Pecan Tassies & Pfeffernussen

It's been over a month since my last post. With good reason, because for the majority of that time I was without a working stove. But now I'm back and while the renovation is not fully completed yet, I have a kitchen that is in complete working order!


So in celebration, and in time for the holidays, here are two delicious cookie recipes that I served at our inaugural cocktail party! Both come from the inimitable Martha Stewart, who certainly comes in handy this time of year. :o) Enjoy!

Pecan Tassies from Martha Sewart
For the dough:
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt

For the filling:
1 large egg
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Process pecans in a food processor until finely ground; set aside. In an electric mixer, combine mascarpone and butter on medium-high speed until well blended. Add flour, ground pecans, and salt; mix just until dough comes together.

2. Roll dough into sixteen 1-inch balls, and press into bottoms and up sides of cups of mini-muffin tins.

3. Whisk the egg, sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, butter, and salt in a small bowl. Stir in pecans. Spoon about 1 1/2 teaspoons filling into each muffin cup.

4. Bake pecan tassies until crust begins to turn golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely in tins on wire rack before you unmold.

Pfeffernussen from Martha Stewart
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the confectioners' sugar in a brown paper bag.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, pepper, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and baking soda. Set aside.

3. Place butter, brown sugar, and molasses in an electric mixer beat on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture; beat until just combined. Pinch off dough in tablespoon amounts; roll into 1 1/4-inch balls. Arrange balls 1 1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.

4. Bake until cookies are golden and firm to the touch with slight cracking, about 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer sheets to a wire rack to cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Working in batches, place cookies in paper bag; shake until well coated. Let cool completely on wire rack.

Oatmeal Molasses Bread

The honey-wheat bread from last week was such a big hit, that I almost just made it again. But how silly would that be considering the growing stack of yeast bread recipes I have gathering on the table? So, in the spirit of this blog I tried something new and the results did not disappoint.

I mean really really surpassed even our pretty high expectations. The dough is not heavy at all, the oatmeal adds a lovely flavor, and the hint of molasses gives it nice depth, making a bread perfect as a treat on its own, or as a vehicle for a sandwich. In fact, I'm eating a plain "mis-cut" slice of it right now (to destroy the evidence...).

The recipe made two loaves and instead of halving it (thankfully!), I'm already planning on french toast for dinner one night this week. This bread as french toast, well, I just can't think of anything much better than that.

I realized after typing out the instructions that they maybe seem a bit long, but I promise that this bread is actually easier to make than the previous recipe, so if you're still yeast-bread shy, this would be a pretty easy foray into this (truly not scary) realm.

*I apologize for the color of the images taken in my kitchen. I'm working on a lighting solution, because I find it so off-putting. Please bear with me as I figure out the best fix. :o)

Oatmeal Molasses Bread from Williams Sonoma's "Essentials of Baking"

2 1/3 cups of water
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
2 packages active dry yeast
5 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
2 teaspoons sea salt

1. Bring water to a boil. Place the oats into a heatproof bowl, pour the boiling water over the oats. Add the butter and molasses, and let the mixture cool to between 105 - 115°F; about 10 minutes.

2. In a large bowl dissolve the yeast in the warm oat mixture and let stand for 5 minutes.

3. Stir in 3 cups of flour and the salt, adding 1 cup of flour at a time. Add the remaining 2 cups of flour (a bit at a time), mixing well until it has formed a soft dough.

4. Scrape the dough onto a floured work surface. Knead the dough, adding just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, this should take between 5 - 7 minutes. You can check the readiness with the windowpane test.

5. Form the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with a plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place, without drafts, until it doubles. This could take anywhere between 1/2 hour (in my pizza-oven like apartment) to a full hour. To tell if the dough has truly doubled, take two fingers and press them into the dough, if the indentation remains (does not bounce back) your dough is ready.

6. Oil two 9x5 inch loaf pans. Deflate the dough (no need to punch, just lightly press down), and place it on a clean surface. Cut the dough in half using a knife or pastry scraper.

7. For each half, use the palm of your hand to flatten the dough into a rectangle. Roll the top third down onto itself and seal the seam by pushing the dough together. Don't be shy; you don't want the dough to bake apart. Roll the bottom third up and seal the seam. Place the dough logs into the pans, seam side down and gently flatten them evenly. The ends of the dough should touch the ends of the pans.

8. Cover them loosely with a clean towel and let them rise until they've doubled in size. The top of the loaves should crest the loaf pans. This should take between 45 and 60 minutes.

9. Position a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat to 375°F. Mist the tops of the loaves with water and sprinkle with rolled oats or sunflower seeds. Bake until the loaves are golden brown and the internal temperature is about 190°F. When the loaves are done, they will sound hollow when the bottoms are tapped. This should take between 40 to 45 minutes.

10. Cool for 1 to 2 hours before slicing. Enjoy!