Hiatus

Fellow Baking Beauties I just wanted to let everyone know that I will be on a little hiatus and won't be able to participate for the next couple of weeks. I was planning on baking the blueberry muffins, but my dear son has just come down with a nasty virus and I will be working all hours of the night to keep up with work, not to mention trying to fit in some packing. The family is heading down south for a glorious two week vacation - but I promise I will be back to bake the Buttermilk Scones which sound divine!

I'm looking forward to checking out all your results. The mint night caps look incredibly delicious and I have promised myself that I will make them in the near future.

Until then Beauties...Happy Baking!

Galettes

Galette is a general term used in French to designate various types of flat, round or free form crusty cakes (Definition courtesy of Wikepedia).

I can't tell you how much I loved to make and eat this delicious recipe. Not to say that I didn't have some issues along the way. My mini processor started to smoke (literally), which is making me question if I should indeed buy a larger one. As well, my dough was extremely sticky so I called Tina for some advice. It turns out the recipe I found on the Internet was phrased a little differently that Julia's. My recipe directed to me to pour all of the sour cream and water mixture into the dough. A little more flour solved that culinary issue.

I think next time I make this dish I will mix the dough by hand instead of using the mini processor. Oh, and yes I used a measuring tape again. Such a strange tool to use in the kitchen.

The end result was delicious. Jerry and I both ate one each for dinner one night. Next time I think I will experiment with different cheeses, i followed the recipe using Monterrey Jack and mozzarella. I can't imagine how good this dish will be when using fresh summer ingredients.

Overall, I love the rustic look of this dish and the divine taste. This will definitely be part of my future repertoire!

Till next time, happy baking!

The "X" Factor

I had mentioned in last week's entry, I was quite apprehensive in trying these cookies. But since I have signed up for this challenge, I thought that I should at least give it a shot. I read over the recipe a number of times and I was still not sure and asked my dear sister a few questions. You see, I am completing these weekly challenges without the aid of the cookbook. Tina, sent me a few pictures that brought it all together for me.

I halved the recipe because I definitely do not need 5 dozen cookies in my house...I was also happy since I found these cookies a tad labour intensive with all the kneading, rolling, and cutting. I had to use my mini food processor to blend all the ingredients (I don't own anything larger), so I had to make two batches of the dough, and luckily only one batch of the filling. I did not use the candied orange and used white rum instead of dark. I also used a tape measure to cut the cookies into 3 inches each (yes, a little anal of me). I also found I had quite a bit of wasted dough, which I suppose I could have kneaded into more cookies.

The reduced recipe yielded approximately 2 dozen cookies. I brought them to our Friday night dinner at the in-laws and they went over quite well. Truman even seemed to like them, probably because they are not too sweet. I didn't mind the cookies, but I doubt I will make them again.

Can't wait to try next week's challenge. Till then, happy baking!