July’s Daring Baker’s Challenge: Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream — Replacement: Biscotti! July 30, 2008

I had to ’sit out’ on July’s Daring Baker’s Chellenge because of a few different reasons BUT Megan from My Baking Adventures and I decided to take on one of the previous challenges from before we were members.  We went with the Chocolate Biscotti which was baked in December of 2006. 

The original recipe came from Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.  I saw that Ivonne from Cream Puffs In Venice changed the recipe a bit by adding toffee bits to replace half of the nuts during the Daring Baker’s Challenge back in 2006 and they looked great, plus I had toffee bits that I’ve been wanting to use up.   I was not a bit disappointed with this recipe.  They were excellent.  I like them best dunked in a good cup of coffee or glass of milk but they were tasty without dunking.  Of course, so I wouldn’t end up eating all of the biscotti myself, I shared them with my co-workers.  One of them told me I should open my own bakery…of course besides the job that I currently have…I’ll have to give that some thought.

The only other thing I changed was I used pecans, because I didn’t have almonds on hand.  This recipe was not complicated at all.  This was the first and probably not the last time I will be experimenting with biscotti. 

Check out the Daring Baker’s Blogroll to see how everyone did on their Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream!

Chocolate Toffee Biscotti

(Recipe adaopted from:  Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan)

Servings:  20-24 biscotti (depending on how wide you slice them) 

Storing:  Airtight container for up to a week

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 Tbsp instant espresso powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped

1/2 cup toffee bits

3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

4 oz white chocoalte

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a pizza stone (baking sheet) with parchment paper.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, instant espresso powder, baking soda and baking powder.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on high speed until fluffy (about 2 minutes).

Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix for another 2 minutes.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients.

As soon as the dry ingredients have been incorporated into the batter, remove the bowl from the machine and add the pecans, toffee bits and chocolate chips.  You can use a wooden spin or your hands to stir them itno the dough.

Once you’ve icorporated all the ingredients, divide the dough in half and roll each half into a log about 12 inches long.

Carefully transfer the logs to the parchment-lined pizza stone/baking sheet.  With your hand, flatten each log so that its roughly an inch high and about 2 inches wide.

Bake the logs for 25 minutes.  The logs will spread a bit and may even crack a bit. 

After 25 minutes, remove the logs from the oven and let them cool for 30 minutes.

Using a serrated knife, carefully slice the logs into biscotti.  Each biscotti should be about three-quarters of an inch wide.  Transfer the biscotti back to the baking sheet and stand them upright.

Once you’ve sliced the logs into biscotti, return the biscotti to the oven for 10 minutes.

Once the biscotti are done, place them on a wire rack to cool.

When the biscotti are completely cooled, melt the white chocolate over a double boiler.  Using a whisk or a fork, drizzle the melted chocolate all over the tops of the biscotti.  Let the chocolate set before serving the biscotti.

Special Treat No-Bake Squares July 23, 2008

I think this bar needs a new name, what do you think?  This came out of my recipe book called The Cookie Bible.  Besides cookies, this recipe book also has recipes for brownies and bars.  I made these for my Grandma’s 80th Birthday Party.  After setting them out, they were gone in a matter of minutes. 

Special Treat No-Bake Squares

(Recipe from:  The Cookie Bible)

Crust

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 egg

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

3/4 cup flaked coconut

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Filling
1/3 cup butter, softened

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup powdered sugar

Glaze

1 (2 oz) dark sweet or bittersweet candy bar

1 tsp butter

Line 9-inch square baking pan with foil, shiny side up, allowing 2-inch overhang on sides.  Set aside.

For crust, combine 1/2 cup butter, granulated sugar, cocoa, egg and salt in medium saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens, about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat; stir in graham cracker crumbs, coconut and pecans.  Press evenly into prepared baking pan.

For filling, beat 1/3 cup softened butter, cream cheese and vanilla in small bowl until smooth.  Gradually beat in powdered sugar.  Spread over crust; refrigerate 30 minutes.

For glaze, combine candy bar pieces and 1 tsp butter in small resealable plastic food storage bag; seal bag.  Microwave for 50 seconds.  Turn bag over; microwave 40 to 50 seconds or until melted.  Knead bag until chocolate is smooth.  Cut tiny corner off bag; drizzle chocolate over filling.  Refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.  Remove bars from pan using foil.  Cut into 1 1/2 inch squares. 

Makes about 3 dozen squares.

Coconut Domes July 17, 2008

I believe these are similar to coconut macaroons, but I’m not positive since I have never made either one.  I found this recipe here when I was looking for something to make with my bag of unsweetened coconut a co-worker gave me after he purchased it by bulk.  They turned out good.  Not my favorite type of cookie, but you may love them!

    Coconut Domes

(Recipe adopted from:  Desserts by Pierre Herme)

- makes about 24 cookies -

Ingredients

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon (5 1/4 ounces) unsweetened finely grated dried coconut (available in specialty and healthfood stores)
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature and lightly beaten

    Procedure

The day before: Warm the milk in a microwave oven or over direct heat until it is 85 degrees F as measured on an instant-read thermometer. (This isn’t very hot at all, so you may overshoot the mark and have to let the milk cool.)

Toss the coconut and sugar together in a mixing bowl. Stir in the warm milk and then the lightly beaten room-temperature eggs; continue to stir until all the ingredients are blended. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the dough to seal it airtight, and refrigerate overnight.

To bake: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Using a level tablespoon of dough for each cookie, shape the dough into balls between your palms, and place the cookies, 1 inch apart, on the lined sheet. When all the dough is shaped, place the baking sheet in the freezer while you preheat the oven. (The cookies can be made ahead to this point; when they are frozen, remove them from the sheet and pack airtight for long-term storage. Properly packed, the cookies can be frozen for up to 2 months; they should not be defrosted before baking.)

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.

Remove the baking sheet from the freezer, slide another baking sheet under it (or transfer the cookies and parchment to an insulated baking sheet), and bake the cookies for 7 to 11 minutes. The outside of the cookies should be just set and the tops should take on some color. The centers of the domes should remain soft, moist and chewy. Transfer the cookies to a rack and let them cool before serving.

Depending on the absorbency of your coconut, you may find that during baking the domes seep a little liquid. Once the cookies have cooled, you can cut this extra little skirt of dough away with a pair of scissors. However, if you always buy the same coconut and always have the same problem, use a little less milk in the dough.

Storing: The cooled cookies can be kept for 2 to 3 days wrapped in plastic, but they’re at their best freshly made, a condition easily achieved since the dough can be molded and stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.I have never made coconut macroons before.

Snickers Cheesecake July 13, 2008

This cheesecake recipe was adopted from Baking Bites.  This is my first cheesecake I have made (besides the bite-sized ones).  I was impressed on how it turned out.  I was worried about it being too dry, but it wasn’t by any means.  Then next time I want to try swirling some chocolate/caramel into the actual cheesecake and also to add more snicker pieces.  I made my own crust using peanuts, animal crackers and butter and baked the crust for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Snickers Cheesecake

(Ingredients adopted from:  Baking Bites, Instructions from:  Serious Eats)

24 oz cream cheese, softened

1 1/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup sour cream

1 bag fun size Snickers

1. Put a kettle of water on to boil.

2. Working in a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese at medium speed until it is soft and lives up to the creamy part of its name, about 4 minutes.   With the mixer running, add the sugar and salt and continue to beat another 4 minutes or so, until the cream cheese is light. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs one by one, beating for a full minute after each addition—you want a well-aerated batter. Reduce the mixer speed to low and stir in the sour cream and/or heavy cream.

3. Put the foil-wrapped springform pan in the roaster pan.

4. Give the batter a few stirs with a rubber spatula, just to make sure that nothing has been left unmixed at the bottom of the bowl, and scrape the batter into the springform pan. The batter will reach the brim of the pan. (If you have a pan with lower sides and have leftover batter, you can bake the batter in a buttered ramekin or small soufflé mold.) Put the roasting pan in the oven and pour enough boiling water into the roaster to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan.

5. Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, at which point the top will be browned (and perhaps cracked) and may have risen just a little above the rim of the pan. Turn off the oven’s heat and prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon. Allow the cheesecake to luxuriate in its water bath for another hour.

6. After 1 hour, carefully pull the setup out of the oven, lift the springform pan out of the roaster—be careful, there may be some hot water in the aluminum foil—remove the foil. Let the cheesecake come to room temperature on a cooling rack.

7. When the cake is cool, cover the top lightly and chill the cake for at least 4 hours, although overnight would be better.

Serving:Remove the sides of the springform pan—I use a hairdryer to do this (use the dryer to warm the sides of the pan and ever so slightly melt the edges of the cake)—and set the cake, still on the pan’s base, on a serving platter. The easiest way to cut cheesecake is to use a long, thin knife that has been run under hot water and lightly wiped. Keep warming the knife as you cut slices of the cake.

Storing: Wrapped well, the cake will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or for up to 2 months in the freezer. It’s best to defrost the still-wrapped cheesecake overnight in the refrigerator.

Breakfast Pizza – Mexican Style July 10, 2008

UPDATE:  I made this using the original recipe, no substitutions, and it was even better than this one I made! 

Back to making recipes out of cookbooks I own.  This recipe was taken from Hungry Girl by Lisa Lillien.  This is a cookbook full of “Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World.”  I didn’t have all the ingredients on hand so I substituted some of them.  My substitutions are in parenthesis.  I thought this was extremely good, simple and filling.  I will definitely make this again.

Breakfast Pizza

(Recipe from:  Hungry Girl by Lisa Lillien)

1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (2 egg whites and 1 whole egg)

1/4 cup shredded fat-free mozzarella cheese (omitted)

1/4 cup canned tomato sauce (salsa and bean salsa)

2 Tbsp chopped green bell peppers

2 Tbsp chopped mushrooms

Optional:  salt, black pepper, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, etc.

Season tomato sauce to taste with optional ingredients, if desired, and set sauce aside.

Bring a small pan sprayed with nonstick spray to low heat.  Pour in egg substitute.  Cover and then cook for 3 minutes, or until egg “crust” starts to form.

Carefully flip your egg.  Cover and cook for another minute.  While egg crust is cooking, microwave chopped veggies for 30 seconds.

Next, top your egg crust with tomato sauce, cheese, and then veggies.  Cover again and cook over low heat for 2 minutes, or until cheese is melted.  If you like, top with optional spices.

Lotsa Confetti Salad July 7, 2008

My mom gets all the credit for this delicious salad.  Her friend actually gave her the recipe (not sure where she got it from) and made it as a side dish for the 4th of July weekend at the cottage. 

This recipe probably would feed about 12-15, possibly more.  My mom, dad and myself ate at least two servings each time we pulled it out because it was so good.  The others bypassed it, their loss. :) (If you are not too sure about the beans, still give it a try, all the other flavors pretty much cover them up!)

I’m excited to see what other dishes my mom has coming in the future, she says she found a couple in magazines she wants to try on me, bring ‘em on mom!

Lotsa Confetti Salad

(Recipe from:  Mom’s Friend)

1 can Red Beans, drained

1 can Black Beans, drained

2 cans Black-Eyed Peas, drained

2 cans White Corn, drained

1 each red, orange, yellow and green pepper, chopped

1 chopped red onion

Marinate:

1/2 cup oil (vegtable, extra virgin, your choice)

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 tsp paprika

Mix all ingredients together in a big bowl and marinate.

BBQ Chicken Salad July 3, 2008

This salad has been a lunch-saver for me.  It’s so simple to throw together, really tasty and satisfying, especially on those days I jog in the morning.  I discovered the recipe on Picky Palate, which I found a couple months ago and love seeing what Jenny has to post each week.  I’ve been eating this salad for lunch for the last week (hence the fancy Tupperware container).  It’s so easy to put together in the morning (I cook a couple chicken breast and marinate them in BBQ sauce the night before) and toss it in my bag to take to the office.  Of course, I drizzle some ranch dressing over the top before eating it.  Yum!

Note:  I don’t really measure any of the ingreidents, I just eye-ball it. 

BBQ Chicken Salad with with Ranch Dressing

(Recipe from Picky Palate)

3 cups thinly sliced green leaf lettuce

1/4 cup corn

1/4 cup black beans

8 grape tomatoes, halved or cut chopped whole tomato

1 cooked grilled chicken breast

1/4 cup BBQ sauce

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup ranch dressing

Place lettuce in a bowl.  Layer with corn, black beans and tomatoes.  Dice cooked chicken breast and mix with BBQ sauce.  Top over salad and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Drizzle ranch dressing over the salad and serve.