Finally back to baking! Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.

I am home!
After grocery shopping today, I decided to try a new-almost good for you-recipe.
"Healthy" Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.

One reason these cookies are "healthy" is the recipe calls for applesauce rather than oil. It also has a small amount of butter compared to most cookie formulas.

Ingredients:

1 c. AP (all purpose) flour.              1 egg

1 tsp baking powder                       1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce

1/2 tsp baking soda                         1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp salt                                      1 1/3 c. rolled oats

2 Tbsp unsalted butter                     1/2 c. raisins

1/2 c. sugar                                     1/2 c. brown sugar

Procedure:

1) Combine first four ingredients.

2) Beat together butter and sugar. Add in brown sugar, followed by the egg, applesauce, and vanilla (mix well after adding each ingredient).

3) Fold in flour mixture followed by the oats and raisins.

4) Teaspoon onto a sheet pan and gently flatten with a fork.

5) Bake for 10-12 minutes in a 375 degree oven.
*Rotate halfway through baking time.
**Chewy cookies will still look raw after 12 minutes in the oven. For crisp cookies, extend baking time.

 

This recipe is definitely a keeper! They are delicious!! I can't wait to enjoy a couple with my cappuccino tonight. =)

Comment from John after learning the cookies were "healthy"-"But they still taste good!"

I'm not lying-these cookies are YUM-O!

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Baking 114 Day 12

Because today is the day before Thanksgiving, we made yummy Thanksgiving treats. I usually don't associate gingerbread cookies with Thanksgiving (I tend to think of it as a Christmas cookie..) but, thats what Chef said we were going to make, and I was not going to argue. Partly because I absolutely love love love gingerbread cookies (without icing). They go amazing with a big mug of cappuccino....=)

before baking

the ones in the middle are turkeys...not chickens. 

I also made a sweet potato pie for my brother. (his favorite) 

I can't wait to have a slice. Sweet potato is my absolute favorite vegetable. 

Sweet Potato Pie, before being decorated

Tuesday we made a strawberry sorbet bombe. This is SO good. It is filled with a raspberry mousse, and placed on top of a coconut sponge cake.

 

Strawberry Sorbet Bombe

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Baking 112 Practical #3

For our last practical we had to make 1 Pithivier, Palmiers, and Mille Feuille (Napoleans)

Pithivier

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Baking 112 Day 12

Pictures of products from the puff pastry I made this week.

Yummy Parmesan cheese straws!

Palmiers. (Elephant Ears)

Baked Brie

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Baking 111 Day 12

Today in class we were told we had to come up with our own petit four and present it in front of the class. Chef said we could make anything we wanted, as long as we could classify it as a petit four. If we chose something that we had made in class, we had to change the flavors. My partner, Holly, chose to make the opera cake. But instead of using the classic coffee and rum flavors, she made a mint opera cake. It was the best one out of everybody's! It was amazing!

I made cherry cheesecake cookie bites. Instead of a regular cracker crumb crust, these little bites have a chocolate chip cookie as a crust. In the original recipe, these are made in regular muffin tins. They make great individual desserts. I just used smaller muffin tins. They came out great! Everyone seemed to like them.

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More pictures from two weeks ago.

We had to temper chocolate to make these petit fours. It took me a couple tries, but I finally got the technique down.

Florentine Cookies

The stick cookies are Baton Marechauxs

Almond Tuiles

I hate making these! You have to work with them right when they come out of the oven because once they cool down, you can't shape them or they will crack. It's so hard! These were the only two out of my whole batch that didn't crack!

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Baking 111. Day 8

Today was a light production day. We worked on three different cookies. All of them petit four size. Very tasty too =)

Left: Samoa. Middle: Earthquake cookie. Right: Jam Jewel (or thumbprint)

Samoa. (homemade girl scout cookies =))

Butter 6 oz

Sugar 4 oz

Salt 1/4 tsp

Egg yolk 2 oz

Cake fl. 8 oz.

Mixing.

Cream together butter, sugar, and salt. Add yolk. Add cake flour.

Roll out dough. (refrigerate if its too soft to handle) Cut out circles of desired size.

Bake until you get a nice color on bottom.

Top with caramel, toasted coconut, and chocolate.

Caramel for Samoa

Butter 3 oz

Sugar 1/2 c

Corn syrup 1/2 c

Condensed milk 1/2 c

Vanilla 1/2 tsp.

Melt butter in a pot with sugar and light corn syrup. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Let cook until you get a nice caramel color. Remove from heat and stir in condensed milk and vanilla.

Earthquake cookies.

Chocolate 4 oz

Butter 2 oz

Brown sugar 4.25 oz

Eggs 1

Vanilla 1 tsp

Cake flour 2 oz

Bread flour 1.375 oz

Cocoa powder 1/4 c

Baking powder 3/4 tsp

Salt 1/8 tsp

Milk 1.375 oz

Mixing.

Melt chocolate and butter over double boiler.

Whip eggs, sugar, and vanilla together. Sift dry ingredients.

Fold melted chocolate/butter into egg mixture. Fold in dry ingredients. Fold in milk.

Chill till firm.

Scoop dough into small balls. Roll in powdered sugar. Bake in 350 degree oven for 5-7 minutes.

Cookies will still look raw when they are done.

Jam Jewel.

Butter 4 oz

Powdered sugar 4 oz

Cream cheese 2.5 oz

Egg yolk 1/2 oz

Vanilla 3/4 tsp

All purpose flour 9 oz

Baking soda 1/4 tsp

Baking powder 1/8 tsp

Salt 1/4 tsp

Mixing.

Cream together butter, p. sugar, and cream cheese.

Add yolk and vanilla.

Add dry ingredients.

Roll dough into 1" balls. Press dent in top with thumb or 1/4 tsp. Fill with jam.

Bake at 325 for 7 minutes. rotate pan. bake for another 4-5 minutes.

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Pictures from last week. Baking 111 Day 1-4

These pictures are from last week. We are still working on petit fours. These are only a few of the ones we have done. More pictures to come.

Top: pate a choux swans. Middle: Linzer cookies. Bottom: Lemon macaroons with a raspberry cream filling.

Lemon Macaroons.

Almond flour 125 g

10x sugar 225 g

Egg whites 100 g

Sugar 30 g

Cream of tarter 1/2 tsp

Mixing.

Sift almond flour and 10x sugar together. Beat egg whites while slowly adding sugar and cream of tarter. Fold in dry ingredients. Pipe onto sheet tray into quarter size rounds. Let sit out for 20-30 minutes. Bake in 275 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

Any kind of jam can be used for the filling. These macaroons are sandwiched with raspberry flavored pastry cream.

Linzer cookies.

Butter 4 oz
Sugar 3 0z

Salt 1/4 tsp

ground hazelnuts 2.5 oz

Eggs .8 oz

Vanilla 1/8 tsp

Pastry flour 5 oz

Cinnamon about 1/2 tsp

Nutmeg pinch

Mixing.

Cream together butter, sugar, and salt until smooth. Add hazelnuts and blend in. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix until just absorbed. Sift in the flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix until evenly blended. Chill several hours before using.

Roll out dough. Cut out cookies of desired size. Using a smaller cookie cutter, cut out the middles of half of the cookies. Bake in 350 degree oven until you get a slight color on the cookie.

After cookies have cooled, dust the holey cookies with powdered or doughnut sugar. Spread jam on the bottom cookies and lay holey cookies on top.

*These are great Christmas cookies!!

Pate a choux swans

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Baking 110. Day 13

Today we baked chocolate sourdough, soft pretzels, and cookie bread. The chocolate sourdough was my favorite! It was great. It reminded me of my mom's biscuits with chocolate gravy. yummy =)

chocolate sourdough rolls. cookie bread roll.

cinnamon sugar pretzel.

Cookie Bread.

For the sweet dough-

Milk 1/2 cup

yeast 2 t.

All purpose Fl. 14 oz

Eggs 3 ea.

Salt 1.5 t

Sugar 2.5 oz

Butter 4 oz.

Mixing.

Scald milk. let cool to 105 degrees. Add yeast.

Mix together flour, milk/yeast, eggs until combined. Let rest for 15 minutes.

Add salt, mix on speed 1 for 3 minutes.

Add sugar in 2 stages.

Add butter in 2 stages.

Let dough rest in refrigerator overnight.

For cookie dough.

Butter 2.1 oz

Sugar 2.1 oz

Egg yolk 2 ea.

All purpose Fl. 4 oz

Mixing.

Creaming method.

Cream together butter and sugar. add eggs-mix well. add flour-mix until combined.

let rest in refrigerator overnight.

Scale sweet dough into small 1.5 oz balls.

Roll out cookie dough in between two sheets of plastic wrap.

Using a biscuit cutter, cut out circles of cookie dough.

Cover each sweet dough roll with a cookie circle.

Let sit out for about an hour.

Bake in 400 degree oven until light brown.

Chocolate Sourdough.

Biga

Water 3 oz

Yeast 2 t.

Bread flour 5 oz

Mix together. Let proof for 1 hour.

For the dough.

Water 16 0z

Biga from above

Bread fl. 13 0z

Cake fl. 8 oz

Almond fl. 3 oz

Yeast 1/4 oz

Cocoa powder 1.125 oz

Salt 1/4 oz

Chocolate, melted 2 0z

Chocolate chips 8 0z

Mix together all ingredients in a mixing bowl on speed 1 for 5 minutes.

Mix on speed 2 for 3 minutes.

Bulk ferment until double in size.

Scale and shape as desired. (loaves, muffins, rolls, etc.)

Proof until double in size.

Bake in 400 degree oven.

Soft Pretzel.

All purpose flour 3 cups

Sugar 1 T

dough conditioner 1 T (optional)

butter or vegetable oil 1 T

salt 1 t

yeast 2 t

water 1 cup

Mix dough ingredients together in mixer until cohesive and smooth. (should be sticky.)

Round, cover, and let rest for 30 minutes.

Divide dough into six pieces. Roll out each piece into rope. (about 24 " long)

Shape each rope into a pretzel. Dip pretzel in baking soda wash. ( 3 T water, 2 T sugar, 2 t baking soda). Lay pretzel on well greased sheet pan. Sprinkle pretzel with kosher salt if desired.

Bake in 400 degree oven for 12-15 minutes.

For cinnamon sugar pretzels. Brush hot pretzels with melted butter then dip in cinnamon sugar.

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Flourless peanut butter cookies.

I was looking at different food blogs earlier and I ran across this recipe for flourless peanut butter cookies on Joy the Baker's blog. The recipe looked so easy, I had to try it. So I baked these with the help of my boyfriend, Kyle. =) They are yummy!!!

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies.

All natural peanut butter. (chunky or smooth) 1 cup

Sugar 1 cup

Egg 1

Baking Soda 1 teaspoon

Cream together peaunt butter and sugar for about two minutes.

Add egg and baking soda. Mix for another two minutes.

Roll into balls and make a criss cross pattern on each cookie

with a fork.

Bake for about 10 minutes in 350 degree oven.

Let cool and enjoy!

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Blondies.

I've never made blondies before so I was excited about this assignment! These apricot pecan blondies turned out great. So delicious!

Blondies.

Brown sugar 16 0z

Sugar 8 0z

Butter 8 oz

Water 2 oz

Eggs 8 oz

Vanilla 1 tsp

Baking Powder 1/4 oz

Cake flour 16 0z

Nuts 12 0z

Garnish 4 0z

Mixing.

Melt butter. Sift dry ingredients.

Add sugars to dry. Add butter. Mix well.

Mix eggs, water, vanilla. Add to flour mixture slowly.

Fold in garnish.

Bake in 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes.

Makes 1/2 sheet tray.

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checkerboard and pinwheel icebox cookies.

These cookies are from the first week of class. They were fun to make! My partner and I added curry to the plain dough to contrast with the chocolate. It was delicious! I have to work on those checkerboards. Chef said they needed to be more square shaped. And they do! Those are more of a rectangle shape. Oh well, thats what practice is for!

Icebox Cookies.

Butter 1 lb

Granulated Sugar 8 0z

Powdered Sugar 8 oz

Salt .25 oz

Eggs 4 oz

Vanilla Extract .25 oz

Pastry Flour 1.5 lb

Mixing:

Creaming Method

Makeup:

Chill dough. Roll out to desired shape when ready to bake. Slice cookies evenly.

Bake in 375 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.

*for chocolate dough

add 4 oz of melted, unsweetened chocolate to creamed butter and sugar.

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Baking 101. Day 5

Today we finished our almond macaroons by filling them with raspberry jam. It took awhile to get the macaroons like this. I practiced for three days before our practical today. I still need practice...

Almond Macaroons.

Powdered Sugar 6 0z

Almond Flour 4 1/3 oz

Egg Whites 4 0z

Sugar 3.5 oz

Mixing:

Sift P. sugar and flour.

Whip egg whites and add sugar slowly as for cold meringue.

Fold in flour mixture.

Pipe on parchment paper.

Let dry for one hour.

Cook at 275 for about 20 minutes.

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Baking 101. Day 2-cookies.

My first week in the kitchen!! Today I made chocolate chip cookies and sugar cookies. We are studying the creaming method. So far I've learned that it is quite messy!!
Sugar Cookies.

8 oz Butter and/or shortening

10 oz Sugar

0.16 oz Salt

2 oz Eggs

2 oz Milk

0.25 oz Vanilla extract

1.25 lb Cake flour

0.63 oz Baking Powder

Mixing:
Creaming method

Makeup:
Drop method




Chocolate Chip Cookies.

5 oz Butter or half butter and half shortening

4 oz Granulated sugar

4 oz Brown sugar

0.12 oz Salt

3 oz Eggs

0.16 oz Vanilla extract

10 oz Pastry flour

0.12 oz Baking soda

10 oz Chocolate chips

4 oz chopped nuts

Mixing:
Creaming method

Makeup:
Drop method

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