September Daring Bakers' Challenge - Kolache

The September Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Lucie from ChezLucie. She challenged us to make a true Czech treat –Kolaches!

I was super excited for this month's challenge. I'm not sure if you remember, but I've actually made kolache before. It was a Sourdough Surprises challenge a few months back (okay, more like almost a year ago!) and, in case you don't remember that post, it's here, and they were amazingly delicious.

So when I saw that I'd have the opportunity to make them again (read: the kick in the pants that I needed!), I was super excited.

Our hostess Lucie was awesome, and provided us with several different recipes for several different styles of kolache. Which, I'm going to be honest with you, was all new to me! I didn't know there were so many varieties!  I wanted to make ones similar to the sourdough ones I'd made, so I chose to make Moravian Kolache. The main difference between these and the sourdough version that I made (other than, you know, the sourdough...) is that these Moravian kolache have two fillings rather than just one.

But first, we need dough! The dough comes together really easily.

In one bowl, some yeast is prepared - mixed with sugar and milk, some flour sprinkled on top...

...and whoa does it take off!

Then, in the bowl to the stand mixer, all of the rest of the ingredients are combined! This includes flour, confectioners' sugar, egg yolks, a bit more milk (I used coconut milk) and some butter (I used coconut oil).

Add the yeast mixture, knead for ten minutes and the result is a beautiful, silky, smooth dough.

And that yeast continues to work its magic, as an hour later...

And then we're ready to roll!

I don't have a biscuit cutter, so to make my circles, I use my favorite cutter:

A drinking glass.

Then came the hard part. The filling. Or... fillings. The fillings that Lucie shared with us for the challenge recipe are a quark (cheese) filling for the inside and a plum jam filling for the top. I wanted to keep these dairy free for little man, so I decided to play around with different things that I had at home.

I first tried a s'mores inspiration.

That's a marshmallow that I put on the dough round, then wrapped it up, then put some chocolate chips on the top.

Then I tried to go somewhat similar to the traditional version in the challenge.

That's a small spoon of non-dairy Greek-style coconut milk yogurt for the inside, then a drizzle of homemade peach jam on the top.

And just for fun I made one more version.

There's Biscoff in that one.

I had to bake them in shifts, seeing as I had so many pans going, but the results?

Totally worth waiting for.

And we each had our favorite. Little man went with Biscoff. Little miss, s'mores.

Daddy and I? We couldn't get enough of the yogurt and peach ones.

Seriously, you can't go wrong with these. The dough is amazing and the possibilities are endless for flavors, fillings and combinations. I definitely think I'll be making these a lot more often.

Lucie, thank you so much for this delicious challenge and for the amazing inspiration!

To see the challenge as Lucie presented it to us, which I highly recommend, because there are lots of other amazing recipes to try, check it out here.


Moravian Kolache
(slightly adapted from September Daring Bakers' Challenge)

for the dough:
4 teaspoons active day yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup milk, warm, divided (I used coconut milk)
3-2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
¾ cup confectioner’s sugar
pinch of salt
1/3 cup butter, melted (I used coconut oil)
2 egg yolks

Filling or fillings of your choice

In a small bowl, mix together the yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar. Add 1/4 cup of the warm milk, mix well and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 – 15 minutes.
In the bowl of your stand mixer (or in a large bowl) mix flour, sugar, salt, egg yolks, butter (coconut oil), remaining 3/4 cup milk and leavened yeast. Knead with dough hook (or with wooden spoon) on low speed for about 10 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about one hour until doubled in volume.
Meanwhile prepare your fillings and set them aside.
Prepare streussel topping -  In a medium bowl, mix together 1/4 cup sugar and 1/3 cup flour. Add 1/4 cup cold, diced butter, and, with your fingers, mix all ingredients until crumbly.
When the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 340 degrees.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it with rolling pin to a thickness of about 3/4 inch. Cut into rounds of approximately 4 inches around.. Press each piece flat with your hands and fill with filling of your choice. Wrap the dough around the filling into a “purse” shape. Put each kolach onto a prepared baking sheet with seam down. Press each kolach in the middle to create a little dent in the middle. Brush it with egg wash and fill holes with your second filling. Sprinkle it with streusel topping.
Bake for about 20 minutes to golden brown.
Enjoy!

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August Daring Bakers' Challenge - Chimney Cake

Oh my gosh, this month's challenge was so awesome.

I absoltuely love when challenges introduce me to new things and new methods, and this one did both.

The August Daring Bakers' Challenge took us for a spin! Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen taught us to make rolled pastries inspired by Kurtoskalacs, a traditional Hungarian wedding pastry. These tasty yeasted delights gave us lots to celebrate!

Kurtoskalacs, also called chimney cakes, have their roots in Transylvania, and are fun treats baked in a super fun way.

It starts with a very sticky, soft dough. Once the dough is ready, the fun begins.

A section of dough is rolled out very thinly on a well-floured surface, then cut into a long strip. Easily achieved by cutting the roughly-square shaped thin dough in a spiral pattern.

The strip is then wrapped around a rolling pin that has been wrapped in many (I did four...) layers of aluminum foil.  This was a little tricky, since you have to keep the dough from unwinding as you go, but once you have all the dough on the rolling pin, just give it a couple of rolls on the counter top to seal all the edges and keep it in place.

Then brush it with some melted butter (or, to keep it dairy free, like I did, melted coconut oil)...

...and roll it in some cinnamon sugar.

Then, you bake. I rested the handles of my rolling pin along the edges of my roasting pan to make sure that the heat would get all the way around the pin and dough, and to keep the finished chimney cake from having a flat side.

And, much to my surprise and delight, it worked!

When it came out of the oven, I sprinkled on a bit more cinnamon sugar, then removed it from the rolling pin mold by firmly tapping the end of the rolling pin on the counter top. Again - I was delighted and surprised when that actually worked!

And the finished product was both super fun and super delicious.  Seriously, these were fun to eat. Somtimes we'd fill the hole with some ice cream, sometimes we'd just grab a section and un-ravel it as we went. Either way, it was delicious, and I really want to make it again.

Swathi also provided us another recipe for a different coiled treat, a Spanish treat called an Ensaimda. I didn't have the opportunity to make both recipes this month, but stay tuned, because I really, really want to try those, as well.

Thank you, Swathi, for this amazing, delicious and fun challenge!

To see the challenge as it as presented to us, check it out here.


Dairy-Free Chimney Cake
(from the Daring Bakers' Challenge)

For the dough:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, room temperature
3 tablespoons melted butter (I used coconut oil)
1/2 cup milk, lukewarm temperature (I used coconut milk)

For baking:
melted butter (I used coconut oil)
sugar (I used cinnamon sugar)

For the topping:
Approximately 1/2 cup sugar (I used cinnamon sugar)

Directions:
Add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and the active dry yeast to the lukewarm milk and set aside for 5-10 minutes until it proofs (becomes foamy).
In a large bowl combine flour, sugar and salt. To this add egg, melted butter, and milk/yeast mixture. Stir the mixture until it comes together to form a dough, and then knead for about five minutes.
The dough will be sticky. Don’t be tempted to add extra flour. Grease your hand if needed.
Transfer the dough to a well greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap (spray the plastic, too) and allow the dough to rise for 60 minutes at room temperature, until doubled in volume.
While the dough is rising, prepare your rolling pin(s) by covering it (them) with aluminum foil. You'll want to use at least two or three layers, to protect the pins from burning in the oven.
Brush the wrapped rolling pin(s) with melted butter.
Gently deflate the dough and divide it into 4 equal parts (about 4 oz each).
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
On a well floured surface, roll out one portion of the dough, shaping into an approximate square shape, about 1/6 inch thick.
Using a pizza cutter or a very sharp knife, cut the dough into a long ribbons of about 1/2 inch wide.
Wrap one end of the dough strip around the prepared rolling pin, tucking in the end so the dough doesn’t unwind.
Keep the dough very thin (under ¼ inch (6 mm)) as you stretch and wind it on the rolling pun. Then roll the whole thing slightly on the counter top to flatten it/press it together.
Brush the rolled up dough with melted butter and roll it in the (cinnamon) sugar.
Set the rolling pin in a roasting pan and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.
Turn the rolling pin at once least once (or more) throughout baking time to ensure uniform cooking.
When cake is done, roll it once more in sugar again.
You can be creative here and use other toppings, like nuts (or whatever you want) at this point. If you are using other toppings brush on more butter, then roll the finished cake in the toppings of your choice.
Tap the end of the rolling pin on a table top to release the cake and set it up right to cool on a cooling rack. It might not seem like it, but it will release pretty easily.

Enjoy!

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July Daring Bakers' Challenge - Surprise-Inside Cake

For the July Daring Baker’s Challenge, Ruth from The Crafts of Mommyhood challenged us to bake a cake. But not just any cake; she asked us to add in a special surprise for our eyes as well as our taste buds!

This month's challenge was both fun and extremely challenging. Most months, we are introduced to a new style of food or challenged to try a new and interesting recipe. This month, the challenge wasn't recipe based - it was a test of our creativity! And, as an extension, it encouraged us to try new techniques for creating tasty masterpieces.

A surprise-inside is just what it sounds like - a cake that, when cut into, has something unexpected or special that could not be seen until the cake was cut.  I have actually made some previously that qualify, including this zebra cake and this rainbow cake.  So for this challenge, I wanted to try something different.

Now, please keep in mind that we moved a week after this challenge was announced. So, my kitchen was in disarray and I had a new oven to test out. Which, as it turns out, is not calibrated correctly. It actually runs about 40 degrees (F) low. Which is a lot. Live and learn.

Anyway, for my surprise inside, I wanted to try my hand at this cool tie-dyed heart-inside cake. 

Now, remember, this was all about technique for me. It was also all about getting over my aversion to food coloring. Just for this cake.

I started with my go-to yellow cake recipe. And then came the tie-dye aspect.  I divided the batter into four portions and let the kids choose some colors.

Little miss started with blue.

Little man started with green.

And then we added pink and purple.

Each of these tinted portions of batter was then transferred to a zip-top bag. Simply snip the tip of each bag and... make a mess.

No, seriously, it was a mess. Squiggle the batter around a (sprayed) (and next time - parchment lined!!) rimmed cookie sheet, but try not to blend the colors. Make sure to reach the corners of the tray!

Then bake!

Pretty cool!

Hindsight being 20/20, I should have just frosted that and been done - called it a surprise tie-dye cake and called it a success.

But I wanted to make the heart-inside cake. And I was super optimistic.

The next step is to create the hearts. Using a cookie cutter.

My cake was really soft. Which... should have clued me in to the fact that maybe this wasn't the right recipe for this kind of treatment. But, again, I was optimistic.

I cut out as many hearts as I could from my tie-dyed cake and lined them up on a pan.

These went into the freezer, and I then prepared another batch of the aforementioned yellow cake batter.

Now, following the technique demonstrated in the youtube video linked above, I lined a loaf pan with foil, sprayed it well, and poured in a thin layer of cake batter. I then baked this for about ten minutes to let it begin setting up.  After those ten minutes, I removed the pan from the oven and removed the hearts from the freezer.

The next step is to stack up as many hearts as it takes to run the length of the pan and... embed them in the partially baked cake.

Upside down, no less. So that when you turn the cake out, it's right side up.

Then simply pour the rest of the cake batter over all of this and continue baking until done.

Which I'm sure works if your oven is actually the temperature that you tell it to be... and that it tells you it is... but I suppose that's another story.

This story had a frustrating next chapter. The cake took forever to bake (probably because the oven was 40 degrees too low), I tried to frost it while it was still too warm, and, because this cake is more delicate than it should be for this treatment, it completely fell apart. And my camera batter died. And the charger was resting comfortably at my old house. Yeah. None of that worked out very well.

BUT!

I still had ten hearts resting in the freezer!

And I was still optimistic!

So I tried one more time. But with the same cake recipe. Because... I really, really wanted it to work.

This time, I tried a few things differently. First, I retrieved my oven thermometer from the old house and adjusted the oven temperature setting accordingly.  Secondly, I didn't pre-bake any portion of the cake batter before adding in the frozen hearts. I just lined the hearts in the empty, sprayed pan, then poured the batter around it.

The results?

Still extremely crumbly. Again, because I really think that this technique requires a slightly heftier cake batter.  But - you could see the heart!

Even though...

...the hearts did turn sideways during the cooking process.

BUT.

I learned a lot. And had fun doing it. And everyone thought it was both fun and delicious, so, regardless of how frustrated I was that it didn't turn out as beautiful as the example, I was told that this was a success. So I will accept it as one.

Ruth, thanks for inspiring us to bake outside of our comfort zones this month!

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June Daring Bakers' Challenge - Cinnamon Rolls

This month the Daring Bakers kept our creativity rolling with cinnamon bun inspired treats. Shelley from C Mom Cook dared us to create our own dough and fill it with any filling we wanted to craft tasty rolled treats, cinnamon not required!

Hey - no need to click that link this time - you're already here!

This month I took a turn hosting the Daring Bakers, and dared the group to make a treat that, if you've been around for a while, you know I love - cinnamon rolls. And, as you probably already know, I love getting creative with my cinnamon rolls, sometimes skipping the cinnamon altogether and going for all kinds of creative fillings.

As examples for the group, I provided links and recipes to many of the varieties I've made over the years, including Peter Reinhart's traditional cinnamon buns, roasted banana cinnamon rolls, pumpkin brown butter apple cinnamon rolls, sourdough cinnamon rolls (of course! I borrowed Jenni's here because hers came out so much better than mine!), and, for anyone nervous around yeast, I even included my unyeasted sweet cinnamon biscuits.

But those were just examples! I then asked this creative group of bakers to be... well... creative! To make whatever dough they wanted, fill it with whatever sounded good. roll it up and bake it!

Now, the more creative submissions that rolled in on the forums, the more I craved rolled goodness. So I had to make a few too.

I started with these mixed berry rolls:

(I used Peter Reinhart's dough recipe and whipped up a mixed berry compote for the filling).

A week later, at the urging of little man, I made traditional cinnamon rolls, but immediately gave half the batch to a friend.

After that, I decided to test my own creativity and made a dinner version:

Pizza! I used pizza dough (I'll share that recipe later - it's worth its own post!) and rolled it with sauce and cheese.  Messy. But super fun!

I wanted to make more. In fact, I really, really wanted to make another batch yesterday.  But I held off. For now. Trust me - another batch is coming soon.

So, if you feel like it, check out the full challenge as the group saw it (here).

And thank you to everyone who baked along with me - your creativity and excitement were contagious and it was truly an honor to see all of the deliciousness that you created this month!

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May Daring Bakers' Challenge - Pao De Queijo

This month's Daring Bakers' Challenge took us on a trip to beautiful Brazil! Renata of "Testado, Provado & Aprovado!" taught us how to make Pao De Queijo, tasty cheese buns that make the perfect snack or treat, and that will make your taste buds samba!

I don't know a lot about Brazilian food. I mean, aside from the feijoada challenge from a year and a half ago, I've never specifically had Brazilian food.

But when the awesome Renata introduced these little cheese breads to us as this month's challenge, I couldn't wait to try them.

The recipe looked super simple, but the main ingredients was something that I have never used before - tapioca starch (flour).  But I knew just where to find it, and was soon ready to rock.

The other main ingredient in these buns, as their name (and translation) would suggest, is cheese. I chose Monteray Jack. Lots of it, all shredded up.

The dough actually comes together pretty easily, and soon turns from this dry mix...

...into an almost-dough.

Now, you are not supposed to over-work the dough, because you don't want the finished buns to be too heavy or dense.  So for me, it was still a little shaggy. I was a little worried about whether my little buns would hold their shapes.

But guess what happened when I started rolling it into balls?

It smoothed out beautifully and I had no problem at all!

Now, with little man's milk allergy, I didn't want to make too many of these - I didn't think it would be fair. So I froze half of the shaped balls right away, seeing as Renata told us that they bake up straight out of the freezer really well.

Then the other half went into the oven.

And they puffed and baked up beautifully!

These little buns are so delightful and so amazingly easy to eat, they're almost dangerous.  Little miss wasn't a huge fan, but I think it's just because she knew there was cheese in them (she doesn't like cheese except on pizza and in macaroni and cheese... I don't get it...). But I loved them. And so did my neighbor, who happened to stop by a few minutes after these came out of the oven. I can't wait to bake up the second half of these.

Oh, and Renata graciously found a dairy-free version of these treats which I had every intention of trying, but time totally ran away from me this month. But I still plan to try them at some point, and will definitely share the results here when I do.

Renata, thank you for this amazing challenge - I can't wait for my next taste of Brazil!

To see the challenge as Renata presented it to us, check it out here.

And to see the other awesome results this month, check them here.


Pao De Queijo
(from the Daring Bakers' Challenge)

500 grams tapioca starch
1 cup whole milk
2 3/4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste depending on how salty your cheese is)
3 cups Monterey Jack Cheese (or another cheese of your liking, or a mix of cheeses), coarsely grated
1 to 3 large eggs (I needed all 3)

Heat milk, butter, and salt in a small sauce pan until it comes to a boil. Watch closely as it may boil over. Remove from heat and set aside.
Sift tapioca starch into a large bowl.
Pour the boiled (hot) mixture over the tapioca and start stirring with a fork. The milk mixture will not be enough to form a dough yet. The mixture will be lumpy and that is okay.
Keep stirring with the fork, breaking down the lumps as much as you can, until the mixture cools down to warm.
At this point, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Add the grated cheese to the tapioca mixture and mix well, now using your hands.
Add one egg at a time, mix with your hands until dough comes together. Renata suggested that we lightly beat the egg(s) with a fork and add little bits until the dough comes together into a soft but pliable dough.  This worked out really well for me. You only have to knead it a bit, not as much as you knead a yeasted bread. It's OK if it is slightly sticky.
Form balls with the dough and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicon mat or lightly greased with vegetable oil. If necessary, you can oil your hands to make shaping easier. The size of the balls may vary from small bite-sized balls to the size of ping pong balls. They will puff up quite a bit after baking.
Bake for about 25 minutes or until they just start to brown on the bottom. You may have golden spots of cheese on the crust. Don't over-bake as they will get hard and bitter.
They are delicious served warm, soon out of the oven, or room temperature.

Enjoy!

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April Daring Bakers' Challenge - Easter Breads

The April Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Wolf of Wolf’s Den . She challenged us to Spring into our kitchens and make Easter breads reflecting cultures around the world.

This month was full of Easter themed breads for us between Sourdough Surprise's hot cross buns and the Daring Bakers' Challenge. Pretty funny considering that not only have I never made any sort of Easter bread before, I'd never even eaten one!

But after how delicious the hot cross buns were, I was extra excited to try my hand at another.

I briefly considered making another batch or variation of hot cross buns, but decided to try something different. Wolf provided a few sample recipes, but said that we could choose any Easter bread we wanted, from any world culture.  After a bit of reading, though, I decided to go with the first recipe that Wolf demonstrated for us - for Osterbrot, a German Easter bread.

But I did change it a little.  The Osterbrot is an enriched bread (with butter and egg in the dough) that is filled with nuts and dried fruits.  Of course I skip the nuts so that little man can enjoy the bread, and the hot cross buns had contained dried cranberries... so, to be a little different here, I got a little creative.

I started following the recipe as given, first making a sponge...

(my sponge turned out a little looser and stickier than I'd expected, but I just went with it...) and letting it rise for a few hours.

The sponge is then mixed with most of the rest of the ingredients to create a dough.

I omitted the orange zest that was called for in the recips, to go with the flavor choice I'd made, and replaced it with a teaspoon of ground cinnamon.

And instead of the dried fruits?

I chose chocolate chips!

The dough came together pretty easily, but I was grateful for my KitchenAid mixer to handle the kneading. Oh, and as a side note - I made this bread dairy free, replacing the milk in the sponge with coconut milk, and the butter in the dough with coconut oil.

The finished dough is left to rest for a while, then is shaped into a ball and allowed to rest again.

Just before baking, I brushed the dough with a bit of coconut oil...

...sprinkled it with a bit of cinnamon sugar...

...and slashed the top with a sharp knife.

And then it bakes. And smells amazing. And comes out looking delectable.

This made the perfect after-school snack, too. It has a nice, crisp crust and a lovely crumb and tastes so decadently delicious that everyone wanted seconds. And thirds.

I have to say... I think I might be addicted to Easter breads. I'm definitely going to be trying lots of different varieties, and going to be enjoying them year round!

Wolf, thank you so much for this awesome challenge!

To see the full challenge as presented by Wolf, check it out here.

To check out the amazing, impressive, varied and delicious Easter breads baked up this month, check them out here.


Cinnamon Chocoalte Chip Osterbrot
(adapted from germanfood.about.com)

For the Sponge:
1 2/5 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
2/3 cup cold milk (I used coconut milk)

For the Dough:
All of the sponge
1 2/5 cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 tablespoon butter (I used coconut oil, melted)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup chocolate chips

To prepare the sponge:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the ingredients for the sponge together and mix until it forms a ball. Knead for several minutes, being careful not to let the sponge temperature rise above about 72°F (22°C or room temperature). Let the sponge rest for 1 - 2 hours at room temperature.

To prepare the dough:
Add to the sponge, already in the bowl of your mixer, the flour, sugar, cinnamon, egg, yeast and salt and mix until combined. Knead for several minutes. Add the butter (melted coconut oil) and knead for several more minutes.
Add the chocolate chips and knead them in. You want to kneat the dough until it is smooth and satiny. You may need to adjust the liquid or flour to achieve this.
Form the dough into a loose mound and let rest on a lightly floured work surface (covered loosely with plastic wrap) for 30 minutes.
Form the dough into a boule (round loaf), pulling the surface down over the dough towards the bottom and pinching closed (this creates surface tension). Cover again with loose plastic wrap and let the loaf rise for another 45 minutes at room temperature on a parchment covered baking sheet.
When you have about 15 minutes left of this final rise, preheat oven to 390 degrees.
Just before baking, brush the bread with milk (coconyt milk) (or you can use beaten egg yolk) and sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar. Then take a sharp knife and slash an "X" (or a cross) into the top of the bread.
Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 185°F. If the loaf is too dark on top, tent with foil for the last part and reduce the temperature to 350°F.
Allow bread to cool, then enjoy!

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March Daring Bakers' Challenge - Nougat

The March 2014 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Rebecca of BakeNQuilt. She challenged us to learn to make classic nougat and to make it our own with our choice of flavors and add-ins.

Nougat.

From the moment I saw this month's challenge, I couldn't wait to get started.  

Now, the nougat that we were making here is not the same nougat that most of us think of from candy bars. This nougat is more closely related to marshmallows, and is a sticky, chewy, sweet candy, usually with nuts mixed in. And I couldn't wait to try it.

As I am completely comfortable with making marshmallows, I wasn't intimidated by this process. There were only a few differences.

The first difference is the syrup. The syrup for nougat is made with honey, where marshmallows are made with corn syrup.

The syrup mixture is then carefully heated and boiled, whcih is where this comes in handy.

I boiled my syrup until it was 280 degrees.

While this was cooking, I prepared the other half. Whipping up an egg white. For my marshmallow recipe, I use gelatin. For these, it's more like traditional marshmallow cream recipes - egg whites whipped to soft peaks.

And then I carefully and slowly poured the syrup down the sides of my mixer, which was beating at full speed.

This is whipped up at high speed for about 10 minutes. Just like marshmallows.

This is the time when any mix-ins can be... well... mixed... in. Even though, due to the raw egg whites, I knew little man wouldn't be tasting these, I still opted not to mess with nuts (don't want to contaminate my mixer or anything). So I thought... why not chocolate chips?

In theory, not a bad idea.  But let me warn you... the nougat is still warm at this point. Which makes stirring in chocolate chips...

...a little messy.  But once it cools down, it looks kind of marble-y cool.

So I cut it into pieces and we tried it!

This stuff is fun. But a little goes a long way! And it is definitely sticky! I am sure that, depending on the temperature of the syrup, you can play with the consistency a bit, and I bet it's really good with other things mixed in.

Seriously, this was an awesome challenge. Rebecca, I can't thank you enough!!!

To see the challenge as Rebecca presented it, check it out here.

To check out the amazing nougats prepared in the kitchen this month, check them out here.


Nougat
(from Joy of Kosher)

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg white, room temperature
pinch kosher salt
1-2 cups of your choice of mix-ins (toasted nuts or seeds, dried fruits - I used chocolate chips)

You are supposed to use edible rice paper on both sides of this sticky treat and if you plan on packaging and giving out to friends or storing for a while it would be wise to find some. I didn’t and I just used parchment paper sprayed with cooking spray and for serving in our house it worked out just fine.
Prepare and 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper or rice paper sprayed with cooking spray. I used a baking sheet, covered in parchment and sprayed generously with cooking spray.
Combine sugar, honey and 2 tablespoons of water in a small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of pan. Increase heat and boil until thermometer registers 280 degrees.
Meanwhile, beat the egg white and salt in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until soft peaks form.  With the mixer running, slowly and very carefully, stream hot syrup into egg whites. Beat until the meringue is thick and has cooled slightly, about 10–12 minutes. Remove the bowl from the mixer and your chose mix-ins to the meringue; mix nougat with a rubber spatula to distribute evenly.
Spread the nougat on the prepared pan. Top with second sheet of rice paper or sprayed parchment.  Use spatula to press the nougat into an even layer.   Let nougat set at least 2 hours, but overnight is best.
Cut with a knife and store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Enjoy!

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