Sunday, February 22, 2009

4 thumbs up for this butterscotch almond crunch thumbprint!

The saying goes " Give only what you want to receive." Well, I have been working on this recipe to make the end result more than just "great and was inspired by my butterscotch cat here in "All my Giddy Kitties"!!! I have not made dessert since December and I figured now was as good a time as any especially when a good friend asked me to bake for the less fortunate! What I received in return were many" dirty chocolaty faces", all 40 of them and most importantly "smiles!"

This is also my entry for a garnishing event hosted by Food Fanatic also Chitra Ammas kitchen for her kitchen masterpiece event. See details below!!

I really have no rules where presentation and garnishing are concerned. I will use just about anything to complement the main dish. The edgier and the more unconventional, the better!

These are butterscotch almond crunch thumbprints with a stencil of a bear made from dark cocoa powder as a garnish. I used the tip of a skewer to "draw the strings that is tied to the balloons." These thumbprints have melted dark and butterscotch chocolate and this is my "kid" version of the presentation. The dough itself is made with very little sugar so it is not that sweet!





Please lick my tummy! I love you thissssss
much!




Visit Food Fanatic, click on her logo below for more on this beautiful event!




This is the more " grown up" presentation with the
butterscotch mousse and cream on the inside. The
taste.....naughty but oh! so nice! It is a close second
to S.. and being seduced!




This " buttery creamy mousse" reminds me of a South
African toffee ice pop I used to love!

Ryk en lekker!








Lightly brush the melted chocolate inside the cavities!
Use "Valrhona Gran Couva" for the dark chocolate. I
received a few bars from the manufacturer to try in my
desserts. Now I am hooked!!!




Praline: this is a half cup of organic sugar and three oz.
of almonds. Pour the organic sugar in a heavy bottom pan
and cook over medium heat until golden. Place
the almonds evenly on well sprayed parchment and
then pour the melted sugar evenly over the almonds.





When the Praline is cooled down, process in a food
processor to this consistency below. Or you can use a
mallet to crush the praline.




Brush the balls with beaten egg-
white and then roll into the praline.
Place these unbaked thumbprints
about two inches apart. They do spread!
Once baked and the aroma hits the "fan,"
you will have friends (..... and maybe admirers ) , ones you never
knew you had!!




These butterscotch chocolate morsels are the stars in my "Butterscotch
almond crunch thumbprints!




Food Fanatic is hosting a "garnishing and food presentation" event. Check out her site for details! Now this is an event that is just so much fun!!!Click on the logo below!




Recipe: Makes about 12 ( I bet you are going to triple this recipe!!!!!)

Please use organic ingredients when possible
  • 3 T sugar
  • 1 stick unsalted European Butter
  • pinch of kosher salt
  • 1 egg yolk( use the egg white as indicated below) Egg-lands best please!
  • 1 t vanilla ( I use the one from Santo Domingo)
  • 2 oz melted butterscotch morsels( use the rest for filling cavities}
  • 3 t instant butterscotch pudding ( kosher kind)
  • 1 cup Mc Arthur's ( I meant to say King Arthur ha! ha! ) all purpose flour( sifted) plus 3- 4 T extra if dough is too wet.
  • some dark chocolate to fill cavities
  • whipped heavy cream
Cream the sugar and the butter and the salt until creamy in your Kitchenaid ( I make times four the amount). Add the vanilla, the yolk and incorporate and then add the melted butterscotch morsels and mix again. Sift the flour and the butterscotch pudding together and incorporate this by hand , do not overmix, and then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Make little balls and then brush with beaten egg white and roll into the praline. Make the indentations with your thumb and bake at 350 ( pre-heated) degrees for 15 mins until golden. Take the cookies out after 10 mins. of baking time and use the back of a wooden spoon to define the hole again and then place back in the oven for that last 5 mins. of baking time. Cool completely! I make mine the day before and then the next day I fill the cavities with chocolate so that cookies are completely dry on the inside.

For the mousse:
Make the rest of the butterscotch instant pudding according to package directions with very little milk and lighten this with some organic whipped cream. You can also pipe the two tone colors with the butterscotch mousse and the plain whipped cream like in my picture above.


This entry is also going to Chitra for a blog b/day masterpiece event! Visit and enter and have some fun!!! Click on her logo below!







Nazarina A

55 comments:

Anonymous said...

Spot on, spot on! You did it again and done it fabulously!!! I LOVE these.. I really do!

Anonymous said...

I have been thinking it is easy to come by raw sugar here in Japan than the refined, that would be organic and not processed?

Dibs said...

Hello Nazarina - happy chocolaty faces must be really rewarding to see after your efforts!

By the way I am running an event called the 'Kitchen Masterpiece'to celebrate outr blog event. The last sate was 19th Feb - however, I see that your choclate powder teddys fit the theme like a glove! Will you please please send this in for the event? :-)

http://chitra-ammas-kitchen.blogspot.com/2009/01/blog-birthday-and-announcing-kitchen.html

Dibs said...

...I meant "celebrate our blog birthday" (we turned 1!!)

lubnakarim06 said...

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow. This is the first expresion......Awesome dear. Love the coco teddy. Very cute. I like to lick and lick the cute chocolaty belly......

Tangled Noodle said...

These thumbprint cookies look so delicious and your bear presentation is absolutely adorable! I love how you rolled them in the crushed pralines but the mousse-topped ones are my favorite.

Sara said...

Those cookies look so delicious! I love thumbprint cookies.

Anonymous said...

Wow, I love that coco bear - that's so neat! The thumbprint cookies look super delicious!

Jo A. T.B. said...

Hi Nazarina,

Wow your thumbprints look so good! They are lush! I never thought of putting chocolate or butterscotch, or even mousse. To die for.

I make a version with icing, and everyone loves it. Next time I make them, I'll take a photo for you! Mine has very little sugar in the cookie itself like yours! I would go crazy over the chocolate ones! I love almonds too, I'm sure they add a special taste to your cookies! Your bear is so cute too in chocolate! :)

Dewi said...

OMG, that look so delicious Naz.
Cheers,
Elra

Reeni said...

Those are so beautifully delicious!! The bear is adorable!

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

These cookies look incredibly scrumptious and so pretty! What a great idea...

Cheers,

Rosa

Unknown said...

you make the cutest things, edible or not, they always look divine... bet they are yummy too... :)

Anonymous said...

Those are really cute:-) nice idea. & brainstormed an adult version:-) Love ur flavors... ur recipes are very very unique, always with a different touch.

Anonymous said...

How clever doing the cocoa for the kid's presentation! They're so cute :)

Selba said...

Oh.... so cuteeee... and must be delicious!!! I like the bear with the butterscotch almond....

Unknown said...

So cute! They look very delicious too! I love anything praline.

Pam said...

They look absolutely delicious and very pretty too. Great recipe.

ochikeron said...

Hi Nazarina,

Always beautiful presentation!!!
I wish I could try out your desserts someday! How do you come up with these ideas? I think you have a lot of special gifts ;)

Amy said...

Wow. It all looks wonderful! I especially love the teddy bear presentation though :)

Food For Tots said...

Sorry, I am a bit late. It should be 41 of them! 10 thumbs up for this delicious crunch!

Yasmeen said...

Oh Naz!you certainly had lot of skill making such cute cookies, all to bringing smiles on needy souls:)

Couture Carrie said...

Divine, Nazarina! I love the chocolate detailing - hope you win the garnishing event!!

xoxox,
CC

NKP said...

Beautiful! And how wonderful of you to bake for the children.
Thanks for the info re the garnishing event - a friend was just asking me if I knew of one!

Bunny said...

You are absolutely amazing!! These are beautiful!!

MaryBeth said...

I am always just amazed by everything you do, every picture is flawless and absolutely perfect.

Chitra said...

wowoowoowow,drool worthyy..fantastic pics:)Lip smacking!!

Sophia Lee said...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!! this is SO pretty and amazing!!! LOVE that chocolate panda! you are a TERRIFIC baker and artist! but if you presented them to me like that...I don't know if I'll be able to bear to eat it! way too pretty!

Premyscakes said...

Hi Nazarina, Those are really adorable and looks delicious.

Culinary Wannabe said...

Your thumbprints are so precious! The kid's design is amazing! Too pretty to eat...almost. :)

grace said...

i'd lick that bear's tummy and then eat it whole--i love butterscotch, and your cookies are marvelous!

Cynthia said...

You constantly leave me speechless with your creativity.

Colleen said...

I don't use nearly enough butterscotch as I should. And thanks for visiting my blog!

vanillasugarblog said...

You know I always look forward to your new posts. I never know what's coming, what's been kicked up a notch and what's been completely done over.
I adore these and I adore the teddy presentation even more. Nice.

Teresa Cordero Cordell said...

Nazarina, you rock my young friend. How delicious is this recipe, and you presentation is magnificent. I'm upping the thumbs up to 10!

Recipeswap said...

How do u do it all the time??????u just seem to be getting better and creatively creative.

SASSY MOM said...

Those really look good and sinful. But I love them, I'm a sweet tooth -- so I am now drooling ;-)

Anonymous said...

I looooove butterscotch!
Your little bear is so cute- did you make the stencil yourself?

Anonymous said...

that all looks amazingly delicious! Such pretty presentation too, of course.

Anjum said...

Mashallah...zabardast..ur fabulous...

La Bella Cooks said...

These look fantastic! Very impressive.

Chocolate Shavings said...

Those look delicious!

Donna-FFW said...

My Goodness, these look to die for delicious!! They are like little pieces of Heaven. I want one

Cakelaw said...

These look gorgeous!!! And the Big Hugs teddy bear plate is just too cute.

kimvee said...

The bear dessert is too cute!! I love it, it looks delicious!

Lucy..♥ said...

Great presentation for these wonderful cookies. I just love the fillings, you've out done yourself once again!

Anonymous said...

I never got to try anything like this on any of my visits to South Africa! Looks delish!!!

--Marc

Jennifer said...

CUTEST pictures!!! Those look amazing..chocolate, butterscotch & crunchy?! YUM!!

Teresa said...

Wow they look amazing.

Live.Love.Eat said...

You've done it again. How creative and yummy that all looks. Close second to S, huh? Too funny!!!!!

On The Wings Of Love said...

Wow- what an amazing blog you have here ! Everything looks so delish I don't know where to start !

I watched the video on Chai marsala tea - my favourite. I'll have to try that !

Thanks for popping by my blog - I enjoyed your visit !

Cheers
Bre
Chantilly Grace

The Purple Carrot said...

So neat! (and YUM!)

Malar Gandhi said...

Whooo, this makes me crave for it...looks so yummy, simply irrestitable!:)

Sonal said...

thanks nanzarina for the comment you gave in my blog..as now i found you!!!
hey..these are just amazing. i had this great fear from bakery items ..as all mine got into terrible disastor.but seeing them i will surely give them a try.

MaryBeth said...

Nazarina...Please stop in for a visit, I have something for you!