Chocolate-orange crinkles

Happy December!  It's officially the season of unabashed cookie-baking and eating! I'm convinced that's at least part of the reason why this is the best time of year. 

Classic Christmas Crinkles - this one with an orange twist

I have plenty of family-favorite treats to make so I have to get busy!  I'm sure it's the same way for you.  I always wish there was more time and space to try more recipes but I can realistically only squeeze in a couple of new experiments during this busy month.  So I'm starting off with a Christmas cookie classic - crinkles (or crackles) - and this year I'm favoring them with an orange twist.  It's my way of having a familiar favorite in a slightly different way.  

I usually make a batch of these snowy cookies every holiday season.  Pure dark chocolate works perfectly well but these cookies also allow room for your own accents - I like adding almond extract and the Nutella version was a hit last year.  You could give your crinkles a peppermint flavor, which is always nice this time of year, or add depth with spices.  This year, I went with orange since that classic chocolate-orange combination never gets old for me.  I used Theo's Orange Dark Chocolate bar (a favorite of mine to munch on), along with some plain dark chocolate and fresh orange zest, for these cookies.    

Like I said, chocolate with orange never gets old.  I loved biting into this year's crinkles and tasting that flavor combination.  These cookies are so moist and soft inside.  They're fudgy and brownie-like, with a little crunch and extra sweetness on the outside from the sugar.  Instead of being overly sweet all in, you get a deep, dark chocolate (and orange) flavor thanks not only to the actual chocolate but also from cocoa powder as well as the use of brown sugar rather than granulated in the cookie dough.

It's no wonder crinkles are so popular.  They're not just fun to look at but a real holiday treat - whether you keep them plain or flavor them with a little something extra like I have here.

And given how much snow we've had in the last few winters, I'd be more than happy to simply appreciate the idea of snow through cookies.  These definitely make me think of winter, snow, and Christmas - plus, they definitely put me in the holiday spirit.

Mini chocolate pudding pie for a mini (pre) Thanksgiving

It's practically Thanksgiving!  No doubt, most of you are busy prepping for the big day (hopefully, there aren't too many last-minute errands...we're slated to get a load of snow tomorrow in NJ!). I'm once again heading out to enjoy a feast with my extended family.  This year, I managed to get out of turkey duty!  There's something about prepping that bird for a crowd that stresses me out.  Apparently, I'm not alone because no one else in my family has turkey duty this year either.  We've decided to outsource that particular task (I hope no one is horrified by this revelation).  

A 6-inch mini chocolate pudding pie for my mini early Thanksgiving for three

Since we usually head out to gather with family for Thanksgiving and since I'm taking that reprieve from turkey prepping on the big day (what will I do with all that extra time on my hands!), I decided to have a mini Thanksgiving dinner for the 3 of us at home this past Sunday.  I'm talking about a cozy, very simple, no-stress, mini Thanksgiving meal before the actual day.  I roasted a small turkey breast and made a couple of quick sides.  Sides are fun!  Everything was simple and it really didn't take much more work than an ordinary Sunday night dinner.

The mini Thanksgiving idea having surfaced, my mind went on to a quick dessert. This lighter chocolate pudding pie is one of my son's favorite things so I thought I'd whip one of those up.  I usually make the crust with graham crackers and have also had a lot of success using digestive biscuits recently.  This time, I didn't have either of those on hand but I did have Nilla wafers.  And in the spirit of keeping things simple and stress-free, I thought I'd just use what I had and give the Nilla wafers a try.

I finally got a chance to use my mini 6-inch, pie plate, which I bought months ago (since it was so cute).  I whipped up the crust, made the simple pudding, which contains no eggs or butter so it's nice and light, and we were ready for our mini Thanksgiving before Thanksgiving.

I may have possibly started a new tradition with this mini pre-Thanksgiving dinner, I don't know yet... 

Chocolate-chestnut thumbprints

We may be in the midst of Thanksgiving prep (those grocery stores are jam packed!) but it's Christmas that I can't get my mind off of.  I'm always eager to get started on holiday baking!  It's such a wonderful time of year; I only wish we had more time (I think two months would be perfect) between Thanksgiving and Christmas to stretch it out and enjoy it more.  Short of moving to Canada where we can celebrate Thanksgiving in October, I guess we have to make do with our schedule.  That means it's time to get started on cookies!  I have old-favorites to make but I eased into my holiday baking with this batch of chocolate-chestnut thumbprint cookies, a chocolate chip cookie filled with chestnut cream. 

Chocolate chip thumbprint cookies filled with chestnut cream

There's something about thumbprints that screams 'holiday cookies', right?  And this is the time of year when we look for simple recipes that have a little spin or twist to them that make them a bit extra special.  I've wanted to try this recipe for a long time because these cookies are like that - very easy to make, with a little twist in the middle.  The base cookie dough is essentially a chocolate chip cookie. Make an indentation in the center and fill it with a dollop of chestnut cream for a different spin.

You might know that I love chestnuts, in all forms.  If that's not the case for you or if you can't get your hands on chestnut cream ("crème de marrons"), you can also fill the cookie centers easily with a spoonful of Nutella chocolate-hazelnut spread (I bet you have that!).  If you don't mind a little more work, I think a fudge filling like the one I used for the fudge oatmeal cookies would work beautifully.  

I filled my thumbprints with chestnut cream as well as Nutella.  If you find the kind of chestnut cream that comes in a tube, it makes filling the thumbprints so easy.  

Between the two, the chestnut cream filling gives you a different flavor component, a milder kind of sweetness.  It's a fun change and a little twist to the usual.  The Nutella, or a chocolate filling, will give you more of a familiar, traditional chocolate chip cookie taste.  Both are good.  My husband and I liked the chestnut combination; the little one preferred the Nutella.

The cookies up front are filled with Nutella

Matcha financiers...with white or milk chocolate filling

I have long been a fan of baked goods and desserts made with matcha.  This finely milled green tea powder provides a subtle dose of bitterness that mellows the sweetness of desserts and creates a kind of savory aspect to the sweet that works really well, in my opinion.

It took me long enough but I finally ordered some culinary-grade matcha (I knew just what to get thanks to Nami at Just One Cookbook) and started my green tea adventures with a batch of matcha financiers.

Bear with me as I repeat: I love financiers!  I bake mine in muffin tins and I think these French tea cakes are like the best muffins on earth.  Made with a generous amount of butter, as well as with ground nuts and egg whites, these little cakes bake up crisp along the edges and meltingly moist and flavorful inside.  I have made hazelnut ones and experimented with a pistachio version; now, I got to try a batch of green tea!

These green tea financiers did not disappoint; they were what a good financier should be - rich, moist, flavorful.  I usually make financiers with brown butter (a recipe from Paris Sweets that I'm devoted to) but that's not the case here, and I was afraid I'd miss it; happily, these were still rich, nutty, and delicious.  The green tea flavor is discernible but not overpowering (to me, anyway...if you're not sure how you feel about it, start with a smaller amount of matcha).  I think this is a great example of East meets West in the world of desserts.

I baked these matcha financiers in mini as well as regular-sized muffin tins. Generally, the little ones bake up more evenly throughout, whereas the larger ones tend to stay slightly wet in the very center.  Given their richness, mini's are a good option but my family and I actually really like the slightly under-cooked centers so we have a preference for the larger ones.  And like all financiers, these are best eaten fresh after the edges have cooled to an almost shattering crispness.  You can store the batter in the fridge for 3 days and bake them in batches.  I find that briefly re-heating leftovers the next morning in a warm, 325 degree oven, brings back that crisp freshness as well.  

Now onto the filling option.  Dorie Greenspan (whose recipe this is, and who I kind of think of as the American authority on baking French desserts at home) reminded me that matcha pairs really well with chocolate.  It made me think of green tea Kit Kat bars, which my son first tried while we were on vacation in Canada and loves to relive how good they are!  So, I went ahead and gave the chocolate combination a try. First, white chocolate...

And then I tried milk chocolate as well...

Chocolate chip-almond muffins

Some people can never have too many pairs of shoes...for me, I can never have too many muffin recipes!  And when I saw a chocolate chip-almond recipe recently, I knew I had to try it asap.

I've been on the lookout for a good almond muffin recipe - preferably one involving chocolate - for a long time.  I'm thrilled I found a terrific one recently.  This recipe comes from Williams-Sonoma Home Baked Comforts and what I really like about it is the addition of almond meal in the batter.  That, along with buttermilk, creates a wonderfully moist, tender, and flavorful muffin!  Throw some mini chocolate chips into the mix and we're really in business. 

Since I was a little concerned that the muffin batter itself might not be flavorful enough, I debated whether I should add a little almond extract or orange zest into the mix.  I settled on orange zest and I'm really happy I did!  The fresh zest contributes such a burst of flavor.  It brings a freshness and brightness to the muffins.  And the combination of orange with chocolate is always a great marriage because one brings out the best in the other.  The orange seems to heighten the chocolate flavor even more.

The recipe was meant for mini muffins but to be honest, I think regular-size muffins are mini enough as it is so I made them standard size!  

When I eat a good muffin like this, I often wish I could reach for another one immediately.  While I certainly wanted another one after I polished off my first, one of these moist, fluffy muffins was almost surprisingly satisfying.  I think it has a lot to do with the almond meal...it adds a subtle richness.

So if you're like me - that is, if you like making and eating muffins, and enjoy the combination of chocolate and almonds (with orange, at that), do give these a try!

It's somebody's birthday, somewhere...

At my house, I kicked off November with a birthday cake!  

A 6-inch yellow cake with chocolate buttercream frosting...it makes me think: "Birthday"!

It's my husband's birthday later this month though that isn't exactly the reason for this cake (although celebrating early and often is a wonderful thing).  I'll be making him the chocolate-hazelnut meringue torte for his actual birthday, as per his request, but maybe I've got birthday on my mind or I'm just constantly looking for a reason to celebrate and make a cake (plus, try out a promising recipe) because I just thought to myself...you know, it's somebody's birthday, somewhere!  It doesn't have to be your actual birthday to pop a candle on it and celebrate!  

Are you with me...or am I crazy?  I think my family might think I'm a little nutty (my son sure gave me some funny looks when I kept insisting it was his birthday) but I hope you're with me, and I hope this inspires you to pop a candle or two on your next cake and let everyone around you make a wish before digging in.  Why not! 

For this "birthday cake", we're talking about a delicious yellow cake.  I haven't had a lot of experience with it but I can now officially say that I have a go-to recipe for moist, fluffy, tender, flavorful, homemade yellow cake.  And though I did not grow up eating yellow cake with chocolate frosting as my birthday cake (it was mainly ice cream cakes, then chestnut filled sponge cakes for me), I think of this combination as the quintessential American birthday cake.

This little 6-inch cake was very, very well received at my house.  My son polished off as much as I would give him and was surprised by how much he enjoyed it.  My husband seriously raved about it, which is a good thing since he is the upcoming birthday-boy.  He says it's unlike any other yellow cake he's had but I'd argue that it is like the very kind of box yellow cake that we've somehow elevated in our minds. This is the homemade form of how we remember (accurately or not) boxed yellow cake to be.  It's moist; it's dense yet light and fluffy, as well as flavorful with the taste of vanilla and rich eggs.  It makes for an excellent layer cake in both texture and flavor.

You probably won't be surprised that the credit for this great recipe goes to America's Test Kitchen via their Cooking for Two cookbook.  No matter if you make it for two or four, you'll probably just wish you had more of this cake and want to double this recipe next time.  That's because they've done the legwork and pinned down the right ratio of butter to oil, the ideal amount of buttermilk and eggs needed to give us a homemade yellow cake that has all the light texture of a box cake but with all-natural flavors.

For the chocolate frosting, I went with my son's favorite from Beatty's (or Ina's) chocolate cake.  I don't mean to doubt the folks at America's Test Kitchen at all but the chocolate frosting this yellow cake recipe was paired with called for double the amount of chocolate I used, as well as a lot more butter, and involved corn syrup.  I bet it's delicious but, believe me, the chocolate buttercream I use is tried and true in our house.  It is chocolaty and creamy. The beauty of pairing it with this yellow cake is that the contrast makes the chocolate frosting pop.  It's worth every calorie as you savor the strong chocolate flavor against the moist vanilla cake. It made me understand why this chocolate-yellow cake combination is such a classic for birthdays, which are like the most important days of our lives (not that I'm being dramatic or anything).  

Pappardelle with porcini and shallots

It seems like I've been seeing mushrooms everywhere I turn - featured in magazines and cooking shows - and since I'm a big fan of it myself, I was inspired to try a new recipe.  I've never cooked with dried mushrooms with the exception of Chinese shiitake and this pasta dish gave me the chance to cook with dried porcini mushrooms.  

Pappardelle pasta with dried porcini, shallots, garlic and thyme

I've been having a great time trying out new savory recipes and been rewarded with some definite keepers.  This one goes on that list.  This pasta (I used pappardelle, which I love, but you could also use tagliatelle or other noodles) is coated with a light sauce that's like a ragu, in my mind, only it's vegetarian and quick to make.  

The porcini mushrooms are so intense - meaty, and with a strong flavor that carries the dish.  I played around with the recipe a bit, doing things like using shallots instead of onions and less tomato paste than called for because I wanted the porcini flavor to be the main focus.  

A little goes a long way with the dried porcini and when you reconstitute it in a little stock, you end up with not only moist, plump mushrooms but also a deep, dark, flavorful liquid that becomes a serious flavor addition to your dish.  

This made a very delicious, satisfying weekend lunch recently.  Even the little guy, who's no longer a mushroom fan (he once was as a toddler) enjoyed some while my husband savored his generous bowl.  That always puts a smile on my face.

If you like mushrooms but rarely cook with dried ones, maybe it's time to mix things up and give it some attention.  I am eager to make porcini risotto soon.  

Brown butter vanilla bean cake with chestnut cream filling

Have you noticed the deluge of cookbooks published recently?  Maybe the timing has to do with the upcoming holiday season but I just don't remember noticing such a swell of cookbooks being published around the same time before.  I'm talking cookbooks from...The Kitchn, Skinnytaste, Joy the Baker, How Sweet Eats, the guys from Baked, as well as new editions from Ina Garten, Martha Stewart, Yotam Ottolenghi...and a lot more!  I'm excited about it all because it means more inspiration, more deliciousness to see and discover.

One of the baking books I was really impressed with is Dorie Greenspan's latest, Baking Chez Moi.  It shouldn't have come as a surprise since I think Dorie's books are always so substantial - as in, there's just so much substance to them.  Her recipes are so detailed, but not complicated.  She provides tips and suggestions to guide you towards being as successful as possible in the kitchen.

I saw many recipes I'd like to make in the book.  I started right at the beginning, with a very simple (but smart) "weekend" cake.  It's the kind of simple yet delicious dessert the French bake at home.  It's easily prepared, with staying power to sit around for a few days to be enjoyed at any time when the mood is right.  I love this kind of cake.  Break out the bowls and whisks!  It feels comforting both to prepare as well as to eat.

The texture of this cake is firm and sturdy but moist.  It has a chewiness to it; my son thought I'd used almond paste because of the nutty, chewy, moistness of it that resembles certain almond paste bakes.  As for flavor, it's rich and full of the deliciousness of brown butter, something I'm in awe of every time I stand by the stove swirling my little pan making a batch for one of my favorite recipes, financiers (coincidentally, another recipe I picked up from one of Dorie's books).  It's called beurre noisette, or hazelnut butter, for a good reason.  Cooking the butter, letting it sizzle and brown, somehow releases an aroma and flavor like caramelized hazelnuts.  It's kind of magical, and delicious in combination with the flavor of fresh vanilla (and a touch of amaretto) in this cake.

This cake is meant to be easy, transportable, low-maintenance.  By all means, make it as intended...or...give it a little twist like I did it.  The original recipe was meant for a standard-size loaf pan.  I divided the recipe in half and made a smaller 6-inch round version that's perfect for my family to enjoy over a weekend.  And because this cake reminded me so much of those delectable financiers (it looks and taste quite similar), I decided to split my cake into two layers and add a slather of chestnut cream in between.  

You can certainly leave the cake plain, without any filling, but I love chestnut cream (and chestnuts, in general) and almost every time I make financiers, I tuck a small spoonful of it into the ones for my husband and I.  I think the flavor of the chestnut cream complements the brown butter - there's a certain similarity in the nuttiness of their flavors.

I had every intention of making this an actual weekend cake but I have to admit this little cake vanished before the weekend appeared for us...