Monday, February 13, 2012

Apples to Apples

I bake for people. It's what I do. It's how I show my friends that I care about them. It's how I celebrate big events. It is, quite literally, what I bring to the table. So when I encounter people that claim to not like sugar or not eat sweets, I have only one reaction.


One of my coworkers has resisted by baking since the day I started working at our school. He claims to prefer croissants to cookies. Pfft! For Christmas, I threw some of my family's famous Blackbottom Cupcakes, along with some cookies and truffles, and I finally got him to crack. He sent me a picture of an empty plate, with only a few sprinkles of crumbs and a whole bunch of cupcake liners. Success! So now that this is his final week at our school, I knew I had to find out exactly what he wanted for his farewell treat. His favorite dessert? Cold Apple Pie. Now I don't make large desserts - I make small, bite-sized, hand 'em out to everyone you know desserts. After running a few ideas by him, I picked two recipes: Apple Pie Cupcakes from Inspired Taste and Apple Pie Cookies from smitten kitchen.

The cupcakes were pretty straightforward, but the cookies were a labor of love. Back-breaking, sweat-inducing, arm-strengthening love. But more on that over on my personal blog.

First, the cupcakes.






Source


Apple Pie Cupcakes
tripled & ever-so-slightly adapted from Inspired Taste

Ingredients

  • 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 6 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced in to 1/4-inch cubes
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3/8 teaspoon salt
  • 4 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice (or the juice of 1 1/2 lemons)
  • 3/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup + 6 tablespoons packed brown sugar
  • 3 cans (12.4 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated cinnamon rolls
  • whipped cream
  • cooking spray


Directions
Heat oven to 400°F. Lightly spray 24 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray.

In a skillet, melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add half of the apples; cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons brown sugar, half the cinnamon and salt. Cook 5 minutes longer or until tender. Stir in lemon juice. Repeat with the second half of the apples. Note: if you have a larger skillet, you can probably do all of the apples at once. I only have a 10-inch one, so I had to do mine in 2 batches.

Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix remaining butter, flour, 3/4 cup of brown sugar with fork or hands until crumbly. Set aside.

Separate dough into 24 rolls. Flatten each into 4-inch round; place in muffin cup. Divide apple filling evenly onto rolls in muffin cups. Divide flour mixture evenly over apples.


Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until bubbly and tops are lightly browned. Cool slightly before removing from muffin cups. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Serve cupcakes topped with whipped cream.


The cupcakes came out super sweet and SO delicious! Two of my roommates came home while they were cooling and commented that the whole floor hallway smelled like cinnamon. You're welcome, good people of the second floor.

Apple Pie Cookies
faithfully followed from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients
Crust
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting surfaces
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon table salt
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, very cold
  • 1/2 cup water, very cold (I put it in the freezer for a few minutes until I was ready for it)
Filling
  • 3 medium apples, whatever you like to bake with
  • Squeeze of lemon juice (optional)
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • Few gratings fresh nutmeg
  • A pinch of any other spices you like in your apple pie (I added some ginger)

To finish
  • 1 large egg
  • Coarse or granulated sugar for garnish

Additional stuff
  • 2 baking sheets covered in parchment paper
  • A dough blender. I suggest investing in one that's comfortable in your hands (OXO Good Grips FTW). You can also use two forks, but it's much, much harder.
  • A rolling pin. Or, alternatively, an empty wine bottle. Drink remaining wine if needed. Take one for the team.
  • A pastry brush. Or, alternatively, your fingers.
  • A fork and sharp knife for crimping and making slits
  • Two round cookie or biscuit cutters of different sizes. SK recommends 2 1/2-inch and 1 1/2-inch rounds. Mine were a little closer in size, and I wished they weren't.


Directions
First, the pie dough:
Whisk together flour, sugar and salt in the bottom of a large, wide bowl. Cut your butter into smaller pieces - tablespoons or so ought to do. Using a dough blender, work the butter into the flour until the biggest pieces of butter are the size of small peas. Gently stir in the ice water with a rubber spatula, mixing it until "a craggy mass forms". I wasn't really sure what that meant until I saw it. Use your hands to knead it just two or three times to form a ball. Divide dough in half. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and flatten a bit, like a disc. Chill in fridge for at least an hour or up to two days. I chilled mine for about an hour and a half.

Next, get your life together and line up six small dishes:
1. Water
2. Leave it empty right now
3. Mix sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and other spices
4. A little flour to dust the surface
5. Whisk an egg with one teaspoon of water until smooth
6. A little sugar for decorating the tops of the pies

Then, roll out:
On a well-floured counter, roll out your pie dough pretty thin, a little shy of 1/8-inch thick. I'm bad at this, so mine wasn't as thin, which is probbbbably why my recipe made fewer cookies than it was supposed to. GO THINNER. Just tell yourself that. Lift and rotate your dough as you roll it, to ensure that it rolls out evenly and so you can be sure it’s not sticking in any place. Use the larger of your two cookie cutters to cut as many rounds as you can from the dough. Transfer them to parchment-lined baking sheets and keep them in the fridge until you need them. Once you’ve finished the first packet, repeat the process with the second packet of dough

Prepare your apples:
Peel your apples. Cut thin (1/8-inch thick, again, mine were probably thicker) slices from one side of whole apple, stopping when you hit the core. Repeat on opposite side. I wish I could tell you how many slices I got, but I honestly forgot to count. Use the smaller of your two cookie cutters (mine was about 1 2/3 inches) to cut the apples into cute little discs that will fit inside your pie cookies. Place them in your second bowl, covering them with a few drops of lemon juice if you find that they’re browning quickly (mine were okay without lemon juice).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Apple cookies, ASSEMBLE!
Grab your first disc of chilled dough and lightly dampen it on one side with the water to help it seal. Take your first disc of apple and toss it in the cinnamon spice sugar. Place it on the damp side of the bottom disk. Place a second disc of dough on top; I found it easiest to seal it by picking the whole thing up (this is when you’ll be glad that your dough is cold and semi-firm; if it’s soft and getting sticky, chill it until it’s easy to pick up) and press the tops and bottoms around the apple with your fingers. Back on the floured counter, cut decorative slits in your “pies”. Dip your fork in the flour and use it to create a decorative crimp on the sealed edges. Brush your cookie with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Replace on baking sheet and chill while you prepare the others.

It sounds insane, but if you follow SK's recipe faithfully, you WILL get cookies. And they WILL be delicious.

Bake your apple pie cookies for 25 minutes, or until puffed and bronzed and very pie-like. Mine were done in about 22-23 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool before eating them… or, if you're like me and SK, eat them immediately and try not to burn your mouth too badly.



The cookies are not too sweet, and the crust-to-apple ratio is pretty big. I mean, it's mostly crust. It's almost entirely crust. I think the two desserts balance each other out nicely. But what did my coworkers think? Stay tuned for an update!


What's your favorite way to update a classic recipe?

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Le Pain Quotidien (All Over)

Is it weird to love a place when you can't pronounce its name? Le Pain Quotidien translates to "our daily bread," and that is exactly what LPQ sets out to provide. Known for their communal tables and deliciously organic entrees, LPQ has more than 25 locations throughout New York City as well as in a handful of other states and countries. Their shops are always delightfully rustic with a distinctly French feel. Best of all, it always smells like freshly baked bread.

I've been to a few LPQ locaitons for lunch and even a few times to study, but recently M and I went to their Upper West location on 72nd and Columbus to try some of their famous pastries. Now, I should say now that I arrived far earlier than M to get some reading done. Our waitress was kind and patient with me, refilling my coffee and being attentive without being obnoxious while I waited for my friend, and that was much appreciated. After M arrived and we had some real food (one day I will probably dedicate a post to the number of carrot soups I've tried in this city), we decided it was time for the sweet stuff.


First we sampled the Raspberry Tart. Let me take a moment here to confess my undying love for fresh berries. I spend my year longing for summer not because I crave the sunlight or yearn for vacation, but because summer is berry season. Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries. Send them over. I freeking love berries.

So you can probably guess that I either loved or hated this tart based upon the freshness of the berries. You'll be happy to know that they were perfect. The raspberry coulis under the berries was just the right balance of sweet and tart. The pastry cream was light and fresh. The shell was buttery and dense, yet flaky and sweet. Y'all, this tart is perfection.


Next we tried the Belgian Brownie. It doesn't really look like a brownie, but if you're like me and define brownies as dense, fudgy, dark chocolatey treats that are somewhere between bar cookies and cakes, you will love this. This dessert epitomized the word "rich." I don't think I could have eaten the entire thing by myself. But alongside the Raspberry Tart, we had created the perfect dessert combination.

Clearly we hated every bite.

Overall, LPQ has delicious real food and outstanding desserts. Their food, combined with their friendly service and European ambiance, makes them one of my favorite chains in the city. Side note: because they have so many locations, they have to post their calorie counts. I have mixed feelings about this, but the numbers generally comfort me more than creep me out. I plan to continue frequenting NYC's many LPQ locations, slowly eating my way through their entire menu.

Le Pain Quotidien gets my stamp of approval!

Have you been to Le Pain Quotidien? Do you have any favorite chains that consistently impress you? Do you have ideas about where I should have gone instead or where I should go next? Sound off in the comments!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Grocery List

There are a lot of reasons to buy grocery store goodies. Sometimes you don't have time to bake. Sometimes you want to try something new. And sometimes something just looks damn delicious. Here are a few of the grocery store items that are floating my boat right about now.

Biscoff Cookies

You might know these European-style cookies from Delta flights. They will always remind me of vacations and of my Dad, who always steals them from the Crown Room (I don't care what it's called now; that will always be its name) so he has a whole cabinet full of them. You can order them from Biscoff's website (and get Delta SkyMiles!), but that's a little too much work for me. Luckily, Trader Joe's has released Bistro Cookies, which are ridiculously cheap and taste just like the real thing. Yum!

Ben & Jerry's Fossil Fuel Ice Cream


I LOVE Ben & Jerry's, but I usually only allow myself to buy their frozen yogurt (or anyone's FroYo, for that matter). Lately the bodega across the street has been out of B&J FroYo; seeing as it was too hot to walk and I was dying for some frozen goodness, I had to try something new. I couldn't resist the chocolate dinosaurs! The best part of the ice cream? The cookie pieces. So delicious!

Trader Joe's Peanut Butter Goodies

My roommates bought me these when I ended my diet after my sister's wedding. It's a cookie topped with peanut butter mousse, then covered in chocolate, and sprinkled with peanuts. They are magical. Go buy some immediately.

Chocolate Chips

I always keep chocolate chips on hand to bake with, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't eat a tablespoon or two as a snack now and then. Lately, I've also had white chocolate chips and peanut butter chips around too. Chips are the perfect little (surprisingly low calorie) treat to satisfy your sweet tooth without breaking your budget, busting your diet, or ruining your dinner.

What are you nomming on from the grocery story lately?

Monday, July 25, 2011

FAO Cafe (Midtown East)

What could be better than baked goods? Baked goods inside a toy store, of course! My frequent nompanion M noticed a Groupon for FAO Cafe a few weeks ago, and we were so excited to try it out. FAO Cafe is located on the corner of 5th Avenue & 59th Street inside FAO Schwarz, AKA the greatest toy store in the world. They feature tasty treats and caffeinated delights from some of New York's finest bakers, some of whom don't have brick and mortar stores. All of this is conveniently near Central Park, The Plaza Hotel, and 5th Avenue shopping.


My biggest complaint with FAO Cafe was the lack of seating. There was one tiny bar along the window with maybe five seats. There happens to be a collection of tables outside across from The Plaza, but New York has been hot as hell suffering from a heat wave, so we were not exactly excited to take our food to metal chairs outside. However, there was a live jazz band there to entertain the tourists; us locals were also pleased, and therefore lured outside.



Now before I get to the food, I want to complain about one more thing: the service was awful. There were no napkins and no silverware. The barista made us feel a bit silly for ordering the amount of food we ordered and taking as long as we did to decide. Now I know I come from a family that values customer service, and I was raised to believe that the customer is always right. Even without my unique upbringing, I'm pretty sure the customer should not be made to feel the way this lady made me feel. Also, iced coffee should not be 75% ice. Just had to get that off my chest.

Luckily, the quality of the pastries (and the mood music) outweighed the seating issues and service problems. We ordered a selection of goodies, and before you freak out, you should know the two of us did NOT attempt to finish all of this in one sitting. But we got pretty darn close.



The first thing we decided on was this Chocolate Crunch Cookie from Selma's Cookies. I would've liked a description of what this cookie contained - or a more fitting title, to be honest - but once I took a bite, I stopped questioning. It was perfect: a delicious, sugary, buttery cookie stuffed with chocolate, M&Ms, and I think butterscotch & some kind of nut. It was the perfect balance of crunch and gooeyness, and the perfect amount of chocolate. I think I would call it The Kitchen Sink Cookie, since it had pretty much everything in it. YUM.


The next thing we tried was the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough cupcake from Sarah's Cupcakes. I know I'm a cupcake maker, but it might surprise you to know I don't really like frosting all that much. So it should mean a lot when I say that this frosting ROCKED. It was super sweet, but the cake was so light and fluffy that it balanced out nicely. The cookie on top was perfect, and the crumbs in the frosting were a really nice touch. I know deep down it was really just a vanilla cupcake with vanilla icing and some cookie crumbs, but it was delicious. We had gotten our unique treat out of the way with the cookie - this was meant to be our classic.


Our final choice was the Chocolate Blackout doughnut from Doughnut Plant. This was by far my favorite - a perfect chocolate doughnut with a ribbon of fudge baked in and a chocolatey crumb topping. It was SO rich, but I loved every bite of it. I hear doughnuts are the new trendy treat, and this was the first one I  tried. I now understand the obsession. I will definitely be visiting one of Doughnut Plant's locations to try more of their goodies!

After we ate (and melted from the sun), we went back inside to play in the toy store. I mean, where else on earth can you find a rocking horse that's actually a rocking panda?


Overall, I liked FAO Cafe. The desserts (and coffee) we got would have been well-worth $15, but it was nice that we got them all for the Groupon deal of $7! Would I specifically seek out FAO Cafe to eat in the future? Probably not. But if I was wandering around FAO Schwarz and needed some coffee or sugar, I would gladly stop by and sample some more of New York's local eateries. If nothing else, it led me to a few new brands I want to check out around the city! Their food outweighs their service, and their atmosphere is fun. For that reason...

FAO Cafe gets my stamp of approval!

Have you been to FAO Cafe or tried any of brands they feature? Does bad service ever outweigh delicious food? Do you have ideas of where I should have gone instead or where I should go next? Sound off in the comments!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Teaser: Peanut Butter S'Mores Bites

Last week, I invented a recipe. This is a first for me. It is a huge deal. I know, for most of the food bloggers out there it's a weekly thing, but I had been in a bit of a baking funk, and this adventure in originality reminded me that I know flavors work and I'm not completely inept with candymaking.

Now, I don't want to share the recipe just yet because it's not perfect - at this point, the measurements are all eyeballed and it would be pretty difficult for me to teach y'all how to replicate it. But I do want to let you know that these delicious little wonders exist. I'm still not quite sure if I should classify them as a cookie or a candy, but suffice to say, they rock.


So why am I telling you about them if I'm not sharing the how-to with the world? Because over on my personal blog I cosponsor this awesome thing called Freeky Friday. Every Friday, my sister and I invite you to blog, tweet, and/or comment on Facebook to promote positivity, unity and love - all wrapped up in a clothing line called Freekware. Every time someone does any of these things, they are entered to win a delicious treat and a donation to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in their name. Last month, Jessica won some Brownie-Covered Oreos. This month, our winner will receive these Peanut Butter S'Mores Bites! Now, there are five Fridays in July, so if you blog, tweet, and comment on Facebook every week, you'll be entered fifteen times!

For more on Freeky Friday, check out Concrete Jane (my personal blog), Dr. Princess (my sister blog), and the Freekware Facebook page. Hope to see you on Friday - and to send you some goodies at the end of the month!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Put the Lime in the Coconut

A few weeks ago, I bought sour cream to make Homemade Hostess Cupcakes. I had some left over because, as you may remember, I did not make as many Disaster Cakes as previously planned. I awoke this morning to find the biological clock on my sour cream rapidly ticking. I had already decided to make My Baking Addiction's Lime Coconut Sour Cream Bundt Cake - in fact, I had purchased a bundt pan (and new cooling racks!) for just this occasion thanks to a fabulous BB&B coupon.

This was my first coffee cake, and my first time making anything in a bundt pan, so I was a little nervous. I forgot to take pictures throughout the baking process, but I am proud to announce that the end result was delicious! I learned a few things from this experience: First, zesting limes takes longer than you think it will, so you should probably do it first so you're not waiting around for them. Second, there is a clear, marked difference between the standard store brand pan and a Calphalon pan. I decided to spend the extra dollars to get the Calphalon bundt pan and it was worth it. The nonstick coating is really wonderful; the burnt-on, caked-on scrapings from my spatula around the top of the pan came off with practically no effort. Anyway, just buy the nicer pan. It's worth it.

My only alterations to the recipe were that I used regular, non-organic, full-dairy sour cream (because that's what I had on hand) and I was short on limes, so I used the zest of about 2 1/4 limes for the cake and the zest of about 3/4 limes for the glaze & went a little short on the powdered sugar to balance out the flavor. For an extra punch of lime, I squeezed the juice of about half a lime into the cake batter. I think it was a nice touch.

Lime Coconut Sour Cream Bundt Cake
Ingredients

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • Zest of 3 medium limes
  • 2 teaspoons of vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup sweetened, flaked coconut
Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10-inch bundt pan. Like I said before, with the nonstick pan, this is much less of a scary step - I just used the papers from the butter and an extra spritz of Canola Oil spray. I didn't flour it because, well, because I tried it and it looked like it wasn't going to work.

With a hand mixer in a large bowl, cream the butter until smooth. If you are blessed enough to own a KitchenAid Stand Mixer, use the paddle attachment.

In a medium bowl, combine the sugar and lime zest, mixing together with your fingertips until the sugar is moistened and fragrant. Add the sugar mixture gradually into the butter and beat until light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla. This is also when I added in the extra lime juice.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add flour mixture, alternating with sour cream, into the butter mixture, beating well after each addition. Fold in coconut.

Spoon mixture into prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula or knife.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (my oven is super hot so I baked mine for about 45).

Cool for 20 minutes on a wire rack. Invert cake onto wire rack; gently remove pan (again, the nonstick is wonderful here). Cool completely.


Meanwhile...

Lime Glaze
Ingredients
  • 1 cup confectioner's sugar
  • 5 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • zest of 1 medium lime
Directions

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and stir until smooth. If mixture is too thick, add more cream one tablespoon at a time. I think I added an extra tablespoon and a half.


Spoon over cooled cake.


Coffee cake success! It's moist and fluffy with just the right amount of crumb. I recommend eating it with a fork. I especially love the mixture of summery, tropical flavors - it's a cake that manages to be light and refreshing!


Are you playing with any fun flavors this summer?

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Six-And-A-Half Layer Squares

Baked goods are the perfect gift. They are cheaper than real presents, more personal than a store-bought birthday cake, and you can guarantee the birthday boy or girl is going to love your gift. One of my closest friends and frequent nompanions celebrated her birthday this weekend, and I was at a loss for the perfect recipe. She loves chocolate, but I've also seen her eat fruity things (mostly banana or lime flavored goodies). She also had some specific requests about peanut butter - it wasn't her favorite, but she didn't mind it. I had already made cupcakes, so those were off the table. I reached out to my friends & followers and decided to make Seven Layer Bars, aka Magic Bars.

I picked a recipe from the amazing Brown Eyed Baker because I could count the seven layers - and that was VERY important to me. I then decided to swap out butterscotch chips for peanut butter chips (I like peanut butter MUCH better), but to only put them on half of the pan, since the birthday girl is not a huge PB fan. Hence, six-and-a-half layer bars... that later became squares due to the smallness of the pan I had available. Either way, they were magic.

Ingredients/Layers:
  1. Graham cracker crust (9 full graham crackers + 1 stick of melted butter)
  2. Chopped walnuts (1 cup)
  3. Semisweet chocolate chips (1 cup)
  4. White chocolate chips (1/2 cup)
  5. Peanut butter chips (1/2 cup - I reduced to 1/4 cup since I only used them on half the pan)
  6. Sweetened coconut (1 cup)
  7. Sweetened condensed milk (1 14 ounce can)


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a pan (I used 8x8, original recipe recommends 9x13) with nonstick cooking spray. Line with aluminum foil, and spray again. Be sure to leave the foil hanging over the edges to act as handles to lift out the bars.


Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and bake until the outer flakes begin to brown, about 4 minutes. Watch it! Coconut can go from delightfully toasty to burnt in a matter of seconds. Set aside.

Meanwhile, crush those graham crackers. Break them into manageable pieces and place in a gallon-sized freezer bag. Enlist the help of a friend or roommate so you can do other things while this is happening. Sweetened condensed milk makes a wonderful rolling pin.


And when that doesn't work, a bottle of tequila is a useful tool as well.


Melt the butter in a small bowl, then pour in the graham cracker crumbs. I used a spatula to get it going, then tossed with my fingers until totally combined.  Press the crumbs evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.

In order, sprinkle the walnuts, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and coconut  over the graham crumbs. Take a moment to admire all the goodness.


Pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the entire dish.


Bake until the top is golden brown, about 25 minutes. This is where I ran into trouble with the 8x8 pan. I left it in for a couple more minutes, then turned it down and gave it a few more minutes so the outside wouldn't burn but the inside would still set. Use your eyes and nose, and you'll know when they're done.

Cool in the pan on top of your useless radiator on a wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours.

Remove the bars from the pan using the foil handles and transfer to a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut into 2x3 inch bars or 16 squares, depending on the size of your pan.


These bars were truly magic - super easy to make, totally delicious, and a huge hit! Bonus perk: I now have a ton of leftover ingredients to inspire the next round of baked goods!


Have you ever given homemade goodies as a gift?