A Homemade Living

Julia Child’s Mousse au Chocolat

Posted on November 30, 2012

Hi, Everyone! So, a couple days ago, I got an unexpected package in the mail! I opened it up and it was the From Julia Child’s Kitchen cookbook, first edition, from my father-in-law. If you know me, you know I’m a big Julia Child fan, so you can imagine how excited I was to get the cookbook! That night, I flipped through the book sitting by our beautiful Christmas tree and just couldn’t resist trying one of the recipes! As soon as I saw Julia’s description of her Chocolate Mousse, I knew I had to make it! “It’s a sin, wickedly rich and fattening, but every spoonful is glory.” Need I say more?! And filled with butter, sugar, coffee and chocolate, it really is all those things. Sinful, fattening, and yes, glorious! It had been a pretty rough week, and so the cookbook, and the chocolate mousse, couldn’t have come at a better time! Nothing like butter, lots of butter, and chocolate to make life feel good again!

MOUSSE AU CHOCOLAT

(Recipe from Julia Child)

*Serves 8 – 10*

YOU WILL NEED:

4 large eggs
1 1/2 tbs instant coffee dissolved in 1/4 cup hot water
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup strong coffee
6oz semi-sweet baking chocolate
6oz (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, diced
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS

1. First, separate your egg yolks and egg whites into two different bowls. Set the egg whites aside (they need to remain at room temperature) and pour the egg yolks into your electric mixer bowl, and beat them for about three minutes, until you get a nice, creamy, yellow mixture. Set aside.

2. Next, in a small pan, make the sugar syrup by combining the instant coffee with 1/4 cup water and the granulated sugar. Swirl them together in the pan, let the mixture come to a boil for a couple seconds (when it starts to bubble up too much, swirl it around), making sure that all the sugar has dissolved and the liquid is clear. Remove the pan from heat, and with the mixer running, begin adding the hot mixture to the creamed egg yolks. (Do this very slowly and carefully, so you don’t accidentally get coffee flavored scrambled eggs!) Set aside.

3. Now it’s time to melt the chocolate (my favorite part of the process!) Begin by boiling a large pot of water, then combining the chocolate, strong coffee and diced butter in a small pan and setting that pan over the pot of boiling water (remove from heat) and let the chocolate and butter melt into the coffee together. Once melted, set aside.

4. Next, transfer the egg yolk mixture into a small pan, and set it over a pot of water at just below a simmer. Using a whisk, beat the egg yolk mixture for 5 – 10 minutes, until it doubles in size and becomes thick and creamy. Once that’s done, place it back in your electric mixer bowl, and beat at medium speed for 5 minutes, until it’s cool.

5. Using a whisk or a wooden spoon, combine the egg yolk mixture with the melted chocolate, by pouring the chocolate into the egg yolks little by little, until you get a smooth, creamy mixture.

6. Next, in a clean electric mixer bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt and the cream of tartar, until you get glistening stiff peaks. Then, using a rubber spatula, fold the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture, fold slowly and gently, so the egg whites don’t lose their volume. To finish the mousse off, cover it, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight if you can!

And that’s it! It may require a lot of steps, a lot of time, and most of your kitchen equipment to make Julia’s mousse, but it is so worth it! It is THE best mousse I’ve ever made, it’s deliciously thick and creamy, with a wonderful depth of flavor that comes from the addition of the coffee, which brings out the sweetness in the chocolate. So, if you are looking for something decadent and elegant to add to your Christmas dessert menu this year, try this mousse! You won’t be disappointed, because like Julia said, this dessert is just glorious!

Happy Cooking, Everyone!

Bon Apetit!

Sugary Snowflake Gingerbread Squares

Posted on November 27, 2012

Hi, Everyone! I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season and having fun decorating, Christmas shopping, cooking and baking seasonal recipes, spending time with friends and family, continuing beloved holiday traditions and making some new memories! I love that we have a desire to make everything extra special at Christmas time, and wish we stuck to it all year round! It’s the thoughtful little details that make things more special, and I have a really cute and easy way for you to Christmasify (if that’s even a word!) any plain cake and turn it into a Christmas dessert!

Here are my Sugary Snowflake Gingerbread Squares! I made a gingerbread cake (using a box mix – that’s how easy this can be if you need something really fast!) and simply stenciled snowflakes onto it using some powdered sugar! If you don’t have a stencil, or it’s not the right size, you can make one like I did! You can either do this by using a snowflake craft punch (I have a Martha Stewart one that works great!) or you can just print out a snowflake shape and cut it out and use that as your stencil. Place your stencil where you want it and sprinkle the confectioners’ sugar on top, then remove the stencil carefully. You could also add some edible glitter to the confectioners’ sugar to make the snowflakes shimmery!

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Happy Baking, Everyone!

Traditional Christmas Gingerbread Cookies

Posted on November 25, 2012

Hi, Everyone! Today I want to share one of my favorite Christmas traditions with you – traditional Czech gingerbread cookies! I look forward to baking these cookies every year, because it brings back sweet memories of making them with my mom and my grandparents every year, and because it fills the house with the most wonderful, warm, gingerbread aroma! Once these cookies are baked, decorated and sitting on the dining table, the Christmas season can officially begin! Personally, I only use these cookies for decoration but you could definitely eat them. Here are some pictures of my Christmas 2012 gingerbread cookies!

TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

YOU WILL NEED

Cookies:

325g all-purpose flour

125g powdered sugar

50g honey

2 tbs unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp baking soda

2 eggs

1/2 tbs ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp anise

Icing:

2 egg whites

2 cups powdered sugar

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DIRECTIONS

1. In your electric mixer bowl, combine flour, baking soda and cinnamon. In another bowl, cream together butter, eggs, sugar, honey and anise.

2. While mixing, slowly add the wet mixture to the dry until a firm dough forms. I like this dough because it’s not greasy at all. Form it into a disk and wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for 30 minutes.

3. Once chilled, divide the dough into two, and roll each half our on a floured surface (into about a sugar cookie dough thickness, the cookies will puff up quite a bit while baking!) and cut your shapes out. Preheat your oven to 350 deg F (180 deg C)

4. Place your cut out shapes onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, and bake for about 7 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool completely before icing.

5. To make your icing, whisk 2 egg whites until stiff white peaks form, then slowly begin adding the sugar. Spoon that mixture into your piping bags, and decorate your cookies! This icing is great as it dries hard, just make sure you give it enough time to dry!

I hope you have lots of wonderful Christmas traditions that you look forward to every year too!

Happy Baking, Everyone!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

Posted on November 12, 2012

Hi, Everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend! With the holidays approaching so quickly, I’ve been looking for new recipes to try out, and am sharing one with you today! I’ve seen these Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars all over Pinterest and they sounded so delicious I just had to give them a try! Two of my favorite desserts (cheesecake and chocolate chip cookies) combined into one delicious dessert?! Sounds good to me! And they turned out just as good as they sounded! A graham cracker crust layered with a layer or vanilla flavored cheesecake topped with a gooey chocolate chip cookie dough layer!

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH

CHEESECAKE BARS

(Recipe from My Baking Addiction)

YOU WILL NEED:

Crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

5 tbs unsalted butter, melted

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Layer:

1/3 cup light brown sugar

3 tbs granulated sugar

1/4 tsp salt

5 tbs unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cheesecake Layer:

10oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup confectioners sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

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DIRECTIONS

1. Start with the graham cracker crust. First, line an 8inch baking pan with parchment paper. Preheat your oven to 325 deg F. Combine the melted butter with the graham cracker crumbs. Pour the crumbs into the prepared pan and press them into it to make an even crust layer. Bake for 6 minutes, then take it out of the oven and set it aside.

2. Next, prepare the cheesecake layer. In your electric mixer bowl, combine the softened cream cheese (it NEEDS to be softened otherwise you will have clumps in this layer), sugar, egg and vanilla until you have a light, smooth mixture. Pour it on top of the graham cracker crust, and even it out with a spatula.

3. Lastly, prepare the cookie dough layer. In your electric mixer bowl, cream together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter and vanilla extract. Once you have a smooth mixture, add in the flour, salt, then the chocolate chips, until a dough forms. Make little patties out of the dough, flatten them out and lay each on top of the cheesecake layer dough, covering the whole surface of the cheesecake layer with the cookie dough.

4. Bake until the top of the dessert is dry and the middle has baked through (the original recipe said to bake for 30 minutes, but I had to bake it for about 50 minutes. It depends on your oven, so just watch it as it bakes!) Once done, let the bars cool, cut them into pieces and refrigerate!

Happy Baking, Everyone!

Brown Sugar – Raisin Bread

Posted on October 31, 2012

Hi, Everyone! I hope that those of you who live on the East Coast made it through the hurricane safely and didn’t have any damage on your homes! Thankfully the worst that happened to us was that we lost power, other than that everything was ok! It started raining here on Sunday afternoon, and continued to rain through the night and into Monday. The rain and wind really intensified around lunch time on Monday and got worse and worse through the afternoon. As soon as the hurricane hit the ground on the Jersey shore we lost power. Luckily I had lots of candles ready, so we spent the rest of the evening eating by candlelight and listening to the storm outside, which was beginning to sound pretty scary! At one point the rain was pounding on the windows so hard I thought it was going to break them! Thankfully the storm was gone by the morning and we got our power back by the afternoon. Just a few hours without heat, light, and being able to charge our cell phones and computers felt like forever and made me so thankful for how comfortable our lives are today! The first thing I did when the power came back on? Made a nice big cup of English Breakfast Tea! And the next thing? I made a loaf of this wonderfully soft and comforting Brown Sugar – Raisin Bread that I’m sharing with you today! It’s the perfect thing to bake on a cold, rainy day because it will fill your home with the delicious warmth of cinnamon and brown sugar! And I don’t think there’s anything as comforting as that! Here’s the recipe…

BROWN SUGAR – RAISIN BREAD

(Recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma)

*Makes 1 loaf*

YOU WILL NEED:

Bread:

1/2 tbs active dry yeast

1 1/2 tbs granulated sugar

1/2 and 1/8 cup warm water

1/2 cup warm milk

1 1/2 tbs unsalted butter, melted

1/2 tbs salt

1 egg

3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup raisins

Filling:

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

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DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, combine the yeast, a little bit of sugar and a 1/4 cup of warm water. Cover and let stand for a five minutes, until the mixture gets frothy. Set aside.

2. In your electric mixer bowl, combine the rest of the water, the warm milk, butter, the rest of the sugar, salt egg and a cup of the flour. Mix until you get a creamy texture, then add the yeast and another cup of flour. Mix for a couple of minutes, then add in the raisins and continue mixing. Add the rest of the flour and beat on medium speed until a soft dough forms (if the dough is too sticky add a little more flour. Using the dough hook attachment, knead for five minutes. Then, form the dough into a ball, place it in a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for an hour.

3. Line a standard size loaf pan with parchment paper. Turn your dough out onto a floured surface and roll it into an 8×12 inch rectangle. In a little bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon, then evenly sprinkle it over the rectangle. Tightly roll up the dough jelly-roll style beginning at the narrow end until you get a log. Pinch the ends and transfer the log into your prepared pan (make sure you place it in the pan seam side down). Cover it loosely and let rise for another hour and a half.

4. Preheat your oven to 350 deg F. Bake the bread for 35 – 40 minutes, until the top is beautifully golden brown! Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing and eating.

Happy Baking, Everyone!

My Favorite Thing About Fall…

Posted on October 27, 2012

Hi, Everyone! I don’t know what your favorite thing about the fall is, but for me it’s all the amazing colors that it brings with it; the fiery oranges, deep reds, and glowing yellows. I love seeing the trees turn all different shades of beautifully warm colors and I also love all the beautiful chrysanthemums that grow in the fall! This past week, a sweet friend of mine took me to a great new Amish market where we found the most amazing mums I have ever seen! I’ve always loved these flowers, and look forward to getting some every year. Here are some pictures of the beautiful mums at the Amish market.

These flowers always remind me of two things. The first precious memory is of my grandfather who grew gorgeous mums in his garden. He had the most beautiful garden with every possible kind of fruit tree, many different vegetables, and lots of beautiful flowers. Every fall, his garden would fill with beautiful mums of all different colors. I wish I could’ve helped out with the gardening more, and I’d probably have introduced him to something like an efficient watering system for gardens had I known about it then. Nevertheless, his garden always seemed to be in full bloom, and I loved that. As soon as I smelled the flowers at the market, it brought back sweet memories of my grandfather.

The second thing that these flowers always remind me of is a scene from Anne of Green Gables (my favorite movie!) where Mr. Phillips asks Gilbert to spell the word “chrysanthemum” and he spells it wrong, after which Anne triumphantly shows him how it’s really spelled! My mom and I loved watching this movie together when I was growing up, and so every time I see these flowers I think of that scene!

I hope you are all enjoying the beautiful colors of fall wherever you may be! And if you live in an area that’s supposed to be hit by hurricane Sandy, stay safe! We are getting ready for the storm to hit the DC area soon, and hoping we don’t lose power! Stay safe and warm, Everyone! Have a great rest of your weekend!

Home Sweet Home Pillow

Posted on October 24, 2012

Hi, Everyone! Today I want to show you my new “Home Sweet Home” pillow that I made this week! We’ve been in Maryland for a little over a month now and are settling in well and starting to get to know the area a little and are learning our way around! I finally unpacked my sewing machine and set up my craft room, and so it was time to make something for our new Home Sweet Home! I’ll admit, I didn’t realize how much craft stuff I had until I started unpacking. Every box I opened was a surprise and it gave me so many options to create this pillow. Originally, I was going to use machine embroidery designs to create the lettering but then I found this darker material and just knew I had to use it. I’m so pleased with how it turned out!

Since both my husband and I have moved around a lot in our lives, having a house that really feels like home is really important to me because it’s what makes me feel happy, safe, and comfortable in a new place. We’ve had lots of homes in our lives and each has been special in its own ways and given us lots of memories to look back on. As long as we are together, no matter where life takes us, it feels like home, and for that I am a very lucky girl! The new home is lovely. We’ve even been using an online remortgage calculator to help us pay for an extension on the back of our house. Although the house is big, I’d love to have another room attached to the back of the kitchen…it’s only an idea at the minute though. Here are some pictures of my new “Home Sweet Home” pillow and instructions for how to make your own…

“Home is the nicest word there is.” ~Laura Ingalls Wilder

To make my “Home Sweet Home” pillow, I made a simple 14×14 inch envelope pillow case. I ironed it so that it would make it easier to paint the letters on it. Print out the phrase that you want on your pillow in whatever font and size you want. Cut out the letters, position them where you want them on the pillow case, and trace around them. Then, paint the letters using some fabric paint (make sure that you put something underneath the layer of fabric you are painting because the paint will bleed through!) Let the paint dry completely, then iron the painted surface placing a layer of fabric (like a kitchen towel or a place mat) between the pillow case and the iron, this will help the paint set in. Place your pillow stuffing inside the pillow case case and you’re done!

“There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort!” ~Jane Austen

Happy Crafting, Everyone!

Andes Creme de Menthe Cookies

Posted on October 22, 2012

Hi, Everybody! I hope you all had a great weekend! I can’t believe how fast this fall is flying by; as I was baking these cookies that I’m sharing with you today I realized there are only two months left before Christmas is here! If you are a fan of mint chocolate, you are going to love these Andes Creme de Menthe Cookies. I made these for my husband the other day because he loves anything mint chocolate. These cookies are very soft and chewy, and well, minty! If you are a mint chocolate fan too, you should definitely try them out! Here’s the recipe…

ANDES CREME DE MENTHE COOKIES

(Recipe from Tootsie Roll Industries)

*Makes 4 dozen cookies*

YOU WILL NEED:

2 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup (4oz) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 package (10 oz) Andes Creme de Menthe baking chips

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DIRECTIONS

1. First, combine softened unsalted butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar, vanilla and eggs. Stir in the baking chips. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and baking soda. With the mixer running, begin adding the flour mixture to the butter mixture until a smooth dough forms. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

2. Preheat your oven to 350 deg F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Form cookie dough into equal sized balls and place on baking sheets. Bake for about 8 – 10 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Let cool for a couple of minutes before eating.

Happy Baking, Everyone!

Traditional Czech Buchty – Sweet Buns filled with Rosehip Jam

Posted on October 15, 2012

Hi, Everyone! I’m so excited to share this recipe for traditional Czech “buchty” (sweet filled buns) with you today! Every time I get a little homesick and miss Prague, I know that cooking or baking something that reminds me of home will cheer me up! These sweet buns are one of my favorites, and just the smell of them backing brought back lots of happy memories of summers at my grandparents’ house. Traditionally, the buns are filled with a sweet sort of cream cheese mixture, plum jam or a sweet poppyseed mixture, but since I didn’t have any of those I decided to fill them with some rosehip jam (one of my favorites!) These buns are really easy to make, are so light and fluffy and deliciously sweet! Here is how I made them…

TRADITIONAL CZECH BUCHTY

*Makes 12*

YOU WILL NEED:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 package (2 1/4 tsp) instant dry yeast

2 tbs granulated sugar

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 whole egg and one extra egg yolk

Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

1 cup jam of your choice!

DIRECTIONS

1. First, combine the flour and sugar in your electric mixer bowl. Next, heat up the milk until it is lukewarm, and add the instant dry yeast to it. Cover and let sit for about five minutes, until its frothy. Set aside.

2. Next, whisk together the egg, extra egg yolk, vanilla extract and oil. With the mixer running, slowly begin adding the yeast mixture and the egg mixture to the flour, and mix until a soft dough begins to form (if the dough is too wet, add more flour). Then, knead for five minutes using the dough hook attachment on your mixer. Form the dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about an hour.

3. Once the dough has risen, punch it down and turn it out onto a floured surface. Roll out into about a 9×13 inch rectangle. Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut the rectangle into 12 equal squares. Drop a dollop of jam in the middle of each square. Grease your baking dish (I used a 6x8inch baking pan) and make little bundles out of each square, pinching down the bottom so none of the jam leaks out. Place the little bundles into your pan (brush the sides of each one with oil – this is very important, it’s what helps them bake as buns and not one big cake) and cover and let rise for another half hour.

4. Preheat your oven to 350 deg F and bake for about 20 – 30 minutes, depending on your oven, until they are beautifully golden brown on top! (While they are still hot, you can brush them with a little bit of milk just to make them super soft.) Let cool for a couple of minutes, then dust with confectioners’ sugar!

Happy Baking, Everyone!

Homemade Soft Pretzels with a Sweet Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

Posted on October 5, 2012

Hi, Everyone! Happy Weekend! I hope you all had a great week and have some fun plans for the weekend! If you’re looking for something really good to bake over the weekend, I have the perfect idea for you! How about some deliciously comforting soft pretzels with a sweet and tangy honey mustard sauce? I’ve been wanting to make some of these for the longest time, and finally got around to doing it this week! Every time I walk into a shopping mall and smell the wonderful buttery smell of pretzels from one of the pretzel shops, it calls my name (and I try to resist every time!) and so I decided to try making some at home. I thought they might be good homemade, but I didn’t think they would be THIS good! These pretzels are amazing! They are soft and buttery and taste so good warm, dipped in the honey mustard sauce! And the good news is, they don’t need to rise for hours and hours, from beginning to the end they only take a little over an hour to make! They are the perfect treat for a chilly fall night! Happy Baking, Everyone!

HOMEMADE SOFT PRETZELS

(Adapted from Fifteen Spatulas)

*Makes 8 pretzels*

YOU WILL NEED:

Dough:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp granulated sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/2 tsp dried yeast (1 package)

1 cup warm water

Topping:

1/2 cup warm water

1 tbs baking soda

2 tbs unsalted butter, melted

salt for sprinkling

Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce:

3 tbs light mayonnaise

2 tbs grainy mustard

1 tbs Dijon mustard

3 1/2 tbs honey

1/2 tsp lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

1. First, combine warm water, sugar and instant dried yeast in a small bowl. Cover and let sit for five minutes, until the mixture is frothy. Meanwhile, combine flour and salt in your electric mixer bowl. Once your yeast mixture is frothy, add it to the flour and mix until a soft dough forms. Then, using the dough hook attachment, knead for five minutes. Form the dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise for 30 – 40 minutes.

2. Once the dough has risen, punch it down and divide it into eight equal pieces. Preheat your oven to 400 deg F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper (or just grease them). In a small bowl, combine warm water and baking soda. On a greased surface, make your pretzels. Dip each pretzel into the baking soda and water mixture, then place them onto your prepared baking sheets and cover them, let rise for another 10 minutes.

3. Bake the pretzels for about 10 minutes, until they are golden brown on top. Once they are done, brush them with melted butter and sprinkle them with salt.

4. To make the honey mustard dipping sauce, combine all the ingredients with a whisk and chill for a couple of minutes. You can adjust the amounts of honey and mustard to suit your taste. Eat the pretzels warm dipped in the delicious sauce!