Cookie (Treat) Advent Update

Here's an update on out Christmas Cookie (now Treat) Advent. We've actually kept it up every day, but added more variety so that we don't get bored. A few days, the treats disappeared too quickly for pictures, so we're planning on making those again to get some good shots! We literally have crumbs left of one of the cookies, which while delicious, don't look that appetizing. Some others aren't worth mentioning (I'm looking at you coconut caramels). All of the following were a success!

Alpine Mint Brownies

These are the best mint brownies I've ever had. Hands down. And my lucky couple friends we shared them with agree! I usually don't like fudgy brownies because they often end up gooey in the middle or over-baked., but I now understand why they're called fudgy brownies. These were actually the texture of fudge! They converted me. We followed the recipe, except I'm not a fan of normal McCormick mint extract, so we used 1/8 teaspoon peppermint oil instead. 

Cottage Cheese Pufflets

These were quite delicious! The cottage cheese in the dough threw me off, but mostly it just made the dough really flaky. When you picture these, think of super flaky handheld pies. We filled them with homemade currant jam. 

Finnish Pulla

Kyle made this today. We love it so much that there's only a third left. Make it sometime. Plan to not eat much else that day.

French Butter Cookies

These are like those Christmas cookies that come in a tin, but so much better! They're pretty easy, too. We altered the recipe just a little. We left out the salt and used a really good quality Amish salted cultured butter instead. They had a wonderful slight tang. 

Brown Butter Ginger Cookies

This picture doesn't do the cookies justice, but these were amazing. These were the only two left! They were supposed to have frosting and be sandwiched together, but we loved them as was too much to mess with it. 

Alfajores

These were really good, but way too much work for me to make them again. If I did, I'd use a purchased dulce de leche. 

Gooey Butter Cookies

These are Kyle's favorites. They taste exactly like their name. I don't love them as much because I prefer a firmer cookie, but if you're in the gooey cookie camp, you'll love these!

Jam Thumbprints

These were good thumbprint cookies, but not particularly amazing. 

Gingerbread!

This was our first time making real gingerbread houses. We had our friends the Messerly's over for some decorating fun! Some of the reviews of the recipe above said it wasn't very flavorful. We doubled the cinnamon and cardamom in the recipe and would have doubled the ginger, except we ran out. It tasted pretty good, and was also really sturdy for construction. We made some royal icing for building and decorating, and some brown butter icing for delicious eating!

TWD: Finnish Pulla

Okay, so I have to update what I said about the best ever brownies last time. This is my new favorite recipe from Baking with Julia! We made it as part of our Christmas Treat Advent today. I've honestly never had better soft bread in my life. It's slightly sweet with a perfectly balanced hint of cardamom. The sliced almonds and pearl sugar on top add great textural contrast.  If you still don't believe how good this is, we baked it tonight and there is only this much left:

I just keep going back for one more slice! Honey makes it even better.

I would never attempt a bow again though. It was harder than the braid and pretty much blended into the loaf. Other than that, I would definitely make this again! Kyle mixed up the dough as written, except we didn't have cardamom seeds, so he just used 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder. I'm pretty sure this would still be good without the pearl sugar, so if you don't have that, give it a try anyway! Here's the recipe and other blogger's experience. 

Remembrance

TWD: Gingerbread Baby Cakes

This recipe ended up looking very pretty, but I don't think it'll be one that we repeat.  We made one substitution: we replaced the espresso powder with extra cocoa powder.

You can find the recipe here.

Quick Winter Tomato and Corn Chowder

This is a simple, satisfying soup that is really easy to put together. We made it the night after our long drive back from Thanksgiving because it was much easier than even grabbing fast food. Since this soup uses mostly canned ingredients, it's good for when you want something that is healthy and tastes fresh but your fridge is bare. I love the scallions on top, but if you don't have them the soup is still good without.

Tomato and Corn Chowder

adapted from White on Rice Couple

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with juices

1 (15 oz) can corn with liquid

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper or cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup skim milk

3 to 4 chopped scallions for garnish

Heat the olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Add the chopped onions and cook until translucent and they start to color. Add the minced garlic and cook for a minute more. If you have a couple extra minutes, you can drain the tomatoes and reserve the liquid and then brown the tomatoes as well for some extra flavor. Then add the brown sugar and corn with liquid. If you're in a rush, just add the tomatoes and juice at the same time along with the brown sugar and can of corn with liquid. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until the flavors meld well together. Add the crushed red pepper and season to taste with salt and pepper. Take the soup off heat and stir in the milk. Check the seasoning again before serving. Top with chopped scallions and enjoy alone or with good bread or grilled cheese!

Cookie Advent 2012: Swedish Dream Cookies, Snickerdoodles, and Pecan Chocolate Chip

I tried to do a cookie advent last year which I ended up giving up on for a few reasons. First, it got kind of crazy. Second, I was trying to follow someone else's list of cookies, which didn't always line up with my tastes. This year we decided to try again, but this time choosing all the cookie recipes ourselves! So far, it's going much better. We'll see if we can keep it up! If you invite us over in the next month, expect a plate of cookies when we show up :)

Here's our progress so far:

My favorites so far are a repeat from last year: Swedish Dream Cookies from Saveur. These are a light crispy cookie flavored with vanilla bean. They really do melt in your mouth! And they're the easiest cookies I've ever made. We didn't have vanilla sugar, so we substituted a vanilla bean and a tablespoon of sugar and they turned out great!

We also tried a new snickerdoodle recipe from Saveur. They were had a great intense cinnamon flavor since the batter was flavored as well, but I like Kyle's family's recipe better. I should probably post that someday.

Our third cookie so far was David Lebovitz's chocolate chip cookie recipe. I was a fan of the addition of chopped toasted nuts, but I wish we'd have used better chocolate since that's a main component of the recipe. I think I'll give it a go with some Valrhona or Scharffen-Berger next time! We did sprinkle some sea salt on them (a la another David's recipe) which was a good addition.

I'll keep you updated on our cookie adventures! Maybe they'll last this time :)

TWD: Best Ever Brownies

I love many kinds of brownies, but my favorites are my grandma's with marshmallows and frosting. Even though these don't quite beat those, they are still pretty awesome! I especially liked them with sea salt sprinkled on top. They're supposed to be a fudgy brownie, which I like, but after the recommended time they were a little too gooey for my taste. So, we cooked them a little longer and they turned out great! This is my favorite recipe so far from Tuesdays with Dorrie. Check out A Beautiful Mess for the recipe and here to see how it turned out for others. 

Thanksgiving Pies

We've been tasked with helping with pies for Thanksgiving, so we've been busy practicing lately! Here are a few of the results, in case you still need some ideas for Thanksgiving, or want some good pies for Christmas too!

Pear Cranberry Pie

This was my favorite new recipe we tried! The tartness of the cranberries was perfectly balanced by the sweet pears. We'll be making this for Thanksgiving and probably for Christmas too because it's so pretty! We followed this recipe from Serious Eats for Pear and Concord Grape Pie, but substituted cranberries for grapes. 

Apple Pie

This was from another Serious Eats recipe. We like more spice, so we used 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg. The flavor and crust were fantastic! The only problem we had with this one was the apples and crust puffed up while baking and then fell after cooling, even with par-cooking. The flavor and crust were excellent though, so it still made the cut. If you have any suggestions to prevent puffing or falling filling, let me know!

Chocolate Pecan Chess Pie

This is my favorite pie! I just love the combo of flaky crust and dense chocolate filling! I used the same recipe we did last year. I've found that since then, my taste for crusts has shifted toward more well done ones, so if you're in that camp I'd add an extra 10 minutes onto the blind baking time. But otherwise, this is perfect. If you like fudgy brownies, or dense chocolate pudding then this is your pie!

Maple Syrup Snow

We had a ton of snow last night! I'm usually not a fan, but this time we were excited for a special treat. I'd had my eye on this maple syrup snow from Leite's Culinaria since last year. It reminded me of the maple syrup snow candy from Little House on the Prairie.  I loved that book when I was a little girl, so I was really excited to make some! It was coming down pretty heavy last night, so we set out a half sheet pan to catch some snow. 

We ended up with 6 inches! So we had more than enough to make some maple syrup toffee and sprinkle it over the snow for breakfast today! We quartered the recipe and it made for than enough for us and our upstairs neighbors. There's plenty of winter left, so have fun!

Maple Syrup Snow

6.9 oz (5/8 cup) maple syrup

0.7 oz (1 1/2 tablespoons) butter

Set a container out to collect fresh snow. After you have enough, heat the maple syrup and butter to the early softball stage at 235° F (subtract 1° for every 500 feet above sea level), stirring occasionally to combine. Let cool a bit and then drizzle over fresh snow. Enjoy!

Buttermilk crumb muffins

These turned out all right. I baked them 5 minutes less than suggested, but they still burnt. Oh well, at least the insides tasted good. I was reading from my fellow bakers that these muffins were lacking in flavor, so I made a couple changes. I used butter instead of shortening, dark brown sugar instead of light, and I used milk with lemon juice for the buttermilk. Also, I added extra cinnamon, some vanilla and some lemon zest, so the flavor was good. I'm not sure if I'd make them again though because I've had other muffins I've liked better. If you want to try them, our host was the birthday girl Alisa from down home desserts. You can check out how other did here. 

TWD: Bagels

This is the second recipe we've used to make bagels, and we liked it.  I'm glad it didn't take  a rising step after we pulled it out of the fridge, that made it a lot easier to boil and bake in the morning.  The bagels definitely tasted good and had a good texture.  We topped them with Asiago cheese, but didn't use the glaze described in the recipe.  It seemed to stick well enough, though some cheese did burn on our pizza stone.

Overall, the recipe wasn't too hard, and it's ended up being one of our favorite TWD recipes so far.  Next time we try it, maybe we'll see if we like other toppings :-)

 You can find the recipe here.

TWD: Cranberry Walnut Pumpkin Loaf

This turned out okay. I don't think it's the recipes fault, but it turns out I'm jut not the biggest fan of yeast and pumpkin flavor in the same thing. I think I'll stick to quickbread pumpkin recipes from here on out, but it was nice to at least give this a try. I did at least like the bread better toasted with butter. Butter does help most things. I wasn't able to find fresh or frozen cranberries, so I used dried instead. Who knows, maybe that would have been the difference between okay and great.

This Bountiful Backyard is our host for this week. Head on over there if you want to try it out for yourself.

TWD: Whole Wheat Bread

This is an all right loaf of whole wheat bread. Maybe I should have tried harder to find malt powder. I substituted molasses instead. While this bread is not spectacular, it serves as a fine vehicle for all the jams we've been making this year. I think I'll still keep looking for the ideal loaf, at least for me.

You can find the recipe at the lovely blogs veggie num nums or The Family That Bakes Together.

Coconut Corn Salad

Here's another fresh corn recipe to get in before it's all gone! This one comes from 101 cookbooks, which is one of my favorite blogs. We adapted it slightly, and it turned out lovely! I'm trying to get in as much summer cuisine as possible before it's undeniably fall. I love fall cooking, but I want to savor as much summer flavor as possible before then! This quick salad fits the bill with tropical flavors and sweet, fresh corn.

Coconut Corn Salad
from 101 Cookbooks

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 cups of corn kernels from 4 ears of corn

Kosher salt (1 teaspoon or so)

3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

1 1/2 oz (1 cup) big coconut flakes

3 oz (1 cup) sliced almonds

3 tablespoons chopped red onions

2 to 3 tablespoons lime juice

If you're like me, and don't like a really intense red onion flavor, soak the chopped onions in a bowl of cold water while you're prepping the rest of the salad. Drain them before adding to the rest of the ingredients.  

Toast the almonds in a nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, or doing the saute snap. After,the almonds are done, set them aside in a small bowl and toast the coconut flakes. After setting the coconut flakes aside in a small bowl, melt the butter in the skillet. Add the corn, salt to taste, and cook for two to three minutes until it's somewhat soft. 

Put the corn in a medium bowl. Mix in the basil, red onions, and lime juice. Serve topped with almonds and coconut.

Fresh Corn Risotto

We had a good friend over for dinner last week and made this. She requested the recipe, so I figured I'd share it with all of you too! My version is pretty similar to the original, but I adopted it to include more corn because that was my favorite part. Also, I used the Cooks Illustrated technique, because it involves less stirring. You'll have to hurry with this before fresh corn goes totally out of season, but I promise it's worth it!

Fresh Corn Risotto

adapted from Food and Wine

technique from Cooks Illustrated

6 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock, divided

1 bay leaf

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, very finely chopped

12 ounces (1 1/2 cups) cups arborio rice 

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 cups white corn kernels (from 4 ears)

3 ounces (1 cup) freshly grated Parmesan

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Keep the stock warm in a medium saucepan with the bay leaf while you're working on the rest of the risotto. 

In a heavy pot, heat the olive oil over medium to medium high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook for about 3 minutes, until opaque.  Add the white wine vinegar and 1/2 cup vegetable stock. Stir until absorbed. Add another 3 cups of stock and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce to a simmer and stir occasionally until it is mostly absorbed. 

Stir in the corn. Add the remaining stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring pretty well constantly until each addition is absorbed.  The rice is done when it's creamy, but still has some chew in the center. If you run out of stock and the rice isn't done, add some water. 

When the rice is cooked, stir in the Parmesan and butter. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove the bay leaf before serving. 

TWD: Plum Upside Down Cake

This was supposed to be a nectarine upside down cake.I had some plums that were too sour for snacking, so I used those instead. It turned out pretty well. I had a hard time telling for sure when the cake was done, so I think I undercooked it. The middle fell down after it came out of the oven. Oh well, at least it still tasted pretty good!

The layers of plums looked so pretty that I had to take a picture!

The recipe can be found at the double trouble kitchen or the little french bakery. 

This wasn't the most photogenic cake, but it was delicious.

No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake

I'm behind on posting recipes, so it's already a little late this year for strawberries. Still, I think this recipe would be excellent with some of the late season raspberries that are available now. It would make a prefect smooth and creamy end of summer treat. You don't even have to turn on your oven! The berry flavor is the most prominent, so make sure to use good ones. This isn't a hard dessert to make, but it does take a little bit of time, so plan ahead. You can find the recipe over at the cooking channel.

Smashed Chickpea Salad

This is a really simple salad to throw together. I love chickpeas. They're an easy and delicious way to add substance to a meal. Canned chickpeas are a pantry staple in our house. Here, combined with red pepper, red onion and olives they make a filling lunch or dinner. The recipe is from smitten kitchen. Deb suggests it as a sandwich topping, but we loved it on some pearled barley instead. If you're not a fan of the intense flavor of red onion, you can soak the chopped pieces in cold water for 10 minutes before using them in the recipe. 

Smashed Chickpea Salad

1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup chopped red pepper

2 tablespoons chopped black olives

1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons lemon juice

½ to 1 teaspoon salt, to taste

½ teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Combine all the ingredients and salt and pepper to taste. Smash some of the mixture for textural contrast. Serve on cooked barley, another grain, or a piece of bread. 

Beignets

This was our first foray into fried food. I've always been scared of a pot of super hot oil, so we heated it up very slowly to avoid getting it too hot. Unfortunately our cowardice made the process take two hours. The next time we fried, we turned the heat on high and it went a lot faster. Luckily these were worth even the unnecessarily long wait! Crispy on the outside, soft but not doughy in the middle, these beignets covered in powdered sugar are the perfect fried dough. The recipe is from Leite's Culinaria, and I'll just direct you there since their instructions are perfect. 

TWD: Popovers

This was by far the easiest recipe yet for this group. Still they didn't turn out perfectly, at least on my first try.  I followed the directions exactly and didn't open the oven for 25 minutes. I was a little bit concerned about that because I don't have a window in my oven, but Marion seemed so adamant about it that I obliged. Unfortunately, my concerns became reality and I opened the door to some popovers that were toast even before the second stage of cooking.

The picture doesn't quite do them justice, because they were definitely darker in real life. At least the middles were still tasty! That's why you see a bunch of them broken open. Luckily they were super easy so I was able to bake off another batch in no time. This time I only baked them for 20 minutes for the first step at a slightly reduced oven temperature. Those are in the first picture, and as you can tell they turned out perfectly golden! I'll be keeping this recipe on hand for when I want a quick hot breakfast. They were especially delicious with Nutella, but then again what isn't?

You can find the recipe here or here and see what other people did here. 

Quinoa Patties and Tuscan Kale Salad

I've been posting a few of our regular favorites lately, and this is another one of those! Both of these are great to make ahead. In fact, I prefer the kale salad (recipe here) made the day before so it has time to marinate. Just don't add the breadcrumbs until you serve it or they will lose their crunch. If you don't have time for that, you can just rub the oil in an hour before dinner and then add the rest of the dressing right before. That will also serve to help soften up the kale. Also, I usually use Parmesan instead of Pecorino, just because that's what I have on hand.

The quinoa patties (recipe here) are the perfect healthy airplane snack. They are so versatile. I skip the sun dried tomatoes because I never have them on hand, but they've always turned out great for me. I've also skipped the kale when I don't have any and have played around with the seasonings. You can use the basic formula and add whatever flavors are your favorite. They're delicious warm, cold, or room temperature. 

Happy National Zucchini Day!

In honor of this national celebration of the giant green squash, I decided to share with you some ways we've been enjoying the bounty of our garden. Even if you don't have a garden, zucchini are really cheap this time of year, so I hope you can use one of the following recipes to take advantage of the savings!

The pasta pictured above is Farfalle with Zucchini and Gorgonzola from Serious Eats. We halved the cheese because we like a milder blue cheese flavor, but besides that we stuck to the recipe. This was Kyle's favorite way we've prepped zucchini so far (besides cake). 

Above is a Zucchini Potato Frittata from the kitchn. We omitted to bacon to make it slightly healthier, and it was still very good! We made it twice in two weeks, which for our ever-changing menu is a big deal. This and the next preparation have been my favorite so far. 

This is adapted from a grilled zucchini salad from the kitchn. We don't have a grill, so we used a different technique for the zucchini. We made it twice. Once, pairing the zucchini with uncooked cherry tomatoes as in the original recipe, and the second with cooked full size tomatoes. The amounts are very flexible, but here's a basic outline of the recipe:

Zucchini and Tomato Salad

2 medium zucchini

1 to 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved or 3 to 4 regular tomatoes, diced

1 ounce Parmesan cheese, shredded or shaved

2 tablespoons basil, chopped or chiffonaded

1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Heat up a cast iron pan. Cut the zucchini into quarters. Add olive oil to the cast iron pan and cook the zucchini on all sides until charred, about 1-2 minutes per side. Remove the zucchini and dice. If using good tomatoes, combine everything together and you're done. If you're tomatoes aren't amazing and they need a little help to be more flavorful, char them as well in the cast iron pan for a few minutes. Either way, this is a really easy summer side dish to throw together! Add some beans and grain and you've got a whole meal.

TWD: Berry Galette

This was kind of a last minute dessert for me, but it turned out good anyway. Luckily it was pretty easy. It might have been the berries I had, but it wasn't as sweet as I like. Next time I'd put more sugar in the filling. Overall, I'd say it was a success! Hopefully next time I'll be more on top of things though. You can find the recipe here or here and see what others have done at TWD.

TWD: Semolina Bread

We actually really liked this bread. It was a good mix between artisan and sandwich texture. We had it with some bread, cheese and nuts for a perfect dinner.

You can find the recipe here or here. If you want to see what other people have done, check out the TWD website.

Slow Cooker Curried Chicken

If you'd like an easy and unique tasty slow cooker meal, this recipe is for you. The best part is that you can do all of the prep the night before. Then, in the morning, before you head off to work or whatever other activity awaits you, stick it in the slow cooker and come home to a fabulous curry! Pair it with some rice or couscous and a vegetable for a quick, healthy dinner.

Slow Cooker Curried Chicken
From Slow Cooker Revolution

2 onions, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons minced or grated fresh ginger
4 teaspoons curry powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons minute tapioca
3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup raisins
2 granny smith apples, minced
1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds

 1. Put onions, garlic, ginger, curry powder, oil, and tomato paste in a bowl and microwave, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Put the mixture into the slow cooker
2. Add the broth to the slow cooker and stir in the tapioca. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to everything else. At this point, you can leave overnight in the fridge and cook in the morning. Cover and cook until the chicken is tender on low 4 to 6 hours for breasts or 6 to 8 hours for thighs.
3. Add the raisins and apples to the chicken with the slow cooker still on and heat for about 10 minutes. Move the chicken to a serving platter. Let the liquid in the slow cooker settle for 5 minutes, and then remove fat on the surface with a large spoon.
 4. Stir 1/4 cup sauce into the yogurt to temper, and then stir mixture back into slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Pour 1 cup sauce over chicken and serve with almonds, cilantro and remaining sauce. Alternately, put chicken back into slow cooker with cilantro and almonds and serve altogether. Serve with rice or couscous.

TWD: Hazelnut (Walnut) Biscotti

We didn't have hazelnuts, so we used walnuts instead. Kyle was sweet and spearheaded this project. Overall, they were all right. I think they would have been better if we added chocolate or had something to dip them in. At least they were really easy!

You can find the recipe here or here and see what other people did here. 

Finger Limes and Coconut Rice Pudding

I've been hearing a lot about finger limes lately, so a while back we decided to order some. Once they arrived, I realized I had no idea what to do with them! We tried eating them straight, and they were pretty good, but puckery. Finding any recipes was hard. Most are for seafood, and Kyle's not a fan.

 I decided that since they're tropical they'd probably go well with some coconut rice pudding. Well, I was definitely wrong. The two did not go well together at all. The limes are bright, tart and watery while the pudding is creamy and rich. The good news is that we loved the pudding on its own! Next time I get finger limes though, I think I'll buy fish and invite over a seafood loving friend.

Don't the insides look cool!

Bad combo, but good separate ingredients!

I've made this with different proportions of coconut milk and cow's milk and they've all turned out great. If you want to make this vegan, you can even use all coconut milk. Just make sure the total milk comes to 2 1/2 cups. Also, this easily doubles or more to feed extra mouths. And the leftovers are great cold straight out of the fridge. In fact, Kyle likes it better cold.

Coconut Rice Pudding

Serves 2

From America's Test Kitchen

1 cup water
1/2 cup medium grain rice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Boil the water in a saucepan and add the rice and salt. Cover the pot, turn the heat down and simmer  and stir occasionally for 10 to 15 minutes until the water is absorbed. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and stir frequently while it cooks for another 45 minutes to an hour. It's done when a spoon can stand up in the pudding. Serve warm or refrigerate and serve cold. Whatever you do, don't serve with finger limes! Mangoes or bananas might be a good topping though. Their creamy texture would be a better match.