Coming Soon… I promise!

I know I have been absent for quite a long time… I have been a busy bee! I have 3 recipes coming your way shortly!!

Lemon Rosemary Palmiers

When I first saw these Palmiers on Joy the Baker, I thought “now those look like interesting cookies.” And then I forgot about them.

Last week, though, I was looking through Joy’s recipes for something to make with buttermilk. Somehow, someway, I came across these little gems again. And I happened to have all 4 ingredients on hand. That’s right… 4 ingredients. So few ingredients, actually, that I didn’t even take a “here’s what you need” photo.

Now, I had never heard of Palmiers before, so I Googled them like a dork and found out that they were French. I like French. I don’t DO French very well, but I figured I’d give it a stab. I mean, come on… 4 ingredients can’t be that hard right? (Quick side note: why does ‘Googled’ get caught in spell check? I feel like that should be a word by now.)

I have one thing to say about these cookies… HOLY YUMMY COOKIES BATMAN!

Okay, here’s what you need: (Adapted from Joy the Baker)
To print this recipe… click here.

• Puff Pastry Dough (find it in your grocer’s freezer section… good information in case you are just pretending to be a baker and didn’t know where the puff pastry dough was)
• About a cup of sugar
• Zest from 1 or 2 lemons (I used 2)
• About a teaspoon of finely chopped fresh rosemary

Pour your sugar onto a clean surface and dump the zest right on top. Work the zest into the sugar with the back of a spoon (or a bench knife… but I don’t have one of those!) Soon, the sugar will start to smell like lemon. It will be marvelous.

Keep about half the sugar on your work surface and put the other half aside. Unroll your dough and place it on the lemon-sugar. Like Joy says, don’t fret if your dough rips a bit, just squish it back together. Spread the remaining sugar on top and roll the dough out just a bit to thin it out… it should be somwheres around 10″x12″when you are done.

Sprinkle the rosemary on top.

Roll each side in to the middle. Wrap the dough and put it in the fridge for about an hour. I had to put mine in the freezer for a bit too. You want it to be hard enough to cut easily.

Preheat your oven to 400. Unwrap your chilled dough and cut into half-inch slices. See that pretty knife up there? That is my Wusthof Classic 7″ Santoku. It is my favorite thing in my kitchen. I love that knife, but that’s another story for another day. Place the cookie slices on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until good and golden. Mine were in there for more like 18 minutes… just make sure you watch them closely after 10 minutes, because they will burn quickly!

The whole time I was making these I kept telling Hubby that I wasn’t sure how they would turn out, ’cause I always want him to have fair warning if dessert is going to suck. And then we ate half of them. The whole batch of 22 Palmiers lasted less than 24 hours. They are that good.

Springerles

Do you have that cookie or cake or pie that is nostalgic for you? Like, it may not be the best cookie or cake or pie on the planet, but you love it because it tastes like Thanksgiving or Mom’s birthday or Valentine’s Day? Springerles taste like Christmas to me. I don’t even know if they are traditional Christmas cookies, but they were at my Grandparent’s house every Christmas growing up… and I love them. Grandma also made Snicker Doodles and Chocolate Chip and these fantastic and super-easy lemon cookies (I will share those one day!), but the Springerles were the one cookie I just couldn’t wait for.

I think that part of the reason I love them so much is because of the Anise. Anise is a plant, the extract of which has a black licorice-like flavor. I LOVE black licorice, and black jelly beans, and the smell of Sambuca and really anything with Anise or Anisette. The Anise flavor in these cookies is pretty mild, but not enough to where someone who hates licorice is going to like them. What I am saying here is that you are warned: if you don’t like black licorice, you probably won’t like these cookies.

I have tried to make these a couple of times, but let’s face it… they never turn out like Grandma’s. I was going to wait till Christmas to make them, since Grandma has a hard time doing so these days, but my Grandpa was not feeling well a few weeks ago and my mom was going to go visit him and these are his favorite cookies too… so I decided to attempt a batch. The flavor was there, but they were way too dry. Nonetheless, I am going to share them with you.

One more warning… these are not “these look interesting, I am going to make them tonight cookies.” These are prepare on Saturday and bake on Sunday morning kind of cookies. They take a lot of time. And love. Then again, all baked goods take a lot of love!

Here’s what you need:

• 5 large eggs, separated (into white & yolks)
• 4 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon anise oil (found in drugstores) or 1/4 tsp & a dash anise extract
• 1 pound powdered sugar
• 3 1/2 cups cake flour (see here on how to make your own!)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

As mentioned above, separate your eggs. Beat the egg whites until they are stiff.

Beat yolks with a fork, then add them into the whites. Ignore the egg yolk you see on the mixer there.

Add the melted butter and the anise and mix for just a minute or so. Then add in the powdered sugar and mix until incorporated.

Mix together the remaining dry ingredients – the cake flour, baking powder, and salt.

Fold the dry ingredient mixture into the egg mixture. Refrigerate until cool… give it a good 2 hours or so. This is where I ran into a snag. I knew the dough had to be rolled, and after cooling it for about an hour, it was super sticky and not at all roll-able. So, I added flour… and flour… and flour… until I could roll it. In hindsight… not a good idea. It left my cookies super dry and floury once they were baked. Next time, I will leave it in the fridge for a couple of hours. We’ll see what happens

K, so pretend my dough had no problems with being roll-able. On a heavily (emphasis on the heavily) floured surface, roll out the dough so it is about 1/2″ thick.

Springerles come from parts of Germany, France and Switzerland and are traditionally pressed with special boards or rolling pins, which give them an impressed design and guide lines for cutting. I do not have one of these tools, which are usually passed from generation to generation and kind of hard to find, unless you want to order one online… which I just might do. I digress… I just cut mine into little rectangles.

Place them on parchment lined baking sheets. I pressed some designs into a few using stuff I found around the kitchen… and I got all fancy with one using extra dough just to see how it would turn out.

This is where the long-time part comes in… leave the cookies uncovered on their baking sheets overnight. This helps to give them their semi-crispy outsides.

In the morning, heat your oven to 350 and bake them for 7-10 minutes. They will puff up just a bit.

My Grandparents grew up in the Swiss-German founded town of Tell City, Indiana. The town looks about the same now as it did in 1955, when my Mother was born there, with the exception of my Grandpa’s childhood home now being the police station & jail. As of 2000, the population was still below 8,000 people. This is where this recipe comes from. My Grandma got it from my Grandpa’s family a long time ago. I know that there are many variations on the Springerle recipe, and I would love to hear if any of you have a different version, or a different story or have ever even tried them before!

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Pineappe Project – Round 5

Yes, I realize it has been more than 3 weeks since I last posted about Sofia, my lovely pineapple. You see, the truth is, I see her every day, so I tend to think that she isn’t changing very much. When I look at old pictures, I realize that she IS changing, just not as quickly as when I first noticed her.

Her top is getting taller, and her color is changing ever so slightly. And she is good and, um, plump. (I would never call her fat… don’t want to give her a complex.) Her fruit has stopped growing for the most part, and now I am just waiting for her to start ripening a little bit before I cut her from the stalk.

And then, I am going to eat her. Muaahahahaha.

Oh, and you can’t see it here, but the Mama plant is starting to grow a pup! I will post about Pineapple Pups soon!

Angel Food Cake with 7-Minute Icing

My Mom loves angel food cake. But not just regular angel food, or even angel food with lemon glaze… she likes it with white fluffy icing. So, when Hubby and I had Mom & Dad over for a little impromptu post-birthday cookout, I had to make one for her. When I say impromptu I mean that I didn’t really think about making a cake until I was on my way home from work… about an hour and a half before Mom & Dad were due to come over. Let it be said now that angel food cake cannot be rushed. Nor can 7-minute icing.

That being made clear, this cake actually turned out okay. Despite the fact that I used a silicone bundt pan rather than a 10-in tube pan. Despite the fact that I left it in the oven too long and burned it a little. Despite the fact that I did not let it cool upside down for the directed “about 2 hours or until completely cool.” Despite the fact that the pretty pink & green watermelon flavored sprinkles I used were really strongly flavored. I will be skipping the flavored sprinkles from here on out.

The important thing is that Mom liked it… or at least pretended to. Either way, she appreciated the gesture. I love making my Mommy happy.

Here’s what you need:

For the cake: (Adapted from the good ole Betty Crocker & BH&G books)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and move the rack to the lowest position
• 1 1/2 cups egg whites (10 to 12 large)… they are pictured here in a bowl of warm water to get them down to room temp. A little tip: always bake with room temperature eggs.
• 1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 1 cup sifted cake flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup granulated sugar

For the 7-minute icing (Courtesy of my brain… good one to have memorized):

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 6 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Please excuse the awful lighting in these photos – the lighting in my kitchen after 5:00 sucks. Sift together the powdered sugar and cake flour. Side note #1: definitely use cake flour. If a recipe calls for, use it. It makes things fluffier and lighter and just makes the universe a better place. Side note #2: I loved how sifted flour looks like freshly fallen snow… like if there was a big pile of it your yard you would definitely go jump in it.

In a large bowl, put together the egg whites, cream of tartar and both extracts. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. Then, slowly add in the granulated sugar a couple of tablespoons at a time. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form. The last picture above is somewhere in between soft & stiff… the tips should stand up straight once they are stiff enough.

Next, sift in the flour/powdered sugar mixture 3/4 cup at a time, folding gently each time until completely mixed.

Pour cake batter into an un-greased 10-inch cake pan (or a bundt pan like I did). Gently take a butter knife through the batter to get rid of any air pockets.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until top is springy & just beginning to crack. Do not overcook… or this is what it will look like. Invert the pan either on the neck of a bottle or on a raised wire rack… basically as long as air can get under it… and let it cool thoroughly. I did not let mine cool but for 15 minutes or so before I took it out of the pan, and it kind of deflated.

I don’t have photos of the icing… I was in too much of a hurry to worry about it, but here is how you make it:

Make simple syrup by boiling the sugar, the corn syrup &  1/4 cup water. Cook for a few minutes, until the sugar is good & dissolved. If it isn’t dissolving, add more water. Remove from heat. While the syrup is cooking, beat egg whites on medium until soft peaks form. Then, reduce speed a bit and continue to beat while slowly pouring syrup into egg whites. Add vanilla. Beat for about 7 minutes (obviously where the name comes from) until the icing is shiny and thick. If it isn’t thick enough, feel free to add a little more sugar.

When the angel food is cool, and hopefully not deflated, remove from the pan and spread with icing. Hubby thought the hole in the middle needed to be filled with icing. He was right. I thought the cake needed pretty pink & green watermelon flavored sprinkles. I was wrong. All in all though, it was a yummy treat!

For a printable version of this recipe, click here!

Coming soon! Angel Food Cake with 7-Minute Icing

Pineapple Project: How to Grow a Pineapple

A long while ago I promised that I would publish a post on how to grow your very own Sofia. You don’t have to name yours Sofia. You don’t have to name it anything really… you just need to grow it. Why? Because its fun & its easy & pineapples are yummy!! Are you ready?? Go out right now and buy yourself a pineapple. I’ll wait for you to do so.

Welcome back. Got your fruit? Good. First, chop off the top, but make sure to leave yourself a good inch or so of fruit to work with. Cut around the core, straight down from the foliage. Foliage… fun word.

Just keep cutting, just keep cutting… all the way ’round.

You end up with this. Can you see the darker, round core in the middle? Our next task is to get down to that core.

So, lay your top down and cut around that core… it doesn’t have to be round.

You’ll end up with this. No more cutting.

Now you need to pull of the bottom several layers of leaves in order to expose the roots.

See those little brown nubs? Those are the roots! Keep pulling off leaves until you see a couple of rows of roots. Then, set your top in a cool, dry place and let it dry out for 3-5 days. When it has dried out some, stick it in the ground. Or in a pot. Pineapples will only get as big as their pots, but I have heard that they will still bear fruit in a pot. Water as needed and fertilize if you want to, but they really don’t need much. Mine took 2 years to bear fruit, but I have heard anywhere from a year to 3. Fruit or not, though, they sure are pretty plants!

Coming soon – How to Grow Your Own Pineapple

Pineapple Project – Round 4

First off, I would like to announce that my pineapple now has a name. Her name is Sofia. Thanks to Mandy from ‘tiny mandolin‘ for 1) suggesting that I come up with a name and 2) suggesting Sofia. I had originally thrown out Percy the Pineapple, but we ultimately decided that Percy was too harsh and prickly (not to mention that it is the name of one of my nephew Zack’s favorite trains) and that the pineapple, being already harsh and prickly, needed a softer sweeter name. You know, that whole let the inner beauty shine through thing. So, here she is in all her prickly-on-the-outside-but-sweet-on-the-inside glory: Sofia the Pineapple.

Second, I would like to point out how, now, Sofia looks like something that I might be able to eat sometime soon. Her top more than doubled in size in just over a week and she no longer has that reddish-pinkish tint that she had last week. The girl is turning into a bona fide piece of… fruit. (Goodness, what did you think I was going to say?!?)

Now the question becomes… when is she ripe enough to pick but not quite ripe enough for the bugs to ravage her?

Pineapple Project – Round 3

Hi friends. I know it’s been awhile… sorry. I’ve been busy busy busy! I have all sorts of fun things planned though… like Angel Food Birthday Cake and the How to Grow a Pineapple part of this project. And Springerles… mmmm… cookies from Christmases past.

Anyways, back on track… I’ve kind of lost track of time, but I think it’s been about a month since I first noticed the growing fruit. I love in the above picture how the middle is fuzzy & the outsides are nice & crisp.

It’s starting to look like an actual pineapple now, with the crown starting to stick up and all. We have been getting a lot of good rain here in Sarasota lately, so I am sure my little guy is lovin’ it and just soaking it all in!