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Gwyrgyn Blood posted:I fuckin love cookies! I'm interested in trying to make French Macaroons for the first time but I could use some tips. I've seen it's recommended to use a Convection oven, is that a deal breaker or just a recommendation? I've made them a bunch of times in a regular oven and had a lot of luck with BraveTart 's recipe, which is pretty no-nonsense. It doesn't require aging your egg whites and uses French meringue technique. It's not bulletproof, but even if they come out wonky, they still taste good. Also, parchment paper is fine if you don't have silpats already. I actually think my macarons form better feet with parchment.
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Oct 28, 2016 06:56
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Gwyrgyn Blood posted:That's pretty much perfect thanks, found a lot of good info on that blog in general actually. Yeah, I only discovered that BraveTart contributes to Serious Eats after finding her macaron recipe. Shouldn't be surprised! Haven't made them since before changing apartments and decided it was time to test my oven. I did 1 or 2 turns too many with the batter, so they spread out more than I would have liked. Honestly, I'm still experimenting, but I get consistent edible results from this recipe at least.  They ran into each other a bit and didn't rise as much, but the sheen and chewy texture are just right.  (The filling squished when I cut it, so it looks like there's more in there than there actually is) I personally prefer fillings that offset the sweetness of the shells, so I usually go for bitter ganache. Citrus curd is nice too, and buttercream that has lots of tart fruit powder mixed in. I wish I could figure out a non-ganache filling that didn't need so much sugar ... though maybe mascarpone or whipped cream cheese would work?
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Nov 13, 2016 21:22
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CrazySalamander posted:Everyone uses mascarpone as a dessert cheese. Be brave, try chocolate+bleu cheese! In all seriousness, that actually is supposed to be pretty good. http://www.chowhound.com/food-news/3373/blue-cheese-and-chocolate/ I loving love
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Nov 15, 2016 03:47
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AnonSpore posted:Really though guys I want to make white chocolate macadamia cookies!!! I don't have a recommended recipe, but IME chocolate chip cookie recipes are pretty forgiving as far as swapping additions/optional ingredients. Just keep in mind that white chocolate is a lot sweeter than dark, so if your favorite recipe has really sweet base cookie, maybe try to counter that by using salted mac nuts? Tried a blue cheese filling in a few chocolate macarons using cream cheese as a 'carrier'. It's certainly interesting - the cheese funk sort of reveals itself only after the initial chocolate intensity subsides so they don't really complement as much as compete. I guess it makes sense since they are both earthy flavors ... I still want to try it with fruit shells, though. 
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Nov 29, 2016 07:29
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CrazySalamander posted:Looking at rogue creamery it looks like they mix the bleu cheese with some cocoa powder (and probably other stuff) presumably to avoid the problem you're talking about. That being said, macarons aren't really famed for their intense flavor, so maybe things like truffles and spreads really are the way to go for bleu cheese (that's what rogue creamery does at any rate) Yeah, this combo probably needs very careful balancing, and I lack the culinary instincts needed. BUT - I am not sorry for experimenting! The chocolate shells I made were very intense, and having never tasted the aforementioned truffles it was a shot in the dark at best. For now anyway, I might be better off starting with somewhat less adventurous flavor combos (like fruit and cheese) which I have a much better frame of reference.
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Nov 29, 2016 17:12
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Gwyrgyn Blood posted:Probably a very common cookie problem: I was making a batch of the Alton Brown Chewy cookies, and they came out fine except a handful of the bottoms on them were very burnt. I actually noticed they were starting to get browned on the bottom already when I rotated them half way through. I baked them on parchment paper FWIW. I was recommend to try something like an AirBake sheet next time to help with that, anyone have any experience with these? Did you notice if the burned ones were happening in a particular area of your oven? Hot spots are definitely a thing, though it sounds like you already know this since you were rotating your pans. You can try different rack heights too. Are the tops coming out ok/baking normally (e.g., not too fast)? If you don't have one, an oven thermometer can help figure out if the temperature is off. I move a lot and bought one several apartments ago, it's been pretty useful. As far as sheets, I personally have not used air bake - my go-to's have always been the plain dark sheets by Wilton/Farberware/etc that seem to be sold everywhere. I also have shiny aluminum half sheets, but I always use parchment or silpats on those. Anyone here ramping up for holiday cookie trays?  My favorites, though depending on circumstances most years I'll only make a few (the rainbow cookies, chocolate Italian meatball and butter cookies). Traveling and such will probably make this an especially light cookie year.
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Nov 30, 2016 20:42
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^^ Yes! My favorite Choc chip cookie recipe for this sort of thing is a Hershey's Blondie recipe. It comes out just like those giant, chewy, pizza-sized cookies that are decorated with frosting. It's pretty sweet so it makes a nice cheesecake bottom. Shortbread is also good crust material.
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Dec 23, 2016 01:59
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Only ended up making a small (macabre-looking) batch of gingerbread this year.
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Dec 29, 2016 17:57
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Antoine Silvere posted:Just tried making french macarons for the billionth time: I'm going to guess that you didn't overmix since they aren't flat/run into each other. I still get some hollow/cracked shells per batch, usually the ones closest to the edges of the pan. I also have a tendency to undermix, so they'll look perfect when they come out of the oven, but the interiors will be collapsed. Mixing the batter a little more helps. Also - BraveTart suggests adding a bit of oil to the almond meal before sifting it with the sugar (maybe 1/2 tsp or so per ounce of almond meal). I've done it my last couple of batches and it seems to help, the cookies come out a little chewier instead of drying out and cracking.
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Feb 1, 2017 09:33
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the worst part is i have no idea what went wrong with this batch. I'm guessing the batter was overmixed?? but they were hollow so maybe undermixed???
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If you want to try something different, flourless peanut butter cookies are pretty darn good, too. They are soft and sort of crumbly, similar to the middle of a Reese's cup, but more dense. E: It yields about 24 small cookies, so I usually double the recipe Ingredients 1 egg 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup creamy peanut butter (processed works best here, the natural stuff separates in the oven and makes the cookies crumbly and greasy) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ½ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt Optional: coarse sugar crystals, ½ cup choc chips Instructions Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients (except sugar crystals for garnish). Portion tablespoon-sized balls of dough on parchment-lined baking sheet. Flatten a bit with a fork or the bottom of a glass. They will spread a little while baking, but not very much. Sprinkle tops of unbaked cookies with coarse sugar crystals if desired. Bake for 11 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on baking pan at least 5 minutes (they are fragile until cooled). Remove to a rack and cool completely. Store in an airtight container. cocoavalley fucked around with this message at 02:27 on May 24, 2017 |
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May 24, 2017 02:24
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Awesome  It's such a dangerously simple recipe. Also, it's really good swirled into a batch of brownies.
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May 24, 2017 07:34
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Gamerofthegame posted:You know, I kind of wrote cookies off. I live with someone who's medically gluten free, got any other good ones? I am not actually GF myself, those PB cookies were something a coworker made me privy to and now I prefer them over 'traditional' PB cookies. That being said, one of my favorite holiday cookies is an almond paste recipe that also happens to be flourless. They sort of form a crust on the outside but stay chewy on the inside and are very almond-y. Almond paste cookies 1¼ c sugar, divided (½ c for dough, the remaining ¾ c is optional for rolling) ½ c powdered sugar ½ tsp salt 1 lb almond paste 4 egg whites Optional: ⅔ c sliced almonds for rolling Optional: Maraschino cherries, cut in halves and blotted on paper toweling Process ½ cup sugar, powdered sugar, salt, and almond paste until blended. Add egg whites and process until blended. Roll method: Chill dough. Roll into 1¼ inch balls. Combine almonds and remaining ¾ cup sugar. Roll cookies in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on parchment lined cookie sheet. Piped method: Skip the chilling. Use a pastry bag to pipe cookies directly onto parchment, 2 inches apart. Press cherry half in center of each cookie. Bake at 350° for 20-30 minutes. (Bottoms will brown but the tops stay pretty light colored) Tangentially related fail: Last weekend I was hanging with friends, one of whom has Celiac. We wanted cookies, so I tried to swap cup-for-cup GF baking mix for flour in my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. Cookies that normally come out like this  ... came out like this   The baking mix kind of ...disappeared. The dough melted and bubbled in the oven like pancake batter (surprise) I left them in until they started to get too brown. The end result reminded me of Florentines, very lacy, caramelized, and chewy, but also greasy from the butter separating out somewhat. My friend thought they were great though, so ... success?
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Jun 8, 2017 06:12
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Been subbing/supplementing chocolate candies for the chips in chocolate chip cookies. It started with getting an Easter basket earlier this year that I wanted to get rid of the candy - dark and milk Hershey's eggs and Cadbury mini eggs, Reese's pb eggs and pieces, etc. I chopped it up, baked it into cookies, and fed them to my coworkers  This batch has mini m&m's, Reese's pieces, Reese's mini cups, dark chocolate chips    The last cookie thread has a really good recipe that uses chopped up Twix. Pretty much any chocolate candy makes an amazing cookie stir-in. The only one I've had bad luck with so far was a box of Junior mints. They melted out of the dough and ran all over the cookie sheet, then the sugar hardened into brittle. The resulting abomination looks like volcanic rock (dough base was dark chocolate):  E: added link to PezMaster's Twix cookie recipe cocoavalley fucked around with this message at 08:34 on Jul 24, 2017 |
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Jul 23, 2017 17:38
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Trebuchet King posted:Based on my own experiences with baking with caramel in cookies, maybe try freezing the junior mints? Hey, thanks for the suggestion Unfortunately, I actually had done that so that they wouldn't get mashed when I mixed them in the dough, and I chilled the portioned out dough before baking, too. I think the only other thing I could've tried was making sure each candy was completely surrounded by dough. But I also think Junior Mints are just too liquid-y to begin with. The dough was from a Hershey's recipe that used York patties, and those had to be fully wrapped in dough. I just had a giant box of Junior mints and thought I'd give it a shot.
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Jul 24, 2017 00:15
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Trebuchet King posted:Ah, oh well. I'd say great minds think alike, but I think you're well beyond my skill level. I wonder if they make mini junior mints? They do! They are marketed as "Bites" and come in a bunch of varieties. I used the Reese's ones in my cookies above, and the Twix ones are perfect for the goon recipe (added link to the post) Cookies are pretty forgiving when it comes to moderate substitutions, so they are great for experimenting with. I do like to share my screw-ups though, especially the more spectacular ones. There's just something about opening the oven, expecting to see cookies, and instead seeing a tray full of run-together, bubbling dough. Anyway, here's the link to the Hershey's recipe, I had made it properly before the Junior mints incident and it is good. Hershey's peppermint pattie cookies
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Jul 24, 2017 09:45
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These barely qualify as cookies to me, they seem more like candy ... But I didn't believe the internet that the water from cans of chick peas could be used to make meringues, so for  ...The aquafaba whipped up into soft peaks convincingly, so I added some cream of tartar and sugar, and continued whipping. It turned into a really nice meringue, and way faster than egg whites.  I added cinnamon and piped out some pretty fart clouds. Baked for about 2 hours at 225°F on parchment, just like the egg white version, and let cool in the oven.  It's been awhile since I had egg white meringues (that weren't turned into macarons), but I can't tell the difference. The sugar completely masks the bean flavor that seemed way too strong when I tasted the water beforehand. TIL! (Maybe tomorrow I will regret it!)
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Sep 25, 2017 03:28
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legendof posted:Wow, I'm glad that worked for you, I tried this with a vegan friend and it took about forty minutes to get the beanwater to do anything more than froth. We gave up on meringues and made a mousse instead because after an hour it still wasn't close to soft peaks. Interesting! Yeah, I did a little more research and it seems like results vary wildly, with some people swearing by certain brands of beans, or cooking down the water further, etc. This could very well be beginner's luck, which I am not new to, like my experience with macarons ... but I kept at those and can make decent ones mostly reliably now. The sad story though is my first ever batch of real fudge. It came out creamy and flawless. I made it as an inexperienced cook at the tender age of 13 and thought I had discovered magic. Every batch after had some quirk - grainy, never solidified, solidified before I could put it into the pan, etc. - to the point where I just don't make real fudge anymore because it's not worth the time and disappointment.
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Sep 25, 2017 21:59
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Boywhiz88 posted:Does anyone have insight or advice on what to/how to charge for baked goods? Maybe look to see how much cookies by the pound cost at small bakeries? Remember though that they can probably keep costs lower because of production volume. So maybe also consider how much single cookies go for at coffee shops? I see macarons go for $2.50 apiece, for example. I'm an artist and not in food service, but you can probably use the same formulas for estimating cost that freelance artists do. Very simplified, it is: (your costs) + (time * (what you think your time is worth)). Also remember you can add the price of packaging into your total. At least your customers can reuse something like gladware.
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Nov 3, 2017 00:40
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Those look yummy As an Italian-American, I can say that they are very similar to recipes that have been in my family for years.Funny thing about these high-yield family recipes, my grandmother's spiced "meatball" cookies call for 'a bottle' of anise. We don't know what size ... She took that knowledge with her when I was a toddler (along with her pastiera recipe that my aunt has been trying to recreate every Easter for at least 30 years. No, none of the recipes online is right, ask me how I know!  ) I can remember more than one Christmas when we'd have a shitton of leftover overpowering anise cookies. My mother swears she used the smallest bottle she could find. We eventually gave up and pivoted to a different recipe married into the family (it doesn't have any anise in it, ha).Italian Meatball Cookies Yields 4-5 dozen 4 cups flour 1 cup sugar ½ cup baking cocoa 1 teaspoon each baking powder and baking soda 1 teaspoon each ground clove, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon ground allspice 1 cup milk ⅔ cup oil For icing: 2 cups confectioner’s (powdered) sugar A tablespoon or so of milk Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix the dry ingredients together in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another bowl (big enough to eventually hold all of the ingredients). Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture into the wet mixture. Once the dough has come together, pinch off 1-1½ inch pieces and roll into balls. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet and bake for about 10 minutes. Cool completely. For the icing, add the milk a little bit at a time to the powdered sugar until the consistency of thick syrup or condensed milk. Dip the cookies in the icing and let dry on waxed paper. (I just dunk and coat them completely, but half-dips are ok, too) Their texture is cakey and lighter than typical drop cookies, reminiscent of donut-holes. 
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Nov 14, 2017 17:14
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Gwyrgyn Blood posted:Middles puffed up more than I hoped so the shapes didn't come out as clean as I hoped, anything I can do about this? Are they soft when they come out of the oven? I'd probably just use the cookie cutter on them again to get the shape back.
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Mar 21, 2018 23:59
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Seconding shortbread! It's rich and not too sweet, with the added bonus it's crazy easy to make in any shape and flavors you want to mix in.
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Jun 11, 2018 04:49
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Haven't made macarons in over a year, but I found almond meal at the store for less than $5/lb and got inspired. Another apartment, another oven to get used to.... I took these out after 15 mins and they were already getting too dark, usually they need 20. On the plus side, I've been less precious with the batter, which seems to have helped a lot with hollows/cracks/feet formation. (The actual color is between these two photos, my lighting is all over the place) 
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Jul 3, 2018 03:55
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Lemon bars sound so good ... I think my leftover yolks are going to become lemon curd  RandomPauI posted:I don't know how dumb an idea this is, but I figure I can make macaroons using Mexican hot chocolate since it already has a lot of sugar along with vanilla and cinnamon and a nice nutty flavor. I don't think it's a dumb idea You could probably safely substitute Mexican hot cocoa mix for the sugar that gets mixed with the almonds... Or make a buttercream filling out of it.For the orange marble cookies, maybe try a pinwheel cookie? If you want them to actually be marbled, you could just knead the rolled-up dough a few times and re-form it into a log.
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Jul 4, 2018 14:23
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Made a batch of flourless peanut butter cookies I posted upthread with a mix of milk chocolate and mini semisweet chips. I also added a little extra salt to counter the chocolate. Definitely had to take the remainders into the office to get them out of reach.
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Oct 2, 2018 19:10
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Macksy posted:Any tips for baking with these sucky conditions would be lovely like what is a good substitute for butter. I've made several batches of chocolate chip cookies subbing whole wheat flour entirely and no one could see or taste any difference. I've also reduced the sugar in said cookies by up to ⅓ without issue (These were not side by side comparisons though, so there is probably a difference, just not big enough to notice). Butter substitutes though... Probably obvious, but anything that relies on butter as a main flavor component will come out tasting like the substitution. Structurally though, I've used coconut oil or vegetable shortening with decent success in recipes. I was once told that using mashed avocado in place of butter worked great in recipes, so not knowing any better at the time, I tried it in chocolate chip cookies. They came out very moist and cakey (also green) so I chalked it up to an interesting experiment and haven't tried it in any other recipes. (Thinking about it now though, it probably works out pretty well in quick breads or muffins, maybe even some cakes.)
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Dec 2, 2018 15:36
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RandomPauI posted:So make chocolate cookies to mask the green? Sorry, you must've posted the avocado suggestion while I was writing mine so I missed it. The main issue I had with replacing the butter in cookies with mashed avocado is that it changed the texture quite drastically - instead of dough it was more like a thick batter. It baked into something like puffy blobs of pancake, instead of flat, crispy on the outside, fudgy cookies that the recipe usually yields. I didn't understand at the time that this is because avocado doesn't melt into a clear oil, and also has a much higher water content than butter (which is why I think it'd work much better in things that are cakey to begin with).
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Dec 3, 2018 14:00
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Annual Italian butter cookie bake
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Dec 24, 2018 02:35
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AnonSpore posted:Anyone ever made bacon cookies? Saw this recipe https://thetakeout.com/how-to-make-a-killer-brown-butter-bacon-chocolate-chip-1821667488 and I'm cautiously curious but can't really imagine what it'd be like. Can't speak to the addition of chocolate chips, but I took browned butter and bacon fat shortbread to a potluck and it was gone in less than 10 minutes. Brown sugar and bacon go together very well.
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Jan 10, 2019 05:25
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Copycat Berger's cookies for my Baltimore-raised husband. I need to make twice as much fudge next time to get the cookie/frosting ratio right.
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Apr 27, 2020 06:31
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Whalley posted:I love Berger's, and seriously miss them. What recipe did you use? Outside of the ratio, this looks about right. The recipes I found online have fudge that is made with chocolate chips and doesn't taste like Berger's. So I ended up picking the recipe with the cookie we liked the best and using a never-fail fudge as the topping. I'm sure actual fudge would be better, but looking at the ingredients on a package of Berger's, I don't think they make real fudge either. Anyway, here's my cobbled together recipe (may want to scale up the fudge 1.5 or 2x): Makes 24 Cookie ingredients: ⅓ cup butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ cup sugar 1 large egg 1½ cups all purpose flour ⅓ cup milk Fudge frosting ingredients: 4 cups confectioners' sugar ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder 6 tablespoons butter ¼ cup milk 1 tablespoon vanilla extract ¼ teaspoon salt For the cookies: Preheat oven to 400°F. Cream butter and sugar, add egg and vanilla. Add baking powder to flour, then alternate the flour mixture and milk into the butter mixture. Use small cookie scoop (2 tbsp capacity) to dish out portions. Use a small spatula or spoon sprayed with non-stick to smooth and slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cool completely before adding fudge. For the fudge: Melt the butter, stir in the milk and vanilla. Sift the cocoa powder, salt, and sugar together into the butter mixture, stir until combined. Microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until the mixture is bubbly. Let it cool for 10 minutes or so, then stir constantly until it loses gloss and starts to set (it should stop flowing easily back into itself and be able to be scooped into a mound that is still soft, but won't run off the cookies). Assembly: Flip the cookies so the flat bottom is facing up. Use the 2 tbsp cookie scoop to put a generous glob of fudge on each, spreading if necessary. Let fudge cool until it is completely set, refrigerating if needed.
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Apr 27, 2020 22:09
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Boywhiz88 posted:Miss contributing to this thread. I’ve been so off of baking since March, I used it as an outlet to share w coworkers and now we’re WFH Same! I love making baked goods, but now that I can't share them I've been reluctant to make sweets, we don't want to have that much temptation around. I did end up making another batch of the Berger's cookies just before stay at home started, doubling the topping this time. My husband sent pics to his family in Baltimore to joke that he'd found Berger's in Texas  
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Jun 28, 2020 16:24
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Those look amazing, I love so many of Stella's recipes. Her no-nonsense approach to macarons won me over when I was obsessed with learning how to make them some years back. I also made the switch to higher-fat cocoa powder because of her. I had used primarily Hershey's for ages, the first time I used something nicer was a true 'holy poo poo' moment. (Not that I'd ever stick my nose up at something made with Hershey's or the like, but the difference in flavor really made an impact.)
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Nov 22, 2020 14:58
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Bravetart's glossy fudgy brownie recipe is very dense and rich, imo. If it were any more dense it would just be fudge. I cut them into 1.5-inch pieces, anything larger than that is kind of overwhelming.
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Mar 10, 2021 16:50
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Rocko Bonaparte posted:I'm trying to figure out how to modify the classic Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe to get flat, spread, rippled cookies. This sounds like how mine come out ... They are chewy with crispy edges and soft fragile middles when they first come out of the oven, but they do set up when cool. Looking at the toll house recipe, I use less flour (240g) and instead of brown+white sugar, I use all white sugar (300g) and a tablespoon of molasses. I also bake them at 350°F. The rest is the same. The ones shown here are the large oxo disher size (same as using ¼ cup measuring cup) and baked for 12-14 mins on silicone mats. They spread like this straight out of the mixing bowl as well as after aging in the fridge.   E: this is a half sheet tray, for scale E2: had wrong sugar weight cocoavalley fucked around with this message at 00:15 on Jan 30, 2024 |
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Jan 29, 2024 23:57
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