Among my circle of friends, I’m typically the one cooking and baking (and loving it).  This weekend, my two girlfriends from Florida, Eileen and Gloriann, came to visit me to help celebrate my 40^th birthday.  To their surprise and my amusement, I put them to work to make me a birthday pie.  The recipe below is inspired by a chocolate cream pie by Hershey and it’s delicious.

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 3 cups milk, divided
• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
• ½ tsp. salt
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 9-inch pie crust, baked and cooled
• 2 cups heavy cream, whipped

Directions:

1. Combine chocolate and 2 cups milk in medium saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, just until mixture boils.  Remove from heat.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt in medium bowl.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining cup of milk and the egg yolks.  Stir the egg mixture into the sugar mixture.   Gradually add the egg and sugar mixture to the saucepan with the warm chocolate.  Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture boils, about 2 minutes.  Boil and stir 1 minute.  Remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla extract.
4. Pour the chocolate mixture into the pie crust.  Press a sheet of shrink wrap directly onto the surface of the chocolate mixture to prevent a skin from forming.  Cool for 20 minutes then refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours.
5. Top the pie with whipped cream before serving.

8 to 10 servings.

{photo by Andre Baranowski, via Saveur}

When Saveur showcased this dessert (from Brooklyn’s Marlow & Sons) on its cover, I thought I’d go mad.  Wow, what a beauty!  At a friend’s request, I made it for my New Year’s Eve dinner party and it was as delicious and it is gorgeous.

Originally published in Saveur magazine

Crust Ingredients:

• 1 1⁄2 cups flour
• 1⁄4 cup plus 1 tbsp. Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
• 10 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and softened
• 1⁄2 cup plus 2 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
• 2 egg yolks, preferably at room temperature
• 1⁄2 tsp. vanilla extract

Caramel Ingredients:

• 1 1⁄2 cups sugar
• 3 tbsp. light corn syrup
• 1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
• 6 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 6 tbsp. heavy cream
• 1 tbsp. crème fraîche

Ganache Ingredients:

• 1⁄2 cup heavy cream
• 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• Gray sea salt for garnish

Crust Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350˚.
2. Combine flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. Using a handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until mixture is pale and fluffy; mix in yolks and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients.
4. Transfer dough to a 9″ fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and press dough evenly into bottom and sides of pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Prick the tart shell all over with a fork and bake until cooked through, about 20 minutes.  Transfer to a rack and let cool.

Caramel Directions:

1. In a 1-qt. saucepan, whisk together sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 6 tbsp. water and bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer inserted into the syrup reads 340°.
2. Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter, cream, and crème fraîche (the mixture will bubble up) until smooth. Pour caramel into cooled tart shell and let cool slightly; refrigerate until firm, 4–5 hours.

Ganache Directions:

1. Bring cream to a boil in a 1-qt. saucepan over medium heat.
2. Put chocolate into a medium bowl and pour in hot cream; let sit for 1 minute, then stir slowly with a rubber spatula until smooth.
3. Pour ganache evenly over tart and refrigerate until set, 4–5 hours.
4. Sprinkle tart with sea salt, slice, and serve chilled.

Serves 8.

This is the first Christmas the family will spend without Grandma.  I’ve mentioned in past posts what an amazing cook and baker she was and that she had a huge part in my love of food.

One of the items that belonged to Grandma that I was fortunate enough to get was a small 3-section glass dish that she displayed her Christmas treats on.

I’ve made Grandma’s Chocolate and Peanut Butter Treats over the weekend and plan on proudly displaying them on the dish to my guests.

It’s one of my small contributions to keeping traditions alive.

Cheers,

Veronique

My grandma used to make my sister and me peanut butter and banana grilled sandwiches in a cast iron contraption when we were kids.  This contraption, an early version of a Panini press, had long handles that could be flipped on the stovetop until the bread was perfectly browned and gorgeous.  I miss those days and decided to sort of recreate the sandwich using my modern day Panini press and a little twist – Nutella!

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp. softened butter
• 2 slices whole wheat bread (I like oatmeal and whole wheat for this)
• 2 Tbsp. chunky peanut butter
• 1 Tbsp. Nutella
• ½ ripe banana, sliced

Directions:

1. Heat up Panini press or a grill pan over high heat.
2. Spread 1 teaspoon of butter on one side of each bread slice.
3. Spread the peanut butter on the unbuttered side of one bread slice.
4. Spread Nutella on the unbuttered side of the second bread slice then arrange the banana slices over Nutella.
5. Top the Nutella/banana slice with the peanut butter slice so that the buttered side of each bread slice is on the outside and the goodies are on the inside.
6. Place the sandwich in the Panini press and grill for 3 minutes.  Alternatively, place the sandwich on the grill pan (still on high heat) and top with the weight of multiple pans or a pan with a 2-3 pound weight in it and cook 1 1/2 minutes per sides.
7. Transfer sandwich to a cutting board and cut sandwich diagonally using a serrated knife.

1 serving.

I’m sort of picky about cookies.  Some cookies I like crispy and crunchy and some I enjoy soft and chewy.  This past weekend, I decided to combine two of my recipes to create a crispy AND chewy cookie.  My tasting panel (ten warehouse workers at my office) really liked the results.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup butterscotch chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the eggs to the butter mixture, beating well after each one, until fully combined, about 1 minute.  Add the vanilla.  With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture – do not overmix.  Add the chips and mix until just combined.
4. Line four cookie sheets (see notes) with parchment paper.  For each cookie, scoop one tablespoon of batter, place on a cookie sheet and flatten gently with the palm of your hand.  Eight cookies will fit on one each cookie sheet.
5. Bake, two sheets at a time, until golden, about 13 minutes.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheets then transfer cookies to a cooling rack and continue baking cookies using cooled cookie sheets.

Makes 32 cookies.

Notes:  Don’t have four cookie sheets?  No sweat, cookies bake two cookie sheets at-a-time, so simply bake the first two sheets of cookies and bake a second batch of two sheets once the first ones are done.  You can use 1 ½ cups of light brown sugar if you don’t have dark.  Feel free to use different chips combinations based on your preferences.  You could also replace ½ of chips with ½ cup of chopped nuts to create texture.

One of my favorite flavor combinations is salt and caramel.  These bars can be created in a snap, and can be made using store-bought caramel if time is of the essence (or if you simply cannot wait to sink your teeth into the salty, caramel, chocolaty treats).  Splurge with high-end sea salt for this recipe.

Shortbread ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Assembly ingredients:

• 1 cup homemade or store-bought caramel
• 12-ounce bag of milk chocolate chips
• ½ tsp. fleur de sel, or other coarse sea salt

Shortbread directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the flour and the salt.  Set aside for later use.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter with the paddle attachment for 1 minute.  Add the confectioners’ sugar and mix for 2 minutes, or until smooth.  Incorporate the vanilla extract.  Add the flour mixture on low speed and mix just until crumbly – do not over mix or tough shortbread will result.
4. Line a 9×13 pan with aluminum foil, allowing for extra foil to overhang on each end of the pan for easy unmolding later.  Coat the foil with cooking spray, or butter the foil well.
5. Press the dough into the pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the shortbread is just lightly browned.  Cool for about 20 minutes.

Assembly directions:

1. Spread the caramel over the cooled shortbread and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
2. While the caramel shortbread is chilling, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave for about 90 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds to ensure every chips is melted.  Pour the chocolate over the caramel layer then spread evenly using an offset spatula.
3. Put the pan back in the refrigerator to cool the chocolate slightly, about 5 minutes.  Chocolate should be cool enough so that the salt won’t “melt” into it, but soft enough that the salt is able to adhere to it. Sprinkle the fleur de sel evenly over the chocolate.
4. Unmold the shortbread by pulling the foil out of the pan using the excess foil.  Cut into 18 bars using a sharp knife.

Make 18 bars.

Notes:  I have been using LaSalamandra Dulce de Leche for a few years as it is delicious and perhaps better than any caramel I have made.  Caramel found in the produce section of most grocery stores can also be used.

Inspiration for this recipe is based on Salted Chocolate and Caramel Shortbread Bars by Barbara Kiebel of Creative Culinary.

My Niece Maude

I recently spent the weekend in my native Quebec where I got a chance to breakfast with my two young nieces.  Like their mom, my sister Josée, they love the combination of strawberries and Nutella, the chocolate hazelnut spread.

On the first morning of my weekend back home, the girls enjoyed Strawberry Nutella Treats.  On the second morning, I brought the Basic Crepe Batter I’d made the evening before and fixed Strawberry and Nutella-Stuffed Crepes.  The crepe batter is prepared in advance in a jiffy and the stuffed crepes are simple to fix for the whole family, even on busy mornings.  On this occasion, I added a few freshly-picked blueberries to the strawberries.

Ingredients:

• Basic Crepe Batter
• 4 Tbsps. butter
• 8 Tbsps. Nutella
• 1 pint of ripe strawberries, sliced
• Whipped cream (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large skillet (or crepe pan), melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat until golden.
2. Add ¼ of the crepe batter to the skillet and spread it evenly over the entire surface of the pan by tilting the skillet around.  Cook the crepe until the surface is mostly no longer wet, about 45 seconds.  Flip with a spatula and cook the second side for about 30 seconds.
3. 

   Strawberry Nutella Crepe

   Remove the crepe to a plate.  Spread 2 tablespoons of Nutella over the crepe then top with ¼ of the slices strawberries.  Roll the crepe, jellyroll-style and served with whipped cream, if using.

4. Repeat steps 1-3 for the three remaining crepes.

Makes 4 crepes.

Notes:  The batter can easily be doubled or tripled if serving more guests.  The crepes can be stuffed with any berries, and another favorite of mine is stuffing them with a combination of raspberries and blueberries.

Strawberry season’s in full force and I can’t think of anyone who loves the little red gems more than my sister, Josée.  When her and her family visited me in New Jersey last, I, of course, had bought strawberries for her.  To my delight, my two nieces have inherited her love for strawberries and here’s a quick but special treat she fixed them one morning.

Ingredients:

• 2 slices white bread (could use whole wheat)
• 2 Tbsps. Nutella, hazelnut spread
• 4 large strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced

Directions:

1. Toast the bread.
2. Spread 1 tablespoon of Nutella on each slice of toasted bread.
3. Cover each Nutella-coated toast with the slices from 2 strawberries.

Makes 2 treats.

Lately, I’m on this quick to make desserts in ramekins.  Not sure why I’m in this frame of mind, but so far, it’s worked out pretty well for my guy and my friends.  Today, the mood is towards chocolate, so I decided to make Chocolate Pots de Crème.  What’s nice about this recipe is that it serves two people, so it can be made anytime, even when company’s not around.

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2/3 cup whole milk
  • 1 vanilla bean, split (could use 1 tsp pure vanilla extract)
  • 4 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1/2 chocolate chips (milk or dark)
  • 4 egg yolks, lightly beaten

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Warm the cream, milk, vanilla bean and sugar in a small sauce pan over medium heat until barely simmering, about 3 minutes.  Remove the vanilla bean, scrape its seeds then add them to the cream mixture. Discard the vanilla bean and stir the mixture well.
3. Place the chocolate in a large heat-proof bowl.  Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate and stir until it’s melted.
4. Slowly whisk the egg yolks into the chocolate and cream.  Make sure the ingredients are completely incorporated.
5. Using a fine sieve, strain the mixture then pour into two 7-ounce ramekins.  Place the ramekins into a baking dish (I use a meatloaf pan) and pour hot water into the pan until it comes half way up the ramekins.  Be sure no hot water gets into the ramekins.
6. Bake in the oven until the mixture sets, about 35 minutes.
7. Transfer ramekins to a cookie sheet to cool for about 30 minutes.  Place a sheet of shrink wrap on the surface of each ramekin to prevent a skin from forming, then refrigerate, loosely covered with foil, until completely chilled, about an hour.
8. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or a dusting of powdered sugar..

Makes 2 servings.

Photo By Chris Absheer

This simple yet delicious cookie recipe is the brainchild of St Louis Food & Wine Chickie friend Chris Absheer (here with adorable grandson Mikey).  What could be better than cookies you can enjoy WITHOUT baking!?

Ingredients:

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Put sugar, milk, butter and cocoa powder in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Boil for one minute.
2. Remove from heat and quickly add peanut butter, oats and vanilla.  Stir well to combine the ingredients.
3. Drop the cookie batter by teaspoonfuls onto wax paper.  Let stand 30 minutes before serving.

Yields 3 dozen cookies.