Now, I've been anxious to make this dessert for days. They just looked so.absolutely.gorgeous when I saw them posted on thepioneerwoman.com (a food/photography/life blog I'm addicted to), I couldn't wait to try them out. And if you haven't checked out PW's site, please take some time to do so -- she does an amazing job of detailing her recipes step by step and every recipe I've tried from her site has been phenomenal. Serious bits of food heaven.
Sweet, Crisp, Delicious
OK, on to the Brandy Snaps -- the crisp cannoli like cookie has a toffee-esque consistency, especially if they are slightly underdone. Due to an oversight on my part, the ginger was left at home, so 1/4 tsp All Spice was substituted in its place. These were still delicate slices of brandy heaven.
Ingredients
For the cookie you'll need:
1 stick Butter
½ cups Molasses
¼ cups Sugar
¼ cups Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Brandy
¾ cups Flour
⅛ teaspoons Salt
¼ teaspoons Ground Ginger (or in this case, All Spice)
And the filling is:
2 cups Heavy Cream
⅓ cups Sugar
2 Tablespoons Brandy (or more if you want a stronger Brandy taste. But I thought 2 capfuls was plenty)
Time to bake!!
Step 1.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Then line a cookie sheet with a baking mat or parchment paper.
Step 2.
Then you dump in the flour, ginger, and salt. Stir together quickly until just combined, then add in the brandy.
Use a tablespoon to spoon mixture onto cookie sheet -- only a few cookies per sheet (we could only fit 4 at a time) because they spread out a lot while baking.
Step 5.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until bubbling in the oven. Remove cookie sheet from oven and allow to cool on the pan for 2 to 3 minutes. Lift up circles one at a time and drape them over a metal handle'd utensil or cannoli mold. We used the metal handle to my new gingerbread man whisk. That little guy has been quite handy! Roll the cookie around the mold and press the overlapping ends together to create a seal. Tada!
Step 6.
Slide cookies off the mold and set them on a cool plate. This part was tricky and we found that if you keep rotating whatever device you are using as a mold the cookies don't stick and they will slide off easier. Several of ours tore in the process of being taken off the handle of my gingerbread man whisk.
Step 7.
Fill with cream filling when completely cool.
To make the whipped cream filling: Combine cream, sugar, and brandy in a mixer and mix on high until cream is very stiff. You can use a pastry bag with a large tip, or a zip-lock bag with the corner cut out of it to pipe the cream into the cookies. Serve within a couple of hours.
And there you have it. They are really delicious and I will be serving mine tomorrow after some slow-cooker carne guisada and made-from-scratch tortillas!
Time for some Reflexology!
But that's not it for today's story! Oh no! There is more! I squeezed in about 20 minutes of Reflexology practice, which I loved! I can't wait to get more of that in. Reflexology is an Eastern Medicine practice, where pressure is applied to the ears, hands and feet in order to bring the body back into balance. Some people might be grossed out by touching other's feet, but it has never bothered me. And I really enjoy making people feel better, and using the power of pressure in the right places to relieve ailments or discomfort. I love taking the time to send positive healing energy into someone else while helping them relax. We really don't take enough time for ourselves, it is important to slow down and breathe -- take in the subtleties and enjoy the moment. I also really enjoyed the great conversation and having lunch with a new friend!
But wait.. there's more!
We also had a dinner adventure today!
The last of the Turkey!
Tonight for dinner I made Turkey Tetrazzini, a recipe furnished by my new favorite cookbook "The New Best Recipes" from the author's of America's Test Kitchen/Cooks Illustrated.
Turkey Tetrazzini
Ingredients:
Topping
1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
Pinch table salt
1 1/2 tbsp melted unsalted butter
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Filling
6 tbsp unsalted butter, plus extra for baking dish
3 cups white mushrooms , sliced thin
1 medium onion (finely chopped)
Table salt and ground black pepper
3/4 pound spaghetti or other long-strand pasta, snapped in half
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock
3 tbsp dry sherry
3 ounces Parmesan cheese , grated (about 3/4 cup)
1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons lemon juice from 1 small lemon
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
2 cups frozen peas (thawed)
4 cups leftover cooked boneless turkey meat or chicken meat, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
Step 1. Mix the breadcrumbs, salt and butter together and bake on a cookie sheet at 350 for 15-20 minutes, until golden and crisp. Cool and mix with cheese. Personally, I made my own bread crumbs by toasting some bread in the oven coated with garlic butter, then I chopped 'em up in my food processor.
Step 2. Saute the onions and mushrooms in butter until soft 12-15 minutes and most of the liquid has boiled out. Season with some salt and pepper and set aside. Boil noodles to al dente. Reserve 1/4 c of water and drain.
Step 3. Melt the remaining butter and whisk in flour (creating a roux) and cook until golden. Whisk in chicken stock and cook over medium high until thickened (about 5 minutes..). Stir in thyme, lemon and nutmeg. Add peas, reserved sauteed veggies, noodles and turkey. Put in a greased 9 x 13 casserole dish, sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top and then bake it for 13-15 minutes or until bubbly.
I have made this recipe twice this week, it was such a great way to use up all the left over turkey we had from Thanksgiving. And its pretty easy, cooking with fresh ingredients isn't difficult if you do a lot of the prep work in advance. I always look ahead and chop up everything I am going to need and set it aside. Fresh herbs will keep in the fridge for about 2 weeks, wrapped in paper towels and in baggies. Maybe longer if you keep your fridge super cold.
All in all, it was a great food and fun day!
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