Big Whoop!

This may shock anyone from the Northeast - but I'd never even heard of a Whoopie Pie until I was almost 30. I had one at a company potluck and immediately asked my colleague for the recipe, which she kindly have me - and which I filed away and never made.

Now, my colleagues at Chronicle Books are coming out with a fabulous new cookbook dedicated to these wonderful little treats. Whoopie Pies has dozens of recipes for cookie-cakes and fillings that you can mix and match in any way you like - there's even savory pies for your next cocktail party!

There's been so much talk about Whoopie Pies over the last few months that I knew I'd be making some sooner or later - and today was the sooner.

I had some leftover coffee buttercream from the cupcakes I'd made for the Help for Haiti Bakesale, and just enough of everything else to make a batch of cakey-cookies and some vanilla frosting to fill some of 'em for the boy (the child doesn't like coffee buttercream- further evidence he was switched a birth)

Max and his pal Marco helped me spoon out the batter


They baked up like little dreams - I filled some with the coffee buttercream, some with the vanilla meringue buttercream, and rolled some of the coffee ones in a mix of almonds and toffee bits.
They taste - awesome! The cookie-cakes are not too sweet, and have a wonderful texture. And unlike their trendy cousin the cupcake, you get a perfect cake to frosting ratio in every easy-to-eat bite.

I did learn a few things:

• The recipe calls for sifting the dry ingredients. I skipped that step, but shouldn't have - there were a few little clumps of flour in the cookies.
• You can spoon out the batter onto the pan, or use a pastry bag. When I make these again I'll either use a pastry bag or flatten the batter a big so the baked cakey-cookies are a little shorter and easier to eat without stretching your mouth.
• I'm usually not a huge fan of powdered sugar-based frostings, so I made a 1/2 batch of Italian Meringue Buttercream from A Field Guide to Cupcakes, which was tasty - but too soft, it squishes out the side when you bit in a little more than I'd like. Rose Levy Berenbaum's version in The Cake Bible is a firmer (if I remember right, I haven't made it for a while) and ganches, and egg yolk-or cream-cheese based frostings would work much better.

Here's Sarah Billingsley and Amy Treadwell's recipe for Mocha Whoopie Pies from their upcoming book: Whoopie Pies Dozens of Mix 'em, Match 'em, Eat 'em Up Recipes!

3 tablespoons instant espresso powder (or instant coffee)
2 tablespoons water
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk


Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl or cup, mix together the instant espresso powder and water and set aside.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper.

In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, shortening, and brown sugar on low speed until just combined. Increase the speed to medium and beat until fluffy and smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for another 2 minutes.

Add half of the flour mixture and half of the milk and beat on low until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the espresso-water mixture and the remaining flour mixture and milk and beat until completely combined.

Using a spoon, drop about 1 tablespoon of batter onto one of the prepared baking sheets and repeat, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time for about 10 minutes each, or until the cakes spring back when touched. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the cakes cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely. Fill with buttercream filing (below).

Makes about 48 two-inch cakes.

Classic Buttercream Filling

3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 to 4 tablespoons heavy (whipping) cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitting with the paddle attachment, beat together the confectioners’ sugar with the butter, starting on low and increasing to medium speed, until the mixture is crumbly, about 1 minute. Add the heavy cream, vanilla, and salt and beat on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Le Petite Gateau

It was the boy's 10th birthday this week, and being what Max calls a "cake mom" I wanted to include a special treat in his lunch. My solution? A "cake" made of Oreos covered in fondant and decorated with the candy melts that keep on giving (I've already used them for Giant Cookie and teacup Cakepops) It's a great way to use up random scraps of fondant (which keep forever in the freezer)

I have to admit this wasn't a wholly original idea - I'd seen it in an American Girl book at the Scholastic Book fair a couple of years ago and had been wanting to dry it ever since.

The best part? It fits right in Max's lunch container, and because it's fondant and candy melts, it holds up really well.


And yes, the kid got a v. unhealthy lunch of a pizzadilla, Cheez-its and a mini cake for his birthday - you only turn 10 once and you don't have to eat fresh fruits and veggies if you don't want to!

Stick It To 'Em

We had a bakesale to raise money for Habitat for Humanity at work yesterday, so I made a couple of batches of biscotti - its my go-to cookie for these kinds of things: easy & cheap (like me!) and keeps well for many days (maybe not so much like me...)

Because it's been well established that I'm a big show-off AND, I wanted to offer a great presentation that would really bring in the bucks for a fabulous organization, I packaged the cookies in these cute little bags:


The bags are little cello bags I got at the Mrs. Grossman's warehouse sale. I folded over the top a couple of times, and stapled in the center.

Then I cut a piece of pattered scrapbook-type paper into a 3.5" x 3.5"-ish square and folded it in half. I put this little "tent" over the top of the folded bag, and gave it two staples on the side.

The cute cut-out on the top is a Mrs. Grossman's Slice of Life: Homemade Cardstock Sticker. When I worked at Mrs. Grossman's, I learned that if you put a little baby powder on the back of a sticker - it takes away the stick and you can pop them off the edge - fun!

This is a short video that show other ways you can use this powdering technique for stickers:

Love, Loss and What I Baked: Tempest in a Teacup

This was circa 1995 I think, and the blurry photo above was taken with a film camera in our sunny kitchen in San Francisco.

As soon as I saw the chef on the series Cooking Secrets of the CIA making Chocolate Tea Cups with Tuile Spoons I NEW I had to make them.

What you do is melt chocolate, dip in a 3/4 blown balloon - water balloon size - and then let the chocolate harden. Once it does, you poke the balloon with a pin right near the knot and let the air slowly come out. Voila! You've got a chocolate cup. Pipe a "C"-shaped handle and attach it with melted chocolate.

Sounds easy right? It is... until....

Until you have a balloon with a weak spot or chocolate with a hot spot or a deadly combination of the two.

As my husband describes it, "There she was in the kitchen, happy as a clam dipping her balloons. I leave the room for a sec and hear a loud, 'Oh !@#$%^&*!!!!!!'. I go back into the kitchen and it looks like a chocolate crime scene."

Yes, one of my balloons POPPED a couple of inches above the bowl. It looked like a crazy person had splattered chocolate all over the place. I was cleaning chocolate for months and months. It was under the chairs, behind the shelves, on top of the fridge....

But isn't the cup the cutest thing???? I filled it with coffee mouse and topped that with whipped cream and a Tuile Spoon to our friends Beth and Scott - who not only got a yummy dessert, but a funny story.

Tuile Cookies
Recipe from: Your Place or Mine
by JEAN-CHRIST NOVELLI

Tuile means "tile" in French, and is a classic, old-fashioned cookie. The traditional shapes are usually a shaped oval (almost like a Pringle) or rolled into a "cigarette." It's fun to play around with different shapes.

Makes about 24

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar

• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

• whites of 3 eggs

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. In a bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla together. Gradually beat in the egg white, then fold in the flour until you have a smooth paste. Chill for about 2 hours.

3. Place small spoonfuls of the mixture about 4 inches apart on a nonstick baking sheet, then spread these out into rounds with a spatula.

4. Bake for about 4 minutes until the mixture is just beginning to color (keep checking).

5. Remove from the oven and leave to cool very slightly until you can handle them. Shape the rounds by draping them over the length of a rolling pin or as described below. Leave until completely cool and set, then lift off gently. you can keep the tuiles in an airtight container for up to a week.

Other Shapes:

Baskets
Depending on the size you want, drape your warm rounds of baked tuile over the top of a clean bottle or gently press them inside a tea or custard cup and leave until cool.

Stencils
Take a piece of clean cardboard and cut out the shapes you want: say, flowers or leaves. Lay the cardboard stencil on your baking sheet and spread the mixture over the top. Lift off the cardboard carefully before baking.

Bacio con Biscotti

The bad news is, I've had to give up teaching Wilton Cake Decorating classes at Michael's. I've loved meeting so many amazing women, learning new things myself, and kvelling with pride as each student has mastered buttercream roses.

The good news is, I have a new, full-time job at Chronicle Books, a fabulous local publisher of stunning books on art, design, cooking, craft, entertainment parenting, and amazing books for children. Also games, kits and fantastic stationery. I'm thrilled!

The best way I know of to make an impression (and OK, I'm not proud, kiss up) to my new co-workers is to bring in a basket of homemade bakies. So at the end of my first week, I came to the office bearing a couple of batches of biscotti.

These crunchy little cookies are not too sweet, and are cheap and easy to make. Almond Biscotti is my go-to recipe, but I only had enough for one batch. I had lots of cashews in the freezer leftover from a recent pesto project, so I threw in those with some lemon zest (love having a lemon tree in the backyard!) and pumpkin pie spice (I would have used ginger if I'd had it, but I didn't...)

Biscotti

2 eggs
¾ cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line a baking sheet with foil and grease well, or use a silpat.

Beat the eggs and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until pale, about 2 minutes.

Beat in the flour and baking soda and continue beating until blended. Mix in the
almonds.

With floured hands, form half of the dough into a 12-inch log. Place on
the baking sheet and press down to flatten to a width of about 3 inches. Repeat
with the remaining dough.

Bake the cookie loaves for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, leaving the oven
on. Let the loaves cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove them to a cutting board.

Slice each loaf diagonally with a serrated bread knife into 12 slices.

Put the slices back on the cookie sheet, laying them on their sides. Return them to
the oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Cool completely on a rack.

Cookies will keep for about a week in an airtight container, or for up to 3 months
in the freezer.

Makes 24 cookies.

Cashew Lemon Spice Variation

Add the zest of 1 lemon with the eggs and sugar
Replace the almonds with 3/4c. toasted, unsalted cashews
Add 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger or pumpkin pie spice with the flour

C is for Cookie...

... and G.C. is for GIANT COOKIE!

What do you do when the class party is tomorrow, you don't have a lot of time, and you want to maintain your rep as the mom who sends the cool treats to school? You make a GIANT COOKIE!

Writing and border by Lara, swirls by Max

All you do is bake your favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe in a 12" round cake pan. If you don't make wedding cakes you may not have a 12" round, in that case just use your biggest springform pan or two 8" rounds.

Luckily, I had Wilton Candy Melts left over from the CakePops project all ready to go in pastry bags, so it was super easy to re-melt them and decorate the top and sides.


Max told me exactly what to write and where to write it. The kid must have learned something this year because he insisted on correct punctuation as well.

GIANT COOKIE is great for show-offs like me, because it's so much easier to make than dozens of regular cookies, but makes such a big impression when you parade it around the party.