Truth

Johnson & Wales Resource

It's hard to believe I've already graduated from Johnson & Wales with my Baking & Pastry Arts Degree. It literally has passed by quicker than I expected. Having passed by so fast, the only reference I have for the labs I have taken are my class notes and personal photos. One chef from JWU has taken his labs a step further and created Youtube videos for all his lessons. His name is Chef Hitz and his youtube site is breadhitz. One of my favorite videos to watch is his baguette video. This is an important resource for any JWU graduate.

Baking Inspiration

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Marzipan At Your Fingertips

For all you Marzipan and Almond Lovers, I've found the perfect confection for you.

It can only be found abroad or at a local international market, but it is well worth the search. It is a German marzipan covered in dark chocolate and it is OH SO DELICIOUS. Amazon has it for $8, which seems like a good investment to me.

DIY Girl Scout Cookies! Samoas!

Girl Scout cookies are only sold at certain times of the year and then you have to go through the waiting period for your order to come in. They're also really expensive. I'm all for instant gratification, so this doesn't work for me. My favorite girl scout cookies are the coconut samoas. I will admit I used to hoard boxes of them so I could have them all year. Now that I found this simple recipe from Just A Taste, I simply make them at home whenever I get a craving. They're so fresh and delicious (and cheaper), I don't think I'll ever buy a Girl Scout cookie again. 

yield: ABOUT 4 DOZEN (2-INCH) COOKIES

 

prep time: 2 HOURS (INCLUDES CHILLING)

 

cook time: 15 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS:

For the cookies:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the coconut topping:
3 cups shredded sweetened coconut
15 ounces store-bought or homemade soft caramels
3 Tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces dark chocolate (See Kelly's Notes)

DIRECTIONS:

Make the cookies:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In three increments, add the flour mixture to the creamed butter, mixing between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the milk and vanilla extract, blending until combined and the dough begins to come together in large pieces.

Use your hands to divide the dough in half, pressing it together to compact it into two disks. Wrap the disks securely in plastic wrap and refrigerate them until firm, about 1 hour.

Once the dough has chilled, roll each disk out onto a lightly floured surface until it is 1/8-inch thick. Cut out as many cookies as possible with a doughnut-shaped cookie cutter. (See Kelly's Notes for cookie cutter alternatives.) Place the cut-out cookies on a Silpat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet half-way through, until the cookies are pale golden brown. Transfer the cookies to a wire wrack to cool completely.

Make the coconut topping:

Spread the coconut flakes onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the coconut for about 10 minutes in a 350ºF oven until toasted, stirring frequently to ensure even browning and so that it does not burn. (See Kelly's Notes.) Remove the toasted coconut from the oven and set it aside.

Melt the caramels, milk and salt in a double-boiler by placing the caramels in a medium saucepot set over a large saucepot of simmering water. Cook, stirring, until the caramels are fully melted. Remove the saucepot from the heat and combine 3/4 of the caramel with the toasted coconut in a large bowl.

Carefully spread the remaining 1/4 cup of caramel atop the cooled cookies then press on a portion of the coconut mixture. Let the cookies cool for 30 minutes. If the caramel-coconut mixture thickens too much at any point while pressing it onto the cookies, return it to the double-boiler and warm it until it's spreadable again.

Melt the dark chocolate in a double-boiler or in the microwave. Dip the bottoms of the cookies in the chocolate and place them on a wax paper-lined baking sheet. Use a fork to drizzle the tops with chocolate. Let the cookies sit until the chocolate hardens fully.

Truth

Baking Starbucks Pastries at Home

Everyone knows I've been working at Starbucks for the past two years now. It's a part of the two things I am passionate about; coffee and baking. Well Starbucks has recently added La Boulange to their company and it is rolling out warm french pastries for it's customers. One pastry in particular is called the Chewy Chocolate Meringue Cookie. It has goooey chocolately goodness in every bite and I am absolutely obsessed with them. So naturally I, of course, found a recipe that is very similar and easy to do at home. I personally think this recipe tastes better than the Starbucks cookie, but I would devour both any day. This recipe is courtesy of Deliciously Yum!. It's even gluten free for all the Celiacs out there.


Yields 20
Ingredients

1. 3 cups confectioners' sugar
2. 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Hershey's Special Dark)
3. 1/4 teaspoon salt
4. 2 to 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
5. 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
6. 1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
7. 1/4 cup graham crackers, broken into pieces plus extra for topping cookies
8. 1/4 cup mini marshmallows, cut in half plus extra for topping cookies

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray or use a silpat mat.
2. 1. With the help of your stand mixer, whisk together confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Add two egg whites and vanilla. If batter seems too thick, add another egg white until batter is thick, but moist (I used 3 egg whites, but depending on your egg size you might need to add another. Batter consistency should not be runny. If the addition of another egg white causes your batter to be too runny, add another 1/4 cup or so of confectioners' sugar).
3. 2. Remove bowl from mixer and fold in chocolate chips, graham cracker pieces, and mini marshmallows. Place about 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter per cookie on the prepared baking sheet. Top each cookie with additional graham cracker pieces and marshmallows. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cookies cool completely before removing from the cookie sheet. Enjoy!