Buttery Vanilla Shortbread + Downton Abbey

Last night was the first episode of the much anticipated Season 3 of Downton Abbey!  Love this show!  So, of course, I had to host a watch party for my favorite anglophile friends!

I decided on a simple spread of champagne, tea and desserts to go along with the 2 hours of British drama!  It was fabulous.  And I learned that baking shortbread is SUPER easy!  It was a last minute decision to make homemade shortbread (because they type I bought at Whole Foods wasn't up to snuff).  Fortunately, I found a recipe on Food & Wine and it didn't call for many ingredients so I had everything I needed at home!

Try this simple shortbread recipe and enjoy the show!

INGREDIENTS
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter and vanilla and pulse until evenly moistened. Turn the crumbs out onto a large piece of parchment paper and press into a disk.

Cover with another sheet of parchment paper and roll out the dough to a rough 8-by-11-inch rectangle. Discard the top sheet of parchment. Trim the edges to form a 7-by-10-inch rectangle. Slide the dough along with the parchment onto a large baking sheet. Using a straight edge and a sharp knife, score the dough into 24 bars. Poke the dough all over with a fork and freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.

Bake the dough until golden, about 25 minutes. While the shortbread is still warm, cut it into bars. Let cool before serving.

MAKE AHEAD The shortbread can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

P.S. I also made a Sticky Orange Marmalade Cake that was supposed to pair well with tea.  It definitely paired well with tea because it was on the dry side.  It was good and goes very well with tea or coffee, but it wasn't to my taste.  But here's the link just in case it sounds like something you'd like!

Salted Dark Chocolate Espresso Cookies

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I think this has been my new year's resolution every year... but once again, it's to update this blog more often!  Honestly, 2012 just flew by and I can't believe it's already 2013 today!  Hope everyone had a great holiday and we'll have select photos from the Farrell's California Christmas posted soon.

This is probably not a surprise but Michael and I rang in the new year with food!  I spent this cold and overcast new year's day being lazy and catching up on our pile of magazines from last month.  Fortunately a recipe for baked beans caught my eye in this month's Food & Wine.  And since no one questions a pregnant lady's cravings, Michael made us an amazing hamburger with baked beans and salad for the first day of the new year!

Impressive, right?!?!  And yes, it was as delicious as it looks!  Mmmmm...

Of course, this meant that I had to make an equally impressive new year's day dessert!  I meant to try these salted dark chocolate espresso cookies for the cookie swap last month, but ran out of time.  Fortunately, that meant that I had all the ingredients already!  Plus, it was the first time that I got to use coconut oil, which is supposed to be healthier than butter... perfect for starting out the new year on a healthy note!

Healthy coconut oil.  Healthy dark chocolate.  Everything's healthy in moderation, right?  Right.

INGREDIENTS
6 oz good quality unsweetened chocolate
4 oz Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
¼ cup coconut oil (I used Trader Joe's organic brand)
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
¼ tspn baking powder
¼ tspn salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1⅓ cups sugar
1½ tspn instant espresso powder (I used Folger's instant coffee)
1 tspn vanilla extract
smoked sea salt flakes (I used kosher salt)

1. Finely chop 6 oz unsweetened chocolate and set in a double boiler over simmering water with the coconut oil. Stirring constantly, melt. Once melted, remove from heat, set aside, and let cool to room temperature.

2. In a bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a mixer bowl with the paddle attachment, combine the eggs, sugar, espresso powder, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium high for about 5-7 minutes, until pale and fluffy and the batter drops off the beaters in a thick ribbon. Fold in the flour mixture, followed by the cooled melted chocolate mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips. Cover and chill until firm, about 1 hour. (Or chill in the freezer for about 30 minutes.)

4. Preheat oven to 350° F. On lined or greased cookie sheets, drop 1 to 1½-inch balls of dough, leaving about 2 inches between each ball. Sprinkle the dough balls with salt flakes.

5. Bake the sheets one at a time for 10 to 14 minutes, rotating once half-way through baking. The centers should still be soft when you remove the pans from the oven. Let the cookies cool at least 5 minutes before enjoying hot, or store in air tight containers for about two days. Serve with a shot of milk.

TIP: Let batter sit out a little while after chilling - it makes it easier to roll into balls.  (Warning: Hands will get very chocolaty when rolling batter into balls.  It's messy!)

Homemade Marshmallows

 

Hurricane Sandy swept through last night and thankfully we did not lose power!  But we did have hot cocoa topped with homemade marshmallows!  Mmmmm... these marshmallows are amazing.

I also cut out marshmallow ghosts and headstones to decorate our chocolate caramel tart at this weekend's dinner party!  Spooky!!!

And before I post the recipe, here's our off-the-balcony look at the effect of Hurricane Sandy on our grove of trees outside.  The photo above was taken before the storm and the photo below was taken this morning.  We did loose some leaves but all-in-all, not too bad!  Our thoughts and prayers are with those still without power and those affected up in New York and New Jersey - looks like they have a lot of clean up to do.

So just in time for the holidays and chilly weather, try out these delicious homemade marshmallows from Smitten Kitchen... I promise you won't go back to those bagged jet puffed marshmallows in the supermarket anymore!  They are THAT much more delicious!

INGREDIENTS
About 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 1/2 envelopes (2 tablespoons plus 2 1/2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
1 cup cold water, divided
2 cups granulated sugar (cane sugar worked just fine)
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites or reconstituted powdered egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla (alternately: 1/2 of a scraped vanilla bean, 2 teaspoons almond or mint extract or maybe even some food coloring for tinting)

Oil bottom and sides of a 13- by 9- by 2-inch rectangular metal baking pan and dust bottom and sides with some confectioners’ sugar.Oil bottom and sides of a 13- by 9- by 2-inch rectangular metal baking pan and dust bottom and sides with some confectioners’ sugar.

In bowl of a standing electric mixer or in a large bowl sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold cold water, and let stand to soften.

In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, second 1/2 cup of cold water, and salt over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to moderate and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy or digital thermometer registers 240°F, about 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.

With standing or a hand-held electric mixer beat mixture on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume, about six minutes if using standing mixer or about 10 minutes if using hand-held mixer. (Some reviewers felt this took even longer with a hand mixer, but still eventually whipped up nicely.)

In separate medium bowl with cleaned beaters beat egg whites (or reconstituted powdered whites) until they just hold stiff peaks. Beat whites and vanilla (or your choice of flavoring) into sugar mixture until just combined. Pour mixture into baking pan and don’t fret if you don’t get it all out (learning from my mess of a first round). Sift 1/4 cup confectioners sugar evenly over top. Chill marshmallow, uncovered, until firm, at least three hours, and up to one day.

Run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert pan onto a large cutting board. Lifting up one corner of inverted pan, with fingers loosen marshmallow and ease onto cutting board. With a large knife trim edges of marshmallow and cut marshmallow into roughly one-inch cubes. (An oiled pizza cutter works well here too.) Sift remaining confectioners’ sugar back into your now-empty baking pan, and roll the marshmallows through it, on all six sides, before shaking off the excess and packing them away.

Makes about 96 1-inch cubed marshmallows. Marshmallows keep in an airtight container at cool room temperature 1 week.

Chocolate Caramel Tart

We went to the most amazing Syrian/Persian/American wedding in the adorable town of Birmingham, MI a few weeks ago and in our giftbag was a box of Michigan-made chocolate covered caramels with sea salt sprinkled on top.  Since then, I've been obsessed.  So for our dinner party this weekend, I made this Chocolate Caramel Tart from Saveur and it's decadent, delicious and dense.

Something else that we discovered in Michigan was the cider mills!  We went to Franklin Cider Mill and had the most delicious hot cider and warm donuts.  Also, we bought some apple pie bread... wow... I definitely need to figure out how to make it because I can't afford to fly up to Detroit every time we want some of that bread!  All in all, it was a fantastic first trip to Michigan!

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CRUST:
1 1⁄2 cups flour
1⁄4 cup plus 1 tbsp. dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder (*See Note)
1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
10 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and softened
1⁄2 cup plus 2 tbsp. confectioners' sugar
2 egg yolks, preferably at room temperature
1⁄2 tsp. vanilla extract

FOR THE CARAMEL
1 1⁄2 cups sugar
3 tbsp. light corn syrup
1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
6 tbsp. unsalted butter
6 tbsp. heavy cream
1 tbsp. crème fraîche

FOR THE GANACHE
1⁄2 cup heavy cream
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
Gray sea salt for garnish (*See Note)

1. Make the crust: Heat oven to 350˚. Combine flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Using a handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until mixture is pale and fluffy; mix in yolks and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients. Transfer dough to a 9" fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and press dough evenly into bottom and sides of pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Prick the tart shell all over with a fork and bake until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool.

2. Make the caramel: In a 1-qt. saucepan, whisk together sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 6 tbsp. water and bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer inserted into the syrup reads 340°. Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter, cream, and crème fraîche (the mixture will bubble up) until smooth. Pour caramel into cooled tart shell and let cool slightly; refrigerate until firm, 4–5 hours.

3. Make the ganache: Bring cream to a boil in a 1-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Put chocolate into a medium bowl and pour in hot cream; let sit for 1 minute, then stir slowly with a rubber spatula until smooth. Pour ganache evenly over tart and refrigerate until set, 4–5 hours. Sprinkle tart with sea salt, slice, and serve chilled.

SERVES 8

NOTE: So what's the difference between dutch-processed cocoa and other types of cocoa?  I found my answer here and I purchased this box at Whole Foods.  Who knew there was a difference?

NOTE: Gray sea salt?  I found this at Whole Foods also.  I think you could just use kosher salt if you can't find gray sea salt, but it's super interesting how they harvest this fancy salt!

Warm Chocolate Budino

So it was our wedding anniversary yesterday.  Can you believe it's been 3 years already?  We totally can't.  It's crazy how time flies when you're having fun!

So as usual, Michael cooked a delicious dinner featuring bison filets and I made a new chocolate dessert!  It was not very difficult to make and REALLY super yummy (totally my style!).  Who would think to serve this soft, rich, not-too-dense chocolate cake with drizzled olive oil and salted roasted almonds???  Food & Wine of course!  Definitely worth a try for those chocolate lovers out there.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1/3 cup sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
Hot water
Salted roasted almonds and vanilla ice cream, for serving

Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter and flour an 8-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and butter and flour the paper.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour with the salt and baking powder. Chop the chocolate and, in a large microwave-safe bowl, heat it with the butter at high power in 30-second intervals until the chocolate is melted. Whisk in the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the sugar. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the dry ingredients until evenly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.

Set the cake pan in a small roasting pan. Transfer the roasting pan to the center of the oven. Carefully pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to reach one-third of the way up the side of the cake pan. Bake for about 40 minutes, until the budino is firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.

Transfer the cake pan to a rack and let cool for 30 minutes. Run a knife around the budino and invert it onto a plate. Peel off the paper and invert the budino again. Cut into wedges and serve with roasted almonds and vanilla ice cream drizzled with olive oil.

4th of July Cupcake feat. Cream Cheese Frosting

Yesterday, we went to our friends Roger and Martha's house on Capitol Hill to cook out and watch the fireworks.  Michael made his famous gazpacho because it's delicious and refreshing, and because Martha is vegan.

Upon hearing of Michael's contribution to the BBQ, Garvey sent him this clip from The Simpson's.  HILARIOUS!


And I made mini black-bottom cheesecakes with jam and chocolate cupcakes with a new cream cheese frosting and berries on top!  The combination of moist chocolate cupcakes with fluffy frosting and fresh berries was PERFECT.  Needless to say, we did not bring any home because they were devoured by our friends.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Independence Day!  Here's our new favorite cream cheese frosting recipe.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup of butter (1 stick), room temperature
8 oz of Philly cream cheese (1 package), room temperature
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar (to taste)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

With an electric mixer, mix the butter and cream cheese together, about 3 minutes on medium speed until very smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure even mixing.

Add the vanilla extract and mix. Slowly add the powdered sugar. Keep adding until you get to desired sweetness and thickness.

Either spread on with a blunt knife or spatula, or spoon into a piping bag to decorate your cake or cupcake.

Lemon Tea Cookies for Easter

Happy Easter!

This year we're celebrating Easter at Aunt Mary Alice, Uncle Sam and Cousin Karen's house down in Richmond!  Although it's a 2.5 hour drive down, there is just something special about having a home-cooked Easter dinner surrounded by family.

I decided to make lemon tea cookies for dessert... I guess it just sounded Eastery to me... and they turned out super cute and delicious!

INGREDIENTS
2/3 cup butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Place butter in the bowl of an electric mixer; cream until smooth. Add lemon zest and continue mixing until blended. Add granulated sugar and mix until smooth, about 2 minutes longer. Add egg and continue to beat until a lemon colored batter forms. Blend in vanilla extract. Slowly add 2 cups of flour, mixing until dough pulls away from sides of bowl and a ball forms. Remove dough, flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Flour work surface and rolling pin with some reserved flour. Roll dough into a 1/4-inch sheet. Using a 2-inch cookie cutter (or whatever shape you want... I used a flower cookie cutter for Easter!), cut cookies and transfer to an ungreased cookie sheet, spacing them 3/4-inch apart. Gather up unused scraps and re-roll until no dough remains.

Bake cookies until edges are a pale golden brown, about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to a rack to cool. Let stand for 30 minutes. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Store in airtight containers for up to a week.

Yield: 48 cookies.

Mini Black-Bottom Cheesecakes with Jam

Dinner parties are the best excuses to try new dessert recipes... and it's even more rewarding when you find a new, easy favorite!

This recipe was very specific about using foil liners.  Well, we only had 6 foil liners in the pantry and I forgot to pick some more up at the store and we stayed later than we expected at a Marti Gras party last night and couldn't get to the store... so all the excuses aside, I decided to wing it and use half foil liners and half regular paper liners.

I carefully sprayed the foil liners before I delicately inserted them into the muffin pan... and I didn't do anything but unwrap the paper liners since I was secretly hoping that they would come out messy and I'd have to eat the "mistakes" after the dinner party.

To my surprise, the un-sprayed paper liners came off rather easily and were totally presentable!  The ridges were a little more pronounced on the foil liners, but in a pinch, paper liners would work great.

Another note: Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers are delicious!  I found them at Rodman's in DC but I don't think I've ever seen them at a big-name supermarket before... so if you can't find any, just use Oreos and scrape out the filling.

Sorry for the long intro.  Here's the recipe from Food & Wine:

INGREDIENTS
Vegetable oil spray
24 plain chocolate wafer cookies, preferably Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup fromage blanc (6 ounces), at room temperature
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup seedless raspberry preserves, warmed

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with foil baking cups and spray the cups with vegetable oil spray. In a food processor, crush the chocolate wafer cookies. Add the butter and process until fine crumbs form. Spoon the chocolate cookie crumbs into the prepared baking cups and press with the bottom of a glass to compact. Bake for 5 minutes, or until almost set. Leave the oven on.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar at medium speed until smooth. Beat in the fromage blanc, then add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.

Pour the cheesecake batter into the baking cups, filling them three-quarters full.

Bake the cheesecakes for 15 minutes, or until slightly jiggly in the center. Remove from the oven and spread 1 teaspoon of the warmed raspberry preserves on top of each cheesecake. Transfer the muffin tin to the freezer and chill the cheesecakes until set, about 15 minutes.

Remove the cheesecakes from the pan and peel off the foil baking cups. Transfer the cheesecakes to a platter and serve.

MAKE AHEAD The mini black-bottom cheesecakes can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.

NOTES Instead of Formage Blanc Crème fraîche, goat cheese, lebneh or quark.

Torta al Cioccolato

This chocolate tart is from Saveur and made for the hard-core chocoholic (like Michael!).  It is ridiculously dense and delicious served with coffee after a good meal.

The crust is a perfect compliment since it's made from Digestives (you know, those delicious English biscuits served with tea and aren't too sweet).  And this recipe only has 6 ingredients!  I love recipes with only a handful of ingredients!

INGREDIENTS
For the Crust:
2 1/2cups finely crushed digestives (English whole wheat biscuits)
1 tbsp. sugar
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling:
16 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups heavy cream
3 egg yolks

1. For the crust: Preheat oven to 350°. Mix crushed biscuits and sugar together in a medium bowl. Add butter and stir until well combined. Transfer crumb mixture to a 10" false-bottom tart pan. Using your hands, spread mixture out in an even layer, then use your fingertips to press crumb mixture into bottom and up side of pan to form an even crust. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake until crust is set and lightly golden in places, about 15 minutes. Set crust aside until completely cool.

2. For the filling: Melt chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl set over a medium pot of gently simmering water over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and set aside. Heat cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat until bubbles appear around inside edge of pan and cream is just about to boil, then remove pan from heat. Meanwhile, put egg yolks into a medium mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk about 1/4 cup of the hot cream into yolks, then stir egg–cream mixture back into pot of hot cream. Gradually add egg–cream mixture to bowl of melted chocolate, stirring until well combined and smooth.

3. Pour filling into prepared crust and set aside to cool, about 30 minutes, then refrigerate until chocolate is completely set, about 3 hours. Remove outer ring of tart pan. Serve with sliced strawberries, if you like.

Sour Cream Pumpkin Bundt

I have a confession to make... I did not actually bake this.

Okay, now that my conscience is clear, I will say that I did find the recipe and it turned out so delicious that I WILL make it in the near future and therefore, I find it necessary to put this amazing recipe on the blog.

This recipe is from the Food Librarian and part of her "I Like Big Bundts" series... who doesn't love that?  And my favorite baker/pilates instructor/personal trainer/friend Jennifer actually made this delicious bundt for her loft-warming party to kick off her new studio, Physique Loft in Adams Morgan!  Yay!

All the loft-warming dishes were made with natural, organic ingredients so she used organic pumpkin puree instead of Libby's and organic butter, eggs, sour cream... you get the point.  Also, we ran out of time and did not make the glaze.  I'm sure the glaze is delicious but it was just perfect with a light sprinkle of organic powdered sugar.

Moist.  Not too sweet.  Delicious.  My new fall favorite.

STREUSEL INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons butter

Cut butter into the sugar and spices until crumbly.

CAKE INGREDIENTS
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
4 large eggs, room temp
1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
8 oz or 1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Prep 12-cup Bundt pan (I use Pam with Flour spray).
2. Make streusel and set aside.
3. Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
4. Cream sugar and butter together until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes with the paddle attachment).
5. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl.
6. Add pumpkin, sour cream and vanilla.
7. With mixer on low, add in flour mixture until just combined.
8. Spoon half batter into pan.
9. Top with streusel mixture. Don't let streusel hit the sides of the pan.
10. Top with the rest of the batter.
11. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes (depending on your oven) until toothpick or skewer comes out clean. Mine took 55 minutes.
12. Cool for 30 minutes in pan, then depan and cool completely.
13. Top with glaze of powdered sugar and orange juice (can also use milk or cream).

Little Fruit Bites

I made Stuffed Pear in Puff Pastry the other night and had leftover puff pastry that I didn't want to go to waste.  So I thought, why don't I put a little spoonful of jam and fold the puff in half?

Trader Joe's fig butter and mango butter worked deliciously and wasn't too sweet (but I'm sure any jam would work) or even apple butter!  Perfect for autumn!

Just pop them in the toaster oven at 350 degrees and make sure it gets just a little golden brown (about 10-15 mins).  Yum.  Easy dessert, snack, or breakfast!

Milk Chocolate Pots de Crème

Thanks to Food & Wine, dessert for The Hunger Games book club was incredible and inspired by the main character's first experience drinking hot chocolate.

I take a sip of the hot, sweet, creamy liquid and a shudder runs through me.  Even though the rest of the meal beckons, I ignore it until I've drained my cup. (p. 55)

This decadent, impressive, and make-ahead recipe will be on the short list of easy dinner party dessert options from this day forward!

INGREDIENTS
10 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
5 large egg yolks
Crème fraîche and chocolate shavings, for garnish

In a large heatproof bowl, combine the milk and bittersweet chocolates.

In a medium saucepan, bring the milk, heavy cream and sugar to a boil, whisking constantly until the sugar is dissolved. In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Gradually whisk in half of the hot cream. Whisk the egg-and-cream mixture into the saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the custard coats the back of the spoon, about 4 minutes.

Pour the custard over the chocolate and let stand for 2 minutes, then stir until smooth.

Transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until very smooth, about 1 minute. Pour the mixture into eight 4-ounce ramekins and refrigerate until chilled, 2 hours.

Let the pots de crème stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Garnish with crème fraîche and chocolate shavings; serve.  (Instead of crème fraîche and chocolate shavings, I whipped up the remainder of the heavy cream with some sugar and vanilla extract then sprinkled the top with cocoa powder.)

MAKE AHEAD The pots de crème can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Tarte au Citron

This weekend we hosted a 9-person formal dinner at our apartment to welcome yet another Class of '98 Campolindo High School grad (and her husband) to DC!  We had to pull out both leaves of our table, turn it sideways a tad, and pull over the desk chair to fit everyone, but it turned into a great night of good food and good friends.

One of the highlights of the night was the new dessert recipe I tried: Tarte au Citron (French Lemon Tart).  I found the recipe on Saveur and it looked simple enough, so I thought it would be a great dessert on a hot and humid DC summer evening.

Truthfully, it wasn't as simple as I thought because the crust didn't roll out as neatly as I expected, but I can honestly say that it was worth it!  The crust was like a delicious shortbread cookie surrounding this light, refreshing lemon custard.  The filling was super quick and easy to throw together and I garnished it with fresh mint leaves from our balcony garden and raspberries for a splash of color.



INGREDIENTS
For The Pastry:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup superfine sugar
Pinch salt
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
16 tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces

For The Filling:
6 eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup fresh lemon juice
6 tbsp. heavy cream

1. For the pastry: Preheat oven to 375°. Sift together flour, sugar, and salt into a mixing bowl. Beat together 1 of the eggs and the yolk in a small bowl, then add eggs, along with the butter, to the flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter or 2 knives to work butter and eggs into flour until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer to a clean surface and, working with a handful at a time, knead mixture with the heel of your hand into a smooth dough. Gather together and knead briefly to form a smooth ball, then dust with flour.

2. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 14" round, then carefully ease into a 12" false-bottomed tart pan. (Pinch dough back together if it tears or cracks.) Run rolling pin over the top of the pan to cut off overhanging dough, then prick crust with a fork. Line dough with parchment paper, add pie weights or dried beans, and bake on a cookie sheet until edge of crust is golden, about 25 minutes. Beat remaining egg in a bowl. Remove parchment and weights from crust, brush bottom with egg, and continue baking until crust is golden, 5–7 minutes more. Set aside to cool.

3. For the filling: Reduce oven to 300°. Beat eggs and sugar in a medium bowl until thick and well mixed. Gradually add lemon juice, then cream, whisking constantly. Pour filling (you may have a little extra) into prepared crust and bake until filling is set, about 40 minutes. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Creamy Peach Tart with Smoky Almond Crust

Seriously yum!

It's like an easy cheese cake with delicious fresh peaches on top!  Perfect summer dessert from this month's issue of Food & Wine:

INGREDIENTS
2 cups vanilla wafer cookies, such as Nilla Wafers (5 ounces)
1/2 cup smoked almonds
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sour cream
1 egg
2 firm, ripe medium peaches, peeled and cut into thin wedges

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a food processor, combine the vanilla wafers with the almonds and 2 tablespoons of the sugar and process until fine. Add the melted butter and pulse until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Press the crumbs into the bottom and 1/2 inch up the side of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes, until the crust is set.

Meanwhile, wipe out the food processor bowl. Add the cream cheese, sour cream, egg and 2 tablespoons of the sugar and process until smooth. Pour the custard into the crust and bake for 15 minutes, until set. Let the tart cool slightly and transfer to the freezer to chill, about 15 minutes.

In a bowl, toss the peaches with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Arrange the peaches in 2 concentric circles over the custard. Remove the ring, cut the tart into wedges and serve.

Cherry Pie for the 4th of July!

As you can see above, my cherry pie is cooling on the windowsill with the pick-up truck in the driveway and Dad Merschat coming in after a hard day's work setting up for the 4th of July bonfire.  If that's not all-American, I don't know what is.

My brother-in-law searched high and low for traditional New England sour cherries but couldn't find them so he brought down these sweet pie cherries all the way down from New Hampshire.  And this is a new pie crust recipe passed down from our friend Nathan's sister up in Maine (and I had never made a cherry pie before) so this was quite an experiment.  Fortunately, it was a huge hit at the dessert table and got rave reviews from everyone at the 2nd Annual Merschat Family Garden Party & Bonfire!

All in all, it took me a little over an hour to put together and then another hour to bake but if I were organized enough, I could have made the crust up to a week in advance, pit the cherries the day before, and then assembled the pie in no time on the day of the party... but no, as usual I threw everything together at the last minute and poor Michael sat pitting cherries for an hour while I made the crust.  But it was worth it and I'll definitely make this again!

Sweet Cherry Pie

(edited slightly from Smitten Kitchen)

INGREDIENTS

4 cups pitted fresh cherries (about 2 1/2 pounds unpitted)
4 tablespoons cornstarch
2/3 to 3/4 cup sugar (adjust this according to the sweetness of your cherries)
1/8 teaspoon salt
Juice of half a lemon
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into small bits
1 egg, beaten with 2 tablespoons water
Coarse sugar, for decoration

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Stir together the cherries, cornstarch, sugar, salt, lemon and almond extract gently together in a large bowl.

Roll out half of chilled dough (use larger piece, if you’ve divided them unevenly) on a floured work surface to 13-inch round. Gently place it in 9-inch pie pan, either by rolling it around the rolling pin and unrolling it over the pan or by folding it into quarters and unfolding it in the pan. Trim edges to a half-inch overhang.

Spoon filling into pie crust, discarding the majority of the liquid that has pooled in the bowl.  Top the pie with a lattice pattern.

If you've never done a lattice pie, this step-by-step tutorial was perfect for me. 

Bake the pie in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350°F. and bake the pie for 25 to 30 minutes more, or until the crust is golden. Let the pie cool on a rack (or on windowsill).

Pie Crust

INGREDIENTS

4 cups all-purpose flour (or 2 cups all-purpose and 2 cups wheat flour)

1 Tbsp. salt

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 3/4 cup butter/shortening

1 egg

1 Tbsp. vinegar

Up to 3/4 cup cold water (add 1 Tbsp. at a time)

Mix flour, salt and sugar.

Cut in butter/shortening with pastry cutter or pulse in food processor.

Mix in egg and vinegar.  If it needs a little more moisture, add a little bit of water at a time.  You don't want it too wet.

Divide in half.  Roll into ball and flatten into a disk.  Wrap in plastic wrap and leave it in the refrigerator for at least half an hour or up to a week.

Lightly flour surface to roll out dough and put it in the pie pan!

Pistachio Baklava

Last weekend, we had a Food & Wine vs. Saveur potluck dinner with our good friends Mary and Riz (and their darling 1 1/2-year-old, future sous-chef, Rami).  The theme was middle eastern and it was DELICIOUS!

When I told Mary that I would be attempting a baklava recipe, she responded...

Baklava???? Are you kidding me? You are so ambitious!

So to quell any rumors that this is an ambitious recipe, I'm posting it and hope everyone tries this wonderful and rather simple recipe.  It's worth it!  Thanks Food & Wine... AGAIN!

INGREDIENTS
1 pound shelled unsalted pistachios (about 3 1/3 cups)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 sticks ( 1/2 pound) unsalted butter, melted
12 sheets of phyllo dough (about 1/2 pound)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 400°. Butter a 13-by-9-inch glass baking dish. In a food processor, pulse the pistachios with 1/2 cup of the sugar just until the nuts are finely ground. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in half the butter.

Stack the phyllo sheets and cut them in half crosswise. Set a half sheet of phyllo in the prepared baking dish and brush lightly with some of the remaining melted butter. Repeat with 11 more half sheets of phyllo, buttering each sheet; don't worry if the pastry tears a little. Cover the remaining phyllo with a towel.

Spread the pistachio mixture evenly on the phyllo in the baking dish. Top with the remaining phyllo sheets, buttering each sheet as above. Drizzle any remaining butter over the top. Using a sharp knife, make diagonal slices 1 1/2 inches apart all the way through the baklava; slice similarly in the opposite direction to make a diamond pattern. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until evenly browned on top.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the remaining 1 cup of sugar with the water and bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring to dissolve; remove from the heat. Stir in the honey and cinnamon. Pour the syrup evenly over the baklava and let cool completely before serving.

MAKE AHEAD The baklava can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie? Perhaps.

I was reading something on Apartment Therapy or The Kitchn and I somehow stumbled upon this recipe.

It was originally published in the NYTimes by the title "Quest for the Perfect Chocolate Cookie."  Well... does that sound like an invitation or what? 

The kicker is the prep time... 2 days.  Yup.  The dough needs to rest for 24 to 36 hours.  I mean really... does it make that much difference?  IT DOES!!!

In the name of science, Michael and I tested a couple cookies after only resting for a couple hours.  Pretty good cookie but nothing special.  But two days later... the flavor really had a sense of depth and the little bit of sea salt brought out all the subtle tones.  We were all pleasantly surprised at the transformation and invite you to try these damn good cookies... if you have the patience to wait for them!

Chocolate Chip Cookie
INGREDIENTS
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (see note) - I used ghirardelli cacao bittersweet chocolate chips
Sea salt

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.

Note: Disks are sold at Jacques Torres Chocolate; Valrhona fèves, oval-shaped chocolate pieces, are at Whole Foods.

Easy Jam Tart

The crust is what makes this super simple tart.  It reminds me of buttery cornbread.

Spring is the perfect time for sweet and easy treats!  I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen, and she got it from David Lebovitz... and since I love both blogs so much, I figured this recipe had to be a winner.

Now, I'd love to try this recipe with apricot jam but I didn't have any in my pantry.  However, I did have two delicious looking jams in my kitchen so we did a bake-off: Cherry vs. Orange Cranberry Marmalade.

VS.

And the winner is.....

CHERRY!  (The marmalade is truly delicious but the cherry tastes better in this tart)

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (70 grams) stone-ground cornmeal or polenta
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons (4 1/2 ounces or 130 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1 large egg, whole
1 large egg, separated
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/3 to 1 3/4 cups (450 grams) jam (see Note above; I used the smaller amount) or marmalade
2 tablespoons (30 grams) coarse-crystal or granulated sugar

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or in a food processor, mix the butter and 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar together until smooth. Add the egg, egg yolk (keep the egg white from the second egg on hand for later) and almond extract and beat until combined. Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until the dough just comes together.

Transfer about one-third of the dough to a lightly floured counter and shape it into a log about 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it until needed. (As always, I was in a rush and put this in the freezer.)

Transfer the remaining dough to a buttered 9-inch (23-cm) tart pan with a removable bottom of a 9-inch (23-cm) springform pan. Using your hands, press the dough evenly into the bottom. If using a tart pan, press the dough up the sides to the rim of the pan and set the tart pan on a baking sheet. If using a springform pan, press the dough about 3/4-inch (2-cm) up the sides of the pan. Refrigerate the dough-lined pan until firm, at least one hour. (Again, I used the freezer and it was firm in 30 minutes. I am impatient.)

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Spread the jam or marmalade evenly over the dough in the pan. Cut the chilled dough into very thin discs with a sharp paring knife. Arrange them slightly overlapped in concentric circles over the jam to form a top crust. Whisk the remaining egg white with a teaspoon of water until frothy; brush evenly over the tart lid and then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons (30 grams) coarse sugar. Bake until the top crust is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely.

Do ahead: This tart keeps beautifully for up to 3 days if well-wrapped at room temperature. David says that it’s pretty sturdy, so perfect to take along on a picnic.

Moist Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

Out of the blue last week, I had a craving to find a great chocolate cupcake recipe... dense, moist, easy and delicious... and I think I found it.  (And The Farm Chick's blog that I found it on will definitely make it on my RSS feed - it's cute!)

The only thing I may change is the frosting.  The buttercream frosting was a little too sweet for me and Michael and I will probably make our favorite whipped cream cheese frosting instead next time.  The actual cupcake recipe though... mmmm... perfect.

Moist Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

CUPCAKE INGREDIENTS
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar (not packed)
1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill muffin pans with 24 cupcake liners.

Sift dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. (If you're using a hand mixer, I recommend a batter bowl to easily pour the batter into the cupcake liners). Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat with a mixer for about two minutes, occasionally scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the boiling water, and beat, just until blended. (Don't be alarmed - the batter appears watery). Evenly ladle (or pour) the batter into the liners.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the center of the cupcakes springs back when lightly touched. Cool and frost.

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup butter, just slightly cooler than room temperature
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Beat butter in a medium-sized mixing bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in 3 cups of the powdered sugar. Beat in milk and vanilla. Blend in remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar.

"Secret" Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookie

Eleven days between blog posts... not starting off the year so well on the M&M Blog!

My excuse: Studying for the CPA.  It not only takes up time, but also brain power (and motivation).  So I'm sorry in advance if I'm a little slow posting in 2011!

But in any case... here's the recipe to my new "secret" ingredient chocolate chip cookie.  The original name on The Pioneer Woman blog is Malted Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies.  GREAT cookies... but I do love malted milk (daddy makes the best malts ever)... and they weren't malty enough for me.  So now I refer to the malt in my new stand-by chocolate chip cookie recipe as the "secret ingredient" because you can barely taste it but it still makes for an addictive chocolate chip cookie.

Step-by-step instructions with beautiful pictures and entertaining commentary on The Pioneer Woman blog. 

Boring recipe with a slight change (dark chocolate chips instead of milk chocolate chips) is below.  Yum!

INGREDIENTS
1 cup (2 Sticks) Unsalted Butter Softened
¾ cups Golden Brown Sugar
¾ cups Sugar
2 whole Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 cups All-purpose Flour
1-¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
1-¼ teaspoon Salt
½ cups (rounded) Malted Milk Powder
1 bag (12 Ounce) Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream butter, then add both sugars and cream until fluffy. Add eggs and beat slightly, then add vanilla and beat until combined. Add malted milk powder and beat until combined.

Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to butter mixture, beating gently until just combined.

Add chocolate chips and stir in gently.

Drop by teaspoonfuls (I LOVE my cookie scoop!!!) and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Bake less if you want chewy cookies; more if you want crispy cookies.

My little note: My cookies never come out as thin and crispy as The Pioneer Woman's. Still delicious, but they just look like normal chocolate cookies and not like the photos on her blog. That's all!