Sweet Memories

I remember first baking this Lemon Pistachio Biscotti for my sweet mom almost 20 years ago when I first discovered my love for baking. She raved about the biscotti and it soon became an often-requested treat in our house back then. The recipe came from one of my earliest-acquired cookbooks, Sunset Magazine's Low-Fat Cookbook. Recently, I felt like baking them again not only because lemon and pistachios are two of my favorite ingredients, but also because they remind me so much of my mother and all the warm and fuzzy feelings those memories bring up. They simply put a smile on my face! I hope you too will enjoy this "twice-baked" cookie. Personally, I think they taste great even without the lemon glaze but I'll leave that up to you to decide. Oh, and please don't forget the coffee!

Lemon-tipped Pistachio Biscotti (adapted from the Low-Fat Cookbook, Sunset Magazine)

ingredients--

2 cups AP flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup butter (at room temperature)

2/3 cup sugar

grated lemon zest from 1 lemon

1 whole egg

2 egg whites (I used 1/4 cup of liquid egg whites)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup shelled salted roasted pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped

for lemon icing:

In a small bowl stir together 1 cup sifted powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest. Stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice until you get a nice, spreadable consistency.

directions--

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

1. Using a medium sized bowl, stir together flour and baking powder until blended; set this aside.

2. In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, and lemon zest until well blended. Beat in egg, then egg whites. Beat in vanilla.

3. Gradually add flour mixture and beat until well blended. Stir in pistachios.

4. Divide dough in half. On a lightly floured board, shape each portion into a long loaf about 1 and 1/2 inches in diameter. Place loaves about 3 inches apart on a greased baking sheet. Flatten each loaf to a thickness of about 1/2 inch. Bake in the 350 degree F oven until firm to the touch (about 15-18 minutes)

5. Remove baking sheet from oven; cut hot loaves crosswise into about 1/2 inch thick slices (I actually made mine a little thicker than this).

6. Turn slices cut side down and spread slices out on baking sheets (you'll likely need two sheets).

7. Return baking sheet(s) to the oven and continue baking until biscotti look dry and are lightly browned (about 10 more minutes).

8. Transfer biscotti to cooling racks and allow to cool.

9. Drizzle lemon icing on one side of biscotti, or spread icing on one end of the biscotti (or both ends if you want!) Let stand until icing is firm.

Yields about 24 biscotti.

The Midnight Rum

This year I'm making, and giving away rum balls as part of my Christmas baking repertoire. I actually tried making rum balls once in my life, oh, maybe two years ago but for some reason, I failed. The rum balls turned out rather runny and didn't really stay in a "ball" form at all. More like a rum pancake. And it wasn't just the appearance that didn't quite cut it; I remember giving one to my boyfriend to try and bless his heart, he did take a taste, but after a second or two, made a face that told me, 'better luck next time'. Discouraged with that, I had no interest in giving rum balls another try. That is, until I read about this recipe for Midnight Rum Balls which uses Oreo cookies in place of the traditional vanilla or chocolate wafer cookies that you may typically find. I think the key in keeping a certain degree of "firmness" in your rum ball is in the amount of rum you add. Put a little too much in there, and you just might end up with a pancake instead of a ball. Believe me, I've been there.

Midnight Rum Balls (adapted from a recipe found on Chowhound.com)

ingredients:

Oreo Cookies (or any other type of chocolate sandwich cookie)-about 24 of these

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 cup finely chopped walnuts (optional)

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tablespoons corn syrup

1/3 cup rum (can substitute with whiskey if you'd like)

Extra fine granulated sugar to roll the balls in

Crushed peppermint to roll balls in (optional of course)!

directions:

1. Crush the cookies until they are fine crumbs (best to use a food processor for this)

2. In a medium bowl, combine the cookies with the powdered sugar, walnuts if using, and cocoa powder and mix.

3. Next, add the corn syrup and the rum and stir ingredients until combined.

4. Using wet hands (because the dough is very sticky), make 1 inch balls and then roll into the granulated sugar, and if you'd like, roll them in crushed peppermint sticks for that holiday look.

5. Store the rum balls in a tight-fitting container; remember, rum balls actually taste better and better a day or two after making them.

Easy As Apple Pie

Ever since I was a little kid I've had a fondness for caramel apples. Well, who doesn't right? I remember my parents used to shop at a big department store called Fedco years ago which also had a grocery store inside it. There you could find the best caramel apples: humongous sized apples, covered in thick gobs of caramel and smothered with nuts. Every time they shopped there my brother and I would get excited because we knew what treat they'd be bringing home for us. Nowadays, I don't indulge so much in caramel apples but I do enjoy having one every now and then, and so does my boyfriend. Usually, we buy them at the local Ralph's or Von's grocery store, and if we're lucky enough, we might even find them on sale that week. Recently though, I was inspired to make my own caramel apples, especially after finding this recipe called Caramel Apple Pie On A Stick from the Food Network website. It seemed pretty easy and the title of the recipe caught my attention. It also uses cinnamon sticks in place of the wooden stick you typically find on a caramel apple which I thought was pretty cute. I think the hardest part of this recipe was taking the individual caramels out of the wrappers. Boy, that was tough! Otherwise, the second hardest part might be stopping yourself from eating the entire batch of caramel apples. Hope you enjoy.

Ho Hum...More Cupcakes!

One of my favorite cupcakes is Hummingbirds. In case you don’t know what these are, hummingbird cupcakes are comprised of mashed bananas and pineapples, pecans or walnuts, and topped with lots of cream cheese frosting. The original Hummingbird Cake recipe supposedly originated from Southern Living magazine, circa 1978, by a Mrs. L.H. Wiggins (according to http://www.foodtimeline.org/). Why this dessert is called a “hummingbird” is still a mystery however as no explanation has been given on its name. In fact, food historians have discovered that this cake has also been known as Cake That Doesn’t Last, Never Ending Cake, and Granny’s Best Cake. If it were up to me though, I’d call these cupcakes Simply Scrumptious. Because they just are.

Hummingbird Cupcakes (from Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans)

Ingredients:

1 and 1/4 cups unbleached AP flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup sour cream

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup mashed banana (about 1 banana)

1/2 cup canned crushed pineapple in its own juice, drained

1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped

Directions:

(Position a rack in the middle of the oven, preheat oven to 350 degrees F; line 12 muffin tin cups with paper cupcake liners)
1. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium size bowl and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, beat the egg and yolk and the sugar until thickened and lightened to a cream color, about two minutes (use an electric mixer on medium speed). Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during the mixing.

3. On low speed, mix in the oil and vanilla until blended. Mix in the sour cream until no white streaks remain. Mix in the flour mixture until it is incorporated and the batter is smooth.

4. Add the cinnamon, mashed banana, pineapple, and pecans to the cupcake batter, and mix just to blend them together.

5. Fill each cupcake liner with about 1/3 cup of batter. Bake until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes for 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Then, place the cupcakes on the wire rack to cool completely before frosting with the cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe:

(makes 3 cups)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups powdered sugar

In a large bowl using an electric mixer on low speed, beat the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until smooth and thoroughly blend (about 1 minute). On medium speed, beat the mixture for another 1 minute.

Cupcakes For Two?

Yes, I know there's only one cupcake photographed but trust me, I did make enough cupcakes for 2-4 people today. I just didn't take a group shot of them. You see, I finally made something from a cookbook I was given some time last year called Small-Batch Baking by Debby Maugans Nakos. It's perfect for those of us who may have a craving for say, vanilla cupcakes with coconut cream cheese frosting, but don't want to deal with baking a dozen of 'em and having to eat more than one, goodness forbid! This basic vanilla cupcake recipe yielded 4 cupcakes and not only were they a cinch to whip up but they were also just right for me as I'm running awfully low on both sugar and flour these days! Anyways, I added some cream cheese frosting and topped the cupcakes off with some unsweetened, organic coconut flakes that I found at Whole Foods the other day. Be as creative as you'd like, or as non-creative because these actually tasted quite delicious plain too. Happy baking!

Vanilla Cupcakes With Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting (adapted from Small-Batch Baking):

ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter (at room temp)

1/2 cup AP flour, sifted.

1/4 cup buttermilk (at room temp)

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Yolk of 1 large egg (at room temp)

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (make sure you have placed a rack in the middle of the oven beforehand). Line a muffin pan with 4 paper liners.

2. Combine the buttermilk and baking soda in a small bowl and stir to mix. Whisk in the egg yolk and vanilla.

3. In a medium-size bowl, place the flour, sugar and salt and whisk to blend well. Add the butter and half of the buttermilk mixture. Using a hand-held mixer on low speed, beat until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the mixture is lightened and has slightly increased in volume (about 45 secs). Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Pour in the remaining buttermilk mixture and beat on medium speed until well blended (about 20 secs). Scrape down the side of the bowl again if necessary.

4. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, dividing batter evenly. Bake about 20-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcake comes out clean. (The tops will just begin to brown).

5. Remove the muffin pan from the oven and place on wire rack for 10min; remove the cupcakes from the pan and place them on a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Using an electric mixer, mix 6 ounces cream cheese with 1/2 cup butter butter (both should be at room temp), until smooth. While still mixing, gradually add 3 cups of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until well combined. Once the mixture is a smooth consistency and the cupcakes have cooled you can frost the cupcakes. Addition of coconut flakes is optional of course...you can also top it off with chocolate shaving, nuts, or anything else you'd like.

I Am Thankful For...

all of you who have visited my humble food blog and have left me such supportive and sweet comments. Today I'm fortunate enough to be spending the Thanksgiving holiday with the people I love and I hope you will do the same.
Enjoy your day!
P.S. : If you have some free time this weekend (and you're not too stuffed), give this delicious gingerbread cupcake recipe a try. It's from Peabody's website and it totally "tastes like fall!" (a direct quote from my boyfriend after he took a bite). I topped the pumpkin cream cheese frosting with some crystallized ginger. Enjoy! (Click here for the recipe).

Pre-holiday Baking: Snickerdoodles

With Thanksgiving and Christmas (yikes!) just around the corner, I've been thinking more and more about baking cookies and which ones I'd like to make and give away as gifts. So today I tested out a Snickerdoodle recipe. Now I've tasted this cookie before but this was the first time I've ever actually made Snickerdoodles. The recipe, which I found in a cookbook called Simple Joys of Friendship is quite simple and takes less than 30 minutes to prepare and bake. The end result is a cookie that is soft, slightly chewy, slightly sweet, and one that goes perfectly with a hot cup of tea. The cinnamon flavor of the cookie made my boyfriend think of Apple Jacks Cereal when he tasted it. Though not the most exciting cookie appearance-wise, the Snickerdoodle is quickly becoming one of my favorite tasting cookies and I'm definitely going to include this one for my holiday baking.
Snickerdoodles (yields 3 dozen cookies)
ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 and 1/2 cup plus 2 T. sugar divided
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla extract
2 and 3/4 cup AP flour
2 t. cream of tartar
1 t. baking soda
2 T. cinnamon

directions: (preheat oven to 400 degrees F)
1. Cream together butter, shortening, 1 and 1/2 cups sugar, eggs and vanilla.
2. Blend in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
3. Shape dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into balls.
4. Mix remaining sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
5. Roll balls of dough in sugar/cinnamon mixture and place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
6. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
7. Remove immediately from baking sheet to cool on a wire rack.

A Childhood Treat Makeover

I don’t ever recall making Rice Krispies Treats when I was a kid. I think it’s because we preferred Captain Crunch and Count Chocula over the plain, boring rice puffs that snapped, crackled and puffed when you poured milk over them. Nowadays though, my preference to indulge in overly-sweetened cereal has pretty much diminished, and thanks to a recent sale at the supermarket, I found myself with a couple boxes of Kellog’s Rice Krispies in my kitchen. So when I came across this recipe from the New York Times on a revamped RKT, I was curious to give it a whirl. Interestingly, this new recipe upped the butter factor (2 entire sticks versus the 3 tablespoons in the original recipe), as well as increasing the amount of Rice Krispies (one 12 ounce box versus six cups). The new recipe also calls for caramelizing the butter (hence the name of the recipe!), which means you have to keep a close eye while melting the butter, being careful that it does not burn. I’m not the the biggest fan of RKT’s in the first place, but I still thought this version was pretty good. It certainly was easier to handle when placing the mixture into the baking pan and patting it down. The end result is a firmer, crunchier treat that has a nutty kind of flavor. I suppose if you are looking for the familiar, chewy texture that you get with the original recipe, you’ll be a tad disappointed with this one (that’s how my boyfriend felt). On the other hand, I brought some to work to get my co-worker’s opinions and found that most of them liked this version a lot more. Hmmm, go figure. Well, if you do give this recipe a try, I’d love to know your thoughts. For now, I think I’ll just stick to pouring my rice krispies into a bowl, slicing some bananas on top, and dousing it with some cold milk.

Caramelized Brown Butter Rice Krispies Treats (The NY Times Oct. 31, 2007)

ingredients:
8 ounces butter (salted or unsalted, plus extra for the pan)
1 10.5 ounce bag marshmallows
1 12 ounce box of Rice Krispies cereal

directions:
1. Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper or butter the pan well.
2. In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will metl, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Watch closely and stir often.
3. When butter is evenly browned, stir in marshmallows (if using unsalted butter, stir in 1/8 tsp salt). Melt and cook, stirring often, until mixture turns pale brown, then stir constantly until lightly browned but not dark, about 3-5 minutes).
4. Turn off heat, add cereal, mix well (use a silicone spoon or a spatula); scrape into prepared pan and press down lightly (if necessary, butter hands to press the mixture flat). Let cool, and cut into squares/bars.
Yields 30-50 treats depending on size you cut them

A Slice Of Nostalgia

It's amazing how such a simple recipe can be transformed into a dish that is so deliciously comforting, isn't it? That's what happened when I baked this classic rum cake the other day. You might have seen this recipe or baked it yourself at some time. Or perhaps it was a favorite in your household growing up like it was in mine. My mom baked this cake often and it reminds me so much of her and of my childhood. When I took a bite, all I wanted to do was curl up on my sofa with a big blanket, a glass of milk, and all the wonderful memories I could conjure.
Rum Bundt Cake

1 cup chopped nuts (toasted walnuts work nicely)

1 18 and 1/2 ounce yellow cake mix

1 4-serving size instant vanilla pudding mix

4 eggs

1/2 cup cold milk (I used non-fat)

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup rum (can use either dark or light)

glaze

1 stick butter

1/4 cup water

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup rum

Cake directions:

-Preheat oven to 325 degrees F

-Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan; sprinkle nuts on bottom of pan.

-Combine all cake ingredients, beat for 2 minutes w/electric mixer.

-Pour into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour.

-Cool in pan; once cool, invert onto a serving plate and prick the top with a fork.

-Drizzle glaze over top of cake and use a brush or spoon to put extra glaze back on the cake.

Glaze directions:

-Melt butter in saucepan, then stir in water and sugar.

-Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

-Remove from heat and stir in rum (caution: the rum will cause steam--be careful to not burn yourself when adding the rum).

(note: you can make the cake 1-2 days before serving; in fact, it tastes even better the next day)!

More Orange Treats

Maybe it’s because of my fondness for the color orange, but I’ve been baking a string of orange-oriented things lately. First there was the orange chiffon cake in October’s Daring Bakers challenge, then there were the chocolate orange cupcakes I baked for Halloween, and this time around, it’s orange brownies a la Food TV's Paula Deen. I first stumbled across this recipe on Deborah’s site, Taste and Tell. She made the brownies look and sound so delectable that I knew I wanted to make these for a dessert party I was having on Friday night. Of course with Paula Deen's recipes, there’s hardly ever any skimping on the butter, and these orange brownies were no exception. They were a big hit with my guests too--so moist, rich, gooey, sweet, and you guessed it, orangey! The flavor is intense but not overwhelming, and the cream cheese frosting, though not really necessary, makes these little goodies even more decadent. I thought the orange brownies make a wonderful dessert alternative to the traditional chocolate brownies or butterscotch blondies. Happy baking!

One Good Cookie

The first time I ever made these cookies, my boyfriend told me they were “the best” cookies I’ve ever baked for him. Wow. That’s a pretty powerful statement, isn’t it? Well, while I do agree that these World Peace Cookies from Dorie Greenspan's Paris Sweets cookbook are quite high on the delicious- rating-scale, I don’t know if I agree that they are the “best” I’ve baked him. I mean, what about those chocolate chip ones that he raved about, or the oversized oatmeal raisins? Okay, a compliment’s a compliment and I will take them when I can! The bottom line is, these are indeed wonderful cookies. I made the dough early yesterday morning before work and baked up a batch later on that evening.
I hope you’ll like them as much as my boyfriend (and I) do.
Peace. (recipe here).

Surely, You Zest!

Yes, I certainly did zest this evening when I made two versions of an orange cupcake recipe I stumbled across on the Food Network site. This is seriously a very easy recipe...no tricks here! Admittedly, it involves using a boxed chocolate cake mix, lots of citrus (orange, in this case), and a creamy, sugar glaze as well as a chocolate ganache frosting, if you'd like. I sprinkled some orange zest on top of the cupcakes mainly because I thought it looked kind of pretty.

(For the recipe, click here. Just a couple comments: Since I didn't have any limoncello on hand, I used lemon juice instead and instead of the candied orange peel, I used the zest of 1 orange as a substitute. If you'd like to make the chocolate ganache simply melt about 4 oz bittersweet chocolate with 4 oz butter, stirring over low/medium heat; allow to cool slightly before drizzling over the cooled cupcakes).

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Daring Baker's Challenge For October

What better way to ring in my second Daring Baker's Challenge than by having some neighbors over for some Bostini Cream Pie and board games? That's just what we did over the weekend and had a lot of fun doing it. I have to say that making this challenge was a lot of fun itself. I couldn't believe how many eggs I cracked for this dish, but I also realized how much I was learning and honing some important baking skills. I think this was actually my first time making custard and I'm happy to say, I didn't burn it! The Bostini Cream Pie was a lovely dessert, not to mention rich and delicious. I loved the creamy, vanilla-ness of the custard and the orange tanginess of the light chiffon cake. The chocolate topping made it even more decadent. I think my neighbors enjoyed it too. Thank-you Mary from Alpineberry for selecting a creative and pretty dessert for us this month. (If you'd like to try making a BostiniCream Pie yourself then click here and you'll be on your way)

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My Granola Bar Challenge

It is not every day that my sweet boyfriend becomes enamored with the taste of a granola bar. I mean, granola bars are not exactly his food of choice or anything, but when some friends shared a few of their "sweet and salty" cashew bars by Nature Valley during a recent hiking excursion, my boyfriend could not stop raving about them. I decided then that I would make him some home-made granola bars similar to this store-bought kind he was munching on. After doing a little online search for a recipe, I found one that appeared to fit the bill. This recipe was actually posted by another fan of the sweet and salty cashew bar who was also trying to recreate the bar. The ingredient list reminded me of a rice krispie treat except that 3 cups of oats are mixed in, and there are no marshmallows anywhere to be found. The granola bars are pretty simple to make and only take a few minutes. In addition to the cashews, I also added some toasted macadamia nuts. The hardest part was probably cutting the bars after leaving them in the fridge overnight to set. I must have cut about 3 bars before my hand became tired and my boyfriend took over and cut the rest! So you may be wondering how close these tasted to the "real thing"? Well, according to my BF, they were pretty similar but maybe a little "too sweet" for him; and texture-wise, my bars resembled peanut-brittle more than a traditional granola bar. Hmmm. Makes me want to go back to the granola-bar-drawing-board and try it again. I think next time I'll cut back on the amount of butterscotch chips and maybe even cut down on the brown sugar since the condensed milk already is pretty sweet. If that doesn't work, I also bought him a box of the Nature Valley cashew bars (just in case)!

The Joy of Coffee Cake

I was determined to make something with the tub of sour cream I had sitting in my fridge so when I came across this recipe for Quick Sour Cream Coffee Cake, I knew I found what I was looking for. Not only did it have sour cream as its main ingredient, but the title of the recipe also said "quick." Now that's my kind of recipe! This one comes from a 1964 paperback edition of the Joy of Cooking, a book I picked up from a local thrift store and one that I, admittedly, have never cooked from. The coffee cake was really a breeze to make--just a few ingredients to throw together and you don't even need to take out your mixer. Though the baking time in the book states 20 minutes, I had to bake my cake for 30 minutes so do keep an eye out on the progress of your cake since you don't want to over bake this. I actually didn't get a taste of the finished product yet because I want to bring it into work tomorrow morning (and it's getting close to my bedtime), but looking at the photo, it does look pretty yummy, doesn't it?

Quick Sour Cream Coffee Cake--The Joy of Cooking 1964 edition
(preheat oven to 350 degrees F)
dry ingredients:
1 and 1/2 cups AP flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
wet ingredients:
1 cup sour cream (I used light sour cream)
2 eggs

Streusel topping:
2 tablespoons flour, 2 tablespoons butter, 5 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 cup chopped walnuts--combine these in a bowl until crumbly.

1. In a medium size bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together and mix well.
2. In a large bowl, combing the sour cream and the eggs together, and mix well.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the sour cream mixture and stir until smooth.
4. Pour into a buttered 9X9 inch cake pan and pour the streusel mixture over the top of the batter.
5. Bake for approximately 30 minutes (baking times may vary so watch the cake after 20 minutes).

The Key Is In The Lime

When I bought a two pound bag of key limes for only ninety-nine cents the other day, baking a key lime pie was definitely on my mind. I actually never baked one before but I certainly have tasted key lime pie at least once in my life. I remember this took place oh, maybe some 15 years ago, while eating at a California Pizza Kitchen restaurant. Even after all these years I still recall the delicious, tangy, creamy filling and the buttery, graham cracker crust. I wonder if CPK still has that pie on their menu. This version was definitely a cinch to make and if you don't want to spend too much extra time, be like me and use a pre-made graham cracker crust. As you can tell from my pictures, I really could not stop at just one bite and I happily devoured my slice. Yes, it was tangy, sweet, creamy, and it was so good!
Key Lime Pie (adapted from GourmetSleuth):
ingredients-
4 large egg yolks
1 14 ounce can of lowfat sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh key lime juice (I used about 20 key limes for this)
1 pre-made graham cracker pie crust
directions-
1. beat the egg yolks until they are thick and turn a light yellow.
2. add the condensed milk, mix in half the key lime juice and stir to incorporate.
3. add the other half of the juice, continue to mix until blended.
4. pour the mixture into the pie shell, bake at 350 degrees F for 12 minutes.
5. place on a rack to cool to room temperature, then place in the fridge for at least 3 hours to chill.

Look At These Pretty Buns

I have never made cinnamon or sticky buns before, and I have never been a Daring Baker before. Put the two together and what do you get? My first ever Daring Baker challenge for the month of September, of course! I was pleased, honored, and excited when I became a member of the Daring Bakers for I knew that I would be joining a rather talented bunch of people who month after month have been creating many mouth-watering, tantalizing treats that I admired. Needless to say, I was a bit nervous and a lot excited when I found out that this month's recipe was for cinnamon and/or sticky buns. I love to eat both of these sweet treats (who doesn't like Cinnabon, right), and I decided that I wanted to try my hand at baking both. This month's challenge was hosted by Marce of Pip In The City. Looking at the recipe, I found it to be pretty easy to read and follow, and I even had most of the ingredients on hand already. As expected for yeast-bread recipes, this one takes a long time because of the two fermentation processes (the first one being about 2 hours and the second one close to 90 minutes). Otherwise, the actual dough-making, the dough-rolling, and the prepping of the caramel for the sticky buns and fondant glaze for the cinnamon buns was not very time consuming at all. I think I worried a little when it looked like my dough was not doubling up in size during the two hour rising process. I wondered if maybe my house was a little too cool on this particular evening? By the time the two hours rolled around however, the dough had risen but still not sure if it was actually "double" like the recipe stated. I kept my fingers crossed and proceeded on anyways, hoping that everything would work out in the end. And pretty much it did! The baking time for the sticky buns may have been a little too long for my oven (I baked them for 33 minutes), because the raisins looked a little burnt but otherwise, the buns looked and tasted great. My boyfriend was partial to the cinnamon buns and my brother liked the sticky buns. Me? Well, I liked both and am quite relieved I made it through my first challenge!

A Nutty Sweet Treat

My boyfriend happens to be particularly fond of cashews (macadamia nuts are pretty high up on his list too). So when I came across a recipe that combines both cashews and chocolate, I knew this was something I wanted to bake for him. In addition to chocolate and cashews, this rich and gooey recipe calls for a few more ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen: brown sugar, butter, condensed milk, and saltine crackers. See, easy as pie! Or, in this case, easy as cashew bars! You can get creative and maybe do a mixed nut version with some pecans, macadamia nuts, and almonds. I was also thinking that some chopped up dried fruit would work out nicely. Or, just keep it simple like I did, allowing yourself to savor the lovely combination of semi-sweet chocolate and buttery cashew nuts. Oh yeah!

(Click here for the recipe).

Make A Wish

Tomorrow I will be turning a milestone age, and to celebrate the occasion, I baked some red velvet cupcakes. I decided on red velvet because the name itself conjures up images of pure decadence, don't you think? And I believe that decadence is something a girl ought to indulge in every once in awhile, especially on her birthday. Well, these cupcakes were not only decadent, they were also quite fun to make. The best part, aside from eating them, was adding the red food coloring and watching the batter turn a bright shade of crimson right before my eyes.

Red Velvet Cupcakes (makes 16 standard size cupcakes):

recipe adapted from Sylvia’s Family Soul Food Cookbook, by Sylvia Woods and Family

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 and 1/4 cup buttermilk

2 ounces red food coloring

1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla

For the Frosting:

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened ( I used neufchatel cheese)

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

1 pound box powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

For the cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and grease a 12 cup cupcake pan. In a medium bowl or on a piece of waxed paper, sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter. Beat in eggs one at a time. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk. Beat in food coloring and vinegar, then add vanilla. Fill cupcake pan with the batter until about 2/3 cup full. Bake for about 15-18 minutes (start watching cupcakes carefully at about 15 minutes), or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool on a rack.

For the frosting: In a large bowl, cream the cream cheese and butter. Beat in powdered sugar until fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Once cupcakes have completely cooled, frost them, and eat!

Summer Baking--Apricot and Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies comes from the Dairy Hollow Inn website. I eat oatmeal in one form or another almost every day and though I can’t say this is the healthiest form of getting your oats, it sure is a yummy treat every now and then. I’ve been making these cookies for a long while now and have to say that these are my go-to oatmeal cookies. They not only taste fabulous but they also travel well. I’ve packed a bunch of these on long trips across the country to take to friends without one broken cookie in the batch.
You can follow the recipe exactly as written but this time around, I made the following modifications: I replaced the raisins with a mixture of chopped dried apricots and cranberries, omitted the nuts and added ¾ cup milk chocolate chips instead. I also added about 1 teaspoonful of grated orange zest and1 teaspoonful of almond extract. I made several "giant-size" cookies (using an ice scream scoop to scoop up the batter) and found that the baking time was closer to 15 minutes and not the 8-10 minutes that the recipe states. Keep this in mind when you bake your batch of cookies so as not to overcook or burn them as oven temperatures are known to vary.