Hazelnut Browned Butter Shortbread Cookies

Add this to the Christmas repertoire. On Christmas Eve Eve I set out a cookie platter with about 6 types of cookies, fudge, etc. I think most of the women went for the Penuche Fudge I just posted, but my Dad said his favorite was this cookie. I've never made shortbread (gasp) and when my Stepmom said she had a recipe she wanted to try (or she wanted me to try), I grabbed the stand mixer and said "dibbs".

These turned out really good. I think everyone's favorite part was the chocolate with sea salt on it though. They may have tasted the cookie underneath, or maybe not. The original recipe didn't call for rolling out the dough, but I really can't miss the opportunity to use cookie cutters. I know, I'm an oddball =D.

Hazelnut Browned Butter Shortbread Cookies
The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch

1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts
1 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour (I would start with 2 cups and work your way up if you have to)
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Fleur de Sel

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In small saucepan, melt 1/4 cup of the butter over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low. Continue to cook, without stirring, about 5 minutes or until butter becomes brown and fragrant. Remove from heat, cool slightly.

In a large bowl, beat remaining butter with electric mixer on med speed for about 30 seconds. Add sugars and salt. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in browned butter and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour and the hazelnuts. Divide dough in half.

Roll dough out half at a time and cut into desired shapes. Place on cookie sheets.

Bake in preheated 325 oven for 15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Recut circle into wedges while warm. Cool on cookie sheet 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; cool.

In glass 4-cup measuring cup, place chopped bittersweet chocolate and 1/2 teaspoon shortening and microwave at 30 second intervals until melted. Dip scalloped edge of each wedge into chocolate, allowing excess to drip off. Return to wire rack. Lightly sprinkle the chocolate with fleur de sel. Allow to stand until chocolate is set (about 1 hour).

*Photos courtesy of the loverly LadyJayPee. Go stalk her blog. Now.

Penuche Fudge

So, minding my own business at home. Makin some fudge...you know, the usual. And what comes out of the pan? This delicious fudge concoction that we just couldn't stop eating. I'm serious. This stuff was dangerous. So dangerous, in fact, that two of us pretty much ate all of it in a week. No joke. Stop looking at me like that.

Anyways...I had a grrreeeeaaaattttt ( as Tony the Tiger would say) Christmas at home. And it was so hard to come back to the city. I was given lots of baking presents including several cookbooks (or bakebooks) that need my immediate attention (duh). I have several awesome recipes to share from my stay at home, this being the first and probably the best. This fudge is very sweet, but oh so good!


Penuche Fudge
Martha Stewart

Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 5-oz can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
5 oz (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Coat a 5-by-10-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Line with plastic wrap leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 sides.

Bring evaporated milk, brown sugar, butter, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring frequently, until mixture registers 236 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 25 minutes.

Transfer to a mixer bowl, and beat in confectioners' sugar on low speed. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Increase speed to medium, and beat until mixture is thickened and smooth, 2 to 4 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and add vanilla.

Spread mixture in pan, smoothing top. Refrigerate, uncovered, until firm, about 25 minutes. Unmold fudge using plastic overhang, and discard plastic. Cut into 18 pieces. Penuche will keep, covered, for up to 1 week.

*Pictures taken again by the talented LadyJayPee.

Chocolate Truffles

Happy Christmas Eve from the Pacific Northwest! Like I said before, I'm baking up a storm while at home for Christmas, and having so much fun! Sometimes its just so good to come home and be spoiled for a week =)

Our family is doing a not so secret santa exchange this year. Thank goodness, because I'm pretty poor. Obviously I am baking my gift! And I decided to make truffles for my step uncle because I knew he liked chocolate. And who best to go to than Alton Brown?!

These truffles were easy to make, if not a bit time consuming. They turned out nice and chocolatey, and I had so much fun decorating them. I ended up rolling them in cocoa powder, topping with shredded coconut and drizzling with white chocolate. They would definitely be good topped with nuts like pecans or pistachios, too!

Chocolate Truffles

Alton Brown

10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

Cocoa powder, coconut, white chocolate and/or chopped nuts for decorating

8 ounces semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate

Place the 10 ounces of chocolate and buter in a medium size glass mixing bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds. Remove and stir, and repeat this process 1 more time. Set aside.

Heat the heavy cream and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove from the heat and pour the mixture over the melted chocolate mixture; let stand for 2 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, stir gently, starting in the middle of bowl and working in concentric circles until all chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth and creamy. Pour the mixture into an 8 by 8-inch glass baking dish and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Using a melon baller, scoop chocolate onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and return to the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Place cocoa powder, nuts and/or toasted coconut each in its own pie pan and set aside.

In the meantime, place the 8 ounces into a medium mixing bowl which is sitting on top of a heating pan lined bowl, with the heating pad set to medium. Stirring the chocolate occasionally, test the temperature of the chocolate heating until it reaches 90 to 92 degrees F. 

Remove the truffles from the refrigerator and shape into balls by rolling between the palms of your hands. 

Dip an ice cream scoop into the chocolate and turn upside down to remove excess chocolate. Place truffles 1 at a time into the scoop and roll around until coated. Then place the truffle into the dish with either the cocoa powder, nuts or coconut. Move the truffle around to coat; leave truffle in the coating for 10 to 15 seconds before removing. In the meantime, continue placing the chocoalte-coated truffles in the cocoa or other secondary coating. After 1 to 15 seconds, remove the truffle to a parchment lined baking sheet pan. Repeat until all truffles are coated. Allow to set in a cool place for at least 1 hour; or stor in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 

*All pictures are again taken by LadyJayPee =)

Cranberry Bliss Bars

I'm home for Christmas now! So my days consist of sleeping for an inordinate amount of time, going for super long runs in the forest, and eating. Oh! The eating! My Stepmom, LadyJayPee, doesn't need an introduction. Needless to say, we kind of sit in the kitchen for most of the day baking and cooking. And, of course, we have to taste everything we make and critique it. Two foodies in the house definitely makes for lots of fun, thats for sure.  

I took over the kitchen yesterday afternoon to make Cranberry Bliss Bars yesterday under the watchful eye of LadyJayPee. The bars turned out great! My Dad definitely had more that one bite and kept saying "yup, that's good". They are supposed to be a clone of the Cranberry Bars from Starbucks. I think the Starbucks bars have a more cookie base then these cakey-ier ones have. I think the frosting and the drizzle are pretty spot on, though! Nonetheless, these are great and I think our guests will surely enjoy =)

Cranberry Bliss Bars

Good Things Catered

1 c. butter, softened 
1 1/4 c. light brown sugar, packed 
3 large eggs 
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp orange extract 
1 tsp ground ginger 
1/4 tsp salt 
1 2/3 c. all-purpose flour 
3/4 c. diced dried cranberries 
3/4 c. white chocolate chunks 

6 oz cream cheese, softened 
3 c. powdered sugar 
4 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract 
1/4 c. diced dried cranberries 

1 c. powdered sugar 
1 Tbsp milk, plus a bit more if needed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare (well grease) 9x13 baking pan (I used two square pans). 

In bowl of stand mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until fluffy and light in color, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, vanilla, ginger, and salt; beat well.  Gradually mix in flour just until combined. Remove bowl from mixer and fold in cranberries and white chocolate.

Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Place in oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until cake is barely light brown on the edges.  Remove from oven and let cool. 

Meanwhile make the frosting. In stand mixer bowl, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla and beat on low until smooth. When the cake has cooled invert onto cutting board and spread frosting over top, evenly. Sprinkle top with diced cranberries. 

Prepare icing by whisking powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp of milk, adding more if needed to come to a thick consistency icing. Place icing in a pastry bag, snip the end and drizzle over cranberries in a sweeping motion. 

Slice into 16 triangular bars. Serve immediately or place in refrigerator to serve later.

*All photos taken by LadyJayPee (cause let's be serious, my camera and photography skills would never compare to these photos!)

Cinnamon Cupcakes with Oatmeal Cookie Frosting

Happy Birthday to Annie Bananie!

In honor of the big day, I made cupcakes (really, did you expect anything different?). I found these on a blog and was so impressed with how original they were! Oatmeal in a frosting?! Get out of town! And I knew Bananie would love all the flavors in these guys.

The cupcakes were great! I loved the cinnamon flavor to them. I think next time I will take them out of the oven a little sooner, though. I thought they were a little dry. The frosting was also very great. If you can get past the fact that there is oatmeal in it, it tasted just like a cookie! So goooood!

Cinnamon Sour Cream Cupcakes
Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

4 oz. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a muffin tin with baking spray.

In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and vanilla together. Add to butter mixture in two additions, scraping down after each addition.

In a medium bowl, add together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add half this mixture to the mixer on low speed. Add the sour cream. Add the remaining flour mixture, blending until fully incorporated.

Fill muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown.

Let cool for 5 minutes, then remove from tin and let cool on a wire rack. Frost when completely cool.

Oatmeal Cookie Frosting

2 cups oatmeal
8 oz unsalted butter
4-5 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
milk to thin

Using a food processor, pulvarise the oatmeal until it becomes powder form.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until it is soft, about 1 minute. Add the oatmeal and 1 cup of powdered sugar and beat on medium speed.

Add the remaining powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Add the vanilla and beat until fully incorporated. If frosting is too thick, thin out with milk.

Baked French Toast

It's Annie Bananie's birthday week and I made her breakfast! Yay! 

Someone used to make me what I remember as a french toast casserole. It was kind of like a bread pudding. I asked for the recipe and tried my hand at it. The best part about this breakfast was that you make it the night before and then just pop it in the oven in the morning! And who can go wrong with bread and maple syrup?! Not me, thats for sure! 

When I make french toast, I usually use Challah bread because it is sweet and soft. I don't think it would work in this recipe, though because it would just get soggy. If you figure out how to make it happen, let me know please!

Baked French Toast

Ladyjaypee

1 dozen eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 loaf french bread, cubed

8 oz. cream cheese

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Lightly spray a 9 by 13 inch dish with cooking spray.

Whip together eggs, milk, maple syrup and cream cheese.

In prepared baking dish, layer half of the bread cubes.

Pour half the egg mixture over the bread cubes.

Add other half of bread cubes.

Pour the remainder of the egg mixture over bread cubes.

Sprinkle with cinnamon. 

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Serve with maple syrup and butter.

Gingerbread Men (with scarves)

We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I'm so excited for Christmas I may burst Christmas spirit everywhere! That would be pretty funny....

I'm good at baking and passing it off as a gift for people. It's a hobby, I guess. These gingerbread men were for my friend India. I asked her awhile ago what her favorite Christmas cookie was and she said gingerbread men with scarves (she was very specific about the scarves). She completely forgot she told me, so when she got these she was more than a little surprised!

These are a very good gingerbread cookie, slightly spicy and very chewy. Delish!

Gingerbread Cookies
Good Things Catered

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup molasses
1 egg
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Stir in molasses and egg. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg; blend into the molasses mixture until smooth. Cover, and chill for at least one hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line with parchment. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until firm. Let cool for 10 minutes on pan.Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks. Frost or decorate when cool.

Gingerbread Pancakes

So Saturday morning I'm minding my own business. Drinking coffee and rolling out Christmas cookies, when all of a sudden Annie Bananie says from the couch, "I want some pancakes."

I couldn't just blatantly ignore a plea for pancakes. That would be so out of character. So I said I would make her pancakes when I was done making cookies. And of course I couldn't just make regular pancakes. I made gingerbread pancakes! Brilliantly delicious. I also added chocolate chips because Annie Bananie wanted them. These were great pancakes. Perfect for a cold Saturday morning!


Gingerbread Pancakes
Baking Bites

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8-1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (I used regular milk, but I think it would be better with buttermilk)
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup chocolate chips

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, sugar and spices. In a medium bowl, mix together the buttermilk, eggs, vegetable oil and molasses. Pour into dry ingredients until batter is well combined. Whisk in chocolate chips.

Heat a non-stick or lightly greased pan over medium high heat. Drop large dollops of batter to make 4-inch pancakes. Flip when edges begin to look dry. Cook until second side is golden. Serve with maple syrup and devour!

Chestnut Soup

I've never been a huge soup person. Something about drinking, slurping and otherwise not chewing my dinner doesn't really do it for me. Needless to say, when my friend said she was making soup for our Thanksgiving Extravaganza, I wasn't too over the moon about it.

Step back.

This soup is awesome. I even LOVED it! Of course it was number 17 of our 5,000 course dinner, but nonetheless, I was speechless! It was a little creamy and very filling. It also just made me all warm inside (well, duh, its SOUP!). And who knew I loved chestnuts so much?

Chestnut Soup
Doritte Cohen

1/2 stick butter

3 tablespoons diced carrots

2 tablespoons diced onions

3 tablespoons diced celery

2 cups chestnuts either frozen or in a jar

1 sprig thyme

2 cups port wine or good old manichevitz

2 cups chicken stock

salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup heavy cream

Melt butter in a medium sauce pan. Add carrots, onion and celery. Cook over medium heat until vegetables are tender. Add chestnuts and cook until fragrant. Add thyme and port and reduce by 3/4's.

Pour in chicken stock and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 40 minutes. Let cool. Add cream and put in a blender.

Strain through a fine sieve. Adjust seasoning.

Add dalop of sweetened cream with honey or add dried cranberries for garnish.

Carrot Cake

Annie Bananie asked me to make her mom a birthday cake a few weeks ago. Of course I obliged. Her favorite cake was carrot cake, so after some research, I used a Martha recipe from John Barricelli. Unfortunately I can't comment on the cake because I didn't have any, but I did get great reviews from Bananie's family! 

Carrot Cake

Martha 

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup pecan halves

1 pound large carrots, peeled

3 large eggs

1/3 cup nonfat buttermilk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter two 8-by-2-inch round cake pans. Dust with flour, and tap out any excess. Set aside. Spread pecans in a single layer on an ungreased baking pan, and toast in oven until lightly golden, about 7 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand until completely cool. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees. Finely chop pecans and set aside.

Using the smallest hold of a box grater, grate carrots. Place carrots, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, sugar and ginger in a large bowl; mix until well combined.

Into a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Using a rubber spatula, fold the flour mixture into the carrot mixture until combined. Fold in the butter and toasted pecans.

Divide cake batter between the two cake pans, and bake until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Remove pans from oven, and transfer to a wire rack to cool, about 15 minutes. Turn cakes out onto rack; let stand until completely cool. Frost and decorate as desired.

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Martha

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

3 8-oz bars cream cheese, room temperature

3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest

2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger

Pinch of salt

Place butter in bowl of electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add cream cheese and beat until well combined and fluffy. Add sugar, orange zest, ginger and salt and beat for 5 minutes.

Christmas Sugar Cookies

The first of many!

Christmas cookies that is. Because, really?! What else do I do?


These were two batches. Aren't they perty? I used the regular cookie recipe and royal icing recipe I've used before.

Applesauce Spice Bars

I made this recipe awhile ago to use up applesauce. Of course I have seen these bars around before, they are a Dorie recipe and been through Tuesdays with Dorie and all that jazz. I liked these bars a lot. They were very moist and had a lot of apple flavor. The glaze balanced it all out too. I left out the raisins and pecans and liked it just peachily. I sent these away to a Thanksgiving party I was supposed to attend, but had a performance instead. They were welcomed. =)

Applesauce Spice Bars
Dorie Greenspan, Baking: From My Home to Yours

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
1 baking apple, cored and finely diced

2 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 13 inch baking dish and dust the inside with flour.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.

In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the brown sugar and stir with a whisk until it is melted and the mixture is smooth, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Still working in the saucepan, whisk in the eggs one at a time, mixing until they are well blended. Add the applesauce and vanilla, and whisk until the incorporated and the mixture is smooth again. Switch to a rubber spatula and gently stir in the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear, then mix in the apple. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 23 to 25 minutes, or until the bars just start to pull away form the sides of the pan and a knife in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to the let the cake cool.

In a small saucepan, whisk together the cream, sugar, butter and corn syrup. Put the pan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil, whisking frequently. Adjust the heat so that the glaze simmers, and cook, whisking frequently, for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour the hot glaze over the bars, spreading with a spatula to smooth evenly. Let them cool to room temperature before cutting.

Mexican Wedding Cookies/ Russian Tea Cakes/ Snowballs

Growing up I sure wasn't the baker that I am today. I, of course, enjoyed making cookies. I just didn't do it to the extent I do today (thank goodness or I fear I may have had some major problems!)

My favorite cookie used to be what my mom and I called Sandies. I have no idea where that name came from because ever since then, I have seen them called Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes and recently Snowballs. We were just cool I guess and decided to give them our own name. I used to put chocolate chips in them and remember passing by the counter and popping one in my mouth every chance I got.

I came across the recipe the other day in my Betty Crocker Cookie Book and decided to see if they were still my favorite. Woo....I forgot how delicious they were, thats for sure! I opted to put shaved white chocolate in them, which I feel was a genius move. You couldn't really taste the white chocolate specifically but it definitely helped make the cookies melt in your mouth even more.

Mexican Wedding Cookies/Russian Tea Cakes/Snowballs/Sandies
Betty Crocker

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup shaved white chocolate
1/4 teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Mix butter, powdered sugar and vanilla in large bowl. Stir in flour and salt followed by the shaved white chocolate.

Shape dough into 1-inch sized balls and place on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and roll in powdered sugar to cover. Let cool on wire rack.

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies with Ganache Frosting

A friend challenged me to recreate this "amazing" brownie she ate at a farmer's market in the city. Challenge accepted (obviously). She sent me an email with a good two paragraphs describing the brownie and the frosting, peppered with specificity. It was nice to hear another foodie describe the tastes and textures she experienced. I got super excited and after Thanksgiving craziness subsided, I got right to work.

These were fudgy brownies (cause I am NOT a cakey brownie person, then its just cake. Duh!). These were not just brownies with a little pumpkin in them. The pumpkin and chocolate batters are even and complement each other perfectly. Usually when there is a "swirl" in brownies, be it pumpkin or cheesecake, I find that the swirl part is lacking and not very good. Not the case with these! The pumpkin batter is every bit as good as the brownie. Are you excited now?

And I haven't even gotten to the frosting...which was excellent! It was very creamy and rich, just perfect. I couldn't resist the sprinkles.

PS: Forgive the picture. I took it at work with my camera phone because I forgot before I left the house!

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies
Martha Stewart

8 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups solid-pack pumpkin
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 13 inch baking pan (original recipe calls for a 9 inch square pan, but mine turned out plenty thick).

Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water, stirring until smooth.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, cayenne and salt in a large bowl; set aside. Put sugar, eggs and vanilla in the bowl of an electric miser fitter with the paddle attachment; beat until fluffy and well combined, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in flour mixture.

Divide batter between two medium bowls. Stir chocolate mixture into one bowl. In another bowl, stir pumpkin, oil, cinnamon and nutmeg. Transfer half of chocolate batter to prepared pan smoothing top with a rubber spatula. Top with half of pumpkin batter. Repeat to make one more chocolate layer and one more pumpkin layer. Work quickly so batters wont set.

With a small spatula, gently swirl the two batters to create a marbled effect. Bake until set, mine took about 30 minutes.

Dark Chocolate Ganache
Martha Stewart

2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped

In a large saucepan, bring 2 cups heavy cream, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt to a boil. Remove from heat; add 1 pound bittersweet chocolate and let stand, without stirring, for 1 minute. Whisk just until combined. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until spreadable, about 1 hour. Top cooled brownies with ganache.

Caramel Pumpkin Pecan Gingersnap Cheesecake

Who is obsessed with the Pioneer Woman? (*raises hand)
Who is obsessed with cheesecake (*sheepishly raises hand)

I just had to make this cheesecake from her for our Thanksgiving extravaganza this weekend. I LOVED the filling. It was definitely creamy, but very surprisingly wasn't too rich! The only trouble I had with it was that the crust got really hard from the caramel right on top of it. Nonetheless, delicious. When I make this again, I think I will swirl the caramel into the pumpkin batter.


Caramel Pumpkin Pecan Gingersnap Cheesecake
Pioneer Woman

12 ounces storebought Gingersnaps
1/2 cups chopped pecans
6 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 dash salt

4 8-oz packages cream cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 15-oz can pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
4 whole eggs
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 12-oz jar caramel topping

Crush gingersnaps in a food processor. Add chopped pecans, melted butter, brown sugar and salt. Pulse until thoroughly combined. Press into bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan. Chill for 20-30 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add pupmkin and spices and mix again. Add eggs one at a time. mixing for 20 seconds between each addition. Add cream and mix until just combined.

Remove crust from fridge. Pour 1/2 jar of caramel topping on crust. Sprinkle caramel with chopped pecans. Gently pour cheesecake filling into pan. Even out the top with a flat spatula.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool on counter for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, pour the rest of the caramel topping over the top. Smooth with a flat spatula until evenly smooth. Cover and chill cheesecake for another four hours or overnight.


When ready to serve, remove rim from pan and slice.

Golden Corral Rolls

LadyJayPee at Eating, Etc. made these wheat rolls several years ago and since then, I have been obsessed. They will always be a part of my holiday table from now on.

Despite that fact that these rolls have to rise twice, they are easy to make and you just have to mix them, sit them down and forget about them, shape them into balls, let them chill some more and then bake! Easy as pie!

Unfortunately, my rolls didn't rise the second time very much, but they still baked up nice and pretty and delicious.

Golden Corral Rolls
Eating, Etc.

1 pkg. active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105-110 degrees F)
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup milk, just to scalding hot (do not simmer or boil)
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 3/4- 2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Stir in the 2 teaspoons of sugar. Let sit for about 5 minutes until mixture foams up.

Heat milk in microwave or in small saucepan on stove top.

Add sugar, butter and salt to hot milk and stir until butter is melted. Cool to 105-110 degrees F. Pour milk mixture into bowl of stand mixer. Add the yeast mixture and egg and mix together.

Mix in all-purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour and vital wheat gluten, beating to form a soft dough. Knead with mixer for 5 minutes, adding extra flour if needed.

Place dough in warm oiled or buttered bowl, turning greased side up. Cover with parchment paper and let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, about 75-90 minutes.

Punch dough down and hand-knead for 5 minutes on lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 12 pieces and shape into round rolls. Place them, not touching in greased 13 by 9 inch pan. Cover with parchment paper and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 30-45 minutes.

Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

Brush tops of rolls with melted butter.

Thanksgiving Spread and Sweet Potato Casserole

Happy food hangover day! Or something of the sorts...

I had such a great Thanksgiving and have enough recipes to get me through several weeks of blogging!

I packed all my goods into a large (and I do mean large!) shoulder bag on Thursday and headed over to my friend India's apartment, where I found her assembling her father's recipe for homemade stuffing.

We assembled and baked and cut and diced and played around in the kitchen the entire afternoon and had fun arranging all our dishes in the oven.

Mid afternoon our friend Diandra joined us and made a delicious Walnut Soup and salad for us. Of course, we had to assemble all the food on India's kitchen table for picture time. Smile food!


In case you are wondering what all is on the table, here is our list:

Brisket (random, I'm aware)
Green bean casserole
Sweet potato casserole
Stuffing
Wheat rolls
Salad
Macaroni and cheese
Cornbread

We filled our plates to the nines and I (brilliantly) remembered to photograph my plate full of deliciousness. Jealous? You should be!


Even through all the rich food we inhaled, there was no way we weren't ready for dessert (obviously). India made her Dad's Apple and Berry Crumble (which I sheepishly didn't get a picture of) and a Pumpkin Caramel Cheesecake from yours truly.

I probably don't need to tell you that we didn't even make a dent in the food that night and had so many leftovers its a bit out of control. Hope your Thanksgiving was as coma-inducing as ours was. Here is the recipe for the Sweet Potato Casserole I made. It is probably my favorite holiday dish and demand it every time I go home.

Sweet Potato Casserole
All Recipes

5 sweet potatoes (I used 3 extra large ones)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 by 13 inch baking dish.

Bake sweet potatoes 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until they begin to soften. Cool slightly, peel and mash.

In a large bowl, mix the mashed sweet potatoes, salt, 1/4 cup butter, eggs vanilla extract, cinnamon, sugar and heavy cream. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.

In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup butter, flour, brown sugar and chopped pecans. Mix with your fingers to the consistency of course meal. Sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture.

Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until topping is crisp and lightly browned.

Thanksgiving Cookies

T-minus 24 hours until Turkey Day!

Or, in my case, Lack of Turkey Day.

I've was never a huge fan of Thanksgiving growing up. Despite the fact that I like to eat, Thanksgiving food never really did it for me. I'm not a huge fan of turkey, I don't like those marshmallowy sweet potatoes and there are many other things I would rather eat than mashed potatoes and gravy. I used to pile my plate high with green bean casserole (please tell me you know what this is) and then eat a ton of pie (typical).

Nowadays I have expanded my horizons and with a little help from some great cooks (ahem, JP, ahem), I now have some dishes that I simply CANNOT do without! That's why I'm super excited this year to be making Thanksgiving dinner! Well, MY version at least. Several of my friends and I are getting together and each bringing our favorite dishes. I'm super excited to not only try out their favorites, but have mine all together in one place!

Needless to say, upon arrival at chez Sugar tonight, I will be baking and cooking up a storm until tomorrow morning. Get ready to hear all about my adventures next week!

These little gobblers were made for Annie Bananie and her family to enjoy. Or, more specifically, to keep the kids quiet. Or something.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

I used this cookie recipe and this icing recipe.

Pumpkin Cookies, the Sequel

A friend at work who is always (ALWAYS) standing right behind me faxing house seat orders asked for some pumpkin cookies with chocolate chunks. Yes, she was very specific about the chunks, chips would not suffice. With my current affection for all things pumpkin and Thanksgiving just around the corner, I obliged.

These cookies turned out cakey and very flavorful. I preferred the other pumpkin cookies I made by a landslide, because I prefer my cookies on the chewy side more than the cakey side. The chocolate chunks were great too and added another flavor to the pumpkin and spices.

Pumpkin Cookies with Chocolate Chunks
Joy the Baker

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray.

Stir flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together in a medium bowl and set aside. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar until smooth, about 1 minute. On low speed, mix the oil, pumpkin and vanilla until blended. Mix in the flour mixture to incorporate. Stir in the chocolate chunks.

Scoop 1/4 cup mounds of dough onto cookie sheets, spacing about 2 1/2 inches apart. Flatten lightly. Bake cookies about 16 minutes, or until tops feel firm. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Mint Brownie Cookies

Don't you just love it when you bake something, take it somewhere for others to partake and then you feel like a rockstar all day because you get so many compliments on them?

If you love that feeling, then make these cookies and take them to work. I had people asking me for the recipe, telling me I should open a bakery and generally making "yummy" noises at me while rubbing their tummies. In conclusion, I was a rockstar.

These cookies were very fudgy like a brownie and I absolutely fell in love with the mint chips I used in them (they are Hershey's Dark Chocolate and Mint chips). They were my perfect cookie: Chewy on the inside and crisp on the outside. Very impressive. Go cookies!

Mint Brownie Cookies
Adapted from Baking Bites

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 package Hershey's Dark Chocolate and Mint Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together melted butter and sugars. Mix in the eggs, stirring them in one at a time, then add the vanilla.

Stir the flour mixture into the wet mixture, until no streaks of flour remain. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes, until cookies are set and tops are slightly cracked looking. Cool on baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, until firm enough to transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Pumpkin Pie Bars

I'm not going to lie. I love pumpkin. I think that's pretty obvious here. Strangely enough, however, I am not a huge fan of pumpkin pie. Don't get me wrong. There's sugar in it, I'll eat it. I'd just rather something else.

I found this recipe for pumpkin pie bars and thought they would be a welcome change. I really liked the bars. The filling was like a pumpkin pie filling, but a little creamier. The crust was great! I liked the oatmeal in it. And the butterscotch chips on top really made did it for me! 

I wolfed down about half the pan of these, but Annie Bananie, my only other tester, didn't really care for them. She REALLY didn't like the butterscotch chips. Decide for yourself:

Pumpkin Pie Bars

Joy the Baker

1 1/3 cups flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup cold butter

1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats, uncooked

1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened

3 eggs

1 15-oz can pumpkin

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

butterscotch chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13 by 9 inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides; grease foil. Mix flour, 1/4 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar in medium bowl; cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in oats.

Reserve 1 cup oat mixture; press remaining onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 15 minutes. Beat cream cheese, remaining sugar, eggs, vanilla, pumpkin and spice with mixer until well blended. Pour over crust. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture and butterscotch chips.

Bake 25 minutes; cool 10 minutes. Use foil to transfer dessert from pan to wire rack; cool completely.

Funfetti Cupcakes

Recently, Spice and I discovered some things about ourselves that the other didn't know. I discovered that her eyes are green (I totally thought they were brown), her favorite color is orange and she LOVES funfetti cake! Who knew?!

I found a recipe so she could bake herself some. It was just a Martha recipe and we added colored sprinkles. I really liked the cake, it was very moist and had a good vanilla flavor to it. I liked the frosting, but I think it could have used some work. Spice got a lot of comments that it was too sweet and although that wasn't true for me (who are we kidding here?), I did agree that it was definitely on the overly sweet side.

I had a little trouble with the fact that these didn't have any chocolate on them/in them/around them...but once I got over that, they were delicious!

Billy's Vanilla, Vanilla Cupcakes
Martha Stewart

1 3/4 cup cake flour
1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch cubes
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Colored sprinkles

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.

In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Fold in colored sprinkles.

Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat process with remaining batter. Once cupcakes have cooled, use a small offset spatula to frost tops of each cupcake.

Billy's Vanilla Buttercream
Martha Stewart

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
6-8 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. With mixer on low speed, add 6 cups of sugar, milk and vanilla; mix until light and fluffy. If necessary, gradually add remaining 2 cups of sugar to reach desired consistency.

Oatmeal Cookies

I'm a sucker for oatmeal cookies. I really like them with chocolate chips. And lots of chewy goodness. Apparently Annie Bananie likes them as well because she asked me repeatedly to make her whole wheat oatmeal cookies and I finally did. Being a big nerd I am, though, I couldn't just make oatmeal cookies. I had to add cereal and candy bar chunks.

I really liked these cookies! There was a lot going on in them! I liked having lots of crunch in them and really liked the milky way explosion too! Annie Bananie wasn't a huge fan of them, she prefers her cookies flat and more buttery. These are a great take off from an oatmeal cookie! I learned the hard way to make sure the milky way chunks are surrounded by dough or else they will run when baked!


Oatmeal Cookies
Adapted from Allrecipes

1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup brown rice cereal
1 cup milky way chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets.

Cream together butter, brown sugar and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt and stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the oats, milky way chunks and brown rice cereal.

Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Fall Pumpkin Bread

Still trying to get rid of applesauce....

Do you need any? Send me your address and I will mail you some. Just kidding!

I love sweet breads. Especially pumpkin bread. There is something about it that just shoots me over the moon! My Stepmom probably makes the best pumpkin bread I have ever had, and I am always trying to replicate it, but to no avail. This bread was good, but there weren't any fireworks. I did like the cranberries and apples in it, but I think I prefer my pumpkin bread unadulterated. Nonetheless, good flavor, pretty moist, definitely enjoyed a few slices for myself!

Fall Pumpkin Bread
Adapted from Good Things Catered

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. light brown sugar
1/2 can (or 7.5 oz) pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
1/4 c. oil
1/4 c. applesauce
1/4 c. buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 medium apple (I like granny smith) peeled, cored, and diced
1 c. dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 9x5 loaf pan.
In large bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt and whisk to combine. In another large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil, applesauce, milk, vanilla and stir to combine well.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just barely blended. Fold in apples, cranberries and pecans.

Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 10 minutes. BRemove from pan and let cool on wire rack completely (makes the slices much more clean.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Applesauce Muffins

Yes, more attempts to rid myself of the applesauce that is taking over the refrigerator.

Awhile ago, Spice bought a new muffin pan because I only had a 6 muffin one. She bought one of those silicone ones...which I am beginning to loath! I find the darned little guy frustrating! He is so absurdly flexible for a baking pan and bends way too easily for my tastes. I find that muffins and cupcakes don't cook very well in it either, requiring much more time than usual to bake. He is also extremely difficult to clean! I can't get him to be stable enough to scrub and just get so frustrated! Grrr...point being, I don't recommend silicone baking products. If they work for you, I give you major brownie points (brownies...mmmm).

Despite my frustrations, I am happy to say that these muffins are delicious! MUCH better the next day and I added a bit of a streusel topping just to make me happier! Because it's all about me, after all =)


Whole Wheat Pumpkin-Applesauce Muffins
All Recipes

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon raw sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease 12 muffin cups or line the cups with paper muffin liners.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice; set aside.

Combine the brown sugar, white sugar, oil, applesauce, pumpkin, buttermilk and beaten eggs and mix until well blended. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until combined.

Divide the batter evenly in the prepared muffin pan.

In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, raw sugar, cinnamon and salt. Cut butter into mixture until it resembles a crumbly mixture. Top each muffin with streusel mixture.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes (unless you have a lame silicone muffin pan and then its more like 25 to 30 minutes). Cool the muffin pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes before removing muffins from pan to cool completely.

Iced Oatmeal Applesauce Cookies

Our apartment is overflowing with applesauce. Not really, I guess, but I do have a HUGE tub of it in the refrigerator still. These were my first attempt at using up said applesauce.

I have a small bone to pick with Martha's people: How come my cookies were not like the cookies in the picture? I made them just like you said to, and even chilled them for awhile in the refrigerator! Please don't disappoint me again. I love Martha and would hate to have a reason to take the opposite stance. Thanks.

The cookies tasted great, but I guess I was expecting a chunkier cookie. I should have known that with the applesauce, they would spread out. These were very sweet and the maple glaze really put them over the moon!


Iced Oatmeal Applesauce Cookies
Martha Stewart

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup chunky style applesauce
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Put butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until combined. Add egg and applesauce, mix until well blended, 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Chill dough (I chilled it overnight).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop dough onto baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies until golden and just set, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets 5 minutes and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Whisk confectioners' sugar, syrup and 3 tablespoons water until smooth. Drizzle over completely cooled cookies and let set.

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt

Confession: I am OBSESSED with frozen yogurt.

And I do mean obsessed. I've gone a little nuts. Yup, its pretty cold here, but I will still be craving fro yo. Even though it gets rock hard after sitting in the freezer for a day, I will sit there on the couch with a large tupperware container of the stuff and pick at it until my craving ceases. Yeah, I'm weird. I know.

My friend and I have also discovered Yogurtland here in New York. It is a self serve frozen yogurt place, with so many amazing flavors like snickerdoodle and cake batter. Then you also get to serve your own toppings! Like I said, OBSESSED. My friend India and I went there last week and almost froze our fingers off wandering around eating a vat of this stuff, its that delicious.

I usually just make David Lebovitz's Vanilla Frozen Yogurt, but I wanted to spice things up a bit with a little razzleberry action. I think I still prefer the real frozen yogurt, but this was a welcome treat! The tang of the yogurt matches well with the raspberries and creates a pretty darn good combination if you ask me!

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt
Foodnetwork.com

3 cups frozen raspberries
2 cups plain low-fat yogurt (I used Greek yogurt)
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips, preferable mini

Place raspberries, yogurt, sugar and vanilla in a food processor or blender and process until smooth.

Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Add chocolate chips during the last 5 minutes. Best if eaten within one day of making.

Applesauce

I really hate peeling and cutting apples. Probably tops the list of one of my least favorite activities, along with babysitting, flying and cleaning Spice's hair out of the bathroom.

However, I absolutely LOVE apples in general, including apple desserts, which makes it difficult to say no to the tedious activity of peeling and cutting the little buggers.

Haven't made anything with apples for a long while, so I made some applesauce. And don't you worry your pretty little head because I've got some plans for this applesauce. Actually, I HAD plans for the applesauce, but they are over now, I just haven't posted the excitement yet.

This was GREAT applesauce. I really like my applesauce without any sugar, but with lots of fun flavors. I used Simply Recipes' version and omitted the sugar because apples are sweet on their own! Step away from the sugar....


Applesauce
Simply Recipes

3-4 lbs of peeled, cored and quartered apples (I used granny smith, they're da bomb)
4 strips of lemon peel
Juice of 1 lemon (3-4 tablespoons)
3 inches of cinnamon stick
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardamom

Put all ingredients into a large pot. Cover. Bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer 20-30 minutes.

Remove from heat. Remove cinnamon stick and lemon peels. Mash with potato masher.

Peanut Butter Blondies

I had high hopes for these guys...I mean, seriously, how can you go bad with peanut butter (unless you don't like peanut butter and then your just an oddball!)?! I was expecting some delicious bar cookie with a brownie-like texture and a subtle shade of chocolate.

I don't really think I got that. I was not overly impressed with these blondies. I suppose they came out well, because I got lots of compliments at work about them. I found them to be a little dry and not fudgy enough, not at all like a brownie should be.

I really wanted some gooey, peanut-buttery, lick your fingers good bar here. Not so much. I think they were better the second day, but still not all I hoped they would be. They were a very good cookie bar, don't get me wrong. Still delicious, but don't bake these thinking you will have a brownie. Not gonna happen.

Peanut Butter Blondies
Smitten Kitchen

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 large eggs, plus 1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with rack in middle. Butter a 13- by 9- by 2-inch baking pan, then line bottom of pan with parchment paper and butter parchment.

Beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until mixture is light and fluffy, then add peanut butter and beat until incorporated. Beat in whole eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla. Reduce mixer speed to low, then mix in flour until just combined.

Mix in chocolate chips (1 1/2 cups) then spread batter in baking pan, smoothing top.

Bake until brownies are deep golden, 40 to 45 minutes.

Cool completely in pan on a rack, about 1 1/2 hours.

Make ganache: Put chocolate chips (1 1/2 cups) in a heatproof bowl.

Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan, then pour over chocolate chips and let mixture stand for one minute.

Gently whisk in butter until it is incorporated, chocolate is melted, and a smooth mixture forms.

Spread ganache on cooled brownies and let stand until set, about 15 minutes.