Double Chocolate Almond Butter Bark

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Today, an old favourite gets a makeover. I have been making this treat for many years to give away as part of a holiday cookie box. It is always met with awe at how pretty it is and, more importantly, how addictively delicious it is. The original was made with peanut butter but this year, I went rogue and used almond butter.

There is no baking involved and that gorgeous marbling effect on top takes about 40 seconds to create. No skill involved. It’s the perfect last minute holiday present or hostess gift. Everyone loves it and people will be impressed by your mad pastry chef skills.


A few tips to make sure yours comes out perfectly.

  • Line the baking pan with foil and then lay a piece of parchment paper on top of that.
  • Use real white chocolate, not white compound coating chocolate. Real white chocolate is ivory coloured. Compound coating chocolate is white and tasted like wax.
  • Melt the white chocolate in a bowl over gently simmering water, or on very low power in the microwave. White chocolate does not like high heat. You will scorch it.
  • I suggest adding chopped almonds to the mixture for extra crunch. Please use toasted almonds. Untoasted almonds take like sawdust when you chew them. Salted roasted almonds are an excellent choice.
  • Use good quality bittersweet chocolate for drizzling.
  • Don’t forget to finish it with flaky sea salt while the chocolate is still wet.
  • Give the bark at least 2 hours to chill before cutting it.
  • A large sharp chef’s knife or serrated knife is easiest for cutting into nice squares, although no one will complain if they get irregular shards.

Go forth and create. This confection is one of my favourites to make. I feel so artistic when I swirl the wet chocolate and create beauty.

Click here to print recipe for Double Chocolate Almond Butter Bark.

 

Perfect Chocolate Chunk Cookies 2.0

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Still on the cookie train over here at saltandserenity.com. It’s pretty much all I bake in December. I adore cookies and so I give myself permission to bake, blog and talk about cookies all month. I’ll be back with some vegetables in January, I promise.

I decided it was time to update my post on these cookies. I first blogged about them back in 2011.  And then again in 2015. They are my most requested cookie. Actually, it’s not even my recipe. The original recipe comes from Ashley of the wonderful blog “Not Without Salt.”

I have given the recipe to lots of friends and family members. Often they will tell me that they just don’t taste the same as the ones I bake. I have been tweaking Ashley’s recipe and technique over the past few years, so I figured it was time to share exactly what I do to make mine so yummy. Plus, it was time to update the pictures. Along with my baking skills, my photography skills have also improved over the years and these fabulous cookies needed a new headshot!

First, let’s talk butter. (because talking about butter brings me great joy!) Room temperature butter means butter that has been sitting on the counter for 30-45 minutes. You will know your butter is at the perfect temperature when you press your finger into it and make a slight indent.  It should still feel firm, but not cold and it should not feel greasy. If it’s too soft, the butter won’t aerate properly when beaten with sugar, leading to flat cookies.

Eggs should also be at room temperature. Just remove them from the fridge when you remove your butter. Cold eggs can curdle the butter and they just won’t mix properly into the ingredients, leaving you with a poorly mixed dough, which results in inconsistent cookies.

Let’s chat chocolate. If you make these cookies with regular chocolate chips that you find in the baking aisle, they will be good cookies, but they won’t be outstanding. I use Valrhona Guanaja Feves. The lovely Michelle at The Vanilla Food Company in Toronto will ship them to you. This is not a sponsored post, I just really love this chocolate.

Ok, we’ve sorted out butter, eggs and chocolate. What about sugar? Ashley came up with the brilliant idea of using 3 kinds of sugar, light brown sugar for chewiness, white sugar for crispiness and turbinado sugar (also called sugar in the raw), for a bit of crunch.

The last ingeredient we need to talk about is flour. I have recently tried making these cookies with a mix of bread flour and all-purpose flour. Alton Brown and Jacques Torres (Mr. Chocolate) swear by using some bread flour in your chocolate chip cookies. Bread flour has a higher gluten (protein) content which gives the cookies a chewier texture. I made a batch with all bread flour but found them to be too dense. I settled on a ratio of about 1.3 bread flour : 1 all purpose flour.

I like to chill the dough for before baking. Chilling the dough firms up the butter, so that the cookies spread less, making a chewier thicker cookie. That hour in the fridge also dries out the dough slightly, which concentrates the flavour. If this kind of baking science is your jam, check out this awesome article on the King Arthue website.

I scoop my cookies with an ice cream scoop so that they are all exactly the same size.
Finally, don’t forget to sprinkle with a tiny bit of coarse salt. That salty-sweet balance is really important. Kind of like a metaphor for life. Without the salty tears, the sweet moments are not as meaningful.

Click here to print recipe for The-Perfect-Chocolate-Chunk-Cookie-2.0-1Download

Embossed Brown Sugar Cookies

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There are times that call for a cookie studded with chunks of bittersweet chocolate, crammed with oats, dried cherries and Skor bars, or brimming with nuggets of Toblerone. And then there are times that call for a simple quiet cookie. A cookie that my dad would have loved. He liked plain things. I remember how bothered he was when Cheerios rolled out their product line extension and introduced Cinnamon Nut Cheerios in 1976, and then Honey Nut in 1979. I can only imagine, if he were still alive, how irked he would be by Dulce de Leche Cheerios.

These sugar cookies are made with brown sugar. They are a bit softer in texture than a typical sugar cookie made with white sugar. I think they have a more nuanced flavour profile than sugar cookies made with white sugar. They do not have the cloying sweetness that some sugar cookies do owing to the slight bitterness of molasses in brown sugar.

They are the perfect cookie to have with a cup of tea. My dad would have loved them

It’s no secret that I’m a habitual user of amazon.com. I adore the convenience of having everything I need shipped right to my door. I could easily become agoraphobic. So when an ad for this rolling pin popped up on the sidebar of my laptop I was both thrilled and disturbed. How wonderful that amazon could anticipate that I was about to bake sugar cookies and this rolling pin would dress them up perfectly. On the other hand, how disturbing that amazon knew I was going to bake cookies. Are they watching me? Maybe it was the sugar, flour and baking soda I ordered from them that tipped them off!
These cookies are not difficult to make but they do require attention to detail. Here are a few pointers to ensure success:

  1. After making the dough, divide it in half and roll out each piece between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Chill the rolled dough for at least 45 minutes. It must be fairly firm before you can roll the pin over it. It will stick to warm dough.
  2. After embossing the dough, cut into shapes with cookie cutter and chill again for about 15 minutes before baking. That helps to hold their shape.

Click here to print recipe for Embossed Brown Sugar Cookies.

Chewy Brown Sugar and Toffee Cookies

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I won’t post a recipe with an obscure ingredient just for the sake of novelty. I try not to ask you to special order something unless it truly adds to the recipe and significantly improves the dish.

So it was with some trepidation that I ordered a $15 bag of smoked brown sugar to experiment with. In my defence, I was curious. I had never seen smoked brown sugar before and I was intrigued. I’m not a huge fan of smoked fish, but I adore smoked almonds and smoked turkey. Plus, I love nothing more than kitchen experiments. My inquisitive brain wanted to see what would happen if I snuck some into a batch of cookie dough.

I was envisioning a cookie with a hint of that campfire smoke you associate with making s’mores. Sometimes there is a huge gap between what you wish for and what actually transpires. I ended up with a batch of cigarette flavoured cookies. Too smoky!! I tried them again with just a scant 1/4 cup of smoked brown sugar and while the smoke flavour was mild, they had an odd smell. reminiscent of sweaty gym socks. Not what you are looking for in a cookie.

But it was not a total failure. As my sister Jody is fond of saying, “mistakes are how we learn”. The texture of these cookies was stellar. They were slightly crispy at the edges with a pronounced chewiness in the center.  I decided to make them with all regular brown sugar and I added a bag of chopped Skor/Heath bits to really enhance the toffee notes of brown sugar. I finished them off with a light sprinkling of flaked sea salt before baking.

As I munched my way through the new batch, I knew I had a winner on my hands. And I saved you $15. You’re welcome!

 

Click here to print recipe for Chewy Brown Sugar and Toffee CookiesDownload

Pomegranate Curd Donuts

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Chanukah starts tomorrow night. This eight day holiday commemorates a very special miracle of light. After defeating the oppressive Syrian-Greek army, the Jews set out to rededicate their holy temple, which had been destroyed during the war. When they went to light the special candelabra, they found only a small vial of pure olive oil. That meagre supply was enough to light the flame for just one day. Miraculously the oil burned for eight days, thus giving Jews, the world over, permission to eat fried foods for eight nights each year!
In North America it is traditional to eat latkes (fried potato pancakes). In Israel, the holiday is celebrated by eating jelly filled donuts, known as “Sufganiyot”. I wanted to create a filled donut, but jelly is just “not my jam”. I wanted a tart filling to counteract the sweet donuts. Flushed with success from my Pomegranate Glazed Donuts, a few days ago, I decided too make a pomegranate curd.

I learned a thing or two about heating pomegranate juice during the making of this curd. By my third batch I’d nailed it! I initially used a lemon curd recipe and added some pomegranate juice to it for flavour and colour. As I heated my sugar, eggs and pomegranate juice, I watched it go from a vibrant ruby red to a disgusting muddy mauve colour. I thought maybe something was wrong with the pomegranate juice, so I bought a fresh bottle and started again.

Round two; still disgusting dark looking hummus-like colour. I turned to Dr. Google and discovered that apparently there is a chemical reaction that occurs when pomegranate juice is heated, changing the colour. Lucky for me the brilliant Sarah of Snixy Kitchen figured out how to counteract this reaction. Turns out dried hibiscus flowers, ground up with your sugar will keep the colour pretty. I had a big jar of dried hibiscus flowers left over from my gin drinking summer days.

Success! This curd is gorgeous. Creamy, smooth, and mildly sweet, tempered with just enough tartness, it made the perfect filling for my donuts.

Click here to print recipe for Pomegranate Curd Filled Doughnuts.

Pomegranate Glazed Donuts

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When the über talented Elizabeth Young of Flowers Talk, emailed me about doing a collaborative post, putting together her flowers and my food, I was game. She suggested  we tackle a Chanukah theme. I have been a customer of Elizabeth’s for a long time, and she has an amazing eye for colour and design. Plus, she is just a lovely person. She’s much younger than me and has been giving me pointers on how to grow my Instagram account, encouraging me to reveal a bit of the chaos that my kitchen becomes on shoot days.

As I thought about what food I would feature, I immediately discarded latkes. Too predictable. I wanted something pretty to match the beauty of her flowers. My inspiration for these rose-hued donuts comes from the Israeli custom of celebrating Chanukah with “Sufganiyah” (jelly donuts). I decided to make two kinds of donuts. The first, I’d dip in a tart pomegranate glaze. The second, I’d fill with a pomegranate curd. I’ll post them in a few days. Making pomegranate curd is a tricky endeavour!

This year, Chanukah begins on the eve of Sunday December 2. I have often heard people describe Chanukah as the “Jewish Christmas.” It’s easy to understand this misconception as both holidays emphasize lights, miracles, family time and food. While Christmas and Chanukah both occur in December, the reasons for the celebrations are not at all the same.

Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, the son of God. A miracle, to say the least!

Hanukkah is a celebration of a different kind of miracle. Hanukkah celebrates the military victory of the Israelites, over the Syrian Greeks. Under Syrian-Greek rule, Jews were oppressed and not allowed to practice their religion openly. Against all odds, a small tribe of faithful Jews defeated one of the toughest armies on earth, drove the Greeks out, reclaimed their Holy Temple in Jerusalem and rededicated it. When they went to light the Temple’s menorah they found only a single vial of olive oil that had escaped contamination by the Greeks. Miraculously, the one-day supply burned for eight days. In memory of this miracle, a national holiday was born. They called it Chanukah, which translates to rededication.

Jews around the world celebrate Chanukah by eating foods fried in oil to commemorate this miracle. 

Elizabeth delivered her flowers just as i was mixing up my icing. I think my glaze was a perfect match. I topped these beauties with Edible gold glitter, because we’re fancy around here! (Truthfully, I found a jar of it at the back of my baking cupboard. Can’t recall why I bought it, but it sure is pretty!)

Click here to print recipe for Pomegranate Glazed Doughnuts.

 

 

 

Short Rib Pot Pie with Potato Crust

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I have a bit of a weakness for food in miniature. Their diminutive size just makes me smile. Remember these, and these and how about these? These little short rib pot pies are freaking adorable! Such a  clever idea to top them with thinly sliced potatoes. Wish I had thought of it, but the credit has to go to Martha on this one. Her version featured stout braised short ribs. I’m not a huge stout fan, so I used my favourite short rib recipe, from Chef Anne Burrell, which features red wine as the braising liquid.

After braising the ribs, remove the meat from the bones and shred it. You can use 2 forks, or just go at it with your hands. Mix the shredded meat back into the braising liquid. If you braise the ribs the day before you want to serve this, you can chill the ribs and braising liquid overnight and then just skim the hardened fat off the top of the braising liquid.

You could of course just make one large pie, in an 8×11 inch casserole dish, but mini ones are way more fun! Plus, leftovers can be frozen and stored for busy days when you just don’t have time to cook.

I used Yukon Gold potatoes because I wanted that gorgeous buttery yellow colour. I washed them really well and didn’t even bother peeling. They need to be sliced very thin. I used a mandoline. I love this one. Not too expensive and you don’t need an engineering degree to operate it. I have tried several brands and this one is my favourite from a performance and ease of use standpoint.

Arrange the potatoes over the beef. Overlap them so that at least 3/4 of the previous potato is covered. You want a tight concentric circle. The potatoes are quite thin so overlapping them prevents them from burning before the filling is hot and bubbling.

Brush with a flavourful olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Potatoes need lots of seasoning. Make sure you bake them on a rimmed baking sheet as the juices bubble up and over and cleaning your oven floor is not fun.

45 minutes later these golden beauties will emerge from the oven. A few fresh thyme leaves would be a pretty finish. Pour a big glass of a full-bodied red wine and congratulate yourself for making such a gorgeous dinner.

Click here to print recipe for Short Rib Pot Pie with Potato Topping.

 

Arugula Apple Salad with Spiced Cider Vinaigrette

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One Friday night, about a month ago, my cell phone began pinging furiously with text messages from my mom and four sisters. Our last mass text convo was when my brother sent out a group email to all his sisters with the subject “Mom passed.” He was referring to her driver’s licence renewal test, not her life. He immediately heard from all his sisters.

This text chat was much less controversial. Apparently my daughter brought an apple salad to a family dinner that I wasn’t able to attend. They all raved about it, assumed I had given her the recipe and wanted me to forward it to them. I couldn’t take credit for this salad. My daughter got the recipe from Ingrid Beer’s blog, thecozyapron.

Ingrid used frisée lettuce, arugula, honeycrisp apples and candied walnuts in her recipe. My adaptation kept the arugula and apples but I added spiced pecans and pistachios, radicchio, Belgian endive and pomegranate seeds. I mixed in some Gruyere cheese  because I think that apples and Gruyere are a match made in heaven.

Feel free to make the salad your own. Goat cheese would be great. Pears would be a nice change from the apples. I did not change anything in the dressing. It is perfect exactly as created by Ingrid. It has become my new house dressing.

You’ll be hooked from the first forkful!

Click here to print recipe for Arugula Apple Salad with Spiced Cider Vinaigrette.

 

Speculoos Apple Crisp

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Here’s what date night looks like after 34 years of marriage. Gone are the days of candlelit dinners in the dining room at home. We stand at the kitchen island. He is peeling 12 pounds of apples and I am dicing them up to convert them into mini apple crisps for the freezer. We used to cook together all the time when we first started dating. But then I became a professional cook and took over kitchen duties. I had forgotten how nice it is to cook together. Granted, the CFL weekly highlights were on TV in the background, but still, it was quality time.

I had a big bag of my go-to crisp topping in the freezer so making these went really quickly. We still had about 5 mini crisps left to cover with the crumble, but we ran out of topping. I found a bag of oat crumble in the freezer, leftover from my Maple Crunch Birthday cake. My husband suggested we top the remaining apples with this topping so we tried it. We baked the tray of crisps and had a taste test. The oat crumble topping was fantastic.I played around with the recipe a bit and had the brilliant idea of using Speculoos cookies instead of oatmeal cookies. Gingersnap cookies would make an excellent substitute if you can’t find Speculoos (also called Biscoff). I added some chopped pecans and rolled oats for a bit more texture. This crisp topping is sweet but with a spicy ginger bite. A perfect complement to the apples.

With a scoop of vanilla ice cream, they were the perfect end to date night.

Click here to print recipe for Speculoos Apple Crisp.

 

Roasted Spiced Salmon and Tomatoes

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As we enter the season of butter, sugar and peace on earth, I thought it would be a good idea to post something healthy to counteract all the treats that come our way this time of year. Prep time is minimal for this dish and you can get dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes. Bookmark it for those busy days ahead. In addition to being fast and delicious, it is also very pretty and would make a great dish for entertaining.

The inspiration for this dish comes from Donna Hay. I adapted it slightly. She cooked the fish en papillote, which involves wrapping each piece of salmon in parchment paper. It’s a great technique for lean cuts of protein like white fish and chicken breasts, but I didn’t think it was necessary for salmon, which is quite high in healthy omega 3 fats.

Since you’re turning on the oven already, add a tray of roasted grape tomatoes. The acid-sweet balance of these are  perfect with the rich salmon. Once the tomatoes are in the oven, get working on the fish. Thinly slice some lemons to make a base for the fish fillets. The spice mixture is a blend of smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, honey and olive oil. Finish with a sprinkle of coarse salt. I found a jar of pretty pink Himalayan  salt at HomeSense last week!
Scatter some fresh basil and chopped olives on the roasted fish and dinner is done.

Click here for recipe for Roasted Spiced Salmon and Tomatoes.