Souffle

So, I decided to make soufflé for Andrew and me. I like baking things I haven't ever baked before just so I can say I've tried it.

The cheese souffle turned out pretty good! It did fall a bit after it started to cool, so I'm sure I did something wrong, but they looked nice and souffle like right out of the oven, and they tasted cheesy and delicious!

Baklava

Baklava seems like a scary thing to make, but it really wasn't as hard as it seemed. The hardest part was parting with the cash to buy the nuts that go in the filling. With a bunch of pistachios, walnuts, and almonds, this is one expensive dessert!

After shelling and grounding the nuts with some sugar and spices, I unrolled the thawed phyllo dough and cut it to the size of the pan. This stuff gets crumbly quick, so I made sure I had everything ready before I took it out of its packaging.

I had the filling and a bowl of melted butter ready to go.

After brushing the pan with butter, I put down the first sheet.

Each sheet of dough got a brushing of butter. I put down 10 sheets, one layer of filling, 6 sheets, another layer of filling, 6 more sheets, the last of the filling, and 8 sheets on top.

I baked the baklava then made the syrup to go on top. It has honey, sugar, water, cinnamon, and an orange peal (gets removed at the end).

Though it turned out pretty good, I don't think I cooked the syrup enough. I used Alton Brown's recipe (available on the food network site - I omitted the rose water because I didn't have any), and the reviews said if you cook the syrup as long as it said to, you'd end up with hard candy. I was overly cautious, and it didn't get thick enough!

It still turned out pretty good, and I'll definitely make it again! Apart from gathering ingredients and shelling the nuts, the process was pretty easy!

Baking Bagels

I used to be scared of yeast. Not in a run screaming sort of way, more in an I'm-too-scared-to-use-it-because-I'm-going-to-kill-the-little-yeasty-beasties-and-ruin-my-bread way. It seemed so difficult to get the liquid to the right temperature, warm enough to make it bubble but not hot enough to kill the yeast. Then I found recipes that called for instant yeast, and they seemed way less complicated.

With instant yeast, you just add it straight to the flour. I love it - one less bowl to wash and no sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to see if the yeast and liquid mixture bubbles. You can find instant yeast in some grocery stores, but if yours doesn't sell it, you can always order it online (KingArthurFlour.com sells it).*

These bagels are so easy to make, they always turn out great, and they don't take long at all (at least they don't take long when compared to other bread recipes). I got the recipe from KingArthurFlour.com

To make them, you combine 4 cups bread flour, 1 tbsp instant yeast, 2 tsp salt, 1 tbsp brown sugar (or non-diastatic malt powder - but I don't know what that is or where to find it in the store, so I use brown sugar), and 1 1/2 cups luke warm water.

Knead the mixture by hand or with a mixer until it's smooth. If you have a stand mixer and a dough hook, just throw everything in the bowl of the mixer, turn in on low, and just let it mix for about 10 minutes.

To knead by hand, first stir ingredients together, then turn out onto a clean surface. Fold dough into thirds, turn 90 degrees and fold into thirds again. Continue about 10 - 15 minutes, or until the dough is smooth. The bread flour keeps it from being as sticky as white sandwich bread, so it's not too messy and doesn't coat your hands, but it does require more effort to knead.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with a clean towel, and let it sit and rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Separate the dough into 8 sections and form into balls. Cover those and let them sit for about 30 minutes.

While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 425 degrees and prepare a cookie sheet by covering it with parchment paper or lightly greasing it.

Then, prepare the water bath. Combine 2 quarts of water, 2 tbsp brown sugar, and 1 tbsp granulated sugar in a wide diameter pan. I use a high sided wok. Bring it to a boil.

Poke a hole in each piece of dough with your fingers and gently stretch out the dough. I use the handle of a wooden spoon to transfer the bagels to the water bath.

Boil the bagels for 2 minutes on one side and 1 minute on the other side. Then transfer to the cookie sheet. Put the prettiest side facing up if you care about how they look.

Bake for 20-30 minutes at 425 degrees.

We use these for sandwiches, for breakfast smothered with cream cheese, and just as snacks. They don't last very long here.

They take a total of 2- 3 hours to make, and most of that is just waiting for the dough to rise. I love how easy they are to make and how they always turn out right.

*Rapid rise, or bread machine yeast, is easier to find in stores and I've used it in this recipe with no problem, but it can't be substituted for instant yeast in every recipe. Rapid rise yeast works only for recipes that just have one rise; if the recipe has multiple rises, you need instant yeast

Sugar Cookies

I've played around with a bunch of different sugar cookie recipes ever since I started decorating cookies. I like the artistic aspect of decorating with royal icing, but I've always thought it's more important for a cookie to taste good than look good. I mean, royal icing it basically just sugar, so a decorated cookie could end up being sickeningly sweet if the cookie is too sweet by itself.

The sugar cookie recipe I finally settled with is a slightly modified version of one I got off of a Wilton cookie cutter. I like it because it's not overwhelmingly sweet, so the royal icing balances it out nicely. It's sturdy enough for icing without being rock hard, it holds it's shape relatively well, and, most importantly, it tastes good.

I start by setting my oven to 400 degrees.

(My cute little chicken timer is only a pointless decoration. I thought it was cute, so I got it, but it doesn't work well at all, we use the microwave timer instead.)

I gather all my ingredients because I've had the oh so fun experience of getting half way through a recipe before realizing I was out of eggs.

For this recipe I use:

1 cup unsalted butter, cut up

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1-2 tsp vanilla extract (I use more if I leave out almond or want a more subtle almond flavor)

1/4-1/2 tsp almond extract

3 cups all-purpose flour (with the last cup, I add it slowly until the dough is the right consistency. If it's a humid day, I usually use the whole thing, if not I use less.)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

I sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together - biting into a chunk of baking powder in a cookie is gross. Mixing it with a fork would do the trick, too.

I cut the butter into pieces and throw it in the mixing bowl. It works as well for me as using softened butter and takes less planning ahead.

I begin mixing the butter, then add sugar, egg, and extracts, beating until combined after each ingredient.

I then add the flour mixture slowly and beat until combined.

I form the dough into a couple disks and roll it out on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch think.

I cut out the cookies and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (you don't need the parchment paper, but it makes clean up easier and helps you move the cookies to the cooling rack). I then stick the cookie sheet with the cookies in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. That helps them hold their shape as they bake.

To use the scraps from cutting out the cookies, I knead them together thoroughly, then roll them out again. The extra four that is added when you use the scraps can make the cookies tough, so I only do this once or twice and I try to cut the cookies as close together as possible.

Then I bake them in a 400 degree oven for 6-10 minutes. The time varies a lot depending on the size and thickness of the cookie, so I check them and rotate the cookie sheet at four minutes to see how much time I think they need and I check every couple minutes after that.

They need to cool on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes until they are set, then they can be moved to a cooling rack. They must cool completely before they can be decorated, or the royal icing will be melty and messy.

These cookies are buttery, flavorful, and just sweet enough, perfect for royal icing decorations.