Brochure Spot

Recently we bought a magazine holder to cover the electrical box protruding from a wall.  We cut a hole in the back and secured it to the wall.  Then we waited for inspiration.



We got some good suggestions on this blog and wandered the aisles at A.C.Moore looking for inspiration. Fill with rocks or shells?  Make a dried/silk flowers arrangement?  Or better, hire it done by a professional.  We went with using it a box for rack cards for local activities.  I am putting together a book of places to eat and things to see and do, but I also needed a place for a few rack cards.

I still need to fill the gaps around the electrical box and get some Plexiglas (or other material)  holders to keep things from sliding around.

We did find these letters at A.C.Moore.  I tried to put them on with a glue stick and tape to hold it until it dried.  Unsuccessfully.

 

I got out the glue gun and that worked.  I tried to slide one of the letters over a tiny bit IMMEDIATELY after pressing it to the box.  Nope.  Stuck like glue...(you and me baby, we're stuck like glue.)

 

So I decided to love it. It needs one more screw in the wall to straighten it a bit, and then I can get on to the next project.

The path to the door.  Move the flagstones.  Add gravel.  Wreck the back...again.  More physical therapy.  A girl has to have a plan.

Linzer Sandwich Cookies

I found some Wilton Linzer Cookie Cutters at A.C. Moore when I was looking for Valentine baking ideas.  We don't always give each other gifts that we buy.   Sometimes a dinner out or a fancy dessert prepared by moi suffices.  I made a cake for Lee, but he also had been mentioning a decided lack of baked goods available in our pantry, related to my low carb diet that he does not follow.    So I also baked some cookies.  I think this wins in the gift giving race and I am ahead by one!  Not eating carbs reduces his gift choices for me, but we may take a trip for our anniversary, so that bumps him up again.

Good thing I'm not keeping score.

 

The Linzer cookie recipe was on the packaging for the cutter.  It is a sandwich cookie.  You cut out one shape, in this case a heart.  Then you use one of the supplied smaller cutters inside the heart shape and cut out a heart with a tiny window in it.  Spread the whole heart with a topping and lay the heart with the cutout on top and you have a wee window to the topping of your choice.

I chose a heart within the heart.  The skull and cross bones didn't fit my Valentine's Day theme.  grin 
I also chose red raspberry jam, also in keeping with the theme.  Although I did make one with Nutella and another with the leftover Hazelnut Buttercream frosting I made for the cake.

 

Linzer Sandwich Cookies

2 cups flour
2/3 finely ground almonds  I use almond meal from Trader Joe's
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup (approx.) seedless red raspberry jam   I took the jar out for the picture.  Keep yours cold until ready to use.
powdered sugar for dusting

 

Combine the flour, almond meal, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl.  Stir with a fork to mix and set aside.

 

Use a stand mixer to beat the softened butter.  You want it light and fluffy and this takes muscle.  Let a Kitchen Aid do it for you!  Beat the butter for about 2 minutes.  Scrape it down and add the sugar.  Beat for two more minutes.

 

Add the egg and the vanilla and mix for about another 30 seconds.  Add about half of the flour and mix and then the rest of the flour and mix until combined.  Don't over mix.  You may need to stir by hand to get it all combined.

 

Divide the dough into two pieces. 

 

Shape into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap.  Chill for about 2 hours, or until firm enough to roll out.

 

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or use a Silpat. 

 

On a floured surface, roll out half of one of the disks to 1/8 inch.  Keep the other disk in the refrigerator until you finish with this one.  I found these great bands that you put on the rolling pin to roll dough out to the proper thickness.  The whole disk was too big to use with them, so I just did half at a time.  It helped to knead the disk a bit to warm it just a tad.  You will need to flour the rolling pin frequently, also.

 

Make sure the dough isn't sticking to the surface before you start to cut.  Otherwise you will distort the shapes getting them up.  I used my pastry cutter to loosen any stuck bits.  Keep plenty of flour handy to dust things often.  Knead, reroll the scraps and cut as many shapes as you can.

Cut half with the insert of your choice and half without.  I kept count on a piece of floury paper to make sure they came out even.  You won't get the same number from each disk.  I had one bottom left over, but it found a home,  Lee or Tara, can't remember which.  I also baked a few of the wee hearts from the center cutouts.  I baked these with the bigger cookies, same time and temperature and they were so cute.  Lee popped about 6 before I could spread some of the jam in between two and make mini sandwich cookies!

Bake for 10 -12 minutes or until golden brown on the edges.  Mine took 11 minutes.  Cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to cooling racks.  Let cool completely.

 

I put paper towels under the cooling rack with all the top cookies, those with the cutout.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

 

Now get the jam out of the refrigerator.  Turn over one of the bottom cookies (no cutout) and spread about a teaspoon of the jam.

 

Don't go all the way to the edge or it may ooze a bit and make a mess.  Place a powdered top on the cookie and set aside.  I placed mine in a large container with a lid.  

 

If you made some of the mini hearts, drop a small dollop of jam on one and top it with another, bottoms facing.  Cute little treat!



I am not ashamed to say I did try one.  One.  It was delicious.  I sent some home with Tara and the rest are for Lee. 

So far he has eaten them when I am not looking.  I think it is because he already has the dog's eyes  following his hand to his mouth and back to the plate during every meal he eats.  He doesn't need me eyeing his every bite, too.  Hey, at least I don't drool.  Much.

Pie Pops with Nutella Filling

This week I was tasked with baking something for the Buchanan Library story time participants.  I wanted to make something Valentine's Day related and did some aimless searching on the Internet.  This is far more fun than working.  I thought about getting some smaller heart shaped cookie cutters.  I have a BIG one.  I even went so far as to put a set and a few other things in my cart on Amazon.com.  I purposely spent more than $25.  Love that free shipping. 

Uh-oh.  Yes, I had forgotten that free shipping was only if I spent $35.  I could spend 9 more dollars for free shipping, or spend $14 and get just what I wanted shipped.

 

Well, that irritated me.  So I went to A.C.Moore and looked there.  I found cutters for Linzer cookies from Wilton .  You cut out two heart shapes from rolled out cookie dough.  Then cut a smaller shape in the middle of one of them.  Sandwich the two hearts together and fill the center cut-out with jam.  Bought it.  No shipping charges.

I also wanted to visit The Cook's Nook, a store for, wait for it, COOKS.  As long as I was making the trek into Roanoke, I thought I would check out the store and see what they had. It was full of fun stuff for baking and look what I found.  A Tovolo pie pop kit.

 

The premise here is you cut out circles of dough.  Then you fill the center with a sweet or savory filling, add a stick and the top crust, press and bake.  Then you have pie on a stick.  How cute it that?

Because it was for a Valentine's Day themed party, I chose a chocolate filling.  Next time I want to try the onion, bacon and gruyere filling.  And maybe leave out the sticks.  That is for display and I just want to gobble them up.  No gobbling at the moment.  Diet. sigh

Pie Pops with Nutella Filling

2 Pie crusts, I used store bought
butter
flour
raw or Turbinado sugar for sanding

2 cups Nutella
2 eggs, divided use
1/4 cup flour, plus for dusting

 

First make an egg wash.  Crack one egg in a small bowl.  Add 2 Tablespoons water and whisk.  Set aside.  Save the whisk to stir it up from time to time.

 

Pre heat the oven to 350°.  Prepare the baking pan that came with the set. 

 

It has little depressions that keep the pie pop from being flat on the bottom.  It has a non-stick coating, but I buttered and floured it just in case.  Butter and flour the inside of the little red cutters.

 

Sprinkle some flour on your very clean and dry counter top.  Unroll one pie crust and cut out as many shapes as will fit without overlapping.  Use the top grid to press gently into the cut-outs. These are the tops.  Set the tops aside and cut the bottoms of the crusts.  I got 14 from one and only 13 from the other.  What's up with that?  I kneaded and rolled up the scraps to cut one more.  This made a total of 14 pops.

 

If you want, you can roll out the left over bits of crust, brush them with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.  Use a pizza wheel to cut them in rectangles and bake along with the pops.  Yum.  I didn't, but I remember the yum.  sigh

Now to make the filling.  You can purchase pie fillings.  Everything from lemon curd, apple, even mincemeat.  The apple would have to be chopped up into smaller pieces, though. I wanted to make a chocolate filling, because nothing says Valentine's Day like chocolate...unless it is jewelry!  But I didn't want the little darlings to break all their teeth, so I went with chocolate.

This recipe made almost twice as much as I used for 14 pops.  You can cut it in half or make more pops.  But then you would need more pie dough.  Up to you.

 

Place the Nutella, egg and flour in a mixing bowl.  I used a Kitchen Aid.  I was supposed to beat until smooth, but it kept getting tighter, so I stopped.  I think that may be because it is so cold here.  It was hard to get the Nutella out of the jar.  In the summer it is easier.  I noticed it is 80 degrees in LA.  So make these in LA.  : ))

 

Now for the assembly line.  Pick up a bottom (one with out the grid) and hold it over the bowl with the egg wash.  Use a pastry brush to paint egg wash all around the outside edge.  Place it in the press with the little tongue towards the indent for the stick.  

 

I used the smallest cookie scoop to set a ball of Nutella in the center of the crust.  Gently press a pie pop stick into the Nutella ball.  Get it all the way in the pie clear up to the edge, but not touching.  I tried, once  to just get it partway in to avoid biting it, but then the pop has no stability and falls over.

 

Hold a top crust over the egg wash and paint the inside edge. Place the egg wash side on top of the Nutella and stick.  Take the top of the press and firmly press closed.  It gets easier after the first few pops.

There is a convenient hole in the bottom press to push up on the pie and get it out of the mold. Do not hold it by the stick.  Place it in one the indentation of the pan with the grid up and finish making pops.

 

When the pan is full, brush the tops with the egg wash and sprinkle with raw sugar.  This will make it shiny and sweet with an extra bit of crunch.

Bake for 11 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Don't over bake or the tops may split.  My tops wouldn't brown and I kept increasing the time and a few split.  Next time I will increase the heat for my oven to 375°...wonky oven.

While they are baking you can assemble the rest of the pops.  They hold their shape well when held from the bottom.

Let cool a few minutes on the pan and then transfer to a cooling rack. The top of the kit holds them for display.  Be careful when removing them.  The top wants to come with the pops.

 

Take them to the Buchanan Library and display them with all the other goodies for those lucky kids.  But first give one to Sara.  She is a regular at the library and volunteered to be my taste tester and model.  It is a bad idea to poison children as a way to increase attendance.  At least that was my thought.

 

It occurs to me that I didn't have the same care for a potential poisoning for Sara.  But the little kids are so sweet and cuddly!   And Sara is a teenager.  : ))  Well, in truth, I wasn't worried about poisoning, merely that it would taste good.  And Sara is a good sport and photogenic.  And she liked them!

 

And so did the kids.  Well, really, their parents liked them better than the kids.  They went for the drinks and the chocolate.  But if you can get the parents in, they will have to bring the kids and then the library has more patrons.  And that's a good thing.