Week 9 - Pumpkin Cranberry Bars

I made these last week and they were a big hit at work - they are technically the week 9 cookies but I was having problems posting on my blog last week so I didn't get them up in time.

1 cup (100 grams) pecans (toasted)
2 cups (270 grams) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (225 grams) pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups (150 grams) dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 350 C. Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, ginger and salt.

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, add the eggs and vanilla. Beat in the pumpkin puree, then slowly add the flour mixture until incorporated. Once mixed add the cranberries and pecans until combined.

Pour into a greased pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack before cutting.

Apple Pie

I am taking a class at George Brown with my mom - it's Baking Art 101, and it is a prerequiste for my Professional Cake Decorating Certificate. We even have to wear a full chef uniform. The class is a lot of fun - I get to hang out with my mom and bake - what could be better?

This week we made Apple pie, the crust was incredible. Unfortunately the recipe below is in grams as we use a digital scale for measuring in class.

Pie crust:
375g pastry flour
250g shortening
175ml cold water
7.5g salt
15g brown sugar

Rub flour and shortening together until they form irregular pea sized crumbs. Add salt, sugar and water and mix until just incorporated. Put on floured surface, divide the dough into 2 halfs (one slightly larger for the bottom crust). Cover and allow to rest in the fridge for minimum four hours (overnight is ideal).

Filling:
6 apples
lemon juice
250g sugar
25g cornstarch
cinnamon
30g butter

Peel, core and slice the apples, then sprinkle them with lemon juice to keep them from going brown. Mix the sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon and pour over apple mixture and mix until they're coated.

Grease and flour the pie plate, roll out the top and bottom crusts. Place the bottom crust in the pan, fill with the apple mixture. Break up the butter and place on top of the apples. You need to eggwash the crust of the pie to create the seal between the top and bottom layers. Eggwash is made of an egg, salt to break up the egg and cold water mixed together. Place the top crust on and trim any excess dough from the edges. You need to crimp the crust together to make the seal - you can either use a fork to press down on the edges, or you can pinch the two crusts together as I did. Then you need to eggwash the top of the pie, and cut vents in the top to let steam escape.

Bake at 220C for 40-45.

My pie is on the left, and my mom's is on the right...

Week 8 - Pecan Toffee Bars

Not as good as some of the other toffee bars I have made. My favorite toffee bar recipe calls for Skor bits in the bar itself, this did not call for any. I modified the recipe by toasting the pecans (who wants untoasted pecans) and adding skor bits as a topping.

1 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

3 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

1.5 cups flour

1 cup toasted chopped pecans

6 aero bars

skor bits (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease a 9x13 pan.

Beat the butter, mix in the brown sugar and salt until combined. Beat in the milk and vanilla. Add the flour mix and combine. Spread evenly in the pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Once the pan comes out of the oven immediately place the chocolate bars on top and let them melt. Once melted spread the chocolate evenly over the crust - sprinkle on the pecans and toffee bits. Let cool then cut up into bars.

Week 7 - Fudge Brownies

I am not sure I agree that bars should be included in the cookies category. The 52 cookie recipes the Aussies gave me includes an entire section of bars - so I guess I have to go along with it. This recipe is really good, normally I am not a fan of brownies as they are often dry - but these are most and chewy which I love.

1/2 cup butter

4 oz unsweetened chocolate chopped

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

icing sugar for dusting after

In a double boiler melt the chocolate and butter together. Meanwhile beat the eggs and sugar for 3-4 minutes until the mixture is a thick, pale yellow.

Once the chocolate-butter mixture has melted add it and the vanilla to the eggs/sugar and mix just until all the streaks of chocolate disappear.

Fold in the flour mixture. Pour the batter into a greased 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes. Just before serving dust with icing sugar.

Week 6 - Chocolate Butter Spritz

This was the second time I have ever used my cookie press and I have to admit it is a lot of fun. It can be a little frustrating at times - I had problems making my dough stick to the pan (be sure to use an UNgreased baking sheet for these cookies). I let my brother Finlay and friend Allison pick the shapes of the cookies. These were delicious, the cocoa wasn't overpowering giving the cookies a subtle chocolate-butter flavour.

1 cup butter

1/2 cup icing sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/3 cup flour

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Beat the butter, add the icing sugar, brown sugar and cocoa and mix until combined. Beat in the egg yolk, vanilla and milk. Add the flour and combine.

Place the dough in a cookie press and press it through. Cookies should be about 1 inch apart. If you do not have a cookies press you can form rounded teaspoons of the dough instead.

Orange Chocolate-Chip Zucchini Bread

I made four loaves of this bread yesterday - each recipe yields 2 loafs. The orange juice is a nice addition as it cuts the sweetness of the chocolate - the first batch I made I used 1 tbsp orange zest instead of the OJ and it worked just as well.

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cup grated zucchini

2 tsp vanilla

3 tbsp orange juice (with pulp)

1 cup chocolate chips

3 cups flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Start by beating the eggs until fluffy, then add the sugar until combined. Then add the oil, zucchini, vanilla and OJ. Then sift together and add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Finally stir in the chocolate chips.

Divide the batter between 2 greased loaf pans and bake for 50 minutes.

Week 5 - Chocolate Chip Cookies

My favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe has always been the William Sonoma one. It's a classic recipe, and the cookies are delicious. But these cookies are definitely a little different - they are really soft, and the addition of oats gives them an interesting texture. I used a combination of white and semi-sweet chocolate chips (but that was because I actually didn't have enough of either). But they were really good.

1 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla

1.5 cups flour

3/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 F. Beat the butter, add the sugar, baking powder and salt. Then beat in the eggs, honey and vanilla. Add the flour - once mixed add the rolled oats and chocolate chips.

Drop tsp sized balls onto a baking sheet and cook for 12 minutes.