I wont even bother to post the recipe since there are so many easily found online. Don't make the mistake I did. Start out with 1/2 or 3/4 of a tub of frosting. If you make the "dough" too soft, the balls slide right down the lollipop stick once you dip them in the chocolate.
Make this tonight and devour it tomorrow with some corned beef and cabbage. This is the easiest bread ever. If you don't have buttermilk, you can sub regular milk. Just measure out the 2 cups and add 2 tbsp of vinegar to the measuring cup. Allow to sit 5 minutes. It will curdle. Then add it to the recipe as specified! It's soooo good.
Irish Soda Bread (adapted from allrecipes.com)
Makes one loaf
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup of raisins
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda. Blend egg and buttermilk together, and add all at once to the flour mixture. Add raisins. Mix just until moistened. Stir in butter. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 65 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the bread comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Wrap in foil for several hours, or overnight, for best flavor.
I made cupcakes for my daughter's first birthday. It was important to me for her first bite of dessert to be not only homemade, but from scratch. I used Martha Stewart's, "Yellow Butter Cupcakes" recipe with a modification. I couldn't find cake flour so I used all all-purpose flour. The cupcakes, while being very good, weren't what I had in mind. They were somewhat dense and didn't resemble yellow cake. They were closer to white cake. Oh and I should have trusted my intuition when I read in her recipe to fill muffin cups. I know better then to go over 2/3 full...I ended up with less then 36 but that's okay.
I made two icings for these cupcakes and the combination of the two was DIVINE. First I made a raspberry buttercream and a basic cream cheese icing. The cupcakes were a hit and I had lots of fun decorating them. I did have to refrigerate them both to harden slightly before piping them. It was a little warm in the kitchen. I also had quite a bit of the raspberry buttercream leftover. After taking "frosting shots", I ended up throwing out about 1.5 cups. This cupcake was devoured by the birthday girl. Well worth the effort :)
I took the suggestion of Brown Eyed Baker and made these moist, fluffy, chocolatey cupcakes. I didn't have any vanilla extract left over for the frosting, but that so didn't matter. They were heaven. And aren't the little white chocolate hearts cute? I just melted some bark and drizzled the shapes on waxed paper and let set. I delivered a plate to my nice new neighbors and we're devouring the rest.
When I was growing up, we lived in what used to be known as the country. Of course that's not the case now. The only thing that was even remotely close by was a small health food/general store called Sunrise Farmer's Market. Odd combination, I know. At any rate, when I earned money (which I did in any number of ways, I was very entrepenuerial), I chose to ride my bike down to the market and spend it on a treat for myself. I was brought up in a healthy house where sugar was only around in very limited quantities. Even our cereal was unsweetened.
I always bought one of three items at the store to reward myself for my hard-earned money. It was either a Dove ice cream bar, a Ben & Jerry's brownie bar (good luck finding one of those now) or a piece of blueberry cake. When I say cake, I mean it more in a sheet cake fashion with no icing. This was made by Ninth Street Bakery. I've never been a fan of blueberries, but wow was this cake good.
Like anyone else, I occasionally crave food from my childhood, probably because I know I can't have it. Ninth Street Bakery is still very much in business, but they mostly make bread and my guess is that this cake/bar concoction is long gone.
Skip to Sunday, I was at the grocery store and spied blueberries on sale. I decided I was going to attempt to find a recipe similar to the cake. I found a recipe here for blueberry buckle and it seemed to be close to what I remembered and relatively healthy and easy to make.
The only modification I made was that I used salted butter instead of unsalted and I baked it in a 9x9 square pan instead of a spring form pan. I don't keep unsalted butter in my house. Whoever dreamt up such a thing!?
The cake was delicious, but sadly, wasn't quite what I was remembering. It tasted a bit more like coffee cake because of the cinnamon streusel topping, but it was still excellent. If anyone knows a good recipe for something that sounds like what I'm describing, or where to get a Ben & Jerry's brownie bar, please let me know.
It was bound to happen. The FDA is warning not to eat Nestle Toll House prepackaged cookie dough (cooked or raw) and Nestle is recalling it due to E. Coli. Link here. Turns out our moms were right heh.
Yum! I modified a banana bread recipe from allrecipes.com and made muffins this morning. They turned out fantastic!
Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Muffins
Makes 16 muffins
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
4 mashed overripe bananas
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir flour, baking soda and salt into wet mixture; stir just to moisten. Stir in chips and nuts. Pour batter into muffin cups. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick is clean after being inserted into the center of a muffin.
It's pretty hard to believe a year has already passed since I began this blog. Though I haven't been writing much here lately, I'm still trying to keep up with most of the blogs in my reader. It's been difficult. Hell, as I write this, I'm rocking my three week old with my foot. I've become quite the multitasker. Yesterday, however, I came across a post for empanadas over at Thursday Night Smackdown that captured my attention. With my multitasking abilities increasingly improving, I set out to make some empanadas. Nevermind that I spread it across 3 naptimes and it basically took me all day with clean up. Making empanadas was a first for me. I had leftover shredded chicken and black beans from tacos the night before so all I really had to worry about making was the crust. These were great.
Chicken and Black Bean Empanadas (Dough recipe taken verbatim from Michelle at TNS)
Makes 14 empanadas (7 servings)
Ingredients:
For the filling:
1 1/2 cups shredded seasoned chicken
1 6 oz can black olives chopped
1/2 can black beans, drained and seasoned
1 cup shredded cheese (your choice)
For the dough:
3 c. AP flour
1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter
1 egg
1 tbsp. white vinegar
up to 1/3 c. ice water
pinch of salt
Directions:
Combine all filling ingredients in a large bowl and stir well. Don't be like me and forget the cheese. Can you believe I forgot the CHEESE???? This is what multitasking does to you!
This is easiest to make in a Food Processor or stand mixer, but you can also use a pastry cutter, 2 forks or your fingers to cut the butter into the flour.
For the Food Processor version, put the flour, butter, egg and salt into the Food Processor and pulse until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is pea-sized. Add the vinegar and 2-3 tablespoons of water, pulse a few more times. Keep adding ice water and pulsing until the dough just starts to pull together - you don’t want so much water that you end up with one big, wet dough ball. Dump the dough out onto your work surface and briefly knead/mush it around until it comes together. Flatten it into a disc, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Pre-heat your over to 425.
Roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thick and cut out rounds the size of your choice. Add a spoonful of filling to the center of each round, moisten the edges with water and fold the rounds in half.
Crimp the edges closed with a fork to seal. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown.
Allow to cool a few minutes before eating.
On the morning of Friday, March 13th, I decided to make a recipe for chocolate chip scones that my dear friend Vicky shared with me. This recipe is incredibly easy and sooooo chocolatey and satisfying. I did manage to snap some photos, but somehow those got lost in the shuffle of baby photos. While eating these scones for breakfast, I got the call from my OB/GYN office to come in to discuss some test results. The appointment resulted in them wanting me to be induced and so the epic 3 day saga of my labor began.
It all began with these scones. Enjoy. And big thanks to Vicky for the recipe.
"Get Induced" Chocolate Chip Scones
Makes 8 large scones
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar + 2tsp sugar
2.5 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2/3 cup milk
1 large egg, separated
3/4 cup chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Cut in butter until it's small crumbs. Add chocolate chips. Mix egg yolk and milk together then add to dry ingredients. Mix with fork.
Plop whatever size you want onto a baking sheet. Bake until slightly golden about 20 minutes.
Hmmm it appears I'm in the mood for comfort food. This was a first attempt for me. Again, I modified a Joy of Cooking recipe. I really want to tell you to avoid making homemade macaroni and cheese, that it's difficult and not very good, but unfortunately, I can't. This was AWESOME.
It was really easy. I can see this is going to be a problem for me. I loved the subtle kick the cayenne pepper gave it. I stood in the kitchen eating out of the dish before it got washed. I just couldn't walk away. The flavor was great and the texure was perfect.
Baked Macaroni and Cheese (adapted from the Joy of Cooking)
Makes 6 main dish servings
Ingredients:
8 oz. elbow macaroni, cooked until just tender in salted water
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 cups skim milk
2 large shallots, minced
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp paprika
2 1/4 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Topping:
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
Directions:
Melt butter in large saucepan over med-low heat. Add in flour and whisking frequently, cook for 3 minutes. Gradually stir in milk, shallots and spices and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often.
Melt butter for topping (either in microwave or stovetop) and stir breadcrumbs in butter until well coated.
Preheat oven to 375. Stir in 1 3/4 cups of cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in cooked macaroni. Pour into greased 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Bake 30 minutes or until breadcrumbs are lightly browned. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
This is adapted from the toastmaster breadmaker use and care guide. The recipe is intended for the "fast bake" program on your breadmaker.
Pesto Bread
Makes a 1.5 lb loaf
Ingredients:
1 cup + 2 tbsp milk (110–115 degrees)
3 tbsp prepared pesto (room temperature)
4 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3 cloves thinly sliced garlic
3 cups bread flour
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp quick rise or bread machine yeast
Directions:
Add ingredients to breadmaker from top to bottom on the list (starting with wet ingredients). Select the fast bake program and hit start. Hot bread to your table in an hour! I suggest cooling at least 20 minutes before slicing. This bread made a great companion to my homemade minestrone (recipe to follow).
Turns out my work closed for the day anyways so I was spared using a vacation day WOOHOO! I enjoyed baking and filling my house with the scent of cinnamon. I love snickerdoodles. I had my first one a few years ago and was shocked at what a difference that cinnamon and texture make to what is basically a sugar cookie. A melty, buttery inside a cinnamony, sugar crust. It's heaven.
I went exactly by this recipe over at all recipes.
Mrs. Sigg's Snickerdoodles (reprinted from AllRecipes)
Makes 48 cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon.
Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
Bake 8 minutes, until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets.
This was an easy Sunday morning venture! I was craving chocolate cake (go figure!) and I didn't have the components. This recipe was modifed from "The Great American Cookie Cookbook". Sometimes you just have to work with what you have. I would have liked these to have been sweeter and perhaps if I had been able to follow the original recipe, they would have been. The original recipe called for a cup of mini M & Ms. Make sure to swirl the chocolate into the blonde part well or you'll have gobs of dark, slightly bitter chocolate (like I did). Those gobs didn't taste so good.
Chocolate Marbled Blondies
Makes 16 blondies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup chopped walnuts (choc. chips, m&m's or whatever you have on hand)
4 oz softened cream cheese
2 tb granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1/4 cup dark chocolate (candy bar or the like, I used some Stam chocolate pieces I received for Xmas)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x9 pan.
Cream together the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking soda. Blend flour mixture into butter mixture. Stir in nuts. Dough will be stiff like cookie dough.
In a separate bowl, mix cream cheese, granulated sugar and egg yolk until smooth. Stir in cocoa powder and blend well. Place chocolate cheese mixture in nine equal portions on the bottom of the greased pan. Place the blondie dough around the chocolate dough in the pan. Swirl the two together with a fork.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely. Cut into squares.
Melt chocolate in microwave in 30 second intervals until smooth. Pour into ziploc bag and cut a small hole in the tip. Drizzle over blondies. Allow to cool and devour with a large glass of milk!
I embarked on a baking extravaganza this weekend. I decided this year that rather then buy unusable or random gifts for my older relatives that already have everything they need, I'd bake stuff. Once I started, I found it hard to stop, so I made a batch of Oatmeal Raisin cookies, Scottish Shortbread, Reese's Peanut Butter & Chocolate cookies and Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti.
I made this biscotti last year with almonds instead of pistachios and I have to say I think I actually like the almond variation better. I've also determined that I don't really care for the taste of almond extract. I might try this again with orange instead. Either way this is an AWESOME biscotti recipe and because there is no butter in it, there's no worry about it getting rancid if you don't eat it for awhile. I also have changed the nut to fruit ratio to my liking.
Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti (from All Recipes)
Makes about 3 dozen
Ingredients:
1/4 cup light olive oil (I used half light and half extra virgin)
3/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup pistachio nuts (unsalted)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 300. In a large bowl, mix together oil and sugar until well blended. Mix in the extracts and eggs. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder in a separate bowl and gradually stir into the wet mixture. Mix in cranberries and nuts by hand.
Divide dough in half. Form two logs (12x2 inches) on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Dough is VERY sticky. I keep a bowl of water nearby and wet my hands with water to handle the dough. This dough log just looks nasty, doesn't it? That's because it needs some quality time in the oven.
Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until logs are light golden brown. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 275.
Cut logs on diagonal into 3/4 inch thick slices (my slices were a little too fat this time).
Lay on sides on parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake approximately 8 to 10 minutes, or until dry. Cool completely before storing.
At the request of my husband, I ventured to make Scottish Shortbread this weekend. I found this recipe at allrecipes and really, it couldn't be ANY easier. I couldn't believe how much butter it called for, until of course, I ate a piece. Holy moly!
Scottish Shortbread (from AllRecipes)
Makes about 2 dozen
Ingredients:
2 cups (4 sticks) salted butter softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325. Cream together butter and brown sugar. I dropped these two in the kitchenaid and walked away for a couple of minutes. Too easy! Slowly add 3 1/2 cups flour. Mix well.
Sprinkle rolling surface with the remaining flour. Knead for 5 minutes, adding enough flour to make a soft dough. Roll to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into 3x1 inch strips. Prick with fork and place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 325 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes.
I was on a corn kick yesterday. I made a corn chile chowder (recipe to come) and jalapeno bacon corn muffins. I adapted a recipe for northern style cornbread from the Joy of Cooking. These are spicy and just slightly sweet!
Jalapeno Bacon Corn Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups cornmeal
3/4 cup flour
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp garlic powder
handful of parsley, chopped
2 tbsp diced jalapenos (I used the jarred)
4 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 eggs
2/3 cup skim milk
2/3 cup buttermilk (I subbed letting 2/3 tb of vinegar sit in 2/3 cup of milk for 5 minutes)
2 tbsp oil
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425. Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs and milk. Add wet ingredients, parsley, jalapeno and bacon to bowl of dry ingredients.
Mix just until moistened. Add oil and stir to combine. Pour into muffin cups. Bake 10–12 minutes.
This weekend I baked cranberry orange muffins (shhhh I cheated, from a Trader Joe's Cranberry Orange bread mix). Unlike a lot of muffin mixes, which are filled with imitation fruit bits, these muffins were filled with big juicy cranberries and they were delicious. I highly recommend this mix and will definitely be buying it again!
Saturday I followed this up with a half batch of Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies. I followed the recipe on the bag of chips with the exception of nuts. I substituted 1/4 cup of heath toffee chips instead. I also removed from the oven while still soft and only lightly browned on the edges (a trick I learned from Melanie). This makes a yummy chewy cookie, despite seeming undercooked when first removed from the oven. I was so glad I only made a half batch (about 30 cookies) of these because three days later, my hubby and I have eaten them ALL. The kitchenaid mixer I received last Christmas from my brother made this sooooo easy. I can't wait to make my biscotti this year!!
This was my second cake ever made from scratch and it turned out good. Refrigeration didn't harm it in any way either. The texture was really crumbly, but still moist. If I had to do again, I'd probably leave out the coconut, reduce the amount of nuts and add raisins. I'm glad I only used half the nuts called for too. The flavor was great but it was a little difficult to cut and serve. The recipe I used was from Simply Recipes.
My hubby blew out all 30 candles in one puff and I've been eating healthy cake all weekend! Yum!!!
