12 days of christmas baking - day 10: eggnog cinnamon-nut bread

i couldn't help it but crave some kind of cakey bread. so this afternoon i decided that i would make some. with some eggnog in the fridge i wanted to experiment a little bit and decided on an eggnog bread. well, the end result wasn't exactly what i was hoping. you couldn't quite taste the eggnog once the bread is baked. so to even add a tiny hint of the eggnog, i drizzled it with a little eggnog glaze (unpictured, unfortunately). that did the trick a bit. the bread itself is very good, with or without the eggnog glaze.

below's the recipe should you want to try it. i love baked cakey breads. they are so good toasted with a little spread of butter. mmmm... yum! :)


the eggnog in this recipe doesn't really come out a whole lot so you can always drizzle it with an eggnog glaze. that's what i did after i took these photos, to bring out the eggnog flavor a little more.


the cinnamon and nut in this recipe gives you the nicest aroma when the bread is baking in the oven. smells so yummy and it really is yummy!


all sliced and ready to eat!

eggnog cinnamon-nut bread
recipe adapted from better homes & garden

ingredients:

• 1-1/3 cups sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup finely chopped toasted pecans or walnuts
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2/3 cup eggnog
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

eggnog glaze (optional):

• 1-2 tablespoons eggnog
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour the bottoms and 1/2 inch up the sides of three 5 3/4x3x2-inch loaf pans or a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In a small bowl, stir together 1/3 cup of the sugar, the nuts, and cinnamon; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in center of flour mixture. In a medium bowl, combine egg, eggnog, milk, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy).
3. Spoon half of the batter into the prepared pans. Sprinkle with half of the nut mixture. Top with the remaining batter and the remaining nut mixture. Using a narrow metal spatula or table knife, cut down through batter and pull up in a circular motion to marble.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes for 5 3/4-inch pans (55 to 60 minutes for 9-inch pan) or until a toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on racks.
5. If you want to add the eggnog glaze, mix the two ingredients together and drizzle it on top (use less eggnog if you want a thicker glaze). Then wrap and store overnight before slicing. Or if you're like me and can't wait, then just wait until the glaze set before slicing. Enjoy! :)

makes one loaf, about 12-14 servings depending on how you slice it.

check out last year's day 10 recipe: chocolate chip cookies with nutella & sea salt

12 days of christmas baking - day 2: snickerdoodles

okay, i'm a little slow posting day 2's recipe here. but here it is. i decided on snickerdoodles. and i have to admit, i've never really had a snickerdoodle cookie before until i finally tried blue bottle coffee's vanilla-saffron snickerdoodle a few months back. some people say why did they even put saffron in their cookie, because it totally ruins the classic taste. i'm like, does it matter? it tastes fine to me!

my mother-in-law is a big fan of snickerdoodles. she said they're super simple to make (which they are) and for some reason, if you're a sweet tooth, the sugar really comes out in this recipe. so it's like this extra sweet goodie, without too much sugar really. i mean, chocolate chip cookies use way more (or slightly more) sugar.

anyway, below's the recipe for these yummy looking cookies. it's slightly adapted from blue bottle coffee's recipe. i took out the vanilla bean and saffron because i didn't have those ingredients on hand. oh, and i added the cinnamon sugar coating to give it a more festive taste, being that it's the holidays and all. so if you'd like to try and make some, i say go ahead. enjoy and happy baking! :)

snickerdoodles
recipe adapted from blue bottle craft of coffee cookbook

ingredients:

• 2 cups (9.9 oz / 280 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup (4 oz / 113 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (3.5 oz / 100 g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (3.8 oz / 109 g) packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 egg (1.8 oz / 50 g), at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

optional (to coat the dough before baking):

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. Sift the flour and baking soda into a medium bowl.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on low speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and salt and mix on low speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then mix on medium speed until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes.
4. In a medium bowl, combine the egg, milk, and vanilla extract and whisk vigorously until well blended. With the mixer on medium speed, add the egg mixture very slowly, in a steady stream, and mix until well-incorporated and very smooth, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then mix on medium speed for 30 more seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the flour mixture. Mix on low speed just until uniform in texture.
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Roll 1 tablespoon portions of the dough into balls (and if you want to roll them in the cinnamon sugar mix, this is when you do it). Then place them on the baking sheet, spacing them at least 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Bake for about 10 minutes, until golden but not too dark, rotating the pan midway through the baking time. Ideally, the baked cookies will be tall and slightly undercooked in the center, and will buckle shortly after coming out of the oven. If the cookies don't buckle, don't worry; they'll still be delicious. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 10 minutes before removing. These cookies are best when eaten warm, shortly after they come out of the oven. However, they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Alternatively, the dough can stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as needed and saving the rest of the dough to bake another day.

makes about 4 dozen small cookies or 9 large cookies (1/4-cup dough balls, bake for 16 mins).

check out last year's day 2 recipe: chocolate snowcap cookies

pumpkin spice macarons

i made my first pumpkin spice bread ever a couple of weeks ago. to make it, i had to open a giant can of pumpkin puree. okay, maybe not so giant, it was the 28 oz can though, but pretty big enough anyway. i had some leftover puree and didn't know what to do with it so i decided on making a pumpkin spice buttercream. now, what to do with the buttercream? okay, sure... why not some french macarons, just because.

so, here you have it! french macarons with pumpkin spice buttercream. what's not more fall or october than pumpkin?! okay, maybe apple pies or something (that's more fall?!). but pumpkin spice is pretty close too.

if you're a pumpkin spice lover (i'm slowly getting there, i think), you'll for sure love these cute little french cookies. as always, you must age your macarons for the best testing bite yet. i say wait at least a day or two before digging in. i typically let mine sit in the fridge for 2-3 days before consuming (of course, you gotta make sure you let them get to room temperature before eating). i love how light the texture of these macarons are. and when you bite into it, mmmm... it's perfectly chewy and soft and not mushy at all. oh, you must make sure you fill your macarons pretty good. definitely don't skimp on the buttercream. at least a 1:1 ratio of filling to cookie or 2:1 filling to cookie.

so, what do you say? go ahead and bake yourself a batch of these delicious goodies. or if macarons aren't your thing, you can just make the pumpkin spice buttercream and use it on some tasty cupcakes instead. but really, you should try the whole thing. it's yum. of course, i'm bias because i am i sucker for macarons or anything sweet (at least lately anyway). enjoy and happy baking! :)


in an ode to autumn, what's more perfect than pumpkin spice?! these macarons are for sure the ideal little treats for this time of the year.


these pumpkin spice macarons are great for fall gift-giving, especially to those pumpkin spice lovers out there. ;)

pumpkin spice french macarons with pumpkin spice buttercream

ingredients:

macaron batter:
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup almond meal
1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon gel or powder food color (optional)

pumpkin spice buttercream:
1-1/2 to 2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup softened butter
2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
pinch of salt
milk or cream (if needed)

directions:

to make the macaron batter/shells:

1. line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch, 2 cm) ready.
2. sift together the powdered sugar and almond meal so there are no lumps. add in the pumpkin spice and stir it to make sure it's fully incorporated with the sugar and almond meal mixture. set aside.
3. in the bowl of a standing electric mixer (or if you prefer, you can use a bowl and hand mixer), beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. while whipping, beat in the sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.
4. carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. if you want to color your macarons, this is when you'd want to add in your gel or powdered food coloring. the more color you add, the darker the batter or finished cookie color it will be. i typically just do 1/4 teaspoon of gel food coloring, sometimes 1/2. you could do more or less depending on your desire shade. when the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag (standing the bag in a tall glass helps if you're alone).
5. pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1.35-inch circles evenly spaced one-inch apart.
6. rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons. then let it sit for at least 30-60 minutes depending on humidity before baking them in the oven. about 10-15 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. bake for 15 minutes.
7. once macaron shells are out of the oven, let them sit for 30-60 seconds before removing the hot baking sheet underneath. let the macarons cool completely before removing them from the parchment paper.

for the pumpkin spice buttercream:

1. cream butter and sugar together until well blended.
2. then add in the pumpkin puree and spices. mix until everything is incorporated and you get the right consistency for buttercream. if the frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar. if it's too thick, add a little bit of milk or cream (about 1 teaspoon at a time) to thin it out until you reach your desired consistency.

to assemble the macaron cookies:

1. before assembling these cookies, make sure to pair up all the cookie shells so they are as close as possible in size.
2. using a knife, spread a good amount of the pumpkin spice buttercream on the inside of the macarons then sandwich them together. note: you can certainly put the buttercream in a piping bag and pipe the buttercream onto the cookie. it's a lot easier i think and less messy. but i can't be bother to do this so i almost always just spread it with a knife.
3. let them stand at least one day (keep them refrigerated) before serving (serve at room temperature), to meld the flavors.

store in airtight container for up to 5 days. makes 20-24 macarons. happy eating!

chicken tikka masala

we've always been so intimidated by indian cuisines because of all the spices, but after making some of the more popular dishes the last year or so, it's not so bad anymore.


this chicken tikka masala dish served with rice is so good, can you see that clean plate in the picture? ;)

m is cooking again tonight. he doesn't cook very often, but when he cooks, he cooks indian. and we love it! over the past few years we've become quite a fan of indian cuisine. even c loves it and he's so picky with his food! i have to say they are just so good. you cannot go wrong with all those spices. i know the list of ingredients just seem so intimidating, especially with all the spices. i mean, who has fenugreek or cardamom pods in their spice pantry? i know we definitely didn't 3 or 4 years ago.

well, i figured it's about time i post one of his indian dishes on here. what you see in this post is his chicken tikka masala. we had it with brown rice since we didn't have basmati rice on hand or any naan bread. i know, i have this bread book with this one naan recipe i have yet to try and make. like i've mentioned in the past, someday i will make bread. naan bread will be one of the things i'll make. just not today or tomorrow or next week. hehehe ;)

ok, so far m has cooked us chicken korma (which i think is his signature dish… it's seriously so good), chicken tikka masala (the ones pictured here) and chicken biryani. all three dishes have been superb. i think they are just as good as any dishes you'd get at an indian restaurant or better. i know he's still trying to perfect his biryani dish, but i have to say, that last time we had it, it was almost perfect! hahaha… good enough for eating anyway. for sure better than the first time he ever made it. oh, yeah… let's just say it didn't quite turned out the way it was supposed to. i have pictures of the second biryani try that turned out fine, but i have yet to post it here. someday when i get around to it.

unfortunately, i don't have the recipe for this delicious-looking chicken tikka masala to post here (maybe when i get a hold of it, i'll update and post it?!). he told me he got it out of this book, 660 curries by raghavan iyer. i believe you can get it on amazon. it's got a bunch of indian curry dishes. there are so many, we've only got around to a few of them. plenty more to come!

now, tonight m's making butter chicken. i'm very curious to see how that dish will turn out. i'm sure it'll taste delicious as always. he's such a tough critic himself, so i hope it's good. :)

recipe from: 660 curries by raghavan iyer

chocolate macarons with chili pepper chocolate ganache

as a last minute entry, i came up with this recipe for the chocolate adventure contest sponsored by scharffen berger chocolate maker and tuttifoodie. for 2012, i believe they are looking for a delicious phenomenal chocolate sandwich cookie, using scharffen berger chocolates and one or more of the 12 adventurous ingredients. the adventurous ingredients i chose were the chili pepper and coconut milk.

below's the recipe i came up with. it's pretty simple but i think the chili pepper chocolate ganache definitely adds a kick to your typical chocolate ganache and for sure, this macaron cookie is not your usual chocolate sandwich cookie.

so if you're adventurous enough too, please feel free to try this recipe out yourself and let me know what you think! happy baking and eating! :)


the chili pepper powder adds that unexpected but very tasteful kick to your typical chocolate ganache for this macaron filling.

chocolate macarons with chili pepper chocolate ganache

ingredients:

macaron batter:
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup almond meal
3 tablespoons Scharffen Berger unsweetened natural cocoa powder (any brand cocoa powder will do too if you don't have this kind)
more cocoa powder for macaron shell topping (optional)
2 large egg whites, at room temperature

1/4 cup granulated sugar

reduced coconut milk:
1/2 cup coconut milk

chili pepper ganache filling:
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 (9.7 oz) Scharffen Berger 62% cacao semisweet chocolate baking bar, cut into pieces (any chocolate baking bar or chips will work too)
1/4 cup reduced coconut milk* (see above)

directions:

to make the macaron batter/shells:

1. line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch, 2 cm) ready.
2. sift together the powdered sugar, almond meal and 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder so there are no lumps. set aside.
3. in the bowl of a standing electric mixer (or if you prefer, you can use a bowl and hand mixer), beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. while whipping, beat in the granulated sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.
4. carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. when the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag (standing the bag in a tall glass helps if you’re alone).
5. pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1.35-inch circles evenly spaced one-inch apart. quickly after it's piped, if you wish, sprinkle some cocoa powder over each shell using a small sifter.
6. rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons. then let it sit for at least 30-60 minutes depending on humidity before baking them in the oven. about 10-15 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. bake for 15 minutes.
7. once macaron shells are out of the oven, let them sit for 30-60 seconds before removing the hot baking sheet underneath. let the macarons cool completely before removing them from the parchment paper.

for reduced coconut milk:

1. bring coconut milk to boil in small saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. reduce heat to medium-low; boil until reduced to 1/4 cup, stirring occasionally, about 5-7 minutes.
3. remove from heat. transfer to small bowl.

for the chili pepper chocolate ganache filling:

1. using microwave-safe bowl, place chocolate in microwave oven at medium power (50% power) for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes. remove and stir. if chocolate is not melted, return to microwave and repeat heating step, stirring every 20 seconds to avoid scorching. when small lumps remain, remove and continue to stir to complete melting.
2. heat the reduced coconut milk in the microwave for 30 seconds. then add it to the melted chocolate. stir until combine.
3. add in the 3/4 teaspoon of chili powder. mix until incorporated.
4. let ganache cool completely before using. you can put it in the refrigerator to speed up the cooling process a bit if you like. i do it all the time. or if ganache looks like it's spreadable and not too thin (like in drizzle form) you can go ahead and use it to assemble the cookies.

to assemble the macaron cookies:

1. before assembling these cookies, make sure to pair up all the cookie shells so they are as close as possible in size.
2. using a knife, spread a good amount of the chili pepper chocolate ganache on the inside of the macarons then sandwich them together.
3. let them stand at least one day (keep them refrigerated) before serving (serve at room temperature), to meld the flavors.

store in airtight container for up to 5 days. makes 20-24 macarons. happy eating! :)