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Chocolate Walnut Babka – SRC

April 25, 2016

This past weekend has been awesome!!!

On Saturday we went out to lunch with a friend who was on vacation in Florida. It was good to see him, his wife, and adorable 1 year old daughter.

And then the offer we put on the house we have been loving for a year was accepted. Oh my goodness. We are still in shock! It’s so exciting. We stopped by the sales office today but some changes to the plan needed to be coded so we are going back to sign the contract tomorrow night. Holy Smokes!

But more on the house stuff later!

Today is Secret Recipe Club Reveal Day!!!!

When I had previously had Karen’s blog, Karen’s Kitchen Stories, for a Secret Recipe Club blog post swap I was so enticed by her many recipes, especially bread recipes. I was so really excited that her blog came up in rotation again for me so that I could make one of her many awesome recipes.

I realized that I wouldn’t be able to put making my SRC off until the last minute (like usual!) since I would be doing Whole30 again when the SRC post would go live, so I planned on making my recipe in advance so I decided that my recipe had to be pretty epic before diving into Whole30. So what would be epic?

Chocolate Walnut Babka!!!!!!

This was the best way to kick off Whole30! Ha! I made this for us and we enjoyed most of a loaf for dinner. I mean, what’s a better way to welcome a month of no grain, no butter, no chocolate, than a loaf of bread filled with it. But let me tell you, that treat was incredible!

The babka bread is so flavorful with all the spice in the dough and chocolatey, nutty filling. The dough is soft and tender so it’s a nice light bread, but it still has substance from the filling. It’s a bread that you will keep cutting off slices of again and again. It’s so delicious.

I changed some of the proportions of the filling to just make it a bit more chocolately and, generally, pack more of a punch. I just treated it like how I treat making cinnamon rolls. The more butter, cinnamon, and sugar… the better! So I just tweaked the filling a bit.

Karen did mention how different the loaf would look if you scored the top vs pricking it with a tooth pick. I tried different ways with each loaf and I have to agree with Karen that the loaf that is pricked is much prettier. But you can’t go wrong either way.

I broke down the steps into many simple steps. It might seem cray and intimidating to see a lot of steps but I like to think of them as simple steps, not 5 steps that have several parts to it. So, don’t freak out, take a breath, and just start with #1 and the rest will be easy.

Get our your yeast, grab some walnuts, and chop up some chocolate. Get started on this awesome Chocolate Walnut Bread!

Chocolate Walnut Babka

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients

For the Bread

2 large room temperature eggs
1 pound, 10 1/5 ounces all purpose flour (unbleached)
1 1/8 ounces nonfat dry milk
3 1/2 ounces sugar
5 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature butter
2 T instant yeast
2 1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 to 10 ounces of 95 to 100 degree F water depending on the humidity
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

For the Filling

4 ounces sugar
1 ounce cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process
1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon expresso powder
2 ounces butter, melted
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped into fine pieces and small chunks
4 ounces chopped walnuts

For the Egg Wash

1 large beaten egg
a pinch of salt

Process

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine all of the ingredients together and mix with the hook attachment until everything is just combined. If the dough is too dry, add more water a Tablespoon at a time.
Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
Mix the dough again for about 7 minutes.
Let the dough rise until doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Combine all of the filling in a large bowl.
Grease two 9 by 5 inch loaf pans.
Remove the dough and place onto a well floured surface. Deflate the dough and divide it in half. Roll out the dough halves into 9″ by 18″ rectangles.
Evenly spread 1/2 of the filling on each piece of dough.
Roll each rectangle along the long edge. Seal the seam and the ends of the loaves by pressing the dough ends under the loaf. Place the loaves into the pans with the seam side down.
Spray the top of the loaves with spray oil and cover with plastic wrap. Let the loaves rise for 1 to 2 1/2 hours, or until the top is 1 inch above the pan.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Brush the loaves with the egg wash, poke the top of the loaves with a skewer or a toothpick several times, and place them in the oven.
Immediately lower the temperature to 300 degrees F.
Bake the loaves for 50 to 60 minutes, until they reach about 180 degrees. If the loaves begin to get too brown, tent with foil.
Remove the loaves from the oven and run a knife along the sides. Let the loaves cool in the pan for ten minutes, the remove them from the pans, place them on a cooling rack, and let them cool completely.

Adapted from Karen’s Kitchen Stories

Check out all the other great Secret Recipe Club posts HERE this month!

And be sure to check out my 4+ years of Secret Recipe Club posts!!!!

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Lemon Bars

March 14, 2016

I’ve been living in FL for a month now and I have been loving it all.

The weather is amazing so windows are practically opened all the time. It’s so refreshing. BUT my dad told me not to don’t leave your car windows open to air out your car because geckos have been known to get in there and then just so happen to pop out while you’re driving, causing you to freak out, swerve off the road, and die. Okay, I added that last part but I’m sure that would happen to me so my windows are staying shut while I’m not driving.

But right now I’m totally loving all the fresh Florida citrus that is in season now. You can go to groves to pick citrus the way that you can pick apples in New England. We haven’t done it yet, but it will be a great activity one day.

I decided to make that Lemon Bar recipe from a recent cookbook that I received to use up some of the tons of lemons I have been buying.

The Perfect Portion Cookbook by Anson Williams, Bob Warden, and Mona Dolgov is right up my alley. I attacked it with post it’s the night it arrived.

What’s so appealing about this book to me?

Well, it’s jam packed with over 150 healthy recipes that are ones that you would actually want to eat. Seriously, this cookbook is the real deal with cinnamon rolls, french toast, chili, pasta, and all kinds of dessert. It’s all about enjoying your favorite foods at a reasonable portion size. Plus, there it isn’t loaded up with phony stuff like non-fat plasticy butter. Recipes use butter. This is real life people.

The authors introduce the ‘idea’ of breaking down your recommended caloric intake by 3 meals and snacks during the day. They breakdown what a serving size of each recipe would be, like if you have 1/2 Cup of something it could be for lunch, but a larger portion would be for dinner. It’s really helpful to break things down this way.

As well, they give you a week’s worth of meals as an example to get you through the day with healthy options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with 2 snacks, and a dessert. Life needs dessert.

I had a tough time of picking which recipe to first try since I had a good 30+ of ones that were must makes. Would it be the Cinnamon Rolls? The Chicken-Fried Steak? The Enchilada Bake? The “Hot Cocoa” Pretzels? Or Apple Pie turnovers? Tough decisions, but I decided on the Lemon Bars because I have a swimming pool sized bowl filled with citrus in the kitchen. I also exaggerated that, like the gecko thing. Clearly.

Anyway, I whipped these lemon bars up and I have to say I am so damn impressed with out well they came out.

Since my baking supplies are in transit now, I just grabbed a pan out of my dad’s pantry which happened to be a rectangle but the surface area was comparable to a a 8×8 pan. So before you look at this and thing “yo lady, that’s not a square pan…” I know, I know. But it worked, I swear. You can also switch it to be a 9″ round pan but cutting out 20 even slices could be tricky.

Make these lemon bars. You will never ever know that they are just 100 calories each. Plus, it will help that they are just 100 calories each since when you eat them all it’s just 2,000 calories for the pan… oh wait. crap!

Lemon Bars

Makes 20 Bars (each bar is just 100 calories!)

Ingredients

For the Cookie Crust

Non-stick Cooking Spray
2/3 Cup all-purpose flour
1/2 butter, softened
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon cold water

For the Filling

3 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1 1/4 Cup sugar
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 Cup fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons lemon zest
1/8 teaspoon salt

Powdered sugar

Process

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8″ x 8″ baking dish by spraying with non-stick cooking spray.
In a small mixing bowl, combing the flour, butter, sugar, and water together using your fingers. The dough will be rather thick.
Evenly press the dough in the bottom of the pan. It will be pretty thin.
Bake the crust for 15 minutes, or until just until the edges begin to lightly brown. Let cool for 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, or in the bowl or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix together all of the filling ingredients until well combined.
Pour the filling over the coled crust. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and springy to touch.
Let cool for at least 30 minutes prior to cutting into 4 rows, and then in 5 rows the other direction to create 20 pieces. Dust with powdered sugar.

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While I received The Perfect Portion Cookbook in exchange for a review, all opinions are expressly my own.

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Quick Dessert Quesadillas

March 8, 2016

It’s a big week!

A lot is going on. It’s awesome. It’s crazy. It’s wonderful. It’s horrible. I love it. I hate it. I’m tired. I’m energized. When was the last time I washed my hair? Let’s not think about that. ugh

And yesterday was a really big day!

The Purchase and Sale agreement for our house was signed!!!!! And the house is officially sold next Wednesday. Hip Hip Hooray!

And all our tons of crap was picked up to make it’s journey down the east coast. And when I say TONS, I mean it. It’s not like “literally, guys, omg we have tons of stuff!!” We really do. They weighed it, and we were charged for it.

I think it’s all my pyrex. yep… ha!

Plus, at this point it’s T-minus 5 days until The Hubs and the pups are in FL!!!!

I’m giddy with excitement. I’m excited for Autumn to have her world complete again too. The move without Price was hard for me, but extra super-duper tough for her. But it was just a month in the grand scheme of things so we all sucked it up and made it work.

But life had to keep on chugging, so I just kept on going to work, enjoying the warm weather, and eating all the strawberries I laid my eyes on.

It’s strawberry season here in Florida so we’re all up to our kneecaps in strawberries. No exaggeration. Okay, maybe a little. But I wouldn’t mind if that was a real thing.

But I’ve been eating strawberries like crazy and one of the things I whipped up were these Quick Dessert Quesadillas. I had mine with strawberries and my Dad requested his with bananas. I should have made one with both. And then extra Nutella. Just because.

You’re just 3 ingredients away from a great dessert!

Quick Dessert Quesadillas

Makes 4 quesadillas

Ingredients

strawberries or bananas
8 fajita sized tortillas
Nutella

Process

Dice the strawberries and thinly slice the bananas.
Toast fajita sized tortillas over an open flame with
Spread a thin layer of Nutella on one side of each of the tortillas. Press some fruit into the Nutella on one of the tortillas. Sandwich with another tortilla with the Nutella side down. Cut into 4 wedges. Repeat with remaining tortillas and then enjoy!

Carrot Cake Mug Cake

February 29, 2016

When in doubt, make mug cake.

My original plans to visit my mom and grandma on Saturday were thrown by the way side when I spent 1.30am-4am puking/trying not to puke/trying to puke on Friday. Good times, I tell ya. Good times. Maybe stomach bug, maybe food poisoning. Maybe I don’t care what was trying to kill me from the inside out, but I’d like to not experience that again for a long time.

I didn’t mean to but I kept waking up Autumn in the process. (sorry mommy is too loud throwing up princess… eye roll) So thankfully, she slept in to a whopping 6.45 am. We trudged downstairs, I made her pancakes, and then positioned myself on the sofa for the next 2 1/2 hours dozing while she watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. It was perfect for both of us.

I rallied in the afternoon taking her to the dollar store to get cheap Easter decorations like eggs, baskets, and window clings. Window clings are so cheesy but are the best for toddlers. And somehow it wasn’t exactly a dollar store as I spent $4 on a big bouncy ball. Totally worth it, but if Dollar is in your name, everything should be a $1. Shoot, I’ll accept $2 even. But it should be a rule.

Anyway, I am happy Easter is around the corner is around the corner. It gives me a fantastic excuse to dress Autumn in things covered in rabbits. Oh man, I have so much rabbit stuff. I love it.

Plus, all the food for Easter is great too.

While it’s not just for Easter, I find that carrot cake is such a fun Easter-y dessert. It’s the carrot > bunny connection. And since we have a rabbit I am all for carrot cake.

Which is exactly why I gravitated to Cathleen’s Carrot Cake Mug Cake from her blog A Taste of Madness for this special edition of Secret Recipe Club.

Since there is an extra Monday in the month we celebrate the occasion with a special theme post. In this case, we had to search our fellow blogger’s blog for either Easter or St. Patrick’s Day posts.

When I spotted this cake I knew I’d have to give it a try as it’s just the kind of recipe I love, simple, sweet, and perfectly portioned. Love it!!

Remember, when your day or weekend plans go awry, make mug cake. It will solve all your problems.

Carrot Cake Mug Cake

Makes 1 Serving

Ingredients

For the Mug cake

1 egg
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 Cup grated carrot
1/3 Cup flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
dash of salt

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

1 Tablespoon cream cheese, softened
1/4 Cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In a microwave safe cup, vigorously mix together the egg, oil, milk, and vanilla extract.
Mix in the grated carrot.
Add the rest of the mug cake ingredients and mix to just incorporate.
Microwave on high for around 90 seconds and see if it’s done. If it’s not, microwave in 10 second intervals.
While the cake is (quickly!) cooking, stir together the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Add the milk and vanilla extract and mix again until smooth.
Pour the frosting over the warm cake. Enjoy!

Insprired from A Taste of Madness

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Check out all the other fun St Patrick’s Day and Easter themed posts!

The Best 5 Minute Dessert Ever

February 11, 2016

I originally was going to miss Valentine’s Day with the Hubs. Ya see, I was planning on moving on Saturday, the 13th, to give us time to get settled before I start work on the 16th, but the flights were INSANE that day. It would have cost us about $1,100 dollars for Autumn and I to fly 1-way to Tampa. ONE WAY! Stupid school vacation week!!!!! So I jiggered things around and picked flights for Monday, the 15th, for $630. So much better!

Plus, it would give me an extra weekend with Price and the dogs. I’d like to say that I’m excited about Valentine’s Day but we aren’t too into it. I can’t even exactly remember what we did last year off the top of my head. I’m good like that…

But I think we will do something fun this weekend since we won’t see each other for a few weeks until he moves and arrives. Ah crazy times.

I was browsing Trader Joe’s recently and spotted a Chocolate Pound Cake and I knew I just had to have it. I had no plans other than just eat it. But then I saw big, beautiful strawberries and I knew what I had to do!

Strawberry shortcake is one of my favorite desserts so I ran with it and whipped up this 5 Minute Dessert subbing out the shortcake biscuit for the pound cake. I quickly cooked the strawberries instead of letting them macerate for a long time. Then just topped it off with whipped cream and some salted caramel sauce.

Yes, you can totally make the pound cake, caramel sauce, and whipped cream yourself, but I say there are times when you should give yourself a break!

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, it’s time to plan your menu and this dessert should be on it. Take the time to plan out and make your appetizer and entree but keep dessert simple. You’ll already have a sink full of dishes and plenty of better things to do than add more dishes to it.

I hope you have a wonderful upcoming Valentine’s Day!!

The Best 5 Minute Dessert Ever

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients

4 slices of chocolate pound cake
1 1/2 Cups strawberries, tops removed and then thinly sliced
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
warmed salted caramel sauce
whipped cream

Process

In the low broiler setting, toast the pound cake until just toasted.
Combine the strawberries, sugar, and vanilla extract in a skillet over medium heat. Stirring occasionally, cook for 3-4 minutes.
Shingle 2 slices of pound cake per plate. Spoon the strawberries over the pound cake then top with whipped cream and warm caramel sauce.

Magical Oatmeal 7 Layer Cookie Bars

December 21, 2015

I love giving homemade gifts for gifts at the holidays or other special occasions.

From homemade cocoa mixes to chex mix to cookies, I think that they are homemade gives such a wonderful touch. We even gave homemade Mixed Berry Jam as our wedding favor this year.

We decided to give out cookies to Spread Cookie Joy with friends and family. So much fun that everyone can enjoy!

I started by gathering up some great Krusteaz mixes to make a variety of cookies to gift. Baking with Krusteaz makes baking really easy, which is really important when you are baking with a toddler. You can download your own Krusteaz $1 off coupon here!

With the Oatmeal Scotchie Cookie Mix, I made 7 Layer Bars. The cookie mix makes for a fantastic base, instead of the typical graham cracker crumb base. Plus, this oatmeal cookie mix has butterscotch chips, which are in 7 Layer Bars, so it goes perfectly with the bars.

We even made sugar cookies, shortbread cookies with jam centers, and snickerdoodles with fantastic Krusteaz mixes. I used some of the remaining jars of jam we had from our wedding for the shortbread cookies. So fun! No matter what jam you use you can’t beat shortbread cookies.

Autumn loves to help in the kitchen when I am baking, which I love since it helps teach her how to count when we measure off ingredients. Or she will help turn on the mixer or decorate cakes or cookies. But this time she decided to give the Snickerdoodles an extra special touch as she shoved her finger in them as we were rolling them in cinnamon and sugar mixture. Some are more donut shaped than round. ha! But it gives them character and some extra toddler love.

I packaged them up in decorated bags and tied them off with some twine and attached a tag. The tags are so cute! They are tags that were customized from Zazzle! I had never ordered from Zazzle before but I’m hooked now with all the different products and creative designs that you can have personalized. Makes for a nice finishing touch on the cookie packages.

You can even package them in mason jars, which is super cute too! Just make sure you get wide mouth jars so you can easily get cookies in and out.

I hope that everyone has a great Christmas in 4 days!!!! (gah!!!)

Magical Oatmeal 7 Layer Cookie Bars

Makes an 8×8 pan

Ingredients

1 box Krusteaz Oatmeal Scotchie Cookies
1/2 stick of butter
1 egg
1- 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk (I used chocolate flavored one!)
1 1/4 Cup coconut flakes
1 Cup chopped nuts, such as walnuts
1 Cup chocolate chips
1/2 Cup butterscotch chips

Process

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the sides of an 8×8 baking dish.
Mix together the Krusteaz Oatmeal Scotchie with the butter and egg. Evenly press into the baking dish.
Pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the cookie base. Then sprinkle the chopped nuts, coconut, chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips. Gently press into the condensed milk.
Bake for 45-50 minutes. Cool completely prior to cutting into 16 squares.

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ENTER KRUSTEAZ GIVEAWAY HERE!!!!!

The fun holiday baking pack is great for some fun, creative baking!

The baking pack contains 2 boxes of each of the following mixes: Shortbread, Gingerbread, Snickerdoodle, Butter Vanilla Sugar, and Oatmeal Scotchie. Plus, some fun holiday baking items like an apron, tote bag, cookie cutters, frosting decorating pen.

Be sure to enter HERE for your chance to win an awesome baking pack from Krusteaz!

Open to US residents

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A BIG thanks to Krusteaz for providing me with all these fun mixes and goodies to help #SpreadCookieJoy. As always, all opinions are my own.

Gingerbread Snow Globes #KerrygoldGingerbreadContest

December 18, 2015

I immediately knew what I would do when I first heard about the Kerrygold Gingerbread Contest. It just popped up in my head and I was hooked.

I had recently seen the most adorable snow globe cupcakes on Pinterest, and I was intrigued. The glass part of the snow globes are made out of super thin gelatin that had coated a balloon. The balloon is deflated and the cast gelatin then holds its shape. So cool.

From there I created a plan and then did my shopping.

Thankfully Amazon had everything I needed, even the water balloons that were impossible to find in stores as it’s off-season for them now.

Once I had my supplies in hand, I got to work!

The gingerbread cookie base came together easily. Plus, it made the house smell great.

Autumn enjoyed helping out too!

I made gingerbread men and bunnies to put in the snow globes. Our mini bunny cookie cutter always sits on our kitchen window along with a bigger one to go along with my random collection of rabbit pictures and prints around the house in honor of our rabbit.

I made the cookies in advance and set them aside to then focus on the bubbles.

The bubbles were tough!!!

The instructions were clear to follow (thankfully!) but I did think that there was not enough gelatin to really cover the balloons. I’d actually make a lot more gelatin next time. But other than that, it was fun to do something challenging but creative!

It took 24 hours of the bubbles to cure, but once they were done I was ready to start to decorate and assemble the snow globes. I wish I had more pictures of this process of I had my hands fill and I mainly Snapchat’ed the experience.

I’m admittedly, not great at decorating cookies. But I don’t do it often so I don’t find much fault in that.

And of course, the gel icing for the eyes ran on the bunnies! gah!!!!

I did the best I could in the time I had so I think the snow globes came out well.

I certainly hope I win the grand prize, a trip for 2 to Ireland!, or one of the runner up prizes, a year’s worth of Kerrygold cheese and butter, but I’ll at least be super proud of myself that I accomplished this fun contest entry.

#KerrygoldGingerbreadContest

Sugar Cookie Bars

June 30, 2015

Oh, what a week!!! Such a good freakin’ week!

Aside from the flat one of our cars has, things are rockin’!! Autumn is better from last week’s horribly, sucky, killer double ear infection. Price had a great time back in NY over the weekend doing Bachelor Party things for one of his friend’s. Autumn and I did some great shopping over the weekend. It’s a short work week with a holiday this upcoming weekend.

We are heading up to Maine for the holiday, and I can’t wait for it! I am so excited for this yearly summertime visit. We’ve never been for a visit at the Fourth of July so it’s going to be fun to experience it on the island. I already bought some snacks and goodies for us to bring up there for our visit. And I have recipes planned too. I might be bringing my Kitchenaid Stand Mixer with me…

Yep, I have no shame. It’s coming with me! I have donuts planned. yes!!!!!

And I wouldn’t mind if I got to make these Sugar Cookie Bars again.

That’s how your celebrate the country’s birthday… stuffing your face with sugar cookie bars.

I’ve blogged them about before, but I had to repost them as I love them so dang much. Making them again was a win for me, and sharing them again (I figure) is a win for you. Totally.

They are a soft, buttery, sugar bomb. Imagine sugar cookies, but softer. They stay soft and chewy, which is the best way for a cookie to be. I seriously don’t understand crisp cookies, which is why I l-o-v-e these so much.

Now I decorated them with red frosting and red, white, and blue sprinkles to jazz them up for the 4th, but you can make them all sorts of pretties for any holiday by what sprinkles you use. Duh! (Side note: I need these!!)

What are your 4th of July plans? You better say you are making these!!!!

Sugar Cookie Bars

Makes 24/32 bars

Ingredients:

For the cookie bars:

5 Cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 Cup room unsalted butter, room temperature
2 Cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the frosting:

2 sticks of room temperature unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
3-5 tablespoons milk
Food coloring gel
Sprinkles

Process:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a large metal pan (9″x13″) with aluminum foil or parchment paper and grease.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and the eggs, one at a time. Mix until fully incorporated, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the flour mixture a little at a time until just combined.
Using your hands or a greased flat bottomed glass, press the cookie mixture into the baking pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until light golden brown and when a knife tip is inserted in the center it is clean upon removal. Gently lift out the cookie bars from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
To make the frosting: Cream together the butter until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and salt to the mixture. Slowly add the confectioners’ sugar until the frosting is smooth. Add the gel food coloring until the desired color is reached. Add the milk in 1 tablespoon at a time to create a smooth texture.
Evenly spread the frosting over the cool sugar cookie bars and add sprinkles. Cut into even sized bars.

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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.

Peanut Butter Swirled Brownies

May 12, 2015

Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray!

Price and I had a date night this past weekend!!!!!

Date nights are few and far between for us. Shoot- the last one was 2 months ago and before that was in the summer. We are busy and sorta lazy about it at the same time. Plus, there is the extra money involved when it comes to hiring a babysitter. But we bit the bullet and arranged for our lovely sitter to come over so we could get out.

We went out to dinner at Wagamama and had a great time together even though I wasn’t feeling great. Anyway, I love the food that they serve at Wagamama. It’s so, so fresh. And really flavorful. Plus, a few years ago the company I work for designed some of their US locations. So I got to see the designs develop, which is so much fun to see, and learn all about Wagamama. Like it’s super important to know that the red tile at the Faneuil Hall location is called Lipstick Red. ha!

Anyway, I always like to have special treats for our babysitter, who is our dog walker’s daughter. I sent out an email to her mom to ask what she wanted: Chocolate Chip Cookies or Peanut Butter Brownies. A bit later I got her sweet little response that it was a tough pick but she wanted the Peanut Butter Brownies. So I got to work looking for a knock your socks off recipe since she deserved it.

I think that this recipe fits the bill!

I adapted a Martha Stewart recipe to load it up with even more chocolate and peanut butter goodness. I just can’t leave well enough alone. But I think that more of awesome stuff is awesome.

The brownie is slightly cakey and so, so chocolatey. I don’t normally make brownies that are cakey, but I really enjoyed it. It had great flavor and structure. It certainly needed it as it was stuffed and topped with peanut butter. The swirl looks so nice too. Looks good, tastes good.

I added chocolate ships and peanut butter chips into the batter as well. I really wanted to over do it, but without over doing it. Get it. Good.

I hope you treat these peanut butter packed brownies. And have yourself a great date night soon as well! xoxo

Peanut Butter Swirled Brownies

Makes an 8×8 pan

Ingredients

For the brownies

8 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
2/3 Cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 Cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 Cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 Cup peanut butter chips

For the peanut butter filling and topping

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Process

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan and line with parchment, allowing a 2-inch overhang. Butter lining (not overhang).
Make batter: Put butter and chocolates in a heatproof medium bowl set over a pan of simmering water; stir until melted. Let cool slightly. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
Whisk granulated sugar into chocolate mixture. Add eggs, and whisk until mixture is smooth. Stir in vanilla. Add flour mixture; stir until well incorporated.
Make filling: Stir together butter, confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, salt, and vanilla in a bowl until smooth.
Pour one-third of batter into prepared pan; spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Drop dollops of peanut butter filling (about 1 tablespoon each) on top of batter, spacing about 1 inch apart. Drizzle remaining batter on top, and gently spread to fill pan. Drop dollops of remaining filling on top. Gently swirl peanut butter filling into batter with a butter knife, running the knife lengthwise and crosswise through layers.
Bake until a cake tester inserted into brownies (avoid center and edges) comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan, about 15 minutes. Lift out; let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares. Brownies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies

March 10, 2015

Orange You Glad You Made Chocolate Chip Cookies?!?!

Ugh, I’m the worst! ha!

But you know what was the best?!?!?! Watching The Bachelor finale last night!!!!!

I had always told myself that I wouldn’t watch The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, but I was getting tired of being surrounded by co-workers talking about the episode that aired the night before without knowing what was going on and being able to chime in. So I started tuning in to watch the trainwreck that was Juan Pablo. And, damn it, I got hooked. So then we had to watch Andi on The Bachelorette. Which lead to us watching Chris, aka Prince Farming.

I mean, I still can’t actually beleive it’s a show that people watch. I’m ashamed. I think. It’s all so weird. But it’s a fun guilty pleasure (Just like Dancing with the Stars!)

Are you as excited as I am about The Bachelorette? With Brit AND Kaitlyn!!! Oh man, this should be interesting. Can’t wait for May 18th! I’ll get my wine and cookies ready!

And I might just need to watch Bachelor in Paradise as well to watch Ashley S. I swear she is just playing us all and it’s all an act. I mean, it has to be, right…

Anyway, these cookies have the perfect amount of chocolate and orange. I’ve loved that combo ever since I wacked into my first Terry’s orange. I stuck with the milk chocolate and orange combination by using milk chocolate chips in these cookies. Semi-sweet or dark work well but I think the milk chocolate is the best. I added a bit of instant coffee to make both the chocolate and orange flavors pop. And they really do!

Damn, I have to make these again. ASAP.

Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 24 cookies

Ingredients

2 1/4 Cups bread flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Cup (2 sticks) butter
3/4 Cup sugar
3/4 Cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon triple sec liquor
1/4 teaspoon orange extract
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
2 Cups milk chocolate chips

Process

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine the bread flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, set aside.
Cream together the butter and sugars until light in color and texture.
Add the eggs, triple sec, and orange extract and beat well until fully incorporated and smooth.
In 2 batches, add in the flour mixture, and mix until just combined.
Add the chocolate chips and gently fold in.
Roll out 24 cookies and place on parchment/sil-pat lined baking sheets.
Bake for 13-14 minutes or until, just set. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for at least 3-5 minutes before removing.

Chocolate Dipped Biscotti Bites

February 26, 2015

You know when you see a recipe and it just sticks with you so much that you just have to make it? But then a year passes as it collects dust as it’s stuck to your fridge… That’s this exact recipe.

Well the day finally came when I just had to make these sweet biscotti babies!

I’m here today helping throw a Virtual Baby Shower for fellow Secret Recipe Club member, Tara of Tara’s Multicultural Table. She was expecting her 2nd child so shower organizer Lauren, of Sew You Think You Can Cook, decided on the fun Biscotti theme as they are a twice baked cookie. Such a fun idea to go with with 2x theme for this 2nd baby.

Here’s the kicker… my biscottis only need to be baked once! They are cheater biscottis. Just kidding. They are teeny tiny so they are only need to be baked once. Just the best!

Similarly, Tara’s sweet little daughter didn’t want to cook any longer since she arrived 4 1/2 weeks early. So this Baby Shower is really to celebrate her sweet arrival now! You’ve just gotta go with the flow with babies.

I’m always so worried about creating evenly sized cookies and I was really afriad of that with these tiny ones. I solved that problem by rolling out a 10″ x 10″ slab and then cutting that in half, then each half was cut into 5 strips, making 10 strip. I then repeated that process in the other direction. Ta-da! 100 equally sized cookies.

And the dipping part was pretty cool. You know, when you dip too much and get chocolate on your finger tips you just need to lick it off!

These teeny tiny cookies are angelic and devilish! Oh man, they are so good that they will get you in trouble. I ate 6 in about 5 minutes. No shame in my game!

Check out all the wonderful biscottis that everyone made to celebrate Tara and her babby!!!

Blueberry Pecan Biscotti from Renee at Magnolia Days

Cinnamon Biscotti from Lauren at Sew You Think You Can Cook

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti from Stacy at Food Lust People Love

Dark Chocolate Orange Biscotti from Amy at Amy’s Cooking Adventures

Green Tea Biscotti Cookies from Rebekah at Making Miracles

Jam-Filled Mandelbrot from Kelly at Passion Kneaded

Maple Walnut Biscotti from Sally at Bewitching Kitchen

Nut-Free Anise Biscotti with Chocolate Chips from Susan at The Wimpy Vegetarian

Orange and Dark Chocolate Biscotti from Lynsey at Lynsey Lou’s

Orange, Date, and Almond Biscotti from Karen at Karen’s Kitchen Stories

Parmesan-Peppercorn Biscotti from Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Spa Water from of Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious

___________________

Chocolate Dipped Biscotti Bites

Makes 100 Cookies

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups fine cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
2 Tablespoons finely grated grapefruit zest (from 2 small grapefruits)
14 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
Fine sanding sugar, for sprinkling, optional

Process

Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Beat the butter with a mixer on medium speed until smooth.
Add the granulated sugar and beat until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until well combined.
Add flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined. Then beat in the shredded coconut, grapefruit zest, and 5 ounces of chocolate until evenly distributed.
Dump out the dough on a floured work surface. Create a 10″ x 10″ square. Evenly cut the dough into 10 strips, then cut across to create 100 equal sized cookies.
Roll out the cookies and set them on a non-stick baking sheet. Sprinkle tops with the sanding sugar. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely on baking sheets set on wire racks.
Melt the remaining chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Dip the bottoms of the cooled cookies in melted chocolate, then set on parchment-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate until chocolate is set, about 30 minutes.

Slightly Adapted from Martha Stewart

The Best Homemade Sandwich Bread

January 15, 2015

I wanted to call this “The Best Fool Proof Sandwich Bread”.

But I thought that would be wordy and my luck someone’s yeast would be bad and their bread would flop and they would feel like a fool. And I’m not in the position to make anyone feel bad. Especially over sandwich bread.

Plus, I’ve had bad yeast before and it’s so depressing when your hard work is a big dud.

Anyway, this bread is freaking fantastic.

We haven’t purchased sandwich bread in over 9 months. Even then I bought it purposefully to make a recipe and prior to that it had been months since our last sandwich bread purchase.

There were a few reasons fro this. One- we weren’t using it enough. Two- as we weren’t using it enough we would then freeze it & forget about it and then it would get all freezer burned and gross. Lastly- it started to bug me that something so simple had so many damn ingredients to it. Most of which I couldn’t pronounce. No Bueno.

So, in an effort to skip all those fun things that allow bread to hang out on the shelf for weeks on end. I began searching for the best sandwich bread I could make. It had to be easy and delicious… and this bread is a winner!! Check & check!

I used to be so afraid to work with yeast, but I’ve, thankfully, gotten over it. I used to be afraid that I would use water that was too hot or too cold (even with a thermometer!) or I’d store it incorrectly and kill it. Or I’d use the wrong kind of yeast. Actually, I’m still really afraid of that which is why I google it 10x before I start a recipe.

But this sandwich bread is perfect for the first time bread baker or for master. It produces a great light texture that is sturdy for thin (1/4″ slices) and thick slices. We’ve enjoyed it toasted with some butter and raspberry jam, Autumn has had plenty with lots of peanut butter, it was great as French Toast, and great lightly toasted for BLT’s.

Ditch the bagged bread and make your own!!

The Best Homemade Sandwich Bread

Makes 2 9″x 5″ loaves

Ingredients

2 cups warm water
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon dry active yeast (I use Red Star Active Dry Yeast)
1 teaspoon salt
5 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
3 Tablespoons butter, softened & cut into small pieces.

Process

In a bowl or measuring cup, combine the water and the sugar. Mix until dissolved. Add the yeast. Again, mix until dissolved. Set it aside for 10 minutes to allow the yeast to ‘wake up’ and create bubbles on the top the water.
In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, salt, and butter pieces.
Add the water mixture to the bowl and then knead together for about 10 minutes by hand, or about 5 minutes with a mixer. At this point it will feel slightly elastic, smooth, and it is no longer sticking to the bowl or your hands/hook.
Smooth the dough into a ball and place in an oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap that has been rubbed with oil or sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Place in a warm spot to allow the dough to rise for 1 hour. (If your kitchen is cool, then cover the bowl with 2 kitchen towels.)
At this point the dough should be poofy and have roughly doubled in size. Remove the plastic wrap and punch the dough down once or twice to knock the air out.
Knead the dough in the bowl for about a minute to form it into a ball.
Sprinkle some flour onto your work surface. Put the ball in the middle of the work surface and cut in half to create two equal pieces. Set one dough ball aside.
Knead the dough a bit by gently folding it over and over again, rotating it every few folds. Work the dough into an ovalish shape. Place it into your lightly greased 9″ x 5″ metal loaf pan. Repeat everything with the second portion of dough.
Set both pans aside where the dough rose the first time, but leave them uncovered, for 1 hour.
When the dough as risen and doubled in size, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bake for 20 minutes and then rotate in the oven, and bake for another 15-20 minutes (for a total of 35-40 minutes), or until the top of the loaves is golden.
Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes prior to removing from the pans to completely cool on a cooling rack and allow them to cool the rest of the way. (if you cut it when it’s too warm it will be crumbly). Once cooled, wrap, and store at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Slice at desired thickness as needed.

Slightly adapted from Daily Dish Recipes