The Original Chocolate Chip Cookie
This is the original Toll House cookie - made famous by the Toll House Inn, owned and run by Ruth Wakefield. Chocolate chip cookies were her invention and the cookies were soloved that Nestlé printed the recipe on their chocolate chip packets for years. Ms Wakefield was paid with a lifetime supply of baking chocolate and $1 USD.
Yield: 30 cookies
Ingredients
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Preheat your oven to 190°C.
Method
In a medium bowl, whisk the dry ingredients until well mixed. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and both sugars until light (about 3-5 minutes).
Add the eggs one at a time, and continue to beat until combined. Stir in the vanilla extract.
Add the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Fold in the chocolate chip and nuts (if using).
Ideally, chill the dough overnight.
Scoop the dough into balls and press down slightly to make fat pucks.
Distribute on a lined baking sheets, nicely spaced apart (about 5cm, to leave room for some spread). Bake for 9-11 minutes. The centre should be slightly soft.
Cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack or eating.
The classic accompaniment is a glass of cold milk.
Shirley's Apple Pie
Shirley, aka Biddy, is my grandmother-in-law. She lived in Long Island, NY and passed on this recipe to her daughter, Linda. I’m lucky to have Linda as my mother in law, with her amazing recipes and even more amazing Long Island accent.
Yield: one massive 10" pie
Ingredients
For the apple filling
- 1.3kg tart eating apples (such as Granny Smith), peeled and cut into chunky pieces
- 150g granulated sugar
- 150g soft, brown sugar
- Handful of plump raisins
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 45g plain flour
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp cinnamon
For the pastry
- 320g plain flour
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 150g peanut oil
- 90g milk
Method
Mix the filling ingredients in a large bowl. Place in the fridge while you make the crust.
Preheat your oven to 225°C.
For the pastry
Mix the ingredients with your hands and form into 2 balls.
Roll each ball out between 2 pieces of parchment paper until large enough for a 9" pie plate.
Line the pie plate with one of the dough circles, allowing excess dough to hang over the sides.
Fill with apple mixture. It will be a tall pie!
Top with the second dough circle. Press the edges together with a fork all around. Pierce the top with a few pokes of a knife.
Brush with more milk.
Bake at top heat for 10 minutes. Without opening the oven, reduce the temperature to 170°C. Continue baking for another 50 minutes.
Cool for at least 20 minutes before attempting to cut. Serve warm or cold, with or without vanilla ice cream (aka Á la mode).
Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese frosting
This recipe is a favourite in the bakery for birthday cakes and wedding cakes. The frosting makes this classic southern American sponge cake especially fantastic.
Ingredients
- 300g caster sugar
- 115g Irish salted butter
- 2 large free range eggs
- 290g flour
- 30g cocoa
- 5g baking powder
- 5g baking soda
- 240g buttermilk*
- 15g / 1 Tbsp red food paste**
- 5g vinegar
- 10g / 2 tsp vanilla
For the frosting
- 400g icing sugar, sifted
- 200g salted butter, softened to room temperature
- 400g cream cheese
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Method Preheat the oven to 160°. Line two 6" round tins with parchment paper. In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter until pale and smooth. Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda. This is your "dry mixture." Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla and red food colouring. This is your "wet mixture". Now get ready to combine all of your ingredients… To your big bowl of pale sugar/butter/egg batter, add one third of your dry mixture. Stir. Then one third of your wet mixture. Stir. Repeat until all of your ingredients are combined into one lovely luminous cake batter. Divide the batter evenly into the cake tins. Bake for about 40 minutes. Allow to cool for 20 minutes in the tin, then move to a wire rack to finish cooling completely. To make the cream cheese frosting, beat the icing sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Stir in the cream cheese just until smooth. Have fun decorating and enjoy! *If you don't have buttermilk you can make a substitute by combining 220g full fat milk and 20g of lemon juice or white vinegar.
**Food colour paste is much more vibrant than the liquid and really worth sourcing for this recipe.
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Pecan Pie |
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There are lots of ways to make pie crust. I think this method of pressing in a warm dough is the easiest. |
Yield: 8" pie
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Ingredients
Base
Pie filling
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Method
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Make the base
Brown the butter
Whisk in the caster sugar and salt. Stir in the flour and mix until just combined. Press the dough evenly into a 9" pie dish. Chill for about 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 160°
Poke the chilled dough all over with a fork and bake for 15 minutes.
Make the filling:
Enjoy! |