Plum Prints

I had an order for decorated sugar cookies this week.  (Happy 95th Birthday, Helen!)  Anytime I make cutout cookies, I use the No Fail Sugar Cookie recipe from Cake Central. 

6 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
2 cups unsalted butter
2 cups sugar (white granulated)
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract or desired flavoring (I like almond myself)
1 tsp. salt

Instructions

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 
2. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. 
3. Mix dry ingredients and add a little at a time to butter mixture. Mix until flour is completely incorporated and the dough comes together.
4. Chill for 1 to 2 hours.
5. Roll to desired thickness and cut into desired shapes. Bake on ungreased baking sheet at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until just beginning to turn brown around the edges. 
6. This recipe can make up to 5-dozen 3” cookies.

Literate Baker notes:  I use a full tablespoon of vanilla and a teaspoon of almond extract.  Also, the baking time depends greatly on the size and shape of the cutter used.  Mine take up to 14 minutes to bake.

In addition to cutouts, I use this dough as the base for thumbprint cookies.  Since I had a little bit of dough left over and lots and lots of plum jam in the fridge (see Jam On It), I decided to make a few. 

Given the syrupy nature of my jam, I should have anticipated the ooze factor.  I did not.  For the record, these things stuck to the nothing-sticks-to-it parchment paper.  Seriously.  They were, however, extremely tasty.  Since I only managed to use up about two tablespoons of jam, I'll probably be going back to my usual Nutella/lemon curd/raspberry filling next time.  And continuing to look for things on which to slather plum jam.  Not a bad past time, really, for one always looking to...


Keep it sweet. Pin It

Sweet & Salty Giveaway!

The Literate Baker is now a Foodbuzz Featured Publisher!  Foodbuzz is a food blog community that brings together cooking, baking, dining, and all sorts of foodie adventure.  It's a great place to visit if you love to read about or write about food.

To celebrate, I'm announcing the very first Literate Baker Giveaway!  Given the amount of excitement over the fleur de sel caramel post, I've decided they're the perfect item for the occasion. I'll make them fresh, wrap them individually, and ship them right to your door.

So, how does one get in on all the sweet and salty action?  Well, it's as easy as stuffing your face with chocolate-covered pretzels!  Simply post a comment below answering the following question: What's your favorite marriage of salty and sweet?

I'll choose two winners at random--one person I know and one I don't.  That way, all my family and friends who already read can tell people about it and not lessen their chances of winning.  (Hint, hint.)  It also prevents that pesky cronyism thing.  Additionally, I might learn about tasty goodness I've yet to experience.  A win-win-win, if you will. 

US entrants only. This giveaway will run through October 5th at 11 p.m. EST .  Winners will be notified via an update to this post on October 6th.

UPDATE:  The winners are Julie and Angela.  Please email theliteratebaker@gmail.com to arrange for delivery of your caramels.  Thanks to everyone who entered!  We'll be doing another giveaway soon, so stay tuned.
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Baker About Town: Les 3 Brasseurs

I had the pleasure of spending this past weekend in Montreal.  All in all, it was a fabulous trip.  We paired ridiculous amounts of food with equally ridiculous amounts of bike riding.  (Although the scale begs to differ, I feel as though they balanced one another.)  Although I did not have the opportunity to indulge in one of the many and alluring patisseries I passed, I did enjoy a fun lunch and a really nice dessert at Les 3 Brasseurs, or The 3 Brewers.

The specialty of the house is the "flamm," a thin-crust pizza that you can order either savory or sweet.  I devoured a delightful goat cheese and tomato concoction, then resigned myself to sharing dessert.  We ordered a banana flamm with vanilla ice cream.

It was si bon (so good).  Reminiscent of Bananas Foster, it had caramelized brown sugar and just the right meltiness.  My only regret is that I didn't get to eat more of it.  If you find yourself in Canada, give Les 3 Brasseurs a go.  My advice?  Split a savory flamm and get an entire dessert for yourself!

P.S. Montreal is officially bilingual, but you should be prepared for beaucoup de francais.  In that spirit...

Gardez-le doux. Pin It

Say It with a Giant Cookie

You know it's an office birthday when...  On second thought, I don't know if I want to know how some of you would answer that.  In my office, you know it's a birthday when there is a giant cookie in the back on top of the mini fridge.

I'm not sure how the tradition began.  It might have started with my aversion to mass-produced grocery store cakes and lack of time to bake, cool, and assemble a homemade cake one evening after work.  Of course, as we all know, I have a soft spot for cookies and frosting.  However it happened, it was a good thing.  Here's how you can make your next office birthday (or laundry day or Project Runway night) special.

1) Buy one disposable pizza pan and two packages of refrigerated cookie dough.  Nestle was on sale this week, so that's what I bought.

2) Reserve 4-6 cookies to bake separately for immediate consumption.

3) Smush the remaining dough together on the pan.

4) Bake 15-20 minutes.

5) Decorate with whatever frosting you have left from the previous weekend's cake orders (or buy those fun little tubes).

6) Eat cookies you baked separately and admire handiwork.

7) Bring giant cookie to work and enjoy tasteful office festivities. 

8) Do not think about drunken coworkers in their underwear.

9) Keep it sweet. Pin It

The Cake Scrap Sandwich

One of the first things I learned about stacking cakes is that they have to be level.  At first, this was the source of much angst.  I'm not the most precise; I also have an astigmatism.  All that changed when my husband and mother-in-law gave me the daddy of all cake levelers, the Agbay.  It's beautiful.  Really.

Now my cakes are level and split evenly every time.  In addition to superior stacking, good leveling has another perk: cake scraps.  Delicious on their own. Divine when rolled into cake shots.  Downright irresistible when sandwiched together with leftover frosting.

Although you can make a cake scrap sandwich with any bits and pieces you have on hand, I'm especially fond of those from square cakes.  Perhaps it's because they look like bread.

Now, I haven't done this, but the fact that there is cream cheese frosting nestled between my slices of red velvet has got me thinking... What if I were to slather it with butter and grill it?  It would be like grilled cheese meets Nutella panini.  Okay, I have to go now.


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Cake Bling

No, I don't mean a diamond and ruby cupcake around my neck (although that would be fun).  I'm referring to the trend of jewelry for cakes.  I think this probably started with sparkly monogram cake toppers for wedding cakes.  It has morphed into all manner of metallic and rhinestone accoutrements.

This weekend, I did my first blinged-out wedding cake.  It had a rhinestone ribbon around the base of every tier and a rhinestone monogram topper.  I must admit, I was a little bit skeptical at first.  The final result, however, was really quite beautiful.  The flowers softened what could have been a very cold design and the lighting in the ballroom was just right.  The cake literally sparkled.

Oh, and for those of you who are interested in such things... The top tier was milk chocolate cake with raspberry.  The second tier was yellow cake with strawberry filling.  The third was red velvet with cream cheese.  The bottom tier was chocolate with cookies and cream.  And yes, there are scraps of all four left over.  First come, first serve.

Moral of the story?  Don't be afraid of a little sparkle.  Apparently, even desserts like to accessorize.  Glam it up and...

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Baking Haiku

I'm not a very good poet.  This may be because I write it only when I feel incredibly morose.  It may also be because my brain gets iambic pentameter, but doesn't get iambic pentameter.  My friend Leslie's ability to write a sonnet on command fills me with a mixture of jealousy and awe.

The exception to this is haiku.  I've always had a soft spot for haiku.  Seventeen syllables strung together in ways that would make Yoda proud, haiku has the ability to be profound or absurd; it can speak about deep human truths or twinkies.  Sometimes, it can accomplish all of that at the same time.  In that spirit, I've decided the world could use a few more haiku about baking...

Melted chocolate,
sugar, butter, pinch of flour:
the torte of my dreams.

Perfectly chewy.
Aspirational cookie,
elude me no more.

My overfilled pans
bubble, spill; batter ignites.
Smoked delicacy?

Warm chocolate chip,
This is cookie seduction.
She smiles, says, "I baked."

Okay, so these may not move your soul, but that doesn't make them any less fun.  If you haven't dabbled in haiku, give it a try.  (The only hard and fast rule is that you write three lines of five, seven, and five syllables.)  If you have, share one of your favorites with me.  Play with your words, play with your food, and always....


Keep it sweet. Pin It