Elf Time

Hard to believe that we are a week into December. Seems like Halloween was just yesterday and then, Whoosh!, here we are less than three weeks away from Christmas.

Time to become an honorary Santa's Elf. In the kitchen that means starting to make delicious things for when the family gathers...and a few things that might just be for me.

Sweetie and I are looking forward to a week with three of our daughter's family; our daughter, her husband and their son. At the end of their visit we'll be hosting a family-centered lunchtime gathering the day after Boxing Day. Sonoma Co. family will be joined by those from San Francisco, Sacramento area, LA area and maybe further away. Still getting responses to the invite.

After watching the current season of the Great British Baking Show with Kate, we have a list of baked goods we'd like to make together and with my grandson. I'll post those when we make them. My elf job right now is to make things that can be frozen, will keep, or actually need time to mellow (like fruitcake). Maybe it's time to try Lane Cake again.

Today's bake will be breakfast treats using blueberries and raspberries that can be frozen and reheated in the toaster oven or microwave as needed. I know that doesn't sound all that Christmassy, but there will be a number of mornings leading up to Christmas when things will be so busy that a cup of tea or coffee, some fruit and one of those scones or muffins hits the spot. 

The first bake is for a raspberry muffin. The last time I made these I included a surprise dollop of sweetened ricotta cheese in the center, but this time I went with simple and just made a nice muffin with fresh raspberries. A sprinkle of sanding sugar on top gives a bit of extra sweetness, plus a pleasing crunch when you bite into the muffin.

The second bake is fresh blueberry scones with pecans. This one has both regular and whole wheat flour, plus a bit of dried lemon peel. More sanding sugar, this time held on by brushing buttermilk over each scone once they are cut and on the baking sheet. There's buttermilk in the scones, too, which gives them a nice tang...goes so well with the fresh blueberries. I baked mine on 12-inch pizza pans, greased with butter flavor baking spray, which allowed the scones to be separated enough so they didn't touch when they rose and spread slightly.

These goodies are going to be frozen so they keep until Christmas week. Sweetie and I each had a taste of each kind. I liked the blueberry scone the best, but I think he liked the raspberry muffin most. Bake them and see which one you like best!

Raspberry and Lemon Muffins
Makes 12

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
zest of 1 lemon (Meyer if available)

2 eggs, beaten 

1/4 cup unsalted butter or margarine, melted and cooled

1 cup  buttermilk, at room temperature

1 heaping cup fresh raspberries, washed and drained

about 1 tablespoon clear sparkling or sanding sugar (optional)

 
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 12 cup muffin pan with baking spray. Set aside.

In a bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Add the lemon zest and stir to distribute.

In a second bowl, whisk together the egg, butter, and  buttermilk.

Add the wet ingredient mixture all at once to the flour mixture and stir together with a fork, just until all the dry ingredients have been moistened. Don't overmix.

Stir the raspberries gently into the batter, then put mixture in the pans, distributing evenly. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, if desired, distributing evenly.

 Bake in preheated oven for 17 - 25 minutes until tops are golden brown and the center springs back when pressed down with a clean finger. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack 3-5 minutes, then removed carefully from the muffin tin and serve.

Fresh Blueberry Pecan Buttermilk Scones
a variation on Blueberry Buttermilk Scones from Baking in America by Greg Patent
Makes 16 scones

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans 
2 to 2 1/4 cups buttermilk, plus a bit more for glazing the top
1 tablespoon sanding sugar (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with cooking parchment or a silicone liner; Set aside.

Sift the flours, baking soda, salt and sugar into a large bowl. Grate the butter using the shredding disc on your food processor if butter is frozen, or cut the butter (which has been cut into tablespoon-sized pieces) into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or two knives. Be gentle. Use your finger to work the butter rapidly into large flakes. Add the blueberries and chopped pecans and toss with your fingers to coat evenly.

Pour the buttermilk into the blueberry mixture and stir and fold gently with a rubber spatula. Use your fingers, spread out, to gently work the last bit of very moist dough into the last dry bits. The dough will be thick. Scrape dough onto a lightly floured surface and dust it lightly with flour. If needed, blend any remaining dry bits into the moist dough with your fingers. Use a bench scraper or knife to divide the dough into two pieces. Shape each piece gently into an 8-inch disc. Use a bench scraper or sharp knife to cut each disc into eight pieces.

Transfer each piece carefully to the prepared pan, setting the scones slightly apart. Brush a bit of extra buttermilk over each of the scones with a pastry brush and sprinkle on a pinch of sanding sugar, if using. Bake in the preheated oven 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to cooling racks with a large spatula and serve warm or at room temperature. These are great without any additional embellishments, but do taste good with butter, jam or lemon curd added.

A Busy Time at the Farmhouse

Over the years, especially since the pandemic when we did major upgrades, we have had visitors now and then who stay in the farmhouse. With the exception of our daughter's family, it's usually only for a night or maybe a few days. This past week we had heavy use. As a matter of fact we had four turnovers.

To begin we hosted one of our grandsons and his sweetie as they made their way to Oregon. Almost as soon as they headed up the road the next guest arrived, a friend of mine who was visiting with her sister. Her sister is also my friend and lives in a one bedroom house, so this arrangement is a repeat of other times Louise has stayed in the farmhouse. Louise left at noon on Thanksgiving. We had enough time to again change the sheets and other linens and swab down the kitchen and bath when our nephew from San Francisco came for a few nights. Once he left Saturday morning we again changes linens out and cleaned for the return visit of our grandson as he and his sweetie returned home. Mixed in there were meals with each of them so we had some fun with each visitor! Looking forward to a full week at Christmas with our daughter and her husband and step-son.

Since this all took place during the week of Thanksgiving, I wanted to share a photo (top of post) of what we had on Thanksgiving. We went for fairly simple and this photo doesn't show the pumpkin pie with whipped cream that finished off the feast. Hope you had an equally delicious feast if you were celebrating Thanksgiving. Hope that your week was just a bit less hectic than mine!

A Special Quiche

Sweetie and I were blessed this evening with a visit from our middle grandson and his sweetie as they made their way back home after spending Thanksgiving with his Mom. Because they had been on the road all day and still have many miles to go tomorrow, I wanted to give them a dinner that would be enjoyable but also relatively quick. A quiche that was baked this afternoon was just the thing.  It was after dark when we sat down to eat and I was only able to get a photo of the last piece - we really enjoyed it! - so it isn't the best photo set, but it gives you an idea of how it looked.

I love baking quiche and have made many in the past. This one was special because it was for them. It had a lot of great ingredients including chicken thighs that Sweetie had grilled yesterday, cooked onions and bacon, lots of Swiss cheese, some spinach because it goes so well with the other ingredients, and the usual egg custard that is classic in a quiche.

I used the Pillsbury pie dough circle that is so easy and tastes so good, blind baking it to a golden brown on the edges and pale gold in the interior. Of course you can always make you own pie crust or even buy one that is in a pie pan and frozen, but I find the Pillsbury one tastes fine and is super easy.

Because there is a lot of filling, I used a deep dish pie pan and rolled the crust circle out a bit so there was dough to turn under and crimp before baking. I used a pound of lentils as the pie weights, cool them after baking, and keep them for the next pie shell I need to blind bake.

Feel free to change out the filling ingredients. I've made this with chard or asparagus instead of spinach, with different cheeses, with mushrooms (which I cook with the onions), with ham instead of the chicken and so on. Keep the proportions about the same and you, too, can have a special quiche!

Quiche with Chicken, Spinach, Swiss Cheese and Bacon

1 9-inch pie shell, blind baked at 400 degrees F for 10-12 minutes (recipe follows or use refrigerated pre-made pie dough circles)

1/2 yellow onion, peeled and cut into ¼ inch dice

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 slices bacon, cut into small pieces and cooked until crisp, then drained

1 cup cooked chicken, diced in 1-inch dice
½ cup cooked, and drained chopped spinach, frozen and thawed OK
1 ½ cups Swiss cheese, cut into ¼ inch dice
3 eggs (or equivalent egg substitute)
1 ½ cups evaporated milk (I used non-fat) or light cream
¼ teaspoon salt
dash pepper
Dash nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

 In a large skillet sauté the onion in the olive oil over medium heat, stirring often, until translucent or slightly browned, about 5 minutes.

Sprinkle the bottom of the pie shell with the sautéed onion, bacon, chicken pieced, drained spinach, and Swiss cheese, distributing evenly. Set aside.

In a bowl, beat the eggs lightly, then add the milk and beat with a fork to combine, add the salt, pepper and nutmeg and beat with a fork or whisk to combine.

Pour the egg/milk mixture over the ingredients in the pie shell. Place on a baking sheet and put in the preheated oven and bake 30-45 minutes, or until set and lightly browned. Cool for 10 minutes before cutting to serve.
Serves 6-8

Pastry Pie Shell

1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chilled butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons ice water
1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)

Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender, or two knives, until particles the size of dried peas are formed.

In a small bowl mix together the egg, ice water and lemon juice (if using). Sprinkle over the flour mixture and toss with a fork lightly. Do not over mix. Gather the particles together in a ball. Wrap airtight and chill in the freezer for 10 minutes. Roll out with a rolling pin on a floured surface until large enough to fill a 9 inch pie pan with some overlap.

Fit into a 9 inch pie pan, smooth to fit, trip excess , tuck edges under and crimp as for any pie crust. Prick lightly all over the surface with a fork. Freeze 10 minutes. Remove from freezer and cover with a circle of parchment paper. Fill the paper with beans or pie weights (blind baking the crust).

Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 – 12 minutes. Cool slightly. Remove and save the beans or pie weights. Fill with filling as called for in recipes needing a pie shell. 

A Pie And A Mistake

 For those of you who have been dear readers for a while, here is another post where I show just how flawed I am. If you are new here that might surprise you since lots of social media is about showing how perfect you and your life are.

The latest version of how flawed I am revolves around the Thanksgiving pie. I decided to make a pumpkin pie since

1) I love pumpkin pie

2) Sweetie loves any pie, and

3) It's easy and delicious!

The mistake was trying to bake the pie early in the morning on Thanksgiving when I hadn't slept well the night before. I made the crust just fine because I was using the pre-made pie dough already rolled in a circle. Since I was using a deep dish pie plate I did roll it out a bit more, but even that was easy. Making the filling was slightly more challenging but still easy. Where I got in trouble was the baking. You bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. No problem there, either. But here is where I went wrong. I reset the timer for 35 minutes but forgot to turn down the heat to 350. My poor pie baked for about 25 minutes at 425 instead of 350 and so the crust in some places was burnt and the top also had areas that darkened considerably (see photo above). It's a good thing that I checked on it early! 

The whole thing went into the fridge once it had cooled a bit and I decided to serve it anyway, with some dollops of whipped cream to distract from the burnt buts. I expected the filling to be overcooked and rubbery, but instead we found that the filling was firmer than usual, but still tender and delicious with no burnt taste! The guys had two slices!

Just goes to show you that I make mistakes but sometimes I get lucky and the results are still OK.

Hope that you and yours had a great Thursday.

XO, Elle

Pumpkin Pie 

1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
¾ cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
10 oz. evaporated milk or light cream
1 unbaked 9 inch pie shell - OK to use your own recipe, or store-bought pie dough or pie shell

Prepare the pie shell in a fairly deep 9-inch pie pan, or use a pre-made pie shell if desired.

In a mixing bowl beat the eggs slightly, then add the brown sugar and beat to combine. Add the salt and spices and combine well.

Take the pumpkin puree out of the can and add to the egg mixture and combine. Slowly add the evaporated milk or light cream. When blended, pour the filling into the unbaked pie shell (which has been placed on a baking sheet), making sure to leave at least ¼ inch of the sides unfilled to allow for expansion during baking. If you have remaining filling, you can bake it in a buttered ramekin or custard cup as a treat for the cook!

Place the cookie sheet with pie in a preheated 425 degree F. oven for 15 minutes. Then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. and continue baking for another 35-45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. It's OK if it still jiggles a tiny bit in the center.Cool on a rack at least 45 minutes, up to 2 hours. Serve at once or refrigerate.

Lots of Mushrooms

 Sweetie loves to eat mushrooms. He often chooses menu items with mushrooms when we eat out and he loves it when I add mushrooms to what I'm cooking. When I saw this recipe from Smitten Kitchen for a UnStuffed Mushroom Casserole where mushrooms are the star I knew that I had to make it. I'm a fan of mushrooms, too.

The recipe made much more than we could eat, given that it is fairly rich, so I made 1/3 of it and that was just right. We each had a hearty portion for dinner last night and then he had leftovers for lunch today. The recipe below is the actual recipe from her blog, so it serves 8. The concept is that you take a lot of the items that you would stuff individual mushrooms with and combine them with cooked mushrooms to make a casserole. It works!

I found that I needed to add about 1/4 cup very hot water to the bowl where I was mixing the cooked mushroom mixture and the cream cheese. Maybe I let the mushroom mixture cook too long? Anyway I think you are better off with the full recipe.

This is a really delicious and fairly rich dish. If you love mushrooms, do make this! I used fairly large crimini mushrooms instead of button ones, so that may be why mine was drier, too, but the brown mushrooms really have a good solid mushroom flavor.

I messed up by adding the minced parsley to the crumb mixture that goes on top of the mushroom mixture once its in the casserole, but I did add some minced parsley to the mushroom mixture once I realized my mistake. It meant that I didn't add any on top after it was cooked.

This makes a great main course if you serve it with a whole grain and some greens or a salad or green veg. Sauteed winter squash would go well with it, too. A crusty bread served with it allows you to scoop up any sauce that doesn't cling to the mushrooms. We served it with bread, spinach and pork chops, but I only ate half the pork chop because the casserole is fairly filling!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Unstuffed Mushroom Casserole

• Source: Adapted from the Food Network
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• Servings: 8 as a side
•  Time: 1 hour
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This is doubled from the original recipe and exactly as you see it here (filling a 2-quart baking dish) because the original makes way too little to share. You know that joke about spinach? It turns out white mushrooms reduce about 1/3 of their original volumes after cooking; don’t be disappointed.

• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 pounds medium white button mushrooms, quartered
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 8 ounces cream cheese, cut into pieces
• 1 cup grated gruyere, comte, or cheddar etc.
• 2 cups panko-style breadcrumbs
• 1 cup grated parmesan
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Heat your oven oven to 350°F.

In a large frying pan (12-inch is ideal here) over medium-high heat, heat half (3 tablespoons) of the olive oil. Once it’s very hot, add half (1.5 pounds, but seriously, just eyeball this) of your mushrooms but don’t move them yet. Give them 1 to 2 minutes to brown underneath before adding 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, a few grinds of black pepper, and half the garlic, then moving them around, trying to get them to brown on more sides until they begin releasing their liquid. Some have a little, some have a lot; in both cases you can to cook the mushrooms, stirring, until the liquid mostly, but not fully, cooks off — a thin puddle should remain. Scrape these mushrooms into a large bowl and repeat the process with the remaining olive oil, mushrooms, and garlic, plus more salt and pepper.

Once the second half of the mushrooms have mostly cooked off their liquid, add everything in the pan to the first half of mushrooms in the bowl. Add diced cream cheese and stir just until combined (the remaining liquid from the mushrooms should help it get saucy), then half of the panko (1 cup), all of the gruyere, half of the parmesan (1/2 cup), and most of the parsley (reserve some for garnish) and stir to combine. Transfer to a 2-quart baking dish.

Combine the butter and remaining panko (1 cup) and parmesan (1/2 cup) in a bowl with a couple pinches of salt. Sprinkle over top of the mushrooms

and bake until the breadcrumbs are light golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining parsley and eat right away.

To make this ahead of time, please read: Since I’m usually making this to entertain and like to get things out of the way, I pause the recipe (in the fridge until needed, covered with foil) where you transfer the mixture to a baking dish. To finish cooking, I first get the mushroom mixture warm without the crumbs, leaving the foil on, about 10 minutes, and then bake it the rest of the way with the crumbs on, until they’re a light golden brown, usually another 25 minutes. If you put the crumbs on sooner, they get too dark. If you finish baking the dish with crumbs and later rewarm it, the mushrooms get a little overcooked and the crumbs too toasty.

Pies and Soup!

 

For me Thanksgiving is all about being grateful and, of course, the turkey, but for the rest of my family I think it might be all about the pies. I also love soup so this season has both.

I do love the make pies. Last week I was even given the delightful opportunity to help bilingual kindergarten children make pumpkin pies. There were two tables, right next to each other with one being the pie crust table and the other being for making the filling. It was a lot of fun and the teacher, who is also my next door neighbor, brought over some of the leftover pie for me and Sweetie. Unfortunately I didn't get a photo...or a taste. Sweetie thought that it was all for him and ate it up while my neighbor and I were having tea in another room. He said it was good!

I also made a pumpkin pie for us and we finished it off this weekend with one of our grandsons and his girlfriend. They stayed overnight on their way to be with his mom for Thanksgiving. It was such a delight to meet his girl and to get to visit with them. We finished the pumpkin pie...and still no photos!

I did get a photo of the clam chowder I made last week (see top of post), but there isn't a recipe. I promise that soon I'll have a 'normal' post with both a photo and the recipe, but it's been that kind of week plus.

Tomorrow we celebrate Thanksgiving with Straight Shooter, up from San Francisco. There will be turkey, of course, but also more pumpkin pie. Maybe this time I can get a photo.

Have a great Thursday dear reader. If you're an American or live in the U.S., I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. I give thanks for you all, even the 'lurkers'.

Harvest Plate

As the days have been getting shorter the tomatoes still left on the vine have been ripening increasingly slowly. There are still a lot of green tomatoes but recent rains have caused some of the tomatoes that were in the middle of their ripening to turn brown as they spoiled. Fortunately I harvested some tomatoes during the last week before they ripened but when they were a bit warm colored. I brought them inside and they have ripened. Tonight I sliced some of them and made a lovely plate with three kinds of tomatoes, kissed after slicing with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, pepper, garlic salt and some flecks of fresh basil. This is the way that Sweetie likes them, and so do I. 

Is It A Flower Or A Snowflake?

Either way, its a delicious and spectacular looking yeasted sweet bread that is far easier to make than it looks. Some people call it a pull-apart bread, but you can easily cut it, too, for a cleaner presentation.

The original of this bread was filled with Nutella, which is lovely if you like chocolate and hazelnuts and sweet bread, and many do. I prefer cinnamon and sugar, so that's how I made it. To keep the filling from being too dry, I also added a thin layer of cream cheese to each layer of dough, along with the brown sugar and spices.

This is a great bread for a party, or for the holidays when you want to wow folks a bit. It can be made ahead and frozen, but if you do that, add the glaze after you have thawed and freshened the bread a bit in a warm oven. Let it cool almost to room temperature after warming it in a 325 degree F oven for 10-15 minutes. Than drizzle on the glaze and give it a few minutes to harden. Alternately, sift some powdered sugar over the warm bread...that gets the snowflake look going, but I think it looks most like a snowflake anyway! 

Christmas Brioche Flower or Snowflake

Makes: 1 large Brioche Flower or Snowflake - can be shaped ahead and put in fridge overnight, baked in the morning

Ingredients:

For the sponge:

1/2 cup (2.25 ounces) bread flour or all-purpose (I used all-purpose  )
1 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 cup (4 ounces) whole milk, lukewarm (90 to 100 degrees F.)

For the dough:

3 large eggs, slightly beaten
3 cups (13.75 ounces) all-purpose flour (might need as much as 1/4 cup more, depending on how liquid the dough is)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
1-2 teaspoons milk, if necessary to form a smooth dough

For the filling and glaze:
soft cream cheese
brown sugar
cinnamon

1 tablespoon milk plus 1 tablespoon water for glaze
Icing (confectioner's) sugar

To make the sponge, stir together the flour and yeast in a large bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer). Pour in the milk and whisk the ingredients together until all of the flour is hydrated. Cover with plastic wrap and let it ferment for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the sponge rises and falls when you tap the bowl.

To make the dough, add the eggs to the sponge and whisk (or beat on medium speed with the paddle attachment) until smooth.  In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and salt.  Add this mixture to the sponge and eggs and stir (or continue mixing with the paddle on low speed for about 2 minutes) until all of the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes to begin to develop the gluten.  Then mix in the melted butter by hand, using a wooden spoon or Danish dough whisk or with the mixer on medium speed using the dough hook. Add in a couple of teaspoons of milk if the dough is too dry. 

Transfer the dough to the work surface and knead for about 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is soft and smooth.  It shouldn't be too sticky too handle.

Form the dough into a ball and place it in a clean bowl.  It doesn't need to be oiled.  The butter should keep the dough from sticking to the bowl.  Let the dough bulk ferment in a warm place (70- 75 degrees F.) for 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size.


Meanwhile, cut out a circle of baking or greaseproof paper about 30 cm (12″) in diameter. Place the paper on a baking sheet.

To shape the flower, once risen, turn the dough out onto a surface, knock it back knead for 3-4 minutes. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and form each piece into a ball.

Roll a ball of dough out into a circle measuring about 25 cm (10″) in diameter. The dough should be about 3-4 mm (1/8″) thick.

Place the dough onto the baking paper and spread on a layer cream cheese (thin), followed by a thin layer of brown sugar and sprinkle of cinnamon or of cake or pie spice, leaving a small gap at the edge. Don’t make the layer too thick but be sure to evenly cover the dough.

Roll out a second ball of dough, place it on the first layer and spread with the same combination as the first layer. Repeat with the third and fourth balls of dough but do NOT spread any filling on the final layer.

Cut the brioche into 16 segments but leave a small (3 cm/1½”) area in the centre of the dough uncut (a spice cap is about the right size to cover the center...cut to it.

Take a pair of adjacent segments. Lift and twist them away from each other through 180°. Lift and twist through 180° again, then twist through 90° so that the ends are vertical. Press the edges together firmly. Repeat this process for all pairs of segments.

Place the brioche in a large plastic bag or cover with lightly oiled film. Leave in a warm place for 1-2 hours to prove.

Brush with the glaze then bake at 160°C/320°F fan oven, 180°C/360°F conventional oven for 20-25 minutes.  I baked it at 375 degrees F. for 15 minutes, then turned it down to 350 and baked it another 5 minutes or so.

Place the bread on a wire rack to cool. Once cooled, dust lightly with icing sugar or drizzle with more of the glaze.  

Chinese Almond Cookies

Reading can be inspiring. I recently finished reading The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama and I was inspired to bake Chinese Almond Cookies. These are similar to cookies you might receive at the end of a Chinese meal, perhaps with an orange that has been cleverly shaped to make it easy to eat the segments, perhaps all by itself. These days you are more likely to receive a fortune cookie, but the Almond Cookie, with a whole almond in the middle and a sort of crumbly texture and shiny top are what I remember being the end of a meal many years ago.

The book actually takes place in Japan, but the protagonist is a young Chinese man, sent to the Japanese beach house that his family has gone to for many years. He has been quite ill and so time at the tranquil beach town is seen as a way to allow him to heal. It becomes a kind of coming of age story as the young man Stephen learns from the Japanese man who cares for him and for the garden, plus he learns about himself from interacting with people in the town and up the mountain. All of this takes place in 1937 and 1938 as Japan invades China and, through a succession of successful campaigns, is headed towards Hong Kong where Stephen is from and where his mother and younger sister still live. I highly recommend this book. 

I might have cooked or baked something Japanese, but Stephen is Chinese and so my thoughts went there.

I hope you enjoy these delicious cookies. Do allow time for the dough to chill. I used the method of forming the dough into balls and placing them on a greased sheet pan to chill rather than shaping after chilling. Either way will work. I was picky and weighed each ball so that they would be similar in size (18 grams), but it isn't necessary. I didn't realize how much they would spread. Perhaps bake them in three batches instead of two? That would allow more space between them so that you end up with true circles. Mine ended up touching other cookies, sometimes in two places, which made some of them more of a triangle!  They taste wonderful either way.

The glazing with egg is an important part of the process. It secures the almond and gives the top a shiny look and helps with browning.

I also made half the recipe since I don't need four dozen cookies, but I'm including the full recipe for you.

Chinese Almond Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups almond flour, lightly packed
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
• Pinch kosher salt
• 2 large eggs, divided
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• Thinly sliced almonds, for decoration

1. Beat the almond flour, salt, and butter:

Place the almond flour, salt, and butter into an electric mixer with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. The mixture will become coarse and chunky looking.

2. Add one of the eggs and the almond extract:

Mix them in on low speed until just incorporated.

3. Add the flour, sugar, and baking soda:

Sift the flour, sugar, and baking soda and add to the mixture. Mix on low speed until just combined.

4. Chill the dough:

Take the dough and flatten it into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Place it in the refrigerator for two hours to chill.

5. Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

6. Beat the remaining egg:

In a small bowl, beat the remaining egg.

7. Flatten the balls of dough onto the cookie sheet:

Take pieces of dough and roll them into balls about 3/4 inch wide. Place them on the sheet about an inch apart and then press them down slightly with your palm to make a coin shape.

8. Press the slivered almonds into place, and paint the cookies with the egg:

Press one silvered almond into the center of each cookie. Then, using a pastry brush or your finger, paint each cookie with the egg. (This will give the cookie a lacquered appearance once it bakes).

9. Bake:

Bake at 325°F for 13 to 15 minutes, until the edges just begin to tan. Cool on the sheet on a wire rack.

Gotta Love Those Blondes

A number of years ago I baked a recipe for Blondies with lots of yummy stir-ins. Over the years I made variations on that recipe and named them things like Dirty Blondes and California Blondes. This week I made a variation of Raspberry Blondes for a tea party and they were as yummy as that first batch so long ago. This variation had fresh raspberries, but it also had pecans, white chocolate and dark chocolate chips, and both almond extract and vanilla extract. I've grown weary of finding new names for each variation, so let's just call these Bohemian Raspberry Blondes, since that's the first thing that came to mind.

Here is the full recipe using the 9" x 13" pan:

Bohemian Raspberry Blondes 
makes 24

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or non-dairy butter, at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
2 cups chopped pecans
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup dark chocolate chips 
1/2  - 1 pint fresh raspberries, rinsed and dried lightly with a paper towel (don't crush) (use enough to cover batter with about an inch between berries)

Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Use cooking spray to lightly coat a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

Melt the butter and sugar together in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the butter and sugar are blended and completely melted and starting to bubble gently. Remove the pan from heat and let the mixture cool slightly.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, almond extract and salt. Slowly whisk the cooled butter and sugar mixture into the eggs just until combined. Whisk in the flour and baking powder to form a loose batter. (Make sure the batter is cool before stirring in the remaining ingredients, otherwise the chocolate will start to melt before the bars are baked.)

Stir the nuts, coconut, and white chocolate chips and chunks into the cooled batter. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan and smooth with a spatula. Distribute the raspberries over the batter as evenly as possible. Pour the remaining batter over the berries and smooth with a spatula.

Bake until the top is shiny and slightly crackled and feels firm to the touch, 30 – 35 minutes. Start checking at about 28 minutes. A wooden skewer inserting into the batter should come out with moist crumbs clinging to it. Let cool on a wire rack to room temperature, then cut into bars and serve.

Note: if you line the pan with foil (by taking the empty pan, turning it upside down, and molding foil over the whole outside, then turn right side up and fit the foil into the pan, smoothing, especially at the corners) it will make it easy to remove the baked and cooled cookies for cutting. If you do this, be sure to coat the foil with the cooking or baking spray once it is fitted into the pan, before adding any batter.

Smaller Batch
Since I made the recipe for a small tea party and since I've been working on reducing my sugar intake (and temptations full of sugar) I actually also reduced the recipe by half and baked it in an 8" x 8" square pan, lined with foil, then given a coating of baking spray. I thought that it would bake more quickly than the larger pan, but I think that changing the pan size meant that the batter was a bit deeper, so the baking time was only about 5 minutes less. I say 'about' because I had to keep adding time and, frankly, I got confused by the last time I added, so I'm guessing on the timing. You can still count on testing it with a toothpick. When inserted in the center, the toothpick should come out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Give it a try at about 28 minutes and keep trying every couple of minutes until you get those crumbs. Sorry I can't be more exact.

Bohemian Raspberry Blondes 
makes 16

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or non-dairy butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon almond extract 
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2  teaspoon salt
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1  cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup white chocolate chips 
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 pint fresh raspberries, rinsed and dried lightly with a paper towel (don't crush)

Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Use cooking spray to lightly coat a foil lined 8 x 8 inch baking pan.

Melt the butter and sugar together in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the butter and sugar are blended and completely melted and starting to bubble gently. Remove the pan from heat and let the mixture cool slightly.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, almond extract, vanilla extract and salt. Slowly whisk the cooled butter and sugar mixture into the eggs just until combined. Whisk in the flour and baking powder to form a loose batter. (Make sure the batter is cool before stirring in the remaining ingredients, otherwise the chocolate will start to melt before the bars are baked.)

Stir the nuts, coconut, and white and dark chocolate chips into the cooled batter. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan and smooth with a spatula. Distribute the raspberries over the batter as evenly as possible. Pour the remaining batter over the berries and smooth with a spatula. You may sit a bit of some of the berries above the batter.

Bake until the top is shiny and slightly crackled and feels firm to the touch, 28 – 35 minutes. A wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into the batter in the middle should come out with moist crumbs clinging to it. Let cool on a wire rack to room temperature, then cut into bars and serve.