French Onion Soup

We had everything we needed to make this (even Gruyere cheese!) and I hadn't made French onion soup in a LONG time so I decided to give it another go.

Verdict: I was not especially happy with it, for some reason. The flavor was not quite as rich and robust as I am accustomed to. My stomach also did not agree with it. I might try a different recipe next time.

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RECIPE: Essential French Onion Soup (Smitten Kitchen)

Café Coffee Cookies

I came across these while looking for recipes for "coffee biscuits", something from a Final Fantasy game I have not played, because they sounded good. The official recipe didn't look all that interesting but I had to try these once I saw the picture.

Verdict: They were good but I think I really wanted the flavor of coffee + milk and the coffee flavor here sort of blended into the chocolate. I was afraid of adding too much espresso powder and making them bitter. I am glad I tried them and they are pretty but I don't think I'd go out of my way to make them again unless someone specifically asked.

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RECIPE: Café Coffee Cookies (Betty Crocker)

Napa Cabbage Tofu Soup

This sounded really good to me when it scrolled by on Instagram so I decided to try it.

Verdict: It was quite good! I think I would serve this as a side dish unless you specifically wanted a very light meal.

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RECIPE: Napa Cabbage Tofu Soup (Omnivore's Cookbook)

Cashew Snowball Cookies

We had Christmas dinner with our neighbors again and I was asked to make a dessert to share. We recently discovered the wonders and dangers of Costco and as such I had a large container of cashews in the house. I had been wanting to make this style of cookie ever since I failed at making them a long time ago (no thanks to Padma Lakshmi, lol). This time they turned out much better!

Notes:

• I added some ground cardamom to these (about 1/2 tsp) and loved it.
  
• Exercise care when rolling these cookies because they are very delicate. I managed to only break one of them.

Verdict: I thought they were delicious and relatively easy to make, and they received rave reviews at the dinner.

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RECIPE: Cashew Butter Balls (Smitten Kitchen)

Skyline Chili (Cincinnati Style)

While having lunch with some friends from Cincinnati who were passing through recently, the topic of Skyline Chili came up and I was the only person at the table that hadn't tried it. I have only heard many good things about it from these and other friends, and my partner's band has stopped for it multiple times on tours (the drummer is obsessed with it). So I decided to make my own.

Notes:

• The chili is meant to be served over spaghetti and topped with an absolute MOUNTAIN of finely shredded cheddar cheese. I skipped the chopped onions on top because I'm not a big fan of raw onion.
  

Verdict: I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, and I'd have it again.

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RECIPE: Skyline Cincinnati Chili (Insanely Good Recipes)

Plum Squares with Marzipan Crumble

I made these to use up a bunch of ingredients I had before leaving on a long vacation, and brought them to Thanksgiving dinner with our neighbors.

Notes:

• I made my own almond paste. It was super easy. My almond flour was ground quite finely so I didn't even have to use the food processor. The recipe I linked makes about 7 oz. I put the extra in the bottom of the filling as the recipe suggests.
  
• I could not resist sprinkling some ground cinnamon into the plums.

Verdict: It was a bit more work than many things I make and it was good but maybe not enough to justify making regularly.

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RECIPE: Plum Squares with Marzipan Crumble (Smitten Kitchen)

RECIPE: Almond Paste (Wild Wild Whisk)

Soul Cakes

My partner is in a band and organizes an annual "thank you donors" private concert with a snack potluck, and this year, these Soul Cakes showed up on the snack table. I had no idea what a soul cake was or that they are a traditional Samhain/Halloween time item in England, but I liked them so much that I brought several home with me and tracked down the person who made them, and she was kind enough to share her recipe and methods with me.

Notes:

• SKULL PANS: The ones BurntCookie and I used are made by Wilton, or Holiday Home if you get the knockoff version. It has 6 cavities and the size of each cavity is about 4 in tall x 3 in wide x 1 in thick. The original recipe calls for 3" diameter circles that are 1/4 in thick. I find the cookies made with this pan to be quite big. If you get a different skull shaped pan, remember to adjust the baking time (less time if they're smaller) and check often to make sure they don't get too dark.
  
• I greased the pan lightly with the paper the butter was wrapped in as a precaution, but I don't think it was necessary. I think they would have released from the pan just fine even if I hadn't. It did make the top surface nice and golden brown though, which made the shape details a little easier to see.
  
• The person who made them for the party (BurntCookie) made quite a few changes to the initial recipe but didn't have exact amounts for some things, so I have approximated them here. Disclaimer: I did try this recipe as I wrote it below, but halved everything.
• I put in about 1/2 cup dried fruit total, but would use more next time. (If my partner's food mantra is "Yes! Ham!" mine is "More Fruit," haha.) I used dried cranberries and raisins because they're what I had in the house, but I think other dried fruits like apricots, prunes, or cherries would also taste good.
  
• I think some orange or lemon zest (1 teaspoon or so) would also taste delightful in these depending on what dried fruit you use.
• A teaspoon of vanilla or almond extract in the dough might also be tasty and I plan to try this in future batches.
  
• I finished them both ways that were described, and while both tasted good, I prefer the glaze since the cakes are already kind of dry and adding a powder to the top adds to the dry feel.
  
• I might slightly increase the amount of spices next time because their flavor wasn't as prominent as I would have liked. But the ones I used were kind of old so maybe that was why.
• I would use either lemon juice or vanilla in the glaze, but not both together.
  

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RECIPE:

Soul Cakes
adapted from Cooking Journey Blog by BurntCookie and me
Makes about 10 (4 in x 3 in x 3/4 in) skull shaped cakes, or about 18 round cakes

Cakes:
175 g butter, room temperature (6.1 oz, about 1 1/2 sticks)
175 g white granulated sugar (about 3/4 cup)
3 egg yolks
450 g all purpose flour (about 3 5/8 cups)
2 tsp cinnamon, or mixed spice (= 1/2 tsp each ground cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger)
85 g (about 3/4 cup) dried cranberries, raisins, or other dried fruit of your choice, chopped in small pieces
6-7 tbsp milk

Glaze:
120 g (about 1 1/2 cups) confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 tbsp milk, water, or lemon juice
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Special equipment (optional): Mini skull shaped nonstick cake pans (see above note for details)

Preheat the oven to 375 F/190 C. Place butter and sugar in a stand mixer bowl fitted with paddle attachment. Cream butter with sugar until lightened in color and fluffy. Add egg yolks and mix again until well blended. In a medium bowl, combine flour and spices. Add flour mixture into the butter mixture in 2-3 additions, mixing after each one. Add milk in several additions, until the dough comes together. Mix in cranberries/raisins/dried fruit on low speed (or by hand with a spoon or spatula) until well combined.

Press dough into each cavity in your skull pan about 3/4 full, up to about 1/4 inch (0.6 cm) from the top. (If you don't have skull cake pans: Transfer the dough to a silicone mat or other surface, dusted with flour. Roll the dough with a flour-dusted rolling pin to about 1/4 inch (0.6 cm) thickness. Cut round shapes with a 3-inch round biscuit cutter or other similarly sized cookie cutter, score a cross onto the top of each [optional], and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.) Bake 18-22 minutes, or until the edges are golden. (For rounds, bake for 15-20 minutes.) Remove the pan from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Let cool completely, then turn cakes out onto the rack or other flat surface. Dust cakes with powdered sugar, or dip in sugar glaze (see next paragraph). Soul cakes will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container at room temperature.

Glaze: Mix glaze ingredients in a medium bowl until the glaze is thick and will coat the back of a spoon but not immediately run over the sides. (If too thick, add milk/water in very small increments; if too thin, add more powdered sugar.) Dip each cake face down in the glaze to coat it, and set on wax paper glazed side up until glaze has dried and hardened completely.