Ling

^Uhm...you don't need a rolling pin to roll the dough into a log shape.

Well, choux pastry dough isn't particularly tasting, so I went for the condensed milk in the tin today.

I finally got around to trying out this recipe--it's fabulous! It turned out nicer-looking puffs than the other recipes I've tried (I've only tried two other recipes before, though.) I baked them for 12 minutes at 400, then only 15 minutes at 350 and they were done and hollowed out. They are tasty! I used a Chinese brand condensed milk (called "Longevity") and the puffs were barely sweet. I think they're fine to use with a savoury filling. Here's a pic:

I'd take all 10 inches, thank-you very much.

Thanks! Good to know! Breakfast this morning was leftovers from last night--a Chinese oyster stew of sorts, with cubes of fried tofu and lots of ginger and scallion. The oysters were added towards the end of the cooking process so they were still nice and creamy in the center. I also had another dish from last night, "Buddhist's Feast", which contains many different items, such as golden rod mushrooms, black trumpet mushrooms, dried oysters (not vegetarian, but tasty), a type of tofu product made from the "yee" (the "skin" that forms on top during the tofu making process, this is dried and then rolled into sticks), red "foo yu" (fermented bean curd), and black sea moss. And a few of those chocolate hazelnut cigarette cookies (the tin says "Creme de Pirouline")

I've used this recipe before--it's good! I love coffee cakes. I used raisins instead of currants. The cake is still beautiful even though it fell apart. Whenever a recipe tells me to add layer the streusel in thirds, I always make sure that the first 1/3 of cake batter is extra generous, while the last 1/3 is more stingy, to account for the streusel sinking a little bit during the baking process.

Pecan Sandies Here's one of my favourite recipes from the Vancouver Egullet cookie exchange. 1 c softened butter 1/2 c granulated sugar 2 tsp vanilla 2 c AP flour 1 c finely chopped pecans Preheat oven to 350. Beat butter on medium speed, add sugar and 1/4 tsp salt. Add flour and pecans, beat together. Shape into balls and place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes until bottoms brown. Dust with powdered sugar. Keywords: Dessert, Easy, Cookie ( RG1524 )

The chocolate toffee butter cookies and the pecan sandies are more "crispy" than soft and chewy, although they could be softer if you underbake them. You can adapt a roll and cut cookie into a drop cookie easily--just make sure the dough balls are roughly the same size, space them out, and watch the oven to see when they're done (golden brown around the edges). I can't give you a specific time b/c each recipe is different and I don't know how big your cookies are going to be. If you like them crispy, I would suggest making smaller cookies, and flatten them out a bit so they have a chance to crisp up.

I had quite a few dessert-y things today... -the caramel apple pie I made last night -two coconut buns from a Chinese bakery -a few chocolate-covered Digestive biscuits ...and I pilfered from my Valrhona stash.

I hope it's not too late, but perhaps you could melt some milk chocolate and add that to your ganache?

You do such beautiful cakes, tejon!

^I've read the praises about Penzey's! I was thinking of ordering as soon as I near finishing my cinnamon. And I'll get the Vietnamese one too; I've never had it. Thanks!

Just to see if I could still do it, I climbed the counter and sat on top of my fridge today. The things Egullet inspires me to do.

It eats quite well, thanks! I like a pretty spice-laden filling...I use 1 3/4 tbsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp of nutmeg yesterday, but that's partly b/c my cinnamon wasn't the strongest or the best quality. (Right now, it's the Safeway brand.) Jmahl: That's a beautiful cake! I like how you photograph your desserts with the picture from the cookbook/magazine behind it.

^I haven't tried it, but I've read about that technique. It insulates the pie so the heat doesn't come in direct contact with it. I'm guessing this prevents the pie from over-browning too quickly (in particularly, the edges).

I posted this same picture yesterday...does anyone know if I'm using too much bandwidth or anything if I'm hosting the picture at Photobucket? (I am woefully ignorant when it comes to anything computer-related.) I had like a 1/3 of my caramel apple pie...I baked it last night. Not much left. It was good...the filling was juicy and spicy, but not too wet so that it ran all over the place. (This is the picture of the slice I gave to this guy I'm dating.) It was also my first time using a cream cheese pastry dough (lard + cream cheese). I liked the sour cream and lard dough I used a few weeks ago better--it was softer, tangier, and easier to work with. But this dough wasn't bad either.

Did the tendon have some chew to it, or was it meltingly soft? (I like both, but prefer the latter.) I wonder if the pineapple in the sweet and sour soup is a Vietnamese specialty? I've never had it...and it doesn't sound particularly appealing. I haven't had those fried chicken wings from Phnom Pehn in too long!

I always scrape up the bits in the pot, whether it's caramel or cookie dough...but this is in addition to the bowl of cookie dough I eat on the side, so it's not really a "waste" issue. I'm not so inclined to lick the pot for anything savoury, but I do try to get every last bit of sauce or mashed potato from the pot and into the serving dish. I don't like to waste food.

caramel apple pie...and the pie scrap cookies weren't too bad either

Patrick: Sometimes I see drippage in the photos in cookbooks...it can look pretty. My pie looks pretty messy, though. There you go, Kaneel...a slice for you.

My apple pie exploded...it's dripping caramel. I was trying to be creative and twisted the lattice strips on top. I'm sure the pie will taste fine, though...but it's not the prettiest thing. I'm giving some to my date tonight. Apple pie is his favourite!

No problem! All the cookies were really good. I especially like the pecan sandies--so easy to make, and so tasty!

I went to an Egullet cookie exchange last week, and lemon curd was kind enough to put all the recipes into a book! Here are some of my favourites: Pecan sandies 1 cup softened butter 1/2 cup sugar 2 tsp vanilla 2 cups AP flour 1 cup finely chopped pecans Preheat oven to 350. Beat butter on medium speed, add sugar and 1/4 tsp salt. Add flour and pecans, beat together. Shape into balls and place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes until bottoms brown. Dust with powdered sugar. Chocolate Toffee Butter Cookies 2 1/3 cups all purpose flour ½ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 16 tablespoons of butter unsalted butter soft by still cool (in the US this would equal two sticks of butter – NOT the bricks of butter up here) 1 cup packed light brown sugar 1 large egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup Heath Toffee Bits (without chocolate) 1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 2/3 cups pecans, toasted and chopped fine 1) Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together. With electric mixer, beat brown sugar and butter on medium until fluffy (~ 3 minutes) Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined about 30 seconds further. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in two parts and mix until incorporated. Stir in toffee bits. Divide dough in half and roll each into a log about 9 inches long and 1 ½ inches in diameter. Then flatten log until about 2 ½ inches wide. Wrap and refrigerate until firm about 1 ½ hours. 2) Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Like 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 3) Using a chef’s knife, cut dough into ¼ inch slices, transfer to baking sheets spacing about 1 inch apart. Bake until just browned around edges, 10-12 minutes, rotating the direction and position of the baking sheets halfway through. Cool completely on baking sheets and use remaining dough to make second batch. 4) Transfer cookies to wire rack set over baking sheets. Melt chocolate and mix with oil until smooth. Drizzle chocolate cookies and sprinkle with pecans. Don’t touch until chocolate sets – about 1 hour. Lime Meltaways 3/4 cup unsalted butter 1 cup icing sugar grated zest of 2 limes 2 tbsp lime juice 1 tbsp vanilla extract 1 3/4 cup AP flour 2 tbsp cornstarch 1/4 tsp salt Mix all ingredients but using only 1/3 cup icing sugar, divide dough in half. Place on 8x12 inch parchment. Roll log into 1 1/4 inch diameter, put in fridge for an hour. Preheat oven to 350, cut into 1/4 inch rounds. Bake until barely golden, about 13 minutes. Cool 8-10 minutes, then toss in remaining 2/3 cup icing sugar.

That was quick! Thanks so much!

^heh heh...I distinctly remember what I was eating the day she caught me--it was strawberry ice-cream that I had scooped (with great difficulty) in a sugar cone.