Monthly Archives: December 2011

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So, this is the New Year…

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Dear 2011,

It’s been fun, strange, and terrifying, but most of all, exciting.

It’s been a year of change and discovery.

Thanks for everything.

Dear 2012,

I’m not big on resolutions, I feel like they’re just a set-up for failure. So, I’m keeping my goals for the year simple:

patience, patience, patience. learn some. 

eat a few new vegetables

be nicer to my body

get back into arts/crafts

learn to temper chocolate

try to remember that comparison kills joy

I’m looking forward to this new year. Let’s get into it.

Dear Friends,

I can’t even begin to get into how much your comments, and the fact that this little blog is even on your radar, mean to me. It’s a big, bad world of blogging and there’s a ton of things to look at, read, and be inspired by. Your support means the world.

I thank you from the deepest reaches of my little, ol’ heart. Truly.

So, to cap of 2011, I say we have a drink. I know many of us will be popping the corks off of some bubbly tonight and toasting to a brand new year with the ones we love the most.

My favorite guy and I will be staying in, after a long and much needed trip back home for the holidays. We’ll be lounging and sipping these cocktails with our pups. Soda water makes it bubbly, rosemary + ginger syrup bring aromatic, herbal sweetness, there’s a little squeeze of lime for some tang, and gin makes it all boozey and right.

Cheers!!

XO Cindy

Rosemary-Ginger Gin Cocktail

makes 1 drink

ice

2 ounces gin

1 tablespoon rosemary-ginger syrup

1 lime wedge

soda water to fill

Fill a rocks glass with ice and pour in the gin, syrup, squeeze the lime over the top, fill the glass with soda water and stir to combine. Toast and drink.

Rosemary-Ginger Syrup

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup water

2 inches ginger root, peeled and sliced

2-3 sprigs rosemary

Add sugar and water to a small saucepan and stir to combine. Add ginger and rosemary, heat to dissolve the sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, then remove from heat. Allow ginger and rosemary to steep in the syrup as it cools to room temperature. Once cooled, remove ginger and rosemary (strain if needed) and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

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Recipe: Cocoa Brownies with Hazelnuts

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Hello!

I’m in Nevada right now, visiting friends and fam. There’s been lots of shopping with my mama, eating of delicious things, and chatting way past my bedtime.

I’ll be out west for the next week and some change, celebrating the holidays. Before I left I made these brownies, dusted them with a mixture of cocoa powder and luster dust (sparkly!), packed them up pretty, and carried them with me on the plane. They’re fudgy, and deeply chocolatey, with a little crunch and nuttiness from chopped hazelnuts. I just LOVE hazelnuts, so I studded the batter with whole nuts so each square would be gem.

These brownies are pretty easy to whip up and brownie gifts are always well received.

Cocoa Brownies with Hazelnuts

Adapted from Alice Medrich’s Pure Dessert

To make these extra special, I used Valrhona cocoa powder.

10 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa (plus more for dusting, optional)

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla

2 large, cold eggs

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts

16 whole hazelnuts for the top

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease and line a 8×8 pan, set aside.

Place a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water and combine butter, sugar, cocoa, espresso powder, and salt. Stir from time to time until butter is melted and mixture is smooth and hot to the touch. Remove bowl from pan of water and set aside to cool to warm.

Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon, then add eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter is thick, shiny, and well combined, add the flour, stirring just until it is incorporated. Then continue to beat vigorously for about 40 strokes. Fold in the nuts and scrape the batter into the pan. Smooth the top with an offset spatula and stud whole nuts across the top in rows (4X4).

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely on a rack before cutting into 16 squares and dusting (optional).

The top box definitely had marshmallows in it. I’ll try to post those soon as well!

 

 

 

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Recipe: Salted Caramel Lollipops

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I know that there is still well over a week until Christmas, but I feel like it’s hurling at me at high speeds. Like a holiday asteroid, and there is nothing I can do to slow it down or deflect its imminence. Maybe it’s because I leave THIS FRIDAY for Nevada, I haven’t done any of my gift shopping, and/or baking…let alone the laundry/packing that needs to happen.

Luckily, salted caramels–classy and impressive as they are–don’t take a lot of time to make. Sure there’s the sugar melting and caramelizing, adding the butter and cream, and the HOT/BOILING/SUGAR LAVA. It can be a little bit dramatic, true, but totally worth the effort. While they cool, you can rotate those loads of laundry and check a few things off your ever-expanding to-do lists.

Multi-tasking was made for procrastinators like me.

Salted Caramel Lollipops

adapted from David Leibovitz

I cooked these to the “hard-crack” temperature, so they would be hard-candy like. If you want to just make simple, caramel chews, heat it to 10degrees less…if not, you may find yourself missing a few fillings this holiday season.

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup corn syrup, golden syrup, or honey

1/4 cup water

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon sea salt and/or smoked sea salt, plus more for sprinkling

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

4 tablespoons butter, browned

Fit lollipop molds with sticks and set aside. You will either need to have multiple molds or plan on cutting some of the candies into small squares. If cutting into squares line a 9-inch loaf pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a small sauce pan melt butter and brown, until fragrant and golden. Set aside.

In a seperate pan, heat cream and 1/2 teaspoon salt and heat to a gentle simmer. Stir in vanilla. Turn off heat and set aside.

In a 4qt saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer, heat sugar, corny syrup, and water, taking care to stir only to moisten. Once the mixture has melted, try not to stir, and heat to 310F (155C). To achieve an acurate reading, make sure the thermometer bulb is fully submerged, tilting pan if necessary.

Add hot cream mixture to hot caramel and stir until smooth. Caramel will bubble and steam. Return to heat and cook over medium until the thermometer reads 260F(127C). If making chewy caramels, heat to 250F.

Stir in browned butter until smooth.

Spoon the hot caramel into molds or prepped pan. Sprinkle with additional salt and allow to cool completely before removing from molds or cutting. Wrap caramels in wax paper or parchment. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

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Recipe: Iced Eggnog Cookies

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So, I don’t know if you noticed, but, there are some big changes around here!

By here, I mean this here blog. I have a new design (duh!), a little space for some ads (so I can fund some more giveaways and fun things!), I’ve updated my links page with some of my favorite reads and inspirations, I’m also working on a recipe index and a new about page! Yay! All this change has been a long time coming, I’m an indecisive gal, so there have been many tweaks and changes along the way and more than a few complete do-overs. Luckily, I have a really understanding and patient web/tech guy–my husband, Sean. By day he’s an engineer, by night he dabbles in web design (not only did he do this page, he also did this one). What a guy.

Instead of paying him in dolla-bills, I pay him in undying affection and an endless supply of sweet treats. Sometimes it’s a spin on a favorite, sometimes I force him to try something he claims to dislike…only to win him over in the end (usually).

Lately, these treats have been holiday-centric, like this coffee cake, and these Iced Eggnog Cookies. Though, neither Sean nor I enjoy really drinking eggnog,–it’s a consistency thing–we both really love it in baked goods. It easily replaces the milk in many a recipe and brings it’s nutmeg-y richness to the party. These cookies are soft, cakey, and get a double hit of nog in both the cookie batter and the glaze. I also added some fresh nutmeg for additional spice and holiday cheer.

P.S. If you notice any quirks or difficulties with navigating this new site, definitely let me know so we can fix it.

Iced Eggnog Cookies

adapted from Orangette 

I made these cookies for the first time years ago for my first-ever blog post. Lots of things have changed around here since then, I’m much less woe-is-me and I’ve worked on honing those baking and camera skills, but these cookies–in any form–remain a favorite. 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (or ground)

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons softened, unsalted butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup dairy eggnog, well shaken

for the glaze

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

pinch of salt

1/8 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg (or ground)

2 tablespoons eggnog

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with silicone liners or parchment, set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or with electric beaters, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, beat to combine and scrape bowl well. Add vanilla, beat to combine. Mix in flour and eggnog alternately, beginning and ending with flour, until just combined. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed.

Drop tablespoons of dough on cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart-cookies will flatten slightly while baking, but still be domed. Bake sheets 1 at a time until cookies are puffed and slightly golden around the edges (9-12 minutes). Cool the cookies on sheets for 1 minute before transferring to a cooling rack.

To make the glaze: Whisk together all of the ingredients until combined. Add more confectioner’s sugar or eggnog to acheive the consistency you like. Spoon glaze over slightly warm cookies. Allow to set on wire rack until cool and glaze hardens slightly.

Cookies are best the day they are made when they are tender and cakey. They do keep well in an airtight container for a few days, but will be slightly chewier and less tender.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Recipe: Cranberry Eggnog Coffee Cake

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On a holiday like Christmas, the morning can be a little hectic. Especially if there are little ones around, or dudes like my brother–a child trapped in a mans body–with their minds on what’s under the tree and not what’s in the kitchen. For my family, this isn’t the time for long, lingering breakfasts…it’s a time for coffee and something to snack on whilst tearing through that paper and cozying up on the couch for a few hours before heading to my aunts house for an extended family gathering and feast session.

We try to have something for breakfast that can be baked while the coffee is brewing. It can’t be anything that requires anyone to be sequestered in the kitchen for long, that’s just not right, and it has to be able to bake while the coffee is brewing. Meaning, it can’t take more than an hour, because it doesn’t matter how early my mom and I rise…the rest of the house will soon follow and a battle like that isn’t fit for Christmas morning.

I suspect that this year will be even more of a challenge since my niece is a toddler and we will all be anxious to see her react to the tree, and the gifts, and all of the festive, magical glory that is Christmas. She’s already at an exciting age and this exciting time of the year is sure to be a good memory for us all. I really cannot wait!

This cake would be a perfect Christmas morning treat. It’s pretty and full of holiday flavors–eggnog, cranberries, vanilla, and nutmeg–plus it has a little crumble on top. The jeweled cranberry layer takes on an almost jam-like quality, while the vanilla and nutmeg make the flavor of the eggnog sing. The cake is moist and a little dense in that coffee cake way. It’s delightful, albeit messy, served still a bit warm from the oven, though it keeps well overnight and can be baked ahead…further freeing up your morning for the fun stuff.

Cranberry Eggnog Coffee Cake

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

I have made this cake before, with buttermilk instead of eggnog and without the nutmeg. I loved it the first time, but I may like this festive version even more. This cake can be made year-round too with any flavor of jam standing in for the cranberry layer. 

1 vanilla bean split and scraped (save the pod for extract or sugar)

1 3/4 cup sugar

6 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries

2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon fresh, grated nutmeg, divided

1 stick (4 ounces) plus 1 tablespoon softened butter, divided

2 large eggs

1/2 cup eggnog

confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 375F, placing the rack in the middle. Butter a 9-inch springform pan (or cake pan) and line the bottom with parchment. Set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, process sugar with vanilla bean until combined well. Pour vanilla sugar into a separate bowl. Add cranberries and 1/2 cup of the sugar back into the processor bowl and pulse a few times until finely chopped, but not puréed.

In a medium bowl whisk together 2 cups of flour, baking powder, salt, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Set aside.

In a small bowl combine 1/4 cup of vanilla sugar with 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1 tablespoon each of butter and flour. Blend well with fingers, set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or with electric beaters,  beat together 1 stick of butter and 1 cup of sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape the bowl well and alternately add flour mixture and eggnog, beginning and ending with flour, until just combined.

Spread half of the batter into the bottom of the prepared pan, smoothing as best as you can. Spread the cranberries over the batter, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the diameter. Gently spread the remaining batter on top of the cranberry layer, all the way to the edges, and sprinkle with crumble topping.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake (not the cranberry layer) comes out clean and the cake begins to pull away from the pan–40-50 minutes. Remove from oven and cool 30 minutes before releasing from the pan.

Dust with confectioner’s sugar before serving.

Can be made 24 hours ahead, stored cooled and tightly wrapped at room temperature.

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Recipe: Chocolate Mint Creme Sandwich Cookies

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It’s chocolatey and minty around here still.

Since Andes are my husbands fave candy, since he’s a choco-saurus rex, since it’s Christmas time and that means cookie time, I made chocolate sandwich cookies with minty, whipped buttercream. It just seemed appropriate.

I think these cookies would make a fine addition to any holiday cookie spread, especially for those mint+chocolate loving guys and gals. The chocolate cookies hold their shape like a champ in the oven and have a little give on the tooth–which is totally necessary since we don’t want minty buttercream squishing out the sides with each bite. Cookie to creamy filling ratios are maintained and all is well. The buttercream is light and pleasantly minty–not punch-your-face-minty. It’s made with the crazy milky-flour-paste method, which I think makes such a creamy, dreamy, whipped up buttercream that melts oh-so-nicely on the tongue. It’s good stuff and even better sandwiched between two deep, dark cookies. At room temperature this frosting is pretty soft, so if you want something a little more stable I’d go with a butter+powdered sugar+extract sort of deal. You do what you want. You’re the boss.

Chocolate Roll-Out Cookies

adapted from Martha Stewart’s Holiday Cookies magazine 2010

The butter for this dough is melted, which makes it super easy to pull together if you haven’t thought about softening your butter ahead of time. This dough is pretty soft, even after being chilled. I would suggest dividing the dough and working with 1/3-1/2 at a time, leaving the remaining dough in the refrigerator. 

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened, Dutch-process cocoa powder

2 teaspoons instant espresso powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2/3 cup packed, brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 large egg

buttercream for filling

Whisk together flour, cocoa, espresso powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk together melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and egg–add flour mixture and stir until dough forms.

Divide the dough in half, pat into disks and wrap well. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Roll out dough between 2 pieces of parchment to 1/4-1/8 inch thick. Using desired cutters, cut out shapes and transfer to parchement or silicone lined baking sheets. Chill cut-out cookies on sheets in the freezer for 5-10 minutes, until firm to the touch. Bake 1 sheet at a time in the center of the oven for 8-10 minutes–depending on size of cookie shapes–remove from oven and allow to cool completely on the sheets on a wire rack. Repeat, re-rolling scrap dough once or twice.

Spread cooled cookies with filling. Drizzle with melted chocolate if desired. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Mint Whipped Buttercream

adapted from Baked Explorations

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups milk

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (3 sticks/12 ounces)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons peppermint extract

green food color gel (I used a teeny, tiny amount to get a pale green color)

Fill the sink halfway with ice and water.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar and flour. Add the milk and cream, whisk to combine and heat, whisking occasionally, until the mixture comes to a low boil and has thickened.

Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixture and submerge the bowl halfway into the sink of ice water, and stir mixture until it cools to room temperature, making sure to not let any water into the bowl. Dry the bowl and fit it onto the stand mixer, fitted with paddle attachment. Beat on high until the mixture is completely cool, reduce the speed to low and and add butter, mix until incorporated thoroughly. Increase the speed to medium-high and and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.

Add the vanilla, mint extract, and food color gel (if using), and beat to combine.

 

 

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Recipe: Candy Cane Truffles

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Do you like candy canes? I never seem to get through a whole one, even when I was a kid. I would just suck on it until the end became sharp and spikey…then I would prod and torment my little brother with it.

Candy Canes…so sweet, so dangerous.

I do, however, like them crushed up so they become minty, crunchy, candy-cane-y sprinkles. That’s the best way to eat a candy cane in my opinion, sprinkled over some other sweet treat. Can you even believe I had to go to 2 different stores to find plain, old, peppermint canes?! The first store only sold those fruity, sour ones–they told me they weren’t even going to sell the traditional kind this year! I was baffled and told anyone that would listen all about it. They did sell pre-crushed candy canes in the baking section, but they cost way more than broken pieces of candy should. Like double the cost for half the amount of canes in a regular box. What the heck?! So, I went to a different store, got my canes, and smashed them with a mallet. Cost effective and stress relieving.

I’ve been planning on making these truffles for weeks now so I could stir them into a glass of hot milk for instant hot chocolate, but I’ve been waiting for our first snow and now that it’s here, it’s truffle hot chocolate time. I cut them into little cubes instead of rolling them into balls, it’s a quicker, easier process this way…plus, I think the little cubes are just so dang pretty.

And, I like pretty.

Candy Cane Truffle Hot Chocolate

I originally saw the idea to make truffles for hot chocolate here on Pinterest. These can be stirred into a cup of hot milk for a festive, warm beverage, or simply eaten as is. This recipe can be easily doubled, tripled, etc…just remember 2 parts chocolate to 1 part heavy cream. Viola! Truffle ganache! 

4 ounces heavy cream

8 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate (chopped or chips)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

3 candy canes, crushed

hot milk (6-8 ounces per serving)

Line a small loaf pan with parchement, set aside.

Place the chocolate in a medium bowl and set aside. Heat cream in a small saucepan over medium-low heat to scald (just before it boils, there will be little bubbles around the edges of the pan). Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and cover (I just used a plate to cover my bowl) and allow to sit for about 5 minutes. Remove cover and stir vigouroulsy until smooth. Stir in vanilla and peppermint extracts until combined. If not all of the chocolate pieces are smooth and melted, fashion a double boiler out of a saucepan of simmering water and a heatproof bowl, gently heat chocolate mixture until smooth.

Pour the chocolate mixture into the loaf pan and smooth top. Sprinkle with candy cane pieces and allow to cool to room temperature. Chill in the refrigerator until firm, about 30-60 minutes. Remove truffle from the pan and cut into cubes.

To make hot chocolate: Heat some milk in a pan or in the microwave. Place truffles into mugs (1-2 pieces per cup) and pour milk over the top. Stir. Top with whipped cream and more candy cane sprinkles as desired.