Peanut Butter Macarons

A few weeks ago, I was given a new task at the restaurant - macarons.

 

Each technique - meringue, folding, airating, piping, hardening, baking - was demonstrated to me by the sous chef who, obviously, had much more experience with this than me.

 

When I'm not folding meringue into almond flour and confectioner's sugar or piping thousands of these delicate cookies, I am researching their history, cross-referencing recipes and tyring to absorb tips from other pastry chefs.

 

It's fair to say I've fallen pretty hard for these tempermental little beauties.  It might also be fair to say I'm a bit of a nerd.  But we knew that.

 

Saturday morning I set about creating macarons for a friend's 'Iron Chef'-inspired dinner party that evening.  Peanut butter was the chosen ingredient we had to use in all our dishes.

 

So, as an amuse bouche, I created peanut butter macarons: macarons with crushed, candied peanuts with creamy peanut butter filling.

WMD Cupcakes

Last Saturday was the birthday of a very good friend of Mike and me.

I wanted to create something special for the occasion; something sweet.

I thought up many possibilities, but nothing was really jumping out at me.  Mike had no idea what desserts, candy or flavors Alan liked or disliked.  Did I mention they lived together for a year?  Yeah.  Boys.

And suddenly, my mind drifted back to the summertime, as the three of us were driving to Cape Cod for the weekend.  Alan couldn't believe Mike and I had never heard of the Wafles & Dinges truck.

A few weekends later, Alan and Mike visited the truck.  Mike went back for seconds and also brought one home for me.

Our lives have never been the same.

Now, let's take a moment to look at the menu.  Ah, the WMD - Wafle of Massive Deliciousness.  Always on the liege wafle.  Always.

And then it hit me - liege flavored cupcakes with every single dingle.  WMD cupcakes!

There were a few trials, lots of taste testing and a bit of jealous on Mike's end.

Let's go through the assembly; I will bold the dinges, just so you can hold me accountable.  First, the cupcake.  This was the most important element and required a bit of research on the flavors and traditional recipes for liege wafles.

But finally, Mike and I agreed a cinnamon-y cupcake with turbinado sugar folded into the batter is how a liege wafle would taste in cupcake form.

Next, the Nutella.

Then, the Speculoos butter cream.  Speculoos cookies are like the little Biscoff cookies you receive, if you're lucky, on the airplane.

For the finishing touches: chopped maple syrup candied walnuts, dulce de leche bananas and chocolate fudge strawberries.

Oh, you say I forgot two dinges?  Yes.  The whipped cream and ice cream.  I know.

But these two elements just weren't going to make it down to the Lower East Side on the subway.

However, if these were served at home, they could be on the cupcake without issue.

Judging by the way these cupcakes were quickly consumed by Alan and everyone in the party, I think it's safe to say they were a hit.

Test Recipe: Honey Sesame Cookies

This week’s test recipe was not one that had been laying around for awhile.  


Instead, the idea of finding this recipe had been floating around in my head since last winter, when Mike and I discovered a wonderful Thai restaurant, Land, just around the corner from the apartment.

For dessert, I had blood orange sorbet, which was served with a sweet, crisp sesame cookie.

While I knew how to make the sorbet, I had never had this type of cookie.

After a little searching, I found a recipe which looked similar in appearance and flavors.

But before I made the cookies, I decided to whip up some blood orange sorbet to complete the trial.

I cut open all the blood oranges, which revealed that deep, dark beautiful red color.

I juiced all of the oranges, by hand, through a small strainer until I had about 16 ounces of juice.

Then, I strained the juice again into a saucepan on the stove.

And added ½ cup sugar.

I warmed this over a medium-low flame just until all the sugar was dissolved and then chilled the syrup for the remainder of the afternoon and evening.

Now it’s time for the test recipe!

As with most recipes, I cut the recipe down so as to only yield a few cookies.  So, if you decide to make the full recipe, do not be worried if my ingredients look much smaller in comparison!

Okay – confectioner’s sugar, honey, orange juice and butter into a saucepan.

It will begin to melt.  Make sure you are stirring liberally.

And then it will begin to boil.  Let it boil for 1 minute and then remove from the heat.

Add flour, black sesame seeds, white sesame seeds and orange zest to the sugar mixture.

Allow this to reach room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Following the directions, I scooped the mixture with a ½ ounce scoop and placed them far away from each other on a SilPat lined baking sheet.

Place in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until the top begins to become golden.

I set my timer and returned to the kitchen to do some clean-up.  When I checked on the cookies about 5 minutes later, I discovered the four cookies had melted down to become one large sheet!

No need to panic.  I already know what to do.

Once the cookie sheet was golden and removed from the oven, I allowed it to cool just a few minutes until the cookies and SilPat separated easily.

Now for some cookie cutting!  First, I grabbed my heart-shaped cutter.  I thought these would be super cute.

And they would have been – if this had actually worked.

Next, I tried various sizes of my circle cutters. 

These worked much better since you could apply pressure AND twist the cutter.

Near the end of my cutting frenzy, as the cookies began to cool off, I did run into some breakage.

I allowed these to cool completely.

About 30 minutes before we were ready for dessert, I turned on my ice cream machine and poured the chilled blood orange syrup into the vessel.

This churned for about 35 minutes and yielded the most color-rich, sweet tasting sorbet.

I plated a few scoops with one of the honey sesame cookies and delivered this week’s test recipe to Mike for evaluation.

Mike was unimpressed with the cookie.  Rather, he loved the blood orange sorbet so much, he said it did not need the cookie.  Taste and appearance wise, he found it to be distracting from the real gem of the plate.

I thought it made for a prettier presentation and enjoyed the textural contrast the cookie provided.  However, I remember the cookie from Land having a little more flour, a little less sweet and no orange.

For now, I will keep this recipe in my binder.  But I will also be sure to make a note to, eventually, find an even better version.

Please find this week’s test recipe, Honey Sesame Cookies, below.  I have also included my own recipe for blood orange sorbet.

Citrus Sorbet

from Allison M. Veinote

Ingredients 

16 ounces freshly-squeezed citrus juice (e.g. red grapefruit, blood orange, lemon, lime, etc.) 

½ cup granulated sugar 

Preparation Instructions 

Place sugar in small pot.  Add just enough juice to saturate the sugar. 

Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves completely. 

Stir sugar mixture into remaining juice.  Chill. 

Freeze according to ice cream maker’s instructions. 

Honey Sesame Crisps 

adapted from ‘Martha Stewart Living’, December 2000  

Ingredients 

½ cup confectioner’s sugar 

1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter 

1 ½ tablespoons honey 

1 tablespoon orange juice 

¼ cup white sesame seeds 

2 tablespoons black sesame seeds 

2 tablespoons AP flour 

Zest of ¼ orange 

Pinch of salt 

Preparation Instructions 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with Silpats or parchment paper, and set aside.  

In a small saucepan, combine confectioners' sugar, butter, honey, and orange juice. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute.  

Remove pan from heat, and stir in remaining ingredients. Cool to room temperature.  

Using a 1/2-ounce ice-cream scoop, drop batter onto prepared baking sheets about 4 inches apart. (Alternatively, place closer together and, once slightly cooled, cut with cookie cutter into desired shape). 

Bake until cookies are crisp and golden, 10 to 12 minutes.  

Transfer from baking sheet to a wire rack to cool.

Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze

Saturday morning was bitterly cold here in Manhattan. The apartment was freezing, even with multiple layers, my favorite robe and fuzzy slippers.

I prepared the coffee as these cinnamon rolls were baking in the oven. The spicy smell of the cinnamon awoke Mike from sleep.

Hot out of the oven, they received a beautiful, shiny coat of cream cheese glaze.

Into the cake stand, onto the table and into our cold, empty bellies.

I might just be able to make it through another cold New York day after all.

Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze

adapted from Bon Appetit (March 2008)

Download Recipe: PDF | Word

Ingredients

Dough:

 

• 1 cup whole milk


• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter


• 3 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour, divided


• 1/2 cup sugar


• 1 large egg


• 2 1/4 teaspoons rapid-rise yeast (or 3/4 teaspoon SAF Instant Yeast)


• 1 teaspoon table salt


• Nonstick vegetable oil spray

 

Filling:

 

• 3/4 cup light brown sugar


• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon


• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

 

 

Glaze:

 

• 4 tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature


• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature


• 1/2 cup powdered sugar


• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation Instructions

For dough:

Combine milk and butter in glass measuring cup. Microwave on high until butter melts and mixture is about 110 degrees, 30 to 45 seconds.

Pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, egg, yeast, and salt. Beat on low speed 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl.

Add 2 1/2 cups flour. Beat on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl. If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form ball and pulls away from sides of bowl.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 8 minutes. Form into ball.

Lightly oil large bowl with nonstick spray. Transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

 

For filling:

Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl.

 

Punch down dough. Transfer to floured work surface. Roll out to 15 x 11-inch rectangle.

Spread butter over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over butter.

Starting at 1 long side, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up. With seam side down, cut dough crosswise with thin sharp knife into 18 equal slices (each about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide).

Spray two 9-inch square glass baking dishes with nonstick spray. Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up (there will be almost no space between rolls). Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap, refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, remove rolls from refrigerator and let rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, ninety minutes to two hours.

Preheat to 375 degrees. Bake rolls until tops are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and invert immediately onto rack. Cool 10 minutes. Turn rolls right side up.

 

For glaze:

 

 

 

 

Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until smooth. Spread glaze on rolls. Serve warm or at room temperature.

 

Test Recipe: Triple Ginger Cookies

I came across this recipe in Bon Appétit (December 2009) as I was flipping through during the hurried holiday season.

The thought of spicy ginger cookies with a hot cup of coffee was so warm and comforting, I momentarily forgot the temperature was only in the teens.

Last weekend, I set about to actually try this recipe. The recipe listed a yield of 40 cookies, which was entirely too many for, not only a first-go at a recipe, but also for two people. So I halved it.

I began by creaming the butter.

Then added the brown sugars...

...and creamed for about three minutes.

Then, the egg, molasses and spices were added.

Finally, the flour mixture was incorporated in two additions.

I scooped the dough with a mini-ice cream scoop (no.50 pastry scoop).

I decide to roll half of the cookies in the recommended granulated sugar...

...and the other half in a coarser turbinado sugar.

Onto the sheet pans and into the oven!

After about 12 minutes, they were ready to come out of the oven. I allowed them to cool on the pans for about five minutes and then transferred them to a cooling rack.

Finally, it was time to taste them.

They were good, but not amazing. They tasted much more like a molasses cookie than I had expected. And I do love molasses cookies, but these were supposed to be ginger cookies. Or as Mike named them “Ginger Three Ways” cookies.

Both versions of the rolling sugar, granulated and turbinado, tasted fine. I preferred the coarser texture of the turbinado sugar, but it is completely up to the preference of the baker.

Due to the fact that these tasted so much more like a molasses cookie than a ginger cookie, it will not find a permanent spot in my recipe binder.

One test recipe down. Many more to go.

Triple Ginger Cookies

adapted from Bon Appétit (December 2009)

yields about 40 cookies

Ingredients

2 ½ cups AP flour

1/3 cup minced crystallized ginger

2 teaspoons baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

½ cup light brown sugar

½ cup dark brown sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

¼ cup light (mild-flavored) molasses

1 ½ teaspoons finely grated fresh peeled ginger

1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/3 cup sugar (granulated or turbinado), for rolling

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line 2 baking sheets with SilPats or parchment paper.

Whisk flour, crystallized ginger, baking soda and salt in medium bowl.

Using electric mixer, beat butter until creamy and light, about 2 minutes.

Gradually beat in both brown sugars. Beat on medium-high speed until creamy, about 3 minutes.

Add egg, molasses, fresh ginger, ground ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Beat to blend.

Add flour mixture in 2 additions, beating on low speed just to blend between additions.

Place 1/3 cup sugar in small bowl. Measure 1 tablespoon dough. Roll into ball between palms of hands, then roll in sugar in bowl to coat; place on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining cookie dough, spacing cookies 1 ½ to 2 inches apart.

Bake cookies until surfaces crack and cookies are firm around edges but still slightly soft in center, about 12 to 15 minutes.

Cool on sheet tray about 5 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool completely.