Toasted Almond & Chocolate Chunk Oat Cookies

This is an experiment that turned out fabulous. Salty toasted almonds and rich dark chocolate. Yum! The texture is perfect.

Toasted Almond & Chocolate Chunk Oat Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 tsp soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate pieces
3/4 cup of slivered almonds, toasted and salted (toast on cookie sheet in oven until golden then cool before mixing into dough)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Mix together butter and sugar until light and whipped. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until blended. Combine dry ingredients (flour, oats, soda, baking powder, salt) and add to wet. Mix until moistened. Fold in chocolate pieces and almonds (I actually do this with my hands. It's part of the fun of making cookies.) Roll by hand into large pieces the size of golf balls. Place on cookies sheet, spaced apart. Cook for about 12 minutes or until very slightly golden. Do not overcook!

Burnt Sugar Bundt Cake with Caramel Rum Frosting

This cake is it. Please make it, please eat it. Fabulous! This cake comes from this cookbook, and is published online here. It makes a great holiday cake! I made a few adjustments in the recipe for high altitude and it came out perfect. I used cake flour and increased the flour by 6 Tbsp. I used cream with coconut liquor rather than coconut milk and increased the liquid by 2 Tbsp. I decreased the baking powder by 1/4 tsp and baked the cake at 350ºF for 45 minutes (which is 25º higher than the original recipe). I also added 2 Tbsp of spiced rum to the batter.



making burnt sugar mixture


Mmmmmm!

Peanut Butter Cherry Bars

This recipe can be found HERE. The difference is that I substituted whole-cherry preserves for strawberry jam.

Sunday Cake

This cake is so simple and delicious! The recipe for the cake can be found in this book. The recipe for the frosting is found HERE.

Chocolate Butterball Cookies

The recipe for these cookies is found HERE.

Ginger-Molasses Chocolate Chip Cookies

The recipe for these cookies can be found HERE.

Mimsy's Caramel Apple Birthday Pudding

My birthday pudding!

Mimsy's Caramel Apple Birthday Pudding

Cake:
2 large granny smith apples, peeled and sliced
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
2 cups brown sugar
3 eggs
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Mix butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and mix. Sift dry ingredients and add to butter mixture. Combine until wet. Fold in apples. Place in 9 x 13" pan and bake at 325ºF for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Poke holes in cake with skewer. Top with Apples in Caramel Sauce and allow cake to absorb the sauce.

Apples in Caramel Sauce:
3 large granny smith apples, peeled and sliced
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup brandy

Cover sliced apples in water , cinnamon and brown sugar. Cook until tender. Remove apples with slotted spoon. Add butter and cream and simmer until thickened. Return apples to sauce and add brandy and vanilla. Pour over hot cake. Serve warm.

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies with Cream Cheese Filling

This cookies are based on a recipe from this cookbook, only with slight ingredient and method alterations and a completely different filling.  THESE ARE NUMMY so get your noms on.  They are quick and easy to make and you won't regret it.  Besides, just look how adorable they are.  Who wouldn't want to grab one of these at a party?

Chocolate Cookies 
1 1/4 sticks of unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add egg and beat until nearly white.  Combine dry ingredients separately, then add to butter mixture.  Beat together until well-combined.  Roll into 20 2-inch balls.  Roll in sugar, place on a cookie sheet and then flatten.  Bake for 8 minutes or until cracked.  Remove from oven and cool completely on rack.  Sandwich cream cheese filling between cookies (flat sides together).  Serve immediately, or store in refrigerator in sealed container.

Cream Cheese Filling
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
8oz cream cheese
3 Tbsp salted butter
1 tsp vanilla

Beat together until smooth and fluffy.

Lemon Cake with White Chocolate Lemon Buttercream and Lemon Curd Filling

 This cake is rich and refreshing and delicious!  I'm not going to lie to you.  My cake fell a bit and looks like a... cake wreck.  So don't be like me and over-beat your cake.  Also, remember to adjust for high altitude if you live at 5,000 ft elevation like I do. This I forgot.   In spite of looking a bit frumpy, the cake was wonderful.

Lemon Cake with White Chocolate Lemon Buttercream and Lemon Curd Filling

This cake is based on a lemon cake from the book Rose's Heavenly Cakes

Cake

6oz White Chocolate

6 large egg yolks

1 cup milk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

3 cups cake flour

1 cup sugar

3/4 tsp salt

4 tsp baking powder

1 Tbsp lemon zest

9 Tbsp unsalted butter

Start by making the Lemon Curd and then the White Chocolate Lemon Buttercream (below).  They need to be made 4 hours ahead of time.

Preheat oven to 350ºF

For cake, melt white chocolate and set aside to cool.  Mix egg yolks, milk and vanilla in a small bowl. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl. Add butter and mix until well combined.  Add egg mixture a little at a time until combined.  Add melted chocolate and mix until smooth.  Don't over-mix.  Spread into two 8" cake rounds (greased and floured).  Bake at 530ºF for 25 minutes or until done. Cool completely.  Fill layers with lemon curd and frost with buttercream.

Lemon Curd Filling

3 Tbsp lemon zest

7 large egg yolks

1 cup sugar

6 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup lemon juice (from about 3 lemons)

1/4 tsp salt

In a medium sauce pan, whisk the yolks, sugar and butter until well blended. Whisk in lemon juice and salt. Cook over medium-low heat until curd is thickened.  Do not allow to boil or it will curdle!  This might take some patience.  I suggest listening to an audiobook or watching a show while doing this.  I was over the stove for 20+ minutes. Allow curd to cool in refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 hours.

 

White Chocolate Lemon Buttercream  

10.5 oz white chocolate
20 Tbsp unsalted butter (divided)
4 large eggs

Melt white chocolate without much heat (over double boiler if possible).  Whisk in eggs and heat to 140ºF while stirring.  Cover and refrigerate.  Stir the mixture every 15 minutes until cool to the touch. whip in butter (using whisk attachment on mixer) until peaks form. Refrigerate, covered, for 3 - 4 hours.

Right before frosting cake, whip again and add about 1/2 cup of the lemon curd to the buttercream icing.

Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate-Sour Cream Frosting

I spent the summer in France, then taking summer graduate courses, and then Orlando, so I haven't been doing a lot of baking or cooking lately. Anything I have made, I haven't had time to document or blog here. In two days I start my next semester of graduate school and a new job at the hospital working with heart-failure and heart-transplant patients. Chances are, this blog and my other blog , Fine Fettle Kettle, might continue to be slow for a while. However, I do have an excuse to either bake a cake, cookies, pie or other dessert each week, because my daughter works at the Center for Women and Children in Crisis, and can take whatever I make to them for a little sugar on the weekend.

Banana Cupcakes
(Found in Martha Stewart's Cupcakes and here)

Ingredients

• 3 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 4 very ripe large bananas, mashed (about 2 cups), plus sliced bananas for garnish
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 
  

Directions

1. Make cupcakes as directed in Basic Cupcake How-To, using mashed bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla for wet ingredients.

2. Stir pecans into batter. Once cupcakes are cool, frost tops with caramel buttercream. Frosted cupcakes will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 2 days. Top with banana slices before serving.

Chocolate-Sour Cream Frosting
(Found in Martha Stewart's Cupcakes and here)

Ingredients

• 1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 18 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream

Directions

1. Sift together confectioners' sugar, cocoa, and salt. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese and butter until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add sugar mixture; mix until combined. Mix in melted and cooled chocolate and then sour cream; scrape down sides of bowl and continue beating until smooth. Use immediately, or frosting can be stored in the refrigerator up to 5 days, or frozen up to 1 month, in an airtight container. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat on low speed until smooth.

Old-Fashioned Horehound Candy

Horehound candy brings back memories of my youth. I'm not really old enough for this to be the case, but in my small hometown, old-fashioned candy was still in fashion, and sarsaparilla and horehound flavored candy were available in the local candy store. Originally, horehound candies were used as cough drops, but apparently the bitter-sweet flavor became a widely-spread choice of candy over time. It's a little more difficult to find horehound candy these days. However, if you have an herb garden, horehound is easy to grow, and the candy is easy to make.

Horehound plant:



Old-Fashioned Horehound Candy
2 cups chopped horehound leaves and stems
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup molasses
1 cup honey
3 cups brown sugar
3 T salted butter

Boil water in a saucepan. Add horehound leaves, and stew for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and continue to steep leaves in hot water for another 30 minutes. Strain horehound leaves and stems, and pour the horehound "tea" water into a 4-quart pot. Add other ingredients and combine, then bring to a boil. Do not stir once the candy is boiling. Using a thermometer, bring the mixture to 300ºF - 310ºF. Pour over a large, buttered cookie sheet. Allow to cool, just until you can touch it, then roll into tiny balls and sprinkle with white sugar. Hint: you have to work fast to roll the candy before it hardens. You may want to have 2 -3 helpers to do this.

Other options (if you don't want to roll the candy) are below:

Square version (score candy with a knife as it cools, then break into squares):



Broken version (allow to cool, then break into pieces):

Individual Flourless Chocolate Kahlua Cake (Ramekin)

I'm doing a series of ramekin dishes for both of my blogs. This flourless cake turned out delicious!

Individual Flourless Chocolate Kahlua Cake (Ramekin)
1 ounce semisweet chocolate
1 T butter, softened
1 T cocoa powder
1 egg
Dash of salt
1 T sugar
1 T Kahlua
1 tsp powdered sugar


Place chocolate and butter in the bottom of a ramekin. Microwave for 20 seconds, stir, then 20 seconds again and stir until melted. Allow to cool. Add cocoa powder then egg, whisking with a small wire whisk. Add sugar, salt and Kahlua. Bake in a toaster oven at 300ºF for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm.

Individual Berry Crumble in a Ramekin

I find that when I'm home alone, or when my kids and husband all decide to cook for themselves, I like making individual dishes baked in a ramekin in my toaster oven. I keep toying around with the idea of doing a blog of recipes designed for one person and cooked in a ramekin. What do you think?

Individual Berry Crumble in a Ramekin

Fill a small ramekin with fresh or frozen (thawed) berries, about 2/3 full
Sprinkle with 2 tsp of sugar

In a cereal bowl, combine with a pastry cutter:
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp rolled oats
Pinch of cinnamon
Dash of salt

Sprinkle butter combination over berries. In a toaster or small oven, bake at 350ºF for about 8 minutes, or until top is brown and berries are bubbly.

This recipe is about 350 calories, 6 grams protein, 8 grams dietary fiber, 10 grams fat, 131 mg sodium, and 18 grams sugars.

Revisiting Cinnamon Rolls

Scald and set aside to cool:

1 cup milk

Cream:
6 T butter
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs

Dissolve:
2 T yeast
1 T sugar
1 cup warm water

When the above steps are completed, combine them and add 6 1/2- 7 cups flour and 1 tsp salt. Knead well and place in a greased bowl. Raise until double and roll out. Sprinkle with cut-up butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll up and slice into 1 1/2 inch rolls. Place on greased cookie sheet and allow to rise again. Bake at 375º for 12 - 15 minutes.

Frosting:
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 square butter
1 tsp vanilla
milk

Mix ingredients, adding milk until desired consistency.

My daughter, Adara slices the rolls

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars (from bon appetit magazine)

Ingredients:

Crust

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

2 1/4 cups finely ground graham crackers (from about 17 whole graham crackers)

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

Filling

3 8-ounce packages Philadelphia-brand cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1/2 cup purchased dulce de leche

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Glaze

2/3 cup purchased dulce de leche

3 tablespoons (or more) heavy whipping cream

Fleur de sel

Preparation

Instructions:

Crust

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan with nonstick spray. Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and cinnamon in medium bowl. Add melted butter; stir until coated. Transfer crumb mixture to pan. Press evenly onto bottom of pan. Bake until crust is light golden, about 10 minutes. Cool completely on rack.

Filling

Blend cream cheese and sugar in processor until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs 1 at a time, processing 3 to 5 seconds to blend between additions. Add dulce de leche and vanilla; process until blended, about 10 seconds. Spread batter evenly over cooled crust. Bake until just set in center and edges are puffed and slightly cracked, about 38 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool completely.

Glaze

Heat dulce de leche and 3 tablespoons cream in microwave-safe bowl in 10-second intervals until melted. Stir to blend, adding more cream by teaspoonfuls if too thick to pour (amount of cream needed will depend on brand of dulce de leche). Pour glaze over cooled cheesecake; spread evenly. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour (glaze will not be firm). DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; chill.

Cut cheesecake lengthwise into 4 strips, then crosswise into 6 strips, forming 24 bars. Sprinkle bars with fleur de sel.

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars on the bottom, stacked with Peanut Buddies, Lemon bars, similar to Triple Sec Lime Bars, and Raspberry Bars (from Cooks Illustrated September 2005).

Mimsy's Pine Nut Honey Tart

I had quite a few pine nuts left over from the Lebanese-Inspired Spicy Lamb Pizza on my other blog and the Italian Easter Pie (posted in this blog prior to this post). I found a recipe for Pine Nut Tart, another Italian dessert, in a generic Mediterranean cookbook I've had for years. I made quite a few changes to the recipe, so I'm calling it my own version. Fabulous. Seriously scrumptious. I'm really happy with how it turned out, and my kids and their friends and Dave all seemed to like it too.

Mimsy's Pine Nut Honey Tart

Butter Crust
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
3/4 cup cold salted butter, chopped
1 egg

Mix the flour, sugar and butter until it looks like coarse cornmeal. Add the egg and mix until combined. Press into the bottom of a tart pan or springform pan. Cook at 375ºF for 10 minutes. Set aside.

Filling
1 1/2 cups raw pine nuts, roasted in the oven at 375ºF for 7 minutes
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tsp almond extract
3 eggs
1/4 tsp salt

Combine honey, butter, extract and eggs. Beat until blended. Spread roasted pine nuts in crust. Pour honey mixture over nuts. Bake tart in the oven at 375ºF for 40 minutes or until set. Serve slightly cooled (warm) or cold.

Italian Easter Pie

I had a dish like this while I was in Italy, and I've been meaning to try it ever since. Giada De Laurentiis from Food Network is the author of this recipe. I didn't even try to deviate from her instructions my first time trying it, and I'm glad. It's perfectly, subtly sweet, and the pine nuts and orange zest are gorgeous.

Easter Pie
by Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar, plus extra for garnish
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup cooked short-grained rice
• 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
• 6 sheets fresh phyllo sheets or frozen, thawed
• 3/4 stick (3 ounces) unsalted butter,
  

Directions

Blend 3/4 cup of powdered sugar, eggs, vanilla, orange zest and ricotta in a food processor until smooth. Stir in the rice and pine nuts. Set the ricotta mixture aside.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Lightly butter a 9-inch glass pie dish. Lay 1 phyllo sheet over the bottom and up the sides of the dish, allowing the phyllo to hang over the sides. Brush the phyllo with the melted butter. Top with a second sheet of phyllo dough, laying it in the opposite direction as the first phyllo sheet. Continue layering the remaining sheets of phyllo sheets, alternating after each layer and buttering each sheet. Spoon the ricotta mixture into the dish. Fold the overhanging phyllo dough over the top of the filling to enclose it completely. Brush completely with melted butter.

Bake the pie until the phyllo is golden brown and the filling is set, about 35 minutes. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool completely. Sift powdered sugar over the pie and serve.

Chateau Monet Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Icing

I made these for my daughter's 21st birthday. Huge hit! They were gone faster than any cupcakes I've made in the past. This is my own recipe, based on a recipe I developed earlier in this blog for triple chocolate cupcakes with strawberry icing. The texture and richness are to die for.

Chateau Monet Chocolate Cupcakes

First Ingredients:
2/3 cup butter, softened
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 oz melted 100% cocoa chocolate bar (cooled)
2 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup Chateau Monet

Second Ingredients:
2 cups white, all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350ºF. Combine First Ingredients in order, beating constantly until smooth. Combine Second Ingredients in a bowl, then add to first ingredients. Mix until smooth. Fill muffin tins to 3/4 full. Bake mini cupcakes for 13 minutes or until done. Bake full sized cupcakes for 35 minutes or until done. Frost with raspberry icing.

Raspberry Icing:
1 lb of powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup fresh raspberry preserves
1- 2 Tbsp Chateau Monet (to texture)

Whip the butter and sugar until crumbly. Add the vanilla, then add the preserves and Chateau Monet until consistency is just right for spreading over cupcakes.

Dave's Brioche Rolls with Hazelnut Filling

Brioche dough is buttery and flaky and is a good base for a fabulous variety of rolls and desserts. Dave is mastering all kinds of artisan breads, and this dough is one that he has been working with.


Dave's Brioche Rolls with Hazelnut Filling
Adapted from Baking Artisan Bread by Ciril Hitz

The brioche dough recipe can be found here.

Filling:
1 1/4 cups hazelnut flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp light corn syrup
6 Tbsp water
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Blend together until smooth. Add more water if necessary, so that filling will not tear dough as you spread it on.

Roll about 1/4 of the dough into a square. Spread with filling and roll jelly-style. Slice evenly and place into a greased cake pan. Allow to proof at room temperature for 1 - 2 hours. Bake in 350ºF oven for 30 - 40 minutes until brown.