Holiday Cookies

I love the holiday season, the lights, colors, and warm holiday spirit in the air. As I walk down the streets I see moms hurrying to finish holiday shopping, husbands buying cards for their wives, and I hear Christmas music playing in shops. Even for those such as myself who don't actually celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah, you can't help but join in the festive mood.

I decided to go to an all time favorite tradition my mom used to do with my siblings and I, and probably the most delicious way to get into the festivities, bake holiday cookies. I cracked open my new and absolute favorite pastry book, Milk Bar by Christina Tosi, and chose three cookie recipes to try. The first recipe was her classic Corn Flake Cookie with Chocolate Chips and Marshmallows, needless to say this cookie taste like the best s'more dessert! Don't be fooled by the way the look - not the most beautiful cookies and pretty time consuming to make. So I put on my apron and listened to my favorite holiday music while I baked away for the next 8 hours! Yes, 8 hours of pure fun and enjoyment.

The second cookie recipe is a Corn Flake Cookie with Chocolate Chips, Marshmallows, and Candy Canes. Pair this cookie with some homemade hot chocolate and mini marshmallows and you will be in the holiday spirit pretty quickly. When you bite into these cookies you get a nice crunch from some of the caramelized marshmallows, stickiness from the others that didn't melt, and then a very balanced taste of melted chocolate with crunchy peppermint pieces. 

 

 The third cookie was not the most festive in flavor, but looked like the colorful lights on Christmas trees, the Fruity Pebbles Crunch and Marshmallow Cookie. They taste exactly like their name, a combination that your mom probably never let you eat as a kid, but absolutely my favorite cookie of the bunch.
 

I love baking, otherwise I wouldn't spend 8 hours making cookies, or days making cakes. One of the easiest ways for people to show others how much they love or care about them is to give them something made with a lot of love and joy.


Season's Greetings to All.

Pasta Week - Day 2: Lasagna with Besciamella Sauce and Beef Ragout

On day two I decided to make something a little heavier than the Veal Orecchiette. I've made lasagna before, but they always feel so heavy. This recipe won't make you feel like you ate a bag of marbles and still keeps that creamy element we all love about lasagna.

Ingredients for beef ragout:

1 pound ground beef
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp oregano 
1-2 garlic cloves minced
1 yellow onion finely chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
Splash of red wine
1 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

• In a pot, heat olive oil on medium high heat.
• Add onion, sprinkle some salt, and cook until translucent.
• Add garlic and stir for about 30 seconds.
• Add thyme, oregano, and bay leaf and stir until fragrance begins to release.
• Add beef, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook making sure beef has a fine texture and is fully cook.
• Add a splash of red wine and allow to cook for 1 minute.
• Add diced tomatoes with juice to pot and season with salt and pepper.
• Cover pot and reduce heat to low to allow sauce to simmer for around 2-3 hours.
• Once sauce flavors have matured, remove bay leaf and any thyme sprigs, and set aside.

Besciamella Sauce:

3 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 Tbsp flour
2 cups whole milk
Salt and pepper to taste

• Heat butter in a saucepan over medium low heat.
• Whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly until it begins to bubble, about 3 minutes.
• While whisking, add milk and bring to a simmer.
• Whisk occasionally until sauce thickens, about 10-15 minutes.
• Season to taste and set aside.

Assembling Lasagna:

Heat oven to 450F. Cook pasta in salted boiling water until tender. Set aside.

In a baking dish, spread beef ragout on the bottom; cover with evenly with 2 sheets of pasta, cutting to fit if necessary. Spread beef ragout over pasta, spread some besciamella sauce, then sprinkle with grated cheese. Start another layer repeating the same sequence. Top with pasta layer, beef ragout, remaining besciamella, and remaining cheese. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350F and cook for an additional 15-20 minutes.



Let the lasagna cool for about 15-20 minutes before serving. 

Pasta Week - Day 1: Veal Orecchiette

If any of you are like me, you probably recycle the same old pasta recipes week after week. I tend to always make a very delicious beef bolognese with cappellin or mac 'n cheese. Delicious, but after a while you get bored and want to try something new. So I am making an effort to try pasta recipes I haven't tried before. I won't be making my own pasta this time around, but maybe next time I will.

I am starting out the week with a veal orecchiette dish. I've never really had orecchiette before, and other than veal parm, haven't had veal with pasta. What I liked about this dish is that it's easy and fast to make, and the flavors are just so perfectly balanced making this dish a keeper.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
1 Medium onion chopped finely
1 Garlic clove minced
1 pound ground veal
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 tsp chopped thyme (preferably fresh)
1/2 tsp chopped rosemary
2 Tbsp capers drained and rinsed
3/4 pound orecchiette
1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
Salt and pepper to taste

• In a large deep skillet, heat olive oil.
• Add the onion and garlic; cook over medium high heat until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add the veal and season with salt and pepper.
• Raise heat to high.
• Cook veal until it's no longer pink and any liquid has evaporated, about 8 minutes.
• Add wine and boil over high heat until nearly evaporated.
• Add chicken stock, thyme, rosemary and capers; simmer over medium heat until liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook orecchiette in boiling salted water until al dente.
• Drain cooked orecciette and add to skillet along with cheese, parsley, and butter.
• Stir over medium heat until sauce is thick and creamy, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Serve in bowl and enjoy!

Chocolate Macarons with a Chocolate Filling

Okay, I will admit I'm going through a crazy macaron phase. I can't seem to turn away from them. In my opinion, they are one of the most delicate, and beautiful desserts. You can basically make any flavor you can imagine into a macaron, but I had a chocolate craving when I made these. If you happen to have these basic ingredients laying around in your pantry you should definitely take a stab at making these.

Let me first note that you can't make macarons without a basic kitchen scale (preferably digital). Also, you should separate the egg whites at least 24 hours in advance to "age".

Macaron Batter:

1 cup (100 gr) powdered sugar
½ cup powdered almonds (about 2 ounces, 50 gr, sliced almonds, pulverized)
3 tablespoons (25 gr) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder (I used Valrhona Cacao)
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
5 tablespoons (65 gr) granulated sugar

Chocolate Filling:

½ cup (125 ml) heavy cream
2 teaspoons light corn syerup
4 ounces (120 gr) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tablespoon (15 gr) butter, cut into small pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350º F (180º C).
2. Place metal bowl in the fridge so it is cold enough for the egg whites.
3. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch, 2 cm) ready.
4. Grind together the powdered sugar with the almond powder and cocoa so there are no lumps. (use a blender or food processor since almond meal that you buy isn’t quite fine enough.)
5. In the metal bowl, beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. While whipping, beat in the granulated sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.
6. Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag (standing the bag in a tall glass helps if you’re alone).
7. Pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1-inch (3 cm) circles (about 1 tablespoon each of batter), evenly spaced one-inch (3 cm) apart.
8. Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons 
9. Leave the macarons out for about 15-20 minutes.
10. Bake them for 15-18 minutes. 
11. Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.

Chocolate Filling:

Heat the cream in a small saucepan with the corn syrup. When the cream just begins to boil at the edges, remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let sit one minute, then stir until smooth. Stir in the pieces of butter. Let cool completely before using.

Gently frost the macarons with the chocolate filling and sandwich with another macaron half. Be careful when frosting. You don't need to put too much filling because you don't want the filling to spill out of the macaron.

After frosting, place macarons in the fridge for at least 24 hours...Okay, I know you will cheat and have a couple, but the true flavor and texture of the macaron won't reveal itself until they have rested in an air-tight container in the fridge.

This recipe was adapted from The Sweet Life in Paris (Broadway) by David Lebovitz

Food Frenzy in NYC II

So today we decided to take a walk up to Central Park. On the way there we stopped at Bouchon Bakery in Columbus Circle and got some yummy treats.

Blueberry Cheesecake Macaron

Rice Krispy Treat with Caramel, Chocolate, and Sea Salt.

TKO (Big Oreo-Like Cookie)

Nutter Butter

Food Frenzy in NYC

My sisters were visiting NYC the past week, and so I decided to take them on an eating tour of the city. To make up for all we ate I made sure we got enough walking.

Cereal Milk Soft Serve and Birthday Cake Truffles from Milk Bar:

Breakfast at Doughnut Plant: Peanut Butter and Jelly Doughnut, Coconut Creme Doughnut, Crème brûlée Doughnut, and Lavender Glaze Doughnut:

We were walking on the High Line and ran into Melt Bakery and couldn't resist getting this delicious Mango and Cardamom Yogurt Sandwich:

Crispy and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these nice cookies from The Sweet Life by Kate Zuckerman. It is a very simple recipe that makes the cookies slightly crispy on the outside and delightfully fluffy and chewy on the inside.

Ingredients:

16 TBSP (8 oz.) of room temperature butter
1.5 cups of light brown sugar
1 egg at room temperature
1 egg white at room temperature
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1.75 cups of flour
8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips (or 61 to 66% chocolate chopped) and white chocolate chips
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

• Preheat oven to 350F 
• Spray cookie sheets lightly with non-stick spray or line with parchment paper or foil
• Cream butter
• Place butter in a bowl and beat with a mixed (preferably with a paddle attachment) on medium speed for 1 minute
• Add sugar and beat on medium-high speed for 6-8 minutes until mixture becomes light in color and fluffy (make sure you scrape the sides of the bowl)
• Add the egg and egg white and continue to beat until the batter looks smooth and glossy 1-2 minutes
• Assemble dry ingredients in a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt
• Add the dry ingredients all at once to the wet ingredients and mix on slow speed
• Add vanilla, chocolate chips, and nuts and mix for another minute
• Using two teaspoons portion the mix onto the baking sheet in small mounds
• Bake for 12-15 minutes depending on how crispy you like your cookies
• Cool on a cooling rack
• Enjoy!