Sugar Rush

Apple Sharlotka...it's a cake

2012-03-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

Right about now, my waistline is showing significant signs of recovery from the treat-laden winter holidays and I'm ready to recommit to eating better. But I still need something a little sweet and completely delicious!

I already know you're not gonna believe me. This beautiful thing has zero butter in it. Not a single tablespoon! You're practically eating a straight up piece of fruit. (Ignore that drowning of powdered sugar.) Bring on dessert!
Apple Sharlotka [click to print]
Makes one 9" cake

5 c. tart apples (about 6 large), peeled and chopped 1/4" thick chunks
3 large eggs
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. flour
1 T. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
Powdered sugar, to garnish

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line bottom of springform pan with parchment paper and coat entire pan with nonstick cooking spray. Pile apple chunks in pan and set aside. In large bowl, beat eggs and sugar until mixture thickens and forms ribbons on the surface of the eggs. Add vanilla. Stir in flour, cinnamon and salt until just combined. Batter will be thick. Pour batter over apples and use a spoon or spatula to spread over exposed apples and work into applely crevices. The top of the batter should be about level with the top of the apples.

Bake at 350 F for 55 to 60 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack about 10 minutes. Remove springform ring and carefully flip cake onto another wire rack. Remove parchment paper and flip back onto a serving platter. Dust with powdered sugar to serve.

Source: Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Banana Honey Bread

2012-02-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

I promise I'm not going all health-food on you (not that it's really a bad thing, it's just not "me", ya know?), but this bread is amazing and it doesn't even have any added sugar in it! Or butter! It's like I'm morphing into someone else. Except for I'm not. And just to prove it to you, I made my very own batch of vanilla scented butter, recipe coming shortly.

But back to the topic at hand...this bread has a soft, spongey texture and is oh-so-moist. The smell of honey fills your home with an intoxicating scent that will make you want to eat the entire loaf while hiding in the pantry (or hall closet, in the case of my tiny apartment) so you don't have to share. But I'm a giving person, so I resisted that urge and didn't do that...this time. I promise I won't judge you if you don't decide to be so gracious.

So get ready for what is quite possibly the easiest banana bread recipe ever.

Banana Honey Bread [click to print]
Makes 1 loaf

2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. honey
1/2 c. applesauce, no sugar added
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
3 bananas, mashed (about 3/4 c.)

1) Preheat oven to 350 F. Generously coat loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2) Whisk together flour, soda, cinnamon and salt; set aside. In mixing bowl, beat honey, applesauce and vanilla until well combined. Add eggs and bananas. Add dry ingredients and continue mixing until just combined.

3) Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for 60-65 minutes or until done.

Source: Adapted from 8 Weeks to a Better You

Sweet Sixteen: Popcorn

2012-02-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

This east coast winter weather has been just plain crazy lately. I mean, seriously, it was in the 60's and looking like Spring with all the daffodils and snow drops popping out of the ground and then, bam! It's freezing cold again! I think it's time for a cozy movie night. Let's break out the popcorn!

(Left to Right, Top to Bottom)

White Chocolate Popcorn, Caramel Popcorn Balls on a Stick, White Chocolate Peanut Butter Popcorn, Popcorn Trail Mix

Popcorn Fudge, Maple Popcorn Balls, Marshmallow Popcorn Treats, Dark Chocolate Popcorn

S'mores Popcorn, Cashew Caramel Popcorn, Cinnamon Bun Popcorn, Spicy Caramel Popcorn

Candied Popcorn, Cranberry-Orange and White Chocolate Popcorn, Pretty Pretty Princess Pink Party Popcorn, Orange Tahini Popcorn Clusters

Homemade Almond Joy

2012-02-23T10:00:00.000-05:00

I know, I know. It's just barely the end of February. I shouldn't be talking about such a tropical flavor as this. But as stockpile bottles upon bottles of coconut-scented sun repellent, I can't help myself. Coconut is in the air! I'm off to Jamaica in less than two weeks and I'm beyond excited!

So, for you, my friends, who I unfortunately can't take with me, I wanted to give you all a reason to celebrate. To experience that summertime bliss in the middle of winter. To bite into some joy!

Almond Joy [click to print]
Makes about 2 dozen bars

24-30 almonds
1 c. powdered sugar
7 oz sweetened condensed milk
1 T. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt
3 c. flaked coconut
20 oz. (about 1-1/2 bags) milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spread almonds on baking sheet and roast in oven for about 10 minutes. They will look slightly darker and you'll be able to smell almonds in the air! Remove from oven and allow to cool.

In mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, milk, vanilla and salt. Add coconut and stir until evenly combined. The mixture will be thick. Place in freezer for about 30 minutes so it's easier to work with.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Remove coconut mixture from freezer and shape heaping tablespoons into logs; press a single almond in the top of each and place on baking sheet. Allow to set in refrigerator while you melt your chocolate. In small microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate chips in 30 second intervals, stirring well between each nuke. Remove baking sheet from fridge.

Place one log on a fork; using a spoon, scoop a little chocolate over almond (this will help hold the almond in place) and dip entire candy in chocolate to coat. Gently lift candy from bowl and tap fork to remove any excess chocolate. Use a toothpick to slide candy from fork to baking sheet. Repeat with remaining candies. Once all are coated, place baking sheet in fridge to set, about 45 minutes. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

Source: Adapted from Joy the Baker

Baked Beignets

2012-02-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

Today isn't just doughnut day. I promise. It's an old old old tradition that was started to help people use up their extra fat and sugar before Lent starts.

Throughout Louisiana and France and probably just about every high school French class, people are heating up the fryers to make some fresh and greasy beignets for Mardi Gras. Back home, all my Dutchy friends have long been set for Fastnacht Day. I can't deny my heritage...or some tasty doughnuts! But my waistline sure wishes I could deny it a few extra inches...

Imagine my excitement when I realized that you could actually bake doughnuts! So of course, you can bake beignets! Just take a look at these little guys...bite sized baked goodness sprinkled with powdered sugar. Mmm. Or you can drizzle them with Caramel Sauce or drown them in Chocolate Syrup...oh-my-goodness. Delicious.

Baked Beignets [click to print]
Makes about one dozen beignets

3 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1 pkg. active dry yeast (OR 2-1/4 tsp.)
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
4 T. butter, cold and cubed
3/4 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. warm water
1 egg, large
1 tsp. vanilla extract

In large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, yeast, powder, soda and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry knife until mixture is crumbly and about the size of peas OR pour mixture in food processor and pulse until right texture is achieved then return to large mixing bowl.

Add buttermilk, water, egg and vanilla to flour mixture. Beat on low speed with dough hook or paddle attachment until just combined. Knead by hand or continue mixing on medium speed until dough pulls together and forms a smooth blob; this will take about 5 minutes by mixer.

Spray bowl with nonstick cooking spray and place dough in bowl. Cover with damp cloth and place in warm area to rise 15-20 minutes.

Remove dough from bowl and roll out about 1/4" to 1/2" thick. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to slice dough into four rows and three columns. Place dough pieces on cookie sheets and cover with a piece of plastic wrap, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Allow to rise in a warm place for 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Bake 10-12 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Sift powdered sugar over warm beignets and devour. These would also be delicious with Chocolate Syrup or Praline Sauce!

Source: Recipe slightly adapted from 400 Calories or Less; Mardi Gras and Fastnacht info from BellaOnline and Wikipedia

Sweet Sixteen: Mardi Gras

2012-02-20T15:34:00.003-05:00

That's right, it's party time! There are so many classic desserts for Mardi Gras that make my mouth water just thinking about them! So from Po' Boys to King Cake to Beignets and Bananas Foster, get ready to celebrate Mardi Gras in delicious style this year!

(Top to Bottom, Left to Right)

Fast, Easy King Cake, Southern Pecan Praline Scones, How to Decorate Mask Cookies, Pecan Lace Cookies

Creole Bread Pudding, King Cake by Baked Desserts Cafe, Bananas Foster, King Cake Cupcakes

Pecan Praline Cookies, Cream Cheese Filled King Cake, Pecan Praline French Toast, Chocolate Chip Pecan Praline Granola Cookies

Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding, Muffaletta Bread, Po' Boy, Beignets

Fearless Dulce de Leche

2012-02-16T07:00:00.000-05:00

The thought of Dulce de Leche was sweet and enticing, but the nightmares I had every time I thought about cooking an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk on my stovetop was a strong deterrent. Nobody wants to pick shards of aluminum can out of their rental apartment ceiling or spend hours scrubbing gooey, not-quite-cooked-through caramel sauce off the walls. Ew and no fun.

So the first time I made Dulce de Leche, I opted for the microwave version. It claimed to be fast and easy and relatively non-messy. Fibbers. I mixed the ingredients in the biggest bowl I had that would fit in my microwave but it still bubbled over repeatedly and turned into a huge, sticky, hot mess and by the time it was finally done, my feet had started to ache from standing around the microwave for so long and I only had about half the amount that the recipe promised I'd have! I'm sure the rest of it was stuck on some inner surface of the microwave. Oops.

Needless to say, I never wanted to make Dulce de Leche again. Until now.

A while ago, Cupcake Project taught me that I could crockpot Dulce de Leche by cooking a fully immersed can of unopened sweetened condensed milk for several hours. But I was still a little worried about explosions, despite her reassurance. Then I read about a version you can make in the crockpot, in glass jars so they're all ready to be gifted or stored in the fridge! Plus, I love that you can actually see how dark the sauce is getting instead of just guesstimating when it's done. Now that's my kind of Dulce.

Fearless Dulce de Leche [click to print]

If you want to make your dulce without any leftover milk, you'll need two 14oz. cans of sweetened condensed milk and three 1/2 pint canning jars with tight sealing lids. You can use fat-free sweetened condensed milk, too, and it tastes pretty great!

Step 1: Pour the sweetened condensed milk into the canning jars and screw the lids on tight. (I put rubber bands around two of my smaller jars because I was nervous about how tight the seal was.)

Step 2: Put the jars in the crockpot and cover with warm tap water so there's at least an inch of water above the top of the jars. (Hot water gets your dulce cooking faster.)

Step 3: Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Don't lift the lid during cooking! Every time you do, it adds about 30 minutes to the total cook time.

Step 4: At the 8 hour mark, peek in your crockpot and see how dark the dulce is getting. When it reaches a dark caramel color, remove from crockpot with tongs and allow to cool completely.

Source: Adapted from The Yummy Life

Chocolate Syrup

2012-02-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

It's not that I'm an all-natural, no nonsense, organically obsessed foodie. Let's be honest, I'm american and I love a few preservatives every now and then. But when I read through the labels on my favorite ice cream toppings, things get a little gross...and confusing. I mean really, what do they really mean by "chocolate flavored" and "polycarbonate double helixed monounsaturated diphosphides"? Okay, that last one might not be straight from the ingredients label. But do we really need all that stuff to get a real chocolate flavor? And all the food coloring?

Seriously.

Here's a simple recipe for a simple pleasure. Just your regular, run of the mill, no preservatives added, homemade rich chocolate syrup. Drizzle it on ice cream, in chocolate milk or serve it warmed up as fondue for your soon-to-be chocolate covered strawberries and/or fingers. But whatever you do, you better enjoy it while it lasts!

Chocolate Syrup [click to print]
Makes about 2 cups

1-1/4 c. sugar
1 c. cocoa powder
1 c. water
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt

Sift cocoa into medium saucepan. Whisk in sugar and salt. Add water and cook on medium heat. Bring mixture to a boil for 4-5 minutes, until mixture is slightly thickened. Stir frequently to prevent scalding. Remove from heat. Allow mixture to cool about 5 minutes before adding vanilla. Store in airtight container in fridge.

Source: 52 Kitchen Adventures

Sweet Sixteen: Makin' Whoopie

2012-02-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

What else would you possibly do with your Valentine's Day? Enjoy this week's round up of Whoopie Pie deliciousness!

(Left to Right and Top to Bottom)

Healthy Whoopie Pies, S'more Whoopie Pies, Whoopie Pie Surprise, Whimsical Whoopie Pies

Whoopie Pie Bar, Pumpkin Whoopie Pies, Vegan Spicy Chili Chocolate Whoopie Pies, Hot Chocolate Whoopie Pies

Strawberry Milk Whoopie Pies, Real Maine Whoopie Pies, Snickerdoodle Whoopie Pie Stuffed Cinnamon Roll, Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Cream Cheese Filling

Mini Funfetti Fudge Whoopie Pies, Chocolate and PB Whoopie Pies, Lemon Polenta Whoopie Pies with Chocolate Ganache, Blueberry Pancake Whoopie Pies with Ricotta Cheese Frosting

Easy Texas Sheet Cake

2012-02-09T10:00:00.001-05:00

Seriously, the way my friends rave about dessert that is so fast and easy makes me with twice about even attempting something that might require a significant effort. I had this cake mixed, baked, frosted and taste-tested in under an hour. Yummers.

Even my skinniest friend kept sneaking pieces, but I stopped counting after three...or four...

So maybe this isn't the healthiest, but it is certainly one of the tastiest chocolate cakes I've devoured! Plus it doesn't require any weird ingredients and yet it is extremely addictive. I blame it on the butter. And the fact that your thighs may expand after you try this recipe, I blame on my friend Nicole, who first introduced me to Texas Sheet Cake during college whenever we needed something to whip up and share with a crowd!

Easy Texas Sheet Cake [click to print]
Makes 24 generous servings

For the Cake:
2 c. flour
1/3 c. cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. hot water
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. sugar
3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs, large

For the frosting:
1 c. pecans, finely chopped and toasted (optional, but real Texans love pecans)
3/4 c. unsalted butter
1/3 c. cocoa powder
6 T. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3-1/2 c. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 13x18" jelly roll pan with parchment paper or spray generously with nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk together flour, salt, cocoa and soda; set aside. In another small bowl, whisk together water, buttermilk and vanilla; set aside.

See all those little air pockets just waiting to be filled with frosting?!

In a large mixing bowl, cream sugar and butter. Add eggs. Alternate adding dry mixture and liquids in about three additions. Continue mixing until well incorporated and smooth. Pour batter into pan and bake 20-28 minutes.

While the cake is baking, get going on that deliciously decadent frosting! Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa and stir to combine. Remove from heat. Stir in milk, vanilla and powdered sugar; whisk until nice and smooth. Pour frosting over warm cake and spread evenly.

Sprinkle nuts across the cake and allow to cool until it won't burn your mouth up. Cut into squares and enjoy like crazy!

Source: Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Almond Swirl Sugar Cookies

2012-02-07T10:00:00.000-05:00

I admit it, I've eaten my fair share of those store bought sugar cookies. You know the kind. Perfect cookie circles taunting you with thick, rich frosting. I was always disappointed, though, by that cookie. Even though it's soft, it's also dry and crumbly. Not my favorite.

The secret in this recipe is sour cream. It keeps these cookies nice and soft and moist.

Just change up your choice of food coloring and sprinkles to make these cookies perfect for any holiday!

Almond Swirl Sugar Cookies [click to print]

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

2-3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 c. sugar
1 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
1/2 c. sour cream
10-15 drops red food coloring

Whisk together flour, soda, nutmeg and salt; set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Add sour cream and extract. Add dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Scoop about half of dough into separate bowl and set aside. Add food coloring to remaining dough and mix well.

Press each half of dough onto a separate piece of parchment paper, flattening to a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Slide parchment and dough onto baking sheets and chill about 30 minutes.

Remove chilled dough slabs from refrigerator. Run a rolling pin over each slab to even out the surface. Peel parchment off red dough and stack directly on top of white dough. Use a pizza cutter or knife to trim edges to make even rectangle. Beginning at one end, tightly roll dough like a cinnamon roll. If there's an open space in the center, gently press and rock the dough back on forth on the counter until it seals as shown below.

Generously coat outside with red sugar sprinkles. Cover entire dough roll with plastic wrap and refrigerate about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375.

Remove dough from plastic wrap and slice cookies about 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart. Bake at 375 for 6-8 minutes. They won't look done! They should still be pale but puffy in the center and look just a tiny bit wet still. Allow to cool about 5 minutes on baking sheet, then move to wire rack to complete cooling.

These cookies taste great with thick buttercream frosting!

Source: Adapted from Peppermint Plum

Sweet Sixteen: Valentine's Day

2012-02-06T13:53:00.000-05:00

Ah, yes. The holiday of love. I had a bunch of friends in college that absolutely hated V-day. Instead they'd celebrate SAD (Singles Awareness Day), which is somewhat depressing in its own right. I see nothing wrong with pink and red and hearts all over the place. And so, despite my current singleness, take a look at this week's photo roundup, and by all means, feel free to test out a recipe and drop it by my door!

Row 1: Thumbprint Cookies, Chocolate Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwiches, Cranberry Cherry Ribbons, Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Row 2: Frozen Strawberry Pie Shot, Blackberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars, Cherry Vanilla Tuxedo Cake, Strawberry Yogurt Cubes

Row 3: Cinnamon Crisps, Strawberry Hot Chocolate, Raspberry Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Mug Brownie Cakes, Vanilla Bean and Cherry Swirl Icebox Cookies

Row 4: Cherry Cordials, X O S'mores, Chocolate Dipped Strawberries, Cocoa and Raspberry Cream Cookies

Groundhog's Day

2012-02-02T10:00:00.000-05:00

I love holidays, as you may have noticed. Groundhog's Day is a big deal when you grow up in Pennsylvania. Mr. Punxsatawney Phil lives in that wonderful state! And every year, the mayor of Punxsatawney, PA drags that poor sleeping groundhog out of his burrow to predict how much longer the bitter winter will last. Cross your fingers for an early spring!

What could possibly make this rodent-dedicated holiday any better? Groundhog pops, of course! If you're looking for something even more decadent than these cute little groundhogs, try using them as a cupcake topper! And if you're against candy with preservative-laden ingredient lists, check back soon for a homemade almond joy recipe!

Oh, and not only is Groundhog's Day fun (and a little funny) but it practically belongs to my oldest brother. Happy Birthday, Chip! You're one year more awesome today!

Groundhog Pops [click to print]
Makes about 20 pops

1 bag snack size Almond Joy candy bars, unwrapped (about 20 pieces)
20 lollipop or mini popsicle sticks
20 red or pink dragees
1 bag M&M minis
1 tube black decorator's gel
1-1/2 c. white frosting in piping bag or ziploc baggie with end snipped off
1/2 c. chocolate chips, melted in ziploc baggie with end snipped off

Insert one stick about 2" deep into each candy bar and arrange on wax paper. Squeeze a small triangle of melted chocolate on the upper half of the almond. Place two brown mini M&M's on the corners of the triangle for cheeks. Place a red dragee on the point of the melted chocolate for a nose.

Pipe a small white rectangle of frosting under the cheeks for buck teeth. If you want the edges to be sharper, allow to set a few seconds, then shape with a toothpick. Pipe two white eyeballs above the almond. Use a toothpick to dab a small dot of black decorator's gel onto each eyeball.

Squeeze a small blob/triangle on the top corners of each candy for ears. Poke lollipop stick in a stand, or apple, like I used, and allow ears to set in the refrigerator. Repeat with remaining candy bars and experience some Groundhog's Day Joy!

Source: Adapted from Sweetology 101

Soft Pretzel Bites

2012-01-31T10:00:00.000-05:00

I always thought anything yeasty or slightly bread-related was beyond difficult to make. But since I grew up in our nation's Pretzel Capital, I couldn't resist trying my hand at some homemade soft pretzels! There's just something comforting about a mouth full of pretzels...

And plus, with the Super Bowl on its way, these little guys are great not-so-junk-foody snacking alternative for the big game!

Soft Pretzel Bites [click to print]
5 c. flour
2 T. brown sugar
2-1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (or 1 pkg)
2-1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 c. warm water
6 T. butter, melted

3 quarts water
3/4 c. baking soda
1 egg, beaten with 1 T. cold water
Coarse salt

In large mixing bowl, fitted with dough hook, whisk together sugar, yeast, salt and flour. With mixer on low speed, slowly add water and butter. When combined, increase speed to medium and continue mixing until the dough forms a cohesive blob and starts pulling away from the bowl and looks smooth, about 4 minutes. If the dough still looks too wet, add flour, a tablespoon at a time. Dump dough onto floured surface and knead into a ball.

Spray mixing bowl with nonstick cooking spray and place dough ball in bowl. Cover with damp cloth and place in warm area for about an hour or until double in size.

Preheat oven to 475. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or coat with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

Heat water in large pot or roasting pan on stove. When boiling, slowly add baking soda.

Remove dough from bowl and divide into eight equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope, about 22 inches long and cut into 1 inch pieces. Boil dough in baking soda water in batches, about 15 pieces at a time, for 30-45 seconds. Remove with large slotted spoon and place on baking sheet being careful not to let any pieces touch. Brush top of pieces with egg mixture and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake in oven for 12-15 minutes.

I served mine with cheesy marinara sauce but cheese sauce is great, too. Or just pop em in your mouth plain!

Source: Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

Sweet Sixteen: Super Bowl!

2012-01-30T10:00:00.000-05:00

Every Super Bowl party practically screams out for rich and manly grab-and-go snacks, and most especially dessert! This week's photo roundup is all about make ahead, handheld, treats for a crowd. Woot woot!

Row 1: Black Bottom Cupcakes, PB Fudge Brownies with Salted Peanuts, Chocolate PB Chip Pretzel Cookies, Superbowl Sugar Cookies

Row 2: Truffle Football Cupcakes, Cinnamon Bun Pizza, Football Whoopie Pies, BBQ Football Cupcakes

Row 3: Oreo Cake, Pastry Shell Sundaes, M&M Cookies, Chocolate-Banana Mini Loaves

Row 4: Football Party Cupcakes, Super Bowl Ice Cream Sandwiches, Imma Bee Butterscotch Clusters, Football Rice Crispy Treats

Brown Butter Vanilla Bean Rice Crispy Treats

2012-01-26T10:00:00.001-05:00

My Poppie always said that a good home always has marshmallows stocked in the cupboards. Let's just say my new fascination with gourmet rice crispy treats are only helping my cramped apartment become a cozy little home. With my new found love for all things browned butter, this idea seemed like the perfect way to jazz up an old favorite.

Brown Butter Vanilla Bean Rice Crispy Treats [click to print]

Makes about 16 super thick squares or 3 dozen normal size

4 T. unsalted butter

1 T. vanilla bean paste (OR seeds of 1 vanilla bean)

1/4 tsp. salt

10 oz. (one bag) marshmallows

5-1/2 c. rice crispies (or other puffed rice cereal)

For really thick squares, line 6x6" pan with parchment paper. For normal treats, line 8x8" pan. Pour rice crispies in large mixing bowl and set aside.

First things first. Brown the butter, and no skimping here! Margarine won't give these treats a caramely flavor so use real butter, please! So, heat butter in saucepan on low until it turns a light brown, caramel color. It will bubble a lot and be noisy for a bit before it reaches a deep caramel color. Immediately add marshmallows and stir until well combined. Add salt and vanilla.

Pour marshmallow mixture over rice crispies and turn with rubber scraper until evenly coated. Press into prepared pan with greased fingers and allow to cool. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Source: Adapted from Zoe Bakes

Heath Bar Blondies

2012-01-24T10:00:00.000-05:00

My brother told me that the secret ingredients to every delicious recipe is lots of butter and lots of sugar. Well if that's true, and I'm pretty sure it is since my brother rarely lies about anything so important as dessert, then this recipe nailed it. And, yes, it's totally worth going for a run in the middle of winter just so you can indulge in these caramel scented heath bar blondies. Yummers!

Heath Bar Blondies [click to print]

Makes about 16-2x2" brownies

1/2 c. unsalted butter
1 c. brown sugar
1-1/4 c. flour
1-1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped
1/2 c. heath bar toffee bits

Line 8x8 pan with parchment paper or coat well with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350.

First you're gonna brown that butter. And don't you dare use margarine or even think about skipping this step! Brown butter gives these blondies a tasty caramel flavor. So, put butter in saucepan and heat on low until it turns a light brown, caramel color. It will bubbly a lot and be noisy for a little bit, then watch carefully because butter can burn very quickly. Once it's browned, pour into mixing bowl and allow to cool about 10 minutes.

Whisk together flour, powder and salt; set aside. Add sugar and beat until combined. It will look kind of like wet sand at this point. Add vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, incorporating well between each addition. Add flour mixture in two additions, mixing about 20 seconds between each addition.

Stir in nuts and heath bits. Pour into pan and bake 25-30 minutes.

Source: Adapted from my mom's Blonde Brownies

Sweet 16: Chinese New Year

2012-01-23T10:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Chinese New Year! With celebrations typically lasting about two weeks, you still have plenty of time to browse through this week's blog roll and test out a new dessert!

Row 1: Thong Yuen, Almond Cookies, Sesame Seed Balls, Egg Tarts

Row 2: Pengat, Good Fortune Cupcakes Agar-Agar, Mango Coconut Cupcakes

Row 3: Neen Go, Chocolate Kumquat Spring Rolls, Almond Orange Panna Cotta, Eight Treasure Rice

Row 4: Black Sesame Dessert Dumplings, Pineapple Tarts, Dessert Buns, Rice Cake Balls with Coconut Flakes

Confetti Fortune Cookies

2012-01-19T10:00:00.000-05:00

Traditionally, on Chinese New Year's Eve, families gather together to share an elaborate feast of fancy foods and delicacies. It's a time to forgive and forget, to move on and to wish happiness to everyone in the coming year through personally designed fortune cookies. Okay, so that last part might not be exactly true, but seriously. What better way could there possibly be to ring in The Year of the Dragon than with homemade Confetti Fortune Cookies? None, that's what. So get ready for some good fortune!

Confetti Fortune Cookies [click to print]
Makes about 24 cookies

1 c. flour
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt

5 T. unsalted butter

3 T. heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 egg whites
1 c. sugar
2 T. nonpareil sprinkles

Before you start baking, print or write your custom fortunes or resolutions on 3x1/2" paper strips. We did funny fortunes on one side, courtesy of Smosh, and space on the back for everyone to write their own resolution for the new year.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon and salt; set aside. Melt butter in small microwave-safe bowl; stir in cream and vanilla. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Combine egg whites and sugar in mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed about 1-2 minutes until smooth. On low speed, add flour mixture. Beat in butter mixture. Continue mixing until smooth. Stir in sprinkles.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper or generously coat with nonstick cooking spray. Drop heaping teaspoons of batter on baking sheet, spacing them about 4" apart. Use the back of a spoon to spread the batter into a circle about 3" wide, leaving at least 1" between cookies.

Bake at 400 for 4-6 minutes, or until the cookie looks dry and the edges are just barely turning golden. Working quickly, remove one cookie with a spatula and turn over onto a dry dishtowel. Place fortune in center, fold cookie in half and pinch at the top to form a loose semicircle.

With the cookie pinched, gently fold over the rim of a mug or muffin tin and pull the tips of the cookie together.

Place folded cookie in muffin tin to hold shape until firm. Repeat with remaining cookies.

Source: Adapted from Cooking With My Kid

Design It: Winter Wonderland

2012-01-17T10:00:00.000-05:00

A giant mega flurry landed in my unsuspecting eyeball last week. But don't worry, I'm okay! Once I blinked the snow out and wiped dripping mascara from my eyelid, I noticed how amazing the sky looked. It was like I was walking in a snowglobe! So much for that 3% chance of rain. This cake is for you, unpredictable snowy winter storm weather.

Now hold up. I know what you're thinking: That cake looks too fancy and hard for me, I'm not a superhuman cake designer! Trust me. This cake looks a lot harder to create than it really is. The design is relatively simple to pull off and comes out looking quite impressive! You'll definitely wow a few people with this one. So, to get started, bake up a two-layer round cake using your favorite white cake recipe. Allow it to cool completely and crumb coat with white frosting; allow to set. Meanwhile...

Tear a piece of wax paper, about a foot long, and lay flat on the table. Sketch about 12-15 skinny pine trees of different heights, including trunks, with a permanent marker. You don't need to be a professional illustrator for this, just a basic outline is good enough! Flip the wax paper over.

Microwave about 1 cup white chocolate chips in 30 second bursts, stirring between each nuke. (It will take longer to melt these than regular chocolate chips since white chocolate has a higher melting point.) Scoop chocolate into ziploc bag and snip off a tiny corner. Following your sketches, pipe melted chocolate over outlines and fill in shapes. Slide tree covered wax paper onto cookie sheet and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.

Now you're gonna frost the cake. Put on a nice thick layer of fluffy white frosting. I like a basic vanilla buttercream. (Use clear vanilla extract, if you're making your own, to keep it a brilliant white.) Remove wax paper from fridge, turn upside down on clean surface and carefully peel back wax paper to remove from chocolate. Gently press each tree into cake frosting, lining up the bottom of each trunk with the base of the cake. Dust top of cake with silver edible glitter.

Source: Inspired by Modern Cupcake and Desserts for Breakfast

Sweet Sixteen: Chocolate

2012-01-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

Ever since I went to Zumba the other day, my mind has been plagued. Is it better to give a little shimmy or bust out the funky legs? Lucky for you, when it comes to chocolate, the decision is simple. Just eat it.

Row 1: World Peace Cookies, Chewy Oatmeal-Spelt Chocolate Chip Bars, Chocolate Cheesecake Cake, Volcano Cookies

Row 2: Chewy Chocolate Oreo Oatmeal Cookies, Rocky Road Dessert, Mexican Chocolate Chewy Cookies, Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate

Row 3: Chocolate Nutella Thumbprint Cookies, Chocolate Coconut Patties, Malted Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chocolate Snowball Cake

Row 4: Chocolate Dumpster Cookies, Universal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Hot Chocolate Cookies, Just a Cake

No Bake Energy Bites

2012-01-10T10:00:00.000-05:00

Normally, the battle to eat health food is a losing battle. The siren call of sweet treats is steady and constant. But with these little no-bake energy bites, you get the best of both worlds! These chewy little cookie bites are packed with so many good-for-you things, with a few chocolate chips...but, hey! Chocolate is good for you, too, these days!

No Bake Energy Bites [click to print]
Makes about 24 bites

1 c. oatmeal
1 c. coconut flakes
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. chocolate chips
1/2 c. ground flaxseed
1/3 c. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in large bowl and mash with your hands until everything is well combined. Chill for 1 hour. Scoop into 1" balls and enjoy! Store in airtight container in fridge for up to a week...if they last that long!

Source: Slightly adapted from Smashed Peas and Carrots

Sweet Sixteen: Bar Cookies

2012-01-09T10:00:00.000-05:00

After so much cookie cuttering, dough ball rolling and batter scooping, I still crave something sweet...but a little less time intensive. Take a look at this week's photo round up and bake a batch. Cut them into small squares for a crowd or cut a big bite for yourself!

Row 1: Snickerdoodle Blondies, Molasses Spice Bars, Coconut Macadamia Nut Bars, Cranberry Lemonade Bars

Row 2: Cookies and Cream Cheesecake, Nutella No Bake, Chocolate Peppermint Sticks, S'mores Brownies

Row 3: Kitchen Sink Cookies and Bars, Chocolate Peppermint Bark, Key Lime Bars, Italian Rainbows

Row 4: Peanut Butter Caramel Shortbread Bars, South African Munchies, M&M Sugar Cookie Bars, Cookie Bar Trees

Snowball Cookies

2012-01-05T10:00:00.000-05:00

It started flurrying yesterday and my sister immediately starting yelling "No! NO! I hate snow!" A few minutes later, it stopped. I guess the weather gods are liking her better than me right now, because I always love a good sledding hill or snowball fight! Oh, well. I'm sure more snow is on the way at some point.

For now I'll just have to make do with these edible snowball cookies and a mug of hot chocolate! [Update 01/09/2012: I was invited to post these cookies on Sweet as Sugar Cookies! How fun!]

Snowball Cookies [click to print]
Makes about 30 cookies

1 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2-1/4 c. flour
1 c. pecans or walnuts, chopped
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. powdered sugar (for rolling)

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla. Whisk together flour, nuts and salt; mix until just combined.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper or coat with nonstick cooking spray. Scoop cookie dough by the tablespoon (or use my favorite OXO cookie scoop!) and roll into balls. Place on baking sheet about 1" apart. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Allow cookies to cool on sheet until you can handle them with bare hands, about 10 minutes. Pour powdered sugar in a small bowl and gently roll cookies in powdered sugar. Place on wire rack until completely cooled. Roll in powdered sugar again. You can store them in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to a month.

Source: Adapted from My Baking Addiction

Pumpkin Gingerbread

2012-01-03T10:00:00.000-05:00

Every Christmas, my mom and I (and sometimes my sister) would bake and bake and bake. We'd scoop and cut and slice probably hundreds of cookies and sweet breads, and, thanks to our benevolent taste testers who would die before we delivered any less-than-perfect treats to our neighbors, we ended the whole project with just barely enough to go around. My mom would sweetly scoot us kids out the door, reminding us to smile and sing loud enough for our old neighbors to hear, and off we went! My favorite house was right next door, at Reverend Fred Donaldson, or "The Rev" as his license plate said. He was a giant of a man, was missing part of one finger on his left hand and always sang "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" right back to us in his booming choir voice.

I know it's a little past Christmas and pumpkin season now, but this has gotta be one of my absolute favorite sweet breads. There's nothing like the smell of pumpkin and ginger baking in a hot oven to warm up your home and singing voice!

Pumpkin Gingerbread [click to print]
Makes 1 loaf

1 c sugar
1/2 butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1/4 c molasses
1 c. pumpkin puree
1-3/4 c. flour
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (OR 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp nutmeg)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda

Whisk together dry ingredients and set aside. Combine sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla; mix until smooth. Add molasses and pumpkin; mix until blended. Add dry ingredients in about 3 additions, scraping, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Mix until blended.

Coat loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Pour batter into pan and bake at 350 for 55-65 minutes. Reduce heat by 25 degrees if using glass loaf pan.

Source: Adapted from AllRecipes

Sweet 16: Glitter and Sparkles!

2012-01-02T10:00:00.000-05:00

In honor of our sparkly New Year, this week's photo roundup is everything with glitter and sparkles!

Row 1: Sparkly Spice Bites, Valentine Cupcake Pops, White Snowball Sprinkles, Gold S'mores

Row 2: Valentine's Day Truffles, Gooey Vanilla Sparkle Cookies, Sparkly Pear, Sparkly Red Velvet Brownie Bites

Row 3: Glitter Cake Pops, Sweetheart Sugar Cookies, Super Sugar Sparkle Cookies, Shiny Black Cats

Row 4: Sparkly Peppermint Macarons, Persimmon Rice Pudding, Rock Candy Trees, Peppermint Ice Cream Sandwiches

New Year's Chocolate Confetti Cookies

2011-12-31T10:00:00.000-05:00

New Year's 2012 is almost here! I'm planning our Happy New Year's event at my parents' house this year and just knew confetti had to be involved. I mean, really, how can you possible have a party without confetti? You can't. But I love eating a lot more than vacuuming, so I decided on these chocolate kissed confetti cookies! It combines so many delicious things...chocolate, hershey kisses, sprinkles. Bring it on 2012!

Chocolate Kiss Confetti Cookies [click to print]
Makes about 30 cookies

2/3 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1-1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. sprinkles (rainbow, chocolate or round confetti!)
30 Hershey Kisses, unwrapped

Whisk together flour, cocoa, soda and salt; set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla and egg, mixing until combined. Add dry ingredients in about 3 additions. Continue mixing until well incorporated. Batter should be thick enough to roll into balls, if not, chill for an hour.

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or coat with nonstick cooking spray. Shape dough into 1" balls and roll in sprinkles. Place dough on cookie sheet about 2" apart. Bake at 375 for 7-8 minutes.

When done baking, immediately press a kiss on the center of each cookie. Place on wire rack to cool.

Source: Adapted from The Curvy Carrot

Golden Sparkle Cookies

2011-12-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

I was sitting here, thinking about the coming new year and I kept thinking: Shiny! Glitter! Sparkles! It may have something to do with my bright red pj's with shiny gold stripes running through them, but mostly I think it's the fact that those things signify New Year's perfectly. Send out the old and ring in the new shiny somethings!

These golden sparkle cookies will shimmer and shine right along with your party shoes as you ring in the New Year! They are also great to dress up a dessert table at a wedding reception or other fancy event where sparkles are required.

Golden Sparkle Cookies [click to print]
Makes about 3-1/2 dozen cookies

2-3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 c. sugar
1 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. sour cream
3/4 to 1 c. coarse gold sprinkles (I used about 3/4 of a 5.25 oz bottle of Wilton Gold Pearlized Sprinkles)

Whisk together flour, soda, nutmeg and salt; set aside. Cream butter and sugar together in large mixing bowl. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until well combined. Add sour cream and mix well. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in about 3 additions and continue beating until well combined. Cover and chill for 1 hour.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper or coat with nonstick cooking spray. Shape dough into 1" balls and roll in sprinkles. Place on baking sheet about 2" apart; lightly press the end of a glass on dough ball to flatten slightly.

Bake at 375 for 5-6 minutes; cookies will not look done, but this is how they'll stay nice and soft so resist the urge to bake longer! Leave cookies on the tray for about a minute, then remove to wire rack to cool.

Source: Adapted from Peppermint Plum

Gingerbread House Cookies

2011-12-27T10:00:00.000-05:00

Every year near the holidays, my elementary school would host a gingerbread house decorating night in the cafeteria. My mom and all the PTO ladies would hand out baggies of royal icing and we'd set out our extensive array of colorful candies and get to work. My siblings and I were ambitious little artists/mess-makers so our graham cracker mansions were constructed with only royal icing for glue, none of that hot glue stuff that our friends Kate and Kelsey tried to pull! However, their house was always standing at the end of the evening and ours undoubtedly had a few collapsed roofs, fallen turrets and tears.

Hard at work, squeezing that bag!

The only sad thing about graham cracker houses is that they don't taste as good as real gingerbread and they get stale just sitting around on the mantel for weeks on end. I would much rather have something I can sink my teeth into, without the added sugar rush and expense of mountains of candy decorations.

So when I heard that my brother and his cute family were coming for a visit this Christmas, I just had to make these cookies for my nieces to decorate! They are quite the budding artists, after all. Not only do these cookies taste delicious, but they don't take too long to prepare and they are a great project for kids and (a little) less messy than your traditional graham cracker house. We put all the white icing in plastic squeeze bottles and it was much easier for little hands to manage. If we had another bottle we would have put the red in one, too, so plan ahead a little better than me!

This cookie artwork was eaten by Santa!

Store these cookies, undecorated or extravagant, in an airtight container and they'll stay nice and soft for several days...if they last that long!

And a little help from cousin Sarah!

Gingerbread House Cookies [click to print]
Makes about 4 dozen cookies

3/4 c. butter, softened
1 c. sugar
1 c. molasses
1/4 c. sour cream
1 egg
4 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. cloves
2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. nutmeg

Whisk together dry ingredients and set aside. Cream together butter and sugar. Add molasses, sour cream and egg; beat until well blended. Gradually add dry ingredients in about 3 additions. Cover and chill at least 1 hour.

Roll out dough between two sheets of wax paper. Use a cookie cutter to cut out house shapes or create your own. I made mine out of a piece of wax paper and used a pizza cutter, smoothing out any cutter nicks with my finger. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place cookies 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. Allow to cool on wire racks.

Source: Adapted from Meet the Dubiens

Royal Icing [click to print]
2 egg whites, large
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. brown food coloring
3 c. powdered sugar

Beat egg whites, vanilla and food coloring until frothy. Add powdered sugar and continue beating on low until smooth. The mixture should be kind of thick, but pipeable, at this point. Scoop about 1/3 of the icing into a squeeze bottle or piping bag and set aside. Add water to remaining icing, about 1/2 tsp. at a time, until it is flooding consistency. If you make it too thin, just mix in a little more powdered sugar. Pour icing in another squeeze bottle (a piping bag will be much trickier, but still possible, for this consistency) and set aside.

Using the thicker icing, outline each house shape and allow to harden about 10 minutes. Using the thinner icing, flood each shape to fill in the outlines and allow to harden a few hours. Be careful not to get any water on them as they harden or they'll have lighter colored spots.

Once the cookies are well set, let your decorators go to work!

Source: Adapted from Joy of Cooking

Christmas Coal Candy

2011-12-24T10:00:00.000-05:00

I grew up in the city, but close enough to Dutch country that threats of the Belsnickel still haunt me at Christmas. The Belsnickel dresses in fur, wears a mask with a long tongue and visits naughty children to scare and threaten them into behaving. (Check out Pennsylvania Dutch Night Before Christmas if you want the whole story!) But when those bad kids just refuse to be good, Santa Claus surprises them with a bag of coal instead of shiny new toys on Christmas morning.

But coal candy is for everyone! This traditional Spanish hard candy has a slightly crumbly texture when you crunch it. The traditional Spanish version is lemony, but I wanted something a little more Christmas-flavored, so I went with peppermint extract. This makes a great stocking stuffer or party favor!

Coal Candy (Dolce Carbon) [click to print]
1 egg white
1-1/2 c. powdered sugar, divided
2 tsp. black food coloring
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
3 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. water

In medium bowl, whisk together egg white, 1 c. powdered sugar, food coloring and extract. Gradually whisk in remaining 1/2 c. powdered sugar. The mixture should be thick and stiff and drop off the whisk in globby clumps. If it's too thin and runny, add more powdered sugar, a little at a time. Set aside.

Line 8x8 baking dish (about 2 inches deep) with parchment paper and set aside. Combine water and sugar in pot and stir together, mashing it until it's about the consistency of wet sand. Insert candy thermometer and heat until it reaches 258-260 degrees. Stir the whole time; the mixture will look kind of grainy and weird, so don't worry. When it's around 245-250, it may start browning, but that's okay. The mixture should stay grainy and not liquid.

At 258-260, remove from heat and add egg white mixture to pot and stir. (It might foam, so be careful!) When mixture is well mixed, pour into pan and allow to stand until hardened and cooled. Break into pieces; I used a hammer and screwdriver, it's definitely hard candy!

Source: Adapted from Sprinkle Bakes via Flagrante Delicia

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

2011-12-22T19:30:00.000-05:00

I enjoy a sugar cookie every now and then, but chocolate? Yummers! These cookies look great with a little bit of bright frosting to outline their shapes! If you take them out of the oven before they look completely done, they'll stay nice and soft, plus they have a rich chocolate flavor that you're gonna love!

Chocolate Sugar Cookies [click to print]
Makes about 2-1/2 dozen

2-1/4 c flour
1 c cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 c butter, unsalted
1-1/4 c. sugar
1 egg
1/4 c. sour cream
1 tsp vanilla

Whisk together flour, cocoa and salt; set aside. Combine butter and sugar in separate bowl and beat until just barely combined. With mixer on low speed, add egg, vanilla and sour cream. Scrape sides of bowl as needed.

Scoop dough onto large sheet of wax paper. Cover with another sheet of wax paper and roll out about 1/4" thick. Place entire thing on baking sheet and chill at least one hour.

Remove top sheet of wax paper. Press cookie cutters into dough to create desired shapes. If dough is too sticky (to cutters or bottom layer of wax paper), dust with a little cocoa powder. Place cutouts on cookie sheet, about 1/2" apart, and refrigerate 30 minutes; this will help cookies maintain sharper edges.

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Source: Adapted from Sprinkle Bakes

Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies

2011-12-20T10:00:00.000-05:00

I used to not like chocolate. Gasp! I know I was weird, as my sweet siblings were always quick to point out. Over the years, though, my tastes have become more refined and I do enjoy a big mouthful of chocolate every now and then. Okay, fine. I enjoy chocolate just about all the time.

These cookies are on the sweeter side but they are nice and chewy with a crisp edge. Plus they really dress up a plate of cookies with their fancy candy cane flecks . So, here's to you, chocolate and peppermint, you dear winter flavor combination of joy!

Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies [click to print]
Makes about 4 dozen

2 c flour
2 T cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 c sugar
1/4 c butter, melted
1/2 c chocolate chips, melted
4 eggs, large
2 tsp vanilla
6 candy canes, crushed

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

Combine sugar, butter and chocolate in large mixing bowl and beat on medium speed until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, incorporating between each addition. Add vanilla. Scrape sides of bowl as needed.

On low speed, add dry ingredients. Scrape sides of bowl once. Continue mixing until just incorporated, about 2 to 3 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper and pour crushed candy canes into a small bowl. Using a small cookie scoop or large spoon, scoop dough in 1 to 1-1/2 inch balls. Roll in candy and place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

Sweet Sixteen: Cinnamon

2011-12-19T10:00:00.000-05:00

This week's photo round up is all about that fragrant cinnamon spice!

Row 1: Auntie Anne's Pretzels, Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake, Apple Cinnamon Donuts, Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies

Row 2: Apple Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting, Scrumptious Baked Cinnamon Breakfast Bites, Blueberry Cinnamon Cakes, Brown Butter Ginger Cookies

Row 3: Caramel Apple Coffee Cake, Chocolate Cinnamon Date Truffles (sugar free!), Cinnamon Bark Cookies, Cinnamon Blondies

Row 4: Cinnamon Creme Brulee, Cinnamon Roll Cookies, Cinnamon White Chocolate Fudge, Pumpkin Spice Pull Apart Bread

Baked Apples

2011-12-13T10:00:00.000-05:00

During the fall, I become obsessed with everything apple, as you may have noticed. So when I saw some beautiful baked apples on Cherry Tea Cakes, I just knew I had to try them!

Baked Apples [click to print]
Makes 4 baked apples

For the crust:
1-1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 stick (8 oz.) butter, unsalted and cold
1/4 c. water, ice cold

For the appley part:
4 apples (I used honeycrisp)
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cloves

Whisk together flour, sugar and salt in large bowl. Cube butter in 1/2" pieces and add to flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter, work butter into flour mixture until it forms crumbles about the size of peas. Slowly drizzle water over butter mixture. Use a rubber spatula to gather dough, working around the edges. When dough begins to clump together, use fingers to gently knead together a few times until it forms one mound. Place dough on plastic wrap and flatten to about 1/2". Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

Core apples; if you don't have a corer, stab your vegetable peeler in a circle around the core and then push it out. Peel apples. Slice horizontally into 1/4" slabs. In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Remove pie crust dough from refrigerator and separate into four balls. Roll each ball out between two pieces of plastic wrap to about 1/8" thickness. Chill about 10 minutes.

Sprinkle about 1/2 tsp. sugar mixture in center of dough. Set your first apple slice (bottom piece) on sugar and cover with 1/2 to 1 tsp. sugar mixture. Layer next slice on top and sprinkle with 1/2 to 1 tsp. sugar mixture; continue alternating apple slices and sugar mixture until your apple is reassembled on the dough. Sprinkle about 1/2 tsp. sugar on top of apple. Stuff center of apple with about 2 tsp. sugar mixture. Gently pull edges of dough to wrap entire apple. Trim off any excess dough.

Bake at 375 for 45-60 minutes.

Source: Adapted from Cherry Tea Cakes

Praline Sauce

2011-12-08T17:41:00.000-05:00

This stuff is amazingly easy and so delicious I had to make a special trip to the grocery store for ice cream so I could eat more than just a finger taste. So good.

Praline Sauce [click to print]
1 stick (4 oz) butter
1 c. light brown sugar
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of nutmeg (less than 1/8 tsp)
1 c. pecans, coarsely chopped

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in sugar, stirring continuously until melted and just boiling, about 5-7 minutes. Add vanilla, nutmeg and pecans. Stir until smooth.

Source: Adapted from Kevin and Amanda

Cheddar Apple Crostata

2011-12-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

Okay, fine. This is the last apple recipe you'll get from me for the season. Probably. It's just that I love apples and they are the perfect blend of sweetness and fruit and crunch and freshness! Apples are the embodiment of Fall.

Cheddar Apple Crostata [click to print]
For the Crust: Use your favorite pie crust recipe, or buy some, but just for the record, I think I'm in love with Smitten Kitchen's All Butter Pie Crust. It's really fast and easy to make and make a really good flaky crust. You'll need one disc of dough for this recipe.

Roll dough out between two pieces of plastic wrap to form a 13-14" circle, about 1/8" thick. Gently press 1/2 to 3/4c. shredded cheddar cheese around outer 1-1/2 to 2" of dough. Return to refrigerator to chill while you prepare filling.

For the Filling:
2 tart apples, such as Granny Smith
2 sweet apples, such as Honeycrisp
1/2 c. sugar
2 T. flour
2 T. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. coarse cinnamon sugar (4 T. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon)
1/4 c. apricot preserves, warmed

Peel and slice apples to 1/4-1/2" thick wedges. Combine apples, sugar, flour, lemon juice and cinnamon in bowl. Stir until apples are evenly coated. Spread apple mixture over dough (and try to keep the juicy party of the filling about 1/4" from cheese to make the next step easier). Fold cheesy edges in to form a crust. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 375 for about 25 minutes or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. Allow to cool about 20 minutes; lightly brush apples with apricot preserves.

Source: Adapted from Martha Stewart

Spiced and Sugared Walnuts (Crockpot or Otherwise)

2011-12-03T10:00:00.000-05:00

I always thought that toasted and sugared nuts were something street vendors sold in the olden days, until one day. I was walking through the mall with one of my roomies, just doing some Christmas shopping, and she said, "I wish we could get some toasted nuts" and I just chuckled "Yeah" and she said "No, really. Don't you always get nuts from those little booth guys in the mall during the holidays?" and I said "What? I didn't think that was real." And another false belief was destroyed.

We never did find our toasted nuts. I've tried making them before, but I often forget things under the broiler and bad, smokey things happen when you do that. Here's a forgetful-friendly recipe for crockpot spiced and sugared walnuts, but you can do them in the oven, too, if you promise not to forget about those darling walnuts.

Spiced and Sugared Walnuts (Crockpot or Otherwise) [click to print]
2 c. walnuts
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. (1/2 stick) butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)

Preheat crockpot about 15 minutes on high. Combine walnuts, sugar, butter and vanilla in crockpot. Stir until sugar is completely moistened and nuts are evenly coated. Cover and cook on high 15 minutes. Stir. Reduce heat to low and cook for 2 hours, stirring each hour. Spread nuts on wax paper. Whisk together spices and sift over nuts. Allow to cool to room temperature and enjoy!

Source: Adapted from About.com's Southern Food

Cinnamon Banana Bread

2011-12-01T10:00:00.000-05:00

Every year at Christmas, my family exchanges names. A few years ago, my sister in law, Breezi Queen of Scrapbooking and Blogger Extraordinaire, made this really cute cookbook for me. The entire book, including each and every page, is covered in plastic in an effort to protect itself from this above-averagely-messy baker. One of my all time favorite recipes from this book is "Betty's Banana Bread." I'm not sure exactly who Miss Betty is, but she's related somehow and made (makes?) awesome banana bread. Here's my version of this easy sweet bread!

Cinnamon Banana Bread [click to print]
1 c. sugar
1/3 c. butter, softened
2 eggs
3-4 bananas, really really ripe and black
1/3 c. water
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1-2/3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 T. cinnamon

Mash bananas well. Whisk in water and vanilla. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, soda, salt, powder and cinnamon; set aside. Cream together sugar and butter until pale yellow and fluffy-ish. Add eggs one at a time, incorporating well between each addition. With mixer on low speed, add half of dry mixture, then all of banana mixture, then the rest of dry mixture; this should only take about a minute. Generously coat loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Pour batter in pan. Generously sprinkle cinnamon sugar over top of batter; this will give the bread a nice crisp crust. Bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Pumpkin Butter

2011-11-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

For some people, memories attach themselves permanently to specific places, but for me, they are so often attached to the delicate aromas wafting through the air. If you have any cinnamon memories, this one is for you. Plus, it is quite possibly the easiest recipe of your life.

Crockpot Pumpkin Butter [click to print]
1 large can (29 oz) pumpkin puree
1 T. vanilla
3/4 c. apple cider
1 c. brown sugar
1 T. cinnamon
1-1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in crockpot and stir until combined. Cook in crockpot on low for 5 to 6 hours. This is delicious served on a slice of homemade (or store-bought is fine, too)!

Source: Adapted from Skinny Taste

Baking a Difference: Hattie's Bakery

2011-11-25T08:03:00.000-05:00

How could you possibly not fall in love with a bakery that celebrated it's one year anniversary with a humongous chocolate bar? I'm not sure it's possible. Which is one of the many reasons I'm falling in love with Hattie's Bakery!

Who was the inspiration for Hattie's Bakery?
In 1961, when Hattie Larlham brought little Alice into her home, children with developmental disabilities were not expected to live long. As Hattie’s work improved the quality of life for these children, they lived longer and thrived. Our organization has grown along with these children. The mission of Hattie Larlham, the organization, is to provide comfort, joy and achievement to people with developmental disabilities and their families. As our children grew, fulfilling this meant finding ways for people with developmental disabilities to find meaningful employment and be a part of their communities. It was this need that inspired Hattie Larlham to open The Bakery at Hattie’s Café & Gifts as well as our other social enterprises.

When and where did you get started?

We officially opened on Sept. 21, 2010 at 209 South Main Street in Akron, Ohio. The Bakery just celebrated its first anniversary by creating and sharing Akron’s biggest chocolate bar with the community.

How does a bakery make a difference?
Employees work with job coaches to develop essential job skills. The responsibilities of each employee vary based on the individual, but range from baking, general food preparation, decorating cakes and cookies, making beverages, working the cash register, assembling gift baskets and more. These jobs equip our employees with much more than traditional work skills; they gain self-confidence and often enhance their social skills.

There was one employee who started out very shy, making beverages. Now, she is the assistant to the bakery manager. When the manager is out of the office, she can fill gift basket orders to exact specifications. She also trains other employees in making beverages. Her personal and professional growth has been so tremendous that she now feels independent enough to get her own apartment!

What keeps people coming back for more?

One of our standout items is a German chocolate cake with frosting made of real, melted German chocolate. In addition to baked goods, the bakery has a storefront that serves ice cream, fair trade coffee and lunches featuring salads, sandwiches, wraps and more. Our employees also produce all of our gift baskets that are sold across the country and can be purchased online.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cobbler

2011-11-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

I'll be going home tomorrow to spend some time with my family for Thanksgiving. It's gonna be a little different this year since the only kids at home now are me and my sister. We're used to having at least two other brothers hanging around to make some noise! The holidays always make me miss my family and feel very introspective, which can be a good thing. This time, it made me think of my dad and Jeffie, my baby brother who now towers over me by at least a foot, and their almost unquenchable love for everything chocolate covered cherry. This one's for you guys!

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cobbler [click to print]
For the Filling:
2 c. frozen cherries, thawed
3/4 c. sugar

Combine cherries and sugar in small bowl. Heat in microwave for 1-2 minutes to just warm. Set aside.

For the Crust:
1/3 c. butter or margarine
3/4 c. flour
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. milk

Place butter in 10x10 baking dish and set in oven while it preheats to 375. Whisk together dry ingredients in bowl. Add milk and stir to combine. Pour over melted butter in baking dish. Spoon cherry mixture over batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until crust looks dry and browned.

Source: Adapted from my mom's memory of her basic college days' cobbler recipe

Sixteen Sweets: Caramel

2011-11-21T21:11:00.000-05:00

Row 1: Apple Cider Caramels [Dolce by Dana], Apple Pie Caramel Apples [A Bit of Bees Knees], Banana Chocolate Chip Cake [The Baker Chick], Caramel Apple Cupcakes [Hot Polka Dot]

Row 2: Caramel Apple Cupcakes [Indulge], Caramel Apple Rolls [Fantastical Sharing of Recipes], Caramel and Chocolate Oatmeal Bars [The Black Peppercorn], Caramel Corn [Dabbling in the Delicious]

Row 3: Caramel Maple Pumpkin Pie Smoothie [Love Veggies & Yoga], Caramel Stuffed Pumpkin Spice Cookies [Love Big, Bake Often], Inside Out Caramel Apples [Domestic Fits], Monkey Bread [A Sage Amalgam]

Row 4: Chocolate and Salted Caramel Mug Cake [Babble], Caramel Apple Bundt Cake [Week of Menus], Caramel Apple Cake [From My Sweet Heart], Cinnamon Caramel Apples [Mind Over Batter]

Pumpkin Pear Crisp

2011-11-19T10:00:00.000-05:00

It seems like time moves too quickly in the Fall. I thought the summer was just coming to an end and all the sudden I'm pulling on flannel pj's and eating Cream of Wheat for breakfast. That's so not a summer thing to do.

I guess it's time I move out of denial before winter comes. This recipe is most definitely Fall and was inspired by my mom and Mama, who have made apple crisp for centuries, I think, and my good friend Bon Appetit.

Pumpkin Pear Crisp [click to print]
For the Compote:
2 c. sugar pumpkin or butternut squash (about 1 small), peeled and cubed in 1/4" to 1/2" pieces
4 c. pears (about 5 small), peeled and cubed in 1/2" pieces
1/4 c. maple syrup
2 T. lemon juice
1 T. brown sugar
1 T. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in crockpot and stir well. Cook on high for 2 hours until pumpkin/squash is just tender. Spoon into six small ramekins or other oven safe dish(es).

For the Crispy part:
1/2 c. oats
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. butter
1 tsp. cinnamon

Combine sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon in medium bowl. Using a pastry cutter, cut in butter until small crumbles form about the size of peas. Add oats and nuts. Sprinkle over ramekins. Place on middle rack of oven and broil 15-20 minutes until nuts/oats are browned and compote is bubbly.

Source: Adapted from Bon Appetit

Pumpkin Gingersnap Parfaits

2011-11-17T07:13:00.000-05:00

The other day at work, my friend Taci mentioned that she made this pumpkin mousse a while ago that she served with some sort of multi-course fancy dinner. As my mouth started watering, I asked her for the recipe, which she happily shared, and my mind started going and just wouldn't quit. Then I had a brilliant idea. Layers of pumpkin mousse, fresh whipped cream and gingersnaps...parfait, anyone? Mais, oui!

Parfait is french for perfect. Not a bad choice to describe that light dessert, the marriage between fluffy whipped cream, rich filling and crunchy topping. This dessert is perfect for a no-baking kind of day. Delicious, fragrant, (tastes) very light and simple. The dreamy descriptive words could go on and on.

Pumpkin Gingersnap Parfait [click to print]
For the pumpkin mousse:
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin puree
1/2 c. cream cheese
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. allspice
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in medium mixing bowl and beat until well combined. Set aside.

For the whipping cream:
1 c. heavy whipping cream
2 T. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl and beat on high speed until cream is fluffy and forms stiff peaks. If it starts to look at all curdled or clumpy, stop! You're going to overmix and it turn your cream into butter!

To assemble:
2 c. crushed gingersnaps (about 3 dozen small cookies)

Divide half of pumpkin mixture into four cups. Spoon about half of gingersnaps over pumpkin. Cover with whipped cream, reserved about 1/4 cup. Spoon remaining gingersnaps over whipped cream. Divide remaining pumpkin between cups to create the top layer. Garnish with a sprinkle of gingersnaps, a dollop of whipped cream and a whole gingersnap cookie.

Source: Inspired by my friend Taci and The Gourmand Mom

Grape and Apple Pie for Two

2011-11-15T10:00:00.000-05:00

Wait! Don't get wierded out by the grapes! I thought it was kind of strange, too, when I heard of grape pie, but this is actually good! Black grapes tint the pie filling a beautiful shade of purple and give tart apples a unique and subtle sweetness. Plus, there's more than a full serving of fruit per pie! It's pretty much healthy.

These mini pies are baked in two small ramekins and are just the perfect size to cuddle up with on a chilly fall morning! If there are a lot of cuddlers in your home, you may want to double or triple the filling recipe below to make more to share.

Grape and Apple Pie for Two [click to print]
For the pie crust, I'm in love with Smitten Kitchen's All Butter Pie Crust. I thought that was the worst part of making a pie until I tried this recipe. Turns out homemade pie crust really is easy! But anyway, if you do use that recipe, you'll have a lot of extra dough. My recommendation is to scrunch up those scraps and turn them into Caramel Apple Pie Bites. Or if you're wishing for something a little different, try a Cranberry Pear Crostata or a bunch of Pie Crust Fries (recipes coming later this week, so get excited!)

For the Filling:
2-1/4 c. tart apples (such as Pink Lady or Gala), peeled and thinly sliced
2/3 c. seedless black grapes, halved
1/3 c. sugar

Combine ingredients in saucepan and heat over med-low heat until fruit is translucent, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep sugars from burning. Divide mixture into ramekins and set aside.

For the Crust:
Roll dough to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut circles about 1/2 inch wider than ramekins (so if your ramekins are 3" wide, cut dough 3-1/2" wide). Pierce the top of each dough circle a few times with a knife; these holes will allow steam to escape while they bake. Place dough circle on top of filled ramekin and gently press dough down over edges of ramekins to seal. Sprinkle with coarse sugar crystals if desired and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Source: Adapted from Bon Appetit

Sweet Sixteen: Apples

2011-11-14T10:00:00.000-05:00

These mouthwatering apple desserts make me wish Fall would hang around forever! Just take a look at these pictures and try not to run to the store for some ingredients!

Celebration Cake
[Better Homes and Gardens]

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars
[The Girl Who Ate Everything]

Individual Apple Charlottes
[Fine Cooking]

Apple Pie Pancakes
[Desserts for Breakfast]

Baked Apples with Granola
[Eat Better America]

Amish Apple Dumplings
[Midwest Living]

Cheddar Apple Hand Pies
[Desserts for Breakfast]

Cinnamon Sugar Apple Cake
[Pinch of Yum]

Sticky Apple Cinnamon Rolls
[Midwest Living]

Best Ever Individual Apple Crisp
[The Kitchen Prescription]

Caramel Apple Bread Pudding
[Our Best Bites]

Russian Grandmother's Apple Pie Cake
[Brown Eyed Baker]

Apple Coconut Family Cake
[Project Domestication]

Apple Fritters
[The Baking Pixie]

Apple Cupcakes with Cinnamon Marshmallow Frosting
[Eating Well]

Apple Crisp
[Completely Delicious]

Happy Birthday to Me!

2011-11-12T16:28:00.001-05:00

It wasn't until a few years ago when I learned that lots of people make wishes when the clock reads 11:11. I thought I was entitled to wishing at 11:11 since it's my birthday, but apparently 11:11 is lucky for everyone. Woot! Even better than that, yesterday was my birthday: 11/11/11! Now I know you're jealous. To ease your burden, please feast your eyes on this, the product(s) of my birthday weekend thus far:

I may have a problem. Or at least my waistline may have a problem if I don't get some hungry friends over here quick!

Plus, thank you to all our service members and veterans who I share my birthday with each year. You will always have a special place in my heart.

Caramel Apple Pie Bites

2011-11-10T07:56:00.000-05:00

These little bites look so fancy but they're really easy to make. Trust me. Just don't leave them on your kitchen table if you plan to take them anywhere besides your stomach. Each bite fits nicely in your mouth and it's quick to grab and go!

[Hint: Don't start the caramel sauce until the mini pies are out of the oven and on the cooling rack, otherwise, it won't be soft enough to dip the pies without damaging those flaky crusts!]

Caramel Apple Pie Bites [click to print]

For the pie crust:

2-1/2 c. flour

1 T. sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 sticks (8 oz.) butter, cold

1/2 c. water, ice cold

Whisk flour, sugar and salt together in large mixing bowl. Cut butter into 1/2 inch pieces and add to flour mixture. Using pastry blender, cut in butter until butter pieces are about the size of peas. It doesn't have to be perfectly even at this point. Drizzle water over mixture. Use a rubber spatula to gather the dough together until the mixture starts clumping together. Gently knead dough together with your fingertips; when it forms a lumpy ball, it's done. Be careful not to overwork, the heat from your hands can make the butter melt and that's what makes the crust so flaky and good!

Divide dough and flatten to 1/2" disk; seal in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. The colder the dough, the better, though, so leave it for 2 or more hours if you can.

Source: Recipe files of Smitten Kitchen

For the filling:

1 c. apple butter (check out this recipe!)

2 medium apples

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 T. brown sugar

2 T. whole milk

Chop apples into 1/4 inch pieces and add to large saucepan. Add apple butter, cinnamon, sugar and milk. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 25 min. or until apple pieces become soft. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Source: Recipe files of Sugar Rush!

For the caramel dip and walnut coating:

8 oz. caramels (about 30 pieces)

2 tsp. apple cider

2 c. walnuts, chopped and toasted.

Heat caramels and cider in small saucepan on med-low heat until melted. Pour into deep bowl and set aside. Chop walnuts into small pieces and spread on wax paper.

To assemble:

Roll out the pie crust dough between two pieces of plastic wrap until it's no more than 1/8 inch thick. Cut 2-1/2 inch circles of dough using a floured cookie cutter, or, one of my personal favorites, the end of a plastic cup. Lightly coat mini muffin pan with nonstick spray. Set dough circles over muffin openings and gently press into muffin cup using the end of a floured spice jar.

Fill each crust with T. apple butter. Gently scrunch overhanging dough to edges of cup. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until crust is light golden in color. Allow mini pies to cool to room temperature.

Dip half of pie in warm caramel dip, tap off any excess caramel. Roll edges in chopped, toasted walnuts on wax paper. Place on cooling rack over piece of wax paper and allow caramel to harden. If your caramel hardens too much to easily dip pies, just microwave at 15 second intervals, stirring well between each nuke, until soft and pourable.

Crock Pot Apple Butter

2011-11-08T10:00:00.000-05:00

I love the smell of Fall. Warm jackets, crunchy leaves, crisp air, fresh, cold apples. When I was little, my family and I picked bags and bags of apples at a friend's orchard back home in Pennsylvania. I sat on the kitchen floor while my parents worked on making and canning everything appley and proceeded to take a bite out of each and every apple I could get my hands on.

Last week when I was at the grocery store, the apples were all just staring me down. Gala, Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, McIntosh, Pink Lady, everthing! Now I have about 8000 different apple recipe ideas floating through my head, so here's the first: Apple Butter. I know, I know, it sounds like a long, tedious process, but it really isn't! This recipe will make your entire home smell like the holidays and it only takes a few minutes to throw together and a few hours in a crockpot!

Crock Pot Apple Butter [click to print]

6 apples

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 c. light brown sugar

1 c. apple cider

1 lemon peel

Peel apples and chop into pieces about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick; add to crockpot. Add spices, salt, sugar, cider and lemon peel. Stir to combine. Cook on high for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, or until apples are bubbly. Reduce heat to low and cook for 6 to 8 hours, stirring 2 or 3 times throughout. Turn off heat and allow to cool about 1 hour. Remove lemon peel and pour mixture into food processor or blender; puree until smooth.

Source: Adapted from Baked Bree

Baking a Difference: Sweet Success Bakery

2011-11-03T08:35:00.000-04:00

I knew I would love A Sweet Success Bakery the moment I heard Maya Aliff, Bakery Program Manager, claim, "You could say cake is my favorite food!" Plus, they serve people with mental illness and I'll always have a sweet spot in my pantry for them. So please read on to find out about the great things happening in Guilford County, North Carolina!

When and where was your bakery founded?
At Sanctuary House, a nonprofit day program for adults with mental illness diagnoses such as Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Major Depression and Schizoaffective Disorder, we focus on the development of employable skills and especially on helping our clients lead an independent life. The problem comes with the stigma of mental illness; many employers are wary about hiring an individual with a known mental illness. This is where we come in.

At one of our annual fundraisers in 2008, I organized a bake sale. A week later, people were calling in to place orders! This was a pivotal moment for us, because at the time we were looking for an outlet to really focus on job development skills for our members. We needed a hands-on training outlet. We decided to focus on food service and our bakery was born!

What training do you provide?

Sanctuary House clients are invited to participate in every aspect of the bakery, such as baking, making icing, decorating cakes, working with fondant, washing dishes, folding boxes and menus, labeling bags, sweeping, grocery shopping, making deliveries, sitting in on wedding cake consultations. However, working at A Sweet Success is about more than gaining skills. Clients learn independence, self-confidence, teamwork, kitchen safety and sanitation and develop self-worth as they see something through to completion and take pride in their accomplishments.

What keeps people coming back for more?

Our strawberry layer cake is our most popular cake. It’s a cream cheese pound cake with homemade whipped cream and fresh strawberries between the layers with a vanilla buttercream icing. Of course, you couldn’t go wrong with the serendipity bar or our chocolate mousse!

Modeling Chocolate

2011-11-01T17:11:00.001-04:00

I have a love-hate relationship with fondant. I love the vibrant colors, I love the shapes you can form and I love that it smooths over a cake so beautifully. But the eating part? Not so much my favorite. If you aren't sure what fondant is, just think back to the last wedding reception you went to...remember the cake? Chances are it was covered with something overly sweet and smooth that most people peeled off. Yeah, that's fondant.

Enter Modeling Chocolate. This stuff is a great alternative to fondant and is pretty easy to make, too. It can be colored just as vibrantly and sculpted and smoothed into whatever shape you want. (I haven't tried covering an entire cake with this yet, so I'm not sure how that works...) Plus, it tastes just like chocolate because it's made from chocolate!

Just to be clear...

Molding Chocolate: pure chocolate or chocolate made with vegetable solids and/or cocoa butter, like Wilton Candy Melts; this stuff is great for pouring into candy molds (get it? molding chocolate?)
Modeling Chocolate: this is chocolate mixed with syrup (in our case, corn syrup) to make it pliable

Modeling Chocolate [click to print]

14 oz. Chocolate or Candy Melts
1/3 c. Light Corn Syrup

Melt chocolate in 15-30 second bursts in the microwave. Stir very well between each nuke, white chocolate melts very easily and also burns very easily. If you notice any graininess, it's probably already burned and you'll be better off just starting fresh.

Once the chocolate is melted and smooth, warm the corn syrup in the microwave for 45-60 seconds and add to melted chocolate. Immediately stir mixture but do not overmix! According to Chef Talk, "You will notice that as you stir, the chocolate will seize into a thick gooey mass and will clean the sides of the bowl. Look closely to make sure you don't have any streaks of unincorporated chocolate...this unincorporated chocolate will become lumpy grain later and you don't want that. The mass will seem a little oily, that's OK. But the more you stir, the oilier it gets and you don't want oil dripping off it either. It's a delicate balance."

When your done mixing, pour modeling chocolate onto large piece of plastic wrap. Flatten chocolate to about 1/4 in. thick and cover completely with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for a few hours until chocolate sets; it will be hard at this point.

To use modeling chocolate, remove from refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature. Break off a small piece and begin kneading it in your hands. It will be crumbly and rough and seem unkneadable at first but keep going! It will get softer and smoother as you continue to work with it. If it seems lumpy, the chocolate probably wasn't melted completely before adding the syrup; just try to pick out those lumps and knead until smooth. If it's your first time making this stuff, I suggest you use pre-colored candy melts, but if you prefer custom colors, add a little powdered food coloring until you read the desired color. If the chocolate gets too soft while you're working with it, set aside to return to room temperature or stick in the fridge for a few minutes.

Source: Adapted from Wilton and ChefTalk

Quoth the Raven...

2011-10-31T09:34:00.000-04:00

"Nevermore!"

Back in 7th grade English, we studied Edgar Allen Poe's poem The Raven. I'm not sure why exactly we spent so many weeks on it, but we did. Like all of Poe's work, it's a bit creepy and dark...perfect for Halloween! So with middle school flashbacks haunting my memory, I set out to create my The Raven, in honor of Mr. Poe himself and one of the most sugar-filled holidays of the year. Happy Halloween!

Quoth the Raven [click to print]
Supplies Needed:
One batch of cake ball mixture/dough (see this post if you need a refresher; I used peanut butter cake and chocolate frosting because I had it on hand, but I recommend red velvet and cream cheese frosting if you're going for creepy)
One batch of chocolate ganache (see this post for recipe)
2 small pretzel rods (not "sticks"!)
1/2 c. chocolate chips; melted, spooned into ziploc bag with corner cut off
Wax paper for work surface
Cooling Rack and Empty Cake Pan

Procedure:

Shape two wings, using about 1/3 to 1/2 c. dough per wing. Flatten to just over 1/4 in. thick throughout with the top of the wing (where the bird's shoulder will be) forming a 90 degree angle. Wing should be about 1/2 in. shorter than length of body. Gently press wings to sides of body, lining up tip of wing where body and tail feathers join together; top of wing should be about 1/2 in. below top of body. Smooth shoulder joints to join wings to body.

Flatten about 1 T. dough and cut two small triangles about 1-1/4 in. long and 3/8 in. wide. Line up triangles and pinch ends together to form beak. Chill in freezer for about 5 minutes.
Roll about 1/2 to 3/4 c. dough into a round head. Carve a slot about 1/4 in. deep to fit beak; coat thinly with melted chocolate. Remove beak from freezer and carefully insert into slot. Line head up with top of body. Place strip of dough at head and neck seam; smooth to join together. Place bird in freezer while you do next step.

Dip two small pretzel rods in melted chocolate and allow to set. Pipe two bird feet on wax paper and all to set. When legs and feet are firm, pipe blob of melted chocolate on base of feet, attach to legs and allow to set until firm. Carve two round slots about 1/2 in. deep near bottom of body for legs; squeeze small amount of melted chocolate into slots and insert legs. Chill in freezer about 15 minutes.
Remove bird from freezer. Transfer bird from wax paper to a cooling rack set over dish or cake pan; this is your glazing station. If ganache has hardened at this point, microwave at 15 second intervals until it's about the consistency of warm syrup. Carefully spoon ganache over entire bird. While ganache is still warm, use a toothpick to smooth and remove excess ganache from around wings and beak. Chill about 15 minutes or until ganache is set.

Source: Inspired by PhotoBasement

Design It: Ah! Monster!

2011-10-27T10:00:00.000-04:00

Most monsters these days are creepy and bloody and mean. Not Fuzzbucket.

When I was little, this short, hairy, googly-eyed monster would follow me around everywhere. I'm not sure where he went when we weren't having fun together, but he certainly wasn't hiding under my bed since that's where all the alligators hung out, waiting to snack on unsuspecting ankles dangling over the edge of the bed during the night. And he liked ice cream and hopscotch and occasionally glowed in the dark. Yeah, my monster was pretty cool.

And boy did he love a party! So be sure to invite him to your next Halloween bash or birthday party!

If you'd like to invite Fuzzbucket to your next Halloween bash, first bake your favorite cake in small round cake pans. You want a lot of layers here to give the monster some height. I used three 6-inch round cake pans and sliced each layer in half. You may need to double the recipe if you have a bigger cake. You'll also need two cake pop eyeballs. (Check out this post on Cake Pops for instructions.) For the monster cake, I dipped the back of each eyeball in colored dipping chocolate to create eyelids instead of drawing bloodshot veins to make them a bit more friendly looking.

So, bake cake as directed. Once cooled, fill the cake and give it a crumb coating. Allow this to set. And now for the fun part!

Monster Fuzz Buttercream Icing (aka Crusting Buttercream) [click to print]
1/2 c. butter
1/4 c. shortening
6 c. powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
3-4 T. milk

Green gel food coloring
Yellow gel food coloring

Whip butter and shortening in mixing bowl until combined. Add sugar, salt, vanilla. Mix on low speed, slowly adding milk, a tablespoon at a time, until you reach desired consistency. You want this stuff to be fairly stiff; try holding the bowl upside down over your head, if the frosting doesn't threaten to drip onto your hair, you're good!

Measure about 1-1/2 cups of frosting into a separate bowl and add yellow food coloring until it's blindingly yellow. Like the sun. Scoop into pastry bag. Color the remaining frosting bright green. Frost your cake with a thin layer of green buttercream (you only want monster skin to shine through that fuzz!) and scoop the remaining green frosting into a separate pastry bag. Fit your green pastry bag with a grass tip; I used the Wilton 233 Multi-Opening Decorating Tip.

Holding the pastry bag about 1 to 1-1/2 inches from the base of the cake, squeeze out a string of monster fuzz until it reaches the cake base. Gently press decorating tip into the thin frosting layer to attach fuzz. Repeat process until your first row of fuzz is attached.

Make a second row of green fuzz about 1-1/2 inches above your first, overlapping the first layer by about 1/2 inch. Next do one row of yellow fuzz using the same size decorating tip. Follow this by two more rows of green fuzz. Your final row of yellow fuzz will be mostly on top of the cake, with about a 1/2 inch overhang onto the monster body. To cover the top of the monster head with fuzz, squeeze out strings of frosting and attach in concentric circles, slightly overlapping each row until the top is completely covered.

I know your hand is tired and shaky now from squeezing that silly pastry bag for so long, but hang in there! The last thing you need to do is poke those eyeball cake pops into the top of the monster body and you're done!

Source: Inspired by Sugar Turntable and Shindig Diva

Jeepers Creepers!

2011-10-25T10:00:00.000-04:00

Ah! Who put those things in my fridge?! These cake balls and cake pops are sure to get you in the Halloween spirit! Bakerella has great step-by-step instructions on how to make all kinds of cake pops, but here are the basics:

Cake Pops and Cake Balls [click to print]
1-13x9 Cake, baked and cooled
2 c. Frosting, any flavor (or 1 can store-bought frosting)
Lollipop Sticks
Cardboard box or styrofoam cube

Poke holes in box/cube to fit lollipop sticks. This will be your stand to allow cake pops to harden without getting a flattened side. Crumble up cake in bowl. Add frosting and mush together with the back of a spoon. Scoop out mounding tablespoons and roll into balls.

For Eyeballs...
White Chocolate Candy Melts
1 c. Chocolate Chips
Red edible ink marker

Melt bag of White Chocolate Candy Melts in deep bowl. Dip end of lollipop stick in chocolate and insert into cake balls. Allow to harden in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes. Dip cake balls into melted chocolate and cover completely. Place in stand and allow to harden. Melt chocolate chips and scoop into ziploc bag; snip off small corner and pipe pupils onto cake pops. Draw on bloodshot veins with a red edible ink marker.

For Mini Monsters...
Purple Chocolate Candy Melts
Green Chocolate Candy Melts
White Dragees

Melt each chocolate in separate bowls. For mini monsters on a stick, dip lollipop stick in chocolate and insert into cake balls. Allow to harden in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes. For mini monster cake balls, just skip the lollipop stick part. Dip half the cake balls in purple chocolate and the other half in green chocolate, being sure to tap off any excess chocolate and place on wax paper or in stand. Before they harden, give each monster two (or more) eyeballs by lightly pressing white dragees into the chocolate. Allow cake balls/pops to harden. Melt chocolate again and drizzle over each cake ball or pop until they resemble hairy beasties. You can do this using a fork or by filling a ziploc bag with melted chocolate and snipping off a tiny corner. Allow to harden.

For Skulls...
White Chocolate Candy Melts
Silicone Skull mold (for ice cubes)

This is probably the easiest and fastest version of cake balls ever. Press 1-2 T. cake ball mixture into mold. Allow to harden in freezer for about 10 minutes. Remove from mold. Using a fork, dip skull in chocolate and tap off any excess. Place skulls on wax paper and allow to harden.

Source: Adapted and Inspired from Bakerella

Ah, Speed Dating...

2011-10-24T23:48:00.000-04:00

Let me just say, speed dating was a success tonight. Besides meeting a lot of really great guys in a matter of minutes, it unexpectedly spurred on the daydreams of my one-day-bakery. How, you may ask? For the conversationally impaired, our organizers started off the evening by passing out some "conversation starter" tips. I quickly skimmed through as I took my place on the outer circle of the speed circuit and my eyes fell on "What is your dream job?" Bad question for me because, oh my goodness, let me tell you, have I got big plans!

Cute glass-top cafe tables, brightly painted chairs, local artwork on the walls, a mile long order list for fancy cakes and a bunch of wonderful employees-in-training gaining on the job experience as they learn to manage their mental illness in the workplace. Ah! Sometimes I just want to scream, I'm so excited!

(me being so excited even though this angle makes my nose look huge)

But for now, I'll melt some chocolate and work on sculpting a miniature creature for an upcoming post. Okay, it's your turn to get excited! Ah!

Design It: Millipede Infestation

2011-10-18T22:54:00.000-04:00

Ew.

I'm not into the gruesome, bloody Halloween scene, but this has gotta be one of the creepiest looking cakes I've ever made. It makes me kind of shudder thinking about some long, nasty, thousand leggy bug crawling all over something so delicious.

This design, inspired by I Am Baker, is another idea for your most perfect creepy Halloween dinner. Use your favorite cake recipe and filling to prepare a round layer cake. I used a chocolate cake with Pumpkin Pie Filling and Vanilla Buttercream Frosting. Whatever flavors you choose, it's most visually impressive with frosting in high contrast colors like white and deep brown or black.

The Millipede is made out of Chocolate Buttercream Frosting with enough black food coloring to make it good and dark. I used a Wilton #97 Petal tip to pipe a long ruffled body, just make sure you go slow as you squeeze to build up a fat body. For the legs and wiggly worm bodies, I used a Wilton #3 Round tip.

13.1 Miles? Done and Done.

2011-10-17T10:08:00.000-04:00

That's right. I am officially a Baltimore Half Marathon Champion! And I reached my goal to not only cross the finish line, but to do it in under 3 hours! Special thanks to Judy for our carb-load dinner the night before and an eggy breakfast sandwich at the crack of dawn.

And, ooh! Look at those awesome shoes! At first I was opposed to hot pink, but when it's combined with neon yellow, how could you possibly go wrong? They're totally 80-riffic!

Look how happy I am before we even started! It sure is a good thing we were hunching down so all our awesome running muscles would fit in the picture. And I'm sure we looked just as lovely after crossing that finish line, just plus a little more sweat.

Okay, fine. Besides emerging for bites of food and a few hours of church, I pretty much spent the rest of my weekend watching movies and sleeping. I think I earned myself a treat...or maybe that mixer!

Spooky Ghost Cake

2011-10-13T23:10:00.000-04:00

Remember those little ghost meringue cookies from earlier this week? Well it's time for them to creep out of the shadows and claim their rightful place as delicate toppers to a most deadly cake...

Ever since I got my 6lbs of deep chocolate cocoa powder in the mail, I've been up to my eyeballs in chocolate cakes and treats! Seriously, my eyeballs. And I'm not that short, either. I'm still experimenting to develop my go-to chocolate cake recipe, so this go around, just use your old stand by chocolate cake recipe and bake in round pans as directed. And remember, a box mix is fair game!

Once your layers are cooled, frost and fill with Almond Buttercream and smother top with Semisweet Chocolate Ganache, allowing it to drip down the sides of the cake. Gently arrange several of your ghosties on top of the ganache while still soft and drippy.

Almond Buttercream [click to print]

3 c. powdered sugar

1/4 c. butter, softened

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. almond extract

2-3 T. whole milk

Combine sugar, butter, salt and extract in mixing bowl. Turn mixer on low speed and gradually add milk, one tablespoon at a time, until frosting reaches desired consistency. For this cake, you want the frosting to be stiff enough that when you lift the beaters, stiff peaks form. If it droops back into the bowl, it will be too soft to hold its shape on the cake. To fix that, just add a little more powdered sugar until it stiffens.

Chocolate Ganache [click to print]

3/4 c. chocolate chips (milk or semi-sweet)

2/3 c. heavy whipping cream

Measure chocolate chips in small mixing bowl; it should hold about 4-6 cups to allow for stirring room. Heat cream in saucepan until it begins to get frothy. Immediately remove from heat and pour over chocolate chips. Allow mixture to sit for two minutes then stir until well combined and smooth. Allow ganache to cool about 15 minutes or until it is the consistency of thick molasses and mounds slightly when dropped from a spoon.

Source: Adapted from Betty Crocker Ultimate Cake Mix Cookbook

Who ya gonna call?

2011-10-11T23:46:00.000-04:00

Remember those spooky stories Mrs. Withers the Librarian would tell in the darkened library in elementary school as Halloween crept closer? Remember her cackly voice and the cobwebs draped from the ceiling and the glowing skeletons lining the walls? And the record player howling in the backround? It was enough to scare an 8 year old, that's for sure!

You probably won't need the ghostbusters to handle these little ghosts, but they sure are cute and tasty! Serve them plain or try them with a chocolate and almond garnish, you won't be sorry!

Ghostly Almond Meringues [click to print]
2 egg whites, room temp
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. almond extract
3/4 c. powdered sugar, sifted
silver dragees or other tiny round candies for eyes

1 c. chocolate chips, melted
1/2 c. slivered almonds, toasted and crushed

Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Prepare pastry bag or ziploc bag with half-inch round opening. Make sure your mixing bowl and beaters are very clean and free of soap or grease, or else your egg whites won't beat properly...or at all.

Beat egg whites, salt, cream of tartar and extract on medium speed until frothy with a bit of volume. Slowly add the sugar, with the mixer still running at medium speed, over the course of about 1 to 2 minutes. The mixture should look smooth and white at this point.

Turn the mixer speed up to medium-high and continue beating until the mixture is thick, shiny and forms stiff peaks. It will kind of look like marshmallow fluff, but without all the air bubbles. It may take 15-20 minutes to get to this point.

Gently scoop the meringue into your bag and squeeze your ghosts onto the parchment paper. The meringue should be stiff enough to hold it's shape as you pipe. I found that it was easiest to move in small circles to form the ghost bodies, similar to how you would frost a cupcake. You want the base of the meringue cookie to be about 1to 2 inches wide. Add eyes.

Bake at 200 degrees for 1 hour. Open the oven door an inch or two and continue to bake for 30 minutes. At this point the ghosts should no longer be sticky or wobbly when touched. If they still are, just leave them in the oven until they aren't. Turn off the oven and leave them until they come to room temperature.

They taste good now, but to make them even fancier, dip the base in melted chocolate and crushed almonds. Enjoy!

Source: Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

How Come You Taste So Good?

2011-10-11T00:09:00.000-04:00

I'd like to claim that my addiction to all things sweet is of recent onset. But that would by lying and I just don't do that (family, please contain your laughter and judge-y looks)...at least not about anything serious. I am a sugar junkie. I love to eat sugary treats, I love to look at pictures of sugary treats, I love to bake sugary treats and I love to pawn sugary treats off on unsuspecting friends. Really, it's a wonder I have any teeth left in my head at all.

When your roommate has to make a sticker chart to track her progress on cutting back to only one serving of your delectable baked goods per day, it may not be such a good sign. And since I have about five cakes sitting around my apartment at any given time (table, counter, fridge, freezer, my stomach...), I decided I better think of a few ways to thin out my own blood sugar levels while I still fit into my pants. Here are a few of my favorite ideas to make baking a little more worthwhile:

Drop off some dinner and dessert for a stressed out friend
Stop by an elderly neighbor's for a chat with some cookies and milk
Wake up your family with the scent of fresh hot cinnamon rolls
Donate cookie mixes in jars to a women's shelter
Organize a bake sale for a local charity
Teach a baking class at a residential center or nursing home

The thought really does count for something here, everything doesn't have to be homemade to matter. Just step back and look at your talents and abilities. There are so many ways we can enrich the lives of other people around us if we'll just take a little time to care!

Creepy Crawly Cookies

2011-10-05T00:41:00.000-04:00

I can't believe September is over already and we're already into the holiday season! And yes, Halloween most definitely counts as part of that. I'm so excited! I already know what I'm gonna be for Halloween, but I can't tell yet. Shh, it's a secret!

But since I'm sure you're dying to know, here's a hint: I have a history of awesome. Two years ago, I was being eaten by a snake. Then last year, I was a Tornado. And that's my sister being a cute flower.

So while you wait with baited breath to find out how I will be cleverly disguised this year, get excited with some Halloween deliciousness!

I decided to start off this sugar-filled season with one of my all-time favorite treats. Gummie cookies. You may recognize them as no-bakes, but in my house they were always Gummie Cookies. My mom's gramma always made them and everyone called her "Gummie", hence the name. These aren't just any ordinary Gummie Cookies, though. These are creepy, crawly Halloween Gummie Cookies. Oh, yeah, these are spiders!

Before you make the cookies, you'll want to make the spider legs...you'll need a few packs of Pocky Sticks, found in the Asian/Ethnic section of the grocery store or online, and 1/2 bag of chocolate chips. Each box of pocky sticks makes about 6 spiders, each spider having 8 legs. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring between nukes. Once the chocolate chips are melted, put them in a ziploc sandwich baggy and snip off a small corner. This is your glue. Cut pocky sticks diagonally in half and glue together with a dab of melted chocolate. Allow legs to harden.

Gummie Cookies [click to print]

1/2 c. butter (or margarine)

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. peanut butter

4 T. cocoa*
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. milk
3-1/2 c. oatmeal (quick)

Melt margarine. Add all but oatmeal. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Stir in oatmeal. Drop on wax paper (or cookie sheet). *Note: If you prefer plain peanut butter gummie cookies, my personal fave, just leave out the cocoa powder!

While cookies are still warm and soft, insert 8 previously assembled appendages into each body and chill. Add eyeballs; you can use candy eyes or little dots of brightly colored frosting. Here I opted for the frosting peepers. Eat up before they crawl away!

Source: Inspired by Not Martha

Baking a Difference: Food for Good Thought

2011-10-03T22:32:00.000-04:00

Ooey, gooey cinnamon rolls to welcome a new neighbor to the hood. Piles of buttery, chewy (reduced sugar!) cookies for your lonely elderly neighbor. Birthday cake to let your friend know you remember and care. Hand-crafted, decadently rich baked goods practically scream, I love you more than the three cups of sugar and the pound of unsalted butter coursing through my slowly constricting arteries!

But some bakeries take it a step further. They are creating opportunities for growth beyond the waistline. They are "Baking Opportunities." In this posting mini series, we'll focus on bakeries with a conscience and what they're doing for our communities across America.*

So let's dig in with Food for Good Thought!

When and where was your bakery founded?

Food for Good Thought was founded in 2008. We began baking with individuals with autism in subleased kitchens, churches and the OSU Food Industries Center at The Ohio State University. We are now in our own space at 4185 North High Street in Clintonville, OH.

Who was your inspiration?

The concept of Food for Good Thought emerged while Dr. Audrey Todd was considering the probable limited future employment opportunities for her nonverbal son with autism. Following one of her son’s interests, cooking and baking became skills that her son was able to learn. Before her son developed an interest in cooking and baking, he was placed on a gluten-free diet due to significant digestive problems; as a result, some problematic neurological behaviors also diminished in intensity. From this experience, Dr. Todd created a company that provides supported employment and gluten-free foods to individuals with autism as well as other consumers with dietary sensitivities.

Who do you serve and what training do you provide?

We serve individuals on the autism spectrum who are approaching adulthood or in adulthood. (For additional info on autism, check out Autism Speaks.) Participants can be trained in a wide range of skills, including baking specific (or all) products, cleaning, dish washing, building maintenance, labeling, computer work and packaging. We also provide vocational rehabilitation for those who wish to work outside of the bakery in the larger community.

What keeps people coming back for more?

All baked goods in our store areGluten Free and people keep coming back, not only because it is good, but a lotof customers like to support our employees and mission. We have been told a number of times we “havethe best Gluten Free Pecan Pie ever” and our cakes are continuously ordered forspecial occasions.

Note: Photos in this post are property of Food for Good Thought and are found on their website or facebook.

*Know someone "Baking Opportunities" in your community; please let us know!

Daring Bakers: Croissants

2011-09-27T22:50:00.000-04:00

That's right. I am now an official Daring Baker!

In case you just think that means I'm amazing (thank you, thank you), The Daring Bakers is an online community that challenges you to show off your baking prowess by creating a specific something that's new and delicious each month. During the month of September, the challenge was...(drum roll, please)...croissants!

I'm gonna try and break it to you gently: Pillsbury is leading you on. Believe it or not, these buttery little babies are a lot more time consuming than you'd imagine. They aren't really that hard, they just take forever, waiting for the dough to rise, rolling it out about 8000 times (and may I suggest investing in an actual rolling pin instead of thinking your cheap old self will be just fine using the side of a drinking glass), waiting some more and rolling some more and then finally shaping them into crescents.

They did turn out quite tasty, though. It's worth trying at least once, if for nothing else, so you can fully appreciate the deliciousness of a fresh, flaky, 350 degree croissant melting on your tongue. Yummy.

Sarah, one of my co-Daring Bakers and host of the Croissant challenge, posted some great step-by-step instructions with photos. She did a great job explaining everything, so I'm sure you'll have success, too. Happy croissant-ing!

International Potlouck

2011-09-26T23:39:00.000-04:00

Let's be honest. Family is important. Way important. In my church, families set aside one night each week as Family Home Evening. Pretty much what this means is the family gathers to do something that brings them closer together...it can be spiritual, recreational, mental, whatever. I'm really not sure who wouldn't wanna spend time with my family, given the chance, we are quite amazing.

But between moving out of your parents' home and starting your own family, there's that period of singleness. Welcome to my life! Since many of us single people obviously can't hang out with our "real" families each week, a bunch of singles in the area get together to build friendships and to maintain/develop that pattern of FHE.

Tonight, we had an International Potluck.

Ghanaian Peanut Butter Soup with Rice

Arroz con Leche

Plantains

Brazilian Cheese Rolls

Onigiri

Some kind of Latin America Layer Cake with Cream Cheese-ish Filling

Indian Cauliflower Curry

Kenyan Rice, Lentils and Something Else Good

Really I thought I had a lot more pictures than that, but I guess my hand got distracted by the fork that was constantly shoveling new and tasty things into my mouth. So much good food! If only I'd gotten my act together in time, I would have contributed a slightly sweet something with a deliciously high butter content. You know you wanna check back tomorrow for that!

Girl Scout Cookies: Thin Mints

2011-09-24T18:53:00.000-04:00

When I was little, I turned up my nose at anything containing even the slightest hint of mint. It burned my tongue and wasn't nearly sweet enough for my taste. I never understood why my dad loved spiced gumdrops and red hots or why my mom sucked on candy canes during the holidays. I thought that stuff was nasty. But now that I'm grown up and happily in my professional mid-to-late (weird!) 20s, my tastes have become refined. I like mint.

These days you'll find me brushing my teeth with aquafresh and swishing with some weird purpley Target brand peppermint/eucalyptus mouthwash, chewing winterfresh gum and munching on peppermint patties---they're a fat free food. But what's really satisfying is peeling back the crackly cellophane on a sleeve of Thin Mints straight from the freezer and biting into a piece of mint chocolate heaven. Yummers.

The only down side to devouring those cookies sleeve by sleeve is that rationing only gets you so far and those Girl Scouts don't come around nearly enough. Breathe easy, though. I got your back. With this version of homemade Thin Mints, you can have all that goodness anytime you want. Oh, yeah.

Girl Scout Cookies: Thin Mints [click to print]

1 c. butter, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

1-1/2 tsp. peppermint extract

1 c. cocoa powder, unsweetened

3/4 tsp. salt

1-1/2 c. flour

2 T. potato starch (or cornstarch)

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Beat butter in mixer until light and fluffy; add powdered sugar and continue to cream until mixture is smooth. In a separate bowl, combine the cocoa, salt, flour and starch; whisk to combine. Add extract and cocoa mixture to butter mixture, continue to on low speed until ingredients are combined but still a little crumbly. (Don't overmix or your cookies will be tough, which would be sad.)

Turn dough onto piece of wax paper and knead two or three times to combine ingredients and form a smooth ball. Flatten dough to about 1/2" thick and cover with another piece of wax paper. Place in freezer for about 15 minutes to chill.

Remove dough from freezer. Leaving wax paper in place, roll dough to about 1/4" thickness; thinner is better here! Use cookie cutters, about 1-1/2", to cut your shapes. I used the letter "O" for my circles. Line baking sheet with parchment paper; cookies can be placed about 1/4" apart since they don't spread much. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

Melt the chocolate chips in a small microwave-safe bowl or a double boiler until smooth. Using a fork, dip cookies in the chocolate. Remember, you want just a thin coating of chocolate, so tap the fork/cookie on the side of the bowl to knock off any excess chocolate drips. Place coated cookies on wax or parchment paper to harden.

Source: Adapted from Handle the Heat

Brown Butter Cupcakes with Pumpkin Pie Frosting

2011-09-21T00:12:00.000-04:00

After forgetting my fries under the broiler, making extra toasty enchiladas and burning my soup...in a crockpot...I realized something. I'm pretty good at burning things. Normally, this would not be good news, but when I came across Cupcake Project's Browned Butter Cupcakes , I knew I had to give them a try.

I tested this recipe using margarine and then again with real butter. Believe me, browned margarine tastes absolutely nothing like browned butter. Definitely worth the extra $2 for real butter to get that delicious caramely flavor.

When you're browning the butter, use a pan with a light colored finish so you can keep track of how dark your butter is getting. It can happen pretty quickly. And if you don't have cake flour on hand, substitute the cake flour with 1-1/2 c. all-purpose flour plus 2 T. potato (or corn) starch.

And to top it all off, these cupcakes deserved more than just a boring old spiced buttercream. These babies were covered with pumpkin pie. Yes, I said it. Actual pumpkin pie. You just prepare and bake pumpkin pie filling/custard stuff as normal, without the crust. Once it's done baking and has cooled, stir it up until smooth and pipe it onto your cupcakes. Thanks for that idea, too, Cupcake Project! These were delicious and perfect for the start of fall!

I'm Engaged!

2011-09-19T23:32:00.000-04:00

I was hanging out in the hall at work, just talking with this guy who I've had a crush on since I first laid eyes on him. He's tallish, handsome, lighter hair (I always thought I was more into the brown hair boys) and is the friendliest person you'll ever meet. He's always smiling and telling jokes and constantly on the move. "No grass growing under his feet!" as my friend Judy would say. He's always looking for ways to help people and get things organized. He's quite the find, really.

So go ahead, congratulate me! It isn't everyday that such a charming military man asks for your hand! Okay, fine. Maybe he's not currently in the military...and maybe he's retired...and been retired...and maybe he's married already...and has dementia. But he sure has good taste!

Ultimate Chocolate Oreo Brownie Doomsday

2011-09-17T23:58:00.000-04:00

I don't know how else to make you understand that you may die if you eat these. They are so deadly delicious and rich that the first time I saw a picture of them on Kevin and Amanda's blog, my eyes bugged out of my head and my jaw dropped to the floor. I used to not really like eating chocolate much at all. But oh how things have changed. Obviously.

Feast your eyes on this baby. Aren't these the most ooey gooey, decadently rich brownies you've ever seen? If you decide to whip up a batch, just make sure you have friends to share them with, or a lot of self control. Your arteries will thank you.

In addition to the cookie and brownie batter recipes below, you'll need a package of Double Stuf Oreos. Sounds good already, huh?

Chocolate Chip Bar Cookies [click to print recipe]
Okay fine, this is actually a recipe for Blonde Brownies, it just seemed like overkill having another kind of brownie as the base for these. I like this recipe especially since it's designed to spread easily in a baking dish. If you ever want to make them as just bar cookies and not deadly brownies, simply double the recipe below for a 15x10 jelly roll pan and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

1/2 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1-1/4 c. flour
1-1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
6 oz. chocolate chips (about 1/2 bag or 3/4 c.)

Melt butter in saucepan; add brown sugar and blend well. Remove from heat and cool about 10 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients and whisk. Pour butter/sugar mixture and vanilla in mixing bowl. On low speed, add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in flour mixture in 2-3 additions. Mix well. Add chocolate chips and mix well.

Source: my mom

Rich Chocolate Brownies
These brownies are really thick and fudgy and rich. To make these as just brownies, bake in a 7x11 pan at 325 for 25 minutes. My sister-in-law likes to double the recipe below for a 9x13 pan and use two 12 oz. bags of chocolate chips, one semisweet and one dark chocolate.

3/4 c. butter
11 oz. chocolate chips
3 eggs
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. flour

In a double boiler (bowl set over a pot of simmering water) or microwave safe bowl, melt the butter and chocolate, stirring until well combined. Allow to cool. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla until frothy. Slowly add the chocolate/butter mixture until completely combined. Fold in flour but don't overmix.

Source: Adapted from "Baking" by James Peterson

Assembly of the Ultimate Chocolate Brownie Doomsday
Line 9x9 baking pan (or a bit larger if you prefer thinner brownies) with parchment or wax paper; you really want to do this, it will save you a huge headache when you're ready to cut and eat. Spread the cookie dough in the bottom of the pan. Cover with a single layer of Double Stuf Oreos. Pour brownie batter over Oreos and cookie dough. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes or until done. When cool, lift brownies from pan by parchment paper and slice into squares. These are great served with ice cream or whipped cream and topped with Vanilla Caramel Sauce!

Blueberry Filling and Lemon Zested Buttercream

2011-09-15T19:22:00.000-04:00

I love comments and requests! So this one's for you, my dear "Anonymous" (Mom, is that you?).

By Christmas last year, I'd already been bit by the baking bug. Okay, fine. I was bit, stung and severely infected by that baking bug long before then, I guess I was just finally admitting it to myself. In any case, I got this great book that has some tricky recipes and techniques with several pages of easier, more basic baking staples at the end. And in case you forgot how much everyone loves the basic-fresh-blueberry filling-lemon-zested-buttercream-lemony-cake, just look at these guys, they're so happy!

You know you need these.

Fresh Blueberry Filling [click to print]
1/4 c. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 c. water
2 T. cornstarch
3 c. fresh or frozen blueberries (the original recipe says to chop the berries, but I left mine whole since they were just little guys)

Combine sugar, salt and water in a pot over low heat; stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Add cornstarch and blueberries, stirring continuously, and cook until thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. The mixture will get a little thicker as it cools.

Lemon Zested Buttercream [click to print]
4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. butter, unsalted and softened
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
2-3 T. milk
1/4 c. lemon zest

Cream the sugar, butter, juice and extract. Slowly add milk, a tsp at a time, until you reach the desired consistency. (If you get it too thin, add a little extra powdered sugar.) Add lemon zest and mix until well combined.

Summer Bliss

2011-09-14T00:07:00.000-04:00

I can't believe that summer has come and gone already! A week past Labor Day and the pools are all closed, it's getting dark earlier and the beach is no longer calling my name (quite as loudly).

But on the bright side, we still have the humidity! Okay, maybe I'm not so excited about humidity and the favors it does for my wavy/frizzy hair, but there are still a few summer flavors that we can enjoy!

Blueberry Lemonade [click to print]

1 c. butter, unsalted and room temp

2 c. sugar

1/4 c. lemon zest

5 eggs

3 c. flour

2 T. potato starch*

1 T. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. whole milk

1/4 c. lemon juice

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine butter, sugar and zest in mixing bowl and cream until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until combined between each addition. Whisk dry ingredients together in separate bowl; set aside. Whisk liquid ingredients together in separate bowl.

Alternately add the dry and wet ingredients to the butter mixture in five additions, beginning and ending with dry. Continue mixing for about 15 seconds after ingredients are combined.

Bake in single 9" round cake pan (2-1/2" deep) at 350 for 45 min. or until done.

Allow cake to cool completely and slice into two layers. Fill cake with Fresh Blueberry Filling and frost with Lemon Zested Buttercream. Garnish with extra blueberry filling and eat up!

*If you don't have potato starch, just omit it and use 3 c. cake flour instead; or you can probably get away with regular flour but your cake won't be as tender.

Source: Adapted from Annie's Eats

Tattle Tale

2011-09-12T21:44:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure who the culprit is yet, but someone tattled on me. My beloved mixer normally has a severe attitude problem. Every time I think things are going good, it's starts freaking out and clacking metal and puffing powdered sugar all over the place. Plus its left beater no longer locks into place so I have to kind of hold it in there while it spins around, desperately trying to keep my fingers from being creamed along with the sugar. Rude thing.

Then suddenly, for some unknown reason, the beaters locked into place today and only fell out once or twice the whole time I was using it! For real, somebody let it leak that I was searching for a new mixer this weekend. Don't get me wrong, this little guy's had a good run and rescued me from several near-death-sugar-cravings, but despite its best behavior, I'm afraid this Sunbeam stand mixer just isn't meant to test recipe after recipe without any breather in between. Just hang in there a little longer! It's only a few more weeks until my half marathon and then a brand spankin new Kitchenaid!

Big Fat Kitchen Disaster

2011-08-30T22:50:00.000-04:00

Like most of you, I have a full-time, non-baking job. And (try to have) a social life. So in between work and other stuff, I rush home and test recipes. Well, I was anxious to start baking again after a brief hiatus and was quickly setting things on the counter for a berry cake, it is still (barely, sniff!) summer, after all. Milk, butter, measuring spoons, eggs and C-R-A-A-A-C-K!

Oops. Apparently when my mom said you shouldn't set eggs on the counter because they might roll onto the floor, she was serious.

So I laughed, snapped a few pics and moved on with my baking project. Really, what else could you do? After waiting impatiently for the cake to bake, I pulled it out of the oven and it looked amazing! My oven doesn't have a window on it, so you can imagine how painful it is for me to wait. I let it cool for a few minutes in the pan, then gently turned it out onto the cooling rack. The color was great and it smelled delicious but it looked like there was a small break so I lifted the cake to get a closer look and it slid right off that cooling rack. Yes, you heard me. My second kitchen disaster of the evening.

Oops again. I think my jaw about dropped to the floor and my eyes bugged out of my head. That cake looked so good! And if there wasn't a break in it before, I sure fixed that! I'll have to do some more testing and get back to you on that recipe...

Oh, cake, you dear sweet deliciousness, why do you taste so good? If I'd realized how much patience this whole baking thing required, I may have chosen another addiction, but it's too late to turn back now!

Oh hello, Irene

2011-08-29T23:01:00.000-04:00

Aunt Irene is the kind of visitor that doesn't give you much warning that she's on her way but you better be prepared! She wasn't very nice during her brief stay this weekend, dousing us with buckets of water and throwing sticks and leaves around with wreckless abondon. Okay fine, she wasn't nearly as bad as all those weather guys made her out to be, but the way the bread and water aisles in the grocery store were emptied, you'd think the world was going to end. But at least we'd die happy with our water and sandwiches!

And this guy sure wasn't gonna run out of TP...which he conveniently "borrowed" through the back door of our local Bank of America. I guess when you need toilet paper, you need toilet paper. Who am I to question a man going about his business?

So yes, the 8 hours we went without electricity was devastating. I couldn't check my email. I couldn't watch a movie. I couldn't turn on my bathroom light. I couldn't mix a cake (gasp!). But somehow we all survived. And now that my emotional state is returning to its baseline, I'll be back in the baking scene again tomorrow!

BYOC: Vanilla Caramel Sauce

2011-08-23T22:48:00.000-04:00

(Bring Your Own Cake...or apple slices...or ice cream...)

Today a 5.9-ish earthquake rocked our city. Okay, so I think it started as a 5.9 in Virginia and then we felt it rumble along several states on the east coast. Here in Washington, DC, I thought it was our independent residents getting into zumba in the gym above the charting room, until I realized the noise was getting stronger and longer and the walls were kind of moving. So I ran out to check on our dear residents and the quake stopped. People were a bit shaken up but there wasn't really much damage throughout the area. Nothing at our place, really, my apt pictures were a little crooked and a few chimneys fell and the top of the spires of the Washington, DC Temple will need to be repaired, but nothing major.

And all afternoon I had traumatic visions of flattened cakes running through my mind. Just imagine the horror if I'd had a delicate butter cake slowly baking in the oven and another rude earthquake or aftershock came along? It would be nothing but a giant pancake!

So to save my sanity, I opted for something a little different this week, a delightfully creamy vanilla caramel sauce! This is great on top of apple slices and I'm sure on top of ice cream, I just unfortunately did not have any on hand at 10pm.

Vanilla Caramel Sauce

1 c. sugar

1-1/4 c. heavy cream

1/4 tsp. coarse salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Spread sugar in the bottom of a heavy pot, a stainless steel one is best so you can see the color of the sugar as you go. Turn the heat on to medium-high and start stirring your sugar. Allow the sugar to sit for a few seconds until you see it beginning to melt, then stir until it gets clumpy and it doesn't look like it's melting anymore. Let it sit for a few seconds until it starts melting and repeat. As the sugar becomes more liquidy, it will change in color to a shade of amber (dark yellowish). Now you want to stir fast and constant until those last clumps of sugar melt and remove from heat.

Slowly pour in half of the heavy cream, mixing constantly and quickly! (It was far easier for me using the buddy system; I stirred and my dear roomie poured the cream.) Stir until the cream is well combined and add the last half. Once this is incorporated, add the salt and vanilla, still stirring.

Keep refrigerated in an air tight container.

Source: adapted from Annie's Eats

My Hips Don't Lie

2011-08-22T17:18:00.001-04:00

It could possibly be that baking multiple cakes each week and having several taste-testing bites/slices has had a slight effect on my girlish figure. And unfortunately, my hips have decided to be painfully honest as of late and I think it's time to pick up that exercise routine again.

So in my ever-raging Battle of the Bulge, I've decided to set a lofty goal for myself. I will run the Baltimore Half Marathon this fall or die trying. Okay, maybe I'll skip the die part but my arteries will certainly have a pity party if I don't do something soon! And just so you know, running is not something I was ever very good at. I don't like sweating in public or having other people hear me pant like a dog as I scurry up the street. So, you may ask, why a half marathon? It just seems like the right thing to do. Or at least it did when I entered my credit card information on the registration page and hastily clicked "submit." But I see skinny jeans in my future!

And just in case intrinsic motivation is not quite enough, once I hit 8 miles I decided to reward myself with an awesome new pair of running shoes...and maybe a second pair of everyday shoes if the mood hits me (very likely). Two of the top contenders:

And once I actually run that stinkin half marathon, I will get myself a shiny new Kitchenaid to replace my currently moody little stand mixer.

Not so sure I'll go with the hot pink mixer, but color is good and I sure would love a glass bowl! But seriously. New shoes and the mixer of my dreams? Who wouldn't wanna run for that?

Peanut Butter Overload

2011-08-16T22:57:00.000-04:00

Deep down inside, doesn't everyone need a little more peanut butter in their lives? Okay, fine. Maybe not people like Sarah who claim to be allergic to those darling little nuts. But for the rest of us normal people, a jar of that creamy and/or crunchy nutty buttery stuff is always stocked in the pantry. A sometimes dangerous thing, but oh so delicious.

So it's my coworkers birthday this week and she's basically in love with peanut butter and most especially Reese's Pieces. This cake was designed with her tastebuds in mind...we'll find out tomorrow if it truly satisfied her PB-cravings!

[UPDATE: This cake didn't last long around the office, so I think it was a success!]

Peanut Butter Overload

Ingredients:

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. peanut butter

4 eggs

1-1/4 c. flour

3 T. potato starch, packed (if you can't find potato starch, you can substitute cornstarch, it just might slightly affect the flavor of the final product)

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1 c. half and half

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Cream together sugar, butter and peanut butter on low speed until pale-ish tan and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, making sure to incorporate well between each addition.

Whisk together dry ingredients in a separate bowl. In another bowl, whisk together liquid ingredients. Alternate adding dry and wet ingredients to creamed mixture, in a total of 5 additions, beginning with dry. After ingredients are combined, beat on low for about 20 seconds.

Line bottom of 9" round baking pan with parchment paper; don't spray sides of pan. Pour batter into pan and bake at 350 for 55-65min. or until done.

The cake was filled and topped with chocolate peanut butter ganache and smothered in cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Garnished with crushed Reese's Pieces. Yummers.

Half Dozen: Edible Blogs

2011-08-15T23:26:00.000-04:00

Maybe you don't actually wanna start chomping down on your computer screen, unless you're one of my adorable yet trouble-making one-yr old twin nephews. But the food and dessert you'll see as soon as you click on one of these links is sure gonna make you wanna try! These are just a few of the foodie websites I've absolutely fallen in love with recently...enjoy!

Monday Musings: A Contest!

2011-08-15T22:41:00.002-04:00

So I've been blog-stalking my new friend Kathryn at The Sugar Turntable for the last several weeks/months and she recently hosted a contest. My sister and I decided to be co-competitors in our first ever edible contest and it was a lot of fun! I designed and created a Pina Colada cake and my sister designed the photo shoot. Needless to say, the cake was a natural poser. And we won an honorable mention! Woot woot!

Doesn't this cake make you drool? Coconut is one of those flavors that I always felt like I had to be in the right mood to enjoy, but this cake changed my mind! Two layers of rich, buttery coconut cake sandwiching a sweet pineapple filling, frosted with a light pineapple buttercream. And to top it off, a bit of toasted coconut and slices of fresh candied pineapple! Oh, man, that extra "test" coconut cake is yelling at me from my freezer right now...I should probably share that with someone soon or I will be wearing it on my hips!

Fat Tuesday: Figs

2011-08-09T17:10:00.000-04:00

I remember my mom telling me about picking figs from the trees in her backyard growing up in Arizona and just sucking the fresh fruit. It turns out there's a fig tree in the park across from my new apartment, so basically my backyard, and they should be ripe by the end of august! The more I thought about those figs, the more ideas I had. Doesn't a fig and date combo sound delicious? And because I lack patience, a few days after I found out about that little tree, I made a quick trip to the grocery store to buy just a few before our local figs are in season.

This cake doesn't have the traditional fancy pants american presentation with rich frosting and gooey filling, just a nice big blop of fresh whipped cream on top, and it sure is delicious! Oh, and the figs add a unique sweet flavor, too, so don't skip those even if they're hard to find! You'll want to chop at least 5 for the batter...and maybe a few more to taste while you work...

Date and Fig Spice Cake

(adapted from A World of Cake)

1 c. butter, softened

3/4 c. sugar

5 eggs

2 c. flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cloves

3/4 c. half and half

1/4 c. water

1 c. dates and figs, chopped

1/2 c. pecans, chopped

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, making sure eggs are incorporated fully before adding the next one.

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl and whisk together. In another large, separate bowl, combine liquid ingredients and whisk together.

Slowly alternate adding dry ingredients and liquid ingredients to creamed mixture in about 5 additions. Gently stir in dates/figs and pecans.

Line bottom of 6" or 8" squaring baking pan with parchment paper, spray sides with nonstick spray and pour in batter. Bake at 350 for 45-55min.

Fat Tuesday: Fast and Fancy!

2011-08-03T20:18:00.000-04:00

We all have those days where we just need something tasty and fancy real fast. Here's your quick sugar fix! For added flair, I garnished mine with turbinado sugar crystals (coarse grain sugar) and crushed walnuts.

(PS...I know it's Wednesday again, but I finally got internet set up at my new apt this afternoon and I'm back on track! Woot!)

Brown Sugar Crunch Torte

(Betty Crocker Ultimate Cake Mix Cookbook)

1-1/2 c. chopped walnuts

1-1/2 c. vanilla wafer crumbs

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. butter, melted

1 box German chocolate cake mix

1-1/3 c. water

1/2 c. oil

3 eggs

8oz whipped topping

Mix walnuts, cookie crumbs, brown sugar and butter in large bowl. Spread about 3/4 c. walnut mixture in each pan; save the rest for later.

Prepare cake mix as directed on box, using water, oil and eggs. Pour slightly less than 1-1/4 c. batter over walnut mixture in each pan; spread evenly. Refrigerate remaining batter.

Bake about 22 min at 350 until done. Remove cake from pan and allow to cool on rack, walnut side up. Repeat with remaing walnut mixture and batter to make 4 layers. Allow layers to cool completely.

Fill each layer and top of cake, walnut sides up, with about 3/4 c. whipped topping and enjoy!

Fat Wednesday? What the what?!

2011-07-27T21:14:00.000-04:00

So timelines aren't really my greatest thing. And it's already Wednesday, which is a whole day after Tuesday in case you lost track, too. Plus maybe I was/still am moving and didn't have internet and haven't quite yet unburied all my baking supplies. But never fear! It's summer and there's always something good going on in the summer.

My sister and I went to visit my dear Mama (she's my gramma, not my mom, but my mom is equally as dear and charming, just not as wrinkly, sorry, Mama) at the farm earlier this summer. I was all excited to go tromping through the woods to find fresh, wild blackberries and raspberries. Well, I came to find out that, according to Mama, who's pretty much always right, strawberries are the first berries of the season and it was definitely first-berry-time. We got to pick through her little strawberry patch together in the blazing sun, tasting fresh, warm berries. Delicious! And so here is my strawberry cake, in honor of Mama.

Strawberry Almond Butter Cake

(adapted from CakeLove)

6 oz. butter, unsalted

14 oz. sugar

4 eggs

2 oz almond flour

5 oz. white flour

2 oz. potato starch

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 c. half and half

1/4 c. heavy cream

1/2 c. strawberry puree (this is just plain, pureed berries, no sugar!)

1 T. vanilla

Cream butter and sugar together until nice and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, incorporating each egg before adding the next.

In separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together liquid ingredients. Alternate adding dry and liquid ingredients to creamed mixture in about 5 additions, beginning with dry.

Preheat oven to 350. Line bottom of 9" round cake pans with parchment paper. Spray sides of pans with nonstick spray. Bake for 25-28 min. Allow cake to cool in pan.

Meanwhile...prepare the almond buttercream...

Ingredients:

3 c. powdered sugar

1/3 c. butter or margarine

1-1/2 tsp almond extract

1 to 2 T. milk (I think whole milk is best, it makes it nice and creamy, but skim works okay, too)

Combine powdered sugar and butter. Add extract and 1 T. milk. Slowly add more milk, a tsp at a time, until frosting reaches the desired consistency.

If you really wanna make this decadent, after you frost your cake layers with buttercream, smother it with white chocolate ganache and slivered almonds!

White Chocolate Ganache

5 oz. heavy cream

1 T. butter

12 oz. white chocolate chips

Heat cream and butter in saucepan until it gets frothy and bubbly, but not boiling. Pour over white chocolate; stir until mixture is smooth. Allow to set in fridge until thick, then frost the cake, over a thin buttercream layer.

Fat Tuesday: Summer Vacation

2011-07-19T22:53:00.000-04:00

So really, I was planning to travel somewhere amazingly awesome this summer, but then I went to the dentist. Boo. So for now, my tongue will be traveling alone. First stop, Indonesia! This cake is extremely rich, just wait until you see how much butter and how many eggs are in this little thing, but it has a great milky flavor and unique texture. Very different from our regular American cakes but delicious! If you're brave enough to give this recipe a try, I suggest doing it on a colder day and with some company around...it took about 2 hours to complete!

Thousand Layer Cake

Ingredients:

2 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp mace

1 tsp cardamom

1 tsp ginger

3 sticks butter, unsalted, softened

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

12 eggs, large

1-1/4 c. flour

Preheat broiler. Yes, you read that right. This cake is baked in thin layers using the broiler. Spray the bottom and side of a 9-inch round cake pan; line bottom with wax or parchment paper.

Combine spices and set aside.

In separate bowl, combine butter, 1/2 c. sugar, vanilla and salt. Add egg yolks and beat until smooth. Fold flour into batter with a rubber spatula.

In another bowl, beat egg whites with remaining 1/4 c. sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold into egg yolk mixture, being careful not to over-mix.

Divide batter between 2 bowls. Add spices to one bowl and stir well. Now you have a bowl of spiced batter and a bowl of plain batter. Starting with the spiced batter, pour about 1/2 c. into pan, spreading it to form a thin layer (about 1/8"). Put pan under broiler for about 2 min. or until the layer is light brown on top. Remove pan from oven and spread 1/2 c. plain batter onto cooked layer; broil until firm. Repeat layering pattern, alternating between spiced and plain batters, until batters are gone.

Slice into thin layers and enjoy!