Bacon & Corn Fritters

This recipe is one of the reasons why when I am making bacon, I always cook a few extra strips and store them in the refrigerator because I know I can find some way to sneak those tasty morsels into something.  It's another reason why mixing this recipe together only took five minutes.  I used a half-cup scoop measure and fried them in a well-oiled pan for four minutes on the first side and three minutes on the second over medium heat.  I'm going to use any leftovers to make a sandwich with fried green tomatoes and avocado!

3 c. fresh or frozen corn
6 strips, thick-cut bacon - fried and diced
4 green onions, chopped
2 tbsp. sugar
1 c. buttermilk
1 egg
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 c. AP flour

Mix all of the ingredients together in a medium bowl, then allow to sit and rest for five minutes.  Place roughly 1/4 cup oil into a fry pan over medium high heat and when oil begins to shimmer reduce heat to medium.  Using a half-cup measure place fritter mixture into pan, I usually get two in a pan and fry on one side for four minutes, then turn and fry for another two.  Check doneness before you flip, it should be a golden brown color - if not, turn your heat up otherwise reduce heat if too brown.  Serve - I like to drizzle them with Burton's maple syrup.

Royal Icing

Decorating cookies is a personal passion of mine. I love how I can be creative and play with the design of the cookie. I field a lot of questions from people asking me for a better recipe that tastes good - this is usually always the reason they don't use royal icing because of the taste. I know when I first started trying to perfect my icing techniques I was using a recipe from a well-known lifestyle expert that called for lemon juice, I thought it tasted awful and did not compliment my cookie flavor at all. My recipe uses meringue powder instead of egg whites due not only to ease, but also possible health concerns regarding uncooked egg whites. Meringue powder is readily available at many stores. I set out to develop a recipe that melded with the cookie creating a flavor that was comforting. Use this recipe to form the walls of your cookie, then thin it out for flooding.

Royal Icing recipe

2 lbs (1 bag)

1/2 cup meringue powder

2/3 cup water (plus more to attain consistency desired)

1 tsp vanilla (regular or clear)

1 1/2 tsp butter flavoring

1/2 tsp almond extract

Place half of the powdered sugar, meringue powder, water and flavorings into the bowl of your mixer with paddle attachment. Turn mixer on medium and mix until well combined. Add remaining powdered sugar and mix well. Adjust ments to the amount of powdered sugar may be necessary depending on the time of year and humidity levels. The photo shown is how it should look when it is done.

Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookie Cutouts

I enjoy making cutout cookies for the holidays and am a firm believer in making them beforehand so you are not stressing out. They are really not that difficult, you just need to know some techniques to make life easier. I have a copper cookie cutter collection that is so massive it is almost embarassing. I have been collecting them for years and you will be able to see them as time goes on as I have them for every occasion as well as year-round fun ones. I am having the cutters you see in the picture above reproduced by a boutique copper company, they are 7" tall - keep watch for when they go on sale.

4 Cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter - room temperature/softened

1/2 cup (1/2 stick) butter-flavored shortening 

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla bean paste

In a large bowl mix together flour, salt and baking powder - set aside. Use an electric mixer to cream together butter, shortening, sugar and vanilla bean paste. Add eggs to combine, then baking powder and salt. Add 1 cup of the flour mixture at a time until combined, scrape bottom of bowl to make sure all ingredients are included. Do not over mix or your dough will be come tough.

At this point I split the dough in half and roll between to silpat mats to 1/4" thick (I roll them thicker because they do not bubble so easily), place on rimmed baking sheet and place it in the freezer for ten minutes to set. The point in using Silpat mats is to not add any additional flour to my dough as well as that the dough will not stick to teh silpat making rolling out easier. Remove rolled dough from freezer and remove the top silpat mat. Place cookie cutters in positions on dough, starting from the edge and moving inward to get the most cookies out of your roll. Remove the extra dough - not cookies and I place these back in the freezer.

This is when I start my oven to 350 degrees. If using the gray non-stick pans, lower your oven temperature 15-25 degrees depending on your oven. The mantra in cookie/pie/dough making is 'make it cold, bake it hot', this process makes the cookies crisp.

I repeat this step with the second half of dough, and place the extra dough in a ball and roll that out again for more cookies. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes (maybe more) depending again on your oven, and try to be conscious to flip your baking sheet half way through the baking process. You will know your cookies are done when the start to lightly brown on the edge. I pull them out of the oven and let them sit without touching them for 10 minutes as I slightly underbake mine so they are more chewy. 

Salted Peanut Butter Cookies

I taught a baking class today, and one of the confections was the peanut butter cookie. Simple, yet refined.

Ingredients
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• Sea Salt, for sprinkling (optional)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with silpat or parchment paper, and set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, peanut butter, and both sugars together until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, and mix on medium speed until well combined.
3. Add flour and baking soda to mixing bowl with butter mixture and beat just to combine.
4. In a separate bowl, pour 1 cup of granulated sugar. Scoop out 2 tablespoons of dough, drop into bowl and cover with sugar. Pick up and place on one of the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough, placing scoops 3 inches apart. With the tines of a fork, press the dough balls lightly with the back of the fork to flatten them slightly. Press fork in sugar and onto cookie as well if desired. Sprinkle with sea salt, if desired.
5. Transfer to the oven, and bake until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheets depending on your oven halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheets to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Bacon Grease Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

Okay, so I have to admit I grew up with my mother saving the rendered bacon grease to later cook eggs, potatoes or various other items during my childhood.  I still do the same from time to time and with all the buzz lately about bacon and chocolate (although I cannot step into that chocolate-covered bacon room yet), I wondered what the addition of bacon grease to the classic chocolate chip cookie might do.  I was amazed at how it lent an earthy, homey, mapley goodness to the cookie.  It doesn't overwhelm, it just lightly teases the pallate with it's delicious goodness.  What a great fall cookie!

1/2 cup rendered bacon grease
1/2 cup butter-flavor shortening (butter if you like)
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
1 tsp. maple flavoring.
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups flour
1 cup chocolate chips, I use guittard dark chocolate
1/2 cup chopped pecans
fine sea salt for sprinkling on top - if desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In the bowl of an electric mixer cream bacon grease, butter and brown sugar together scraping bowl if necessary to combine.  Add egg, vanilla bean paste or extract, baking powder, baking soda and salt - mix on medium low to combine.  Add flour and stir to incorporate - scraping bottom of bowl to ensure all the flour is mixed together.  Add chocolate chips and nuts, then stir again.  Let dough rest for a half hour.

Using a 1/4 cup ice cream scoop, place dough onto silpat lined baking sheets.  This recipe should yield two dozen cookies.  Bake for 16 minutes, turning pans or rotating them bottom to top if necessary depending on your oven halfway through the baking time.  Remove from oven and allow to cool on a rack until you are ready to eat them.  Enjoy!

Basketweave Easter Cookies

I decided to try something different this year with the cookies. My friend Dani called me and we had been procrastinating for months about getting together to cook, so we seized the opportunity and she came over on Monday. We used my usual vanilla-bean sugar cookie recipe, only this time we rolled a basketweave textured mat created for clay/pottery to add a Springtime element to the cookies without having to decorate them (or paint them as Dani says).

I think the design makes a fantastic statement - subtle and classic looking. I am working on having a basket cookie cutter made to use with the basketweave mat. The mats are wholesale only, so if you are interested contact me at - ross@kon-tent.com to purchase them for $10.  

Chinese Beef Hot Pot

Eating food that is healthy AND delicious is not always an easy task.  It also need to look interesting as well.  Here I have created what I call Chinese Beef Hot Pot, a mixture of satisfying boneless, beef country ribs that have been rubbed with soy sauce and Chinese Five Spice Powder, then roasted to seal in the flavors.  This recipe is a little time intensive if you think about the two hours it takes to make the broth, but that is just part of the process and you will enjoy the reward.  Studded with fresh mushroom, chinese noodles, green onions and tofu, it is sure to liven up your dinner table and inspire conversation with your loved ones.

3 lbs. boneless-beef, country-style ribs
2 tbs. soy sauce
2 tsp. five spice powder

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and place ribs into a 9X13 baking dish.  Sprinkle with soy sauce and five spice powder.  Place in oven and roast for 30 minutes. 

12 cups water
3 onions, quartered
2 carrots, roughly chopped (you do not need to peel them)
1 bunch of green onion roughly chopped
1 tbsp black peppercorns

Place all ingredients into a stockpot and after you have removed ribs from oven, place them and their liquids in with the other ingredients.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for two hours to make broth.  Once time is done, place ingredients into a strainer to remove solids.  You will want to extract the beef from the vegetable and place them back into the stockpot you were using.  Take a fork and pull the beef to shred it.  Then you will pour the broth back into the pot.  Next, you will add the following:

1 package of fresh, sliced mushrooms
1 bunch of green onions, medium-chopped
1 14 oz package of medium-firm tofu, cubed
1 10 oz package of chinese noodles
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. soy sauce

Bring all ingredients up to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.  Serve and enjoy.  This meal can also be portioned out into ten individualized servings.

The Best Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies Ever!

Living a life where you have to eat gluten free can be difficult, and variety is not a luxury most can afford.  I have developed the most delicious gluten-free sugar cookie recipe that unless you eat them side by side with a regular sugar cookie you would not know you are missing anything.  Not only are they delcious, but you can enjoy the beauty of it decorated as well.  These cookies come in a variety of shapes, but all are a massive 7" and priced reasonably at $5 a piece (minimum order is a dozen).  Contact us for your order today!

Chocolate Mudpie Cookies

3 cups walnut halves, toasted & cooled
4 cups confectioner's (powdered) sugar
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
4 large egg whites, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 325F and position racks in the top and bottom third. Line your sheet pans with silpats. Or you can bake in batches with fewer pans.

Make sure your walnuts have cooled a bit, then chop coarsely and set aside. Sift together the confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder, and sea salt. Stir in the walnuts, then add the egg whites and vanilla. Stir until well combined.

Spoon the batter onto the prepared sheets in mounds of about 2 tablespoons each, allowing for plenty of room between cookies. Don't try to get more than 6 cookies on each sheet, and try to avoid placing the batter too close to the edge of the pan.

Bake until they puff up. The tops should get glossy, and then crack a bit - about 12 -15 minutes. Slide the cookies still on silpat onto a cooling rack, and let them cool completely. They will keep in an airtight for a couple days.

Fleur de Sel Chocolate Chip Cookies

I decided to take my Salted Chocolate Chip cookie recipe and try to reinvent. I wanted to make it easier for all of us. I normally used to make the dough and let it sit in the mixing bowl overnight or roll it into a log and then slice it. I let the dough sit because I believe that it develops a carmely flavor into the cookie when you allow the dough to cure, so to speak.

This time around I decided to immediately scoop out the dough into rounds using a 2-ounce cookie scoop. I placed them on a silpat and used these amazing cookie sheets that Nordic Ware makes - they acutally come with a lid, so you can put the whole thing in the fridge to rest overnight.

I also made some other changes, I switched out the combination of cake and bread flour for straight all-purpose flour - I also lowered the amount of flour I used. Lastly, instead of putting salt in the cookie AND on top of the cookie - I put the Fleur de Sel directly into the cookie.

2 ½ sticks (1 ¼ cup) unsalted butter

1 cup light brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 ½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp Fleur de Sel

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1lb. bittersweet chocolate disks, I use Guittard

1. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add baking soda, salt, baking powder and flour - then mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them.

2. Scoop dough into balls using a 2 oz. cookie scoop and place onto a silpat-lined baking sheet. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough for baking remaining batches the next day. Serve & enjoy!

Silpat

As any of you have probably heard me say once or twice, I am sold on the Silpat. What is a Silpat? I believe it is the most popular non-stick baking item ever invented! The Silpat is a must for any patisserie chef or home baker. It can turn any pan into a non-stick surface. Just place it in a cookie sheet or pan. It is especially great for working with sticky materials such as gooey batter, taffy, caramel, or anything your imagination allows. I love to use it for cutout cookies and pie crust. I roll the dough between two silpats, and then I do not add any unecessary flour. Nothing sticks to the Silpat, so it will save you a lot of time cleaning as there in no more sticky mess on your pans!
It also never needs greasing, which saves both time and money. Use it for any recipe that calls for parchment paper. This saves money and creates less waste for our environment (eco-friendly!).
Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mats are made of fiberglass and silicone, and can be used thousands of times (depending on how you maintain them). I have had mine for 13 years and they work fanatastic.
You can use the mats at temperatures varying from -40°C to 250°C (-40°F (brrr) to 482°F (feels a little warm in here, doesn't it?))
Also comes in a larger size they call Rollpat. This is an investment you will use forever.

Thanksgiving Cookie

Here is an idea for a Thanksgiving placecard, dessert or gift - massive 7" turkey cookies. Here I took my vanilla-bean sugar cookie recipe and baked off these giant cookies using a vintage copper cookie cutter. Then I used my butter & almond royal icing recipe to create the white base and feathering technique used here. Simple and easy - honestly. If I can do this, anyone can. The cookies not only look nice, but they actually taste good too! Their ginormous size makes them the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving feast or gathering. If you do not have the time, I do make these by the dozen in various colors - $60 for a baker's dozen. ross@kon-tent.com

Chocolate Waffle Cookies

I remember when my grandmother used to make these. It was so interesting to me because the concept of making a cookie in a waffle iron seemed unusual the first time. Her recipe makes the most delicious waffle cookies and I love the fact that I get another use out of my waffle iron. You want to use a regular waffle iron here - a Belgian waffle iron will not produce the results you need here.

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

16 tablespoon unsalted butter

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup plus Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (if desired)

For the glaze

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 1/2 tablespoons milk

To make the cookies

In a small saucepan, add unsweetened chocolate and butter - melt over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the stove and let cool slightly.In a large mixing bowl, add eggs, vanilla and granulated sugar - beat on medium speed with the paddle attachment until very pale - about 5 minutes.Add in chocolate mixture, salt, cinnamon, 1/2 cup cocoa and the flour.Preheat a waffle iron until hot. Lightly coat grids with cooking spray.Using a tablespoon cookie scoop, portion out the batter between the center of each waffle-iron square. Pull down the cover and cook until set, about 1 1/2 minutes. Use a fork to help you coax the cookie off and move them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining batter.

To make the glaze

In a small saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons cocoa powder. Stir in milk until smooth - remove from the heat.Gently dip 1 side of each cookie in the glaze so that just the waffle lines are coated. Transfer to wire racks and let sit until the glaze has set - at least 10 minutes. Dust cookies with extra confectioners’ sugar before serving.

July 4th Star Cookies

Here I used my vanilla-bean sugar cookie recipe with my 7" star cookie cutter. Topped it with colored sanding sugar before baking. These will be at my bake sale!

Cookies for Sophia

I had a request for palm tree and nautilus cookies after the cookie newsletter that went out last week. Sophia is having a birthday party on Saturday. Her only request was that I keep out four cookies and not put any frosting on them as she does not like frosting.

I have been working on perfecting my vanilla-bean sugar cookie recipe to produce a softer cut-out cookie, and I also have been working on my royal icing recipe to give it a little bit more depth in flavor. I am very happy with the results.

The nautilus is flooded with white and then accented with sky blue and teal. The top of the cookie has been dusted with sanding sugar to give it a beach/sand feel. The palm trees are done up to even include coconuts - the trunks are sanded with sugar to give them a textural look.

Feathered Fowl Cookies

An icing technique called feathering is when you make lines with a contrasting color while the main background color is still wet allowing the colors to blend. You then take a toothpick or skewere and drag it through the lines to create the look you see here. I would say that this is the easiest of all decorating techniques, very hard to go wrong here.

These shapes are perfect for any event out on a farm. The Turkey is great for Thanksgiving and the Hen for Easter/Spring.

Perfect for a lot of occasions, please feel free to contact me if interested in ordering. Small to large orders are possible as well as various color combinations. ross@kon-tent.com

Bunny in Egg & Present Cookies

Flocking is a common icing technique where when your icing has settled to a point, but is still has some tack (stickiness) you sprinkle sanding sugar over it.

Sanding sugar is a large grain sugar, there are several sizes depending your needs all the way to what is called rock sugar. Rock sugar is almost the size of a small pea I would say. You can buy sanding sugars in most colors, here I used clear so that the icing color showed through - followed up with pink and white.

The Bunny in the Egg shape is great of course for showers and Easter or Spring occasions, while the present is incredibly versatile - it can be decorated in a myriad of colors as well as designs to fit any party.

Perfect for a lot of occasions, please feel free to contact me if interested in ordering. Small to large orders are possible as well as various color combinations. ross@kon-tent.com

Seahorse & Nautilus Cookies

From the ocean deep comes these two fun cookie ideas for a unique experience. For an event hosted by the water or one where you are serving seafood - they can be made in a myriad of color schemes, various design options are also possible.

Perfect for a lot of occasions, please feel free to contact me if interested in ordering. Small to large orders are possible as well as various color combinations. ross@kon-tent.com

Moon & Star Cookies

Here are two more simple icing techniques, both were flooded with a base color, then allowed to dry. Pink was added as a secondary color on top of both. In the case of the star - that icing was then flocked and after that dried, white was added on top of that.

Perfect for a lot of occasions, please feel free to contact me if interested in ordering. Small to large orders are possible as well as various color combinations. ross@kon-tent.com

Wedding Cookies

A while back I made some wedding cake cookies. These cookies are 6" tall - so not a small treat! I went with tan and white on the cake, and pink and white for the present. Decorating cookies is so much fun, I realize that that sounds demented to some - but I find doing it therapeutic. It completely taps into my creative side, plus people get to eat it.

These are great favors for your guests, and would look classic with a monogram.

I do notice that there is a problem with the edging on the bow of the present, I must have accidentally touched it before it dried. I did not even see that until I was reviewing the photos. This was using the vanilla bean sugar cookie recipe with royal icing to frost, but sparingly and flavored with almond and vanilla.

Perfect for a lot of occasions, please feel free to contact me if interested in ordering. Small to large orders are possible as well as various color combinations. ross@kon-tent.com