Snicker Doodles

I had another close friend, Kelly, turn 30 this week and to celebrate she planned an awesome mid-week, urban hike in the downtown Portland area.  Along with the other necessities -- water, sunscreen, etc – I decided to bring along a batch of Snicker Doodles to sustain us on our long journey.  It was my first time making the recipe solo, but the cookies certainly did not disappoint! 

Snicker Doodles

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup Crisco
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Technique:

1. Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl and set aside. 
2. Mix together butter, Crisco and sugar. 
3. Add eggs, one at a time beating after each addition. 
4. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture until fully incorporated. 
5. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. 
6. Preheat oven to 375. 
7. Mix 2 tablespoons of sugar with 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. 
8. Form dough into balls (each approximately the size of a walnut) and roll in cinnamon and sugar mixture.  
9. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8 – 10 minutes. 

Brittany’s Tips

• For even baking, consider investing in a Silpat, or other non-stick silicone baking mat. 
• The cookies will start to crack a little on the top as they cool, so don’t be alarmed – that’s a good sign. 

Happy Baking!

Lemon Layer Cake

Photo Courtesy of America's Test Kitchen

One of my closest friends, Cristina, had her 30th birthday last week, so naturally I volunteered to make the cake – what better occasion to make a whole cake and NOT leave it around the house for me to eat on all week!  I was very excited because Cristina requested either a lemon or a coconut cake and I had just so happened to be dying to try making a cake with homemade lemon curd. 

My mom recently ordered “The Complete America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook” after rave reviews from friends at church.  Since I couldn’t find a lemon curd cake recipe in my grandma’s stockpile, I thought, why not try out Mom’s new cookbook.  After some perusing, I chose a recipe for lemon layer cake, which is a white butter cake, lemon curd filling, and a classic 7 minute frosting (with a new improved method that’s practically fool proof). 

Overall, the cake turned out amazing!  It was pretty time consuming and I did have a bit of a mishap with the eggs; subsequently, making two additional trips to the store along with several extra cartons of eggs.  But in the end, it tasted great and it was definitely a crowd pleaser.  I’m also an America’s Test Kitchen convert – the recipes can be long and somewhat involved, but if you just follow the step by step process, chances are it will turn out great!

My cake - I promise I'll work on my photography skills.  This picture doesn't do it justice!

Lemon Layer Cake 

White Butter Cake

2 1/2 cups cake flour, plus extra for pans
1 cup whole milk, room temp
6 large egg whites, room temp
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces, softened but still cool

Technique:

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 350.  Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans and then line with parchment paper. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, egg whites, and vanilla. 
3. In a standing mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment (if you have one) mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt at low speed until combined. 
4. With mixer at low, add the butter one piece at a time continuing to beat until the mixture resembles moist crumbs with no visible butter. 
5. Add all but 1/2 cup of the milk mixture and beat at medium speed until pale and fluffy. 
6. With the mixer at low speed, add remaining milk mixture then increase the speed to medium and beat for 30 seconds. 
7. Stop mixing and scrape sides of bowl, then mix another 20 seconds at medium speed. 
8. Divide batter evenly between the pans and lightly tap on the counter a few times to settle the batter. 
9. Bake at 350 for 20 – 25 minutes, rotating midway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each layer comes out clean. 
10. Cool cakes on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then run a small knife around the edges of the cake and flip out onto the wire rack.  Peel off parchment paper and turn cakes right side up to finish cooling completely before frosting, approximately 2 hours. 

Lemon Curd Filling

1 cup juice from about 6 lemons 1 teaspoon powdered gelatin
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, plus 6 egg yolks (reserve whites for cake)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes and frozen

Technique:

1. Measure 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into a small bowl; sprinkle with gelatin over the top and set aside. 
2. Heat remaining lemon juice, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves and mixture is hot, but not boiling. 
3. Whisk the eggs and yolks in a large bowl.  Whisking constantly, slowly pour the hot lemon sugar mixture into the eggs and return mixture to saucepan. 
4. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture registers 170 on an instant-read thermometer and is thick enough to leave a trail when stirring, approximately 4 – 6 minutes. 
5. Immediately remove the pan from heat and stir in gelatin mixture until dissolved. 
6. Stir in frozen butter until incorporated. 
7. Pour filling through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl and lay sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface and refrigerate until firm enough to spread, at least 4 hours. 

Classic 7 Minute Frosting

1 cup sugar
2 large egg whites, room temp
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon corn syrup

Technique:

1. Combine all ingredients in the bowl of stand mixer or a large heatproof bowl and set over a medium saucepan filled with 1 inch of barely simmering water. (Do not let bottom of bowl touch water.) 
2. Cook, stirring constantly, until instant-read thermometer registers 160, approximately 5 – 10 minutes. 
3. Remove from heat and transfer to stand mixer.  Beat on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes. 
4. Increase speed to medium-high and continue beating until mixture has cooled to room temp and stiff peaks form, approximately 5 more minutes. 

Brittany’s Tips 

• For best results, read the directions all the way through once so you don’t miss little things like saving 6 egg whites from the lemon curd for the cake – thus one reason for my additional trip to the store for more eggs. 
• Remember baking is a science and every little step counts, so make sure to let your milk and egg whites come to room temp before baking, because it will make a difference. 
• When separating egg whites from yolks, have a separate bowl from the main mixture so if you get a little yolk in the whites, you won’t ruin the whole mixture, just that one egg. 
• Anytime you are pouring a hot mixture into eggs, make sure to do it very slowly and a little bit at a time, otherwise you run the risk of scrambling your eggs. 
• The double boiler technique can be scary for some, but as long as you make sure the water isn’t touching the bottom of the bowl and it’s just at a nice simmer, everything should turn out okay. 
• When checking temperatures with an instant-read therometer, make sure you aren’t touching the sides of the bowl with the probe, just the liquid mixture – you’ll get a much more accurate reading. 
• The best prep sequence for this cake is to make the lemon curd first, then the cake after a few hours.  Wait until the cake is assembled before making the 7 minute frosting. 
• To assemble, line the edges of a cake platter with strips of parchment to keep platter clean. Using a serrated knife, cut each cake horizontally into two even layers.  Place first layer on cake stand and spread approximately 1 cup of lemon filling evenly on the cake.  Repeat until cake is assembled.  Frost, remove parchment paper strips, and enjoy! 

Happy Baking!!

John's Brownies

Last weekend, we had an unexpected visit from our good friends Becca and Ben Swanson, so I thought it would be a perfect time to whip up some of Grandma’s Brownies.  These brownies (aka John’s Brownies – they’re my brother’s fav!) were always a big hit in our family; in fact, the comment on my recipe card from Mom says “John and Grandma made these brownies quite often and they were usually gone by the next day!”  I remember coming home on the first day of school every year and going straight to grandma’s house for a batch fresh out of the oven.

This particular brownie happens to be one of my favorites too because they are topped with a delicious chocolate frosting.  And for those of you who know me well, you know I have an insatiable taste for frostings of every kind.  (Let me say, if you don’t really like frosting on your brownies, just try it for this recipe because it really completes the dessert, if you don’t like it, you can do without on your next batch.)

John’s Brownies

1 stick butter
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup walnuts, optional

Technique:

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Grease 9 x 9 square pan. 
2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside. 
3. Melt butter and cocoa in small saucepan over medium heat stirring constantly. 
4. Add sugar, then eggs (well-beaten), and vanilla stirring constantly. 
5. Gradually stir in flour mixture. 
6. Pour into greased pan and bake for 20 – 25 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center comes out (mostly) clean.  (Be careful not to over bake.) 

Chocolate Frosting

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons hot water
1 cup powdered sugar

Technique:

1. Melt butter and cocoa in small saucepan over medium heat stirring constantly. 
2. Remove from heat, add remaining ingredients and stir until smooth. 

Brittany’s Tips

• If you cut the butter into cubes, it will heat more evenly and mix better with the cocoa.  I usually start the butter and as it begins to melt, I gradually add in 1 tablespoon of cocoa at a time until it’s completely mixed and smooth. 
• Don’t over stir the brownie batter.  You just want to make sure the flour is incorporated and then stop. 
• Make sure to let the brownies cool a bit before frosting.  Otherwise, the frosting will melt off and pool around the outsides of the pan. 
• I was feeling a little crazy this time and decided to add in a layer of marshmallows between the brownie and the frosting to make a Rocky Road variety if you will.  To do this, layer mini marshmallows on top of the brownies as soon as they come out of the oven and then cover in foil.  This will melt the marshmallows and give you a better surface to add the final frosting layer. 

Happy Baking!

Chocolate Chip Cookies & Golf

I’ve recently taken up “golfing”…I use that term rather loosely as a round of golf for me generally consists of the following:

Stage 1:  Feeling confused and overwhelmed with the tee off traffic and thus refusing actual game participation until roughly the 3^rd or 4^th hole. 

Stage 2:  Also known as the “serious” play stage and lasting approximately 2.3 holes, during which time I may have one really good drive (75+ yards) and some solid tries with the 7-iron and putter.  This particular game stage inevitably comes to a close with something like an impressive 15-stroke par 4.

Stage 3:  You may also want to refer to stage 3 as the tantrum phase.  At this point, it’s best for me to pack it in or risk the very real possibility of impaling someone (accidentally, of course) with a 3-wood and subsequently ending up with a $10,000 lawsuit. 

However, I have been putting lots of time in at the driving range with Zach and while I won’t be trying out for the LPGA any time soon, I have managed to improve a bit and I’m happy to report I can (almost) consistently make solid contact with the ball.  Something about practice makes perfect seems to be repeating in my head at the moment. 

But, I’m sure you’re asking yourself “What in the world does this have to do with baking?”  Well, let me explain… 

For the last several years, I have managed to perfect my version of the chocolate chip cookie, so for the second blog recipe I thought I’d share my tips for America’s favorite cookie.  I set out to make them as always, remembering to incorporate all the little things that seem to make them come out just right every time, but upon tasting the first batch, they just weren’t as good as usual.  Here’s where the golf analogy ties in – from my very limited golfing experience I’ve discovered that just when you think you’ve got one thing fixed something else goes wrong.  Say you finally perfected your swing, but now your aim’s off or you’ve hit 8 great drives in a row, but can’t seem to even make contact with the ball on the 9^th drive. 

Baking is the same way; sometimes a batch just doesn’t turn out quite right.  We have to remember baking is an artistic form of science and there are so many little things that can affect the outcome.  So, next time your baking project doesn’t yield the results you want, don’t worry about it, it happens to all of us!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

*This is the Original Nestle Toll House recipe - by far the best out there!

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts

Technique:

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and set aside.  Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixing bowl until creamy.  Add one egg at time, beating well between each addition.  Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Drop dough onto cookie sheet (approximately 1 heaping tablespoon of dough per cookie).  Bake at 375 for 10 – 13 minutes or until golden brown. 

Brittany’s Tips

• Melt butter in microwave for approximately 30 seconds before adding sugars and vanilla.
• Don’t over mix the dough.  As soon as the last of the flour mixture is incorporated stop mixing.
• Make sure to refrigerate the dough before baking.  This will ensure all batches bake evenly and turn out uniformly. 
• When forming the dough, make sure all of your cookies are the same size.
• Take the cookies out of the oven a little before you think you should and then set the timer for 2 minutes and let them continue baking on the hot cookie sheet.  They'll darken up as they sit and cool.

Happy Baking!