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| A little Champagne or Prosecco gives the frosting a unique taste |
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Happy New Year!
Crisp, Chocolate Cookies topped with Champagne Buttercream Frosting! A great way to ring in 2012!
The recipe for these delicious cookies is from Sprinklebakes.com (Chocolate Sugar Cookies) and the frosting is from I Am Baker (Champagne Buttercream). The cookies use dark cocoa and have a rich chocolate taste that isn't too sweet. For the frosting, I used all butter instead of shortening and used Prosecco (Italian sparkling wine) instead of Champagne.
Wishing you a happy and healthy 2012!
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Merry Christmas!
I just about died when I first saw this cake and had to make it!
The cake is inspired by one that I saw on i am baker. She makes amazing cakes, usually with some kind of surprise inside. When I saw this, I knew that I had to make it. Pretty cool, huh?
What with this being Christmas Eve and all, I will just post a few photos of making this cake and leave it at that. Santa and the Mrs. still need to put out the spread under the tree. By the way, my sweet 5 year old, Jackson, snuck up to the table and cut a huge slice of cake to put out next to the plate of carrots for Santa and the reindeer. :) He actually did a very nice job of cutting, and he only got about a handful of frosting on our nice, upholstered dining room chair.
Wishing you and your families all a very Merry Christmas!!! :)
The cake is inspired by one that I saw on i am baker. She makes amazing cakes, usually with some kind of surprise inside. When I saw this, I knew that I had to make it. Pretty cool, huh?
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| Make a thick 8 inch layer cake and measure and scoop bowl shapes in each. The top gets a little notch for the top of the ornament. |
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| Use extra cake batter to food color and make red and green cupcakes. |
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| Crumble red and green cupcakes and mix with frosting to make a cake-ball-like texture and layer carefully in the holes. |
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| Say a quick prayer and then quickly flip the top onto the bottom. |
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| Wonder frantically if it worked. |
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| Coat with a quick crumb layer of frosting and refrigerate. |
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| Pipe on the Christmas trees. |
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| Pipe the white frosting on the sides and top. |
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| Hooray, it worked! :) |
Wishing you and your families all a very Merry Christmas!!! :)
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Christmas Goodies
Just a few fun Christmas treats!
Recipes to come on these last few when it isn't the week before Christmas :)
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| Gingerbread Christmas Trees |
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| Red Velvet Cake Pops |
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| Mmm... (and why is this picture so gigantic?) |
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| Gingerbread, obviously |
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| Snickerdoodles |
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| Peanut Blossoms |
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| Old Fashioned Washboard Tea Cookies |
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Oatmeal Caramel Bars
Oh. Yum. I mean, really. Yum.
Okay, I've been baking up a storm the past few weeks so now need to post some of these things! This recipe is from my rockin' friend, Kelly (her delicious blog is The Wooden Spoon Diaries). I think I have made them once a week since she posted the recipe and friends and family have loved them. They are just so good. Plus once you cut them into nice squares, you have all this messy caramel border to dispose of. It is good to be the chef. :)
1 bag (about 50 pieces) soft caramel candy cubes
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
2 cups flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Coat a 9x13" pan with cooking spray. Place a sheet of parchment in the bottom, so that it hangs over on each side - this will be a sling that you use to remove the bars from the pan later. Spray parchment with cooking spray.
3. Melt caramels and cream in small saucepan - cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Let cool.
4. Stir together oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl, Blend in butter with your fingers until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of the lined pan. Bake until just set and starting to color around the edges, about 20 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
5. Sprinkle the baked crust with the chocolate chips. Drizzle the caramel mixture over the chips and crust and spread until smooth.. Top with the remaining crumb mixture and gently press into the caramel just slightly. Bake until pale golden, about 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely in pan (Important step! Even though you are dying to dig into them, let them cool so the caramel doesn't ooze all over when you try to cut them.). Once cool, lift from pan and cut into squares. Try not to eat entire batch yourself.
I think these taste best within 3 days of baking, but they rarely survive that long in our house so I'm not exactly sure. :)
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| Oatmeal Caramel Bars |
1 bag (about 50 pieces) soft caramel candy cubes
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
2 cups flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Coat a 9x13" pan with cooking spray. Place a sheet of parchment in the bottom, so that it hangs over on each side - this will be a sling that you use to remove the bars from the pan later. Spray parchment with cooking spray.
3. Melt caramels and cream in small saucepan - cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Let cool.
4. Stir together oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl, Blend in butter with your fingers until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of the lined pan. Bake until just set and starting to color around the edges, about 20 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
5. Sprinkle the baked crust with the chocolate chips. Drizzle the caramel mixture over the chips and crust and spread until smooth.. Top with the remaining crumb mixture and gently press into the caramel just slightly. Bake until pale golden, about 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely in pan (Important step! Even though you are dying to dig into them, let them cool so the caramel doesn't ooze all over when you try to cut them.). Once cool, lift from pan and cut into squares. Try not to eat entire batch yourself.
I think these taste best within 3 days of baking, but they rarely survive that long in our house so I'm not exactly sure. :)
Thursday, December 1, 2011
'Tis the Season!
Yay, Christmas is almost here! :)
The tree is up, the stockings are hung by the chimney with care and now it's time for cookies!!! I have always loooooved these gingerbread cookies! This is the greatest recipe - with a nice spicy flavor. The dough is nice and sturdy and super easy to work with - they always turn out great. The recipe is adapted from Good Housekeeping.
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
2 teaspoons ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into 8 pieces
1 large egg, beaten
3 cups flour
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In 3-quart saucepan, combine sugar, molasses, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and pepper. Heat over medium heat until boiling, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda (the mixture will foam up in the pan - the kids will love this!).
Stir in butter until melted. Using a fork, stir in the egg. Then stir in flour until mixture forms a dough.
3. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until well combined. Divide in half and wrap in plastic wrap. I usually refrigerate for a bit until cool. (You can also make the dough a few days ahead and store in fridge or keep several weeks in freezer.)
4. Using a floured rolling pin, roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Using floured cookie cutters, cut dough into as many cookies as possible. Place cookies 1/2 inch apart on cookie sheets. Continue to reroll trimmings into more cookies.
5. Bake 12 minutes until edges begin to brown. Cool completely on wire rack. These are 3x4 inch gingerbread men and the recipe made about 32 cookies.
6. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature for 2 weeks or in freezer for 3 months.
Note: For crispier cookies, bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes.
Decorate with royal icing (recipe below) and whatever else you like!
Royal Icing
5 teaspoons meringue powder
1/3 cup water
1 pound confectioner's sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
(Note: I use meringue powder and water in place of egg whites in this recipe. You can find meringue powder at Michael's or most craft or cake stores. If you don't have any, substitute 2-3 large egg whites.)
Whisk together meringue powder and water until dissolved. Using electric mixer, combine the meringue mixture and sugar. Stir in the lemon juice gradually until spreadable. Can be stored 1-2 days in the fridge.
The tree is up, the stockings are hung by the chimney with care and now it's time for cookies!!! I have always loooooved these gingerbread cookies! This is the greatest recipe - with a nice spicy flavor. The dough is nice and sturdy and super easy to work with - they always turn out great. The recipe is adapted from Good Housekeeping.
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
2 teaspoons ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into 8 pieces
1 large egg, beaten
3 cups flour
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In 3-quart saucepan, combine sugar, molasses, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and pepper. Heat over medium heat until boiling, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda (the mixture will foam up in the pan - the kids will love this!).
3. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until well combined. Divide in half and wrap in plastic wrap. I usually refrigerate for a bit until cool. (You can also make the dough a few days ahead and store in fridge or keep several weeks in freezer.)
4. Using a floured rolling pin, roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Using floured cookie cutters, cut dough into as many cookies as possible. Place cookies 1/2 inch apart on cookie sheets. Continue to reroll trimmings into more cookies.
5. Bake 12 minutes until edges begin to brown. Cool completely on wire rack. These are 3x4 inch gingerbread men and the recipe made about 32 cookies.
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| Notice the super cute spatula that my sister gave me - thanks, Liz! |
Note: For crispier cookies, bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes.
Decorate with royal icing (recipe below) and whatever else you like!
Royal Icing
5 teaspoons meringue powder
1/3 cup water
1 pound confectioner's sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
(Note: I use meringue powder and water in place of egg whites in this recipe. You can find meringue powder at Michael's or most craft or cake stores. If you don't have any, substitute 2-3 large egg whites.)
Whisk together meringue powder and water until dissolved. Using electric mixer, combine the meringue mixture and sugar. Stir in the lemon juice gradually until spreadable. Can be stored 1-2 days in the fridge.
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