The CookMobile » Baked Goods

Biscotti with Butter (Biscocho)

Lalaine — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:52:52 +0000

There are two things, (alright, three, if you count Virginia Slims Lights Menthol) I have an addiction to, two things I have to have in the morning and indulge in many times during the course of the day or I’ll be Miss Attitude: ice-cold diet Coke and sweet, buttery biscotti from Goldilocks bakeshop. If you are a coffee drinker with a ritual of java in the morning, you would relate to my angst yesterday when, upon crawling out of bed at 7AM and anticipating to start a glorious day with a brain freeze and sugar high, I found the bag of toasts I presumed half-full to hold but half a piece and crumbs! Over late night Facebooking, a hungry mouse I call daughter sneaked and snacked on my precious loot. To add to the angst, the bakeshop that sells them opens only till mid-morning! Good thing mercy comes in many forms: there, lying unappreciated on my kitchen counter, was the bag of pandesal a friend of mine brought over as pasalubong on his last visit. A cup of butter, spoonfuls of sugar and jugs of patience later, I was sitted on my veranda, sipping my diet Coke, crunching on my biscotti, and finally starting a glorious day indeed.

Biskotso are defined as “baked bread topped with butter and sugar originating from Iloilo province. The etymology of the word itself is related to the English biscuit and Italian biscotti in that it is derived from the Latin phrase word ‘bis coctus’ which means twice-baked.” As we are using day-old bread, we are not going to delve here on the initial breadmaking stage but on the second baking which is the “drying” process. I used pandesal to make my biscotti but any sliced bread or dinner roll will do. If you prefer savory over sweet, replace the sugar with garlic powder and dried herbs of choice. The second step does involve plenty of time in the oven but it dries the bread enough for longer storage. So, go ahead, double the recipe and have them handy for weeks on end.

Ingredients

5 to 6 large pandesal rolls
1 cup butter (one stick), softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Procedure

Slice pandesal into 1/2 inch thickness. In a small bowl, combine sugar and butter until creamy and smooth. Spoon tablespoon’s worth of the butter-sugar mixture over bread and with the back of a knife, spread on bread slices, covering surface all the way to the edges. Repeat on other side of bread.

Arrange buttered bread slices, single layer, on a cookie sheet. Bake in a 200 F oven until very crisp and dry, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours depending on thickness of bread.

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Oatmeal Raisin Nut Cookies

Lalaine — Wed, 05 May 2010 03:43:40 +0000

Most (alright, all) of those who know know me will readily agree that I am a little bit (alright, quite a bit) of a knucklehead. I would set my cell phone’s alarm for 6 AM the night before expecting to be awakened bright and early the next day and the darn device would be on mute all along. I’ve gone through at least 3 bluetooths since the goddamn things have been enforced on the street as I’ve either lost, misplaced and broken one after the other. My car registration dues this year jumped up a few hundred dollars because of unpaid parking tickets I’ve stashed away somewhere and have long forgotten. It shouldn’t come a suprise then that yesterday, upon visiting the baking website I started a year and half ago, I found, not my cookie recipes and food pictures, but links to porn and photographs of barely-clothed women instead. OMG! I forgot to renew my domain and webhosting and they have thus expired on me! Disaster! The only silver lining there is that I, in a rare case of sensibility, had the forethought of backing up my files and hence I am now able to transfer them here at The CookMobile. So, pour yourself a glass of milk as these forthcoming days, you will be deluged by scrumptious baked goodies such as these soft and chewy oatmeal raisin nut cookies.

Makes about 4 Dozens

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup honey
2 large eggs
2 cups raisins
1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease baking sheets with butter.

Toast nuts by cooking for 3 to 5 minutes over a skillet set on medium-high heat and stirring frequently or by arranging on a cookie sheet in a single layer and baking for 8 to 10 minutes in a 350 F preheated oven. Allow to cool and chop. For plumper and juicer raisins, soak them in hot water for 1 to 2 minutes then drain well or heat for 3 minutes in the oven before stirring into the cookie dough mixture.

In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon and salt. In a large bowl and with an electric mixer, cream butter, shortening, white sugar and dark brown sugar thoroughly. Add in honey, eggs, and vanilla, then beat until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in flour mixture, then stir in oats, raisins and chopped nuts.

Using a tablespoon or a small scoop, drop dough onto prepared cookie sheets and bake in oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Cool completely.

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One-bowl Brownies

Unbelievable Peanut Butter Cookies

Ricotta Artichoke Calzone

Lalaine — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 06:07:00 +0000

Up until I learned how to make my own pizza dough and bufffalo wings at home, pizza delivery from Papa John’s or Pizza Hut has been a favorite recourse of mine for days when I am too lazy to cook. Now, knowing I can reproduce the same meal at home for a small fraction of the cost, I can no longer willingly close my eyes to the $30 price tag of a large pizza, an order of chicken wings and a liter of Diet Coke from these pizza chains. Usually on my free weekends, I’ll knead at least two 16-oz pizzas and bake a tray of chicken wings to keep in the freezer, ready to pop in the oven for a quick meal. This Saturday, however, my pizza doughs were already rolled and waiting to be topped when I realized upon opening my pantry that I am all out of the cardboard boxes I use to store my prepared pizzas. So, what does one do with 32 ounces of pizza dough other than pizzas? One does calzones.

Calzones are Italian turnovers that are popular as street food fare because of their ease “to eat while standing or walking”. Terrific on-the-go, they are also a welcomed item in brown-bag lunches, picnics and simple get-togethers. I find calzones keep well indefinitely in the freezer already baked or not. Quick tip: as the battle here is making the pizza dough, purchase prepared dough from your local market and have three-fourths of the work done with.

Makes 8 Servings

Ingredients

16 oz prepared pizza dough
1 cup marinated artichokes, coarsely chopped
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 parmesan cheese, shredded
1 cup sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1/4 cup roasted red peppers, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
2 to 3 tbsps olive oil
kosher salt
freshly-ground pepper

Procedure

Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease a cookie sheet with olive oil.

Divide pizza dough into four portions, around 4 oz each. Stretch each portion into a 8-inch circle and place on the oiled cookie sheet.

Combine ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese and 1/2 tbsp olive oil until of spreadable consistency. Spread mixture over each pizza dough, then coat with tomato sauce.

In a saute pan, heat 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil. Add sausage, mushrooms, onions and garlic. Cook until sausage is browned and vegetables are limp. Regularly crumble sausage into small pieces with back of spoon. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in artichokes and roasted red peppers, and continue to cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Spoon over bottom half of each pizza dough.

Fold top half of pizza dough over bottom half and crimp edges to seal filling. Repeat on each dough. Brush each with remaining olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake until golden brown, around 20 minutes. Cut each calzone into two and serve warm.

Pizza Dough

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water in a large bowl. Allow to sit for 10 minutes.
Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.

Onto a clean, well floured surface, turn out dough and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth.

Let the dough rise until double; around 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball.
Let the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Roll with a rolling pin or knead with hands into a flattened disk.

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Langues de Chat (Cat’s Tongues)

Chicken Crescents

Cheese Cake Pie

Lalaine — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 06:20:57 +0000

I have never been good in Math. Add to my have never been good in Math my have not taken a Math subject for almost twenty years and what do I get? A barely-passing grade in my Pharmacology exam today. Oh, Lordy! I felt like I was sweating blood while on that drug calculations and dosage quiz! Interesting, though, I was able to break down in a breeze this recipe we have at work from a quantity of 100 servings to 25. Yes, I used a calculator to divide by 4. As I’ve said, I have never been good in Math.

Oh, don’t worry about the amount of the recipe. A serving is just around 2×2 inches and besides, the cake keeps really well in the fridge. Actually, it is sooo good I am betting on no leftovers.

Makes 25 Servings

Ingredients

Cake Crust

1 1/2 lbs white cake mix
1/2 cup eggs, around 2 to 3 whole eggs
3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

Cheese Topping

1 cup cream cheese
3/4 cup eggs, around 3 to 4 whole eggs
1 cup powdered sugar

Procedure

Lightly grease a cake pan or baking dish.

Combine all ingredients of cake crust until crumbly. Press dough on bottom and sides of pan.

Beat ingredients of cheese topping together. Mixture will have small lumps of cream cheese. Pour and spread over cake crust.

Bake at a 400 F oven until toothpick inserted in middle of cake comes out clean, around 45 minutes.

Recipes From the Oven in The CookMobile Archive

Langues de Chat (Cat’s Tongues)

One-Bowl Brownies

Langues de Chat (Cat’s Tongues)

Lalaine — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:00:24 +0000

Although I find this recipe needing a little more work, I decided to share it with you now. I thought maybe you’d like to follow me in my quest to perfect lengua de gatos.

What’s wrong with my cat’s tongues? Well, they are crisp in texture and golden in color as they are supposed to be. However, I find them far too sturdy and cakey, lacking the buttery taste and melt-in-your mouth fragility of the lengua de gatos I remember. I am not sure if it’s the proportions of ingredients I need to tweak or the piping style I have to modify but something is definitely amiss. Or maybe the recipe is already perfect as it is, and what caused its slight demise was my shifting things a bit. As I have a bad habit of not using measuring implements even in baking wherein the directions are less forgiving, I might have miscalculated my salt. Next time, I’ll stick to the recipe to the letter or maybe play with it a bit more and see what I’d come up with. If you have any suggestions, please!! I’d love to hear from you.

Makes 4 Dozens

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup superfine sugar (caster sugar)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 egg whites
3/4 cup sifted flour
1/8 tsp salt

Procedure

Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly butter and flour baking sheets.

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar and vanilla extract. Add egg whites, one at a time, beating mixture thoroughly with each addition.

Gently but completely fold into creamed mixture the flour sifted with the salt.

Spoon mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain tube of about 1/2-in diameter. Pipe the batter onto prepared baking sheets, pressing them about 2 inches long and spacing at least 1 inch apart.

Bake in preheated oven until cookies are just edged with brown, around 6 minutes.

Transfer completely to a rack to cool.

Update: It seems from the discussion in the comments and from further research, Langues de Chat are very similar and yet, quite different from the Lengua de Gatos I remember from the Philippines. One of my favorite food bloggers, Jude of Apple Pie Patis & Pate, explored lengua de gato cookies in his kitchen and came up with the secret to everyone’s fragile, buttery childhood favorite!

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One-bowl Brownies

Cheese Cake Pie

Apple Custard Cupcakes

Lalaine — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:24:57 +0000

From day one, I had this vision of what I wanted for The CookMobile header~a chef driving a car. You know, Cook…Mobile? I knew from the start what I wanted but I didn’t know how to go about getting it done. You see, my imagination is rich but my computer skills are close to nil. However, my daughter, Liane, is pretty handy with Jasc Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop programs. She spends a good amount of time on her website, Akame Quotes, making banners, layouts and other fun stuff for MySpace. But ever asked a teenager to do anything? It is very costly and very aggravating. Not only does her services cost my arm and my leg, but the assignments she gets paid BEFOREHAND always end up at the bottom of her priority pile. I apologize my child, but I am moving my business somewhere else.

It’s a good thing I discovered Cathy Hawkins of Me and My World. Wow! Talk about gifted. See my new header? It carries, not only my concept of a “chef in a car”, but also the-back to-school theme of August. Cathy and I agreed on a set of twelve: one theme for each month and below are a couple that she has completed. Fantastic, don’t you think? Please visit her site to check out her excellent workmanship and friendly prices for your own customized headers.

Since the new school year will be starting soon and the school bus will be back in full gear again, it’s perfect timing for this apple custard cupcake that I adapted from Pamela Clark’s Cupcake book. Either as a favorite snack item for their pack lunches or as a delicious alternative to apples for their favorite teacher, kids will surely fall in love with the cupcake’s “custard” suprise within and the cinnamon-y apple topping. By the way, I am sending recipe off to The Nourishing Frugal Carnival. The cupcake can be conveniently packed to-go and the sliced apples over something temptingly-sweet makes it easy to meet the daily servings of fruits and veggies.

Makes 12 Cupcakes

Ingredients

3/4 cup self-rising flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup instant vanilla pudding mix
1/2 cup sugar
6 tbsp butter
3 tbsps milk
2 large eggs
1 large apple, cored, unpeeled and sliced thinly
extra 2 tbsps melted butter
extra 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Custard
1 1/2 tbsp instant vanilla pudding mix
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Procedure

Make custard by combining ingredients in a small pot, and stirring over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat, cover with film and cool.

Prepare 12-hole standard muffin pan with paper baking cups. Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a bowl, beat butter, vanilla, flour, eggs, butter, sugar and pudding mix with an electric mixer on low speed until just combined. Increase speed to medium and continue to beat until mixture is changed to a pale color.

Using a teaspoon or small scoop, divide half of mixture among baking cups. Top with custard, then remaining cake mixture. Spread batter to cover custard. Arrange apple slices on top, pressing slightly into cake batter.

Bake in preheated oven until top browns, around 30 minutes.

While still hot, brush top with melted butter. Combine ground cinnamon and the extra sugar. Sprinkle over cupcakes. Turn onto racks to cool.

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Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Lalaine — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 05:25:10 +0000

Pour a glass of cold milk and forget Oreos! A creamy filling made with peanut butter and cream cheese gives classic peanut butter cookies a special twist in this recipe I found on an issue of Taste of Home magazine.

I’d like to share a few of the adjustments I made. Since I found the original filling measurements to be cloyingly sweet, I decreased the 3 cups of confectioner’s sugar originally called for to 2 cups and congruently, I added half a cup of cream cheese into the recipe. The filling recipe called for around 5 to 6 tbsps of milk but when I worked with it, I found I needed way more to bring it to the spreading consistency I desired. Add milk by 2 to 3 tablespoons increments as it is easier to add more as you go along, than repairing the filling if it gets too liquefied. I also skipped the process of shaping the dough into 1-in balls by using a 1 oz scoop. I yielded less number of cookies but much larger sized.

Makes 24 Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter-flavored shortening
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
2 tsps baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Procedure

In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening, peanut butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture and mix well.

Shape dough into 1-in balls and arrange 2-in apart on ungreased baking sheets. Alternatively, use a scoop to form dough. Flatten to around 3/8-in thickness with tines of fork.

Bake at 375 F until golden brown, around 7-8 minutes. Remove and cool in wire racks.

Filling

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup cream cheese
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp vanilla sugar
5 to 6 tbsps milk

In a large mixing bowl, beat peanut butter, cream cheese, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla and milk. Add more milk as needed to achieve spreading consistency.

Spread on half of the cookies and top each with another cookie.

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Coconut Macaroons

Ultra Moist Starbucks Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Banana Nut Muffin

Lalaine — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 22:43:33 +0000

These muffins are a refreshing alternative to store-bought cookies and are a cost-friendly snack item for the kids’ pack lunches or for take-alongs to family picnics. For an interesting variation, I made use of the versatility of the recipe by substituting, on half of the muffin batter, my leftover blueberries and blackberries in place of the mashed banana. Before I popped
this blueberry-blackberry batch into the oven to bake, I sprinkled on top the cinnamon-streusel topping I used for my berry crumble.

Makes 12 Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup banana, mashed
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Procedure

Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan.

Sift flour, salt, sugar and baking powder into a medium bowl. Form a well in center of sifted dry ingredients.

In a small bowl, mix milk, egg, oil, banana and walnuts. Pour mixture into well. Mix batter until just moistened; do not overmix. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

Bake until toothpick inserted comes out clean or until muffins are golden brown, about 15 minutes.

TIPS:
1) Raisins and cranberries are also good substitutions for mashed banana.
2) Grease only the bottom and halfway up the sides of each muffin cup to ensure round muffin tops.

Recipes From the Oven in The CookMobile Archive:

Spinach, Roma and Ricotta Pizza

Apple Custard Cupcakes

Spinach, Roma and Ricotta Pizza

Lalaine — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 06:48:51 +0000

This is my entry to the Hay Hay Donna Day Pizza event at 80 Breakfasts. I hope Joey, the event host, won’t mind that I diverted from Donna’s pizza dough recipe and opted for Jay’s Signature Pizza Crust recipe instead. No disrespect for Ms. Hay, but I have been successful with Jay’s recipe before and if it ain’t broke, why fix it? For the toppings, I took inspiration from Dagwood’s, the pizzeria where we lean towards for pizza fare at work.

Makes 8 Servings

Ingredients

Toppings

1 cup ricotta
1 cup chopped spinach, thawed
3 roma tomatoes, sliced to rounds
1 cup mozarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup olive oil

Pizza Crust

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Procedure

Dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water in a large bowl. Allow to sit for 10 minutes. Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.

Onto a clean, well floured surface, turn out dough and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth.

Let the dough rise until double; around 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and then form into a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Roll with a rolling pin or knead with hands into a flattened disk.

Carefully lift and arrange to cover an olive-oil greased pizza pan. Trim excess dough at sides of pan. Brush dough surface with olive oil. Top with toppings, spooning ingredients on surface, ending with mozzarella cheese. Drizzle with additional olive oil.

Bake at a 450 F preheated oven for around 10 to 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.

TIP:
If using a regular sheet pan, allow the dough to rise for an additional 10 to 15 minutes on the oiled pan before topping.

Recipes from the Oven in the Archive:

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Scotties

One-Bowl Brownies

Lalaine — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 09:01:06 +0000

This one-bowl brownie recipe is one quick sweet fix! Aptly called, everything gets prepared in one bowl and the brownie treats are ready for greedy mouths in less than 40 minutes! The original recipe calls for two cups of sugar but I found that proportion too sweet so for once, I decided to give my Islets of Langerhans a break and tried one and a half instead.

Makes 24 Servings

Ingredients

4 squares or 4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 cup pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped

Procedure

Grease a 13×9-inch baking pan. Line with parchment paper or foil with an extra inch hanging on sides.

In a large microwaveable bowl, microwave unsweetened chocolate and butter on high until butter is melted, around 2 minutes. Stir until chocolate is fully melted. Stir in sugar.
Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour and chopped nuts, stirring until well-blended.

Spread into prepared baking pan. Bake at 350 F until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs, around 30 to 35 minutes.

Cool in pan. Using foil or paper, lift out of pan onto cutting board. Cut into 24 squares.

TIPS:
1) DO NOT OVERBAKE!
2) Stir in 1/2 cup of milk with the eggs and vanilla and increase flour to 1 1/2 cups of original recipe to make cake-like brownies.

Recipes From the Oven in the Archive:

Cheese Cake Pie

Chicken Crescents