The first snow

Yesterday fell the first snow of the season. I woke up in the morning to see the beautiful snowflakes gently falling outside my bedroom window while my whole being was screaming, "don't go to work, stay in bed, call in sick". I couldn't. I had to go.

I wore my heaviest and warmest coat, my big fat woolen gloves, a long scarf that I wrapped around my neck and head to keep the cold out, my favorite sheepskin boots to keep my toes warm and I braved the cold weather. My hands and face were freezing in no time as the snow that suddenly turned to rain, then to hail, and finally to snow again was grazing my cheeks. I was aching to go back home and crawl into bed but I pressed on.

The whole day at work I was dreaming of being in the arms of my S, drinking a cup of hot cocoa. That's all I wanted to do, and that's exactly what I did when I got home. S and I, after a rather difficult day out in the world, we sat on our comfy couch, put our favorite music on and drank some of this rich hot cocoa.

I hope you'll enjoy it as well.

Rumor has it, it will snow heavily in the next couple of weeks in The Hague. I can't wait! Perhaps we'll have a white Christmas.

See you again soon.

Hot Cocoa

Milk, cocoa, sugar. It couldn't be much simpler than that. A good hot cocoa means good cocoa powder. Don't use anything other than Dutch-processed which has an intense flavor and dark color.

And if you prefer hot chocolate rather than hot cocoa, check this out.

Yield: 2 large cups

Ingredients
500 ml fresh, whole milk
5 heaped tsp Dutch-processed cocoa powder (I use Van Houten but also Droste)
4 tsp caster sugar (or more to taste)


Preparation
In a milk pan or small saucepan, add the milk, the cocoa powder and the sugar and place over medium heat. Heat, stirring until the cocoa dissolves. Don't allow the milk to boil but take it off the heat when it starts to steam.

Note: The 4 tsp of sugar that I use, make for a fairly sweet cocoa. Add more or less depending how you prefer your cocoa to taste. Keep in mind though that Dutch-processed cocoa powder is quite bitter.

Drink the cocoa while it's still hot, served with your favorite cookies. We chose the traditional Dutch pepernoten and mini stroopwafels.

Three Years

Three years of blogging, of sharing recipes, stories, snippets of my life with all of you.

Thank you for being here and for making this worthwhile.

There's no sweeter way to celebrate these three years than with cookies.

Two types of shortbread cookies; vanilla and chocolate.

Two different kinds of shortbread cookies, not only in terms of flavor but texture as well.

The vanilla one is buttery, crumbly and soft.

The chocolate one has a pronounced cocoa flavor, it's a little softer and slightly less sweet than the vanilla shortbread cookie, with a somewhat sandy texture.

No matter which one you choose, they're both incredibly delicious.

Especially when they're cut into letter shapes.

Vanilla Shortbread Cookies

This is the ultimate vanilla shortbread cookie and the addition of cornflour gives it a lighter and more tender texture. It is perfect eaten plain or used to make a cookie sandwich, filled with everything from dulce de leche to chocolate ganache and jam.

Yield: about 25 cookies

Ingredients
150 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
55 g icing sugar, sieved
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
220 g all purpose flour, sieved plus extra for dipping your cookie cutter
20 g cornflour (cornstarch), sieved

Special equipment: fine sieve, stand or hand-held mixer, plastic wrap, rolling pin, baking paper, 5.5 cm round cookie cutters (or cookie cutters of your choice), baking sheet(s)


Preparation
In the bowl of your stand mixer (or in a large bowl), add the butter and icing sugar and beat, using the paddle attachment (or with your hand-held mixer), on medium-high speed for about 8 minutes or until you have a very creamy and light mixture. Add the vanilla and beat to incorporate. Add the flour and cornflour and beat on low speed. At first you may think that the mixture will not become a dough because it will look very sandy but don't worry, after a minute it will come together (like in the picture below) and gather in pieces around the paddle attachment (or around the beaters) of your mixer.

Remove the dough from the bowl and shape it into a ball and then into a disk. At this point you'll see the actual texture of the dough which should be smooth and firm. Wrap it with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 45 minutes.

Line your baking sheet with baking paper.
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit.

Place the chilled disk of dough between two sheets of baking paper and with the help of a rolling pin, roll it out to 0.5-0.7 cm-thickness.
In a small bowl, add some flour and use it to dip in your cookie cutter. In this way, the cookie cutter won't stick to the dough.
Remove the top baking paper from your rolled-out dough and using your cookie cutter, cut out round shapes and place them on your prepared baking sheet, spacing them 1.5 cm apart.

Note: It's best if you transfer the cut-out cookies from the baking paper to your baking sheet using a small offset spatula. This way you ensure the shape of the cookie remains intact. You need to work fast because the dough becomes warmer and softer as time passes.

Place the baking sheet on the middle rack of your preheated oven and bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes or until light golden around the edges. They'll feel a little soft in the middle but that's okay. Be careful not to overbake them.
Note: if you choose a different cookie cutter, either smaller or bigger, or even of a different shape than the one indicated, the baking times will change. For example, I baked the small cookie letters for 6 minutes. Keep a close eye on your cookies while baking so you avoid any surprises.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to stand for 2 minutes. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool.

Allow them to cool completely before you transfer them to a cookie tin.
They'll keep for 1 week, at room temperature, in a tightly closed cookie tin.

Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

The addition of sea salt elevates the cocoa flavor. You can coat them with granulated sugar before baking, in order to make them a little sweeter and to add another texture to them.

Yield: about 20 cookies

Ingredients
115 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
40 g icing sugar, sieved
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
125 g all purpose flour, sieved plus extra for dipping your cookie cutter
25 g Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sieved
⅛ tsp sea salt

Special equipment: fine sieve, stand or hand-held mixer, plastic wrap, rolling pin, baking paper, 5.5 cm round cookie cutters (or cookie cutters of your choice), baking sheet(s)


Preparation
In the bowl of your stand mixer (or in a large bowl), add the butter and icing sugar and beat, using the paddle attachment (or with your hand-held mixer), on medium-high speed for about 8 minutes or until you have a creamy and light mixture. Add the vanilla and beat to incorporate. Add the flour, cocoa powder and sea salt and beat on low speed until you have a rough, soft dough. It will be ever-so-slightly sticky.

Remove the dough from the bowl and shape it into a ball and then into a disk. Wrap it with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 1 hour to firm up.

Line your baking sheet with baking paper.
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit.

Place the chilled disk of dough between two sheets of baking paper and with the help of a rolling pin, roll it out to 0.5-0.7 cm-thickness.
In a small bowl, add some flour and use it to dip in your cookie cutter. In this way, the cookie cutter won't stick to the dough.
Remove the top baking paper from your rolled-out dough and using your cookie cutter, cut out round shapes and place them on your prepared baking sheet, spacing them 1.5 cm apart.

Note: Because the dough has the tendency to be sticky, it's best if you transfer the cut-out cookies from the baking paper to your baking sheet using a small offset spatula. This way you ensure the shape of the cookie remains intact. You need to work fast because the dough becomes warmer and softer as time passes.

Place the baking sheet on the middle rack of your preheated oven and bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes. They'll feel a little soft in the middle but that's okay. Be careful not to overbake them.
Note: if you choose a different cookie cutter, either smaller or bigger, or even of a different shape than the one indicated, the baking times will change. For example, I baked the small cookie letters for 6 minutes. Keep a close eye on your cookies while baking so you avoid any surprises.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to stand for 2 minutes. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool.

Allow them to cool completely before you transfer them to a cookie tin.
They'll keep for 1 week, at room temperature, in a tightly closed cookie tin.

The girl who shoots food

Ninety-nine per cent of the time, I take food photographs on my window sill.

I draw up the curtains and shoot right in front of the kitchen window so that I can have plenty of natural light. This is Holland after all where there's not a lot of sunlight, especially during late autumn and winter, so I need to get as close to the source as I can.

I've become a constant light chaser, always having to schedule the day and time of shooting depending on the weather report. Of course, the fact that I only have a five-year old point-and-shoot camera and not some fancy DSLR with all the trimmings, isn't making it easier on me. I love a challenge however, so I choose to view it as such and try to do the best with what I've got.

Having to take pictures in front of my large kitchen window also means that I get to meet my neighbors, who always seem to stare at me wondering what the heck I'm photographing all the time. Then of course they catch a glimpse of me licking my fingers or a spoon, moving around in the kitchen, back and forth, pan in one hand, camera in the other and they get the picture. Around the neighborhood, I'm known as the girl who shoots food. Sometimes I feel like asking them to join me, come eat with us, but I'm too shy to do that.

I'm not too shy to invite all of you to cook this dish and share it with your guests though. Penne with mascarpone and walnuts. A wonderfully simple dish yet oh so flavorful.

Penne is one of my favorite types of pasta and the mascarpone, well, that is a brilliant Italian invention which may conjure up images of tiramisù rather than pasta, but let me assure you, the pairing is fabulous. The penne, cooked al dente of course, along with the silky smooth and slightly sweet mascarpone sauce, a handful of crunchy walnuts and a sprinkling of salty parmesan, make up a glorious dish, perfect for a chilly winter's evening.

Penne with Mascarpone, Walnuts and Parmesan
Adapted, ever-so-slightly, from At Elizabeth David's Table

The sauce is rather filling so don't go overboard. Small portions served with a fresh green salad and a glass of white wine will make an ideal dinner for four.

Yield: 4 main-course servings

Ingredients
450-500 g dried small penne rigate
2 heaped Tbsp unsalted butter
250 g mascarpone cheese
3-4 Tbsp grated parmesan, plus more for serving
80 g (3/4 cup) walnuts, chopped roughly
Freshly ground white pepper
Salt

Special equipment: colander, cheese grater


Preparation
Bring a large pot of water to the boil over high heat and add a good sprinkling of salt, followed by the penne. Cook until al dente (firm but not very hard), or cook to your liking, stirring every so often so the penne don't stick together.

Five to ten minutes before the penne are cooked, prepare the sauce.
In a large and deep skillet, add the butter and melt over medium-high heat. Then add the mascarpone and turn heat down to low. Stir the mascarpone until it melts and combines with the butter into a creamy sauce. Be careful not to boil the mascarpone, you just need to heat it well through.

Once the penne are cooked, drain them in a colander and immediately add them to the mascarpone sauce. Stir them around and add the parmesan and some freshly ground white pepper. Have a taste to check if the dish needs any salt. The parmesan is very salty so I'll doubt it'll need any. Stir well and serve immediately in individual plates or in a large serving bowl.

Add some chopped walnuts on top of each serving and make sure to keep the parmesan at the table for anyone who needs to add an extra grating on top.