Sunday, July 25, 2010
Remember how I confessed to just not being a "cookie lover"? Well, there must exist some technicality that prevents rugelach from being classified as a cookie, because as of today...I love rugelach. More realistically, I could love rugelach. I made an almost classic variation with raspberry jam, walnuts, and semisweet chocolate chips. The recipe is great, but I had mixed feelings about the batch I made. For one, I'm not a big fan of chocolate. I know...a food blogger that isn't fond of chocolate or cookies, some might consider it an oxymoron. If and when I make these again, I'll probably cut down on the chocolate and definitely make the trip to go buy some currants or dried fruit, because although the cookie itself was flaky and tender, the texture of the filling left much to be desired. I'm also sure that the fruity flavor of the currants would lighten up the richness of the chocolate. So I suppose what I'm saying is that I'm not in love with these cookies as much as I am in love with the idea of what they could be.
Please don't let my rambling stop you from trying these cookies. The fact that they're Dorie's should be enough motivation to get you in the kitchen. And besides, the majority of my reservations are based solely on my inability to stick to the recipe in the first place...as soon as I add those currants, I might as well delete this whole rant and simply post five gold stars underneath picture.
Enough, enough. Run away before I start up again, you can find the recipe here.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Per request I attempted my very first batch of fudge yesterday. Needless to say I was very on edge over the daunting concept of candy making because an edible product is contingent upon no mistakes, a very unforgiving process. The fact that this was also something my mom's boyfriend has been craving for the past week and waited anxiously until the weekend for me to come home and try it did not make the task any less difficult. I panicked midway too when I poured the chocolate into the mixture and each stir seemed to turn the smooth texture into a grainy nightmare. I reluctantly poured it into a mold anyway, spread it as best I could, hid it away in the refrigerator and tried to forgot about it for the next few hours. Part of me hoped that my family would forget about it too and my failure would sit behind the leftovers undiscovered until I could sneak back sometime and throw away the evidence after it was long gone from everyone's mind.
Unfortunately, I really did forget about it and went out that night to a bible study and the thought only returned to me when I got a call from my mom telling me how much he loved it. That was a little hard for me to believe and I couldn't stop myself from being overly apologetic about its every flaw, must especially its texture. She assured me though that the texture was anything but and I came home to happily discover that this was indeed the truth. The fudge was smooth and creamy and melted deliciously once it hit the tongue.
Initial fears dispersed, I can't wait to try other variations. Maybe peppermint for the holidays!
Creamy Chocolate Fudge (Allrecipes.com)
48 servings [this is the original recipe, I halved the recipe however]
1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk chocolate chips
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Line an 8x8 inch pan with aluminum foil. Set aside.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine marshmallow cream, sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt. Bring to a full boil, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and pour in semisweet chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in nuts and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan. Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours, or until firm.
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