Chocolate-Coconut Sherbet

And now back to the super easy ice cream recipes; this one happens to also be dairy-free with the possibility of a low-fat option. The cookbook description calls it something like Mounds in a cup - if you like coconut and chocolate, you'll like this!

After experimenting with a coconut-based vanilla rum ice cream (recipe still to be perfected), I've realized that great coconut flavor comes from coconut cream, so I might try to make a version of this with coconut cream to replace the coconut milk and sugar components. Meanwhile, I would recommend this as an easy recipe that is refreshing, but a little icy and very sweet. To be eaten in small amounts, or paired with a creamier, less-sweet ice cream like the caramelized white chocolate recipe I just posted.

Chocolate-Coconut Sherbet

from David Lebovitz' Ready for the Dessert

1 C water

1 C sugar

5 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

2 C canned Thai coconut milk (low-fat will make this icier)

1-2 T dark rum (dark rum has a more caramelly flavor than light)

In a medium saucepan, heat the water and sugar til boiling. Stir to dissolve. Whisk in the chocolate off the heat until completely melted. Stir in coconut milk and 1 T rum.

Pour the mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and add 1 T rum if desired.

Refrigerate until completely chilled, then freeze in ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Caramelized White Chocolate Ice Cream

Caramelized white chocolate has become something that I regularly crave (I'm not the only one who gets food cravings out of nowhere, am I?), ever since I found how easy it is to make and how addictive it is to eat. The task ever since that discovery has been finding ways to employ it in desserts - making it into ganache, filling macarons with said ganache, replacing butterscotch chips with it in oatmeal scotchies...and now ice cream, thanks to David Lebovitz who introduced me to the idea in the first place.

This is the first proper ice cream I've made in my machine since I got it (proper ice cream being one with cooked egg yolks), so I was a little bit nervous. The process is simple, but the part I found least straightforward was determining whether or not the cooked mixture was thick enough. The accuracy of my judgment of thickness will develop as I practice more recipes, but with this one it worked well enough - the recipe says to cook it until it coats your stirring utensil, so I made sure to see how the mixture looked on the spoon when it first started to heat up (it slipped right off the wooden spoon), in order to be able to compare against what it would look like when "coating" the spoon.

It really had the nice flavor of the caramelized white chocolate, with teeny bits interspersed throughout to make the texture more complex. This is a very rich ice cream.

Caramelized White Chocolate Ice Cream

Taken from David Lebovitz' recipe here.

8 oz caramelized white chocolate*

1 C heavy cream

2 C whole milk

1/2 C sugar

1/8 tsp sea salt

5 large egg yolks

Mix the still-warm white chocolate in a medium bowl with the heavy cream. Set aside with a mesh strainer over it.

In a saucepan, heat the milk, sugar, and salt together. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks, then whisk half of the warm milk mixture into the yolks. Pour the warmed yolks into the saucepan with the rest of the milk.

Cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly until the mixture coats the stirring utensil.

Once it's thickened, pour the mixture directly through the strainer into the white chocolate/heavy cream and stir until smooth. Put the bowl in an ice bath, and continue stirring until it is cool.

Chill completely in the refrigerator, and then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

*Permit approximately 20 minutes to caramelize the white chocolate: spread the white chocolate chips or evenly chopped white chocolate in a roasting pan in the oven at 250 degrees, stirring every 8-10 minutes. It will be done when it's browned evenly (but not burnt) and starts to liquify. Use the caramelized white chocolate in the ice cream mixture while it's still warm.

Carrot Chocolate Scones with Citrus Glaze

I made these spur-of-the-moment for a houseguest this week; after being assigned to a jury and being crazed with grading papers at the same time, I needed to decompress with a little baking. These scones came to mind when I realized that I had carrots in the fridge, and handling the sticky dough was just the thing for my tired mind.

Originally they were carrot coconut scones, but in the absence of shredded coconut in my kitchen, I replaced the coconut with chocolate chips, which worked out really well with the citrus glaze. You don't really taste the carrot in this, but it adds nice color to the scones. Carrot is sweeter than we realize, so it does work well in baked goods.

Carrot Chocolate Scones

taken from Carrot Coconut Scones in Baked Explorations

2 3/4 C flour

1/2 C sugar

1/2 C rolled oats

1 T baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 C chocolate chips (or shredded sweetened coconut)

1/2 C (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch chunks

1 large egg

3/4 C buttermilk*

1 T vanilla extract

1/4 C carrot purée**

1 egg white, beaten and set aside

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and position the rack in the center. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, oats, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips (or coconut).

Add the butter. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until the butter is pea size and the mixture is coarse.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, vanilla and carrot purée. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until the dough just comes together. Gently and briefly knead the dough with your hands. The dough will be sticky and may need to be sprinkled with flour.

Roll the dough up, turn it on its end, and gently flatten it into a disk about 1 3/4 inches high. Do not overwork the dough.

Whisk the egg white with 1 T water. Set aside.

Cut the dough into 6 or 8 wedges (6 will make them very large) and place the scones on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops with the egg white wash. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a scone comes out clean. Do not overbake.

Transfer the scones to a wire rack to cool completely. Place the baking sheet, with the parchment still on it, underneath the rack.

Citrus Glaze

1 T fresh lemon juice

2 T fresh orange juice***

1 C powdered sugar

Whisk all ingredients together in a medium bowl. The glaze should be loose enough to drizzle. If it is too thick, add a little more orange juice. If it is too loose, add a little more powdered sugar.

Drizzle the glaze over the cooled scones and allow it to set before serving.

*I never have buttermilk around, but it's easy to substitute milk curdled by apple cider vinegar; just add 1 T vinegar to 1 C milk and let it sit for a few minutes until you see some thickening/bubbling occur in the middle. In this case, I added 3/4 T vinegar to 3/4 C milk before I mixed the other ingredients, and by the time I needed the buttermilk, it was ready.

**I just buzzed up 2 carrots in the food processor, and that was more than enough, but the recipe recommends the following for the carrot purée: Place 1 medium carrot and 1/4 C orange juice in a microwaveable glass bowl, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 5 minutes, until carrot is fork-tender. Blend/purée until smooth.

***Since I had no oranges, I juiced one lemon and then added 1/4 tsp orange extract, and that was sufficient liquid and flavor for the 1 C of powdered sugar.

Zimtsterne: Dairy & Wheat-free Almond Cinnamon Cookies

These cookies were another great travel companion, back when I went to Seattle in November. I knew one of my hosts was allergic to dairy, so I decided to take a variety of goods with me, including this dairy- and wheat-free option.

Since it was nearing the holidays, this cinnamon almond cookie looked cozy to me, and the star shape happy (hence the Swiss German name: Cinnamon Stars). I was pleased to find that the result was chewy but not overly dense, despite being made of almond powder.

If you're wary of raw eggs, you could replace the egg white in the glaze with milk/soy milk, but I had no problem with the egg I used.

When I think of these cookies, I feel comforted and warm - give 'em a try, whether you're dairy-/wheat-free or not!

Zimtsterne

Cinnamon Stars, from David Lebovitz' Ready for Dessert

Cookies

3 C (240 g) sliced almonds, preferably unblanched

1 C powdered sugar, plus more for rolling cookies out

1 T plus 1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

1 T honey

1 large egg white

Glaze

1 1/3 C powdered sugar, or more if needed

1 large egg white

1 tsp kirsch or other clear brandy, or lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 F and prepare a baking sheet.

Pulverize the almonds in a food processor with 1 C powdered sugar, the cinnamon, and salt until the almonds are finely ground. Add the honey and egg white and process until smooth. If it's dry and cracking, add a tiny bit of water and process until dough comes together (if using a blender, add the honey and egg white to the mixture in a bowl and knead by hand until smooth).

Dust a work surface with powdered sugar and roll out the dough 1/3 inch thick (no thinner). With a 6-point star cookie cutter about 2 inches in diameter (or other shape), cut out stars, and arrange them, evenly spaced, on the prepared baking sheet. Reroll the dough scraps, cut out as many cookies as you can, and place them on the baking sheet. Repeat until all dough is used.

Bake, rotating the baking sheet midway during baking, until the cookies are very lightly browned, about 12 minutes. They should be soft; don't overbake them. Let cool completely on the baking sheet.

To make the glaze, in a small bowl, mix together the 1 1/3 C powdered sugar and the egg white until smooth, then mix in the kirsch. The glaze should be quite thick, opaque, and almost hard to stir. If necessary, stir in additional powdered sugar to thicken.

Spread the glaze on the surface of each cookie. Sweep off some of the excess, but leave a layer just thick enough so that you can't see the cookie through it. Let the cookies rest until the glaze is completely dry.

These cookies will keep for at least 3 months in an airtight container.

And a little heart for Valentine's Day :).

Brown Sugar Pecan Shortbread

Lately I've been traveling a lot with cookies as well as mailing them to people, so that's got me thinking about hardy baked goods. These little guys seem to hold together well, and are a nice ice box cookie that can be made ahead of time and stay good for a while.

I have to admit that I have a hard time making ice box cookies look pretty (except these semolina dried fruit cookies, because the fruits are so colorful), so that's why I dipped these in chocolate - in spite of the extra work it takes to chocolate coat. I also needed something to affix the sea salt, and all together it was Tasty. The flavor reminds me of my mom's pecan balls, which are buttery and pecan-y.

Hm, these would be great served with ice cream or coffee...

Brown Sugar Pecan Shortbread

2 C flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 C unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 C light brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 C pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a bowl by hand), beat together the butter and brown sugar on medium speed just until completely smooth and no streaks of butter remain. Mix in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and beat until completely incorporated. Stir in the pecans.

Turn out the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and form it into a 4 1/2 by 6-inch (11 by 15 cm) rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap the dough tightly and refrigerate until chilled and firm, at least 1 hour and up to 4 days.

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat the oven to 350 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Cut the rectangle of dough lengthwise into 2 equal pieces. Cut each half crosswise into rectangles 1/4 inch wide. Place the cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Top with a few bits of sea salt if desired.

Bake, rotating the baking sheets midway trough baking, until the cookies are deep golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets until firm enough to handle, then use a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack.

Optional: Melt some chocolate and dip each cookie in it.