Chewy Almond and Cherry Bars.

Some days, I feel like lazy baking: baking that requires no butter creaming, egg white whipping, gelatin blooming, double boiling or dough proofing.

I've also been a little uninspired lately when it comes to cooking, writing, and music making. I thought it might help to go back to basics. I've been working on etudes and keeping my blog entries rather short. Alice Medrich's Cookies and Brownies is an old classic and I decided to try a simple recipe i'd normally be tempted to skip over.

These Almond and Cherry Bars taste like something someone's mother would give you. They're very plain but satisfying with a chewy texture similar to blondies or peanut butter bars. The almond extract lends a delicate, aromatic touch.

I'm not sure how my writing is going to progress. My sixteen year old brother wrote a short autobiography that was incredibly fresh and hillarious. It made me wonder if my literary voice has been killed by years of trying to do well in english class.

Anyway, i'm going to keep trying simplicity for a while and see where things go.

Chewy Almond and Cherry Bars
3/4 cup whole almonds, with or without skins
1 cup all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
8 tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
1 large egg
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup dried tart cherries, or dried cranberries, or apricots
8 inch square pan lined with parchment or foil

Preheat the oven to 350. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven.

Process the almonds with the flour in a food processor fitted with a steel blade until the almonds are finely ground. Add the salt and baking powder and pulse to mix. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar. Using a wooden spoon, beat in the egg and almond extract. Stir in the flour mixture, followed by the dried fruit. Spread the batter evenly in the pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and have pulled away from the sides of the pan and the top is golden brown. Cool in the pan on a rack. Run a knife along the unlined sides of the pan. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into 16 squares. May be stored airtight for at least 1 week.

Peanut Butter Brownies

These pictures are rather similar, but I couldn't choose between them.

This is a decadent recipe from Dorie Greenspan. The key is to let the brownies reach room temperature before you eat them- otherwise the ganache will be hard to bite through and the peanut butter frosting will pull away from the brownie.

They are ridiculously decadent.

Peanut Butter Brownies
reposted from epicurious.com

Brownies
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
7 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup roasted salted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Frosting and ganache
1 cup chunky peanut butter (do not use natural or old-fashioned)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided, room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

7 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

For brownies:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325°F. Line 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan with foil, leaving long overhang; butter foil.

Place 3/4 cup butter in heavy large saucepan. Add both chocolates; stir over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk in sugar, vanilla, and salt, then eggs, 1 at a time. Fold in flour, then nuts. Spread in prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 30 minutes. Place pan on rack; cool.

For frosting and ganache:
Using electric mixer, beat peanut butter and 1/4 cup butter in medium bowl to blend. Beat in powdered sugar, salt, and nutmeg, then milk and vanilla. Spread frosting over brownies.

Stir chocolate and 1/4 cup butter in heavy small saucepan over low heat until smooth. Drop ganache all over frosting; spread to cover. Chill until set, about 1 1/2 hours. Do ahead Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep chilled.

Using foil as aid, transfer brownie cake to work surface; cut into squares. Bring to room temperature; serve.

Banana Bread/Cake ala David Lebovitz.

I made this recipe from David Lebovitz's blog. It's a little different than other banana bread recipes i've made: less butter, and some fromage blanc. It's a good snack cake.

I'm a little amused by the photo; it wasn't staged. I bought roses earlier in the day (only 5 bucks from the lady outside PNC) and the music was from cello practice. I don't have a music stand at the moment, so I invariably prop the music on tables, chairs, desks, random piles of junk.

I'm making almond/cherry bars and peanut butter brownies tonight so stay tuned. It's going to be a crazy week and I think i've been baking overtime to avoid thinking about it.

Gingersnaps.

I finally ordered a copy of The Sweet Life: Desserts from Chanterelle. These gingersnaps won me over; I could eat the whole pile in one go.

These aren't snappy, toothbreaking gingersnaps: They're crisp right around the edges, but soft in the middle. I baked one batch for 10 minutes and the other for 15. The second batch had much crispier edges, but still stayed chewy.

The flavors are really well balanced. I like my gingersnaps with more cloves than usual, so the 1.5 tsps in this recipe was perfect.

Gingersnaps
adapted from The Sweet Life: Desserts from Chanterelle

18 tbsp butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp powdered ginger
1.5 tsp ground cloves
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup molasses
1 cup raw sugar, or granulated sugar.

Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the light brown sugar and beat on medium-high speed until the mixture becomes fluffy and lighter in color, 6 to 8 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue to beat until they are fully incorporated and the batter looks smooth and glossy, 1 to 2 minutes.

In a dry bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the dry mixture, all at once, to the butter mixture. Using a rubber spatula, fold together for a few turns. With the mixter on slow speed, mix the dough until thoroughly combined, 1 minute.

Add the molasses and mix until incorporated. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment or silicone. Place the raw sugar in a small bowl. Pinch off 1.5 inch pieces of batter and roll into balls. Roll each ball in the sugar to coat. Arrange the cookies on the prepared sheet 2 inches apart and press your thumb in the center of each cookie to flatten it a bit. Bake until the cookies spread, crack a bit, and take on a dark golden brown color, 10-15 minutes.

Buckwheat Blueberry Cake.

I tried this recipe from Orangette today; I felt like I needed a hearty, comforting breakfast cake.

I think it's delicious, and you'll like it if you enjoy the strong taste of buckwheat. I think the walnuts added in the original recipe would have been a nice touch too.

Fig Brownies with Brown Sugar Whipped Cream.

My love affair with Ficoco sent me on a google search for fig and chocolate recipes. My search yielded two noteworthy results.

1) God Hates Figs. (a spoof website ala godhatesshrimp.com)

2) A Double Chocolate Fig Slice Recipe.

Instead of soaking the figs in marsala, I soaked them overnight in dark rum (an -excellent- decision.) The resulting brownies were fudgy, adult, and richly studded with chunks of fig. I chopped the fruit pretty coarsely and used valrhona cocoa powder and 60% callebaut.

I used an 8" square pan, but I think a 9" might have been better as my brownies ended up too-underbaked in the very center. I'd love to eat them with some coffee ice cream next time!

More on Oh Yeah!

Here is a good, informative article on the new ice cream place:

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/ohyeah0919.aspx

Also, Peter Berger posted this article and video regarding Oh Yeah! He seems to share my enjoyment of boozy ice cream.

More photos later in the week. I made another cheesecake, chocolate cherry cookies, and fig brownies.

Wedding Cake (Part 3.)

The reception was wonderful. The decorations were great, the food was simple and delicious, the alcohol was plentiful, the people were genial, and the cake was very well recieved.

It was really delicious. The caterer took care of the cutting after Aaron and Claudia made the first slice. Many people told me they usually didn't eat cake, but they loved this and ate two or three slices. I recieved so many nice compliments. It felt really nice to see everyone eating and enjoying the cake.

I found quarts of strawberries for a dollar each in the Strip District on Saturday. I bought five for the filling and they really added a lot to the finished product. The ribbon on the cake was actually a very bright royal purple, but I made the mistake of bringing the small camera rather than the nice one and it didn't register.

If I ever decide to make another wedding cake it won't be nearly as stressful. All the worrying about how everything would turn out was horrid, and now that i've gone through the entire process I think I can do a lot better!

I had an awesome time. And there's a good chunk of leftovers :)

Wedding Cake (Part Two.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37876536@N00/3738812509/sizes/o/in/photostream/
It was brought to my attention that my posts don't often reflect the amount of frustration I experience during difficult baking.

At the moment, I never ever want to make a wedding cake again.

We baked the cakes last night. Creaming 3 pounds of butter is very difficult when you're using a hand mixer instead of a giant Hobart.

There were injuries. Blood was shed (I cut my thumb pretty wickedly while slicing layers.) And it's still not done! Tomorrow there will be touch up and decorating with some ribbon and flowers. Then there's the issue of transporting it to the reception, and cutting/serving it.

I've been incredibly nervous about the whole thing. I'm plagued by questions like what is the volume isn't so good, what if there's not enough icing, what if I don't use enough dowels, what if the buttercream all melts, what if no one likes the cake...

If you ever want to attempt your first wedding cake, here is my advice to you:

1) Plan ahead. Way ahead. Make yourself a little cake baking calendar.

2) Make way more frosting than you need to. Make sure you're doing math for the amount of frosting between all the layers.

3) Find a wedding cake recipe. Don't just throw together random frosting, cake, and filling recipes.

4) Get some friends to help.

5)Remember to breathe, try not to have a nervous breakdown.

In the end, i'm sure it will be ok. Even nice, maybe.

Perfectionists, beware the wedding cake.

Peanut Brittle, Walnut Sandwich Cookies.

I'm still working my way through The Sweet Life: Desserts from Chanterelle.

I decided to roll and shape the Walnut Cream Cheese Sandwich Cookies, but next time I think i'll just cut them into rectangles to save some time. If it's humid and your cookies get a little soggy, you can refresh them in a 350 oven for 4-5 minutes. You can fill and freeze the cookies too. They don't freeze too hard and the cookies stay crunchy!

The book suggests using the Thin and Delicate Peanut Brittle as a garnish or candy. You make a caramel, grind it in a food processor and combine it with ground peanuts, then bake it until it re-melts. It's topped with some fleur de sel.

I'm not going to post these recipes for now; I've posted a few from the book already, and you should consider buying it or finding it at your local library if the recipes are to your liking.

I do recommend it. I browsed through it many times before checking it out, and for all my skepticism i've really enjoyed the recipes.