Dulce de Leche Shortbread Bars with Chocolate Ganache

These are super rich! So it helps if the chocolate in the glaze is really really dark, so that it’s not overly cavity-inducing sweet.
Makes 1 13”x9” pan

For the Dulce de Leche:
1.5 cans sweetened condensed milk

For the crust:
1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Chocolate Sauce:
6 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 72 percent cocoa), coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon light corn syrup
1 stick unsalted butter

To make Dulce de Leche: (see Note)
Empty the contents of a can into an oven-proof dish; sprinkle with some kosher salt and tightly cover it with foil.
Place the covered dish in a larger roasting or casserole pan and fill it up with water until it reaches three quarters of the up the covered dish to create a water bath. Bake at 425 degrees F for 60-90 minutes checking every 30 minutes on the water level and adding more as needed.
Dulce de leche is ready when it takes on a brown and caramel-like appearance. Remove from the oven and whisk to smoothness. Let cool before storing.

To assemble the crust:
Cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Press it into the greased baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet.
Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack.

To make the Chocolate Layer:
In a microwave safe bowl, combine the chocolate, corn syrup, and butter. Microwave on high, checking and stirring every 30 seconds, until melted.

To assemble the tastiness:
Once the dulce de leche and the crust have cooled, spread the dulce de leche over the crust. Chill. Make the chocolate topping and pour evenly over the dulce de leche. If you tilt the pan back and forth this spreads the chocolate better. Chill.

Note: *Dulce de Leche (Milk Caramel)

There are several different ways to make dulce de leche. Here are the top three:

1. Oven: Empty the contents of a can into an oven-proof dish; sprinkle with some kosher salt and tightly cover it with foil.
Place the covered dish in a larger roasting or casserole pan and fill it up with water until it reaches three quarters of the up the covered dish to create a water bath. Bake at 425 degrees F for 60-90 minutes checking every 30 minutes on the water level and adding more as needed.
Dulce de leche is ready when it takes on a brown and caramel-like appearance. Remove from the oven and whisk to smoothness. Let cool before storing.

2. Stovetop: This method takes the longest, but it allows for the most control over the consistency. Remove label from can. Pierce three holes in the formation of a triangle on top of can (this is critical to release the pressure from the heat or else the can may explode.) Place the can in a sauce pan and fill the sauce pan with water three-quarters of the way up the side of the can.
Bring water to a simmer and keep it there for 3-4 hours or until desired consistency. For a thicker more syrup-like texture cook closer to 4 hours. When ready, use tongs to remove can allow to cool slightly and pour dulce de leche in a bowl and whisk to smoothness. Let cool before storing.

Stovetop Method #2: Pour one can (14 ounce) sweetened condensed milk into top of double-boiler pan; cover. Place over boiling water. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 40 to 50 minutes, or until thick and light caramel-colored. Remove from heat. Whisk until smooth.

3. Microwave: The fastest way, but it often yields a less smooth texture than the other two methods.
Empty contents of can in a microwave safe dish and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Cook it on medium in two minute increments stirring between each increment (be careful of any steam as you lift the plastic wrap) up to 10 minutes for  thinner pouring consistency, or up to 13-15 minutes for a thicker, syrup-like consistency. Let cool before storing.

Best Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Originally from allrecipes.com

These cookies were the first product to be made in our brand-new convection oven! They were gorgeous in every way…and super super tasty. Funnily enough, they came in very handy in assuaging disgruntled semi-truck drivers, slightly overwhelmed employees, and our trainer/consultant who was…a bit…yes.
May these cookies work magic for you as well! :)

I made these using a large (like…1/4 or 1/3 cup size—I think it was a #30?) ice cream scoop. Note that if you make smaller cookies (as most people will) they will probably not take as long.

Original recipe makes 1 1/2 dozen. Mine made…10 cookies. :)

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and then cooled to room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg, at room temperature
1 egg yolk, at room temperature
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.

Refrigerate or freeze at this point—if refrigerating, at least several hours!

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Gluten-Free Baking Tips

…to be updated relatively frequently. :)
General Tips for Using Xanthan Gum and Guar Gum in Gluten-Free Cooking(from glutenfreecoooking.about.com)
Xantham gum is made by fermenting corn sugar with a microbial called "Xanthomonas campestris."
Both xantham gum and guar gum act as binders, emulsifiers, and thickeners in the absence of gluten. Without them, your baking may end up as a pile of crumbs. If, however, you use too much xantham gum, your baked goods may come out heavy, gummy, and even slimy.
So, say you are using a GF, AP flour blend that has no xantham gum in it. Therefore, when your gluten-free cookie recipe unhelpfully calls for a GF, AP flour blend containing xantham gum, you are at a loss. How much xantham gum should you use? Here are some helpful guidelines:

• Bread and pizza dough recipes: Add 1 teaspoon xanthan gum or guar gum per cup of gluten-free flour used in bread and pizza dough recipes
• Cake, muffin and quick bread recipes: Add 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum or guar gum per one cup of gluten-free flour used
• Cookie and bar recipes: Add 1/2 teaspoon (or less) xanthan gum or guar gum per one cup gluten-free flour used

One last tip for you: one cup of Bob's Red Mill GF AP flour is 136 grams.

Cheesecake Squares with Roasted Blueberry Compote

For crust
1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, cut into large pieces
1 1/2 cups graham crackers crumbs (about 8 graham crackers, pulsed in a food processor)
1/8 tsp salt
2 Tablespoons sugar

Roasted Blueberry Compote
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 Tablespoon sugar
Juice of half a lemon, reserved
Zest of one lemon, reserved

Cheesecake Filling
1/2 cup white sugar
16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice, optional (Note: the lemon juice gives the filling a distinct flavor that some may or may not like).
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make blueberries: Heat oven to 450°F. Toss blueberries with sugar in a shallow baking dish. Roast 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, just until berries burst. Let cool, and work on the crust. While the crust is in the oven, pull out about 1/2 cup of the blueberries, add about 2 Tablespoons of water, and heat until just simmering in a heavy saucepan on medium-high heat. Mash the blueberries, using a potato masher. Add the lemon juice and about a teaspoon of the lemon zest. Sprinkle the rest of the zest over the assembled cheesecake for a garnish.

To make graham cracker crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Melt butter in microwave in heatproof bowl until just melted when stirred. Add graham cracker crumbs, salt, and sugar. Mix and then press evenly into the bottom of 8×8 baking pan.

To make Filling: Beat cream cheese on low. Add sugar, beat just until smooth—do NOT beat til fluffy. Scrape down the bowl. The key here is to not get too much air into the batter. Stir in the egg, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla and mix well. Spread filling mixture over baked crust. Swirl in some of the blueberries. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cheesecake is set 2 inches from edge but the center still looks a bit wet. Do NOT open the oven door while baking. Take the cheesecake out of the oven immediately after it is done (for regular cheesecake, many people recommend leaving it in the oven with the oven off to let it cool. This is to prevent cracks. Do NOT do it for these!) Let cool on wire rack and refrigerate.

Peanut Butter Layered Chocolate Brownies

Peanut Butter Layered Chocolate Brownies

Peanut Butter Filling
1 cup (8 oz) Chunky PB
2/3 cup powdered sugar

Brownies
2.5 ounces (5 tablespoons) butter, in pieces
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

5.25 ounces (3/4 cup) sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon instant espresso powder
½ teaspoon salt
1.75 ounces (1/3 cup) all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 9x9” pan.

Microwave peanut butter for about 30 seconds, then stir in powdered sugar.

Combine the chopped chocolates in a large microwave-safe bowl microwave on high for 20 seconds. Take it out, stir, and microwave again for 10 seconds. Add the butter and stir until completely melted (you can microwave again if you need to, but don’t burn the chocolate!). Whisk in the sugar, then the eggs one by one, then the vanilla, espresso, salt and finally the flour, whisking only enough to incorporate it.

Pour half into prepared pan, then dollop with the peanut butter, and spread that out. Then pour the rest of the batter on and spread.

Bake on a middle rack for 30 minutes, then rotate and check for done-ness. The brownies will take about 40-50 minutes. Cool the brownies completely, then gingerly lift them out of the pan on the foil. 

Chai Tea Concentrate

This is amazing! :)
I got the recipe from here, though I’ve made a few changes. But the wonderful thing about this recipe is you can change it according to your tastes. Yum.

Ingredients:
4-½ cups Water
1 stick Cinnamon
1 1/2-inch long piece Fresh Ginger Chopped
7 whole Cardamom Pods
2 whole Star Anise Pods
10 whole Cloves
¼ teaspoons Freshly Ground Black Pepper (I used peppercorns, about half a teaspoon)
½ teaspoons Freshly-ground Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Orange Zest
10 teaspoons Green Or Black Tea Or 10 Tea Bags (I like the taste of green tea better. Use about 30 grams looseleaf green tea, I think)
(Note: If using green tea, especially if it’s loose leaf green tea, use water that’s slightly under boiling temperature)

1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tablespoon Honey
1 Tablespoon Vanilla

Directions:
Bring the water to a boil. Put all of the dried spices into a large bowl and lightly crush with a potato masher. Add the orange peel, fresh ginger, and tea leaves, and pour the water over. Let steep 15-20 minutes, depending on how strong you want it and on the kind of tea you use. Strain and add the brown sugar, honey, and vanilla. Stir to combine.

Mix 1 part concentrate with 1 part milk, heat and enjoy or pour over ice.
This concentrate will keep in the fridge for around 2 weeks. Or you can freeze it in an ice cube tray and use it as ice cubes in tasty iced chai! :)

Sour Cream Muffins

This recipe from Joepastry.com has taken over from the other muffin recipe I had been using. Thanks to the acidity in the sour cream, it is far more moist. Which equals yummy. :)
His notes on muffins are super helpful. In fact, his notes on just about anything are super helpful. Read on here: http://www.joepastry.com/2012/making-blueberry-muffins/

Ingredients:
10 ounces (2 cups) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ounces (1/2 cup) butter, room temperature
5.25 ounces (3/4 cup) sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
4.25 ounces (1/2 cup) sour cream, room temperature
2 ounces (1/4 cup) milk, room temperature
about 1 1/2- 2 cups berries (3/4 – 1 cup chocolate piece or nuts)
(Note: If using blueberries, make sure they’re thawed through first! Other berries “weep” more, so are better if slightly frozen beforehand.)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a muffin mold. Sift the dry ingredients except for the sugar together into a medium bowl. In a large bowl cream the sugar and the butter with a wooden spoon until it’s light and fluffy. Beat the eggs into the butter/sugar mixture one at a time, then the sour cream and milk. Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl and gently fold it all together, leaving a few spots of unmixed flour. Add the…whatever, and stir until it’s all just incorporated. Fill the molds about 3/4 of the way to the top. Bake for 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool and eat!
To make into bread:

Black Magic Chocolate Cake

This is one of my favorite chocolate cake recipes. It’s dark, moist, tasty, and not too terribly rich. And it’s fairly reliable—it turns out pretty much every time! I would, however, very muchly like to try this recipe for cake next! The frosting alone looks delicious. :)

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups (7.875 oz.) all-purpose flour
• 2 cups (14.2 oz.) white sugar
• 3/4 cup (3.12 oz.) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup strong brewed coffee
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans or one 9x13 inch pan.

In large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center.

Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Batter will be thin. Pour into prepared pans.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and finish cooling on a wire rack. Fill and frost as desired.

Weights and Balances...

So you know how "one cup" of flour can actually contain completely different volumes depending on things like humidity and how you measure it? Well, then you would know that measuring flour by weight is wayyy more reliable. Really, it's the only thing people should be doing.
If, however, you're going off of a recipe listing measurements only by volume, you can use this handy website to convert over. Then just write yourself a note about how many ounces of flour the recipe should use, and off you go!
Om nom...

Well, what about greasing the pan? Is there a right and a wrong way about it?

Hey, thanks for asking! :)
Ok, so not to answer a question with a question or anything, but…here’s a question for you:
What is the base of your cake?

Here’s why I ask:
--Fat-based cakes (cakes made with butter or oil), MUST have greased pans. Or they’ll kind of flop out of the pan in a few different pieces. If you’re lucky. Seriouseats recommends greasing the pan with butter for these cakes. Though you can also use non-stick spray (easier, but less tasty), clarified butter, shortening, or oil. Most recipes call for “flouring” the pan. Why is this, you ask? Good question. It’s because you need the flour to “create a barrier that keeps the fat from melting directly into the batter when introduced to a hot oven.” Oh. Or you can use parchment paper.
--Foam-based cakes (angel food, sponge, chiffon cakes, or any cake that relies upon the air trapped in egg foams or meringues for their volume, use only parchment liners. No grease. Why? Good question. Wow, so many good questions. First, think back to my post about egg whites. Remember how they don’t like fat? Well, if you had forgotten it, then here’s a reminder: egg whites don’t like fat! Second, these kind of cakes need to stick to the sides of the pan. Turns out that they need the support and structure that the pan provides. Weird, huh?
So to line a pan with parchment paper, spray some non-stick spray onto the bottom. Lightly. Then trace around the pan on the paper, and cut out. Trim it down a bit, and in it goes! Don’t grease the sides unless the recipe calls for it.
--Sheet pans do well with just parchment paper. Brush some butter on the bottom edges of the pan, then make a giant “x” on the bottom, and slap the paper on! No need to grease the sides.

This site has pretty great tutorials and charts for such things.

Beat those egg whites!

As promised, more cake tips!

Egg whites provide most of the structure for the cake. Well, it depends on the cake, I suppose—but generally, yes.
So here’s the low and dirty on egg whites, from Joe at Joe’s Bakery. Egg whites have very little flavor and are made up of about 90% water. The 10% contains the proteins, about half of the total proteins of the egg. These proteins are very different from the proteins in the yolk, and are one of the favoritest things of bakers. Why? Because “they have regions along their length that love water and other regions that hate water.” With just a bit of work these fantastic proteins can be “uncoiled” to create foams because they love the surface of bubbles. Hooray! Happiness all round, right? Joe goes on: “once all those proteins are arrayed at the surface of the bubble, they begin bonding to each other, if rather weakly. The network they create reinforces the wall of the bubble, preventing it from popping.”
He recommends using a hand mixer rather than a stand mixer, because with a hand mixer you can be sure to get all of those little corner bits missed by stand mixers.
He also recommends using some sort of an acid stabilizer (read: lemon juice, cream of tartar, etc.) after you have whisked it up and before you fold it into the rest of the recipe.

So. Some general tips on whipping egg whites:
*Temp: 
         *Make sure the egg whites are at room temp. Which means putting them out on the counter at least 30 minutes before you start. If you’re in a desperate hurry, you can put them into a bowl of very warm water for 5-10 mins. Don’t boil them. According to some people, boiled eggs are delicious in their own right. But not in eggs. Gross.
*Tools:
         *If you have a choice in the bowl you use, copper is best. Don’t have a copper bowl? Well, small, deep bowls with rounded bottoms are pretty fantastic when you’re dealing with 4 or 5 egg whites. For more than that, just use a larger deep bowl.
         *No aluminum bowls! No wooden bowls! Wooden bowls are great for salads, where their fabulous oil-absorbing (which we call “seasoning”) properties mean they make things tasty. Fats + egg whites=sadness. More on that later.
         *If you use a stainless steel or glass bowl, add cream of tartar or lemon juice.
*Add-ins:
        *Add an acid! Acid is a happy thing. It stabilizes and adds volume. Happiness.
        *1/8 tsp acid (lemon juice, vinegar, or cream of tartar) for each egg white (with the exception of meringues. In meringues, 1/8 tsp per two egg whites.)
        *Add the acid just as they begin to become frothy during beating
        *Don’t add sugar while you beat! They lose structure. Sadness.
*Method:
        *Begin at a slow speed before moving up to higher speeds.
        *Hand mixers are best. Stand mixers work too, but hand mixers are preferred.
        *Don’t overbeat them!
         *Don’t let them sit! More weeping happens.

Why did my cake fall??

Well. Thanks for asking. Especially if you just made the poppy seed cake and it fell. And you may or may not have wept bitterly.
So. A bit of research into the topic revealed to me that I know far too little about cakes. Well, far too little about baking in general, but thinking about that just makes me weep even more bitterly. Biterlier? Hmm.
This post is extremely helpful, if you care to do some more research.
Some of the points I found most helpful:

”The structure, the concise emulsion, the soft and light and pretty cake batter becomes a lovely cake because of air.”
Air is brought into the cake batter with creaming—one of the very first steps of the cake making process.

Practically speaking, this means that:

“If
“your butter is not room temp
* you don't cream the butter until light before adding the sugar
* you throw many things in at the same time
* you don't scrape down the bowl a few times while butter & sugar are creaming
* your eggs are cold when you add them to the butter-sugar light fluffiness
* you add all your eggs at once
* you don't sift your flour and leavening
* you dump all your dries in at once
* you don't pay attention to your cake batter while it is becoming a being,
Your cake might not rise.”

It also falls if you turn the pan in the oven too soon. Oh, and if you overmix it. It might fall then too. So be warned!

A bit more scientifically, she wrote that

“Air is created in the process of cake making, but held in place by structure, which, in cake baking science is generally called protein. In baking, protein provides the walls holding up roofs.”

So then, some proteins work better with certain ingredients.
For example: liquid batters are generally heavy and highly acidic. For fastest and most even heat distribution, they bake best in shallow baking vessels. Putting them in deep vessels, then, means that they work so hard reaching for the top that they don’t have enough structure to prevent the cake from falling once it is liberated from the oven heat.
Because, you see, once out of the oven, the cake “relies on structure (=proteins) around air to keep its crumb intact.”

When you make a cake, you want that cake to have an even “crumb.” Just like coffee, the cake consuming experience can be evaluated based upon many different factors. The crumb of the cake—is it even? Does it feel nice in your mouth?—is just as important as the flavor of the cake.

Hooray! The end!
Well, kind of. This is very basic. More tips on making cakes to follow.

Chewy Dark Chocolate Cookies

Originally from allrecipes.com

Dark Chocolate Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup (7.1 oz.) white sugar

3/4 cup (5.78 oz.) packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/4 cups (5.64 oz.) unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/4 cups (5.625 oz.) all-purpose flour (or maybe 6.75 oz, =1.5 cups?)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 teaspoon very finely-ground coffee

2 cups add-ins (see note)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or use parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition. Combine the cocoa, flour, and baking soda, gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Finally, fold in your add-ins. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until puffy but still soft. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Note: These cookies are really good with the toffee bits down below.
Other add-in options:
--Coffee beans
--White or peppermint-flavored chocolate chips
--Candy bar bits
--Pretzel bits
--annnd…so on!

Recipe for Homemade Toffee Bits:
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon dark corn syrup, can use light
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a large microwave safe bowl, mix sugar, butter, water and corn syrup.
Microwave on high 4 minutes. Stirring every 2 minutes.
Heat 6-8 minutes longer until thickened and gold in color. It should be a little bit darker than peanut butter—but only a tiny bit!
Add vanilla; stir well - this step may require some muscle is your mixture begins to separate.
Pour mixture into 9x13 dish.
Cool completely. Break into pieces.

Poppy seed Cake

Recipe originally from here, found in an issue of Farm Journal
This cake is delicious—moist, not too rich, with a delicate flavor. I baked it in a 13x9” pyrex pan, but it could also be baked in regular cake pans, I think.
I have made it with a traditional buttercream frosting, but the frosting flavor somehow covered up the flavor of the cake itself, we thought. The sour cream-cream cheese frosting below is better with this cake, but it really could just go with a dusting of powdered sugar or a simple powdered sugar glaze.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup poppy seeds
1 cup milk
2/3 cup unsalted butter
1-1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 cups (480 grams.) sifted cake flour (If you only have AP flour, mix 2 1/2 cups and 2 Tablespoons (336 grams) of AP flour with 1/4 cup and 2 Tablespoons (41.25 grams) of cornstarch)
1 teaspoon salt
4 large egg whites, stiffly beaten

Directions:
1) Add poppy seeds to milk and let stand for at least 1 hour (I usually soak them overnight or all day.)
2) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 x 13-inch pan. Set aside.
3) Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4) Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together in another bowl.
5) Add flour and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour.
6) Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. (NOTE: Whip the egg whites right before putting them in. If you let them sit for too long, then they'll probably separate. I've done it. Not pretty. See this place for the science behind it, and for tips about how to make sure your egg whites don't separate--things like adding acid in the form of lemon juice or cream of tartar work nicely).
7) Fold in egg whites, half at a time. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in several areas comes out clean. Let sit in pan for 10 to 15 minutes before removing to a rack to complete cooling.

Cream Cheese-Sour Cream Frosting (from here)
adapted from Bunny's Warm Oven where she got it from Epicurious

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
Optional: Walnuts

Beat sour cream, confectioner's sugar and cream cheese in a large bowl until well blended. Spread the frosting over the cooled cake. If desired, sprinkle with chopped walnuts.

Lemon-Thyme Shortbread Cookies with Earl Grey Glaze

Recipe from here

Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon zest (The zest of two lemons)
1 teaspoon lemon extract (Or the juice of one lemon. Taste the batter and see what you think after you’ve added the flour—depending on the size of your lemon, you might want to juice the second lemon as well.)
2 cups flour (Depending on the size of the lemon, again. I ended up using about ten ounces of all-purpose flour)
2 teaspoons dried thyme (I used about ten sprigs of fresh thyme. Take the leaves off of the sprigs, then chop finely with a very sharp chef’s knife. It could probably do with even fifteen sprigs of thyme.)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Icing:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2-3 tablespoons brewed Earl Grey

Directions:
Cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the lemon zest and lemon extract. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, thyme, and salt. Mix the flour into the butter until thoroughly combined.
Split the dough into two equal-sized balls. Form into logs (Mine were about 2.5 inches in diameter) and roll in parchment. Refrigerate for at least one hour until the dough is chilled and firm.

Preheat the oven to 300º F. When the oven has preheated and you’re ready to bake, line baking sheets with parchment. Slice 1/4″ slices off the logs and place on the baking sheets about 1″ apart. Bake for 20-25 minutes, just until the edges start to turn golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

For Icing:
In a small bowl, mix together confectioners’ sugar and 2-3 tablespoons of tea until a thick glaze is formed. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookies. Allow to set.

New York Times Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Notice: This dough must be refrigerated for 24 hours before you can cook it up. Otherwise, you can just eat raw cookie dough. Which is still an option. :)

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8½ ounces) cake flour (If you have no cake flour, you can make your own: 1.7 ounces of cornstarch plus 6.8 ounces of all-purpose of flour. Or, by volume, it would be 1.5 cups all-purpose flour plus a quarter cup cornstarch.)
1 & 2/3 cups (8½ ounces) bread flour
1¼ teaspoons baking soda
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1¼ cups (10 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1¼ cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 & 1/3 cups (20 ounces) dark chocolate chips, at least 60% cacao content
Sea salt, for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS:

1. Sift together the cake flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and set aside.

2. Cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed until very light, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then add the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low, gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.

3. Press plastic wrap against the dough and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

4. Scoop 3 1/2-ounces of dough, roll into a rough ball (it should be the size of a large golf ball) and place on the baking sheet. Repeat until you have six mounds of dough on the cookie sheet. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer the parchment or silicone sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies onto another cooling rack to cool a bit more, until just warm or at room temperature. Repeat with remaining dough (or keep some of the dough refrigerated for up to 3 days, and bake cookies at a later time). Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. They also freeze nicely.

Scones

Hello folks! Hey, guess what…it’s sunny! Such a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Aaaaahhh…
Which means that it’s a perfect day for a walk! Right after whipping together the batter for scones, that is…
I was sent this wonderful recipe for scones several weeks ago, and have found it to be my favorite scone recipe so far!
If you make the batter, roll it out, cut them into triangles, and put them on the baking sheet ahead of time, you can either refrigerate or freeze them until later. If you freeze them, take them out while you preheat the oven, and then pop them in the oven! Just make sure to brush with butter or cream before you stick them in. The cold before baking gets the butter to be really cold again, which is what gives the scones their wonderful texture.
One more note: I’ve tried this recipe with milk, half and half, and cream, and discovered that if you make it with anything other than cream, you’ll have to take out a few tablespoons of the liquid. Or add flour, which is undesirable since it has not had butter rubbed into it.
Here ya go!

The best scones ever!!
2 cups (9 oz) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into chunks
1 1/4 cup (9 fl oz) heavy cream (plus a little more for brushing)—If you’re using half-and-half, I would recommend only using 1 1/8 cups half-and-half. If you’re using milk, try just using a cup of milk.
1 cup blackberries (or you can substitute for chocolate chips, blueberries, apples, etc.)
[If you're using fresh berries, I would recommend putting them in the freezer a little bit before you start baking so they are easier to work with.]
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Mix all of the dry ingredients together. Using a fork and a knife (or your hands or a pastry knife) cut the butter into the dry ingredients until your mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Then form a well in the center of your ingredients and add the heavy cream. Fold everything together and add the berries. You might want to use your hands (rub them in flour if it gets too sticky) so you can fold lightly; try not to press too hard on the berries. Once everything is incorporated, shape your dough into a circle that is about 1 1/4 inch thick (sometimes shaping it in a floured pie tin helps). Then cut the dough into quarters and cut each quarter in half (you should have 8 triangle wedges). Place each piece on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush some cream on top. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes (or until the top and edges start to look golden brown)!
For a very quick glaze, take 3/4 of a cup of confectioner’s sugar and keep adding 1 teaspoon of whole milk at a time until you achieve a thick icing-like consistency. (You can add more milk if the glaze is too thick for you but add it very slowly because it takes less milk than you think!) Spoon the glaze into one corner of a ziplock bag. Using scissors, cut the corner of the bag (only a very small part) and pipe the glaze onto the cooled scones. Enjoy!
You can do lots of different things with this base recipe! I’ve tried putting homemade cinnamon chips in them, tried them with blueberries, and tried them most recently with apples and cinnamon (I cut up a small apple into small pieces…tho I think a bigger apple would have been better!), and I want to try them with apples and homemade cinnamon chips!

Syrian Flatbread

This bread dough can be made in the bread machine and then rolled out and baked by hand, or you can do the whole thing by hand!

Ingredients:
1 1/8 cups water
2 Tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Directions:
1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press start.
If you don’t have a bread machine, add the yeast to the water, then the oil and sugar. Sift together the salt and flour, then mix in. Knead the dough until smooth, put into a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat the dough round, and let rise an hour and a half in a warm place.
2. Preheat oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit
3. Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into eight equal pieces and form into rounds. Cover the rounds with a damp cloth and let rest.
4. Roll dough into thin flat circles, about 8 inches in diameter. Cook two at a time on preheated baking sheets or a baking stone until puffed up and golden brown, about 3-4 minutes, then flip and bake for another minute or two. Repeat for remaining loaves.
(Note: if you prick them with a fork they will not rise to such a great extent. It depends on what you want them for. Also, you may have to play with the baking time—if you want really soft ones, don’t cook them too long, and if you want really nice golden brown ones, then cook them longer, etc.)

Swedish Nutmeg Slices

Thanks to a certain world-traveling family…

Ingredients:

1 cup margarine or butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Beat butter, sugar, and spices until light and fluffy
Add flour, kneading lightly. (Be careful, the dough is sensitive. Don’t hurt its feelings)
Divide into 4 pieces. Form each into a 16” log. Place on parchment-paper or greased baking sheets.
Press down lightly with a fork to make lines in the dough (Stripes can be not straight too…)
Bake on center oven rack for 20 minutes.
Cut each log into 10 diagonal pieces while still warm

Nom nom nom
With a Swedish accent.

Sandwich Bread!

I have used this bread recipe for…a while now. It’s yummy. You’ll like it.

Better Homes and Gardens
Sandwich Bread recipe

1/2 cup warm water
2 Tablespoons yeast
1 3/4 cups warm water
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
2 Tablespoons shortening
6-7 cups flour (I use half whole-wheat and half white)

Dissolve yeast and 1/2 cup water in a medium sized bowl and let sit. Stir in the rest of the water, the sugar, and shortening. Whisk in 2 cups of flour, then mix in the salt to a third cup of flour and add that to the dough. Gradually work in the rest of the flour. Knead for 10 minutes. Spray a clean bowl with cooking spray and put the dough in it. Cover with a damp dishcloth (best if you warm the towel up in the microwave for about 30 seconds before) and let rise 1 hour. Punch down, Divide into two balls. Roll each ball out into 18x9” rectangle. Fold three ways lengthwise, like an envelope, then roll up, starting on the short side. Let rise for an hour in greased loaf pans, then bake at 425 for 25-30 minutes.

Muffins with Cinnamon Crunch Bits

Cinnamon crunch recipe:
1/3 c. sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons cinnamon
1 Tablespoon shortening
1 Tablespoon corn syrup or honey (I used honey because I didn’t have corn syrup)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Cover a jelly roll pan with a sheet of parchment paper, and spray lightly with PAM. Mix the top four ingredients together (with a tiny pinch of salt if desired) and pat down into a 1/4” tall square on the baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes—it shouldn’t be too crisp. Allow to cool, then break into chunks.

(Note: when baking muffins--or really anything besides scones or biscuits--all of the ingredients must be at room temperature! It makes a big difference. To get eggs at room temperature, leave them out for half an hour on the countertop, or put them in a bowl of warm water.)

Muffins:
Makes about 1 dozen regular muffins, or 6 jumbo muffins (better!:))
Preheat oven to 400 degree F.
Sift together:
1 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour (7.88 oz.)
3/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup sugar (1.8 oz)
2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder

Beat in a separate bowl:
2 large eggs (or 3 small eggs), at room temperature

Add to the eggs:
4 tablespoons (1/4 c) melted butter
3/4 cup milk, at room temperature

Optional:
1 cup add-ins, like blueberries, chocolate chips, cinnamon chips, etc.

Mix in a few swift stroke the beaten liquid ingredients to the combined sifted dry ones, then fold in the cinnamon chips or any other mix-ins. The mixing is held to an absolute minimum, a light stirring of from 10 to 20 seconds, which will leave some lumps. Ignore them. The dough should not be mixed to the point of pouring, ribbon-like from the spoon, but should break in course globs. If the batter has been beaten too long, the gluten in the flour will develop and toughen the dough; and the grain of the muffin will be course and full of tunnels.
Good muffins should be straight sided and rounded on the top....The grain of the muffin is not fine but uniform and the crumb moist.
To bake, fill well-greased tins about two-thirds full. Should the dough not fill every muffin cup, put a few tablespoons of water in the empty forms, both to protect the pans and to keep the rest of the muffins moist, unless a different indication is given in the individual recipe.
Bake at once in a preheated 400 degree F oven 20to 25 minutes. Do not over-bake. If you are using smaller muffin tins, bake only for 15 minutes.
If muffins remain in tins a few moments after leaving the oven, they will be easier to remove. They are really best eaten promptly. If you must reheat them, enclose them loosely in foil and heat about 5 minutes in a preheated 450 degree F oven.

For Bread:
Bake in a 1.5 quart loaf pan at 350 for 40 minutes, checking fifteen minutes before the time given.

Fluffy pancakes, sans-buttermilk

So. It’s a Sunday afternoon and you realize that you are hungry. You have not had lunch yet. Ah…the thought occurs to you: pancakes are a typical Sunday thing! Hmmm…let’s have a roommate Sunday pancake lunch.
Problem—no buttermilk. Unfortunate, because buttermilk adds that…something that makes pancakes so wonderful. Fluffy, moist buttermilk pancakes.
Well…these pancakes don’t call for buttermilk!
I didn’t like them as much as my usual buttermilk pancake recipe, as I thought they were too fluffy (yes, it is possible) and too salty (even though I do like salty…Fiona’s thought was that they would be biscuits if you put them in a different form. Well.) and maybe even too dry (which wouldn’t have been a problem had we been in possession of maple syrup. Sigh. College student larders…)
So I made a few changes to the recipe…

Fluffy pancakes
(These made plenty for five very hungry people. So…I would say that if you stretched it, you could probably serve 6-8 people with this recipe.)

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 Tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs
2 2/3 cups milk
1-2 teaspoons vanilla
cooking

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl.

Whisk in melted butter, egg, vanilla, and milk until combined. Let batter rest for 5 minutes.

Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Spray with cooking spray. Pour batter into the hot skillet, about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until bubbles appear on the sides and center of each pancake. Flip and cook until golden, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Kahlua Chocolate Brownies

Cousins time! Which also means…time for wonderful brownies! We all seem to be nicely united in a love for chocolate. So we experimented with a new brownie recipe today!
This recipe calls for Kahlua, but I’ve discovered that strong coffee or espresso with a bit of cocoa mixed in can work as a substitute.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup cocoa, unsweetened
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup melted butter, divided
1/4 cup boiling water, 1/4 cup Kahlua (Or very strong coffee or espresso with a pinch of cocoa)
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
Preparation:

In a large bowl, combine cocoa and baking soda; blend in 1/3 cup melted butter. Add boiling water and Kahlua; stir until well blended. Stir in sugar, beaten eggs and remaining 1/3 cup butter. Stir in flour and salt. Stir nuts and the chocolate chips into chocolate brownies batter. Pour chocolate brownie batter into a greased 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Bake at 350° for 20 to 35 minutes or until chocolate brownies are firm and begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool before cutting into squares.
Enjoy the rest of your Christmas break!