Snickerdoodles

On March 30, 2023March 30, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Column, Topic2 Comments

Snickerdoodles have been one of my favorites ever since I raided Grandma Tiny’s cookie jar as a kid. I’d like to say that the recipe I use today, and shared this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, follows her original one closely, but I can’t be certain: in all the times I watched her bake these cookies, I never saw a cookbook or recipe card. She knew all of the ingredients and measurements by heart.

The only change I knowingly made to her recipe was to replace vegetable shortening with butter and coconut oil, a blend I prefer for pie crust too. I’ve also come up with a sourdough snickerdoodle variation that replaces an egg and some of the flour with sourdough starter. The cookies’ defining tanginess, normally created just by the cream of tartar, becomes even stronger, yet they remain sweet and chewy.
Learn to make Snickerdoodles

Honey-Chili Butter Biscuits

On March 16, 2023March 16, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Column, Fermenting, IngredientLeave a comment

At my recent fermentation workshop for Free the Seeds, we talked not just sourdough and vegetable ferments but dairy ones too. Cultured buttermilk, which I use in the biscuit recipe I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, is among the easiest dairy products to make at home.

Homemade yogurt is a close second: Buttermilk takes less hands-on time but requires a powdered starter culture; yogurt can be made with what’s left from your last batch but needs slightly more monitoring. I bring it up here because you can drain its whey and use that in the biscuits instead.

The biscuits themselves are flaky and tasty, but smearing on a bit of butter flavored with honey and ground chili makes them irresistible.
Learn to make Honey-Chili Butter Biscuits

Pillowy Sourdough Pita

On January 19, 2023January 19, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Column, Fermenting, IngredientLeave a comment

It’s always rewarding to pull a sourdough creation from the oven, but pita bread has a bonus fun factor. As they bake, sourdough pitas puff into floury pillows, holding their shape until they hit the cooling rack. When they cool, they collapse into flatbread ready to be stuffed with fillings or rebaked as chips.

As I explain this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, a few tricks help with the rise and fall of sourdough pita bread, but don’t worry if a few pita rounds refuse to puff evenly—they’ll still be tasty, and with practice, you’ll become better at rolling the rounds and timing the baking for pillowy sourdough pita.
Learn to make Pillowy Sourdough Pita

Cranberry-Orange Quick Bread

On December 22, 2022December 22, 2022 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Column, Ingredient1 Comment

After endless hours in coffeeshops, I have a soft spot for muffins and scones, but Montana life has taught me to favor quick breads. It’s their mobility I admire. Where muffins can get squished if they aren’t well packaged and scones can crumble after the first day, quick breads can be sliced once cool and slid into a gallon zip-close bag, where they hold their shape well. Better yet, presliced loaves can be frozen so that I can pull out a couple of slices, warm them in the toaster oven, and devour them as I’m driving up the ski hill.

In my Twice as Tasty column this week for the Flathead Beacon, I share a wintertime quick bread that packs a flavor punch from cranberries and orange. I usually buy at least two bags of cranberries as soon as I see them in stores and immediately freeze one with the berries whole and unwashed, since water causes the skins to blister. I can then make this bread on a whim, chopping still-frozen cranberries in a food processor.
Learn to make Cranberry-Orange Quick Bread