Cookies and cupcakes Archives - Page 13 of 16

Coffee Pecan Cookies

5|12|2013

So I’m back! With more Cookies, of course. Sooner than you had imagined? You see, when you were reading all about the Nutella filled Linzer cookies, I was already baking a batch of these and making the tastiest glaze ever to decorate them with. You guessed it! I used the same dough to make these.

In fact after making about 12 Linzers, I rolled the dough into a log, covered it in plastic wrap and refrigerated it. Later on I rolled the log on chopped nuts to get a nice nutty coating around the circumference of the cookie when sliced. Then it was a matter of just baking them and dropping a spoonful of coffee glaze on to them. The glaze is super simple and ready in 2-3 minutes. Though in doubt about the quantity of coffee to add to the glaze, I am glad I went with my instincts. The glaze is gorgeous and so strongly tasting and smelling of coffee which is why I loved it all the more.

Isn’t it fantastic that you can get two completely different cookie recipes…both tasting and looking great from the same dough. And quite a generous number of cookies too. I got 12 Linzers and 14 of these. I thought it would make such a great gift idea when you are looking to simply things and yet come up with an assortment of cookies.
Think about it…12 Linzer cookies, 6 filled with Nutella, 6 filled up with jam or lemon curd. And 14 of these cookies, 7 with a coffee glaze and other 7 with some other flavour…probably peppermint considering the season. A few drops of pink food colouring would do the trick with peppermint. And there you have it…a box of different flavoured, colourful looking cookies. You can play around with different ideas, I guess.
Please note, the recipe below is for the entire dough. You can halve it accordingly.

These cookies are by far the best I have made this year. And that’s not small because I bake at least 3-4 different cookies every month. I love baking cookies and gifting them to my friends. I do it all the time.
I think the best way to tell someone that you like them is to make them a cookie.

Coffee Pecan Cookies
Yields 28 large cookies

For the Cookies
1 cup hazelnut meal/ground hazelnuts or any nut meal of your choice
2 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
3/4 cup pecans or any nut of your choice, finely chopped
Pecan halves, for decoration

For the coffee glaze
adapted from Taste.com

3/4 cup icing sugar mixture
1 tbsp boiling water
1 tbsp butter, softened
2 tsp espresso coffee powder

In a bowl whisk together the flour, cinnamon and salt.

Divide the dough in half, roll each piece of dough into a 5 cm diameter log. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm.

Once the log is firm, take it out and keep aside for 5 minutes. Unwrap and lightly roll in the chopped nuts till evenly coated. Wrap each log in plastic wrap tightly again and refrigerate for 30 minutes. This step ensures that the nut coating adheres to the cookies while baking.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using a sharp knife, carefully cut logs into 1.5cm-thick slices. Place on lined baking trays. Bake for 15-20 minutes, swapping trays over in oven in between (baking time will depend on the size of the cookie. Mine took 20 minutes as the cookies were large) Bake till crisp or until edges begin to turn light brown. Allow to cool on trays for 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

To make the Glaze, sift icing sugar into a bowl. Combine boiling water, butter and coffee powder in a separate bowl and stir until coffee is dissolved. Add to icing sugar and stir until mixture is smooth.
Drop 1 teaspoon of glaze onto centre of each cookie. Top with 1 pecan. Allow icing to set. Serve.

Nutella Filled Linzer Cookies

3|12|2013

When I look at the recipes I had bookmarked to try this year, I wonder if I will ever be able to reach the end of my list. Actually, is there an end…will there ever be one! No…not for me! I feel I am just getting started. The holiday season is bringing plenty of excitement to my baking repertoire and my oven is doing a bit of over time already.

Can you believe it, I have not posted a single Nutella recipe till now. So without wasting a moment, I made these Nutella Linzer Cookies. I love everything about these cookies..the nutty texture, the chocolale-y centre and the various shapes and sizes you can do with them. You can also fill them up with jam, the way it is done traditionally or any other filling like lemon curd, ganache etc.

I have used ground hazelnuts in the mix to complement the Nutella filling. Any nut meal will work. These are put together pretty much like any other cookie. The only tricky part is to get the shapes out intact after rolling out the dough. To ease the process, I roll out the dough on a baking paper and then place my cookie cutter all over the dough to make the cookies. Then I remove the balance dough from around the cookies and place the baking paper on a baking tray to bake. I do this twice. Once for the bottom cookie and a second batch for the tops with the centres cut out.

This post is also my contribution to my favourite Chocolate Party with the theme for December being Chocolate Cookies. Do check out the other creations at the end of the post.

Nutella Filled Linzer Cookies
Makes 20 sandwiched cookies

1 cup hazelnut meal (ground hazelnuts)
2 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 egg yolks

1/2 cup Nutella, for the filling
Icing Sugar, to dust

In a bowl whisk together the flour, cinnamon and salt.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract and egg yolks. Finally, beat in the ground hazelnuts and then the flour mixture. Divide the dough in half, cover each half with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm (30-60 minutes, or up to two days).

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove one ball of dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough until it is about 1/4 inch (.5 cm) thick. Using a 3 inch (7.5 cm) cookie cutter (round, square, heart, etc.) cut out the cookies. Place the cookies about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart on the prepared baking sheet. Use a smaller cookie cutter to cut out the centers of half of the cookies on the baking sheet. Re roll any scraps and cut out the remaining cookies. Repeat with the second ball of dough. (Note: If you find the cookies are soft, place the baking sheets with the unbaked cookies in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to chill the dough. This will prevent the cookies from spreading and losing their shape when baked.) Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

Place the cut out cookies on a baking sheet and lightly dust the tops with icing sugar. Spread a thin layer of Nutella on the bottom surface of the full cookie. Place the cut-out cookie on top and gently sandwich them together.

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Candy Cane Cupcakes. White Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Buttercream

26|11|2013

I know I am starting early but it’s hard to resist with all the inspiration around. The shelves at the stores are filled with sweet holiday inspiration…Candies, cookies, puddings and so on..I am excited just looking at them. I so love this time of the year. And I plan to do a lot of baking in the next few days leading up to New Year’s.

I intended to post this along with my children’s favourite recipes last week but couldn’t do so. Kids and candies..classic pairing! So I had to do at least one candy based recipe. I’ve come across a lot of candy cane cupcakes mostly using dark chocolate, therefore I made mine using White chocolate. The frosting is a simple buttercream flavoured with peppermint extract. There is a subtle caramel flavour from the white chocolate in the cupcakes. I wouldn’t say I was blown away by the pairing, but it tasted good.

I have used my basic vanilla cupcake recipe (from Joy of Baking) with a little melted white chocolate added to it. I love the pink colour in the frosting…actually I love pink desserts. Which means you need to watch out for what is coming up next. Or can I say I have been painting the town pink.

I will be back with more of my pink creations shortly!

Candy Cane Cupcakes. White Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Buttercream
Yields 12

White Chocolate Cupcakes

1/2 cup unsalted butter (113 g), room temperature
1/2 cup castor sugar
3 large eggs
100 g white chocolate, melted
11/2 cups all-purpose flour
11/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and line a muffin tray with 12 paper liners. In the bowl of your electric mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the melted white chocolate and stir to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk in three additionss, scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 15-20 mins or just until set and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. (Do not over bake or the cupcakes will be dry). Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, frost with icing.

Peppermint Buttercream

2 cups icing sugar, sifted
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp peppermint extract
3-4 drops pink food colouring

In an electric mixer or with a hand mixer, cream the butter until smooth and well blended. With the mixer on low-speed, gradually beat in the sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the milk and beat on high-speed until frosting is light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add a little more sugar or milk as needed. Add the peppermint extract. Tint with pink food colouring.

Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Malt Buttercream

17|10|2013

‘Milo’ is a word Australian homes with kids would be all too familiar with. Malt drinks are a hit with a lot of children. Mine really love it and will eat spoonfuls of it straight from the tin. Sometimes, I mix it with banana and vanilla ice cream to make a milkshake. Yesterday while the blender was doing its work and I was staring into it, the cupcake Gods suddenly smiled at me and I smiled back. Why didn’t I think of this earlier! Banana Malt Cupcakes!

I really like the flavour of these cupcakes. Better than the milkshake! And it is such a great recipe to make for kid’s parties and get-togethers. When I told my boys the cupcakes had Milo in it, their eyes lit up.

The cupcakes are soft and moist and the buttercream has a flavour similar to milk chocolate. So they work well together. A dusting of milo powder gives it an extra malt boost. You can replace the chocolate malt powder with your preferred malt powder.

Please note while making the frosting that most chocolate malt powder are already sweetened so I have reduced the icing sugar than I would normally use to make my buttercream. The resulting buttercream will be fluffier (not very stiff) and not the perfectly pipeable one. It’s actually wonderful spooned or spread over the cupcakes. Though I managed to pipe, I wasn’t too happy with the end result.

Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Malt Buttercream

Banana Cupcakes
2 cups self-raising flour, sifted (or 2 cups plain flour+2 tsp baking powder)
3/4 cup castor sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup milk
125g butter, melted, cooled
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup mashed banana (about 2 large ripe bananas)

Preheat oven to 200 degree C. Grease a 12 capacity muffin pan or line with paper cases. Combine flour and castor sugar in a bowl. Make a well in the centre. Stir in cinnamon.

Add milk, butter, eggs and vanilla to flour mixture. Using a large metal spoon, stir gently to combine. Add the mashed banana.
Spoon mixture into prepared muffin pan. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Stand in pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Once cool, spread or pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. Dust with chocolate malt powder or cocoa powder.

Chocolate Malt Buttercream
1/2 cup unsalted butter (113 g), room temperature
11/4 cup icing sugar, sifted (add another 1/2 cup if you want a stiffer frosting)
2 tbsp milk
1/4 cup chocolate malt powder (I used Milo)
2 tbsp cocoa powder

Add the malt powder to 2 tbsp warm milk and stir to make a smooth paste. Keep aside. In an electric mixer or with a hand mixer, cream the butter till smooth. With the mixer on low-speed, gradually beat in the sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the malt milk paste and cocoa powder. Beat on high-speed until frosting is light and fluffy.