TWD: Coconut Butter Thins

This week's recipe was chosen by Jayne of The Barefoot Kitchen Witch.

Coconut Butter Thins

The ingredients for these cookies intrigued me from the start. Coconut, macademia nuts, lime zest. Then you have the usual flour, butter, sugar, vanilla, salt. The batter was easy to make.



Dorie suggested rolling the dough inside a gallon size plastic bag in order to end up with a 1/4 inch thickness. I've heard of this trick before from some of the bakers who had either made this recipe already or read it, but I've never tried it. It worked like a charm. No fuss, no muss.




After chilling the dough for at least 2 hours, I measured and cut out 1 1/2 inch square cookies.







I baked two sheets at a time, switching them around halfway through the baking process. One of my cookie sheets got way too done. Oops! These cookies are not supposed to color at all. The other started to brown around the edges but they look much better. So I baked the remainder of the cookies one sheet at a time and checked them earler.




These cookies are delicious! Even the burnt ones. They're the flakiest cookies I've ever made and they'll be perfect with a cup of tea. The flavors compliment each other perfectly. Dorie, these are fabulous! Thanks Jayne for picking a great recipe!



Head on over to Jayne's blog and see how she liked them. You can view the recipe there too. Better yet, you can have all of these delectible recipes for yourself if you buy Dorie's book. Then come back and we'll have some cookies and tea.

TWD: Blueberry Crumb Cake

Breakfast anyone? Brunch, snack, dessert, midnight snack?

This week's Tuesday with Dorie recipe is Blueberry Crumb Cake! And it's good anytime of day for any reason.





I was a little worried that it was going to turn out purple. Did anyone else have this problem. I knew it would still taste good, but still. Dorie's wasn't blue. Hers was perfect cake color. I think I know what happened. I used frozen blueberries and didn't thaw them, as Dorie instructed. I tossed them with flour and let them sit while I finished the rest of the cake. Maybe I'm too slow of a baker, because I think the condensation from the blueberries thawing while sitting and waiting their turn is the reason they colored the batter. Next time, I'll either use fresh blueberries (if they look good) or I'll prepare the blueberries right before I add them to the batter. In any event, no harm done.




Fresh out of the oven! I baked this this morning and couldn't wait to have a piece for breakfast. The house smelled of homebaked heavenly goodness while the cake baked.



So it turned out delicious and it doesn't look as bad as I feared. The cake part isn't as white as Dorie's, but at least it's not purple! It's just a little dingy.

Dorie scores another point for winning recipe! We have Sihan of Befuddlement to thank for picking this week's recipe. If you've liked what you've seen here on my blog and you don't own the book, Baking: From my Home to Yours, consider buying it. It's a treasure trove of baked goodies. You can also find the recipe at Sihan's blog. See what the other TWD bakers are baking here. There are about 250 talented bakers in this group!

TWD: It's a twofer!

French Yogurt Cake with Marmalade Glaze...



...is this week's TWD recipe. Dorie describes it as a cross between pound cake and sponge cake. I knew I was going to like it instantly. One of my favorite childhood memories is winning a pound cake in a cake walk at our school fair when I was seven. Between the excitement of winning, the anticipation of getting home to taste my prize and the simple, sweet flavor, well, I've been a pound cake lover ever since.



This cake is simplicity at its best. All you need is two bowls, a loaf pan, a whisk and a spatula. Oh and measuring cups. It's made with plain yogurt and canola oil, which makes for a very moist cake. I added some ground almonds which is optional. I like the added texture it created. And my top crust was a little crispy making a nice contrast to the moistness of the cake.

The recipe calls for a lemon marmalade glaze. I know I would love this, if only I could find lemon marmalade. I went to a specialty food store, but no luck. So instead I bought a French Pear Fruit Spread. Not the same thing, I know, but it sounded interesting and it was french, imported from France. It was good, but I know being the lemon cake lover that I am, I would prefer lemon. So the next time I make this (and there will be a next time!), I'll make a simple lemon glaze with powdered sugar and lemon juice. At least until I stumble upon some lemon marmalade. The cake would also be delicious with raspberry sauce drizzled over it just before serving and whipped cream. Yum!




Thanks to Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction for choosing this week's recipe. You can find the recipe on her blog and of course in the baking bible from which it came.

_______________________________


I've been MIA the past few weeks due to internet connection problems and travelling. But I'm back and eager to get back to the baking!

The day I started having problems with my internet connection was the day I was going to post about the Devil's Food White Out Cake. I made it, I just didn't get to post about it in time.



This was another delicious cake. I was a little worried about it because one of the other baker's had referred to the frosting as a meringue, which I don't care for. But I found it to be more of a marshmallow-y frosting. All of my life I have disliked marshmallows, until my recent discovery that I like homemade marshmallows, but not store-bought. What can I say? I guess I have refined tastebuds.



I loved the combination of the light, marshmallow-y frosting pared with the rich, devil's food cake. When I first saw the picture of the cake in the book, I thought it was covered by oreo cookies or crushed chocolate wafers, but it was a layer of the cake crumbled! Genius.


I owe thanks to Stephanie of Confessions of a City Eater for choosing this recipe, and of course, Dorie for creating it.

Next week's recipe: Blueberry Crumb Cake!

TWD: Floating Islands

Or, uh, more like icebergs.

This week's recipe was Floating Islands chosen by Shari of Whisk. According to Dorie, this is a classic french dessert. That's all I needed to know. I was intrigued by the name and by the picture in the book.

Floating Island are puffs of meringue floating in a sea of creme anglaise, a custard-like cream, then sprinkled with caramel on top.



The custard came together just fine. I didn't seem to have any problems with it other than the color. It was much more yellow than Dorie's version in the book. Her instructions were to whisk togother vigorously the yolks and sugar until it became thick and pale. Well, it thickened. And it did lighten up in color, but not to a super pale. I whisked for longer than the 3 minutes suggested too. Maybe I wasn't vigorous enough? Still, it tasted good. Onto the next step.


I am not a big fan of meringue. I much prefer whipped cream as pie topping. I think it's the texture that I don't care for. But I moved forward with an open mind. My meringue seemed to come together easily enough. It was "firm but satiny and still glossy."



But it tasted too eggy to me. I don't remember meringue on top of pie tasting like eggs. Of course, I haven't had it in years either. I thought it could be one of two things. First, while I was seperating the eggs, a little yoke slipped into the whites. Oops. I scooped it out and was able to get all of it. It didn't effect the whites from stiffening up. No, that's not it. So that leaves the poaching effect. Maybe poaching the meringue in the milk brought out more of the egg flavor? Maybe I poached it a little too long. Did yours taste like eggs? I invited my parents over to help me eat it since Jeff is out of town. My mom loves meringue. She agreed with me that it tasted more eggy than meringue normally does, but she liked it. I didn't care for it.





Then there was the shaping of the islands. You have two options - scooping the meringue so that you end up with a rocky volcanic island, or molding the meringue between two spoons so that you end up with a manicured oval island. Well. I tried molding the meringue between two spoons and ended up with a rocky volcanic iceberg! They grew huge while cooking, but then they deflated a little after removing them from the pan.



Final verdict - these were okay. I didn't love them but my mom did. I liked the custard a lot, but didn't care for the islands. I'm sure if Dorie were to make them for me, they would be delicious. I think I did something to mess up the taste of the islands. Either that, or I continue to dislike meringue. I am glad that I made them though. I've never made this kind of a dessert and it was fun putting it all together. So thanks Shari for picking out an interesting and different recipe! As always, you can find the recipe in Dorie's cookbook and at Shari's blog, although I'm currently experiencing some technical difficulties in linking to her blog. I'll keep trying. (EDA: fixed it!) Be sure to check out what other bakers thought of this recipe.

Next week: Devil's Food White-Out Cake!

TWD: World Peace Cookies

Chocolate anyone?

This week's TWD selection is World Peace Cookies chosen by Jessica of cookbookhabit. And let me just say, if you like chocolate, you're going to love this cookie!



It's a chocolate sable cookie that you slice and bake after refridgerating the dough for three or more hours. What makes this little gem unique is the addition of fleur de sel, hand-harvested salt from France's Brittany coast. Unfortunately, I couldn't find mine. I could have sworn that I bought some a couple of months ago. Oh well. I'm sure it will turn up now that the cookies are made and I'm no longer looking for it. So instead, I used regular sea salt. These cookies are great. I'm sure they will be even better with the fleur de sel.


Aside from the great flavor, my favorite thing about this cookie is its sandy texture. It's very subtle when you first bite into it and then it melts in your mouth. It's delicate, yet packs a punch of chocolate flavor at the same time.

Thanks Jessica for a great pick! If you want to make some for yourself (and I know you do!), you can get the recipe over at her blog and from Dorie's Baking: From My Home to Yours.

Next week: Floating Islands!

TWD: Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread

have to start implementing better planning for TWD. As it is, I've been leaving it for the day before and then something gets scheduled and I don't feel like baking at the end of the day. This is why I missed last week. I had all of the ingredients too. Here I am again, posting last minute. So that will be a goal for the new year. To start baking the weekly selections ahead of time, leaving me plenty of time to post about it.





I have to admit that I wasn't overly excited about this week's selection. I'm not a huge fan of gingerbread, although I am a fan of ginger. Love it! Gingerbread cookies are okay, but I can easily pass them by. But I already missed last week and I don't want to get too far behind, so on with the show.

I was really surprised at how light the batter was. It was like whipped cream - smooth, light & fluffy.

And the end result wasn't any different. Very light and moist. Oh, and chocolate + gingerbread = yum. I really like this cake. It was very easy to make too. Dorie, I will never doubt you again.

We can thank Heather of Sherry Trifle for this week's selection. And to think I almost passed on this one. Thanks Heather! You can find the recipe on her site and on p. 212 in The Book. Read about what other bloggers are doing here.



Next week: World Peace Cookies

TWD: Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins

This week we made Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins. I was looking forward to a savory recipe for a change. I think I've been on a sugar high for the past month (not that that's entirely a bad thing).



This recipe is full of good things. Fresh corn, jalapeno pepper, red bell pepper, cilantro and chili powder. I cut the sugar in half. My parents are from the south and we like our cornbread unsweetened. I could tell I was going to like these muffins by the smell of the batter alone.


And I was right. Delicious! With all of those great ingredients, there are so many layers of flavor. They're spicy, but not spicy hot. Perfectly balanced. I had two today with a salad for lunch. I'm going to freeze the rest for the next time I make chili, stew or soup.

Thanks goes to Rebecca of Ezra Pound Cake for picking this week's recipe. You can find the recipe on page 6 of The Book or at Rebecca's site. Be sure to visit other bloggers to see how they liked these muffins!