Flour · ish

AH, I haven't updated for a month! I actually haven't felt like baking for a while, strangely...but I REALLY wanted to for a good friend's birthday! Her favorite cookies are from Levain Bakery in New York City, so she emailed me to recommend them (and a huge list of other places to eat!) when I visited NYC back in October. That was maybe a couple weeks after we had met for the first time...and we weren't really friends yet, so I thought that was so kind of her. Fast forward to half a year later and she is one of my closest friends--I don't know what being in Boston would be like without her! Anyway, since I couldn't make a trip to NYC, I decided to try to recreate the amazing Levain cookies right at home. :) After looking through all the "copycat Levain cookie" recipes a google search could provide--I settled on this one!

It was fun to make them HUGE like Levain's. This makes the outside crisp but the inside soft. The final product was pretty goood and close enough for me! :)

(Levain) Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from Parsley, Sage, Desserts
makes ~12-14

Ingredients

• 2 sticks ‘cold and cubed’ unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 3/4 to 3 cups AP flour
• 1 t table or fine sea salt
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/4 t baking soda
• 1 T corn starch 
• 2 cups good quality semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
• 1 cup walnuts (you can toast these if you have time)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle, cream together butter and sugars until well blended and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until well incorporated.
3. Add flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, corn starch and mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chips/chunks and nuts.
4. Transfer dough to clean work surface and gently mix dough by hand to ensure even distribution of ingredients. Divide into 12 equal portions.
5. Place each on sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake in the preheated oven 15-20 minutes depending on how gooey you like the interior, until very lightly browned, taking care not to overbake. Let cool.

Makes about 12-14 cookies

adapted from smittenkitchen; photos: Karen Go

My friend Karen (the lovely photographer who thought of making cupcake towers!) and I made these to celebrate birthdays at our church retreat. We just used the random bowls & plates available at the house we stayed at!

I have been wanting to attempt 2 things for a long time: Bouchon's Thomas Keller Oreo's (TKO's) and french macarons. But they're kind of intimidating....

BUT. A couple of weeks ago, I woke up with a sore throat, feeling pretty miserable. Then, I heard a knock at my door, and my roommate came in with a HUGE TKO that she brought back from NYC!! I was so touched by her thoughtfulness that definitely brightened an otherwise dreary Monday.

And now that I had the real thing, I was so inspired to make it! Gah, it was freakin' delicious...!! Can you tell I totally fell in love with that cookie???

Homemade TKOs
adapted from Piece of Cake, from The Essence of Chocolate
makes ~15 2 1/2 inch cookies

There is an official recipe from Bouchon on this site, but it uses weighed measurements, and I don't have a scale here. So I went through a lot of recipes for homemade oreos until I found one closest to the Bouchon version. The difference is mainly in the filling. While most recipes use a traditional frosting, Bouchon's tastes lighter because it's simply white chocolate melted into cream, then whipped. The cookie itself is saltier, darker and much larger than most homemade oreos.




Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups + 3 T flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup + 1 T unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Trader Joe's--unsure of the quality! probably be better to use higher quality cocoa)
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1 1/2 t salt
• 15 T unsalted butter, cut into 3/4" cubes, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 oz. white chocolate, chopped (I used chips)

Steps:

1. Make the filling: In a small pot, bring the cream to a boil on the stove. Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute, then whisk to melt the chocolate until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, and let stand for 6 hours to thicken up (you can also chill it in the refrigerator, stirring often).

2. Make the cookie dough: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, and mix on low speed. With the mixer running, add the butter, a piece at a time. The mixture will be dry at first, but over 2 minutes, will start to form a dough.

3. Transfer the dough to a work surface. Divide the dough in half. Roll each half between two large pieces of parchment paper to 1/8 inch thick. Stack the rolled sheets of dough onto a baking sheet and chill until firm, for at least 20 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Position a rack to the center of the oven (I was short on time and placed a second rack below, resulting in cookies that looked like they exploded). Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats. Working with one sheet of chilled dough at a time, use a round 2 to 2 1/2-inch cutter (I used a small glass for 2 1/2 inches and a shot glass for 2 inches--will someday invest in cookie cutters...maybe) to cut the dough into rounds (scraps can be gathered and rolled out again). Place the rounds about 1/2 an inch apart on the prepared baking sheets (they don't spread much).

5. Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating halfway through baking. Remove and cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Cool completely.

6. Assemble! Lightly whip the white chocolate cream to smooth it and fluff it up. Transfer filling to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4" plain tip. Pipe as much as you'd like in the center of half the cookies. Top with another cookie to sandwich. Gently press down until the cream comes to the edges. Refrigerate to for a few minutes to firm up the filling. Cookies can be stored for up to 3 days.

There is something magical about brunch, I tell you!

Someday I'll print out recipes and laminate them nicely, but until then...


This is how I write out all my recipes before going to bake.

Chocolate chip cookies are probably my favorite thing to bake, and this is probably my favorite recipe for them. It might not be the best out there, but I've tried several other recipes, and this one is the most simple and satisfying. They're even better if you let the dough sit in the fridge for 1 or 2 days because the wet ingredients get soaked up.

So good with a glass of milk. oh my goodness.

While I like to try new recipes as much as possible, sometimes I crave certain things--and these cookies are among those cravings! I even miss the process of making them, because they are failproof and always so goooood! These taste like chocolate chip cookies with an extra bit of creaminess and a hint of coffee. They are perfect for gifts because they are unique! and more practically, they are pretty sturdy and stay soft for several days.


adapted from framed, from Baking with Julia


Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 3 T instant coffee powder (my favorite to bake with is nescafe's hazelnut!)
• 1 t baking soda
• 1 t salt
• 2 sticks butter, cut into chunks
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 pound chocolate chips (I used dark and white chocolate chips, but chopped chocolate is awesome in these! just takes a little extra time)

Steps:

1. Whisk the flour, coffee, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.
2. Beat the butter in a mixer until lightened. Add granulated sugar and beat for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar and beat for another 30 seconds. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla and beat until blended.
3. Turn mixer speed down and add flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Add chocolate and mix until evenly blended in.
4. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in fridge for several hours to overnight.
5. Preheat oven to 350, and line cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpat. Drop a heaping tablespoon full of dough onto sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Although I am always baking (butter and sugar galore), I am actually a huge health nut sometimes because of my parents' (mostly my dad's) influence. I tend to reduce the amount of butter and sugar for your arteries' sake! I know, I know--you are supposed to be exact in baking! But honestly, I just skim off a little from what the recipe calls for, without measuring...and nothing--ok, few things--have gone disastrously!

Here are two truly guilt-free recipes for muffins. If you make too many, you can always freeze them for a quick breakfast/snack. (We've been going through them too quickly to do so....) Both are worth trying, but I found the oatmeal ones a little dry, while the banana ones were really, really moist (oy, need a new word)!

Oatmeal Blueberry Applesauce Muffins
adapted from joythebaker
makes 12-15 muffins


Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 cups oats
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 T canola oil
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup blueberries (frozen worked well!)

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Spray muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
3. In a large bowl, combine: flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. 
4. In a medium bowl, combine: applesauce, buttermilk, sugar, oil and egg.
5. Make a well in the dry ingredients and fold in wet mixture. Stir until just moist. 
6. Fold in blueberries. 
7. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 16-18 minutes.

Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
adapted from Handle the Heat (originally banana espresso chocolate chip muffins- but I couldn't find my espresso powder!)
makes ~a dozen muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups mashed, very ripe bananas (~ 4 bananas)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup plain applesauce
• 1/4 cup milk (I used buttermilk!)
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 t instant espresso powder (didn't have this, but bet they'd be bomb with it)
• 1 1/2 t baking soda
• 1 t salt (I would decrease to 1/2 t next time)
• 1 cup chocolate chips (recommended: Ghirardelli 60% cacao baking chips--so good I eat them out of the bag every day.) 

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together: mashed bananas, honey, sugar, applesauce, buttermilk, and egg.
3. Add flour, instant espresso powder, baking soda, and salt to banana mixture. Stir until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. (I forgot to do this, so I just placed a few chocolate chips on top in the last 5 min of baking).
4. Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

(makes ~8 dozen)


In an apartment of 4 girls, sometimes our groceries get mixed up, and we forget whose stuff is whose. So there's been this box of Trader Joe's Raisin Rosemary Crisps sitting on the pantry shelf for weeks, and we don't know whose it is. Eventually one of my roommates bought her own box because we were curious what they tasted like--and they are SO YUM!! The dried fruit, nut, and fragrant herb combination created a nice balance of savory/sweet (slightly too sweet for me), and the crackers have a light crunchiness that is dangerous when it comes to snacking. We think they would pair well with some goat cheese or brie. Sounds fancy, right? But actually! The ingredient list was short (and buttermilk was the first one listed--and I wanted to use up leftover buttermilk), so I thought, why not attempt it? It involves double-baking like with biscotti but is an easy process overall. And I actually thought the bread (pre-becoming crackers) was delicious itself--so you can enjoy this recipe two ways (as pictured above)!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour (1 cup all purpose, 1 cup whole wheat worked well)
• 2 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• a pinch of black pepper (experimental!)
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1/8 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 cup raisins (soak in warm water for a few minutes for plumper raisins)
• 1/2 cup chopped or whole sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup flax seed, ground
• 1 T chopped fresh rosemary

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the buttermilk, brown sugar and honey and stir a few strokes. Add the raisins, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flax seed and rosemary and stir just until blended.
3. Pour the batter into two 8”x4” loaf pans that have been sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake for about 35 minutes, until golden and springy to the touch. Remove from the pans and cool on a wire rack.
4. The cooler the bread, the easier it is to slice really thin. You can leave it until the next day or pop it in the freezer. Slice the loaves as thin as you can and place the slices in a single layer on an ungreased cookie sheet. 
5. Reduce the oven heat to 300° F and bake them for about 15 minutes, then flip them over and bake for another 10 minutes, until crisp and deep golden.

When I was home this past Christmas break, I found an old journal from 2008--junior year of college. I had written about a day I had completely forgotten until I read about it--I couldn't believe it! It was so impactful now that I've been reminded.


So one of my hopes in starting a blog about baking is really to record the stories that go along with each recipe, because my favorite part of baking is that it is a way to bless others and give a piece of my heart. Cheesy much?

Anyway, here is the recipe for what I gave that man at the copy center. They are my FAVORITE fall/pumpkin baked good! They are also healthier (and fluffier!) than most comparable recipes, because they use egg whites, a lot of pumpkin, and minimal oil. I don't usually like to repeat recipes, but THESE I've probably made at least 9 or 10 times, playing with the sugar proportions each time.

Pumpkin Bars (consistency of a light banana bread)

•   2 cups flour
•   1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
•   2 t baking powder
•   2 t ground cinnamon
•   1 t baking soda
•   1/4 t salt
•   1/2 t pumpkin pie spice
•   2 cup canned pumpkin
•   4 slightly beaten egg whites
•   1/3 cup canola oil
•   1/2 cup water

1. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with nonstick coating; set aside.
2. Combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice in a medium bowl. Stir in pumpkin, egg whites, oil, and water until thoroughly combined. Spread batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool.

adapted from Gourmet

• Cooking spray
• 2 T all-purpose flour
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup nonfat buttermilk
• 2 T finely grated lemon rind
• 2 T fresh lemon juice

adapted from Cake on the Brain, from Cook's Illustrated

• 8 T (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
• 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 3/4 t baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 cup (4 oz) sour cream

Chocolate Ganache

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips (I like Trader Joe's pound bars or Ghirardelli baking chips--both in dark choc)
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules

Cook the heavy cream, chocolate chips and instant coffee in the top of a double broiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. 

adapted from food network

These were the first cookies I baked in our new apartment, so I placed them in a (tupperware) cookie jar for my roommates! It's a pretty solid recipe for oatmeal cookies, but I think they'd be a lot better with the cardamom that I couldn't find.

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 t pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 t baking soda
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t nutmeg
• 1/4 t cardamon (didn't use this time!)
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

 I used to think scones were really gross--dry, brittle, and bland...but homemade changes everything!! Scones are super quick, because you don't have to roll them into individual balls like cookies. I usually flatten the dough into 1-inch-thick circles and cut out triangular shaped scones! They can then be frozen in dough or baked form and only need to be toasted for a few minutes for a quick breakfast/snack. This recipe was more time-consuming than others, because you have to zest the lemons and chop the cranberries, but the tart/sweet balance was worth it!

• 2 T freshly grated lemon zest (~3 lemons)
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar plus 3 T additional if using fresh cranberries
• 1 T baking powder
• 1/2 t salt
• 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
• 1 1/4 cups fresh cranberries, chopped, or 1 1/4 cups dried cranberries
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• turbinado sugar (for sprinkling)

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. With a vegetable peeler remove the zest from lemons and chop fine, reserving lemons for another use.
3. In a food processor pulse flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, butter and zest until mixture resembles coarse meal and transfer to a large bowl.
4. In a small bowl toss together fresh cranberries and 3 tablespoons sugar and stir into flour mixture. If using dried fruit, add to flour mixture.
5. In another small bowl lightly beat egg and yolk and stir in cream. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until just combined.
6. On a well-floured surface with floured hands pat dough into a 1-inch-thick round (about 8 inches in diameter) and with a 2-inch round cutter or rim of a glass dipped in flour cut out as many rounds as possible, rerolling scraps as necessary. Arrange rounds about 1 inch apart on baking sheet and bake in middle of oven 15 to 20 minutes, or until pale golden.
7. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar, or egg wash (egg + water) for crisp and shiny tops. Serve scones warm.

Along with the blueberry muffins, here are a few more tried and true recipes from Allrecipes.com. Although I love to experiment and try new recipes, these are the ones I know will never disappoint!

Banana crumb muffins
Corn casserole (perfect for Thanksgiving!)
Tiramisu
Snickerdoodles
Lemon bars
Double chocolate cookies
Andes cookies (perfect for Christmas!)
Raspberry Almond thumbprint cookies
New York cheesecake

Sweet Tomatoes is a staple in my hometown and a huge part of my childhood. It's home-y, and you're guaranteed to see someone you know every time. It was particularly sweet having dinner there with high school friends last night.

Among my favorites are definitely their blueberry muffins. I always swipe a couple on the way out for my brother, but they're never as good the next day. Luckily, they're one of my favorite (and first!) things to bake ever. I really think they're what made me fall in love with baking from scratch back in high school.

I've tried many other muffin recipes since then, but this one is still my absolute favorite. A perfect first for this blog!


"To Die For" Blueberry Muffins
adapted from allrecipes.com