Face off: Butter vs. ICBINB Cooking & Baking Sticks

Recently, I told you about my interest in testing the difference between butter and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Cooking & Baking sticks. Well, I finally had a chance to put the two up against each other in a good old-fashioned taste test.

For the test, I chose to whip up two half batches of Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies – one using butter, the other using ICBINB sticks.

I set up two bowls, each labeled with the fat of choice.



Next, I creamed the sugars and fats together.



Then, I added the eggs and mixed until well combined.



This is when I noticed the first major difference – the texture of the ICBINB mixture was much softer and looser.



Then, I added the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.



Next, I lined two half-sheet pans with parchment paper and marked the underside of each sheet with either a B or I to indicate which batch was which.



Then, using a large spoon, I dropped the dough onto the appropriate pans. The ICBINB dough was significantly stiffer.



Between batches, I switched up which versions cooked on which racks in the oven. When each batch came out, I noticed that the butter-based cookies consistently spread more and browned more.



In the side-by-side taste comparison, the ICBINB version was preferred 6 out of 10 times. My taste testers commented that the ICBINB cookies were moister and tasted a bit sweeter. Truth be told, I still preferred the butter version, even though I was outnumbered. But, I wouldn't turn an ICBINB cookie down. If I weren't tasting them side-by-side, I don't think I'd notice a difference.



So, in the end, what does this mean? Well, if you're watching your saturated fat intake, the ICBINB Cooking & Baking sticks might be a better option for you and you don't have to sacrifice taste. That's good in my book.



*This post is in no way endorsed by I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. I did this test because I was curious. = )

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Source: Quaker Oats
1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup raisins

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.


On a separate note, it's my blogiversary! A whole year ago, this little blog was born. It's been a lot of fun and I'm excited about the year to come!

Daring Bakers: Tuiles

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

The challenge was to use one of the batters given, shape it either prior (using a stencil) or right after baking and pair it with something light; fruit, sorbet, a mousse, etc.

Tuiles
Source: The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeinck
65 grams / ¼ cup / 2.3 ounces softened butter (not melted but soft)
60 grams / ½ cup / 2.1 ounces sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar (7 grams or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract)
2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)
65 grams / ½ cup / 2.3 ounces sifted all purpose flour
1 tablespoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice (optional)
Butter/spray to grease baking sheet or parchment paper

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream butter, sugar and vanilla using a low speed until you have a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).

Grease or line a baking sheet with parchment paper and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. Transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip and pipe the desired shapes. Or, if using a stencil, press the stencil on the baking sheet and use an off sided spatula to spread the batter. Leave some room in between your shapes.

If desired, mix a small part of the batter with the cocoa or food coloring and a few drops of warm water until evenly colored. Use this colored batter in a paper piping bag and proceed to pipe your decorations.

Bake for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from the baking sheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm so you might want to bake a small amount at a time.


I chose not to use any coloring or cocoa. I piped large circles (about 8 inches in diameter) and used an offset spatula to smooth the batter into a thin circle. As soon as the tuiles came out of the oven, I placed them over an upside down drinking glass to get the bowl shape I wanted. Then I went about making the fillings for the bowl.


Clementine Curd
Adapted from: The Elegent Sufficiency and Alton Brown
Zest and juice of 4 clementines
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 cup sugar
5 egg yolks
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces

Place zest, juice (you'll need 1/3 cup of liquid total – add water if you're short), sugar and egg yolks in a heatproof bowl. Whisk until smooth, about 4 minutes.

Set bowl over a saucepan filled with an inch or two of simmering water. Whisk continuously for 7 to 10 minutes until it is lighter in color, opaque and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Remove the bowl from the saucepan and add butter one piece at a time whisking until each piece has melted completely before adding the next piece.

Your curd will keep for four weeks in the refrigerator with a piece of plastic wrap pressed on the surface to prevent a skin from forming.


Vanilla Mousse
Source: Tartelette
2/3 cup (160g) heavy cream (35% fat content)
2/3 cup (160g) whole milk
1 vanilla bean
4 medium-sized egg yolks
3 oz (6 Tbsp / 80g) granulated sugar
3 Tbsp (25g) cornstarch, sifted
4g / 2 tsp powdered gelatin or 2 sheets gelatin
1 cup (240g) whipping cream (35% fat content)

Pour the milk and 2/3 cup cream into a saucepan. Split the vanilla bean in half, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean halves into milk and put the vanilla bean in as well. Heat to boiling, then turn the heat off, cover and let infuse for at least 30 minutes. Then remove the vanilla bean.

Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until white, thick and fluffy. Add the cornstarch, beating carefully to ensure that there are no lumps. While whisking vigorously, pour some of the milk into the yolk mixture to temper it. Put infused milk back on the stove on medium heat. Pour yolk mixture back into the milk while whisking vigorously. Keep whisking vigorously until mixture thickens considerably.

As soon as the mixture starts to boil, leave on for only 2 more minutes. Add the gelatin and let it melt completely, stirring once or twice.

Whip the 1 cup whipping cream until stiff and add gradually to the pastry cream. Blend delicately with a spatula.


To assemble the dessert, pipe the vanilla mousse into your tuile bowl and top with curd. Garnish with a curl of clementine zest.


Overall, the tuiles were fairly simple to make and I would make them again. Some changes I would try next time would be to add a little bit of flavoring to the batter – I think a few drops of almond extract or lemon extract would be perfect.

I would also try to get my toiles thinner. It was quite tricky getting them large enough to form a bowl and spreading them thin was even harder.

My favorite part of this challenge was making the clementine curd. It was much simpler than I expected and it came out beautifully. I thought it was a bit too sweet at first, but once it was chilled the sweetness was just right. I had some of the curd spread on toast for breakfast the next morning and it was heavenly!

I can't believe I've ever shelled out my hard-earned money for store bought lemon curd. Never again!

And once again, I had trouble with the pastry cream. Following a different recipe this time, I wound up with the exact same results – too-thick pastry cream with some lumps of coagulated corn starch. Both times it was edible and had great flavor, just not the right texture.

That's it pastry cream, it's on! We're gonna have this out until you're no longer my enemy. You and pie crust – you're going down.

Guess that means it's time to make a cream pie ...


Be sure to check out the blogroll to see what creations the other Daring Bakers came up with this month!

Shortbread

When thinking of treats to include with my homemade jam, I decided that shortbread was appropriate. Not only is it tasty on its own but it would be a nice platform for the jam.

I chose this recipe because of its simplicity. I wanted a recipe that used accessible ingredients and would come out right every time – a must when baking in bulk. I found the addition of almond extract very pleasant though it's more traditional and equally delicious without it.


Shortbread
Source: King Arthur Flour
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, at cool room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 300° F. Lightly grease two round 9" cake pans or line them with parchment, and grease the parchment. (I prefer my shortbread in rectangles rather than wedges and used two 8" square baking pans. The resulting shortbread was a bit too thick for my taste. I will use a larger square or rectangular pan next time. Also, I found that using parchment paper worked very well for preventing the shortbread from sticking to the pan.)

In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract, then beat in the flour. The mixture may seem a little dry at first; keep beating until it comes together. If it absolutely won't come together, dribble in up to 1 tablespoon of water, until it does. This is a stiff dough.

Divide the dough in half, and press each half into one of the prepared pans, smoothing the surface with your fingers, or with a heavy-bottomed glass.

Use a fork to prick the dough all over; this allows any steam to escape, and prevents the shortbread from bubbling as it bakes.



Bake the shortbread until it's a light golden brown across the top surface, and a deeper golden brown around the edges, about 35 minutes.

Remove it from the oven, and immediately turn each shortbread round out onto a clean work surface.

Using a pizza wheel or sharp knife, cut each round into 12 wedges. (Do this while the shortbread is still warm; if you wait until it's cool, it won't cut easily.) Transfer the shortbread wedges to a rack to cool.

Homemade Christmas: Jam and Shortbread

Okay guys, this is the last Christmas post ... I promise! Um ... wait. Lemme double check. Okay, yeah. I really mean it.

Continuing on my homemade Christmas canning kick, I made blueberry jam, raspberry jam, strawberry jam, and peach butter. (For the jams, I just used the recipes that come with packages of liquid pectin and the peach butter, while tasty, didn't have the consistency I wanted so I'm not quite ready to share the recipe.) What started me on this kick, you ask? Well it was these new Ball canning jars! They're just so sexy, I had to use them for something!


To present my lovely homemade treats, I put together these gift baskets. Included in the baskets were the pretty jars filled with the jewel-colored jams, some loose leaf tea and homemade shortbread (recipe to be posted soon).


It seems that my family and friends certainly know my foodie ways. I received many a kitchen tool for Christmas and am having a blast putting them all to good use!

Matt's cousins also had some homemade gift giving in mind. We received this pretty jar filled with the dry ingredients for pumpkin bread – always a favorite!

So while it's overdue, I hope you and yours had a wonderful holiday season. I'm looking forward to a 2009 filled with great food!

The Cookie Quest, Part 2

A little while back, I told you about a treasured family recipe, Nana Cookies and my quest to get them right. As you can see, I did it!

While I only remember my grandmother making these, this was actually my great grandmother's recipe. I managed to copy this one down long ago but the last time I made it, they came out all wrong. I was so disappointed! I didn't know what went wrong as I had followed my grandmother's recipe card to the letter (just like she taught me to).

So I e-mailed my mother's cousin to see if she had a copy of the recipe. Indeed she did, hand written by Nana herself (my great grandmother). In comparing the recipes, there was a slight variation that made all the difference. My grandmother's card said shortening while my great grandmother's card said shortening (liquid Crisco). Ah ha! It looks like my grandmother had left the part in parentheses off of her own recipe card. So round two commenced. This time I followed Nana's recipe and voila, they came out beautifully.

The one thing I changed was the baking time. The first batch came out crisp, which is fine if that's what you're looking for. But as I remember them, they're supposed to be soft and chewy. So I consulted Grandma's recipe to see why.

Ahhh, Nana's card says to cook them for 10 minutes but Grandma's says 8. The next batch went in for 8 minutes exactly and, tada, they were perfect ... soft, chewy, spicy ... just like I remember.

I couldn't help but smile as I made these thinking about my grandmother, the woman that taught me so much about baking and life. She was truly an amazing woman and my hero. She always will be.


So this is the part where you get to read the recipe, right? Well, I'm sorry but this one will have to remain a secret. Since it is a family recipe, I think it must stay as such. I will be glad, however, to bake these for my friends and family for years to come. And I hope to one day pass it down to my children and grandchildren just as it has been passed before.

And now my dear readers, what are some of your favorite food memories? Do share!

Happy Birth ... er ... Thursday!

A friend of mine is a huge Funfetti fan. She requests, no, demands that her birthday cakes be Funfetti. So when I saw this recipe on Two Novice Chefs, One Tiny Kitchen, I had to make it for her! And no, it wasn't her birthday.

Funfetti Cookies
Source: Two Novice Chefs, One Tiny Kitchen (originally from Pillsbury)
1 box Funfetti cake mix
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs
1/2 can of frosting

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl combine cake mix, oil, and eggs. Stir until moistened. Shape dough into 1 inch balls, place 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Flatten cookies with the bottom of a floured glass (I used my hand and made them a bit on the thin side. Feedback on the thickness was great!). Bake for 6-8 minutes or until edges are slightly brown. Let cool for one minute and then remove from cookie sheets to cool completely. Frost cookies and store in an airtight container.

The cookie quest

Some of my earliest cooking memories are of learning to bake with my grandmother, Pat. It was she who taught me the importance of following recipes precisely and measuring properly when it comes to baked goods. Christmas after Christmas, she would help me create cookies a pleanty to give as gifts to my family. Now that she is gone, I regret not saving her recipes so I am on a quest to recreate some of the ones I remember making with her.

Stained Glass Window Cookies
Stained Glass Window Cookies were light bar cookies with gumdrop slices mixed in. When they were baked, the gumdrops would melt and come out looking like stained glass windows. The cookies were like blondies but without the butterscotch flavor. The flavor was more like a sugar cookie.

My Google search for "stained glass window cookies" turned up something entirely different so I tried a different search and found the following recipe.

Gumdrop Bars
source: Razzle Dazzle Recipes
2 cups flour
1 cup chopped gumdrops
1/2 cup chopped pecans
4 eggs
1 tablespoon water
2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix together flour, gumdrops and pecans; set aside. In a medium bowl, beat together eggs and water. Add brown sugar and beat until it is just light. Beat in cinnamon and salt. Stir gumdrop mixture into the brown sugar mixture. Spread into a greased 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 pan. Bake at 375° F. until cookies are done, about 15 to 18 minutes.

For Icing: In saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons of butter over low heat. Remove from heat and add 1 teaspoon of great orange peel and 2 tablespoons of orange juice. Sift in enough powdered sugar to make a thin icing and blend until smooth. Spread icing over warm cookies and cut into bars.

Now, my grandmother's cookies didn't have pecans or icing, but I'll give this recipe a try and see how close it comes.

Whirligig Cookies
Whirligig Cookies are beautiful rolled and sliced chocolate and peanut butter cookies. I remember rolling out the two kinds of dough, rolling them up together and carefully slicing them into rounds. This was a bit laborious, but yielded beautiful results.

A quick Google search produced some recipes but so far, all call for melting chocolate pieces and spreading over the dough, not a chocolate dough. So, the search continues.

Nana Cookies
Nana Cookies are a soft and spicy molasses cookie. It was my great-grandmother's recipe, hence the name. This is one recipe that I do have, however, I cannot seem to get them to come out like Grandma's. My quest here, is to get these ones right!