Tips and Tools Tuesday: Cookie Scoops

Today I present both a tip and a tool. I am so in love with using ice cream scoops for cookies that I don't even remember how I used to make cookies prior to owning a scoop. Sure, a spoon might work but it won't be consistent and you're going to get messy. With an ice cream scoop you can bet that your cookies will be identical and your fingers will stay clean.

I know there are TONS of various tools used to scoop cookies but I stand by LibertyWare's thumb dishers (I use the red size). Not a very exciting name, I know. I love these scoops because it honestly, not exaggerating, ejects the dough. A function that most cookie scoops struggle with. With a single flick of the thumb the dough pops out. When using it with stickier dough (gingersnaps..ugh) it can get gunked up overtime but a little hot water fixes that problem. There are similar scoops where you squeeze the handle together but I find those difficult to actually scoop with because cookie dough is pretty heavy. I also use the scoop as a visual cue as to the desired consistency of the dough. When the ball of the dough is slightly feathered when I drop it, it's perfect. Because of this visual cue I can add more flour if needed without having to bake any cookies off.

I have yet to break a LibertyWare thumb disher and with practice I can scoop at lightning speed. Technically, I don't know if they're dishwasher safe but I always throw mine in the utensil basket and have never had a problem. Locally, both Gygi and Standard sell these but I'm not which one has the best price. Or, they're all over the internet.

Ok, now the tip. To keep your hands clean and to get identical shape and weight of your cookies you scoop the dough and then bring it up along the side of the bowl. This way you can ensure that your scoop is full of dough and that the top is level. Here's a video that shows the technique.

PS-The scoop in the video is the same as the one I mentioned above. And I don't use the water trick unless it gets gunky because the water residue can change the appearance of the top of the cookie.

Tips and Tools Tuesday: Silicone Spoons

I am devoting a whole tips and tools tuesday to one of my most favorite kitchen tools, silicone spoons. I'm also focusing my love towards one spoon in particular, the silicone spoon with stainless steel handle available at Sur La Table.

You might have clicked on that link and said "whoa! $10 for a single spoon, yeah right!" because I know that's how I reacted. My husband purchased some for our personal use but I couldn't give into the sticker shock. I then purchased the cheapo white spoons, you know, these guys:

They were super cheap but you know what, that's exactly what I paid for, super cheap. First, the most major flaw in my book; they're not dishwasher safe. Not even on the top rack. Second, if one lasts long enough to use over a long period of time, eventually the plastic handle will weaken and break. Especially true if you're working with heavy doughs. Third, the connection between the rubber scraper and the plastic handle will eventually become a little loose and food will get in there and it's nearly impossible to clean. Forth, if you are working with any sort of food coloring it will stain your spatula no matter how much you clean it.

Then I bought a fiberglass mixing spoon. Why? Because it's made of fiberglass! It's heat resistant, virtually unbreakable and since it's one piece, no place for gunk to hide. The spoon works great except it's as hard as a rock. I need a flexible spoon that will scrape the sides of the bowl and the cup portion of the spoon was really deep so instead of mixing stuff would just stay in the cup and not incorporate.

Finally, I made the right choice and bought my own fancy stainless steel silicone spoons. I have to admit, I'm in love. Unlike every other silicone spoon I've felt, these spoons are solid throughout the entire spoon, except for a small bit around the edges. I like this feature because with most silicone spoons theres the handle and a still rectangle about an inch into the spoon portion which makes a weakness in the spoon and eventually the silicone will crack and break. The spoon portion is taking the most resistance so it only makes sense to make it as solid as possible. BUT! With the last cm or so around the edge of the spoon is soft and flexible, making it still pliable enough to scrape.

The connection between the handle and silicone spoon seems secure and tight, I've never noticed any gunk in the seam but we've only had the spoons for about a year so we'll see if they last the test of time. They come in a lot of colors and even more styles. We also own the more spatula shaped spoon which has a flexible fin (one side of the spoon doesn't have the solid support) and I have to admit that I always reach for the solid spoon but the spatula shaped spoon does come in handy when folding.

The only flaw that I've found is that if you leave the spoon in the pot, resting on the side, the steel handle does conduct heat quickly and the spoon becomes too hot to handle with bare hands. You can find slightly better prices online but after shipping, it's a mute point. Plus, in this case handling the spoon was what sold me on it.

tips and Tools Tuesday: Sheet Pans

When it comes to sheet pans the wheel has been reinvented time and time again. There are special sheet pans for cookies, pizzas and just about anything else that to go in the oven. I confess, I had one of those fancy pants air pocket sheet pan for cookies and I HATED it. It was an odd shape so it didn't really nest with anything, the sides were flush so everything just slid right off of it and it was a pain to clean.

The bakeries I've stepped in I've noticed 1 kind of pan, run of the mill sheet pan. They come in 3 sizes, quarter, half and full. No questions about what's best for what, you grab a sheet pan and a piece of parchment and you're ready to bake. Since they're all the same, they nest perfectly. Since they're all the same you know how things are going to bake on them. I've carried this over into my home and now into The Bumbling Bee. Sheet pans are great and I'm not going back to specialized fancy pans again.

You know what the best part of standard sized sheet pans? Pan collars. I never knew such a thing existed until I worked in a commercial bakery. They are a little expensive but to me, they're worth their weight in gold. You simply place the pan collar on the sheet pan and your sides have increased significantly. I use a pan collar to make the brownies and bars. If you plug the corners with some strategically folded parchment paper you can bake half sheet cakes. And, if you have to stir something midway of roasting (like chex mix or nuts) you can get a little carried away and not worry about making a mess.

Now, where to buy these simple but fantastic kitchen tools. Historically I've bought all of it at Gygi but next time I'm going to price check Standard too because they're just around the corner. And you might notice that bun pans are cheaper than sheet pans and the only difference between the two that I can tell is that the sheet pans are a heavier gage. I recently bought a bun pan and plan on putting it into rotation so hopefully it works just as well.

*Small disclaimer, I'm not sure if pan collar is the correct term for the actual item. I've tried and tried to find a picture online but with no success. I took some quick pictures of my own so you know what to look for.

Tips and Tools Tuesday: Oven thermometer

This tips and tools is so simple and easy that it almost doesn't seem worth mentioning. When we bought our house and settled in I was eager to bake everything and anything. I've never had a problem before but just about everything I baked failed. Thinking that it was me, I just kept on trying. Finally, after some trouble shooting I decided to buy an oven thermometer. It turned out that my preheat signal goes off about 10 minutes too early and my oven has a hard time keeping low temperatures so if I need 250 degrees I have to set it for at least 280.

Every oven is different and sometimes they break or act funny. There was nothing more frustrating than knowing that I spent a lot of time and a lot of money on ingredients only to have it fail and that the solution was a $5 oven thermometer. When baking cookies I always have my eye on the thermometer because with the constant opening and closing of the door, sooner or later I'll end up at 300 degrees.

I have one of these guys. It's great because with the hook you can have it face any direction and 350 degrees is at the center so with a quick glance you can tell if it's ready or not. It's a cheap buy that I doubt anyone ever regrets.

What to do with left over lemon curd

When it comes to making treats for my family I've been feeling a bit.. lazy.. and uninspired. I opened my fridge to see what came to mind and I saw some left over lemon curd. I read a lot of food blogs and look at a lot of recipes and when I saw the lemon curd I instantly remembered that I saw a recipe for lemon curd brioche rolls. I'm not very comfortable when it comes to bread and doughs so I thought it would be nice to challenge myself. The dough was far too wet for mixing by hand so I was so very grateful for my bosch. You make the dough the day before and roll and bake the next day so it was perfect for Christmas because I wasn't spending hours in the kitchen. The result? Deeeelicious. I may or may not have eaten 2 of these for lunch on Christmas. And then ate another 1 1/2 later that night.

This was my first time making anything even brioche inspired so I was pleased with the results. They do take a bit of patience, work and time so I don't think they will be an everyday thing but next time I have some extra lemon curd hanging around it will be hard to deny myself.

Recipe and some great pictures here: http://carolinesbakeshop.blogspot.com/2009/04/lemon-brioche-rolls.html

Up top is a lousy picture of my own. But! Good news! For Christmas my sister gave my a light cube so my horribly lighted pictures will be a thing of the past. Hooray!

Cheater Cheater Pumpkin Eater

Instead of the usual Tips and Tools Tuesday I thought that I'd do something a little different.

Whenever I make something with pumpkin the recipe rarely calls for an entire can so I almost always have extra pumpkin hanging around. I wanted to make something quick and easy that would use up some of the pumpkin I had.

Disclaimer: I am usually anti boxed cake mix because of all the additives and well, I'm a baking purist. I also understand that not everyone is as comfortable with baking as I am and sometimes you just don't have the time or patience to make a cake from scratch.

I found this great recipe for a pumpkin butterscotch cake. It's super quick and easy to put together and it's really good. Pumpkin and butterscotch really compliment each other. I baked it in a bundt pan but you can bake it in any cake pan. The texture is similar to the average butter cake, it's not a typical dense bundt cake. If you don't have pumpkin pie spice on hand I'd do 3/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1/4 tsp all spice.

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cake

1 box of yellow or white cake mix

3.4 oz box of instant butterscotch pudding

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice mix

4 eggs

1 cup pumpkin

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare pans, either by using parchment paper or spray and flouring; set aside. Combine the cake mix, butterscotch pudding and pumpkin spice and mix until blended. Add the eggs, pumpkin, vegetable oil and water and mix until batter is well blended and not lumpy. Pour into cake pan and bake for 50-55 minutes or until cake bounces back when touched. Cool in pan for 15 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

I did a simple powdered sugar glaze for my cake but a cream cheese frosting would also be amazing.

Even bumbling bees believe in santa

At the close of another year, we want to say thank you and to wish you a warm and happy holiday season.