Sometimes you just need a warm cookie. Yesterday was one of those days.
Looking through my Cooking Light cookbook, I found a recipe with all the ingredients already on hand. This recipe does require an hour or two of down-time, so be prepared…
Baking
Lemon Yogurt Cake
Unlike most of her recipes, Ina Garten jokes, this one does not start with a pound of butter. And yet, her lemon yogurt cake is no worse for the wear. In fact, I’ve made this recipe countless times without ever growing tired of it. And because it’s so good and so easy to make, it’s become my recipe of choice for pot-lucks and parties.
Over time, I have made my own small changes…
White Chocolate Soufflé with Pistachios and Raspberry Purée
To create the perfect soufflé, it helps to understand the science behind it.
Egg whites are made entirely of protein, while egg yolks contain a mixture of both protein and fat. When you beat egg whites, you are mixing air into the mixture, and the protein from the egg whites forms a skin around the air bubbles. As the soufflé bakes, the heat causes the air captured in the egg whites to expand, creating the puff. When the soufflé comes out of the oven and begins to cool, the air contracts and the soufflé begins to deflate.
Simply put, the rise and fall of your soufflé comes down to the egg whites.
With this in mind,…
White Chocolate-, Chocolate-, and Toffee-Chip Cookies
Making the perfect cookie is not a two-hour affair. It’s not even a twelve- or twenty-four hour event. According to a collection of New York City’s top bakers, the best chocolate chip cookie doesn’t emerge until thirty-six hours after its ingredients have been carefully assembled. The long hydration period allows the slow-moving eggs to work themselves into the dough for the perfect flavor. These top chefs also recommended using a chocolate chip with a high cocoa percent (at least 60%), a healthy dose of sea salt (at least a teaspoon), and a good chunk of dough (to get a six-inch cookie).
On top of these suggestions, I like …
Popovers
Popovers are a fickle lot. Sometimes they don’t pop. Sometimes they explode. And sometimes, they simply refuse to come out of their cups. According to one article, chefs at Neiman Marcus spent five weeks perfecting their popover recipe, experimenting with nearly a dozen variations before arriving at their now-famous recipe. Popovers, they felt, were worth perfecting.
I couldn’t agree more. Growing up, …