half and half – A combination of cream and milk in equal proportions.
halfmanar - An Icelandic butter cookie in a half-moon shape and flavored with cardamom. The cookie is filled or sandwiched with a fruit or prune preserve and sprinkled with sugar before baking.
halvah – A confection from the Middle East made with ground sesame seeds and honey or sugar and flavored with cinnamon, cardamom, or rosewater. Halvah can also be made with pistachio nuts or almonds instead of sesame seeds.
hamantaschen – A Jewish cookie traditionally made to celebrate the festival of Purim. Pastry dough is rolled out and cut into rounds, filled with a sweet nut or fruit mixture, folded to resemble a three-cornered hat, and then baked.
hand-formed cookies – cookie dough that is formed by hand into shapes, such as logs, balls, or crescents before baking.
hand mixer - Not every mixing job in the kitchen requires a large stand mixer, and this is where the hand mixer comes into play. A hand mixer can perform nearly any beating and whipping task that a stand mixer can, except for very heavy cookie and bread dough. I usually use a hand mixer for quick or small jobs, such as beating cream cheese, whipping cream or egg whites, beating egg yolks, and making cake frostings. I also use a hand mixer to make fluffy mashed potatoes. Shop for hand mixers.
hard ball stage – Indicates the stage and temperature when a small amount of hot sugar syrup is dropped into cold water and it forms a firm ball that holds its shape when pressed. The hard ball stage temperature ranges between 250 and 266 degrees F. on a candy thermometer. See Sugar and Caramel Stages.
hard crack stage - Indicates the stage and temperature when a small amount of hot sugar syrup is dropped into cold water and it separates into brittle threads. The hard crack stage temperature ranges between 300 and 310 degrees F. on a candy thermometer. See Sugar and Caramel Stages.
hard sauce – A creamed mixture of butter and sugar, and flavored with vanilla, rum, or brandy. Hard sauce is traditionally served with plum pudding.
hasty pudding – A pudding made with cornmeal mush and sweetened with molasses, maple syrup, or honey.
haystack – Also called a coconut haystack. Haystacks are made with beaten egg whites, sugar, and coconut. Small amounts of the mixture are formed into a haystack shape then baked. The bottoms may be dipped in chocolate with a chocolate drizzle on top.
hazelnut – Also called filberts, hazelnuts are a small round, golden colored nut. The nut is covered with a brown papery skin that is often removed before using in a baked item. See Toasting Nuts and Seeds and recipe for Hazelnut Cheesecake
heavy cream – Also called whipping cream.
hermit – a chewy cookie made with molasses and nuts. The belief is that the cookie tastes best after a few days.
high-altitude baking – Baking at high altitudes requires recipes to be adjusted because water boils at a lower temperature at high altitudes.
honey – A natural sweetener made from nectar collected by honeybees from flowers, and used as a sweetener in baking. Shop for honey.
honeybun – A sweet yeast roll, made in a spiral shape, and glazed with honey.
hoosier cake – A gingerbread cake with a coarse texture that originated in the Midwest in the 19th century.
hot cross bun – A traditional Easter bun, made with yeast dough flavored with raisins or currants and spices. A cross is cut into the top of each bun and glazed with sugar icing. See recipe for Hot Cross Buns.
hot fudge – A thick, sweet topping made with chocolate, butter, and sugar that is used as a topping for ice cream and desserts.
huguenot torte – A southern dessert that is a baked apple, filled with a nut mixture and garnished with whipped cream and additional nuts.
hummingbird cake – A moist layer cake made with bananas, pineapple and pecans. The cake is filled and frosted with a cream cheese frosting and garnished with additional pecans. See recipe for Hummingbird Cake
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