Marshmallow: Rocky Road

This version of homemade marshmallows was prefectly ooey-gooey for some rocky road candy. Here is the picture of the delightful treat -- I need to run to get on a plane. I'll post the recipe on Monday when I return.

Marshmallows: Homemade Smores

This morning, I finished up my homemade smores. I made the smores with my version of Ina Garten's Marshmallows, Honey-Scented Graham Crackers, and bittersweet chocolate.

As for the marshmallows, I added orange oil instead of vanilla extract to complement the bittersweet chocolate and to highlight the honey in the graham crackers. I liked the orange-scented marshmallows for this purpose but for eating marshmallows out of hand, i prefer a strong vanilla flavor. As you may remember from yesterdays blog, Ina's Marshmallows don't have egg whites like Mama Reiner's Marshmallows, but instead use various sugars and gelatin. I prefer the deep flavor of Ina's and the light texture of Mama Reiner's. I'm going to have to experiment to see if I can create a hybrid.

The Honey-Scented Graham Crackers turned out tasty and are a bit like a cross between the biscuits used in "Hit Cookies" and "Honey Maid Graham Crackers." I like the strong honey flavor. I used my big brother's own artisan wild honey in the crackers-- they are quite lovely. I'm excited about eating the rest for breakfast and snacks during the next couple days.

For the chocolate, I used a large 60% baking chip. To balance out the strong honey, I placed three chips below the marshmallow and two chips above the marshmallow. Sandwiching the marshmallow with chocolate will satisfy any chocolate craving.

To toast the marshmallow, I used my trusty mini blow torch, but I'm sure that any broiler or fire would would as well.

I think am going make rocky road candy next.

Change of Plans: Marshmallows

I have had a busy month with lots of travel and new responsibilities -- you know the story. I have slacked a bit on blogging but have missed it. During the last month, I have tried to develop a tasty savory biscotti recipe without much success. I'm not entirely giving up on finding the perfect crackers but am changing course for now. I woke up yesterday morning with an urge to create whimsical, fun marshmallow petite fours. Here are the baby blue cuties -- adorned with marzipan buds similar to those used on my cupcakes late summer. The treats are not only cute but I love taste too -- a light, vanilla puff topped off with an almond, chocolate crunch.

I used Mama Reiner's Marshallows, an egg white based recipe. If you are going to tint your marshmallows, add the dye to the sugar syrup. This works better than adding the coloring directly to the egg whites. When I adding the blue dye to the egg whites, the batch turned out wet and flat. I used a fluted biscuit cutter to shape the petite fours. To glue the flowers to the marshmallows, use a tiny bit of ganache or melted chocolate.

For the sake of comparison, I'm going to take Ina Garten's recipe for a test drive. Ina's recipe uses sugar and gelatin with no egg whites.

Crackers: Midterm Report

Here are some of my savory five-spice biscotti. I tinkered with an old favorite recipe by decreasing the sugar and increasing the salt a bit. Then, I added freshly ground anise, cinnamon and five-spice to the batter. The resulting crackers were only slightly above average but not great. Interesting enough, the biscotti were too buttery. Rarely, do I hear from the tasting panel that my goods have too much butter. The butter brings a cookie-like texture to the biscotti instead of the preferred hard crunch. I’m going to play around with the recipe some more today. I will share with you what I discover.

Thanks for stopping by...

Help Wanted: A Cookie Without A Name

I just got back from Chicago. We spent a couple days eating our way through the city. We ate in a couple of the windy city's gastro-techie restaurants. We also ate stuffed pizza, Mexican and soul food. Needless to say, neither of our stomachs suffered from hunger pains the last several days.

One of my favorite finds during the trip was this little Italian deli located off of Michigan Avenue. The deli had a lemon cookie that was amazing. The cookie called my name every time that I walked by the deli during my visit. They are so tasty. The cookie has a delightful lemon taste with the perfect tender crumble. A lemon-sugar glazed lovingly coats the cookie.

After a couple days of taking a cookie break while touring Chicago, I decided that the cookie would be a good cookie for Christmas gift giving. Paired with a deep chocolate cookie, this cookie would be the perfect match. I decided that I would ask the counter attendant for the real name of the cookie and then find a recipe on my own. Much to my sadness, Sophia, the counter attendant, did not know the name. Lemon Cookie could not be the treat's full given name. Do any of you know the name of this Italian lemon cookie? If you do, I will be in your debt. I will even bake you a batch and send it to you once I find and perfect the recipe. Above is the picture -- apologies for the awful photograph; next time I need to travel with my good camera. Please help. It is long journey to Chicago from Miami to satisfy a cookie craving.

Thyme-Lemon-Pepper Butter Crackers

After a brief hiatus because of some technical issues, I am back baking away. Today, I baked up some Thyme-Lemon-Butter Crackers. As you can see from the pictures, they are buttery, flavor-packed little bites. I modified a recipe found in the Professional Pastry Chef by adding some wheat flour and thyme. I made bite-size crackers because that way you can eat more with less guilt:)

The key to the recipe is letting the dough rest in the fridge before rolling it out – similar to making pie crust. I made a couple batches that were less than pretty because I did not have the dough cold enough and did not dust the dough flour before rolling it out. After some trial and error, I found that the cracker works best when rolled out to 1/8 inch in thickness. Any thinner and the butter in the dough gets to soft; any thicker and you lose the cracker's tender flakiness.

The tasting panel loved the crackers and ate them up very quickly. With a burst of herb-filled nuttiness, they are a perfect pre-dinner snack. Click here for the recipe.

Next Up: Crackers

Next, I am going to make various crackers. I’m thinking cheese, honey wheat, & sea salt-rosemary biscotti. And maybe some graham crackers to keep things a little sweet. I’ll keep you posted.

Sidebar: Spicy Ginger Cookies

A soft, ginger cookie can be simple magic. In my search for the prefect ginger cookie, I have tasted more mediocre than wonderful cookies. Most ginger cookies have more pumpkin spices than ginger. Often molasses masks the ginger in both taste and aroma. A magical ginger cookie is a rare find.

In my eye, the main theme of a ginger cookie should be ginger, with the other ingredients playing supporting roles. I have tinkered with many recipes to find the right balance and texture. I believe that I found something noteworthy this week. My recipe uses honey instead of molasses to allow the ginger shine through. Also, black pepper and an ample amount of salt complement the ginger bringing a welcomed complexity to the cookie. In the spirit of the recent NY Times article on the perfect chocolate chip cookies, I have found that giving the cookie dough a day’s rest prior to baking gives the cookie a well-developed flavor.

A ginger cookie should have a soft chew with a crisp exterior. Often, ginger cookies are all crisp and no chew. In my view, those treats have merit but there really gingersnaps and not true ginger cookies. In my trials, I found that cooling these cookies completely on the baking tray helps them have a soft inside with a crisp exterior. This trick works with other cookies as well.

When you need a cozy treat, try these spicy ginger cookies and let me know what you think.

Click here for the spicy ginger cookie’s recipe.

Marzipan: Final Report

Making Apples was the final leg of my marzipan project. Again, I blended and swirled different colors to achieve natural color variations. I used simple syrup as a glaze to achieve more color variation and a shiny wax-like finish. To see the instructions for the apples, click here. You can also see how I made Marzipan Baby Carrots, Marzipan Raspberries, and Marzipan Forget-Me-Not Flowers.

Marzipan: Midterm Report IV

Making these marzipan forget-me-not flowers was my first rolled marzipan project. I used cornstarch instead of powdered sugar or flour to help reduce the dough's stickiness. Melted chocolate acts as the glue which adds color interest to the bud. I'll post the flower instructions with my final report.


Click here to go to Marzipan's Final Report