TWD Rewind: Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops

I only have one word to describe these cookies: Yum. Okay, maybe chocolatey, chewy and sticky pieces of malted milk ball-y. ;D

I have been excited about making this recipe since I bought the book, because I absolutely love malted milk balls. This recipe was chosen a while ago when TWD had a cookie month. I have now made two of the recipes from that month and I have two left to go. It may sound strange, but cookies are actually one of the baked goods that I don't love to make. Unless they are cut-out cookies, I just don't get excited about baking them. Until I have baked them, that is, when I'm happy I did. 

Anyways, these cookies are amazing! The malted milk balls become really chewy after baking, especially because I left rather large pieces. As always, you can buy the book or find the recipe here. Enjoy!

TWD: Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe was chosen by Carla of Chocolate Moosey. She chose the Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart. I was really excited about making this, simply because of the picture in the book. Okay, also because you can't go wrong with caramel, chocolate and peanuts. Yum!

This was the first time that I made a tart from this book, and my first time ever making a tart (surprising, right?). The dough was easy enough to make, using the food processor. I had a seven-year-old helper in the kitchen, so she helped me press the dough into the tart pan and stir the ganache. So cute! 

The tart was very good, but extremely rich. Nobody was able to eat more than a tiny sliver, although everybody said it was great. I didn't love it myself, simply because it was so rich and because I didn't think the ganache was very sweet. All in all, not something I'll make again. Sorry Dorie! 

If you want to try for yourself, you can buy the book or find the recipe here. Also, don't forget to check out the other TWD bloggers! Enjoy! 

Daring Bakers: Vols-au-Vent with Homemade Puff Pastry

The September 2009 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

I was excited yet nervous about my first Daring Baker's challenge. Puff pastry was one of those things I thought only insane people make at home. But I was wrong. It's not hard to make - it's only time-consuming. Honestly, the dough for TWD's Apple Turnovers was trickier than this. The only thing that we weren't fans of was this:

Four sticks of butter? But, totally worth it. I formed one third of the dough into vols-au-vent. I think I didn't press the top and bottom parts together enough, because they sort of fell apart. When they came out of the oven, I pressed them together again. I was able to make them all look normal except for one (as you can see in the first pictures). I was able to get five out of one third of the dough, though I had to re-roll a bit. I filled them with the Chocolate Pastry Cream from Baking from My Home to Yours.

Yum! They were so good! Flaky, buttery, and chocolatey - what's not to love?

With the extra pastry cream I made a pie using a frozen pie crust I had. Yum!

All in all, puff pastry really isn't that challenging. I recommend making it, if you want a fun and delicious project. You can find the recipe here. You can also watch this video of Julia Child and Michel Richard making puff pastry, although they don't go on to make vols-au-vent. I recommend watching this video if you plan on making the recipe. Have fun!

TWD Rewind: Pumpkin Muffins

We had planned to have lunch with some friends this morning, so I decided to make these pumpkin muffins. I wasn't too excited about these, because I don't love pumpkin, but I decided to just make them and get it over with. Boy was I wrong. These are great! And they are some of the greatest-looking muffins I've ever made. They have really big tops, and the sunflower seeds on top make them look pretty (but you can't taste the seeds). The muffins don't taste too much like pumpkin, which I liked, and the nuts make them crunchy, while the raisins make them sweet. They are not the fastest to make, however, so you might not want to make them if you are planning to eat really soon after you get up. All in all, they were rated A's and A-'s.

As always, if you'd like the recipe, you can buy the book, or find it here. Enjoy!

TWD: Cottage Cheese Pufflets

This week's TWD recipe was chosen by Jaqcue of Daisy Lane Cakes. I have to say, I was very unsure about these cookies. I might of skipped making them had I not agreed to make all the recipes in the book. Had I done that, I would have missed out on a great recipe. The dough is easy to make in a food processor, and it is easy to work with when you roll it out. The only difficulty with this recipe is cutting out perfect squares if you're not using a cookie cutter. You also have to make sure to wet the edges of the dough before sealing them, but other than that the cookies are delicious. Even after I told her the "secret ingredient",my friend ate about ten of them! Have fun!

As always, if you'd like the recipe, you can buy the book, or you can find the recipe here.

TWD Rewind: Chunky Oatmeal and Chocolate Peanut Butter Chipsters

That has got to be one of the longest names in the book :D

Sorry, quick post today, as I am in a hurry. The picture above does not do these cookies justice; they look more like oatmeal cookies than chocolate chip. The peanut butter taste in these cookies is not very strong, but still present. They are delicious! Everybody rated them an A+. Just some advice: don't taste the batter, because you won't be able to stop eating. As usual, if you want the recipe, you can buy the book, or you can find it here. Enjoy!

Yogurt Pancakes

This morning we woke up wanting pancakes. However, I refuse to make the mixes that we have lying around, because I think that's cheating. I immediately went to the book Honest Pretzels, which, although it's for kids, has some fast, easy, and yummy recipes. The first recipe I saw was "Your Favorite Yogurt Pancakes". I looked at the instructions, and everything seemed simple and fast, exactly what you might want for a Sunday morning. They are actually pretty healthy, because they use a small amount of butter and no sugar. I subbed 1/2 cup whole-wheat and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour for the 1 cup ap to make them even healthier, and you couldn't taste the difference. These are not too sweet on their own, but great with syrup. Enjoy!

Your Favorite Yogurt Pancakes 

1 cup unbleached white flour (I used 1/2 cup ap and 1/2 cup white whole-wheat)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp butter for the batter, plus a little more for the pan

1 cup flavored yogurt (I used vanilla)

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

desired toppings

Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder. Make a dent in the mixture using a soup spoon.

Melt the butter.

Combine the yogurt, milk, egg, and melted butter. 

Pour the wet mixture into the dent in the dry mixture. Mix with a wooden spoon until you don't see any more flour.

Put a frying pan on the stove and turn the heat to medium. 

Coat the bottom of the pan in butter.

Use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to measure out the batter.

Cook for 5-8 minutes, flip, cook until done. (my cooking times got shorter as more were made).

Serve immediately with desired toppings (I used maple syrup).

note: these are not the exact instructions in the book, because the book is written for kids and says things like "use a dinner knife to cut a slice of butter". :D