Author Archives: Liz {E2 Bakes Brooklyn}

About Liz {E2 Bakes Brooklyn}

I'm a blogger, freelance baker, and recipe developer in South Brooklyn.

Almond Flour Sparkling Shortbread {Vegan, Gluten-Free}

I am very happy to participate in the Sweetest Season Cookie Exchange for the sixth time this year. This is a food blogger-lead fundraising event and awareness campaign for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. This organization is a 501(c)3 non-profit with the mission to raise funds for innovative pediatric cancer treatments and research through bake sales and cookie swaps. Supporters (“Good Cookies”) can do this throughout the year, but we are bringing awareness during this time of holiday giving. If you’d like to learn more and/or make a charitable donation to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, click here. Otherwise, scroll on for Almond Flour Sparkling Shortbread!

Every year, I take great pride in having a vegan, gluten-free recipe in my holiday repertoire. Half of everyone I know falls into one of these two categories; it’s kind of a no-brainer to have this as part of my skill set. I love feeding my people.

When writing these sorts of recipes, the only boundaries I give myself are that I won’t work with hard-to-access flours or pre-made blends (they’re inconsistent). As such, it should come as no surprise that I buy almond flour in bulk at Costco, and also that I go through it at the speed of light. I’ve got a lot of gluten-free and/or vegan people to feed, ya know.

This holiday season, I’m keeping it very simple. How simple? Six ingredients-, slice & bake-, stays good for days-simple. But with sparkle, of course, because simple doesn’t mean boring around here. Almond Flour Sparkling Shortbread, y’all.

These cookies are so easy to make. The dough is is a quick one with just five ingredients: almond flour, vegan butter, confectioner’s sugar, salt and vanilla. Once the it’s mixed up, it’s rolled into two logs, coated in your sparkling sugar (or vegan sprinkles), and refrigerated for a few hours or a few days depending on your schedule and needs. When you’re ready for cookies (and who isn’t?) simply slice them thick and bake them just until they look dry.

Almond Flour Sparkling Shortbread have it all. They’re buttery with a pronounced almond flavor, and a tender-crisp bite. The sparkling sugar on the edges adds a little pizzazz and a some extra crunch. And since they’re vegan and gluten-free, they’re one more festive way to feed both my people and yours.

Not vegan and gluten-free? Try my classic Sparkling Shortbread!

Almond Flour Sparkling Shortbread {Vegan, Gluten-Free}
makes about 3 dozen small cookies

6 tablespoons vegan butter, softened to room temperature (or dairy butter if not vegan)
6 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
6 tablespoons sparkling sugar, or (vegan) sprinkles of choice

In a medium-large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat vegan butter until fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add confectioner’s sugar and beat until fully combined (about 2 minutes). Beat in vanilla.

Add half the almond flour and mix until combined. Beat in remaining almond flour and salt. Dough may look rubbly, but should hold together extremely well when pinched.

Knead dough a couple of times with your hand, then divide it in half.

Place two sheets of plastic wrap on the counter. Place sparkling sugar on a dinner plate.

Working with one half of the dough at a time, form it into a log that is roughly 7 inches long and 1 inch in diameter. Place the dough log on the plate of sparkling sugar, then gently roll it around to coat completely. Remove it to one of the sheets of plastic wrap and wrap it up. Repeat this process with the remaining dough and sparkling sugar. When done, place both logs of dough in the refrigerator for 2 hours or up to 3 days.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325F. Line two rimmed sheet pans with parchment paper.

Working with one log of dough at a time, slice off any scraggly ends, then slice in increments of 1/4-1/3 inch (I went 1/3 inch because I prefer thick shortbread). Place slices about 1 1/2 inches apart on prepared pans.

Bake cookies 14-16 minutes, rotating the pans top to bottom and back to front at the 8 minute mark. Cookies are done when they look completely dry and are just starting to turn pale golden at the edges. They should not brown.

Let cookies cool completely on their sheet pans. Serve. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for at least a week.

French Onion Pinwheels

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I usually concentrate on pie this time of year, and that’s great—pie is great!—but my favorite part of Thanksgiving is the hors d’oeuvres. Especially if there’s cheese involved (which there absolutely should be).

Over the years, I’ve made a cheesy tarte soleil, a flaky baked brie, savory cheddar shortbread, baked feta, and twisty rosemary Parmesan straws, all of which are worthy of the pre-meal spotlight. This year’s recipe finds you while I’m in the middle of a French Onion hyperfixation, so it’s all about caramelized onions and gruyere wrapped up in homemade (or not) flaky pastry.

Simply take a sheet of puff pastry (I used homemade rough puff) and layer on everything good.

…or to be more specific, layer on melted butter, dijon or grainy mustard, gruyere, dried thyme and the caramelized onions you made in your oven while making some side dishes. Roll the whole thing up into a cylinder, give it a brief chill, then slice and bake.

Ugh, can you even take how delicious these look? Golden and flaky, with bubbly cheese puddles and onions peeking through—simply gorgeous. And delicious, too.

French Onion Pinwheels
makes 22-24 pinwheels

Egg Wash:
1 large egg
1 teaspoon cold tap water

Pinwheels:
1 batch rough puff pastry (recipe below) or 1 sheet frozen thawed puff pastry
1 tablespoon melted butter, cooled slightly
1 tablespoon dijon or whole grain mustard
6 ounces gruyere cheese, freshly grated
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves)
2/3 cup caramelized onions

Make the egg wash. In a small bowl, use a fork to whisk together egg and water. Set aside.

Make the pinwheels. Flour a surface and a rolling pin. Unfold puff pastry and roll to a 10x14-inch rectangle.

Use a pastry brush to brush a thin layer of butter over the surface of the pastry, leaving a 1/2-inch border on all sides.

Spread mustard over the butter. I find this easiest to do by dropping it in spoonfuls over the top, then spreading it out. It doesn’t have to be perfect; it’s going to be rolled up!

Scatter grated gruyere over the top, then sprinkle on the thyme. Drop caramelized onions over the cheese.

Paint the 1/2-inch border on one 14-inch side with egg wash. Starting at the other 14-inch side, tightly roll pastry together like you would cinnamon rolls. Lightly flour a pan or cutting board and place the rolled pastry on top. Freeze for 30 minutes or refrigerate for up to a day.

Preheat oven to 400F. Line two rimmed sheet pans with parchment paper. Set aside.

When freezing time is up, remove the rolled pastry back to the floured surface. Flour a large, sharp chef’s knife and use it to slice the roll into 1/2-inch pieces. Place them 2 inches apart on prepared pans. Brush each with egg wash.

Bake 18-20 minutes, or until golden and puffed. Let cool on their pans for about 5-10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Leftovers should be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Rough Puff Pastry
makes 1 sheet

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
5 ounces unsalted European-style butter, very cold, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup water or milk, very cold

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Use a pastry blender or two forks to cut butter into dry ingredients until the largest pieces are the size of small peas. Pour in cold water or milk and stir with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.

Flour a surface and a rolling pin. Turn dough out onto surface, and use your hands to pat it into a rough rectangle. Roll the dough into an 8x10" rectangle. Fold dough in thirds, and give it one quarter turn. Roll into an 8x10" rectangle again, fold, and turn. Repeat rolling, folding, and turning until it has been done six times total. Wrap folded dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour, or up to 48 hours.

How to Caramelize Onions in the Oven

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Caramelized Onions may have hit peak popularity in the 80s, but they’re always in style in my kitchen. They add depth and sweetness to any savory dish—an ideal quality when you’re planning a holiday meal.

Need to jazz up your mashed potatoes? Add caramelized onions. Looking for a quick compound butter? Caramelized onions to the rescue. Want to change up your cheese plate? Four words: Caramelized Onion Baked Brie.

Truly, there’s no wrong way to use them. The problem is that caramelizing onions takes time and attention. If someone tells you that they can caramelize onions in fifteen minutes, they are lying—this is more of an hour spent over the stove kind of project. Or at least, it was.

Nowadays, I’ve taken to caramelizing onions in the oven. It takes a while—a couple of hours at least—but it’s mostly inactive work time. If I’ve got the oven on for something, there’s a decent chance that I have a foil-wrapped casserole dish full of onions somewhere in there too, using up that heat. It’s a hack I use often, and it’s particularly perfect for a time of year when the oven is almost always on. Two birds and all.

An added benefit to caramelizing onions in the oven is that you can make a ton at once. The onions pictured started as two full pounds, but cooked down to less than a cup all told. If you’ve got the oven space, there’s no reason not to start with four or even six pounds of onions. If you make too many for your intended project, you can easily freeze them for another day.

You know, like tomorrow…hint, hint.

How to Caramelize Onions in the Oven
makes about 3/4 cup

2 pounds Spanish, white or red onions, sliced 1/4-1/8-inch thick
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher or sea salt, to taste (I like a heaping 1/4 teaspoon)
few grinds black pepper

Equipment:
9x13” casserole dish
aluminum foil
a stirring implement

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Place sliced onions in a 9x13-inch casserole dish. Add olive oil, salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 1 hour.

Remove the pan from the oven, lift the foil, and stir the onions. They should be fully soft and translucent at this point, and starting to turn a very pale brown.

Cover the pan with foil again, then bake for another 30 minutes before stirring again. The onions should be turning darker at this point. If any of the edge pieces have burned, lift them out and discard. Some of the sugars in the onions may char at the edges of the pan—this is normal.

Cover the pan again and bake in 15-20 minute increments, stirring between, until your desired color and consistency has been reached. The onions pictured went about 2.5 hours.

Once your onions are to your liking, remove them from the oven and let cool. Use as desired. Leftovers may be refrigerated for a few days or frozen.

Flourless Pumpkin Almond Cake

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When I crack open a can of pumpkin purée, I want to make sure to use it all up instead of letting it get weird in the fridge. With the exception of the iconic pie, pumpkin recipes tend to call for just a small amount of the actual squash to achieve their texture and color, so there’s nearly always some leftover. And that, my internet friends, is how we’ve ended up with three pumpkin recipes in a row.

I mean, you can freeze leftover pumpkin purée, but wouldn’t you rather have a wedge of Flourless Pumpkin Almond Cake?!

This simple cake is a seasonal spin on a classic Flourless Almond Cake. It begins with blanched almond flour, brown sugar and pumpkin spice, then gets some richness from egg yolks, pumpkin purée, and melted butter. The cake gets its moist, springy texture because it’s lifted with whipped egg whites (and the tiniest spoonful of baking powder for extra stability).

It bakes up thick and rustic, with a crumb that is somehow both airy and pleasantly damp (a weird but accurate descriptor). I find it to be somewhere between cake and a pumpkin pie filling, just without the crust. It’s a perfect non-pie dessert for Thanksgiving (or any fall occasion), and has the added benefit of being gluten- and grain-free. I will always love a dessert that can feed more of my people, especially if it involves copious amounts of fresh whipped cream.

On a separate note, I’m feeling a little more consistent in my baking and blogging as we get toward the holidays, so expect to see more of me. I’ve been sharing my daily baking adventures (the highs and the lows) over on my Instagram stories. I’ve been loving the feedback and learning what y’all want to see from me. It’s all fall Maine content for this weekend, but I’ll be back in the kitchen next week. Come follow along, if you like.

Flourless Pumpkin Almond Cake
makes 1 8-inch round cake, about 8-10 servings

4 large egg whites, room temperature
3 large egg yolks, room temperature
1/3 cup pure pumpkin purée
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour (measured by spoon & level)
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt

For serving:
whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8-inch round pan. Line the bottom with parchment and grease again. Set aside.

Separate egg yolks from whites. Reserve 3 egg yolks for this recipe; set 1 egg yolk aside for a different use. Reserve all 4 whites in a very clean, dry bowl, for whipping.

Combine almond flour, light brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer on low speed to mix the ingredients together—this will take all of 15 seconds. Add 3 egg yolks, pumpkin purée, melted butter, and vanilla, then mix until combined. The mixture will be very thick.

Wash and dry mixer attachments, along with a medium mixing bowl. I also like to wipe down the equipment with vinegar, just to ensure that everything is completely clean before I add the egg whites. There is no way to salvage this recipe if the egg whites are contaminated with oil, yolk, or even water.

Transfer 4 egg whites to the very clean, dry medium mixing bowl. Use the very clean, dry electric mixer to whip them until stiff peaks form, about 2-3 minutes.

Stir 1/3 of the whipped egg whites into the almond mixture. Gently fold half the remaining egg whites into the mixture, followed by the other half.

Transfer batter to prepared pan. Scatter sliced almonds over the top. Bake for 28-30 minutes, or until firm in the center and not visibly damp.

Let cool in the pan for 30 minutes before running a thin, flexible knife around the edge of the cake. Invert cake onto a clean plate. Remove parchment. Revert onto a serving plate or cakestand. Let cool completely before slicing. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Leftover cake will keep covered at room temperature for up to two days or in the refrigerator for up to five. It tastes good on the first day, but the flavors deepen over time.

Pumpkin Spice English Muffin Bread

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One great thing about excellent base recipes is that with a little finesse, you can take them in any direction you like. Blondies are one that I mess with often, as is my cream cheese sugar cookie dough, as are so many other things.

Take my English Muffin Bread, for instance. It comes together in one bowl and two loaf pans, requires exactly one rise, and bakes up tall in half an hour. When sliced thick and toasted, it’s soft inside and crispy-craggy on the edges, just like a really excellent English muffin. And that’s fantastic—no notes. But sometimes the creative urge overtakes me and I just have to mess with perfection.

Today, we’re starting with that excellent formula and giving it a little autumnal twist. With a hefty scoop of pumpkin purée, pumpkin pie spice, and just enough brown sugar for flavor (not overwhelming sweetness), this Pumpkin Spice English Muffin Bread makes a cozy, delicious breakfast.

It’s got enough pumpkin flavor to fulfill a seasonal craving without overwhelming whatever is spread over and nestled into all those craggy bits. I kept my toppings classic here with just a little butter, but honestly, Pumpkin Spice English Muffin Bread makes the best Cinnamon Toast. Heck, you could even sub some of the cinnamon sugar for pumpkin pie spice sugar and really drive that autumnal vibe home.

No matter what you do to it though, this bread is fantastic. Like I said: no notes.

Pumpkin Spice English Muffin Bread
makes 2 loaves

For the pans:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3-4 tablespoons cornmeal

Bread Dough:
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (or bread flour)
4 tablespoons granulated sugar or packed light brown sugar
4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
4 1/2 teaspoons (2 packages) instant yeast
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup pure pumpkin purée
1/2 cup whole milk (warm to the touch, not hot)
1 2/3 cups warm water

For proofing:
plastic wrap
oil, butter or cooking spray

For serving:
butter
jam
honey

Grease 2 9x5-inch loaf pans with butter. Add cornmeal and rotate pans so that the entire insides are coated in a thin layer. Tap out and discard excess cornmeal.

In a medium-large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, salt and instant yeast.

In a large liquid measuring cup (or other vessel) whisk together melted butter, pumpkin purée, warm milk, and warm water. It should be warm to the touch (90-110F) but not hot.

Whisk/stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients in two installments. Stir until a sticky, shaggy dough forms and flour is coated, then stir an additional 30 seconds to make sure things are saturated.

Grease your hands, then divide dough into prepared pans. Grease 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Lay them loosely over the top of each loaf pan.

Place pans in a warm, draft-free environment for 45-60 minutes, or until the dough has risen just above the tops of the pans. While dough is rising, preheat oven to 400F.

When dough is ready, gently peel off and discard plastic wrap. Dough may seem a bit wet and jiggly. Gently place pans in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden all over. The interior temperature should be at least 190F.

Immediately turn bread out onto a rack. Let cool completely so crumb structure can set. Do not slice into bread until it is completely cool.

Slice and toast before serving. Leftovers will keep well-wrapped in the refrigerator for up to a week.

e2 bakes brooklyn

sweets & sass from a baking brooklynite.