Lemon Sables

In this post-graduate part of my life, there are many things I miss about school. While I wouldn't go back if given the opportunity, I never anticipated a lot of the stress and confusion that goes along with everything. My biggest worries are no longer "What will I wear to happy hour?" but instead, "What's my career plans? Where is my life going? Where's everything else going?" Some people might thrive on that kind of uncertainty, calling it excitement, but I'm not one of them. My job is moving in two years and I need to figure out if I'll be going with it; my friends will probably all move away, and boyfriend situation's up in the air (we've got very different future plans).

What I miss most is having roommates. I lived with my three best friends (and sometimes additional people) for 4 years, and it was like having built in fun 24/7 (well, most of the time). It was nice that no matter what I did I had friends there doing it with me, whether it was getting drunk for Mardi Gras or cooking a Thanksgiving dinner or just loafing around watching hours of wedding shows on the Style Network. So it was definitely nice to recreate all of this on a recent Saturday night, when my best friend (and former roommate) Jenn came by, and we sat around the entire night drinking wine and eating my new official favorite cookies.

Those would be Dorie's Lemon Sables. These were incredible! Between the two of us, we demolished about 20 of them. I also made a batch for a Superbowl party, and they got my guy friends' approval (they merely said, "Wow these are good," instead of busting my chops as usual). And my boyfriend, who is notorious for his extremely small appetite, ate an entire half batch alone. That, my friends, is no small wonder. And it's proof of the awesomeness of these cookies.

This is a very basic recipe, one which encourages customization and new versions. I personally can't wait to try the Smitten Kitchen Margarita Cookies version, but for now, I wanted to try out the base recipe and see where that went. And it was truly delicious: crumbly, simple, buttery cookies with a crackly coating of sanding sugar sprinkles around the edges.

Lemon Sables, from Dorie Greenspan, Baking From My Home to Yours
2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

2 sticks butter, at room temp

2 large egg yolks

Grated zest of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp fleur de sel

To Decorate:

1 egg yolk, beaten

Sanding sugar

Pour the granulated sugar into a bowl. Add lemon zest and rub together with fingers until fragrant (this is the best smell in the world).

Beat the butter in a mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the sugars and mix until smooth, being careful not to beat in too much air. Reduce speed to low and beat in egg yolks.

Pour in all the flour. Cover mixer with a towel or guard and pulse until dough is uniformly moist. This is like a shortbread, so be careful not to overmix. The dough won't really come together, and that's fine.

Scrape dough onto a work surface and gather into a ball. Divide this in half, and roll each half into a log, working the dough as little as possible. I find it easiest to smush it into a messy rectangle on top of a piece of Press and Seal, then use the press and seal to cover it and then roll it into a neater log shape.

Refrigerate for 2 hours, or up to 3 days. Dough can be frozen for 2 months at this point.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet (I use nonstick foil). Brush the outsides of each log with egg yolk, and sprinkle or roll in sanding sugar. Slice into 1/3 thick slices and bake for 17-20 minutes. Remove from oven, let rest five minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Strawberry Scones

So here's another recipe for what's turning into a collection of breakfast breads. For a year or two now, I've been on the hunt for the best scone recipe. I've tried many from cookbooks, Food Network, and Allrecipes, some of which have been just terrible, some of which have been declared delicious by my roommates (well, not all my roommates but that's another story), but somehow I found that awesomeness factor eluded me.

So I turned to Dorie Greenspan, as usual. All of her recipes thus far have been great, so I went for the Sweet Cream Scones. I doctored them using some frozen strawberries (really not all that smart in hindsight, kinda watery). They were very quick to throw together My mother thought these were very good. And from the picture below, so did my dog! (though that's not saying much she eats everything).

But my verdict? Still lacked that awesome factor...I think what I've learned here is that I just don't love scones...but if you do, check this out. I recommend them warm from the oven, topped with a little jam.

Cream Scones, adapted from Dorie Greenspan, Baking from My Home to Yours

1 large egg
2/3 cup cold heavy cream
2 cups flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
5 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup strawberries, halved or quartered

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with nonstick foil or parchment.

Stir the egg and cream together.

Whisk the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder together in a large bowl. Drop in the butter, and using your hands, toss to coat and then rub the butter into the dry ingredients until mix is pebbly. You will have a very nonhomogenous mix, with big and small chunks of buttery flour.

Pour the egg and cream over the dry ingredients and stir just until the dough comes together. It will be wet and sticky, not fun to handle. Drop in the strawberries, and fold a few times with a spatula to combine. Don't overwork.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour. My favorite method is to masking tape a big piece of wax paper to my counter for easiest clean up. Divide the dough in half and quickly shape into a big rectangle, flattening with your hands but being careful not to overwork. Cut into six wedges. Repeat with other half.

Bake scones for 20-22 minutes, until golden and firm. Transfer to a rack to cool for ten minutes before serving.

These can be frozen. Defrost at room temp and reheat in oven before enjoying.

Coconut Cake

Let me start by saying this is the worst picture ever. I made the cake for my mom's friend's birthday, so it disappeared from my house shortly before I really had an opportunity to look at the pictures I'd taken and realize the lighting was all wrong!

But seriously, don't let the terrible picture put you off the cake. It was incredible. It got rave reviews via text message from all my mom's friends. It's a moist, delicious cake, flavored and covered with unsweetened coconut, which perfectly balances the supersweet, light-as-air buttercream. I was surprised I liked this, because I'm not usually into layer cakes and frosting, but it was awesome.

Coconut Cake, adapted from Carole Walter's Great Cakes
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (I found it in the organic section at Wegman's)
2 1/3 cups cake flour*
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup (1 and 1/3 sticks) butter
1 and 1/3 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a small saucepan, scald the milk and take it off the heat. Let steep for 30 minutes.

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350. Butter and flour 2 9" round cake pans.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside.

Cut the butter into 1 inch piecces and put them in the large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the beaters or paddle attachment. Soften on low speed, and cream until smooth and light in color, about 2 mins.

Add the sugar, slowly, taking about 6 to 8 minutes to blend it in well.

Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides. Blend in the vanilla.

Reduce mixer speed to low and add the flour in 3 additions, alternating with the coconut/milk mix in two additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix just until incorporated, scrape down sides of bowl, and mix 10 seconds longer.

Spoon the batter into prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a tester inserted comes out clean.

Remove from oven, allow to cool 10 minutes, then invert pans onto racks and let cool completely.
Quick Buttercream Frosting, adapted from Carole Walter's Great Cakes
4 and 1/2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 and 1/4 cup milk
1 and 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
1 and 1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

This recipe makes a large quantity of frosting, as that's one thing you don't want to skimp on when making a cake!

The frosting starts by making a bechamel sauce. Place the flour in a small saucepan, and whisk milk in slowly. Over low heat, whisk constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens to a thick white sauce. Remove from heat and whisk to remove any lumps. Let the mixture cool for about 10 minutes. It needs to be warm enough to blend in but not so warm that it will melt the butter.

While that cools, cut the butter into one inch pieces and place in the bowl of an electric mier. Soften on low speed, increase speed to medium high, and cream until light and smooth.

Reduce speed to medium. Gradually add sugar. Then add the bechamel sauce over about thirty seconds. Blend in the vanilla and beat for 20 to 30 seconds, until the frosting is fluffy.

To assemble the cake, slice off the tops if they have crowned. Brush crumbs away. Using an offset spatula, place a large dollop on the top of one cake, and spread it to about 1/4" from the edge. Place second cake on top. Cover entire cake with a thin coat, and let dry for about 10 minutes. This is your crumb coat. It will seal in any crumbs so that the next layer of frosting is pristine white. Using the rest of the buttercream, dollop it on top and around the sides, smoothing to an even layer. It doesn't have to be perfect. Using your hands, press coconut flakes into the sides of the cake. Cover evenly.

This cake can be refrigerated, but bring it to room temp before serving. The cake will keep, covered, in the fridge, for up to 5 days.

*If you don't have cake flour, you can substitute one cup of all purpose flour less two tablespoons for every 1 cup of cake flour.

Daring Bakers January: Tuiles!

I'm officially a Daring Baker!! I've been meaning to join for awhile, and I thought January (new year, etc etc) was the perfect time.

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

I was excited when I saw that it was tuiles, as I'd always meant to try making those and never got around to it. Plus, I loved the idea of pairing it with something. I have to say January was a busy month, so I eased myself into the challenges and just kept it simple.

I made an "Escape from Winter" theme dessert. Once the holidays are over, I pretty much have no use for winter. January-March just drags on, and already all I can think about is summer. It doesn't help that I work right near the beach, but it's too cold to sit on the boardwalk during lunch! So I transferred my longing for summer onto a dessert. I made classic tuiles in the tuile shape, using the cocoa powder to stripe where the bend is (not sure if you can tell from that picture though). I paired the tuiles with Strawberry Margarita sorbet, a recipe I got from The Man, aka Mark Bittman from the New York Times. I love Mark Bittman, and like many of the recipes he provides, this one was foolproof.

The recipe for the sorbet as I made it is as follows:
2 cups frozen strawberries
1/4 cup sugar (more or less)
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
2 tbsp tequila (you can definitely taste the tequila, so make sure it's halfway decent- that's a mistake I made!)
Water

Combine first four ingredients in a food processor. If necessary, add a little water to loosen it up. Blend until sorbet textur is reached. That's it. Seriously. It's the easiest thing ever. If you have a food processor you have no excuse not to try making this, I really think boiling water might take longer and be more effort!!
And just think of all the delicious variations to try- I plan on mixing up a blackberry lime, champagne, and mango margarita.

Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits

WOW. These are SO good. In my last post I said the lemon poppy muffins were the best breakfast ever, but I have to take that back. This is better.

This is a lesson to me on not to make snap judgments. This recipe is one I passed over many times when flipping through my Dorie book. I tend to skip recipes without pictures, as I have a weird theory that if the publisher didn't take a picture, it's not a good recipe and they don't want to draw your attention to it. That was not the case with this! I tried it regardless of my theory because I had some leftover pecans and sour cream from other recipes, and boy am I glad I made it! The biscuits were light, flaky, and delicious, with a hint of sweetness and a delicious crunch and flavor from the toasted pecans.

The secret here is to just barely mix the dough. You cut the butter up into small pieces and use your hands to just work it into the dough quickly. You stir quickly with a fork when adding the liquid ingredients, and just flatten it out with your hands instead of rolling it. Since the ingredients don't really get homogenously mixed together, the chunks of butter melting create flakes and pockets of air in your biscuits. (And if you eat them straight from the oven, you'll bite into layers with delicious, warm, melty butter- omg its amazing).

Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits, adapted from Dorie Greenspan Baking.
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
5 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup finely chopped, toasted pecans

Ccenter a rack in the oven and preheat to 425 F.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the brown sugar. Toss in the butter, and using your fingers rub the butter into the dry ingredients until you have a pebbly mixture. The pieces will all look different, this is good.

Stir the sour cream and milk together and pour over the dry ingredients. Using a fork, stir wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Give the dough a quick kneading with your hands to make sure it's all combined. Don't overwork it. Toss in pecans and knead another 2 or 3 times, quickly.

Dust a work surface with flour (I always tape wax paper to the counter for easy cleanup). Pat the dough out with your hands. Size and shape doesn't matter, just try to mess with the dough as little as possible.

Use a biscuit cutter (or in my glass, a glass) to cut as many as you can out. Then gather the scraps, reroll, and cut again.

Bake the biscuits for 14 to 18 minutes, until tall and golden brown.

These freeze decently. I wouldn't freeze and serve to guests, as the quality is definitely lessened if not eaten immediately. But they're okay for just you, or if your fam is not exceptionally picky. Defrost over night and pop back in the oven to warm up.

Lemon Poppy Muffins

I have to be at work at 8 am every morning. I live close to the Army base where I work, but every morning I'm still cutting it short. I don't think I've actually ever been on time to work. Anyway, I clearly have little time for breakfast. I usually throw an English muffin in the toaster while I speed-apply my makeup, leaving said muffin burned or undertoasted, or just generally unappealing. Needless to say, I've grown to dislike English muffins. Nothing makes them taste good- putting cream cheese on them makes me nauseous, putting cheese on them makes me wish there were eggs, and plain butter is just gross to me. So, clearly, it was time for a new breakfast option.

Enter Dorie Greenspan, saving my mornings with her Lemon Poppy Seed muffins. These are really, really delicious. They're not too sweet, they're moist, and the flecks of poppy seeds give the muffins a nice occasional crunch. Plus, they freeze well, so I can defrost one overnight and grab and go in the morning- no more messing with the temperamental toaster.

I used some raspberry jam in the center, going for a kind of jelly donut/muffin idea. It was AWESOME. I ate two immediately out of the oven, and really had to hold myself back from a third (I reasoned that if I ate them all the first day I'd still be out of luck for breakfast).

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, adapated from Dorie Greenspan Baking.

2/3 cup sugar

Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup sour cream

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled.

1 and 1/2 tbsp poppy seeds

1/2 c raspberry jam or preserves (not jelly)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, and line muffin pan with baking cups (I used super fun Valentine's day ones!)

In a large bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest, rubbing together with your fingers until fragrant (this is the best smell ever). Whisk in the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.

In another bowl, combine the melted butter, sour cream, eggs, vanilla, and lemon juice together (this may look curdled).

Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to blend together, being careful not to overmix, or you'll wind up with tough muffins. Stir in the poppy seeds.

Fill each muffin cup about 1/3 or 1/2 of the way with batter. Use a teaspoon to scoop in some raspberry jam. Fill the rest of the cup with batter. These don't rise that much, so you can fill up to the top.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

To freeze, wait until fully cooled, then wrap individually in plastic wrap and foil, and store in a Ziploc bag in freezer. To defrost, just pull out overnight and enjoy in the morning!

Swedish Visiting Cake

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a sucker for a theme or a name. I love holidays, all things seasonal, and theme parties. My last birthday party was poker themed and my cube at work is decorated with different nautical accessories.

So when I came across Dorie's Swedish Visiting Cake, a cake apparently traditionally made for Swedish women when their friends were visiting, I really wanted to make it. It looked delicious. And this weekend was perfect, because I was going to visit my best friend who lives in Union Square! Could a title ever be more appropriate! I planned to make the cake and bring it to her.

Making the cake was so easy. Honestly, figuring out what to wear in the morning takes more effort (well at least for me it does!) You don't even need to pull out the mixer. Since the recipe calls for melted butter, a simple whisk will do.

And the results show that sometimes the simplest things are the best! The cake was plain, sweet, with a hint of almond flavor and lemon, and a moist texture. I'd recommend going easy on the almond extract, as too much can make it taste chemically (or maybe that's just the grocery-store brand extract I'm using...whoops). Anyway the cake wound up being so good I may not have actually shared it with my friend...oops...but I bought her a bottle of wine when I was in the city! Soo let's just say that substitutes...

Swedish Visiting Cake, from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours

1 cup sugar, plus a little extra for sprinkling

Grated zest of 1 lemon

2 large eggs

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp pure vanilla extract*

1/2 pure almond extract*

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled

About 1/4 cup sliced almonds

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch cast iron skillet or a 9-inch round cake pan or pie pan (I used a cake pan).

Pour the sugar into a medium bowl, and sprinkle the lemon zest over. Rub the zest into the sugar until sugar is aromatic. Whisk in the eggs one at a time until well blended. Whisk in the salt and extracts.

Using a spatula, stir in the flour, then fold in the melted butter.

Scrape the batter into the cake pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with sugar and scatter with almonds.

Bake the cake for 25-30 minutes, until it's golden and a little crisp on the outside. The inside will be moist. Remove from oven, let cool five minutes, and then use a thin knife to loosen the cake. Serve. Can be kept for about 5 days if stored airtight.

*You can use any flavor extract you want, or leave extracts out altogether.

Note: I tested my cake with a toothpick and it was done at 27 minutes, but not golden on top. I preferred that rustic, browned look, so I broiled it for just a minute. But if you do that, watch carefully! It browns very quickly!!