Life's Too Short to Skip Dessert

Peanut Butter Chip Chocolate Cookies

2012-01-26T15:47:00.000-05:00

Since I had some PB chips left over from my recipe last week, I decided it was finally time for me to make a chocolate cookie with them in it. I'm surprised I have never made these before. I mean, chocolate...peanut butter...cookie! Seems right up my alley!

These were rather easy to make. In fact, once the butter was soft, I got off the phone with my mom to make them. Then, about 15 minutes later, I called my mom because I forgot to tell her something during our previous chat. I also let her know the cookies were really good.

I do have to say that these are best RIGHT out of the oven. After a couple of days they get rather hard and lose their flavor. And now you have an excuse to eat all the cookies right after they're made. You're welcome.

Peanut Butter Chip Chocolate Cookies (adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup white sugar

1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup peanut butter chips

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2.In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt, stir into the creamed mixture. Finally, fold in the peanut butter chips. Drop cookies by heaping teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
3.Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until set. Cool on wire racks.

Bake well and prosper!

Banana Bread Muffins with Chocolate & Peanut Butter Chips

2012-01-20T14:58:00.000-05:00

I found a recipe online that called for cinnamon chips in banana bread. I was so excited to make the recipe! Alas, it was not to be. I couldn't find cinnamon chips in the two stores I went to. So, I bought peanut butter chips and improvised.

I really enjoyed the mix of pb & chocolate in banana bread. However, in the long run, I think I would just use peanut butter in the batter and add the chocolate chips in. NEXT time! :)

Banana Bread Muffins with Chocolate & Peanut Butter Chips

(adapted from Amanda's Cookin')

2+ very ripe bananas

1/2 cup unsalted butter, butter

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour muffin tins.

Mashed the bananas with a fork and place in a mixer bowl with softened butter. Mix on medium speed until well blended. Add in the vanilla, eggs, sugar and buttermilk and beat on medium speed until well blended.

Whisk together baking soda, salt and flour. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add flour mixture to banana mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips and peanut butter chips.

Scoop batter into muffin tins. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire racks slightly before removing and cooling completely.

Bake well and prosper.

Croissants (Julia Child Recipe)

2012-01-13T16:39:00.000-05:00

While I was in cold Minnesota with nothing to do but keep warm and hang out, I figured I would try to make croissants a la Julia Child's recipe. When I made croissants last year, I was pressed for time and therefore used a "Time Crunch" Croissant Recipe.

I was so excited to finally be able to use Julia's recipe! But guess what? They were awful! They look better than my time crunch croissants, but they were very bland.

Here's the story:

My brother and I couldn't find any pastry flour in the two grocery stores we went to so we used all-purpose flour instead of the recommended blend of all-purpose and pastry flour.

From the start we could tell the dough wasn't quite right. I felt like it should be sticker and a little more malleable.

We DID make a mess which usually means the end product will be a success.

But not in this case. While the croissants looked lovely, they tasted bad. Looks: 10 Taste: 2

They didn't even taste like butter, which is shocking because they contain a whole stick!

My brother and I blame the flour. Ah well. It was still a fun thing to do on a cold, winter day.

Here's the step by step guide to Julia's Croissant recipe on Mamaliga. I hope they go better for you than they did for me!

Bake well and prosper!

Monkey Bread with Pecans and Apples

2012-01-04T16:54:00.000-05:00

Oh. Hi there. It's been a while, hasn't it. Well, you know how in October I didn't blog much because I was so busy with an opera role, doing props for the opera, and training for a marathon (while also having my mom in town for 2 weeks)? Yeah, well life got even busier for me in December. I had a role in two different operas with two different opera companies. Oh, and, you know, that little day called Christmas which meant singing at 3 masses within 13 hours. And BOTH of my parents came for a week.

I do have to say that it was less stressful than October because my body wasn't exhausted from training for a marathon. As you can imagine, I was greatly looking forward to my vacation during New Years and the week after.

My first stop was to my brother's place in MN. He has a lovely house in the "woods." My apartment is the size of his living room and kitchen. Ha!

It snowed on New Year's Eve and stayed very cold for the rest of my visit.

That's me after bundling up accordingly.

It's funny when I leave the city for the country. I realize about all the things I don't have to deal with. Like, I don't have to worry about defrosting a car or shoveling a driveway. But my brother does! He has a cool machine to deal with the snow on the driveway.

My brother was the one who had the great idea to make monkey bread one morning. Since I woke up before he or his wife did, I figured I would help by making the monkey bread.

Well, you know me...

I guess making a mess with the sugar doesn't help much. But, if it's a mess, it's a success. And boy oh boy, this monkey bread was GOOD!

My brother wanted pecans in it and I added the apples. Mmmmm! Great combo.

It was a delicious way to start the new year. (And a messy way! Somethings never change!)

Here's to a wonderful 2012!

Monkey Bread (aka Pull Apart Rolls) with Pecans and Apples (adapted from Mom's Best Recipes cookbook)

2 cans of biscuits (I prefer the extra buttery and fluffy ones)

1 C sugar

2 t cinnamon

1 chopped apple

1/2 C chopped pecans

1 1/2 sticks butter

1 C brown sugar

1 t cinnamon

Generously grease tube pan with Crisco. In paper bag, put sugar and 2 t cinnamon. Using 1 can at a time, cut biscuits into quarters. Place in paper bag and shake to coat. Place in tube pan, sprinkling apple and pecan pieces over each layer except last one.

(Second Part)

Boil together butter, brown sugar, and 1 t cinnamon. Pour mixture over biscuits. Bake 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before inverting. Let guests pull apart.

Bake well and prosper!

Orange Drop Cookies

2011-12-13T15:30:00.000-05:00

Do you find it interesting that orange season (at least for naval oranges) is now? I do because when I think orange, I think summer. Maybe that's because as a child I would go to Florida in the summer and drink lots of freshly squeezed orange juice.

Well, this lovely cookie is best when made while oranges are in season since they use the rind of the orange. It's a nice option to the normal, heavy, chocolaty, doughy, and super sugary holiday snacks showing up this time of year. Also, the smell of orange zest makes your kitchen smell so lovely!

So, what are you waiting for? Go make this now!

(Oh, and yes, I posted this recipe way back... Back in my dark ages with my simple point and shoot camera. It was time to shoot them the right way and show all the lovely orange colors!)

Orange Drop Cookies (from my Mom's Best Recipes Cook Book)
2/3 C butter
¾ C sugar
1 egg
½ C orange juice
2 T grated orange rind
2 C flour
½ t baking powder
½ t soda
½ t salt

Mix; drop on cookie sheet. Bake 375° about 8-10 minutes.

Cool partially, then frost with a mixture of the following
2 T soft butter
1 T grated orange rind
2 T orange juice
2 C powdered sugar

Blend and spread on cookies when they are mostly cooled.

Erika’s Extra’s: Buy 3 oranges just to be safe. Make sure the cookies are almost completely cooled so the frosting won’t run off them.

Bake well and prosper!

Viennese Chocolate Spice Cookies

2011-12-08T13:33:00.000-05:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Wait...is it? Is it really the Christmas season? With 17 days to go, I guess it is! It approached quickly and then with all the unseasonably warm weather NYC has had, it hasn't seemed like it SHOULD be Christmas. The cold weather I woke up to this morning definitely helped to reassure me that indeed, it's Christmastime!

The lights that are up and the Christmas decorations in store windows and on houses also help get me in the Christmas spirit.

And the holiday music playing in stores helps.

And the elves making my bed. Wait, what? There are no such things as elves? Well that explains why my bed and room are so messy!

Also, all the goodies showing up at the office has helped get me to believe that Christmas is near.

Need a good cookie to bring in to work? I suggest these Viennese Chocolate Spice Cookies. They can be made crispy or slightly chewy, and the combo of chocolate along with a slight hint of spices makes them perfect for winter.

I hope you are preparing for Christmas and enjoying the season!

Viennese Chocolate Spice Cookies (adapted from One Perfect Bite)

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups flour, plus additional for dusting the work surface
3/4 cup cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-process
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 ounces cool, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (1-1/2 sticks)
1 cup sugar
1-1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, divided use
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 egg, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
1) Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl until well combined. Set aside.
2) Using a stand mixer on medium speed, beat butter to soften, about 1 minute. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. If mixture is gritty beat an additional 2 minutes.
3) Beat in 3/4 teaspoon of pepper and all of allspice. Beat in egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Add in the flour mixture. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
4) Lightly dust work surface with flour and turn dough onto it. Roll into a 9-inch log. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate about 3 hours.
5) Position oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven. Preheat to 375 degrees F.
6) Slice log into 1/4 inch-thick slices and place on sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake for 6 minutes then rotate sheets top to bottom and front to back. Bake for 6 more minutes until slightly puffed or springy to touch. Cool for 2 minutes in pans, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
7) Mix confectioners’ sugar and remaining 1/2 teaspoon black pepper in a small bowl. Sift mixture over completely cooled cookies. Yield: 3 dozen cookies.

Bake well and prosper!

Chocolate Chip Cookies & Belated Blog Birthday

2011-12-01T14:50:00.000-05:00

Since I've been so busy I missed posting on my blog's birthday which was October 4. So I shall pretend it's today. Because I can. This is the internet after all.

My first post with a recipe 2 years ago was the Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from my Mom's Best Recipes cookbook.

I just reread that post and I like how much has and hasn't changed since then. I still have this recipe memorized and I still run, sing, hedge fund, and socialize.

I thankfully have a better camera to document the cookies and have embraced natural lighting as the way to go for photo taking.

In the last year I've been very proud of a couple of baking related things:

1. I made croissants for the first time in my life and they were great!

2. Pillsbury liked my post on lemon pull apart bread which used their seamless dough baking sheets. They put a link on their facebook wall and made my day!

3. Way back in February I made an amazing black forest trifle and it's one of my favorite recipes of the year.

4. Lots of people have pinned me on pinterest. And that makes me feel loved. Aw!

So, here's to another year of blogging and baking. I can't wait to see what year 3 has in store for me!

Chocolate Chip Cookies from my Mom's Best Recipes Cookbook

Ingredients:

1 stick of margarine/butter (I find that margarine will make them softer. Yum!)

1/2 cup of white sugar
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 egg well beaten
1 cup and 2 Tablespoons of flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla (use the real thing....imitation vanilla is a poser!)
1/4 teaspoon of warm water (DO IT! TRUST ME!)
6 oz of semi sweet chocolate chip morsels

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix margarine, sugars, and egg together until margarine chunks are quite small and well beaten. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt together and then stir until well mixed. Add vanilla and then mix. Water and then mix. And then add in the chocolate chips last. Place dollops of dough on cookie sheet with plenty of room between each dollop. Bake 8-10 minutes.

Erika's Extra Notes: To get very lovely and soft cookies, take out of oven when they are still fluffy/slightly uncooked looking. They will cook more while cooling. If baking two sheets at once, make sure to switch the top to the bottom and vice-verse half way through baking.

Bake well and prosper!

Sometimes You Throw Away Your Camera's Memory Card

2011-11-28T10:42:00.000-05:00

What? You've never thrown away the memory card to your camera? I hadn't either until two weeks ago. I was throwing away some trash and didn't notice that my card and card reader were in the pile I threw away. It wouldn't be that big of a deal if there weren't pictures of the desserts I had made that week on there. But they were.

I was asked by Deana of Lost Past Remembered to make some desserts for a movie filming in Queens. Even though I was super busy with work and operas, I decided this would be too cool to pass up.

The assignment consisted of making a citrus tart, a chocolate icing cake, and something else that I felt like making.

Thankfully, Deana took some pictures of the desserts I made while they were on set. (You can see her whole post on the food for the film here. She made some great dishes!)

The Citrus Tart

Deana sent some pictures of what to make and I read up on the process of candying lemons. I was really happy with the outcome. However, my recipe didn't have a carmelization process and the director wanted a darker looking citrus top. (I wish I had my pictures to show you how yellow and fresh the lemons were when I made it.) Thankfully, Deana is a master in the kitchen and easily whipped up a topping to add to the lemons to make them darker. She also let me know that one of the producers really liked the tart and wants the recipe. (See bottom of post.)

The Cake

I was also sent a picture of a round cake with chocolate icing and some white frosting swirls. Deana said to make the cake and make it pretty. So I put shredded coconut in a circle on the top edges of the cake. Well, the director really wanted those swirls so Deana came to my rescue again by taking off the coconut and adding the swirls (and some canned frosting...over my butter cream frosting! For shame!) ;)

The Extra

I had decided to experiment with my mom's recipe for Orange Drop Cookies. I figured they would make cute little tarts if baked in a cupcake pan. Well, they made cute little cupcakes instead. Hmmm. I iced them quickly because the lady from the movie crew who was picking up my desserts was close by. Once again, Deana spruced them up by adding white icing and a raspberry on top. Now why didn't I think of that? They are so cute like that!

What I learned from this experience is how to make candied lemons. Oh, and that directors have a vision.

Lemon Tart recipe found at Epicurious. (I used premade pie crust since I needed to save time where I could.)

Bake well and prosper!

Everyday Cookies

2011-11-14T17:21:00.001-05:00

Wow! I haven't blogged in a month! I don't even know if I remember how to use blogger...

I went into the month of October knowing it would be the busiest month of the year for me. While I was singing Cherubino in the opera The Marriage of Figaro...

I was also in charge of props for all 11 performances of the opera. And while I was in the opera, I also hosted my mom for TWO WEEKS IN MY APARTMENT.

In fact, she was the guest baker for my only post in October: Sour Cream Coffee Cake. (My dad also came to see my show but could only stay for 2 days.)

And while I was singing, taking care of props, hosting my mom, working a full time job, and singing at my church, I also ran the NYC Marathon.

That's me hamming it up for the cameras BEFORE I tightened up and finished poorly. But hey, I finished! I mean, I HAD to. Right after the marathon I had an audition for an opera company. I kid you not.

That's me in my audition dress WITH my medal. I'm surrounded by two friends who celebrated my day's achievements with me.

And while all of THAT happened, the trees changed color. :)

So, as you can see, I was quite busy. I hope this explains why I haven't posted in a month. I'm very sorry and have missed baking/blogging/blogging friends. I was so busy that I even missed my blog's 2 year anniversary! Waaaah!

Now it looks like November and December will be quite busy too! I'm in ANOTHER opera, but no marathon for me. Just a half marathon the day before my birthday. Whew!

As for baking, I liked my mom's idea about making Everyday Cookies. I think they are called that because you can eat them everyday, but I'm going to say that it means to go through everyday one at a time. And eat a cookie everyday. ;)

Everyday Cookies (from my Mom's Best Recipe Book)

Ingredients

1 C butter

1 C white sugar

1 C brown sugar

1 C oil

1 large egg

1 t vanilla

3 1/2 C flour

1 t salt

1 t soda

1 t cream of tartar
1 C oatmeal

1 C Rice Krispies

1 C shredded coconut

Directions

Mix the butter, sugars, oil, and egg together. Add vanilla. Sift in the flour, salt, soda, and cream of tartar. Stir in the oatmeal, Rice Krispies, and coconut.

Chill dough for one hour. Roll into balls and flatten a bit. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes or until slightly brown on the edges.

Bake well and prosper!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

2011-10-18T17:24:00.000-04:00

Positive. Staying positive is the mantra of the month for me. As you can see, I haven't posted since the end of September. I'm currently performing in an opera while also being the head of props for said opera, training for a marathon, working my desk job and my church job, oh, and my mother is in town for 2 weeks.

When she said she was going to come for 2 weeks during the busiest month of my year, I was NOT a happy camper. BUT, I told her she would have to bake. So, let's stay positive... Check out this delicious breakfast bread she made for me (and my coworkers)!

It really was extremely yummy. The boss at my office had many helpings...as did I. It was nice and fluffy with just the right amount of cinnamon added to it - the perfect dessert to get me through these busy and tough weeks of October.

PS Here's a picture of me in my Cherubino outfit from the opera. (I'm on the left.)

Sour Cream Coffee Cake (from my Mom's Best Recipes Book)

Ingredients to beat together very well:
1 box white cake mix

1/2 C sugar

4 eggs

3/4 C vegetable oil

8 oz carton sour cream

Ingredients to mix together:

1/4 C brown sugar
1 C chopped pecans
2 t cinnamon

Pour 1/3 of first mixture into greased and floured tube pan. Add 1/2 of second mixture, then 1/3 of first mixture, 1/2 of second mixture, and the remaining 1/3 of first mixture.

Bake about 1 hour at 325 degrees. Let set 10 minutes before removing from pan.

Glaze if desired.

Bake well and prosper!

Banana Bread with Mini Reese's PB Cups (and an Easy Canvas Print!)

2011-09-29T14:15:00.003-04:00

Check out what I got in the mail last week:

Easy Canvas Prints turned the picture I use for my title into a lovely canvas. It's so gorgeous. Totally perks up my room! I can't wait to turn more of my favorite photos into canvas. You can also turn your pictures to canvas with Easy Canvas Prints. (PS Join their mailing list to get great deals!)

Seeing this canvas reminded me that I haven't baked with Reese's Mini Peanut Butter Cups is a LONG time. So, I looked in my "recipes to make" file, and found this recipe for banana bread.

Banana bread is great by itself, so I felt a little devious adding in the PB cups. Like, that's just wrong, right? But oh man, it was so right and good. The addition of a hint of chocolate and peanut butter makes this banana bread awesome!

Banana Bread with Mini Reese's PB Cups (found at Delightful Bitefuls)

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

½ cup butter, softened

¾ cup (packed) brown sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

2 1/3 cups mashed over-ripe bananas (about 5 medium bananas)

1 cup of mini milk chocolate peanut butter cups (you can buy them or make your own)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease 9×5-inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, soda and salt; set aside.

In a separate large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture and mini peanut butter cups into flour mixture; stir until well combined.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake 60- 65 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean.

Allow bread to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Bake well and prosper!

Black Cherry Ice Cream Scones

2011-09-23T14:30:00.000-04:00

Fall is officially here (now that it's warm and super humid again in NYC...) I don't know about y'all, but I still had a lot of ice cream in my freezer left from summer. While I am sure I could have finished it in its usual form, I happened to have stumbled upon an easy recipe to make scones from ice cream. Yes, scones!

I tried this recipe last week but didn't get self rising flour. Listen to me: You MUST use self rising flour for this recipe. (Normal flour yields a weird mushy cookie thingy that is NOT a scone. Nor a cookie. It's just wrong.)

So, after buying self rising flour, I decided to use Turkey Hill's Black Cherry Ice Cream.

This ice cream is delicious straight from the container, but man, oh man... Black Cherry Scones are GREAT!

Now, go grab some self rising flour and an ice cream you'd like in a scone flavor and bake away!

Black Cherry Scones (adapted from Framed Cooks)

1 pint vanilla ice cream

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Extra flour for when you roll out the scones

1. Let ice cream soften for about 15 minutes, and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Add ice cream and flour to mixer. Start mixing and then add in the vanilla. Mix until combined into a dough that sticks together.

3. Generously flour rolling surface and place dough on flour. Knead it just a little until dough comes together, adding additional flour as needed until you have a dough that is more floury than wet. (Erika's Extras: It will be hard to feel the dough because your fingers will be so cold!)

4. Roll the dough into a long thin tube shape with your hands.It should be about 1 inch wide and 12 inches long.

5. Cut dough into 1 inch segments and place on baking sheet about 2 inches apart.

6. Bake until just turning golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Cool on rack.

Bake well and prosper!

(Time Crunch) Croissants

2011-09-19T15:38:00.001-04:00

I MADE CROISSANTS! I MADE CROISSANTS!

Ahem. So, this weekend I made croissants as part of a croissant challenge that other baking bloggers are doing. Ok, I can't contain myself. Weeee!!!! I MADE CROISSANTS. I'm very excited about the fact that I made these because I didn't think I was going to be able to. The recipe shared as the base recipe on Heavenly Housewife's site was Julia Child's recipe.

Um, I live in the city that never sleeps. How was I going to accomplish a recipe that takes a day and a half?

Well, we didn't HAVE to use that recipe. So, as to not let my other bloggers down, I found a "quicker" croissant recipe. And I have to say, they turned out great!

I didn't dare try to make these at the end of August. It was still super humid in New York and the yeast/dough would have pffffft on my plans to make croissants. Since the weather just dropped into Fall this week, I knew the weather conditions would be better for working with yeast.

Well, Fall also means more miles to put in for marathon training and it is also the begining of opera season in NY. I am lacking time to bake even simple things!

I guess the fact that I made wonderful tasting croissants during a busy weekend helped to make the croissants even tastier to me. Maybe you would feel as elated too if you also ran 17 miles Sat morning, had an opera audition afterwards, took a 30 minute nap, recorded 2 hours worth of arias, started croissants, went to bed, made croissants in the morning, went to church, went to opera rehearsal, sang at a wedding, and hung out with friends at the San Gennaro Festival. (Are you exhausted yet from reading all of that?)

I've only baked with yeast once before. The first time was a slight disaster so I was quite nervous starting this project. Everything went smoothly and I quite enjoyed working with the dough. Very therapeutic after long days. Oh, and did I mention it's quite messy? :)

I looked silly walking into to the laudromat with flour on my jeans. People there were probably thinking I should toss the jeans in the washer too. Or maybe they were jealous since I was obviously baking something good!

I enjoyed my croissant making so much that with the second half of the batter I made Nutella croissants. One word: AMAZING!

So, if you've always wanted to make croissants but had some worries over the time comitment, try this "easier" recipe. Making the dough took 25 minutes (and that was with clean up.) The next morning took 2 hours, but 1.5 of those hours is just waiting around for the dough to do its thing.

I found the outcome very lovely. They were crispy on the outside, flaky enough on the inside, and super buttery altogether. (If you do a more involved recipe you will probably get more flaky layers.)

PS I used farm fresh butter and eggs and organic flour and milk. The better the ingredients, the better the croissant. (Do you really want to spend so much time making something without using the best?)

PPS If you want to see the other bloggers who participated in the croissant challenge, check them out. (Trust me, you WANT to.)

Heavenly Housewife at Donuts to Delirium

Stevie at Weird Combinations

Anna at Keep it Luce

Glamorous Glutton

Faith from An Edible Mosaic

Joumana over at Taste of Beirut

Croissants (from Serious Eats which has lovely step by step pictures)

Ingredients

2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

1/2 cup lukewarm water

1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup cold milk
1 large egg
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick salted butter, frozen
1 stick unsalted butter, frozen
Optional: Chocolate or other filling

Directions
1. Take the butter out of the freezer and let it sit at room temperature while you work. You want it as cold as possible, but still able cuttable. Put the yeast, water and sugar into a medium bowl and stir to combine. (The water should NOT be warmer than 110 degrees F.) Set aside until it begins to get foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the milk and egg and beat lightly to break up the egg and combine it all.

2. Put the flour and salt into your food processor and pulse to distribute the salt. Cut each stick of butter into tablespoon-sized pieces, then cut each of those pieces in half. Put all of the pieces into the food processor with the flour and pulse about 10 times to distribute the butter and break the chunks just a little. You don't want small pieces as you would for pie crust; larger chunks are preferable. (So bigger than pea size is fine.)

3. Add the flour and butter to the liquid in the bowl and fold gently with a spatula until all the flour is moistened and it is well combined, being careful not to break up the butter. The butter should still be fairly hard at this point. The dough will be very wet; don't worry about it. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight. Enjoy your zzzzzs.

4. The mixture can be used the next day, or kept refrigerated for an additional day if you aren't ready for it. When you are ready, flour your work surface generously and have more flour standing by. Turn the dough out onto your work surface, sprinkle some additional flour over the top, and form it into a rough square. Working quickly, roll the dough out to an approximate 16-inch square. Because it's so wet, it should roll easily, but it might be a bit sticky. Add flour as needed on top and underneath and also on the rolling pin to keep it from sticking. Fold the dough in thirds, like a letter.

5. Then fold it in thirds again, to make a square. Do the same roll-and-fold two more times. As you work, keep the work surface lightly floured, just to keep it from sticking. Since the dough is so soft, you should be able to do this fast enough that the butter won't get too soft and squishy. If the butter does soften, put it in the fridge and continue once the butter has firmed up again. After the last fold, flatten it a bit, then put it into a plastic bag and put it into the refrigerator for at least an hour, or up to three days.

6. When you are ready to make the croissants, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or butter the sheet. The dough will have risen while refrigerated. Cut the dough into quarters.

7. Roll the first quarter into about a 6-inch square. Cut the square into quarters diagonally (so you're making an X on the dough).

8. Take one of your right triangles of dough and roll or stretch it into a pie-shaped wedge at least seven inches long. You can make it longer or a little shorter depending on how long and plump you want the croissant.

9. Starting at the wide end, roll the dough toward the the point.

10. Place the finished croissants on the prepared baking sheet with the point underneath. Form the dough into a crescent shape.

11. Cover them with plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes. They won't rise much at all, but they should feel puffy instead of firm. Brush the croissants with an egg wash, if desired, or leave them plain. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until they are golden brown. Remove to a rack to cool.

12. Filling Variation: For chocolate croissants, follow the original recipe though Step 6, then roll the quarter of dough into a rectangle about 10 x 6 inches. Cut that into strips about 2 1/2 inches wide x 6 inches long.

13. Put your favorite chocolate at one end and roll up. (I used Nutella.) It works best to make sure the dough is just a little wider than the chocolate and fold it over to enclose the chocolate when you start rolling, so it doesn't seep out during baking. Place the rolls seam-side down on the pan and allow them to rise and bake as in the original recipe.

Bake well and prosper!

Sometimes All You Need After a Long Day is a Comic Strip

2011-09-17T21:09:00.000-04:00

Bliss comic strip just gave me a good laugh before I hit the sack. I hope you'll enjoy it too!

Good night!

Bake well and prosper!

Oatmeal Brownie Milky Way Bars

2011-09-08T16:36:00.000-04:00

The last couple of weeks of summer have been pretty good for me. I was cast in an opera, Pillsbury featured my last blog post, I've been logging some great miles in training for a marathon, and I've been hanging out with a bunch of friends, old and new.

I've also stumbled upon many great recipes! (When I first typed that I spelled "upron." I wonder what an upron would be. Some fancy type of apron without strings?)

Anyway, I digress. One of those awesome recipes I found was this one for Oatmeal Brownie Milky Way Bars from the great site, i am baker.

I haven't used a boxed brownie mix in a long time so these tasted a little weird to me due to that. However, they are still very yummy and GREAT when microwaved and topped with vanilla ice cream. And if you'd like to use a brownie recipe made from scratch, I'd suggest the tried, tested, and true Supernatural Brownie recipe.

Oatmeal Brownie Milky Way Bars (from i am baker)

Oatmeal Milky Way Brownie Bars

2 cups Old Fashioned Oats

2 cups flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 1/2 sticks room temp. butter
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups boxed brownie mix (I used dark chocolate)
1/3 cup canola oil
1 egg
1 bag (11 oz.) caramel squares
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 Milky Way bars
(If you are using the Supernatural Brownie recipe, you can use everything called for in that recipe in place of the flour, sugar, butter, baking soda, salt, brownie mix, oil, and egg.)

In a medium sauce pan, place the two Milky Ways, entire bag of caramels, and half cup of heavy cream. Let simmer over medium to medium low heat until fully melted. Remove from heat and let cool approximately ten minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl combine oats, flour, baking soda, salt, brown sugar, and butter. Either use a fork to incorporate or use hands to combine. The chunks of butter should be no larger than the size of a pea.

Add in two cups of brownie mix, egg, and oil. Stir until just combined.

Using a prepared 9x13 baking dish, spread half of the oat mixture into dish and press firmly to flatten. (Make sure you don't use more than half because you won't have enough to cover the top.)

Pour the melted Milky Way mixture over the oat mixture. Make sure to get all the way to the corners.

Top with remaining oat mixture.

Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes.

Bake well and prosper!

Lemon Pull Apart Bread

2011-08-31T09:36:00.001-04:00

My rule for my coworkers regarding their birthdays is: If it's coming up and you want something, let me know because I'll bake it for you. It's very much "Ask and you shall receive."

Well, my coworker, Mel, always let me know that she expects something with lemon. (I can already hear her now, "I didn't EXPECT it. I just wanted it." Details details.)

Lucky for her I found a recipe for lemon pull a part bread on Buttered Up.

Lucky for me I found exactly what I needed to make this recipe much faster: Pillsbury Seamless Dough Sheets! I was planning on using the biscuits that I use for my Monkey Bread (aka Pull Apart Rolls) until I found these lovely things.

The bread turned out to be delicious and exactly what we needed in the office after an earthquake. Yep, I felt the earthquake way up on the umpteenth floor that I work on. Mel did too. And you know what? It was nice to have a coworker that likes desserts and likes to evacuate when the floor shakes while we're so high up in the sky. It was a pleasure and a relief to have a like-minded coworker to rush down all those stairs with!

Lemon Pull Apart Bread (my easy adaption)

2 cans of Pillsbury Seamless Dough Sheets

1 C white sugar

zest from 6 lemons

2 T butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a loaf pan (9x5).

2. Place the sugar in a bowl and rub the lemon zest in with the sugar.

3. Unfold one baking sheet and with a pastry brush or small spatula, spread half the melted butter on the dough.

4. Cut the dough into 4x3 rectangles and add half the lemon zest over the rectangles.

5. Stack the rectangles one on top of each other and transfer into the loaf pan. You will want the cut side down (the longer of the sides.)

6. Repeat steps 3-5 with the other dough.

7. Bake in the middle rack of the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Cool for 5-10 minutes and invert loaf to release bread.

Bake well and prosper!

Cherry Brownies

2011-08-24T17:17:00.001-04:00

While browsing around online, I saw a brownie recipe that involved cherries. Since it IS cherry season, I decided to make it. (One of the easiest decisions I made this week.)

Dealing with cherries created such a mess!

How lovely. :)

I promise that's just cherry juice.

I did feel like I was murdering the cherries seeing they oozed beautiful, red juice...

Anyway, like I said at the top, I saw a cherry brownie recipe online. Too bad I didn't revisit it once I started baking. It was a ROASTED cherry brownie recipe. I just started making my normal brownies and added in the cherries. Whoops. I think the roasted cherries would have helped create firmer brownies. Mine were quite mushy, but still yummy!

Cherry Brownies (Cherry idea from Pink Parsley & brownie recipe from NY Times)

2 sticks (16 tablespoons) butter

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate

4 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup dark brown sugar, such as muscovado (Erika's Extra Note: light brown sugar works fine as well)

1 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1 cup sweet and sour cherries pitted and halved

1. Butter a 13-by-9-inch baking pan and line with buttered parchment paper. (Erika's note: This recipe is so buttery I've never needed to use parchment paper.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In top of a double boiler set over barely simmering water, or on low power in a microwave, melt butter and chocolate together. Cool slightly. In a large bowl or mixer, whisk eggs. Whisk in salt, sugars and vanilla.

2. Whisk in chocolate mixture. Fold in flour just until combined. Fold in cherries. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until shiny and beginning to crack on top. Cool in pan on rack.

Note: For best flavor, bake 1 day before serving, let cool and store, tightly wrapped.

Bake well and prosper!

Crumbly Peach Bars

2011-08-16T16:34:00.000-04:00

I had to add peach schnapps to this recipe. HAD to.

Ok. Explanation: I saw this recipe yesterday and knew that it was THE recipe to end peach season with. I combed all the fruit bodegas near me in Astoria. I had just bought great peaches from them two weeks earlier and discovered that my biggest fear was true: Peach season is over. Sure, there were peaches, but they were all hard and didn't smell like a peach. The summer days of just grabbing any peach at the stand and biting into a lovely, succulent peach were over. I found three peaches that seemed like they might be ok to use.

Unfortunately, one was a dud. Out of the other two peaches, one was great and one was ok. To make the ok one better, I decided to soak it in peach schnapps. Naturally. Thus, a mediocre peach = I HAD to add peach schnapps to the recipe.

Another thing I decided to do? Well, you know me - big on messes. Totally took the option 3 route and used my hands to blend the crumbs mixture.

One more cool thing about this recipe: it was the first time I browned butter. Browning butter is fun!

Crumbly Peach Bars (adapted from The Sweet Art)

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold, unsalted butter
1 large egg
3 peaches, peeled and sliced into small chunks or thin slices

Brown your butter: Melt butter in a small/medium saucepan over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Keep your eyes on it; it burns very quickly. (Erika's Extras: This process took me 20 minutes.)
Set it in the freezer until solid (about 30 minutes).

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
Butter a 9×13 inch pan, or spray it with a nonstick spray.

Soak cut up peaches in peach schnapps (enough to cover the peaches).
In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, baking powder, flour, salt and spices with a whisk. Use a pastry blender, fork, or your fingertips and blend the solidified brown butter and egg into the flour mixture. It will become crumbly.

Pat 3/4 of the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan, pressing firmly.

Tile peach slices over crumb base in a single layer. Feel free to use some of the peach schnapps on this layer, but just a little bit of the leftover liquid.

Scatter remaining crumbs evenly over peaches and bake in preheated oven for 30-45 minutes, until top is slightly brown and you can see a little color around the edges.

Cool in pan before cutting into squares.

Bake well and prosper!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies - Toulouse, France

2011-08-10T17:52:00.000-04:00

While I was on my European vacation disaster struck! I LEFT MY CAMERA IN SYROS. IN a BODEGA. And I realized this WHILE the ferry was LEAVING the island.

I had a slight freak out for 15 minutes and then calmed down. It's just a thing. A possession. It's not my passport, which would be a problem.

Once I got a hold of my friend on Syros (4 hours after I left the island), he secured the camera from the bodega. Whew!

Unfortunately this meant that I wouldn't have my nice camera for the second part of my European trip which was in France. :( This just means that I'll have to go back sometime soon with my nice camera to take better pictures, obviously. :)

Toulouse was lovely (even with a normal point and shoot!) This is the view from my friend's apartment. Incredible, right?!

The city of Toulouse had a wonderful City Hall and operas are performed there. Some day maybe I'll sing there too!

After eating days of healthy Mediterranean fare, I rejoiced with being surrounded by buttery goodness again. I probably had 2 types of croissants a day. Yes, TWO. I also had about 1.5 desserts each day too. Mmmm. The above picture is of a famous patisserie in Toulouse where I had a chocolate almond croissant. Yes. Chocolate AND almond filling with sliced almonds and powdered sugar on top. I was in heaven!

One of the coolest things I did while in Toulouse was sing on top of my friend's apartment, which happened to be a tower from the 12th century. My voice bounced off the tiled roofs and cut through the gloomy clouds. People of the neighborhood opened their windows and enjoyed my impromptu concert. I even received applause! :)

My friend Marie and her boyfriend enjoyed the private concert very much. Then we went back inside to enjoy Marie's WONDERFUL vegan chocolate chip cookies.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies (adapted from Post Punk Kitchen)

Makes two dozen two inch cookies or about 16 three inch cookies

1/2 brown sugar
1/4 white sugar
2/3 cup canola oil (Marie felt that the cookies were too oily so we suggest you cut this amount down by a teeny bit)
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (or your favorite non-dairy milk)
1 tablespoon tapioca flour
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups vegan chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease two large light metal baking sheets.

Mix together sugars, oil, milk and tapioca flour in a mixing bowl. Use a strong fork and mix really well, for about 2 minutes, until it resembles smooth caramel. There is a chemical reaction when sugar and oil collide, so it’s important to not skip this step. Mix in the vanilla.

Add 1 cup of the flour, the baking soda and salt. Mix until well incorporated. Mix in the rest of the flour. Fold in the chocolate chips. The dough will be a little stuff so use your hands to really work them in.

For 3 inch cookies, roll the dough into about ping pong ball size balls. Flatten them out in your hands to about 2 1/2 inches. They will spread just a bit. Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes – no more than 9 – until they are just a little browned around the edges. I usually get 16 out of these so I do two rounds of eight cookies. Let cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

For 2 dozen two inch cookies roll dough into walnut sized balls and flatten to about 1 1/2 inches and bake for only six minutes.

I had such a lovely time in both Greece and France. I can't wait to go back!

I get my camera back this week and will be back in the kitchen to share tons of goodies with y'all!

Bake well and prosper!

Orange Cake from Syros, Greece

2011-08-01T17:36:00.001-04:00

Hello dear readers! I'm back from vacationing in Greece and France. I feel like I have deserted you when I really should have been dessert-ing you! (Ha! Get it?!)

Most of my time in Greece was on the lovely island of Syros. I mainly stayed in Galisas which is a beach town. There were many lovely sunsets I enjoyed from the beach there.

Galisas also has a couple of restaurants, but the best one is Sunset (check out the Greek spelling below.)

The owner and waitstaff were great and gave me special treatment! (Of course it helps that my friend Sean has been eating there for the past 3 summers.) :) The restaurant itself is lovely and also has outdoor seating where one can watch all the beautiful sunsets.

See the beach in the background?

One afternoon I was served a dessert which they called Orange Cake. It was delicious, but seeing that Greeks don't really use butter and flour like we Americans do, I'd call it an orange flavored flan. It was on top of about 10 layers of phyllo dough and it was delicious! (Thanks to Heavenly Housewife's search, here's a recipe that looks like it's close to what I ate: Saveur's Portokalopita)

I loved the Mediterranean diet that I ate while there. I had tons of Greek salad and fresh fish. Even better than the food was the people. I fell in love with the people in Athens and on the tiny island of Syros. They are friendly, happy, and want you to enjoy their country. I need to go back to visit more islands and stay for longer. I miss Greece already!

The pretty blue used all over Greece.

Ermoupoli (main town on Syros) had so many lovely colors and walkways.

I was such an adventurous explorer (read: dork.)

Bake well and prosper!

Oreo Brownies

2011-07-12T16:24:00.002-04:00

I've seen a lot of Oreo brownies on the web recently. So much so that I had to make them too, naturally! (With double stuffed Oreos of course!)

I decided to go with the Oreo stuffed brownie technique. They were the perfect finger food for a picnic dessert. They also look really cool before cutting into squares.

I hope every one's summer is going well! PS These brownies go well with vanilla ice cream!

Supernatural Brownies (basic brownie recipe from the NY Times - oreo addition from my mind)

2 sticks (16 tablespoons) butter

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate

4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dark brown sugar, such as muscovado (Erika's Extra Note: light brown sugar works fine as well)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 bag of double stuffed Oreos

1. Butter a 13-by-9-inch baking pan and line with buttered parchment paper. (Erika's note: This recipe is so buttery I've never needed to use parchment paper.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In top of a double boiler set over barely simmering water, or on low power in a microwave, melt butter and chocolate together. Cool slightly. In a large bowl or mixer, whisk eggs. Whisk in salt, sugars and vanilla.

2. Whisk in chocolate mixture. Fold in flour just until combined.

3. Pour in HALF of the batter into prepared pan. Line batter with Oreos. Pour rest of batter over Oreos and make sure they are completely covered.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until shiny and beginning to crack on top. Cool in pan on rack.

Note: For best flavor, bake 1 day before serving, let cool and store, tightly wrapped.

Bake well and prosper!

Fresh Blueberry Pie

2011-07-05T20:07:00.000-04:00

As promised, the recipe for the blueberry pie that I showed in my post yesterday. But first, fireworkrk pictures!

This year I watched the Macy's fireworks show from NJ. This view has the backdrop of Manhattan and was lovely!

I love this shot because it shows the crowds of people in the green park below.

With FOUR fireworks barges, the sky really lit up!

Yay for celebrating America's birthday!

Fresh Blueberry Pie (adapted from all allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

1 prepared 8 inch pastry shell, baked and cooled (click here for no fail pie crust recipe)

2 pints fresh blueberries

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup white sugar

Directions
1. Pour one pint of the blueberries into the baked pie shell. (Make sure to rinse the blueberries thoroughly before adding to pie.) (Pie shell should be relatively cool.)
2. Combine flour, butter, lemon juice and sugar in a pan over low heat.. Mix thoroughly until butter is almost completely melted. Add the remaining pint of blueberries and bring just to a boil over medium heat. Berries might begin to pop open.

3. Pour cooked berries over fresh berries. Chill pie and serve chilled or at room temperature with whipped cream.

Bake well and prosper!

Happy Fourth of July, Y'all!

2011-07-04T15:27:00.002-04:00

Happy Fourth of July! Question: What's red, white, and blue?

Well, yes. Blueberries in a red colander with a white table.

But I was thinking more patriotic...

Ah! There we go. The American flag!

The fourth of July is my favorite holiday and I made a blueberry pie.

Isn't it pretty with the red, white, and blue? I will share the recipe tomorrow. As for now, I'M dressed in my red, white, and blue outfit and I have parties to get to and fireworks to watch.

Bake well and prosper!

God Bless America!

Peach Schnapps Peach Pie

2011-06-28T13:50:00.000-04:00

It's summer which means it's peach season! It also means that Fathers Day occurs and you know what? My dad's birthday is right around Father's Day. (Just like my mom's bday is near Mothers Day.) Since I wrote a post about her, I figured it was time to send some love my dad's way.

Unlike me, my dad enjoys a fruit dessert over a chocolate dessert. So, in honor of his birthday I decided that I should make a fruit pie. Since he lives hundred of miles away from me, he'll just get the pictures instead of tasting it (but I know he would have loved this!)

More about my dad: He knows a fair amount about fruit since HIS dad had such a green thumb in Florida. In fact, I bet my dad knows what the inside of a peach pit looks like. I didn't until I made this pie. I was so surprised to even have a peach pit split on me while preparing the peaches! Look! It looks like an almond!

Speaking of peaches, my dad also let me know when I was 8 that the peach pits I planted in the back yard were NOT going to grow into peach trees. Um...well...maybe I was just composting early in life. Yeah.

My dad was also a great supporter of playing basketball. On game day when I was in high school, my dad would make my brown bag lunch and write on the outside "Rebound!" or "Go get 'em!" or "Square up!" Having those on my paper bag was better than all the cheering from the stands.

Another interesting thing to note about my dad is that he's a pastor. Yep! That makes me a pastor's daughter. *dun dun duuun* Along with raising me in the Christian faith he also taught me AWESOME things like, "The only one who can allow yourself to get angry is you." (I remember him telling me that while I was very young and super upset about something my silly brothers had done. What a gem of wisdom for a kid!)

Thank goodness he never preached that cleanliness was next to godliness. Because, well, um...you see...when I was making the pie crust...well...

(Close Up)

It wasn't my fault. This pie crust attacked me. Yeah...

Ok. Back to prettier pictures...

Making this peach pie was quite time consuming, but also fun. Next time I'm in TX I'll have to make it for my super awesome dad. We can sit and play board games while eating this dessert (with a scoop of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream, of course!)

Peach Schnapps Peach Pie (adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

6 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced into thin wedges

1/4 cup honey
2 fluid ounces peach schnapps, or more to taste (I used 3oz)
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pie crust (recipe below)

Directions
1.Place the peaches, honey, and peach schnapps into a saucepan over medium heat, and cook until the peaches are softened and the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Stir in sugar and cinnamon until combined. Stir in the flour, and bring the mixture back to a simmer. Simmer until the flour has thickened the filling, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat, transfer filling to a container, and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

2.Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

3.Stretch bottom pie crust into a 9 1/2-inch pie pan; cut some of the remainder of the crust into 1-inch wide strips. Spread the peach filling evenly into the bottom crust, and make a lattice crust from the strips, weaving the strips over and under each other. Pinch strips to the bottom crust at both ends.

4.Bake the pie in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, then remove and put a sheet of aluminum foil ligfhtly over the top of the pie (then the crust won't burn). Return to oven and bake until top crust is golden brown, about 30 more minutes. Cool on wire rack at least 2 hours before serving to allow pie filling to set up.

Never Fail Pie Crust (from My Mom's Best Recipe Book)
1 heaping t baking powder
1 t salt
5 1/2 C flour
Mix together

Mix 1 lb (2C) lard (Crisco) into flour mixture until crumbly

Put 1 egg in 1 C measuring cup; beat with fork. Add 1 t vinegar and fill cup with cold water. Mix well and mix with flour mixture. Dough can be frozen.

Makes 3 pie crusts

Can use combo of lard and Crisco (1 C of each.)

Bake well and prosper!

Quick Post - Musical Cake

2011-06-24T15:19:00.001-04:00

I made a cake for my church's end of the season choir party. I even got fancy (if you consider twizzlers fancy.)

I quickly snapped a couple of shots before it was devoured.

I had made the cakes in the morning, transported them via subway, and then I made the frosting at the party. It was delicious.

OK. Told you it would be quick. Enjoy the weekend!

Chocolate Cake (from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

1 cup margarine
1 3/4 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Buttercream Frosting
1 stick softened butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter. Beat in the sugar and the vanilla. Pour in the milk. Frosting should be at a good texture, but feel free to add more milk to change the consistency of the frosting.

Bake well and prosper!