Category: Baking

Baking

We Bake Bon Appetit…Day 6 New England Molasses Gingerbread Cookies

I really need my weekend to bake. One little thing can throw your game off. Happily I received my latest Springerle from House On the Hill. I became

obsessed with these molds a few years back. Last year while reading Martha Stewart’s Living Magazine, she featured a few Springerle from House On the Hill, a local vendor. The irony is that I could not find these in Germany. Its a lost art and those that have them use them for wall decoration if anything. Here is my first attempt with Springerle last spring. You can use the molds for cookies, cake decorations, and even ornaments. I decided to use mine in New England Molasses Gingerbread Cookies For Day 6 of our 12 Days of Cookies from Bon Appetit.

The recipe states these cookies are not so crisp but more tender and cake like. I was worried it wouldn’t be stiff enough for my Springerle mold, but it held up very well.

Forgive me not using the cutesy Gingerbread Men, Would you believe I don’t even have a cutter in that shape? I did make other traditional Holiday shapes , however. This recipe yields a lot and my mold for the Christ Child with Angels was very large. I still didn’t manage to use the third disc, and put that away in freezer for later use. The mold is a Medieval reproduction based on a work Stuttgart’s Wurttembergische Museum.

Sprigerle molds are tricky and when using a dark dough, I used oil to paint in every crevice to get the detail, rather than flour or confectioners sugar. The dough was soft and crumbly and you really had to press or lightly roll with a rolling pin to ensure the detail. Releasing was very tricky, but after a few attempts I got it.

I decided to take out my other mold , even though it wasn’t as Christmas like. These would make stunning little token gifts. When cooled I brused gold luster to highlight the detailed work.
You can find the recipe here.

Also this may be of interest to some of you if you like contests.
Enter to win a 12 Place Table Setting For the Holidays!

Be sure to visit the other bakers:

We Bake Bon Appetit…Day 5 Brownie Thins

On Day 5 of the We Bake Bon Appetit challenge, I am baffled by these Brownie Thins. The photo on the Bon Appetit holiday slide show captured me.This is a quick batter to whip up, but a worrisome cookie when baking. The directions called for dropping the batter which is on the loose side and pressing an oiled piece of plastic wrap to shape and flatten. I used oiled parchment first, then tried it with plastic. I found each way the batter clinged onto the paper/plastic, which called for me to scrape off with a bench scraper and try again. I manipulated the shape with an offset spatula as this other method wasn’t working for me. When I baked these I didn’t have pistachios which added a nice garnish, so I economized and used pecans ,which I felt would taste just as good. The Brownie thins baked up regardless and I had a very thin delicate and fragile cookie. They do taste like the tops of brownies, so maybe I wasn’t to far off course.
Surprisingly these cookies went over very well at the office. In fact I received two separate holiday orders for these cookies as well as the Orange Almond Lace on platters. The same combo.This seems to be the year of Skinny Cookie. Who knew?
You can find the recipe here.

Also this may be of interest to some of you if you like contests.
Enter to win a 12 Place Table Setting For the Holidays!

Be sure to visit the other bakers:
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We Bake Bon Appetit… Day 4 : Pecan Lace Sandwich Cookies with Orange Buttercream

So far in day four of the 12 days of cookies, I have to say Pecan Lace Sandwich Cookies are a leading favorite. Another lace cookie like the Orange – Almond Lace Cookies I made earlier on Day 1, these have a richer, deeper flavor with use of fatty Pecans. As an extra added bonus is an orange butter cream is sandwiched between the layers. These cookies can stand alone with out the butter cream in my opinion as well. No egg is used in this cookie. Just the butter, sugar, corn syrup and flavors cookies on the stove stop before being dropped on the parchment baking sheet. This cookie can be made ahead and assembled. They keep very well once assembled.

You can find the recipe here. This has to one of the easiest, yet most refined cookies I have ever made.

Be sure to visit the other bakers:


Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes (honorary member and our founder but not participating this year)Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen
Courtney of Coco Cooks
Michelle of Big Black Dog

We Bake Bon Appetit…Day 3 Triple Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Oh Yeah!
I find so far these cookies are the most festive without relying on cute cookie cutters and royal icing decoration. My third cookie in the 12 days of cookies is the Triple Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookie. This cookie uses 3 chocolates ranging from dark, semi, and white alongside fresh cranberries and rolled oats. Heaven , literally in a bite. Of course I rationalize with myself the oats and fresh cranberries make it healthy! Right?
These cookies went over big in the office. A nice breakfast treat, if you will.
You will find these cookies are easy to pull together and require no chilling or shaping. Just pop them in oven and bake. You can get snazzy with your drizzle, but that’s quick and easy too. I didn’t go through any changes piping my chocolate topping, just used my spoon and went freestyle. Perhaps a mixed white and dark chocolate drizzle next time? If you are in hurry and want the topping to set, pop them in the freezer to harden and set. The bits of red and chunks of assorted chocolates will make this cookie stand out on any tray. The fresh cranberry adds a nice zing to each bite.You can find the recipe here. Enjoy.

Be sure to visit the other bakers:

We Bake Bon Appetit…Day 2: Hazelnut – Butter Cookies With Chocolate Chips


Who doesn’t love a good Chocolate Chip Cookie? When I saw this recipe for Hazlenut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chips on Bon Appetit’s Holiday Slide Show I was sold. Certain Someone even had a few of these. I have never been a fan of nuts in my baking. But Hazelnuts, Almonds, and pecans are the exception. Oh and Pistachios! OK , maybe I need to revise this. What I haven’t been a fan of in baking is peanuts, And I have seen many a good cookie ruined with Peanut Butter, But a Hazelnut Butter? Now we are talking!
Baking cookies over 12 days is costly, and I was not trying to add any more expense than I had to. Rather than but Hazlenut butter, I decided to make my own with the scant amount of hazlenuts I had in my cupboard. I added a few almonds too and blended it up with a drizzle of vegetable oil to form a paste( like making a hazelnut praline). I confess I threw in a tablespoon of Nutella too to make up the difference! Nutella is not hazelnut butter , but a spread of hazelnut chcolate, and milk. It couldn’t hurt. I also did not have mini chocolate chips , and used regular dark chocolate chips.
These cookies baked up to perfection! Really buttery and crips. The nut oils with the butter yielded a excellent crisp texture. Be sure to follow the directions and chill the dough for the 2 hours required before baking. You can find the recipe here.

Be sure to visit the other bakers: