Bread & Butter Pickles...A First Attempt

I made pickles! And to answer your question...no, that isn't the only thing I've made over the past month. In fact I have plans to barrage you with all the things I have not posted. But I'm starting with these pickles.

I've kinda always wanted to pickle and/or can things, but I was a little intimidated by the process. Then I watched someone make pickles on the Food Network. And it didn't seem so daunting. So I girded my loins (I hear that's what all the brave people do) and set to work.

First up I tangled with the deadly mandolin. Trepidation would be the word that comes to mind when I think of this sharp toothed kitchen gadget. Our relationship has been a rocky one and continues to be so. Yes, even the greatest caution still ends in mangled fingers. But it also produces super adorable (at least in my opinion) wavy discs of soon to be pickles.

Next I made the brine. It was much simpler (and safer) then the slicing part. This being my first go round I decided to buy pickling spice. Turns out the brand I bought had way too much coriander in it. I would find this out later. But for now, lets just say, next time I will be making my own pickling spice.

I really love pickles. They are one of my favourite things to snack on. I stand in front of the fridge and use my fingers to pull out little juicy morsels of deliciousness. This was my initial intention with my homemade batch. When they were ready I excitedly opened the jar, grabbed a couple perfect looking pickles, and popped them in my mouth. As I bit down my taste buds were assaulted with a not so bread and buttery flavour.

So it's sad to say that the pickles did not turn out as wonderful as I had hoped them to. They weren't bad, but neither were they fantastic. The only way I could eat them was stacked on top of some sloppy joes that I had made that day as well. I ended up offloading at least half of my pickles on my Mum who seemed to enjoy them more then I did. I just couldn't bare to see them wasted knowing that I wouldn't get through them all.

Although slightly disappointed with this batch, I am now determined to make a perfect snacking pickle. I may try the bread and butter ones again with my own spice combination. But I think my next batch will be of the dill pickle variety.

Stay tuned to find out how my next attempt turns out.

A Cake of Epic Proportion.

So I went a little AWOL from the internet over the holidays resulting in a major lag in posts...leaving my cookie extravaganza to fall a bit short. So I thought I would start the new year off by posting this cake.

Four heavenly high layers of devilishly deliciousness appropriately named...The Heaven & Hell Cake.

My darling friend Elizabeth had a birthday dinner party back in December. Her Mom made the most delicious food. Deep fried cauliflower, chickpea salad, pasta, chicken, ribs...I stuffed myself to the bursting point and still wanted to eat more! A few weeks before her party, I told her she could pick what kind of cake she wanted and I would make it. After some flip-flopping around she finally settled on the Heaven & Hell Cake. I think everyone was quite happy with her decision.

The above picture is the napkins they had at her party. The cute phrase on them "domestically disabled" prompts me to take a moment and talk layer cakes and how much I suck at making them. I never seem to have a problem making them taste good, but my layering and decorating skills still leave much to be desired. The cake layers always manage to be a little rough around the edges and slightly lopsided no matter how hard I try. Then, if I manage to do a decent enough icing job, once I try to add any writing or extra decorations it's all down hill from there. The good news though, is a part from myself, no one ever seems to mind.


Now back to this particular cake. A heaven and hell cake consists of two layers of devil's food cake, two layers of angel food cake with a super delightful layer of peanut butter mousse in between each layer. This is all topped off with a chocolate ganache icing. To put it succinctly it's simply to die for.

Since most people have a go to recipe for each of the cakes used I thought I would simply post the peanut butter mousse recipe (which coincidentally happens to be my favourite part of the cake ^_^).

Peanut Butter Mousse

• 4 Cups Smooth Peanut Butter
• 3 1/2 Cups Icing Sugar
• 3 Cups Cream Cheese at room temperature
• 1 1/2 Cups Heavy Cream

Beat peanut butter, sugar and cream cheese together until smooth. In a separate bowl whisk cream until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream into peanut butter mixture. Place in fridge until ready to use.

When making the cake start with the denser chocolate cake on the bottom and layer from there.

Enjoy!

December Cookie Extravaganza Part 5 - Jam Thumbprints

Jam Thumbprints are probably my favourite non-chocolate Christmas cookies. I always manage to eat a truck load of them every year under the premise of "hey at least there's fruit in these ones". It's a slippery slope my friends.


These lovelies are made with a pretty basic dough rolled into balls, dipped in egg whites, covered in walnuts, indented and baked.

Once cooled you fill the indent with jam (hence jam thumbprints). This year strawberry jam was used in place of the usual blueberry. They were almost as good^_^...but surely much better then the raspberry jam my Mum wanted to use.

Jam Thumbprint Cookies

• 2/3 cup butter; softened
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 slightly beaten egg whites
• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1/3-1/2 cup jam

In a large mixing bowl beat butter until creamy. Add half of the flour. Mix in egg yolks, sugar and vanilla until fully incorporated. Add remaining flour and mix well. Cover and chill for 1 hour.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Dip dough into the egg whites then roll in walnuts to coat. Place on a lined cookie sheet approximately 1-inch apart. Using your thumb, or the back of a wooden spoon, make an indent in each cookie.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes until edges are lightly browned (if indents lose definition push them back down when they come out of the oven). Cool on a wire rack. Once cooled fill with jam.

December Cookie Extravaganza Part 4 - S'more Bars

Chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers...one of the best combinations of food ever. I realize that for most people s'mores are reserved for marshmallow roasts around campfires. But really how often do we get campfires? And I am a naturally impatient person with the tendency to crave that which is out of season. So I was VERY excited when I found this recipe (though I can't for the life of me remember where) for S'more Bars last year. Some of the excitement may have been heightened by the fact that I am still currently banned from using my s'more maker (yes I do own such a wonderous gadget - think fondue like apparatus), since I almost burned down my parents house the last time I attempted to use it.

The sad part about these is that I had a very hard time photographing them. They are so plan to look at and kind of blob-y that I feel my pictures don't properly portray how wonderful they are. So please make a batch so that you can get the full effect. Because, trust me, they are a fan favourite and don't last very long. In fact I believe it was these very bars that someone proposed marriage to me over last year (of course it was just a joke proposal) but that's got to say something for these little guys.

S'more Cookie Bars

• 1/2 cup butter; softened
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 king-sized chocolate bars
• 1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff
  

In a small bowl mix flour, salt, baking powder and graham crumbs, set aside. In a large bowl cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla and egg. Pour in flour mixture and blend until combined.

Grease an 8-inch square baking pan. Press half of dough mixture into bottom of pan. Place chocolate bars in a single layer on top of dough. Spread marshmallow fluff over chocolate. Spread remaining dough on by flattening small sections and placing them one by one on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting.

I store mine in an airtight container in the fridge then either let them come to room temperature or pop them in the toaster oven to get them all gooey when I want to eat them.

December Cookie Extravaganza Part 3 - Chocolate Chunk Snowballs

Next up to the plate for your baking and eating pleasure we have Chocolate Chunk Snowballs...

These are quick and easy to make. No rolling, molding weird shapes, cutting or any other such things. Just mix the ingredients, form into balls, bake, cool and toss into icing sugar. Now that's my kinda cookie!

Chocolate Chunk Snowballs

• 2 Cups Butter; softened
• 1 Cup Icing Sugar
• 3 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 Cup Cornstarch
• 6 Squares Bittersweet Chocolate; coarsely chopped
• 1 Cup Walnuts; coarsely chopped
• Icing sugar for dusting

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in flour & cornstarch until combined. Add in chocolate & walnuts.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on a lined cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees or until lightly brown.

Cool completely on wire wrack. Toss in icing sugar to lightly coat.

Enjoy!

December Cookie Extravaganza Part 2 - Chocolate Thumbrints

Things got a little busy on the weekend so I wasn't able to post any new cookies. But it's a whole new week and I've got a gem to share with you...Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies.

When it comes to Christmas cookie baking, I have a list of my Mums tried and true recipes that I always use. But I also like to mix things up a little bit and try new things. Which is why when I saw these cookies on the Martha Stewart website I knew I had to give them a try. These delectable little morsels of chocolately goodness may be new to my repertoire, but I have a feeling they will have a recurring role in years to come.

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
(adapted from Martha Stewart recipe)

• 1 Cup Unsalted Butter; Softened
• 1 1/3 Cup Sugar (plus a little extra for rolling dough in)
  
• 2 Egg Yolks
• 2 TBSP Heavy Cream
• 2 TBSP Vanilla Extract
• 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 Cup & 1 TBSP Cocoa Powder
• 2 tsp salt
  
• Chocolate Vanilla-Bean Ganache *

In a small bowl mix together the flour, salt and cocoa powder. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream the sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in cream, vanilla and egg yolks until well combined. Mix in dry ingredients.

Shape dough in balls using roughly 2 tsp of dough for each. Roll in sugar. Place onto lined cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Using your finger or back of a wooden spoon push gently on the dough to form an indent.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until cookie is just set. Let cool slightly on sheet before transferring to wire rack.

Once completely cooled spoon warm ganache filling into centers. Let set 15 minutes. Store in airtight container.


*Chocolate Vanilla-Bean Ganache

• 1/3 Cup Heavy Cream
• 1/3 Cup Honey
• 1/2 Cup Bittersweet Chocolate; finely chopped
• 2 TBSP Unsalted Butter; softened & cut into pieces
• 1/2 A Vanilla Bean; Split & Scraped (reserve pod)

In a medium saucepan combine cream, honey, vanilla seeds & pod. Over medium heat bring mixture to a simmer, stirring until honey is melted. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 20 minutes.

Place chopped chocolate into a blender. Place cream mixture back onto stove and return to a simmer. Remove vanilla pods. Pour cream mixture over chocolate and let sit for 1 minute. Blend until mixture is smooth. Add butter and continue to blend until combined. Let cool slightly, then use immediately.

December Cookie Extravaganza Part 1 - The Shortbread Cookie.

I am decidedly not much of a Christmas person. I don't jump up and down with glee at the thought of snow, I view most decorations as tacky eyesores, I am in no way, shape or form associated with any type of religion and the sound of Christmas carols are like nails on a chalkboard to me. Furthermore, even though I am a good little consumer who goes out with the masses to buy gifts, I don't actually like the concept. I have, however, learned that people don't react well when you attempt to skip Christmas, so I go along for the ride.

I'd like to also state here that I am not one of those "Grinch-y" people who walk around in a cloud of hum-buggery ruining the experience for those who enjoy it. I do get excited about some aspects of the Holiday's and choose to focus on those instead. For example, I do adorn my apartment with a few tasteful decorations. My motto here is simple but classy - black and silver with a couple pops of ruby red for good measure. I have a black tree and a matching black garland that I hang a couple small things on for colour. I also have a small silver snowflake wreath that I hang on my door. And that's it. No singing doormats, no dancing Santa's or glowing reindeer. A girl's gotta draw the line somewhere.

More of my likes include, hanging out with my family and friends, cracking open a few bottles of wine and sharing conversation over a crowded dinner table covered with food. Yes, I can easily get into anything that involves the cooking and consuming of food. Which of course brings me to my favourite part of the Holiday Season...Christmas cookies. If there is anything during this time of year to jump up and down about it is tins and tins of delicious cookies. I love making them, I love eating them and I love gifting them to others. And in honour of this, over the next couple weeks I am going to be posting this years fare. So sit back with your disgusting Eggnog drink and a hunk of hard fruitcake and enjoy!

I figure the best place to start when talking Christmas cookies is the traditional shortbread. Easy to make, easy to eat and just about everyone loves them. Ironically the last thing I made will be the first I post.

My Mum and I decided to bake our cookies together to quicken the process and allow me to bake in a real kitchen with a proper sized well working stove. We managed to blast through just about all the things we needed to bake in one day. Unfortunately we saved the shortbread until the end, and even though we had the heat turned down really low, the oven was still too hot and just about liquified our cookies in the oven. Because of this my Mother has boycotted shortbread this year. Sad, but true. So I've taken up the mantle and made them on my own, it's not really Christmas without them.

Shortbread Cookies

• 1 Cup Butter; softened
• 2 Cups Pastry Flour
• 3 TBSP Fruit Sugar
• 3 TBSP Rice Flour

Beat butter with a spoon until creamy. Stir in flour until well mixed. Blend in rice flour and sugar.

Roll out flat and cut into shapes or form into balls and press down with a fork.

Sprinkle with red & green coloured sugar.

Bake at 275 degrees until faintly brown (approx. 10-15 mins depending on your oven)


One cookie down...nine more to go!