Flour Tortillas ~ Cheesy Beef Tortilla Wraps

Tortilla is a smooth thin pliable flatbread, baked on a hotplate, typically used in South American cookery.  The dough should be quite simple, little more than flour, salt, and water.  Fat is sometimes added to help keep the dough pliable.  Typical ingredients include wheat flour, water, salt, fat, and occasionally a small amount of leavening such as baking powder.

I have never made tortillas before, but since I like eating them, I think that I should try to make them at home. I used Alton Brown recipe that modified a little by me,  I omitted the lard and used vegetable oil instead. I just made these this morning and they were excellent. The dough had just the right amount of elasticity and was easy to work with. 

These tortillas were absolutely wonderful.  They were pliable and quite easy to roll out.  Yes, rolling out each tortilla was more time-consuming than I thought, as the dough tried to spring back to its original size. You just need a bit labor intensive to make sure that they were thin enough. You can make these thin or thick, depending on your preference.  Overall, it was quick, easy, and you can tweak it if you want, it won’t come to any harm. Well, I hope it wasn’t beginner’s luck.  You must try this if you want to impress your family and friends.  I couldn’t be bothered again going to a local shop for tortillas.

My family thought these were perfect.  When I asked them if I should make these again or go back to a store-bought tortillas, they voted for these. Great recipe to make with your kids, who can then fill them with whatever they like. These can be filled with sweet or savory filling, or even taste delicious plain or with a bit of butter on them. I’ve made wraps with these tortillas with smoked beef and cheese filling and tasted delicious. It’s just perfect for lunch or even for grab-and-go snack. My daughter loved it.

Flour Tortillas

For recipe in Indonesian click HERE

Ingredients:

·         3 cups flour

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         1 teaspoon baking powder

·         1/3 cup vegetable oil

·         1 cup lukewarm water (or milk if you want a better taste)

Directions:

1.       Combine flour, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix  until well combined. Add oil and milk with mixer running at a medium speed. After about 1 minute or when the mixture comes together and begins to form a ball, decrease mixing speed to low. Continue mixing for 1 minute or until dough is smooth.

2.       Transfer the dough to a well-floured surface.  Divide dough in half, then in half again. Continue until you have 12 fairly equal portions.  Form each piece into a ball and flatten with the palm of your hand as much as possible.  If it is sticky, use a bit more flour.  Cover flattened balls of dough with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for 15 minutes before proceeding.

3.       Heat a large pan over medium-high heat.  Roll each dough into a rough circle, about 6-7 inches in diameter, keep work surface and rolling pin lightly floured.  Don’t stack uncooked tortillas on top of each other or they will get soggy.

4.       When pan is very hot, place one dough circle into pan and allow to cook for about 1 minutes or until bottom surface has a few pale brown spots and the uncooked surface will begin to show a few little bubbles. If tortilla is browning too fast, reduce heat a bit. If it’s taking longer than 1 minutes to see brown spots on underside of tortilla, increase heat a bit. Flip to other side and cook for about 30 seconds. Remove from pan with tongs and stack in a covered container or zippered bag till all tortillas are cooked. This will keep them soft and pliable.

5.       Serve warm or a llow to cool for later use.  When ready to use, place a slightly damp paper towel in the bottom of a container that will hold the stacked tortillas.  Microwave, uncovered, for 15-25 seconds or until warm, then cover to hold heat while serving. The tortillas will keep well stored in an airtight container or zippered bag at room temperature for 24 hours, or can be frozen indefinitely. Separate tortillas with parchment paper and place in a zippered bag before placing in freezer.

Cheesy Beef Tortilla Wraps

Ingredients:

·         4 flour tortillas

·         4 slices smoked beef

·         ½ cup blue cheese salad dressing

·         1 stalk of green onions, thinly chopped

·         1 tomato, seeded and chopped

·         4 slices Romaine lettuce

·         8 slices cheese

·         Tomato ketchup and chili sauce (optional)

Directions:

Place tortillas on work surface and spread with salad dressing. Layer remaining ingredients on tortillas and roll up, enclosing filling. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until serving time.

Kulit Tortilla

Bahasa Indonesia

Bahan:

·         3 cups tepung terigu

·         1 sdt garam

·         1 sdt baking powder

·         1/3 cup minyak sayur

·         1 cup susu hangat (boleh diganti air)

Cara:

1.       Campur tepung terigu, garam, dan baking soda dalam mangkuk, aduk hingga bercampur.

2.       Tambahkan minyak dan susu lalu aduk dengan electric mixer dengan kecepatan sedang sampai membentuk bulatan, turunkan kecepatan rendah, aduk terus sampai kalis (bisa juga diuleni dengan tangan).

3.       Bagi adonan menjadi dua, kemudian masing-masing bagi lagi menjadi dua. Teruskan membagi sampai didapat 12 bulatan sama besar. Bentuk bulat lalu pipihkan dengan telapak tangan. Jika lengket, tambahkan sedikit tepung. Tutup dengan lap dan diamkan selama 15 menit.

4.       Panaskan wajan tanpa minyak dengan api sedang-besar.  Giling masing-masing adonan menjadi lingkaran tipis dengan diameter sekitar 6-7 inch.

5.       Letakkan satu lembar adonan di atas wajan panas, goreng selama kurang lebih 1 menit atau sampai muncul bercak kecoklatan di permukaan bawah yang membentuk gelembung. Balik tortilla dan goreng lagi selama 30 detik. Angkat dan simpan di dalam wadah yang tertutup rapat atau zippered bag sampai saat digunakan untuk mencegah tortilla menjadi keras. Lakukan sampai adonan habis.

6.       Tortilla siap digunakan atau disimpan dalam freezer, beri kertas roti atau plastik di setiap lembaran.  Panaskan 10-15 detik dengan microwave sebelum disajikan dan diberi isian.

Cheesy Beef Tortilla Wraps

Bahan:

·         4 lembar tortilla

·         4 lembar smoked beef

·         ½ cup blue cheese salad dressing (atau dressing sesuai selera)

·         1 ikat daun bawang, iris tipis

·         1 buah tomat, buang bijinya dan iris kotak-kotak kecil

·         4 lembar daun selada

·         8 lembar keju

·         Saus tomat dan saus sambal bila suka.

Ambil satu lembar tortilla, oles seluruh permukaan dengan salad dressing.  Susun semua bahan di atasnya, mulai dari selada, smoked beef, tomat, daun bawang, dan keju parut.  Tambahkan saus tomat atau saus sambal bila suka. Gulung dan bungkus dengan plastic wrap sampai siap untuk disajikan.

Killer Crunch Brownies

For those of you who have read my posts, you know that chocolate is near and dear to my heart. I could eat a pile of chocolate every day and use them to make brownies.  I love brownies. I love marshmallow.  So how can you go wrong?

The recipe came from a good friend.  She bought these treats to a gathering and I asked her to share the recipe.   Luckily she did because they have became a favorite in our family.  They do taste dangereously good.  Not only the flavors are delicious, but the texture combination is great too.  The brownies start with a layer of rich and fudgy brownie; followed by a layer of gooey marshmallows; and all topped off with a layer of chocolate, peanut butter, and Rice Krispies.

I recommend keeping these brownies in the refrigerator, since the top layer tends to melt rather quickly. Besides, they taste great served cold.  Don’t forget to keep away the kids from these babies or they will be gone in no time and leave nothing  for you J

Killer Crunch Brownies

For recipe in Indonesian click HERE

Ingredients:

For the brownie base

·         60 gr cocoa powder (I use Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa)

·         100 gr semisweet chocolate bar/chips (I use Lindt Milk Chocolate bar)

·         80 gr unsalted butter

·         80 gr all-purpose flour

·         2 large eggs, cold

·         100 gr sugar

·         75 gr brown sugar

·         2 tsp vanilla extract

·         ½ tsp salt

For topping

·         200 gr marshmallow

·         200 gr milk chocolate bar (saya memakai Lindt Milk Chocolate bar)

·         ½ cup smooth peanut butter

·         1 tbsp unsalted butter

·         1 ½ cup Rice Krispies cereal

Directions:

1.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 8x8 inch pan.

2.       For the brownie: in a medium saucepan, melt the butter, cocoa powder, and half of the semisweet chocolate chips over medium heat.  Stir occasionally while melting. Set aside and cool for 5 minutes.

3.       In a medium bowl, sift the flour and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs thoroughly.  Add the sugar and vanilla and whisk until well blended. Stir into the melted chocolate mixture, mixing well. Stir in the dry sifted ingredients and mix only until incorporated. Fold in the remaining half of semisweet chocolate chips.

4.       Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface with a spatula.  Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the corner of the pan comes out with moist crumbs.

5.       Remove the brownies from the oven and immediately sprinkle the marshmallow over them.  Return the pan to the oven and bake for 3 more minutes.

6.       Meanwhile, place the milk chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in a medium saucepan.  Melt over low heat, stirring constantly until completely melted.  Remove from heat, add the Rice Krispies and mix well.  Allow to cool for 3 minutes.

7.       Spread the mixture evenly over the marshmallow layer. Refrigerate until chilled before cutting.

Bahasa Indonesia

Bahan:

Untuk brownies

·         60 gr bubuk kakao (saya memakai Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa)

·         100 gr semisweet chocolate bar/chips (saya memakai Lindt Milk Chocolate bar)

·         80 gr mentega tawar

·         80 gr tepung terigu serbaguna

·         2 butir telur dingin

·         100 gr gula pasir

·         75 gr brown sugar

·         2 sdt ekstrak vanilla

·         ½ sdt garam

Untuk topping

·         200 gr marshmallow

·         200 gr milk chocolate bar (saya memakai Lindt Milk Chocolate bar)

·         ½ cup mentega kacang halus

·         1 sdm mentega tawar

·         1 ½ cup rice krispies cereal

Cara:

1.       Panaskan oven dengan suhu 350 derajat F (175 derajat C).  Siapkan loyang ukuran 8x8 inch yang telah dialasi dengan kertas roti atau aluminum foil.  Olesi dengan minyak, sisihkan.

2.       Masukkan mentega,  bubuk coklat, dan setengah (50 gr) semisweet chocolate bar/chips ke dalam mangkuk.  Panaskan dengan menggunakan microwave dengan selang waktu 1 menit.  Aduk sesekali sampai mentega meleleh dan licin. Atau bisa juga dengan cara memanaskan di atas kompor dengan api kecil.  Biarkan dingin.

3.       Dalam mangkuk lainnya, kocok telur dengan menggunakan whisker. Tambahkan gula dan ekstrak vanilla, lalu kocok sampai bercampur rata.  Tuang ke dalam adonan coklat, aduk sampai bercampur dengan menggunakan spatula. Tambahkan garam dan tepung yang sudah diayak. Aduk hanya sampai terigu bercampur saja. Tambahkan sisa (50 gr) semisweet chocolate bar/chips, aduk rata.

4.       Tuang  adonan ke dalam loyang.  Ratakan dengan menggunakan spatula. Panggang selama 25-30 menit. Lakukan tes tusuk. Pemanggangan selesai jika pada tes tusuk masih ada sedikit remahan yang menempel. 

5.       Keluarkan brownies dari oven dan segera taburkan marshamallow di seluruh permukaan brownies. Masukkan kembali ke dalam oven dan panggang selama 3 menit.

6.       Sementara itu, masukkan milk chocolate bar, mentega kacang, dan mentega ke dalam mangkuk. Panaskan dengan menggunakan microwave sampai meleleh.  Keluarkan dari microwave lalu tambahkan rice krispies cereal, aduk rata. Biarkan dingin selama 3 menit.

7.       Tuang campuran rice krispies ke atas lapisan marshmallow, ratakan. Masukkan ke dalam lemari pendingin sebelum dipotong.