Classic Snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles appear to be much like peanut butter cookies in that there appears to be near universal agreement on the recipe. I was searching because this is not food of my people, but food of Ben's people. For years I thought it was a Christmas tradition for him to have snickerdoodles, but apparently I was mistaken and you can have them anytime. Therefore, I shall!

Cookie

1 cup (8oz/225gr) butter at room temperature

1½ cups (11oz/315g) sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsps. vanilla

2¾ cup (13oz/365g) flour

1½ tsps. cream of Tartar

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Cinnamon-Sugar Topping

¼ cup sugar (2 Tbsps.)

1½ Tbsps. cinnamon (3½ tsps.)

1. Place oven rack in the top ⅓ of the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar for 4 to 5 minutes until light and fluffy.  Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the eggs and vanilla. Cream for 1 to 2 minutes longer until you feel that it has fluffed up enough. 
3. Stir in the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt, just until combined. 
4. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon. 
5. If time allows, wrap the dough and let refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes.  
6. Roll into small balls (½ oz to 1 oz) until round and smooth. 
7. Drop into the cinnamon-sugar mixture and roll to cover either half or the whole ball of dough. 
8. Place on the parchment paper lined baking sheet, cinnamon sugar-coated face up, and gently flatten to a thick 1¼" disc. 
9. Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges just start to brown.  Let cool for several minutes on the baking sheet before removing from the pan. 

NOTE: Do not freeze, or freezing is not recommended - it changes the texture.

Lollipops

Last Christmas my gift to my family was home-made candy. I think I got the most out of the experience, to tell you the truth. Making candy is incredibly fascinating and fun! Or at least for a research geek like myself. I haven't mastered the art of flavoring yet, but I'm willing to keep trying! This recipe is for lollipops - I just poured out rough, globby circles onto parchment paper and popped in some sticks before it cooled, and haven't explored other methods... yet! I found this amazing science-cooking site that explains how the different steps and ingredients work to make candy, called the Exploratorium.

Makes about 8 to 10 lollipops per batch

1 cup sugar
⅓ cup corn syrup
½ cup water
¼ tsp cream of tartar
¼ to 1 tsp flavouring
liquid food colouring
1 to 2 tsp(s) citric acid (optional)

1. Prepare either a marble slab or an upside-down cookie sheet (air underneath the sheet will help the candy to cool faster), by covering it with parchment paper and spraying it with oil. If you're using molds, prepare the molds with lollipop sticks, spray with oil, and place them on a cookie sheet or marble slab.
2. In your pan, over medium heat, stir together the sugar, corn syrup, water, and cream of tartar with a wooden spoon until the sugar crystals dissolve.
3. Continue to stir, using a pastry brush dampened with warm water to dissolve any sugar crystals clinging to the sides of the pan, then stop stirring as soon as the syrup starts to boil.
4. Place the candy thermometer in the pan, being careful not to let it touch the bottom or sides, and let the syrup boil without stirring until the thermometer just reaches 300°F (hard-crack stage). If you don't have a thermometer, you can test Drop a little of the molten syrup in cold water and it will form hard, brittle threads that break when bent.
5. Remove the pan from the heat immediately and let the syrup cool to about 275°F before adding flavor, color, and citric acid (adding it sooner causes most of the flavor to cook away).
6. Working quickly, pour the syrup into the prepared molds and let cool for about 10 minutes. If you're not using molds, pour small (2") circles onto the prepared marble slab or cookie sheet and place a lollipop stick in each one, twisting the stick to be sure it's covered with candy. (It helps to have a friend do this since you need to work quickly.)
7. Let the lollipops cool for at least 10 minutes, until they are hard. Wrap individually in plastic wrap or cellophane and seal with tape or twist ties. Store in a cool, dry place.

NOTE: You can use flavoring extracts that are available in the baking supplies section of your local supermarket, such as vanilla, almond, anise, maple, and lemon. Approximately 1 teaspoon of this kind of flavoring should be enough for a batch of lollipops.
There are also highly-concentrated flavorings specifically for candy making, available online or in specialty stores. The flavor choices are almost endless. These usually come in tiny 1-dram (1 teaspoon) bottles, and ¼ teaspoon should be sufficient to flavor a batch of lollipops.
It’s a good idea to have the flavors and colors that you will add to your candy measured out and ready beforehand. You will need to work quickly once the syrup reaches the hard-crack stage because it will harden quickly!
When using stronger flavors such as cinnamon, mint, and cherry, you can use a small amount (about ¼ teaspoon). Subtler flavors such as lemon, strawberry, orange, and peach require more (½ to 1 tsp). You can add about ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract with these flavors to accent them and add a "creamy" flavor.
If you're making several batches, save the stronger flavors for last or they may contaminate the other batches. Be sure to wash all measuring and mixing spoons in between batches as well.

Chocolate Torte with Dark Chocolate Frosting

We had some friends over for dinner who are gluten intolerant, so I decided to make a flourless chocolate cake. And since I'd just seen Laura Calder make one, I decided to try that one out. I don't know where the error was, if I put the oven too hot or if my oven, which has a random temperature generator, burned my cake, fifteen minutes before it was supposed to be done! I ended up cutting away the burned parts, and what was left was a wonderfully gooey chocolate pudding-like substance that I piled in large ramekins and topped with fresh whipped cream. What a save! But not an experience I'd like to repeat.

I tried this a second time, and it still started to burn about 15 minutes before the baking time was up, without the attractive crackling! I searched and most flourless chocolate cake recipes of this type give pretty much the same info.

THEN I was looking for an Easter chocolate cake to make for Isabelle and Ben and I found this recipe. It worked, it didn't burn, and it was delicious!

6 large eggs separated

1 cup (8oz/228gr) butter, cut into small pieces

7-9oz chocolate (70%), chopped

1 cup granulated white sugar, divided

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Ganache:

7-8 oz chocolate (70%), chopped

3/4 cup heavy (whipping) cream

2 Tbsps (28gr) butter

1 Tbsps brandy (optional)

1. THIS IS BEST MADE THE DAY BEFORE
2. Lightly coat a 9 x 3 inch spring form pan with melted butter. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper.
3. Separate the eggs with the whites in one bowl and the yolks in another. Cover and bring to room temperature (about 30 minutes).
4. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a double boiler or bain marie. Once the chocolate has melted, slowly add small chunks of butter and mix to blend until it's uniform. Allow to cool a bit.
5. Beat the egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar until thick and lemon-coloured. (The eggs should have tripled in volume, look thick and soft, and fall from the whisk/beater in a slow ribbon.) Beat in the vanilla extract and slowly beat in the slightly cooled melted chocolate mixture (adding it slowly increases the yolk temperature and avoid making scrambled eggs au chocolat).
6. Preheat oven to 350F and place oven rack on lowest level of the oven. 
7. In a clean bowl beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue beating until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold a small amount of whites into the egg yolk mixture to lighten the batter, then pour the batter into the remaining egg whites all in one go, then gently fold just until incorporated to keep as much volume in the whites as possible.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top. Bake the cake for about 50 - 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out with a few moist crumbs - apparently you can use a cooking thermometer and, when the middle of the cake reaches 140F, it's done. (During baking the surface of the cake will form a crust which will collapse when the cake is removed from the oven.) Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. The top of the cake will have become hard with a cracked surface and lots of crumbs. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for a few hours or up to a few days.
9. Chocolate Icing: Put the chopped chocolate in a bowl. Heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, then pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. If desired, add the liqueur.
10. Assemble: Remove torte from refrigerator and brush any loose crumbs from the cake. Place on a wire rack, top of the cake facing down (so now the bottom of the cake is facing up). Put the wire rack on a baking sheet. In this way if the chocolate ganache drips it will fall on the baking sheet, which makes clean up easier. Pour the ganache into the centre of the cake. Spread the ganache with a spatula, using big strokes to push the ganache over the sides of the cake, to create an even coating. If there are any bare spots on the sides of cake, cover with ganache. If there is leftover ganache, strain to remove crumbs, and with a hand mixer or whisk, beat until light and fluffy. Place in a piping bag, fitted with a Wilton 1M open star tip, and pipe rosettes on top of the cake. Refrigerate cake. I find this cake is best served the next day as it allows the flavours to blend. Cut the cake in small slices with a sharp knife, wiping off the knife after slicing each piece. If you have problems cutting the slices, warm the blade of the knife under hot running water before cutting each slice.

Crisp, Chewy Meringue

EXPERIMENTATION: I tried substituting lavender essential oil for 1 tsp vanilla. I put in too much lavender, and it left a bitter after-taste on the back of the tongue. TRY adding vanilla for depth of flavor and only 4-5 drops of lavender essential oil instead of 11.

EXPERIMENTATION: try substituting the vanilla with lavender water instead of essential oil, and try orange flower water or maple extract or other flavours, especially floral, like, oh, ROSE!

NOTES: When paired with the Chocolate Pavements with Candied Ginger, the lavender taste is tamed and more pleasant. Try with less lavender but still paired. The cookie itself was beautiful and, Susan being a true meringue officionado, was perfect in every other respect.

4 egg whites

pinch salt

1 teaspoon vanilla
4-5 drops Lavender (see EXPERIMENTATION)
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup icing sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch

1. Whip the whites and salt into peaks, add the essences, and continue beating to stiff, dry peaks. Stir the cream of tartar into the regular sugar and whisk into the whites very gradually, a spoonful at a time, until the meringue is stiff and the sugar has dissolved. Sift together the icing sugar and cornstarch. Sift over the meringue and gently fold until fully incorporated.
2. Spoon the meringues onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, spinning the spoon around the tops to create the pretty cloudy peaks. Bake at 225ºF/110ºC until cream-coloured and crisp on top when tapped, 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Remove from the oven. Cool on the trays. Store in an air-tight container.