Peanut Butter Torte

An unexpected break...I’m having a hard time staying motivated to blog. I do have recipes I need to post and I have certainly had the opportunity to do so, but I just haven’t. The same goes with staying updated on my GR. I have so many unread posts in there, some of which are from my favorite blogs, but I just can’t get motivated to even read them.

Anyway though… Last year the TWD bloggers posted this fabulous Peanut Butter Torte, it was right before my birthday and I decided it was going to be my birthday cake. Sadly, I was a bit insane last summer taking 17hrs and working full time so I didn’t have time to make it. This year however, GAME ON. I’m not taking any classes this summer, only working (and AHHHH! I only have 1 month left of that!) So I have much more time.

So my birthday came around a couple weeks ago and it was a fabulous day. I took the day off work, went on a nice run with the husband followed by a mani, pedi, massage, a nice big piece of this torte, happy hour and the cinema suites at the new Mainstreet Theater here in KC. It was the absolute perfect start to the big 2-7. I never ever get to relax, so a little pampering is just what I needed.

The Torte is amazing…. to die for, absolutely perfect, fabulous, creamy, super rich, chocolaty, peanut buttery with a hint of cinnamon, espresso, and nutmeg that just gives it a little kick. It’s one of those desserts that you go to sneak a bite of before your meal and somehow end up devouring an entire piece. I took some of this into work and it was very well received. I was told I have to make it again before I leave. The recipe is very simple to make. I made the crust and filling one night and then the ganache topping the next day. This dessert is definitely one of my favorites and will be made again and again!

Peanut Butter Torte
Dorie Greenspan
Baking: From My Home To Yours



¼ c. finely chopped salted peanuts (for the filling, crunch and topping)
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon instant espresso powder (or finely ground instant coffee)
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
½ c. mini chocolate chips (or finely chopped semi sweet chocolate)
24 Oreo cookies, finely crumbed or ground in a food processor or blender
½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Small pinch of salt
2 ½ c. heavy cream
1 ¼ c confectioners’ sugar, sifted
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 ½ c salted peanut butter – crunchy or smooth
2 tablespoons whole milk
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate finely chopped

Getting ready: center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch Springform pan and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.Toss ½ cup of the chopped peanuts, the sugar, espresso powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and chocolate chops together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Put the Oreo crumbs, melted butter and salt in another small bowl and stir with a fork just until crumbs are moistened. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the spring form pan (they should go up about 2 inches on the sides). Freeze the crust for 10 minutes.Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a rack and let it cool completely before filling.
Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, whip 2 cups of the cream until it holds medium peaks. Beat in ¼ cup of the confectioners’ sugar and whip until the cream holds medium-firm peaks. Crape the cream into a bowl and refrigerate until needed.

Wipe out (do not wash) the bowl, fit the stand mixer with the paddle attachment if you have one, or continue with the hand mixer, and beat the cream cheese with the remaining 1 cup confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until the cream cheese is satiny smooth. Beat in the peanut butter, ¼ cup of the chopped peanuts and the milk.

Using a large rubber spatula, gently stir in about one quarter of the whipped cream, just to lighten the mousse. Still working with the spatula, stir in the crunchy peanut mixture, then gingerly fold in the remaining whipped cream.Scrape the mouse into the crust, mounding and smoothing the top. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight; cover with plastic wrap as soon as the mousse firms

To Finish The Torte: put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Leave the bowl over the water just until the chocolate softens and starts to melt, about 3 minutes; remove the bowl from the saucepan.Bring the remaining ½ cup cream to a full boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and , working with a a rubber spatula, very gently stir together until the ganache is completely blended and glossy.

Pour the ganache over the torte, smoothing it with a metal icing spatula. Scatter the remaining ½ cup peanuts over the top and chill to set the topping, about 20 minutes.When the ganache is firm, remove the sides of the Springform pan; it’s easiest to warm the pan with a hairdryer, and then remove the sides, but you can also wrap a kitchen towel damped with hot water around the pan and leave it there for 10 seconds. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Fresh Strawberry Bars

When I got the May 2009 issue of BHG and saw Fresh Strawberry Bars on the cover I knew they were right up my alley. Recently I've become a sucker for anything strawberry. I also knew I needed to make sure they didn't stay around my house long. I wanted to bring them into work, but one of my coworkers is allergic to Strawberries so I kept putting them off.

Last week that coworker was out of town so it was my chance to make them. The dense peanut butter base of the bars is the perfect compliment to the sweet strawberries. It almost tastes like the freshest, gourmet PB&J sandwich you've ever had. I got a TON of compliments on these. They were everything from "Oh this reminds me of the pastries I used to eat in France" .... "Oh wow this is the best Peanut Butter and Jelly I've ever had" ...."Wait, you MADE those??" "Oh my gosh, this is delicious"... and last but not least "scrapescrapescrape" (The sound of people scraping every last bit off their plate.) Matt was also a huge fan of these and exclaimed "WOAHHHHOMYDISOGOD!" (That's Woah! Oh my gosh this is so good! With his mouthful.) I really appreciated all the compliments and they made me laugh because the recipe is incredibly easy. All in all I say this is a perfect summer time dessert. I highly, highly recommend it!

Fresh Strawberry Bars
Source: Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup strawberry jam (I ended up not measuring and just eyeballing how much jam was needed)
4 cups small whole strawberries, halved or quartered (I think quartered is the best bet, I ended up sprinkling mine with brown sugar to make them extra sweet)

Heat oven to 350°F. Line 12×9x2-inch baking pan with foil, extending foil beyond edges. Set aside.

In large mixing bowl beat butter and peanut butter on medium to high for 30 seconds. Beat in sugars, baking powder, and salt until combined. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with mixer. Stir in remaining flour.

Spread dough in prepared pain. Bake 25 minutes or until top is lightly browned and toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.

Cool completely on rack. Remove from pain by lifting foil. Spread jam and top with berries. Cut into bars. Serve at once or refrigerate up to 6 hours. Makes 24 bars.

Make ahead: Wrap the peanut butter base in foil; store at room temperature up to 24 hours. Before serving, top with jam and berries or freeze the peanut butter base in a freezer container up to 3 months. For individual servings, cut the base in portions and freeze. Pull a portion from the freezer, thaw, and top with jam and berries for a last-minute dessert.**

**What I did was made the base and cut and topped 4 individual bars to take my pictures. I wrapped the rest in foil and the next morning before work I spread jam on the remaing base and topped with strawberries. I took it to work and cut individual squares and then kept it in one of those pyrex carry cases with the compartments for icepacks so it stayed cool all day.

Cookies For Breakfast

But first things first. The other day I received a notification that I had a new comment on one of my posts. It was from Anonymous but I quickly found out it was actually from my Grandma:

Hi Stacey-This is the 23rd of May and I just went in to your blog to see what's new. Surprised and "thrilled" to see the group at the winery for Ann's birthday celebration.. And for anyone else seeing this that birthday cake is fantastic!! Have a good one-love to you and Matt--G'ma M.

The post she's referring to is here. 1) I love that my grandma reads my blog and comments on posts. 2) You know if Grandma says a cake is good, it MUST be good. So everyone needs to make the Italian Birthday Cake!

Ok, now on to cookies for breakfast.

I saw this recipe for Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies on Baking Bites recently and decided I needed to make it ASAP. Peanut Butter and Bananas make such a good combination I couldn't wait to try. The recipe is fairly simple and the cookies seem fairly simple but the taste is far from simple. One bite and I felt like I was eating a bowl of oatmeal with PB and bananas mixed in. I added some chopped honey roasted peanuts to add to the texture of the cookies and bring out the peanut flavor a bit more. The cookies are soft and chewy, similar to traditional oatmeal cookies, but the peanut butter gives them a bit more substance.

I made these 2 days in a row. The first day in cookie form and the second day in bar form. I took them to work and got rave reviews and requests for seconds. Overall my coworkers seemed to go for the bars over the cookies. Matt loved these - he was definitely not happy when I took them into work. Keeping them in my house would have been trouble. Like I said, they tasted like a bowl of oatmeal and with only 2tbsp of butter I rationalized they were a good choice for breakfast and a good pre-workout snack. :)

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Source: Baking Bites



1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1/2 cup peanut butter (I used chunky)
1/4 cup mashed banana
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup finely chopped Honey Roasted Peanuts





Preheat oven to 350F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.In a large bowl, cream together sugars and butter. Beat in egg until smooth, then mix in the peanut butter and mashed banana. Working by hand or with a mixer on low speed, blend dry ingredients into the peanut butter mixture. Stir in the oats and chopped peanuts.

Shape dough into tablespoons and place on baking sheet, flattening each slightly with your fingers. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies just begin to turn golden around the edges. Cool on a wire rack.

Bakes approx 2 dozen. I got 2.5 dozen.

Belated Cookie Carnival: Toasted Almond Pink Lemonade Bars

I missed Cookie Carnival last month and was really bummed out. I was so looking forward to making lemon bars. I don’t like lemon bars but really wanted to mess around with the recipe a bit. Even though I missed the carnival I decided to play along when I had time. Rather than just making “plain” lemon bars I made Pink Lemonade Bars using Strawberry and Lemon.

The bars were tart yet very sweet, just like Strawberry Lemonade and the almond shortbread gave a nice crunch to the bars. I took these took work and got as many compliments on the yummy shortbread crust as I did the bars as a whole. They have definitely beat out my old favorite Strawberry Bar recipe. They are a bit labor intensive but well worth it. Kate and Holly, I'm so bummed out I missed this month. These were absolutely wonderful. I just bought 4lbs of Strawberries and I know where some of them will be going…

Toasted Almond Pink Lemonade Bars
Adapted From The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy
Makes 1 dozen bars



For the Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup sliced blanched almonds, lightly toasted
1/2 teaspoon salt
20 Tablespoons (2 1/2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

For the Stawberry Lemon Filling:
4 large eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3-4 lemons)
1 cup strawberries, hulled and pureed 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar for sprinkling

To Toast the Almonds:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the almonds in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly golden and you can smell them. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Before You Start:
Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 - inch pan with nonstick vegetable cooking spray. Make a parchment "sling" by cutting two pieces of parchment paper, measuring 16 1/2 inches long by 12 inches wide (you can also use aluminum foil). Place one piece across the length, and the other across the width of the pan, with the excess hanging over the edges. You will use this sling later to lift the finished bar from the pan. Spray the sling with the cooking spray.




To Make the Crust:
1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse the flour, sugar, almonds, and salt to combine. Add the cold butter in pieces and pulse until the dough comes together in a ball. This was my first time making dough in my food processor and it was so easy. It turned out sooo much better than using my blender.

2. Turn the dough out into the prepared pan and press evenly into the bottom and 1 1/4 inches up the sides. (This crust, once it is baked, needs to act as a liner in which to pour the liquidy lemon filling. So be sure to do a good job of pressing the dough up the sides - no cracks!). Cover the dough with a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil, and fill with pie weights ( you can use dried beans or uncooked rice as pie weights as well). Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until lightly golden. Carefully remove the pie weights and the liner and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until the whole crust is golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

To Make the Filling:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until smooth. Add the almond extract and flour, and whisk until smooth. Add the lemon juice and strawberry puree, and whisk to combine.

To Complete the Bars:
1. Pour the lemon strawberry filling into the prepared crust. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the filling is firm and lightly golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

2. When cool use the parchment sling to lift the entire bar from the pan and onto a cutting board. Slice into twelve 3 x 3 1/2 - inch bars. Remove from the pan and, using a small sifter, dust with the confectioners' sugar.

The bars keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. For longer storage, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze well wrapped in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil for up to 3 weeks. Do not unwrap before defrosting. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.




To check out the results of April’s Cookie Carnival, go visit Holly of Phemomenon who was the guest host this month. For more information on Cookie Carnival go check out Kate at the Clean Plate Club.

Double-Chocolate Bundt Cake with Ganache Glaze

Disclaimer: I'm well aware at how bad the pictures are. Don't let that stop you from making this cake though. It was divine.

The other day I was sitting here procrastinating and decided to google Chocolate Bundt Cake. One of the first search results was from Food and Wine Magazine... Double-Chocolate Bundt Cake with Ganache Glaze. I saw the picture (much better than mine) and read over the recipe and decided it would be what I do on my break from writing my paper on Sunday. I followed the recipe almost to the T. I did double the glaze and add some white chocolate to the top. I was slightly nervous because it required 1 cup of strong-brewed coffee. I know that coffee intensifies the chocolate flavor, but 1 cup seemed like a lot. I soon found out I was wrong and 1 cup of coffee wasn't too much.

The flavor of this cake is amazing. It's incredibly moist and has a rich chocolaty flavor. The glaze on top is to die for. Matt and I both loved it. It was the perfect dessert for our Sunday meal. I decided I didn't need this hanging out at my house (this bad boy is most definitely NOT diet food!) so I brought it into work for my coworkers. They all absolutely loved it. I got many compliments on how moist it was and the glaze. Even 3 days later my SIL had a slice (I saved a piece for her) and she commented on how moist it was. I will definitely be making this cake again and again!

Double-Chocolate Bundt Cake with Ganache Glaze
Source: Food and Wine Website


I wish I would have been more careful with my white chocolate.

Ingredients

Vegetable oil spray
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup strong-brewed coffee
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 tablespoon corn syrup
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
*note: I doubled the cream, corn syrup, butter and added additional chocolate. The amounts above are from the original recipe.



Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with vegetable oil spray. In a small saucepan, melt 2 ounces of the chopped chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly. Scrape the chocolate into a medium bowl and let cool slightly. Whisk in the oil and sugar until smooth, then whisk in the egg.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add half of the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture along with 1/2 cup of the coffee and 1/2 cup of the buttermilk; whisk until smooth. Add the remaining dry ingredients, coffee and buttermilk and whisk until smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the lower third of the oven for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. I first checked my cake at 30min and it was no where near being ready. I decided to check it 5min later and it was done. Let the cake cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn it out and let cool completely.

In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. In a heatproof bowl, combine the remaining 3 ounces of chopped chocolate with the corn syrup and butter. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let stand until melted, about 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Let the ganache glaze cool until thick but still pourable, about 5 minutes.

Pour the ganache over the cooled cake.Let the cake stand until the glaze is set, at least 30 minutes, before serving

Make Ahead
The glazed cake can be stored in an airtight container for 3 days.

Peanutty Gooey Bars

These bars are good. Seriously Good.

Does anyone else acquire used cookbooks on a pretty regular basis? I always seem to end up with a new(to me) cookbook in my hands. Last month I was over at my aunt and uncle's house and left with 2 or 3 cookbooks and a handful of other books to read. One of those cookbooks is full of Nestle Tollhouse recipes. How can you go wrong with Tolhouse? May not be gourmet, but it's always good.

I found this recipe for Peanutty Gooey Bars in the Nestle Tollhouse book. I woke up a few Sundays ago and had the urge to throw together a yummy treat. I read the recipe name to Matt and his first words were Oh my God, those sound great. Make them. So I did and he was right, they not only sounded great but the tasted great. These are very similar to a Hello Dolly... but better. The recipe is super simple. It comes together in no time. This kind of treat would make a perfect addition to an open house type of gather or a potluck at work.

I did make a few changes to the recipe. I cut back on the nuts and added some chopped PB M&Ms. Also, after I took it out of the oven I decided to add some extra Chocolate (used a mixture of milk and dark) and PB chips while it cooled.

Peanutty Gooey Bars

Crust:

2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened

1/3 cup granulated sugar

Toppings:

1 Cup each Peanut Butter Chips Chocolate Chips (plus extra to sprinkle on top if desired)

1 can (14 ounces) Nestle Carnation Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts

1/2 cup chopped PB M&Ms

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray 8-inch square pan with vegetable cooking spray.

For Crust:

Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar in medium bowl; press onto bottom of ungreased 13 X 9-inch baking pan.

For Topping:

Microwave 1 cup morsels, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract in medium microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) power 1 minute; stir. Microwave additional 10- to 15-second intervals stirring until smooth. Pour evenly over crust. Top with nuts and remaining morsels. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until edges are bubbly.

Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.
Makes: 2 dozen

Fudge

The other night I decided to make fudge. I found a relatively easy recipe on Big Oven and got down to work. My work was quickly interrupted when I realized I only had a bout a 1/2 cup of "regular" (as opposed to white) chocolate in the pantry. That's insane. I always have ridiculous amounts of baking squares, chips, and chunks on hand. I guess I used them all in my holiday baking extravaganza. So rather than making Chocolate Caramel Fudge, I made Triple Chocolate Caramel Fudge using Semisweet Chocolate Chips and Baking Squares, Milk Chocolate Hershey Kisses, and White Chocolate Chips. It turned out pretty good. I rate this recipe a 7, there's room for improvement.

Triple Chocolate Caramel Fudge
Source: Big Oven




Ingredients
3c (18 oz.) semisweet chocolate or whatever chocolate you can scrounge up in the house
1c Chopped walnuts
1can Sweetened condensed milk
1/2c Caramel ice cream topping
1tsp Salt
1 1/2tsp Vanilla

Instructions

In a saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate pieces with milk and salt. Remove from heat and stir in walnuts, topping and vanilla. Spread evenly into foil-lined 8 or 9 square pan. Chill 2 hours or until firm. Turn fudge onto cutting board; peel off foil and cut fudge into pieces. Makes about 2 lbs.

Where I've been

The past 4 weeks of my life been a blur of projects, papers, finals (all leading up to a 4.0!), and all of this......







I know the pictures aren't that pretty, but I took them at work.

The plates included....

Cookies
Chocolate Chipperdoodles
Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip
Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Chocolate Gingerbread
Gingersnap
Gooey Butter
Snickerdoodles
Sugar Cutout

Candies
Chocolate Walnut and Triple Chocolate Toffee
Peppermint Bark
PB Fudge


I'm looking forward to easing up on the baking a bit, doing a little cooking, and relaxing the next 3 weeks before school starts again. I know my husband is thrilled to have the deep freeze back now that 35 dozen cookies are no longer taking up all the room!

Gingersnaps

I came across this recipe on Erin Cooks. When I saw the recipe was from the book A Field Guide to Cookies by Anita Chu, I knew I had to make them ASAP. The last cookies I baked from that book have become one of my favs. These cookies were very good, but the molasses flavor was a tad too strong for me. My husband on the other hand fell in love with these.

Gingersnaps
Found on: Erin Cooks
Adapted from: A Field Guide to Cookies by Anita Chu
(I followed the changes Erin suggested)



3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup softened unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 egg
1/3 cup molasses
Extra sugar for rolling

Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and set aside. In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugars on medium speed for several minutes until smooth, light, and fluffy. Add spices and mixed until combined. Add egg and mix to combine. Add molasses and mix to combine. Add flour mixture and mix to just combine

Shape the cookie dough with a small ice cream scoop. Roll the dough into uniform balls, placing them in batches into a large bowl with one cup of sugar. Swirl the container to coat the gingersnaps completely with sugar. Place them onto a cookie sheet. For small chewy cookies you should bake each batch for 8 minutes at 350º. (mine baked a little more than 8 min) Let the cookies stand for two minutes before carefully moving them to a wire rack.

Chocolate Gingerbread

A few weeks ago a fellow RB asked if anyone had a recipe for a Chocolate Chip Gingerbread cookie. I didn't, but I turned to Martha and she didn't let me down. I made a few adaptations to this recipe because once again I didn't read the recipe all the way though before starting. I have this bad habit of just looking at the ingredients and throwing everything together. I didn't start making these until about 7pm and didn't have time to refrigerate for almost 2 and half hours, I also ended up throwing in an egg at the end, because I didn't care for the consistency of the dough after it was mixed together.

Despite the changes I made, the cookies turned out awesome! I absolutely loved them and included them on the goodie plates I gave away. I'm usually not a big fan of molasses, but these were fab.... especially right out of the oven!

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
Adapted From: Martha Stewart



7 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup granulated sugar


Line two baking sheets with parchment. Chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add molasses; beat until combined.

In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water. Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in baking-soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture. Mix in chocolate; turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat dough out to about 1 inch thick; seal with wrap; refrigerate until firm, 2 hours or more. When I was done beating the ingredients together, I added an egg because the dough seemed a bit dry, I then stuck the entire bowl in the fridge for about 30 min (I do this with all my cookies)

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Roll dough into 1 1/2- inch balls; place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes. (skipped this part) Roll in granulated sugar. Bake until the surfaces crack slightly, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Conquering My Fears

When I asked Matt what he wanted for his birthday he told me cinnamon rolls. I cringed on the inside. Cinnamon Rolls?

That involves yeast. Yeast is complicated and scary.
That involves time. I don’t have a lot of time.
He loves his mom’s cinnamon rolls. I can’t compete with that.
Cinnamon Rolls? Yuck

But, being the stellar wife I am, I cowboyed up and accepted the challenge. I’ve had some packages of yeast in my cabinets for a few months, but have just been too intimidated to try and use them. I did a little research and decided I could handle it.

Next was the search for a cinnamon roll recipe. I would have loved to use the recipe I saw on all the Daring Bakers Blogs from Peter Reinhardt's The Bread Baker's Apprentice, but there is that whole time thing again. I just don’t have much. So I searched allrecipes and found Cinnamon Roll recipe that requires a bread machine. The bread machine does all the hard work – perfect!

Since his birthday was yesterday, I prepared these Sunday night and stuck them in the fridge. We got up at 5 Monday morning to work out and I took them out of the fridge and let them come to room temp before poppin them in the oven (almost 2 hours.) I topped them with a cream cheese frosting.

The results? Well, I don’t like cinnamon rolls, but Matt ate three of them so I take that as a good thing. I made a dozen and asked if he was going to take some to work. He told me he planned on eating them every day for breakast. He had two this morning. I think he likes them. This recipe got excellent reviews on allrecipes, a few people said this was a lighter cinnamon roll. I tried a small one and thought “meh, it’s a cinnamon roll”.

Cinnamon Rolls
Adapted From: Allrecipes
(I used cinnamon rolls II for the dough and clone of a cinnabon for the filling and frosting )

note: originally I didn't put that much frosting on them. The husband insisted I use all the frosting and drown the cinnamon rolls in that sticky, yummy goodness

Dough:
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup white sugar
1 eggs

Filling:
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened
This made way more filling than I needed. I put the cinnamon/sugar mixture in a container and will make another batch of cinnamon rolls with it soon

Frosting:
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt



In saucepan, heat 1 cup milk, water, and 1/4 cup butter until very warm (butter doesn't need to be completely melted).

Place milk mixture, salt, flour, yeast, sugar, and eggs in the pan of the bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Select the Dough cycle. Press Start.

Once Dough cycle is complete, remove the dough from the bread machine. Punch down.

On a floured surface, roll dough into a large rectangle. Smear rectangle with the softened butter. Combine cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle over the rectangles.

Roll the dough up into a log starting at the long side. Cut the log into 12 slices. Place the rolls cut side down into two 9x13 inch greased baking pans. (I used two pans - I didn't want pull-apart rolls) Cover, and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled. (I covered the pans with saran wrap and stuck them in the fridge at this point. The next morning I set them out for about 2 hours before I baked them.

Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden. While rolls are baking beat together cream cheese, butter, confectioners sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Spread frosting on warm cinnamon rolls before serving.


There's the birthday boy! I even pulled out the Special Plate for him. Apparently I can't take clear pictures early in the morning.

Pie

It’s no secret that Matt and I are huge PB and Chocolate fans. I was on the lookout for a treat for his birthday when I spied this recipe on Simple, But Delicious. It meets both requirements for my blog: Simple and Tasty.

The pie doesn’t use very many ingredients and is packed full of that Chocolate and Peanut Butter combination we both love. It's very rich and very sweet. I’m never one to say a dessert is too sweet, but I couldn’t even finish my piece. Don't get me wrong, we both thought this was quite good. The name most definitely says it all…. Decadent Peanut Butter Pie

Decadent Peanut Butter Pie
Source: Simple, But Delicious
Originally from: Jif.com



Ingredients:
1 prepared chocolate cookie pie crust
1 cup Creamy peanut butter
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
4 1/2 cups (12 oz) cool whip
1 (11.75 oz) jar hot fudge ice cream topping

Drizzle:
2 T peanut butter
2 T hot fudge

Directions:

In a medium bowl, beat together the peanut butter, cream cheese and sugar. Gently fold in 3 cups whipped topping. Spoon mixture into the pie shell. Using a spatula, smooth mixture to edges of pie.

Reserving 2 tablespoons of hot fudge, place remaining hot fudge into microwave safe bowl or glass measuring cup. Microwave for 1 minute. Stir. Spread hot fudge over pie to cover the peanut butter layer. Refrigerate until serving time. Just before serving, spread the remaining whipped topping (1 1/2 cups), over hot fudge layer, being careful not to mix the two layers.

Place the 2 Tbs. hot fudge in a small baggie and knead for a few seconds. Cut a tiny hole in the corner of the bag and drizzle over pie. Do the same with 2 Tbs. peanut butter going in the opposite direction of the hot fudge

Zucchini Cake

In my quest to find some ways to use up all my zucchini I came across this recipe on Pamela’s blog. After trying Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cookies this summer I just knew I would love it. The cake has a Caramel Frosting and (side thought: I wonder if people are reading this saying car-a-mel or car-muhl, I’m the latter ) Anywho, Pamela is right when she says the Caramel Frosting on this bad boy is S-uh-uh-WEET! I loved it!

The cake would be fine without, but it’s amazing with! As I was pouring the batter in the pan, it seemed to have the appearance of cookie dough rather than cake batter. I was pleasantly surprised when it came out of the oven in cake form. If you find yourself with an abundance of zucchini, you should definitely give this cake a shot. A warning though, it makes a ton. Luckily, (Lucky for my hips, not so much for my taste buds) I gave a bunch to Matt’s friends and my mom.

Caramel Frosted Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake
Source: Cookies With Boys

For the cake:
3/4 c. butter, softened
2 c packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
3 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups shredded zucchini
1/2 c. mini chocolate chips (I used a cup of regular sized)

Caramel Frosting
1/2 c butter
1 c brown sugar
1/4 c milk
1 1/2 c confectioner's sugar



Cream butter, brown sugar, vanilla and eggs in a bowl. Stir together flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and stir until combined. Fold in zucchini and chocolate chips.

Spread in greased 15 x 10 jelly roll pan. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

For the frosting, bring butter, brown sugar and milk to a boil in a saucepan. Boil for 3 minutes. Stir in confectioners sugar. Spread over cake.

Pamela's Notes: This is the type of frosting that hardens, so you shouldn't take your time in the spreading step. 13 x 9 works. Bake for approx. 35 minutes.

More Chocolate and Peanut Butter Goodness

When I first saw this recipe on Smitten Kitchen I thought they were going to be similar to the Peanut Butter Rice Krispie treats my MIL makes. After I saw the fabulous pictures though I realized I was wrong. They looked intense.

Last night Matt fixed dinner so I decided to make us a dessert. I opened my google reader and he picked these out. I made a pretty big mistake in this recipe, but with the combo of chocolate and peanut butter, how can you go wrong?

I was making the peanut butter chocolate layer and I got a little on my hand, and I had to lick it off of course. I tasted it and thought it was odd it wasn't very sweet. All the sudden it hit me, I ran out to our recycling box and looked at the package of chocolate I used.... unsweetened. Dang. Oh well. I figured with the dark chocolate layer on top, the unsweetened chocolate wouldn't stand out too much.

I was right, this is still super chocolaty and sweet. This recipe is awesome! I will be making it again for sure. Next time though I'll use the correct chocolate and a little more Rice Krispies to have a thicker crispy crust.


Peanut Butter Crispy Bars
Source: Smitten Kitchen



For the crispy crust:
1 3/4 cups crisped rice cereal
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the milk chocolate peanut butter layer:
5 ounces good-quality milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup creamy peanut butter (I used 3/4 cup crunchy and 1/4 creamy)

For the chocolate icing:
3 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 72 percent cocoa), coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon light corn syrup
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick or 2 ounces) unsalted butter

Make the crispy crust: Lightly spray a paper towel with nonstick cooking spray and use it to rub the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan. Put the cereal in a large bowl and set aside.

Pour 1/4 cup water into a small saucepan. Gently add the sugar and corn syrup (do not let any sugar or syrup get on the sides of the pan) and use a small wooden spoon to stir the mixture until just combined. Put a candy thermometer in the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat and bring to a boil; cook until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage, 235 degrees F.
Remove from the heat, stir in the butter, and pour the mixture over the cereal. Working quickly, stir until the cereal is thoroughly coated, then pour it into the prepared pan. Using your hands, press the mixture into the bottom of the pan (do not press up the sides). Let the crust cool to room temperature while you make the next layer.

Make the milk chocolate peanut butter layer: In a large nonreactive metal bowl, stir together the chocolate and the peanut butter. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir for about 30 seconds to cool slightly. (I was feeling lazy and just used the microwave) Pour the mixture over the cooled crust. Put the pan in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until the top layer hardens.

Make the chocolate icing: In a large nonreactive metal bowl, combine the chocolate, corn syrup, and butter. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is completely smooth. (Again, lazy and just used the microwave)

Remove the bowl from the pan and stir for 30 seconds to cool slightly. Pour the mixture over the chilled milk chocolate peanut butter layer and spread into an even layer. Put the pan into the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until the topping hardens. I also decided to melt a little white chocolate to drizzle over the top.

Cut into 9 (or 16!) and serve. The bars can be stored in the refrigerator, covered tightly, for up to 4 days.

Cookie Carnival: Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

It's Cookie Carnival Time again! This month we baked Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies. I was very excited - chocolate and pumpkin, one of my favorite combinations. I had a much easier time this month than I did last month. The actual cookie part is soft and cake-like. It has a mild chocolate flavor and is pretty unremarkable on it's own. It almost reminds me of devils food cake. Pair it with the tasty pumpkin filling and you have yourself a nice treat.

I messed around with the recipe a bit adding 3/4 cup of chocolate chips to the dough and making some changes to the filling. Thanks to the success I had last time I baked a chocolate/pumpkin treat, I decided to add melted Pumpkin Spice Kisses (25 or so). I also used some pumpkin pie spice and decided that the filling wasn't pumpkiney enough. Rather than the 1/4 cup of pumpkin the recipe calls for I ended up using an entire can. I think this changed the consistency and appearance of the filling, but it is so good.

Matt and I both enjoyed these cookies. If I were to make them again I would add the melted kisses to the cookie dough to spice it up a bit and increase the chocolate chips to 1 cup.

Thanks Kate for choosing this recipe!


Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Source: Martha Stewart



FOR THE COOKIES:
My adaptions in italics

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

FOR THE FILLING:
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup canned solid pack pumpkin I used an entire can
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Pumpkin Pie Spice
25 Hershey's Pumpkin Spice Kisses - melted



DIRECTIONS:

Prepare cookies: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.

Place butter, shortening, and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. (mine never actually got smooth, just a moist crumbly texture, too much sugar to get smooth) Add egg; mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in half the flour mixture, then the milk and vanilla. Mix in remaining flour mixture.

Drop about 2 teaspoons dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies spring back when lightly touched, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks and let cool 10 minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheets and transfer to wire racks using a spatula; let cool completely.

Prepare filling: In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together cream cheese, butter and confectioners' sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg; whip until smooth, scraping down the bowl as necessary.

Pipe or spoon about 2 teaspoons filling on the flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, keeping the flat sides down.







Makes about 20 cookies

Apple Season!

The first time I had this cake was 3 years ago. One of my coworkers baked it and I politely passed because I didn't "do" hot fruit. She insisted I try it so I sucked it up and prepared myself for a nasty, mushy apple dessert. What I found though was heaven.

I've made it a few times since and I swear it gets better each time. I laugh thinking back to the first time I made it. There weren't any specific directions on the topping, so I poured the melted butter on top of the partially baked cake followed by a mixture of brown sugar/flour/cinnmon. Little did I know it was supposed to be a crumb topping. Oh I've come so far....

This cake may just be the perfect fall dessert. In fact, someone even said this cake "tastes like fall". It would be prefect for breakfast with a Chai Tea Latte or Caramel Macchiato. I've also served these as Apple Bars. We had it for dessert the other night after our Mac and Cheese. The cake is moist with a nice hint of cinnamon and cloves and a fabulous baked brown sugar crumb topping. The house smells amazing when you add the crumb mixture to the top. Oh and I should warn you, it's so easy to devour this. Take it into work, your coworkers and waistline will thank you.

Apple Cake


*I'm so bummed my pictures don't look very good, they do the cake no justice. The stupid sun didn't want to cooperate today. Oh how I miss summer.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup oil
1/3 cup orange juice
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 cup flour
1tsp each:
cinnamon
salt
baking powder
baking soda
1/2 tsp cloves
3 cups chopped apples (I used granny smith and fuji)

Topping:
3 TBSP melted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
Dash Cinnamon


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan.

Beat oil, OJ, eggs, and sugar until well-blended. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in apples.

Pour into greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 30 minutes Prepare topping (mix topping ingredients until crumb mixture forms). Sprinkle topping on top of cake and bake an additional 20 - 30 minutes.

Oh My! Chai

Last year I had my first Chai Tea Latte and they have quickly become a favorite of mine. Besides being a fabulous Personal Chef, my friend Leslie is also a Tastefully Simple representative. One of my favorite Tastefully Simple products is their Oh My! Chai tea mix. It's a great alternative to a $4 cup at a coffee place.

Our friends Erin and Scooter had their son baptised yesterday (and I stupidly forgot my camera... he may just be the cutest baby on the planet). After the baptism they had a small open house and I decided I wanted to bring a sweet over to their house. Brownies sounded like a good idea and to spice them up I added some Oh My! Chai mix to them. They were delicious! The hint of Chai Tea was perfect. I'll definitely make these again.

Chai Tea Brownies
Adapted From: Hershey's Best Brownies


Ingredients
:1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4tbsp Oh My! Chai tea mix

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 9-inch square baking pan.
2. Stir together butter, sugar and vanilla in bowl. Add eggs; beat well with spoon. Stir together flour, cocoa, tea mixture, baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in nuts, if desired. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.
3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Sprinkle additional Chai mixture on top.

Chocolate Chipperdoodle

Those of you who know me in real life are probably shaking your head right now. There she goes baking again….

Just the other day I was asking for advice on how to fight my sweet tooth, or more importantly, how to stop going overboard on my indulgences. The first 4 people I talked to told me to stop baking. I know I probably should – out of sight/out of mind. But, I used to bake and have sweets in the house and never had a problem with self control. It’s only been the past few months and I’m sure it’s because there’s been quite a bit of stress between work, school, and family. So the sweets combined with not being able to dedicate 2 hours/day to the gym anymore has left me feeling kind of gross. I decided I just need to hold myself accountable and after talking to one of my coworkers, I’m going to start freezing the majority of the stuff I bake. That way it’s not just sitting there on the counter tempting me every time I walk by.

So fast forward to Friday morning, I was going through my Google reader when I saw this magical recipe, it’s a combination of a snickerdoodle and chocolate chip cookie - two of my favorites! I knew I had to make them soon. Soon came Friday at 7:37pm. I needed a break from my homework and had all the ingredients for these.

They are so, SO good! The sweet/spicy/cinnamony goodness of a snickerdoodle mixed with the smooth taste of chocolate make for a fabulous combination. I may just go all out here and say it's a better combo than chocolate and PB. (Well, maybe not better, but certainly as good). These cookies will definitely be showing up again around Christmas. They are perfect for a cookie exchange and will taste delicious on Christmas Eve!

Chocolate Chip Amish Puff Cookies
Source: Erin Cooks
Originally Published in: A Field Guide to Cookies by Anita Chu



1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup softened unsalted butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup chocolate chips (used 1/2 cup semi-sweet and 1/2 cup milk chocolate. Normally, I'm not a milk chocolate fan, but they tasted great in these cookies!)
1/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon (I decided 2 tsp was the amount needed to reach cinnamon perfection)

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt into a bowl and set aside. In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugars on medium speed for several minutes until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix until combined. Add the flour mixture, and mix on low speed just until combined.

Cover dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Stir in the chocolate chips. Combine cinnamon and sugar in a bowl. (I added my chips before I put the dough in the fridge)

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line several cookies sheets with parchment paper. Roll tablespoon-sized balls of dough in the cinnamon sugar and place on cookie sheets about 3 inches apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown. Cool cookie sheets on wire racks. Yield about 2 dozen cookies

*PS: go to Erin’s website and comment on this post. You may just win this !

Pumpkin Time

I hate making cupcakes, infact I think they've only been featured twice on the blog. These cupcakes however are so easy and so ridiculously good I don't mind whipping them up. They only require 4 ingredients, one of which is pumpkin.

Matt mentioned something to me in July about how he couldn't wait for the fall so we could eat these. I told him we didn't have to wait for the fall, I had a can of pumpkin and could whip some right up. He insisted that pumpkin is a fall ingredient so I had to wait.

Another reason these are awesome: they are low calorie. The first time I ever had them was at a food day at work. A coworker brought some in and said they were only 50 calories a cupcake. She said this is her mom's recipe and she doesn't know where it originated or if they really have 50 calories, but let's just pretend they do...

I'm obsessed with the special edition Hershey's Kisses. Matt and I love the Pumpkin Spice Kisses and I thought it would be a good idea to use some in this recipe. I drizzled melted Pumpkin Spice Kisses over the top of the cupcakes and put half a kiss in some of the cupcakes. The result... Amazing! The cupcakes themselves are rich, chocolate, and moist and have a dense texture thanks to the pumpkin. The kisses just throw the flavor over the top. We loved it!

So on this glorious 85 degree fall day I baked my first pumpkin goodie of the season:

50 Calorie* ChocolatyChocolateChip Cupcakes.
*we're pretending... remember!?



My adaptions in italics

1 Box Devils Food Cake Mix (do not prepare)
1 15oz can Pumpkin
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Pumpkin Spice Kisses, melted
Pumpkin Spice Kisses, halved

Mix all ingredients (except Kissses) in a medium bowl. Spoon into paper cupcake liners. Bake at 350degrees for 16 - 18 minutes.

I stuck half a kiss in some of the cupcakes before I stuck them in the oven. I made sure to cover the top of the kiss with additional batter. When the cupcakes had cooled, I drizzled melted Pumpkin Spice Kisses over top.



This makes 16 - 24 cupcakes depending on how much batter you put in each liner. I made 24 cupcakes, but wish I would have put more batter in each liner and had fewer, bigger cupcakes. I had forgotten these don't rise very much.

Also a note from Matt, he says: "we don't bake the cupcakes all the way. Take them out of the oven when they are still a little bit gooey so you get the full effect of the rich goodness". (I took them out at about 13 or 14 minutes