Bake with Blondie!

"I-apologize-for-being-drunk-and-stupid" strawberry-filled sugar cookies

2010-01-02T11:49:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago I made my neighbor sugar cookies. I didn't do it for any of the sweet generous reasons that one normally makes sugar cookies. Instead, I did it because I went on a date with my neighbor, and then another. He invited me to come to his dinner party. I was hosting a rival dinner party. So in the end, my lingering friends made it to his party which was swell. Eventually, though they went to bed. I escorted out the very last one of him and texted him with this message: "meet me in the stairwell in 5 mins." He should have been expecting some sort of booty-call. Instead I told him " I think this is a very bad idea and we should never do this again. But, you should kiss me one more time." So, he kissed me. I feel asleep on his knee. He told me that I was very bad at this whole break it off thing. I got up and left. The fall-out? I needed apology cookies that were relatively fast and relatively perfect. So the choice of the day: strawberry jam filled gingerbread man shaped sugar cookies.

SUGAR COOKIES

1/4 pound butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp cream or milk
1 1/4 cups flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream the butter, then gradually add the sugar, beating until light. Add the egg, vanilla, and cream or milk, and beat thoroughly.

Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together, add to the first mixture, and blend well. Refrigerate for 1 day (or stick in the freezer for an hour). Role out, cut into gingerbread men. Place one gingerbread man on the cookie sheet, drop a 1/2 teaspoonful or more of strawberry jam, place the other gingerbread man cookie on top and seal edges. Repeat.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Put in a box, give to your neighbor with heartfelt apology letter. Call them in the letter"I-apologize-for-being-drunk-and-stupid" strawberry-filled sugar cookies . Smile. Relax. Send flirtatious meaningless text messages continue search for Mr. Right. Place post-its on all the recipes you want to make from the amazing cookbook your best friend gave you.

Gorgonzola Tart

2009-12-02T16:08:00.000-08:00

My lovely friend McLean forwarded along the following recipe. In response to her, email I shot back that this recipe would be great if I decided to never wear skinny jeans again. Her response, "pole dancing classes start on Monday". So what does someone wear to pole dancing class after just eating Gorgonzola Tarts? Basically, anything inspired by Miley Cyrus will do.....

And in some ways, this tart is exactly her--- a little sassy, a little bootlilicious, not exactly good for you and all around home spun Americana.

Gorgonzola Tart Recipe

6-8 Servings
1 Refrigerated pie crust
7 oz. Gorgonzola cheese
4 large egg yolks
1 tab. all purpose flour
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line 9 inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom with pie crust, trimming edges if necessary. Bake according to package directions until crust is golden brown - about 10 min.
Cool crust completely--I bought the Pillsbury crust in a box.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place Gorgonzola, 4 egg yolks and 1 tab. flour in processor and puree until almost smooth. Add whipping cream and process just to blend. Pour mixture into cooled pie crust and smooth top Sprinkle tart filling with pepper. (I used the blender).
Bake tart until golden brown and just set in center, about 25 minutes. Cool at least 1 hour but can be made up to 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temp. Cut into wedges. Serve with salad or as an appetizer.

Crema Cataluna and Spanish Fashion

2009-11-28T07:55:00.000-08:00

When I think Spanish fashion, I often get confused between traditional Spanish clothing and anything that Penelope Cruz wears. The truth though is that often
Spanish fashion is on the cutting edge-- Barcelona is itself a city of the advant-garde.

This recipe, I apologize, is not of my own creation but instead from a Spanish cooking class that I recently took. It is funny though how well it complimented this image that I have been waiting for the perfect moment to release.

Creme Cataluna, much like its French cousin the Creme Brulee, is sexy, sheer and deliciously sweet. However, the Spanish version adds a bit more spice and can easily be enhanced with lemon zest, almond oil, or any other flavor combination that fits your particular fetish....mmmmm.... enjoy!

Creme Cataluna

Ingredients:

* 1 cup sugar
* 4 egg yolks
* 1 tbsp cornstarch
* 1 stick cinnamon
* grated rind of 1 lemon
* 2 cups milk

Preparation:

This easy Catalan Cream recipe makes 4 servings.

This is a great dessert to make ahead of time, since it is very easy and requires 2-3 hours of refrigeration before serving. Make it the day before and leave it in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. Then, heat the broiler, carmelize the sugar and serve!

In a pot, beat together the egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar until thoroughly blended and the mixture turns frothy. Add the cinnamon stick and grated lemon rind. Pour in the milk and cornstarch. Slowly heat the mixture, stirring constantly, just until thickened. Remove pot from heat immediately.

Tip: As soon as the mixture thickens and you feel resistance while stirring, remove the pot from the heat or the mixture may curdle or separate! The texture of the finished crema will be grainy instead of smooth and creamy as it should be.

Remove the cinnamon stick and ladle the milk mixture into 4-6 ramekins (depending on size). Allow to cool, then refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours.

Before serving, preheat the broiler. Remove ramekins with the crema catalana from refrigerator and sprinkle the rest of the sugar over each ramekin. When broiler is hot, place the ramekins under the broiler on the top shelf and allow the sugar to caramelize, turning gold and brown. This may take 10 minutes or so, depending on your broiler. Remove and serve immediately.

If you'd like, you can serve the crema catalana chilled, but we think it has more flavor when served warm from the broiler.

Fantasy Bread

2009-11-13T05:17:00.000-08:00

I love all the fashion trends around fantasy things lately. After all, I wore a midsummer night's dream inspired mask on Halloween.... So, given our emerging theme of connecting fashion and food, I decided to create the sort of food this mask made me think of. Technically, i should have baked a 10 layer fairy cake (my initial thought). Instead I baked a warm cinnamon raisin bread because it represented the fantasy of my childhood: of cinnamon raisin french toast, of fall mornings hanging out with my dad, and of the fantastical way in which a big gooey blob can grow to become a beautiful delicious bread.

Fantasy Bread

1 cup milk
2/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 packages active dry yeast
2 eggs
1/3 raw turbindo white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 tbsp almond extract
2/3 cup raisins
4 cups whole wheat baking flour
1 1/3 cup white flour
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon milk
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon butter

Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Let cool until lukewarm.
Dissolve yeast in warm water, and set aside until yeast is frothy. Mix in eggs, sugar, butter, almond extract salt, and raisins. Stir in cooled milk. Add the flour gradually to make a stiff dough.
Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for a few minutes. Place in a large, greased, mixing bowl, and turn to grease the surface of the dough. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled.
Roll out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle 1/2 inch thick. Moisten dough with 2 tablespoons milk. Mix together 3/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons cinnamon, and sprinkle mixture on top of the moistened dough. Roll up tightly; the roll should be about 3 inches in diameter. Cut into thirds, and tuck under ends. Place loaves into well greased 9 x 5 inch pans. Lightly grease tops of loaves. Let rise again for 1 hour.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 minutes, or until loaves are lightly browned and sound hollow when knocked. Remove loaves from pans.

Cranberry Lemon Sugar Cookies

2009-11-10T07:31:00.000-08:00

This weekend I went to NYC to do a bit of shopping, to visit an old friend, and to sway the heart of a beautiful boy a tiny bit more in my favor. Lately, I've taken a turn towards 1950s housewife (a really unprecedented turn) and in doing so, I baked cookies for said boy and said friend.

Inspired by my cozy wintry outfit, vaguely resembling something crossed between this and this:

I made something both beautifully sweet and wholesome and fresh and frankly perfect. When telling said NYC boy about cooking cookies for my neighbors, he said "Watch out, they will fall in love with you." Yes, I thought, handing him another cookie-- point exactly.

Cranberry Lemon Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup white sugar

1 cup butter

1 egg, lightly beaten

3 tablespoons cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 c. cranberries

2 tsbps. lemon extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) .
2. Sift together all-purpose flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
3. Cut in butter and blend with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Stir in lightly beaten egg, vanilla and cream. Add cranberries and lemon extract.
4. Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar.
5. Bake for 6 - 8 minutes, or until lightly brown.

Apple Oatmeal Cookies

2009-11-06T20:16:00.000-08:00

My neighbors and I only meet each other when drunk in the elevator. I always promise to make cookies. This time I came through. They are from California. So I decided to make the most New England cookie possible.

1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. melted butter
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. milk
1 3/4 c oatmeal
1/4 c. almonds
1 apple, peeled and diced

Preheat oven the to 350 degrees F. Mix the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together in a large bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Arrange by teaspoonfuls on an unbuttered cookie sheet and bake until the edges are brown 10-12 minutes.

Entire Whole Wheat Almond Bread

2009-11-03T13:43:00.000-08:00

I really want to create a whole wheat bread recipes that is amazing and fortified with good yummy things because (as previously discussed) I like wholesomeness. Its sort of like how I would always choose the lead actor from Glee over Johnny Deep-- I just can't help it. It's how I was raised. So, this week I tried a new super easy bread recipe and then modified it a little because, well, that's what I do.

2 c. hot milk
1/3 c. tamarind sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 package dry yeast
1/4 c. warm water
2 eggs
1 tbs. almond extract
1/3 c. almonds
5 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/4 cup flax-seeds, milled

Heat the milk and sugar in a sauce pot until hot. Transfer to a large bowl, add salt, and let cool until lukewarm. At the same time, mix the yeast with the water and let double in bulk. (I add a little sugar to my yeast to help it grow). Mix in 2 eggs beaten and the almond extract.

Finally add the chopped almonds, flour and flaxseed. Stir, cover and let double in bulk.

Remove from the bowl, punch down and put into two small greased loaf pans. Cover and let rise again to not quite double in bulk.

Preheat over to 375 and bake bread for approximately 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the bread comes out clean. Remove from the pan and cool on a rack.

Enjoy a slice warm and then save the rest for sandwiches during the week. Yum!

Pumpkin Muffin Tops

2009-11-02T06:29:00.000-08:00

These technically are not muffin tops - but that is what they taste like. They feel like total breakfast food, not cookies at all.

Preheat oven to 325F. Yesterday I pulled a blond move and turned the timer on, but not the oven. Then I couldn't figure out why my cookies were not baking.

Anyways, sift together and set aside:

2 cups flour

1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt

Beat together using a mixer:

2 eggs

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

Once combined and smooth add:

1/2 cup canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup pumpkin puree

Then add the four mixture into the wet mixture and combine until smooth. Then I placed it into a piping bag and piped out round cookies about 2 inches wide.

Bake for 15 min, let cool.

Kris - the only reason I am letting you get away with the butternut squash on our blog is because you have the word "baked" in the title. LOL.

Baked Butternut Squash

2009-11-01T20:50:00.000-08:00

Technically, this recipe has no place on this blog BUT it is even more technically a baked item and thus by default....... Okay, okay, I'm trying here. Its just I never bake sweet things really because Ash is just so much better at it then me. Well Ash is better at everything sweet and super girly and artful. I'm the heartier, New England one.... Anyway, my contribution...

1 acorn squash
4 c. wild rice
1/4 c. cranberries
1/4 c. almonds
1/4 c. mushrooms
1/4 c. onions
2 heads garlic
olive oil
1 tbs. cumin
1 tbs curry

Cut acorn squash in half. Place in a 375 degree oven upside down on a cookie sheet for 40-50 minutes until you can easily stick a fork through the flesh. In small sauce pan on the stove, make the rice. (You can substitute microwave rice if you want! I recommend using a wild rice with chicken seasoning). While rice and squash are cooking. Saute mushrooms, onions and garlic in a small frying pan over medium heat. Once almost cooked, add the cranberries and spices. Remove from heat mix with rice. Remove squash from oven, stuff with the rice and vegetable mixture. Serve hot.

This recipe is also easy to make ahead of time and heat up in the microwave! Makes 2 servings as an entree or 4 servings if using as a side dish.

Enjoy!

Cumin-Curry Biscuits

2009-10-26T03:57:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I taught my adorable 23 year roommate TJ how to make soup. We made a delicious Cream of Aspargus soup which I complimented with these cumin-curry biscuits. "Oddly", he had never made either.

As I sent him to the store to fetch vegetable broth ("What is that?" He asked...), I mixed together the necessary ingredients for the biscuits.

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup flax seeds
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. sugar
1 tbsp. curry
1 tbsp. cumin
1 tsp. hot pepper flakes
4 tbsp. baking powder
6 tbsp. buttter
1/2 cup milk

Directions: Heat oven to 425. Mix together the first nine ingredients in a medium size bowl. Cut in the butter with two knifes until the dough begins to resemble a course meal. (Cutting in the butter is done exactly how it sounds. Simply hold the two knifes as if you are cutting it and then proceed to cut like you would with a fork and a knife. Should take no more than 3 minutes). Add the milk all at once. Mix until the mixture begins to form a ball.

Spread flour on a smooth clean surface. Roll out the dough mixture until 1/2 inch thick. Using a glass or a cookie cutter, cut round biscuits from dough. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 14 minutes. Remove, cool and serve!

TJ brought them to our upstairs neighbor's dinner party. The verdict-- biscuits were almost as good as the soup. Together they were a "rock star item". ;)

Whole Wheat (whole grain!) bread

2009-10-15T11:41:00.000-07:00

So, I find myself devoid of a boyfriend. Finally only working one real job and in need of a hobby. As such, I'm posting again on this blog because 1.) I love Ashleigh 2.) I love baking 3.) I hate boredom!

So, this really easy, really healthy bread is amazing. My directions:

1 packet yeast
1 1/3 c. lukewarm water
1 tbs. vegetable oil
3 tbs. almond oil
2 tablespoons organic raw sugar
3 c. King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/3 c. flaxseed meal

- Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix and then knead until dough is smooth .

Let rise in a warm dry place until double in bulk. (I like to cover with a warm damp towel).

- Shape the dough into a bread pan. Cover with towel or plastic wrap and let rise until it comes 1" over the top of the pan. (I'm impatient and couldn't wait this long.. Mine was double in bulk.).

- Remove plastic wrap and bake until the bread is double in cooked through. Approximately 35 minutes at 350. You know its finished when a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

I ate mine with pumpkin butter because its fall and its amazing...

Sea Salted Caramels

2009-08-26T10:59:00.000-07:00

There is one word to describe this treat - DELICIOUS!!!

I cannot stop eating them - which rarely happens. Normally I like to just give all my baking away but not this time. These are so simple and yet so decadent and impressive. Here is the recipe so you too can impress your friends:

1/2 cup condensed milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp honey
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1.5 tsp sea salt

Melt the condensed milk, butter, brown sugar and honey together in a heavy bottomed skillet. Bring to a boil and stir constantly for 5 minutes (the texture and colour of the caramel will change). After boiling for 5 min remove from heat and stir constantly for another minute or so. Then pour into a greased 9x5 cake pan - let caramel cool and harden.

To finish, melt the 50% cocoa dark chocolate and pour over the caramel (once cool) then sprinkle with the sea salt.

To die for!

Peach Cake

2009-08-19T09:47:00.000-07:00

As I sat in my apartment last night watching the food network I realized I bought WAY too many peaches on the weekend. Like I bought one of those containers with 3lbs of peaches in them. I like peaches - but I can only eat like 1 a day. Needless to say I had a lot of peaches to use up before they got attacked by fruit flies. I wasn't in the mood to make a pie - so I decided to make a cake. I have never eaten a peach cake. I am sure such a thing exists but it is not something I have experienced or baked before. It turned out pretty well I must say - I did a variation on about 3 fruit cake recipes I have seen...

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 peaches - peeled and mashed
splash of milk
1 cup flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp salt
3 peeled peaches cut into slices (for on-top of cake)

Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add in the egg and beat until blended. Add in the mashed peaches. Pour in half of the flour mixture, add a splash of milk, add the remaining flour mixture - mix until blended. Pour into a greased 9" pan. Arrange the peach slices on top of the batter and bake in the oven for 25 min @ 350.

Meanwhile, cut together with a fork:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 0.5 tsp cinnamon
-0.25 tsp nutmeg

After 25 minutes open the oven and crumble the sugar/butter mixture over your cake. Let bake for another 8 minutes until cake is firm to the touch and topping has distributed over the cake.

I think this would taste really good served warm - it was late at night so I let it cool and brought it into work. It's yummy!

Boozy Fudge

2009-07-22T11:45:00.000-07:00

I made fudge last night. I started around midnight and I chose fudge because it doesn't take that long to make. Around 12:15 I realized I didn't have enough of any of the ingredients the recipe called for - so I decided to just make the recipe up. I like the fudge, good consistency, yummy, just super boozy. A cup of liquor sure does make some fun fudge (especially when you feed it to your co-workers/clients).

Fudge:

- 3 cups of chips (I had about 2 cups of chocolate chips and 1 cup of butterscotch chips)

- 1/4 cup of butter

- 3 cups icing sugar

- 1 cup cream liquor (I used Starbucks cream liquor because that's what I had in my cupboard)

- 1.5 cups coconut

I melted the butter and chocolate together over medium heat until melted through. I then took it off the heat and added in the icing sugar and booze. Mixed it all together, added the coconut and mixed until consistent. Then I placed in a 9x9 pan and put it in the fridge overnight to harden.

Carrot Cake

2009-04-14T06:33:00.000-07:00

I made carrot cake for Easter dessert. My logic was that since bunnies like to eat carrots this was the right cake choice. This is one of the best cakes I have ever made - I know I say this every time but seriously this cake is moist and delicious.

Carrot Cake

2 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp all spice

4 eggs

3/4 cup canola oil

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

3 cup shredded carrots - lightly packed

Preheat oven to 350F and grease and flour to 9" round cake pans.

Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and all-spice together - put aside.

Whisk eggs, oil, sugars and buttermilk.

Add flour mixture to egg mixture and mix until smooth. Fold in carrots.

Evenly divide mixture between two pans and bake for 40 min.

Cream Cheese Frosting

500g cream cheese (two packages)

6 tbsp unsalted butter

1+1/4 cup icing sugar

1+1/2 tsp vanilla

Make sure cream cheese and butter are at room temperature - mix until smooth. Slowly add icing sugar, once mixed add vanilla. Once icing is smooth and cake is cool - ice away.

Cowboy Cookies

2009-03-30T12:52:00.000-07:00

These are basically kitchen-sink cookies, probably one of the best versions I have ever made.

3/4c chopped toasted pecans

1c unsalted butter

2/3c brown sugar

1/2c white sugar

2 eggs

1.5 tsp vanilla

2c flour

1 1/4tsp baking soda

1/2tsp salt

2c oats

1/4c unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2c chocolate chips

Bake for 10 min at 350 degrees.

Chocolate Chunk Macaroons

2009-03-24T08:16:00.000-07:00

These are by far the BEST macaroons I have ever made. I think the secret is that the recipe doesn't call for condensed milk, which gives the macaroon that gooey, heavy consistency. These ones are light, fluffy and crunchy on the outside.

2.5 cups sweetened shredded coconut

2 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp sugar

pinch salt

Mix the ingredients together in a bowl. Add 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks. Bake for 15 minutes at 325.

Chocolate Meringues

2009-03-16T11:38:00.000-07:00

I love meringues - they are so simple to make, you just need time cause they do take about 2 hours in the oven.

Preheat oven to 175.

4 egg whites

pinch cream of tartar

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup Dutch unprocessed cocoa powder

Place the egg whites, cream of tartar and sugar in a double boiler. Whisk constantly until mixture is warm to the touch and the sugar has dissolved (approx. 3 min).

Pour mixture into the mixer fitted with a whisk - beat for approx. 10 minutes until stiff peaks form.

Sift cocoa into mixture - fold in leaving streaks of cocoa. Put into piping bag fitted with a #825 star-tip.

Pipe mixture onto parchment paper, bake for 2 hours until they come of parchment easily.

Fudge

2009-03-01T19:49:00.000-08:00

3/4c butter
2c brown sugar
1c white sugar
2/3 evaporated milk
1.5c chocolate chips
2c marshmallows
2tsp vanilla

I melted the butter then added the sugar and milk. I brought it to a boil and kept it at a rolling boil for 9 minutes. After 9 minutes it should be a smoother texture - remove it from the heat and add the chocolate chips, marshmallows and vanilla. Mix until smooth and then place in a 9x13 greased pan - let cool and cut into squares.

Chocolate Coconut Macaroons

2009-01-08T10:24:00.000-08:00

4 ounces chocolate

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup cocoa

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

3 egg whites

2 1/2 cups sweetened coconut

Whisk together the egg whites, sugar, cocoa, vanilla and salt - set aside.

Cut up the chocolate and melt it over a double boiler.

Sit the melted chocolate and coconut into the sugar mixture until blended.

Drop teaspoon sized drops onto a baking sheet and bake at 325 for 15 minutes until shiny.

Week 9 - Pumpkin Cranberry Bars

2008-09-23T10:08:00.001-07:00

I made these last week and they were a big hit at work - they are technically the week 9 cookies but I was having problems posting on my blog last week so I didn't get them up in time.

1 cup (100 grams) pecans (toasted)
2 cups (270 grams) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (225 grams) pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups (150 grams) dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 350 C. Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, ginger and salt.

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, add the eggs and vanilla. Beat in the pumpkin puree, then slowly add the flour mixture until incorporated. Once mixed add the cranberries and pecans until combined.

Pour into a greased pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack before cutting.

Apple Pie

2008-09-16T19:52:00.000-07:00

I am taking a class at George Brown with my mom - it's Baking Art 101, and it is a prerequiste for my Professional Cake Decorating Certificate. We even have to wear a full chef uniform. The class is a lot of fun - I get to hang out with my mom and bake - what could be better?

This week we made Apple pie, the crust was incredible. Unfortunately the recipe below is in grams as we use a digital scale for measuring in class.

Pie crust:
375g pastry flour
250g shortening
175ml cold water
7.5g salt
15g brown sugar

Rub flour and shortening together until they form irregular pea sized crumbs. Add salt, sugar and water and mix until just incorporated. Put on floured surface, divide the dough into 2 halfs (one slightly larger for the bottom crust). Cover and allow to rest in the fridge for minimum four hours (overnight is ideal).

Filling:
6 apples
lemon juice
250g sugar
25g cornstarch
cinnamon
30g butter

Peel, core and slice the apples, then sprinkle them with lemon juice to keep them from going brown. Mix the sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon and pour over apple mixture and mix until they're coated.

Grease and flour the pie plate, roll out the top and bottom crusts. Place the bottom crust in the pan, fill with the apple mixture. Break up the butter and place on top of the apples. You need to eggwash the crust of the pie to create the seal between the top and bottom layers. Eggwash is made of an egg, salt to break up the egg and cold water mixed together. Place the top crust on and trim any excess dough from the edges. You need to crimp the crust together to make the seal - you can either use a fork to press down on the edges, or you can pinch the two crusts together as I did. Then you need to eggwash the top of the pie, and cut vents in the top to let steam escape.

Bake at 220C for 40-45.

My pie is on the left, and my mom's is on the right...

Week 8 - Pecan Toffee Bars

2008-09-12T06:27:00.001-07:00

Not as good as some of the other toffee bars I have made. My favorite toffee bar recipe calls for Skor bits in the bar itself, this did not call for any. I modified the recipe by toasting the pecans (who wants untoasted pecans) and adding skor bits as a topping.

1 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

3 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

1.5 cups flour

1 cup toasted chopped pecans

6 aero bars

skor bits (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease a 9x13 pan.

Beat the butter, mix in the brown sugar and salt until combined. Beat in the milk and vanilla. Add the flour mix and combine. Spread evenly in the pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Once the pan comes out of the oven immediately place the chocolate bars on top and let them melt. Once melted spread the chocolate evenly over the crust - sprinkle on the pecans and toffee bits. Let cool then cut up into bars.

Week 7 - Fudge Brownies

2008-09-05T08:03:00.000-07:00

I am not sure I agree that bars should be included in the cookies category. The 52 cookie recipes the Aussies gave me includes an entire section of bars - so I guess I have to go along with it. This recipe is really good, normally I am not a fan of brownies as they are often dry - but these are most and chewy which I love.

1/2 cup butter

4 oz unsweetened chocolate chopped

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

icing sugar for dusting after

In a double boiler melt the chocolate and butter together. Meanwhile beat the eggs and sugar for 3-4 minutes until the mixture is a thick, pale yellow.

Once the chocolate-butter mixture has melted add it and the vanilla to the eggs/sugar and mix just until all the streaks of chocolate disappear.

Fold in the flour mixture. Pour the batter into a greased 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes. Just before serving dust with icing sugar.

Week 6 - Chocolate Butter Spritz

2008-08-27T12:19:00.000-07:00

This was the second time I have ever used my cookie press and I have to admit it is a lot of fun. It can be a little frustrating at times - I had problems making my dough stick to the pan (be sure to use an UNgreased baking sheet for these cookies). I let my brother Finlay and friend Allison pick the shapes of the cookies. These were delicious, the cocoa wasn't overpowering giving the cookies a subtle chocolate-butter flavour.

1 cup butter

1/2 cup icing sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/3 cup flour

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Beat the butter, add the icing sugar, brown sugar and cocoa and mix until combined. Beat in the egg yolk, vanilla and milk. Add the flour and combine.

Place the dough in a cookie press and press it through. Cookies should be about 1 inch apart. If you do not have a cookies press you can form rounded teaspoons of the dough instead.

Orange Chocolate-Chip Zucchini Bread

2008-08-25T06:33:00.000-07:00

I made four loaves of this bread yesterday - each recipe yields 2 loafs. The orange juice is a nice addition as it cuts the sweetness of the chocolate - the first batch I made I used 1 tbsp orange zest instead of the OJ and it worked just as well.

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cup grated zucchini

2 tsp vanilla

3 tbsp orange juice (with pulp)

1 cup chocolate chips

3 cups flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Start by beating the eggs until fluffy, then add the sugar until combined. Then add the oil, zucchini, vanilla and OJ. Then sift together and add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Finally stir in the chocolate chips.

Divide the batter between 2 greased loaf pans and bake for 50 minutes.

Week 5 - Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-08-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

My favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe has always been the William Sonoma one. It's a classic recipe, and the cookies are delicious. But these cookies are definitely a little different - they are really soft, and the addition of oats gives them an interesting texture. I used a combination of white and semi-sweet chocolate chips (but that was because I actually didn't have enough of either). But they were really good.

1 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla

1.5 cups flour

3/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 F. Beat the butter, add the sugar, baking powder and salt. Then beat in the eggs, honey and vanilla. Add the flour - once mixed add the rolled oats and chocolate chips.

Drop tsp sized balls onto a baking sheet and cook for 12 minutes.

Week 4 - Trail Mix Cookies

2008-08-13T07:39:00.000-07:00

Real food is good and all - but I still really like cookies. So last night I made the cookies for week four - trail mix cookies. You can do a million variations of these by switching the ingredients in your trail mix. Mine had a lot of nuts - but next time I will probably add some coconut, and of course there is always the option to add some chocolate chips. These are probably the healthiest cookies I will make all year...

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp allspice

2 eggs

3 mashed bananas

1 tsp vanilla

1.5 cups flour

1.5 cups rolled oats

2.5 cups trail mix

Preheat the over to 375 F.

Beat the butter, add the sugar (brown and granulated), baking soda, baking powder and allspice and beat all the ingredients together until combined.

Beat in the eggs, mashed bananas and vanilla. Then add the flour. Once the mixture is combined add the rolled oats and trail mix.

Drop tsp sized cookies onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 11 minutes until golden brown.

Occassionally, Ash we all need real food!

2008-08-12T06:08:00.000-07:00

So I have been really really bad about writing on this blog! My life became a little too busy and my kitchen space became incredibly small. So, I've been cooking almost never and baking even less. Because I haven't been baking I have no real recipes to add. I have done something else, though.

The other day i took part in a recipe exchange. You send out an email like this:

You have been invited to be a part of a recipe exchange. Please send a recipe to the person whose name is in number 1 position below (even if you don't know them) and it should be preferably one that is quick, easy and without rare ingredients. Actually, the one you know in your head and can type quickly and send right now is best. Then, copy this letter into a new e-mail; move my name to the number 1 position and put your name in the number 2 position. Only mine and your name should show when you send your e-mail. Send to 20 friends. If you cannot do this within 5 days, let me know so it will be fair to those participating. You should receive 36 recipes. It's fun to see where they come from!! Seldom does anyone drop out because we can all use new recipes.
The turnaround is fast because only 2 names are on the list.

mclean.robbins@gmail.com
k_libby@hotmail.com

Then you wait for all the recipes to role in. So, I'm going to add a few of these delicious recipes as they come. I apologize that they aren't baked goods and I promise my next post will involve some sort of fanciful confection.

Quick & Easy Lasagna

Ingredients

12 oz of ground beef (Italian/pork sausage)

1-2 boxes of preboiled lasagna noodles (box says no boiling required)

2 jars of pasta sauce (my favorite is Prego: Italian Sausage/Garden Combination)

1 beaten egg

1 (15oz) of ricotta cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

6 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Brown meat, drain. Stir in pasta sauce (save 1 cup)

Add extra spices such as basil, pepper (if desirable)

2. For filling, combine egg, ricotta & 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

3. Spread about 1/2 cup of sauce over bottom of 2-quart rectangular baking dish.

4. Layer noodles at bottom of dish. Spread with half of filling. Layer noodles again. Spread with meat. Layer noodles on top. Top with remaining sauce & mozzarella cheese. (vise visa - filling first, meat second)

5. Bake at 375 for 30 - 35 minutes.

Using the pre-boiled noodles & pasta sauce saves you time :)

AND

Lentil soup (or drain the broth and then it is just lentils)

1/2 package of lentils (flat brow almost bean things)
2? cartons of chicken stock (low sodium)
2-3 cloves of garlic
olive oil
1-2 carrots
1 medium onion
1 package of frozen spinach
Italian seasonings
salt (maybe)
pepper
1-3 tomatoes
optional (nice Swiss cheese or balsamic vinegar)
cooked brown rice

1) put the spinach on the counter to part way defrost, sort the lentils (pour a small amount on a plate to see if there are any rocks, etc) rinse the good lentils

2) heat some olive oil in the pan and saute the garlic and onion.

3) Peel and dice the carrot(s) add to the onion/garlic once it is about 1/2 way cooked (this is not precise)

4) once the onions are clear and the carrots have cooked about 1/2 way, Add the chicken stock and the lentils (stock should be about 1 inch above the lentil... maybe add some water)

5) Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. let cook about 20 minutes... Add the spinach. (hidden veggies)

6) simmer some more. Add Italian seasoning maybe 2 tbs?

7) Salt and pepper to taste.

8) lentil are done when they are soft. Be sure to stir while cooking because otherwise they will cook at different times. 5 minutes before it is done add the fresh diced tomato.

9) Serve as a soup with brown rice or drain it for more of a side dish. Add just a bit of cheese and a dash of balsamic vinegar if you want..

YUM, easy, good for you.

Week 3 - Orange Coconut Macaroons

2008-08-08T07:11:00.000-07:00

I don't know how I feel about these. They are not very pretty as they sort of got runny while baking. I think they look burnt but according to people at work they are caramelized. Interesting take on the classic macaroon but not sure I would repeat this recipe.

3 cups shredded coconut

1 can condensed milk

zest of 1 orange

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

Mixed ingredients together in a bowl. Dropped tsp sized balls on a parchment covered baking sheet. Baked for 10 minutes at 350 F until they became a golden brown.

Week 2 - Hazelnut Meringues

2008-07-29T20:29:00.000-07:00

Ok, so my confession is I substituted this weeks cookies recipe. It was supposed to be these almond cookies - but I kinda hate almond cookies. Or at least I really dislike almond extract. So I decided to make meringues instead (partially due to the fact that I did not have any butter). Anyways, they are delicious! Enjoy!

3/4 cup superfine sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
4 large egg whites at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup hazelnuts - toasted, skinned and crushed

Beat egg whites and vanilla until frothy. Beat on high speed and slowly add the flour mixture. Beat until stiff, glossy peaks form (4 min). Fold in 3/4 cup hazelnuts.

Drop teaspoon sized drops on a baking sheet and top with remaining nuts.

Bake at 275 degree (F) for 30 min - let cool in the oven (temp off, door slightly ajar) for another 20-30 min. Let cool on a tray for another hour.

Snickerdoodles (best cookie name ever)

2008-07-29T20:26:00.000-07:00

Best cookie name ever = really good melt in your mouth cinnamon-toast inspired cookies! These are delicious!

Cinnamon-sugar mix - 2 tbsp sugar + 2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup sugar
1 1/3 cup flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla

Beat butter, sugar egg and vanilla. Add flour mix. Roll dough into teaspoon sized balls. Roll the dough ball in the cinnamon-sugar mix until coated. Bake 9 min at 400F degree.

Week 1 - Chocolate-Praline Cookies

2008-07-23T07:43:00.000-07:00

It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago and two of my good friends Angie and Elle gave me a box of cookies recipes. The box contained 52 cookie recipes to be exact - enough for a new cookie recipe every week. So this has become my new goal. This week I made recipe #1 - chocolate praline cookies. They are pretty good, not my favorite but they look quite nice. Enjoy!

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla

1.5 cup flour

1 cup toasted pecans

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tsp vegetable shortening

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

I mixed the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla and baking powder together until blended. I added the flour and then the toasted nuts. I formed 2 inch round balls and baked for exactly 9 minutes.

Once the cookies were cool I melted the chocolate and shortening together in a saucepan and then drizzled the chocolate over the cookies.

Thanks for the pressie Aussies - I love it!

Chocolate Chip Shortbread

2008-04-15T20:31:00.000-07:00

I was a little unsure how the chocolate would taste with the shortbread, but the results were surprisingly good. I really like these cookies. I made them small because they are really rich... really good...

1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325. Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla together. Combine the flour and cornstarch then add to the mixture. Blend until its a creamy consistency then add the chocolate chips being careful not to over mix. Form into balls and bake for about 18 min.

Lemon Alligator Cupcakes

2008-04-15T20:17:00.000-07:00

I am in love with my alligator mould. I personally think it is so much fun. I have only used it once before and that was to make my "See you later alligator" baked good for my roomates farwell party... And that alligator got some damn good reviews.

So I decided it was time to bring the mould out again.

Cupcakes
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
8 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 superfine sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
freshly grated rind of 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add the butter, eggs, lemon rind, sugar and milk and mix together. Spoon the batter out and cook for 16 min.

Lemon Buttercream Icing
6 tbsp softened butter
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

While the cupcakes are cooling mix the butter, icing sugar and lemon together - then ice away...

Peanut Butter Cookies

2008-04-09T13:54:00.000-07:00

I made these for my brother on the weekend. I think this is a great recipe. Its from William Sonoma and the cookies are so soft and crumbly.

½ cup melted unsalted butter

½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1.5 cups plain flour

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

In a large bowl add the melted butter, brown and granulated sugar, peanut butter, egg and vanilla extract and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. In another bowl add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With a whisk, whisk the ingredients together. Add the flour to the butter mixture and mix together. Cover and put in the fridge for at least 2 hours.Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease two baking trays. Using dampened hands shape the dough into small (1-inch) balls. Place on the baking sheets, and either slightly press down with your finger tips, or press the top down with a fork. Bake until the bottoms are golden brown (12-15min).

Easy Lemon Bars

2008-04-08T07:43:00.000-07:00

I love lemon bars - especially this recipe which has the easiest crust ever!!!!

So I took 1/2 cup of butter and placed it in the bottom of a 9" cake pan. I preheated the oven to 350 and put the pan with the butter in it into the oven to melt (approx 5 minutes). Once the butter had melted I added a cup of flour and 1/2 cup icing sugar directly into the cake pan and mixed it together. I pressed the dough into the bottom of the pan and put it back into the oven for 15 minutes until the crust was a golden brown.

While it was baking I mixed the filling. I took 1 cup of sugar and 2 eggs and beat the mixture together. I then added 2 tbsp flour, 1/2 baking powder, zest of 1 lemon, 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice and a pinch of salt. I mixed this all together, then poured it over the hot crust. Put the entire pan back in the oven and baked it for another 20 min.

When the top of the bars were golden brown I took them out of the oven and let them cool. Before serving I dusted the top of the bars with icing sugar.

So good!

Lemon Bars Crust
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
1/2 cup icing sugar

Lemon Bars Filling
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

Coconut Macaroons

2008-04-01T21:34:00.000-07:00

So I came home with the plan of taking a picture of these cookies because I had left a whole bunch of them at home... and my brother ate them. So no image of these cookies.

But, I preheated the oven to 350 and lined a tray with my silpat.

1 package shredded coconut
1/2 can condensed milk
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Mixed it all together and baked until it was golden brown - about 18 minutes. Would probably cook for 16 minutes next time, the tray closest to the top of the oven got a little crunchy.

Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes

2008-04-01T21:18:00.001-07:00

I wasn't a huge fan of this recipe. Mainly because you don't expect the cream cheese flavour when eating a cupcake. My brother ate one without knowing what ingredients were in it and thought it tasted weird. But when I told people at work that it was a cheesecake cupcake they really enjoyed it. Its funny how knowing what your eating or rather not knowing, can change your opinion of it.

Ok, so I started by preheating the oven to 350 degrees, and lining a muffin tin.

Cream cheese topping:
1 package - 250 grams - cream cheese
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 vanilla extract

I beat the cream cheese until it was smooth and then added the sugar, egg and vanilla. I beat the mixture until it was creamy and smooth.

Chocolate cupcake:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract

I sifted together the dry ingredients. I mixed the water, oil, vanilla and vinegar together. I then made a whole in the middle of the dry ingredients and slowly poured my wet mixture in, stirring until it was smooth.

I then divided the chocolate mixture into my muffin tins - probably about 15 muffins. And then topped each of the cupcakes with the cream cheese mixture.

I baked it for about 20 minutes.

Cooking

2008-03-21T07:53:00.000-07:00

If we are going to cook, let's actually do it. I really liked this post and I wanted to share it:

Don't Be Fooled by Some Celebrity Chefs

Photo credit: Brad Barlet/Getty Images

My daughter was angered by an article in the Globe and Mail today, and suggested I write a post about it. It was about the Canadian launch of Gordon Ramsay's new cookbook entitled Gordon Ramsay's Fast Food (2008, Key Porter Books).

According to the article, what makes the food so fast is this: You open a jar of "gourmet" sauce and pour it on whatever you are cooking, or you buy already roasted meat to put on top of your pasta. It seems is the in thing to do for readers of Nigella Lawsons' Nigella Express (2007, Hyperion) and Martha Stewart Living's Great Food Fast (2007, Clarkson Potter). Apparently, so says the article, "people will think you fussed and fussed." Well, I think people can tell a processed food over homemade anytime.

I can tell you I have made lots of easy, fast recipes that my guests have thought I fussed over, without opening a jar of sauce or buying ready-made ingredients. I remember years ago, when I was hosting a barbeque, and I was making chicken satay, I sent my husband off to the grocery store for ingredients. When he had trouble finding something, he asked a clerk who pointed to a jar of satay sauce and said, just buy that. He said he could, but it was pointless because I'd never serve it. He was right. That isn't to say I don't used canned items. I do, but I've used canned tomatoes when they are out of season, and canned beans and the like, just not ready-made food.

There are a number of things at issue here:

1. We have become so enamoured of celebrity chefs on television, and the difficult menus that they seem to effortlessly pull off while we watch their shows, that cooking seems scary and challenging. It's not.

2. We are being encouraged to consume products that are expensive, highly processed, and filled with chemical additives that we don't need or want in our diet. Read Michael Pollan.

3. As I pointed out in my post about eating out for my birthday, chefs use much more salt and fat than anyone needs. So do bottled sauces. Your food can still taste great without that.

Don't be fooled into thinking that you can't put an easy, quick meal on the table without resorting to pouring something ready-made out of a jar.

Smashie Bars

2008-03-20T07:47:00.000-07:00

I created my own kind of chocolate bar last night - Smashie bars.

Smashie Bars
1/3 cup corn syrup
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2c up peanut butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
3-3.5 cups marshmellow
1/2 cups toffee bits
1 cup peanuts
3 cups vanilla rice krispies

Put the corn syrup, honey, cocoa, PB and brown sugar into a saucepan and heated it until it all melted and almost came to a boil. Then I added in the marshmellows and stirred until it was all mixed together. In the meantime I put the peanuts, toffee bits and rice krispies in a bowl. I then poured the mixture from the saucepan over the dry mixture and mixed it all together. I then pressed the mixture into a greased 8x8 square cake pan and let it cool slightly. While it was cooling I melted chocolate chips and poured it over the top of the bars covering completely.

Left it to cool overnight and cut into bars.

Ok - so here is the consensus on the bars. I like the bars but they could do without the peanuts. People like them with and without - but I think they would be better without... but chocolate and nuts - people always enjoy!

Happy Easter!

Scrumptious Peach Cobbler

2008-03-19T07:36:00.001-07:00

I may be a little too Northern for Peach Cobbler but I love it anyway. Here is my favorite recipe, taken from Gourmet, and modified.

Active time: 20 min. Start to finish: 45 min.

6 large peaches, cut into thin wedges
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon cornstarch

For biscuit topping
1/2 cup all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup wheat flour and 1/4 cup of oats
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup boiling water
1 tbsp. cinnamon

Preparation

Cook peaches:
Preheat oven to 425°F.

Toss peaches with sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch in a 2-qt. nonreactive baking dish and bake in middle of oven 10 minutes.

Make topping while peaches bake:
Stir together flours, oats, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water until just combined.

Remove peaches from oven and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. Bake in middle of oven until topping is golden, about 25 minutes. (Topping will spread as it bakes.)

Baked Pears

2008-03-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I want to bake something that still might be a little bit healthy for me, so I created this recipe. You can make it singularly or simply multiply the recipe for as many pears as you need.

Ingredients
1 Pear
1 lemon, halved
1/2 cups dry white wine
1/2cups sugar
the zest of 2 navel oranges
twocinnamon sticks
1/4 cup Grande Marnier

Directions
Peel the pears, leaving the stems intac. Drop into a bowl of cold water with the lemon juice

In a saucepan combine the wine, 1 cup water, the sugar, the zest, the cinnamon sticks, and the liqueur, bring the liquid to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.

Simmer the syrup for 5 minutes.

Arrange the pears, drained, on their sides in a baking dish and pour the syrup over them.

Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake the pears in the middle of a preheated 375°F oven for 30 minutes.

Remove the foil, turn the pears over gently, and replace the foil.

Bake the pears for 20 to 30 minutes more, or until they are tender.

Let the pears cool, transfer them carefully to a deep serving dish, and ladle the cooking syrup with the zest over them.

Chill the pears, covered, overnight and serve them with some of the syrup.

Butterscotch Coconut Cookies

2008-03-14T07:35:00.000-07:00

Last night I made butterscotch coconut cookies. They are pretty good but I had some problems with the dough. The recipe calls for you to mix all the dough together then add the coconut and butterscotch chips. I always mix in chips by hand - I feel that it gets a better distribution throughout the mix then using the mixer. But last night when I added the final two ingredients I could not get the dough to mix with them. I ended up having to put it back on the mixer stand and beat the chips and coconut in. I thought that would be the end of my difficulties but I was wrong. Now that the chips and coconut were finally integrated the dough wouldn't stick together. I ended up having to press the balls the same way you would try and create a snowball from snow that doesn't want to stick. Not a huge fan of the difficulty in forming these cookies, but all in all they tasted pretty good.

1 1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
11/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 sugar
1/2 packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 sweetened shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. In a mixing stand cream the butter, then add the granulated and brown sugars mixing until no longer gritty. Add the egg and vanilla and mix together.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low. Then add the coconut and butterscotch. Form into 1 inch balls and bake for about 15 minutes.

Hello Dolly

2008-03-13T08:26:00.000-07:00

I don't know what is in a typical Hello Dolly - but I made up my own recipe the other day, and everyone at work loved them. People at work are starting to make requests - I have been told that Date Squares would be nice, and the Hello Dolly's are a result of a co-workers love of coconut!

Hello Dollys
1 box of graham crackers crushed
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup chocolate chips
2 cups coconut
1 can condensed milk
1 1/2 cups pecan pieces

I mixed the crushed graham crackers, butter and sugar together and pressed them into the bottom of a 10 x 15 glass pan. I then put it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes until the crust was firm. I let it cool for about 10 minutes.

I then covered the crust with the pecans, followed by the chocolate chips and then poured the condensed milk over the top. This was followed by a generous sprinkling of coconut. I then put the whole pan back in the oven for about 15 minutes until the coconut was a golden brown colour and nicely toasted.

Let the bars cool for an hour and then cut them up into bars - they were fantastic!

Oatmeal Scotchies

2008-03-13T08:02:00.000-07:00

This recipe is delicious. I ate so much cookie batter that I only cooked 33 cookies- oops!

Plus, a woman in my office called me an angel and that the cookies were heavenly.

Ingredients

3/4 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c. white flour
1/2 c. wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
3 c. quick oats

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and Vanilla, continue to mix. Add flour (white and wheat), soda and spices to the same bowl. Stir in oats and morsels.

Drop by teaspoons onto cookie sheets.

Bake 8-10 minutes.

Let cool slightly on sheet before allowing to cool on cookie rack!

Whole Wheat Bread

2008-03-12T07:42:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in awhile because I forgot how to log-in- thankfully Ash saved me and I now am able to post! Ash is pretty much my hero and she is also my pseudo-Mom. Really I would forget to put on clothes if not for her.

So I made this easy and delicious bread last week- it was so good that my friend almost cried out in delight. He did cry out later but that may have been from more than just the bread :P

Whole Wheat Bread

1 c. milk

¼ c sugar

2 tsp. salt

1 package yeast

2 c. whole wheat flour

4 c. white flour

Preheat oven to 375

Bring ½ cup water to boil; mix with milk, salt, sugar in a large bowl. Let cool.

In separate container mix ½ warm water with yeast, let stand.

Add yeast to wheat flour and two cups white flour to liquids. Beat thoroughly, turn onto floured board, add enough flour that the dough is not sticky. Kneed dough for 5 minutes, let stand for 10.

Place dough is a mixing bowl and cover with a warm towel until double in bulk. Knead dough again and divide into two halves.

Grease loaf pan and place dough in pans. Let dough rise until double in bulk again.

Bake at 375 degrees for 55 minutes. Cool and then take out of loaf pans. Enjoy!

Colourful Cupcakes

2008-02-29T09:13:00.000-08:00

I made cupcakes for a meeting I had yesterday. They were birthday cake cupcakes with vanilla buttercream icing. I used the birthday cake recipe from the William Sonoma cake book. It is the first recipe in the book and I just cut the baking time to make it suitable for cupcakes. Instead of 20-25 min, I did 15-20 min.

The cake recipe isn't very hard. Your typical flour, sugar, butter, baking powder, etc. The icing on the otherhand was an undertaking!

The first problem with my icing started when I was baking the cake itself. Buttercream requires, among other things - a lot of butter. I turned on my oven to preheat it, and didn't really notice that I had left my bag of groceries (which contained the butter) on top of the stove. I started making my batter, when I thought I smelt burning plastic. I looked over at my stove and my grocery bag had metled onto my element. When I grabbed the bag to take it off the stove, the brand new box of butter poured down my arm and onto my stove. All 4 sticks of butter had FULLY MELTED!!!! The box of butter was filled with liquid and needless to say I had to go buy more.

Vanilla Buttercream is delicious. However be prepared for a time commitement. You end up having to clean your mixing bowl a number of time. I love the William Sonoma recipe but it is a lot of prep - there are easier buttercream recipes online.

Vanilla Buttercream recipe: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/recipedetail.cfm?objectid=297642B6-04BE-414A-99E9969C9EE672D0

Birthday Cake recipe: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/recipedetail.cfm?objectid=C53C4D51%2D9BF8%2D44A3%2D9CC6FB1D44BC485B

Despite all my icing woes they turned out great and my meeting was successful! I think all the coloured sprinkles on top helped! More soon...

Choco-Krispies

2008-02-25T12:11:00.000-08:00

Even in pain I find myself baking...

Wanted to make a quick treat that took zero time to make and very little time standing up (had a little bit of an accident on my vacation and hurt my back).

3 cups of rice krispies
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla

Melted the chocolate, peanut butter, honey and vanilla together in a double boiler. Combined with the rice kripies, let it chill and cut into bars...

Took max 15 min... and was sooo good.

Chewy Chocolate Cookies

2008-02-11T09:22:00.000-08:00

So I know that I promised to make cupcakes but like Ash's challah bread, I simply didn't have time. I did, however, have time to make the best cookies I have ever made in my life which is saying a lot because I've made a lot of cookies.

I meant to take pictures but they were eaten before I had time to find the camera! However, they are a stunning deep rich chocolate cookie and they taste like brownies!

Chewy Double Chocolate Cookies

1/3 c. all-purpose flour

1/3 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

9.7 ounces very nice chocolate (99% unsweetened chocolate) (Melt 6 ounces and use remainder to cut into small chunks)

¼ cup unsalted butter

1 1/3 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon ground coffee

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350.

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside.

In a double boiler, melt the butter and 6 ounces of the chocolate over simmering water. Stir occasionally until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat.

In the meantime, mix together eggs, sugar, coffee and vanilla by hand fast for ten minutes. Stop when mixture looks thick.

Slowly add the warm butter and chocolate mixture and mix at a reduced speed.

Add the dry ingredients and the chocolate chunks.

Drop onto lined baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes turning halfway through completely around. Be sure not to over bake.

Makes about 24 2-3 inch chewy cookies. Can keep two days at room temperature or 1 month if frozen.

I can't way to see Ash- I promise we will create something unbelievable. Stay tuned!

Lemon Loaf

2008-02-10T20:30:00.000-08:00

I know I still owe you Challa, but the reality is I just have not had the time I have needed to dedicate to my bread project. But along the same bread lines I made a lemon loaf - it was really enjoyable. And it got a lot of good reviews from my friends...

You don't actually use any lemon juice in the loaf itself, you use the rind instead. The juice is just used for the glaze on top.

To make the loaf I mixed together butter and sugar, added in two beaten eggs, milk and vanilla. Then I mixed in the rind of one lemon, and the dry ingredients (flour, salt and baking powder). I put the batter into a greased bread pan and put it into the oven for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Once the cake was done I took it out and let it cool. While it was cooling I mixed together in a suacepan over heat the juice of one lemon and 1/4 cup sugar. I poured this over the cooled load to make a glaze and volia! Lemon Loaf!

Kristina and I are going to be together soon which means for once we will be able to blog about the creations we make together! More soon!

-Ash

I'm going to make a perfect cupcake!

2008-02-07T07:08:00.000-08:00

I have a secret hidden desire. I toss it around from time to time and I always end up never quite attempting the impossible: I want to make the best cupcakes in the world. I want them to be light and fluffy, but not dry. I want them to balloon up but not spill over the edge and I want to decorate them with the most perfect frosting and the most beautiful design. In short, I want cupcakes that are better than you could ever find at a grocery store, better than at the bakery.

For me a cupcake is the perfect dessert. It is essentially- a one person present. You don’t have to share it with anyone. You get gobs of frosting and each one can be made unique to a person’s individual preferences. A cupcake is perfect.

As such, while Ashleigh attempts to bake beautiful breads, I’m going on a month long quest to make the perfect cupcake.

I’m going to start with this recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/232944. (The woman after all wrote a whole book on the topic!)

Yet, I also ran across, these interesting other recipes:

Mini Paris Cupcakes

Dark Chocolate Mint

The Perfect Cupcake

Let us know if you try any of these and they are worth testing out during my cupcake quest!

Egg Bread - Challa

2008-02-01T06:30:00.000-08:00

I am going to make Egg Bread this weekend. I am very excited - my roomate picked up yeast for me yesterday.

I have been looking for recipes online, and I have two I am going to work from. I tend not to follow directions to a T (which I know is the golden rule of baking). But baking is also about gut feelings - if it looks done, smells done, it probably is done.

The first recipe I found is here:
http://www.recipezaar.com/73831

I love the idea of adding sesame seeds and I am definately going to do that.

The second recipe I am going to work from I found here:
http://www.recipetips.com/recipe-cards/t--2114/challah-bread.asp

I am not planning on using bread flour, so I will probably just refer to this recipe.

Very excited for the task I am about to undertake. I will take pics throughout the process and post them here... more soon...

Bread - my task ahead

2008-01-31T09:57:00.000-08:00

Bread seems daunting...

I don't know why but the thought of kneeding bread, letting it rise, punching it down. It just seems like there are a lot of steps I could screw up on. That being said - its not going to stop me. I think bread is my new mission in the world of baking.

I will keep you posted on how it goes...

Caramel Almond Squares

2008-01-31T08:47:00.000-08:00

The other night I wanted to bake something. So, as usual I looked in my cuboard to scope out what ingredients I had to work with. Then I picked up four cookbooks and started scanning through.

I decided to make caramel almond squares. They seemed really simple and I had all the ingredients... of course all they needed was sliced almonds, brown sugar, butter and graham crackers.

Melted the butter in a saucepan, added the brown sugar and stirred until it was a caramel colour and even consistancy. (This recipe was from one of my favorite cookbooks "Best Summer Weekends Cookbook".) Then I added the almonds to the pan, took it off the heat and stirred it all together. This was then poured over the layer of graham crackers I had put on the bottom of my jelly roll pan. Threw it in the oven for 7 min, and took it out.

Once out of the oven I left them to cool. Things were going great - they were a beautiful golden brown colour - I was planning on bringing the bars into work the next day... That was until I went to cut the bars. I was tired and decided to rush the process a little. The bars were not cool and when I went to cut them all the caramel topping came with the knife.

Now I have a great tasting pile of topping at one end. I managed to save half the tray and keep it looking pretty - but half was ruined. Need to figure out a more efficent way to cut caramel...

Going to find a recipe to make tonight...