Chewy Sugar Cookies

[Soft and chewy is the best way to describe these amazing sugar cookies.  I could eat these cookies hot, room temperature, or frozen. Anyway you have them, they are just plain yummy.  I believe I might have eaten a cookie every night this week with a bowl of chocolate ice cream! 

The recipe comes from Americas Test Kitchen. When I made the cookies, they spread out quite a bit while baking.  This made the end result a rather large cookie (not to mention the fact that they ran into each other on the baking sheet because the spread out so much).  I think next time I will refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes before I bake the cookies.  That should let the butter firm up just enough so that they hold their shape a little bit better during the baking process.] 

Chewy Sugar Cookies

2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups sugar, plus an additional 1/3 cup for rolling

2 oz cream cheese, softened and cut into 8 pieces

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and still warm

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 large egg

1 tablespoon milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, place 1 ½ cups sugar and cream cheese.  Pour warm butter over sugar and cream cheese and whisk (by hand, not by electric mixer) until combined.  Whisk in oil until incorporated.  Add egg, milk, and vanilla and continue to whisk until smooth.  Add flour mixture and mix with a rubber spatula (again by hand!) until dough is soft and homogeneous. 

Divide dough into 24 equal pieces, about 2 tablespoons each.  Using hand, roll dough into balls.  Roll balls into the remaining 1/3 cup sugar and place on prepared baking sheet (I could only fit 6 on each baking sheet because they were so big).  Using the bottom of a drinking glass, flatten dough balls until about 2 inches in diameter.  Sprinkle with any remaining sugar.

Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, or just until edges begin to brown, rotating the pan after 7 minutes.  Cool for 5 minutes on baking pan, and then move cookies to a wire rack to cool at room temperature. 

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup chocolate chips or M&M's

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

With an electric mixer, beat sugar, brown sugar, and butter together until fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla and mix until incorporated.  Add baking soda, salt and flour.  Mix until well combined.  Add chocolate chips or M&M's.  

Using your hands, spread the cookie dough into a 9-10 inch circle (it will spread while baking, and end up being 11-12" in diameter) keeping the circle and dough as even as possible.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 13-16 minutes, or until light brown in color.  Let cool completely before trying to take it off the baking sheet. 

Recipe courtesy of Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Easy Chocolate Bundt Cake

[I don't use box cake mixes very often, but let's be honest, sometimes I just don't have the time or energy to make everything from scratch.  This recipe for chocolate bundt cake is mixture of box cake mix, but you add a homemade frosting to bring this cake to the next level.  It is quick and easy to make, and will impress anyone you serve it to. They never need to know it is (partially) from a box!

A friend of mine at work makes this chocolate bundt cake for birthday celebrations, and I have always wanted to try it, but never asked for the recipe.  I saw a similar on the Sister's Cafe website and decided to try it.  I was disappointed by the dry and crumbly consistency of the cake itself, but love the frosting.  After being disappointed by the cake, I decided to ask my co-worker for his recipe.  Turns out less egg and water, plus and a little more oil can make a big difference in a cake. 

Combining my co-workers cake, and Sister's Cafe frosting, you get a perfect chocolate dessert.

Enjoy & Happy Valentines Day!]

Easy Chocolate Bundt Cake


Cake:
1 box Chocolate or Devils Food Cake Mix (dry, don't make the cake according to the box's directions)
1 small box (4 servings) Instant Chocolate Pudding (dry)
3 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips


Frosting (via Sister's Cafe):
8 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/3 cup evaporated milk
4 cups shifted powdered sugar


Decorations (optional):
White Chocolate, melted

Directions:Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


For the Cake:  Place all ingredients, except chocolate chips, in a large mixing bowl.  Mix with electric mixer for 2-3 minute, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Fold in chocolate chips.  Pour into a greased bundt cake pan and Bake 55-60 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for 20 minutes, and invert until a serving platter.


For the frosting:  Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat.  Whisk in cocoa and evaporated milk.  Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.  In a large bowl, measure out the powdered sugar. Add the warm chocolate mixture to the powdered sugar, and mix with an electric mixer until smooth. Spread warm frosting over the warm bundt cake.  


For extra decoration, you can melt some white chocolate and add on top of chocolate frosting.

Apple Upside-Down Cake

[Have you ever heard of Americas Test Kitchen?  If you haven't heard of them, you should definitely check out their website or their cookbooks.  Americas Test Kitchen is a show on PBS (or you local broadcast station) that test recipes to find just the right balance of ingredients for each recipe. They also do reviews of products and brands to find the best value cooking products on the market.

This Apple-Upside Down Cake recipe came from America's Test Kitchen website.  You have to register in order to use the website, but think it will be worth your time to register. Every recipe I have tried from them has turned out great. 

As far as the Apple-Upside Down Cake goes?  It was delicious.  I added cinnamon to the recipe, which the recipe did not originally call for,  and I thought it added a nice flavor to the cake.  I particularly like my cake when it was warm, and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of fresh whipping cream. ] 

Apple Upside-Down Cake

Topping:

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

4 Granny Smith apples or Golden Delicious (about 2 pounds), peeled and cored

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Cake:

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Butter bottom and sides of 9-inch round*, 2-inch-deep nonstick cake pan; set aside. Adjust oven rack to lowest position* and heat oven to 350 degrees.

Halve apples from pole to pole. Cut 2 apples into 1/4-inch-thick slices; set aside. Cut remaining 2 apples into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Heat butter in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. When foaming subsides, add 1/2-inch-thick apple slices and cook, stirring 2 or 3 times, until apples begin to caramelize, 4 to 6 minutes. (Do not fully cook apples.). Add 1/4-inch-thick apple slices, brown sugar, and lemon juice; continue cooking, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves and apples are coated, about 1 minute longer. Transfer apple mixture to prepared pan and lightly press into even layer. Set aside while preparing cake.

Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together in medium bowl; set aside. Whisk granulated sugar, brown sugar, and eggs together in large bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter until combined. Add sour cream and vanilla; whisk until combined. Add flour mixture and whisk until just combined. Pour batter into pan and spread evenly over fruit. Bake until cake is golden brown and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.

Cool pan on wire rack 20 minutes. Run paring knife around sides of cake to loosen. Place wire rack over cake pan. Holding rack tightly, invert cake pan and wire rack together; lift off cake pan. Place wire rack over baking sheet or large plate to catch any drips. If any fruit sticks to pan bottom, remove and position it on top of cake. Let cake cool 20 minutes (or longer to cool it completely), then transfer to serving platter, cut into pieces, and serve.

*I used an 8-inch glass pan and I baked mine on the middle rack of the oven with no problems.

Adapted from Americas Test Kitchen

My Favorite Banana Bread

[Who doesn't love fresh homemade banana bread for breakfast in the morning?  I know I do!  This is my tried and true recipe for moist, delicious banana bread that I have been using since I was about 10 years old.  I chose to omit nuts from most of my baked goods, but if you like nuts, feel free to add some to your bread]

My Favorite Banana Bread

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 egg whites, slightly beaten

1 cup ripe bananas, mashed

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 8x4x2 loaf pan with non-stick spray and set aside.


In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.  In a large bowl mix together egg whites, mashed banana, sugar and oil until well combined.  Add flour mixture to banana mixture and stir until incorporated.  Pour into loaf pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes.  Cool and Serve.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

[I recently made these cookies just for the fun of it.  I had all the ingredients on hand, and, most importantly of all, they sounded good.

These cookies definitely lived up to my expectations.  They are a classic peanut butter cookie merged perfectly with a classic chocolate chip cookie. 

I will warn you, however, that this recipe makes a ton of cookies.  It makes so many cookies, in fact, that I still have about thirty cookies in my freezer waiting to be eaten!]

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

 *Makes about 4-5 dozen

1 cup (16 tablespoons) butter, softened to room temperature

2 cups smooth or chunky peanut butter (I prefer smooth)

1 ½ cups firmly packed light brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 ½ tablespoons milk

1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the butter and peanut butter and beat the mixture until it is light and fluffy. Add the brown and white sugars and mix until well combined. Add the eggs and mix for 1-2 minutes, until the mixture is well combined and light in color. Add the milk and vanilla and mix. Add the dry ingredients and mix just briefly. While there are still large spots of flour, add the chocolate chips and mix until the flour is completely mixed in and the mixture is well combined. Let the cookie dough sit for 15 minutes before scooping onto the baking sheets. It will firm up as it sits.

When ready to bake, scoop tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets leaving about 1 to 2 inches in between the cookies to allow for spreading as they bake. Bake for 10-11 minutes.

Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes after baking before removing them to a cooling rack. This will help them set up and be firm enough to transfer without having them over bake in the oven. The cookies may look slightly under-baked but they will firm up as they cool.

Recipe from My Kitchen Cafe

The Great Thing About A Bake Sale.

The great thing about a bake sale is the variety.


You go to a cupcake stand, you get cupcakes.  You go to a cookie shop, you get cookies.  But if you happen upon a bake sale, there's no limit to what you can get.  From cookies to crepes, from brownies to bon-bons, from pies to pastries - anything is possible.


And that's why I'm starting this blog.  I've spent my life figuring out not just what makes a good dessert, but what makes a good dessert experience.


Desserts are more than eggs, sugar and milk - they represent the grand finale of a good meal.  Often, they're the only thing we remember. Sometimes, they can redeem a bad day or a boring lunch just by virtue of being good.


Conversely, nothing is worse then a bad dessert.  The blown opportunity of a burnt cookie or a dry cake can ruin a dinner, and everyone remembers who brought the over-sugared fudge or the under-cooked eclair.  Bad desserts have the power to brand us for life.


So that's what this blog is about.  I'll share recipes that I've tried myself and served to my family and friends.  Occasionally, I'll let them chime in with their opinions/experiences.  Together, we'll explore what it means to make a killer dessert.


Welcome to the Bake Sale!