Happy Halloween!

Goodies I made for Halloween - pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and salted cinnamon-chocolate fudge.

Mini Chelsea Buns

Two of the my favourite things about the British: 1) The ability to crack a really good joke with a deadpan 2)The ability to sit down for tea even in times of crises.

For the first, I think it stems mostly from my innate cynical and sarcastic outlook on life. The second, is due to the fact that I absolutely love tea and the pomp and fuss that comes with a true British afternoon tea. I recently bought a book on afternoon tea for my coffee tea table and found myself drawn to a rather simple recipe for mini Chelsea buns. Chelsea buns are the British version of the cinnamon bun and usually has currants and other dried fruit.
Let me warn you that these things are addictive! They are so tiny that before you know it, you've swallowed 18 of these - honey-soaked fingers, contented smile and all. Serve with some first flush Darjeeling tea and a pot of raw wildflower honey for a great afternoon tea experience.

Note: I made this non-dairy but you can (and should) use milk and butter for this recipe, it makes a WHOLE lot of difference

Mini Chelsea Buns
Adapted from Afternoon Tea by Susannah Blake
Makes 16 mini buns

3 1/2 cups (420g) bread flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 oz. active dry yeast (one packet)
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cups milk (or unsweetened soy milk)
3 oz. butter (or shortening), melted
2 eggs beaten
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup raisins
3 tablespoons dried currants
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Honey, for brushing

Sift the flour, sugar, yeast and salt into a large bowl. Place a saucepan over low heat and add in the milk and butter, stirring gently until the temperature is lukewarm. Remove from heat and mix in the beaten eggs.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the milk mixture. Use a stiff spatula to combine all the ingredients until a soft dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly flour surface and knead until smooth and shiny (about 10 minutes). If using a machine, knead for 5 minutes.

Return the dough to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand in a warm place for about an hour until the dough rises to double its size.

Grease an 8x8 inch pan. In a small bowl, combine the apricots, raisins, currant, brown sugar and cinnamon. Divide the dough into four equal sections. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the each dough section into a rectangle, measuring 5x8 inches. Brush lightly with melted butter and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly. Roll the rectangle into a log, beginning with the long end. Brush lightly again with some melted butter to seal the ends. Cut into four equal parts and arrange in the prepared pan. Repeat with the remaining dough, such that you get 16 buns. Wrap the baking pan in plastic wrap and let stand for another 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Bake the buns for 20 minutes at 400°F. Remove and brush the tops lightly with honey, return to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on wire rack. Tear apart and serve.

Rye Crackers & some website updates

My friends..., well, ok. That's not the best way to start, I stopped being John McCain about a week ago, but yes. Dear readers, there is news on Konosur! I've decided to change the web design into something more pretentious that will hopefully work out for the best. Please let me know if you find the design to your liking or if you prefer the former, sparse design.

In other news, you can now follow my mundane musings on Twitter. I've decided to jump on the social hipster bandwagon and do the Tweet (that's right, it's a dance where you put your left leg in the air and press the keys on your cellphone really fast). So far I've been twitting tweeting about my disastrous viewing of 'Australia' but I promise to provide more susbtantial 140-character ramblings in the future.


Here's a healthy recipe (sort of) for some rye crackers that would go absolutely fantastic with some goat cheese, a bottle of Cotes du Rhone and a living room discussion about the silliness of 140-character ramblings nobody really cares about.

Rye Crackers
Makes about 16 2x4 inch crackers

1 cup unbleached rye flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp caraway seeds OR toasted sesame seeds(optional)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup and 1 tbsp cold water
Flaky sea salt like Maldon (I used an Australian Pink Flake Sea Salt)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, salt and caraway or sesame seeds. Make a well in the center and add in the olive oil. Using a wooden spoon, swirl the flour towards the center into the olive oil to combine. Drizzle cold water slowly into the mixture, stirring until a ball of dough forms. The dough will be crumbly but still holding together.

Divide the dough mixture into two. For each half, roll out into a rough square about 1/8 inch thick. Try to roll it out as thin as you can, dusting lightly with whole wheat flour to prevent sticking. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Place the rolled-out dough onto the prepared baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and cut into rectangular crackers with a pizza cutter. Repeat for the remaining dough.

Cool the crackers completely and store in airtight containers for up to 4 days.
Note: The crackers are soft and crumbly, to make it harder, bake for a little longer at 325°F.

St. Paddy's Day calls for Some Cupcakes

For a long time now I've sworn not to be sucked into the cupcake blackhole that is swirling around on the food blogosphere. Cupcakes! What?! Those tiny little cake/muffin wannabes often decorated to look like sickly cottage drawings; so cute you want to throw them against a wall just to rid them of that sickly pastel hue used in a gazillion pounds of butter and cream and sugar.

Cupcakes! Sold in overpriced shops in the chicest of neighbourhoods, charged at $5 a pop for a malt-button, candy-cane, marzipan topping in the shape of effing "Hello Kitty" or god knows what species of hydrangea and posies. Those bloody cupcakes. I told you I swore not to be sucked in.


But I've come to the realization that cupcake resistance is futile. They're easy to make, come in bite-size amounts, AND you can slather tons of disasterous artery-clogging fat on it, and it will still turn out beautiful. That's the unfortunate and evil beauty of cupcakes.


I thought and thought for days about something to make for St.Patrick's day in order to satisfy my ever-burgeoning sweet-tooth. Somehow the idea of clover-patterned cookies just seem so cliched. Enter the liquer-infused cupcake. Alcohol? Check. Sugar? Check. Butter and cream? Check.


I've been trying for aeons to figure out how to get rid of the bottle of Irish Cream sitting in the back of the liquor cabinet for a long time now. I would drink it neat but it just seems like such a 1990s "mom" thing to do. So here, with my Irish cream buttercream, cream-filled face in hand, I present the beast that is my green-coloured Irish Cream Cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day. They're moist, smell slightly of coffee and topped off with silly little shamrock rosettes. Póg mo Thóin indeed!


P/S: As I write this, I promise you I am NOT drunkk.

Irish Cream Cupcakes
Makes 6 cupcakes (because hey, these can and should be illegal).

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 cup brewed coffee, cooled
1/3 cup Irish Cream

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 6 cupcake tin with liners.

On a piece of wax or parchment paper, sieve together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes using a stand mixer or 5 minutes using a handheld mixer.

Add in eggs, vanilla, liqueur and coffee. Beat until just combined. Gently fold in the flour mixture and beat for about 1 minute until the mixture starts to form. DO NOT OVERBEAT. Turn off the mixer and use a rubber spatula to fold all the ingredients until completely combined.

Divide the batter into the prepared tin, filling the liners until about 2/3 full. DO NOT OVERFILL. Bake in preheated oven at 350°F for 15 - 20 minutes until tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Turn the cupcakes out and cool completely on a wire rack. Top with buttercream frosting (recipe follows).

Irish Buttercream Frosting
2 tbsp butter, room temperature
1/4 cup and 2 tbsp powdered sugar
2 tbsp Irish cream
Green food coloring

Cream the butter, powdered sugar and Irish cream in a bowl for about 1 minute until fluffy. Add in a few drops of green food coloring and stir thoroughly. Spoon buttercream into pastry bag and use a 22 star tip to pipe little rosettes in the shape of a shamrock onto the cupcakes.

Apple Spice Cake with Coconut Caramel Sauce

The boyfriend ages a year today. By the unspoken law of dating courtesy, I can't reveal his age, but let's just say it warrants a nice home-cooked dinner and a delicious cake to go with it. It's always hard when someone has allergies, and with dairy-allergies it's even worse, because store-bought cake is usually out of the question. More often than not, I have to settle with baking a coffee-cake instead.

This is my take on a classic spice cake which I have tried to turn into an apple spice cake with a fluffier and lighter texture than a coffee cake. The boyfriend's mum first shared with me a spice cake recipe which was called "Wacky Cake" just because it had really weird ingredients like vinegar. I have modified that to include chopped apples and nuts, topped with a coconut caramel sauce, and is best served with some creamy vanilla ice cream on the side. The one good thing about cakes that don't have goops and goops of cream on it is that it's usually quite good for you, and you can always have an extra helping without worrying about the calories.
By the way, I have to make a huge plug for Green and Black's Organic Vanilla Ice-Cream which, when served with the apple spice cake is the most delicious thing in the world. Of course, if you're going completely non-dairy, then you can serve it with soy ice cream, otherwise, Green and Black's Organic Vanilla Ice Cream will satiate your decadent fix.

Apple Spice Cake with Coconut Caramel Sauce
Makes one 8-inch cake

Dry ingredients
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda

Wet ingredients
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup apple sauce
1 large egg
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp good quality vanilla essence
1 tsp French brandy

To fold
1 large apple (Fuji or Granny Smith, depending if you like it tart), peeled and chopped
2 tbsp chopped walnuts
2 tbsp chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour an 8-inch cake pan if you're using a traditional aluminum pan. If using a non-stick pan, do not grease.

Sieve all the dry ingredients onto a parchment paper.

In a large bowl, beat all the wet ingredients together on high speed until fluffy. Turn the mixer speed down to low. Lift the parchment paper with the dry ingredients and fold into half. Gently pour in the dry ingredients into the wet ones bit by bit. Beat gently until the ingredients come together. Turn off the mixer.

Fold in the apples, walnuts and pecans gently. Spoon the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake at 350°F for 50 minutes until a thin knife inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then turn out onto a wire rack and let it cool completely. Serve with coconut caramel sauce (see below) and vanilla ice cream.

Coconut Caramel Sauce
Makes 6 servings

3 heaping tablespoons brown sugar
1 tbsp butter (or vegan cooking margarine)
2 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup light coconut milk

In a saucepan over very low heat, gently melt the butter and sugar. Once melted, add in the remaining ingredients and whisk until everything is combine. Reduce and thicken the sauce over low heat for about 5 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and drizzle over the apple spice cake and ice cream.

A Healthy Take on Ina Garten: Chunky Banana Bran Muffins

So ok. You should really know my workout schedule by now. I try to time my gym sessions with Giada and Ina and Chris Matthews to offset the boredom that is the elliptical or the pain that is the treadmill. For the uninitiated, that's the Food Network cooks: Giada de Laurentiis (tiny Italian, platform wearing, big-breasted hottie) and Ina Garten (big lady with a big gorgeous house) and Chris Matthews of MSNBC's Hardball (grouchy old bloke with a penchant for political sarcasm).

I like Giada mostly because she cooks easy and gorgeous food, doesn't have an annoying grin and because I lust after her pepper mill. I always come away from watching Giada's show with some recipe I keep in mind to make.

Now, the Barefoot Contessa on the other hand. I don't know. I'm quite torn. On one hand, I think she makes really elegant stuff, knows what she's talking about and isn't quite so pretentious like say... oh I don't know, Emeril Lagasse? She definitely isn't as annoying as Daisy Martinez or god forbid, Rachael Ray. On the hand, I find the Ina Garten's recipes so terribly unhealthy, I don't think it should be aired on national telly where half the population are already overweight. She can make even bran muffins unhealthy! It's quite astounding really, how she puts tons of buttermilk AND tons of butter to make bran muffins - something we all associate with being healthy. I don't know, sometimes I come off watching her show feeling a little cheated. Can you really NOT have good food without adding vats of oil and animal fat? The show today was something about breakfasts, I don't get how after having one of those insanely bad bran muffins, you can even think about eating bacon and potato omelettes! The Carbs! The Fat! Aaaahhhh... no wonder we're a nation of pure, unhealthy fatties.

So here's MY take on what a good banana bran muffin should be, one that won't leave you paunchy and sluggish from fat overkill and will still meet your fiber needs. You can have two of them with coffee for breakfast and will still be able to manage your calorie intake even if you are on a dismal, anorexic diet of 1200 calories a day! Serve with a teaspoon of raspberry jam, and you're still in the dismal, anorexic range.


Chunky Bran Muffin
Makes about 9 muffins, 135 calories each

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unprocessed wheat bran
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp grounded flax seed
1 egg
1 large banana, sliced
1/4 cup applesauce
1/2 cup soy milk or low fat milk
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp grated orange zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a muffin tin with 9 paper liners.

Whisk egg in a medium bowl. Add in soy milk, applesauce, orange zest and vanilla extract.

Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the egg mixture. Mix until just combined. Add in nuts, banana, honey and raisins. Give it one or two stirs to combine.

Spoon into lined muffin tray until 3/4 full. Bake at 400°F for 15 - 20 minutes until a thin knife inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Cool on wire racks. If serving the next day, warm in an oven at 325°F for about 5 minutes.

Chocolate Fix: Eggless Banana Bars

Now, don't get me wrong. I have absolutely nothing against vegans or the whole vegan agenda, I just like me some meat, lots and lots of cheese and more meat. Heck, my favourite meal is roast chicken with tons of beer! I also like calling vegan baking "eggless" instead of vegan - that's how much in denial I am about the positive side of veganism.

These "eggless" banana-walnut-chocolate chip bars are the best things I've had in a while, they actually taste like soft, moist banana brownies but without all the seemingly evilness of regular brownies. The recipe comes from a website called Cookie Madness (yikes!) and they have a TON of vegan baking recipes on there. These bars are really easy to make and would serve as energy bars or a healthy dessert with some vanilla ice-cream.

Eggless Banana Bars
Yields about 15 bars (2x3 inch bars)

2 large, ripe bananas (mashed)
2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon ground flax
3 tablespoon hot water
2 tablespoons margarine or butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Line a 8-inch square pan with aluminum foil and set aside.

Pulse the old-fashioned oats in a food processor until they look coarsely ground.

Mix the ground flax and hot water together and stir until a paste forms, this will be your binder. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, ground oats, sugar, salt, cinnamon and baking soda together.

In a separate medium bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, applesauce, ground flax mixture, melted butter and vanilla.

Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in banana mixture. Using a wooden spoon or a hard spatula, mix everything together until well combined. The mixture will be quite dry, make sure you mash the bananas well.

Add in the chocolate chunks and walnuts and stir to combine.

Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and bake at 350°F for 25 minutes. Cool in pan for 15 minutes, remove and cool completely on a wire rack.

Cut into 15 bars.

No-knead Rye Bread

Bread recipes tend to scare me - mostly because I've heard all sorts of nightmarish stories about loaves that are as hard as brick, a black hole in the middle of the dough, rubbery textures that put a dog's chew toy to shame etc., etc. Also, I've always that bread making should be left up to French pastry chefs and Boudoin.

I very recently, however, stumbled upon this really good site (always strange when a young man likes baking) that had a great rye bread recipe that apparently required no-kneading. I wasn't so sure if it would work, the picture looked mercilessly appealing, and I knew, I just knew that if I could make my own bread, I wouldn't have to make that dreaded Saturday trip to fight with the masses at Trader Joe's.

This bread recipe goes marvelous with an olive oil dip or just some plain ol' good quality butter. It also goes well with curry, soup, sandwiches or just to munch on something while you start preparing the next batch!

Deli-Style Rye Bread
Makes 2 1 lb loaves. From Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day on Pete Bakes.

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
2 1/4 tsp yeast
2 1/4 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp caraway seeds, plus more for sprinkling
1/2 cup rye flour
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
cornmeal for sprinkling
cornstarch for cornstarch wash

1. Mix the yeast, salt and caraway seeds with the water in a large bowl. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients without kneading. Ingredients will be sticky. Cover with a towel and allow to rest at room temperature for about 2 hours. at this point, you can prepare the dough for baking or store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks*.

2. Dust the surface of the dough with flour and cut off 1/2 of the dough (Note: the dough is sticky, so make sure you dust your hands properly with flour). Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball. Elongate the ball into an oval-shaped loaf. Allow it to rest and rise on a cornmeal covered surface (pizza peel if you’re going to transfer to a baking stone or a baking sheet if you’re baking right on the baking sheet) for 40 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 450 F with an empty broiler tray on the shelf underneath the one you plan to bake on. Heat the baking stone up with the oven if you are using one.

4. Make the cornstarch wash by combining 1/2 tsp cornstarch with a small amount of water to form a paste. Add 1/2 cup water, whisk and microwave for about 60 seconds. Paint the top of the loaf with the cornstarch wash and then sprinkle on caraway seeds. Slash with a deep parallel cuts across the loaf using a serrated bread knife*.

5. Bake the loaf on a baking sheet or slide it onto the hot baking stone. bake for 30 minutes. As you put the bread in the oven to bake, pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray and quickly close the oven door. Allow to cool before slicing or eating.

*If you've refrigerated your dough, you might want to let it cool down to room temperature before shaping it into a loaf.
* I don't see the point of making the slashes, unless you want your break your bread easily into slices. This step may be omitted.

A date with my cappucino maker

I'm pretty glad the end of the year is coming. There'll be no major celebration for me (the other half is away in blistery Minnesota with the blokes) - just a good night in with the dog and a movie that hopefully doesn't involve love triangles or bad Al Pacino acting. Or decapitated bodies. A nice French movie, perhaps. Or Iron Man. Either way works.


Over Christmas my mum got me the glass Bialetti Mukka Express from Williams-Sonoma. It's a really pretty contraption, but I haven't had quite the Victrola experience with it yet. It bubbles my milk rapidly, then the froth dies away in a very disturbing way. It's like cappucino maker rabies. The video on the Williams-Sonoma website is a fake, I swear. Look at that man and his perfectly frothed cup of cappucino - I want to stab him with my faulty pressure valve...

One of the good things that came out of a half-arsed cappucino maker though, is my desire to be all faux Italian-suave. I made a batch of white-chocolate hazelnut and cranberries biscotti that I conjured from scratch. And while roasting hazelnuts is single-handedly the worse experience rubbing nuts (ahem!) you will ever have, it's well worth it since roasting brings out the smoky and earthy flavour of the nuts.


White chocolate is in itself a little sweet, so I was careful to use less sugar than normal. I know chocolate-connoisseurs will pooh-pooh at the idea of anything less than 65% cacao,but white chocolate really goes well with the hazelnuts and a cup of flat white coffee.

Oh, and while you're at it figuring out the calorie content of my biscotti, have an oogly-eyed moment at my very mischievious and rascally dachshund. He's one of those dogs that "counter-surf" acrobatically and eat chocolate.



White-chocolate, hazelnut and cranberries Biscotti
Makes about 36 biscotti

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon amaretto
1/2 cup white chocolate chips or chunks
1/2 cup cranberries
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts (roasted and skinned, see below)

Heat oven to 275°F and slowly roast shelled raw hazelnuts for about 15 - 20 minutes until the skins start to the flake and the nuts are browned. Remove nuts and place them on a kitchen towel. Gather up the ends of the towel and twist them tightly over the nuts. Allow the nuts to steam for 10 minutes, rubbing the occasionally to remove the skin. After 10 minutes, with the kitchen towel, rub the nuts in between you hands until almost all the skin is removed. Set aside to cool then roughly chop the cooled nuts in a food processor.

Bring the oven temperature up to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

In a medium bowl, combing the flour, baking powder, salt, nuts, chocolate and cranberries.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, vanilla and amaretto. Slowly add in the flour mixture bit by bit until a dough forms. The dough will be stiff.

Divide the dough into two balls. For each ball, transfer to baking sheet and using a rolling motion, extend the dough into a 12-inch log. Flatten the log into 7/8-inch thickness. You will have two loaves of dough measuring 12-inches long and 7/8-inches thick.

Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes until the logs are risen and just beginning to brown. The logs will be slightly soft. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 20 minutes. This will allow the chocolate to set and make cutting easier.

Bring oven temperature down to 325°F.

Using a serrated knife, cut the baked logs diagonally into 1/2 inch widths. Place on baking sheet and toast each side of the biscotti for about 5 - 7 minutes until brown.

Cool completely on wire racks.

Holiday Baking Part 2: Orange Sable Cookies

The usual driving time from Seattle to Portland is on average 3 and the half hours. Today, it took us almost 8 hours. We almost skidded off the road and into an oncoming truck. It was NOT the best experience. The sound of tires grating over ice is possibly one of the scariest things you will ever encounter on solid land.

Anyway, we came home after the ordeal to a marvelous bowl of stew, some home made bread and lots of Christmas cookies. This recipe comes from Martha Stewart and is a citrus-y take on traditional sable cookies. It's super easy to make and goes well with a hot cup of orange pekoe tea.


Have a safe and Merry Christmas!

Orange Sable Cookies
From Martha Stewart Living
Makes 5 dozen

1 1/4 cups whole blanched almonds
1 cup confectioners' sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
3 tablespoons finely grated orange zest (2 to 3 oranges)
1 large egg
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sanding or granulated sugar, for rolling

Place almonds and confectioners' sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Process until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal; set aside.

Place butter and zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. On low, add almond mixture; beat until combined, 10 to 15 seconds. Add egg and orange juice; combine. Add flour; combine.

Place two 12-by-16-inch pieces of parchment on a clean work surface. Divide dough in half. Form a rough log with each half; place on parchment. Fold parchment over dough; use a ruler to roll and press dough into 1 1/2-inch-diameter logs. Wrap. Chill for at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Spread sanding sugar in a baking pan. Unwrap logs; roll in sugar to coat. Cut into scant 1/4-inch-thick rounds; place on sheets, 1 inch apart. Bake until edges turn golden, about 15 minutes, rotating halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Bake or freeze remaining dough. Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Holiday Baking Part 1: Linzer Cookies

First off, let me apologize for the lack of posts of late - I haven't entirely given up on cooking, I've just been having my term finals, been in San Francisco for a conference and chilling out (literally) in front of the heater and drinking hot cocoa. It's been snowing here for the past couple of days, and in Seattle, anything below 38F is considered madness.

When it's snowing, there's always the danger of ballooning up to 300 pounds because
a)You can never (or don't ever want to) leave the house
b)You're hungry ALL the time
c)You get addicted to hot chocolate and marshmallows with a dollop of creme fraiche


I decided to put to use my time moping around the house by doing some holiday baking. I trudged out last night in the snow to haul back one pound of blanched almonds since both cookies I've decided to make this year are based around almonds.

The first of the baking craze is the Austrian favourite - linzer cookies. I've been wanting to make these cute little things since I picked up a linzer cookie cutter set from Crate and Barrel just for the heck of wasting some hard-earned money. I used my favourite Bonne Maman raspberry preserves, but you can also use any other kind of good quality fruit preserves (a good alternative would be Stonewall Kitchen's Cranberry Orange Marmalade for a festive twist).


Linzer Cookies
Makes 30 2" sandwiches
Adapted from Joy of Baking, Tuesdays with Dorie and Barefoot Contessa

1 cup blanched or sliced almonds, toasted and ground
2 cups (280 grams) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large egg yolks
Zest of 1 lemon
Confectioners' (Icing or Powdered) Sugar for dusting
1/2 cup Raspberry Preserves

Toast the almonds (or pecans) on a baking sheet in a 350°F oven for about 8-10 minutes (or until lightly browned and fragrant). Once the nuts have cooled, place in a food processor and process with 1/4 cup of the sugar from the recipe until finely ground. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter and remaining sugar until light and fluffy (approximately 3 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract, egg yolks, and lemon zest. Beat in the ground nuts. Add the flour mixture beating just until incorporated. Divide the dough in half and shape into two rectangles about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) thick. Wrap the two rectangles of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (at least one hour and up to several days).

Preheat oven to 350°F and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Remove one rectangle of dough from the refrigerator. (Amanda's note, the dough will be crumbly, it would work better if you leave it out at room temperature for 10 minutes). On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough until it is about 1/4 inch (1 cm) thick. Using a 2 to 3 inch (5 to 7.5 cm) cookie cutter (round, square, heart, etc.) cut out the dough. Place the cookies about 1 inch (2.54 cm) apart on the prepared baking sheet. Use a smaller cookie cutter (3/4 - 1 inch (2.54 cm)) to cut out the centers of half of the cookies on the baking sheet. (You will be sandwiching two cookies together and there will be a small 'window or cut out' in the top cookie so you can see the jam underneath.)

Re-roll any scraps and cut out the cookies. Remove the other half of the dough from the refrigerator and roll and cut out the rest of the cookies. Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes or until they are very lightly browned. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

To Assemble Cookies: Place the cookies with the cut-outs on a wire rack and lightly dust the tops with the confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar.

On the bottom surface of the full cookie (top of cookie will face out) spread with about a 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of jam. Place the cut-out cookie on top and gently sandwich them together, making sure not to smug the confectioners' sugar. Using a small spoon, fill the cut-out with a little more jam.

The fastest and easiest and moistest chocolate cake you will ever bake

Confessions of a girl who oft-denies her feminine side: I don't like cake. I'm not a cake person. I like the idea of the gratification that cake brings, but after a bite of chocolate, cheese, berries or whatever the heck is in those things, I feel like throwing up and go into anaphylactic shock (literally). I've made a couple of cakes on this blog, but mostly those were pretty healthy, involved minimal use of butter and were ready in 45 minutes flat.


I recently bought a Food & Wine cookbook from 1998 at Half-Price Books for $2. I don't do Gourmet or Bon Appetit subscriptions. I'm cheap like that. In the Food and Wine book was a recipe for a mix-in-the-pan chocolate cake. I was semi-thinking: How good can a chocolate cake that didn't involve a mixer be? Wouldn't that just taste like brownies (which I find marvelously gross)?

I decided to try it anyway because a) I didn't get cake for my birthday (I'm anti-cake like that) b) I have a potluck tomorrow for someone's birthday, the cake would be my contribution. And also, lately, I've been craving chocolate so much. I blame that both on Ina Garten and leftover Halloween-goodies, and oh, on the economy, on General Motors, on my thesis advisor, on Eric Cantor and change we may never believe in.


Have a go at this chocolate cake that is so easy, it's laughable. To make it more elegant, you can (and should) bake it in a round cake pan - the recipe will yield two round 8" cakes. Otherwise if you're like me, this recipe will yield a moist, soft and supremely chocolatey 8" square cake, dripping with chocolate glaze and sparkling with chopped walnuts.

Fast and Easy Chocolate Cake
Adapted from Food and Wine, 1998

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 lb unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten lightly
1/2 cup very hot water
1 cup low fat yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line an 8-inch square cake pan with parchment paper.

In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients together. Whisk in the eggs, butter, hot water and vanilla. Then whisk in the yogurt. Mix together with a rubber spatula and pour in to the prepared pan until it is half filled. (Note: Do not overfill or you cake will resemble a chocolate volcano!) . Bake for 40 minutes at 350°F until a thin knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn the cake out gently on a wire rack and cool completely. Top with chocolate glaze and chopped walnuts.


Chocolate frosting
4 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Melt the chocolate and butter in double boiler. Gently pour over the prepared cake, starting from the middle of the cake and letting the glaze drip over the sides. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.

Cranberry and Orange Scones

On most days when I go to the gym, I try to veer attention away from my strenuous plodding by either watching something depressing and funny (MSNBC!) or ridiculous and delicious (Food Network!). My secret is always to head to the gym at about 1.30pm to catch Giada, Barefoot Contessa, then Chris Matthews on Hardball. I like Giada because she is very well-endowed and has really pretty things - like plates. And she doesn't annoy me as much as say... Rachael Ray does. Ina Garten I watch mostly because she whacks a pack of a fat into EVERY single thing she cooks. I like that she doesn't care if she's chubby or that she has a chubby hubby. They're my favourite chubby couple. And Chris Matthews... oh, I watch him because he's mean, mean-spirited and funny.


Well, this morning, being a bank holiday and all, I decided to try out something I saw on 'Barefoot Contessa' a few weeks ago. It involves a shitload of butter and an insane amount of dairy (heavy cream! eggs!) and just seemed like the perfect breakfast to offset what Northwesterners complain most about (the rain) and to satisfy my lust for all things pretty.


I modified Ina Garten's recipe a little - first off by making 6 scones instead of a whopping 16 scones, using less butter, and discarding the frosting and egg wash. So instead of one scone that will set you back by 600+ calories, have fun with one scone that is roughly 220 calories. I know the prissy foodies will pooh-pooh at the idea of "counting calories" but I really want to be able to leave the gym the moment 30-Minute Meals comes on.

Cranberry and Orange Scones
Adapted from Ina Garten's 'Barefoot Contessa'
Makes 6 scones

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tbsp granulated white sugar
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
3/4 stick (6 tbsp) cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup low fat milk (or soy milk)
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the flour, sugar, the baking powder, salt and orange zest. Add the cold butter and mix at the lowest speed until the butter is the size of peas. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the milk and cranberries until dough forms.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead it into a ball. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough 3/4-inch thick. You should see small bits of butter in the dough. Keep moving the dough on the floured board so it doesn't stick. Flour a 3-inch round plain or fluted cutter and cut circles of dough. Place the scones on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Collect the scraps neatly, roll them out, and cut more circles.

Bake for 15 - 18 minutes until the scones are light brown. The scones will be firm to the touch.

Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies

Hello! I hope your Halloween went well - I think Halloween is the one day in the year girls are allowed to dress up skankily and not be called out for me. Luckily for me too, since over the weekend, I dressed up in a failed attempt at being Sarah Palin with a sticker stuck on my chest that said "MAVERICK". I ended up looking like a school girl and a nerd (which I am).

Anyhoo. I think the disasterous, half-arsed attempt at Nailin' Paylin (heh heh heh) was offset by some really good pumpkin spice cookies which I spent so much time decorating that by the time I was done, it was too dark out to even take any good photos. I made cookies in the shape of pumpkins, ghosts, cats and bats. I think the ghosts turned out really cute and I used chocolate frosting to make the cats and bats black.


This recipe is a combination of basic sugar cookies (from Martha Stewart.com) laced with brandy and pumpkin spice. You should save this for next Halloween, or use it with your Thanksgiving cookie cutters.

Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies
Makes about 15 cookies with a large cookie cutter or 20 with a small one

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons brandy
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon all spice
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon


Whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and spices in a medium bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar; add dry ingredients, and mix until incorporated. With mixer running, add egg, brandy (or milk), and vanilla; mix until incorporated.

Transfer dough to a work surface. Shape into 2 discs, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (I skipped this step and it turned out fine).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with nonstick baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes, and transfer to prepared baking sheets, leaving an inch in between. Leftover dough can be rolled and cut once more. Bake until lightly golden, about 10 minutes; do not allow to brown. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Disconnect the Dots: Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake

If you're wondering about the dearth of posts recently (apart from stress-relieving sugar fixes), the story is that we got a miniature dachshund. It's the cutest little thing ever. I don't know what it is about dogs, but no matter how much you train them, they still always keep that little bit of genetics with them. Dieter the Dachshund loves burrowing and snorfing around, probably due to the inate hound nature in him. It's so fun watching him spaz out that sometimes I even forget about food!

A couple of days ago, Omnomicon posted a recipe for some Lemon and Poppy Seed Muffins, something which I've wanted to try for the longest time now since lemons are supremely easy to come by, and muffins are one of my favourite things in the world. Also, I stare at a jar of Lemon Poppy Seed face wash from Burt's Bees every morning. Some days I get some poppy seed stuck on the sides of my lips and it makes me think about lemony goodness in food form.


I actually prefer the idea of a lemon and poppy seed cake mostly because I want to save on muffin liners and because dumping a whole bowl of batter in a loaf pan is easier than scooping it out bit by bit. So yes, I'm lazy and have no pastry chef skills but have a go at this recipe. Be sure to floss well afterwards though, because you don't want to be walking around and grinning like a loon with poppy seeds in your teeth (speaking from experience here!)

Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf Cake
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 stick butter
1/2 cup yogurt
3 tbsp blue poppy seed
2 tbsp lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
2 tbsp lemon peel (from 1 large lemon)
2 tsp pure vanilla essence
Apricot jam for glaze (optional)
Powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

In a microwave safe bowl, heat butter for about 20 seconds. Stir until melted. Cool for about 5 minutes. Beat eggs together until fluffy. Gently add in the yogurt, vanilla essence, lemon juice and finally add in the melted butter.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour in wet ingredients. Add in lemon peel and poppy seeds. Stir until just combined. Be careful not to over mix! Spoon into prepared pan and smooth the top with a knife.

Bake in preheated oven for about 55 - 60 minutes until a thin knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool completely on wire rack. Glaze with apricot jam and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Note1: Once again, I used soy yogurt and cooking margarine instead to make it dairy-free.
Note2: I always use less sugar in my recipes because I don't like the feeling of being on sugar high all day. If you like things a little bit sweeter, use 3/4 cup light brown sugar.

Comfort Food: Chocolate Chip Cookies

I recently started my PhD program and one of courses I'm taking involves a weekly quiz - which constantly leaves me constantly stressed out, cynical and crummy. I'm usually that way anyway, but I swear this course has multiplied all those negative qualities by a billion.


Of course, when stressed, there's nothing better to turn to than alcohol and food. My comfort food is usually an ENORMOUS bowl of pasta, several bottles of ale and one other kind of bad-for-your-hips munchies. Pasta because it fills me up and it involves tons of CHEEZ, beer because it fills me up and it involves tons of hops... and I suppose chocolate chip cookies because it involves tons of gooey yummy melted chocolate.


This recipe is from David Lebovitz's The Great Book of Chocolate - which Deb of SmittenKitchen swears is her favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe ever. So far I think it's mine too! For some reason, the bottom of the cookie is a little crunchy and the center is just soft enough without being mushy. I don't usually like walnuts, but the addition of it I think helped enhance the flavour of the cookies. Also, instead of using just a teaspoon of vanilla, I used two teaspoons and that made the cookies even more yumtastic (yes, yumtastic is a word in the Konosur vocabulary).

I might just pack this up for our trip out on Sunday to see Joe Biden in Tacoma. Chocolate chip cookies and a stop at Harmon Brewing Co. will offset whatever doldrumminess Monday will bring.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Based on David Lebovitz's The Great Book of Chocolate
Makes about 20 cookies (4" diameter)

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick)unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (or baking margarine)
1 large egg
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt (or omit if you use salted butter or margarine)
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped

Adjust the oven rack to the top third of the oven and preheat to 300°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Beat the sugars and butters together until smooth. Mix in the egg, vanilla, and baking soda.

Stir together the flour and salt, then mix them into the batter. Mix in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Scoop the cookie dough into 2 tablespoon balls onto prepared baking sheet, spacing the balls about 4-in apart. I used two tablespoon scoops and mashed them together and dropped them on to the baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until pale golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Behold it's Fall: Cranberry and Apple Muffins

I've just realized that the last time I updated this blog was a week ago. Since starting school again for my PhD program, I haven't been able to do much cooking and have resorted to easy meals (like salmon steaks) that I chuck on the grill. I'm lucky though, to be living with someone who isn't as fussy about food, and who makes good Phad Kee Mao for those days when all I want to do sit in front of the TV and not move.

One of the terrible things (the are uncountably many of them) about having to attend lectures in the morning is that if I have several classes in a row, I get insanely hungry and sleepy. I find that munching on something along with a thermos-full of coffee usually helps. I guess that explains why when I was taking more classes two years ago, I was much chunkier.

Muffins are the best things to bring with you and works for a lunchtime dessert as well. You can leave the muffins at room temperature for 3 days, and freeze the rest for up to two weeks. But I'm pretty sure it will all be gone by then. As fall is now officially on its way, I've decided to use some lovely Washington-grown Gala apples for a batch of muffins.

Cranberry and Apple Muffins
Makes 15 muffins

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tbsp grated orange peel
1 tbsp ground flax seed
1 tsp allspice
2 tsp grated nutmeg
4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg, beaten
1 cup applesauce
3/4 cup soy milk/skim milk
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 large gala apple, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
3/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries

Oat streusel (optional)
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup light brown sugar
4 tbsp butter or margarine

Cut the butter into the oats and sugar using a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbles.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

In a food processor, pulse 1/2 cup oats for 10 times.

Combine processed oats, flour, sugar and spices together in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in beaten egg, applesauce, canola oil, milk, lemon juice, vanilla extract and orange peel. Stir gently for about 6 -7 times with a large spatula.

Add in cranberries and chopped apples. Stir again until all the ingredients are just combined, about 15 stirs. Be careful not to over mix batter. Spoon into lined muffin tins until it almost reaches the top of the mold. Sprinkle the oat-butter-sugar mixture on top.

Bake muffins at 425°F for 5 minutes then turn heat down to 395°F for about 20minutes until a knife or skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove muffin tins from oven and set over a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Turn the muffins out and cool completely on wire rack.

Goat Cheese, Thyme and Tomato Tart

The boyfriend and I have this pact where we try to have alone time every once in a while. My "alone time" usually consists of staying home, watching a movie or reading a book and making an individual meal. I've been meaning to try making a tart for a long time but seeing as I have no tart pan, I thought I'd just try something extremely simple following Delia Smith (I love Delia!)'s recipe for Goat Cheese, Thyme and Tomato Tart. I didn't have any puff pastry on hand so I used some phyllo dough which was leftover from an apple strudel a while back.


It takes only 30 minutes to bake, and you can sit back and enjoy it with a glass of wine and a side of salad.

Goat Cheese, Thyme and Tomato Tart
Make 1 individual serving

4 pieces phyllo dough
2 roma tomatoes, sliced very thinly
3 oz goat cheese, softened at room temperature
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Olive oil spray
Sea salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl, mix together goat cheese, thyme and milled black pepper. Slice the tomatoes thinly and sprinkle with sea salt.

Unroll each phyllo dough layer onto a work surface and spray with the olive oil spray. Fold the layer into half. Repeat for the remaining 3 layers and stack them on top of each other to yield 8 layers of pastry.

Spread the goat cheese mixture onto the prepared pastry, leaving 1-inch strips free on all sides. Layer the cheese on the goat cheese lengthwise on the prepared pastry. Top of with more freshly ground black pepper.

Bake at 325°F for 30 minutes until pastry is golden brown and the tomatoes are roasted.