Have the Cake

February Roundup

2012-02-29T05:24:00.000-08:00

Beautiful! I think this is one of the prettiest collection of photos we've had! Thanks to everyone who participated in our latest challenge. All the cookies are represented! I hope you enjoyed making them as much as we enjoyed drooling over them. Looking forward to next month!

Tropicana Lace Cookies

2012-02-22T14:38:00.000-08:00

Posted by - www.LinsFood.com

Intricate!

This is my first month with this wonderful group and am looking forward to more, more, more! This month, we had a choice of 3 wonderful cookies: Black and White, Linzer and Lace Cookies. I opted for lace cookies as I am a huge fan of them and have been making Brandy snaps for as long as I can remember. I love developing and creating new recipes and was really looking forward to what I could produce with this. Ok, I thought I had a month but the extra day not withstanding, I was running out of time! So, I had to get going!

I had some friends over last weekend and took that opportunity to bake this challenge. I tweaked my old recipe here and there, added some condensed milk and desiccated coconut and voila - I present TROPICANA LACE COOKIES!

As a little kid, I used to make coconut fudge with my older siblings, my earliest memory of this is when I was 6, which means my sister was 9 and my brother was 8, with no parental supervision. The ingredients were essentially freshly grated coconut and condensed milk. To this day, I fall to pieces at the merest hint of this combination! That's the memory I went for in creating Tropicana Lace.

Dry roasted coconut

Ingredients (makes about a dozen)

4 tbsp freshly grated coconut or desiccated coconut

1 tbsp golden syrup

20 g butter

1 tbsp condensed milk

2 tbsp caster sugar

3 tbsp flour

1 tsp rose essence

Spaced out blobs!

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C/160 Fan. Line a baking sheet with baking paper if you have to.

2. Heat a small frying pan on low heat and dry roast the coconut until golden brown and the aroma hits you. Set aside.

3. Add the syrup, butter, milk and sugar in a small saucepan and heat, stirring to mix.

4. At the first sign of bubbles, add the flour, mix and take off the heat.

5. Add the coconut and rose essence and mix well.

6. Drop half a dozen spoonfuls of the mixture on the baking sheet, spacing them well apart as they will spread A LOT. If the mixture thickens, just heat it up again gently for the next round.

7. Bake for 6-8 minutes until completely flat and a uniform dark brown in colour.

8. Leave to cool completely, they will harden as they cool.

9. You can shape these cookies if you fancy, wrap them around a rolling pin about 30 seconds after they come out of the oven, before they get a chance to harden.

These are perfect as they are or served with ice cream. Even great crumbled over cakes and sundaes.

Pretty as a picture

Black and White Cookies

2012-02-20T19:09:00.000-08:00

Posted by - vivian

Black and white cookies have always interested me. Never having tasted one, I was just intrigued by the name, so when this month's Have the Cake challenge was to make either Black & White Cookies or Linzer cookies... well, of course I had to make the Black & White! From what I understand, these cookies are quite popular in the North Eastern states, particularly New York. They are more cake like in texture rather than the crispy or chewy texture one would expect from a cookie. I did a combination of two recipes, the dough from Smitten Kitten and the glaze from Joy of Baking

Black and White Cookies
Smitten Kitten's recipe which she adapted from a bunch of places, but mostly Zabar’s

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Glaze:

from Joy the Baker

4 cups confectioners sugar
1/3 - 1/2 cup hot water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 ounce (30 grams) bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 2 baking sheets with nonstick spray, or use a Silpat (silicone baking sheet). I don't like to use parchment paper on sticky cookies but that is an option, too.

In large mixing bowl, combine sugar and butter; mix until fluffy. Generally this takes 3-5 minutes, it will depend on room temperature, temperature of the butter. You can tell when they are “light and fluffy” by the appearance; it should be very light in color. Next, add the eggs, milk and vanilla and lemon extracts; mix until smooth.

In medium bowl, combine cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt; gently whisk together. Add dry mixture to the wet in batches, stirring well after each addition.

Place heaping spoonfuls of the dough 2 inches apart on the baking sheets;bake until edges begin to brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cookies cool completely.

Glaze:
Place the confectioners sugar in a large bowl. Gradually Stir in the hot water (it is best to pour in a bit at a time so that you can keep track of its consistency easier), add corn syrup and vanilla extract, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick, smooth, and of spreading consistency. Add more sugar or water if necessary to get the right consistency.

Remove about 1/2 cup (120 ml) of the frosting and place it in another bowl. In a small microwavable bowl, add the finely chopped chocolate. Melt on high for about thirty seconds; stir. Add the melted chocolate to the 1/2 cup frosting.

Turn the cookies so the flat bottoms are facing up. Spread white glaze over half the cookie. Repeat with the remaining cookies. If the frosting/glaze thickens too much, add a few drops of water.

Once all the cookies are covered with the white frosting, then cover the other half of each cookie with the chocolate frosting. If the chocolate frosting becomes too thick, add a little hot water to thin the frosting.

Linzer cookies

2012-02-20T05:33:00.000-08:00

Posted by - Hannah

Hi, I'm Hannah and this is my first post on HTC! I'm a student so I'm going to be cooking the monthly challenges on budget! This month I didn't have jam in the cupboard (and I also didnt have a heart shaped cookie cutter) so I went with iceing and fruit I had in the freezer. Got to say, I'm quite pleased with the result and the house mates seemed to enjoy them! The recipe I used for the cookies is from http://www.joyofbaking.com/LinzerCookies.html. Look forward to next month! x

Modern Infusion of Linzer and Black & White Cookies

2012-02-19T20:47:00.000-08:00

Posted by - April (Miss Conversationalist)

Miss C "hi, I'm April or at my blog I'm known as Miss Conversationalist. This is the my first post on "Have the Cake" and I hope you enjoy it! "

Linzer "linzer cookies came from the classic Austrian linzer torte"

B&W "black and white cookies are synonymous with New York bakeries, a place I would love to visit".

Miss C "so, I wanted to infused the classic linzer with the hustle and bustle of New York culture to bring you a...

"Modern Infusion of Linzer and Black and White Cookies"

Instead of having the traditional fruit preserve filling I'm filling it with marshmallows (a nod to the new craze that swept New York, whoopie pies)

I'll be glazing the top cookie with chocolate icing"

Recipe

Linzer cookie adapted from http://www.bhg.com/recipe/cookies/linzer-pinwheels/

Glaze adapted from Chocolate glaze by Country Living

Makes 6 big cookies

INGREDIENTS

Linzer cookie
100g Unsalted butter
3/4 cup Castor sugar
1/4tsp Baking soda
pinch Salt
1x Medium egg
1x Lemon zest
1.5 cup Plain flour
20x White marshmallows

Chocolate glaze

120g Dark chocolate
1/4 cup Thickened cream

METHOD

In a mixer, beat butter, sugar, baking powder and salt until combined. Add in the egg and lemon zest and combine. While the motor is running continuous add the flour until mixture starts to resemble a dough.
Wrap dough in cling wrap and place in the fridge for 1.5~2 hours, or until dough is not sticky and malleable.
Melt dark chocolate and thickened cream together over a pot of simmering water. Combine and place into fridge to thicken.
Once the dough is ready, preheat oven to 170C, flour the kitchen top and roll out the dough to a thickness of 0.5cm. Cut with any shape you want. Just remember that you have to make the same number of bottoms and tops. The top cookies should have another hole, for example my star on the top cookie.
Place the cookies inside and bake for 7~10 minutes or until it starts to brown slightly, allow them to cool. Now, place the marshmallows into an oven friendly bowl and place into oven. Remove from the oven once the top marshmallows start to brown.
Spread the top cookies with the chocolate glaze and the marshmallow mixture onto the bottom cookie, sandwich together.

Black and White Cookies

2012-02-17T02:14:00.000-08:00

Posted by -Angela/Soap Mom's Kitchen

The challenge this month was Black and White, Linzer and Lace Cookies. I love all those cookies, but I decided to go Black and White for the challenge. They are very popular in New York City. I have a very fond appreciation for these deli favorites. I think every sandwich shop, coffee shop and diner in New York sells these delightful treats. I found this recipe on Joy the Baker. They are very easy to make and I made them with my twelve year old daughter. We had a lot of fun together doing the black and white icings. Enjoy!

Black and White Cookies

Makes about 16 large cookies
Recipe from Joy the Baker who adapted from Gourmet Cookbook

For the Cookies
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large egg

For Vanilla Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

1 Teaspoon light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For Chocolate Glaze

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

3 Tablespoons butter

1 Tablespoon light corn syrup

To make the cookies-

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup.
Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add eggs, beating until combined well. Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches at low speed (scraping down side of bowl occasionally), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until smooth.
Spoon 1/4 cups of batter about 2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven until tops are puffed and pale golden, and cookies spring back when touched, 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack and chill (to cool quickly), about 5 minutes.

To make the glazes-

In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon of corn syrup and 2 tablespoons hot water, until smooth. That’s your vanilla glaze.

In a separate bowl, melt the butter and the chocolate in a microwave for about 1 minute. Add the corn syrup and stir until smooth. That’s your chocolate glaze!

Once the cookies are cooled, face them all bottom side up of a clean surface. Spread half of the cookie with vanilla glaze and the other half with chocolate glaze. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to set. And…Yum!

Linzer biscuits with honey

2012-02-11T09:40:00.000-08:00

Posted by Alida - My Little Italian Kitchen

Hello I am Alida and this is my first post! I am really excited!

I love Linzer biscuits but this is the first time I make them. I must say they are very nice and quite easy to make.
I have changed the recipe slightly and did not put any nuts in them and I tried using honey instead of sugar. The result was a nice crumbly biscuit with a delicate flavour.

Ingredients:

250 g self raising flour
the zest of one lemon
a pinch of salt
100 g sugar (or 3 tbsp of honey)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essence
125 g butter
3 tbsp of red jam
icing sugar

Put the flour on your work top and make a small hole in the middle. Add the egg, salt, sugar,the softened butter cut into piecesWork quickly and shape it into a ball. Put it in the fridge for 20 minutes.

With a rolling pin roll the pastry flat about 1/2 cm thick and with a round pastry cutter cut some circles about 8 cm diameter.

On half of them, with a smaller pastry cutter, make a hole in the middle.

Cook at 200 C for about 10-15 minute until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and place the biscuits on a rack to cool.

Spread some jam on the biscuits without a hole and dust some icing sugar on the others. Then lay the two sides together like a sandwich.

Almond Linzer Cookies with Guava Filling

2012-02-10T16:34:00.000-08:00

Posted by - lu canela

Hello, This is my first post in "Have the Cake" and I am so excited. I have to say that I loved baking the Linzer Cookies. This recipe was adapted from Martha Stewarts Website and I just made one little change that instead of pecans I used Almonds. I really hope you guys enjoy!!

Almond Linzer Cookies (Martha Stewart)

Recipe:

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup almonds
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup of your favorite flavor jam (I used Guava)

Directions:

1. Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl; set aside. Pulse almonds, confectioners' sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a food processor until finely ground (but not wet); transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

2. Add butter and granulated sugar; mix on medium speed until fluffy. Mix in vanilla and egg. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until combined. Halve dough; shape into disks. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Cut out squares with a 2-inch fluted cutter. Cut out centers of half the squares with a 1/2-inch heart cutter; re roll scraps. Space 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake squares and hearts until pale golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to racks to cool.

4. Meanwhile, heat jam in a small saucepan over medium heat until reduced and thickened, about 7 minutes; let cool.

5. Sprinkle cutout cookies with confectioners' sugar. Spread jam onto uncut squares; top with cutout ones. Store in an airtight container up to 2 days

February Challenge: Black & White, Linzer & Lace

2012-02-01T03:00:00.000-08:00

photo from serious eats

posted by - Rena

It's cookie time! February is upon us and it's time to make something special. I've been dying to bake linzer tarts. They are perfect for Valentine's Day as they can be shaped into hearts. Aww. Of course, everyone has different tastes so this month, you get a choice between Linzer Tarts, Lace Cookies or Black & White Cookies. These are staples at any bakery. I happen to live very close to what has been titled "The Best Black & White Cookie in NYC" and I think it is.

You can make just one or feel free to make all three! You can, of course, put your own spin on things. Happy Valentine's month (day, shmay...) and happy baking!

Here are a few recipes I found:
Linzer Hearts - by Serious Eats
Lace Cookies - by Real Simple
Black & White Cookies - by Smitten Kitchen

photo from flickr

January Roundup

2012-01-31T15:30:00.000-08:00

I'm so hungry making this recap! Gorgeous cinnamon rolls. Thanks to everyone who participated and welcome to all our new bakers!

Brioche Cinnamon Rolls

2012-01-26T10:19:00.000-08:00

Posted by - Winnie

Brioche Cinnamon Rolls

Rich yeast buns,

sweet, soft and luxurious

I love baking with yeast, and I actually bake Challahs (Jewish bread) every Friday, creating my own different recipes.

There is nothing like the smell that fills the house when I bake yeast pastries.

So I was very pleased to find out that this month's challenge was cinnamon-buns.

I love cinnamon(!), and love yeast pastries - perfect combination for me J and I've decided to make a brioche

** Please note that my original post is in Hebrew

12 rolls - I used 21 cm round pan + 2 small pound cake pans

you can also use 20X30 square pan

For the dough

450gr bread flour

25gr fresh yeast

4 egg-yolks

40gr white sugar

10gr vanilla sugar

1 tsp trimoline sugar

30ml heavy cream

180ml vanilla milk

½ tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp lemon zest

1 tb powder-milk

1 tsp salt

150gr soft butter

For the filling

100gr soft butter

220gr dark brown sugar

1 heaping tb cinnamon

1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water for brushing the buns before baking

For the syrup

50gr white sugar

50ml water

½ tsp vanilla extract

In the mixer-bowl crumble the yeast into the flour add the powder-milk, white sugar, trimoline-sugar and the vanilla- milk and start mixing on a lower speed until all is well mixed. Continue for 3 more minutes, and only then start adding the butter cubes gradually. Wait until each cube of butter assimilates before adding another cube.

Add the salt and continue on a low-medium speed for at least 8-10 minutes

The dough should be very soft and elastic but slightly sticky.

Lightly oil a large bowl, place in the dough and cover with a plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight (or 6-8 hours)

The dough will not rise much - but it's fine!

In the morning prepare the filling
Mix well the sugar and the cinnamon

Line the pans with baking sheets and grease with butter
Take the dough out of the refrigerator, knead for a minutes and roll it to 30X42 rectangle.

I don't ever work on a floured surface – I slightly oil the it and my hands.
Spread the butter and sprinkle evenly on top with the sugar-cinnamon mixture. Roll the dough

Cut it into 12 portions and place them in the prepared pans. Cover and let rise for 45-60 minutes (until the tough one another)

Pre-heat oven to 170 C (340 F)

Brush with egg mixture and bake for 30-35 minutes

While baking, prepare the syrup

Bring to boil the water and the sugar while stirring. Lower the heat and cook about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat, add the vanilla extract and stir.

When the rolls out of the oven and brush them the the syrup. Wait 2-3 minutes and take them out of the pans and place them directly on a reck. Cover them with a tower and let them cool.

ENJOY !!

] You can also freeze some after cooling completely, and then warm them up in the microwave - covered with a towel - they turn out just like they came out fresh from the oven

Cinnamon Rolls

2012-01-23T16:15:00.000-08:00

Posted by -mmw2008- Con DeLight

January's challenge on Have The Cake is Cinnamon Rolls.

At first, my intention was to step aside and wait for next month's challenge

but talking with my good friend Winnie, I've changed my mind and decided to make cinrolls that will be tasty for me too- and there's nothing more appropriate than Chocolate!

I must say the result is amazing :)

Ingredients:

For the dough:

T dry yeast

4 cups flour

2 L eggs + egg yolk

½ t salt

½ cup canola oil

½ cup white sugar

¼ cup warm water

For the filling:

30G milk chocolate, grated

1/8 cup white sugar

T ground cinnamon

12.5G butter

For the Topping:

112.5G butter

1 ¼ cup packed brown sugar

Preparation:

Mix the dry ingredients of the dough, add the liquids and knead until you form an elastic

and smooth dough. Set aside to rise – my dough hasn't risen much and I guess it's

because of my yeasts or the lack of willingness in my side to wait :)

Meanwhile, make the topping by melting the butter and then adding the brown sugar.

Spread in a baking pan- You can use two small pans as I did (one round and the other a rectangle)

or you can use small-medium baking pan.

Mix the filling ingredients together, except the butter.

Roll the dough to form a thin rectangle. Melt the butter and spread over the dough.

Spread the filling on top of the butter and make a roll. Cut the roll into rings.

Place the rings on the pan we made earlier. Heat oven to 175C and bake for 20 minutes.

When the cinnamon rolls is out from the oven, wait for about 5 minutes

and then turn it on a plate. Doesn't it look gorgeous? Yummy :)

Cinnamon Rolls

2012-01-17T00:50:00.000-08:00

Posted by - Elpiniki

This is my first post at Have the Cake, and I m thrilled! It was the first time to make cinnamon rolls and now I intend to make them again and again!

Ingredients

550 gr. flour all-purpose and 1-2 cups more

9 gr. dried yeast

200 ml warm milk

3 tbsp melted butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

a pinch of salt

Filling

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

3-4 tbsp cinnamon

How to Make

Place all ingredients (except the filling's) in a mixer bowl and knead with the hook kneading for 6 to 7 minutes until it gathers as a ball on the hook. The dough will be slightly moist. Then, continue kneading with hands, adding flour - if nessesary - until you have a smooth, fluffy and not sticky dough. Put in a bowl covered with flour and let it in a warm place to double for 1 hour.

In another bowl mix well the filling's ingredients until it looks like paste.

When the dough is ready, put it on a floured surface and with a rolling pin open it in a rectangle shape. Spred the filling on the dough and roll it to become a stick. Cut it in pieces and place them on a large baking pan covered with a greaseproof paper. Let them stand for 30 minutes and turn on the oven at 180.

After half hour, cover them with beaten egg and put them in the oven for around 25 minutes. Serve them as they are or with icing sugar.

Cinnamon Rolls

2012-01-14T13:45:00.000-08:00

Posted by - Michelle S.

This month's challenge for Have the Cake is Cinnamon Rolls. I LOVE cinnamon rolls! I wanted to participate this month but did not want to mess with yeast. I made the Paula Deen ones before and they were awesome but take time. I found this one on Mommy's Kitchen's site. The recipe can be found here.

These were delicious! My son and his friend loved them. Best of all, they do not take long to make since they are made with crescent rolls.

Mine did not come out minis like Tina's did. I guess I didn't roll them tight enough. No worries...I put them into regular size muffin tins and they worked out great. I will definitely make these again and again! Loved them!

Kanelbullar

2012-01-12T04:08:00.000-08:00

Posted by - Ayse

Adapted from the book "Swedish Culinary Classics: Recipes with History and Originality (Swedish Institute, 2005)" by Carl Jan Granqvist and Lena Katarina Swanberg.

Ingredients

For the dough

35 gram (1+1/4 ounces) yeast

100 gram (3+1/2 ounces) sugar

1+1/2 cups of milk

1 egg

115 gram (4 ounces) butter

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground cardamom

750 gram (26 ounces) wheat flour

For the filling

115 gram (4 ounces) butter, at room temperature

60 gram (2 ounces) sugar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

Glaze

1 egg

2 tablespoons water

Sugar

Method
Combine the yeast and some tablespoons of milk in a container. Leave it for some minutes.

Melt the butter and pour the rest of the milk on it. Combine the rest of the ingredients with the butter-milk mixture and the yeast-milk mixture. Knead the dough well (in a dough mixer for 10-15 minutes). Cover the dough with a towel and let it rise for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough. Spread the butter. Mix sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle it on the butter-spread. Roll the dough. Cut it into pieces.

Place baking sheet on an oven tray. Place the buns cut-edge upward on the baking sheet. Cover them with a towel and let it rise for about 30-60 minutes (until they double their sizes).

Preheat oven to 220C degrees (425F degrees).

Combine beaten egg and 2 tablespoons of water. Brush the buns with this mixture. Sprinkle the buns with sugar.

Bake it for 5-6 minutes. Let it cool before serving.

Cake Mix Cinnamon Rolls

2012-01-09T19:01:00.000-08:00

Posted by - Vivian
We frequently eat these at our house so my challenge was to find a different recipe. I came across this recipe on a site called Yummly.com. I made a few changes such as using brown sugar instead of granulated sugar and drizzling with Karo syrup. I thought I had a box of French Vanilla Cake mix and that would have taken this recipe through the roof! The boys all gave it a thumbs up so I guess its a keeper!

Cake Mix Cinnamon Rolls
Adapted from http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Cinnamon-Rolls-Allrecipes

5 cups all-purpose flour

18 1/4 ozs cake mix (yellow)
1/2 oz yeast
2 1/2 cups warm water (120 to 130 degrees f/50 degrees c)
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons Karo Syrup (optional)

In a mixing bowl, combine 4 cups flour, dry cake mix, yeast and warm water until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half.

Roll each portion into a 14-in. x 10-in. rectangle. Brush with butter; sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon... I also like to drizzle 3 tablespoons of Karo Syrup over it.

Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side. Cut each roll into 12 slices; place cut side down in two greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pans.

Cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 20 minutes.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 20 minutes.
Yields 24

January Challenge: Cinnamon Buns

2012-01-01T06:33:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This is the time of year when everyone makes resolutions to lose weight, so I decided our challenge should be as fattening as possible! Who doesn't love cinnamon buns? As I sit here on the first morning of 2012, I wish there was a tray in front of me.

You can pick whatever recipe suits your fancy and as always feel free to put your spin on it.

I wish you all a very happy 2012!

Gingerbread Cookies

2011-12-17T10:54:00.000-08:00

Posted by -colleen

I am a BIG fan of gingerbread cookies but I have never actually made them. My Christmas cut-outs are the fluffy, soft kind which I highly prefer to the crispier versions so that was my mission when looking for a good gingerbread recipe. The title of this cookie seemed to fit the bill so this is the recipe I tried:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/big-soft-ginger-cookies/detail.aspx

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup margarine, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

1/4 cup molasses

2 tablespoons white sugar

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
2.	In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly.
3.	Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Modifications? No-it's the holidays and this is not the time for my weird, calorie-cutting experiments. The only thing I left out was rolling the prepared dough in sugar. This wasn't because I didn't want them to be too sweet. I did because I wanted to frost my baked cookies in cream cheese frosting. Oh yeah.

These cookies are awesome. Frosting or not, these are hands-down THE BEST gingerbread cookies EVER! I will be quite surprised if anyone else gets them in my holiday cookie tins.

Thankfully, I also own appropriate gingerbread man cooking-baking attire (thank you Target circa 2008):

Ginger biscotti with more good things

2011-12-15T15:58:00.000-08:00

Posted by - Winnie

**This post was originally written in Hebrew. This is the translated version from google.**

Ginger biscotti
with nuts and raisins
great and healthy snack

Cookies very fast and easy preparation.
hard and crispy I can not stop eating next to a hot drink, drink, cold and without drinking at all

These Hbiskoti story began when I joined the bloggers every month receives a copy of any subject and each makes up his blog entry. So this month the topic is ginger cookies.
gingerbread cookies, country are less familiar, very popular in different countries at this time of year, and are usually no fixed forms.

It was clear to me that these cookies do not want to make, and I have to find a slightly different direction.

And this direction came as a biscotti.
a long time since I made cookies biscotti, cookies, and these actually I really love munchies (as if I do not like cookies?), like something hard and crispy, and do a lot of crumbs that eat them (Hhhh)

Okay, so I started looking for a recipe when I was also clear that I want it with butter.
Why? It's obvious - I'm quite fond of butter, and earlier this week when I bake, I usually bake dairy recipes.

So nice that I decided that rather recipes I saw were all with oil.

Never mind, I said to myself, I just replace the oil with the butter.

Well, I found a recipe that seemed to me and I decided to make.

But ....... Good grief! Selected recipe has only 2 tablespoons of oil.

No kidding, really disappointed. Replace 2 tablespoons of butter fat it does not matter

Aofffffffff cookies earlier this week and will be without butter.

I already try to find another recipe, but ...... Precisely the combination here with nuts and raisins really appealed to me.

Hopefully they'll be successful, I consoled myself, and I began to prepare.

Successful?? Are successful Madddddddddddddddd and I just can not stop munchies them
and when you look at the recipe turns out these Shbiskoti even contain healthy things, and it really was not intentional.
And one last thing - they are very easy and very fast to prepare .

Customer recipe source map , but still I did it some changes

100 g walnuts

50 g oats (not instant)

50 g bran - finely ground oat
flour 225 g

160 g dark brown sugar

½ teaspoon coarse salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 / 4 teaspoon ground ginger

2 large eggs

60 ml (¼ cup) Sedan

2 tablespoons oil

½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon nuts - see note

95 g dark or golden raisins

Coating - optional

60 g powdered sugar (½ cup)

¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract - can also be a lemon

2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 175 degrees, and look forward to baking paper format

Mfzriim the walnuts / pecans and put in oven for 10 minutes. Remove, let cool and chop coarsely. Put in a small bowl, add the raisins. And set aside.

Mixer bowl mix the dry ingredients.
In a separate bowl mix the egg + oil + Sedan

While mixing the mixer on low speed slowly add the liquid mixture to dry mixture, until everyone is reunited, and if necessary to scrape the sides of the mixer so itchy. Add the nuts and raisins and blend the Union.

Remove the dough and divide in half.
on a floured surface shape each part of a long cylinder and transfer the pattern while maintaining a margin of about 7 -8 cm Between the rollers.

Bake about 30 minutes until golden bolts, and stable to the touch.
Remove and let cool on a grid for about 10 minutes.
lower the oven temperature to 150 degrees, cut the rolls into slices as thick diagonal2 cm, Put back in

Bake for 6-8 minutes on each side until the slices dry.
Remove and cool,

If you want biscotti really hard - let cool in the oven then blown out. I left the oven (turned off) for 20 minutes and then got out and cool J.

Preparation of coating - Mix For thick texture, and with a spoon drip lines on Hbiskoti. Completely dried at room temperature.

Store in a sealed container well. Can be kept so for a few weeks ..

Y source nuts are hazelnuts, peeled and roasted. Although I have in roasted hazelnuts and shelled decided I wanted to actually walnuts.
You can also pecans, and almonds also possible. Or any type of nuts who like, the point to be roasted

do not have to buy Bran - Oatmeal. You can take oats (not instant) have already played this recipe, and grind it in a food processor.

source sweetener is molasses. I changed Seelan.

coating is really not required. The original recipe has milk. I think actually more appropriate lemon. in the past I bought my shopping hazelnut extract so I decided to add it Lbiskoti. This essence is of course not mandatory, but I think definitely adds. and I'll tell you a secret - when I took the essence out I had too drawer walnut extract that I bought and I've completely forgotten I was just using it of course.

Chocolate Gingerbread Men and Women

2011-12-05T21:38:00.001-08:00

Posted by - Vivian

This months "Have the Cake" challenge was to make gingerbread men. While I love ginger cookies, I'm really not a big fan or rolled out gingerbread cookies... they are too dry and hard. Still, this recipe was rather decent (still not a fan, but almost!) and it had chocolate. Come on, you know anything with chocolate just has to taste better! Frost with royal icing, if desired.

Chocolate Gingerbread Men (and women!)

adapted by Vivian

original By Sydney Mike

Ingredients

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus

2/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2/3 cup vegetable shortening

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1 large egg, room temperature

3/4 cup unsulphured molasses

Directions:
Position racks in the top & bottom thirds of the oven, then preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Grease several large baking sheets, then set aside (or cheat like I do and use a Silpat!).
In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and baking powder until spices & coca are evenly distributed, then set aside.
In a 2nd large bowl, & using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream shortening & brown sugar until smooth & airy, about 1 minute. Beat in egg & then the molasses.
Turn off mixer & add prepared flour mixture, then AT VERY LOW SPEED beat just until crumbly bits of dough form, but not until the mass begins to cohere into a ball.
With flour lightly dust a clean, dry work surface as well as your hands. Turn dough out & knead just until it forms a smooth mass, about 30 seconds.Divide into thirds & cover them with a clean kitchen towel.
With flour lightly dust the work surface again & roll one of the thirds to a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Flour the dough & a rolling pin only as necessary (I like to use a piece of Cling wrap on top of the dough to prevent sticking).
Use a large gingerbread-man cookie cutter to cut the dough into the desired shapes, then use a metal spatula to transfer them carefully to the prepared baking sheet(s). Gather any scraps, lightly dust again with flour & roll out a 2nd time, creating additional gingerbread men.
Bake for 4 minutes, then rotate sheets top to bottom & front to back; Bake another 4 minutes, or until cookies feel dry but still are a little soft.
Remove from oven & cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes before transferring the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
Keep no longer than 2 days at room temperature, several more days in the refrigerator, OR up to a month in the freezer.
Original recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/chocolate-gingerbread-men-334306#ixzz1fjGb4r8u

December Challenge: Gingerbread Cookies

2011-12-01T03:50:00.000-08:00

photo from Figi's Gifts

The holidays made me do it!

I've never actually made gingerbread cookies, men or houses. I celebrate Hanukkah so I'm usually stuffing my face with potato goodies and jelly donuts instead of cookies. I love gingerbread cookies so here we go! Feel free to make any version of these that you want, be it a gingerbread man, woman, house or city. Go crazy! If you have a deep dislike for gingerbread cookies, feel free to choose another type of cookies that suits your taste.

Happy Holidays!

November Roundup

2011-11-30T01:39:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving and Holiday Season! One big meal down, many more to go! Thanks to everyone for participating in our bread challenge. They all look delicious!

Olive and Rosemary Focaccia

2011-11-16T16:26:00.000-08:00

Posted by Lena

My first focaccia. I got this recipe from a chinese baking book, 手工面包the same book that i got to make my Chocolate Cherry Bread. All breads in this book are actually handmade, no machine used but as usual knowing myself, i prefer to delegate all these hand work to the machine..one word..lazy. I havent eaten a focaccia before..they are sold here but just that i havent tasted them before. My focaccia looks alright to me..afterall it's still a bread..ha! the crumbs ok, maybe the surface a little pale but overall still good to me. Perhaps the next time i should put a little more rosemary onto the holes instead. Actually there are a few versions of focaccia i would like to make but as at now..just this first.

Recipe
Ingredients:
hi protein flour 300gm
salt 5 gm
instant yeast 4 gm
caster sugar 1/2 tbsp
warm water 200ml

olive oil 1 tbsp
some pitted olives and fresh rosemary

Here's how i did using my machine:
1. Combine flour and salt in a mixing bowl.
2. In another small bowl, combine yeast, sugar and water, stir them together and pour into the flour and salt mixture. On the machine and put in that 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Let it knead for about 10-15 minutes on medium speed until you get a fairly smooth dough. Remove from machine, shape them into a big ball and let it proof in lightly greased bowl until double its size.
3.After proofing, remove from bowl, lightly pat the dough into a square shape and shape them into round again ( by folding the square into 3 parts vertically , turn 90C and fold into 3 parts again and shape them into round) . Divide the dough into 3 pieces. Let it rest for 5 minutes.
4. Flatten each dough with a rolling pin, with a thickness of 1 cm and transfer the dough into a lined baking tin for 2nd proof until almost 1.5 or double its size.
5. Using your finger, poke holes all over the dough and top them with pitted black olives . Brush the dough all over with olive oil and sprinkle with fresh rosemary. Bake in a preheated oven at 200C for 15 minutes .

I'm sharing this with the Have the Cake with their bread challenge for this month.

100% Whole Wheat Rolls

2011-11-14T09:45:00.001-08:00

Hi I'm Kyleen, the girl behind sixteenbeans. For the November Challenge, I made whole wheat rolls.

* * *

I’m a voracious reader, the kind of person who uses reading to procrastinate. I figure that reading since reading is actually educational, I can feel a lot less guilty about "educating" myself about nineteenth century courtship (courtesy of Jane Eyre) while I'm really supposed to be doing my homework. I will readily admit that a portion of my allowance goes towards expanding my admirable collection of books and that Chapters is my favourite store, ever. Currently, I’m trying to work through the College Board’s 101 Great Books Recommended for College-Bound Readers. So far, I’ve read about four, but hey, I’ve got two more years to read the rest of the books on the list.

Besides trying to slug my way through the long list of impressive classics deemed “great” by the College Board, I also borrow heaps and heaps of cookbooks from the library. I rarely buy cookbooks because I can’t justify spending $40 on recipes that I could just google. But when I won the Culinary Arts Award at my school last year and received a $25 giftcard to Chapters, it seemed only fitting that I use the giftcard to buy a cookbook.

I ended up buying Peter Reinhart’s Artisan Breads Every Day. I’ve tried making bread before, using random internet recipes, but with no avail. Each failed attempt further cemented in my mind that there was a complicated science behind breadmaking which internet recipes were not explaining thoroughly enough.

The first recipe I tried from ABED was Whole Wheat Pizza Dough. Not only did the end product taste amazing, but prepping the dough was relatively simple and quick. Encouraged by the success, I endeavoured to make 100% Whole Wheat Bread for the November Have the Cake Challenge. Whole wheat bread had been the source of many frustrations (why is the dough so tough? Why isn’t my loaf rising? Why does the bread look like a brick?) in the past, but I was determined to master it.

Following Peter’s overnight rise method, I produced light and airy bread, even though I had deviated slightly from the recipe. I forgot to dissolve the yeast with the wet ingredients as instructed in the recipe; instead I had mixed it with the dry. I also used whole wheat bread flour instead of regular whole wheat flour as called for in the recipe so I had to add more flour to the dough to achieve the correct consistency.

My older brother commented that the bread had tasted the same as store-bought, which I took as the ultimate compliment considering my past history of dense brick-like loaves. Sometimes the clarity and thoroughness of instruction in a cookbook written by a pro really does make a difference. Not all cookbooks are worth buying in my opinion, but this one definitely was.

Tips for Making Bread:

Use the fresh yeast; many of my brick-like loaves were a result of old yeast which didn’t rise properly.

If you use a machine to knead the dough, be careful not to over-knead; if you are kneading by hand, make sure you knead the dough enough.

The temperature of the water or milk is very important. Anything too cool and the yeast will not be activated; anything too hot and the yeast will die.

A small kitchen scale is particularly useful in the breadmaking venture. Volume and weight are two completely different things and depending on how packed your flour is, the actually amount that you measure out using a volume cup could be different from the weight of flour that is called for in the recipe. My kitchen scale is almost at antique status by now and mostly retired, so I borrowed my friend Jenny’s electronic scale. According to her, kitchen scales are pretty cheap these days, so if you are into baking, you may want to consider investing in one.

Click below for the recipe.

100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

Source: Peter Reinhart’s Artisan Breads Everyday

Yield: 2 loaves

Ingredients:

6 ¼ cups (28 oz / 794 g) whole wheat flour (I used 28 ounces of whole wheat bread flour and an additional 9 tablespoons)
2 teaspoon (0.5 oz / 14 g) salt or 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
5 tablespoons (2.5 oz / 71 g) granulated or brown sugar
1 egg (1.75 oz / 50 g)
¼ cup vegetable oil (2 oz /56.5 g)
1 ¼ cups (10 oz/283 g) lukewarm water (about 95F or 35C)
1 ¼ cups (10 oz/283 g) lukewarm milk (any kind; at about 95F or 35C)
1 ½ tablespoons (0.5 oz / 14 g) instant yeast

Directions:

In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the flour, salt, and sugar together. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and oil together. In another bowl, combine the water and milk and then whisk in the yeast until dissolved. Add the egg mixture and water mixture to the dry ingredients. Using the paddle attachment, mix on the lowest speed for 1 minute. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes so that the flour has a chance to fully hydrate.

Switch to the dough hook and knead the dough on medium-low speed for 2 minutes. The dough will become more firm and smooth. At this point, add water or flour (a tablespoon at a time) if the dough is too dry or wet, respectively. The dough should be supple and slightly sticky. Continue to knead on medium-low speed for 4 more minutes.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead by hand for a final few seconds, working in more flour or water as needed so that the dough is very supple and pliable and slightly sticky. Form the dough into a ball. Stretch the front end of the dough outwards and then fold it back on top of the dough. Do this from the back end and then from each side, then flip the dough over and tuck it into a ball. Cover the dough with oiled plastic wrap and let it rest for 10 minutes. Repeat this process two more times, completing all repetitions within 30 minutes.

Place dough in a clean, lightly oiled bowl large enough to hold the dough when it doubles in size. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and then refrigerate overnight or up to 4 days. If you plan to bake the dough in batches over different days, you can portion the dough and place it into multiple oiled bowls at this stage. I divided my dough into half and baked a loaf and some rolls on two different days.

Preheat oven to 200F for 1 minute; turn the heat off. Remove the dough from the refrigerator about 3 hours before you plan to bake. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and divide into two equal pieces for loaves or small pieces for rolls, about 2 ounces each. To make a loaf shape, flatten the dough and tuck opposite edges in, rolling to form a uniform log shape. Place the dough in greased 4 ½ by 8 1/2 0inch loaf pans. For freestanding loaves or rolls, line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat and proof the dough on the pan.

Place the dough in the oven and leaving the door ajar, let the dough rise for 2 to 3 hours, until increased to about 1 ½ times its original size. In loaf pans, the dough should dome about 1 inch above the rim. About 15 minutes before baking, remove the dough and preheat the oven to 350. If making rolls brush the dough with egg wash (1 egg whisked with 2 tablespoons water) (this is not necessary for loaves).

Bake loaves for 40 to 55 minutes and rolls for 20 minutes, rotating halfway through. The bread is done when the top and sides are a deep rich brown, the load sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom, and the internal temperature is about 185F (85C) in the center. I wasn’t sure how to tell whether the loaf sounded hollow when thumped on the bottom (because the loaf was too hot for me to take out of the pan and thump and check for sounds of hollowness), so I inserted a skewer into the center instead. It came out clean after 40 minutes, so I removed the bread from the oven.

Removes from the pans and cool for at least 20 minutes for rolls and at least 1 hour for loaves before slicing or serving.

Simit

2011-11-14T03:14:00.001-08:00

Posted by - Ayse

If you are a bread-monster like me, I have a surprise for you: Simit!

yeah... it is me - the new member of HTC :)

Simit is a good companion to afternoon teas, sine qua non for Turkish breakfasts, a quick lunch, snack for any time in the day, ...

Variation?

In Turkey, some varieties of simit changes from city to city. For instance, Gevrek (literally it means crisp) - also known as Izmir simit - is boiled in grape pekmez-water mixture for a while before baking; Manisa simit and Kumru are prepared with ground chickpeas; Laz simit - also known as Kerkeli - is prepared without sesame; ... And of course, two of the most popular ones: Istanbul simit and Ankara simit. There are also "patisserie style" simits.

Also, Koulouri in Greece; đevrek in Serbia; Gjevrek in Macedonia; Gevrek in Bulgaria; Covrig in Romania; Ka'ak in Arab countries; Bubrik in Russia and Bagel in America are other varieties.

Baking time!

I got the following recipe from this website. And the website owner had got it from the bakery Simit Center in Cankaya, Ankara.

Ingredients

1 kg "flour for simit purpose" (But you can also use bread flour whose protein content is 12% - 13%)

5 gr dry yeast

15 gr salt

Warm water, as necessary

Grape pekmez

Roasted sesame seeds

Method

Combine the yeast and warm water in a glass, and wait for some minutes. Place the flour and the salt in a container. Open a hole in the middle of the flour and place the yeast-water mixture there. Mix it with your hands, while adding necessary warm water. Knead the dough for about 15-20 minutes.

Rest the dough for about 30 minutes if it is summer, 60 minutes if it is winter.

Then work as follows:

Add equal amount of water and grape pekmez in a container. Rest the simits in this mixture for about 2 minutes.

Then toss the simits in sesame seeds, gently.

Preheat the oven to 200C. Place the simits on baking sheets and bake until they become rich brown. But be careful in the baking process. If you over bake them, then they would become dry. So you should balance the cooking time well and shouldn't leave the kitchen during the baking.