Something Sweet

BzzAgent Post

2011-09-28T08:31:00.000-07:00

Hello :)

So, in thinking about what to write to show that I'm interested in the Star Wars blu-ray set, I have to admit something first.

I've never seen Star Wars.

Yes, I realize I am the last person on Earth who hasn't seen it. Because to quote an episode of 'How I Met Your Mother' - "The only people in the universe who have never seen Star Wars are the characters in Star Wars and that's 'cause they lived them, Ted. That's 'cause they lived the Star Wars." And while I may be on the short side, I've definitely never been an Ewok. ;)

I know the basics of the story, because, hey, who doesn't? But I just never got around to watching it. My fiance is a huge fan, and I think it bugs him a little bit that I haven't seen it. So, I'm excited to be part of this campaign, as it would make both my fiance and George Lucas very proud. ;)

SHF : Rustic Apple-Cranberry Tart

2009-12-27T16:27:00.000-08:00

It feels like it's been ages since I've actually been on time enough to do a Sugar High Friday event. Usually it can be summed up to bad timing - or, well, forgetfulness. *shrug*

This month's theme is the holidays is hosted by Cherrapeno, a blog I've just recently discovered and drooled over. ;)

After a disastrous attempt at a Nutella flourless cake on Wednesday night, I wanted something fruity. On a whim, I wound up at the Ocean Spray website, thinking, hey, at the very least, maybe I'll find a coupon for Craisins. I wound up finding this (alas, no coupons), and was thrilled to see that it could be easily put together on Thursday afternoon.

I would love to tell you lovely folks that I made my own crust. But I won't lie. Pie dough is still very intimidating, and I'll conquer that... when I get there. :) While I love the combination of the sweet apples and the tart cranberries, this is easily adjustable to any fruit combination you'd like.

Ingredients:
1 9-inch pie crust (store-bought or homemade)
21 ounces apple pie filling
1 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen, chopped
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F. Place pie crust in a 9-inch pie plate.

Combine the apples, cranberries, and cinnamon, mixing well. Spoon into pie crust. Fold eges of pastry over fruit, pleating so that crust lies relatively flat. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 400F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F, and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until fruit is bubbly and crust is golden. Let cool a bit before serving. Makes about 8 servings.

Devil's Food Cupcakes (Christmas style)

2009-12-27T16:20:00.001-08:00

Yay! I survived! ;)

I hope everyone reading had a fantabulous holiday, despite any mad rushing around or last-minute baking.

We had a relatively quiet Christmas. My aunt and uncle came over. Food was delicious, loud conversations ensued. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation was on all day on AMC. No matter how many times I see it, when the squirrel jumps out, I'm busting up with laughter.

The present-opening part held two good surprises for me. I've spoken in the past of wanting to get one of those vhs-to-dvd recorders, to preserve all the home movies and dance recitals and such; Dave got me one, which was a really, really big surprise. Secondly, between four gift cards, I've got about a hundred dollars worth to Barnes & Noble. :D

It's the end of the year, which means my annual 'end of the year' book. The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley, is my FAVORITE book. I've lost count how many times I've read it over the past ten years. In order to, well, make my own tradition, I decided to read it but once a year. I'm quite confident that I'll finish it before midnight on the 31st; currently on page 363, out of 876. Slightly worried, yes, but I'm still posting this before it's a week old - woohoo! ;)

Anyways, I first made these about a year and a half ago? I wanted something simple and chocolatey. And who doesn't love cupcakes? :)

(Sorry, Mel, the duck didn't fully make this picture. But Stitch did!) ;)

Ingredients:
½ cup boiling water
6 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup milk
½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup flour
½ + 1/8 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt

½ cup butter, softened
10 Tbsp. brown sugar
6 Tbsp. sugar
2 eggs

Directions:
In a bowl, whisk boiling water into cocoa until smooth. Add in milk and vanilla; set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a small bowl, sift flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture in batches, alternating with cocoa mixture; beginning and ending with the flour. Fill liners about halfway full.

Bake at 350F for 18-20 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Chocolate Ganache:
½ cup heavy cream
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chunks
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup

Heat the cream until boiling, then pour over chocolate, stirring to melt, adding the corn syrup. Dip each cupcake into ganache upside down to get a good coating on it.

Cheddar Scones

2009-12-20T15:41:00.001-08:00

See, this is what happens when it's a snow day - Kristen actually posts in the blog. ;)

There's about 20 inches of the white stuff out there right now. I think snow days were much more fun as a kid. As an adult, you find yourself thinking about how much more work there'll be to do tomorrow. But as a kid, all that mattered was getting out there, building a snow slide, and staying out there for as long as your parents would let you.

Now I often refer to snow as that "dirty four-letter 's' word."

Sure, it's pretty and all - when you don't have to go out in it. We saw one plow come through - probably around 4am. This afternoon, an ambulance got stuck at the top of the street. A second one was called in, and had to back down the hill in order to get the woman to the hospital. Because one plow doing ONE trip up the street just doesn't cut it. I will get ranty if I continue on the subject of my city's obvious bias towards the downtown area and the section where the mayor lives. Hmph.

Alright, onto the scones! These are my very first ever homemade scones. My friend Steve isn't a huge fan of sweets, but is a big cheese fan. So, I offered. And it was... an experience. My dad played sous chef and cut more butter for me, and turned the water on when my hands were a big floury-buttery mess. I had visions of how Paula Deen must feel on a regular basis. ;)

Overall, for a first time, because of course I tried one, not bad. Next time? More cheese. And some cheese on the top of all of them. I found the basic recipe on AllRecipes, but altered it a bit as I went. So the recipe below is what I wound up doing.

Ingredients:
2 cups self-rising flour
3 Tbsp. butter, cold, cut into small pieces
Pinch of salt
½ cup shredded cheese
1 cup milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Sift flour and salt. Rub butter into flour lightly, until mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Stir in cheese. Make a well in the center, and pour in milk, reserving 1 tablespoon. Mix until just combined.

Knead lightly and briefly on a floured surface. Press to make a 1-inch thick round. Cut into wedges (or whatever shape happens to be easiest, in my case). Brush lightly with reserved milk. Sprinkle a bit of cheese onto the top.

Bake at 425F for 10-20 minutes, or until light brown. Let cool briefly on wire rack. Serve warm or at room-temperature.

Minty Mint Chip Brownies

2009-12-20T14:55:00.001-08:00

This past Tuesday was round one of the annual Christmas Baking Extravaganza. I've learned over the years that it's best to space it out a bit. Do the mailables first, then locals, then Christmas desserts. It's working, for the most part.

Three out of the five mailables were all things that I've done before. Which definitely made it a bit easier. The biggest problem? Four things needed an 8" pan. Of which I own two. That was fun. :P (Solved by doubling one recipe and then stowing the first dish in the fridge to cool faster)

This one is a slightly altered recipe from one previous this year. Amelia's my twin, and when faced with uncertainty on a baked good, I suggested something minty. Thus, minty brownies.

The batter both tastes and smells delicious. Earlier in the month, I found that Nestle put out some semi-sweet chocolate and mint chips - not swirled, though. But they're pretty enough in the dark chocolate batter. I had the tiniest smidgen of one and really enjoyed the flavor, and promises were made to my dad that more would be made, in order to keep him away from these. (That sentence seems awfully disjointed.)

The picture was a last minute one, right before it was put into the box. And that is my 'tiny' (6') tree in the background. :)

Ingredients:
½ cup butter
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. peppermint extract
3/4 cup flour
1-1½ cups mint and chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8-inch baking dish.

Melt butter and chocolate. Gradually beat into sugar. Add eggs and peppermint. Gradually add flour, beating until well combined. Stir in chips. Spread in prepared pan.

Bake at 325F for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack before cutting into bars. Makes about 16.

Pumpkin Squares

2009-11-29T16:59:00.000-08:00

If I remember correctly, this was one of the first things I made here at home after I had started baking. Possibly January 2004? That was the last time I had come home from CA in the winter before moving back here. Both my parents loved it, as did my cousin and her husband. And now this is the second year in a row where it's been requested at Thanksgiving. *shrug* Works for me!

An oatmeal cookie-esque crust with a pumpkin custard on top, it's pretty easy. I always add in spices that aren't in the recipe - allspice, nutmeg - and never seem to measure. I can't cook because I feel more confident in my boxes and measurements, but I can improvise with cinnamon and the like. Another thing we'll just chalk up to a Kristen Quirk. :)

Oh, and because I can rationalize ANY food as being good for you - pumpkin has vitamins and oats are good for lowering cholesterol. There ya go, Leslie. ;)

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 cup flour
½ cup quick-cooking oats
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup butter, softened

Filling:
15 oz. Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
12 oz. evaporated milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. ground cloves

Topping:
½ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup quick-cooking oats
2 Tbsp. butter, melted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.

Crust:
Beat flour, oats, brown sugar and butter in a small mixer until crumbly. Press onto bottom on an ungreased 13x9-inch baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes.

Filling:
Beat pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, eggs, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in a large mixer bowl. until smooth. Pour over crust. Bake for an additional 20 minutes.

Topping:
Combine brown sugar, oats and butter in small bowl; sprinkle over filling. Bake for an additional 15 to 25 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Garnish with whipped cream if desired.

Chocolate Agave Cake

2009-11-29T16:47:00.001-08:00

I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving. :) Mine was good. Except for the whole "working the next day at an ungodly hour" part. The joys of working in retail, right?

Mu aunt has recently been diagnosed with diabetes, so I sought out a lower-sugar dessert that everyone would enjoy. Having heard about agave nectar on a few different blogs - how it's lower on the glycemic index than even an apple - the quest began for a recipe using it. It was surprisingly harder than I had expected. Monday turned up results, though. Over at Baking Bites. (I really need to write a post-it to order myself one of the cookbooks)

The cake was SUPER easy to bring together, and I was happy to discover that agave nectar moves faster in the pouring process than honey does. The cake is very fudgey, but not as chocolatey as I had hoped. The frosting isn't very sugar-free, but I did use far less confectioners' sugar than the recipe called for. Everyone else loved it, though. Now that I think about it, I don't recall ever seeing it again after I went to bed so early. Hmm... :)

Ingredients:
2¼ cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
½ cup butter, room temperature
½ cup brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup agave nectar
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup sour cream
¼ cup milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease two 9-inch round pans and line them with greased parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until light. Beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by agave nectar and vanilla extract.

Stir in 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by the sour cream. Add another 1/3 of the flour mixture, then the milk, before stirring in the remaining flour mixture. Mix only until just combined. Divide evenly into prepared pans.

Bake at 350F for 22-28 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out dry or with some moist crumbs attached. Do not overbake. Turn cakes out onto wire cooling racks, peel off the parchment paper, and let cool completely.

Agave Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
8 oz. package cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup butter, room temperature
3 tbsp honey
¼ cup milk
2-3 cups confectioners' sugar

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat at high speed until smooth, gradually adding the confectioners' sugar until a thick and spreadable consistency is reached. More milk can be added to thin the icing, if necessary.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

2009-11-15T16:15:00.000-08:00

Alright, everyone. Try not to fall over - I'm actually updating. ;)

It feels as though I'm fighting an uphill battle in the fight against the lazy. I'm baking every weekend, but the lazy monster keeps coming up with paltry excuses from updating. Or even photographing. "It's rainy; no good light." "It's near-dark by the time I get home from work; no good light." Even worse, when the lazy monster gets in cahoots with the self-esteem gargoyle. "Oh, who's gonna care about yet another brownie recipe?"

But I'm doing good tonight. Baked yesterday, photographed a little over an hour ago, and here I am. (That and I told myself I couldn't read anymore of the book until I post this. Motivation, you come from the strangest places.)

So! I found this over at Recipe Girl and instantly fell in love. Pumpkin? In blissful union with snickerdoodles? Oh, my! You know it's gotta be something good if I'm making cookies before Christmas. ;)

And truly? These make me so ridiculously happy, it's not even funny. They're that perfect couple that, even though they're perfect, you aren't annoyed by them. You revel in their perfectness. You don't even feel that twinge of jealousy when they finish each other's sentences and get lovey-dovey.

(That last paragraph, upon re-reading, did make me raise my eyebrow in perplexedness. Have I gone off the deep end for good this time??) ;)

Anyways, divine. Everyone should make these. :)

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1½ cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup pure pumpkin puree
1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. cinnamon

½ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. ginger
½ tsp. allspice

Directions:
Cream butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add sugar and pumpkin puree, and beat well. Mix in egg and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon. Beat flour mixture into liquid mixture a little at a time until incorporated.

Cover dough with plastic and chill for at least an hour, or until dough becomes slightly firm.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Mix sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice in a small bowl.

Using a medium cookie scoop (1½ Tbsp.) or a large spoon, scoop out dough and roll into balls. Roll dough through the sugar/spice mix. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten slightly.

Bake at 350F for 10-14 minutes, or until slightly firm to the touch. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 3-5 dozen (depending on the size, of course)

Chocolate M&M Cookies

2009-11-03T16:31:00.000-08:00

Whew! It seems like it's been ages, hasn't it?

Well, first, vacation was WONDERFUL. Somehow squeezed in seeing everyone that I wanted to see, as well as nearly 12 hours of driving on the way to Oregon and back to the Bay Area. Not only was it great seeing friends again, but also the food that I can't get out here! LOL I really did pack a box and mailed it to myself, full of stuff that I can't readily get over here. (Why, yes, that did include vanilla from the Ferry Marketplace Building in SF lol)

In other awesome news, last week Southwest Airlines had a big 72-hour sale, with one-way flights as low as $25. Naturally I couldn't pass that up, so come January, as a little birthday present to myself, I'll be heading out there for a few days. And Amelia mentioned those wonderful words of "road trip" and "Disneyland." Quickest way to make this little girl smile. :)

Halloween was fun. My friend Leslie has been having a Halloween party with her daughter for quite some time, and I was able to go this year. Of course I volunteered baked goods, and cookies wound up being the choice. The regular chocolate chip stand-by and this one, which is based off a recipe I used a few years back. (So out of it tonight; I do apologize lol)

I did a half batch only because it was Halloween morning that I was making these and time was limited. The recipe's quite easy, mostly one bowl (I got lazy and just mixed the flour and stuff in the actual measuring cup *shrug*. The dough is a bit on the sticky side, and very yummy, so you might want to chew some gum while making this, just to resist the dough-eating. ;)

Ingredients:
1-1/8 cups flour
¼ cup + 1 Tbsp. cocoa
½ tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
½ butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
¼ cup + 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
½ tsp. vanilla
1 egg
6 oz. M&M's

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add egg. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to butter mixture. Stir in M&M's. Place teaspoonful-sized dough at least 1-inch apart on prepared sheets.

Bake at 350F for 9-11 minutes. Let cool on sheets for two minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 3 dozen.

Vacation!

2009-10-16T00:07:00.000-07:00

So, it's 3:20am. I've been awake for just over an hour now. Which is frightening.

But, oh, we're leaving for the airport in about an hour.

Am I dressed? Completely packed? Reasonable sane? That'd be a negative on all the fronts. ;)

It's back out to Cali and Oregon for a wedding and to visit friends and family. And food that we can't get out here. :) Super excited. But well aware that I'll probably wind up being awake for 24 hours, due to time zones and what not.

Obviously no new baking this weekend, but probably on the 24th. Maybe by then I'll be better about updating on a more regular basis lol

Take care, everyone! :)

Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

2009-10-05T16:49:00.000-07:00

Well, look at that. Something that I made on Saturday is being posted about within two days. Wow!

It's been just over a week now since I gave in and bought a new wrist brace. The tendonitis has been flaring up again, and after three or four weeks of pain, yeah, something needed to be done. Of course it's the right wrist, since my left-handed-abilities are near to non-existant. (It was a great day when I was finally able to eat my cereal left handed without spilling milk.) Work doesn't really help it very much, since again, right-handed, and sometimes it involves lifting things that are a touch on the heavy side. Oh, and the computer! My dear, sweet computer, how you pain me so! Rather, the mouse and typing. Hmph. Sometimes I really think I was made from recycled parts.

So I'm gonna keep this one on the brief side in order to keep the swelling down. These muffins? Made of win. In my search for decent pumpkin muffins, again, Peabody saves the day. Lacking Raisinets, I popped in some Craisins to boost the health values a bit more. I like 'em and the general consensus has agreed with me. As it should. ;)

Ingredients:
1-2/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
½ cup tightly packed brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup Craisins

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, brown sugar, sugar, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a medium bowl, stir together the eggs, pumpkin, and butter. Combine into dry ingredients, beating just until moistened. Stir in Craisins.

Fill muffin cups about 3/4's full.

Bake at 350F for 20-22 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack.

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

2009-09-24T13:44:00.000-07:00

Breakfast treat or dessert?

I figure my stomach doesn't mind what time it digests certain foods. Well, within reason, of course. It does care about spaghetti sauce an hour or so before bed. But baked goods? No biggie. For about a year during high school, all I would eat for breakfast were those horribly sweet brownies from Little Debbie. Minus the nuts, though.

Thankfully, I've improved since then. ;) (I wouldn't touch those brownies with a ten foot pole!)

The evening after I made this, my mom decided to pair it with some caramel-swirl ice cream and declared it a hit. My dad has it as his after-lunch treat. I slip a slice in before heading to work. Or an after-work snack. It's gone by this point, I should add.

Sometime last week, I came across a recipe that called for buttermilk. Which I never really have on hand. When I bought some, I couldn't find the recipe. Doh! Thankfully, Baking Bites exists. :)

The recipe comes together in a breeze, with a very light, vanilla-y batter. Instead of chocolate chips, you could always substitute dried fruits or nuts. I like it's versatility, and will definitely save this recipe for the future.

Ingredients:
1-1/3 cups flour
1½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
3/4 cup sugar
½ cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
½ cup buttermilk
3/4 cup chocolate chips

For streusel topping:
3 Tbsp. flour
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon
3 Tbsp. butter, cold

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch round baking pan or springform pan.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, then add vanilla. Add half of the flour mixture, beating until just combined. Follow with buttermilk, then remaining flour mixture, beating only until the flour is just mixed in. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread in prepared pan.

Combine flour, brown sugar, and cinnmon. Add the cold butter, using your fingers until it resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle on top of batter.

Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool completely in pan.

Nutella Ravioli

2009-09-12T17:04:00.001-07:00

I swear, I don't fall off the face of the earth every other week or so. Sometimes I wish I could for brief moments of time, but that's a whole 'nother blog altogether. ;)

Having an 'extra' day off this week due to the paid holiday of Labour Day, I decided to make something this past Wednesday. And for some very strange reason, cookies kept coming to mind. (Something REALLY must be wrong, huh? LOL) Speaking of work, this upcoming week, Tasha and I were 'volunteered' to help out in another store. On a good note, an extra hour of pay each day since the store's an hour away. On a bad note, it means I'm back on the salesfloor, dealing with customers. Oy.

Anyways, happier things. Nutella ravioli is definitely a happy. Another recipe by the fabulous Peabody. Of course, mine didn't come out nearly as pretty. Or round. Somewhere in my semi-lost brain, spacing just didn't happen. So when they came out of the oven, it was pretty much a cookie sheet of sugar cookie dough. Oops. Yay for spatulas, right?

Oh, and the flavor? So yummy. I want to say there were somewhere between 24 and 30 cookies? There are six left. My dad's been sneaking them, I think, in an attempt to make the brownies last longer. ;)

Ingredients:
18 oz. sugar cookie dough (store-bought or home-made)
½ cup Nutella

3 Tbsp. semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 Tbsp. white chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F

Roll out cookie dough to about a ¼-inch thickness.

Using a cookie cutter or a glass dipped in flour, cut out rounds. Place about a ½ teaspoon of Nutella into the center of each round. Fold rounds over to create half moon shapes, gently sealing edges. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350F for 9-10 minutes. Remove to wire racks and cool completely.

Once cooled, melt chocolate chips in microwave for about 1 minute. Using a fork, drizzle over cookies. Repeat with the white chocolate chips.

Chai-Spiced Bars

2009-09-01T16:46:00.000-07:00

Motivation really isn't my friend lately. Not just here, but in general life, too. There is hope, though. There are only 30 more working days until vacation. ;)

This weekend was pretty yucky as far as weather goes. We kinda got sideswiped by the remains of Tropical Storm Danny, who was nice enough to give us about five inches of rain. Have I mentioned that the only time Dave and I have to do the grocery shopping is Saturday afternoon? So that included me running through the Target parking lot, attempting to avoid the big puddles and failing miserably. But as I neared the car, a giggle came out of me, that grew into full out laughter. Just for the feeling of running through the rain like I was a kid again. And that made me happy. Despite the wet socks. (My second biggest weather-related petpeeve is wet socks. Raindrops on the glasses takes first place.)

Oh, but wait! Before I continue, there's big, earth-shattering news!

Last Thursday, I (finally?) got the drivers' permit. Yes, you may all be thoroughly shocked now. ;)

I've always said that I'd get the license before I turned 30 or before I had kids. Well, I'm about a year and a half away from that number. So my friend Leslie, after much persuasion/harassment from our group of friends, went with me to the dmv. Of course, she later told me that if I didn't go willingly then, that next week, I'd be forcibly dragged there. :) I haven't done any driving yet, but it's a HUGE step for me.

Anyways, it was grey and gloomy on Saturday, yes. So I wanted something warming. Everyone knows my love affair with chai tea, and after some searching, I came across this site and, since I had everything it needed, went for it. It's not quite as chai-y as I'd like, but they're yummy. I think that if they were to be made again, I'd cut back on the cardamom; that seems to be the most prominent taste and that's just kinda... ehh. One day I'll find a baked good that has the chai taste I desire. ;)

Ingredients:
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 egg
2 cups flour
½ tsp. ginger
½ tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. cloves
3/4 tsp. cardamom
¼ tsp. black pepper
Pinch of salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.

Beat butter, brown sugar, and sugar until well combined. Add egg. Sift together flour and spices; gradually add to butter mixture. Spread in prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack before cutting.

My Dad's Favorite Brownies

2009-08-22T06:38:00.001-07:00

Whew! It's been a while since posting! First, there was a week spent with a very disagreeable stomach. You know I'm sick when I don't want to bake. Last weekend I made these brownies, but between real life and tiredness (or a moody computer), getting onto here, with the photo resized (I'm glaring at you, Micrographx) and uploaded... ugh.

As I've mentioned on here before, my dad's currently going through his fourth round of chemo. In an attempt to keep his weight at a somewhat normal number, I've learned the best way to do this is through bake goods. These brownies in particular. There's nothing fancy about them, but they're his absolute favorite of all the things I've made. And made him try. (Let's not talk about the hummus lol) I'm thinking about brownies with pomegranate juice in them, in order to get some more antioxidants in him, but until then, it's these pretty much on a weekly basis. Which I don't mind at all. :)

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, melted
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
3/4 cup cocoa
1 cup flour
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9x13-inch pan.

Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Add cocoa. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Gradually add to butter mixture. Spread onto prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.

Raspberry-Blueberry Oat Bars

2009-08-05T15:58:00.000-07:00

I was so proud of myself on Saturday. That's when I baked these and I even took the picture the very same day. Shocking, I know. Yet here it is, Wednesday, and I'm finally getting my butt into gear and posting. Oops. And I don't think there's even a valid excuse this time, outside of plain laziness.

Things have been going very well in the meat-free department. There are definitely some challenges at times, but overall, I'm feeling positive. And I'm feeling BETTER in general, too. Which is the biggest thing, as far as I'm concerned.

This is another recipe from the Vegetarian Times website, which I've had bookmarked for quite some time. Only did a few alterations - adding some nutmeg and allspice - and swapping out the plain jam for the Queen's Blend jam from Ikea. Raspberry and blueberry. It's the best. Get thee to an Ikea to buy some. (The Daim chocolates are yum, too) :)

Ingredients:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. allspice
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup light brown sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. almond extract
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, divided
1 cup raspberry jam

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Coat 9-inch-square baking dish with cooking spray.

Sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.

Cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture; mix until combined. Stir in 1-3/4 cups oats.

Spread 2/3 of batter on bottom of prepared baking dish. Spread raspberry jam over the batter with back of spoon. Add remaining 1/4 cup oats to remaining batter. Crumble over top of raspberry jam.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, or until golden. Cool completely on wire rack before cutting into bars.

Vegan Brownies

2009-07-30T10:58:00.001-07:00

Remember when there used to be a sense of regularity in my posting? I think summer laziness and regular life-ness seems to have kicked in.

We've hit some semblence of summer here in southeastern MA. Which means temps in the high 70s/low 80s with a bajillion percent humidity. And that for nearly every day there's a chance of "isolated thunderstorms". Jim Cantore, you're my favorite Weather Channel meterologist, but, really, I could use some change.

Speaking of change, what started out towards the end of last month as a general aversion to meat has evolved into a more vegetarian diet. Which both family and most of my friends think I'm crazy for. LOL What a big difference between CA and MA, right?

I found this recipe over at Vegetarian Times' website. I've made various vegan cupcakes before, but had yet to work with tofu. The recipe came together very quickly, which is good as I started making it 30 minutes before leaving to go see HP6 (again lol).

The end result? A very moist, very chocolate brownie with a spongey texture. My "public's" reactions have been varied. I'm the only one that thinks they're really chocolatey. My mom and Dave thinks they're more cake-like than brownie like. My dad will eat pretty much any brownie, so yay for him getting some soy protein. :) Of the three coworkers who tried them... one says too much like dark chocolate (she doesn't like dark chocolate), next said they were good, and the third loved it, giving it an A+. I think he just likes the fact that they're lower in calories, but hey, I gave him half the batch after he declared them delicious. :)

It was really hard to get a decent picture of these. It was cloudy on Sunday when I took the pictures, so natural light was not my friend then. Scarily enough, this picture is the best of the ones that were taken. lol

Ingredients:
2¼ cups natural cane sugar
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ tsp. baking powder
1½ tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup soft tofu
3/4 cup chocolate soymilk
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Combine sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.

Combine applesauce, tofu, soymilk, and vanilla in food processor, and process until well blended. Add tofu mixture to dry ingredients, and mix well. Scrape batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 45 minutes, or until batter is set and top is dry. Cool in pan; cut into bars and serve.

Pizookie!

2009-07-22T16:57:00.000-07:00

Another post that's been in the making for, well, a few days. :)

Me and Amelia's Harry Potter/Rent vacation was quite awesome. Lots of fun and a whole lot of laughs. 'Rent' just blew me away, and we were able to get autographs after the show (including those of Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal - woohoo!!). We also got to know Boston Commons extremely well. To put it lightly. ;) Seriously, it was so good to hang out with a friend that can finish your sentences. Huzzah! Now the next thing to look forward to is my trip to CA in October. Where we're hoping to see 'Rent' in San Francisco. :D

Onto the baked goods. I knew that when Amelia was out here that I wanted to make Pizookies. Pizookies are from BJ's Brewhouse & Restaurant, and they're a personal-size deep dish cookie, fresh from the oven and topped with vanilla ice cream. The cookies come in chocolate chip, macadamia, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin, and an oreo-style. They are DELICIOUS. Really, you should go get one. Or if you're on the east coast and the closest one is in Ohio, you should make this recipe. :)

For the cookie part, I just used the basic Toll House cookie recipe and halved it. The bake time varies a bit depending on how thick the dough is inside the ramekin. The two smaller ones that we made were fine at 25 minutes, but the larger, about-an-inch-thick should have stayed in probably for another 8-10 minutes. Either way, they were still good. Even the one reheated in the microwave the next day.

Ingredients:
1-1/8 cups flour
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
½ tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 cup chocolate chips (white, semi-sweet, milk - makes no difference)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F.

Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add egg. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to butter mixture. Stir in chips.

Fill four ramekins with about half an inch of dough on the bottom. (If making a thicker cookie, do adjust the baking time.) Place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 375F for about 18 minutes. Remove from oven and place ramekins on potholders or napkins. Top each cookie with ice cream and ENJOY.

Baklava Bites

2009-07-12T15:47:00.000-07:00

Let's see... what have I done since the last post?

-Cleaned. Really, I did. Even found stuff that I completely forgot about.
-Read. 2½ books.
-Made brownies for my dad.

Umm... I'm drawing a blank. But I'm sure I must've done something fun and creative and productive somewhere along the way. :D

Hmm.

The first time I ever tried Baklava was in Epcot's Moroccan pavilion, back in 2004. I fell in love with it. The spices, the sticky-gooey-ness of the honey, everything. I've had some elsewhere since then, but surprisingly enough, Epcot's remains the best. (Then again, the places I had it weren't exactly um... let's just say there was a bit of a culture clash, to put it nicely)

I think I have to backpedal a bit more. The other night, I dreamed of puff pastry. I don't have much experience with it, yet I bought two sheets the next day at the store. Now it's Friday night and I'm wondering what to do with it.

In walks a favorite blog - Baking Bites... well, if a blog could walk... never mind. That's neither here nor there. After some deliberation, I went out and bought honey.

I followed the directions nearly to a T. I just minused the walnuts since my dad can't eat them. But the results were still delicious. And, oh, how yummy it made the house smell! I had a hard time putting them together as Nicole did, so I made a ravioli-type shape with them. Which leads me to all kinds of ideas of what I can do with puff pastry and ravioli shapes. :)

Oh, and my favorite part? The bite-sized-ness. It was quite easy to eat, well, five of them before dinner. ;)

Ingredients:
16-oz puff pastry, room temperature
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
¼ cup sugar
¼ tsp. each ground cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and allspice
Pinch salt
¼ cup honey
2 Tbsp. butter, melted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl stir together walnuts, sugar, spices and salt until well mixed. Add in melted butter and honey and stir well. Set aside.

Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface. If you are dealing with two sheets, aim to get two 8×10-inch rectangles about 1/8-inch thick, or slightly thicker. If you are dealing with just one sheet, simply roll it out into a large rectangle, or a 16×10-inch, if you can get it.

Use a sharp knife or a pizza cutter to cut pastry into approx 2×4-inch strips (cut pastry in half, or quarters when dealing with a large sheet, then divide into strips.). Place 1 tbsp filling on one end of each strip, then fold the pastry over to make a pocket. Press pastry together to seal. If necessary, dampen fingers with water before sealing edges. Place the bites on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake at 375F for about 20 minutes, until pastries are puffed and golden. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Pastries can be served fresh from the oven or at room temperature.

Corn Muffins

2009-07-08T12:31:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are, the eighth of July. My friend Amelia comes out here from CA in exactly a week from now. The weather is finally starting to act a bit more summery. (Hey, look, it's real sunshine! And, oh my goodness, blue skies!) I'm supposed to be cleaning, and, well, I'm sitting in front of the computer while reading a book. Again. I really have made some progress, though. It just doesn't look like it. :)

While wandering in Stop & Shop's "Natural Food" section, I came across Bob's Red Mill's yellow cornmeal. Obviously it was a sign of the baking gods that I should finally attempt to make corn muffins for the very first time.

I came into liking corn muffins and cornbread rather late in life. I believe it was at Dave's Aunty Vicky's where I first truly enjoyed cornbread. And since then, I've been a believer. ;)

The recipe I went with is from Gale Gand, found over at the Food Network website. It is super-duper simple, with everything done right in one bowl. Upon tasting, I did the celebratory "I made corn muffins for the first time and they didn't suck" dance. :) I think I'd like them to be a little bit sweeter, but other than that, I'm really pleased in how they came out.

Now, maybe I should work on a bit more cleaning. Maybe.

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup yellow cornmeal
¼ cup sugar
1½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
2 eggs
¼ cup milk
8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 8-12 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, then 1/3 of the melted butter, and stir gently just until incorporated. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients and melted butter, being careful not to over-mix; there may be a little flour not mixed in at the end. Use an ice-cream scoop or large spoon to fill the muffin cups half full.

Bake at 350F for about 15 minutes, or until risen, light golden brown, and firm to the touch. Let cool at least 15 minutes in the pan.

The Unphotographables: Strawberry Cream Bars

2009-07-02T06:43:00.000-07:00

See, I've been bad about posting again. So now I'm making myself do this now, because I can't have breakfast until I finally get my butt in gear and post about these. :)

Last Saturday, I really had no clue what to make. But I knew it would be fruity. It was the first really good day out of the entire month of June. (Yeah, June missed the memo that traditionally the weather should be sunny and a bit warmer. We had rain and grey for like 24 days of the month.) Saturday was beautiful. I even wore shorts and successfully blinded some people, I'm sure. I take after the English/Irish side of my family and am very fair-skinned. Besides, skin cancer is ugly.

Anyways, beautiful day. I always wear sunscreen on my face, else I get a bajillion freckles. I wore a tank top for the first time all year. This is one of those moments where if you had just a little inkling of what the afternoon had in store, it would've been fabulous. You can see where this is going, right? Dave and I went to play miniature golf. He won, as usual. But this time there was a consolation prize of sorts: the first sunburn of the year. Across the shoulds, back of the neck, top of the back. But good news - the legs have kept their traditional white color. :)

(Maybe I shouldn't post before breakfast. Obviously more chatty.)

I wanted something with minimal oven time and nothing was appealing. Somewhere in my head, a lightbulb flashed on. A bar, reminiscent of my Strawberry Kiwi Cream Tart. But only with strawberries and no vanilla pudding. Thus, this recipe was born.

I've found in the past that Martha Stewart's graham cracker crust doesn't always hold well together. So I upped the butter to 4 tablespoons, versus her 3. Yet this time, it was like sand. Thus, no picture because every time I try cut a nice slice out, it's a big mess.

But the taste? Vanilla cream cheese with strawberry slices? Oh, yum. I'm almost kinda glad they don't travel well. That means more for me. Just go to the fridge with a spoon and I'm a happy girl. Maybe I should have that for breakfast. :)

Ingredients:
(your favorite graham cracker crust for an 8-inch baking pan)

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
¼ cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup strawberry slices

Directions:
Once graham cracker crust of your choice is cooled and ready to be filled....

Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Spread over cooled crust. Top with strawberry slices. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

Caramel Delight Brownies

2009-06-21T16:42:00.001-07:00

I've been such a bad blogger these days. I don't know what it is, some kind of funk of sorts, I guess. The weather here certainly isn't helping. It's officially summer today, and what do I see when I look out the window? Grey. Rain. Wind. I wonder if we've even hit 75 yet this year. This is definitely making me miss CA. But, hey, at least this time the recipe's being posted within 36 hours of it being made. That's something of an accomplishment, yes?

Earlier in the year, probably March or so, Leslie at work brought in a cookbook that the local vocational school made, creating recipes that used Girl Scout cookies. I came across a brownie recipe that used nuts, marshmallows, and the Caramel Delights. Of course I copied that one down (the cheesecake one, too!) :)

Fastforward to yesterday morning, where I again noticed the unopened box of cookies languishing in the cabinet. Which put me in mind of a brownie recipe I discovered over at Cookie Baker Lynn - simply called Seduction Brownies. Hmm... what girl isn't going to be interested in that, right? Go look at the pictures; they're gorgeous. A fabulous sounding brownie plus my favorite of the GS cookies? Oh, yes, a match made in sugar heaven. :)

I had one when it was still a bit warm from the oven. Ohhh.... mouthgasm. That's the best word I could come up with. At least once I had the power of speech again. The cookie isn't overwhelmingly strong, but every now and then, you'll get a bite with a bit of coconut or caramel. Mmmm... *blissful smile*

Ingredients:
½ cup butter
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1 cup chopped Caramel Delights

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8-inch baking dish.

Melt butter and chocolate together in a medium saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and beat into sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Gradually add flour. Fold in cookie pieces. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake at 325F for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool completely on wire rack before cutting into bars. Makes between 16 and 24.

Chai Snickerdoodles

2009-06-11T17:32:00.000-07:00

I have been so horrendously lazy this week when it comes to posting. I made these on Saturday. And here we are, Thursday evening. It's just every time that I tried posting, something came up. Of course, sometimes that something was Jeopardy or talking to a friend, but you get what I mean.

So! These have been on the "to make" list for nearly two years. Yep, posted on Baking Bites just over two years ago. Oops. The fact that they're cookies is probably part of the reason why they've been on there so long, I'm sure. But they sounded really good on Saturday, a counterpart to the muffins that, well, failed miserably. (Honestly, it was like a chemistry experiment gone horribly wrong. I don't know what happened - hey, kinda like in chemistry!)

I didn't like these on the first day, but my dad loved 'em. I found them to be much better, softer and more flavorful, on day two. And they've been munched on at work this week, too. So, I'd say a success overall. :)

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. ground cardamom
¼ tsp. ground allspice
½ cup butter, soft
1 large egg
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1-1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp. cream of tartar
½ tsp. baking soda

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine sugar and spices; remove half a cup of this mixture and place in a medium-sized, shallow dish or bowl.

Add butter to bowl and cream with sugar mixture until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, cream of tartar, and baking soda. Gradually add to sugar mixture and stir until fully incorporated.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls and roll in reserved sugar-spice mixture. Place on baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between balls to allow for spreading.

Bake at 350F for about 12 minutes, until edges are firm to the touch, but not quite browned. Cool for 3-5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about two dozen cookies.

Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

2009-06-01T16:32:00.000-07:00

I think sometimes it's very obvious what fruits are on sale at the grocery store. :) This week it was both blueberries and strawberries. We'll see what gets made next.

For some reason, I'm having a hard time coming up with what to write on here tonight. I was lazy last night and didn't post. And now it's Monday night, Jeopardy's on, and I'm just kinda eh on everything. Post-vacation downtime? I don't know. And I still owe somewhat of a post on that. Yikes.

Since I'm not coming up with anything remotely entertaining, I'll just talk about the recipe. Originally found at Culinary in the Desert, I altered it a bit for those unfortunate folk who do not like coconut. (Those weirdos lol) The addition of the flour in the crust was different, but I don't feel that it made too much difference compared to a regular graham cracker crust.

Reviews are mixed on this one. I really liked it, and even Dave and my dad ate it. Gina did not, Leslie has never had blueberries before and didn't want to try. Marcos took home the three that didn't get eaten. *shrug* I liked 'em quite well, so that counts the most, since I am the girl with the blog. ;)

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp. butter, softened
1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
¼ cup flour
1/3 cup sugar

6 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
½ tsp. vanilla
1 cup blueberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch baking pan.

Combine graham cracker crumbs, flour, and sugar; cut in butter using pastry blender. Press onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until light golden brown.

Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Pour batter over hot crust. Scatter blueberries on top.

Bake at 350F for 18-22 minutes, or until center is nearly set. Let cool on wire rack before refrigerating. Makes about 16 bars.

Peanut Butter Nutella-Swirled Brownies

2009-05-24T17:06:00.000-07:00

I'm ba-ack! :)

Vacation was AMAZING. I am so going on a cruise again, that's for sure. Alaska was beautiful, and, trust me, we have the pictures to prove it. Between Dave and I, we wound up with just over 1200 pictures. Don't worry, I will not be posting them all. In fact, I need a break from organizing photos, so it'll be a few days before any of those get posted.

The food? Oh, man. I tried valiantly to balance out my fruit/veggie consumption with my dessert consumption. I think I was mostly successful. Definitely didn't have to worry about this girl getting scurvy. I kept a notebook with what I ate (including the many new things that I tried), but that's in the other room at the moment, and.. yeah, I'm a bit lazy tonight.

Yesterday morning didn't start out in its usual way. I overslept, didn't wake up until 10:30a. So right there, only one baked good would be made. Which would be good... if only I knew what I was going to make.

I have no idea how I found it, but I wound up at The Craving Chronicles where this recipe was posted. And having read that it was a "forgiving recipe", I decided to alter things around a bit. Theresa mentioned that she found them too sweet, so I dropped the sugar down a bit, and added a bit more Nutella, because, truly, is there such a thing as too much Nutella? I think not.

Overall? It's a dense brownie that has a variety of flavors. LOL I taste more of the peanut butter, while Dave and my mom taste more Nutella. *shrug* I guess it could be a sort of a surprise brownie? Or one of those "choose your own adventure" brownies? LOL (I was never a fan of those books, though. Hmm.)

Ingredients:
½ cup butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
½ cup flour
½ cup cocoa
¼ tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
¼ cup peanut butter
½ cup Nutella

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch baking pan.

Beat butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Sift together dry ingredients before gradually adding to butter mixture.

Put peanut butter and Nutella in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for about 30 seconds, until they're easily stirrable. Fold into brownies. Spread in prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool completely before cutting into bars.

Vacation!

2009-05-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

Cutting things down to the wire? No, not this girl. LOL Yet here I am, 3am, and I'm sitting in front of the computer. LOL Our flight leaves at 6am.

So, yes, just a quick post that there won't be much going on here until the 23rd or so. Thankfully there's internet access on the boat, so I won't start to get twitchy from extended lack of internet. ;)

Take care! :)

Nutty Brownies

2009-05-05T17:48:00.000-07:00

Alright. Slightly more relaxed tonight than I was when I posted yesterday. This is a good thing. My "to-do" post-it notes are still floating about the computer, as well as two "to buy" post-its as well. I'm making progress. Seriously. I do need to remember to pay the credit card bill before we leave, though. LOL Another post-it. :)

So my second birthday treat of this week is for Tasha. I think I've mentioned on here before the girl that didn't like cheesecake? Yeah, that's Tasha. But don't worry, I brought her over to the yum side after all. Thank you Nutella and lemon cheesecake bars. ;) Her birthday isn't until the 9th, but since tomorrow's my last day of work before leaving, she gets hers a bit early. I'm sure there won't be any complaints about that.

Anyways, her request was super-duper simple: brownies with walnuts. I didn't have to do search for any recipes, just went with the stand-by small-batch brownie recipe and we were good to go.

I did manage to get a picture of these, since I've been lazy tonight. Still in the baking dish, still not cut, I really like this picture. And not bad for such horrible lighting. (Blue skies, sunshine? I miss you. Please come back.)

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
½ cup cocoa power
3/4 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1½ cups sugar
3/4 cups butter, melted
2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
1 cup walnuts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch baking pan.

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until smooth, then add vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Gradually add dry ingredients. Stir in most of the walnut pieces. Spread in prepared pan. Sprinkle with remainder of walnuts.

Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool completely before cutting into brownies.

Vanilla Cream Blondies

2009-05-04T17:45:00.000-07:00

So we're T-minus like 3½ days until vacation, and I feel like all I'm doing is rushing around. Granted, some of it is my own doing, because somehow that always happens that way.

Back in March - maybe? - I decided that I needed to read fifty books BEFORE vacation. That way, ya know, I wouldn't fall behind and what not. Yesterday I finished A Homemade Life by the lovely Molly of Orangette, and that was number forty-eight. So I have between now and Thursday night to read two more books. I think I can do it.

Also on my "Kristen put too much on her plate" list is my own little tradition with friends. For their birthday, they get their own request of a baked good. Whatever they want (within some reason, however; something that's easily portable is a must), and they don't have to share it with anyone if they don't want to. Pretty good deal, right? Except here, all of a sudden, I have three friends with birthdays between May 1st and May 9th. Thank goodness Rachel (the May 1st birthday) said that she'll take hers after my vacation. (Seriously. Thank you lol) So that leaves me with Marcos (tomorrow) and Tasha (Saturday).

Marcos' first request was something with bananas. Um, nope, sorry. LOL I don't like bananas. At all. Taste, texture - ugh. Yuck. So after much deliberation and harassment, he went with something with vanilla. Works.

I had the idea of cream cheese blondies, but could never find anything that really clicked. The recipe I did eventually find (after two days of searching) was over at Group Recipes. I played around with the quantity of vanilla, pretty much adding a bit at a time, until I felt there was enough vanilla-ness. :)

The result? A blondie that's dense yet almost cake-like at the same time, with a vanilla flavor that really makes me question whether I really want to bring these to work tomorrow or not. Just kidding. I promise I'll bring them in. Really. ;)

(They're already packed in a box, thus no picture. But I really wish I had a chance - and better lighting - since the swirls came out so nicely this time!)

Edited to add: So the blondies? They were all gone before 3pm. And supposedly Marcos shared them. ;) I think that has to be a new record. LOL

Ingredients:
9 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2½ tsp. vanilla
1-2/3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt

6 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
2 Tbsp. flour
1 egg
3-4 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8-inch baking pan.

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until well combined. Gradually add dry ingredients. Spread half of the batter onto the bottom of prepared pan.

Beat cream cheese, sugar, butter, flour, egg, and vanilla until smooth. Spoon 2/3's of cream cheese mixture on top of blondie batter and spread evenly. Gently top with remaining blondie batter. Drop small dollops of cream cheese on top and gently swirl.

Bake at 325F for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out nearly clean. Let cool completely before cutting into bars.

Peanut Butter Marbled Brownies

2009-04-26T16:57:00.000-07:00

To begin, I must say this: Yay for the 200th post! :D

So our big vacation is creeping steadily closer. And while I'm thrilled with the "only so-and-so many working days left!" countdown, I am starting to get a bit nervous.

Oh, did I mention where we were going? For Dave's mom's 60th birthday, his dad decided to take the family on a cruise. An Alaskan cruise. (Have I mentioned how glad I am to be part of this family? Just kidding lol) We fly out on May 8th, for two days in Vancouver (haven't been there yet; heck, haven't been to Canada either!), then a seven day cruise through the southern part of Alaska, two days in Denali National Forest, and then what winds up being a day and a half in Fairbanks. We get back here on the 21st. I am super-duper excited. So many new places and all the food! I was looking at the cruise website and their sample menus. *jaw drops* Holy moly.

But I am nervous, though. I'm not a big fan of boats. I've been on two in my entire life (those dinner/dance cruise-around-the-harbour kinds in Norfolk, VA, and up in Boston), and those were okay. They were big enough. So I'm sure I'll be fine. But still, I wouldn't be me if I weren't a bit wary of it.

Anyways, that has nothing to do with these brownies, but I couldn't come up with anything else to say. :D (It was a long day at work today, can you tell?)

So. Brownies. I poked through the cabinet and discovered I still had some of the Nestle's Swirled morsels. When nothing came up on my usual blogs, I decided to go the Nestle website. These won mostly because it involved the same temperature as the strawberry lime bars.

They remind me a great deal of those Peanut Butter Munchies from January. PB and I got along well enough. But these I have no qualms about bringing to work or sharing with my dad. Besides, there are still some of the pomegranate chocolate cupcakes; everyone else can have those and these, and I'll have my lime bars. ;)

Ingredients:
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
1-2/3 cups packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp. water
10-oz. Nestle's Peanut Butter/Chocolate Swirled morsels, divided
½ cup creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13x9-inch baking pan.

Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl; set aside.

Beat butter, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture alternately with water. Stir in 1 cup morsels. Spread in prepared pan.

Combine peanut butter and granulated sugar medium, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, or until it reaches a pourable consistency. Stir until smooth. Drop mixture by teaspoonful over batter in pan. Swirl into brownie batter with back of a spoon. Sprinkle with remaining morsels.

Bake at 350F for 23-28 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out still slightly sticky. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

Strawberry Lime Bars

2009-04-26T16:51:00.000-07:00

Last week, when Johanna told me it was in the 90s in the San Jose area, I told her to send me some. Because, frankly, spring really hadn't felt like it arrived yet. Yeah, some low 60s here and there, but that's it.

Until she sent me some warm weather. It hit 87F here, folks. Probably about 84F by the water where I am. It's about freakin' time. :D

So, having seen the forecast, I knew I wanted something summery. And I'm sure you can imagine where this is going. The Lime Monster snuck in the back door when I let the dog out. ;)

These are pretty much the exact same thing as last year's Strawberry Lemon Bars, which tasted just like strawberry lemonade. And, hey, amazingly enough, these taste like strawberry limeaid. (Hmm... wonder if I could do this with cherries? Mmmm, cherry limemade...)

Usually I bring a good portion of the baked goodies to work to share with my friends. I don't know if these are going to make it there. LOL Can you tell sometimes that I'm an only child? ;)

Ingredients:
Crust:
7/8 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
Pinch of salt
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Lime Filling:
2 large eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1½ Tbsp. flour
¼ cup lime juice
2 tsp lime zest, from 2 limes
2 Tbsp milk
Pinch of salt

Strawberry Puree:
1 cup chopped strawberries
1–2 Tbsp. granulated sugar, depending on how sweet the berries are

Directions:
Mix the chopped strawberries with sugar and set aside to macerate for about 30 minutes.

Mix flour, confectioners' sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl. Add the pieces of butter and, using a pastry blender or your hands, mix until it's a pale yellow and looks like coarse cornmeal. Line an 8x8 baking pan with a sheet of parchment. Press crust mixture into an even ¼-inch thick layer and about ½-inch up the sides. Chill in fridge for 30 minutes.

Blend the strawberries in a food processor (for a few seconds) or mash with a fork until there are no large chunks. Cook over medium heat for about 5-10 minutes until thickened. Set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350F and bake crust for 20 minutes, until golden brown.

For filling: Whisk the eggs, sugar, flour and salt in a bowl until the sugar dissolves. Then whisk in the lime juice, zest, and milk.

Reduce the oven temp to 325F.

Pour the filling into the crust. Drop spoonfuls of the strawberry mixture on the surface. Use spoon or knife to swirl the strawberries through the filling.

Bake at 325F for about 20-22 minutes, or until the filling feels firm when touched lightly. Cool to room temperature, and dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired.

Cooking to Combat Cancer 3 : Mini Pomegranate Chocolate Cupakes

2009-04-23T17:45:00.001-07:00

I am very, very happy to see that Chris from Mele Cotte is once again hosting the Cooking to Combat Cancer blog event. The first one was my very first blog event. That and like so many others, cancer hits close to home.

My dad's currently going through round number four of chemo. He started it earlier in the month, and is starting to hit the not so fun stage of the side affects. Extreme tiredness and vertigo seem to be the big ones right now. And trouble hearing, oddly enough. It's harder on me, personally, this time, since during the previous rounds, I was still out in California. But when it gets hard, I always have baking and books to distract me. ;)

We all know how wonderful pomegranates are. Not just taste-wise, but also their benefits towards health. High in antioxidants, vitamin B5 and vitamin C. While most studies have mentioned it's use in heart disease, there are clinical trials going on now for its effects on prostate cancer.

For my dad, I figured this would be an easy way to get him something that's high in antioxidants. We all know chemo greatly weakens the immune system, so any extra help has got to be good, right? And if it's bite-sized and involving chocolate, my dad's likely to be there. :)

The cupcake itself is vegan, and the cream cheese frosting can easily be converted just by using non-dairy cream cheese. So it's a win-win for all, I think. Definitely use the straight up pomegranate juice, not the combination of flavors or anything made from concentrate, as the flavor will be stronger. (POM brand would be excellent; same with Whole Foods' brand.) The cream cheese provides a nice contrast in flavor, plus, hey, there's calcium! ;)

Oh! I used the recipe on this without halfing it at all. I wound up with 24 mini cupcakes and 12 regular sized. So, feel free to half it or third it, whatever, to make the amount you want.

Ingredients:
1½ cups flour
1 cup sugar
¼ cup cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 cup pomegranate juice
½ cup boiling water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. vinegar
½ Tbsp. vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 24 mini muffin cups with paper liners.

Whisk flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt together into a mixing bowl, leaving a well in the center.

Combine pomegranate juice and boiling water in a measuring cup, stirring to combine. Add vegetable oil, vinegar, and vanilla to the cup. Pour into mixing bowl, beating until combined. Batter will be thin. Fill paper liners about halfway full.

Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. milk
1½-2 cups confectioners' sugar

Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add vanilla and milk. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, beating until combined. Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes before using.

Vanilla Marble Blondies

2009-04-20T17:18:00.000-07:00

As many people will attest, the Kitchen Aid mixer is like the Ultimate of the Kitchen Appliances. Mine answers to the name of HG (short for Holy Grail; we don't want to be uppity, after all). I discovered something this weekend, however.

HG has a sidekick. Yep. The KA Handmixer. A birthday present, the as yet unnamed buddy, proved his/her worth with this recipe. Any suggestions on a name? HG, Jr seems a little... simplistic. I think the handmixer needs its own identity. A superhero cape would be pushing it, though. HG gets that first. ;)

Anyways, this is my other weekend baked good. I can't remember how long ago I found this at the Domestic Goddess blog. And I kept putting it off and putting it off, and I could just hit myself over the head for doing that.

Oh my god. The batters by themselves were awesome, but together? What a marriage made in heaven. I really need too work through that list a bit faster. :)

Ingredients:
Blondie Base:
1/3 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
6 oz white chocolate, chopped
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt

Cheesecake Top:
8 oz. cream cheese, well softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
¼ teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment and set aside.

Over a pot of simmering water start to melt butter. Add white chocolate and stir until melted. Allow to cool to room temperature.

In a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip eggs until creamy. Add sugar and vanilla and continue to whip until pale and thick. Reduce speed to medium and add cooled, melted white chocolate.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt and stir into egg mixture, by hand. Set aside.

Whisk together cheesecake batter ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Dollop into pan along with blondie batter, then swirl together with a knife or spatula.

Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes, or until edges are slightly puffed and center is just set. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Spiced Brownie

2009-04-19T17:11:00.000-07:00

This weekend was all about that ever-growing "to make" list. I keep discovering all these delicious looking treats, bookmarking them, and then, well, the cycle repeats. :) But this weekend, not only did one on the list get made, but TWO! That have been languishing for quite some time.

Thie first one comes from Smitten Kitchen, who acquired it from the Baked: New Frontiers in Baking cookbook. I really liked the idea of a spicier brownie, but knew that the chipotle would not go over well with my parents. That, and, well, there wasn't any in the spice 'rack'. I did up the cinnamon quantity a wee bit, though.

My dad felt he sould do a taste test... for "quality control," of course. "It's like a cake, but fudgier," was his commentary. Then he wanted another piece. And then another. This is good, though. If I can keep him eating through/despite the chemo, it'll definitely be helpful.

So my thoughts? I'm adoring these. For once, something with cardamom DOESN'T taste citrus-y. It compliments the chocolate and the cinnamon, and it is just fabulous. I'll make these again in the "full" version. (I did a half-batch, just in case.) :)

Oh, and I'm posting the full version, and minusing what I didn't include. So it's easier for my future reference. LOL

Ingredients:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. dark unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. cardamom
11 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 72% cacao), coarsely chopped
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tsp. instant espresso powder
1½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9x13 baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and cardamom.

Put the chocolate, butter, and instant espresso powder in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined, then remove the bowl from the pan. The mixture should be room temperature.

Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.

Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture. Using a spatula (not a whisk), fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just a bit of the flour mixture is visible. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake at 350F in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Let the brownies cool completely, before cutting into squares.

Strawberry-Kiwi Cream Tart

2009-04-12T16:10:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite recipes. Not only because it's so super-duper easy, but it's also one of the first recipes that I ever put together myself. And it's versatile. I prefer the strawberry/kiwi combination, but you could do whatever the season calls for. A few years ago I made an apple variant, with cinnamon and nutmeg, and mmm! Just as good.

Another plus? Only 6-8 minutes in the oven, and that's it. Perfect for the warmer weather.

Do make sure to grease the tart pan (I forgot this time). It still came out easily enough, but it wasn't the prettiest slice at first. :)

(Oh, and Dave gets credit for this picture) :D

Ingredients:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
½ cup sugar
8 Tbsp. butter, melted

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
¼ cup sugar
1½ tsp. vanilla
¼ tsp. almond extract
1 4-oz. package vanilla pudding

1 or 2 kiwis, sliced
1 cup strawberry slices

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 9- or 10-inch tart pan.

Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter; press onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 6-8 minutes. Let cool on wire rack.

Beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract until smooth and combined. Spread over cooled crust.

Make pudding according to package instructions. Pour over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate for at least 10-15 minutes. Decorate with fruit as desired.

Chocolate Layer Cake

2009-04-12T15:56:00.000-07:00

Confession time: before yesterday, I had never made a layer cake today.

Yeah, there was the "helping" as a kid when my mom was baking, but at six, how much help can a kid be? Other than licking the beaters afterwards, of course. And once I started baking, out in CA, I never made layer cakes because so often it was just me and my roommate, or me and Dave. So, thus, my layer cake virginity is no more.

My family, for the most part, loves chocolate. So when it was official family would be coming over for Easter, chocolate cake was a must. Hershey's website was most helpful for the cake recipe, but, alas, when standing in front of the confectioners' sugar at the grocery store, I got lazy and went with the pre-made frosting. *cringes* I know, I know.

I did get creative, though. Vanilla frosting between the layers, then covered in chocolate frosting. And everyone loved it, enough to bring home some for later. :)

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1½ tsp. baking powder
1½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
½ cup applesauce
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup boiling water

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease two 9-inch round baking pans.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, applesauce, and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

2009-04-05T17:16:00.000-07:00

Alright, not to toot my own horn here, but honestly, I really feel that I outdid myself on these babies.

Backstory: I asked my friends at work what they wanted for baked goods this week, since I didn't really have anything set in mind. Tasha suggested cheesecake bars, since she loved the Nutella ones. Mind you, this is the girl that says she doesn't like cheesecake (What the duck?!). I've maintained from that day that I'd bring her over to the cheesecake side. And this might be the winning step.

Shockingly enough, it's a Martha Stewart recipe. Martha and I have had our, ahem, disagreements in the past, so it's a big deal that this recipe turned out as well as it did. And I would very much like to try this with lime juice next time. Mmmm... lime. ;) The only change I made is to up the amount of lemon juice, because I really want a stronger flavor than the previous bars.

Ingredients:
8 graham crackers, crushed
2 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. butter, melted

16 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
3-4 Tbsp. lemon juice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8-inch baking pan.

Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter. Press onto the bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

While the crust is baking, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs and lemon juice, beating until combined. Pour over hot crust.

Bake at 325F for 30-35 minutes, or until center is nearly set. Let cool completely (or overnight) before cutting into bars.

Simple Peanut Butter Cookies

2009-04-05T16:54:00.000-07:00

When I woke up yesterday morning, I only knew of one thing that I was going to be baking. This wasn't it.

I started poking around my usual fave blogs for inspiration, and somehow peanut butter came to mind. I guess me and PB are having some good times right now. And, not surprisingly, I found myself over at Cookie Madness, browsing through the peanut butter section. Simplicity was the goal, since I'm so ehh on cookie-making still. So when I found this recipe, I just halved everything and went from there. I wound up with about a dozen normal-sized cookies and one larger heart-shaped cookie for Dave. :)

Oh, and the taste? There are five cookies left. That pretty much sums it up, right?

Ingredients:
¼ cup butter, softened
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
½ cup peanut butter
1 egg
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup flour

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Beat butter and sugars until creamy. Beat in peanut butter and egg, followed by the salt, baking soda, and vanilla. Gradually add flour.

Form dough into 1-inch balls, placing them 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Use a fork to create criss-cross marks on the top.

Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly golden around the edges. Let sit on pan for a few minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

Peach Oatmeal Bars

2009-03-29T17:31:00.000-07:00

Everyone has one of those cabinets where, no matter how hard you try, things just seem to get lost in there for some time, right? Right?? Comfort me here, okay? :)

So in an attempt to find something completely unrelated to baking, it was discovered that I still possessed a jar of peach preserves from Harry and David. They weren't there too long. Darcy (Dave's older sister) sent us a gift box from H&D for Christmas. So, they were still good. I bookmarked this recipe from Vegetarian Times probably around that same time, and somehow the two met in my mind in a moment that could only be described as ~~fateful~~ luck. :D

The recipe came together like a dream, with my only change being the addition of some nutmeg and ginger, figuring it would compliment the peach preserves. Which, yes, it did. When I took the pictures for this post, admittedly, I ate two of the display models afterwards. But what good models they were! ;)

Ingredients:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup light brown sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. almond extract
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, divided
1 cup peach preserves/jam

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch baking dish.

Sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in large bowl; set aside.

Cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts until smooth. Add flour mixture to butter mixture; mix until combined. Stir in 1-3/4 cups oats. Spread 2/3 of batter on bottom of prepared baking dish. Spread peach jam over the batter with back of spoon. Add remaining 1/4 cup oats to remaining batter. Crumble over top of raspberry jam.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, or until golden. Cool completely on wire rack, before cutting into bars.

Brickle Bars

2009-03-29T17:09:00.000-07:00

As evidenced before, Dave loves cookies using the Heath Toffee and Chocolate Bits. These can and will be gone in no time. I offered to make something similar for him as a treat, but in bar form. I still can't trust myself not to overdose on cookie dough. When I feel that I can face the dough without devouring so much, then I shall make the cookies again. :)

This is based off an older Snickerdoodle blondie recipe, with the only main difference being the addition of the Heath bits. I think they taste wonderful. The brown sugar is very evident and the toffee flavor goes wonderful. Dave says it tastes like there's raisins in it. *shrug* Makes no sense to me. They're yummy as far as I'm concerned.

Ingredients:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. salt
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup butter, room temperature
1 egg
½ Tbsp. vanilla
½ cup Heath Toffee and Chocolate Bits

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9-inch baking pan.

Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar for 3-5 minutes. Add in the egg, then vanilla, beating until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in Heath Bits. Spread evenly in prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool completely on wire rack before cutting into bars.

4. Bake 25-30 minutes

Nutella Cheesecake Bars (with a Brownie Crust)

2009-03-22T17:50:00.000-07:00

After baking the previous recipe yesterday, I came to two unfortunate realizations:

1. I had like a quarter cup of brown sugar left.
2. There's no more vanilla.

Hmph. This does not make for a happy Kristen. So Dave's baked good was put on hold until next week. And it brings me to my "to try" folder on here.

Lemon Mascarpone Blondies... nope. Missing some key ingredients. Cinnamon Blueberry Cake... I only have strawberries. Wait, wait - ooh! Alpineberry's Nutella Cheesecake Brownies! No vanilla and no brown sugar needed - woohoo!

After the incident that shall only be referred to as Exploding Butter, I just set the cream cheese on top of the still-lit stove for a bit. Probably should've left it there longer, but time was ticking as it's prone to do, thus my cheesecake layer isn't as pretty as Alpineberry's. It's okay, though. It's still deliciously rich, with Nutella in both the brownie layer and the cheesecake layer. And, really, who's going to argue with that? :D

(Oh, and I now have more brown sugar and some vanilla to hold me over until the good vanilla gets here lol)

Ingredients:
Brownie Layer:
10 Tbsp. butter, melted and slightly cooled
¼ cup Nutella
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
¼ cup natural cocoa powder

Cheesecake layer:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened at room temp.
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup Nutella

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a 9-inch baking dish.

For brownie layer:
Combine butter, Nutella, eggs, and sugar in a large bowl, mixing well. Sift in flour and cocoa powder, and mix until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Set aside.

For cheesecake layer:
Mix the cream cheese, sugar, eggs and Nutella until well combined. Pour over brownie batter.

Bake at 325F for 40-45 minutes, or until the cheesecake looks set. Allow to cool completely in the pan before cutting.

Updated: PB Blondies with Chocolate Chips

2009-03-21T14:03:00.000-07:00

So, sadly, my cupcakes the other didn't turn out the way I had planned. The taste that I was aiming for was faint, and the texture on the top was just... odd. It's back to the drawing board on that one.

This is an update post on a recipe I made a while back. Amelia's birthday is coming up, and this was her birthday request. The original was thought up during a 'cake break' at work. Aww, I miss cake breaks!

Anyways, the recipe is really simple, just a basic blondie with peanut butter and chocolate chips. Like a thicker cookie bar, if you use the recipe off the bag of Nestle's chips. :)

(No picture as the lasagna's almost ready! lol)

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup peanut butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8-inch baking dish.

Cream butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add flour mix to the butter mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.

Bake at 325F for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack before cutting into bars.

Brownies with Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting

2009-03-15T17:24:00.000-07:00

The other day, my mom comes up to me in a store, holding a jar of The Peanut Butter Co.'s Dark Chocolate Dreams (don't worry, we paid much less for it lol), saying that I should make brownies with it, like the Nutella ones that she so loves. I wanted to do something slightly different, thus this post and recipe. Based on this recipe, I switched out the unsweetened chocolate and then, obviously, used the peanut butter as the frosting.

If you make this, definitely don't overbeat, as I wound up with that kind of light crust on the top of the brownies, particularly on the edges. They do taste moister on the second day, and I actually liked them better then.

I'm curious about their other peanut butters. Anyone else use them? The cinnamon sounds particularly intriguing. Could this be the end of my love/hate relationship with peanut butter? *suspenseful music* Find out next time!

(Not really; I was just going for the dramatics. I've got something else planned for my next baking, and I'll even give a hint. It involves a soda that originated in Chicago in 1919.) :)

Ingredients:
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup flour
1 cup Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter
Chocolate chips and nuts, if desired

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.

Melt chocolate and butter together, either on stove or in microwave. Let cool for at least 5 minutes.

Beat chocolate mixture with sugar. Add egg, vanilla, and salt. Gradually add flour, but do not overmix. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.

Once out of oven for 15 minutes, spread the chocolate peanut butter on top, sprinkling with chocolate chips or nuts, if desired. Let cool completely before cutting into bars.

Key Lime Coconut Blondies

2009-03-08T17:31:00.000-07:00

Did everyone remember to change their clocks? (At least, those that do.) Normally the spring forward doesn't bother me, but I didn't get to go to bed as early as I liked. Thus six hours of sleep does not make for a happy Kristen. And this is dangerous, posting this now, seeing as my eyes are painful, but I've been procrastinating. Again.

Oh! Good news - my dad's home from the hospital. He was sprung loose on my best friend's birthday, coincidentally the day before his own. Also good - the weather this weekend.

After the six inches of snow last Monday, 60F weather was a very nice surprise on Saturday. Too bad there's more snow in the forecast for tomorrow. Poo. Anyways, when I woke up on Saturday, the sun was shining, the snow was melting, and I wanted something summery. And you know where that led to.

Found at one of my favorite blogs, Culinary Concoctions by Peabody, this is my second attempt at this recipe. The first time probably didn't even get blogged about because I was lacking coconut and it just wasn't a good thing. This time, all the ingredients were in the house. Woohoo!

---Okay, an email later, I'm back. Seriously, the procrastination is at an all new level tonight. So, where was I?

Alright. The recipe. Comes together really easily. Is a very dense blondie, almost bordering on a cake-like quality. The only thing I would change is upping the lime quantity, but that's just me and the Lime Monster talking. :)

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 cup cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking soda
2 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
3 Tbsp. key lime juice
3/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch baking pan.

Whisk together flour, cake flour baking powder, salt, and baking soda; set aside.

Beat brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, followed by the key lime juice. Gradually add the flour mixture, beating just until combined. Stir in shredded coconut. Spread in prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 45-50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack before cutting into bars.

Raspberry-Swirled Lime Cheesecake Bars

2009-02-23T17:14:00.000-08:00

In order to keep myself busy yesterday afternoon, and when my recipe search gave me nothing that appealed, the infamous Lime Monster appeared. (You may remember good ol' LM - the reappearance usually signals intense lime cravings that sometimes border on obsessive and tend to drive others crazy.) From there, the wheel started turning.

Lime, lime. What can I do with that key lime juice? I've got blueberries in the fridge, no raspberries, though. And some cream cheese that really should get used. Wait! Lime juice, cream cheese... raspberry preserves! Swirled through, all pretty-like! And with a chocolate crust! Because I think it'd be contrasting and pretty. :)

Thus, this recipe was born.

And did the Lime Monster approve? Yes, indeed. The raspberry is a sweetness that cuts through that delicious tartness. And while the chocolate crust wasn't as dark as I imagined, it still works. :)

Ingredients:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup plus ¼ cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1/3 cup butter, melted

16 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1½ Tbsp. flour
3 Tbsp. key lime juice
2 eggs
1/3 cup raspberry preserves

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8-inch baking dish.

Mix together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cocoa, and butter. Press onto bottom of the pan.

Beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, and lime juice until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Pour over crust. Drop dollops of raspberry preserves into batter, using a knife to swirl through.

Bake at 325F for 40 minutes, or until center is set. Cool on wire rack. Refrigerate for at least four hours before cutting and serving.

Mascarpone Brownies: The Large Batch

2009-02-22T14:10:00.000-08:00

This is more of an updated one, rather than a new recipe (that's coming later).

Last week, I promised the girls at physical therapy that I'd bring in some brownies, since who doesn't love homemade brownies? So I figure I'd do a larger batch, with half going with me on Tuesday, and the other half staying here.

Well, yesterday afternoon, my dad was brought to the emergency room. Amazingly, it wasn't a holiday. ;) He was having back and stomach pains, and as the day went on, they got worse, so he was concerned about his appendix. Well, five hours, three iv's, and a ct scan later, we've got the official diagnosis: appendicitis. Because, obviously, timing is everything. He's supposed to start another round of chemo this Wednesday.

So now that half of the brownies has more duties. Comfort to my mom, who tends to be a nervous wreck, and something for my dad to look forward to when he gets home. :)

(The surgery happened a few hours ago, and all went well. We'll be visiting tonight, and hopefully he'll be home soon. They'll probably keep him an extra day or so, only because of the other medical issues.) Either way, positive thoughts and vibes would certainly be welcome. :)

Oh, as a side note, when unwrapping the four sticks of butter, I said to Dave, "This must be what Paula Deen feels like!" And he replied, "So long as you don't start drinking it." :D

Ingredients:
2 cups butter, melted
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
8 ounces mascarpone cheese, softened
6 eggs
4 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
½ tsp. salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a 13x9-inch baking pan.

Pour melted butter over the chocolate. Wait 30 seconds before stirring until chocolate is smooth.

Stir together sugar and cocoa in mixing bowl, then pour in melted chocolate, beating until smooth. Add the mascarpone, eggs, and vanilla. Gradually add flour and salt. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake at 325F for 45-50 minutes, or when a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack before cutting into bars.

Blueberry Crumble Bars

2009-02-15T16:48:00.000-08:00

Since I know I won't have a chance to post this tomorrow... Happy 2nd Blogiversary to me! LOL It's hard to believe it's been two years doing this and I haven't lost my love for it or anything. And yay for my photography skills improving a bit, too. ;)

I lucked out this week. The grocery store had blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries on sale for $2 each, with the blueberries being a whole pint worth. I'd be a fool not to take advantage of that. So come Saturday morning, I'm seeking out blueberry recipes.

Fate smiled upon me, when she led me to one of my favorite blogs, Smitten Kitchen. And let me tell you, she is not lying when she says how good these are. I opened the container today to find them half gone. (Hey, I won't argue with my dad actually eating fruit. Good, high-in-antioxidant fruit, at that) The only change I made to the recipe (other than halfing it) was to add cinnamon to the dough, and that won my heart for this one. :)

Ingredients:
½ cup sugar
½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cold butter
1 egg
1/8 tsp. salt
Zest and juice of one lemon
2 cups fresh blueberries
¼ cup white sugar
2 tsp. cornstarch

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Grease an 8-inch baking pan.

Mix together the sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and flour, then add butter and egg, using a pastry blender to combine. Dough will be crumbly. Spread half onto bottom of prepared pan.

Stir together sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice, then gently fold in berries. Sprinkle evenly over crust. Crumble remaining dough on top of the berries.

Bake at 375F for 45-50 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Let cool completely before cutting into bars.

White Chocolate Coconut Blondies

2009-02-14T16:03:00.000-08:00

I will get this posted, one way or another. I'm not allowed to pick up my book, watch Jeopardy, or go to any other website until this is posted. I made these on Wednesday and things just kept getting in the way every time I attempted to get these posted. Even now, it's "Hmm... I should see when that bill is due." Nope, don't do it, Kristen. Post!

Alright. *determined sigh* I had a 'bonus' day off this week, and decided that I should bake something to mail out to Johanna. I texted her early in the morning, asking if she had a specific blondie in mind (she's very fussy about brownies, preferring, sadly, the box mix kind). Well, with no response within about 30-45 minutes, I went with these, having seen them many times over the years at Very Best Baking. Minus the macadamias, since we didn't have any in the house. *shrug*

They came together easily enough, but the finished product didn't leave me all that wow'ed. Maybe more coconut next time? I don't know. Any suggestions?

(No picture due to lack of time on Thursday morning, pre-mailing lol)

Ingredients:
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
½ tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 cup white chocolate chips
½ cup coconut

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch baking pan.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Beat sugar, butter, and vanilla until creamy. Beat in egg. Gradually add flour mixture. Stir in morsels and coconut. Press into pan.

Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool on wire rack before cutting into bars.

WND : Nutella Crumb Cake

2009-02-05T17:17:00.000-08:00

Finally! I get to participate in World Nutella Day!

Originally created by Misadventures in Italy, with her co-host Bleeding Espresso, WND is a celebration of that food of the gods, Nutella. Personally, the discovery of such divinity was truly an eye-opening moment, and since then, I've converted many a Nutella-deprived soul into its cult of worshippers. (My mom no longer believes in brownies if they don't have Nutella in them.) :)

For this, I wanted to do something different, something that I hadn't found online. A quick bread came to mind at first, but evolution took its course and now we have a Nutella Crumb Cake.

It comes together very quickly and it's probably best to not eat all of the batter, despite how delicious it is. ;) It's loosely adapted from a peanut butter crumb cake recipe, but I think this way is much better. :)

Ingredients:
2¼ cups flour
2 cups brown sugar
¼-½ cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
14 oz. Nutella
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.

Stir together flour, brown sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda in mixing bowl. Add Nutella and butter, beating until crumbly. Remove 1 cup of crumbs for topping.

Add milk, eggs, and vanilla, beating on low until combined. Continue to beat on medium speed for three minutes. Pour into an ungreased 13x9-inch baking pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips, then the crumb topping.

Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool before cutting. Enjoy at room temperature or cooled.

Mascarpone Brownies

2009-01-29T14:20:00.001-08:00

I should've known from the very start. The desire to sit down with a spoon and just eat the batter was a hard one to beat. That should come to no surprise, though, since every single thing that I've made that uses mascarpone cheese has had that same affect on me.

Without a doubt, these are the best brownies I've ever had. Ever. There was swooning involved in that first bite. Heaven in my mouth. The sun shone just a little bit brighter, a little bit warmer, within that first mouthgasmic bite. Prone to dramatics? Not I! ;)

This has been on my "to make" list for far longer than I'd like to admit. I don't know what caused me to overlook it, but obviously the baking gods had to make sure I was fully ready for such deliciousness. LOL Originally found on Recipe Zaar and adapted from a Food Network Canada recipe, I altered it just a little bit, mostly due to laziness. (At least I'm honest, right?) It worked out well, and that remaining 4 ounces of mascarpone sitting in the fridge now knows its fate. The brownies are light, yet fudgy; their dream-like quality even extends into the cutting: the knife went through there was if it was melted butter.

Wow. :)

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, melted
3 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
½ cup cocoa
½ cup mascarpone
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
½ cup flour
¼ tsp. salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8-inch baking dish.

Pour melted butter over chocolate; let side for 30 seconds before stirring until the chocolate is fully melted.

Sift together sugar and cocoa in mixing bowl, then pour chocolate mixture into it, beating until combined. Add mascarpone, eggs, and vanilla, beating until smooth. Gradually add flour and salt. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake at 325F for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool completely before cutting into bars.

Marshmallow Brownie Cups

2009-01-25T12:58:00.000-08:00

Starting out maybe three years ago, I decided that my birthday should be celebrated for more than just one day. Not necessarily in a party/drinking sort of way, but an adventure and experience kind of way. Last year, we went to Disneyland. This year, since funds were tight, we went out for Mexican food on the 22nd itself, then I gave myself a present by taking Friday off. Yesterday, Dave took me up to the Museum of Science in Boston, then out to Cheesecake Factory, which has been a celebratory restaurant of choice for, well, a few years now, between birthdays and anniversaries and what not. (It was also our first official date, too. Awww lol) It was a lot of fun.

Also on the 22nd, we got some fabulous news: Dave's dad is taking a good portion of the family (minus two sisters that are in school) on an ALASKAN CRUISE in honor of Dave's mom's 60th birthday in May! *chairdance* I am superduper excited, as I've never been on a cruise or gone to Vancouver or Alaska. Yay for new places to eat! And magnets. :)

All birthdays aside, I really wanted to make something with marshmallows this weekend. It just sounded like a good idea. After some time searching, I found a new (to me) blog, Talida Bakes, and the recipe, adapted from Cooks' Illustrated, fit perfectly. Personally, I could have just sat there dipping marshmallows into the brownie batter for quite some time, but even baked, they do taste yummy. One word of caution: don't fill the cups too full, as the marshmallow will 'drip' and become thin and candy-like. They taste good, very brownie-esque. I do so like brownies masquerading in cupcake liners. :)

Ingredients:
7 oz. dark chocolate (at least 60% cocoa), chopped
½ cup unsalted butter, cut into quarters
3 Tbsp. cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. salt
1 cup flour
1 cup mini marshmallows

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray mini-muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with paper liners.

Melt chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally until mixture is smooth. Whisk in cocoa until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.

Beat together eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt in medium bowl until combined. Beat in warm chocolate mixture. Gradually add flour, beating until fully incorporated. Stir in mini marshmallows. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, about half-full.

Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes, or until slightly puffed, and a toothpick inserted near center comes out with just a small amount of crumbs attached. Cool completely on wire rack.

Butterfinger Blondies

2009-01-17T15:33:00.000-08:00

I did a Very Nice Thing today. Yep. Early in the morning, too. Less than half an hour after waking up.

I let Dave choose what I was making today. :)

I showed him some of my options and he wasn't thrilled by any of them. And then he held up the bag of Butterfinger Jingles and said, "Do something with these!" A bit more discussion - no peanut butter this time, no extra chocolate - and here we are.

He was even nice enough to chop up the Butterfingers, too. (I told him I'd post that, too LOL)

This is my go-to recipe for blondies, because it's super easy and involves little clean up. There's a nice brown sugary taste to them that goes well with the Butterfinger flavor. I used about half a cup of them, but you could do more or less, depending on how much you like the stuff. :)

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
½ tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
½ to 3/4 cup Butterfingers, chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8-inch baking pan.

Sift together flour and baking powder; set aside.

Cream butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla until well combined. Gradually add flour mixture. Stir in Butterfinger pieces. Spread in prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool completely before cutting into bars. Makes 16.

Peanut Butter Munchies

2009-01-10T17:18:00.001-08:00

For all the warnings of the big, bad Internet, I think I've been really lucky. Over the past... 16 years (holy moly!), I've made some really great friends. Friends that I know will be around my entire life. Two, in fact, have been around for more than half my life already.

Ivy (originally from CA) and Sandy (from IL), these girls have been my best friends since were 11 and 12 years old. It started out as a mutual love of Mickey Mouse Club, which then progressed into being penpals, and then back to the Internet again. We don't talk all the time, but I know that no matter where I am in life, they can always be considered a friend. I finally got to meet Ivy this past summer, when Dave and I drove through Phoenix. No awkwardness or anything. In fact, I think Dave might have felt a bit left out, what with all the inside jokes and memories that were shared. Oops. Sorry, honey. :)

My other lifetime friend is Courtney, also in IL. By best reckoning, it's been about ten years now. I was doing fundraising for RAINN and what began as her ordering some tshirts (was that it?), lead to emails and eventually "conversations" over the computer. Anyone remember v-stream, where you could call up an 800 number, say whatever you wanted, then email the confirmation number to the intended? Yeah, we did that for a while. We've been through a lot in life, and I've never, ever felt that she didn't support my choices 100%, and vice versa. :) She was the one who passed on this recipe, originally from Midwest Living, describing them as a "mouthgasm". The girl does not lie, let me tell you. These are fan-freakin'-tabulous.

They're very reminiscent of a Girl Scout cookie, the tagalongs, I believe? The ones with the peanut butter inside the chocolate dough. Just minus the chocolate coating on the outside. They're definitely worth the work. And they're the first cookie that I've made in nearly a year. At least it was something worthy. ;)

Ingredients:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
½ cup peanut butter
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Stir together flour, cocoa powder and baking soda. Set flour mixture aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, sugar, brown sugar, and the ¼ cup peanut butter with an electric mixer until combined. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Form chocolate dough into 32 balls about 1¼ inches in diameter. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine powdered sugar and remaining ½ cup peanut butter till smooth. Shape into 32 (3/4-inch) balls.

Slightly flatten a chocolate dough ball and top with a peanut butter ball. Shape the chocolate dough over the peanut butter filling, completely covering the filling. Roll dough into a ball. Repeat with the remaining chocolate dough and peanut butter filling.

Place 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. Lightly flatten with bottom of glass dipped in remaining sugar.

Bake at 350F for 8 minutes, or until just set and surface is slightly cracked. Let cookies stand for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Makes 32 cookies.

Nutella Cupcakes

2009-01-09T14:15:00.000-08:00

Admittedly, I'm generally behind on most things. Except for time. I'm very good at being on time. But movies, sometimes books, current trends? Yeah, forget it. Most movies that everyone and their mother have seen (with the exception of LOTR and all the Harry Potter movies), I probably haven't seen yet. Forest Gump? Saw it for the first time maybe four years ago? Star Wars? Bits and pieces, but have never seen one in its entirety. (Please don't throw anything at me) ;)

This recipe, originally created by Donna Hay, seems to be very popular. Although most posts that I found about it were from four years ago. Again, behind. But it's okay; they were worth the wait. And, in my defense, I didn't read food blogs four years ago.

Since the introduction of Nutella to this household, my parents have become addicted. I'm worried that I might need a 12-step program for them or something. Seriously. Since I'm not usually off of work today, I thought I'd surprise them with these. Dave gets his peanut butter baked goods tomorrow, if all goes as mentally planned.

My only complaint about these was the swirling in of the nutella. That could be due to the fact that I was using a cake tester since there are no toothpicks in this house. But other than that, I'm pleased. Really easy to make, not much to clean up - good deal. :)

Ingredients:
10 Tbsp. butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
½ tsp. vanilla
1-3/4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
Nutella (about 1/3 cup)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Beat butter and sugar until light, about two minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until fully incorporated, then add vanilla. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; add gradually to the butter mixture.

Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full, then top with about 1½ tsp. of Nutella. Using a toothpick, swirl the Nutella with the batter, creating a marble-y, swirly pattern.

Bake at 325F for 20 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-04T16:56:00.000-08:00

I hope everone had a fun, safe evening on NYE. We tried valiantly to stay up, but alas... early morning work schedules were what defeated us. Next year, Dick Clark. Next year. ;)

So my first baked good of 2009 proved to be a bit of challenge. Mainly because of one thing: Dave and my mom used up the last of the brown sugar. Do you know how many recipes call for brown sugar? Especially if you're feeling like something with peanut butter? HMPH!

After a lot of searching, I found these over on AllRecipes... Czechoslovakian Cookies. Which led me to the following thoughts:

-I was the only kid in my 3rd and 4th grade classes that not only knew that Czechoslovakia existed and where it was, but I was also the only one that could spell it properly. :) (I really liked maps as a kid lol)

-Czechoslovakia no longer exists. As of some-year-I-can't-remember, it's now Czech Republic and Slovakia.

That out of the way, these bars. Cookies, if you will. Pretty darn easy to make, but not nearly enough jam. I didn't measure to begin with, just covered the dough, really, but it definitely could have used more. I found the use of cardamom in them to be interesting. Maybe it's just me, but cardamom, in what I've used it in, gives it a slight citrus-y flavor. Does anyone else ever get that? *shrug* It worked out well, though; I used seedless raspberry preserves and thought it went nicely together.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. ground cardamom
¼ tsp. ground allspice
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
½ cup jam of choice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8-inch baking dish.

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, then vanilla. Whisk together flour, spices, and pecans (if using), then gradually add to the butter mixture.

Spread half of the dough onto the bottom of prepared pan. Carefully spread jam over the dough, then cover the jam with remaining dough.

Bake at 325F for 55-60 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool completely before cutting into bars.

White Chocolate Cheesecake with Cranberry Topping

2008-12-25T16:40:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone's having a great day today. It's been such a happy, being home again. There've been some great holidays out in CA, but it was really good to be with my family again. My aunt, uncle, cousin, and her husband came over last night. Today it was just me, Dave, and my parents, and it was nice. Quiet, relaxing, and very nice. My dad and I even got to watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, which is my favorite Christmas movie. That squirrel flying out of the tree gets me every single time. :)

The other night, while watching the repeat Iron Chef episode of Battle Cranberry, I started contemplating cranberry cheesecake. Which led to white chocolate, figuring on the sweetness to compliment the tartness of the cranberry. I wound up combining a few different recipes, including a portion of this cheesecake and the cranberry topping from an Ocean Spray pavlova. The end result? Wow. Very smooth, subtle white chocolate taste, with that sharp tartness of the cranberry topping. I loved it. Dave felt it was a bit too sweet, but my dad said he would happily help out with the remainders.

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. butter, melted

Cheesecake:
3 pkg. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
4 ounces white chocolate chips, melted and slightly cooled

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. (300F if using a darker colored pan.)

Combine crust ingredients, and press into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, until combined. Stir in chocolate. Pour over crust.

Bake at 325F/300F for 45-50 minutes, or until center is nearly set. After some cooling, run a knife along the outer rim to loosen cake from pan. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Cranberry Topping:
1 can of whole berry cranberry sauce
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
Zest of half a lime

Combine cranberry sauce and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Let boil for one minute before removing from heat. Add lime zest. Cover and refrigerate until cool. Spoon over cheesecake.

Penny (with her glowing eyes lol) and I wish you each a fabulous holiday season! :D

Cranberry Bliss Bars... almost

2008-12-21T16:29:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite parts of the holiday season (food-wise, at least) is when Starbucks brings out the Cranberry Bliss Bars. I look forward to them every year, and have extolled their deliciousness to many a stranger. Probably about four years ago, I decided to try to make my own... they could have been named Cranberry Brick Bars. *shrug*

So Saturday morning rolls around, and I'm baking for me this time. No presents, no holiday desserts, just whatever I wanted. And since there was no need for 400+ cookies this year, I started searching for some cookie recipes. When I stumbled upon Good Eats 'N Sweet Treats and saw she replicated the recipe with non-brick results, it was as if the sun came bursting out behind the heavy clouds, blinding us all with its rays on the freshly fallen snow! (Is that a sentence, or what? LOL)

But that's not to say that I didn't have some concerns as the recipe was coming together. The batter didn't win me over and I found the frosting way too sweet. But put them together, and it was a match made in sweet cranberry heaven. The dried cranberries countered the sweetness of the frosting perfectly. And while it's not an EXACT match, it's the best I've done so far. :)

(Oh, I forget to mention this: I halved the recipe, just in case it didn't come out good. For the full 13x9-inch size, just double the amounts (not the eggs, though; those would be three for the full-size) or check out the original post) :D

Ingredients:
½ cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3/4 tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. ginger
1/8 tsp. salt
3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup dried cranberries
3 oz. white chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch baking pan.

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, ginger, and salt. Gradually add in flour. Stir in cranberries and white chocolate. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick insert near center comes out clean. Once completely cool, frost with cream cheese frosting.

Frosting:
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
1?½ cups confectioners' sugar
2 tsp. lemon juice
¼ tsp. vanilla
1/8 cup dried cranberries

Combine the first four ingredients until smooth. Spread on top of bars. Sprinkle dried cranberries on top.

Holiday Madness

2008-12-19T16:57:00.000-08:00

I think I'm done. We had one very hectic day yesterday, with shipping and shopping and spending more money than I really would've liked to, but it's done. Even the stocking stuffers. Whew.

Now Part Two of the baking. The local stuff. I only mailed out three baked goods this year... Amelia got the Andes Mint brownies, Henelyne got Nutella brownies (that girl loves chocolate like nothing else lol), and Johanna got these Gingerbread Bars (just minus the frosting.) UPS has promised me that they'll all get there by the 22nd or 23rd. It would be in poor taste to say how much those babies cost. ;)

With that being said, we're in the middle of a good-sized snowstorm. There's probably about 5 or 6 inches on the ground right now, plus another storm coming on Sunday. As I was making tonight's brownies (half to the folk that work at our local Starbucks, half to the house here), I realized I'm down to less than a cup of butter. Oh, this does not work. Come hell or high ~~water~~ snow, I really, really need to get some butter this weekend.

If all goes well, I'm doing some fun baking tomorrow morning. It doesn't have to given out, it's just because it'll be relaxing. Maybe. My time limit is getting smaller and smaller, and we still haven't watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation yet! ;)

Chocolate Mint Brownies

2008-12-11T13:34:00.000-08:00

Thus the Christmas Baking has begun. :)

For the select few, I send out baked goods for Christmas, usually something that's specifically chosen for them. For Amelia, my "twin" in both looks and baked goods-taste, chocolate and mint was the first thing that came to mind. And I'm hoping that she won't check out the blog until after she gets this, because these are for her.

I saw these over at Baking Blonde and just fell in love. And what timing, I had just bought the Andes Mints the weekend prior. The only change made to the recipe is in using 8 ounces of just semi-sweet chocolate, since I didn't have any bittersweet. And oh my god, the batter alone is orgasmic. Seriously. Whoever first put chocolate and mint together totally deserves to be sainted.

Ingredients:
6 Tbsp. butter
8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
¼ tsp. mint extract
¼ tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup Andes Mint chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease (or line with parchment) an 8-inch baking dish.

Melt together butter and chcolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until smooth. Allow to cool for 5 mintues.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

Beat the sugar into the chocolate mixture. Add eggs and mint extract, mixing until combined and smooth. Add flour mixture and mix until combined. Gently fold in 3/4 cup Andes chips. Pour batter into prepared pan, and evenly sprinkle remaining Andes chips over the top.

Bake at 350F for 25-20 mintues, or until a cake tester comes out with a few crumbs.
Allow to cool before cutting and serving. Makes 16 brownies.

The Unphotographables: Blackberry Coffee Cake

2008-12-08T14:44:00.000-08:00

It's such a long, crazy story as to how I wound up with this... item. Started at Baking Bites, for a blackberry pound cake. That got scratched when I saw that there was no buttermilk. Alright, so we move from there. Long evolution story short, I wound up piecing together a recipe or two. Which isn't always a bad thing, as we all know. :)

So I mix it together, gently fold in the blackberries, pour into the pan, etc. I'm cleaning up the mixer bowl when I realize there's a faint scent of... burning popcorn from behind me. What the duck? Well, despite using the the proper size pan and everything, we had leakage.

Leakage, of course, meaning a blob reminiscent of something out of '50s sci-fi movie. Entertaining, but not what you want all over the bottom of the oven. Especially when it smells like burnt popcorn. Which then wafts its way across the house, like it does, and wakes up your mother, who had surgery the day before. Doh!

Anyways, despite how it sounds, The Day the Blackberry Coffee Cake Oozed, doesn't taste bad. It just looks all kinds of hideous. Hence a new category in the blogdom... The Unphotographables. Not that I have the best picture taken skills in the world, but this guy, ooh. I think I'd need a studio with fancy lights to make him look good.

I'll post the recipe, but do keep the Blob in mind if you decide to make it. Maybe a different size pan would help, too. :)

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
½ tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup sour cream
1 pint blackberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8- or 9-inch round pan.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add sour cream and vanilla. Gradually add the dry ingredients. Spread into prepared pan. Top with as many blackberries as you'd like.

Bake at 350F for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for a bit before serving.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Triangles

2008-11-30T17:44:00.000-08:00

What a mouthful!

A very long time ago (this could be over a year ago, we can't remember), Dave said that he was interested in oatmeal cookies... but with certain, um, prerequisites.

1. No raisins. He's one of those "get those raisins out of my cookies" kind of guys.
2. It had to have peanut butter.
3. It had to have chocolate chips.

When I set out to find something to make yesterday, I had Dave in mind. It was his first day back to work after a week of vacation/work around the house, so something peanut buttery was a must. Out of accident, really, I wound up clicking on a link I've had bookmarked since the first conversation of oatmeal cookies happened. The Canadian Baker posted a yummy-sounding recipe back in '05. (Does this date the conversation? Perhaps.) But you guys all know that I don't like making cookies all that often. So bar form was created. And then I decided to cut 'em in triangles for a change of pace.

The end results? A chewy, sturdy bar that packs a lot of flavor into a bite or two. More positive reviews than negative, at least. Dave's kinda ehh on them (poo!), but they've also been "reborn" with ice cream, both as a base and crumbled over the top. Yum! :)

Ingredients:
1¼ cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup butter, softened
½ cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups oats (I used the old fashioned kind)
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 15x10-inch jelly roll pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.

Beat butter, peanut butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla until completely incorporated. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until combined. Stir in oats and chips. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake at 375F for 22-27 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool in pan before cutting into triangles.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T07:30:00.000-08:00

And with the turkey placed in the oven with care
And hopes that some of the family will soon be there...

But I heard him exclaim, before the thermometer said done
Happy Thanksgiving to all and to all a good one!

(Yeah, obviously poetry isn't my strong suit early in the morning!)

I just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving and lots of happy eating. :D

I'm really happy to be home this year. It's my first Thanksgiving at home since I moved to CA in 2001, so my mom's mashed potatoes will be especially welcome. I have mentioned that she makes the world's best, right? :)

So, with that, enjoy the Parade and all the great food and family. :)

Thanksgiving Preview: Caramel Apple Cake

2008-11-22T16:54:00.000-08:00

As of right now, I have a pretty set menu of baked goods for Thursday. Pumpkin cheesecake is a must, Nutella brownies, pumpkin oats bars (per request), and the newcomer to the group: Caramel Apple Cake.

Found on the King Arthur Flour website, it sounded great. But, just in case, I wanted to do a test-run. After all, some new recipes need... tweaking. I did keep in mind some of the comments that were left: lower temperature, less baking time, maybe pushing some apples inside the cake instead of just on top.

My mom couldn't stop raving about it. With a denser cake base, it's not overly sweet. Dave said it'd be a good after-dinner, with-coffee sort of treat. My dad just said it was really good and wondered how much would be left for tomorrow. :D I'm slowly getting him to actually like food. (He's one of those "eats because he has to" kind of guys. I obviously took after the Portuguese side that is my mom's)

So, yep, this will be on the table on Thursday. I still need to work out exactly what's getting baked when (I figure the kitchen will be mine on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, leaving it to my mom and Dave on Thursday), so hopefully everything will work out well. :)

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
½ cup butter, softened
½ tsp. cinnamon
1-3/4 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups flour
½ cup sour cream

2 large apples, peeled, cut into wedges
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Homemade caramel or the jarred variety

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a 9-inch round cakepan.

Beat sugar, butter, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and vanilla until smooth. Add eggs, beating until incorporated completely. Alternately add flour and sour cream. Spoon batter into prepared pan.

Toss apple wedges with sugar and vanilla, coating completely. Press apples into and on top of the batter.

Bake at 325F for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for about an hour before transfering to a wire rack. Spoon caramel on top. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Chocolate Mascarpone Pie

2008-11-17T17:03:00.001-08:00

Quiz time!

What do you do when handed an Oreo cookie crust?

A. Run away screaming obscenities about the blasphemy of pre-made crusts.
B. Place it on your head and start tap dancing.
C. Make the best of it, eat it, but still complain about the sweetness and taste of the crust.

While the first two sound fun (and possibly believable lol), I decided to go with option C. That old adage about the mouth of a gift horse, after all.

After some researching, I remember the mascarpone cream filling that I made for some tartlets back in the summer. Somewhere along the way, the idea of using chocolate in it got involved, and, as they say, the rest is history.

The texture wasn't the light and fluffiness that was the non-chocolate version, but it was definitely well-received. Maybe a little bit less sugar would have been better; Dave and I found it to be sweet. My mom, ever the chocoholic, loved it, and my dad happily ate the remaining two pieces after lunch the next day. :)

Ingredients:
Chocolate pie crust (pre-made or your own)
8 oz. mascarpone, softened
1/3 cup heavy cream
¼ cup sugar
4 oz. semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Directions:
Beat mascarpone, cream, and sugar until stiff peaks are held. Add chocolate, beating until completely combined. Spread into crust. Top with cream, fruit, or whatever else you may desire. ;)

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookie Bars

2008-11-09T17:50:00.000-08:00

This was filed under the "baking endeavors to re-do" folder. Which basically consists of a bunch of stuff I made four to five years ago that I'd like to give another try, to see if it's any different or if I could make any improvements. The only thing I did different this time around with these is that I used the (remaining) butterscotch chips, since somehow there were no peanut butter ones to be found. Hmph.

Anyways, these are super-simple and take no time to whip together. I do prefer it with the peanut butter, though. The butterscotch makes them very sweet, so perhaps lessen the sugar a little bit? My dad's a big fan, not surprising; he's already blamed the dog for some of them disappearing. LOL And Penny just sits up, looks around confusedly, then lays back down on the couch. It's tough being her. Really. ;)

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 cup Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups peanut butter morsels

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 15x10-inch jelly-roll pan.

Combine flour, cinnamon, cloves and baking soda in a small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in a large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract until blended; gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Spread into prepared jelly-roll pan.

Bake at 350F for 18-22 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack.

Experimental Baking

2008-11-09T17:17:00.000-08:00

The other day at work, we discovered one of those limited edition bodywashes that smelled EXACTLY like butterscotch. Which naturally led me to "Ooh! I want to make butterscotch cupcakes!"

Did you know that there aren't really many recipes for that? The only one I found used a cake mix and melted butterscotch chips.

So what did I do? A yellow cupcake that I've used as a base many a time and added the melted chips. And it came out... wonky. The top is far sweeter, and far crunchier, than the rest of thecake. And it's all rather crumbly.

Therefore, I pose this question before you: Have you a GOOD butterscotch cupcake recipe? And would you be so inclined to share it with me? :D

Pear Cake

2008-11-02T17:32:00.000-08:00

This weekend threw my normal Saturday morning routine out of whack.

Yep, Dave had the day off. He's been doing six days a week for, well, a while, and I had grown very accustomed to my way of doing things on the Saturday AM: wake up around 9, bake two different things, do some laundry - all done before noon. But, as much as I love the guy, my morning all kinds of thrown off. (Love you, honey!) ;)

So I only made one thing yesterday morning, and it never even got photographed. Hmph. On one hand, that's a good thing, but at the same time... again, hmph.

A while back, when in CA still, my best friend Johanna told me that while I don't like pears, that I might enjoy asian pears. I always kept that in mind, just never acted on it. So when they were spotted at Whole Foods, it was obviously meant to be. And it turns out, Jo was right. I do like the asian pears. :)

The recipe is originally from Culinate, I switched out the apples in their cake for my pears. And what with the lack of time, no frosting, as yummy as it sounded. The cake came out well. Very fruity, and the pears towards the top get caramelized and yummy. :)

Ingredients:
2⅓ cups all-purpose, unbleached flour
2 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. ginger
⅛ tsp. ground cloves
⅛ tsp. nutmeg
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1½ cups sugar
2 eggs
3 cups pears (about 2 large apples), peeled and finely chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Butter and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, salt, and ground spices; set aside.

In a mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and mix for another minute, until the eggs are blended into the butter and sugar. Gradually add the flour mixture, beating just until incorporated. The batter will be very thick and stiff. Fold in the pears and stir just enough to evenly distribute the apples and nuts through the batter. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake at 325F for 40-50 minutes. When the top of the cake is firm and an inserted toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done. Cool on a wire rack.

Oatmeal Toffee Bars

2008-10-26T16:51:00.000-07:00

Before I get into reading another book (have I mentioned that I'm as much of an avid reader as I am a baker? So far, I've read 114 books this year alone), I'm going to post about the other bars I made yesterday.

Oh, as a quick aside, the pumpkin you saw in the previous picture and the one you'll see with these bars, his name is George. And George went through Pumpkin Puberty tonight, with Dave guiding him through....

Isn't he cute? I'm very proud of both of them. ;)

Alright. Onto the food. It was a Hershey weekend, as this came up while searching for brownies. Dave loves the Heath Toffee Bits and Chocolate, so I thought he'd enjoy these. At this point, I don't seem to recall anything particular in the making of them. LOL (It's been a long day) Oh! I did a half-batch, that's what I changed! Oh, goodness. Anyways, my mom really likes them. They're very soft, and using both the toffee and the chocolate, it gives it a little bit more sweetness. I'd make 'em again, I think. :)

Ingredients:
3/4 cups flour
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1 eggs
½ tsp vanilla extract
1½ cups oats
4 oz. Heath Bits with Chocolate, divided

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch baking pan.

Stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.

Beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl until well blended. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until blended. Set aside a handful of the Heath bits. Stir remaining toffee bits and oats into batter (batter will be stiff). Spread batter into prepared pan; sprinkle reserved toffee bits over surface.

Bake at 350F for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. About 36 bars.

Cream Cheese Brownies

2008-10-26T16:39:00.000-07:00

For some unknown reason, I had the whole weekend off from work. The next paycheck won't be so great without that time-and-a-half, but I think it was well worth the extra sleep-time and less stress and insanity.

What have I done this weekend? Umm.. baked. Read a book (The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society); you should read it, it was very good.) Dave and I went to an indoor miniature golf place (I lost, but that's nothing new.) Did some laundry in there, too. That's about it. And now I'm ready for bed and it isn't even 8pm yet. Yikes.

This recipe wasn't what I had in mind on Thursday afternoon, when I usually start thinking about what I'll be making on Saturday. But it worked. It's from the Hershey website, and I used the exact recipe, minus the nuts and minus the frosting. I'm not a brownies-with-frosting kind of girl. *shrug* Nothing against those who are, it's just not my thing.

Anyways, the recipe comes together super easy and the batter is delicious. I could have easily overdosed on it. And the after-baking taste is just as good. They've been out of the oven and cooled for, oh, maybe 30 hours, and there's not even half a pan left. My dad insisted that the dog must be sneaking in there when no one's looking. :)

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
3/4 cup cocoa
¼ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a 13x9-inch baking pan.

Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Beat butter, cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture until well blended. Spread batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 325F for 35-40 minutes, or just until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes about 36 brownies.

SHF: Brown Sugar Shortbread

2008-10-18T17:35:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite recipes, and one of the earliest ones I've made since (re?)discovering my love of baking about five years ago. And when I saw that this next Sugar High Friday, hosted by Dessert First, had a theme of spices, this quickly came to mind. (That sentence seems...awkward, doesn't it? LOL) Actually, it was this or an apple-cinnamon cheesecake, but we're lacking in fridge-room at the moment, so no cheesecake this week.

Like many shortbread recipes, it comes together in no time. I don't measure how much I put in for spices, so each time I make it, it comes out a bit different. It's got a little bit of crunch to it, and, oh, the kitchen smells so yummy after about 20 minutes in the oven.

Now if I could just get that oven warmth into the den right now. Even in flannel pj pants and a sweater, I'm still freezing. Do you think I'll be able to get away with calling work and telling them I'm hibernating? LOL

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 cups flour
¼ tsp. salt
Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Spray 9-inch fluted tart pan or 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick spray.

Beat the butter and brown sugar together in large bowl until fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add flour, salt, and spices. Beat on low speed until dough just comes together. Do not overmix. Spread dough into prepared pan, pressing dough to the edges.

Combine sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle on top of dough.

Bake at 325F for about 50 minutes, until firm on edges but still soft in the center. Let cool completely on a wire rack, then cut into wedges or squares.

Double Decker Peanut Butter M&M Bars

2008-10-12T16:50:00.000-07:00

That's a mouthful, isn't it?

Yesterday's baking did not go as planned. The can of pumpkin mysteriously disappeared, with no note whatsoever. You'd think if it was kidnapped, the fiends would leave a ransom note, right? And if he ran away, didn't I raise him better than to leave without a note? Hmph. Watch, he'll come back just after Christmas.

Anyways, thankfully I discovered that before putting together the dry ingredients for my originally planned recipe. I do so hate being wasteful. Thus began my search for something else, when my eyes fell upon Dave's half-full bag of peanut butter M&M's. (He had another full bag still, so it wasn't considered blasphemy for baking with them. He's quite the fan) Surprisingly, my brain went back to a post that I saw on Cooking Madness last week. Voila! :)

I think my only complaint with the recipe is how sticky the dough is. I wound up greasing my hands with Pam spray just to spread the dough into the pan. Other than that, no complaints. And holy moly, Dave's eating something that I made. Lately it's been hit-or-miss with him, so I'm happy. I like the combination of the regular cookie dough and the chocolate, and the general cheeriness that the M&M's give it. I'm easily amused, can you tell? (And also braindead for work today lol)

Ingredients:
2½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
2½ tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
12 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup Peanut Butter M&M's

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13x9-inch dish (or line with foil).

Whisk together 2¼ cups flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Cream butter and sugars, until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture. Divide dough in half.

Blend cocoa and melted butter in a small bowl, then stir into half the dough. Spread cocoa dough onto bottom of pan.

For remainder of dough, stir in ¼ cup flour and ½ cup chocolate chips; spread over cocoa dough. Sprinkle M&M's over the top.

Bake at 350F for 32-38 minutes, or until edges begin to pull away from the sides. Let cool on wire rack before cutting into bars. Makes 24-32 bars (depending on how they're cut)

Vacation!

2008-10-02T03:58:00.000-07:00

In about an hour or so, we'll be heading out to the airport. Dave's cousin is getting married this weekend, so we're going to California for four days. Would like it to have been more, but he couldn't get any more time off from work. But hey, we'll have fun. Wedding, visiting with friends, food that I can't get on this coast - I'm so excited.

That being said, obviously I won't be baking this weekend. But I've already got ideas swirling for when I get back. :)

Happy baking (and eating), everyone! :)

Chocolate Gingerbread

2008-09-28T17:34:00.000-07:00

They all laughed at her.

The girl, very full from dinner (Mom made American chop suey), going from room to room, trying desperately to get some decent lighting, when it was rainy and dismal outside. Dining room, den, bedroom, kitchen, where the girl went, the giggles and comments followed. But did that deter her? No, it did not. She persevered. And while it might not be winning any awards any time soon, gosh darnit, the picture is the best that she could get.

All drama aside now. I came across Nigella's recipe for chocolate gingerbread well over a year ago. But whenever I was in the mood to make it, of course I was lacking in ingredients. A few web searches later, Scharffen Berger came to my rescue. I never realized they had recipes on their website, let alone exactly what I was looking for. :)

This comes together easily and oh, did the kitchen smell good while it was baking. I don't usually do gingerbread so early in the season, but with the rain we've had ALL weekend long, it works. It's a very dense cake, and would do well with some whipped cream. The chocolate is a nice addition to traditional gingerbread, and I think I'd like to see it in cupcake form, too.

Ingredients:
1-3/4 cups + 3 Tbsp. flour
2½ tsp. ginger
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. allspice
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
2/3 cup boiling water
10 Tbsp. butter, softened
3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. sugar
2 eggs
½ cup molasses

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour an 8-inch baking pan.

Whisk together flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Put cocoa in a small bowl, stirring in 1/3 cup of boiling water.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, then add molasses. Stir in cocoa mixture. Gradually add half of the flour mixture, then the remaining 1/3 cup of water. Beat in remaining flour mixture, beating just until incorporated. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool in pan before cutting. Can be served warm or at room temperature.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chip Pie

2008-09-21T16:45:00.000-07:00

This was part two of my weekend baking. The first one has been filed under "Experimental Baking: Category Two - The Gone Wrongs" and has been sneezed away. Needless to say, no Sugar High Friday this time around.

I wanted something simple, with flavors that most of my family enjoys. As most of you know, that means chocolate for my mom, peanut butter for Dave, and anything homemade for my dad. Which leaves me out sometimes, if I'm not wanting those particular flavors, but it's okay. Having other people enjoy what I make is just as good as eating it.

Found over at the Hershey website, it's a really, really easy recipe. I changed it up a bit, omitting the nuts and adding a layer of chips to the base prior to pouring in the batter. We had it tonight for dessert, after Dave grilled some delicious steaks. It's a really, really rich pie. I had the smallest piece, and am so glad that I did. The whipped cream helped (I'd like to tell you that it was homemade whipped cream, but I don't want to lie lol), but man! I'm not sure if I would make it again, or eat it myself, but everyone else was pleased, and that works for me. :)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
3 Tbsp. flour
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup chocolate chips and peanut butter chips
1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F.

Stir together brown sugar, granulated sugar and flour in medium bowl. Beat in eggs, milk, vanilla and melted butter. Stir in chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Pour into pie crust.

Bake at 375F for 35-40 minutes or just until set and golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack.

Pumpkin Cranberry Bars

2008-09-13T16:30:00.000-07:00

This past week, we had our first little taste of autumn. Waking up in the morning, it was in the 40s. The high temperature was in the low 60s. There was just this crispness to the air that brought fall to mind.

I have mixed feelings on fall. For one, it means colder winter weather is coming. But at the same time, it evokes memories of shusheling through the fallen leaves, and the taste of pumpkin and apple, and just generally home-like scents. That is the best part of autumn for me. :)

When I saw the recipe over at Culinary Concoctions by Peabody, I don't know what made me smile more: the picture of the food or the pictures of her Cocker Spaniel and Bunny. Seriously, click now, read and smile, then come back. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Back? See, aren't they adorable?

Anyways, after seeing those bars, I bookmarked it instantly. Then with the aforementioned weather, I bought some pumpkin in preparation for making this.

And it really does taste like autumn should taste. I didn't quite have the amount of cranberries, so I just tossed in what was left in my bag of Craisins. It worked out, though. :)

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. allspice
¼ tsp. ginger
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup pumpkin puree
1½ cups dried cranberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 9x9-inch baking pan.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt; set aside.

Cream butter and sugar, until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Stir in pumpkin. Gradually add flour mixture, beating just until combined. Stir in cranberries. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake at 375F for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool completely before cutting into bars. Makes about 16 bars.

Molasses Brownies

2008-09-13T16:21:00.000-07:00

I can't seem to remember how I first found the recipe, featured back in February in the Boston Globe. But it sounded yummy, so I saved it. (Huh. Exactly seven months to the day it was published. How bizarre.)

I had weird feelings from the get go. The batter looked funny before I added the dry ingredients, but I double-checked and everything was correct, so... just chalked it up to something being weird.

And I don't know if it was that weirdness in the start that just carried through or what, but the taste leaves a lot to be desired. And they certainly aren't as pretty as the ones on the Boston Globe website. The recipe is there, if anyone's interested, but these definitely aren't worthy in my eyes. *shrug*

Mini Chocolate Cupcakes

2008-09-06T16:33:00.000-07:00

I decided that this weekend would be the day that I would finally use the new mini muffin pan. My mom got it for me from a co-worker who does Pampered Chef stuff on the side. Good deal. :)

After some fruitless searches, both in book and internet form, I found myself over at Baking Bites, and came across this recipe, and decided to half it. It's another one that comes together super-duper easy, although it does create a very sticky batter. I was a bit concerned, but it worked out well.

I only frosted half of them, and well, within ten minutes, they were all gone. I'm sure between Dave being home tomorrow and my dad, the rest will have "mysteriously disappeared" by the time I get home from work. :)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup flour
¼ cup cocoa
1 tsp. instant coffee powder
½ cup sugar
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/3 cup milk
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ tsp. vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. (325F if it's a darker colored pan) Grease or line 24 mini muffin cups with paper liners.

Whisk together flour, cocoa, coffee powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl, making a well in the center.

In a medium bowl, stir together the milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Pour into dry ingredients. Mix just until combined. Fill muffin cups 3/4s full.

Bake at 350F (/325F) for 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool completely on wire rack before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 Tbsp. butter, softened
½ tsp. vanilla
½ to 1 Tbsp. milk
1 to 1½ cups confectioners' sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add vanilla and milk, adjusting for consistancy. Add confectioners' sugar 1 cup at a time, until smooth. Spread or pipe onto cupcakes.

Buttermilk Muffins

2008-09-06T06:19:00.000-07:00

Oh, man. I'm glad that this wasn't the first thing I baked yesterday. Because if it was? I would've taken it as a sign that the Baking Gods really didn't want me in the kitchen.

First, I put the flour in the wrong bowl at first. Had to switch bowls, wash the bowl out again. Then realized I didn't have enough nutmeg. In an attempt to add some more spice, when I opened the cinnamon, I forgot it didn't have the little, um, sprinkle-guard-thingie, and like two tablespoons' worth went in the bowl. Oh, and the piece de resistance? My buttermilk went bad. *sigh*

The recipe is originally from Mimi's Cafe, which is a great restaurant that's mostly on the west coast and midwest. They have a New Orleans feel to them, have a fabulous five-cheese grilled cheese sandwich, and you get a muffin with any soup or salad. And these aren't just ordinary muffins. Jumbo size muffins that are just... delicious. I'm a big fan of the carrot raisin, but this buttermilk one comes in at a close second. If you can get to a Mimi's, by all means, go! Have a muffin and think of me, all the way out here in MA, with no Mimi's for many, many miles.

Being that I had such issues with the making, mine taste nothing like the original. Substitution buttermilk never tastes the same as the real thing. That and the spice mix-ups, too. But, despite my fears, they don't taste all that bad. I just had one for breakfast, actually. The topping of sugar and cinnamon gets a bit crunchy, and that was my favorite part. :)

Ingredients:
2½ cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup sugar
½ cup butter, softened
3 eggs
½ tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp. buttermilk

Topping:
½ cup sugar
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Line 12-16 muffin cups with paper liners.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and nutmeg; set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk, beating just until combined. Fill muffin cups 3/4's full.

Mix topping ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp. on top of each muffin right before putting the pan in the oven.

Bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack. Eat warm or cooled down.

Oatmeal Cookie Bars

2008-08-30T17:51:00.000-07:00

Oh, thank goodness, it's not my tastebuds being wonky!

It's yet another winning recipe from Baking Bites. Seriously, I don't think any recipe that I've made from there has ever turned out bad. And I still have two or three on my 'to make' list.

The only thing I changed from the original recipe was omitting the raisins, subbing with chocolate and peanut butter chips. Dave is very much one of those "get those raisins away from my oatmeal cookies" kind of guys, so I knew the additon of pb chips would definitely be for the win. ;)

LIke Nicole mentioned, they are reminiscent of a blondie, but still retain their oatmeal cookie taste. And I really, really enjoyed the fact that it's all done in one bowl. Baking with a headache is always risky business, but far less so when there's not much to clean up afterwards!

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
½ cup butter, melted and cooled
2 cups quick cooking oats
1½ cups chocolate and peanut butter chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan.

Whisk together flour, sugars, baking soda, salt, and spices in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center, then add the vanilla, egg, and melted butter, beating until smooth. Stir in oats and baking chips. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 22-26 minutes, or until lightly golden on top. Let cool completely before cutting into bars. Makes 16-20 bars.

The Lemon Bars That... Weren't.

2008-08-29T17:53:00.000-07:00

I set out the other day to make some lemon bars. Ya know, they usually have the shortbread cookie base and then the lemon-yellow almost-custardy filling. The traditional lemon bar, right?

Well, I found a recipe on Allrecipes that used a graham cracker crust instead. Which would be better for my dad since he has a hard time with really crunchy or harder textures. Alright, good deal. So I'm mixing it together, and the batter seems to taste decently enough, with some added lemon juice. It goes in the oven.

Twenty-five minutes later? It looks like some sort of lovechild between a blondie and a biscuit. And that's the nicest thing to say about it.

But the strangest part? Everyone else in this house loves it. The entire pan was gone by last night. I don't get it. It has the texture of a blondie for the most part. The bottom part, near the crust, is a bit moister, but it's still a lemon blondie as far as I'm concerned. The people living here must be crazy. ;)

I'm going with a Baking Bites recipe tomorrow morning, and I'm quite certain that one will be a winner.

And that I'll get a picture before the masses descend upon it.

Hermit Bars

2008-08-23T12:45:00.001-07:00

I've always heard of hermit bars/cookies, but had never made them. So I made them. Then went in search of their history, so I could post it on here. It's been a two-day affair, and only now did I find something relatively decent. Joe Pastry has the best I've come across. Did you know there's not even a Wikipedia page for them? I was shocked.

I can easily imagine these being made a hundred years ago. Even further back than that. No one seems sure as to why they were named hermits, though. Either a mispronounciation, or perhaps based off the color of the hermit's robes? Either way, it makes me feel very connected to the past when making a recipe (or variant of) that's been around for so long. I have a box upstairs of my Aunt Sara's recipes that I plan on going through this autumn. I never met my Aunt Sara, she died a bit before I was born, but all the stories tell of her fabulous cooking and baking. My Uncle Ernie was a lucky man, that's another one I heard a lot. Pictures always show him smiling when Sara was around. Food and love are so intertwined, at least to me. They always looked happy together.

I digress. I think the best image that could be conjured up is one that took place about half an hour ago. I came upstairs from putting some clothes in the washer, and found my dad sitting in the table, quickly closing the cover of the container the bars are in, with a guilty look on his face. :) The bars are soft and chewy, and as they bake, fill the house with a delicious warming scent.

Ingredients:
1-3/4 cups flour
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. cloves
½ cup butter, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
¼ cup molasses

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13x9-inch baking pan.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices; set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add egg, beating well. Add molasses. Gradually add dry ingredients, beating just until incorporated. Spread into pan.

Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack before cutting into bars.

Applesauce Cake

2008-08-18T04:56:00.001-07:00

This is really the post that just didn't want to be posted. I made this on Saturday night, but never had the chance to post about it until now. And it has to be fast because I have to get ready for work soon!

After spending Thursday and Friday not feeling very well, I wanted something really simple. And this totally fit the bill.

Classic flavors, which despite seeing more autumnal, it works for mid-August. Very moist and flavorful. My mom was raving about it for a full five minutes after trying it. :)

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. allspice
½ tsp. nutmeg
¼-½ tsp. ginger (if desired)
½ tsp. salt
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
½ tsp. vanilla
1 cup applesauce
¼ cup buttermilk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Grease an 8-inch baking pan.

Sift together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt; set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and applesauce. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake at 375F for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack. Serve warm or cold.

Peanut Butter Chip Brownies

2008-08-09T18:04:00.000-07:00

I've made something like this before, haven't I?

I really shouldn't do blog posts while watching the Harry Potter movies. LOL But - give me one moment of fangirlishness - it IS Order of the Phoenix, and that IS one of my favorite of the movies. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't super looking forward to the sixth movie coming out.

Alright. With that said, I really think I've made these before. But mom wanted chocolate and I wanted to bring some in to work on Monday, thus... these were made.

Originally from Hershey, the only thing I didn't do was the peanut butter 'icing' on top. Like most Hershey recipes, pretty easy and basic, but yummy enough to impress people. :)

Ingredients:
1-2/3 cups flour
2/3 cups cocoa
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1¼ cups butter, melted
1-3/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
10 oz. peanut butter chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13x9-inch pan.

Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until completely mixed in. Stir in peanut butter chips. Spread into pan.

Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Makes about 36 brownies

Nectarine Cobbler

2008-08-09T17:40:00.000-07:00

Oh, this morning was not one of my best mornings for baking. After much debating over the amount of sugar needed for a certain recipe - which included not only my dad, but our neighbor across the street - I discovered that my main ingredient had gone bad. Hmph.

But I knew I wanted to make this. We bought some nectarines, since all of the fruit-eaters in this house agreed on them, and I thought I'd surprise them with this. Cobblers are a great dessert for this time of year, especially with so many different fresh fruits in season and readily available.

After some searching, I found this recipe over at Melissa's, which seems to be similar to Whole Foods? I should probably explore the site more when I have the time. Pretty easy to put together, but next time, I would definitely add more nectarines. I'm not sure how visible in the picture (taken right after it came out of the oven), but it's a very thin fruit layer. I also used brown sugar in most places, instead of the regular white sugar.

Ingredients:
2 nectarines
¼ cup brown sugar
½ tsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
½ tsp. ground ginger

Topping:
3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
¼ cup butter, cold
1/3 cup milk
3/4 tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F. Grease an 8-inch baking pan.

Slice nectarines thinly. Stir together with sugar, cornstarch, and ginger. Spread onto bottom of prepared pan.

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together. Cut in butter, until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk, and stir just until combined. (This will be very sticky.) Drop over fruit.

Mix cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl, then sprinkle over the dough and fruit.

Bake at 400F for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool, and serve either warm or at room temperature.

Cherry Vanilla Cupcakes

2008-08-05T16:15:00.000-07:00

Alright, before I start talking about these cupcakes, I have to ask this: Has anyone else heard of Kraft's new Mallow Bites? They're chocolate-covered mini marshmallows. We found them at Target today, and they're quite yummy. Here, I took a picture. :)

(don't mind Stitch; he guards my computer) ;)

I poked around a bit online, but never found anything. *shrug*

Onto the cupcakes! After drinking Inko's Cherry Vanilla White Tea, I asked myself, "I wonder if I could make a cherry vanilla cupcake?" The tea is very smooth and has almost a subtle cherry taste, and I really wish I could find it nearby. Fast-forward to two (or three?) weeks later, and here it is. There are little to no cherry vanilla cupcake recipes on the web. Chockylit had one, but I knew I didn't want a cherry filling. So I went with the basic vanilla cupcake, but used some vanilla sugar I had made, instead of regular sugar. Then went with maraschino cherry juice in the frosting.

Maybe it's because I know it's there, but I taste the vanilla when eating the cupcake. Dave and my dad said no, that the cherry frosting overwhelms, but my mom said she picked up SOME vanilla flavor. Maybe using vanilla bean as well? This one is going to the "needs tweaking" mental file, because I'm not ready to give this up. I want that smooth cherry-vanilla flavor, goshdarnit! ;) But, despite my 'misgivings', Dave ate three and both my parents have plans for the remaining ones.

Ingredients:
1-1/3 cups flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/16 tsp. salt
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup vanilla sugar
2 eggs
½ cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 10-12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time. Gradually add dry ingredients. Then add milk and vanilla. Fill cupcake liners half- to 2/3's full.

Bake at 350F for 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool completely on wire rack. Frost with cherry frosting.

Cherry Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 Tbsp. milk
¼ to ½ maraschino cherry juice (adjust to taste)
2-3 cups confectioners' sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add milk and cherry juice. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, beating until desired consistancy is reached. Refrigerate for at least an hour in order to firm up.

Blueberry Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

2008-07-28T17:21:00.000-07:00

Since moving, my work schedule hasn't been all that predictable. The first few weeks were, a nice 7a-4p, with weekends off, but of course that didn't last. This week, I have today and Thursday off. I have no idea for next week. But not having the sense of predictability is hard for me. I'm a routine kind of a gal.

Today had some semblence of normalcy that I did on my days off in CA. Went to the library (albeit by bus and not walking), got myself a chai, then came back home. Which is exactly what I would do on my first day off. So, some comfort there, at least. :)

So! The idea originated with blueberry cheesecake bars. But I never found a recipe that suited what I was imagining. Out of nowhere, while Dave was watching a baseball game, I believe, I said aloud, "Chocolate-covered blueberries! I wonder if I could make cheesecake bars using that flavor?" Dave then turned to look at me, simply saying, "What?!". You'd think after three years, he'd be used to random outbursts on food. Hmm.

Anyways, I put together a few different recipes, and to be quite honest, I'm not sure how I feel about them. I had a small piece earlier, and I have mixed feelings. Thus, no picture. LOL It's denser than the average cheesecake, and that might have something to do with it. I'm hoping that they'll be better tomorrow. :)

Ingredients:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1/3 cup butter, melted

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
3 Tbsp. cocoa
½ tsp. vanilla
Blueberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch baking pan.

For crust: Mix together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cocoa, and butter. Press onto bottom of pan.

For filling: Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Add cocoa and vanilla. Pour onto crust. Place berries on top of the cheesecake, pressing down just slightly.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting into bars. Refrigerate for at least four hours before serving.

SHF 45: Berry Tartlets

2008-07-19T17:53:00.000-07:00

Today was really warm. Scratch that. Today was really hot. Definitely the warmest since moving home. The heat index hit 96. And if you've spent any time in New England in the summertime, heat generally equals humidity. When you walk out your front door and you feel like you just stepped out of the shower. When you stick to patio furniture. And I won't even begin about one's hair practically doubling in size due to frizz. ;)

Dave decided to grill tonight, so I thought I'd surprise my parents with a nice dessert. But I really, really did not want to use the oven. A friend of mine online had linked to a fruit tart recipe over at NPR, and that got the ball rolling. The thought of the mascarpone cream was really what did it for me. But as I still lack the confidence and counterspace to properly work with dough, I went with pre-made tart shells. At least, I went with those mentally. At the grocery store, they didn't have them. So I went with the puff pastry shells, which require 20 minutes of oven-time. *shrug* Well, it could have been worse, right?

Later in the evening, as I was perusing the food blogs, I discovered that this month's Sugar High Friday is being hosted by Susan of Food Blogga, and the theme is berries. Timing actually worked WITH me for a change. :)

These came together like a dream. From the NPR recipe, I went with the mascarpone cream, and then decorated with blueberries and strawberries. As an alternative for my mom, who can't do the seeds, I used peaches, and she was quite pleased. I think the cream part is going to be my go-to for fillings these days. Oh, it was like heaven on a spoon.

Ingredients:
6 puff pastry shells
8 oz. mascarpone cheese
1/3 cup very cold heavy cream
¼ cup sugar
Strawberries, sliced
Bluberries

Directions:
Prepare puff pastry shells as directed.

Once they are fully cooled, beat mascarpone cheese, cream, and sugar until mixture holds stiff peaks. Spoon into shells. Decorate with fruit. Keep chilled until serving.

Chocolate Decadence Cake

2008-07-13T17:36:00.001-07:00

I had a very simple, very direct request from my mom for baking this weekend. Chocolate. A self-described chocoholic, she started hinting at it on Wednesday or Thursday. By yesterday evening, it became a flat-out, "Are you baking something with chocolate yet?" So I thought I'd be a good daughter and make something super chocolatey for her.

One of my earliest food-related memories involves chocolate. I can still easily see myself stirring the pudding, standing on my stepstool, and wanting so badly to taste it. And then the absolute HORROR of having to wait for it firm up! But what I remember even more? Licking the wooden spoon. There are pictures of three-year-old me, with chocolate smeared all over my chubby cheeks.

And, hey, sometimes when licking the spoon or the beaters nowadays, sometimes chocolate still makes its way onto my face. ;)

Found over at VeryBestBaking.com, it pulls together VERY easily. The batter is very light in texture, almost mousse-like. As a finished product, it's very fudgey, very rich. Definitely meeting my mom's chocolate criteria. :)

Ingredients:
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup flour
¼ cup milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch round baking pan.

Microwave 1 cup of chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl on HIGH for 1 minute, then stir. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs, then beat for 2-3 minutes. Add melted chocolate. Alternately add flour and milk. Stir in remaining morsels. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool completely on wire rack.

Blueberry Coffee Cake

2008-07-06T17:40:00.000-07:00

Well, my weekend didn't go exactly as planned. I did sort through a lot of books from my younger days that are going to be donated. The current count is 325 books. Mostly of the Sweet Valley Twins, Sunset Island, Freshman Dorm, etc. My pre-teen and teenage years books, mostly. And I still have more going; probably about a hundred of the Babysitter's Club books. Yep, I was one of those. Had to have every single one. No, those obsessive traits aren't around anymore at all. ;)

Anyways, I didn't get to make the lime blondies yet. Maybe next weekend. This morning I concentrated on making something that I could bring to work. When Dave and I went to the grocery store, there were blueberries on sale - a pint for $1.50. Not bad, right? Thus my search for blueberry-related baked goods was on.

I found the basic outline of this one over at AllRecipes and altered it a bit, adding brown sugar and some more spices. Looking back, some sour cream would have done well, too, but the convenience store at the top of the street charges insanely high amounts ($2.98 for an 8-ounce package of cream cheese!) It tastes well enough, though. The 'streusel topping' leaves a lot to be desired, though. But it's decent enough. *shrug*

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup milk
2 cups fresh blueberries

½ cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
Ginger
Nutmeg
3 Tbsp. butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg. Alternately add flour mixture and milk, beating until no streaks of flour remain. Stir in berries. Gently spread into prepared pan.

Mix together brown sugar, flour, and spices, then cut in butter, mixing until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter.

Bake at 375F for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool in pan on wire rack before cutting.

Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

2008-07-04T17:17:00.000-07:00

If it hasn't been obvious yet, Culinary Concoctions by Peabody is one of my favorite blogs. I generally read my "blog list" once or twice a week, and bookmark as needed. But when I'm not sure exactly what I want to make, Peabody's is one that I'll browse through, and more often than not, I'll find something that sounds great. And today was no exception.

Dave and my dad spent most of the day outside, redoing the stairs on the deck, so I wanted to make something just for them. My dad is growing less picky when it comes to baked goods and Dave won't argue with anything peanut butter. So when I saw this recipe, I knew it would be a winner. Since my big pan is still in use, I halved the recipe and used a 9-inch pan.

And, now that I think about it, this could be a Peabody weekend, as I really need to use some lime juice and FINALLY have acquired some cake flour. ;)

These taste exactly like peanut butter cookies. I almost felt like the bars should have criss-crosses on the top, they're that similar. The only thing I didn't do was the topping, as I was lacking in ingredients. (I really miss being within walking distance of a grocery store) Even without it, though, it's that classic pb cookie flavor. :)

Ingredients:
1½ cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup cold butter, diced
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
½ tsp. vanilla
½ cup peanut butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch baking pan.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Beat butter and sugars until light and fluff. Add egg and vanilla, then add peanut butter, mixing well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating just until completely incorporated. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting into bars. Makes about 16 bars.

Lime-Raspberry Bread

2008-06-29T17:16:00.000-07:00

In the ongoing love affair that I'm currently having with lime, it was only a matter of time before I made this. First spotted over at Baking Bites a few months ago, the fates would have it that I was lacking in an ingredient, which led to me find this recipe again.

Before I get into that, I must say this: we finally got to the closest Whole Foods today. It's over in Providence, right near the downtown area, which is about a 35 minute drive. This is a far cry from my one-quarter-of-a-mile walk down the street. I am not pleased by this, and I've already written to Whole Foods, suggesting a great place that they could move in. Plus, my city's known for it's fishing. There'd be fresh, local seafood every day. And we're near UMass Dartmouth; they even say on the WF website that they try to build near colleges. I really think they should listen to me. ;)

Back to the bread. It's dense, but the lime flavor gives it more of a lightness. The tartness of the raspberries go quite well with the puckering lime flavor. In other words, I would absolutely make this again. :)

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
3/4 cup lime juice
1 Tbsp. lime zest
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 egg, well-beaten
1 cup raspberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the lime juice, zest, butter, and egg. Pour into flour mixture, stirring just until blended. Gently fold in the raspberries. Scrape into prepared pan.

Bake at 250F for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes, before running a knife along the edges and turning the bread out onto the wire rack to cool completely.

Swirled-Chip Blondies

2008-06-28T18:22:00.000-07:00

Hello, Humidity. It's 9:30pm and I think it's past your bedtime.

Yep, we're on the verge of some rain and storms, and in the summer here, that means serious humidity. Humidity with a capital H that makes my long, thick hair completely disagreeable, and that makes me question my sanity once having the oven on for twenty minutes. But did that stop me? Nope. I baked earlier in the day. I figured I would go with something everyone in the house would like, in case they don't like my lime/raspberry combination that I'm working with tomorrow morning. :)

These are super-simple blondies. Minimal bowls, just one measuring cup, etc. It's a good thing. Target had the swirled morsels on sale, so I grabbed a bag of those. As a side note, for those sometimes-forgetful folk: if it's over 80F outside and you're shopping, buy baking chips at the END of the errands. Otherwise you'll have a nice peanut butter/chocolate mixture that has to be put in the fridge and later eaten as a snack. Hmph. *shakes fist in anger*

On that note, my dad's already eaten three of these. Two of which were before dinner. And I like using my dad as a food-gauge, because he's the type that can eat the same kind of sandwich every day for lunch without a problem. He eats because he has to. Obviously I get the food-love from the Portuguese side of the family, not the English/Irish. ;)

Ingredients:
2½ cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 cup butter, melted
1-3/4 cups brown sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla
2 large eggs
1 bag of chocolate/white chocolate swirled morsels

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13x9-inch baking pan.

Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Beat butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Add eggs, beating until fully incorporated. Gradually add flour mixture. Stir in 1 cup of morsels. Spread into prepared pan and sprinkle remaining morsels on the top.

Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.

Nutella Brownies

2008-06-20T18:08:00.000-07:00

Finally! I was starting to get twitchy from the lack of baking. Can you believe I went just over two weeks (15 days!) without making a thing? Incredible.

This was one of the easier times of baking at my parents' house. Because my good ol' HG (Holy Grail... aka: the KitchenAid mixer) is here. He has spoiled me mercilessly for any other mixer and I am quite fine with that. But, even with HG and my own usual items, it still felt awkward because I'm not used to the kitchen. The stove is different and I have to get used to the way that it works. The counter, while larger, is still set up differently. I know I'll adjust in time, but it'll take some getting used to.

To get to the recipe, I was telling my mom the other day about Nutella. She had never even heard of it! I started searching through recipes this morning, trying to find something that would combine my dad's desire for brownies and my mom's curiousity of Nutella. Which led me to discover Windsor Eats' Nutella Brownies. It's a match made in heaven.

I'm happy to report that both of my parents and Dave enjoyed them, especially as they were still a bit warm from the oven. Even happier to report that I only ate a little bit out of the jar myself. Really, there was self-restraint. ;) These are super-moist and have just a hint of hazelnut flavor. My mom said they reminded her of the Ferrero Rocher chocolates that she loves. I highly doubt there'll be any left come Monday morning. :)

Ingredients:
½ cup flour
¼ tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 cup Nutella
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
½ cup unsalted butter, melted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish.

Sift together flour and salt; set aside.

Beat eggs, Nutella, brown sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Alternately add butter and flour mixture, beating until well incorporated. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake at 325F for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack. Makes 16 brownies

We made it!

2008-06-13T04:59:00.000-07:00

After spending five-and-a-half days on the road, we finally made it to MA yesterday afternoon. With stops in Phoenix, Albequerque, Tulsa, Richmond (Indiana), and Scranton, PA, it's really a wonder that we didn't kill each other. ;)

But the work has barely just begun. We have to buy a new mattress, put together the bed, and then the fun starts with unpacking. Dave's lucky, he goes to work on Monday. LOL I go back on the 23rd. Which is the day after the Boston Stevie Nicks concert. :)

I miss baking as much as I missed the internet and Jeopardy this past week. But as soon as things get settled, I'll be posting again. :)

Lime Loaf Cake

2008-06-06T19:32:00.000-07:00

Sure, part of me could say that I made this because I needed to use up that lime and lime juice. And, really, that was part of my reasoning. But I also just wanted to make one more thing with lime, and I hadn't done this pound cake-like beauty. I have a strange feeling that I'm going to forever associate lime with California.

Speaking of which, this is the last thing that I made while living in Mountain View. And even though Johanna's told me not to, I've been doing this all week. Today was my last library trip. My last time at the park. I even brought some bread and fed the squirrels. They're photogenic squirrels, too. Whether they had a choice in that or not is a whole 'nother thing.

(Oh, dear. So I kinda already packed all the pans we're bringing. We're now heating up broccoli in the oven using a cupcake pan.)

So, where was I? Photogenic squirrels? ;) Nah, I'll move on from that. Actually, I should just get on with the recipe since I need to eat soon.

Found originally at Baking Bites, it's definitely more pound cake than regular cake. The top gets a little bit crunchy in the oven, but it's a nice contrast against the soft center and bottom. And very limey. I think it'll be a good treat on the road.

Ingredients:
1½ cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
2½ Tbsp. butter, softened
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. lime juice
Zest of one lime
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8x4-inch loaf pan.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until light and crumbly. Add eggs, one at a time. Then add juice, zest, and vanilla. Gradually add in the flour mixture, beating just until combined. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes. Let cool briefly in pan before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

York Peppermint Brownies

2008-06-06T19:15:00.000-07:00

I am so freakin' tired. The trailer is loaded. And I mean loaded. We're taking a break now, and let me tell you, that shower has never felt so good. We still have the cleaning of the bathroom and the kitchen to do. The computer's the last thing to be packed, of course. :) Right now I'm sitting down and I do not want to move for at least half an hour. Oh, sitting gods, please smile upon me and let me sit for half an hour. Pretty please?

I thought last night was pretty busy, between running to Whole Foods and wanting to bake some things. Wanted to do one or two more than what I did, but I ran out of sugar. That's the quickest way to finish up baking. LOL

At our last trip to Big Lots, I found miniature York Peppermint Patties. I guess Hershey isn't making them anymore? Which is a shame. They taste just like Junior Mints, but flatter. I went with this recipe because I had exactly half a cup left of cocoa. In fact, I purposely sought out a brownie recipe needing that amount.

These are a very moist, cakey brownie. And unfortunately, some of the patties sank and stuck to the bottom of the pan, despite greasing it first. But they're yummy. Half of them are going to our usual Starbucks tomorrow morning, and we've gone through the other half today. It's good refuelling, energizing food. ;)

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
½ cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1¼ cups sugar
3/4 cup butter, melted
2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
1 bag Hershey's York Peppermint Patty Baking Bits

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch baking pan.

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until smooth, then add vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add flour mixture. Stir in baking bits. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool completely before cutting into bars. Makes about 16 brownies.

Peppermint Cheesecake Bars

2008-06-04T20:20:00.001-07:00

We're really coming to the end of the line. Tomorrow's the last day. And tomorrow will also probably be the last time I bake on the west coast. (Yes, I am one of those people that thinks about every little thing being the "last" time. It's the same way before every birthday.) This one has some backstory, though.

I first met Mo probably about five years ago. We got along great almost instantly, and yeah, I had a crush on him for a while, which 90% of the time he says he had no clue of. LOL I soon discovered that he harbored a huge love of cheesecake. In fact, he even proposed to me one day over a chocolate cheesecake. Anyways, he went into the management program and we kinda lost touch. There was a fall-out, what with him lying and I held that grudge for a while. But we discussed it about a year ago, and we're back to normal. So I sent him an email saying that Dave and I were leaving and that he better get his butt into my store to see me before I leave. And I hinted that maybe there'd be cheesecake involved, just as an added bonus. In his excitement, he came in last Thursday as well, in hopes of an early piece. LOL

So these are for tomorrow, and if Mo doesn't come in, I'm so kicking his butt. And I'll make sure that he knows how much everyone enjoyed these. ;)

Ingredients:
1 cup crushed chocolate cookies
¼ cup butter, melted
2 pkg. cream cheese, softened
½ cup sugar
½ cup sour cream
1½ Tbsp. flour
½ Tbsp. peppermint extract
2 eggs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8-inch baking dish.

Mix together cookie crumbs and butter until well combined and press onto the bottom of prepared pan.

Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add sour cream, flour, and peppermint extract. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Pour over crust.

Bake at 325F for 40-45 minutes, or until center is nearly set. Refrigerate for at least four hours before cutting into bars. Makes about 16 bars.

Chocolate-Caramel Chip Cookie Bars

2008-06-03T21:20:00.000-07:00

Dave and I both have two days left of work. Which is oddly comforting at times. LOL I knew that I'd be bringing some treats in to work (which I'll post about after this), so I asked Dave if he wanted something to bring in. Who's going to say no to that, right?

I went for simple and for using up another bag of morsels. Sure, there was a trip to Whole Foods since the brown sugar decided to skip town early, but for the most part, it could've been done while sleeping. Tastes just like a regular Toll House cookie, but with a hint of caramel from the swirled morsels.

Ingredients:
2¼ cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups chocolate/caramel swirled morsels

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 15x10-inch jelly roll pan.

Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time. Gradually add flour to butter mixture. Stir in chips. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool before cutting into bars. Makes about 4 dozen.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake

2008-06-03T12:30:00.001-07:00

Yesterday did not start off well. At all.

Around 7:30a or so, as Dave was leaving for work, I closed the door and locked it, as normal. Something told me to turn, and I'm really glad that I did. Because my stack of book boxes (all eight of them) were falling right towards me. Thankfully I had turned, because otherwise I would've been hit in the head and back, instead of just my arm. Which has a lovely multi-colored odd-shaped bruise now. Not a good way to start the day. So I went back to bed for a few hours. LOL

Thankfully the day improved. :)

I wanted to make something specifically for Henelyne and that girl loves cheesecake more than anyone else I know. So that part was the easy part. I remembered her love of Ferrero Rocher, and figured I could do a chocolate hazelnut cheesecake, and it would also use up the rest of the hazelnut extract.

After debating a few recipes, I went with this one from the Kraft Foods website, just using hazelnut instead of vanilla. It came together very easily and I'll definitely use the recipe again. No picture of the actual cheesecake, but I did make Henelyne pose outside with the piece she was eating. :)

Oh! And the hazelnut flavor was actually recognizable this time! Yay! :)

Ingredients:
1-1/3 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (I used the Newman's Own Chocolate Cookies)
¼ cup butter, melted

2 pkg. cream cheese, softened
½ cup sour cream
1 cup sugar
½ cup cocoa
2 Tbsp. flour
1½ Tbsp. hazelnut extract
2 eggs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F (300F if using a darker colored springform pan).

Mix together the cookie crumbs and butter until moist. Press onto the bottom of pan.

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sour cream, sugar, cocoa, flour, and hazelnut extract. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until combined. Pour into prepared crust.

Bake at 325F for 50-55 minutes, or until center is nearly set. Refrigerate for at least four hours before serving.

Spiced Oatmeal Jam Bars

2008-06-02T16:21:00.000-07:00

This worked out amazingly well, both in the time-wise sense and the "needing to use things up before moving"-sense. Because we're now 4 days out from moving and only my "vital" baking things aren't packed.

Time-wise, this works because Rachel of Coconut and Lime, one of my fave blogs, is holding a Blogiversary Contest. It's quite simple - make a recipe she's posted at some point, blog about it, and send the link. Good deal. Timing never works out so well for me. Seriously. Timing and gravity often seem to have vendettas against me.

But, yes, this worked very well. Super easy to put together and it leaves the flavor options open. I used two kinds of jam - huckleberry jam from Ashland, OR, and Ikea's Queen's Blend Jam (it's a strawberry/blueberry mix and simply DIVINE); one on each side. The bars are very reminiscent of the jamwiches I made a while back. (Which I can't seem to find on here; did I ever post them?) They also work really well re-heated as a breakfast treat, too. :)

Ingredients:
2 cups oatmeal
1-3/4 cups flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. cloves
½ tsp. allspice
¼ tsp. nutmeg
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
3/4 cup jam

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F. Grease an 8-inch baking dish.

Mix together the oatmeal, flour, baking soda, and spices; set aside.

Cream butter and sugar. Gradually add dry ingredients. Remove 2 cups of batter and press onto the bottom of prepared pan. Spread jam over dough. Crumble remaining pieces of dough onto of the jam.

Bake at 400F for 22-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool in pan on wire rack, then cut into bars.

Peanut Butter Chip Cookie Pie

2008-05-27T20:48:00.000-07:00

(That's a mouthful, isn't it?)

Today's been an odd day. After running some errands, I got home and decided to attempt a blackberry/raspberry clafoutis. And, well, something happened, and I found it to taste like scrambled eggs, but with the added berries. It was bizarre. Dave took one bite and choked it down, then pushed the dish away. Hmm. Maybe I attempted clafoutis a bit too soon.

Moving on, the subject line happily used up two things: pie crust and the bag of peanut butter chips. Found over at the Hershey's website, it's an incredibly easy pie to put together. Super-duper easy, if you will. Unlike the linked recipe, I only used the peanut butter chips, as my remaining chips probably wouldn't have gone together all too well. (Raspberry and peanut butter? No, thank you!)

It's very peanut buttery. The whole wheat crust that I had doesn't quite go with it, but Dave ate his entire slice, so that's a good sign. I'd make it again.

Ingredients:
½ cup butter, softened
2 eggs, beaten
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sugar
½ cup flour
2 cups peanut butter chips
1 unbaked 9" crust

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.

Beat butter until smooth, then add eggs and vanilla. Stir together the sugar and flour, then add to the butter mixture, beating until smooth. Stir in peanut butter chips. Pour into crust.

Bake at 350F for 50-55 minutes, or until golden brown.