Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

I used a base recipe from Martha Stuarts Baking Handbook, "Chocolate Wafer Sandwich Cookies" recipe. However I improvised the filling a bit. I was inspired by my sisters wonderful orange cardamom Madeline's. They were so wonderful. I loved how the citrus and spice flavors play off of one another. The combination really reminds me of the holidays.

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

1 1/4 c flour

1/4 c + 2 Tbs Dutch process cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick butter softened

2/3 c packed light brown sugar

1/3 c granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Combine ingredients staring by creaming the butter and sugar, then add the egg, then the vanilla, then the dry ingredients. 

The original recipe asks that you harden the dough by partially freezing the dough and then rolling it out and cutting the cookies with a 2 inch cutter. I do not have a cookie cutter so I rolled the dough into a log, froze it and then sliced it. It worked very well. 

Bake the cookies at 350 for 12-14 min. Let them cool on a wire rack.

Orange Cardamom Creme

3/4 stick of butter softened
1 c powdered sugar
1 c marshmallow fluff
1-2 Tbs hot milk or creme
1 Tbs orange zest
1 tsp ground cardamom

Creme the butter and the sugar, add a little hot milk to help dissolve the sugar. Add the fluff and beat until well incorporated. Add the Orange zest and the cardamom and beat until mixed well.

I pipped the creme onto the cookies with a pastry bag, but you could certainly spread it with an offset spatula. I suppose there was about 1.5 tsp of creme per cookie sandwich.

They were super tasty. The cookies were crisp and chocolaty. I really like using marshmallow fluff because it gives the creme filling more stability and added shine.

Enjoy.

Hearth Loaf

I am attempting to redeem myself after the last time I baked bread from scratch. The last time I made baguettes, a shape that I do not recommend for amateurs.I also tried to place the formed loves on the baking stone via peel, when I should have put them in on the pan they rose on. Disater struck as nearly a day of work came to an abrupt halt as the loves twisted and turned as I clumsily attempted a quick little maneuver to get them off the peel and onto the stone. The end result tasted great but was not very pretty.

EPIC FAILURE!!!

This time, I told myself, I would do it different, I would do it right. My confidence was brimming, I had all day to complete this simple task of making bread. I am proudly announcing success!

I have been reading The Bread Bible, by Rose Levy Beranbaum. I wanted to make a good, rustic loaf that was good for eating and for sandwiches. I choose the basic hearth loaf recipe. 

 

I love how bread in its simplest form has 4 ingredients, but can be very daunting. Bread making is mostly technique. Its funny because no two recipes for bread making are the same. I like how no matter how much instruction you have, you really have to feel the dough in your hands and experiment with it to get the feel of it. 

I hope I redeemed myself. My Grandmother would be proud. Her mother baked fresh bread daily for 9 children often while her husband was out of town, My Great Grandfather was a traveling minister. My Grandmother taught us to bake and make bread at a young age. Some of my earliest memories include our Northern WI cottage in the winter, letting a bowl of bread dough rise on the heath of the fire. My Grandmother would always let us punch down the dough. 

Caramel Sticky Buns

My puff pastry adventures continue!

I love Ina Garten's recipe for sticky buns but every time I make them I wonder if there is an error in the recipe. They taste wonderful, but when baked for the 30 minutes as the recipe calls for the caramel burns and gets very hard when they cool to room temp. 

I have futzed with the timing while keeping the temperature the same, the results have been great. But I think I will keep trying. What the hurt in that? They are quite delicious when slightly under baked. 

The recipe is super easy!!!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Take 12 table spoon of butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar and cream until smooth.

Divide butter equally between 12 muffin tins

Thaw 2 puff pastry sheet to room temp. 

Unfold the pastry and brush it with melted butter, top it with 1/4 cup of brown sugar and cinnamon.

Roll it tightly and slice into 6 equal pieces and place on top of butter in muffin tins. Repeat with the second puff pastry.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Let cool slightly, and invert pan onto baking sheet.

Enjoy!

Fast and Easy Ham and Cheese

I made these delicious treats last night for dinner and they are super easy!

After making my own puff pastry and croissants I am much more appreciative of frozen puff pastry than before. Whats that I hear? A collective groan from all of the so called purist foodies out there?  I know its not technically the real thing, however I challenge anyone with a full time job to try and make there own puff pastry. Its impossible! It takes forever. I wish there were a short-cut. Oh wait, there is! Its called Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry.

I made some potato leek soup yesterday while my oven was awaiting a new relay board. It was really scruptious, but Matt always says that he needs more than just soup for dinner.


After waiting for 3 weeks to use my oven, it was finally time to fire it up. And for its re-birth I decided that ham and cheese puff pastry bun were in order.

I love puff pastry; its so fun to use because everything you make with it looks ridiculously mouth watering.

The ham and cheese process is very easy:

1. Thaw the puff pastry on a plate or floured board, still folded for 45 min. You could also plan ahead and take it out of the fridge a few hours to a day ahead.

2. Pre-heat oven to 375

3. Once dough is thawed, roll it out on a floured surface to roughly 9x13.

4. With a pizza cutter cut 6-8 rectangles out of dough.

5. Slice sharp cheddar and ham

6. Place 1-2 slices of cheddar and a slice of ham onto 1/2 of the puff pastry pieces

7. Top cheese and ham with the remaining pieces of puff pastry and press seams together firmly to seal, and slice a few slits in top so steam can escape.

8. Brush tops with egg wash and bake for 20-25 minutes until they are puffed up and a deep golden brown.

Por Vavor Dear Readers...

Dear Readers:

I am writing this post in hopes that you will do me a favor. Would you kindly show your support for my sister Megan of Foodalution and vote her into the next round of Project Food Blog.

Megan (right) & I on my wedding day.

She is a wonderful mother, wife, and teacher. She deserves to win! Please cast your votes on foodbuzz.com Voting for this round is open until Oct 9.

Thanks friends!