Chocolate, Peanut Butter, & Oatmeal Cookies

Let me start off by saying that these cookies are pure genuis.  We recently moved, and before we had everything unpacked, I found myself wanting something chocolate for a snack but didn’t have room to make a huge mess, and didn’t have my kitchen organized yet, so I needed something simple.  I enjoy baking cookies, but it can be time consuming to keep waiting on batches to cook (although sometimes this problem can be solved by baking a few at a time and freezing the rest of the dough).  These were perfect because you can have a delicious snack in less than 15 minutes, and they also contain my favorite dessert combination: chocolate and peanut butter.

The ingredients and instructions in these are simple: butter, sugar, milk, and cocoa are boiled in a pot, then you remove the pot from the heat and add in the peanut butter, vanilla, and oats.  You then drop the cookies on wax paper and wait for them to set up, but you can also just eat it from the pot to make it even faster   Within a few minutes, they set up nicely, and I snacked on a few as I worked on unpacking.  Even David was drawn to these, and I didn’t think he would like them.  This is definitely a treat you want to have on hand for any emergency chocolate craving!

No Bake Chocolate, Peanut Butter, & Oatmeal Cookies
Source: Ezra Pound Cake

1/2 cup butter

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup milk

4 tablespoons cocoa

1/2 cup peanut butter

3 to 3 1/2 cups dry quick-cooking oats

2 teaspoons vanilla

Add the first four ingredients into a 4-quart saucepan.

Bring to a rolling boil and hold for 1 minute.

Remove from heat.

Stir in the next 3 ingredients and drop by tablespoons onto wax paper.

Let cool until set.

Katherine Hepburn Brownies (TWD)

This week we’re making another one of Dorie’s brownies.  These are a tribute to the late actress Katherine Hepburn, who loved them.  I love brownies and was excited about trying these.  This was a simple, straightforward brownie recipe.  One aspect of this recipe that stood out to me was that it contained cocoa powder and no actual chocolate, which is unusual for a brownie.  I used half regular cocoa and half Dutch-process because I ran out of regular cocoa.  This turned out to be a good thing, though, because it resulted in a rich, chocolaty brownie.

The brownies were nearly flourless, and very dense.  They weren’t as tall as most brownies I’ve had.  In fact, they were quite flat!  I think this is the result of so little flour (I used millet flour).  The coffee flavor was also quite strong, which I enjoyed, but if you don’t like coffee flavor in desserts, it may be too much.  Some TWD members reported having problems with theirs being too gooey, but mine were perfectly baked in 30 minutes.  I lined the pan with foil, which is my favorite method for baking brownies.  They come out nice and neat and it’s so easy to cut them.  These may have not been my favorite brownie ever, but they were still pretty darn tasty

TWD has a new logo, designed by Lisa of Surviving Oz.  She had the honor of choosing this week’s recipe.  You can view the recipe on her blog, and visit the TWD blog to see what everyone else thought of this week’s choice!

Wilton Course 1, Class 4

I finished Course 1 this week.  The final cake was a rose bouquet where we finally finished the roses we had been working on for the past two weeks.  We also learned how to do the bow, make sweet peas, and leaves.  I had the hardest time with sweet peas at first.  I’m not sure why, because they are really simple, but I couldn’t remember how to hold the bag and the tip, but by the end of the night, I was very comfortable with them.  I also loved the leaves.  They add so much to the decorations, and like our instructor said, they hide a multitude of sins!  I ended up putting 6 roses on my cake.  We had to come to class with 12 bases made, although most people put about 6 roses on their cakes as well.  The extras allowed room for mistakes, and pretty much everyone had a rose or two take a big dive off the nail!

A close-up of the flowers

I was pretty happy with how this came out.  I used Cook’s Illustrated’s Old Fashioned Chocolate Layer Cake.  I want to work on practicing roses so that I get better at them, but I can’t complain too much for my first attempt.  I would recommend a flower lifter if you decide to take the class.  It really helped transport the roses from the nail to the cake.  I really enjoyed this class.  Once you take Course 1, you can take any of the other courses, so I signed up to take Course 2 AND Course 3 in July!  Course 2 is on Tuesdays and Course 3 will be on Thursdays.  So, be prepared for lots of Wilton updates in the coming weeks!  I just hope I can keep the two courses straight!

A note about the frosting:  If you remember, in the second class, I had a problem with my frosting being too soft, so I used a different buttercream for the third cake.  I decided to give the Wilton buttercream one more chance with this cake, and I’m glad I did.  It may have been the weather, or I may have used the wrong consistency on the last cake, but this one was perfect.  I went halfway between stiff and medium and it was just right.

The border- the shell border is one of the most common, and you can also see the sweet peas

Gravatt Squares (aka Chocolate-Peanut Butter Squares)

David spent many summer weeks and weekends at Camp Gravatt, which is a camp and conference center for the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina.  After we started dating, I attended a few weekend events there and have visited for other random events.  One treat that Camp Gravatt is known for are these chocolate-peanut butter bars, which are known as Gravatt Squares.  They are alwasy served at lunch on the last day, and everyone looks forward to them and gets really excited when they are put out on the tables.  David’s parents often volunteer to help in the kitchen during weekend events, and my mother-in-law shared the recipe with me because she knows that I am crazy about them!

They are incredibly easy to make.  After mixing the peanut butter layer, you pour melted chocolate over it, place it in the refrigerator, and wait for it to set.  When you are ready to cut and serve these, I would recommend leaving them out at room temperature for about 30 minutes so they can soften and won’t be so difficult to cut.  I am so happy I can make these at home and not have to wait to visit Camp Gravatt to have one!

Gravatt Squares
Source: Camp Gravatt

1 stick butter, softened

¾ cups peanut butter (I always use creamy, but I think crunchy would be good too)

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

¾ cup chocolate chips

Mix butter, peanut butter, and confectioners’ sugar.  Melt chocolate chips and pour on top.  Refrigerate until set.

A Tribute to the Perfect Party Cake

Carol of mix, mix…stir, stir chose Dorie’s Perfect Party Cake this week.  It truly is a perfect cake.  I first made it when it was chosen by the Daring Bakers in March 2008.  It was the perfect choice for an Easter dessert.  It was a huge hit, and it was devoured quickly, and several people went back for a second piece.  David talked about that cake for several days and over the next few months, he would talk about it and how he wanted me to make it again.  Over the summer, when we went to the beach with his extended family, I made two cakes, and the Perfect Party Cake was one of them.  It was a big hit then too.

I made it for a third time in October, and paired it with raspberry buttercream.  I love Dorie’s buttercream frosting recipe, but this was a great pairing as well.   Finally, last week, when I was looking for a cake to make for my decorating class, I made the Perfect Party Cake again. It’s the perfect cake for any occasion. I rarely make the same dessert more than once, but the fact that I’ve made this cake four times in a little over a year should tell you something!  I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like this cake.  I’ve made it four times, and I know I’ll keep making it again and again!

Homemade Baked Beans

I have always loved baked beans, and I have wanted to try a homemade version for a while now.  In the past, I’ve alwasy gotten a can of Bush’s Baked Beans and doctored them up a little bit, but I wanted to see if the homemade version was much different.  I have also been trying to use my Joy of Cooking cookbook more, so I decided to try a recipe from there.

Homemade baked beans do not require a lot of hands-on work, but they do bake for quite a while (at least 4 hours) in the oven, so it is something that you need to plan ahead for.  After simmering the beans until they are tender, you mix them with the flavorings and seasonings and bake until they are done, which you will know by texture.  I really like the flavor that the bacon adds, but you can leave it out if you want these to be vegetarian-friendly.  I made a huge batch of beans, and found that they freeze well, and that is something I would recommend doing, so you can have good baked beans on hand without having to plan ahead.  These would be great for summer cookouts that you may have coming up!

Baked Beans
Adapted from The Joy of Cooking

1 ½ cups dried white beans or navy beans, rinsed and picked over

½ cup boiling water or beer

¼ cup chopped onion

3 tablespoons molasses

3 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, optional (I recommend adding this!)

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon vinegar

4 ounces sliced salt pork (I used bacon)

Soak beans.  Drain, then cover with water in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then simmer slowly, covered, until tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Drain the beans, reserving the cooking water.  Combine the beans in a greased casserole dish with remaining ingredients, placing the pork on top.  Bake, covered, 4 to 4 ½ hours; uncover for the last hour of cooking.  If they become too dry, add a little chicken broth or reserved bean water.

Blackwell Tart (or Pudding!) (Daring Bakers)

Required line: The June Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart… er… pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800’s in England.

I usually get my Daring Baker challenge done by at least mid-month, but I procrastinated on this one.  I realized that it was getting very close to the 27th of the month and I needed to move fast.  I haven’t missed a challenge yet, and I wasn’t about to start!  On Thursday, I made the tart dough and chilled it in the refrigerator overnight.  On Friday I made the Frangipane and the strawberry jam (recipe found here), assembled it, and baked it very late.  Luckily, this was a fairly simple and straightforward recipe, and I didn’t run into any problems.

I used millet flour for the pastry dough with no problems, although in hindsight, I think almond flour would have been delicious as well.  I decided on strawberry jam because it’s my favorite kind and I wanted to take advantage of the delicious strawberries that are available.  I’ve never made my own jam before, but I found a recipe for Quick Strawberry Jam on Epicurious that I thought was worth trying.  It was very simple to make, and I’ll probably keep using that recipe and try it with other fruits.  After sitting in the refrigerator, it got a bit congealed, but I zapped it in the microwave for 30 seconds and it was perfect.

I really can’t say enough about the Frangipane.  It was amazing!  I knew I would love it since it had such a strong almond flavor.  I added a little bit of Amaretto for additional flavor and really liked the way it came through.

Bakewell Tart…er…pudding

Makes one 23cm (9” tart)
Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)
Resting time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Equipment needed: 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges), rolling pin

One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour
250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds

Assembling the tart
Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it’s overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

Jasmine’s notes:
• If you cannot have nuts, you can try substituting Victoria sponge for the frangipane. It’s a pretty popular popular cake, so you shouldn’t have any troubles finding one in one of your cookbooks or through a Google search. That said, our dear Natalie at Gluten a Go Go has sourced some recipes and linked to them in the related alt.db thread.
• You can use whichever jam you wish, but if you choose something with a lot of seeds, such as raspberry or blackberry, you should sieve them out.
• The jam quantity can be anywhere from 60ml (1/4 cup) to 250ml (1cup), depending upon how “damp” and strongly flavoured your preserves are. I made it with the lesser quantity of home made strawberry jam, while Annemarie made it with the greater quantity of cherry jam; we both had fabulous results. If in doubt, just split the difference and spread 150ml (2/3cup) on the crust.
Annemarie’s notes:
• The excess shortcrust can be rolled out and cut into cookie-shapes (heck, it’s pretty darned close to a shortbread dough).

Sweet shortcrust pastry

Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)
Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film

225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Jasmine’s notes:
• I make this using vanilla salt and vanilla sugar.
• If you wish, you can substitute the seeds of one vanilla bean, one teaspoon of vanilla paste or one teaspoon of vanilla extract for the almond extract

Frangipane

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

Annemarie’s notes:
• Add another five minutes or more if you’re grinding your own almonds or if you’re mixing by hand (Heaven help you).

Wilton Course 1 Class 3

During Class 3, we made the infamous Clown Cake.  It was a very warm day, so my clowns leaned a little bit on the ride home.  When I arrived at class, we continued practicing roses.  I am going to practice more this weekend so that my roses will be pretty for the final cake next week.  After working on the roses, we practiced the shell border, and learned how to make straight petals and curved flower petals.  We were given about 45 minutes at the end of class to decorate our cakes.  I was pretty happy with the way mine turned out.  I wish I had more time because I would have done more to it, but for the time I had, I can’t complain.  I was happy that I got 3 clowns on my cake.  Our instructor even taught us how to pipe a clown to where it is standing on the side of the cake leaning over, but I didn’t have enough room on my cake board to be able to do it.  It was easy, though, and if I make a cake like this again, I’ll try to make it work.  I used my favorite buttercream frosting for the cake, which was much easier to work with than last week.  For the cake I made Dorie’s Perfect Party Cake, because I figured a party cake would go great with clowns!

This cake was a big hit when I served it.  David suggested that next time I should decapitate the clowns and decorate the cake with red icing to make it look like a clown massacre.  I told him he was just being silly   It was funny the way people cut it.  They cut around the clowns so they wouldn’t disturb them.  At the end of the evening, there were just a couple of pieces with clowns on top.  I hope that this weekend I will get some good practice at roses.  I am looking forward to my final cake!

Pineapple Sorbet

The best part about food during the summer is the abundance of fresh fruit.  I try to eat as much of it as I can during the months it is in season.  One of my favorite fruits is pineapple.  The canned variety just isn’t as good as fresh, and I’ve found that it’s worth it to get a fresh pineapple, even if cutting it can be a bit messy and kind of a pain to do.  I knew that once pineapples started appearing in grocery stores, I wanted to make this sorbet.

Sorbets are so simple, and they are really the perfect summer treat.  This was my first time cutting a pineapple by myself.  It wasn’t that difficult, but it did get pretty messy!  If you want to see a visual of how to do it, this video is very useful.  I loved this sorbet and the way the sweet pineapple flavor came through.  It also had a really smooth texture, just right for sorbet.  I will definitely make this again, and I’m looking forward to trying even more fresh fruit sorbets this summer.

Pineapple Sorbet
Source: The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

½ pineapple, peeled and cored

8 to 10 tablespoons sugar

½ cup water

Cut the pineapple into chunks and puree in a blender with 8 tablespoons sugar and the water until smooth.  Taste, then add up to 2 tablespoon additional sugar, if desired.

Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Coconut-Roasted Pineapple Dacquoise (TWD)

I am a visual person, and I love when a picture in a cookbook captures my attention.  This Coconut-Roasted Pineapple Dacquoise definitely did just that, although I waited longer than I usually would to make it!  Once the summer rolled around, I had a good feeling this would be chosen.  I love pineapple, and it seems like other fresh fruits are features more often in summer desserts.  This dessert features pineapple, and combines it with coconut and white chocolate whipped cream sandwiched between layers of meringue.  When you put all those elements together, you have a spectacular summer dessert.

This wasn’t difficult to make, but did require some advance planning.  The meringue bakes for 3 hours (I wish I had read carefully before starting to bake at 9:30 PM!) and the white chocolate whipped cream needs a good chilling period.  Once assembled, the dessert needs at least 4 hours in the refrigerator.  I made the cream and the meringues in one night, assembled it early the next afternoon, and let it chill until after dinner.  It was a pretty messy dessert and it doesn’t keep well, so that is something to keep in mind as well.  I think my favorite part of this dessert is the white chocolate whipped cream.  I am already thinking of some other desserts it would go with- I think it would be great as a filling for cupcakes or to go between cake layers.  This dessert was definitely worth the wait!  You can visit Andrea’s blog for the recipe, and the TWD blog to see everyone else’s pineapple creations.