I LOVE NUTELLA!!

thank you mr. pietro ferrero for one of the single best inventions EVER!! nutella. i did not know this but mr. ferrero developed this amazing spread during world war II, due to the lack of chocolate available. aren't bakers such smart people?! well anyways, since i have yet to get my pastry bags from portland to make my macaroons, i decided to make nutella scones. a recipe also found in my "baked" book. i chose it because...well because i love nutella. problem was i couldn't stop eating it while making these sinful scones.

here are the ingredients. and it was about this time i started sticking spoonfuls of nutella in my mouth^_^ 

NUTELLA SCONES
Yield: 6-8 scones

Ingredients:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark sweetened cocoa powder (like Valrhona)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 large egg
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup toasted hazelnuts,coarsely chopped
1/2 cup Nutella

toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped...

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and place the rack in the center.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

• In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt until combined.

• Add the butter. Use your fingertips to rub it into the flour until the butter is pea size and the mixture is coarse. *i let the flour/butter mixture sit in the fridge overnight, so the butter would be VERY cold and so the dough would stick better, but if you are crunched for time you can leave the dry mixture in the fridge for a few hours after incorporating the butter, that should work just as well*

• In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and cream.  

hazelnuts, cream and egg mixture, and butter/flour/cocoa mixture...

• Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until the dough just comes together.  Gently and briefly knead the dough with your hands. *i had to add a little extra cream here, after i had added what the recipe called for the dough was still too dry, i added about 2-3 tablespoons extra, just till the dough stuck together*

• Add the toasted hazelnuts and knead gently to incorporate. 

• Flatten the dough into a rectangle approximately 6 by 12 inches. ( it doesn't need to precise) and spread 1/4 cup of the Nutella on top in a criss-cross pattern.  

doodoo log...haha just kidding. this is the dough after i had drizzled a layer of nutella on the inside and rolled it up. about to be cut and placed on the cookie sheet. 

• Roll the dough up to make a cylinder about 6 inches long, turn it on its end, and gently flatten it into a disk about 1 3/4 inches high. Do not overwork the dough.

• Cut the dough into 6 or 8 wedges and place them on the prepared baking sheet.

YUMM!!! can't wait to see them after they bake!

they came out really well. the one thing i have learned about scones is that you CAN'T over knead the dough. it is VERY important to incorporate the ingredients together only till they just mix in, after that STOP!! or the scones won't turn out all puffy and gorgeous! 

• Bake the scones for 18-20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a scone comes out clean.  Do not over bake.

• Transfer the scones to a wire rack to cool completely.  Place the baking sheet with the parchment still on it underneath the rack.

• Heat the remaining 1/4 cup Nutella in a microwave until pourable, about 10 seconds on high.  Pierce the tops of the scones a few times with a fork.  Use a spoon ( or two spoons-one to scoop, one to scrape) to drip the warm Nutella in a zigzag pattern over the tops of the hot scones.  Transfer them to a refrigerator to set for 5 minutes, then serve immediately.

Most scones have a lifespan of 24hours or less; however, these scones taste pretty darn good on day two provided you wrap them tightly and store them at room temperature.

  

so the recipe calls for you to drizzle about 1/4 cup of nutella over the scones after they have finished baking...um how about upping that to 1/2 a cup^_^

the finished product! these came out too well for words to describe!! i think this is definitely great as a dessert or a brunch, or just because you love nutella like i do!!^_^ 

happy new year!!

a little treat for our neighbors: maple cinnamon rolls. thanks to the pioneer woman!!

happy new year everyone!! it has been a busy last couple of weeks, from family gatherings to potlucks at work, and trips up to seattle i have been in a tizzy! since i can't go through all the different things i have eaten and write a single blog for each, i decided to take my co-worker, steven's advice and compile a catch-up blog^_^ thanks again steven!

i went up to seattle a few weeks ago since i had a few days off. i wanted to check out the city, see the sights, check out UW since i plan on going there one day, and of course EAT! my friend took me to a great thai place called Thai Tom, in the U District. we both got the pad thai, but there was some confusion when ordering, we both didn't want it too spicy. somehow the waitress thought we said spice x3 and x4! we were both sweating bullets. my poor friend doesn't like things too spicy, but they were so busy we didn't have a choice!! needless to say we survived the flushed cheeks and burning mouths before we tapped out. funny thing, i would go back! but, next time i am going to make it VERY clear spice x2!!!

after touring the UW campus a bit, and checking out the amazingly beautiful library we headed to Molly Moon's. i had heard of this place the last time i was in town but the line was out the door, so you know it had to be good!! thankfully, when my friend and i arrived at molly moon's there were only a few groups of parents with their kids. he and i both wanted to try the salted caramel, which was completely melt in your mouth perfect! the savory and sweet mixed so well with the cream from the ice cream! it was heaven. BUT, then the girl suggested i get it with the theo chocolate (a chocolate shop also in seattle) and it was like a fiesta in my mouth! no joke! the chocolate complimented the salted caramel so well! it was like eating a salted caramel brownie in ICEREAM FORM!!^_^

after my "healthy" start in the U District, i met up with another friend of mine who took me to El Gaucho, which is one of the northwest's best steak restaurants. i could easily see why after we first received our sides. to the left is a lobster mashed potato, main lobster in a delightful cream sauce over garlicy mashed goodness. just thinking about these potatoes makes my mouth water all over again! to the right is the roasted sweet corn with chipotle honey butter a healthier way to go, but nothing to write home about. out of the two, i would take the potatoes in an instant, they were THAT GOOD! 

this is my french rib chop, 18 oz. of beef. topped with a portobello mushroom. yummm!

and we finished it all off with banana fosters, the man who made it said that he has made about 150,000 in his life time. that's a lot of bananas!

on my second trip out to seattle, i went with my parents to the Seattle Art Museum to see the picasso exhibit. it made me realize picasso was very prolific, but that his work was usually all over the place. i'd like to think when it comes to baking i am kinda like he is, just have to keep doing the things you love^_^ well back to this amazing sandwich...after viewing the exhibit i met up with some friends and we headed down to pike's market to grab some chowda' (that's what we kept calling it) but we also found an italian place that served this beauty. its an italian meatball AND italian sausage sub, so basically heaven on french bread! all the ooey gooey cheese atop all that marinara sauce and meat. omg, i seriously want another! luckily it was also right next to one of my other favorite places to eat...

pike place chowder, the ONLY chowder place to go! the seafood bisque is to die for!

one of many holiday goodies i whipped up. peppermint schnapps truffles with some candy cane bits on top for a little extra^_^

monkey bubble bread (from the baked book my friend gave me for christmas) on christmas morning, completely delic!!

my lovely christmas dinner^_^ it was a wonderful day, spent with family.

brioche in the morning. i received a great book from my aunt, uncle, and cousin. its dorrie greenspan's "around my french table" and it is absolutely wonderful. i took this little beauty of a recipe from it and it was wonderfully light and airy brioche. i paired it with some earth balance butter and a dab of strawberry guava jelly, it was simply perfect.

my cousin came into town and my uncle and i were showing her family around. i had heard of the tin shed cafe before, but every time i had passed by it was ALWAYS really crowded. this time wasn't any different either. even though it was the monday after christmas, the makeshift garden style cafe was still crowded. we huddled close to the outdoor heaters and waited patiently for our names to be called. my cousin had also looked up the cafe on yelp and this yummy treat came up: sweet potato french toast. sounds kinda strange right? well i had to try it. it was a little on the dry side, but the hints of sweet potato were definitely present. i think the next time i go i will have to try another option, maybe a scramble.

after we headed to powell's to check out the array of books. we followed it up with a trip to cupcake jones. my cousin's daughter and i shared a wonderful truffle kind of cupcake with chocolate ganache in the center. it was the perfect little snack^_^

later in the week i felt a little inspired by going to the cupcake shop. so i decided to try my hand at making the chantilly cake for my sister's wedding. OMG chantilly is HARD! i love baking, and making all sorts of different kinds of goodies, but my oh my, was chantilly a difficulty. sadly my first attempt failed, the frosting came out too soupy. the recipe was supposed to be similar to liliha bakery's chantilly atop their lovely  cocoa puffs. however, i must devise a plan to infiltrate the bakery and learn the secret method they use to make such a wonderful version of chantilly! anyhoo, i decided to go to "martha" and seek a little frosting guidance. i landed on her mocha butter cream, which is PERFECT with her recipe of chocolate cake! so this is the result, a mocha butter cream chocolate cake.

after the first attempt at chantilly i decided to go to the america's test kitchen cookbook (also a christmas present, i received 4 baking books for christmas!!) to look up their german chocolate cake frosting, which is basically chantilly with pecans and coconut. this time around it worked! the flavor is still a little off, but i will keep working on that! seeing as i already made the cake i made little german chocolate cake cupcakes. my workers loved them!

one of my new year's resolutions is to keep blogging a little more consistently. so i will do my best (schedule permitting) to keep putting some delectable recipes up!!^_^ i hope everyone's holiday was filled with family, friends, and food!

cookie packages in the making...

when the holidays roll around i get into "baking mode major" because i prefer to give people food as gifts, aint nothin' like lovin' from the oven! ok i will stop. but seriously i love giving my good friends and family things i have made and sharing some of my favorite recipes with them. this year to start things off i decided to make my great grandma's thumb-print cookies (recipe to come). this is only a sneak peak of the rest of the lovely treats to come! i can't wait to share it all!! but in the mean time, i have to taste test...

and this is my tree, finally done!!^_^ 

chai spiced snickerdoodles added today!! they were really yummy, and yes, i do taste tests along the way! i have to make sure everything comes out well!

here are more cookies i made for my cookie packages!!

seven layer bars..or as i like to call them sin bars.

frosted ginger cookies

russian tea cookies (aka melting moments)

chocolate crinkles^_^

baked

last night i got an early christmas present from a good friend of mine. he gave me this book entitled: baked explorations. oddly enough i was just reading about these two guys who own this bakery in new york city, also called "baked". i had read about them and their amazing cupcakes in david lebovitz's blog, and i was curious about their cakes, pies, etc. as i was perusing through looking at all the amazing recipes and getting even more excited to try them all i came upon this one...

i really can't wait to try it!! an ORANGE CREAMSICLE TART!! AAH! yum! ok, i will obviously let you know how this one goes because it is now at the top of my list for things to try! thanks goes out again to my friend for getting me this awesome book!!

sugar, spice, and everything nice

 portland's downtown christmas tree(thank you FBI for saving us from terrorism)

happy holidays everyone! i hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving weekend, i'm still in rehab mode from all the food consumed on thanksgiving. you'd think a little christmas shopping would help me out with that, but with the holidays also comes wondrous amounts of FOOD! in light of the christmas to come i went on a little field trip with my parents to thornton's christmas tree farm to cut down our own tree^_^ one thing you will learn about me is I LOVE CHRISTMAS, like seriously LOVE christmas, i love the music(you know i have my n'sync cd already playing), the chill in the air(which makes for AMAZING sleeping weather^_~), and of course the food!

my dad and i with our PERFECT tree^_^

 after arranging our tree in our living room i felt like doing a little light baking and my mom was feeling a little "spicy" so she suggested i make chewy molasses cookies;  a perfect little treat to add to the holiday spirit. so i went online and looked up a cookie recipe. pioneer woman never lets me down! she had the perfect chewy cookie recipe and i couldn't wait to try it! 

Spicy Molasses Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Sugar
• ¾ cups Crisco (vegetable Shortening)
• ¼ cups Molasses
• 1 whole Egg
• 2 cups Flour
• 2-½ teaspoons Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
• ½ teaspoons Ground Cloves
• ¼ teaspoons Ground Cardamom
• ¼ teaspoons Salt

preheat oven to 350 degrees.
mix sugar, shortening, molasses, and egg together until well combined.

dump in dry ingredients, stirring dry ingredients together lightly. mix together until dough is combined. 

in your hands roll dough into walnut-sized balls, then generously coat each ball with sugar. place balls on a baking sheet and bake for 9 to 11 minutes, allowing to bake for about a minute after cookies begin to crack.

after i let them cool i got a cup of cocoa with A LOT of marshmallows to go with it. it was the perfect little treat for our day of holiday fun!! i think the one thing i really enjoyed about this recipe is that it is so easy, it just takes a little mixing and rolling and there you go, yummy warm cookies! i have made ginger cookies before with icing and these didn't even need any icing at all, they were sweet, spicy, warm, and the added bonus of the sugary crunch on the outside just made it all the better! the pioneer woman even suggested dipping them in some white chocolate, i may have to try that next time! 

happy thanksgiving!!

in all the aftermath of plates of food atop plates of food, all the taste testings of cranberry sauce and gravies, and making sure my croissants and pies turned out just right. well, i just wanted to let everyone know that i am not only thankful for the food baby that is happily residing in my tummy, but also for all the love and support i have gotten on this blog from the beginning. i have some great people who always follow and comment on all the weirdness of my baking life. and i am thankful for you guys!! so THANK YOU!! and HAPPY THANKSGIVING, i hope everyone spent today with friends, family, and loved ones^_^

lisa

happy birthday mom

happy birthday to my mom. thank you for teaching me how to make chocolate chip cookies, in her opinion "the BEST double chocolate chip brownies EVER", and how to live life with passion. love you mama^_^