Meringues are so French to me; one of my favorite things about Paris is looking into the windows of pastry shops and seeing huge meringues piled on top of each other in the display cases. I had never tried making them because they seem so high-maintenance–you can’t make them on a humid day, they take a long time to bake, and you have to beat the egg whites very thoroughly. However, these are really easy, and a good way to use up extra egg whites.
I am especially attracted to recipes that bill themselves as “even better the next day”–as a baker who doesn’t always have a crowd to bake for, it helps being able to extend the life of a dessert (and if it is eligible to become breakfast, all the better). So when I found this recipe in Dorie Greenspan’s Baking, I figured it would be practical enough. And healthy (bananas)! And, as much as I like it a day or two old, it is AMAZING right out of the oven. Even though it was 10 pm by the time I finished making this, I kept sneaking back into the kitchen to trim slivers as it was cooling. After a day or two, the texture changes from fluffy–almost bouncy–to dense, closer to pound cake, with a more concentrated, banana-y flavor. Continue Reading »
This New York Times recipe makes the perfect chocolate chip cookie. The downside: it’s pretty fussy. The amount of cookie dough it yields is quite large, and not easily divisible; it uses two types of flours (bread and pastry), neither necessarily a pantry staple; and must rest at least 24 hours, 72 to produce the best results. I rejiggered a recipe for White Chocolate-Butterscotch Cookies, from the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook, into fast, easy chocolate chip cookies. These may lack the caramelized and more complex flavor of the NYT recipe, but they are plenty buttery, soft-with-crispy-edges, and delicious. And easier.
A more descriptive name for this could be Cookie Dough Pie. The filling is composed of very basic ingredients (eggs, sugar, a little flour, butter) and accessorized with chocolate chips, walnuts, and whiskey; when it comes out of the oven, it’s not exactly custardy (due to the flour) and not exactly cakey, with the sweetness of pecan pie filling but not the gelatinous texture. It is also surprisingly easy to make, especially if you have pie crusts on standby. The most important part of the process is achieving volume while beating the eggs, dry ingredients, and butter to make the filling; this will ensure a rich, but not-too-dense, end result.
Biscotti are my favorite cookies to make–and to eat. They are easily customizable, the dough tastes amazing, and they are addictively crunchy. I eat them in multiples, unabashedly. This recipe comes from Dorie Greenspan’s Lenox Biscotti in Baking: From My Home to Yours, but I have omitted the cornmeal and taken some liberties with the mix-ins. You could also substitute chocolate chips or chunks for the dried cranberries in this recipe, for a less-virtuous version.
Lately, my favorite snack has been a toasted baguette with butter and jam; how serendipitous, then, that this Daily Candy email should show up in my inbox. I am now obsessed with Lemon Bird jams, and incredibly frustrated that their stock appears to be sold out. Made in California with local fruits, these jams come in a range of thoughtful and delicious flavor combinations, housed in small jars tied with a delicate ribbon (an assortment, or their jam-of-the-month club, would make a lovely gift).
Супер! Спасибо :0 …
I made this last weekend and it was to die for! I toasted the coc …
I have made Nigella's original version of Guinness Cake and peopl …
I like your website. You can find pinchos or pintxos, all through …
thnx for the delicious recipe! …
