Pumpkin, Brown Butter, Pine Nut-Rosemary Brittle Cookies

"Sometimes you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find a real prince."  This saying fits perfectly with the journey these cookies went on before they landed here and were deemed worthy by the Queen to set before thou.  I baked these Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Buttercream and Pine Nut-Rosemary Brittle for Mother's Day gifts and to say they were received in royal fashion is an understatement.  I guess eating all those ugly frogs to get to a real prince was worth the treadmill time after all.

Proclamation from the Queen:  "Go forth loyal subjects and make your cookie calorie consumption for the weekend count."  Don't be like the Queen who will shove any old frog in her mouth for the benefit of her subjects.  (The shame is real.)

Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Buttercream and Pine Nut-Rosemary Brittle

Frosting: 

1/2 cup unsalted butter

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature 

3 cups powdered sugar 

2-3 tablespoons heavy cream 

Pinch sea salt 

1.  Place 1/2 cup of the butter in a small pot and place on a burner on medium-low heat, let cook for 7-10 minutes until the butter is nice and browned. Place the pot in the fridge (or freezer) until the butter is firm again. 

2.  Mix and bake cookie dough while the butter is firming up. 

Cookies: 

3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature 

2/3 cup granulated sugar 

2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed 

1/2 cup pumpkin puree 

2 eggs 

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

1.  Heat oven to 375 degrees F. 

2.  Combine in a large mixing bowl butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar, mix on low speed until well incorporated. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and vanilla. Stir well until combined. (If you have a whole can of puree you can freeze the remainder or use it in pancakes or waffles.) 

3.  Scoop heaping tablespoon sized balls of dough onto baking sheets that are prepared with parchment or silicone mats. Place balls a few inches apart, about 12 per sheet. Should get about 48 cookies from the dough. (A cookie scoop works really well for a soft dough like this one.)

4.  Bake one tray of cookies on the middle rack of the oven for 8-10 minutes, repeat for rest of trays. The cookie will just barely spring back when ready. Place cookies on cooling rack to completely cool, or just lift off the whole sheet of parchment and leave it on the counter to cool.

5.  Remove browned butter from fridge and add to the bowl of a mixer along with the additional 4 tablespoons of room temperature butter and start beating with a whisk attachment on low speed. Once softened add the powder sugar a little bit a time, starting and stopping the mixer to fully incorporate. Add the salt and cream and mix until the frosting is nice and fluffy. Add the frosting to a disposable piping bag with the tip snipped off and pipe on top of the cooled cookies. 

Pine Nut-Rosemary Brittle: 

1/4 cup light corn syrup 

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

1/4 cup water 

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 

2.25 ounces (about 1/2 cup) pine nuts, toasted 

Pinch of flake sea salt 

1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely minced 

1.  In a small skillet toast pine nuts on medium-low heat until slightly golden. Remove from heat and let cool. 

2.  In a small pot add the corn syrup, water, and granulated sugar. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat and let cook until a candy thermometer reaches 300 degrees or until it turns light amber in color. Whisk in butter and fold in nuts, salt, and rosemary. Pour mixture onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment and smooth to a thin layer with a silicone spatula. Once cool, break or cut into small pieces and place on top of the frosted cookies.

Go forth, enjoy your weekend, hang out in the company of some real princes for a change, you deserve it.  

The Queen!

Chocolate Sourdough Pretzel Shortbread with Milk Chocolate Buttercream

Let's just start things out by stating,  "I'm here but I might not be here", and if you can figure that one out you are much smarter than I am my friend.  I should probably just stay off social media and quit advertising my wares because it never fails that I'm hit up with the request for a recipe for said tantalizing item I dangle in front of you all.  I always feel kind of crappy when I don't hand it over, like I'm just hogging all the good stuff for myself or something.  I've come to realize over these past few years it makes some people happy that I bother to share and others annoyed and quite possibly pissed that I'm over here showing off my goodies while they are holed up on the couch with a bag of stale chips. But regardless of how anyone feels about it I've also come to realize it makes me happy in some small way so I guess I can deal with it.

I bought the book "Cookie Love" by Mindy Segal on the recommendation of the fabulous Patty from Patty's Food and I'm loving it.  So many things to try, so little time these days.  I've also come to realize I can't even keep the battery charged in my camera from lack of use, so a cell phone and little editing is something I'm more than content with.  I should probably warn you this recipe isn't for the faint of heart, but it is darn delicious and so worth the effort.

Chocolate Pretzel Shortbread with Milk Chocolate Buttercream

(Adapted from "Cookie Love" by Mindy Segal)

Shortbread:

2 cups sourdough pretzel nuggets

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 

1/2 teaspoon sea salt flakes

1 ½ cups (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted (I was out and used granulated, worked fine, p.s. sifting is for sissy types.  I did make these a second time with confectioners’ sugar and the only noticeable difference was a little finer texture to the shortbread with the confectioners’ sugar.)

2 large egg yolks, at room temperature (She calls for extra-large eggs, but I don't ever use those so feel free if that is what you have.)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (Please forward the name of that one person still using imitation if you come by it.)

Milk Chocolate Caramel Buttercream:

1/2 cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature 

1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted (I didn’t sift, my bad, probably used a bit more than a cup also.  I just add sugar until I get the consistency I like, more like 1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups.)

5 1/2 ounces milk chocolate, melted and cooled

1 ½ tablespoons whiskey (Didn’t use, not going to admit whether or not I drank any.)

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Pinch of sea salt flakes

1/3 cup Caramel Sauce (She has a recipe for it, but I just used a couple of heaping tablespoons of a jarred Dulce De Leche I had on hand, because I can admit it, I’m a slacker.  Pst, don’t let it get around.)

To Finish:

6 ounces melted dark chocolate

A small amount of crushed pretzel nuggets

1. Make the shortbread: Put the pretzels in a food processor and pulse until its crumbs but not powder. Pulse in the flour, cocoa, and salts.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter on medium speed for 5 to 10 seconds. Add the sugar and mix on low speed to incorporate. Increase the speed to medium and cream the butter mixture 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula to bring the batter together.

3. Add the egg yolks and vanilla to the mixer and mix for a few seconds longer.

4. Add the pretzel-flour mixture all at once and mix on low speed until the dough just comes together. Divide the dough into two equal portions.

5. Put a sheet of parchment paper 13x18-inches on the counter and lightly dust with flour. Place one piece of dough on top and cover with another sheet of parchment. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough half into a rectangle approximately 11x13-inches and ¼-inch thick. Ease the rolled dough onto a sheet pan and place in the fridge. Repeat for the other piece of dough. Let chill at least 1 hour until really firm.

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a couple of half sheet pans with parchment paper or silicone mats.

7. Roll a dough docker (or fork) over the dough to pierce. (I don't own a docker, so fell free to dock at your own risk, sounds a little dangerous to me anyways.) Cut dough into 1 3/4-x 2-inch rectangles or 2-inch squares. Put the shortbread on the prepared sheet pans, evenly spaced, up to 16 cookies per pan. (Cut the cookies tightly so you don’t have as many scraps to re-roll, you also have to let the scraps get cold again, because the dough becomes really sticky once it reaches room temp.) I got about 56 squares out of the dough once the scraps were re-rolled.

8. Bake one pan at a time for 10 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake until the cookies feel firm, 3-5 minutes more. Let the cookies cool completely on the sheet. Repeat.

9. Make frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter briefly on medium speed for 5-10 seconds. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy and pale, add the chocolate, (whiskey), salt, vanilla extract, and caramel sauce. Taste and add more sugar or salt as needed. Fill a disposable piping bag with frosting. (Using a piping tip is up to you, I didn’t bother.) Match the cookies to size and pipe one half of each set with frosting. 

10. Melt the chocolate in a shallow bowl on half power for a few seconds in the microwave and dip the cookie sandwiches in a little bit of the way, lay them on a baking sheet lined with parchment and sprinkle the chocolate with a little crushed pretzel. (Store them in the fridge till firm.)

11. Now go pour yourself a nice cocktail because you are going to be at this recipe for a good long while. (You should probably do this again for good measure.)

As for me I have summer to get back to, it has been filled with ups and downs (literally) a real challenge in so many ways.  So many miles logged and so much dust removed from my shoes.

I have to say the miles sure do go a lot faster and seem easier when you have good company in tow. 

So many cookies baked and shared with friends near and far.  Hard to believe my daughter's best friend had a little girl of her own.

A day well spent having a friend over and helping her learn the mysterious ways of the macaron.  

Okay, well maybe not every cookie gets shared.

So many wine country days still need to be had. 

Setbacks aside this year I'm writing this in hopes that things move forward and up from here.  

Happy summer!

Gina

Strawberry-Vanilla Bean Cupcakes - Fit for Royalty

The castle has been a blur of activity the last couple of weeks.  I've been on a quest, an important quest indeed.  Wandering about the castle, I came upon something so obvious and glaring I had to do something about it.   From all outward appearances it was still a grand place complete with a moat.  The shimmer of its former glory was still there, it was just a little worn and faded.  So I set about on a long and tiring journey to put the gleam back into its facade.

There was a lot of climbing involved, a bit of heavy lifting (castle furniture isn't light) and even some get down on your knees scrubbing.

The King and Princess who live in the castle think nothing of leaving their armor and ball gowns lying about, but I was afraid the expected noble men and women who were making the long journey here would frown upon such un-tidiness.

Amidst all the activity swirling about the castle, a Birthday was in need of a celebrating.  This was a special birthday for a special "Best Friend of the Kingdom".  Her only request was strawberries; I cast aside the mops and rags and set about baking some special Strawberry-Vanilla Bean Cupcakes for this special Best Friend.

This Best Friend has been through so much recently and I've tried to stay strong and help her as best as I can.  She is surviving breast cancer and chemo may have taken her hair, but it has in no way dimmed her radiant smile.  She has inspired me to grow in ways I didn't even know I could, rethink old thoughts and love even more.

She is more beautiful than any rose I've laid my eyes upon.

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

6 ounces cake flour

6 ounces granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 1- inch pieces

1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out

5 ounces milk

3 ounces egg whites

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Add to a large bowl or bowl of a mixer, cake flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt.  Mix to combine the dry ingredients.  Add butter, vanilla bean seeds, milk and egg whites, mix on medium speed until the batter is smooth.

Fill 12 paper lined muffin cups and bake for 12-15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let cool.

Note:  You will need a kitchen scale to measure some of the ingredients, but I assure you an investment in one is well worth it if you bake with any frequency.

Strawberry-Vanilla Coulis

1 pound strawberries, 5 or 6 reserved for garnish

1/4 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Combine strawberries, vanilla bean seeds and sugar in a food processor, pulse until smooth.  Pass through a fine sieve to remove seeds.  Pour 3/4 of the contents into a squeeze bottle and reserve the other 1/4 for the buttercream.  Set aside.

Strawberry-Vanilla Buttercream

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out

1/4 of the strawberry-vanilla coulis

3-4 cups powdered sugar

Place the butter in a bowl of a mixer and mix until the butter gets really soft and smooth, it will look a bit fluffy and paler in color.  Add the vanilla bean seeds and strawberry-vanilla coulis, mix and slowly start adding the powdered sugar until you get the frosting to a nice spreading consistency.  I left the icing a little on the softer side, if you want it a little thicker just add a little more sugar.

To assemble the cupcakes, take the squeeze bottle filled with strawberry-vanilla coulis and press the tip into the cupcake and squeeze, repeat over the top of the cupcake.  Repeat for the rest of the cupcakes.

I frosted the cupcakes with a disposable piping bag with a small amount of the tip cut off and garnished them with just that little bit of extra love that was necessary.

I cut the sides off of the remaining strawberries and used a small heart shaped cutter to make strawberry hearts and threaded them onto toothpicks for an edible garnish.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

I have to say making these cupcakes lifted her spirits and mine too.  Getting the castle ready for a new family has tired me in more ways than I knew.

Stay strong my friend and I will stay strong right by your side.

Gina

Brandy Apple Cupcakes with Blue Cheese Buttercream

It's as if Fall snuck in overnight without making a sound.  All the offerings at the farm stand have changed and I myself am more than delighted to welcome all the new produce.  The apples were orderly lined up in bins, pumpkins ready to take home; I just love this time of year.

I've seemed a little down; with good reason I assure you.  On top of a medical emergency in my own house, my best friend was diagnosed with that ugly word, so ugly; I don't even want to write it.  I felt helpless, but I'm finding ways to be of use.  I know food will be an important part of that.  Bringing food and a smile to someone who isn't well is always a boost.

When she wins her fight, and I have complete faith she will; I think a trip for the two of us is long overdue.  I could see us stopping in France first.  We could easily rock berets, and I could balance at least 6 baguettes underneath my arm and I think fall would be the perfect time of year.

Until we step off that plane, I figured why not bring a little of France to us.  When I saw Patty's Apple Spelt Pound Cake, I knew I was going to make it.  Somehow though, the tour bus got side tracked and I ended up making these cupcakes.

Brandy Apple Cupcakes with Blue Cheese Buttercream

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 cup peeled, cored and chopped baking apples (I used Jonathans)

¼ cup brandy

¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

3 large eggs, separated

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

¼ tsp. sea salt

Combine sugar, brandy and apples in a bowl and set aside.

Add egg whites to the bowl of a mixer and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

In another bowl combine butter, egg yolks, flour, cinnamon, vanilla and salt, stir to combine. Add apple mixture and stir till combined.

Fold egg whites into the batter and scoop batter into 12 paper lined muffin cups.

Bake in 350 degree F oven for 16-18 minutes.

Blue Cheese Buttercream

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

3 cups powdered sugar

Pinch salt

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

2-3 tbsp. milk

Beat the butter on high speed for 2-3 minutes until it softens and lightens in color. Slowly add in powdered sugar and beat until combined. Add salt and blue cheese and slowly add in milk until the frosting is spreading consistency. I will add more if it seems too thick. The blue cheese really does pop in the icing and cuts through some of the sweetness.

You can either spread the frosting on or use a star tip and piping bag like I did.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

I also had a little bit of fun with some melted dark & white chocolate.  I bought an Eiffel Tower mold the last time I was at my favorite cake store; Spun Sugar in Berkeley, CA.  Somehow I never leave empty handed?  For the gilded look, I combined a little bit of gold luster dust with a little vodka and brushed it on.

You must go see Patty's icing job she did on the Pound Cake, her frilly baking panties are really showing on that one.

You'll have to let me know where you are headed next, so I can tag along on the bus. 

Enjoy,

Gina