Caramelized White Chocolate Cornmeal Macarons

Everybody Breathes

Everybody Sits
Everybody Sleeps
Everybody Eats Cornmeal/Grits/Polenta/Pap

Everybody likes Cornmeal/Grits/Polenta/Pap even if they don't like it by any other nam
Personally, I think it tastes just as sweet with any title.

Especially here. Thanks to the wonderful Clotilde at Chocolate and Zucchini, I have finally found the perfect corn meal cookie. I'm Italian, so I like my desserts either tooth-numbingly sweet and mushy or almost sugarless, crunchy, and dry. I adore cornmeal cookies. Usually, I group them into the latter category, but with the adjustments I made to her already-perfect-if-you're-looking-for-something-very-French recipe, these are a total mix of the two.
They remind me of the perfect slice of cornbread when you're a kid. Everybody knows what I mean, because I'm sure every person in the world gets nostalgic when presented with some form of corn meal--it's like a wrap, every culture has their own version. For me, it was the corn bread from Whole Foods, the Jewel stuff just didn't cut it. Like I've said, my mom isn't much of a cook.
The slight toasty butter taste of the caramelized white chocolate, the combination of crunchy exterior and chewy inner center have me melting. And then there's the combination of almond and corn meal, my two favorite cookie texturizers.

Caramelizing, cooling, and grating the chocolate may seem like a lot of work, but do not skip it. I repeat, do not skip the caramelization  process. Don't. Promise me. Good.
The rest of the cookie comes together in almost literally no time at all so the extra effort is more than well worth it. I'll promise you you won't regret it, if you promise me you'll do it.
Also, because you're really tampering with the structure of the chocolate, make sure you're working with a brand that uses 30% cocoa butter or over, like Green and Blacks or Scharffen Berger so it doesn't go all gritty on you. Also, use good quality vanilla extract. I'm really not too much of a snob about this and I have bought more than my fair share of the cheap stuff, but the vanilla in the white chocolate really needs to shine against the butteryness of the cocoa butter, and nuttiness of the almonds and corn. Pleas, again, you won't regret spending a little extra (Trader Joe's has good quality extract for much cheaper than any other specialty store).
Oh, and they're at their prime when served alongside just about any hot beverage, but they're also absolutely amazing on their own.

Caramelized White Chocolate Cornmeal Macarons
Makes about 30 cookies

1/4 c chopped candied (non crystalized) ginger
1 cup almond meal
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup raw turbinado sugar
1/3 cup cake flour
1/3 cup coarse stone ground corn meal--I like Bob's Red Mill
3 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For Caramelized White Chocolate:
Preheat oven to 250ºF
Line a small plate with parchment paper.
Chop your chocolate into small, even sized pieces and spread across a small baking pan (I used a pie plate because the quantity is so small)
Bake the chocolate on the center rack for 10 minutes, ten stir
Return to the oven for 10 more minuted before stirring again. Repeat this process for 30-40 minites, or until the chocolate is the color of caramel and very fragrant.
Using a rubber spatula, scrape all of the chocolate onto the lined plate and chill for at least 2 hours, or until solid.

In the mean time...

For the Cookies:
Increase your oven temperature to 400ºF and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, mix together the almond meal, salt, flour, corn meal, and sugar. Add in the egg whites and vanilla and mix until a thick dough forms.
Grate your newly hardened caramelized white chocolate on the coarse side of a box grater. Fold the shavings into the dough very gently.
Spoon onto baking pans by the teaspoon and place in the oven. Immediately lower the heat to 325ºF and bake for about 20 minutes, or until they are golden around the edges but still soft and delicate.
Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Enjoy!

Busy Week Birthday Brownies

I have four days left at school. Four short, busy, test filled, celebratory days. I have spent more than 400 days at my school, and now I only have 4 left. It's sort of crazy.
These are not 4 days of Popsicle licking and movie watching, like they were when I only had 4 more days of kindergarten or even eighth grade. These are 4 days or finals, concerts, and projects that I have put off for far too long. It's also my friend's birthday.
I cannot possibly let a friend's birthday pass without sharing a treat-usually chocolate-with them, and Emma is the last person whose treat should ever be forgotten, and certainly the last person you would dare present with anything other than chocolate. I wanted to make her a Butterfinger type chocolate bar but these bars take hours, or days and involve a whole lot of chocolate tempering. I other words, they are not ideal when you only have about 20 minutes free for the next 7 days.
I have a small arsenal of recipes that I can make in less than 20 minutes, most of them using five ingredients or less. I decided to make Emma one of my favorite recipes from this collection, that also happens to be one of the chocolatyist. Nutella Brownies.

Gotta love silicon baking cups-no messy muffin tins!

If you're really a brownie purist, you may call these brownie bites because they're baked in cupcake liners, but to me, these are brownies because they're a real dessert, not at all like the store bought 2-bite variety. These are gooey, nutty, chocolaty, simple, and soooo good. I especially like them topped with some nocciola ice cream, but this batch is for Emma, so I must resist.

Nutella Brownies

1 cups Nutella
1 c minus 2 Tbs AP flour
4 large eggs
Pinch of salt
A whole bunch of chocolate chips
(I used about 1 1/2 cups, which may sound like overkill but was really really good.)

Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Line a 12 muffin tin with liners.
In a bowl, mix eggs and Nutella until completely combined, add salt and flour 1 cup at a time, and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips. Divide evenly between the muffin cups and bake for 10 minutes. They should be completely jiggle-less, but an inserted toothpick should come out covered with damp, fudgy crumbs.

Walnut Butter (cookies)

I've had a revelation.
Some people have them while sitting on solitary rocks in the desert.

Some people have them while sitting in the belly of a whale.
I had mine sitting on the couch with a jar of almond butter and a spoon.
Yep, I'm refined like that.

The revelation was this: I love natural nut butters...I can make natural nut butters...I love making food...I bet I'd love making natural nut butters.
Oh, and my revelation was correct. Since I first did the math, I have fallen in love with making nut butters from scratch, adding unexpected ingredients, and then using those butters as the unexpected ingredient in a whole new recipe. It really makes you feel like you deserve the respect you get when you drop the Made from Scratch title.

These are 2 of the most basic nut butter recipes, but I promise I'll post more soon, and hummus too, because that's essentially just a bean butter (and peanuts are technically beans, so.. yep)
These are like the sophisticated big brother of the peanut butter cookie, not quite as elegant as the almond butter cookies I made a few months back (they're more like the great aunt who's surprisingly trendy) but clearly there's a lot more going on with these guys than there is with their peanut butter companions.

In reality, the only real big difference is that these use a different nut, a couple of slightly different measurements, and a giant food processor. The nut does all the heavy lifting, but go ahead, take credit, you did make the butter after all.

Slightly Seasoned Walnut Butter
Makes about 1 cup 

8 oz of walnuts, peeled and coarsely chopped
Water
Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean (or 1 tsp decent vanilla extract)

Soak the walnuts over night in water. This removes any bitterness.
In the morning, preheat your oven to 350ºF and drain your nuts.
Roast the nuts in the oven until dry and slightly fragrant, this should take bout 15 minutes, but check them often and turn them half way through. Do not let them get dark.
Remove the nuts from the oven and cool to room temperature, feel free to keep your oven on if you're going to make the cookies.
Place the nuts in the bowl of your food processor and grind them for a while. At first you'll just have nut mal, but if you keep on scraping down the sides and grinding on and on, you'll end up with a creamy butter. Just before the nuts reach their ideal smoothness (about 13 minutes in) add your vanilla, and continue pulsing and scraping for about another 2 minutes.
Use as you please, I like it in the cookie below.

Walnut Butter Cookies
Makes about 30 cookies

1 cup walnut butter (above yield)
1 large egg
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp sea salt
2/3 cups AP flour
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350ºF and line 2 pans with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, mix together the first 5 ingredients until well incorporated and almost verging on creamy.
Sift in the flour and baking powder, stirring after every 5 hits or so.
Scoop 1/2 tbs sized balls onto the parchment and space them about 2-2 1/2 inches apart, they have a decent spread.
Bake for about 10 minutes or until they're crisp around the edges but still soft int eh middle.
Enjoy!

Vegan Caprese Salad

Salads are boring.
I'm sure you've heard that said about a million times, but it's not true. It's simply a lie. Who over told you that does not really know anything about salad.
I'm on a bit of a giant salad kick at the moment, due to a little thing called a diet (check out my other blog below) and I'm actually really enjoying it!

Exhibit A, because the bag technique is very hard to explain without visuals

I'm not allowed much dairy on this diet, so I save it for the important things, like Greek yogurt and have been using my usual substitute Almond milk quite a bit. When I was craving the classic tomato, basil and cheese salad, though, I ran into a little bit of a problem. That's where tofu and vinegar come in, though.

Brown Baggin' it!

The tofu absorbs the flavor of the marinade and really tastes similar to cheese. The texture's not too far off, either. So, whether you're vegan, on a diet, or just out of cheese, you can always enjoy a Caprese.
I used my favorite lunch time salad making technique-make it in a big zip top bag, put that in a tupperware, and you know all the dressing is sealed securely inside. So, if you want to make this salad in a bowl, just follow the directions but put the ingredients in a bowl, not bag, and toss, don't shake.

Vegan Caprese Salad
(serves 1)

1 medium roma tomato, sliced
8-10 basil leaves, ripped
2 oz firm tofu, thoroughly drained
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Put tomato, basil, shallot, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper ina large zip top bag, and shake gently to combine.
Cut the tofu into 1/4 inch squares and squeeze the liquid out, by wrapping it in paper towels and squeezing until dry.
Crumple the tofu into the salad and skake it up again again.
Allow the salad to marinate for 2 hours or overnight. This step is really important because it allows the tofu to absorb the other flavors, and make a more convincing cheese substitute.
Put the bag in a tall sealable container so you can eat it bowl style without any clean up or possible spillage.
Enjoy!
And remember to check out my Other Blog

Super Gooey Peanut Butter Nougat Brownies

Sometimes you just need chocolate and peanut butter.

Sometimes a Reese's just won't cut it.
Sometimes you just need something so gooey it almost seems under cooked. Really, though, it's not. It's just what you needed.

Sometimes you just really need Super Gooey Peanut Butter Nougat Brownies.
If that time is now, I'll stop talking so you can make these, eat the whole pan, and not feel any guilt, because you just really, really needed them.

Super Gooey Peanut Butter Nougat Brownies


Brownies:
8 oz chopped bittersweet chocolate
6Tbs unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup minus 2 Tbs flour
2 Tbs cocoa powder
Peanut Butter Nougat:
5 oz marshmallows, half a standard sized bag
1/2 c smooth peanut butter
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and line an 8x8" pan with parchment paper.
Melt the chocolate and butter together in the microwave or in the top of a double boiler, stirring every 20 seconds or so.
Remove from the heat and beat in the eggs, sugar and vanilla.
Once combined, add the flour and cocoa in 3 batches, mixing well.
Spread evenly into the bottom of a your prepared pan, reserving about 1/4 of the batter.
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until they're just undercooked.

Just before taking the brownies out of the oven, place marshmallows, salt and peanut butter in a vary large microwave safe dish, and warm until the marshmallows swell and the peanut butter begins to melt. Remove and stir until combined.
Scoop the nougat mixture out over the warm brownies and spread across the top, working quickly so the marshmallow doesn't set.
Dollop the rest of the brownie mixture over the top and continue baking for an additional 5 minutes, or until the top layer of brownie is just beginning to set.
Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature before cutting and serving while the top layer is still soft and gooey.
ENJOY!

What I've Recently Stumbled Upon

I like to stumble.

In real life, you learn the most from the little stumbles, trips, and sometimes even the falls.

In computer life, you learn about random things, discover new interests, and kill boredom at superhuman speed.

Either way I like stumbling.

Melting Down Crystalized Caramel

In real life:

Always make sure you flip the page over when filing things. There could be important information back there.

     Don't stir the caramel. I know you're eager to be back in the kitchen, but you know better.

          Think before you speak. You're nicer that way.

               You have glasses for a reason. Wear them, please.

                     Take the keys out of the Dad's car and bring them inside. He needs them to get to work.

In Internet life:

You need more sleep.

     You know that healthy food? It'll make you pretty, too!

          You're not the only one who prefers dessert for dinner and veggies for breakfast.

               Colorblocking isn't just for clothes

                    It's never bad to review the basics

I want more S'more Cookies!

My second favorite food, after the cannoli, has to be the S'more. I swear, it's one of about 184678415 reasons why I love summer. Fire, caramelized sugar, grainy crunchy crackers, and melty chocolate all together in a dessert that almost always means you're with people you love and having a great time? Yes please!
When we recently had a party, I had my own cookie extravaganza and baked up a batch of these beauties so all the family and friends could relive the glories of a camp fire S'more with out the fire hazard of small children and an over eager dog.

S'more Cookie Bites
(makes about 32 cookies)

1 1/2 cups roughly ground graham cracker crumbs (plus 1/2 a cup more for later)
1 cup of AP flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 c softened butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar (medium pack)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

10 oz chopped chocolate (I prefer milk for a real S'more taste)
16 marshmallows, cut in half

Preheat oven to 350ºF and line 2 to 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until fluffy. Add the egg and mix in until incorporated.
In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, cracker crumbs, cinnamon and salt. Mix into the butter and sugar slowly, about 1/3 at a time.
Your dough will be thick, sticky, and little lumpy from any larger cracker crumbs, don't worry, that's normal.
Scoop 1 Tbs sized balls onto the baking sheets and bake for 9-12 minuts, or until golden.
Cool on a rack until luke warm.

While the cookies are cooling, melt the chocolate. When they are just slightly warm to the touch, top each cookie with a small dollop of chocolate and a marshmallow half. Toast the top of each cookie with a blow torch or under the broiler (only 30 seconds at a time if using a broiler!) Add another small dollop of chocolate to the top of the toasted marshmallow and sprinkle with the remaining cracker crumbs.
Cookies can be served warm for a classic messy S'more experience, of cooled for a more sophisticated crowd
(My group was all for the mess, though!)
ENJOY!

Classic Hummus with No Added Oil

Hey all! So, if you've been following me on twitter you probable have figured out that the reason I haven't posted in FOREVER is because I was on vacation. Now, I'm on a diet. I will get back to posting sweet and savory recipes this week (2 per week, promise) starting.....NOW! Here's a healthy hummus recipe for you all.

Classic Hummus with No Added Oil:
3 cups warm chickpeas
1/4 cup almond milk
1 Tbs tahini
3 cloves of garlic (crushed)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2-1 tsp cumin
1/2-1 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until a smooth (or chunky, if you prefer) paste forms. If you need to thin it out, or are making this in a blender add up to 1/2 cup of slightly warm water.

Way fast Breakfast Peaches

A warm breakfast is one of those things that can make your whole day better. That's why I almost always have oatmeal for breakfast, but in the summer I usually want something lighter and with all the great fresh produce floating around, a hot, light breakfast is right at your finger tips.
Baked peaches in the microwave os not something I would pressure you into making for a brunch or to serve to guests, but if you like the taste of pie filling and only have 90 seconds to make breakfast in the morning (yes, the time needed ro make this recipe is calculated in seconds) then these are just what you need.
P.S. They're especially good with a scoop of yogurt.
Breakfast Peaches
Serves 1
1 medium peach, sliced
Sprinkle of cinnamon
Juice of 1/4 lemon
1 tsp honey
Pinch of salt
Put your sliced peaches into a microwave safe bowl and top with cinnamon, lemon juice, salt and honey. Cover with plastic wrap and mixrowave for 60-90 seconds or until the peaches are soft and fragrant. Top with a scoop of yogurt, snap a picture or two and then rush out the door and write a blog entry in the car. That's what smart phones are for.


Sorry there's no picture, I'm literally writing this on my phone on the way to work :)

I'm Coming Back Soon!

Hey, guys, sorry I was gone for so long, and I'm even more sorry that I'll be gone for a little while longer. I've been really really busy, had a lot going on in my personal life, and have been away from the kitchen more than I'd like to admit.
I'll explain more in a later post, probably in about 3 weeks. Right now I'm on vacation and have very limited Internet access so I'm hoping I'll be able to get a post or two in, because there's a lot of food, but I will try to be as Twitter active as I can. I know I'm not going to be able to get all the good stuff out to you guys right away, but I am going to make sure I get them to you as soon as possible because some of the new recipes are pretty exciting--hint: I recently acquired both a bread maker and a soft-serve machine--So I'll see you all very soon, and hopefully Twitter will tide you over for the next few days.