Peanut Butter Cookies

A while back Jackie asked me to teach her how to make cookies.  I thought it was an odd request but I said ok, we'll schedule a time.  Unfortunately, we have not scheduled a time for cookie class and Jackie needs to spend some time with her family right now, so I don't know when we'll have our cookie making class.  She wanted to learn how to make peanut butter cookies and I wanted to make some treats for her and her family, so I made them a batch of S'more Cheesecake Bars and Peanut Butter Cookies.

I adapted and doubled the recipe from here, because it seemed like a perfect, simple, classic peanut butter cookie recipe.  I love the criss-cross fork lines!  It completely reminds me of making cookies with my mom!  I also gave Christopher a batch for helping me with my computer and he said they were delicious and reminded him of the ones his mom used to make too!

Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe

Adapted from Simply Recipes

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup butter, room temperature

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar for rolling

Preheat oven to 350 °F.

Cream the butter.  Add the sugars and cream together some more.  I do this by hand with a wooden spoon, I really like making cookies that way!  Mix in the peanut butter, eggs and vanilla.  Add all of the dry ingredients and mix until combined.  Roll into 1" balls and then roll in sugar.  Place on a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.  Dip a fork in sugar and make a criss-cross patter.  Bake for about 8 minutes and then transfer immediately to a cooling rack.  Cookies should be pale brown.

Makes about 70 cookies!

S'mores Cheesecake Bars

Stacey is an easy person to bake for and is very consistent in her choices of snacks: chocolate, cheesecake, coffee, s'mores, and pretzels.  When I come across recipes featuring 2 or more of these ingredients, I think of her and how much she would enjoy it.  When I saw this recipe over at Annie's Eats, I knew it would perfect, especially considering I have recently purchased a mini blowtorch!

S'mores Cheesecake Bars - Annie's Eats

I followed the recipe as written and it turned out great!  The bars are creamy with a nice chocolate and cream cheese flavor.  Toasting the marshmallow with the blow torch gives the bars the outdoor s'more feel!  This is a great go-to, fun recipe!! I cut the bars into 16 pieces which is small, but satisfying.  If you want more, eat two!!!  I made these a second time, same ease in making and they turned out wonderfully!

Naughty Cupcakes!

Cinnamon is getting married!!!  Hadiya, Theresa, and Shirley planned an amazing night of dance lessons, dinner, and drinking.  I offered to make dessert and because we were in a restaurant, I wanted to make something that was somewhat "tasteful!"  I found the decorations from Ricky's, which carries everything from hair products to nail polish to the back room selection!

Yellow Butermilk Cupcake - Martha Stewart

Dark Chocolate Frosting - Martha Stewart

This frosting recipe is to die for!  It tastes almost like a ganache.  Make sure you pipe or spread it on the cupcakes right after making the frosting because it can get stiff quickly.  Also, try not to refridgerate the cupcakes, or at least let them come back to room temperature, because the frosting will harden.

I cut the cupcake recipe in half and made 12 regular size cupcakes and 24 mini cupcakes.  I only made 2/3 of the frosting recipe.  I have found that if I bake more than I need, I eat more than should.  Luckily, I'm handy with fractions, so I am to cut recipes as I need them!  For all my cupcakes needs I go to Martha Stewart.  If you like to make cupcakes, this book is a must have!

Beach Day Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes for Jackie's birthday.  We've spent many great days on the beach hanging out and when I saw these in Martha Stewart's Cupcakes, I knew I would make them for her!  I simplified the decorations and used crushed graham crackers on half the frosting to look like "sand" and added little cocktail umbrellas for pure cuteness!

Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes - Martha Stewart
Swiss Meringue Buttercream - Martha Stewart

I cut both recipes in half to make 20 cupcakes.  To dye the icing blue, I used AmeriColor Sky Blue gel color.  The cupcake is a sturdy, but flavorful batter and the frosting is lovely and delicious!

I found something I want you to bake me!

My darling roommate comes up to me with a recipe for "Bailey's Frozen Chocolate Chunk Mousse Cake" and said we should have a St. Patrick's Day dinner. I aggreed if she did clean up and bought the Baileys! I made the whole thing the day before and it is slightly labor intensive, but I don't mind!

Espresso Cake
Preheat the oven 350. Butter and cocoa powder an 8-inch square cake pan.

• 1/4 cup instant espresso
• 1/2 cup hot water

Put together and let sit for 5 minutes

• 1 cup cake flour
• 1/2 tea soda
• 1/4 salt

Sift together on waxed paper

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup sour cream

Beat the butter until creamy. Add sugar gradually until light in color and then add eggs one at a time while beating. Beat in the vanilla and sour cream. Add half the flour mixture and then 1/4 cup of espresso. Add the rest of the flour. Fill the cake pan. The batter was thick and it didn't seem to be enough, but it baked up well. Bake 25-30 minutes until the cake is set. Let cool completely on a wire rack. I put it in the fridge to cool faster!

Chocolate Chunk Mousse

• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup Bailey's
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Heat milk, sugar, & salt until boiling over the stove. Take off the stove and add in chocolate chips and stir until melted. Add in the Bailey's and the vanilla. Let cool completely, again I put this in the freezer to go faster.

• 2/3 cup mascarpone cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup Bailey's
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

With the electric beaters, beat the cheese and until light in texture. Beat in the Bailey's. Switch to the whisk attachment. (Side note - at this point my beloved hand mixer died :-( All whisking from this point on was done my hand!) Whisk the cream until you have stiff peaks. Gradually add the cooled chocolate mixture to the cream. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Frosting

• 3/4 heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons vanilla
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Beat all three ingredients together until stiff peaks form.

Assembly Divide the cake into 2 layers. Put parchment paper inside the 8-inch cake pan with paper over the sides. Put one layer of the cake cut side up back in the pan. Spread all the mousse evenly over this layer. Put the second layer cut side down over the mousse. Spread the frosting over the top layer. Garnish with remaining chocolate chips. Freeze over night.

Serving I took the cake out of the parchment paper and trimmed the edges with a knife dipped in hot water. The trimming makes everything look nicer! I cut the cake into 12 pieces and put them back in the freezer until after dinner. We had leftover chocolate-mint sauce so I heated that and poured over the cut pieces. You don't really need the chocolate sauce, but who doesn't love chocolate!

The cake was delicious!! It was like an adult ice cream cake! Although kind of expensive to make, I will be making it again! Everyone loved the cake.

Banana Cream Pie

I am the proud owner of Martha Stewart's "Baking Handbook." The cookbook has beautiful pictures and very detailed instructions. The problem is, most recipes are incredibly fattening. My pie came out a little runny, very pudding like. Even though I let it refrigerate for over 2 hours. It was delicious and everyone over had seconds!! The crust was very difficult to work with, but not impossible. Here is my variation on her recipe.

Crust - Pâte Brisée (her name for it, not mine!) PS - it makes enough for two pies.

• 2 1/2 c All-Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup ice water, add as needed

Sift flour and salt together. Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender until it is small crumbles. Toss in the ice water until the dough comes together. Pour out on a work surface and push together and divide in half. Wrap half in plastic to put in the freezer for another day. Chill the other half in plastic for 1 hour. Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick and place in a 9 inch pie pan. Trim the edges and curl under to crimp. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Vanilla Custard

• 4 large egg yolks
• 3 cups whole milk
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 5 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon good vanilla
  

Heat milk, sugar, cornstarch, & salt in a saucepan for about 10 minutes heating and whisking. Let it simmer but don't let it boil. Meanwhile, separate the eggs and beat the yolks together. After the milk mixture has simmered for at least 3 minutes, gradually mix a little bit into the yolks. Add the milk little by little until it is all incorporated. Strain (I used my flour sifter to strain.) the mixture into a new, clean saucepan and cook for another 2-3 minutes until thick, whisking the whole time. I think I should have cooked longer or until the custard was thicker. Pour the mixture into a bowl and place the bowl in an ice bath to cool down. Mix in the vanilla now. Cover the custard with plastic wrap and push the plastic wrap directly down over the custard so it is touching. I refrigerated the custard overnight, but Martha said at least 30 minutes.

Assembly

• 1 egg white
• 2 oz dark chocolate
• 2 bananas
  
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon good vanilla
• 1 oz chocolate finely grated

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Prick the the pie crust with fork and brush the whole thing liberally with a beaten egg white. Bake for 15 minutes with parchment paper covering the pie crust and filled with dry beans. Remove the beans and bake for another 10-15 minutes until the crust is all golden brown

Place 2 oz of chopped chocolate on the bottom of the crust right after it comes out of the oven. As it melts, spread with a pastry brush. After the crust has cooled, slice 2 bananas and place slices around the bottom of the crust. Pour and spread the custard on top of the bananas.

Beat heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, & vanilla with an electric mixer until stiff peaks. Spread carefully over the custard. Grate remaining chocolate and sprinkle over the whipped cream.

I'm not going to lie, this pie was a lot of work! I made the crust and custard the night before, baked the crust and melted the chocolate in the morning, and then assembled about 2 hours before dinner. Even though it was runny, the flavor was perfect! Martha says to add bananas on top, but I knew we weren't going to finish it all in one night and I didn't want the banana to get all slimy. Four of us ate half of it! I think the pie could comfortably feed 8, but you could stretch it 10.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

I'm back, finally! I was in a baking mood after conferences and have been wanting to try out this dish for awhile. I knew we had cream cheese and all the other stuff. It only took me about and hour of work time start to finish. I used an hand mixer for the cupcakes and the frosting. Here is the original recipe, I cut it half and made 11 cupcakes plus one for decoration.

• 1 tablespoon of butter and enough shortening to fill a 1/4 cup
  
• 3/4 cup white sugar

Cream butter, shortening, and sugar together, then add

• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat until light yellow and very creamy

In a small cup mix together food coloring and cocoa powder, add to the butter/sugar mixture and beat until creamy

• 2 tablespoons red food coloring
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Add the buttermilk, salt, baking soda, & vinegar to the mixture and beat until creamy

• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar

While mixing, add the flour a 1/4 at a time until well incorporated.

• 1-1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour

Spray 12 muffin cups with Pam, pour cupcake batter in 1/2 full Bake 20-25 minutes until a knife comes out clean Cool on a rack for an hour until cool

In small mixing bowl, beat the following ingredients until creamy, adding the confectioners' sugar a little bit at a time.

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (4 oz total)
  
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frost the cupcakes minus 1, pulse the extra cupcake in a food processor and sprinkle the crumbs on top.

Easy and delicious! They look so pretty!

Tiramisu

One hot afternoon, the same afternoon God gave the beer pong table, I was looking for something to make because I was in a baking mood. Stacey was the only one home and since she does not like fruit, lemon, cinnamon, or nuts in her baked goods, I was limited. I found a recipe in my Food and Wine Magazine Cookbook for Tiramisu, she wanted some!

I've made it twice now, once in a 8 x 11 pan, single layer and again in a 8 x 8 pan double layer. This first batch came out a lot better with more flavoring and it was less runny.

In the microwave (I put all in a 2 cup pyrex measuring cup) boil 1 cup of water. Add 3 Tablespoons of instant coffee. Stir in 1 Tablespoon of rum. Allow to cool while you mix up the remainder of ingredients.

In a large bowl beat 5 large egg whites with a pinch of salt with a hand mixer until they have stiff peaks.

In another large bowl, beat 4 large egg yolks with 1/3 cup white sugar with a hand mixer until it is light yellow and fluffy. Mix in one container of mascarpone (8 oz) in with the egg yolks, When incorporated, mix a second 8 oz container of mascarpone cheese into the egg yolks. Gently fold together the egg whites with the cheese mixture until well incorporated.

Take 1/2 the cheese mixture (a 1/3 if doing 2 layers) and spread on the bottom an 8 x 11 pan (9x9 for double). Pour some of the coffee mixture is a shallow bowl and dunk 2 lady fingers at a time in the liquid, flipping them to absorb plenty of the coffee mixture. Place the lady fingers in the pan so they are touching with a little cheese oozing through. Continue until the bottom of the pan is covered. Spread the remaining 1/2 (or another 1/3 and then repeat with the lady fingers) of the cheese mixture over top. Lightly dust about 1/4-1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder over the top.

Place covered in the fridge overnight. Before serving, grate dark chocolate (I like Lindt's 80%) over the top. Cut and serve up the deliciousness!

Best brownies ever!!

These are seriously the best brownies I've ever made or eaten, they're phenomenal! I forgot to take a picture and by the time I remembered we'd eaten them all. I don't mean to toot my own horn, but beep, beep!

Original recipe, my adaptation:

In a medium saucepan boil together
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee

Remove from heat and stir in 3/4 of a 12 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks.

Beat 2 eggs, add some chocolate mix into the eggs to temper them, add warmed eggs to chocolate mixture and mix well. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Gently stir in 2/3 cup flour, 1/4 tea baking soda, and 1/4 tea salt. Mix to combine, do NOT over stir.

Pour into a greased and cocoa-ed 8 x 8 pan. Bake at 325 for 25 minutes, checking last 10 minutes for done-ness. Let cool on the counter in pan for a couple of hours before cutting.

These brownies are very rich and fudgey! I was able to get 20 small pieces.

Strawberry Chocolate Mousse Cake

This dessert looks awesome and very impressive, BUT it was almost impossible to get out of the pan. For next time, I will use wax paper in the bottom to make it easier to get out as well as crush the Oreo a lot more!

2 cups crushed Oreos and 6 tablespoon melted butter mixed together and spread across the bottom of a 9 inch tart pan.

Cut up 1 1/4 pint of fresh strawberries into quarters after de-steaming and arrange with tips point up on Oreo crust.

Boil a 1/2 cup of water with 2 tablespoons of light corn syrup. Place entire 12 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips in a blender, pour the water/corn syrup mixture over top and let set for a minute. Blend until smooth and let cool to room temperature.

Beat 3/4 of a pint of heavy whipping cream into stiff peaks. Fold in chocolate mixtures and spread over strawberries. It's alright if tips of strawberries are poking through. Refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight.

Before serving, whip remaining cream with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Pipe flowers or blobs on top of mouse and place remaining 1/4 of pint of quartered strawberries neatly on top. Cut and serve carefully!