Mini Polenta Pizzas

It’s time for another Foodie Friday post over at FGG. This week? A grown up take on the biscuit or English muffin pizzas of your youth (you did make those, didn’t you?) — Mini Polenta Pizzas. Go on over and take a look!

I am a Daring {cookie} Baker

Happy 27th of the month… official Daring Baker “reveal day” for those of you who are paying attention. This month was a doozie, my friends – and it was double trouble!

The July Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

I had big plans of knocking out both recipes in one weekend. But, weekends being what they are, I ended up having to split the challenge between two Sundays. No worries, though… that just meant that I didn’t have to choose between which cookie I wanted to snack on!

I made the Milanos first — some oblong like the Pepperidge Farm variety, some round for ease of matching up the two sides. (Sure, I could have made a template to use when piping my cookies, but what fun is that?) I didn’t have much problem with spreading and, overall, everything came together quite nicely. I loved the citrus bursts in both the cookies and the ganache filling and was more than pleased with how pretty these were!

Next up were the Mallow cookies — a three part adventure involving a cookie base, marshmallow topping, and chocolate coating. The cookie base was a snap, though it did make more than double the number that I needed (102 cookies!). The marshmallow topping was wonderfully simple and we had a fun time snagging spoonfuls of marshmallow fluff out of the bowl.  The chocolate coating went on nicely, but gets very melty within minutes of being outside of the fridge… my only complaint about these. Luckily, it hasn’t kept me from gobbling them down and licking the melted chocolate off my fingers!

All in all, both recipes were fantastic and I can see myself making both again very soon! Thanks, Nicole for two fantastic recipes and a wonderful July challenge!

Milan Cookies
(recipe by Gale Gand)
Makes about 3 dozen cookies
12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups (312.5 grams/ 11.02 oz) powdered sugar
7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lemon extract
1 1/2 cups (187.5grams/ 6.61 oz) all purpose flour
Cookie filling, recipe follows

Cookie filling:
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 orange, zested

In a mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter and the sugar. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts. Add the flour and mix until just well mixed.

With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.

While waiting for the cookies to cool, in a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools).

Spread a thin amount of the filling onto the flat side of a cookie while the filling is still soft and press the flat side of a second cookie on top. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.

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Mallows
(recipe by Gale Gand)
Makes about 2 dozen cookies
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
12 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 eggs, whisked together
Homemade marshmallows, recipe follows
Chocolate glaze, recipe follows

In a mixer with the paddle attachment, blend the dry ingredients. On low speed, add the butter and mix until sandy. Add the eggs and mix until combine.

Form the dough into a disk, wrap with clingfilm or parchment and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.

When ready to bake, grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicon mat. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, on a lightly floured surface. Use a 1 to 1 1/2 inches cookie cutter to cut out small rounds of dough. Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.

Pipe a “kiss” of marshmallow onto each cookie. Let set at room temperature for 2 hours.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment or silicon mat. One at a time, gently drop the marshmallow-topped cookies into the hot chocolate glaze. Lift out with a fork and let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl. Place on the prepared pan and let set at room temperature until the coating is firm, about 1 to 2 hours.

Homemade marshmallows:
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
2 egg whites , room temperature
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and sugar, bring to a boil until “soft-ball” stage, or 235 degrees on a candy thermometer.

Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let dissolve.

Remove the syrup from the heat, add the gelatin, and mix.

Whip the whites until soft peaks form and pour the syrup into the whites. Add the vanilla and continue whipping until stiff. Transfer to a pastry bag.

Chocolate glaze:
12 ounces semisweet chocolate
2 ounces cocoa butter or vegetable oil

Melt the 2 ingredients together in the top of a double boiler or a bowl set over barely simmering water.

gone bananas!

Time for another Foodie Friday post over at The Fat Girl’s Guide to Living. This week? Banana muffins!

I’ll be back on the 27th for the big reveal of this month’s Daring Baker challenge! It’s a fun one!!

there’s an app for that!

Looking for an easy appetizer? Head over to this week’s post at The Fat Girl’s Guide to Living for a great Brie Bruschetta!

better than brownie cookies – and better than that ice cream sandwiches

I have a confession. I love trolling for recipes. Cookbooks, magazines, friends/family, and the ultimate treasure trove of recipes… the internet. I must have hundreds of recipes bookmarked from all over the web… tagged because I knew I had to try them and just waiting, waiting, waiting to be brought out to play in my kitchen.

I ran across this one not too very long ago, courtesy of Patricia over at Technicolor Kitchen. It so happened that I stumbled upon it while I was looking for something fun that I could throw together for a food day we were having at work (we’re always on the lookout for a reason to eat). Cookies with brownie-like qualities? Say no more… I’m in.

The nature of things being what they are, I didn’t get started on these until about 9:15 p.m. the night before I needed them. Shocking, no? Luckily, they were as easy as they promised to be (and oh my gosh, the batter was divine… not that I would eat raw cookie dough) and I was still in bed at a semi-reasonable hour.

The cookies were gone in a flash the next day… thankfully I saved four back for a quick photo shoot. And then, I had the best idea I’ve had all week. I grabbed a big scoop of vanilla ice cream from the freezer and sandwiched it between two of the cookies. Let me tell you… it was a-mazing. Truly.

Better Than Brownie Cookies
(adapted slightly from Patricia’s recipe)
2 2/3 cups (466g) dark chocolate, chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
4 eggs
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350ºF; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.

Melt the chopped chocolate with the butter in a small saucepan over low heat – stir constantly until smooth. Mix eggs, vanilla and sugar in a medium bowl. Combine thoroughly. Set aside.

Sift flour and baking powder together in a small bowl.

Add melted chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and slowly add dry ingredients. When combined, add the cup of chocolate chips and stir.

Scoop 1 ½ tablespoons of dough onto prepared sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they are firm on the outside (dough loses its sheen). Leave to cool completely on sheets.

Makes about 24 big cookies

the ultimate summertime quick bread recipe

Check out the great Strawberries & Cream Bread recipe I posted over at The Fat Girl’s Guide to Living!

celebrating my independence

Happy Fourth of July weekend, everyone!

When I think of this holiday weekend, I can’t help but think of a few things. My very favorite version of this song (thank you, Mr. Charles)… fireworks lighting up the night sky…  get togethers with family and friends… and all the classic summer bbq foods that make their way to the table on weekends like this. It’s foodie heaven!

One of my very favorite foods on that summer bbq list is a big, juicy burger right from the grill. Of course, plain is fine… but what about when you want to take it to the next level? Allow me to share a couple of my favorite ideas with you!

Avocado Burger: grill up your favorite burger and top with a big slice of colby-jack cheese and sliced avocado.

Pimento Cheese and Bacon Burger: top the burger of your choice with a healthy dollop of pimento cheese (need a good recipe?) and crispy bacon.

Looking for something sweet to wrap up the meal? Head over to Foodie Friday at The Fat Girl’s Guide to Living (where I’ll be contributing recipes weekly) for an easy, quick deconstructed apple pie recipe.

And… since Gloria’s having a BBQ over at her blog (thanks to Louise for the heads up), I think I’ll also share these over there! Enjoy the weekend and Happy 4th of July!