Got Milk? Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies were my first solo foray into baking, as well as one of the earliest posts I wrote for this blog (back in 2009). I was in the mood to bake and decided to make some of these classics. We start off with the usual suspects: white and brown sugars and butter. But not just any kind of butter...

Browned butter!

Browned butter (or beurre noisette, if you want to be fancy) is magical. Like bacon, anything it touches is turned delicious. It's especially good on fresh biscuits. It also makes a great pasta sauce, but that's a recipe for another day!

As it cooks, the butter turns a deep amber color and gives off an amazing nutty aroma. It imparts a toasty caramel flavour to the finished cookies for a taste that's reminiscent of English toffee. Finish with a sprinkle of salt on top for a very addictive sweet and salty dessert. 

As always, recipe after the jump!

Ode to the Meyer Lemon: Brûléed Meyer Lemon Bars

I recently moved from New York to the (occasionally) sunny shores of the San Francisco Bay Area. One of the numerous perks of living here: the abundance of well-stocked farmer's markets. I'm pretty sure I ate two avocados a week for the first couple of months I was here and I can't wait for nectarine season to begin. 

One particularly Californian farmer's market resident is the Meyer lemon. They might not be anything special here, but they were always difficult to find everywhere else I have lived so I'm probably a little irrationally excited about them. I remember buying a Meyer lemon cake mix on a trip to California many years ago and weighing out portions of it as a way of rationing said cake mix.
 
A cross between a regular lemon (also more thrillingly known as a "Eureka" lemon) and a mandarin orange, the Meyer lemon has a unique herbal citrus scent. The skin is a cheerfully warm yellow. It's also a little sweeter than your typical lemon so you could feasibly eat it plain, though I found it still to pack quite a pucker.

I wrote a post about lemon squares the last time I made them (in 2009!) This time around, they showcase the mellower flavour of the Meyer lemon. I also brûléed the tops; the caramelized sugar adds a satisfyingly crispy texture. I've found that a broiler gets the job done just fine (until I get my hands on a kitchen torch, that is). The only downside is that the caramel will lose its snap if you allow the bars to sit for too many hours, so brûlée them as needed!

Recipe after the jump!

Black and Gold: Chocolate Hazelnut Torte

There's no better occasion for a slightly over-the-top dessert than New Year's Eve. A dense chocolate hazelnut torte, coated in dark chocolate ganache, jeweled with candied hazelnuts and topped with a halo of spun sugar is great for a special occasion. The torte is soft and dense since it is flourless, with a slight graininess from the ground hazelnuts. This was a crowd pleaser as the chocolate and hazelnut flavours really come through without being cloyingly sweet. It can also sit out without refrigeration so guests can enjoy it at their leisure while waiting for the countdown.  

The recipe is somewhat work-intensive, but for a special occasion it is well worth the extra time. The actual process is not difficult but there is a good amount of prep work (chopping and melting chocolate, toasting and grinding hazelnuts, caramelizing sugar, etc.) 

This was the first time I made spun sugar. It was fun to (carefully!) fling the hot caramel between two skewers and watch the glossy strands form. The glittery gold threads were the perfect touch for a dessert to ring in the new year.

Recipe after the jump!

A Little Humble Pie: Cottage Pie

Homey, rustic food is just the thing to take off the chill at this time of year. Cottage pie has all the ingredients of a quintessential wintertime dish: meat, potatoes and gravy kept toasty warm in a casserole dish. It's basically the same thing as shepherd's pie, though "cottage pie" usually indicates the use of minced beef rather than lamb. 

Why bother cooking the filling and topping separately, and then cooking them again in the oven? Baking lets the flavours blend together so the pie is more... cohesive tasting, if that makes any sense. The potatoes absorb some of the gravy below which enhances their flavour. It's also the easiest way (short of a blowtorch!) to get a nicely bronzed potato topping. 

Tip: Adding an egg yolk to the mashed potatoes helps them brown. It's the same method used to make Duchess Potatoes.

Recipe after the jump!

Meat and Potatoes: Pan-seared Ribeye with Hasselback Potatoes

These candy cane striped gems are Hasselback potatoes. Named for the Hasselbacken restaurant in Stockholm, they're simply roasted potatoes with a fancy cut. Just a few thin slices and the potatoes will fan out like little accordions in the oven.

In addition to looking pretty, the cuts leave pockets for butter and seasoning. They also allow the potatoes to cook faster. Baking potatoes might crisp up better, but I went with red-skinned ones for their autumnal hue.

Recipe after the jump!

eaT Tea: Earl Grey Cupcakes

When I'm in need of a caffeine boost, I usually reach for tea rather than coffee. My tea of choice is usually plain ol' English Breakfast, no matter the time of day. I rarely drink Earl Grey, but I really like the floral qualities in this fragrant cupcake. Earl Grey's distinctive flavour comes from bergamot orange rind which translates surprisingly well in baked goods.

The recipe I used comes from the quaintly named Hummingbird Bakery in London. The tea flavour is fairly light in the cake so I'd recommend infusing two extra tea bags in the milk overnight before using it. Cold infusing the tea gives a better, stronger flavour in the batter. 

I improvised the Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting here since I couldn't find an official recipe. I stuck with the Earl Grey theme, but a zesty citrus frosting would be great too. In addition to steeped tea, there are tea leaves in the buttercream (which, truth be told, don't add that much more to the flavour). They're very finely ground so that they don't interfere with the silky smooth texture of the buttercream. I think the Earl Grey flavour definitely comes through in the frosting more than in the cake.

Recipe after the jump!

Almond Biscotti

Yes yes, this is yet another almond cookie. But this time, we're travelling from, erm, Chinatown to Italy for biscotti. This twice-baked cookie is crunchy and perfect for dipping into coffee or wine. The recipe I used incorporates butter so it deviates slightly from traditional recipes which don't use any fat. The added butter gives it the perfect not-too-hard texture so you can enjoy it sans dunking.

Contrary to my earlier advice, I find it is actually easier to get nice slices without crumbling if you use a serrated knife and a sawing motion. Also, chopping up the nuts a bit before adding them allows the dough to hold together better, again minimizing crumbling. It's a good idea to toast the nuts before adding them for maximum crunch, but they will toast up a bit more during the final (second) baking.  

Recipe after the jump!