You can't go wrong...

...with a good solid chocolate chip cookie recipe. And an award winning one at that! I recently entered these cookies in the Minnesota State Fair and won third place! I was excited to win with just one of my entries, after seeing the dedication some people put into the baking contests! Haha! I'm totally willing to share my recipe so everyone can enjoy...and if you're lucky enough I might even bake some and bring them to you, like I did for my friends in Ames the weekend before last :)

This recipe is definitely one of my favorites, adapted from an America's Test Kitchen recipe for Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip cookies. We used to make it all the time when I worked in the kitchen at Riverside Bible Camp. This cookie and a glass of milk is just about perfect!
I love having a variation of mix-ins (as you might recall from this post), so while I always stick with the basic chocolate chips, I've also made them with Heath toffee pieces too! (that's what the pictures of forming the cookies are from)

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes a bunch :) probably around 2 dozen if made bigger, 4 dozen if smaller

12 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 cups plus 2 tbsp flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2- 2 cups chocolate chips (or other chip)

Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Make sure and melt your butter right away so it has time to cool. Mix flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg and set aside. Beat the butter and sugars together on medium speed for 1-2 minutes. Add egg, egg yolk and vanilla until combined, about 30 seconds. Slowly add flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.

To form cookies, first roll dough in a ball. Next pull the ball in half(as in picture below).

Then smash halves back together with pulled away sides facing upwards.

With this technique, you'll end up with "rugged" tops on the cookies. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Cool on cookie sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Enjoy, and take a bite!

Snickerdoodle....Cupcakes!

Nothing is better than a warm, spicy snickerdoodle cookies....except maybe that in Cupcake form! I had to make treats for a winner of a fun contest at work and make treats for a sorority alumnae function. I found this recipe from Martha Stewart's website and tweaked it a little. I think adding the almond extract made the flavor a little more nutty. And, it was just the right amount of cinnamon to add a little something, and everybody seemed to love them!

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

makes 24(ish) cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp cinnamon

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 3/4 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

1 1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare your muffin tins by using liners or spraying with cooking spray.

Sift first five ingredients together in a medium bowl. In your mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add 4 eggs, one at a time scraping down the bowl often. Add the extracts and mix until incorporated. Add the flour and milk alternately, beating well after each addition.

Fill liners 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown.

After cooled, frost with desired frosting. I used SMBC with a hint of cinnamon added in.

Enjoy, and take a bite!

These cupcakes are the only pictures I got of this recipe--decorated for my sorority's alumnae function with our symbols--a kite and a pansy!

GOLDEN Birthday Cupcakes!!

A little over a month ago, I celebrated my golden birthday! I really wanted to make golden cupcakes (yes, I do make my own cake for my birthday :)), but hadn't found anything that would have golden frosting (and was something that I thought looked good). One of my gifts from my sister, was the cookbook Cupcake Heaven and while flipping through it I found a recipe for peanut butter and jelly cupcakes...and the frosting looked golden...PERFECT! And that they were :)

Peanut Butter and Raspberry Jelly Partycakes

makes 12 (I think it made about 15 for me)

4 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup flour (called for self-rising, but I used all purpose plus the baking powder and salt)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp raspberry (or strawberry ) jelly (I used raspberry preserves)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place cupcake liners in pans. Beat the butter, peanut butter, and sugar in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the mixture and fold in.

Spoon teaspoons of batter into the liners, flatten slightly and make an indent. Drop about 1/2 tsp of jelly into each indent. Top with the remaining batter. Bake 18-20 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool in the pan about five minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Peanut butter frosting

I didn't want to use the frosting the recipe called for, so I just used a basic butter/powdered sugar frosting recipe and added peanut butter.

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup creamy peanut butter (I prefer JIF)

2 cups powdered sugar

3 Tbsp milk (more or less depending on consistency)

Beat butter and peanut butter. Add powdered sugar. Once completely mixed in, add milk 1 Tbsp at a time until frosting is spreadable. Beat for 2-3 minutes until fluffy.

Spread frosting on cupcakes. Enjoy, and take a bite!

Rustic Peach Cake

While visiting a friend in Nashville over the 4th of July holiday weekend, we had the opportunity to serve some of his friends down there by helping out a mom and her young children while their father was gone for a few weeks. My friend had called me before I left and asked if I would bring a few recipes to bake while we were there and him and the others were doing outside work. Of course I said yes, and brought a few trusted recipes and this new one to try. I figured while we were in the south, we had to make something with peaches! I had this cake on my "to-make" list for a while, and now it is going in my book as a recipe I love! Light and moist, fruity and buttery. Beautiful and delicious, easy and nutritious...hey, it has some fruit in it :)

Rustic Peach Cake

from Cook's Country, June/July 2008 issue

peaches

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 medium peaches, pealed, pitted and cut into wedges

cake

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

8 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs

2 tbsp sour cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup dried peaches or apricots, chopped fine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 9-inch springform pan. (I had to use a 10-inch, as that's all there was and it worked fine.) Combine sugar and cinnamon in bowl, reserve 2 tbsp mixture. Add peaches to bowl and toss to coat.

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in bowl. On medium high speed, beat sugars and butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs, sour cream, and vanilla until incorporated. Reduce speed to medium low. Slowly add flour mixture and mix until just combined, about 30 seconds. Pour batter into prepared pan. Scatted dried peaches or apricots over batter.

Arrange sugared peaches in circular pattern over the top, reserved 3 slices for the center. Sprinkle reserved sugar mixture over peaches.

Bake until cake is golden brown, and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35-45 minutes. Cool for one hour. Serve...enjoy, and take a bite!

Monkey Bread

One of my favorite food memories growing up was when Dad would tell us on Saturday night that we had to help make Monkey Bread (or Monkey Balls as my sister and I called it.....) for breakfast the next morning! We would help cut the biscuits, then roll into balls and dip in cinnamon and sugar and fill up the bundt pan before pouring over the gooey caramel! The best part though was in the morning waking up to the smell of it baking! I still find some occasions to make Monkey Bread, and it is always a hit when I do! Nowadays, I've turned to a more homemade version of it without using boughten biscuit dough...and a little healthier with the addition of whole wheat flour :)

Monkey Bread

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup sugar, divided

2 tsp cinnamon, divided
1 package (1/4 ounce) quick-rise yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 cup butter, divided
1/4 cup water
1 egg

1/2 cup brown sugar

Directions
In a bowl, combine the whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup all purpose flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, yeast and salt. In a saucepan, heat milk, 1/2 cup butter (that has been softened in the microwave) and water to 120°-130°. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Add egg and remaining flour; beat until smooth. Shape into a ball. Do not knead. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

While dough is resting, combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon. Set aside. Also combine remaining 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar in a small saucepan (but do not heat yet.) Butter either a bundt pan or 8x8 inch square pan.

Once dough has rested, pinch off pieces to make balls 3/4-1 inch in diameter. They don't all have to be perfectly sized :) Roll each ball in cinnamon/sugar mixture and place in prepared pan. Continue rolling dough into balls and rolling in cinnamon/sugar until all the dough is gone. Heat butter and brown sugar on stove until just boiling. Pour over dough balls in pan. Cover with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight.

In the morning, bake at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes, then invert onto a serving platter. Enjoy, and take a bite!

Strawberry Season!

I made this Pink Lady cake with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream a few weeks ago for a potluck at work, probably a little ahead of prime strawberry season...but I just couldn't wait!! Now (at least in Minnesota and Iowa) strawberries are at their peak! This recipe was adapted from Sky High, and I changed it mainly because it called for 8 egg whites, but I didn't have enough eggs and didn't want to run to the store. I thought it might turn out a little too dense, but it didn't! It was not light and airy like it maybe was intended to be...but it had a nice crumb, was moist and had a delicious strawberry flavor! The color was also really nice (with the help of some red food coloring!) I will definitely try and find another occasion to make this cake for!

the cake

4 1/2 cups cake flour

3 cups sugar

5 1/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups pureed fresh strawberries (frozen can also be used if desired)

4 whole eggs

2/3 cup milk

red food coloring (to enhance the color)

Preheat the oven to 350 deg. F. Grease three 9-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper and grease the paper. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the butter and strawberry puree and mix with electric mixer. Beat on medium until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs, milk and vanilla together and add in three increments to dry ingredients, blending well after each addition. Divide among prepared pans.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes and remove from pans onto wire racks to cool completely.

the frosting

Use the recipe for swiss meringue buttercream found in this post, and add 1/3 cup pureed strawberries at the end.

Once cake layers are completely cool, level off the tops with a serrated knife. Place one layer, cut side down on a cake circle or plate. Add enough frosting to make a decent sized layer and spread. Continue with the next two layers. On the top layer, add the rest of the frosting and spread it on the top and down the sides of the cake. If desired, you can make swirls or designs in the frosting with your metal spatula. Also fresh cut strawberries can be used for decoration.

Enjoy, and take a bite!

a little blogging hiatus...but definitely not a baking one!

It's been a little over a month since my last post...I guess I could blame the BEAUTIFUL Minnesota weather we've been having. I have not stopped baking (when could I ever...) but with the nice weather I have spent more time outside, have been a lot busier at work and have seemed to have something going on every night for a while...apparently I'm reverting to my college days a little quicker than I expected! But, I have made quite a few delicious things for some parties, barbeques and family events that I'll be sharing very soon! I'm travelling for work this week, so I actually have some down time at night and hopefully can get some good recipes shared :)



Way back at the beginning of May I co-planned a bachelorette party for my awesome friend Jenn, who actually got married last Saturday...so needless to say it was another eventful weekend! Anyway, I of course went a wee bit overboard on the treats I brought--cupcakes and cookies and bars and muffins. Uff-da. I guess I just have all these ideas of what I want to bring and can't narrow it down! The cupcakes were cream filled chocolate cupcakes with chocolate swiss meringue buttercream. The cupcakes were moist and had a great chocolate flavor with a suprise of sweet marshmallow-y cream in the middle. The frosting definitely is another winner! I can't seem to make anything else...and just keep finding ways to modify it to fit what I want to make. Definitely great for a girl's night...all we really need is chocolate...and cream :)

Marshmallow Cream Filling

(modified from this recipe)

2 tsp hot water

1/4 tsp salt

1 (7 oz) container marshmallow cream

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1 tsp vanilla

(I used butter instead of shortening even though it wasn't as bright of white and a little more vanilla)

Dissolve the salt in the water in a medium sized bowl. Add the marshmallow cream, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla and mix on low speed with a hand mixer until combined. Beat on high until light and fluffy.

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Use the swiss meringue buttercream recipe found here, and add 4 oz melted unsweetened chocolate that has cooled a little to the frosting at the end.

Assembly: While cupcakes are baking, prepare the filling and frosting. After the cupcakes have cooled, place the filling in a pastry bag with a wide circle tip. Poke it into eac cupcake and squeeze until filled. Swirl the buttercream on top, enjoy and take a bite :)

ps...will update later with some pictures...