Cookie Time Part 2

We roll old-school around here. In the world of chocolate chip cookies, it's hard to compete with the Tollhouse cookie recipe. Unfortunately, this is the recipe that also led to the realization of altitude issues. So, getting this right was somewhat of a personal victory for Grammy. Tollhouse, take 2.

Tollhouse Cookies

Ingredients:
2 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 c butter, softened
3/4c granulated sugar (less 2 tsp)
3/4c packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs (+ 1 yolk)
2 c. (or 1 12oz package) chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F (400F). Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Add eggs. Mix in flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in chips. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto a cookie sheet. Bake 9-11 (8) min. Cool to room temperature and store in airtight container.

Results: 2 batches. Someone who looks suspiciously like Mama ate the first batch.

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Cookie Time Part 1

Pretty much everyone in the house loves peanut butter. Even the dog. So Christmas usually inspires a batch of peanut butter cookies.

This is the recipe that my mother has used for several years. It's particularly good because it requires minimal altitude adjustment. Grandchild and son-in-law approved. With Hershey Kisses, of course.

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

Recipe from Eagle Brand.

Makes 5 dozen

1 14oz can condensed milk
3/4 to 1c peanut butter (We use smooth. And of course, the full 1c.)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2c biscuit mix
Granulated sugar
Hershey kisses

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F (375F), In a large mixing bowl, beat condensed milk, peanut butter, egg, and vanilla until smooth. Add biscuit mix; mix well. Chill at least 1 hour in the fridge. Shape into 1-inc balls. Roll in sugar. Place on cookie sheet 2 inches apart. If not adding kisses, flatten with a fork; if adding kisses, leave in a ball.  Bake 6-8 (6) min or until lightly browned. Add kisses immediately after baking. Cool and store at room temperature.

Candy Cane Karma

I was feeling brave after the success of marshmallows and pralines. So we went a new direction. I thought it would be fun to make candy canes. In hindsight, I should have taken my past history with candy canes more seriously. When I was kindergarten-ish age, my parents decided to make candy cane cookies. I will just say that they were amazing in their disgustingness. Like peppermint wallpaper paste cookies. And the two subsequent years we tried were no more successful. It seems that my candy cane issues have followed me.

Still, this recipe is great and I think my issues can be overcome next time if I just follow directions. This adventure includes some minor modifications to http://www.whirlybirdblog.com/2009/12/christmas-craft-homemade-candy-canes.html

Candy Canes

Equipment: candy thermometer, latex gloves, a pair of tight-fitting knit gloves

Ingredients:

3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon flavoring (Bitty and I despise mint. So we went with cherry.)
1/2 cup water (+1 Tbsp)
3/4 cup light corn syrup
3/4 teaspoon food coloring
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
powdered sugar, for dusting
vegetable oil, for greasing pans and utensils

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees before you start.

Oil several sheet pans, one for each colored stripe. (Be generous with the oil. Do not cover your pans in foil before oiling to save yourself cleanup or you will end up with bits of foil stuck in your candy. They won’t come out. Trust me on that one.)

Combine sugar, water, syrup, and cream of tartar. Heat until the sugar is dissolved very fine (medium heat).

Bring to boil, but don't stir until it reaches 280F (270F). Take sugar mixture off of the heat and add flavoring.

Pour globs of mixture onto oiled sheet pans - you want a separate glob/pan for each stripe color. (This link says that they used white as the primary color. I did not. I will next time.)

Drip the coloring to the non-white portions.

Put on the knit gloves and layer the latex gloves over them. Inexpensive knit gloves that are relatively tight will give you some insulation from the heat and better dexterity.

With an oiled silicon spatula, gently lift the edges of the candy, folding it over itself a few times. Scrape it off the pan, and start working it with your hands. The more you work it the lighter the color becomes, so if you are making white, you will have to work a little longer on the uncolored portion until it turns from yellow to white. However, if you are working on a colored section, don't pull it too much or the color will fade.

After you have formed 8" ropes of each desired color, it is time to form a log. Set the main color (in our case red, the largest section) on an oiled surface. Press the remaining colors (blue and purple, Bitty’s pick) onto each side of the log. When you press and rub the ropes with your hands, they should melt into one smooth log. If the candy starts to cool while you are forming the canes, it will break easily. No problem, just set your candy in the warm oven for a couple of minutes and it will become pliable again. (Seriously, just a couple of minutes.)

Working on one end, gently pull the candy outward, twisting to form the striped candy cane pattern. When you have pulled a section of your desired thickness, cut the rope and shape into a cane. Set aside on a surface dusted with powdered sugar to keep the canes from sticking. Repeat this process until you run out of candy. (Between the foil issues and the fact that we left a blob in the oven too long and it recrystallized, we ended up with exactly 4 large candy canes. All purple. Bitty and Bean still swear that looks don’t matter and taste is what counts.)

Still, we had a good time. And it was certainly educational for all of us. 

Defining questions

The defining question of my culinary life is about dessert. The usual question is chocolate v. fruit. If you were offered a chocolate dessert or a fruit-based dessert, which would you choose? I choose neither. My weakness is for all things caramel. Not just chewy, soft caramels but anything involving caramelized sugar, preferably combined with butter.

I started making pralines before Christmas when I was still pregnant with the Bean and I’ve made them nearly every year since. This recipe is great as candy, but also works broken up and added to homemade ice cream or oatmeal cookies. I use the recipe from John Foles's "The Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine" with minor changes. He's my go-to guy for Cajun food. 

People will mistake these for cookies. I usually provide a briefing before giving these out. It’s best if you don’t eat more than one a day, because 2 pralines is definitely over the RDA for sugar and fat. 

On another note, we seemed to have pinned down the temperature to reach the soft-ball stage here. So this endeavor was educational as well as yummy. 

Pralines

Ingredients:

1 ½ c granulated sugar

¾ c light brown sugar

½ c milk (+1 Tbsp)

1 tsp vanilla

¾ stick butter

1 ½ c pecans

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except pecans in a 2qt saucepan. (Actually, you can add the pecans now too, but I find it easier to stir without and adding room temperature pecans at the end helps it cool faster.) Heat to 234-240F (230F). Remove from heat and stir in pecans. Stir until thickened (you’ll be tempted to start scooping right away but trust me, you need to let the sugar begin to crystalize before you scoop. Feel free to try it and see.) Drop by spoonfuls onto buttered wax paper or parchment paper. Allow to harden. Will keep a couple of weeks in an air-tight container at room temperature.

Marshmallows

Having one of those "oh crap"  moments. I just realized that this weekend is really the last weekend I can do major Christmas food activity. I suspect that next weekend will entirely revolve around ballet, as the Bitty One has a Nutcracker performance Saturday. The following weekend the kids will be with their dad, and won’t be back until New Year’s Day.

So, the confectionery fun begins. I've been gradually experimenting with candy making over the last few years, so we’re going big this year. We started with marshmallows. Not just because they're easy, but because it would allow me to figure out gelatin as well as candy temperatures. Oh, and they're amazing.  I say marshmallows and most people say “eh” That’s because you've never made them yourself. Just try it.

Temperature reduction and cooling time were the only changes I made to the original recipe. I suggest the boiling water test to see what your reduction should be. To do this, heat a small pan of water to boiling. As it begins to boil, check the temperature with your candy thermometer. Mine reads 202F. So I subtracted 10 degrees from the usual 234-240F it takes to make it to soft-ball stage. 

Marshmallows

Ingredients:

1 c cold water, divided

3 env (3Tbsp) plain gelatin

2 c sugar

¾ c light corn syrup

¼ tsp salt

1 ½ tsp vanilla

1 box powdered sugar

Directions:

Line a 9x13 pan with foil and grease very well with shortening.

Put ½ c water into the mixer bowl. Add gelatin.

Combine sugar, corn syrup, salt, and ½ c cold water in a saucepan over medium heat. Boil covered for 3 min. Uncover and cook to 240F (230F). Remove from heat. Turn on the mixer to 6.

Add sugar mixture to gelatin. Turn mixer to high and beat until white, lukewarm and whipped (10-15 min). Add vanilla. Pour into 9x13 pan. Let stand uncovered for 12 hours (3 hours).

Sift powdered sugar over your work surface. Invert marshmallow over the powdered sugar so the slab of marshmallow is upside down on top of the sugar. Peel away foil. Cover the bottom (now the top) of the marshmallow slab in powdered sugar. Cut into 1” cubes. I recommend using a pizza cutter to cut the slab of marshmallow. It's much easier than a knife. Coat sides with powdered sugar to keep them from sticking together. Store in an air-tight container and they'll be good for a couple of weeks at room temperature.

Notes:

Awesome. Papa was pretty lukewarm about the idea of homemade marshmallows. After he tried them, I had to make a double batch so they’d last more than 2 days. 

Scarf for Mama

I bought this yarn for a baby gift and ended up doing something different instead. As I was rooting through my yarn collection, I came across it again and decided I needed a new project. One just for me.

I trialed several lace patterns before finding one that really appealed to me in this color. I've been using Ravelry for my patterns recently, and I found this one there as well. Or find it on Samurai Patterns if you don't have Ravelry access - Scarf for Ally

The yarn is Arucania Lonco Solid in Plum with size 10 needles. I used maybe half a skein at most. It's a little thicker than the original yarn used in the pattern, so the look is slightly different.

Overall rating: Love it! The yarn is really soft and I think I'll have to block this several times to get the right shape. But it's lovely.

Pizza Night

There are some days when I just don’t feel like making dinner. Today the kids suggested going around the corner to get pizza. However, that would have required changing out of my PJ's (which I had already put on – I didn't wear them all day. At least not that day.) The compromise which required the least work and produced the most happiness was homemade pizza.

Bitty and the Bean love homemade pizza. It takes no more time than any other dinner we make after a busy day. Eternally grateful that this one converted so easily. I use the recipe for pizza dough on Wine & Glue, modified for the reality of my life. http://www.wineandglue.com/2014/02/secret-perfect-pizza-dough.html

Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour (I used unbleached)

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (1 packet less ½ tsp)

2 TBSPs olive oil

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of sugar

1 cup water at 110 degrees (I added 1 c + 2 Tbsp to start)

Pizza sauce (I use crushed tomatoes with garlic salt and Italian seasoning)

Cheese (3 cheese Italian blend)

Toppings (Bitty likes ham. The Bean likes extra cheese.)

Directions:

Heat the water to 110-115 degrees (your decision how to do that.) Stir in the sugar and pour the yeast on top of the water.  Gently mix the yeast into the water and let it sit until it becomes foamy.

Put the flour, olive oil, and salt into your mixer bowl and mix on low speed. Slowly add the water and oil.

If the dough doesn't begin to form into a ball (mine didn't!), slowly add additional water 1 TBSP at a time until it does.  (I added another 2 Tbsp of water.)

Let your dough rest in a greased bowl that is covered with plastic wrap for about an hour (30 min or until doubled) on your counter top.

Preheat the oven to 375 (400) degrees. Put your pizza stone in the oven as you preheat so it is at correct temperature.

When the dough is ready, divide it in half. Roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface or piece of parchment paper. Prick it lightly with a fork so it doesn't bubble up.  

If you are only making one pizza, put the extra dough in the refrigerator in an air tight container and use within the next three days.

Cook the dough for 8 minutes. (I omitted this step entirely.)

Spread out the sauce and add cheese and your toppings of choice.  Sprinkle more mozzarella on top at the end.

Cook your pizza for 15 to 20 minutes (10 min) or until it is to your desired pizza doneness.

Results:
Huge hit. Also great with a glass of wine, much needed after today.