Ithaca Beer Co 9.27.13

Ithaca Beer Co, 122 Ithaca Beer Dr., Ithaca, NY

Beer samples at Ithaca Beer Co.  I lived in Ithaca for 6 years, but never ventured out here.  The brewery is out near Buttermilk Falls.  They have lunch food and do tours on the weekends.

Just for fun, rainbow beer!

My favorites were Apricot Wheat, Country Pumpkin, and the dark one that wasn't Nut Brown or the Smoked Porter.

Chocolate caramel apple 9.25.13

Richardson’s Candy Kitchen, 500 Greenfield Road, Deerfield, MA

Chocolate caramel apple.  Delicious!

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory 9.24.13

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory, 1281 Waterbury Stowe Rd, Waterbury, VT

I got chocolate peanut butter ice cream and lemon liz greek yogurt.  There’s also a picture of a half eaten brownie sundae.  The sample flavor on the tour was triple caramel chunk.

Here's the browie sundae.

Here's the chocolate peanut butter.  I ate the lemon liz already.

Peanut butter cookies 9.18.13

More peanut butter cookies.  I’m a fan of this recipe, just need to tweak the baking as I tend to overbake them.

Shortbread cookies 9.14.13

These are, hands down, the best shortbread cookies I’ve ever had.  They have excellent flavor and the perfect crumbliness. The texture from the rice flour is perfect. Recipe is from baking illustrated.

8 ¾ oz AP flour, preferable low protein
1 1/3 oz rice flour
5 oz superfine sugar
½ t salt
8 oz cold butter

Mix flours and sugar (reserve 1 T for sprinkling) and salt.  Cut butter into 1/ 2 in cubes and toss with flour mixture.  Mix until dough is pale yellow and resembles damp crumbs.  Mold shortbread into 9 inch pan and cut out center circle (2 in). preheat oven 425. Turn oven down to 300 when you place shortbread in the oven Bake 20 mins, then score and pierce the shortbread. Bake another 40 mins until pale gold. Sprinkle sugar and cut while cookies are still hot. Cool at least 3 hours.

This is after the dough is initially baked for 20 mins.

Here the dough is baked 20 minutes, then pierced with a wooden skewer.  I used my dough knife to make the straight cuts.

Here's the final baked cookie.  It has great color.

Granola bars 9.13.13

I’m working on my granola bar recipe.  Here’s my latest idea using a crispy rice mixing method. The current recipe is a little too heavy. I’m hoping that heating the syrup will thin the sugar mixture and make it easier to coat the oat mixture.

Yields one 8x8 pan

3 c oats
2 c rice
½ c nuts
1/2 c peanut butter
¼ c honey
¼ c agave (or corn syrup or tapioca syrup)
½ c brown sugar
1/8 t salt

Double Chocolate Cookies 9.10.13

This recipe is from Baking Illustrated.  The cookies tasted delicious but it was hard not to overbake them, especially since I was scooping the dough to be bite-sized.

10 oz AP flour
1.5 oz dutch-processed cocoa
2 t baking powder
½ t salt
16 oz semisweet chocolate
4 large eggs
2 t vanilla extract
2 t instant coffee or espresso powder
5 oz butter, softened but still cool
10.5 oz light brown sugar
3.5 oz sugar

Sift dries. Melt chocolate and cool. Lightly beat eggs, vanilla and coffee.  Cream butters and sugars.  Beat in egg mixture, then add chocolate.  Add dry ingredients carefully.  Wrap with plastic and let stand until batter consistency is scoopable and fudge-like, about 30 minutes. Bake 350  about 10 minutes, when edges are set but middles are still very soft.

Salah's Scoops 8.27.13

Salah’s Scoops, Washington St, Gloucester, MA

I got a kiddie size cone and it was so big I couldn’t even finish it. Salah’s serves Richardson's ice cream.  This was mint chocolate chip.

Froyoworld 8.24.13

Froyoworld, 274 Franklin Village Drive, Franklin, MA

I ate my froyo so fast I had to take a picture of my neighbors froyo.  That said, my froyo was nothing but delicious.