Oreo Birthday Cake for August Birthdays

I don't always make the hour and a half drive from Santa Barbara to San Luis Obispo to see my family as often as I should.  Our busy racing schedule and my mentoring work with Hospice keep me booked up on most weekends (not to mention the busy schedules of my family up there, too!).  There are always at least two guaranteed visits per year on Thanksgiving and my dad and stepsister's birthday.  Something about their shared August birthday (as well as a generally convenient break in the racing season) means that this birthday celebration must be in person each year.  This year's visit was particularly lovely, with perfect weather, lots of delicious food, and of course, a delicious cake!  I found this recipe on Annie's Eats, and since it was one of her earlier cake concoctions, it seemed easy enough for me to try out for my first big cake (most of Annie's more recent cakes are to die for and look like they belong in a gourmet restaurant, but are a little too advanced for me!).  Instead of using the Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake that she recommends, I used the same recipe that we used for my mother-in-law's chocolate cake when we went to Michigan in July this year (that was a whole other adventure, baking with my very particular 5 year old niece and my very worried father-in-law).  The caked baked up beautifully, but I probably should have flattened it out a bit before stacking the cakes together.  I figured I would hide the gaps with the filling and frosting, but to my disappointment, it was way too warm in my apartment for the butter cream frosting to serve as a proper "shellac."  I jokingly refer to my "meltdown over the meltdown" now, but I was really freaking out at the time.  I didn't want my family to bring up a certain infamous disaster cake that a babysitter once helped me make (known as the "sandy earthquake cake" because we used granulated sugar in the frosting and the entire thing had split in baking).  Thankfully, I simply threw the entire cake and the bowl of frosting into the fridge for an hour before I even wanted to look at it again.  When I took it out, the frosting was much easier to work with and I was able to salvage a very pretty cake.  I think the guests of honor enjoyed it!  My niece was disappointed with my dad's calm demeanor and decided to show him how to properly pose with a cake.































Cookies & Cream Chocolate Cake
For "Feathery Fudge Cake" (from Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook, circa 1963 or so):
2/3 Cup softened butter
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted & cooled
2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups ice water
Cream together butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla.  Blend in chocolate. Sift flour, soda and salt together.  Add to creamed mixture alternately with water, beating after each addition.  Bake in two parchment lined 9" cake pans in preheated 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes until done.

For Perfectly Chocolate Frosting (from Hershey's):
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Melt butter.  Stir in cocoa.  Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency.  Add more milk if needed.  Stir in vanilla.  Chill if needed

For Oreo filling (from Annie's Eats):
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/8 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
10 sandwich cookies, chopped
In bowl of electric mixer with whisk attachment, combine heavy cream, sugar and vanilla.  Beat on low until sugar is incorporated.  Increase to high and whisk until stiff peaks form.  Fold in chopped cookies.

To assemble:
Place one cake layer on a cardboard cake circle.  Pipe a ring of chocolate frosting around the top outside of the layer, creating an edge.  Fill the area inside the ring of frosting with about half the whipped Oreo topping.  Place the second layer on top.  Frost the sides of the cake with chocolate frosting.  Pipe a decorative border around the top layer with the remaining chocolate frosting.  Fill the area inside this boarder with the remaining whipped Oreo topping.  Garnish with additional Oreos or Oreo crumbs, if desired.  

Lemon Bars/Cookies

I had two rather large lemons in my Plow to Porch box and had no idea what to do with them. Thankfully, lots of the blogs that I follow posted lemon bar recipes right around that time, and I found an easy recipe in my trusty checkerboard cookbook (Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook). While I loved how easy these were to whip up, and the flavor was pretty good, I wasn't very pleased with the texture of this bar. The shortbread crust had a nice flakey & crumbley texture, but the lemony filling baked up much quicker than the original recipe stated and I was left with almost a hard candy topping instead of the sweet soft curd like texture that I was expecting. The lemon bar tasted like a lemon flavored shortbread cookie. This is almost certainly not the recipe's fault, but my ridiculously tempermental oven's fault. I'm pretty sure the oven runs at least 25 degrees too hot, but if I try and lower the heat to compensate, that doesn't help much either. I've mentioned it to the owner of the apartment building in the hopes that she will replace the entire oven/stove unit (like she did with our awesome kitchen faucet!), but she's stated that the oven is a compact size that she can't find anywhere, and barring a complete kitchen remodel, we are out of luck until we move out of this joint. So, next time I get lemons, maybe I'll just make lemonade!

Lemon Bars (from Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook)
For Shortbread crust:
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup All Purpose Flour

For Lemon topping
2 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbs All Purpose Flour
2 tsp finely shredded lemon peel
3 Tbs lemon juice
1/4 tsp baking powder

In Medium mixing bowl, beat butter with electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the 1/4 cup granulated sugar and beat until combined. Beat in the flour until crumbly. Press mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 8x8x2" baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15-18 minutes until just golden. Meanwhile, for filling, in small mixing bowl, combine eggs, 3/4 cup sugar, 2 Tbs flour, lemon peel, lemon juice and baking powder. Beat 2 minutes or until combined. Pour filling over baked crust. Bake 20 minutes or till lightly browned around edges and center is set (this took about 10 minutes for me, stupid oven). Cool on wire rack. If desired, sift powdered sugar over the top before cutting into squares. Makes about 20 bars

Soft Garlic Knots

My successful return to baking with yeast commenced with these delicious soft garlic knots. After my initial success with pizza dough, I thought yeast was a piece of cake. Unfortunately, my pita disaster then frightened me off for about a year. I saw this recipe on Annie's Eats (love her), and thought that if Annie thought this was a good yeast dough for beginners, that maybe I could give yeast dough a shot again. Plus, I'm a sucker for soft garlicky bread! I really felt like not only was this a delicious final product, but the dough itself was very forgiving, allowing me to really experiment with it to figure out what worked for me when shaping. When I tried to roll the dough like play-dough, the dough deflated a little too much and those rolls didn't puff as much in the second rise as the others. What worked was stretching and kind of tossing the dough a little, like pizza dough, until it strung out to the length I needed and then I could shape it easily. Such a fun project because it really is a lot like playing with Play-dough and it makes the house smell like beer and then like fresh bread! These are also reheating from the freezer quite nicely. I just pop them in the toaster oven on 350 for about 10 minutes and then toast them on level 2 to give them a little toasty edge. I'm glad they refreeze nicely because I ate 3 immediately out of the oven, so it's probably best if I hide them in the freezer in 2 packs for future use so that I'm not tempted to eat the whole batch!




Soft Garlic Knots (As seen on Annie's Eats & Amber's Delectable Delights, from King Arthur's Flour)
For the dough:
3 cups bread flour
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. instant yeast
1¼ tsp. salt
2 tbsp. olive oil
¼ cup milk
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. lukewarm water
For the glaze:
2 cloves garlic
3 tbsp. melted butter
½ tsp. Italian seasoning (I used oregano)
To make the dough, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the dry ingredients. Add the olive oil, milk and water. Mix until ingredients have formed a dough. Switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turn once to coat, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk. Divide the dough into 10 even pieces (I think I got 11). Roll (or stretch) each piece until about 10 inches long, then tie into a knot. Tuck the ends around so that one goes into the middle of the knot and the other is tucked underneath (Annie has a great pictorial of how this works!). Transfer rolls onto a baking stone or baking sheet lined with silicone sheet. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise for another 45-60 minutes. To make the glaze, mince the garlic into a small bowl with the melted butter. Add the Italian seasoning/oregano and mix well to combine. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Very gently brush the glaze onto the shaped, risen rolls. Bake until just golden, about 15-18 minutes.

Berry Crumb Bars

Ever since we started getting our weekly local fruit & vegetable delivery from Plow to Porch, I have become a huge fruit lover. The first thing I eat every day is fruit of some sort. When we first started getting the deliveries, I was a little bit daunted at how much fruit we got and what to do with it. I had never even eaten a blackberry the first time I got them in the delivery box, and while I liked them, I thought it might be easier to bake these into a treat for the bike shop instead of just snacking on fruit. I probably won't have this problem again in Summer of 2011, since lately I've had to supplement the fruit in the delivery by purchasing even more fruit (and even then, my husband still complains that I eat all the strawberries before he even knows we have them!). I look forward to baking more of these yummy bars this Spring and Summer, but I know it won't be because I'm trying to use up excess fruit!

Berry Crumb Bars (from Martha Stewart)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted, and 1/2 cup (1 stick), room temperature, plus more for pan
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 containers (5 ounces each) blackberries (I used a mix of Blackberries and Raspberries)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line bottom with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides; butter and flour paper, tapping out excess.
Make topping: In a medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, brown sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; add 1 cup flour, and mix with a fork until large moist crumbs form. Refrigerate topping until ready to use.
In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining 3/4 cup flour, baking powder, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt; set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat room-temperature butter, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy; add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low; mix in flour mixture. Spread batter evenly in pan; sprinkle with blackberries, then chilled topping.
Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Using paper overhang, lift cake onto a work surface; cut into 16 squares.

Margarita Cupcakes!

I have wanted to make these cupcakes from the moment I saw them. They were really popular in the blogging world about a year ago, but I think the moment I saw them on Annie's Eats (seriously one of the best blogs ever), I knew I was destined to make them someday. I decided to go with the easier cake mix version on Confections of a Foodie Bride since I'm pretty new to baking and I knew the audience I was baking for wouldn't really mind. I made these for my office summer barbeque, which took place at my boss' house on a gorgeous day. Of course, my office is so darn health conscious that for my party of 13 people, we went through exactly 13 cupcakes. So the leftovers went to the bike shop, where 4 guys took care of the remaining 11 cupcakes. I made the frosting on these very limey, and that was what everyone kept talking about. Even with following Annie's advice and basting each cupcake with a little extra tequila (and I was using Patron Silver, nothing but the best for my people!), there still wasn't much alcohol flavor, but with the extra lime frosting, there was still a great punch to the cupcakes. This is a great treat for any backyard barbeque, just make sure its a grown up party if you are painting the tops with the tequila. Even though you can't really taste the liquor, I'd say there is enough uncooked tequila in them to be un-kosher for the little ones!

Margarita Cupcakes

9 oz Margarita mix

3 oz tequila

3/4 oz Grand Marnier (or other orange liqueur)

White cake mix (No-pudding mix works best)

3 egg whites

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 Tbsp lime zest (I omitted, oops!)

1 recipe Lime Buttercream Frosting (recipe follows)
Mix together the margarita mix, tequila, and Grand Marnier in a large glass or spouted bowl. You will use 1 1/4 cup of this in the cupcake mix. Put the remainder in the fridge to chill and then consume how you see fit (there won't be much left!). In a stand mixer, add the cake mix, egg whites, vegetable oil, lime zest, and 1 1/4 cup of the margarita mixture. Mix on low for about 30 seconds and then increase to medium speed for two minutes (the batter will still be a bit lumpy).Spoon the batter into a prepared muffin pan (fill the cups somewhere between 2/3 and 3/4 full) and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick registers “done” in the center cupcake. Remove the pan from the oven and cool 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes and cool completely on a baking rack. When cooled, brush each cupcake with a little more tequila.
Lime Buttercream Frosting

4 cups confectioners sugar

1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature

1/8 tsp salt

3 Tbsp lime juice

green food color (optional)
Add the butter, confectioner’s sugar, salt, food coloring, and lime juice to the stand mixer and mix on low using the paddle attachment until combined. Turn the speed to med-high until the icing is fluffy. Add the icing to a pastry bag or use a spatula/knife to frost the cupcakes.
Note: Use additional lime juice or water to thin the frosting, if necessary.

Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes

I came to the realization that I haven't done nearly enough baking to justify the purchase of my new Kitchenaid mixer. I wanted to make pretty cupcakes. Not just yummy cake with some frosting slathered on, but some that looked beautiful, too. After researching a bit online, I realized that pretty cupcakes come from frosting with a pastry bag and a large tip, usually a star tip. I knew that my first pretty cupcake attempt would have to be double chocolate cupcakes, because I knew even if they came out awful, the husband would still eat them because he loves chocolate cake so much. I found both the cake recipe and the frosting recipe on the Hershey's website. I had heard really good things about the perfectly chocolate cake recipe, and it didn't disappoint. The only change I made was to use about half of dutch process style cocoa and half regular Hershey's cocoa in each recipe. This made the cake really rich and chocolatey, but didn't use up ALL my hard to find dutch process cocoa. I will say though, dutch process cocoa is totally worth it. Just looking at the two versions, you can definitely tell which is which! These turned out so good! The cake batter is way runnier than I would have thought, but it still turned out great. I think my decorating skills were pretty good, too, although I think I will need to make just a little extra frosting next time, since you tend to run out faster when piping instead of traditional frosting. The best part about the frosting is that, while it still isn't exactly good for you, I felt so much better knowing exactly what was going into it. No trans fats when you use straight up butter! I brought most of these to the bike shop and they were devoured in 24 hours, but my favorite was bringing one to the little guy I mentor. His response when I asked him how he liked his cupcake was simply: "I love you!" I've already made him another batch for his birthday!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting (From Hershey's)

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING(recipe follows)
Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 24 cupcakes.

"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa

3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

In February, we had houseguests. Refugees from the midwest snowstorms, I should say. The husband and I were happy to serve as home base for Santa Barbara training camp for our Ohio transplants. One of this pair happens to be my blog's biggest stalker, and as a thank you for letting them escape to some warmer weather, she sent me this recipe for Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies. This was a fun recipe, and it came together quickly using my new KitchenAid stand mixer. Yes, folks, I was already gravitating towards more baking, but this new fantastic toy will definitely lead to more sweet treats in my future. This dough would have killed my previous hand mixer, as it is a very thick dough. The stand mixer had no problems with this dough. The cookies turned out chewy and soft, and the cherry flavor really shined through. I did have problems with melting the chocolate for the glaze, but I've always had problems with finding the right heat for our microwave for melting chocolate. Hopefully, this will improve with practice! Thanks to K for this tasty and unique recipe.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies (from my sister-in-law)

For Cookies:

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1 egg

1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 jar maraschino cherries

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

For Topping:

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp cherry juice from maraschinos

In mixing bowl, cream margarine, egg, sugar and vanilla. Add flour, cocoa, baking powder & soda. Dough will be stiff. Refrigerate. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Use knuckle to make indents. Push one cherry halfway into each ball. Melt chocolate chips, then add milk and cherry juice and mix well to combine. Spread topping over each cookie (it will not run or melt in the oven). Bake approx 9 minutes at 350 degrees.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Our local Ralph's grocery store had some kind of fruit mishap involving some bad grapes, rain checks and false advertising that led to bananas costing only 29 cents per pound! I snatched them up at that price, knowing that we could always use them in banana muffins if we didn't eat them before they went brown. I found this recipe on Lemons & Love (originally from epicurious) and loved that they looked really chocolatey and delicious. They did not disappoint, as I made two separate batches of these. I did add one teaspoon of vanilla, because everything is better with vanilla! They came together quickly and my husband's co-workers LOVED them. I even got a message at home from his boss saying simply "The muffins were great, thank you!" I will make these often.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large)
1 large egg
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line twelve 1/3-cup muffin cups with foil muffin liners. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Mix mashed bananas, egg, melted butter, vanilla and milk in medium bowl. Stir banana mixture into dry ingredients just until blended (do not overmix). Stir in chocolate chips.Divide batter among prepared muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake muffins until tops are pale golden and tester inserted into center comes out with some melted chocolate attached but no crumbs, about 32 minutes. Transfer muffins to rack; cool

Homemade Brownies

I have always classified myself as more of a cooker than a baker. Most of my baking has been of the boxed mix variety. One of the best things about the blogging world is that I have found so many inspiring baking recipes to try out. I decided to make these after a discussion board I frequent was questioning the best brownie box mix on the market. Most said that Ghirardelli brownie mix is the best, but so many also said that making from scratch is so easy that they haven't tried mixes in a long time. I thought - Easy, Chocolatey and homemade goodness? Perfect! I found this recipe on Hershey's website and it really was very easy. I made this while my houseguests were napping and by the time they woke up, it was brownie time! I don't think I'll ever make a boxed mix again. These really didn't take much more time, and the result was a delicious brownie with a perfect texture - not too rich, not too dry, and not oily like I sometimes find the boxed mixes to be. These were a hit with my houseguests and were also a hit with the bike shop when I made another batch a week later. I think I might be inspired to bake a lot more now (hmmm, maybe I need a Kitchenaid Mixer?)!



Homemade Brownies (from Hershey's Kitchens)
3/4 cup butter, melted
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs
3/4 cup AP flour
1/2 cup unsweetened baking Cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Optional: 1 cup chocolate, peanut butter or butterscotch chips
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 8-inch square baking pan.
2. Combine butter, sugar and vanilla in bowl. Add eggs; beat well with spoon. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, beating until well blended. Add chips and mix well (optional). Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.
3. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. About 16 brownies.

Peanut Butter Cookies

This was the last of my cookie recipes for the year. I wasn't extremely happy with how these turned out (they were a little thin for my liking), but I got a compliment on them that made me think a little more highly of them. I have a co-worker with 4 kids who were the consumers of his entire cookie bag this year. They actually called me after work to tell me how much they enjoyed them. His oldest son (about 6 or so) has loved watching the Food Network since he was really young, Paula Dean is his hero, and he's always game for trying something new. This little guy grabbed the phone and said "Thank you, the Peanut Butters are my favorite!" How cute! If the little kiddie foodie likes them, they must be good! So thanks to the BH kids (all their names start with "B") for giving me a little confidence with this recipe!

Peanut Butter Cookies (from Crisco)

3/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 stick Shortening
1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt

HEAT oven to 375°F. Combine peanut butter, shortening, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Add egg. Beat just until blended. COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt (I sifted these). Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls (You might want to use more) 2-inches apart onto greased baking sheet. Flatten slightly in a crisscross pattern with tines of fork.
BAKE one baking sheet at a time 7 to 8 minutes, or until set and just beginning to brown. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove cookies to cooling racks to cool completely.

And here is what my goodie basket looked like for the bike shop! I look forward to doing this every year. I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday season!

More Cookies - Cake Cookies

Here is the secret of my Cookie Extravaganza success: Cake Cookies. I get the most compliments on these cookies every year, and they are so easy to do, and they are actually pretty cost effective as well, since boxed cake mixes are usually on sale during the holidays. For this year, I purchased 4 boxes of cake mix (2 yellow, 2 chocolate) for $4 total, and my add-ins were chocolate chips for the yellow cake cookies and butterscotch chips for the chocolate cake cookies. These cake mixes made about 15 dozen cookies, and I cranked out these batches in about one afternoon of solid work. This is the only way I can really accomplish the amount of baking I have to do during the holidays to have enough cookies for everyone, and it doesn't really feel like I'm cheating because people really love these cookies!

Cake Cookies (from Allrecipes.com)

1 package cake mix (any basic flavor will do)
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or other mix-in goodies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a medium bowl, stir together the cake mix and baking powder. Add eggs and oil, then mix until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips, or your choice of additions. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Bake less for chewy cookies and more for crispy cookies. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 3 dozen.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Now, my friends, begins the cookie assault of 2009. I am not a huge baker, but for the last 3 years, I have set myself a goal of baking cookies for all my co-workers and my husband's co-workers for the holidays. It would be one thing if I was making 2 cookies per person, but we're talking 8 cookies per person for 25 people. Lots of cookies every year, and although it does increase my chore workload in a potentially stressful time, I get a lot of joy from sharing these baked goods with our co-workers, who are truly like family to us. These cookies were the first I made for the holidays, and since my husband and I didn't see each other for a couple of weeks during the season due to crazy schedules, I left him 2 cookies with a note that said "For my taste-tester" before going to bed. I woke up to a return note saying, "I say, these are awesome! Great job!" These cookies were our only source of communication for about a 24 hour period. And my husband does say these were quite possibly his favorite cookies of all time.

Double Chocolate Dream Cookies (from the Tollhouse bag)
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels (I used Ghirardelli)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in medium bowl (I sifted these). Beat butter, sugars and vanilla until creamy. Add eggs and beat for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by rounded Tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets (I used parchment & silpat). Bake for 9-10 minutes until cookies are puffed up. Cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes before removing to racks to cool completely. Makes 4-5 dozen cookies.

My Lighter Textured Pumpkin Pie

This year, my family didn't request my pumpkin pie, but my husband was really itching for some pumpkin pie, so I decided to bake one for our Holiday visit to our friends who live about an hour and a half away. I used a frozen pie crust, which fit perfectly in my pie carrier and allowed me to leave a good section of pie with our friends. Someday, I will master a homemade crust, but this wasn't the day. I didn't like pumpkin pie for most of my life, but a few years ago, I decided to make one for my husband and didn't feel like using the one on the back of the Libby's can. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com, but the recipe is no longer active on the site. The original recipe included a homemade whipped cream topping with candied ginger, but I haven't ever made that. I just love the basic recipe for this pie. It is a cross between a standard pumpkin pie and a chiffon pie - a little airier than normal, but still substantial enough. This was a big hit for our holiday visit!

"My" Pumpkin Pie

1 Prepared, uncooked pie crust

2 eggs

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 15 oz can pumpkin

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or a little more, if you like it spicy)

1/2 tsp salt

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Beat eggs at medium speed in a large mixing bowl until thick and lemony (about 2-3 minutes). Add cream. Beat for 1 minute more. Add remaining ingredients and beat until well incorporated (1-2 minutes). Pour into prepared crust. Bake for 10 minutes. Cover edges and reduce oven temp to 350 degrees. Continue baking for 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely. Serve with whipped cream.

Mom's Famous Cherry Pie

My mother-in-law makes fantastic pie. We fly back to Michigan for Christmas every year, and every year, my husband has been giddy over the fact that Mom's homemade cherry pie will be waiting for him. When I first started making pie for my family on behalf of my husband, I made a cherry just to make my husband happy, but we both knew that opening a couple cans of cherry pie filling and dumping into Pillsbury Pie crust just wasn't cutting it. This year was the year that I made Mom's Homemade Cherry Pie, and I think I did pretty good, considering that I had to write down the recipe on the back of an envelope as Mom quickly read me the recipe. This recipe isn't as easy as it sounds. I had a hard time measuring out the cherries (although that was more from forgetting than difficulty), the roux got a little lumpy, since there is a lot of flour to a small amount of butter, and I think we may have thrown away my almond extract (I know we didn't use it all!). All in all, however, I think I did a pretty good job with this one. I may never make my own crusts, since that little doughboy does them so well, but at least I can make homemade filling for all my pies now!

Mom's Cherry Pie
1 recipe double pie crust (I used Pillsbury)
1 Tbs butter
1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cherry juice
1 cup sugar
3 cups canned tart cherries (in the canned fruit section, not pie section)
4 drops almond extract
10 drops red food coloring
Melt butter and add flour, stirring quickly. Add juice, sugar and salt and whisk quickly. Cook and stir until bubbly. Cook and stir for one minute more. Add food coloring and almond extract, then add cherries. Pour into pie crust in 9" pie pan. Cut top crust into 1/2 inch strips. Starting in the middle, lay out crust strips in a criss-cross pattern, folding alternating pieces in half to allow pattern to form (you can do an internet search to see how this is done). Crimp ends of top crust to bottom crust, trim any extras, and shape into a pretty pattern if desired. Bake for 45-50 minutes at 375 or until golden, loosly covering with foil or pie protectors when the edges get brown.

Pecan Pie Cookies

It is the holiday season, and I'm usually in charge of desserts for my family. My family is not really into pies, and the husband and I joke that he nearly had to break it all off with me when we were driving the (back then) 10 minute drive to my parents for Thanksgiving and he asked what kind of pies we would be having. I told him "We're not really a pie family" and he about had me turn the car around. We thankfully survived that catastrophe and I now bake pies every year for Thanksgiving. This year, I decided to also make these Pecan Pie Cookies for my daddy. When my mom was still alive, I remember her making a full size chocolate pie for the entire family, and then making a little itty bitty pecan pie for Daddy, since he is the only one who liked pecans. I thought these cookies would be in that same spirit, so I baked up a batch. Other than my oven running a little hot, these cookies turned out great. I would strongly advise, however, that everyone use a silpat or at least parchment on their baking sheet. The filling will inevitably run off the cookie a little, and this stuff turns into sticky hard candy when it is heated! My dad, my sister's boyfriend, and the bike shop boys all seemed to love these, even the darker ones from when I was still experimenting with the oven. These are a great Thanksgiving treat!

Pecan Pie Cookies (from Elizabeth's Edible Experience)

Cookie Ingredients:

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3/4 butter, softened

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Filling Ingredients:

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 350°F. Combine all cookie ingredients except flour and baking powder in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add flour and baking powder. Beat until well mixed. (I had better luck with chilled dough, you might want to chill at this point) Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Make indentation in each cookie with thumb; rotate thumb to hollow out slightly. Combine all filling ingredients in small bowl. Fill each cookie with 1 rounded teaspoon filling. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.

Pumpkin White Chocolate and Butterscotch Chip Cookies

Since I came out a winner in the great pumpkin shortage of 2009, I've been looking for recipes to satisfy the fall pumpkin cravings many of us have at this time of year. When I made the pumpkin chocolate chip muffins last week, the boys at my husband's work were clamoring for more, so I made them a second batch. I was a little sad at how few of these pumpkin treats were being consumed by my household (namely, me). Thankfully, we were invited to a barbeque last weekend. We were told "No need to bring anything, since everyone else is already bringing something." Yeah, that works well in the world of reciprocity! Husband and I debated a little bit before deciding to bring a "snacky dessert" that we could bring and people could munch on, without stealing the thunder of whoever had already brought dessert. I knew I wanted to make a pumpkin treat, had some white chocolate chips at home, and the butterscotch chips at the store have been calling my name, hence these cookies became the choice. They came together quickly using this recipe from Skinny Food by Amy (I obviously mixed the chips, but that was the only change). These were so good. I brought 2 dozen to the party with 7 total adult guests and brought home an empty plate! We kept referring to them as "Cakies" instead of cookies because they were like a mix between a cake and cookie texture. The recipe made 3 1/2 dozen cookies for me with my 1 Tbs cookie scoop, so thankfully, I had leftovers!

Pumkin White Chocolate Butterscotch Chip Cookies

1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used canola oil)
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (I accidentally omitted. This seems like a lot, though!)
2 cups chocolate chips (I used 1 cup white chocolate, 1 cup butterscotch chips)
Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Add vanilla & chips. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

Fall has finally arrived in Santa Barbara! Today was the first day that we had a bit of a chill to the air, and the wind blew fiercely all day out by where we live. What better way to celebrate the cooler weather than by baking some fall flavored treats? I had heard that there has been a nationwide pumpkin shortage from the cooking board I frequent, so I was excited to see that my regular store had plenty in stock. Sure enough, the checker commented: "Some other shoppers were telling me we are the only store in town carrying the small cans of pumpkin." I guess I'm just lucky that my store is the one with the stock! I'm hoping my husband's coworkers enjoy these muffins. They smelled divine as they were baking, and really got me in the "good little housewife" mood and they inspired me to get a ton of cleaning and chores done the rest of the day. My husband will be happy to know that baking triggers this mood, as he will be able to enjoy baked goods AND a clean house whenever I bake anything! I can't wait to bake more with my pumpkin stock (and the rest of the cinnamon chips, those were fantastic!)!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins (from My Baking Heart by way of Jenn and Food, Perfect Together)
1 c all-purpose flour

1/2 c whole-wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1 c canned pure pumpkin

2 large eggs

1/2 c packed brown sugar

1/2 c skim milk

1/3 c canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 c cinnamon chips

1 c mini chocolate chips

1/2 c chopped pecans (I used 1/4 cup and made 1/2 with nuts, 1/2 without)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with liners and set aside.
Whisk together the flours, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Whisk the pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, milk, oil and vanilla in a medium bowl. Add dry ingredients and stir until just moistened. Then add in chips and pecans. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20-23 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes. Remove the muffins and cool an additional 5 minutes before serving.

Strawberry Banana Muffins

By far, my favorite muffin is the banana muffin. I'm not a big fan of bananas on their own, but but muffins and bananas are a perfect match. I found this recipe on Amber's Delectable Delights, and when I saw that it involved bananas and strawberries, which I love and are abundant and fresh here in Santa Barbara, I knew I would have to try them, even though I usually avoid baking. I really liked how easily these muffins came together and the flavors were great. I brought these up to my parents for Father's Day as well as the cake bites, and although my mom was making fun of them (she is the exact opposite of me and likes bananas plain and not in muffins), the kids enjoyed them and I think my dad will too. Very tasty. I followed the recipe exactly, so I won't repeat it.

Cake Balls for Father's Day!

I have been enamored with the Bakerella site for a while. I can't believe the creativity of this woman, especially with her cake balls, cupcake bites and cupcake pops. I don't pretend to be a baker, but this technique seemed to be something I could handle. Store bought cake mix & frosting plus candy coating from Michael's? I can do this! I stuck to the cake balls, since I had heard the pops could be a little tricky. I'm glad I did, since I had a few little kinks to work out and would have been bummed if I had started with the pops first (the balls allow a lot more room for error). I decided to make these for Father's Day, and since I had taken the child I mentor to a pottery painting shop, I had a vessel for delivery that was perfect (see below). I also made a couple boxes for the rest of my family, the kid I mentor, and the bike shop. These should be treated as controlled substances. They are that good, and they aren't exactly good for you, but I guess they are good for the soul! Already my mom and my aunt in Indiana have made them this week, so I guess I made an impression!

Cake Balls (from Bakerella)

1 box cake mix with all ingredients - I used Chocolate

Nearly 1 tub frosting (regular, not whipped) - I used Chocolate

Chocolate candy melts or chocolate bark (from craft store or Kroger)

Prepare cake as directed. Allow to cool completely (very important). Crumble cake into a large mixing bowl until all consistent and the texture of soil. Mix in almost all of the frosting container and press with the back of a large spoon until cake is well incorporated with the frosting and all is one consistency. I chilled the bowl for about 30 minutes at this point. Using a small scoop or a teaspoon, scoop out enough mixture to make about a one inch ball. Roll to even ball. Set onto a waxed piece of paper on a cookie sheet and chill in the fridge for another 30 minutes. Melt chocolate in a deep plastic bowl in the microwave (or use double boiler) according to package directions (be sure to follow the power level directions or you will ruin the chocolate!). Working quickly, drop balls one at a time into the chocolate and drizzle over the top with a large spoon. I removed from the chocolate with two forks and allowed to dry on the wax paper. Depending on your method and/or size of the balls, you can make anywhere between 40-80 balls. The balls are counter safe and do not need to be refrigerated. Enjoy!