dessert

The Hopefuls + All-American Apple Pie

November 10, 2016 by Megan Leave a Comment

Thankfully, election season is over. I think we can all agree it was a long one - no matter who you backed. The Hopefuls was another book I’ve had on hold for a while (it came out over the summer), and I finally got my turn with it. When I first saw the notification, a political book was the last thing I wanted to read, but somehow, the library knows exactly when to send me what I need.

Yes, most of the characters are politicians or work with/for them, and yes, it talks about the actual government (circa 2012), but The Hopefuls isn’t exactly a “political book.” At its heart, Jennifer Close’s novel is about relationships and learning to grow together. I actually found it to be a pleasant escape from the current state of politics.

Shortly after Obama’s re-election, Beth, an unemployed magazine writer, joins her husband Matt in Washington D.C., where he is taking on a new government role. At first, she struggles to adjust and hates everything about the capital city. However, when she and Matt become friends with a fellow White House staffer Jimmy and his wife, her whole outlook changes.

Beth becomes fast friends with Southern belle Ash, and the couples become nearly inseparable. As dynamic duo Matt and Jimmy take on new political opportunities, the four of them are led in directions none of them expected.

One of the more memorable scenes in the book takes place at a new cycling studio, the United States of Spinning. It is so decorated in stars and stripes and red, white and blue that Beth finds it dizzying. From the presidential portraits on the walls to the patriotic music selections, you cannot escape the fact that you are smack dab in the middle of the capital of the United States of America.

So, what recipe could possibly be more appropriate to represent The Hopefuls than an all-American apple pie? I’ll tell you what: The Best Apple Pie Ever.

I didn’t end up making my own crust this time, but you can easily use the recipe from my pumpkin pie (double it to have enough for a lattice top) or take a shortcut and buy some refrigerated crust like I did.

Start with 8 small Granny Smith apples.

I used a newly purchased (if slightly dysfunctional) apple peeler machine to peel all of them, and it worked mostly well. After they were peeled, I cored and sliced them. Do your best to get them about the same thickness, but I personally like a little variety in texture after they’re baked down.

While the oven preheats to 425 degrees F, melt a stick of butter over medium heat in a medium saucepan. (It doesn’t specify, and I usually use unsalted butter for baking recipes, but I opted to use salted butter here since there was no additional salt in the recipe.) Add the flour to the melted butter and mix well. Mine didn’t form a “paste” but it got quite thick. Add all of the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil (for one minute) before reducing the heat and simmering for another minute.

It will form a delicious caramel-y syrup. Use about ¾ of this to coat the apples, by gently stirring/tossing them in their large bowl. (The original recipe recommends using ⅔ of the mixture, but I felt like I had a little too much when it came to the top.)

Pour the coated apples into the bottom pie crust, mounding it a little towards the center. Cover with your lattice top (or whichever top you prefer; I happen to prefer lattice, despite my inexperience). Brush the remainder of the caramel-y mixture over the top of the crust.

Before it goes in the oven, lightly spray some aluminum foil with baking spray so it doesn’t stick to the pie. Place the pie dish on a cookie sheet and bake it for 10-12 minutes at 425 degrees F. Then, turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake it for an additional 50 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the apples are soft. Mine baked longer, about 65 or 70 minutes, so that I could get the right color on the crust and the apples were baked through to my liking.

Wait as long as you can for it to cool and then cut it up to share. 🙂 This pie would make an excellent addition to your Thanksgiving celebration, or whenever you have a hankering for some delicious apple pie.

The Best Apple Pie Ever

Servings: 8-10
Time: roughly 2 hours, using pre-made crust
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From: Audrey’s Apron

Ingredients

2 refrigerated pie crusts (1 package), or 2 batches of homemade crust
7 to 8 small granny smith apples, peeled, sliced, and cored
1 stick butter
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
¼ cup water
½ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 heaping tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla

Directions

Place the peeled, cored, and sliced apples in a large bowl. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 425F.
In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add the 3 tbsp of flour and mix well, forming a paste. Add the water, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla and mix well. Bring to a boil for 1 minute, then reduce heat to a simmer for an additional minute.
Remove from heat and reserve about 1/3 cup of filling for pie crust. Add remaining filling to apples. Toss well.
Pour apples into prepared pie crust, mounding slightly. Top with second pie crust (lattice design, etc). Brush the remaining 1/3 cup caramel filling over the crust.
Cover the pie loosely with aluminum foil. I lightly spray the foil so it does not stick to the pie. Place the pie on top of a cookie sheet (to catch any drips) and bake at 425F for 10-12 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350F and bake for another 50 minutes (remove the foil the last 10 minutes to let the crust brown), or until done. The pie is done when the crust is golden-brown and the apples are soft when pierced with a fork.
Allow the pie to cool before serving. Enjoy!

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child + Exploding Truffles

October 30, 2016 by Megan 1 Comment

As though magically conjured, the library book I placed a hold on back in July finally became available last weekend - just in time for Halloween! I wasted no time starting (and finishing) the long-awaited Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, better known to some as “Harry Potter #8.” As with all the others, I read it as quickly as I could, though thankfully this was much shorter than Deathly Hallows.

For a moment, it was nice to be back in Harry Potter’s world. But I quickly realized it wasn’t the world I know and love. Yes, there was Harry and Ron and Hermione. There was Hogwarts and Professor McGonagall. There was even Draco Malfoy. What was missing was the actual intricacies of the world that J.K. Rowling created, the details that immersed me from the very first chapter of the very first book.

True, this is the script of a play rather than a book. I’m sure a lot of the magic comes across in the costumes, in the acting and on the stage. I can understand that and forgive that it’s just the nature of a play to have less description than a novel.

What makes me wish I hadn’t read it is that being an adult is relatively unmagical - even, oddly, in a magical world. Our famous trio is all grown up. They have jobs and children. They have bad eyesight. It was weird to read, and not just because their adulthood felt pretty much like it does in the muggle world. I think I would’ve been happily comfortable leaving Harry, Ron and Hermione right where we left them (before the final book’s epilogue) - in a magical world full of possibility.

Upon finishing, I decided that the only cure for how I was feeling was chocolate. Everyone knows it has mood-enhancing properties, even in the wizarding world. And, in true Halloween (and Weasley) fashion, I thought it would be fun to make something that was both a trick and a treat - Exploding Truffles.

Since this was my first attempt at making candy, I was a little nervous but mostly excited. Surprisingly, finding the Pop Rocks was the hardest part of the task; it turned out to be a very easy recipe to make. ( if you’re having as much trouble as I did finding Pop Rocks, even at the height of Halloween candy madness, I suggest a trip to Party City.) You can choose whichever flavor you like. I chose strawberry, which worked really well with the chocolate.

I began by chopping my chocolate into smaller chunks, while my heavy cream simmered on the stove top.

Once the cream is hot, pour over the chocolate pieces and whisk to melt it until together they form a well-combined and smooth mixture. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 3 hours to firm up. (You could probably read the entirety Cursed Child while it’s chilling.)

After it’s chilled, scoop the ganache into small balls (about ¾ inches) and then roll them between your palms to round them out. This doesn’t really get as messy as it seems like it would.

Pour 4 of the Pop Rocks packets onto a plate or into a bowl, leaving one packet for decorating with later. Roll each truffle ball in the candy until it’s well-covered, setting each completed one on a baking sheet covered in aluminum. It’s best to work quickly so that the Pop Rocks are exposed to the air as little as possible (especially if it’s humid). Mine began crackling as soon as I took them out of the package!

Once finished, plate the truffles in the freezer while you prepare the dipping chocolate (I chose dark chocolate). When that is melted and ready, lower each truffle into the bowl of chocolate using a fork and coat well. Be sure to remove any excess chocolate, which can be done by tapping the fork against the side of the bowl.

Place each truffle back on the foiled baking sheet. While the chocolate is still melted - it dries quickly, so I would do it immediately - sprinkle a few Pop Rocks from the last packet on top.

The original recipe suggests letting them sit in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to set, but I was impatient and they tasted great as soon as they were covered in chocolate!

These delicious truffles would be an excellent addition to any Halloween party, Harry Potter-themed party, or Harry Potter-themed Halloween party. They are also fun to spring on unsuspecting coworkers in October, or just enjoy them on your average weeknight at home!

Print Recipe

Exploding Truffles

Prep Time45 mins

Cook Time3 hrs 15 mins

Inactive Time3 hrs 15 mins

Total Time4 hrs

Course: Dessert

Servings: 24

Ingredients

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate about 1 cup chopped
4 ounces heavy cream
5 .33-oz envelopes popping candy, like Pop Rocks [I recommend 6 to be on the safe side]
12 ounces chocolate candy coating [I recommend dark chocolate]

Instructions

Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place it in a medium heat-safe bowl. Place the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring it to a simmer.
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and allow it to soften the chocolate for a minute. Use a whisk to blend the cream and chocolate together. Stir until you have a smooth, homogenous mixture. Press a piece of plastic wrap on top of the ganache and refrigerate it until it is firm enough to scoop, about 3 hours.
Scoop the ganache mixture into small balls, about 3/4" in diameter, and roll them into circles between your palms. If the ganache starts to melt and stick, use a little cocoa powder on your palms to prevent sticking.
Once they're rolled into balls, open 4 of the Pop Rocks envelopes and pour them into a small bowl. (Do not open them early, as the humidity in the air will start to make them sticky once the package is opened.) Roll a truffle ball in the Pop Rocks, then roll it briefly between your palms to embed the candy into the ganache. If the rocks don't stick, briefly roll the truffle between your palms to soften the chocolate, then roll it in Pop Rocks.
Set the coated truffles on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil, and repeat with remaining truffles and Pop Rocks. At this point you want to dip the truffles as quickly as possible, to avoid exposing the Pop Rocks to air for an extended amount of time. However, the ganache might be a bit too soft for dipping, so I recommend putting the truffles in the freezer while preparing the dipping chocolate.
You don't want to freeze them, just chill them quickly for about 5-10 minutes. If you do not plan on dipping them immediately, do not put them in the freezer, just wrap them well with cling-wrap and refrigerate until you dip them.
While the truffles chill in the freezer, place the coating chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave until melted, stirring every 30 seconds to prevent overheating.
Once the coating chocolate is smooth and the truffles are firm enough to dip, it's time to dip the truffles. Use dipping tools or a fork to submerge a truffle in the chocolate. Remove it from the chocolate and tap the fork against the bowl several times to remove excess chocolate. Replace it on the foil-lined baking sheet, and, while the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle popping candy from the remaining envelope on top. Repeat with remaining truffles and chocolate.
Allow the chocolate to set in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes. Store Exploding Truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator, but for best taste and texture, serve at room temperature. Because the popping candy does absorb moisture, these are best eaten within 24 hours of making them, although they will still pop up to 3 days later.

Notes

From: The Spruce Eats

This post contains affiliate links. Full disclosure here.

Pumpkin: The Curious History of an American Icon + Pumpkin Pie

October 20, 2016 by Megan 2 Comments

Last fall, my cousin Nora and I campaigned hard for Pumpkin: The Curious History of an American Icon at our Good Reads & Good Eats book club - primarily so we could pair it with dinner at The Jolly Pumpkin. We were the only two who voted for it.

Still, the book stayed on my mind, and this fall, I decided to buy a used copy of it - primarily so I could make my very favorite dessert for the blog. Not that I didn’t want to learn the history and virtues of pumpkins; I just really wanted an excuse to make pumpkin pie.

As the title promises, Pumpkin: The Curious History of an American Icon is chock-full of facts about pumpkins. In fact, as someone’s Grandma Jane wrote in the note that fell out when I opened my new-to-me copy of the book, it contains “absolutely more than you’ll ever remember about pumpkins!”

Grandma Jane was right! There is way more information than I could ever remember, or that I ever needed to know. I’ll share a few:

In the very early days of farming, pumpkins and squash were basically interchangeable, in name as well as use. They were prized for their ability to grow abundantly in almost any condition and were often fed to livestock. Sweet pumpkin pie originated in the late eighteenth century and was included in the first American cookbook by Amelia Simmons. By the time manufactured products became widespread, canned pumpkin made using fresh pumpkins in the kitchen seem like “an old-fashioned novelty.” And, even though canning made it possible to eat pumpkin year-round, Americans continued to prefer to eat it in the fall, particularly as part of the Thanksgiving meal.

That’s probably why I was so looking forward to making pumpkin pie. The fall harvest has arrived - just look at all of the beautiful pumpkins and squash on display at Eastern Market this past Saturday!

I dug up my trusty pumpkin pie recipe, which I love because it’s well-seasoned. There’s nothing worse than a pumpkin pie that tastes like straight-out-of-the-can pumpkin. Though it’s called Scratch Pumpkin Pie, I’ve never actually made it from scratch because I’m way too impatient to spend 4 hours prepping and baking a pie before it’s ready to eat, and this time was no different.

For the crust, though, I shirked my usual go-to (the store bought frozen kind) and decided to go the homemade route. Despite my fear of additional prep time, the homemade crust really didn’t add more than 15 minutes or so. Plus, it tasted better. I used a recipe from one my very first cookbooks (courtesy of my mother, while I was in college), Anyone Can Cook.

I stirred the flour and salt together and then used my pastry blender to cut in the shortening. I filled a small prep bowl with cold water and grabbed a fork and tablespoon to begin moistening the dough.

I probably ended up using closer to 6 or 7 tablespoons, but the recipe suggests 4-5 tablespoons. Use your best judgement - it shouldn’t be wet but should definitely be well-moistened.

I formed the dough into a ball and flattened that into a thick disk before rolling it out. As directed, I used the rolling pin to help lift the dough into the pie dish. I trimmed the edges where needed, folded any overhang underneath, and pressed the dough to fit the scalloped pattern of my dish.

When not using fresh pumpkin, the prep for the custard filling is easy. I use only 1 can of pumpkin puree (15 ounces), then add in the sugar, salt, spices and eggs. Once that’s combined, stir in the can of evaporated milk. I usually just use a wooden spoon, but you could use a whisk or hand-mixer if so desired.

If you’re using store bought frozen pie crust, this makes too much filling. Fill the pie to almost the top of the crust; put any leftover filling in a small oven-safe bowl to bake separately in a water bath like a custard. (This is an excellent way to test your filling before you serve it, though I’ve never had any complaints with this recipe!) You’ll also need to watch the cook-time on the smaller portion, as it may not take as long as the whole pie.

Because I used homemade crust in a larger pie dish (10-inch), this amount filled the pie up perfectly. I covered the edges in foil, so they didn’t brown too quickly and put it in the oven for about 80 minutes. (If using a smaller pie dish or a frozen crust, cook-time will be closer to the original recipe at an hour.)

I did want some color on my crust, so I removed the foil with about 20 minutes left. You’ll know the pie is done when a knife or cake tester comes out clean. Allow it to cool, and enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie

Servings: 6 to 8
Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes to 1½ hours
Print

Adapted from: Cheri B’s Scratch Pumpkin Pie, Food.com

Ingredients

1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
3 eggs
¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 pie shell, 9-inch deep dish up to 10-inch (homemade or store bought)

Directions

In medium bowl, add pumpkin puree, sugar, salt, spices, eggs. Mix until combined, then carefully add evaporated milk and stir.
Pour into pie shell, foil edges, and place on foiled, cookie sheet and bake 350°F for 50-60 minutes. Give knife clean test. If not clean, bake longer. [Larger pie dishes will require longer baking times. My 10-inch pie baked for 80 minutes.]
If using a smaller pie crust/dish, pour leftover pumpkin pie mix into a greased oven-safe dish (up to 1-quart) and bake in a water bath like custard. [This may take less time to bake than the pie.]

Pastry for Single-Crust Pie

Servings: 1 pie crust
Time: 10-15 minutes
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From Better Homes & Gardens Anyone Can Cook (Book 20, published in 2007), page 470

Ingredients

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup shortening
4-5 tablespoons of cold water

Directions

In a medium bowl, stir together all-purpose flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until pieces are pea-sized.
Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of cold water over part of the flour mixture, gently tossing with a fork. Push moistened dough to one side of the bowl. Repeat moistening flour mixture, using 1 tablespoon at a time, until all the flour mixture is moistened.
Form pastry into a ball.
On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. [Or larger, if needed to properly fill/cover your pie dish. Mine was closer to 15 inches.]
Wrap pastry circle around the rolling pin to transfer it; unroll circle into a 9-inch pie plate. [Mine was a 10-inch dish.] Ease into pie plate without stretching it.
Trim pastry ½ inch beyond edge of plate. Fold under extra pastry. Crimp edges as desired.

Reading Lolita in Tehran + Cream Puffs

October 6, 2016 by Megan 3 Comments

It probably comes as no surprise that I usually adore books* about bookstores, book clubs, book nerds...you get the idea. I find the characters relatable, occasionally discover new insights into books I love, and best case scenario: I walk away with a list of books to read.

In Azar Nafisi’s memoir, Reading Lolita in Tehran, the books the women read were Western classics - forbidden at the time in Iran. Nafisi, a former professor, and seven of her most like-minded female students meet every Thursday morning to discuss these novels over pastries and tea. It seemed like a book I was destined to love.

Each of four sections is focused on the works of a specific author (Nabokov, Fitzgerald, James and Austen), and their works of fiction were used as a lens through which we learn about Nafisi’s life and her students’ lives. I thought it was a little unbalanced and too literature-focused, particularly in the beginning; I was left wanting more about what was going in Tehran and the lives of the women. Unfortunately, I found it hard to get through - maybe it was because it was written by a literature teacher, but at times I felt like I was back in English class, struggling to get through a required reading assignment.

During the first meeting, Nafisi suggests the “calming distraction of cream puffs and tea” to break the ice. For my recipe, I turned to Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I had made cream puffs only once during culinary school about five years ago, so I was hoping it would be like riding a bike. With my brand new standing mixer** at the ready and Julia’s words of encouragement, I was up to the task. (Really, has anyone read her cookbook? It’s so cheery that it makes any recipe seem nearly impossible to fail.)

Anyway, I began by putting milk on to boil and beating the sugar and eggs until they turned pale yellow and reached the ribbon stage. Here it is just getting started:

I beat in the flour and then carefully dripped in the boiling milk while continuing to beat the mixture, which is where the standing mixer came in handy. After it was well-combined, I transferred to a saucepan on the stovetop and whisked until it became custard-y in consistency. I removed it from the heat and added the vanilla and butter. In an attempt to cool it off, I scraped it into a bowl, covered with saran wrap (so it wouldn’t form a “skin”) and put it in the fridge.

While that cooled, I began prep for the pâte à choux, or puff paste. It is a very light dough that is used to make not only cream puffs but many kinds of puff pastries including eclairs, profiteroles and beignets. In culinary school, we were warned that it takes great attention because the number of eggs you need is not constant. It can vary based on humidity or even the size of each egg. It’s important to not use too few eggs as this can cause the dough not to puff up and form the small caverns inside that are a hallmark of any sort of puff pastry.

I doubled Julia’s recipe, so I started with 8.

In the end, I only needed 8. This is something you can only really tell by the look (though if I hadn’t been to culinary school, this wouldn’t have been as clear to me). This website does a good job of explaining how to tell if it’s ready, and I’ve included an excerpt below:

How to Tell if Choux Paste Is Ready

This fact means that it is more important to know how the finished paste should look and feel than it is to just follow the recipe. Finished choux paste should be soft, smooth, and be able to be piped.

If you pull the paddle attachment of an electric mixer out of the paste, a "tongue" should appear at the tip of the paddle.

Similarly, if you gently scoop up a bit of the paste with a rubber spatula and let it fall back into the bowl, a "v" of paste should be left behind on the spatula.

Be sure to mix thoroughly between adding in each egg and then check the paste before adding the next one. The mixture will appear separated and gloppy in between additions, but will come back into a smooth paste as you mix.

If by the second-to-last egg, the paste is already looking smooth and forms a "v" as it falls back into the bowl, it's OK not to add the last egg. Feel like your paste is borderline and just needs a little more egg? Whisk one up and only pour in half!

Before I scooped it into my pastry bag, it looked like this:

I didn’t take a picture of my pre-baked choux mounds, but I’ll mention that it’s important that you simply hold the tip to the baking sheet and let the paste gently round up and out until it’s the size you’re looking for. (The size is entirely up to you - puffs can be large, small or medium.) If you attempt to swirl the paste into a circular shape, it can cause your puffs to sort of snail-out and flatten as they bake. (Don’t worry, though, they still taste great! It happened to a few of mine, though they’re not pictured.)

Once all of the puffs were cooled, I used a smaller pastry tip to fill them with the previously-made pastry cream. If I had to do it again, I probably would’ve made the lighter cream that Julia suggested (see notes below), but I was still quite happy with the end result.

Creme Patissiere (Pastry Cream)

Servings: makes about 2 ½ cups
Time: 20 minutes
Print

From: Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking (Anniversary Edition)

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar
5 egg yolks
½ cup flour, scooped and leveled
2 cups boiling milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 ½ tablespoons vanilla extract

Directions

Put the milk in a saucepan on the stove and begin to bring to a boil.
Gradually beat the sugar into the egg yolks and continue beating for 2-3 minutes until the mixture is pale yellow and forms the ribbon.
Beat in the flour.
Beating the yolk mixture, gradually pour on the boiling milk in a thin stream of droplets.
Pour into a heavy-bottomed 2 ½ quart enameled saucepan and set over moderately high heat. Stir with whisk, reach all over bottom of pan. As sauce comes to a boil it will get lumpy, but will smooth out as you beat it. When boil is reached, beat over moderately low heat for 2-3 minutes to cook the flour. Be careful custard does not scorch in bottom of pan.
Remove from heat and beat in the butter, then the vanilla extract. If custard is not used immediately, clean it off the sides of the pan, and dot top of custard with softened butter to prevent a skin from forming over the surface. It will keep for a week under refrigeration, or may be frozen. [I recommend refrigerating in a bowl covered with cling wrap pushed tightly over the top of the custard, prior to filling the puff shells.]

Pâte à Choux (Cream Puff Paste)

Servings: 36-40 small dessert puffs
Time: 1 hour
Print

Ingredients

1 cup water
6 tablespoons or ¾ stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon sugar
⅛ teaspoon pepper [I didn’t use this in mine]
1 pinch nutmeg
¾ cup all-purpose flour, scooped and leveled
4 large eggs
1 egg, beaten with ½ teaspoon water in a small bowl

Directions

In a 1 ½ quart heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring water to a boil with the butter and seasonings and boil slowly until the butter has melted. Meanwhile measure out the flour.
Remove from heat and immediately pour in all the flour at once. Beat vigorously with a wooden spatula or spoon for several seconds to blend thoroughly. Then beat over moderately high heat for 1-2 minutes until mixture leaves the sides of the pan and the spoon, forms a mass, and begins to film the bottom of the pan.
Remove saucepan from heat and make a well in the center of the paste with your spoon. [Here I transferred the mass to my standing mixer with paddle attachment and added the eggs one at a time while on a setting between 2 and 4.] Immediately break an egg into the center of the well. Beat it into the paste for several seconds until it has absorbed. Continue with the rest of the eggs, beating them in one by one. The third and fourth eggs will be absorbed more slowly. Beat for a moment more to be sure all is well blended and smooth.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and butter [or lightly spray] 2 baking sheets.
Using a rubber spatula, fill a pastry bag with a ½-inch round tube opening with the warm choux paste. [If you do not have a pastry bag, drop the paste with a spoon.]
Squeeze the paste onto the baking sheets, making circular mounds about 1-inch in diameter and ½-inch high. Space the mounds 2-inches apart.
Dip your pastry brush into the beaten egg mixture and flatten each puff very slightly with a side of the brush. Avoid dripping egg down the puff and onto the baking sheet, as this will prevent the puff from rising.
Set the sheets in the upper and lower thirds of your preheated, 425-degree oven, and bake for about 20 minutes. The puffs are done when they have doubled in size, are a golden brown, and firm and crusty to the touch. Remove them from the oven and pierce the side of each puff with a sharp knife. Then set in the turned-off oven and leave the door ajar for 10 minutes. Cool the puffs on a rack.

I filled my shells with the pastry cream recipe provided above, as I did when I was taught to make these in culinary school. The same filling and dough can also be used for eclairs, though instead of baking in mounds, you bake in longer lines.

Julia Child suggests using a Creme Saint-Honore, which is the recipe above with beaten egg whites and additional salt and sugar. It produces a fluffier filling for the cream puffs, if desired. The exact recipe can be found on page 591 of the Anniversary Edition of her cookbook.

_________

*Some that I would recommend include: The Jane Austen Book Club, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry and Anne of Green Gables

**Once again, a very enthusiastic thank you to Scott’s mom for the thoughtful gift!

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry + Swedish Dream Cookies

September 1, 2016 by Megan 2 Comments

Almost-eight-year-old Elsa’s best friend is her eccentric grandmother. Like her granny, Elsa is different. Different in a way that makes her good at running, because “that’s what happens when you get chased all the time.” Different in a way that allows to her to relate to adults with wisdom beyond her years.

As in Fredrick Backman’s first novel, the successful A Man Called Ove (which I also loved), My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry revolves around a cast of Swedish neighbors, whom we meet as Elsa embarks on a so-called treasure hunt to find and deliver apologetic letters from her grandmother.

When the story begins, Elsa seems to know some of the neighbors well enough. Maud and her husband Lennart, for example, are the nicest and second nicest persons in the world, respectively. Elsa likes them because they “always have dreams and hugs - dreams are a kind of cookie; hugs are just normal hugs.” On the other hand, there are The Monster and Our Friend. The idea of either of them emerging into the hallway terrifies Elsa.

The letter deliveries help Elsa to conquer her fears and bring the entire house of neighbors together. Sad yet uplifting, Backman’s charmingly written novel carries you to the Land of Almost-Awake and back again, as you uncover the unexpected truths behind Granny’s fairy tales with Elsa.

Since I recently made cinnamon buns (Granny’s favorite food), I was so happy when I found out that dreams are an actual cookie! Apparently a staple in Sweden, they are beloved by both Elsa and Our Friend.

I found the recipe searching around online and immediately set about to obtain some baker’s ammonia - the only ingredient not readily available in American grocery stores. After 48 hours I had it (thank you, Amazon Prime!), and cookie baking could begin.

After creaming the butter and sugar, adding the ammonium carbonate, almond extract and flour, I ended with a sort of crumbly mixture that looked like this:

It looked unlike any cookie dough I’d made in the past but I kept on and added the flaked coconut. I was convinced the chilling process would bring it all together, so I formed my disk and popped the dough into the refrigerator.

Even after a long chill, the dough remained crumbly as I tried forming it into 1-inch balls. I recommend doing this with your hands, as opposed to a scooper, which I tried first to encourage uniformity. It ended up being much easier. I think the heat of the hands helped them keep their shape a bit better.

I baked three batches of one cookie sheet each (16 cookies), closely following the recipe’s recommendation of using the top-third of the oven only. I was a bit disappointed that the recipe only made 52 cookies, well short of the 72 it was supposed to - even after carefully making sure they were as close to an inch as possible. Still, they turned out beautifully!

I’m usually not one for coconut, but to me, they were more like an amazing sugar cookie. These dreams may have required tracking down an obscure ingredient online, but they were worth it. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Print Recipe

Swedish Dream Cookies

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Inactive (Chill) Time1 hr

Total Time2 hrs 30 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Swedish

Keyword: cookie

Servings: 4 dozen

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon crushed ammonium carbonate also called baker’s ammonium
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

Instructions

Sift together flour and salt.
Beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in ammonium carbonate and almond extract until combined well. Mix in flour mixture at low speed just until blended, then stir in coconut.
Form dough into a disk and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, about 1 hour. [You could probably skip the chilling, if you’re short on time. A few comments said they didn’t chill it and it made no difference. I chilled mine, but the dough was essentially the same consistency after an hour as it was before.]
Preheat oven to 300°F.
Roll dough into 1-inch balls and arrange 1 inch apart on greased baking sheets.
Bake cookies in batches in upper third of oven until pale golden around edges, 18 to 22 minutes. [Mine baked for 21 minutes.] Transfer cookies to a rack to cool.

Notes

From: Epicurious

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