Great British Bake Off Challenge March 2019: Kouign Amann!

March 03, 2019 by Sophie Barrows in baking, sophie

It may seem like we have significantly upped the ante this month with our GBBO Challenge. But let me assure you, these are easier than you’d think. The dough comes together beautifully in a stand mixer and is a dream to work with — smooth, soft, and supple. There were several times during the process I was convinced I must be doing something wrong; it didn’t seem difficult enough to produce the insane goodness I’ve had at a pastry shop.

My Standard Sourdough Recipe

February 27, 2019 by Sophie Barrows in baking, sophie

Let me say right now I am no sourdough expert. I don’t bake up perfect loaves. But, I do bake on a regular basis, and the method and recipe I’ve developed produces a reliably tasty loaf. I make bread work with my schedule. I’m pretty hesitant to plan my day around my bread.

bitter orange curd bars with pistachio shortbread crust

February 18, 2019 by Sarah Blanchard in baking, sarah

Scientists basically agree on five “tastes”: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and savory (or umami). These are the sensations registered by our tastebuds. We can distinguish these aspects of a food even if we plug our nose, or have a bad cold.

What we can’t register when our nose is plugged is “aroma,” a sensation perceived by the nose. People say they can’t taste anything when they have a cold, but really what they mean is that the food has no flavor, because flavor depends on aroma.

Vintage recipes: Fluffy Cakes

February 15, 2019 by Maria Almeida in maria, baking, projects

These are some super light and tasty pancakes. The amount of baking powder makes the batter almost spongy by the time you get it onto the griddle. They remind me of the pancakes you get at a pancake house - they’re so light that they just soak up alllllllll the syrup. It does have a faint metallic taste if you eat it plain but you can’t detect it under any toppings. The batter came together so quickly and easily, they were ready in 10 minutes, and they made perfect amount for my kids’ breakfast. I imagine I would turn to these on a weekday morning for a quick treat. I won’t say they’re better than my own go-to Cook’s Illustrated Buttermilk pancakes or our Dad’s pancakes because they’re just not. But they’re light, easy, yummy and kid-friendly and that checks a lot of boxes!

the st. croix sundae

February 12, 2019 by Sarah Blanchard in sarah, baking

This isn’t exactly a recipe per se, but it’s a dessert our family often eats on special occasions, and so I felt like we really ought to share it on the blog.

When I first set out to write this post over the summer, I decided I’d do some googling to see if I could find out the history or origin of the “St. Croix Sundae.”

Challah

February 08, 2019 by Maria Almeida in baking, maria

This is, hands down, my family’s favorite bread. It is so soft and flavorful, a wonderful enriched bread but not too rich. It makes incredible sandwiches and even more incredible French toast. Even just toasted with butter is a treat. And it is easy! The dough comes together quickly, it’s great to work with, and bakes up beautifully. It also just looks really impressive. Try a batch and wow your friends or family ... or just eat it all yourself, slice by slice.

Great British Bake off challenge February 2019: Bakewell tart!

February 03, 2019 by Maria Almeida in maria, baking

Ok we’re really excited about this: a monthly baking challenge based off of Great British Bake Off bakes. Basically the three of us have all watched all the GBBO episodes (some of them more than once … or twice …) and we’re always saying to ourselves and each other how much we want to try this or bake that. So then we figured, why not channel that into a blog feature? Our idea is basically to introduce the challenge on the first Sunday of the month. One of us will find a recipe, try it, write it up, and review it. Ideally the other two of us will try it as well - either as written or with adaptations/variations - and write up a little add-on at the end of the post. And then we invite you, readers, to try it as well and comment on your success! And if you do try it, please post it to Instagram and tag us or use our hashtag #beaneaththecrustGBBOchallenge! It will be so fun to see all your bakes! And we promise not to go all Paul Hollywood on any attempt. :)

Chewy Molasses Cookies

December 21, 2018 by Maria Almeida in baking, maria

I love these cookies so much. They’re giant, and chewy, and full of all the spices of the holiday season - but not too spicy, lots of molasses flavor, and accented by a sweet sugar coating that causes delightful crusty crinkles all over. I actually can’t imagine making these at any other time of year (I think I actually have a mental restriction on the idea) which makes them that much more special. Molasses cookies come but once a year!

Chocolate peanut butter bark

December 20, 2018 by Sarah Blanchard in baking, sarah

A lot of holiday recipes can be quite involved, and require fancy ingredients, which makes sense, because Christmas is a time to celebrate and pull out all the stops.

But sometimes you just need a break. You want something that’s delicious and festive but comes together in under an hour with ingredients you probably have on hand.

This chocolate peanut butter bark is just the thing. It’s quick and easy, and ridiculously addictive to eat. It freezes well, and makes a lovely gift.

Oat cranberry almond cookies with white chocolate

December 19, 2018 by Maria Almeida in baking, maria

These cookies are a refreshing change from the typical Christmas cookie assortment. They have a great texture - crumbly and studded with oats and chopped almonds, but not at all clumsy or chunky. The not-too-sweet, buttery cookie base is a perfect backdrop to the cranberry white chocolate pairing.

Baci di Dama (Italian Hazelnut Cookies)

December 18, 2018 by Sophie Barrows in dessert, baking

I find few things as luxurious and festive as hazelnuts. Pricey, compared to other nuts, hazelnuts simply beg to be a Christmas splurge. So here they enter in for Day 11 of our Twelve Days of Cookies.

Dulce de leche spritz rosettes

December 17, 2018 by Sarah Blanchard in baking, sarah

Spritz are a Christmas cookie standard. Although deliciously simple, they can also be a bit…well, simple. They easily take the back seat to other, more indulgent, treats.

That’s why I’m so excited about these jazzed-up Christmas spritz. That simple butter cookie is piped into attractive rosette swirls, baked to a light golden crunch, smeared underside with creamy sweet dulce de leche, and then sandwiched to form a show-stopping treat.

Crunch Munch (Chocolate Caramel Crunch Popcorn)

December 16, 2018 by Sophie Barrows in baking, sophie

Our 7th Cookie in our 12 Day line up is chocolate drizzled, caramel coated nuts & popcorn aka crunch munch (yes, we’re coining the name). Wait, that’s not a cookie?! I guess we are fudging things a little. :) But, maybe after giving this a try, you’ll forgive us.

Bourbon Snowballs

December 15, 2018 by Maria Almeida in baking, maria

Okaaaaaay, so I use bourbon in a lot of my desserts. Yes, I brought a bourbon walnut pie to an Octoberfest party and yes I accented my chocolate chess pie with a boozy bourbon whipped cream. My favorite bread pudding is bourbon raisin with a bourbon butter sauce that could make you tipsy. I love bourbon! Just gotta own it.

Cucidati (Italian Fig Cookies)

December 14, 2018 by Sophie Barrows in baking, sophie

Christmas has become our Italian holiday (where Easter we go full out Polish). And if there is something I’ve learned from living among Italians, they love their cookies. At any family gathering from weddings to funerals, there are platters upon platters of homemade cookies.

candy cane brownies

December 13, 2018 by Sarah Blanchard in baking, sarah

Okay, so not cookies. But the fourth in our line-up for The Twelve Days of Cookies is a family staple during the Christmas season, so I couldn’t resist sneaking it in. Besides, these candy cane brownies wouldn’t be out of place at a cookie-exchange party, in a tin gifted to friends, or gracing your holiday dessert spread.

I don’t really like eating candy canes myself. I mean, maybe one per year. After that, their charm kind of wears off. And yet, you basically have to deck out your Christmas tree with candy canes…So, what to do with the excess? Crush them up, and sprinkle them over a deep cocoa brownie topped with a fluff of pink peppermint buttercream!

Fudgy chocolate walnut cookies (gluten-free)

December 11, 2018 by Maria Almeida in baking, maria

Ok, these cookies are kind of magical.

For one thing, they require very little preparation or fuss. I made them in the amount of time my 5-month-old was happy to sit in her bouncer. Magic.

They’re also gluten free. I know, that’s not always the best advertisement for baked goods, but it’s undeniably handy to have a couple GF recipes in your collection, like if you have a GF friend or relative … or if you set out to make cookies but you have no flour (yes, real life story, don’t ask, it has been a long week and it’s only Tuesday). But these cookies are so delicious that you would never even guess it. Magic.

And they are cookies, but they taste like brownies. Fudgy, chewy, chocolatey brownies. But no flour or butter needed! Like I said, magic.

I might add that found this recipe in Food52’s Genius Desserts cookbook. Magical AND genius.

minty world peace cookies

December 11, 2018 by Sophie Barrows in baking, sophie

Whenever an occasion arrives and cookies are called for, these cookies come to mind. So it didn’t take long for me to volunteer them for Day 2 of our 12 days of cookies this year. They are unbelievably easy and flexible and taste SO GOOD. Seriously, there is something spectacular about the texture of these cookies — crumbly, shortbready yet with a bit of chew and ample patches of melt-in-your-mouth chocolate.

lofthouse-style sugar cookies

December 10, 2018 by Sarah Blanchard in baking, sarah

…on the 1st Day of Christmas, my true love brought to me

A lofthouse-style sugar cookie!

This holiday season, we are so excited to be bringing you 12-days worth of sweet treats that will make for great gifting, sharing, leaving out for Santa, or gobbling up yourself as you wait for the coffee to brew on Christmas morning!

Day 1 of The Twelve Days of Cookies starts off with these delightful Lofthouse-style cookies. A blending of batters that meets somewhere between cookie and cake, these soft, buttery vanilla rounds bake up with a little dome reminiscent of a muffin top. Topped with a fluff of buttercream frosting and a shake of festive sprinkles, these cookies are irresistible to adults and children alike.

Red Velvet Peppermint Meringue Cake

December 05, 2018 by Maria Almeida in maria, baking

Putting a meringue layer in my cakes is quite possible the best thing I’ve ever thought to do in the kitchen. It adds such a delightfully light and airy crunch and sweetness. I’m hard pressed to think of a cake it wouldn’t work with (except maybe maybe a stodgy gingerbread or carrot cake), but it went especially well with this cake. Peppermint flavored meringue with chopped chocolate folded into it and baked till crisp and melt-in-your-mouth is like a holiday party in your mouth on its own, but layer it with red velvet cake, cream cheese frosting, a delicate minty whipped cream and crushed candy cane and you’re just hitting all the spots.