Peanut Butter and Julie

Food Blogger Cookie Swap: Lemon-Glazed Almond, Anise, and Cranberry Biscotti

 

 

I've been baking Christmas cookies for as long as I can remember.  I give you Exhibit A:

 

 

 

Groovy shirt, huh?  Too bad I'm sitting, so you can't take in the whole outfit.  It had matching pants, and I also owned the whole look in brown.  My hair seems to have some sort of "Dorothy Hamill with static" thing going on.  Yes, even then I was fierce.

As you can see, my equally stylish brother Jay is slacking on the task at hand, while I meticulously give each cookie its own personality.  Actually, in all fairness, it's highly likely that I told Jay to "Just let me handle everything. They need to be decorated a certain way."   Some things never change.

Here, it looks like I even supervised the pouring of the milk for Santa to make sure that it was done perfectly.  Such a mini-Martha!

 

In my defense, making Christmas cookies was a very important task, which I took very seriously.  Good cookies meant good presents from Santa, and my list from that year was quite ambitious (my mom saved all of my letters):

1. Pretty curls (I'm guessing that I was asking for some sort of a doll here, not curly hair)

2. Sewing set (My current lack of sewing skills indicates that I probably didn't receive this)

3. Cooking set with cookbook (shocking, I know)

4. Strawberry Shortcake

5. Barbie "shinky dinks" (I believe that I meant "shrinky dinks")

6. Dance Party at Barbie's record

7. A Barbie Birthday record (with two hit records, Barbie was clearly the Lady Gaga of that year)

8. Tape recorder (even though I asked for records)

I don't recall exactly what I did or did not receive, but I still have those two Barbie records in a box somewhere along with the cooking set, so the cookies must have been at least moderately successful.

 

 

 

Nowadays, when I make cookies for the holiday season, my motivation has changed.   In fact, I try to get them OUT of the house as quickly as possible, so that I don't start to resemble Santa from behind.  A big assorted box of homemade goodies will always be a welcome gift to your list of co-workers, friends, and people who have helped you throughout the year, and it is one that you can create "assembly-line" style at a relatively low cost.  Marathon holiday baking sessions also provide me with the perfect opportunity to put my own spin on the growing stack of cookie recipes that I have accumulated over time.

 

 

This year, I heard about something called the Food Blogger Cookie Swap on Twitter, and I immediately signed up to participate.  The swap required that all bloggers involved create three dozen cookies from a new recipe, then send a dozen cookies each to three other food bloggers with whom they were randomly matched. 

I love to make biscotti during the holidays, not only because the basic biscotti recipe can be taken in so many different directions, but because they are the perfect cookie for shipping -- they rarely break.  I've been on a bit of an anise kick lately, so I decided to create a flavor containing a hint of anise (nothing too strong) and a few odds and ends from my pantry: sliced almonds, dried cranberries, and lemon.  I was very happy with how they turned out -- the jewel colored cranberries gave the cookies a holiday feel, and the tart glaze was a tasty contrast to the crisp, sweet cookies.  Best part?  I got to keep the ends for myself.

 

 

I also received three dozen yummy cookies from randomly chosen fellow swap participants in return.  Kate's Recipe Box sent me Dark Chocolate Cookies with Mint Creme.  Marie at ReetsyBurger sent some sprinkle-coated sugar cookies.  And Kristin at Per L'Amore DiCibo sent some red velvet cookies made with a cake mix!  Thank you to all three :)

• As noted above, biscotti are perfect for shipping, storing, and swapping!  They will keep for up to three weeks if stored in an airtight container, and they layer very well in shipping containers between waxed paper.  They can also be frozen.
• This recipe is extremely versatile, so feel free to play around with the ingredients.  Swap out the almonds for pecans, pistachios, or pine nuts.  Trade the cranberries for dried cherries, chopped dried figs, or apricots.  Mix in chocolate chips or toffee bits.  The possibilities are endless!

 

Lemon-Glazed Almond, Anise, and Cranberry Biscotti

Makes about 4 dozen biscotti

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter, softened

1 cup sugar

4 large eggs

Zest of one lemon

1 teaspoon almond extract

3/4 teaspoon anise extract

2 3/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup coarsely chopped dried cranberries

1 1/2 cups sliced natural almonds, lightly toasted

For the glaze

2 cups confectioners' sugar

2 teaspoons corn syrup

3-4 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees, and position the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds positions.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter with the sugar on medium speed until light.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.  Continue to beat the mixture for 2 minutes more.  Beat in the lemon zest and both extracts.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just incorporated.  On low speed, mix in the cranberries and the almonds.

Transfer the dough to a very lightly floured work surface, and divide it into 3 equal pieces.  Shape each piece into a 12-inch log, spacing two of the logs apart on one of the prepared baking sheets and the third log on the second sheet.

Bake the logs for 15-18 minutes, until golden on top and lightly cracked.  Transfer the positions of the baking sheets halfway through the baking process.  Remove the sheets from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes.  Reduce the oven temperature to 300F degrees.

Using a serrated knife, cut each log on the diagonal into 3/4-inch slices.  Lay the slices on their sides and return the baking sheets to the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly golden.

Prepare the glaze:  In a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, corn syrup, and enough lemon juice to make a pourable glaze.  Drizzle the glaze over the warm biscotti, then allow the biscotti to rest until the glaze has set.

Sparkly White Wine Cookies

These are the cookies mentioned in my previous post, which were part of my dessert table at the Sterling Ultimate Host competition.  Because they are nice and dense, they are the cookies that I was least worried about breaking into pieces as I traveled from Las Vegas to New York . 

The texture of these cookies reminds me a bit of biscotti, but not quite as crisp, and they are perfect for someone who wants just a little something sweet for nibbling.  In addition to making these using chardonnay or sauvignon blanc, mentioned below, you could also use a sweeter riesling or even a marsala.

Here are my extra tips for making this dessert table delights:

• These cookies travel very well, so they would be perfect for shipping.
• If you find that your dough is too sticky to roll, I would suggest chilling it for an hour, which should make it easier to roll.  You can also lightly flour your hands to prevent sticking.
• If you cannot find anise extract, or if you don't like the anise flavor, feel free to use vanilla or almond extracts instead.
• Store these cookies in an airtight container for up to two weeks.  You can also freeze these cookies, tightly wrapped, for up to one month.

Sparkly Sterling White Wine Cookies

Makes about 5 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1 1/4 cups sugar

Zest of one orange

3/4 cup safflower or canola oil

2 teaspoons anise extract

1/2 cup sauvignon blanc or chardonnay

4 1/4 cups flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup mini chocolate chips

1/2 cup coarse sugar for rolling the cookies

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and place two oven racks in the upper and lower thirds positions.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs at medium speed until light and fluffy, 1 minutes.  With the mixer still running, gradually add the sugar.  Mix in the orange zest, and beat for 1 minute more.  Add the canola oil and anise extract, beating until well combined, and then mix in the wine.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.  Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.  Mix in the mini chocolate chips.

Place the coarse sugar in a shallow bowl.  Shape the cookie dough into 1-inch balls, then roll the balls in the sugar to coat.  Place the balls on the prepared cookie sheets, spacing 2 inches apart.

Bake the cookies until they are lightly browned, 15-18 minutes, rotating positions of the baking sheets halfway through the baking process.  Allow the cookies to cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. 

 

A Spectacular and "Sterling" Week!

 

Guess what???

I won!!!

I know!  I still can't believe it either.

But before I get ahead of myself, let me back up a bit, in the event that you have no idea what I am talking about.  In October, I mentioned in a post that I had been chosen to be a finalist in the Sterling Vineyards Ultimate Host Contest.  This meant that I, along with the three other finalists, was flown to New York last week to compete in what turned out to be an extremely challenging final challenge.

Challenging, but super fun.  I love a good challenge.

We were given the task of creating the "Ultimate" party from a blank 12X12 space at a New York venue.  The theme was up to us.  We were provided a budget, and we were also allowed to prepare things in advance (which I either shipped to New York from Las Vegas or I carried with me in my three VERY large suitcases.)  Then, from 1-5pm on the day of the party, we had to set up our space.  From 6-9pm, guests and judges mingled throughout the spaces while enjoying hors d'oeuvres and Sterling wines.

The winning space, judged by creativity, originality, adherence to theme, and technical merit, would receive a nice cash prize, a trip to Sterling Vineyards in Calistoga, and the opportunity to serve as Sterling's Ultimate Host in their social media channel.

Not too shabby, eh?

So here's how everything went down:

 

 

Here I am with my fellow finalists, Josh, Nikki, and Lorin, all of whom created impressive and unique spaces.  It was interesting to see how four people could tackle the same challenge in such different ways.  Nikki's space had a chic, minimalist feel to it, and she had the coolest custom-made table that was held up by wine bottles.  Lorin's "Sterling Star" party reminded me of something that you would see for The Oscars or New Year's Eve -- lot's of black and gold with beautifully displayed food.  Very, very elegant.  Josh created a "Winter Solstice" party that was so breathtaking, even Martha would have been impressed.  It was again, very elegant.  I know that the judges had an incredibly tough time deciding, and that all of the guests were very well fed!

 

 

My party was not elegant.  But that's OK.  I wasn't going for elegant. 

This is me in the event space that I created.  After much brainstorming, I decided that my theme would be "Apres-Ski at Mount Sterling."  No, there's not really a Mount Sterling -- at least not that I know of -- but I thought that I could incorporate the Sterling brand by creating a fictional ski lodge, complete with a working fireplace, vintage ski equipment (gotta love eBay!), and lots of birch decor.

Whimsical. Rustic. Fun.  That's what I was going for.

Of course, after I decided on my theme, the number one-most important-crucial next item on my agenda was.........what should I wear? 

Hey, I'm a girl.  What did you expect?

 

 

 

I found this fun ski-ish sweater on-line, which, by the way, I will be wearing again and again, because now it is my lucky sweater.  Then I found this cute little ski hat (on sale!) with the snazzy shades knitted right into the design.  Obviously I couldn't pass that up.  Black sparkly skirt and boots -- check!  Outfit accomplished -- onward with the planning!

I love writing poems.  That said, my brand of poetry is much more Dr. Seuss than Elizabeth Barrett Browning.  It always rhymes, and it doesn't require much introspection or interpretation.  I thought that it would be unique to write a poem introducing my guests to the party, kind of setting the scene for them before they entered.  I mounted the poem on foam board and placed in on an easel, which I set outside.

For wall decor, I found these really great removable decals on Etsy (by the way, I am now addicted to Etsy.  Visit with caution -- you've been warned.)  I couldn't believe that I actually found the one with the ski-lift!

I was initially under the impression that our space would have three solid walls with which we could work, but when I arrived that morning, it was two curtains and one wall.  Knot in stomach, beads of sweat starting to form on forehead.  So, I had to regroup and incorporate portions of the wall decals into one scene as opposed to two separate scenes, like I had planned.  I'm not gonna lie -- these were a pain in the butt to apply, especially using a ladder 8-feet in the air when you are afraid of heights.  But I was motivated, and I loved how they looked in the end.

 

 

One thing that I wanted for my space was to have some sort of activity in which guests could participate while they were there.  I found this goofy snow bunny cardboard photo opp. on-line at a party store called Stumps, and I was able to customize the writing.  Here I am with my good friend Erik, giving it a trial run.

 

 

Here's another shot of the whole thing, partially blocked by my Sterling-themed Christmas tree.

 

 

One thing that distinguishes Sterling Vineyards from all of the other Napa Valley vineyards is that they have an aerial tram to bring visitors up to the wine tastings.  I found a toy tram on-line, which I placed at the top of the tree instead of your typical star or angel.

 

 

 

Here's a shot of the entire tree.  The letters below spell out "CHEERS", and I sprayed them with fake snow.  How cool is that snow ski wine bottle holder?  Yep, Etsy! 

 

 

I custom made most of the ornaments on the tree to stick with the theme.  There were reindeer made from Sterling wine corks, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, and sparkly red pom-poms (you can kind of see one at the bottom of the picture above), and hand-painted wooden sleds that read "Sterling Vineyards Ultimate Host."  At World Market, I found inexpensive little sweaters, skis, and hats.

 

 

Now, onto the important stuff -- FOOD!

I had two separate areas for goodies.  There was a dessert table, which I appear to be enthusiastically giving a tour of below.  I'm sure that those people are thinking "That's great, Julie.  Can you please move so that we can get our cookie on?"

Notice the hat rack with scarves in the corner.  That was my mom's idea.  Nice touch, mom!

 

 

Below is a better picture of the dessert table that I put together for the party.  Believe it or not, almost everything on the table was homemade by me, and I transported it all from Las Vegas.  Even the super-delicate sugar cookies, which I carried on board with me in a large rolling bag.  Yes, I became one with the bubble wrap and tissue paper.  Amazingly, there were very few casualties along the way.  Need some cookie packaging tips?  I'm your girl.

The only thing that I didn't make myself were the miniature doughnuts, which I purchased from The Donut Pub in Chelsea (and the very un-New York City price of only $5 a dozen.)  I wanted to have snowy-looking powdered doughnuts as part of my display, but they needed to be as fresh as possible.  Plus, I know better than to compete with an established New York doughnut maker (they didn't disappoint.)

 

 

 

I wanted there to be a wide range of options for the dessert bar, so I essentially turned into a one-woman baking machine for the 48 hours prior to my red-eye departure from Las Vegas.  In addition to the doughnuts, I had those savory Blue Cheese, Thyme, and Walnut Cookies from a recent blog post, Maple Rosemary Mixed Nuts, Double Chocolate Cabernet Cookies, made with Sterling Cabernet, White Chocolate "Birch Bark" with pretzels, peanuts, and cranberries, Macadamia-Coconut Snowballs, hand-decorated sugar cookies (these alone took me the better part of a day to make!), and Sparkly White Wine Cookies, made with Sterling Chardonnay.  I think that's it.

NOTE: I usually don't like to do a blog post without a recipe, but this one is already too long, so I have posted the recipe for the Sparkly White Wine Cookies in the following post.  Enjoy!

The savory cookies were a huge hit, as were the sugar cookies, pictured below:

 

 

I tried to maintain a winter or a wine theme with the cookie shapes, so I made snow globes, ice skates, sweaters, mittens, snowmen, snowflakes, wine glasses, and Sterling wine bottles.  Yes, my back was killing me after I finished decorating. 

The wine bottle shapes started to disappear quickly, so I made sure to hide a few for when the judges came around.  I didn't want there to be any cookie tug-of-wars! That would be very un-hostess-like.

 

 

 

The second area for noshing was an interactive make-your-own-s'mores bar, which these lovely guests are enjoying in the photo.

 

 

 

I kicked the idea up a notch by adding homemade chocolate and peppermint marshmallows along with the usual vanilla variety.  In addition to chocolate bars, I offered white chocolate, Andes candies, and mini Reese's Cups for sandwiching, and there were graham crackers, gingersnaps, and pizzelles for the cookie options. 

I don't have a great photo of the bar itself, but you can kind of see it in the corner below, next to that directional sign that I made in my garage.  I learned a very good lesson about spray paint and ventilation that afternoon.

 

 

THEN...........Padma arrived!!!!

 

 

First of all, she is absolutely stunning in person.  Just gorgeous.  And I loved her dress--photos don't do it justice. 

I had the opportunity to take her around my space and explain everything that I did, while various camera people and guests followed.  That whole portion is sort of a blur to me, but I do recall that she asked quite a few questions, and she was much less intimidating than I thought she would be, based on her Top Chef judge persona. 

Padma tried the savory blue cheese cookie and really like it.  I beamed.

 

 

Here I am showing her the vintage posters that I found for my wall.  I received multiple questions about these from guests.  "Where did you find these???"  Honestly?  Sports Poster Warehouse.  $25.  Surprisingly authentic looking.  Who knew?

 

 

Here's Padma enjoying one of my peppermint marshmallows, afterwards telling me "And I don't even usually like marshmallow." 

Again, beaming.

 

I didn't think that I was going to win.  Of course, in these situations, I never ever think that I was going to win.  I'm always full of self doubt.  As Padma started her speech, preparing to announce the winner, I slowly shrunk back into the crowd, working my way behind the large pillar. 

Then, she called my name (which kind of came out in slow motion to me.)  Since I wasn't planning on winning, I was of course holding my big, bulky camera.  So I handed that to my friend, Brett, and made my way on stage.  It's a miracle that I didn't trip.  I always trip.  And look at the heels on those boots.  Like I said, a miracle.

After I hugged Padma, I was handed the microphone for a speech.  I wasn't prepared for this at all, so I have no idea what I said.  I did remember to thank Sterling Wines though -- phew!

 

 

This is my wonderful Ultimate Helper, Christian.  We were each provided with a helper by Taylor PR, who organized and ran this entire event.  I don't know what I would have done without him -- those decals on the wall would have most certainly not happened.  And lucky Christian also got to experience Type-A stressed-out Julie as we got down to the wire.  I think that's why my husband doesn't go to these types of things with me anymore.  He's met that version of Julie many times, so he knows better.

 

 

Here are the other judges from the event, an impressive group of bloggers and freelance writers:  Courtney from Pizzazzerie, Aly from A Little Alytude, Brandon from 30 Nothings, and Lauren from Glam.

Representing Sterling Vineyards as a judge was their brand manager, Keith Scott.  I think that he liked the little wine bottle cookies.  I should probably bring some more when I take the trip to their winery :)

They also presented me with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers and one of those really cool big checks, which yes, I took home with me on the plane.

So that was my exciting week.  I am still floating away on cloud 9, and I can't wait to take my trip to Sterling Vineyards in Calistoga.  Thank you again to all of my friends who came to the event to support me and cheer me on. 

And thank you to Sterling Vineyards!!  I look forward to serving as your Ultimate Host!!

Don't forget to look at the next post for that Sparkly White Wine Cookie from my dessert bar :)

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Macarons

"What are you making?" Eric says with mild interest as he wanders into the kitchen in search of Fritos, his current snack obsession.

"Macarons."

"Oh, I love macaroons."

"No, not macaroons. Macarons."

Blank stare. Silence. Resumes search for Fritos.

I then go on to explain that the beloved macaroons to which he referred (I love them too, for the record) are the super-sweet, super-moist mounded cookies made of mostly coconut and often dipped in chocolate. A macaron, on the other hand, is a petite "sandwich" composed of two melt-in-your-mouth meringue-like almond flour cookies filled with buttercream, jam, or ganache. They were first created in the French patisserie Laduree in the 1800s, and they come in a variety of flavors and colors.

"Oh. Cool." Exits kitchen, Fritos in hand.

100 bucks says he heard none of that.

I should have just responded that I was making "cookies" and saved my breath.

In the event that you haven't noticed, macarons are EVERYWHERE. They have been this year's cake-pop, which of course was last year's cupcake.

I'm admittedly a little bit tardy to the macaron party. In the past twelve months, these adorable, bite-sized, traditional French sandwich cookies have gotten more media exposure than the Kardashians. They have been blogged about on-line, written about in magazines, made multiple T.V. appearances (most recently on Top Chef, Just Desserts), and they are even the subject of several popular cookbooks. Man, I need to find out who their agent is, stat!

Still, I had never made macarons before, so I wanted to give them a try and add my own bit of je ne sais quoi to the recipe. One can never have too many varieties of macarons, after all, and I sincerely doubt that these little pieces of cream-filled heaven will ever be at risk of overexposure (can't say the same about the Kardashians though.)

I've seen macarons created in just about every flavor combination under the sun, and although I was really tempted to make the scrumptious looking PB&J version that was recently a hit with the judges on TCJD, I decided to come up with something different.

Chocolate and gingerbread is one of my favorite flavor combinations, although you don't see it pop up in dessert recipes very often. I first tried it when I made a chocolate covered gingerbread cake, and the spiciness of the ginger, nutmeg, and cloves in the gingerbread served as a delicious contrast to the rich and sweet chocolate frosting. In this recipe, the cookies are gingerbread flavored, with a bit of molasses and dark cocoa powder for depth, and the filling is a smooth bittersweet chocolate ganache. I dare you to eat just one--not possible!

I realize that we still need to get through Halloween and most of autumn, but these guys would be a perfect addition to a festive holiday dessert table or a cookie exchange. Besides, it's never too early to start thinking about the holidays, right?

 

Here are my extra tips for making these chocolate 'n spice sweets:

• The cookies will turn out the best if the egg whites are at room temperature. Place the egg whites in a bowl, cover, and allow to sit at room temperature for at least 6 hours or overnight before using.
• Don't have almond flour in your pantry or available at your store? Never fear! You can make your own: Place whole unblanched almonds in the work bowl of a food processor and process until finely ground. Be careful to stop the processor before the almonds turn into almond butter! Transfer the ground almonds to a fine mesh sieve and sift into a bowl. Voila! Almond flour! You can return any leftover almond pieces to the processor to process again and then resift.
• The cookies and the filling can be prepared one day in advance. Make sure that the cookies are covered tightly when stored so that they do not dry out. The filling can be covered and chilled.
• If you don't have equipment for piping the batter into rounds, you can use a large zip-top bag instead. Fill the bag halfway with the batter, and then snip off a corner to create a round piping tip.

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Macarons

Printable Recipe

Makes about 40 macarons

For the cookies

1 1/4 cups almond flour

2 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

4 egg whites, room temperature

3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons molasses

For the filling

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 tablespoon butter, cubed

1/8 teaspoon salt

Prepare the cookies: Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In the work bowl of a food processor, combine the almond flour, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Process the mixture for 30 seconds, and then sift it into a medium bowl.

Fill a small saucepan with a few inches of water and bring it to a simmer. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites until they are foamy. Place the bowl over the simmering water and whisk constantly until the temperature of the egg whites reaches 100 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and whisk in the cream of tartar.

Attach the bowl to the electric mixer and fit it with the whisk attachment. Whisk the egg whites at medium-high speed until soft peaks form, then gradually add the sugar. Continue to whisk until the egg whites are glossy and they come to stiff peaks. Switch the speed to low, and slowly mix in the molasses.

Carefully fold the egg white mixture into the almond flour mixture until thoroughly incorporated. FIt a pastry bag with a medium round tip and fill it with the batter. On the prepared sheets, pipe the batter into 1 or 1 1/2 inch rounds, spacing 1-inch apart. Allow the piped rounds to rest at room temperature, uncovered, for 1-2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 325F degrees, and place the racks in the center positions in the oven. Bake the cookies for 8 minutes, then reverse the positions of the two trays. Bake for 8-10 minutes longer, or until the cookies are firm and dry. Cool completely on a rack.

Prepare the filling: Place the cream and the corn syrup in a medium saucepan and set over medium-low heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Allow the chocolate to sit for 1 minutes, then stir until smooth. Stir in the butter and the salt. Allow the mixture to cool completely before proceeding.

Pipe or spread some of the chocolate filling onto the flat side of half the prepared cookies, and then create sandwiches using the other half of the cookies, pressing gently to adhere.

In Search of a Better Brioche (Thanks, T.K.!)

I take pride in my punctuality. If anything, I am usually 5 minutes early for appointments, and I just can't understand why some people are always running late. True, sometimes delays are unpreventable, but habitual tardiness is just plain rude.

This post is about 1 1/2 weeks late, and you can imagine how much it has been driving me bonkers. It's been staring at me from the top of my to-do list, waiting to be crossed off, and I've started it three different times, only to be deleted due to my dissatisfaction with the content.

Today is a good day. I am going to finish this post.

Before I go on, I want to congratulate Debbie R. for winning the Sara Foster's Southern Kitchen cookbook giveaway from my last post. Yay, Debbie!! I know that you will really enjoy cooking your way through Sara's recipes.

A small portion of this delayed post was due to work commitments. It seems that, with my business, when it rains granola, it pours granola. I just received a huge order (woo-hoo!) from a new customer, Central Market in Texas, which I have been working on for about a year, so I have been putting in overtime to get that shipped. At the same time, I have been trying to get ready for the Summer Fancy Food Show in Washington D.C., where Julie Anne's Granola will have a booth (#5034 if you happen to be there!) This involves making samples, packing up my "set", preparing paperwork, and getting my highlights done so that I don't scare away potential customers with my Cruella Deville hair. You know, the usual stuff.

I mentioned above that I started this post three different times.  Why?  Well, in addition to being perpetually punctual, I'm a bit of a Type-A perfectionist.  In other words, I probably annoy lots of people (at least I'm self-aware, right?)  The first idea that I had for this post sounded great in theory.  It looked great when I typed up the recipe.  The finished product even tasted like I anticipated it tasting.  All of that said, it still kind of had that meh, who cares? factor, which didn't make it very exciting for a blog post, and I didn't just want to post any old recipe just for the sake of posting.  I still might try to rework it for the future though, so I'm keeping it under wraps for now (the suspense is killing you, I know.)

Then, I was scrolling through my Epicurious recipe box for ideas, and I came across a highly-rated recipe for brioche, for which almost all of the reviewers gave glowing remarks.  Having little past experience with brioche, I thought that I would give it a try.  Let me clarify, I have little past experience baking brioche.  I have plenty of past experience eating brioche, so I know what the finished product should look like and taste like.  This wasn't it.

Now, I don't know if I did something wrong, or if I just wasn't satisfied with the total results.  The brioche tasted fine:  buttery, rich, and slightly yeasty.  Fine, but not "WOW!"  I wanted to be wowed.  The texture of the bread was much too dense, as it didn't rise as much as it should have during the proofing process.  I also felt like the baking temperature (400F) was too high, as the loaves browned much too quickly, and the recipe could have used a few more eggs.

So I was again left without a post, but I was now determined to find the perfect brioche recipe.

I think that it was fate that I happened to be leafing through one of my newer additions to my cookbook collection, Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home (which, by the way, I found at Costco for something like 50% off), later that same evening.   The first recipe featured in the "Breads, Crackers, and Cheese" section is, you guessed it, "Brioche."  As I read through the ingredients and T.K.'s signature well-explained technique, I noticed many differences from my first batch of brioche.  It's kind of nerdy how excited I was to try his recipe the next day. Thomas Keller won't let me down!  Thomas Keller is a genius!  I'd been to his Bouchon bakeries, and I'd tried their brioche, so my hopes were high.

T.K. didn't disappoint.  The two buttery loves of brioche rose as they should rise, and they baked up golden brown as an enticing aroma filled the kitchen.  This recipe is a keeper, and I encourage you to give it a try.  Just a note:  Brioche needs to rest overnight, so start preparing it one day in advance.  Here are the major differences between the two attempted recipes:

• T.K. used a combination of cake flour and all-purpose flour.  Epicurious just used all-purpose flour.  The cake flour resulted in a finer crumb texture.
• T.K. used 6 large eggs, which likely helped with the rising.  Epicurious used 3.
• T.K. set the baking temperature at 350F, while the Epicurious recipe was set to 400F.  I found the 400F temp to be much to high, resulting in over-browned loaves.
• The Epicurious recipe also used an egg wash on the loaves prior to baking, which also increased the browning process.

 I'm going to go make a slice of the world's best toast now.  Jealous?

**BONUS RECIPE: Since I found some beautiful ripe peaches at Trader Joe's (a rarity here in Las Vegas!), I decided to make some spiced peach butter to go with the brioche. This recipe couldn't be easier when using a slow-cooker: Peel, pit, and chop 4 pounds of ripe peaches. Place the peaches, 1 1/4- 1 1 3/4 cups sugar (depending on how sweet you like your spreads), 1/3 cup orange juice or peach nectar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice in the slow cooker; stir to mix. Loosely cover (wedge a butter knife in the lid to allow for air) and cook on low for 8-10 hours, stirring occasionally, until the peaches are broken down and the mixture has reduced. Puree the mixture with an immersion blender or by placing it in a blender/food processor. Spread on brioche -- yum!

Here are my extra tips for making this rich and buttery bread:

• The brioche not only makes outstanding toast, it can also be turned into croutons or even breadcrumbs. To make the croutons, cube the brioche and toast the cubes at 350F degrees until golden brown, tossing once, about 10 minutes. For the breadcrumbs, allow the loaf of bread to dry overnight unwrapped. Then, cut it into pieces and pulse the pieces in a food processor to get coarse crumbs. Bake the crumbs at 250F degrees for 1 hour, tossing once, until completely dried out.
• I hate to sound like Ina Garten, but be sure to use "good" butter with this recipe.  It matters.
• Regarding the rising times, depending on the temperature/humidity conditions in your kitchen, it may take a bit longer for your loaves to rise. Since my kitchen runs a bit cold, I turn the oven on for 1 minute to pre-heat, and then I turn it off. Then I place the dough in the oven to rise in a "warm" place.

Brioche (Recipe from Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller)

Printable Recipe

Makes two large loaves

1/3 cup very warm water (110F-115F degrees)

One 1/4-ounce package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast

2 1/3 cups cake flour

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons fleur de sel or sea salt

6 large eggs, at room temperature

2 1/2 sticks (10 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes, at room temperature

Combine the water and the yeast in a small bowl. Let stand for 10 minutes, then stir until the yeast is completely dissolved. Set aside.

Sift together the flours, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Add the eggs and beat for 1 minute at low speed, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula as needed. Slowly add the dissolved yeast and continue beating at low speed for 5 minutes. Stop the machine, scrape any dough off the hook, and beat for another 5 minutes.

Add the butter cubes, about one-quarter of them at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each addition. Once all the butter has been added, beat for 10 minutes more, until the dough is smooth and silky.

Transfer the dough to a large floured bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 3 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a generously floured work surface and gently work out the air bubbles by folding the dough over several times while lightly pressing down on it. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

Generously butter two 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-by-3-inch loaf pans. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. With floured hands, divide the dough in half, shape it into 2 rectangles that fit into the loaf pans, and put the dough in the pans. Let the dough rise, uncovered, in a warm place until it is about 1/2 inch from the top of the pans, about 3 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.

Bake the brioche until it is well browned on top and sounds hollowed when tapped on the bottom, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately turn the brioche out onto a cooling rack.

If serving immediately, let the bread cool for 10 minutes, then slice. If serving within a few hours or up to two days, promptly wrap the hot bread in aluminum foil and set aside at room temperature until ready to use. To freeze, wrap the hot bread in foil and promptly freeze. The bread can be frozen for up to 2 months. When ready to use, reheat (without thawing, and still wrapped in the foil) in a 250F degree oven until heated through, 20 to 25 minutes.