Almond Crescent Cookies with Italian Hot Chocolate

'It's the most wonderful time of the year...'. Okay maybe not yet, but hey November is almost over which means we are officially in holiday season right? Gauging from that last sentence you can probably tell my level of excitement about the upcoming holidays. Christmas really is the best time of the year. What's not to love about a season that's associated with family, festivities, singing and general jolliness?

Today I thought I'd share one of my favourite holiday recipes with you. Note, the term 'holiday' is applied very loosely here given that I consume these cookies all throughout the year and rarely ever on the holidays. Vanillekipferi (or crescent/horseshoe as they are more widely known) is a traditional Austrian sugar cookie made with nut flour. These cookies have such an impressive history that they are even accredited to being the fore-bearer of the popular French croissant. The cookie was first introduced to Paris in 1839 when an Austrian Army officer founded a Viennese Bakery. It is said, the french chefs were so inspired by his Austrian fare that they re-created the cookie in a flakier form, creating the croissant.

Now, no cookie is complete without a piping hot beverage alongside. And what better to pair these almond crescents with than a decadent mug of Italian hot chocolate. Picture your regular hot chocolate but in a rich, thick, silky texture. It's such a luxurious drink, I'm not sure if I'd even still classify it as a beverage. Actually, Italian hot chocolate and I go way back. I always associate it with cold winters spent in University cafes agonising over design dilemmas (ah the glamourous life of a starving student). It's amazing how food conjures up some of our fondest memories. What will you be eating these holidays?

 

 

Traditional Almond Crescents

250g unsalted butter softened
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 cups almond meal
2 cups plain flour sifted
2 tsp vanilla extract
icing sugar to dust cookies

1. Preheat oven to 180C degrees, line tray with baking paper.
2. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla till you get a smooth consistency.
3. Add the dry ingredients and fold till combined. This step can be done by hand with a spatula.
4. Let dough sit in a cool unrefrigerated place for 30 minutes. Cover with tea towel.
5. Shape cookies by rolling mixture into 1 inch balls, then slightly flatten. Holding dough between your index and thumb lightly squeeze until it takes on a crescent shape. Place on baking sheet and smooth over with fingers for an even finish.
6. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly golden.
7. Once cooled, sift icing sugar over each cookie. Coat liberally.


Italian Hot Chocolate

120g bittersweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp corn flour
dollop of cream

1. In a saucepan over low heat, add chocolate and a tiny bit of milk. Stir with wooden spoon till melted.
2. Dissolve corn flour in milk, then slowly add to chocolate and mix to combine.
3. Continue simmering over low heat until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of the wooden spoon.
4. Add sugar to taste. Serve with a dollop of thick cream.

Friday's Fancies

Happy friday friends! It's been a week of races (horse racing that is) here in this city. You may not know this, but it's kind of a big deal around here. Picture the Kentucky Derby with an Australian accent and it's very own public holiday! You heard me, apparently Australians take sporting so seriously that we've even created public holidays around them. Over here we call it the Melbourne Cup. I never did get around to placing a wager, but that was probably a good thing. Turns out the horse I was going to bet on ran slower this year because he put on a bit of weight. Ha, who knew horses could also commit gluttony. Aside from not attending Melbourne Cup, here's a few snaps from life this week.

An elegant and understated wedding invitation consisting of black ink on kraft paper with coloured twine and succulents. Just the look of this invite alone gets me excited. I love my friend's sense of style and can't wait to see all the details she's planned for her big day.  

My kids get in trouble big time when I catch them vandalising walls at home. I guess taking them around admiring street art probably doesn't help my cause. Maybe if their doodles resembled something like this then I wouldn't mind so much. 

Nothing says 'Australia' like pairing flip-flops (or thongs as we would call them) with everything. I think this photo pretty much sums up our approach to life i.e. relax and take it easy.

Would you prefer 1. green-tea cake with white chocolate ganache or 2. vanilla cake with elderflower icing and fresh strawberries or 3. lemon cake with layers of lemon curd and raspberries? These were just a few cakes my sister recently made for a cake tasting. Since I like to share so much, I'm going to steal her recipes to post on my blog. So tell me, which should I make?

My googly eyed, button nosed baby girl has officially graduated into a toddler. This week she stopped limping around like a zombie on stilts and now walks just like you and I. 

And I'm back!

It's so good to be back. This past week has been the longest break I've taken away from the blog ever since I first started {camo meets couture} some 6 months ago. As entitled as it sounds, living without internet has been excruciating (3g on tiny iPhone screens don't count right?). It's amazing how seamlessly integrated technology is with everyday life. Meanwhile, I've been eagerly counting down these past few days till I get to watch my favourite shows, read my favourite blogs and browse my favourite (online) stores again.As disoriented as I've been, some good has actually come out of being "disconnected". For instance, I've found myself a lot more productive and inspired in the kitchen. I've even finalised a few mock-ups for {camo meets couture} business cards. Although why a blog would need business cards is still beyond me, but hey all the cool kids are doing it. I'm also proud to announce that I've finally made my very first ebay purchase. I may still be an ebay rookie since my sister did all of my bidding but that's not the point. The important thing is that I now have a new pair of Karen Walker sunnies to add to my collection!Here's a peek at some of the new content I've been busy working on during my little involuntary break.   

{ wearing: j.crew denim jacket . witchery oversized stripe dress . target scarf . j.crew chunky gold bracelet . michael kors pave bangle . nordstrom bangles }

Friday's Fancies

Hello hello, happy friday everyone! I am now blogging to you from Melbourne, Australia. We landed earlier today after what might be described as a marathon of a flight. For those of you with little ones, you'll understand what it's like traveling anywhere with them. Now add to that 20+ hours in the air, 10+ hours of transit and travel, the crossing of 8 time zones and the sudden change from summer to winter. Let's just say I was quite relieved when I heard those two front wheels hit the tarmac.

Now that I've landed, I can't wait to get back to my usual blogging schedule. I'm dying to catch up with everyone and see how you're all doing. I'm sure I've missed so many great posts this past week. Thank you for continuing to visit me even though there hasn't been much activity lately. If you're interested in seeing what life is like down under, I will be snapping away on instagram @jeneechen. For now, a few pictures from life this week. xx Jenee C.

Spending quality time with my sister baking, laughing and eating. These were meant to be passionfruit yoyo's but they looked so cute open instead of sandwiched that we decided to leave them that way.

Miss mini-me fast asleep with her sunnies on. Keeping a low-profile so she gets to nap in peace. Little did she know it made for adorable photos.

We do not have a Whole Foods in our town, the nearest one is an hour away (sad face). I make sure I visit every other week to stock up on whatever fresh produce is in season. These beautiful figs go so well in soups.

Putting together a few colours to bring with with me that would transition well from summer to winter to spring to summer and back to winter. Yep, I will be experiencing all 5 seasons in the next 4 months.  

I love surprises but best of all, I love watching my kids faces light up at surprise visits from daddy when we're out at the park.

Fortnum's Shortbread with Lebovitz Chocolate Sauce

Okay it's confession time, I utterly love Period films and tv shows. So naturally, I (along with a million other viewers) cannot get enough of Downton Abbey. It has been 7 grueling months since the last episode and I am getting antsy waiting for season three to commence. In the meantime I have been spending all my waking hours over at Downton Abbey Cooks. A website dedicated to Period cooking? Fantastic!

I was quite excited when I came across this shortbread recipe on Downton Abbey Cooks. I mean, who doesn't love shortbread? And a recipe courtesy of shortbread extraordinare, Fortnum & Mason tea house in London. Well that was just begging for me to try out.

Of course no shortbread is complete without some chocolate sauce on the side. And who better to consult for a dessert recipe than David Lebovitz? I searched "David Lebovitz chocolate sauce" and sure enough a recipe popped up. If you like your chocolate rich, dark and complex then this is the for you. If not, you're better off grabbing a bottle of weak sauce chocolate syrup from your local supermarket.

 

 

 

Fortnum's Classic Shortbread

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup caster sugar plus extra to sprinkle
1 cup plain flour, sifted
1/2 cup rice flour

1. Prehead oven to 300F, lightly butter or line a 9 inch square pan
2. Cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted flour and rice flour, use wooden spoon to work all ingredients together. Do not over knead.
3. Press mixture into pan. Use the back of a knife to score the batter into 18 fingers. Prick each one with a fork.
4. Bake for 30 minutes, remove from oven and score again. Return to oven and continue to bake for another 30 minutes till mixture is set.
5. Score again and sprinkle with light dusting of sugar. Shortbread should break along scored lines.
6. Cool shortbread on wire rack and store in airtight container. (Recipe slightly adjusted from original)

 

 

 

Lebovitz's Chocolate Sauce

1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup agave nectar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 oz semisweet chocolate

1. In medium saucepan mix together water, sugar, agave nectar and cocoa powder.
2. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in chopped chocolate till melted.
3. Let chocolate sauce stand for a few hours to thicken before serving. Store in refrigerator for up to 10 days. (Recipe slightly adjusted from original)

Altoid Brownies With A Hint Of Sea Salt

I am an avid fan of David Lebovitz so when I came across his recipe for Altoid Brownies I knew I had to make them. These brownies are rich and fudgey with a hint of mint and sea salt. I usually use box mixes since I find them no different to brownies made from scratch. With David Lebovitz recipe, these brownies turned out fudgey and gooey without leaving that sickly film in your mouth you sometimes get with chocolate. It might be due to the mint counterbalancing the sweetness, or that the recipe calls for melted chocolate along with cocoa, but most likely it's because David Lebovitz is a baking rockstar. No more box-mixes for me.

Ingredients list

Crush Altoids or any other type of mint into fine powder.

Melt chocolate and butter over simmering water till chocolate is smooth and glossy.

Gently fold the dry ingredients with the melted chocolate mixture. Do not overmix. 

Gooey, fudgey, minty and tasty. 

Altoid Brownies with a hint of Sea Salt

Ingredients
1 teaspoon sea salt (I like use coarse sea salt that's moderately crushed) 
1 1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons dark, unsweetened cocoa powder 
1/2 cup (120g) packed dark brown sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
optional: 1/4-1/2 teaspoon pure mint extract
1 to 1½ packages of Altoid peppermints, (80-120g), crushed into powder. 


Method
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking pan with foil and grease with butter or cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl over pan of simmering water, melt chocolate and butter.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, salt and cocoa powder.
4. Once chocolate is melted and smooth, whisk in both sugars over simmering water.
5. Remove from heat, cool slightly and whisk in three eggs completely then whisk in the other two along with vanilla.
6. Sprinkle the flour mixture and crushed Altoids over the top and gently fold the dry ingredients in with a spatula until just combined; there might be a trace of flour in places. Do not overmix.
7. Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes (David Lebovitz calls for 30 minutes, but I like to under bake my brownies).
8. Store brownies in air-tight container. These brownies are best consumed the next day.

Note
1. Best way to crush Altoids is to place in ziplock bag and hammer with a rolling pin etc. Warning: this is very therapeutic and addicting.
2. Feel free to experiment with any other type of mint or flavouring. My next batch will be with chili powder.

Recipe adapted from davidlebovitz.com

Passionfruit Yoyos

Ahhh yoyos, you never cease to fail me. These are my go-to treats for when I need a little sugar hit. They are small enough so you don't feel guilty, and big enough to leave you feeling satisfied. Did I mention how delicious they were? The only thing better than having a yoyo with a nice cuppa, is having a passionfruit flavoured one. 

This recipe creates the perfect crumbly, melts-in-your-mouth biscuit texture while the addition of passionfruit gives the otherwise ordinary yoyo an unexpected twist.

xx Jenee C. 

Passionfruit yoyos perfect for morning tea. 

Ingredients

Make sure you sifting the sugar and flour to create an airy melt-in-mouth texture.

Biscuit dough ready to be rolled into balls

Roll dough into teaspoon size ball.

Flatten with a fork dipped in flour to 1cm thickness

Finished yoyos with passionfruit icing. Serve with icing sugar sprinkled over.

Enjoy! 

Ingredients

250g unsalted butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup sifted icing sugar

2 cup sifted plain flour

1/3 cup sifted corn starch

Passionfruit filling

6og butter, softened

1tbsp passionfruit pulp

1 cup sifted icing sugar

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celcius and line cookie trays with parchment paper.

2. With a mixer on medium-high, cream butter, vanilla and sugar till light and fluffy.

3. Sift flour into mixture, beat on low speed till dough is formed. 

4. Roll a teaspoon of mixture into small ball. Place on tray. Using a clean fork dipped in flour, flatten each ball to 1cm thickness. 

5. Bake for 15 minutes or until firm. Cool completely before use. 

6. Prepare passionfruit icing: with a mixer, cream butter, sugar and passionfruit pulp till mixture is light and fluffy.

7. Spread one side of one biscuit with 1 teaspoon of filling. Top with another biscuit and repeat. Dust with icing sugar to serve. 

Recipe adapted from taste.com.au