Maple-honey granola

I think I mentioned a few months ago that I placed an order with the Ottolenghi webshop, in the UK? Well, I did. And I ordered their granola. And I loved it. I usually don't like granola all that much, it's either not crunchy enough, or filled with somewhat icky stuff, or with lots of fruit in it, or.. just something. I end up eating it a few times, throwing out the rest. Not so with the Ottolenghi stuff. It was divine. However, it had brazil nuts which I don't particularly cared for... and it was pretty expensive. Especially to ship over from the UK. Not an option in the long run, obviously.

So I made my own - I drew some inspiration from the ottolenghi cookbook, and some from online sources, but finally ended up with this. It's not the healthiest of granolas, I know. It is, however, one that I will finish. And that's pretty good.

Maple-honey granola
300 g oats

200 g mixed nuts (almond, cashew, hazelnuts)

25 g sunflower seeds

75 g honey

75 g maple syrup 

4 tbsp rapeseed oil

2 tbsp water

Pinch of salt

Place the oats, nuts and seeds in a big bowl. Combine honey, maple syrup, oil, water and salt and then mix this into the rest of the ingredients. Use your hands to make sure everything is well covered. Spread on a lined baking sheet, and bake at 140°C for about 35-40 minutes. Check it every ten minutes or so, you might need to stir it a little, and while you do want it to turn golden, you don't want it to burn even a little. 

Hazelnut Cocoa Cuts

A very yummy version of the humble chocolate cut cookie, which is normally sprinkled with pearl sugar. I don't have a photo of the finished cookie, which should serve to tell you that it's delicous. (Actually, I have some stashed in the freezer. They thaw in seconds, making them perfect to have with a cup of afternoon coffee.)

Hazelnut Cocoa Cuts

about 40 cookies

200 g butter, at room temperature
240 g sugar
2 tbsp golden syrup
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 vanilla bean
2 tsp baking powder
135 g all-purpose flour
135 g wholewheat flour

To decorate:
one egg, beaten
toasted hazelnuts, crushed

Mix all ingredients for the dough, into a smooth and supple dough. Shape into logs - mine were about 4 cm wide - and place on a lined baking sheet. Flatten slightly, then brush with egg wash and sprinkle with crushed hazelnuts.

Bake at 200°C for 10-12 minutes. Wait a minute or two, then cut diagonally into cookies. Let them cool completely on the baking sheets before transferring to a plate or, in my case, to the freezer.

Apple Muffins with Caramelized Hazelnuts

Apples are easily found all year round, but if you want Swedish apples, the season is considerably shorter. Some are ripe in early summer, but most sorts aren’t ready until late summer or fall. Some are even later. For these muffins, it won’t really matter much what kind you use – just use one that you like to eat!

It’s a very versatile recipe, as you don’t add the fruit until the end – you can just as easily swap the apples for, say, blueberry or raspberry, or maybe try a combination of blackberries and apples? I love this combination though – apples, cinnamon and caramelized hazelnuts… Delicious!

Don’t be scared of the extra step of caramelizing the nuts. You can certainly skip it, but it does add an extra layer of flavor, and it’s not difficult at all. Make sure there are no kids around though – caramel is HOT. And you want some kind of silicone or teflon baking mat – or oil a regular baking sheet.

This recipe yielded me 12 normal-sized muffins, and 15 mini-sized. It would probably have been enough for 18 normal-sized, but I wanted to make some minis without the nuts, since so many people are allergic these days. I also like making smaller ones for the sheer cuteness.

Apple Muffins with Caramelized Hazelnuts

For the nuts:
100 ml hazelnuts, toasted (If you can’t find them at the store, toast them yourself for about 10 minutes in a 200°C oven)
50 ml sugar
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Heat the sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan, and watch closely as it’ll turn deep golden brown. Add the nuts, stir, and immediately turn out onto a teflon or silicone baking mat, or an oiled baking sheet. Let cool completely, then chop coarsely.

For the muffins:
200 g butter, at room temperature
70 g brown sugar
80 g sugar
1 tbsp vanilla sugar (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
3 eggs
280 g flour
1 tbsp baking powder
2-3 apples, peeled, cored and cut into small dice
cinnamon

Cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla sugar as well, or the extract.

Add the eggs, one at a time, and make sure to mix well in between each addition. Stir in the flour and baking powder.

Half-fill muffin cups placed in a muffin tin for extra sturdiness. As this batter is on the thick side, you can lightly wet your fingers to press down the batter. Add about a tablespoon of diced apples, and lightly dust with cinnamon. Sprinkle with the chopped caramelized nuts.

Bake at about 190°C. The normal-sized muffins will take about 15 minutes, and minis 10 minutes. Use a cake-tester or a toothpick to check that they’re done – it should come out clean.

Previously published at sweden.se

Apple Hazelnut Sourdough

Remember how I told you I won a sourdough bread baking contest? Well, it wasn't with this bread, but this was one of the breads I tried out during that time. I didn't submit it because I was pretty sure they'd never want to produce anything with nuts due to so many people having allergies, but the bread came out great, and I love it. I hope you'll try it! It DOES take a long time, but if you plan ahead, it's pretty effortless.

The dough is pretty sticky, which is why I opted to make loaves using a tin - but feel free to shape it into rolls, just be prepared to use a bit of flour.

You can leave out the yeast if you have a REALLY active sourdough, but I personally prefer to use a bit of yeast to make sure the bread rises well.

Apple Hazelnut Sourdough

Step 1:
150 g bubbly, active sourdough starter
500 ml water
200 g rye flour
200 - 250 g bread flour
350 g "rågsikt", a Swedish mixture with about 60% wheat, 40% rye
10 g fresh yeast

Lightly mix all the ingredients into a dough, and leave to rest for two hours.

Step 2:
The dough from step 1
15 g salt
150 g grated apple
150 g toasted hazelnuts

Mix into the dough, and knead really well - at least ten minutes using a stand mixer, and longer by hand. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl or box, cover wth a lid or plastic, and leave to rise overnight in the fridge, for 12-16 hours.

Step 3:
Take the dough out of the fridge, and shape it. You can make one large free-form loaf, rolls, or simply bake it in a lightly oiled tin.

Leave to rise at room temperature for two hours.

Step 4:
Heat the oven to 250°C. Put your bread in, and lower the heat to 200°C. The time will vary depending on how large you made your bread, but check the inside with a thermometer. The bread should have a core temperature of 98°C. Let the bread cool completely before slicing.

Recipe in Swedish:
Surdeg med äpple och hasselnötter

Hazelnut Macarons

I don't think these cookies need a long introduction - they're delicious. Using toasted hazelnuts instead of almonds is a great way to vary macarons and to make them more interesting. I'll have to experiment with other nuts as well - I've tried pistacio, but I'm thinking walnuts or pecans? Have you tried?

These can be made with or without coffee, I've tried it both ways. And both are great. I think I prefer the non-coffee version, though. These particular ones were made when I had friends over for a macaron class a few weeks ago, and I might still have a few in my freezer. (Cookies - not friends.) Lucky me!

Hazelnut Macarons
about 20 macarons

3 egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp caster sugar
200 g powdered sugar
110 g toasted hazelnuts, skins rubbed off
2 tsp coffee powder, optional

Combine powdered sugar and hazelnuts (and coffee, if using) in your food processor, and grind until very fine. Sieve. Re-grind any lumps or big pieces of nuts. Mix carefully (they tend to separate a little bit when sieving, since the sugar falls through first.)

Beat egg whites and sugar until you have a thick, glossy meringue. Don't overbeat. Stir in the hazelnut-sugar powder, and fold together. Don't overmix this - most seem to say that you should use less than 50 strokes. (You can try it by dolloping a little batter on a baking sheet - if the peak falls down, it's ready. If it doesn't, try a few more strokes.)

Pipe small rounds on a baking sheet with baking paper. If you want, sprinkle some finely ground hazelnuts on top of half of them. Leave at room temperature for 30-60 minutes, to form a skin.

Bake at 150°C for 10-12 minutes. (I have a convection oven.) Let them cool completely before filling. Unused shells can be frozen, or kept in an air-tight container for a day or so.

Chocolate ganache:
100 g dark chocolate
100 g milk chocolate
100 ml cream (full fat, 35-40%)
2 tsp instant coffee granules, optional

Chop the chocolate finely and place in a small bowl. Bring the cream to a bowl and pour over the chocolate. Add coffee, if using. Stir until smooth. Leave the ganache to thicken slightly as it cools. If it gets too thick, heat briefly in the microwave.

Fill the cookies, and store the finished macarons in the fridge where they'll keep for a few days, or in the freezer where they'll be fine for much longer.

Recipe in Swedish:
Hasselnötsmacarons