Grapefruit Tarragon Sorbet

I have joined the project Gourmet, unbound. It was started by some amazing food bloggers it is an effort to keep the recipes and stories of Gourmet magazine alive even though we no longer can look forward to the magazine appearing on our doorstep and in our kitchens month after month. Each month we will each chose a recipe that was published during that month, any year of the magazine's existence. I love this idea because not only is it a great way to pay tribute to an important magazine it gives me total creative freedom to make something the strikes my fancy. No one else is choosing the recipe for me, I can make what ever jumps out at me from the many recipes.

The recipe that jumped out at me this month was the Grapefruit Tarragon Sorbet. Grapefruits remind me of January because that is when my mom would buy several cases of them as a fundraiser for a school program. They would sit in our cool garage throughout the month as we slowly made our way through them. Also, as much as I hate to admit it, after a filling winter meal people often want something lighter for dessert. Not that it keeps me from serving rich decadent desserts (often chocolate) on a regular basis, but sometimes it is nice to serve something lighter. And, in interest of full disclosure, I chose it because it is easy to make. I have spent quite a lot of time this month in the kitchen baking for the holidays and wanted a recipe that was not too involved.

This sorbet is outstanding. It is refreshing while at the same time being satisfying. It would be welcome as a palette cleanser mid-meal or as a light dessert. Grapefruit with tarragon is one of my favorite flavor combinations and this sorbet spotlights that perfectly. I adapted the original recipe to use fresh tarragon instead of dried because I wanted to highlight the freshness of the flavors, and was very pleased with the results. I might experiment with serving it along side a scoop of chocolate ice cream since my favorite truffle of all time is a tarragon chocolate truffle with candied grapefruit peel. I'm not sure if it would work as an ice cream paring as well, but it is certainly worth a try.

Grapefruit Tarragon Sorbet (adapted from Gourmet January 1999)

4 large red or pink grapefruits

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup fresh tarragon

Garnish: 2 tablespoons candied grapefruit strips (optional)

Squeeze enough juice from grapefruits to measure 2‚ cups and pour through a sieve into a large bowl. In a small saucepan bring water, sugar, and tarragon to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved, and simmer 5 minutes. Place lid on saucepan and let steep for 30 minutes. Strain the sugar mixture into the grapefruit juice and whisk to combine.

Chill mixture throughly in the refrigerator and then freeze mixture in an ice-cream maker. Transfer sorbet to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden. Sorbet keeps 1 week.

Serve sorbet garnished with candied strips (or be lazy like me and just use a sprig of fresh tarragon).

An Elegant Marshmallow

If you asked someone to name a word association with marshmallows elegant probably would not be the word to come to mind. Maybe campfires or s'mores. Or rice crispy treats. Or the chubby bunny game at summer camp (although no longer allowed, I understand, due to safety issues). In most cases marshmallows are pure fun, delicious but not something to take seriously.

These, my friends, are a whole 'nother kind of marshmallow. Tart cranberry marshmallows enrobed in dark chocolate, these sweets are more at home with a glass of bubbly than dangling on a stick over a fire. As people who read this blog know, I absolutely adore marshmallows. They are one of my favorite things to make. And these are my favorite flavor, at least so far. The chocolate takes them to a different level, but they are quite wonderful plain as well.

Cranberry Marshmallows

It is critical to use real gelatin in making these marshmallows. Kojel or other vegetable based gelling agents will not work.

Ingredients

½ cup cold water

½ cup unsweetened cranberry concentrate

3 Tablespoons powdered gelatin

½  cup cold water

1 ¼ cups corn syrup

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons cornstarch

½ cup confectioners’ sugar

1 lb  bittersweet chocolate for coating (optional)

Lightly spray an 11 x 15 jelly roll pan or 9x13 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray, then rub gently with a paper towel to distribute the spray and leave just the merest sheen of oil on the sheet. Similarly, lightly spray a large offset spatula and set beside the prepared tray.

Combine the first three ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until well blended and smooth. Set aside.

Combine second quantity of water, corn syrup, salt and sugar in a 4-quart saucepan and place over medium heat. When mixture boils, brush down the sides of the pan above the upper surface of the syrup with a clean, moistened pastry brush, or cover the pot with a lid for two minutes to allow the condensation to dissolve any lingering crystals.

Place a candy or instant read thermometer into the syrup and continue to cook, without stirring, until syrup reaches 255F. Do not stir the mixture once you remove the lid. Remove pan from heat and carefully stir in gelatin mixture.

Pour mixture into the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Quickly cover bowl with loosely draped plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel in order to avoid splatters, and gradually increase the mixer speed to “high”. Whip mixture for 10-12 minutes.

Scrape mixture into prepared pan and spread out smooth with oiled offset spatula. Set marshmallow aside, uncovered, at room temperature for at least 4 hours or over night before cutting.

Before cutting the marshmallow, sift the cornstarch and confectioners sugar together into a medium mixing bowl. Cut marshmallows with a lightly oiled knife or pizza cutter and break into individual pieces. Toss with cornstarch mixture to completely coat, shaking off excess as much as possible in a strainer.

If coating the marshmallows with chocolate temper the chocolate after they are cut. Dip each marshmallow into the chocolate with a fork, scrape off the excess chocolate and place on a baking sheet to set.

Store in an airtight container with the lid slightly ajar for up to two weeks.

A Sweet Christmas

I just wanted to share some of the things I made for Christmas presents this year because I was so pleased with how they turned out. I didn't want to post them in advance because my number one Christmas package recipient reads my blog. (Hi Theresa!) These are peppermint marshmallows. The colored sugar gives them the crunchy texture of peeps. I also made some adorable peppermint snowmen but they melted into the hot chocolate before I could get a good picture.

And for shipping to friends far away, gingerbread biscotti are always a good choice.

Merry Christmas to all those who are celebrating!

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Truffles

There are times when a dessert should be elegant. There are other times where it should be fun. For times when it should be both, these brilliant cookie dough truffles from Baked Perfection are the perfect solution. Elegant enough to sit on a cookie platter, they allow us to indulge our hidden desire to eat raw cookie dough in public. Which I must say is deliciously entertaining.

While I love the idea of these truffles, and I am sure I will be making them again and again, I didn't love the peanut butter cookie dough itself. They were still quite good, and everyone at work loved them, but I didn't like the dough as much as my favorite chocolate chip cookie dough recipe (yes, I admit I still taste raw dough in spite of the eggs). Don't get me wrong, I ate quite a few, and these are worth making as is. However, I know they can be even better so next time I will convert my favorite recipe to be egg free and use it instead.

The original recipe calls for chocolate candy melts for the coating, but I prefer to use real chocolate. I added a bit of vegetable oil to melted dark chocolate to "fake temper". This only works if serving them within a few hours, because after a day they will start to bloom. If making them more than a day in advance either temper real chocolate or use the candy melts.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles (Recipe from Baked Perfection)

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup miniature chocolate chips

8 oz (approximately 1/2 package) chocolate candy melts or 8 oz chocolate and 2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1/4 cup assorted color candy melts for decorating

In a large bowl, cream together the peanut butter, butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour and salt; stir into creamed mixture. Mix in chocolate chips. Roll the mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Chill for several hours or freeze for 15-20 minutes until firm.

Melt candy melts in the microwave per directions on package (30 sec intervals, stirring in between each interval). It using chocolate melt it at 50% power in the microwave, stirring every minute until smooth. Once it is melted stir in the oil. Gently dip the cookie dough ball in the coating, letting any excess drip off. Place on wax paper to dry.

To decorate with drizzled chocolate, place chocolate in a sandwich bag on a microwave safe dish and microwave in 30 second intervals moving the chocolate around between each interval. Using scissors, cut the very tip off the sandwich bag. Use the sandwich bag to pipe the chocolate back and forth over the cookie dough truffle until you reach the desired look. Return to wax paper to dry.

Chanukkah Sugar Cookies

Although I am someone who loves to bake all kinds of cookies, I rarely make decorated sugar cookies. In fact, before this week, the last time I made decorated sugar cookies was for my childbirth class reunion when my son was 6 weeks old. A crazy undertaking with a 6 week old baby, I know.  Maybe that's why it has taken me so long to do it again. My son is now more than 2 so clearly it has been a while.

When he came home from preschool right before Thanksgiving extremely excited about making turkey cookies in school, I knew chanukkah cookies would have to be in our future. He was very excited about making them and turned out to be much more adept than I expected at cutting out the shapes. I am so happy that he is old enough to help, and imagine that we will be making these cookies an annual tradition.

The difficulty with parve sugar cookies is that you don't have the richness of flavor that butter would provide. In my experience plain parve sugar cookies are just kind of "eh", but if you add a bit of additional flavor they can be delicious. Almond or citrus are always good choices, but I wanted the flavor to be a bit more subtle so I used sweet dough flavor in the cookie and eggnog flavor in the icing. I was very happy with the results. I used the recipe from King Arthur flour and they came out delicious with a great texture. Even better, the dough was very easy to work with. It didn't even stick when I had to roll out the scraps more than once because little hands aren't so precise at cutting out cookies close together. Also, I love that the recipe called for salted butter because it meant I could use my favorite non-hydrogenated margarine, Smart Balance Organic Whipped Buttery Spread.

Holiday Butter Cookies (adapted from King Arthur Flour)

For Cookies

1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) confectioners' sugar

1 cup + 2 tablespoons  (9 ounces) salted margarine

1 large egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon sweet dough flavor, or flavor of your choice*

2 3/4 cups (11 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Icing

2 1/4 cups (10 ounces) confectioners' sugar or glazing sugar

2 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) light corn syrup

2 tablespoons, or up to 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon water; enough to make a pourable/spreadable icing

a few drops eggnog or other extra strong flavor, or to taste

food coloring, optional

1 cup coarse sugar or colored sugar for decorating, optional

In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the sugar, butter, egg yolk, salt, and flavor, and beat until smooth. Add the flour and mix until smooth. The mixture will seem dry at first, but will suddenly become cohesive. If it doesn't, dribble in a tablespoon of water.

Divide the dough in half. Place half the dough on a piece of parchment paper. Top with another sheet of parchment and roll the dough out until it is it 1/8" to 3/16" thick. Repeat with remaining dough. Place parchment with dough on a cookie sheet so that it lies flat and refrigerate for 2 hours, or overnight.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and remove the top sheet of parchment. Use a cookie cutter to cut shapes. Re-roll and cut the dough scraps. Place the cookies on ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheets. They can be close together; they'll barely spread.

Bake the cookies in a preheated 350°F oven for 12 to 14 minutes, until they're set and barely browned around the edges.

Remove from the oven, and cool right on the pan. If you've used parchment, you can lift cookies and parchment off the pan, so you can continue to use the pan as the cookies cool.

Repeat with the remaining piece of dough, rolling, cutting, and baking cookies.

When cookies are completely cool, ice and decorate.

For the Icing:

Combine the sugar, water, flavor and corn syrup to make a soft, spreadable icing, adding more water if necessary. Tint the icing with food color as desired.

14) Spread icing on cookies, using a knife, a spoon, or your finger to spread it all the way to the edges. Sprinkle with colored sugar or other sugar decorations, as desired. Allow the icing to harden before storing the cookies.

* For other flavors you may need different amounts. Try 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, or 1 teaspoon almond extract, or a combination. For extra-strong flavors (eggnog, citrus oils, etc.), start with 1/8 teaspoon, and flavor to taste.

Heavenly Bakers: Carrot Cake

This week's cake was a classic carrot cake. I love carrot cakes and am always up for trying a new recipe so I was excited for this week. The cake was listed as a chanukkah cake probably because we were making it during the week of chanukkah. I love going all out for holidays and didn't see much of a connection between carrot cake and chanukkah, besides the fact that I grated the carrots the same way I grate the potatoes for latkes. I decided that in order to increase the chanukkah connection with this cake I was going to make the carrot cake into individual dreidel cakes and give them away as chanukkah gifts.

This was an idea that came out better in my head than in the execution. I baked the cake in a half sheet pan and then used dreidel cookie cutters to cut out shapes. So far so good. I put a layer of frosting on top of half of the dreidel cutouts and topped them with another one and then frosted the cakes on the top and sides. My plan was to cover the frosted cakes with fondant.  It worked ok, but I forgot one thing when I was picturing the final results. My experience working with with fondant has only been on full sized round cakes. It turns out large round objects are much easier to cover smoothly than small intricate shapes. Also, once all the layers of frosting and fondant were on the cakes the angles of the dreidel were not as defined as they would have been for something like cookies. They ended up a bit lumpier and less dreidel shaped than I had hoped. Plus, on such small cakes the fondant flavor overwhelms the frosting and it is all you taste. Oh well, I had fun and they the cake tastes good, so I guess that is what counts.

As far as the cake itself I thought it was good, but it probably will not be replacing my favorite carrot cake recipe. I left out the raisins because I thought they would interfere with the cutting process, but would definitely recommend adding them for textural contrast. My cake came out a bit too moist, if there is such a thing, but that is my fault. I was already in the middle of making the recipe when I realized I didn't have enough white sugar so I added a bit more brown sugar to make up the difference. I didn't try the Dreamy White Chocolate Cream Cheese frosting because I wanted to make the cakes parve, so I used my parve cream cheese frosting recipe instead. From what others have said the white chocolate frosting sounds divine, so I look forward to trying it another time.

Peppermint Ice Cream

One of my favorite holiday treats is peppermint ice cream. Okay, I admit that it might be one of my favorite treats year round, but there is something about the limited edition peppermint ice cream appearing on the supermarket shelves that makes it feel like the holidays. The cooling taste of peppermint in a creamy base with a bit of crunch from the candy always makes me smile. A true love of peppermint ice cream is something I share with my sister, even though we often have different preferences when it comes to dessert. When she was having a bad day and her boyfriend brought her peppermint ice cream instead of flowers we knew he was a keeper. This homemade parve version means that not only can I enjoy this treat after any meal, it is not limited to December. Trust me, it is as welcome on a hot summer day as it is after a holiday meal.

This ice cream is great on its own (and it makes a deliciously refreshing milkshake), but a bit of hot fudge sauce on top would be a truly decadent addition.

Peppermint Ice Cream

3 cups almond milk (I used Almond Breeze unsweetened original)

1 cup soy milk powder

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup sugar

small pinch of salt

6 large egg yolks

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 teaspoons peppermint extract

a few drops red food coloring (optional, I use these natural ones)

1 cup crushed peppermint candy (about 8 regular sized candy canes. To crush place them in a sealable bag and hit with a rolling pin)

Place the egg yolks in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. In another medium bowl combine one cup of almond milk, the vanilla extract, and the peppermint extract. Set a fine mesh strainer on top. In a medium saucepan whisk together remaining two cups of almond milk, soy milk powder, oil, sugar and salt. Heat the mixture until quite warm but not quite boiling.

Slowly stream the warm mixture into the egg yolks while whisking constantly. Scrape the warmed yolk mixture back into the pan and cook over medium heat stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan with the spatula while stirring. Cook until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spatula (160 degrees). Pour the custard through the strainer into the almond milk mixture. Add food coloring, if desired, and stir to combine. Place the bowl over an ice bath and stir until cool.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator and then freeze in a ice cream maker according to the manufacturers instructions. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer container and fold in the peppermint candy. Place ice cream in freezer until firm.

Note: The ice cream will get harder as it sits in the freezer so if not serving it freshly churned let it sit out for 10-15 minutes to soften it before serving for the best texture.