Baking Basics

As the countdown to the 2010 holiday season begins, I thought it might be a good time to go over some baking basics. Think of this entry as baking 101 or an into course for non-bakers. Those of us who bake all the time know the tools of the trade. We've learned them from the baker in our family, our friends, relatives, or just trial and error. But if you've never, ever baked anything, where the heck do you start? Here's what you'll need to equip yourself for baking success.

Tools of the Trade

Dry Measuring Cups
All sets come in four sizes: 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, and 1 cup.
Use them to measure flour, sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, etc. Always level off the top of the measuring cup with whatever you're measuring and gently spoon flour into the measuring cup. Never, ever pack down flour.

Liquid Measuring Cup
Available in glass or plastic, the most versatile size is 2 cup. Also available in 1 cup and 4 cup sizes. I recommend the 2 cup size by Pyrex. Use it to measure any liquids in the recipe such as corn syrup, milk, water, vegetable oil, etc.

Measuring Spoons
Vital to your baking success, measuring spoon sets come in these sizes: 1 Tablespoon, 1 Teaspoon, 1/2 Teaspoon, 1/4 Teaspoon. You'll use these to measure baking soda, baking powder, salt, flavorings such as vanilla extract, water, coco powder, etc. Always level off the top of the measuring spoon with whatever your measuring.

Rubber Spatula
Use this to scrape down the sides of the bowl when creaming butter and sugar, adding flour, etc. Available in many sizes and styles, choose a medium size.

Flat Spatula
You probably own at least one spatula already for flipping burgers, but it's good to have a few sizes handy. Choose one that feels good in your hand with a thin, but sturdy edge that gives you rigidity when removing cookies from the pan. A non-stick version works best and can be easily washed in the dishwasher.

Cookie Sheets
If you bake regularly, you probably have at least 4 or 5 sheets in your cabinets. You should have 2 which will allow you to bake 2 pans at a time. Cookie sheets come in two basic styles, either flat or with a edge around the sheet (also called a jelly roll pan). I prefer the edged sheet because it's easier to grip than a flat sheet with just one edge. Try both kinds and I'm sure you'll have a favorite.

Cookie Tins
It's best to store most cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. Cookie tins come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. Make sure you select tins with tight fitting lids. Always hand wash tins and thoroughly dry them before storing to avoid rust.

Stand Mixer
You'll need a sturdy, large, electric mixer to mix cookie dough. Kitchen Aid mixers dominate the market and run about $250 on sale, but you can find cheaper alternatives. Sunbeam and Hamilton Beach make less expensive versions which range from $50 to $100. Hand held mixers are not the best choice since the beaters are small and simply can't handle the amount of dough you're making. Some recipes don't require a mixer, but most do, so it's a good investment.

Parchment Paper
Probably not essential to successful baking, but it keeps cookies from sticking to the baking sheets and makes clean up a breeze. It's okay to reuse a sheet when baking a second or third tray of cookies, but gently scrape the paper with the spatula to remove any crumbs before dropping new dough on the sheet. Trim or fold the paper so it fits on your baking sheet. Be careful not to place under the broiler or near the heating element as it will burn. Do not use parchment paper in toaster ovens for that reason. Parchment paper costs anywhere from $4 - $8 depending on the brand.

Cooling Rack
Cooling racks are essential for cooking making because they allow the cookie to cool quickly and without forming condensation. Two racks should do it. Look for large racks that will firmly support cookies while they cool.

You'll also need spoons, a butter knife, scissors, oven mitts, and a hot oven. But you probably already have those things in your kitchen.

Once you have purchased the tools, you'll need the ingredients. Stay tuned to the blog for my next entry which covers stocking your pantry. Happy baking.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies With Cream Cheese Filling

Chilly days lead to warm thoughts of autumnal flavors simmering on the stove or baking in the oven. This time of year I love to make butternut squash soup, apple pies, spice cake, and anything with pumpkin. I usually can't wait for Thanksgiving Day to dig in to a homemade pumpkin pie so two weeks ago I made one and devoured it with Mike's help in three days. As I was finishing the last few bites of pie I started thinking about what else I could make using pumpkin.

I searched the web and quickly found a recipe for pumpkin whoopie pies on Martha's site and was amazed, no shocked, to find that it was not a Martha original. She credited Matt Lewis of Baked Bakery in Brooklyn for the recipe. I guess even Martha has a few "go-to" people for great cookie recipes.

I brought these to a family party celebrating my uncle's 60th birthday and they were a big hit. The cake is very moist and spiced with generous amounts of cinnamon, ginger and cloves. The cream cheese filling is a perfect complement. While sweet, it balances perfectly with the pumpkin-spice cake.

I think I'll make them to bring along on Thanksgiving Day when Mike and I make the trek to Long Island for our feast!

Baker's Note: Be sure to use pure canned pumpkin in a 15 ounce can, not something in a similar can called pumpkin pie filling. The latter has spices already mixed in and will lead to an over-spiced cake. At the start, open the cans of pumpkin, place in a bowl, and set in the refrigerator to chill. Finally, if you don't have a pastry bag to pipe the filling, don't stress. I used a spoon to gently dollop the filling onto each cookie.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies With Cream Cheese Filling

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cloves
1 cups firmly packed dark-brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups pumpkin puree, chilled
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream-Cheese Filling

3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces (1 package) cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Cookies:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and oil until well combined. Add chilled pumpkin puree and whisk until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until well combined. Sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until fully incorporated.

Using a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism, drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Transfer to oven and bake until cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of each cookie comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on pan.

Make the Filling:
Sift confectioners' sugar into a medium bowl, set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add cream cheese and beat until well combined. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla, beat just until smooth. Filling can be made a day in advance. Cover and refrigerate; let stand at room temperature to soften before using.

Assemble Whoopie Pies:
Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Transfer filling to a pasty bag or a plastic bag, snipping off the end. When cookies have cooled completely, pipe a large dollop of filling onto the flat side of one cookie and sandwich with the flat side of another cookie. Press down slightly so the filling spreads toward the edge of the cookies. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and refrigerate cookies for at least 30 minutes before serving. Best eaten within 3 days.


Cookie press rating: 5 cookies! (out of 5) A perfect score!

Grasshoppers

A few of my friends have asked me why I don't experiment more when I bake. My "blog routine" has been to choose a favorite recipe or one from a trusted cookbook, prepare it and then write about the experience, inserting humorous anecdotes as I go.

Since baking is essentially chemistry, it's easy to foul things up by adding too much flour, leavenings, or not enough fat such as butter or shortening. Precise measuring is essential to being a good baker and frankly, I don't have endless amounts of time or cash to make and remake batch after batch of experimental cookies. Instead, I leave the basics of a recipe to the experts who do.

But that doesn't mean I don't do minor things to improve upon a recipe. Using the best chocolate I can find or substituting hazelnuts for pecans can dramatically change the taste and appearance of a cookie. This is where I can, and usually do, safely experiment when baking. I think of it as the fashion equivalent of adding a pocket square to my favorite suit. I look good without it, but I look even better with it.

This week I had to stray a bit from my regular blog routine when my friend Kim requested a batch of Grasshopper cookies as her reward for designing the blog's new look. Since I've never made grasshoppers before, I look online for a recipe. When a few searches came up with zilch, it was time to create my own version using a chocolate cookie recipe I was already familiar with.

Grasshoppers are a cookie made by Keebler and are similar in appearance and taste to Girl Scout Thin Mints. My interpretation is a sandwich cookie with a minty chocolate cookie as the base and top, and a creamy mint filling inside. The top is drizzled with melted white chocolate. The result was a fantastic combination of crispy, chocolaty cookies surrounding a soft, minty filling made with butter, powdered sugar, and creme de menthe. The small amount of white chocolate was just enough to make the cookie decadent and wonderful. Next time I may throw caution into the wind and dip the entire cookie in dark chocolate before finishing it off with white chocolate.

Chocolate Cookie Base
(adapted from Carole Walter's Great Cookies book)

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
3 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips)
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
6 tablespoons dutch-processed cocoa powder (different from Hershey's or Nestle)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup superfine sugar (alternatively, process 3/4 cup granulated sugar in a food processor fitted with a steel blade for approximately 10 - 15 seconds)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon peppermint extract

In a saucepan, melt the butter over low heat and then add the chocolate. When chocolate is almost melted, turn off the heat and let mixture stand, stirring occasionally until the chocolate is completely melted. Blend in the espresso powder and set aside.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Stir the sugar into the chocolate mixture, blending until smooth. Stir in egg and peppermint extract. Add the dry ingredients in two additions, mixing only enough to combine. The dough will be oily and soft.

Shape the dough into two logs, 5 inches long x 1 1/4 inches in diameter. Wrap each log in plastic, twisting the ends tightly to secure. Refrigerate for three hours or until firm. Note: I had to put the dough into the refrigerator for about 10 minutes in order to form the logs.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Using a thin, sharp knife, cut the dough into 3/16-inch slices. Rotate the dough to maintain the round shape and reshape cut dough into round circles as needed. Press slightly with fingertips. Place two inches apart on cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 - 11 minutes until just set. The cookies will be soft to the touch, but will firm up as they cool. Let stand on cookie sheet for 4 - 5 minutes and then transfer to cooling racks. (Note: it's difficult to see if cookies are browning because of their color, so it's important to watch careful and remove the cookies promptly when timer goes off.)

Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks or frozen for several months.

Creme de Menthe Filling

Beat 1/2 cup softened butter (1 stick) with an electric mixer on high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually beat in 1 cup powdered sugar. Beat in 2 tablespoons creme de menthe (or 2 tablespoons milk, 1/2 teaspoon mint extract and a few drops of green food coloring) and 1 tablespoon milk. Gradually beat in 3 additional cups of powdered sugar. Add more milk if necessary to obtain the right spreading consistency.

Assemble Cookies

Place a teaspoon of filling on bottom of cookie and gently press another cookie on top of the filling, bottom first. Repeat using all cookies. You should have about 2 dozen cookies total.

Melt 3 ounces of white chocolate in microwave being careful not to burn it. Check regularly and stir chocolate. Place cookies on sheets of wax paper and drizzle with melted chocolate. (Note: I found that a honey dripper worked well to evenly distribute chocolate over cookies. Use quick, even strokes, back and forth over cookies to create straight lines of chocolate.)

Allow chocolate to set for about 30 minutes before handling. Carefully place on cookie sheets or plates and refrigerate until chocolate has completely set.

Cookie press rating: 4.5 cookies (out of five)

Melted Chocolate, Butter & Espresso Powder













Slicing Cookies














Melted White Chocolate














Allow the Chocolate to Set Before Handling













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