Limoncello Balls

When I was approached by Fabrizia Spirits to promote their limoncello products, I jumped at the chance. For one thing, I love limoncello. For another, booze! And while limoncello is a fine drink all on its own (particularly after dinner, in place of dessert), it's also an excellent spirit for cooking. And for drinking while cooking.

I've tried many limoncellos in my day, and Fabrizia is among the very best. It's light, not super sweet, and very smooth. Their limoncello cream, too, is excellent, as is their blood orange limoncello. Mr Minx and I had fun tasting and re-tasting each spirit, which inspired us to create some recipes for each.

The first, using the regular limoncello, is a riff on a bourbon (or rum) ball. For the uninitiated, they are somewhat like tiny adult cakepops, minus the stick and icing. Bourbon balls can pack a real boozy wallop, but a lower-alcohol drink like the Fabrizia limoncello (27% abv) makes the end product a lot milder. And easier to eat!

Limoncello Balls
Folks who like lemon bars will love these tiny treats!

12 ounces vanilla wafers, finely crushed
1 cup ground almonds
3/4 cup powdered sugar
Scant 1/2 cup Fabrizia limoncello
2 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup
Finely ground zest of 1 lemon
1 cup powdered sugar, for dredging

Combine the cookie crumbs, almonds, and 3/4 cup powdered sugar in a bowl. Add the limoncello, corn syrup, and zest and stir well. Allow the mixture to sit for about an hour to allow the cookie crumbs to soften.

Place 1 cup of powdered sugar in a bowl.

Knead the crumb mixture a bit with your hands to ensure all ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Form small balls and roll in the bowl of powdered sugar to coat evenly.

Store completed balls in a covered container in the fridge.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. This is a paid promotion, however, all opinions are my own.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Flashback Friday - Nutty Bars

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on February 3, 2014.

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A day off work means free time to play in the kitchen! But first, I spent a few moments thumbing through a copy of Fat Witch Brownies: Brownies, Blondies, and Bars from New York's Legendary Fat Witch Bakery before deciding on the Pecan Bars.

We had about half a pound of pecan pieces in the freezer, but I opted to use half walnuts because they're less-expensive. I also didn't feel like opening the bag of light brown sugar when there was just enough dark brown sugar left to fit the bill. And...the original recipe called for rum. Mr Minx isn't the biggest rum fan in the world, so I used bourbon instead. The results were crunchy, sticky, nutty, and quite fabulous.

Make them. Now. Unless of course you have nut allergies.

Nut Bars adapted from Fat Witch Brownies

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
7 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup coarsely chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon bourbon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 3/4 cups coarsely chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease and flour a 9" x 9" baking pan.

In the bowl of a mixer, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar. Add the 7 tablespoons of butter, a few small pieces at a time, and combine until mixture is sandy. Stir in the nuts. Gently press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes.

While crust is baking, melt the 4 tablespoons of butter and allow to cool. Combine brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, bourbon, and salt in a bowl. Stir in the cooled butter. Add the egg and mix well.

Pour the filling over the baked crust. Evenly sprinkle the nuts on top. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the filling no longer wobbles when you shake the pan gently.

Allow to cool completely before cutting, about 2 hours.

Makes 12 - 16 bars.

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Gingerbread Linzer Tart

I made the original variation on this tart (with chocolate cookies and raspberry jam) 20+ years ago. I have no idea where I got the recipe, but every once in a while I pull it out and make it for dessert. It's pretty simple, and the results are delicious. Last year, I decided to tinker with the flavoring a bit. Rather than chocolate cookies and cocoa powder, I opted to use gingerbread cookies and spices. I almost made a cranberry curd for the filling, but I was stressed out and feeling lazy, so I used a jar of Polaner seedless blackberry All-Fruit. Everyone seemed to like the variation, so I thought I'd share it with you here.

A baking note: The butter tends to ooze out of the bottom of the pan, so it's a good idea to bake this on a foil-lined baking sheet. If you use a tart pan or baking dish without a removable bottom, you won't have this issue, but it will also be a little harder to cut into wedges and serve.

Gingerbread Linzer Tart

1 1/2 cups almond flour
1 1/3 cups gingerbread cookie crumbs (I used Pepperidge Farm Ginger Family cookies)
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into bits
1 whole egg
1 jar Polaner All-Fruit seedless blackberry jam, or your favorite blackberry jam
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Place ground almonds, cookie crumbs, flour, sugar, ginger, and cloves into a large bowl and mix well. Distribute the butter over the mixture and add the egg. Work the dough with your fingertips, rubbing in the butter and making a smooth dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to two hours.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Pat about 3/4 of the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the a 9" tart pan with removable bottom. Spread the jam thickly over the crust but not quite to the edges. Roll pieces of the remaining dough into strips and arrange on jam in a lattice pattern. Sprinkle on the chopped almonds.

Bake for 35 minutes. Let the pastry cool completely in the pan.

Carefully remove the sides of the pan. The crust is fairly sturdy, so this shouldn't be a problem. You can use a knife to coax the bottom off the tart, but I usually just leave it there. Place the tart on a serving plate and cut into wedges.

Serves 12.



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Quick Sticky Buns

Sometime before Christmas, I received a package of samples from Davidson's Organics. Though I had never heard of them, Davidson's has been around for 40 years already. Goes to show what I know, huh? Davidson's specializes in tea, every type, from black to green to herbal, both loose leaf and bagged. Lots of fun blends like jasmine almond with orange and tulsi red vanilla. I love tea, both to drink and to cook with, so I was especially excited to receive two of their specialty tea products, jelly and chocolate, both made with Earl Grey tea.

I sat on them for a while, trying to think of what to concoct. They also sent some holiday tea bags, so I sipped tea and thought on the matter. Then it came to me. I'd make cinnamon rolls.

Yes, I know cinnamon rolls are not the first thing one thinks of when contemplating both chocolate and tea jelly, but stay with me here. The chocolate, which is flavored with both Earl Grey tea and lavender, would go into the filling, and the jelly would be part of the glaze. And I just happened to have some puff pastry in the freezer. And yes, I do know that cinnamon rolls and sticky buns are made with an enriched yeast dough, not puff pastry, I also knew that puff pastry would work just fine and it would be much much faster.

The texture of the pastry, after baking, reminded me of the creme horns my Mom liked - flaky and crisp. The chocolate didn't melt much, so there were still nice crunchy bits of both the choc and the nuts inside. I liked the combination a lot. And the icing, made with the jelly, powdered sugar, and a bit of lemon, added another dimension of flavor, and not just another layer of sweet.

Quick Earl Grey Sticky Buns

1/2 bar Davidson's Organics Earl Grey Lavender Organic Dark Chocolate
1/2 package puff pastry
Brown sugar
Cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped nuts
2 tablespoons Davidson's Organics Earl Grey Tea Jelly
Powdered sugar
Lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Grate the chocolate and set aside.

Defrost the pastry according to package directions. Unfold sheet and go over it with a rolling pin to smooth out the creases and to enlarge the square by about 1/2 to 3/4 inch both in height and width.

Sprinkle the pastry with a thin layer of brown sugar, then shake on some cinnamon (but not too much). Add a layer of the chocolate and another of the nuts. Roll the pastry into a log, being careful not to lose too much of the filling in the process. Cut the roll in half, then cut each half into three pieces. Place pieces open-side-up on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes until browned and puffed. Set aside to cool.

Make the icing by microwaving the jelly until liquid, about 1 minute. Stir in enough powdered sugar to make a runny glaze. Flavor with a bit of the lemon juice.

When the buns are cool, drizzle with icing. Makes 6.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!



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Chocolate Coconut Parfaits

I get ideas for desserts all the time, but they're usually random things I put together on a weekend and mostly for the blog. Blogging requires attention, you see, and I'm always thinking about it. When I have to come up with a dessert for an occasion of some sort, usually a holiday, I panic a little. It's all well and good to dream up something that only Mr Minx and I are going to eat, but there's more pressure when guests are involved, even if it's family and they're (mostly) non-judgmental about what we put in front of them. But there are always diets and dietary restrictions to think of and what sort of thing will go well with the entree we've just eaten.

I liked the idea of coconut cake for a party dessert. A big ol' yellow layer cake slathered in white icing and mounds of coconut, like the lovely versions at Clementine and the Peppermill. Unfortunately, not everyone likes the texture of coconut shavings. (I'm looking at Mr Minx here.) He doesn't mind the flavor of coconut though, and had in the past suggested that I make Martha Stewart's coconut crunch cake without the macaroon layer. While I agreed that it was a good idea, I still made the cake as written three times. (He did eat it all three times, coconut shavings and all). This time, I decided to do as the poor dear said, because I wanted a flavored cake to use as layers in a mini trifle of sorts, with chocolate pudding and almonds. Sometimes you feel like a nut and all that.

Chocolate Coconut Parfaits

For coconut cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup cream of coconut
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs

For pudding:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch of salt
2 cups whole milk
1 large egg
4 ounces semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped

To assemble:
Coconut shavings
Sliced almonds

To make cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a jelly roll pan with a single piece of parchment cut to size. If you are like me, you don't have a jelly roll pan, so just use a smaller baking sheet with sides. Mine is about 9" x 11" but it's very old--YMMV. Cut parchment to size. If you're using a small sheet pan, cut two pieces.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, stir cream of coconut and vanilla.

Beat butter and coconut oil on medium-high until smooth. Slowly add sugar; beat until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium; add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each and scraping down bowl as needed. Add the cream of coconut mixture and beat until completely mixed. Stir in the flour until just combined.

If you're using a jelly roll pan, you can probably add all of the batter. You don't want it to overflow though, so if there's excess batter, put it in a muffin tin and bake it later. If you're using a smaller pan, put in about 1/3 of the batter and spread smooth. Bake a larger sheet for 20-25 minutes and a smaller sheet 13-17 minutes, until cake springs back when pressed lightly with a finger. Cool on a rack. If you're using a smaller sheet, once cool enough to handle, remove the cake from the pan with the parchment attached. Place a fresh parchment in the pan. Add 1/3 of the batter, spread smooth, and bake 13-17 minutes. You can bake a third cake, if you want, or put the remaining batter in a muffin tin, or a mini loaf cake pan.

When cakes are cool, place them face down on a cutting board large enough to hold them, or, barring that, a clean countertop. Peel off the parchment. If there's cake clinging to the parchment, just scrape it off and eat it - cook's treat.

Using the top of the glass you plan on layering the cake in, cut out at least three rounds per glass. Save the cake scraps for snacking on. Place cake circles between layers of waxed paper and store in a covered container up to overnight, until ready to use.

To make pudding: Whisk together sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch and salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, then gradually whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, and boil, whisking, until pudding is thick, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Immediately beat egg lightly in a medium heatproof bowl, then very gradually add hot pudding to the egg, whisking constantly. Whisk in chopped chocolate until smooth.

Pour pudding into a bowl with a lid or cover surface with wax paper to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate, covered, until cool, at least 2 hours.

To assemble parfaits: Place a cake round at the bottom of each of six serving glasses. Add two tablespoons of cooled pudding, a big pinch of coconut and another of almonds, then another cake round. Repeat layers, ending with a cake round. Garnish with coconut and almonds.

Serves 8.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

More is More

As they say, less is more. But sometimes more is more.

I was looking for a quick desserty-type thing to whip up on the weekend, and found a one-pan cookie cake recipe on the Joy the Baker site. She tossed bananas, walnuts, and chocolate chips into a batter that was both stirred up and baked in a cast iron skillet. Being cast iron skillet-less myself (heresy, I know), I opted to bake my cake in an 8-inch square glass baking dish. Since the recipe called for melting butter, I decided to go a little further and make brown butter. And in addition to chocolate chips, banana, and nuts, I tossed in some Heath bits, well, because they were there. The chocolate chips and toffee bits melted a bit in the hot pot, turning this cookie cake into a cookie and candy cake. Pretty tasty!

If you don't eat it all in one go (I don't recommend doing that), store it in the fridge. The candy part will harden quite a bit when cold, If you want a chewier, cakier texture, allow your serving to come to room temperature before eating.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Almond Toffee Cookie Cake (inspired by Joy the Baker)

1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 ripe banana
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dark chocolate chunks
1/2 cup coarsely chopped almonds
1/4 cup Heath bar bits

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Melt butter in a large saucepot over medium-high heat. Cook for several minutes, stirring occasionally, until the butter ceases to make sputtering noises and begins to brown and smell nutty. Remove from heat and stir in sugar until completely combined. Mash in banana, then add the egg, stirring well. Whisk in the vanilla, then add the cinnamon, flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Stir well with a wooden spoon to incorporate all of the flour.

Fold in the chocolate, almonds, and Heath bar bits. The heat from the pot will melt the chocolate and Heath bits a bit. Pour into a greased 8x8 baking pan. Smooth top and bake for 18-20 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting into squares.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Nutty Bars

A day off work means free time to play in the kitchen! But first, I spent a few moments thumbing through a copy of Fat Witch Brownies: Brownies, Blondies, and Bars from New York's Legendary Fat Witch Bakery before deciding on the Pecan Bars.

We had about half a pound of pecan pieces in the freezer, but I opted to use half walnuts because they're less-expensive. I also didn't feel like opening the bag of light brown sugar when there was just enough dark brown sugar left to fit the bill. And...the original recipe called for rum. Mr Minx isn't the biggest rum fan in the world, so I used bourbon instead. The results were crunchy, sticky, nutty, and quite fabulous.

Make them. Now. Unless of course you have nut allergies.

Nut Bars adapted from Fat Witch Brownies

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
7 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup coarsely chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon bourbon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 3/4 cups coarsely chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease and flour a 9" x 9" baking pan.

In the bowl of a mixer, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar. Add the 7 tablespoons of butter, a few small pieces at a time, and combine until mixture is sandy. Stir in the nuts. Gently press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes.

While crust is baking, melt the 4 tablespoons of butter and allow to cool. Combine brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, bourbon, and salt in a bowl. Stir in the cooled butter. Add the egg and mix well.

Pour the filling over the baked crust. Evenly sprinkle the nuts on top. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the filling no longer wobbles when you shake the pan gently.

Allow to cool completely before cutting, about 2 hours.

Makes 12 - 16 bars.

* Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!



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Strawberry Pie and News

Back in the day, one of my favorite treats was a strawberry pie from Haussner's. A relatively simple-seeming affair of pastry cream, glazed berries, and whipped cream on a flaky crust, the pie was the perfect combination of fruity and creamy. Especially to this ten-year-old.

We ordered slices for dessert on the occasions we dined at the restaurant, but there were also special times that my Dad would bring a whole pie home. There was never any particular occasion (although he may well have been in the doghouse) but I know it was definitely a surprise that was welcome by all.

I normally opened the box and surreptitiously picked off the slices of toasted almond before anyone else had a chance to portion the pie. This resulted in a scolding from my Mother, who also liked the buttery crunch that the nuts provided. 

Haussner's closed in 1999, but I can still taste that pie. Literally, because I made one recently. And that's where the "news" portion of the title of this post comes in.

Mr Minx and I are working on a second book. This one will be called Baltimore Chef's Table, and will feature recipes from restaurants all over the Baltimore Metro area. Since there's a recipe for Haussner's strawberry pie floating around the Internet, I thought it would be fun to include it in the book - only after I made it at home and adjusted it to fit my memories.

The photo above is my result. It's not as tall as the pie from Haussner's, where they used very large berries, and the glaze isn't red and oozy (which didn't seem as appealing to me as an adult). The flavor, however, was spot on. 

If you want my variation on the recipe, you'll just have to hold on until Baltimore Chef's Table comes out in 2014. I promise there will be dozens of great recipes worth trying, and it will be worth the wait.

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Macaron Giveaway!

Who doesn't like macarons? You know, those pretty little sherbet-hued cakelets made from almond meringue and filled with jam and/or buttercream? Some might call them macaroons. I adore them and buy at least two every time I see them in a shop (one for me and one for Mr Minx, but sometimes two for me).

When the good people from Sucré, a Sweet Boutique in New Orleans asked us to give away a box of their Summer Macaron Collection, we couldn't resist - especially since they sent us a box to sample.

The Collection stars two flavors of macaron: lemon buttercream with blackberry jam infused with balsamic vinegar and cassis, and another with vanilla buttercream and peach marmalade. Both are quite lovely, but I have to say both of us here at Minxeats preferred the peach. (Perhaps because it's baseball season and they're orange, like the Orioles!) They were also packaged beautifully, with much care. Despite coming from humid New Orleans to humid Baltimore, not a cookie was broken, nor were they affected by the weather in any way. Each one was crisp and delicious.

So, if you would like to receive your own pretty box of fifteen macarons from Sucré, leave a comment on this post. Please make sure you use a valid e-mail address or leave some way for us to contact you electronically if you are the winner.

The Fine Print:

Winners must be 18 years of age or older and a resident of the 48 contiguous United States.
A valid e-mail address must be included.
Contest ends July 1, 2013.
Winner will be notified via e-mail.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats.

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Lazy Baklava

As I mentioned in my b'stilla post, I don't like messing with filo. But I loooove baklava. And homemade is almost always better than store-bought, at least in my experience. That way, you know it's fresh.

The best baklava I ever ate was made by a guy named Lou. He brought a big tray of it to Martin's Eastwind one Tuesday night when a bunch of random people got together to do country line dancing. I do believe it was all pistachio, and it definitely was all delicious.

While the following recipe can't hold a candle to Lou's baklava, it's quick and easy and turns a slice of bread or a croissant into a quick and easy facsimile of a certain nutty treat.

Baklava Spread (adapted from Elle's New England Kitchen)

1 1/2 cups toasted nuts (I used half pistachios, half walnuts)
1/2 cup honey
pinch kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse about 20 times until nuts are in small pieces but not quite a paste. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Makes 1 generous cup

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