Maple Walnut Squares

The ground hog has long woken up, it means Spring is at our door. And when one says "Spring," I think "Maple."

At last, it is now maple season! Whether you have already been to the sugar shack or not, you should not hold yourself from this treat! Thinking that it might be too sweet? Try it yourself and let me know!


Alright, less talk.

Timeline:
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 32-35 minutes
Time ready: 2 hours

Ingredients:
(base)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup butter (soften to room temperature)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

(top filling)
1 egg
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven at 350°F.
2. In a mixer, combine the soft butter and brown sugar. Beat to maximum speed until it becomes fluffy, and then add milk to the combination. This step should take 6 to 8 minutes.
3. When the mix is combined to the butter and milk, add the oatmeal and all-purpose flour and beat at medium speed. This will be the cookie base dough.
4. In a 8"x8" baking pan, place a baking sheet and work the cookie base dough on. Evenly spread the dough and gently press to make it firm and not hard. Then use a fork to pierce the dough.
5. Bake the dough for 20 minutes.
6. While waiting for the cookie base to bake, chop the walnut and mix it with egg, brown sugar and maple syrup.
7. When the cookie base is ready, spread the maple walnut filling on top and spread it evenly. Put it back to the oven and bake it for 12-15 minutes or until the filling looks dry on the surface.
8. After taking the maple walnut bakery out, use a knife to run around the base so that it will be easy to remove later. While it is still hot, it is the right time to cut the bakery -- either squares or diamond (like I did in the picture). Let it sit for an hour and it will be ready to serve.

Good luck and enjoy! 

Wake-You-Up Coffee Rum Balls - No Added Sugar

There was chocolate chip and a LOT of broken cookies at home. I didn't want to make chocolate cookies or anything that looked too... "Normal." So I took the initiative to integrate ingredients with stronger tastes and interesting flavours. So this is how I came up with a rum ball recipe that is adaptable to many people's palate.

There is no sugar added to the ingredients. The sweetness comes from the semi-sweet chocolate, the cookies and the rum. So this is how I would describe the taste: chocolatey, not too sweet, not too rum-y, very coffee-y and most of all... coconut-y!

FYI, I recently got a new camera, and somehow, suddenly, pictures don't look the same as in the past. It just saves me from Photoshop editing time!

Alright, less talk.

Ingredients:

350g semi-sweet chocolate chips
75g (5 tbsp) heavy cream
25g (2 1/2 tbsp) rum
10g (2 tbsp) coffee beans
25 g (2 1/2 tbsp) coconut powder
8 to 10 graham, social tea or any kind of cookies you have at home
1 tbsp cocoa powder

1. In a bain-marie, melt the chocolate with milk
2. Mash the coffee beans with the cookies. If you don't like it rustic, you can always grind the coffee.

3. Add in some coconut powder. If you don't have powder, you can add shredded dry coconut as a replacement, but not that the taste and texture will be more coconut-y at the end.
4. When the chocolate is well melted and mixed to the heavy cream, add in the rum and mix well.
5. When the rum is well incorporated in the chocolate, add in the dry ingredient mix. Stir well.

6. Remove the ingredients from the bain-marie and start shaping into balls.
7. When the balls are shaped, place them in the fridge for 1 hour so that they solidify and preserve its form.
8. In a bowl, place 1 tbsp of cocoa powder. Place the cooled rum balls in the bowl and shake to distribute the cocoa powder evenly.

9. Let it sit overnight for the rum to settle. And at last, it is ready to serve.

Good luck and enjoy!

Aphrodisiac Chocolate Truffle - No Added Sugar

That was a while ago when the idea of making something more mature to the taste. Many strongly associate chocolate and wine with romanticism, and so is this recipe inspired on. Simple and rich.

I do not have much to say this week. Well, maybe... I hope that these truffles will bring in some peace in your palate!

Alright, less talk.

Ingredients:
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup 10% cream
2 tbsp red wine

(for decoration)
social tea cookies
coffee beans
almond or any kind of nuts

1. In a bain-marie, pour heavy cream, milk and cream. Then add the chocolate chip to melt.
2. Whisk until the chocolate and milk is well incorporated and smooth.
3. In a mortar, crush the social cookies and the coffee beans altogether.
4. Spread a thin layer of crushed cookies and coffee beans in ramekins. Leave some for decoration use.
5. Add in some red wine to the chocolate and mix until everything look smooth. You will start smelling the wine's fragrance.
6. When the chocolate and wine are well combined, it is ready. Pour in ramekins.
7. Decorate the truffle with nuts and the crumble.
8. Cool it in the fridge overnight so that the alcohol can settle.

Good luck and enjoy!

Chocolate Cookie Bites

Chunky, buttery and overly sweet chocolate chip cookies are not really my thing. I was trying to find a way to finish the bag of chocolate chips I had at home. Then suddenly, as I was flipping through my compilation of recipes, I found a pilot recipe I used for cookies and then decided to make some changes and came up with that one. Since we are in the Nutcracker season, I realized that adding some nuts would enhance the chocolatey and the bitter taste of the cocoa powder. A great marriage between fragrance and bitterness! 

Ingredients:

170g All-purpose flour

80g chocolate chips

50g butter

2 tsp cocoa powder

30g sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

1 tsp baking soda

Hazelnut (or almond)

1.  Beat the butter and sugar in a mixer until it becomes fluffy.

2. Then add in the egg and the vanilla extract.

3. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave. Then pour the melted chocolate in the mixture of butter, sugar and egg.

4. Once everything is incorporated, add in the dry ingredients – all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Mix well.

5. Preheat the oven at 325°F and shape the cookie dough into drops of 1 inch. Then add a whole hazelnut, pistachio or almond on top of it.

6. Bake for 15 minutes. 

7. Cool down and then it is ready to serve.

Good luck and enjoy!