Latest Baking

I've been baking up a storm over here!  Working on getting my bakery off the ground.  Here are just a few photos of what I've been creating!

Triple Mousse Cakes before the sauce and salted caramel.

Now with salted caramel rounds.  These were starting to melt.  I made three syrups to go along with it- raspberry, caramel, and chocolate!

Red Velvet Trifle with strawberries and whipped cream

Mini Churro Cupcakes

Yellow Cake with raspberry filling and a raspberry buttercream icing

Peppermint Sugar Cookies

Merry XMas Eve!!!

Another one of the traditional cookies I tried to update for this year are sugar cookies.  I found this recipe for sugar cookies with ground up candy canes in them to add some holiday flair.  Mine is missing the icing still since I'm going to add that when I get home!

Peppermint Sugar Cookies


2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup candy cane flour**
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
crushed peppermints, for garnish (about 1/2 cup)
6 ounces (3 squares) white chocolate flavored almond bark or candy coating

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
Whisk the flour, salt, baking powder and candy cane flour together.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably one fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed for a minute or so, until smooth. Beat in the sugar and continue to beat for about 2 minutes, until the mixture is light and pale. Add the egg and yolk and beat for another minute or two; beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and steadily add the flour mixture, mixing only until it has been incorporated. When mixed, the dough will be soft, creamy, and malleable.
Drop the dough onto the baking sheets by rounded spoonfuls.
Bake the cookies for 9 to 11 minutes, rotating the sheets at the midpoint. The cookies should feel firm, but they should not color much, if at all. Cool completely.
Heat the almond bark in the microwave in 30-second intervals until melted and creamy. Drizzle over the cooled cookies (I used a ziploc bag with the tip snipped off, but you could also just drizzle with a spoon), then sprinkle with the crushed peppermints.
Makes about 40 cookies.
**Like I noted above, “candy cane flour” is just finely crushed candy canes- you can make it with your food processor or just use a hammer (or rolling pin) and a ziploc bag (which is what I did).

Gift Giving- Chocolate Covered Cherries

I never liked chocolate covered cherries when I was younger.  They just didn't do it for me.  But I think I found the best version ever of them.  And I do mean ever.  They are covered in buttercream first and then in chocolate!

Here is the original recipe.

Chocolate-Covered Buttercream Cherries

60 maraschino cherries with stems (About  2 10-ounce jars)

2 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons butter, softened

3 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

2 tablespoons shortening

Pat cherries dry with paper towels; set aside. In a small mixing bowl, combine the sugar, butter, corn syrup, and salt; mix well. Turn onto counter and knead until smooth. Don't worry if it seems crumbly at first; it'll come together after a few kneads. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Roll dough into 1/2 inch balls (about the size of a cherry); flatten each into a 2-inch circle with your hand. Wrap each circle around a cherry and lightly roll in hands to cover. Place cherries with stems up on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Cover loosely and refrigerate for 1 hour.

 In a microwave or heavy saucepan, melt chocolate chip and shortening; stir until smooth. Holding onto the stem, dip each cherry into the chocolate; set on waxed paper. Refrigerate until hardened. Store in a covered container and refrigerate for 1-2 weeks before serving.

Best if served at room temperature.

Peppermint Cupcakes

My husband and I were invited over to a friend's house this past weekend.  I wanted to bring some food, but it was only about two hours until the party.  I threw together cupcakes in that time and I'm pretty darn proud of them!

Peppermint Cupcakes

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together: 1 1/4 cups flour, 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3. In a large bowl, beat 1/4 cup of shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.
4.  Add: 1/2 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla
5. Beat until combined, occasionally scraping the side of the bowl.
6. Add 2 egg yolks, one at a time.
7. Beat well after each addition.
8. Alternately add the flour mixture and 2/3 cup cold water to the shortening mixture.
9. Beat on low speed after each addition until just combined.
10. Thoroughly wash beaters. In a small bowl, beat two egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form (the tips will curl).
11. Gradually add 1/3 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high speed until stiff peaks form (tips will stand straight).
12. Fold beaten egg whites into chocolate batter.
13. Do this in small batches.

14. Gently fold in 1/3 cup of miniature semisweet chocolate chips.

15. Divide among prepared muffin cups. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool. Remove from pan.

16. While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare a batch of Peppermint Buttercream Frosting.

17. Then put 6 or so candy canes into a ziploc bag.

18. Crush the candies.

19. Cut the cupcakes in half horizontally and spread about 1 tablespoon of frosting onto the bottom of each cupcake. Replace cupcake tops, pressing gently to spread frosting to the edges.
20. Place crushed candies on a sheet of waxed paper and roll the sides of the cupcakes in the candies to coat the exposed frosting. Pipe or spread the remaining frosting onto tops of cupcakes. Sprinkle with additional crushed candies.


Peppermint Buttercream Frosting

1. In a medium bowl, beat 1 cup of softened butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Gradually add 2 cups of powdered sugar, beating well. Beat in 2 tablespoons of milk and 2 teaspoons of peppermint extract.
2. Gradually beat in an additional 3 cups of powdered sugar until smooth. If necessary, beat in additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, to achieve spreading consistency.

Gift Giving- Toffee

I'm giving out food gifts for a lot of people this year in addition to my other handmade gifts.  The original recipe I used can be found here. 

Almond Toffee

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup whole blanched almonds
1/2 cup wonderful, dark chocolate - the best you can find (or milk chocolate if you must), chopped
1/4 cup chopped, toasted pecans (optional)

Melt butter in heavy sauce pan. Add sugar and almonds. Cook on high with pan tilted, stirring constantly, with wooden spoon until light brown (for those of us with candy thermometers, that would be the crack to hard crack stage or about 300F). Pour into large flat pan. Allow to sit for 5 minutes and then cover with grated chocolate and allow to melt - smooth with a knife. Add chopped pecans, if desired, and press in with the back of a wooden spoon. Cool completely in the fridge and break into pieces.

I ended up making a batch and a half.  I used a good sized pan to cook it in, but it still ended up pretty thick.  If I were to make this recipe again, I would make sure to use a really big pan to cool it in.  Maybe a cookie sheet for a recipe and a half like I made.

Butterscotch Toffee Shortbread Cookies

Next on the holiday cookie list are butterscotch toffee shortbread cookies.  Supposedly these are diabetic friendly because they don't have very much sugar in them, but with the butterscotch chips and toffee in it I find that hard to believe.  But they are really, really good!  Usually shortbread isn't very sweet, but the additions of butterscotch and toffee give it some new sweetness.

The recipe is originally from here. 

Butterscotch Toffee Shortbread


Butter (unsalted, softened) – 1 cup
All purpose flour – 1 3/4 cup
Cornstarch – 1/2 cup
Confectioner’s Sugar (powdered sugar) – 1/2 cup
Pure Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
Salt – 1/4 tsp
Butterscotch Chips – 1/2 cup (finely chopped)
English toffee bits (Heath’s) – 1/2 cup

• Cream the softened butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in the vanilla extract.

• In a separate bowl, sieve together the flour, cornstarch and salt.

• Combine the butter sugar mixture and the flour and mix well. The dough will not be super sticky and will almost fall apart, do not worry! That’s how it is supposed to be.

• Cover the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour. The dough would have hardened a little bit and will be easier to handle.

• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4th inch thickness. Cut with a fluted 2 inch round cookie cutter (or use the fluted small hearts). Place the cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets or cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.

• Bake for 10-11 minutes. The cookies need be just lightly browned, They will look undone, but let them rest on the sheet for 4-5 minutes. Then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.

Cool to room temperature and store in airtight containers.

Cookie Time!

At the holidays in our house I like to bring home cookies I've made and swap them with my families cookies.  We get much more variety and I still get to cook like I love to!  Usually I make typical cookies like gingerbread and sugar cookies, but this year I wanted to branch out.

First on my list of cookies is gingerbread.  Instead of the regular gingerbread, I found a recipe for drunken gingerbread cookies.  Essentially homemade gingerbread with the addition of rum.  Here's where the original recipe came from. 

Drunken Gingerbread Cookies

3 Cups all-purpose flour
1 TBSP cinnamon
1 TBSP ground ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 Cups dark brown sugar, packed
3/4 Cups molasses
12 TBSP (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into chunks and softened slightly (if using salted butter, just leave out the salt)
3 TBSP rum

For the glaze:
2 Cups confectioner's sugar
2-4 TBSP rum

Method:

In a food processor, combine brown sugar and all dry ingredients with a few pulses. Add the butter and process until grainy or sandy looking. Add the molasses and rum, and blend until the dough comes together.
Divide the dough in half and roll out to 1/4 - 1/2 inch thickness between two sheets of parchment paper - refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight, or chill in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350f.
Once firm, take the dough out of the fridge or freezer and cut out with the cookie cutter of your choice. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, leaving a good inch or so between the cookies. Bake until the middles have just barely set, about 8-11 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through. Cool the cookies on the sheet for 4-5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

While the cookies cool, mix together confectioner's sugar and 2 TBSP of rum, then gradually add up to 2 more TBSP until the icing is a thick but spreadable consistency.

Once the cookies are completely cooled, spread a big dollop of icing on each one - let dry before serving.

I haven't added the icing yet.  I'm freezing all my cookies this year and frosting them when I get back home for the holidays.

Cookies

I'm working on picking cookies to make for the holidays.  Usually I make very traditional cookies, like gingerbread and sugar cookies.  I'm wanting to branch out this year and try some more unique cookies.  I've been looking on foodgawker.com for recipes and found some ones I find interesting.  And here's where you come in!  I want some opinions!  Which of these sound good to you?

Drunken Gingerbread Cookies

Butterscotch Shortbread Cookies

 

Chocolate Turtle Cookies

Choco-Ancho Chili Cookies

Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

Swirl Sugar Cookies