Cranberry-Honey Spice Pinwheel Cookies

Apologies to my SMS friends, especially our host this week - Jennifer of Maple N' Cornbread, who selected butterscotch pudding.  I learned we aren't fans of butterscotch pudding when I made it for Tuesdays with Dorie and I didn't want to have to throw it away again.  I'll be back next week for sure but in the meantime you can stop by the SMS blogroll to see how everyone else fared with the pudding. 



I still wanted to share something today, though, and I decided on these wonderful cookies I made to ship to my Secret Baker recipient this month.  We select a theme each month, and for January it was healthy treats, which we figured everyone would be more than ready for after the holidays.  I went a bit overboard on buying cranberries this year so I had plenty in my freezer and knew I wanted to include them in what I made.  I came upon these cookies on EatingWell.com and decided to make them almost immediately! 



You start by making the filling for the cookies, which includes both fresh and dried cranberries - tart and colorful, honey - sweet and floral, and orange zest, cinnamon and cardamom - wonderfully spicy and fragrant.  The smell of the filling as it cooked on the stove was easily one of my favorite scents ever.  I'd gladly buy it if someone were to bottle it or turn it into a candle!  After it cooks, you puree the mixture and the next time I make these I'll be sure to puree mine a bit more than I did this time.  I still had small bits of cranberries which made cutting the dough difficult and caused the cookies to look a bit messy after they were baked.



The cookie dough comes together easily and after a brief chill, you roll it out, spread it with the cranberry filling and roll the dough around the filling.  The key to this whole process is keeping the dough cold as it will get more sticky and soft as it warms.  The recipe suggests enclosing the wrapped rolls of cookie dough in the cardboard tubes from paper towel rolls before freezing them in order to ensure uniformly round cookies.  I tried it, but still struggled with achieving round cookies.  The dough got warm very quickly so in conjunction with pureeing the filling more next time, I'd also pop the dough into the freezer more often to keep it cold as I cut it.  I think those two changes would lead to better results in terms of appearance of the cookies.



As for the taste, I think my Secret Baker recipient, Margot, described them best when she told me they were "curiously addictive."  I agree completely!  They're sweet and spicy, tender and chewy, and all too easy to pop into your mouth one after the other!  The recipe is a bit time consuming, but it makes a ton of cookies and since the rolls of dough can sit in the freezer, you can make them ahead of time and just slice and bake the cookies as you need them.  They'd be wonderful around the holidays but I won't limit myself to those few months, especially since I've still got plenty of cranberries in my freezer!

Cranberry-Honey Spice Pinwheel Cookies
from EatingWell.com

Filling
1 1/2 cups sweetened dried cranberries
1 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen, thawed
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (allspice can be substituted for the cardamom)

Dough
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (allspice can be substituted for the cardamom)
 1/3 cup canola oil
3 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup honey
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons low-fat milk, plus more as needed
2 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

To make the filling: Combine the dried and fresh cranberries, honey, orange zest, cinnamon and cardamom (or allspice) in a medium nonreactive saucepan (aluminum and cast iron are examples of reactive saucepans - if you use them here they may impart off color and/or off flavor to the filling) over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil and cook, stirring, until the fresh cranberries burst and soften, 4 to 5 minutes. Let the mixture cool slightly then transfer to a food processor and puree.  You can add up to 2 teaspoons of water to the mixture if it seems dry.  Cover and refrigerate the filling until you are ready to use it.  It can be made up to 2 days ahead of time.

To make the dough: Whisk the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and cardamom (or allspice) in a large bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the oil, butter, sugar, honey, eggs, milk, orange zest, vanilla and almond extracts. Beat first on low speed, then on medium speed, until well combined. Add the dry ingredients, in 2 additions, and beat on low speed until just incorporated.  You can add up to 1 tablespoon of milk to the dough if it is too dry to hold together.  (I didn't find I needed any extra milk for my dough.)  Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for 30 to 45 minutes to reduce its stickiness.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide it in half. Shape each half into a 6-inch-long log. Working with one log at a time, center it on a 16-inch-long sheet of parchment or wax paper.  Cover with a second sheet of parchment or wax paper.  Press and then roll into a 12-by-15-inch rectangle of even thickness, inverting the dough occasionally to roll out any wrinkles and patching it to make the sides as even as possible. Transfer the dough, still in the paper, to a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining log of dough and transfer to the baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the freezer until the rectangles of dough are slightly firm, about 15-20 minutes.

To shape the cookies: Place one rectangle of dough on a work surface. Peel off the top sheet of parchment or wax paper.  Spread half of the reserved cranberry filling evenly over the dough - it will be a thin layer of filling.  Starting with a long end facing you, tightly roll the dough around the filling, leaving the bottom sheet of parchment or wax paper behind.  Wrap the roll in a clean sheet of wax paper, twisting the ends to prevent unrolling.  Place the roll on a baking sheet. Repeat with the second rectangle of dough and place on the baking sheet.  Freeze until firm, at least 3 to 4 hours, and up to 2 months.

To bake the cookies: Position racks in the upper third and center of the oven; preheat to 350 F.  Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with one pinwheel roll at a time, trim the uneven ends. Cut the roll crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices using a large serrated knife; periodically turning the roll to maintain a relatively round cookie shape. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1/2 inch apart. Bake the cookies until puffed and barely golden brown, 12 to 16 minutes, rotating the pans back to front and top to middle halfway through baking. Immediately transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Cut and bake the remaining pinwheel roll, if desired.

The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for a week or frozen for up to 1 month.

King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Brownies

Happy Friday!  I was thinking we should celebrate the end of another week with brownies, but not just any brownies -  these are whole grain brownies!  The folks at King Arthur Flour piqued my interest in this recipe when they tweeted about it many months ago but I only recently got around to giving it a shot.  I'm not above trying to make my baked goods just a tad bit healthier (see exhibit 1) and I was hopeful that these brownies might satisfy my chocolate craving and also make me feel good about incorporating more whole grains into my diet, even if they were part of the dessert course.



In the world of brownies there are those on the fudgy side and those on the cakey side.  My personal preference, and I think I may be in the minority on this one, is for cakey brownies, and not the gooey fudgy ones.  So, I was excited when I tried my first bite and discovered that these brownies were definitely more on the cakey side.  They're very good - lots of rich chocolate flavor and a texture that didn't immediately scream "there are whole grains hiding in here" to me.  Generally, I've found that I can use white whole wheat flour in my baking with good results and these brownies were no exception.  I sent these to Margot of Effort to Deliciousness as part of her Secret Baker package and she let me know that she enjoyed them too!  I'll definitely make these again - maybe next time with mint chips instead of chocolate chips - yum! 

I've shared the recipe below but King Arthur Flour also has a blog post about these brownies which can be found here.

Whole Grain Brownies
from King Arthur Flour

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups light brown sugar
3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Spray a 13 x 9-inch pan with cooking spray and, if desired, line the pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil leaving an overhang on opposing sides for easy removal after baking.  I like to spray the aluminum foil with cooking spray too just to make sure the brownies release.  

Add the butter to a saucepan set over low heat and melt it.  Remove the pan from the heat, add the brown sugar and stir to combine.  Return the pan to the heat (still on low) until the butter/sugar mixture is hot (about 110 F to 120 F) but not bubbling.  If the mixture separates, stir briefly to recombine.

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl then add the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder and vanilla.  Add the eggs one at a time, stirring to incorporate after each addition.  Finally, add the flour and chocolate chips and mix to combine.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan.  Bake for 28-30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center reveals wet crumbs, but not raw batter, and the edges are set.  Move the pan to a cooling rack to cool completely. 

Once cool, cover and let sit overnight before cutting.  This rest allows the bran to absorb moisture and soften, leading to both better flavor and texture.

Homemade Croissants - Step by Step Instructions w/Photos So You Can Do it Too!

Homemade croissants - the sort of treat I never would have envisioned making in my kitchen a few years ago but now I can say I've done it!!  And oddly, now that I've made them, I find myself wondering why I didn't do it sooner.  These croissants are perfection - buttery, flaky, just a bit crisp on the outside but yielding to a wonderfully soft interior.  The only thing that could improve them would be chocolate and that is next up on the list! 



I actually made these last week while house sitting for my in-laws because they have lots of wonderful, uncluttered, usable counter space.  My kitchen is fairly large, but doesn't have much counter space, so a project like this would be a bit challenging (especially since I don't always work neatly).  This recipe is long and there are a lot of steps, but I promise it's really not very difficult if you take your time and read the instructions carefully.  The end result is SO worth the effort.  I've never made a laminated dough before so I have no basis for comparison, but this dough was wonderful to work with - very silky and smooth and it rolled out beautifully.  The only thing I found challenging about the recipe was trying to pound 3 and a half sticks of butter into an 8-inch square.  Eventually, it did cooperate somewhat (you'll see in the pictures that my square is far from perfect) - I found that once I got going and the butter became malleable it got easier, so don't be too frustrated if it seems impossible at first.



The recipe in the book included many wonderful photos, which really helped me along the way.  I tend to doubt myself when I try something this intimidating for the first time and I found the photos reassuring.  In an effort to help anyone else who might want to try making croissants at home, I tried to take lots of process photos, which I don't normally do.  Many of the photos were taken at night and styling wasn't a concern so much as keeping flour and butter out of my camera but hopefully they'll help clear up any written instructions which are confusing.  I've also included my notes in green where applicable.  By no means am I an expert, but if you want to attempt the recipe and still have questions after reading this post, feel free to ask away in the comments or email me at traceysculinaryadventures@gmail.com and I'll do my best to help!



Croissant Dough
from Baking, by James Peterson

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup barely warm water
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups cold unsalted butter (3 1/2 sticks)

In a medium bowl, mix 1 cup of the flour with the water and yeast just until the lumps of flour are broken up.  Set the bowl aside and let rise for 1 hour.  (I couldn't see a noticeable rise in mine after an hour but there were bubbles all over the surface.)

Add the remaining flour, the cream and salt and knead the mixture for 1 minute.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 20 minutes.

Knead the mixture by hand for 10 minutes or in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook (on low speed) for about 20 minutes.  The dough should be smooth and elastic by the time you finish kneading.  (I kneaded mine with the mixer and it was a breeze.  I did give the mixer a brief 2 minute rest after 10 minutes out of an abundance of caution to make sure it didn't overheat, but the motor never got very warm so it probably wasn't necessary.  The dough is silky and smooth and just gorgeous after it's been kneaded.)  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Place the butter between two sheets of plastic wrap and using a rolling pin, pound the butter into an 8-inch square.  


Remove the dough from the refrigerator and on a lightly floured surface, roll it into a 9 x 17-inch rectangle.  Place the square of butter on the bottom half of the rectangle.  You can use your hands to align the dough and the sides of the butter square.


Fold the top half of the rectangle of dough down over the bottom half so the square of butter is now enclosed.  Press together the edges of the square to seal in the butter.  Use your hands to even out the square.  (You can see my butter peeking out here if you look closely on the side - I hadn't yet sealed it in.)


Gently pound the square with a rolling pin to stretch the dough and the butter in it.  Roll the dough into a 9 x 18-inch rectangle.  Next, you want to fold the rectangle into thirds like a letter - start with a narrow end facing you.  I began by folding the bottom third up.


Then folded the top third down...  You've now completed one "turn!"


Turn the dough so the single fold (like the spine of a book) is on your left. 


You're now ready to start the second turn.  Repeat the process shown above of rolling the dough into a 9 x 18-inch rectangle, then folding the rectangle into thirds by bringing the bottom up and the top down over it.  Use your fingers to make two imprints on the dough to keep track of the fact that you've completed two turns.


Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  Once the dough has been refrigerated, remove it and complete two more "turns" - for a total of four turns in all.  At this point, the dough is ready to be rolled out and used.  Alternatively, you can wrap in plastic and refrigerate it for up to 24 hours before you shape and proof (in fact, the recipe notes that 12-24 hours in the fridge before proofing improves the flavor of the dough).

Before you begin to shape the dough, line two large baking sheets with parchment.  Also, make sure you have a ruler handy.  Cut the dough in half.  (I took a photo of the dough at this point because I was amazed by all of the layers you could see!)


On a lightly floured surface, roll each half of the dough into a 6 1/2 x 20-inch rectangle.  (You can trim the edges of the dough if they're ragged or really uneven.)  The dough will be about 1/8 - 1/4-inch thick and look something like this:


Transfer each large rectangle onto one of the prepared baking sheets and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.  You want the dough firm, but not brittle.

When the first rectangle is ready to work with, transfer it back to your work surface with one of the long ends facing you.  The next step is to cut the triangles from the dough that will be formed into individual croissants.  Starting on the left side of the bottom edge of the rectangle, measure 5 inches from the end and make a tiny notch to mark the base of the first triangle.  Measure another 5 inches from that notch and make a second notch to mark the base of the second triangle.  Finally, repeat one more time - measure another 5 inches and make a notch.  You should now have marked off four 5-inch sections.  (Sorry, looks like I didn't get a picture until I had cut the triangles.  I actually think it might be easier to skip ahead and look at that photo to get an idea of the finished product before you read through the next two paragraphs.  It sounds a lot more difficult than it is and knowing what the end result looks like gives the written instructions context.)

Turn the rectangle 180 degrees so the opposite long side (the one that hasn't been notched) is facing you.  Starting on the left side, make a notch 2 1/2 inches from the end.  Measure 5 inches from the first notch and make a second notch.  Measure another 5 inches from the second notch, make a third notch and finally, measure 5 inches from the third notch and make your final notch.  This second side of the triangle should now be marked into 5 sections - the 2 sections at the ends will each be 2 1/2 long and the ones in the middle 5 inches long.

You're ready to cut the triangles which will form the croissants now.  Leave the rectangle as is - so the second side you notched is closest to you.  The notches on the far side are for the bases of the triangles and the notches on the near side form the tips of the triangles.  Use a large knife to cut the triangles by connecting the notches on the near and far sides.  You should end up with 6 full triangles, each 5 by 6 1/2-inches, as well as some trimmings on the ends.  I took this photo just after I'd cut the triangles.  (I followed the process exactly as outlined above so you can work backward from this photo if you're at all confused.  )


Repeat the process above with your second rectangle so you have a total of 12 triangles.  Make a small slit in the base of the center of each triangle.


Begin to roll the triangles to form the croissants by curling the two sides of the triangle on each side of the slit away from each other.  You want to roll tightly.


Using both hands, continue to roll the base of the triangle - one hand working with the dough on each side of the slit.  Point your hands away from each other - at about 45 degree angles from center - as you roll.  Rolling in this manner will help make the classic croissant shape.  (If I'd had a second person, I'd have taken a shot with my hands actually on the dough but I think you get the idea.)


Roll each triangle so the tip is underneath and then bend the 2 ends toward each other to form a shape like a little crab.  Hopefully you can see 3 distinct layers as the dough curls to form the croissant.  Arrange the croissants on a sheet pan and cover them with plastic wrap to proof.


You have several options for proofing: overnight in the fridge, ~3 hours in a cool place or ~1 hour in a warm place.  The book indicates that overnight proofing is best because the croissants develop more flavor thanks to the slow rising time.  (I proofed mine overnight in the fridge and then took them out in the morning  and let them sit at room temperature for a few hours before baking.) 


(I didn't notice a huge difference in the size of my croissants after they'd proofed.  They looked slightly more puffy so I baked them and luckily it all worked out.  If you compare the photos directly above and below this paragraph to the one showing the croissants from the night before you may be able to discern a slight difference in size too.)


Preheat the oven to 375 F.  Adjust your oven racks so one is in the top third and one is in the bottom third of the oven.  Combine 1 egg with a splash of cream to form an egg wash and brush the proofed croissants.  Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the croissants are puffed and golden brown.  Remove them to a wire rack to cool to room temperature before serving.

TWD: Cocoa-Nana Muffins

This week's TWD was chosen by Steph at Obsessed with Baking: cocoa-nana bread!  This one caused quite a stir over on the P&Q's at the TWD site (apparently people don't like bananas and chocolate together) and there were a number of unfavorable reviews being shared on Twitter as well.  The recipe was quick to whip up, though, and I had all the ingredients on hand, so it was an easy decision to give it a try.



The recipe calls for baking this bread in a loaf pan, but for two main reasons I didn't go in that direction.  First, quick breads take a long time to bake - this one was between 70 and 75 minutes - and I'm impatient.  Also, I really wanted to halve the recipe and didn't want to make mini loafs.  Instead, I made muffins, which would be really easy to share with my neighbor.  A half recipe yielded 10 muffins and mine baked in about 20 minutes.  I wish Dorie had provided a more specific measurement for the bananas (the recipe calls for "2 ripe bananas") because I think they're important to the moistness of the end result.  My bananas were on the small side, so even though I halved the recipe I still used 2 bananas. 



I was expecting the worst, but I actually liked these muffins!  They had a lot of chocolate flavor, especially with the addition of the chocolate chips, while the banana flavor was quite subtle.  The crumb was tight and the muffins were dense, but not dry.  I probably won't be rushing to make these again but they do make for an occasional treat and anything that helps you justify eating chocolate for breakfast is ok in my book! 

Thanks to Steph for hosting this week's selection!  You can find the recipe on her blog and if you'd like to check out the other posts this week, you can visit the TWD blogroll.

SMS: Black Bottom Brownies

This week's SMS recipe was selected by Cynthia of Bakingtherapist: black bottom brownies!  I'd made some black and white cheesecake bars back in November and really enjoyed the chocolate and cheesecake combination then so I was curious to see how these would compare. 



This was one week where procrastination seemed to worked in my favor.  Many of the early reviews on these brownies were mixed and I was fortunate to receive some tips from Leslie over at Lethally Delicious about how she'd improve the brownies if she were to make them again.  When I finally set out to make the recipe this morning, I incorporated Leslie's suggestions.  Specifically, I moved the chocolate chips to the brownie layer instead of scattering them on top of the cheesecake (which had sounded very strange to me the first time I read through this recipe) and I added lemon zest to the cheesecake layer.  I didn't measure how much lemon zest I used but it was probably close to 1 teaspoon - I used my fingers to rub the zest into the sugar to perfume it before proceeding with that part of the recipe.  I scaled this recipe back, making just 1/4, and baking it in a loaf pan.  The baking time for my scaled down recipe was about 50 minutes.



After letting the brownies cool, I trimmed the edges (which were a bit ragged) and cut them into squares.  My 1/4 recipe yielded 8 brownies.  I didn't sample a full brownie but I did eat the edges that I'd cut off and I enjoyed them.  I definitely prefer the bars I made in November, but these were tasty too.  I liked the chocolate chips in the brownie layer - they added texture and gave the brownies more chocolate flavor.  The brownies overwhelmed the flavor of the cheesecake layer in my opinion but I did appreciate the creamy texture the cheesecake added to the mix.  Many thanks to Cynthia for hosting this week!  You can find the recipe on her blog.

Lemon Icebox Pie

Happy National Pie Day everyone!  It's pretty rare that I'm aware of these food holidays and actually have something relevant to post, but luck was on my side this time.  I saw a tweet from King Arthur Flour yesterday alerting me that January 23 was National Pie Day and coincidentally I'd already made this lemon icebox pie earlier in the week!



About a month ago, Jessica of A Singleton in the Kitchen hosted a giveaway on her blog for the book DamGoodSweet and I won!  The book is a wonderful collection of traditional New Orleans desserts like beignets, bread pudding and king cake and is filled with beautiful color photographs.  It's probably not a book that would have crossed my radar if not for Jessica's giveaway but now that I've had an opportunity to flip through and try one of the recipes, it's one I'm very excited to have in my collection.  So, thanks Jessica!



Jessica owns a copy of DamGoodSweet too so we decided to bake something together this week and she suggested I pick the recipe.  I wanted to go with something simple and this pie is the first thing that jumped out at me.  It didn't require any special tools and the ingredient list was fairly short.  Plus, it uses lemons which are a bit of an obsession for me currently.  I love their bright yellow color and wonderfully fragrant scent.  I actually used a combination of regular lemons and Meyer lemons to make this pie and scaled the recipe down to make just 1/4 since I was the only one eating it.  One quarter of the recipe yielded enough filling for a 4.5" springform as well as a bit extra which I used to fill a mini tart pan.  The only tricky part of the recipe was determining when the pie was done since I made a mini and couldn't rely on the time provided in the recipe.  Jessica and I took ours out when the color had darkened, the filling looked set and some bubbles rose to the top - about 16-18 minutes for me.

And the verdict?  Dangerously good!  I loved the combination of the slightly tart filling with the sweet buttery crust.  I had a bite of the filling only mini tart I'd made and I didn't enjoy it anywhere near as much - it was a bit one note - so don't skip the crust.  I made whipped cream to top my pie but it really wasn't necessary.  The pie is plenty rich and delicious on its own! 



Lemon Icebox Pie
from DamGoodSweet by David Guas, Raquel Pelzel

Crust
14 whole graham crackers
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted but not cooled completely

Filling
2 14-oz cans sweetened condensed milk
1 1/4 cups lemon juice
zest of 2 lemons
8 large egg yolks

Preheat oven to 325 F. 

To Make the Crust: Place the graham crackers, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse until the graham crackers are fine, but not powdery, about 8 times.  Pour in the butter and pulse until the mixture is no longer crumbly & holds its shape when you squeeze it, about 12 quick pulses.  Transfer the mixture to a 9-inch springform pan and use your fingers (or the bottom of a measuring cup) to press the crust into the bottom and two-thirds of the way up the sides of the pan.  Place on a rimmed baking sheet and set aside.

To Make the Filling: In a medium bowl, whisk the condensed milk with the lemon juice.  In another medium bowl, whisk the lemon zest with the egg yolks until pale, about 30 to 60 seconds.  Add the lemon juice/condensed milk mixture to the egg yolks and whisk to combine. 

Pour the filling into the crust and bake until center jiggles slightly (like a soft-setting custard), about 25 minutes.  Remove from the oven and move to a cooling rack to cool for at least an hour.  Cover the springform pan with plastic wrap loosely (don't let the plastic wrap touch the top of the pie) and freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight.

To serve, wrap a warm towel around the edges of the springform pan to release the pie a bit.  Open the collar and remove the pie.  The pie will slice more easily if you use a knife dipped in a glass of hot water.  The pie can be kept in the freezer for up to 1 week.

Graham Crackers

I absolutely love trying recipes that allow me to bake things I'd normally buy prepackaged at the store.  It's not that I'm opposed to prepackaged things - sometimes it's just easier and I'm all about making life easier.  I just love the feeling of satisfaction that comes from knowing that if I wanted to I could pass right by that prepackaged item, head home and make it in my own kitchen (and most of the time it'd be cheaper and far more tasty)!




Graham crackers have been on my list of things to try for a while and I've bookmarked numerous recipes, but didn't finally get around to making them until seeing them on Kristin's site, The Kitchen Sink, recently.  I want to make pretty much everything Kristin posts lately but the real reason I stop by her site is for her writing.  She's got a way with words that I really envy and her posts always seem so effortless.  But anyway, I digress...



If you like the graham crackers you can buy at the supermarket, I think you'll love these.  I tend to use the store-bought variety mainly for baking, grinding them up to use as crusts for cheesecakes and other treats.  They don't hold much appeal as snack material, but these definitely did.  They're more buttery than the prepackaged variety, but with the same crunch and crumb.  My first thought upon sampling one was "yum - shortbread."  The recipe is simple to throw together and I love that Kristin's adaptation to the original recipe makes these look just like the ones from the store - ok, maybe just a bit more homemade with my uneven cutting job but still cute.  These graham crackers made me wish it was summer so I could go outside, toast marshmallows over a fire and make s'mores but since it's not I guess I'll just have to make them again in 6 months! 



Graham Crackers
adapted from The Craft of Baking by Karen DeMasco, via NPR (as seen on The Kitchen Sink)

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, at room temperature
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup honey

In a bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, and honey. Mix on medium speed until well combined, about 1 minute. In two additions, add the dry ingredients, letting the first fully incorporate before you add the second.

Turn the dough out and flatten it into a rectangular shape, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes or up to 2 days. (The dough can be frozen, well wrapped, for up to 1 month.)

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

Unwrap the chilled dough, and on a lightly floured surface, roll it out into a rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. Using a ruler and a pastry cutter or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 3-by-3-inch squares; use a spatula to transfer the rectangles to the prepared baking sheets as you go. Reroll the scraps of dough once, and cut out more cookies. Using a paring kninfe, gently score each square to create a line down the middle, taking care not to cut all the way through the dough. Using a fork, pierce each rectangle with two rows of six to eight marks.

Bake the graham crackers, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until they are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

The graham crackers will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

My week of house sitting at the in-laws is nearing its end and I have mixed feelings about it.  I miss Shane so I'll be happy to get home and spend time together.  That said, I love being down here for so many reasons.  It's peaceful and quiet (cars aren't speeding by like they do in front of my house) and the ocean is just a few steps away.  We don't have pets at home so I'll miss their two cats curling up with me on the couch.  I've also really enjoyed having access to all of my father-in-law's camera equipment :)  We both have Canons but he has many more lenses than I do, as well as the Speedlite 430 EX Flash.  I've heard a lot about this flash, but never had an opportunity to use it until this week.  It's been fun though there's a lot of trial and error involved as I have no clue how to use it properly.  I made this cauliflower last night long after the sun had set and used the Speedlite to take these photos.  They're not perfect, but a huge improvement over anything I'd be able to take with the built in flash on my camera!



I wasn't even sure I liked cauliflower before I tried this recipe.  I don't recall having ever eaten it but as part of my goal to eat more veggies this year, I bought a head of cauliflower at the store with this recipe in mind.  I'd heard many raves about using cauliflower to make faux mashed potatoes and I thought it would be a good preparation to introduce this veggie.  I was surprised by how tasty I found this dish!  I'm not sure you're going to fool anyone into thinking they're real mashed potatoes, but the texture is quite similar and the dish has a lot of flavor.  I think you could make them healthier by reducing the amount of butter too and I'll do that next time.

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
adapted from FoodNetwork.com

1 medium head cauliflower
1 tablespoon cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh or dry chives, for garnish
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Set a stockpot of water to boil over high heat.

Clean and cut the cauliflower into small pieces. Cook in boiling water for about 6 minutes, or until well done.  Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan and cook the garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Drain the cauliflower well; do not let cool and pat it very dry between several layers of paper towels.

In the bowl of a food processor, puree the hot cauliflower with the cream cheese, Parmesan, butter, garlic, salt, and pepper until almost smooth.

Garnish with chives, if desired.

TWD: Chocolate Oatmeal Almost-Candy Bars

This week's TWD was selected by Lillian of Confectiona's Realm: chocolate oatmeal almost-candy bars!  I actually made these ahead of time (read: not on Tuesday) thanks to a gentle nudge from my Twitter friends, yet here I am writing the post at the last minute.  It seems procrastination finds me one way or the other...



These bars are loaded with goodness - butter, brown sugar, oats, chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, raisins and peanuts!  I had an inkling that these were going to be too rich for me just looking at the ingredient list.  I also read a few early reviews of the bars on the P&Q's this week which confirmed they were indeed a very rich treat.  I absolutely love the combination of chocolate and raisins but since I knew I likely wouldn't eat many of these myself, I skipped the raisins to give them more universal appeal.  I also left the nuts out. 

I made a half recipe in an 8" pan and man, once you get all the ingredients in there, these are heavy!  I baked them for about 20 minutes, cooled them completely and then followed Dorie's recommendation to refrigerate for an hour before cutting them.  At one hour in the fridge they weren't tough to cut, just firm enough for the knife to slide through without the chocolate layer getting too soft.  I sampled a small bite and while I liked them, especially the oatmeal layer, the chocolate layer was just WAY too rich for me.  This is actually a good thing since I've eaten my weight in desserts the past few days - I'm more than happy to have this one sitting around that won't tempt me at all.  I stuck them in my freezer and will send them to work with Shane eventually. 



Thanks to Lillian for hosting this week!  You can find the recipe on her blog or on pages 114-115 of Dorie's book.  

SMS: Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake

This week's SMS was selected by Raeann of Basically, Baby Boots: lemon sour cream pound cake! I whipped this cake up on Friday afternoon in the frenzy of trying to get packed to head down to my in-laws. I'm house sitting for a week and while it's not a warm, tropical get-away, I'm still looking forward to a change of scenery. This is much better than anything I typically see at my house - I love the beach and the ocean!



Pound cake isn't a treat I typically crave so I almost sat this one out, but I do love lemon and that was reason enough to try it. I was really glad I didn't trust the baking time in the recipe (1 hr 15 - 1 hr 30) because I would have wound up with a burnt cake. I checked it at an hour and it needed just a little more time so I let it go another 7 minutes. When I opened the oven door I noticed the edges were a bit dark so I pulled it out and luckily it was perfect inside. Next time I'll tent the pan at about an hour. There were walnuts in this recipe, which I skipped, and I also skipped the lemon glaze on the top because I was rushing out the door. As it is, I brought the cake (on the cooling rack) into my car, stuck it on the floor and let it cool as I drove :)



I sampled a piece last night so I could say something about it today. Due to the dark edges and my general lack of excitement about pound cake, I didn't expect much. It was surprisingly good, though!! The cake is moist and light with a tight crumb. I didn't think it had a ton of lemon flavor though so next time I might try adding the lemon glaze. Or, better yet, maybe I'll make some lemon curd ice cream to serve with it! Thanks to Raeann for hosting this week! You can find the recipe for the pound cake on her blog or by picking up the book.