Jam Thumbprint cookies

Shortbread cookie with toasted coconut and a strawberry jam center.

These cookies are probably my favorite ones to make because I've been making them for so long. It was one of the first cookie recipes I tried, and did well, enough so that it sparked my interest into expanding into other genres of baked goods (aside from cake and pie, I mean). I also liked to make them around the holidays to give out as gifts, so they have a holiday connotation in my mind, too.

This is a shortbread cookie. Which means. Yes. Butter.


If you do the math, each cookie only has like a 1/2 tablespoon of butter, though.

I like to make this dough in a large Tupperware container, because it needs to be chilled for 30 minutes before making the cookies. So pop on the lid, and you are good to go.


(FYI - I don't think the chilling is super necessary. I've done it both ways, and the cookies are no different. Also, it might even be better to not chill because the dough is crumbly and it's actually easier to handle when it's warmer and the butter is softer.)

The fun part! The cookie-making. For efficiency's sake, I like to do all the cookies at once, rather than rolling, smashing, and jamming each cookie one by one.

Take a golf-ball sized chunk of dough, and dip about half of it in egg wash. Then press that half into some sweetened coconut.


I do this for all the cookies first, and line them up on a baking sheet.


Huh, in that form, they look like a different dessert, don't they? (Bonus points if you guess which.) Next is pushing your thumb in. It doesn't matter if you use your thumb or not -- keep in mind the dough is pretty crumbly so you want to make sure the edges don't split too much when you do this.


Then spoon in the jam. Back in the day, when I had the money to do this, I'd do blackberry, strawberry, and apricot -- and there'd be a whole spectrum of different cookies to choose from. Today, it's just strawberry.


Out of the oven.


Mmmm. Like little circles of happiness.

---

Jam Thumbprint Cookies

Recipe adapted from Ina Garten

3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
7 ounces sweetened flaked coconut
fruit jam

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream together the butter and sugar until they are just combined and then add the vanilla. Separately, sift together the flour and salt. Add the flour mixture to the creamed butter and sugar. Mix until the dough starts to come together.

Dump on a floured board and roll together into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. (If you have a scale they should each weigh 1 ounce.) Dip each ball into the egg wash and then roll it in coconut. Place the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet and press a light indentation into the top of each with your finger. Drop 1/4 teaspoon of jam into each indentation.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the coconut is a golden brown. Cool and serve.

Yield: about 30 cookies
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20-25 minutes
Difficulty: Medium

Nutella cupcakes

Yellow cake with Nutella (chocolate hazelnut) frosting, sprinkled with chopped toasted hazelnuts.

Ha! It's been months, I know. But that's what happens when you're a student -- the tide of busyiness ebbs and flows. Hopefully things will now settle down a bit and I can post some of the pictures I have saved that I have not yet posted. Starting with some cupcakes.

This particular cupcake is all about the frosting. The cake is nothing special, although it is admittedly difficult to achieve a nice yelllow cake that is soft (without becoming pound cake) and dense (without becoming cornbread).


Scooping the batter. Ice cream scoops are essential if you want to scoop batter with any efficiency and evenness (otherwise some cakes will burn while others are not yet done baking)!


Like I said, this is all about the frosting. Luckily the density of Nutella meshes well with frosting, although you're going to have to cut the butter down and add a bit more powdered sugar to get the liquid/dry ratio right. I would alternate adding powdered sugar and then Nutella, and be conservative with your additions, until it comes out how you like.


I was pleased! This ended up just the right consistency for a frosting that held its shape well.


And the glamor shot, after the hazelnuts were added on top. (Just toast the nuts in an ungreased skillet pan for a few minutes, until you can smell the oils starting to come out and see them start to brown a little.)

---

Nutella Cupcakes

Cake recipe adapted from Ina Garten, frosting recipe my own

3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup milk

1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
¾ cup Nutella (or any hazelnut chocolate spread)
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined.

Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed, cream together butter and vanilla. Add the confectioners' sugar, 1 cup at a time, alternating with ¼ cup Nutella, and mix until smooth.

Frost the cooled cupcakes, sprinkle with hazelnuts, and serve.

Yield: about 18 cupcakes
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: about 30 minutes
Difficulty: Medium

Carrot Spice muffins

Okay boys and girls, here's a quickie. Muffins, in fact, are super quick. And I feel that the true art of the muffin has been lost in this era of giant greasy oil balls and itsy bitsy mini-muffins.

So. The muffin, the true muffin, is a quickbread. In a cup.

The dry ingredients. Note the spice component of the "carrot spice" muffins.


Shredding the carrots. An old-school box grater is a friend to all. No one believes me, in this age of food processors and microplanes and mandolins. But seriously, y'all. Box grater.


Mixing the carrots, coconut, and pecan into the batter. The trick with muffins is DO NOT over-mix, for the love of god. That makes the muffins tougher and more bread-like. Even if there's some bits of flour left in there, totally okay. Better to leave them in than risk over-mixing.


After they come out of the oven:


See the bits of carrot?

This recipe comes from Dorie Greenspan's Baking, From My Home to Yours, and I know I said I'd put up more recipes on here for you all, but I am not quite sure about the copyright issues related to recipes from books. So pick up a copy of your own, or get yourself over to allrecipes.com (this recipe from allrecipes.com is close to Dorie's, by the way).

Icebox bento (19)

Just a quick post to show one of my older bento boxes.


On the sides, halves of a caprese sandwich (tomato, mozzarella, and basil) on ciabatta bread. In the middle, slices of pluot and green grapes. I stuck the grapes in a silicone cupcake liner.

Happy bento!

Homemade Crackers and Hummus

Okay, so YJ told me making hummus is easy. So I figured it was about time for me to attempt it. And what better to accompany hummus than some homemade olive oil crackers? Indeed.

The recipe I found online used semolina flour, an Italian flour that is sometimes used to make pasta.

All the ingredients mixed together (including the olive oil):


The dough is very... pleasant? To handle, I mean. It's slightly tacky, but not sticky, and has a nice pull to it, even though there is no yeast. It's like magic dough. So cut the dough into twelve equal pieces, and roll them into balls to rest for a bit.


(While they're resting, you can make the hummus. But more on that in a minute.)

Then use a rolling pin or a pasta roller (but who owns a pasta roller, seriously?), roll each ball as thin as you can without tearing it. It does feel a little bit like making pasta. Maybe I should try that sometime, hmmm. Anyway, after rolling, use your hands to stretch it a bit more, like pizza dough. I like to just let the weight of the dough pull upon itself.


Lay them out on a baking sheet or a pizza stone. I sprinkled the crackers with sea salt, sesame seeds, and poppy seeds.

Bake! And keep an eye on the crackers towards the end, because they can burn pretty quick. Break them up and serve. (You could also score them before baking if you are really concerned about even-shaped crackers. I think they look more homemade with a free-form break.)


Okay, hummus is super easy. Get your blender or food processor. Chuck everything in.


Blend, drizzle in more olive oil to get the consistency desired, and let it go until smooth.


Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, paprika, and the crackers!


Wow your guests at your next get together. Here are the recipes I used:

---

Olive Oil Crackers

Recipe courtesy 101 Cookbooks

1 ½ cups semolina flour
1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1 cup warm water
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
toppings you like – sesame seeds, poppy seeds, coarse sea salt

Whisk together the flours and salt. Add the water and olive oil. Mix and knead on a floured counter-top or in a mixer for 5-7 minutes. The dough should be just a bit tacky - not too dry, not too sticky to work with.

When you are done mixing, shape the dough into a large ball. Cut into 12 equal-sized pieces. Gently rub each piece with a bit of olive oil, shape into a small ball and place on a plate. Cover with a clean dishtowel or plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30-60 minutes.

While the dough is resting, preheat your oven to 450F degrees.

When the dough is done resting, flatten one dough ball. Using a rolling pin or a pasta machine, shape into a flat strip of dough. Pull the dough out a bit thinner by hand. Set dough on a floured (or cornmeal dusted) baking sheet, poke each cracker with the tines of a fork to prevent puffing, add any extra toppings, and bake for 6-8 minutes, until deeply golden.

Repeat the process for the remaining dough balls. Let cool before eating.

Yield: 12 large crackers
Prep Time: 60 minutes (including the rest)
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: Medium

---

Hummus

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com (RC2STEP)

2 cups canned garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
2 tablespoons tahini paste (add more if desired)
1 lemon, juiced (add more if desired)
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon red pepper flake
2 garlic cloves, smashed
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided use
½ teaspoon paprika

Place the garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, salt, red pepper, and garlic in a blender or food processor. Blend, and drizzle in 1 tablespoon olive oil as the mixture is being blended. Continue to blend until smooth.

Adjust to taste (add more tahini, salt, lemon, etc. as desired).

Transfer mixture to a serving bowl. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over the mixture, and sprinkle with paprika.

Yield: 2 cups
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: none
Difficulty: Easy

Berry Bread Pudding

I had a lot left over from when I made challah bread, so it was about time for some bread pudding. I made a bread pudding using strawberries, since they're in season and it seemed like a good summery thing to make.

Also! While I am thinking about it -- another good thing to do with old challah is slice it up for French toast. This bread is awesome for French toast, I promise you.

Cubing the old bread:


You then soak the bread in this milk and egg mixture. While the bread marinates, line the bottom of the ramekins with sugar and sliced strawberries:


Press the soaked bread on top:


The bread has to soak a little bit more before going onto the oven, so leave them alone for a while. (Now's a good time to do some dishes!) Then bake.

When the puddings are done, you can tell since they puff up like little cakes and turn golden brown. When they are mostly cool, invert to serve. Garnish with more berries and drizzle with lemon syrup.


Enjoy! I got the recipe from Tyler Florence of Food Network, see below:

---

Berry Bread Pudding

Recipe adapted from Tyler Florence

butter, room temperature
4 eggs
¾ cup whole milk
¾ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
½ cup sugar, plus more for dusting and topping
approx. 2 ½ cups old brioche or challah, cubed
2 cups mixed berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries), plus more for garnish
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 lemon, zested and juiced

Butter and sugar 6 (6-ounce) ramekins.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and sugar. Combine well with a whisk - then let it settle so there are no air bubbles on the surface.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Add bread to the custard mixture and toss to combine. Equally divide the berries among the ramekins and top with the bread mixture. Gently press down so they are packed evenly. Sprinkle with more sugar, then refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes to let soak.

Bake for 25 minutes in the center of the oven. The pudding is ready when it has puffed up and the custard is set. The top should be a golden color. Remove and allow to cool slightly.

In a mixing bowl, combine sifted powdered sugar, water, lemon zest and juice.

Once the pudding has cooled slightly, invert onto an individual serving plate. Drizzle the lemon fondant over warm bread pudding and serve with extra fresh berries.

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Scallion Pancakes

Alright, so I am going to make an effort to post more recipes directly on here. I was too lazy before, but I figure I might as well. It's good for my own record-keeping purposes, too.

So! We'll start off easy. Scallion pancakes are a Chinese flatbread, very similar to its Indian cousin, parathas. I've always liked them because of their chewy layers -- the consistency makes them more interesting than other breads.

First, mixing the flour and water into a dough. If you want to know something interesting -- a LOT of Chinese doughs start out this way: a simple mixture of flour and hot water. Dumplings, wontons, potstickers, you name it -- what usually changes is the type of flour you use.

After kneading (it's kind of relaxing to knead hot dough, if you ask me), you have to let the dough rest for a little bit.


Cutting the scallions in the meantime.


So you split that dough ball into 6 smaller pieces. Roll each one out into a thin circle. Brush the circle with a layer of vegetable oil. Now, those of you who have done pastry before will recognize this is sort of a short-cut version of doing a buerre block folded into a détrempe. The oil, rolled and flattened and separating the dough, is what makes the peel-away layers that are characteristic of these pancakes.


Add salt, and scatter some scallions on. Then, roll up the dough circle.


Take the roll and wrap it into a tight coil.


Okay, this might get dicey since oil and onion pieces might squirt out at you -- but work with a firm and gentle hand and roll out the coil into a pancake again.


Pan fry them on a griddle. Don't literally fry them -- all you need is enough oil to keep the pancake from sticking. Some folks like these oilier -- I have to confess I am not one of them. They taste good either way, so don't feel obligated to oil them up.


Slice and serve!


See below for the recipe. They're easy! Hope you give it a shot.

---

Scallion Pancakes

Recipe adapted from those of Jennifer Yu and Dorie Greenspan

1 cup cake flour
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
1 cup boiling water
3 teaspoons salt (approx.)
6 teaspoons vegetable oil (approx.), plus more for pan-frying
1 bunch scallions, minced

Stir the flours in a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon. Add the boiling water, and stir until a rough dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes, or until smooth, kneading in more all-purpose flour as necessary. Cover with a cloth or wrap in plastic and let rest for 30 minutes, or longer if possible.

On a floured work surface, roll the dough into a rough log. Cut the log into 6 pieces. Keep the unused dough covered with a damp towel as you work.

With a rolling pin, roll out one piece of dough into a circle. Brush the top with a little oil and sprinkle with some of the minced scallion greens and salt. Roll up the circle like a jelly roll and pinch the ends to seal. Coil the roll into a snail shape, with the seam on the inside. Pinch the end to secure it and set aside on a lightly floured surface.

Prepare the remaining pancakes. Reflour the work surface and roll each coiled pancake out to 1/8 inch thickness.

Heat a tablespoon of oil on a flat, wide pan over a medium-low to medium flame until hot. Set the pancake in the oil and let fry until the bottom is crisp and golden. Flip the pancake, adding more oil as needed. Remove from heat, slice, and serve immediately, or reheat in the oven.

Yield: 6 pancakes (12 servings)
Prep Time: 45 minutes, including the 30 minute rest
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Challah

Baking bread! Whoo! (Man, I love being back in a place with a real kitchen.) To be specific, I made challah.


Challah is a braided Jewish bread. The bread doesn't contain any milk or butter (it uses water and vegetable oil instead), making it parve. That also makes it considerably better for you than its French cousin, brioche.

The dough is pretty straightforward -- water, yeast, honey, a little sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, salt, and flour. I found a pretty good recipe over here, which also gives a handy guide for how to make a 4-strand braid. (I replaced some of the sugar in that recipe with honey.)

After the first rise, split the dough into 4 balls and roll them out to equal length (I got about 15 inches out of these).


Okay, the slightly tricky part. Lay out the ropes of dough and pinch one end together. Then, umm... well, just follow the King Arthur Flour instructions I linked above, haha. You'll know you're doing it right when it looks kinda like a squid.


When you're done, pinch the ends together and tuck them under. Et voila, a braided challah that looks super-complicated but really was not.


Cover and let proof until doubled in size, at least another half hour. Coat with egg wash, then bake in the oven! Be careful not to overbake, and you will be rewarded with:


It was great! Soft and warm and slightly chewy.


Also? This is a whole freaking lot of bread. The loaf is huge! Methinks there is some bread pudding in my future...

Home again, home again

Taking a short pausa to move back home! That is it, 1L year is officially over, thank goodness.

The summer fruits and veggies are starting to come in, so that means there'll be some fun baking and cooking in store - hopefully starting next week. See you soon!


Pictured above: a latte from La Colombe, a coffee shop in Center City. Literally only a coffee shop - nothing but a bar, some tables and chairs, and coffee. None of those whatever-chino drinks, either. Reminded me of Italy, in fact. (Note the textbooks in the background of the picture.)

Audrey Claire - pappardelle

So, in addition to food trucks and Quizzo, Philadelphia is also home to another phenomenon that is not nearly as prevalent in other cities: BYOs - usually small restaurants holed into renovated houses. Expect good, fresh food at fair prices. (A big plus, for a student on a budget.) Apparently due to Philly's strange history of alcohol laws, BYOs became pretty common, and popular.

So. I haven't really been to any worth noting, except one that I happened to like a lot. A LOT. Audrey Claire is sort of adorable (in terms of the decor and setting) and the food is amazing. It's the sister restaurant to Twenty Manning, which is a little more formal, and I think I prefer Audrey Claire.


I was happy to be with a group that ordered a lot of food! The appetizers were amaaazing. One of them was a humongous bowl of mussels.


Another one, which I liked best, was the pear and gorgonzola flatbread.


It looks plain, but it was good! For my main dish, I ordered the pappardelle, which was mixed with arugula, portobello mushrooms, pine nuts, and locatelli (a fancy type of romano cheese, I believe).


It photographed well! I was pleased. Very cute place, overall.