Haniela's

~John Deere Valentine's Day Cookies~

2012-02-11T16:46:00.005-05:00

Only few days before Valentine's Day I'm going to share with you few of my latest cookie projects, starting today : John Deere inspired Cookies for Valentine's day.

Tractor is what comes to mind when one says "John Deere", or perhaps a lawn mover, set of huge tires, green and yellow logo? I'm sticking with the tractor, though I don't own a tractor cutter, this project called for an emergency measure, cookie cutter template! Making a cookie template is quite easy, one thing to keep in mind though, SIMPLIFY. Why I say this, you wonder? Well millions of time I find myself trying too hard to recreate something into the tiniest details and actually most of the times those details are best to left alone, like today, in my tractor design I wanted to include all the little details like rear mirrors, shift stick etc. It helps to have somebody around who can set you straight and tell you plain and simple, don't do it, you'll over do it, and so I did and he was right.

Make a Cookie Cutter Template
Design a Cookie Cutter from a Picture
Decorated Cookies Tutorials

Bake Cookies
Make Royal Icing: leaf green, yellow, black, red, white. (Leaf Green-from Wilton, Yellow-Duff Electric Color Gels -they have them in Michael's, Red and Black-super red and super black from Americolors)
When making black, start with adding cocoa powder to your white icing first, until you reach a light brown color, then continue with black gel food color.
Using a small round object trace circles where the tires will be in your design, this will help you pipe more even round shape
Fill the tires with black, let crust for at least 30 minutes before filling in yellow rims.
Outline green, black and white areas and flood them with icing.Pipe in the break light.
Let dry all the parts before adding details.
Details were added using edible food pens

And now off the Valentine's Day part of John Deere Cookies. I was also making hearts to go with the tractors and I wanted to connect these 2 shapes, somehow ! I came up with this : Tire Tracks!

~Boston Cream Pie Hearts~

2012-02-09T22:12:00.007-05:00

I thought I've never had Boston Cream Pie because in my mind it was a PIE! Later I learned that in fact it is a cake that I've had plenty of times.

Today I decided to make individual Boston Cream Pie Hearts. I love hearts shape, can't help it. Please don't hate me for it.:-)

Together with their delicious taste I also love the size of these cute little cakes, not too big, not too small, just right, in fact original recipe stated cake is for 10 people, and using 2 thin layers I was able to make 16 servings using the same recipe, I'm a happy baker. These cakes get better with time, make sure you let them rest in the fridge overnight or at least couple of hours before serving

Cake Layers
2 1/4 cup cake flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup +2tbl milk
10tbl butter
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar

Pastry Cream
2cups milk
6large egg yolks
1/2 cup +2tbl sugar
3tbl cake flour
3tbl corn starch
pinch of salt
6tbl butter, cut into 1inch pieces
2tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Cake Layers

Line 2 jelly roll pans with parchment paper, butter or spray with nonstick spray, set aside.

Preheat oven to 325F

Heat milk and butter, until butter is melted, set aside, and keep warm
Sift together flour, baking powder and salt, set aside
Beat eggs and sugar, until they become pale in color and about tripled in volume, about 5-7 minutes
Using a whisk, whisk in the hot milk mixture into egg mixture, whisk it by hand until incorporated
Quickly whisk in all the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, just until combined
Divide mixture onto the prepared jelly roll pans and spread the batter with a long offset spatula.
Bake in the preheated oven, rotating the pans once, bake until the edges start to get golden brown, and tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes
Cool the layers in the pan
Run a knife around the edges to loosen the cake, invert baked cake layers onto a clean surface lined with parchment/wax paper that has been lightly oiled or sprayed with nonstick spray
Run a knife or a long spatula underneath each cake layer to loosen it a bit in case it is sticking to the parchment paper, or simply invert it again onto a clean surface and peel the paper off the layers
Using a heart shape cookie cutter, cutout as many hearts as you can, reserve hearts, and either discard the scraps or use to make cake pops or rum ball.
Cover hearts so they don't dry out.

Pastry Cream(can be made day ahead)

2cups milk
6large egg yolks
1/2 cup +2tbl sugar
3tbl cake flour
3tbl corn starch
pinch of salt
6tbl butter, cut into 1inch pieces
2tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

In a sauce pan heat 2 cups of the milk , until it starts just simmering
Meanwhile in a bowl whisk together, sugar, egg yolks, salt, cake flour and corn starch
Remove simmering milk from heat and take about 1/2 cup of hot milk and add it to the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. What you are doing is called tempering.
Keep whisking, add tempered egg yolk mixture to the remaining hot milk , keep whisking
Return sauce pan to the heat and cook, whisking constantly.
Cook on medium to high heat, until you see bubbles bursting on the surface, cook for 2-3 minutes
Remove pan from heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. Whisk until all the butter is melted and incorporated
Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl
Using a plastic wrap, press the wrap directly on the hot pastry cream and refrigerate at least for 3 hours, and up to 24hours
Use as a filling

Filling Cake Hearts

Using a pastry bag, fit the bag with a large star tip, fill the bag with pastry cream that has been cooled
Pipe the pastry cream onto the bottom cake layer
Sandwich layers together

Chocolate Glaze

1/2 cup heavy cream
1cup semisweet chocolate, finely chopped, or chocolate chips
2tbl butter
1tbl oil

Bring heavy cream to simmer
Pour hot heavy cream over chocolate, let stand for couple of minutes
Stir until melted, add butter and stir until melted
Add oil and stir till combined
Pour ganache over assembled cakes
I recommend refrigerating cakes at least 3 hours before servings, cakes can be made 24 hours ahead as well.

Take a piece of wax paper and cut out a heart shape, place the wax paper over a dessert plate and sift cocoa powder over, until you have a cocoa powder heart on the plate, carefully lift the wax paper, continue with remaining plates. Plate Boston Cream Pie Hearts onto the simply decorated dessert plates and serve.Enjoy

~Snowboarding Snowman~

2012-02-08T19:42:00.000-05:00

Few weeks back my blogging friend Georganne from LilaLoa was hosting a Virtual Snowman Party. For the party I decide to make an Snowboarding Snowman. ;-) In case you haven't seen it before here she is, in all her glory.

I named my Snowman Johanka, I've been video skyping with my SIL and her 8months old baby Johanka and every time I show her my snowman she stops blinking, her eyes motionless and starts laughing and smiling and wants to touch the monitor, cutest thing. I love her.

Prepare cookie dough and royal icing, color royal icing with desired colors, fill piping bags with outline consistency and flood consisteny icing for each color using
Make a template for snowboard and snowman(it is not entirely necessary if you have a proper size cookie cutter for snowman, I have either small or large cutter so I decided to make a template that would work for my project, )
I cut my cookie slightly larger then my template, once baked and cooled, I used yellow food coloring pen and outlined my template directly onto the cookie-see yellow lines
I piped outlines on Snowman and Snowboard
Flood both cookies with royal icing, let dry completely
Using Food Coloring Pens add details onto the snowman cookie
Attach snowman to the snowboard using a medium to stiff consistency royal icing
Support snowman from several sides and let dry for several hours until he stands on his own
Enjoy.

Snowboarding Snowman Johanka and her.... autie Hani.(I just had to say that, don't worry I'm not really a snowman, we are having such a mild Winter this year(knock on the wood) I'd be all melted if I was a snowman)

~Sweet Potato Cheese Flan~

2012-02-07T21:03:00.006-05:00

Remember the movie Envy? Well even if you don't remember, I remember that during the course of the movie Flan Dessert was served or mentioned at least few times, I've always wondered what it was like but I'd never looked it up. Now you get the idea how much I knew about flan prior my little experiment. It was a dessert that appeared in the movie.

I've never had Flan, what is Flan exactly? I Googled it and Creme Caramel came up. I'm learning every day as it seems, I had not idea and because of my little discovery I was even more determined to try this out. Who doesn't like the sound of Creme Caramel ?
Reading bunch of recipes I came to realize that it is pretty easy to make; basically it is just a baked custard, that's all that is to it, nothing too complicated, taking basic ingredients turning them into this luscious dessert.

I decided to work with what I had in the fridge, which was yogurt, farmer's cheese and sweet potato puree. Why not? Are you curious about the result ? Way past the midnight I unmolded first flan, and for the obvious reasons(it was kind of late to have a dessert!) I was determined to try only a tiny little piece...but ended up eating the whole flan. It was simply amazing, first bite is sweetly seductive , with just a hint of sweet potato flavor, touch of cinnamon and all the creaminess that just melts in your mouth, combined with caramelized honey. Sigh. Chocolate ganache is really not necessary for this dessert, but I decided to try it anyway.

Sweet Potato Cheese Flan

3/4 cup farmer's cheese or ricotta cheese, tutorial on how to make farmer's cheese from scratch
1container of Chobani Greek yogurt-6oz -I used fat free)
1/2 cup sweet potato puree
3eggs
1/4-to 1/3 cup honey, or brown sugar
1tsp cinnamon

1tbl butter
3tbl honey

Preheat oven to 325F

In a small dish using a fork, blend together 1tbl butter and 3tbl honey. Use this mixture to coat 4 ramekins
Have a deep baking dish handy, for added stability place the dish onto a baking sheet, place the ramekins inside of the dish.Set aside.

In the meantime heat about 2 quarts of water and bring it to boil.

In a blender combine all the ingredients cheese, yogurt, sweet potato puree, eggs, honey/brown sugar and cinnamon and blend until smooth.
Evenly distribute mixture into prepared ramekins.
Place the baking sheet on the oven rack, then pour boiling over around the ramekins to a depth about of 1 inch. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean.

Once baked remove ramekins from the water bath and let them cool completely, cover and chill before serving and unmolding the flans.
To unmold fans you will have loosen the edges, run a knife around to let the air and and gently tap the ramekins if necessary.
Invert a dessert plate over each ramekin. Holding the plate and ramekin turn the ramekin and plate together, unmolding the dessert.
Enjoy alone or with ganache.

~Quilted Cookie Tutorial~

2012-02-06T06:51:00.004-05:00

After my last week's post "Gray Yellow and White Heart Cookies" I've received quite a few emails asking for the quilted cookie tutorial and so here it.

Recipes :

You need:

Baked cookies(cookie I used for this tutorial is about 6 inches in diameter, a pretty big cookie, normally I don't use big cookies like these but thought best to show you on a bigger cookie)

Royal icing :

outline consistency
flooding consistency icing- for quilted design I recommend using SweetSugarbelle's- 20 second consistency rule for royal icing, view Callye's tutorial here, if the icing is too thin you are risking having sinking holes all over. Thicker flood icing also gives this design puffy look. I generally use a small opening on my piping bag when filling these small squares.

1.Bake the cookies
2.Pipe horizontal lines with outline consistency icing
3.Pipe vertical lines with outline consistency icing
4. Using 20 second rule royal icing, fill every other square in the chessboard pattern, let dry for 20-30 minutes
5. Fill remaining empty squares, let dry
6. Add dots, let dry

~Heart Honey Cookies~

2012-02-04T18:29:00.000-05:00

Hello!
I'm visiting my friend's blog today, Callye from SweetSugarbelle's asked me to share my honey cookies with her readers. For my post I decided to make some pretty Heart Honey Cookies. Do you want to see more? Come on over to Callye's blog to see the full post.Enjoy.

~Gray Yellow and White Heart Cookies~

2012-02-02T17:07:00.008-05:00

I need to confess something, it all started 2 years ago...my secret love affair with gray color.Just think of all the possibilities! Gray and white, gray and pink, gray and blue....gray and yellow; it all works!Gray is a neutral color so it pairs beautifully with all the colors.

Then last year I joined a little website called Pinterest and named one of my boards Yellow and Gray.

I really wanted to make cookies in Gray, Yellow and White and I ended up using my board as inspiration.

Remember back in December I won the Super Fantastic New Kitchen Aid mixer? My new baby wouldn't be sitting on my kitchen counter without you, all that voted and supported me in the contest.

I promised myself that if I win I'd donate cookies to a local charity and so that is what I'm doing. I'm donating 2 trays of my cookies whipped with my new mixer to a silent auction at Wine in Winter Event, organized by a wonderful Kelly Dolan Memorial Fund, this organization helps families with seriously ill children. I supported this cause in the past and you can see my full scale dessert table I made for the event here.

You know the story behind the color combination and now off to the designs. I wanted to do something modern and delicate at the same time. I knew I wanted to include some lace and fine lines, though keeping it simple.

One of my favorites is actually a design inspired by the website Kelly Dolan Memorial Fund, if you have a look, see the side bars and never ending running ropes with dots. I made a cookie to match that style and it looks pretty cool.

A friend of mine gave me bunch of fashion magazines last year and on the cover was a woman wearing a white dress with red and black dots, I loved it and immediately saw a cookie with this style.

Cookie Designs are all around us, just waiting to be found, it can be a simple line, border, dots forming a circle, a piece of fabric, wedding gown, etc.

~Pretzel Bites~

2012-01-31T15:32:00.002-05:00

I've been ogling pictures of Pretzel Bites on Pinterest for several weeks, I love mini desserts and I'm also big into bite size appetizers, not only these delicious soft pretzels look appetizing(and they really are!) they are really easy to make too.In fact they are so easy to make I doubt you'll ever buy soft pretzels ever again.

In case this is your first time working with yeast, working with this dough is a special treat, I really can't think of the easiest yeast dough to work with, it is really forgiving.

I made traditional soft pretzels many many times and so to make the Pretzel Bites I decided to use the same recipe I use for big twisted pretzels.

Make sure you get pretzel salt, it makes them really pop.

Soft Pretzel Bites

Yeast Dough
1 1/2 cup warm water
1tsp honey
1package dry yeast

2 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 cup bread flour
1tbl kosher salt
6tbl melted butter

Baking Soda Solution
5cups water
1/3cup baking soda

Egg Wash for brushing
egg yolk
1tbl water

olive oil to coat the bowl

Toppings
pretzel salt
caraway seeds(optional)

Tools
pastry brush
board for rolling
parchment paper
kitchen scissors
slotted spoon

Make the Dough

Pour warm water into the bowl of your mixer, add honey and stir in yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes, until foamy. Make sure you use warm water, not hot. Hot water will kill the yeast

Add 2 cups of all purpose flour, 2 cups of bread flour, melted butter and salt into the bowl with yeast and knead , using a dough hook attachment. If dough is too sticky add additional 1/2 cup of bread flour. This dough when kneaded is somewhat on a dense side. Knead for 5 minutes, or until the dough comes into a smooth ball.

Lightly coat a large bowl with the oil and put the dough into the bowl.Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for a hour.

Preheat oven to 450F

Forming the Pretzel Bites

Invert the dough onto a clean work surface(DO NOT USE ADDITIONAL FLOUR), cut dough into 6-8 sections and using palms of your hands roll the dough and form long ropes.

Using a pizza cutter or a knife cut the ropes into small pieces.

Dipping in Baking Soda Solution
(don't skip this step, I've tried it without and pretzels were not as good. Baking soda is the agent that will make your Pretzels turn into that nicely brown/golden color)

Make the egg wash : mix together water and egg yolk, set aside

Have pastry brush, slotted spoon, pretzel salt, kitchen scissors, and baking sheet ready

Bring 5 cups of water to boil, add 1/3 cup baking soda.

Put about 5 pieces of pretzel dough into the simmering solution and let cook for 30 seconds. Remove pieces with slotted spoon and place them on baking sheet, continue with remaining dough.

Once done, brush each piece with egg wash, sprinkle with salt and using scissor cut + into the each pretzel piece. Gently transfer pieces onto a clean baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 9-10 minutes or until golden brown on the outside.

Once you take them out of the oven, transfer baked Pretzel Bites onto a cooling rack, though I can guarantee you will be very much tempted to eat one straight from the oven, I recommend letting them cool for just a few minutes.

~Valentine's Day with Victorious Cupcakes~

2012-01-30T18:21:00.003-05:00

I decided to invite Victoria from Victorious Cupcakes over to my blog today. I first found Victoria on her Facebook Page and I'm constantly amazed by her beautiful cupcakes and wanted to share her talent with you as well.

Just like a lot of mommies who are bakers Victoria has her own chief taster, her adorable daughter.

How did you get into cupcakes, how long you've been making cupcakes?

I started baking nearly 2 years ago. I thought after buying shop bought cakes for 3 years I would like to have a go at birthday cakes for my daughter's birthday. Millie wanted 'The hungry Caterpillar - which seemed simple enough.

Your most requested cupcake flavor?

I'm not a business so don't get many requests but the favourite, with my friends and family are chocolate with chocolate buttercream and butternut squash with maple buttercream.

Favorite frosting?

My favourite frosting has to be the one I use with my Red Velvet Cupcakes.

I'm sure you will have tried this kind, I love it as it's not so sweet, the Americans definitely know how to make a great frosting.

After seeing all these beauties I think it is time to bake some cupcakes, what do you think?

~Chocolate Cherry Mini Whoopie Pies~

2012-01-29T08:01:00.001-05:00

Can you believe I thought Whoopie Pies are kind of a new invention? According to Wikipedia these cake, cookie or a pie like treats have been around for some quite time, like a long long time. What's even worst is that I live in PA, only couple hours from Lancaster where apparently Whoopie pies are really big sellers and I've never been there to try them! Would love to try some of those.

For those who have never made these, like myself, they are quite easy to make too, though most recipes ask you to spoon the dough onto the baking sheet I find it a lot practical to pipe them. If case you own a small cookie scoop you can also use that.
My favorite part about these was the "dipping in chocolate part", it added a such a nice texture, perfect little crunch before you sink into a soft cookie/cake like texture.

Chocolate Whoopie Pies(makes about 30 minis, and 15 large ones)

1 3/4cup cake flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1tsp baking powder
1/4tsp baking soda
1/4tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/2cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
12tbl butter at room temperature)(about170grams)
2eggs
1tsp vanilla extract
1/4cup buttermilk(make your own) or plain yogurt
1/2cup warm espresso or 1/2cup warm black tea, or warm water

Coating
Dipping Chocolate Wafers- Merckens, about 2 cups

Filling
1 package cream cheese
1/2cup butter(60grams)
1/2cup cherry preserve
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2tsp vanilla extract

Preheat Oven to 375F
Line Baking Sheets with parchment paper

Make the Cake Rounds

In a large bowl sift together, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt, set aside

In a small cup combine coffee(if using)

Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time, beat well until doubled in volume, and pale in color, scrape the sides frequently

Beat in vanilla extract.

In a small dish stir together buttermilk(yogurt) and coffee if using.

Set the mixer to low speed and alternatively add buttermilk/coffee and flour mixture, starting and ending with flour.

Fill the pastry bag fitter with large round tip and pipe small round onto the prepared baking sheet. Dip your finger in water and gently smooth out the tops if necessary.

Bake for about 7-10 minutes, depends on big your cookies. Cookies are done when tops spring back when lightly pressed.

Let cool completely before filling.

Dipping in Chocolate

Line the baking sheet or a tray with wax paper

Place the chocolate wafers in a heat proof bowl that has been wiped clean and dry. Any trace of water will ruing any chocolate

Place the bowl on the top of the pan with simmering water. Gently stir the chocolate until it melts.

Dip each cooled cookie round into the chocolate, about half way then gently shake the excess off and place the dipped cookie onto the sheet lined with wax paper. Once done, place the baking sheet into the fridge for 10 minutes, this will also ensure that chocolate will harden in a shiny finish.

Make the Filling
Measure 1/2 cup cherry preserve, roughly chop any big pieces of cherries.

Beat the butter until creamy, gradually add cream cheese and beat until smooth and well combined. Lower the speed of your mixer and add powdered sugar, add vanilla extract and lastly stir in cherry preserve.

Fill the cookies with cherry filling and sandwich them together. Store in the airtight container in the cool place.

~Pretty Painted Cookie~

2012-01-27T17:20:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone is having a great Friday, it has been raining here most of the day and a light fog has settled in for most of the day. I'm about to start our dinner but first I wanted to send you a pretty message into your email inboxes on Saturday Morning. :-)

Ever since I've seen Liz's(Arty McGoo) Painting on Cookies Tutorial I wanted to try making a more detailed design on my cookies too. Obviously I have a lot to learn but I'm quite happy with this cookie and will be trying this technique in the future more often.

Sugar Cookie Recipe
Royal Icing Recipe

Firstly I flooded the cookie with white icing then I made sure to let the icing dry for several hours
Secondly I very lightly dry brushed(with a flat brush) the whole cookie with light pink, by dry brush I mean : I dipped the brush into the water and then pink paint and then I gently brushed the brush against the paper towel to remove most of the water and some paint, brush was pretty dry when I applied the stroke onto the cookie, also as you see I was applying strokes in one direction only. After this you have to let the painted layer dry completely before adding more details
Thirdly, once first layer was dry I added details,using a fine brush I added stems, flowers and leaves.
It is quite fun to paint on cookies, and it was rather fast too. I might try this again in the future.

~Delicious Roasted Potatoes~

2012-01-26T08:20:00.010-05:00

I could talk about potatoes for hours, there are countless stories I could tell you about these tasty vegetables, funny stories, delicious stories, they make smile and ultimately they make me realize we really eat a lot of potatoes!

You should see the looks I get explaining people we buy potatoes in a 50 pounds bag and it is only 2 of us eating them(I occasionally share a dish with neighbors). That's right 50 pounds for 2 people. It will last us probably 2 maybe 3 months. Summer is potato hot, we love to grill them. Needless to say we are big potato eaters.

I love them in any form possible : boiled, roasted, grilled, raw, sliced, grated, roasted in the skins without skins, potato sauerkraut kielbasa casserole, boiled with skins and then peeled, sliced and lightly salted, or with a cup of milk and loads of butter or with salted sour cream...

I like roasted potatoes but they take so long to make so I started to par-cook them before I roast them in the oven. They are so much better than fries, in my opinion.

Par-cooking really helps, it cuts on the roasting time so they are easy to prepare any time of the week.

You can par-cook potatoes either by boiling them in water for couple of minutes or by steaming, it is your choice.

I was feeling little hearty and made heart shaped roasted potatoes, by all means you don't have to do this,(it takes some time *) though they are so cute, would be perfect for Valentine's Day Dinner. Normally I just cut potatoes into cubes to save time.
* you can also make cubes ones and only few heart ones, one or 2 hearts will add a little flare to your dinner plate too, doesn't have to be the whole bunch of hearts, little heart goes a long way.

Roasted Potatoes

6 large potatoes(about 2 pounds for 4 servings), *you don't have to make heart cut outs, simply peel potatoes, cut them into small cubes.

1/4cup olive oil

1tbl kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

2tsp caraway seeds

1/2tsp paprika(optional)

Make Heart Cutouts

Fill a pot with about 1quart -2quart of water to boil, add about 1tbl salt

In the meantime peel potatoes, slice them , using a small metal cookie cutter cut out as many hearts as you can. Reserve scraps in water, you can also par-cook scraps or make mashed potatoes
Cook potatoes in boiling water for 3 minutes, drain potatoes and let cool slightly
Combine all the ingredients for the marinade
In a bowl combine par-cooked potatoes and marinade and let sit for 20-30 minutes
Preheat oven to 400F
Line baking sheet with aluminum foil, spray with non-stick spray
Spread marinaded potatoes evenly onto the baking sheet
Roast them for 20 minutes, using an off set silicone spatula carefully turn the potatoes as needed(don't forget to use oven mittens when handling hot baking sheet!)
If your oven has a broiler, broil potatoes for additional 5 minutes or so until they are golden on the outside

Hearts, cubes or rounds these roasted potatoes are one of my favorites.

VARIATIONS

You can omit caraway seed and use rosemary, or other herbs you like.
You can also add Garlic, just make sure you add the garlic no more than 2-3 minutes before you plan to take the potatoes out of the oven, otherwise garlic can burn and it will become bitter.
I also like to roast potatoes with couple of bay leaves and peppercorn, adding garlic at the end. That is my dad's recipe.

Linking to Tidy Mom

~Decorated French Macaron Cookies ~

2012-01-24T15:26:00.003-05:00

I thought it would be fun to make French Macaron Cookies, the decorated kind.

I hope you can forgive me if I had you fooled by the name French Macaron Cookies and you were expecting the famous kind of French Macarons. Don't worry though I will be making the the famous ones soon, I have egg whites aging right now.

Today though I'll show you a different kind of Macarons.

This whole idea started to simmer when I received French Macaron Soap from Kasey at KcSoapsNmore.

I gave the soap to a friend as a Christmas gift, funny thing she thought it was a cookie and cut it in half because her kids were fighting over it...then realizing it smelled like soap, ending on her bathroom sink.

French Macaron Cookies (the decorated kind)

You need:

Almond flavored Cookies(add almond extract to sugar cookie dough or almond emulsion)
Cookie Template
Royal icing, flavored raspberry, lemon, mint, lavender, chocolate, cherry...etc, outline and flood consistency
Black Food Coloring Pen

How To:

Make the cookie dough, cut the cookies and bake them, let cool completely, best to let them rest till next day, cookies behave better
Outline and flood top and bottom of the cookies, leaving center line empty
Once flooded areas are dry fill in the center line with a contrasting color icing(for example, if your top and bottom are flooded with chocolate flavored icing, flood the center with raspberry, or if top and bottom are lemon flavored icing, flood the center with chocolate flavored icing..etc. Make them taste yummy
Let the cookies dry completely and then add all the details with an edible food pen

Here there are all sitting pretty by the Eiffel Tower...

~Recycle Chobani Yogurt Containers into Storage or Cookie Gift Containers~

2012-01-23T08:22:00.008-05:00

I buy plain Chobani Greek Yogurt for several reasons :

I usually get a fat free one and it still tastes deliciously creamy and rich on its own
I buy it plain so I can also use it to make my salad dressing, throw in some salt, mustard, pressed garlic or finely chopped onion, add little lemon juice, herbs, freshly ground pepper, little honey and you are good to go.
I use it in baking, as an ingredient in cakes, cookies or as a filling too.
Few weeks ago I realized these Chobani containers are pretty sturdy and are reusable, I started using them and they actually work, I store my sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and in a large container I store apple chips I get at a local farmer's market.
I figured if I can save every container for the whole year, I'll have cookie gift containers for Christmas to give. Give them a little treatment with pretty paper and a ribbon and they are perfect, lid is clear, see through which also makes for a nice presentation. Not bad, not bad at all. What do you think?
What is also fantastic about these is the way the lid was designed, containers kind of lock into each other when you store them on top of each other.
There are different sizes of Chobani yogurts available on the market right now :single serve and multi- serve. I use only multi-serve ones, those containers come with a handy lid so you can reuse them over and over.

Multi serves come in 2 sizes : 32oz(907grams) and 16oz(454grams). I've turned them both into reusable containers with no problems so far.

Chobani Yogurt Containers turned into Storage or Cookie Gift Containers

You need

Empty containers and lids that have been washed, Do not wash these in the dishwasher!
Gently remove the label
Trace the label onto a thick craft paper, cut it out - this will be your template to use for future use
Get a nice scrapbooking paper or wrapping paper you like and trace the template onto the paper, cut it out.
Glue the new container label onto the container
You can add a pretty ribbon or a gift tag if desired

Make delicious Graham Crackers and fill the container with cookies.

Linking up to Tidy Mom

~ Layered Chocolate Vanilla Cheesecake~

2012-01-20T20:32:00.003-05:00

This is one of my favorite cakes of my childhood, my friend's mom used to make it all the time and boy did I love it! I still do. It is so easy to make and really a no-brainer .

In my opinion everything is better with cheese. You see over the years I've developed a strong affection for cheese and though I tried (multiple times) breaking it off it is very unlikely that this romance will ever end.

This cake is very popular in Slovakia, it is extremely easy to prepare, uses the most common ingredients and is delicious.

Why I love this cake:

No need to roll the dough

Not too sweet

Tastes even better second day

Great to take along to a picnic or as school lunch, it holds up pretty well

Layered Chocolate Vanilla Cheesecake (8-9 inch tart pan size, or a square pan)

1 3/4 cup(200grams)all purpose flour

3/4cup powdered sugar(80grams)

1tsp baking powder

1 egg yolk

1tsp vanilla extract

2tbl cacao

1stick(115grams) butter

Cheese Layer

2cups(380grams) farmer's cheese-make your own * read about possible substitutes below

1cup(100grams) powdered sugar

2egg yolks

2egg whites

1tsp vanilla extract

zest of 1/2 lemon

*If you don't have time to make farmer's cheese, you can substitute with ricotta cheese.
I haven't tried this recipes with cream cheese alone, my only concern is that with cream cheese alone texture of the baked cake will be different, more dense than just with farmer's cheese or ricotta cheese
You could also try 1:1, cream cheese : ricotta cheese.

Preheat oven to 350F/180C

Use 8-9 inch tart pan, or you can use a square pan as well, this cake works well cut into bars too.

Spray the pan with a nonstick spray.

Chocolate Dough

In a medium size bowl, sift together flour, sugar cocoa, baking powder, add egg yolk, room temperature butter, vanilla extract,using your hands make the dough.

You can also use stand mixer attached with paddle attachment to mix the dough. Divide dough in half. Form the dough into a disk, wrap in a plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes. Once chilled take one disk out.

*if you can't seem to get the dough to come together, add 1tsp milk

Grate half of the chocolate dough directly into the prepared pan, making sure you cover the whole bottom, without bottom of the pan peeking through.

Cheese Filling

Generally farmer's cheese isn't smooth, it has a texture to it. If you want the filling to be smooth process farmer's cheese, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest in a food processor. This filling is not too sweet, if you prefer sweeter taste, add more sugar.

In a clean bowl beat 2egg whites with a pinch of salt until firm peaks are formed. With a silicone spatula gently fold the meringue into the cheese filling.

Spoon the filling on the top of the grated dough in the pan, spread evenly in the pan.

Take the remaining disk of chocolate dough from the fridge and grate it over the cheese filling, until completely covered.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Let the cake cool completely before transferring it to the cake plate. You will have to lightly loosen edges with a knife or a fork. Use a wide cake spatula to transfer cake. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

Cake tastes best when cooled, and even better one day old.

This cake keeps for several days, store covered in a cool place.

~Valentine's Day S'mores~

2012-01-18T18:51:00.006-05:00

Valentine's Day is around the corner and I wanted share with you all really yummy treat you can make for your friends, dear ones, children or for yourself. I'm a giver so I gave some to my friend's kids and to my Zumba instructor for her kids.

These Valentine's Day S'mores may seem to be little too complicated to make, but in fact the most time consuming to make are Perfect Graham Crackers , but even so they are totally worth the time because they are delicious.

They are perfect to munch on alone, drizzled with some dark chocolate or you can use them to make these festive Valentine's Day S'mores.

Valentine's Day S'mores

You need:

Perfect Graham Crackers -RECIPE- ( makes about 50 ,depends on the size of the cookie cutter, I use a metal cookie cutter, about 2 inches wide and 2 1/8 inches high, you can get a similar cutter at Karen's Cookies. For the small opening I use a super mini heart cutter, it came with the linzer cookie set.

Homemade Marshmallows - RECIPE - makes about 20 heart cut outs( amount depends on the size of the cookie cutter)I decided to make them extra special by adding 1/2 cup dry cranberries into the whipped batter just before spreading it in the pan. You can also use cherries if you'd like or bit of mini chocolate chips would be lovely too.

Dipping Chocolate- Merckens Chocolate Wafers, about 2-3 cups

How to Put Sandwich Cookie Together -Once you bake your cookies and make marshmallow cut outs you can make sandwich cookies.

In a heat proof bowl and over the pot with simmering water melt the chocolate wafers. Use a tiny bit of melted chocolate to adhere cookies to the marshmallow, you can either spoon some chocolate onto the cookies or spoon slightly cooled chocolate into the sandwich bag and pipe chocolate onto the cookies. How to fill a zipoc/sandich bag with chocolate. Once you sandwich cookies and marshmallow together let the chocolate set. Then if desired dip 1/2 of the sandwich in the chocolate, shake of the excess and let harden.

Store S'mores in the airtight container in a cool place.

Serving Suggestion : microwave for 3-5 seconds and enjoy

Linking up to
Itsy Bitsy Paper -I Heart Linky Party

Tidy Mom

~Valentine's Day Cookies by Callye from Sweet Sugarbelle~

2012-01-18T07:06:00.004-05:00

Can you guess what's happening today? Yes it true! Amazingly talented Callye from the reknowned The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle is on a sweet adventure here at Haniela's. Yes, you've heard right, she is here!!! Today.
Callye and I met on Flickr several years ago, and since then I have grown to admire Callye for many reasons, not only is she incredibly creative and makes cookies like no other, she is funny and has a big big heart, and your photos are fantastic! Thank you so much for everything you do my dear, you are one of a kind and I Love You.
Don't forget to join Callye's fan base on Facebook.

Now Let's Meet Callye...

Hi everyone, my name is Callye and I am really excited and honored to be guest posting for my friend Haniela today.

It seems like only yesterday, but I’ve known Hani {as I affectionately call her} for almost three years now. In that time she has amazed me time after time with her wide range of talents that include cake decorating, cooking, gardening, photography and of course, cookies! And in case you weren’t already impressed, she also does charity work all while maintaining this wonderful blog.

I could write a small novel on how many times she’s impressed me with her knowledge, and I am proud to call her a friend.

To be honest, I was a little nervous about sharing today. My recipe is tried and true, but I wasn’t quite sure I could take Haniela worthy photos. Of course, I tried, but I’m now even more determined to work on my photography. I love having creative friends that are supportive and encourage me to become better myself.

These cookies are actually wedding cookies. Where I live, they are often called Mexican Wedding Cookies. However, you may know them as Danish wedding cookies or Italian wedding cookies. Regardless of the name, they’re all pretty much the same thing.

Some variations are made with almonds, but Texans are pecan people through and through, so that’s what I use.

After my decorated cookies, this is my #1 most requested treat. Since the day of LOVE is on its way, I thought it would be fun to give this traditional favorite a Valentine’s Day twist.

I just love red!

The recipe is simple and very forgiving. Don’t be afraid to experiment with it a little bit.

Mexican Wedding Cookies
1 cup {2 sticks} butter, softened

½ cup confectioners’ sugar

1 tsp vanilla

6-8 drops tulip or no-taste red gel color

2 cups all-purpose flour

¼ tsp salt

2 cups finely chopped pecans {you can substitute almonds or walnuts}

1 ½ to 2 cups of powdered sugar {for rolling}

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Cream together the butter and confectioner’s sugar. Add vanilla and food color and mix well. Sift together flour and salt then toss with the nuts. Add one cupful at a time to the wet ingredients until well incorporated. Roll the cookies into one-inch balls. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets for 15 minutes until slightly brown on the bottom. While hot, roll in powdered sugar, then remove to a cookie rack to cool. After they are cool, roll them in powdered sugar once more to evenly coat. Makes about 40-50 cookies.

Here are a few tips that I’ve learned:

Using a cookie scoop helps to create perfectly even cookies.
I bake these cookies on Silpat. I highly recommend them if you have them.
These can be colored to match any theme such as pink or blue for baby showers, or left plain.
These keep well and can be made up to 2 or 3 weeks ahead of time and stored in an airtight container
If you don’t like them so nutty, cut the amount down to 1 ½ cups or throw in some mini-chocolate chips for a little variety
Rather than throwing it out, I actually store these in the excess powdered sugar and give them a gentle shake before serving to make sure they stay coated.

I hope you enjoy these as much as we do!

I also make decorated sugar cookies. You can check out my creations by visiting my blog, The Sweet Adventures of SugarBelle. I would love to see you there!

Thank you, Hani, for having me, you are very dear to me. I hope everyone has a wonderful week.

Happy baking!

~Perfect Graham Crackers~

2012-01-16T07:50:00.009-05:00

Whole wheat flour will go rancid over time, I usually store all of my whole wheat flours in the freezer until I'm ready to use. I'm positive you can only make this kind of a mistake once. (I used rancid flour to make a cake..and let's just say it was far far far from being eaten by anyone)Flour that turns rancid tastes very sharp and it is just something you really don't want to eat, it is purely unpleasant. To avoid the disappointment, when buying whole wheat flours get it from a supplier you trust or a store you know they replenish their flours frequently.

I prefer to use whole wheat pastry flour, not that I don't like to use regular whole wheat but I find it way too bitter for my taste. Whole wheat pastry flour is becoming more and more available, several years ago I could only get in a specialty store, I'm pretty excited about this change because I tend to use it quite often.

Today I've prepared deliciously crunchy treat made from whole wheat pastry flour : graham crackers, perfect graham crackers.

Perfect Graham Crackers( makes about 50 ,depends on the size of the cookie cutter, I use a metal cookie cutter, about 2 inches wide and 2 1/8 inches high, you can get a similar cutter at Karen's Cookies. For the small opening I use a super mini heart cutter, it came with the linzer cookie set.

1 3/4cup(237grams)whole wheat pastry flour
1/3cup +1tbl(54grams) all purpose flour
1/3cup+1tbl (85grams) packed brown sugar
3/4tsp baking powder
1/2tsp baking soda
1/2tsp salt
1tsp cinnamon
6tbl(85grams)butter, chilled, cut into cubes
2tbl(28grams) milk
1tbl(14grams) orange juice
1/4cup(65grams) honey
1tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F

Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl combine together flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir using a whisk.

Add chilled butter and work the dough with your hands until it resembles cornmeal, set aside.

In a small bowl combine together milk, orange juice, honey, vanilla extract.

Pour all the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir all ingredients together with a wooden spoon then using your hands form the dough into ball, make a disk, wrap it in a plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

* you can also make the dough in the food processor if you have one.Follow the same instructions, don't over process.

Once chilled, take the dough out,roll it out between 2 pieces of wax or parchment paper, you want to roll it out fairly thin, about 1/8 inch or even less is fine.Use a fork to poke holes all over the dough. I find it easier to do before cutting the cookies.

Using a cookies cutter cut out as many cookies as you can. Re-roll scraps until you use all the dough.

Transfer cookies onto the baking sheets, you can space them out fairly close, they won't spread too much.

Bake cookies for 15 minutes, or until golden brown, watch carefully so they don't burn. Thicker cookies need more baking time, thinned cookie will be done faster.

Let the cookies cool completely.

You can now store the cookies in an airtight container and munch on them during the week, they make a perfect after lunch snack as well.

If desired melt about 1/2 cup Merckens Chocolate Wafers in a pan over simmering water, let melted chocolate cool slightly and then fill a small ziploc bag with the chocolate(see how to fill a zipoc/sandwich bag with chocolate) snip the corner and drizzle some chocolate on the top of the cookies, let harden.

~Marinated Beet Orange Salad~

2012-01-13T08:24:00.007-05:00

There always were jars with homemade pickled beets in my mom's pantry, beets were grated and tasted so good.

For many years I forgot about them, occasionally I'd by a jar in a Polish grocery store but I've never really enjoyed it like the ones my mom and grandmother made, maybe that is why I'm such sucker for homemade!

Last Fall I rediscovered amethyst colored beet root, surprisingly it is quite easy to work with; though it can get messy. I prefer cooking/steaming/roasting beets with their skins, this way they retain their nutritional values and juice doesn't leach out as much.

Once you try it you'll be pleasantly surprised that beneath a dull, uninviting exterior lies a sweet and tender nutritious vegetable.

You can usually buy beets with the greens or without, apparently greens contain even more nutrition than the roots, both being very powerful cleansers and blood builders.

How To Buy Beets

Look for medium/small unblemished roots, usually they are 1 1/2 to 2inches in diameter, any bigger they start to grow woody in the center

Larger roots with tiny hair are signs of age, with age they get tougher

If buying beet roots with greens still attached to them make sure to inspect green part as well, avoid greens that are wilting.

How To Store Beets

Greens have to be consumed within 2 days, beet root itself can be stored in the fridge up to a month.Store beets in a plastic bag with a piece of paper towel -Tutorial

How To Clean Surfaces, Hands After Handling Beets

Wear gloves when handling beet to prevent staining

Use white distilled vinegar or lemon juice, simply rub it and then wash hands with soap

To clean chopping boards, use a bleach solution

Health Benefits

Anemia -iron deficiency-great blood builder

Blood Pressure - helps lower high blood pressure and elevate low blood pressure

Detoxification - beets help body to get rid of toxins

Natural antidepressant - beets are high in uridine which may fight depression.

Remember, even though beets are very healthy, we shouldn't eat them every day. Moderation in diet is the best diet.

Marinated Beet Orange Salad( 4 serving)

5 beets, about 1 pound without greens

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

3 oranges, peeled and cut into wedges

1 orange -juice of one orange

2tbl apple cider vinegar

2tbl olive oil

1 tbl horseradish

salt and pepper to season

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 400F

Line a bottom of the baking pan with aluminum foil, place gently washed beets into the pan, drizzle with some oil. Roast for 40 minutes or until fork tender.

Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Peel oranges, using a paring knife remove membranes from the oranges, reserve segments in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap.

Make Marinade

In a small bowl, combine olive oil, vinegar, orange juice, horseradish, season with pepper and salt, set aside.

Peel cooled beets, cut them into thin strips, toss them with chopped onion. Add marinade and stir gently until well coated.Chill for one hour.

Just before serving toss the beets with orange segments and pumpkin seeds. Serve immediately.

~Cold and Flu Tea Remedy~

2012-01-12T15:01:00.005-05:00

Without a doubt, as we all know we are in the cold and flu season. Recently I had a really bad case of cold/flu for 10 days then immediatelly followed by a severe stomach virus* for several days. So I'm thinking what a "fabulous" start to new 2012! What I mean is I really hate being sick. It looks like I'm over the worst now and my goal is to keep it that way.
In the cold season especially but not exlusively I highly recommend drinking lots of fluids, especiall teas, eating lots of veggies and fruits that boost immune system, excercise and wash your hands.

Today I'm going to share with you my old time tea remedy I've been using for years it has proven itself to be very effective, making one feel better immediately.

*
I've received several emails regarding my remedy for stomach virus. I can only provide you with what I've been doing in such case.
When stomach virus is severe you can easily become dehydraded so the top prority in this case is to :

Keep your body hydraded, your body can go without food but liquid is essential!
Drink in small sips, driking a lot at once doesn't seem to help anything.
Try chilled pepsi by tablespoon at a time not more
Rest as much as possible
Eat only plain toast, salted cooked plain rice or a banana
Give your body time to process the food, you may be able to eat one toast first day and then second day you can try rice if you feel like it then try banana.
As you progress and feel better, try rice and steemed carrots
Drink teas, plain, no sugar no lemon no honey.

Cold and Flu Tea Remedy(4servings - serving size 1 cup )

4cups(1liter) Water
4 Tea bags, I like to use ROSEHIP, LINDEN FLOWER TEA, ECHINACEA TEA, GINGER TEA OR LEMON TEA
3tbl zested Ginger Root, or if you can't find any use chopped crystallized ginger
Juice of 2 Fresh Lemons
3tbl + Raw Honey (depends on how sweet you like your tea, add more if desired)
1-2tsp Chili Flakes(use more or less if desired)

Bring water to boil.
Zest or grate fresh ginger, set aside
Prepare Thermos
Put 4 tea bags in a medium size pot
Pout hot water over the tea bags in the pot, cover and let sit for 5 minutes
Add ginger, honey, chili flakes, let sit covered for another 10 minutes
Remove Tea bags from the pot, discard the tea bags
Add lemon juice to your tea, taste, add more honey if desired
Pour tea into the Thermos, close the lid, use as needed

Ginger- helps remove toxins from the body, and helps to clear sinuses
Chili Flakes -heat from the flakes that normally sets your mouth on fire actually cools inflammation and it will help to open up your sinuses, fight congestion
Honey-, has lots of antioxidants, boosts your immune system, to help with sore throat or cough
Lemon- blood purifier, helps body to get rid of the toxins, vitamin C, fights infections

~Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Frosting~

2012-01-10T08:33:00.002-05:00

You either like gingerebread or don't; there really is no middle ground here, I really hope you like it because that is what I'll be sharing with you today.

I made these for a friend for New Year's 35th Anniversary Celebration. Pairing gingerbread and lemon comes from my honey cookies, I like to decorate them with lemon flavored icing, it seems like a perfect marriage so why not for cupcakes.

I know I know I hear you, you are ready for some pink and red and Valentine's Day treats and I promise I'll get there soon.

Gingerbread Cupcakes ( makes about 12)
7 tbl butter(100grams)
1/4cup +3tbl brown sugar(85grams)
1/2cup golden syrup(125ml)-Table Syrup, you should be able to find in the baking isle of you grocery store, look in the isle where corn surup or pancake syrups are sold.
1/4cup +3tbl milk(100ml)
1eggs
1cup all purpose flour(145grams)
1/2tbl ground ginger
1tsp cinnamon
1/2tsp baking soda
1/8tsp cloves
1/8tsp nutmeg
1/8tsp allspice
1/8tsp salt
1 1/2 tbl chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat oven to 350F and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners

In a medium size bowl, sift together, flour, spices, baking soda and salt, set aside.

In a medium size sauce pan, heat together milk, golden syrup, brown sugar and butter, stirr until sugar is dissolved, do not allow it to boil. Remove from heat at once and let cool to room temerature

Once cooled pour the mixture into a medium size mixing bowl, using a whisk beat in the egg.
Once again sift all the dry ingredients into the bowl with wet ingredients, use a whisk to prevent having lumps in the batter and stir just until combined.

Stirr in chopped ginger.

Fill the muffin pan, each cavity about 2/3 full, bake for 16-18 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven, let cool in the pan for couple minutes, transfer cupcakes to the cooling rack and cool completely before frosting

Honey - Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
1 package of cream cheese
6tbl room temperature butter
1/2tsp lemon extract
3tbl honey
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
2tbl fresh lemon juice

Cream butter, add cream cheese in large chunks, not at all once, beat after each addition, beat until smooth on medium high speed, lower the speed and add honey beat until combined, then add powdered sugar, mix on low speed and gradually increase, beat until smooth, add lmeon juice by tbl, no all at once and beat until absorbed, add extract, continue mixing for one more minute.Taste.
Fill the piping bag with frosting and frost the cupcakes. I used Wilton M1 tip to decorate these cupcakes, but you can use any tip you like.

~Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Pancakes~

2012-01-06T06:43:00.005-05:00

I made sweet potato puree last week, some I used to make Sweet Potato Almond Cupcakes(egg free) and what ever was leftover I had in the fridge waiting to be used in a recipe that I had yet to discover. I don't bake with sweet potato often and when it comes to sweet potato eating alone I really prefer it savory over sweet.
I decided to make pancakes with it. Winner that is. I just made up the recipe as I went along and it actually worked!
These pancakes are light and fluffy, moist and tender and just pure delicious. I really enjoyed one, rest I delivered to our neighbors' house. I kept them on the steam so they would be warm and Jimmy lifted the bowl and smelled them first, they smelled so good and then I was little tempted to take them back. I know they are in good hands, he'll enjoy them.They are packed with nutrients and some fiber too, a perfect way to start a morning.
I had another post planned for this morning but decided to quickly change it up for a simple reason. Weekend is ahead and now with the recipe posted you can surprise your family with delicious and healthy pancakes on Sunday Morning.

Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Pancakes(7 large pancakes)

3/4 cup sweet potato puree
2eggs(separated)
1/4cup honey
1cup milk
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice(or use orange juice from the box, not made from the concentrate)
1/4 cup oil
1/2tsp vanilla extract(optional)
1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour(you can usually find it in the isle with organic/specially baking ingredients)
1/4 cup rolled oats
2tsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
1tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt

In a medium bowl combine wet ingredients : sweet potato puree, egg yolks, honey, milk, vanilla extract,orange juice and oil.Wisk well until smooth. Set aside
In another bowl stir togeher flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
Beat 2egg whites until medium peaks are formed, they hold their shape but are not stiff.

Add dry ingredients into wet at once and stir, I used a whisk, stir just until well combined.
Fold the meringue into the batter.
Let rest for 5 minutes.
Heat the skillet, add a drop of oil and cook pancakes on medium to low setting
Mine cooked 4 -5 minutes on the first side then I flipped them and then I cooked them for another minute or so.
Enjoy sprinkled with vanilla sugar, your favorite syrup, jam or alone.

~Piped White Chocolate Snowflakes~

2012-01-05T06:47:00.003-05:00

I've done these many times using royal icing, and though they are probably cheaper to make, chocolate snowflakes are definitely tastier; trick is to wait till the chocolate cools to the right temperature so it is easy to pipe without having it flow too fast(it is hard to control what you pipe then). Piping bag/sandwich bag filled with melted chocoalte should be slightly warm/lukewarm to the touch when ready to use for piping. It is best to test how the chocolate flows through a small opening on a piece of wax paper. Melted chocolate flows fast when hot so make sure you wait till it is the right temperature/consistency to pipe or you'll be dissapointed as I have when I first tried piping with chocolate.

Chocolate Snowflakes(20-30 medium size snowflakes)
1/3 cup pure white melting wafers(I used pure white Merckens Chocolate Wafers), I suposse you can use any white chocolate chips as well.
small sandwich bag or a piping bag
snowflake template
small wax paper squares

On a piece of a paper draw a snowflake template (you can do this by hand or use a ruler if you prefer),
Cut up wax paper into small squares.
Over the simmering water in a small heat proof bowl melt the chocolate wafer until smooth.Let cool slightly.
Fill the sandwich bag with the chocolate, don't close the bag yet. Let it cool to slightly warm/lukewarm(test with finger or simple touch the outside of the piping bag).
Once ready, make a small opening in the corner of the sandwich bag and start piping away.
Use fresh wax paper square for each snowflake, once piped lie them on a flat surface.
Lastly using twizzers add a little pearl in the center.
Let cool snowflakes without touching until firm, I usually put them into the fridge for couple of minutes until they hardnen. Gently peel off the wax paper and set each snowflake on a flat surface or directly onto a frosted cupcake.
When ready to decorate cupcakes, simply place snowflakes on top of your frosted cupcakes. Snowflakes handle best when slightly chilled so if necessary put them into the fridge for 5 minutes before decorating cupcakes.

I used these to decorate delicious Sweet Potato Almond Cupcakes(egg free)

~Sweet Potato Almond Cupcakes~

2012-01-03T09:02:00.003-05:00

Finally I'm able to share with you a new blog post, my first post in 2012. I'm still very much under the weather with some kind of a bug; but as many of you know as adults we don't have much choice and I can't be lying in the bed forever though rest assured I'll be sure to hug my pillow the minute I finish work today.

I have a feeling this 2012 will be a good year and I'm pretty excited about it. I have so many things planned, hoping to see them come through.
I hope you'll visit often, I enjoy the company very much.:-)

Today I wanted to share with you a super yummy recipe for cupcakes, especially those allergic to eggs will like this one, there are no eggs in this recipe, instead I used apple cider vinegar to boost the fluffy texture in these little cakes. They are not too sweet, just like I like my cupcake, moist with a hint of cinnamon; sweet potato puree can be made fresh or use one from the can.
Almond flavored cream cheese is a nice comliment to the cupcake flavor and received many compliments this season.

Sweet Potato Cupcake (12cupcakes)

1cup sweet potato puree
1/4cup milk
1/3cup oil
1tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup almond meal
1cup all purpose flour
1/2tsp baking powder
1/2tsp baking soda
1/4tsp salt
1 1/2tsp cinnamon
1/4tsp allspice
pinch of nutmeg(optional)

Preheat oven 350F
Line muffin pan with liners

In a medium bowl combine together flour, almond meal, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt, stir well until evenly distributed.
In a bowl whisk together sweet potato puree, milk, apple cider vinegar,oil,sugars and vanilla.
Add wet ingredients into the dry and mix with a whisk just until combined.

Fill muffin pan cups about 2/3 full and bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating pan in halfway,until toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cool in a pan for 5 minutes, then remove from the pan and transfer cupcakes onto the cooling rack and cool completely before frosting.

Almond Cream Cheese Frosting
1 package of cream cheese
6tbl room temperature butter
1tsp almond extract
11/2 to 2 cups powdered sugar
2tbl heavy cream

Cream butter, add cream cheese in large chunks, not at all once, beat after addition, beat until smooth on medium high speed, lower the speed and add powdered sugar, mix on low speed and gradually increase, beat until smooth, add heavy cream and beat until absorbed, add almond extract, continue mixing for one more minute.Taste.

Frost and decorate cupcakes as desired. I used white chocolate snowflakes to decorate my cupcakes, snowflakes are really easy to make and, I will be sharing my tips and detailed tutorial later this week.

~ Celebrating 2011~

2011-12-31T09:11:00.003-05:00

Grandmother's Bell Cookies

Today is the very last day of memorable 2011. So many things happened this year and tonight at midnight will say our farewells to 2011 and with open arms we are going to welcome a new exciting number in our lives : 2012.
Before I say good bye to old 2011 and welcome new 2012 I wanted to Thank You all for visiting Haniela's, for subscribing, for following my blog, for hitting the like on my Facebook Page, for sharing my posts with others, for leaving me comments and sending emails.I can assure you I treasure each and one of your comments and emails. It has been a wonderful journey, I love sharing my passion with you and I hope you'll keep coming back for a visit. I promise to continue next year with exciting, inspiring posts. I hope to be a better friend, better blogger and a better baker. Here is to a new 2012!

xo,
Hani

~ 2011 ~

Circus Elephant Baby Shower

St. Patrick's Day Sweets Inspired by Andy Warhol

Silver and White Engagement Desserts

The Beatles Cookies Take The Stage

Chocolate Caramel Coffee Cupcakes

Dogwood Tree Cookies

Hydrangea Cookies

Christmas Tree Jewelry Cookies

Starry Blueberry Strawberry Rhubarb Ice Cream Torte

Chocolate Cherry Macarons