Holiday Baking Part I

I had lots of fun with my holiday baking this year. There were a few bumps in the road, but for the most part, everything was a success. My first cookie was supposed to be a Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookie that I found on Tasty Kitchen. Well I made a few, and in my opinion, they were just so-so. I thought to myself, how can I improve this cookie? So here is what I came up with. We will just call them....

Happy Mistake Cookies

 

Ingredients:

2 cups Sifted All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
½ teaspoons Salt
¼ cups Canola Oil
4 ounces, weight Unsweetened Chocolate (melted)
2 cups Granulated Sugar
4 whole Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
5 whole Candy Canes, Crushed (the Large Ones)

Preparation Instructions

1. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the oil, chocolate and granulated sugar and blend on medium speed. With the mixer running, add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. There may be some small clumps of sugar in the batter at this point. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed, stopping once to scrape down the sides. Mix until just incorporated, about 2 to 3 minutes. The dough will be sticky.
3. Gather the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
4. Position the racks in the lower and upper thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with Silpats or parchment paper.
5. Pour the crushed candy canes onto a plate or into a shallow bowl. Roll the dough into 1/2-inch balls. and roll each ball into the candy cane pieces, so that all sides are covered. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared sheets.
6. Bake for 10 minutes for soft, chewy cookies, or 12 minutes for crisp cookies, rotating the pans halfway through baking. The cookies do set up, so if you want them soft, take them out after 10 minutes. Let cool completely on cooling racks. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.

MMMM, so who doesn't like a peanut butter filling?

Here's what you'll need:


8 TBSP unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 c honey
1c peanut butter
1/2 c powdered sugar

Cream the butter on a medium speed for several minutes. Add the honey and peanut butter and beat just until combined. Add the powdered sugar little by little until combined.

Now we can make the cookie sandwich. Take a small amount of the pb mixture and put it between 2 cookies. Once you are done, it helps to chill them so they can set.

Time to melt some chocolate (well, and some butterscotch)!

You'll need:

1 bag butterscotch chips
2 -3 bags milk chocolate chips

Grab a double boiler or whatever other contraption you have that works. Fill a pot eh, maybe halfway with water. Bring it to a boil. Meanwhile, if you are going to use chunk chocolate, chop it up pretty small. The easiest way to do this would be to grab a bag of butterscotch chips and 2 bags of milk chocolate chips. Once the water boils, turn it off and place your heat proof bowl inside the pot. *Make sure that the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water*. Melt it down until it is ready for dipping and then start dipping away. Lay each dipped cookie sandwich on wax paper to harden. Decorate them if you want.

Voila! You're done!

Pumpkin Roll

You will probably see several pumpkin posts here. I made the mistake of cooking 3 baking pumpkins so I have a TON of it. My mom used to make this for us. Of course she would do a healthier version. She was known for that.

Pumpkin Roll

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (I skipped this)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup pumpkin
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
• 1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar (optional for decoration)

Directions

FOR CAKE:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with parchment paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar.

COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts.

BAKE for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. (If using a dark-colored pan, begin checking for doneness at 11 minutes.) Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

FOR THE FILLING:
BEAT cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

printable version

Chocolate Cake should be illegal.

Beatty's Chocolate Cake

Cook time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

* Butter, for greasing the pans
* 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
* 2 cups sugar
* 3/4 cups good cocoa powder (I use Penzey's Dutch Cocoa)
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Source: Ina Garten aka Barefoot Contessa

One More Zucchini Post: cupcakes...mmmmmmm

These are AMAZING!!! I omitted the all spice because I didn't have any and replaced w/ 1/2 tsp of instant espresso powder just for funsies. I also find that a good quality cocoa powder really makes a difference. This time I used Penzey's dutch cocoa powder and they came out so much better than the regular grocery store stuff (even better than Ghirardelli). One last thing...I shortened the baking time quite a bit. My minis only took about 20 minutes and the regular sized cupcakes took about 25. Make them. You will not be disappointed. I promise.

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups (360 mL) brown sugar
1/4 cup (60 mL) melted butter
3/4 cup (180 mL) vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla
1/2 cup (120 mL) buttermilk
2 cups (480 mL) grated zucchini
1 cup (240 mL) chocolate chips
2 cups (480 mL) unbleached flour
1 cup (240 mL) cocoa, sifted
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) salt
2 tsp (10 mL) baking soda
1 tsp (5 mL) allspice
1 1/2 tsp (7.5 mL) cinnamon

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease large muffin pans and line with muffin cups.

In a medium bowl mix together the sugar, butter and oil. Beat in eggs, one at a time until well Incorporated. Stir in vanilla, buttermilk, zucchini and chocolate chips.

In a separate bowl mix together all of the dry ingredients. Add the liquid ingredients and mix until well combined. Spoon batter into large muffin pans.

Bake in the center of the oven for about 35 minutes. Don't overcook them or you will lose all the moist goodness - you want them to look almost done in the oven - they will continue to cook for a few minutes after you pull them from the oven from the residual heat). Cool on a wire rack. Icing is optional. I used this recipe for Cream cheese Frosting.

Yields 9 large cupcakes or 20 standard cupcakes.

Adapted from: 101 Cookbooks

And originally from Rebar: Modern Food Cookbook by Audrey Alsterburg & Wanda Urbanowicz (Big Ideas Publishing, 2001) - reprinted with permission

Print this recipe

Independence Day Tartlets

This recipe came from my aunt Susie and was titled Fruit Pizza. I thought it would be fun to make it into individual tartlets and do a red white and blue theme. Really, you can use any kind of fruit (pineapple, kiwi, blackberries, mandarin oranges, strawberries, etc.).


Independence Day Tartlets

Ingredients:

1/2 c sugar
1 pkg cream cheese at room temperature
1 batch of sugar cookie dough (store bought is fine)
raspberries
blueberries


Preheat oven to 350. Grease tartlet pans well. Divide dough into 24 balls (depending on the size of your pans. Mine are 2 1/2 inches wide on top and 1 1/2 inches at the base). Squish dough into mini pans.

Bake for approx. 10 minutes or until cookie dough is lightly golden at edges. Allow to cool and then remove cookie shells from pans.

Puree cream cheese and sugar. Put in piping bag. Pipe into cooled shells. Add fruit. Chill.

Pizza Bites

For this batch I did some with wheat dough too.

These little things are amazing! I wish I had gotten this recipe long, long ago. I love that I can stuff them with just about anything and they taste wonderful! Tonight, I made a mixture similar to the one in my spinach enchiladas for one batch. The second batch I did with peperoni and jalapeno mozzarella cheese curds. YUM!

Pizza Bites

Ingredients:
1 batch pizza dough (I like Trader Joe's ready made dough)

For filling (any pizza toppings will work):
mozzarella cheese, cubed or shredded
Italian seasoning
Grated Parmesan cheese
Sliced pepperoni
Spinach & ricotta
Ham & pineapple

For topping:
Olive oil
Italian seasoning
Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400˚ F. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie plate or cake pan. Divide the pizza dough into 16-20 roughly equal sized pieces. Take one of the dough pieces, flatten and top with a 1" ball of filling. Pull the edges of the dough around the fillings and pinch closed. Place seam-side down in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining dough pieces.

Lightly brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil (I just use my Misto sprayer). Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and grated Parmesan cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Serve warm, with dipping sauce as desired.

Source: adapted from Annie's Eats

Thank you Angela!

I have titled this entry "Thank you Angela" because my dear friend Angela is responsible for getting both of these awesome recipes to me. First, the spinach enchiladas, which came from, of all places, the back of a tortilla package! (Wow, that was a lot of commas). Anyway, I make them quite often, and they are always a hit!

Second, if you know me, you know I like to make salsa. This tomatillo-avocado green salsa is probably my favorite. This one is an Angela original. You will probably see me post my recipe for roasted vegetable salsa some time in the not so distant future because that happens to be Mark's favorite :)

Here they are!

Creamy Spinach Enchiladas

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/3 cup sliced green onions
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach , thawed and drained well
  
• 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 10 (6 inch) corn or flour tortillas
• 1 can enchilada sauce (I like it saucy so I do 2 cans)
  

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
Add garlic and onion; cook for a few minutes until the onions soften.



Stir in spinach, and cook until hot.



Remove from heat.
Mix in ricotta cheese, sour cream, and 1 cup of Monterey Jack cheese.



In a skillet over medium heat, warm tortillas one at a time until flexible, about 15 seconds.
Spoon about 1/4 cup of the spinach mixture onto the center of each tortilla.
Spray or lightly oil a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Spread a thin layer of enchilada sauce on the bottom of the dish.
Roll up, and place enchiladas seam side down.
Pour enchilada sauce over the top, and sprinkle with the remaining cup of Monterey Jack.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until sauce is bubbling and cheese is lightly browned at the edges.

Enjoy!

Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa

• 10-12 tomatillos simmered until soft
• 1 small onion
• 2 -3 cloves garlic
• peppers (Angela uses 1 jalapeno, 1 serrano & 1 habanero which is hot. I use about 20-30 thai ornamental peppers because we like things REALLY hot).
• 1 bunch cilantro stems removed
  
• 1 ripe avacado
• salt (to taste)
  
• cumin
• 3-4 T lime juice
  

Puree tomatillos, onion and garlic. Chill. Add other ingredients and puree again.

Buttery Soft Pretzels. OMG...YUM!!!

The other day I went to the mall with a friend and just I was getting closes to home, H called and asked me to bring him a pretzel. We sure as heck weren't going to turn around so I promised him we'd make our own during the week. Yesterday, I roasted up a few habanero & jalapeno peppers to add to them like they do at the mall. Today I made the pretzels. OH.MY.GOD. were they good!!!

Source: Allrecipes.com

Buttery Soft Pretzels

• 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 4 cups hot water
• 1/4 cup coarse salt, for topping (I used Penzeys french grey sea salt)
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 6 Roasted jalapeno and/or habanero peppers chopped
  

Directions

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add one or two tablespoons of water. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.
4. When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape. Once all of the dough is all shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place on a baking sheet lined w/ parchment paper and sprayed with the best cooking spray EVAH (thanks Veda) which you can buy at Williams-Sonoma . Sprinkle with coarse salt and top w/ roasted peppers .
5. Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned.
6. Remove from oven and brush w/ melted butter. Add more coarse salt if desired.
   

Cinco de Mayo???... It may as well be!

I can't believe that I waited this long to attempt at making Mark's favorite Mexican sauce. We have been eating at Jalisco since I can remember. Regardless of what we ordered, it would always come smothered in "salsa de arbol". Holy spicy goodness! One fine day while headed over to the produce department at our local Sendik's, I spotted them. Giant bags of dried arbol peppers. They were all of about $2, so I thought to myself, eh, why not give it a try. What did I have to lose? I found this recipe on Pepperfool.com. Could it really be this easy? After about an hour of coughing, and burning fingers, we had it, salsa de arbol. It looked like the real thing, now for the taste test. One bite and I new it was a hit, Mark's baby blues lit up like the grand finale at the ole Fun Before the Fourth light show. Of course I switched it up like I do pretty much any recipe. Here it is...


Salsa De Arbol

* 50ish dried chiles de arbol
* 1/4 medium onion
* 3-4 cloves garlic, peeled
* 1 pinch mexican oregano
* 1/4 cup vinegar
* salt to taste

Chop the onions and garlic. Remove the stems from the chiles. Place them in a saucepan with the onion and garlic. Add a cup or two of water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cover. Let stand 20 to 30 minutes. Place everything in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth, adding some of the soaking water to thin out the mixture. It should be somewhere between water and tomato sauce in thickness. Serve warm.