Wheat Berry GREEN Market Salad

So, we went to the farmer's market today and, as always, we hadn't managed to finish off the stuff we bought last week! So, of course, we made a fruit salad, some blueberry water melon agua fresca, and we made a great summer wheat berry salad with the remaining veggies/herbs we had in our refrigerator. Feel free to improvise as much as you want and remove ingredients you don't like. It's a very free form salad. The wheat berries are more of an accompanying roll than a star player, but it's a nice nutty note to the salad. Feel free to use whatever pantry whole grain you have -- quinoa, bulgar, barley, couscous, or even (brown) rice. Adjust cooking time/method accordingly.

Makes A LOT of salad, Probably enough for 5-8 people to eat as a 'main' course. So, it makes lots of leftovers good for the week. This is the reason I keep the 'main' salad separate from the topping (which won't keep as well together).

For wheat berries
1 cup dried wheat berries
3.5 cups water
1/2 tsp salt

Ingredients for base salad [Can be made ahead]
2-4 cups roughly chopped fresh spinach or arugula [do NOT use a food processor!] -- To be honest, I just used as much spinach as a had, probably a lot more than this!
1 bunch cilantro (and/or parsley), minced [use a food processor if you have one]
1/2 bunch mint, minced [food processor]
1 small onion, chopped [food processor]
1 bell pepper diced small [do NOT use a food processor!]
1-2 small cucumbers, diced small [no food processor]

"Toppings" [Prepare right before serving]
1/2-1 cup (cherry) tomatoes, halved
1-2 avocados, diced into 3/4 inch cubes
4-6 oz (french) feta or goat cheese, crumbled
juice of 1-2 lemons [to taste]
2-4 tablespoons of olive oil [to taste]
salt [to taste]

1. Put the dried wheat berries, water, and 1/2 tsp salt into a large pot over medium high heat and allow to come to a rolling bowl. Then lower to a simmer, cover, and cook for about an hour. If some of the water won't cook out after the wheat berries become soft, uncover and then allow the water to evaporate off. Stash the wheat berries in the freezer or refrigerator to cool off.

2. While the wheat berries are cooling, chop and mix all the ingredients for the base salad. When the wheat berries are cool/lukewarm, add them to the base salad and mix.

3. When ready to serve, mix the avocados, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. If you are only serving a portion of the recipe (and stashing the rest for later), I recommend halving the topping amounts.
-For two people eating I would go with about 2 dozen cherry tomatoes, 1/2 of an avocado, 2 ounces of feta cheese, juice from half a lemon, and a tablespoon of olive oil.

4. On a large-ish plate, put a ladle full of the main salad. Next, add some of the avocado [reserving the liquid for later], about a dozen cherry tomatoes [halved], a half to an ounceish of crumbled feta cheese [1 inch cube, crumbled], and then drizzle a spoonful or two of the reserved avocado/lemon/olive oil juice on top of the salad as a dressing.

[Vegan] Coconut Ice Pops

It's SOOO hot here in the Bay Area, so I had to make a nice frozen treat. I have yet to receive what I believe is an ice cream attachment for my new kitchenaid standmixer [birthday gifts, did I mention it's my birthday today?] so I had to settle for ice pops! Don't feel bad for me though, ice pops are mighty delicious.

I saw a recipe for coconut ice pops, and I knew I just had to try to make some. [Note, I discovered them by using tastespotting which has become one of my new obsessions.]

cjr doesn't do so well with the milk so I decided to make them with soy, but you can make them with evaporated or regular/nonfat milk as well. This recipe makes enough for just over 12 small popsicles [my popsicle molds hold only 1/4 cup each -- tested by filling the mold with water and then pouring into a measuring cup]. It will obviously make more/less depending on the size of yoru molds. It makes just over 3 cups of popsicle mix. I'll leave the math up to you guys!

Ingredients:
1 14 oz can (light) coconut milk
12 oz [1.5 cups] soy milk, regular/lowfat/nonfat milk, or (fat free) evaporated milk
1/2 cup powdered sugar* (to taste)
1/2 cup sweetened coconut**
2 tsp vanilla or coconut extract

*if you want to use agave nectar, I think you could probably get away with using about 1/5-1/4 cup (to taste) here. Just make sure to mix it in really well so it dissolves. Do not use granulated sugar, it will produce a granulated texture. If you want to use something like sucanat you'll probably be best warming the mixture enough until the sugar dissolves in it, make sure not to boil though -- scalded/burnt milk is bad news.

**we actually used unsweetened coconut, so we upped the sugar to about 3/4 cup.

Instructions [SO EASY].

Mix all the ingredients well, pour the liquid into the popsicle molds [leave a teensy bit of room for expansion!] and freeze overnight. ENJOY!

A note on sugar in frozen treats: things taste less sweet when frozen, so as you test your popsicle mixture, you might want to take that into account and prepare the mix on the just slightly sweeter than you like side.

Tasty Travels: NYC Food Map

I also made a NYC food map of some of the places I tried, some of the places I meant to try, and some of the places I just love.


View NYC Treats in a larger map

Bay Area Food Map

Besides baking, I do "occasionally" eat out.

I've made a map of the places I've grown to love or want to try.

You can subscribe to the rss feed by adding this to your favorite rss following-thingie [I like google reader].


View Bay Area Treats in a larger map

Monkey Bread [better for you Banana Bread]

Once again, I ended up with some overripe bananas, so, as always... when life hands you almost bad bananas, make banana bread!

Despite the whole wheat flour, this cake is wonderfully light and moist and I totally forgot it was not white flour (most Banana Bread is so dark colored that it's easy to hide whole wheat flour in there!)

I started with this basic recipe from cooking light found here and added some of my own twists
Key differences
-No raisins, dark rum, or apple juice.
-White flour -> Whole Wheat Flour
-Walnuts -> Pecans (I prefer them, but I like them both).
-Buttermilk -> Yogurt (didn't have buttermilk)
-Brown Sugar -> Turbinado Sugar
-Everything is multiplied by 1.5 because I had 3/4 cup banana not 1/2 cup.
-Topping includes spices instead of just plain powdered sugar

Ingredients:
1.5 cups whole wheat flour (all-purpose is fine too)
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup + 2 tablespoons turbinado or brown sugar
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup mashed banana (about 2 medium overripe bananas)
1/4 cup + 0.5 tablespoons nonfat plain yogurt [I used the greek variety]
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
3 large egg whites [I used the ones in the carton]
1/2 cup chopped pecans [or walnuts, whatever you like]
Cooking spray

For topping combine:
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
OR
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a small bowl combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder and mix to combine.

3. Using a mixer, cream the sugar and the butter together until uniform consistency is reached. Next, add the banana, yogurt, vanilla, and egg whites. When that is well combined, add the flour mixture slowly and on low mixer speed until combined. Finally, add the nuts and mix into the batter.

4. Spray a 9x11 glass baking dish with cooking spray and add the batter. Bake in the oven for 25-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

5. When cake is cool (otherwise the topping will melt into the cake!), cut into about 24 squares and sprinkle [I use a small strainer to do this] the powdered sugar + spice mixture on top.

Final notes:
1. Like the Blueberry-Banana muffins that came before them, these would make lovely (mini) muffins! Just lower the baking time to 10-15 minutes if you go with this option.
2. This recipe is kind of a triumph of substitution. I removed two ingredients, switched the sugars, used yogurt instead of buttermilk, swapped walnuts for pecans, and made the flour into whole wheat and it still came out delicious and lovely. What have we learned: it's okay to stray from recipes if you do it with proper substitutions.

Apricot Preserves

To make my Rainbow Cupcakes I needed some apricot preserves so I decided to make some.
I used the SFGate Recipe from about 4 years ago. Here is a scaled down version of the recipe for those of us who don't plan on canning and want to use our preserves in a more immediate fashion.

Makes about 8-12 ounces of preserves.

Ingredients:
1 pound apricots [the weight is AFTER removing the pits]
1 pound sugar (or an amount equal to the weight of the apricots without their pits).
Kernels from 2 or 3 apricot pits [wrap some pits in a tea towel, and take a hammer to them to get out the little almond-like kernal in the center]* (Optional)
Juice of half a lemon

*Note on Kernels: Don't eat them. They contain trace amounts of cyanide (not really enough to kill you but I wouldn't take this chance!).

1. Heat the sugar in a 250 degree oven in a oven-safe container or cast iron dutch oven.
2. Next, place sugar, apricots, and lemon on stove on medium/high heat and stir frequently. Add the kernels to flavor the mixture (you can do this by placing the kernels in a small tea ball and letting it 'steep' or by just putting them in directly and fishing them out later).
3. Continue to stir frequently to avoid scorching.
4. In the meantime, place a few saucers in the freezer for the 'gel' test.
5. When the apricots start to break up (after 25-30 minutes), place a small dollop on one of the 'frozen' saucers. Place back in freezer for two minutes, if it comes out of the freezer runny, keep cooking. If it sets up nicely, you are done. Place your apricot preserves (fish out those kernels!) in the freezer and store for about a month.

What to do with preserves?
-Make my rainbow cupcakes!
-Use as a topping on greek yogurt.
-Use as a topping for pancakes, waffles, or french toast.
-Make a vinaigrette out of it by mixing it with balsamic vinegar (and some olive oil if you like).
-Use it to make a meat marinade (if that's your thing...).

Rainbow Cupcakes.

What could be hiding behind this inconspicuous ganache topped, black lining wrapped mini cupcakes???

Color!

I wanted to make a cupcake based on the traditional 7 Layer Cookie I used to eat at Italian bakeries as a kid. It worked remarkably well and while these cupcakes are certainly not as easy as pouring batter and topping with frosting, they are probably easier than making the traditional 7 Layer Cookie. [Note, mine only have 6 layers since they don't have any chocolate on the bottom!]

I didn't know how much the original recipe would make so I ended up making about 100 cupcakes! Here's a more scaled down version of my recipe.

Note on Almond Paste: Almond paste is not the same thing as Almond filling or marzipan. You can use the paste that comes in the 7oz tubes or the ones that come in the 8oz cans, just make sure to avoid "Almond Filling" and "Marzipan".

Rainbow Cupcakes
Makes about 24 mini cupcakes.

cupcake ingredients:
1 large egg, separated.
1/4 cup sugar
2 oz of Almond Paste
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 tsp almond extract [optional]
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
6 drops red food coloring
6 drops green food coloring
1/4 cup apricot preserves [heated and then strained, if you like]
1/4 cup raspberry preserves

ganache ingredients (adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Moskowitz & Terry Romero):
2 oz dark chocolate (chopped)
2 tablespoons soy milk
1 tablespoon maple syrup or agave nectar

Preparing cupcakes:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add 1 tablespoon of the sugar to the egg white and continue to whip until glossy stiff peaks form. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, beat almond paste and remaining sugar until combined. Next, add the butter and cream the mixture for about 3 minutes. Then add the yolks and extract (if using) and continue to beat. Finally, add the flour and salt and mix.

4. Take half of the egg mixture and fold into almond paste mixture. Gently fold the remaining half into the batter as well.

5. Split the batter into three equal parts [I used a scale for this]. One will be for the 'green' dough, one for the 'red', and one for the white.

6. In the green dough bowl add the green food coloring and fold into mixture. Repeat in the red green dough bowl with the red food coloring.

7. Line a mini muffin/cupcake tin with liners. Add a small (1/2 tsp) size dollop of green dough to the bottom of the cupcake liners. Using a toothpick or with the aid of something like a nyquil dosage cup and spread (or smoosh) it out to cover the bottom of the liner. Next, add an even smaller dollop of raspberry preserves right in the center of the green dough [maybe 1/4 tsp or smaller if possible]. On top of this dollop, add about the same amount of white dough as the amount you added of green dough. Again, try to spread it out best you can with a toothpick, but don't worry too much about this. Next, add an equally small dollop of apricot preserves and then, finally, add another layer of red dough. Try your best to spread it out with a toothpick.

8. Bake the cupcakes for 10-15 minutes until they spring back when you press on their tops (the toothpick test is useless when your cupcakes are filled with gooey preserves!).

9. Cool the cupcakes completely. Once the cupcakes are cooled, prepare the ganache.

10. To prepare the ganache, heat the soy milk (either in a microwave or a small sauce pan) until it starts to boil. Pour the hot soy milk over the chocolate and mix (keep mixing!) until the chocolate has fully melted. If the chocolate refuses to melt completely, put the mixture in the microwave for a few seconds (<20 seconds at a time) and stir after each heating until all chocolate is melted. Add the maple syrup or agave nectar and mix.

11. Using an offset spatula, "frost" the cupcakes with a thin layer of chocolate ganache and then store in the refrigerator to set.

Some notes for the future:
1. Filling the cupcake molds would probably be better done with some sort of piping bag/syringe/squirt bottle. This would help even things out a bit, but it requires at least 3 pastry tips of approximately equal size (which I don't have).
2. You can use any jam, all raspberry or all apricot even. Raspberry+Apricot is just the most traditional.
3. I really wanted to add some Orange Blossom Water to the batter to add a little extra something, but I decided to stick with the traditional cookie because that's the kind of gal I am.

I've decided to enter these cupcakes into the Iron Cupcake: Earth Summer Berries Challenge. In doing so, I must tell you about the prizes I'm competing for and the sponsors:

Our June ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:

• A sweet cupcake ID bracelet by INSANEJELLYFISH, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5021935
• A groovy linocut piece from BLOCKHEAD PRESS http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6108705
  
• a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery, http://www.acupcakery.com/
  
• PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

And the sponsors:
Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, http://www.fiestaproducts.com, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com, JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com; TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com; a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM http://www.upwithcupcakes.com/. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com .

But what do you ACTUALLY eat?

So you readers [and surely there must be some readers out there?] may be thinking that a girl cannot subsist on peppermint patties and cupcakes! You may even wonder, "What do you actually eat?"

This is a good question, while I do enjoy a good baked good at least once a week [I cannot resist Bake Sale Betty, especially the Lamingtons!] I try my best to eat reasonably - especially during the week.

Here, ladies and gentlemen, is what I typically eat.

Breakfast: Kashi Go Lean Cereal [protein!] + whole milk OR egg whites (remember, I actually dislike the yolks!).

Morning After Workout Snack: Banana

Lunch: Greek Yogurt [more protein!] + Cocoa Powder + a bit of sugar. Baby Carrots, Celery, Fruit (whatever is in season, these days it's cherries & stone fruit), some kind of carby-pretzel-y snack like Trader Joe's Pretzel Slim's. calcium chew. and fruit leather. not just any fruit leather, these guys.
[Note: this may seem like a lot, but actually it's a really small portion of everything. I am one of those variety over quantity people so I feel happier when I've eaten different things rather than a lot of one thing].

Afternoon snack: Edamame and/or half of a Clif Builder's Bar (depending on if I'm going to run/swim after work). Plus, the bars are a wee bit expensive, so I try to eat only half at a time. I also really enjoy the Luna white chocolate macadamia bar but I don't eat them that often.

Dinner: This is where I have the most variety in my day [ie not the same thing everyday]. Usually, if I'm not feeling too lazy I'll make a salad of mixed greens, spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, avocado [I need the fat!] balsamic vinegar, and some kid of sweet interesting thing [like strawberries, a cut up peach, or some dried fruit] . I'll usually pair that with a half cup to a cup of brown rice which I drizzle some lemon juice/olive oil on top. Or we'll break out a bag of gnocchi and add some spinach to it. [Note, that is NOT me in that video!].

After dinner snack: I really like a 1/3-1/2 ounce piece of dark chocolate and some peanut butter. Or my new favorite: Torta de Aceite

Throughout the day I drink cups of tea (with a touch of honey or sugar in the raw) and water. I don't drink soda because I prefer to eat my calories rather than to drink them. Cupcakes >> Coke.

I notice that I don't really eat enough fat during the day so I try to sneak it in whenever I can (see: after dinner snack). I highly recommend tracking what you eat (portions too!) for a few days because it's useful to see where you're lacking nutrition wise. I learned that on an avg day I would normally eat 10g of fat when I really should be getting 30g! (Oh no, poor me, I guess I'll have to eat some more peanut butter!) Also, I eat wayyy to much sugar.

In season fruit salad [or Farmer's Market Fruit Salad]

Our Farmer's Market is brimming with all kind of delicious fruits it's hard to know what to get. Here's a basic recipe that you can really change anyway you like, add different fruits as the season changes [even apples and oranges in fall!]. This amount serves about 2-4 depending on how much you want.

I've covered my basic stone fruit salad before, but I think it's the time to remind everyone just how delicious it is.

Ingredients
1 nectarine, diced
1 peach, diced
1 pluot or plum, diced
1/2 cup blueberries
12 cherries pitted (use the flat part of a big chef's knife) and roughly chopped

"Dressing"
1 tablespoon [21 grams] honey.
Juice of one lemon (or lime)
fresh mint, minced (optional)

1. Combine all the ingredients and mix.
2. Enjoy. (Make sure to get some of the precious dressing at the bottom of the bowl!)

Other things you can do: serve with ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream on top.

Or, if you're into the crunchy, you can add some slivered almonds and a dash of flax seeds!

Mini Blueberry Banana Muffins

I really wanted to try Fatfree Vegan's Banana Blueberry Bread but I didn't want to make a whole loaf [12 servings of bread] so I decided to make a third of the recipe (just 1 banana) and use my mini cupcake/muffin tray to make 16 mini muffins. I also used cream instead of soy milk because that's what I had in my fridge (and because I'm not a vegan).

Ingredients:
1 large banana
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tablespoons (30 g) of Vanilla Soy Milk, Regular Milk/Cream, or Apple Sauce
2.5 tablespoons (40 g) agave nectar or honey
2/3 cup (80 g) white whole wheat flour (or regular whole wheat flour)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 cup rinsed blueberries
Pam or butter for muffin tray.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. If you're using soy milk add the lemon juice to it and set aside to curdle for a few minutes. Otherwise, add it to the banana in a bowl and mash it with a fork. Add the agave nectar to the banana and then add the milk/cream/apple sauce to the banana bowl.
3. In a separate bowl mix the whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and pinch of salt.
4. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and combine (mixture will be thick). Fold in the blueberries.
5. Spray the muffin tray with pam or butter and then distribute in about 16 mini muffin slots [I had 8 empty on the tray].
6. Bake for 10-15 minute until a toothpick inserted into the muffins comes out clean.

Harissa

This is a spicy Tunisian pepper sauce [though we enjoyed it in our family and we're Moroccan...]

You'll have to find some good quality dried chili peppers. Anchos are good or New Mexico chilis if you can't find those.

This recipe comes from Joyce Goldstein's "Saffron Shores" cookbook.

Ingredients:
3 Dried Ancho Chili Peppers Soaked in Hot Water for 1 Hour
3 Garlic Cloves, Minced
2 tsp Cumin Seeds, toasted and ground (or just use 2 tsp ground cumin)
1 tsp Caraway Seeds, toasted and ground (or just use 1 tsp ground caraway) [Optional]
1 tsp Salt
Cayenne Pepper to taste
Olive oil for covering in jar

1. Remove stems and as many seeds as possible from the peppers.
2. Place chilis, garlic, and seasoning in blender or food processor and process into a paste
3. Place into a glass jar [preferably sterilized] and then cover with a half cm of olive oil.
4. Store in fridge for a few weeks [6ish?]

What to do with it?
1. Put it on food that you want to make spicy? Meats would be good. Falafel is pretty standard. Pretty good with omelets and any steamed/grilled veggies that need jazzing up! Don't take my word for it, take theirs.

Foods I Love/Hate

Perhaps from reading this blog (or for knowing me at all) you've already surmised there are some foods I love, and some that I hate. I kind of covered this when I went through America's most hated foods.

Here's a brief run down of things you may/may not see on my blog.

Foods I Hate:
1. Mayonnaise. No really, nothing compares to how much I hate this substance. It's an emulsion of fat and fat what more can I say? I understand the whole "moisture barrier for sandwich" idea, but really, I much prefer avocado. Tastier and more nutritious!

2. Egg yolks. I don't know, I just never liked the taste. As a kid I'd ask my mom for 'sunny side up' eggs and eat around the yolks. When I learned as a grown up that I could have JUST the egg whites, it was one of the best days of my life. Yes. I'm the person ordering the egg white who actually PREFERS the egg whites. My hate of egg yolks gets in the way of a lot of cookie recipes. I find many of these to be way too eggy for me.

3. Sour Cream. It tastes like rotten cream to me. [Seeing a trend?]

4. Pears. They are gritty. They remain the one fruit/vegetable that I really don't like. They're ok in baked goods I guess, but I can't eat them raw.

5. Raisins. I like grapes and I even like other dried fruit, but not raisins. As a child I once binged on raisins so bad that I threw up. I no longer eat them. Also, they look like chocolate chips, but are not. Yuck.

6. Doughnuts. They have a weird aftertaste. I'm ok w/the homemade kind. I think store bought has some weird old oil taste I can't stand.

7. Cheesecake. Cheese and cake? One or the other! Make up your minds! [Though I reserve a special place for tiramisu.. marscapone is only barely cheese!]

8. Coffee. It smells weird and tastes bitter. Not something I really want to acquire a taste for anyway.

9. Bacon. Technically, I've never had it, but the smell is just horrid and makes me ill.

10. Gelatin/Lard -- more of a peeve than anything else. Lots of candies and baked goods are made w/these ingredients when they could be made perfectly well w/non animal sources. This is on the list out of my frustration more than anything else.

Things I love

1. All fruits/veggies that are NOT pears. Seriously, all of them.

2. Egg whites! I really love these.

3. Sour candies. I adore citric acid.

4. Lemon! On EVERYTHING. You name it, I'll put lemon on it.

5. Greek Yogurt. I eat this almost every day during the week for lunch. So much protein! And delicious!

6. French Toast. Who doesn't love french toast?

7. Tea. Black, Oolong, Green all are great. Herbal teas are hit-and-miss and I usually don't like those berry flavored herbal ones -- a bit tart for my taste.

8. Honey. Honey is superior to sugar.

9. Almond-flavored-anything. Almond Italian Soda, Marzipan, Amaretti cookies, if it has almonds, I love it.

10. Anise-flavored-anything (that isn't licorice). A good anise biscotti is not to be meddled with. My grandmother's Ri'fat (think: Moroccan Biscotti) will always seal the deal for me. I don't mind Licorice to be honest, I just don't think it really belongs on my favorite thing list.

Homemade Peppermint Patties

I saw a link to this recipe and since I had recently procured some peppermint oil, I decided I should give it a whirl.

I cut out the shortening [because I'm not too worried about how 'shiny' my chocolate is... if you really care a lot, you should probably just temper your chocolate and that's that]. Also, I traded the extract for oil [what I have]. Also, I didn't add the vanilla. They still turned out great.

Here's the recipe as I used it:

2 cups powdered sugar
1.5 tbsp softened butter
1/4 tsp peppermint oil [or 2 tsp peppermint extract]
2 tbsp cream
10 ounces (about 1-1/2 cup) dark chocolate, chopped [I actually used 6 oz of dark and 4 oz of white chocolate so I could make some white ones]

1. To make the centers: in a blender, mixer, of food processor [I used the latter] mix the sugar, butter, extract/oil, and cream until well combined, smooth, and slightly tacky.
2. On a parchment lined cookie shoot, roll out the centers using a tsp sized measure spoon. Use your fingers to flatten them out a bit into 1-1.5 inch discs.
3. Allow to chill in fridge or freezer for at least 20 minutes.
4. For the coating: while centers are chilling, chop your chocolate and melt 3/4 of it in a metal bowl placed over simmering water [or a double boiler, you remember these]. Mix with a spatula and remove once completely melted. This should get your chocolate pretty close to tempered.
5. Add the remaining chocolate and mix until that is melted as well. (Keep mixing, it will melt!)
6. When centers are chilled, use a spoon to dip the centers into the chocolate, enrobing completely, and then return to wax lined cookie sheet. Note: do not try to be clever and place on wire rack. Chocolate will stick to rack. Use the wax paper/parchment paper lined cookie sheet method, it works best!

Store these in the fridge. That bit of cream and butter means they'll go bad if left out.