TWD: Chocolate Spice Quickies

I'm all for truth in advertising. Unfortunately, I don't think these cookies lived up to the name.

This is essentially a sable with some cocoa powder, ground almonds, and ground clove added in. On paper, this is a great cookie. It's a log cookie, which means that it's easy to get to cookies - you just slice and bake. I think the "quickie" part of the name is for the time between slicing and baking, because there's a four hour window between making the dough and slicing. It was easy to put the dough together, and my "cookie dough into a log" technique is much improved.

The cookie uses ground almonds as part of the mix. I didn't taste almond. I didn't taste much chocolate or spice, either. Mostly this was a sweet, tender cookie without a distinct flavor. It didn't stop me from eating them, because I did enjoy them. However, I don't think I'll be making these again. I'd rather have a more assertive flavor somewhere in them, be it chocolate, almond, or clove.

Jessica of My Baking Heart has photos worth looking at and the recipe.

A new baking adventure: Sourdough

About a week ago, my sister-in-law decided that she needed to try making sourdough bread. NOW. I followed right along. I was placing an order at King Arthur, and that's where she saw that they sell a live starter. We ordered. It arrived.

She has a great statement about sourdough starter. She decreed that it was "the puppy of the baking world." Which, when you think about it is eerily descriptive. You have to constantly feed and coddle it. At least it doesn't need to be walked....

If you don't plan on refrigerating your starter, you need to feed it twice a day. Considering that you throw some out or bake every time you feed it, there was no way that was happening. I was lucky and my starter was somewhat trained when I got it. At one point instead of throwing out a portion, my sister-in-law gave it to me as my base. Refrigerated starter needs to be "revived" a bit before baking, so that does take some advanced planning.

I'm going to try to bake something sourdough every week. Or ten days. Or two weeks. We'll see how it goes. Check back to see how the adventure continues!

TWD: Cornmeal and Fruit Loaf

Back in the saddle! I (sadly) missed the last two weeks of TWD due to work, travel, and life getting in the way. I'm in a slight work lull right now, so I was able to get in some baking.

This one was good. I love the crunch that cornmeal brings to baked goods. This loaf ended up being a slightly sweet, apple-y bread that was perfect for snacking.

It was a snap to put together. The recipecalls for fresh as well as dried apple. I have to say that I didn't really see the benefit of the dried apple. I think next time I would leave it out. And I'm pretty sure there will be a next time. I added a sprinkling of coarse sugar on the top of the loaf. It added just the right texture and sweetness.

You can see the darker bits of dried apple vs. the lighter fresh apple. I think this would be equally good with pears.

Thank you Caitlin of Engineer Baker for choosing this delicious recipe. Go see her blog for much better photos.

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I've been crazy busy lately. Between work, travel, and family stuff, baking has fallen off my radar. I'll be back to it one of these days.

Cookie Carnival: Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies

I haven't baked along with the cookie carnival group for a while, but when I saw this recipe, I knew that I had to make it.

Actually, I've made it three times in the last month. That's how good these cookies are. This is an intensely chocolate cookie. It is also an incredibly versatile cookie.

The first time I made it, I followed the recipe pretty exactly. I added more espresso powder (1 T more) because I wanted a really strongly flavored cookie. It was perfect. It was a slightly bitter really chocolatey cookie. Yum. The second time I made it I used cappuccino chips for the mix in along with the higher ratio of espresso powder. The third time I used milk chocolate chips for the mix in and got a great cookiewith a hint of sweetness.

Here's the cappuccino chip version.

My imagination can only go from what I've done so far. Reducing the espresso powder back to 1 T. would make a rich chocolate cookie without the coffee hint, so any chip could be fabulous (mint? cherry? toffee bits? dried fruit?)

You wish this was on your counter.

I know that this will be a recipe that I go back to often.

Tami will have the round of of all the bakers. Go see what the other bakers did!

WWD: Cocoa Almond Meringues

This is turning into a bad habit. It's not Wednesdays With Dorie, and yet, that's where I've been for the last two weeks. Do I get any sympathy if I tell you that my air conditioning isn't working and it was 95 yesterday? Just checking.

I know meringues are a like 'em/hate 'em thing for a lot of people. I fall firmly into the like 'em camp. I'm really lousy at making them, though. For some reason, I can never get the whites to whip up the right way. I use a perfectly clean bowl and beaters. I bet them for a long time. I add the sugar in small amounts. Maybe the humidity defeated me on this one.

No crags or mountains. More like small sand dunes?

Mine taste good, but they don't look anything like Dorie's. There is almost no rise to them. I like the subtle cocoa flavor with the bites of semi sweet every so often. I don't taste the almond at all. I wonder if a little almond extract might be better than vanilla in these if you are looking for that taste.

Thanks to Mike of Ugly Food for an Ugly Dude for choosing this one.

TWD: Creamy Dark Chocolate Sorbet

This past week was HOT. There was very little baking going on in my house. Though, I was totally willing to get behind some sorbet.

I think, that if you are using the strict definition, this isn't sorbet. A sorbet doesn't generally contain dairy. Whatever you call it, however, it is lovely. This was a snap to put together. It requires four ingredients - water, dark chocolate, sugar, and milk of some form (cream all the way down to skim works.) You boil it for five minutes, stick it in the fridge for a while, and then churn it in the freezer.

The taste of this one is fabulous. I did, however, have some texture issues. I think I didn't cool my base down enough before I churned it. It was very soft before it went into the freezer, and it ended up being a little icy. I would make this again in a heartbeat. I can see adding some fruity extracts to this one or varying the intensity of the chocolate.

A "scoop" each for The Boy and The Girl. It was too soft to really scoop well.

Thanks to Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon for choosing this recipe.

Not a TWD

Too. Hot. To. Bake.

Next week is sorbet! I'm in!

WWD? Cream Scones

I'm a day late and a dollar short. But I have some really good scones. I kept meaning to make these, and time got away from me. This afternoon, I finally pulled it together.

These were simple to put together. I used half and half because I didn't have heavy cream. There is a tiny amount of sugar in the scones, so instead of currants, I used milk chocolate chips as my mix in. I also sprinkled the tops with some coarse sugar.

Mmmm. Hot out of the oven!

This recipe got a big thumbs up from everyone. I'm still not great at mixing and leaving a little flour behind. I have to blend it all, and I'm sure that the texture suffered some. Having said that, these are great. I would absolutely make them again.

Just look at that golden brown deliciousness with the shiny coarse sugar. And don't forget the chips!

TWD: Chocolate Chunk Muffins

Slightly behind on my posting tonight. I only find that funny because I made the muffins last week. I'm good about baking. I'm happy to take pictures. I'm just really lousy and getting the photos from the camera to the computer. But, they're here now!

Tah dah! Muffins!

These were simple to put together. They are VERY chocolatey. The flavor comes from melted chocolate as well as chunks. I used a chocolate that we had in the cabinet that had diced candied ginger in it. It was definitely a good choice.

Had I waited to make these after a few other bakers chimed in, I might have added more chips. Most folks thought it was better with more chips. I probably could go either way.

These really are a rich, gorgeous brown. Chocolate for breakfast! It's a win.

Go see The Way the Cookie Crumbles for the recipe. Or seriously, go buy the book already!

**baby steps on improving my photos. Playing with natural light and using closer shots. Baby steps.

TWD: Sour Cream Chocolate Cake Cookies

I had some high hopes for these cookies. Dorie describes them as plain looking but with a taste that brings you back for cookie after cookie. They are more cake than cookie. They are also more sweet tasting than any distinct flavor.

These were a bit of a disappointment to me. I wanted them to be more... something. There wasn't enough chocolate to make them a rich chocolate cookie. There wasn't enough nutmeg or cinnamon to make them a chocolate spice cookie. The sour cream made the cookies tender, but I didn't feel it added to the taste.

They were very easy to make. And if you don't already have a mini ice cream scoop (I used my 1 T. scoop), you should buy one. They were also good as a vehicle for other foods. (Strawberry rhubarb vanilla compote for one) Having said that, I don't think these will be made in my kitchen again. I like my chocolate cookie to have a bit more chocolate oomph. I love that spellcheck likes the word "oomph".

Now all I need is a little ice cream....

Thanks Spike of Spike Bakes for choosing this one. I'm glad to have tried it.

TWD: Date Nut Loaf

I was looking forward to making this one. I really like dates. I especially like dates wrapped in bacon and stuffed with cheese, but that's another post. I actually almost always have some pitted dates in my house. You know, just in case an appetizer emergency comes up and someone needs something with bacon. Anyway, I was looking forward to baking with them.

This is a simple loaf cake. It has a few extra touches - cream cheese for a bit of tang and almond extract for a nice flavor twist. Dorie called for walnuts, but I used toasted pecans instead. Best tip ever for cutting up sticky dates - use a food scissors. Goes through 'em in nothing flat. This came together easily. It smelled amazing when it was baking. It bakes for 40 minutes uncovered and then 40 more covered. In my case, I think it was a bit too long. While not exactly dry, this loaf doesn't have the moistness I would expect.

Having said that, it's delicious. I only made it last night, and I expect that it will ripen and improve over the next couple of days. I assume it will last that long. Only the Boy is home right now; the Girl's at her first overnight camp experience, so I suspect that treats might make it an extra day in our house. Dorie suggests that this is a great toasting loaf, so that's an option as well.

Breakfast of champions! Iced coffee and Date Nut Loaf. Mmmmmm.

Thank you Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet for choosing this one!

TWD: Chocolate Biscotti

Biscotti is such a great cookie concept. It's great for a treat with coffee. It's an excellent ice cream spoon. It's wonderful dipped in jam or chocolate. And, if you can get them to last, they get better with age.

Biscotti in general is easy to make. It tends to be a one bowl cookie that you bake twice. This one was a two bowl. They came together pretty easily. Dorie's has us make two logs, but I like mine smaller, so I made three. I'm always surprised by how much biscotti spread. I like to skip the middle step of moving the logs to a cutting board, so I carefully cut on my cookie sheet. They bake a second time. It gives it a lovely crunch.

These were a hit with the family and the friends who tried them. I used almonds and chocolate chips in mine, but I could see many many variations. I sprinkled coarse sugar on top, and I liked the crunch and sweetness that it added.

Thanks Jacque of Daisy Lane Cakes for picking this one!

TWD: Blueberry Brown Sugar Plain Cake

AHHH! I fell asleep last night before I wrote something. I made it. It was delicious. I'll get more up later.

Totally quick post here - I made the cake last week. It's a good cake, but for my money, it was a bit fussy. The recipe has us separate the eggs, beat the egg whites, and fold them in to the rest of the batter. (On a side note - I discovered that my new mixer is TOO BIG to only whip two egg whites) I have another blueberry cake that I love a bit more that has fewer steps. I also didn't seem to have the sinking problem that other people had. Not sure why.

Still, this one was tasty. Not sure that I'll be making it again, though. Thanks Cindy of Everyday Insanity for choosing such a seasonal cake.

Looks lovely in the pan.

Edited to add: Here's the link for my favorite blueberry cake.

Not a TWD: I revisited some old favorites

This past week/weekend, I made a couple of my favorite recipes, one of which was Dorie's. There was delicious strawberry rhubarb ginger crisp at our Memorial Day BBQ today. Last weekend I made some fabulous Chocolate Dark Cherry Toffee cookies.

What that means is, is that I skipped the caramel pots de creme. Come back next week, and I'll be back in the swing of TWD.

TWD: Oatmeal Nutmeg Scones

I've professed my love for a good scone in a previous post. For the most part, they are very easy to make, I generally have the ingredients on hand, and they're pretty tasty. This was no exception.

The only item I didn't have on hand was buttermilk, but it's so easy to clabber milk that I didn't bother to run out and get some. I also decided to sub in some white whole wheat flour for 2/3 c. AP flour. I thought the nutty flavor would compliment the oatmeal. Speaking of nutty, I can't recommend grating your own nutmeg enough. It keeps forever in its "nut" form and absolutely outshines the pre-grated stuff. I also decided to throw in some diced prunes. Good choice.

They came together in a snap. I formed the two circles right on my Silpat. This was a pretty sticky dough, so instead of trying to separate the wedges, I just scored them to start. After they had baked for about 18 minutes, I tookthem out and put enough room between them to ensure crunchy edges.

Post separation.

We tried to let them cool for the whole ten minutes. These were very good. I loved the flavor of the nutmeg with the prunes. The oatmeal and whole wheat flour were a good blend as well. I could see these made with dried apricots or cherries. I could even see me making them.

I love how craggy and rustic these are. Delicious!

Thank you to Patricia from Life with a Whisk for choosing this one.

TWD: Maple Cornmeal Drop Biscuits

Making these biscuits was an afterthought. We just received the 1/4th of the whole hog that we ordered with some friends. Just in case you were wondering, a 1/4 of a whole hog is about 40 pounds of pork. Yes, it was more than I was expecting. We had some bacon and sausage from the same farmer that I purchased earlier in the spring that was calling out to be eaten. Plus, it lost its home in the freezer. My solution -- breakfast for dinner!

I love maple in just about any form. And cornmeal in baked goods adds a crunch that I really like. This recipe was a match made just for me. These were a total snap to put together. It was four steps. 1) mix the dry ingredients 2) cut in some butter 3) mix in the wet ingredients 4) scoop and drop on a baking sheet. Oh, and put them in the oven. I guess that's five.

They came out of the oven all golden and craggy. We ate them hot with a bit of butter and other additions. Small sandwiches were made with bacon and then strawberries. All were amazing. They were equally good the next morning.

For my taste, I could have used a bit more maple, but that's an easy fix. These are such a winner that I know we'll be making them again soon. I have more bacon and sausage. Lots more.

Thank you Lindsay from A Little Something.... Sweet for this fabulous choice. Go visit her blog to see some better photos.

TWD: Brown Sugar Bundt Cake

I love a Bundt cake. Bundt cakes are so simple. With little effort, you get such a pretty cake. This one has the added bonus of being delicious.

First of all, the name called to me. Brown sugar bundt cake? What's not to love. Dorie's original recipe called for pears and prunes. I trust Dorie, but the fruit was not calling out to me. As always, she offered up a variation for this cake. I made a variation of Dorie's variation.

Her variation makes it a brown sugar nut bundt cake. I decided to do that version. And then I changed it a bit more. After realizing that I ran out of almond meal, I went to plan B. Being that I was too lazy to get out the food processor and make my own almond meal, I found a stand-in. I subbed in the peanut flour for the ground almonds. I used some toasted slivered almonds. And then I added in toffee bits. Yeah. It was a good choice.

The cake smelled amazing at it was baking. I was a bit nervous about how long it baked because it smelled good for a long time. It baked for just about an hour, and it was the right amount of time. The crust was a gorgeous brown color.

Mmmmm. Brown sugar, almonds, and toffee bits. Mmmmmm.

I let it ripen overnight. Another good choice. This cake is such a winner. I could see using it as a base for so many delicious add-ins. I left mine unadorned, but a bit of powdered sugar wouldn't have been bad. Neither would a chocolate glaze. Or a cinnamon glaze. Or an almond glaze. You get the idea.

Please don't let my lousy photography deter you from making this. Thank you Peggy from Pantry Revisited for choosing this one. YUM!

A very goofy, very enthusiastic thumbs up from the Boy.

TWD: Basic Marbled Loaf Cake

Or, not so basic. The original recipe is a vanilla/chocolate marble cake. Dorie, however, has to gild the lily just a bit with some other options. There is a peppermint/chocolate version and an orange/chocolate version. Then there was the one that really caught my eye - a cardamom/coffee version. Yum!

This was absolutely a winner cake. It was an easy batter to put together. After the base is mixed, you add flavorings to each half. In my case, I added espresso powder that had been dissolved in water to one half and ground cardamom to the other half. Just a side note here - I used cardamom pods and ground them into powder in my spice grinder (old coffee grinder) The difference between pre-ground and freshly ground cardamom is amazing. The fresh stuff has an amazing taste. I highly recommend this method if you can do it.

Golden brown and delicious!

Instead of a loaf pan, I decided to use my Fiesta Bundt pan. I baked it for exactly one hour, and I think it would have been fine at 50 or so minutes. It seems a tiny bit dry to me. My swirling technique still leaves a bit to be desired, but I did get a good mix of each flavor in each slice.

Not so much a swirl as a clump.

This is a good recipe. I truly enjoyed the mix of flavors. I think if I need a simple cake for some event, this would be one that I would revisit. Thank you Carol of The Bake More for choosing this one!

TWD: Cornmeal Shortbread Cookies

I have almost never enjoyed chametz so much. (Chametz is essentially all the stuff you can't eat during Passover, which these cookies absolutely are). It's now over for me, and I jumped right back into baking.

I don't think Dorie has ever steered me wrong with her butter cookie recipes. This one is no exception. These have two wonderful twists that really make them special. First is the cornmeal. It adds a great crunch and a little texture that gives these bite. The second is the fresh lime zest. The recipe called for lemon, but I had a lime, and I love lime and corn together. Her trick of rolling out the cookies in a plastic bag is genius.

I learned that Dorie's butter cookies should be VERY COLD before baking. I cut them into squares and then put them back in the fridge until just before they go in the oven. It's what helps them keep their shape. I didn't bake them until they were very crispy, but I think I enjoyed them with a little chew instead of snap.

Just out of the oven. Mmmmm.

On the plate, where they did not last.

These are definitely going to be made in my house again. Thank you Valerie of Une Gamine dans la Cuisine for choosing this recipe.