Springerle Cookies

One of the best things about my job is that I get the opportunity to travel to Europe every now and then.  Last month my department had a global meeting at company headquarters in Basel.  I was especially looking forward to the trip because it was just at the start of the holiday season in Europe.   Even though I travel to Europe quite frequently I've never been right before Christmas, always after. 

My friends Steve and Becky took me to the Basel Herbstmesse (Autumn Fair) that was in the heart of of old town.  Out of the myriad of stalls my favorite was the one that sold springerle cookie molds.  Springerle cookies are German in origin and made by pressing a carved mold onto rolled dough to make a pattern impression.  Normally they appear around Christmas time.  There were so many beautiful designs to choose from but in the end I went with a traditional tree. 

I searched the internet for a springerle recipe and found a great one here on House on the Hill's website.  This company makes springerle molds so I figured they'd be the authority on everything about the cookies.  

The dough is pretty straightforward, however it does call for a very particular ingredient as a leavening agent that isn't well known in America - hartshorn,  aka baker's ammonia or ammonium carbonate.   You can use baking powder as a substitute, but hartshorn helps the cookies retain their intricate design and their texture crispy.  Luckily I had some in my pantry...acquired on a trip to Norway where they sell it in the supermarket.

 

The key to success is making sure you flour the mold really well before you press it in to the rolled out dough.   My only complaint was that I didn't have a rectangle cookie cutter large enough to fit the design so I had to hand cut each cookie.  Note to self: buy a mold that fits within a cutter I already have!

After all the cookies were stamped and cut they had to air dry for at least 12 hours in a cool, dry place.  Don't skip the air drying because it sets the pattern and forms a nice skin on the top of each cookie.   The springerle are baked in a low oven (around 300-325 degrees) until the bottoms are lightly browned.  Make sure not to get the tops of the cookies brown!  The amount of time in the oven really depends on the size and thickness of the cookie.  The springerle I made were 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 in size and about 1/3 inch thick and baked in the oven for about 20 minutes.  

For my first attempt I think my springerle came out pretty nice.  I want to try a speculaas recipe next time.  And you can be certain that I'll be acquiring more molds on my future trips to Europe!

Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies from Naturally Sweet Cookbook & a Giveaway

I've mentioned before on this blog that diabetes runs in my family which isn't necessarily ideal when you love to bake as much as I do.  Inevitably this question always seems to come up when I make something for the relatives, "can you make it less sweet"?      

How excited was I when America's Test Kitchen recently came out with a cookbook specifically dedicated to baking with less sugar, entitled Naturally Sweet.  If this book didn't have my family's name written all over it I don't know what would! 

The recipes in the book use alternatives to the traditional granulated white sugar, which helps to bring down the level of sweetness.  Sucanat, an unrefined cane sugar, is the one predominantly used in Naturally Sweet.   

I was keen to test out a recipe to see if the cookbook really lived up to its claims and decided to have a go at one of my all-time favorite cookies, Oatmeal Raisin.   The cookie dough came together really easily, although you do have to take the extra step of grinding the Sucanat in a spice grinder. 

The cookies browned beautifully in the oven with crispy edges and a soft center, just how I like them!  They tasted great and had a very nice molasses flavor to them.  I didn't even miss the extra sugar to be honest but the true test was to get other people's review.

I brought the cookies in to the office but didn't disclose that they were low sugar.   My co-workers devoured them and when I revealed that they were made with less sugar they were completely surprised.  One person even said I could have cut the sweetener a little more and they still would have been fantastic.  Now that's a testimonial if I ever heard one!  I plan on making more recipes from the cookbook for my family to enjoy this holiday season.

My friends at America's Test Kitchen have kindly donated two copies of Naturally Sweet to give away to my blog readers.  Here's how to enter:

GIVEAWAY RULES:

1) Only open to those with a U.S. mailing address

2) Leave your email address in the comments section of this post.  Sorry, comments without an email address will be disqualified.  

3) Deadline for entry: Saturday December 31 at 11:59pm PST.  

Good Luck!

Honeycrisp Apple Pie

My dear friends Frank and Evelyn moved from San Francisco to Seattle several years ago.  Both had lived and worked in the Bay Area for more than a decade but actually grew up in the Pacific Northwest, so their return to the Emerald City was a homecoming of sorts.  

I try to visit them at least once a year and on my most recent trip up north I requested we go apple picking.  Honeycrisp apples in particular, known for being sweet, slightly tart and definitely crisp.  Washington state produces the majority of the apples grown in the US and apple picking is a time honored fall tradition.

We drove about 45 minutes outside of Seattle and headed to The Farm at Swan's Trail.  The weather couldn't have been better and because it was the beginning of the season there was an abundance of fruit just ripe for the picking.  Forty five minutes and about fifty pounds of apples later we went home thoroughly satisfied.   

 I ended up bringing about ten pounds of apples back to San Francisco (in my checked luggage!) and was determined to bake something with them.   Up until now I hadn't had much success with apple pies, but when I did a google search for Honeycrisp recipes I came upon this one from epicurious.com claiming it was their "favorite apple pie."  

 The filling was super easy to pull together, but rather than using the included crust recipe I instead used Cook's Illustrated's foolproof one.   It's the most buttery, flaky crust I've ever tasted, owing to the use of vodka, and knew it would be fantastic for my pie.  Golden brown and bubbling from the oven, the pie smelled heavenly.  But the real test would be once it was cooled.  Would the filling be soupy and mushy, similar to previous pies I'd made?  The verdict: NOT AT ALL!   

 

One bite of the cinnamon and nutmeg infused apple filling and I was hooked.  Epicurious was spot on, Honeycrisp apples were the perfect variety to use for pie baking - sweet and tart but still able to hold their shape.   I think I've found my very own foolproof apple pie recipe!

 

Mallorcas & a Giveaway

What started as a "girls trip" in 2014 with my girlfriends has subsequently turned in to a summer tradition that I look forward to every year.  On our first tour we went to Capri which was absolutely gorgeous and had the best people/celebrity watching.  Last year we ventured to Florence  where we shopped 'til we dropped and ate tons of pasta and gelato in between.    This summer's locale was Mallorca, one of Spain's stunning Baleriac islands. 

We stayed in Palma and had the best time walking throughout the capital city's cobblestone streets and enjoying the delicious food (tapas! sangria!), beautiful sites and fantastic shopping.  Can you sense a theme in our trips?   So when I was thumbing through America's Test Kitchen's latest amazing tome, Bread Illustrated, I was absolutely delighted to see the recipe for Mallorcas.

It seemed like every bakery we passed by sold this massive, spiral bread which I later came to learn was called ensaimada (see pic below).  With further research I soon learned that Mallorcas, or Pan de Mallorca, are Puerto Rico's version of the ensaimada.  Unfortunately I never got the chance to try the bread in Palma, but armed with this recipe I could now try it's close relative!

The enriched dough is similar to brioche in that it's laden with eggs and butter.  After an initial proof the dough is rolled thinly, brushed with melted butter and rolled up like a jelly roll to achieve multiple layers.  After portioning out the dough each piece is then rolled in to a long rope, brushed with more butter and finally formed in to a spiral before it's final proof.

The smell of the freshly baked buns is absolutely hypnotic.  After a brief cooling they are generously dusted with a cloud of powdered sugar and served slightly warm.  Delicioso!  I brought the buns to my family's Labor Day BBQ where they were subsequently claimed by my siblings and mom.

There are so many fantastic bread recipes in this cookbook and I can't wait to try more.  I think the chocolate babka and Portuguese sweet bread are calling my name, so watch this blog for future posts.

My friends at America's Test Kitchen have generously donated a cookbook to give away on my blog AND my Instagram, @treatssf.   See blog giveaway rules below.

BLOG GIVEAWAY RULES:

1. Deadline to enter is Saturday September 24, 2016, 11:59pm PST.
2. Only open to people with US mailing addresses.
3. To enter, leave a comment to this post with your email address.  Sorry, you must include your email address as that's the only way I can contact the winner.

GOOD LUCK!