Tuesdays With Dorie: Translucent Maple Tuiles

Do you have baking plans? A list of recipes that you've been meaning to try? If so, you'll want to add this recipe to the very top of your list. I promise, those other recipes can wait - but this one can't.

It's this week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, Translucent Maple Tuiles. These cookies are amazing, addictive, and best of all, they're easy to make. I made a half-batch, and good thing, because we ate them all within a few hours. Sweet, crunchy, and packed with maple flavour.

The recipe was chosen by Clivia of Bubie's Little Baker. Thanks Clivia! Visit her blog for the recipe.

Tuesdays With Dorie Rewind: Rick Katz's Brownies for Julia

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie is something I've been looking forward to for quite awhile. Instead of baking a particular recipe, we've been given the chance to go back in the archives and bake something we missed the first time around.

It's like time travel for desserts.

I chose Rick Katz's Brownies for Julia because Dorie's brownies recipes are the best I've ever had, and I assumed that this recipe would be no different. I voted for the safe bet. But I'm glad I did.

Texturally speaking, these brownies are half-fudge and half-brownies. They're incredibly rich. But as you can see, that didn't stop my husband and me from indulging.

For the recipe, visit Chocolate Chic.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Peanuttiest Blondies

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe is not something you'll have any trouble devouring: peanuttiest blondies, chosen by Nicole of Bakeologie.

Peanut butter. Peanuts. Chocolate. Well, in my case, mini m&ms. I can't think of a more fool-proof combination of flavours.

Not so fool-proof is my oven, which burned the bottom of these despite me baking them at 25 degrees less than the recipe called for, and rotating the pan halfway through. It's a testament to these blondies, though, that they were delicious despite their burnt bottoms.

Trust me: you're going to want to make these. For the recipe, visit Nicole's blog.

Tuesdays With Dorie: All-American, All-Delicious Deep Dish Apple Pie

I guess this is the month of pies. Two pies in as many weeks. This time I made All-American, All-Delicious Deep Dish Apple Pie (which I guarantee you cannot say five times fast). It was chosen by Emily of Sandmuffin for Tuesdays With Dorie.

Oh, TWD, I hate how much I love you. This is not the best time for me to be slaving over pies - a pile of yet-to-be-written thank you cards await - but I did it, and I'm glad. So is my belly. So is my husband's belly. And tomorrow, so too will be the bellies of his fellow grad students.

Not so glad are my neighbours, who were treated to the musical stylings of our apartment's hypersensitive smoke alarm while the pie was baking. It went off about five minutes after I put the pie (which was not burning in the slightest) in the oven, and then continued to beep every time I dared to stop fanning it for more than, literally, five seconds. By the time my significantly taller husband got home to help me wrap a tea towel around the alarm (just until the pie was finished baking, please don't tell the fire marshall), my arms had quite the workout.


Which is good, I guess, because this pie is amazing and I can't stop eating it. Now, I'm not a huge fan of pie crust, so I went with a crumble topping instead. This was a good choice, I think. The two best apple desserts in one enormous package.

You should make this pie. Visit Emily's blog for the recipe.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Caramel Pumpkin Pie

Hi. My name is Kait, and I'm a bad blogger. It's been nearly three months since my last blog post. But I have a good reason, I swear!

I married the love of my life almost two months ago. It was the best day of my life, and worth all of the stress of wedding planning. But the weeks leading up to it were some of the busiest of my life. Immediately after that, I spent two weeks in Europe, and just after that started a brand new job. Suffice it to say, my life is pretty nuts right now. And I find my interest in blogging not waning...but shifting. I'm hoping to start a new blog soon, one that still has a focus on food, but leaves room for me to share all of the other things going on in my life.

In the meantime, though, I'm stoking the embers of this blog with a Tuesdays With Dorie post. As crazy as my life has been, I just can't give up on my Dorie fix. It just wouldn't be right.

And so I made this week's recipe, Caramel Pumpkin Pie (chosen by Janell of Mortensen Family Memoirs) on Thanksgiving Monday, after a morning spent apple packing with my new husband.

Making this pie was, sadly, not the relaxing Thanksgiving tradition I'd had in mind. The pie crust was burnt way before it was even supposed to be done; the caramel was half-burnt and half-raw on my uneven stovetop, and the filling only came halfway up the sides of the crust. Not exactly the outcome I'd hoped for after spending all day making the pie.

Oh, well. Better luck next time!

To see how other bakers fared, visit Tuesdays With Dorie. I think they had better luck than me! For the recipe, visit Janell's blog.

TWD: Chewy, Chunky Blondies

This week's recipe just may be the dessert bar to end all dessert bars: chewy, chunky blondies. They're a lot like chocolate chip cookies, but amped up with toffee bits and coconut and cut into thick squares. I could eat these all day. If someone doesn't take the bowl of them away from me soon, I just might.

Thanks to Nicole of Cookies on Friday for choosing such a stellar recipe! I know my fiance will be begging me to make this one again - assuming I don't cave to my own lack of willpower and make it again tomorrow.

Visit Nicole's blog for the recipe - you won't regret it.

TWD: Lots of Ways of Banana Cake

I've never been known for being patient. So this week's Tuesdays With Dorie pick, Lots of Ways of Banana Cake (chosen by Kimberly of Only Creative Opportunities), was a bit of a challenge for me.

When I want to bake something, I want to bake it now. Banana cake requires waiting for bananas to over-ripen. I don't like baking according to the whims of produce. So after four days of waiting for my bananas to show their spots, I was thrilled to finally make this cake tonight after work.

It was well worth the wait. This cake is light and moist with an irresistible banana-coconut flavour. The added texture of the toasted coconut, present in every bite, elevates the dish for me. It's not often that I go back for seconds of a banana bread (or cake), but I made an exception for Lots of Ways of Banana Cake.

For the recipe, visit Kimberly's blog.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Apple-Apple Bread Pudding

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, Apple-Apple Bread Pudding, chosen by Elizabeth of Cake or Death?, couldn't have come at a better time for me.

You see, I've been sick since last week. Not deathly ill, thankfully, but the kind of ill that makes life pretty unpleasant nonetheless. It started out with a sore throat, shortness of breath, and an overwhelming urge to lie down on any flat surface - a desk, the floor, a book trolley at work. Then it mutated into the kind of cough that has prevented me from sleeping more than 20 minutes in a row for the past five nights. Five nights!

After five sleepless nights - four when I made this recipe yesterday - my brain is positively fried. Simple logic? Can't do it. Common sense? It's temporarily flown the coop. So this week, I needed a Tuesdays With Dorie recipe that was easy, and also soothing. Very soothing.

Enter apple-apple bread pudding. There were quite a few steps, sure, but they were all very methodical and pretty straightforward. I can slice apples. I can melt butter with sugar. And I can make a custard, especially when it doesn't involve tireless stirring over the stove top. And I can do all of these things - well, not in my sleep, but with a severe lack of sleep.

This recipe was a huge success, and makes a wonderful dessert or breakfast (hey, there are eggs and fruit in it, and I used whole wheat bread). Creamy custard, caramelized apples, texture from the bread, and an inviting complexity from the apple butter. Dorie, you've done it again.

Thank you Elizabeth! For the recipe, visit her blog.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Quick Classic Berry Tart

Lately I feel like I've lost my kitchen mojo. Does that ever happen to you? Suddenly, the things you used to be good at don't come as naturally. I knew I was in trouble when I couldn't crack an egg properly anymore. I've been fishing tiny specks of eggshell out of my cracked eggs for weeks now.

And every so often, a recipe will turn out not quite as expected. I think it happens when I get more concerned with following a recipe than trusting my own intuition.

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, Quick Classic Berry Tart (chosen by Cristine of Cooking with Cristine), was, unfortunately, more of the same. Of course, there were the bits of eggshell needing to be fished out. But the main problem was the pastry cream, which I overcooked. It looked just fine last night, but after taking it out of the fridge today, it remained a solid, springy jelly. The flavour was still fantastic - like custard - but the texture was quite off-putting. Oh, and doesn't it look silly? Almost like scrambled eggs.

With a crumbly shortbread-like crust - more proof my kitchen mojo's gone on hiatus? - and slightly sour strawberries, this tart was not a winner. Perhaps I'll try it again when I get my mojo back! For the recipe, visit Cristina's blog. And feel free to check out the other participating bloggers, who I'm sure fared much better than I.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Chockablock Cookies

There are moments in our lives that present an opportunity for growth; a chance to stretch beyond the boundaries of our comfort zone, if only we would take the risk. The making of this week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe (Chockablock Cookies, chosen by Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet), despite my intentions, was not one of those moments.

You see, I know that I don't like dried fruit in cookies. I never have. Oatmeal raisin cookies? No, thanks - those stayed in the cookie jar when I was a kid. Fig newtons? Nope, not my style. But I occasionally dip my toes into the dried-fruit-in-cookies pond, just to see if my opinion has changed.


Unfortunately, it hasn't. Which is a shame, because this cookie was so promising. Coconut, chocolate chips, molasses - what's not to love about that? But then, that dastardly dried fruit - in my case, dried cranberries.

If anyone could convert me, it's Dorie. So I think it's time to put the nail in this particular coffin - dried fruit in baked goods is just not for me. Sigh.

Thank you, Mary, for choosing a recipe that convinced me to give dried fruit another chance! If you are a dried fruit fan, visit her blog for the recipe, which I'm sure you'll love.

I'm back with a...whimper (Tuesdays With Dorie: Sweet Cream Biscuits)

Hello? Is anyone still out there? It's me, Kait, sheepishly returning to my blog after a much-needed but much-guilt-inducing month off. And what a month it's been. A new apartment, the end of school (well, in two days, anyway), job application after job application. I love our apartment, although there are still many boxes to unpack. I can't wait for school to be done (hopefully forever). And the job situation? Well, it's a work in progress.

I was hoping to come back with a bang, but my attempt at today's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, Sweet Cream Biscuits chosen by Melissa of Love At First Bite, was decidedly lackluster.


I'm positive it wasn't the recipe itself (flour, cream, baking powder, salt - no butter!), as I snuck a few bites of the raw dough scraps and they were heavenly - creamy, slightly salty.


I know for a fact that I handled the dough too much, a big no-no when it comes to biscuit making. I got a bit too overzealous when I rolled out the dough, despite Dorie's express warning against this very mistake. The dough ended up about 1/4 of an inch thick, half of the thickness I was aiming for. So I decided to fold the dough upon itself and roll it together. That didn't work (the two halves separated). So I smushed the whole thing back into a ball and started from scratch.

I knew I was doomed when the dough kept springing back after being rolled. It was way too elastic. The result: biscuit hockey pucks. Such a shame.

Still, I'm intrigued by the concept of this recipe, and think it would be a great recipe to try again the next time I need to use up a ton of heavy cream quickly. But next time, I'll use a lighter hand. For the recipe, visit Melissa's blog.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Honey-Wheat Cookies

A month with two batches of Dorie cookies is a very good month, indeed. After my turn hosting Dorie's chocolate chip cookie recipe last week (yay!), it's time to pass the torch - can you tell I've been watching the Olympics nonstop? - to another cookie recipe, chosen by Michelle of Flourchild.

Honey-Wheat Cookies. Honey-laden, lemon-infused, wheat germ cookies. It all sounds a bit hippie-ish, but really, these are the kind of cookies that belong beside tea, not wheatgrass juice (or whatever it is that hippies drink).

The lemon zest lends its bright intensity, and the wheat germ is a really nice touch. It adds texture and a nice wholesome flavour. These disappeared around here, almost before I was able to photograph them! A definite make-again recipe.

Thanks for the pick, Michelle! You can find the recipe on her blog.

Tuesdays With Dorie: My Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like chocolate chip cookies. It’s true. They might be out there, but if so, they’re not easy to find.

So, naturally, the competition for the title of Best Chocolate Chip Cookie is steep. But Dorie Greenspan claims to have the winner. Although I think her recipe needs a few modifications, she’s not wrong. These just might be the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies ever.


I am so glad that I chose them for a very special week: my turn to host Tuesdays With Dorie. It’s hard to believe it’s already my turn. When I signed up a year and a half ago, it seemed so far away. Now, after making 42 recipes, it’s my shot. I’m a cookie fanatic, so I couldn’t resist trying out a new chocolate chip cookie recipe. I hope everyone enjoyed it!



Now, on to the cookies. Let’s start with the drawbacks. I baked the cookies on three different batches of cookie sheets, trying a slightly different method each time. The first batch ended up flat, almost melted, and fairly burnt after 10 minutes of cooking, although still edible.

(the first batch)

I chilled the second batch in the refrigerator while the first batch baked, and then baked it for 9 minutes. These fared better than the first, but were still a bit too dark and flat for my liking.

For the third batch, I tossed the remaining batter in the freezer until it was very firm but not frozen. I also baked them for 8 minutes. This was, in my opinion, the best way to bake them. They looked much, much better.

(the cookies getting progressively better)

And the taste? Phenomenal: the perfect counterbalance of vanilla-scented batter and rich chocolate chips. They were perfectly chewy, too; even the ones that were bordering on burnt softened up nicely in the cookie jar. I made half of the batch with walnuts and half without, and although the walnuts were fun to try, I still prefer this recipe without nuts.

Now that I know the proper method with which to make them, they’re my new favourite chocolate chip cookies. And my fiancé’s, too.

Thanks so much for baking with me! I'm in (hopefully sunny) Florida right now and depending on the internet situation, may or may not be able to comment on everyone's blogs right away. But I will do it once I'm back home. I look forward to seeing what you all think.

My Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
From pg. 68 of Baking From My Home to Yours
Makes 45 cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or 2 cups store-bought chocolate chips or chunks
1 cup finely chopped walnuts (optional) or pecans (optional)

Directions:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed for about 1 minute, until smooth. Add the sugars and beat for another 2 minutes or so, until well-blended. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each egg goes in. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients in 3 portions, mixing only until each addition is incorporated. On low speed, or by hand with a rubber spatula, mix in the chocolate and nuts. (The dough can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen. If you'd like, you can freeze rounded tablespoons of dough, ready for baking. Freeze the mounds on a lined baking sheet, then bag them when they're solid. There's no need to defrost the dough before baking - just add another minute or two to the baking time.)

Spoon the dough by slightly rounded tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between spoonfuls.

Bake the cookies - one sheet at a time and rotating the sheet at the midway point - for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they are brown at the edges and golden in the center; they may still be a little soft in the middle, and that's just fine. Pull the sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to rest for 1 minute, then carefully, using a wide metal spatula, transfer them to racks to cool to room temperature.

Repeat with the remainder of the dough, cooling the baking sheets between batches.

The cooking can be kept in a cookie jar or sealed container for about four days, or wrapped airtight and frozen for up to two months.

Variations:
Cocoa Chocolate Chip Cookies: use 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour and 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder.
Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies: add 1 1/2 tbsp instant espresso powder after you add the vanilla extract.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies: use 1 1/2 sticks (12 tbsp) of unsalted butter and a 1/2 cup peanut butter (you can use chunky or smooth, but it's best not to use natural peanut butter, which will not give you the right texture). Beat them together before adding the sugars. Use salted peanuts instead of walnuts or pecans.
Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies: Add 1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, toasted or not, to the dough when you add the chocolate chips and nuts. Why not go all the way and add some raisins or bits of dried apricots?

Tuesdays With Dorie: Cocoa-Nana Bread

Some recipes sound so promising on paper, but fall flat in the execution. Others surpass even your greatest expectations. I'm afraid this week's Tuesdays With Dorie pick, Cocoa-Nana Bread, chosen by Steph of Obsessed With Baking, belongs to the former group.

Cocoa-Nana Bread. What's not to like? A rich batter strongly flavoured by cocoa powder. Semi-sweet chocolate chips added to the mixture to intensify the chocolate taste. And, of course, bananas: two of them, in fact.

The end result, though, was nothing spectacular. Not bad - just not as good as I was expecting. I couldn't taste the banana, leaving me with a run-of-the-mill (and rather dry) plain chocolate cake. Unfortunately, this isn't one I'd make again, although I appreciate the concept.

Thanks to Steph for this choice, and if you're interested in trying it out, click here for the recipe.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Chocolate Oatmeal Almost-Candy Bars

I’m a big fan of what I’ll call Dorie Greenspan’s “combo-desserts.” In my time with Tuesdays With Dorie, I’ve made cloyingly rich chocolate chip cookie-covered brownies. And I’ve made chocolate chip cookie bars smothered in chocolate and sprinkled with nutty Heath toffee bits. This week’s Tuesdays With Dorie pick, Chocolate Oatmeal Almost Candy Bars, belongs in the same vein.

In this recipe, chosen by Lillian of Confectiona’s Realm, two layers of chewy peanut- and oat-filled cookie batter sandwich a layer of soft, creamy semi-sweet chocolate fudge. The contrast between the chocolate and the cookie batter, both in terms of taste and texture, is perfect: softness from the chocolate and chewiness from the oats; saltiness from the peanuts and sweetness from the batter itself and the chocolate. The peanuts also give the bars a nice crunch, and of course, help create that unbeatable (at least, to me) chocolate and peanut butter flavour pairing.

The recipe also tastes different depending on the temperature at which it’s served: fresh from the fridge, I found the differences in texture less pronounced. At room temperature, the diverse flavours and textures popped.


Regardless of the temperature, though, this recipe is a winner. Thanks, Lillian, for the excellent choice! I can’t wait to make it again. Click here to visit her blog and snag the recipe.

TWD: Low and Lush Chocolate Cheesecake

This is another very brief post before I return with full (or at least, some) energy in January after a much-needed break. I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays! With a dessert like the one I'm posting about today, it's hard not to.


Low and Lush Chocolate Cheesecake. It's this week's Tuesdays With Dorie selection, chosen by The Tea Lady of Tea and Scones. And it is tasty. A classic, rich and sumptuous chocolate cheesecake with a hint of cinnamon in the crust. I think it provides a great foundation, and I'd like to experiment with jazzing it up in the future. A caramel swirl? Chocolate ganache or rasperry coulis on top? So many possibilities, and I can't wait to try them out. This time, I made one-third of the recipe in cupcake liners and it worked out very well. But I'm game to try making a full batch for my next celebration.



Click here for the recipe. Again, happy holidays and I'll see you in January!

A Brief Tuesdays With Dorie: Cafe Volcano Cookies

I interrupt this previously-scheduled exam-induced blogging break to bring you this very special recipe: Cafe Volcano Cookies, chosen by the witty MacDuff of Lonely Sidecar for this week's Tuesdays With Dorie. Phew. Yes, these cookies look a bit like a pile of, well, something unpleasant. But they are damn tasty. I normally hate nuts in baked goods, but not in this recipe. It figures that it would take putting nuts in meringues (one of my all-time favourites) to make me like them.

These don't look as pretty as Dorie's - they're not nearly as light and dainty, and I'm pretty sure Dorie's didn't have almost-burnt bottoms - but I bet they taste just as good.


For the recipe, click here.

Meanwhile, I'm still drowning in essay-and-project-land, but the end is in sight and I can't wait to get back into the blogosphere just in time for Christmas. See you then!

Tuesdays With Dorie: Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies

This week for Tuesdays With Dorie, I made Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies, chosen by Pamela of Cookies with Boys. This is one of those recipes that looked nothing like it was supposed to, was frustratingly sticky during the assembly, and turned into a big, spread out mess on the cookie sheet. But it was so tasty I didn't even mind, and that's saying something.

Maybe it was the molasses I used. Dorie said not to use blackstrap, but I've only ever seen one brand of molasses in all of my years of grocery shopping, and it doesn't even say whether it's blackstrap or not. These cookies, which were supposed to be golden brown and form perfectly round discs, were very dark brown and spread out so much that the cookie sheet actually became one giant cookie - even though I refrigerated the dough before baking it. I cut the massive cookie into circles and was planning on grinding up the scraps to make a crust for a pie in the future, but my fiance chowed down on them instead. He couldn't help himself - they were that tasty.

In terms of flavour, this is a go-to recipe for sure. But I'll have to figure out how to ease the preparation in the future. Based on Pam's experience, it sounds like more flour may be the key.

Thanks for a great pick, Pam! Visit her blog for the recipe.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Cran-Apple Crisps

Behold, the world's best variation on an apple crisp, brought to you by none other than Dorie Greenspan (and our recipe-chooser this week, Em of The Repressed Pastry Chef). Please excuse the superlatives, but really, this crisp is amazing. Since I finished up my first batch of it, I've been thinking, daily, about making it again. In between projects, essays, midterms and just scraping dinner together at the end of a long day, this dish has been the culinary goal that I have been looking forward to.

The fruit component of the recipe involves placing a mixture of chopped apples, fresh and dried cranberries, sugar and flour in ramekins.


The topping is made of oats, flour, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, ground ginger and what is bound to be my secret ingredient in crumble toppings from now on: sweetened shredded coconut. The coconut adds a beautiful complexity to the flavour of the crisps, and yet, the coconut flavour itself is subtle.

Baked until bubbly, the apple and cranberry soften and form a delicious sweet-tart blend which perfectly complements the coconut-infused topping.

You have. To. Make. This. Visit Em's blog for the recipe.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Sweet Potato Biscuits

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie selection is Sweet Potato Biscuits, chosen by Erin of Prudence Pennywise. And it is a doozy.

These are flaky, buttery, perfectly seasoned biscuits. And easy to make, too. Strangely enough, you can't even taste the sweet potato, making these kind of like Dorie's version of the Sneaky Chef (that cookbook author who sneaks veggie purees into her cooking).

I can't wait to make these again. Thanks for your choice, Erin! Click here for the recipe.