Tutorial: Hiking Boot Cookies

Today is the first day of Spring - HOORAY!  That means hiking season is almost upon us.  To get your ramped up for the season, I wanted to share this tutorial with you for Hiking Boot Cookies.

Last July, my sister got married.  She and her new hubby started out their relationship hiking together and it grew from there so when they planned their wedding, they planned a casual, hiking themed wedding that was as much fun for the guests as it was for them.  It was very laid back and casual (and it was held on what turned out to be the hottest day of the summer - yikes!) and the menu was no different.

They picked a casual menu and asked me to oversee the shopping, cooking and preparing of the food, which included a special request for a platter of hiking themed cookies.  Here's what they looked like:







I decided to use Lila Loa's End All for Chocolate Cookies Recipe for a couple of reasons.
1) the chocolate cookie would show through on the boot-print scene cookie and look like earth, adding to the overall effect
2) They are absolutely the best, most reliable cut-out cookie recipe I have ever used - these cookies DO NOT SPREAD when you bake them - which makes them perfect for cut-outs

For the Royal Icing, I always use this recipe from The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle.  I've found it to be a reliable recipe and tastier than most Royal Icing recipes I've had.  You can also find lots of tutorials and excellent tips on this blog, and I highly recommend it if Royal Icing Cookies are something you enjoy playing with.

I had no trouble finding a basic idea for the backpack and bootprint cookies, but I had no luck finding anything for the hiking boot.  So, I figured it out for myself and took pictures of every step (ha ha, see what I did there?), so I could share them here...

Once you have cut and baked your roll out cookies, allow them to cool completely.  Still-warm cookies will result in runny frosting - a disaster for this type of decorating.



I mixed up a dark gray Royal Icing and thinned it to a 20 second consistency.  This is just thick enough to hold a line, but thin enough to use as a flood icing to fill in the outlines. I started with the bottom of the sole...



...while that was drying, I added the upper edge that you see on so many pairs of hiking boots...



...and while those details were drying (and while I was adding details to some of the other cookie shapes that used this same color), I mixed up a light tan color, which I also thinned to a 20 second consistency.  I sealed it up and let the other details set before filling in a flooding the body of the boot while the body of the boot was still try I thinned the grey icing even more - to about a 10 second consistency (maybe less) and added the eyelets to the boots, using a small round tip, and just dropping a tiny dot of icing in a row.  This results in the added icing sinking into the icing that's already there, while still holding it's shape.



Now I used the Royal Icing straight up, with just coloring to add the lacing...



On one cookie, I also added their initials and the date of the Big Day to place on the top of the cookie platter.



And there you have it, Hiking Boot Cookies for a Hiking or Camping themed cookie platter!

Homemade Baking Mix

I don’t know about you, but I’m not a big user of baking mixes.  I just don’t see the point in paying a premium for someone else to mix something up for me that I can do myself from ingredients that I stock in my pantry on a regular basis already.  I have to confess that this has resulted in snobbery against recipes that call for pre-mixed, pre-prepared items.  Kinda funny actually (and hypocritical if I’m being completely honest) since I often purchase and use pre-shredded or pre-sliced cheeses, canned cream of mushroom soup and canned chili and think nothing of cake/brownie mixes, pre-made pie crust and store-bought cocoa mix.  But last year I was co-facilitator for an “Outdoor Chef” workshop with my friends Janet (of the Chuck Wagoneer blog) and Amelia for Adult Girl Scout Volunteers and one of the recipes we decided to make was this Spicy Taco Cobbler, which called for not only Bisquick but also (*gasp*) Uncle Ben’s Spanish Ready Rice.  I was resistant to using this recipe because I really felt a workshop titled “Outdoor Chef” should include recipes that would allow the participants to really maximize their cooking skills by making everything from scratch.  Well, the recipe was a huge hit and I was completely won over.  I’ll talk more specifically about why it was so good in a near-future blog post, but let’s just say that I was determined to re-create that recipe from scratch and that meant I needed a good Baking Mix recipe.

I ended up choosing this recipe from King Arthur’s Flour for All-Purpose Baking Mix, omitting the shortening because I didn’t want to worry about shelf-life and I have been, up to this point, a very infrequent user of baking mixes.  I went ahead and made up the whole batch – happy for an excuse to make the Biscuits & Gravy my hubby and I have been craving lately as well as a myriad of other tasty delights.  You’ll need to remember to add fat to your recipes when you make this if you decide to make it without the shortening.  For my scratch version of the Spicy Taco Cobbler, I added 1 Tablespoon of melted, unsalted butter and it worked out perfectly so plan on a ratio of 1 tablespoon fat to 1 cup of mix as a starting point (and I’ve since used the same ratio when I’ve made pancakes and waffles).  You may need to play with your recipes a bit to determine works for you as well to determine which fats work best with each of your recipes.

 

This worked beautifully for the Spicy Taco Cobbler, rising nice and high and developing a golden brown, crust on top with a tender, moist interior.  I’ve also made wonderfully fluffy, light pancakes and really tasty waffles with that perfect balance of crunch on the outside and tender on the inside using this mix and I need to make another batch already.

This is super easy to do - I assembled the mix right in a re-sealable plastic bag and then stored it next to my flour in the hopes that it’s presence there will act as a reminder to use it (unlike the who-knows-how-many-years-old box of Bisquick I found in my pantry earlier today). 

Here’s the recipe (sans the shortening):

9 Cups Unbleached Flour
5 TBLS Baking Powder
1 TBLS Salt
¼ C Granulated Sugar

Measure all ingredients directly into a re-sealable plastic bag.  Seal the bag.  Shake to mix well.  Label and store. 

Twisted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies are the hands-down favorite in my house.  If I ask my husband what kind of cookies he'd like me to make, he'll always request Chocolate Chip.  Its my favorite to bake and experiment with too.  I love to change up the extracts and stir-ins I use and Twisted Chocolate Chip is not only one of my favorite variations, but it's also my go-to choice any time I make cookies for people who don't eat nuts.

What makes these Twisted Chocolate Chips twisted is the addition of pretzel twists.  I love how the crunchy texture of the pretzels holds up in the cookie dough and ads a similar texture to nuts with the addition of that touch of saltiness.  I love my sweet with a little salty crunch!

I start these cookies by melting the butter and creaming the melted butter with the granulated and brown sugars.

I've found that the to achieving a lofty, chewy cookie when using melted butter is to beat the melted butter and sugar together until you have a truly emulsified mixture.  If you can still see the liquid butter at the edges of your bowl - it's still separating from the sugar and you need to keep mixing.  I use a whisk for this whole process...  

...see the separation here...

...and fully emulsified here:

Once the sugar and butter is completely blended together, set it aside to cool a bit while you break up the pretzel twists.  I prefer the twist to pretzel sticks, they just seem to blend into the dough a bit better.  I also like to break them up by hand, you want coarse chunks of pretzel, not tiny crushed up bits that disappear into the dough.  They should look like this:

The sugar and butter emulsion should be cooled enough at this point to add the eggs, mix them in well, then add the baking soda, salt and vanilla.  Blend well.

Add the flour and top the flour with the pretzel pieces and chocolate chips.  Stir it all in until the flour disappears into the dough.  I do it this way because I've found it helps to suspend the chocolate chips and other stirred in additions in the dough - so you get a nice, even distribution of ingredients in every bite. 

The cookie dough will be sticky and a bit too loose to scoop at this point.  

Cover it tightly with plastic wrap and chill it for 1 hour.  Then preheat the oven to 375, prep your cookie sheets with either non-stick spray, silicon baking mats or parchment paper.  Scoop the cookies and place on the prepared sheets about 1-2 inches apart.  I use a scoop that allows me to fit 12 to a sheet and makes standard sized cookies, but feel free to use whatever size you prefer.





Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  Allow cookies to set on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to finish cooling.  We like to have a few while they are still warm, fresh from the oven - preferably with a cold glass of milk.

Twisted Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, melted 

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/4 cup flour

1 cup pretzel twists, coarsely broken

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Melt butter in the microwave on high for about 1 minute.  Add granulated and brown sugars and mix well, until completely emulsified.  Set aside to cool.  Add eggs and blend well.  Add baking soda, salt and vanilla and stir to mix.  Add flour, pretzels and chocolate chips.  Stir in and mix until all the flour is fully incorporated into the dough.  Chill for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray cookie sheets with non-stick spray or line with silicon baking mats or parchment.  Use a cookie scoop or a spoon to drop cookies onto sheet 1-2 inches apart.  Bake 8-10 minutes until golden brown.  Remove from oven and allow cookies to set for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

This recipes makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies using a 2 tablespoon scoop. 

Happy Holidays!

I hope you had as lovely a Thanksgiving Holiday as I have and that you are well on your way to enjoying the upcoming marathon of celebrations that marks whatever winter holidays you celebrate! 

I know I'm extremely late in posting for Thanksgiving, but I wanted to share with you anyway.  This year, we celebrated the holiday at the home of my eldest niece and her husband.  It was the first time my husband and I made it to their lovely home and we enjoyed the visit very much.  Our family tends to do holiday meals pot-luck style since we all love to cook and enjoy being able to contribute something to the meal.  Our assignment was salad and pecan pie. 

The salad was a yummy blend of mixed herbs, mixed baby greens and romaine with shaved shallots, dried cranberries, chopped apple, candied pecans and blue cheese topped with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing.  It was crunchy, tart, sweet and tangy - everyone loved it! 

The pecan pie was this recipe I found on Pinterest for Utterly Deadly Pecan Pie.  We topped it with bourbon whipped cream.  I will never go back to "regular" pecan pie after having this.  I have always loved pecan pie, but have never been able to eat more than a sliver (sometimes not even that much)!  I'll admit that Thanksgiving night, I was way to full of turkey and all the trimmings to eat a whole piece of anything, but I did manage to eat half of a respectable piece of this pie as well as half a piece of apple-apricot pie that my nieces' mother-in-law brought.  My husband, decidedly not a fan of pecan pie managed to polish off my piece (and enjoyed it very much).  Another non-pecan-pie-fan also managed to finish off someone elses' piece of pie and I successfully managed a WHOLE piece the following night! 

What makes this particular pecan pie so different you ask?  Well, let me tell you - it's a much drier pie than your traditional pecan pie.  It doesn't have that layer made up of mostly corn syrup that tends to be gooey and rich and which is one of the main turn-offs for pecan pie haters.  This pie is crunchy and just sweet enough without being gooey.  It's the perfect compliment to an enormous dollop of whipped cream (I like a little pie with my whipped cream, thank you very much!)!  This version is also made in a cast iron skillet, something I felt was particularly genius.  Yes, it made the pie very rustic (but then, my husband and I are very rustic people), but it also made the crust nice and flaky, not a bit mushy or soft and it made it uber-simple to make since there was no fuss about crimping, fluting or otherwise fancy-fying the edge!

Since then, I have been baking up a storm - with and without family to help.  For starters, a bunch of my family came over and we made Scalile.  Scalile are a traditional Italian Christmas cookie that my family has made for as long as I can remember.  They are wonderful little pieces of what is, essentially, noodle dough, rolled thin, twisted into a charming, bow-like shape and deep-fried - a process which creates delightful little crevices for the honey that they are then dipped into as the final stroke of deliciousness!  It's a whole family affair to make these little gems and an event sure to take us all down memory lane whenever we are able to accomplish it!  If you are interested in the recipe, you can find it at the Carbone Family Recipe blog.

In the past couple of days I have made more of the wonderful, gooey Ghirardelli Chocolate Truffle Cookies with Sea Salt that I shared in a previous post as well as Traditional Thumbprints, the Chocolate-Salted-Caramel Thumbprints that I also made last year and Italian Wedding Cookies - which are the same basic cookie as Russian Tea Cakes or Mexican Wedding Cookies, but made with pine-nuts instead of pecans or walnuts.  They are all delicious and festive.

In the picture above, starting in the upper left-hand corner and going clockwise are: Scalili, Chocolate-Salted-Caramel Thumbprints, Italian Wedding Cookies and Traditional Thumbprints.

I don't know what the holiday season would be without all this baking.  I love making these special little treats and sharing them with neighbors, friends, coworkers and family and we have already managed to mail a couple of "care-packages" to family members who are too far away to enjoy them otherwise. 

What makes your holiday complete? 

Raspberry Vinaigrette

1/4 cup raspberry vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot, finely grated
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves
salt & pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a jar with a lid and shake. 

NOTE: If you store this in the refrigerator, the oil will solidify, so either store it at room temperature until you are ready to use it or set it out on the counter about 30 minutes prior to serving.

Thumbprints - adapted from Betty Crocker's Cookbook (1972 edition)

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg, separated
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour (I use unbleached)
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup finely chopped nuts (I use walnuts, but pecans are good too)
Mint Jelly
Currant Jelly

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream together butter, shortening and sugar.  Add egg yolk, vanilla and salt.  Add flour and mix in until dough holds together.  Shape teaspoons full into small, 1-inch balls. 

Beat egg white with a few drops of water until foamy.  Dip each ball into egg white, then roll in nuts to coat.  Place on baking sheets, 12 to a sheet.  Press thumb (or the tip of the handle of a wooden spoon) deeply into the center of each dough ball.  Bake about 10 minutes, or until light brown.  Remove to wire racks to cool. 

Spoon a couple tablespoons of jelly into a microwave safe bowl or cup.  Heat in microwave on high about 30 seconds, until it has a smooth consistency.  Fill thumbprints with jelly and allow to set. 

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Pine Nut Wedding Cookies - from the Best of fine Cooking Party Food (special appetizer issue 2010) Note: I just call these Italian Wedding Cookies

2 cups pine nuts, toasted (I have used as little as 1 cup in the past and they always come out tasty anyway)
2 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon table salt (I use Kosher salt)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup confectioner's (aka: powdered) sugar

In a food processor, pulse the pine nuts and 1 cup of the flour until finely ground.  Add the remaining flour and salt and pulse to blend.  (I do this process with a mini food processor, in tiny batches, then mix the remaining flour and salt into the ground mixture in a larger mixing bowl). 

In a separate bowl (or mixer), cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and mix until combined.  Gradually add in dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill one hour. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.  Line baking sheets with parchment or spray with non-stick spray. 

Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls (I used my smallest cookie scoop).  Arrange on cookie sheets 12 to a sheet.  Bake until cookies are golden brown around the edges and light golden on top, approx 19-21 minutes (in my oven on the convection setting, it took only 17 minutes, so I recommend checking them after 15 minutes).  Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool until they have firmed up a bit and cool enough to handle, 5-10 minutes. 

Put powdered sugar in a small bowl and roll cookies in sugar, a few at a time, to coat.  Return to racks to finish cooling.  Store in airtight containers at room temperature.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Ghirardelli Chocolate Truffle Cookies with Sea Salt

I love to bake with Ghirardelli chocolate products.  I have been using Ghirardelli chocolate chips for about as long as I can remember.  Their semi-sweet chocolate chips are especially nice to bake with because they hold their shape, but still melt beautifully. 

Recently, someone posted a photo of a beautiful cake on Facebook that was from the Ghirardelli website and in my search through their recipes to find it, I stumbled across this fantastic cookie recipe.  I made them immediately, then made another batch the very next day!  Yes, they are that good! 

Of course, in my typical fashion, I simplified the steps and made them using just one bowl.  What can I say, I'm lazy, I like to bake, but I don't much care for doing dishes afterwards. 

These cookies are wonderfully chocolately, true to their name, they have a gooey, truffley texture and the light sprinkling of salt is just the thing to balance out the sweetness.  Luckily - or perhaps un-luckily depending on your point of view, the batch only makes about 2 dozen (I got 20 cookies from the first batch, 23 from the second batch - same scoop size, go figure!)  so they don't last long.  They'd be great for holiday hostess gifts or teacher gifts or?????  I would use my smallest cookie scoop for that and place them in those cute little mini-muffin papers and box them up like candy... I can tell I'm going to have to make another batch very soon - they are calling to me...

So these cookies start out with melting 60% cacao chips with butter.  I did this all in the microwave. It's not really necessary, but cubed up the butter. Then covered the bowl with plastic wrap and nuked it for 1 minute on high heat...

Remove it from the microwave and give it a stir to see how well it's melted.  Chocolate chips tend to hold their shape as they melt so it's important that you stir it to see how it's coming along... 

You can see these are only just starting to melt after a minute.  I put them back in the microwave and nuked them for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each interval...

While the chocolate chips and butter were melting in the microwave, I was also toasting walnuts in a dry, cast-iron skillet on low heat.  Once they were toasted, I gave them a rough chop...

Once the chocolate and butter are fully melted you can mix in the sugar.  Let it sit a bit and cool before adding the eggs, then add vanilla, salt and baking powder.

Once that is incorporated, I like to add the flour and top the flour with the baking chips and nuts, this way, they get coated in the flour somewhat as they are mixed in and are less likely to sink to the bottom of your cookie dough so you get a nice, even distribution of nuts and chips throughout your batter. 

It should look like this when it's all mixed together...

Now you cover it back up with the plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes while you're oven is preheating to 350 degrees.

Scoop them...

Then sprinkle them lightly with sea salt...

And bake.  They should look like this when they're done:

You'll want to serve these with plenty of ice-cold milk!

Good luck not eating the whole batch in one sitting!

Ghirardelli Chocolate Truffle Cookies with Sea Salt

Makes 2 dozen. 

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups 60% Cacao Baking Chips, these will be melted into the cookie dough
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt (use table salt or kosher salt)
1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup (remainder of package) 60% Cacao Baking Chips, these will be stirred into the batter
2-3 tablespoons coarse sea salt to top the cookies before baking
3/4 cup toasted walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional)

In a large microwaveable bowl, place butter and 1 1/2 cups of the baking chips.  Microwave for 1 minute on high, then stir.  If you cannot stir the mixture smooth, microwave in 30 second intervals stirring after each interval until you can stir the chips and butter into a smooth consistency.  Add sugar.  Allow mixture to cool.  Add eggs.  Stir in vanilla, baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon table salt.  Add flour, remaining baking chips and nuts and mix in thoroughly.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 10-15 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Scoop rounded tablespoons of dough onto cookie sheets, 12 to a sheet.  Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.  Bake at 350 for 7-8 minutes, until outside looks slightly cracked.  Be careful not to overbake because they will continue to bake as they cool.  Allow cookies to cool on sheets for 2 minutes, then remove to wire racks to finish cooling.  Cookies will be soft and gooey in the center.