Christmas Wreaths

I think most people would agree with me when I say there are "grown-up" desserts and their are "kid" desserts.  If you don't spend very much time with children, then it may surprise you to know that they are rarely thrilled by a Mint Chocolate Truffle Tart, or by a Meyer lemon souffle.  In fact, they will choose white confetti cupcakes from a box every time.



With Christmas fast approaching, many of you will be attending (or hosting) parties, and if children are attending then you will surely want these on your menu.  You may even want them for those of us who never really grew up.

Now, I can enjoy a Meyer lemon souffle with the best of them, but every once in a while, I get a real kick out of a sticky, gooey kid dessert.  Something made of strange colors or shapes.  Something that rarely appears to be real food.  With a dash of vanilla and salt, this particular recipe tries to be a little adult friendly.  Although it is green and red.  

Christmas Wreaths

Adapted from my Mother's recipe and from Smitten Kitchen 

1 10-ounce bag of marshmallows 

4 ounces (1 stick) butter

6 cups cornflakes

1/4 teaspoon flaky salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

7-10 drops green food coloring

Cinnamon red hots (found at most grocery stores in the cake decorating isle)

Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Heat butter in a large pot, over medium-low heat.  Continue cooking melted butter, stirring frequently, until it begins to brown and smell nutty (about 3-5 minutes).  Be careful when browning butter, as it can easily transition from browned to burned in very little time.

When butter is browned, turn heat off and immediately add marshmallows and vanilla extract.  Stir the marshmallow mixture until fully melted (this may take a few minutes).  When the marshmallows are melted, add green food coloring until the desired shade of green is acquired.  Add cornflakes and salt, stirring until fully coated.  Let mixture cool briefly, until warm to the touch (so as not to burn your hands).

With oiled hands, shape cornflake mixture into wreath shapes (use about 1/2 to 2/3 cup of the cornflake mixture for each wreath).  Work quickly as the mixture is very sticky and will set as soon as it cools.  When cookies are shaped, press the red hots on top.  Let cool completely before serving. 

Nutmeg Maple (Sandwich) Cookies

I have a confession to make.  While normally I am the first kid at the front of the Christmas-Is-Coming line, this year, I have been taken by surprise.  It's not like I didn't see the month change to December, it's just that where "Christmas" normally lights up in my brain, I seem to have burned out a bulb or two.

In an attempt to ease myself into what is normally a holiday baking marathon, I went searching for a simple sugar cookie.  You know the kind.  The ones where you make large cookies and decorate them with sparkly sugar and icing.  They tend to be fairly basic and predictable, but in such a way that lends itself to many a family's holiday tradition.  Since this seems to be my moment for confessions, though, I must admit that I tend to find basic sugar cookies...well, a little basic boring.

In my quest for sugar cookies, I stumbled across Maple Butter Cookies from Gourmet.   Well, ever since I was a little girl and was introduced to the maple syrup snow cone (you know you want one), I have always loved maple syrup.  Coincidentally, I stumbled across a very similar recipe on Smitten Kitchen this week.  Only this time, the word "nutmeg" was added.  Now, I love nutmeg, and I find it to be a fascinating and vastly under appreciated spice.  It seems like nutmeg is always paired with cinnamon (and don't get me wrong, I love cinnamon), however, it's nice to see nutmeg stand in the spotlight every once in a while.

So of course these cookies entered the have to make it now category and I quickly forgot about the cookies I had planned to make.  And I have to say these didn't disappoint.  In fact, they are absolutely delicious, with a prominently showcased maple flavor.  They also taste fabulous days after they were baked, which I can't say about many cookies.  I was a little disappointed with the nutmeg - it wasn't quite as pronounced as I would have liked.  I think next time I would add a bit more.

To remedy the nutmeg problem in this batch, I came up with a nutmeg buttercream frosting to sandwich in between the cookies.  Yup, you heard right.  Nutmeg buttercream frosting.  I know your ears just perked up.  If you weren't convinced before, you are now reaching for a piece of paper on which to write your grocery list.

Now don't get me wrong - these cookies are lovely when left alone, but they reach a whole different level of wonderful when you turn them into sandwich cookies, with a sweet maple beginning and a spicy nutmeg finish.  And they keep very well.  So you can whip up a batch on Thursday afternoon and bring them to your Saturday evening Christmas party.  I hope you tuck these lovely little cookies into your holiday rotation.  I know they look plain, but I promise they pack a lot of flavor.  Consider them your "holiday surprise" cookie.  I don't think anyone will suspect.

Nutmeg Maple (Sandwich) Cookies
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen and Gourmet

You will probably ask me how many cookies this recipe makes.  And I will have to sheepishly tell you that I don't know.  I have a recent fascination with petite foods, and these cookies were no different.  So I ended up using very small cookie cutters (about 1 to 1 1/2 inches), and of course was able to make dozens of cookies.  I can, however, vouch for the fact that this dough holds up very well in the refrigerator as I made my cookies over the course of several days.

Cookies
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup maple syrup, Grade B (it has way more flavor than Grade A)
1 large egg yolk
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg (or 1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg)
1 1/4 teaspoons flaky salt (or 1 teaspoon table salt)

Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.  With mixer running, add egg yolk and slowly drizzle maple syrup in.  In a separate bowl, whisk flour, salt, and nutmeg together.  Add flour mixture to butter mixture, and mix on low speed until just combined.  Gather dough together (it will be in loose clumps) and tightly wrap with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for at least two hours or up to four days.

When ready to bake cookies, preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.  This dough softens quickly so work on a well-floured surface and roll out a quarter of the dough at a time, leaving the rest in the refrigerator.  Roll dough to 1/8 inch thick and cut into desired shapes.  Arrange cookies on baking sheets and bake for 8-11 minutes, until edges are lightly golden.  Transfer to wire racks to cool.  If you wish to make sandwich cookies, please proceed...

Nutmeg Buttercream Frosting
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 to 1 tablespoon cream
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Using an electric mixer (with whisk attachment if applicable), beat butter and sugar until smooth and creamy.  Add vanilla and nutmeg and continue to whisk until fully incorporated.  Add cream, 1 teaspoonful at a time, until you reach the desired consistency.

To assemble cookies, frost the back side of one cookie (cooled completely) using either an knife or small offset spatula.  Gently press a second cookie on to the frosting so that the cookies are now back-to-back.  Let frosting set before serving.  Store in an airtight container.

Whole Wheat Challah

Today, I would like to talk about bread.  I find that bread is one of those make-it-or-break-it foods that cooks either LOVE to make or are TERRIFIED to make, fleeing the scene of any recipe with the words "yeast" and "rise" in it.  Well, being of the former group, I would like to attempt to take some of the fear away for all of you in the latter group.  There seem to be a lot of misconceptions in the bread-making world, and I would like to clear a few of them up if I can.

The first misconception that I'm sure you have all heard is that of rise temperature.  Something along the lines of "bread dough MUST rise in a warm, draft-free location or else it won't rise and therefore won't work".  Does this sound familiar?  The reality is, that is simply NOT TRUE!  Bread doughs actually benefit from longer, slower, cool rises, and the longer you allow dough to retard in a cool location (like the refrigerator), the better the overall flavor will be.  Now before you run away thinking I'm nuts, trust me, it works!  This not only gives you better-tasting bread, the cool-rise method also provides you with much more flexibility in your time table.

The Windopane Test:
The gluten is developed enough that a small piece of dough can be stretched thin without breaking, to the point of seeing light shine through the dough, much like light through a window pane.

The next misconception is that dough is too sticky and should be drier.  This could very well be true, but often this leads to one of the most common errors made by the novice bread maker, which is to add too much flour, resulting in difficult dough and tough bread (believe me - I've been here).  I know it's tempting to add more flour when the dough is sticking all over your hands, but don't.  Be aware of the type of bread you are making.  For example, sandwich bread and bagel doughs tend to by dry and smooth, while rustic bread doughs like pizza dough and ciabatta dough are very soft and tacky.  If you know you are prone to adding too much flour, then either use a stand mixer with wetter doughs, or else wet your hands to make kneading easier.

The above issue is directly linked to the following: measurement accuracy.  The most accurate way to measure ingredients for bread is to weigh them.  If you have a kitchen scale, or if you were looking for an excuse to buy a kitchen scale, here it is.  Different measuring techniques provide you with drastically different measurements, often leading to a dough that is either significantly stiffer or stickier than it was supposed to be.  If you don't have a scale, though, don't worry.  Measure ingredients as best you can, and pay attention to the feel of the dough.  Look at key words in the recipe that describe the dough consistency (like satiny, tacky, soft, stiff, etc).  And if you dough feels too dry?  Add more water (start with a small amount).  Too sticky?  Add more flour by the teaspoonful.  And trust yourself (sometimes this can be the hardest part).

So perhaps Whole Wheat Challah is not the best starting example?  Well, I apologize, but it is beautiful, and oh so fun to make.  While whole wheat flour is somewhat unconventional in this form, it gives challah a wonderful complexity, while maintaining the integrity of of the egg bread flavor.  And besides, this particular recipe allows you to practice all of the above ideas.

And did I mention?  It will fill your home with the delicious smell of baking bread, which is one of the best scents just shy of baking cookies on a cold December day.  Oh, and there is one rule of bread I forgot to mention: you have to share it.  It tastes better that way.

Whole Wheat Challah
Adapted, barely from Peter Reinhart, Whole Grain Breads


Soaker
1 3/4 cups (8 ounces) whole wheat flour
3/4 cup (6 ounces) water, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix all soaker ingredients together until the flour is completely hydrated and the ingredients form a ball.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 12-24 hours.  (If it will be more than 24 hours, then place soaker in the refrigerator and remove two hours prior to use.)  The soaker will keep in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Biga
1 3/4 cups (8 ounces) unbleached bread flour
1/3 teaspoon active dry yeast (or 1/4 teaspoon rapid rise/instant yeast)
7 tablespoons (3.5 ounces) water, room temperature
1 large egg (1.65 ounces)
4 egg yolks (2 ounces)

Mix all biga ingredients together to form a ball of dough.  Note: the biga will feel very sticky.  Using wet hands, knead dough for about 2 minutes, and then let the dough rest for 5 minutes.  Wet hands and knead biga again, about 1 minute more.  Transfer biga dough to a clean bowl, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and leave in refrigerator for at least 8 hours and up to 3 days.  Like the soaker above, remove biga from refrigerator about 2 hours prior to using it in the final dough.

Final Dough
Biga (use all from day before)
Soaker (use all from day before)
7 tablespoons  (2 ounces) whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 teaspoons rapid rise/instant yeast)

3 tablespoons honey (or 1.5 tablespoons honey and 1.5 tablespoons brown sugar)

2 tablespoons (1 ounce) olive oil

Using a metal pastry scraper, chop soaker and biga into 12 smaller pieces (sprinkle with whole wheat flour to keep pieces from sticking together).  Combine biga and soaker pieces with flour, salt, yeast, honey, and olive oil.  Stir with either a spoon or with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer.  If using your hands, knead with wet hands for two minutes, or if using a stand mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium-low speed for two minutes.  Add more flour or water as kneaded until the dough is soft and slightly sticky.

Dust work surface with flour, then roll the dough in flour to coat.  Knead by hands for 3-4 minutes, incorporating as little extra flour as is needed until the dough feels soft and tacky but not sticky.  Form dough into a ball and let rest for five minutes.  Resume kneading for one minute and make any final water or flour adjustments.  The dough should pass the windowpane test (see photo above).  Form the finished dough into a ball, and place in a clean and lightly oiled bowl.  Cover loosely and let rise at room temperature until 1 1/2 times its original size (45-60 minutes).

Gently transfer dough to a clean work surface and divide into 3, 4, 5, or 6 pieces, depending on the type of braid you want to make.  Roll pieces into short ropes and let rest for 5 minutes, then roll each piece into a longer rope, about 12 inches long.  Braid ropes as you wish*.

Place the braided loaf on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and brush the loaf with egg wash (1 egg beaten with a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of water), then cover loosely and allow to rise at room temperature for 20 minutes.  Brush dough with egg wash a second time, and top with poppy seeds or sesame seeds (optional).  Allow dough to rise 15 minutes more.  At this time, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  

Place challah on the middle oven rack, reduce heat to 325 degrees F and bake for 20 minutes.  Rotate pan and bake for an additional 20 minutes.  Continue baking for an additional 10-15 minutes, until bread is a rich brown all around and sounds hollow when thumped.  Alternately, test the internal temperature, which should register 195 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.

Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool at least 1 hour before serving.

*For the life of me I can't seem to make a six-strand braided challah, so I made two three-strand braids and then twisted them together.  If anyone knows how to do this, I would love to learn.