tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52181225525696994132024-03-05T09:40:54.141-08:00Grace's Cookie Kitchengracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218122552569699413.post-52919949959101477852011-01-19T11:20:00.000-08:002011-01-19T11:20:19.236-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUNTOsphS_uGa5JL5NJ7oPKbEZ_R-DB5xZasiDa9YZCq_Cw6tjnZBuURFXB5uSHy65jLYkjYVCeVHIB0KF664SpW0fcdCsWuHmR_cnBe14qvRyNasX_TG17Npxzvns-9kJRX3WYGkEnvIl/s1600/photo-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUNTOsphS_uGa5JL5NJ7oPKbEZ_R-DB5xZasiDa9YZCq_Cw6tjnZBuURFXB5uSHy65jLYkjYVCeVHIB0KF664SpW0fcdCsWuHmR_cnBe14qvRyNasX_TG17Npxzvns-9kJRX3WYGkEnvIl/s320/photo-2.JPG" width="281" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I absolutely love biting into an enormous cream puff and the filling literally bursts out of the puff (for lack of better words) and you have to use your free hand to catch all of the goodness that is coming out the other sides so that none of it is wasted falling on a napkin or heaven forbid the floor. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><ul style="text-align: center;"><li>pâte à choux, crème chantilly, crème patisserie, and lots of chocolate. </li>
</ul>gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218122552569699413.post-44197453732346172402011-01-16T20:16:00.000-08:002011-01-16T20:19:55.661-08:00where oh where has my little grace gone..<div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">You know that feeling when you walk away from something you love for what's supposed to only be a couple of weeks and the next thing you know <strong>months</strong> have passed and you haven't gone back? It's a terrible little nagging and guilting feeling, isn't it? Well, that's how I've been feeling. It seems like just yesterday I was happily updating my page with tasty recipes accompanied by badly lit photographs when in reality it's been about.. three months. THREE MONTHS! That's a lot more than "a couple of weeks". Shame on you Grace, shame. I do have a good excuse though...I started culinary school! Finally! After all this time of telling myself that I was going to pursue what I love, I am! I started the Patissiere and Baking AOS program at Le Cordon Bleu on Septermber 27th and I could not be more satisfied! I've been in culinary as well as pastry classes these past twelve weeks and It's been beyond fantastic, but I really truly do not know where the time has gone. If you know, please tell me!</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk_OHzZyOsLBMPjOyzucE6VQQYnR4GZij_YNpEgkol1T9ZuWaQfiilsrf7WCWXIA-6XxIIx4Aoh6KgQWuc-6TTqEzWTpYGlmND0wIlWaH9rDn43yr7mFFTDoqzXdhlU_2lNp4xBq1msn0I/s1600/photo2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk_OHzZyOsLBMPjOyzucE6VQQYnR4GZij_YNpEgkol1T9ZuWaQfiilsrf7WCWXIA-6XxIIx4Aoh6KgQWuc-6TTqEzWTpYGlmND0wIlWaH9rDn43yr7mFFTDoqzXdhlU_2lNp4xBq1msn0I/s200/photo2.JPG" width="200" /></a><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJt0MScTJ_skTKOR9qOjAweuQUjwQyiBcJsDwr7kU9fkl-rFydEjSHYUWiCwVyDXO5RtsfULsnwvcLrrqIzCzzBdloy3TFwFVyiSsF_4gnyxB9EHgpaTMT1DU87Qny7Vdpeovhms2RqVuv/s200/photo3.JPG" width="150" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh32Hh3jMnlYI16GeSPwxvRkKah6oT57c27qL6HYZQh2e0bklGNr27e3ucYXq6TE_d9po3z_NEPLroB2IpnLsjcepWhqc5IgIusrJE3_cVu-FWMnH_WbpYijKdmXXFrPA-owGyS1K-aNzy1/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh32Hh3jMnlYI16GeSPwxvRkKah6oT57c27qL6HYZQh2e0bklGNr27e3ucYXq6TE_d9po3z_NEPLroB2IpnLsjcepWhqc5IgIusrJE3_cVu-FWMnH_WbpYijKdmXXFrPA-owGyS1K-aNzy1/s200/photo.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgamv3lFZYLmCFkYk9CCdNpxPYbk1m3eWs4yHV8z1KaT5y_fK5TqRa5YljcPyr1gS6sUgWC4dBu-673vMrfoSnDIjlcbhRu9-yxHEPCmPzP9zM_kL4V809EGzylIH8bbyocmojAGwhswu77/s1600/photo7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgamv3lFZYLmCFkYk9CCdNpxPYbk1m3eWs4yHV8z1KaT5y_fK5TqRa5YljcPyr1gS6sUgWC4dBu-673vMrfoSnDIjlcbhRu9-yxHEPCmPzP9zM_kL4V809EGzylIH8bbyocmojAGwhswu77/s200/photo7.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVQ7RpV44cPJHIe83zlXfFEwVVqriX17KxT09U-aIJBBvP7MICuGusi6W6z_0VXsQWTtS-5PWzdEkVoXojnXUo8Lh2tIOaRbi-z3LGbv-k_Rjh1KS4eLfRMCFjHnHJ6cTVx5BpFYpRfJln/s1600/photo6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVQ7RpV44cPJHIe83zlXfFEwVVqriX17KxT09U-aIJBBvP7MICuGusi6W6z_0VXsQWTtS-5PWzdEkVoXojnXUo8Lh2tIOaRbi-z3LGbv-k_Rjh1KS4eLfRMCFjHnHJ6cTVx5BpFYpRfJln/s200/photo6.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS3JZPI-aIQRQpwxmCUF2ZfBEIenAz8MkCYSOMW0ygwKo4lws3ypWpwq2Ir6vu_hfKfK3XnaJqpGlfmL1OcyMXw3YpK5haNk-icydVBHR4NYAazqrya4I8N1LH0x_QfemmbA0p_KDZMC0O/s1600/photo5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS3JZPI-aIQRQpwxmCUF2ZfBEIenAz8MkCYSOMW0ygwKo4lws3ypWpwq2Ir6vu_hfKfK3XnaJqpGlfmL1OcyMXw3YpK5haNk-icydVBHR4NYAazqrya4I8N1LH0x_QfemmbA0p_KDZMC0O/s200/photo5.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Currently I'm in academics which gives me a little bit of a break and more time to be in the kitchen at my house. I decided to get back on the "at home baking horse" this weekend and I went with small baby steps. I fingered through my recipe book and this buttermilk chocolate chip crumb cake was the winner. I've always been a fan of baking cakes with buttermilk. It helps bring out the flavors and the perfect moisture and richness to the texture. The crumb cake is <em>super</em> tasty and also sort of interesing, almost donught-y. By the way, does everyone agree that the top and sides of these kinds of cakes are <strong>always </strong>the best? The crispy baked brown sugar gets me goof each and every time.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0WskPRi9eZA2u6DK36Tyz00AWZP4oM74H4glnfKEgCgCU58d7jowmcI6_yL8t7XZxTNvr3YmMV0LR_s-9Tjf4nmzwL2FHzVe7pMXmS_tNZsJp2sGQyyBnUrudi22kCjdjKLrJuP_j6K_s/s1600/DSCN1364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0WskPRi9eZA2u6DK36Tyz00AWZP4oM74H4glnfKEgCgCU58d7jowmcI6_yL8t7XZxTNvr3YmMV0LR_s-9Tjf4nmzwL2FHzVe7pMXmS_tNZsJp2sGQyyBnUrudi22kCjdjKLrJuP_j6K_s/s200/DSCN1364.JPG" width="160" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSaE5d8qu8QxeGHphN9oJo2VJbAz2YWhyrA6YlrkvDZswpyvzaeg4Oz03V_CfoSqhRuGsfL7ghck0z0pYT41ekfzMXiuF8I3c4HL9GFCtFkiraiQcVVC42vwK3HvFYYSV2zSUTOhvbC5cD/s1600/DSCN1370.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSaE5d8qu8QxeGHphN9oJo2VJbAz2YWhyrA6YlrkvDZswpyvzaeg4Oz03V_CfoSqhRuGsfL7ghck0z0pYT41ekfzMXiuF8I3c4HL9GFCtFkiraiQcVVC42vwK3HvFYYSV2zSUTOhvbC5cD/s200/DSCN1370.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">I might have put a little too much powdered sugar.. to each his own :)</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Buttermilk-Chocolate Chip Crump Cake</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Butter Crumb topping:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;">¾ cup all-purpose flour</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">¾ cup light brown sugar</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">¾ cup cold butter, cut into chunks</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">1 tsp vanilla extract</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Batter:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">1¼ cup plain flour</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">¼ cup cake flour</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">1 stick butter</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">¾ tsp baking powder</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">¼ tsp baking soda</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">¾ cup mini bittersweet chocolate chips</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">¾ cup granulated sugar</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">½ cup buttermilk</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">1½ eggs</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">1½ tsp vanilla extract</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">¾ cup mini bitter-sweet chocolate chips, for sprinkling on top of the cake</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Powdered sugar, for sifting on top of the cake</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">1) Preheat oven to 375°F.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">2) Lightly grease a 9×4 inch loaf pan, and line the inside of the pan with parchment paper or foil, and then great it as well.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">To make the topping:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">3) Thoroughly mix the flour and sugar in a large bowl. Drop in chunks of butter, using a table knife, cut the butter into the flour until it reduces to the size of large pearls. Sprinkle vanilla extract over, working with fingertips, knead the mixture together until moist, clumpy lumps are formed. DO NOT overmix.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Mix the batter:<br />
4) Sift the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder and baking soda. Then toss the chocolate chips with 1 tablespoon of the sifted mixture in a small bowl.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">5) Cream the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer for about 3 minutes.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">6) Add in the sugar in 3 additions, beating for 1 minute after each portion is added.<br />
7) Add in egg and beat.<br />
Mix in the vanilla extract.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">9) Alternately add in the sifted mixture in 3 additions with the buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the sifted mixture. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl to ensure even mixing.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">10) Stir in chocolate chips.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">11) Spoon the batter into the baking pan, and spread evenly, smooth the top with rubber spatula.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">12) Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly on the cake batter, make sure that the whole surface is covered.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">13) Bake the cake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake turns out clean. The baked cake should pull away slightly from the sides of the pan.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">14) Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly on top of the baked cake immediately. Let the cake cool completely. Use the parchment or foil to lift the cake out of the pan, then sift some powered sugar on top of the cake. Serve!</div>gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218122552569699413.post-75503978628642545172010-09-26T16:27:00.000-07:002010-09-26T16:27:10.380-07:00baking at night and cookies<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh38ZNUOoh5rue-_XAFIVeglFpDqA-zQeptwtCbpRnNhcj30q7gOwbIESEhRANo7YaU7VP51NNSPbDkxJY7KJLDuhJSpmgDjzDcudAzbSpP9yjGo1NAZJXJYnMFNCcEfB7Cbvo1Lp0CsNRZ/s1600/DSCN1306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh38ZNUOoh5rue-_XAFIVeglFpDqA-zQeptwtCbpRnNhcj30q7gOwbIESEhRANo7YaU7VP51NNSPbDkxJY7KJLDuhJSpmgDjzDcudAzbSpP9yjGo1NAZJXJYnMFNCcEfB7Cbvo1Lp0CsNRZ/s200/DSCN1306.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Raise your hand if you like to bake at night! This is the part where my right arm would shoot up and my hand would wave around from side to side eagerly. There's something about whisking together ingredients, greasing a cookie sheet, or flouring a cake pan once the sun has gone down that really relaxes me. Since I work five days a week morning to evening, it's always made sense to just break the eggs at night ;) Not to mention that it's been over 90 degrees in SoCal this whole week, so it definitley makes it more comfortable to be around the oven at night. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Now lets talk about chocolate covered raisins. SO ADDICTIVE. You can't just have one chocolate covered raisin! I learned this the hard way after buying them in bulk from Costco. Those little candies have found their way into my heart and stomach in the best way. I threw some into my cookie batter last night and *oy vey* am I glad that I did! These cookies were out of this world fantastic! Top of the list tasty. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVg_9IiOOxndEpqiip31n8WxFs8WF33HLUaX-5iKKrZYtRVmQ5aXW7Udg6KdHmsMPBYUd3qKVkzNaHqRAgOrgY_pGx1PRGnZ2m8QHLNK4UqHeZ6sBpH_QJGybC6d4Dyz92fm9_HYKgECq7/s1600/DSCN1305.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVg_9IiOOxndEpqiip31n8WxFs8WF33HLUaX-5iKKrZYtRVmQ5aXW7Udg6KdHmsMPBYUd3qKVkzNaHqRAgOrgY_pGx1PRGnZ2m8QHLNK4UqHeZ6sBpH_QJGybC6d4Dyz92fm9_HYKgECq7/s320/DSCN1305.jpg" width="257" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened<br />
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed + 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed</div></div>1 egg<br />
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3/4 cup all-purpose flour</div>1/2 teaspoon baking soda<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 teaspoon ground cinnamon<br />
1/4 teaspoon salt</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 1/2 cups rolled oats</div>1/2 cup chocolate covered raisins <br />
<br />
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. <br />
<br />
2.Stir flour mixture into the butter mixture. Stir in the oats, chocolate covered raisins and walnuts.<br />
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3. Drop batter by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing the cookies two inches apart. Place baking sheets in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. <br />
<br />
4. Preheat oven to 350°F and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Bake cookies in preheated oven for 15 , or until the edges are golden brown and the tops look a little undercooked. Allow cookies to sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.<br />
<br />
Yields: 24 <strong><em>delicious </em></strong>cookiesgracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218122552569699413.post-20149939666343780892010-09-13T13:44:00.000-07:002010-09-13T13:48:01.590-07:00You are welcome<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiTBLE66wXwiDsb9FeESHuH3vh3SHBAiDkwZYvwsZW-ukFFfcBxVMWTKyh_laPspm19NqbGLbkHThRNwTiASxlQGUYmBAmSpajk-Yj8KUrTNTdl8wxRfTDfVi4sLNufti77dqpG85rO7lE/s1600/DSCN1291.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiTBLE66wXwiDsb9FeESHuH3vh3SHBAiDkwZYvwsZW-ukFFfcBxVMWTKyh_laPspm19NqbGLbkHThRNwTiASxlQGUYmBAmSpajk-Yj8KUrTNTdl8wxRfTDfVi4sLNufti77dqpG85rO7lE/s320/DSCN1291.JPG" /></a></div><div align="justify" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">My jeans are usually tight on Monday mornings. I throw caution to the wind on weekends and don't follow any type of healthy diet or exercise regimen like I would normally on a weekday, so come Monday morning I always expect my jeans to be a little tighter and I dress to accommodate my temporary pot belly. Today was a little different. I almost called out of work today. Eventually, after an hour in front of the mirror I ended up wearing the jeans but I did pair them with high heels to give my legs that sleek "I didn't eat cake all weekend" skinny appearance. Eye tricks, ladies. But even after all of that hell, I think that making this cake was, hands down, the best decision that I made all weekend. There is a reason that I ate so much of it. Every bite was a bursting fork full of chocolate flavors and delight. Not only from the cake, but from the gooey chocolate glaze and mini chocolate chips. I love getting a bite with a little chocolate chip hidden away in the mix! This cake is super easy to put together , but it's even easier to scarf it down without realizing. You've been warned.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <b>CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHIP CAKE</b></div>1 18.25-oz package chocolate cake mix (I used a cake mix with the words "fudge" and "super moist" on the box)<br />
1 3.9-oz package instant chocolate pudding mix<br />
1 cup vegetable oil<br />
4 eggs<br />
1/2 cup hot water<br />
1 cup sour cream<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla extract<br />
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips<br />
<br />
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a bundt pan.<br />
2. Combine cake mix, pudding mix, oil, eggs, hot water, sour cream and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into bundt pan.<br />
3. Bake for 1 hour. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then invert cake onto wire rack and let cool completely.<br />
<br />
<b>DARK CHOCOLATE GLAZE</b><br />
4 oz semi-sweet dark chocolate <br />
3 tbsp butter<br />
1 tbsp milk<br />
1 tbsp light corn syrup<br />
1/4 tsp vanilla<br />
<br />
In small, heavy saucepan or microwave oven on medium, melt broken chocolate with butter. Stir frequently until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in milk, syrup and vanilla. When glaze is cool, pour onto cake. Let glaze run down sides. Chill about 10 minutes to set glaze.gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218122552569699413.post-80153114546147697272010-09-05T11:06:00.000-07:002010-09-05T11:07:50.164-07:00Heavenly Chocolate Chip Cookies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIMCuK6Yb_Pd7G5yZOd6-NQ8xLoSKDeXgam2ZV9uPld79xs9RAvkr4AQJWHPBGK3g5c5Zmw1vLKJ76COAGTiv_9KQU3pSiAxtoqalN4qhcWq8psYaH9a4GM2eYlO0FFuOsoa1wjKq5FKbe/s1600/DSCN1268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIMCuK6Yb_Pd7G5yZOd6-NQ8xLoSKDeXgam2ZV9uPld79xs9RAvkr4AQJWHPBGK3g5c5Zmw1vLKJ76COAGTiv_9KQU3pSiAxtoqalN4qhcWq8psYaH9a4GM2eYlO0FFuOsoa1wjKq5FKbe/s320/DSCN1268.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The other night I couldn't think of what I wanted to bake. Part of me wanted to bake a lovely, rich, chocolate cake..but the other reasonable part that hates the treadmill realized that maybe a whole cake to myself wasn't the best way to go. So my two parts agreed that a cookie would be safe. Sike! I fooled myself. Sure, if I had just baked the cookie neatly and only had one or two before shutting down the kitchen for the night, I wouldn't be in my gym clothes right now lacing up my tennis shoes. Self control baking isn't my style. From licking the beaters and eating raw dough (I know, I know!) to taste testing the first batch out of the oven and being curled up on the couch at 10pm with cookie<strong><span style="color: magenta;">s</span></strong> and ice cream watching television. You could say that I thew caution to the wind. I should also point out that I munched on these cookies after lunch on Saturday and again after dinner. I may have had one for breakfast. I'm going to justify my actions by saying that these cookies are <em><strong><u>so</u></strong></em> freaking delicious! I've baked (and eaten) plenty of chocolate chip cookies in my day and these ones are up at the tippity top on my list. I think I knew what I was getting myself in to from the beginning. As soon as I read the desciption of the recipe on A Southern Grace, I had a feeling that this was going to be a success. She descibes the cookie as<em>"drool worthy"</em> and <em>"heavenly" </em>and I have to say that if I'm going to take someone's word for a delicious description.. it's going to be hers. Maybe it's because everything on her site seems taste bud successful or maybe because our names are so similar.. or both ;)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Chocolate Chip Cookies</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Recipe from <a href="http://asoutherngrace.blogspot.com/2008/10/i-did-it-my-way.html">A Southern Grace</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">1/2 cup butter</div>1/2 cup shortening<br />
1 cup sugar<br />
1/2 cup brown sugar, tightly packed<br />
2 eggs<br />
1 tablespoon vanilla<br />
2 cups all-purpose flour<br />
1 teaspoon baking soda<br />
1/2 teaspoon salt<br />
2 cups miscellaneous morsels (I used semi-sweet and white chocolate)<br />
<br />
1. In a large bowl, beat the butter with the shortening; gradually beat in the sugars until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt, and beat into the wet mixture. Stir in the morsels and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes (hardest part!).<br />
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.<br />
3. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto appropriate baking sheets. For best results, flatten to 1/2-inch thickness with a fork. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes or until the edges are golden and centers are still slightly underbaked. Let the <em>little pieces of Heaven</em> cool on the pans for 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to let cool completely.gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218122552569699413.post-85587304865813919342010-08-30T11:53:00.000-07:002010-08-30T11:53:40.003-07:00Peach Crumb<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT1UjQw-AIRfEyuQ9m0odXnVPAJq_dT6rrDS5PzEUGssxl4UKKeIoMqrJpTyB2A2O98tFcuvGtUsE0SFzcdVUQ-h-0QhMGFpFmUjkXrS2KBZvas-__if1t_5g3z4IG2WACIATAZquonwBl/s1600/DSCN1258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT1UjQw-AIRfEyuQ9m0odXnVPAJq_dT6rrDS5PzEUGssxl4UKKeIoMqrJpTyB2A2O98tFcuvGtUsE0SFzcdVUQ-h-0QhMGFpFmUjkXrS2KBZvas-__if1t_5g3z4IG2WACIATAZquonwBl/s320/DSCN1258.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ8IJ9PwCRw_f5PBZTufeIwDIrjJHNO-EGschvYMoH3Gfu8zKz9TrkQxoHNM-9fkOpop-T6RFjqJpgO6uQBx6Zw7bOUfN4Nt6shhAtrub1F6mVBoKc8SpNSWBiONS2XLPuYvwaPg1tYPYI/s1600/DSCN1259.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ8IJ9PwCRw_f5PBZTufeIwDIrjJHNO-EGschvYMoH3Gfu8zKz9TrkQxoHNM-9fkOpop-T6RFjqJpgO6uQBx6Zw7bOUfN4Nt6shhAtrub1F6mVBoKc8SpNSWBiONS2XLPuYvwaPg1tYPYI/s320/DSCN1259.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Every Sunday my mom, dad, sister, and I wake up and drive over to the little church in town. It's a great church, but when I say that it's little I mean just that: it is<b> little</b>. After service, the people gather in the back and eat packaged cookies and jumbo wheat thins with their coffee. Even though I'm a big fan of the wheat thin cracker, I couldn't help but feel a little bad about the refreshment selection. So I set my alarm a little early yesterday and starting peeling and slicing juicy peaches to make this magnificent peach crumb. The original recipe was for Peach Crumb Bars but I sort of winged it and layed the dough in a quiche dish. It wasn't so much of a bar as it was a crumbly pie with peach filling. Call it what you will because either way it was incredibly flavorful and delightful. I only had a small piece because I figured that there would be some left over and I could pig out in the privacy of my own house. Boy was I wrong. The plate was returned to me wiped clean, literally. I took this as a compliment and figured that next time I better bake two :)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><strong>Peach Crumb Bars</strong><br />
<strong><a href="http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2009/09/25/peach-crumb-bars/"></a> </strong>Recipe from <a href="http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2009/09/25/peach-crumb-bars/">Brown Eyed Baker</a><br />
<br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">For the Dough</span>:<br />
3 cups all-purpose flour<br />
1 cup granulated sugar<br />
1 teaspoon baking powder<br />
¼ teaspoon salt<br />
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold<br />
1 egg, lightly beaten<br />
<br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">For the Filling</span>:<br />
5 cups diced peaches (7 peaches, peeled)<br />
2 tablespoons lemon juice<br />
½ cup all-purpose flour<br />
1 cup granulated sugar<br />
¼ teaspoon salt<br />
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon<br />
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg<br />
<br />
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.<br />
2. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">For the Dough</span>: In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Use a pastry blender to cut in the butter, and then the egg. The dough will be crumbly. Pat half of the dough into the prepared pan. Place the pan and the remainder of the dough in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.<br />
3. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">For the Filling</span>: Place the diced peaches in a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice. Mix gently. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour over the peaches and mix gently.<br />
4. Spread the peach mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the peach layer.<br />
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218122552569699413.post-30713467351669322412010-08-28T23:31:00.000-07:002010-08-28T23:41:53.246-07:00Frisco and Nutella<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-WY_bt7ffI9jVmqND4o07ugVTUNvVG3HHADLKhsyu2fSUfdWQ05zrxSlAXJs_THVLw_POnLCXuVNjuQPDC8S2BP25jAxulw7UmNeuxljbzfXHvp-xVxCtCc8PTWp8KaxP8uNnXD4VYw8/s1600/DSCN0970.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-WY_bt7ffI9jVmqND4o07ugVTUNvVG3HHADLKhsyu2fSUfdWQ05zrxSlAXJs_THVLw_POnLCXuVNjuQPDC8S2BP25jAxulw7UmNeuxljbzfXHvp-xVxCtCc8PTWp8KaxP8uNnXD4VYw8/s200/DSCN0970.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiub7a5uVpX2bjLabxaP6ETDq2mUt4FjRore3Uy1wCHFeYCwwiJSfhTy7OZsKrcScX_y08ZCPN2kuwtibKlEGJGbHspcz3T2RjVtswMPWu2isw1jXc1px9Ylrt7z_yeJaSMZsQlqnE8qhzd/s1600/DSCN0969.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiub7a5uVpX2bjLabxaP6ETDq2mUt4FjRore3Uy1wCHFeYCwwiJSfhTy7OZsKrcScX_y08ZCPN2kuwtibKlEGJGbHspcz3T2RjVtswMPWu2isw1jXc1px9Ylrt7z_yeJaSMZsQlqnE8qhzd/s200/DSCN0969.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4cXzwalrnAdi-GwFzjifTLnUtjdAI8OvA2wbsg7L4YnqnJYf9JtIYktpFJM8V8psd6jZVu3X6nh00L0a2W9Q0hkBKlZhJgomrxmMc7mVeK9orb1rv-ldu6aNDNOjxQw8NiFpI95OReggL/s1600/DSCN1091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4cXzwalrnAdi-GwFzjifTLnUtjdAI8OvA2wbsg7L4YnqnJYf9JtIYktpFJM8V8psd6jZVu3X6nh00L0a2W9Q0hkBKlZhJgomrxmMc7mVeK9orb1rv-ldu6aNDNOjxQw8NiFpI95OReggL/s200/DSCN1091.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtNejHhdNz7zxkk4mDtfifjJakTm6dLgb1syMoa4PjNaengGb6zcC2vFXajm_ujIxOd4HBROOVL-lagTlpTlyu1Up8QgwWaJZ1u40cWUBkdFuNWZb6a4RsMFkTPJuSvcajwQoITBDHxvaR/s1600/DSCN0968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">I just got back from San Francisco last week where all I did was eat, eat, <strong>EAT</strong>. I had the best time on my trip and not just because of the food.. although that was a big part of it (lets not lie). It's good to be back home though and on the computer catching up on all the wonderful recipes from the blogs I follow. I feel very out of the loop if I don't check my Reading List, so I'm glad to be back "in" :)! Now lets get to what I had a hankering for all week: Nutella! Actually it started out as a little craving for Ferrero Rocher candies and then this led to a just plain chocolate craving and then that led back to a Nutella kick. At first I decided to take the easy "eat it from the jar with a spoon" way out, but concluded that I should take advantage of the extra jar that I bought and use it as an ingredient. The result? Self Frosting Nutella Cupcakes. You would think that this would be enough. I mean its cupcakes that frost themselves with Nutella! I took it a little further though and add some Nutella frosting. I had also wanted to add a Ferrero Rocher on each cupcake but I didn't remember this until I was walking out of the grocery store. So please image a beautiful fine hazelnut chocolate candy sitting on top of that Nutella frosting in all of it's glory. After eating Nutella out of the jar, baking with it, frosting with it AND eating these cupcakes I learned a very valuable lesson: there is such a thing as too much Nutella. I mean this in a "I have to lay down and rub my tummy" sort of way. I was FULL of it. I'm surprised I didn't sprout hazelnuts overnight! The cupcakes were pretty good but they were lacking something. If I make them again, I would add more Nutella and maybe a little buttermilk to the batter because the plain cupcake had almost no flavor and was a little dry. They weren't bad though by any means and I'm glad that I had frosting to put them over the tasty edge.This recipe makes 12 and there are only 6 left. So .. take that how you will :)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWWqJGvjgPV69MOr2INFCWxyBZNJ-G6h7y1m0eDlMEULrC7k6KK9c1j4seW9ZeN2yb1YhIX9qv_kxYtWMXuhvSIk169_EKjOaxySUVcQonz96ncn8jE8dW1LpDAYIZttJiFENMbV8EVJxk/s1600/DSCN1236.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWWqJGvjgPV69MOr2INFCWxyBZNJ-G6h7y1m0eDlMEULrC7k6KK9c1j4seW9ZeN2yb1YhIX9qv_kxYtWMXuhvSIk169_EKjOaxySUVcQonz96ncn8jE8dW1LpDAYIZttJiFENMbV8EVJxk/s200/DSCN1236.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-iPjUeJnpCe53Jxw3Zw6Yi6MJ2ACPr3FIWMrOF4uR-tiUjldaOWKNFQNNZ6KbeuD_cjWUNR68_Dijf0jl07xshf6iwCA-CVBuqwjSSBHiwPWI3Ec_TJkQFrozQnIQKr3aK5Ap56qovwGl/s1600/DSCN1239.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-iPjUeJnpCe53Jxw3Zw6Yi6MJ2ACPr3FIWMrOF4uR-tiUjldaOWKNFQNNZ6KbeuD_cjWUNR68_Dijf0jl07xshf6iwCA-CVBuqwjSSBHiwPWI3Ec_TJkQFrozQnIQKr3aK5Ap56qovwGl/s200/DSCN1239.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Self Frosting Nutella Cupcakes </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">10 tbsp butter, softened</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3/4 cup white sugar</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3 eggs</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1/2 tsp vanilla</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 3/4 cups sifted all purpose flour</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1/4 tsp salt</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2 tsp baking powder</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Nutella, approx. 1/3 cup</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. Preheat oven to 325F. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">2. Cream together butter and sugar until light, 2 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time, until fully incorporated. Don’t worry if the batter doesn’t look smooth. Add vanilla. Stir in flour, salt and baking powder until batter is uniform and no flour remains.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">3. Using an ice cream scoop, fill each muffin liner with batter. They should be 3/4 full, if you’re not using a scoop. Top each cake with 1 1/2 tsp Nutella. Swirl Nutella in with a toothpick, making sure to fold a bit of batter up over the nutella. Bake for 20 minutes. Makes 12 cupcakes.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Nutella Frosting</div>6 tbsp butter, room temperature<br />
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1/2 cup nutella</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2 - 4 tablespoons milk</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1/2 tsp vanilla</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">1. In a medium bowl combine butter, nutella, sugar, and vanilla until mixed together. Add milk to meet desired spreading consistency. Frost, frost, frost! :)</div>gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218122552569699413.post-48352338284074906752010-08-13T23:53:00.000-07:002010-08-13T23:53:40.701-07:00Pineapple Upside Down Cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsRgDy1DsKwNlS_dGoVrDCVnsX710ezGQMj3Ot2M-ui3eMxjDIo2ZXt6t3IhyphenhyphenyK3TWn90ekSA5Wolg013spYWgMKZQicZyNUNHpEiIh4QKIlBJK5tfmQAhTFlr5u1jsb36A0ev-aUq5zmv/s1600/DSCN0926.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsRgDy1DsKwNlS_dGoVrDCVnsX710ezGQMj3Ot2M-ui3eMxjDIo2ZXt6t3IhyphenhyphenyK3TWn90ekSA5Wolg013spYWgMKZQicZyNUNHpEiIh4QKIlBJK5tfmQAhTFlr5u1jsb36A0ev-aUq5zmv/s320/DSCN0926.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">I've had the this almost aching culinary urge to bake a pineapple upside down cake. I'm not quite sure what triggered it or when this desire started brewing but it was just something that needed to be done. The past couple of weeks I've been searching for a recipe that I liked and slowly building up the ingredients with every trip to the market. It just so happens that everything fell into place tonight and I just had to bake this! The recipe originally says to bake in a 9x2 inch round pan but I figured that this would be the perfect opportunity to use my cast iron skillet and who doesn't love bringing one of those out, right? Since the skillet is larger, the cake came out a <u>little</u> flat. Other than that though (and thats no big deal!), I was super pleased with it. It easily transferred from the skillet to the plate which was great since I was really worried that the fruit or cherry pieces would be askew. I've had some troublesome experiences with cakes in the past! But it came off so neat that I didn't even want to cut into it. I resisted as long as I possibly could (honest), but after sitting on the couch fiddiling my fingers trying to ignore the smell of heaven coming from the kitchen.. I gave in! I cut myself a slice as neat as I possibly could and ate it up. This particular recipe uses buttermilk which really gave this cake an <em>extremley</em> moist textrure. Which I'm a fan of. I'm also a big fan of the sinful butter and brown sugar combination. And I love getting a fork full of delicious pineapple on top of all of that!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you get that "where-is-this-coming-from?" pineapple upside down cake desire, keep this one in mind. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGgqKdb1BT1s6kJB_yLcEkPrt147762Nbd8rJTQP1b0HCx74X6m1KKiCNGYGkDRiPe9BlX225CR-gQ7i7es6ZIkRnEKyT0DijgoUaoelqggUGsnKSW4XlKA7aDnd3vyDujmLB5m-HlaWi_/s1600/DSCN0922.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGgqKdb1BT1s6kJB_yLcEkPrt147762Nbd8rJTQP1b0HCx74X6m1KKiCNGYGkDRiPe9BlX225CR-gQ7i7es6ZIkRnEKyT0DijgoUaoelqggUGsnKSW4XlKA7aDnd3vyDujmLB5m-HlaWi_/s320/DSCN0922.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhZsu2aZIPABUc-ny2Z9J0O907MasJPQ34Clm-UELkg25qPgq1v46DVWOcCXptmsTTKrsL_319lSAdS-gaeyAjZ3sL7Rl9vYn2PjeyoxN5-SpPG6XczVHKpgvp7q6kG3tF1_COjgTdPPVT/s1600/DSCN0924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhZsu2aZIPABUc-ny2Z9J0O907MasJPQ34Clm-UELkg25qPgq1v46DVWOcCXptmsTTKrsL_319lSAdS-gaeyAjZ3sL7Rl9vYn2PjeyoxN5-SpPG6XczVHKpgvp7q6kG3tF1_COjgTdPPVT/s320/DSCN0924.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Pineapple Upside Down Cake</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">(20 oz can) 7 slices canned unsweetened pineapple, drained. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the juice. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">19 maraschino cherries</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">3 tablespoons unsalted butter</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">3/4 cups packed light brown sugar</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2 large eggs</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2 tablespoons buttermilk</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/2 teaspoon vanilla</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 cup all purpose flour</div><div style="text-align: justify;">3/4 cup granulated sugar</div><div style="text-align: justify;">3/4 teaspoon baking powder</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/4 teaspoon baking soda</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/4 teaspoon salt</div><div style="text-align: justify;">6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature</div><div style="text-align: justify;">6 tablespoons buttermilk</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Have ready a 9x2 inch round cake pan (or cast iron skillet). Drain pineapple (reserving 3 tablespoons juice) and place on paper towels to absorb excess juice. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. Place the 3 tablespoons unsalted butter in the pan/skillet. Place in the oven until teh butter is melted. Tilt to coat all sides with butter. The extra butter will settle in the pan. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the bottom of the pan.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">3. Place one pineapple ring in the center of the pan and arrange six more around it. Place the cherries in the center of each ring anf in the spaces inbetween them. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, 2 tablespoons of buttermilk and vanilla with a fork. Add reserved pineapple juice. Set aside. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">4. In a mixer bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the 6 tablespoons of buttermilk and 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter. Beat on low speed just until the flour is moistened, then increase the speed to medium and beat for 1 1/2 minutes. The batter will be stuff. Add one third of the egg mixture at a time, beating for 20 seconds inbetween. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">5. Scrape the batter over the fruit in the pan and spread evenly. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">6. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean, about 35 - 40 minutes (took me 35). Remove the cake from the oven and let cool for 2 to 3 minutes before unmolding. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">7. Invert a serving platter on top of the pan/skillet. Cover your hands with oven mitts and turn the cake onto the platter, lift off the plan. If any of the fruit or cherry pieces are askew, use a fork and push them back into place. </div>gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218122552569699413.post-57067696813535047932010-08-10T15:22:00.000-07:002010-08-10T15:22:22.592-07:00Three Chese Pasta Bake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWoPitEXM_Gtj3KWwQqAJ_j9ggEUE_DuYifpI2juWoawIsH07qyl-m2eBPad5Iy6dIQfVjSLOwwi4mr7e4ICIHak3D72DZJgwQsKd3upOMM2TlGgzFeT8BhGpLhXtplZLxjb6jKXzHkR9h/s1600/DSCN0901.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWoPitEXM_Gtj3KWwQqAJ_j9ggEUE_DuYifpI2juWoawIsH07qyl-m2eBPad5Iy6dIQfVjSLOwwi4mr7e4ICIHak3D72DZJgwQsKd3upOMM2TlGgzFeT8BhGpLhXtplZLxjb6jKXzHkR9h/s320/DSCN0901.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit3svDxTNUJ4lzV7S12_3D6d_O2rDCMFzjfv39TY1WXBEBABPR0HE8EiZVkNo4LaJJ2EIMHZfLglROgWn_GppMTccPUpdZ7LjExziwL8mZ93htP-D7aOqwOSUzMdgJ7Fs3j6h1MF5Cs3E0/s1600/DSCN0904.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit3svDxTNUJ4lzV7S12_3D6d_O2rDCMFzjfv39TY1WXBEBABPR0HE8EiZVkNo4LaJJ2EIMHZfLglROgWn_GppMTccPUpdZ7LjExziwL8mZ93htP-D7aOqwOSUzMdgJ7Fs3j6h1MF5Cs3E0/s320/DSCN0904.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">As you can probably tell by now, I prefer baking to cooking. It isn't that I'm a horrible chef or that I hate to cook, I just don't get the same kind of pleasure out of cooking dinner that I do from baking a splendid dessert. My mom on the other hand is a queen of all trades. She will whip up the appetizer, main course, and dessert, all the while sipping a martini and not only exceed our expectations, but enjoy the process (compliments of the martini perhaps?). I must have not inherited that gene from her. Or maybe I did and it just hasn't risen to the surface yet. Am I not living up to my full hostess potential? Will I just wake up one morning and insist upon cooking three course meals every night? Only time will tell. For now though, I thought it would be nice to cook a quick and easy dinner over the weekend. I've had this recipe stashed away on my computer for a while now and always wanted to cook/eat it. My brother is not a big pasta eater and the only way he will touch the stuff is if it hasn't been in direct contact with red sauce of any kind. He even orders his pizza without any sauce. I can't be the only one who thinks that is crazy, right? I love love love pasta and I love it even more covered (<i>smothered</i>) in red sauce. To each his own though I suppose. Since he is so complicated, this dish worked out perfectly for him! Not a drop of red in sight. Just creamy alfredo, ricotta, and sour cream. Not to mention cheese! I added significantly more cheese than the original recipe called for because that's pretty much my motto for any recipe with cheese. More is always better. You can't go wrong!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Three Cheese Pasta Bake</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Based on <a href="http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1033041">this recipe</a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">1 (16-ounce) package ziti</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">2 (10-ounce) containers refrigerated Alfredo sauce</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">8-ounce container sour cream</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">15-ounce container ricotta cheese</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">2 large eggs, lightly beaten</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">1 cup grated Parmesan cheese</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">2 cups mozzarella cheese</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">1. Prepare ziti according to package directions; drain and return to pot.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><!-- end class="rcpdetail" --> 2. Stir together Alfredo sauce and sour cream; toss with ziti until evenly coated. Spoon half of mixture into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish.<br />
3. Stir together ricotta cheese, eggs, 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, and parsley; spread evenly over pasta mixture in baking dish. Spoon remaining pasta mixture evenly over ricotta cheese layer; sprinkle evenly with 1 cup mozzarella cheese.<br />
4. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Carefully pull out the baking dish and sprinkle on remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and 1 cup mozzarella cheese (especially in the corners). Place baking dish back in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes or until the cheese begins to bubble.gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218122552569699413.post-64373901240094795662010-08-06T23:13:00.000-07:002010-08-06T23:13:42.686-07:00Triple Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Z-7Ueqn_f19wWVxl_u6Z1q-YobDWf2HkzXu90iKZfTqf-lgh_KiG3_2NchO4LoNrJcbke5Wm3jPYEZliEI8GX2cP7sy866rPbTV9PlyeMcT0Zb4ApJAL4p2nmvDq00l1pLPisg_9LSPR/s1600/DSCN0914.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Z-7Ueqn_f19wWVxl_u6Z1q-YobDWf2HkzXu90iKZfTqf-lgh_KiG3_2NchO4LoNrJcbke5Wm3jPYEZliEI8GX2cP7sy866rPbTV9PlyeMcT0Zb4ApJAL4p2nmvDq00l1pLPisg_9LSPR/s320/DSCN0914.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Today was the kind of day that needed a cookie. The kind of day that begged me for a chewy, chocolatey, straight out of the oven little piece of heaven. As I sit here updating my blog, watching 17 Again (judge me later), and taking little bites of this delicious morsel of flavor.. I realize that this is the highlight of my day. This single cookie has made my day. Keeping in mind that today is a Friday aka the gateway to the weekend and that I got paid today, well, that says a lot about this cookie- don't you think? </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwJd1Vvhqld5PCxk8wcFbLLSS4x3kwoYAh4PTwSG0pUffle_an69A4FI9cPtVQA_1G8elBYgf_PqhA4veIK6wzwF4UpzHw30RKAaXUrWt3yDT6AR0Q78e5ZDUAI3kwkyrHjm0HAzVuYPJZ/s1600/DSCN0913.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwJd1Vvhqld5PCxk8wcFbLLSS4x3kwoYAh4PTwSG0pUffle_an69A4FI9cPtVQA_1G8elBYgf_PqhA4veIK6wzwF4UpzHw30RKAaXUrWt3yDT6AR0Q78e5ZDUAI3kwkyrHjm0HAzVuYPJZ/s320/DSCN0913.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Triple Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3 cups all purpose flour</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 teaspoon baking powder</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 teaspoon baking soda</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1/4 salt</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2 eggs</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 1/4 cup granulated sugar</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 tablespoon vanilla extract</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 1/2 cups rolled oats</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 cup white chocolate chips</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1/2 cup butterscotch chips</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheet or line with parchment paper. <br />
2. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.<br />
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Beat in the eggs one at a time mixing well after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract. <br />
4. Gradually beat in the flour mixture, mixing only until the dough comes together. Do not overmix. <br />
5. With a large wooden spoon or spatula stir in the rolled oats followed by the chocolate chips. <br />
6. Spoon the cookies on the prepared cookie sheet about two inches apart and bake for about 14 minutes or until the cookies are slightly browned aorund the edges but still soft and puffy in the middle. Rotate the baking sheets halfway through the baking time.gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218122552569699413.post-91578305760447602662010-08-04T13:01:00.000-07:002010-08-04T13:01:29.802-07:00blondie bomb<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Vg01SO5AS-dwcjwUrZVjUf6XaJ8IVZQtIBpPwUfuwxgP7pljZsSRhl4DAvRi14jrVFSLLraG8t0oqH6GpmXuJnOaB6VqblRYNvfJW9KRzYKCiR6P4KOugAzya6NY_JR-LZ9N1sLIDiHQ/s1600/DSCN0897.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Vg01SO5AS-dwcjwUrZVjUf6XaJ8IVZQtIBpPwUfuwxgP7pljZsSRhl4DAvRi14jrVFSLLraG8t0oqH6GpmXuJnOaB6VqblRYNvfJW9KRzYKCiR6P4KOugAzya6NY_JR-LZ9N1sLIDiHQ/s320/DSCN0897.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5p_CxsGcXcnZBLaWkexjTliDmhYqxMX7za6K7MTwrKvGGdUwsQxOs-QF2C9r8KADAiFmaCKGjFb1Q2zCKp9XDQHwNfX2ASJFRoQAqNHaLdL37Zl5BJINRVU1HfKDtSfKyGkCyjSQHaJy/s1600/DSCN0898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5p_CxsGcXcnZBLaWkexjTliDmhYqxMX7za6K7MTwrKvGGdUwsQxOs-QF2C9r8KADAiFmaCKGjFb1Q2zCKp9XDQHwNfX2ASJFRoQAqNHaLdL37Zl5BJINRVU1HfKDtSfKyGkCyjSQHaJy/s320/DSCN0898.JPG" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Take a good look at these deformed blondie eye sores. You see that? That is what happens when you don't measure your ingredients correctly. And when I say ingredient<b>s</b>, I mean ingredient. Anyone care to take a guess at which important ingredient was messed with here? If you said brown sugar you would be wrong. But if you said baking powder...congratulations, you got it :). Yes, somewhere along the road 1/8 teaspoon of baking powder became 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder. And baking powder -being the important rising ingredient that it is-.. well, you can guess the rest! I couldn't have messed things up too badly though because, despite the appearance, these still tasted pretty darn good and had that distinctive molasses flavor from the dark brown sugar. They were rich, chewy, and the butterscotch chips were a delicious add in. So in the end, even though the blondies weren't perfect or very aesthetically pleasing, there was no real loss. Besides, if there's one thing I've learned from my baking (mis)adventures its that sometimes you have to make mistakes, learn from them, and hope for the very best when you pop the finished product into your mouth. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Blondies</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">1/2 cup of butter, melted</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">1 cup of tightly packed dark brown sugar</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">1 egg, lightly beaten</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">1 teaspoon of vanilla</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">1/2 teaspoon baking powder</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">1/8 teaspoon of baking soda</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Pinch of salt</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">1 cup of all-purpose flour</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">1/3 cup of butterscotch chips (chopped walnuts and chocolate chips are equally tasty)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">2. Lightly butter and flour an 8x8 pan. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">3. Whisk together the melted butter and sugar in a bowl. </div>4. Add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk.<br />
5. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, mix it all together. Add the butterscotch chips or other mix-ins.<br />
6. Pour into the pan and spread evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool. Cut into squares and serve. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div>gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218122552569699413.post-49574560525848561922010-08-01T17:30:00.000-07:002010-08-01T17:30:13.539-07:00Whopper Cookies<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3gJbC9jxu6CMeIkOExDp2MU-LUXMY1W8xv_LJ8ZsUj0pRq9tdn7FioLXWL2q53F-fylDCK6vR1HszshSnLwZV3AOjZw71hCdv0uygX8L4yjQC4DFd5YaEpJ9kawfWZwZpufytRQG1MLL7/s1600/DSCN0890.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3gJbC9jxu6CMeIkOExDp2MU-LUXMY1W8xv_LJ8ZsUj0pRq9tdn7FioLXWL2q53F-fylDCK6vR1HszshSnLwZV3AOjZw71hCdv0uygX8L4yjQC4DFd5YaEpJ9kawfWZwZpufytRQG1MLL7/s320/DSCN0890.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Recently I have been having a love affair with Whoppers malted milk balls. I'm not sure why it's a love affair, but the way that I feel when I eat them is close to what I think a love affair would feel like. I don't feel that way when I munch on my usual chocolate go-to M&Ms. Therefore it is a love affair. I hope that made sense to someone other than myself. I actually have a box right here next to me that I'm slowly munching on, dreading the moment when I reach my hand in and there is no more malty crunchy goodness. After I had purchased a few boxes at the market yesterday, I decided that instead of just eating them straight up, I would look for a simple whopper recipe online. Google led me to an incredibly simple and quick cookie baked with whoppers. The cookies themselves tasted really good. They were soft and chewy with a crunchy edge. Next time I would add more whoppers. It seemed like more of a sugar cookie with the occasional whopper as opposed to a whopper overload with a little cookie to back it up (like I was hoping). I can't really complain though. I got a genuinly good cookie out of it and was able to snack on whoppers while I was baking up the cookie and while I was enjoying the finished product. Maybe I should have made that whopper milkshake on the back of the box to go along with it. How freaking delicious does that sound?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Whopper Cookies</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Recipe from <a href="http://castsugar.blogspot.com/2007/09/whopper-cookies.html">Cast Sugar</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2 1/4 cup all purpose flour<br />
1 tsp. baking soda</div>1/2 tsp. baking powder<br />
1/2 tsp. salt<br />
3/4 cup butter, room temperature<br />
1 cup granulated sugar<br />
1/2 cup milk<br />
1 tsp. vanilla extract<br />
1 1/2 cup roughly chopped Whoppers<br />
1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.<br />
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.<br />
3. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in milk and vanilla, then gradually blend in the flour mixture. Do not overmix; stir only until no streaks of flour remain. <br />
4. Stir in the chopped Whoppers<br />
5. Drop into 1-inch balls (tbsp.-sized balls) on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes, until lighty browned.<br />
6. Cool on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.<br />
<br />
Makes about 3 dozen cookies.gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218122552569699413.post-77365275463345221862010-07-25T10:57:00.000-07:002010-07-25T10:57:16.784-07:00Nutella Chocolate Fudge Brownies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIWZm4Tm9sSLoHt78h43p9GicPT4Zn3L0RwSt3Fnw851Txfjfvt4tNF3_jROVxOAwtl5N0vKIJNPpNMV_34NLgTjX_zrFavkgW9cWPadv3-K6xFs5vVq9vWAZVqv4EsLzfCDm99TDPkkDh/s1600/DSCN0864.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIWZm4Tm9sSLoHt78h43p9GicPT4Zn3L0RwSt3Fnw851Txfjfvt4tNF3_jROVxOAwtl5N0vKIJNPpNMV_34NLgTjX_zrFavkgW9cWPadv3-K6xFs5vVq9vWAZVqv4EsLzfCDm99TDPkkDh/s320/DSCN0864.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Believe it or not, I've never baked brownies from scrath that didn't end up tasting dry and dull (ie: tasteless). I also have never eaten Nutella before. All of this changed over the weekend. These brownies actually came out of the oven moist with the perfect amount of crunch on the top. The chocolate chips were like a welcome pocket of chocolate bursting from random bites. The brownies actually reminded me of the Mrs. Fields brownies that my sister and I used to convince my grandma to buy us at the mall when we were little girls. What made these even better was that the recipe calls for spreading Nutella over them! I love Nutella. I can say that now. I might start eating it out of the jar or spreading it randomly on cookies and crackers. These brownies really were so good that you don't need the Nutella spread. They can hold their own. If tomorrow wasn't Monday, I would bake up another batch and eat them at my pleasing. But I can't stroll into work with chocolate crumbs around my mouth and my clothes not fitting. If only..</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcY0PR4Re157Xc8c3BKXEOnuFvqL-rUVUzd-DcCIB6fE7sQWkRHywb_IDxHuzq3sPHYjhw185nzKk2glGArjpHNDkrLyqMRzykmD8IUT-7n_6U245zNfnzH2FTCoYOA9F8q59c1V_xUrwb/s1600/DSCN0867.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcY0PR4Re157Xc8c3BKXEOnuFvqL-rUVUzd-DcCIB6fE7sQWkRHywb_IDxHuzq3sPHYjhw185nzKk2glGArjpHNDkrLyqMRzykmD8IUT-7n_6U245zNfnzH2FTCoYOA9F8q59c1V_xUrwb/s320/DSCN0867.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Nutella Chocolate Fudge Brownies</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Recipe from <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/bunnyswarmoven/nutella-chocolate-fudge-brownies">Bunny's Warm Oven</a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">4 - one ounce squares unsweetened chocolate<br />
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">2 1/2 cups sugar</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4 large eggs</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 Tablespoons pure vanilla</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1/8 teaspoon salt</div>1 cup unbleached white flour<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 cup chocolate chips, optional (recommended)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1/2 - 1 whole jar of Nutella</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter or spray and flour a 9 X 13 inch glass or non-stick baking pan.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Chop unsweetened chocolate and melt chocolate and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Do not burn. Remove from heat.</div>Using a wooden spoon or spatula, add sugar and stir until well mixed.<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Add eggs, vanilla and salt and beat well with a wooden spoon.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Fold in flour and mix just until smooth. Do not over mix. Fold in chocolate chips.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Pour into prepared pan.</div>Bake for 35-40 minutes or until knife comes out clean.<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Cool for about 15 minutes, then spread desired amount of Nutella over warm brownies.</div>Cool completely before cutting into squares. <br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Don't you hate waiting for the cooling process to be complete? </div>gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218122552569699413.post-86017421609776425302010-07-17T00:25:00.000-07:002010-07-17T00:31:23.704-07:00Mission: Chocolate<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJN8OgnSwf3TlFppEAKZqiT6WMHb3_LJGgyMfL2OHDHni6K2FZ0ALp5yXcM5NVlPHIIsWpKosf2x5-21DlsqdYsetVdtU9MScgyKu7aAtG7plLJoliIuB9EiTryhox7b6wPaxsUZI_S7mM/s1600/DSCN0820.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJN8OgnSwf3TlFppEAKZqiT6WMHb3_LJGgyMfL2OHDHni6K2FZ0ALp5yXcM5NVlPHIIsWpKosf2x5-21DlsqdYsetVdtU9MScgyKu7aAtG7plLJoliIuB9EiTryhox7b6wPaxsUZI_S7mM/s320/DSCN0820.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPGPdsBFcIkuZIDzzH80nSQ8H6SnP8KRyzOg2MK8LwN2fv6_iORIJoNTexmp4xJDFOg03EQSPXHZtR4IXjMuLTiy2jhm53MLXZP7LhMS51AuKrIKjaSj1PwSVwocgRfnk-icVVuivbJtwK/s1600/DSCN0821.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPGPdsBFcIkuZIDzzH80nSQ8H6SnP8KRyzOg2MK8LwN2fv6_iORIJoNTexmp4xJDFOg03EQSPXHZtR4IXjMuLTiy2jhm53MLXZP7LhMS51AuKrIKjaSj1PwSVwocgRfnk-icVVuivbJtwK/s320/DSCN0821.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5MmBQzXd6d8neU8tTUHCHawTmznBF9DFO0GQJRqPmo9SWFQxXK_OZYh61jxYEzjxinUwU-3BdcNmmjYwlW9y-2xd4TVNOSFIROLyAFiqghiTK8cC8Cpd2sV975N-XloskKm4CFS-d8rUq/s1600/DSCN0826.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5MmBQzXd6d8neU8tTUHCHawTmznBF9DFO0GQJRqPmo9SWFQxXK_OZYh61jxYEzjxinUwU-3BdcNmmjYwlW9y-2xd4TVNOSFIROLyAFiqghiTK8cC8Cpd2sV975N-XloskKm4CFS-d8rUq/s320/DSCN0826.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">I had a craving this evening when I got home from work. Actually, craving is putting it lightly. It was more of an intense and urgent desire. It was a need for chocolate. Something triggered in a section of my brain as I sat at my desk waiting for the clock to strike 6:00 and my boss to sign my pay check. I tried to be good and soothe my craving with some handfuls of Special K Chocolate Delight cereal. But I'm only human. A human girl. A human girl who needed a serious chocolate fix. I made the decision to indulge myself with this chocolate cobbler. The best way to describe this is a large chocolate molten cake. The chocolate batter is spread in the baking dish, a mixture of sugars and cocoa powder is sprinkled over it, and then it's topped off with hot water before being baked. The original recipe doesn't call for chocolate chips, but I couldn't resist adding some to the batter. As soon as you cut into the cakey top of this cobbler, the perfect amount of rich chocolate oozes out for your delight. I'm telling you.. this is a dessert that was created to be served and melted into vanilla ice cream. Any flavor ice cream would be delicious (I'm sure), but there's something about vanilla that always seems to compliment certain flavors. After eating <strike>a</strike> two bowl(s) and vegging out on the couch rubbing my stomach with what I'm sure was a silly grin on my face, I felt quite satisfied. I've always been a fan of giving into cravings (seriously guys, whats a better word for this?), especially when it comes to desserts. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Another positive: this was so easy to bake. Honestly. After washing the 6 or 7 dishes that I used and wiping down the rouge cocoa powder from the counter, I thought to myself how weird/nice it was having such an easy clean up. Usually when I bake or cook anything, the kitchen looks like a twister blew through it. Not this time though. The cobbler was in the oven and everything was clean in under twenty minutes. Can you imagine?</div><br />
Chocolate Cobbler<br />
Adapted (if you can call it that..) from <a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen-blog/2010/05/a-tasty-recipe-my-grannys-chocolate-cobbler/">Tasty Kitchen</a><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 cup All-purpose Flour</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">7 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder, Divided<br />
2 teaspoons Baking Powder</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">¼ teaspoons Salt</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1-¼ cup Sugar, Divided</div>⅓ cups Melted Butter<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1-½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract</div>½ cups Light Brown Sugar, Packed<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1-½ cup Hot Tap Water</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">½ cups Milk</div>1 cup chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.</div>2. First stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, 3 tablespoons of the cocoa, and 3/4 cup of the white sugar. Reserve the remaining cocoa and sugar.<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3. Stir in the milk, melted butter, and vanilla to the flour mixture. Mix until smooth. Gently stir in chocolate chips.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4. Pour the mixture into an ungreased 8-inch baking dish. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">5. In a separate small bowl, mix the remaining white sugar (1/2 cup), the brown sugar, and remaining 4 tablespoons of cocoa. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the batter.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">6. Pour the hot tap water over all. DO NOT STIR (no matter how tempting!)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">7. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the center is set.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">8. Let stand for a few minutes <strong>if you can hold yourself back. </strong></div>gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218122552569699413.post-14362151152050491062010-07-09T23:29:00.000-07:002010-07-09T23:29:46.258-07:00Taco Melts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYavwPqLdW47OahDnb56Yn324kq0akxuJpWv0-iE1-JzyoAsVWpQJu0zJ6gvbgKutp1ls2x6pBZtsdzVLNMoTeiqfKj_sSPoeazondiI5SkgROjYaEvtIjbPcCHQhd3MgAbKgMY8mhkvgo/s1600/DSCN0816.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYavwPqLdW47OahDnb56Yn324kq0akxuJpWv0-iE1-JzyoAsVWpQJu0zJ6gvbgKutp1ls2x6pBZtsdzVLNMoTeiqfKj_sSPoeazondiI5SkgROjYaEvtIjbPcCHQhd3MgAbKgMY8mhkvgo/s320/DSCN0816.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">I'm usually more of a dessert than main course type gal, but I've had my eye on this Pillsbury recipe for a few months now. It's basically a meal consisting of ground beef, refigerated biscuits, and taco seasoning mix. Does it get any easier than that? The biscuit wraps are tender and flaky and the filling is packed with flavor and suprisingly (delightfully) spicy. It only took about 35 minutes from beginning to end and if you already have some pre-cooked ground beef on hand, it will be finished even quicker! Just add the seasoning and salsa. Now, when I first pulled these out of the oven I was a little apprehensive from the look of them. They looked nothing like the neat and crispy biscuit melts posted with the recipe on the website. Instead, they were more pale, plump, and all over the place. Once I opened that baby up though, I knew that I had done good. I'm not the only fan of this recipe, my fellow diners enjoyed these as well. Even after dinner was finished and the dishes were cleaned and the reruns of USA television shows were on, I continued to get compliments. Of course, I have to give 90% of the credit to that cute pillsbury dough boy and his buttermilk biscuits. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Pillsbury Grands! Taco Melts</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 package Old El Paso taco seasoning mix</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2/3 cup water</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">1/2 cup chunky salsa</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 lb lean ground beef (at least 80%) cooked, drained</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">1 can (16.3 oz) Pillsbury refigerated biscuits (any variety)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">1 cup shredded mexican cheese blend</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil and grease.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">2. In medium saucepan, cook taco seasoning mix, water, 1/2 cup of the salsa and cooked ground beef until thickened and water is absorbed.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">3. Press each biscuit into 6-inch round. Fill with taco mixture and 1 tablespoon cheese. Fold dough over filling and press to seal. Place on greased cookie sheet.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixYg76y9cztqNyNacPBm2tYqsQKXzBL1c9NEgm1pSJjOw6gwJciK6DzNa9u8XEPaF1kmGR37geWqVPnlg2oFJLQu2-xMsuKFsWAXxysbj7HogMxyYFpRAiyYP7Z6o0gD7gahq5d2DlzpbC/s1600/DSCN0812.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixYg76y9cztqNyNacPBm2tYqsQKXzBL1c9NEgm1pSJjOw6gwJciK6DzNa9u8XEPaF1kmGR37geWqVPnlg2oFJLQu2-xMsuKFsWAXxysbj7HogMxyYFpRAiyYP7Z6o0gD7gahq5d2DlzpbC/s320/DSCN0812.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlUl7Kw_-uvMF8XddxRJ06YYv2XEBu2jmQpEcKtuVgM8mDxUn7pHAVe1c79oEaQhLrjX4lMy204DEVH2-xLnaTdwcEUhVx1-g7lrnpYY7F8xQtMe32nP-E6ofIo2c0Glx9CCxzhHTD0jmf/s1600/DSCN0817.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlUl7Kw_-uvMF8XddxRJ06YYv2XEBu2jmQpEcKtuVgM8mDxUn7pHAVe1c79oEaQhLrjX4lMy204DEVH2-xLnaTdwcEUhVx1-g7lrnpYY7F8xQtMe32nP-E6ofIo2c0Glx9CCxzhHTD0jmf/s320/DSCN0817.JPG" /></a>And since I do love treats, I topped off my night with vanilla bean ice cream, hot fudge, and M&Ms. A little dessert never hurt a girl.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218122552569699413.post-22452963773970212082010-07-05T19:34:00.000-07:002010-07-05T19:40:21.971-07:00Red, White, and Blue<div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I don't know about you, but to me it doesn't quite feel like summer until we've had the Fourth of July festivities. Something about the barbequing, the drinks, the warm night, and the family getting together really does it for me. Not to mention the fireworks! Oh, and I love any excuse to bake! Even though I don't really need one to begin with.. at least this way I don't eat all the goods by myself (which I've been known to do..) I decided that I would bake festive vanilla cupcakes frosted with red, white, and blue buttercream and some fried strawberry pies. The fried strawberry pies were sort of a last minute thing, I originally wanted to bake individual cherry pies but time literally flew by that day and I already had the ingredients for the strawberry pies and they were so simple to assemble. All it is is strawberries, cornstarch, sugar, and *gasp* refirgerated pie crust! In the end, I had so much strawberry filling left over that I was able to cone out the middle of each cupcake, fill them, and reassemble before frosting them with this rich vanilla bean buttercream. I have to say, the strawberry mixture along with the vanilla cupcake was absolutley DELICIOUS. You see that? You see what I did there? I put it in capital letters to help you understand the <strong>explosion</strong> of taste that was going on in my mouth with every bite. I might never eat another cupcake again unless its filled with this fruity goodness (okay.. that might be a little lie so don't hold me to it!). </div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBQg7GSwLjUUGmTOxt4PO3y-xf8KAvp1B7ZdqgbAvarxKQ5wsPgD-pnUIcGaRMHAANeTWc7Tf8obEr5fxBa-VU_i02WNx6aPanpJA4XUhyphenhyphenyc8vFchqbLvxFcknoxdCEwsTNEbzwAHrerwS/s1600/DSCN0767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBQg7GSwLjUUGmTOxt4PO3y-xf8KAvp1B7ZdqgbAvarxKQ5wsPgD-pnUIcGaRMHAANeTWc7Tf8obEr5fxBa-VU_i02WNx6aPanpJA4XUhyphenhyphenyc8vFchqbLvxFcknoxdCEwsTNEbzwAHrerwS/s320/DSCN0767.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Fried Strawberry Pies</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Courtesy of <a href="http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=261700">Southern Living</a></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">2 cups fresh strawberries, mashed</div>3/4 cup sugar<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1/4 cup cornstarch</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 (15-ounce) package refrigerated piecrusts</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Vegetable oil</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Powdered sugar</div><br />
1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a saucepan. Bring strawberry mixture to a boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly until thickened. Let cool completely.<br />
2. Roll 1 piecrust to press out fold lines; cut into 9 circles with a 3-inch round cutter. Roll circles to 3 1/2-inch diameter; moisten edges with water <strong>(*I used egg wash*)</strong>. Spoon 2 teaspoons strawberry mixture in the center of each circle; fold over, pressing edges with fork to seal. Repeat with remaining piecrust and strawberry mixture.<br />
3. Place pies in a single layer on a baking sheet, and freeze at least 1 hour.<br />
4. Pour oil to a depth of 1 inch into a large heavy skillet; heat to 350°. <br />
5. Fry pies, in batches, 1-2 minute on each side or until golden. Drain on paper towels; sprinkle with powdered sugar. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmq5CXZLbnBblPHjFoO6G5KV2aP-9PJRZQjBDc6vXKCahrxXYIna2NaFCS2jOGzaTNSfZjc266lk2_1sP8v8I2ftRMR_4oDukeNSsKRoawFkWngZIXt9gAmWtVsOUhjDPNXu-xDmVbqzIt/s1600/DSCN0760.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmq5CXZLbnBblPHjFoO6G5KV2aP-9PJRZQjBDc6vXKCahrxXYIna2NaFCS2jOGzaTNSfZjc266lk2_1sP8v8I2ftRMR_4oDukeNSsKRoawFkWngZIXt9gAmWtVsOUhjDPNXu-xDmVbqzIt/s320/DSCN0760.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em>I know, I know.. The red came out very pink, but I ran out of food coloring! It's American enough for me though!</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAVhGBhrwJSoklRX2ICamxtnz5gNsZddwuh5JxVjDBUdlC83q6ngkXOrkPPkXxZst6Fn2fs0rmAdyscV7QvTZ97G0K-1exsC7ZB6pU7W2mbqaJjG7tyd1CO59OIfBXqFHlMBt3MQzvJefw/s1600/DSCN0777.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAVhGBhrwJSoklRX2ICamxtnz5gNsZddwuh5JxVjDBUdlC83q6ngkXOrkPPkXxZst6Fn2fs0rmAdyscV7QvTZ97G0K-1exsC7ZB6pU7W2mbqaJjG7tyd1CO59OIfBXqFHlMBt3MQzvJefw/s320/DSCN0777.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: xx-small;">MmM</span></em><em><span style="font-size: xx-small;">mMm...........strawberry filling!</span></em></div>Vanilla Cupcakes<br />
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature<br />
2/3 cup granulated white sugar<br />
3 large eggs<br />
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract<br />
Zest of 1 large lemon <br />
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour<br />
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder<br />
1/4 teaspoon salt<br />
1/4 cup cold milk<br />
<br />
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.<br />
2. In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest. <br />
3. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. <br />
5. Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing.<br />
<br />
Easy Vanilla Bean Buttercream <br />
Courtesy of Cook's Illustrated<br />
2½ sticks unsalted butter, softened<br />
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise<br />
2½ cups confectioners’ sugar Pinch salt<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla extract<br />
2 Tablespoons heavy cream<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">1. In a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. Using a paring knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean into butter and beat mixture at medium-high speed to combine, about 15 seconds.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">3. Add confectioners’ sugar and salt; beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully incorporated, about 30 seconds; scrape bowl, add vanilla and heavy cream, and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 20 seconds, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">(this buttercream is so good, I could eat it from the bowl!)</div>gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218122552569699413.post-57142009342172654432010-06-27T01:30:00.000-07:002010-06-27T01:35:28.756-07:00Red Velvet Cuppycake<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">I had a magnificent lunch this afternoon with my mom at Elephant Bar. Their crab cakes are the most divine morsels of food that I have ever put in my mouth. And on top of that their served in a rich mango sauce that is to die for. Please, don't even get me started on the seared ahi and ginger. After eating this delicious meal and feeling pretty good from my Passion Mai Tai, I was perusing the dessert menu my eyes landed on a Frosted Red Velvet Cupcake. It looked good in the picture, but we thought to ourselves 'why spend money on something that we can easily bake at home?'.. so we bought some red food coloring and the rest is history! The recipe comes from Paula Deen so you know that not only were the cupcakes <em>moist</em> but they were fluffy and rich in flavor. Red Velvet isn't my favorite flavor for cakes and I never really go out of my way to make it, although I have in the past and this recipe definitley puts the others to shame. We decorated them with a standard vanilla buttercream instead of the traditional cream cheese frosting, since it was easier to throw together at the last minute. Besides, I've never ever been a fan of cream cheese frosting unless its piggy backing something carrot flavored. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha2FNF3VY0xCTNRIcQD9yOfrh17s0XTHXTHvU-mbwPIzFbrZoihh5dVJZhndqoPbebI6uYXnY9-xkYiMrHnnKE25OyvHOLXd3qAiP9t26-ZLIPTu4JYZKNHwSxAzO0bv7WJTOmisxNwu8b/s1600/photo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha2FNF3VY0xCTNRIcQD9yOfrh17s0XTHXTHvU-mbwPIzFbrZoihh5dVJZhndqoPbebI6uYXnY9-xkYiMrHnnKE25OyvHOLXd3qAiP9t26-ZLIPTu4JYZKNHwSxAzO0bv7WJTOmisxNwu8b/s320/photo2.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8m18oEAQDVsmAJrQYPxw7yMdkST7YwMnypOEXRCIDTR9AXclze4fR_WeSr930r_6PjJHEd0JOuKcwLblziQ3QgZuZ4rHto0bxxSgcQnIEXH9NkSsiMZ8Oavdd6kDemK2MH8bFKz-LJxdp/s1600/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8m18oEAQDVsmAJrQYPxw7yMdkST7YwMnypOEXRCIDTR9AXclze4fR_WeSr930r_6PjJHEd0JOuKcwLblziQ3QgZuZ4rHto0bxxSgcQnIEXH9NkSsiMZ8Oavdd6kDemK2MH8bFKz-LJxdp/s320/photo.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><strong>Grandmother Paula's Red Velvet Cake</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Courtesy of Paula Deen</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">2 cups sugar <br />
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2 eggs </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2 tablespoons cocoa powder </div>2 ounces red food coloring <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2 1/2 cups cake flour </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 teaspoon salt </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 cup buttermilk </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 teaspoon vanilla extract </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1/2 teaspoon baking soda </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 tablespoon vinegar </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare muffin pan by lining with cupcake holders. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">2. In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter, beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition. Mix cocoa and food coloring together and then add to sugar mixture; mix well. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">3. Sift together flour and salt. Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Blend in vanilla. In a small bowl, combine baking soda and vinegar and add to mixture. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">4. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from heat and cool completely before frosting. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><strong>Vanilla Buttercream Frosting</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">3 cups confectioners' sugar <br />
1 cup butter </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 teaspoon vanilla extract </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1.Mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes. </div><br />
2. Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218122552569699413.post-73604926789974522552010-06-20T21:19:00.000-07:002010-06-20T21:22:22.355-07:00Meyer Lemon Triangles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfSJ-DsjzxWHuyRjTa8iNPYrIgi8eWkrwVoFm5Np6HFOxYvpSN4-mrcFKutjfKbDDvl-WCbZJ2pZqvgoNSYN7k5R6Td3d06_ZMmdkMUcNSz4HHUTWenclQcrygpa7DR5qhP58EMnzaeKow/s1600/DSCN0734.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfSJ-DsjzxWHuyRjTa8iNPYrIgi8eWkrwVoFm5Np6HFOxYvpSN4-mrcFKutjfKbDDvl-WCbZJ2pZqvgoNSYN7k5R6Td3d06_ZMmdkMUcNSz4HHUTWenclQcrygpa7DR5qhP58EMnzaeKow/s320/DSCN0734.JPG" /></a></div>If it's true what they say and we are what we eat, than tonight I am a lemon. I baked these lemon traingle bars for a get together we had at my sister's house this afternoon. I thought that since tomorrow is the first day of summer and the weather is so bright and warm this time of year that lemons would be a perfect way to kick things off. Originally, I was going to bake a lemon pound cake, but the 1 1/2 hour baking time just wasn't going to fit into the schedule. These lemon bars are a sinch to make and can be finished in under an hour, prep time included. They were excellent, from the delicate crust to the rich lemon filling to the powdered sugar on top. Personally, I could not stop munching on them. And that is why tonight ...I am a lemon.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meyer Lemon Bars</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Adapted from Sugarcrafter</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 cup flour<br />
1/2 cup powdered sugar</div>1 teaspoon Kosher salt<br />
1/2 cup butter, melted<br />
<br />
1 cup granulated sugar<br />
2 tablespoons flour<br />
2 eggs<br />
1 teaspoon pure lemon extract <br />
3 tablespoons lemon juice (about 3 Meyer lemons)<br />
2 teaspoons lemon zest (from about 2 of the Meyer lemons)<br />
<br />
Powdered sugar, for dusting<br />
<br />
Directions<br />
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.<br />
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, powdered sugar and salt. Stir in the melted butter and then press the dough into a greased 8x8 inch pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the crust turns light brown.<br />
3. Reduce the heat to 300 degrees.<br />
4. In another medium bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, eggs, lemon juice, and lemon zest. <br />
5. Pour the lemon mixture over the crust and bake for 20-25 minutes.<br />
6. After removing from the oven, lightly dust the top with powdered sugar.<br />
7. Cool completely and then cut into squares. Then cut each square diagonally to form triangles.gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218122552569699413.post-5476412750821329662010-06-19T16:02:00.000-07:002010-06-19T16:02:21.069-07:00Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Coffee Cake<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM60nyguW4aVoCseqB4rm1hdooZkPRQLVCg6iXwahf8wDvGwzKTCo3c78VI8NhU_ZGaviHaZRW-zH7YBJikPVmvJahU1U9lwQJkDc_dLgI7rvwltiXjPqtBG3-tZqlyp6DE9OYvSPSdls8/s1600/DSCN0722.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM60nyguW4aVoCseqB4rm1hdooZkPRQLVCg6iXwahf8wDvGwzKTCo3c78VI8NhU_ZGaviHaZRW-zH7YBJikPVmvJahU1U9lwQJkDc_dLgI7rvwltiXjPqtBG3-tZqlyp6DE9OYvSPSdls8/s320/DSCN0722.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">I've always been a fan of a good warm oatmeal raisin cookie. I'm a fan of the texture and I enjoy the spurts of chewy raisin. Another fan of oatmeal raisin in the house is my dad. Actaully, he is more of an oatmeal raisin <em>enthusiast</em>. It has always been his favorite cookie and guilty pleasure and he makes no secret of it. Since it's Fathers Day weekend, I thought it would be nice to bake this Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Coffee Cake for him. The plan was to bake this morning so that he would be able to eat it for breakfast (cake for breakfast again Grace?) however due to extenuating circumstances I put it together last night. My poor dad, by the time he woke up this morning more than half of it was gone. But thats what being a dad is about right? making sacrafices for your kids. Secretly, I think he had a few pieces in the middle of the night like every one else did. This cake is very simple and the buttermilk really adds to the moist texture. The raisins in the middle of the cake spread over the cinnamon topping mixture tastes fantastic! If you have a food processor I recommend using it for the topping so that it isn't too coarse. I used my hands and as you can see from the pictures that it is a little lumpy and didn't bake into the cake very well. It's still very delicious though and full of cinnamon and butter goodness!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Coffee Cake</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">2 cups all purpose flour</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">2/3 cup quick cooking oats</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">2 tsp baking powder</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">1/2 tsp salt</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 1/4 cups sugar</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/2 cup butter, room temperature</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2 large eggs</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 cup buttermilk</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 tsp vanilla extract</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Filling-Topping</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/2 cup all purpose flour</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 cup brown sugar</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/2 cup butter</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2/3 cup raisins </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Flour a 9 inch springform pan. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, and salt.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in 1/3 of the flour mixutre, followed by half of the buttermilk and the entire vanilla. Then, blend in half of the remaining flour, the rest of the buttermilk, and then the last of the flour. Set aside and prepare topping. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">3. For the topping, combine the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl and stir well. Rub butter into the mixture with your fingertips (with pulsing with a food processor) until the mixture resembles coarse sand.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">4. Pour half of the batter into the prepared springform pan. Top with half of the topping mixture. Evenly sprinkle raisins in a single layer. Pour remaining batter on top and spread carefully to the sides of the pan. Sprinkle all remaining topping over the batter. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">5. Bake for 45 - 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow cake to cool on wire rack until it is room temperature before running a knife around the edge and removing springform. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEH0VXlvxR7RoLsrwPuMPdqozSCZUr-GDNmeMhcjqR-e2h3RxRJmDxPIaQ62ud2vdPkiicETGhLrpOMlAv1eS9OSgxT_Kz7jNAIDXs8MO93SLmJOK41GalmGMVijGIFYaixHCbJEvt3iNN/s1600/DSCN0731.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEH0VXlvxR7RoLsrwPuMPdqozSCZUr-GDNmeMhcjqR-e2h3RxRJmDxPIaQ62ud2vdPkiicETGhLrpOMlAv1eS9OSgxT_Kz7jNAIDXs8MO93SLmJOK41GalmGMVijGIFYaixHCbJEvt3iNN/s320/DSCN0731.JPG" /></a></div>gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218122552569699413.post-85847583323083613232010-06-13T13:27:00.000-07:002010-06-13T13:32:01.673-07:00Buttermilk Breakfast Cake<div style="text-align: justify;">I love the weekend. I especially love Sunday mornings. Nothing beats lounging in your bed, reading the paper, drinking coffee, and of course eating a delicious breakfast (preferably while still in the aforementioned bed). This morning I treated myself to this Buttermilk Breakfast Cake. What is that you say? <em>Cake for breakfast ? </em>Yes, of course a cake for breakfast! And the best part is that this moist cake starts from a box, so it's super easy and quick to whip up in the morning. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCIfV4zvkAygkOeXVPsUV2D1TuLHhgUI8E1oj_fokUIq5seoTDHf9BOQPr5C7HRhsFz17Ouq1RhVqb0LpkhwuNj_yCmQFuGfgqgixGXZnVcxE3UwsAMvLhhFCWjIae2sxUmXq3TgecAj4L/s1600/DSCN0719.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCIfV4zvkAygkOeXVPsUV2D1TuLHhgUI8E1oj_fokUIq5seoTDHf9BOQPr5C7HRhsFz17Ouq1RhVqb0LpkhwuNj_yCmQFuGfgqgixGXZnVcxE3UwsAMvLhhFCWjIae2sxUmXq3TgecAj4L/s320/DSCN0719.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Buttermilk Breakfast Cake</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Southern Living Magazine</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For the cake:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 (18.25 oz.) white cake mix</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 cup buttermilk (low fat works just fine)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/2 cup butter (I used unsalted)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">5 large eggs</div><div style="text-align: justify;">3 tbsp. light brown sugar</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2 tsp. ground cinnamon</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 tbsp granulated sugar</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Buttermilk-Vanilla Glaze (see recipe below)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For the glaze: </div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 cup powdered sugar</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 tbsp melted butter</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 tsp. vanilla extract</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 to 2 tbsp buttermilk</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cake:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat first three ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer 1 1/2 minutes or until well blended; add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. Stir together brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">3. Grease a 12 cup bundt pan; sprinkle with 1 tbsp granulated sugar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">4. Spoon one third of the cake batter into prepared pan; sprinkle brown sugar mixture evenly over batter. Top with remaining batter.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">5. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Cool cake in pan for about 15 minutes. Remove cake from pan and cool for 20 minutes. Drizzle Buttermilk-Vanilla Glaze over lightly warm cake.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Buttermilk-Vanilla Glaze:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. Stir together first 3 ingredients and 1 tbsp buttermilk until smooth, adding additional buttermilk if necessary for desired consistency. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Who doesn't want to start their morning eating a slice of tasty cake drizzled with a sugary glaze?</div>gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218122552569699413.post-5638328353139914422010-06-11T22:38:00.000-07:002010-06-11T22:39:37.189-07:00Chocolate Chip Cookie #10<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVD2mCDUboOLB4hefibZtl4E-gd4B8D29s21XlrtEeGYzl2_kt7opf6dHxEFXP7n3T9Cth2YL-H6Bv3en3jb4isQL6BDblxz9b4LFLb-i2FDW3Wd04JEs3Z1VSwHfRZMTKjhti4su6i71B/s1600/DSCN0711.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVD2mCDUboOLB4hefibZtl4E-gd4B8D29s21XlrtEeGYzl2_kt7opf6dHxEFXP7n3T9Cth2YL-H6Bv3en3jb4isQL6BDblxz9b4LFLb-i2FDW3Wd04JEs3Z1VSwHfRZMTKjhti4su6i71B/s320/DSCN0711.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well look at this: elevn whole days into June and not one baking adventure to show for it! June is shaping up to be a crazy month and I never have been great with time management.. Anyway, I'm bringing myself back with some chocolate chip cookies! Chocolate chip cookies from Alton Brown to be exact. All week I was debating what I would bake Friday night and as the week shaped up to be more and more hectic all I could think about was the warmth and comfort of a fresh homemade chocolate chip cookie. Let me just say that I think I failed somewhere between the egg yolks and the folding of the ingredients so the texture was a little different, but these cookies were not a dissapointment (and I still ate more of them than I should have). I would say that when you mess up an ingredient and cookie is <em>still </em>delectable, you got yourself a grade A recipe! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">By the way, I have no idea why the recipe is titled Chocolate Chip Cookie #10. Is it the painfully obvious "10th cookie" reason or is there another story behind it..anyone know?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Chocolate Chip Cookie #10</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Alton Brown's I'm Just Here For More Food Cookbook</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2 1/4 cups flour</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 tsp baking soda</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 tsp salt</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 tsp vanilla</div><div style="text-align: justify;">3/4 cup granulated sugar</div><div style="text-align: justify;">3/4 cup brown sugar</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2 egg yolks, slightly beaten</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2 cups chocolate chips (I used semisweet)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. **As soon as you put the cookies in the oven turn the temperature down to 350 degrees (Alton Brown swears by this initial temperature boost).</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter, sugars, egg yolks, and vanilla until combined. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">3. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, pour in butter mixture and fold the ingredients together until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and fold to combine. Be careful not to overmix!</div><div style="text-align: justify;">4. Using a spoon, dish out cookies about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">5. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for a couple of minutes before transfering to a wire rack. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">*Alternate option: For a cookie cake (what!? YUM), dump the dough into an ungreased pizza pan or whatever kind of pan you have and gently press down until the dough is evenly distributed around the pan. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until light gold brown.</div>gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218122552569699413.post-74424090481219369742010-05-29T21:14:00.000-07:002010-05-29T21:15:34.704-07:00Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsMYVzleNtVZ_pb0glN9gkEqVw3vRxYDxJ3JTSgNWeXkZvyP-NFtAML71rmavOhhMtsE_h9ADkvgZdqXrm47zqKsgnexAqToSJfHobnCUIjSzf0Y3Ik1XMvHWMT0C5iUyY1yNaX0Y587ZD/s1600/DSCN0708.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsMYVzleNtVZ_pb0glN9gkEqVw3vRxYDxJ3JTSgNWeXkZvyP-NFtAML71rmavOhhMtsE_h9ADkvgZdqXrm47zqKsgnexAqToSJfHobnCUIjSzf0Y3Ik1XMvHWMT0C5iUyY1yNaX0Y587ZD/s320/DSCN0708.JPG" /></a></div>Given the fact that I wake up so early Monday through Friday to go to work, I have a hard time sleeping in properly on the weekends. Fortuntley, this means I'm up early enough for the proper calorie filled breakfast feasts that weekends are made for. This was the case this morning when I found myself awake at 8am staring at four ripe bananas that I'd been saving for a moment just like this. I honestly thought I already had my go to <a href="http://gracescookiekitchen.blogspot.com/2010/03/this-banana-bread-comes-out-so-moist.html#comments">banana bread recipe</a> and that no other recipe could compare, but now we have some stiff competition. This banana cinnamon swirl bread is <em>delicious.</em> Please, if you're even entertaining the idea of making banana bread, please, use this recipe:<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;">For the bread:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">3-4 over-ripe bananas</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/3 cup melted butter</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 cup sugar</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 egg, beaten</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 tsp vanilla</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 tsp baking soda</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 1/2 cups of flour</div><div style="text-align: justify;">dash of salt</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For the swirl:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/4 cup sugar</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 tbs cinnamon</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT5sJhvx0_s62PJ_Lkpyd3gPqtpBAm5gHcJkI8pl_8aHKkBVks47JNKZ05HsYVt4usMCkb1Dr_uf3zVYDebJ-shx-vXiQekUviyjHHe792EcGCFZWRlPtD6xn5I7-HO-P4_PsLgOI86DVo/s1600/DSCN0701.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT5sJhvx0_s62PJ_Lkpyd3gPqtpBAm5gHcJkI8pl_8aHKkBVks47JNKZ05HsYVt4usMCkb1Dr_uf3zVYDebJ-shx-vXiQekUviyjHHe792EcGCFZWRlPtD6xn5I7-HO-P4_PsLgOI86DVo/s320/DSCN0701.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and butter/flour loaf pan.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. Mix bananas, butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla together. Sprinkle baking soda and salt around top of banana mixture. Gently stir in flour, be careful not to overmix batter.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">3. In a small dish, mix together the sugar and cinnamon for the swirl.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">4. Add 1/2 of the batter to the loaf pan and then spinkle half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture all over the batter in the pan. Add the rest of the batter and sprinkle remiaining cinnamon-sugar mixture on top.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">5. Bake for 55-60 minutes. Serve warm with butter (but it tastes good cold too!)</div>gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218122552569699413.post-32496814130599814102010-05-26T12:51:00.000-07:002010-05-26T20:33:29.573-07:00Crispy Salted Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookies<div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">First things first: Those chocolate oatmeal bars from the last post were absolutely heavenly. I ate the entire pan myself (with the exception of maybe three or four) by Sunday night, which I thought would be a valid reason to take Monday off of work. As if I needed anymore sweets, I baked these Crisp Salted Oatmeal White Chocolate cookies. In my defense, I gave most of the batch to my Nana and only ate two or three or six. I should point out that this picture is not mine (as you can tell by the good quality), I got it from <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/05/crispy-salted-oatmeal-white-chocolate-cookies/">smitten kitchen</a> where I also found the recipe. My own personal pictures aren't uploading correctly and I thought whats a post without a picture? people want to see what their about to create, right? right.</div></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM81otS9BZi0vbnfD5Nty70uGcw62aEDI6DmLFMiDpSgcqnL3TQNdwwCl4Iuvd7Qr0NIWkPqvAthGs4brbvvZTKqcqby6CaV0QtQ4WLaOL_3NOe7qQsfFK-bBKmV8BjhR0PDX6Pu5ZHMHC/s1600/2455978494_5323f86974.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM81otS9BZi0vbnfD5Nty70uGcw62aEDI6DmLFMiDpSgcqnL3TQNdwwCl4Iuvd7Qr0NIWkPqvAthGs4brbvvZTKqcqby6CaV0QtQ4WLaOL_3NOe7qQsfFK-bBKmV8BjhR0PDX6Pu5ZHMHC/s320/2455978494_5323f86974.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Right off the bat this recipe interested me for two reasons: 1) I'm a <i>huge</i> fan of white chocolate. As gnarly as it may sound to some, I could eat a bar of white baking chocolate by itself and enjoy every bite. 2) I'm a salt fiend. True to the name, these cookie were very crispy. I'm more of a soft and chewy cookie gal, but these were still very pleasant. The bursts of sea salt on top of the oatmeal goodness was divine and a very welcome flare to my taste buds. </div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><a name='more'></a>Ingredients: <br />
<br />
1 cup all-purpose flour<br />
3/4 teaspoon baking powder<br />
1/2 teaspoon baking soda<br />
1/4 teaspoon table salt<br />
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, slightly softened<br />
1 cup sugar<br />
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 large egg</div>1 teaspoon vanilla extract<br />
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats<br />
6 ounces <b>good-quality white chocolate bar</b>, chopped <br />
1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt for sprinkling on top<br />
<br />
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.<br />
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and table salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside<br />
3. Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula, then add egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape down bowl again. Add flour mixture gradually and mix until just incorporated and smooth. Gradually add oats and white chocolate and mix until well incorporated.<br />
4. Divide dough into 24 equal portions, each about 2 tablespoons. Roll between palms into balls, then place on lined baking sheets about 2 1/2 inches apart.<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">5. Using fingertips, gently press down each ball to about 3/4-inch thickness.</div>6. Sprinkle a flake or two of sea salt on each cookie<br />
7. Bake until cookies are deep golden brown, about 13 to 16 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9P4_EtgzCXpF87O7kjjBQ9XLktXnBYwYn7Y2BzDKCPdYBNYwJPeTPIRPWmx3LVOiV7OBJgDpJWdkJNhAWXmQUfinvmNEZdmz0Llg0zMOoyYnGDz4-ffx9pXYD__EhnOAbGGI888f9kHBj/s1600/DSCN0695.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9P4_EtgzCXpF87O7kjjBQ9XLktXnBYwYn7Y2BzDKCPdYBNYwJPeTPIRPWmx3LVOiV7OBJgDpJWdkJNhAWXmQUfinvmNEZdmz0Llg0zMOoyYnGDz4-ffx9pXYD__EhnOAbGGI888f9kHBj/s320/DSCN0695.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Nana liked them</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"> =^,^=</div>gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218122552569699413.post-83188263956208472892010-05-22T10:28:00.000-07:002010-05-26T12:51:58.771-07:00Chocolate Oatmeal Bars<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEPHqUMTb5YM_h-ZS312x5RqQqYCJyItPmAEDpTvFUj_wwavYuBJ9dmapF2v-mHjJPeS3oa0DXxN9dfd2S6ZG8OhHmyNsa0hAz47urTyudjQ06IvKSuI45OK2sk8TqqA4iIPgj4bqfjhpu/s1600/DSCN0687.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEPHqUMTb5YM_h-ZS312x5RqQqYCJyItPmAEDpTvFUj_wwavYuBJ9dmapF2v-mHjJPeS3oa0DXxN9dfd2S6ZG8OhHmyNsa0hAz47urTyudjQ06IvKSuI45OK2sk8TqqA4iIPgj4bqfjhpu/s320/DSCN0687.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border: medium none; text-align: justify;">I love baking with oatmeal and I especially love any recipe with chocolate. Combine the two and..well.. I'm in love! So when I was cruising the blogosphere and came across this recipe at <a href="http://annies-eats.com/2010/05/19/chocolate-oatmeal-almost-candy-bars/">Annies's Eats</a>, I immediatley printed it out and went to the pantry to find the ingredients. Another great thing about this recipe is that every ingredient is something that is usually already in your typical pantry. Once I pulled them out of the oven and cut them into squares, they looked just like candy bars. The only problem is that even though I left them in for an extra 5 minutes, the chocolate was still runny and I couldn't leave them in any longer because the oatmeal was browning. I figured it was better to have soft chocolate and perfectly moist oatmeal than burnt chocolate and burnt oatmeal. I refrigerated them overnight (after eating a few, of course..) and it really sealed the bars together. They're perfect!</div><div style="border: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border: medium none; text-align: justify;"><b>Chocolate Oatmeal Bars</b><br />
For the oatmeal layer:</div><div style="border: medium none;">2½ cups all-purpose flour</div><div style="border: medium none;">1 tsp. baking soda<br />
1 tsp. salt</div><div style="border: medium none;">¼ tsp. ground cinnamon</div>1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature<br />
<div style="border: medium none;">2 cups light brown sugar</div><div style="border: medium none;">2 large eggs</div>2 tsp. vanilla extract<br />
3 cups old-fashioned oats<br />
1 cup salted honey roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped<br />
<div style="border: medium none;">For the chocolate layer:<br />
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk</div>2 cups semisweet chocolate chips<br />
<div style="border: medium none;">2 tbsp. unsalted butter</div><div style="border: medium none;">1 tsp. vanilla extract</div><div style="border: medium none;">¼ tsp. salt</div><div style="border: medium none;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Grease the sides of the pan with butter.</div><div style="border: medium none; text-align: justify;">2. To make the oatmeal cookie layer: combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Whisk to blend. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter on medium-high speed until it is soft and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. </div><div style="border: medium none; text-align: justify;">3. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Blend in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Mix in the oats and peanuts with a rubber spatula until evenly combined.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">4. Reserve 1½ cups of the mixture. Place the remaining dough in the prepared pan and press over the bottom of the pan in an even layer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">5. To make the chocolate layer: combine the condensed milk, chocolate chips, butter and salt in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until the mixture is warm and the chocolate chips and butter are melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and peanuts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">6. Pour the warm chocolate mixture over the oatmeal cookie layer and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Crumble the remaining oatmeal cookie mixture and scatter evenly over the top of the chocolate.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">7. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and the chocolate layer is starting to pull away from the sides of the pan. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">8. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely. Cut into bars and serve!</div>gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218122552569699413.post-24392603720050150542010-05-12T15:28:00.000-07:002010-05-12T15:28:05.585-07:00Lemon Cream<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS4URM8tUy4FjoE09BZjHWKiM8CF_4pz94dtduv7MG2gPmfQSc2y3ZZfQS-coZzdR4359bCduOOs-9Pj5d550ljuWELkzBKTKttp8qNS38XP314tTA2friNdAXTMerXDaZaS0Wnl2p00qR/s1600/DSCN0656.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS4URM8tUy4FjoE09BZjHWKiM8CF_4pz94dtduv7MG2gPmfQSc2y3ZZfQS-coZzdR4359bCduOOs-9Pj5d550ljuWELkzBKTKttp8qNS38XP314tTA2friNdAXTMerXDaZaS0Wnl2p00qR/s320/DSCN0656.JPG" wt="true" /></a> </div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Continuing with the Tuesday night baking tradition, I whipped up a batch of lemon cream cupcakes. The cupcakes themselves had a delectable cake like texture and the perfect hint of lemon flavor with every bite. The frosting had more of a lemon <i>zing</i> so I was careful not frost them too heavily, even though in my opinion the frosting is the best part of any cupcake!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lemon Cream Cupcakes</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Adapted from <a href="http://allrecipes.com/">All Recipes</a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Cupcake: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1 cup butter, softened</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2 cups sugar</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">3 eggs</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> 2 tsp grated lemon peel</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> 1 tsp pure vanilla extract</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1/4 tsp pure lemon extract </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">3 1/2 cups AP flour</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1 tsp baking soda</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1/2 tsp baking powder</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1/2 tsp salt</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1 1/2 cups sour cream</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Frosting:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">3 tbsp butter</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2 1/4 cups confectioners sugar</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> 2 tbs lemon juice</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">3/4 tsp vanilla extract </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1/2 tsp grated lemon peel</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2 tbsp milk</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">1. Preheat oven to 350 F and paper line about 30 muffin cups. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add grated lemon peel, vanilla extract, and lemon extract. Mix well. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">2. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. Batter will be thick (and tasty). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">3. Fill muffin cups about 1/4 full and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes and remove to wire rack to cool completely.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">4. For frosting: Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add lemon juice, vanilla, and milk. Beat until smooth. Add more milk as needed for spreading consistency. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">5. Frost cupcakes! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">6. Eat cupcakes!!</div>gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178974690054809781noreply@blogger.com2