Canada! Nanaimo Bars!

Daring Baker's Nanaimo Bars - January Challenge

What a great way to celebrate Canada and the Olympics, with a Canada favorite, Nanaimo bars!

Living in Florida, I definitely have never had Nanaimo bars, and I first head of them from Cakespy and her wonderful finds.

The recipe for Nanaimo bars with gluten-free graham crackers can be found at Celiac Teen's blog. The recipe for all of the components are super long, and well, it gives you an excuse to check out Lauren's blog!

The challenge could be done gluten-free or with wheat flour for the graham crackers, and I chose to try gluten-free. It was neat to work with the new ingredients I haven't worked with before, like sorghum, tapioca and sweet rice flour. One thing I noticed right away was how fine the flours' consistency was compared to all-purpose flour. I loved the gluten-free graham crackers, and I would definitely try GF baked goods again.

Nanaimo bars have three distinct layers, which in my book makes it a fancy bar-cookie recipe. the bottom layer is an ultra-tasty combination of graham cracker crumbs, coconut and buttery goodness.

The middle layer is a custard filling, and mine ended up a little grainy and a little too sugary. (One thing that could have caused that - I used skim milk instead of whole milk - I know, I know, but I hate having milk around the house if it isn't going to be used, and unless I am baking with it, it just sits there! )

The nanaimo bars are topped off with a layer of chocolate.

Problems I ran into with the bars, other than the custard problem I admitted to, was that the bars were sure hard to cut and get out of the pan. The top chocolate layer cracked while cutting, and on most pieces separated from the custard. I let the whole pan sit out of the fridge for about an hour to see if that would help in cutting, and it did, but just barely.

I liked the dessert, it was very rich and a great novelty. Great challenge!

Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal cookies with a touch of cranberry pizazz!

I just got the Sur La Table Art & Soul of Baking cookbook, and I am enjoying it. It is nice and big, with great pictures and explanations on the variety of recipes. Last week I tried Rustic Olive and Rosemary bread, and this week I was looking for a sweeter treat.

The recipe indicated it made 50 cookies, which I didn't really want 50 cookies hanging around, so I cut the recipe in half, with some tweaks. I did have to use half an egg, but it works for me. The following is the half recipe I used, adapted from Sur La Table.

Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
Makes 12

1/2 stick butter, unsalted
1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 1/2 Tbsp sugar, granulated
1 egg, lightly beaten and divided in half
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, unbleached
pinch of baking soda
pinch of baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup rolled oats, old-fashioned
1/2 cup dried cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line one baking sheet with parchment paper.
2.In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine butter and sugars and beat until smooth. Scrape down, then add vanilla and half of egg, blend until smooth.
3.In medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. Add to mixer, beat until combined.
4. Scrape bowl, then add oats and cranberries. Mix until combined.
5. With a small scoop, place scooped cooking dough on baking sheet. Bake cookies for 14 minutes, rotating from back-to-front and top-to-bottom halfway through cooking time.

These cookies were delightful, I felt it was a perfect balance of oatmeal-ness. Those who tried the cookies agree, I almost missed out in a final picture, they were going so fast!

Tiramisu Parfaits

Tiramisu is a favorite easy dessert of mine, but one downfall with the recipe I use is that it yields 12-15 large portions. The recipe also uses 24 oz marscapone cheese, which can get expensive.

Hubby and I invited a close couple over for a Christmas dinner party, and I found the perfect solution in individual Tiramisu Parfaits.

Tiramisu Parfaits, based very loosely on a CooksIllustrated.com recipe. Makes 4 wine glass sized parfaits.

3 oz dark Rum
1/2 cup strong coffee, room temperature
1 Tbsp Instant Espresso Powder
1 cup Heavy Cream
6 oz Marscapone Cheese
2 Tbsp granulated Sugar
12-15 Ladyfingers
Cocoa Powder
Chocolate shavings, optional

Mix rum, coffee and espresso powder together in shallow dish until espresso powder has dissolved. Set aside.

In standing mixer, whip cream into stiff peaks.

Place marscapone cheese in medium bowl. Add sugar and soften using a few strokes with a spatula. Mix in whipped cream, starting with a small amount and gradually adding the full amount.

When ready to assemble parfaits, break the ladyfingers into pieces that will fit well in your glass. I broke mine into 2 or 3 pieces. Working with about 3 pieces at a time, dip the ladyfingers into the coffee/rum mixture. Roll the pieces, ensuring all is covered, but do not leave the ladyfingers in, or they will quickly become too soggy. Place the wet pieces on a separate plate and continue until all ladyfinger pieces have been dipped.

To assemble the parfaits, scoop a layer of marscapone mixture into the glass first. Sprinkle a light layer of cocoa powder on top of the marscapone. Place a layer of ladyfingers then repeat with an additional layer of each item. Finish the parfait with a top layer of marscapone, and garnish with chocolate shavings. Place in fridge for at least an hour so the flavors can really develop.

For my parfaits, I used 4 wine glasses and was able to layer each component twice, and then topped the dessert with a final layer of marscapone mixture. If you have taller glasses, you might want to adjust the layers or increase the recipe quantity.

Disaster Baking with Cannoli

Prior to my first Daring Baker's challenge, I didn't have a strong
opinion on cannoli. I would have to say that has changed in the last month.

Due to a crazy month, I put the challenge off until this past weekend. As the husband was off watching football at a friend's house, I prepped the dough, let it rest in the fridge, then rolled the dough out. Following the instructions and information posted by lisamichele, I rolled the dough to the thickness of 1/16th of an inch.

Using a 3 1/2 inch circle cookie cutter, I cut circles out of the dough. I used standard cannoli forms, 6 inches long, greased them with extra vegetable oil, and then rolled the dough around the forms. 

After cutting the dough out, I rolled the circles a little thinner, just slightly.

I used standard cannoli forms, 6 inches long, greased them with extra vegetable oil, and then rolled the dough around the forms. 

The directions said to pour enough oil in a sturdy pot to have oil 3
inches deep. What I later found out was from the hubby was that the large, heavy-bottomed soup pot was not the appropriate pot to fry cannoli. Maybe if I had used a more appropriate pot, my Saturday might have ended better.  So, with such a large pot, I used about 4 1/2 quarts of oil to get the 3 inches, instead of the suggested 2 quarts.

As I started to fry the cannoli, I quickly realized they were frying
super fast. So the first couple cannoli were more of a dark golden
than a nice light gold color. I was getting the hang of it, 7 done and
7 to go. Then my horrible clumsiness struck, a style of baking I call 'Disaster Baking'.  Cheap bamboo tongs aren't advised to pull hot, oily metal tubes out of a pot of extremely hot frying oil. I learned this the hard way, after decently burning myself on the wrist. Damn it hurt!

The fun burn took my focus away from the cannoli project, and brought it to how in retrospect, I should have gone about the project differently. Too late! But I still finished the challenge, making a basic ricotta filling. I was originally going to make a savory Mexican chickpea filling, topping it will cheddar cheese, but that was nixed.

I would have to say, I am currently underwhelmed by cannoli. For the effort, I don't think the are worth it. I think many other desserts are better, and easier to execute without such pain. I might try it again in the distant future, who knows.   And do you notice the different looking canola? It was neglected in the hot oil as I held my hand under cold water until hubby got home to fix the problem I had gotten myself into.

Mmm, Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Everyone else is super excited about pumpkin. It wouldn’t be my first choice of flavors, but it definitely is growing on me. Especially in these whoopie pies. The creamy filling accents the pumpkin so well, yummy! And the cookies were a lot easier to make than I anticipated.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies from Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients

Cookies

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon table salt

Filling

8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), softened but still cool
4 ounces cream cheese (1/2 package), at room temperature
3/4 cup Marshmallow Fluff (3 1/2 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar , sifted

Instructions

1. For the cookies: Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large (18 by 12-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Stir pumpkin, eggs, oil, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in large bowl until well blended. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in medium bowl. Stir dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture until well incorporated.

3. Using small ice cream scoop (#30 is the perfect size) or tablespoon measure, drop 2 tablespoons of dough on prepared baking sheet. (You should fit nine scoops of dough on each sheet.) Spread dough into 2-inch rounds about 1/2 inch thick and spaced 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies are just set and bottoms are lightly browned, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheets from front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking. Slide cookies, still on parchment, to cooling racks. Cool baking sheets, line with fresh parchment paper, and repeat with remaining dough.

4. For the filling: With electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed until no lumps remain, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula. Add Marshmallow Fluff and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 60 seconds. Beat in salt and vanilla until well blended, about 30 seconds. Scrape down bowl. Reduce speed to low and gradually add confectioners’ sugar, beating until smooth, about 1 minute.

5. Spread 2 tablespoons filling on center of flat side of one cookie. Place flat side of second cookie on filling and press cookies together to bring filling to edges. Repeat with remaining cookies and filling. (Cookies can be refrigerated in airtight container for up to 4 days)

Note: I used a scoop smaller than a #30, which still provided a good size cookie. If you use a smaller scoop, consider cutting the cookie portion of the recipe in half.

Happy Halloween!

Neighborly Mini Chip Cookies

Apparently, older adults, say the age of grandparents, are coming out of the woodwork lately, wanting to be friendly with me. I will be at the grocery store looking at produce, and I get chatted up about those pre-wrapped baking potatoes. More than once, I have been mowing the yard, minding my business on a weekday morning, and I get stopped by one neighbor or another, and we start talking about how I enjoy the new neighborhood, how I actually am employed regardless of the ability to mow the yard on a weekday morning, and about any neighborhood gossip my new friends might have.

I don't think twice about these small encounters, until a neighbor
calls me at the bakery, asking me over for dinner. At this time, I
had only met the neighbor once, and hubby hadn't. As we were thinking about this dinner invitation, we had no idea what to expect. When you go into a new situation, what better than bring a sweet, to help the evening go smoothly? And this gives us Neighborly Mini Chip Cookies!

Neighborly Mini Chip Cookies adapted from epicurious
Yields about 85 cookies

10 Tbsp Butter, unsalted, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour, all-purpose unbleached
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

I used Enjoy Life semi-sweet vegan chips, which are awesome, but use whatever you have.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions.

Beat butter, sugar, salt and baking soda together in standing mixer until fluffy. Scrape sides, then add egg and vanilla. Scrape sides, then add flour gradually. Mix until incorporated.

Fold in mini chocolate chips.

Using a teaspoon measure, drop dough onto prepped baking sheets. (I fit about 25 cookies per sheet)

Bake 6-7 minutes, rotating sheets from top to bottom, front to back, halfway through cooking time. Place on cooling rack in pan for 5 minutes, then removing cookies from sheet to continue cooling.

If you are feeling neighborly, take a handful over to a neighbor, I am sure they will welcome the treat! The hubby thinks these are the best cookies I have made in a long time. I take that as a huge compliment coming from a guy who is totally not a sweets fan.

Pumpkins and Lobsters!

Halloween. I've never been into costumes, mainly because I am not creative enough to think up an amazing costume idea.  But I do love other things associated with Halloween, like dressing our adorable pug up in silly costumes, showing off our costumed dog, and baking awesome treats!

Since we now live further away from both families, I wanted to get
together some care packages in put in the mail. What better than super cute pumpkins?

I used Americolor food color gels in the royal icing, which I am now obsessed with.

For the faces, I tried out new Wilton food color pens. I had never
used them before, but they were perfect for the little pumpkin faces! I let the royal icing on the cookies dry overnight, then they were all ready to be drawn on. These pens worked so well I will have to find more cookie excuses to use the pens!

Look how cute these little pumpkins look as they found their way into a little jar, ready jump in a box and mail out. Some even made it to hubby's work, along with some Neighborly Mini Chip cookies, which I will tell you more about later!