freshly grated nutmeg | smilingfrog.ca

Okay so lots to catch up on!  Last week at baking class, we made these globs of oatmeal chewy goodness…

We split the class up into 3 groups…my group baked oatmeal raisin cookies, group 2 baked chocolate chip, group 3 did peanut butter. I lucked out….oatmeal raisin is my fave! However, I did have to practice a great deal of restraint to avoid eating the dough. Mmmmm oatmeal cookie dough….nomnomnomnom…I’m glad I have this recipe cuz its definitely one of the best oatmeal raisin cookies I’ve had! I’ll try it again at home but scale it down a bit because this made a BOAT LOAD of cookies!!

We also made these shortbread icebox cookies. We actually mixed them the week prior and then sliced and baked them this week.

How pretty!!

 So this week we made these…..

 Brownies, which I never actually tried, but apparently tasted good. I just wasn’t a huge fan of the recipe….I don’t like using shortening in my baking and would prefer to use vegetable oil or butter. These had a ton of shortening and liquid glucose which was a huge pain to work with. ICK!  Josh said that they tasted “generic” compared to my usual baking…which is good because I try to put a personal touch on my own work.

I did learn however, that the trick to baking the brownies for the exact amount of  time is to roll a sheet of parchment on top of the tray of batter prior to baking. It is easy to tell when they are done when the parchment peels easily off the top! 

We also made these sugar cookies which made me think of Christmas….Sorry about the bad lighting….I always forget to take pictures up until the point when everything is packaged up in boxes, then I whip out my camera and end up with box lighting.

 Last night we made these almond macaroons as well as some coconut macaroons. The Chef was impressed with my piping skillz and presentation! (Yay me!) The goal is”uniformity and consistency”.

I liked how cute and little these ones were. Perfect bite size!

I’m going to New York for the long weekend! Just a quick trip, leaving Friday after work, coming home Monday night. So excited! I’ve never been before!

I’m a little high maintenance, I have to admit….I like things well, a certain way,  I’m sensitive to well, everything…..but nothing compared to these cookies!!!! Arg! Too humid, overmix, undermix, too cold, etc. and they just go all wrong. I’ve been on a mission to make these macarons actually work out for months. The first 2 batches I threw out (they were too flat) the 3rd bath worked well, but not quite perfect….and then these!!!! I think it was the combination of a few things that came together to produce these sweet little wonders….

1. My new food processor (!!!) The blender just didn’t do the trick for these…

2. Letting the sit on the cookie sheets for a hour before baking them. Note: The second sheet sat for longer than an hour and didn’t turn out quite as well though…

3. My new oven is pretty awesome compared to the old apartment oven

4. I think I’m just getting a feel for working with egg whites and how much to mix them without overmixing or undermixing.

Look at their perfect little “feet”!! 

I believe we’re going to be baking these in class in a couple of weeks so hopefully, now that i’ve had some practice, I will be able to produce some A+ cookies!

This class moves FAST! I like fast…but wow, not only am I learning A LOT but the expectation is to do everything with absolute precision and SPEED! I love it, I just need a lot of practice.

So, week one of pastry class was piping skills practice. We whipped up some royal icing and just played with it, creating shells, shell borders, rosettes, lady fingers, S’s and mounds. Then in week 2, we used the skills that we learned to make cookies piped in all of the different shapes. Like this…

They turned out….not bad….they taste good but spread a bit too much. I know what I’d do differently next time and it was good practice. We also prepped some ice box cookies so that they will be ready for us to slice and bake next week.

In the last week or so, I’ve tried a couple of different chocolate chip cookie recipes. One chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, and one soft chocolate chip cookie. A few months ago I was watching the food network (as usual) and caught Bobby Flay’s Throwdown against Lavain Bakery’s chocolate chip cookies. I found some copycat recipes online and tried my own. I made a few changes I wouldn’t say they’re a copycat recipe but I like how thick these cookies turn out- staying soft in the middle with a crisp outer shell. I also don’t think nuts belong in chocolate chip cookies. But that may be just me. From making these I learned that by adding an extra tablespoon of flour and using cold butter and egg, the cookies stay thick and don’t spread! (I’m still kinda learning Here is the recipe I used.

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (cold)
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, cold
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1-3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp. flour (I used Robin Hood Nutri-Blend)
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
•  1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (Callebaut!!!)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter with sugars on low speed until just combined (don’t overmix!).

2. Add egg and vanilla and continue to mix on low until incorporated.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt.

4. Add dry ingredients to wet, mix on low speed until blended

5. Add chocolate chips, mixing for another 30 seconds. Drop by spoonfulls onto prepared baking sheet.

6. Bake for 10-11 minutes or until just golden brown at edges.

And the second variety….

Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
(from the Frog Commissary Cookbook)

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2  eggs
• 2 tbsp milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups oats (rolled or quick cooking)
• 1 cup chocolate chips (Callebaut!!!)

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter with sugars on low speed until just combined (don’t overmix!).

2. Add egg and vanilla and continue to mix on low until incorporated.

3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

4. Add dry ingredients and beat on low until just combined. Stir in oats and chocolate chips by hand.

5. Drop by spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-11 minutes or until just golden brown around the edges.

Sorry no pics! These were enjoyed faster than I thought!

Here is a pic of the next batch….recipe to folllow!

I’m always on the lookout for recipes for cookies that feel more like a healthy snack than a dessert. My other criteria for a good cookie involve chewiness with lots of texture. I found this recipe http://havecakewilltravel.com/2007/03/10/chocolate-chip-oatmeal-cookies/ and modifed it a bit to make these!    Soooooooo goooooooood!! 

Here is the recipe!

Almond Butter Oatmeal Cookies

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• pinch sea salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup dark chopped dried apricots
• 1/4 cup chopped dates
• 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
• 3 Tbsp natural almond butter
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp soymilk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

2. Whisk together flour, oats, salt, baking soda, cinnamon. Add dried fruit and chocolate

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together almond butter, oil, vanilla, brown sugar and milk.

4. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Mix well. Scoop by spoonfulls onto prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly with a fork as these don’t spread much during baking. Bake for 7 minutes or until golden brown on top.