Brown sugar coconut cookies - a good recipe for an empty pantry

These simple yet delicious cookies, packed with coconut, are a good solution for those days when we want something sweet but there’s nothing in the pantry; I’m usually stocked with ingredients for my baking sessions, but that Saturday I was out of just about everything: fruits, chocolate, jam. I guess that I focused so much on having flour, eggs and butter that I ended up forgetting other important items. Heavy rain and some laziness made me immediately cancel the idea of a trip to the grocery store. I did, however, have some coconut, and that saved the day: it was transformed into cookies that go well with strong coffee or a glass of cold milk.

Brown sugar coconut cookies
from the delicious and foolproof Baking Style: Art, Craft, Recipes

2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup (88g) packed light brown sugar
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk
1 ½ cups (150g) sweetened flaked coconut

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugars until light and creamy. Beat in the egg, then scrape the sides of the bowl. Beat in the vanilla and milk. On low speed, blend in the dry ingredients in 2 additions, beating just until the flour is absorbed. Stir in the coconut.
Take 2 leveled tablespoons of dough per cookie and shape into an oblong shape. Place onto prepared sheets, 5cm (2in) apart. Lightly flatten each oblong shape with your hands, then using a lightly floured fork, striate the tops of the cookies.
Bake for 12-14 minutes or until set and golden around the edges. Cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then carefully remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Makes about 26

Spiced brown sugar cookies

As much as I love cooking and baking I understand it’s not everyone’s cup of tea – so you can imagine how happy I felt when I noticed that my sister loved cooking and baking, too – I swear I never pushed her towards it: it all began with her passion for brownies and cookies. :)

After tasting some of these cookies she told me they were delicious and she needed the recipe “asap”; she also told me she’d already imagined them covered in chocolate, which I thought sounded like an amazing idea – should I be proud of my sister or what? ;)

Spiced brown sugar cookies
from the always beautiful and delicious Donna Hay Magazine

Sugar coating:
¾ cup (105g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Cookies:
2 1/3 cups + 1 tablespoon (335g) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
½ cup + ½ tablespoon (120g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (175g) brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup (80ml) golden syrup
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
In a small bowl, mix together the confectioners’ sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
Make the cookies: in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda and salt.
in the large bowl of an electric mixer combine the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup and beat in medium speed for 2 minutes or until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine. In low speed, add the dry ingredients at once and beat until just combined – you might want to finish mixing by hand; the dough was too soft, so I added 1 ½ tablespoons of flour.
Roll 1 leveled tablespoon of dough into balls and place onto the prepared sheets, 5cm (2in) apart. Bake until lightly golden on the edges, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on the sheets over a wire rack for 10 minutes. Toss the cookies in the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat then set on the rack to cool completely.

Makes about 50

Pear, apple, brown sugar and maple syrup cake

People who like to cook and bake – myself included – get mad at recipes that do not work – I think it’s only natural to feel that way about something that involves time, ingredients ($$) and expectations. I get really angry sometimes, to the point of cursing like a character in a mafia movie. :D

But if the recipe works and the food tastes good, I’m OK with a couple of details that might be different from the recipe – the fruit on top of this cake, for instance, should have sunk into the batter while it baked in the oven, according to Nigel Slater; that did not happen, but it doesn’t matter – I actually think the cake looks nicer this way.

Pear, apple, brown sugar and maple syrup cake
slightly adapted from the absolutely beautiful Tender Volume II

Fruit mixture:
2 ripe pears
1 Granny Smith apple
1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons maple syrup

Cake:
100g unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup (50g) superfine sugar
1/3 cup (58g) light brown sugar, packed
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup (50g) almond flour (ground almonds)
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons whole milk, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Butter a 20cm (8in) round baking pan, line the base with baking paper and butter the paper as well.
Peel, core and dice the pears and the apples – the pieces should be around 1cm each. Transfer the fruit to a large frying pan, add the butter and cinnamon and cook over a moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, 5-8 minutes. Pour in the maple syrup, let the mixture bubble up briefly, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until pale and thick. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, then add the almond flour. In a small bowl, whisk lightly with a fork the eggs, milk and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, alternating with the eggs mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Spoon the fruit mixture over the batter and bake for 40 minutes or until golden, risen and lightly firm and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack.

Serves 8-10

Brown sugar cake with mixed toffee nuts + a list of hints and tips

I’ve told you before how much I enjoy receiving your comments and emails, I really do - they have brightened some dark days I’ve had. Since some of those emails are packed with questions and doubts I thought a list of hints and tips would be useful – and I’ve added one to the blog menu now.

I don’t mean to sound presumptuous, please – I still have a lot to learn and I do not have any professional training, but the 589 recipes on this blog and the 116 books on my bookshelf have certainly taught me something. :)

I hope you like the link and I’m open to suggestions – in the meantime, how about some cake? The nut+caramel combo got me hooked after this tart. :)

Brown sugar cake with mixed toffee nuts
slightly adapted from Donna Hay magazine

Cake:
150g unsalted butter, softened
165g brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
150g all purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup (60ml) whole milk, room temperature

Toffee nuts:
2/3 cup (133g) caster (superfine) sugar
1/3 cup (80ml) water
1 tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup (80ml) heavy cream
2/3 cup mixed nuts (such as almonds, walnuts, pecans)

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Butter an 18cm round cake pan and line the bottom with baking paper. Butter the paper as well.
Place the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 8-10 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the egg and egg yolk and beat well. Add flour and baking powder and beat until combined. Fold through the milk. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 20 minutes, then carefully unmold onto a wire rack. Cool completely, then transfer to a serving plate – a plate with high edges, preferably, so the toffee doesn’t ooze out.
Make the toffee nuts: combine sugar and water in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir just until sugar dissolves – do not stir after that, just swirl the pan occasionally. Cook for 6-8 minutes or until caramelized and golden brown. Remove from heat, gently add butter and cream and stir to combine – be careful because caramel will bubble and may spit. Stir in nuts and spoon immediately over the cake.

Serves 4-6 – I made 1 1/3 of the recipe above and used a round 20cm (8in) cake pan

Chock-full of chocolate chip cookies

Yes, people, chocolate chips again – the person behind this blog has serious problems trying to control herself sometimes, and that can result in the purchase of a 2.5kg (over 5oz) bag of chocolate chips. So get ready to see loads of chips around here (luckily the chocolate is excellent and I can melt it to make brownies and such). :)

Speaking of control – or the lack of it – buying a huge bag of chocolate chips is nothing compared to watching 36 episodes of my newest favorite show in 2 weeks – hadn’t things like WORK gotten in the way I could have done that in 3 days. :D

Chock-full of chocolate chip cookies
from The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook

1 ¼ cups (175g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup (88g) packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons (72g) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups (24 oz/672g) semisweet chocolate chips – I used chips with 70% cocoa solids

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Sift the flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until smoothly blended, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until blended, about 1 minute – the mixture may look curdled, but that’s OK. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until just incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
Use a tablespoon to drop heaping spoonfuls of dough ( about 3 level tablespoons each) onto prepared sheets, spacing the cookies 7.5cm (3in) apart (I rolled into balls and pressed slightly before baking).
Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the edges are lightly browned and the centers are golden, about 15 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack with a wide metal spatula (cookies will flatten slightly as they cool).
Cookies can be stored in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 3 days.

Makes 27 cookies - I halved the recipe, used 2 leveled tablespoons of dough per cookie and got 17

Brown sugar and chocolate chip pound cake with maple glaze

Every once in a while I go through my recipe stash – Joao kindly calls it my “mess” – and find ripped pages/prints I did not remember existed – like this recipe from when I was a Bon Appétit subscriber, ages ago.

It’s a good cake – I expected it to be a bit more tender, but one of my official Guinea pigs said it was great; however, it was the icing that won me over: I left the espresso out and the maple flavor was all over the place. Yum!

Brown sugar and chocolate chip pound cake with maple glaze
from Bon Appetit

Cake:
1 12-ounce (336g) package semisweet chocolate chips – I used 70% cocoa solids
3 cups (420g) all purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups (262g) light brown sugar, packed
2 ½ tablespoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 cup (240ml) buttermilk

Glaze:
1 cup (140g) powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons (or more) whipping cream

Preheat oven to 160°C/325°F. Butter a 12-cup Bundt pan. Spray pan generously with nonstick spray. Dust pan lightly with flour*. Mix chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons of the flour in a medium bowl. Sift remaining flour with baking soda, baking powder, and salt into another medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla extract. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chip mixture. Transfer batter to prepared pan, spreading evenly.
Bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean and cake begins to pull away from sides of pan, about 1 hour. Cool cake in pan on rack 30 minutes. Invert cake onto rack and cool completely.

Make the glaze: combine powdered sugar, maple syrup and 2 tablespoons cream in a medium bowl. Whisk until smooth, adding more cream by ½ teaspoonfuls if glaze is too thick to drizzle. Spoon glaze decoratively over top of cake; let stand at room temperature until glaze is firm, about 1 hour (can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and let stand at room temperature).

* I halved the recipe above and used a regular 6 cup-capacity ring pan, buttered and floured (I did not use cooking spray)

Serves 12

Butterscotch pots

You almost got another panna cotta here today. :)

I think of panna cotta every time I need to use up heavy cream before it goes bad – what changed my mind this time, you might ask? The poor lonely egg yolks left from the buttercream on my MIL’s birthday cake. :D

These pots are delicious but also very, very rich – small cups are the way to go here.

Butterscotch pots
from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey

6 tablespoons (84g) unsalted butter
1 ½ cups (262g) dark brown sugar, packed
3 ½ cups (840ml) heavy cream
¾ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Scotch whisky or Irish whiskey
9 large egg yolks
sweetened whipped cream, to serve (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C.
In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the butter and brown sugar and melt together over medium heat and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute and then stir in ½ cup of the cream. Stir until the mixture is smooth and combined. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 3 cups of cream, the salt, vanilla and whiskey.
In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth. Gradually whisk in the cream until smooth – whisk continuously to avoid cooking the yolks. Strain the custard through a fine sieve into a large container with a pouring spout. Divide the custard among 8 ovenproof ramekins/cups.
Place the ramekins in a large roasting pan. Place the roasting pan in the oven and pour boiling water into the pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the roasting pan with foil and pierce it in several places to allow steam to escape.
Bake the custards just until set around the edges and still slightly wobbly in the center, 45-60 minutes. Remove the custards from the oven and then from the water bath; set aside to cool completely then refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, until well chilled, at least 4 hours for up to overnight. Top the custards with a dollop of whipped cream, if desired, and serve (I dusted the cream with a little cocoa powder).

Serves 8 - I made 1/3 of the recipe above and used 200ml capacity cups

Piña Colada cake

This is the cake I made for my MIL’s birthday; I’d already set up my mind to bake a chocolate cake, but when I called her to ask which flavor she wanted she told me I was being kind enough to bake her the cake, so she would not choose the flavor – I should do that, instead; just what I needed to try a different cake from my favorite layer cake book. :D

I could not find canned pineapple in juice, so I bought it in syrup and adapted the filling. I thought the pineapple jam was delicious and the coconut buttercream almost addictive – but wasn’t all that happy about the cake layers. They tasted good, because of the massive amounts of brown sugar, but the texture was a bit heavy in my opinion. If you’re interested in making the piña colada cake, I suggest the cake layers from this recipe.

Piña Colada cake
adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes

Brown sugar cake:
3¾ cups (525g) cake flour*
1¾ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2¼ cups (393g) packed light brown sugar
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1¾ cups (420ml) buttermilk
5 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cups (160ml) rum (light, amber or dark), to assemble the cake

Pineapple filling:
1 can (560g/20oz) sliced pineapple in syrup
1 cup (200g) caster sugar
1/3 cup (80ml) freshly squeezed lime juice
3 tablespoons water
½ vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped with the back of a knife

Coconut buttercream:
3 eggs whites
pinch of salt
1 cup (200g) caster sugar
¼ cup (60ml) water
2½ sticks (280g/10oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup (160ml) unsweetened coconut milk

Decoration:
½ cup (50g) sweetened shredded coconut, lightly toasted (if desired)
pineapple slice

Start by making the cakes: preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter three 22cm (9in) cake pans, line the base with baking paper and butter the paper as well.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into the large bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk gently to combine. Add the brown sugar, butter and 1½ cups of the buttermilk to the dry ingredients. With the mixer on low blend to incorporate. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
Whisk the eggs with the remaining ¼ cup buttermilk and the vanilla and add to the batter in 3 additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl well and beating only long enough to incorporate between additions. Divide the batter between the 3 pans.
Bake for 25-28 minutes or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the layers cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper and allow to cool completely.

Now, the pineapple filling: drain the pineapple and discard the syrup. Set aside 1 slice of pineapple (for decoration) and finely chop the other slices. Place in a medium saucepan with the sugar, lime juice and water. Add the vanilla seeds you scraped from the vanilla bean. Warm over a medium-low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, 2 to 3 minutes. Raise the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the juices have almost completely evaporated and turned jam-like in consistency. Let the filling cool completely before using. Can be made a day in advance and refrigerated.

Make the buttercream: put the eggs whites and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whip attachment so they are ready to go.
Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and place over a medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to the boil and cook without stirring until the syrup reaches the sold boil stage, 114°C/238°F on a candy thermometer.
Beat the egg whites briefly at medium speed. Slowly add the hot syrup in a thin stream, being careful to avoid the beaters. Continue to whip until the meringue has cooled to body temperature.
With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the butter, several tablespoons at a time and continue to beat until a smooth fluffy frosting forms.
Add the coconut milk in several additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl well after each addition. Measure 1 cup of the buttercream and mix with the pineapple filling.

Assembling the cake: place one layer flat side up on a cake stand. Sprinkle a generous 3 tablespoons** rum over the cake. Spread half of the filling over the layer, leaving a small gap around the edge. Add the second layer, sprinkle with more rum and cover with the remaining filling. Top with the third layer and sprinkle with the remaining rum.
Frost the top and sides of the cake with the coconut buttercream. Decorate the sides of the cake with
the shredded coconut and top with the reserved pineapple slice.

* homemade cake flour: 1 cup (140g) all purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons corn starch

** I used only 1 tablespoon of rum per cake layer

Serves 14-16 – I made 2/3 of the recipe above and used 20cm (8in) cake pans

Little strawberry meringue tarts

The strawberry maniac strikes again – and this time with pies topped with meringue. :)

I know I’ve been carried away by the strawberry season, but tell me: would you resist making such adorable little pies? I’m not that strong. :)

Little strawberry meringue tarts
adapted from Australian Gourmet Traveller

Filling:
400g strawberries, hulled and quartered
½ cup (88g) brown sugar, packed – you might need more depending on how sweet the strawberries are
1 vanilla bean, scraped seeds only
juice of ½ small orange
juice of ½ lime

Brown sugar pastry:
50g soft unsalted butter
50g brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour

Italian meringue:
¼ cup (50g) caster sugar
2 tablespoons (24g) demerara sugar
1 egg white

For brown sugar pastry, beat butter and brown sugar, using an electric mixer for 5 minutes or until pale, then add the egg and beat to combine. Add flour, beat until just combined, turn onto a lightly floured work surface, form into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Meanwhile, place strawberries in a heavy-based saucepan. Add brown sugar, vanilla seeds and orange and lime juices and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to medium and cook for 5-8 minutes or until strawberries are soft and liquid is reduced. Set aside to cool, then refrigerate.
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Roll pastry on a lightly floured surface to 2mm thick and use to line ten 6.5x3.5cm deep pie pans (see note), trim edges and pierce crust all over with fork. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil (or use nonstick foil) and cut roughly into ten squares; place the foil squares, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. Bake blind for 10 minutes, then remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until golden and crisp. Cool for 5 minutes in pans, then remove from pans and place on a baking tray. Using a fork to remove some of the liquid, transfer strawberry mixture into pastry cases and set aside*.
For Italian meringue, combine sugars and 2 tablespoons water in a small saucepan and stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and cook until syrup reaches 115°C/239°F on a sugar thermometer, then remove from heat. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, whisk egg white until soft peaks form, then, with motor running, slowly add hot syrup and whisk for 5 minutes. Spoon meringue over strawberry filling, forming into peaks. Place pies under a hot grill for 2-3 minutes or until meringue is golden or use a blowtorch to brown meringue lightly.

* since this is a very moist filling, assemble the tarts as close as possible to serving them - the juices in the filling will make the pastry soggy

Note: If you’re unable to find pie pans of this measurement, use individual fluted tart cases instead (they’ll hold less filling).

Serves 10

Oatmeal cookies with golden raisins and milk chocolate chips

I used to be a person who loved going to shopping malls, even if just for window shopping; now, one would have to lock me up in a straight jacket to get me into a mall without a very specific purpose – and lately, going to the movies has been the only reason.

I once arrived too early for my movie session and ended up in a book store to pass the time; that turned out to be a bad idea for my credit card: after taking a look at this beautiful book I ordered it the minute I arrived home. :D

Is anyone surprised that the first recipe I tried from the book is for cookies? :D

Oatmeal cookies with golden raisins and milk chocolate chips
from The Sweet Life: Desserts from Chanterelle

1 ½ cups (175g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks/226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200g) sugar
1 cup (175g) dark brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 egg white, room temperature
3 cups (345g) rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
224g (8oz) milk chocolate, chopped into ¼-in pieces
1 cup (155g) golden raisins

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.

In a dry bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Place the butter in the bowl of the stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on medium-high speed until the mixture becomes fluffy and lighter in color, approximately 5 minutes. Add the dark brown sugar and continue creaming for 3-4 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Turn the mixer down to slow speed, add the eggs and egg white, one at a time, and continue to beat until they are fully incorporated and the batter looks smooth and glossy, 1-2 minutes.

Add the dry mixture and the oats all at once to the butter mixture. Using a butter spatula, fold together for a few turns. With the mixer on slow speed, mix the dough until thoroughly combined, 1 minute. Add the chopped chocolate and the raisins. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and mix for another 30 seconds. The dough can be made up to this point and refrigerated, well wrapped, for up to 3 days.

Using 2 teaspoons scoop the dough into mounds and place 5cm (2in) onto prepared sheets (I shaped the dough into a ball using my palms).
Bake the cookies until they spread, rise, and turn a light golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on the sheets.

The cookies can be kept in an airtight container, in room temperature, for 4 days.

Makes 40 large cookies – I halved the recipe, used 1 leveled tablespoon of dough per cookie and got 33 cookies

Banana butterscotch pudding

I’m here today on a very special mission: I must convince you, my dear readers, to make this dessert next time you see a very ripe, freckled banana hanging around.

Banana bread is delicious, and so are banana cakes and cookies, but hear me when I say you’ll be an extremely happier person once you’ve tasted this pudding. Did I mention there’s caramel sauce involved? Oh, yes, there is. Plenty of it. Yum.

Mission accomplished. :D

Banana butterscotch pudding
from Simply Bill

¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (125g) all purpose flour
pinch of salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (112g) caster sugar
1 banana, mashed
1 cup (240ml) milk
6 tablespoons (84g) unsalted butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (140g) brown sugar, packed
3 tablespoons golden syrup – I used corn syrup
1 cup (240ml) boiling water

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF.
Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a medium bowl; add sugar and mix.
Add the banana milk, butter, egg and vanilla extract and whisk together until well combined.
Pour into a greased 2-liter baking dish.

Topping: mix the brown sugar, golden syrup and water in a small pan and bring to a boil (give it a stir so sugar is dissolved).
Pour the boiling mixture carefully over the pudding, place the baking dish inside a baking sheet then bake for 30-40 minutes or until cooked through when tested with a skewer.

Serve with vanilla ice cream – I served with yogurt and its tang flavor matched the sweet caramel wonderfully!

Serves 4 – I think it definitely serves 6

Cherry, cashew and white chocolate chunk cookies

“I’m not sure this is gonna work, but I’ll try it anyway” – my thoughts exactly when I came across this recipe. The ingredients were very appealing to me, but would they go well mixed up in a cookie? There was only one way to find out. :D

Even though I wasn’t completely happy about the texture – the cookies turned out really thin and delicate, difficult to carry around without breaking – the flavor was spot on. Another mixture I had doubts about at first but proved me wrong later on.

Cherry, cashew and white chocolate chunk cookies
from Big Fat Cookies

1 ¼ cups (175g) unbleached all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks/170g) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
½ cup (88g) packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup (4oz/112g) dried cherries, coarsely chopped
1 cup (5oz/140g) salted roasted cashew halves, coarsely chopped
4oz (112g) white chocolate, chopped into 0.6cm/1.25cm (¼-½-in) pieces

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF; line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until smoothly blended, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Mix in the egg, lemon juice and vanilla until blended, about 1 minute. The mixture may look curdled. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until it is incorporated and the dough looks smooth. Mix in the cherries, cashews and white chocolate.

Using an ice cream scoop of measuring cup with a ¼-cup capacity, scoop mounds of the dough onto the prepared sheets, spacing the cookies 3 inches apart. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the edges are light brown, but the centers are light golden, about 14 minutes. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheets then use a wide metal spatula do transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Makes 16 – I halved the recipe and started baking it using 1 round tablespoon of dough per cookie; I got 8 cookies but they turned out too large and too thin. I then went on using 1 rounded teaspoon of dough per cookie and got 23 (dough mounds 5cm apart, 11 minutes in the oven)

White chocolate lime cookies

Remember when I told you I’d watched “Zodiac”? After returning it to the video store, I decided to get two more movies. I was in a hurry and did not think much – sort of grabbed whatever was in front of me, because those were movies I’d been dying to see for ages. Do you know what I got? “Blindness” and “Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind”. Yes, my friends - three movies with Mark Ruffalo in just one week.

Sometimes I get stuck with something and my mind has a hard time letting go. That’s why I give you the combo lime + white chocolate again – this time, in cookie form.

White chocolate lime cookies
from here

1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup (150g) sugar
¾ cup (130g) light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ teaspoons lime juice
1 tablespoon lime zest
2 ½ cups (350g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
336g (12oz) white chocolate chips/chunks

Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF; line two large baking sheets with parchment/baking paper.

In a large mixing bowl using a stand mixer, beat sugar, brown sugar and butter until combined but not fluffy.
Add eggs one, at a time, then add vanilla, lime juice and lime zest. Mix to combine.
Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix into creamed mixture until just combined. Fold in the white chocolate chips/chunks.

Shape the dough into 2.5cm (1 inch) balls and place 5cm (2 in) apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the centers are just set – mine needed 15 minutes.
Allow to sit on the pan for three minutes before moving to wire racks.

Makes 5 dozen cookies – I halved the recipe, dropped ½ rounded tablespoon of dough onto sheets (dough was too soft to be rolled into balls) and got 33 cookies

Butterscotch marble blondie drops

Watching “Zodiac” this week I found someone as addicted to cookies as I am.

These blondie drops would make Inspector David Toschi very happy, I’m sure. But I’d rather bake them for Detective Malloy. :D

Butterscotch marble blondie drops
from Big Fat Cookies

112g (4 ounces) semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups (280g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups (350g) packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof container or the top of a double boiler, and place it over, but not touching, a saucepan of barely simmering water (or the bottom of the double boiler). Stir the chocolate until it is melted and smooth. Remove from the water and set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar and vanilla until smoothly blended, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during the mixing. Add the eggs and mix until blended, about 1 minute. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until it is incorporated.

Drop heaping tablespoons (about 3 level tablespoons each) of dough 7.5cm (3in) apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Drizzle about ½ teaspoon of the melted chocolate over the top of each cookie. Using a small sharp knife, gently swirl the chocolate once or twice through the cookie to marbleize it.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel soft but set and edges are lightly browned, about 11 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Makes 24 cookies – I halved the recipe, used 1 ½ tablespoons dough per cookie and got 18

Hawaiian macadamia coconut cookies

“Oh, no. Walnut cake. Why does he always ask for walnut cakes??” :(

That used to be little Patricia complaining about her uncle’s birthday cakes always being walnut flavored cakes. And little Patricia did not like walnuts. In fact, little Patricia thought that walnuts tasted weird.
But little Patricia has become a big girl – she’s 30 now! – and has learned to love not only walnuts, but all things nuts. And the buttery, delicious macadamias are now one of her favorite ingredients, not to mention they are wonderful paired with coconut.

Patricia has become such a centered, responsible adult that she has made everyone eat oats disguised as cookies. Again! :)

Hawaiian macadamia coconut cookies
from here

1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
¾ cup (132g) firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg
grated zest of 1 large orange
1 ½ cups (210g) all-purpose flour
1 ¼ cups (145g) rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (68g) sweetened desiccated coconut
¾ cup (100g) macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF; line 2 large baking sheets with baking paper.

In a large bowl, cream butter and both sugars. Add egg and beat well. Add orange rind and beat well.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder and salt. Beat into creamed mixture. Stir in coconut and macadamia nuts.

Make balls with 1 tablespoon full of dough – it’s soft, so don’t roll it too much - and place them on the sheet, about 5cm (2in) apart. Press down the tops with a lightly floured fork to flatten slightly. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are golden – mine took 18 minutes for that.

Cool for 5 minutes before removing from sheet. Cool on wire racks.

Makes about 3 dozen – I got 38

Aunt Mary Dillon's praline cookies

“Funny Games” opens today here in Sao Paulo. I know it’s a frame by frame remake, like Gus Van Sant’s hugest mistake, and there are some harsh reviews about it going on here, but I don’t care – any movie with Tim Roth and Naomi Watts has my undivided attention. Have you seen this poster? It’s absolutely fantastic.

I can’t say the same about the photo of these cookies, though. It’s OK, but not as beautiful as the other pictures on Martha’s website.
I ended up making the recipe anyway. And the cookies turned out very tasty, even though I found the icing a bit too sweet.

One more lesson learned: don’t judge a recipe by its photograph. :)

Aunt Mary Dillon's praline cookies

Cookies:
1 2/3 cups (234g) all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups (262g) light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Praline icing:
1 cup (175g) light brown sugar, packed
½ cup (120ml) heavy cream, plus more if necessary
1 cup (140g) sifted confectioners' sugar
1 cup (about 100g) pecan halves, toasted and broken into large pieces

Start with the cookies: preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla. Beat until fully combined. Add dry ingredients, and beat on low speed until combined.
Make balls using rounded teaspoons of dough and place onto prepared baking sheets about 5cm (2 in) apart. Bake until firm and barely golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies from pan to wire rack.

Now, make the icing: in a small saucepan, combine brown sugar and cream. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add confectioners' sugar, and whisk until smooth. (If frosting thickens, thin with cream.) Add pecan pieces.

Place cookies on a cooling rack over a lined baking pan – I placed them on a large piece of baking paper on the counter. Spoon about 1 leveled teaspoon praline mixture onto each cookie. Let icing dry before storing the cookies.

Makes 3 dozen – I got 50 cookies

Dark and white chocolate chunk cookies and your opinion about a magazine

Kristen left me a comment a while ago, asking my opinion about Bon Appétit’s new “look”. To be honest, I’m not so thrilled with the magazine anymore. The issues are getting thinner and thinner and each time there are more ads instead of interesting recipes and articles. Such a bummer. :(
Now I would love to hear your opinion, too – how do you like the magazine?

I did find something of my liking on their new website, though – you know me, I cannot resist a cookie recipe. Especially when the cookies are studded with big chunks of white chocolate. :)

Dark and white chocolate chunk cookies
from Bon Appetit magazine

2 2/3 cups bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chunks, divided
¼ cup (½ stick/57g) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
½ cup (88g) packed golden brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ cup (105g) self-rising flour
3 ½ oz (98g) high-quality white chocolate, very coarsely chopped – there was some left

Preheat oven to 175ºC/350ºF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Stir 2 cups chocolate chunks with butter in heavy small saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth; cool 10 minutes. Beat eggs and sugar in large bowl until well blended. In low speed, beat in melted chocolate mixture and vanilla, then flour. Stir in remaining 2/3 cup chocolate chips; let stand 10 minutes – this is a very important step, since the dough is fluid and won’t set until the chocolate cools.

Drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, spacing cookies 2 inches (5cm) apart. Press white chocolate pieces into top of cookies, dividing equally. Bake until cookies look puffed and slightly dry on top, about 13 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets, then carefully peel them off the paper using a wide metal spatula.

Makes about 2 dozen - I got 17 large cookies

Nika’s chocolate coconut hedgie cookies

I had these on my del.icio.us for ages – ever since Nika posted them, more than a year ago. Her cookies looked so good! Every time I took a look at my bookmarks I felt like baking these just to, seconds later, realize that the type of coconut in my pantry was not the one the recipe called for.

A quick trip to the grocery store solved that problem and I wish I hadn’t been so lazy: these cookies are fantastic.

Nika’s chocolate coconut hedgie cookies

1 ¼ cup (175g) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup (88g) packed light brown sugar
½ cup (100g) caster sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (100g) flaked sweetened coconut
icing sugar

Sift flour, baking soda, and salt, set aside.

Cream together butter, brown and white sugars. Make certain that it is very well mixed and that you get a light fluffy texture (you have incorporated air into the mix).

Add egg, vanilla, and chocolate powder and mix well. It will be getting thick now. Add the flour by 1/3rds. The mix will be very thick, like a dough towards the end. Don’t be shy, use your hands to knead it all together, if necessary. Add the coconut flakes. You will likely need to use your hands to incorporate the coconut – I used my Kitchen Aid with the paddle attachment and it was enough.
Cover with plastic/cling film and chill in the fridge – I chilled it for 3 hours, Nika did it overnight.

Preheat oven to 165ºC/325ºF; line two large baking sheets with parchment/baking paper.

Make balls using 1 leveled tablespoon of dough, roll in icing sugar and put onto prepared sheets, placing the balls 5cm (2 in) apart.
Bake for about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 32