Armenian Almond Pastry – Nazook

Cooking class is one of my highlights of the month for obvious reasons. First off, I don’t have to prepare anything. Second, I get to chat, socialize and take pictures and eat. No grocery shopping, prepping food or clean up. (Well I do try to help clean up…..) This is a yummy Armenian pastry recipe that is unique and will make your taste buds dance and sing. 😉 Enjoy!

Nazook Recipe: Walnut Pastry (this recipe I got from aashpazi.com

• 1 Cup Plain Yogurt
• 1/2 Tsp Yeast
• 1 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 2 Medium Eggs
• 5 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 2 1/2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
• 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
• 1/4 Tsp Cardamom Powder
• 1/4 Tsp Nutmeg
• 1/2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1 Cup Walnuts

PREPARATIONS:

1- Grate 1/4 of a nutmeg.
2- Grind the walnuts.

DIRECTIONS:

1- Combine the yogurt, yeast, baking powder, 2/3 cup vegetable oil and 1 cup of sugar in a large bowl.
2- Beat one egg until stiff and add to the bowl, stir well.
3- Add 4 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour to the bowl gradually, combine well.
4- Knead the batter for few minutes.
5- In a small pot, combine 1/4 cup of vegetable oil with 2 & 1/2 tbsp of unsalted butter. Heat the pot and stir until well mixed.
6- Add 1 cup of powdered sugar to the butter pot.
7- Add the cardamom powder, nutmeg powder, cinnamon, half cup of all purpose flour and the ground walnuts to the pot, and mix thoroughly.
8- On a well floured working surface, roll out and halve the batter.
9- Using a rolling pin, roll the batter into a square.
10- Spread half of the butter/walnut mixture across the batter evenly.
11- Roll the batter into a oval cylinder.
12- Cut the batter vertically (2-3 inches).
13- Place the batters on a well floured nonstick bakeware.
14- Beat one egg and brush the surface of each batter.
15- Preheat the oven to 350º f (176º c).
16- Place the batters in the oven and bake for 35 minutes or until golden.

Cupcake in a Jar (A Nifty Gifty!)

 

Are you trying to think of something to give for the holidays that is completely NEW and so not boring? Try a cupcake in a jar! Simply layer cake with various frostings, custards and toppings of your choosing. Wrap it with a bow and tie on a spoon. You can make ahead and freeze and then thaw before handing out! Let the season of giving begin.

This is what it looks like “jar-less”

 

 

Easter “Bunt-ey” Cake and Egg Dying

 

It all started with Georgiana wanting to wash her hands in the kitchen sink. I got out a little step stool for her and that was it. She basically LOVES to stand on that thing. Well, since she was already up there I started to see if she wanted to help me cook which she did. That lead to her DEMANDING that we cook every morning (and wearing an apron!). So I decided that we can’t have baked goods lying around every day after our morning bake-off so we would have to start giving the stuff away. Since Easter is this weekend (tomorrow!) I thought a lovely pastel pink bunt cake would be a nice choice. And Georgiana did the finishing touches by drawing a little picture for her friends to serve as the gift tag. Happy Easter everyone! (The last two egg dying shots are just for fun. Doesn’t Georgiana look like she’s having the time of her life!? 😉

Easter Bunt-ey Cake

Ingredients: (based of Better Homes & Gardens “Easy day cake with coconut topping.“)

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

dash of salt

1 recipe simple glaze (see below)

Directions:

Grease two 6 inch bunt cake pans and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a mixing bowl combine flour, sugar and baking powder. Add milk, butter, egg and vanilla. Beat on low speed until combined. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely. Carefully turn over bunt cakes so that the mold comes out cleanly.

Pour glaze over cakes. If you like, sprinkle some zest on top for decoration. Enjoy!

Recipe Simple Glaze:

1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

3 tbs milk

Mix all ingredients together until combined. Add food coloring if desired.

 

 

 

 

(if you don’t have a cake base on hand you can always cut one out of a paper plate. 😉

Pizelle’s (a cream/preserve filled mini waffle)

Another cooking class recipe! The beautiful women at my church get together once a month to do a cooking class and we always come away with a full belly, laugher and a new recipe. This time we did pizzelle’s which is sort of like a thin waffle filled with cream and preserves. Think waffle meets cannoli. Pretty yummy, right? I thoughts so too and the proof is in each bite. Enjoy!

Classic Pizelles

6 eggs

3 1/2 c. flour

1 1/2 c. sugar

2 T. vanilla or anise

1 c. margarine, melted (do not substitute oil)

4 tsp. baking powder

Beat eggs, adding sugar gradually.  Beat until smooth

Add cooled margarine and vanilla or anise

Mix together flour and baking powder.

Blend into egg mixture until smooth. Dough will be sticky enough to be dropped by spoon.

Bake in Pizzelle Baker.  Makes approximately 60

Chocolate Pizzelles

1/2 c. cocoa

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. baking powder

Add cocoa, additional sugar and baking powder into dry ingredients for Classic Pizelles.

Blend into egg mixture until smooth.

Bake in Pizzelle Baker.  Makes approximately 60

Cream Filling

1 small package instant pudding (4 serving size)

1 1/4 c. milk

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tsp. almond extract

In small bowl beat whipping cream to stiff peaks.  Set aside.  In a separate bowl whisk pudding mix and milk.  Fold in whipped cream and almond extract.

Simply Berry Sauce

2 c. frozen berries (any variety)

2 T. berry preserves or jam (any flavor)

In a microwave safe bowl heat berries for 1 minute.  Add preserves.  Either mash or blend lightly in blender.

How To Make Sugar Cookies with a Jelly Center (Video

 

I’m super excited to announce that I have completed a video series on cookie decorating/making. The series is on ehow.com and above is a video on how to make sugar cookies with a jelly center.  Thanks for watching!

 

Pink, Blush & Ivory Rose Ombre Cake

Okay okay, I know that ombre is the big thing right now but I really couldn’t resist. I mean, how delightful is cake with pink, blush and ivory roses piped on the outside? So sweetly romantic and darn easy too. All you need (besides the obvious) is a large icing star tip, and icing bag (see my video on how fill an icing bag mess free!) and some food coloring. The trick with the icing is to make the consistency firm enough that the icing keeps its shape but not so firm that you can’t get it out. (So with your basic buttercream icing recipe, keep milk and powdered sugar on hand for firming or loosening the icing). And the trick with food color is to use ONE DROP at a time until you get the desired color. More than one or two drops of red food coloring in white icing can create a barbie pink VERY quickly. (I like slightly more subtle colors myself). Below are few more specifics on how to get started. Enjoy!

Things you Need:

Baked Round Cakes filled with either buttercream or a filling of your choice. (The size and amount of layers is up to you. I use the Better Homes & Garden’s Yellow Cake Recipe myself…)

Buttercream Frosting (I always refer to Savory Sweet Life’s Recipe. This won’t be enough so make more than you think you need for the size cake!)

Red Food Color

Large Star Icing Tip (and a small one as well to fill in gaps)

Icing Bags

Saran Wrap

Directions:

Divide your frosting into three parts and color with food coloring until you’ve reached your desired look. (Make SURE before you color the frosting that you have enough! Its almost impossible to get the color exactly the same if you run out….)  Cut the end off your icing bag and put in your large star tip until bag is tight around the edges of the tip. Make sure that no icing can get out. Take a large piece of saran wrap and lay it flat on the counter.  Spoon in as much frostings (from the color you want to use for the top) as will fit while leaving enough room to wrap up like a sausage. Wrap saran wrap around the frosting and twist the ends until tight. Cut off one end of the saran wrap and put the cut end into the icing bag first (so the icing can get out and through the star tip). Twist the top of the icing bag until there is enough tension to pip the icing out.

With a circular motion make a rose in the very center of the cake. Continue making roses evenly until you reach the point where you want to switch to the next color. Continue with the next color and switch again when necessary.

Chamomile Ice Cream

On a cool winter’s night there is nothing better than a steamy cup of chamomile tea right before bed. But what about in the summertime when its hot!? Chamomile ice cream is the answer to that questions. Its been so hot around here lately (well, in Santa Barbara hot means anything above 75 degree’s) and a frosty bowl of relaxing ice cream is just the ticket. If you haven’t tried chamomile tea I highly recommend it. Its know for its soothing qualities and is the reason I drink it before bed. It has a sort of flower meets dried field sort of taste. Like if you stood in the middle of a dry grassy field and opened your mouth when its windy… Well maybe not exactly like that but you get the idea. Anyway, this recipe was modified from a Lavender Honey ice cream recipe by Kevin Weeks that I found online. (The lavender version is amazing too!) Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup half and half
• 2 tbsp. agave syrup (or honey)
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 4 chamomile tea bags
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 4 lg. egg yolks

Preparation:

1. Heat half and half, agave syrup, chamomile, salt and 1 cup of the heavy cream in a sauce pan over medium heat until mixture begins to bubble and an instant-read thermometer reads 170 – 175 degrees F.

2. Remove from heat, cover, and allow to steep for 30 minutes. Strain mixture into a medium bowl and discard chamomile.

3. Return cream mixture to sauce pan over medium heat and warm to 170 degrees. Stir in sugar until dissolved.

4. Whip egg yolks in a small bowl then whisk in 1/2 of cream mixture. Whisk egg mixture back into sauce pan and return to medium heat.

5. Cook, stirring steadily until mixture coats the back of a spoon and a finger drawn through the back of the spoon leaves a trail and mixture registers 170 – 175 degrees F. Do not boil.

6. Strain mixture into a medium bowl in large bowl surrounded by ice.

7. Stir in remaining cream, add water to ice, and cool until ice melts then cover bowl and refrigerate for at least three hours until cold.

8. Freeze mixture in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions then scoop into an airtight container and put in freezer to harden.

Mint Milano Log

I feel like this dessert needs no explanation. Just read the title. Mint.Milano.Log. Yep, I want that.

Who has seen the Jim Gaffigan comedy sketch where he talks about undressing a mint milano cookie? “Hey there cookie, let me help you with that mint milano pack….let me help you get out of that wrapper and into something a little more comfortable.” He cracks me up….

ANYWAY. This recipe is so easy I almost don’t need to write it out. Just look at the photos! But seriously, this is easy, delicious and just fun. Its a version of a peppermint whipped cream log my Mom often makes at Christmas. Her recipe has chocolate wafers, whipped cream and crushed candy canes. So the difference here is that I substituted mint milano cookies for the chocolate wafers and andes mints for the peppermint. Voila! When I was growing up, mint milano cookies were my parents little treat many nights while they watched Nick at Nite. I remember trying to make sure I could snag a cookie as they went fast due to my Dad’s cookie monster like techniques. And my sister Sarah and I were major Andes mints fans. When we were kids we’d walk to the drug store and buy them all the time. Its not really a kid type of candy but what can I say? We had mature taste. 😉 If  we were in a mischievous mood we’d fold up an empty Andes Mint wrapper to look like it had something in it and give it to each other as a trick. We had a BFF/Frenemy type relationship as kids…! 😉 This nostalgic hodge podge makes for a great dessert though. Enjoy!

Whipping cream in a mixer is soooo easy… 😉

My beloved Andes mints 😉

Layers of whipped cream in between the cookies

Making the “log”

Sprinkle the top with crushed Andes Mints.

Recipe:

2 packages mint milano cookies

16 oz whipping cream

1 teaspoon mint flavoring

1 package andes mints

Directions:

Whip up the whipping cream using 2 tablespoons of sugar. Add mint flavoring. Taste and add more mint if you like.

To make the log, take four cookies and spread a dollop of whipped cream in between them sandwiching them together. When done with one row, start on the next. You should have four cookies wide and four row long approximately. It also depends on the size of your platter. After your done, spread a thick coating of whipped cream around the entire log. Sprinkle with the crushed Andes Mints. Refrigerate overnight. Serve and enjoy!

Old Fashioned Peach Pie

(Sorry, didn’t mean to be giving the finger in this shot. You get the idea…)

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Pie Filling

12 peaches

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg, beaten

2 tablespoons butter cut into small cubes

Pie Dough: 

2 3/4 Cups Flour

½ Tbs Salt

4 Tbs cold unsalted butter cut into pieces

1 Cup Shortening

½ Cup Ice Water

Directions: 

Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Add the butter and using your fingers cut in into the flour until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Break up the shortening an add it in little bits and cut it into mixture with your hands. Continue working the mixture until it has small clumps and curds. Switch to a wooden spoon and add the ice water, stirring to incorporate it. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and fold it over on its self a few times. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or for as long as 5 days.

In the meantime, fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add peaches and allow to boil for several minutes until peel come off easily.  The peaches will be VERY hot so use tongs as you put them into an ice bath. Remove peel and pits.  Take all peaches and put onto a large cutting board and cut into slices. Put peaches into a large mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a separate bowl. Mix together thoroughly. Pour mixture onto peaches and stir enough to combine but don’t over do it. Set aside

Take chilled pie dough out of refrigerator and lay out on floured work surface. Separate into two equal amounts. Roll out the first portion of dough and transfer to a glass pie plate. If the pie crust isn’t even on all sides then use excess dough to fill in open spots. Beat an egg and brush onto the bottom of the pie to make sure  the filling doesn’t stick. Pour pie filling into crust. Dot with butter. Roll out second portion of dough and transfer to the top of the pie. Cut sides of the pie so their is ½ inch around and with your fingers crimp the edges. Brush the top with more egg wash for browning.

Bake for 45-60 minutes until golden brown and bubbling around edges. If the edges of the pie start over browning and the top still has a ways to go then cover with a piece of aluminum foil with a hole cut out of the center. This way  the middle of the pie continues to brown while the edge stay the same. HERE is a little explanation if my directions aren’t clear… Take out of oven and let cool. Enjoy!

Cap n’ Gown Treats

Graduation season is coming up! These little Cap n’ Gown treats are easy to make and super impressive looking which makes it a win-win dessert.  And since my brother graduated from UCLA and is now going to Harvard for graduate school I want to be sure to really impress him… I’m sure this will do the trick. haha!

Ingredients:

Hostess Mini Chocolate Donuts

Ghiradelli Chocolate Squares (individually wrapped)

Red Twizzlers (unraveled and cut in one inch pieces)

Buttercream Frosting (reserve a small amount and dye red. Put it into a piping bag affixed with a small round tip)

Direction for Assembling:

Take a donut and spread a small amount of buttercream frosting on the top. Place a chocolate square over the buttercream. Place a twizzler and secure it onto the middle of the cap by piping a dot of red icing over it. Repeat with remaining ingredients.