Tuesdays With Dorie - Ridiculously Easy Cookies

Snot season is officially here! My poor little Z Man has the most wide open sinuses ever encountered. While he has never had an ear infection and rarely feels sick, his poor little nose runs as green as the Chicago River on St. Patty's Day from December until May. While it may be dammed for a day or two here and there, there really is no stopping the flow, save for a little relief in the form of Benedryl once in a while. The past few days, the poor man looks like he was in a real fistfight because he spent a week in the dry heat of my parents' house in NJ and was so busy playing that he just swiped at his nosey with his sleeve every few minutes. It is so raw and sore and uncomfortable that he won't let me near it to wipe it or to put some ointment on it. He just looks awful (but, thankfully feels fine). In order to give him some relief today, I stopped him up with the Bene and then tried to take him out to be social. Big mistake! You live, you learn, right?

At least there are cookies! Today's Dorie recipe was for "Cafe Volcano Cookies". For those of you who know me, you will find this ridiculous: I have never made meringues. Not shocking for most people, but for someone who loves meringues and eats them by the carton and who loves to bake as much as I do, it is just silly. Especially if they are really as easy as the ones that I made today.

Yes, today was a Tuesday with Dorie day, but it was also a long day with two snot nosed kiddos. So, I was tempted to skip my baking and just soak in a hot bath with a big glass of wine. However, I looked again at the recipe and realized that it was so easy that I could make the cookies and then have my mini vacay. These were the simplest cookies that I have ever made. The batter was not too tasty, but OH MY GOODNESS the cookies are good!

I burnt the bottom of one sheet of cookies because I didn't divide my oven in thirds and had the top rack too close to the top of the oven. However, after eating one of the ones from the good sheet and realizing that they taste exactly like toasted caramel nut cookies, I pulled a Miranda Hobbs. I took every one of those suckers out of the garbage and ate the unburnt tops off of them!

By the way, these do not taste of coffee from the espresso powder, only of sweet, nutty caramel, but some of my fellow TWD bloggers did some fun variations of these cookies - cinnamon, cocoa, maple sugar. I will be trying all of them because they are just so easy and delicious.

Happy Tuesday!

TWD-Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake

Oh, I thought that this month's TWD baking would be no problem, what with getting to choose any two of the TWD November recipes and then posting them on any two Tuesdays during the month. However, here I am, blogging about a cake that took me an entire weekend to prepare on a day when I have to prepare for the first Thanksgiving that I have ever made on my own! Those Molasses Spice Cookies were so good and simple, but I let DrRuckus choose the second recipe. He saw "chocolate" and "caramel" and decided that I would make him that cake. It seemed fine at the time. I thought that I had all month.

I even thought that I was so ahead of the game because I found the chestnut spread and the roasted chestnuts weeks ago. I had stocked up on chocolate from the King himself. Because of this, it didn't even dawn on me until I put it all together, that this might have been the most expensive cake I have ever baked. So much good quality chocolate and those chestnuts really added up. Good thing that it was completely worth it! It was really delicious and decadent.

As the deadline approached and I realized that I would be busy with Turkey Day prep, I decided to start the cake last Friday. Well, i started the salted caramel milk chocolate ganache that day anyways. Dorie says in the recipe that this cake might just be an excuse to eat that ganache because it wouldn't be polite to lick it right out of the bowl. Well, she is right! I am not really a milk chocolate person, but if I was not already married, I could have easily gotten a proposal out of my husband with this concoction. It was ridiculously rich and creamy, chocolaty, salty, insane!

Revisiting the recipe that night, I realized that this cake was going to be so over the top in every way that I was going to have to throw a party in its honor. Luckily we were already planning on watching DrRuckus's childhood friend on Food Network as the sous chef to Jose Garces on The Next Iron Chef that night, so we had an excuse for a cake party!

On the second night, I made the dark chocolate glaze for the cake. Dorie says that it might take up to 4 hours to thicken up, but a few other bloggers said that it took longer and in my hot, moist kitchen, I knew it would have a hard time setting up. So, I decided to give it an overnight. It is a good thing I did because it took almost 20 hours for it to reach an almost spreadable consistency. Even then, it was on the brink and was quite melty and messy.

The cake itself was pretty simple, and was much easier since I finally invested in a second bowl for my KitchenAid stand mixer. Without having to clean out the bowl in between the batter and thew whipped whites, it took very little time. My only problem was that I forgot that my square cake pans are all 8 inchers, When I poured my batter in, my cake pan was very full! However, though it baked about 10 minutes longer, everything turned out just fine.

The advantage of that 8 incher was that it was very easy to cut into three nice, thick layers and so I was not intimidated by this step. I used Grand Marnier instead of brandy in the syrup between the layers and the orange flavor went well with the chocolate and nuts. The ganache spread easily, though it was hard to resist licking the spatula and the bowl when I was done. One thing that Dorie doesn't mention but not everyone would realize is that you must let the ganache come to room temperature to be able to spread it. Some of the other TWD bakers used leftover ganache to make truffles, but I put as much as I could on the cake and saved the rest for my beloved. The chopped chestnuts between the layers added texture, but I don't find them to be very flavorful. Which is too bad because I have so many now that I am currently putting together a chestnut stuffing for T Day. Well, chestnuts and corn bread and sausage and fennel.

The most difficult part of this cake was the dark chocolate glaze. It was very runny and messy, and even with Dorie's innovative drip catcher (i.e. parchment under a cooling rack), I had chocolate glaze all over my counter. As soon as I put as much as I could on, I put it in the fridge to firm up. It did, but then I had to take it back out to get to room temperature before serving it. At which point, the glaze started running again and the cake had to be rushed back to the fridge! Still, nothing wrong with the taste of that runny chocolate glaze. Yum!

TWD-Sugar Topped Molasses Cookies

This afternoon was so rough, that I don't even have the energy to bake. (I know!!!) Usually I find it very zen, very relaxing, but today it just seemed like too much work. Luckily for me, I baked my TWD - Sugar Topped Molasses Cookies a couple of weeks ago and already put the pics on the computer so I can post this and still keep up with my commitment to bake along with my favorite baking book.

Why was this afternoon so rough? I am not really sure. First of all, my Little Ladybug has a cold and is teething, so her already Drama Queen personality is exaggerated by her discomfort (poor baby). B (as my sister would say) - they were both really hungry from being too excited to eat lunch due to having friends over. Lastly, neither one slept this afternoon (never a good thing). So, LL was on a major crying jag from about 4:30 on and her siren like cry makes blood boil. Z Man and I were actually doing a pretty job keeping it together until he dropped his bag of marbles from his Quadrilla set and that was it! I actually managed to remain calm despite dozens of marbles scattering across my tile floor and just whisked LL upstairs for bath and bed (yes, it was 5:30 but I had tried everything else) with an admonishment to Z Man to "not do anything else until you find all of the marbles (aka baby chokers)" on the floor.

Went upstairs, had a nice bathtime, book and cuddle and put LL in her crib and descended the stairs thinking that I would see Z Man (self proclaimed "bad finder") playing and not looking for his marbles. Instead I detected the unmistakeable odor of, well, poop. Asking about this, Z said, "I pooped on the floor". When I asked him where it was, he said, "{Phoebe the dog} ate it." Ugh!!!!!!!!! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but I felt awful knowing that I had told him not to do "anything" and he took it literally. Also, I was so worried about the dog getting sick! At this point, I too lost my marbles! But, I managed to remain somewhat calm (maybe it is the yoga I have been doing?) and get him clean and into bed. He hasn't had an accident in months and this was his second one today! He peed on himself at the gym after downing an entire water bottle.

Anyways, thank goodness I had made those cookies a few weeks ago. I wish I had them now to eat, but they are long gone and that is very sad. They would be a perfect holiday cookie, a perfect after school snack, a perfect after dinner snack. They are pretty much a perfect cookie! And, this is coming from a pretty die hard chocolate lover, but these were that good. Crunchy on the outside, chewy in the middle with a great slightly spicy but very sweet flavor. I really could go for one now. However, I will not be baking tonight. Alas, am already on my second glass of Rjoja.

Here is the recipe for the Sugar Topped Molasses Cookies.

I have never baked with molasses before, but I really liked the depth of flavor of it. I have also never put pepper in my cookies, and I was skimpy on it but will actually add more the next time.

The batter was very sticky and thick and was perhaps the first cookie dough I have had "raw" that I didn't think might be better right out of the bowl rather than baked.

It was a really sticky situation to roll them into balls, roll them in the sugar and squash them. The dough was really stuck to my hands and was quite a mess. I also had a hard time getting them to the right shape. I have subsequently learned a trick for the squashing part that I will employ next time: cut a square of parchment to place over the ball of dough and then use a measuring cup to make them round and even.

They didn't look done when they came out, but they cooled to a perfect consistency and tasted even better the next day. I really recommend trying these. Next time I am going to use 1/2 white whole wheat flour and a bit more pepper, but I will definitely be making them again.

Oh, and just to remind myself why days like these are worth it:

TWD-Comfort Food Needed

DrRuckus and I got back from a great and much needed week in Hawaii this a.m. (more on the trip later). Our red-eye was pretty painless (despite the woman with the child who screamed all night in the row behind us) because we had cashed in miles to fly first class and had comfortable seats. ( I actually don't know how I will ever go back to coach again after the comfort, service, space, food, and make your own sundae bar. But I digress . . .)

Anyways, though we were better rested than we might have been had we flown that red eye in coach, we were still pretty tired when we got home. However, we were not nearly as tired as my poor mother in law was! My parents watched our kids for the first part of our week away and then my MIL flew down halfway through to take over for them. She had been looking forward to some alone time with the kids, though I thought she was nuts for taking it on herself. Well, so did she after two days because not only was the Z-Man holding on to the bug that has caused him to run a fever every day for over a week, but she also got sick. I always think that the hardest part of parenting is not being able to take a day off when you don't feel well. I called on some friends to help her, but she persevered on her own and made it through the day and a half before we got here.

So, this gray morning, she was eating her 800th piece of toast as it was the only thing that seemed agreeable to her. The Z-Man was feeling fine but stir crazy, and DrRuckus and I were a little bit jetlagged. I had no intention of baking, but when I saw that today's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was for muffins, I decided that there was nothing that sounded more comforting than fresh muffins. These Allspice Crumb Muffins were intriguing because Allspice is not something I use frequently. The jar smelled delicious, like cinnamon and clove cigarettes (oh how much fun those were back in the day), so I decided to give it a whirl. As soon as everyone went for their nap, I whipped up the batter.


Because I went way off of my healthy eating plan about halfway through the vacation (though it was soooooo worth it), I thought that I better make these a little bit less fattening. So, I substituted all of the flour in the struesel topping and half of the flour in the batter for whole wheat and half of the butter in the batter for Fage fat free Greek yogurt. I did use the optional lemon zest because I think that it adds a zing to everything. The best part of making these was making the struesel topping. I did it all with my hands, mixing the flour, sugar, and allspice and then kneading in the pieces of butter. In my jeglagged state, it felt really good and relaxing.

I divided the batter in the muffin tins and then really smooshed the topping onto each one. I had heard that the topping slid off the muffins in some cases, but I didn't have that problem at all. These are them before they went into the oven.



I added 5 extra minutes to the cooking time because at 20 minutes they seemed raw. However, at 25 they seemed a tad dry and overdone. Might just be the proportion of whole wheat flour though. Tastewise, they are delicious. The Allspice has a subtle kick and a really delicious flavor. The Z-Man thought it was a "good cupcake, Mommy" though he did ask for a cup of hot chocolate to drink with it. I know that it is 80 degrees out, but the kid knows what's good!

TWD - Thank Goodness!

Today was one of those days. If you are a parent, you know the ones. The ones where you count the minutes until bedtime. The ones where you feel like bad mommy, a mean mommy. The ones where you find yourself singing the Stones, "I go running for the shelter of a mother's little helper." The ones where you say, "Calgon, take me away". A big part of the problem is that both of my kids were up before 7, something that is just not done in this house. Plus, LL was just fussy and discontent this morning and there was nothing I could do to console her and thus nothing anyone could do to console me. Then, when I tried to take them to the gym so that I cold get a break for some mom-me time, LL fell asleep in the car and I felt guilty waking her up to drop her at child care. So, we went to a friend's house (which was lovely) and the day started to get better.

It got better because when I am having "one of those days", baking really and truly relaxes me. I love the precision of it, the magic of the chemistry of it, and of course, the taste of the finished products. I find that creating something in the kitchen really makes me feel better. So, when we got home I tackled this weeks Tuesday's with Dorie project: Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart. Buttery, shortbready crust covered by a layer of caramel coated salted peanuts and then bathed in a thick layer of bittersweet ganache. Chocolate salted caramel - prozac on a plate?

Because I had been feeling like mean mommy for being short on patience and long on exasperation, I decided that this would be a fun way for the Z-Man and I to bond. He loves to get up on his ladder and help me to bake. Plus, the crust was nice and play-doughy, so he was able to contentedly play with it for a couple of hours. (Oh well that he stuffed it into every crevice of my food processor; he had a blast and we had a good time together.)


The tart crust, made in my beloved processor, was really simple to put together. I don't own a tart shell, so I did it in my stoneware pie plate and had some extra (for Z to play with). Chilling it in the freezer for 1/2 hour prior to baking really seemed to help it bake up perfectly.

The caramel was painstaking - melting 3 tbsp of sugar at a time, stirring in the rest of the ingredients one at a time, getting it to an exact temperature. However, it was well worth the effort, especially with the peanuts mixed in. I never had a problem with it getting too hard; it stayed a perfect consistency.

The ganache was really easy, perfectly pourable, set well after the 1/2 hour, "not one minute more" in the fridge, looked all lovely and shiny and tasted divine - bitter, rich, smooth and yummy! I actually assembled the whole tart while on the phone and so I didn't pay close attention to the recipe calling for the peanuts to be chopped, but they were small and lovely studded throughout the caramel. I did use all of the ganache. Some of my fellow TWD bakers had leftover ganache for next week's project. I think that by making it in the pie plate, I made it denser than they did. Extra chocolate? No problem. The Z Man couldn't wait for his piece and then he and I split a tiny one because it was so rich and awesome.

I do think that the crust on this was the best part. This tart crust is ridiculously easy and tastes incredibly good. I can't wait to use it in a myriad of recipes.

My day, however got better, then worse, then better again. I got to catch up with some friends finally, Z and I had a great time baking, LL was delightful after her nap, DrRuckus got home early and we went out for dinner. Yay, right? But the restaurant was a bizarre little place called Eden Café in Magnolia, TX and none of us could find anything we really wanted to eat. Especially my LL, who wouldn't eat, wouldn't touch anything we offered her, and then proceeded to projectile vomit all over the table. She has had a mild bug for about week. We keep thinking she is better, but this is the first public vomiting and it was AWFUL! So, of course, I blamed myself for weaning her this week and for giving her spoiled milk (I really did, for who knows how many days). Either way, mentally, emotionally and physically, there is nothing worse than having your kid be sick. (Meanwhile, she was fine right after puking, just as she is every time she does.)

However, on a good note, after we put the kids to bed, I was feeling too warn out to do much but also feeling blah and guilty because I had my running clothes on since 6:30 a.m. and had never gotten my run in. So, I was talking to my beloved friend/pilates trainer/life coach and bitching about my day. She said to me, "Why don't you go for your run now? You will feel better which will make your husband happier and then tomorrow will be much better." So, I didn't think, just went out the door (I still had my running shoes on) and proceeded to do my fastest run ever!

Maybe it wasn't one of those days after all. It's all in the perspective (and the pie).

(Oh and one week from now I will be in Hawaii!)

Tuesday with Dorie - Apple Turnover

After the utter baking frenzy and the gluttony of the Little Ladybug's first birthday party, the last thing that I wanted to do was to haul out more butter and start baking again. I was going to skip this week, I really was, but then I saw that this week's project was "Flaky Apple Turnovers". Ugh! On the one hand, I still had some butter left after buying out the Plugra aisle at Hubbell and Hudson. But, on the other hand, Apple Turnovers just happen to be DrRuckus's favorite treat. How could I deny my amazing husband his favorite treat. Plus, in reading the recipe, It looked like something that could be done in bits and pieces and thus not be another all nighter. So, of course, I decided to go for it. I just can't step away from a challenge, especially one that makes my husband so happy. (Okay, that is not entirely true. The ladies in my playgroup and I tried to initiate a 30 day "{ahem} challenge" and the furthest I got was 5 days in. Though this could partially be blamed on DrRuckus's shift schedule.) Anyways, we are talking about the other way to a man's heart.

The dough, a sort of cheater's pastry dough, was really easy. The secret was mixing sour cream with sugar and adding that to the flour and butter mixture. Did you know that sour cream mixed with sugar is totally delicious? I had no idea. DrRuckus liked it so much, that he mixed up some more and ate it with a spoon. The batter was very moist and sticky, but I just smooshed it together and wrapped it in plastic wrap and stuck it in the fridge over night.



The next afternoon, during the kids' naps, I needed to roll out the dough into 9x18 rectangles and then fold these business letter style. Okay, let's discuss this. I am in waaaaayyyy better shape than most people due to my pilates and exercise routine, and therefore, I assume, way stronger than most bakers. I had done some cardio and a Body Pump class that morning, and thought that I was done for the day. Well, rolling that cold dough into rectangles was like a second workout. I really worked my shoulders and biceps and definitely broke a sweat. That done, I folded them up just in time to hear LL crying for me. (Damn it, no Mommy time yesterday!)

While the kids were playing, I whipped together a custard base to serve to my darling husband with his favorite dessert. While I am not really an ice cream person, he loves it. I figured what is better than your favorite treat than your favorite treat a la mode? I used Dorie's recipe for Cinnamon ice cream, substituting low fat buttermilk for whole milk because I had a bunch left from the cupcakes. Yum!

Then, after we got the kiddos into bed, I got to work peeling apples and dicing them into tiny pieces. While I let them marinate in cinnamon and sugar, I had to get out the rolling pin and do my third workout of the day. The first piece I rolled between two pieces of wax paper. I think that for this roll, it was a mistake. I had to get it really thin and the wax paper kept ripping and then got stuck to the thin dough. So, by the time I tried to fill the rounds, the dough was really warm and hard to form into the half moon shapes. Some of them looked fine, but others were just smooshed together. However, I put them on a silpat lined baking sheet and hoped for the best. Popped them in the oven, pressed "go" on the ice cream maker, and waited 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, I rolled the second sheet on a well floured cutting board with a well floured rolling pin and this was much more successful. I was able to cut out my circles and form my little half moons around my apple mixture much more quickly. I ended up freezing these ones, which were so much prettier, so that we can just pop them into the oven when we want a rich, apple-y treat.

These are the second batch, pre-freezer:


This is one from the first batch, on the cooling rack:


I also took some of the leftover dough scraps, put them in a small glass dish, dumped the leftover apple mixture, and then pieced together some more scraps on top.

Overall, I was quite pleased with this recipe. The dough was very tasty but much denser than your standard apple turnover. It was not very flaky, more rich and buttery. The apples were fresher and more tart than you typically find at a bakery, where the apples tend to be very soft and syrupy. The overall effect was like a portable apple pie. With the slightly tangy buttermilk cinnamon ice cream, it was a party in your mouth. DrRuckus took the mini pie to work today and thought that it was almost perfect in this form, even without the ice cream.

Dorie's Chocolate Souffle

I had actually attempted this soufflé last week before I even knew about Tuesdays with Dorie because I didn't have any butter left and wanted to make something decadent. Though it came out delicious, I had the wrong kind of pan and didn't have any dramatic rising out of the pan action. Plus, I didn't have a sauce for it that time and I was determined to do it right this time.

Since I still don't have a real soufflé dish, and since I was going to bring my soufflé to the block party, I decided to use my ramekins. I have a dozen of those suckers from the one time I decided to make molten chocolate cakes for a party and it was good to pull out more than just the one that I use daily to microwave my egg beaters .

I got the ingredients out and ready while I made the quinoa salad, so that when it came time to prepare the soufflé, it was really a cinch. This time, I beat the egg whites a little less stiffly than the previous time and this made folding the chocolate much easier. (I would say that you don't want to go all the way to stiff peaks, just shy of that.)

I put the soufflé into 8 ramekins that had been prepared and the batter did go almost to the top of each one. I then put the tray of them in the fridge so that I could pop them in the oven while I put Little Ladybug to bed.



The block party was so much fun. We live in a great neighborhood with wonderful neighbors and friends. The sweetest kids live here and they take such good care of my two who are by far the youngest on the street. The Z-Man had the time of his life running around, riding bikes and skateboards with the big kids. Ladybug was content to get passed around, at least for a little while. Then it was almost 6 and past her bedtime. (Lately, she has been going to sleep before 6 every night and sleeping until after 7 the next day. She only takes one short nap, but who am I to complain with this amazing schedule?)

While I was putting her to bed, I popped those babies into the oven. After 18 minutes, they were all puffed up and gorgeous. Nothing says "outdoor block party in the heat of a Houston summer" like a soufflé, I often say. Oven mit and tray in one hand, pitcher of creme anglaise (okay, okay, it was melted vanilla custard, I can't do everything!) in the other, I set out the door. Much to my dismay and frustration, the wagon that I was counting on to bring dessert down to the party was not there! The Z Man had taken that and all of his bikes down the street.



So, I had to carry everything down the street. Well, those soufflés had barely made it out the door in our 97% humidity before they were completely deflated. No one got to see them all puffed up and gorgeous. But, I made a big show out of puncturing a hole in the top of each one and pouring my melted custard sauce over them. And, despite not being puffy, they were adored. Yay, another success! And, I am going to post this with two minutes to spare, while it is still Tuesday, September 8.

Two minutes from now, my Ladybug will be one!

Tuesday with Dorie

Well, after having a comment from Dorie herself, I had to make sure that I followed through with my goal of baking along with the crowd at Tuesdays With Dorie. I am not an official member yet, as the group seems to be currently closed, but I am going to be a member in spirit. This group of bloggers bakes the same recipe from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours and then blogs about it. Simple, right? Oh, and you are not supposed to post the recipes to encourage people to get the book. You should get the book; it is so great that here I am doing this. However, I am pretty sure that you are supposed to taste your own recipes, and I didn't get to do that.

You see, anyone who knows me knows that being timely is not my best quality. I have all intentions of being on time, but I never calculate correctly. I am perpetually late, usually 7 minutes, but sometimes way more. So, with baking, it is best for me to do it at night when I don't have be anywhere. Thus was the case last night, when I delved into this week's project: Espresso Cheesecake Brownies. I had picked up the cream cheese earlier in the day (and even got extra to put in the freezer for future projects) and had set out my ingredients so that everything was room temperature. I just didn't look at the clock and factor in all of the time a cheesecake needs to cool.

Because I had read a few posts that the brownies were rather lackluster, I added an extra ounce of unsweetened chocolate to the brownie mix. The brownie part was really simple and came together beautifully. The batter on the whisk was delicious.

The cheesecake layer was even easier, as my trusty Kitchenaid did all of the work and I just dumped in the ingredients. That batter, with it's espresso flavor was divine and I licked off every last bit of it from the paddle attachment before I washed it (but after I poured it into the pan :)

BTW, have I mentioned how much I love my Kitchenaid mixer? It is such a workhorse and makes doughs, icings, and batters so easily. I use it all the time and it just keeps going, strong as ever. Which, actually is rather unfortunate because I am currently lusting after Kitchenaid 90th Anniversary Mixer, in all of its candy apple red glory with the glass mixing bowl. Alas, with mine working as well as the day I got it, I can't justify it.

Anyways, the cheesecake layer was a "piece of cake" and my only challenge was swirling the last quarter of the brownie batter with the cheesecake batter. My brownie batter was too thick and didn't swirl well but I made sure that the chocolate was studded throughout.

So, here is where I ran into trouble and my lateness was a problem. I didn't account for how long it would take to cool that thing when it came out of the oven. I wanted to do it gradually, so I left it in the oven, with the oven turned off and the door ajar. After a little while, I transferred it to the counter, then to the fridge. At this point it was 10 p.m. and I was exhausted. I wanted to go to bed so badly, but I still had to put on the sour cream topping.

So, I took a bath, where instead of reading my novel, I read Cook's Illustrated 100 best recipes of all time. I really need to get my head out of the oven! Finally, at 11 p.m., I made the sour cream topping, layered it on top of the cooled cheesecake where it needed to set for an hour and went to bed. This morning, MrRuckus (or DrRuckus as he would prefer to be known) took it to a meeting. He and the Espresso Cheesecake Brownies left at 6:30 a.m.

I asked that he bring back tasting notes, but all I got was from his boss, "These things will get you high!" Well, if that isn't high praise, I don't know what is.