Spiced madeleines

Ever since creating the blog, I have tried a huge number of new, different ingredients. I can’t even list them anymore – too many for my poor memory to gather up.

One of those ingredients is allspice. I’d seen it around in several recipes but it only premiered in my kitchen last week, when I baked these tender and light madeleines. For a spice fan like me, it was about time.

Speaking of "premiere" and "fan", “SATC” opened here last Friday and I absolutely loved it! I couldn’t wait to watch the movie – I have all the DVDs and have seen each episode 3-4 times; I like it to the point of knowing lots of lines by heart... :)
All the girls are fantastic, but Samantha is still my favorite – not only she’s the funniest of them all, but also the prettiest. And the oldest!

Spiced madeleines
from here

¾ stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted, plus 1 tablespoon (melted) for greasing molds
¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cardamom*
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
pinch of salt
¼ cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
confectioners' sugar for dusting

Special equipment: a madeleine pan with 12 (7.5x5cm/3-by 2-inch) molds

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 200ºC/400ºF. Brush molds with some melted butter, then chill until set, about 5 minutes. Brush molds again with some melted butter and chill pan.

Sift together flour, baking powder, spices, and a pinch of salt.

Whisk together sugars and eggs until combined well. Add flour mixture and whisk until just combined, then stir in remaining butter (6 tablespoons) until just incorporated. Spoon batter into molds, filling them about two thirds full. Bake 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 175ºC/350ºF and bake until springy to the touch and edges are lightly browned, 4 to 6 minutes. Turn out onto a rack and cool 15 minutes.
Just before serving, dust with confectioners’ sugar.

*the original recipe calls for ground coriander; I preferred to use cardamom instead.

Makes 12 – I got 12 like the ones on the photos + 15 smaller, traditional-shaped madeleines

Fluffy candy

A Brazilian blogger published a text about what’s worth posting and what’s not. A friend of mine, who also has a blog, read it and wrote about it, too.

My turn: I’ll tell you something about my family and some may think it’s blogging material and some may think it’s not. I lost a very dear uncle in a car crash in 2006. He was very close – also my brother’s godfather – and for a couple of days I kept wondering if that had really happened; it was really hard for me to deal with the fact that I would no longer see him.

His girlfriend was pregnant and this week we celebrated my cousin’s first birthday. The party was held at my grandmother’s house and I was in charge of making the candy. I prepared beijinho, brigadeiro and bicho-de-pé – things the sweet Linda is an expert in making – and also this chocolate powdered milk candy.
I tried filling each ball with a piece of glacé cherries, but the moisture in them ruined the candy texture; I had to drop the idea.

It was pure joy to know my baby cousin and also to notice that she looks just like my uncle – the resemblance is amazing. One cycle is over but another has begun; life goes on and that fills me with hope.

Fluffy candy
from Nestlé’s Brazilian website

200g instant chocolate powder*
400g whole powdered milk
1 can (395g) sweetened condensed milk
½ cup (120ml) whole milk, room temperature
granulated sugar, for dusting**

In a very large bowl, place the chocolate powder, powdered milk, sweetened condensed milk and milk and mix well – you’ll need some elbow grease, since it’s a very thick and firm mixture.

Make balls using ½ tablespoon of the mixture and roll them into the granulated sugar; transfer the candy to small fluted paper cups.

* I believe that one could use 100g of cocoa powder instead; I haven’t tried it with this particular recipe, but I have tried that substitution in a number of other recipes with great results

**you can dip the balls in tempered semisweet chocolate, instead of rolling them in sugar; 500g chocolate would be enough

Makes 90

Brown sugar and cinnamon meringues with praline cream

I'll admit it: I can be quite stubborn sometimes. Some people say it’s because I’m a Scorpio and others will even call it “persistence”. What I know is that if something gets stuck in my head I won’t put it to rest until it’s done.

I was looking for a recipe with cinnamon - my favorite spice – and saw this. It was a huge coincidence, since there were 4 egg whites in the fridge. Off to the kitchen I went, excited about the beautiful dessert I was about to make.

It took me 3 times to get the meringues right – you know what they say about the third time, right? – and lots of eggs and brown sugar. After failing at the second attempt, it hit me: there was too much sugar for the amount of egg whites. It would never be firm. Finally, I made only ¼ of the recipe and added sugar to the egg whites my way. It worked. I shaped the meringues smaller than the original version – I used regular spoons for that; the recipe called for serving spoons – and reduced their time in the oven. On the following day, they were chewy and tasted good.

Would I go through all that trouble again for a dessert? Definitely. :)

I’m posting the adapted recipe - the one that worked out for me; follow the link mentioned above if you want to take a look at the original version.

Brown sugar and cinnamon meringues with praline cream
adapted from Delicious magazine

Meringues:
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
100g light brown sugar, sifted
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
icing sugar, for dusting

Praline cream:
50g blanched, slivered almonds
50g granulated sugar
300ml double cream

Preheat the oven to 140ºC/285ºF. Line 2 large baking trays with non-stick baking paper.

Put the egg whites into a large, clean, grease-free bowl and beat to stiff peaks. Mix the sugar and cinnamon, then beat, a dessertspoonful at a time, into the whites until you have a stiff, glossy meringue.
Using 2 spoons, take a spoonful of the meringue onto 1 spoon. Holding the second spoon parallel to and behind it, scoop the mixture onto the second spoon by tucking its long edge under the back edge of the mixture on the front spoon. Do this 2-3 times until you have a smooth, rugby-ball shaped meringue. Transfer to one of the paper-lined trays. Repeat to make 12 meringues (in case you use large spoons to shape them) and transfer them one by one to the trays, leaving about 3-4cm between them. Bake in the oven for 1 ½ hours (I baked mine for 1 hour), then turn off the oven and leave them to cool inside for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Meanwhile, make the praline: preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºC. Spread the almonds over a baking sheet and roast for 6-7 minutes until lightly golden. Remove and set aside. Put the sugar into a small heavy-based pan and cook over a medium heat, without stirring – just swirl the pan around - until the sugar has caramelized and turned to an amber brown syrup. Add the almonds, swirl the pan to coat in the caramel, then quickly pour the mixture onto a lightly oiled baking tray and cool. Break into pieces when cold and transfer to a food processor. Process to fine crumbs using the pulse button, but don’t let the mixture become extremely fine.

To serve, whip the cream to soft peaks, then stir in the praline. Use to sandwich the meringues together. Lightly dust with icing sugar and serve immediately.

Serves 6

Ranger cookies

According to Allen, I am a cookie monster. I think he’s right – I absolutely love baking cookies!

Not only they taste delicious and are great for those times when the urge for something sweet hits us, they’re also easy to share. Pop a few into a plastic bag, close with a beautiful ribbon and you’ll make someone’s day extra special.

I have hundreds of cookie recipes just waiting to be baked, but these had been on my mind since Lisa posted them. Walnuts, coconut, chocolate and oats combined in wonderfully golden little packages – just what I needed to make my Sunday even better.

She has some amazing baked goods on her blog, so check them out and get inspired, too.

Ranger cookies

8 tablespoons (112g/4oz) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
½ cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt – I used sea salt
¼ cup unsweetened coconut
½ cup (56g/2oz) unsalted roasted walnuts, coarsely chopped
½ cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 175ºC/350ºF. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and the granulated and brown sugars until smooth and creamy. Stir in the vanilla extract and the egg. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Add the salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Stir in the coconut, walnuts, oats, and chocolate chips.

Using about 1 ½ tablespoonfuls for each cookie, place mounds of the cookie dough 3 inches apart on the prepared sheets. Bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes – mine needed 14. Let the cookies cool to room temperature before removing them from the pans with a spatula.

Makes 2-3 dozen cookies, depending on size – I got 26

Cocoa Fudge Cookies and Picnik

I learned about Picnik reading this blog – I highly recommend it, even though it’s not about food; I found it while searching for good home décor ideas – my house could use some color right now.

It is a fun, easy to use tool. My sister absolutely loved it – she’s 14 and has tons of photos of her teen friends and dogs. You do the math. :)

I made these cookies ages ago, but wasn’t pleased with the photos. I kept postponing the recipe until I thought that it was good and deserved to be shared. I don’t have much experience with low fat baking but I want to learn more about it. If you are interested in that too, my friend JB has wonderful recipes on her blog.

Cocoa Fudge Cookies
from The All-New Complete Cooking Light Cookboook

1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter
7 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
2/3 cup (140g) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (60g) packed brown sugar
1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF; line 2 baking sheets with baking paper, lightly coated with cooking spray.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Sift together flour, soda, and salt; set aside. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat; stir in cocoa powder and sugars (mixture will resemble coarse sand). Add yogurt and vanilla, stirring to combine. Add flour mixture, stirring until moist. Drop by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until almost set. Cool on pans 2 to 3 minutes or until firm. Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks.

Makes 2 dozen – I got 28 even after eating loads of dough (1 cookie = 78 calories)

Ice-cream scoop pecan and cinnamon cookies

An old love and a new love, that’s what I have here: cinnamon and pecans. Even though pecans were no stranger to me, I had never baked with them until I made these cookies. After trying them I was really glad I had another package of pecans in my fridge.

I don’t need to tell you about my love for Donna Hay’s recipes anymore, do I? Her food is oh, so good. These cookies were published on her magazine, issue #33, and I slightly adapted the recipe using granulated sugar instead of superfine.

Just so you know it, the cinnamon flavor on these cookies is subtle; they were so delicious they might even convert those who don’t like the spice. :)

Ice-cream scoop pecan and cinnamon cookies
from Donna Hay magazine

- metric and imperial measurements found in the magazine; I used my scale

125g (4 ½oz) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (110g/4oz) granulated sugar
¼ cup (44g/1 ½oz) light brown sugar
1 egg
1 ¼ cups (188g/6 ½oz) all purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
150g (5 ¼oz) pecan nuts, toasted and roughly chopped*

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/355ºF; line two large baking sheets with non-stick baking paper. Place the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Add the egg and beat well. Fold through the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and pecans – dough will be very stiff. Scoop the mixture, using an ice-cream scoop, onto prepared baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches (5cm) apart – cookies won’t spread much.
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes then transfer cookies to wire racks.

* I ended up using a total amount of 230g pecans for 2 recipes

The magazine published that the recipes yielded 6 cookies - I doubled the recipe, used a ¼ cup capacity ice cream scoop and got 26 cookies (!!!)