Peppermint Bark Cookies - Or, An E for Effort

I've been searching for an innovative Christmas cookie recipe that I can bake and bring home for the holidays. Bon Appetit's peppermint bark cookie recipe immediately grabbed my attention, since it combines two favorite treats - shortbread and peppermint bark - in one bite! So, I tested the recipe this weekend. My eagerness for the recipe's end result caused me to overlook the unusual amount of effort required to get there, which was hinted at in the recipe but proved to be even greater in execution. The recipe is below, along with my commentary in italics.

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 2 C all-purpose flour
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 C sugar
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 large egg yolk
• 6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (This is about 3/4 C, but I put 1 C in and still could have used more.)
• 1/2 C finely chopped red-and-white-striped hard peppermint candies or candy canes
• 2 ounces high-quality white chocolate

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan with nonstick spray. Line bottom of pan with long strip of 9-inch-wide parchment paper, leaving overhang on both short sides of pan.
2. Whisk flour and salt in medium bowl.
3. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in sugar. Continue beating until mixture is light and fluffy, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl, about 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla, then egg yolk. Gradually add flour mixture, beating on low speed just to blend. I beat well beyond a "just blended" state in an effort to achieve a dough-like consistency - no such luck.
4. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls into prepared baking pan, spacing evenly. Using moistened fingertips, press dough to form even layer over bottom of pan. Pierce dough all over with fork. The dough was so crumbly, I didn't think it would form into a continuous layer. The moistened fingers, plus a few minutes of pressing, made all the difference. I've made shortbreads before, but none have been this resistant to forming proper dough or easily spreading throughout a pan.
5. Bake cookie base until light golden brown and slightly puffed and edges begin to come away from sides of pan, about 30 minutes. Place pan on rack when done.
6. Immediately sprinkle bittersweet chocolate over cookie base. Let stand until chocolate softens, about 3 minutes. Using small offset spatula, spread bittersweet chocolate over top of cookie in thin even layer. Immediately sprinkle chopped peppermint candies over. My semisweet chocolate chips took over 3 minutes to cool enough for spreading. The melted chocolate was easy enough to spread, but of course I did not immediately reach an even chocolate distribution. I hammered candy canes to get peppermint shards, but the canes resisted the force well and left me with peppermint powder and larger-than desired candy chunks. I ended up taking a sharp knife to the bag of candy, which was slightly more effective at creating small pieces than the hammer. Still, I wish the pieces were consistently smaller.
7. Stir white chocolate in medium metal bowl set over saucepan of simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove from over water. Using fork, drizzle white chocolate all over cookies. Chill until white chocolate is set, about 30 minutes. I enjoyed using the double-boiler method to melt the white chocolate, and I even added some candy cane powder to the chocolate for additional color and flavor, However, the chocolate did not drizzle particularly well. Also, it took the melted chocolates more than the recipe's suggested half hour to cool. The cookies were ready for removal from the pan approximately 2 hours after I applied the white chocolate.
8. Using paper overhang as aid, lift cookie from pan and transfer to work surface. Using large knife, cut cookie into pieces. The parchment paper was a great idea - cookie removal was a breeze. I cut 28 total cookies.
   
   

I had never put so much time and effort into making cookies! Fortunately, the results were pleasing. The shortbread was buttery and surprisingly chewy for such a thin cookie - the immediate application of chocolate on top must have kept a lot of moisture in! The semisweet chocolate layer was smooth and tasty, though it did not consistently stick to the shortbread. The candy pieces were also surprisingly chewy, so what initially concerned me about their size was a non-issue upon eating. Of course, the mint-and-chocolate combination was a winner. Lastly, the white chocolate drizzle with hints of peppermint powder was delicious! Ghirardelli chocolate is so sweet and smooth, and the hint of peppermint taste and cool crunch was the perfect finishing touch on this multifaceted delight.
I would make these cookies again, but I hope an easier yet equally delicious recipe will come my way!

Not Your Average Thanksgiving Dessert

My family challenged me to make a “lighter” Thanksgiving dessert. This was a reasonable request – Thanksgiving dinner is a huge affair, and even I have trouble coaxing the “dessert stomach” open after heaps of delicious turkey and plentiful, delectable sides. So, it was out with the pumpkin pie, and in with a flavorful, holiday-appropriate, and deceptively light treat from Martha Stewart’s Great Food Fast cookbook. Here’s how to make the Cranberry Upside Down Cake:

• 8 T unsalted butter
• 1 C sugar
• 1/2 t ground cinnamon
• 1/4 t ground allspice
• 1 3/4 C cranberries
• 1 large egg
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 C all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 t baking powder
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/2 C milk
• Sweetened whipped cream

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Rub the bottom and sides of an 8" round cake pan with 2 T of the butter. (Note: this degree of buttering is not necessary, but give the pan a better-than-normal coat.)
2. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 C of the sugar with the cinnamon and allspice. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan, and arrange the cranberries in a single layer on top.

3. Cream the remaining 6 T butter and 1/2 C sugar until they are light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla; beat until well combined.
4. In another bowl, whick the flour, baking powder, and salt together.
5. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk, until well combined.
6. Spoon the batter over the cranberries in the pan, and smooth the top. Place the pan on a baking sheet, and bake it until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (30-35 minutes). Then, let it cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. When it is time to remove the cake from the pan, run a knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto the platter.

There was not enough bursting of cranberries to significantly soak the cake with juice – so, this is more of a tea cake with a well-secured cranberry-sugar topping than an upside down cake proper. You can see from the post’s first image that the recipe’s recommended amount of berries did not completely cover the pan. I wonder if adding additional cranberry coverage would improve the juiciness - I'll test that out when I bake this next. The topping is a refreshing combination of sweet and tart, with the allspice providing a hint of bite that initially catches you off guard. The caramelized sugar is somewhat crunchy, and that plus the warm, soft berries is a textural treat. The cake below has a pleasant buttery vanilla flavor, and its texture is somehow creamy and light. Whipped cream is not necessary, but it doesn't hurt to add another light, sweet flavor (and texture!) to the dessert.

It goes without saying that I was able to make room for this after the holiday meal!

How About Them Apples!

Oh, the fun of baking with apples! I must share two treats made with this fall’s Londonderry Cortland harvest.

My classic apple dessert is apple crisp. It’s hard to find a dessert that’s easier to make than this. Cut four peeled, cored apples into thin slices; array the slices within a greased 9x9 square baking dish; cover in a crumble topping made of ½ cup (each) oats, flour, and brown sugar, with cinnamon to taste (oh, a tablespoon?) and enough butter to make coarse crumbs when blended with the other crumble ingredients (usually 1 stick). Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, let cool, and enjoy! Doesn’t it look tasty?

Once the obligatory crisp was baked and consumed, it was time to branch into new dessert territory. I made my first apple pie this fall, and the results were promising enough that I look forward to making more. I wanted something slightly different than the standard apple pie, so I turned to Ina Garten of Barefoot Contessa for inspiration. This citrusy apple pie recipe yielded an unusual dessert that grew on me with each bite. The lemon and orange zest and juice added so much citrus that the filling resembled an apple chutney more than simple spiced apples. Fortunately, scoops of vanilla ice cream tamed the tang when needed. Apart from the citrus, the pie filling was conventional - flour, sugar, and warm, cozy spices. You can see the pie in its various stages of progress below. To start, note the heap of fruit! This was only 5 apples; though the recipe called for 8, I didn't want to deal with an even taller mountain. Then, it was difficult to secure the top crust over the mound, but we succeeded and even brushed it with the recipe's sugary egg wash for extra cripsness and sweetness. Next, the steaming finished product is removed from the oven, juices dribbling. Lastly, we have a slice of pie with ice cream at the ready.




And, I must share a postscript. I revisited this cake for 2009's Thanksgiving breakfast, but added one recipe component I had previously ignored: a brown sugar sauce for drizzling and dipping. The result was like a thin caramel, which I poured over the warm cake as soon as the cake came out of the oven. This added delicious, sweet, chewy moisture to the cake, and the caramel taste went really well with the spiced apples. The glaze recipe made a lot of extra sauce, which I saved and poured over individual slices at breakfast time. I also dipped the occasional piece of chocolate in the pseudo-caramel, which was a most welcome treat! I might make the glaze again, cool it, and roll balls of it in melted chocolate in an attempt at caramel truffles.