The Houndstooth Gourmet

 

A while back I wrote about these delicious chocolate chip cookies from the Metropolitan Bakery cookbook. I decided to make another batch and tweaked the recipe a bit to use bittersweet chocolate. I thought the dried cranberries would make for a sweet counterpoint to the chocolate.

The cookies are loaded with flavor and are not too crisp and not too soft. I used a small icecream scoop to attain uniformity in size so they all baked evenly. It’s important to fold the nuts, chocolate and cranberries in by hand after bringing the dough together. This gets everything evenly disributed throughout and more importatnly, saves you mixer’s motor!

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Nuts and Dried Cranberries

makes 5 dozen cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup rolled old fashioned oats (I used Quaker Oats)

3 cups unbeached all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3 sticks unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 Tablespoon vanilla

1 bar bittersweet chocolate (about 9.7 ounces) rough chopped with knife into 1/2 inch chuncks or slivers

1 1/2 cups pecans, toasted and chopped

1 1/2 cups walnuts,toasted and chopped

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a non-stick skillet, heat nuts over medium and toast for 8-10 minutes. Stir frequently. The nuts will be done when they smell-well-nutty and toasty. Remove to a cutting board and chop roughly.

Grind the oats using a food processer until they are finely ground into a flour. Combine oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.

In another bowl or food processer (using paddle attachment), beat the butter on medium until light and creamy. Add the sugar and brown sugar and beat until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and allow each egg to incorporate for about 30 seconds. Add in vanilla.

Manually fold in nuts, chocolate and cranberries. You can do this in a large bowl or on a lightly floured board. Once ingredients are evenly dispersed throughout dough, you are ready to bake.

Using a spoon or scooper, drop dough onto  2 large parchment or silicone mat lined baking sheets. I strongly prefer parchment paper becuase the cookie dough does not spread and thin as much as it does with silicon. Parchment paper is also reusalbe between batches.

Place sheets of cookie dough in oven on middle racks. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn pans to face opposite direction and switch racks. Continue to bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool for 3-4 minutes before you transfer them to a cooling rack. By this time, the pans should have cooled down enough to add your next batch of dough.

Tags: nuts, cookies, chocolate by Ramona
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I’ve been becoming quite proficient at making biscotti lately. This Holiday season, I decided to concentrate most of my baking focus on Italian specialties such as pizzelles and biscotti. With my new VillaWare pizzelle maker, I’ve been cranking out chocolate pizzelles, traditional anise pizzelles and orange rum pizzelles. Using my KitchenAid mixer, I’ve been baking batches and batches of chocolate cherry walnut and anise almond biscotti. I thought it might be fun to try a savory biscotti however, perhaps to enjoy with an anitpasti and  cheese platter with a nice glass of Sangiovese wine.

Here are two recipes which I found to be delicious and easy to make. The first combines parmesan with rosemary and Dijon mustard (pictured at top right). The second uses Classico Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto and Parmesan (pictured at top left).

To serve, pop into a 350 degree oven for 3-5 minutes to warm and crisp them up. Enjoy!

Parmesan, Rosemary and Mustard Biscotti- makes about 2 dozen biscotti

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour (All Purpose)

1/2 cup of yellow cornmeal

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (you can use pecorino if you wish)

1/2 tsp. dried rosemary, finely ground

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 tbsp. Dijon mustard

1/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking soda, salt and rosemary. In mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light yellow. To mixer, add mustard, Parmesan cheese and eggs. Mix to combine, about 2-3 minutes on low. Add dry ingredients slowly. Combine until dough forms a ball.

Transfer dought to a lightly floured board. With lightly floured hands, bring dough together into disc. Cut in half. With each half, roll into a 12 inch log (you may need a small amount of flour to prevent sticking). Transfer each log to Silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. Flatten each log until 2 inches wide. Lightly score individual biscotti- about 12 cookies to each log.

Place baking sheet on the middle rack of oven and bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. Cut individual biscotti and return biscotti to baking sheet, standing upright. Bake another 10 minutes until they are golden and crisp. Allow to cool completely. Store in air-tight container.

Parmesan Tomato Pesto Biscotti- makes about 2 dozen biscotti

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour (All Purpose)

1/2 cup of yellow cornmeal

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (you can use pecorino if you wish)

1/2 tsp. dried rosemary, finely ground

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 tbsp. Classico Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto (or use any comparable brand)

1/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In bowl, place dry ingredients: flour, corn meal, baking soda and salt. In mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light yellow. Add cheese, eggs, and tomato pesto. Mix on low until blended, about 2-3 minutes. Slowly add dry ingredients and mix until dough forms a ball.

Transfer to a lightly floured board and continue preparation and baking as outlined above.

Tags: savory, cookies, Recipe, baking by Ramona
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Chocolate biscotti are a wonderful treat for anytime, or for after dinner as a light sweet to dunk in your coffee or dessert wine. They make a special gift for Holiday giving too. Biscotti are also deceptively easy to make. Check out my recipe on DC Foodies!

Tags: cookies, DC Foodies entry, chocolate, baking by Ramona
2 Comments »

I got a new toy for Christmas baking- a pizzelle maker. After doing a bit of research, I bought a VillaWare Electric Quattro Pizzelle Maker. It works like a charm. Once my batter was made, the process of churning out pizzelles was quick and efficient. I made two types yesterday; orange-rum and chocolate-walnut. The former was outstanding while the chocolate was just meh. Fortunately, I have a great chocolate biscotti recipe up my sleeve and will post about that later.

Pizzelles originated in Italy. The name “pizzelle” means round and flat. Early on, pizzelles were made in molds and cooked over fire. Often times, the pizzelle mold had the family crest, initial or town name of origin.

Pizzelles now associated with Christmas and Easter, were made for celebrations. Specifically, for the “Festival of the Snakes”, also known as the “Feast Day of San Domenico” day in the town of Colcullo Italy, which is in the Abruzzo region. After the snakes were captured and subsequently driven back into the bush, away  from the town, the residents would celebrate with these round delights. The town was said to be rid of snake bites for another year.

 

Back to my new toy.The pizzelle maker is truly non-stick. No spraying. No sticking. I found two kitchen tools to be very helpful during and after making the cookies. First, a small scooper to ensure uniformity. Second, a small pasta cutter to cut the excess away from the pizzelles and round them out. Each batch of 4- 3 inch pizzelles took under one minute to pour and bake. I allowed each batch to cool on a large wooden board, then stacked them until I was finished with the batter. I then cut and stored them in tins.

 

Last, I want to share these wonderful tins and boxes I bought from Michael’s craft store. The Chinese take-out boxes are very popular this year. I purchase a variety of Holiday themed boxes and tins for gift giving.

 

I’m looking forward to making the traditional anise pizzelles of my childhood Holidays. In the meantime, here’s a recipe for those delicious Orange Rum Pizzelles.

Orange Rum Pizzelles

Ingredients:

3 eggs room temperature

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

2 tsp. rum

2 tsp. orange zest

2 cups flour

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl or standing mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until creamed. Add the cooled butter a little at a time. Add the rum and grated orange zest. Gradually add enough flour to make a light dough. The batter should be stiff enough to be dropped by a spoon or small ice cream scooper (I added just about all 2 cups).

Place about 1 tsp. (for small pizzelles- large pizzelles should take about 2 tsp.) on each mold and close grill firmly. Each pizzelle batch should take 45-50 seconds to bake. Remove to cool. Cut excess batter from around each pizzelle when cooled.

Tags: equipment, cookies, Hound Picks, baking by Ramona
4 Comments »

The Metropolitan Bakery has been providing Philadelphia and surrounding areas with handmade rustic artisan breads and goodies since 1993. Hailing from the area myself, I was pleased to happen upon this sepia toned cookbook a couple years ago. I’ve always been fond of Metropolitan Bakery’s breads and make it a point to go to one of their store when I visit Philadelphia.

Most frequently, I visit their spot at Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market. The breads, pastries and cookies are among the best I’ve ever tasted (and I’ve been discovering and tasting a few here in Northern Virginia!). Most recently, I bought 2 large slightly crunchy cookies which were delicious. So, I’m on a mission to hone my baking skills with this book (among others) which contains over 100 recipes from rustic breads to brioche to cookies. Additionally, there are add -ons to the baking recipes such as jams, chutneys and spreads ranging from sweet to savory.

Today, I started with something approachable for me; cookies. Who doesn’t like a good old fashioned chocolate chip cookie, right? This recipe got my attention because it has nuts, which I love, and oats. But instead of being a traditional chocolate chip oatmeal cookie, this recipe calls for the oats to be processed into a flour-like consistency. Along with roasting the nuts and using, well let’s face it, a lot of butter! this cookie turned out aromatic and crisp on the outside and slightly chewy on the inside. I’d put it up there with the best of them!

(Yes, that’s 3 sticks of butter. Move along now, nothing to see here…keep reading)

I hope you like them too.

Here’s the recipe. I altered it slightly. In parenthesis is what I used due to not having all the chocolate on hand. Frankly, I wouldn’t change a thing. Feel free to use the original recipe, or my alterations.

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup old fashioned oats (I used Quaker oats because I bought a barrel of it at Costco)

3 cups all purpose flour, sifted

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup milk chocolate chunks (processed 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels)

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups bittersweet chocolate chunks ( I used 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels and it seemed like plenty)

1 1/2 cup pecans, toasted* and roughly chopped

1 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted* and roughly chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line 2 large baking pans with parchment paper or non-stick sheet (I found the parchment allowed the cookies to rise a bit more)

In a food processor, grind the oats until they become fine like flour (1)

In a large bowl, combine:

ground oats

flour

baking powder

baking soda

salt

1 cup of chocolate chunks which has been grated over small holes ( I used the food processor again, pulsing it until the morsels became fine) (2)

In an electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Add the granulated sugar and the brown sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each egg has been added. (3)

Beat in vanilla.

Place mixture on low and add flour mix until combined.

Fold in the chocolate chunks/morsels, pecans and walnuts.

Drop dough in 2 tablespoon portions onto parchment lined baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between dough. Bake in middle of oven for 10 minutes. Rotate sheets from top and bottom, and the bottom to the top for even baking. Bake an additional 6 minutes. Cookies should be light golden brown(4). Transfer to cooling rack. Repeat until all dough is done.

*To roast nuts, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spread nuts on a baking sheet, and bake for 10 minutes(5). Allow to cool and rough chop.

(1) Oats before and after grinding.

(2) Chocolate morsels after grinding.

(4) Add eggs one at a time to the butter and sugars.

(5) After nuts have cooled, rough chop before folding into cookie dough mixture.

Now being that this recipe made between 50-60 cookies - share with your friends!

Tags: nuts, cookies, Recipe, chocolate, baking by Ramona
1 Comment »