Sweets

American Classics: Original Girl Scout Cookies

2012-02-24T19:00:00Z

Spring is in the air and coworkers are circulating order forms. It's officially Girl Scout cookie season. Girl Scouts and cookies are so linked in my mind that as a kid I flirted with joining solely to sell cookies (I think I watched Troop Beverly Hills a few times too many...). But the truth is cookie sales have been an important part of financing troop activities for many years. While the earliest mention of a Girl Scout cookie sale was recorded in 1917, it was in the early 1920s that cookie sales really took off across the country likely as a result of an article published in The American Girl.

The article's author was a local scouting director in Chicago who provided a simple sugar cookie recipe that young scouts could easily make at home with their mothers. According to the official Girl Scouts site, she "estimated the approximate cost of ingredients for six- to seven-dozen cookies to be 26 to 36 cents," while the cookies "could be sold by troops for 25 or 30 cents per dozen." That's a pretty sweet profit, if you ask me.

Adapted from that early recipe, these light cookies grow crisp around the edges as they cool, making them more akin to a thin butter cookie than a typical soft and doughy sugar cookie. Due to the high butter content they are prone to spreading, so they aren't the best pick for a shaped cut-out cookie, but the flavor is comforting and buttery. This year in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts, grab your apron and hit the kitchen to earn your baking badge while you wait for your Thin Mints and Samoas to arrive.

Get the Recipe

Original Girl Scout Cookies »

Got a favorite classic American dessert recipe you'd like to see featured here? Email us with the subject: "American Classics."

About the author: Alexandra Penfold is mild-mannered children's book editor by day, food ninja by night. Never one to skip dessert she's the Brownie half of Blondie & Brownie and a Midtown Lunch contributor. You can follow her on Twitter at @blondiebrownie.

Scooped: Sugar Cane Soft Serve

2012-02-24T16:00:00Z

[Photograph: Max Falkowitz]

Every time I pass through a Chinese grocery I take a glance of longing at the sugar cane leaning against a bin of lychees or dragon fruit. They're so cheap! I tell myself. But what would you really do with them? the more rational me asks in return.

Well, Star Wars reenactments, duh.

That retort has never been enough for me to actually buy a stalk. But my lust for the fresh, juicy, grassy flavors of raw sugar cane hit a fever pitch recently, so I finally paid up my $3.99 for a stalk of sugarcane as tall as I am. When I returned home to gnaw greedily on my prize, I came upon the last scrapings of my Mr. Softee-style vanilla bean soft serve. And that's when inspiration hit.

The best thing about making freezer-stable soft serve at home is...well, everything. But one of those best things is the ability to make whatever flavor of soft serve you want, no matter how weird. Sugar cane is the perfect soft serve player: it's light, not overbearing, and its fresh grassy funk takes well to the verve of sweet cream. One bite and you'll see how soft serve can and should join the ranks of serious ice cream.

To bolster the sugar cane's mild flavor I reached for cachaça, the rum-like Brazilian spirit made from fresh sugar cane. It helps keep the ice cream soft and crystal-free, and it's the closest thing you'll find to sugar cane essence out there.

Skip the cone for serving and top it with, as my friend Vittles Vamp suggests, some toasted coconut and cacao nibs. Or go for broke and add a drizzle of some gula jawa syrup. Or just devour it plain as it drips down your fingers. Imagine yourself in some place warm as the Mr. Softee tune plays in the background. On steel drums, of course.

Get the Recipe

Sugar Cane Soft Serve »

About the author: Max Falkowitz writes Serious Eats' weekly Spice Hunting column. He's a proud native of Queens, New York, will do just about anything for a good cup of tea, and enjoys long walks down the aisles of Chinese groceries. You can follow him on Twitter at @maxfalkowitz.

BraveTart: Make Your Own Biscoff Cookies

2012-02-24T12:45:00Z

[Photographs: Sarah Jane Sanders]

I don't know that there remains any praise for Biscoff that Francis Lam has not already articulated. Rather than try to out-prose the man who wrote of cookies that "taste beautifully and comfortingly of warm spices, caramel, and wheat", I've decided to tackle Biscoff from a different angle; as a chef, not a writer.

Typical "Biscoff" recipes call for a wide array of spices and also butter, two things totally not involved in real Biscoff. Cinnamon alone spices Biscoff and they rely on oil rather than butter for their unique texture; a dash of soy flour also comes into play, too. So. How to make them at home?

I started out with a little research and a found a recipe for "Dutch Butter Cakes" from a 19th century English cookbook aptly titled The Complete Biscuit and Gingerbread Baker's Assistant.

I scaled down the recipe dramatically, from 8 pounds of flour to 8 ounces and wrote the ingredients in a list from greatest to least so I could compare it in a more meaningful way to the ingredients on the Biscoff package (listed in the same order).

Dutch Butter Cakes: flour, brown sugar, butter, baking soda, cinnamon, water

Biscoff: flour, sugar, oil, brown sugar, baking soda, soy flour, cinnamon

With both relying on roughly the same set of ingredients, I had a good place to start.

For the first batch, I began by swapping out the butter for oil and slipping in a little soy flour. I used roasted soy flour, also known as kinako, because it has a sweeter, nuttier flavor than plain soy flour. Initially, I wanted to trade some of the brown sugar for white to more closely mimic the Biscoff formula, but had a suspicion that the blend may have had more to do with quirks of industrial production than flavor.

I got to baking and soon had a batch of super delightfully cinnamon-y cookies with a huge crunch, but not close enough by any stretch. Biscoff have a Frito-like balance of greasiness and crunch, just painted in cinnamon and sugar rather than corn and salt. My first attempt utterly lacked that quality; they were crisp but not rich. And despite relying solely on brown sugar, they had a pale tan color far lighter than a Biscoff.

On round two, I upped the oil a full ounce, decreased the water and switched to dark brown sugar. I also cranked the oven to 375° F after reading Biscoff's official description of how they achieve their caramelized flavor. This batch baked up darker, fattier, and with a more full fledged caramel flavor.

I made a half dozen more batches after that, tinkering with baking soda, kinako, and cinnamon to get the balance right and eventually found a ratio that tasted how I thought they should. I didn't know, however, how to master the Biscoff look. With Fauxreos, I paid tribute to the Oreo design with a little cornelli work. But Biscoff don't have such a classic appearance.

They come stamped in a wide array of styles and designs, including at least two unique variations for Delta; one that actually says DELTA and another simply bearing the ~~Starfleet insignia~~ Delta logo.

With at least six different designs already in official use, I figured why not introduce one more? I kept the shape rectangular, in homage of the original, with fluted edges to symbolize Biscoff's scalloped shape. And a heart because, well, you know why.

Get the Recipe

Homemade Biscoff »

About the Author: Stella Parks suffers from an unhealthy obsession with recreating the mass produced snacks of her childhood, but ironically is employed by a Frenchman to make the high brow desserts of his childhood. She blogs that dichotomy at bravetart.com and can be followed on Twitter at @thebravetart.

Share Your Sweets: Brownies

2012-02-23T19:30:00Z

So we learned something this week: you guys love brownies. And from olive oil and sea salt to dulce de leche, you've found all sorts of ways to make them your own. Check out 15 gorgeous brownies in the slideshow above.

Next Week

We're going to stick to the classics for this week, so after your success with brownies, we're giving chocolate chip cookies a try. Send us a few words on why your chocolate chip cookie recipe rocks, shoot us a photo (along with a link to the recipe!) and we'll include it in next week's roundup. Be sure to send it in no later than Tuesday, February 28th so we can include it in next Thursday's Share Your Sweets on March 1.

If you're new to Share Your Sweets, take a peep at the rules here. A few notes: we can only take one submission per person, so pick your favorite (or the most recent shot) and send it in. Also, Share Your Sweets is just for the folks at home; no pros or companies! If you want to really impress us, crop your photo so it's 610 pixels wide and 458 pixels tall.

Pie of the Week: Orange Meringue Pie

2012-02-23T15:45:00Z

[Photograph: Lauren Weisenthal]

When it comes to citrus in meringue pies, why do lemons always get the limelight? I put other flavors to the test and discovered that using oranges instead puts a great new spin on the old classic. Oranges make for a less acidic custard filling that plays equally well with a creamy, light meringue, without all the pucker of their yellow cousins.

As I created this recipe, I was very concerned about balance. After all, oranges are much sweeter than lemons, and I worried their flavor would be drowned out by the eggs and sugar in the filling. For orange flavor that is bright and true to the essence of real oranges, the key is to use plenty of zest, and balance out the sweetness by using much less sugar than you'd use in a pie made with lemons.

To complement the orange filling, I chose a meringue with a strong vanilla flavor. By whisking the egg whites and sugar over a pot of boiling water before whipping them, I created an extra-stable Swiss meringue, which has the tiniest of air bubbles and tastes more creamy than more traditional French meringues. Finish it off by bruléeing the meringue under your oven's broiler, and the result is a pie with a classic combination of vanilla and orange, lightened. It's something slightly different, and delightfully unexpected.

Get the Recipe

Orange Meringue Pie »

About the author: Lauren Weisenthal has logged many hours working in restaurant kitchens and bakeries of Brooklyn and Manhattan. She is a graduate of the Artisan Bread Baking and Pastry Arts programs at the French Culinary Institute. You can follow her on Twitter at @evillagekitchen.

Snapshots from India: Street Sweets

2012-02-23T12:45:00Z

In India, sweet shops appear in multiples, with some busy streets boasting two or three within a jamun's throw of one another. Whenever we stopped anyone to ask for directions during our recent trip, we were quickly besieged with recommendations and tips and occasionally found ourselves witnessing passionate, intricate arguments over the proper way to make rasmalai or which ladoo vendor used the purest chickpea flour.

As we traveled north from Mumbai through Rajasthan, then east to Varanasi, we tried to drink as many lassis and eat as many mithai ("sweet" in Hindi) as possible. Here are our snapshots of a few of the delicious highlights.

About the authors: Jessica Allen and Garrett Ziegler write the Date Night column for Serious Eats: New York, as well as the blog We Heart New York.

Bake the Book: Entenmann's Chocolate Cake Donuts

2012-02-22T20:00:00Z

[Photograph: Parragon Inc.]

Entenmann's excels at cake donuts. Frosted, glazed, crumb topped, or coated with loads of confectioners' sugar, all of the varieties are pretty tasty. So this recipe for Entenmann's Chocolate Cake Donuts obviously came with some pretty high expectations.

Beginning with a chocolate batter, the donuts are rolled out, punched out and deep fried until puffy and crisp. Like any great cake donut these have a wonderfully tender crumb and a lightness that makes you want to go for more than just one. Although the donuts are finished with a drizzles of white and dark chocolate, they aren't overly sweet, and in fact might just benefit from a bit more sugar. We're thinking next time we'll swap out the chocolate drizzles for a sugary glaze.

Get the Recipe

Entenmann's Chocolate Cake Donuts »

As always with our Bake the Book feature, we have five (5) copies of 'Entenmann's Big Book of Baking' to give away.

Chocoholic: Chocolate Birthday Layer Cake

2012-02-22T18:00:00Z

Candles not required [Photograph: Yvonne Ruperti]

When the anticipation of decent presents and being another year older have long since evaporated like the memories of that first kiss in the back of the movie theater, I say thank god at least for birthday cake.

This cake is the perfect party cake. Dark, dewy, cocoa-espresso cake layers nest in heavy swathes of bittersweet chocolate frosting. Sitting tall and pretty, decked out in creamy swirls of chocolate, this cake dares you to resist. But you won't, and as you dig your fork into a slice, the velvety cake gently yields under the satiny icing.

But this cake is by no means fancy or elaborate. It's a basic cake that smacks of a simply moist Betty Crocker cake—except that this one's real. And I'm sure I don't have to tell you that this cake isn't just for birthdays. Every cook has an easy to make, star chocolate cake to pull out of their recipe box at a moment's notice, and today I'm offering up my all time favorite.

And did I say easy? You bet I did. This recipe is a lickety split "dump and stir" method. Simply whisk the wet ingredients into the dry, and in the oven it goes.

Cocoa, espresso, and tangy sour cream flavor the cake. I also swear by vegetable oil in all my chocolate cakes—nothing makes a chocolate cake more moist. For the frosting, the best tasting, quickest frosting, hands down, is based on the very first recipe that I developed for Cook's Illustrated magazine. Unlike chocolate ganache (which you have to chill until it sets), you can frost your cake as soon as you make it. And unlike most quick frostings (which are gritty from the confectioners sugar), swapping some of the sugar for corn syrup keeps it creamy. My chocolate cravings have gotten bigger lately, so this time around I tweaked the original by making it less sweet and more chocolaty.

To assemble, just spread a dollop of frosting in between the two cakes and sandwich them together. If you own a cake wheel and a spatula, you can spin this cake to professional perfection. Otherwise, just do what grandma always did—use the back of a soup spoon to whirl the shiny icing into soft swirly tufts. Sprinkle on the technicolor sprinkles or sugar confetti, load it up with candles, and celebrate another year to eat cake.

Get the Recipe

Chocolate Birthday Layer Cake »

About the Author: Yvonne Ruperti is a food writer, recipe developer, former bakery owner, and author of The Complete Idiot's Guide To Easy Artisan Bread. You can also watch her culinary stylings on the America's Test Kitchen television show. She presently lives in Singapore and is currently at work constructing her new blog, "ShopHouseCook".

6 Off-Menu Dessert Mashups at McDonald's

2012-02-22T15:30:00Z

[Photographs: Erin Jackson]

Years ago, a friend introduced me to a mildly hilarious unofficial off-menu dessert at McDonald's: an apple pie and a vanilla ice cream cone, smashed up in a cup together to make the best McFlurry McDonald's doesn't know about. This concoction doesn't have an official name (yet) but it got me thinking: if it was that easy to improve upon the pie, there must be other undiscovered treasures hiding within plain sight. The only logical next move was to find out.

I tried 6 mashups with varying rates of success, from a breakfast-biscuit shortcake to a sad little cheese-topped apple pie. Has playing with your food at McDonald's helped you discover any delicious food mashups? Let us know your brilliant creations in the comments.

About the author: Erin Jackson is a San Diego-based food writer and photographer who is obsessed with cheap and tasty eats in San Diego, and creator of dessert blog San Diego Sugar. On Twitter, she's @ErinJax

Cookie Monster: Lemon Sunshine Cookies

2012-02-22T13:15:00Z

[Photograph: Carrie Vasios]

When I finally get around to writing my memoirs, I'm going to title the chapter in which I move to San Francisco "They Promised Me The Weather Would Be Good."

See, on the East Coast, we tend to conflate SoCal and NorCal, to imagine that California is all palm trees and surfer dudes and fabulous bikini weather. This lie is mainly perpetrated by TV and film. I certainly don't remember any episodes of Full House where Uncle Jesse said, "Gosh, it's pretty cold out" and then encouraged D.J. to put on a coat.

Thus it's with a certain sense of injustice that I've been enduring my first San Francisco winter. Sure, it by no means comes close to the frozen, stuffed inside my puffer coat, don't-want-to-leave-the-subway winter months in New York. But it's not a party on the beach either. They promised me the weather would be good.

In fact it's the rainy season in these parts, and there are many days when I'm holed up inside, vainly waiting for the sun to break through the gloom. It's on these days that my old, Northeastern winter weather habits come back to the fore. On top of that list is making food that is as bright and cheery, as sunny and as tropical as possible.

These lemon cookies are excellent at faking sunnier times. The cookies are soft and they easily melt away on your tongue into a burst of lemon. The dough has a punch of lemon zest, a discernible taste of butter, and a little buttermilk for tenderness. Because the dough isn't too sweet, I've dipped each cookie in a simple glaze made from a mixture of lemon juice and confectioners' sugar. And really, who needs the sun when you have sugar?

Get the Recipe

Lemon Sunshine »

About the author: Carrie Vasios is the Community Manager of Serious Eats and writes the Wake and Bake, Cookie Monster, and Serious Entertaining columns. She likes perusing her large collection of cookbooks while eating jam from the jar. You can follow her on Twitter @carrievasios

Cakespy: S'more Pop-Tart Drop Cookies

2012-02-21T19:00:00Z

Jessie Oleson (aka Cakespy) drops by every week to share a delicious dessert recipe. —The Mgmt.

[Photographs and original illustrations: Cakespy]

Have you ever found yourself eating a chocolate cookie and thought to yourself that surely, surely there must be a way to heighten this delicious experience? The answer is yes, and that way is Pop-Tarts. More specifically, S'mores Pop-Tarts.

Let me introduce what is bound to become a new classic: The Chocolate Drop S'mores Pop-Tart Cookie. It's a mouthful in more ways than one, a taste so wholly unholy that while part of you may cry—no, most of you will cry for s'more.

Get the Recipe

S'more Pop-Tart Drop Cookies »

About the author: Jessie Oleson is a Seattle-based writer, illustrator, gallery owner, and cake anthropologist who runs Cakespy, an award-winning dessert website. Her first book came out in October 2011; she is currently at work on her second book.

Satisfy your cravings. Follow SE: Sweets on Twitter and Facebook.

Gluten-Free Tuesday: Snickerdoodles

2012-02-21T18:00:00Z

In the cookie world, snickerdoodles are a quiet charmer. Unlike fancy cutouts or "everything but the kitchen sink" cookies they don't scream for attention. But snickerdoodles also aren't boring. Thanks to a generous amount of butter, cinnamon, and vanilla, snickerdoodles are packed with flavor. And isn't that why we love them?

Their classic flavor isn't the only thing that makes a snickerdoodle a snickerdoodle. They also have a unique texture. And this is where snickerdoodle lovers divide.

I like mine puffy with crisp edges and a soft, almost cake-like center. Others prefer snickerdoodles flat and crisp. What's a baker to do? Simple—vary your recipe to suit the type of snickerdoodle you love!

For "puffy" snickerdoodles, use a mixture of butter and shortening, and a generous amount (1 1/4 teaspoons) of baking powder. The shortening prevents the cookies from spreading too much while the butter creates crisp edges and deep flavor.

For "flat and crisp" snickerdoodles, use all butter and reduce the amount of baking powder to 1/4 teaspoon.

Either way, you'll have a classic cookie that can be made in minutes using staples you probably already have in your pantry.

Get the Recipe

Snickerdoodles »

About the author: Elizabeth Barbone of GlutenFreeBaking.com joins us every Tuesday with a new gluten-free recipe. Elizabeth is an alumna of the Culinary Institute of America. She is the author of Easy Gluten-Free Baking. and the forthcoming How to Cook Gluten-Free: Over 150 Recipes That Really Work.

Behind The Scenes At Chimney Cake in Long Island City

2012-02-21T16:30:00Z

[Photographs: Donny Tsang]

Kürtőskalács, or chimney cakes, are traditional Hungarian pastries that originated in Transylvania. Anna, chef and owner of Chimney Cake, has brought this tasty treat to Long Island City in New York's Queens, with a store that opened in late 2011. The cakes are made with long strips of dough that are then wrapped around wooden molds; originally, the chimney cakes were cooked in a fireplace, but at Anna's cafe they are place inside a vertical oven that slowly turns each cake 'til it's done.

We spent a few hours in the kitchen with Anna to see how these traditional Hungarian treats were made.

Check out the slideshow for a peek into the kitchen.

Chimney Cake

10-50 Jackson Ave, Long Island City NY 11101 (map)
718-786-1818
chimneycakenyc.com/

About the Author: Donny Tsang traded a life of traffic jams in LA for one of crowded subways in NYC, where he's been since 2003. Now he is a Brooklyn-based food photographer and founded the website Foodaissance, where he photographs local artisans.

Sweet Technique: How to Make Perfect Pound Cake

2012-02-21T15:30:00Z

[Photograph: Lauren Weisenthal]

Pound cake might be the worst-named food in the world. True, it's a good description of the contents (a pound of flour, a pound of butter, etc.) but when I'm considering a cake indulgence, I think that it's pretty lame to remind me of the consequences to my waistline before even taking a bite. It's a miracle that, despite its terrible branding, pound cake has stood the test of time.

That's because pound cake is one of the best dessert delivery systems out there. When I look at pound cake, I see a blank canvas that's begging to be painted with macerated fruits, drizzled with chocolaty syrups, piled with dollops of whipped cream. It has the perfect texture for soaking up juices and sauces, and unlike some other cakes, it doesn't go to mush.

To make a great pound cake, one that has a moist, even crumb and a surprising amount of flavor from such few ingredients, stick with the classic 1:1:1:1 pound ratio of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour, and add flavor to enhance it. My favorite flavoring are the seeds scraped from a real vanilla bean, but extracts, zest, or spices may also be added.

Here are some tips for a great cake with a moist and even crumb:

Prepare pans with butter and parchment so the cakes come out of the pan without sticking
Take the time to properly cream the butter and sugar so it's fluffy and light
Be sure to avoid over-mixing the batter once dry ingredients are added
Allow the cake to cool completely before serving

Click through the slideshow to learn step by step tips for pound cake success, then go ahead a make a few—one to enjoy now, and one to freeze for a rainy day.

Get the Recipe

Vanilla Bean Pound Cake »

About the author: Lauren Weisenthalhas logged many hours working in restaurant kitchens and bakeries of Brooklyn and Manhattan. She is a graduate of the Artisan Bread Baking and Pastry Arts programs at the French Culinary Institute. You can follow her on Twitter at @evillagekitchen.

Wake and Bake: Baked Beignets with Chicory Coffee Sauce

2012-02-21T12:45:00Z

[Photograph: Carrie Vasios]

First things first. Beignets are a deep fried yeast pastry best known for their popularity in the Big Easy. As you can read from the title, these, then, are not beignets. Indeed, I am fully aware that even calling this pastry "baked beignets" puts me at risk of being attacked from all sides by angry beignet-lovers who would probably like to drop me into a bubbling deep fryer and say, "Now that's closer to a beignet."

And yet I've insisted. Why? I have a friend coming over to celebrate Mardi Gras and, for health reasons, he can't eat fried foods. I know, why not just skip it and indulge in Kings Cake instead? Why not go straight to the rice and beans? Because when someone asks me for "not fried beignets" I will not laugh in their face, shove an encyclopedia in their hands, and walk away. I will do my best to please them. Did no one else see that episode of Friends where Monica can't stop making the Christmas candy for her neighbors? Cooking in return for love is a psychological problem, so just leave me be.

For those of you still with me, I'll explain what these "beignets" are. They start with a yeasted buttermilk dough that is very similar to the normal beignet recipe. The dough puffs up nicely in the oven, becoming a soft, golden brown, and mildly sweet rectangle.

When they're still hot out of the oven, the beignets are rolled in confectioners' sugar, and, when they're cool, I roll them again. To make them indulgent for Fat Tuesday, I serve them with a chocolate coffee sauce made from another New Orleans specialty: chicory coffee. In fact for those of us not on a diet, I'd recommend pouring the sauce into individual ramekins to serve alongside the warm beignets. They are extra delicious when each bite is preceded by a dunk in the warm, chocolaty sauce.

Get the Recipe

Baked Beignets With Chicory Coffee Sauce »