Σοκολατένια μπισκοτάκια με κακάο και κουβερτούρα

• 4 φλυτζάνια αλεύρι μαλακό
• 1/2 φλυτζάνι γάλα
• 1/2 φλυτζάνι βούτηρο
• 3/4 κούπας ζάχαρη
• 50 γρ κουβερτούρα λιωμένη σε μπεν μαρί
• 1/3 κούπας κακάο σκόνη
• 1 δόση βανίλια
• 2 αυγά

Με αυτή την δόση, βγαίνουν περίπου 1 1/2 κιλό μπισκοτάκια.

Χτυπάμε στο μίξερ το βούτηρο με την ζάχαρη, προσθέτουμε τα αυγά, το γάλα, την βανίλια, το κακάο και τέλος την κουβερτούρα. Ρίχνουμε το αλεύρι σιγα σιγά, και με μια σπάτουλα ανακατεύουμε μέχρι να πάρουμε μια ζύμη σφιχτή.

Βάζουμε την ζύμη στο ψυγείο για περίπου 1 ώρα να παγώσει για να μπορούμε να την ανοίξουμε σε χοντρό φύλλο. Με ένα πλάστη, ανοίγουμε  την ζύμη σε φύλλο πάχους 1 εκατοστού. Με ένα κουπ-πατ ή ένα ποτήρι κόβουμε σχεδιάκια, και τα βάζουμε σε λαδόχαρτο για το ψήσιμο. Ψήνουμε στους 180 για 20 λεπτά. Έτοιμα!

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Easter platter with one tsoureki, maxlep cookies and red eggs.

Hello all and have a nice Easter period!

Our tradition says that the period of Easter allover Greece, housewives make at list tsourekia (Greek Easter bread) which is the symbol of Easter along with red eggs! And i say ‘at list’ because in every region of our country, depending on local tradition, the housewives make every nice think provided by their local cuisine.

For those who hear for first time the word of ‘tsourekia’, i would like to explain that it is a kind of bread but very sweet with lots of herbs inside, like ‘maxlep and kakoule’ and has an elastic texture. Tsourekia, usually have the shape of tail, and other times shapes like big loops.

We also call tsourekia as ‘labrokouloures’ or ‘labropsoma’.
Greek tradition also predicts that last week before Easter, and specifically in Thursday, we paint the eggs in red color to indicate mourning at Christ’s sufferings.

Finally, to fill my platter with another Easter recipe, i made cookies with maxlep herb decorated with sessame.

At this point, i would like to say, that tourekia are a very difficult recipe and very hard to catch the succeed. And this because you need to carefully select the kind of flour and the temperatures of the liquids.
My recipe comes from the book of Ms. Vefa Alexiadou, and it is the best recipe for tsourekia i have already tested. The eggs are painted red by ready paints specially for this occasion and directions are given in the back of the package.
Allow me to publish in next post the exact materials and doses for tsourekia and maxlep cookies. I feel very sorry for that, but i have got much time pressure and the recipe for tsourekia is not a simple case.

I wish all you KALI ANASTASI & KALO PASCHA (Have a nice easter) !

The recipes of my Easter!

Easter bisquits with Maxaleb flavor

• 225g butter
• 560g flour (soft kind)
• 1 tea spoon bakin powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 170g sugar
• 2 egg whites
• 60g milk
• 20g Maxaleb fine grated
• Sesame for decoration
• 1 egg yolk for spreading while baking

Execution:

We hit the oven at 180^o C, up and down function.

We melt the butter, and let it cool. Shift the flour, baking powder and soda. In a large mixer bowl stir the butter and sugar to become flufy and white. We add the eggs one a time. Then we add the milk and the maxlep. Finally, we put the powders in doses, until we got a dough which does not sticks in our hands and bowl.

Put the dough in fridge for 1 hour to get rest and freeze the butter.
It will be easier to figure it.

Make small dough balls of 20g each, to get the same shape for all. Figure small ’s’ about 6 cm each one. Put in a pan with baking paper. Spread with egg and sesame

Bake them for about 25 minutes. Cool them in a rack.

TSOUREKIA or Greak Easter bread

We make about 8 plaits.

• 2 kilos flour (strong – I use the ‘Robin Hood’)
• 200g fresh yeast
• 1 cup warm water (about 40^o C)
• 750g sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tbsp oil, prefer seed oil
• 1 tbsp ground maxlep
• 1 tbsp ground kakoule
• 240g very hot milk
• 10 eggs room temperature
• 330g butter (I use ‘Lurpac’)
• sesame for decoration

As we said, tsourekia are dificult to succeed because you must be exact with the quantities, and specially with their temperatures. To catch a fine tsoureki, you must have a warm anf flufy dough.

From the previous day, put the eggs, butter and milk in room temperature.

When you start the procedure, hit the room you are, to get a very warm atmosphere. Do not open windows or doors to maintain a standard temperature.

We begin:

1. In a bowl, put the warm water and dissolve the yeast. Put 4 tbsp of flour and stir. Cover the bowl with membrane and coil with one towel. Let the bowl by to distend until come in double size and make big bubbles. This take about half hour.

2. In a large basin, put the sugar, maxlep, kakoule, salt and oil. Stir with fingers. Put the milk and stir a little with a spoon.

3. Add the eggs and try to break the yolks with your hands.

4. Add the distened yeast

5. Now put the flour, and work the mixture with your hands but try not to knead, until you moist the whole ammount of flour.

6. Take the butter and throw it with your handful in small doses all over the dough. “Fold” the dough many many times, but not knead. Do not wait until the butter is absorbed. It will be totaly absorbed during staying procedure. You must not work the dough for much hour, if you want flufy and soft ‘tsourekia’.

7. Cover the basin with plastic membrane, and then with a blanket. Let the dough stay in a hot place for about 3 hours.

8. After 3 hours, take the dough and separate in 24 same pieces without kneading. Try to make plaits, just like hair. Put some baking paper in a pan and lay up to three plaits each one.

9. After making plaits all dough, let them by for extra half hour to raise the dough again.

10. Prehit the oven at 200 ^o C air function. Spread the plaits with egg yolk and sesame and bake them keeping the order you made them.

11. Bake each pan for about 25 minutes. Let them cool, and you may put them in refrigeration wreathed in membrane.

Kali oreksi!

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Sample dough can be used also for any kind of tarts busquits or cookies! I suppose this is why we call it ’sample’.’

Ok, let see how we do that…

We need:

• 500 gr flour (soft)
• 300 gr butter
• 200 gr caster sougar
• 100 gr almond powder
• 2 eggs
• 3 gr salt
• Vanillin
• jam we like

Preparation:

If your eggs comes right from the fridge, just put them in a ben marie to get the room tempreature. The best practice is to have the eggs alogn with butter out your fridge few hours before procedure. Sift the flour and the caster sugar. If you don’t have almond powder, don’t worry, just take simple almonds put them in water to soak, their skin comes out immediatly!

Execution:

In a mixer bucket, we put the butter, the eggs one by one, and the rest except the flour. When the blend is ready, we stop the mixer, and with our hands we put the flour in doses. As soon as the blend becomes dough, we put it in and in the fridge, into a gelatin. We do that to froze the butter, because the kneading will be easier.

The best option is to have the dough in the fridge from the previous day. Nice until here.

Giving the shape:

Get the dough out of the fridge, and with the plaster, open it in a square shape for about 1/4 cm height. Use a ‘cup pat’, nomatter what shape you got,  and cut the dough into shapes.

Count the number of cutted and cut the same number again in same shapes to make the cups. Ok, now for the cups just pick one smaller shape and make a design the center of it.

Put them in the oven in 160 ^C , using the up & down function and not the air. Bake them for 15′. Remember, the more you bake it the most crispy become, but don’t burn it! As soon as they are ready, put them in a wire to cool.

Then take your favorite jam, a base busquit and a cup,  spread some jam (carefull don’t put much ammount) and close with the cup. You are ready!

Serve the buisquits in a nice platter, invite some friends and enjoy a hot cup of coffee!!!

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