From Scratch

Whenever I make gingerbread cookies for the holidays, I wonder why I don’t make them more often. They’re really a delicious cookie, especially for those of us without a serious sweet tooth. We associate them with Christmas, of course, but with different cookie cutters they can be used for any holiday or none at all. […]

If you’ve never worked with phyllo dough, just take a deep breath and do it. This festive and different dessert, with dark chocolate and neufchâtel as well as cranberries, is worth trying when you’d like to serve something special.
Like many people, I was intimidated by phyllo dough, especially when every cookbook exhorts us to work […]

These delectable cookies, with a rich, flaky dough of cream cheese and butter, are probably the most popular Jewish cookie in America, loved by Gentiles too. The name means “little twists” in Yiddish and they’re year-round favorites but are traditional at Hanukkah. It’s early this year; the first candle will be lit the evening of […]

Let’s be honest. Making corn bread is dead easy but despite that, dump and stir mixes abound, I suppose because they’re fast. This recipe is ready for the oven in the time it takes to pre-heat and it has the added appeal of being one of those “can’t mess it up” recipes. I think the reason […]

It’s been a year to the day since Mark Bittman’s Minimalist column in The New York Times turned conventional wisdom upside down and prompted who-knows-how-many people to make bread for the first time. This crusty, holey no-knead bread featured in that column is the brainchild of Jim Lahey of Manhattan’s Sullivan Street Bakery. It’s become […]

I can’t think of many common ingredients that confuse people as this one does. Is it only for bread machines? Is it only for super-fast breads? Does it produce inferior loaves?
The answer to all three questions is no.
The yeast industry can blame itself for some of the confusion, having sold it under names such as Rapid […]

Fudgy or cakey? That’s always the question of preference about this quintessential American treat, the brownie. Of course, some people are happy with them either way.
These are fudgy and couldn’t be faster or easier. They’re also thin, baked in an oblong pan instead of the usual square, which is ideal because they’re rich. A small […]

This recipe is so tried and true. I’ve been making it about 20 years and my mother made it for several years before that. It’s a pumpkin lover’s cake, not a spice cake at all even though it does have some spices and raisins.
One thing I like about this type of cake — made with […]

Several months ago Gold Medal replaced its Better for Bread flour, in the yellow sack, with Harvest King bread flour, in an earth-tone sack reminscent of Al Gore’s earth-tone alpha-male campaign wardrobe in 2000. It’s not just a cosmetic change; this is a different flour, the same one previously available only to professionals and favored […]

I have to be in the mood to make and decorate cutout cookies and when I am, I often turn to this recipe, which has a hint of a grownup flavor. Like all rolled cookies, these are sugary but the addition of a small amount of spice — the sort I associate with autumn — […]

   
If you use Baker’s brand White Chocolate Baking Squares, check the package. Kraft has issued a recall in the US and Canada because of possible salmonella contamination. The chocolate squares have slightly different names and packaging in each country.
The recalled product in the US carries four “best by” dates:

31 MAR 2008 XCZ
01 APR 2008 […]

Have you ever made a double-crust apple pie, only to cut into it and discover a gaping space between the top crust and the apples? I have and frankly, I don’t know anyone who hasn’t. But it doesn’t have to happen.
One solution is to use more butter in the crust so the pastry really sinks […]

The most difficult aspect of making a woven lattice crust is resisting the urge to tell everyone how easy it is. When you get compliments — and you will, of the ooh and ahh variety — simply smile and say thank you. There must be people who perceive this as difficult or there wouldn’t be directions […]

Of four classic pastry doughs — pate brisee, pate sucree, pate sablee (”sandy” — it’s like a cookie dough) and pate a choux – this is one of the two most often made by American home bakers, the other being brisee for a flaky crust.
“Sucre” means sugar and its presence produces a sturdier crust, making this […]

When I announced pie making week, I promised five days of information. That was before I remembered savory crusts, which really had to be part of it. So a bit more is coming in the next few days, specifically a pate sucree, which I will use for both a pie and a lattice crust. And […]