All posts tagged: dessert

Let’s Bake Maple Sugar Cookies!

Published by Kathy Hunt

As promised in the previous post, I have the perfect treat in which to feature your homemade maple sugar, maple sugar cookies! Inspired by a recent visit to Montreal, where I spied a wide range of maple-themed sweets and saw that, as rumored, Canadians adore pure maple syrup-infused foods, Canadian Maple Sugar Cookies are a delicious way to bring that sweet, earthy taste to your baking. For this recipe don’t skimp on the maple sugar or syrup. Stay away from those mass-marketed mixtures of corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup and artificial colors and ingredients. Don’t get fooled by tiny bottles of “maple extract” or “maple essence,” either. Thinking that I could punch up a traditional poundcake, I tried one of these flavorings once. Consisting of alcohol, water and “natural flavors,” the so-called extract smelled like soy sauce and tasted nothing like maple. It did not end up in my cake. If you own a maple leaf-shaped cutter, you can make your cookies even more “maple-licious” by using that. Since I have a surplus of …

Canadian Pure Maple Sugar for Maple Sugar Cookies

Published by Kathy Hunt

After a recent trip to Montreal I walked away thinking that Canadians couldn’t get enough of maple. Whether at a market, bakery, cafe or restaurant I saw such treats as maple lollipops, cookies, doughnuts, pies and cakes. At one coffee shop I even added maple sugar to my maple latte. Maple’s popularity and prevalence should surprise no one. Canada produces over 70% of the world’s pure maple syrup. Over 90% comes from the province of Quebec, where Montreal is located. Back at home pure maple sugar and syrup aren’t as easy and inexpensive to obtain. At my local farmer’s market I will pay $9 for five ounces of maple sugar. At my neighborhood grocery store I’ll fork over $12 for eight ounces of this sugar. Online it’s still fairly pricey. Plus, I have to wait for it to be delivered. Since I’ve had a sinus infection and felt unmotivated to grocery shop, I decided to make my own maple sugar and maple sugar cookies. Yeah, I felt too lousy to go out but I didn’t …

Chilled, No-Bake Rocky Road Pie

Published by Kathy Hunt

Every summer I have an intense fling with Haagen Daz’s Rocky Road ice cream. How could I not swoon over gooey marshmallows and toasted almonds swirled into semi-sweet chocolate ice cream? Talk about the perfect balance of taste and texture. This year my love affair came to an abrupt end when local markets replaced my beloved with such new Haagen Daz flavors as Honey Salted Caramel Almond and Midnight Cookies and Cream. These don’t hold a candle to my old flame. Without my standby pint in the freezer, waiting for whenever I crave a cool sweet, I’ve resorted to making chilled, no-bake rocky road pies instead. (You thought I was going to say “my own ice cream,” weren’t you? If you’re looking for an iced dessert, try my entries on mulled apple cider ice cream and queso helado.) A Depression era creation from the West Coast, the original rocky road ice cream consisted of walnuts, marshmallows and chocolate ice cream. Almonds later replaced the walnuts but otherwise the today’s recipe contains the same ingredients. Whether …

Queso helado — Binge-worthy ice cream!

Published by Kathy Hunt

Ever try a new food and think, “Oh, man! I gotta eat this every day!”? That was exactly how I felt after my first spoonful of queso helado. Prior to visiting the South American country Peru, I had never heard of this iced sweet. As soon as I arrived in the UNESCO World Heritage Site and the country’s second largest city, Arequipa, I saw it everywhere. Along with its reputation for art, literature, baroque architecture crafted from volcanic ash and the volcanoes that produced this ash, Arequipa is known as the birthplace of queso helado. In Spanish queso helado means “frozen cheese” but this creamy, cinnamon-spiced ice cream seems more like frozen heaven to me. Its deceptive name comes from its appearance. When scraped rather than scooped from a metal bowl, the slabs of ice cream resemble wedges of cheese. Don’t let looks fool you. It tastes nothing like cheese. What’s in queso helado? Unlike traditional ice cream, queso helado contains no cream. Instead it features three types of milk, sweetened condensed, evaporated and whole …

The Annual Cookbook Review: Books to Give, Get and Gobble!

Published by Kathy Hunt

Although I write and buy books and cookbooks, I am always amazed by the tremendous number published every year. Who does cookbooks? Celebrities, celebrity chefs, musicians, athletes, bloggers, restaurants, farmers’ markets . . .. The list goes on and on. With so many new books on store shelves—and seemingly more coming out each week—it’s tough to know which ones will satisfy and which will leave you hungering for something more substantial. To help separate the filets from the hot dogs, the Bordeaux from the Two-Buck-Chuck, it’s the annual cookbook review! Included this year are baking books, a cocktail guide, vegetarian, Italian, German, Mediterranean and English cuisines as well as several food writing books and a graphic novel-like book. Happy shopping, reading and cooking! The Baking Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014) If you want to learn the proper way to mix, bake and decorate a myriad of cakes, pies, tarts, cookies, breads, pastries and candy, reach for The Baking Bible. Perfect for bakers of any skill level, this comprehensive, IACP Award-winning cookbook …

Cinnamon Pie Crust Sticks Like Nana Used to Make

Published by Kathy Hunt

A few weeks ago I attended a food journalism conference where editors told the assembled writers, “No more grandmother stories.” Everybody has a grandmother. No one wants to hear about her anymore. The timing couldn’t have been stranger. Just that morning, while wandering around Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market, I came across something that I hadn’t seen or thought about in years, something that reminded me of my paternal grandmother, whom I also hadn’t seen in years and about whom I’ve never written. A relic from early childhood, they were strips of pie crust dusted in cinnamon sugar. At the Market they were called “cinnamon sugar pie fries.” When I was a little kid, they were ‘scraps of leftover pie dough that Nana had decorated with cinnamon sugar and baked.’ Now I think of them as cinnamon pie crust sticks. Unlike many food writers, I don’t have charming stories of baking with my grandmothers or mother. By the time that I was old enough to whisk eggs or roll out dough, my maternal grandmother was gone …

Perfecting Peanut Butter Pie

Published by Kathy Hunt

Growing up outside of Pittsburgh, I always assumed that peanut butter pie came from my part of the country. Every picnic my family attended and almost every restaurant where we ate offered a version of this rich sweet. Some bakers made it with a classic pie dough. They spooned the no-bake filling into the crisp crust and served the dessert at room temperature. Others lined their pie pans with graham cracker, shortbread or Oreo cookie crumbs, added the peanut butter mixture and refrigerated or froze the pie before serving. Each type—crunchy yet velvety or crumbly, hard and cold—had its diehard fans. The variations didn’t end with crust and consistency. Toppings ranged from chopped peanuts, shaved chocolate, cocoa powder or more cookie crumbs to whipped cream, chocolate glazes, or, my least favorites, overly sugary caramel, banana or strawberry sauces. No matter what differences existed, people gobbled up this dessert. In spite of my home turf’s love of this pie, Western Pennsylvanians cannot claim it as one of their own. Peanut butter pie has its roots in …

Got puff pastry and peaches? You’ve got dessert!

Published by Kathy Hunt

It’s probably no surprise that a lot of my recipe ideas come from travel. Unusual ingredients that I’ve tasted, signature dishes that I’ve tried and local recipes that I’ve acquired all influence my cooking. Although I gravitate to far flung locations, I do find inspiration closer to home. A perfect example is this spring’s obsession with puff pastry and stone fruit. A few Saturdays ago I went to Philadelphia to meet up with an old friend. Since I’d done something extraordinary and actually arrived early, I popped into a little bakery selling pastries and a small assortment of breads. What better place to kill time than in a food shop? While the almond croissants and pain au raisins looked lovely, what caught my eye were the “apricot boats,” glistening ovals of puff pastry topped with halved apricots and pearl sugar. So simple. So elegant. Why didn’t I ever think of doing that? Anything that easy and enticing I had to make. First, though, I should have a taste. So, with a box of apricot boats …

2016’s Books for Cooks

Published by Kathy Hunt

Yes, I’m squeezing in my seasonal list of books for cooks at the very last minute. This year I’ve got suggestions for readers, history lovers, bakers, spice fans, travel buffs and, of course, cooks. You won’t see any titles by social media darlings or celebrity chefs—if you read Kitchen Kat, you probably already know how to scramble an egg and you probably aren’t going to serve stuffed, roasted goat hearts at your next family gathering—but you will find a wealth of information, solid recipes and great gifts in this mix. Waste Free Kitchen Handbook by Dana Gunders (Chronicle Books, 2015) A scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, Gunders offers tips for shopping smarter, eating more of what we purchase and throwing away less food. She also provides recipes for making the most of what we have on hand; this includes dishes such as Sautéed Lettuce and Broccoli Stalk Salad. My favorite sections don’t include recipes but instead focus on portion planning, food storage and uses for leftovers and food scraps. Spend less, waste less …

Tips for Cut-Out Cookies and Austrian Cinnamon Stars

Published by Kathy Hunt

Whenever I make the gluten-free, cut-out cookies Austrian Cinnamon Stars, I think of my late father. Although he was neither an ardent cook nor baker, every holiday season he and I spent at least one night in the kitchen baking and decorating cut-out Christmas cookies. The tricks he employed to ensure beautiful holiday sweets are ones that I use to this day. If making the aforementioned Austrian cinnamon stars and any other cut-out cookies possessing a soft, sticky texture, I refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out. After mixing the ingredients for the cookie dough, I shape it into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Depending on the size and tackiness of the dough, it may need to stay in the fridge for a little longer or shorter. No matter what, it shouldn’t get cold and stiff. If it reaches that stage, it’ll be difficult to roll and cut. Another trick that my father taught me was that, to stop cookie dough …