Orange scented chocolate bites

When I was picking up some chocolate bars for the peppermint pixies, I noticed Lindt offered an orange flavoured dark chocolate bar and I figured it would be perfect to make another chocolate bite a little more festive.


These dark chocolate bites are as easy to make as it is to pop them in your mouth. The addition of orange zest, orange oil and orange peel studded chocolate bars makes these already decadent treats just a little more special and festive. Permeated with a marvelous citrus aroma, they bring back memories of the orange groves in Andalusia intoxicated with the heady scent of orange blossoms. Because the ingredients are few and simple, it's advisable to use the best quality ingredients available.
This particular cookie has certainly been around the baking universe and it would be no stranger to those familiar with Dorie Greenspan and Pierre Hermé. I believe it was my sister who introduced me to them many years ago. Since then, it has been an annual staple and a favourtie for our family. This recipe is actually not Greenspan's but rather Hermé's which I happened upon in an article from F&W site. It differs ever so slightly but the small difference I believe in the amount of sugar and flour makes Herme's dough a little less crumbly and easier to work with. I've made both and couldn't tell the difference. I only chose to work with Hermé's recipe over Greenspan's as it is much easier to handle.

Chocolate chocolate chip cookie
adapted from F&W article
The New Classic Cookies I Pierre Hermé's Christmas Cookies

Ingredients
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 sticks plus 6 tablespoons (11 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons fleur de sel
1 teaspoon orange oil
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces (2 cups) for more orange intensity with orange peel - use Lindt's Orange chocolate bar.
Zest of 2 oranges

Directions
In a medium bowl, sift the flour with the cocoa and baking soda. In a large bowl, cream the butter. Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, fleur de sel, orange oil and orange zest and beat until combined. Beat in the sifted dry ingredients just until blended; the dough will be fairly crumbly but will hold together. Knead in the chocolate until evenly distributed. Divide the dough in half and transfer to 2 large sheets of plastic wrap. Shape each piece of dough into a 1 1/2-inch-wide log and wrap in the plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line 4 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Using a sharp, thin knife, cut the logs into 3/8-inch slices and arrange about 1 inch apart on the cookie sheets. If the slices crumble, re-form the cookies, pressing the dough together. Bake the cookies on the middle and lower racks of the oven for about 17 minutes, or until puffed and cracked on top; shift the pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.

The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 2 months.

Peppermint Pixies

Maybe it's the season, weather or just something in the air but lately I've been having a peppermint craving, the more intense the better it is. Since it's Christmas, I decided to make an ordinary chocolate cookie a little extra ordinary so that's how these peppermint pixies came to existence.

Commonly called chocolate crackles, chocolate crinkles and chocolate snowcaps, these cookies are delicious and bursting with chocolate flavour all on their own. The addition of creme de menthe and peppermint oil elevates them to another dimension and makes them seasonally special. As a child I recall fairy tales which often portrayed pixies as short and ill tempered little creatures. Therefore it would only be fitting to call these peppermint pixies because although they are tiny, they pack an intense mighty minty punch!

Fresh and cooled after baking, they are crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. They will be chewy after a day. These are a simple roll and bake cookie. You may already have your own recipe if not enjoy the one below.

Peppermint Pixies
yields about 2 dozen

Ingredients
6 oz Bittersweet Chocolate
1/2 teaspoon Peppermint oil
1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
3/4 cup AP Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter
3/4C Light Brown Sugar - packed firmly
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons creme de menthe (optional - omit for child friendly morsels)
Granulated and icing sugar for rolling - about 1 cup each

Method

1. Chop chocolate into small pieces and melt over a bain marie. Set aside to cool.
2. Sift dry ingredients together; Cocoa powder, AP flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Cream together butter and sugar until mixture is light and fluffy. Add in egg and beat until just combined. Stir in peppermint oil to cooled chocolate and add to butter mixture. Beat until well combined.
4. Add half of sifted dry ingredients and mix on low until just combined. Add in milk and creme de menthe if using and continue to mix on low speed. Finally add in remaining dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
5. Portion dough in two and between parchment paper press each portion into a square about 3/4 inch thick. Place in refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours.
6. When ready to form balls. Pop the chilled dough into the freezer for about 7-10 minutes. While waiting, prepare the icing sugar and granulated sugar separately in a medium sized bowl for rolling.
7. Remove dough from the freezer, using a knife cut dough into 3/4 inch squares. Since I find the dough to be of a sticky and wet consistency, I found that this method of working the dough as cold as possible helps alleviate the sticky situation.
8. Between the palm of your hands, roll each square into round balls which will be roughly 1 inch in diameter. As you are rolling, the warmth of your palms will start to melt the dough which is what you want as this will make the granulated sugar stick to them.
9. Chuck the balls into the bowl with the granulated sugar and swirl them around to be completely coated. Pick them out and set aside. Do this to all the remaining dough. You may have to wash your hands between rolling but I found for myself that working the dough in 2 portions only required my hands to be washed before getting to the 2nd final half.
10. After all the balls are formed and covered in granulated sugar. Preheat oven to 350˚. Roll the chocolate balls in icing sugar to generously coat them. Don't be skimpy here as this is what will create the black and white contrast of the cookies.
11. Place the icing sugared balls onto parchment lined cookie sheets about 2 inches apart and bake 10-12 minutes until they puff and crack. Keep in a tightly sealed container for up to a week.

It may appear that there are many steps but don't let this deter you from attempting this recipe. It's all about ease and efficiency and being organized. You'll understand the messy and sticky situation when you start or attempt this recipe. It really is easy if you are organized and have everything ready.

Basler Brunsli

First on this year's Christmas Cookie list is Basler Brunsli; a popular and festive Chocolate spiced cookie enjoyed throughout the Christmas season in Switzerland. I was excited when I reviewed the ingredients as it has no flour at all so I am able to enjoy them in it's original form. I have never made this before so was unsure of the texture and appearance. I may have been too eager and was not patient after stamping them out as instructed by the recipe so the cookie spread whilst baking. The cookies filled the house with a gorgeous aroma whilst baking and certainly added to the Christmas spirit. This is again a Nick Malgieri recipe featured in Gourmet's Cookies Favourites 1942-2008. Recipe can be found here or for convenience below.



Basler Brunsli
- by Nick Malgieri adapted from Gourmet.com

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups whole natural almonds (8 ounces)
1 1/2 cups sugar plus additional for coating work surface
6 ounces Swiss or other fine-quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup egg whites (from about 2 large eggs)

Method
In a food processor combine almonds with 1 1/2 cups sugar and pulse until ground fine (do not overprocess or mixture will become warm and melt chocolate when added). Add chocolate and pulse until ground fine. Add spices and pulse twice. Add whites and pulse until mixture forms a stiff dough, adding 1 teaspoon water if necessary. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or foil.

On a surface coated with additional sugar press out or roll dough about 1/4 inch thick. With bottom of fork held facing down and tines touching dough at 60-degree angle, score dough about 1/16 inch deep by pulling fork across in a series of parallel vertical lines. With a 2-inch heart-, star-, and/or clover-leaf-shaped cutter cut out cookies and transfer to prepared baking sheets. Press dough scraps together and cut out more cookies in same manner. Let cookies stand, uncovered, at room temperature 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 325° F.

Put cookies in oven and immediately reduce temperature to 300° F. Bake cookies, switching position of sheets in oven halfway through baking, 10 to 15 minutes, or until they are just firm (do not overbake or cookies will be hard), and cool on sheets on racks. Keep cookies in an airtight container up to 2 weeks. Makes about 60 cookies.

Getting Ready for Christmas

Usually immediately after Thanksgiving, after lots of pie baking, I get the urge to start my annual Christmas baking! I look forward to this time of year especially when the mercury level begins to drop and I can turn on the oven, this to me is a fantastic way to warm up the house. This year being our first Christmas together as a married couple, I've decided to bake Swiss Cookies in honor of E's heritage. He said he remembers the delicious cookies his aunt used to bake when he was a child. Unfortunately, those recipes are no where to be had but what I have is a book that my sister gave me many years ago by Nick Malgieri which has several traditional Swiss Christmas cookies. Ironically, as much as I bake and cook, I don't own many books; save a few and this happens to be my one and only cookie book which I reach for year after year. Thanks sis!

Well to kick start the baking frenzy, I started getting ready by making a half pound of candied orange and lemon peel last week and warned E that I would be smelling of butter for the whole month of December. OK, ok! it's not Swiss but I decided to warm-up first by making a wheat free version of my mom's Chocolate Chip cookies for myself to curb my hands from reaching for the "normal" cookies I'll be baking in the next 2 weeks. I also had some lingering chocolate chips and almonds I wanted to use up before delving into nice fresh nuts and chocolate for Christmas baking.

These cookies a meant to be made small unlike the typical American cookies. To me, they are tiny morsels of crispy delight I always look forward to once a year as a child. Using Spelt instead of flour adds to the lightness and crunchy aspect of the cookie. Try it! I hope you love it as much as I do.

Mom's Chocolate Chip Morsels

Ingredients
250g Butter - room temp
200g Brown Sugar
60g Milk Powder
300g AP Flour or Spelt
100g Corn Flour
100g Almonds - chopped or if for convenience slivered
80g Chocolate - chopped into 1/4" pieces. This is recommended and yields better results in texture than chips. Although contrary to my suggestion, I used chips this time for ease.
1 tsp Vanilla
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda

Preheat the oven to 325˚

Method
Stir together flour, milk powder, corn flour and baking soda and set aside. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in egg and vanilla and beat until well blended. Gently fold in the dry mixture and mix until just incorporated. Finally add in chocolate and almonds and mix until evenly distributed. To keep the crispy integrity of the cookie, the less the dough is handled the better it is, this is especially so if using AP flour. Next, time to bake these delicious morsels! Grab a small 1" scoop if you have one and start scooping up the dough and plonk it on a parchment lined baking sheet 2"-3" apart. Alternately using a teaspoon, drop the dough and gently mound the dropped bits together onto the baking sheet. Do not roll it, squish it or compress it too much. Slide it into the hot oven for about 12-15 minutes until it is a beautiful golden brown.

Birthday Guinness Cake

Yes! That is snow you see in the background

It has been a busy few months with the big move and basically a new life in a new place. After about a month, I finally managed to unpack all my baking supplies and found new homes for them on E's kitchen shelves or he is sure to correct me "our" kitchen shelves. All this happened just in time too greet my parents visit and also some dear friends and also to warm the house as the mercury level here drops. Since then I've managed to bake up some delicious pecan sticky buns and others which I will share at a later time but for today it's E's birthday cake! Since he loves Guinness and with my parents around (to help eat the cake!) I decided to make a Guinness Cake courtesy from Nigella Lawson. The only criticism from E was that it wasn't Guinnessy enough...I suppose I will have to tweak it for next year then. This cake is so easy and absolutely delicious to make. Please make and enjoy.

Chocolate Guinness Cake
Makes One 9-inch cake and serves about 12

Cake Ingredients
250ml Guinness
250g unsalted butter
75g cocoa
400g caster sugar
1 x 142ml pot sour cream
2 eggs
1 tablespoon real vanilla extract
275g plain flour
2 1/2teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

Frosting Ingredients
300g Philadelphia cream cheese
150g icing sugar
125ml double or whipping cream

Preheat the oven to 180°C or 350˚F, and butter and line a 9" springform pan.

Pour the Guinness into a large wide saucepan, add the butter in pieces and heat until the butter’s melted, at which time whisk in the cocoa and sugar. In a separate bowl, beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and then pour into the butter beer mixture. Whisk in the flour and bicarbonate of soda until mixture is smooth. Pour the cake mixture into the springform pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour until firm to touch. This is a damp cake so cool completely in the pan.


When the cake is cooled, whip the cream cheese until smooth and sieve the icing sugar over and beat together. Slowly add in the cream and continue beating until light and fluffy. Remove the cake from the pan and spread the frosting on top of the cake to resemble a delicious frothy pint of Guinness.