My Favorite Cookie

Today is a very, very cold day.  We needed to bake to keep things toasty and warm in our big old drafty house. The kiddos helped me decide on a few things to make - first up?  My favorite cookie EVER!  I used Jessica's recipe from How Sweet It Is, and we whipped up a batch!  They smell sooooo good, and don't tell the kids (because I said we couldn't eat them yet) but they taste delicious too!

Recipe (adapted from How Sweet It Is - Original recipe)

1 stick butter, room temp

3/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 3/4 c. flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

2 1/2 Tbs. milk

1 Tbs. cinnamon (I used Pampered Chef Cinnamon Plus which also has nutmeg & cloves in it!)

1/4 c. white sugar

Cream together butter and sugars.  Add in egg and vanilla and beat until fully combined.

Add in flour, baking powder and 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon.  Stir until dough begins to form.  Add in milk, and mix until smooth dough forms (if crumbly, add a little milk at a time until dough is uniform).  Chill dough for 30 min.

Preheat oven to 375.  Mix 1/4 cup sugar with 1 Tbs. cinnamon in small bowl.  Roll chilled dough into 1" balls.    Roll dough balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture, coating fully.  Place on ungreased cookie sheets and bake 11-13 minutes until they just begin to turn golden and the tops are slightly cracked.  Remove to cooling rack.

Makes about 20 cookies.

Zucchini Bread ~ Recipe 1

I'm a bread-loving girl.  I'll admit it.  I'll also blame a few of my extra lbs on my love for bread :)  I love banana bread, pumpkin bread, zucchini bread, bread-bread!  I am a purist though - I don't typically like add-ins.  No nuts, no chocolate chips, just a nice moist, dense bread.  Lots of flavor.

I got a few big zucchinis and decided I needed to make a few loaves of bread with them.  It turned out okay, but I think I will try a few different recipes to see if I can perfect it.  These were a little dense, and the sugar kind of "floated" to the surface and crystallized.  It was still yummy, but I was imagining something different.

So here is my first attempt at zucchini bread.  Stay tuned for future attempts!

3 1/4 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

2 tsp. baking soda

pinch salt

3 c. sugar (I might try substituting brown sugar for 1 c.)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup butter, melted

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 c. water

1 tsp. lemon juice

2 c. grated zucchini (about 1 large zucchini)

Preheat oven to 350; butter & flour 2 standard loaf pans.

In large bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt.

In a separate large bowl, combine sugar, oil, butter, eggs, water, lemon juice and zucchini until fully combined.

Slowly combine with wet ingredients with dry ingredients, stir until combined (but do not overmix!)

Pour batter into prepared pans, bake for 1 hour until tester comes out clean.

"Berry White" Muffins...can't get enough of this love, baby

I keep buying berries this summer with the intention of making really amazing recipes...and instead we just end up eating them or letting them shrivel up and get past their prime.  Last night, I had the brilliant idea to crank my oven up to 400 degrees on a hot, humid night, so that I could use the berries I'd just bought.  But it was sooooooo worth it -- these muffins turned out beautifully and I wish I could stop eating them!  They're just the right texture, so moist, with a crumbly top.  

You will make these and you will love these.  Your friends will love you.  You will wish you had made more.  Much more (then you will be thankful that you didn't because you won't be able to stop eating them!).  

Recipe:
Muffins:
2 c. flour
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 egg
1 c. milk or plain yogurt
1/2 c. butter, melted (slightly cooled)
3/4 c. blueberries
3/4 c. strawberries, cut into small pieces
1/2 c. white chocolate chips

Streusel topping:
2 Tbs cold butter, cut up
1/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tbs flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Heat oven to 400, grease or line 12 muffin cups.
In medium bowl, whisk together flour, 1/4 c. brown sugar, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, beat egg until frothy and light yellow.  Beat in milk.  Stream in melted butter.  Add vanilla.
Add flour mixture in 2 to 3 installments, stirring only until combined.
Fold in white chocolate chips.
Fold in berries until incorporated throughout the batter.
Divide among 12 muffin cups - they will be full, and that's okay!
For streusel, mix together 1/4 c. brown sugar, 2 Tbs flour and cinnamon.  Cut in cold butter with fork until mixture becomes crumbly.  Divide among muffins, pressing lightly.

Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes (you may want to put a tray on the rack underneath, to catch any drippings), until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.  Cool in pan about 5-10 minutes, remove to rack to cool completely.

This Ain't Your Mother's Better-Than-Sex Cake

Seriously.  This is my twist on a pretty old favorite - I've heard of this and I've seen the same basic concoction for years.  I never made it.  I've sampled it....people make it with chocolate OR vanilla cake, a bunch of ooey-gooey-goodness, and some sort of candy on top.  Sometimes whipped cream is involved.  You could google it and find out for yourself, I suppose, instead of me droning on.  You probably just want me to get to the good stuff. 

Like this.

I'm not sure if this picture is speaking to you, but let me tell you what it says to me:  ooey.  gooey.  CHOCOLATE.  Throw in a few Oreos and I'm sold!

Here's how I make this party for your mouth:
1 dark chocolate (or devil's food) cake -- you can use a (gasp!) box mix, or use  your own favorite recipe
1 c. mini chocolate chips
1 small can sweetened condensed milk
Caramel ice cream topping
Dark Chocolate Fudge ice cream topping
About 12 Oreos, coarsely chopped

After mixing up cake batter as directed, add mini chocolate chips.  Bake in a greased & floured Bundt pan at 350 (it's okay if it's not done done, as long as it's mostly done.  Trust me on this).  Cool about 10 minutes. Leaving in pan, poke several holes in the still-warm cake with the handle of a wooden spoon.  Pour sweetened condensed milk over cake, filling holes, and drizzling over the rest of the cake.  Let cool completely.  Invert onto serving dish (it's best if it is a dish with sides or something that will keep the ooey-gooeyness from running off the dish!).  Drizzle with caramel liberally, then with fudge.  Top with crushed Oreos, and drizzle just a little more caramel over top.  Slice into slabs and serve with a smile!

Today is Chocolate Custard Day!

I try to keep up on what's going on in the world...today I googled "Today is..." (using my fancy schmancy smarts that got me that college degree).  Seriously, if you've never done that, just go to Google and type in "Today is" -- that's all!  I found lots of fun stuff, really, but I like to look at the calendars and find out what kind of weirdness and food are being celebrated on any particular day.  Today, to my delight, turns out to be Chocolate Custard Day!

I have never before attempted to make chocolate custard from scratch.  But it sounded intriguing.  So then, of course, I had to start searching for the perfect recipe.  There were a few (I have added several to My List), and I chose this particular one because it required no baking and minimal chilling time -- I wanted to be able to enjoy it tonight!

Much to my delight, it turned out to be really pretty easy, quick and the end result was thick and rich -- very yummy!  My hubby gave it two thumbs up.  This only makes two servings (though they're pretty good sized), so if you're planning on entertaining more than just you and a friend, plan ahead to increase the amounts!

Chocolate Custard
(from foodandwine.com)
1/4 c. milk
3 Tbs. sugar
1 large egg yolk
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
pinch of salt
2 Tbs butter

In small saucepan over medium heat, combine milk and sugar; heat until steaming and sugar is dissolved.
Put egg yolk in small glass bowl, and gradually (verrrrrrrrrrrry slowly as to not cook the egg) whisk in hot milk.  Return to saucepan, and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until mixture thickens (about 2 minutes).
Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate and salt until smooth.  Whisk in butter.
Pour into 2 shallow bowls.  Chill 10 minutes.

For whipped topping, beat 1/2 c. heavy cream with a pinch of ground cinnamon (using a chilled bowl and beaters) and 1 Tbs sugar until softly whipped.  Dollop on top of custards before serving.

 

Coming Soon...

Check out what I scored in a bargain bin recently:

I will be trying out loads of new recipes from this little treasure!  You know, when I find the time between work, family and renovations!

Peanut Butter Pie with a twist

Check this decadence out:

That, my friends, is a two layer peanut butter pie with a cheesecake/pudding layer on the bottom.  Light, yet rich.  Addicting, definitely!  And did I mention easy to make?

Recipe:

1 pre-made chocolate crust (or you can make your own with crushed Oreos and butter)
1 small package cheesecake-flavored pudding mix
2 cups cold milk, divided
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 small package vanilla pudding mix (I used sugar free)
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
1 c. Cool Whip, thawed (save the rest of the container for garnishing)


In medium bowl, pour 1 c. milk, add cheesecake pudding and whisk for 2 minutes - mixture will be very thick.  Pour into prepared crust.  In bowl of mixer, cream the cream cheese, slowly adding in milk until fully combined.  Add pudding mix and peanut butter, beat until fully combined.  Fold in Cool Whip.  Pour into crust on top of pudding layer.  Chill at least 2 hours.  Cut into 8 wedges and serve with additional Cool Whip.

You're welcome.