No Bake "Haystack" Cookies

No Bake “Haystack” Cookies

 

Ingredients:

 2 cup white granulated sugar

½ cup whole milk

½ cup unsalted butter

1 cup creamy peanut butter

3 cups old fashioned oatmeal

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Optional: Pinch salt

Optional: 1 TBsp vanilla

 

Directions:

1. Line two cookie sheets with waxed paper or parchment.

2. Put sugar, milk, and butter into a medium saucepan.

3. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it comes to a full boil.  Stir and boil 1 minute exactly. This is basically a ‘candy’ at soft-ball stage, very similar to fudge.

4. Remove from heat.

5. Stir in peanut butter.

6. Mix in oatmeal and cocoa powder.

       [[at the Mom’s Day party, I did not use salt or vanilla]]

7. Drop by teaspoonful onto papered cookie sheets. Do this quickly as the ‘candy’ will start to set as it cools and the cookies will not hold together well.

8.  Cool at least 30 minutes.

Chocolate Cake - Gluten Free

 

Chocolate Cake – Gluten Free with texture of old Duncan Hines boxed cake mix        

 

Preheat oven to 350f

Grease and paper two 8” round cake pans

 

Ingredients:

2 cups white granulated sugar

1 cup rice flour (white or brown)

¼ cup sweet rice flour

½ cup cornstarch

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 ½ tsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 cup whole milk

½ cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

¾ cup warm tap water

 

Directions:

1. In large stand mixer on low speed, mix together dry ingredients until well blended.

2. Add remaining ingredients. 

3. Mix at medium-high speed for at least 5 minutes.

4. Pour into the two 8” prepared cake pans.

5. Check for doneness after 35 minutes.  Cook up to 15 minutes longer until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

6. Cool in pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto serving plate

7. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

 

Notes:

The batter is very thin and needs the full 5 minutes to whip air into it.

The cooking time seems to vary – I think it has to do with the rice flour not being exactly the same each time – maybe ambient humidity...  The original recipe called for 1 cup of warm water but that has always been too much liquid for my kitchen.

 Frost as desired.  I tend to do half at a time in different flavors.  You can pour a few tablespoons orange or coffee flavored liqueur over the top before icing.

 Peanut butter: 2-3 TBspn softened butter, peanut butter (?~1/2 cup), powdered sugar, a tsp or so of milk, a couple pinches of salt.  Mix well with hand mixer adding PB, sugar, or milk to get desired texture.  Garnish with shaved, unsweetened chocolate or small chocolate chips.

Orange: Finely grate most of peel of one orange into small bowl. Cut orange in half and squeeze juice of one half into the bowl. Add a couple pinches of salt.  Mix in powdered sugar until you get desired consistency.  Mix well with hand mixer.  If very thin, it can be drizzled over cake.  Or add 2 TBsp softened butter to get a creamier frosting. If the flavor is just ‘sugar’, add a titch more salt to bring out the orange flavor.  Garnish with sliced strawberries.

 

Basic Country Bread, from "Tartine Breads"

 

Basic “Tartine” Country Bread

Shortened instructions from Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson

Feed leaven starter with equal amounts of leaven, water, and flour so that it will be correct consistency for this recipe.

Make sure starter is very active when starting.

Water temperature should be ~80F.

Tools / notions:

Large mixing bowl [clear glass allows visualization of dough development during rises]

Large wooden spoon

Kitchen Scale

Bowl / Dough scraper – Plastic “D” shaped one ~5.25” x 3.5” works well

      Small scraper or spatula to clean off the bowl scraper

 

Ingredients

	two loaves	one loaf	conversion
Water	700 gms ~2.9 cups	350 gms ~1.5 cups	240 gms = 1 c
Water	50 gms ~0.21 cups	25 gms ~0.11 cups
Leaven	200 gms ~1 cup	100 gms ~0.56 cups
Flour	1,000 gms ~8.3 cups	500 gms ~4.2 cups	120 gms = 1 c
salt	20 gms ~3.3 tsps	10 gms ~1.7 tsp	6 gms = 1 tsp

Instructions

1.      Put larger volume of water into a large mixing bowl.

2.      Add leavening and stir.

3.      Add flour.  Mix thoroughly until there is no dry flour.  I use a long wooden spoon but Tartine suggests using your hands.

4.      Rest dough for 25 – 40 minutes to allow protein and starch in flour to absorb water.

5.      Add salt and smaller volume of water.  Mix first by squeezing dough between your fingers. Fold dough several times.  Tartine suggests moving this dough to a smaller, square container but I just keep it in the large bowl.

6.      First rise – about 3 to 4 hours.  Don’t rush it.  By end of this rise, the dough should feel aerated and softer.  It will be more cohesive and release from the sides more easily. Volume will increase by 20-30%.  If dough seems to be developing slowing, extend the total time of this rise.

a.       Purpose is to develop flavor and strengthen dough.  Very temperature sensitive.  I use my oven with the light on and put in a large saucepan of boiling water since my kitchen is always too cold for yeast.

b.      During first 2 hours, “turn” dough every 30 minutes.  In last hour or so, the dough should be starting to get a little billowy, soft, and aerated.  Now you should turn the dough more gently.

                    i.      To “turn” the dough.  If in the large bowl, use the scraper to pick up one side and stretch out a bit then fold it back over the rest of the down.  Repeat three time from each ‘side’.  Tartine uses a small, square tub and reaches down each side with a wet hand to pull the dough up and over (I’ve never done this).

7.      Pour the dough onto an unfloored work surface. Lightly flour the surface.  If you are making two loaves, cut the dough into two equals pieces using a knife or the bowl scraper.  Flip dough so floured side rests on work surface.

8.      Use as little flour as possible to work this dough.  Using the scraper and a hand, work each piece of dough into a round.

         a.       If the dough rips, stop and let it relax a little before finishing this initial shaping.

9.      “Bench rest” – let dough rest on work surface for 20-30 minutes away from drafts.

From Tartine Bread, page 56:

   During the bench rest, each round will relax and spread into a thick pancake shape.  The edge around the circumference should appear fat and rounded, not flat and tapered or ‘dripping’ off the edge.  If the edge is flat and the dough is spreading too much, these are indications that the dough did not develop enough tension during the first fermentation.  To correct this, simply shape each round a second time – which is like giving the dough an extra turn in the container.

10.  To form the final loaf shapes, lightly flour dough top and using scraper, flip it over so floured side is on work surface.

a.       Carefully and gently fold several times to desired loaf shape ending by turning the floured “bottom” onto the top.

11.  Place shaped dough into proofing basked or loaf pan and rise for 3 to 4 hours.

12.  Place oven-proof pan filled with hot water into oven and preheat oven to ~425-450f.

13.  Score top of loaf with a sharp knife or blade.  This allows the loaf to fully expand in the oven.  Put loaf in oven for 20 minutes.

14.  After 20 minutes, remove pan of water.  I decrease heat to ~375-400f so crust is softer.

15.  Bake another 20 minutes. 

16.  Remove bread from oven.  Turn onto a cooling rack to cool.  It should sound hollow when tapped.