Orange Shortbread Cookies with Earl Grey Cream

Oh me, oh my. For anybody who’s ever been to a high tea service, you know that it’s all about the scones, tea sandwiches, and of course, the shortbread cookies. Oh and the tea. Obviously. Earl Grey is one of my favorite types of teas, and lucky for me, it’s also a popular choice for tea service.

So what better way to get my shortbread and tea fix than to combine both into a single bite-sized disk of deliciosity? (Yay for making up words.) I have to thank Sophistimom for pushing me to find the inspiration for this particular recipe. You see, she and Challenge Dairy are running a contest to win… get this… FREE BUTTER for a year. Those must be the two most beautiful words in existence. Put them next to each other and you get some cosmic pastry synergy going on. “Free” has to come first though, or else that creates a much sadder state of things. But I digress. On to the cookies!

Challah Bread

Challah (or sometimes, hallah), is a traditional Jewish egg bread. And it is delicious.  It makes a very tender sandwich bread that marries well with cold cuts, but I fell in love with it in the form of French toast.  I’m drooling just thinking about it.

For this recipe, I turned to my handy copy of the Joy of Cooking. Challah takes a bit of patience to make since you have to give it two full risings, but the effort is worth it! If the loaf isn’t gone within the first day or two, use any leftovers in your favorite French toast recipe. Trust me on this one. Would I ever lead you astray? Don’t believe me? Pinch My Salt agrees with me. If you listen to no one else, listen to her.

Classic Apple Pie

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I wanted to post another pie recipe for you. In my household, I was always at odds with my older brother during the holidays. I’ve been putting together Thanksgiving dinner for my family since I was 16, but I am a lover of pumpkin pie and my brother is not so much so. Oh, and my mom is partial to lemon meringue. That said, many a year we would end up with multiple pies for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Not that I’m complaining. There’s no such thing as too much pie!

Honey Pumpkin Pie

Alright, I’m finally sitting down to write this post.

To give away one of my best-kept baking secrets. (I’m reconsidering it as I’m writing this sentence.)

So I’ve been putting off this post for a while now, because I selfishly wanted to keep the glory and fame to myself. This is how much I love this pie. I live and die by this pumpkin pie recipe, guys. Yes, it’s *that* good! But now I’ll finally play nice and share the recipe with you. Such deliciousness should be shared and spread to as many people as possible. It is the season for giving thanks and being selfless, so let me try to embrace that.

May this recipe bring you the joy it’s brought to me! No more cloyingly sweet pumpkin pies that reek of corn syrup. No more one-note pumpkin pies that leave you wanting something more. This pie puts a smile in my belly every fall. Enjoy!

Icebox Pinwheel Cookies

Well I’m alive after a vacation in NYC and the lovely parting gift I got there, affectionately named The Stomach Flu. As I start the ball rolling again, today I present to you icebox pinwheel cookies. According to my copy of Joy of Cooking, icebox cookies got their name because the cookie dough needed to be refrigerated before rolling and cutting, or slicing, or what have you not. The refrigeration is in fact optional, and if you’re impatient like I am most of the time, you can just skip that step and use the recipe below for drop cookies.

I *Need* a Pizza Stone

Tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, parmesan, asiago, romano.

Okay, so a couple of things. First, JM has effectively ruined pizza for me. I’m going to have to carry a bottle of white truffle oil around in my purse all the time now… you know, “just in case.” Secondly, if you’re going to make pizza, please get a pizza stone. Please, please, with a chunk of mozzarella on top.

Espresso Chocolate Cheesecake, Revisited

So a while back I did a post about this Espresso Chocolate Cheesecake. At that particular time, I wasn’t baking it for any particular reason other than to fatten up friends and coworkers. I whipped the recipe out again this time for a special occasion though. It was LC’s birthday this weekend, and I was out of ideas for what kind of cake to make her. Luckily KC gave me an easy way out: cheesecake.

Now can I just start by saying that my cheesecakes never come out pretty? They always taste great, but they never resemble anything close to what you find in a restaurant or store. Go figure. I’ll have to work on it. But hey, the awesomet hing about a cheesecake is that even if it’s ugly, you can mask it with a nice coating of chocolate.

Padron Peppers

Padron peppers… are stupidly delicious. There’s no other way to put it. Stupidly delicious, completely addicting, and like playing Russian roulette. The background on these peppers is that they are extremely seasonal. They usually peak in the summer, so I first had them this past August in Seattle at a Basque pintxos (tapas) bar. Typically very mellow and nutty in flavor when cooked, they say that every one in ten of these peppers is super spicy — I unfortunately got one of those ten in Seattle. Padrons are picked when they are immature and before the spiciness becomes concentrated in the seeds. Every now and again the pepper ends up being a bit more along than its siblings. Darn you! My mouth recovered only just enough for me to polish off the rest of the plate.

Cooking them is not only easy, but also quick. Pour enough oil to cover the bottom of a sauce pan, and let it heat over a medium flame. Toss in the peppers (I added garlic for the heck of it) and let them cook about 1-2 minutes before tossing and turning them. They’ll start to blister and char. Salt them with some sea salt or other coarse salt, put ‘em on a plate, and eat! No more than 4-5 minutes in the pan. Told you it was easy!

Helpful tip: When cleaning the peppers, wipe them down with a damp towel. Don’t bother washing them in tons of water unless you plan on drying each one thoroughly. You don’t want any stray water to cause the hot oil to spit at you.

The aftermath.

Yellow Cupcakes with Chocolate Mousse Frosting

Ah, yes, the classic yellow cupcake with chocolate frosting. It’s the Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines cupcake that us Americans grew up with. For a recent potluck, I volunteered to bring a batch of cupcakes. However, I didn’t want them to be out-of-the-box type of cupcakes. I wanted to be inspired by the classic combination, but not recreate them with their cloying sweetness. So instead I turned to my copy of Joy of Cooking (which I am finding to be indispensable these days).

Chocolate Espresso Biscotti

Hey everyone, I’m back! Sorry for yet another hiatus – I’ve actually spent the past week getting over the stomach flu. Man, was that miserable. Anyway, I have a backlog of things I want to post for you guys, so there’s plenty more after this one!

Now then. Chocolate biscotti! My parents visited me up in San Francisco for the first time in about four years over this past Labor Day weekend. While they were here, my mom requested a batch of her very favorite chocolate biscotti. I’ve had his recipe for eight years now and used to make it regularly until I moved to the Bay Area. Every time I go home to visit my parents, my mom always wants a batch, but I never have my baking supplies with me! So luckily this time, they were in my ‘hood and I could cater to the request.

Chocolate and coffee in a cookie. There’s nothing wrong with that combination in any way. These are great and super easy to make!

Chocolate Espresso Biscotti | Adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons of instant coffee or espresso granules
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. and butter and flour a large baking sheet.

In a bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, espresso, and salt. In another bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined well. Stir in flour mixture to form a stiff dough.

On prepared baking sheet with floured hands form dough into two slightly flattened logs, each 12 inches long and 2 inches wide, and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar. Bake logs 35 minutes, or until slightly firm to the touch. Cool biscotti on baking sheet 5 minutes.

On a cutting board cut biscotti diagonally into 3/4-inch slices. Arrange biscotti, cut sides down, on baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 10 minutes. Cool biscotti on a rack. Biscotti keep in airtight containers 1 week and frozen, 1 month.