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Creative baking with Christina Tosi: cookies

4/8/2021

I'm back! What felt like a lifetime was really only 10 days. In those 10 days, I made multiple batches of cookie dough, ate an insane amount of sugar, and worked straight through a holiday. If you've worked in a bakery, YOU KNOW what holiday weekends are like. So I'm pretty tired, but also feeling accomplished.

This course has immediately taught me something. I never felt that it was necessary to create a backstory to any recipe, hell I'd CHOOSE for things to be impersonal. And that's just about when I realized how nervous I was to put my heart into something with the chance of someone else not enjoying it the way that I did. I think that's a story for a different day, but I just never realized that it had found it's way into my baking and creative process too.

Regardless, the space for creativity that you are encouraged to give yourself is exciting. Plus, you aren't alone! There's a whole peer group of nationwide bakers who are doing the exact same thing that you are, and you all get to talk about it together.

All of my ingredients neatly weighed out the night before - who do I think I am?

So cookies. We started with the Milkbar Cornflake Chocolate Chip Marshmallow cookie recipe, and yes it is as intense as it sounds. I had a friend over while I made this first batch and while I'm adding the ingredients I hear over my shoulder, "that's a LOT of sugar". And it was - about 400g just in the dough alone. It used a technical process that was new to me, and was definitely very interesting to make. While it was a bit too sweet for even my taste, it was a great example of turning a story directly into a recipe. I completely understood how the qualities and combination of tastes related to this particular backstory that the Milkbar team created.

This first recipe helped get the gears turning by trying a Milkbar classic - but I was ready to move onto my ideas. We started with a brainstorm session, and after 10 minutes I had an entire page filled with ingredients, lines, scribbles and things pointing to other things. It was no holds barred up in here. My plan was to take the bright smell of the orange blossoms that bloom in Arizona, and translate that into a cookie. Something soft and citrus-y, with tons of the texture that Tosi is known for.

So we began! Not to give everything away, but there were a few rounds of prototyping that were shared with the peer group. All the failed ideas and a-ha moments turned the original scribbles on a butter stained piece of paper into a final recipe.

I had learned from one of my last jobs that fruity pebbles can really be traced back to orange and citrus flavors, and for the sake of truly experimenting, I went for it. With a base dough of cereal substitute and another with using lemon-y animal crackers, I went through my many combinations.

This is just the first round of prototyping!

After a while, I landed on my final recipe. How fun are those colors!

For the dough, I adapted Simply Home Cooked's snickerdoodle recipe, because I was looking for a taller and softer bake.

225 g melted butter
200 g white sugar
95 g brown sugar
1 tsp clear vanilla
1 egg yolk
1 egg
225 g flour
150 g ground animal cookies
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

I followed a basic pastry cream recipe, which can be found here.

The only changes I made were that I soaked about a cup of fruity pebbles in the milk before straining and using it for the recipe. Once it was cooled, I added 1 TBSP of lemon zest and 1 TSP of lemon juice.

Combine the butter and sugars in a mixing bowl for about a minute. Add in the vanilla and eggs, and mix again for another minute. Sift in the flour, cream of tartar, BS and BP, along with the ground animal cookies. Mix until just combined. Finally, add the white chocolate chips and give it another stir. Let the dough rest for at least an hour, or overnight.

*Prepare pastry cream before baking the cookies*

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Roll out 3 inch balls of dough, and coat the outside in crushed fruity pebbles. Place on a baking sheet and keep them as round as possible. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until they spread but are still soft in the middle.

Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes before transferring the pastry cream into a piping bag. While the cookies are still warm, carefully inject it into the center without breaking through the bottom.

I'll be starting the next project tomorrow, and will see you back here after section 2 is done!

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intro: creative baking with Christina Tosi

3/26/2021

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Hello! I come bearing super exciting news, for me and for everyone who gets to eat the leftovers from this project. This coming Monday, I'll be starting Christina Tosi's creative baking course, and for 1 month I'll be learning straight from the mastermind of MilkBar.

If you haven't heard of MilkBar, you've probably seen some of their most famous desserts on Instagram or TikTok. The New York Times wrote a great article on her and the background of Milkbar, and I highly encourage you give it a read. My last suggestion is to watch the episode of 'Chef's Table' on Netflix, which showcases Christina and the foundation of her partnership with David Chang, the owner of Momofuku.

Okay now really my last suggestion is to try and find a Milkbar product at either Target, Whole Foods or to order from their website. It's really, really, great. I had the pleasure of visiting the flagship store in 2015 when my mom and I created our own bakery tour while in New York on spring break.

My point in writing this is that I'd like to document my experience in the course. It will cover cookies, pies and end with their famous layer cake - but my task will be to develop my own recipe to follow each theme. While I might not share the exact recipes, everything will be photographed and I'd love to walk you through the flavor story for each piece.

See you after part 1 - cookies :)

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St. Patricks day rainbow cupcakes

3/14/2021

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Hello! To celebrate this holiday, I decided to bake something fun and a little less technical than I'd normally choose. Something sweet (obviously) and good for my morale. It also captures how I feel about the nice sunny days we've been having in Wisconsin :)

When it came to the cupcakes, I have to disclose that I didn't change a THING from the boxed mix. Because it was going to be a rainbow, I felt like there was no need! There's something about the airy and super sweet flavor of yellow cake mix that makes me feel like it's my birthday again. I also have to say that yes, I did spend a good 15 minutes elbows deep in the box of Aldi-brand of lucky charms trying to dig out the marshmallows. There's no reason to sugar coat the process (get it) because that's the sort of moment that always makes me laugh when no ones around.

rainbow cupcakes

Follow instructions to any yellow cake mix
I used:
3 eggs
1 cup water
1/2 cup oil

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Split the batter into 5 even amounts in different bowls. Add purple, blue, green, yellow and pink food coloring to each bowl until desired color is achieved. Line a cupcake pan with liners, then add in 2 TBSP of each color batter. Layering one on top of the other, start from the bottom with purple, following ROYGBIV until you get up to pink (it will be reversed). Bake for 15 minutes or until done.

buttercream

2 sticks butter
2 cups powdered sugar
splash of milk
1 TBSP vanilla
sprinkle of salt

Add the butter to the mixing bowl and mix on medium speed for 1 minute to soften. Add in powdered sugar and a splash of milk. Mix slowly at first to incorporate the sugar, then whip on medium for 2-3 minutes. Lastly, add the vanilla and salt.

I hope this brought a little bit of sunshine to your Sunday. I know it did for me :)

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Simple Cheesecake

1/28/2021

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Believe it or not, I've never made a baked cheesecake. Something about it seemed so difficult, not to mention the possibility of it cracking. BUT! This is the most consistent and easiest recipe that I've come across, so obviously I have to share.

There's really not much to it, which is amazing. I found it easier to make this in a 6 inch cake pan instead of a spring form pan, because that way you don't have to worry about the water bath accidentally leaking in. To remove the cheesecake, I used a knife to scrape around the edges and then inverted it onto a plate. If you use parchment paper on the bottom there should be no problem getting it out.

homemade in the kitchen's cheesecake:

1 1/2 cups graham crackers (crushed)
6 TBSP melted butter
2 Blocks of room temp cream cheese
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 room temp eggs
1 TSP vanilla

Preheat the oven to 325. Line the bottom of your pan with a 6 in. round piece of parchment. In a small bowl combine the graham crackers and melted butter and press into the bottom of the cake pan. There will be enough to go up the sides about 1 inch.

In a separate mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until light and fluffy (just a few minutes). Add in the eggs one at a time until just combined. Lastly, add the vanilla. Don't over beat.

Pour the liquid mixture over the crust, and fill to the top. To create the water bath, use a casserole dish or a large pan. Place the cheesecake in the center, and fill the dish with hot water until it reaches about 1/2 way up the cake pan.

Bake for 75 minutes - the top should lightly spring back and not appear liquid in the middle. Let it cool in the water bath for 30 minutes, and then transfer to the fridge for another 30-60 minutes.

I suggest topping this with a fruit that's a bit tart - hence the raspberries. I'm thinking of making it again for Valentines day but swapping the graham crackers for a chocolate crust :)

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Food 52's Date Nut Bread

1/16/2021

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Hey there! Any chance you're in the mood for some warm bread? Yes that's a rhetorical question.

Today's recipe comes from Food 52's Vegan cookbook by Gena Hamshaw. I found this under a pile of fabric in my bookcase, and probably haven't looked at it since I was vegan many years ago. Upon further inspection, I found a handful of new recipes to test over the next few weeks and honestly haven't put it down since. I've made soups, salads, breads, and a few other things that have quickly made it into my weekly rotation. But this bread. Wow. I've made this one at least 5 times now and haven't shut up about it.

I think the title may throw some people off, but I'm a big date and nut fan. The way I described this was like a banana bread without bananas...so just cinnamon-y, sweet, light and really good chunks from the nuts. No joke I think I've had this every day for 3 weeks.

The best part is that I've also made different variations and they've all been great! I've added bananas and applesauce, chocolate chips... but most often I'll just throw in a handful of trail mix. You can do pretty much anything.

food 52's date nut bread

1 1/2 cups pitted and chopped dates
2 cups AP flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 TBSP baking soda
1/4 TSP salt
1 TSP cinnamon
3 TBSP warm water
1 TBSP ground flax (I typically just add an egg instead)
3/4 cup unsweetened nondairy milk
1 TSP apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Start by preheating the oven to 350, and line a loaf pan with parchment paper. In a small bowl, cover the chopped dates in boiling water and set aside to soak. Separately, whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together. In a small bowl combine the water and flax seed to create the flax egg, or sub for 1 egg. In the same fashion, combine the milk and apple cider vinegar and whisk until frothy. Add all the wet ingredients plus the coconut oil to the flour mixture and stir until just combined.

Drain the dates and fold into the batter. Add in chopped walnuts and any other nuts/dried fruit. Feel free to add more milk if the batter is too dry.

Bake for 30-40 minutes. The outside of the loaf will get quite dark and the inside will be moist.

I keep this wrapped in plastic wrap and in the fridge for up to 5 days. If it lasts that long.

:)

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BA's Best: Buttermilk Biscuits

12/28/2020

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I love the days where I can test a recipe and immediately start my writing. I can take a bite of whatever I just whipped up and have all five senses at hand while describing it. Luckily, today is one of those days. I'm sitting here with a bowl of soup and one of these biscuits at my side....life is good.

I saw this recipe on Pinterest, and like most things, the picture was what caught my eye. It looked as though the biscuit dough had been laminated with clear layers of butter and pastry. Annnnnd that's exactly what it is! No wonder it's a part of BA's Best.

Like most of my recipes, I made a few tweaks based on what I had in the pantry. I didn't add baking powder, only baking soda. And instead of buttermilk, I used almond milk. I'm going to try it again with the exact ingredients, but I'm pretty happy with my outcome. It is possible that I just made pie dough in the shape of biscuits, but that's not a bad thing in my book.

I don't believe that these are supposed to be light and fluffy, but more crispy and crunchy.

bon appétits buttermilk biscuits:

3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda (I omitted)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 sticks chilled butter (calls for unsalted, but I only had salted)
1 cup chilled buttermilk (I used almond milk)

Preheat your oven to 425. In a bowl, combine all ingredients except the buttermilk. I smushed the butter pieces until half were about as big as a dime, and the other half were more like small thin sheets. Drizzle the milk over the bowl and stir together with a fork. The dough will be pretty dry, so get your hands in there and combine for a minute or so.

Get it all out on the table and form into a 1 inch tall rectangle. Using a knife (or bench scraper), cut the dough into 4 pieces. Stack all 4 on top of each other and press back out into a 1 inch tall rectangle (this forms the lamination). I found it easier to use my hands rather than a rolling pin. Cut off the edges for a cleaner look, and then cut a 4x3 grid. Top with melted butter and pop into the oven for a little over 20 minutes, keeping an eye on them.

I only baked 3, and wrapped the rest in plastic to keep in the freezer.

I'm going to try and test a recipe from a different creator in the near future, but damn. BA keeps getting me.

See ya!

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Bon Appetit's Tiramisu

12/21/2020

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I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've had tiramisu. And all of them were at an Italian restaurant. It's never been a dessert that we've had at home, and I don't think anyone I know has even made it before.

I'm here to change that!

Inspiration struck at work this week while I was slicing our tiramisu cakes. I've also been known to confuse inspiration with general hunger...but regardless, I was set on it! So I picked up a couple of ingredients (under $10) and headed home to assemble.

I quickly learned that there is more to the filling than just mascarpone, and while it wasn't difficult, I was just surprised. There are eggs in there! Cooked eggs (at least in my recipe), but still!

bon appétit's tiramisu:

1 1/2 cups strong coffee, room temp
1 tbsp dark rum (I omitted this)
pinch of salt
1 tbsp plus 1/3 cup sugar
1 cup chilled heavy cream
1/2 cup mascarpone
3 large egg yolks
24 ladyfingers

Butter a loaf pan and line with plastic wrap with room for overhang. To be honest, I forgot to line my pan and it still came out fine. Whisk the coffee, rum, salt and 1 tbsp of sugar until combined and set aside. In a separate dish whisk together the cream and mascarpone until smooth, and also set aside.

Bring a pot of water to a simmer. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks, 1/3 cup sugar and 2 tbsp of water and place the bowl on top of the pot (creating a double boiler). Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until they triple in size and look pale yellow. This took around 7-9 minutes for me. Take the bowl off of the pot.

Separately, beat the cream/mascarpone mixture until peaks form. Fold in the egg yolk mixture slowly.

Dip each ladyfinger in the coffee mixture for 1-2 seconds per side. You want them to be soft, but not falling apart. Lay the cookies down in the bottom of the pan - it's alright to squeeze them in there. Add a layer of the mascarpone and repeat x2. Do a final layer of cookies and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Pop in the fridge for 6-12 hours!

When you're ready to serve, flip the pan upside-down on plate and remove the plastic wrap. It's up to you if you'd like to add a layer of whipped cream (I did), and just top with a dusting of cocoa powder!

I love how this can be prepared the night before, and is actually better the longer you wait for it to set. We're working on patience over here :)

Enjoy!

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Tartine's Eclairs

12/15/2020

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I'm back! My last few weeks have been spent at the bakery in a blurry of cookies and cakes...not that I'm complaining. The 24/7 holiday music sure has me feeling some type of way.

Like I said in my last post, I'm kind of over the traditional holiday flavors. Instead, this recipe is more of a symbolic dessert (although eclairs make me think of tea parties, which are kind of christmasy to me? idk).

We used to spend holidays with my Grandma out in Arizona, and I have the best memories of getting our annual tub of cream puffs from Costco. We'd sit and play card games and use the puffs as a reward. I just thought it was the coolest thing ever.

I always felt like choux paste was a daunting recipe...and to be honest there is a point along the way where it looks like it's falling apart. BUT if you stick it out for another 5 minutes it all comes together and was surprisingly easy to work with.

Here's the recipe from Tartine:

choux paste

1/2 cup nonfat milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup + 1 tbsp flour
5 eggs

Preheat your oven to 425. In a saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to a full boil. Add all the flour at once and stir until it becomes smooth. This should take just a few minutes.

Move the dough to a mixing bowl and use the paddle attachment. Add each egg one at a time until the dough gets thick and shiny, and then use a piping bag to create the long eclair or round cream puff shape.

Bake for about 10 minutes (should puff up and start to get golden), then turn the oven down to 375 and continue for another 10 minutes. Once out of the oven, poke each shell in order to create a vent. This allows them to cool without collapsing.

I just whipped some heavy cream for the cream puffs and filled the eclairs with vanilla pudding to finish it off. A fairly simple recipe with a super impressive outcome!

Until next time!

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Apple Cinnamon Layer Cake

12/4/2020

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Hi there! I'm here to share a very cute cake idea that I had around the beginning of November, and it was inspired by these little gingerbread dudes that I found at Trader Joes! There are similar cakes floating around Pinterest, but I had yet to see one with this exact style. It also helps that they're so small because I typically don't like to make a cake that's larger than 6 inches (to be honest I don't have enough people to share it with!)

For the cake itself, I spruced up a vanilla cake mix. By adding an extra egg yolk, yogurt and butter, the cake became much more dense and hearty. I chopped up one Granny Smith apple, coated the pieces in flour and cinnamon (to help them from sinking to the bottom) and added them to the batter.

apple cinnamon layer cake:

1 box vanilla cake mix
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup yogurt
1 TBSP vanilla
1 Granny Smith apple, chopped
1/4 cup flour
1 TBSP cinnamon

I followed the box instructions, making enough batter to fill two 6 inch cake pans. Once the apple is chopped, toss it in the flour and cinnamon mixture. Add it back into the cake batter and divide evenly between the pans.

The buttercream is a recipe that I'll be coming out with soon, and can be used for a number of things. In this case, I added cinnamon and nutmeg to give it a spicy flavor.

Ironically, I've been making a similar cake at work and wasn't too fond of it...I have to say that I prefer my version :)

I have a few more holiday recipes coming your way! I think I'm done with the gingerbread/spice based desserts and will be moving on to some treats that hold more meaning to me for this season. You'll see what I mean :)

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Tartine's Marbled Pound Cake

11/22/2020

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How is everyone's day so far? Mine has been great, even though it's still getting started. I'm actually here with a cup of coffee and some of this cake...I mean I wouldn't want any of it to go to waste...

I actually picked up this book earlier in the summer as a gift to myself. No special occasion but I had really wanted a cookbook that covered a lot of ground. Tartine has all types of recipes including breakfast pastries, pies, jams, cakes and cookies. I also love that there is a whole chapter on basic bakery recipes, focusing on fundamental ingredients such as pie dough, pastry cream and lemon cream.

This recipe in particular is such a simple cake, but the texture makes it feel like you put much more time and effort into it than you really did. It's as light as angel food cake but still has a dense spongy crumb. You know, maybe I'm the one who hasn't had a good pound cake in a while, because I don't think this result should come as that much of a surprise.

marbled pound cake:

1 1/3 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup + 2 TBSP butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 large eggs
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 TBSP vanilla
(for the chocolate marble)
3 TBSP cocoa powder
1 TBSP coffee

The instructions say to cream the butter and sugar, adding each egg individually until fully incorporated. Then mix in the sour cream and vanilla, and add the flour in last.

To create the marble, set aside 1/3 of the batter in a small bowl. Mix in the cocoa powder and coffee, and swirl batter back in with the vanilla.

The whole thing went into a 350 F oven for about 30 minutes.

This recipe didn't include frosting, and frankly it doesn't need it. Regardless, I had the ingredients to make a quick cream cheese frosting that would run down the sides, so I did just that!

1 stick of room temp butter
1/2 block of room temp cream cheese
splash of vanilla
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk
(if the mixture needs to be thinner, go ahead an add more milk to your liking)

Enjoy!

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<<Previous

Creative baking with Christina Tosi: cookies

intro: creative baking with Christina Tosi

St. Patricks day rainbow cupcakes

Simple Cheesecake

Food 52's Date Nut Bread

BA's Best: Buttermilk Biscuits

Bon Appetit's Tiramisu

Tartine's Eclairs

Apple Cinnamon Layer Cake

Tartine's Marbled Pound Cake

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