The Sweet Tooth Blog

Chocolate Toffee Cookies

2009-02-27T13:43:00.006-05:00

These cookies are absolutely amazing. I made them for Christmas (posting these a little late, I am aware) and I have never had such success with a chocolate cookie! Previous experiences have turned out ugly, flat cookies, but these look just as awesome as they taste.

I tried the slice-n-bake option Deb suggested but I got frustrated and had an easier time scooping these cookies after letting the dough sit in the fridge for an hour or two. I am so incredibly pleased with how they turned out, and they didn't last very long at all - they were devoured in about a day or two. MAKE THESE COOKIES!

Oh, and I recommend sprinkling them with just a touch of sea salt before putting them in the oven - the sea salt pairs nicely with the intense chocolate flavor.

Chocolate Toffee Cookies
Adapted from Bon Appetit
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups (packed) brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
5 1.4-ounce chocolate-covered English toffee bars (such as Heath), coarsely chopped
1 cup walnuts, toasted, chopped
Flaky sea salt for sprinkling (optional, but recommended!)

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl; whisk to blend. Stir chocolate and butter in top of double boiler set over simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove from over water. Cool mixture to lukewarm.

Using electric mixer, beat sugar and eggs in bowl until thick, about 5 minutes. Beat in chocolate mixture and vanilla.

Stir in flour mixture, then toffee and nuts. Chill batter until firm, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment or waxed paper. Drop batter by spoonfuls onto sheets, spacing two inches apart. Sprinkle with a pinch of flaky sea salt, if you’re using it. Bake just until tops are dry and cracked but cookies are still soft to touch, about 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on sheets. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.)

I know that it will be impossible to let them cool completely, but they really taste a lot better cool, as they continue baking once they come out of the oven.

Slice and bake option: Roll the dough into a log 1.5 inches in diameter and chill it. When you're ready to bake the cookies, cut your log into 1/2-inch slices. You can store the dough log in the freezer, wrapped in waxed paper and then two layers of plastic wrap for up to a month, just baking the cookies off as you need. Cookies baked straight from the freezer may need an additional minute or two in the oven, depending on their thickness.

Toasted Coconut Shortbread

2009-02-27T13:26:00.007-05:00

These cookies look and taste great, but not quite how I was expecting them to taste. The coconut flavor is very subdued and I would add more of it (I also used flaked coconut so I didn't bother putting it in the food processor because it was already small enough, and I should have toasted mine longer) I would also suggest using a high quality butter for these because the butter flavor is very intense - I used Organic Valley butter and was very pleased. These remind me very much of a tea biscuit, although I have yet to try them with tea.

Deb suggests spreading these with jam to make linzer cookies or dipping them in chocolate for added flavor - great suggestions for next time!

Toasted Coconut Shortbread
Adapted from Bon Appetit, April 2004

1/2 cup (about 1.5 ounces) unsweetened shredded coconut
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks or 6 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt (I used 1/2 tsp of coarse sea salt)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 325°F. Spread coconut on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until coconut is light golden, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Cool completely, then grind in a coffee grinder, food processor or blender until coarsely ground.

Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until well blended. Mix in salt and vanilla. Beat in flour in 2 additions. Stir in toasted coconut. Gather dough together, flatten into a disc and wrap in plastic. Chill at least 1 hour. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.)

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out dough disk on lightly floured work surface to scant 1/4-inch thickness. Using 1 3/4- to 2-inch-diameter cookie cutters, cut dough into rounds. Transfer cookies to prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Gather dough scraps and reroll; cut out additional cookies.

Bake cookies until light golden, about 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely. (Can be made ahead. Store airtight at room temperature up to 1 week.)

Cookie Season

2009-02-27T13:06:00.004-05:00

HELLO! I'm horrible at not going months between updates, aren't I? Please don't answer that...

I've had to push myself a bit to bake more at home these days because I spend so much time at work that the last thing I want to do on my days off is bake some more, but I know my family craves those home-baked goods! This post is full of cookies because I don't have the energy to devote time to things a little more time-consuming lately, but I'm trying to stray away from the ordinary, so these are far from being your grandmother's chocolate chip cookies!

Deb's blog Smitten Kitchen is one of my absolute favorites, I always have such success with the recipes she finds and I enjoy her little add-ins. The three recipes that follow are all from there. Actually, I'll just throw some pictures in this post and then make an individual post for each cookie so as not to throw too many recipes in one post...

Peanut Butter Crispie Bars

2008-12-01T11:06:00.007-05:00

Since my last entry the pastry apprenticeship I was doing ended due to unexpected circumstances and I started working for Starbucks full-time. It was slightly off-putting at first because I always told myself I'd never work for a corporate company of that size, but I quickly grew to love the company and the wonderful team of people I was working with. Just after I was offered a promotion there, I got a phone call from the pastry chef with whom I did my apprenticeship and he offered me a full-time position as a pastry line-cook in their kitchen; me, the girl with a huge passion for baking but no formal experience or culinary school degree - this opportunity was too good to pass up so of course I agreed. I said a sad good-bye to my Starbucks co-workers yesterday and today I'll give a warm hello to the team I already grew to love during my apprenticeship a few months ago.

I thought the least I could do for my fellow Starbucks employees was bake them some cookies as a farewell gift, and after seeing them all pounce on some peanut butter cookies at our holiday meeting, I figured peanut butter must be the way to go. I had recently come across a recipe on Smitten Kitchen for peanut butter crispie bars and I was sold. Apparently, so was everyone at Starbucks - these were a big hit!

Peanut Butter Crispy Bars
From Deb at Smitten Kitchen, who adapted it from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

Deb's wise words of advice: These bars are sticky and indulgent and not good for you in any way, so before you even ask, perhaps you can make them with organic, low-fat peanut butter, whole grain bio-crisped rice cereal or a sugar substitute but you shouldn’t. Nobody likes a party pooper.

For the crispy crust
1 3/4 cups crisped rice cereal
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the milk chocolate peanut butter layer
5 ounces good-quality milk or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup creamy peanut butter

For the chocolate icing
3 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 72 percent cocoa), coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon light corn syrup
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick or 2 ounces) unsalted butter

Make the crispy crust: Lightly spray a paper towel with nonstick cooking spray and use it to rub the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan.

Put the cereal in a large bowl and set aside.

Pour 1/4 cup water into a small saucepan. Gently add the sugar and corn syrup (do not let any sugar or syrup get on the sides of the pan) and use a small wooden spoon to stir the mixture until just combined. Put a candy thermometer in the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat and bring to a boil; cook until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage, 235 degrees F.

Remove from the heat, stir in the butter, and pour the mixture over the cereal. Working quickly, stir until the cereal is thoroughly coated, then pour it into the prepared pan. Using your hands, press the mixture into the bottom of the pan (do not press up the sides). Let the crust cool to room temperature while you make the next layer.

Make the milk chocolate peanut butter layer: In a large nonreactive metal bowl, stir together the chocolate and the peanut butter. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir for about 30 seconds to cool slightly. Pour the mixture over the cooled crust. Put the pan in the refridgerator for 1 hour, or until the top layer hardens.

Make the chocolate icing: In a large nonreactive metal bowl, combine the chocolate, corn syrup, and butter.

Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is completely smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir for 30 seconds to cool slightly. Pour the mixture over the chilled milk chocolate peanut butter layer and spread (I went with Deb's suggestion to just roll it around until it coated smoothly, avoiding the risk of picking up any of the peanut butter layer with it) into an even layer. Put the pan into the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until the topping hardens.

Cut into 16 squares and serve. The bars can be stored in the refrigerator, covered tightly, for up to 4 days.

Peanut Butter + Honey

2008-08-29T15:52:00.007-04:00

I really love the combination of peanut butter and honey, especially in sandwich form. But sometimes you don't want to eat a whole sandwich and a simple cookie would suffice - I've been wanting to make these cookies for a while now, but I was afraid I would be the only one eating them since the rest of my family does not share my enthusiasm for peanut butter. After staring at the recipe repeatedly for weeks, I decided to set my anxieties aside and make them anyway... and what a surprise, my family loved these cookies; I think they ate more of them than I did! After just one bite my sister claimed it was the best peanut butter cookie she'd ever eaten and my dad went back for seconds soon after his first.

The honey adds a touch of sweetness to the overall peanut butter taste and is more noticeable than I thought it would be, and the chopped nuts on the outside make for a fantastically crunchy exterior in contrast to the smooth intense peanut butter interior. It's a bit of a long process rolling all the different parts out, but it's interesting to see how it all comes together in the end. I believe my oven temperature may have been set a little too high though because the cookies came out darker and firmer than I was happy with, even though I cut the baking time down to ten minutes. I would keep an eye on these as they're baking because if you over-bake them they harden like rocks after a day or two of sitting in an airtight container. These are definitely cookies to devour the same day they're baked.

Double Delight Peanut Butter-Honey Cookies
from The Crepes of Wrath

1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon honey

Coating
2/3 cup finely chopped honey roasted peanuts (or any mixture of nuts - I used salted walnuts, almond, peanuts, cashews, and hazelnuts)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. In a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together peanut butter, butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and honey, until creamy (about 1-2 minutes).
3. Beat in egg and vanilla until well combined. Gradually beat in flour until well combined. Place dough in freezer for 15 minutes, stir, and freeze for an additional 15 minutes (I just put mine in the freezer for as long as it took me to make the filling and coating).
4. Meanwhile, prepare the filling: Sift confectioners’ sugar into a medium sized mixing bowl. Beat confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, and honey until well combined.
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a large sheet pan with cooking spray or line it.
6. Make the coating by stirring together nuts, sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl, until well combined.
7. Remove bowl from freezer. Take each piece of dough, roll into a ball and then flatten with your hand, place a peanut butter ball in the center, and wrap dough around ball. Roll ball in your hands to shape better. Roll balls in nut mixture, to coat completely; place on prepared sheet pan. Coat the bottom of a glass with cooking spray and flatten cookies. Don’t flatten too much, though!
8. Bake at 375 degrees F for 13-15 minutes, or until edges of cookies are golden brown. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheets.

Back to Classics

2008-08-17T23:36:00.011-04:00

Sometimes there is nothing better than biting into a warm just-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookie; the chocolate is all melted and the cookie's center is still gooey from the heat of the oven while the edges are soft but crispy...

Chocolate chip cookies are one of my favorite things to make because they're always delicious. I finally stumbled across a recipe I loved so much I've been using it every time since! I don't know why I didn't think to look on Smitten Kitchen before; everything Deb makes looks delicious and I've been quite satisfied with recipes I've tried from there before. So of course, once I found this recipe I had to try it, and I have heard nothing but good news from everyone who has eaten one of these cookies! I added mini peanut butter cups from Trader Joe's to this particular batch; the peanut butter flavor was much more prominent after they had a chance to cool down a bit though.

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (120 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) (115 grams) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch (1cm) pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups (175 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (200 grams) semisweet chocolate chips, or chunks (I like to mix it up!)

Although I haven't done this yet, you could also add:
1 cup (130 grams) walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped

Adjust the oven rack to the top third of the oven and preheat to 300F (150C). Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.

Beat the sugars and butters together until smooth. Mix in the egg, vanilla, and baking soda. Stir together the flour and salt, then mix them into the batter. Mix in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Scoop the cookie dough onto each of the baking sheets and bake for 18 minutes (or less, if you like them a tad undercooked like I do), or until pale golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

These store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Hamburger Buns

2008-08-10T21:44:00.005-04:00

What's better than a good burger? A good burger with home-made buns, and I've found a recipe that produces exactly that! The whole process is a little time-consuming, but definitely worth the effort! These are doughy but firm, and they hold their own even after the burger juice hits.

Home-made Hamburger Buns
(recipe from Coconut & Lime)

2 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 oz active dry yeast

for the egg wash:
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon water

to sprinkle:
sesame or poppy seeds

Stir together the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil then remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool to lukewarm.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour and yeast. Pour in the milk mixture and stir until the dough starts to come together, adding more water if the mixture looks dry or more flour if the mixture looks wet.

If you have a stand mixer, use the dough hook to mix for about 8 minutes. If not, knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl. Cover with a towel and wait until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Punch down the dough and divide into 6 even portions. Make tight balls out of the dough by pulling the dough towards the bottom and gently stretching until a ball with a smooth top forms. Place seam-side down on a baking stone or metal baking sheet. Allow the rolls to sit for a minute. Flatten each dough ball with your hand or the back of a large spatula until it is about 3 to 4 inches wide. Cover the rolls with the towel again and set aside until they have just about doubled in size, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 F. Whisk together the water and yolk to make the egg wash. Brush onto the tops of the rolls. Sprinkle with seeds. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown on both the top and the bottom and when tapped, they sound hollow. Allow to cool, then slice.

Welcome back!

2008-08-10T19:39:00.011-04:00

Yes, I am welcoming myself back! I cannot believe that the last real post I made was four months ago... I feel a little ashamed, to be honest. I've been so busy since I left Pittsburgh in April - I was traveling all over Europe for five weeks, then hiking various jungles and volcanoes in Hawaii for two weeks, I also started a new job as a pastry apprentice at the Pluckemin Inn, a fine dining restaurant near my hometown; it's a fantastic opportunity that pretty much just fell into my lap and I'm enjoying the time I've been spending there so far, and learning many things. It has been difficult to get back onto a regular work schedule, but I'm slowly getting there.

I am still baking at home though, about as often as I was before; so assuming I can get you readers all caught up on the past few months, I should start posting with more regularity again soon! So, without further ado, here are some pictures that have been accumulating since April: (and just like in any other post, you can click on the pictures to enlarge them)

This picture was taken at my aunt and uncle's restaurant in France; I came in to observe what goes on behind the scenes for a day; they gave me a jacket and put me to work! I am in the middle and the two girls I am standing between are both apprentices there.

This is a coconut flan I made with my aunt while I was staying with her in France. I have recipes for everything I made there, but they're all in French so if you really want a recipe let me know and I can try to translate it for you.

A tiramisu I made with the same aunt. Tiramisu looks so complicated but it's actually pretty simple to make! The picture isn't so great but I was proud of the final result, and so was my cousin, whom I gave it to.

These are chocolate madeleines I made with another aunt I stayed with. She hosted a block party while I was there so I made a big batch of these for everyone; they seemed to be a big hit!

My very first tart: a chocolate almond pear tart; they were making one at my aunt and uncle's restaurant and I was able to snatch the recipe. This was delicious and I may translate the recipe for you at a later date because this is a tart that needs to be shared with everyone!

My very first cheesecake! (June was a month of many firsts for me.) I am not actually a big fan of cheesecake (I feel like I may be the only person in the world who dislikes the Cheesecake Factory...) but I bought some springform pans months ago and wanted to test them out. I used low fat cream cheese at my family's request, and it came out fantastically; I don't like cheesecakes that are too elaborate. The crumbs you see are graham cracker crumbs.

Chocolate and vanilla swirl cookies! I found Cookies Galore on sale at Costco one day so I jumped at the chance to buy it; this is one of the many cookie recipes the book contains. These cookies were a little bland and disappointing, actually. If I make them again I'll add more chocolate flavor.

Hamburger buns! My family makes delicious hamburgers and I thought I'd bring it up a notch with some home-made buns. They turned out a little smaller than I hoped but they still tasted amazing; a little time-consuming, but definitely worth the effort. I topped half with sesame seeds and half with poppy seeds. I will post a recipe for these soon too!

This is from a batch of cookies and cream cupcakes I made while I was still living in Pittsburgh, actually. I believe I used the chocolate cake recipe from the Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World book, and possibly a frosting recipe from there too. All I really remember about these is that I baked half of an oreo into the base of each cupcake to add an extra something.

Those are all the photos I have; whew! It feels good to finally update again. I promise not to go another four months before updating again; I don't think I could handle another long post like this! So, my next order of business is to spiff up the look of the blog a little bit... that might take another four months, on the other hand!

Back from Europe....

2008-06-16T14:16:00.005-04:00

Took a longer break than originally planned... but I'm back now!
I'm working on a huge post filled with many pictures and recipes from abroad; here's a taste of what's to come....

Where did her sweet tooth go?!

2008-05-06T18:42:00.004-04:00

Just a quick note to let you all know that I am indeed still alive!

I realize it has been well over three weeks since I last updated - I've been busy packing, moving, and settling in... but I can't lie, mostly I've just been lazy. There are a slew of pictures of recent baking projects on my desktop that I keep meaning to post but I just haven't found the time to actually sit down and write a few entries yet. It certainly doesn't help that I'm leaving the country for about a month come Thursday...

I will update very soon though, I promise! I hate to leave you all hanging.

Chewy Coconut Cookie Crisps

2008-04-14T18:55:00.005-04:00

In exactly two weeks I will be making the six-hour drive to New Jersey along with everything I own and hold dear (except, unfortunately, for the two things I hold most dear these days: my clever boyfriend and devious cat). The lease on Mike and I's current apartment is over at the the end of this month and although Mike has opted to stay put in his lovely hometown of Pittsburgh, I'm making the move back into my parents house until I figure out what I'm doing come autumn.
My current plan is to enroll in culinary school (CIA and ICE are at the top of my list) in September or October, but that's all dependent on where I decide to go and whether or not I even get accepted. I'm still in the process of figuring it all out, but the prospect is very exciting and my cheeks get flush just talking about it. It's a complete change of pace from what I was doing this time last year, but for once I finally feel like I'm headed in the right direction, and that's a relief.
The move across state lines, my prospective education, and my upcoming month-long trip to Europe... all of these things have been occupying my thoughts lately. I'll take the good with the bad though, and hopefully many good things will come out of it. I'm very excited about this next 'chapter' (I apologize for the cliche metaphor) in my life, and I'm determined to make the best of everything.

Hm... I didn't set out to write so much about un-food-related things, but I guess I got a little carried away. I wrote that first bit with the intention of leading into the fact that I've been trying to use up the last of my baking ingredients and in turn have been baking much more frequently - in fact, I'm a little behind on my posts!
These cookies are from a few days ago but they are long gone now because they're just too good to let sit around. Mike is constantly requesting that I add shredded coconut to every batch of chocolate chip cookies that I make, so when I came across this recipe for a cookie which already uses coconut as its main ingredient, I thought to myself "Why not switch things around for once and add chocolate chips to these coconut cookies?" What resulted was an inspiring blend of tastes and textures - infinitely better than my usual "coconut" cookies because these cookies were specifically made with coconut in mind. To give you an idea of how good these are, Mike devoured three of these fresh out of the oven in the span of maybe five minutes; if the man who asks for coconut with everything was satisfied, they must be good.

Chewy Coconut Cookie Crisps

1 c. all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
½ c. softened butter
½ c. granulated sugar
½ c. brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1½ c. flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and a pinch of salt.

In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla.

Mix the flour mixture into butter/sugar mixture, then mix in the coconut.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes until cookies are light brown and edges are toasted.

Zebra Cake

2008-04-13T02:42:00.005-04:00

First things first, for those of you reading from a feed reader, you probably haven't noticed but I updated the blog a bit. I changed the layout and added some new links; I also added a new section in the sidebar which links to my favorite recipes - I hope to expand this a bit over time! A few weeks ago I also added a search bar and a link to the blog's feed; I'm just trying to clean things up and make the blog as simple/easy to access as possible.

Moving on to the Zebra Cake!

This cake is something I baked while I was house-sitting with my siblings for my parents three weeks ago; I came across the recipe and easy to follow instructions weeks ago and jumped at the chance to make it.

Not only is this cake fun to look at, but it tastes good too! The tastes are very subtle (my mother says I should add more chocolate to the batter next time, and I may add more vanilla too) but I really like that the cake is not overly sweet. I've never been a big fan of frosting so it's a relief that this cake tastes good enough to be eaten on its own (although it sure is tasty with some Nutella spread on top!). It's also very rewarding because the outcome looks like so much work was put into making the cake, when in reality, it was not very difficult at all! I recommend following these amazing instructions, complete with step-by-step pictures.

More photos of zebra-goodness:
(Guest photo time! The first two photos were taken by my friend Alina and the last was taken by my sister!)

An Update is Long Overdue!

2008-04-09T08:36:00.005-04:00

Should I apologize for my long absence? I know it has been almost two weeks since I posted last! In my defense, I have been keeping myself plenty busy. I was at my parents' house for a week keeping an eye on things while they were away, and I managed to spend the majority of my time away from the internet! (I'm excited because this has been a rather difficult task as-of-late.) Instead I spent plenty of time in the kitchen (oh-what a glorious space it is compared to my tiny excuse for a kitchen in Pittsburgh!), I caught up with a few people I hardly ever get to see anymore, became enamored with my mother's two Alaskan Malamutes, I spent a late afternoon in New Hope with my sister, and I got to spend a few hours catching up with my aunt who flew back with my mom.
As far as baking goes, my endeavors were not completely out of sight while I was away. Savory cooking is not my forte, but I made an effort to feed my siblings and myself food other than sweets. I made a pizza using Mike and I's favorite pizza dough recipe, only later realizing that the yeast I used from the pantry had expired years ago. Needless to say, I ended up with un-risen dough which made one pizza instead of two, and tons of left-over toppings (which I later used in an omelette). The pizza was delicious though - we topped it with onion, green pepper, red pepper, zucchini, pepperoni, ground beef, and bacon - my brother and I both had a friend over and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the meal (or so I am led to believe...).
I also made a pan of baked macaroni and cheese with amazing wild blossom smoked cheddar; it was a little dry but the cheese made up for it.
The first picture you see in this post was taken by my good friend Alina Chygyryk (she has a blog too!) and it is a picture of melt-in-your mouth, so decadently chocolate-y chocolate chunk cookies I also made, following this recipe. I used super dark cocoa powder and three different kinds of chocolate chips (milk, semi-sweet, and dark chocolate chunks). And, later in the week, at the subtle request of my aunt, I made ridiculously rich brownies following the recipe from the Tartine cookbook. These brownies should be bite-size, because that's about as much as you can handle all at once, but wow, they are delicious! I couldn't get a great picture of them but here they are in all their macro-glory.
In my next post I'll tell you all about the zebra cake... it deserves its own post!

Three Tasty Things

2008-03-25T10:40:00.003-04:00

I am currently sitting in the Pittsburgh airport, waiting to board what looks like a fairly empty flight. One of the perks of the Pittsburgh airport is that they have free wi-fi, so I figured I should post these three pictures I took some time over the course of the last two weeks; they've been sitting on my desktop for over a week now, I just haven't been able to incorporate them into my recent posts, so now they're getting their own!

This was breakfast some time last week: egg in a hole with some crispy bacon.

Breakfast the next day was an egg cooked over-hard on top of some buttered toast.

This tasty looking cupcake is from Dozen Cupcakes in Pittsburgh; it's their snowball flavor (vanilla cake, vanilla icing and coconut). I was actually quite disappointed with this cupcake, I found it to be way too sweet for my liking, but that may be because I don't throw quite so much icing on top of the cupcakes I make. I also think I picked the wrong day to get cupcakes, because their flavors that day just weren't too inspiring.

Dozen also has a bakery in Lawrenceville that I was much more impressed by. I picked up an apple, bacon and cheddar scone and a blueberry pistachio muffin from there two weeks ago and both were incredibly satisfying (especially the muffin!). I've been trying to get there for their Sunday brunch but my work schedule prevents me from being able to do so... hopefully one day.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake

2008-03-24T08:50:00.003-04:00

It's never too early in the morning for a piece of cake! Unless, of course, you've just stuffed yourself full of Mike's mother's delicious Easter Sunday brunch (complete with hash browns, kielbasa, breakfast sausage, spiced bacon, cinnamon buns, poppy seed rolls, hard boiled eggs, and assorted fruits), which is inevitably what happened before I could even think about consuming any of this ridiculously tasty cake. I think I ate more bacon and cinnamon buns over the course of an hour than most people consume within a month...
But wait! You're wondering about the birthday celebration I mentioned in my last post... the one with all the peanut butter and chocolate goodness? Alas, at the last minute unforeseen circumstances prevented such a celebration from taking place and left me with a rather large and daunting two-layer chocolate cake covered in peanut butter frosting and chopped up peanut butter cups; all to myself, too, since I used buttermilk in the cake and heavy cream in the frosting (see also: the sometimes inconvenient consequences of living with someone who has a severe dairy-allergy).
With my original plans shot, I decided to accompany Mike to his parents' house for Easter brunch, yet again (third year and counting - I was hoping to do something different for a change, but this way I ended up getting fed way more than I would have if I'd done otherwise). However, knowing that Mike's mom spent all morning (and probably most of the night before) in the kitchen preparing food for nine other people, I felt bad not bringing something to share with everyone. It was all too short notice to bake anything new so I sliced the peanut butter chocolate cake in half and wrapped one half up to take with me.
Unfortunately, we left before any of his family had a chance to try a piece of the cake and give me some feedback, so the only opinion I have on this cake so far is my own. The cake has been on my mind since I baked it Friday night and put it together Saturday morning, so I was ecstatic when I finally got enough hunger back in me to try a piece yesterday. I was worried that the chocolate cake would taste odd because I accidentally burnt the chocolate when I was mixing all the ingredients together, but it didn't affect the taste noticeably. I am very pleased with how well the frosting came out; it was my second attempt ever at making frosting and I was afraid it would be too runny like the first time, but it came out wonderfully - perfectly thick and creamy and not too sweet. The best part of this cake, however, are the crushed up peanut butter cups sandwiched in between the frosting and two layers of cake... they add the perfect texture to each bite!
At this rate, I can't guarantee that my friend will actually end up getting any of this cake, even though I did bake it for her specifically; I'm going out of town for a week tomorrow so if she wants what's left of it, well, that's all up to her. It's so incredibly satisfying, I would probably finish it myself if I weren't going away. Don't worry though, I have a feeling I'll be posting often this week; my siblings will keep me plenty busy with their food requests.

Oh! Here is a link to the recipe I used for the cake and frosting. I'm not going to bother reposting it because I think Amanda does a fantastic job of laying it all out for you.

Peanut Butter Sandies

2008-03-20T19:39:00.005-04:00

Tomorrow is the birthday of a good friend of mine, so I've been searching the web for good peanut butter recipes to whip up for the occasion, since she loves peanut butter. I have indeed come across an excellent recipe... but that's not what this post is about; I'll tell you all about the birthday recipe this weekend, after the birthday celebration.
For now, you'll have to settle for these peanut butter sandies. I came across these during my search and they sounded so delicious, and so easy, that I had to make them immediately. They are exactly as Tarah describes them: "These cookies are just an excuse to have pure peanut butter... it tastes just as if you're licking peanut butter from the spoon!" She's absolutely right, every bite of these cookies is pretty much equivalent to a lick from a peanut butter covered spoon. I was really craving some peanut butter, and these definitely did the trick!

Peanut Butter Sandies

1 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup flour
1 cup light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, beat together sugar and peanut butter. Slowly add flour and mix until thoroughly combined.

Using your hands, roll about a tablespoon of dough together into a ball. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and press slightly to flatten.

Bake 8 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly golden. Allow to cool on the sheet for about 5 minutes then carefully remove to wire racks to continue to cool. It is best to allow them to cool completely before eating, they "set" while they cool.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Triple Chocolate Cookies

2008-03-20T19:18:00.003-04:00

These cookies came out amazingly well; certainly much better than my last batch. There are three different chocolates in these delectable treats - unsweetened cocoa powder, chopped up bittersweet chocolate, and a handful of semi sweet chocolate chips - enough to satisfy any chocolate lover's craving (because that was, inevitably, my main reason for baking these in the first place). They are incredibly rich in flavor; I was very pleased. I think it would be interesting to add a little espresso or coffee to the recipe next time, for an extra kick!

Triple Chocolate Cookies
(adapted from Ellie Krieger of the Food Network)

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt, optional (I used 1/8 teaspoon of sea salt)
1/3 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate bar
1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mash together the butter and sugars until well combined. Add the oil and egg and beat until creamy. Mix in the vanilla.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Stir in the white and semi-sweet chocolate chips, and mix well.

Using a tablespoon, scoop the batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

2008-03-17T11:22:00.002-04:00

It has been over a week since I last posted! Don't worry, I've been keeping myself plenty busy. Last week was spring break for most of the students here in Pittsburgh, so I made an attempt to spend time with friends I don't usually get to see. I also took an extra day off work last week and thoroughly enjoyed my time off; Mike, Paul and I went to Baldinger's Market (an awesome penny candy store) and afterwards we all went hiking through the woods for an hour or two. It was all well and good until Paul accidentally locked his keys in the car and we spent over an hour trying to break into his car, but that's a story for another day.
With all that free time on my hands you can bet I spent some of it baking. I ended up using the overly-ripe bananas mentioned in my last post to make a delicious Chocolate Chip Banana Loaf. (I used an extra banana and butter instead of shortening.) The loaf was dense but moist, with a light crunchy crust and it disappeared much quicker than I expected; I brought a few slices into work with me and shared the rest with a group of friends at a little get-together we had last week, topped with some Nutella.
I also baked up some Anzac cookies using this recipe, although I omitted the orange zest and orange blossom water. They were very tasty, but definitely not photogenic; I don't have a fancy mold so I just dropped them by the tablespoon-full onto a parchment lined cookie sheet, which resulted in what I'll call 'plop' cookies, because that's pretty much what they looked like. I'm sure they would have held together a little better had I used golden syrup instead of honey and had I taken the time to finely shred my coconut. However, they taste amazing! I love the oat and coconut combination, and the 'plop' cookies are actually fun to eat because it only takes one or two bites to finish them.

My next endeavor: making a successful chocolate chocolate chip cookie; they are surprisingly hard to master.

Triple Threat Cookies

2008-03-08T21:27:00.005-05:00

I originally set out to make yin-yang cookies from a recipe I stumbled across a few weeks ago. After spending over an hour making the two different doughs, rolling them into logs, wrapping them in plastic wrap, and refrigerating them over night, I pulled the logs of dough out to mold them, only to find them cracking, crumbling and falling apart in my hands. To ameliorate this problem, I stuck the dough logs in the freezer for two hours in hopes that they would be easier to handle... but to no avail; the dough still crumbled to bits. Frustrated, I tossed every single one of the dough logs into the trash and gave up.
After my frustration had subsided, I decided to try my hand at another cookie recipe, this time going the much more reliable traditional route, with a basic chocolate chip cookie. Except, the cookies I made turned out to be not-so-basic after all - I mixed semi-sweet chocolate chips, bittersweet chocolate chunks, and finely chopped walnuts into the batter. Then I split the batter into three batches, adding shredded coconut to one batch (for Mike), chopped up Reese's peanut butter cups to another (for myself) and I kept one batch of the original batter (for everyone!).
The resulting cookies were exactly what I was hoping to accomplish - both crispy and chewy, with a light nutty flavor and just the right amount of chocolate.
My only complaint? I could have used a few more chopped up Reese's peanut butter cups because those cookies were slightly lacking in peanut butter flavor. Otherwise, the cookies taste delicious and they store well for a few days in an airtight container; I also froze some of the batter for later.
For those curious, my next baking endeavor with most likely involve the quickly ripening batch of bananas I have sitting in the kitchen; perhaps another banana loaf but with chocolate chips this time? I would also like to make some more bread soon; I came across a great looking recipe for oatmeal wheat bread that I'm dying to try out.

March Update

2008-03-04T22:50:00.004-05:00

Two of my co-workers recently left to go back to their native country of Chile; before they left they asked me to put together a few "American" recipes for them. I gladly obliged and put together a small assortment of recipes for cookies, brownies, blueberry crumb cake, and most importantly, muffins, which were specifically requested.
After scrounging through numerous muffin recipes to find what I considered to be the best ones, it occurred to me that many months have passed since I last made an attempt at any sort of muffin recipe. This thought further intrigued me when I was glancing through the fruit section at Whole Foods and noticed that blueberries were on sale. I took the plunge and bought two packs of blueberries, one of which I placed in the freezer for future use (I see a large stack of blueberry pancakes in the near future...), and the other of which I turned into deliciously moist, light, and crumbly blueberry muffins. I will definitely be making these again, but not any time soon because I have more of them than I know what to do with already!

I would also like to mention the pizza Mike and I made a few days ago... we used a different whole wheat crust recipe than we usually do and I'm glad because I think we have a new favorite. I skipped the cornmeal and sprinkled flour on the pans instead, and I used a little less than one tablespoon of honey because I'm running low. The dough rose perfectly and it was just the right blend of flours. It was also much easier to knead than the dough we were making previously, and holds together much better too. We topped our pizza with steak, pepperoni, zucchini, green pepper, onion, bacon, and garlic - amazing! There was enough dough to make two pizzas, so we made one round one and one rectangular one, to keep it interesting.

The month of March is tasting pretty good so far.

Brownies

2008-02-29T01:31:00.002-05:00

I've baked a few things since I've been back in Pittsburgh, but nothing as post-worthy as these brownies. I deviated from the recipe a bit - it was my first time using this recipe and so I only made a half-batch, and I ended up substituting apple sauce for butter when I realized I had no butter in the refrigerator. (I could have run across the street to buy a pack, but alas, I'm lazy.) I also chopped up a dark chocolate bar to add to the batter because I'm a huge fan of chocolate chunks in my brownies.
My first reaction, after taking a bite from one of the edges I cut off after the brownies had cooled down, was that the brownies were way too cake-y for my taste. I let Mike have a bite and he agreed with me; disappointed, I threw away the rest of the edges, cut the rest of the pan of brownies into nine even pieces and packed it all up into an air-tight container for the night.
I have since had two actual brownies and my mind has completely changed about them. The apple sauce caught me off-guard at first because it adds a light flavor throughout the brownie, but it's almost forgotten with the satisfying dark chocolate fudgy-ness of each brownie. And of course, lets not forget about the chocolate chunks!

Also, recipes I'd like to try next:
Yin-Yang Cookies
Very Tangy Lime Bars
Banana and Honey Muffin with Nutella Swirl
Savory Breakfast Scones

"Perfect" Lemon Tart

2008-02-23T23:42:00.007-05:00

It has been a few days since I last posted, but I was home visiting my family for a few days and haven't really had a chance to post until now.
My father's birthday was last week and to celebrate we made two different quiches (one with salmon and spinach, one with bacon and prosciutto) and I made him a lemon tart; the perfect lemon tart from the book Luscious Lemon Desserts, to be exact.
The book's not lying, this lemon tart really is perfect. It's so tart you can't have too much of it at once, but each bite is better than the next. My crust ended up being a little thick at the corners, but otherwise everything turned out alright. Everyone else seemed to think so as well!
The picture is actually halfway decent today because there's an abundance of natural lighting at my parent's house, and also because they have an excellent camera.

Banana Bread

2008-02-12T08:09:00.000-05:00

For about a week now I've had a bunch of overly ripe bananas sitting on a shelf in my kitchen that I needed to find a use for. I've been indulging in peanut butter, honey and banana sandwiches since I picked up all those ingredients over a week ago - they're my new favorite snack. But after a few days of eating the same thing at least twice a day, I felt I should try something different.
I've never been a huge fan of banana bread - it's always either too sweet, or too walnut-ty, or too... something. However, I have been wanting to use the new loaf pan I bought for weeks now, so banana bread appeared to be the most likely option, especially after I came across this recipe; the combination of banana and honey (no peanut butter though!) sounded sweet to my stomach.
I omitted the dates from my batter, and exchanged the buttermilk for its vegan counterpart (soy milk + 1/3 teaspoon vinegar), and used vegetable oil instead of canola since that is all I have on hand.
The result was a deliciously moist, not overly-sweet loaf with just a hint of walnuts and honey. Last night I ate my first slice plain (yum!), topped my second slice with some Nutella (yum! yum!), and I plan on having another slice or two for breakfast today, possibly topping one with some organic crunchy peanut butter.
If you're on the fence about banana bread, I definitely recommend trying this recipe, it will blow you away.

Traveling Cookies

2008-02-11T23:27:00.003-05:00

Last week I received a small package in the mail from a friend containing a very entertaining zine she had created. The agreement was that I would send her cookies in exchange for this lovely package. I searched through numerous recipes until I came across two that struck my fancy - Smitten Kitchen's peanut butter cookies and a recipe for espresso chocolate chip cookies that I can't seem to find at the moment.
The exciting news is that halfway through making the espresso cookies I realized I didn't have enough eggs to make both types of cookies like I had planned. No problem; I decided to invent my own cookie instead! No egg? I substituted half a banana. Not feeling the espresso? I just omitted it. Instead I threw in a teaspoon of honey, some chopped walnuts and sliced almonds, and chopped semi-sweet chocolate. The result? I call these my vegetarian banana choco-chunk cookies, and they make me so proud; this is the first recipe I've ever come up with on my own.

Here's a shot of the peanut butter cookies I made as well; I used crunchy peanut butter, which gave them an even more interesting texture, although next time I'd like to use a higher quality peanut butter for a better taste - they developed a particularly odd taste after sitting in an airtight container for a few days:

The friend I sent these out to loved them, especially the vegan cookies - I helped make her day a little better; that is exactly why I love baking! So, without further ado:

Vegetarian Banana Choco-Chunk Cookies

1/2 cup softened margarine
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon wildflower honey
1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel
half of a mashed banana
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
approximately 1 cup combined: finely chopped walnuts, sliced almonds, and chopped semi-sweet chocolate

Combine the margarine and sugar, add the mashed banana and honey. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Throw in your nuts and chopped chocolate.
Here's the fun part: take a piece of parchment paper and spoon the batter out onto the center of it, roll it up in the parchment paper until your cookie dough log is about an inch and a half in diameter, wrap it in cellophane and refrigerate for two hours.
Start preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Cut the cookie dough log into 1/2 inch thick slices and place a few inches apart on your cookie sheet (I lined my cookie sheet with parchment paper first). Bake for about ten minutes, or until they look done. Let cool, and enjoy!

No-Knead Bread

2008-02-07T10:29:00.000-05:00

No-Knead Bread - there are recipes all over the internet for it but this is the best one I could find; it has step-by-step instructions and pictures.
Mike and I didn't even wait for it to cool down; after all the waiting we had to do prior to baking it, we got impatient and just dug in.
The bread tastes delicious with butter or Nutella spread on it. I'm sure it would make some tasty sandwich bread too, but we don't have any sandwich meat around. Now that I have a hefty amount of bread flour, I will definitely be making more bread in the future.