Tag Archives: Freeze Dried Strawberries

Strawberry Glazed Chewy Brown Sugar Cookies

6 Replies

I’m not as skilled as I would like to be in decorating cookies and cakes. In my next life I’d like to come back with the talents of cookie artist Patti Page. I’m constantly working on building my skill level and always on the lookout for tools to make me look more professional.

When I saw this cookie press on Etsy, I ordered it immediately. Wooden tools like this fall under the “embossing” category. They leave an imprint in the dough that makes you look like a decorating pro. I have had some experience with similar tools when I made these Embossed Brown Sugar Cookies.

Often the carving in the tool is not deep enough, so that when you bake the dough, the imprint disappears, like when I tried my heart rolling pin on these mini apple pies. I have also had issues with the dough sticking to the cutter or rolling pin.

I did a lot of experimenting when baking these cookies and developed what I found was a foolproof way of getting perfect cookies. And surprisingly, flour was not the best way to prevent sticking! Check out the video to see my method.

The brilliant rosy hue of the glaze is totally natural, thanks to the addition of freeze-dried strawberries. They pack a wallop of strawberry flavour. I add a bit of lemon juice to the glaze to balance out all that icing sugar.

The best word to describe the texture of these cookies is plush. Thick and slightly chewy, they are so satisfying to eat.

Click here to print recipe for Strawberry -Glazed-Chewy-Brown-Sugar-Cookies-revDownload

Download

Strawberry Rhubarb Macarons

Leave a reply

Sometimes beautiful cookies suffer from being overly sweet, or just bland. But these” pretty in pink” macarons are intensely strawberry flavoured , with just a hint of rhubarb, adding a welcome punch of acid. Springtime personified, all in one little cookie.

Macarons (not to be confused with macaroons) have a reputation for being difficult to make. Essentially, a macaron is made from ground almonds, powdered sugar and egg whites. Seems simple enough but so much can go wrong. They are a tricky little cookie. If you overmix, or undermix, fail to measure correctly, overbake or underbake you won’t get the pretty frilly “feet” or smooth surface. You need to pay attention to every step of the process.

But, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. There are two methods by which macarons can be created, the French meringue method and the Italian meringue method. Most macaron recipes out there follow the French method.

In the Italian method, the sugar is boiled into a syrup, and once it reaches 240°F, it is carefully incorporated into the egg whites. In the French method, the raw sugar is added into the egg whites. I had only ever tried the French method. While on the surface it would seem that the French method is simpler, no dealing with candy thermometers and boiling hot syrup, you need to consider the benefits of that extra step of boiling the sugar. Cooking the sugar into a syrup creates a more stable macaron batter.

Making the meringue using the Italian method creates a stiffer meringue, more stable and able to withstand a lot more mixing without deflating it too soon. The results are more reliable when making the macarons using this method. I started using this method 2 years ago and I have had perfect macarons ever since.

Freeze dried strawberries are added to the macaron shell, to aid in achieving that pretty pink colour. They are also used in the buttercream filling, to create an intense strawberry flavour. A dollop of rhubarb jam goes in the centre of all that buttercream.

I’ve had these adorable butterfly sprinkles in my cupboard for a few years now. I used melted white chocolate to “glue” them on.

For a second decorating option, I drizzled the macarons with white chocolate and then sprinkled some freeze-dried strawberry crumbs on them. Also very pretty! Which design do you prefer?

Click here for my very detailed recipe for Strawberry-Rhubarb-Macarons-Download

Rhubarb Pistachio Loaf with Strawberry Glaze

2 Replies

I suspect that toilet paper is not the only thing people are hoarding during the pandemic. Anyone else notice the glut of banana bread recipes floating around the web these days? It seems we have an excess of rotting bananas on our counters.

But, I’m here to change all that. Move over banana bread. There’s a new loaf in town. It’s rhubarb season and I couldn’t be more excited. We live in an age of instant gratification, where we can get practically anything we want, at any time. But not rhubarb! We must patiently wait for rhubarb season. But it’s so worth it. I adore that tart, sour flavour.

It’s rare to find rhubarb at the market with the leaves still attached. Most stores cut the leaves off before selling them because they’re poisonous. So when I find some with the leaves, I really geek out. Local rhubarb is just starting to arrive in Ottawa. This bunch is forced, which results in rosier coloured stalks.

I have made many loaves over the past few weeks, turning my husband, a former rhubarb hater, into a lover. My first version featured pecans. I switched to pistachios when I ran out of pecans, and I was thrilled with the results, both in taste and in looks.

This loaf comes together very quickly. Only one bowl and no mixer required. Check out the video.

The glaze is made with icing sugar, lemon juice and about a half an ounce of freeze-dried strawberries, which I ground into a powder. One ounce of freeze dried strawberries contains almost a pound of fresh strawberries, so this glaze really packs a punch of flavour.
Freeze dried fruit is not the same as dried fruit. Dried fruit is dehydrated and only about 75% of the water is removed. With freeze-drying, the fruit is placed into a vacuum chamber where the temperature is well-below freezing and 99% of the moisture can be removed from the fruit.

After glazing, I decorated the top of the top of the loaf with more pistachios and some freeze dried strawberry dust.

This is sure to become a new favourite in your house. This is a super moist loaf. I love it because it’s not too sweet. The tangy rhubarb flavour really shines through.

Click here to print recipe for Rhubarb -Pistachio-Loaf-with-Strawberry-Glaze-Download