Pink Ribbon Cookies - Bake for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Hello Bakers,

My hope had been to create more Bake Pink posts - but recovering from the side effects of chemo…I will spare you the details but it was rough - as many of you know it can be - and starting daily radiation - I ran out of time. This is a throw back post from 2017 to end our pink ribbon month. By October of next year I hope (with your help) to make Bake Pink a movement.

Thank you all for your love, support and well wishes - it has all meant so much to me. I am not sure I could have gotten through this 5th flare up without you.

No doubt it is too late to make this for October but the cookie base is delicious and I encourage to try it for any decorated cookie.

As soon as treatment finishes - 9 treatments to go - I will be back with some fun and fresh ideas for our Holiday Baking.

Again - thank you so much - Bake Pink - Bake Happy - let’s all stay healthy and strong!

XOXO - Colette

Pink Ribbon Cookies

Original Post starts here…

Breast Cancer affects one in 8 women. When I was first diagnosed 25 years ago that statistic was one in 9. We all know someone, a friend, a family or ourselves who has been impacted by this disease. What can we do? Well we can offer love and support, we can overcome fear with education and early detection (which saved my life btw), we can walk, run, fundraise and create a supportive community for those affected. 

We can also bake. Baking something delicious and pretty always make me feel better and if you are reading this, I would bet you feel the same. 

For this post I am offering a delicious sugar cookie recipe, iced with royal icing and decorated with pretty pink sanding sugar. Most baking supply places carry this sugar but just in case you don't have one close by, I will show you how to make your own.

Try these for your next fundraiser or bake sale. Bake a batch this month for work - raise awareness - the statistics are too high - even for those who haven’t been directly touched by the disease - we all know someone who has.

XO, Colette

Cookie Base/Pate Sucree

Equipment:

Stand Mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Have the whisk on standby for the Royal Icing.

Spatula

 Two half sheet pan lined with parchment paper

Ribbon cookie cutter available on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Pink-Ribbon-Cookie-Fondant-Cutter/dp/B003RBAXQU/ref=sr_1_7?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1508119891&sr=1-7&keywords=pink+ribbon+cookie+cutter

Perfection strips available on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Country-Kitchen-SweetArt-NA-Perfection/dp/B0006B4H5C/ref=sr_1_2?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1508119855&sr=1-2&keywords=perfection+strips

Cookie Base/Pate Sucree Mise en place

Cookie Base/Pate Sucrée

Yield: 18-20 depending on the size of your cutter

8 oz (227g) butter

4 oz (113g) sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 egg yolk

1 whole egg

12 oz (340g) pastry flour, sifted

pinch salt

1. Cream together butter, sugar and vanilla until combined, approximately 2 minutes.

2. Do not over cream.

3. Add yolks and egg – mixing until well combined

4. Add sifted flour all at once – mix only until the flour disappears.

5. Wrap in plastic and store in the refrigerator.

Wrapped up and ready to chill for one hour minimum

6. Let rest a minimum of four hours before using.

7. Keeps 5 days in the refrigerator or frozen for 1 month.

8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

9. After the dough has rested for an hour, roll out 1/8" thick on a lightly floured surface. I used perfection strips 1/8" available on Amazon. Carefully transfer the cookies to the prepared pans.

10. Bake for 10-12 minutes, the cookies may take a few more minutes they should be opaque but not have taken on color. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Royal Icing

Equipment

Stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment

34g Meringue powder

113g Cold water

454g (1 pound) Confectioner's sugar, sifted

1. Combine cold water and meringue powder in mixer bowl. Whip on medium low speed until combined. Turn off mixer and scrape down. 

2. Increase speed to medium high and whip until mixture is foamy.

Royal Icing

Equipment

Stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment

34g Meringue powder

113g Cold water

454g (1 pound) Confectioner's sugar, sifted

1. Combine cold water and meringue powder in mixer bowl. Whip on medium low speed until combined. Turn off mixer and scrape down. 

2. Increase speed to medium high and whip until mixture is foamy.

3. Add sugar in two increments.

4. When all the sugar has been added, scrape down. Mix on medium high for 4 minutes or until royal icing is thick and glossy.

5. Divide the mixture between three bowls, leave one white and made shades of pink with the other two.

Decorating Cookies:

Spread royal icing on cookies. Or use a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip and outline the cookies and the fill in the inside of the cookies - this is called "flooding".

Decorate as you wish. More piping, colored sugars and anything fun and pink. :)

Let me know if you have questions and I would love to hear how your baking is going.

Happy Baking!

Bake Pink - Strawberry Macarons with White Chocolate Ganache

Hello Bakers,

Here is the second - Bake Pink! Have you had a chance to bake pink? Today’s bake pink - Strawberry macarons with strawberry ganache. We bake a pink macaron - no getting around that.

The more pink ribbons the better….

For this post - I did a few short video tutorials and then a detailed step by step. If you would like a deeper dive into macarons, you can check out my macaron class on Bluprint. It’s called Miniature French Desserts, Macarons, Madeleines and More, https://www.mybluprint.com/playlist/4898/9287. Or, if you are in Los Angeles sign up for a macaron class at Sur a Table at the Farmers Market. www.surlatable.com

I am so grateful to all of you who are baking pink - please let me know and share.

My talented student, Sally created this post on her blog - please check it out. Prettiest pink cakes - ever!

https://bewitchingkitchen.com/2019/10/04/strawberry-mini-cakes-for-bake-pink-project/

Thank you all! If you have questions please let me know.

Happy Baking Pink! XO, Colette

Equipment
Scale, stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment or hand held mixer, spatula, teaspoons, medium sized bowl for folding, food processor or mini prep, #12 piping tip, 16”-21” piping bag

Ingredients
198 g powdered sugar
113 g almond meal
1 teaspoons Trader Joe’s Freeze dried strawberries - ground to a powder.
113 g egg whites
99g granulated sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1g or a pinch (⅛ tsp.) of cream of tartar
Equipment: two - three heavy duty ½ sheet pans - Nordic Ware and Chicago Metallic are good brands.
Stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment
Flat spatula
Food processor or mini prep (small food processor)
Medium sized bowl for mixing
16-21” piping bag
#12 Wilton tip - or any plain round tip with a ⅜” opening.
Parchment paper or Silpat

Macaron Circle Templates (email me at bakingwithcolette@gmail.com and I will send them to you
Line 2 or 3 heavy (restaurant quality) half sheet trays with parchment paper or Silpat mats. 

1. Grind ⅓ of the bag of the freeze dried strawberries to a powder or as fine as possible in food processor or mini prep.

2. Layer the powdered sugar, almond meal and 2 teaspoons strawberry powder in a food processor or mini processor.

3. Pulse until the almond meal and powdered sugar are combined and resembles fine meal, about 15 seconds. Transfer to a small bowl. Set aside.

4. Place the egg whites and a pinch of cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Make sure that the bowl and the whisk attachment are impeccably clean.

5.  Starting on medium speed, whip the whites with the cream of tartar until they look like light foam. The whites should not appear liquid. Foam will be light and should not have any structure.

6. Slowly rain in the granulated sugar, trying to aim the stream between the whisk and the side of the bowl. Turn off the mixer and scrape down if need be. Turn the speed up to medium-high (8 on a KitchenAid mixer)

7. Continue to whip the meringue until it is soft and shiny. It should look like marshmallow creme. Add color and flavor. Pink for Bake Pink!!!

8. Increase speed to high, whip the egg whites, until the meringue begins to dull slightly and the lines of the whisk are visible on the surface of the meringue. 

9. Check the peak. It should be firm with the angle supporting the peak at 11:30 as shown on video. Transfer the whites to a medium bowl. 

10. Fold in the almond meal mixture in three increments.

11. Paint the mixture halfway up the side of the bowl, using the flat side of a spatula. 

12. Scrape the mixture down to the center of the bowl. 

13. Repeat two or three times, then check to see if the mixture slides slowly down the side of the bowl. 

14. Put the mixture in a piping bag fitted with one of the tips listed above. Pipe on the prepared baking sheets. 

15. 15.Slam each sheet hard four to six times on the counter. Then fist bump each end of the sheet’s underside twice. 

16. Let the unbaked macarons dry until they look dull but not overly dry. Drying time depends on humidity. In a dry climate, the macarons can dry in 15 to 20 minutes; in a humid climate, it can take 35 to 40 minutes. But I never let them dry for more than an hour. 

17. While the macarons are drying, preheat the oven to 325 F 

18. Bake as close to the middle of the rack as possible. You can bake 2 trays at one time but rotate them at the 9 minute mark. The one that started on the bottom may take a minute or two longer.

19. Check in 10 minutes. If the tops slide, then bake for 2 to 3 more minutes. The macarons should release without sticking. Check one or two. If they stick, put them back in the oven for 1 to 2 more minutes. Let them cool before removing from the tray.

Shells may be made up to two weeks in advance and frozen in an airtight container. Let that at room temperature, unwrapped for one hour before filling.

White Chocolate Strawberry Ganache

Equipment: Small saucepan, heatproof bowl or microwave safe bowl, spatula, whisk, scale

Ingredients:

6 ounces (170g) white chocolate (I used Whole Foods White Chocolate baking chips)

2 ounces (57g) heavy cream

2 Tablespoons seedless strawberry jam

Place the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl or microwave safe bowl depending on how you are melting chocolate

Melt the white chocolate over simmering water or in a microwave in 30 seconds intervals, stirring at each interval

Bring the cream to a rolling boil in a small saucepan.

Pour half the hot cream over the chocolate, and let stand for 15 seconds.

Stir with a spatula until smooth. It might seize up - is so switch to a whisk - that will smooth out the mixture.

Add strawberry jam and whisk until smooth.

Chill until it is the consistency of Nutella and can be piped.

Bake Pink!!! Raspberry Bars with Raspberry Streusel

Hello Bakers,

It’s time to Bake Pink!!!! I am so excited about this series. And I challenge to Bake Pink! for Breast Cancer Awareness month which starts October 1st.

We know the statistics - 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed in their lifetime. Early detection and awareness is key.

Pink is the color of the month and I don’t mind - (it’s my favorite color actually) - by Baking Pink this month we can help raise awareness. Try these bars for your next bake sale, office bake, brunch - anything. If anyone asks you “why all your baking is pink” this month - then great it will start a conversation.

If these bars remind someone that it’s time to book a mammogram or get checked - then it was totally worth - grinding up those raspberries and putting these bars together.

Please share your photos - not only any recipes featured here on the blog but any other pink pastries you might dream up.

Twitter and Instagram: BakingwColette Facebook: Facebook.com/BakingwithColette

Also Bluprint.com for more classes - search Colette Christian

Happy Baking!

Bake Pink!!!

Raspberry Bars with Raspberry Streusel - Yield 12

Raspberry Bars with Raspberry Streusel



Equipment: Stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, 13”x 9” quarter sheet pan, parchment paper, spatula, whisk, fork

Raspberry Bars Mise en Place

Crust:

8 oz (227g) Unsalted butter - remove from fridge and let sit at one temperature for 15 minutes while you gather and mise out the rest of your ingredients.

2.75 oz (78g) Confectioner’s sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

7.875 oz (223g) Unbleached all purpose flour

3 Tablespoons (20g) Almond flour - blanched (no skins)

½ teaspoon Fine sea salt

Filling:

16 ounces Raspberry Jam (I used Smuckers Seedless Raspberry)

Streusel Topping:

6.75 oz (191g) All purpose flour

2.33 oz (66g) Granulated Sugar

3 Tablespoons Ground up freeze dried raspberries

½ t Baking powder

½ t Fine sea salt

4 ounces (113g) Unsalted butter

1 egg, beat until smooth - do not over whip

Method:



Lightly grease a 9 x 13” pan or a 9 x 13” quarter sheet pan and line with two strips of parchment paper - leaving a 1” overhang. Very light butter parchment paper at the bottom of the pan.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine butter, confectioner’s sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix on low speed for one minute, then increase the speed to medium and mix until the butter and sugar are combined - 2 minutes. Do not over mix.

Whisk together flour, almond flour and salt. Add to the mixer and mix on low speed just until the dry ingredients disappear.

This is a soft dough - it needs to be chilled. On a piece of plastic wrap large enough to wrap the dough, pat the dough into a 5”x7 rectangle - wrap and chill for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, roll the dough out between 2 sheets of plastic wrap until it is 13”x9” large.

Holding the ends of the plastic wrap, invert the dough onto the parchment lined pan.

Remove plastic wrap and pat dough into the bottom of the pan. Prick dough with a fork.

This helps steam escape. Chill for 20 minutes

Preheat a 350 degrees until crust is a very light and golden - it should no longer look raw, (18-22) minutes. Remove from oven, place on a cooling rack and let cool completely.

In the meanwhile make Streusel:

Equipment for Streusel:

Stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl, pastry blender or bowl scraper used to cut the butter into the dry ingredients.

Combine flour, sugar, raspberry powder, baking powder, salt.

Add butter

Cut in butter, either by using the mixing on low speed in the mixer or by cutting in the dough - when the butter is the size of corn flakes, add egg and mix in that in too.

Mix until the butter is no longer visible. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Assembling Bars.

Scrap jam into a medium sized bowl and soften with a spatula. Spread over cooled crus

Top with streusel and baking for 25 minutes until the streusel is golden brown.

Let bars cool completely before slicing.

Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Chocolate Chip Discussion - and a legendary recipe.....

Hello Bakers,

It is my week off of chemo and I am doing well. I wanted to use this time to get caught up with you - I have missed you bakers… Thank you so much for the outpouring of well wishes and support. ! am so grateful.

Chocolate…

In my on ground classes, I am often asked about chocolate - and what is the best chocolate to buy.

Of course, it all depends on what you are making - there is a lot to cover so let’s break it down by type.

Today, let’s discuss chocolate chips.

Chocolate chips are designed to be melt resistant. Ideally, they hold up in cookies, muffins and scones just enough to be soft when you bite into the product but not so liquified that a crater forms where the chocolate chip was sitting.

Chocolate companies do this by eliminating or reducing cocoa butter in the chocolate. Sometimes, cocoa butter is replaced by palm kernel oil and other stabilizers. That’s why if you have tried to melt chips and ended up with a sludgy mess - that’s why - the extra lovely, at body temperature melting, cocoa butter is gone.

Now we really don’t want our chips to melt out. But we do want to use a delicious chip. Not all chips are created equal. Lately, I have been using Guittard 63% chocolate chips quite a bit. Why? You might ask because I like the fact that there list the type of cocoa bean used, Trinitario, Forastero and that it is a fair trade, non GMO chocolate. They also use real vanilla - if you see vanillin on any label - that is fake vanilla in there. The lecithin (it’s a natural emulsifier) used is derived from sunflowers instead of soy, also gluten and peanut free.

My runners up are Ghiradelli 60% and Trader Joes chocolate chips.

Lecture is over - it’s time to bake.

As I this cancer scare has made me look hard on my own mortality - I realize that they are recipes that I have to make sure stay alive. The following recipe is from legendary baker Albert Kumin. He was simply the best. I had the privilege of taking a 3 week class with him years ago. His students went on to pastry greatness. To learn more about him - the Times did a fine job writing about him

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/dining/albert-kumin-pastry-chef-for-carter-white-house-and-top-new-york-restaurants-dies-at-94.html

His most famous protegee is Nick Malgieri, author of many books. His “Perfect Pastry” is my favorite. He shares Chef Albert’s lemon tart in that book and it is amazing. I should do a blog post on it - lemon lovers its so good! I am sorry, I digress. Here is Chef Albert’s recipe for chocolate chip cookies. It was the first thing we made in his class - it was how he assessed us as bakers.

All chocolate chip recipes are very similar - this one is just classic. I hope you get to give them a try. Perfect to tuck into a lunchbox or bake for a bake sale.

It’s good to be back. XO Happy Baking! Colette

Chocolate Chip Cookies - Albert Kumin Variation with 63% cacao chips

Yield: 36 small cookies (#40 purple scoop, .80 ounce) or 24 cookies (#24 red scoop, 1.33 ounces). I love Vollrath color coded scoops. They last a long time.

Equipment

Two half sheet pans lined with parchment paper (have additional half sheet pan available for double panning)

Stand or handheld mixer

Spatula

Sifter/strainer

#40 purple scoop for small cookies or #24 red scoop for medium cookies (a tablespoon can also be used to shape cookies)

Ingredients

Chocolate chip cookie mise en place

1 cup (8 ounces/227 g) unsalted butter

3⁄4 cup + 2 Tablespoons (6 ounces/170 g) granulated sugar

½ cup + 2 Tablespoons (4 ounces/113 g) packed light brown sugar

1 1⁄2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs (3.42 ounces/97 g) beat lightly to combine yolk and white

2 ⅛ cups (10 ounces/283 g) unbleached all-purpose flour

1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

2 cups (9 ounces/255 g) semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup (4 ounces/113 g) toasted chopped walnuts, pecans, or macadamia nuts, toasted (optional)

1. Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper. Have an additional pan ready for double panning.

2. Position the rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C).

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), cream the butter and both sugars on low speed for 30 seconds until combined, add vanilla extract and increase speed to medium and mix until mixture is smooth - 2 minutes. The mixture should not lighten in color. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle with a spatula.

4. With the mixer off, add the lightly mixed eggs, starting on low speed and then increase the speed to medium - mix until combined about 45 seconds, sometimes I turn the mixer up to medium high in the last 10 seconds just to smooth things out.

Creamed butter, sugar and vanilla - eggs, lightly beaten on standby

5. In a separate bowl or on a sheet of parchment paper sift the dry ingredients.

6. Add dry ingredients to the egg mixture on low speed mixing only until the flour disappears.

7. Add the chips and optional nuts only until they are mixed – do not over mix. They can be mixed in by hand as well.

8. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for one hour minimum.

9. Scoop onto parchment lined pan as shown on video. A tablespoon can also be used to portion cookies.

10. Bake the cookies. Start checking them at 12 minutes. If the cookie bottoms are overbrowning, double pan them. Continue to bake. Check in 3-4 minute intervals. The cookies are done when they are a light golden brown on the edges. The center should still be light but not wet.

11. Let cool on the pan for 3-4 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

12. Store the cookies in an airtight container. Cookies will keep several days. They will be crisper as they sit. To keep them soft, place a slice of apple or a ceramic brown sugar keeper in the container. They also freeze, well wrapped, for 1 month.

1. Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper. Have an additional pan ready for double panning.

2. Position the rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C).

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), cream the butter and both sugars on low speed for 30 seconds until combined, add vanilla extract and increase speed to medium and mix until the mixture is smooth (about 2 minutes). The mixture should not lighten in color. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle with a spatula.

4. With the mixer off, add the eggs one at a time, starting on low speed and then increase the speed to medium, mixing well after each addition. When the mixture changes from shiny to dull looking (about 45 seconds of mixing), add the next egg. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition.

5. In a separate bowl or on a sheet of parchment paper sift together the dry ingredients.

6. Add the 1/2 dry ingredients to the egg mixture on low speed mixing until the flour disappears. Do not over mix. Scrape down quickly and add the second half of the dry ingredients, mix until combined.

7. Add the chips and optional nuts only until they are mixed – do not over mix. They can be mixed in by hand as well.

8. Scoop onto parchment lined tray - they will spread so make sure there is room between. With the larger scoop, I get 10 on a half sheet tray and 15 of the smaller size.

9. Chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Cookie dough can be frozen for up to one month. Scoop it first to save time. Once the cookie dough is frozen - it can be stored in a zip loc bag.

10. Bake the cookies. Start checking them at 12 minutes. If the cookie bottoms are over browning, double pan them. Continue to bake. Check in 3-4 minute intervals. The cookies are done when they are a light golden brown on the edges. The center should still be light but not wet.

11. Let cool on the pan for 3-4 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

12. Store the cookies in an airtight container. Cookies will keep for a several days. They will be crisper as they sit. To retain moisture, store with a slice of apple or one of those ceramic brown sugar bears. Cookies freeze, well wrapped, for up to one month.