Travel Spotlight: Boston + Philly Sweets

Boston and Philadelphia both offer rich history – Boston Commons, the Liberty Bell, the streets where the Founding Fathers wandered to ponder the fate of this nascent nation. They also provide great opportunities for tasting delicious desserts.

Beantown (Boston)

Lulu’s

– JP Licks: The chocolate chocolate cupcake was not anything to write home about, and was amongst a small selection of cupcakes at the store known for it’s ice cream treats. I would recommend sticking with the store’s original offering instead of trying a baked good.

– Sweet Cupcakes: This cupcakery offered some off-beat varieties including caramel macchiato, maple cranberry and caramel apple. The macchiato did not have a strong coffee flavor – I would have assumed this was more of the vanilla variety if it hadn’t been for the label. The caramel apple was quite sticky, which wasn’t necessarily a bad attribute but it didn’t have the full flavor execution of other cupcakes with this same profile. It was difficult to locate the maple in the maple cranberry, and it was quite sweet – added sugar did not make up for lack of flavor.

– Lulu’s Sweet Shoppe: I committed a Boston sin and had cupcakes (gingerbread and chocolate salted caramel) in the North End instead of the traditional cannoli. The woman working the shop actually kept it open (I had called earlier regarding their hours), and opened the door just for me, which was a wonderful gesture! The gingerbread was decent, though a little dry – I missed the solid punch of ginger that I was hoping for, though molasses and cinnamon were both present. The chocolate salted caramel was about average for this type.

Philadelphia
In the city of Brotherly Love, there are some lovely confections for the trying.

Fruit Loop Macaron,
Sugar Truck Philly

– Reading Terminal: The lemon cake at Termini Bros is heavenly. After a quick day trip to the city for work, I managed to grab one of these delightful mini cakes on my way to the train station. What a great way to unwind from a long day of meetings – the cake was light, moist, and perfectly portioned for one (in my opinion). I’ve since tried some of the other offerings, such as the pecan bar and brownie, but the favorite remains the lemon cake.

– Morimoto: The yuzu meringue tart is delicious. A heavy dollop of whipped egg whites sites atop the yuzu tart – tart, citrusy filling and a buttery crust. I would recommend sharing – while it is scrumptious, it proved to be too sugary for one person to handle.

– Sugar Truck Philly: The fruit loop macaron was a tightly packed sugar punch! The flavor of Fruit Loops was absolutely present – it was as if they managed to condense the cereal into the soft, chewy outer shell of the macaron. It was almost too sweet for my liking, leaving my teeth slightly achy as an after-effect.

While only a small sampling, it did give me a sense of the variety available on the Eastern seaboard, and I’m anxious to return.

Until next time,
SugarSource

Recipe: Holiday Gingerbread Cookies

The holidays would not be complete without some sweet, traditional treats! One of my absolute favorites as a child were anise seed cookies. They not only smelled heavenly coming out of the oven with a blend of anise, cinnamon, cloves and molasses, but provided the perfect decorating surface for creative frosting and sprinkle interpretations. It makes over four dozen cookies (depending on the size of your cookie cutters, of course) and is a great cookie exchange go-to. Perhaps this will become a Christmas classic for you as well!

Ingredients
– white sugar  – shortening  – egg  – molasses (preferably dark)  – sour milk (to make, combine milk and vinegar)  – anise seed  – flour  – baking soda  – salt  – cinnamon  – cloves

Directions
Mix 4 1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp cloves in a large bowl, setting aside. In a separate mixing bowl (I use my KitchenAid mixer), cream 2/3 cup sugar and 1/2 cup shortening together. Mix in 1 egg and 2/3 cup molasses. Add 1/2 cup sour milk and anise, mixing until completely combined. To make sour milk, add 1/2 tsp vinegar to a liquid measuring cup, then fill to 1/2 cup line with milk. Slowly add the dry ingredient mixture, stirring throughout. This may start to become difficult – the dough fills up the majority of my KitchenAid mixer bowl. Tightly wrap the dough in wax paper, and refrigerate for several hours (letting it chill for at least 4 hours).

Once the dough has properly chilled, prepare your cookie cutting station: clean a flat counter surface or large pastry board, and place a 1/2 cup of flour in a corner. Spread a light layer of flour along the entire surface – this dough gets sticky! Start to work with the dough – I have found that it is manageable broken into 4-5 portions, warming it in your hands and starting to press it out. Once pliable enough, roll it out to approximately 1/8″. Flip the dough over occasionally as you flatten it out to ensure that it doesn’t stick to the surface. Tip: if you do not have a rolling pin, you can use a wine bottle as an emergency replacement (taping plastic wrap around the bottle for cleanliness purposes).

After rolling out the dough, start to cut out your cookies and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. I would recommend dipping the cookie cutter into flour each time you use it to ensure the cutters cleanly slice through the dough. Another word of advice: cut the cookies as close together as possible without sacrificing the shapes – the fewer times you have to re-roll the dough, the better!

Place the cookies on ungreased baking sheets – you will want 1-2″ around the cookies, but they will not spread significantly so you can fit quite a few on each pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes, aiming for shorter overall baking time if you prefer softer cookies. Cool the cookies on waxed paper. Once completely cooled, it’s time for frosting!

For the frosting, you will need powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and milk. In a bowl, combine 3 cups of powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp vanilla, and 1-3 Tbsps of milk, adding very slowly and mixing completely. You will want a glue-like consistency, but not on the runny side. Remember, you can always add more milk if needed, but you cannot remove it from the mixture once you’ve started (though you can add more powdered sugar to thicken the frosting back up). For decorating purposes, you can add food coloring if you prefer colorful frostings, though keep in mind that sugars and sprinkles also provide the opportunity to make them festive. Sometimes less is more, though this is a chance to get creative!

Set the iced cookies on waxed paper to dry overnight. To store, you can use waxed paper to create layers – I wouldn’t recommend stacking them directly on top of each other. Don’t forget to enjoy, and share with friends, family and coworkers alike.

Happy Holidays!

Until next time,
SugarSource