Almond Butter Cookies

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Not Crocker

The weather in Vancouver has been really wonderful. We had two gorgeous days on sunshine throughout the week and then yesterday started crummy with a straight 5-6 hours of rain but wrapped up on a blue-skied, sunny note. Today is another sunny one, so I am going to have to wander outside for some vitamin D and fresh air. I love being able to wander outside in the middle of February in just a sweater. No boots, hat, mitts, or scarf needed! I certainly don’t miss the snow and will be sad to leave Vancouver if ever needed. The snow that comes with practically every other city in Canada is not something I embraced. I’ve paid my snow dues, 18 years in the Yukon and 6 in Calgary! I deserve a little West Coast weather pampering, and have made sure to take full advantage.

All that said, I am looking at some Toronto positions that would be worth the move back into the big white. If they come around to be the real thing, I am going to have to mentally prepare for a winter unlike any I’ve experienced with snow AND humidity.

Anyway, I felt the other day like I needed to make something. I kind of neglected Not Crocker last week as I picked up a couple temp assignments that required me to bus it out to Richmond. By the time I got home I kind of flopped on the couch in a trance-like daze and Gen kindly made up some dinner for me. I did attempt a pork and rapini dish yesterday to very little success as the rapini over-powered the pork. I choked a bowl down and thankfully Gen finished up the rest. We all have our cooking failures!

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Cookie Swap Official Recipe! Hot Chocolate Sandwiches filled with Pink Peppercorn & Cardamom Marshmallows

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Not Crocker

I wanted to do something fancy for my contribution to the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. I mean really, it’s hosted by the wonderful Love and Olive Oil and The Little Kitchen. The blogs that participate are all filled with beautiful food, designs, and ideas. I have been craving hot chocolate lately and have begun to master the art of marshmallows, so it seemed like a cookie combo made in heaven. Also, I love cardamom and happen to have a bunch of different peppers on hand, so there we go!

Not to wax on about the cookies or the event, or any of that jazz… but I am SOOOOOooooo excited to be part of this. I know that part of building a great blog and following is networking with the community but I’ve been so busy the last 8 months that I haven’t really had a chance to develop those relationships. This is my first step of getting in there with the big, fancy blogs and wave my little Not Crocker flag, saying “Hello, I like to cook and bake too!” I hope that Bailey of Sugar Haven, Aimee of Aimee’s Oven, and Heather of New House New Home New Life liked them! I learned a lot, particularly that I was one sandwich short, so I baked up three icebox cookies to create the one ugly, franken-cookie in each batch… there has to be one… right? Merry Christmas Cookie Swap!

Something that I’d love to know, what is YOUR favourite Christmas treat?

Quick note before baking, you will have to make the marshmallow in two batches so that it doesn’t totally firm up before you fill all the cookies.

Hot Chocolate Cookies

INGREDIENTS

3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
3 oz dark chocolate, melted
2 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 3/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, sugar, salt, and baking soda.
Cut the butter into the flour mixture until you have a sandy texture with few lumps.
Whisk together the melted chocolate, heavy cream, and vanilla until a sort of ganache forms. Drizzle the ganache into the dough and mix well to combine.
Divide the dough in half. Knead the first half on a cutting board until it stick well together. Roll the dough into a log about 1 1/2 inches thick and wrap in wax paper. Do the same with the other log. Freeze the logs for 1 hour until very firm.
Heat the oven to 350°F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Using a very sharp knife, slice the log into 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick slices, keeping consistant. Place 1-inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 12-15 minutes, turning halfway through.
Cool the cookies on racks, they will crisp up as they cool down. You can definitely eat them all now, they are pretty tasty, but definitely hold off, make marshmallows, and make sandwiches!

Pink Peppercorn and Cardamom Marshmallows (make two batches to fill cookies)

Adapted from Pots and Pins recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1 envelope of Knox unflavoured gelatin
1/2 cup cold water

1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pink peppercorns, ground
1/2 tsp cardamom, ground
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS

In your large mixer bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water, set aside.
Combine the remaining 1/4 cup water, sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
Bring mixture to a boil, allow to boil gently for 1 minute.
Remove the syrup mixture from heat and stir in the vanilla, ground peppercorns, and cardamom.
Briefly whisk the gelatin mixture on high speed. Gradually pour hot sugar syrup into the gelatin, beating on low.
Once all of the syrup has been incorporated, increase the mixer speed to high and beat until the mixture is thick and shiny, 8-10 minutes.
Move quickly and dollop 1 tablespoon of filling onto one cookie and top with another, pressing down enough to move the marshmallow to the edges. The marshmallow sets quickly, so don’t slow down. If it starts to set as you are filling, it will still work, it just wont look perfect.
If you have extra marshmallow, pour it into a flat dish and cut up later for hot chocolates and coffees and snacking.

Massive Step-by-step

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, sugar, salt, and baking soda.
Cut the butter into the flour mixture until you have a sandy texture with few lumps.
Whisk together the melted chocolate, heavy cream, and vanilla until a sort of ganache forms. Drizzle the ganache into the dough and mix well to combine.
Divide the dough in half. Knead the first half on a cutting board until it stick well together. Roll the dough into a log about 1 1/2 inches thick and wrap in wax paper. Do the same with the other log. Freeze the logs for 1 hour until very firm.
Heat the oven to 350°F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Using a very sharp knife, slice the log into 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick slices, keeping consistant. Place 1-inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 12-15 minutes, turning halfway through.
Cool the cookies on racks, they will crisp up as they cool down. You can definitely eat them all now, they are pretty tasty, but definitely hold off, make marshmallows, and make sandwiches!
Stacks of cooled cookies.
In your large mixer bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water, set aside.
Combine the remaining 1/4 cup water, sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
Bring mixture to a boil, allow to boil gently for 1 minute.
Remove the syrup mixture from heat and stir in the vanilla, ground peppercorns, and cardamom.
Well that doesn’t look like marshmallow!
Briefly whisk the gelatin mixture on high speed. Gradually pour hot sugar syrup into the gelatin, beating on low.
Once all of the syrup has been incorporated, increase the mixer speed to high and beat until the mixture is thick and shiny, 8-10 minutes.
Oh, there it is!
Move quickly and dollop 1 tablespoon of filling onto one cookie and top with another, pressing down enough to move the marshmallow to the edges. The marshmallow sets quickly, so don’t slow down. If it starts to set as you are filling, it will still work, it just wont look perfect.

Probably one of my best photos. Huzz-freakin-ah!

Again, check out the great blogs I got to connect with through this awesome cookie swap! They deserve lots of love:

Sent to:
Sugar Haven
Aimee’s Oven
New House New Home New Life

Received from:
Oven Adventures (sent amazing cinnamon chip cookies that smell like coziness)

I ♥ Fresh Food (sent vanilla chai short bread, delicious for dunking)

The Bacon Eating Jewish Vegetarian (it’s a mouthful, so are her delicious Cinnadoodles!)

Not back yet, but here is some tasty filler. Coconut Cream Pie, by request from Not Crocker’s padre (recipe for Gingersnaps included)

Posted on September 1, 2012 by Not Crocker

Dad’s doing fairly well, as well as he can. He’s certainly got his sense of humour. He has a steady flow of visitors each day, and more importantly, a steady flow of scotch. Today, his son-in-law brought him a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label and we all enjoyed the smooth delicious blend of ridiculously expensiveness. I am looking forward to another paper cup with a scotch rock (granite frozen to cool the scotch without watering it down) and a splash of the good stuff tomorrow.

Dad asked the other day, for some pie, specifically apple… and then pumpkin…and finally coconut cream. So coconut cream pie it is! Kel and I got to making it that night and we had it the next day, the longer the flavours mellow, the better. And wow, super delicious. I really can’t think of a time when I’ve had coconut cream pie, and I’ve stayed clear of banana cream pie for the most part because it seems like one too many smooth textures, I need some textural variation. Well, coconut cream pie has some chewy bits of toasted coconut, a nice gingersnap crust and two different layers of creamy goodness. The pictures aren’t great because I am still in the midst of the Great Camera Fiasco of 2012. I left my battery charger up here in the Yukon in July. Mom and Dad were supposed to head south mid-August, so I made-do with the cord. Then all of this madness happened and I had to come north, a month after I left it here. Well, I get off the plane and tell mom how excited I am to charge my camera battery (it’s the small things, clearly) and she tells me that she mailed it the day before. Curses! Anyway, the iPhone photos can’t take away from the scrumptious pie. Make it. Love it. Tell me all about it.

Coconut Cream Pie

Lightly adapted from Anna Ols0n.

INGREDIENTS

Gingersnap Crust

3/4 cup + 1/3 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsps baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp cardamon
sugar, for coating

Coconut Filling

2/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups coconut milk
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp butter
1 cup shredded coconut, lightly toasted**

Cream Topping

1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp skim milk powder
1/4 cup coconut, lightly toasted **

DIRECTIONS

The first step is to bake your gingersnaps.
Heat oven to 350 °F.
Cream 3/4 cup butter (reserve the 1/3 for later) and sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir in molasses and beat in egg.
Add flour, baking soda, salt, and spices and stir just until blended.
Roll spoonfuls of dough into balls and roll in a shallow dish of white sugar. Place 2 inches apart on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet and press flat with the palm of your hand, or a fork. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. Remove from baking sheet to cool. If you just want gingersnaps, stop here. Eat cookies.
To form the crust: grind cooled cookies in a food processor, or by hand (good luck!) and measure out 2 1/2 cups of crumbs (we used all but 6 cookies, which we munched on the next day). Melt the 1/3 cup butter and mix into crumbs. Press into a 9-inch pie pan (we also put some into a 4-inch tart pan so Dad could have his individual pie at the hospital) and chill until ready to fill.
For filling: stir sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a heavy-bottomed saucepot. Whisk in coconut milk, whole eggs, and egg yolks. Heat custard on low while whisking constantly for 5 minutes.
**Turn oven to 400°F, spread coconut in a thin layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, stir on pan and toast for another 3-5 minutes until light brown. Some darker toasted shreds are totally ok. Reserve 1/4 cup for sprinkling on top.
Back to the custard! Increase heat to medium and continue whisking until custard thickens and becomes glossy, about 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and strain. Stir in vanilla, butter, and toasted coconut. Stir until butter has melted. Pour immediately into chilled pie shell, let cool on the counter for 15 minutes, then chill completely before topping with cream, at least 4 hours.
For cream topping: whip cream to a medium peak, and whisk in sugar and skim milk powder. Top coconut custard with whipped cream, and sprinkle remaining toasted coconut on top as garnish.

Coconut custard.

Icebox Cookies. Or, how to use your egg yolks after making meringues

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Not Crocker

These are made with a rich dough that can be rolled in or topped with whatever you like. I just baked up a small batch plain so I could easily dip them in some hot chocolate and coffee. They are a beautiful cross between a sugar cookie and shortbread… more on the sugar cookie side of things. This is a great way to use up excess egg yolks after making meringues, or chocolate mousse. But, if you want to make these first, at least you also know what to do with your whites! I like icebox cookies because they are essentially cookies anytime, whip up a recipe throw the cookie log in the freezer, slice and bake and you’ve got fresh cookies in 15 minutes. If you think ahead… I didn’t… you can roll them in coconut, chocolate, nuts, etc. and have fancier versions ready for when guests surprize you!

Icebox Cookies

This recipe makes about 2 large logs of dough… I am not a log-forming master, so you can probably make many more small logs.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
6 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

tasty flavour additions: 1/2 tsp cardamon or 1 tbsp orange zest or swap 1/4 tsp of vanilla for a flavoured extract like almond or roll the log immediately after forming it, in chocolate shavings, crushed walnuts, shredded coconut, or sprinkles.

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, and salt until pale and fluffy.
Add yolks and beat well, scraping down the sides. Add vanilla.
Add flour (and flavours if wanted) and mix until just combined.
Separate in two and roll into logs. Roll the logs in desired toppings. Wrap the logs in plastic and freeze for at least two hours, but feel free to leave them longer, until you want them! Slice off one, or two, or twenty cookies and bake!
Heat oven to 350°F. Cover a baking sheet in parchment paper.
Unwrap log, and place on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, slice off 1/4 inch cookies.
Arrange cookies on your baking sheet, 1 inch apart and bake until pale golden, 13 to 15 minutes.
Serve with coffee, milk, hot chocolate, or just a smile.

Poorly shaped, expertly sliced cookies.

Delicious

From the cover photo, because its such a lovely shot.

Black Bottom Meringues— Chocolate meringues with dark chocolate and espresso bottoms

Posted on August 18, 2012 by Not Crocker

Alright, alright, the bottoms are less black than brown but brown bottom sounded questionable, so I went with it. These are easy meringues with a dark chocolate and espresso ganache for the bottoms. The ganache mellows out the sweetness of the meringue, it is a lovely pairing. I mentioned my friend Angela in the last post, and I will mention her again! These meringues were made in celebration… in mourning… of her imminent departure. Angela is leaving us Vancouver folk for the wilds of the Sunshine Coast, she is moving on to bigger and better things, though we think she’ll come back to us, we’ve got all the beer here!

Black Bottom Meringues

INGREDIENTS

Meringues

6 large egg whites (save your yolks for icebox cookies: to be posted this weekend)
1 1/2 cup sugar
pinch cream of tartar
2/3 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Ganache

2 squares of dark bakers chocolate (or 2 oz of dark chocolate of your choice)
2 tbsp of room-temperature espresso or very strong coffee
3 tbsp of whipping cream

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your oven to 175°F.
Cover two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Combine the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in a large metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water, not touching the water, and not boiling water.
Whisk the mixture constantly until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is smooth and warm to the touch (roughly 3-4 minutes). Remove from heat and beat the whites until stiff, glossy peaks form (this is most easily and quickly done with a mixer, but I am sure it could be accomplished by hand).
Add the vanilla and stir to combine.
Using a sifter (or a mesh strainer in my case) sift the cocoa over the meringue and stir until no streaks remain. I am not usually this particular about sifting stuff, but my cocoa was lumpy as all hell, so I did it and it worked beautifully.
Scoop the meringue into a pastry bag or a large ziploc with a corner snipped off. Squeeze out quarter-sized dollops onto your parchment paper.
Bake for 2 hours, until they lift from the pan easily, mine took a little extra time because I wanted them quite dry. If you want them a little chewy, check after 1.5 hours. Allow to cool completely.
While the meringues are cooling make the ganache.
In a small pan over simmering water, melt the chocolate taking care not to scorch it.
Add espresso and cream and stir to combine, it will come together… trust me.
Once meringues have cooled smooth a layer of ganache across the bottom, place meringues bottom-up on a baking sheet as you go. Refrigerate for at least an hour to allow the ganache to set.
Serve.

The meringues are starting to stiffen.

Folding in the cocoa powder.