Category Archives: Milk Bar Mondays

February 18, 2013 · 7:00 am

Chocolate Mallow Layer Cake – Gluten-Free for Milk Bar Mondays!

Chocolate Mallow Layer Cake

Chocolate Mallow Layer Cake

I interview chefs weekly for Serious Eats, a national website that covers restaurants, bars, recipes and events. Lately the subject of diminishing pastry chefs and departments has come up a bit, most prominently with Lauren Resler, a pastry chef I adore who turns out layered, whimsical desserts for her restaurants, Empellon Taqueria and Empellon Cocina here in NYC (if you haven’t been – go!).

I’ve questioned many a pastry chef as to who they think the next “it” chef of their generation would be; a Michael Laiskonis, Johnny Iuzzini or Alex Stupak on the rise. Many of the chefs I’ve asked say something simple needs to be done: someone needs to focus on reinventing classics with a deeply personal twist, something old but incredibly new as well.

As I adapted Christina Tosi’s Chocolate Malt Layer Cake into a version us gluten-free eaters can enjoy, I realized that Tosi may just be that chef. Granted I’ve never eaten one of her desserts, as they’re all loaded with gluten and dairy. But as the Milk Bar Mondays ladies and I have baked our way through her cookbook, I see that she’s doing exactly what we want someone to be doing: elevating classics into something so over the top that, like pastry chef Stephen Collucci said when trying her Cereal Milk Ice Cream, “it’s so good it’s stupid”.

This cake is so good it’s stupid.

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January 28, 2013 · 9:00 am

Gluten-Free Blueberry and Cream Cookies – Milk Bar Mondays!

Blueberries-and-Cream-Cookies2

One of the many things I love about our Milk Bar Mondays swap is that it helps me branch out with the kinds of baked goods I make. This cookie is a perfect example – I wasn’t totally wowed by them, but I gave a bunch away for my New Years presents (I’ve decided that I’m giving cookies away in January instead of for Christmas, and it’s my new favorite tradition), and tossed some at my roommate.

They got rave reviews.

These still aren’t my favorite Milk Bar cookies… I still stick to my Compost and Confetti cookies loves. But they are incredibly sweet and chewy, with a crunchy edge. Delectably buttery. And when you make them in my size (versus the behemoths that the original batch makes), you get dozens of treats for sharing.

I know my recipe is missing something because my crunch didn’t work out – how do you make Milk Crumb without milk?!?! I’d experimented with powdered non-dairy coffee creamer and the result was a tasty sort of brittle – not a crumb. But the cookies are still darned good without it. So much so that my roommate proclaimed them victorious over the little peanut butter kiss cookies she’s requested for years now.

Blueberries-and-Cream-Cookies3

For the original recipe, head on over to Cassie at Bake Your Day!

Erin of Big Fat Baker

Audra of The Baker Chick

Krissy of Krissy’s Creations

and follow us on all Twitter and Pinterest!

Blueberries-and-Cream1

Blueberry and Cream Cookies

225 g / 16 Tbsp butter, at room temperature
150g / 3/4 cup white sugar
150g / 2/3 cup tightly packed light brown sugar
100g / 1/4 cup glucose (or 2 Tbsp corn syrup)

—————-

2 eggs

—————-

320 g / 2 cups gluten-free cookie flour*
2 g / 1/2 tsp baking powder
1.5g / 1/4 tsp baking soda
6g / 1.5 tsp kosher salt

—————-

130g / 3/4 cup dried blueberries

Combine butter, sugars and glucose / corn syrup in a bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high for 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, scrape down the sides of the bowl and paddle on high for 7-8 minutes, until the mixture is extremely fluffy like gorgeous frosting.

Reduce the mixer to low and add all the dry ingredients until just incorporated.

Fold in blueberries.

With a tablespoon, scoop onto parchment or Silpat lined pans about 1 inch apart. Wrap in plastic wrap an refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 1 day.

When ready to bake, heat oven to 350°. Place cookies on lined sheets 3 inches apart and pat domes a bit flat. Bake for 18 minutes or until cookies had spread and browned at edges. Cool on mats until firm, then move to cooling racks to cool completely.

*My cookie flour ratio is about 3 parts flour (millet, brown rice, white rice etc.) to 2 parts starch. So for this if you’re blending your own estimate around 1 1/4 cup flour and 3/4 cup starch. Check out my gluten-free flour page for more info.

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November 5, 2012 · 1:00 am

Peanut Butter Cookies – Milk Bar Mondays

I walk into my kitchen to get a cup of tea and Christmas fills my nostrils. Maybe it’s the strains of Love Actually coming from the living room where my roommate is wiling away the Saturday afternoon. Maybe it’s the fact that now that Halloween is over I can officially start planning menus and dreaming of trees. Maybe it’s needing something to distract me from Hurricane Sandy coverage in NYC. Maybe it’s these things and…

…peanut butter.

Every year for as long as I can remember, I’ve made those classic little peanut butter cookies with a Hershey kiss on top (even though I’ve never freed them of gluten so haven’t been able to eat a bite). Out of all my holiday collection, they are the most requested and I make them by the hundreds…

Our Milk Bar Monday group took a little hiatus for the past few weeks to give space for Audra Wahab to be renamed Audra Fullerton and Krissy Winnick to welcome baby Ezekiel Vincent Winnick into the world!!! But now we’re back in our kitchens – though with slightly diminished numbers – and still determined to bake our way through Christina Tosi’s Milk Bar cookbook.

When I chose this recipe for my hosting date, I picked Tosi’s Peanut Butter Cookies because they’re one of her easiest recipes. They don’t take as much time or prep as Confetti Cookies or as many ingredients as Compost Cookies, and far less of both time, prep and ingredients as an Apple Pie Layer Cake or Carrot Cake Truffles.

And, well, there’s the Christmas angle.

I start thinking Christmas around September. I’m not into expensive gift-giving, trendy decorating, making things “perfect” year after year or going insane with stress because things have to be “just so”.

I love Christmas because – if we just relax and let ourselves – we actually can focus for a period on being more generous, more open-minded, more kind-hearted and more patient; to ourselves and others. We can give and receive a little more love. We can sing songs and bake sweet things and bring trees inside (!!!!!!!!) and spend more time together.

And cookies. I believe in baking, eating and giving cookies.

These are extremely sweet cookies. I wasn’t sold on them until I dunked a piece in some cold almond milk. Then I was hooked. They candy aspect gives them some chew, and while they spread much more than other Tosi cookies I’ve adapted to being gluten-free, they still held together well.

The only adaptation I made was to use King Arthur gluten-free flour instead of white flour. It worked okay, but I regretted not blending my own flours. I’m a believer that there is no “all-purpose gluten-free flour” that works “cup-for-cup” in place of wheat flour. Different flours have different weights, and react variously with other ingredients. So this worked, but not ideally. I’ve heard from the other ladies that bread flour worked wonders, so I’m going to look up those particulars for my own blend next time.

But, in general, this is a winning recipe if you like really sweet, chewy, peanut-buttery cookies. I can’t wait to see what the other ladies came up with! Check us out:

The Milk Bar Mondays Ladies!

Erin of Big Fat Baker

Audra of The Baker Chick

Cassie of Bake Your Day

Follow the group on Twitter!

Peanut Butter Cookies

From The Milk Bar Cookbook by Christina Tosi

This is a 2-part recipe, involving crunchy peanut brittle and chewy peanut butter cookies!

Peanut Brittle

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup peanuts

Line a quarter sheet pan with a Silpat (parchment will NOT work – Silpat works wonders!)

Make a dry caramel: heat the sugar in a small heavy-bottomoed saucepan over medium-high heat. As soon as the sugar starts to melt, use a heat-proof spatula to move it constantly around the pan — you want it all to melt and caramelize easily. Cook until a deep amber, 3-5 minutes.

Once the caramel is all melted, remove from heat and stir in the nuts. Immediately pour onto sheet pan and spread as thin as possible. Work quickly, as it will begin to set in less than a minute.
Let cool completely.

Break the brittle in a ziptop plastic bag with a rolling pin or meat grinder, or break into pieces and pulse in a food processor until the size of short-grain rice.

Store in an air-tight container, and use remaining brittle from this recipe within a month.

Peanut Butter Cookies:

Ingredients:

  • 12 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/4 cup glucose (use 2 Tbsp corn syrup in a pinch)
  • 1 cup Skippy peanut butter2 eggs
  • 1/8 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/3 cup flour (I weighed 225g gluten-free flour for this and measured the rest of the ingredients)
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/8 tsp baking soda
  • 2 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 recipe peanut brittle

Combine the butter, sugar and glucose in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Paddle in the peanut butter then add the eggs and vanilla and beat for 30 seconds on medium-high speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then paddle on medium-high speed for 3 minutes. During this time the sugar granules will dissolve and the creamed mixture will double in size.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix just until the dough comes together, no longer than 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Still on low speed, mix in the peanut brittle until incorporated, no more than 30 seconds.

Using a 2 3/4 oz ice cream scoop (or a 1/3 cup measure), portion out the dough onto a parchment-lined sheet pan. Pat the tops of the cookie domes flat. Wrap the sheet pan tightly in plastic warp and regfirgerate for at least 1 hour or up to 1 week. Do not bake your cookies from room temperature – they will not bake properly.

Heat the oven to 375°.

Arrange the chilled dough at least 4 inches apart on parchment or Silpat lined sheets. Bake for 18 minutes. The cookies will puff, crackle and spread. Bake until tan with auburn specks throughout.

Cool completely on sheet pans before transferring to a plate or an airtight container for storage. At room temperature, cookies will keep fresh for 5 days, or 1 month if frozen.

Notes: I would cut the size of these cookies in HALF! They were HUGE! Mine spread a lot, but the chewy consistency was great. They taste better a day or two later, and always with milk (almond, for me).

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August 6, 2012 · 6:01 am

Grapefruit Pie: Milk Bar Mondays!

I’m on my 10th straight day of cooking in the Hamptons. I’m a sweaty, tired mess of a happy person. I am so sick of cooking food… until I make something that delights me and the people I work for. Then I remind myself that it’s pretty cool that I get paid (well) to cook food, which I love to do anyway.

Somehow in the insanity that is workdays that begin at 7pm and don’t end until 14 hours later, I was able to make this pie, today’s Milk Bar Mondays group recipe. Actually, I was able to squeeze in two pies in the two days, because this one didn’t quite work out. It also happens to be for a swap set for today, so check out my second grapefruit pie for the Burwell Recipe Swap: Grapefruit Sponge Pie!

Being that I’m not home with my arsenal of alternative ingredients and the family I work for doesn’t have any sensitivies, I figured this swap was a good chance to do a Tosi recipe as written and enjoy working straight from the book, as we don’t substitute unless absolutely necessary.

But then…

… no where to get citric acid out here. Or milk powder. Two important, key ingredients to Tosi’s recipes.

Some last-minute adaptations needed to be employed.

Now, I’m not jumping to conclusions with my outcome of this recipe, and I’m hoping fellow Milk Bar Ladies had better luck with it.

Because my crust – a sweetened version of salty, crushed Ritz crackers – melted into the pie plate when it should have toughened up and been a firm base for the pie. At the end, when I took it out of the freezer to slice, it was hard as rock, and tasted like a (really f’in awesome) version of some sort of Ritz cracker brittle…

Missing milk powder the problem?

My sweetened condensed grapefruit layer never miraculously thickened when being mixed, as the recipe specified it would to an almost magical degree. So it was runny when I poured it into the crust, and was icy and somewhat crystalized.

Missing citric acid – replaced with a little lemon juice – the problem?

The Grapefruit Passion Curd layer? Perfection. It was sweet and tangy and the little threads of the grapefruit separated like tiny magical elves or something more creatively articulate. I would use this curd in a variety of layer cakes or as the basis for a tart. Yes, the passion fruit puree was not easy to find and dog knows when I’ll be near it again. But the flavor in the resulting curd made it well worth the hunt and the process of making the curd was quick and worked!

So that part of the recipe is below. For the entire thing, and the ladies on board with this swap (we’re dropping like flies amongst wedding preparations, baby preparations and general summer madness!), head on over to Meagan of Scarletta Bakes (she’s our host for this swap and hers will be up in a few hours) and Erin of Big Fat Baker.

And for recipes that are gluten-free, dairy-free (mostly) and my personal favorites, check out the Chevre Frozen Yogurt with Pistachio Crunch and Beet-Lime Ganache, Confetti Cookies and Carrot Cake Truffles.

Up next, I host a classic – Peanut Butter Cookies ala Milk Bar Crack! Check back in here in two weeks!

Grapefruit Passion Curd

From Milk Bar Cookbook by Christina Tosi

  • 1/4 cup passion fruit puree
  • 3 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 gelatin sheet or 1/4 tsp powdered gelatin
  • 6 Tbsp very cold butter
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 large grapefruit
  • 1 tsp grapeseed oil (I used canola)

Put the passion fruit puree and sugar in a blender and blend until the sugar has dissolved. Add the egg and blend on low until the mixture is smooth and bright orange-yellow. Pour the mixture into a medium saucepan and clean the blender.

Bloom the gelatin.

Heat the passion fruit mixture over low heat, whisking regularly as it thickens. Once it starts to boil, transfer back to the blender. Add the bloomed gelatin, butter and salt and beat until the mixture is super smooth. Transfer to a container and chill in the fridge until completely cool.

While it’s cooling, remove each segment of grapefruit completely, leaving no white pith behind. I’ve done this manually for my boss’ morning breakfast often, but cheated on this by using jarred fresh grapefruit that we have on hand. I highly recommend it.
In a small saucepan heat the oil and grapefruit on low heat, whisking while it heats. The oil will eventually separate the threads of the grapefruit. It’s really cool to watch. Let them cool a bit.

When everything is chilled, fold the grapefruit into the curd. Cool, and use on ANYTHING.

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July 16, 2012 · 6:00 am

Gluten and Dairy-Free Chocolate-Chocolate Cookies: Milk Bar Mondays!

Chocolate-Chocolate Cookies – Gluten and Dairy Free!

I’m missing shooting real photos with a real camera, instead of frantically with an iPad while I cook more in one day than I ever used to dream I could. Anyone have any suggestions for how to make photos from an iPad look awesome?!?!

Other than that bit of crankiness I’m pretty psyched by this Christina Tosi Milk Bar Cookbook recipe that Cassie of Bake Your Daypicked for today’s Milk Bar Mondays swap. Even before I baked these kids up, I knew that they were going to be crazy-awesome. And considering the time that goes into most Tosi recipes (the Apple Pie Layer Cake and Carrot Cake Truffles being two that spring to mind), these are relatively easy to make. And super awesome.

Being a cookie, it’s a simple matter of whipping together some fat and sugar, beating in some protein and more fatty yumminess, and then folding in gluten-free flours and starches and some chocolate crumbs.

Because, of course, a Tosi cookie has to have that little something extra. It has to have some crumb, crunch or liquidy addition to take it from “oh my dog yeah” to “save me from myself this is just too much yum in one cookie“.

Let’s just say I may have eaten a bit of batter before putting these mammoth babies in.

It makes for one really dense cookie. So much so that I think I nibbled one as I drove back out to work the other day, and one was all it took to be satisfied. It had been frozen, so was extra firm and those little crumbs in the middle were like goldmines. I’d suggest using these for whoopie pies or a crust for some sweet dairy-free ice cream!! They’re like the perfect cross between a brownie and a cookie. And all you need is one before you go into sugar-shock.

I adapted Tosi’s recipe to be gluten and dairy-free, and cut down the “butter” by a tiny tad – the non-gluten-free bakers had had problems with their cookies spreading from too much fat. Mine held perfect shape and texture. But, still, I cut down my recipe by two tablespoons. The result? I actually could have kept them in. These cookies are fudgey and brownie-like, as Tosi intended, but could have used the extra moisture and fat content of the original recipe. Maybe the higher level of starch in the gluten-free blend is more absorbent?

Other than that, I followed to a T. Head over to Cassie’s blog for our host’s original recipe, and to the other Milk Bar Mondays Ladies’ blogs for their incredible photos and experience with this recipe.

Krissy of Krissy’s Creations
Nicole of Sweet Peony Blog
Erin of Big Fat Baker
Meagen of Scarletta Bakes

And follow our sprinkle addictions on Twitter! #milkbarmondays

Up Next July 30th – Grapefruit Pie!

Happy Milk Bar Mondays, folks,

- Jacqueline

Notes: I weighed pretty much everything in this recipe, as I find weighing makes gluten-free adapting so much more accurate. I highly recommend getting a scale and following recipes when they offer weights. I’m putting both here. Also, my go-to gluten-free flours are brown and white rice, millet and arrowroot starch. I am NOT an advocate of the phrase “or substitute with your own favorite gluten-free flour blend” as I don’t believe they’re scientifically equal and will produce different results. So, totally use your own flour if you want, I’m just not guaranteeing the same results. Cookies are more adaptable to starch/flour ratios and this is definitely not the only blend that will work, I’m just sayin…

Chocolate-Chocolate Cookies

Makes 10-18 cookies, depending on how you roll em

For the Cookies

195g Earth Balance (butter flavored), at room temperature (14 tablespoons)
300g sugar (1 1/2 cups)
100g glucose (1/4 cup) OR 35g / 2 tbsp corn syrup

—————

1 large egg
1g vanilla extract (1/4tsp)
60g 55% – 60% chocolate, melted (2oz)

—————

90g arrowroot starch
125g brown rice flour
10g white rice flour
75g millet flour
100g cocoa powder
3g baking powder (3/4 tsp)
1.5g baking soda (1/2 tsp)
7g kosher salt (1 3/4 tsp)

—————-

1/2 recipe Chocolate Crumb (recipe follows)

—————

Directions:

Combine butter, sugar and glucose/corn syrup in the bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment and cream on medium/high for 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg, vanilla and melted chocolate. Beat on medium/high for 7-8 minutes until fluffy and smooth. DON’T skimp on this step. The creaming method is important to the Tosi way of baking and you’ll have wasted a lot of time if you move on from this step in haste.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda and salt. Mix until the dough just comes together, less than a minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. On low add the chocolate crumb until just incorporated.

On baking sheets fitted with Silpat or parchment, scoop dough into balls and press the tops slightly flat. Tosi suggests usings a 2 3/4 oz cookie scoop or 1/3 cup measuring spoon – but those are just too big for me. I made one sheet of eight cookies at about 1/4 cup of dough and one sheet of eight cookies slightly less. Just obviously watch your baking time if making smaller than the suggested size.

Wrap the sheet pans tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour, or up to one week. Do not bake your cookies at room temp or they’ll spread everywhere. This is especially important when using a replacement for butter, which hardens differently. You need that fat cold!

Preheat the oven to 375°.

Bake for 14-18 minutes-ish. The cookies will puff, crackle and spread. Tosi has it right that it’s hard to judge when these are done because of all the dense chocolatey-ness. If the cookies seem doughy in the center, give it another minute. Especially if they’ve been made smaller, they should take no longer than 18 minutes in a properly heated oven. If yours is convection, they’ll take less. And I’m jealous of you.

Cool the cookies completely on sheet pans before transferring to a plate or storage. They’ll keep at room temp for five days, or in the freezer for one month.

Chocolate Crumb

50g brown rice flour
30g white rice flour
25g arrowroot
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
100 g sugar (1/2 cup)
4g cornstarch (1 tsp)
65g cocoa powder (2/3 cup)
4g kosher salt (1 tsp)
85g Earth Balance (butter flavored), melted

Heat the oven to 300° and line a baking sheet with parchment or Silpat.

Combine flours, cornstarch, sugar, cocoa powder and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment and whirl to combine. On low speed add the melted butter in a stream and paddle until the mixture starts to come together into small clusters and is uniformly a gorgeous, rich dark brown.

Spread the clusters on sheets. Bake for 20 minutes, occassionaly breaking them up if needed. They’ll still be soft when done and will harden as they cool.

Cool completely before using. Save the other 1/2 recipe in your freezer to sprinkle on a dessert or bake into other cookies! Yum!

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