Category: Recipes

Recipes I’ve tried and sometimes modified that I think you should try!
Pao de Queijo (Jeremy’s Cheese Bread-Food from the Heart)

Pao de Queijo (Jeremy’s Cheese Bread-Food from the Heart)

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Earlier in the year as I was clicking through my Instagram, perusing what my favorite bloggers and IGers were up to, I landed on Two Red Bowls.  A black and white photo of a young man hugging Luke, her son, and Luke gazing up at him. It was and is a beautiful photo. As I read her post, my chest tightened and my heart sank, the young man was her brother, Luke’s uncle, who had just passed away from colon cancer, far too young. It was so sad and so brave of her to share this with us, strangers, who feel a connection to her through her beautiful writing and wonderful recipes.

A few months later she posted a recipe for Pao de queijo, a Brazilian cheese bread. This was her brother’s contribution to holiday feasts.  She described how he made these savory bites in the afternoon for everyone to enjoy while prepping for the evening feast.

I made a mental note to make his Pao de queijo for Thanksgiving. I did, and as I watched my family gobble them up, I hoped her family was also together for Thanksgiving and finding comfort in the shared memories of her brother.

How to describe Pao de queijo?  They look like Gougeres, those airy, light, cheesy, French puffs. The KEY difference is these puffs are made with tapioca flour which gives them an elastic, stretchy quality, kind of like mochi.

Let’s Starch Here

These puffs are incredibly easy and quick to make. I did a little sleuthing for background on these savory Brazilian morsels. Recipes called for Tapioca Starch or Cassava Flour.  Both forms come from the cassava plant, cassava flour uses the entire root while tapioca is only the pulp and therefore contains very little protein or fiber. This recipe calls for tapioca starch or flour (same thing) not cassava flour.  Bob’s Red Mill offers a Tapioca Flour and most Asian markets carry multiple brands of Tapioca Starch/Flour. Bonus, it is gluten-free!

Traditional recipes for Pao de queijo call for heating up the liquids and then adding the starch which becomes a dough that is kneaded and formed into balls before baking.  This recipe is an easy but no less delicious version.

Throw all the ingredients, sans cheese, in a blender and pulse to combine.  The tricky part is the tapioca flour which gets gooey really fast.  Add your tapioca flour after putting at least some of the liquids in the blender.  Blend well.

Say Cheese

Add the shredded cheese last.  Pulse the blender a couple of times and you are done.  Don’t pulverize the cheese.  I like the combination of Parmesan and Mozzarella, it provides a nice balance of flavor and texture.  Use any cheese you like, cheddar, pepper jack, Farmer Cheese.  Adjust for the saltiness of your cheese.

Pour the batter into mini-muffin tins, it reminds me of making popovers.  It should be just the right amount of batter to fill the 24 cups equally.  Watch them rise as they bake.  Serve immediately.  I plan to make a batch for Christmas too.

I made a batch with butter just to satisfy my “butter is better” mantra.  Straight substitution, 1/4 cup melted butter for 1/4 cup oil. I added 1 tsp of oil (very arbitrary) since butter is 80/20 fat to water.  I warmed the milk a little (not hot) to keep the butter from solidifying.   The puffs turned out fine, they seemed a little heavier than the all-oil batch.  The butter did give the puffs a fuller flavor (built-in butter bias perhaps). Your choice. Whatever you do, make them, they’re lovely.

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JEREMY’S CHEESE BREAD (PAO DE QUEIJO) Two Red Bowls

Brazilian cheese bread made with tapioca flour. Stretchy and cheesy, the perfect munchie.
Course Breads
Cuisine Latin America
Keyword Brazillian, cheese bread, Pao de Queijo
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes

Equipment

  • mini-muffin tin

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (125 gram) tapioca flour or tapioca starch
  • ½ cup whole milk or milk of your choice
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil or unsalted butter plus more for greasing the pan
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup about 2 ounce shredded cheese of your choice (Parmesan and mozzarella or Farmer's Cheese or blend of cheeses)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a 24-well mini-muffin pan with cooking spray or oil.
  • In a blender, combine the flour, milk, vegetable oil, egg, and salt. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed, about a minute or so. Add the cheese and pulse once or twice more, until just combined.
  • Divide the batter evenly into the greased mini-muffin pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Baking for less time will give stretchier, chewier rolls, and more will give a crispier exterior. Serve warm. Leftovers can be frozen and reheated at 400 for 5 minutes.

Notes

Using a blender helps fully emulsify and aerate the batter, especially as the tapioca flour has a cornstarch-y consistency that can be difficult to mix by hand. YOu could probably use a handheld blender or food processor.
Try different cheeses, cheddar, or Monterey Jack, Farmer's Cheese.
Replace a few tablespoons of the milk with sweetened condensed milk which nicely complements the tapioca flour’s natural sweetness. But keep the amount of egg and oil the same, as that can affect how well the puffs rise and hold their shape.

May your holidays be filled with love and laughter shared with family and friends.
Whole Roasted Cauliflower Takoyaki Style-Ahead of the Game

Whole Roasted Cauliflower Takoyaki Style-Ahead of the Game

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So, you drew the short straw, didn’t you?  Yep, the proverbial boring Thanksgiving dish.  Vegetables, sheesh.  Auntie has drawn dessert, ugh, means lime green jello mold with pineapple.  Which is not dessert actually but it’s ok, she’s your Aunt.

Could be worse, you could have drawn salad.  Really, who goes for salad first on Thanksgiving?  Sure I take the customary 2 lettuce leaves and a crouton to make my plate look balanced.  It’s all for show I don’t actually eat it.  At least we can salvage the veggie dilemma.

I am here to make you the belle of the ball, a prince among paupers.  Along the way, we are demystifying the twenty-dollar whole roasted cauliflower.  Yeah, fess up, you have paid that much and didn’t even blink an eye when you did.

You will never order whole roasted cauliflower again.

Well, at the least, you won’t pay twenty bucks for it.

You don’t have to core it this much, I was a bit overzealous

Start with a nice looking head of cauliflower,  Wash it, trim off the outer leaves, (here is my hack) core the center stem with a melon baller if you have one. If not use a paring knife.  Coring shortens cooking time.

Slather the cauliflower top and bottom with olive oil.  I use a squirt bottle, a brush would work also.  Season with salt and pepper, again, top and bottom.  Place on a parchment or foil-lined baking sheet.

That’s it.  Your work is done.  Your oven does the rest of the heavy-lifting. Roast for about 45-50 minutes.  Pierce it with a knife, if it goes through fairly easy, it’s done.  Out comes a beautiful toasty, crispy edged, soft- centered, delicious, cauliflower canvas, ready to be painted.

You can top your cauliflower with just about anything.  I have served it with roasted tomatoes, or brushed with a garlic and herb butter, it’s your cauliflower, go crazy.

My latest razzle dazzle topping was inspired by a recipe I found in a little book called Emily the Cookbook. Emily is a pizza joint in Brooklyn that is on my bucket list of places to try.  They serve a roasted broccoli dish that is based on the toppings for Takoyaki, a popular Japanese seafood-filled round pancake.  So simple, yet so good.  In fact, it’s so simple I’m using pics to show you how to make it.

All you need is Okonomi Sauce (preferred) or Tonkatsu Sauce (think Worchestershire/Steak Sauce but better), Kewpie Mayonnaise (Japanese mayo), Bonita Flakes (fish flakes) and green onions.

Squirt a bunch of the mayo (it even comes in a squirt bottle-how easy is that?) all over the top.

Then squirt a bunch of Okonomi Sauce on top.

Finish with a flurry of bonita flakes, green onions and some sesame seeds if you like. Want to keep it vegetarian? Instead of bonita flakes,  TJ’s has a fish-free furikake.

That’s it.  Easy and Monster tasty!

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Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Takoyaki Style Sauce

Easy and delicious way to serve cauliflower. Whole roasted with a umami bomb sauce.
Course Appetizer, Main Course, Vegetable
Cuisine Fusion
Keyword Cauliflower, takoyaki sauce, Whole roasted cauliflower
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 1 head cauliflower 1.5-2 pounds
  • 3-4 tbsp good quality olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Takoyaki Sauce

  • Kewpie Mayonnaise
  • Okonomi Sauce
  • Bonita Flakes or Furikake
  • Green Onions for garnish
  • Toasted Sesame Seeds for garnish
  • Lemon wedges for garnish

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 450 degrees
  • Wash and trim cauliflower. Remove leaves and cut stem even with the bottom of the cauliflower. Using a melon baller or paring knife, core cauliflower stem. Take care not to cut too much, you want to leave the stalks connected to the stem.
  • Brush or squirt olive oil all over the top and bottom of the cauliflower. Season with salt and pepper and a little garlic salt (optional). I have used Momofuku Savory Salt for a bit more punch. The sauce will give it alot of flavor though.
  • Roast for about 45-50 minutes.  Pierce it with a knife, if it goes through fairly easy, it's done.

Takoyaki Sauce

  • Can I call this a recipe? Basically squirt copious amounts of Kewpie mayo and Okonomi Sauce in zig zag lines all over the cauliflower. Sprinkle Bonita Flakes or Furikake all over and hit it with green onions and tossed sesame seeds let.
  • Done. Bring it to the table in all it's whole roasted glory!

Notes

From the Japanese cookbook, Just One Cookbook. Kewpie imposter recipe!
For 1 cup of American mayonnaise (like Best Foods), add 2 Tbsp rice vinegar and 1 Tbsp sugar. Whisk until the sugar dissolves. For 1 Tbsp of American mayonnaise, add 1/2 tsp rice vinegar and 1/8 tsp sugar.
Uncle Gary’s Sweet Potato Casserole

Uncle Gary’s Sweet Potato Casserole

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Every Thanksgiving I look forward to my cousin Gary’s Sweet Potatoes.  As sure as there will be a turkey on the table, his sweet potatoes will also be there.  Drenched in butter and brown sugar and covered in a blanket of toasty mini-marshmallows,  it is the veggie-carb highlight for me.   As I make my way around the table, I’ll squish everything else to one side of my plate to make room for those bedazzled yams.  I’ll angle the spoon just so as to get “more than my share” of warm, gooey, toasty marshmallows.  I’ll go back for seconds and then pack a little box (ok, not so little) to take home.

I LOVE those Sweet Potatoes, so does everyone in our family and anyone who has shared a Thanksgiving meal with us.

Now I am going to share them with you.

You’re welcome.

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Uncle Gary's Sweet Potatoes

I will go on strike if Uncle Gary's Sweet Potatoes are not at our Family Thanksgiving feast.
Course holiday dish, Side Dish, Vegetable
Cuisine American
Keyword marshmallows, Sweet Potatoes, Thanksgiving
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 6 sweet potatoes medium sized
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 3 tbsp orange juice or rum
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon ground
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg or mace ground
  • 1 bag mini-marshmallow 10 ounce

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a shallow baking dish or casserole (9x13 pan)
  • Prepare and boil whole yams or sweet potatoes until soft but not falling apart. Drain, set aside to cool. Once cooled, peel and cut into 1/4 inch slices.
  • Arrange slices, overlapping, in a buttered, shallow, baking dish or casserole
  • Dot with butter, sprinkle lightly with salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Drizzle with orange juice or rum.
  • Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until bubbly or glazed looking
  • Remove from oven and scatter the marshmallows over the top.
  • Bake again until the marshmallows are warmed through and start to brown.
  • Serve immediately.
Savory Bread Pudding with Mushrooms (Thanksgiving Favs)

Savory Bread Pudding with Mushrooms (Thanksgiving Favs)

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I love Thanksgiving.  Unlike other holidays that seem focused on family, Thanksgiving is a free-for-all.  We invite everyone we can think of, especially those that can’t make it home, to join the feast.  Each person brings their own family favorite to share.  We have a table filled with a cacophony of dishes, Uncle Gary’s Sweet Potatoes, Sticky Rice Stuffing, Chinese Roast Duck, Lox and crackers, Stir-fried Bok Choy, Baklava…anything goes.  It all tastes wonderful, enhanced by the lively, happy chatter of friends and family we don’t see often enough.

Reelin in the Years

The stalwarts of our Thanksgiving table include Uncle Gary’s Sweet Potatoes.  Non-negotiable to the point that Uncle Gary and Sweet Potatoes are synonymous.  Sweet potatoes, copious amounts of butter, brown sugar, topped with mini-marshmallows, what’s not to love?  Over the years Uncle Gary (yes, a real person, my cousin) has tweaked his recipe, adding pineapple, boooze, marshmallow cream, only to be met with a chorus of “it’s good BUT not as good as your regular sweet potatoes. Why mess with perfection?

The other must-have is the Chinese American contribution to Thanksgiving, Gnaw Mai Fan, or Sweet Rice Stuffing.  A mixture of glutinous rice (sweet rice), bits of Chinese sausage (lop Cheung), mushrooms, green onions, dried shrimp (umami bomb), bbq pork, and roasted chestnuts is now in vogue, the gluten-free option to classic bread stuffing.

Confession Time

Ok, I have a confession.  I am the maker of the Gnaw Mai Fan or Sweet Rice Stuffing that graces our feast every year, but I LOVE traditional bread stuffing.  Yep, I’m a stuffing girl.  After making the VAT of Sweet Rice Stuffing for everyone else, I use to pull out the teeny box of Stove Top stuffing in the pantry to whip up for me.

Fortunately, those days are over.  A savory bread pudding with mushrooms from Epicurious satisfies my stuffing craving.  Filled with onions, peppers, ‘shrooms, croutons and bound by eggs and cream, it is deliciously decadent.  Make sure to toast the bread, it makes a difference.  Use a French batard that has a nice crust and a fairly tight, soft crumb.  For an extra rich, creamy version, use Challah or Brioche.  Substitute leeks for some or all of the onions for another yummy tweak.

Pros– lots of veggies, bell peppers, celery, mushrooms, onions, moist, scrumptious, adaptable,

Cons-lots of eggs, heavy cream and butter, and cheese, but hey, it’s a holiday!

I do tweak the recipe just a touch. Use half and half in place of at least half of the heavy cream.  You could probably reduce this further by using chicken stock for part of the half and half too.  I also substitute olive oil for half of the butter used to saute the veggies. The recipe is below.

It’s All About the Pies

I know how Gary feels, typecast for Thanksgiving, not being given the option to bring something different for the feast.  It is ASSUMED we will bring pies.  Lucky I love to bake, as does Jamie.  The pie parade includes traditional Pumpkin Pie and Pecan Pie, Tartine’s Lemon Cream Tart and a gorgeous Cranberry Curd Tart.  Choice and color to the dessert table.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Savory Bread Pudding with Mushrooms and Parmesan Cheese

Decadent, savory bread pudding with mushrooms, peppers, onions and cheese held together by a rich creamy egg custard.
Course Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword Savory Bread Pudding with mushrooms
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Resting Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

The Dry

  • 1 1-pound loaf crusty country-style white bread (A Frence Batard preferred over Ciabatta which has bigger holes)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 4 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 large garlic clove minced

The Stuff

  • 6 tablespoons 3/4 stick butter Can use half butter, half olive oil
  • 1 pound assorted fresh mushrooms such as crimini, button, portobello, and stemmed shiitake, thinly sliced
  • 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion can replace half to all of onions with leeks
  • 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced celery
  • 1 cup finely chopped red bell pepper use any color bell pepper
  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley (Italian flat leaf parsley)

The Wet

  • 3 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream substitute half and half for 50% of cream,
  • 8 large eggs yes, 8
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

The Bread

  • Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Cut bottom crust and short ends off bread and discard. Cut remaining bread with crust into 1-inch cubes (about 10 cups loosely packed).
  • Place cubes in very large bowl. Add oil, thyme, and garlic; toss to coat. Spread cubes out on large rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until golden and slightly crunchy, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Return toasted bread cubes to same very large bowl.

The Veggies

  • Melt butter/olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, onion, celery, and bell pepper. Sauté until soft and juices have evaporated, about 15 minutes. Add sautéed vegetables and parsley to bread cubes.

The Binder

  • Whisk heavy cream, eggs, salt, and ground pepper in large bowl. Mix custard into bread and vegetables. Transfer to prepared dish. Let sit for min. of 30 minutes. Sprinkle cheese over. DO AHEAD Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.
  • Bake stuffing uncovered until set and top is golden, about 1 hour. Let stand 15 minutes.

Notes

This rich, custard-like stuffing is also a great main-course option for vegetarians.

 
Lasso Some Biscuits From Milk Bar (Ted Lasso Biscuits)

Lasso Some Biscuits From Milk Bar (Ted Lasso Biscuits)

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Yes, you are not seeing double, this is a different recipe for Ted Lasso’s biscuits! AND it’s a good one.  I am a Johnny come lately to Ted Lasso having ignored the initial buzz about the show until…

Biscuits with the Boss

…recipes and articles started popping up on the internet for Ted’s Biscuits.  That’s when I took notice.  The show is funny, endearing, cute, and a bit bawdy, just the escape we all need.  All that and biscuits, made it irresistible.

It seemed only fair that I try the “official” Ted Lasso Biscuit from Apple TV first.  The biscuits had a smooth texture, were a bit crumbly and not too sweet.  The second day brought out the buttery flavor making this a very respectable shortbread biscuit. Perfect with a cup of tea or coffee. I would make these again, say, if I didn’t have eggs for Christina Tosi’s version or if I wanted an easier, simpler, cookie.

I have been a fan of Christina Tosi for a long, long times since her days at Momofuku.  Her Corn Cookies, Crack Pie and Compost Cookies are iconic.  Soooo, when she posted her version of Ted’s Biscuits, yeah, I ran not walked  to my kitchen and got busy.

Tosi’s version is more typical of a shortbread recipe, beat the butter and sugar just until smooth and creamy, not fluffy.  Atypical are the addition of egg yolks to the batter.  This adds fat and moisture to the cookies making them softer, moister than shortbread.  The powdered sugar lowers the protein for a tender cookie.  Adding a touch of brown sugar gives the cookie a caramel finish.  The cookie is rich, buttery, with a super fine, tight crumb almost like a dense pound cake.

The addition of egg yolks makes for a soft dough. Try not to overmix dough, I stopped mixing once the dough starting clumping.  Press the dough into the pan.  You can dampen your hand which helps with the stickiness.  Use an offset spatula to smooth the top.

It isn’t necessary to line the pan with parchment, but I did, it’s easier to remove from the pan.  The baking temperature varied on different sites between 315 and 325 degrees.  At 325 degrees, the cookies were ready in 35 minutes.  Force of habit, I docked the dough with a fork for even baking. Unlike traditional shortbread, during baking, the holes disappeared, probably due to the egg yolks.  Docking shortbread allows steam to escape, no bubbles, and even baking, is it necessary with this recipe, not sure.

During baking, the top of the dough forms a shiny, golden brown layer, the edges will be a deeper brown.  Completely cool the cookies before cutting.  The texture is soft, and cutting was not a problem.  Cut cookies out to desired size and shape, rectangle or square.  I divided the dough into 3 then cut each third into 8-9 rectangular cookies.  Perfect pink box size.  Make these cookies now.

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Ted Lasso Biscuits

Christina Tosi’s version of Ted Lasso Biscuits. It’s a winner!
Course bar cookies, cookies
Cuisine American
Keyword biscuits, Shortbread, ted lasso
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, 2 sticks softened
  • 1 ⅓ cup confectioner’s sugar
  • 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 1 ¾ cup All purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp scant kosher salt

Instructions

  • Heat the oven to 325F Line a 8x8” baking dish with parchment, grease pan
  • Using a mixer, beat butter, sugars and salt together on medium speed until smooth and creamy
  • Stir in the egg yolks
  • Add the flour and mix just until the dough just comes together. Do not over mix.
  • Press dough into an even layer in the pan. The dough will be sticky, dampen hands (just a bit) to press dough in. Spread and level dough with an offset spatula. Dock dough with a fork 2 inches apart.
  • Bake at 325F for 35 minutes or until a thin, golden brown layer forms on top.
  • Cool completely before cutting into 3 rows. Cut each row into 8 pieces.

Notes

Can be baked at 315 degrees for 45 min  or until golden brown
“Lassoed” Into Making “Biscuits” (Shortbread)

“Lassoed” Into Making “Biscuits” (Shortbread)

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In the Queen’s Language, Cookies are Biscuits

I LOVE Shortbread cookies and have quite a few recipes on 3jamigos that are shortbread-centric.  I live by the motto “more butter, more better”.   Food52 shared the recipe for biscuits from the Ted Lasso show, of course I made them. It was a no-brainer, an automatic cookie bucket list entry.  In fact, it was The “biscuits” that enticed me to watch the show.  Up to that point, Ted Lasso was not even on my radar despite friends and family buzzing about it.   Well, I started watching Ted Lasso and the buzz is justified.  Optimistic, empathetic, decent and endearing, qualities we seemed to be in short supply of these days.  Ted Lasso is the perfect escape and the biscuits are pretty darn good too.

The Premise

American football coach goes to England to coach FOOTBALL. LOL

Biscuits with the Boss

Each day Ted brings a box of biscuits (cookies) to his boss, Rebecca.  A  tiny pink box filled with buttery goodness.  Scrumptious biscuits, solid acting, a funny storyline, and Jason Sudekis, 🍿🍿🍿🍿.

The recipe is the “official one” provided by Apple TV, the distributor of Ted Lasso.  There are other “me too” recipes out there (that of course I am going to try) like Christina Tosi’s version, but I figured this was a good place to start. These are essentially shortbread cookies.  Did I like them?  Yes.  Do I think they are the be-all-end-all?  Probably not.

My absolute favorite Shortbread is from an essay in Cuisine Magazine (sadly gone), “My Father’s Shortbread”.   A Classic Scottish Shortbread–buttery, sandy texture, nice crumb, melts in your mouth and yet has some substance to the bite.  It is the cornerstone of every holiday box of cookies we give out at Christmas. It is my be-all-end-all shortbread.

My second favorite is Bouchon’s Shortbread, tender, melt in your mouth, screams butter.  It is a beautiful cookie.  A little sweeter from the dusting of sanding sugar on the cookie.

Back to Ted

Don’t get me wrong.  I will make Ted’s Biscuits again.  They have a smoother texture than classic shortbread and a softer bite.  I’m guessing it has to do with beating the butter much longer than the other shortbread recipes, the addition of powdered sugar and baking at a higher temperature than classic shortbread.  The crumb is much more uniform so you don’t get that same sandy texture.

The cookies are baked in an 8 inch pan and cut after they are cooled.  Start checking at about 40 minutes during baking.  My batch turned a nice golden brown at 45 minutes.  Cool cookies on a rack.  The cookies are cut after they cool.  Use a sharp serrated knife to keep the cuts clean and minimize breaking.  I’m not sure why they aren’t cut warm, I might try that next time.

The cookie tastes better the next day, the butter flavor shines when given the chance to sit.  Patience has its rewards.

So if you are sitting down to watch Ted Lasso, make a batch of any of these biscuits.  It will make the show that much more fun and enjoyable.  If you are like Ted, have a cup of coffee not a cup of garbage water (according to Ted).  Me, I would love a steaming hot cup of tea.

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Ted Lasso's Biscuits (Shortbread)

Ted’s a simple man as are his biscuits. A classic, buttery shortbread.
Course biscuits, cookies
Cuisine American, European
Keyword butter, cookies, Shortbread, ted lasso
Prep Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour sifted
  • ¾ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 cup unsalted butter softened
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • Sanding sugar optional

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 300℉
  • Butter an 8-inch square baking pan and set it aside
  • Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the butter for three to five minutes until it’s light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar.
  • Add flour and salt and mix until the dough comes together. Do not overmix.
  • Press into baking pan, keeping the dough as even as possible. I use an offset spatula and a tamper to even out the dough. Chill for a minimum of 30 minutes in the refrigerator before baking.
  • Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until it looks golden-brown but is still a little soft to the touch. Take the pan out of the oven. Sprinkle with sanding sugar now if using. Let it cool completely on a rack before cutting them.
  • Remove from pan and use a serrated knife to cut slices to the dimensions you like. Ted cut his into squares, I cut mine into rectangle shape like Walker Shortbread. Go find some cute pink boxes too!
Breton_Style Palets (Buttercup Babies)

Breton_Style Palets (Buttercup Babies)

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The release of Dorie Greenspan’s new cookbook guilted me into getting on the J-O-B and writing this post.  It seems like only a nanosecond ago I made them when actually, the recipe for these Breton-Style Palets is from her newsletter a couple of months ago.  At the time, I posted a pic of these delicious morsels on IG.  The caption of course read, ‘notes, coming soon on 3Jamigos.  I do abuse the ambiguity of the word “soon” a little too frequently.

Without Further Ado

Breton-Style Palets.  Ah, one bite had me singing “Smooth like butter, like a criminal undercover, breaking into my heart like that”.  A tender buttery cookie that sits at the intersection of shortbread and Madeleine.  An absolute delight, not too sweet with a little pop of salt in each bite.

These cookies are very straightforward with a genius tweak from Dorie.  First, start with great butter, this is the cornerstone of these cookies, no skimping.  The other essential ingredients are flour, and powdered sugar, which tenderizes the cookie and gives it that sweet kick. Egg yolks which add another layer of richness, and finally, salt, for that burst of contrast at the end.  According to Dorie, you can add vanilla and or citrus zest, but I’m a purist, I didn’t.

If you start with soft, NOT melted butter, you can actually make these cookies by hand with a bowl and wooden spoon.  I used a mixer, being very careful not to overbeat the butter or the dough after adding the flour.  Overmixing the butter adds too much air.  Aim for a smooth and creamy mixture, NOT light and fluffy.  Over-beating the dough after adding the flour, develops the gluten creating one tough cookie.  So a light hand peeps.

Logging In with Dough Boi

The dough is very soft and sticky after mixing.  I leave the dough in the mixing bowl, press Saran Wrap on top, and chill it for 30-60 minutes before shaping it into a roll.  It makes life easier, trust me.  Take the dough out of the fridge and shape it into 2 logs about 6 inches long, wrap,  and then throw those bad boys into your freezer for at least two hours.  When they are thoroughly chilled, it is “slice and bake” time.

Don’t look too closely, this roll is not the butter babies of this post.  It is here to illustrate how to make a slice and bake roll round.  Roughly shape your dough into “a just short of” the size log you want. Place the dough on parchment or wax paper ( a large enough piece to surround the dough and then some), fold it over the roll, place a straight edge on top of the parchment, tucked right into the bottom part of the roll.  Hold onto the bottom edge of the parchment and pull while simultaneously pushing on your straight edge.  This creates pressure and forces the dough to form a nice round log, ta-da.  Why didn’t I make a video?  That would have been so much easier.

The Dorie Move

Here come the Dorie pearls of baking wisdom and technique.  This is a soft dough, which will spread when baking.  So to get those perfectly round, lovely cookies, Dorie bakes the slices of dough in a muffin tin, that’s right Buttercup, in a cupcake pan. Genius!  Beautiful, perfectly round, how did you do that-cookies.

Now go and make these cookies, they are a ray of sunshine to combat the coming winter weather.  Come back to this blog when you’re done, by then I will have posted Dorie’s Caramel  Chocolate Chunk Cookies baked in that very same cupcake pan you used for these cookies…  You’re welcome.

*Hmmm, made the Caramel Chocolate Chunk Cookies yesterday night, they were not up to expectations so I’ll have to tinker with the recipe a little…Stay tuned!

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Dorie Breton-Style Palets

Another delicious cookie from Dorie Greenspan in the shortbread camp. Buttery, tender, slightly sweet, with a sprinkling of salt for that Breton signature.
Course cookies, shortbread
Cuisine American, French
Keyword butter, cupcake tin, Dorie Greenspan, salt, Shortbread
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour 213 grams
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 8 ounces very soft (but not oily) unsalted butter 226 grams
  • 3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar, sieved or sifted 90 grams
  • 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon fleur de sel or 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt to taste
  • 2 large egg yolks at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, optional

Instructions

  • Whisk the flour, baking powder and baking soda together; set aside.
  • In an electric mixer on low-medium speed or with a flexible spatula (if your butter is soft and creamy, the dough is very easy to make by hand), beat the butter, sugar and salt together until very smooth. If you’re using a mixer, go easy – try not to beat air into the mixture. One by one, add the yolks and beat to blend. Beat in the vanilla, if you’re using it.
  • Add the dry ingredients in two additions, beating each until just incorporated. The dough will be soft and sticky. Cover dough with Saran Wrap and chill for 30-60 minutes.
  • Divide the dough in half and roll each half into a log that’s about 5 1/2 to 6 inches long (get the length and the width will be fine). Freeze the logs for at least 2 hours.
  • Just before cutting and baking, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. The rack should be in the center of the oven.
  • Working with one log at a time, unwrap the log and score it so that you can cut 12 rounds. If a round cracks or slivers when you cut it, just press the pieces back into shape. Drop each slice into each cupcake hole of a standard-size muffin tin.
  • Bake the cookies for 18 to 20 minutes – rotating the tin front to back after 10 minutes. Bake until the cookies are beautifully golden around the edges and just firm to the touch in the centers. Remove the tin from the oven and place on a rack, carefully run a knife around the edge to loosen each cookie, invert the pan onto a cooling rack to release them. The cookies are very fragile, so be gentle with them. Cool to room temperature on racks before serving.

Notes

Storing: Packed in a covered container, the cookies will keep for at least a week.
Alfajores (Bells Rang for this Cookie)

Alfajores (Bells Rang for this Cookie)

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I found the cookie of my dreams at a family wedding a couple of years ago.  Strolling around the reception, waiting for the happy couple to arrive, I grabbed a glass of bubbly and gravitated towards the table of sweets,  a dazzling array of desserts.

In the center of the table was an amazing assortment of cookies.  I chose the sugar cookie sheep, so cute I couldn’t resist. In fact, too cute to eat so I chose a second cookie, a petite round sandwich cookie covered with powdered sugar.  I popped one in my mouth.

Wowza, Score One for the Round Cookie

HELLOOOO…little cute as a button sandwich cookie. Where have you been all my life?  Tender, light, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth crumb with a rich-brown lovely caramel sandwiched in between. The rest of the wedding festivities were a blur as I fixated on the cookie, just kidding, it was a very nice celebration. I did eat as many cookies as I could, lol.  I stealthily circulated the room casually asking, friends and relatives about the cookies.  Ok, I’m lying…nothing stealth or casual about my inquisition.  I learned the cookies were made by the bride’s aunt who had lived in South America for a while.  The cookies were her version of Alfajores which originated in Spain and made its way to many Latin countries.  A tender shortbread-like cookie filled with caramelized milk and sugar mixture known as Dulce de Leche.  So good.

Yep, made by the bride’s aunt!  I had an “in”.  I was wowed, they were so damn good and she made enough cookies for 300+ people.  This put me squarely in the Auntie Hall of Shame.

It did take 5 years to finally get the recipe from her.  I badgered my niece occasionally to no avail (in her defense, she was pretty busy).  Finally, at her baby shower a couple of weeks ago, gracing the dessert table, a tray of cute sheep and Alfajores-ahhh, those lovely cookies, again.

Lucky for me her aunt was there and I POLITELY (I accosted her) asked for the recipe.  She proceeded to rattle it off the top of her head ending with, “it’s the orange rind that really adds to the cookie, don’t forget it”.

Thank you, Auntie

This is actually a pretty simple cookie. Unlike many recipes for Alfajores, no egg in it. It’s flour, sugar in the form of powdered sugar, butter, salt, and a touch of orange rind.  The powdered sugar lowers the protein content creating a tender, melt-in-your-mouth cookie.

The other component is the Dulce de Leche.  You could buy ready-made dulce de leche but what fun is that?  You could also make your own by cooking sweetened condensed milk, in the can, in a water bath.  This is simple but takes hours, and the remote chance of the can exploding loomed in my mind.  So I made my Dulce de Leche in the microwave.  Worked like a charm but it did have some stumbling blocks.

What You Need

A can of sweetened condensed milk (14 ounces) and a VERY LARGE microwavable bowl.  The milk will bubble and boil over if your bowl is too small, yep, exactly what happened to me.  Use a 2.5-quart bowl.  I recently bought microwave ware, Anyday Cookware, which I love, but the bowl was not quite big enough to avoid overflow.

Liquid Gold

The entire process takes 12-15 minutes.  In roughly 2 minute intervals you zap the mixture, remove stir and nuke again.  The mixture will bubble and then caramelize leaving you with liquid gold aka Dulce de Leche.  It will thicken as it cools down, but you do want a nice deep brown color and it shouldn’t be runny to avoid the “ooze factor” in a sandwich cookie. Use oven mitts, stir and let it cool.  You can spoon the filling onto the cookies or use a piping bag to fill the cookies. If you like butter & caramel flavor, you are going to love these cookies.

There you have it, the cookie of my dreams.  Make a batch, I guarantee it will put a smile on your face.

The finishing touch is optional but nice, roll the edge of the cookie in shredded coconut. Delicious.

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Alfajores

A classic cookie found in many Latin American countries. A tender, buttery cookie with Dulce de Leche, caramelized sweetened milk filling.
Course cookies, Dessert
Cuisine Latin America, Spanish
Keyword Alfajores, cookies, dulce de leche
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

Cookie

  • 1 cup unsalted butter softened 2 sticks
  • 6 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 t salt
  • Orange zest from 1/2 orange
  • 1 teaspoon vailla extract or paste optional
  • finely shredded coconut, unsweetened preferred but sweetened is ok too

Dulce de Leche

  • 1-14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
  • Pinch of kosher salt or Fleur de Sel
  • 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon optional

Instructions

Cookie

  • Combine flour and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Zest orange.
  • Cream together butter and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and creamy looking, should not get to the light and fluffy stage. Add orange zest, and vanilla if using, stir to incorporate.
  • Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture, beat on low speed. Once the flour is incorporated, stop, do not overbeat. Remove dough from the bowl, shape into a ball and wrap with plastic wrap. Flatten the ball into a disc about 1 inch thick. Chill for at least an hour.
  • Roll dough out to 1/8 inch thickness. Using a cookie cutter, I use a 2 inch fluted cutter, cut out rounds of dough and place 1 inch apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
  • If dough seems soft at any time, re-chill.
  • Bake at 340 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until the edges just begin to color on the edges. They should be pale color. Remove and place on a rack to cool completely.
  • Once the dulce de leche is cold, fill a piping bag or use teaspoons to place dulce de leche on bottom side of half of the cookies. Use approximately 1 teaspoon of filling.
  • Top filled cookies with the remaining cookies and gently press to distribute filling. You want it to come to the very edge of the cookie. Roll edge of cookie in finely shredded coconut if you want. Dust both sides of cookies with powdered sugar.
  • Filled cookies can be kept for a couple of days at room temperature or in the fridge a little longer. The moisture in the dulce de leche will soften the cookies with time. If you want to make them ahead, don't fill them until you are ready to serve.

Dulce de Leche (Adapted from Food.com)

  • Microwave directions:
  • You will need a 2-1/2 quart microwave bowl for this recipe. If you don’t have one that big, make half at a time. Trust me on this unless you like having caramel all over your microwave.
  • Pour sweetened condensed milk into bowl. If you have a vented lid, put it on. If not, cover bowl with plastic wrap and poke a couple of holes in it so the steam can escape.
  • The gold standard will be a 1000 watt microwave, adjust accordingly.*
  • Set microwave to 50% power and microwave milk for 2 minutes. If you are adding the salt and cinnamon, add it now.
  • Remove, (use oven mitts please!) Stir and put it back in the microwave. Then nuke at half power in two and a half minute intervals, stirring in between each time, for a total of ten minutes. As you cook the milk, it will boil, expel steam and gradually turn a nice rich brown. Keep in mind, you will need a pretty thick sauce for the cookies. You may need to nuke the milk for another 2-3 minutes. You want a deep rich brown. It will thicken a little as it cools.
  • *If you have a 1200 watt microwave, set it at 40%. I have a tiny 600 watt microwave so I set the power at 60%.
  • The Other Method:
  • Requires a lot more time. First, remove the paper label from the can and place it in a heavy duty pot on its side. Fill pot with enough water to cover the can by 2 inches. Bring the water to a boil and reduce heat so the water is at a simmer.
  • Make sure the water level stays 2 inches over the can at all times!!!!!! Or the can might explode!!!! Why I use the microwave method, lol. This method comes from Serious Eats.
  • Bring the water to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer milk for 2-3 hours CHECKING WATER LEVEL EVERY 30 MINUTES. Add hot water as needed. 2 hours will give you a golden caramel while 3 hours will yield a deep, dark caramel.
  • Remove can from water. Allow the can to cool completely before opening, about 4 hours.
Devilishly Good Chocolate Cake

Devilishly Good Chocolate Cake

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Always on the lookout for inspiration, I read Dorie Greenspan’s post on A Devils Food Cake by Zoe Francois of Zoe Bakes.  My copy of Zoe Bakes Cakes has been languishing on my shelf for a little while, okay, a long while (I got it as soon as it hit the shelves). Leave it to Dorie to provide that nudge to finally bake from it.

Devilishly Delicious

My go-to recipe for chocolate cake comes from my tattered, well-worn copy of The Silver Palate.  Their Decadent Chocolate Cake has been a stalwart in our house forever.  But Dorie’s description and praise for this cake made it impossible for me to ignore.  Glad I didn’t, it’s delicious.  It’s chocolatey, moist, not too sweet, and it is pretty darn easy to make. You don’t even have to drag your mixer out, Drop Mixer moment, boom.

Buttermilk, eggs, oil, and coffee provide the liquid and fat in this recipe.  I brewed up extra coffee in the morning knowing I would need some for this cake.  The coffee cuts the sweetness and adds depth and nuance to the cake.  You don’t taste coffee, it just provides its magic.  Cocoa provides the chocolate mojo.  You can use either natural or Dutch-processed according to Dorie.  I played it safe by using King Arthur’s Triple Blend Cocoa, the best of both worlds.  Use what you like.

Loafing Around

You can make this recipe in a round cake pan, as cupcakes, or in a loaf pan.  I chose the loaf pan. The batter has a super thin consistency and is very pourable.

All you need is a couple of bowls, a whisk, and a rubber spatula.

The cake does develop cracks and crevices while baking.  It also falls a little as it cools.  I remedied the situation by trimming off the top and flipping the cake over.  I opted to go with our tried and true Cream Cheese Frosting from our Carrot Cake Recipe.  DOUBLE it. I barely had enough to cover the cake with a single recipe.  You will thank me, lol.  A Vanilla or Chocolate Frosting would work well also. You can find frosting options and Zoe’s Cream Cheese Frosting on Dorie’s site.

This is an absolutely luscious, beautiful cake as is the book and website for Zoe Bakes Cakes.  Put this Devil’s Food Cake on your bucket list.

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CHOCOLATE DEVIL’S FOOD CAKE

Adapted from Zoë Bakes Cakes, by Zoë François (Ten Speed Press) by Dorie Greenspan, my baking muse.
Course Cake, Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword chocolate cake, Chocolate Devil's Food Cake
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 2 1/3 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar
  • 2/3 cup (50 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder (sifted if lumpy)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 1/4 cups (300 ml)hot strong coffee
  • 2 tablespoons rum or brandy
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature
  • 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) mild-flavored oil (such as vegetable oil)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan then line with greased parchment paper. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined. In a small bowl, stir together the coffee and rum.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla until well combined. Add the egg mixture and half the coffee rum to the dry ingredients and mix with a spoon until smooth. Slowly add the remaining coffee mixture and whisk until completely blended and smooth. The batter will be quite thin.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Gently tap the pan on the counter several times to release excess air bubbles.
  • Bake until a tester comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes (30 minutes for 8-inch rounds). Let the cake cool completely before removing from the pan and inverting it onto a serving plate. (If you want to trim the top of the cake – which will be the base – do it now; see above.)
  • Using a metal offset spatula, cover the cake with an even layer of frosting. Top with chocolate shavings, if you’d like. Serve at room temperature.

Notes

Can be made in 2 8-inch round pans
To make 24 cupcakes, fill the well of a cupcake pan two-thirds full of batter and bake for about 20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.