And, as always, enjoy! If you want more information about why the blog format has changed, and why we're now offering complete written recipes, please read all about that here.
And, as always, enjoy! If you want more information about why the blog format has changed, and why we're now offering complete written recipes, please read all about that here.
And, as always, enjoy! If you want more information about why the blog format has changed, and why we're now offering complete written recipes, please read all about that here.
And, as always, enjoy! If you want more information about why the blog format has changed, and why we're now offering complete written recipes, please read all about that here.
When I was in high school, we watched a movie (we didn’t call them videos back then) about the effects of drinking on driving skills, and I don’t think I’m spoiling the ending by telling you that the more you drink the worse you drive. Obviously, that’s something we all know, but there was one very surprising fact presented in the beginning of the movie...to read the rest of Chef John's article about Chocolate Rum Snowballsplease follow this link to become a member.) Follow this link to get a complete, printable written recipe for Chocolate Rum Snowballs!
And, as always, enjoy! If you want more information about why the blog format has changed, and why we're now offering complete written recipes, please read all about that here.
And, as always, enjoy! If you want more information about why the blog format has changed, and why we're now offering complete written recipes, please read all about that here.
And, as always, enjoy! If you want more information about why the blog format has changed, and why we're now offering complete written recipes, please read all about that here.
Every year, in the weeks leading up to the holidays, my mother and aunts would bake batches, and batches of what I thought were the “best” Christmas cookies ever. They were soft, buttery, sugar cookies shaped like trees, Santa’s, stars, and snowmen, finished with a simple icing, and to me they were absolute...to read the rest of Chef John's article about Pfeffernüsse,please follow this link to become a member.) Follow this link to get a complete, printable written recipe for Pfeffernüsse!
And, as always, enjoy! If you want more information about why the blog format has changed, and why we're now offering complete written recipes, please read all about that here.
And, as always, enjoy! If you want more information about why the blog format has changed, and why we're now offering complete written recipes, please read all about that here.
And, as always, enjoy! If you want more information about why the blog format has changed, and why we're now offering complete written recipes, please read all about that here.
And, as always, enjoy! If you want more information about why the blog format has changed, and why we're now offering complete written recipes, please read all about that here.
They say that these Swedish chocolate balls, known as chokladbollar,
are the first thing a Swedish child learns to make, which makes a lot of sense.
They’re easy to do, there’s no baking required, and mixing the “dough” together
is just as fun as making mud-pies. What doesn’t make sense is that these aren’t
the first thing an American child learns to make. Maybe this video will help
change that.
It’s not like these are pure health food, but they sure are a
lot better than eating a candy bar when those hangry feelings flood over you in
the middle of the afternoon. The fat and whole grain in these keep you
satisfied much longer than you’d think, and the little pick-me-up from the
coffee, sugar, and cocoa doesn't hurt either.
I used quick-cooking oats in these, but I’ve also made them
with regular rolled oats, and they seemed to come out just fine. Of course,
some folks might have trouble eating raw oats, but that can be solved if you do
the optional pan-toasting step. Above and beyond making these easier to digest,
I like the very subtle toasty notes it provides. Either way, I really do hope
you teach your kids how to make these chokladbollars very soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 14-16 small Swedish Chocolate Balls:
1 1/2 cup quick-cooking rolled oats, very lightly toasted
1/2 cup white sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
pinch of kosher salt
pinch of cayenne
1/4 cup soft unsalted butter
1/4 cup room temp coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons brewed coffee or espresso
finely shredded unsweetened coconut for rolling balls
There is nothing quite like a batch of old-fashioned peanut
butter fudge, especially when it’s freshly made by your Grandma. Which is why I
really wish my Grandma would have made peanut butter fudge. Oh well, she gets a
pass because of the other delicious things she fed me.
This old-fashioned style of peanut butter fudge is not that
easy to find. Admittedly, I’ve not looked that hard, but the times I have run
across some, it always seems to be the soft, creamy version, which is not the
kind I’m into. If it’s going to feel like peanut butter in my mouth, then
what’s the point? No, I want something that feels dense, and firm in my
fingers, but will almost instantly liquefy in when it hits my tongue.
As I mentioned, you’ll want to cut this when it’s just cool
enough to get a clean slice. If you leave it in the fridge, and then cut it
ice-cold, it will tend to fragment. The good news is that peanut butter fudge
shards are delicious, so it’s not really that tragic of a problem. And yes,
this technique will work with other nut butters, like almond, or cashew, just
in case someone around you is allergic, but regardless of what you use, I
really do hope you give this peanut butter fudge a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 64 small cubes of Peanut Butter Fudge:
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/4 teaspoon fine salt)
Don’t make this fortune cookie recipe because it produces a
deliciously light, crispy sugar cookie. Make it because you get to fill them
with whatever funny, profound, prophetic, and/or ridiculous message you want.
Whether it’s sharing a positive prophecy with a friend, proposing marriage, or
passive-aggressively letting your roommate know they need to do their dishes,
there is nothing quite like a fortune cookie to do the job.
I’m not particularly great at shaping these, but if you can just
somehow get them close, once they’re piled on a plate, or in a bowl, they’ll
look just fine. The more important thing is making sure you cook them enough;
otherwise they won’t be crispy when cooled. The entire cookie should be crispy,
so do a few tests, and make sure they’re right. I usually shoot for about
a 50-75% brown to golden ratio on the surface.
Wearing gloves when shaping might not be a bad idea, but I
guess that depends on how tough your fingertips are. What I’m trying to say is
that if you burn yourself, our lawyers will not return your calls. Anyway, let’s
hope it doesn’t come to that, and you have a relatively painless experience
making these fortune cookies very soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 10-12 Fortune Cookies:
1 large egg white
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/3 cup all purpose flour, plus more if needed
- Bake at 350 F. for about 10 minutes, or until browned.
My mother, Pauline, made really nice thumbprint cookies, but
unfortunately I never wrote down her recipe, and so I was forced to go online to find one, so I could refresh my memory. I knew the ingredients, but unless you have
them in the right proportions, you won’t end up with that perfect
melt-in-your-mouth texture these iconic cookies are known for.
Above and beyond the buttery mouthfeel, we also want a cookie that
has perfectly smooth edges, with none of the dreaded cracks that give away a
subpar recipe. So, I did an image search, and came across a recipe that looked
very similar, and believe it or not, it was credited to a Great Grandma named “Mitzi.”
Since my last name is Mitzewich, that pretty much sealed the deal.
I usually have to adapt recipes I steal online, but with
these, I didn’t need to change a thing. They really were perfect,
as advertised. So, sincere thanks to Stacy from Wicked Good Kitchen,
and her Great Grandma, Mitzi.My Mom
would’ve loved these, although she would’ve asked where the chopped walnuts
were, since she liked to add those to hers.
Speaking of family, if you’re
entertaining some of yours during the holidays, these beautiful cookies would make a lovely addition to your dessert table, which is why I really do hope you give
them a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients to make 20 to 24 Thumbprint Cookies:
1 stick (1/2 cup) soft unsalted butter
1/3 cup powdered sugar (not sifted)
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (5 ounces by weight)
1/2 cup fruit jam to fill centers
- 325 F. for 15 minutes
For the icing:
- Combine powdered sugar with a little milk or water, and
mix until you have a consistency that will hold its shape when piped.
I’ve always found it amusing that macaroons, which are one
of the easiest cookies ever, has the same name, give or take an “o,” as the
famously difficult macaron.
Even though they have the same origin, which the
Italian word maccarone (also where we get macaroni), they couldn’t be more
different in texture, as well as the skill they require.
Since we did (and totally nailed) the hard one, I figured I
should do the easy one, especially since I just got back from vacation, and
something simple seemed like a really good idea. Speaking of easy, using sweetened
condensed milk streamlines the operation, and produces a very nice texture, but if
you can’t find it, there are many macaroon recipes that use white, or powdered sugar,
so don’t let that slow you down.
Regarding the chocolate dip, you can just melt, and use any
kind you like, but for that extra professional touch, I suggest tempering the
chocolate before you dip.There are many
complicated demos online, which involve heating and cooling the chocolates
using very specific temperatures, and they work great, but I generally don’t
have the patience.
Instead, I use a shortcut method that involves chopping up
some dark chocolate into the size of peas, melting 75% of it, and then stirring
in the other 25%, until it melts. That should get you pretty close, and at the
very least you’ll have a firmer, snappier texture than if you just melted all
the chocolate at once, and started dipping. Either way, I hope you give these
easy coconut macaroons a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for about 24 Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons:
I’ve wanted to do a Canelés de Bordeaux video forever, but just
never got around to buying the specially designed molds that they require. After
seeing a picture of them online a few days ago, I decided this would be the
week, and headed out to the one store near me I knew carried the necessary
hardware.
Since it was actually a hardware store that also carries
lots of kitchen equipment, I figured they would have the beeswax, as well. I’ve
been in that store at least a hundred times, and I would anyways see the canelé
molds beckoning me, but never pulled trigger, since I was usually looking for
something else.
So, you can imagine my shock when I walked down that aisle,
as I’d done so many times before, only to find they were no longer stocked.
Thanks a lot, Amazon. Anyway, purely out of spite, I decided to make them
anyway, using a regular muffin pan, and the results were pretty amazing.
As long as you cook them long enough, the muffin tin works
great, assuming you don’t care about getting the classic shape. Since this was
an experiment, I only did six, but I’ve scaled the recipe below to make 12. I’m
not sure how many real canelé molds this recipe will fill, but it’s probably
close to that. Either way, I really hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 12 Canelé de Bordeaux:
2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons plus one teaspoon unsalted butter
1 cup white granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, or 1/8 teaspoon of fine salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup rum
For greasing pan:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons beeswax
- Bake at 450 F. for 10 minutes, then at 375 F. for about 50
minutes more, or until well browned.
-- NOTE: These only stay crispy for about 8 hours. So, fair warning if you plan to make them a day ahead. I've never tried to re-crisp.
This biscotti video is another installment in our
long-running series, “Recipes I Can’t Believe I Haven’t Posted Yet.” But, while
I took my sweet time recording this classic Italian dipping cookie, at least I
picked a good time to finally feature it, since winter is coming, and with it,
plenty of cookie-appropriate occasions.
I decided to go with a very straightforward version, since
that’s my personal favorite, but that doesn’t mean you can’t jazz these up in
any number of ways.Different nuts, like
hazelnut and/or pistachio work beautifully in these, as does any type of dried
fruit. And of course, dipping these in dark chocolate is never a bad idea.
By the way, don’t let that cup of sugar fool you. These are not
particularly sweet cookies, and there’s a good reason for that. Traditionally,
these are served to dip into sweet dessert wines, like Vin Santo, which is why
we don’t want them too sugary to begin with. That’s also the reason why we
really do want these crunchy all the way through.
I was pretty noncommittal with the cooking time once these
are sliced and put back in the oven, since depending on the size and shape,
your baking times will vary greatly. The best plan is to keep peaking at them
once they get close, and wait for that perfect golden brown. So, with my
apologies for bringing up the holidays so early, I’ll finish by saying I really
do hope you give these almond biscotti a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for about 28-30 cookies:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine salt (1/2 teaspoon kosher)
3 tablespoons room temperature unsalted butter
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon white granulated sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup roasted whole almonds
1/2 cup roasted chopped almonds - Bake loaves at 350 F., let cool 15 minutes before slicing, and then finish at 325 F. until golden brown, and crunchy
This is a very unlikely post, considering the fact I’m not a
big fan of snickerdoodles, and generally loathe adding pumpkin spice to non-pie
things, such as coffee and beer. Despite that, I had a feeling the pumpkin
spice would work perfectly with the buttery, cinnamon sugar cookie, and it did.
Unfortunately, a quick Google search showed I hadn’t
invented it, and there were thousands of variations; from thin and chewy,
featuring crisp edges, to much taller, pillowy versions. I decided to go thin,
and adapted this snicker doodle recipe, from Averie Cooks.
One common denominator was the use of baking soda, plus
cream of tartar, instead of baking powder. Since that’s pretty much what baking
powder is, I don’t see what the big difference would be either way, but I
thought I would mention in case you refuse to go out and buy cream of tartar.
Either way, I really hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for about 18-20 Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (6 1/2 ounces by weight) 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (1/4 teaspoon fine salt)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon clove
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 large egg
For the rolling sugar: 1/4 cup white sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon
*plus a few extra pinches of the pumpkin spices, if so
desired
For the icing:
1/4 cup powderedsugar
stir in enough milk, lemon juice, or other liquid to achieve
brushing consistency
If you compare these chocolate energy bars to similar
fruit/nut bars sold at the store, I think they taste better, are nutritionally
superior, and probably cheaper to make at home. The only problem is they look
so good.
These look like fudge brownies, and so it does take a
millisecond for the brain to process that they’re not going to taste like fudge
brownies. Having said that, they really are delicious, and satisfying in a
non-decadent, but still chocolaty way.
Try your hardest to find Medjool dates, but if you can’t,
any dried date should work, as long as it’s soft and sticky enough. If the ones
you’re using seem too hard and dry, simply soak them in water until they soften
up a bit.
Beyond the advantages I’ve described already, you also have
the freedom to use any combination of nuts, seeds, and dried fruits you’d like.
There’s about a million ways you can go, and I expect to hear about any particularly
brilliant combinations. I hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!
