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danish butter cookies

12/1/2019

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You know those cookies in the blue tins that pop up at grocery stores and pharmacies during the holidays? Maybe you've had them at your grandma's or in the office. We all love them. Well....they're not so hard to make at home. And the results are more tender, crumbly and can be slightly less sweet than those tinned cookies. There's really no comparison with homemade.

We piped our dough into circles using a large star tip and sprinkled the top with sugar for crunch and sparkle. But you can use a smaller start tip and pipe them as bars or use a cookie press for a variety of shapes. You can also dip any shape into melted white or regular chocolate and decorate with sprinkles to dress them up. Check the end of this post for tips and options.

This recipe, slightly adapted from one by @browneyedbaker, makes about 36 cookies. They freeze well and can be kept in a sealed container at room temperature for around a week. They travel well, too - you can even fill your own tin! 

VIDEO COMING SOON

ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
  •  1/2 cup granulated sugar
  •  1/4 teaspoon salt
  •  1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  •  1 egg (room temperature)
  •  2 cups all-purpose flour
  • granulated sugar (for sprinkling)
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instructions

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two standard baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
  2. In your stand mixer, fitted with SideSwipe or your flat beater, beat the softened butter and sugar on medium speed until combined and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.
  3. ​Add the salt, vanilla and egg, and beat until combined, about 1 minute.
  4. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour until mostly combined. Give a final few stirs with a rubber spatula to ensure the flour is totally incorporated (the dough will be quite thick).
  5. Transfer the dough to a decorating bag fitted with a large open star tip. Pipe the dough into 2-inch circles on the parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Sprinkle with sugar. TIP: This technique takes a little while and a little muscle to get the rhythm. If your first couple of tries look bad, just add the dough back into the decorating bag. Straight bars are a littler simpler, so if you're a beginning piper or have small children working with you, you may want to try straight shapes or using a cookie press.
  6. Bake, one pan at a time, until light golden brown, 15 to 17 minutes. Allow to cool completely before storing or serving.
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notes + variations


  • Use good-quality butter (we like Challenge and Kerrygold). Butter is the main flavor here, so if you can afford it, splurge.
  • You can substitute an equal amount of vanilla bean paste for the vanilla extract to give the cookies little flecks of vanilla.
  • Tips that will give you shapes like our photos include Wilton 1M and Ateco 827. 
  • If you're not an experienced piper or are working with kids, try a cookie press to create a variety of cookie shapes.
  • ​You can also make sandwich cookies with these, as they are firm but tender. We filled with melted chocolate for the photos below. You might also try Nutella or white chocolate. 
  • All shapes of these butter cookies look great dipped in chocolate and/or decorated with sprinkles. Plain is elegant, but sprinkles make them more fun!
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Mixer tune-up

11/22/2019

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This time of year we put a lot of miles on our mixers. With holiday gatherings, parties and gift-giving just around the corner, you need your mixer to be ready to handle it all. It's especially important if you only use your mixer this time of year.

Below find our handy checklist for making sure your KitchenAid is up to the tasks ahead.

Good luck and happy baking!

mixer tune-up tasks


ALL MIXER MODELS - 
  1. Check your beaters for damage and grime. Paint can chip and peel. Aluminum can oxidize and develop a bumpy grey film. And flex edge beaters can develop tears and cracks. You can clean aluminum parts with soap and water (or vinegar water for tougher build-up). For flexible edge beaters, like SideSwipe, it's usually best to replace them when they get worn. PLUS - don't forget to clean inside where the beater attaches to the mixer. Build-up there can make it hard to attach and remove the beater.
  2. Check and adjust your beater height. Your flat beater and whisk should not scrape on the bottom of the bowl as it will damage the finish. If you have a SideSwipe or other flex beater, check their instructions on the proper beater position. You can find help for this here or on KitchenAid's website. You can also Google "dime test" for online video on how to adjust your beater height.
  3. Run sleepy mixers before mixing. If your mixer has been unused since last November, KitchenAid recommends you run it empty for about 2 minutes to get the oil to lubricate its internal parts. You may get a few grey oil drips in your bowl. This food-safe oil should be cleaned from the bowl before mixing. If you lose a lot of oil or it continues to leak, you may need to repair your mixer.
  4. Secure the attachment hub door and knob. Before you start mixing, make sure the device that secures the area where you attach pasta makers, etc. is firmly in place. If loose, it can fall into your bowl while mixing, possibly causing damage to your beater and/or motor.
  5. Clean outer metal housing, include underneath and the mixer feet.
  6. Clean out mixer vent holes. Using a toothpick and/or vacuum, remove any dust or fuzz from the vented holes on the back of your mixer. This keeps the mixer from overheating.
  7. Clean the beater shaft. It's fine if there's a small amount of grease, but you don't want to leave dried-on batter or dough on the metal shaft where you attach your beater. Conversely, if you have trouble attaching and removing your beaters after cleaning, you can lubricate the shaft with a little mineral oil.
  8. Consider buying extra bowls and beaters. It can save a lot of time if you're making continuous batches for gifts. 

TILT-HEAD ONLY
  • Check the hinge pin. On tilting head mixers, a silver pin going from one side of the housing to the other anchors the head in place. Over time, it can wiggle its way to the side, causing the head to become unstable. To repair, simple tap the pin back in so it is within the outer metal housing. 
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mini pumpkin cheesecakes

11/20/2019

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How do you like your pumpkin? How about in individual pumpkin cheesecakes - some with chocolate chips and some with homemade salted caramel and chopped, toasted pecans? That's what we made recently and wanted to share our recipe.

We made mini and bite-size cheesecakes in muffin and mini-muffin pans with paper liners. We love the smaller size. No water baths, no worries about cracked tops. And everyone gets their own!

We thought we'd also raise the crust bar a little and used ground Biscoff Lotus cookies for the crust. But you can substitute graham crackers or something similar.

This delicious recipe is adapted from one from Sally's Baking Addiction, a source we love for reliable and well-tested recipes. 

These are perfect for Thanksgiving, a fall brunch, or an office party. They're so good, we recommend you make a double batch!

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ingredients

Cookie Crust
  • 1 - 1/4 cups crumbs from Biscoff or gingersnap cookies 
  • 2 Tablespoons (23g) granulated sugar (optional - we did not use with Biscoff)
  • 1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter, melted

Pumpkin Filling
  • 12 ounces (336g) brick-style cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (114g) pumpkin puree
  • 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk
  • 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips (if doing the chip version)

​Topping (if not doing the chip version)
  • 1 cup (240ml) store-bought or homemade caramel sauce
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans (toast for 10 minutes at 300°F)

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instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-count muffin pan with liners and a second 12-count muffin pan with only 4 (this recipe makes 16). For super-mini muffins, use two 24-muffin tins. Set aside.
  2. Make the crust: Mix the cookie crumbs, butter and optional sugar (if using) together in a medium bowl until combined. The mixture will be thick, coarse, and sandy. Press a heaping Tablespoon of mixture down into each liner, making sure the crust is tight and compact. (Use a heaping teaspoon for the bite-size cheesecakes). You might have a little crust leftover. If so, press a little more into each liner—if desired! Pre-bake the crusts for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
  3. Make the filling: In a stand mixer fitted with SideSwipe or a whisk beater, beat the cream cheese on high speed until completely smooth, about 1 minute. On medium-high speed, beat in sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice until well combined. Add pumpkin, egg and egg yolk, and vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until completely mixed. 
  4. Pour or spoon the filling evenly into each crust. We used a large cookie scoop.
  5. Bake until centers of pies only slightly jiggle, 18 to 20 minutes for standard size, about 12 minutes for super-mini size. Let cheesecakes cool at room temperature in the pan set on a wire rack.
  6. Once completely cool, place cheesecakes in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight. The cheesecakes may slightly sink in the middle- that’s ok! It gives you room for the caramel.
  7. Once chilled, drizzle each with salted caramel sauce and garnish with toasted pecans. Store leftovers covered tightly in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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jam-filled Cream Cheese Pound Cake Loaf

5/10/2019

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This dense, flavorful pound cake loaf is perfect with coffee or tea, and makes a delicious addition to brunch. And - hint, hint - it's a perfect cake to make for Mom on her special day this weekend. Best of all, it is surprisingly easy to make. You may already have the ingredients in your kitchen.

This recipe, slightly adapted from the book Bake From Scratch, makes two 8.5" x 4.5" loaves. As a small family, we usually halve the recipe. If you have a good scale, we recommend that you weigh the ingredients. That way you're assured of a good loaf. 

The recipe also has you make your own strawberry preserves filling. We used a purchased mixed berry jam in ours (our favorite is an all-natural French jam). If you use jam you bought, choose one that is a looser style, not a jelly for best results. We also added a simple glaze to the top and decorated with a few dried raspberries we had on hand. It's just as delicious naked!

We highly recommend that you read through this recipe before you make it. The mixing instructions are a little different than normal. ​You should always do this, but we have to confess - we often don't! 

​We'll post a VIDEO soon!

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ingredients

  • 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 8 ounces (225g) cream cheese, softened
  • 3 cups (600g) granulated sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon (13g) vanilla extract
  • 6 large eggs (300g), room temperature
  • 3-1/2 cups (438g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon (1.5g) kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon (1.25g) baking powder
  • 1 cup (240g) heavy whipping cream
  • 1 cup preserves of your choice (homemade recipe is below)

directions

  1. Heat oven to 325F (170C). Butter and flour 2  8.5 inch by 4.5 inch loaf pans. Line with parchment paper, allowing the ends to hang over the sides  of the pans. Butter and flour the papers.
  2. In your stand mixer, fitted with SideSwipe or your flat beater, beat butter and cream cheese on medium speed until creamy.
  3. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until fluffy (2 minutes with SideSwipe, 3-4 mins with standard paddle).
  4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well incorporated.
  5. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder. 
  6. With mixer on lowest speed, add a small portion of the dry ingredients, then add a small portion of the whipping cream. Mix until just barely combined after each addition. Continue this alternating pattern. We recommend that you stop the mixer to make each addition to avoid "flour clouds" caused when the dry ingredients hit moving beaters. The final addition should be just the dry ingredients.
  7. Transfer half the batter to a medium bowl and set aside.
  8. Spoon one-third of the remaining batter into one prepared pan. Spread 1/4 cup (67g) jam onto batter. Repeat with one more layer of batter, then jam, then a final layer of the remaining 1/3 of the batter.
  9. Using a wooden skewer, gently swirl the batter. Repeat procedure with the second loaf.
  10. Tap pans gently on the counter a couple of times to release air bubbles.
  11. Bake until a wooden pick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and let cool completely on wire racks.
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strawberry sauce - optional

  • 1/2 pound (225g) fresh strawberries, hulled
  • 2 Tablespoons (30g) water
  • 1 Tablespoon (8g) cornstarch
  • 3 Tablespoons (36g) granulated sugar
​
  1. In the work bowl of a food processor, pulse strawberries until smooth, about 1 minute.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together water and cornstarch until smooth.
  3. In a medium saucepan, stir together pureed strawberries and sugar over medium-high heat. Whisk in cornstarch mixture. Bring to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 1 minute.
Will yield about 1 cup.
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