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emmalish

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Posts posted by emmalish

    Rancho Gordo: Beans and More

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    I've always wanted to try Rancho Gordo beans, but I'm in Canada and the shipping costs are pretty prohibitive. I finally broke down and decided to treat myself a few months ago. I bought a variety of beans and enough to justify the shipping cost. I'm still working my way through them and continue to be blown away by the quality and flavour. And now I'm spoiled and looking for some good dried beans available in Canada (because I can't afford to keep paying those shipping costs!). 

    • Like 1

    I want to learn baking for my family

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    THIS

     

    SO MUCH THIS.

     

    Why can't hardly any websites that I want to cook their recipes use weights, dammit!

     

    I've gotten used to doing the conversions myself – a lot of things, I have memorized, but I also have a few handy conversion sites bookmarked.

     

    Funny thing is I have a blog and even though I prefer to work with weights, since the majority of my readers are in the US and use volume measurements, that's the way I set it up. I'm planning to include both in the future, though. Trying to figure out the most logical way to lay it out.

     

    That said, while working with weights is easy and much more accurate, it's absolutely possible to get good results using measuring cups. Maybe not consistent results, but certainly edible!

    Meeting-friendly snacks to bake

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted · Edited by emmalish (log)

    emmalish

    There is a world of baking I have yet to attempt! Franci, jmacnaughton, rajoress and so many many more posters are baking. Me, I'm just making cookies!

    I don't get to see anyone partake but I do get some feedback that is very satisfying.

     

     

    Okay, cookies totally count as baking! While I agree that what so many amazingly talented people are posting here is on another level altogether, you totally shouldn't discount what you're doing. Trust me – I know people who can't even manage brownies.  :wink:

     

    (does my post say "schedule" @ the end? Every time I hit submit or edit, it seems to tack the word "schedule" at the end...)

    Schedule

    • Like 1

    Meeting-friendly snacks to bake

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    Thank you. But neither sainthood nor martyrdom becomes me. I do this as much to overcome my fear of baking as for anything else. Payment comes in many forms not necessarily related to ingredients.

     

    I canNOT believe you have a fear of baking after following this thread!

     

    And I feel the same way about there being different forms of payment. For the past few years, I've been baking cookies for my office every single week. People occasionally chip in a bit of money for the ingredients, but for the most part, this is something I'm just really enjoying doing because it gives me a chance to try new recipes that I probably wouldn't ever get around to if I were just baking for myself. To me, that's worth the cost of ingredients. 

     

    Not to mention getting to see people enjoying what I bake. That's the real reward of baking.

    • Like 2

    Taste, texture and stability: the impossible cookie?

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted · Edited by emmalish (log)

    I'm just going to go ahead and link to some recipes on my site that I think would hold their shape well and work for what you want. Several of them, you'll see, were made with exactly the type of cookie cutter you're looking at, so you can judge for yourself :-)

     

    espresso shortbread cookies

    spiced cardamom cookies

    chocolate ginger cookies

    molasses spice cookies

    soft sugar cookies

     

    Flavour-wise, I think the spiced cardamom cookie may be my favourite. I ate wayyyy too many of those.

    • Like 2

    Creaming Butter/Sugar

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    I hope it doesn't make a difference to the final product, because I always cream them together regardless of what the recipe says. Creaming the butter on its own and then adding the sugar just seemed like an unnecessary step (but what do I know...).

    Christmas Cookies Redux

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    Whenever I remember to, I like to rub citrus zest into the sugar before combining with butter or other ingredients.  I do think it releases the aromatic oil into the mixture better.  I think I picked up that trick from Dorie Greenspan's Baking book.  

     

    Ditto, and I definitely picked up that trick from Dorie Greenspan. She says it's both to help distribute the flavour and prevent the zest from clumping. Now whenever I'm making something with zest, I modify the recipe to include this technique.

    Meeting-friendly snacks to bake

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    Sorry, can we go back a bit to the Katherine Hepburn brownies, please? 

     

    Maida Heatter has a recipe in her All American Desserts book where she takes said brownie recipe (without the nuts) and pours half of it into the prepared pan then freezes it (unbaked).  When frozen, she spreads a layer of seedless raspberry jam on it, then pours the remaining batter on top, lets it come to room temp, then bakes it.

     

    It. Is. Amazing.

     

    Moreso than the original recipe.  If you serve them chilled, they are divine.  When this comes back in the rotation, you should try this!

     

    She mentions that you can sub out other types of jam/preserves; even peanut butter and jelly (mixed up) but I think she cautions that the bars might come apart when cut with this combination.  It could also have been just plain peanut butter that causes the bars to separate when cut.   In any case, this is a wonderful recipe!

    • Like 2
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