Cookies full of toffee, crasins and chocolate!
Makes about 2 1/2 dozen

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups oats (I used a mix of quick-oats and old fashioned)
1 cup dried cranberries (use however much you want, i used a bit less)
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup toffee pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, sift together flour and baking soda.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice during mixing. Add the egg; mix on high speed to combine. Add the vanilla; mix to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

3. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, and mix on low speed until well combined. Add the oats, cherries, chocolate, and toffee pieces; mix to combine after each addition.

4. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of dough onto a lined baking sheet. Repeat, spacing 2 inches apart.

5. Bake cookies until golden brown, about 10 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container up to 2 days.

Happy Easter

Hummingbird Cake

The cake looks pretty, but the taste is to be determined... This Hummingbird Cake is similar to a carrot cake, except minus the carrot part. The similarity is in the texture and flavor. It has a little spice in it, some crushed pineapple for moistness, AND it has cream cheese frosting. Oops, did I mention the key ingredient is bananas??

I didn't include the nuts as the recipe called for because I didn't feel like spending $9.99 on pecans at the rip-off groc store. I subbed applesauce in the place of most of the 1 cup of oil, so I hope this cake doesn't taste too "healthy." Shhh...don't tell. We'll see how it tastes tomorrow!

Cake:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 can (8oz) crushed pineapple, well drained
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 2 cups chopped firm ripe banana

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 2 pounds confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 350°. Sift flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon together into mixing bowl several times. Add eggs and salad oil to the dry ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon until ingredients are moistened. Stir in vanilla, pineapple and 1 cup pecans. Stir in the bananas. Spoon the batter into 3 well-greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes,or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
Combine cream cheese and butter; cream until smooth. Add powdered sugar, beating with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla.

Frost the tops of all 3 layers, stack and then frost sides. Sprinkle top evenly with the 1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans.