Saturday, March 6, 2010

"Roll-Em-Ups" (gluten-free!)















Growing up, "roll-em-ups" were a weekend breakfast staple in my home, much like pancakes or waffles for any child. Halfway between a pancake and a crepe, I later found out that "roll-em-ups" were also called "dutch babies" and "german pancakes." The difference is, we always served these rolled up with powdered sugar and butter, and a squeeze of lemon, as opposed to slices, as many people do. The recipe originates for my great grandma Rishack, a woman I never had the pleasure of meeting, but someone to whom my mother credits her own cooking skills. Before my mother could see over a kitchen counter, my grandmother would set her on her knee at the stove and teach her the secrets of classic german cooking. From a wooden stool, my mother would taste such delights as german potato salad, rouladens, and "roll-em-ups." I've changed the recipe slightly (including coming up with a gluten-free alternative) but the recipe remains nearly identical to the one that was scratched out on an index card all those years ago.

Gluten-free "Roll-Em-Ups"
Serves 2-3
4 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
2/3 c. flour (1/3 c. tapioca starch, 2 Tbsp. potato starch, 1 Tbsp. oat flour, 1 Tbsp. white rice flour, 1 Tbsp sweet sorghum flour)
1 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. fat-free milk

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
Whisk salt and eggs in a medium bowl. Blend in remaining ingredients.
Heat a large skillet prepared with non-stick cooking spray over medium heat. Pour in half the batter and let set a bit (not very long, making sure not to brown or over cook). Transfer to the oven very quickly and cook at 475 for 5 minutes. Turn oven down to 400 and cook for 8-10 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter (may cook both roll em ups at the same time, but my oven isn't big enough!). After done cooking, flip upside down onto a large plate. Butter the surface evenly and squeeze a wedge of lemon over the roll-em-up. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Roll up tightly and cut into four pieces. Sprinkle with more powdered sugar and serve.






Friday, March 5, 2010

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies Filled with Pistachio
























Here are the other cookies I made with the leftover chocolate tart dough. I had an excess of shelled pistachios (I have no idea why) and I put those to good work in this delicious filling.

Dark Chocolate Cookies with Pistachio Filling
1 1⁄2 cups flour (make it gluten-free with a gf baking blend)
1⁄4 cup plus 1 tbsp. dutch-process unsweetened
cocoa powder
1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
10 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and softened
1⁄2 cup plus 2 tbsp. confectioners' sugar
2 egg yolks, preferably at room temperature
1⁄2 tsp. vanilla extract

FOR THE CHOCOLATE TOPPING
4 oz. melted chocolate
pastry bag (or ziploc bag with tiny corner cut off)

FOR THE PISTACHIO FILLING
1/3 C. shelled unsalted pistachios, husks rubbed off
1 c. confectioner's sugar
6 tbsp. softened butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract

Heat oven to 350˚. Combine flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until mixture is pale and fluffy; mix in yolks and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients. Separate the dough into three balls, and roll out between two sheets of parchment paper. Place on baking sheets. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. Cut into 1.5"-2" rounds. Bake for 5-7 minutes (depending on the size of your cookies). Cool on a wire rack.

Make the filling: Combine pistachios and powdered sugar in food processor. Grind until a fine powder. Add the remaining ingredients to food processor and mix until well combined.

Assembled the cookies: Spread desired amount of filling on one cookie half, top with another. Place on baking sheet prepared with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining cookies. Melt chocolate in microwave and place in pastry bag. Drizzle over cookies. Place in refrigerator to set completely.


Dark Chocolate Cookies with Salted Caramel filling













Upon making a caramel tart with dark chocolate ganache finished with sea salt for a coworker's birthday, I suddenly found myself commissioned to make two more for another coworker. Because I only have 11-inch tart pans (as to why, well, I explain by saying "but these go to 11!") I had to make one and a half times each tart recipe. This required math skills, but perhaps contradictory to what people may think about me, I did my math correctly and the tarts turned out perfectly. Because I was making two 11 inch tarts, I had an excess of tart dough so I decided to put it to good use and bring in some cookies to the hovering coworkers, wishing they had access to the delicious tarts. I hear these ended up being delicious (I didn't make them gluten-free but I know they would work out well substituted with a gf flour blend). I also made pistachio filled cookies as well, since i soon ran out of caramel, but I'll put those in a separate entry.

Dark Chocolate Cookies with Salted Caramel Filling
1 1⁄2 cups flour (make it gluten-free with a gf baking blend)
1⁄4 cup plus 1 tbsp. dutch-process unsweetened
cocoa powder
1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
10 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and softened
1⁄2 cup plus 2 tbsp. confectioners' sugar
2 egg yolks, preferably at room temperature
1⁄2 tsp. vanilla extract

FOR THE CARAMEL FILLING
1 1⁄2 cups sugar
3 tbsp. light corn syrup
1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
6 tbsp. unsalted butter
6 tbsp. heavy cream
1 tbsp. crème fraîche or full fat sour cream

FOR THE CHOCOLATE TOPPING
4 oz. melted chocolate
pastry bag (or ziploc bag with tiny corner cut off)
sea salt

Heat oven to 350˚. Combine flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until mixture is pale and fluffy; mix in yolks and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients. Separate the dough into three balls, and roll out between two sheets of parchment paper. Place on baking sheets. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. Cut into 1.5"-2" rounds. Bake for 5-7 minutes (depending on the size of your cookies). Cool on a wire rack.

Make the caramel: Combine heavy cream and creme friache or sour cream in a small bowl. Set aside. Whisk the sugar and corn syrup with 6 Tbsp. of water and bring to a boil. Boil for 3-4 minutes. Stir and boil hard for 5-6 more minutes until medium amber. Remove from heat and whisk in butter and heavy cream mixture. Let cool slightly.

Assemble the cookies: Spread desired amount of caramel on one cookie half. Place another cookie on top. Set on a baking sheet prepared with parchment paper. Repeat with all cookie halves. Melt chocolate in microwave and place in pastry bag. Drizzle over cookies. Let set slightly, and sprinkle with sea salt. Place in refrigerator to set completely.