I know I’ll probably say this about a lot of the things I’m going to bake this season, but I’m going to say it anyways: these are one of my favourite Holiday treats. I could eat a whole batch. But I don’t. It’s all I can do to hold myself back from doing so though. They should be your favourite too: they freeze well, travel well, and look cute — perfect for that tin of cookies/treats you bring to that next get-together, no?

(I do, however, have a confession to make about them: I’m never quite sure what to call them. I’ve settled on ‘turnovers’ but they could just as easily be called ‘mini-handpies’ or even ‘empanadas’. I’m going to remind myself not to sweat it.)

The pastry is *very* forgiving and has always turned out flaky for me. (score!) You can make it a day or two ahead and keep it in the fridge, or go crazy way beforehand, and stick it in your freezer to have ready for when you need it. Another point to cheer about this pastry, is that you can make it by hand or in a food processor. I’ve done it both ways, and it’s worked great both ways for me.

Another bonus: if you’re not into mincemeat, use something else that you do like — just make sure that it has a similar texture (chunky and thick not sloppy). I’ve tried making turnovers like these with jams, and they tend to split open and ooze. A chutney would probably work great.

Afterwards, if you have mincemeat left over at the end, and want to try making something else, try making a batch of Mincemeat Muffins (another favourite!)

The Recipe:

Makes about 30 turnovers (if you plan on making more, do so in separate batches — this recipe does not double well)
Pastry from Fanny Farmer

2 cups / 500mL flour
1/2 tsp / 2mL salt
3 tbsp / 45mL sugar
3/4 cup / 185mL cold butter
2 egg yolks
4 tbsp / 60 mL water

1/2 cup / 125mL mincemeat

milk for brushing
sugar for sprinkling

How-To:

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees (F) / 215 degrees (C)

Make pastry by either

• sifting flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor. Cut in cold butter, and pulse until butter pieces are the size of peas. With the machine on, drop egg and water through chute. Continue to mix until dough comes together in a ball — this will take approximately 20 – 40 seconds.
  OR
• sift flour, salt, and sugar in a bowl. Cut in cold butter with a pastry blender or two knives, or with cold fingers — work until butter about the size of peas. Mix the egg yolk and water together, then stir into the flour mixture — a wooden or other large spoon works great for this. Continue until it comes together in a ball.

Wrap pastry in plastic wrap and chill for 20 or more minutes.

When ready to use, divide pastry into 2 or 3 sections. Start with one, and refrigerate the portions not in use. Roll pastry very thin — approximately 1/8 inch / 2mm thick. (Thinner dough bakes better in this shape.) Dip a glass or round cookie cutter that is about 3 1/4 inches / 8mm in diameter into flour, then cut out circles from the dough, re-dipping the glass or cutter in flour after each circle.

Place each circle of dough on your cookie sheet. On each circle, place 1/2 tsp / 2mL of mincemeat — I used regular cutlery teaspoons for this and only used half a spoonful for each circle of dough (it might be more than a strict 1/2 tsp /2mL.) Fold the circle in half and seal the edges first with your fingers, then with a fork. Brush each with milk and sprinkle with sugar (you could substitute an egg wash in this step if you wanted.)

Use a knife to vent the top of each turnover — stars are traditional for mincemeat, but feel free to get creative! Bake for 10 minutes — crusts should be golden around the edges. Remove to cooling rack.

Enjoy!

Notes:

• pastry works best when butter is very cold, especially when using a food processor.

I don’t make these too often because they do use a lot of candy, but with the Holidays coming I thought they were special enough to put on the list. They’re kinda fun because they look like regular chocolate cookies… until you find the surprise inside — then they’re a delight.

The night I made these, I presented some to the boyfriend/taste tester, and a big grin immediately appeared on his face, and the words “Oh! These!” popped out of his mouth. He ate one all in one bite. I bake a lot of cookies, and it’s safe to say that the boyfriend/taste tester hasn’t been given the nickname “Cookie Monster” without merit — he eats a lot of them and would even if I wasn’t baking them — so when he lights up at one in particular, you know it’s worth it.

These freeze well but the caramel will be a little less fluid after defrosting. Don’t worry — they’re still delicious!

The Recipe

From Right at Home
Makes approx. 55 cookies

1 cup / 250mL butter
1 cup / 250mL sugar
1 cup / 250mL brown sugar
2 egg
2 tsp / 10mL vanilla
2 1/2 cups / 625mL flour
3/4 cup / 185mL cocoa
1 tsp / 5mL baking soda

50 – 60 chocolate-covered caramel candies (I used 5 1/2 pkgs of Rolos)

1/2 cup / 125mL sugar

How-To

Beat butter briefly until smooth, then add in sugars and continue to mix until well combined. Mix in eggs and vanilla.

Measure out the flour, cocoa and baking soda, and combine with the wet ingredients above. Mix well until all is moistened and no dry bits are left. Refridgerate for approximately 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F) / 190 degrees (C).

Scoop dough by tablespoon (a 1 tbsp cookie scoop works really well for this). Push a candy into the dough and wrap the dough around it so that it’s fully enveloped. Place the sugar in a bowl and roll each ball of dough in it so that it is well covered, and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 7-9 minutes — the cookies should be dry to touch and slightly cracked (don’t over bake!) Allow to cool on sheet for 1 minute before removing to a cooling rack.

Enjoy!

It seems like everyone on the interwebs is falling in love with spiced chocolate right now, and they should — it’s very tasty stuff.

These are a traditional drop-cookie with an untraditional flavour. They are spicy enough that you know you’re not eating a plain ‘ol chocolate cookie, but not so strong that your mouth is on fire — a perfect balance, if I do say so myself.

Another great thing about these cookies: this recipe can easily be halved if you don’t trust yourself around 5 dozen delicious nuggets of spicy chocolatey goodness. *And* they go perfect with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee.

The Recipe

Adapted from MJM Knitting
Makes approximately 5 dozen

3/4 cup / 185mL butter
2 cups / 500mL brown sugar
2 egg whites
2 tsp / 10mL vanilla extract
2 cups / 500mL flour
1 cup / 250mL cocoa powder (dutch-processed recommended)
1/2 tsp / 2mL baking soda
1/2 tsp / 2mL salt
1 tsp / 5mL cinnamon
1/2 tsp / 2mL ground black pepper
1 tsp / 5mL cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cup / 375mL chocolate chunks or chips

How-To:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees (F) / 165 degrees (C)

Cream the butter until smooth, then add the sugar and continue mixing until fluffy. Beat in the egg whites and vanilla. Measure out the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and spices) and mix into the wet until nearly combined. Add in the chocolate chunks or chips and continue to mix. The dough is ready when it’s evenly moistened with no dry powder left.

Scoop by the tablespoonful onto cookie sheets and bake for 11-13 minutes or until they appear dry on the outside. Remove to racks to cool.

Enjoy!

I admit that I *love* slice & bake – style cookies. *Love*. You can make the dough, and leave it in the freezer and when you need cookies, just pull out the roll and slice off what you need. Whad’ya know — you’ve got fresh-baked cookies in minutes. This is especially perfect for making now to have on-hand for the upcoming holidays.

When I first spotted this recipe, I was a little intrigued — rosemary in a cookie? I was quickly won over. These cookies are sweet but with a hint (just a hint) of rosemary and lots of butter flavour — very nice, if I do say so myself.

Normally I make these with regular unsalted butter, but this time I tried using some whey butter we had on hand. It’s a great tweak to these yummy cookies. Whey butter isn’t always easy to find, so even if you don’t use it, make sure you do use a good quality butter (ie. one with good flavour). Why? Depending on the butter you choose to use, the flavour can be strong in this cookie, so if you use one of a lesser quality, either you won’t taste it, or what you do taste won’t be good. Trust me — it’s worth it!

The Recipe

From Martha Stewart
Makes approximately 5 dozen

1 cup / 250mL butter (use ‘whey butter’ if available)
3/4 cup / 185mL sugar
1 egg
1 tsp / 5mL vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups / 375mL flour
1 tbsp / 15mL chopped fresh rosemary
3/4 tsp / 4mL coarse salt

1 egg white
1/2 cup / 125mL sugar

How-To

Cream the butter until smooth, then add the sugar and continue mixing until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Measure the flour, rosemary and salt and mix until well combined.

Halve dough, and roll into a log shape, approximately 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap in parchment or wax paper and place in freezer for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F) / 190 degrees (C)

Brush frozen log with a thin coat of egg white and roll in sugar. Slice log into coins 1/4 inch thick and place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.Bake for 13-15 minutes or until edges are golden. Remove to wire racks and allow to cool.

Enjoy!

Tip

• Dough logs can be placed inside paper towel rolls to help make or maintain the log shape — place one end of log at top of a vertically held roll and tap until the log is fully inside the roll.

Perfect Pairings

• Chamomile tea

I’m honestly not sure if there’s a ‘correct’ way to use a wooden spoon, but I can shed some light on different utensils for mixing your batters.

First off, I’ll let you in on a little secret: many things you can buy now, you just don’t need. Some stuff is cool or handy… but again, you can live without. Other stuff still is basic and necessary — if it’s something that your grandmother used (or great grandmother, depending on how old you are), it’s probably a good idea to have. If it’s a new handy gadget that you’re told will suddenly change your life, give it a try, but chances are, you can probably get by without ;-)

Wooden spoons… and spoons in general.

Wooden or larger mixing spoons are a universal mixing implement. They are low-tech and multi-purpose. They can last for generations and are difficult to break — chances are you’ll loose it before you break it. Needless to say, I’m a fan of the things.

Use spoons when you don’t need a perfectly smooth batter and when you don’t want to develop your gluten too much or when you want to work your arms a bit.

A good rule of thumb is when a recipe says “stir” use a spoon, not a mixer. For example, I make muffins with spoons (why dirty a mixer and get a tough product?)

Alternatively, a large (wooden)spoon can be used when you don’t have access to a mixer. Do it old skool and use some elbow grease (trust me: it helps if your butter — if you’re using — is at room temperature!) and you can get nearly the same results.

Bonus: you get to develop your arm muscles and it’s easier to justify that extra cookie later ;-)

Handmixers and Standmixers

I’ve often wondered what bakers used before mixers were invented — probably sheer elbow grease… which apparently I could use more of. These are both items that are handy to have… but I’ve survived without them too (I probably had more elbow grease back then! ;-)

These days, I don’t have a standmixer, but have it on a wishlist for ’someday’ when I have more counter / cupboard space. Standmixers give bakers the opportunity to multitask — you can measure out your next ingredient while mixing what’s in your bowl. Hand mixers can’t be left on their own.

Right now, I just use a handmixer and get by just fine. Many bakers with standmixers also have handmixers for when they need to mix something on the stovetop or in otherwise awkward situations. You can mix everything you would with a standmixer with a handmixer, you just can’t multitask while using it.

If you see instructions for a recipe that refers to using a stand mixer, you can still use a handmixer — instead of ‘paddle’ attachments, I’ve found that regular beaters work fine.

Both types of mixers give a smoother batter than with a simple spoon. Typically they are used when a recipe tells you to ‘cream’ or ‘beat’ your ingredients.

Final Notes

Sometimes you’ll use both a mixer and a mixing spoon in the same recipe — the mixer to cream the wet ingredients, then the mixing spoon to combine in the dry ingredients (in order to not over-develop the glutens.)

If you’re unsure, experiment. Alternatively, use my rule of thumb: use what will make the least amount of mess to clean up later!

There’s no right or wrong when it comes to what you use to mix things with. There is just ‘better’ and ‘worse’ and that often comes down to individual habit and/or what’s available to use. Good luck!

I’m not saying you can’t make substitutions — you can do whatever you want in your kitchen — I’m just saying it might not turn out the same as what is intended with the original recipe.

Here’s the thing: baking is very different from cooking. This might seem like an obvious statement — one is typically sweet, the other savoury and the ingredients are often different. But there’s more to it than that.

Cooking can be done ‘to taste’ — many a chef works this way — a little extra of this or that will not necessarily ruin the end product.

Baking, on the other hand, is a matter of chemistry. Too much of one thing, and not enough of another can drastically alter your results. Why? Because just like most chemical reactions, baking is all about ratios. So long as you know about what is working with what and how in your recipe, you’re good to go. A great book that looks at this is Ratio: the Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking by Michael Ruhlman.

That means it’s important to know what you can replace, what can’t replace, and when you do replace something, with what.

Practical Application

Typically, I feel comfortable replacing or altering the amounts of ‘add-ins’. Add-ins are the things in recipes that give character, but don’t affect structure. Examples would include chocolate chips; nuts; and dried fruit. If you’re baking chocolate chip cookies and want extra chocolate chips in them, by all means — go right ahead. Don’t feel like nuts this time? It’s not a problem. The recipe will still work out, and nothing should explode in your oven. (It’s pretty hard to get something to explode in your oven — it’s much easier to get something to overflow ;-)

But what about things like flour or butter? This goes back to the ratios. For your cookies to work out as intended in the recipe, you need to achieve the same ratios of fat, starch, leavening agent and liquid. When you play with one of these elements, you will affect your results. Guaranteed. My rule of thumb is that you follow exactly what is called for in a recipe when it comes to butter, sugar, flour, baking soda/powder, liquids (if called for) — anything that will affect the structure of the item. If you change one of these, you’re changing the results that come out of your oven.

Yes, sugar affects the structure.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t give a substitution a try, it’s just that your results will be affected. Yes, I’ve said it before, but it’s true.

However, in a  pinch, there are some substitutes that do work and have been used for years, and are perfect in basic recipes when you’re out of an ingredient and can’t get to the store in time. Allrecipes.com has a pretty thorough list of common ingredient substitutions that usually work.

Final Words

Many of us know bakers who are able to just throw together something amazing, seemingly without a recipe. I bet he or she has been baking for a really long time. I also bet that they have made the recipe a lot — and have probably memorized it to the point of being  able to do it in their sleep! They *know* that recipe and it’s a part of their repertoire and know how to do it really well. (Awesome!) I also imagine that if you were to ask that same baker to do something outside of their usual, they might not be able to just ‘throw’ something together — and that’s okay too. We’re all human.

What this means is that for things to work out well, beginner and novice bakers should probably stick to the recipe unless they’re purposely experimenting (nothing wrong with that!) Measure carefully, and only substitute items that have been tried and tested.

I hope this hasn’t turned you off of baking and getting creative in your kitchen — it’s not impossible to make substitutions, you just have to remember these two rules of thumb:

1. Know what you’re substituting and have a good reason for doing it
2. When you substitute, you might get something pretty darned close, but you probably won’t get something the same

Extra Reading

• How Baking Works
• Bakewise by Shirley O. Corriher

I’ve updated the links on the right (very good reads, all of them — go check them out!) and I’ve started a Twitter account for the site (see you there :-)

Ohwhatfun! (no, really!)

When you’re measuring ingredients, it’s important to use the right tool for the job. You might not think there’s a difference between the dry measure that looks like a scoop and the measuring cup you inherited from your mom, but there is.

Here in North America, we typically use dry and wet measures (measuring cups) and measuring spoons. My understanding is that elsewhere (especially Europe,) it’s common to use scales to measure ingredients. Scales give far better results because the results are consistent, unfortunately, in NA kitchens, they’re not as common, and most recipes give measurements in volume units, be-it metric or imperial.The following tips deal with measuring by volume.

Ultimately, be consistent with whatever measuring (and baking) techniques you use that work. That way, no matter what recipe you make, your results will be the same (or nearly so!) each time you make it.

Dry Measures

When measuring ingredients for your recipe, use dry measures for dry ingredients. These include flour, sugar, nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips, bran, grains… more or less anything that comes in powder or granular form and that can be described as ‘dry’ in texture.

The most common technique is to ’spoon and level’. This means you use a spoon to add your ingredient to the dry measure cup. Use the flat side of the spoon handle to level it off, so it’s smooth on top. Then add the ingredient to your mixing bowl.

(The exception to this is brown sugar, which is typically ‘packed’. Pack the brown sugar into the dry measure so it’s tight enough that when it’s dumped into the mixing bowl, it holds its shape.)

It’s tempting to use the dry measures as scoops, but that will pack your ingredient in tighter than necessary, and your end measurement will be off by varying degrees — sometimes by an ounce or more. This will possibly result in a drier or tougher baked good (depending on what you over-measured).

Wet Measures

Use a measuring cup for anything liquid. This would include your milk, water, and butter (if using a water displacement method). Once you have poured your ingredient into the measuring cup, place it on a level surface (this seems obvious, but not all counters are level!) and look at it at eye level. The line of liquid should match up with the line on the cup. Add or remove liquid as required, and once you have the right amount, add the ingredient to your mixing bowl.

Why not just use what’s handy? It’s all the same in the end, isn’t it?

Although technically the measurements are the same, Chow.com wisely points out that “tapping a wet measuring cup to settle a dry ingredient to the desired line will cause some fine ingredients, like flour or sugar, to compact. This can wreak havoc with fragile recipes.” and that pouring liquid from a dry measure with no spout can be tricky.

There’s also a great post on Serious Eats where people get into the nitty-gritty if you want to hear more opinions.

Most people are going to tell you to just not do it. I agree.

When do I use measuring spoons vs. dry measures or a measuring cup?

Typically, measuring spoons are used for quantities less than 1/4 cup / 60mL. Anything over uses a dry or liquid measurement as appropriate.

Try to use the largest measuring device for the quantity you need — eg. use a 1 cup dry measure for 1 cup of sugar, rather than a 1/4 cup dry measure 4 times. Sure you will probably get the something close to the same amount in the end, but it’s easy to lose count of if you’re on the 3rd or 4th measure, and measure too much or too little of your ingredient.

But that means more dishes!

Yeah, I know, and I don’t like doing dishes any more than the next person, but this tip also means that you’re more likely to get the results from your recipe that you’re hoping to achieve! That means you won’t waste your time and effort on something that doesn’t work out.

Oh! one last thing!

Sometimes recipes list both metric and imperical amounts of ingredients. Choose one for the recipe and stick with it — the two are close, but not exactly the same, which means that it might throw your ratios off if you don’t stay consistent between one or the other.

Recommended reading

If you want to find out more, check out Shirley O. Corriher’s Bakewise — she knows her stuff!

I don’t believe them. Not for a minute.

I’m a firm believer that if you can follow directions, you can bake. That’s not to say that there’s no technique to it, but as far as the basics go — say, drop cookies, muffins and biscuits, anyone should be able to get good-to-great results. They might not look just like the picture (that’s a whole other aspect of baking) but they should taste as good as the recipe intended.

… but then I saw what some of those people were doing in the kitchen, and it became clear to me that there definitely was reasons why their stuff wasn’t turning out for them.

Cookie season (fall & winter) is coming up, and this is the perfect excuse to explore why things don’t always work in the kitchen. We’ll call this series ‘Baking 101′.

This series might not help you bake puff pastry from scratch or bake bread without a recipe (I’ve yet to master that), but those Holiday cookies you love-but-have-never-been-able-to-do-right-yourself will turn out that much better by taking these tips into account.

These tips will seem pretty obvious to people who bake regularly, but if you’re new to baking they will help out a lot. There’s nothing complicated or that a grade 8 Home-Ec student can’t get the hang of. I won’t share anything that I don’t do myself either — consider the tips tried and true.

In the meantime, let me know any of your own tips & tricks or what problems have happened in your baking adventures — and any solutions that have worked to solve them!

This weekend I went to the market and innocently bought the larger size of peach basket thinking “Hey! We can totally use that up! No problem! Easy peasy!” Yeah, I’m so naive sometimes.

By the time I was walking away from the stall, I already knew I’d have to get creative to make sure that none go to waste. But, I like a challenge, and these peaches are pretty tasty, so I thought I’d use some up by making a pie. I’ve made pastry before, and I’ve made tarts, but I’ve never made a pie, so this was going to be something new — not necessarily impossible, but new. No worries though, ’cause I knew Fanny Farmer had my back.

I’ve also had an awful lot of candied ginger on hand for a while, and since peaches an ginger are pretty tasty together, I thought I’d adapt the recipe for ‘Fresh Peach Pie’ and make it my own.

Oh. My. God. It smelled so good coming out of the oven that the BF & I couldn’t wait to try it. Little did I know that pies don’t set until they are cooled, and cutting into it too soon meant the filling pooled in the pan. That’s why the photo above has flat pastry and fruit all over the plate.

Please don’t base your decision to try this pie on my badly styled photo — make this pie ’cause it’s totally worth it :-)

The Recipe:

Makes one 9-inch pie

Pastry
2 1/2 cup / 350g / 625mL flour
1/2 tsp / 2mL salt
3/4 cup / 185mL butter
6-7 tbsp / 90-105mL cold water

Filling
4 cups / 1L peeled & sliced fresh peaches (approximately 10)
1 tbsp / 15mL lemon juice1 cup / 200g / 250mL sugar
4 tbsp / 60mL flour
1/4 cup / 60mL chopped candied ginger
milk for brushing (optional)
sugar for sprinkling (optional)

vanilla ice cream for topping (optional)

How-To:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees (F) / 220 degrees (C)

Begin by making the pastry: mix the flour and salt together. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives. Continue to cut and mix until the butter is about the size of peas. (It will have an uneven texture, but go for averages.) Sprinkle the water onto the mixture one tablespoon at a time and mix in. Do not use all the water if you don’t have to — you only want to use enough for it to hold itself together when pressed into a ball.

Divide the dough in two, and chill one half. With the other half, roll out flat enough to fit a 9 inch pie pan with a little folding over the edges. Place in the fridge if hot in your work area.

Make the filling: Mix the peaches and lemon juice together. Cover with the sugar, flour and candied ginger, and stir to combine.

Pour the peach filling into the pie crust. Roll out the other half of the pie dough flat enough to cover the pie. Place on top of the filling. Crimp the edges with a fork or with your fingers and slice vents in the top to allow the steam to release when baking. Optional: brush with milk and sprinkle the top with sugar.

Bake at 425 degrees (F) / 220 degrees (C) for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 degrees (F) / 180 degrees (C) and continue to bake until golden brown on top — approximately 30 – 40 minutes.

Enjoy!