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.

Christmas Traditions.

Given the recent success of Parker House Rolls, we aimed for a Christmas tradition – raisin bread. Truthfully, the rolls were also a practice run with yeast, because this recipe can be a bit temperamental.

As we’re in the process of building our own traditions, I enlisted Bitty to help. In the past, this recipe has taken around 8 hours in total. But it allows for 2 long break periods in which you can do other things. Like putting up your Christmas tree (what Grammy did) or playing Mario Cart (what Bitty, Bean, and I did). 

This bread is great for gifting. If you’re keeping it all for yourself or long-distance gifting, the loaves can be wrapped in foil and stored in a 2 gallon re-sealable bag and will keep for a week or so. If you need to keep them longer, they stay good in the freezer for months.

Granma’s Raisin Bread

Equipment:

At least 4 smaller mixing bowls of varying sizes and one very large bowl with a smooth surface – the old ceramic-coated wash basins work great if you have one. This recipe makes 8 loaves, so you need 8 loaf pans.

Ingredients:

1 qt whole milk (substitute at your own risk)

½ lb butter, divided

¼ lb (approx. ¾ c.) shortening

2 ½ (2 3/8) c sugar

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

6 eggs (+ 1 egg yolk)

5 packets active dry yeast (approx. 3 ½ packets or 3 packets + 1 tsp)

5 lb unbleached flour + 1-2 cups

3 c raisins

Instructions:

The following steps can be done simultaneously to save time.

In a 2qt saucepan, heat milk slowly without boiling. When warm, add ¼ c. butter and shortening and allow to melt completely.

 In bowl #1, mix yeast into ¾ c warm (115F) water and a pinch of sugar. Allow to proof while completing other steps.

Sift 5lb flour into a 2^nd bowl.

In a 3^rd bowl, mix raisins with 1/4c flour to coat.

Measure sugar and spices in a 4^th bowl. This will be the bowl in which you mix the entire batch of dough.

Beat eggs in a 5^th bowl.

When yeast is proofed and butter and shortening have melted, move to the following steps.

Pour milk/butter/shortening mixture into the 4^th bowl with the sugar and spices. Stir to dissolve sugar.

When mixture has decreased to 115F, add the yeast mixture in bowl 1 and the beaten eggs in bowl 5.

Add flour a little at a time, alternating with raisins. When you can no longer stir with a spoon, use your  hands. Add extra flour and knead until dough forms a smooth ball. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Coat the top of the dough ball with 2 Tbsp butter. Let rise for 3-4 (1-2) hours or until doubled in size. (I checked the first rise at 2 hours, and it had almost tripled in size despite the reduced amount of yeast. Even after punching and kneading and the second rise, the bread came out less dense than I remember. Though it's not a bad thing. Still, I may check on it earlier next time.)

When dough has doubled in size, punch down and knead. Divide into 8 equal portions. Place in well-greased loaf pans. Cover and let rise again for 3-4 (2) hours. Prick top of each loaf with a fork to vent. Bake at 350F (365F) for approximately 30 (26) min, turning once at 15 (13) min for even browning. Do not crowd – if pans are closer than 2-3” from each other in the oven, bake in multiple batches. Remove from pans to cooling racks. Brush top with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Adventures in high altitude baking I

I'm glad the brownies went well. It gave me confidence. Yeast always made me nervous, and it's only within the last year that I've gotten more comfortable with the idea of rising and punching. So I rolled the dice and made my first yeast attempt yesterday. I went with a classic, in part because I'm familiar with it. I also made this recipe last year, when I was invited to Thanksgiving Dinner with two of my favorite people, K and M, and K's parents. It was a great afternoon with excellent company and the rolls were a hit. Sadly, both of K's parents passed away this year. It seemed right to start here.

This recipe is from Bon Appetit ( http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/parker-house-rolls ). I considered a few options before starting. I thought about adding a second rise to prolong fermentation time and prevent the rolls from tasting like raw flour. But this was Thanksgiving Day, and I had enough on my plate, so to speak. So I made a sponge the night before, adding all of the liquid and fats to the yeast as well as part of the flour. I used the entire amount of yeast, not reduced as some sources suggest. Even so, the dough took the full 1 1/2 hours to rise to exactly doubled in size. I also raised the temperature 25° and reduced the time by 5-8 min.

They turned out pretty much like I remember. Yummy, buttery rolls with a spongy texture (as opposed to flaky like a biscuit.) Next time, I may make the sponge the morning of baking and leave it out at room temperature for a few hours - a hybrid sponge/second rise approach. Awesome rolls and a great way to remember two incredibly generous and welcoming people.

Parker House Rolls

Ingredients:
1 envelope active dry yeast
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 large egg
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (+ 1 Tbsp)

Directions:
Whisk 1 envelope active dry yeast and 1/4 cup warm water (110°-115°) in a small bowl; let stand for 5 minutes.Heat 1 cup whole milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until just warm. Combine 1/4 cup vegetable shortening, 3 tablespoons sugar, and 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt in a large bowl. Add warm milk; whisk to blend, breaking up shortening into small clumps (it may not melt completely). Whisk in yeast mixture and 1 room-temperature large egg. (I did all of these steps the night before and then stirred in 1 cup flour. I stored this in the refrigerator until about 2 hours before I was ready to complete the rest, then let it come up to room temperature.)

Add 3 1/2 (2 1/2) cups all-purpose flour; stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until dough forms. Knead dough with lightly floured hands on a lightly floured surface until smooth, 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl; turn to coat. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let stand at room temperature until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350° (375°). Melt 1/4 cup unsalted butter in a small sauce-pan. Lightly brush a 13x9-inch baking dish with some melted butter.

Punch down dough; divide into 4 equal pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time, roll out on a lightly floured surface into a 12x6-inch rectangle. Cut lengthwise into three 2-inch-wide strips; cut each crosswise into three 4x2-inch rectangles. Brush half of each (about 2x2-inch) with melted butter; fold unbuttered side over, allowing 1/4-inch overhang. Place flat in 1 corner of dish, folded edge against short side of dish. Add remaining rolls, shingling to form 1 long row. Repeat with remaining dough for 4 rows. Brush with melted butter, loosely cover with plastic, and chill for 30 minutes or up to 6 hours. Bake rolls until golden and puffed, 25-35 (20-30) minutes. Brush with butter; sprinkle flaky sea salt (such as Maldon) over. Serve warm.

Inaugural Brownies

Grammy made the first real baking attempt - chocolate chip cookies. Bitty and the Bean reassured her that they tasted good and it doesn't matter how they look. Still, it was the first time it occurred to us that we were now those people - the ones who follow those high altitude directions on the box.

We took a teeny timeout from baking, mostly by work and an upcoming Nutcracker performance. I made my first real baking attempts with high altitude adjustments this week. Grammy's double fudge brownies, requested by Bitty.

My staple reference has become the guide to high altitude baking available on the King Arthur Flour site. (http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipe/high-altitude-baking.html) It got me through this recipe quite successfully. Original recipe printed with changes in red.

References:

Ingredients:
2/3 c butter
1 1/2 c sugar (less 1 Tbsp) 
1/4 c water (+2 Tbsp)
2 tsp vanilla extract
12 oz chocolate chips
4 eggs
1 1/2 c flour (+ 1 Tbsp - I used unbleached flour for the higher protein content)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325°F (350°). In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside

In a small saucepan, combine butter, sugar and water. Bring just to a boil, then remove from heat. Add chocolate chips and vanilla extract and stir until mixture is smooth and chips are melted.

Transfer to your mixer bowl (or any large bowl if you're mixing by hand.) Mix at moderate speed until chocolate mixture is partially cooled. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg.

Gradually beat in flour mixture. Spread into greased 9x13" pan. Bake for 50 (40) min. Cool and cut into squares.

Results:
Surprisingly successful. King Arthur chart is now taped to the fridge.