White Chocolate Cheesecake with Cranberry Topping

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(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.

Deep Dish Mint Brownies

Oddly enough, I do my best thinking while walking. Luckily, I enjoy walking. ;) I normally do about 15-20 miles per week and when I'm by myself, that's when I'm thinking of what to make.

I knew I wanted to do something for Amelia that was minty and chocolatey. Because she, too, feels that whoever put together chocolate and mint needs to be sainted. We had plans for dinner tonight, so my time was limited. I wound up going with a basic brownie recipe, adding peppermint extract and the Andes Creme de Menthe baking pieces. I love those little things.

When they first came out of the oven, they were nearly busting out over the top of the pan. Quite the brownie. The center does sink a bit as it cools, and when cut, they get that crumbly top along the edges. Yummy!



Ingredients:
3/4 cup flour
½ cup cocoa
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
3/4 cup butter, melted
1½ cups sugar
1 tsp. peppermint extract
3 eggs
1 cup peppermint chips

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

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

Cream butter, sugar, and peppermint extract until smooth. Add eggs. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until combined. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool completely before cutting into bars. Makes about 16 brownies.

Toffee Blondies

In yet another attempt to work through some of the bags of baking chips I have left, I decided to make blondies for Johanna last night. We only work together for three more days, so it's only fair. Plus I thought I'd surprise her.

There was about half-to-three-quarters of a bag left of the Heath Toffee Bits, thus our blondie was born.

No picture, as it was late last night when I made them and then very early this morning when cutting them to bring to work. Jo's happy with them, so that's what's important. :)

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
½ tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup Heath Toffee Bits

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

Sift together flour and baking powder; set aside.

Cream butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture. Stir in toffee bits. 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. Makes about 16 bars.

SHF : Lime Cheesecake Squares

I've been reading the Sugar High Friday blog events (started by Jennifer of The Domestic Goddess) since... well, even before I had a blog myself. And when I saw that Tartelette was hosting this one and the theme was citrus? Oh yeah. I had to be there and you know it was going to be lime.

What really stuck out was cheesecake. But with moving cross-country in, oh, 18 days, I didn't want to do a big cheesecake. Mini was the way to go, and, hey, how 'bout using that cakelet pan? The idea was set and a recipe was formed.

I only made six, as I didn't want to be eating them for the next week. If they lasted that long. The amount of lime juice to use was a guess, and these babies are tart. But, oh, the yum factor. This is mouth-puckeringly good. The cheesecake is light and fluffy, as all cheesecakes should aspire to be. :)



Ingredients:
6 Tbsp. graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
¼ cup sugar

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
¼ cup lime juice
Zest of one lime

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Line 6 cakelet cups with foil. Be sure to leave enough of a 'handle' on each side for easy removal.

Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar, then press into the prepared pan.

Beat cream cheese, egg, sugar, lime juice, and zest until smooth. Fill 3/4s full.

Bake at 325F for 18-20 minutes, or until set. Let cool in pan for an hour, then remove to the fridge for at least 40 minutes before serving.

Madeleines

The first time I ever had a madeleine cookie was in January 2001, having gone with a friend to the Starbucks in Providence, RI. It was also my first Starbucks trip, too, because even still, back home, Dunkin' Donuts is EVERYWHERE. Within five miles of my parents' house, there's easily six or seven of them. While out here, in that same distance, there's the same amount of Starbucks. Actually, wait, it might be closer to ten. And that's where my loyalty lies, because I <3 chai tea. ;)

I digress. At the first bite, I was amazed by the flavor that came out of this shell-shaped cookie. Light and buttery and just wonderful. After much coveting, I received a madeleine pan for Christmas one year. But, like many ventures in life, I was hesitant because I was worried they wouldn't come out good. I decided to conquer that fear yesterday.

The recipe is from the Williams-Sonoma Cookbook with a Guide to Kitchenware, according to the printed recipe that was taped to the pan itself. I had my concerns, and even "consulted" with Dorie, but went with the WS recipe in the end, minus the orange-flower water.

And the results? Light and buttery. Slightly crispy on the outside of a few, but that's due to the butter on the pan, I'm thinking. Henelyne was here while I was making them and she tried one when it was still warm and LOVED it. She had never heard of or seen a madeleine before; her words were "it's crisp on the outside and soft on the inside - it's like it has its' own full edge!" (She's an edge-girl when it comes to brownies and bars).

So yay! I made madeleines and they didn't suck! LOL



Ingredients:
5 Tbsp. butter, melted
½ cup flour
½ tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 egg
Grated zest of ½ a lemon
1 tsp. orange-flower water (optional)
1/3 cup sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Brush a little of the melted butter in the molds of madeleine pan. Reserve the remainder and let cool to lukewarm.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Combine the egg, lemon zest, orange-flower water, and sugar, and beat lightly. Stir into the flour mixture and beat until well combined. Add the reserved butter and beat just long enough to incorporate thoroughly without over-mixing. Spoon the batter into the prepared molds, filling each one half-full. Place on the middle shelf of the oven.

Bake at 375F for 12-15 minutes, until golden and starting to brown at the edges. Unmold and place on a wire rack to cool. Makes 12 3-inch cookies.

King Arthur's Triple Play Peanut Butter Cookies

Countdown to moving: 26 days. (Holymoly)
Bags of baking chips left: 11 (and three half-bags)
Boxes packed: 1

Granted my math skills aren't the greatest in the world, but there's just something not right with those numbers. I need to make the 11 and 1 switch places, I'm sure. So when I came across this recipe over at Cookie Madness, I knew it'd go over well. Dave loves peanut butter cookies, so I figured they'd disappear fast. Surprisingly, there are still some on the plate. ;)

I split the recipe in half, making about 18 cookies, with some extra dough leftover. The mixing method is different than most cookies, but the end result is fabulous. It's puffy and firm. I made them a bit larger, using a 2 Tbsp. scoop (I think), and they seem the type that you'd find in bakeries or coffee shops. :) Oh, and instead of using pb chips, I used a bag of the chocolate/caramel swirled morsels that needed to be used.



Ingredients:
½ cup butter
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar
2/3 cup peanut butter
½ tsp. vanilla
¼ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 egg
1¼ cups flour
2/3 cup chips (pb, chocolate, any kind you'd like)

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

Cream butter, brown sugar, suga, peanut butter, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add egg, mixing well. Add flour, beating until completely incorporated. Stir in chips. Drop by the tablespoonfull onto baking sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until edges are lightly brown. Cool on sheet for about five minutes before moving to wire racks.

Makes about 18 cookies.