Bah humbug

[RuthWells]

3pm:  Chocolate-covered crunchy hazelhut cookies. 

Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme (pg. 87).  Heat to 140F. Cool to room temp.  Slice & bake for 22min @ 275F until dry & dull.  Result:  Flaky, fell apart, won't hold together.  Awful.

Gary

←

Gary, I had the same problem with the hazelnut cookies last week!! Here's what I did to fix. After the cookies cooled, I scraped all of the goop back into a mixing bowl and re-mixed to reincorporate the moisture as much as possible. I then used my smallest scooper to scoop out blobs, which I then froze on a sheet tray. After they were frozen, they held together well enough to dip in tempered chocolate. They turned out well, but I'm sure not quite the way M. Herme and Dorie intended.

[takomabaker]

I actually did salvage the truffles after your encouragement. My "trash" remark wasn't literal. I had a few shells left in the tray and I was not going to throw out the melted ones until I used the last ones (for obvious reasons if you utilize these shells). So, I redipped the sad little nuggets in some tempered chocolate and coated them in some praline that I made from the burnt nougatine (not too burnt to made some good praline). So, you inspired me to make a silk purse out a sow's ear. Thanks.

I wish I could think of something to do with 'somewhat too brown sugar spiced pecans'.

Make DUKKAH

I've used all sorts of nuts and all sorts of spices............dip your bread in olive oil and then the dukkah, or coat chicken, fish etc before baking. Great stuff !

←

maybe with some lamb? I mean, they've got cinammon on them too. If they didn't have that and allspice, I'd try some sort of dense fish.

Great Idea, Dockhl. I'll try some sprinkled on a moussaka!

Takomabaker..How much do you figure that bit of nasty karma cost you? At least some of my screw ups were salvageable. I'd have been tempted to try to save that carmel/chocolate meltdown somehow. I am scared to death to try to make something like that, just for that reason. I was thinking of reheating my caramel, pouring it out thin, then cutting it to fit around the marshmallows when cool. right now I have to strech pieces around to fit, and it's not looking too pretty. The 'ugly' ones will have to be covered in chocolate...poor dears!

←

[highchef]

I actually did salvage the truffles after your encouragement. My "trash" remark wasn't literal. I had a few shells left in the tray and I was not going to throw out the melted ones until I used the last ones (for obvious reasons if you utilize these shells). So, I redipped the sad little nuggets in some tempered chocolate and coated them in some praline that I made from the burnt nougatine (not too burnt to made some good praline). So, you inspired me to make a silk purse out a sow's ear. Thanks.

I wish I could think of something to do with 'somewhat too brown sugar spiced pecans'.

Make DUKKAH

I've used all sorts of nuts and all sorts of spices............dip your bread in olive oil and then the dukkah, or coat chicken, fish etc before baking. Great stuff !

←

maybe with some lamb? I mean, they've got cinammon on them too. If they didn't have that and allspice, I'd try some sort of dense fish.

Great Idea, Dockhl. I'll try some sprinkled on a moussaka!

Takomabaker..How much do you figure that bit of nasty karma cost you? At least some of my screw ups were salvageable. I'd have been tempted to try to save that carmel/chocolate meltdown somehow. I am scared to death to try to make something like that, just for that reason. I was thinking of reheating my caramel, pouring it out thin, then cutting it to fit around the marshmallows when cool. right now I have to strech pieces around to fit, and it's not looking too pretty. The 'ugly' ones will have to be covered in chocolate...poor dears!

←

←

Great! I'm so happy that worked out! I have spent a fortune on sugar, cream, butter, chocolate, pecans, gelatin etc. that honestly I feel like I'm burning money when I screw up. I really want someone to tell me though, how does one make a caramel cup? I know how to dip harder caramels, but it seems like a meltdown is inevitable given the difference in melting temps of the 2 products. I guess you make a really soft caramel, one that doesn't set up and stays liquid, like a rolo???

Freeze the chocolate cups? mold them separately, then put them together??? If you know, please share. Please!

[Gary]

I am happy to report that I successfully recooked the chocolate caramels with Patrick's advice. I chopped 'em up, cooked to 257F, then poured them in a pan to set.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANKS PATRICK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The caramels turned out OK, good enough to share at the office.

However, this slate of failures serves to illustrate how hard it is to get candy "just right". Some random thoughts & musings:

Final temp:

I've got to do a lot of experimenting as to the perfect temp instead of relying on recipes. Is there a lot of variation in caramel cooking temp based on the sugar/butter/cream ratios?

Cooking process:

I would like to know if there is some difference in the final product comparing different burner heat levels. Does it matter if you get to 250F on high, medium or low heat? Is there benefit to cooking caramels "low & slow"?

Thermometer:

I really need to get a decent candy thermometer. I've got the glass bulb type (reads 10F too low) and an instant read meat thermometer (very accurate). Hello Santa?!?