Chocolate Love Muffins

Happy (almost) Valentine's Day!

Whether you're making these for your loved one, friends or just for yourself, they are sure to make anyone's Valentine's Day sweet.

I have actually made these muffins a few times without any Hallmark excuse, but adding the dusted heart on top gave it the cute factor for this holiday.

While I was in London over the Christmas holidays, I made it over to Ladurée in Piccadilly for some of those macaroons I've been craving all year. I also picked up a beautiful box of their cocoa powder and I finally got to use it for the first time in this recipe. Good quality cocoa powder really does make a world of difference.
Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins (makes 12)
(Adapted from Feast by Nigella Lawson)

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup + 2 teaspoons vegetable oil (I used melted butter)
  
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

My lovely Ladurée cocoa!

Preheat the oven to 400F

Measure out all the dry ingredients into a large bowl.

In another bowl measure out all the liquid ingredients.

Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix together.

Mix in the chocolate chips.

Line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper cups.

Spoon the muffin batter evenly into each paper cup.

Bake in the oven at 400F for 20 minutes.

Allow the muffins to cool on a rack.

To create the hearts on top of the muffins, place a heart shaped stencil on top of a muffin and lightly dust with powdered sugar. Remove the stencil carefully and repeat with each muffin.

Venetian Rainbow Cookies

Another Italian tradition from my fiancé's family and a definite favorite of mine. My mother-in-law to be is pretty much the master of these little cookies and makes them every Christmas.

The cookies have been given many different names such as Venetians, Italian rainbow cookies, seven layer cookies, etc. I've always known them as Venetians.

There are three almond cake layers in the cookies, which are tri-colored: green, white and red to represent the Italian flag, although the red tends to be more pinkish. In between each layer is a spread of raspberry jam. Some recipes call for apricot jam, but I'm sticking with my mother-in-law's recipe as it never fails to amaze. The topping of chocolate really finishes these little cookies off beautifully and when they're all cut into little squares, you are left with the most perfect Christmas cookies. One bite of these and you will be hooked forever!

• 1 can (8 ounces ) Almond paste (I make my own, see recipe below)
  
• 1 & 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks) softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 eggs, separated
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 10 drops green food coloring
• 8 drops red food coloring
• 1 jar (12 ounces) red raspberry preserves (seedless)
  
• 2 squares of semisweet chocolate or use semisweet chocolate chips

Almond Paste: (makes enough for 2 batches of cookies)

• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 cups blanched almonds
• 1 cup sugar

Grind the almonds until you have a fine almond flour.
Add all three ingredients to a blender and blend until combined well and smooth.
Store in the refrigerator in an air-tight tub.

Grease three 13/9/2 " pans and line with waxed paper and grease again.

In large bowl add the almond paste, butter, sugar, egg yolks, and almond extract.
Beat until fluffy with an electric mixer for 5 minutes.

Beat in the flour and salt.

Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form in a small bowl.

Stir the egg whites into the almond mixture with a folding motion.

Remove 1-1/2 cups of batter and spread into the first prepared pan.

Remove another 1-1/2 cups of batter, add green food coloring and spread into the second pan.

Add red food coloring to the remainder of the batter and spread into the third pan.

Bake at 350F for 15 minutes, or just until edges are golden brown.

The cakes should be 1/4 inch thick.

cool on wire racks.

Place the green layer on the back of a foil covered cookie sheet.

Heat the raspberry preserves (strain if there is seeds) and spread 1/2 of the warm preserves on the green layer.

Slide on the yellow layer and spread the reminder of the preserves on top.

Slide on the red layer and cover with plastic wrap.

Store in the fridge overnight with a weight on top. (such as a cutting board)

Melt the chocolate and spread a thin layer over the top.

Allow to dry for 30 minutes and then cut into 1" square pieces.

Italian Anise Cookies

Merry Christmas everyone!

For the past five years I've had these cookies at my fiancé's family Christmas. It is an Italian tradition that has been in their family for years and they are truly fantastic.

This Christmas, as we will be at my family's place, I thought it would be lovely to make them. My family Christmases are usually very British: Christmas puddings, mince pies, etc.

These Italian cookies have a subtle yet soft anise flavor complimented by the sweetness of vanilla. They really do brighten up a Christmas or New Year dessert spread and are a perfect treat with coffee after a wonderful dinner. The cookies came out much bigger than I wanted them to be in my first batch. Unless you want them to be big cookies, make sure you roll them into little balls, no bigger than the size of a walnut.

I've made a huge batch of these for the holidays!

Italian Anise Cookies:
(makes about 30 cookies)

• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups flour
• 3/4 Cup Butter or shortening
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• pinch salt
• 1-3 tablespoons milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoon anise extract

Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time and whisk.

Add the vanilla extract and anise extract.

Sift in the flour and baking powder.

Add a little milk at a time until you have a smooth dough.

Roll the dough into walnut sized balls and place on a a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 375F for 12-15 minutes.
Do not let them brown.

Allow to cool on a rack.

Ice the cookies by mixing powdered sugar and milk together until quite thick and add 1\2 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon anise extract.

Drizzle over the cooled cookies and sprinkle with colored balls.

Mini Star-Topped Mince Pies

This is truly the most traditional food of the British Christmas season. We all know Christmas is upon us when mince pies are being stocked in every store around.

You really can buy the most perfectly delicious mince pies, there are so many different brands, but you absolutely cannot beat warm mince pies fresh out of the oven. The buttery sweet, slightly spicy and fruity aroma it leaves around your house is honestly the best thing about Christmas.

These festive pies have always been a tradition in my life; Christmas Eve wouldn't be right without a beautifully lit tree, a fun holiday movie and a tray of mince pies to share. As a child a mince pie and a glass of milk were always left out on Christmas Eve for Santa Claus.

These Mini Mince Pies have become my very favorite. They're bite size and can easily be popped in your mouth in one go. The more you eat the merrier!

I did not make my own mincemeat, If you buy a really good jar of mincemeat you aren't really missing out on anything. Of course many prefer to make their own but with the absolute stress and rush in this holiday season, its always nice to come home and know that freshly baked mince pies are just minutes away (make lots of pie dough ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze like I do).

Star-topped Mince Pies: (Adapted from Nigella Christmas by Nigella Lawson)
(Makes 36)

• 1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 5 tablespoons vegetable shortening, such as Crisco
• ½ stick (4 tablespoons) cold butter
• Juice of 1 orange
• Pinch of salt
• Approximately 2/3 cup mincemeat

You will need a mini-muffin pan, a 2¼ inch round cookie cutter and a 1¾ inch star cookie cutter.

To make the pie dough, measure out the flour in a bowl.
Add the butter and shortening and rub the fat and flour between your fingers until you are left with crumbs
(or pulse in a food processor).

Add the orange juice to this as well as the salt and combine together.

Turn the dough out on a floured surface and knead it together well.

Cut the dough into about 3 batches, cover each with cling film and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 425F

Take out each batch and roll each into discs and cut out circles and stars per mold.

Press the circles gently into the molds of the mini muffin tins.

Add about a teaspoon of mince meat mixture into each mold and then top it with a star.

Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 425F until golden and bubbling.

Allow the pies to cool on a wire rack, although they are just perfect straight out of the oven.

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Happy Holidays!
The tree is up and I'm playing annoyingly great jingly tunes. So what's next? Time to get into some serious Christmas baking. I'm still eating cranberry bread, its so nice this time of year and I'm hoping to squeeze in a lot of other festive treats on here before I fly to Edinburgh for Christmas.

I've pretty much been waiting all year to make these and I couldn't wait any longer! These little cakes just scream Christmas, they're so festive.

The cake is extremely moist and tender with a subtle cocoa flavor and the vanilla filling is very creamy and delicious. I know the majority of whoopie pies either have a cream cheese or marshmallow filling but this frosting definitely plays its part as a perfect creamy center.

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies:
(makes 15 whoopie pies)

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
  
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder (unsweetened)
• baking soda
• 1/8th teaspoon salt
• 2-3 teaspoons red food coloring

Filling:
(makes 1 cup)

• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 2 cups confectioners sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• pinch salt

Pre-heat oven to 375F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

In a large bowl cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla extract.

Whisk in the egg and salt until smooth and then mix in the buttermilk.

Sift in the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda.

Then add the red food coloring and mix to combine evenly.

Evenly scoop out teaspoons of the mixture on to the lined baking tray separating each at least an inch apart.
(for 2 inch whoopie pies)

Bake in the middle of the oven at 375F for 7-9 minutes
(you will have to do this in batches).

Allow the little cakes to cool on a rack.

To make the filling, whisk together the butter, milk, vanilla and salt then slowly add the confectioners sugar while whisking until you have a smooth frosting.

Place a heaped teaspoon of the filling on the underside of 1/2 the cake circles and place the other 1/2 of the cakes on top to sandwich.

Pecan Pie

Pecan pie is such a classic dessert that is usually so poorly made these days. It is a humble pie with very simple flavors and when you have simplicity like this, it is important for the quality of the ingredients to be really good, allowing the wonderful flavors in this delicious pie to come through.

I've noticed that a lot of pecan pies are made using corn syrup, which I really don't like. I don't think it does anything to help the beautiful flavors or aromas that a pecan pie should have and you are left with something quite sickly. Maple pecan pies can be really good and I would always choose maple syrup over corn syrup of course. I didn't want to use maple for this pie as I was aiming for a great classic pecan pie.

There are a few twists in this recipe, I did everything I could to achieve a classically tasting pecan pie using good ingredients. It's not too horribly sweet or overwhelming allowing the pecans to dominate the flavors.

I really loved the way the pie filling came out, it was exactly what I was hoping for. Not too horribly sweet or overwhelming. You can pick out a lot of the individual flavors in each bite along with the lovely pecan flavors. This pie just melts in your mouth.

Happy Thanksgiving! :)

Pecan Pie: (A Bowl Of Mush recipe)
Makes one 9" pie

• 1 par-baked pie crust (9")
  

• 1 cup halved pecans
• 3 tablespoons butter (softened)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons golden syrup
• 2 teaspoons molasses
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (good quality)
  
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon orange zest
• 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon whole milk
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon finely grated dark chocolate ( I used Valrhona 85%)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
  
• pinch of nutmeg
• pinch of cinnamon

Prepare the pie crust and par-bake

Pre-heat the oven to 350F

Toast the pecan half's on a baking sheet for 7 minutes

Set aside to cool

Set the oven to 400F

In a large bowl cream together the butter and brown sugar.

Add the golden syrup, molasses and vanilla extract and begin to whisk.

Whisk in the eggs and milk.

Then add the orange zest, grated chocolate, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and all-purpose flour.

Whisk very well to combine and then add the toasted pecans.

Pour the mixture into the par-baked pie crust

Bake in the oven at 400F for 5 minutes then turn it down to 325F and bake for 45-50 minutes.

The pie should still jiggle slightly but a knife should come out clean when pierced.

Chocolate Walnut Biscotti

The plan for this week's post was to make traditional Italian biscotti, but after finding that I had no anise flavoring, I decided to make chocolate biscotti and make the traditional one another time.

I always thought that the best chocolate biscotti I ever had was the one from Meredith's Bread at the NY farmers' markets, but while their biscotti is still fantastic, I really do think this Amy's Bread recipe beats it.

The recipe Is actually chocolate and hazelnut, and I know I have a habit of replacing hazelnuts in a lot of things. It's not that I hate them, I'm just not a huge fan of them and would always prefer walnuts or almonds, especially in biscotti.

I'm just going to go ahead and say that I think it's pretty much impossible to get a better chocolate biscotti than this. I'm amazed at the perfection of this recipe.

These indulgent biscotti have just the right amount of sweetness and are beautifully studded with bits of chocolate and nuts. They would be a perfect accompaniment to the end of a Christmas or Thanksgiving meal with coffee as they are not overwhelmingly rich but hit the spot when in need of something sweet and chocolatey.

Chocolate Walnut Biscotti: (makes 24)
Adapted from The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread. (Recipe for Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti)

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened)
• 1 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup + 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder (use a really good one)
  
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 3/4 cups hazelnuts, toasted (I substituted these for Walnuts)
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 large egg for egg wash

Pre-heat oven to 350F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar using an electric whisk.

Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until fluffy and pale (1 min).

Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, coffee powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Fold this in to combine.

Then fold in the toasted nuts and chocolate chips.

Divide the dough in half and turn each one out onto a floured surface and roll each half into a log and patting down slightly to form the dough to approximately 2 inches wide by 14 inches long by 1 1/2 inches high.

Place each log on to the prepared baking sheet several inches apart.

In a small bowl mix an egg and then brush the egg wash lightly over the top of the logs.

Bake in the middle of the oven for 27 minutes, rotating the baking sheet half way through.

Remove from the oven and turn the oven down to 300F.

Allow the logs to cool for about 20 minutes before slicing them at an angle to about 3/4-inch-thick pieces.

Lay each slice back on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper leaving at least 1/2 inch of space between each.

Bake them at 300F for 5 minutes and then flip each biscotti piece over and bake on the other side for 5 minutes again.

Remove them from the oven and allow to cool fully.

Cranberry Bread

I love how festive cranberry bread looks with its beautiful red color piercing through. I feel that the inclusion of cranberries in any kind of baked good confers instant Christmassiness.

The cranberries add a wonderful tartness to the sweet orangey bread and the walnuts finish the flavors off beautifully with their nutty bite.

The way the aromas synthesize in this bread when baking is unlike anything else. It produces this heavenly seasonal scent that makes us sure that the holidays are upon us and almost brings a cheerful light into the darkness of winter.

My beautiful mother in law (to be) always makes cranberry bread for the holidays and this is the recipe that she likes to use. It was an introduction to cranberry bread for me having never tried it before and since then I have tasted a number of recipes but always come back to this one. It has always been the best cranberry bread I've ever tasted.

Make two loaves because I promise you one loaf won't last you a minute! :)

Cranberry Bread: (makes 1 loaf)
(Adapted from Ocean Spray's Classic Cranberry Nut Bread)

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup orange juice
  
• 2 tablespoons butter (softened) or vegetable oil
  
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
  
• 1 egg well beaten
• 1 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract ( my addition to the recipe)
  

Preheat the oven to 350F

Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

Chop the Cranberries and walnuts and set aside.

In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Stir in the orange juice, orange peel, egg and butter.

Then fold in the chopped cranberries and walnuts.

Spread the mixture evenly in the greased loaf pan and bake in the oven at 350F for 55 minutes.

Allow to cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes.

I like to slice this after a couple of hours, ( If I can resist) it definitely needs that time to set for neat slices.

Chocolate-nut Loaf

I keep hearing how fantastic this chocolate-nut loaf is by Pierre Hermé so I thought it was about time I tried it. I have his book Desserts in which I used his lemon cream recipe for my lemon tarts. It was spectacular; by far the best lemon cream I've had. I'm eager to learn more from this great chef.

This loaf is full of surprises; it goes against every expectation of of an everyday chocolate loaf. It bursts with flavor from the toasted nuts to the dense moist decadence of the chocolate cake, emphasized by rich chocolate chunks. I really love the sharp green color of the pistachios against the dark chocolate cake.

I have to admit, I didn’t stick to the recipe entirely. I did not add any hazelnuts; instead I opted for extra pistachios and almonds. In a way, I’m pleased with this change. The loaf was a lot nuttier in flavor than I expected and I think the strong flavor that hazelnuts give would have been too much. Of course, I’m sure others would beg to differ, so I have written the original recipe below but also mentioned where I have made changes.

Chocolate-nut Loaf:
(Adapted from Pierre Hermé's Desserts)

• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 7 tablespoons very good cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2/3 cup sugar (I added 2 extra tablespoons)
  
• 5 ounces almond paste
• 4 large eggs (at room temperature)
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts (I substituted these for more pistachios and almonds)
• 1/3 cup blanched chopped and toasted almonds
• 1/3 cup chopped pistachios
• 3 ounces good bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chunks (I used Valrhona Manjari)
• 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon butter (melted and cooled)

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Prepare an insulating layer for the cake by stacking two baking sheets, one on top of the other.

Butter a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan and set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder in a bowl and set aside.

Add the sugar and almond paste to a mixer and beat on a medium speed until they are well blended. (or use a large bowl and a hand held electric whisk)

Add the eggs one at a time beating for two minuted each time. Then turn the mixer on full speed and whisk for 8-10 minutes until the liquid has formed an emulsion that looks like mayonnaise.

Reduce the mixer to a low speed, add the milk and combine.

Sift in the flour ingredients and mix until homogeneous.

Fold in the nuts, chocolate chunks and melted butter.

Pour the cake batter into the loaf pan and bake at 350F for 60-70 minutes.

Allow to cool on a rack.
You can serve the cake at this point, although it's best to wrap in a double thickness of plastic wrap or foil and allow it to "ripen" for a day before cutting it into slices and serving.

Pfeffernüsse

Pfeffernüsse is a traditional German Christmas cookie. It is quite deeply spiced with a sweet peppery tone and perfect for the Christmas season.

There's several cookies I bake around the holidays and this is definitely one of the first that comes to mind and I've finally made it.

I can't believe I'm even mentioning Christmas, Halloween hasn't even happened yet, so I'm just thinking of these cookies as a delicious cold weather treat. The warm spices in this will certainly make you feel cozy.

These cookies are very similar to lebkuchen, although lebkuchen is much more cake like. I always bought lebkuchen and pfeffernüsse from the Christmas German market in Edinburgh every single year. This year I decided to make them myself.

It's really nice to have the smell of pfeffernüsse cookies in my house early this year. Whenever you buy these cookies, as soon as you open them the whole house permeates with its aroma, so you can just imagine the smell of them straight out of the oven.

There are so many different kinds of recipes for pfeffernüsse all requiring different ingredients. I remember the ones I always had did not really taste nutty, that was always the lebkuchen, so I didn't add nuts to this. This recipe is most similar to Martha Stewart's recipe from her cookie book, but I changed it up a lot to how I like it.
Pfeffernüsse:
(makes 24)

• 1 cup +2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• pinch of ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• pinch of ground cloves
• pinch ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon ground all spice
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/4 cup softened butter
  
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons black treacle (or molasses)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Pre-heat oven to 350F

In a bowl combine the flour, baking soda and all the spices, set aside.

In another larger bowl beat the sugar, butter and treacle together with an electric whisk until smooth.

Add the eggs, lemon zest and vanilla extract and beat again.

Then fold the flour/spice mixture into the wet mix until completely combined.

Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Form the cookie dough 2 inches apart using a mini cookie scoop.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes at 350F (you will need to do this in a few batches).

Allow to cool on a rack for at least 10 minutes.

Dip each cookie in a bowl of powdered sugar until completely coated.

Keep these in an airtight container and they will last a couple of weeks.