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Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Apple pie with latke crust, take 2

When I made the first Apple Pie with Latke Crust, I was very pleasantly surprised with how it turned out.  I ate a slice right out of the oven (which was delicious), and then another the following night.  I brought a piece home for my parents to try, since I was so proud of my creation.  My dad ate a piece (cold, straight out of the fridge) and lamented to me that he liked the filling and the crust, but simply didn't like them together.  I called my mom and pleaded, "Warm the pie up, please, and you and dad try it."


So it took a while (and several calls to my mom to gently remind her to try the pie, since Thanksgiving/Thanksgivukkah was rapidly approaching, and if they both didn't like it, I wasn't going to serve it at a family function), but my mom finally called me back - she loved it, but she felt the filling was a little too sweet.  It shouldn't have been a surprise, since I ended up using fewer apples last time, but used the regular amount of brown sugar.

So when I made it again for Thanksgivukkah, I ended up making a few adjustments:
1.  I ended up using 3 apples - 2 large Rome apples and 1 large Braeburn apple.
2.  I used 1/2 instead of 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar; I kept everything else the same.
3.  I cut down the butter even more, and ended up using a little less than 1 Tbsp.
4.  I baked the whole thing uncovered, instead of covering it for the first part and then removing the foil at the end.
5.  I decided to decorate the top of the pie with the apple slices, to make it look prettier -- like a flower.

Check out my original recipe here.

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Pecan pie ruggelach pinwheels

While I was on a ruggelach pinwheel making kick, I decided to try out that pecan pie ruggelach filling in ruggelach pinwheels.  Honestly, when I made the actual ruggelach, I attempted a mini roll, just to see how they turned out.  The pecan pie filling is super runny, but it didn't run quite as much with the pinwheels, so I thought I at least had to try them out with this dough. 


The dough from the ruggelach pinwheels is a little different than the dough in the original pecan pie ruggelach.  The big difference?  There is no sugar in the pecan pie ruggelach dough -- probably because the filling is so freakin' sweet.  But for consistency's sake, I decided to use the pinwheel dough for the pecan pie ruggelach pinwheels.


 
The nice thing about these is that the filling didn't run like it did in the regular pecan pie ruggelach.  And they were still super tasty!
 
Pecan Pie Rugglach Pinwheels
Dough from Smitten Kitchen, Filling from Buzzfeed, idea to combine them from JulieBakes.

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups sifted bleached all-purpose flour

Filling:

2 cups shelled pecan halves
1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick), cut into 4 pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
Note: I skipped the apricot preserves on these since the filling is so wet.

Topping:

1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

Place cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth and creamy.
Add sugar and continue processing until fully incorporated.
Add flour and pulse just until dough comes together.
Divide dough into 2 equal pieces, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Meanwhile, make filling.
Using a knife, finely chop pecans and put in a medium mixing bowl. (Do NOT do chop the nuts in a food processor. You want the pecans to be chopped but still coarse, and a food processor will turn them into nut butter.)
In a small saucepan over medium heat, brown the butter by adding all 4 pieces at once and constantly stirring with a heatproof spatula until completely melted.
Continue to stir or swirl the pan as butter starts to bubble and foam.
When the foam subsides slightly and butter turns a light brown color, take it off the heat immediately and add the it to the chopped pecans.
Add vanilla extract, corn syrup, and brown sugar, and mix with a rubber spatula just until combined.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 piece of dough into a rectangle about 1/8-inch thick.
My tip: roll the dough between two floured pieces of parchment paper.
BEFORE going any further, slightly flour the up side of dough and transfer the rolled out dough onto a piece of saran wrap by flipping it over (the floured side will now be down.
Spread the filling mixture over the dough.
Roll dough into a log beginning with one of the long sides.  This is where the dough being on saran wrap helps.  The dough is pretty soft by now, and rolling can be a little bit difficult.  UNLESS its already on the saran wrap.  You can use the plastic wrap to aid in rolling, making sure that the roll is tight (less filling lost later), and it makes it much easier for the next step.
Wrap rolled dough in plastic wrap.
Transfer dough log baking sheet.
Repeat process with remaining piece of dough.
Place dough logs in refrigerator; let chill at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
Mix together the cinnamon and sugar for the topping; set aside.

Slice chilled dough logs crosswise, about 1/4 inch thick.
Toss each cookie in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Place cookies 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
Bake until lightly browned, 18 to 20 minutes.
Lift parchment paper from baking sheets and transfer to a wire cooling rack; let cool.

Friday, November 22, 2013

Sweet spiced pumpkin pinwheels

I had seen a recipe for a savory pumpkin ruggelach.  It had pumpkin, sage, walnuts, chili flakes, and shallots.  Finally a pumpkin treat I might actually like (minus the walnuts...and trust me, I thought about that)!  But then in the height of my "I can make almost anything into a heavenly ruggelach pinwheel" hayday, I figured why not try a pumpkin pinwheel?  But I didn't want to make them savory for two reasons - first of all, my pinwheel dough has sugar in it (and the original recipe for the savory pumpkin ruggelach did not), and secondly, I wanted them for dessert.  So I decided I would make my own sweet pumpkin filling.  Excepted it ended up being a little bit spiced, too, and thus the sweet spiced pumpkin pinwheels were born!

I thought about adding some pecans to them, but decided to keep them nut-free, since this way I could bring them to Thanksgivukkah dinner (my cousin E is deathly allergic to all nuts).  I think they'd be good with some chopped pecans added -- or maybe some craisins, as one JulieBakes fan suggested (thanks, R!!).

If you've ever read my blog before, you know that I don't like pumpkin.  I don't hate that orange vegetable itself, it's just that I don't particularly like the spices added to pumpkin.  So since I made my own pumpkin filling, I only added the spices that I like: cinnamon, ginger, and a little nutmeg (I don't love nutmeg, but I don't hate it either).  It resulted in a subtly spiced pumpkin-y flavor without being overpowering.



 


Sweet Spiced Pumpkin Ruggelach

Ruggelach Pinwheel Dough
(originally from SmittenKitchen)

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups sifted bleached all-purpose flour

Topping:

1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

Place cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth and creamy.
Add sugar and continue processing until fully incorporated.
Add flour and pulse just until dough comes together.
Divide dough into 2 equal pieces, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Meanwhile, make the filling.

Sweet Spiced Pumpkin Filling
(a JulieBakes original)

Ingredients:

1 cup pure pumpkin
4 Tbsp light brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
nice splash of vanilla extract

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.  How's that for easy?

ASSEMBLY:

On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 piece of dough into a rectangle about 1/8-inch thick.
My tip: roll the dough between two floured pieces of parchment paper.
BEFORE going any further, slightly flour the up side of dough and transfer the rolled out dough onto a piece of saran wrap by flipping it over (the floured side will now be down).
Spread a moderate thin layer of filling over dough. (my cookies have a nice thick layer of pumpkin filling, but when I took them off the parchment paper, the middles fell out of some of the cookies.  Hence, I think my filling was too thick.  Make your filling layer thinner than I did.
Roll dough into a log beginning with one of the long sides.  This is where the dough being on saran wrap helps.  The dough is pretty soft by now, and rolling can be a little bit difficult.  UNLESS its already on the saran wrap.  You can use the plastic wrap to aid in rolling, making sure that the roll is tight (less filling lost later), and it makes it much easier for the next step.
Wrap rolled dough in plastic wrap.
Transfer dough log baking sheet.
Repeat process with remaining piece of dough.
Place dough logs in refrigerator; let chill at least 1 hour. Because this filling is really wet (and my dough was particularly soft), the roll was pretty soft.  I decided to freeze my roll so that it was easier to slice without the filling oozing out.

Slice frozen dough logs crosswise, about 1/4 inch thick. They're actually easier to slice than I thought.  Use a sharp straight (non-serrated) knife.  Mine sliced perfectly.
Toss each cookie in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.  The cinnamon sugar actually stuck to them well.  If you find that it doesn't stick well, press it on a little bit.
Place cookies 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
Bake until lightly browned, 18 to 20 minutes.
If there isn't enough cinnamon sugar on them for your liking (I felt that way for my first batch out of the oven), you can sprinkle some of the cinnamon sugar on top of them when they're fresh out of the oven, and a little bit of it sticks to the warm cookies,
Lift parchment paper from baking sheets and transfer to a wire cooling rack; let cool.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Moustache (mini) cupcakes

I interrupt my Thanksgivukkah posts for a little Movember post.

Last year I posted about Movember, and about some moustache cookie cutters I had bought (and later used for Father's Day, along with some chocolate moustache lollipops).  For Movember, men grow moustaches for the month of November and it's a great chance for men (and women, without growing moustaches) to raise money to "support world-class men’s health programs that combat prostate and testicular cancer and mental health challenges."


I have a few friends who are participating in Movember, and my friend's bar is hosting a Movember event on November 20th (check it out here).  I was chatting with one particular friend and he was saying that my Thanksgivukkah treats (the pecan pie ruggelach and the apple pie with latke crust) looked delicious and were making him hungry, and lamenting over the fact that he lived too far to taste them tonight.  But, he'll be at the Movember event, and I told him I'd bring him some baked goods.  And then it came to me!  I had bought these adorable sugar moustaches at Target a while ago, and I was waiting for the right thing to use them for.....a Movember event seemed like the best idea!  So I set out to make some mini cupcakes with moustaches.


I wanted to use my standby yellow cupcake recipe, but figured I'd mix it up and make a new icing, since I've made these cupcakes a bunch of times before.  But I wanted an icing that - besides tasting good - would contrast with the black and white sugar moustaches I was going to adorn the cupcakes with.  So I set out looking for a good frosting.  First I checked my "Icing" pinterest board, but while they all looked tasty, none really went with the moustaches.  So I set out to search the internet for the perfect icing.  But then I ended up going back to an icing I had used before and really liked.....the chocolate malted buttercream from my Birthday Cupcakes.


(I have to admit that the piping tip I used for these cupcakes was not the one I originally wanted to use.  However it was late, and I was pressed for time, and this tip was on the counter, so I went with it.  I think they turned out cute, but I still think they would've been cuter had I used the tip I wanted to.)

Yellow Cupcakes
Posted earlier on JulieBakes, and originally from SmittenKitchen

Ingredients:
These yield a TON of cupcakes, can't even get into how many mini cupcakes it makes.....so I halved the recipe.

4 cups plus 2 tablespoons (480 grams) cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons (10 grams) baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon (5 grams) table salt
2 sticks (1 cup, 1/2 pound or 225 grams) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups (400 grams) sugar
2 teaspoons (10 ml) pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups buttermilk (475 ml), well-shaken
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter cake pans and line with parchment paper, then butter parchment. (Or, use paper cupcake liners, or you can use a cooking spray.  I used Pam for baking and was very impressed with the results.)
Sift together the dry ingredients EXCEPT for sugar in a medium bowl.
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla.
Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition.
At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined (mixture will look curdled).
Add flour mixture in three batches, mixing until each addition is just incorporated.

Bake until golden on top and cooked throughout (the mini cupcakes took about 10 minutes, give or take a few).

Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then run a knife around edge of pan.
Invert onto rack and discard parchment, then cool completely, about 1 hour.

Chocolate Malted Buttercream
Originally from That Winsome Girl

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup vegetable shortening, at room temperature
1/2 cup malted milk powder
4 tablespoons unsweetened dutch-process cocoa powder
5 cups confectioner sugar, sifted
Directions:

In a large mixer bowl, whip the butter and shorting for several minutes until very light and fluffy.
Sprinkle in malted milk powder and cocoa powder.
Whip for 1 minute.
Slowly add the powdered sugar a few spoonful at a time, letting it incorporate until the frosting becomes thick and stiff.

Fill bag with the frosting and pipe large swirls on top of cupcakes.

Top with the adorable little moustaches ;-)

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Thanksgivukkah ruggelach pinwheels

Sometimes my mind works in weird ways.  I made those ruggelach pinwheels the other day, and they were good.  Really good.  So what did I do?  I went back and made more dough to make "Thanksgivukkah Rugglach Pinwheels" - this time substituting craisins and pecans for the original raisins and walnuts.  Although instantaneously, my Thanksgivukkah variety seemed to make perfect sense, I had to pause for a moment.  The original ruggelach pinwheels are so freakin' amazing that I really had to think about whether I wanted to tempt fate and try to improve on something so amazing.  I rationalized for a while, and then decided that I wasn't trying to improve them but rather try something different.  So I went for it....



For the Thanksgivukkah Ruggelach Pinwheels, I substituted even amounts of craisins and pecans for the original ingredients.  I was slightly concerned that craisins are slightly more dry than raisins, and that that might change the consistency of the ruggelach, but didn't want to try plumping them up (by soaking them), so I just went with the craisins as they are.




And it was totally worth it.  They were super tasty.  Now I just have to decide if the next time I make these Thanksgivukkah-ified Ruggelach Pinwheels, I should add a pinch of ground ginger or not...


Ruggelach Pinwheels - Thanksgivukkah-ified
Original recipe from SmittenKitchen, modified by yours truly.

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups sifted bleached all-purpose flour

Filling:

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup craisins, chopped
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup apricots preserves, heated and cooled slightly
I have to say, I debated adding a pinch of ground ginger into these, but held off....for now.  Baby steps ;-)

Topping:

1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

Place cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth and creamy.
Add sugar and continue processing until fully incorporated.
Add flour and pulse just until dough comes together.
Divide dough into 2 equal pieces, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Meanwhile, make filling.
In a medium bowl, mix together granulated and brown sugar, cinnamon, craisins, and pecans; set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 piece of dough into a rectangle about 1/8-inch thick.
My tip: roll the dough between two floured pieces of parchment paper.
BEFORE going any further, slightly flour the up side of dough and transfer the rolled out dough onto a piece of saran wrap by flipping it over (the floured side will now be down.
Spread a thin layer of preserves over dough, I use a pastry brush to make sure it is evenly distributed.
Sprinkle with filling mixture.
Roll dough into a log beginning with one of the long sides.  This is where the dough being on saran wrap helps.  The dough is pretty soft by now, and rolling can be a little bit difficult.  UNLESS its already on the saran wrap.  You can use the plastic wrap to aid in rolling, making sure that the roll is tight (less filling lost later), and it makes it much easier for the next step.
Wrap rolled dough in plastic wrap.
Transfer dough log baking sheet.
Repeat process with remaining piece of dough.
Place dough logs in refrigerator; let chill at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
Mix together the cinnamon and sugar for the topping; set aside.

Slice chilled dough logs crosswise, about 1/4 inch thick.
Toss each cookie in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Place cookies 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
Bake until lightly browned, 18 to 20 minutes.
Lift parchment paper from baking sheets and transfer to a wire cooling rack; let cool.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Ruggelach pinwheels

Making those pecan pie ruggelach for Thanksgivukkah a few days ago got me thinking about these ruggelach pinwheels I made a while ago (pre-JulieBakes!).  It was this heavenly delicious cream cheese ruggelach dough spiraled with a raisin, brown sugar-cinnamon-sugar, walnut filling and apricot jam.  But they don't stop there....then you slice them, dip them into a sugar-cinnamon mixture, and then bake them.  They are delicious!  And that means a lot coming from me, since I really don't like nuts in my baked goods, especially walnuts.  Ew.  But in these cookies, they just....go.  Perfectly.


I got this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, which I know I've spoken about before, because I absolutely adore the website.  I even recently bought the Smitten Kitchen cookbook, but I'll save that review for a little while later.  But when I saw this recipe about 4 years ago -- pre-JulieBakes -- I made it and they were an instant success.  And of course after I made these delicious cookies, I got an idea for another version.  Then I thought that maybe I wouldn't try and alter the recipe a little, and make a Thanksgivukkah version, because these cookies are just so freakin' good as they are, and there is really no reason to try to make a pretty perfect thing better.  But there is just some part of me that knows I'll probably be making another version of these pretty soon.  So if I were you, I'd be on the lookout soon for that ;-)



 
 
And FYI, you can see these cookies on the very first JulieBakes blog post.  Spot them on the gold plate on the front of the dessert spread!

Ruggelach Pinwheels
Original recipe from SmittenKitchen

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups sifted bleached all-purpose flour

Filling:

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup golden raisins, chopped
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup apricots preserves, heated and cooled slightly.  I remember that I needed more last time I made them, so I made sure to have a little extra on hand in case I needed.

Topping:

1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

Place cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth and creamy.
Add sugar and continue processing until fully incorporated.
Add flour and pulse just until dough comes together.
Divide dough into 2 equal pieces, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Meanwhile, make filling.
In a medium bowl, mix together granulated and brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins, and walnuts.
Set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 piece of dough into a rectangle about 1/8-inch thick.
My tip: roll the dough between two floured pieces of parchment paper.
BEFORE going any further, slightly flour the up side of dough and transfer the rolled out dough onto a piece of saran wrap by flipping it over (the floured side will now be down.
Spread a thin layer of preserves over dough, I use a pastry brush to make sure it is evenly distributed.
Sprinkle with filling mixture.
Roll dough into a log beginning with one of the long sides.  This is where the dough being on saran wrap helps.  The dough is pretty soft by now, and rolling can be a little bit difficult.  UNLESS its already on the saran wrap.  You can use the plastic wrap to aid in rolling, making sure that the roll is tight (less filling lost later), and it makes it much easier for the next step.
Wrap rolled dough in plastic wrap.
Transfer dough log baking sheet.
Repeat process with remaining piece of dough.
Place dough logs in refrigerator; let chill at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
Mix together the cinnamon and sugar for the topping; set aside.

Slice chilled dough logs crosswise, about 1/4 inch thick.
Toss each cookie in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Place cookies 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
Bake until lightly browned, 18 to 20 minutes.
Lift parchment paper from baking sheets and transfer to a wire cooling rack; let cool.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Apple pie with latke crust

Scrolling through Instagram while at a conference a few weeks ago, I came across a picture with a caption explaining that the pie was a pumpkin pie with a latke crust for Thanksgivukkah.  The other pumpkin pie I had seen for Thanksgivukkah had a rye crust, which just didn't sound appetizing to me.  Well, neither sounded all that appetizing to me because I don't like pumpkin pie.  But at least the latke crust gave me something to work with.  And then -- almost immediately -- it came to me: Apple Pie with a Latke Crust!  It was like a somewhat deconstructed potato pancake (latke) with applesauce, which happens to be my favorite way to eat latkes.



I figured I would have to work on the recipe a little, since apples are watery and I didn't want a soggy latke crust (the BEST part of latkes are their crispy outside!).  More on that below (see *).

I was a little overzealous when I made it, and cut into the pie when it was still a little runny (the filling does thicken a little as it cools) -- see the photos below.  But it was super tasty - exactly what I wanted it to be.  And even though the filling was a little wet (because of my overzealousness), the crust was still crispy thanks to cooking it technically three times.  *So, even though I thought this pie would need a few iterations before I posted it for you, I was pleasantly surprised by the final result the first time.  I would possibly add a little more flour next time, just to control some of the filling, but I honestly don't think I have to do that. 

 

FYI, the blogger who I got the recipe from claims that these are the best latkes she has ever tasted.  Clearly, she has never had my mom's latkes!  But since I knew the crust worked with her recipe, I went with it....I may need to try it again with my mom's latke "recipe."  Just sayin'.


Latke Crust
From My Name Is Yeh

Ingredients:

She calls for a "half batch of ex-boyfriend latke mix" - adjusted measurements below:

2 1/2 medium russet potatoes
1/2 medium yellow onion
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 egg whites
1/2 cup all purpose flour

Canola or vegetable oil to coat pan

Directions:

Preheat oven to broil.

Shred potatoes and onion using a food processor or mandolin.
Mine was very watery, so I drained the mixture before adding everything else.  Just like my mom does when she makes latkes. 
Add lemon juice, salt, pepper, egg whites, and flour.
Mix well.

Once you've mixed up the latke mixture, coat an oven safe pan with oil and set over medium heat (She used a 9-inch cast iron pan).
Pour the latke mixture into the pan and use a spatula to firmly press the mixture all over the bottom and around the edges.

Cook until the bottom browns.  I assume she meant on the stove top, so that's what I did.
The crust may start to puff up in the center-- if this happens, poke a few holes in the bottom with a fork.
Once the bottom is brown, stick the pan in the oven and broil for 8-12 minutes, or until the top starts to brown.
Reduce the heat to 375 (or whatever your pie filling recipe advises -- Mine calls for 350, if you're making my "deconstructed latke with applesauce" pie).

Pour in the filling (see below), and bake until the pie is set.

Apple Pie Filling
(you may need less since the latke crust is a bit thicker than a regular crust.  That's OK, the apples are super tasty on their own, to snack on while the pie is baking)

Ingredients:

6 to 7 medium apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (about 7 cups total) -- I tried to lessen the amount of apples because my crust was particularly thick.  I used 2.5 LARGE apples (1 Rome apple, 1.5 Braeburn apples), but I ended up with a lot of apples, so I ended up keeping the following amounts as is, except the butter -- but that is noted below. 
2 tablespoons lemon juice 
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar -- I used some dark brown sugar (less than 1/4 cup), since I didn't want to open another box of light brown sugar, so I lessened the amount slightly.
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced -- I used 1.5 Tablespoons
 
Directions:
 
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a large bowl, combine the apples, lemon juice, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger; toss to combine.
Mound the apples in the crust-lined pan, making the center higher than the sides.
Dot the top evenly with the pieces of butter. I ended up using half of the butter since I didn't want it too soupy and to make the crust soggy.
I covered it with foil.
 
Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake until the apples feel tender, mine took about 30-40 minutes.  After that, I removed the foil and let it bake a little longer, about 5-10 minutes
Remove the pie from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
Let the pie rest for 20 minutes before slicing.
Serve warm or at room temperature.  

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Pecan pie ruggelach

The first thing I ever saw with recipes for Thanksgivukkah had some totally delicious sounding recipes, and some that, well, didn't sound too tasty (for example, a pumpkin pie with rye crust).  The one recipe that totally caught my eye was a recipe for Pecan Pie Ruggelach.  Now you might know, or at least remember reading about a year ago, but I am not a fan of pecan pie.  So why, you ask, did this recipe catch my eye?  Well, for two reasons, really.  First of all, it completely mixed foods from Channukkah and Thanksgiving without sounding weird or bizarre (ok, ok, I will give you the fact that Ruggalach is not really a Channukkah food, as much as a Jewish food, but still).  And secondly?  They combine two of my dad's all time favorite sweets ever.

 

So a few weeks before Thanksgivukkah, I started working on the recipe.  The first batch was, let's just say tasty, since they weren't really pretty.  The recipe warned that the filling would ooze out, but mine oozed out, onto the parchment paper, and then under the parchment paper onto the pan.  Cleaning off the pan was not fun.  In retrospect, I don't think I rolled the dough thin enough, and then I didn't cut them into enough pieces (I did 8 instead of 16).  And since I think I didn't roll it thin enough, I think they were too small, and so the filling was really thick. 

But you know what?  While they weren't pretty, the filling was delicious.  And that is A LOT coming from a non-pecan pie fan.  It helps that while there were pecans in there, there was also some browned butter, dark brown sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla.  I went out to dinner that night with my parents, my sisters, and B, and gave my parents and B a ruggelach to taste (remember those pesky sisters of mine?  Pesky in the sense that they don't eat sweets....well, they didn't want to try any), and the response was unanimous -- they're delicious!  So since they were so tasty, I plan to go back and tried to make them again, this time thinner, and more pretty.




Pecan Pie Ruggelach
from the Thanksgivukkah menu I saw on Buzzfeed (the same menu that featured that less-than-appetizing sounding pumpkin pie that I mentioned before).


Ingredients:

Dough:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into 8 pieces
1/2 cup cream cheese (4 oz), cut into 4 pieces

Filling:

2 cups shelled pecan halves
1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick), cut into 4 pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup dark brown sugar

Egg wash:
1 egg
1 tablespoon water

Special equipment:
Electric hand mixer
Plastic wrap
2 cookie sheets
Parchment paper
Rolling pin
Pizza cutter (not essential)

Directions:

Make the dough:

Let butter and cream cheese sit out at room temperature for 10 minutes, so that they are still cool but slightly soft.
Combine flour and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
Using a hand mixer, mix on a low speed just until combined.
Scatter butter and cream cheese pieces over the top of the flour mixture, and beat on medium speed until dough is the texture of cottage cheese, still slightly crumbly.
Use your hands to divide the dough into 2 equal pieces, then roll each piece into a ball.
Flatten each ball into a disk about 1 inch thick and 4 inches in diameter, then wrap each one separately in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 2 hours, up to 1 day.

Make the filling:

Using a knife, finely chop pecans and put in a medium mixing bowl. (Do NOT do chop the nuts in a food processor. You want the pecans to be chopped but still coarse, and a food processor will turn them into nut butter.)
In a small saucepan over medium heat, brown the butter by adding all 4 pieces at once and constantly stirring with a heatproof spatula until completely melted.
Continue to stir or swirl the pan as butter starts to bubble and foam.
When the foam subsides slightly and butter turns a light brown color, take it off the heat immediately and add the it to the chopped pecans.
Add vanilla extract, corn syrup, and brown sugar, and mix with a rubber spatula just until combined.

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Beat egg yolk with the tablespoon of water and set aside.

When dough is chilled, unwrap one disk onto a lightly floured surface, and roll with a rolling pin into a 12-inch circle.
It is important to have an even, symmetrical circle, so trim any excess.
If dough gets too soft during rolling, lay it on one of the lined baking sheets and put it in the freezer for 5 minutes, until slightly chilled.
Once the dough is rolled out, sprinkle half of the pecan mixture on top of the dough, all the way to the edges of the circle, making sure the mixture is evenly distributed.
With a pizza cutter (or a knife), cut dough into 16 equal slices.
Roll each slice from the outside in (starting the wide end and rolling towards the point), placing each roll onto the cookie sheet as you go.
Repeat this process with the other disk of dough.

Use a pastry brush to coat the top of each cookie with the egg-water mixture.
Bake rugelach for 20 minutes until golden, turning the cookie sheet halfway through baking.  The filling will ooze out, don't worry, there is plenty still inside.  Once they're cooled, break away the parts that oozed out.  The original recipe recommends eating them.  I second that!

Cool completely before serving.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Chocolate chunk and caramel brownie cups

I have a bunch of friends who are super athletic and do crazy things (in my opinion) like running the NYC Marathon!  A bunch of us are going out on Sunday to cheer one of my friends on, and then afterwards are going to her in-laws apartment where they are hosting a little celebratory get-together for my friend.  And you know me, I never like to show up empty handed!

 
I wasn't sure what to make, but I knew it couldn't be delicate or too bulky, since I'd be walking around the city carrying the dessert.  After a few different ideas, I decided on brownies.  But after a bit of deliberation, I decided to make the brownies in cupcake wrappers.  Easy transport....and easy eating!

 
I had a crazy day at work on Friday and ended up leaving over an hour and a half late (!!!).  I got home with little turnaround time before I had to go meet B in the East Village.  Enter the one bowl brownie!

 
I had all the ingredients in my apartment except for the toffee chips.  So instead I substituted caramel pieces (Kraft Caramel Bits, to be exact) for the toffee.  I baked them in cupcake wrappers sprayed with a little Pam.  I made full sized brownie "cupcakes" and got 24.  I also cut down the baking time to 20 minutes.

*Disclosure: I ended up not bringing the brownies to the get together, but I did bring them to trivia the next night, and they were well received!

from Picky Palate

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1.5 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups chocolate chunks
8 ounce bag milk chocolate toffee chips  I substituted Kraft Caramel Bits instead

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.
Line an 8x8 inch baking dish with foil that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  I used cupcake papers, but made sure to spray them with Pam.

Place butter into a large mixing bowl and microwave until melted and hot.
Pour in chocolate chips and stir until mostly melted.  It is OK if it's not perfectly smooth.
Add flour, salt, and sugars.
Mix a few times then add egg yolks and eggs and oil.
Mix until well combined, then add chocolate chunks and toffee chips caramel bits.

Transfer batter to prepared dish, spreading evenly.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, until cooked through.  I baked my cupcake brownies for 20 minutes.
Let cool.