Zucchini Bread Williams Sonoma Food

ZUCCHINI BREAD- WILLIAMS SONOMA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F Grease and lightly flour one 8 1/2-by-4 1/2 inch loaf pan or three 6-by-3-inch loaf pans.
• Using the large holes of a box grater-shredder or the large-holed shredder blade of a food processor, shred the zucchini. You should have about 1 cup. Set aside.
• In a bowl, combine the oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat vigorously with a whish or with an electric mixer on medium speed until pale and creamy, aoubt 1 minute. Stir in the shredded zucchini until blended.
• In a bowl, stir ogether the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, prunes, and walnuts. Add the flour mixture to the zucchini mixture and stir just until combined. The batter will be stiff. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans.
• Bake until the bread is firm to the touch and pulls away from the pan sides, 50-60 minutes for a large laf, 35-40 minutes for small ones. A cake tester inserted into the center of a loaf should come out clean. Let cool in the pans on a rack for 10 minutes. Turn the bread out, place upright on the rack, and let cool completely.

SUGAR COOKIES (WILLIAMS-SONOMA)

Steps:

• In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, cream the butter until fluffy and pale.
• Add the sugar in 3 additions, beating on low speed for 2 minutes after each addition.
• Beat the egg yolk and vanilla into the butter mixture until well blended.
• Sift the flour and salt together onto a sheet of waxed paper.
• Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed or stir with a wooden spoon just until blended.
• Scrape the dough out onto a work surface and divide into 4 equal portions.
• Shape into disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or for up to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees; lightly grease 2 baking sheets or line them with parchment paper.
• Remove the dough disks from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes.
• Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out between 2 sheets of waxed paper to a thickness of 1/8 to ¼ inch.
• Using cookie cutters, cut into circles or other shapes.
• Repeat with the remaining dough portions, then gather up the scraps and reroll them.
• If the scraps of dough have become sticky, refrigerate them for 10 minutes before rerolling.
• For best results, do not roll the same dough more than twice.
• Using an offset spatula, transfer the cookies to the prepared pans.
• Sprinkle with the sugar.
• If using intricately shaped cutter, refrigerate the cutout cookies for 15-30 minutes before baking.
• Bake the cookies until they are lightly golden on the bottom, 10-12 minutes.
• Let the cookies cool briefly on the pans on wire racks before transferring them to the racks to cool completely.

WILLIAMS-SONOMA SAUTEED ZUCCHINI AND MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Trim the ends off the ends of the zucchini and cut on the diagonal into slices 1/2 inch thick.
• Place in a colander and sprinkle with salt, tossing to distribute the salt evenly. Spread the zucchini out in the colander and let stand over a bowl, or in the sink, for 40-50 minutes to drain off the excess moisture and bitterness. Rinse and pat dry with a clean kitchen towel. Set aside.
• Using a soft brush or a clean kitchen towel, clean the mushrooms of any bits of soil; DO NOT WASH. Trim the stems. Cut the mushrooms into slices 1/4 inch thick. Place in a bowl and set aside.
• In a large saute pan or frying pan over medium heat, warm 2 TBS of the olive oil.
• Add the zucchini and saute, tossing often, until tender but still firm - about 8-10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
• Add another 2 TBS of olive oil to the same pan over medium-high heat. Add the sliced mushrooms and saute, tossing often, until the mushrooms begin to soften - about 6-7 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the zucchini.
• Add the remaining 1 TBS of olive oil to the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low, and add the chopped garlic. Saute gently, stirring, until the garlic just begins to change color - about 30-40 seconds.
• Return the mushrooms and zucchini to the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low, and add the basil. Salt and pepper to taste. Raise the heat and toss until the vegetables are hot.
• Transfer to a warmed serving dish. Using a zester or a fine-holed shredder, shred the zest (yellow part only) from the lemon directly onto the vegetables and serve immediately.
• NOTE: you can substitute grated Parmesan cheese for the lemon zest, if desired.

QUICK VEGETABLE SOUP FROM WILLIAMS SONOMA

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion. Saute until it begins to soften, 3-5 minutes. Add all the vegetables, the stock, and herbs. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 15-20 minutes.
• Discard the bay leaf. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and serve.

BANANA BREAD BY WILLIAMS-SONOMA

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350°F.
• Grease and lightly flour a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute.
• Add the bananas and eggs and beat until smooth. Add the buttermilk and beat just until combined.
• In a bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, salt and nuts.
• Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and beat just until combined.
• The batter should be slightly lumpy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake until the loaf is dark golden brown and dry to the touch and the edges pull away from the sides of the pan, 55 to 60 minutes.
• A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.
• Let the bread rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn the loaf out onto a wire rack and let cool completely.
• Cut into thick slices to serve. Makes one 9-by-5-inch loaf.
• Storage Tip: Wrap the bread tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature overnight or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

RUBY JEWEL CHRISTMAS COOKIES (WILLIAMS-SONOMA)

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks and vanilla together, set aside.
• Combine the flour and granulated sugar in a food processor/mixer and process just to blend. With the machine running, add the butter 2-3 pieces at a time and process until the mixture looks crumbly. With the machine still running, add the egg yolk mixture and process until blended and the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
• Turn dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and shape or roll it into a flat disk about 3/4 in thick. Wrap and refrigerate until chilled, about one hour.
• Preheat oven to 350°F Line a miniature muffin pan with paper liners or line a cookie sheet with parchement paper.
• For Cookie Cutters: on a lightly floured surface, with a cold rolling pin, roll out the dough to 3/4 in thick, cut cookies out and place on baking sheet about 1 in apart.
• For Muffin Liners: with lightly floured hands, shape the dough into ¾" balls and flatten a little then place the balls into the muffin liners about 1 in apart.
• Using the end of a wooden spoon dipped in flour, make an indentation in the center of each cookie, but do not press all the way through the dough. Using a spoon or a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip, fill each indentation with about ¼ teaspoon jam.
• Bake the cookies until the edges are golden, 15-20 minutes.
• Let the cookies cool completely in the pans on wire racks. Transfer the cooled cookies to wire racks and dust with powdered sugar, if desired.