At Last

Theres a sign hanging at a local bakery...maybe you've seen this quote before..."a balanced diet is a cookie in each hand". If you know me, you'd know that I could bake cookies everyday. Rolled cookies are too much of a time investment with little ones around but drop and bar cookies are totally doable. I am especially fond of making a batch and freezing the rest for later. This technique has come in quite handy, as I always have something I can whip up when we have a visitor. I have been waiting for several months to try Kim Boyce's Wholewheat Chocolate Chip Cookies. I first saw the recipe on Orangette's blog, did a quick search online, and saw so many raving reviews! The recipe calls for dark brown sugar, something I don't normally have in stock, and since I had doubts in a 100% WW cookie (I thought it might taste like cardboard), I waited until I had the right kind of sugar.

Wholewheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Adapted from Orangette and originally by Kim Boyce)

Ingredients:
3 C white wholewheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 C unsalted butter (either softened or chilled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
1 C lightly packed dark brown sugar
1 C white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
~8 oz bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped into 1/4 or 1/2 inch pieces (note: I used 1/2 of a bar of Trader Joe's pound plus 72% dark chocolate (17.6 oz), which is a little more than 8 oz)

In a medium bowl, whisk dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon) and set aside. Using a stand mixer, cream butter with sugars and vanilla until light and fluffy. Incorporate eggs, 1 at a time. Then add in flour mixture until combined. Last stir in chocolate pieces until evenly distributed.

Scoop the dough and form into a ball shape with your hands. Place dough balls on a cookie sheet to chill in fridge. Chill for at least an hour before baking. I found the texture of the cookies to be best when baked after they've been frozen. Freezing the dough helps the cookies to be thicker. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Cookies will spread a bit so place dough balls 2 to 3 inches apart and bake until the tops are evenly browned (12-20 minutes, depending on how big your cookies are). Let cookies cool on a wire rack.

Note: I keep forgetting to take a picture and the cookies don't last long enough to take a picture the next day! I shared these with several people and they have been the most well received cookie I've made to date. No one even suspects that they are made with WW flour! Don't get me wrong though, these are in no way a diet cookie!

Update (7/7): a picture from the last batch of frozen dough 

Pan Dulce

Mexican pan dulce (sweet bread) are great when they are freshly baked but immediately get stale thereafter. In looking at the ingredients on several online recipes, I thought that I could sub in/out some ingredients for my sweet challah recipe and end up with something that stayed softer a little longer. One of the popular pan dulce shapes is the concha (shell). This is my take on it. I made a half recipe of the challah dough, swapping butter for oil and milk for water. I also added cinnamon since I saw it included in most concha recipes. The topping is based on a recipe on allrecipes.com from MelissaAmador. I ran out of white sugar midway so I used some brown.

Conchas
(Adapted in part from Melissa Amador's recipe on allrecipes.com)

Ingredients for dough:
1 C milk, scalded and cooled
2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast
1/3 C sugar, divided
1/4 C unsalted butter
1 egg + 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 1/4 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Ingredients for topping:
1/2 C unsalted butter, slightly softened
1/4 C sugar
1/4 C packed brown sugar
1 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Start by scalding milk on the stovetop. Then melt 1/4 C butter into heated milk and set aside to further cool. When milk is warm to the touch, pour it into a large bowl with yeast and 1 tsp of sugar. Wait about 10 minutes for yeast to activate and then add remaining sugar and eggs. Stir in flour and start to knead by hand or with an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Then add salt and continue kneading until smooth and elastic. If dough is too sticky, add more flour 1 Tbs at a time. Place in a lightly oiled bowl. Turn dough to coat then cover bowl with plastic wrap and leave undisturbed for at least 40 minutes (preferably an hour or so). After the initial rise, punch down dough, recover, and let rise again (about 20-30 minutes). In the meantime, start making the topping. Cream butter with sugars and vanilla. Add flour and mix well. Divide topping into 16 even sized pieces and roll each piece into a ball. After dough finishes it's second rise, divide dough in half, keeping one half covered while you work on shaping the balls. Further divide the dough into 8 pieces each (total of 16 pieces). Working quickly, take one ball of topping and flatten it in the palms of your hands to create a flat disc. Place over dough ball and gently press to keep it in place. The topping should cover most of the dough's surface. Continue for the remaining pieces, remembering to cover them as you go. Finally, using a toothpick create a shallow design on the top. Do not cut into dough (only cut through the topping). Make parallel lines for conchas. A criss-cross or spiral pattern also works. Let rise, covered, for at least 40 minutes. If preparing ahead of time, place them in the refrigerator overnight and bring them back to room temperature before baking in the morning. Bake for about 20-25 minutes in a preheated oven (375 degrees). Cool on wire racks.

Pizza, pizza, pizza!

As one who loves food...almost anything...it is especially hard having not one but two picky eaters in the family. I am hoping that there won't be three! We eat pizza in our house just about weekly because of the picky eaters. Our favorite is the cheese pizza from wholefoods market. There's something about their crust that we really like. I've made cinnamon rolls and even donuts with their pre-made dough. However, a couple months ago I tried making my own marinara sauce for pasta and the next logical step was to use that sauce on pizza. I found an easy pizza dough recipe on the Smitten Kitchen website, which was actually the recipe that kickstarted my obsession with her recipes. I like how simple it is and that it can be made, in part, with wholewheat flour. (Note: the 100% wholewheat pizza dough from wholefoods did not pass the picky eaters test!)

Since we eat so much pizza, I usually double the recipe. Tonight I made two spinach and cheese pizzas, one caramelized onion and goat cheese pizza, and one dessert or breakfast pizza that consisted of strawberry jam and goat cheese.

Simple Pizza Dough
(Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Ingredients:
3 C all-purpose flour (up to half can be replaced with wholewheat)
1 1/2 tsp dry active yeast
1 C warm water
1/4 C honey
2 tsp table salt

Dissolve yeast in honey and warm water. Add flour and mix. Then sprinkle salt and knead for a few minutes. If dough is too wet, add more flour, one tablespoon at a time, until a smooth ball is formed. Place in lightly oiled bowl and cover. Let rise for 1-2 hours then punch down and let rise for 20 more minutes before rolling thin. Sprinkle with toppings then bake in a preheated oven (450 deg) for about 10 minutes, until cheese bubbles and browns.

Bad lighting + cold cheese = sorry looking pizza. But the flavors were good! Note: I used a whole sweet onion for the onion and cheese pizza.

Banana Overload

I'm tired of bananas and I'm sure by now baby Micah is getting tired of them too. Yet there were still 4 bananas sitting on my counter and 1 more in the fridge. I figured it was time to make banana bread. Now, if you're like me, you've probably searched online and seen countless recipes that claim to be "the best banana bread ever". Some say sour cream is the key ingredient. Others say it's the butter. I've come to think that the most moist quick breads are the ones that have vegetable oil. Since my college days, I've been in search for one that comes close to what I had growing up but most were too dry or too sweet. A couple years ago I gave up my search and just asked mom for her recipe. She gave me two to choose from. The following is one of those recipes, with a couple minor changes.

Banana Muffins
(adapted from Aunty Faith's Banana Bread recipe)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 C white whole wheat flour
2 C all-purpose flour
1/4 C rolled oats (I used quick cooking)
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 C sugar
1/2 C brown sugar (not packed)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 heaping tsp cinnamon
1 scant teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground ginger
2 C mashed bananas (about 4 medium)
1/2 C apple or pearsauce
1/2 C vegetable oil
4 eggs
2/3 C water
1/2 C dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

In a large bowl wisk flours, oats, sugars, baking soda, spices, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine bananas, eggs, applesauce, and oil. Pour banana mixture into dry ingredients and stir until combined. Then add 2/3 C water and incorporate into mixture (do not over beat). Stir in the optional chocolate chips at this time. Pour into lined muffin tins and bake in preheated oven (325-350 degrees) for 22-25 minutes or until a tooth pick or cake tester comes out clean. Makes about 25-30 standard sized muffins.

A Life Lesson

Today's kitchen adventure was bound to be a good one no matter how things turned out. How could I have been so confident about that? Today I tried a new bread recipe (french bread) and enlisted the support of my step-daughter. It involved a total of 3 hours, including down time, and required kneading the dough for about 15 minutes of that time. Sure we could have used my kitchenaid stand mixer but I though it would be a valuable life lesson to knead the dough by hand. I hope she considers the effort that goes into putting food on the table. She was there for every step: from measuring the ingredients to shaping the final loaves. I tried to be hands off...key word TRIED...now I know how my parents and grandparents felt when I wanted to "help" in the kitchen!

We each made 2 loaves. I like how different each one turned out. Some long and slender, some lopsided, some darker, another fat/wide. The fam seemed to enjoy it...we demolished nearly 2 of the 4 loaves over our pasta dinner.

French Bread
(Adapted from the Steamy Kitchen)

Ingredients:
4 C bread flour, divided
2 tsp dry active yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 to 2 tsp table salt (we did 2 but I though it was a little salty)
1 1/2 C warm water

Directions:
Dissolve yeast in warm water with sugar. Let sit until yeast blooms (about 5-10 minutes). Add 3 3/4 C of the bread flour and stir until it is hard to mix. Transfer dough to floured surface (use remaining 1/4 C of flour), add salt, and begin to knead by hand. Knead for 6 minutes, rest for 7, then resume kneading for another 6 minutes. Dough should be smooth and elastic. It took an extra few minutes for our dough to achieve that state. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Turn dough to coat with oil, cover with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel, and place in warm place to rise for about 1.5 hours. With about 1/2 hour remaining, pre-heat oven and inverted baking sheet or pizza stone to 450 degrees. After dough finishes rising, form into loaves by stretching the dough then folding it toward the middle and pinching close. Do this twice then place seam side down on parchment paper and let rise for another 30 minutes or longer. When it's time to bake, make several shallow diagonal cuts (I used kitchen shears to do this) and slide loaves on parchment paper onto the pre-heated baking sheet. Pour 1/2 C of water on the bottom of the oven floor and immediately close the door. Bake for 20-25 minutes. The water creates steam in the oven, which produces a nice crust with a chewy interior.

Cookie Craving

I've been craving some oatmeal cookies for the past few days. It's not my normal kind of craving. Usually I want anything and everything chocolate chip so I had to look long and hard for a recipe to try. Many recipes insisted that the key to a great oatmeal cookie is to include plumped raisins but I'm more of a cranberry kind of person. I also wanted something with a somewhat healthy twist since I'm not the only cookie monster in the family. I saw several recipes that called for apple chunks but I was afraid that they would frighten away the cookie monster before he even took a bite! So I settled on another smitten kitchen recipe, since she never disappoints, and tweaked a few things to make them a little healthier. BUT, who am I kidding?! A little substitution of whole wheat for all-purpose flour and an added apple can't undo the effects of all that butter. Plus the white chocolate chips probably made this even unhealthier than the original recipe. Maybe next time I'll be brave and sub out some butter and sugar for banana purée or something...

Oatmeal Apple Cinnamon Cookies
(adapted from Smitten Kitchen's "Thick, chewy oatmeal raisin cookies")

Ingredients:
1 C butter, softened
1 1/3 C light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C white whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp (rounded) table salt
3 C rolled oats
3/4 C dried sweetened cranberries (or other dried fruit)
3/4 C white chocolate chips (or dark chocolate or nuts)
1 medium apple, peeled and grated (I used a pink lady)

Cream butter and sugar and then beat in eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl add flours, baking soda, and spices and mix well. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture then fold in oats, apples, dried fruit and chocolate chips. Dough will be wet and sticky so use a melon baller to scoop dough onto a cookie sheet. Place cookie sheet in the refrigerator to set the dough. Once balls are set, bake at 350 deg for about 12 minutes. Freeze any unused dough in a freezer bag.

Mothers Day Breakfast

Mothers day doesn't mean a day off from kitchen duties in my house. I'm not complaining because I actually enjoy being in the kitchen. I just don't like all the dirty dishes that follow. With that said, I wanted at least a little relaxation this mothers day morning so I did most of the work the night before.

I have been wanting to try these cinnamon rolls ever since I found them on Orangette's blog. I followed the recipe as close as I could...my only change was replacing the rapid rise yeast with a tad bit more of dry active yeast. Here's the recipe as I used it, with slight changes to the dough preparation due to the different type of yeast.

Cinnamon Rolls
(adapted from Orangette's Bon Appetit column)

Dough:
1 C whole milk, warmed
3 Tbs butter, melted
1/2 C sugar, divided
2 1/2 tsp dry active yeast
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 1/2 C all purpose flour (I ended up using an extra 1/4 C)
1 tsp table salt

Filling:
3/4 C light brown sugar
2 Tbs ground cinnamon
1/2 C butter, softened to room temperature)

Icing:
1/4 C of butter (1/2 stick)
4 oz of cream cheese (1/2 package)
1 C powdered sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract


Directions:
Mix warm milk with yeast and 1 tsp sugar and let sit for about 10 minutes while you measure the other ingredients. Then stir in melted butter, eggs, and sugar. On low speed, gradually mix in the flour. Start with 3 1/2 C and add additional flour one tablespoon at a time if the dough is too sticky. Last, add salt and then knead for about 8 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic and it starts to pull away from the bowl.

Place dough in lightly oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size. Punch down and then let rise again, about 20 minutes. Roll dough onto floured surface into a rectangle about 15" by 11". Spread butter and then sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mixture, leaving a border of about 1/2". Tightly roll and then slice into 18 even sized pieces. Note: I ended up with 16 rolls. Place onto two greased (glass) pans and let them rise for another 45+ minutes. In my case, I let it rise overnight in the refrigerator, covered, and then took it out in the morning to finish rising.

Bake at 375 deg for about 20 minutes until the tops brown. Remove from the baking dishes and let cool upside down on baking racks for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, make icing by creaming the butter and then adding the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla in that order. Turn rolls back over and spread icing on top while they are still warm.

Update: these freeze great! Just pop one into the microwave for about 45 seconds and it's just as soft as when it came out of the oven.

Update (5/17): just tried making a chocolate version by replacing ground cinnamon with unsweetened cocoa powder. For once I didn't prefer the chocolate option but it's wasn't bad...it just didn't have the punch of flavor that the cinnamon did.