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.

Chocolate Cream Filled Donut

Donuts, please? Could you make me donuts? I’ve been getting requests from my daughter for donuts a lot, and as she is obsessed with donuts, her request is my command. I may have fed her like 3 of these for  lunch the day I made them. That makes me the best mom ever, LOL.

Do you think you like donuts? Who am I kidding? Everybody looooves donuts. To be honest, I don’t come from a donut acquiring family, but I wound up with the opposite relationship.  I never could say no to a donut as a kid, and still can’t.  I had my share of donuts when I was younger.  I always loved chocolate old fashioned, strawberry cream donuts, and glazed donuts.

A homemade donuts recipe I would like to share is sure to please everyone in your family and making homemade donuts is much easier than one may think.   The most basic donut consists of fried dough and whichever kind of glaze you prefer.  However, to grant my daughter command, I said to myself, why not try a cream-filled one?  Once you’ve made your donut dough, you’ll just need to make a cream filling and glaze, which both look mouthwatering in their own right.

This recipe for a homemade version of Byron Tallbot’s chocolate cream-filled donut is a phenomenally delicious breakfast, dessert, or snack item.  Fill the donuts with the chocolate cream and then cover them with the vanilla glaze or powdered sugar.  The light chocolate cream in these donuts is perfect with the soft and fluffy exterior of the donuts.  A basket of these freshly made donuts won’t last long in any house.  Trust me, these cream-filled delights are sure to be a hit.

Chocolate Cream Filled Donut (adapted from Byron Talbott)

For recipe in Indonesian, click HERE

Ingredients:

Dough

·         ½ cup milk

·         1 tsp dry active yeast

·         ¼ cup sugar

·         2 cups flour

·         4 tbsp melted butter

·         1 whole egg

Chocolate filling

·         ¾ cup whole milk

·         2 egg yolks

·         ¼ cup sugar

·         1 tbsp vanilla extract

·         2 tbsp cornstarch

·         ¼ cup dark chocolate chips

Glaze

·         3-4 tbsp whole milk

·         1 cup powdered sugar

·         2 tsp vanilla extract or paste

Directions:

1.       Warm up the milk in the microwave (or on the stove) to about 95 degrees F (35 degrees C) then add it to a bowl on an electric mixer along with the granulated sugar and dry active yeast.  Let this mixture sit for 20 minutes until it creates a layer of bubbles or foam on the surface.

2.       Add the melted butter and egg to the bubbling yeast mixture and stir for a minute or so.  Attach the dough hook to the mixer and turn on low speed.  Slowly start to add the flour a ¼ cup at a time.   Once all the flour has been added, scrap down the sides of the bowl, then continue mixing until the dough has formed into a silky smooth ball. This will take approximately  5-6 minutes.

3.       Flour the surface of your working surface, then take the dough out of the mixture, put into on the floured surface and begin rolling it out.  Occasionally flour the top of the dough so it doesn’t stick to the rolling pin.  Punch the dough out with a large ring cutter, remove the excess dough, then cover with a damp cloth.  Allow the dough to double in size, which will take approximately 45 minutes to an hour.

4.       In a small sauce pan on low heat, add the milk, egg yolks, vanilla extract, and sugar.  Bring up to 160 degrees F making sure to constantly stir as its heat up.  Once it reached 150 degrees F, add the cornstarch and turn the heat up to low-medium and begin to cook the custard until it get very thick.  It should take about 5-6 minutes.  As soon as it has thickened, you can add the chocolate chips to the mixture.  Once all the chocolate is melted, and mixed into the custard, turn the heat off and scoop the custard into a piping bag fitted  witha metal.  Refrigerate for 30-45 minutes.

5.       Once the dough has doubled in size and is ready to fry, fill a pot half way up with canola oil to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), then begin frying the donuts.  They’ll take 4-5 minutes to cook and you should flip them at least 2-3 times during the cooking process to insure an evenly cooked donut.  Once thet are golden brown, remove them from the oil and rest on a few dry paper towels or a wire rack to get rid of any excess grease.  Let them cool down for 5-10 minutes before filling and glazing.

6.       In a mixing bowl, add the milk, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar and whisk until thoroughly combined.

7.       Pull the chocolate cream filling out of the fridge and begin to pipe it into the center of each donut.  You’ll have to get a little rough with the donut in order to really fill them up, so don’t be to shy when shoving the tip of the pastry bag into the middle of the fried dough.  Next, dip the tops of the warm filled donuts in the vanilla glazed and return them to the wire rack (or paper towels).  Let sit for 10-15 minutes in order for the glaze to set up  then enjoy!

Bahasa Indonesia

Bahan:

Adonan donat

·         ½ cup susu

·         1 sdt ragi aktif

·         ¼ cup gula pasir

·         2 cups tepung terigu

·         4 sdm mentega, lelehkan

·         1 butir telur

Isian krim coklat

·         ¾ cup susu cair

·         2 kuning telur

·         ¼ cup sugar

·         1 sdm ekstrak vanila

·         2 sdm maizena

·         ¼ cup dark chocolate chips

Olesan

·         3-4 sdm susu cair

·         1 cup gula bubuk

·         2 sdt ekstrak vanilla

Cara:

1.       Hangatkan susu dengan menggunakan microwave (atau kompor) dengan suhu sekitar 95 derajat F (35 derajat C), tuang ke dalam mangkuk besar, tambahkan gula dan ragi aktif.  Biarkan ragi bekerja selama 20 menit sampai muncul gelembung-gelembung berbuih di permukaan. 

2.       Masukkan mentega cair dan gula, aduk selama 1 menit.  Dengan menggunakan mikser listrik kecepatan rendah, kocok adonan sambil menambahkan tepung terigu secara bertahap masing-masing ¼ cup.  Kocok selama 5-6 menit sampai kalis dan membentuk bulatan yang halus  (bisa juga diuleni dengan menggunakan tangan). 

3.       Taburi meja kerja dengan sedikit terigu, ambil adonan dan ratakan dengan menggunakan rolling pin. Sesekali taburi dengan terigu agar adonan tidak lengket.  Cetak bentuk bulat dengan menggunakan cetakan donat.  Tutup dengan lap basah.  Biarkan mengembang dua kali lipat selama sekitar 45 menit sampai 1 jam.

4.       Panaskan susu, kuning telur, ekstrak vanilla, dan gula pasir dalam panci kecil sampai mencapai suhu 160 derajat F (70 derajat C) sambil terus diaduk.  Tambahkan maizena dan kecilkan api sambil terus diaduk sampai kental dan halus selama sekitar 5-6 menit.  Matikan api lalu tambahkan chocolate chips dan aduk sampai coklat meleleh dan bercampur rata.  Masukkan ke dalam kantong segitiga  dan masukkan ke dalam lemari pendingin selama 30-45 menit.

5.       Tuang minyak Canola ke dalam wajan sampai setengah penuh, panaskan hingga mencapai suhu 350 derajat F (175 derajat C), lalu mulailah menggoreng donat.  Goreng selama 4-5 menit dan balik sesekali  sampai berwarna kuning keemasan.  Angkat dan letakkan di atas wire rack atau wore rack untuk menyerap kelebihan minyak.  Biarkan dingin selama 5-10 menit sebelum diberi isian dan olesan.

6.       Campur susu, ekstrak vanilla, dan gula bubuk dalam mangkuk kecil.  Aduk sampai mengental dan bercampur rata.

7.    Keluarkan krim coklat dari lemari pendingin.  Buat lubang pada salah satu ujung donat dengan menggunakan sumpit, isi dengan krim coklat sampai  bagian tengahnya terisi penuh.  Celupkan donat ke dalam olesan vanilla dan biarkan selama 10-15 menit di atas wire rack atau kertas tisu sampai olesan mengeras.