“I am still convinced that a good, simple, homemade cookie is preferable to all the store-bought cookies one can find.”
James Beard
One of those days … non stop rain, a holiday, loads to do, laundry too, kids at home and hungry! Food Food Food! The poor baker stirred some chicken korma in the morning, rushed off to cart the teen to and from extra art classes, then the hub requested for some cookies as he was off to HKG! Loves to carry the taste of home with him! So in the middle of the mayhem, these were born – Not Quite Anzac Cookies!I’ve baked several versions of Anzacs in the past, loved this one especially. The basic recipe is from the Thermomix cookbook, but now has been made over so many times that its evolved into something else. Seemingly lost the characteristic Anzac Cookie-ness … no coconut for one, yet delicious addictive bites. They sit in the jar and call your name! This version was no different.I like these eggless cookies; can have them all day long. They are nice, chewy if you like them them that way, and crisp if you bake them longer! I loved the flavours trapped within – brown sugar and butter create some delightful butterscotch like magic, and the walnut meal adds yummy taste. {I grind the walnuts since the teen doesn’t like nuts in her cookies & brownies}. She loved these! Oats for texture and you would want more cookie with each bite!I’ve been reading up economics all yesterday to tutor the daughter for her first semester exams. Am surprised at how much I’ve learnt, this after doing my honours in economics!! Look at what got stuck in the head? Desires and wants form the basis of human economics. If you desire something, that’s good, but it’s just a wish. BUT if you want something, you have to make an effort to achieve it … and then the wheels of the economy begin to turn from the micro level right out to the macro level. Cool eh? This is going to be a short post since writers block has landed in my head after all that ‘back to books’ that happened to me. I’m off to have a cookie! Come share mine virtually if you ‘desire’ some. If you want some, you know what you are going to have to do, right? Yes, get the elbow grease on the job!
[print_this]Recipe: Not Quite Anzac Cookies
Summary: They are nice, chewy if you like them them that way, and crisp if you bake them longer! I loved the flavours trapped within – brown sugar and butter create some delightful butterscotch like magic, and the walnut meal adds delicious taste.
Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
100g unsalted butter, room temperature
75ml golden syrup {or 100ml golden syrup and no honey}
25ml honey
1tsp baking soda
55g natural sugar or granulated sugar {I used bura,a raw sugar available in India}
55gm brown sugar
100gm plain flour
100gm rolled oats
100gm walnuts
Method:
Preheat oven to 150C
Run the walnuts in the processor with the flour until you get a fine-meal.
Heat butter, honey and golden syrup in a pan over low heat till the butter melts and the two mix together. {Can do it in the microwave too}
Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. The dough will be a little stiff.
Drop tbsp of dough on parchment lined cookie sheets, flatten with the tines of a fork. {I rolled the dough into balls, flattened them slightly with the palm of my hand, and then further flattened them by pressing down with a fork.}.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
Leave to cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes {they are quite tender when they come out of the oven} , and then transfer on racks to cool completely.
Thermomix Recipe:
Run the walnuts in the TM bowl with the flour on speed 7 for 30 seconds to get a fine-meal. Scrape and repeat if necessary. Turn into a bowl and reserve.
Place butter, honey and golden syrup into TM bowl. Heat for 2 minutes at 60C on speed 2 until fully dissolved. Place bicarb into bowl and mix for 5 seconds on speed 3.
Add remaining ingredients and set dial to closed position and mix for 30-35 seconds on interval speed…. then continue as above from step 4.
“You see things and you say ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were and I say ‘Why not?’” George Bernard Shaw
It’s been a cracker of a July! I crept silently into Daring Bakers on the 2nd of July dreading what I would see. We’ve had the worse summer ever, the hottest, coupled with extended power cuts and monsoons that threaten to fail. Imagine my delight at seeing crackers … just perfect for the season. I had a go at two of the four recipes – Seedy Crisps {ah-mazing} and Health Crackers which were good too, maybe too healthy, but nice with cheese and onion jam!
Our July 2012 Daring Bakers’ Host was Dana McFarland and she challenged us to make homemade crackers! Dana showed us some techniques for making crackers and encouraged to use our creativity to make each cracker our own by using ingredients we love.
Delicious, light, addictive, versatile and simple to make, crackers can’t get better than this. I love baking savoury crackers; to date my favourite were Ottolenghis Olive Oil Crackers. These Seedy Crisps are now vying for top place!
It was time to get a little creative as the dough was very simple to roll out. It rolls out really thin so I stamped out some fluted circles from the well behaved dough and baked a batch in my shallow tart tray. I was thrilled to see how well they came out, bite sized and perfect.
The good thing is that these seedy crisps for canapes are make ahead, healthy and a great discovery! This was the part of the challenge I loved most, the gentle nudge that Dana gave us towards getting creative! The little canapes filled with a creamy cheesy chicken topping stole my heart!
Beautiful little bites! Dress them up as you like … fill ’em up with a light chicken filling, or caramelised onion jam with blue cheese, maybe a mushroom – red onion olive oil filling, a salsa {peach, tomato, mango} … or get more adventurous and use seasonal fresh fruit and cheese. The pooch was uber delighted to get the little baked leftovers and came out of her bowl covered with sesame and poppy seeds. She is still as naughty as she is charming! I didn’t get a seedy picture coz by the time I grabbed my camera, Coco had made a meal of every last crumb! Crackers!!
I used the red harissa which I made recently in the chicken topping and tomato salsa. I served some crackers with the Caramelised Onion & Garlic Jam I make often … good choices for both these crackers. I have included the remaining two recipes below and will attempt try them soon. Our talented host Dana hasn’t entered the world of blogging but has been a Daring Baker for a couple of years.
Cheeses can be swapped, flours altered and spices changed; I encourage creativity! As long as you a making small crispy platforms on which to add a myriad of toppings, you are on the right track, she says.
Pepper Jack and Oregano Crackers (Roll with pasta rollers or by hand): Servings: Approximately 80 crackers Ingredients 1⅔ cups (400 ml) (235 gm) (8¼ oz) all-purpose (plain) flour 2¼ cups (540 ml) (225 gm/8 oz) grated pepper jack cheese, firmly packed 2 teaspoons (10 ml) (1 gm) dried oregano ½ teaspoon (2½ ml) (3 gm) salt ½ teaspoon (2½ ml) (½ gm) black pepper ½ cup (120 ml) (4 fl oz) vegetable oil ½ cup (120 ml) (4 fl oz) water Spice topping ¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1/8 gm) cayenne 1 teaspoon (5 ml) (3 gm) kosher salt 1 teaspoon (5 ml) (5 gm) sugar Directions: 1. Combine the spice topping and set aside. 2. Grate the cheese and put in the bowl of a food processor with flour, oregano, salt and pepper and pulse to combine. This can also be done by hand. 3. Add the oil and pulse until the consistency of wet sand is reached. 4. Add enough water for the dough to come together. 5. Form the dough into two disks, wrap with cling film and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. 6. Heat the oven to moderate 325°F/160°C/gas mark 3. 7. Working with a quarter of the dough at a time, either use a rolling pin or roll out in your pasta rollers to 1/8 of an inch (3 mm) thick. If you use pasta rollers, ensure the dough is well floured so as not to stick. 8. Cut the strips into cracker shapes or cut out using a cookie cutter. Transfer to a parchment lined cookies sheet and sprinkle with the spice mixture. 10. Bake for 20-25 minutes until medium golden brown. 11. Store in an airtight container and eat within three days
Cheddar, Rosemary and Walnut Icebox Crackers (form into a log and slice): Servings: Approximately 48 crackers Ingredients ½ cup (120 ml) (1 stick) (115 gm/4 oz) butter, well softened 2¼ cups (540 ml) (225 gm/8 oz) grated aged cheddar cheese (the better the cheese, the better the cracker), firmly packed 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons (285 ml) (190 gm/6oz) all-purpose (plain) flour 1 teaspoon (5 ml) (6 gm) salt 1/2 cup (120 ml) (60 gm/2 oz) finely chopped walnuts 1 tablespoon (15 ml) (1¾ gm) finely chopped rosemary Directions: 1. Combine butter, rosemary and cheese in a stand mixer and beat well (can also be done by hand) 2. Add the flour, salt and nuts and stir to combine 3. Form the dough into two tight logs and wrap with cling film 4. Chill for at least an hour and up to several days. The log can be frozen at this point for several months. 5. Heat the oven to moderate 160°C. 6. Slice a log into 5mm (1/5 inch) coins and place on a parchment lined baking sheet 7. Bake about 10 minutes until golden brown 8. Store in an airtight container and eat within three days 9. Try this recipe with different cheeses, nuts (or no nuts), and spices. Get creative!
It’s been a fun daringJuly with quite the perfect challenge which has opened up a whole new window to creative baking. Crisp, versatile and popular, savoury snacks are always welcome, and I’m looking forward to trying the recipes above. I ♥ Daring Bakers!
Summary: Delicious, light, addictive, versatile and simple to make, crackers don’t get better than this. I made some seedy crisps for canapes with the same dough too.
Servings: Varies depending on thickness; approximately 30 crackers and 15-18 canapes {I made 1/2 recipe which I’ve shared below, minimally adapted}
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes plus resting time Ingredients:
Crackers
1 cup/ 160 gm whole wheat four
1 cup/ 120gm all-purpose (plain) flour
1/3 cup / 40 gm poppy seeds
1/3 cup / 40 gm sesame seeds
1½ tsp table salt
1½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp garlic powder/granules
3 tbsp /45 ml olive oil
¾ cup / 175 ml water {approx}
Chicken Topping for approx 20 canapes
2 boneless chicken breast, cut into 2 fillets each
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
{Marinade}
1 cup /250ml cultured buttermilk
1tsp red harissa {recipe here}
Juice of 1 lime
Salt to taste
Tomato salsa
3-4 tomatoes, deseeded, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
Juice of 1/2 lime
Fresh coriander, finely chopped
1/4tsp red harissa {recipe here} or finely chopped deseeded green chili
Salt to taste
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Method:
Crackers
Mix the flours, seeds, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.
Add the oil and stir until combined.
Add 1/2 cup of water to begin with, and then more as required until the dough comes together.
Knead the dough 5 or 6 times and allow to rest, covered, on the counter for 15 minutes. You can also chill the dough at this point and come back later.
Thermomix: Place all ingredients in TM bowl. Mix at speed 6 for 30 seconds, and knead in closed position for 2 minutes.
Divide the dough into 4 parts. Roll out really thin on parchment paper, transfer to a baking tray and score with a pastry cutter.
Bake at 230C for 25-30 mins {I used the lower element only. If you use both elements, then it will take lesser time}
I used 1/4 dough to make about 2 dozen crisp canapes.
Crackers/canapes will keep for a week in an airtight container.
Chicken topping for canapes
Make the marinade by whisking together buttermilk, red harissa, lime juice and salt. Mix in the chicken and marinate overnight {or 3-4 hours}
Drain the marinade, then pan fry the chicken in 1-2 tsp of olive oil. Add the Worcestershire sauce once all the liquid has evaporated.
Chop up the chicken and add all remaining ingredients. Taste and adjust seasoning if required. You can fill and refrigerate shells until ready to serve, else fill just before serving.
Tomato salsa
Mix together all the ingredients and allow flavours to mature for an hour or so.
Recipe: Health Crackers
Summary: Healthy in every way, these would go well with a thick dip or with a variety of toppings. {I made 1/2 quantity, about 40 crackers. The recipe below is for the full quantity}
Prep Time: 5 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes plus resting time Ingredients:
3 cups /240 gm rolled oats
2 cups /280 gm plain all-purpose flour
1 cup / 80 gm wheat germ
3 tablespoons / 40 gm sugar
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup / 180 ml vegetable oil
1 cup /240 ml water
1 large egg white
Cracker topping
Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, nigella (onion) seeds, salt
Salt for sprinkling
Method:
Mix the oats, flour, wheat germ sugar and salt together in a large bowl or bowl for the standup mixer.
Combine the water and oil and stir into the oat mixture until it comes together and a dough forms.
Thermomix: Place all ingredients in TM bowl. Mix at speed 6 for 30 seconds, and knead in closed position for 2 minutes.
Form dough into a disk and allow to rest in the fridge for about 20 minutes but up to a day if you are making the ahead.
Preheat the oven to moderate 160°C.
Divide the dough into quarters and work with one piece at a time, allowing the remaining pieces to stay in the fridge as you proceed with rolling out the crackers.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to about 1/16 inch (1½ mm) thick and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet by carefully wrapping the dough around the rolling pin.
Brush the dough with the egg white mixed briefly with a tablespoon of water and sprinkle with seeds and salt of your choice.
Cut the dough with a pizza wheel and bake for 25-30 minutes until browned. Crackers that are not crispy once cooled may be returned to the oven.
Store in an airtight container and eat within two weeks.
Serve with cheese and Caramelised Onion & Garlic Jam, or Salsa, or a roasted red bell pepper dip, or topped with the chicken above.
Note: You can omit the egg white for a vegetarian version. Roll the topping in gently on top.
“A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in.”
Robert Orben
It’s been literally a mac-vacation for me, a vacation I dislike as it keeps me away from a challenge I love with a vengeance. I’m back on board to get in with the fun and beautiful Mac AttackJamie and I host each month. This time our call was for Vacation Macs … and how better could I get there with my mac-a-vacations … Macaron à la Peaches et Crème {pardon my French please}The flavours are reminiscent of one of the best vacations we enjoyed a few years ago in the Himalayas. We’ve had some other fabulous ones include Goa, Sydney, Hong Kong, Gangtok … but the one the ‘now threatening to be quite terrible just turned 13‘ teen remembers every single day is this one at Ramgarh. Nothing like the serenity of the Himalayas to unwind!
That vacation filled in perfectly with our call this month.Our best macarons reminiscent of that ideal vacation or that perfect holiday spot. Mountains, seaside, tiny hamlet lost in the countryside, large, bustling city teeming with restaurants and museums, these are our inspiration. With the best vacation that comes to mind, from that thought, memory or distant dream, create a fabulous Vacation Macaron!
We stayed at a beautiful heritage cottage surrounded by peach trees and since it was peak summer, we walked by peach trees plucking fresh, juicy fruit right off the tree. This is where my lad became a peach monster and developed a deep love for the fruit.Summer is for stone fruit is my chant. I just cannot have enough of these delicious fruit that are reaching us in the foothills of the Himalayas; better quality and quantity every year! This summer I have had a field day with stone fruit…… Apricot Peach Sorbet,Dark Chocolate Cherry Mousse Cake, Mini Quark Vanilla Cheesecakes with Balsamic Cherries, Black Forest Cake, Oatmeal Peach Apricot Mango Smoothie {yet to post}, Dark Chocolate Cherry Wholewheat Cakelets {yet to post} … and my fridge is full of cherries, peaches, mangoes and apricots!I have also been developing some food recipes for Del Monte for their website World Foody. The peach ice cream above is one I made last week from their canned peaches, beautiful cling peaches with a fabulous deep flavour. Will let you know when the recipe is up on the website; until then it’s Macaron à la Peaches et Crème!The macaron shells were going to be perfect, something deep within me said to me when I was done folding the macaronage.BUT … in my hurry to beat the power cut, I switched on the upper element instead of the lower one, so my feet popped out with the thermal shock and the skins developed a ‘peach‘ blush. It was too late to salvage the batch, and the little macronage left proved my feeling right! Aaaargh! And did I tell you that at 45C ice-cream melts SO FAST? I was RACING!I used the several times tried and tested David Lebovitz recipe that lives in my head. It never goes wrong if you mix the macronage correctly and let it rest! However, a little more advice follows …
Do you want to join us making MACARONS?
If you do, you are most welcome to join us for this challenge, or the next. You can find all the information at our dedicated macaron blog MacTweets. We generally post the round-up by the end of every month, following which a new challenge is posted!
… these cookies are fiddly creatures and are dependent on way too many things. egg whites {aged or not}, almond meal,oven temperature, room temperature, humidity levels, the hand that mixes them, the way you pipe them out … and above all, lady luck!
Before I get onto the recipe, I’d like to thank Chillibreeze for interviewing me. You can read it here if you like.I’d also like to thank the Financial Times, Times of India, for including me so generously in their feature ‘Gurgaon is Blogging & How‘ on Business Street, 21st June, 2012. Last but not the least, thank you Javelin Warrior for adding my Dark Chocolate Cherry Mousse Cake in your delicious Friday Food Fetish.
2 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar {I used granulated vanilla sugar}
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 tsp egg white powder
1/2 tsp vanilla bean powder
Peach ice cream for filling
Method:
Run the powdered sugar, almond meal, vanilla bean powder and egg white powder in blender until well blended. Sift into a bowl.
Beat the egg white until foamy, then add the granulated sugar and beat for approximately 2 minutes until stiff peaks form.
Fold in 1/4 of the dry mix until no streaks remain, then add the remainder of the dry mix and gently fold in until you get a lava like batter. {Donot overfold}
Place into a piping bag and pipe circles onto parchment paper.
Tap the trays sharply to get rid of air bubbles and allow to rest for 30-45 minutes.
Bake in double trays at 140C for 12-15 minutes, until the shells are firm and no longer jiggly. {My oven uses just the lower element for baking, so I place the double trays towards the top of the oven}
Cool and sandwich with softened ice cream. Store in freezer and serve directly from there.
“But there’s always a first time for everything”
Melissa de la Cruz
These were cookies whoopies waiting to happen! One look at the inbox a few weeks ago and the Pioneer Woman had me bookmarking again. There’s loads of make-able stuff that Ree constantly churns out, and oatmeal in whoopies were right up my street. A few days ago we had Oatmeal Nutella Whoopie Pies!Whoopie pies are sweet baked delights that are a cross between a soft cookie and cake or pie, basically a set of cookies whoopies sandwiched together with a frosting. As expected they were a hit with the teens! It’s amazing how comfort food can bring out the kids in young adults. Both the ‘now much taller than me kids’ grabbed a pair each, pulled the cookies apart and proceeded to lick the frosting, savouring every Nutella lick. Then it was time to demolish whatever was left!!I took a small nibble of the unfrosted cookies and they were quite nice. Maybe I’ll skip the cinnamon next time as it reminds me of warm winter days. I think an orange zest kick would make yum summer whoopie pies! Mmmm, maybe that’s an idea since brown sugar, orange and chocolate are a good pairing.The cookies were a tad on the sweeter side according to Mr PAB, so I’ll cut back the sugar next time. They disappeared really quick as I could see hungry eyes pick out the box from the fridge to devour the pies. I refrigerated them as the Indian summer has really kicked in, 42C and rising! Won’t even begin to tell you about the nonsensical and irrational power cuts…. sigh! Heat & Dust = North Indian Summer! It’s the beginning of a tough summer; a long hot month ahead before the monsoons get here. Then it’ll be hot + humid! On my list of things to do was a visit to Old Delhi which I managed a few days ago before the heat became unbearable. My Mum had some work there so I happily tagged along … I bought this charming brass teapot {pictured with the whoopie pies} from a shop near Jama Masjid. I also climbed up rickety old ladders and pulled out vintage handmade copper boxes from a dusty old shop that sold copper by the weight. We had a wonderful local guide who walked us through quaint places, like Mohalla Kabristan which quite literally translates into ‘Graveyard Colony‘. It was an uncanny feeling having to walk nonchalantly around graves that lay in your path! This little colony was built ages ago around old graves that dot cemented streets. Goats languish lazily around every possible corner, heat, dust and more dust, shops that sell everything under the sun … beads, incense, bottles, cookware, bangles, buckets, cloth, paper, silver jewelery, fresh juice, food!A journey into the ‘walled city’ transports you into another world. We got onto rickshaws from the historic Turkman Gate {one of the 14 gateways to the Shahjahanabad of yore} in the heart of New Delhi. The minute we crossed the gate and took a right turn, the road disappeared into a ‘gali‘ or narrow street! No cars, just rickshaws, people on foot, goats galore, mules too …. a different cacophony!Some of my photographs might have a ‘rickshaw shake’ as we were in a hurry to get around, but I had to share them with you. It’s the essence of Old Delhi, a city I love, which appears rather mystically the minute you cross over into the walled area, or Purani Dilli. The city grows on you!Tomorrow I’m off to Goa with the kids for a short break, a revisit after a gap of over 20 years. Whoopie!! Hopefully will have some more pictures of yet another beautiful Indian city to share with you soon! Until then, here are my version of Rees whoopie pies!
Summary: Charming little sweet oatmeal whoopie pies sandwiched with a Nutella frosting … brings out the child in you! Minimally adapted from The Pioneer Woman. I made half the recipe, about 12 whoopie pies.
Preheat oven to 180C. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
Cookies
Cream brown sugar and butter. Add egg, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder and mix. Mix baking soda and boiling water, then add to the bowl and mix. Add flour and oatmeal and mix well.
Scoop dough onto parchment-lined cookie sheets so that you have rounded heaping teaspoons. Bake for 20 minutes, being careful not to burn. Remove from oven, transfer to a cooling rack, and let the cookies cool completely.
Filling {adapted from That’s the Best Frosting I’ve Ever Had, by Missy Dew from here}
In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it’s very thick. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. Stir in vanilla.
Whip the low fat cream to medium soft peaks. Whip the cooled flour mix until smooth, then add the Nutella and whip again until smooth. Fold in the whipped cream, cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes/until firm enough to spread.
Scoop a small amount onto cookies, pressing a second cookie on top.
“As for butter versus margarine, I trust cows more than chemists.” Joan Gussow
These cookies surprised me. When I made the dough I thought I had ‘it’ all wrong. Ambitiously adding ingredients with not enough deep thought, I wrote them off even before I baked them. But sometimes substitution can be a pleasant surprise. These Savoury Dill Cheddar Buckwheat Sables were a happy ending to one such culinary adventure! I hardly ever bake sables. Please don’t get me wrong. I love the cookies to bits but somewhere in my head I associate them to be loaded with butter. Chocolate sables = guilty pleasure, a pleasure I can ill afford these days as baking and food seems to rule my existence! Got to keep the butter down; not out, but down!
I missed the last couple of months of #baketogether, Abby Dodges absolutely charming bake up party. The talented Abby inspires a group of avid bakers month after month with a #baketogether recipe that you are encouraged to play around with. Just my cup of tea coffee! I’ve had some wonderful past entries with Double Chocolate Mousse Cookies, Classic Spice Apple Walnut Buttermilk Cake, and Plum Almond Ginger Summer Fruit Cake. This month she called for savoury cookies from her recipe for Spicy Parmesan Sables. Though still short on time, and breathless in life, I couldn’t keep away from them. I LOVE SAVOURY BAKING. Besides, the ‘not so terrible anymore’ teen is constantly craving for either double chocolate double almond biscotti {recipe on its way}, or ‘something chili’ please!
I decided to experiment because halfway through I ran out of plain flour! I made up the weight with buckwheat, and used fresh dill to flavour the cookies. Dill and cheddar make for good pairing, and I have had a huge patch of dill growing in my garden. After an overnight rest, the cookies were baking soon.
Dill is a beautiful herb, delicate with a wonderful aromatic flavour that comes to life when the leaves are chopped. In India, there is a more robust variety of dill, locally called soya, which is widely used in the winter months in North India. One bite into the warm cookie and I was so relieved. These were so good. Thankfully the dill wasn’t overpowering, and the buckwheat gave the cookie good texture, other than scoring on the whole grain front too! However whole grains like buckwheat are an acquired taste, and unfortunately the ‘not so terrible anymore’ teen didn’t love it to bits. I was a little disheartened and hesitatingly ran it past the ‘now threatening to be quite terrible’ pre-teen. He said, “YUM! Can I have the whole box?“. You win some, you lose some. These are a nice cheese tray cookie and would pair well with mature cheddar and fruit! As Abby says, “Made with butter, cheese, flour and cayenne for a kick, they make for a lovely hors d’oeuvre to serve with wine or cocktails and the possible twists are endless”
Thank you Abbyfor yet another winning recipe, and also yet another chance to push my boundaries. You are an inspiration!
Summary: A savoury cookie that packs big-time flavor with a flaky, melt-in-your-mouth texture. Made with butter, cheese, flour and cayenne for a kick, these cheese crackers make for a lovely hors d’oeuvre to serve with wine or cocktails. Makes 29-30 sables.
1/4 teaspoon {adjust to taste} red chili pepper {or cayenne pepper}
100gm unsalted butter, cut into cubes, well chilled
2 tablespoons very cold water
Sea salt & fresh dill for sprinkling
Method:
To make the dough:
Put the flour, buckwheat flour, cheese, salt and chili powder in a food processor and pulse briefly to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the butter pieces are slightly larger than pea size, about 10 to 12 pulses depending on your machine. Drizzle the water evenly over the flour mixture. Pulse until the dough begins to form moist crumbs that are just beginning to clump together, about 8 or 9 more pulses depending on your machine.
Dump the moist crumbs onto the unfloured counter and gather into a pile. With the heel of you hand, push and gently smear the crumbs away from you until they start to come together in a cohesive dough. Two or three ‘smears’ should do the trick. Using a bench scraper, gather the dough together and turn it about 45 degrees and give it one or two more smears. {see visuals here}
Gather the dough together and shape the dough into a 7 1/4-inch long and 2 1/4 -inch wide rectangle using the bench scraper to make the sides nice and straight. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until very firm, about 3 hours, or up to 2 days.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 190°c. Line two large baking sheets with parchment. { I used just one cookie sheet}
Using a thin, sharp knife, cut the logs into 1/4-inch slices and arrange about 1 inch apart {they don’t spread much at all} on the prepared sheets. If you like, sprinkle the crackers with a little sea salt and fresh dill before baking.
Bake, one sheet at a time, until nutty brown around the edges, 16 to 18 minutes. Serve slightly warm or room temperature. {If they aren’t crisp as you like, you can bake them at a lower temperature for 10-15 minutes longer. Keep an eye so they don’t get burnt}.
Note: The dough can be shaped and frozen for up to a month and then thawed for about an hour on the counter or in the refrigerator overnight. Likewise, tuck the baked and cooled sables in a heavy duty zip top bag and stash them in the freezer. Thaw at room temperature and warm them for a few minutes at 160°C to refresh the flavors.
“Macarons should be eaten slowly with each mouthful savoured. They should be eaten somewhere pretty and refined.”
Yellow Magpie
Nothing in the cookie world seems to have evoked as much interest and admiration as macarons! Sweet and pretty bites, inspirational to make, absolutely charming, yet intimidating for bakers like me. At MacTweets,our mac-obsessed kitchen, Jamie and I called to mark World Macaron Day on March 20th. These Blood Orange Macarons with Maple Orange Chocolate Pastry Creme are my tribute to this delightful invention!I’ve missed making macarons for a while now and was happy to be faced with a MacTweets challenge for World Macaron Day. Been thinking long on what to make and what not to, and then thanks to sweet blogger friends like the lovely and talented Shayma, I made these addictive bites. They might not look perfect, but they tasted fabulous!Life is busy and we have had family and friends from overseas visiting us over the past few months. They all know I food blog, so with them come delicious ingredients and kitchen stuff I might not ever dream of. I feel special … very special!…and felt even more so when a few days ago the Spice Spoon girl tweeted to ask when my folk were visiting as she had something to send for me. My cousin from Pittsburgh flew in a few days later. With him came these beautiful spice boxes from William Sonoma – Dried Blood Orange Peel and Pure Maple Flakes.The minute I saw the pretty little jars I knew what my macs were going to be – Blood Orange with Maple filling. I had already a thread of orange in my mind as my life is overflowing with tangerines. All the little shrubs have branches hanging heavy with this beautiful fruit … the little pooch seems to take a keen interest in the fruit too; little Coco who is ALL EYES!!Pretty orange life and there is only so much bitter marmalade I can make. I thought I would sweeten the filling mildly with maple flakes and add a dash of orange from the little bitter tangerines. The shells baked fine, the little feet appearing in a few minutes of baking, blushing a pastel orange. Of course we had a power cut again, but thankfully the frills had formed so no harm done! I was quite happy. What I wasn’t happy with was my choice of filling. A pastry creme obviously isn’t firm enough for these fiddly creatures. They got soft overnight and I had some fixing to do!I had a fix in mind … chocolate can fix anything, even a broken heart, and then I came across Mardi’s macaron post asking ‘Why do my macarons have hollow shells. That set me thinking! It was time to read up again.My macarons are also hollow at times and OK at other times even though my recipe is the same. So mac-obsessed me set off to try Mardis recipe.I have to say they are the best tasting macarons I have ever made even though the shells weren’t anywhere near smooth. They looked so good 6 minutes into baking, just the perfect macs, but soon after threatened to crack up, but then shriveled slightly. Maybe it was because of undermixing, but the flavours were da bomb! You can find her recipe, perfect macarons and beautiful post here…To remedy the filling, I melted dark couverture chocolate and stirred it through the maple orange pastry creme, then chilled it. Delicieux!! There was a slight hint of bitterness from the tangerine peel and the balance of flavours was perfect! Thank you my sweet friend Shayma @ The Spice Spoon for adding wonderful spice to my life; inspiration too! I am sure you’ve been to her beautiful blog;it’s a treat in every sense!
Do you want to join us making MACARONS?
If you do, you are most welcome to join us for this challenge, or the next. You can find all the information at our dedicated macaron blog MacTweets. We generally post the round-up by the end of every month, following which a new challenge is posted!
[print_this]Recipe: Blood Orange Macarons with Maple Orange Chocolate Pastry Creme
Summary: A perfect balance of flavours. Blood orange peel macarons, with a bitter orange dark chocolate filling, laced with mild flavours of pure maple. {Makes about 15 macarons} Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
Run the powdered sugar, cornflour, almond meal, egg white powder and blood orange flakes in your processor until well blended and fine. Sift into a bowl.
Beat the egg white until foamy, then add the granulated sugar and beat for approximately 2 minutes until stiff peaks form.
Fold in 1/4 of the dry mix until no streaks remain, then add the remainder of the dry mix and gently fold in until you get a lava like batter. {donot overfold}
Place into a piping bag and pipe circles onto parchment paper.
Tap the trays sharply to get rid of air bubbles and allow to rest for 30-45 minutes.
Bake in double trays at 140C for 12-15 minutes, until the shells are firm and no longer jiggly. {My oven uses just the lower element for baking, so I place the double trays towards the top of the oven}
Cool.
Maple Orange Chocolate Pastry Creme
Whisk together the flour, tangerine rind, maple flakes, sugar, salt, melted butter and egg in a heavy saucepan. Slowly add in the milk, whisking to ensure no lumps form. Place over medium heat with vanilla bean and bring to a simmer. Make sure you stir constantly so that the cream doesn’t ‘catch’ the bottom of the pan. Stir constantly until thick, remove from the heat and push through a sieve. Stir in the blood orange flakes, add the melted chocolate and whisk occasionally as it cools. Chill to firm up.
Thermomix Maple Orange Pastry Creme
Place all ingredients except blood orange flakes in bowl of TM, mix on reverse speed 2 for 5 seconds, then cook at 90C, Speed 4 for 7 minutes.
Push through a sieve into a bowl, mix in blood orange flakes and stir occasionally until cool.
To assemble:
Match equal halves of macarons, and keep together.
Use a small spoon and deposit a tiny amount of pastry creme on the flat side of the macaron and sandwich with another half of the same size, squeezing gently. Rest in fridge for a day to allow the flavours to mature.
