Dean's Peanut Brittle

This is a recipe that my brother, Dean Lystad, makes at Christmas.  He has made it for years and it originally came from his wife's family.  It has become a huge family favorite.  While visiting last weekend I got a sample of his latest batch and decided to try making it myself.  I need to warn everyone that it is highly addictive.  I brought in a few bags to give to the people I work closest with and they referred to it as "crack."  One recipe made 6 - 7 oz bags.  Most of the brittle never made it home.  So in the spirit of Breaking Bad... let's cook!

In the baking aisle.

Ingredients
3 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup water
1 - 1 lb bag of peanuts
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking soda

Equipment
8 quart pot
Heat proof spatula
Jelly Roll pan (cookie sheet with sides)
Candy Thermometer
Oven mit

1) Prepare jelly roll pan by greasing bottom and sides.

2) Cook sugar, syrup, and water to 250-260 degrees stirring constantly.  This is "hard ball" on the candy thermometer.

3) Add peanuts and continue to cook and stir until mixture turns golden brown or 300 degrees.

4) Remove from heat and thoroughly stir in butter and salt.

5) When the butter is completely melted, and this is the important part, add the baking soda and stir it in thoroughly but for no more than 20 seconds.  It will get frothy and white-ish.  (As in Walter.)

6) Pour on greased jelly roll pan.  Do your best to get it distributed evenly, but DO NOT level it out or move it around.  If you do, the bubbles will pop.

7) Let cool completely.

8) Twist pan to loosen.  Break into smaller pieces by putting something under it, like a dowel, and pressing down on both sides.

9) Sampling is required for quality control, so enjoy!

Me and Heisenberg (aka Dean)

Ed's White Chocolate Chip Cashew Cookies

My Tech Lead, Ed, wanted white chocolate chip cookies but not with macadamia nuts.  He wanted honey roasted cashews.  At first I was not sure, but it was fantastic!  I got the Ghirardelli white chocolate chips and followed their recipe with some minor modifications.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

3 cups sifted flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 cups (one 11 oz bag) Ghirardelli Classic White Chocolate Chips

1 can (8 oz) honey roasted cashews

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream butter and sugars until fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, and beat well.  Blend in flour, baking soda and salt.  Stir in white chocolate chips and nuts.  Drop by large spoonful onto parchment paper covered cookie sheets.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Cookies may still look a little uncooked but that is how you want them.  Do not let them brown.  

Happy birthday Ed and thanks for the great cookie idea!

Biscotti Toscani and Triple Chocolate Decadance

Years ago I picked up a cute little book about biscotti.  I got it as much for the art work as for the recipes, but I was pleasantly surprised when I started trying out some of them. Above is a picture Biscotti Toscani, but I will also list my version of Double Chocolate Decadence, which I call Triple Chocolate Decadence.

Biscotti Toscani
The book describes this recipe as having a delicate flavor.  Ideal for savoring plain or with ice cream, frozen yogurt or cappuccino.  I couldn't agree more!

Ingredients

1/2 cup whole almonds

1/3 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon almond extract (I tend to put in at least double that)

2 teaspoons grated orange zest

2 1/4 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1) Place almonds on cookie sheet and place in a 325 degree oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.  You can tell when they're done because they smell like toasted almonds.  Let cool and cut the small ones into halves.  Cut the larger ones into thirds.  Hold onto both ends to prevent them from flying all over the kitchen when you cut them.

2) Beat sugar and butter until fluffy. 

3) Beat in eggs, vanilla, almond extract, and orange zest.

4) In a bowl, combined dry ingredients.  Add to the wet ingredients and mix until blended.

5) Add almonds and fold in.  I usually do the last bit of mixing with my hands so that the nuts are distributed evenly.

6) Roll into a log shape and place on a greased and floured pan.  Then flatten to about 1/2 - 3/4 inch high as shown here.

7) Place in a 325 degree oven for 25-28 minutes or until lightly golden along the bottom.

8) Cool for 5 minutes and transfer to a cutting board.

9) With a serrated knife, cut at a 45 degree angle, or as close to 45 degrees as you can.  This photo is of the Triple Chocolate Decadence recipe, but the cutting is the same.  Broken pieces should be eaten immediately to see if it is good enough to serve.

10) Lay cut pieces back on the pan and bake 5 for minutes.  Flip them over and bake 5 additional minutes.

11) Allow to cool and place in a sealed container.

  

Triple Chocolate Decadence
The original recipe, Double Chocolate Decadence, does not dip them in chocolate like I do.  They prefer milk chocolate, whereas mine have semi-sweet.

Ingredients

2/3 cups whole almonds

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoons Amaretto or Kahlua or double-strength coffee

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 bar Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate (or any type you like), chopped

Directions

1) Place almonds on cookie sheet and place in a 325 degree oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.  You can tell when they're done because they smell like toasted almonds.  Let cool and cut the small ones into halves.  Cut the larger ones into thirds.  Hold onto both ends to prevent them from flying all over the kitchen when you cut them.

2) Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.

3) Beat in eggs and liqueur or coffee.

4) In a bowl, mix flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.

5) Add dry ingredients to wet ones and mix until blended.

6) Fold in nuts and chocolate.  Do final mixing with your hand so that chocolate and nuts are evenly distributed.  Lick fingers, wash hands.

7) Roll into a log shape and place on a greased and floured pan.  Then flatten to about 1/2 - 3/4 inch high as shown in the first recipe.

8) Place in a 325 degree oven for 25-28 minutes or until lightly golden along the bottom.

9) Cool for 5 minutes and transfer to a cutting board.

10) With a serrated knife, cut at a 45 degree angle, or as close to 45 degrees as you can. 

11) Lay pieces back on the pan and bake 5 minutes.  Flip the pieces over and bake 5 additional minutes.

12) While the biscotti cools, melt the chopped chocolate in a double boiler.  Be careful to melt it slowly and try not to get the chocolate above 92 degrees so that it stays in temper.  Dip the biscotti in the chocolate and place on a cooling rack to dry.  Spread on leftover chocolate to make thicker if desired.

13) Allow to dry, then place in sealed container.

14) These are a great treat with a cup of coffee or other warm beverage...

...or brought to work for a birthday!

Happy Birthday Shawn!

Dark Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

My co-worker and friend, Timothy, likes dark chocolate cupcakes so I went looking for something inspiring on the web.  I found this, but when I tried making their icing I was disappointed.  Also, my experience tells me that cake recipes found on the internet can be disasters.  So I decided to let Duncan Hines and the Keebler Elves help me out, but I also used my own recipes for the ganache and the icing.  They were so good that after Timothy's birthday I made more for everyone who missed out.  

Unlike some of my creations, this one only took an evening after work.  Timing is important though because butter needs to be at room temperature, and ganache and cupcakes need time to cool before you can assemble everything.  Here is how I did it, in order, so that it all fit in before bed time.

First of All

Get out 4 (not 6, that's just the picture) sticks of butter and let them come to room temperature.  You will need them for the icing so make a little Stone Henge out of them so that they can warm up while you do other things.  Do this a few hours ahead of time if you are able to.  If you're short on time, it helps to unwrap them and cut them into chunks. 

Dark Chocolate Ganache 

Ingredients

1 bar Ghirardelli dark chocolate, chopped

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 tablespoon Karo Light Corn Syrup

Directions

1) Put chocolate bits in a bowl that can withstand heat.  

2) Heat the cream and syrup in a small sauce pan until simmering.  

3) Pour cream over chocolate pieces and let sit for 1 minute.

4) Stir with a whisk until well mixed.

5) Cover with Saran Wrap directly on the surface so that it will not form a skin.

6) Let sit for 20 minutes.

Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 box Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge cake mix

Water, eggs, and oil as specified on the box

Directions

1) Follow the directions on the back of the box.  They work just fine.

2) Here is my trick for making cupcakes quickly, neatly, and roughly the same size.  Pour the batter into a 1 gallon Ziplock bag.  Squeeze the air out, and cut off the corner.  Use your hand to control how much goes in each cupcake liner.

3) Don't worry if some are flat and some are rounded on top.  The ones in the top of my oven turned out round.  No matter.

4) While the cupcakes are baking, your 20 minute timer for the ganache has probably gone off.  Remove the Saran Wrap and whisk again.  Cover it up and let it sit on the counter for an hour or more.  When it gets to the right temperature it will be like icing.  

5) Another thing to do while cupcakes are baking or cooling is to put a few of the Keebler Grasshopper cookies in a small Ziplock bag and crush them.  This will be part of the decoration.  

6) If it's warm and the cookies you plan to use for decoration are sticking together, put them in the fridge.  When they're cold, pry them apart with a small knife, and keep them in the fridge until you are ready to use them.  Remember only half of the cookie will show so if they get messed up a little because of the weather it's ok.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream (this is a keeper!)

Ingredients

4 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into roughly 8 chunks per stick

1 cup sugar

4 large egg whites

Directions

1) Place sugar and egg whites in a heat proof bowl.  The metal bowl that comes with a stand mixer is perfect.

2) Put the bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk constantly until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm to the touch.  The best way to know when you're done is to rub it between your fingers.  When you can't feel the grains of sugar, you're done.  

3) Remove the bowl from the pan.  Place on stand mixer with the whisk attachment.

4) Beat on high until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.

5) Change to the paddle attachment and add the butter one chunk at a time, beating until smooth after each addition.

6) After all the butter is added, beat on medium high until thick and very smooth.

7) Add mint to taste, then food coloring if desired.

8) Put the icing in a large piping bag.  I used a 1M tip, which is common for cupcakes, but you can use what ever you prefer.

Assembly

1) By now your ganache should be the right consistency to spread on the cupcakes.  I put it in a Ziplock bag and cut off the end, and I also used a small knife to spread it around.

2) Let the ganache sit for a little while to become thicker.  It doesn't need to be completely dry, but we don't want the icing sliding off.

3) The icing recipe makes enough to be quite generous.  Pipe it on so that some of the ganache still shows around the edges, and make it high enough that when you shove that cookie in, there is enough icing to support it.  Then sprinkle with the crumbled cookies.  

4) Top it off with a cookie on each and you have a really special and delicious treat.

Happy Birthday Timothy!

Strawberry Fraisier

 

When I'm going to bake, I try to find out what people prefer so that I don't make something they dislike.  I love it when people like Wayne tell me to pick something myself.  This time I was inspired by Ann Reardon on How To Cook That and fell in love with her pictures of Strawberry Fraisier, which translates to "Strawberry Strawberry".  It is a fancy and delicious strawberry shortcake.  I made all the recipes on one day and assembled the next.

Chocolate Decorations

Ingredients
1 bar Ghirardelli White Chocolate, finely chopped

Equipment
Silpat or flexible baking sheet
Icing comb
Pastry rings or other items for shaping

To make the chocolate decoration, melt the chocolate, keeping it no higher that 93 degrees to keep it in temper, and pour out on a silpat.  Using the icing comb, make a streak through it.  Put it in the refrigerator to chill several hours.  Here you can see I have used pastry rings to make them curved.  You can use anything to shape it.  The trick is getting them off without breaking them.

Store them in the refrigerator while you make the rest of the dessert.

Sponge Cake

Ingredients

200g (7.05 ounces) (approx 12) egg yolks

300b (10.58 ounces) (approx 7) egg whites

250g (8.82 ounces) or 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

250g (8.82 ounces) or 1 and 2/3 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Equipment

12 ring baking pan

Stand mixer with whip attachment

Preheat oven to 350F, prepare baking pan with Crisco to prevent sticking.  Add half the sugar to the whites and the other half to the yolks. Whisk the whites until you can turn the bowl upside down without it falling out. Using the same beaters whisk the yolks. Sift the flour over the egg whites then add the yolks and fold it all together until you can’t see any streaks. Pour onto the baking pan rings. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside to cool.  When cool, cut of domed top and cut horizontally in half.  Store in refrigerator while preparing other parts of the dessert.

Pastry Cream

I replaced Ann Reardon's pastry cream recipe for one a know and trust.  It comes from Martha Stewart's cupcake book.  Pastry cream is like custard and is delicious.  Try not to eat the whole thing by itself.

Ingredients

12 large egg yolks

3/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup corn starch

6 cups whole milk

4 teaspoons vanilla

1) Whisk egg yolks until smooth in large bowl.  Combine sugar, corn starch, and salt in large sauce pan over medium heat.  Stirring constantly, gradually add milk in a slow, steady stream.  Cook until mixture thickens and begins to bubble, about 5 minutes.

2) Whisking constantly, slowly pour one third of the milk mixture into the egg yolks.  Pour mixture into remaining milk mixture in saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture comes to a full boil and is thick enough to hold its shape when lifted with a spoon, 2-4 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

3) Strain mixture through a fine sieve into a heatproof bowl.  Cover with parchment paper or plastic wrap, pressing it directly on the surface to prevent a skin form forming.  Refrigerate until chilled and firm, at least 2 hours (or up to 2 days).

Strawberry Gel

This recipe turns out like a fruit leather.  Next time I might find something else to replace it as a topping.

Ingredients

500g (16. ounces) or more strawberries, washed and hulled (frozen is ok)

4g (.14 ounces) or 2 teaspoon agar agar (use slightly more gelatin if you can't find agar agar)

Blend the strawberries and strain to remove and seeds. This should leave you with about 350g (10 ounces) of strawberry puree. Place puree in a sauce pan and sprinkle over the agar agar. Heat until boiling, continue to stir allowing the agar to dissolve. Line cookie sheet with foil, turning up the edges so that it doesn't run off.  Pour onto foil and spread thinly. Place in fridge to set.  Make sure it is level.  Once set, put in freezer.  This makes it easier to cut.

Strawberry Decorations

36 strawberries, roughly the same size to slice (I bought 3 baskets so that I would have plenty to choose from)

12 strawberries to be used on top

Holding a strawberry upside down, slice it in half vertically.  Then slice each of those vertically.  All slices should be in the same direction.  It should look like it went through a cheese slicer.  Save the inner, larger slices, in one bowl.  Chop the outside pieces and save in a separate bowl.

Simple Syrup

Ingredients

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

Put water and sugar in small sauce pan and boil until sugar is disolved.  Refrigerate until needed.

Assembly

1) Use the baking pan to assemble the desserts.  Put in 1/2 a cake in the bottom of each pan.  There should be room to put strawberries around the edges.  If it is too big trim it a little.

2) Put sliced strawberries around the edges of the cake.

3) Brush on some simple syrup to add some moisture.

4) Put the pastry cream in a large piping bag using a large round tip.  Fill until strawberries are almost covered.

5) Sprinkle some chopped strawberries on top of the pastry creme and poke them down into it.

6)  Add the other half of the cake on top.

7) Cut out the gel with a cookie cutter and place on top of the cake.

8) Let them set in the refrigerator until right before ready to serve.

9) When ready to serve, push the dessert up from the bottom and place on plate.  I found the little gold circles at a cake supply store.  Top with white chocolate decorations and a strawberry.

Happy Birthday Wayne!