Perky Pink Pig Tails

Warning: These cookies are addictive! 

A dear friend introduced me to these Crunchy Cinnamon Curls, as I originally had named them. But looking at my new pink version I just couldn't get the image of pig tails out of my head – just as I couldn't get their taste out of my head, after I had indulged for the first time. So in an attempt to cure my withdrawal symptoms, I called my friend to get the recipe – fast! I scribbled her instructions on a post-it, and that's were it has stayed for a long (that's a looong) time ...  

So every time I made my Crunchy Cinnamon Curls I added something new like the brittle, the brown sugar and – of course – the pink color. Meanwhile the post-it is smudgy with chocolate and butter and has been re- and re-re-written (of course on top of the previous writing – why start a new post-it?) until it's hardly readable. So I guess, it's about time to get this recipe on here for digital conservation – and of course for sharing. Enjoy!

Ingredients for the dough: 

- 400 g flour 

- 150 g butter (at room temperature) 

- 100 g sugar 

- 50 g brown sugar

- 2 eggs 

- 1 pinch of salt 

- Wilton Icing Color Pink 

Ingredients for the filling: 

- 100 g dark chocolate 

- 100 g milk chocolate 

- 100 g chopped hazelnuts 

- 100 g hazelnut brittle (for my Germans: Haselnuss Krokant) 

- 160 g sugar 

- 100 g butter 

- 4 tablespoons cinnamon (or more ... seriously: You CAN'T overdo cinnamon!)

Preparation: 

In a big bowl mix the flour, the soft butter, the sugar, the brown sugar, the eggs and the pinch of salt and knead until you have an even dough. 

Add 1 drop of icing color and continue kneading until the dough is evenly colored. 

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it cool for about an hour in the fridge. 

Before you take the dough out of the fridge, make the filling: 

Melt the butter in a pot. 

Grate both chocolates finely into a bowl. Add the chopped hazelnuts, the hazelnut brittle, the sugar and the cinnamon and mix. 

Pour the melted hot butter over the chocolate-mixture and mix well until the chocolate is melted and you have a creamy texture surrounding the crunchy nuts and brittle. 

Sprinkle your working surface lightly with flour and roll the dough out thinly. 

If you can't roll out a measured square (I at least can't!), cut out a square and put the rest of the dough to the side. 

Spoon some of the chocolate-mixture onto the dough-square and spread thinly – be careful to not damage the dough by scratching the nuts and the brittle into the dough! 

Roll the dough up until you have – well – a dough-roll. 

Wrap the roll in plastic wrap and let it cool for another hour in the fridge. 

Continue with the rest of the dough (set aside from cutting out the square) until all the dough and chocolate-mixture is processed. 

Preheat the oven to 160 C° (320 F°) and line a baking tray with a baking sheet. 

Take one dough-roll from the fridge, cut it into slices and place the slices on the baking tray. 

Bake for about 8-10 minutes and then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool off. 

Continue until all your dough-rolls are baked. 


Zubereitung: 
Vermische das Mehl, die weiche Butter, den Zucker, den braunen Zucker, die Eier und die Prise Salz und verknete alles mit dem Mixer (Knethaken), bis Du einen ebenmäßigen Teig hast. 
Füge eine Messerspitze Icing Color hinzu und knete weiter, bis der Teig gleichmäßig eingefärbt ist. 
Wickel den Teig in Frischhaltefolie und stell' ihn mindestens eine Stunde im Kühlschrank kalt. 
Bevor Du den Teig aus dem Kühlschrank nimmt, bereite die Füllung zu: 
Schmelz die Butter in einem Topf. 
Raspel beide Schokoladen in eine Schüssel und gib die gehackten Nüsse, das Krokant, den Zucker und den Zimt dazu. 
Gieß die heiße Butter über die Schokoladen-Mischung und verrühre alles, bis eine cremig-knusprige Masse entsteht. 
Bestäube Deine Arbeitsfläche mit Mehl und roll' den Teig zu einem dünnen Viereck aus. Wenn Du kein gleichmäßiges Viereck hinkriegst (ich schaff' das jedenfalls nie!), dann schneide eins aus und leg' den Rest des Teigs vorerst zur Seite. 
Löffel einen Teil der Schokoladen-Mischung auf den ausgerollten Teig und verteile sie mit einem Messer. Sei vorsichtig, dass Du den Teig nicht kaputt machst, indem Du die Nüsse und das Krokant in den Teig hinein schabst. 
Rolle den Teig zu einer – nun ja – Teigrolle (was auch sonst?)  auf, wickel' die Rolle in Frischhaltefolie und leg' sie noch einmal für etwa eine Stunde in den Kühlschrank. 
Wiederhole diesen Vorgang, bis der Rest des Teigs (vom Viereck-Ausschneiden) und die Schokoladen-Mischung aufgebraucht sind. 
Heize den Ofen auf 160 C° vor. 
Nimm eine Teigrolle aus dem Kühlschrank, schneide sie in Scheiben und leg' die Scheiben auf ein mit Backpapier belegtes Blech. 
Back' die Kekse etwa 8-10 Minuten lang und leg' sie dann zum Abkühlen auf ein Küchenrost. 
Wiederhole diesen Vorgang bis alle Rollen gebacken sind. 

Guten Appetit, xox

Petits Fours à la Double-Choc-Cheesecake-Brownie

Petit Fours is French and means "little oven" – or "little fiasco". However, the latter really does not apply for these "little bits" (what they are known as). That is, unless you mean the fiasco that might happen to your hips if you indulge in a little bit too many "little bits". But we don't even want to think about that now – no, definitely not! And they are so small anyway – no reason to panic. These Petits Fours are like little pralines: So rich and delicious that only one will soothe your sweet tooth and pamper your soul – promise!

Ingredients for the chocolate dough: 

- 100 g dark chocolate (70%)

- 100 g butter 

- 2 eggs 

- 200 g sugar 

- 100 g flour

Ingredients for the cream: 

- 50 g butter (at room temperature) 

- 150 g cream cheese 

- 80 g sugar 

- 2 eggs

- 40 g flour 

- 1 vanilla bean

- dark chocolate coating (be generous – you'll easily need 3 packages)

- dark chocolate decoration, here I used "Schwartau Schoko Dekor" 

Preparation:

Line a square-cut springform pan (24 x 24 cm) with a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 175 C° (350 F°).
For the chocolate dough, break the chocolate into a bowl, add butter and place over a pot with hot water. Melt the chocolate and the butter stirring until smooth. Set aside to cool. 
Mix eggs and sugar. Add chocolate-butter-mixture and flour. 
For the cream, mix cream cheese and butter. Then add sugar, eggs, flour and scrape the inside of the vanilla bean into the mixture. 
Pour the chocolate dough into the springform pan, spread evenly and cover with the cream-mixture. 
Bake the brownie for about 30 minutes and then leave it in the springform pan until it's cooled off. The brownie rises in the oven and then deflates again when you take it out – no need to panic, you didn't just ruin your brownie, that's normal. 
Break the chocolate coating into a bowl, place over a pot with hot water and melt stirring until smooth. 
Cut the cooled off brownie into little pieces (remember: here are our Petits Fours!), cover them with chocolate coating and finish with chocolate decoration.


Zubereitung: 
Belege eine quadratische Springform (24 x 24 cm) mit Backpapier und heize den Ofen auf 175 C° vor. 
Für den Schokoladenteig zerbrichst Du die Schokolade und gibst sie zusammen mit der Butter in eine Schüssel. Schmelze beides unter ständigem Rühren im Wasserbad. Stell' die Mischung zum Abkühlen zur Seite. 
Rühre Zucker und Eier schaumig, gib dann die Schoko-Butter-Mischung sowie das Mehl dazu und mixe alles mit dem Handrührgerät (Schneebesen) gut durch. 
Für die Creme vermischst Du den Frischkäse und die weiche Butter und gibst dann den Zucker, die Eier, das Mehl und das Mark der ausgekratzten Vanilleschote dazu.  
Verteile den Schokoladenteig in der Springform und gieße die Creme gleichmäßig darüber, so dass der Teig vollständig bedeckt ist. 
Back' den Brownie etwa 30 Minuten lang und lass' ihn dann zum Abkühlen in der Springform. Der Brownie geht im Ofen auf und fällt dann beim Abkühlen wieder in sich zusammen. Keine Panik: Du hast nicht Deinen Brownie versaut – das gehört so. 
Schmelze die Schokoladenkuvertüre unter ständigem Rühren im Wasserbad. 
Schneide den abgekühlten Brownie in kleine Stücke (richtig: die Petits Fours), bedecke sie mit der geschmolzenen Schokoladenkuvertüre und verziere sie mit Schoko-Dekor. 


Guten Appetit! xox

Lemon-Cream-Cheese-Dream

This cake is one of my favorites – it's low in calories (even more so if you go with low fat cream cheese), it's quick and it's pretty much idiotproof – well, that is, if you're not doing laundry and talking on the phone while preparing … and yes, I did forget the sugar on one occasion. But as long as you're no testing your multi-tasking-skills, whipping together this creamy lemon-dream is as easy as 1-2-3. And the best: You don't even have to switch the oven on – no burning your hands (I'm really good at that one), and in summer you don't have to dread overheating your house to tropical temperatures when it really should be a cool retreat. And nevertheless you can impress your guests with a mouth-watering cake. What more can you ask for?

Ingredients:

- 200 g sponge fingers (for my Germans: Löffelbiskuit)

- 150 g butter 

- 525 g cream cheese (low fat if you're watching your calories) 

- 300 g plain yogurt  

- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 

- 2 sachets powdered gelatin (30 g), my choice is "Dr. Oetker Gelatine fix"

- 75 g sugar 

- Wilton Icing Color Lemon Yellow 

- Wilton White Decorating Icing 

- 1 lime

- powdered sugar for decorating  

Preparation:
Line a small round springform pan (18-20 cm) with a baking sheet. 
Crush the sponge fingers, melt the butter in a pot and mix both creating a slightly chunky dough. 
Dump the dough into the springform pan, spread evenly and press lightly for a firm cake base. 
Mix cream cheese, yogurt, lemon juice and sugar. 
Add powdered gelatin and a drop of icing color and mix well until evenly colored. 
Pour the cream-cheese-mixture on the cake base, spread evenly and let the cake cool for at least 3 hours in the fridge (I let it sit over night).
Cut the lime into thin slices, cut each slice once to the middle and twist to form a small spiral. Set on the middle of the cake and sprinkle with powdered sugar. 
Finish with decorating icing on the outer rim. 


Zubereitung: 
Belege eine kleine, runde Springform (18-20 cm) mit Backpapier.
Zerbrösel' die Löffelbiskuits (ich tu' sie dafür in eine Tüte, mach' einen Knoten rein und hau' mit dem Nudelholz drauf), schmelze die Butter in einem Topf und vermische beides, so dass ein weiche Pampe (der Tortenboden) entsteht. 
Kipp' die Pampe in die Springform, verteile sie gleichmäßig und drück' sie leicht an. Tata: der Tortenboden! 
Vermische Frischkäse, Joghurt, Zucker und Zitronensaft mit dem Mixer (Schneebesen). 
Gib dann die gemahlene Gelatine und eine Messerspitze Icing Color dazu und mix' weiter, bis die Frischkäsemischung gleichmäßig eingefärbt ist. 
Verteile die Frischkäsemischung in der Springform, streich sie mit einem Messer glatt und stell' die Torte mindestens 3 Stunden (besser über Nacht) im Kühlschrank kalt. 
Schneide die Limette in dünne Scheiben und diese wiederum an einer Seite bis zur Mitte ein. Dreh' die Scheiben ein, damit eine kleine Spirale entsteht. Setze diese in die Mitte der Torte und bestäube sie mit Puderzucker. 
Zum Schluss verziere den Rand der Torte mit dem Decorating Icing. 

Guten Appetit, xox

X-Mas goes Chocolate-Peppermint

Okay – so actually I was going to make christmas cookies. I mean REAL christmas cookies ... Red and green, juicy and fruity. Everything was running smoothly until the dough decided to go for "Hulk"-green instead of a nice, dark christmas-tree-shade. Now what? Throw it out and start new? No, just play it by ear and see what happens – how about a little peppermint? Some chocolate decoration? Okay, let's go with that! 
The result: chocolate-peppermint-cookies – and everyone loved them! 

Ingredients:

- 500 g flour

- 200 g sugar 

- 200 g butter (at room temperature)

- 1 sachet vanilla sugar (8 g) 

- 1 sachet baking powder (8 g) 

- 4 eggs

- dark chocolate coating 

- peppermint sirup 

- Wilton Icing Color Leaf Green (as if! – "Hulk"-Green is far more accurate)

Preparation:

Combine flour and baking powder and sift into a large bowl. 
Add sugar, vanilla sugar, eggs and butter and knead until you have a smooth dough. 
Add 2 drops of icing color and 2-3 tablespoons of peppermint sirup (or more if you want a more intense peppermint taste) and keep kneading until the dough is evenly colored. 
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it cool for at least 1 hour (I let it sit over night) in the fridge. 
Preheat oven to 170 C° (340 F°). 
Sprinkle your working surface lightly with flour, roll out the dough, cut out the cookies with you favorite cookie cutters and place them on a baking sheet. 
Bake for about 8 minutes and then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. 
Break the chocolate coating into a bowl, place over a pot with hot water and melt the chocolate stirring until smooth. 
Decorate the cookies with the melted chocolate.


Zubereitung:
Vermische Mehl und Backpulver und siebe die Mischung in eine Schüssel. 
Gib Zucker, Vanillezucker, Eier und Butter dazu und knete alles mit dem Mixer (Knethaken) gut durch, bis Du einen ebenmäßigen Teig hast.
Gib 2 Messerspitzen Icing Color und 2-3 EL Pfefferminzsirup (oder mehr, wenn Du einen intensiveren Geschmack willst) dazu und knete weiter, bis der Teig gleichmäßig eingefärbt ist. 
Wickel den Teig in Frischhaltefolie ein und stell' ihn mindestens eine Stunde (besser über Nacht) im Kühlschrank kalt. 
Heize den Ofen auf 170 C° vor. 
Bestäube Deine Arbeitsfläche mit Mehl, roll' den Teig darauf aus, steche Deine Lieblingsfiguren aus und lege sie vorsichtig auf ein mit Backpapier belegtes Blech. 
Backe Deine Plätzchen etwa 8 Minuten und lege sie dann vorsichtig zum Abkühlen auf ein Küchenrost. 
Schmelze die Schokoladenkuvertüre unter ständigem Rühren im Wasserbad und verziere die Plätzchen damit. 


Guten Appetit, xox

My Disneyland of Sweets & Treats

I love food – I always have. Especially cakes, cupcakes and cookies – just can't seem to get enough of them! Seriously: I was born to eat sweets. As long as I can remember, there always was a sweet candy-scent coming from our kitchen – all year round. Most of the times there was no special occasion for our baking-sessions, but who needs one anyway? Caramel Pecan Tartlets, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Angel Food Cake, Peanutbutter Cupcakes … As a child I dreamed of having cake for breakfast, lunch and dinner – every day. And I dreamed of building my own Disneyland of sweets – stuff yourself stupid, virtually. 

But like everyone I grew up, left my parents home, went to university and started my career as a journalist. And all of a sudden I was living life in the fast and faster lane and not finding any time at all to enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner (and yes, by then I had discovered that there are other yummy foods outside of cake and cookies!). Instead I was shoveling down bagels for breakfast, chinese take-aways for lunch and to-the-office-delivered ham-and-mushroom-pizzas for dinner in between conferences, phone calls and deadlines (no wonder I was not only having severe stomach problems but also splitting head aches). My fridge stayed empty, the kitchen cold.   

At this culinary low point I met HIM. And I had to tell him the truth – seriously: How should I have explained my hysteric "NO, we can NOT have dinner at my place!" But since he wouldn't listen (and still doesn't by the way), he dared to open the fridge and stared into, well… brightly lit and immaculate emptiness. He gave my a speechless You-can't-possibly-be-serious-look before he started – YES! – to COOK! And after a great dinner made of some staples that even I had once hidden and then forgotten in my cupboards and a bottle of red wine from the gas station, I knew: I want more! Casi has changed a lot – possibly everything. I have swapped working overtime for chummy evenings in the kitchen, I feed my – no, by now our – fridge regularly and I loathe chinese take-aways. I have to admit: HE is the cook, but I am working on realizing my dream of my Disneyland of sweets and treats – with this page "Stuff Yourself Stupid With Steffi". And you all are very welcome to join me!