Keksi od čokolade i naranče / Chocolate Orange Shortbread Cookies

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Odbrojavamo još nešto sitno do Božića. Ne sjećam se kada sam se poslijednji put toliko veselila tom blagdanu kao ove godine. Nešto je posebno u zdraku valjda. Prosinac je bio tako tako beskrajno dugačak i usporen, a u isto je vrijeme proletio u tren oka. Tako se barem meni činilo. Ali to sam samo ja, nestrpljiva i pomalo djetinjasta, zaigrana i sretna što ćemo proslaviti prvi Božić u našem zajedničkom stanu. Osim toga, vrijeme je ionako relativno.

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Sajam hobija & objava sretnih dobitnika

Slatki detalj sa mog štanda

 Nakon dugo vremena slijedi jedan post bez pripadajućeg recepta ali zato prepun zanimljivosti, originalnih ideja, fotografija, dojmova i lijepih vijesti. Kad kažem prepun fotografija, to doslovno i mislim. Budući da sam u zadnje vrijeme neuobičajeno rječita, mislim da ste zaslužili da se malo odmorite od čitanja i opustite uz fotografije sa sajma hobija na kojem sam sudjelovala prošli vikend. Što se lijepih vjesti tiče, sigurna sam da svi znate na što mislim i vjerujem da ste već pomalo nestrpljivi. Vrijeme je da objavim imena dvoje čitatelja koji su imali najviše sreće i u sklopu božićnog darivanja osvojili poklone.

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Božićno darivanje & Puslice s cimetom, lješnjacima i čokoladom / Chocolate Cinnamon And Hazelnut Meringue Cookies

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Nastavljamo u veselom blagdanskom raspoloženju. Kako bismo ostali potpuno vjerni božićnom duhu, danas sam vam, osim novog recepta iz serijala božićnih kolačića, priredila i božićno darivanje. Traže se dva najsretnija čitatelja koja ću razveseliti zgodnim i, nadam se, korisnim poklonom. No, o darivanju malo kasnije. Krenimo mi redom.

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Keksi s brusnicama i ružmarinom / Cranberry And Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

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Ovo je bio potpuno lud tjedan. Zapravo, posljednja tri tjedna su takva. Užurbana, kaotična, naporna. Samo čekam kad ću se srušiti, a ako malo ne prikočim, to bi moglo biti uskoro. Ipak, ta je iscrpljenost samo fizička, a one stvari i događaji koji su do nje doveli ipak imaju izuzetno pozitivan utjecaj na moje raspoloženje. Na kraju tjedna, koliko god bila ispijena i jedva držala oči otvorene tipkajući ovaj post, neizmjerno sam sretna i zadovoljna. Tjedan doduše još nije gotov i sutra još moram položiti kolokvij iz psihologije, ali nešto mi govori da će sve biti u redu. Osjećam se kao da ništa ne može poći krivom.

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Paprenjaci / Paprenjak

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Predblagdansko vrijeme mnogima predstavlja izvor stresa i frustracija. To i ne čudi ako znamo da moderan način života diktira neumoljiv tempo i nameće nam sve više obaveza koje treba odraditi sve manjem vremenskom roku. A prosinac je uvijek tako prokleto kratak... I uvijek postoji još ona jedna stvar koju nismo uspjeli nabaviti, obaviti ili riješiti. Ta jedna sitnica ponekad je dovoljna da nam pokvari raspoloženje. Svi smo se ponekad tako osjećali, uključujući mene. Ali čemu sve to? Zapitate li se ponekad?

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Daring Baker's Challenge, February 2010: Tiramisu

The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.

The perfect Tiramisu is a balance of flavors of a sweet zabaglione, strong coffee, marsala wine, creamy mascarpone cheese and the dusting of unsweetened cocoa. Tiramisu is said to have its origins in Treviso (Italy), and there are quite a few stories about how it came to be created. One story traces the tiramisu as far back as the Renaissance claiming that it was first made in honour of the visit of Grand Duke Cosimo di Medici to Tuscany. Yet another one points to the tiramisu being an adaptation of the "Zuppa Inglese" referring to the sponge cake and cream layered English Trifle. However, experts in this area generally agree that the tiramisu as we know it today, was born in the ‘70s. Some believe that the Tiramisu was created in the the Le Beccherie (a restaurant in Treviso). Others suggest that Tiramisu was first made in 1971 by an Italian baker named Carminantonio Iannaccone in a small bakery in Treviso, Italy.



This month for the first time I finished the challenge early in the month. It was a refreshing change from the usual last minute struggle to finish, take photos and type up everything on time. And it's the shortest month of the year, too! I was quite pleased and had a huge sense of accomplishment because of that. My sense of pride may seem strange to some of you, but those who know me well know that I normally do everything last minute and, believe it or not, have best results when I'm under pressure. So, this is huge.

Tiramisu is one of my favorite desserts, and D. is not indifferent to it either, so we were very pleased with this challenge. Moreover, I've been meaning to make mascarpone cheese for ages now, but I somehow keep forgetting about it all the time. Homemade ladyfingers were a novelty to me, so that was another thing I was looking forward to try. Although the length of the recipe itself, including the mascarpone, ladyfingers and all of the fillings, looked scary and very complicated, it turned out to be a piece of cake. Everything went surprisingly smooth so I don't really have any particular notes, comments or complaints. I did however have a hard time finding Marsala or Port so I substituted it with a mixture of coffee and dark rum. I personally really love this combination and it was just perfect in this dessert. I also made some slight changes in the vanilla pastry cream and I omitted sugar and vanilla from the whipped cream.


I decided to stick to the original recipe this time because I personally really love the combination and balance of flavors that original tiramisu is famous for. Also, since I knew we would give it away to our dear friends, I decided it's best t not to complicate things with adding new flavors. Less is more. Or that's what they say. It turned out that this tiramisu was a huge success. Everyone loved it and some even asked if they could have the recipe. That says it all I suppose. :)

So, here's the recipe with my modifications.



RECIPE SOURCE:

Mascarpone Cheese – Vera’s Recipe (Baking Obsession) for Homemade Mascarpone Cheese Savoiardi/ Ladyfinger Biscuits – Recipe from Cordon Bleu At Home Tiramisu – Carminantonio's Tiramisu from The Washington Post, July 11 2007

Mascarpone cheese
makes 12oz/ 340gm of mascarpone cheese

500ml pasteurized whipping cream (between 25% to 36%)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a wide skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-low so the water is barely simmering. Pour the cream into a medium heat-resistant bowl, then place the bowl into the skillet. Heat the cream, stirring often, to 190 F. If you do not have a thermometer, wait until small bubbles keep trying to push up to the surface. It will take about 15 minutes of delicate heating. Add the lemon juice and continue heating the mixture, stirring gently, until the cream curdles. Do not expect the same action as you see during ricotta cheese making. All that the whipping cream will do is become thicker, like a well-done crème anglaise. It will cover a back of your wooden spoon thickly. You will see just a few clear whey streaks when you stir.

Remove the bowl from the water and let cool for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, line a sieve with four layers of dampened cheesecloth and set it over a bowl. Transfer the mixture into the lined sieve. Do not squeeze the cheese in the cheesecloth or press on its surface (be patient, it will firm up after refrigeration time). Once cooled completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (in the sieve) overnight or up to 24 hours.

Vera’s notes: The first time I made mascarpone I had all doubts if it’d been cooked enough, because of its custard-like texture. Have no fear, it will firm up beautifully in the fridge, and will yet remain lusciously creamy.

Keep refrigerated and use within 3 to 4 days.

Ladyfingers/Savoiardi Biscuits
makes approximately 24 big ladyfingers or 45 small ones

3 eggs, separated
75gms granulated sugar
95gms cake flour, sifted (or 3/4 cup all purpose flour + 2 tbsp corn starch)
50gms confectioner's sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 F (175 C) degrees, then lightly brush 2 baking sheets with oil or softened butter and line with parchment paper. Beat the egg whites using a hand held electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gradually add granulate sugar and continue beating until the egg whites become stiff again, glossy and smooth. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks lightly with a fork and fold them into the meringue, using a wooden spoon. Sift the flour over this mixture and fold gently until just mixed. It is important to fold very gently and not overdo the folding. Otherwise the batter would deflate and lose volume resulting in ladyfingers which are flat and not spongy. Fit a pastry bag with a plain tip (or just snip the end off; you could also use a Ziploc bag) and fill with the batter. Pipe the batter into 5" long and 3/4" wide strips leaving about 1" space in between the strips. Sprinkle half the confectioner's sugar over the ladyfingers and wait for 5 minutes. The sugar will pearl or look wet and glisten. Now sprinkle the remaining sugar. This helps to give the ladyfingers their characteristic crispness. Hold the parchment paper in place with your thumb and lift one side of the baking sheet and gently tap it on the work surface to remove excess sprinkled sugar. Bake the ladyfingers for 10 minutes, then rotate the sheets and bake for another 5 minutes or so until the puff up, turn lightly golden brown and are still soft. Allow them to cool slightly on the sheets for about 5 minutes and then remove the ladyfingers from the baking sheet with a metal spatula while still hot, and cool on a rack.

Store them in an airtight container till required. They should keep for 2 to 3 weeks.

For the zabaglione
2 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
50ml strong coffee
10ml dark rum
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Heat water in a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler, place a pot with about an inch of water in it on the stove. Place a heat-proof bowl in the pot making sure the bottom does not touch the water. In a large mixing bowl (or stainless steel mixing bowl), mix together the egg yolks, sugar, coffee, rum, vanilla extract and lemon zest. Whisk together until the yolks are fully blended and the mixture looks smooth. Transfer the mixture to the top of a double boiler or place your bowl over the pan/ pot with simmering water. Cook the egg mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 8 minutes or until it resembles thick custard. It may bubble a bit as it reaches that consistency. Let cool to room temperature and transfer the zabaglione to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

For the vanilla pastry cream
55gms sugar
1 tablespoon/8gms all purpose flour
zest of one lemon, finely grated
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
1 large egg yolk
175ml whole milk

Mix together the sugar, flour, lemon zest and vanilla seeds in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. To this add the egg yolk and half the milk. Whisk until smooth. Now place the saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring constantly to prevent the mixture from curdling. Add the remaining milk a little at a time, still stirring constantly. After about 12 minutes the mixture will be thick, free of lumps and beginning to bubble. (If you have a few lumps, don’t worry. You can push the cream through a fine-mesh strainer.) Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

For the whipped cream
250ml chilled heavy cream
1 bag of vanilla flavored sugar (10g)

Put the cream and vanilla sugar in a bowl. Beat with an electric hand mixer or immersion blender until the mixture holds stiff peaks. Set aside.

To assemble the tiramisu:
400mll brewed espresso, warmed
3 tablespoons dark rum
100 gms mascarpone cheese
36 savoiardi/ ladyfinger biscuits (you may use less)
2 tablespoons/30gms unsweetened cocoa powder

Have ready a rectangular serving dish (about 8" by 8" should do) or one of your choice. Mix together the warm espresso and rum in a shallow dish, whisking to mix well. Set aside to cool. In a large bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese with a spoon to break down the lumps and make it smooth. This will make it easier to fold. Add the prepared and chilled zabaglione and pastry cream, blending until just combined. Gently fold in the whipped cream. Set this cream mixture aside.

Now to start assembling the tiramisu. Workings quickly, dip 12 of the ladyfingers in the sweetened espresso, about 1 second per side. They should be moist but not soggy. Immediately transfer each ladyfinger to the platter, placing them side by side in a single row. You may break a lady finger into two, if necessary, to ensure the base of your dish is completely covered. Spoon one-third of the cream mixture on top of the ladyfingers, then use a rubber spatula or spreading knife to cover the top evenly, all the way to the edges. Repeat to create 2 more layers, using 12 ladyfingers and the cream mixture for each layer. Clean any spilled cream mixture; cover carefully with plastic wrap and refrigerate the tiramisu overnight.

To serve, carefully remove the plastic wrap and sprinkle the tiramisu with cocoa powder using a fine-mesh strainer or decorate as you please. Cut into individual portions and serve.

* Please note that you must begin making the mascarpone at least a day in advance. The zabaglione & pastry cream also need 4 hours to an overnight for chilling, as does the main dessert. The flavours mature after an overnight rest, and the dessert can be kept refrigerated for 2-3 days. Once assembled, the tiramisu can be frozen till you need to serve it, in case you are not serving it immediately.

Čokoladna medena srca / Chocolate Covered Gingerbread Harts

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U prvom ovogodišnjem postu neću se osvrtati na lanjski snijeg, neću puno filozofirati ni analizirati, neću vas gnjaviti, prepričavati doživljaje ni pričati priče. Neću biti pretjerano emotivna niti vas gnjaviti svojim očekivanjima, željama i planovima u Novoj godini. Neću se baviti ničim od navedenog. Samo ću se kratko zahvaliti svojim vjernim čitateljima te kolegicama i kolegama bloggerima na podršci i lijepim komentarima, konstruktivnim kritikama i isprobanim receptima, uz nadu da će se naše ugodno druženje i virtualno kuhanje nastaviti i u budućnosti. Želim Vam sretnu i uspješnu Novu godinu!


Medena srca
sastojci za oko 60 komada

150g maslaca (sobne temperature)
150g tamno smeđeg šećera (Muscovado ili Demerera)
3 jaja
200g meda
2 žličice mljevenog cimeta
žličica mljevenih klinčića
1/4 žličice đumbira
prstohvat mljevenog zvjezdastog anisa
300g pšeničnog polubijelog brašna (T-850)
300g pšeničnog glatkog brašna
2 žličice sode bikarbone

Za punjenje
džem od višanja (ili marelica, šljiva, bresaka...)

Pjenasto umutite maslac, šećer i med. Dodajte jedno po jedno jaje i začine te sve zajedno dobro izradite. Na kraju dodajte brašno pomiješano sa sodom bikarbonom i zamijesite tijesto. Tijesto će biti jako mekano i raspadat će se pod prstima, ali pokušajte se oduprijeti porivu da dodajte još brašna. Kad se tijesto dobro ohladi bit će kompaktno i lijepo ćete moći s njime raditi, a na kraju će medenjaci biti mekani i nevjerojatno prhki. Tijesto podijelite na dva dijela i svaki posebno zamotajte u prozirnu foliju te ga stavite u hladnjak na najmanje 2-3 sata ili preko noći.


Pećnicu zagrijte na 180°. Lim obložite papirom za pečenje.

Kad je tijesto odstajalo, razvaljajte ga na dobro pobrašnjenoj podlozi na debljinu 2-3 mm te pomoću kalupa za kekse izrežite iz njega veća srca. Ostatke tijesta skupite, ponovo zamijesite te razvaljajte i tako sve dok ne potrošimo svo tijesto. Ništa ne bacamo ;) Slijedi punjenje medenjaka: na sredinu jednog srca stavite malo džema po izboru (ja sam koristila domaći džem od višanja), a rubove navlažite sa malo hladne vode. Poklopite drugim srcem i dobro stisnite rubove prstima kako bi se slijepili i zatvorili. Potom manjim kalupom, također u obliku srca, izrežite cijeli keksić. Na taj način se rubovi dobro zatvore i nadjev neće iscuriti iz keksića.

Tako dobivena medena srca slažite na lim i pecite 10ak minuta (pazite da ih ne prepečete!). Ne treba ostavljati puno mjesta između keksića jer tokom pečenja neće puno narasti. Pečene medenjeke ohladite i držite ih u dobro zatvorenoj limenoj kutiji do umakanja u čokoladu. Inače, ovi su medenjaci nevjerojatno mekani i spremni su za jelo čim se ohlade, a što duže stoje to su još bolji.


Čokoladna glazura
300g tamne čokolade
8-9 žlica ulja

Čokoladu i ulje rastopite na pari, ulijte u manju zdjelicu i ostavite oko 5 minuta da se malo ohladi. Medena srca umačite u čokoladu i slažite ih na rešetku da se ocijede, a potom ih stavite u hladnjak dok se glazura ne stisne. Potom ih ponovo vratite u limenu kutiju, dobro zatvorite i držite u hladnjaku.

• Verzija za ispis
  

Chocolate Covered Gingerbread Hearts
makes about 60 hearts

Gingerbread Hearts
150g butter, room temperature
150 g dark brown sugar (Muscovado or Demerera)
3 eggs
200g honey
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
pinch of powdered star anise
300g wheat flour type 850
300g all purpose flour
2 tsp. bicarbonate of soda

For the filling
sour cherry jam or marmalade (or some other flavor of your choice)

Beat the butter, sugar and honey until creamy. Add the eggs and spices, beating until well blended. In a separate bowl mix together both flours with bicarbonate of soda and add to the butter mixture. Mix with a wooden spoon until the dough begins to form and then continue mixing it with your hands just until the dough starts coming together. The dough is going to be quite soft but try to resist from adding more flour. After it is properly chilled, it will be firm and easy to work with. Divide the dough into two equal parts and wrap each in plastic wrap. Chill for 2-3 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line two large baking trays with parchment paper.

Roll the dough out on a well floured surface to 2-3mm thickness. Using a cookie cutter, cut medium sized hearts out of the dough. Scrape the remaining dough together and roll it again. Take one heart and put some jam in the middle. Brush the sides with some cold water and cover with another heart. Pinch the edges together with your fingers. Take a smaller heart-shaped cookie cutter and cut the cookie again. By doing that, you glue the edges together, preventing the filling from running out. Repeat with the rest of the hearts.

Place the cookies onto the baking tray and bake for 10 minutes. Make sure you don't overbake them - they should still be soft to the touch when you take them out of the oven. Cool the cookies completely before covering them in chocolate. Also, make sure you keep them in an airtight container until glazing them.

Chocolate Glaze
300g dark chocolate
8-9 tbsp. of neutral oil

Break the chocolate into chunks and put it into a bowl. Add the oil and melt on a double boiler. Transfer the glaze to a smaller bowl and allow it to cool for 5 minutes before using it. Dip each heart into the chocolate glaze and place on a wire rack so the excess chocolate can drip off. Chill until the glaze is firm. Transfer the gingerbread hearts to an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator.

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Daring Bakers Challenge, December 2009: Gingerbread House

The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.


I'm a big kid. I am. And I'm not afraid to admit it. :) I am instantly drawn to anything colorful, shiny, loud or just plain useless. Maybe it's because I work with children and am constantly surrounded by them, or maybe I'm just a bit slow at growing up. I don't know. But I do know I'm happy that way and I don't really consider growing up as being an option for me. So building a gingerbread house was the right kind of challenge for me. :) I was thrilled and couldn't wait to start building it. So, here it is... My very first gingerbread house! :)


I used Martha Stewart's Swedish gingerbread cottage template as the blueprint for my house. I made some minor adjustments and I'm really happy with how it turned out. The main idea was to keep everything simple and make it look as realistic as possible. I used the Scandinavian Gingerbread recipe and didn't have any major difficulties. I anticipated that the dough might be too dry, so I prepared more water than the recipe asked for and ended up using the whole cup. After the dough was chilled everything else went surprisingly smooth.



Since I wanted my cottage to be realistic, I decided to make the glass for the windows. I crushed some hard candy and made a few piles on the baking sheet. I popped it in the oven and after 10 minutes I got beautiful stained glass for my house. When it cooled down, I glued it on the windows from the inside before gluing the walls together. As a final touch, I put some gingerbread bushes and a tree in front of the house and a few cinnamon sticks to represent firewood. In the end I spread some leftover royal icing all around the house and sprinkled everything with some powdered sugar to create the illusion of snow.


Oh, I almost forgot... Happy holidays and best wishes to all of you! :)

Scandinavian Gingerbread (Pepparkakstuga)
from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas

1 cup butter, room temperature [226g]
1 cup brown sugar, well packed [220g]
2 tablespoons cinnamon
4 teaspoons ground ginger
3 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ cup boiling water [120ml]
5 cups all-purpose flour [875g]

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until blended. Add the cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Mix the baking soda with the boiling water and add to the dough along with the flour. Mix to make a stiff dough. If necessary add more water, a tablespoon at a time. Chill 2 hours or overnight.

2. Cut patterns for the house, making patterns for the roof, front walls, gabled walls, chimney and door out of cardboard.

3. Roll the dough out on a large, ungreased baking sheet and place the patterns on the dough. Mark off the various pieces with a knife, but leave the pieces in place.

4. Cut required shapes and transfer these to the baking sheet. Save any scraps I rerolled at the end.

5. Preheat the oven to 375'F (190'C). Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the cookie dough feels firm. After baking, again place the pattern on top of the gingerbread and trim the shapes, cutting the edges with a straight-edged knife. Leave to cool on the baking sheet. Cool the pieces completely before attempting to assemble the house.

Royal Icing

1 large egg white
3 cups (330g) powdered sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon almond extract

Beat all ingredients until smooth, adding the powdered sugar gradually to get the desired consistency. Pipe on pieces and allow to dry before assembling. If you aren't using it all at once you can keep it in a small bowl, loosely covered with a damp towel for a few hours until ready to use. You may have to beat it slightly to get it an even consistency if the top sets up a bit. Piped on the house, this will set up hard over time.

Daring Bakers Challenge, October 2009: Macaroons

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

No matter how hard I try, I simply cannot see (or taste, for that matter) what all the fuss involving these little French cookies is about. I know I'm in danger of making the macaroon lovers around the globe (and quite a crowd it is, apparently) really angry, but I just had to say it. I mean, they do taste good enough, don't get me wrong. But there are sooo many better and tastier desserts in this world I'd indulge rather than macaroons. It is a matter of taste, of course, and my tastes are apparently a bit different than the majority of people. I never did fancy any kind of meringue really, now that I think about it. It's just way too sweet for me. And although I knew that macaroons wouldn't be any different, I still felt I had to give them a chance and see for myself why the world has gone crazy about them.


This was the third time I made macaroons, each time hoping that I will somehow learn to like them more. Unfortunately, I just get disappointed every time. Their sweetness is just overwhelming, no matter how light, fruity or sour the filling is. I also must say that I was not very impressed with Claudia Flemming's recipe. I tried Pierre Herme's recipe twice and it worked really well. Those macaroons grew perfect little feet and had a really nice texture. And here's the evidence: Chocolate Ganache Macaroons and Lemon Cream Cheese Macaroons. Flemming's macaroons were, however, really fragile and had to be handled with an unusual amount of care or otherwise they would literally pulverize in your hand. It was just nerve wrecking! And the baking time was just too complicated for me: put them in, take them out, raise the temperature, wait a few minutes, put them in, wait some more... Oh boy, that lasted even longer than making them in the first place. And, for some strange reason, almost all of the macaroons from the last batch mysteriously cracked and generally looked terrible. The first two batches came out just fine. Go figure. One would think all my macaroon miseries came to an end there. However, the worst was yet to come. After I filled my little pink macaroons thinking that all is finally well, they just started melting after a while, believe it or not. So, as we speak they are slowly turning into a sticky, gooey pink...well, I don't know what to call it but it ain't a pretty sight. So right now I just about hate macaroons. However, I must admit that out of three different kinds that I've made so far, these macaroons look the worst but taste the best. Every cloud has a silver lining, I guess. :) Still, I don't think I'll be making macaroons again any time soon.


Oh yeah, in case you were wondering, I made hazelnut macaroons with an orange mousse filling. The base for the mousse was this orange curd recipe. I did everything by the book, from aging my egg whites to grinding the nuts (half almonds and half hazelnuts) with the icing sugar and letting the mixture dry up for 24h before using it. I used powdered food coloring and weighed all the ingredients precisely so I can't figure out what went wrong and why the macaroons are melting. Anyone?!


Claudia Flemming's Macaroons

Ingredients
225g confectioners’ (icing) sugar
190g almond flour
25g granulated sugar
5 egg whites (at room temperature)

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.
2. Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.
3. Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.
4. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.
5. Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).
6. Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.
7. Cool on a rack before filling.

Keksići s lavandom i limunom / Lavender Lemon Cookies

Please scroll down for the English version.


Treba se veseliti malim stvarima u životu. Tako se barem priča, a ja se uglavnom držim te filozofije. Barem se trudim. Te male stvari u mom životu možda se nekome čine beznačajnima. Možda to realno i jesu. Ne znam. Možda ih samo većina ljudi uzima zdravo za gotovo, kao ja toplu vodu, na primjer. To je bila toliko stabilna konstanta u mom životu da ni u jednom trenu nisam pomislila da bi mi ju netko mogao uskratiti. Ali eto, jest. Iznebuhla, bez upozorenja, vrlo naglo ostadosmo bez spomenute tople vode na nekoliko dana. Olakotna okolnost jest da su ljetne vrućine uzele maha pa je ipak lakše tuširati se hladnom vodom sada nego usred ciče zime. No, ipak, nema ništa lijepog u pranju kose (ili suđa) ledenom vodom. I ne, to se nikako ne može nazvati osvježenjem, već eventualno dobrim načinom za dobiti upalu mjehura i/ili jajnika. Kad je topla voda napokon počela teći našim cijevima, mojoj sreći, kao što možete zamisliti, nije bilo kraja ni konca. No, moje veselje nije potrajalo. Dok vam ovo pišem, opet su nam bez upozorenja odlučili isključiti toplu vodu pa sada (opet!) živim u isčekivanju i trenutno je jedina mala stvar kojoj se veselim upravo topla voda. Ali veselim se. I to je nešto, zar ne?


Kao što ovih dana iščekujem toplu vodu, tako sam nedavno isto tako uzbuđeno čekala da lavanda zasađena na mom balkonu procvate. Još jedna od onih naizgled beznačajnih malih stvari koja, po mnogima, nije vrijedna baš tolikog iščekivanja i uzbuđenja. U svoju obranu mogu samo reći da sam imala jedan, ali jako dobar i sasvim legitiman razlog za toliku strku oko obične lavande, a to su bili upravo keksići iz naslova ovog posta. Naime, samo i isključivo zbog njih ja sam zasadila lavandu i strpljivo čekala prve ljubičaste cvjetiće. Za sve je kriv ovaj divan recept sa bloga Milk and Cookies. Kad sam prvi puta vidjela dotične keksiće znala sam da ih moram isprobati. Ne znam što me se više dojmilo, sami keksići, fotografije ili činjenica da je jedan od glavnih sastojaka lavanda, koju do sada nisam nikad imala prilike probati. Unatoč tome, bila sam uvjerena da je okus lavande jednako poseban i delikatan kao i njen miris te da u kombinaciji sa osvježavajućom aromom limuna nikako ne može podbaciti. I tako sam ja zasadila lavandu, a gledajući kako raste, svakim danom postajala sam sve odlučnija u svojoj nakani da čim prije isprobam spomenuti recept. Iako recept traži upotrebu sušene lavande, ja sam bila odlučna u tome da upotrijebim svježe cvjetiće koji daju blažu i laganiju aromu od onih sušenih. Ziher je ziher. :)

Bez obzira na to što sam koristila svježe cvjetove, aroma lavande sasvim se dovoljno osjećala. Baš kao što sam i očekivala, njen okus jednako je specifičan i sladak kao i njen miris, a svježina limuna bila joj je savršena protuteža. Keksići su nevjerojatno prhki i mirisni i naprosto se tope u ustima. Sve u svemu, na kraju priče, bila sam jako zadovoljna. Kad se jednom naviknete na okus lavande, teško ćete se zaustaviti. Uz to, za izradu ovih keksića treba vam samo nekoliko svakodnevnih sastojaka (ne računajući lavandu) i ultra su jednostavni i brzi.


Keksići s lavandom i limunom
(originalni recept)

65 g šećera u prahu
žlica cvjetova lavande (svježih ili suhih)
140 g omekšalog maslaca
korica jednog limuna
250 g brašna
3 velika žutanjka

80 g kristal šećera (za umakanje keksića)


Maslacu dodajte šećer u prahu, lavandu i koricu limuna te sve zajedno pjenasto izradite mikserom. Dodajte brašno i kuhačom ga dobro umiješajte u smjesu. Na kraju dodajte žutanjke i mijesite tek toliko da se formira tijesto. Tijesto zamotajte u prozirnu foliju i stavite u hladnjak na 30 minuta, a potom ga razvaljajte na debljinu od 5-8 mm. Prema originalnom receptu debljina tijesta trebala bi biti 1,5 cm, no ja sam to malo modificirala ne bih li na kraju dobila malo više tanjih keksića (na kraju mi je ispalo cca. 30 komada). Iz tijesta željenim kalupićem vadite keksiće. Dobivene keksiće uvaljajte u kristal šećer i slažite ih na lim obložen papirom za pečenje. Pecite ih u prethodno zagrijanoj pećnici na 18o°C 10-12 minuta, a potom ih ohladite i čuvajte u dobro zatvorenoj limenoj kutiji.

Lavender Lemon Cookies

Makes about 30 cookies.

(original recipe)

65g icing sugar

1 tbsp. dried or fresh lavender

140g butter (room temperature)

zest of one lemon

250g all purpose flour

3 large egg yolks

80g caster sugar (for coating)

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line two large baking pans with parchment paper.

Mix together the sugar, lavender and lemon zest. Put the butter in a separate bowl, add the sugar-lavender mixture and beat until it gets light in color and creamy. Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. Beat in the eggs, one at the time. Mix just until the eggs are fully incorporated and a mass forms. Form the dough into a disk and chill in the refrigerator until firm (about 30 minutes).

Roll the dough out to 0,8cm thickness, cut it with a cookie cutter and toss each cookie in a bowl of granulated sugar to coat. Place the sugar-coated cookies on the prepared baking pans and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until slightly golden around the edges. Cool them down on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.

Čokoladni keksi s rogačem / Chocolate Carob Sandwich Cookies

Please scroll down for the English version of the recipe.


Ajme, koliko nas je! ide dalje. Ovog je mjeseca tema rogač, a naša domaćica je Maja sa bloga La Dalmatia Gourmande.

Rogač jako volim i njegovom mirisu i okusu stvarno teško odoljevam. Intenzivnog je i specifičnog okusa, a njegov miris, baš kao i miris cimeta, povezujem sa toplinom doma. Bila sam stvarno oduševljena kad sam vidjela da je baš rogač naša ovomjesečna tema jer sam gotovo i zaboravila na njega, a tako ga volim.

Nakon dugog razmišljanja rogač sam odlučila upotrijebiti u keksićima. Do sad sam ga uglavnom koristila kao punjenje za razne vrste tijesta i savijača ali nekako mi se ideja sa keksima jako svidjela. Nisam bila sigurna kako će grubo mljeveni rogač utjecati na teksturu keksića, ali odlučila sam ipak riskirati. Vjerujem da svatko od vas ima svoj neki omiljeni recept za kekse, pa tako imam i ja. To je recept koji sam sama usavršila nakon nekoliko pokušaja, dok nisam dobila savršeno prhke čokoladne keksiće. Dio brašna zamijenila sam mljevenim rogačem, malo smanjila količinu šećera te dodala još i žlicu kiselog vrhnja kako tijesto ne bi bilo presuho.


Jedan dio pripremljenih keksića punila sam svojim domaćim nougat namazom, a drugi pekmezom od jabuke i cimeta. Oba punjenja su se odlično uklopila u ovu priču i bila sam jako zadovoljna. Keksiće sam na kraju odnijela u Koprivnicu na veliko okupljanje članova Coolinarike gdje sam imala prilike upoznati i nekoliko kolegica bloggerica koje su me oduševile i osvojile svojom pristupačnošću, vedrinom i dobrotom. Maja (Cooks and Bakes), Marija (Palachinka), Jasenka (Sweet Corner), Minja (Minjina kuhinjica) i Maja (La Dalmatia Gourmande) divne ste! Drago mi je što sam vas upoznala i imala priliku družiti se s vama. :)

Da više ne duljim, evo i recepta...


Čokoladni keksi s rogačem
Dovoljno za 65-70 keksića

400 g brašna (pola oštrog, pola glatkog)
100 g mljevenog rogača
1/2 praška za pecivo
prstohvat soli
250 g maslaca
75 g šećera u prahu
1 Bourbon vanilin šećer
5 žlica gorkog kakaa
75 g naribane tamne čokolade
2 jaja
žlica kiselog vrhnja

Za punjenje:

Nutella/Eurokrem/Čokolino namaz/domaći nougat namaz...
pekmez ili marmelada po želji (jabuka i cimet, marelica, naranča...)


Pomiješajte brašno, rogač, sol i prašak za pecivo. Dodajte hladan maslac i prstima ga umrvite u brašno. Zatim dodajte šećer, vanilin šećer, kakao, naribanu čokoladu, jaja i vrhnje te zamijesite prhko tijesto. Zamotajte ga u prozirnu foliju i stavite u hladnjak na najmanje pola sata.

Tijesto razvaljajte na debljinu od 2-3 mm pa kalupićima željenog oblika izrezujte keksiće. Slažite ih pleh obložen papirom za pečenje, pri čemu ne trebate ostavljati puno mjesta između njih jer neće narasti. Pecite ih na 180 stupnjeva 10 minuta, a zatim ohladite na rešetki.

Pečene keksiće spajajte namazom ili pekmezom po želji i pohranite ih u limenu kutiju kako bi zadržali svježinu.

Chocolate Carob Sandwich Cookies
Makes about 65-70 Cookies.

400g flour
100g carob powder
6g baking powder (app. 1 tsp.)
pinch of salt
250g of butter,chilled and diced
75g icing sugar
1 bag of vanilla flavored sugar (10g)
5 tbsp. cocoa powder
75 g dark chocolate, grated
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tbsp. sour cream

For the filling:
Homemade nougat spread / Nutella
or
your favorite marmalade (apricot, orange, apple...)


Mix the flour, carob powder, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Add the butter and crumb it into the flour with your fingertips until you get a mixture resembling coarse crumbs. You can also do this using your food processor. Add the remaining ingredients and knead with your hands quickly until it starts coming together into a dough. Wrap it with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line two large baking trays with parchment paper.

Place the chilled dough onto a lightly floured working surface. Roll the dough out to 2-3mm thickness and cut it with a cookie cutter of your choice. Place the cookies onto the prepared baking tray and bake for 10 minutes. Allow them to cool down completely.

Spread a teaspoonful of the preferred filling on the flat side of a cookie; place another cookie on top, and gently press. Repeat until all cookies are filled.

The cookies can be stored in an airtight container up to one week.

*This recipe is a part of Ajme, koliko nas je, a monthly food blogging event created by Monsoon from Dalmacija Down Under. This month's main ingredient was carob.

FBI rukavice: Keksi od limuna i pistacija

Nakon Puretine s pistacciom, na red za isprobavanje je došao i jedan slatki recept, a sve to u sklopu igre FBI rukavice koju je pokrenula Maja sa bloga Cooks and Bakes. Blog pod istragom je Nlo, a moj odabir ovog puta bili su Keksi od limuna i pistacija.


Često sam u zadnje vrijeme nailazila na razne slatke recepte s pistacijama, no nikad ih osobno nisam koristila za pripremu deserata. Kod nas nisam nigdje vidjela neslanih pistacija, a nekako sam se bojala upotrijebiti slane jer ni otprilike nisam mogla zamisliti kako bi se one snašle u nekom slatkom jelu. Kada je Iva objavila recept za spomenute keksiće, odlučila sam ih isprobati pošto poto, pa makar i sa slanim pistacijama jer su mi se keksići odmah svidjeli.


Pistacije koje sam kupila bile su baš izrazito slane. Skoro sam odustala od ovih keksića zbog toga, no onda mi je palo na pamet da bi ih mogla kratko blanširati nadajući se da će to ublažiti njihovu slanoću. Nakon blanširanja sam ih dobro isprala hladnom vodom, osušila pomoću papirnatog ručnika i ogulila. No, zbog kuhanja su bile malo gnjecave i još uvijek vlažne, pa sam ih još na par minuta stavila u pećnicu da se do kraja osuše. Bingo! Slanoći više nije bilo ni traga i bila sam spremna za izradu keksića. :)


Recept je vrlo jednostavan sam po sebi i dobro je opisan tako da problema s izradom nije bilo, a rezultat nas je oborio s nogu. Bez pretjerivanja mogu reći da su ovo jedni od najboljih keksića koje sam ikad jela! Imam samo jednu zamjerku-bilo ih je premalo. :) U svakom slučaju pravit ću ih opet i to duplu mjeru.