Witch's Fingers

"Halloween, trick or treat! Dame chavos y no maní!"(Halloween, trick or treat! Give me money, not peanuts!) That's what children in Puerto Rico chant every Halloween. As always, we have a very "rice and beans" way to assimilate North American culture. I do not know the origins of the chant, I just know that it is very persistent in October.

Halloween was not a very big deal for me when I was a child. My parents did not like the idea of me running around the neighborhood like a hooligan, dressed up like whatever character I was obsessed with. They thought it was very dangerous so I did not have the trick or treat experience. I do remember dressing up for a Halloween party as a Cabbage Patch Kid. It was awesome. I thought I was killing it with the costume my Mom made. I think I was so excited that I gave myself an asthma attack.

Anyway, I do not dress up as an adult. I was planning on dressing up as Frida Kahlo and I convinced my husband to dress up as Frida's husband, Diego Rivera. Adulthood happened and here I am, baking and blogging. :-) This recipe is essentially a thumbprint cookie recipe, but with a little creativity it looks just like a witch's severed finger. These are not allergy friendly, so be careful if you want to give these to strangers.

Witch's Fingers

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 2 3/4 all purpose flour
• 3/4 c whole blanched almonds*
• green food coloring
• red decorator's gel*

* Can be store bought, but if you are up for the task, I will explain how to make these.

Make some fingers!

Set up your stand up mixer a paddle attachment and cream the butter. Add the sugar, mix until well combined.

Add the egg, vanilla paste and almond extract. Mix until incorporated.

Add the flour and salt. Mix well. Add the food coloring. This step is more to your discretion. Have in mind that you should color the dough a little darker than desired. The cookies will lighten a little bit while baking.

Make a disk with the soft dough and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

At this point, if you bought blanched almonds and piping gel, just chill out! If not...

Blanch the almonds!

Start with the desired amount of raw almonds. In this case, 3/4 cup.

In a pot, bring water to a rolling boil. Add the almonds. Boil for exactly 1 minute. Not 1:10, not 40 seconds, 1 minute. Drain the almonds and rinse them with cold water immediately. Blot with paper towel and simply peel off the skins. I promise, this is a super easy, painless process. You are now ready to make almond meal, milk, marzipan, nails for witches...

Prepare the blood! (Piping gel)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup white corn syrup
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 4 tsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• red food coloring

Mix cornstarch and water until dissolved. Add corn syrup and vanilla. Mix until dissolved.  Microwave the mixture on high for 2 minutes. Remove and whisk occasionally while it cools. Add food coloring to your heart's desire.

Shape and bake the fingers!

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Take tablespoons of the mixture and shape a rough cylinder. Place it in a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. 

Pinch in the middle to form knuckles. Firmly place the blanched almond at the tip to form the witch's nail. With a paring knife form wrinkles throughout the finger.

Bake for 25 minutes. 

Let cool. 

Carefully, lift up the almond, place red piping gel and replace the almond. Pipe some gel at he ends of the finger. I added to some of the fingers strawberry Pocky to simulate bone.

I will eat these with the blood of my enemies (Trader Joe's wine, because that is what classy people like me drink on Friday night... )

Enjoy!

Farewell, Summer! Hello Fall, baking and babies!

As you may have noticed, I've been out of my kitchen for a while. There is a very practical reason for that: when you live in a pre - war Brooklyn building, you rarely have the amazing perk of central air conditioner. This summer was cooler than usual, but still... I just did not want to experience infernal heat in my little kitchen. With only one window in the kitchen and no extractor, having an air conditioner to facilitate my baking needs is out of the question. Needless to say, there was no baking, almost no cooking and lots of takeout in my home for the last couple of months.

Baby girl!!!!

The other reason for the lack of baking is because I was making a lot of fun handmade things for my very good friends/family of choice's baby shower. They will be welcoming this November a sweet baby girl that will be spoiled by many, but mostly by my husband and I and, of course, her parents and grandparents.

I baked chocolate chip cookies as goodies for the guests. I have never baked such a large amount of cookies at once, but it was super fun and easy. I also baked with the expectant mother two batches of cupcakes. Half of them were missing some sugar but, instead, were full of love. We had so much fun baking and talking! Oh, and we made pink kettle corn, lemonade, sandwiches... It was the prettiest baby shower picnic ever.

This is my go to Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. I did not document the process because of time constraints. If you can have nuts, feel free to add 1 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans to the batter.
These cookies keep for up to 5 days in an airtight container.

Basic Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 granulated sugar
• 3/4 packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or paste
• 1 cup milk chocolate, chopped*
• 1 cup semi sweet chocolate, chopped*

* Use chips if convenient. For small cookies, use mini chips or chop regular sized ones in a food processor.

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. 

Make the batter!

Using the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, cream the butter until light in color. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy (about 3 mins). Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until well incorporated. Add the flour mixture and incorporate it. Finally fold in the chocolate and nuts, if using.

Drop cookies in prepared pan by the spoonful at least 1 inch apart. For bite size cookies, use a size 100 cookie scoop.

Bake in a parchment paper or silicone pad lined pan for 10 -12 mins or until brown.

Enjoy!

Almond Anise Biscotti

I have not baked for a while. Between not being in my apartment, life and summer beating the hell out of my little Brooklyn kitchen, baking has been a little difficult. I mustered all my courage,  defeated the heat and baked a wonderful batch of Almond Anise Biscotti. Life is so much better now!

Biscotti (bis meaning twice and cotti, baked) are the mother of all cookies. Dating from as early as the Middle Ages, they were just pieces of dough baked once, put away for months and even years, then baked a second time to be distributed among seamen about to embark in long voyages and soldiers preparing for long campaigns. The humble biscotto have evolved a lot through the centuries, but this recipe is pretty traditional. They are meant to be dipped in vin santo or muscatel after dinner but I like to serve them with tea.

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup almond paste
• 4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) undated butter, softened
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp anise seeds
• 1 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Prepare!

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon mats.

Toast your almonds on a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Let cool.

Grind your anise. I like to use a mortar for this purpose.

Biscotti time!

Place the almond paste and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat over medium speed until well blended, for about 1 minute. Gradually beat in sugar.

Beat in eggs one at a time and scrape the sides of your mixing bowl is necessary. Add vanilla.

On low speed, add dry ingredients, including the anise. Add the almonds and blend with a wooden spoon to distribute them through the dough.

Put dough in a lightly floured surface and divide it in two. With floured hands, form each half into a 12 inch long log by 1 3/4 inch width.

Place 2 logs in a prepared baking pan. Flatten each logy with the heel of your hand to a width of about 2 inches. Place in the oven and bake for 35 minutes or until starting to turn light brown. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees.

Transfer the baked logs to a cutting surface. Cut logs diagonally with a serrated knife. Each biscotto should be between 1 and 2 inches wide. Cut all of them to the same width.

Arrange the slices in 2 pans, cut side down. Bake for and additional 18 to 22 minutes, flipping the biscotti once halfway through the baking process.

Enjoy!

Homemade Oreos

Oreos are one of those supermarket staples that everybody likes. I think I do not know a single person that dislikes Oreos. I have to admit they are not my favorite, because, well, chocolate is not my favorite thing. I've been an asthmatic for as long as I can remember and chocolate is one of my biggest triggers. Chocolate is delicious, but I will take anything vanilla or almond flavored over it almost every time.

Last week I had this super weird craving for some Oreos, so instead going across the street to buy them, I baked them! So much better than the boxed thing! (Sorry, Nabisco!) Nothing beats the satisfaction of knowing what is in your food. These take a little more effort than just buying a box of cookies, but they are worth it! The recipe I used is adapted from recipes by Thomas Keller and Martha Stewart.

Ingredients

Filling

• 1 1/2 cups (12 oz) white chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream 

Cookies

• 1 3/4 cups + 1 1/2 Tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 cup + 1 1/2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp sugar

Make the filling!

Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set aside. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until just beginning to bubble (about 4 minutes). Pour the cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 5 minutes. Do not mix before letting it sit. After the required time has elapsed, whisk until smooth. Cover and let chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Make the cookies!

Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt on a bowl. Set aside.

On the bowl of an electric mixer, place the butter and beat until creamy. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy and light. Lower the speed of the electric mixer and add the dry ingredients in 3 additions. 

Form the dough into 2 disks, cover them with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

After the dough is chilled, preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Roll the disk until approximately 1/8 inch thick. Cut the cookies using a fluted biscuit cutter. I used a linzer cookie cutter. Place the shaped cookies on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake for a total of 10 minutes, and make sure to rotate the cookie sheets at the 5 minute mark.

After the cookies are completely cooled, turn half them bottoms up. Transfer the chilled filling to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until smooth. 

Transfer the filling to a piping bag and pipe about 1 teaspoon of filling to each turned cookie.

Put the remainder cookies on top of the filled cookies. Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Brownies

Today is my brother's birthday. We have lots of things in common: we love animals, especially spitting llamas. They are hilarious! We always laugh when people use profane language and we love Cookie Monster, among other things. We hate... well, we hate a lot of things. My brother loves beer and brownies and he does not live near... That's why I decided to have a beer while baking Double Chocolate Brownies.

Ingredients:

• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped, or in chips
• 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp coarse salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a buttered 8 inch square baking pan. Line with parchment paper and leave a 2 inch overhang. Butter the parchment paper avoiding the overhang.

Put the chocolate, butter and cocoa powder in a double boiler. Stir until melted. Let the chocolate cool slightly.

Whisk flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, put eggs. sugar and vanilla extract. Using the whisk attachment of the electric mixer, whisk until the mixture is pale in color, about 4 minutes in medium speed.

Add the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the flour mixture and continue to beat, this time in low speed. Scrape the sides as necessary.

Pour the batter on the prepared baking pan and even it out with a spatula.

Bake until a cake tester comes out with crumbles but not wet (about 25 minutes). Let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Lift using the overhang and let it cool on a wire rack. Stored in an airtight container, the brownies will keep for 3 days.

Enjoy! And here, a gif of a spitting llama. Happy birthday, little brother!

Wookiee Cookies

May the Fourth be with you! It's Star Wars Day! According to Wookieepedia, yes, that's like Wikipedia for everything Star Wars under the sun, the phrase "May the Fourth be with you" dates back to May 4th, 1979 when Margaret Thatcher was elected as the first woman Prime Minister of England. Her party published a newspaper ad in the London Evening News that read: "May the Fourth be with you, Maggie. Congratulations."

Since then,  Star Wars fans all over the world adopted the date as an unofficial holiday, followed by "The Revenge of the Fifth" in May 5th, where fans let their evil side shine bright. I love Darth Vader, so I may or may not be evil tomorrow...

Today, as I let my geek run around, I baked Wookiee Cookies. This recipe is part of The Star Wars Cookbook. The recipe is huge so it's great for sharing or parties. Also, the dough freezes well for  impromptu baking while entretaining guests.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Put the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Whisk together and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until light, add the sugar and beat until well incorporated (about 3 minutes). Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract.

Add the flour and mix until incorporated and finally, whisk in the chocolate chips.

Drop cookies with a medium cookie scoop on a prepared baking pan. You can use for that purpose parchment paper or a silicon mat.

Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy! Chewbacca approves!