TWD: Coconut Butter Thins

This week's TWD was chosen by Jayne of The Barefoot Kitchen Witch: coconut butter thins! If you've never visited Jayne's blog I recommend that you check it out! Jayne's a fellow Rhode Islander so I'm a bit biased, but I really enjoy her posts, particularly when she's sharing stories and photos about her kids helping in the kitchen.

Last year I tried Dorie's brown sugar-pecan shortbread cookies, which are made from a similar recipe to these coconut butter thins. I remembered I'd had some trouble with them (can you say spreading cookies?) so I was curious to see what would happen this week. Trying to learn from my mistakes, I was diligent this time in making sure the dough was adequately chilled before I stuck the cookies in the oven. When I turned on the oven light to check on them, they'd spread some, but not to the point where the edges were touching. I'll take that minor victory!


These were just ok for me. I liked them but they definitely weren't the kind of cookies I need to hide from myself to make them last more than a day. Actually, I was surprised I didn't like them more. I love coconut and shortbread-type cookies so I thought they'd be a favorite. In the end, I think they were a bit too greasy for me. I made a few modifications to the recipe including using lemon zest instead of lime and leaving out the macadamia nuts.


Many thanks to Jayne for this week's pick! She'll post the recipe on her blog if you want to try the cookies yourself. Head over to TWD to see how the other bakers fared with their cookies!

Maple-Mustard Chicken Thighs

I'm trying to get as much mileage as I can from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger before it's due back at the library so I've been tagging all sorts of recipes throughout the book. This is one we tried late last week for an easy dinner. I wouldn't call it a "quick" recipe because the baking time is 45-50 minutes but it takes less than 5 minutes to prep the chicken and get it in the oven so it's still a good weeknight option for us. The only change I made to the recipe was to use Dijon mustard because we didn't have a grainy mustard in the fridge. The mustard mixture forms a crust on the chicken as it bakes, and it adds a ton of flavor considering it has so few ingredients. We both enjoyed the tangy mustard combined with the sweet maple syrup and I know this recipe will go into our dinner rotation! That said, it doesn't photograph terribly well so don't hold the photos against the recipe :)

Maple-Mustard Chicken Thighs
from The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life, by Ellie Krieger

8 bone-in chicken thighs (about 2 1/2 pounds), skins removed
1/3 cup grainy French mustard
1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
3/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Preheat oven to 375 F. Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels.

Combine the mustard, garlic, marjoram and maple syrup in a bowl. Spread about 1 tablespoon of the mustard mixture evenly on the top of each chicken thigh, covering as much of the surface as possible. Arrange the chicken in a single layer on a baking sheet or in a baking dish. Bake until mustard mixture has formed a crust and is slightly hardened, and the juices run clear when the chicken is pierced in the center, about 45 to 50 minutes.

Pumpkin Spice Scones with Maple Glaze

Does anyone else periodically clean their refrigerator out only to find half empty containers of ingredients they forgot to use? It happens to me all the time and I've resolved to turn over a new leaf and use leftover ingredients before they spoil. Recently I made muffins using canned pumpkin so I had to find a use for the rest of the pumpkin that was sitting in the fridge. I scoured the internet and found these pumpkin spice scones on a blog called Pinch My Salt.

I had enough pumpkin left to make two batches of the scones and since the recipe called for both all-purpose flour and cake flour, I decided to experiment a bit. I made one batch with all-purpose and cake flour and the other batch with all-purpose and whole wheat pastry flour. I'm happy to report that there was no noticeable difference in flavor between the two batches. This is the second time I've used whole wheat pastry flour with good results so I'm definitely a convert.

I knew I wanted to glaze the scones and eventually decided on a recipe for maple glaze that I found on Ezra Pound Cake. This glaze is to die for and really added something special to the scones. The scones themselves are delicious! The pumpkin flavor comes through as well as the warmth of the spices and the texture is perfect! I'm not normally a huge fan of scones but these are phenomenal. I shared one with my mailman today and he agreed :)


Pumpkin Spice Scones
from Pinch My Salt

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
6 tablespoons very cold, unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1/3 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup heavy cream
6 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine both flours, baking powder, salt, and all spices and whisk together.
In another medium bowl, whisk pumpkin, heavy cream, brown sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Add the pieces of cold butter to the flour mixture and cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the raisins if you are using them.

Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until everything is just moistened. The dough will be very crumbly. Turn the mixture out onto the counter and push the pile together with your hands. Knead the dough a few times until everything comes together. Be careful not to over-knead the dough. Pat the dough out into a rough circle, 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Cut the dough into 8 wedges and set them on the parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.

Bake scones for 15 minutes. Cool scones on baking sheet on wire rack for 5 minutes before transferring them to the wire rack to cool completely.

Maple Glaze
from Baking Illustrated by the editors of Cooks Illustrated (as seen on Ezra Pound Cake)

3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

When the scones have cooled completely, whisk the maple syrup and confectioner’s sugar in a small bowl until combined; drizzle the glaze over the scones.

Roasted Potatoes

I don't make potatoes too often but when I do, they're either mashed or roasted. Mashed potatoes are yummy but often leave me feeling guilty with all of the butter and cream we usually add. If I roast the potatoes I usually just toss them with some olive oil, salt, pepper and maybe a little rosemary. Tonight I wanted to try to kick the flavor of our roasted potatoes up just a bit with this recipe I saw on The Pioneer Woman Cooks, courtesy of Kay. This recipe was well worth the extra effort (and realistically, it doesn't take much work to pull together). These potatoes are perfectly seasoned and have so much flavor! I probably should have cooked them a bit longer to get a nice crispy exterior, but dinner was running late and we were hungry. Next time I make them (which will be soon!) I'll either cut the potatoes smaller or plan ahead and start dinner earlier.

Roasted Potatoes
from Kayotic Kitchen (as seen on The Pioneer Woman Cooks)

2 pounds russet potatoes
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup beef broth (chicken or vegetable broth works too)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon coarse mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
black pepper
fresh parsley (I used dried)
paprika

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into large chunks (or if you want to reduce the cooking time, cut them a bit smaller). Place the cut potatoes into a strainer and wash them thoroughly to remove surface starch.

In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, garlic, onion powder, basil, thyme, oregano, salt, pinch of black pepper and coarse mustard. Add the beef broth and whisk well.

Put the potatoes into a roasting pan or large baking dish. Pour the dressing over the potatoes and use your hands to toss them until they are well coated. Sprinkle some paprika powder through a small sieve over the potatoes. If desired, sprinkle coarse salt on top of the potatoes for extra crunch.

Bake the potatoes for 25 minutes. Remove the baking dish from the oven after 25 minutes, flip the potatoes over and place them back in the oven for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, or until they are golden brown and fork tender. Garnish the potatoes with fresh parsley before serving.

Pumpkin Pie Muffins

Pumpkin may be an ingredient associated with fall but I love it too much not to use it other times of the year. I found this recipe for pumpkin pie muffins in Ellie Krieger's most recent book, The Food You Crave, which I picked up from my library today. The James Beard Foundation recently nominated this cookbook for an award in its "Healthy Focus" category so I was really excited to flip through. I discovered there are a ton of recipes I want to try so I'll probably be blogging about this book several more times before it's due back to the library.

These muffins are so simple to make. I threw them together in just a few minutes tonight while I was making dinner. They baked up with the cutest domed tops! I don't think I've ever made muffins that baked in quite this shape so I was excited :) Of course, I still needed to taste them because when I make anything with a "healthy" label I'm a bit skeptical. Fortunately, they were really good! They're tender and moist and though they definitely aren't as light as muffins made only with all-purpose flour, they aren't heavy and dense like some muffins made with whole-wheat flour can be. I'm sending these to work with Shane tomorrow but I suspect I'll be using the leftover pumpkin to make another half-batch to keep in my freezer!



Pumpkin Pie Muffins
from The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life, by Ellie Krieger

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-grain pastry flour or whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons unsulfured molasses
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup unsalted raw pumpkin seeds (I omitted)

Preheat oven to 400 F. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray (or use paper liners).

In a medium bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, pastry flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. In a large bowl, whisk brown sugar, molasses, oil and one of the eggs until combined. Add the other egg and whisk well. Whisk in the pumpkin and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the buttermilk, until just combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full, and sprinkle the tops with the pumpkin seeds if you are using them. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

Let cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes then run a knife around the muffins to loosen and unmold them. After cooling completely, the muffins can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Makes 12 muffins.

TWD: Cranberry Crumb Cake!

This week's TWD was chosen by Sihan of Befuddlement: blueberry crumb cake! I really, really wanted to make this cake with blueberries but (a) blueberries aren't in season here and weren't on sale and (b) I still have so many bags of cranberries in my freezer it just made sense to use the cranberries. When summer rolls around and blueberries are abundant, someone needs to remind me to make this cake again because I really want to try the blueberry version but I know I'll forget! That's one of the nice things about this cake: Dorie says that just about any berry will work so there are a lot of variations possible.

I had a few "firsts" with this cake. I received a BeaterBlade for my birthday and used it to make this cake. What a great invention - I loved it! It's not that scraping the sides of the bowl is really all that difficult or time consuming but I'm messy and I always seem to end up with batter all over my fingers when I scrape the bowl. The BeaterBlade also feeds my need to multitask - I can walk away from the mixer to do other things (like gather the rest of the ingredients for the recipe - someday I'll learn the importance of mise en place...). The other "first" I experienced with this recipe was grating my own nutmeg! I'd received some fresh nutmeg for Christmas and finally remembered to use it today. Yum, it smelled so delicious and was really fun.


Ok, back to the cake. I ignored Dorie's instructions to put the pan on a baking sheet before sitcking it in the oven. When I checked on the cake I started to question my decision not to use the sheet pan. This cake rose quite a bit! Luckily, it did not spill over into the oven. I had to bake the cake longer than Dorie suggested. The sides were definitely done earlier but the middle was stubborn. I let the cake cool and tried a piece as an afternoon snack today and can definitely say this is a good one! The streusel is crisp in contrast to the tender cake below. I found the cranberries were pretty tart, almost too tart in fact if I didn't get a piece of the sweet streusel in the same bite. I can't wait to try the blueberry version because I know it'll be amazing.

Great pick this week, Sihan - thanks! You can find the recipe on her blog, or better yet, get a copy of Dorie's book so you can try this and other recipes. You can also find out which variations our bakers tried this week by visiting TWD.

Lemon Cornmeal Cake with Lemon Glaze

We were quite busy this past weekend and one of the things we did was to head into Providence for the St Pat's 5k race. Shane and some of his coworkers ran in the race (they all did great!) and afterward we went back to their office to eat lunch and watch the parade. This lemon cornmeal cake was one of the desserts I shared. I threw it together at the last minute to use a lemon that had been sitting on my counter for a few days. It's a simple cake to make (read: no mixer, food processor, etc. required) and bakes up beautifully. The cake climbed all the way to the top of my pan so I wouldn't suggest using a pan with sides much lower than 2 inches. I tried a slice of cake after the race and enjoyed it. The cake was deliciously moist with great lemon flavor but the glaze wasn't my favorite. Next time I'd probably skip the glaze and pair the cake with a fruit sauce (Bon Appetit suggested blueberry sauce - yum!) That said, more than one of Shane's coworkers raved about this cake and no one else seemed bothered by the glaze at all!

Lemon Cornmeal Cake with Lemon Glaze
from Bon Appetit, April 2009 (as seen on Epicurious)

Glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons (or more) fresh lemon juice

Cake
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon lemon zest
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

To make the glaze: Combine powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons lemon juice in small bowl. Stir with spoon until smooth and paste-like, adding more lemon juice by 1/2 teaspoonfuls if glaze is too thick to spread. Set aside.

To make the cake: Preheat to 350 F. Butter a 9-inch cake pan with 2-inch-high sides; line bottom with parchment. Whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk buttermilk, eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Pour buttermilk mixture and melted butter into flour mixture. Using rubber spatula, gently fold liquids into flour mixture until just blended (do not stir). Scrape batter into pan; spread evenly.

Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean and cake pulls away from sides of pan, about 30 minutes.

Immediately run knife around sides of cake. Invert cake onto a cooling rack (carefully, since cake pan will be very hot). Turn the cake over again so it is right side up. Stir glaze until blended. While cake is still very hot, drop glaze by tablespoonfuls onto cake; spread to within 1/2 inch of edge (some glaze may drip down sides of cake). Cool completely.

Cinnamon-Raisin Oatmeal Scones

I'm one of those people who absolutely has to eat breakfast every day. In fact, breakfast is just about the first thing I think about when I wake up. I get bored easily, though, and hate to have the same thing all the time. I'm always looking for new recipes and, in particular, recipes that can be made ahead of time. This scone recipe caught my eye the other day and the best part about it is that you can either refrigerate the cut, unbaked scones for a day or freeze them for up to 1 month before baking them.

I've got a ton of breakfast options in my freezer right now so I made these for my father-in-law and his coworkers. I figured if they liked them I could make them for myself after I'd emptied my freezer a bit. I made the dough the night before, stuck them in the fridge right on the baking sheet and the next morning popped them in the oven so they'd have fresh from the oven scones to enjoy. I'm told there were other pastry options at the office that day but still these scones got a lot of attention. People said the flavor was awesome (kind of understated like a scone should be) and that the texture was great - held together well but not too hard or dry. With reviews like that, I'm definitely looking forward to trying them soon!

Cinnamon-Raisin Oatmeal Scones
from America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

1 1/2 cups rolled old-fashioned or quick oats
1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375 F. Spread oats on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Shake the pan occasionally while toasting to re-distribute the oats. Let cool on a wire rack; when the oats have cooled, measure out 2 tablespoons and reserve for dusting the work surface.

Increase oven temperature to 450 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the milk, cream and egg together in a large measuring cup. Measure out 1 tablespoon of this mixture and reserve for glazing the scones.

Measure the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together in a food processor and pulse 3 times to combine. Scatter the butter evenly over the top of the mixture and continue to pulse until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, 12 to 14 pulses. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and stir in both the cooled, toasted oats and the raisins. Fold in the milk mixture with a rubber spatula until the dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.

Dust the counter with half of the reserved oats. Turn the dough and any floury bits onto the counter and dust the top with the remaining oats. Pat the dough into a 7-inch round, about 1-inch thick. You may need to use a bit of flour in addition to the reserved oats in order to work with the dough. Cut the dough into 8 evenly sized wedges.


Place the wedges on the prepared baking sheet, brush with the reserved milk mixture and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Bake until the tops are golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes.

Black-Bottom Cupcakes

There's something about cupcakes that I really love. I think it's that they're so easy to eat. They're also cute, as compared to a layer cake which tends to be more elegant. I'm a bit lazy though when it comes to frosting cupcakes. That's one reason I thought I would love this cupcake recipe. No frosting required. Even better, the cupcakes combine chocolate and cheesecake and who doesn't like that?


The recipe does require some sifting and honestly, this was the trickiest part of these cupcakes for me. I've never tried to sift brown sugar before and it proved fairly difficult. I'd be curious to hear about others' experiences with sifting brown sugar. I'd also read that some people had trouble dolloping the cheesecake filling into the center of each cupcake. I thought the easiest way to do it would be to use a pastry bag so I stuck the filling into a Ziploc bag and piped it onto the cupcakes. That method worked well for me and I'd definitely use it again in the future.


I had high expectations for these cupcakes and they did not disappoint. I tried one before giving away the rest and boy am I glad I didn't have these sitting around the house to tempt me. They are fabulous! That sentiment was echoed by others who tried them as well. In fact, if I had more cream cheese in my fridge I'd be tempted to make them again this weekend!

Black-Bottom Cupcakes
from The Great Book of Chocolate, by David Lebovitz (as seen on Smitten Kitchen)

Filling
8 ounces cream cheese, regular or reduced fat, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
5 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white or cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make the filling: Beat together the cream cheese, granulated sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in the chopped chocolate pieces with a rubber spatula. Set aside.

To make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

In a medium bowl sift together the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl or a measuring cup, mix together the water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients, stirring until just smooth. Do not over mix the batter or you will end up with less-than-tender cupcakes.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Spoon a few tablespoons of the filling into the center of each cupcake, dividing the filling evenly. Alternatively, you can put the filling in a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped and pipe the filling onto the center of each cupcake. This will fill the cups almost completely, which is fine.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops are slightly golden brown and the cupcakes feel springy when gently pressed. These moist treats will keep well unrefrigerated for 2 to 3 days if stored in an airtight container.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Lemon Tea Bread

Sometimes I bake for no other reason than boredom. That was the case this past weekend when I made this lemon tea bread. I had some lemons sitting around and I wanted to use my mini loaf pans. This was the first recipe I came upon that fit both those requirements and so I made it!

I had a few issues but they were totally unrelated to the recipe itself. First, I was impatient and didn't let the oven preheat fully before sticking the mini loaves in the oven. I wound up turning the oven temperature up a bit and cooking them a little longer and they turned out ok (though they definitely weren't the cute little mini loaves I'd been hoping for). Then I discovered that I hadn't greased the pans well enough, losing several of the bottom corners of the bread when I turned the loaves out. Bottom line - the bread didn't look pretty, but it was really tasty! It had nice lemon flavor - not overwhelming but definitely distinct. The bread was light and I ate it for breakfast quite a few days. I kept it simple and didn't top it but it'd probably be equally as delicious with a glaze!

Lemon Tea Bread
from America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons grated fresh lemon zest
3 large eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease and flour an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch loaf pan (or 4 mini loaf pans).

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Put the lemon zest the sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer and rub the two together until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter to the bowl and combine the butter and sugar-lemon zest mixture on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until combined, about 30 seconds. Beat in the flour mixture, milk and lemon juice until just combined, about 20 seconds (do not overmix).

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan(s) and smooth the top(s). Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached. Total time will be about 65 to 75 minutes for an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch pan or about 35 minutes for 4 mini loaf pans.

Let the loaf/loaves cool in the pan(s) for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and let cool for 1 hour before serving.

American-Style Irish Soda Bread with Raisins and Caraway Seeds

Happy St Patrick's Day everyone! I've already posted a few festive desserts but yesterday I decided to throw together an Irish soda bread to celebrate as well. I've never made Irish soda bread so it was also a chance to try something new in the kitchen. This is not a yeast bread so it can be put together in relatively quick fashion with just a few ingredients.

Watching this bread bake was really interesting. The cross you cut into the bread before putting it into the oven allows the bread to expand attractively as it bakes. It was neat to watch the expansion and to see the way the dough rose to fill the gaps. When the bread is finished, it has a nice crisp exterior crust and a moist, dense interior. I learned when I tried the bread that I really dislike caraway seeds but otherwise, the flavor of the bread was great! I passed the rest of the bread along to my family and they raved about it as well.


American-Style Irish Soda Bread with Raisins and Caraway Seeds
from America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 large egg
1 cup raisins
1 tablespoon caraway seeds

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and preheat to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk the flours, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt together in a large bowl. Work the butter into the dry ingredients with a fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Combine the buttermilk and egg with a fork. Add the buttermilk-egg mixture, raisins and caraway seeds to the dry ingredients and stir with a fork just until the dough begins to come together. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead just until the dough becomes cohesive and bumpy, about 30 seconds.

Pat the dough into a 6-inch round about 2 inches thick, and lay on the prepared baking sheet. Using a serrated knife, cut a large 3/4-inch deep cross into the top of the loaf. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 40 to 45 minutes. The internal temperature of the bread should be 170 F.

Let the loaf cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour.

TWD: Layered and Round French Yogurt Cake!

This week's TWD was chosen by Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction: french yogurt cake with marmalade glaze! The french yogurt cake is a variation on a basic pound cake and is apparently very popular with home cooks in France (who typically never bake because there are so many wonderful patisseries close by). I was definitely excited about this week's recipe. We've had quite a few heavy recipes lately and I was looking forward to something a bit lighter.


For many of the recipes in her cookbook, Dorie provides suggestions for "playing around" - ideas to modify the recipe to accommodate different flavors or ingredients. I'm generally pretty boring and stick with the basic recipe but this week I decided to live on the edge a bit and mix things up :) I really liked her idea to turn the basic loaf cake into a layered and round cake. I used orange zest in place of lemon and skipped the ground almonds as well as the lemon marmalade (I couldn't find any!). I decided to add some strawberry preserves between the layers and I filled and frosted with Dorie's whipped cream.


I really enjoyed this cake! The orange zest gives the cake a wonderful citrus flavor. The cake is moist and has a dense crumb, but it's not heavy. I thought the orange flavor worked well with the strawberry preserves and the whipped cream so I was glad I went that route. I plan to make this again using lemon zest and lemon marmalade as soon as I find some - it was that good!


Thanks to Liliana for this week's selection! She'll post the recipe on her blog if you're interested (alternatively, you could purchase the book so you can try all of Dorie's recipes!). If you want to see all of this week's variations on the french yogurt cake, head over to the TWD blogroll!

Happy St Patty's Day: Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting

Though I made cookies last week, I still wanted to make one more treat to celebrate St Patty's Day. As I thought about possible recipes, I kept coming back to the chocolate whiskey and beer cupcakes I'd seen on Smitten Kitchen a few months ago. They're modeled after the Irish car bomb drink - a shot glass with a mix of Baileys Irish Cream and Jameson's Irish whiskey is dropped into a three-quarters full pint of Guinness and then chugged quickly! I knew Shane would love them and since he'd be bringing them to work, that was important. Plus, they just looked really fun and festive!

As a general rule, I think cupcakes are a lot of work. You have to make the cupcakes, let them cool, make the frosting and then ice and decorate the cupcakes. These cupcakes take things a step further because additionally, you have to cut out the centers of the cupcakes, make a ganache filling and then fill the cupcakes before you can frost them. All that said, I definitely think these unique cupcakes are worth all that effort! The cupcake recipe is delicious (so moist and such great chocolate flavor!) and I think even if you skipped the ganache filling and just did the frosting you'd still have an amazing treat.

Two quick notes about the frosting: The Baileys flavor is quite intense so I wouldn't recommend these to someone who is not a Baileys fan. Substitute milk or heavy cream for the Baileys if you still want to make them. The alcohol in the cupcakes and ganache filling is very mild in comparison. Second, the recipe didn't yield enough frosting for me to ice all of my cupcakes. Next time I'd definitely make one and a half times the amount of frosting.


Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting
from Smitten Kitchen

For the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes
1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
Ganache Filling
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (optional)
Baileys Frosting
3 to 4 cups confections sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 to 4 tablespoons Baileys (or milk, or heavy cream, or a combination thereof)

To make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 17 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.

To make the filling: Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. (If this has not sufficiently melted the chocolate, you can return it to a double-boiler to gently melt what remains. 20 seconds in the microwave, watching carefully, will also work.) Add the butter and whiskey (if you’re using it) and stir until combined.

To fill the cupcakes: Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped (the fridge will speed this along but you must stir it every 10 minutes). Meanwhile, using the cone method or a small circular cutter, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. A slim spoon or grapefruit knife will help you get the center out. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.



To make the frosting: Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.
When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Baileys (or milk) and whip it until combined. If this has made the frosting too thin (it shouldn’t, but just in case) beat in another spoonful or two of powdered sugar. Ice and decorate the cupcakes as desired.

Makes 20 to 24 cupcakes.

The Easiest Lunch

I watch a lot of cooking shows and this is yet another recipe I saw on Everyday Italian recently. This dish comes together quickly and easily, but the real reason I say it is "the easiest lunch" is because I make the whole recipe and the leftovers are my lunch for the next 4 or 5 days! I don't generally enjoy reheated pasta but I find that this reheats surprisingly well. There are peas in the original recipe and I'm not a fan so I omit them, but they definitely add some much needed color to this dish if you're so inclined!

Oh, and yes, those clumps of cheese on top are Kraft parmesan cheese - the powdery cheese in the green container. I unapologetically love Kraft parmesan cheese on top of my pasta. I'll used fancy parmesan cheese in recipes (this one included) but to garnish I like my kraft. Feel free to use whatever makes you happy :)

Pasta with Tomato and Peas
from FoodNetwork.com, Giada De Laurentiis

1 pound linguine (I used spaghetti)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 shallots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 carrot, diced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
5 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed (I omitted)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup grated Romano

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving 2 cups of the pasta water.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic, carrots, salt, and pepper. Cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato paste and 1/2 cup of the hot pasta water. Stir to melt the tomato paste and create a sauce, adding more pasta water if necessary. Stir in the oregano, thyme, and parsley. Gently fold in the cooked pasta, peas, and the cheeses, adding more reserved pasta water if necessary. Transfer to a platter and serve immediately.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

It was my friend's birthday yesterday and I wanted to bake her something, but wasn't sure what I should make. Luckily, just a few days ago she mentioned in passing that she wanted lemon poppy seed muffins. Problem solved! Well, not exactly. I don't like poppy seeds and I've never made lemon poppy seed muffins so I didn't have a go-to recipe. I started browsing my cookbooks and found that Dorie had a recipe for lemon poppy seed muffins. Dorie and I haven't been seeing eye to eye on the past few TWD recipes, but overall she rarely disappoints so I decided to give the muffin recipe a shot.

I'm not a huge fan of lemon-flavored desserts, but I do love the smell of lemon zest so I loved that the first step in this recipe is to infuse the sugar with the lemon zest. It smelled so good! I was a bit worried as the batter came together because it was fairly thick but the muffins seemed to bake up without a problem. Confectioners' sugar and lemon juice is one of my favorite icings (it's so simple!) so I was glad Dorie topped the muffins that way. The muffins were well received by both my friend and my mom. I was told they were moist and quite sweet. I really want to make these again and omit the poppy seeds so I can try them myself!


Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
from Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

2/3 cup sugar
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Icing
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 400 F. Spray your muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray or line the cups with paper liners. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of lemon strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and melted butter together until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to combine. Do not overmix the batter - a few lumps are ok. Stir in the poppy seeds. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold. Cool completely on the rack before icing.

To Make the Icing: Put the confectioners' sugar in a small bowl and add about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the lemon juice. Stir with a spoon to moisten the sugar, then add enough additional lemon juice, a dribble at a time, to get an icing that is thin enough to drizzle from the tip of the spoon. Drizzle lines of icing over the tops of the muffins.

Makes 12 muffins.

Shamrock Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

St Patrick's Day is quickly approaching and I got into the holiday spirit last weekend! I've wanted to really take the time to learn to use royal icing for a while and since Shane was out of town, I thought this would be a great weekend to do it. I made a trip to Michael's and purchased some gel food coloring, disposable decorating bags and a cute shamrock cookie cutter and got to work.

I tried a new sugar cookie recipe for a change though I still highly recommend the other sugar cookie recipe I've used in the past. These cookies were just as delicious but the almond flavor is not quite as strong. The dough was easy to work with as well. The real challenge came when I started working with the royal icing. I referenced tips and hints from a few other food bloggers and found that those really helped. That said, I also think working with royal icing is simply something that you need to practice in order to get better. I struggled some with achieving the appropriate consistency but I'm confident that next time I use royal icing I'll fare better. I can't wait to try again soon because you can create such gorgeous cookies with royal icing once you are comfortable working with it! I thought these cookies came out pretty good for a first attempt and they were really yummy.


Shamrock Sugar Cookies
from A Year in the Kitchen

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tbsp lemon zest
5 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cream butter and sugars in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed for 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add vanilla, almond, and lemon zest and mix to combine. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into the mixer a little at a time. Be sure not to over mix the dough during this step.

Chill dough for up to a week in the fridge, or roll out and cut cookie shapes right away. Bake cookies for 7-8 minutes or until slightly golden on the bottom. The cookies should not take on a lot of color. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool completely before icing.

Royal Icing
from Annie's Eats and The Hyper Homemaker

4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp meringue powder
5 tbsp water

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the sheen has disappeared and the icing has a matte appearance (about 7-10 minutes). Transfer the contents of the mixing bowl to an air-tight container. The icing will be fairly stiff and you will need to thin it out a bit before you begin decorating. Add water a very small amount at a time and stir by hand until fully incorporated. Continue until the icing has reached a consistency appropriate for piping. It takes some practice to determine the "appropriate" consistency for piping but if you have any trouble with stiffness, add a bit more water. Using a pastry bag (disposables work great for this purpose), pipe around the edges of each cookie. Let stand so the icing will set. Be sure to keep the leftover icing covered at all times when not in use so that it does not begin to harden.

Once all the cookies have been edged, transfer some of the remaining icing to a separate air-tight container. Thin out by incorporating a small amount of water at a time, until the icing drips off the spoon easily when lifted and then smooths in with that still in the bowl. If you go too far and the icing is too thin, add more sifted powdered sugar to thicken it again. Once the icing has reached the desired consistency, transfer it to a pastry bag, and flood the area surrounded by the piping on each cookie. If the icing does not completely spread to the edges, use a toothpick to help it along. Allow to set.

If you want to color the icing, gel coloring is great as it does not add a significant amount of liquid. To color the icing, use a toothpick, swirl it in your gel coloring and pull out some coloring. Place the toothpick end into the icing and swirl to incorporate the color into the icing. Using a spoon, mix the icing until the color is fully incorporated. If you need more color in your icing, use a new toothpick to repeat the process so you don't contaminate the gel coloring.

TWD: Espresso-Cinnamon Cup Custard!

This week's TWD was chosen by Bridget of The Way the Cookie Crumbles: lemon cup custard! I have to pat myself on the back just a little this week. I think this is the first TWD recipe in about 2 months that I haven't waited until the absolute last minute to make. Not surprisingly, the process is a lot less stressful when I'm not rushing to get my post up late in the day on Tuesday!



When I checked out this week's recipe, there were a few reasons I was pleased to see that Dorie provided suggestions for playing around with the flavor of the custard. First, I didn't have lemons on hand and didn't want to run out for them. Perhaps more importantly though, when I visited the TWD site to gauge the the group's early thoughts on this recipe, the reviews were not favorable. There were a lot of comments about how "eggy" the dessert was, and even Dorie herself chimed in to let us know that the custard was supposed to be eggy. I'm not a custard/flan person to begin with and all these reviews of an eggy dessert made me wary.

So I decided to go with the espresso-cinnamon variation in the hopes it would make the egginess less pronounced. It's a simple recipe and came together without a problem. I refrigerated it overnight and the next morning I took a bite. I have to say that the espresso-cinnamon flavor combination was amazing! The two work together beautifully and made the custard so fragrant! That said, the texture was not pleasant. I'm not sure how best to describe it but it wasn't for me. If I made this again I'd have to figure out something crunchy or something with a bite to add.



Many thanks to Bridget for her selection this week! This is definitely not a recipe I'd have made were I not a part of this group and that's what this is all about. Head over to her blog for the recipe and check out the TWD blogroll to get a glimpse at the many flavor varieties this week!

Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin (Revisited)

I have a really awful memory. Can't remember what I had for lunch yesterday bad. So, my blog actually comes in quite handy to remind me of the recipes I've tried because there's no way I'd be able to remember them all. I found this recipe for teriyaki pork tenderloin the other day when I was looking for a last minute dinner. I wrote this post tonight and got ready to submit it only to discover that I'd already made and posted this recipe about a year ago. Initially I was going to delete it and post about another recipe but I changed my mind. I made some changes to the recipe this time, primarily searing the pork in my cast iron skillet before baking it in the oven, and it's such a quick and easy weeknight recipe that I figured some of my readers who weren't around last year might appreciate the post.

It was a last minute decision to make this recipe so I only had time to marinate the pork for about 5 hours before dinner. Still, the teriyaki flavor shone through. I love that the skillet does double duty - first browning the meat on top of the stove and then baking it in the oven. One additional note: I actually took the pork out of the oven at about 150 F and as the pork rested its temperature rose to about 155-158 F. I find people have a lot of different opinions on what the final temperature of pork tenderloin should be (the FDA says 160 F for medium or 170 F for well done) so whatever makes you comfortable!



Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin
adapted from AllRecipes.com

5 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon for pan
2 garlic cloves, minced (I used dried minced garlic)
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1-1.5 lb pork tenderloin

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the first six ingredients; add pork. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. (I only marinated the pork for about 5 hours.)

Preheat oven to 400 F. Heat one tablespoon olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, remove the pork from the marinade and add it to the pan. Brown the pork on all sides. Place the skillet in the preheated oven and bake to an internal temperature of 160 F. (The extra marinade can be used to baste the pork as it cooks. I basted twice while the pork was in the oven.) Once the pork finishes baking, remove from the skillet and let rest for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Another Pizza Crust

We love pizza but we rarely order out, especially lately in this economy. We've been trying to eat at home as much as possible to save money. Plus, I love how much latitude it gives us to top the pizza exactly the way we want. We can put as much or as little sauce and cheese as we're in the mood for and can each have the toppings we like (me: veggies, Shane: meat). Anyway, we have a go-to pizza crust recipe which I've posted about before. That recipe never fails but, for a number of reasons, when I saw this recipe on Annie's blog, I wanted to give it a shot. The pan pizza recipe essentially fries the bottom of the crust to get it really crispy and delicious and while I love it, I'm not sure it's the healthiest thing to be eating. I was really excited when this recipe came out so beautifully! It was an easy dough to work with and when baked, is perfectly crisp on the outside with a chewy interior! I think I may like it even more than the pan pizza and that's saying a lot. With these two recipes in my arsenal, I don't have any desire to order out for pizza anymore!



Pizza Crust
from Baking Illustrated, by Cook's Illustrated Magazine Editors

1/2 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
1 envelope (about 2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast
1 1/4 cups water, at room temperature
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups (22 ounces) bread flour, plus more for dusting work surface and hands
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
olive oil or nonstick cooking spray for oiling the bowl

Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes. Add the room-temperature water and oil and stir to combine.

Process the flour and salt in a large food processor, pulsing to combine. Continue pulsing while pouring the liquid ingredients (holding back a few tablespoons) through the feed tube. If the dough does not readily form into a ball, add the remaining liquid and continue to pulse until a ball forms. Process until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 30 seconds longer.

The dough will be a bit tacky, so use a rubber spatula to turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead by hand for a few strokes to form a smooth, round ball. Put the dough into a deep oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Press the dough to deflate it.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Use a chef's knife or dough scraper to divide the dough into 3 pieces. (At this point, if you are only making one pizza, you can put the extra pieces of dough in separate airtight containers and freeze them for up to several weeks.) Form each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball and cover it with a damp cloth. Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no more than 30 minutes.

Working with one piece of dough at a time and keeping the others covered, shape the dough. To do so, first flatten the dough into a disk using the palms of your hands. Next, starting at the center of the disk and working outward, use your fingertips to press the dough until it is about 1/2 inch thick. Holding the center in place, stretch the dough outward. Rotate the dough a quarter turn and stretch again. Repeat until the dough reaches a diameter of 12 inches. Finally, use your palms to press down and flatten the thick outer edge of the dough.

Top the pizza as desired and bake fully. Depending on your oven, the type of stone or other baking surface, and the amount of topping, the pizza may be done in as little as 6 minutes or may take as long as 12 minutes. The pizza should be pulled from the oven when the edge of the crust is golden brown and the toppings are sizzling. I used a pizza stone in a 500 degree oven (the stone sat in the oven while it preheated for about 30 minutes) and baked the pizza for about 10 minutes.

Pizza Dough Kneaded by Hand
Follow the recipe for Pizza Dough through step 1. Omit step 2 and instead combine the salt and half the flour in a deep bowl. Add the liquid ingredients and use a wooden spoon to combine. Add the remaining flour, stirring until a cohesive mass forms. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic 7 to 8 minutes, using as little dusting flour as possible while kneading. Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and proceed with the recipe.

Pizza Dough Kneaded in a Standing Mixer
Follow the recipe for Pizza Dough through step 1. Omit step 2 and instead place the flour and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle. Briefly combine the dry ingredients at low speed. Slowly add the liquid ingredients and continue to mix at low speed until a cohesive mass forms. Stop the mixer and replace the paddle with the dough hook. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and proceed with the recipe.

Makes enough for 3 medium pizzas.

Mozzarella Pillows

I recently saw Giada make these on Everyday Italian and thought they would be fun to serve when we had people over last weekend. I also had some store-bought pie crusts in the freezer (that were about to move beyond their freshness date) so I was happy to use them. The process to make these is a bit tedious with rolling out the dough, measuring it and cutting the rectangles, but once you get the hang of it, it goes fairly quickly. Once the rectangles are prepped, it's as simple as filling them and sealing them up. I was really excited to use my pastry wheel to cut the edges of the dough into a pretty, fluted shape!

I served these warm but I think Giada served them at room temperature so that'd probably be fine as well. I really liked the filling on the tarts, but, surprisingly, I wasn't crazy about the dough here. For the record, I love store-bought pie crusts so the dough wasn't the problem so much as its use in this application. I think the ratio of dough to filling was too high for me. I'd probably make these again but maybe with a lighter dough....I'll have to think about it!

Mozzarella Pillows
from FoodNetwork.com, Giada De Laurentiis

1 (26 oz) jar marinara sauce (about 3 cups)
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
2 slices prosciutto, finely chopped
4 store-bought 9-inch pie crusts
2 eggs, beaten, for egg wash
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place the marinara sauce in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook until reduced to a thick, jam-like consistency, about 30 minutes. There should be 1 1/2 to 2 cups of reduced sauce. Let the sauce cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Stir in the mozzarella cheese and prosciutto.

Meanwhile, place 1 piece of dough on a work surface. Roll the dough out gently until you can cut an 8 1/2 by 9 1/2-inch rectangle. Press the scraps into a small rectangle and roll it out to the same thickness as the other rectangle. Cut 3 rectangles from the large rectangle and 1 rectangle from the small rectangle. Each should measure 8 1/2 by 3 inches. Continue rolling and cutting the remaining pie dough.

To form the tarts, place the rectangles on a work surface. Brush each rectangle with egg wash. Place a large spoonful of the marinara mixture in the middle of the bottom half of the rectangle. Fold the dough in half over the marinara mixture to make a 3 by 4-inch rectangle. Press the edges to seal. Using a scalloped ravioli cutter, trim the rectangles to make a decorative edge. Place the tarts on the baking sheets. Brush with egg wash and generously sprinkle with cheese. Bake until golden, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Makes 16 tarts.

TWD: Chocolate Armagnac Cake!

This week's TWD was chosen by Lyb of And then I do the dishes: chocolate armagnac cake! When I've flipped through the book, this cake has always caught my eye but more for the backstory than the recipe itself. Dorie affectionately refers to this cake as the cake that got her fired. At her first job in a professional kitchen, she got bored with making the same old cake everyday (chocolate whiskey-raisin cakes) so she decided to substitute prunes soaked in Armagnac for the whisky raisins. Needless to say, the owner fired her....a move I'm sure she regrets now :)



I decided to scale the recipe down and make the cake in my 4 inch springform pan. We've had so many sweets around here lately between Valentine's Day candy and my birthday that I couldn't imagine another full-sized chocolate cake in the house! The recipe for this cake is fairly simple, though it does make a ton of dirty dishes! It actually reminded me of making brownies, but with a few extra steps. I went with the original recipe (raisins soaked in scotch) for my cake, but more because it's what I had on hand and not because I was opposed to using prunes.



We tried the cake after dinner tonight and I really expected to like it. I mean, what's not to like about chocolate cake? Unfortunately, Dorie and I just haven't been on the same page these past few weeks. I didn't love this cake. It was just ok for me. It was a bit too rich and I really didn't like the glaze. I think I'll just have to stick with brownies instead!

Many thanks to Lyb for her choice this week. You can find the recipe for the cake on her blog and, as always, you can see how the rest of the TWD bakers' cakes turned out by checking out the TWD blogroll!