Modern Bakers: Chocolate Sandwich Cookies (with milk chocolate filling)

For this round of the Modern Bakers, it was decided that we'd skip to the cookies chapter, given that the season of baking Christmas treats was upon us, and pretty much everyone bakes cookies in December anyway. It's hardly a surprise that I chose the Chocolate Sandwich Cookies with Milk Chocolate Filling. It was really a no-brainer.

The dough for the cookies themselves was not the easiest to work with. I had to really work it over with my hands in order to make it pliable. It was quite crumbly, and quick to tear. So I found that allowing it to soften after it was chilled was necessary, and I took great care to ensure that my rolling pin was well floured to prevent the tears and clumps of dough from sticking onto the pin. Be patient with it, and don't press too hard when rolling. That's my advice. 

After it was rolled and cut, it was necessary to use a very thin metal spatula to get the cut cookie off the work surface without breaking it and I would therefore urge to use a well-floured work surface, or roll it on parchment as I did. I refrigerated the cut cookies for about 10 minutes before baking them off to preserve the shape. The recipe says to bake for 15 to 20 minutes. I figured that I was erring on the side of caution by taking them out at 15 minutes, and found them over-baked. They actually tasted burnt. Thankfully, I hadn't put all the cookies in at the same time and only wasted about 1/3 of the batter. 10 minutes was plenty, so watch them closely, as chocolate cookies are harder to judge because of their brown color. 

 

Now, can we talk about the filling? Cream, melted milk chocolate and softened butter are whisked together to form the most amazing, rich and silky filling. Ever. I would have happily eaten the filling on its own with a spoon, it's that good. 

I pulled out all the stops for this one and used the last of my good milk chocolate. It was well worth it. 

Once the cream and melted chocolate are cooled, you whisk in the softened butter and then allow the mixture to sit until it reaches a spreadable consistency. 

These cookies are more work than your average cookie for sure, but I don't think you'll be disappointed. The cookies themselves aren't overly sweet, which complements the filling perfectly. They're great for kids and adults alike.

If you're looking for a great Christmas gift for someone in your life who loves to bake, I would definitely recommend this one. I have more than my share of cook books, and this is one of the few that I would refuse to part with. You can buy the Modern Bakers Cookbook here.

Modern Bakers: Apple Tarte Tatin

I'm not sure why I picked this particular recipe for the Modern Baker challenge when making caramel has proven to be nothing but trouble and epic failures in the past. This recipe was no exception.

Three attempts were made. Three. The first two were abysmal failures. Burnt sugar is not fun to clean up. Those were on the same day - and then I threw in the towel and vowed to try it again on another day when I was not completely overwhelmed with feelings of frustration.

My third attempt was relatively more successful, although in my anticipation of burning the sugar, I pulled it off the heat a few seconds too early, never achieving the deep golden hue that I was going for. I knew that the sugar would continue to cook after being pulled from the heat, and then again in the oven, but even still, it never reached the desired level of 'done-ness'. I went ahead with the recipe regardless. By this point, it was more important to me to complete the task than to 'ace' it.

I made the full recipe for the homemade puff pastry, giving me 4 portions of the dough to experiment with. I have to say that, although I was not exactly enamored with this dessert, I was definitely pleased with the puff pastry. I had always heard that it was difficult to make and the the extra effort was not worth the difference in taste when compared to store-bought. This was not my experience. The puff pastry was very easy to throw together using the food processor, and the resulting pastry had a much more definitive buttery taste than the store-bought variety.

So, was this a success? To be perfectly honest, I haven't a clue. I've never tried it before so I had nothing to compare it to. I did feel like it was missing something -  I couldn't help but miss the cinnamon flavor that often accompanies apple desserts. Having said that though, it was pretty good. I wasn't exactly thrilled with the appearance of the final dessert. I wondered whether my pastry hadn't 'puffed' as much as it should have - but it certainly did so when I'd used other portions of the same batch for appetizers.

At the end of the day, I probably won't attempt this one again. I've had much better success with the other recipes in the book and when it comes to apples, I'd take a pie or crumble over this tart any day. The puff pasty, on the other hand, was definitely worth the effort. I don't imagine buying frozen puff pastry again, unless I'm pressed for time.
You can check out the other Modern Baker's creations in this chapter here.

The Modern Bakers: Sour-Cream Apple Pie

I have to be honest and admit that the idea of making this pie was leaving me feeling a little bit underwhelmed. And I'd venture a guess that I'm not the only one, as it was one of the few recipes that didn't get picked from the Sweet Tarts and Pies section for The Modern Baker Challenge.

I'm pretty sure that, had it been regular Apple Pie, it would have been snatched up first. But something about the addition of sour cream was a little off-putting, for me anyway. So, why did I volunteer to make it? Because I felt like I needed to try something different, venture outside of my comfort-zone, however skeptical I was, because that's the only way you discover a new favorite. 

The best way to describe this pie would be to say it's like apple crumble in a pie shell. All my reservations about the sour cream were completely unfounded. True, it does make the inside of the pie look a little different than a traditional apple pie(read: less appetizing), but it makes the filling deliciously rich. 

There were a few places in the recipe where I had to fight my instinct to modify, as I wanted to keep this pie as close to Nick's version as possible. For instance, the crumble topping is made with regular white sugar, and every fibre of this apple-crumble-loving  being says that that's just wrong. The crumble should be made with brown sugar. However, I went along with Nick's version and was surprised to find that the crumble was delicious and using the white sugar did not seem to make much of a difference.

I also found it odd that there was no cinnamon in the apple filling. I almost added some but again, I managed to stop myself. The only time I allowed myself a liberty with this recipe was when I saw how little cinnamon was in the crumble. A measly teaspoon. Given that there was no cinnamon in the apples, I felt obliged to double the cinnamon in the crumble layer to 2 teaspoons and I'm glad I did. It was not the least bit overwhelming and I felt like it tasted exactly as it should.

So, overall, I would have to say that this is yet another great recipe in Nick Malgieri's collection. I would absolutely make this pie again in lieu of apple crumble. But maybe not if I was craving the good old fashioned apple pie. 

I would also add the pastry (Sweet Tart Dough) for the pie was very simple and easy to put together for this novice pastry maker. And though I wouldn't say that I have perfected my 'fluting' skills, I can definitely say they have improved significantly.

So, if you're like me, and it's the "Sour-Cream" part of this pie that is holding you back, rest assured, this pie is excellent. The sour-cream was actually a very nice addition. If you'd like to join the Modern Bakers bake their way through Nick Malgieri's book, you can go here. 

The Modern Bakers: Chocolate Caramel 'Hazelnut' Tartlets

When the Modern Bakers Challenge got to the Sweet Tarts and Pies chapter, I knew exactly which recipe I wanted. Chocolate Caramel Pecan Tartlets please and thank you! For me, nothing gets me more excited about dessert than when  chocolate and caramel are paired together. Add nuts to the mix and I can't even talk about it. 

By way of background, we were invited to our friends' house for dinner. This particular friend is a lot like me, when he plans a dinner party, we're talking about a project that entails at least a week's worth of 'research'. Finding the perfect menu, reviewing numerous cookbooks for inspiration, and pulling a number of recipes, editing, combining and tweaking until you have the perfect multi-course meal that takes hours/days to prepare.  

And so it wasn't without a great deal of conflict that I asked him if he would mind if I brought the dessert. I knew that it came at the risk of appearing as though I was hijacking his menu planning, but I also knew that he would be the perfect taster for these tartlets and I couldn't let the opportunity pass without at least asking. He agreed, albeit somewhat reluctantly, and being a fellow Type-A dinner-party-planner, I understood his hesitation. As it turned out, he ended up making his own dessert in addition to my offering, and so there was the added element of 'friendly competition'. 

For the crust, I followed Nick's recipe to a T, however, I opted to use hazelnuts in lieu of almonds, as he noted that hazelnuts are a good substitute and they happen to be my favorite chocolate-nut-pairing. I toasted my hazelnuts in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes, to enhance their flavor before processing them in the food processor.

This tart dough came together perfectly, with absolutely no mishaps to report. Now, you'll just have to trust me when I say that this speaks volumes about the user-friendly-techniques in this book. Particularly since this was my first experience with tart dough and I have an annoying tendency, when trying something new, to learn the hard way. 

I made eight 3 1/2 inch tartlets, baked them for 13 minutes, let them cool slightly, and then removed them from their tart pans while still slightly warm as per the instructions. They slid out easily. 

The baked shells appeared perfect, slightly puffed, yet maintaining their shape. I baked these the night before assembling, despite the book saying to bake them on the same day as they were being filled. If you're like me and prefer to accomplish steps ahead of time, I assure you that their freshness was not compromised in the least by doing this.

Next up, the filling. I did take one liberty with Nick's recipe, I used milk chocolate instead of bittersweet. I'm the person who takes a bite out of a chocolate from a mixed box and puts it back if its insides are dark. There, I admit it. Barring that one deviation from the filling recipe, I followed the rest of the recipe 'almost' exactly as written, except I used hazelnuts once again in place of the pecans. This was noted as a good alternative by Nick so I didn't feel like I was  compromising the integrity of the recipe, despite its title. Do I sound defensive? I don't mean to. Really.

So, I've had some experience with making caramel. Actually, I've had more experience with "burning" it than actually "making" it. I wasn't lying about learning things the hard way. But, given my track record, I felt confident that I would exercise good judgment when it came to knowing when to pull the melted sugar from the heat. Nick says to pull it prior to achieving the deep amber color, as the sugar's color continues to deepen from the residual heat in the pot. In keeping with tradition, my first attempt was about 20 seconds too late. It looked like this when I pulled it:

Cluelessly optimistic, I proceeded to add the cream and cooked it a further minute, resulting in this hot mess:

After I poured it into a heatproof bowl and added the milk I tasted it. It was awful. And bitter. Very much like my prior caramel-making experiences. Disgusted and disappointed, I began Round II. This time, I pulled the sugar when it looked just slightly darker than apple juice:

It most definitely continued to darken off the heat. This is what it looked like once I added the cream and cooked it a further minute:

It wasn't cool enough to taste until the milk was added, but I am happy to report that Round II was a success. I would encourage you to have extra cream and milk in case you follow in my footsteps and decide to learn the hard way. Taste it before you add your chocolate...throwing it away is much less painful when it's simply sugar, cream and milk going down the drain. Just a suggestion. I whisked in my melted milk chocolate,

 and then folded in my hazelnuts. Magical.

Once I filled the baked tart shells with the chocolate caramel ganache, I sprinkled a few toasted hazelnuts on top and then kept them at room temperature. I would note, however, that I actually preferred mine served chilled. It just made the filling ever-so-slightly chewy. In a very good way.

To call these decadent would be an understatement. But they are sooo worth it.

The recipe calls for making them into much smaller tartlets, but I used the only tartlet pans I had, making them slightly larger than perhaps intended. A little goes a long way. Notwithstanding this fact, I have to tell you that my friend, the host of above-noted dinner party, the Type A planner who insisted on making an additional dessert, he ate two of them. By himself. He loved them. Then he shocked me and I almost fell out of my chair when he voluntarily admitted defeat in our friendly dessert war. Unprecedented. Never to be repeated, I'm sure. But this tart really did 'take the cake'. Ha. Pun intended.

So, if you don't have the book and feel the compulsion to try this recipe before buying it, ask me and I'll email it to you. From one friend to another. But out of respect to the author, Nick Malgieri, I can't publish it. Sorry. I will say that of the dozens and dozens of great books I own, The Modern Baker would easily be in my top 5 for recommendations. 

The Modern Baker Challenge: Pain de Campagne

Dear Fellow Modern Bakers:

I've been a bad Modern Baker. I apologize. I've not been keeping up with the rest of you. It's not because I don't love The Modern Baker book because I do. I love it a lot. I think Nick Malgieri is a genius. His recipes are fool-proof and delicious and I've been baking from it regularly. (In fact I've made 4 quick breads that I haven't blogged about.) The problem is that I keep going back to those darn Cocoa Banana Muffins. The fact they're labeled 'muffins' and not 'cupcakes' does wonders in alleviating the guilt factor. I've made them 7 times. I'm hooked - and so are my kids. This addiction makes it difficult to tackle anything else. Damn those muffins!

However, the Modern Bakers are now on the bread section, and since I volunteered myself for the Pain de Campagne bread, I was determined to rise to the occasion, no pun intended. Besides, I made a batch of muffins yesterday so I'm all set. Time to move on. Even I can see that.

Baking breads is something I've managed to avoid for years. Yeast scares me - I had a bad experience a long time ago with buns that didn't rise. They felt and sounded like lead weights when I dumped them in my garbage can. I have steered clear ever since. Until now.

Phyl let us each pick which bread we wanted to bake and I chose the Pain de Campagne. I can't tell you why that bread specifically spoke to me, it just did. 

Since we aren't posting the actual recipes from the book, I took lots of pictures. Lots and lots of pictures. I'm giving a step-by-step pictured narrative for those who are interested. You are interested, right? Who wouldn't want to see picture after picture of a white blob of dough transform itself into a round loaf of deliciousness? 

The Modern Baker Challenge: Cocoa Banana Muffins

Earlier in the week, my mother-in-law dropped off a bunch of ripe bananas that she didn't want to leave rotting in her kitchen while they were on holidays. How is that for serendipity? I was actually awaiting the opportunity to bake the Cocoa Banana Muffins for The Modern Baker Challenge, and I suddenly had the the means to do so! I love when that stuff happens! So this morning, as soon as my kids were fed and everyone was happily busy, I dove in.

I was really glad that the recipe didn't just say "3 medium bananas". I hate that! How do you know if your idea of a medium sized banana is the same as the author's? Instead it says "3 medium bananas, peeled and mashed with a fork to make 1 1/2 cups".  Thank you!  Because in the end, I used 4 1/2 bananas.  Apparently mine were not medium at all - they were small.  Good to know. 

I read on someone else's blog that they wished they'd pulled theirs out at 27 minutes instead of the allotted 30. (Sorry, can't remember where I read it!) Anyway, I set my timer to 27 minutes and checked them. They were perfect.  I'm so glad I read that - whoever you are - thank you! You saved my muffins from becoming dry.

These muffins were so delicious. They had a tender crumb, they were moist, and they had just the right balance of banana and chocolate flavor. The recipe makes 16 muffins, there are only 3 left on my counter. What does that say?! 

I'm so glad I joined in on the fun with The Modern Baker Challenge.  I'm not just the proud owner of the great new book "The Modern Baker" by Nick Malgieri but I also have some incentive to actually use it without the pressure or stress of deadlines. I own a lot of great books, my husband would say too many. When I told my friend I'd added to the collection she asked me, "Where are you going to put it? I've seen your cupboard. It's full." She's right. The answer to that question is that it has never been put away. Ever. It sits out on my island so that I don't forget about it. It calls out my name, enticing me with it's beautiful pictures and really easy to follow directions. I like a challenge, but I'm also a fan of simple. Simplicity is my friend these days. Why do something in 5 steps if you can do it in 3? Or less?

As I mentioned before, we are not publishing the recipes on our blogs. As much as I support that out of respect for the author, I'm totally bummed about it today. I really want to share this recipe! So instead, I took a lot of pictures, I couldn't help myself.

I have a lot more recipes to tackle in the 'Quick Breads' section of this book, but I am now more eager than ever. I have to admit that I am a little nervous about the Bread section. I find anything with yeast daunting. So much room for failure. However, if that section is anything like the Quick Breads, I may just be alright. This book is definitely user-friendly. 

The Modern Baker Challenge: Butterscotch Scones

The Modern Baker Challenge is the newest "club" I've joined.  Here's the premise: a group of people are baking their way through every recipe in the book "The Modern Baker" by Nick Malgieri and blogging about it.  What I like best about this club is that there are no strict rules to adhere to and no hard and fast deadlines to meet. Phew! With my crazy and unpredictable schedule, which teeters between having large blocks of time to bake, and then weeks at a time when I can barely get organized enough to throw together dinner, this suits my lifestyle perfectly.  The only "rule" is that we are not publishing the recipe - so if you really want to try this, you'll have to get the book. Sorry. As much as I like to share all the recipes I use, I have to respect that - for reasons that require no further explanation.

Having said that, I have to admit, I've never really gotten excited about scones. They've always looked like a heavy clump of dry dough that is better suited to be used as a paper weight than  something I'd eat. So, having received my copy of this beautiful cookbook, "The Modern Baker", and being that we are on the 'Quick Breads' section that has several scones in it, I decided to was high time to step outside my comfort zone. It helped that I tried my first scone at a bakery earlier in the week in preparation for this task.  I mean, how would I know how successful I was if I didn't have a frame of reference for comparison?

These scones were super easy to throw together.  You use your food processor to cut the butter into your dry ingredients (flour, dark brown sugar, baking powder and salt);

When the mixture is "mealy", you add the wet (eggs and cream).  Then you make three 5 inch disks with the dough, cut each disk into quarters;

place the scones on a parchment lined baking sheet;

and bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.  As you can see, I chose to add chocolate chunks into the batter because I had them and they just make everything better.

The verdict:  I'm a convert. I now subscribe to the Scone Fan Club.  They are not too heavy or dry. These ones were sweet in the subtle way - the chocolate helped. I would happily eat one of these with my latte for breakfast.  I am now looking even more forward to delving into this book.  Go get it and join in on the fun!  Here's the link: The Modern Baker Challenge.