In my quest to perfect this recipe for Millionaire’s Shortbread, I made a few of changes. One I will keep, one I will toss, and the other will entirely depend on how hot (or cold) it is outside.

I mentioned before that I was unhappy with the shortbread in the original recipe, so I switched to a shortbread recipe that I like very much. This is the change that I will keep. I think the bars taste so much better with this shortbread; they’re really the taste and texture I was hoping for the first time around.

Because it’s the middle of summer, and because my new air conditioner stopped working, I decided to use purchased dulce de leche. I always either burn it in the microwave or make a mess of my microwave, and there’s no way I would even consider the stovetop method when the humidity has me trying to beat off crankiness. For the record, however, I think that I would prefer to caramelize the milk myself to get the right texture of caramel – the canned dulce de leche is delicious and perfect for, well, just about everything, but it would be my second choice for this recipe. However, if you’re in a hurry, it definitely speeds up the process.

Last time I made Millionaire’s Shortbread, I wanted more chocolate. So I doubled it.

Um, not the best idea. Really, I think I wanted to cover up the taste of the shortbread, but when the shortbread was good, the caramel was good, doubled chocolate was way, way too much. Plus, I used semi-sweet this time instead of 60%…it overpowered everything else, but the bars are still disappearing, so I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.

For this recipe, I really do think the third time will be the charm.

Millionaire’s Shortbread
adapted from Baked

for the shortbread
12 tablespoons butter
½ cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 ¾ cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350* Grease 9×13 inch pan with butter.

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add salt and slowly add flour until mixed. Press dough into pan.

Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from oven and prick all over with a fork. Bake another 10-12 minutes or until golden, then cool completely.

for the caramel layer
Spread two cans of dulce de leche over the cooled shortbread; refrigerate.

for the chocolate layer
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
2 teaspoons corn syrup
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 teaspoon prepared coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a heatproof bowl over simmering water, melt the butter. Add the chocolate and corn syrup and whisk occasionally until melted. Remove from heat. Whisk in the coffee and vanilla, allow to cool. Pour chocolate over caramel and refrigerate for one hour, then cut into bars.

Refrigerate.

Over the past two years, the New York Times’ Chocolate Chip Cookie has taken the food blogging world by storm. I kept intending to try this recipe, but life kept getting in the way.

Well, last week it seemed that fate wanted me to make these cookies. If I cut the recipe in half, I had just enough bread flour and cake flour. I didn’t have the 60% cacao chocolate disks required, but I don’t like chocolate chip cookies with that dark of chocolate – it’s only semi-sweet chocolate for me.

The original instructions said the dough balls should be the size of “generous golf balls.” Well, I’ve only seen golf balls one size, so I made dough balls slightly larger. I looked at the size of the dough, looked at the 18 minute baking time, and thought, “You have to be kidding me.”

I intended to check the cookies after 10 minutes…but I got distracted. When the timer went off at 18 minutes, I could smell the cookies as I walked to my kitchen…and it wasn’t a good smell. Let’s just say the cookies were a little…caramelized. Okay fine, they were about one minute shy of being burned.

I rechecked the recipe and saw the 3 ½ ounce weight for the dough…no way would that be the size of a golf ball! So with the next pan, I weighed each ball of dough. Yeah, those balls were the size of baseballs. Quite a bit of difference, if you ask me.

And while the baseball cookies were tasty, I have to admit I don’t see what all of the fuss is about. The chocolate chip cookies I made just a few weeks back were far superior, to me – they tasted more buttery and more complex, while this recipe just kind of tasted like a regular chocolate chip cookie. Don’t get me wrong, they’re good…but I am a bit surprised at how many bloggers have deemed them their favorite (perhaps it’s the darker chocolate?). Or perhaps they simply couldn’t live up to the build-up…

I don’t see myself making them again, however – they just weren’t special enough for me. The friend I gave most of them away to, however, loved them.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

4 ¼ ounces cake flour
4 ¼ ounces bread flour
1/2 + 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
½ + ¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ + ¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 ¼ stick unsalted butter
5 ounces light brown sugar
4 ounces granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
kosher salt

1. Sift flours, soda, powder, and sea salt.

2. Cream butter and sugars on medium speed with stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg and mix well. Add vanilla and mix to combine. Reduce speed to low and slowly add flour. Fold in chocolate chips. Press plastic wrap directly on surface of dough and refrigerate 24-36 hours (up to 72 hours).

3. Preheat oven to 350*F. Line baking sheets with parchment and scoop six 3 ½ ounce balls of dough (about the size of a baseball) onto the pan. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake for 18-20 minutes, cool on pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

I must be a masochist. I’ve only made macarons a few times now, but I always seem to make them in the summer, during the height of humidity. And this particular summer has been more humid (and much warmer) than any I can recall. In fact, did you know that in the US, June 2010 was the hottest on record? Thanks, global warming!

And yet, I decided to make macarons, simply because I wanted to do a raspberry-cream cheese frosting combination. What can I say? It sounded good, and well, summery.

What I like best about this flavor combination is that I can only eat one at a time. I love the frosting, I love the raspberry punch that these macarons have…but after one macaron, I’m satisfied. Built-in portion control is always a good thing.

This time, I played around a bit with recipes I’ve tried before. I tried to pick the least humid day to make these, which resulted in egg whites that were super-aged because I had to wait an extra couple of days to make these, and even then, my kitchen felt like it was located in a tropical rainforest. So I added a little extra sugar and a little cream of tartar, just to give the batter a little more stability.

I can’t say if those steps helped at all, since I didn’t make a “control” batch, but the macarons did turn out the way they were supposed to. My mom pronounced them “delicious,” and that was several days later.

One little recipe note that I found interesting: for the first time, I used a silpat for one sheet and parchment for another. The color of the macarons was much more vibrant when I used the silpat, but I liked the texture better for the macarons that were baked on parchment. In the past, I’d only used a silpat for macarons, so I was not prepared for these results!

Raspberry Macarons with Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted mostly from Tartelette and Cannelle et Vanille

90 grams room temperature egg whites, aged 7 days in the fridge
30 grams granulated sugar
1/16 teaspoon cream of tartar
205 grams confectioners’ sugar
110 grams almond flour
8 grams raspberry powder*
2 drops red paste food coloring

Sift confectioners’ sugar, almond flour, and raspberry powder (I used a sieve for the sifting).

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip egg whites to a foam and start gradually adding granulated sugar and cream of tartar, until glossy. Add food coloring and mix until just combined. Be careful not to overwhip.

Add almond mixture to the meringue; fold with a spatula until the batter falls back on itself in a ribbon. Be careful not to overfold (to be safe, pipe a small disk onto a plate; if a small peak remains, give the meringue another couple of folds and test again; if the top flattens on its own, you’re good to go – it’s always best to do this test just before you think the batter is ready).

Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats.

Fit a pastry bag with a round tip (Adecco #807 or 809) and fill with the batter. Pipe 1 inch rounds onto baking sheets. If desired, top macarons with raspberry seeds that didn’t fit through the sieve. Let stand at room temperature for an hour.

Heat oven to 350*F. Reduce temperature to 300* and bake for 8 minutes, then rotate pan and bake for another 6 minutes. Cool completely. Pipe frosting on the flat side of one macaron and top with a similar-sized macaron. Enjoy!

*Whirl freeze dried raspberries through a spice grinder or small food processor

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese**
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter**
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
pinch of salt

**Remove cream cheese and butter from refrigerator 30 minutes prior to making frosting.

With an electric mixer (use paddle attachment with a stand mixer), beat cream cheese on medium speed until smooth; add butter and beat until blended. Turn mixer to low and slowly add powdered sugar and salt; blend until smooth. Add vanilla and mix in. Turn mixer on high and beat until light and fluffy. You may need to refrigerate the frosting for about 30 minutes before piping.

My mom and I can happily bond by sitting and “reading” cooking magazines or cookbooks. Okay, I admit, when pictures are involved, there’s both reading and gazing (sometimes longingly) involved, but if you’re reading this blog, I’m guessing you already understand how that goes.

I never really felt the need to make tres leches cake before, until I saw an enticing picture. The funny thing is, it was the fresh fruit topping the cake that caught my attention. Then the whipped cream. Finally, the thought of cake drenched in milk, including sweetened condensed milk, sold me on trying the recipe. My mom and I then exchanged magazines, she felt as I did about the cake (well, the picture), and we decided to make said cake over 4th of July weekend, when I would be visiting my family.

So what did I think of the cake? Well, I have to come clean. I only had one piece, and I had it the first day. The bottom was still swimming a bit much in the milk for my taste, so I mostly ate the fruit, the whipped cream, and the top half of the cake. However, my mom assured me that on the following day, the milk had distributed through the cake, and the result was simply a very moist cake.

At some point I would like to try another recipe, but I think I will give the cake a little more time to soak up all of the milk. But as far as summer parties go, I have to say this is an attractive dessert to serve.

Tres Leches Cake
Adapted from Everyday Food, June 2010

½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
5 large eggs, at room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 12 ounce can evaporated milk
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
confectioners’ sugar
5 cups fresh fruit (I used strawberries, sliced peaches, and blueberries)

Preheat oven to 350*F. Spray a 9×13 inch metal baking pan with cooking spray or grease with butter (I often use the butter left on the butter wrapper for this).

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Beat eggs and ¾ cup sugar on medium speed until pale and thick, about 4-5 minutes. Add vanilla, mix to combine.

On very lowest speed, add ½ cup of the flour, the baking powder, and the salt. Slowly add the remaining flour until mixed. Fold melted butter into batter with a spatula.

Transfer batter to pan and bake 18-22 minutes, rotating pan halfway through, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Use toothpick to poke holes all over the cake.

Whisk milks together in a glass measuring cup and pour over cake. Cool to room temperature.

Whip cream and confectioners sugar to desired level of sweetness. Spread over cake and top with desired fruit.

Happy 4th of July! I already saw fireworks on Friday – thankfully, our Elver Park fireworks were saved this year by Woodman’s Grocery Stores, who have committed to sponsoring the event for the next several years. Yay! They aren’t the big area display (that’s Rhythm and Booms, the largest fireworks display in the Midwest), but it doesn’t take hours to leave the park, either, so they are my display of choice.

One of my favorite recipes to take along to 4th of July parties has to be red velvet cupcakes. Because this year I opted for a version of my Simple Fruit Salad instead, made with peaches, plums, blueberries, green grapes, and strawberries, I thought I would repost my favorite recipe for Red Velvet Cupcakes – instead of decorating with ganache, I would go with red, white, and blue sprinkles for the fourth, or even blueberries and raspberries or strawberries.

Red Velvet Cupcakes
recipe adapted from Pinch My Salt

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
red food color paste
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.

2. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.

3. Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla and a squirt of red food coloring paste, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you go. Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of flour, then the rest of the buttermilk, ending with the last of the flour. Scrape down bowl with a spatula and fold the batter a couple of times to ensure it’s well-blended. If desired, add more red food coloring paste and mix well to combine.

4. In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda. Add vinegar mixture to the cake batter and stir well with spatula to combine. Using an ice cream scoop, fill cupcake cups with cake batter (they should be 2/3 full). Place muffin tins on the middle rack of a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake for approximately 20-24 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. Cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

5. Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
pinch of salt

Beat butter and cream cheese on medium speed with paddle attachment until combined. Reduce speed to low and slowly add powdered sugar. Add vanilla and beat until mixed, then add a pinch of salt and mix. Frost each cupcake with a knife, or use a decorator bag.

Chocolate Ganache
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream

Combine chocolate chips and heavy cream in a small bowl. Microwave on defrost level (or lowest setting), stirring every 30 seconds until chocolate is smooth. Drizzle or dollop ganache on top of cupcakes.

Enjoy!

I first made a Pavlova a couple of years ago for my birthday. Its such a pretty, girly dessert, and its something fun and different for a birthday. Unfortunately, my birthday is in early May, and its not exactly berry season at that time.

This year, I really wanted a Pavlova on my birthday, but I convinced myself to wait until the berries would actually taste good. As I was thinking about what kind of dessert to post for the 4th of July, I realized that the berry Pavlova would give me the red, white, and blue color scheme I was looking for. Though its not your typical bbq fare, this dessert is both pretty and delicious, a wonderful addition to any celebration.

Mixed Berry Pavlova
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa

4 large room temperature egg whites
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup superfine sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
½ pint fresh blueberries
Raspberry Sauce
Whipped Cream

Preheat oven to 180*F.

Draw a 9 inch circle on a piece of parchment. Flip the parchment over and place on a large baking sheet.

Using the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on high until firm. Gradually add sugar while beating until the egg whites reach stiff, shiny peaks.

Fold the cornstarch, vinegar, and vanilla into the egg whites. Spread the meringue onto the parchment circle, building up the edges slightly. Bake for 1 ½ hours, then turn off the oven for another hour to cool completely.

In a medium bowl, combine the strawberries, blueberries, and raspberry sauce.

Transfer the meringue to a plate or cake stand and top with whipped cream. Pile the berries on top of the whipped cream, allowing some sauce to drizzle down the edges.

Whipped Cream

8 ounces heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Place bowl and whisk in the freezer for 15 minutes. Beat cream on high speed; as it starts to thicken, add the confectioners sugar and vanilla. Continue to beat until soft peaks form, being careful not to overbeat.

Raspberry Sauce

1 bag frozen raspberries (about 10 ounces), thawed
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Whirl the raspberries, sugar, and cornstarch in the food processor until the berries are liquefied. Transfer to a medium saucepan and add the lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until you can scrape a path across the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and pour through a sieve into a bowl to remove the seeds. Cool and refrigerate until ready to use.

Ive already demonstrated that I have a weakness for chocolate and peanut butter rice krispy bars through parts one and two of my peanut butter crispy bar wars.

A couple of weeks ago when my parents were visiting, my mom and I spent some time flipping through my stack of food magazines. I am the person who arranges old issues by month and season, so I can immediately grab the June issue of every cooking magazine I own. Yes, I am that big of a dork.

But in this case, it was the very last recipe of the new Everyday Food that caught my attention. We were planning on grilling simple burgers and hot dogs for dinner that night, and this easy recipe for chocolate-peanut butter rice krispy bars seemed to be the perfect ending to a laidback meal.

They did not disappoint. Frankly, I have to say I like this particular recipe the best I like the combination of the marshmallows and peanut butter, as opposed to using corn syrup, which produces a harder bar. Plus, these are so easy to make that you really can whip them up in less than ten minutes, or put anyone to work in your kitchen.

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Bars
from Everyday Food, July/August 2010

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
4 cups miniature marshmallows
pinch of salt
6 cups rice krispies
12 ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

Butter an 8×8 inch pan.

Combine butter, peanut butter, marshmallows, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until marshmallows are melted. Add rice krispies to pan, stir until well combined.

Add half of the cereal mixture to the bottom of the pan, pat into place with waxed paper covered in butter. Spread half of the melted chocolate over cereal; repeat with remaining cereal and chocolate. Allow to cool and cut into bars.

A favorite recipe from the archives!

During the summer when it’s unbearably hot, most people probably wouldn’t even consider turning on their oven. I am not most people.

I had some peaches and raspberries that were just beyond the peak of ripeness; if I didn’t eat them or cook with them, bacteria would be happy to enjoy those fruits instead. I simply couldn’t let delicious fruit go to waste!

In such a state of emergency, I think you’ll understand that I really had no choice, I had to turn these fruits into a dessert. My favorite quick, easy, and delicious fruit dessert is hands-down the crumble.

But I’m very picky about my crumbles. If I have apples or pears on hand, I like making a crisp with an oat topping, but for stone fruits and berries…oats simply do not belong. These fruits are so delicate that they just beg for a topping that isn’t too heavy.

Enter the crumble.

Summer Fruit Crumble
serves 4

Ingredients
2 peaches, sliced
4 oz raspberries
4 oz blueberries
2-4 T sugar
1 T flour
dash salt
2 tsp orange zest
2 T freshly squeezed orange juice

4 T flour
4 T sugar
4 T unsalted butter, slightly softened

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375*F. In medium bowl, combine peach slices (no need to peel the peaches), raspberries, blueberries, sugar, flour, salt, orange zest, and orange juice. The amount of sugar you use will depend on how sweet the fruit is. Sample a piece/small slice of each and adjust sugar accordingly. Set aside.

Add the flour, sugar, and butter to a small bowl. With your fingers, pinch the mixture together to form crumbles.

Divide the fruit mixture among 4 ramekins and top with the crumble mixture. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the crumble starts to brown and the fruit bubbles up along the edges.

For years, my recipe for party cookies was my go-to recipe for chocolate chip cookies. People always asked for the recipe, some even told me to open a bakeshop!

Unfortunately, over time I’ve become immune to the charms of those cookies, and I simply had to look for something new. When I saw that Deb on Smitten Kitchen had proclaimed a recipe to be not just her favorite cookie, but one she’s made more than once, I had to try it.

I have to say, these cookies didn’t disappoint. I love the buttery richness the pecans lend to the cookies. I will definitely be making these again the next time the temperature drops this summer; they freeze wonderfully, so stock up, if you like.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from The Great Book of Chocolate via Smitten Kitchen

1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp soda
1 c flour
1/4 c whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c pecans, toasted and chopped (toast in 350* oven for 7 minutes)

1. Adjust oven rack to top third. Preheat to 300*f.

2. Beat sugars and butter on medium until fluffy. Add egg, mix well. Add vanilla, mix. Add soda, mix.

3. Add flour and salt, mix until just combined.

4. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans (the chopped nuts should range in texture from powdery to chunky).

5. Scoop dough into 2 tablespoon balls and place on parchment lined baking sheet 4 inches apart. Bake 18 minutes, cool on pan for 5 minutes before transferring to rack.

Enjoy!

]]>http://mymadisonbistro.com/archives/chocolate-chip-cookies/feed0 http://mymadisonbistro.com/archives/rustic-apple-tart http://mymadisonbistro.com/archives/rustic-apple-tart#comments Fri, 02 Apr 2010 13:00:20 +0000 Sara http://mymadisonbistro.com/?p=1685 Sometimes I think I look for recipes that use puff pastry just so I can make something fun with the second sheet of pastry. I can’t even remember what I used the first sheet for anymore, but for the second, I had planned all along to make an apple tart. Nothing fancy, mind you, but [...]]]>

Sometimes I think I look for recipes that use puff pastry just so I can make something fun with the second sheet of pastry. I can’t even remember what I used the first sheet for anymore, but for the second, I had planned all along to make an apple tart. Nothing fancy, mind you, but a rustic, thrown-together version. I admit, it’s quite possible that my secret plan all along was simply to make the tart, under the premise that it was to use up the extra puff pastry.

Yes, this dessert is better-suited to fall or winter, but it’s been cool and dank, and apples still abound in the stores. A homey dessert was just the ticket after an absolutely rotten week.

This is yet another recipe taken from Everyday Food, which I seem to be obsessed with lately.

Rustic Apple Tart
recipe from Everyday Food

1 folded sheet puff pastry
3 Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored and sliced ¼ inch thick)
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon water, for egg wash
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons apricot jam mixed with 1 tablespoon water, for glaze

Preheat oven to 375*F. Line large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

On a floured surface, roll out the still folded puff pastry to 8×14 inches. Trim edges with a paring knife to form a rectangle. Using the knife, cut a ¾ inch border around the pastry, being careful not to cut completely through. Use the rolling pin to transfer the pastry to the baking sheet, place the sheet in the freezer.

Toss the apple slices with the sugar in a large bowl. Brush the pastry with egg wash inside of the border and pile the apples within the border. Don’t worry about getting fancy with the apple arrangement – remember, this tart is rustic! Place dots of butter on top of the apples.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, turning the pan halfway through baking. Don’t worry if some of the butter/sugar runs off the edge of the tart and makes a mess – this dessert doesn’t need to be perfect.

Brush the apricot glaze on top of the apple slices. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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