Date: 2008-05-31 21:44 Subject: (no subject) Security: Public Mood: bored

I'll leave you with my current favorite recipe, this one is a big hit with the kids!

Bouchon Bakery's Nutter Butters

*Cookie Dough*
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoons baking soda
1 pound butter -- at room temperature
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup coarsely chopped peanuts
2 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats

*Filling*
4 ounces butter -- at room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 2/3 cup confectioners sugar

Directions:

For the cookie dough: Oven to 350. Mix together flour, baking powder and baking soda; set aside. Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and peanut butter. Add sugars and beat at medium speed for 4 minutes, scraping bowl twice.

At low speed, add eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture and beat on low until well mixed, frequently scraping bowl. Add peanuts and oats. Using an ice cream scoop, place balls of dough on parchment-lined baking sheets at least three inches apart. Bake until cookies have spread and turned very light golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely before filling.

For the filling: Cream the butter, peanut butter and confectioners sugar until very smooth.

Date: 2008-03-28 18:04 Subject: Coconut Cupcakes Security: Public Mood: exhausted

A big favorite with my family, this recipe comes the Barefoot Contessa.

Coconut Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 7-ounce package flaked sweetened coconut, divided
Cream cheese icing

Line 16 muffin cups with paper baking cups, and set aside. Preheat oven to 325 degrees, and set oven racks at top and lower middle levels.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the sugar and butter on medium speed for about 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Turn the mixer speed to low, and add the eggs one at a time, beating 1 minute after each. Beat in the vanilla and almond extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and beat again briefly.

Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately to the butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Fold in only 1 1/3 cups of the coconut.

Fill each muffin cup almost full with batter. Bake in a 325-degree oven for 11 to 14 minutes on the top and lower-middle racks of oven, then reverse the positions of the two cupcake pans (putting the one from the top on the lower middle rack and vice versa), and bake another 11 to 14 minutes or until the cupcake tops are golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Allow the cupcakes to cool completely, and then top them with cream cheese icing. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days. If you want to freeze these, store them unfrosted in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.

To serve unfrosted cupcakes that have been frozen, allow to thaw at room temperature for about 1 hour before serving, then ice and serve them. Makes about 16 cupcakes.


Cream Cheese Icing

Do not consider skipping the sifting of the powdered sugar or you will have unattractive white lumps in your icing.

2 3-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
2 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
Remaining coconut

In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract and almond extract until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in 1 1/2 cups of the powdered sugar, beating well. Gradually beat in as much of the remaining sugar as needed to reach a comfortable spreading consistency.

Spread each cooled cupcake with the cream cheese icing and then top with the remaining coconut. An easy way to do this is to turn each iced cupcake upside-down and press gently into the coconut to make it adhere.

Date: 2008-02-23 16:41 Subject: The Black Beast Security: Public

La Bete Noire


Source of Recipe

Jason Aronen, Executive Chef at Wilde Roast Café, Minneapolis in Bon Appetit Magazine, September 2006
Recipe Introduction

“The Black Beast”. Bon Appetit says of this flourless chocolate cake, “Just one bite of this amazingly fudgy, impossibly creamy, positively addicting cake is proof positive of the healing power of chocolate.” You must use very, very good chocolate because that is basically what you are tasting. I used Merckens and it was delicious. This is a very impressive dessert, but very easy to make – no difficult technique involved!


List of Ingredients

CAKE:
1 c. water
¾ c. sugar

9 T. sweet butter, diced
18 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 large eggs

GANACHE:
1 c. heavy whipping cream
8 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

Lightly sweetened whipped cream

Recipe


CAKE:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 10” springform pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper; butter parchment. Wrap 3 layers of heavy-duty foil around outside of pan, bringing foil to the top of rim. Combine 1 c. water and sugar in small saucepan. Bring t a boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Melt butter in large saucepan over low heat. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth. Whisk sugar syrup into chocolate; cool slightly. Add eggs to chocolate mixture and whisk until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan. Place cake pan in large roasting pan. Add enough hot water to roasting pan to come halfway up sides of cake pan.

Bake cake until center no longer moves when pan is gently shaken, about 50 minutes. Remove from water bath; transfer to rack. Cool completely in pan.

GANACHE:
Bring whipping cream to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whish until smooth. Pour over top of cake still in pan. Gently shake pan to distribute ganache evenly over tip of cake. Refrigerate cake in pan until ganache is set, about 2 hours.

Run knife around pan sides to loosen cake; release sides. Cut cake into wedges and serve with whipped cream.

Serves 16.

Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.

Date: 2008-02-18 14:18 Subject: My Favorite Cinnamon Rolls Security: Public Mood: sleepy

Flaky cinnamon rolls

In order to make these cinnamon rolls, you've got to make a sort of
modified Danish dough recipe.

The cool thing about this recipe, is that you can make it ahead of
the time, let it sit on the fridge and finish it in the morning, so long
as you've got about an hour to work with, and end up with piping hot
cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven for breakfast.

So here goes, you'll need-

1 envelope active dry yeast
3/4 cup milk, warm (about 110 degrees.)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold

In a large bowl sprinkle the yeast over the milk. Let sit for about 5
minutes. Add the egg, sugar, salt and vanilla. Whisk gently to
combine. Set aside.

Quarter each stick of butter and cut into 9 or 10 pieces. Toss the
diced butter and flour together in a medium bowl.

Add the flour and butter mixture to the wet ingredients and fold
with a rubber spatula until the flour is completely moistened.
Transfer the dough to a smaller bowl, cover with plastic wrap
and refrigerate overnight.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator. On a heavily floured
surface, pat it into a rectangle about 8 x 6 inches, and then
roll it into a larger rectangle about 14 x 24 inches. Brush
off any excess flour and fold both edges in so that they meet
in the center. If the dough is sticking underneath, release it
with a long flexible metal palate knife. Dusting off any excess
flour and fold the dough in half when the edges meet. This is
called a "book or 4-fold". Rotate the rectangle of dough 1/4
turn on the table. This is called a "turn". Roll into a rectangle
measuring about 24 x12 inches, loosening the dough
underneath with a the metal spatula, reflouring as necessary.
Brush off any excess flour and give it another book
fold. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 20 to 30
 minutes.

After removing the dough from the fridge, repeat the folding and
rolling process, each time allowing it to rest in the fridge for about
20 minutes before repeating. You'll want to do this a total of 4 times.

let the dough sit in the fridge overnight after the fourth turn.

In the morning, remove from the fridge and roll out until about a
half inch thick on a floured surface.

Allow the dough to rest while you prepare the filling.

You'll need-

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons cinnamon

Mix all of this together until you've got a nice gooey paste.
If its too crumbly, add more butter, if its
too thin, add more cinnamon and brown sugar. Basically,
you're making a cinnamon struesel
topping, only you're spreading it inside the dough.

Once you've got the mix together, spread it with an icing knife
onto the rolled out dough. You want a nice thick layer, almost
as thick as the layer of dough you're spreading it on.
This will produce a nice sticky roll.

Now roll the dough up tightly. You don't want a lot of air in there,
or the filling will melt out instead of melting and being absorbed
into the dough.

Now that you've got yourself a little dough log nice and rolled up
tight, cut into 1 1/2 slices with a nice big sharp knife.

place them about an inch apart on an ungreased jelly roll pan
or in two circular cake pans. You want to make sure your pan
has sides at least an inch high, because the filling will ooze
out a little onto the pan.

Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, and you'll end up with a dozen
(or more, depending on how small you make them) nice soft,
flaky and delicious cinnamon rolls.

Either glaze them with a mix of powdered sugar, melted butter, milk and vanilla
or a cream cheese icing of your choice.