Ebelskivers, the Danish pancake

CAMERON



Our family is visiting for the Holidays and our youngest granddaughter, Cameron's, favorite breakfast treat are these Ebelskivers, a Danish pancake cooked in a special pan.  Cameron's favorite filling for these pancakes is chocolate chips, but you can add all sorts of things to these delectable morsels! VIEW THE VIDEO!
Ebelskivers

1 cup flour
1½ teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, separated
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled,  plus additional butter for pan


  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. 
  2. In a small bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolks, then whisk in the milk and melted butter.
  3. Add the yolk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until well blended.  The batter will be somewhat lumpy.
  4. In a clean bowl, using an electric mixer or whisk on high speed, beat the egg whites until stiff, but not dry, peaks form.
  5. Using a silicone spatula, stir about one-third of the egg whites into the batter to lighten in, then fold in the rest just until no white streaks remain.  Use the batter right away.
  6. Heat an ebelskiver pan over medium-high heat and brush each hollow with a little melted butter.
  7. Put 1 tablespoon of batter in each hollow and add a filling of your choice.  Top with a little more batter and cook for a minute or two.
  8. Using chopsticks, quickly turn the pancakes and cook for a minute or two on the second side.
  9. Transfer to a plate and top with powdered sugar or syrup.


Suggested fillings:


Chocolate chips
A slice of banana and a dab of Nutella
A half teaspoon of any jam
Lemon curd
Applesauce


VIEW THE VIDEO!



COMMENTS:

Yummy gonna make these in the morning!  Miss Kassondra



Chocolate and Marzipan Brownies

I love marzipan!  I especially love it in these intensely chocolate brownies.  I bake them often, but right now they will be going into the Christmas cookie packages I will be delivering to friends.  I hope you enjoy them.


Chocolate Marzipan Brownies


3 oz. unsweetened chocolate
½c. butter
¾c. flour
¼ tsp. baking powder
Dash of salt
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
8 oz. marzipan

  1. Preheat oven to 350ยบ.
  2. Place chocolate and butter in a saucepan and heat over very low heat until melted. Remove from heat, stir and then set aside to cool slightly.
  3. Mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  4. Stir sugar into chocolate mixture and add eggs, 1 at a time, stirring after each addition.
  5. Blend in flour mixture.
  6. Evenly spread ½ of the batter into a greased 8” square pan. Set aside.
  7. Soften marzipan and roll out into an 8” square. This is most easily done between two sheets of waxed paper.  Place marzipan on top of batter in pan.  Spread remaining batter evenly over marzipan layer. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
  8. Chill the brownies thoroughly before cutting into 1” squares with a serrated bread knife.
  9. The brownies freeze well - in fact, I think they taste better after freezing!When the brownies are done, they will have a firm crust on top but a toothpick inserted into the center should come out wet. Do not overbake the brownies.
 Let the brownies cool completely, then lift them out of the pan and slice into rectangles. These are very rich so I cut them into 1” squares so you will have over 100 brownies!



Storage: The brownies will keep at room temperature for up to three days. They can be frozen, well-wrapped, for up to two months.

Mini Pavlovas (Meringue Dessert Cookies)

Pavlova is a meringue-based dessert with a crisp crust and soft, light inner.

This is a lovely light dessert which you can vary to your taste.  Australians claim that it was created for the ballerina Anna Pavlova when she was visiting there but New Zealanders claim they had it long before then.  Whoever is right, I'm glad they kept the recipe!

You can make these way ahead of time and keep them in your cupboard in an airtight box for several weeks.

Ingredients:

3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter
1 cup sugar.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees
Whisk the egg whites until foamy
Add the cream of tarter and whisk to combine
Add the sugar - very slowly at first, scraping down the the bowl a couple of times.
Transfer mixture to a piping bag fitted with a 1/4" tip and pipe onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet.  Pipe a small circle and build a "wall" as demonstrated in the video.
Place in preheated oven and turn off the heat.  Leave to dry for 2 to 3 hours or overnight.

Suggested fillings:  lemon curd and raspberries, whipped cream and assorted small or sliced fruits, chocolate ganache or chocolate mousse.
Fill no more than an hour or so before serving as meringues will soften.

Watch the Video



                                                          

Meringue Mushrooms (Cookies)


Meringue mushrooms are the traditional decoration for a Buche de Noel (Yule log cake) but they also make a cute addition to your cookie repertoire.  My method of attaching the tops to the stems is different from the usual instructions which call for making a small hole in the bottom of the mushroom cap, but I think you will find there is lot less breakage using my method.  Watching the video will make this clear.

My favorite story about these little morsels goes back a number of years.  I had brought a basket  of the mushrooms as a hostess gift.  I heard a few weeks later that my hostess thought she had received the strangest gift ever -until she realized they were cookies!


Ingredients:

3 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter
1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder
2 oz bitter sweet or semi-sweet chocolate


Steps:
  1. Beat eggs in mixer until frothy.
  2. Add cream of tarter if not using a copper bowl.
  3. Slowly add sugar, stopping to scrape down the bowl once or twice
  4. Transfer mixture to piping bag.
  5. Pipe mushroom tops and stems.
  6. Place in pre-heated 300 degree oven, turn oven off immediately.    
  7. Leave in oven two or three hours or overnight. 
  8. Assemble the mushrooms: cut stem points, apply chocolate to base of mushrooms and connect the stem.

WATCH THE VIDEO DEMONSTRATION




Russian Teacakes

When I started baking Christmas cookies the recipe for Russian Teacakes came from a Betty Crocker cookbook which had been given to me as a gift from our dear friends Lenny and Terry who were our neighbors when we lived in Washington, DC.  I still have the book in my collection (which now numbers over 1500 books!).  It's a bit tattered and stained, but reading it brings back so many wonderful memories.

I always start my holiday cookie baking with these cookies.  You may use any nut you like, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts (my favorite) or pecans.

Russian Teacakes

Ingredients:

1 cup butter at room temperature
½ cup sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ¼ cups flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup finely chopped nuts


1.  Mix thoroughly butter, sugar and vanilla,
2.  Sift together and stir in the flour and salt.
3.  Mix in the chopped nuts. Chill.
4.  Roll into 1" balls and place on ungreased baking sheet (cookies do not spread).
5.  Bake at 400° 10 to 12 minutes, until set but not brown.
6.  While still warm, roll in confectioners' sugar. Cool. Roll in sugar again.

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Shortbread Cookies-A Scottish Favorite

As a Scot, shortbread was the first thing I learned to bake. Growing up during the war in Scotland, sugar, butter (and everything else!) was severely rationed and families saved and saved to be able to bake a few treats for Christmas.
Shortbread was always at the top of the list. I have to tell you about one year when the shortbread was a disaster. In those days we didn't have supermarkets where everything was prepackaged as it is today. You went to the store and the grocer weighed out what you wanted, be it sugar, salt, flour, split peas, tea, etc.
Mother-Ruth (TOP)-Me-Gran
Everything came in identical blue bags, neatly folded at the top but, of course, there were no labels. Well, one year my grandmother made the shortbread but when we tasted it.....she had mistaken the salt for the sugar!


As with many ethnic recipes, you will find that every family has its own variation. With shortbread, some families use cornstarch with the flour, others use fine cornflour. I have changed our family recipe a little over the years to include rice flour as I find it adds a delicious "shortness". I hope you will enjoy it.


Chocolate Dipped Orange Shortbread Cookies                                       



Ingredients:


1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons finely grated orange peel
1/2 lb. butter (two sticks)
pinch salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rice flour
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped


  1. Combine sugar and orange peel in food processor and pulse several times to blend. Add salt and pulse. Add butter and process until creamy and light. 
  2. Add plain flour and process until combined. 
  3. Add rice flour and process until a ball forms. There will probably be some dough that is still loose. 
  4. Turn out onto a clean surface and knead with your hands until dough forms a smooth ball. Divide dough in two and form each half into a roll about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place on waxed paper and use a cookie sheet to help "tighten" the roll. 
  5. Refrigerate until firm - 1 - 2 hours. I save the tubes from paper towels, waxed paper, etc. and place the rolls in there to chill since it keeps them round. 
  6. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line two or three cookie sheets with parchment paper. 
  7. Slice the cookies a generous 1/4 inch thick and place on the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 20 minutes or until just beginning to take on some color. 
  8. Cool on the sheets for a minute or two then place on cooling racks to cool completely. 
  9. Meanwhile, melt the chopped chocolate and when the cookies are cooled, dip them half way in the chocolate and place on waxed paper to set.
Enjoy!

WATCH THE VIDEO DEMONSTRATION