pastrygirl

@teonzo thank you, that helps! We were thinking we needed a pusher or tamper to help feed the dough evenly, thanks for confirming that is normal. The World Peace cookies are actually a recipe we taste-tested and liked but haven't scaled up to try depositing. The recipe calls for chocolate chunks, but I'm worried they would break the wire (I've snapped my share of guitar wires). Do you remember if yours had chocolate chips/chunks? The recipe we ran through yesterday was a typical shortbread with the butter and sugar creamed first. They have a 40mm die but want a cookie that spreads to about 50mm to fill a tray that goes into a box. The shortbread didn't spread much, so more butter would also help with that. I think the computer is the most confusing part, it's not a friendly iPhone app 😟 I'll suggest slower speeds. I do hope this machine pays off for them, it's a catering company who had been doing some good volume but that's gone.

Maybe a long shot, but is anyone here familiar with the Polin Multi-drop cookie depositor? A chef friend just bought a used one, I'm trying to help him figure it out because I have more pastry expertise but I have never used a depositor. It has a couple of dies and the wire cutter. We made a batch of cookies today and they were unevenly portioned and raggedly cut. He does have the manual but programming the thing isn't particularly intuitive and we don't yet understand how to adjust the machine (roller speed, cutter speed, etc) or how to adjust recipes to work well with it. We need the 'for dummies' version 😆. Anyone know the secrets?

We had a little family bbq yesterday and my sister surprised me with this I’m a spice fiend and cant wait to eat it! I do have some Lao Gan Ma, will try them side by side.

Group activity doesn't necessarily make things better, and I'd still rather have any other fruit.

I don't think so, but can't offer more enlightenment than that. Different molecules gonna be different, alcohol isn't water. Or is only half water How essential is the butter? If the second way was fine until you added the butter, see how the ganache sets up without it. If alcohol doesn't emulsify the same way then the same ratios won't apply. Try decreasing the overall fat. Or add twice as much rum 🤪

I'll nominate lettuces and Asian pears. Lettuce is just too much work for little reward. All that washing, drying, and chewing for something that doesn't fill you up. I'll take your zucchini and slice it thin for my salad instead, much easier. Asian pears are usually too sweet, lacking acidity for balance, and not improved by baking.

Hm, maybe Turkey, they grow a lot of hazelnuts. Thailand is too hot! I wouldn't say Turkish hazelnuts are necessarily inferior, but I do feel silly buying them when Oregon is only 200 miles away.

Do you have a Trader Joe’s nearby? They have Oregon hazelnuts, raw or lightly toasted and semi-skinned, around $7-8/lb

Birthday cake for a friend’s kid. Vanilla cake with strawberry (Swiss meringue) buttercream. Super pink for a girly girl!

Interesting! And the toasted sugar could be a tasty extra bonus. I dislike the smell of baking beans so I use rice.

I think 5kg is too small. How much is the 11 kg model?

I'd think no because the edges are so crisp and fine powders already stick to everything easily enough. Maybe it was black CB wiped in then wiped out? Or the second pass of white with the brush skipped over the splatter leaving a naked border and the black came later? Those black edges are so even, though, mystifying indeed! Also curious that the white drops towards the tops of some pieces do not have the black ring. Incredible control or drips from the second coat of white?

Here's my guess on how this could be accomplished: splatter white CB, dust with black powder so it collects around the droplet edges, knock/blow off extra powder, brush in more white then the pink/black swirl last

Seattle is currently trying to discourage natural gas in favor of cleaner hydro-electric, now I'm curious about fire safety stats. 🧐

it’s all fairly obvious to me ... further proof that women are smarter? Cue Harry Belafonte ...

I'd search out estate sales. Very often the younger generation doesn't want grandma's china & crystal, and it'll be nicer than heavy duty restaurant ware.

strawberry & cream

a rainbow of fruit flavors

My two were delicious! And no, you shouldn't have to line the pan with parchment, the fat in the crust keeps it from sticking.

Hmm, air trapped in the cookie maybe? Sounds like nothing is oozing out, it's just vexing and not the prettiest?

I'm not quite getting it, where are the bubbles, in the bottom coat? Doesn't the gianduja set fairly firmly?

I think results would vary depending on the temp and fat content. The curdled look is from fat molecules clustering together and forming buttery globules that are no longer homogenized. Blending it cold might just make it worse and leave you with actual butter, not that butter is a bad thing. You might need to heat it sufficiently to melt the fat, then blend. If you're going to heat it anyway and make creme anglaise, panna cotta, yogurt, etc then no problem.

@Jim D. I was actually surprised they all came out, it was a very ‘here goes nothing’ project. But I basically kept them refrigerated between every step, and at least the airbrush doesn’t clog up as fast 😂 For the stripes, I piped dark chocolate in a quick zigzag across the mold then sprayed with gold to fill in the gaps. The fillings were random bits from the freezer, the mocha one was layered (weirdly viscous) milk chocolate cinnamon ganache and dark chocolate coffee caramel ganache. I probably do need more aw readings! @curls yeah it’s supposed to be 90 here tomorrow, these will all go into the freezer to sell online later.

‘Tis the season for bitching about hot kitchens, at least in the northern hemisphere. I decided to quit whining and see if I could make bonbons anyway. Success! Room temp is about 80f (low humidity, at least) but with frequent refrigeration they still came out nicely. L-R, passion fruit, vanilla, honey caramel, rum caramel, cinnamon mocha.

To an extent, you can control hardness by controlling thickness. A thin piece of chocolate or cookie will crunch easily despite being frozen. A wafer thin chocolate flake will melt on your tongue as you eat it while a solid chocolate chip will be hard and waxy. And a thinner cookie will be more likely to be softened by syrup migration from the custard.