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How many cookies?

Cookies were counted as we were eating them… numbers were bitten, one by one, in such a delicious amount the we lost track of it…

Sweet potato cookies

Makes 60-70 (12g each):

500 g sugar
500 g sweet potato, pureed
125 g grinded almonds
4 egg yolks
24 g butter
Cinnamon

Pre-heat the oven to 180º C.
Bring the sugar to boil with some water until it reaches 117ºC.
Add the sweet potato and almonds and stir.
Let it cool down a little and add butter, cinnamon and the whisked egg yolks.
Bring the mixture to medium heat stirring constantly until thick (when you pass a spoon through the mixture you should be able to see the bottom of the pan).
Let it cool down.
With your greased hands make small balls and place them on a baking sheet.
Sprinkle with icing sugar and bake for 20-30 minutes.

November 2, 2008 | Filed under cookies, biscuits and tuiles | 12 Comments 

Cookies in the rain…

IT RAINS!

It rains…

But what does it matter!,
if I am here sheltered by this door
listening to the rain that falls from the sky
a silent melody
that no one else listens to
but me?

It rains…

But it is the fate
of those who love
to hear a violin
even in the mud.

José Gomes Ferreira

Viennese lemon cookies

makes 12:

50 g icing sugar
125 g butter, softened
1 g salt
Zest of 1/4 lemon
20 g egg white
150 g wheat flour
Icing sugar to sprinkle

Combine well butter and sugar.
Add lemon zest and salt.
Mix with the egg whites and flour.
Pour the batter into a pastry bag with a star noozle.
Over a silpat or a lined baking sheet draw “W’s” with 4 cms width.
Refrigerate for 1 hour (minimum).
Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC.
Bake for 8-10 minutes.
Sprinkle with icing sugar.

October 28, 2008 | Filed under cookies, biscuits and tuiles | 15 Comments 

Think pink

Champagne, hibiscus and rooibos infused plums with a raspberry sorbet and a tuile

Infusion:
1 l champagne
200 g sugar
10 plums
10 g hibiscus
20 g rooibos
¼ cinnamon stick

Bring the champagne to boil with sugar until it dissolves (1-2 minutes).
Remove from heat and infuse herbs and cinnamon.
Strain and set aside.

Score each plum by cutting an ‘X’ mark into the skin on one end.
Drop plums into rapidly boiling water for some seconds.
Remove plums to an ice water bath. Cool for a minute.
Easily peel away the skin at the X.
Cut in two halves and destone.

Pour the infusion over the plums.
Marinate for 1 hour, minimum.
Serve chilled.

Raspberry sorbet:

1 1 water
1 kg sugar
1 kg raspberry pulp
Juice of 1 lemon

Bring the water and sugar to boil for 1 minute until it dissolves.
Let it cool down completely.
Mix syrup with the pulp and lemon juice.
Pour the mixture into the ice cream machine or frozen stirring regularly to prevent crystalization.

Orange and almond tuiles

120 g sugar
90 ml orange juice
48 g melted butter
72 g almonds, powdered
Some drops of raspberry juice.

Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC.
Combine all the ingredients together.
Pour the mixture over a silpat with the desired shapes and sprinkle with some red fruits juice drops.
Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown.
Let them cool down to stiff.

September 14, 2008 | Filed under cookies, biscuits and tuiles, fruit desserts and jams, ice creams and sorbets | 7 Comments 

Ice cream and a tuile…

Crossed glances, shyness and smiles… even the ice cream was melting… 3 spice scoops in love with a tuile.

Spice ice cream

1 l milk
300 ml cream
9 egg yolks
300 g sugar
3 g soluble coffee
a pinch of vanilla
1 tbsp cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, tea, anise, ginger, etc…

1 – Bring the milk to boil with 100 ml of cream and spices. Add coffee and remove from heat. Sieve.

2 – Whisk egg yolks and 150 g of sugar. Add mixture 1 while it’s still hot stirring constantly.

3 – Prepare a caramel with the remaining sugar. Add the hot remaining cream previously.

Combine mixture 3 to 2+1.
Pour the mixture into the ice cream machine or frozen stirring regularly to prevent crystalization.

Walnut tuiles

Pre-heat the oven to 180º C.
Combine soft butter, sugar, egg whites and wheat flour in equal parts.
Pour the mixture over a silpat with the desired shapes and sprinkle with chopped walnuts.
Bake for 5 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown.
Let them cool down to stiff.

I’ve sprinkled the ice cream with icing sugar, cinnamon and cocoa.

September 8, 2008 | Filed under cookies, biscuits and tuiles, ice creams and sorbets | 9 Comments 

The wet summer’s shelter

Heat becomes heavy and the dark sky blends itself with the landscape’s pale green…
We ran home: our petit Trianon and a wet sprinkled summer.

Trianons

Makes 30:

Vanilla dough:
150 g butter
100 g icing sugar
½ g vanilla extract
2 g salt
50 g egg
50 g almonds, powdered
250 g wheat flour, sieved

Cream butter and sugar until smooth.
Add vanilla, salt, egg, almond and finally the flour.
Roll out the dough on parchment paper.
Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Chocolate dough:
150 g butter
100 g icing sugar
2 g salt
50 g egg
30 g almonds, powdered
250 g wheat flour, sieved
25 g cocoa

Cream butter and sugar until smooth.
Add salt, egg, almond and finally the flour sieved with the cocoa.
Roll out the dough on parchment paper.
Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Assembling:
Roll out the doughs until 7 mm thick.
Cut rectangles of dough (30×4 cms).
Put one chocolate rectangle over one vanilla rectangle brushing with egg yolk between layers.
Repeat this process 3 times.
Refrigerat for 1 hour.
Cut 5-7mm thick slices.

Pre-heat the oven to 180º C.
Place in a lined baking sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes.


Suggestion: With the remaining dough I’ve put together 2 layers and rolled to make a cilinder. I’ve refrigerated and sliced it as the trianons.

September 7, 2008 | Filed under chocolate, cookies, biscuits and tuiles | 11 Comments 

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