The Phases of the Moons: 2010

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Gingerbread House recipe

This house will be displayed until Dec. 26th at the Hyatt Hotel.
House by two Grade 12 students: Kelsey and Kathleen.

This is the recipe I have my students use every year.

Gingerbread Houses:

125 ml (1/2 cup) vegetable shortening
125 ml (1/2 cup) white sugar

1 egg

150 ml (3/4 cup ) molasses

685 ml (2 and 3/4 cups) flour

5 ml (1 t) ground ginger

3 ml (1/2 t.) each of baking soda, salt, ground cloves, and ground cinnamon

In a large bowl and using an electric mixer, beat the shortening with sugar.

Beat in egg and molasses.

In another bowl, stir together flour, ginger, baking soda, salt, cloves and cinnamon.

Using a wooden spoon stir gradually into molasses mixture. Mix well.

Divide dough into two portions.

Roll dough in between two pieces of wax paper until about 5 mm or 1/4 inch thick.

Preheat oven to 160 C or 325 F.

Remove top sheet of wax paper. Cut out your house pieces.
Bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper if you have it.

Bake one sheet at a time in the oven for about 10 to 12 minutes.

Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely!

To put the house together, make a royal icing with egg white powder that has been pasteurized!

I put my house together let it set and then ice and decorate with lots of candy.

I like to use frosted mini wheats for the snow-capped roof.

Good luck all!

Monday, November 8, 2010

Pecan Balls

Great with coffee!

1/2 cup icing sugar

1 cup soft butter

2 t. salt

2 cups flour

2 cups pecan, finely chopped

instant coffee or expresso powder

Add sugar to butter slowly, cream thoroughly. Add vanilla, flour, salt and pecans and blend well. Chill several hours.

Shape chilled dough into balls about the size of large marbles. Bake on greased cookie sheet at 350 F about 15 minutes or until light light brown.

Remove from cookie sheets.

Roll carefully in a small amount of sifted icing sugar at once until well coated.

Cool. Roll second time in a mixture of icing sugar and coffee powder using a ratio of 1 T coffee powder to 1 cup icing sugar.

Cherry Flip

One of my favourites from my childhood is Cherry Flips.

My mom first made them and then my sister but she stopped as the dough always gave her grief.

I recently started making them and have had varying results. Even not so perfect ones are so tasty! It's all in the shortbread-like dough.

1/2 cup butter

2 egg yolks

1/4 t. salt

1/2 cup icing sugar

2 cups sifted flour

1 t. almond flavouring

1 bottle of maraschino cherries (save juice for icing)

coconut

Drain the cherries but keep the juice for later.

Cream butter until light and fluffy.

Add sugar gradually and blend. Mix in egg yolk. Work in flour and salt until all flour is absorbed. Pinch off a walnut-sized piece. Press into the palm of your hand. Insert a cherry in the middle and roll the dough around the cherry to form a ball.

Place on lightly greased baking sheet.

Bake at 325 F until lightly browned 8 to 10 minutes.

Cool on a cooling rack. When cool dip in a syrup made from cherry juice and icing sugar.

Roll in coconut. Let dry before storing.

Gingerbread

Everyone I know has a different take on gingerbread. There is the puffy German gingerbread men, then the flatter versions as well as how dark the gingerbread man should be.

This recipe makes lots and you can do them in any size. They hold up to decorating with Foodsafe royal icing.

1 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup molasses

2 T. vinegar

5 cups sifted flour

1 1/2 t. soda

1/2 t. salt

1 T ginger

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. cloves

Cream shortening with sugar. Add egg, molasses and vinegar; beat well. Sift dry ingredients; stir in. Chill 1 hour.

Roll in between two pieces of wax paper.

Cut into shapes and re-roll until all dough is used up.

Preheat over to 375F.

Bake for 6 minutes.

Cool on rack.

Decorate with Royal Icing:

4 cups (440 g) icing sugar

3 T (30 g) meringue powder

1 t. cream of tartar

1/2 t. vanilla extract

1/2 c. to 3/4 cup (120 - 180 ml) warm water

Beat the water with the meringue powder until peaks form.

Add the cream of tartar, vanilla and then slowly add the icing sugar.

Cranberry Shortbread Chews

This was originally in Chatelaine magazine.

I don't have a picture as they are never around very long.

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

1 cup dried cranberries

2 T orange flavoured liqueur

3/4 c. butter

1 cup sugar

1 t. lime peel

1 t. vanilla

1 egg

1 cup coconut

1/2 c. coarsely chopped pecans

Preheat over 325F (160 C). Soak the cranberries in the liqueur.

Place butter in mixer bowl and beat butter and sugar.

Add egg.

Mix in the dry ingredients.

Stir in cranberries, coconut and pecans.

Roll dough into 1" or 2.5 cm balls and place them on a cookie sheet about 2" apart.

Bake until edges and undersides of cookies are golden brown about 12 minutes.

Let them cool on the cookie sheet 2 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Lemon Poppyseed Igloos

This one is simple and can be done without a mixer.

1 cup (250ml) butter (room temperature)

1/2 cup icing sugar

3/4 t. salt

1 t. vanilla

1 T lemon rind

2 T poppy seeds

2 cups (500ml) flour

Preheat oven to 325F.

Cream butter with icing sugar.

Stir in vanilla, lemon rind, salt, poppy seeds and finally the flour.

Roll into 1" or 2.5 cm balls.

Bake 20 minutes.

Cool completely on a cooling rack.

Dip each igloo in a glaze made up of:

1 cup (250 ml) icing sugar, 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1 T lemon juice.

Let dry completely and store in an airtight container and in the fridge.

My newest recipe last year

A friend of mine decided it would be a good idea to give me some local BC Hazelnuts.
So I search and found this recipe from Canadian Living.

1/2 cup butter
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped hazelnuts
1 1/4 flour
Ganache Filling:
4 oz. chocolate
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 t. liqueur
12 hazelnuts

Grease a muffin tin (mini-sized)
Beat together butter and cream cheese add in hazelnuts.
Refrigerate dough after you have put 1 T into each cup and press into the bottom and sides or freeze for 1 hour.

Bake 325F for 30 minutes until golden. Let cool.
In a bowl place chocolate and put over water in a saucepan. When chocolate melts, add cream and liqueur. Stir until smooth. Pour into shells. Add half a hazelnut on top.
These must be kept refrigerated.

1/4 Cresent Moon Cookies

I am the fourth in my family and having the last name Moon I naturally was drawn to this recipe in highschool! It is often the first recipe I make for the holiday season.

1 cup butter or marg.
3/4 cup icing sugar
1/2 t. almond extract
1 3/4 cup flour
1/4 t. salt
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup almond finely chopped
extra icing sugar

Heat over to 325F
Beat butter, sugar, almond extract until blended.
Add flour and salt.
Mix until well blended.
Stir in oats and almonds.
Using level measuring Tablespoonfuls shape dough into cresents.
Bake on ungreased sheet for 14 to 17 minutes until bottoms are light golden brown.
Remove to cooling rack. Sift additional icing sugar generously over the warm cookies. Cool completely.
Makes approx. 3 dozen.

Black Forest Cookies

This was a recipe I got from Martha Stewart. Yes I do get her magazine.
The above photo is from a blog called our life in food.
I use chocolate chunks from Superstore in the recipe as I find it gives it a more sophisticated look to the finished product but I have used chocolate chips in a pinch.

1 cup flour 2 T cocoa powder
1 t baking powder 1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup unsalted butter 1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar 2 large eggs
1 package chocolate chunks 1 1/2 cups dried cherries, chopped

Preheat 350F. Melt chocolate chips and butter until liquid. Remove from heat and beat in the eggs and both sugars. Stir in dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chunks and cherries.
Press plastic wrap onto the surface and refrigerate about 1 hour.

Use a small cookie scoop and drop onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or with a silpat. Bake 11 to 13 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes.
Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.

Recipe #2 Scottish Shortbread

Probably the easiest recipe ever!
It is Scottish because of the shape (in wedges) but also because the ingredients are weighed.

6 oz or 150 g (325 ml) flour
pinch of salt
4 oz or 100 g (165 ml) butter at room temperature
2 oz or 50 g (65 ml) Castor (or berry) sugar

Preheat oven to 300 F or 150 C.
Add salt to flour. Cream butter and sugar well. Gradually work in the flour into creamed mixture and knead well. Form mixture into a round oblong shape about 1 cm thick.
Place on baking sheet. Using the edge of a large metal spatula divide the dough into half and then each segment into 8 for a total of 16 pieces, do not press all the way through. Using a fork, prick the edges to form a pattern.

Bake until golden brown just on the edges only about 10 minutes.
Use a knife or metal spatula to cut each cookie and then cool on a cookie rack.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Christmas Baking

Recently, more than one person has asked me about my favourite cookie recipes.
I thought I would post them so people can see my favourites and have the recipes to make them too.

Recipe Number #1

Paradise Macaroons - by Alton Brown

2 (7 to 8 oz.) packages sweetened shredded coconut
2 oz. sweetened condensed milk
pinch of salt
1 t. vanilla

4 large egg whites at room temperature
5 oz. granulated sugar
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 oz. vegetable shortening
2 oz. finely chopped dry-roasted macadamia nuts

Directions
Preheat over to 325F
Combine the coconut and condensed milk, salt and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl.
In a bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to whip the shites until medium peaks form, 6 to 7 minutes.
Gently fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture. Scoop tablespoon-sized mounds onto a parchment-lined half sheet pan and bake for 20 mintues or until golden brown. Immediately transfer the parchment with the macaroons to a cooling rack. Cool completely before topping.
Fill a 4-qt. pot with enough water to come up 2 inches up the side, set over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Combine the chocolate chips and shortening in a small metal or glass mixing and set over the simmering pot. Stir occasionally until melted, then remove from the heat.
Dip the cooled cookies in the chocolate mixture, sprinkle with the chopped macadamia nuts and place on parchment paper to set, about 30 minutes.