salty smores bark

Now before you go calling the "salt police" (I stole that from Emeril).
Remember when he used to say that?
I love him and dearly miss his show Emeril Live.
He was such a presence, I mean he truly got you into the food, whether you were watching from home
or were live in the audience.
I loved watching Doc watch him.  Ohhh those faces Doc would make when Emeril was putting the
finishing touches on his creations.  Priceless.  The man was hungry!


OK so why the salt on a smores-themed bark?
Simple--it's so needed to balance out the sweetness of the marshmallows, chocolate and graham chunks.
With all those there is just too much sweet going on--we needed salt.
And the bottom of the bark is a nice buttery shortbread crust. Not too sweet not too salty, just right.
You know my love for barks around this time of year, and how I'm always striving to make a really good bark to giveaway to friends and my clients.
Everyone loves my Cheez It bark, but this year I wanted to do something different and something tasty, so that when they took their first bite, they said "oh, ok, this is rich and different--what is that crust...".
And the verdict from everyone that got a sample of this bark?
Thumbs up, can I order more? How long till I get it?
And the best part?  It's easy to make.
A hard part ? (because you always ask me "what's the hard part of this?").
If you have to find a hard part?  I just can't.
We mix the butter shortbread crust, we bake it, we immediately top it it with toppings, and let it set up.  That's it.
So maybe waiting for it to set up is the hard part?
And, trust me on adding a touch of sea salt to the top of the chocolate?
AND!!  If you're thinking of adding nuts to this?  I do think you are a clever little foodie--that sounds
fabulous.
You're gonna love this one--it's perfect for gift giving.


Note: this is when you add on a touch of sea salt!




salty smores bark
from vanillasugarblog.com
shortbread recipe from pastrychefonline.com
print recipe

shortbread:

8 oz. unsalted butter, room temp

½ cup confectioners sugar 

2 cups cake flour 

¼ teaspoon salt

smore toppings:

8-10 ounces good quality milk chocolate chips

3/4 cup +/- mini marshmallows

1/2 - 3/4 cup rough chop graham crackers

pinch or 3 or sea salt

(adding nuts might be a good idea too!)

I used an 8 or 9 inch tart pan with removable bottom; this would work best, if you don't have this

then use an 8 or 9 inch baking pan and spray with non stick spray and/or line with parchment paper.  

In a bowl (stand mixer or otherwise), cream together butter, sugar and salt.

Slowly work in cake flour until well combined. No need to overmix, lumps here and there are fine.

Using wet fingertips, spread dough into pan, making sure to get all the corners evenly.

Place prepared pan into fridge to firm up a bit before baking.  At least an hour. 

If you cover this well enough you can leave it overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat over to 350 degrees.

Bake 21 - 25 minutes until edges are LIGHTLY golden brown.  

Don't look for complete golden brown. 

Make sure to rotate pan halfway through baking too. 

Once it comes out of the oven place the milk chocolate chips on the top, let them melt a bit then spread

with knife or spoon and evenly spread around pan, not getting too close to the edges.

Sprinkle the chocolate with a nice hint of sea salt.

Place on the chopped graham crackers and the marshmallows.   

Using your hand, GENTLY push down the toppings so they sink into the chocolate--

don't push too hard. 

Please let this cool, then harden before slicing into it.

Makes about 15-18 bars; depending on how you slice them. 

homemade peppermint-white chocolate Nestle Crunch bars

Well that was fun!
Man did I love making these.
Actually had Nestle Crunch copycat recipe on my "baking bucket list" for a couple years.

They were easy to make too.
And you know what would make them a lot easier?
Square molds.
I need to invest in candy making molds: squares, triangle,, circles, etc....
That would have made this recipe fly by.
So, if you want to make these buy some cheap molds--any shape really will do.
Although I'd love to use a square one to replicate the square mini Nestle Crunch bars.
With molds, you can make batches of these with ease and grace.


These bars make the ultimate gift for family, friends and those office parties that have that horrid food.  Bring these and everyone will be jealous of you.  For reals.

Why did I double dip?  Why not!  Seriously I really wanted that "shock factor" of two colors.
Plus I wanted to make sure the rice krispies were not seen, and they looked more like candy bars.
Do you have to use white chocolate? No.
Use whatever you want, but I highly recommend the double dip.
Who doesn't want a double dip candy bar?



See this is where molds come in handy!



Or decorate with sprinkles.

homemade peppermint-white chocolate “Nestle Crunch” bars

recipe by vanillasugarblog.com

print recipe

for the bars:

11 ounces good quality milk chocolate (like Ghirardelli)

¾ - 1 TB vegetable oil

½ ts or more peppermint extract

2 cups rice krispies

for the white chocolate coating:

11 ounces high quality white chocolate (they melt much better)

¾ - 1 TB vegetable oil

½ ts or more peppermint extract

¼ cup (about) crushed candy canes, optional

In a large mixing bowl, place the 2 cups of rice krispies, set aside.

If you have small square chocolate molds I highly suggest using those for this creation. If not, line a small jellyroll pan with parchment paper.

In a small saucepan, over low heat melt the vegetable oil and the milk chocolate—constantly stirring until chocolate is melted.  After chocolate is melted and off the heat, add in the peppermint extract and mix.  Taste test it to see if it has enough mint in it for you.

Pour melted milk chocolate into bowl, and mix with spatula.  Mix until nice and combined, but being careful not to crush the rice krispies. 

Pour mixture over jellyroll pan and flatten as much as you can before it starts to set up.  Don’t make it too thin.  You should get a 10-inch long by 6-inch wide square—roughly.

Let this cool and harden.

Using a sharp knife, slice off the edges for a nice clean square. Then slice into small squares or whatever shapes you want.

Melt the white chocolate with the vegetable oil over low heat, stirring constantly.

Just when it starts to melt is when I take it off the heat and keep stirring.  If I need more then I put it back in, then back off, back on, etc..—this way you can avoid the chocolate seizing up.  The vegetable oil helps to thin the chocolate out and make it easier for dipping.

After the white chocolate is melted and off the heat, add in the peppermint extract and mix.  Do a taste test and see if it’s ok to you.  If not, add in more, in small amounts.

I dunked the chocolate squares into the melted white chocolate using my fingers.  I find it’s the best way for me. Use whatever method works best for you.  Let excess chocolate drip off then place on wire racks or parchment lined pans to set up/harden.

Immediately place the crushed candy cane on the tops of the bars. 

Let bars harden for at least a few hours.

This makes a small batch, about 15-20 bars, depending how you slice them.

friday links

There are a couple food blogs that I adore simply because of their amazing cake decorating and cookie decorating skills.
I have none of these skills.
I keep meaning to sign up for a class; at least a basic class on "how to decorate a darn cake".
Ever notice you hardly ever see any "frosted" cakes or "decorated" cookies on my blog?
Yeah, there's a reason for that.


This is from "The Sweet Adventures of Sugar Belle"
Those are her Christmas gift cookies!
Look at that detail.  I want to do this!  I must do this!

This is from Bake at 350.  She is the decorating cookie guru.
Elf on the Shelf cookies.  How cute?

And her peppermint candy cookies.
Bake at 350 (Bridget Edwards) has her first book out:

We need to do an interview with her, don't we?
All that talent, I must ask her lots and lots of cookie decorating questions!

I also adore I Am Baker.  Look at this cake that she created.
It has a surprise inside!

And go see her most recent cake post, it's another gorgeous cake decorating tutorial.

Do you like Grape Nuts? I don't, I feel as though I'm eating rocks. But here's a recipe
to make your own grape nuts at home.  (aka quarry oats).
Pumpkin spice palmiers from serious eats
Candy cane peppermint truffles from liv life
my go-to power smoothie (really good) from organic authority
interview with nyc prep school chef (love this, we need more of these people!) from food republic
9 surprising places to find probiotics from blisstree
should we ice injuries? from marks daily apple
wonderful interview w/ david lebovitz: your man in paris from food republic
how to inspire your brain from intent blog
6 anti-inflammatory foods that work like aspirin or NSAIDS from blisstree
holiday food gift ideas you can make from theKitchn
gift guide for the cheese lover from serious eats
10 ways to meditate for those who don't meditate (love this!!) from greatist
do friendly bugs fight fat? from vital choice
is frankenwheat haunting your diet? from intent blog
homemade dinner rolls in the crockpot from theKitchn
how to make homemade cultured butter from theKitchn
how to create what you want in 2013 from intent blog
wooden sushi set--so cute! from dwell studio


my energy has been low lately; this happens to me every winter when the sun is non-existent here in new england. I started using these B Caps from Twinlab for about a week now and have noticed a good increase in my energy levels.

I LOVE these! Found at Target.

Dove peppermint bark is good, not that minty though.

Everyone had these white chocolate peppermint M&M's, and of course I wanted them. Hard to find here on cape cod, but Target had them.
They are tasty, and of course go perfect in sugar cookies.

Seriously!  Do I even need to comment on these?  Delish!

I love Trader Joe's. Don't you?  Best new products, like every week!

These are ok, not ginger-y enough.

Didn't try these, who has?

Heavenly minty air.

A multi pack of Joe Joe's.

Kind of waxy.  Might be good in a crust for an ice cream cake though.

Have yet to try these.

Very good!

Oh my goodness, these were insanely good! Ate them all in one day.

whipping cream from a box.  afraid to try this one.  have you?

Anyone tried these?

this was ok, far cheaper than any other brands.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Interview with Anna Ginsberg of The Daily Cookie

I just love those times when I get to interview a dear friend.
And this is one of those times--a good friend of mine Anna Ginsberg of the famous cookie blog cookie madness has just released her first cookbook: The Daily Cookie.

The Daily Cookie
Some of you may remember Anna as the $1 million dollar winner of the 41^st Pillsbury Bake-Off.

Her original recipe for savory baked chicken and spinach stuffing beat out 98 other finalists from all over the country for the grand prize.

The winning dish consisted of baked chicken stuffed with spinach and frozen home-style waffle sticks, fresh sage and pecans. Topped it with waffle syrup in the peach glaze. 

She is also the creative genius behind her famous cookie and baking blog “Cookie Madness”.  Anna started her blog back in 2005 as a way to display her creative passion for creative cookies, but since then she’s added other baking recipes and a few food product reviews.

Anna is a self-taught baker, lives in Austin, Texas with her family, has appeared on the Today Show and even got the chance to cook with Oprah.

I was thrilled that Anna’s first cookbook: The Daily Cookie finally appeared last month and I was one of the lucky ones to receive first dibs on a copy.  

Not only is Anna a good friend, but she’s also one of my go-to people when I have a question about a baking dilemma. I can't tell you how many times I've emailed her at the last minute about some crazy baking problem I've created for myself and she calmly has the answer. 

Her cookbook: The Daily Cookie: 365 Tempting Treats for the Sweetest Year of Your Life is all about a reason to celebrate a different cookie recipe for each day of the year.  365 recipes for cookies that celebrate historic and pop culture events for every day of the year.  The holidays range from quirky to classic: Day of the Ninja (chocolate “Ninjabread” cookies), Squirrel Appreciation Day (caramel nut bars), Christmas (almond ginger toasts), and Valentine’s Day (mocha chocolate brownies). 

And as a bonus: each recipe includes full-color photographs of cookie as well as anecdotes, fun facts/trivia, and tips.

Recipes include chewy, crispy, no bake, sweet, salty, savory, gluten free—literally something for everyone.  I mean I wish I could tell you everything that is in here because there are some very creative cookie recipes.  And you get a historical fact about a cookie, how it came about, when, and more importantly why.  Excellent idea for a book!

Some of my favorites are:

Scottish oat cookies pg. 79

Macadamia white chocolate pineapple cookies pg. 183

Speculoos pg. 374

Spicy chocolate ginger guys pg. 342

chocolate rum crinkles pg. 382

cranberry, white chip and ginger cookie bark pg. 358

I made one of her recipes: Island Cookies, look for recipe after the interview AND a chance to win one of her cookbooks!

Questions:

Being the grand winner of the Pillsbury Bake-Off back in 2006 must have felt amazing.  

Curious to know was that the first time you entered the Pillsbury Bake-Off?   

Had you entered before?  What were some of the other recipes you entered?

2006 was my second time.  The first time, in 2004, I entered a recipe for Barbecued Chicken Triangles with Raita, an Indian dish made with crescent rolls, Lloyds shredded chicken in barbecue sauce, Indian spices, and raita made with Yoplait yogurt.  The recipe made it to the finals, but didn’t place. 

Before that I’d entered multiple contests to the point where it was becoming quite lucrative.  It was a super fun hobby and a great creative outlet. 

Are you still active in cooking contests? 

No.  Most of today’s contests involve voting, and I prefer the old way where recipes are developed at home and tested by judges.  I have a hard time asking people to vote for me if they haven’t actually tried the recipe.  

I would imagine you are now a judge in some of them? Which ones?  Any favorites? 

My favorite was probably judging a holiday cookie contest at a local Austin cookware shop.

Congrats on your first cookbook!  What an accomplishment.

And what a great idea to make a cookbook based on a different cookie for each day of the year.  Was this in the back of your mind for a while? 

Yes, but I wasn’t sure how I’d execute it.  My agent suggested The Daily Cookie, so I mulled that over, wrote a sample chapter, and realized it was fun trying to match a cookie with every day of the year.  It was a bit of a creative stretch and some days were easier to “cookie match” than others.  Now that I’ve written the book, I keep finding more quirky holidays and coming up with more cookies!

What kind of research did you do to line up a cookie with an historical event or fun fact of the day? 

Loads of reading books, library of congress website, Google, Wikipedia, and looking at calendars.  I actually found a lot more information on each day, but we had to edit a lot out.  In the end, that was probably a good thing.  The focus should be the cookies.

How long did it take you to finish the cookbook?

It was a blur!  I couldn’t even tell you.

Which cookie recipes are your favorites?

Because I was eating so many cookies during testing, I found myself craving the lighter cookies such as the various biscotti and “toasts”.  I also really like the Birdseed Bars and Ten at a Time Chocolate Chip Cookies (mini cookies).  But really, it depends on my mood.   House Chocolate Chip is still my favorite.  I also like the Milky Way Brownies.

Did you have any taste-testers help you? 

Yes, my husband’s co-workers were tasters.  I also had various people help test the recipes, which was enlightening!  It’s interesting to see how people approach directions.

Any recipes you had a hard time with? 

Yes, it took me forever to find just the right crust for the Millionaire Bars.  I wanted it to be very light and sandy – kind of like a Twix bar.  I must have made those 10 times, and finally settled on a cake flour based crust.  I also spent a lot of time trying to perfect the Bakewell Bars, which are modeled after an English tart called a Bakewell Tart.

It’s fairly obvious you’re a foodie, is your husband a foodie too? 

Actually, we’re terrible foodies because we are extremely picky.  We like really basic foods without sauces, and neither of us eat any seafood. We’re like first graders.  However, we LOVED going to Italy because everything is so simply prepared and tastes so fresh.  Neither of us are proud of our rejection of certain foods, so we go to great lengths to introduce our daughter to different things.  She prides herself on liking everything, and I’m hoping one day she’ll become a chef.

Does he make a great taste-tester? 

He’s really good at judging textures, so in that sense he is. 

What was it like being on Oprah? Were you nervous?

I was nervous until Oprah came out, and then it was easy.  She has a magical way of making you feel comfortable on stage. 

Are there any tips or tricks you learned unexpectedly while making all these cookies for the cookbook? 

Not so much “learned” as was “reminded of”.  For instance, some cookies bake up so much higher on an ungreased cookie sheet as opposed to one that’s been greased or line with slick foil.  I knew that, but doing all that testing really drove the point home. 

For your food blog cookiemadness.net when looking at recipes to try or create next, what sparks your interest most?

I like it when a recipe has an unusual or unexpected ingredient.  For instance, sugar cookies with vanilla pudding mix or cookies made with cornstarch or some unusual type of sugar like coconut palm.  It’s fun to see whether or not certain recipes with unusual ingredients catch on.  For instance, the Hard Boiled Egg Cookies and Frito Candy became quite popular.

And with your food blog, you do a lot of cookie posting, almost a new cookie recipe 3-5 times a week; where do you get the inspiration for all this?

Everywhere!  But mostly I just go for what I’m craving, which is why I have tons of variations on chocolate chip, brownie and peanut butter. 

Do you have any future plans to open a “cookie shop”?

I kind of like the idea of it, but running a store is completely different than home baking, writing a book or baking for fun, so I’d have to commit to a retail lifestyle.  It’s fun to think about, and I know people how have been very successful at it. 

Any other ‘hidden talents’ we should know?

No, outside of baking and cooking I’m pretty useless. Seriously, I wish I could play the drums, but Todd’s (husband) a drummer and I know I’ll never measure up.

Favorite comfort foods?

Ice cream, pizza, fried chicken, steak, fries, pasta, chocolate, and red wine!

Food(s) you don’t care for?

Not enough room to list, but I’ll start with all game, forest animals, all fish and pretty much anything from the sea except for salt, mushrooms, most squash, and tarragon.

Favorite places to travel for the food?

Italy! 

Will there be a second cookbook?

If there is, it will have fewer than 365 recipes.  That was a lot.

Thank you Anna!  And if you would like a chance to win a copy of this cookbook, please leave ONE comment telling us your favorite cookie recipe.
We'll do the drawing December 12, 2012.
Please have a valid email in your comment and/or signature line.
I can't tell you how many Anonymous comments I get that are useless in contests.

From the The Daily Cookie I made the Island Cookies.
A coconut based cookie with a hint of rum and nuts.
Sadly I did not have dried pineapple on hand so I used butterscotch chips instead--tasted just as good, but I highly suggest using the dried pineapple.

Island Cookies

From the book The Daily Cookie

print recipe

1 ¼ cups finely grounded quick-cooking oats (use coffee grinder or processor)

1 cup flour

1 ts baking powder

¼ ts salt

8 TB unsalted butter, room temp

¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

¾ cup sugar

1 large egg

1 ts rum extract

½ cup dried pineapple, chopped (I used butterscotch chips)

2 2/3 cups sweetened flaked coconut (I used 1 cup)

2/3 cups pecans, toasted and chopped (I used 1 cup)

Bakers Note:

Containing over 2 ½ cups of coconut, these chewy cookies are for coconut lovers.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees., place rack in the center of oven.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or non-stick foil.

Mix the ground oats, flour, baking powder, and salt together, set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and both sugars on medium speed until creamy.  Beat in egg and extract and continue beating for another minute.

By hand or using lowest speed of the mixer, stir in the flour mixture, followed by the dried pineapple, coconut, and pecans.  The dough will be thick. 

Shape into 1-inch balls and arrange 2 inches apart, flattening them slightly on the baking sheet.  Bake one sheet at a time for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.  Let cool a bit before moving to wire rack to cool completely.  

homemade gingerbread bark

Not truly a big fan of white chocolate.


I think it may be stem from childhood when I ate one of those white chocolate bunnies during Easter.
Remember those?  Nice waxy, chemically aftertaste, inability to melt, stayed in little pocket piles on your back teeth?....
All the other kids were chowing them down, while I sat there inspecting the insides for evidence of falsehood, thinking how is this chocolate? Why is this chocolate--
Chocolate is dark, rich, melts in your mouth.
White chocolate doesn't melt in your mouth and tastes just like those wax lip candies.  Remember those? I never got that rage either.
Thankfully the appearance of high quality white finally made its appearance in my life, and I "kind of" grew to "love it".
Experimenting with it, mastering the art of tempering with it grabbed my attention
It's one of those chocolates  in my opinion, that needs texture; a crushed Oreo, a nice salty chunk of Cheez It crackers, pineapple & coconut, peanut butter cups, .....



Easy peasy to put together. Prebake gingerbread cookie & butter mixture til crisp.

Spread white chocolate ganache over the crust.

Sprinkle with gingerbread cake crumbles. That's it!

Easy right?
Do I even need to tell you how tasty this is?
Gingerbread and white chocolate are meant to be together--forever.


And away they go on a field trip.....I shall miss them.
gingerbread bark
print recipe

2 cups gingerbread cookies, crushed almost fine (use a hard cookie)

1 stick (8 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

a few dashes of cinnamon

a couple pinches of sea salt

1 cup high quality white chocolate chips or chunks (Ghirardelli is good)

1-2 TB half & half or heavy cream

½ - 1 cup of gingerbread cake crumbles or more crushed gingerbread cookies

Cook notes:

You’ll need some baked gingerbread for this recipe.  If you’re short on time, you can use the Trader Joe’s gingerbread cake mix—it’s pretty tasty.

If you don’t have any gingerbread cake, you could also use gingerbread cookie crumbs for the top (I haven’t tried this, but certain it might taste ok).

I used a 8 or 9 inch tart pan with removable bottom.  If you don’t have this you can use an 8 or 9 inch brownie pan and use foil to line the pan. This will help you remove bark from pan with ease.

If you really like the taste of ginger, adding a few slices of candied ginger to the top would be a nice touch.

For the crust:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the crushed gingerbread cookies with the melted butter, add a few hefty dashes of cinnamon and a couple pinches of sea salt.

Using a 8 or 9 inch tart pan (one with a removable bottom is perfect), spray with nonstick spray.  Place the crust mixture into the bottom and spread evenly in pan, making sure to get all the corners.

Bake for 12-16 minutes or until crust is almost crisp.

Remove from oven and let cool.

Temper the white chocolate with the half & half until you have a nice white glossy ganache. Using a spatula,  spread the ganache over the cookie crust evenly.  Try not to let it go to the sides of pan if you can.

While chocolate is still warm, sprinkle the top of the bark with the gingerbread crumbles.  Let set up at room temp for a bit, then transfer to fridge to harden.