This weekend I’m busy trying a few new things in between all of my standard baking. Since I needed to bake some pecan pralines anyway, I decided now would be a good time to experiment with a few ideas floating around in my head: butter pecan cookies and more shapely pecan pralines.
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Butter Pecan Cookies – Take 1
My idea for butter pecan cookies was to make a buttery shortbread cookie topped off with pecan praline. I used my robust sugar cookies as the base. These came out relatively well, but I only got a few cookies done before the praline got too cool and difficult to work with. They taste pretty good, but I’m not done perfecting this. I have another idea in store for the cookie part that will hopefully not only be delicious but less expensive in terms of ingredients.
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Shapely Pecan Pralines
Next up was making my pralines look a bit more appetizing. These things are SO decadent and delicious and melt-in-your-mouth-amazing, but the only photo I had of them made them look kind of… bleh. So I set out to make some pretty ones.
My vision was to make them in mini muffin tins, because I really like that shape. The first attempt was a failure… again, the stuff cooled too quickly for me to handle properly. My second attempt was better — at least I got it all into the pan before it cooled off. But THEN I couldn’t get them out of the tin without demolishing them. That’s when I went out and bought a silicone baking mold. The result was MUCH better. Pretty shaped pralines!!
The only complaint I have is that the sides are dull, where they touched the mold. Not sure how to remedy that — yet. Anyone have any ideas?
Posted on May 30th, 2009 by Kelley
Filed under: Gluten-Free, Pâtisserie | 2 Comments »
Today I made some gluten-free garlic parmesan crackers. I have been wanting to make these for a while now, and I finally had the chance! My
cheesy spice crackers are made with butter, but I wanted to do something a bit different this time. I figure that garlic and Parmesan cheese go better with olive oil than butter, so I used
Erin’s recipe for rosemary and olive oil crackers as inspiration. Basically I combined the two recipes, and did a bit more tweaking than I expected to do. The end result? Crispy, cheesy crackers with a nice Italian flavor. Yay!
You can buy these crackers in my Etsy shop
or get a taste of them with one of my gluten-free sample packs.
Posted on May 25th, 2009 by Kelley
Filed under: Gluten-Free, Pâtisserie | No Comments »
Last week I was browsing around on Etsy and came across a seller of some gluten-free bread products. She offered a sweet-looking sample pack for a really good price, so I just had to try it! The sample pack included: 1 loaf of sandwich bread, 3 plain bagels, 3 hamburger buns. I received my items within a few days of placing the order and everything was nicely packaged, with a little set of storing/prepping instructions inside.
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Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread
After nuking the bread for ~15 seconds (it should be stored in the fridge), it was soft and inviting. The bread by itself is heavier than gluteny sandwich bread, which is really to be expected with a gluten-free bread product. Also to be expected, however, is higher quality than “normal” sandwich bread you buy at the grocery store. This bread reminded me very much of a brioche. It has a thicker texture to it, and a soft yellow tinge, both of which I attribute to the amount of eggs in the dough (at least in brioche). It also has a slight sweetness to it, which is really nice.
I ate a piece of the bread by itself with a little butter on it. Yummy! The only part I didn’t scarf down was the crust, but I’m a picky girl in general and don’t normally eat the crust on most things anyway. I decided to make a grilled cheese sandwich, since I haven’t had one of those in years (I even bought some special cheese for the occasion). The bread grilled beautifully, and the sandwich tasted awesome! I really enjoy the soft sweetness of this bread in combination with the saltiness of the butter and cheese. Delish!
The verdict: This bread was definitely worth it. WAY better than any gluten-free bread I’ve bought at the store. I would buy this bread again any day, especially since the purchase ensures quality bread without me having to make it myself!
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Gluten-Free Bagels
I was very curious to try these bagels. I’ve made some gluten-free bagels in the past and while the experience was fun, and the results were pretty good, they were so… “gluten free”. My hope was that with this purchase I would find a product better than what I’d been able to create at home. I followed the instructions provided: slice in half, nuke, apply condiments, eat. Upon cutting the bagel in half, I immediately noticed its density and “rubbery” texture. It was kind of difficult to cut through, but it was also still cold. Soft and steamy from the microwave, I spread on my cream cheese and sprinkled it with cinnamon sugar.
The bagel, unfortunately, did not exceed my expectations. It was thick, crumbly, and dry. Sigh. No discredit to the baker, however, because I’ve been there. The bagel was essentially a relative of the GF bagels I made in the past. They taste AMAZING right out of the oven, and even pretty good the next day. But beyond that… I always ended up tossing 3/4 of my batch of bagels into the trash. And you know what? It’s virtually the same with gluteny bagels anyway. Perhaps they are better when toasted, but lame-ass me doesn’t own a toaster!
The verdict: I would not buy these bagels again unless I was visiting the bakery personally and could enjoy them fresh out of the oven, the way they deserve to be consumed.
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Gluten-Free Hamburger Buns
I didn’t have a hamburger to test this bun on, but I did have some delicious brisket that my mom made today. As I warmed the bun in the microwave I was greeted with a nice yeasty fragrance. The bun was soft and a little flaky, which was nice. I packed it with brisket and took a bite. Not bad! The bun is light, yeasty, and soft. It’s a tad bit on the crumbly side, but it’s by no means dry, which is awesome! I’ve eaten half of my sandwich while typing this paragraph, and I’m impressed! Yay!
The verdict: I would absolutely use these buns for my hamburgers or sandwiches any day!
Overall I am very pleased with my purchase from this baker and would recommend them to anyone, especially if you are in the New York area (obviously, the fresher, the better!). Cheers!
Posted on May 24th, 2009 by Kelley
Filed under: Food Reviews, Gluten-Free | 1 Comment »
