Kirby Cake Pops

Dagan requested chocolate Kirby cake pops for his 6th birthday. He wanted to bring them to school and share them with all of his classmates. He had become a big fan of Kirby's Epic Yarn for the Wii. It's a game where Kirby, a round pink hero is made of yarn. He carries a yarn whip with a star at the end of unravel his foes. All the levels are made of buttons, zippers, fabric and yarn. There are different environments for each level and Kirby's goal is to stitch Patchland back together. Kirby and his friend Prince Fluff can transform into all sorts of creatures and vehicles from dolphins to fire trucks to spaceships.

For cake pops recipe, see Chocolate Sprinkle Cake Pops post. To make the Kirby ones, I rolled the cake balls and then pinched the sides to form the arms. I mixed white and pink candy melts in equal amounts to make the Kirby color. As soon as I dipped them I stuck on Jelly Belly red apple jelly beans for his feet. Make sure to hold it upside down for a minute or so or they will fall off. After the cake pops were dry, I melted black candy melts and used a wooden bbq skewer to draw on his eyes and mouth. White candy melts were added on top of that after it was dry for the eye details. Pink candy melt with a little red food coloring added in were brushed on his cheeks. Once they were completely dry, I bagged them and stuck rhinestone star stickers on the bags and tied them with pink yarn. For Dagan's I added some bigger stars on the end to make Kirby's yarn whip.

Linzer Heart Cookies

I've seen linzer cookies before with their pretty heart and star cutouts filled with jewel toned jam. This winter while in Hawaii, I picked up a set of linzer cookie cutters. I was so excited to use them but kept them on the shelf through the holidays- it was a little crazy then to be trying out new recipes. With Valentine's Day coming up, I thought I'd give them a try. The set contains 7 pieces. One large round cutter that you can attach the little cutters to and the little cutters that come in flower, diamond, heart, star, circle and triangle shapes. This time I tried out the flower and heart ones. The cookies are a blend of hazelnut and almond instead of just the traditional almond. I filled them with different jams- blueberry, raspberry, and superfruit (a blend of pomegranate, acai, cherries and red grapes).

Linzer Cookies

Inspired by Oui Chef Network

Makes about 32

1/2 cup almond meal (ground almonds)

1/2 cup hazelnut meal (ground hazelnuts)

2 cups + 1 Tbsp.  all purpose flour, plus more for rolling

3/4 cup sugar

zest of 1 lemon

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

7 oz. cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 large egg

1 Tbsp. cold water

1/2 cup jam

confectioner's sugar for dusting

1. Mix almond meal, hazelnut meal, flour, sugar, lemon zest, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cloves in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter or two forks, cut the pieces of butter into the flour mixture until it resembles a coarse meal. Whisk egg and water together in a small bowl. Add to flour mixture and mix gently. The dough should stick together. If it doesn't, add water a little at a time until dough is workable. Divide dough into 2 pieces. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 2-3 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Flour a work surface. Roll the dough out to 3/16 inch thick. Cut 1/2 of the cookies with shaped holes in the middle and half without. Place on baking sheet 1 inch apart. When baking sheets are full, gather scraps into a ball and refrigerate.

3. Bake 15 minutes until edges are just starting to lightly brown. Cool on baking sheets. Transfer to wire rack. After baking sheets are cool,  reroll the scraps from the fridge, cut out and bake.

4. Place the cookies with cutouts on a piece of parchment paper. Dust with powdered sugar. Spread jam on the cookies without cutouts. Match powdered sugar tops with jam bottoms.

Kids Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

When I'm baking for the kids, I try to make treats relatively healthy. They asked for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I took a traditional oatmeal cookie recipe and made a few adjustments. I substituted about half of the white flour with wheat flour, lessened the sugar, added some applesauce in place of half of the butter, and added raisins, walnuts and cranberries. These cookies didn't last very long. It's hard to say who ate more the kids or the adults.

Kids Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes approximately 42 cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

3/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

3 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup semi sweet or dark chocolate chips

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 335 degrees F. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl or stand mixer bowl, cream butter, brown sugar and sugar in a large bowl. Mix in applesauce. Beat in eggs one at a time scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Stir in vanilla.

3. In a medium bowl whisk whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Combine flour mixture with butter mixture and mix just until blended. Stir in oats, walnuts, chocolate chips, raisins and cranberries.

4. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto baking sheet. Each sheet fits 12 cookies. Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to wire rack to finish cooling.

Mini Orange Cinnamon Buns

When we lived in San Francisco there was a famous bakery called Tartine. They were especially known for their morning buns. We went there once and waited about an hour to get in the door. I didn't get to try the morning buns that time and have always wondered what was so good about them. Their recipe was made from croissant dough. Though upon reading reviews of bloggers making them with croissant dough, I decided to make them from a buttery brioche-like dough. Bloggers said the croissant dough made their buns greasy, soggy, or that the butter leaked out of the muffin tins and burned in the bottom of the oven. These came out soft and sweet with a hint of citrus.

Mini Orange Cinnamon Buns

Inspired by The Baking Barrister's Tartine's Morning Buns

Makes 4 dozen mini buns

Starter:

1 tsp. sugar

1/4 cup whole milk, warm

2 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast

1/2 cup all purpose flour, sifted

Bread Dough:

1/4 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1 Tbsp. milk, warm

2 eggs, room temperature

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, sifted

6 oz. (170 g) unsalted butter, room temperature

Cinnamon Sugar:

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

zest of 2 oranges

2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

pinch salt

1/2 stick butter (56. 5g), melted

1. First, make the starter. Dissolve sugar in warm milk in a stand mixer bowl. Stir in yeast and flour. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for about an hour or until starter has doubled.

2. In a small bowl, stir salt and sugar into warm milk until dissolved. Add eggs to the starter and mix with hook attachment. Slowly add in flour and mix until dough forms.

3. Add half of the butter and mix until dough is smooth and elastic. Add the other half of the butter and mix for 1 minute.

4. Grease a large clean bowl. Put dough in the bowl and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place for 3 hours until doubled in size. You can also place the dough in the fridge to rise overnight.

5. Grease 2 mini muffin tins with butter and sprinkle lightly with sugar.

6. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, orange zest, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. Roll the dough out to a 12 x 15" rectangle. Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with  3/4 of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll each piece of dough into a tight coil and use a knife or bench cutter to cut 1 inch slices. Place into mini muffin tins. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.

7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cover a large baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Place beneath muffin tins to catch any butter drips. Bake for 10 minutes until light brown on edges. Cool slightly in tins. Remove and roll in remaining cinnamon sugar.

Cherry Brownie Bites with Cherry Jam and Almond Ganache

I've made brownies before but never brownie bites. I guess I was afraid that they would overbake and become dry and hard much like the sides of the brownie pan. I researched and found out a few things. Never overmix the brownie batter. There should be streaks of flour left in your batter. Use paper liners. That way you don't have to worry about the brownie bites getting stuck in the tins. Bake it until the tops are set but the center may be still a little gooey. It will finish baking in the pan. Since I filled them with cherries and jam, the centers would never be fully set but remain deliciously moist. These bites combined a fudgy brownie for chocolate lovers, the moist fruity flavor of cherry, the slight nutty crunch from the cacao nibs and the smooth creaminess of the ganache with a hint of almond.

Cherry Brownie Bites with Cherry Jam and Almond Ganache

Makes about 42

3/4 cup unsalted butter

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped  (I used 70% Lindt chocolate)

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup cacao nibs

cherry jam with whole cherries in it (I used St. Dalfour deluxe spread black cherry)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 mini muffin tins with paper liners.

2. Melt chopped chocolate and butter in a pot over low heat.

3. Beat in eggs, vanilla and sugar until combined.

4. Mix in flour and cacao nibs.

5. Spoon batter into cups 1/2 full. Scoop one small cherry into each cup. Top with more batter until almost filled.

6. Bake for 14-18 minutes. Cool slightly in the pans. Remove to wire rack. Make second batch.


Cherry Jam Almond Ganache

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, room temperature

2 Tbsp. cherry jam, pureed in food processor

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1. Place chopped chocolate into a heat proof bowl.

2. Heat heavy cream in a saucepan until steaming.

3. Pour heavy cream over chopped chocolate. Wait one minute. Stir in butter until melted. Mix in cherry jam and almond extract.

4. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove from fridge when it reaches piping consistency.

5. Fit a piping bag with a large star tip. Pipe ganache onto cooled brownie bites.

Focaccia with Caramelized Onions, Kalamata Olives and Rosemary

It's cold outside and wet and rainy these days. Perfect weather for baking warm, soft, bread. It does take longer to rise though unless you leave it next to the heater or in a slightly warm oven. I served this with some veggie chili and we curled up on our giant animal print doggie beds. We do not have a dog anymore here but large doggie beds (the giant pillows, not the actual beds)  are amazingly versatile. You can use them as cushions to sit on, roll up in them, stack them, fold them and put them over plastic chairs to make them more comfortable. They are easily moved and stored and easy to clean. But enough about doggie beds. Here's the focaccia recipe.

Focaccia

Recipe inspired by the Food Network's Fabulous Focaccia

2 tsp. active dry yeast

1 cup warm water

2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

3 cups all purpose flour

1 Tbsp. salt

1/4 cup olive oil

cornmeal (for dusting)

Toppings:

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

coarse salt

black pepper

2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary

In stand mixer bowl, combine yeast, sugar and warm water.  Fit stand mixer with dough hook. When yeast is foamy, about 5 minutes, mix in flour, salt and 2 Tbsp. of water on low speed. Next mix in a 1/4 cup olive oil and mix on medium speed for about 8 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Scrape down periodically. Add extra flour if the dough seems too sticky.

Shape dough into a round and place into an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to let rise for about an hour or till doubled in size.

Brush a sheet pan with olive oil and dust with cornmeal. Place dough onto floured surface and roll to 1/2 " thick rectangle. Place on sheet pan and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest for 20 minutes.

Saute onions until they caramelize. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush the dough with olive oil. Dimple dough with fingers and sprinkle with onions, garlic, kalamata olives, salt, pepper and rosemary. Bake for 15- 20 minutes until edges start to brown slightly. Cool on wire rack. Slice and serve.