This week Tuesdays With Dorie has a Rewind week, which means we could choose any previously chosen recipe. We were also later told we had permission to post later in the week, in order to bake for Thanksgiving. I had already baked and photographed my selection by the time this announcement was made (and had my Thanksgiving desserts planned). I hadn’t written my post, though, and was happy to have one less thing on my to-do list before the holiday break started. The recipe I selected was Granola Grabbers! Not very seasonal (the photo in the book shouts back-to-school fall recipe), but I had wanted to try these cookies forever. I hadn’t because I knew that this is exactly the type of cookie I love and that Josh “forgets” about and I try to not be the one who consumes the majority of the cookies in this house. In fact, as I was making them, I tried to think of another name that did not involve the world granola that might make them sound more enticing. I didn’t come up with anything. And I was totally right: I have eaten way more of them.
These cookies are packed not only with granola, but also additional nuts and raisins. They are pleasantly sweet and very hearty. They kind of remind me of Kellog’s granola, which I like but never buy anymore. I rated them an 8 for Deliciousness (Josh gave them a 7) and a 2 for Effort, for an EDR of 4. You can find the recipe here and visit the TWD site to see what everyone else selected this week.
After ambitiously making both of the recipes selected for Tuesdays With Dorie last week, I am back to just one today: Mini Madeleines. I honestly cannot remember the last time I used my mini madeleine pan - probably right after I bought it three years ago, if at all. And they’re so tiny and adorable! A dozen of these cuties fit on one salad plate. I learned that mini madeleines bake really fast. The recipe said that they would take between eight and ten minutes; mine were very brown after eight minutes, so I baked the subsequent batches at seven and a half, and as evidenced by the color (not so sneakily disguised with powdered sugar), they probably would have been fine at seven minutes. I also learned that you really don’t need more than one teaspoon of batter per mold; they didn’t seem full enough, so my first batch ran over a bit.
I noticed the rest of the madeleine recipes in Baking all require using a mixture and these were just made with a whisk. I was curious what the texture would be like and they were perfectly cakey. Josh rated the madeleines an 8 for Deliciousness and I gave them a 2.5 for Effort, for an EDR 3.2. Many thanks Di of Di’s Kitchen Notebook for giving me an opportunity to dust off the madeleine pans. You can find the recipe here on her site, and visit the TWD site to see what the other bakers concocted this week.
After my lackluster participation in October, I was quite pleased with myself for making two Tuesdays With Dorie recipes this week. In order to complete the book by the end of 2011, we are doubling up on recipes this month - with the option to make one or both. You can stop by the Tuesdays With Dorie site to see what the rest of the bakers decided to bake.
First up are Honey Whole Wheat Scones, selected by Jeannette of The Whimsical Cupcake; you can find the recipe here on her site. Josh has not had great breakfast treats the past couple weeks, they have been homemade so they haven’t been that bad, but nothing special. I am happy to say that these scones break the boring breakfast streak. Since these scones are just lightly sweetened, with two tablespoons of honey, I resisted sprinkling sugar on the top in order for them to maintain their wholesomeness. The only minor modification I made was mixing the nuts with the rest of the dry ingredients in order to work the dough as little as possible. I loved the bit of crunch the nuts added, and though they weren't sweet, we did not think they needed any extra accoutrements.
The second recipe selected was Far Breton, by Nicole of Cookies on Friday; the recipe is posted here. I had no idea what to expect with the breton; the batter reminded me of crepe batter, and the flavor and texture kind of reminded of bread pudding without the bread. For something with a fancy name, it was quite simple to make. I made the batter (a half recipe) in the two-cup container that came with my immersion blender, which made the clean-up very easy.
I did have trouble telling if the breton was done, so I erred on the longer side, and the texture was fine. This recipe kind of reminded me of my early days with Tuesdays With Dorie when it seemed like we were constantly making things I hadn’t heard of. It’s very satisfying to think of how my baking skills and repertoire have improved in the past three years.
