TWD: Tall and Creamy Cheesecake

It isn't the prettiest cheesecake I've made but it is one of the most tastiest, crrreeeeaaamiest I have ever devoured.  I love, LOVE, love cheesecake, and this recipe has instantly become a favorite.

Despite the bain marie, it cracked on the top as well as the edges.  The way it ballooned up, I would have been very surprised if it turned out with a pristine surface.  Makes me laugh whenever I see this picture of the lopsided cake.

I don't particularly like graham cracker crusts so I usually add ground pecans (like I did to this one) to the crumbs which comes out tasting like pralines.  Yum! 

Thank you to Anne of Anne Strawberry for this selection.

TWD: Buttery Jam Cookies

Whew! What month it has been! I just barely got couple of entries in for TWD.  So, here goes...

Buttery Jam Cookies.  Hmmm.  Well, it fell a bit flat with me.  It smelled great baking in the oven but it didn't have that buttery goodness I thought I would taste.  I used a peach and apricot preserve that is one of my favorites but I couldn't taste it at all.  Perhaps, I should try it again with strawberry or raspberry jam.  I doubt I'd make it again if I end up with the same results using those.  Also, my cookies stayed as little lumps even after baking. Looked cute though. 

Thank you to Heather of Randomosity and the Girl for this selection.

TWD: Grandma’s All-Occasion Sugar Cookies

I apologize for the late posting.  I've been KO'd by a stomach virus and have lost all sense of direction and time.  Luckily, I got my baking done before I went out for the count.

I had tried this recipe some time before I joined TWD, and it was not one that I thought I would make again.  I didn't like how the cookies tasted.  I thought it was rather, well, blah.  So when it came up as one of December's recipes, I decided to tweak just a tiny bit.

I followed the recipe but just substituted 1/2 teaspoon of orange oil* for the vanilla and added a generous 1/2 cup of chopped dried cranberries.  Oh, and I didn't roll it out. I really, really do not like rolling out dough.  Maybe that's part of why I don't like making pie crusts. All that sticking to the rolling pin and board.  No matter how well I flour the rolling pin and board, it ends up being a frustrating experience. It's a mess.

* I used Boyajian orange oil.

Anyway, I knew rolling was out of the question so I scooped out little balls of dough with my handy dandy teaspoon sized scoop, placed them on the cookie sheet then pressed down with the bottom of a glass so that each cookie was about 1/4 inch thick (approx 1-1/2 inch in diameter). I also dipped the bottom of the glass into a bowl of sugar so that the dough wouldn't stick, just like when you make ginger cookies. 

This dough is very soft and this pressing method works best when it's been refrigerated so that it's somewhat firm.  I scooped out the dough all at once and placed them in the freezer between baking each batch.

The end result was just what I imagined it would be.  The amount of the orange oil was just enough and was absolutely lovely.  The little bits of cranberry gave it an additional layer of pizzazz and texture. I'd like to thank Ulrike of Küchenlatein for this week's selection, thereby, giving me a second chance with Grandma's All-Occasion Sugar Cookies. 

TWD Update: Kugelhopf

I was planning to lug the kugelhopf with me on my business trip since I made it the day before I was to leave.  My tasting panel from work were traveling with me so I knew it wouldn't go to waste.  However, it wouldn't fit in my bag, and I didn't want another bag to carry on board.  With the way the airlines are going, they probably would have charged me $25 to take it on board.  I put the slices in a ziploc airtight container and threw in the fridge knowing it would be stale when I got back. What else could I do?

When I got back a week later, I was pleasantly surprised that it had kept pretty well.  In fact, I had to leave it out all day and overnight for it to go somewhat stale so that I could satisfy my craving for french toast.  Which, by the way, were out of this world if I may say so myself.  I didn't need any maple syrup.  It was perfect.

It's worth making the kugelhopf just so that I can make french toast again.  I made the whole batch and froze it so that I could have them at the ready whenever I had a french toast craving...at least until it runs out. 

French Toast

(enough for one 9-10 inch kugelhopf or about 12 slices of stale bread)

5 large eggs

2 cups milk

1 Tbsp sugar

1/2 to 1 tsp salt

Slice the bread (kugelhopf, challah, Hawaiian sweet bread, baguette) into 1 inch slices and leave out so they dry out.  The drier the bread slices, the better they will soak up the egg/milk mixture.

Mix the eggs, salt, sugar and milk in a shallow dish. Soak the stale bread slices in the mixture until the bread slices are soaked through with the mixture, turning once. Cook on a hot, greased skillet or frying pan.

You can also add cinnamon, vanilla, and/or orange zest to the mixture.

Enjoy!