Brown Sugar Shortbread Turkeys

Everyone expects turkey at Thanksgiving, full of stuffing, and sliced only to be smothered in delicious pan gravy. But how about a little brown sugar for your turkey this year? These turkey cut out cookies are made with a brown sugar shortbread dough and frosted with royal icing for an easy, fun addition to your table (if you can find room!) To make the brown icing, I added some cocoa powder to help with the color and add some flavor. I've been making these brown sugar shortbread cookies for more years than I can count. They have a good depth of flavor from the brown sugar, and a nice crisp texture that makes these cookies as good plain as they are frosted. I always make sure to roll them to 1/4" so they stay thin and crunchy. This is our family favorite roll out dough that we use for almost every holiday (except Christmas when we use a vanilla/almond dough) and every other time we can think of an excuse to spend an afternoon rolling and frosting cookies.

Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies

                                 via Betty Crocker

1 cup butter

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup sugar

2 ¼ cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

Pre heat oven to 300F.

1. Mix together butter, sugars and vanilla.

2. Add flour and salt. Mix thoroughly.

3. Roll out ¼” thick on a lightly floured board.  Cut in desired shapes.

4. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 20- 25 minutes @ 300F.

Cool and frost

printable recipe

Add the names of your dinner guest for the perfect place cards.

Links: Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum
Fresh,Clean and Pure Fridayat La Bella Vita

Daring Bakers Baked Alaska

Brown Butter Pound Cake Baked Alaska

We are no strangers to Baked Alaska. Mini Me's birthday is in July, so Baked Alaska has been her birthday dessert many times. For that reason, I was thinking of skipping this challenge, but when I went to the Daring Bakers forum, people were raving about the browned butter pound cake. Since we usually make ours with a chocolate cake or brownie bottom, the pound cake was the perfect excuse to make Baked Alaska again.

The August 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Elissa of 17 and Baking. For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious hostess of both. Using the theme of beurre noisette, or browned butter, Elissa chose to challenge Daring Bakers to make a pound cake to be used in either a Baked Alaska or in Ice Cream Petit Fours. The sources for Elissa’s challenge were Gourmet magazine and David Lebovitz’s “The Perfect Scoop”. If you want the recipes visit Elissa.

Instead of one big cake, we made mini baked Alaska's with brown sugar ice cream. The brown butter pound cake was delicious, but I have to say that the ice cream was a bit of a disappointment. You would have a hard time identifying brown sugar as the main flavor. It had good texture that stayed smooth and creamy, but just didn't have enough of the brown sugar flavor that we were expecting. If you have a brown sugar ice cream that you love, please leave me a link, or a comment if you think you know how to tweak the following recipe to make it perfect.

Brown Sugar Ice Cream

from inmamaskitchen.com

•4 egg yolks

•1 cup heavy cream

•1 cup (packed) brown sugar

•3 cups half-and-half or light cream

•1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

 

In heavy, medium, non-aluminum saucepan, whisk together the egg yolks and brown sugar until thick. In another medium saucepan bring the cream and half and half just to a boil over moderate heat. Gradually whisk the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture in a thin stream. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon about 6 minutes. Do Not Boil.

Immediately strain the custard into a medium bowl. Stir in the vanilla and cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until very cold, at least 5 hours.

Pour the cold custard into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Let the ice cream soften slightly before serving.

Brown Butter Pound Cake Baked Alaska 

19 tablespoons (9.5 oz) (275g) unsalted (sweet) butter

2 cups (200g) sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring)

1 teaspoon (5g) baking powder

1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt

1/2 cup (110g) packed light brown sugar

1/3 (75g) cup granulated sugar

4 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C and put a rack in the center. Butter and flour a 9”x9” (23cmx23cm) square pan.

Place the butter in a 10” (25cm) skillet over medium heat. Brown the butter until the milk solids are a dark chocolate brown and the butter smells nutty. (Don’t take your eyes off the butter in case it burns.) Pour into a shallow bowl and chill in the freezer until just congealed, 15-30 minutes.

Whisk together cake flour, baking powder, and salt.

Beat the brown butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well, and then the vanilla extract. Stir in the flour mixture at low speed until just combined.

Scrape the batter into the greased and floured 9”x9” (23cmx23cm) square pan. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula and rap the pan on the counter. Bake until golden brown on top and when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.

Cool in the pan 10 minutes. Run a knife along the edge and invert right-side-up onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Meringue (For the Baked Alaska)

8 large egg whites

1/2 teaspoon (3g) cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt

1 cup (220g) sugar

Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt on high speed in an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Beat in the sugar gradually in a slow stream until stiff peaks form.

Assembly Instructions – Baked Alaska

Line four 4” (10cm) diameter tea cups with plastic wrap, so that plastic wrap covers all the sides and hangs over the edge. Fill to the top with ice cream. I used a cookie scoop that was the same diameter as my mini cakes.  Cover the top with the overhanging plastic wrap and freeze for several hours, or until solid.

Level the top of the brown butter pound cake with a serrated knife or with a cake leveler. Cut out four 4” (10cm) diameter circles from the cake. Or any size you like I made mine 2.5 inches. 

Make the meringue (see above.)

Unwrap the ice cream “cups” and invert on top of a cake round. Trim any extra cake if necessary. Pipe the meringue over the ice cream and cake, or smooth it over with a spatula, so that none of the ice cream or cake is exposed. Freeze for one hour or up to a day.

Burn the tips of the meringue with a cooking blow torch. Or, bake the meringue-topped Baked Alaskas on a rimmed baking sheet in a 500°F/260°C oven for 5 minutes until lightly golden. Serve immediately.

The winner of the CSN give away is Grace at A Southern Grace. Send me your e-mail address and CSN will e- mail you your gift code.

TWD:Chocolate Oatmeal Almost-Candy Bars

TWD:Chocolate Oatmeal Almost-Candy Bars

 Lillian of  Confectiona's Realm picked Chocolate Oatmeal Almost-Candy Bars for our baking this week. These easy to make bars were bursting with flavor and texture. Brown sugar, oatmeal, chocolate chips, peanuts and raisins made every bite a sweet lovers dream come true. These were rich and chewy like a deliciously unerbaked cookie, while the crunch from the peanuts and struesel was balanced perfectly by the soft chocolaty layer and moist, plump raisins. I could eat handfuls of the individual ingredients by themselves, but together, they made a fantastic bar cookie that disappeared from the pan in record time.

Chocolate Oatmeal Almost-Candy Bars

 from Baking: From My Home to Yours

 For the oatmeal layer:

2½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups (packed) brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3 cups old-fashioned (rolled) oats

1 cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped

For the chocolate layer:

 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden)

¾ cup coarsely chopped peanuts, preferably salted

Getting ready:

Center a rack in the oven, and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan, and place the pan on a baking sheet.

To make the oatmeal layer:

 Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

 Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until it is soft and creamy. Add the brown sugar and beat for 2 minutes, then add the eggs, one at a time, beating for a minute after each egg goes in. Beat in the vanilla. The mixture should be light and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing just until they disappear. Still on low speed, or working by hand with a rubber spatula, stir in the oats and chopped peanuts.

Set aside 1½ to 2 cups of the mixture, then turn the remaining dough into the buttered pan. Gently and evenly press the dough over the bottom of the pan. Set aside while you prepare the next layer.

To make the chocolate layer:

 Set a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Put the condensed milk, chocolate chips, butter, and salt in the bowl and stir occasionally until the milk is warm and the chocolate and butter are melted. Remove the bowl from the pan of water and stir in the vanilla, raisins (if using), and peanuts.

 Pour the warm chocolate over the oatmeal crust, then scatter the remaining oatmeal mixture over the top. Don’t try to spread the oatmeal, and don’t worry about getting the topping even — this is fun, remember?

 Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the chocolate layer is dull and starting to come away from the sides of the pan. Transfer the baking pan to a rack and cool for about 2 hours.

Run a blunt knife between the edges of the cake and the pan, and carefully turn the cake out onto a rack. Turn right side up, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour before cutting.

 Cut into 32 rectangles, each roughly 2¼ by 1½ inches. Makes 32 bars.