Bewitching Kitchen

Oriental-style stir fries are often part of our rotation meals for dinner. Usually chicken or shrimp as the main protein. Shrimp cooks super fast, I usually brine it and incorporate it into the wok, and that does prevent it from getting tough and dry. But if you want the most perfect and succulent texture, look no further: go for the traditional Chinese method of velveting. It can be done in oil…

Yet another post that centers on Royal icing transfers, yet another post following the one and only Haniela. You can watch her detailed instructions for free on her youtube channel (click here). And speaking of Haniela live, guess who will be there TODAY? I WILL! A little live about making macarons, so if you like to watch it, follow this link at noon, central time. It will be forever on youtube…

One cookie dough, two different outcomes. Not sure which one I loved most, but the rolled out and cut as circles is obviously the simplest and easiest. But, how to resist little tiny strawberry shaped cookies, coated in chocolate? STRAWBERRY SHORTBREAD COOKIES(slightly modified from Bakes by Brown Sugar) 320 grams unbleached all-purpose flour15 grams strawberry powder227 grams unsalted butter…

I admit that this play of words with bee is definitely over-used, but could not skip it. Today, I show you a small series of cookies of my own design, although it is impossible to avoid being influenced by things seen around Pinterest and Instagram. On Mondays, I donate a box of cookies to Accord Hospice, a wonderful organization from our town. Since it is a single box going to one particular…

We love chicken thighs, they are part of our dinner rotation, at least once every two weeks. I am partial to slow-roasting and then blasting them skin side up at higher temperature, but today I share one more twist to this method: brining the pieces of chicken first. They end up with a wonderful texture, slightly more tender and juicy. It is an extra step, but you can do it hours in advance and…

Florals, from two amazing cookie decorators, and a little extra contribution from yours truly… In chronological order, the first floral I made from this group came from Amber’s tutorial in her cookie club (click here). My cookie started from a cupcake shape, I shaved the top and the bottom part to make it look more like a flower pot. The coolest component: the piped violas. I must admit they…

For some odd reason, we’ve been going through sourdough eating at a fast pace. I used my default recipe two days in a row, first being a regular boule with an attempt of flowery design that had so much enthusiasm in the oven that it exploded through the petals, but I am not one to complain about excessive oven spring… Next day, I went a bit crazy and did something totally different. I shaped the…

This post is dedicated to Eha, a lover of all things butterflies and a most cherished supporter of my blogging life! Yet another decorating adventure provided by Tunde Dugantsi (visit and join her club clicking here). She came up with the idea of using just two colors to decorate butterfly-shaped cookies, and guess what? Soon she will share another tutorial using a single color! I am already…

I saw these adorable tartlets on Instagram, fell in love and could not wait to try and make them myself. I invite you to follow Joyce, she is a wonderful baker, endless source of inspiration. NUTELLA TARTLETS(from @joyfulhomecooking) for the dough:1¾ cups flour½ cup sugar1 tsp baking powder1 egg, room temperature1 egg yolk, room temperature½ cup + 2 tbsp butter, room temperaturefor the…

Golfing season is back in full swing (pun intended), and cookies to be enjoyed at the 10th tee, are my favorite way to support my beloved husband’s game. Let me open this series with a super special set, made for a tournament he recently played in, The Manhattan Country Club Open. I made the flags as Royal icing transfers, and the golf ball as a fondant addition. Pretty straightforward cookie to…

Vegetarians, you would be very satisfied without the steak because it is quite a hearty salad, so if you pair it with a slice of sourdough bread, you will be a happy camper. But, if you happen to be in my team, that team that loves a juicy steak cooked medium rare, go ahead and put them to work together… HEARTY CHOPPED SALAD WITH STEAK(from The Bewitching Kitchen)6 tablespoons olive oil, plus…

Apparently I just cannot stop making spring-themed cookies, and Tunde made it even harder to control my obsession when she shared this tutorial in her club (join here). This is not a difficult project and will please those who prefer a cookie with less icing. I opted for a lemon-flavored cookie dough for this project. Below you can see some of the steps in the process. My central cookie was…

These could easily fit into the Incredibly Simple category, but the outcome will make you seem like the most accomplished baker ever! MERINGUE LOLLIPOPS(from The Bewitching Kitchen) 2 large egg whites1/8 teaspoon cream of tartarPinch of salt1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)1 teaspoon vanilla extractpink and turquoise gel color Position two oven racks towards the center of the oven and heat the…

Dusty Rose and Teal get together to bring a touch of elegance and love to this special day… . The plaque design was adapted from a version from Haniela (youtube tutorial here) which I already made in the past (check it out here). It is all wet-on-wet with the additional drawing of the outline with a food pen, as shown in this composite picture from my previous post. I used the same teal color…

Not sure what is happening but I am getting more and more into eating lentils. I used to think they tasted a bit too “earthy” but now I find lentils, particularly the green, small ones, very delicious. This started as a salad, to be enjoyed cold, obviously. But I had leftovers for two days and on the second I warmed the lentils briefly in the microwave and served with a fried egg, for a very…

Of course, you can get by with cookie decorating if you buy just the basic colors and mix them to get any other color you need. But I confess to being a compulsive food dye hoarder. And one of the colors I love the most, right off the bottle is Dusty Rose. Several companies make it, Americolor and SugarArt are my favorites. The problem with pink, is that often you get into bubblegum territory,…

If you are a lemon lover, this post is for you. A fantastic five-layer cake, deliciously chewy cookies, baby little “pies”, and a posset. Let’s start with the cake, maybe my favorite of this series, courtesy of Helen Fetcher, my beloved baking guru… SPLIT LEMON LAYER CAKE(from Helen Fletcher’s blog) for the lemon filling, to be made the day before:4 large egg yolks1 ¼ cups water1 ¼ cups…