Burnt Caramel & Lemon Chevre Brownies

The flavor contrasts here are sophisticated and marvelous. I wouldn’t hesitate to serve these brownies to the most discriminating dinner guest. The bittersweet chocolate layer is deeply flavored with the addition of unsweetened cocoa powder and espresso. The caramel is just shy of burnt with a complexity that pairs beautifully with the chocolate. The periodic hits of sharp, creamy lemon chevre filling are surprising and delightful. Every bite brings a different combination of the elements.

Chewy gooey bittersweet chocolate brownie, pools of dark caramel, and luscious chevre-cream cheese filling. Your co-workers will swoon.

Candied Lemon Peel

If you have tasted the preservative-laden candied citron available in the typical grocery store, you understand why you must to make your own and then treat your best friends. It’s simply incomparable with a cup of tea or espresso; so much sensational flavor in such a tiny, guilt-free bite.

Caramelized Ancho Chile & Cinnamon Almonds

Once you taste these spicy caramel-coated nuts, you will not want to be without them. With five variations, choose your favorite nuts and try your hand with the professional’s super-easy caramel making technique.

Christmas Tea Mulling Spice

If you plan to invite a few friends over for tea and nibbles this holiday season, do infuse your favorite tea with this heady blend of spices. While you’re at it, have someone read aloud the heartwarming little story, A Cup of Christmas Tea. I guarantee you will all feel blessed by the Spirit of Christmas.

Cranberry Orange Yogurt Bread

I love making this tender, tangy tea bread in small loaf pans so that we can eat one right away and give the rest as gifts. Wondrously, this bread is actually better in all ways the day after it is baked. It is a festive and welcome accompaniment to the holiday festivities. Treat yourself!

Dreamy Creamy Gingerbread Fudge

This fudge is what holiday dreams are made of: sweet, creamy, delicious, unusual, and memorable. Make it the traditional way or the easy way with marshmallow cream. Both methods are included. Either way, your friends and family will clamor for it every year.

Gingerbread White Chocolate Congo Bars

Congo Bars take Blondies to the Wild Side. There is nothing demur or sophisticated about either of these ultra-chewy, lip-smacking bar cookies. They are unabashedly hedonistic, indulgent, and sensuous. Which of course strikes just the right note for all those holiday parties.

One Hot Mama Drinking Chocolate

This is NOT mildly flavored, American-style hot cocoa, which is typically made with cocoa powder, or sometimes with chocolate syrup. Rather, it is European-style drinking or hot chocolate, which is made with high-quality bar chocolate. Once you have had hot chocolate made in this way, you won’t settle for anything else. It’s the stuff of which dreams are made.

Panforte di LunaCafe

This is the quintessential Northwest panforte nero, my personal rendition of the Italian Christmas confection, containing Northwest fruits and nuts, and both cocoa and black pepper. The honey-caramel is enriched with butter and the usual flour amount is reduced to only what is necessary to coat and separate the chopped fruit. The result is divine, and although the directions say to serve a very small sliver, no one EVER eats only one or even two slivers. You will end up hiding this, even from yourself. Oh the joys of Christmas!

Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce

This creamy, dreamy caramel sauce, which is fairly firm at room temperature or saucy when heated, makes an exceptional gift. Try it warmed over the best vanilla ice cream you can get. Add roasted, salted peanuts, Caramelized Banana and either chopped bittersweet bar chocolate or finely crushed espresso beans for an uncommonly good, altogether grownup holiday sundae.

Pumpkin Spice Hot White Chocolate

This Hot White Chocolate is in the style of European drinking chocolate, which is made with whole milk (and sometimes part cream) and melted high-quality bar chocolate. If you plan to do the whole cut-your-own-tree thing, be sure to pack a thermos of this creamy concoction, spiked with espresso or Meyer’s dark rum. Throw in a canister of whipping cream, and you will be a HERO.

Spiced Apple Cider Caramel Sauce

Imagine a distinctive, dark caramel sauce with the additional flavor and acidity of tart green apples. I love it over vanilla bean or sweet corn gelato, with warm-spiced roasted apples, alongside pumpkin bread pudding, with beignet or ebelskiver, over delicate cottage cheese pancakes or Swedish flespannkaka (small, crepe-like pancakes with bits of rendered salt pork) , and most especially with Spiced Pumpkin Sour Cream Upside-Down Cake with Caramelized Cranberry Hazelnut Topping and Orange Cream.

Spiced Pumpkin Maple Butter

This Pumpkin Butter uses both brown sugar and maple syrup as sweeteners, but neither to excess. The finished butter is richly spicy but only moderately sweet, making it a very versatile addition or accompaniment to other dishes. When you gift this, be sure to include the recipe for Spicy Pumpkin Butter Gingerbread Beignets.

Toasted Hazelnut, Honey & Garam Masala Brittle

This buttery nut brittle is unlike any I have ever experienced. The flavor of wildflower honey almost supersedes that of toasted hazelnuts, but not quite. The taste buds dance from one flavor to the other and back again, helped along by a generous dose of sea salt, both in and on top of the brittle. The gentle yet pervasive background flavors of vanilla and exotic spices will keep you and everyone else coming back for more. A very special gift.

It never fails. When the temperature drops and snow is in the air, I start craving gingerbread cake. It’s one of those ultra-comforting sweets that has so sparked bakers’ creativity over the years that it now boasts hundreds of variations. Maybe thousands. Look at the lineup of gingerbread cakes on TasteSpotting.

However, for gingerbread inspiration this year, I had only to open the  cookbook Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery + Cafe by Harvard educated mathematician turned professional baker, Joanne Chang. I scored the cookbook earlier this fall while at the South End location of Joanne’s Flour Bakery in Boston.

The next time you are in Boston, you have to check out this quintessential new American bakery. Everything I sampled over several visits to both the South End and Fort Point Channel locations was superlative—from the excellent flaky crusted quiche, to the exceptional sandwiches (Grilled Roast Chicken with Brie, Arugula, Roasted Red Peppers, and Caramelized Onions!), to the mountains of scones, muffins, tea cakes, sticky buns, and tarts.

I love the sensibility behind this bakery. Nothing is too fussy, too precious, or too predictable. You might think you purchased an ordinary, albeit very pretty, scone, but then you bite into it and realize this is no ordinary scone. The same thing happens with nearly everything you order. You start to feel guilty, because you want to taste EVERYTHING.

The pastry case sparkles, every item tested repeatedly and perfected over time. You can actually taste all that focused dedication in each bite. The phrase “best-of-class” came to mind as I ate my way through the pastry case and menu. Each item stood as an example of perfection in its category. I would return for that one item if it were the only good thing in the shop. Fortunately, however, everything is wonderful at Flour. And now, thanks to the cookbook, you can enjoy the best of Flour Bakery from your own kitchen.

When I buy a new cookbook, I read it from cover to cover and put a sticky tag on every recipe that intrigues me. Books with tons of sticky tags are obviously my favorites. Suffice it to say that the Flour Bakery cookbook has tons of sticky tags. Here are some of the recipes I can’t wait to try:

• Apple Snacking Cake
• Chunky Lola Cookies
• Classic Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Cranberry-Maple-Pecan Breakfast Cake
• Flour’s Famous Banana Cake
• Fresh Lemon-Poppy Pound Cake
• Milky Way Tart
• New Tiramisu
• Nutmeg-Spice Cake with Creamy Rum Buttercream
• Rosemary Shortbread
• Southern Pecan Pie
• Sticky Sticky Buns
• Sugar and Spice Brioche Buns
• Super Pumpkin Pumpkin pie
• Toasted Coconut Cream Pie with Lime Whipped Cream
• Vanilla Cream-Filled Doughnuts
• White Coconut Cake with Coconut Frosting

But don’t be misled by some of the pedestrian sounding recipe titles. Joanne Chang establishes a high bar for each item and works steadfastly until she achieves the best possible result. We have all had good carrot cake, for instance. But Joanne describes hers as “…the best I’ve ever eaten: incredibly moist crumb; loads of shredded carrots, raisins, and toasted walnuts; and a sweet-but-not-too-sweet cream cheese frosting.”

Of course I’m going to try it. And the way she reduces the pumpkin to pack the most pumpkin flavor into the pie intrigues me. As does the way she uses caramelized sugar and lemon juice in her pecan pie to offset the sweetness. And the way she layers flavor by using both shredded coconut and coconut milk in her coconut cake. These little things can make a huge difference.

And so it’s the little things that make the difference with this particularly delicious gingerbread. The tender, moist cake is loaded with ginger, both fresh and powdered, and enhanced with a subtle amount of cinnamon and cloves. Then there’s the surprise of a full teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. It doesn’t overshadow the other flavors, just adds a welcome kick to the finish of each bite. To push the experience all the way into sublime territory, a transparent coffee glaze is brushed over the cake while it is still warm. Gingerbread doesn’t get better than this.

Joanne Chang’s Deep, Dark, Spicy Gingerbread with Coffee Glaze 

This delicious gingerbread cake has a full measure of ginger (both fresh and ground), as well as freshly ground black pepper. The latter give it an unexpected and very welcome kick.

Note   Recipe shared with permission. My additions are in brown text.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2 large eggs
3½ cups (490 grams) unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 ½ cups (480 grams) unsulphured light or dark molasses
1 cup (240 grams) boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda

Coffee Glaze
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
2-3 tablespoons double-strength brewed coffee

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-by-13-inch baking pan, or other pan/s of equivalent capacity.
2. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a handheld mixer), cream together the butter and brown sugar for 2 to 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. (This step will take 5-6 minutes using a handheld mixer.)
3. Stop the mixer a few times and use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and the paddle to release any clinging butter or sugar.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the grated ginger and eggs until blended. On low speed, slowly add the egg mixture to the butter mixture and mix just until combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl again and beat on medium speed for 20 to 30 seconds, or until the mixture is homogeneous.
5. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, ground ginger, pepper, cinnamon, and cloves.
6. In another medium bowl, whisk together the molasses, boiling water, and baking soda. It will foam up! On the lowest speed, add about 1/3 of the flour mixture to the egg-butter mixture, and mix until incorporated. Add the rest of the molasses mixture and mix until incorporated. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl. Again on the lowest speed, add about half of the remaining flour mixture and mix until incorporated. Add the rest of the molasses mixture and mix until incorporated. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the remaining flour mixture, mix on low speed for about 1 minute or until the batter is homogeneous. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.
7. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes (or 35-40 minutes for mini bundt cake or mini loaves), or until the top of the cake springs back when lightly pressed in the middle with a fingertip. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack.
8. To make the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and enough of the coffee to make a smooth, thick, spreadable glaze.
9. While the cake is still warm, spread the glaze evenly over the top. Let the glaze set for at least 1 hour before serving.
10. The cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Makes one 9- by 13-inch cake or one mini bundt cake (5-6-cup capacity pan) plus two mini loaves (2-cup capacity pans).

Connect with Joanne Chang and Flour Bakery

• Flour Bakery + Cafe
• Flour Bakery + Café on Facebook
• Joanne Chang on Facebook

Flour Bakery in the Press

• A Passion for Food: Boston, Part II: Flour Bakery
• Boston Magazine: Flour Bakery + Cafe
• Cake and Commerce: Flour Bakery + Cafe
• Examiner Boston: Flour Bakery in Cambridge
• Food Enthusiast: Flour Bakery: Boston
• LA Weekly: Cookbook Review: Flour Bakery, Where Boston Gets Its Homemade Nutella Fix
• Nooschi: Flour Bakery + Café, Boston
• Pen & Fork: Cookbook Review: Flour
• Serious Eats: Boston’s Flour Bakery Buns Are So sticky, They Named Them Twice
• Tiny Urban Kitchen: Flour Bakery
• We Are Not Martha: Lunch at Boston’s Flour Bakery

Copyright 2010 Susan S. bradley. All rights reserved.

On the twelfth day of Christmas… my true love gave to me … Peppermint Lime Kaleidoscope Cookies. 

What a whirlwind it’s been in the OtherWorldly Kitchen. Flour, flour everywhere–along with nuts, sprinkles, chocolate, cookie cutters, baking sheets, and cooling racks. And of course the ever ready digital camera. I’m not quite ready to end the madness, so I’ve actually started developing cookies for next year. Two down, ten to go.

At this rate, it will still be Christmas in our house long after the New Year has begun. I really must wind this down. And move on to Christmas fudge. And Gingerbread cupcakes.

So. Our last cookie. I saved this buttery morsel for the final post because it epitomizes everything that’s wonderful about Christmas. It’s grand, colorful, festive, brightly flavored, and well, just plain wonderful. All the things of which memories are made.

Wishing you and yours the most magical holiday ever, with mountains of cookies to delight your spirits and warm your hearts. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Peppermint Lime Kaleidoscope Cookies

These festive little cookies deliver a pleasant surprise at first bite. What better flavor to celebrate Christmas and ring in the New Year than peppermint. Add lime and you have a party in your mouth. You probably won’t detect the flavor from small amount of added cornmeal, but it contributes to the crunch factor.

Baking Note   For best results, cookies must be COLD when they go into the oven. Otherwise, they may spread too much. Always give cookies plenty of space to spread regardless, at least an inch between cookies. Baking times are APPROXIMATE. Correct baking times are critical to the success of your cookies. Test your oven and pan setup with a few cookies to start with and watch the timing closely. Dark pans bake faster than light pans or air-sandwiched pans. Silicon mat-lined pans bake faster than parchment-lined pans. Cookies that are rolled to 1/8-inch thick bake faster than cookies rolled to ¼-inch thick. And your oven may be running hot or cold. There are so many variables. Do test a couple of cookies first. It may save an entire batch later.

2½ cups King Arthur unbleached, all-purpose flour 
½ cup cornstarch
½ cup yellow cornmeal

1½ cups unsalted butter (3 sticks)
1 cup sugar
finely grated zest of 2 limes
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
¼ teaspoon lime oil
½ teaspoon fine sea salt

Finishing
gel food color in rose and teal (or other colors of choice)
multi-colored sprinkles, optional

1. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour and cornstarch, and then stir in the cornmeal. Reserve.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar, lime zest, and peppermint extract, lime oil, and salt.
3. Add the flour mixture and mix on very slow speed very briefly, just until a dough forms.
4. Divide dough in thirds by weight. Each portion should weigh about 11 ounces.
5. Put one portion of dough back into the mixer bowl and add a drop or two of rose food coloring. Mix to distribute, then remove the dough from the bowl and wipe the bowl clean.
6. Put one portion of dough back into the mixer bowl and add a drop or two of teal food coloring. Mix to distribute, and then remove the dough from the bowl. You now have three portions of dough: one plain, one rose, and one teal.
7. Roll each portion into a 2-foot rope. Place the three ropes side-by-side and then cut in half lengthwise. Working with three of the ropes at a time, twist them together, enclose in plastic wrap, and then roll to a 2-inch diameter, twisting the ends of the plastic wrap to help compact the rolls. Repeat with the remaining 3 ropes/
8. Wrap well in additional plastic wrap and frig for at least 2 hours or overnight. (The sealed dough can be refrigerated for 2-3 days if necessary.)
9. When you’re ready to bake, remove one dough roll at a time from the frig. If desired, roll in sprinkles to evenly coat the surface. Then slice cookies widthwise at ¼-inch intervals.
10. Arrange cookies one inch apart on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
11. Bake at 325° for about 12-14 minutes, rotating pans at the halfway point to ensure even browning.
12. Remove from the oven, immediately loosen each cookie with a thin spatula and set on a wire rack to cool.
13. Store airtight in layers separated by wax paper rounds in a cookie tin in a cool, dry place. These cookies improve with age. They keep for 3-4 weeks.

Makes about 5 dozen, 2-inch diameter cookies.

There’s More

Check out our three Christmas cookie collections:

• Season 3: Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Silver Bells
• Season 2: Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Starry Night 
• Season 1: Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Deck the Halls

Copyright 2010 Susan S. Bradley. All Rights Reserved.

On the eleventh day of Christmas…  my true love gave to me … Coconut Vanilla Lime Shortbread.

To my palate, coconut and lime are a pairing made in heaven. Coconut on its own is subtle and seductive, like a lazy summer afternoon. Add lime, and it’s party time.

I admit I may be biased on this, as I love lime with almost everything. It is definitely my favorite citrus fruit and our frig is always well stocked. Not a panic if I run out of lemon, but let the lime stash dwindle to almost zero, and it’s Costco-run time. (Thank God for Costco, by the way, as limes are often super expensive elsewhere.)

Now let’s take this flavor pairing one step further and add vanilla bean. Holy moly, out of this world! You will want to package these in cellophane gift bags and give them to everyone you know.

Because this cookie has such remarkable flavor, I prefer to leave it undecorated, and then watch people’s expressions when they bite into it. If you wish though, you can of course sprinkle the cookies with a little sanding sugar or luster to make them look more festive on the Christmas cookie platter.

Coconut Vanilla Lime Shortbread

Toasted coconut, lime, vanilla bean, and browned butter: a Christmas cookie flavor combination a bit unexpected, as well as out of this world.  You will be hounded mercilessly until you bake these for everyone. We eat them all year long.

To give some variety to the Christmas cookie display, I make this cookie long and narrow. Actually though, you can shape them anyway you like. They are wonderful rolled and cut with traditional cookie cutters, then finished with sanding sugar or luster.

Baking Note   For best results, cookies must be COLD when they go into the oven. Otherwise, they may spread too much. Always give cookies plenty of space to spread regardless, at least an inch between cookies. Baking times are APPROXIMATE. Correct baking times are critical to the success of your cookies. Test your oven and pan setup with a few cookies to start with and watch the timing closely. Dark pans bake faster than light pans or air-sandwiched pans. Silicon mat-lined pans bake faster than parchment-lined pans. Cookies that are rolled to 1/8-inch thick bake faster than cookies rolled to ¼-inch thick. And your oven may be running hot or cold. There are so many variables. Do test a couple of cookies first. It may save an entire batch later.

1 cup Bob’s Red Mill unsweetened flaked coconut, lightly toasted
3 cups King Arthur unbleached, all-purpose flour

1½ cups fresh unsalted butter, at cool room temperature (3 cubes)
1 cup sugar
finely grated zest of 2 large limes
scraped seeds of ½ vanilla bean
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut extract
½ teaspoon fine sea salt

Finishing
clear sanding sugar or luster, optional

1. In a processor fitted with the steel blade, process the toasted coconut to a fine grind.
2. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour and stir in the ground coconut. Reserve.
3. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar, lime zest, and vanilla bean seeds.
4. Add the lime juice, vanilla extract, coconut extract, and salt, and incorporate.
5. Add the flour-coconut mixture and mix on very slow speed very briefly, just until a dough forms.
6. Divide dough in half. Form each portion into a 12-inch long by 2¼-inch wide by 1-inch deep log. Wrap well in plastic wrap and frig for at least 2 hours or overnight. (The sealed dough can be refrigerated for 2-3 days if necessary.)
7. When you are ready to bake, remove one dough rectangle at a time from the frig and slice cookies widthwise into ¼-inch thickness.
8. Arrange cookies one inch apart on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. If desired, sprinkle with fine sanding sugar or luster.
9. Bake at 325° for about 20-22 minutes, rotating pans at the halfway point to ensure even browning.
10. Remove from the oven, immediately loosen each cookie with a thin spatula and set on a wire rack to cool.
11. Store airtight in layers separated by wax paper rounds in a cookie tin in a cool, dry place. These cookies improve with age. They keep for 3-4 weeks.

Makes about 8 dozen, 2½-inch by 1½–inch cookies.

There’s More

Follow along as we bake this year’s cookie collection, and check out our past two collections:

• Season 3: Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Silver Bells
• Season 2: Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Starry Night
• Season 1: Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Deck the Halls

Copyright 2010 Susan S. Bradley. All Rights Reserved.