Club: Baked - Chocolate Mint Thumbprint Cookies

Mother nature was against me last night. I was on track to get these cookies finished and photographed before I lost my daylight, and instead we got a monsoon that made it dark about 45 minutes before the sun usually sets. I am really not being dramatic calling it a monsoon either. You should see how hard it rains when it finally decides to down here!

Weather aside, this is our next recipe for Club: Baked hosted by Jamie of Random Acts of Food. I am a cookie girl, so I was excited to see how the first cookie recipe in the book panned out. Overall, I think the process of putting these together went quite smooth. I used 72% dark chocolate and white chocolate that I picked up from Trader Joes and the Andes mint pieces (baking isle) for the mint chocolate. I did opt to use my standard cocoa instead of Dutch processed cocoa, as I really don't bake with chocolate that much. My only problem was trying to press a "thumbprint" in the cookies without causing them to crack. It is harder than it sounds! Even with a few cracks, my cookies all held the white chocolate ganache without leaking :) 

My makeshift double-boiler set up.

Halving the recipe left me with 14 cookies (I've noticed my yields have been quite different than the listed yields in the recipes). I didn't try one as I am much for most chocolate goodies, but I can tell you that my husband wouldn't even share a bite of his :) The rest of them are headed to work today with him. Thanks to Jamie for hosting and be sure to stop by the Club: Baked page to check out the round-up!

Hint of Thin Mint Ice Cream

Top of the mornin' to you. Hope you all have big plans for a great St. Patrick's Day! I am not the least bit Irish, but I wanted to join in the fun with some St. Patrick's themed recipes today. Don't worry. I'll make sure to don some green hued clothing today to make sure that I don't get pinched =)

The idea for this ice cream actually came about from a botched box of Thin Mints. A couple weeks ago my husband and I fell subject to the Girl Scouts sitting outside the grocery store (how can you say no?!?). We actually did okay. Just one box each of Thin Mints and Samoas, but when we opened the thin mints they had melted just enough to stick together like crazy. I suppose that's a casualty of living in Phoenix? Thinking I shouldn't eat a sleeve of Thin Mints at a time, ice cream came up as a recipe that would benefit from the addition of crushed Thin Mints. Perfect. I have had an ice cream freezer attachment for my Kitchen Aid for several months, but it hasn't gotten much use because I hadn't been home.

Now, which ice cream? I debated between vanilla and mint ice creams for a couple of days, but finally decided on mint since it is one of my favorite flavors. I ended using this recipe from My Kitchen Addiction. It's one that I have had saved in my bookmarks since before I owned the ice cream attachment, and I am glad that I can finally make it. I am sure we'll be making it again. The ice cream turned out wonderful. It was creamy, minty, and green, and I think I like the addition of the Thin Mints better than the original chocolate chips. I am thinking we may have to make this a yearly St. Patrick's Day tradition! Enjoy!

(Printable Recipe)

Hint of Thin Mint Ice Cream
Adapted from My Kitchen Addiction

Ingredients:
2 c. heavy cream, divided
1-1/2 c. whole milk
3/4 c. granulated sugar
pinch of salt
4 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1-1/2 tsp. mint extract
3 drops green food coloring
1 sleeve of Thin Mints, roughly crushed

Warm 1 cup of the heavy cream, whole milk, granulated sugar, and pinch of salt in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves.

Pour the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (if using a candy thermometer, it should reach 170 degrees F). Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Add the vanilla and mint extracts and the food coloring, and stir until cool over an ice bath. 

Cover the mixture with plastic wrap and chill thoroughly in the refrigerator overnight. Churn according to your ice cream maker's directions, adding the crushed Thin Mints in the last 2-3 minutes of churning.

Yield: about 1 quart 
  

Final Countdown to Christmas #2: Peppermint Marshmallows

I'm getting a little late in the day on this one, but it's still technically Tuesday. Better late than never right? We had a marathon baking session today to almost finish out my baking list, so I should be set for the next few days. 

Marshmallows are something that have been on my "to make" list forever. I have wanted to make them for quite some time, but they seem like one of those things that need an "occasion" such as a camping trip or something along those lines. My "occasion" never came up, so there they sat on the list.

I saw this recipe on What Megan's Making a couple weeks ago on her 12 Days of Christmas Countdown, and it was perfect. My occasion would be Christmas Eve and the destination for these little goodies was definitely going to be a steaming, hot cup of hot chocolate! 

Fast forward a couple weeks, and I've actually made these twice. The first time with only a hand-held mixer and the second time in Arizona with my kitchen aid. They worked well both times, but I could definitely see the mixture set up a little quicker using my stand mixer. It almost set up too much as it was really hard to get the pretty red swirls in the second batch. My only advice with this recipe would be to stop the last mixing process if you think they're getting pretty thick. You want to be able to pour them very slowly not have to press a spatula on the goop to get it to spread out =) However, while my second batch wasn't quite as pretty, they are still delicious. Try these out! I know that mug of hot chocolate is calling your name!

(Printable Recipe)

Peppermint Marshmallows
Adapted from Martha Stewart and What Megan's Making

Ingredients:
vegetable oil cooking spray
1-1/2 c. warm water, divided
2 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
4 pkg (1/4 oz. each) unflavored gelatin
1 tsp. peppermint extract
2 large egg whites

liquid red food coloring 

Line the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch pan with parchment paper and coat the parchment with cooking spray. Set aside. Put sugar, corn syrup, and 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Stop stirring and let the mixture come to a boil. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook until mixture registers 260 degrees on a candy thermometer. 

Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over 3/4 cup water in a heatproof bowl; let stand 5 minutes to soften. Set the bowl with the gelatin mixture over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat, and stir in extract. Set aside.  

Beat egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Whisk gelatin mixture into sugar mixture. With the mixer running, gradually add the sugar/gelatin to the egg whites. Mix on high speed until very thick, 12 to 15 minutes or until the mixture looks like it is really starting to thicken.

Pour mixture into lined pan. Working quickly, drop dots of red food coloring across surface of marshmallow. Using a toothpick, swirl the drops into the  marshmallows to create a marbleized effect. Let marshmallow stand, uncovered, at room temperature until firm, at least 3 hours or overnight. Cut into squares using a pair of kitchen scissors. Roll the cut marshmallows in powdered sugar to prevent sticking and store in a ziploc bag or airtight container.

Vegetable Spring Rolls with Dipping Sauce

A couple weeks ago, my husband went around on a tour of some of the old-time, local restaurants here in town with a couple of his buddies from work. He came home with a container of salsa from a Hispanic grocery store, a bag of goodies from a bakery, and begging me to find a recipe for spring rolls. I guess they had eaten at this Thai place that he really enjoyed.

Luckily, I didn't have to look too far for a recipe. Ever have one of those times when a recipe shows up exactly when you need it? It doesn't seem to happen very often around here, but I had just seen a recipe for vegetable spring rolls here at The Novice Chef Blog the day before. That was the deciding factor. We were going to give spring rolls a whirl.

These rolls really were pretty easy to make. Chopping veggies is probably the part that takes the longest. We did have some trouble locating soba noodles at the local grocery stores, but it was because they were out of stock everywhere we went? I subbed in half the noodles from a package of ramen (without the seasoning), and it seemed to work well enough for our purposes. It did take some time to get used to working with the rice paper, but after I filled a couple papers, I got the hang of it pretty well. The diagram on the back of the rice paper package definitely helped :-)

The hubby's verdict: Pretty good for our first go. We'll have to give these a try again after we get settled because the spring roll wrappers come in packs of 100, but no arguments here. We had these for dinner, but I imagine that you could even use them as an appetizer if you are looking for a side dish. Enjoy!

 

(Printable Recipe)

Vegetable Spring Rolls with Dipping Sauce
Adapted from The Novice Chef Blog

Spring Roll Ingredients:

2 oz. dry buckwheat soba noodles (or half a package of ramen noodles)
1/2 c. cilantro, roughly chopped
1/2 c. scallions, thinly sliced
10 basil leaves, chiffonade or minced
20 mint leaves, chiffonade or minced
1/2 c. grated carrot
1/2 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced about 2-inches long
1/2 orange bell pepper, thinly sliced about 2-inches long
1/2 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced about 2-inches long
1 firm avocado, halved and pit removed
1 package of spring roll wrappers

Dipping Sauce Ingredients:
1 lemon, juiced
1 lime, juiced
1 orange, juiced
1 tsp. minced fresh ginger
1/4 tsp. minced fresh garlic
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
3/4 c. reduced-sodium soy sauce

Cook the noodles according to package directions. While the noodles are cooking, whisk all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl. Set the bowl in the refrigerator until the spring rolls are ready.

Toss the first 9 spring roll ingredients together. Find an undamaged sheet of rice paper and hold it under warm water for 10-20 seconds or until the sheet becomes pliable. You will be able to feel it come to "rolling consistency" in your hand, but it may take a couple sheets to figure out how this works best for you.

Place the sheet on a wooden cutting board or a large ceramic plate. Place a couple tablespoons of filling off-center on the rice paper on the end closest to you. Using a spoon, scoop out a 1/4-inch thick wedge of avocado and set it on top of the filling. Fold the ends of the rice paper in towards the center (like a burrito) and roll the paper up lengthwise keeping it as tight as possible. The paper will stiffen a little as it dries, but ours stayed pretty pliable. Cut the spring rolls in half and serve with individual portions of the dipping sauce.

Yield: 15+ spring rolls

Andes Peppermint Crunch Chunkies

I've been quite late getting my Christmas recipes up, but I wanted to add these to the mix before it got too much later :-)  As far as I'm concerned, peppermint season extends through the winter anyway, and these could be great Valentine's Day cookies because of the colors.

The recipe comes from the back of the Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chip bag. This isn't the first time that I've made these cookies. I made them first 2 years ago but couldn't make them last year as I couldn't find the chips. I was a little disappointed because we made them a couple of times that first year because we really enjoyed them. The stores always seem to have the chocolate variety, but the peppermint chips seem to be a little harder to find.

Anyway, we were wondering through the grocery store sometime around Thanksgiving and I snatched these up as soon as I saw them. It actually turned out to be a good thing that I had them because I was able to use the chips to try out my new Christmas present from the hubby - a Bright Red KitchenAid!!  Getting that as my Christmas gift was a pretty good surprise, and yes, I had to break it in the first night I had it :-)

So yay for the chips and yay for the KitchenAid. If you can find these around the holidays, I would definately recommend picking up a bag. You may never know when you'll  have to try out a new mixer :-)

(Printable Recipe)

Andes Peppermint Crunch Chunkies

From Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chip Bag

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 c. brown sugar, packed

1/3 c. granulated sugar

1 lg. egg

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1-3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. old-fashioned oats

1 c. sweetened grated coconut

1-1/2 c. Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy (about 3 minutes). Beat in egg and vanilla extract. On low speed, add baking soda, salt, and then flour. Mix completely. Stir in oats, coconut, and Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips.

Form approximately 1-Tbsp. worth of dough into a rounded ball. Place each ball of dough 2-inches apart on a prepared cookie sheet. Press down lightly. Sprinkle some of the remaining chips on top of each cookie if desired. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until just light brown on the edges. Do not overbake. Remove from cookie sheet and let cool on a wire rack.

Yield: approximately 60, 1-1/2" cookies

Chicken Gyros with Cucumber Salsa and Tsatsiki

Last weekend, Tessa was at work all day, studied for classes, and made my class 48 delicious cinnamon rolls. Given her hard work and kindness, I decided I would find a new recipe and make her dinner on Sunday night to show my appreciation. Stating all this, this is the first guest blogger post by Tessa's husband, Derek. Now I am normally the recipient of all the flavorful creations of my wife, but I have watched closely and she has taught me a thing or two about knowing my way around the kitchen!

I found this recipe on my iPhone on the Epicurious application. Tessa and I have been on a HUGE Greek kick the past month or so and it seems every chance we get, we either go out to eat or cook a Greek dish. Tessa is better about trying new dishes than I am and every time I eat Greek food, I have trouble eluding the Gyros!

This recipe is very simple to prepare, but all the time that goes into making the gyros is pretty active. You start by making the Tsatsiki sauce. This can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator to save some prep time. We substituted normal cucumbers that we cut the seeds out of and finely chopped for the Kirby cucumbers the recipe calls for. The grocery store did not have any Kirby cucumbers and the vegetable guy gave the advice on how to use the normal cucumbers. We also left the mint out of the salsa as it is not in season in Nebraska in the middle of January!

All I can say is, judging by Tessa's reaction when she got home from work, this recipe definitely made the cut and I might be making more frequent guest posts!!!

(Printable Recipe)

Chicken Gyros with Cucumber Salsa and Tsatsiki

Recipe from Epicurious iPhone application

Ingredients:
2 Kirby cucumbers, divided
1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt (3/4 pounds)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, divided
5 garlic cloves, minced, divided
1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped mint
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 rounded teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
1 (12-ounces) packages naan bread or 4 (8-inch) pocketless pita rounds
1/2 roast chicken , skin discarded, meat shredded (2 1/4 cups)
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced

Preparation of Tsatsiki:
Peel and grate 1 cucumber, then squeeze it with your hands to remove excess water. Stir together with yogurt, 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, one third of garlic, and 1/4 teaspoons each of salt and pepper to make tsatsiki.

Preparation of Cucumber Salsa:
Cut remaining cucumber into 1/4-inch pieces and stir together with tomatoes, onion, parsley, mint, remaining 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper to make salsa.

Gently simmer oil, oregano, rosemary, remaining garlic, 1/4  teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a small heavy saucepan, stirring constantly, until garlic is fragrant but not browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Toss chicken with 3 tablespoons garlic oil and brush one side of bread with remainder.

Heat bread, oiled side up, in a skillet until golden in spots and has an even coloring. Flip bread and repeat on opposite side.

Spread some of tsatsiki on warm bread and top with chicken and some of lettuce and salsa. Serve remaining lettuce, salsa, and tsatsiki on the side.