Who in their right mind doesn’t love a holiday cookie?

This year, I whipped up a batch of King Arthur’s Classic Linzer Cookies which were quickly devoured. I then had the idea of combining the cookies with one of my favorite summer beverages, the matcha + raspberry drink from Frothy Monkey, because did summer 2020 even exist? Was it before or after the Tiger King era of the pandemic? Honestly, I couldn’t tell you.

I didn’t have raspberry jam but sour cherry jam made a fantastic substitute. Use whatever jam you’d like, but I always recommend going with something tart for that flavor ~*contrast*~.

Anyways, here’s the adapted recipe!

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Matcha Linzer Cookies

A twist on a holiday classic. Use a tart jam like raspberry or cherry for contrast with the matcha's warm earthiness. This is a simple adaptation of the King Arthur Linzer Cookie Recipe.

Servings 15 cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar 99g
• 1 1/2 Tbsp matcha powder
• 12 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened 170g
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 160g
• 3/4 cup almond flour 72g
• 1/4 tsp salt
• cherry or raspberry jam, for filling
• confectioners' sugar for dusting

Instructions

• Whisk the sugar and matcha powder until combined. Beat the butter, sugar, and zest (or cinnamon) until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as needed, about 3 minutes. Add the yolk and vanilla and beat until combined.
• Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, almond flour, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix until just combined. Don't over-beat.
• Divide the dough in half, and pat each half into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
•  Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and let it soften for 5 to 10 minutes, until it feels soft enough to roll. It should still feel cold, but shouldn't feel rock-hard. On a floured surface, roll one disc of dough out about 1/8"-thick. Using a 2 1/2" round cookie cutter, cut out cookies. Transfer rounds to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Gather the scrap dough, roll, and repeat. If at any time during this process the dough becomes sticky and hard to work with, simply refrigerate it for about 20 minutes, until firm.
• Place the cut cookies (you should have 15 cookies) in the freezer for 10 minutes and preheat the oven to 350°F.
• While the first half of cookies is chilling, cut 15 rounds from the remaining dough. Once you've transferred these cookies to a baking sheet, use your smallest cookie cutter or the end of a round piping tip to make a peekaboo cutout in the center of each. Place cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes to chill.
• Bake all of the cookies for 12. Let them cool for 5 minutes on the pan, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
•  Place the cookies with the holes in them on a cookie sheet and sift confectioners' sugar over the top. Turn the remaining cookies flat side up and spoon 1 teaspoon of jam into the center, spreading it slightly. Top with the sugar-dusted cookies.

An allegory made of gingerbread for 2020

Don’t let 2020 win. Devote whatever any energy you have left in you to making a gingerbread house. That is the only way to save this year. Or so the angels tell me.

December knocked on the door, and as one does, I swaddled myself in everything within my immediate grasp that even closely resembled Christmas cheer. I bought a tree. I bought a wreath. I hung garland for holiday cards. I bought a second wreath which fell thrice from the kitchen window. I listened to playlists like Christmas Cocktail Jazz and New York Christmas until Alexa shot silence back at me in stubborn demur. I placed candles on the dining room table (Fire! Wow! De fête!) and noticed something missing by its side. Ah, yes, a gingerbread house.

I harked back to an image I saw by Constellation Inspiration (cue the angels singing) of a delicately constructed gingerbread greenhouse. The “stained glass” made of gelatin sheets! The symmetrical windows and cuts! The filigree! The festivité!

I knew I had to make it. I quickly Amazon’d (it must be a verb at this point, yeah?) some gelatin sheets, of which I even shelled out the $3.99 for expedited² shipping. I spent that Sunday making a template so precise the windows were spaced .37” apart! I cut and baked the gingerbread (which recipe definitely needs a good tweak (read my review as cupofpoodles)). I let it cool and prepared the icing. I placed the pieces together gingerly (ha!) and piped until my hands crumpled from cramps. I tweezered hand-crafted (but not by mine!) papier-mâché poinsettias over every window like a mad woman with tunnel vision. It was perfect.

10 hours had elapsed. 10 HOURS. But it was done. Finito. Terminado. I threw away the leftover icing. I wiped the countertops. I vacuumed the table littered with decorative debris. I said aloud, “I should wait until tomorrow to lift it up,” and walked away.

But then there’s this: an unwavering disposition of impatience. Maybe some suppressed leanings towards masochism sprinkled in. Myopia in wanting this glass studded gingerbread house next to the candles (still de fête) now!

I walked back to the table. I lifted it up.

Hands seized. Sidings slid. Hands jerked. Sidings split. A screech. Nearby, a car alarm to ordain the occasion and morass of sugar, spice, and lost time. I fell to my knees, a forced genuflection to 2020 and the havoc it had just heaved onto my dining room table.

Sardine cans make great support structures. Travesty, but look at the swirl in the NW quadrant! How picturesque!

Okay, dramatic, I get it.

But 10 hours! 10 HOURS! Pictured above is my feeble attempt of sticking the mess back together with no additional icing. “Tough luck, kid,” I imagine Herald and his angels singing (where did he get all these angels!?). I threw it in the trash where it, and the rest of the year, belonged.

Fast forward to Monday. I’m retelling this now faraway fable of failure in frosting at work. This gingerbread house was supposed to be!  If it did, I would have built a gingerbread house replica of Locust, the newly opened restaurant (if you have any iota of love for yourself you will order the dumplings and shrimp toast and anything and everything they sell. These are the prerequisites for self-love, as so the angels tell me). Through their encouragement, my mind started turning, yearning for a successful holiday confection. I ordered more gelatin sheets. This time, I would take it slow (no more expedited² shipping for this gal).

I won’t get into the nitty gritty, itty bitty details of the process. As you can see, it turned out! And turned out it did (who came up with this phrase? Out where!?). It sits peacefully and unmoving at Locust (sorry, candles!) where you can see it when you order your dumplings because you, yes you, are worthy of self-love.

But here are a few tips that I learned the second time around (fool me once, shame on the gingerbread house, fool me twice, shame on me and my dreams and my life etcetera, etcetera, etcetera).

1. Make a template! Cut it out! Use it to trace your lines! Don’t let yourself think for a second that you can eyeball .37”. You can’t.
2. Roll your gingerbread in-between two pieces of parchment paper. It will be a mess otherwise. And bake it on that parchment! The first time around I baked it on a silpat and I think this contributed a lot to the fractures in the dough. Something about transfer of heat and science and all that jazz. Don’t @ me.
3. Don’t be afraid of overbaking your gingerbread house. The more dry, the better (think dry to almost crumbling, it is 2020 after all).
4. Make any necessary re-cuts and re-shaping fixes when the dough is hot out of the oven. Then let it cool! Don’t pick it up!
5. If using gelatin sheets, attach them to the back of the windows before decorating. And on that note…
6. Decorate before you assemble!
7. Make a base. Maybe this should be 1.a.
8. If this is all overwhelming, do it in steps. For the Locust construction, I made the template one day. The next day, I baked the gingerbread pieces. The next day, I decorated and assembled.
9. FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS CHRISTMAS, DON’T PICK IT UP. LET IT SETTLE OVERNIGHT. GO GET SOME DUMPLINGS WHILE YOU WAIT FOR IT TO DRY.
10. Have fun

When life hands you 8 bananas

I’ve been hoarding overripe bananas in my freezer for months. So in an attempt to start the new year a little bit cleaner, I decided to finally put them to use.

This is my go-to banana bread recipe. It works perfectly for this cake, but it’s completely adaptable as a loaf with whatever you want to add to it (nuts, crushed pineapple, etc.).

Sweet + Sweet + Salty

After trying to recreate Dominique Ansel’s Banoffee recipe (a future post I’m sure!), I discovered that bananas and dulce de leche is one of my faaaavorite flavor combinations. But it definitely lends itself to the sweeter side. The salt in the buttercream definitely balances the whole cake, and if you have it on hand, a few flakes of fleur de sel would taste fantastic sprinkled on top.

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Banana Cake with Salted Dulce de Leche Buttercream

Servings 1 8"x8" cake

Ingredients

for the cake

• 4 ripe bananas
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 2 Tbsp bourbon
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

for the buttercream

• 1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Instructions

for the cake

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Smash the ripe bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the melted butter until combined. Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla, almond extract, and bourbon, then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour and mix to combine.
• Butter a 8"x8" pan. Lay overhanging parchment paper in the pan (this will help you to remove the cake later). Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 45 minutes. After baking, cool in pan.

for the buttercream

• Place the sweetened condensed milk can on its side in a large pot. Fill the pot with room-temperature water, making sure the water level is at least 2 inches above the can. Set pot over high heat and allow to come to a simmer. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Using a pair of tongs, remove the can from the water and set on a wire rack to cool to room temperature (DO NOT OPEN the can while it's hot). 
• Using an electric mixture with a wire whisk attachment, whip the softened butter on medium speed. Slowly add the confectioner's sugar and salt. Add the entire can of cooled dulce de leche. 

assembly

• frost the cooled cake heavily, and top with walnuts!

Notes

• When making the dulce de leche, I always cook at least two cans. Unopened cans of dulce de leche can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 months. Dulce de leche can be tranferred to an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 3 weeks.
• The banana cake can be baked as a banana bread! Just use a loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes.
• You can add any type of nut to the banana cake batter as well! 

A Pie By Any Other Name

When I asked my friend Paul what dessert he wanted waiting for him when he arrived in Nashville, he responded without any hesitation, “Blueberry Crumble Pie.”

I’ve been baking a lot of pies. Partly because it’s pie season, partly because, after practice and patience, I think I finally have a knack for it, but above all because they’re goddamn good. But when Paul asked for a Blueberry Crumble Pie, I admit, I was pie’d out.

Alas, I found myself in my very own butter-and-flour-induced variations on a theme. So here we are. Introducing Blueberry Crumble Pie Bars.

Pie for Breakfast

They turned out to be a clever trick to conceal pie as breakfast, a covert operation to consume a massive amount of sugar before 10am.

The filling holds firm so you can cut these bad boys into perfect little bars and take them on the go. Or I guess you can eat them on a plate if you want. Just make sure you eat every last crumb.

Team Empty Plate Club 4eva.

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Blueberry Crumble Pie Bars

These blueberry crumble pie bars are a cross between a slab pie and crumb bars, making it easy for a get-and-go breakfast or dessert!

Servings 8 4" Bars

Ingredients

for the crust

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp kosher salt
• 8 Tbsp cold butter, cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1/4 cup ice water

for the filling

• 4 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 5 tsp cornstarch
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 lemon juiced

for the crumble

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp kosher salt
• 2 lemon zested
• 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into chunks
• 1/4 cup turbinado sugar

Instructions

for the crust

• Preheat the oven to 425° F. Line a 8"x8" brownie pan with two sheets of overhanging parchment (this will make it easy to lift the pie out of the pan).
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the butter cubes, tossing it in the flour to coat. Rub the butter into the flour, pinching the cubes with your thumb and forefinger so they form walnut-sized discs (for a flaky crust).
• Make a well in the center, and add the water a few tablespoons at a time and mix just until the dough comes together, pulling flour into the well from the sides.
• Form the dough into a small square, then wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes. 
• Roll out chilled pie dough on a lightly floured surface. Transfer it to the brownie pan, folding any overhanging dough downwards to create a thick outer crust. Chill until ready to use. 

for the filling

• Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, making sure that every blueberry is coated.

for the crumble

• In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, and zest from one lemon. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Crumble the mixture into big and small crumbles. 
  
• In a separate small bowl, mix the turbinado sugar and zest from one lemon until the sugar is moistened.

assembly

• Add the filling to the prepared crust. Crumble the crumb topping on top and then sprinkle the sugar and lemon zest mixture on top. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Notes

• You can definitely substitute another fruit for the filling, such as cherries or raspberries.

An Amber Emblem of Love

When I think about food, I think of memories. There’s the smell of fresh garlic sizzling in a pan on Saturday mornings, the shells of garbanzo beans floating in water like shedded summer skins. But one that stands out in its amber emblem of love is leche flan.

Con Cuidado

When my Abuelita lived with us, she would prepare a leche flan (and yes, just one) for Christmas Eve every year. She would spend the night before carefully and tenderly whisking eggs and milk, caramelizing sugar in a pan.

When I was around eleven years old, she asked me to help her make the Christmas flan (a Filipino/Spanish caramel custard), a privilege and a memory I wish I had absorbed more completely.

She showed me how it’s imperative to not touch the sugar as it caramelizes, to pay attention to how long you whisk the eggs. “Con cuidado,” she told me, as she guided my hands in coating the pan with the caramel. I remember moving the pan faster than what she instructed, impatient with the process and being pulled away from sister and brother playing in the other room. My Abuelita was quick to scold me for my carelessness. And now, I recoil at the thought of not savoring those extra seconds patience would have given me with her. 

But despite my rushing, the flan sat on a cake stand on the Christmas dessert table, unrivaled and (quite literally on a pedestal) above the other confections. 

Coating the pan with caramel has become my favorite part of the process. And whenever I see leche flan, I always think of her – deceptively simple but luxurious and rich, a symbol of patience and cultures (my Abuelita’s parents moved from central Spain to the Philippines, and leche flan is a signature dessert of both countries). If cooked too fast or too long, the flan will turn from silk to rubber, a result of the flan’s stubbornness and defiance (two beguiling yet beautiful qualities of every Spanish woman). 

I haven’t made a flan that could hold a candle to my Abuelita’s, and I don’t ever want to. But I hope you take the time to play patience with this recipe, and I hope when you try it you can taste my Abuelita’s Spanish stubbornness, her Filipino nature to love. 

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Leche Flan

A simple yet luxurious dessert that's a holiday staple in my family and my Abuelita's favorite dessert!

Servings 1 9" flan

Ingredients

for the caramel

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp corn syrup
• 1/2 cup water

for the custard

• 6 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp salt

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 325°F.
• Carefully place the sugar in the center of a sauce pan. Pour the water and corn syrup over the sugar, making sure not to get sugar on the sides of the pan (see note). Cook over high heat and do not touch until the sugar starts to caramelize and turn an amber color. 
• Once it reaches a dark amber color, remove from heat and pour into a flan mold, 9" glass pie dish, or individual ceramic ramekins, carefully moving the vessel to coat the bottom and sides.
• Beat the eggs and add the milk. Stir in the condensed milk, zest, vanilla, and salt. 
• Put the flan pan in a roasting pan then add the custard.
• Add boiling water to the roasting pan to half way up the flan (see note).
• Bake at 325°F for 40 minutes, checking the doneness by jiggling the pan. If it moves like set jello and an inserted knife comes out clean, it's done!
• Let the flan cool in water bath to room temperature and refrigerate for 2 hours. After chilled, run knife around the edge and flip onto a plate!

Notes

• Cooking the flan in a water bath helps ensure the flan cooks evenly. 
• If there are holes running through the flan and it tastes rubbery, it's over-baked.
• Stirring the sugar before it caramelizes will cause the caramel to seize.
• To clean your sauce pan, soak it in hot or boiling water.

Galette-about-it!

Definition of galette-about-it; verb
1: to forget about issues not worthy of your time, energy, mental effort, or emotional resources and make and/or consume a galette instead
2: to disregard further thought and analysis of your past, current situation, or future because a galette is unequivocally excellent

As easy as pie? No – as easy as a galette

It’s French. It has a beautiful name. It’s rustic and rich, yet seemingly refined but uncomplicated. You can make it days in advance, and it really is as easy as slicing up some apples, throwing it in the oven, and devouring it. Need a last minute dessert for a dinner party? Galette-about-it! Need to impress a date? Galette-about-it! Need some quality *me* time and want to kick back and relax but a pint of ice cream just won’t cut it? Galette-about-it!

You can really use any type of pastry dough for this galette. I made a standard butter pie dough, but there are recipes out there that are even simpler than that. Feel free and use other fruits besides apples (you wild thing, you), and if the bourbon butter is too much, just use plain ‘ol butter. Keep this recipe in your arsenal, though, because it’s a definite crowd pleaser.

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Bourbon Butter Apple Galette

A rich take on an easy classic, the bourbon butter adds a layer of depth, elevating this rustic French pastry.

Servings 1 9″ Galette

Ingredients

for the dough

• 1 1/4 cup (160 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 Tbsp (8 grams) granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp (3 grams) salt
• 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1″ cubes
• 1/2 cup ice water

for the bourbon butter

• 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp bourbon
• 1/2 tsp (3 grams) salt

for the galette

• 1 pound baking apples (honeycrisp, pink lady, etc.) peeled, sliced 1/8″ thick
• 1 large egg
• 3 Tbsp muscovado or raw sugar

Instructions

for the dough

• Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the butter cubes, tossing them in the flour and working them in by pinching them into flat discs until they’re the size of peas. 
• Make a well in the center, and add the water a few tablespoons at a time and mix just until the dough comes together, pulling flour into the well from the sides. Form the dough into a disc and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

for the bourbon butter

• Add all the ingredients to a small saucepan. Simmer all the ingredients together until aromatic and the butter turns a deep golden brown.

assembling the galette

• Preheat the oven to 375° F
• On a floured surface, roll the dough into a 1/8″ thick round disc with a diameter of about 10″. Begin laying the apple slices in concentric circles until you reach the middle. Brush the bourbon butter generously on the apple slices.
• Fold the edge of the dough over. Brush with the egg and sprinkle with the muscovado sugar. Bake for 40 minutes or until the galette is a deep golden brown.

Notes

• The galette can be made 2-3 days ahead. Wrap it tightly and store at room temperature. 

*PSST* YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS

Every now and then, I’ll stumble upon a recipe that just clicks and pulls me in. “That,” I’ll tell myself, “I need to make that.” I’ll become so intent, so stubborn on creating it that I can’t (and won’t) focus on anything else.

And that’s exactly what happened when I saw this Rhubarb and Brown Butter Tart on Zoe Bakes. The tart was stunning, with thinly sliced Rhubarb bursting in pink hues nestled in a rich brown butter filling. I immediately ordered the tart pan she used, bought some rhubarb, and got to it.

Adapting

But, Camille, it’s the middle of winter. Where am I going to get rhubarb?

Well, if the rhubarb is the hook, then the brown butter filling is the line and sinker. I found myself eating the filling by the spoonful as I waited for the dough to chill, it’s that good. It’s now my go to tart filling, and I’ve baked this exact tart with different fruit substitutions – peaches, apples, cranberries (which have a similar tartness to rhubarb), etc. So use it and adapt! The brown butter filling is the real star of the show. And I know that baking can be a little intimidating (with its exactness and seeming inflexibility), but there’s no need to color within the lines. Create different frames and drawings. Use watercolors when you’d normally use markers (aka use blueberries instead of rhubarb aka please don’t bake with markers unless they’re edible ink). You get it! You’ve got this!

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Rhubarb and Brown Butter Tart

This recipe is from Bake from Scratch. I followed Zoë François' take on it and made one giant tart instead of 12 individual ones. Definitely check our Zoe's Instagram, her instructional videos are amazing!

Servings 12 2½" tarts, or 1 13.75"x4.25" tart

Ingredients

for the pâte sucrée

• ½ cup plus 3 Tbsp (155 grams) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup (60 grams) confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 2 1/4 cup (227 grams) pastry flour, see note*
• 1/2 tsp (1.5 grams) kosher salt

for the brown butter filling

• 3/4 cup (170 grams) unsalted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp (16 grams) all-purpose flour
• 2 large (100 grams) eggs

for the topping

• 2 cups (200 grams) thinly sliced rhubarb
• 2 Tbsp (24 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 tsp orange zest

Instructions

for the pâte sucrée

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat softened butter, confectioners’ sugar, and zest at medium speed until creamy (3 to 4 minutes) stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Beat in egg. 
• Whisk together flour and salt in a separate bowl. Add the flour and salt to the creamed butter and sugar, beating just until it comes together.
• Shape dough into a long rectangle and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

for the brown butter filling

• In a medium saucepan, heat butter and vanilla extract over medium heat. Cook until butter turns a deep amber color and has a nutty aroma, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
• In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, and eggs. Slowly drizzle a little bit of the hot butter mixture into egg mixture, whisking constantly (doing this makes sure that you don't cook the eggs with the heated butter). Slowly drizzle in more and more of the hot butter mixture, whisking constantly. Let cool to room temperature. Once mixture is cool, whisk once more before transferring to an airtight container. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

preparing the tart

• On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough so that it's ~1" larger than the tart pan. Transfer dough to the tart pan, pressing into bottom and up sides. Trim excess dough. Transfer tart shells to prepared pan, and freeze for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Spoon the brown butter filling into the prepared tart shell. Carefully place the shingled sliced rhubarb on top of filling, and sprinkle with sugar and orange zest.
• Bake until filling is set and crust is golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool in pan completely before carefully removing.

Notes

• If you don't have access to pastry flour, you can use equal parts all-purpose flour and cake flour (e.g. 1 cup pastry flour = 1/2 cup ap flour, 1/2 cup cake flour). If you don't have access to cake flour, you can use 2 Tbsp. cornstarch with enough all-purpose flour to make a cup (e.g. 1 cup pastry flour = 2 Tbsp. cornstarch, 1 cup-2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour).