The cookies might look unassuming, but don’t let them fool you. It’s what’s on the inside that counts; butter, a hint of molasses and maple, pure almond and vanilla extract, spice, and lots of crystallized ginger.

I made up this recipe for an ex who really liked ginger, while we were still together. He was a very special to me, so I liked to create and alter recipes to suit his taste. I’d bake things to give him as presents that I knew he’d really enjoy. I guess you could say baked goods are my version of flowers. It made me happy to do thoughtful things for him, and to brighten his day.

Recipe:

1 cup golden sugar (packed)
3/4 cup of unsalted butter (187g) (1 1/2 sticks)
1/4 cup of molasses
1 tbsp dark maple syrup
1/2 tsp pure almond extract
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 egg
3/4tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
75g of finely chopped, crystallized ginger

Preheat oven to 350f and place a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

Cream butter and golden sugar until light and fluffy. Whip in the maple syrup, molasses, the extracts, and finally the egg.

In a separate bowl whisk together the spices, salt, baking powder, flour and ginger.

Gently incorporate the flour mixture into the creamy butter and eggs.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until just barely set in the middle. Place them on a cooling rack to firm up.

Well, January has been pretty rough.

I haven’t been posting lately, since many unfortunate events happened so far this month. I lost a few people who were dear to me in a variety of ways. I’m ready for this month to be over, to feel like I am starting something fresh, but there are still 11 more days left!

Ok, complaining aside, and trying to be positive, maybe the next 11 will be better.

Now to bring on the carbs! Once I got back from my trip home to Newfoundland for my grandmothers funeral, all I could think about was eating sweets. When I am down I want cake and cookies! If I am hungry at all. And so that’s what I made.

First off I made these coconut almond travel cakes. They aren’t madeleines, they are just baked in a madeleine pan. They are more like a coconut cake doughnut. I made these as little travel cakes for my mother to pack in her carry on luggage, just in case her flight got delayed on the way to my uncles funeral. The recipe makes 15 or so, we’ve been eating the extras here for a couple of days with strong cups of coffee.

Recipe:
wet ingredients:
3/4 cup coconut milk,
1/2 tsp natural almond extract,
1 tsp pure vanilla extract,
2 eggs,
1/2 cup light oil

dry ingredients:
1/3 cup medium unsweetened coconut,
1/3 cup sliced almonds,
1 1/2 tsp baking powder,
1/4 tsp fine sea salt,
2 cups flour,
1 cup of sugar

To make the glaze you’ll need at least a couple of cups of icing sugar, and a little more coconut milk (there will be some left over if you open a can to make the batter). You will also need extra medium unsweetened coconut to coat the cookies.

Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. Grease all the crevices of the madeleine pan with butter, and dust with flour.

Whisk up the wet mixture, beginning with the eggs. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Pour the liquid into the flour mix and gently stir together just until mixed.

Put a large spoonful in each shell form. Bake until set in the middle, about 15 - 20 minutes.

Glaze: Mix a little coconut milk and confectioners sugar until it is thick and syrupy. Dip the cookies in the glaze. Let the excess drip off, then roll them in coconut. Set them aside on a plate to firm up.

These stay tasty for a few days.

 

This is a great candy to make and give as Christmas gifts, since it keeps for a month it is a great option for mailing to family and friends abroad. Try packing it in cute tins with muffin or bonbon liners. You can also stamp it with small cutters or press little candies into the top. It makes a great gift paired nuts, the combination of the sweet, smooth fudge and the salty crunch of festive nut mix is really fantastic.

Holiday fudge is easy to make, but it does require patience and preparedness. Have a candy thermometer, oven mitts, and pan lined with parchment paper all ready to go next to you when you begin. Once you start heating up the candy you won’t be able to walk away from the pan, as it requires constant attention on stirring.

Chocolate versions require more stirring than brown sugar, since the addition of chocolate makes it more like to burn, but it is well worth the added care and attention. The chocolate version benefits from being beaten with a hand mixer at low speed for the entire cooking time.

Double batches work fine, but take longer to cook from start to finish.

The brown sugar recipe is from a lovely book called “A green guide to traditional country foods” by Henrietta Green.  It’s that great recipe that got me on this fudge kick. Here is a link to the book if you are interested in checking it out.

Chocolate Fudge with a Hint of Mint:

150g chocolate (white, milk or dark)
5/8th of a cup of whipping cream
1 can (300ml) sweetened condensed milk
2 cups brown sugar (400g) (or white for white chocolate)
1 stick of unsalted butter (113g)
1 1/4 tsp mint extract (optional, added after cooking)

Old Fashioned Brown Sugar:

1 can (300ml) sweetened condensed milk
5/8th of a cup milk or cream
2 1/4 cups brown sugar (450g)
1 stick of butter

Method: Put all of your ingredients (except the mint extract) together in a heavy bottom saucepan. If you are making the chocolate version, ensure that the chocolate is chopped into small pieces.  Double check that you have everything you need on hand, crank some tunes and get ready to stir, stir, stir.

Turn it on very low heat and stir gently until all of the ingredients have melted together, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides.

Once it has melted, turn it up to low-med heat. I turn it to halfway between the two on my burner. You can turn it up a little higher if you are making the brown sugar version, but if you do that with the chocolate it is likely to burn (you will see little brown specks start to rise to the surface, if this happens, take it off the heat immediately and beat it hard. Turn the heat down, and place it back on the heat. A few little specks will make it taste like caramel, but if it burns too much and the fudge will be ruined, so be careful).

Let it cook while stirring or beating it, until it slowly comes up to 240F on a candy thermometer. As soon as it reaches that temperature take it off the burner, and beat it hard and fast. If you are making chocolate, don’t stop beating it or it will still scorch. Beat it 5 -10 minutes, until it starts to get a tad bit lighter and less shiny, you will see that it is becoming thicker and more grainy. Add the mint extract. Ripples will begin to from in the surface and meld back in, at this point it is ready to be quickly scraped into the prepared pan.

It helps to have a partner put on oven mitts and hold the sauce pan for you as you scrape, especially if you are making a double batch, because it’s heavy, hot, and you must work fast. Make sure to put a trivet or tea towel under the parchment lined pan receiving the candy, because it will get quite hot once it is filled. It will take some time to cool and set, and the pan will stay hot for a while, so leave it be in a safe spot. Soon enough you will have smooth, creamy fudge.

Like this:

This fudge is addictive, so I advise you to have your tins all ready to go and mail it quick. If not you will eat it. Trust me.

 

I wouldn’t say these butter cookies lack anything without the filling. They have a hint of lemon, vanilla and spice which is well matched with the cranberry.

However, the flavours affinities of the cranberry cookie, and the almond, maple and white chocolate filling make this a very special little sandwich cookie.

Cranberry Cookie Dough:

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) (227g)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
1 egg yolk (large egg)
3/4 tsp natural lemon extract
1/2 tsp pure vanilla
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cardamom
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups of all purpose flour (250g)
1/2 cup of chopped frozen cranberries (50g)

Beat the butter and the sugar together at medium speed, for for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. If you don’t have electric mixer whisk them together by hand until creamy.

Mix in the yolk until well combined, followed by the flavourings, spices and salt.

Gently stir in the flour, when it is nearly combined toss in the cranberries and stir until it forms a ball.

Turn out the dough onto a large piece of parchment paper resting on a large cutting board. Knead once or twice if there is any stray floury bits, just until it is uniform. Pat it into a flat disk. Place another large piece of parchment paper on top and roll the dough out into a large sheet 1/2 cm or less in depth. Carefully place the cutting board and dough in the fridge to chill for 20-30 minutes (parchment paper slides around, so be careful when moving the board). Once it has chilled it will be much easier to cut out your cookies. You can re-roll the scraps and repeat the chilling and cutting process.

Bake at 350f until golden brown around the edges.

While the cookies are baking mix up the almond mixture and roll it out on parchment paper as well. Then cut pieces with the same cutter as you used for the cookies. Don’t worry if it tears or breaks, it can be patted back together easily.

Assemble these cookies as soon as they have cooled just enough to move them (they are most fragile when fresh from the oven). They should still be warm. Place a piece or two of chocolate on top and let the heat of the cookie soften it, once it melts, gently spread it out. (You can melt your chocolate and then spread it on the cookie, I just find this method a little faster). Cover it with a piece of almond filling, then place another cookie on top. Voila.

Almond Filling:

1 package (100g) approximately 1 cup of ground almonds
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp light oil

Stir together until it forms a uniform ball. It may look a bit dry at first, but it should come together. Gently knead it a few times if necessary.

White Chocolate:

I used “Just Us” fair trade white chocolate, it looks quite a bit darker than your average white chocolate, the store bought kind anyway. It has a flavour reminiscent of caramel or butterscotch. I recommend this kind of chocolate for the recipe if you can get it, but any good quality white chocolate will work. Lindt is another good one, although it is a lot lighter and milkier tasting than the “Just Us”, so it will give slightly different results to the overall flavour. It will still be delicious.

They are best served at room temperature. They look very pretty served on pink paper muffin liners.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Last night was starry. As soon as I walked outside I delightfully exclaimed “Woah, stars!” . The skies seemed unsually clear here over Halifax, Nova Scotia. Often times it clouds over as the day cools down here on the coast, but last night was just dreamy. (Well, technically this was taken very early in the morning on the way back from a party with Omar and Dan.)

Here I am at my computer listening to tunes and looking at some images that were on my camera from Saturday. I was on my way to have sushi with some friends when I spotted this Rainbow over Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Rainbows are pretty, and therefore worth sharing. Sometimes the good ones are majestic.

]]> http://wildish.kelly-day.com/http:/wildish.kelly-day.com/2011/09/13/rainbows-and-japanese-pop/feed/ http://wildish.kelly-day.com/http:/wildish.kelly-day.com/2011/09/05/rose-garden/ http://wildish.kelly-day.com/http:/wildish.kelly-day.com/2011/09/05/rose-garden/#comments Mon, 05 Sep 2011 16:01:19 +0000 Kelly Day http://wildish.kelly-day.com/?p=4358 Roses blooming in my garden inspired me to make a new design series of rose inspired textile pins and pendants. I use colour fast, high quality cotton DMC embroidery floss, glass beads and freshwater pearls or gems to make these dainty, handmade accessories.

I will have new photos posted and items listed on Etsy shortly, this is basically a quick sneak peek. The rose above measures just a little over an inch in diameter, but they will be available in larger sizes as well.

This new rose design can be custom ordered as well, so get in touch if you want one to match your favourite dress, to compliment your hair colour, even to match your wedding colours.

The floss is numbered and available throughout the States and Canada, so you can go have a look at the shades available at your local craft store, then you can let me know which ones match and I can pick up the same colours here. Or you can email me some images and I can make a custom design for you. Email wildishteam@gmail.com with any questions or requests. =)

Pendants, brooches and boutonnieres that perfectly match your wedding colours can be made upon request. It may take several weeks to fill large custom orders, so please keep that in mind if you need them for a wedding.

Bold claims I know, what can I say, I like to bring it.

Since I’ve had the cookbook on my mind, I’ve become kind of obsessive about doughnuts. I’ve been reading, dreaming, making and eating doughnuts whenever I have a some spare time.

Yesterday Omar and I went to peruse the library, I was in search of baking and doughnut books to pore over for the most part.

On the way there we stopped for coffee, and in the baking case was an “old fashioned doughnut” that didn’t look too bad (I am usually skeptical of mass produced baked goods). It looked like a sour cream cake doughnut, so we decided to split it. It tasted pretty good, but not tangy or buttery enough for my liking. So now I need to whip up a good recipe for that as well.

Now I am fascinated by the differences in their bread or cake like textures, the physics and chemistry of what make a doughnut a doughnut. I also find myself just as interested in the many different doughnut recipes and traditions that exist all around the world.

So basically, get ready to hear about doughnuts for a while. I can’t shut up about them.

I also don’t recommend you eat as many doughnuts as I do over the next month or so, remember I have to do this for book research. =P

This time around I made honey dips, cinnamon sugar spice and lemon glaze doughnuts. Mmmmmmm…

I have to say, all the taste testers agreed that there is something really pleasing about a lightly sugared doughnut. The cinnamon sugar spice was classic and delicious. I never get tired of it and neither does anyone else it seems. I think this was Dan’s fav’.

The honey dip. At first I wasn’t sure if it needed a thicker glaze, but it turned out to be a favourite of some taste testers because it was very close to a butter cake doughnut, but with a thin and very subtle honey glaze which soaked into the crust. The local honey here in nova scotia has great flavour.

Finally I made a simple lemon glaze with fresh lemon zest and juice. This one was lemony, tangy, sweet paired with classic butter doughnut. Someone said delightful. I tend to agree.

Lemon + Butter = delight. That’s an easy one.

This morning I am blogging (and listening to Liszt’s Liebestraume), but later on this afternoon I am on to making my next batch and a few new flavours. I’ll post more on doughnuts and how to make them at home very soon.

And I might just post some more pictures of my lazy cats with doughnuts, like this one with Mango the orange tabby in the background. He likes doughnuts too. I know because he growls at me if I don’t let him taste them. Really drawn out kitty growls. He’s got a bad attitude. <3

 

I am currently enjoying the process of making doughnuts.For my most recent attempt I used this recipe, but omited the shortening and used unsalted butter instead. I dislike the flavour of shortening, personally.

I whipped up these cinnamon sugar beauties last night and enjoyed a few with coffee this morning. They are addictive, which could be dangerous. I made them smaller than the usual doughnut shop varieties to keep myself from over indulging.

I used my smallest biscuit cutter and pinched the very center to create a hole. Then It was gently stretched into the shape of a mini doughnut, once it doubled in size it was about the size of a small doughnut. They cooked through beautifully when I fried them as well.

Fry on low-med heat, being careful and efficient around the hot oil. It gets very hot quickly, so make sure any tools you need are all ready to go before you start heating the oil. Never leave cooking oil unattended. You can put a small piece of the dough in the oil to indicate when you should begin frying, once it starts to brown you should remove it and put in your doughnuts. Fry until each side is golden.

I also didn’t bother with the glaze since I planned on sugaring them with cinnamon sugar. To do this, once the doughnuts have been dried a bit on paper towel, but while they are still quite warm, dip them in a simple cinnamon sugar mixture.

 

On Tuesday, my dear friend Paulette and I went for coffee at Juliens pastry shop, followed by a walk at Fleming park. It was my first time visiting the park and I thought it was lovely. There were many mossy boulders which reminded me of Japanese stone gardens and long dry riverbeds.

We also saw some fascinating insects. We thought they were dragonflies with peacock green iridescent bodies and soot black wings, which mimicked those of a moth or butterfly.

Their moth like wings beat gracefully as they swirled around each other in the air, performing spiraling mating dances.  Other times they looked more like dragonflies, while sunning their long gilt bodies on the stones in the stream.

Thanks to the internet now I know they are actually Ebony Jewelwing Damselflies, which are related to dragonflies. These pretty, beneficial bugs eat mosquitoes and are harmless to people.