Amaretti Cookies

Amaretti are little cookies that are light as a feather, yet have an intense sweet almond flavor. They’re airy, delicate, and oh so simple to make. The recipe takes no more than 4 minutes to put together and they bake quickly. They taste fantastic on their own, but I’ve also been known to grind them up into a powder and add it to flavor pumpkin bread in lieu of cinnamon and spices, or add them to the batter of vanilla cakes or pancakes to give it depth in flavor.

Amaretti Cookies Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 cups of almond flour -or- 3 cups of blanched slivered almonds, finely ground up
• 1 1/4 cup of baker's sugar (superfine sugar)
• 3 egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon of almond extract
• Extra sugar for dusting

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 300 F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2 In a food processor mill together the almond flour and sugar. Add the vanilla and almond extract and pulse for a few seconds. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue to process until the dough is smooth.

3 Place teaspoons of the dough on the parchment paper and dust with sugar. Bake for 24-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely before serving. They will be slightly chewy at first, but they will be nicely crispy as a day or two goes by. Store in a cool, dry place. (Note: I usually underbake mine since I like them chewy. If that's your preference, bake them for about 20-24 minutes.)

Yield: Makes about 30 cookies.

Walnut Mocha Torte

Happy Valentine’s! Here’s a special treat that would be perfect for the day of hearts: a German-style torte, a layered cake made with ground walnuts, whipped eggs, sugar and breadcrumbs, frosted with a light, mocha flavored whipping cream frosting. The recipe comes from my friend Gabriele, who has been making it as her go-to special occasion cake for her family for 30 years. The cake is almost flourless, having only 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs, and has a lovely texture from the ground walnuts and whipped eggs. To make the mocha frosting, you start with a base of strong coffee (I use decaf and double the amount of coffee I would normally use for drinking), sugar, some cornstarch, and a few chocolate chips. These ingredients are simmered until thick, then cooled and folded in with stiffly whipped cream. The result is a light, creamy frosting with a lovely chocolate coffee mocha flavor.

Walnut Mocha Torte Recipe

• Prep time: 25 minutes
• Cook time: 1 hour

To get started on this recipe, the first things you should do are to make the coffee for the frosting and to separate the eggs for the cake batter. Eggs will separate better when they are cold, right out of the refrigerator, but will whip up better if they are at room temp. So separate them first, and then prep the rest of the ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

Cake:

• 6 eggs
• 1 cup (200 g) white granulated sugar (divided into 3/4 cup and 1/4 cup)
• 1 cup (120 g) finely ground walnuts (from about 1 1/3 cup of shelled walnuts)
• 1/2 cup (55 g) fine dry bread crumbs (plain, unseasoned)

Mocha Topping:

• 1/2 cup (100 g) white granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp corn starch
• 1 cup (8 fluid ounces, 236 ml) strong coffee (I use decaf, with twice the amount of coffee for the liquid as I would usually use to drink)
• 1 ounce (30 g) of chocolate chips (a little less than 1/4 of a cup)
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup (8 fluid ounces, 236 ml) heavy whipping cream

METHOD

1 Separate the eggs, into yolks and whites (see How to Separate Eggs).  Take care to make sure there are no pieces of shell or egg yolk in the whites, and that the bowl you are using to contain them is completely clean with no residue of fat. Any fat from yolks or oil will make it difficult to beat the egg whites.

2 Prepare two 9-inch cake pans. Line the pans with parchment paper or wax paper. Lightly butter the sides of the pans (not the paper).

3 Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Mix together the ground walnuts and the bread crumbs in a small bowl and set aside.

 

4 Place the egg yolks into a mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Slowly add  3/4 cup of white sugar and continue to beat the egg yolks until thick and pale. (I use a hand mixer for this.)

 

5 Using a stand mixer, beat the egg whites with the whisk attachment until foamy.  Slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup of white sugar, and beat until soft peaks form.

 

6 With a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture, alternately with the walnut mixture.

7 Spoon the batter into the prepared, parchment-layered cake pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 350°F (175°C) until a slight imprint remains when touched.

  

8 While the cake is cooking prepare the mocha frosting base. Place 1/2 cup of white sugar and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch into a saucepan. Turn the heat onto medium and gradually stir in the coffee and the chocolate chips.  Stir continuously until the mixture starts to simmer and thicken quite substantially. Continue to stir while the mixture simmers for 1 minute. Then remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract until well blended.  Let cool completely. (You will incorporate this mocha base into whipped cream when you frost the cake.)

 

9 Remove the cakes from oven and cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Run a dull knife around the edges of the cakes to separate it from the sides of the pans. Carefully invert the cakes onto a rack. Carefully peel back and discard the parchment or wax paper. Let cool completely. Note that if you want to make ahead, you can cook the cakes first, let cool to room temp, wrap with plastic wrap, and freeze until you are ready to frost and serve.

 

10 Complete the frosting. Whip the cream until it is rather thick, just before that point to which if you kept on whipping it would turn to butter. This will help it hold up as a frosting. Once whipped, fold the whipped cream and mocha base together. It may be a little speckled, and if you fold it only lightly, you can have almost a marbling effect of light and dark with the frosting, if you wish.  Place one cake on a serving platter. Frost the top. Place the second cake on top of it, and frost the top and sides of the cake.  Serve immediately, or keep chilled until serving.

Yield: Makes 12 servings.

Cheese Fondue

Being a quintessential Swiss dish, cheese fondue conjures up images for me of alpine ski huts, deep snow and 20°F weather. Well, we don’t get much snow or cold weather in the California central valley, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy a good fondue party.

The combination of cheese and wine is delicious but also savvy. The wine contributes two essential ingredients for a smooth sauce: water, which keeps the casein proteins most and dilute, and tartaric acid, which pulls the cross-linking calcium off of the casein proteins and binds tightly to it, leaving them glueless and happily separate. (Alcohol has nothing to do with fondue stability.) The citric acid in lemon juice will do the same thing. If it’s not too far gone, you can sometimes rescue a tightening cheese sauce with a squeeze of lemon juice or a splash of white wine.

Cheese Fondue Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 pound Swiss-style cheese such as Jarlsberg or Emmenthaler, shredded
• 1/2 pound Gruyere cheese, shredded
• 2 tablespoons flour or cornstarch (use cornstarch if cooking gluten-free)
• 1 garlic clove, halved crosswise
• 1 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon kirsch (cherry brandy)
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• Assorted dipping foods such as cubed day-old French bread (skip for gluten-free version), cubed ham (skip for vegetarian option), blanched broccoli, carrots, or cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, chopped green bell peppers, peeled and chopped apples or pears

Special equipment recommended

• A fondue pot

METHOD

 
 

1 Place the shredded cheese and cornstarch in a plastic freezer bag. Seal, shake to coat the cheese with flour or cornstarch. Set aside.

2 Rub the inside of a 4-quart pot with the cut garlic, then discard. Add the wine and lemon juice to the pot, and bring to a low simmer on medium heat. Bit by bit, slowly stir the cheese into the wine. Stir constantly in a zig-zag pattern to prevent the cheese from seizing and balling up. Cook just until the cheese is melted and creamy. Do not let boil. Once the mixture is smooth, stir in kirsch, mustard and nutmeg.

3 Transfer the cheese to a fondue serving pot, set over a low flame to keep warm. If your pot is thin-bottomed, a lit candle will probably do. If thick-bottomed, you can use a small Sterno.

4 Arrange various dipping foods around the fondue pot. (A lazy Suzan works great for this.)

To eat, spear dipping foods with fondue forks or small forks. Dip to coat with the cheese, and eat.

Serves 4.

Rose Petal Flan

 

Rose Petal Flan Recipe

 

Ingredients

Topping:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp water

Custard

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon rose water*

Special items needed

• 4 6-ounce ramekins

*Rose water can be found in Mediterranean markets and also Whole Foods in the baking department. According to the Doña Tomàs book you can also make your own by boiling a cup of rose petals (fresh from a garden, not store-bought, no pesticides, no fungicides) in a cup of water with a tablespoon of honey, for 10 minutes. Let steep overnight and then strain. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Method

1 Have your ramekins ready, near the stove. When you pour out the caramelized sugar you will want to work fast. Place the sugar and water in a small, thick-bottomed saucepan. Heat on medium heat. As the sugar beings to melt, gently stir with a wooden spoon to break up unmelted lumps. Once the sugar has melted it will begin to turn golden and then darker brown. As soon as it turns a strong shade of reddish brown, remove the pan from the heat, working quickly, evenly divide the sugar between the ramekins, coating the bottom of each ramekin. Place the ramekins in a 2-inch deep baking dish.
2 Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small saucepan, on medium high heat, mix sugar and milk until the milk is warm to the touch and the sugar has completely dissolved (about 120°F). Do not let the milk boil. Remove from heat. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, egg yolks, vanilla and rose water. Temper the egg mixture with a little (about 1/4 cup) of the warm milk mixture, whisking as you add the milk. Add the egg mixture back into the pan of milk. Lower the heat to low and whisk the egg mixture in for a minute until the egg mixture is fully incorporated.

3 Pour custard mixture into the ramekins, up to about 1/4-inch from the top edge of the ramekins. Pour enough hot water into baking pan to come halfway up sides of ramekins.
4 Bake on the middle rack until centers of flans are gently set, about 45 minutes. Transfer flans to rack and cool. Chill until cold, about 2 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead.)
5 To serve, run small sharp knife around flan to loosen. Turn over onto plate. Shake gently to release flan. Carefully lift off ramekin allowing caramel syrup to run over flan. Repeat with remaining flans and serve. If you have refrigerated the flan over night and the flan won't easily release, you can heat it in the microwave for a few seconds (10-15) to loosen it.

Yield: Serves 4.

Valentine Linzer Cookies

Valentine Linzer Cookies Recipe

 

Ingredients

• 3/4 cups butter (1 1/2 sticks), room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups finely ground blanched almonds or hazelnuts
• 2 1/4 cups cake flour (can sub all purpose flour)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 6 ounces raspberry jam, or other red preserve (I used quince jelly)
• Powdered sugar

Method

1 Cream butter in a standing electric mixer with a paddle attachment. Add sugar and continue creaming. Add the egg, lemon, and vanilla and mix. Mix in the ground nuts.
2 Stir together dry ingredients in a bowl and add to mixer and blend. Form the dough into disks, wrap and chill.
3 Roll out dough between two sheets of parchment paper to 1/8-inch thickness. Put rolled dough (still between parchment paper) in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to firm up before cutting.
4 Preheat oven to 350°F.
5 Cut out the base cookie shapes. Cut out the centers of half the disks with a smaller cookie cutter shape. Re-roll scraps and repeat.
6 Bake for 12 minutes or until edges turn golden. Cool on a wire rack.


7 Heat the jam or jelly and spread the solid disks with a layer of the hot preserves. Place the top layer cookie over the bottom, pressing down lightly. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, then fill the holes with more preserves. Let set slightly before serving.
Makes 12-24 cookies, depending on the size of your cookie cutter shapes.