BAKED Sunday Morning: Speculaas

No matter whether you call these cookies Speculaas or Speculoos, they are a Dutch brown sugar shortbread cookie that are traditionally served on St. Nicholas day. Matt and Renato's version in BAKED Explorations, Speculaas, is highly fragrant with the addition of grated orange zest. 

In the Baked's notes to the recipe it says that this is a close version to the European Biscoff cookie, but I think these spicy shortbread cookies are far better than the store bought ones. They are a perfect dunkin' cookie for tea or coffee.

I have to say that I was a little surprised that the recipe didn't use a standing mixer as many of the recipes used in this book have been modernized, but this one suggests cutting the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or fork which I gladly did because this is still my preferred method of making scones. The only thing I did differently from the recipe was instead of forming the dough into a ball before chilling, I formed it into two discs to make it easier to roll out.

I really enjoyed this cookie, but I think I would have preferred it more during the holidays. By the time I made these I had had enough of Christmas cookies, so I will try to make these again for Christmas. You can find the recipe over at BAKED Sunday Mornings. We are teaming up this week with another group who is baking their way through Baked Explorations, so you can view all the lovely links over at Club Baked.

I made a similar version with light brown sugar from Dorie Greenspan's cookbook, Around My French Table, over a year ago which you can see here. 

French Friday with Dorie: Broth-Braised Fennel

It seems to me since I started cooking along with French Fridays with Dorie over a year ago, that I have said so many times "I have never eaten this before," or "I have never fixed this before," or "I have never heard of this before." Sad, but true. It makes me wonder what on earth I have been cooking all these years. Have we just been eating the same things over and over again and didn't even realize it?! At any rate, that's what I enjoy so much about being part of this group is that I have expanded my cooking repertoire in leaps and bounds and hearing my family declare, "This is a keeper!" at the end of a meal is so very satisfying.

The recipe on the schedule for today is a perfect example. I have used fennel seeds and fresh fennel fronds in my cooking over the years, but have never used the bulb. I have seen them in the grocery stores and at the markets, and I must confess that I usually just glide right past them because although I like licorice, it is not something I choose to eat very often and I find the smell of fennel to be a little overpowering, but when I saw Dorie's Bonne Idée for making broth-braised fennel I decided we needed to bite the bullet and give it a try and so I made it instead of the potatoes.

The braising liquid consists of chicken broth, some water, a little bit of extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, a strip of lemon zest, a bay leaf, fresh thyme, and rosemary with some salt and pepper to taste. After bringing it to a boil for 5 minutes you add the fennel, cover and cook. Since my fennel bulbs were large, I quartered them, and cooked them for 20 minutes until I could pierce them with a fork.

The result was a side dish that we both loved. And actually John remarked that he could easily eat a bowl of this as a meal. I thought it would taste like licorice, but it didn't at all. Instead, it had this wonderful subtle flavor, but with layers of depth to it from braising in the aromatic sauce. John liked it so much that I found him digging around in the refrigerator the next day looking to see if there was any leftover. Needless to say, I won't be walking past it at the market any longer.

I'm eager to see what the other group members thought of this recipe. You can find their links over at French Fridays with Dorie.

Cookbook Giveaway! If you don't already have a copy of Dorie's book, Baking with Julia, I am giving away a used copy on my blog. The giveaway (see previous post) closes at midnight pacific time on Tuesday, January 31st. An entry will be selected at random to receive the book and will be announced on my blog on Wednesday, February 1st. Although used, the book is in really good condition.

Cookbook Giveaway: Baking with Julia

Those of you who read my blog on a regular basis know that some of my favorite pastimes are visiting antique stores and thrift stores. At a thrift store I found a gently used copy of Dorie Greenspan's book, Baking with Julia which happens to be the new cookbook that Tuesdays with Dorie will begin baking from on February 6th (Can't wait!). I just couldn't resist buying it because it was such a fabulous price and even though I already own a copy that my dear friend, Mike from Living Out West, gave me a few years ago, I thought that surely someone who would like to bake along with the new group at Tuesdays with Dorie, but doesn't have a copy of the book yet, wouldn't mind that it is gently used.

It is in really good condition with only minor wear on the cover edges, EXCEPT that it does have an inscription written on the inside cover:

So, to celebrate my upcoming 4 year blogaversary on February 10th, I decided to have a giveaway. If you are interested in becoming a member of Tuesdays with Dorie, but don't have the book, and don't mind that it is gently used and has a handwritten inscription (albeit with a misspelling) from a total stranger, please leave a comment below. The giveaway will be open until Tuesday, January 31st, midnight pacific time. My giveaway is also open to International readers.

  

Update: I would like to give the book to someone who enjoys baking, but doesn't already have the book, whether you plan on baking with Tuesdays with Dorie, or not.

A Coffee and Walnut Cake

Last week I made a cake for my co-worker who was retiring after 20 years. Since he loves coffee so much I looked for a recipe where coffee would be the star and I found it in Nigella Lawson's Coffee and Walnut Layer Cake.

What was so interesting about this cake is that it is made entirely in the food processor, including the frosting. I had never made a cake in a food processor before and really like this no-fuss method. The espresso powder and the walnuts that are mixed into the batter really shine in this cake. It was easy to make, tasted wonderful, and everyone at the office enjoyed it. But, I think the person who enjoyed it the most was the person I made it for which is exactly what I had hoped. Based on the rave reviews I got, it is a cake that I plan to make often. I found the recipe in Nigella Lawson's cookbook, Recipes from the Heart of the Home, that I recently bought, but you can find the recipe on Nigella Lawson's Web site. I made the recipe exactly as it was written. I hope you'll give it a try.

French Friday with Dorie: Quatre-Quarts

I have been making pound cakes all my life, but this is the first time I have made a French version. Quatre-quarts means four-fourths and the French recipe calls for equal measures of four ingredients: eggs, butter, flour, and sugar. Dorie made the recipe easy for us by allowing for the differences between American and French flours and tweaked the French recipe a bit, so no weighing was necessary to make this basic cake.

I have always made my pound cakes in a loaf pan, but Dorie suggests using a spring form pan. Since John recently found this heart-shaped pan for me I decided to use it instead. One of the things that was different about making this than the pound cakes I am used to is that you separate the eggs and whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form and then fold them into the batter making this a lighter cake than the American version. And instead of using vanilla extract, I used the option of brandy which gave it an extra bit of sweetness. I really liked Dorie's sprinkling of light brown sugar on top of the cake to give it a little golden twinkle.

Since I often serve pound cake with fruit and whipped cream, I decided to do the same with the quatre-quarts. We both enjoyed it served this way, but I also really liked it plain the next morning with my morning coffee. 

Dorie said this cake would be dry by our standards, but I didn't think it was dry at all. Check out the other quatre-quarts over at French Fridays with Dorie to see what the other group members thought.

BAKED Sunday Morning: Pecan Tassies

This week's BAKED Sunday Mornings recipe takes me back to South Carolina. My dad used to buy pecan tassies at the golf course where he played every weekend and bring them home for a morning treat. He and I were the only ones in the family that really enjoyed them because my mom and my brothers felt these were more like eating candy and they preferred to eat a "real" pecan pie.

These were smaller than the ones of my childhood, and not as gooey, but they did have the flavor that I remembered. The dough for the tassie shells is soft and easy to work with and the filling is just as easy to make. These were a perfect Sunday morning treat and since I only made half of the recipe they disappeared before early afternoon because it is really difficult to eat just one. We really liked these and I will be making these again and for sure adding them to my holiday baking list.

You can see what the other members thought about pecan tassies over at BAKED Sunday Mornings and you can also get the recipe while you are there.