Contact us
800.827.6836 | Norwich, Vermont

King Arthur Flour

shopping basket  
0 items in basket | checkout

The Baking Sheet

The Baking Sheet - Fall 2008

More of everything for the same low price!

King Arthur Flour's award–winning baking newsletter is bigger, better, more colorful than ever. Inside every copy of The Baking Sheet you'll find 24 pages of delicious baking recipes, step–by–step how–to photographs, recipe makeovers, and lots of ideas for seasonal baking for all skill levels. From quick nutritious casseroles to the perfect dessert for a fancy occasion, The Baking Sheet is a welcome friend and partner in the kitchen.

  • 1 year (6 issues) plus 1 FREE - $19.95 SAVE 42%*
  • 2 years (12 issues) plus 2 FREE - $36.95 SAVE 47%*
  • 3 years (18 issues) plus 3 FREE - $49.95 SAVE 52%*
  • *Savings off the U.S. cover price

Renew | Manage account | Give a gift | Subscribe

There's a bushel basket of great baking inside our beautiful autumn issue

It's apple-picking time!

It's apple-picking time, and we highlight the bounty of the season with our Apple Breakfast Cake, Apple-Raisin Cookies, Swedish Apple Pie, and Austrian Apple Cake. We make use of the zucchini avalanche with the lovely Pecorino ”Ciambellone“ bread on our cover. Then there's a collection of cookies for lunchboxes, a Swiss Chicken Pie makeover, and whole–grain dinner rolls. Halloween is more fun than ever, when you whip up our Toe of Frog Cookies, Spider Eggs, and Witches' Hats.

Spider Eggs

Witches' hats and spider eggs

A great Halloween food should be creepy and fascinating at the same time, and most of all, delicious. These little morsels are crispy and sweet, with a little chocolate reward in the center. I think they're just the ticket for a Halloween party, and I can see 10-year old boys gleefully chowing down on them to get their little sisters to squeal in horror. Ice cream waffle bowls with spider webs traced on them in chocolate are just right for serving. —S.R.

Ingredients

  • 2 large egg whites, mixed with 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice OR 2 tablespoons (5/8 ounce) meringue powder
  • 1/4 cup (2 ounces) water
  • 1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups (9 ounces) semisweet chocoate chips
  • Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

Directions

With a whisk, the egg whites or meringue powder and water until the mixture is foamy, the whites go from watery looking to white, and the whisk leaves tracks in the bowl. If you're using fresh egg whites, add the lemon juice at this point. If you're using meringue powder, there's no need for lemon juice.

Once the egg whites have reached medium peak, add the sugar gradually with the mixer running at medium speed.

Step 1 Beat just until the whites become glossy and hold a stiff peak; don't overbeat the mixture or it will begin to look grainy. If this happens, you'll need to start over, because the mixture can't be saved.

Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Fit a pastry bag with a round tip (I used #12) and fill it a little more than half full with meringue.

Step 2 Fold the top over from each corner, then fold once more to make a horizontal chunk of bag you can grip. Or, close the back of the bag with a twist tie, to keep the meringue from backing up over your hand when you squeeze it.

Step 3 Pipe small dots the size of a pencil eraser on the parchment sheet, about 1 1/2 inches apart. You're making a wee platform for the chocolate chip to sit on. Now place a chocolate chip on each of the dots you've made.

Step 4 Next, hold the pastry bag in one place with the tip surrounding the top of the chocolate chip. Squeeze gently until the meringue flows over and surrounds the chocolate. Release the pressure before lifting the bag.

You may find that there's a bit of chip still peeking out on one side; that's ok. Tell the kids it's the baby spider inside trying to get out! ;-)

Spider eggs

Very lightly dust the eggs with a bit of the unsweetened cocoa to make them look freckled, then dry the meringues in a 200°F oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Remove from the oven, and cool completely before storing. But be sure you try at least one while they're still warm. They're really good. Yield: 6 cups of spider eggs.

Nutrition information per serving (1/2 cup of spider eggs, 35g): 144 cal, 6g fat, 2g protein, 2g complex carbohydrates, 20g sugar, 0mg cholesterol, 31mg sodium, 72mg potassium, 1mg iron, 7mg calcium, 23mg phosphorus, 16mg caffeine.
Weight Watchers points: 3

Helpful tips

How to avoid common pastry bag pitfalls

  • Don't overfill. Too much in the bag makes it difficult to control.
  • Always close the top. Otherwise it will back up over your hand when you squeeze it. A spring clip or twist tie can be a lifesaver here, especially if you're baking with a child who wants to try the new skill of piping.
  • Use a beer mug or sturdy tall glass to help you fill the bag. It will work like a ”third hand“ so you can concentrate on getting the mixture where you need it to go.

From meringue to marshmallow

  • When I tested these at King Arthur, it was summertime. On the drier days they did fine, but on the muggy, humid ones, you almost had to get them warm from the oven to get them while they were still crunchy. The eggs didn't get soggy on humid days, just soft and more like a marshmallow.
  • As you may know, the sugar in a meringue will absorb moisture from the air (the more humid it is, the faster that happens). That's why this is a better fall dessert than a summer one. If you're making these ahead, be sure you have an airtight container in which to store them; if you have a cracker keeper or a spare packet of silica gel, tuck that inside, too.

Spiderweb cups

  • If you have a pizzelle maker and the true ”Martha“ gene, here's your chance. Just drape the warm pizelle over the bottom of a muffin cup while it's still soft, and gently press it down to make a bowl shape.
  • If your ambitions exceed the time you have available, you can do what I did and buy some waffle ice cream bowls at the grocery store. Flip them upside down (gently). Melt 1/2 cup of chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons of heavy cream, and pour the melted chocolate into a disposable pastry bag or zip-top bag. Cut just the very point off the tip or corner, and pipe the chocolate up one side and down the other. Continue all the way around the bowl like the spokes of a wheel. Then go around in curving arcs, from spoke to spoke, to make the connection of the web. Let the chocolate set, then flip the bowls over to hold your spider eggs.