Make It Out of Peppermint Barky Barky

Hanukkah is over – time for the real holidays to begin! (Worst Jew ever, right here.) Time to turn off the Maccabeats and whatever the hell this is and turn on Elf. Yes, it’s true, I love cultural Christmas, in no small part because of the food, and I love the food in no small part because of peppermint bark. Over the last couple of years it’s become a tradition of mine to make peppermint bark, which is beautiful, festive, delicious, and simple to make. Well, the making part is simple; it’s the cutting that’s tricky. Every year, the pieces splinter apart when I cut them, or the white chocolate separates from the dark. No good!

This year at the family Hanukkah party (I knew that holiday was good for something!), my Aunt Nancy gave my cousin a little tin of yummy homemade peppermint bark. I asked her how she was able to cut it into such neat squares, and she divulged two secrets. One, add some cream to the dark chocolate. Two, don’t wait until it’s completely hardened to cut it. Now they weren’t that secret, as far as secrets go. I had seen some recipes that included the cream, and common sense told me to cut the bark when it was still a bit soft. Nevertheless, every recipe I’ve seen specifically instructs the baker to wait until the chocolate is totally hardened before cutting it. Throwing caution to the wind, I decided to go with Aunt Nancy’s method. And I was so pleased with the results! At first I was concerned about the dark chocolate, because when I added the cream it became very thick and ganache-like, and it’s true that it didn’t spread as much as it should have, but it firmed up okay, and provided a much firmer base for the bark than just pure chocolate. I put the bark in the fridge for about 20 minutes, cut it, and then put it back for further hardening, and it turned out great. I put the pieces in glass jars, tied ‘em up with pretty ribbons, and gave them to current and former coworkers as holiday gifts. (For Kaitlyn, last seen being a vegan on this blog here, I made vegan peppermint bark, which is literally just dark chocolate studded with pieces of candy cane. I did look for vegan white chocolate but it was impossible to find – there was one place that sold it 3.5 ounces for $17, but that seemed excessive. And it turns out Kaitlyn doesn’t even like white chocolate so I’m glad I didn’t waste my money.) Anyway, it was a big success. To thank Aunt Nancy for the awesome tips, you should check out her Web site, it's pretty cool!: http://www.mylifestylecareer.com/ 

Aunt Nancy’s Peppermint Bark

One pound of dark chocolate

One pound of white chocolate

Half a cup of cream

Peppermint extract

Candy canes or peppermint candies, in pieces (I put them in a bag and crushed them repeatedly with the bottom of the tea kettle. You may find a more elegant method, but probably not one as satisfying.)

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Melt dark chocolate and cream in a double boiler; mix until the chocolate thickens. Add peppermint extract to taste. Spread the dark chocolate mixture on the aluminum foil and refrigerate until mostly firm.

Melt white chocolate in a double boiler; add peppermint extract to taste. Pour on top of dark chocolate sheet and sprinkle on peppermint pieces. Refrigerate until mostly firm. Remove from fridge and cut into pieces, then return to fridge until completely firm.

Red Velvet Cookies

Are you on Pintrest?  At first, I didn't really get it, but in the last few months I have really gotten into it.  It is actually so much easier to find things after I pin the picture than organizing them into bookmarks on my browser toolbar.  Plus, you get to see things like these delectable cookies -- red velvet cookies with white chocolate chips.  After seeing these pinned somewhere, I knew I had to make them.  I enjoy a good red velvet treat every now and then and these looked so pretty and delicious.

These cookies were pretty standard to put together.  The only strange step was to pour some white vinegar over the creamed butter and sugar.  It smelled pretty bad and I was wondering how the cookies would taste.  Luckily you could neither taste nor smell the vinegar in the final product, so don't worry.  I love the way these look.  They are such a beautiful color and I love the red and white contrast.  You can find the recipe here (I used regular flour since that is what I had).  I hope you enjoy these cookies and don't forget to pin them!

Happy Belated Birthday Blog and Beth

As I think I mentioned before, I work with a group of fabulous women.  One of the most fabulous is Beth, who happens to be our preschool director.  Although the women in my office are not great about consuming baked goods on a regular basis, they really go all out on someone's birthday.  Everyone always gets a cake or a treat tailored specifically to them and we love celebrating together (and having an excuse to eat cake).  Beth loves chocolate, so I wanted to find something delicious and festive to make for her birthday.  She works so hard and is such a great person, so I really wanted to make her feel special and celebrated.

I have had my eye on this cake for a while, since I saw it on Tracey's Culinary Adventure about a year ago.  Everything Tracey makes usually looks delicious, so I knew this was one I had to try.  I did not use strawberries in between the layers as she suggests, because Beth does not like fruit with her chocolate, but I think that would have been delicious too.

This cake was fantastic.  It was very moist with a strong chocolate flavor and the icing was incredible.  You could not really taste the white chocolate, but it make it richer and sweeter than your typical cream cheese frosting, which complimented the cake well.  I finished it off with rainbow sugar, which added a tiny bit of crunch and a festive look.  I would highly recommend this cake for a great celebration in your life.  Here is the recipe.  

The other thing this cake celebrated was the second anniversary of our blog!  It is somewhat hard to beleive that we have kept this thing going through living in four different cities and two countries over the past two years, but we did.  I feel like we have all come a long way as bakers and I am looking forward to many more delicious treats in our future!

Adventures with the Ice Cream Maker: Snow White Ice Cream for a Winter Wonderland

I love snow. Or I once did. Snow is one of the chief reasons I always told myself I could never live in LA or a similarly warm clime. But these days, I can't help thinking that Rebecca got out while the going was good. Here in New England, it feels like we have been hammered by a major snowstorm at least once every week since Christmas. The drifts outside my apartment are taller than I am, and I have already had one extremely bloody encounter with ice (more on that in my next post). Amidst this frozen hell, who would even want to think about ice cream, which so resembles the hated snow?

Apparently, I would. As devoted readers know, I was having some issues with my ice cream maker back in the heat wave of September (ah, who would believe I would remember that weather with a fond smile?) It seemed to me to be a pretty bad design flaw that an ice cream machine, which would see most of its use in the summer, would be unable to withstand the temperature of my admittedly non-air conditioned kitchen without melting, but whatever. I watched Rebecca put together the sparkling cider sorbet, heard the noise the ice cream maker was supposed to make, saw what churning was supposed to look like, and decided to try again. No one would accuse my kitchen of being overheated these days, so I thought that it might be time to pull out the ole Cuisinart. And behold, turns out all it needed was three months in the back of my freezer to start working! So yay.

For my first (successful) endeavor in ice cream, I made white chocolate ice cream from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop. I have no particular attachment to white chocolate, but I had just gone to Whole Foods and, for some reason, bought a pound-and-a-half block of white chocolate, along with an equal sized block of milk and dark chocolate. Really, I should have just bought three dark ones because that's the kind of chocolate I use the most. But whatever. Anyway, I realized that I would never use that much white chocolate in a semester unless I really really tried, so here we are.

I was worried that the ice cream would be too sweet, since I sometimes find white chocolate to be cloying, but to be honest, this didn't taste like white chocolate or like ice cream. It tasted like really good-quality vanilla frozen yogurt. Take that to mean what you will. It tastes delicious as a side with some chocolate cake, or with a splash of Bailey's.

White Chocolate Ice Cream
From The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

2/3 cup sugar
1 cup whole milk (Blogger's note: I used skim)
2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
5 large egg yolks

Pinch of salt

1. Put the chopped white chocolate in a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the top.

2. Put the sugar, the milk and salt in a saucepan and warm the mixture.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, then gradually add some of the milk mixture, whisking constantly as you pour in the warm milk. Pour the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

4. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula. Strain the custard into the white chocolate, and stir until the chocolate is completely melted. Add the heavy cream stir until cool in an ice bath. Chill thoroughly.

5. Chill mixture thoroughly, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Brownie? Biscotti? Cookie? Delicious!

Let my recounting of New Year's Shabbat continue. As part of the dessert platter (see here for more on that), I wanted to do a twist on the chocolate white chocolate chip cookies that are always very popular. Sure enough, opening up my new Kosher by Design cookbook, there was a biscotti version of those delicious cookies, so I decided to give them a spin.

I definitely endorse the Chocolate Chocolate Chip Sticks. They are super easy to make and they have a texture that is brownie-like without the same degree of density and richness. I made them with the white chocolate chips, which I thought was a nice balance of sweetness, but those who like intense chocolate would probably like them even better with regular chocolate chips. Just two pieces of advice: First, these burn around the edges pretty easily, so watch them carefully. Second, don't make the logs wider than 4 inches, because otherwise they fall apart when you cut them. Follow this advice and you'll end up with a delicious treat!

1 1/2cups flour
3/4cup dutch cocoa
1 tsp b. soda
1/2tsp fine sea salt
3/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup white choc or c. chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350
Mix flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Set aside
Mix oil,sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Mix in the egg
Stir in half cocoa mix until dough forms. Stir in rest of cocoa mixture, knead dough with both hands for one minute. Mix in c.chips & walnuts. Use hands to knead them in dough.
Transform dough into two logs 3-4inches wide
Bake for 25min

Baking GALS Round 19: Quadruple Chocolate Cookies

Ok, these don't look that pretty (bad lighting = blurry picture), but that should not deter you.  These are AMAZING.  Some of the best chocolate cookies I have ever had.  And it is not just me.  The ones that would not fit in my box to be shipped to a soldier in Afghanistan with Operation Baking GALS went to my husband's office and everyone there agreed.  Two of his colleagues came in to tell him how good the cookies were and they didn't even know I had made them.  I also got an email from one of the secretaries saying that I am a magnificent baker.  I send a lot of stuff to his office and don't usually get such good feedback.

So, hopefully I have convinced you to make these.  I adapted them from the double chocolate cookies in Baking with Julia and I am posting my adapted recipe here.  Don't worry if the batter is really runny.  Once it goes into the fridge it comes out great.

Quadruple Chocolate Cookies

• 
  
  
  1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 
  
  
  1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 
  
  
  1/2 teaspoon salt
• 
  
  
  6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 
  
  
  1/2 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
• 
  
  
  4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 
  
  
  4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 
  
  
  ½ cups sugar
• 
  
  
  ½ tablespoons instant coffee powder
• 
  
  
  2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  1 1/2-2 cups of assorted chocolate chips or chunks (I used white, milk and dark)

• 
  
  
  1. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside until needed. 
• 
  
  
  2. Place the butter, the bittersweet chocolate, and the unsweetened chocolate in the top of a double boiler over, but not touching, simmering water. Heat the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the butter and chocolates are melted and smooth. Remove from the heat. You can also do this step in the microwave, but watch it carefully.  
• 
  
  
  3. Meanwhile, put the eggs, sugar, coffee and vanilla in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat at high speed for about 10 minutes, until the mixture is very thick and forms a slowly dissolving ribbon when the whisk is lifted and the mixture is allowed to drizzle back into the bowl.
• 
  
  
  4. With the mixer on low speed, very gradually add the warm butter-chocolate mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and work your rubber spatula around the bottom of the bowl, then continue to mix just until the chocolate is thoroughly incorporated. Add the dry ingredients and the chocolate chips or chunks and mix thoroughly. The mixture will look like a thick, marshmallowy cake batter.
• 
  
  
  5. Chilling the dough: Cover the bowl with plastic and chill for several hours, or overnight. The dough can be made ahead and kept refrigerated for up to 4 days.
• 
  
  
  6. Baking the cookies: When you are ready to bake, position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• 
  
  
  7. Using a heaping tablespoon of dough for each cookie, drop the dough onto the lined sheets, leaving at least 2 inches of space between each mound of dough – these are spreaders.  Put the remaining dough back in the fridge until you are ready to use it. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pans front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking period. The cookies will puff, then sink and crinkle and wrinkle around the edges. These cookies are better underdone than overbaked, so if you have any doubts, pull them out of the oven earlier rather than later. These shouldn’t appear dry and they won’t be crisp. Use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to cooling racks to cool to room temperature. Repeat with the remaining dough.
• 
  
  
  8. Storing: The cookies can be wrapped in plastic and kept at room temperature for 2 days or frozen for up to a month. Thaw, still wrapped, at room temperature.

Cute as a Brownie Button

The first time that I made these, it was for my seven-year old campers at Camp Yomi, and I feel like that is the best possible use for these. I don't mean that as a slight - it's just that these brownies are cute and simple and manageable, perfect for little kids. Yet they also can be sophisticated when arranged prettily on a dessert plate.

This time around, I just made them for fun, because they're also fun. It's fun to pop them out of their little pan holes. It's fun to dip them in white chocolate and give them a little twirl. It's fun to eat them! (And you don't have to feel guilty because they're so small.) Taste-wise, they're good, though nothing that special, but I kept them in the fridge, where they attained a fudgy consistency that compounded the richness of the white chocolate. Yum!

Brownie Buttons
from “Baking From my Home to Yours” by Dorie Greenspan

Grated zest of 1/2 Orange
1 teaspoon Sugar
1/4 Cup plus 2 Tablespoons Flour
Pinch of Salt
1/2 Stick (4 Tablespoons) Unsalted Butter, Cut into 4 Pieces
2 1/2 Ounces Bittersweet Chocolate, Coarsely Chopped
1/3 Cup (Packed) Brown Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1 Large Egg

For the optional Glaze:
2 Ounces White Chocolate, Finely Chopped

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter two miniature muffin pans, each with a dozen cups, and place them on a baking sheet.

If you’re using the orange zest, combine the zest and sugar in a small bowl, rubbing them between your fingertips to blend: set aside. Whisk together the flour and salt.

Melt the butter, chocolate, and brown sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over very low heat, stirring frequently with a heatproof spatula and keeping an eye on the pan so that nothing overheats or burns. When the mixture is smooth, remove from the heat and cool for a minute or two. Stir the vanilla, egg and the zest into the chocolate mixture. When the mixture is well blended, add the flour and stir only until it is incorporated. You should have a smooth, glossy batter.

Spoon the batter into 16 of the muffin cups, using about a teaspoon of batter to fill each cup 3/4 full. Put 1 teaspoon of water in each empty cup.
Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until the tops of the buttons spring back when touched. Transfer the pans to racks to cool for 3 minutes before carefully releasing the buttons. Cool to room temperature on the racks.

To make the glaze: Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Stir constantly and don’t leave the chocolate for even one minute- white chocolate scorches easily. As soon as the chocolate is smooth, remove from the heat.

One by one, dip the tops of the buttons into the chocolate, twirling the buttons so that you get a little swirl at the center of each one and the excess chocolate drips back into the bowl. Refrigerate the buttons for 15 minutes to set the glaze.

See the World in Black and White...

I love cookies. I do. I love everything about them-- I love that they taste delicious hot, room temperature or frozen; I love that they are a snack-sized pile of sweetness just waiting for me whenever I'm ready for them; I love that they come in individually sized pieces and so they last for sooo long without getting stale. However, despite living in my apartment for three and a half years now, I had no dairy cookie sheets. Instead, I had yucky disposable pieces of aluminum that I was constantly covering in tin foil and vowing to replace, just as soon as I remembered to do so. Every time I baked, my roommate would say, "Why don't you just get cookie sheets?" And I would wave her off and the cycle would continue.


However, that day has come at last! The cycle has finally been broken! (Better late than never, right?) So today, in order to dedicate my new cookie sheets, I decided to make an old favorite-- White Chip Chocolate Cookies.


The recipe for these cookies are found (in a slightly modified way) on the back of Nestle premier white morsels. They're easy to make, and if they're cooked for the right amount of time, they are light, moist and rich without being too heavy. I've actually found that they taste best either hot or frozen (as opposed to at room temperature) because they are very sweet, but no matter what, I guarantee you will enjoy them.

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1/4 cup skim milk
  
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Nestle Toll House Premier White Morsels

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, milk and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by well-rounded teaspoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until centers are set. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 3 dozen large cookies, or 4 dozen smaller ones.