white chocolate

Cherry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

August 16, 2013

It was so chilly the other night that I couldn’t help but thinking of how summer is winding down and that I just have to deal with it. Fall is approaching whether I want it to or not. Don’t get me wrong, I love fall, but it’s that evil winter that follows that hurts. But on the positive side turning on the oven for roasting and baking will warm the house and smells will fill it up with love.

While I had really considered making meat pasties, a Michigan favorite, I couldn’t resist making another sweet cherry treat for this week’s edition of Sprint Cup Snacks for this weekend’s race at Michigan International Speedway. Especially since I’ve been craving sweets lately. So the idea of the sweet smell of cherries filling up the house was just too irresistible to pass up.

I had so much fun looking up desserts using cherries and while the idea of making coffee cake, blondies, and hand pies all sounded awesome I decided on making cookies. I have had cookies on the mind for weeks so I finally got to stretch my baking legs and but my mixer to use.

These Cherry White Chocolate Chip Cookies are some big cookies! I don’t think anything gets better than big fresh from the oven cookies. Well, maybe world peace but cookies can be homemade in under an hour so let’s just go with that. So grab a big glass of milk and a cookie (or a few) and enjoy!!

Cherry White Chocolate Chip Cookies_00

Cherry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 24 large cookies

Ingredients

4 1/4 ounces cake flour (1 cup)
4 1/4 ounces all purpose flour (1 cup)
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons Kosher salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
5 ounces light brown sugar (scant 3/4 cups packed)
4 ounces granulated sugar (1 cup, plus 3 tablespoons)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 oz white chocolate chips
5 oz dried cherries

Process

Preheat theoven to 350 degrees. Line insulated baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
Sift the flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl with a wire whisk. Set aside.
In bowl of electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until very light, about five minutes. Add in the egg and vanilla extract, mix well. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Stir in the white chocolate chips and dried cherries with rubber spatula.
Use a cooking scoop or spoons to drop dough onto prepared baking sheet. Bake 13-15 minutes, or until golden brown and set in the middle.
Allow cookies to cool on sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling racks to cool completely.

Sourced from Amanda’s Cookin’

Fresh Berry White Chocolate Streusel Bars- SRC

May 18, 2013

I made these Fresh Berry White Chocolate Streusel Bars for Memorial Day weekend. We munched on these while we watched the Coke 600 NASCAR race. It made the race even better. How can you not love a sweet treat and hot guys!?! ha 🙂

Well, these were a fantastic pick for this month’s Secret Recipe Club. Huge hit. It made the house smell great while baking so that we agonized waiting the hour for them to cool before cutting. I’m just so glad that this month I had Avril’s blog Baking and Creating with Avril and we picked these bars.

The bars are super simple to make and are bursting with fresh berry flavor. I used strawberries and blueberries but feel free to add some raspberries in there as well. We loved that so much at we felt that the white chocolate is not even needed. It’s great but if you don’t have it on hand (I don’t normally), don’t stress out. These will kick butt with the buttery crust, fresh fruit and crumbly topping.

I found it a bit easier to gently cut the bars when they were still warm so that it made cutting through them when they cooled easier. Like scoring something before you cut it- that’s my 7 yrs of maki. As well, made for thing a bit easier when cutting through the chocolate so it wouldn’t make a mess breaking the drizzle up.

I swear you won’t be able to eat just one of these. So fantastic!

Fresh Berry White Chocolate Streusel Bars

Makes 24 bars

Ingredients

2 cups oats
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup COLD butter, cut into small pieces
8 ounces strawberry jam
1 tsp lemon zest
2 cups fresh berries (chop or slice strawberries if you use them)
3 ounces white chocolate chips

Process

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set aside at 15×10 jellyroll pan (rimmed baking sheet.
In a large bowl whisk together oats, flour, both sugars, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add in COLD butter that has been cut into small pieces. Combine the butter into the dry ingredients either with your hands or a pastry cutter until butter is well incorporated as little crumbles. Remove 1 cup of the mixture, set aside. Evenly press the remaining mixture into a jellyroll pan.
Bake for 12-13 minutes or until it is firm to the touch, but not browned.
Warm the jam in microwave for 30 seconds. Add in lemon zest to combine. Spread the warm jam over the crust.
Evenly sprinkle the berries over the jam layer and then sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until topping is a light brown. Remove from oven and let cool 1 hour before cutting. Once cut pour the melted chocolate over the bars in the pan.

Slightly Adapted from: Baking and Creative with Avril

_____________________

Check out my previous Secret Recipe Club Posts

____________________

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

Birthday Cake Oreo Truffles- SRC

August 27, 2012

When I got my assignment for my Secret Recipe Club post this month I did a little dance and clap!! I got from Laura from A Heathly Jalapeno. We are both from Connecticut, root for NY based football teams (me- Giants, Laura- Jets), and have great guys in our life. She recently got engaged & had her bridal shower so I wish her luck on her wedding and lots of happiness in her marriage. Laura blogs about healthy living and healthy recipes. She does like to indulge as well so I did find some great sweets recipes to make. I have been on a crazy baking/sweets kick lately so while I loved some savory dishes (Asparagus and Bacon Eggs Benedict– duh!!) I decided to make the Oreo Truffles that Laura posted.

I have been on an Oreo kick lately. I have 3 varieties at home right now. (Thankfully, I have been good about using them in recipes and not eating them otherwise) Since Oreo is celebrating their 100 year birthday they created a birthday cake Oreo. I die. So decided to make these truffles with the Birthday Cake Oreos. They sell in smaller packages (of course) so I had to use 1 1/2 packages to get to the correct amount of Oreos needed (15.5 oz). The rest of this was super easy and a lot of fun, which insprired the S’mores Truffles I made recently as well.

I don’t think my coworkers would have known they were Birthday Cake Oreo Truffles had I not told them since that flavor was pretty subtle once it was combined with the cream cheese and covered in choclate. I am thinking about making these again with the Strawberry Milkshake Oreos.

*The birthday cake oreos are a limited edition. Get them ASAP!*

Birthday Cake Oreo Truffles

Makes 48 truffles

Ingredients

1 1/2 packages (15.5 oz) of Birthday Cake Oreos
8oz of cream cheese
3 cups white chocolate or semi sweet chocolate chips
sprinkles

Process

Crush the Oreo Cookies in a food processor.
Combine the cream cheese and crushed Oreos together.
Divide the dough into 4 sections. And then roll a total of 48 1″ balls. Place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet and freeze for at least 30 minutes.
While the balls are freezing, melt the chocolate.
Drop each ball into the chocolate and completely coat. Remove excess chocolate as you remove the truffle. Place on wax paper and immediately put a pinch of sprinkles on top. Put back into freezer to firm up the chocolate.
Store in the refrigerator up to a week.

____________________