Cinnamon Rolls - Mastered!

My in-laws showed up yesterday to come meet their newest grandson. I feel fortunate to have such a great relationship with my in-laws such that I am excited for their visit. It helps that my mother-in-law is great with babies and this has allowed me to get a few things done around here. To celebrate the first morning of their visit, I decided to make a pan of cinnamon rolls.

Now, I posted my recipe for cinnamon rolls a long time ago. You can see that post here. However, while the basic recipe has remained the same, there have been a number of changes that have turned these rolls from good to super-freaking fantastic. I used to have a hard time passing by a Cinnabon when out and about, but now it's not a problem. I like these rolls better! It's amazing what a difference a few subtle changes can make. You may want to read through my last post first if you are not familiar with the general gist of how cinnamon rolls are made. In this posting, I will focus on the changes to the recipe and then will re-post the recipe in full at the end in case you want to print it out.

The first major change was in the filling. I'm not sure why it makes such a big difference, but changing from regular sugar to brown sugar completely changes the way the filling melts. If you mix the butter and sugar together first into a paste, along with the cinnamon, it melts even better and makes a nice gooey filling. Here you can see the dough rolled out with the filling spread out on it.

The nest major change was the way that I rolled the dough. If you look at my pictures in my original post, you'll notice just how thick the dough was when I rolled it up. That resulted in rolls that were very bread-y without a lot of that delicious filling. I now roll the dough almost as thin as I can manage. I shoot for no thicker than one quarter of an inch now. In my experience, it is imperative to have the dough cold to manage this. That's why I put the dough in the refrigerator for a second proofing. Roll the dough up and then use a serrated blade to cut perfect rolls.

Compare this photo with the similar one in the previous cinnamon roll post and you can see just how many more rolls you get in the dough when it is rolled thinly. It leads to a much better balance of dough and cinnamon/sugar filling.

You can see here how that filling melts so much better than in my previous recipe. The last change that I made to the recipe was in the icing. Adding a little cream cheese to the icing, with that little bit of tang it imparts, is absolutely divine and really puts these rolls over the top. My goodness, these things are delicious! Be sure to have a plan for all twelve rolls or you may find them all in your own tummy!

Cinnamon Rolls - Mastered!
Yield: 12 rolls

2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 1/4 cup warm milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening
1 tsp table salt
3 whole eggs
4 to 4 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup butter (one stick)
1 cup brown sugar
4 TBS cinnamon

4 ounces softened cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 TBS milk

Mix the first 6 ingredients together in the bowl of a stand mixer (through the eggs). Add two cups of the flour. Mix on medium with a paddle for 3 minutes. Add the remaining 2 to 2 1/2 cups flour. The amount of flour can vary depending on the humidity of your kitchen. You are looking for a dough that is still somewhat soft and sticky. It will become more workable after it rises and is chilled.

Place the dough in a grease bowl, covered with plastic wrap, until it is doubled. Knock down the dough and refrigerate for 2 hours (and up to 24 hours). Turn the cold dough out onto a floured counter. Roll out into a rectangle as thin as the dough will reasonably allow; shoot for less than 1/4 of an inch. The rectangle will be approximately 20 inches by 12 inches. Beat together the softened butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Heat gently in the microwave if it is not soft enough to spread on the dough. Spread the mixture evenly on the dough. Roll up tightly and slice, using a serrated blade, into twelve rolls. I trim off the ends before slicing so each roll has a nice look to it.

Place the rolls in a greased 9x13 inch pan. They also fit nicely four to a pan in 8" disposable aluminum pans if you want tot gift them. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and allow the rolls to rise for 30 minutes or until slightly puffy. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the plastic wrap and bake rolls for 25 minutes or until baked through and gently golden. Remove rolls from the oven and cool for 15 minutes before icing.

Beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and milk together until it forms a smooth icing. It will be too thick to pour. Spread the icing over the rolls. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container and reheat in the microwave before serving.

7/31/13: I have altered the amounts for the filling slightly. I decided, if your going to go all out and have a cinnamon roll, it might as well be the best roll it can be! I upped the amount of brown sugar slightly (from 3/4 cup to one) and increased the amount of cinnamon a bit (from 3 to 4 TBS). I just made these again this weekend. Sooooo fabulous!!!

Getting Our Feet Under Us

Well, our boy finally decided to grace us with his presence one month ago today, and we've been getting our feet under us ever since. People aren't kidding when they say this whole having kids thing is a life adjustment! Especially when you're as old as we are! ;-)

We are blessed though. Very blessed. Not only did we welcome a healthy baby into the world, but we also apparently welcomed a happy one too! While it's not all peaches and cream all the time, overall, we've got it made. He not a big crier and I'm getting decent amounts of sleep. I'm beginning to get back into some of my regular routine. I've even started cooking again... well, I mean like cooking stuff other than the super easy standbys that I can cook with my eyes closed (and already posted three years ago). I'm looking forward to new recipes and new posts! Thanks for your patience while I took some time to figure out this whole motherhood thing. So far, I'm a big fan.

Golden Crusted Pork Loin

Well, I guess I've been a little MIA lately, which is a little funny since all I've been doing is a lot of sitting around waiting for this baby to decide to come into the world. Granted, that means I haven't been doing a huge amount of experimental cooking since my feet balloon up to gargantuan proportions when I'm on them too long these days. I've been mostly sticking with the quick and easy "sure-things" when we aren't doing take-out or delivery. My due date has come and gone and we're just waiting for the little guy to decide to make an appearance. I'm not sure if its been a "nesting" thing or what, but the last two days, I've been very energetic and productive. Maybe that's a good sign? Please be a good sign. I'm ready to have my body back!

Last night, I had some pork tenderloin thawed out and was looking for a quick and tasty way to prepare it. I often butterfly my tenderloins and stuff them, but I just couldn't get up the gumption for that. My husband was dreaming of a pork tenderloin sandwich, but I was also wanting to forego any pounding and frying. I thought a nice crunchy crust might be found another way. Perusing through the pantry, I found what I was looking for... Panko (the perfect breading standby) and French fried onions (you know, the ones you put on top of green bean casserole). At that point I was on my way to a fabulously flavorful and easy dinner.

The breading goes on easy and stays on well through the cooking process. It comes out golden and crispy and very flavorful. I highly recommend it!

Golden Crusted Pork Loin
Yield: serves 4-6

1 package pork tenderloin (usually contains two loins)
2-4 TBS all purpose flour
2 eggs
1 cup French fried onions
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 TBS dried parsley
1/4 tsp salt
spray cooking oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil. If the loin looks excessively marbled, consider using a roasting rack to keep the loins from sitting in the excess fat as it cooks. Remove the loins from their packaging, rinse and pat dry. Prepare the egg wash by cracking the two eggs into a large, shallow container and beat gently. Then prepare the crunchy coating. In a food processor, pulse the French fried onions until they are similar in texture to the Panko. Mix the fried onions, Panko, Parmesan, parsley, and salt together on a shallow dish or tray.

Sprinkle the loins with the flour until all surfaces are lightly covered. Gently tap off any excess. Then dip each loin into the egg wash and roll around in the crunchy coating until they are evenly coated. Place on the baking sheet. Spray lightly with cooking oil spray. Place in the top third of the preheated oven and roast until a thermometer placed in the thickest part of the loin reads 150F. Remove from the oven and let rest for five minutes before slicing and serving.

Wine Steamed Mussels

I find it amazing how sometimes the dishes with the most flavor are the quickest to prepare. Take this dish, for instance. In less than ten minutes, you end up with a super flavorful broth and perfectly tender mussels. I had never prepared mussels before last night. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy and delicious they were to prepare.

They're especially easy if you purchase fresh cultured blue mussels. These mussels are "farmed" up in Canada off Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, but really they're not so much farmed as managed. The mussels grow in waters in which they are native, they are simply "encouraged" to grow in specific places. They eat their natural food (i.e. the "farmer" does not feed them in any way). They are then allowed to grow naturally. Lastly, they are harvested year round to end up perfectly fresh at your supermarket's fish counter. Why are these cultured mussels easier to cook with? Because they've already cleaned them for you! No need to soak or remove those pesky beards. I can appreciate that!

Being a mussel buying newbie yesterday was, I'll admit, a bit embarrassing. I asked for three pounds of mussels; it is recommended that you plan for a pound per person. Since we're big eaters, I figured I'd get an extra pound. They were surprisingly cheap, even at Whole Foods. I got them on sale for $1.99 a pound here in the D.C. area, but even their regular price is less than $4.00 per pound. So the fish monger weighed them out for me into a plastic bag, placed the price tag on it, and proceeded to attempt to hand me the bag... with it hanging open. I looked at him like he was crazy and asked, "Are you really trying to hand me this bag of messy shellfish without any further packaging?" He rolled his eyes (very politely, I might add) and told me that they needed to breathe and that if I closed the packaging up, I'd kill them. Oh. Duh. Okay.

I did manage to get the little buggers home without killing or spilling them everywhere. When it came time to prepare dinner, I simply rinsed them off and picked through them to be sure there weren't any damaged or dead ones. If you come across a mussel with a broken shell or one who is open and won't close with a little tap, discard it. Let the mussels hang out while you prepare the broth: garlic, onion, tomato, white wine, and water is all that's in there, but once the mussels add their juices and it all cooks together a bit? Divine!!

Steam the mussels over medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes, until the vast majority of them open. The amount of time it will take to cook them depends on the heat, obviously, but also how many mussels you've got in the pot. Although I've read conflicting reports, the prevailing wisdom states that you should also discard any mussels that don't open during the cooking process. It seemed best to me to be safe rather than sorry, so I followed that suggestion. Be careful not to overcook the mussels or they can become rubbery and unappealing. They're ready when they've opened so keep and eye on them. Once the mussels are done steaming, stir the pot and ladle them up. Be sure to serve them with some rustic bread to sop up those perfect juices!

Wine Steamed Mussels
Yield: 3 servings

2 TBS butter
1 TBS minced garlic
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced tomato
1/2 cup white wine (such as Pinot Grigio)
1/2 cup water
3 pounds of mussels, cleaned and debearded
salt and pepper to taste

In a large Dutch oven or stock pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and onion and saute until they are slightly softened. Add the tomato, wine, and water and bring to a boil. Add the mussels and cover the pot. Let steam for 5-10 minutes, until most of the mussels have opened. It is recommended that you discard the mussels that do not open during the cooking process. Remove from the heat and give the pot a stir. Taste the broth and add salt and pepper to taste. Be cautious about salting the broth before cooking and tasting as the mussels give off a salty brine when cooking. Serve immediately with crust bread for dipping.

Farro Love

Curiosity about new foods is a key aspect of how I operate in the kitchen. Sometimes it takes a bit longer to get around to trying something than I might like to admit, but I'll get there eventually. Sometimes I get a little prompt by being presented a food while eating out elsewhere, and that's usually never a bad thing. Take this grain, for instance. I first had it about three months ago at a catered event and immediately fell in love. What a wonderfully flavorful, easy to cook, chewy, tasty delight!

Farro is a grain within the wheat family, but is botanically different enough that some people who are allergic to the modern wheat variety found most commonly in the grocery can tolerate farro. Farro is also known as emmer wheat, and while it appears to have been cultivated in antiquity (i.e. thousands of years ago), its modern resurgence is fairly recent (as in the early 1900s). Most farro available for purchase today in the United States is grown in Italy.

While farro berries look very much like wheat berries, they cook very differently because most farro you'll find has been pearled (had the outer husk and much of the bran removed). Removing this bran casing allows the grain to cook much more quickly. You can visually judge how much of the bran has been removed by looking at the color of the grain; the more bran that has been removed, the lighter in color the grain will be.

So, how do you cook farro? Easily! I usually cook about one cup of the grain at a time. This will leave you with between 2 and 2 1/2 cups of cooked farro. You can round out the taste of the farro by dry toasting the grain in the pot first before adding the water. Simply turn the heat to medium, add the grain, and stir periodically until the grain gives off a nice toasty aroma. At that point, add water to cover, about 2 cups if you are cooking 1 cup of farro. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. I have had equal success with cooking my farro covered or uncovered. Simmer until the grain is tender, about 30 minutes. It will still be chewy, but pleasantly so. Drain off any excess water and let sit for a few minutes to absorb any remaining moisture after draining.

You can then use the farro in any number of ways. I like it very much as is and there are plenty of recipes for farro salads that are really excellent. My favorite way to serve it, however, is as a side dish with a slight flavor boost. After draining, I add salt and pepper to taste. I then drizzle a tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil and a tiny drizzle of fresh squeezed orange juice into the grain and stir. Be cautious not to overdo it with the oil and juice; you want to highlight the natural flavor of the grain, not mask it. Stir and serve! Farro is another great way to include more whole grains into your diet!

English Muffins

I hope you had a wonderful holiday. Since I'm in my last month before our new arrival arrives, I've been on restricted travel... I wasn't allowed to drive fourteen hours to spend Christmas with the family this year! It's the first time in the almost ten years that we've been married that my husband and I spent the day at home alone. It was relaxing, but I think I prefer the wonderful chaos of our normal routine better.

Being stuck at home, we decided we could celebrate our time together by splurging on our meals. I prepared some items I've never prepared before and enjoyed some other special meals that I only get to make rarely. Christmas eve we enjoyed a small prime rib. For Christmas day dinner, I made a roasted duck. This is the second time I've roasted a whole duck, and while it was darn tasty, it sure did make a mess of the oven! Last night was the finale of our gluttonous extravaganza. I made a roasted rabbit with mashed potatoes and gravy; boy was it tasty!

Surprisingly, probably the most challenging meal I made was breakfast on Christmas morning. I've been playing with an English muffin recipe and I know how much my hubby loves a good eggs Benedict, so I figured I'd give it a go. There were two components in this dish that I had never made before: poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce. I'll talk more about eggs Benedict in a future post, but let it suffice to say for now that these English muffins played a wonderful supporting roll.

Now, while we're on the subject of English muffins, lets talk about nooks and crannies. Those round holes you see in so many brands of commercial English muffins? Yeah, that's not traditionally an English muffin feature. You find those holes in crumpets, which also are also an English bread and are also cooked on a griddle, but are made from a looser batter and require rings to make. The traditional English muffin looks more like regular bread inside when split. It still holds the butter nicely when toasted though, so don't you worry!

The first step is to mix the dough. Mix the dough at least the night before you plan on making the muffins. For a more robust flavor, you can actually make the dough 2-4 days in advance. This extra fermentation time in the refrigerator helps to develop a very nice flavor, but they're still good when made after only twelve hours. The dough  mixes together nicely and does not need to be kneaded for an exceptionally long time. When ready, dump the dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and stash in the refrigerator. It will swell up nicely and do some lovely yeasty things.

When ready to make the muffins, lightly flour the counter and dump out the dough. Sprinkle the dough with a little flour too and roll it out until about one-quarter of an inch thick. Make sure you roll it thin enough. One time I didn't and I ended up with English muffins that looked like the Sears tower! They were crazy! Cut out using a 3 1/2 inch round cutter (or something similar). A nice sharp cutter is preferred because you don't want the dough on the edges to get sealed together as this can inhibit the muffins from puffing properly. If you only roll once, you should get about 8 muffins out of the dough; if you re-roll the scraps, you can get up to 14 muffins. Please note, however, that once you try to re-roll the dough, you'll be waging an uphill battle against gluten.

Place the muffins on a sheet tray sprinkled with cornmeal or farina (Malt-O-Meal or Cream of Wheat cereal). I prefer the look and taste of the farina, personally. In this picture, you're looking at cornmeal. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins as well and then loosely cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until they have doubled in volume. Be sure to let them rise fully. If you try to cut this step short, most likely you will end up with dense, doughy English muffins.

When they are done rising, preheat your electric griddle to 325F. You can do this step on the stove, but I find being able to easily manage the temperature is a real plus here. Cook the muffins for two minutes on one side.

Give them a flip and let them cook another 5-7 minutes on the other side. If they do not have a nice golden color on them when you complete this first flip, you may want to hold off a bit longer and evaluate your griddle temperature.

This photo shows the second side once it has finished cooking as well. You see how it is not as flat as the first side? The first side cooking time is short for a reason. If you let the first side go too long, the top of the muffin gets too rounded and you end up with a smaller and smaller flat spot on the top of this second side, leading to a domed muffin instead of a nice flat muffin. In my experience, two minutes is a nice compromise between color development and maintaining as flat a second side as possible.

Let muffins cool slightly before slicing and toasting. While you can fork split these muffins, I almost prefer them cut open. Give it a try both ways and see which one appeals most to you. These muffins are great by themselves (as shown at the beginning of this post) or as part of a smashing eggs Benedict. Freeze the leftovers (I slice mine apart first), and you can enjoy homemade English muffins whenever the mood hits!

English Muffins
Yield: 8 - 14   3-1/2 inch muffins (depending on whether you re-roll the scraps)

3 cups bread flour
1 tsp table salt
1 1/4 cup milk
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp instant yeast
2 TBS vegetable oil

Mix all ingredients together and knead by hand or in a stand mixer for 5-7 minutes. Dough should come together but still be somewhat sticky. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator at least overnight, but up to four days. The ideal time from a flavor/yeast development standpoint is probably on day three (let sit two nights in refrigerator).

When ready to make the muffins, pull the dough from the refrigerator and dump out onto a lightly floured counter. Sprinkle the dough with a little more flour and roll immediately until the dough is 1/4 inch thick. You should be able to cut eight 3 1/2 inch rounds without having to re-roll the dough. If you want to use all of the dough now, re-roll to obtain up to 14 rounds. The gluten will start to fight you as soon as you start re-rolling. Let the dough sit a few minutes to allow the gluten to relax a bit if it gets too frustrating.

Place rounds on a sheet pan generously sprinkled with farina (Malt-O-Meal or Cream of Wheat cereal) or cornmeal. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins as well. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until double. Be sure to let them rise fully or you may end up with muffins that are dense and doughy.

When they have doubled, heat a dry electric griddle to 325F. Once preheated, place the rounds on the griddle and cook two minutes on the first side. Check to be sure the bottom is nicely golden and give the muffin a flip. If you wait too long to flip, the muffin will be dome shaped instead of flat. Cook another 5-7 minutes on the other side. Let cool briefly before splitting and toasting. Muffins can be frozen for up to six months.

Refrigerator Dinner Rolls

You're going to love this recipe! If you've been intimidated by making dinner rolls from scratch, be afraid no longer! These are so easy to mix, so easy to shape, and so easy to bake. And the best part? They taste phenomenal!!!!! These rolls have a lovely flavor, are light and soft, and are the perfect vehicle for sopping up whatever gravy or juices you've got going on in your meal.

This recipe makes a good sized batch of rolls, somewhere in the neighborhood of three dozen. The other nice thing about the dough is that once it is made, it keeps fairly well. You can leave it in the refrigerator up to three days or store it in the freezer for up to a month. If you freeze the dough, thaw it completely in the refrigerator before proceeding. This is a fairly soft dough that can be mixed by hand fairly easily, but if you have a stand mixer, it is the easiest dough ever to mix.

Refrigerator Dinner Rolls
Yield: approx. 3 dozen rolls

4 1/2 tsp instant yeast (or 2 pkg active dry yeast)
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups warm water
5 1/2-6 1/2 cups of flour, divided
2 tsp table salt
1 whole egg
1/3 cup shortening, melted and cooled slightly
egg yolk wash (one yolk and 1 TBS water) optional

If using active dry yeast, mix the yeast, water, and sugar together first until it become frothy. If using instant, you can simply mix the ingredients together. Add 4 cups of the flour to the yeast, water, and sugar. Stir together and then add the salt, egg, and shortening. Add as much of the remaining flour as is necessary to make a soft dough. Knead a couple of minutes until the dough is smooth. It will still be sticky at this point, but once it rises in the refrigerator, it will be a nice dough to handle.

Place the mixed dough in a greased bowl, at least 4 quarts in size. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator for two hours or until doubled in size. If you want to store the dough at this point, punch it down and put it back in the refrigerator or in the freezer. If you are ready to make rolls, dump the dough out and punch it down. Cut the dough into strips to make shaping easier. Cut the strips into small pieces such that when you roll each piece into a sphere it's about 3/4 of an inch in diameter. Spray a muffin tin with oil and place three of the dough balls in each cup. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until double, about an hour. Brush the tops with egg wash and bake at 400F for about 12 minutes or until nice and golden. Remove from the oven and let cool a few minutes before removing from tins.

Chocolate Pie

We had a guest for dinner last night; it was someone we hadn't seen in almost ten years! It was great to catch up and also a great excuse to have some fun in the kitchen. I made a shepherd's pie with chicken, salad, and some rolls (which I'll share with you in the next few days). For dessert, well, you know that's where my true passion lies, I wanted to go all out; I absolutely love baking!

I decided to go with making a chocolate pie. First, nearly everyone loves chocolate pudding, so I feel pretty confident that no one will turn down a chocolate pie when made. Secondly, I like the fact that I can make the  whole thing in advance... like a whole day in advance. It's perfect!

This is another one of those "put together" recipes that uses a handful of other recipes that I have already posted to end up with a fabulous new creation.

The first step is to make the crust. I used my new flaky pie crust recipe that I posted yesterday, but you could go with a traditional crust as well, or - gasp - with a store bought crust. (Don't worry, I won't hold it against you if you do use a store bought crust. I don't use them because I don't like the flavor, but if they taste good to you, then why wouldn't you?). Blind bake the empty pie shell (pricked with a fork, lined with foil, and filled with pie weights or dried beans) at 425 degrees for ten minutes. Remove the foil and weights and continue baking until the crust is beautiful and golden. Let the pie shell cool completely at room temperature.

The next component is the filling. I started by making my chocolate pudding recipe. Once the pudding was thickened and off the heat, I added a few extra things. The first thing was about a half cup of bittersweet chocolate chips. I wanted to up the ante on the chocolate-y-ness of this filling. I also added about half a teaspoon of coffee liqueur. Both of these items are completely optional. Fiddle with it at this point as you see fit. You could add mint extract for a mint pie or hazelnut liqueur for a nutty essence. The only change that I made that I strongly recommend making is the addition of some gelatin. This pudding sets up pretty well, but for perfectly cut pieces, it really could use a little added stability. To do this, soften one teaspoon of gelatin in two tablespoons of cold milk. Let sit for 3-5 minutes. When the pudding first comes off the heat, stir in the milk/gelatin mixture. That's all there is to it, but it makes a huge difference. Pour the pudding into a bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Let the pudding cool completely but not become cold (you don't want it to start setting up yet). Pour the cooled pudding into the pie shell and smooth the top. Cooling the pudding is important for two reasons: first, it keeps the crust from getting soggy, and second, at this point you don't have to worry about a nasty skin from forming. Now you can put the pie in the refrigerator uncovered without any problems.

The last part of this process is the whipped cream edge. Because I wanted to be able to make everything in advance and then have any leftovers keep beautifully (there were only three of us, after all), I used stabilized whipped cream. Follow the recipe exactly and pipe the whipped cream onto the pie in any design you choose. I usually use a rope type border around the edge. I then sprinkled some chocolate shavings on the whipped cream for contrast. Refrigerate for at least a few hours before serving! Cuts beautifully and tastes wonderful!

*Per a commenter's request, I have written up my pudding recipe with the pie filling additions here. As I was writing the recipe, I remembered that I did also add a wee bit of sugar to balance the addition of the chocolate. It wasn't a lot, and you can certainly add some to taste if you find it necessary.*

Chocolate Pudding for Pie
Yield: enough for one pie

1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 TBS cornstarch
2 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 tsp coffee liqueur (optional)
additional sugar to taste, if necessary
1 tsp unflavored gelatin softened in 2 TBS cold milk

Sift the sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and cornstarch into a medium sauce pan. Mix the milk and vanilla. Pour just enough of the milk into the dry ingredients to make a loose paste. Once the dry ingredients are all moistened, pour in the rest of the milk and whisk until well mixed.

Cook over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally, until the pudding just about reaches a boil and is thick and smooth. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate chips and liqueur, if using. Stir to mix. Add in the softened gelatin/milk mixture and stir again until well mixed and smooth. Pour into a bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the top of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Cool in the refrigerator until cool but not cold (and not set). Once cool, stir and then pour into pie shell, smoothing the top. Pie can now be refrigerated uncovered until served. Pipe a border of stabilized whipped cream, if desired. 

Super Flaky Tender Pie Crust

I know I have already posted a recipe and tutorial on pie crust, but this one is just so phenomenal, I can't not share it with you. Look at how flaky that pie crust is! It's almost like puff pastry. I've been messing with this recipe for a little over a year now, but have finally gone a few times making it without making any adjustments to the recipe.

You use the exact same technique as I outline in my Pie Crust 101 post and video. It's amazing how just a few alterations in the recipe make such a huge difference. A pleasing bonus is that the dough is easier to work with when rolling because using half cake flour reduces the amount of gluten in the dough. Give this dough a try in your next pie crust application - I promise you will not be disappointed!

Super Flaky Tender Pie Crust
Yield: enough for two thin single crusts or one thick crust with some extra

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1/2 tsp table salt
11 TBS chilled butter cut into small pieces
5-6 TBS chilled water
1 TBS white vinegar

I think making crust is easiest in a food processor, but you can certainly mix it by hand. Mix together the flours and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea sized pieces of butter remaining. Mix the water and vinegar together and then add to the mixture while pulsing in the food processor or add all but the last TBS and then mix by hand. Hold back the last TBS of water regardless of your method until you are sure you need it. The ambient humidity will impact how much water is required to allow the dough to come together into a ball. Pulse just until the dough starts to clump. Dump out onto the counter and shape into a disk of dough about 6 inches across. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill 30-60 minutes before rolling.

Gingerbread Men Shaped Lollipops

I love the holiday season. I especially love that it really gives me an excuse to go all out making all sorts of food goodies to give away. When I first started making lollipops a handful of years ago, I bought a variety of molds at a baking store (SugarCraft). The metal molds made by Sweet Creations are definitely my favorite. You can see what they look like in my Old Fashioned Lollipop post. I love them because they are easy to use and come in a variety of shapes.

In the packs of molds that I bought previously, I had ended up with two person shaped molds. One day, as I was making some root beer lollipops, I looked at those two and thought, "Wow! Those would make awesome gingerbread men for the holidays!" And then my life got busy and the idea got put on the back burner because I didn't really want to buy as many packs of molds as I'd need to get a reasonable number of the gingerbread men molds.

For some reason last month, on a whim, I decided to call the company and ask if they could make me a special pack of all gingerbread men molds. The folks at Sweet Creations were wonderful. Within a week, I had my new pack of molds and was ready to roll! They said they could create any package of molds from the shapes they offer that I wanted! How great is that? I am so happy that I called them, because look at how cute these little lollipops are!!!

I made a batch to give away to the little ones in our family for Christmas. I always make goodies to give to their parents, why shouldn't they get something special too? I made the lollipops exactly as I describe in my Old Fashioned Lollipops post. The only difference here was the addition of the white details. For this I used a stiff royal icing (I used the recipe on a package of Wilton meringue powder) and then let them dry uncovered at room temperature until the icing was dry and hard. Although most of our homes are on the dry side this time of year from the furnace, don't leave the lollipops out any longer than necessary or they could end up absorbing moisture and getting too sticky.

I then packaged them the same way I described in my previous lollipop post. I dusted them with powdered sugar and brushed the excess off with a pastry brush. Into the bags they went with pretty bows and, voila!, perfect little gingerbread men lollipops!