• Cinnamon Sugar Brioche Twists

    October 29, 2020

    Well well well, if it isn’t me, back in action after 3 months. To be frank, I can’t even apologize for being gone because I don’t even know what I was up to, and for the record, time means nothing this year anyway. I sincerely hope that everyone reading this is doing okay, and that you’re taking some time to do what makes you happy, even though you’ve probably been in the same place for the last 8 months.

    A brief paragraph on today’s bake: I’ve been buying cookbooks like there’s no tomorrow, and one that I’ve been looking forward to for AGES is Dessert Person by Claire Saffitz, formerly of the BA Test Kitchen. It finally arrived last week and I have to say, I was a little overwhelmed by all the possibilities. But, because I know who I am as a person, I settled on these Brioche Twists first. Anything to get me out of bed on time for the workday, am I right? Now I won’t lie, these are a little challenging. I always say that bread is the scariest thing for me to bake, every time I make it feels like the first time in terms of the sheer panic that I feel. I will confess that I tried blooming four separate batches of yeast before I got one that worked, I very nearly quit before I had even started. However, all it takes is some patience (this is a two day project), and make sure you read the whole recipe through before starting, so you know what you’re getting into. You’ve been warned. Then, as a reward, you’ll have the most delightfully buttery, slightly sweet cinnamon breakfast pastry for days on end.

    I’ve been trying to figure out why I haven’t been as motivated to write as I have in the past, and the obvious answer is that like everyone else, quite simply doing anything in this pandemic can sometimes seem pointless and exhausting. For a while, cooking became something that we all had to do, rather than something I did for fun, and I always told myself that I would take a step back form Sweet D if it ever felt like a chore, rather than force myself and grow to hate it. I was afraid to go overboard at the grocery store, since I couldn’t spontaneously take a trip every time I was out of a single random ingredient, and I just wasn’t feeling very creative.

    BUT, eventually I had to reason with myself, and decided that I need to take advantage of all the little things that make me happy in a day. Especially now that I’m back in my apartment, I can sometimes go the entire work day without going outside, and I needed to find a way to break up my day and separate work time from free time. Soon enough, I found myself looking forward to the meals I’d be making for dinner again. I won’t go preachy on you all, but I think the best we can do right now is savor the little parts of the day that make you smile. For me, it’s cooking dinner and dancing in the kitchen, drinking a glass of wine and listening to some boyband music. You can get through this, and you can get through this cooking!

    Before we start, here are 5 things to be happy about:
    ONE. Buying a collection of decorative pumpkins to arrange on the coffee table.
    TWO. Switching out your summer scented candles with your fall ones.
    THREE. Watching the leaves change day to day and remembering that time is passing.
    FOUR. Discovering a new TV show to watch, that already has all its episodes out.
    FIVE. Taking this quarantine time to really finish decorating your house.

    Let’s bake!

    Brioche Dough Ingredients

    ¼ cup whole milk
    1 tsp active dry yeast
    1 tsp honey
    4 cups all purpose flour
    ¼ cup granulated white sugar
    2 tsp fine kosher salt
    6 large eggs, at room temperature
    2 sticks unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

    Brioche Dough Steps

    Proof the yeast. In a small saucepan, heat the milk to around 105 degrees. It should be warm, but not too hot that it kills the yeast. Add the heated milk to a small bowl, stir in the yeast and the teaspoon of honey, then set aside to bloom for 5 to 10 minutes. You’ll know its working if the mixture gets foamy at the top. It’s important to note that if your yeast doesn’t do this, start over, as the yeast is dead.

    Combining the ingredients. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the flour, sugar, and salt, then mix briefly to combine. Make a small well in the center of this flour mixture and add the bloomed yeast, then all 6 eggs.

    Mixing the dough. Using the dough hook attachment, mix the dough on low speed until the flour is moistened. After about a minute, turn the mixer to medium and knead until the dough becomes cohesive, smooth, and sticks to the bottom of the bowl. Don’t panic, it can take up to 10 minutes for the dough to come together in the soft consistency you’re looking for. If need be, add a tablespoon or two of flour to the bowl if the dough continues to stick to the sides.

    Adding the butter. With the mixer still on medium, add the butter in, a tablespoon at a time, mixing fully before adding the next tablespoon. Again, don’t rush this, it will take up to 15 minutes to completely incorporate all the butter.

    First Rise and chill. Now that the dough is extremely soft and beautiful, gather it into a ball and lightly flour all sides. Place it in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise at room temperature for 1 to 1½ hours, until the dough has doubled in size. Note: don’t let it rise someplace too warm, as the butter will start to melt back out of the dough.

    Once the first rise is done, place the wrapped bowl in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, up to 24. This will help make the dough more manageable when you’re shaping it! Now we get to the twist!

    Brioche Twist Ingredients

    ½ Batch of Brioche Dough (above)
    ½ cup granulated white sugar
    2 tsp ground cinnamon
    ¼ tsp ground cardamom (optional)
    4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

    Brioche Twist Steps

    Make the toppings. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom (if using). Set aside. In a saucepan, melt the butter. Set aside.

    Divide the dough and prepare your baking sheets. Using half the batch of dough from the above recipe, divide into 8 equal (or mostly equal!) portions. Lay these portions on a parchment lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Work with one ball of dough at a time, returning the baking sheet to the fridge in between. This will make sure that all the twists proof at the same rate, so don’t skip this!

    On a clean, unfloured work surface, roll each ball of dough into a rope about 10cm long. On a separate plate, brush the rope all over with melted butter, and coat generously in the spiced sugar. To fold, pick up the rope from the middle, and twist the tails once or twice around each other. Note: you can also make any shape you feel like, knotted or spiraled will taste just as good!

    Return the completed twist to the baking sheet in the fridge, and repeat with the remaining 7 pieces of dough.

    Proof the twists. Once all 8 twists are done, remove the baking sheet from the fridge and let them sit at room temperature for 55-65 minutes. You’ll know they’re done when they’re slightly puffed, and when they bounce back but hold a slight indentation when poked.

    Bake the twists. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the twists for 20-25 minutes, until they’re puffed and golden brown. While you’re waiting for them to bake, bask in the heavenly cinnamon-sugar butter smell. Congratulations, you’ve made bread!!

    xoxoxoxD

    Want more bread content? Look here, here, and here!! Want a quarantine challenge? Try this!

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  • BA’s Pecan Pumpkin Pie

    November 12, 2019

    Welcome back to Sweet D, two weeks in a row, are you impressed?? The bar is really low, I am aware, but this was the first weekend in ages that I had literally no plans. Who knew that would be such a satisfying thing to say, you know? That’s how I know I’m a grandma in a 24 year old’s body, I have to actively reserve weekends to do nothing so I can actually get some sleep. And, after sleeping until 11:30 on both Saturday and Sunday, I can tell you that I am, in fact, STILL TIRED lol. BUT in addition to sleeping forever, I caught up on all 7 episodes of Bon Appetit’s “Making Perfect” Thanksgiving addition. To me, Thanksgiving is like the Olympics of cooking, so naturally I start preparing weeks in advance. I watched Brad Leone and Queen Claire Saffitz bake this remarkable marriage of two classic pies and you KNOW I had to try it out. So yes, that was my whole Saturday and now there’s a pie in my fridge, someone come help me eat it thanks.

    Since I was old enough to cook, I have taken responsibility for most of the pies at my family’s Thanksgiving. I would make 2 apple and 2 pumpkin, and my mom would take the pecan. I take the day before Thanksgiving off from work and my Mom and I are prepping LITERALLY from the moment I wake up, and I’m usually still making pie well past midnight. Now as anyone who cooks Thanksgiving knows, any time saving measures you can take, the better, so I made this pie with a frozen pie shell. It saves me over an hour of prep time, and can be baked straight from the freezer, plus it still tastes good! But, if you’d prefer to use a homemade crust, the one from the original recipe is never a bad idea.

    So let’s get down to what makes this pie special. The filling is perfectly smooth thanks to the eggs and heavy cream, with every fall spice you could ever hope for. But the real showstopper? The gorgeous pecan topping!! Toasted pecans tossed with butter, cinnamon, maple syrup, and egg white, then baked until crisp, you’ll have to restrain yourself from eating them all off the top of the pie. I had some left over that I baked separately, and I’m keeping them in a tupperware exclusively for snacking!

    Before we go full Thanksgiving, here are five things to be happy about today:
    ONE. Eating too many cheese and crackers before dinner.
    TWO. Coming inside after being out in the cold.
    THREE. Running errands on a Sunday and rewarding yourself with coffee.
    FOUR. Pie for breakfast.
    FIVE. Hot drinks in clear mugs.

    Let’s bake!

    BA’s Pecan Pumpkin Pie

    This impeccable dessert is the marriage of two Thanksgiving classics, the pecan pie and the pumpkin pie. A smooth, custardy pumpkin filling with ALL the warm Autumn spices, topped with toasty, maple-caramelized pecans, it's the best of both worlds!!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 20 mins
    Cook Time 50 mins
    Total Time 1 hr 10 mins
    Course Dessert
    Servings 8 people

    Ingredients
      

    • 3 large eggs
    • 1 additional egg; yolk and white separated
    • 1 15 oz. can pumpkin
    • ¾ cup whole milk
    • ¼ cup granulated sugar
    • 2 Tbsp whiskey
    • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
    • 1 tsp ground ginger
    • ¼ tsp nutmeg
    • ¼ tsp ground cardamom
    • Pinch ground cloves
    • 8 Tbsp brown sugar; separated
    • 3 Tbsp melted butter; divided
    • 1 tsp salt; divided
    • 1½ cups whole pecans
    • 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
    • Frozen pie shell; or see link to original recipe for homemade crust!

    Preparation

    Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and place the still frozen pie shell into a small sheet pan. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, extra yolk, canned pumpkin, heavy cream, sugar, whiskey, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves, 6 tablespoons of the brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of the melted butter, and a pinch of salt. Whisk thoroughly until evenly mixed. If you prefer a completely homogenous mixture, you can use an immersion blender or regular blender in batches, making sure not to incorporated too much air.

    Pour the filling into the pie shell and carefully transfer the whole sheet pan to the oven so that the filling doesn’t spill, it’s very runny. Bake until the filling has puffed and the center is a little wobbly when shaken. This should be about 40 minutes.

    What happens when you pour filling into a pie shell on a lopsided oven rack!

    About 15 minutes before the pie is done, spread the pecans in one even layer on a second sheet pan and toast, tossing once, until they are fragrant and slightly darkened in color.

    In a bowl large enough for the pecans, whisk the reserved egg white, remaining 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, a dash of cinnamon, and remaining salt until foamy. Add the syrup and remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and whisk until combined. Add in the toasted pecans and toss until they are all evenly coated.

    Remove the pie from the oven and arrange the pecans on top as you’d like, making sure the extra egg white mixture drips back into the bowl. Return the pie to the oven and bake for another 8-10 minutes, until the filling is totally set and the pecans are dry to the touch. Allow the pie to cool for at least 2 hours before serving.

    Looking for more pie? check out classic apple, banana cream, cheesecake pudding, and pear!

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  • New York Times Spiced Chickpea Stew with Coconut and Turmeric

    September 25, 2019
    Jump to Recipe

    THE STEEEEEEW. Okay, I am so far behind on this stew I know it came out so long ago now, I just never got around to trying it out. You better believe that now I’m kicking myself because I can’t imagine a life without this. It takes less than an hour to come together, and is somehow light and refreshing while simultaneously the perfect filling Fall stew. I know, I don’t get it either, it’s a beautiful contradiction. For those who maybe have a social life and don’t follow food people as obsessively as I do, here’s the lowdown. This stew recipe from Alison Roman came out ages ago to an explosive following. Everywhere I turned, it seemed people were talking about “The Stew”. At some point, a particularly scathing review was posted and claimed that the reason so many people liked the stew was because no one was actually following the recipe, to which Alison Roman replied that the recipe is whatever we want it to be. First of all, I love that. Second of all, whoever wrote that article was WAY off base. And THIRD of all, I followed this recipe exactly and have not even 1 regret. NOT ONE. In conclusion, who’s to say.

    I have to admit, I really love recipes that give you options for putting your own spin on it. So much of how I learned to cook involved tweaking recipes that I already knew. And, while I support anyone who wants to change this around, I stuck pretty closely to the recipe. The base of this stew is simple- garlic, ginger, onion, red pepper flakes, and *duh* chickpeas. Turmeric gives it this gorgeous color, and the coconut milk is smooth and silky. Stir in some kale towards the end, top with a generous swoop of yogurt and a toasted pita and eat with rice. Boom, your new favorite meal.

    Before we get started, here are 5 things to be happy about today!!
    ONE. Supermarket free samples.
    TWO. Pumpkin waffles and cinnamon syrup.
    THREE. The first tree that starts to turn for Fall.
    FOUR. Connecting with a stranger’s dog on the street.
    FIVE. Getting a seat on a crowded subway.

    Let’s cook!!

    New York Times Spiced Chickpea Stew with Coconut and Turmeric

    I finally took on this insanely popular stew and my god, it lived up to the hype. Somehow both light and also filling, I cannot wait to make this stew once a week forever.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 45 mins
    Total Time 1 hr
    Course Dinner, Main Course
    Servings 4 people

    Ingredients
      

    • ¼ cup olive oil
    • 4 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 large onion, chopped
    • 1 [2-inch] piece ginger; peeled and minced
    • 1½ tsp ground turmeric
    • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
    • 2 [15-oz] cans chickpeas; drained and rinsed
    • 2 [15 oz] cans full-fat coconut milk
    • 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
    • 1 bunch kale; stems removed and torn into pieces
    • Mint, plain yogurt, toasted pita, basmati rice; for serving
    • Salt + Pepper; for seasoning

    Instructions
     

    • In a large pot over medium heat, cook the onions, garlic, and ginger with some salt and pepper in the oil until the onion is translucent, around 5 minutes.
    • Add the turmeric, red pepper flakes, and chickpeas, and season again with a little more salt and pepper. Cook so that the chickpeas begin to fry slightly, and get crisp and browned, about 10 minutes. Remove 1 cup of the cooked chickpeas and set aside in a bowl for the finished stew.
    • Using a wooden spoon/ spatula, gently crush the remaining chickpeas in the pot, so that they break apart and release some of their starch, which will help thicken the stew later. Add the coconut milk and the stock, and bring to a simmer.
    • Cook, stirring occasionally, for approximately 30-35 minutes, or until the stew has reached your desired level of thickness. (I thought my stew looked too thin, but keep in mind that adding the greens will help too!)
    • Add the kale about 7 minutes before you're finished cooking, until they're slightly wilted and softened. Do a seasoning check and adjust salt + pepper levels accordingly.
    • To serve, put a portion of rice into each bowl, top with the stew and then some of the reserved whole chickpeas. A scoop of yogurt and a handful of mint, as well as a toasty pita, and you're SET!
    Keyword chickpeas, coconut, fall cooking, the stew, turmeric

    Looking for more stew content already? Fear not, I’ve been thinking about cold-weather food for a month now. Look here and here!

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