Happy Christmas

Christmas sort of catches me by surprise every year. I always know when it's coming, but I am never fully prepared for how quickly it approaches, and how happy I am when it does. Every year I worry that I can't get in the Christmas season, and it won't feel the same as it did last year. 

On Tuesday my family and I got our Christmas tree. We pulled out the ornaments and made a fire. Every time we took out an ornament from the box, we would tell the story behind it, the one we hear every year but it never gets old. When the tree was all lit and decorated, I went outside to see what it looked like from the street. I watched the first snowflakes fall, and giggled at the thought, we may actually have a white Christmas. When I opened the door to go back inside, and I saw how the lights glowed, and the stockings seemed eager to be filled, and the angel at the top of the tree smiling down on me, I felt a wave of relief settle over me. That is when I finally got the much anticipated feeling of Christmas. 

Of course, there was some baking too. 

Chocolate Peppermint Whoopie Pies

Adapted from Gourmet, 2003

For the pies

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg

For the filling

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar

2 cups marshmallow cream such as Marshmallow Fluff

1 teaspoon vanilla

Candy canes (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until combined. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a small bowl.
3. Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a handheld, then add egg, beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and alternately mix in flour mixture and buttermilk in batches, beginning and ending with flour, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, and mixing until smooth.
4. Spoon 1/4-cup mounds of batter about 2 inches apart onto 2 buttered large baking sheets. Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are puffed and cakes spring back when touched, 11 to 13 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack to cool completely.
5. Make filling:
6. Beat together butter, confectioners sugar, marshmallow, and vanilla in a bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.
7. Assemble pies:
8. Spread a rounded tablespoon filling on flat sides of half of cakes and top with remaining cakes.
9. Cut up the candy canes and sprinkle the pieces on the edge of the pies. 

Supernatural Brownies

I used to think that Duncan Heines was the best there was. Really. I have never had a really good homemade brownie before. I found the recipe for "the best cocoa brownies" on the Honeyandjam blog (http://www.honeyandjam.com/2010/11/gooey-cocoa-brownies.html)

But I think I am going to call them Supernatural Brownies

Supernatural Brownies

Best Cocoa Brownies


Adapted from Alice Mendrich’s Bittersweet via smitten kitchen

Makes 16 larger or 25 smaller brownies

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks, 5 ounces or 141 grams) unsalted butter


1 1/4 cups (9 7/8 ounces, 280 grams) sugar


3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 7/8 ounces, 82 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)


1/4 teaspoon salt


1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


2 large eggs, cold


1/2 cup (66 grams, 2 3/8 ounces) all-purpose flour


2/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces (optional)

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.

Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and microwave for 1:30 minutes. Remove and stir until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot. It looks fairly gritty at this point, but don’t fret — it smoothes out once the eggs and flour are added.

Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the nuts, if using. Spread evenly in the lined pan.

Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 25 to 30 minutes. They look underdone when you take them out, but don't worry, they are perfect. Let cool completely on a rack.

Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares.

I think what made these brownies so good, is how surprising they were. I wasn't expecting there to be such an explosion in my mouth. 

People say that you should keep trying new recipes, even if you have one you love. I don't think I will be following that rule in this case. I have found the perfect brownie. 

Let's drop everything and have a Butter Beer

On Thursday night (Friday morning really) at 12:01, the Deathly Hallows finally arrived. After a reading all the books, I got to see the movie after one and a half year wait. In honor of the movie, Claire and I made   Harry Potter's favorite foods.

Treacle Tarts

Harry talks about these treats several times, but I have never exactly been able to put a picture in my mind as to what they were. A few days before the movie, one of my favorite blogs, http://bakingdom.blogspot.com/ posted her recipe for treacle tarts. 

FOR THE CRUST
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
3-4 tablespoons ice water


FOR THE FILLING
18 oz. golden syrup (or 12 oz. light corn syrup combined with 6 oz. molasses)
2 eggs
finely grated zest and juice of 1 small lemon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 cup fresh bread crumbs

For the crust: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, and salt with 2 or 3 pulses. Evenly distribute the cold butter over the flour mixture and and pulse 10 to 12 times, until the mixture resembles coarse corn meal. Sprinkle 1 to 2 tablespoons of the cold water over the flour mixture, and process with 4 to 5 pulses. After processing, the mixture should look sandy. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Sprinkle another tablespoon of the water over the mixture and use a rubber spatula to press the dough together. When the dough looks shaggy and a bit dry, but holds together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 3 or 4 times until the dough comes together completely. Add more water, up to 1 tablespoon, as needed. Handle the dough as little as possible to prevent melting the butter.

Continuing to handle the dough lightly, shape it into a disk six to seven inches across. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and chill in the freezer for 30 minutes, or the refrigerator for at least two hours.

Once chilled, Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. If making many small tartlets, work with half of the dough at a time. Roll the dough to about one-eighth of an inch thick. Line tart pans as directed above.

Place the tarlets on a baking sheet and chill for at least 30 minutes, preferably in the freezer.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Once chilled, line the tarts with bits of foil or parchment and fill each one with a small amount of pie weights or dry beans. Bake mini tartlets for 15 minutes. Bake a full size tart for 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before filling.

For the filling: Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl and pour into the cooled tart crust.

Bake for 20 minutes (for tartlets), or about 30 minutes (for a standard tart), or until the filling has set.

Allow to cool completely before serving. Serve with clotted cream, vanilla ice cream, or fresh whipped cream.

Recipe by Sugarbear

Butter Beer

I think it might be every Harry Potter fan's dream to have Butter Beer. We all know what it's supposed to taste like; a mug of your happiest moment. A memory with sweet caramel and butterscotch.  

1 cup light or dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons water

6 tablespoon butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

3/4 cup heavy cream, divided

Four 12-ounce bottles cream soda

In a small saucepan over medium, combine the brown sugar and water. Bring to a gentle boil and cook, stirring often, until the mixture reads 240 F on a candy thermometer.

Stir in the butter, salt, vinegar and 1/4 heavy cream. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the rum extract.

In a medium bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar mixture and the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Use an electric mixer to beat until just thickened, but not completely whipped, about 2 to 3 minutes.

To serve, divide the brown sugar mixture between 4 tall glasses (about 1/4 cup for each glass). Add 1/4 cup of cream soda to each glass, then stir to combine. Fill each glass nearly to the top with additional cream soda, then spoon the whipped topping over each. 

recipe by: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2010/07/02/harry-potters-butterbeer-recipe-uncovered/

The movie was everything I expected and more. The fact that we went to Bartabac beforehand and had great burgers and steak, probably added to the level of joy I experienced that night.

(Overdue) Weekend Eats

This weekend was exactly what comes to mind when I think of the average teen living in New York. A girls night in, followed by an exploration of a somewhat daunting neighborhood. 

  

There is nothing like a Friday night when you order in  sushi with your best friend... and then invite your parents to join.

Seriously, it's pretty fun (sometimes). 

Of course, we had to watch Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, as the last step to completing the preparation for the most epic night in the history of the universe.

For that exact reason, my mother did not watch, but endured the first fifteen minutes or so, in order to eat her Chilean sea bass, and soft shell crab roll. 

Of course we need some kind of dessert to round off the night. What's a night in if you can't gorge yourself with sweets?

Sweet and Salty Cake

For the cake

1 box of devil's food cake, cake mix (we cheated on this part. What can I say, Betty Crocker really knows what she's doing)

Chocolate covered pretzels

For the butter cream

3 large egg whites

3/4 cup sugar

2 1/4 sticks of butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces

1 cup caramel sauce

1. Whisk the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer set over a pot of boiling water. Whisk constantly until the sugar has dissolved completely and the egg whites feel hot to the touch.

2. Transfer the bowl to the mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whip the egg whites on high speed until they have formed a meringue and the bowl has cooled (5-7 mins). 

3. Remove the whisk attachment and switch to a paddle attachment. Begin adding the butter in small amounts while the mixer is on medium high speed. 

4. Add the caramel sauce, until fully integrated. Once finished, the icing should have a smooth shiny appearance.

Finishing touches

Ice the cake.  We didn't use all the icing, and we halved the recipe (it used to include 4 1/2 sticks of butter).

Chop the pretzels, and decorate as desired. 

Pies n Thighs!

For brunch on Sunday, my friend Claire, her mother, my mother, and I, all went to what was supposed to be a pie contest (to eat pies not enter them) in Willamsburg, Brooklyn. The line was long, and we were hungry, and Claire and her mother knew of a restaurant near by called Pies n Thighs. 

This was my fried chicken with hash browns, and the best biscuit I've ever had. When I ate this I felt like I was meant to live in the south.

Claire's smoked pork hash with eggs. Sadly I didn't get to eat much of this, although the minute she say my fried chicken, she reached over on my plate and took half for herself. 

Claire happily eating her chocolate pudding pie

I like baking...

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Brown sugar filling

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup nuts chopped

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix all the ingredients and leave aside.

Cake 

3 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup butter or margarine

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups sour cream

glaze

1/2 cup icing sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

2 tsp milk

1. Mix dry ingredients of the coffee cake together. In a bowl beat sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs with a mixer.  

2. Add 1/2 the flour mixture until combined then beat 1/2 the sour cream. Then add the rest of the flour and sour cream alternately.

3. Grease a tube pan and spread 1/3 of the batter. Sprinkle the filling then the batter and repeat sprinkling the filling and batter. 

4. Bake at 350F for about 1 hour until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake in the pan for about 10 minutes, then remove and cool for 20 minutes before drizzling the glaze.

5. Mix the icing sugar, vanilla and milk until smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle the top of the cake using a spoon and serve.