Of Cookies and Memories.

Back when I was in Melbourne, I had a particular fondness for chocolate mint cookies.

The cookies didn’t come from a fancy bakery or in a nice box. In fact, they came in the most unassuming packaging that you would have been forgiven for walking right past them in the supermarket aisle withiout a second glance. But they were good. Crisp chocolate cookies topped with a thick layer of mint cream and coated in thick dark chocolate- they were really, really good.

But delicious as they were, there is another reason why I had such an affinity with those cookies.

Back in my first year in Melbourne, a close friend who dropped by my apartment one weekend with a tray of these cookies. We spent the better part of the weekend playing pool and video games and chatting over these mint chocolate cookies. It really wasn’t anything out of the ordinary and of course over the years, I’ve had countless of visits from friends but something about that particular visit and the fact that he actually went out of his way to come by with cookies has always stuck with me.

These chocolate mint cookies I made were  slightly different from the store brought cookies I was so fond of but no less delicious. Dipped in a thin mint-piked chocolate glaze, these chocolate mint cookies were all chocolate goodness with minty undertones. One bite and I was swooning and transported right back to the carefree days I lived in Melbourne.

One day, I’ll be back in Melbourne walking down the familiar streets and people watching at my favourite cafes.

But for now, these cookies are enough to keep me dreaming.

Chocolate-Covered Chocolate Mint Cookies [adapted from Sherry Yard's Desserts By the Yard]

Ingredients
3/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
90g unsalted butter, cubed
1 egg yolk
3/4 tsp mint oil
1/8 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Glaze
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
1 tsp vegetable oil
Few drops of mint oil

1. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse to cut the butter into the dry ingredients. Add the egg yolk, mint oil and vanilla extract and pulse till a soft dough forms.
2. Turn the dough out into a piece of plastic wrap. Shape into a 2 inch thick log, wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
3. Preheat the oven at 175 C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper and set aside.
4. Cut the dough into 1/4 inch thick disks and place them 1/2 inch apart on the baking trays. Bake for 12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are firm. Remove the cookies from the oven and let cool completely on the trays. The cookies will firm up as they cool.
5. To make the chocolate glaze Put the chocolate chips in a bowl and nuke them in the microwave in 30 seconds intervals, stirring after each interval, until the chocolate melts. Add the vegetable oil and mint oil and stir to combine.
6. Dip each cookie into the chocolate glaze, making sure to coat each side well. Place the cookies on a baking rack to allow the excess chocolate glaze to drip off. Makes about 20 cookies

Craving, Satisfied.

One of the best things about preparing your own lunch is that you get to make whatever you wanna eat, within culinary skills and time limitations.

So when I got back from work last night craving some crisp roast potatoes and sausages, that was exactly what I set out to make for lunch today.

Since I did most of the heavy lifting (ie the boiling and roasting the potatoes and sausages) the night before, all that was left to do this morning was to blanche my asparagus, unmold my molten chocolate cake (if there was one day I was in bad need of comfort food, today was the day) and slice up a couple of strawberries and I was good to go.

I truly felt like I was eating a lunch fit for a queen.

Of Cream Puffs and An Addition to the Family.

I have never been much of a day dreamer. Even as a kid, I could always be found writing my short stories or with my head buried in a book rather than gazing into the distance, lost in my thoughts.

Recently however, I find myself day dreaming at work of all the lunches and desserts I would whip up over the weekend. Dreaming of indulging in a chocolate molten cake with a gooey chocolate centre accompanied by a luscious scoop of vanilla ice cream speckled with tiny vanilla beans or tucking into a bowl of comforting spaghetti bolognese with generous shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano and freshly ground black pepper certainly helps the work week go by just a little quicker.

This week, cream puffs were all I had on my mind.

Thoughts of spending the better part of the weekend in the kitchen, whipping up and putting together the multiple components (the chox pastry, tart dough and pastry cream) and finally sinking my teeth into the little babies were all that got me through the really long work week.

So when the weekend finally arrived, there really was no surprise where I was bright and early Saturday morning. It was just as well I got an early start with it as there was a lot of waiting time with choux pastries having to be frozen after being piped out and then again once topped with the tiny discs of tart dough.

It always surprises me how much I love long, involved, multi component desserts. There really just is something about it that really helps me unwind for by the time my little pastries sent off into the oven, all my late nights in the office were long forgotten.

These were soo good! With the crisp tart dough lending a textural constrast to the light, soft choux pastry and a rich, velvety pastry cream filling, these little babies were all I dreamt about and so much more.

And now, to round off the indulgent and relaxing weekend I’ve had, here’s introducing the newest member of my family, Kiki.

We adopted her from a friend and have had her for almost a week now. She seems to have adjusted pretty well to our household and is pretty happy to just sit around quietly, watch everyone do their own thing and let Coco provide the sound effects.

Isn’t she just the most gorgeous thing? I can’t wait to start teaching her tricks!

Cream Puffs [Taken from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook]

Pastry Cream
2 cups milk
60g unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup corn starch
3/4 cup pouring cream

Tart Dough
45g unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup icing sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp plain flour
Punch of salt
1 tsp pouring cream

Choux Pastry
125g unsalted butter, chopped
1 cup water
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups plain flour
4 eggs, plus 1 egg white if needed

1. To make pastry cream Combine the yolks, corn starch and 1/4 cup of sugar in a large bowl. Whisk well and set aside. In a saucepan, combine the butter, milk, salt and remaining 1/4 cup sugar over medium heat till the mixture comes to a simmer. Pour the milk mixture into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking constantly, till thickened. Strain the mixture into a bowl and let cool at room temperature.
2. Whisk the cream till stiff peaks form and fold it into the pastry cream. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate till ready to use.
3. To make tart dough Using an electric mixer, whisk the butter and icing sugar together till combined. Add the egg yolk, following by half the flour, mixing well. Add the rest of the flour, salt and cream and mix till all the flour is incorporated. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, shaping it into a disk, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
4. To make choux pastry In a saucepan, combine the butter, water, sugar and salt and bring to a boil. Remove the saucepan from heat and quickly whisk the flour in. Return the saucepan to heat and over medium heat, cook the mixture till the mixture pulls away from the side of the pan and a film forms on the bottom of the pan, stirring constantly.
5. Transfer the dough to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat it for a minute till cooled slightly. Add the eggs in one at a time, beating well. Touch the batter to see if a soft peak forms. If it doesn’t, add the egg white in a little at a time till it does.
6. Pipe the batter out into circles as large as your round cookie cutter. Smooth the pointed peaks with a moistened finger and freeze the puffs for at least 30 minutes.
7. Roll the tart dough out to about 1/8 inch thick and cut as many circles with your cookie cutter as you have choux puffs. Place each disc of tart dough on a frozen puff and return to the freezer for at least 15 minutes. Preheat the oven at 190C.
8. Bake the puffs for about 25 to 30 minutes or until they are golden brown all over. Remove the puffs from the oven and let cool at room temperature.
9. Put the pastry cream into a piping bag with a large round tip. Insert the tip into the bottom of the puff and fill it with pastry cream. Dust with icing sugar and enjoy. Makes about 36 cream puffs

A Special Something for a Special Dad.

Seeing as how I made my mum scones on Mothers’ Day, it was really only fair that I made my dad something a little indulgent today. And I knew just the thing to make his day just that little bit more special.

You see, my dad loves his pastries, a particular fondness he does a pretty good job at resisting (unless we’re in a particular hotel that serves these little pastries with fresh mango slices as part of their breakfast pastries, then it’s a whole different story). So I figured, Fathers’ Day is probably as good a reason as any to indulge a little. Besides, life is too short- you have to live a little right?

So sliced peach pastries it was (mangoes were going at the ridiculous price of 5 bucks each!).

I think it’s pretty much an understatement when I say my dad really liked this. I left one out on the patio for him with a glass of barley to wash it down while he was hard at work under the scorching sun in the garden. He came by a little later and proceeded to help himself to another one while telling me how good they were and how they looked right out of a bakery.

I’m just really glad he liked it. I wish there was more I could do than just give my dad a huge hug and wish him a happy Fathers’ day but for now, these pastries will have to do.