Madeleine

Meet Madeleine, the cutest mini-cake ever invented in France in the middle of the 18th century; soft like a sponge and with a hint of orange, this is the best excuse to have something sweet with your tea or coffee. I was so excited when I found a tray at the store that had madeleine forms (and other ones, like hearts and teddy bears- but that’s another story); the only downside it was that I had so much work, I couldn’t play with it for at least 2 weeks… BUT now, having no real responsibilities (that I care of), I started a bake off challenge! I only hope the fridge and my stomach could keep up with my pace. 

The funny thing with madeleines is that you have to add the butter in the last moment; usually you would cream the sugar and butter together, but in this recipe you should mix everything before, and than add the melted fat. In order to make the dough hard-ish again, place it in the fridge for an hour before scooping it into the shapes and baking it. 

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Ever since I met the chocolate ganache glaze I absolutely loved adding it to everything; it is so easy to make, and it’s guaranteed to work (and you will easily remember the heavy cream-chocolate ratio). When I was younger I used to make the Dr Oetker kind of glaze, the one that you would add some water to a chocolate-like powder and it would become a paste! So freakishly easy, but not as tasty as the real deal, sadly… Anyway, if you decide to cover your madeleines in glaze than you should definitely make another little step, and that’s adding crushed peanuts on top – a total game changer! PS: little trick that I learned- dip the cookie into the glaze, then dip it in a bowl filled with crushed peanuts. That way, when you let them vent on a cooling rack, you won’t destroy the chocolate layer (and it won’t pour on the rack). Double win!

So many words for such small dessert; you got to try it to see what a little wonder this madeleine is!

Gingerbread men cookies

I know that technically is not Christmas anymore, but these little guys were on my bucket list for so long that I decided to give them a try right now. Finding myself in that awkward part of the year again, between Christmas and New Year, when you don’t know what you’re supposed to do (or if you’re supposed to do anything other than eating your weight in meat and sweet bread), I baked some gingerbread people; and I must say, they came out pretty nice and soft.

Gingerbread was one of the things I was most afraid of, I don’t know why; I thought that it will be hard to make, sticky and messy, and that it will result in something more like a stone than a cookie. But booooy I was wrong my whole life. These men grew in the oven like crazy, making themselves fluffy and soft; and should I even mention the smell of cinnamon, cardamon, anise, ginger that was in the air?

Let me tell you, these little guys are the best kind of men you can ever find! Fluffy, soft and good smelling, dressed up in little sweaters with bow ties, they satisfy every need you have. And they don’t even scream when you bite they’re hands off! (Cause that would be weird. Ughh. Cookies that can talk. What is this, Shrek?)

Ignore the fact that Christmas passed a few days ago and make yourself happy by baking these little gingerbread men! Then dress them up like you want to; nothing is impossible! God, I made this sound like a cheesy commercial for a Barbie. Anyway, try the recipe below:

Romana:

Stiu ca nu mai este Craciunul, dar micutii acestia erau pe lista mea “de facut” de asa mult timp, ca am decis ca e timpul sa le acord o sansa sa ma cucereasca. Aflandu-ma in partea aceea ciudata a anului, intre Craciun si Revelion, cand nu stii ce sa faci (sau daca sa faci ceva inafara de a-ti manca greutatea in sarmale si cozonac), am copt turta dulce; trebuie sa admit, am fost placut surprinsa.

Turta dulce este acel desert de care imi era cel mai frica, nu stiu de ce; ma gandeam ca va fi greu de facut, lipicioasa, si ca va iesi semanand mai mult a pietre decat a biscuiti. Dar baieeeete am gresit. Oamenii de turta dulce au crescut in cuptor, devenind pufosi si moi; ar mai trebui sa mentionez si parfumul de scortisoara, cardamon si ghimbir care plutea prin aer?

Ca sa fiu sincera, omuletii acestia sunt cei mai buni pe care ii poti gasi! Pufosi, dulci si bine mirositori, imbracati cu pulovere micute si papioane, iti satisfac orice nevoie. Si nici macar nu tipa cand le musti mainile sau picioarele! (Pentru ca asta ar fi ciudat. Biscuiti care sa vorbeasca. Unde suntem aici, in Shrek?!)

Ignora faptul ca sarbatoarea Craciunului a trecut de cateva zile si fa-ti un cadou gatind acesti oameni de turta dulce! Apoi imbraca-i dupa bunul plac; nimic nu este imposibil! Of, am facut asta sa para ca o reclama la papusile Barbie. Sper ca te-am convins sa incerci reteta de mai jos!

Christmas walnut cookies

The story says that every Christmas Eve, in a house filled with joy,  someone is baking cookies and glazing them with patience. I’ll tell you something: the last part is a lie; have you ever decorated 30-ish cookies with different patterns and colors and still stayed sane? That’s what I thought. But let’s keep the positive feeling: if you want the real Christmas vibe, go and try out these amazing snow flakes that taste like walnuts! (even if I’m posting this the second day of Christmas. Haha. Blame my laziness.)

I know you heard this before, but I associate the smell of freshly baked cookies with winter holidays since forever. There’s something about the sugar-y scent in the air and the carols that blast in the radio (or on Youtube, recently) that makes my heart happy. I can still remember the first time I tried to make cookies, when I was 5 years old, with the help of my mom (that’s what I like to believe, that she was my apprentice, not vice-versa); they came out to hard, but that did not stop me from eating every single animal-shaped “rock”… Innocent little me refused to admit the failure, even though my teeth hurt a while after that.

 

So, back at the present cookies. I found at H&M Home the best cookie cutter, shaped as a snowflake, and bought it as a gift. To me. I was trying to find one that wasn’t a heart or a basic star, but a more Christmas themed one. The excitement even made me go over the fact that the cashier boy told me “lady”, and I was (maybe) one year older than he was.

I usually make these cookies plain, but this year (when I have a cooking blog, *ahem*) I added some ground walnuts and hoped for the best. They are still soft and melt in your mouth, but with a nice hint of nuts. Also, for the glazing part you should definitely try the Dr. Oetker glaze crayons- they will make your life so much easier! (not sponsored -but wish it was haha). Happy holibakes!

Romana:

Povestea spune ca in fiecare Ajun de Craciun, intr-o casa plina de fericire si rasete, cineva coace biscuiti si ii decoreaza cu rabdare. O sa iti spun ceva: ultima parte este o minciuna; ai decorat vreodata aproape 30 de fursecuri cu diferite culori si modele? Asa credeam si eu. Dar sa pastram atmosfera pozitiva: daca vrei sa simti Craciunul cu adevarat, incearca fulgii acestia de zapada care au gust de nuci! (chiar daca postez asta in a doua zi de Craciun. Haha. Lenea asta.)

Stiu ca ai mai auzit asta inainte, dar asociez mirosul de biscuiti calzi cu sarbatorile de iarna dintotdeauna. E ceva in aer, peste tot zboara o adiere de zahar si colinde (ele se aud de pe Youtube, dar na… de dragul descrierii). Inca imi amintesc prima data cand am incercat sa fac fursecuri, aveam vreo 5 ani, si cu ajutorul mamei (asta imi place sa cred, ca ea era ajutorul meu, nu invers) am copt niste “pietre” in forma de animale. Nici nu stiu daca ar trebui puse ghilimele, caci pareau chiar pietre adevarate; dar asta nu m-a impiedicat sa le mananc.

Inapoi la biscuitii curenti. Am gasit la H&M Home cea mai buna forma de taiat fursecuri, un fulg de zapada, si am cumparat-o cadou. Pentru mine. De mult voiam sa detin o forma speciala, nu obisnuitele inimioare si stelute. Incantarea m-a facut sa trec si peste faptul ca baiatul de la casa mi s-a adresat cu “doamna” , desi eram in cel mai bun caz mai mare cu un an ca el.

De obicei fac biscuitii simpli, dar anul asta, de cand sunt mare blogger *ahem.ahem*, am mai adaugat nuca macinata in compozitie. Sunt la fel de moi si se topesc in gura, dar cu o nuanta de nuca. Un alt hint: pentru glazura, foloseste creioanele pentru decorat de la Dr. Oetker- iti vor face viata mai usoara! (nu sunt sponsorizata sa zic asta- dar as fi vrut hahaha). Sarbatori delicioase!

 

Shortbread penguin cookies

A while ago I found on Instagram (@heartybakes) the cutest cookies ever: they were shaped like teddy bears and they had almonds in their tiny hands. Naturally, I was impressed and I couldn’t stop thinking about them and how could I recreate that. So here is my own twist to that lovely recipe.

One might think that my beloved penguins don’t look that attractive or don’t even look like penguins at all (ahhh… we’ll get there soon). BUT THEY ARE. So, let’s get started: the recipe is pretty simple, just mix butter, sugar, eggs, flour; I didn’t have any issues with it.

As soon as I rolled the dough, the problems started coming; sometimes I wonder if I should have named this blog thefailybakes. It was too thin, so my penguin shaped cookies came out as creepy ghost. My mom tried to save them by adding some kind of chocolate flakes as eyes, you will see below how that turned out.

After I rolled it again, this time thicker, the shapes come out more like animals than ghosts. I put on each one an almond, then stretched their little hands over it. Make sure to place well the hands over the almond, or else will fall aside.

After baking, they look a little creepy again, but they taste ah-may-zing! The almond is a really cool twist to a simple recipe like this one, so I can only hope that I get to do this again (mostly because I got to snack on this penguins constantly).

Check out the recipe:

Romana:

Cu putin timp in urma am gasit pe Instagram (@heartybakes) cei mai draguti biscuiti din lume: in forma de ursuleti, cu niste manute micute infasurate in jurul unei migdale. Normal ca am fost atrasa de ei si nu m-am putut abtine sa nu ma gandesc incontinuu la ei si cum as putea sa ii recreez. Asa ca aceasta este incercarea mea de a face acea reteta.

Unii pot crede ca iubitii mei pinguini nu arata prea bine sau chiar ca nu arata a pinguini (voi ajunge la asta mai tarziu… ). DAR SUNT. Lasand vorba la o parte, sa incep cu procedeul de facere: reteta e destul de simpla, trebuie amestecate untul, ouale, zaharul si faina; nu am avut vreo problema cu ea.

Din momentul in care am inceput sa intind aluatul, atunci au aparut problemele; uneori ma intreb daca numele blogului nu trebuia sa fie thefailybakes. Acesta era prea subtire, asa ca biscuitii mei au aratat ca niste fantome. Mama a incercat sa salveze situatia adaugand niste ochi din fulgi de ciocolata, se vede in poza mai sus cum au iesit.

Dupa ce l-am reintins, de data asta mai gros, formele au iesit aratand mai mult a pinguini decat a fantome. Am pus cate o migdala pe fiecare, apoi am plasat manutele lor peste; asigura-te ca sunt asezate bine, altfel vor cadea in parti la copt.

 

Dupa ce au stat in cuptor, au inceput sa arate infricosator din nou, dar gustul e minunat! Migdala este ceva mic, dar care face diferenta in aceasta reteta; pot doar sa sper ca voi apuca sa o refac (in mare parte pentru ca am adorat sa ii mananc ca gustare- in continuu).