How can a cookie named after something so ugly taste so damn good?

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1 cup wheat germ

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup flaked coconut

1 cup sliced almonds or walnuts or a mixture of both

1 cup chopped pitted dates

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time then stir in the vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine the oats, wheat germ, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture. Finally, mix in the coconut, nuts, and dates. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for a couple minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

I got the recipe here.

This is my first attempt at brioche.  The dough is sublime and versatile. The taste? Let me just tell you that I can’t wipe the smile from my face.

4 cups flour

1/3 cup granulated sugar

4 ½ tsp. active dry yeast

2 tsp salt

4 large eggs, at room temperature + 2 large eggs and 1 large egg yolk for the egg wash

½ cup whole milk, at room temperature

1 cup unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces, slightly softened; more for the pans.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt on low speed until well combined. Add 4 of the eggs and the milk and continue mixing on low speed to combine. As soon as the dough starts to clump together, remove the paddle attachment and attach the dough hook. (There will still be unmixed egg and flour in the bowl.) Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Using a plastic dough scraper or strong plastic spatula, scrape the bowl and hook. Continue to mix until the dough is firm and elastic, about 2 minutes more. The dough may stick to the hook at this point, but that’s OK. Scrape the dough off the hook again.

With the mixer on medium-low speed, add half of the butter, a few pieces at a time. Scrape down the bowl and dough hook, and remove the dough hook. Give the dough a few kneads by hand in the bowl, repeatedly folding the dough over on itself, to help incorporate the butter. Reattach the dough hook and add the remaining butter, a few pieces at a time, mixing on medium-low speed. Once all of the butter has been added, increase the mixer speed to medium and mix for 4 minutes. Scrape the dough hook and the sides and bottom of the bowl. Mix again until the dough is smooth, soft, and shiny, about 4 minutes more. You’ll hear the dough slap against the sides of the bowl when it’s ready. (If your kitchen is warm, the dough may seem too loose at this point. Resist the urge to add extra flour, or the brioche may be tough.)

Let the dough rise

Use a plastic dough scraper or a spatula to turn the dough out onto a clean, very lightly floured work surface. The dough will be very moist. Knead it by hand a few times and then form it into a ball by folding the sides into the middle at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock. Flip the dough over, place your palms on either side of the dough, and tuck it under itself, turning the dough as you tuck to form a loose ball with a smooth top. Transfer the dough, smooth side up, to a clean large bowl. Cover loosely with plastic and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Let the dough rise again

Use the dough scraper or spatula to turn the dough out, smooth top down, onto a very lightly floured work surface. Again, form it into a ball by folding the sides into the middle at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock. Flip the dough over, place your palms on either side of the dough, and tuck it under itself, turning the dough as you tuck to form a loose ball with a smooth top. Transfer the dough, smooth side up, back to the bowl. Cover tightly with plastic. At this point, for best flavor refrigerate the dough overnight. Or let it sit out until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Shape the brioches

If the dough was refrigerated, let it warm to room temperature.

Turn the dough out, smooth top down, onto a clean work surface. Using a scale and a bench knife, divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, about 3 oz each. Cover the dough with plastic to prevent it from drying out.

Roll each piece into an oval and place in a lined muffin tin. Cover and let raise one more time (about an hour).

Meanwhile, position  rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 375°F. It is important that the oven be thoroughly heated so the brioches bake evenly.

Bake the brioches

In a small bowl, make the egg wash by beating the remaining 2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk and a pinch of salt. Lightly brush the top of the brioches (without letting the egg wash drip down into the molds or pans, which would make the brioches stick to their molds). Sprinkle with some turbinado sugar. Bake until dark golden-brown on top and golden on the sides (you can lift the brioche slightly to peek in at the edge of the mold), about 18minutes.

I worked with this recipe.

minutes. (The internal temperature should be 190°F.) Let the brioches cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before unmolding. Serve while they’re still warm to the touch.

These bitches are gluten-free.

Chocolate Orange & Polenta Cookies

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups medium non-instant polenta or yellow cornmeal

12 tablespoons of chilled butter

3/4 cup sugar

2/3 cup gluten free flour/almond meal

The zest and juice of one orange

Pinch of salt

2 large eggs

1 cup bitter-sweet chocolate, melted

In a food processor, combine the polenta with the butter, sugar, flour, orange zest and salt and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the eggs and pulse just until the dough comes together. Transfer the dough to a bowl and refrigerate until slightly firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 175°c. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop slightly rounded teaspoons of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes, or until golden around the edges and on the bottoms. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely. Melt chocolate and spread between two cookies.

I worked with this recipe here.

Cake, custard, raspberries and more cake.

Custard

3 large egg yolks

1/3 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoon cornstarch

3/4 cup whole milk

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

1 tablespoon butter

Cake

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan

1 3/4 cup (7 7/8 ounces) all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1/4 cup whole milk

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup raspberries

Confectioners’ sugar, for serving

1. To prepare the custard, stir together the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch in a medium bowl until smooth. In a medium saucepan, bring the milk, heavy cream, and vanilla bean and seeds to a simmer over medium heat. Add a little bit of the warm milk mixture to the yolk mixture and whisk to combine. Repeat this process a few times until all of the milk mixture has been incorporated into the yolk mixture. Return the mixture to the pan.
2. Set a fine-mesh sieve over a large bowl. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly and making sure to get the edges, until the mixture begins to thicken, 2 to 4 minutes. (It’s helpful to have both a spatula and a whisk handy while making the custard. Switch between the two.) Let it come up to a very slow boil and cook for 1 minute more. Strain the custard through the sieve into a clean bowl, and stir in the butter. Press plastic wrap onto the surface of the cream and refrigerate until cooled completely.
3. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan. Line the pan with parchment leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides.
4. To prepare the cake, stir the chilled custard to loosen it a bit. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at time, scraping down the bowl in between. Beat in the flour mixture then milk and the vanilla extract. Fold in the 2/3’s of the raspberries. The batter will be thick.
5. Using an offset spatula, spread half of the cake batter evenly in the prepared pan. Top with the custard in dollops. Using the spatula, swirl the cake batter and the custard a few times to intersperse it. Top with dollops of the remaining cake batter and spread it out, covering the custard layer as best as you can. Top with the remaining raspberries.
6. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 1 hour. Cool slightly on a rack and then lift the cake out of the pan. Dust with confectioners’ sugar to serve.

I followed this recipe.

Strawberry jam and cream cheese rolling around together in a muffin tin.

Dough:

2/3 cup whole milk

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 ¾ teaspoon active dry yeast

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

Filling:

6 ounces of cream cheese, at room temperature

1 large egg yolk

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

¾ cup jam warmed slightly

confectioners’ sugar, for sprinkling

 

1. Prepare the dough: Bring the milk just to a boil over medium heat in a small pot.  Remove from the heat and add the butter to melt. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let cool to between 105°F to 110°F.  Add the egg and stir to combine.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, yeast, salt, and cardamom. Add the milk mixture and mix until just combined. Switch to the dough hook and knead the dough on low speed until it is smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes. (You could do all of this by hand. You shouldn’t need to add extra flour.)  Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a buttered bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to double. (At this point you could wrap the dough well and set it in the refrigerator overnight.)
3. Meanwhile, prepare the filling: Beat the cream cheese and egg yolk together until smooth. Then add the confectioners sugar and beat until smooth. Butter a 12-cup non-stick muffin tin (the cups and the top) really well.
4. On a very lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to about a 12 x 15 inch rectangle. Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the dough. Then spread the jam evenly over the cream cheese mixture. Roll the dough up into a tight coil, then cut the dough into 12 equal pieces. (The dough will be squishy and messy but don’t worry. You can’t really mess this up.) Set a piece of dough, cut side up, into each cavity in the muffin tin. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and set aside to rise.
5. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Once the dough has puffed up about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch above the edge of the pan, pop the tray in the oven. Bake until golden brown and set, about 18 to 22 minutes. Let the rolls cool in the pan for about 15 minutes then transfer them to a rack. (A small offset spatula is helpful for lifting the rolls out of the tin.) Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar to serve warm or at room temperature.

I got the recipe here.

 

If it is good enough for Buzz Lightyear, than it is good enough for you. What is your favorite way to eat a graham cracker?

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for working

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1/2 cup untoasted wheat germ

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)

3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar

2 tablespoons high-quality honey

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk flours, wheat germ, satl, baking soda, and cinnamon in a medium bowl; set aside.

Put butter, brown sugar, and honey into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add the flour mixture, and mix until combined.

Turn out dough onto a floured surface, and divide into quarters. Roll out each piece between 2 sheets of floured parchment paper into rectangles a bit larger than 9 by 6 inches, about 1/8 inch thick.

Using a fluted pastry wheel, trim the outermost edges of each rectangle, and divide into three 6-by-3-inch rectangles. Pressing lightly, so as not to cut all the way through, score each piece in half lengthwise and crosswise, to form four 3-by-1 1/2-inch crackers. Stack parchment and dough on a baking sheet and chill in freezer until firm, about 20 minutes.

Remove two sheets of dough from freezer. Pierce crackers using the tines of a fork. Transfer to large baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake, rotating halfway through, until dark golden brown, 8 to 9 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough. Let cool on sheet 5 minutes; transfer crackers to wire racks to cool completely.

I got the recipe here.

 

If I lived in a colder climate I would drop one of these in a warm cup of hot chocolate and go ice skating.  Since I live in Los Angeles, I’ll just eat one and then do 100 squats.

INGREDIENTS

Nonstick cooking spray

3 x ¼ ounce packages unflavored gelatin

½ cup cold water

2 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cup corn syrup

¼ teaspoon coarse salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

5-7 drops of orange food coloring

Confectioners’ sugar, sifted, for coating

DIRECTIONS

Lightly spray a 9-by-9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Line pan with plastic wrap, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water and add food coloring; let stand for 10 minutes. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water. Place saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil; boil rapidly for 1 minute. Remove from heat, and, with the mixer on high, slowly pour the boiling syrup down the side of the mixer bowl into gelatin mixture. Add salt and continue mixing for 12 minutes.

Add vanilla extract and vanilla bean seeds; mix until well combined. Spray a rubber spatula or your hands with cooking spray. Spread gelatin mixture evenly into pan using prepared spatula or your hands. Spray a sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place, spray side down, on top of marshmallows. Let stand for 2 hours.

Carefully remove marshmallows from pan. Remove all plastic wrap and discard. Cut marshmallows into 2-inch squares using a sprayed sharp knife. Place confectioners’ sugar in a large bowl. Working in batches, add marshmallows to bowl and toss to coat.

Temper 1 cup of chocolate and drizzle on marshmallows.

Refrigerate for about 10 minutes. Cover and store in a cool dry place.

I worked with this recipe.

 

 

 

There is nothing like the hard crack of the candy shell or the chewy caramel combined with a tart apple. Pull up your dentist’s phone number just in case.

Candy Apples With Coconut

• Unsalted butter, for parchment paper
• 2 cups sugar
• ¾ cup water
• ½ cup light corn syrup
• ½ teaspoon red food coloring
• 6 medium apples
• ½ cup coconut
• popsicle sticks

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; butter parchment, and set aside. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine sugar, ¾ cup water, corn syrup, and food coloring. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium-high. Insert candy thermometer and continue to boil until temperature reaches between 300 degrees and 310 degrees (hard crack stage), about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, insert a wooden stick into the top of each apple, pushing about halfway through; set aside. When mixture reaches temperature, immediately remove from heat. Working quickly, dip apples in sugar mixture until completely coated. Dip bottom in coconut and transfer to prepared baking sheet; allow to cool.

Burnt Salted Caramel Apples

• ½ cup butter, cubed
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• dash salt
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 10 apples
• popsicle sticks
• ½ cup chopped peanuts

In a large heavy saucepan, melt butter; add the brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil, about 10-12 minutes. Stir in milk. Cook and stir until a candy thermometer reads 248° (firm-ball stage). Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla.

Insert Popsicle sticks into apples. Dip each apple into hot caramel mixture; turn to coat. Dip bottom of apples into peanuts. Place on greased waxed paper until set.

This one goes out to Dave DeRoma. Bacon, Jalapeno, and Cheddar Bread.

Bread

3 cups flour

1 ½ tablespoons kosher salt

1 ½ teaspoons yeast

1 cup + 2-5 tablespoons water

½ cup crispy cooked bacon diced

½ cup chopped jalapeno

½ cup cubed cheddar cheese

Mix together flour, salt, and yeast in stand mixer. Add water slowly reserving 2 tablespoons. If dough ball does not form after a few minutes add the water a teaspoon at a time until it forms a bowl that does not stick to the sides. Add bacon, jalapeno, and cheese.

Place dough in a tightly covered bowl overnight.

In the morning preheat oven to 450 degrees with the pot in the oven so it heats up. Plop dough into pan. Cover and cook for approx. 30 minutes. Remove lid and cook for about 15 minutes more.

 

Over the years, pound cake has become an over-processed, shitty piece of store bought cake. I’m not sure why because it is pretty easy to make. Just be sure you let everything arrive at room temperature, whip enough air into the butter and sugar, and for fuck’s sake don’t over mix it.

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 eggs at room temperature

3 cups flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

¾ cups buttermilk at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9” loaf pan.

Cream the butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. With the mixer on medium speed, beat in the eggs, 1 at a time.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Pour the batter into the pan, smooth the top, and bake for an hour or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Let cool for 10 minutes. Turn it out of the pan and place on a baking rack to cool completely. Wrap well, and store in the refrigerator.

I got the recipe here.