Back in November I checked out the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook from the library.  I made a couple of the recipes, but it proved to be a popular library book and I was not able to renew it.  Since there were cookie recipes I still wanted to make, I put the book on hold and just recently was able to check it out again.

This time, I decided to try making peanut butter cookies.  Like many of the recipes in this book, this one required making another recipe first.  In this case, the recipe within a recipe was for peanut brittle.  The brittle is good by itself, but I really do like it inside the cookie so it’s worth the extra trouble.  These peanut butter cookies have a crispy edge and a softer center and a nice peanut flavor.  The peanut brittle makes beautiful brown speckles in the cookies and adds a slight crunch.  These are definitely elegant looking peanut butter cookies and if you can bear to part with them, they’d make good gifts.

]]> http://www.bakenquilt.com/2012/02/momofuku-milk-bar-peanut-butter-cookies/feed/ 2 http://www.bakenquilt.com/2012/01/january-daring-bakers-challenge-back-to-basics-scones-a-k-a-biscuits/ http://www.bakenquilt.com/2012/01/january-daring-bakers-challenge-back-to-basics-scones-a-k-a-biscuits/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:15:51 +0000 Rebecca http://www.bakenquilt.com/?p=1925 Continue reading →]]> Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host.. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens!

This month’s Daring Baker’s Challenge was a pretty easy one and I was able to try the recipe the first day of the challenge!  This month we are going “Back to Basics” and learning to make “Scones” or what we think of here in the United States as “Biscuits”.  In some countries these breads are called Scones, but are not to be confused with the sweeter baked good that I think of as a breakfast or tea item.   To keep things from being confusing for me, I will be referring to them as “Biscuits” in this posting since that’s the name I’m used to.

Our mandatory task was to make one batch of basic biscuits using the recipe and techniques provided.  I don’t make biscuits often, but when I do they are usually drop biscuits because they are easy.  These flaky and tall biscuits are really not much harder to make than the dropped variety and the rise they get is really satisfying.  They are also delicious!   The recipe is very easy, but there are some techniques in this recipe that were different that what I normally do.  The dry ingredients are sifted together three times to help with loft.  Next, grated butter that has been frozen is gently cut into the dry ingredients before barely mixing in the wet ingredients.  A couple of kneads of the dough on a floured board is done to smooth out the dough.  Then, the dough is patted out and folded over 3-4 times before cutting into squares with a knife or cutting out with a 2″ biscuit cutter.  Optionally, the cut dough is also chilled before baking in a super-hot 475°F oven.   These specific techniques resulted in a biscuit with great rise and visual appeal.  I’m hooked!

I thought I’d never finish these socks!  The 3rd sock in Green Planet Yarn’s “Socks for All” sock club was the Half-Stranded sock pattern by Anna Zilboorg.  The pattern can be found in the book Sock Knitting Master Class by Ann Budd.  This was my first attempt at color work and that part of the knitting experience was really pretty fun and not hard at all.  Where I ran into trouble was on the bottom of the sock where I ran into fit problems.

These socks are constructed in a toe-up manner in an unusual way.  The first step is to knit a 4 stitch band with the contrast color.  Then, stitches are picked up along the edges of this band with the main color and about 7 inches of the color work pattern is worked to form the top of the sock.  Then, stitches are picked up along the other side of the band to form the bottom of the sock.  The top and bottom are joined up above the heel and worked up the leg in the round.  The tubular binding method is used to finish the sock at the ribbing.

Our chosen yarn for this sock was a Merino and Bamboo blend called Pediboo from Frog Tree Yarns.  I chose a skein of light purple and one of off-white.  While this yarn looks beautiful in the color work pattern, I was simply unable to get gauge with it despite using size 0 needles, so the bottom of the foot was much too big.  I tried several alteration methods and finally ended up with ribbing on the bottom of the foot to pull in the excess fabric.  My other challenge was that my foot is several inches shorter than the pattern design, so I had to alter the pattern and continue the color work on one side of the sock while knitting in the plain color along the back.

This sock was certainly an education!  While I really enjoyed the color work technique, I don’t think I will be repeating this particular pattern.

This recipe comes from The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. Thin apple slices are arranged inside of pie crust to form the petals of a rose and the border of the pie is made up of pastry leaves. This is not a quick dessert to make and probably should not be attempted by a novice baker or someone who doesn’t truly enjoy cooking. However, if you take the time to make this, the results will wow your guests and you may even impress yourself!

My favorite apples for this pie are pippins, but any cooking apple will work. You can use store-bought pie crust, but the results will be even better if you take a little time to make your own from scratch.

]]> http://www.bakenquilt.com/2012/01/designer-apple-pie/feed/ 0 http://www.bakenquilt.com/2012/01/felted-candle-mat/ http://www.bakenquilt.com/2012/01/felted-candle-mat/#comments Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:58:52 +0000 Rebecca http://www.bakenquilt.com/?p=1910 Continue reading →]]> Isn’t this little felted wool mat cute?  I picked up this Bareroots felted candle mat pattern on a vacation to Oregon in some little quilt store on the coast, the name of which I’ve forgotten.  I came across the pattern recently while looking for some handwork to take along to a meeting.  It’s only 9″x9″ so it’s fast to make.  I was able to stitch it together pretty quickly over two days and I was able to use embroidery floss and felted wool that I already had on hand.  I never thought my tea lights needed a mat, but this was fun and satisfying to make so maybe more of my candles need them…

Do you still use recipe cards?  I tend to look for most of my recipes online these days.  Recently, I spent some time going through my recipe cards and found quite a few old favorites and family recipes that I haven’t made in some time.  This gingerbread pancake recipe was one of those fond memories.   I think about these pancakes occasionally, but at Christmastime I’m usually so full of special treats that I haven’t followed through on making them.   This year, I decided that I would make them for sure and I’m glad I followed through.  The gingerbread aroma fills the house when these are cooking and the light and fluffy texture is lovely.  Served with a little fresh cranberry relish or some lemon curd, they are special enough for company as well as basic enough for a Saturday morning breakfast.   I’ve decided that I can eat these all winter and maybe all year, not just at Christmastime!

]]> http://www.bakenquilt.com/2012/01/gingerbread-pancakes/feed/ 0 http://www.bakenquilt.com/2011/12/december-daring-bakers-challenge-sourdough-letting-nature-do-the-work/ http://www.bakenquilt.com/2011/12/december-daring-bakers-challenge-sourdough-letting-nature-do-the-work/#comments Tue, 27 Dec 2011 09:00:30 +0000 Rebecca http://www.bakenquilt.com/?p=1809 Continue reading →]]> Blog Checking Lines: Our Daring Bakers Host for December 2011 was Jessica of My Recipe Project and she showed us how fun it is to create Sour Dough bread in our own kitchens! She provided us with Sour Dough recipes from Bread Matters by AndrewWhitley as well as delicious recipes to use our Sour Dough bread in from Tonia George’s Things on Toast and Canteen’s Great British Food!

I was very excited when I saw that this month’s challenge was going to be Sourdough.  I love making bread and it’s been about 10 years since I’ve had a starter in the house.  I was eager to jump right in and make some bread, but first I had the maddening wait to get my starter going!  Sourdough starts with a “starter” or “leaven” which is a mixture of flour and water that is allowed to ferment over 4 or more days at room temperature.  Each day the starter is “fed” with a mixture of more flour and water.  If all goes well, the starter should be bubbly and smell yeasty about 4 days later.  The optimal temperature to ferment starter is around 86°F, but my kitchen is about 70°F on a warm day this time of year so it took my starter about a week to really become active.

We had the choice of a few different starters and breads, but I chose to make a French Country Bread which uses a starter made from whole grain graham flour.   With no other yeast other than what is “caught” in the air with our starter, the process of making sourdough bread is slower than most yeast breads.  However, the hands-on time is actually fairly low so it’s very doable if you plan to bake on the weekend.   This dough is much wetter than regular bread dough, so I had a little trouble keeping the loft of the bread once I moved it from it’s proofing mold onto a baking sheet.  I found that a parchment sling helped it keep it’s shape for the first 10 minutes of baking and resulted in a better looking loaf.  Despite being flatter than I’d like, the bread is really delicious and moist with large holes and a crispy crust.  There isn’t a lot of tang at this time, but as my starter gets older it should develop more of the traditional sour flavor of sourdough.

In addition to making a sourdough loaf with no other leavening, we were asked to showcase the bread in a recipe.  I chose a cheesy toast puff that I remember my mother making when I was a child.  A spread is made from stiffly beaten egg whites into which sharp cheddar, paprika and baking soda are folded.  This mixture is spread on lightly toasted bread and broiled for about 5 minutes until the topping puffs and turns golden. It’s like a little cheese souffle parked on top of toast and it’s as delicious as I remember!  The sharp cheddar cheese is the perfect partner for the sourdough bread.

I was having so much fun, that I made yet another loaf of bread into which I added dried cranberries and chunks of chocolate.  This version makes a nice breakfast toast.

I also made some pizza crust that was pretty tasty.  I was pleased to notice that my starter (which we’ve named “The Blob”) seems to be getting stronger and more flavorful as the days go buy and as I use it in recipes.  I definitely intend to keep it up and use it regularly!  It really is like magic that water, flour and salt alone can make a fabulous loaf of bread.

French Country Bread

Wheat Starter – Day 1:
Ingredients:

• 4 1/2 tablespoons (70 ml) (40 gm/1 1⁄2 oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) water Total scant 1⁄2 cup (115 ml) (3 oz/85 gm)

Directions:

1. In a Tupperware or plastic container, mix the flour and water into a paste.
2. Set the lid on top gently, cover with a plastic bag, to prevent messes in case it grows more than expected!
3. Set somewhere warm (around 86 F if possible).

Wheat Starter – Day 2:
Ingredients:

• 4 1/2 tablespoons (70 ml) (40 gm/1 1⁄2 oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) water scant 1/2 cup (115 ml) (3 oz/85 gm) starter from Day 1 Total scant cup (230 ml) (6 oz/170 gm)

Directions:

1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 1, cover, and return to its warm place.

Wheat Starter – Day 3:
Ingredients:

• 4 1/2 tablespoons (70 ml) (40 gm/1 1⁄2 oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour
• 4 teaspoons (20 ml) water
• scant 1 cup (230 ml) (6 oz/170 gm) starter from Day 2 Total 11⁄3 cup (320 ml) (230 gm/8-1/10 oz)

Directions:

1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 2, cover, and return to its warm place.

Wheat Starter – Day 4:
Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup plus 11⁄2 tablespoons (205 ml) (120 gm/4 1⁄4 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour 1/2 cup less
• 4 teaspoons (100 ml) water
• 11⁄3 cup (320 ml) (230 gm/8 oz) starter from Day 3 Total scant 22⁄3 cup (625 ml) (440 gm/151⁄2 oz)

Directions:

1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 3, cover, and return to its warm place. At this point it should be bubbling and smell yeasty. If not, repeat this process for a further day or so until it is!

French Country Bread
Stage 1: Refreshing the leaven
Ingredients:

• 1 cup less 1 tablespoon (225 ml) (160 gm/5 2⁄3 oz) wheat Leaven Starter
• 6 tablespoons less 1 teaspoon (85 ml) (50 gm/13⁄4 oz) stoneground bread making whole-wheat or graham flour
• 1 cup plus 2 teaspoons (250 ml) (150 gm/5 1⁄3 oz) unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) water
• Production Leaven Total 23⁄4 cups plus 4 teaspoons (680 ml) (480 gm /1 lb 1 oz)

Directions:

1. Mix everything into a sloppy dough. It may be fairly stiff at this stage. Cover and set aside for 4 hours, until bubbling and expanded slightly.

French Country Bread
Stage 2: Making the final dough
Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup less 1 teaspoon (175 ml) (100 gm/3 1⁄2 oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour, plus more for dusting
• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (510 ml) (300gm/10 1⁄2 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 11⁄4 teaspoons (71⁄2 ml) (7 gm/1⁄4 oz) sea salt or 2⁄3 teaspoon (31⁄3 ml) (3 gm/1⁄8 oz) table salt
• 1 1⁄4 cups (300 ml) water
• 1 3⁄4 cups (425 ml) (300 gm/10 1⁄2 oz) production leaven – this should leave some (1 cup) for your next loaf. Total 6 cups less 2 tablespoons 1415 ml (1007 gm/35 1⁄2 oz/2 lb 31⁄2 oz)

Directions:

1. Mix the dough with all the ingredients except the production leaven. It will be a soft dough.
2. Knead on an UNFLOURED surface for about 8-10 minutes, getting the tips of your fingers wet if you need to. You can use dough scrapers to stretch and fold the dough at this stage, or air knead if you prefer. Basically, you want to stretch the dough and fold it over itself repeatedly until you have a smoother, more elastic dough.
3. Smooth your dough into a circle, then scoop your production leaven into the centre. You want to fold the edges of the dough up to incorporate the leaven, but this might be a messy process. Knead for a couple minutes until the leaven is fully incorporated in the dough.
4. Spread some water on a clean bit of your work surface and lay the dough on top. Cover with an upturned bowl, lining the rim of the bowl with a bit of water. Leave for an hour, so that the gluten can develop and the yeasts can begin to aerate the dough.
5. Once your dough has rested, you can begin to stretch and fold it. Using wet hands and a dough scraper, stretch the dough away from you as far as you can without breaking it and fold it back in on itself. Repeat this in each direction, to the right, towards you, and to the left. This will help create a more ‘vertical’ dough, ready for proofing.Heavily flour a banneton/proofing basket with whole wheat flour and rest your dough, seam side up, in the basket. Put the basket in a large plastic bag, inflate it, and seal it. Set aside somewhere warm for 3-5 hours, or until it has expanded a fair bit. It is ready to bake when the dough responds to a gently poke by slowly pressing back to shape.
6. Preheat the oven to hot 425°F/220°C/gas mark 7. Line a baking sheet with parchment, then carefully invert the dough onto the sheet.  Put the baking sheet on top of the basket, then gently flip it over so as to disturb the dough as little as possible. Make 2-3 cuts on top of the loaf and bake for 40-50 minutes, reducing the temperature to moderately hot 400°F/200°C/gas mark 6 after 10 minutes.
7. Cool on a cooling rack.

Cheese Toast Puffs:

4 – 6 slices Country French Bread
2 egg whites
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. paprika
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Lightly toast the bread.

In a small bowl, beat the egg whites until firm.  Fold in the baking soda, paprika and cheese.

Spread the cheese mixture on the toast.  Broil the cheese-topped toast for about 5 minutes, until the cheese is puffed and golden.

My mother-in-law was from Austria, birthplace of a unique dessert called Zaunerstollen, and she received one by mail each Christmas from her relatives.   I was introduced to this treat the first Christmas I spent with my husband’s family and I’ve been hooked every since!

Zaunerstollen was created in 1905 at the Zauner Cafe in Bad Ischl to use up leftover and imperfect “Ischl Wafer” cookies.  It comes in a chocolate-covered log shape with rounded demarcations where it can be sliced into half-circle pieces.  The texture is a little hard to describe.  It’s more fragile than a baked cookie and is almost a candy, but with a very fine sandy mouth feel from the caramelized hazelnuts and cookie bits.  The chocolate and hazelnut flavor is reminiscent of Nutella.  The Zauner website describes the Zaunerstollen as “a harmonic blend of nougat grillage with wafers, hazelnuts and chocolate”.   All I know is that it’s delicious and I looked forward to it every Christmas!

After my mother-in-law passed away, there was no more Zaunerstollen.  I looked into purchasing one and while the dessert itself is affordable, the shipping cost is hard to justify.  I had to come up with an acceptable version for myself to satisfy my craving.  I started with the ingredients list and a description of the dark chocolate version of the dessert from the Zauner website.  I can’t get the Ischl wafers here in the U.S.A., but I found that the commonly available vanilla wafers work well enough.  I knew that there were hazelnuts in the dessert and as near as I can figure, hazelnut nougatine (toasted hazelnuts tossed with caramelized sugar) is pretty close to the hazelnut “nougat grillage” in the ingredients list.  It’s an extra step to make the hazelnut nougatine but without it the Zaunerstollen doesn’t have the slightly sandy, crunchy texture of the original.  I pulverize these ingredients in the food processor and use chocolate ganache to hold the whole thing together.  This mixture is pressed into an oblong cake mold and allowed to dry for 24 hours.  The dessert is finished off with a chocolate glaze.  Once the glaze sets, it’s ready to serve!  While not exactly the same, my version is pretty close to the original (and affordable enough) that it’s become a holiday tradition of our own!

I bake with a friend every Christmas and last year she brought the dough for these Ginger-Spiced Snickerdoodles.  I was a little skeptical at first because Snickerdoodles aren’t one of my favorite cookies.  However, I completely love these and they are becoming a Christmas staple.  In fact, I love these cookies to the point of rationing and hoarding when the supply is getting low!  The light ginger and molasses flavor combined with the cinnamon and cream of tarter flavor of traditional Snickerdoodles is perfect.  Visually, these are very appealing cookies as well.  Using sparkling sanding sugar to roll them in before baking really dresses them up for the holidays.

]]> http://www.bakenquilt.com/2011/12/ginger-spiced-snickerdoodles/feed/ 0 http://www.bakenquilt.com/2011/12/peppermint-oreo-chunk-brownies/ http://www.bakenquilt.com/2011/12/peppermint-oreo-chunk-brownies/#comments Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:28:19 +0000 Rebecca http://www.bakenquilt.com/?p=1785 Continue reading →]]> I love brownies of all kinds, but I especially love peppermint brownies. I’m not a big fan of the Oreo cookie, but I do like Trader Joe’s Candy Cane Joe-Joe’s, an Oreo-like cookie with peppermint candy filling. However, an entire box of them is a lot to eat before they go stale. This brownie recipe is a great way to extend the life of a box of these cookies. The cookies are broken by hand into pieces, then stirred gently into your favorite brownie batter. The result is a brownie filled with slightly crunchy cookie bits. Yum! If you don’t like peppermint, just use your favorite sandwich cookie! The original recipe is attributed to Ina Garten, though I couldn’t verify that, and it made a really large batch of brownies. I scaled it back by using a basic brownie recipe that makes an 8″x8″ pan.   A brownie mix would work really well here as well.

Isn’t this Autumn Leaf table runner fabulous?  I purchased the kit (by Lindarella Dyeworks) at the Tin Thimble in Folsom in October and promptly forgot all about it.  Surprising, since I was fondling the shop sample every time I passed it while I was there for another class!  Anyway, I came across it last weekend while looking for something to take to a sewing group.   Beautifully hand-dyed felted wool pre-cut leaves are stitched down on top of a felted wool background using variegated thread.  The background is then free-motion stitched with the same thread.  I was able to whip it out in just a day and I love it!

Every December is a whirlwind of cookie baking and this year is no exception!  I had my very first cookie-baking get-together of the season and tried out two recipes that were new to me.  I decided to make Choco-Mint Blossoms from the Better Homes and Gardens annual Christmas Cookie magazine that I can’t resist purchasing every year.  The friend that was baking with me brought along a recipe for Nanaimo Bars that we made as our second cookie.

The Choco-Mint Blossoms are made from a simple chocolate cookie dough that is chilled and rolled into balls and baked.  Immediately after removing the cookies from the oven, a peppermint candy kiss is pressed into the top of the warm cookie.  Tasty and beautiful!

Nanaimo Bars hail from Canada and while I tasted one there I have never tried making them before.  They turned out to be very simple.  As a non-baked cookie, they did take a little bit of time to make but most of that was waiting for layers to chill.  A chocolatey bottom layer is made from melted butter, graham cracker crumbs, nuts and butter and allowed to chill.  Over the top of that goes a simple sweet layer, much like frosting, which is made from custard powder and butter.  Once that layer chills, a layer of melted chocolate is spread over the top and chilled yet again.  The result is a very sweet and rich candy-like cookie.  It’s a good thing I only kept half of the 8″x8″ pan!

h

It wouldn’t be the holidays without these delicious crescent rolls adapted from my grandmother’s traditional recipe.  These rolls are very light, tender and slightly sweet and are the perfect accompaniment to a holiday meal.  Even better, the dough is made the night before and stored in the refrigerator.  The next day, a quick roll out and a couple of hours rising and 10 minutes in the oven and you have beautiful and delicious homemade rolls. The house will smell fabulous!  If last minute baking isn’t your thing, the rolls also freeze very well and can be reheated just before needed.

]]> http://www.bakenquilt.com/2011/12/make-ahead-crescent-rolls/feed/ 0 http://www.bakenquilt.com/2011/11/momofuku-milk-bar-compost-cookies/ http://www.bakenquilt.com/2011/11/momofuku-milk-bar-compost-cookies/#comments Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:35:43 +0000 Rebecca http://www.bakenquilt.com/?p=1740 Continue reading →]]>

A few weeks ago I checked out the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook from the library.  I’ve never been to the Momofuku Milk Bar in New York, but it’s been featured on enough cooking shows and talk shows to make me interested in the cookbook.  Chef Christina Tosi is a very creative lady and the cookbook is interesting to read.  A lot of the desserts in this book are completely unlike anything I’ve ever eaten.  Many of the recipes require other recipes to be made first as ingredients, so it’s definitely not an impromptu baking book or one for impatient bakers (ahem).

Anyway, I made three of the easier recipes from this cookbook before the library demanded it back.  The first thing I made was Cornflake Crunch, a buttery and rich toasted cornflake snack which was a required ingredient for the second recipe I tried, Cornflake-Chocolate Chip-Marshmallow Cookies.  While I loved the Cornflake Crunch, I really didn’t like the Cornflake-Chocolate Chip-Marshmallow Cookies as they turned out far too sweet, crispy and rich for my tastes.  It was with apprehension that I then tried the Compost Cookies which is one of Momofuku’s more popular cookies.  These cookies did not disappoint!  Often called Kitchen Sink Cookies or Garbage Cookies, Compost Cookies are a basic chocolate chip type of batter with all kinds of snack items mixed in.  In this case, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coffee, pretzels, oatmeal, graham cracker pie crust and potato chips (yes, don’t knock it ’till you’ve tried it) are mixed into the rich dough.  The saltiness of the treats helps balance out the sweetness of the dough and the crunch is nice too.   I confess that I did not have the patience to make the pie crust and mash up 1/4 of it for the recipe, but the cookies were still excellent with 1/2 cup of crushed graham crackers instead.   Someday I will make it to NY to Momofuku Milk Bar, but until then I’ll keep making these cookies!

I just finished knitting the second sock in Green Planet Yarn’s “Socks for All” sock club.  The second sock we were “assigned” was the Pussy Willow Sock by Cat Bhordi.  The pattern can be found in the book Sock Knitting Master Class by Ann Budd.  I used a Malabrigo sock yarn in color Turner (851) that was new to me, but is destined to become a favorite.  The Malabrigo Sock yarn knits up beautifully and is really comfortable to wear.  I wish I could say that I was as in love with this pattern as I am with the yarn I used!   Although I like the finished sock, the sock was really pretty dull to knit except for  the unusual moccasin toe which I’ll definitely repeat on other socks.   The sock starts at the toe with a band of stitches that is rotated an inch or so in to make a strip that crosses the tip of the toe.  From there, the pattern is straight knitting with a zig-zag line of holes artfully placed up the leg.  The sock finishes with a simple rolled top.