Monday, September 27, 2010
Decorated Sugar Cookies *Daring Bakers*
Yes, you guessed it right. This month, the Daring Bakers did decorated sugar cookies. The word decorated is proof enough for the array of decorations one could choose to adorn their cookies and imagine the number of variations all the members put together are going to put out today. It sure is going to be a colourful cookies galore all under the theme September.
And this was one challenge my daughter insisted that she be there while I ice the cookies. So it had to be a weekend when these would be done. So all the shapes, colours and the decoration you see are courtesy L. All of 6 but she can be quite a taskmaster. She wanted to flowers because this month they were studying about flowers in school and the heart shape was meant for her small family of three. She would ask me a shade that she had seen in her storybooks or from her basket of knickknacks. And here was I trying to add pinch by pinch to get the hue she wanted. She says I have a long way in attaining the exact shade that matches her preference. Now getting back to the cookies, I used cookie cutters that were 3" in diameter and larger heart shaped ones for the bigger ones.
Makes Approximately 36x 10cm / 4" Cookies
200g / 7oz / ½ cup + 6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
400g / 14oz / 3 cups + 3 Tbsp All Purpose / Plain Flour
200g / 7oz / 1 cup Caster Sugar / Superfine Sugar
1 Large Egg, lightly beaten
5ml / 1 tsp Vanilla Extract / Or seeds from 1 vanilla bean
Directions400g / 14oz / 3 cups + 3 Tbsp All Purpose / Plain Flour
200g / 7oz / 1 cup Caster Sugar / Superfine Sugar
1 Large Egg, lightly beaten
5ml / 1 tsp Vanilla Extract / Or seeds from 1 vanilla bean
• Cream together the butter, sugar and any flavourings you’re using. Beat until just becoming
creamy in texture.
• Tip: Don’t over mix otherwise you’ll incorporate too much air and the cookies will spread during
baking, losing their shape.
• Beat in the egg until well combined, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the sifted flour and mix on low until a non sticky dough forms.
• Tip: I don’t have a stand mixer so I find it easier to switch to dough hooks at this stage to avoid
flour flying everywhere.
• Knead into a ball and divide into 2 or 3 pieces.
• Roll out each portion between parchment paper to a thickness of about 5mm/1/5 inch (0.2 inch)
• Refrigerate for a minimum of 30mins.
• Tip: Recipes commonly just wrap the whole ball of dough in clingwrap and then refrigerate it for an
hour or overnight, but by rolling the dough between parchment, this shortens the chilling time and
then it’s also been rolled out while still soft making it easier and quicker.
• Once chilled, peel off parchment and place dough on a lightly floured surface.
• Cut out shapes with cookie cutters or a sharp knife.
• Arrange shapes on parchment lined baking sheets and refrigerate for another 30mins to an hour.
• Tip: It’s very important you chill them again otherwise they’ll spread while baking.
• Re-roll scraps and follow the above process until all scraps are used up.
• Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C Fan Assisted) / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.
• Bake until golden around the edges, about 8-15mins depending on the size of the cookies.
• Tip: Bake same sized cookies together otherwise mixing smaller with larger cookies could result in
some cookies being baked before others are done.
• Tip: Rotate baking sheets half way through baking if your oven bakes unevenly.
• Leave to cool on cooling racks.
• Once completely cooled, decorate as desired.
• Tip: If wrapped in tinfoil/cling wrap or kept in airtight containers in a cool place, un-decorated
cookies can last up to a month.
creamy in texture.
• Tip: Don’t over mix otherwise you’ll incorporate too much air and the cookies will spread during
baking, losing their shape.
• Beat in the egg until well combined, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the sifted flour and mix on low until a non sticky dough forms.
• Tip: I don’t have a stand mixer so I find it easier to switch to dough hooks at this stage to avoid
flour flying everywhere.
• Knead into a ball and divide into 2 or 3 pieces.
• Roll out each portion between parchment paper to a thickness of about 5mm/1/5 inch (0.2 inch)
• Refrigerate for a minimum of 30mins.
• Tip: Recipes commonly just wrap the whole ball of dough in clingwrap and then refrigerate it for an
hour or overnight, but by rolling the dough between parchment, this shortens the chilling time and
then it’s also been rolled out while still soft making it easier and quicker.
• Once chilled, peel off parchment and place dough on a lightly floured surface.
• Cut out shapes with cookie cutters or a sharp knife.
• Arrange shapes on parchment lined baking sheets and refrigerate for another 30mins to an hour.
• Tip: It’s very important you chill them again otherwise they’ll spread while baking.
• Re-roll scraps and follow the above process until all scraps are used up.
• Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C Fan Assisted) / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.
• Bake until golden around the edges, about 8-15mins depending on the size of the cookies.
• Tip: Bake same sized cookies together otherwise mixing smaller with larger cookies could result in
some cookies being baked before others are done.
• Tip: Rotate baking sheets half way through baking if your oven bakes unevenly.
• Leave to cool on cooling racks.
• Once completely cooled, decorate as desired.
• Tip: If wrapped in tinfoil/cling wrap or kept in airtight containers in a cool place, un-decorated
cookies can last up to a month.
315g – 375g / 11oz – 13oz / 2½ - 3 cups Icing / Confectioner’s / Powdered Sugar, unsifted
2 Large Egg Whites
10ml / 2 tsp Lemon Juice
5ml / 1 tsp Almond Extract, optional
Directions
• Beat egg whites with lemon juice until combined.
• Tip: It’s important that the bowls/spoons/spatulas and beaters you use are thoroughly cleaned and
grease free.
• Sift the icing sugar to remove lumps and add it to the egg whites.
• Tip: I’ve listed 2 amounts of icing sugar, the lesser amount is good for a flooding consistency, and the larger amount is for outlining, but you can add even more for a much thicker consistency good for writing. If you add too much icing sugar or would like to make a thinner consistency, add very small amounts of water, a few drops at a time, until you reach the consistency you need.
• Beat on low until combined and smooth.
• Use immediately or keep in an airtight container.
• Tip: Royal Icing starts to harden as soon as it’s in contact with air so make sure to cover containers with plastic wrap while not in use.
Rich and colourful, these cookies are perfect when your child wants to get involved and can sure be an enriching experience. It felt like I was back those days I was teaching my daughter how to hold a pencil and write.
The recipe worked really well and I had these little amazingly soft cookies to be adorned.The edges were crisp despite being smothered with the icing. I loved the royal icing for its glossy finish and that they harden fast which works best in the climate that I live in.
Now, give it up for little L for doing the below pictured cookies all by herself.
The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of “What the Fruitcake?!” Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.
While you are here, I am celebrating my blog's fourth anniversary with a giveaway of bake/cookware. So if you want to be included, do leave a comment here.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
A giveaway to celebrate my 4th year
To celebrate my anniversary she is giving away a goodie bag of baking/cook wares. There are colourful cupcake liners, bake wares etc. etc something that any one who like to cook or bake would like . All that you have to do is to leave a comment here with your email id telling her about what makes you visit her space. You could let her know what you like/dislike, and mention one particular dish/recipe that you made or likely to be made soon. I t is not compulsory to like me on facebook, subscribe to this space or tweet. It all feels forced. So hurry and leave her a comment. It is open to residents around the world.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Gingery Gingersnaps
A catchy name for the snaps right? Yes, these snaps do live up to the term "gingery". According to the book, I got the recipe from, gingersnaps originated from the Pennsylvania Dutch and the term snap comes from the word "snappen" meaning "easy" However there are a lot of contradictory statements regarding this on the web. So I will just rest that case.
The recipe is from the book, 250 Treasured Country Desserts.
The origial recipe is intended to serve 40 cookies. I halved the recipe, but I'll give you the one for the 40 cookies. So here's what you need.
1 + 1/3 C AP Flour
1/2t Baking Soda
1/8 t Salt
2 T Dark Molasses
1T Warm Brewed Coffee
6T Butter (room temp)
1/4 C+3T Granulated Sugar
1/4 C firmly packed brown sugar
1t Ground Ginger
1/2 t Ground Cinnamon
1/4t Ground Cloves
1/2 C finely chopped crystallized ginger (I did not use them)
Sift flour, baking soda and salt.
Combine Molasses and coffee in a bowl.
In another bowl, cream butter and add in 1/4 C of granulated sugar, the brown sugar and the spices. Add in the molasses followed by the flour. If using crystallized ginger, add it in at this stage. Wrap this dough and chill for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350 degree F.
Pinch out small portions of the dough and roll them into small rounds. Roll them in sugar and place on the baking tray atleast 2 inches apart. Press each of them using the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar until they are thin. ( Mine spread out as soon as they went into the oven with some running into each other).
Bake for about 10 minutes before the edges brown. They will be soft in the center, but will harden as they cool. I sprinkled sugar 5 minutes before I took them out of the oven because the earlier ones sank as they spread while baking.
Monday, September 20, 2010
A fresh apple cake with a brown sugar glaze
Apples are in season all round the year in India. Probably that is why I underestimate this fruit compared to the berries and certain fruits that make their appearance once a year. However no other fruit tastes as good as apples in a cake.
Today is when we the Cake Slice bakers post our last of the cakes from the book , Southern Cakes. We move onto another book from here. The cake for this month is an apple cake with a brown sugar glaze. Usually, you beat the eggs and the sugar together. However, this recipe calls for beating the eggs with oil and vanilla extract and then folding in the flour and sugar. The resultant batter was of a thick consistency. I added no nuts because I prefer just apples in my cake. This cake is best served from the pan. It has a glaze made from brown sugar, butter and cream that is cooked to a smooth sauce. My cake baked well. I couldn't help eating the crumbs. It was sweet and so that was why I did not pour the sauce over the still warm cake for it becoming too sweet thereby becoming unpalatable. So the sauce become optional . As the sauce thickens, I reheated it to make it thinner for a more thinner consistency rather than the thicker version.
Overall the cake was good. Different from the usual where apples are always paired with cinnamon. This has vanilla instead. A very moist cake despite the batter being thick.
Here is the recipe
Fresh Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze
(recipe adapted from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott)
Makes one 13x9inch sheet cake or two 8-9inch round cakes
(1/3 of a recipe makes one loaf pan)
Fresh Apple Cake
3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
1½ cups vegetable oil (or 1 cup oil plus 1/2 cup apple sauce)
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups finely chopped apples
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts
Brown Sugar Glaze
1 cup tightly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp evaporated milk, half-and-half or cream
Method – Fresh Apple Cake
-Heat the oven to 350F. Grease a 13 by 9 inch pan or two 8-9 inch cake pans.
In a medium bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Stir with a fork to mix everything together well.
-In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a wooden spoon or a mixer at low speed until pale yellow and foamy. Add the oil and vanilla and beat well. Stir in the flour mixture with a wooden spoon and continue stirring the batter just until the flour disappears. Add the apples and nuts, stir to mix them into the batter until fairly uniform. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans.
-Bake for 45-50 minutes (start checking at 25 minutes if making a 1/3 recipe loaf) or until the cake is golden brown, springs back when touched lightly near the centre and is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Place the cake (still in the pans) on a wire rack and spoon over the glaze while still hot.
Method - Brown Sugar Glaze
-Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture comes to a gentle boil. Then cook for 3-5 minutes.
To Finish
-Spoon the hot glaze all over the hot-from-the-oven cake. Let the glazed cake cool completely before serving straight from the pan.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Onion, Feta and Rosemary Bread Rolls
What do these rolls contain? They have feta, butter sauteed onions, herbs and loads of freshly ground black pepper. Feta cheese has become a favourite owing to its tangy taste. Not available easily in the city I live a couple of years back, it is otherwise now. Stocked in most supermaket feezer shelves, they get picked up by a lot thereby proving the widening knowledge of cuisine by the people of the city.
Crumbled over salads, they make a good meal. Roasted marinated feta is another regular at home. This time feta went into some amazing (flavourwise) non yeasted bread rolls. The leavening agent here is baking powder. The rolls took just half an hour to be all mixed, doughed and browned. The orginal recipe is for muffins. just minutes before baking I rolled them for bread buns. I made some muffins too, which were devoured as they were cooling.
What you need for these are (From food.com)
275g Flour
1T Baking Powder
1t Salt
1Egg
225 ml Milk
1T butter
1 white onion, chopped
100 g Feta cheese, crumbled
2 T rosemary
Freshly ground pepper
Sift flour, salt and baking powder. Saute the onions in butter until they turn a golden brown. Allow them to cool. Meanwhile whisk the egg and add to the flour and make a soft dough using the milk. When the onions have cooled, stir in the crumbled feta, herbs and the pepper. Do not add salt because feta is already tangy. knead these into the dough. Roll them into rounds and place them a few inches apart on the baking tray. Bake ina 200 degree C oven for 15 minutes. When thye turn a golden brown in the oven, brush the tops with some milk or egg yolk. When done, move to a rack for it cool.
Another week and it'll be my fourth year in blogging. I have a giveaway (hint: baking stuff )for all my readers that day. So stay tuned for that!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
A homestyle chicken curry
What is simple, spicy and truly comfort food? To me it is definitely the cuisine that reflects my heritage-Kerala Cuisine. Although not brought up in the beautiful land of Kerala, I grew up and still survive on the food typical of Kerala Cuisine. There are innumerable dishes and naming my favourites would be a task at hand. Each is unique in their own class.And my palate is definitely partial to this cuisine. Coconut is an essential part of this cuisine and the chicken curry that I have for you today has coconut in it.
I have been wanting to make this ever since I saw this at Seena's . Coconut scrapes are fried using spices and shallots/small onions and then ground to a paste. It is this paste that lends the flavour to this chicken curry. Another thing in this recipe that I found novel was the tempering of onions and curry leaves in oil, which are added at the final stage almost in the similar manner of tempering for dhals and the like. She had used potatoes, which weren't used here.
What you need for this chicken curry are (adapted from Simple and Delicious with my changes to suit our palate) Note the spice level. Eyeball to suit your taste.
Chicken-1 kg
Onions-4- Chopped
Tomatoes-3 Chopped
Garlic Paste-1t
Ginger Paste-1t
Turmeric Powder-1t
Chilli Powder- 1T
Coriander Powder-2T
Grated Coconut-1C
Shallots/small onions-6 peeled and sliced
Curry Leaves
Green Chillies (slit)-5
Salt
For tempering
Shallots-3 peeled, sliced
Coconut oil-1T
Curry Leaves
Heat some oil. Add the sliced shallots and the curry leaves. When they turn soft and a golden brown, add in the coconut scrapes. Fry until the coconut tunrs brown. Add in the spice powders and saute for a few minutes. Take this off the heat and set aside to cool. Once cool, blend the mixture to a thick paste.
Meanwhile in a pan, to oil, add in sliced onions and the slit green chillies. Saute until soft and add in the tomatoes followed by the ginger and garlic paste. When the oil leaves the sauteed mixture add in the ground paste. Add the chicken and a cup of water and cover and cook until the chicken is cooked.
In another pan, heat oil for tempering. Add in the sliced shallots and the curry leaves. Saute until the shallots are done. Pour this into the chicken curry.
A comforting curry with succulent pieces of chicken cooked to perfection among the spices and onions. Coconut and the curry leaves lend a very authentic Kerala touch to the curry. Anyone who has a favouritism towar this cusine... this chicken will win you over.
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