M&M Sugar Cookie Bars

Readers: You know how I said previously that you should drop everything and go make those croissants with Brie and apples? Nope. Seriously drop everything you're doing at this very second and make these. These cookie bars are like a piece of heaven. In fact, I'm convinced there is a special place in heaven carved out for people so they can eat just these. I know because I tried them and it took everything in my power not to scarf all of them down.

I made these for one of the pastor's in the town I cover. I don't believe I mentioned it previously, but I am a journalist for a weekly newspaper and I cover two local towns. The pastor has become a good friend of mine after he helped me out through a particularly rough patch in my life a few months ago. He is a very welcoming, cheerful, and comforting person. And get this. He's a total bad ass who rides a motorcycle. I bet that completely blows your perception of a religious figure right out of the water, eh? But anyway, it was his birthday earlier this week and I texted him to wish him a good one. Like I typically do, I offered to make something delicious for him, especially since he is always very generous with me, such as taking me out to lunch.

I also tossed half the batch in the refrigerator for the birthday of one of my co-workers. Killing two birds with one stone I guess. Her birthday is next week and she isn't in the office on Thursday or Friday and Tuesday night is too hectic. So I'm choosing to be smart about it!

This comes from another recipe found on Pintrest. I have enough things pinned on my baking board that I might as well start actually making some of them. Not to mention Buzz Feed has given me two ideas for a series for this blog [bite-sized treats and different kinds of cheesecake!]. They came out beautifully and are very tasty.

 

M&M Sugar Cookie Bars

Ingredients:



1 stick butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

M&Ms

 

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

 

Melt the butter in a large mixing bowl [I would say to put the butter in the microwave for two 20-second increments]. Stir in sugar. Once it is slightly cooled [around three minutes], beat in the egg and vanilla.

 

In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Stir this into the butter and sugar mixture.

 

Press into a greased eight-inch by eight-inch baking dish. Bake for approximately 15 minutes. Pull the half-cooked dough out of the oven and top the cookie with M&Ms, pressing them into the dough gently.

 

Return to the oven to bakes for an additional 10 to 12 minutes, or until the top is set and the cookies don't wiggle when you shake the pan. They should shouldbe with barely golden edges.

 

Cool completely in the pan before cutting.

 

 

Croissants With Brie

I'm going a little off the beaten path with this recipe, also found on Pintrest. I'm going for savory rather than sweet and I was blown away. These were so delicious! I don't even want to admit how many I ate! And it included one of my favorite kind of cheese, Brie. Yum. I used pre-made croissants, Pillsbury, which are the best, but you can look up a croissant recipe. I'll eventually make my own croissants.

This is also a pretty healthy snack. The weekend I made them, I brought them to my college roommate's house and her mom really liked them as well. I definitely recommend them and they are the best if they are still warm. The minute you're done reading, I'm pretty sure you should drop everything you are doing, go to the store to buy the ingredients, and make these.

Just putting the idea in your head.

 

Croissants With Brie

Ingredients:

croissants

Brie cheese

Granny Smith apples, sliced

pecans

honey

 

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

 

Roll out the entire container of croissants and separate the dough. Layer the apples, Brie, and pecans at the widest end of the croissant dough. Drizzle a bit of honey over the layers. Roll the dough into a bundle so the layers are covered.

 

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

 

Then eat them all!

 

 



Sea Salt Caramel-Stuffed Snickerdoodles

If the word caramel was not in here, this is a perfect example of alliteration. Wow. I'm a nerd. Anyway. These were an extremely fun cookie to make. Since I've become addicted to Pintrest [it's unfortunate], I have pinned many a-recipe with plans to bake them all. [It's like Pokémon! Gotta bake 'em all!] Forgive me, it was a long day at work and I think I'm a tad loopier than usual.

On to the real story. I decided that I would make cookies for everyone in my office for Christmas. This resulted in four types of cookies. I think I made over 400 cookies and I don't think my kitchen has forgiven me yet for the abuse. At least the house smelled delicious and was nice and toasty since the oven was on all day. I wanted a cookie that deviated from what I normally baked, but still have a cookie that everyone would eat. Thus, the snickerdoodle. Besides it's hilarious name, it is a very tasty cookie and very easy to make. And everyone at work loved them.

 

Sea Salt Caramel-Stuffed Cookies

Ingredients:

[cinnamon sugar coating]

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

[dough]

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, softened [as always, you can use salted]

2 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cream of tarter

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

5 packages of Rolo candies [I used around two bags of mini Rolos and I doubled the recipe]

coarse sea salt

 

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. For the cinnamon sugar, combine the 1/4 cup of sugar and tablespoon of cinnamon in a shallow dish and set aside. [As you go, you may need to make more.]

 

In a large bowl, beat the 1 1/2 cup of sugar and butter at a medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition. Stir in vanilla.

 

Sift flour, cream of tarter, baking soda, and salt into mixing bowl. [I don't own a sifter any more so I used two mesh colanders. My mother's idea and it's brilliant.] With the mixer on low, mix until thoroughly combined.

 

Working with one tablespoon of dough at a time, place a single Rolo inside the dough and roll into a ball. Roll dough balls in the cinnamon sugar mix and place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the dough balls with sea salt.

 

Bake for seven to eight minutes. The cookies should look raw between the cracks and seem underdone. [Trust me, they aren't.] Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for five minutes and transfer to a cooling rack. Then dig in!

 

 

 

I probably made around 100 of these. Needless to say, it was a good thing I did.



Brownies/Brownie Cupcakes

This is similar to my cheesecake brownie recipe. Actually, it's exactly the same, just without the cheesecake part. You can do it two ways, making an actual pan of brownies or making them into mini cupcakes. I'm a big fan of making brownies. I used to make them a lot because my ex and his father loved to eat them.

Nothing beat the time my mother's dog jumped up and ate half of them. That was a disaster and a half. As I'm sure many of you know, it's very bad for dogs to eat chocolate. We got lucky because our dog is okay.

 

Brownies/Brownie Cupcakes

Ingredients:

[brownies]

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 cups sugar

1 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, add cocoa powder and melted butter. Whisk until combined. Add sugar and mix together. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix together. Add the four eggs and mix until combined.

 

Grease a nine inch by 13 inch pan and add batter or a mini muffin tin.

 

Bake for 20 minutes. Stick a skewer in them and make sure it comes out clean.

 

 

 

I don't have a picture of the brownies in a pan, but I'm sure you can imagine how they look. Square. Enjoy!

 

Cheesecake Brownies

Now these I love making. It's definitely a labor of love and a pain in my butt. But they are fun to make and very delicious. Though I've never been able to replicate the first time I made them. I can never get them to marble properly...

Once, I made them for my ex's father for Father's Day and forgot to add another cup of flour. This resulted in me having to mix in the cheesecake layer. They ended up being very delicious still. I made these for Christmas this year. The girls I work with at the office like when I make these.

But they take up a lot of ingredients. Once I doubled the recipe and used up a dozen eggs. I couldn't tell if my mother was impressed or annoyed. But in my defense, I did buy another dozen. I always double the cheesecake part because there is never enough to cover the brownies.

 

Cheesecake Brownies

Ingredients:

[brownies]

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 cups sugar

1 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

[topping]

2 packages cream cheese

2/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, add cocoa powder and melted butter. Whisk until combined. Add sugar and mix together. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix together. Add the four eggs and mix until combined.

 

Grease a nine inch by 13 inch pan and add batter.

 

In a separate bowl, whip cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, vanilla, and eggs until smooth. Spread the cream cheese layer evenly over the brownie batter. Using a knife, marble the brownie and cream cheese mixture.

 

Bake for 40 minutes. [I would really just keep an eye on it. Stick a skewer in to make sure it comes out clean.]

 

 

 

 

 





These are really delicious but very rich, so I would be careful how many you eat! For an added kick of chocolate, you can add chocolate chips. I like to do that because it gives it a bit more.

Irish Soda Bread

In honor of St. Patrick's Day and to celebrate my heritage, I decided to make Irish Soda Bread for the people at work for tomorrow. Not only am I excited about this recipe because I absolutely love Irish Soda Bread, but I also whipped out my beautiful mixer from Christmas. I can't believe that it's the first time I'm using it but I haven't baked a lot since Christmas.

Take in how beautiful it is! And how well it matches the kitchen. Hopefully my kitchen will match it too when I move out. Anyway, this is the first time I made Irish Soda Bread. The first time I ever had it was in eighth-grade when my English teacher brought it in. I have never had better Irish Soda Bread since then. My mom posted this recipe on my Facebook wall the other day when I had mentioned that I wanted to make some for work and myself [since no one but me eats it in my house].

Though next time I make it, I will definitely cut the recipe in half. It's a bit too much to handle for the mixer, even the five and one-half quart mixer. It's a very heavy and sticky dough and puts a strain on the mixer. I don't need to break it after only using once...

 

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients:

8 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons sea salt, extra fine [apparently this is a thing but regular salt is fine]
4 tablespoons of caraway seeds, whole [I only used three]
4 oz butter, unsalted
4 cups raisins
3 cups buttermilk [you can buy it or make it yourself with milk and lemon juice]
2 eggs
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda

Instructions:
Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and caraway seeds. Cut butter into flour mixture [you can use a pastry cutter, which I have, a fork, or a mixer]. Mix in raisins.

Whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and baking soda. Combine mixtures until dough is moist throughout. [I had a problem here. Not all of the dough was moist and it was a pain in the butt.]

Divide into four equal size round portions. Shape the dough, but do not knead it. [The dough will be sticky, but don't use too much flour to make it easier to work with.] Place on parchment paper on a cookie sheet [or a lightly greased sheet]. Cut a cross on the top, at least halfway into the dough. [Mine don't look like crosses...]

Bake at 375 degrees F for 35 to 45 minutes. Bread should have a crust. Push to make sure it resists pressure and check to see if the bottom is brown. [You can also check it it's done by putting a skewer in it and having it come out clean. I did both.]

Leave loaves to cool for five minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer them to a cooling for at least 10 minutes before cutting.

Serve with butter and a cup of tea! That's what I did while listening to Irish music! Earl Grey if you please! If only I had fancy tea cups...

 



Happy St. Patrick's Day!


Chocolate Chiffon Pie

This recipe is another one of my semi-spectacular failures. It wasn't an exact failure, but, like the caramel chocolate shortbread, it wasn't exactly a success either.

I ended up burning my crust a bit and screwing up the filling and had to make it a second time. Lesson learned. My chocolate chiffon pie came out okay, but I don't know if I'll make it again. It's kind of a pain in the butt to make but who knows. Maybe the second time is a charm?

Chocolate Chiffon Pie

Ingredients:

[nut base]

2 cups shelled Brazil nuts

4 tablespoons granulated sugar

4 teaspoons melted butter

[filling]

1 cup milk

2 teaspoons powdered gelatin

1/2 generous cup superfine sugar [regular sugar is fine]

2 eggs, separated

8 oz semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup heavy cream

 

Instructions:

To make the base, process the whole Brazil nuts in a food processor until finely ground. [You'll really want a food processor for this. At the time, I didn't have one and had to use the blender. It was a pain in the butt.] Add the sugar and melted butter and process briefly to coming. Tip the mixture into a 9 inch round tart pan and press it onto the base and side with a spoon. [You're going to want to get a loose-bottomed tart pan for this and any other tart/pie you make. Trust me, you'll thank me later when your tart/pie doesn't fall apart when you cut it or try to take it out of the pan.] Bake in a pre-heated oven, 400 degrees F, for eight to 10 minutes, or until light golden brown. Let cool. [Mine was more of a dark brown. Don't let that happen.]

 

Pour the milk into a bowl and sprinkle over the gelatin. Let it soften for two minutes, then set over a pan of gently simmering water. Stir in half of the superfine sugar, both egg yolks, and all of the chocolate. Stir constantly over low heat for four to five minutes until the gelatin has dissolved and the chocolate has melted. Remove from the heat and beat until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the vanilla extract, wrap, and let chill in the refrigerator for 45 to 60 minutes until starting to set.

 

Whip the cream until it is stiff, then fold all but three table spoons into the chocolate mixture [to decorate]. Whisk the egg whites in a separate, clean, grease-free bowl until soft peaks form. Add two teaspoons of the remaining sugar and whisk until stiff peaks form. Fold in the remaining sugar, the fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Pour the filling into the pastry shell and let chill in the refrigerator for three hours.

 

 

Not awful, but maybe next time I'll have better luck.

 

Caramel Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

As much as I would love to say all my recipes come out fabulously, that is not the case. They still taste good, but as far as visual standards... Not so much. The case in point, my caramel chocolate shortbread cookies. Remember how I said I have a bad habit of making things for the first time and they're for other people. Yeah. This was somewhat of a disaster.

For the record, I pretty much hate making shortbread [even though everyone loves it when I do]. It's a pain in the butt. And this was the first time I was making it. I overtaxed myself, wanting to my ex's parents to like me even more than they already did. I decided I was going to make them several types of cookies for Christmas. These were one of the types and visually, they did not look pretty. The shortbread crumbled and despite being in the fridge overnight, my homemade caramel did not set properly. Cutting these cookies was a bitch. And that was before I took pictures of my baking. So the picture posed is how they're supposed to look. Not my awful looking ones.

 

Caramel Chocolate Shortbread

Ingredients:

[Shortbread]

4 oz of unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing [you can use salted too.]

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup golden superfine sugar [this is hard to fine, just use regular sugar]

[Caramel and Chocolate Topping]

7 oz of butter

1/2 cup golden superfine sugar [again regular sugar is fine]

3 tablespoons of corn syrup

14 fluid oz canned condensed milk

7 oz bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces

 

Instructions:

Place the butter, flour and sugar in a food processor and process until they begin to bind together. Press the mixture into a greased 9 inch shallow square cake pan lined with parchment paper and smooth the top. [I like to coat the top of the shortbread with melted butter. It seems to hold together better if you do that.] Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden.

 

While the shortbread is baking, make the caramel filling. Place the butter, sugar, corn syrup, and condensed milk in a pan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. bring to a boil and simmer for six to eight minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes very thick. Removed the shortbread from the oven, then pour the filing and chill in the refrigerator until firm. [To this day, I'm still unsure where I went wrong with the caramel...]

 

To make the topping, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly, then spread over the caramel. Chill in the refrigerator until set. Cut into 12 pieces with a sharp knife and serve.

This is what it is supposed to look like.

This is closer to what it looked like. Diagram drawn by me.

 

I haven't made these again yet, but I will. One day.



Inside Out Oreos

This is, hands down, the item I make the most and the recipe I give out the most. It is technically not baking because it doesn't require baking. [Duh.] But is one of the most time consuming things I make. It can take up to two hours just to make the "dough" but the results are delicious.

I make inside out Oreos [or Oreo truffles as they are sometimes known as] for just about every family event. Christmas? Inside out Oreos. Thanksgiving? Inside out Oreos. Easter? Yeah, I think you get the idea. I got this recipe from a co-worker of my mother's who had given them out as presents one year for Christmas along with the recipe written down. It's very simple to do, just a pain in the butt.

Inside Out Oreos

Ingredients:

1 package of Oreos [or any store-brand chocolate sandwich cookie]

1 package of cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil [per batch of chocolate chips]

1 large package of white chocolate chips

Instructions:

In a food processor [or blender since I don't have one of those], crush the entire package of Oreos until it resembles coarse sand and place in a large bowl. It will take you a few minutes to do this because you can only fit so many Oreos in a food processor.

Mix in the package of soften cream cheese, using a fork until there are no dry crumbs left and you don't see any cream cheese. This will take awhile to do because you have to make sure there aren't any crumbs. I always make my mom take at least a 2 minute stint because my forearms get tired after awhile. The only positive thing about doing this in the summer is that it takes less because it gets softer, faster. That's also the worst thing about it.

Using the bigger side of a melon baller [that's what I use to make them about the same size], scoop up some of the dough and roll into a ball. Place the ball on a cookie sheet lined in foil or parchment paper. [Trust me, you'll thank me later. Less mess and easy removal.] Repeat until all the dough is gone. If you're doing this in the summer, it will be kind of a mess. Place the completed dough balls in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Fill a microwave-safe glass bowl about half way with the white chocolate chips. Pour in 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. This prevents the white chocolate from burning and becoming pasty and unusable. White chocolate isn't real chocolate so it doesn't melt the same way milk or semi-sweet chocolate will. Stir the contents to make sure the chips are covered. Put the bowl in for 10 second incraments until the chocolate is completely melted. You may have to make two or three batches of chocolate depending on how much you're making.

Once the chocolate is completely melted, use a fork to gently place the dough balls into the chocolate. Do not stab the dough with a fork. Once completely covered in white chocolate, let the excess drip off and place back onto the foil-covered cookie sheet. After all the cookies are covered, place them in the refrigerator for the chocolate to set.

If you want to dye the white chocolate, use powdered food coloring. Water-based food coloring will make the chocolate pasty.

Before being covered in chocolate

One of my cousins made them as table place settings for her wedding, but that's what they look like with the chocolate. Enjoy!

Chocolate Coconut Layers

Before I started writing for a newspaper full-time, I worked in retail for close to 10 years. I started in high school and it unfortunately carried over until after college because my industry is hard to break into.

I worked at a bookstore which unfortunately closed. But in its closing, I managed to gain some books. [And by some, I mean 10 boxes...] But I grabbed several great cookbooks, including a dessert one. [Except it uses the metric system for part of it and it is annoying.] When I used it for the first time, I chose to make something with coconut which I love! And it has chocolate. Pretty much a given for me. So, without further ado. Yay coconut and chocolate!

 

Chocolate Coconut Layers

Ingredients:

8 ounces chocolate graham crackers

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing  [use extra to melt because I definitely needed more]

7 fluid ounces canned evaporated milk

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons superfine sugar

1/3 cup self-rising flour

1 1/3 cups dry, unsweetened coconut

1 3/4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate [optional and I didn't use it]

 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

 

Crush the graham crackers in a plastic bag with a rolling pin or process them in a food processor. Melt the butter in a pan and stir in the crushed crackers thoroughly. Remove from the heat and press the mixture into the bottom of a shallow eight inch square cake pan lined with parchment paper. [The parchment paper prevents a huge mess.]

 

In a separate bowl, beat together the evaporated milk, egg, vanilla, and sugar until smooth. Stir in the flour and coconut. Pour over the cracker layer and use a spatula to smooth the top.

 

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the coconut topping has become firm and just golden. Remove from the oven and let cool in the cake pan for about five minutes, then cut into squares. Let cool completely in the pan.

 

Carefully remove the squares from the pan and place them on a cutting board. Melt the semi-sweet chocolate [if you're using it] and drizzle it over the squares to decorate them. Let the chocolate set before serving.

 

 

 



I have only made these the one time. Not for any one reason, but there are definitely things I would do differently for one. I would use more melted butter because for the amount of graham crackers I had, it wasn't enough. Also, when using the coconut, make sure yours isn't solidified into a ball like mine was because my mother vacuum-sealed it... I got coconut everywhere and the oil was on my hands for about a day.

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes with Mascarpone Cream

Now I made two different versions of these. I made a large version where I filled the cupcake with the mascarpone cream and then I made a mini cupcake version for my cousin's bridal shower. It is essentially the same recipe as the strawberry shortcake. For the larger, filled version, I pureed strawberries and folded it into the cream, which gave it additional flavor as well as a nice pink color. For the mini cupcakes, I just used pink food dye.

So this is just pretty much the same recipe. Forgive the repetition.

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes with Mascarpone Cream

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 1/4 cups of superfine sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 2/3 cups of self-rising flour
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
1 1/4 cups strawberries, sliced
8 whole strawberries

For Mascarpone Cream
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup mascarpone cheese
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar [powdered sugar]

Instructions:
[Shortcake]
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a regular sized muffin tin or a mini muffin tin.

Beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium-high until pale and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until just combined after each addition.

With mixer on low, gradually beat in the flour and milk until well incorporated.

Divide the batter evenly between the muffin tins until golden brown and the cake springs back lightly when touched or a skewer comes out clean when tested. I can't give an estimated time. It really just depends.

Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 10 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

[Mascarpone Cream]
Beat the cream in a large chilled bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff.

Beat in the mascarpone, lemon juice, and confectioners' sugar in a separate bowl until smooth.

Fold the mascarpone mixture into the cream. Cover and chill in the refrigerator.

Put a piping bag fitted with a medium, fluted nozzle in the refrigerator. To fill the cupcakes, you will need a Bismark round tip. It is a smooth nozzle that will allow you to insert the cream into the cupcake. You won't be able to fill it too much for the cupcake itself is dense.

Fill the piping bag halfway [it gets extremely messy if you fill it all the way] with the mascarpone cream and pipe it onto the top of the cupcakes in whatever design pleases you. Tada! Cupcakes! Yum.

 

 

 The mini version!

 

Strawberry Shortcake with Mascarpone Cream

I make a kick-ass strawberry shortcake. I have a bad habit of making things for the first time while going somewhere or it being for someone. I made for dinner with my ex and his parents. I hadn't been baking from scratch for very long, so disaster is always possible. Still is, in fact. Every time I bake, I worry there could be a unforeseen problem.

But my ex said his parents were not fans of anything that was overly sweet so I wracked my brain for something and whipped out my beloved cookbook he had gotten me for Christmas. I believe it was the first time I even used it. The original recipe calls for a different type of cream, but I hate vanilla cream so I changed it and [because I'm awesome and sometimes make good executive decisions] it was a hit. Only problem is, mascarpone cheese [which is an Italian cheese, typically used in tiramisu], is a bit pricey and you usually need more than one container. I'm sure there is an alternative or I could stick to the real recipe, but where's the fun in that?

Strawberry Shortcake with Mascarpone Cream

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 1/4 cups of superfine sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 2/3 cups of self-rising flour
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
1 1/4 cups strawberries, sliced
8 whole strawberries

For Mascarpone Cream
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup mascarpone cheese
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar [powdered sugar]

Instructions:
[Shortcake]
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two eight inch round cake pans and line with parchment paper. [You don't have to line it with parchment paper if you have good cake pans.  The cakes should slide right out. The parchment paper doesn't lie right in the pans and gives your cake a strange shape unless you cut it.]

Beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium-high until pale and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until just combined after each addition.

With mixer on low, gradually beat in the flour and milk until well incorporated.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown and the cake springs back lightly when touched or a skewer comes out clean when tested.

Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack. Peel off the paper and let cool completely.

[Mascarpone Cream]
Beat the cream in a large chilled bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff.

Beat in the mascarpone, lemon juice, and confectioners' sugar in a separate bowl until smooth.

Fold the mascarpone mixture into the cream. Cover and chill in the refrigerator.

Put a piping bag [which are amazing! I love my set! My ex's mother got me a wonderful set as a present!] fitted with a medium, fluted nozzle in the refrigerator.

Apply a layer of mascarpone cream to the top of the first cake, then layer with the sliced strawberries. Apply another layer of mascarpone cream on top of the strawberries. [I can't remember how many times I layered the cream and the strawberries, but I believe it was only two layers of cream and one layer of sliced strawberries.] Place the second cake on top of the first.

Fill the piping bag halfway [it gets extremely messy if you fill it all the way] with the mascarpone cream and pipe it onto the top of the cake in whatever design pleases you. Place the eight whole strawberries around the perimeter of the cake. Wah-la! You have a delicious and beautiful looking cake!

I am still working on my piping technique. This was the first time I ever used my piping bags but I get better each time I use it. It just takes a light hand and a lot of practice. Hopefully my attempts will be better next time! Enjoy and happy baking!

Baking Backlog

So I will be writing about backdated [Is that even a thing?] recipes and posting older pictures. I have a habit of taking pictures of what I bake to post on Facebook to taunt those who will not be tasting the fruits of my labor. Or, you know, I enjoy posting pictures of my hard work.

Things to look forward to:
Strawberry Shortcake
Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes
Brownies/Brownie Cupcakes
Chocolate Chiffon Pie
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sea Salt Caramel Stuffed Cookies
Shortbread
Inside Out Oreos [This is the most requested recipe in my repertoire]

I have a couple of other things pending as well. For some reason, I am unable to save any of the photos on my Facebook to my mother's laptop and since mine is still out of commission [seven months later... Please find my charge cord, beloved uncle!] I have the photos saved to my work computer. I typically will not update from there. Hence the title "work computer." I may be able to start an entry and just upload the picture from there and post. To me that seems like a viable plan. Hopefully I'll be delving into some new recipes soon to share with everyone once I get my backlogged ones out of the way.

One of the few things I didn't get rid of from my ex-boyfriend is a fabulous baking cookbook. I love it too much to chuck it or give it back. It has over 300 recipes and I use it all the time. It's honestly one of the best things he could have ever given me. [Hint: For birthdays, holidays, or because you just love me so much, get me baking supplies or cookbooks!]

Hopefully there will be an update tomorrow! I'm thinking Strawberry Shortcake. Happy baking!

Orange Cheesecake Cookies

It was a co-worker's birthday today and I promised I would bake her something. Talk about a potential disaster. I was very nervous about making these cookies because I wasn't using my own oven and I pretty much made the recipe up on the fly. You usually don't want to bake something for for the first time when it is for someone else. I did that with cookies I made for my ex-boyfriend's parents for Christmas and my homemade caramel didn't set and the shortbread it sat on drove me crazy and broke into bits.

I remembered at 9:30 p.m. that I had promised to bake and had zero baking supplies. Running to the store in a complete panic, I looked up a couple of quick recipes rather than scan my brain for my usual recipes. I had found a delicious looking recipe for raspberry cheesecake cookies but it called for raspberry chips and I had no idea how the heck I would find those. So instead, I improvised.

I considered using fresh raspberries, but sometimes the liquid can screw stuff up and I wasn't exactly ready to go into work empty-handed, especially since I'm somewhat known for being the baker at work. [Our photographer tells me I'm missing my calling by not opening a bakery.] Scanning the baking aisle hoping to find raspberry extract [which I don't think even exists], I happened upon pure orange extract and I know my co-worker liked oranges, so I shrugged and thought, "Why not? I'll make orange cheesecake cookies instead."

Well, my potential disaster turned out to be a great success! [Yay!] She loved them as did the other people in my office who tried one. My gamble paid off and I was happy. So I now present my recipe for homemade orange cheesecake cookies.

Orange Cheesecake Cookies

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup butter, softened [not melted]

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 package [8 oz] cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon pure orange extract

white chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. 

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in one egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.

Whip the softened cream cheese and one egg until blended and smooth, then stir into the dough. [The addition of the second egg causes the cookies to be more cake-like. Use only one egg if you want less cake-like cookies.] Add preferred amount of white chocolate chips to dough.

Spoon a tablespoon of dough onto baking sheets and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. [As you can see from the photo below, you'll have to keep an eye on them. Mine got a smidge too brown on the bottom. Not burnt, just darker than I would have liked.]

Last step is to consume them! Share them with friends and family or just eat them all yourself with a glass of milk or cup of tea! Enjoy!

My Adventures in Baking

I have been putting off starting a baking blog for a long time. And for reasons unknown. There was really no reason not to start one considering baking is a huge love of mine. I seriously started baking around two years ago when I started seeing my [now ex] boyfriend.

I had been using Betty Crocker cookie mix [which is very good when you don't plan on baking from scratch. The cookies stay nice and soft thanks to all the butter and are delicious] but he thought they were homemade and was disappointed to find out they weren't. Thus, I became competitive about my baking for no reason whatsoever. I felt the need to prove that I was a damn good baker when baking from scratch.

Soon, my obsession with baking began and after two years of waiting, I finally got a stand mixer this past Christmas. I haven't had the chance to use it yet, which is disappointed but I'm planning on breaking it out soon. Plus, my parents are sick of it sitting in the living, where it has been since I received it.

I have collected an array of other baking supplies that I am excited about, which no one understands. I finally found a pack of six loose-bottomed tartlet pans after a year of searching at La Gourmet Chef and they only cost me $15. I also have a large loose-bottomed tart pan that I love as well as a mini muffin tin that I conned my mother into buying. She wanted me to make mini muffins and I had wanted a mini muffin tin so it was a good tradeoff. Labor for supplies.

But I will attempt to blog as faithfully as possible and as much as possible. Welcome to the adventures [and misadventures] of baking with me, Kait.