When in Doubt, Bake.

Bacon Cheddar Biscuit Waffles

noreply@blogger.com (whenindoubtbake) — Thu, 24 Jul 2014 19:00:00 +0000

Bacon Cheddar Biscuit Waffles

If that title doesn't sound like four words you want to eat, I'm not sure what does.

As a relatively obsessed baker, many assume that I mainly eat sweets and that I would most definitely choose sweets over savory foods.

While those assumptions are mostly true, there is an exception. Brunch is right below dessert on my list of favorite meals, and I generally prefer savory brunch foods.

However, brunch menus often lead me to a state of moral conflict. How am I supposed to choose between a red velvet waffle and a smoked salmon benedict? I love red velvet...but usually the idea of a perfectly runny poached egg topped with hollandaise sauce wins this battle.

I think this recipe is the perfect compromise to solve the dilemmas that many of us face at brunch. An epic waffle with bacon, cheese, and an egg leaves little to desire. You can even satisfy your sweet cravings by topping the waffle with honey or strawberry jam!

Keep reading to learn how you can make brunch the delicious, stress-free experience that it's meant to be. As a bonus, you won't even have to wait for an hour to be seated :-)

Ingredients:

8 slices bacon, crispy
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 ½ tsp baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
6 tbsp softened butter
1 tbsp honey
1 cup milk
1 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp chives
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

3-4 fried eggs (1 per waffle), recommended to serve on top (but optional)

Directions:

1. Cook 8 slices of bacon and set aside to cool.

2. Mix flour, baking powder,chives, salt and pepper in a medium-large bowl.

3. Add butter, milk, honey, and vinegar to the dry ingredient mixture and mix until well combined.

4. Break bacon into small pieces (use your judgment, but this really can't go badly).

5. Add bacon pieces and cheese to the waffle batter.

6. Grease and preheat a waffle iron to a medium-high heat setting.

7. While each waffle is cooking, use the wait time to fry an egg. I (always) recommend leaving the yolk runny.

8. Remove the waffle from the iron when done and top with a fried egg.

9. You may want to serve with honey or strawberry jam!

Happy brunching and when in doubt, bake!

Dena

Greek Independence Cake: Honey Pistachio Bundt Cake

noreply@blogger.com (whenindoubtbake) — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 00:03:00 +0000

Greek Independence Cake: Honey Pistachio Bundt Cake

Happy Greek Independence Day!! A few weeks ago, my friend and coworker Myrsini and I were discussing the cinema masterpiece that is My Big Fat Greek Wedding. You may recall the hilarious scene when Ian's parents meet Toula's extended family and Ian's mom brings a bundt cake to the party. Toula's mom is confused, having never seen a bundt cake, and scoffs to another relative,"There's a hole in this cake!" After watching this scene, Myrsini and I decided to plan a Greek Day celebration at work. Mainly because I wanted an excuse to make a Greek-themed bundt cake and for Myrsini to cook delicious Greek food for me! Keep reading to learn how you too can make a delicious honey pistachio bundt cake to honor a wonderful movie, and an even more wonderful country!

Cake Ingredients

· 2 ½ sticks butter, softened
· 2 1/4 cups sugar
· 3/4 cup brown sugar
· 2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
· 6 eggs
· ¼ cup honey
· ¼ cup pistachio pudding mix
· ¾ cups pistachios, crushed
· 1 tablespoon vanilla
· 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
· 3 cups cake flour
· 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
· 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
· 1 ½ teaspoon salt

Glaze Ingredients
· 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
· 1 teaspoons vanilla
· 1 1/2 teaspoons milk
· Blue food coloring (keep adding until glaze is desired shade of blue)

Cake Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle.
2. Grease a bundt pan.
3. Combine ingredients in an electric stand mixer in the order listed.
4. Pour the batter into pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
5. Remove cake to a wire rack and let cool completely in the pan before removing it.
6. Turn the cake onto a plate or cake carrier.
7. Make glaze

Glaze Instructions
1.Once the cake is cool, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk with a whisk.
2. Divide mixture evenly between two bowls.
3. Leave one bowl as is, and add blue food coloring to the other.
4. Pour white glaze over the bundt cake, and then pour blue glaze on top.
5. Let cake cool in the refrigerator for about an hour.
6.Divide and conquer (and enjoy), just like the Ottomans!

Whenever possible, eat cake, celebrate, and when in doubt, bake!

<3 Dena

Curried Sweet Potato Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (whenindoubtbake) — Fri, 21 Feb 2014 02:16:00 +0000

Curried Sweet Potato Cookies

This “real world” thing has thrown me lots of challenges: paying bills, waking up before 8 AM on a regular basis, being a new driver in a city with crazy traffic…and having to actually cook “real food”. Though, I’m always cool with cookies for breakfast, I usually feel a little guilty about having cookies for dinner. So, this baker's had lots of adventures and learning experiences with cooking. And I think I’m slowly mastering cooking one of my favorite types of food…Thai curry! So, I figured, why not combine two of my loves: curry AND cookies?

I often say that delicious + delicious = more delicious. And that definitely held true for this recipe. Keep reading for directions on making this tasty Thai-influenced treat!

Ingredients:

· 1 cup pureed sweet potato, at room temperature or colder
· 1 stick butter, softened
· 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
· 1 large egg, room temperature
· 1/2 tsp vanilla
· 1 tsp lemon juice
· 2 tsp yellow curry paste
· 1 tsp cinnamon
· 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

· 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
· 1/2 tsp baking soda
· 1 cup butterscotch chips
· ½ cup mini marshmallows

Directions:

1. Combine sweet potato and butter in an electric mixer on medium speed.
2. Add in egg and brown sugar and mix on medium-low speed.
3. Mix in vanilla, lemon juice, curry paste, and cinnamon.
4. Gradually add flour (I recommend ¼ cup at a time) and mix on low speed until.

5. Add baking powder and baking soda, butterscotch chips, and marshmallows. Mix only until well-combined (very important for texture).

6. Chill dough at least 1 hour.
7. Preheat oven to 400.
8. Spoon out dough by the tablespoon onto a greased or lined pan.

9. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
10. Let the cookies cool completely...but like actually. The marshmallows will be super hot if you try to eat these right out of the oven!

Never fear making things that are a little out of the ordinary. These creations are usually the best and always fun!

Trust your instincts…and when in doubt, bake!

<3 Dena

Red Velvet Shortbread Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (whenindoubtbake) — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 03:58:00 +0000

Red Velvet Shortbread Cookies

As a baker, Valentine's Day is one of the best holidays for me. I'll use pretty much any excuse to bake: birthdays, Thursdays, 11:08 PM, whatever. Since I live by the title of this blog, these are all compelling reasons for me to bake. But Valentine's Day gives me slightly more legitimate reasons. Calories don't exist on February 14th! Everyone is down to eat red velvet and chocolate, and most don't feel guilty about it. And this means less guilt for me, a serial diet-ruiner. Also, I can hand out heart-shaped cookies and it's not weird...I think. And last and foremost, lots of people tend to be having a bad day on Valentine's Day. Maybe they don't have a Valentine. Or maybe they do. Or perhaps they spent nearly an hour de-icing their car in the morning, using a MARTA Breeze Card (oh, was that just me?). Whatever the reason, I love the opportunity to give people a reason to be happy. And like so many other times in life, the best reason to be happy on Valentine's Day is most certainly sugar. Along with Red Velvet Cake Batter Fudge (not my recipe), I hope I made a few people's Valentine's Days a bit better this year with these tasty and super precious Red Velvet Shortbread Cookies! Here's how you can brighten some moods on Valentine's Day next year (or, let's be real, any day)!

Ingredients
1.5 sticks butter, softened
5 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup red velvet cake mix
2 cups flour

Directions
1. Cream butter, cream cheese, sugar, egg, vanilla, and salt in a mixer until well-combined.
2. Gradually add in red velvet cake mix and flour and mix on low power.
3. Chill dough overnight, or at least for several hours.
4.Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
4. Roll dough out to no more than 1/2 inch thickness, on a floured surface.

5. Use cookie cutters to cut dough into shape(s) of choice.
6. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (or grease it).
7. Place cookie dough on prepared cookie sheet.

8. Bake for 7-9 minutes. Timing will depend on thickness, so be sure to watch closely. And remember the old adage:

"Tis better to have a doughy cookie than a burnt cookie.

In fact, it may even be better than a 'well-cooked' cookie."

-Ok fine, I made that up. ©Dena

9. Let cookies cool completely.

10. Ice with any icing your heart desires. I used cream cheese icing AND dark chocolate icing. Aggressive? Maybe. Excessive? No way.

Whether you spent your Valentine's Day celebrating love, sweets, or some of both, we hope it was grand.

Ice cookies, not cars (that means you, Mother Nature)...and when in doubt, bake!

<3 Dena

Biscoff Cookies and Cream Fudge

noreply@blogger.com (whenindoubtbake) — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 02:31:00 +0000

Biscoff Cookies and Cream Fudge

You saw that title, didn't you? If your first thought was something along the lines of "couldn't be bad" or "must have that now," I can assure you that you're right. Just as "Biscoff," "Cookies and Cream," and "Fudge" suggest, this is a delicious treat that you need in your life ASAP. And this post is here to help you make that happen.

Now, if you're thinking "fudge is too hard to make and I just can't," I promise that at least for this recipe, you are totally wrong. And while I'm making promises, I'll admit to you that this isn't "real" fudge. By no means did I stand over the stove with a candy thermometer, waiting for the mixture to reach soft ball stage. Ain't nobody got time for that. (Read: I have zero patience).

I made this fudge in six simple steps, using four ingredients.

Don't believe me? If you keep reading, I see a delicious, fudgy treat in your near future :-)

Ingredients:

10 Double Stuff Oreo cookies
1 11-ounce bag Ghirardelli White Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup Biscoff spread
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

Directions:

1. Place Oreos in a Ziploc bag and crush with a rolling pin. Set aside.

2. Melt white chocolate chips and Biscoff together in a saucepan over low-medium heat.

3. Remove from heat and add sweetened condensed milk and Oreos.

4. Mix until well-combined.
5. Pour into an 8 or 9-inch square pan lined with wax paper or parchment paper.

6. Refrigerate for an hour, or as long as you can wait before digging in.

Enjoy:-)

And as a bonus, here's an (attempted) infographic that I made of my fudge-making process. We can all be thankful that baking is my creative outlet. Using this picture as a guide, you can easily make so many delicious variations on the recipe above!

Try something new today (hint: this fudge), and when in doubt, bake!
<3 Dena

Pumpkin Spice Cookie Cups

noreply@blogger.com (whenindoubtbake) — Sun, 22 Sep 2013 23:01:00 +0000

Pumpkin Spice Cookie Cups

As far as seasons go, fall just might be the most delicious. I insisted that summer was my favorite season for the first 21 or so years of my life. However, as I approach old age, my July birthday becomes less of a reason for excitement and I am growing less tolerant of (read: highly annoyed by) the intense summer heat. I suspect that summer will continue to lose points in my book now that I have joined the dreaded “real world” and have likely seen the last of my summer breaks. Alas, fall wins over my foodie heart and gets extra points for college football and the option to press the “Off” button on the fan I’ve camped out beside all summer.

When I went to Target today, I was embarrassingly excited to see one of my favorite fall items, Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kisses. I immediately picked up a bag and spent the next few hours daydreaming about what I could bake with them. Folks, this is when you know you have a problem. Hi, my name is Dena and I’m addicted to baking. Sorry I’m not sorry.

Anyways, I decided to make one of my favorite recipes, Butterscotch Chai Cookies, and add my beloved Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kisses. Read on to see how I made these delicious treats that are also super cute…or as I prefer to say “totes presh.”

Ingredients:

1/2 stick butter, softened
1/4 cup Crisco Butter flavor shortening
1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup butterscotch chips, melted
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
3 tbsp powder chai concentrate (I used Pacific Chai’s Spice Chai Latte)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cornstarch
36 Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kisses (1 bag is more than enough)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Mix butter and shortening with the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. (preferably do not use an electric mixer, mix with a spoon) 3. Add in melted butterscotch chips
4. Gradually add in flour, adding no more than ½ a cup at a time.
5. Mix in chai concentrate, baking soda, salt, and cornstarch.
6. Drop 1 tablespoon of dough into greased or lined mini muffin tins. (I recommend using cupcake liners because mini muffin tins are THE most annoying things to clean ever.)
7. Bake for about 13 minutes.
8. Unwrap the Hershey Kisses while the cookie cups are in the oven.
9. Immediately after removing the cookie cups from the oven, press one Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kiss into each.
10. Let them cool as long as you can stand it.
11. The obligatory last step: enjoy!

Get creative with your favorite fall foods, and when in doubt, bake!

<3 Dena

Biscoff Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (whenindoubtbake) — Wed, 29 May 2013 15:38:00 +0000

Biscoff Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Just a few short months ago I discovered the amazingness that is Biscoff spread, also known to some as Speculos. For those unfamiliar with Biscoff spread, you may have had Biscoff cookies, as they are commonly served on planes. The cookies taste somewhat like cinnamon graham crackers, and Biscoff spread is made to taste exactly like the cookies, except in a spread form with the consistency of peanut butter. Even though I am not wild about Biscoff cookies, I have been pretty obsessed with the spread ever since trying it. When I tell people about it, I describe it as "right up there with Nutella" which is a bold statement coming from me. Ever since discovering Biscoff spread, I have had fun trying to incorporate it into my baking, as like anything else so incredibly delicious, it goes well with just about anything. Here's how I incorporated it into an oatmeal cookie recipe:

Ingredients:

*1 stick butter, softened
*1/3 cup Crisco butter flavored shortening
*1/4 cup Biscoff spread
*3 eggs
*1 tsp vanilla
*1 cup brown sugar
*3/4 cup white sugar
*2 ¼ cups flour
*1 tsp salt
*1 tsp cornstarch
*2 tsp baking soda
*1 tsp cinnamon
*2 cups oats
*1 ½ cups chocolate chips

Yield: About 70 cookies

Directions

1.Mix Softened butter with shortening and Biscoff spread.

2. Add eggs, vanilla, and sugar.

3. Gradually incorporate flour into the mixture.

4. Add salt, cornstarch, baking soda, and cinnamon.

5. Mix in oats in chocolate chips.

6. Chill dough for about an hour int he refrigerator (or be inpatient like me and chill it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes)

7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

8. Scoop dough one tablespoon at a time onto a cookie sheet that is greased or covered with parchment paper.
9. Bake for 10 minutes

10. Let cool and enjoy!

Experiment with Biscoff and see what you can make...

and when in doubt, bake!

<3 Dena

Lauren’s Birthday Cake

noreply@blogger.com (whenindoubtbake) — Mon, 13 May 2013 23:57:00 +0000

Lauren’s Birthday Cake

Red Velvet Cake with Oreo Cream Cheese Filling, Biscoff Buttercream Icing, and Nutella Fudge

As April came to a close, I knew I faced a huge challenge. No, not final exams. Lauren’s birthday is April 29th. For anyone who doesn’t know, Lauren is my best friend and Co-WIDBer. As we were also nearing graduation, I knew I really had to make Lauren an incredible cake. Knowing many of Lauren’s favorite things, I made what I truly believe was the perfect cake for Lauren. Click the link below to see how I made this cake, and how you can recreate it!

Red Velvet Cake

Ingredients:

1 Box Duncan Hines Red Velvet Cake mix

1 stick melted butter

1 ¼ cups milk

1/2 cup chocolate pudding

3 eggs + 1 egg yolk

2 tbsp cocoa

Directions:

Mix ingredients, preferably using an electric mixer. Pour batter into two well-greased 9-inch round pans and follow baking instructions on the box.

Let cool and then remove from pans.

Add Oreo Cream Cheese Filling between layers.

Oreo Cream Cheese Filling
Ingredients:

15 Oreos, crushed

8 oz package of cream cheese, softened

Directions:

Mix together Oreos and cream cheese, then spread between cake layers.

Biscoff Buttercream Icing
Ingredients:

1 stick butter

2.5 cups powdered sugar

¾ cup Biscoff spread

¼ cup milk

1 tsp amaretto

Directions:

Mix ingredients, preferably using an electric mixer. Spread on cake.

Nutella Fudge

Ingredients:

¾ cup Nutella

¾ cup chocolate chips (milk or semisweet would be fine)

1 15 oz can sweetened condensed milk

Directions:

Melt Nutella and chocolate chips in a saucepan over low heat. Once well combined, remove from heat and mix in sweetened condensed milk. Immediately cover cake with fudge.

If desired, crush more Oreos to add around the sides of the cake. Let fudge cool for at least 30 minutes.

Give the gift of cake…and when in doubt, bake!

<3 Dena

Emily's Birthday Cake

noreply@blogger.com (whenindoubtbake) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 04:39:00 +0000

Emily’s Birthday Cake: A Kit Kat Cheesecake Brownie Layer and a Nutellla Cheesecake Brownie Layer with Cream Cheese Icing in between, covered in 3 Musketeers Fudge

In this post I will disclose the details of perhaps the most intense birthday cake I have made to date. When I asked my friend Emily about some of her favorite desserts and candies she gave me lots of ideas. So naturally I decided to use all of them in her cake. She listed off cheesecake, brownies, Kit Kats, and 3 Musketeers. At first I didn’t exactly know how I was going to incorporate all of these things into one cake. I thought of making cheesecake with a brownie crust, but then realized that might be difficult to layer with other things. I ultimately decided to make cheesecake brownie layers because I felt more confident that they would be structurally sound. Pretty quickly I knew I would make fudge with the 3 Musketeers because technically you can make fudge by melting together chocolate chips and marshmallows, so I knew a marshmallow-based candy would make a great fudge. And to make sure the cheesecake component stood out in the cake, I put cream cheese icing between the cheesecake brownie layers. Next I had to make sure the two cake layers were not the same, (because let’s face it, that would be unacceptable). So, I mixed Nutella into one and put Kit Kat pieces in the other. After lots of brainstorming, I ended up with a cake that was awesome, delicious, and super fun to make!

Here’s how you can make this cake!:

*Brownie layers*

1) Mix these ingredients to make batter:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
3 eggs
1/4 cup amaretto
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk (I used light vanilla soy milk)
1/2 cup chocolate chips

2) Split batter evenly between 2 bowls

3) Chop 10 miniature Kit Kat bars and mix into one of the bowls.

4) Mix ½ a cup of Nutella into the other bowl.

*Cheesecake batter*
5) Set aside bowls of brownie batter and mix the following ingredients using an electric mixer

4 oz cream cheese softened
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp flour
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
¾ cup sugar

6) In 2 9-inch cake pans lined with parchment paper, layer cheesecake batter and brownie batter (use Kit Kat brownie batter in one pan and Nutella brownie batter in another.)

7) Bake at 350 for 22 minutes.
8) Let cool for at least an hour.
9) Mix the following ingredients with an electric mixer to make cream cheese icing:

4 oz softened cream cheese
4 tbsp (1/2 stick of butter) softened
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

10) Remove one brownie layer from pan and spread all of the cream cheese icing on top.

11) Remove other layer and place on top of the layer you just iced.

12) Set aside and make 3 musketeers fudge topping*3 Musketeers Fudge*
13) In a saucepan on low heat, melt together the following ingredients:

12 miniature 3 musketeers bars
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
most of a 15 oz can of sweetened condensed milk (12 oz approximately)

14) Once melted together well, pour over cake

15) Press evenly over cake using a spatula.

16) Top with 3 Musketeers and Kit Kats as pictured or however you want.

17) Let cool in the refrigerator for about half an hour

Gather many friends, eat this cake (it's a lot), and when in doubt, bake!
<3 Dena

Zaid's Reese's and Kit Kat Birthday Cake

noreply@blogger.com (whenindoubtbake) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 03:43:00 +0000

Zaid's Reese's and Kit Kat Birthday Cake

In making a birthday cake for my wonderful friend Zaid, I was faced with yet another new challenge. Zaid said his favorite candies were Reese’s and Kit Kats. I struggled with how I could make the best possible cake for him while still making it unique from the Reese’s cake I made for Lindsay and the cake I made for Rachel that was surrounded by Kit Kats. I also faced the challenge of being a little low on peanut butter when I was making this cake. I had plenty for the peanut butter blondies, but then only had about half a cup when I needed to make the icing, not to mention the fact that I had no powdered sugar. So, partially due to my efforts at uniqueness, and partially due to necessity, I ended up with a totally new cake that got the best reviews of any so far.

Rather than swirling peanut butter blondies and chocolate cake batter like I did for Lindsay’s cake, I did one peanut butter blondie layer and one chocolate cake layer (same recipes as Lindsay’s Reese’s cake).

My peanut butter icing, which was composed of peanut butter, butter, sour cream, and brown sugar, actually turned out pretty well!

The Kit Kats around the side of the Rachey’s cake were just too cool and I couldn’t think of any possible better way to incorporate them into the cake, so that part stuck.

To finish this cake off, I melted Reese’s and then topped it with chopped Reese’s.

Once again, Lauren was super helpful in the decoration process. This cake and many other aspects of my life would probably be a mess without my bestie.

Zaid’s cake got devoured his party, so I guess I’ll have to make another soon :-)

Keep calm, eat cake, and when in doubt, bake!

<3 Dena

Thin Mint Brownies

noreply@blogger.com (whenindoubtbake) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 23:32:00 +0000

Thin Mint Brownies

As you may or may not know, this is a very special season. Valentine's day? No. Lent? Um okay, but not what I'm getting at. The end of winter? Well yes, thank goodness, but not quite. The season to which I am referring is Girl Scout cookie season. Yes, this is the season during which, for only $3.50, you can buy a box of the chewy or crunchy deliciousness that only an adorable little girl with badges on her vest can sell to you. A long time ago, I too was a girl scout, and I love the fact that somehow me eating cookies can help such a worthwhile cause. (P.S. if you want cookies and don't know where to buy them, here's a link where you can enter your zip code and find a girl scout cookie sale near you! Girl Scout Cookie Locator )

According to the Girl Scout cookie website, Thin Mints continue to be the most popular seller, and it is not hard to see why. Whether plain, frozen, or dipped in vanilla ice cream, thin mints are the perfect dose of minty, chocolaty goodness. Unfortunately for me, I gave up snacking for Lent this year (If you recall, last year it was sweets. That was a dark period of my life). So, since I still could not say no to the cute little brownie scout offering me a box, I decided to take them and turn them into a baked good, one that truly reflects the culture of Girl Scouts--a brownie.

These brownies are a perfect blend of chocolate, mint, and a hint of amaretto that I felt really let the cookie crumbles stand out against the brownie base. Also, miraculously, these brownies came out of the pan as intact, picturesque squares. I'm claiming it as some sort of Girl Scout voodoo, but I'm not complaining. This was my first time completely innovating a brownie base without any sort of proportional guidance, so I'm glad that I can mark this one as a shining success. Make these. Support a girl scout. Eat chocolate. #lifeplan

Thin Mint Brownies:

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
3 eggs
1/4 cup amaretto (or other almond liquer)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk (I used light vanilla soy milk)
1/2 package thin mint cookies, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9x13" pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well-mixed.
3. In another mixing bowl, beat the three eggs. Add melted butter, both sugars, amaretto, and milk and stir well.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture, and stir until combined and flour is fully incorporated. Add thin mint pieces and chocolate chips, and mix until spread throughout.

Om nom nom batter

5. Pour batter into prepared pan and spread so that it evenly covers the entire pan.

Feel free to stop the process here...

6. Bake at 350 for about 30-40 minutes (mine took 35) until toothpick inserted in center comes out mostly clean, but somewhat sticky.

7. Let cool, cut into squares, and devour.

Delishhhhh

Oh. My. Yum. These disappeared so quickly, I may have to buy more girl scout cookies just to meet the demand. Brownies and charity--what a perfect combination. Remember to support the girl scouts in your life, and when in doubt, bake!

<3 Lauren

Rachey’s Birthday Cake

noreply@blogger.com (whenindoubtbake) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:53:00 +0000

Rachey’s Birthday Cake: Flourless Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Icing, Kit Kats, and M&M's

As promised, here is another birthday cake post, and one in which I will actually be able to tell you how I made the cake. In my birthday cake consultations I ask my friends a variety of questions, two of which are always “What’s your favorite dessert?” and “What’s your favorite candy?” Following these steps, I usually decide to base my cake off of one of these answers. In the case of my dear friend Rachey, I based the cake off of both, and also added an extra surprise that I knew she would love. She said her favorite dessert was flourless chocolate cake and her favorite candies were Kit Kat bars and M&M's. As an avid Pinterester, I had seen a picture of a cake with Kit Kats around the outside and had been wanting to try doing that anyway. Though I had not made a flourless chocolate cake before, I knew that wouldn’t be a problem. I decided to use chocolate chip cookie dough icing, because Rachey and I share a love for chocolate chip cookie dough. Finally, I decided to top this epic cake off with M&M's. LOTS of M&M's. Shoutout to Lauren for helping me with the icing and decoration of this cake, her help is probably the reason the cake did not end up looking like a total mess :-) For more specifics on how you can recreate this masterpiece, along with process pictures, all you have to do is click the “Read More” button below!

1. Follow this recipe for flourless chocolate cake, ignoring the part about the glaze:http://glutenfreecooking.about.com/od/dessertsandsweets/r/flourlessgfcake.htm

2. Let cake cool

3. Make the cookie dough icing:

Mix the following ingredients in order, using an electric mixer if possible:

¾ cup (1.5 sticks) softened butter

½ cup flour

1 ½ cups packed brown sugar

2 ½ cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup milk

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

4. Ice the cake

5. Stick Kit Kats to the outside, using leftover icing as adhesive. One bag of the individually wrapped Kit Kats should be just enough for this.

6. Top with M&M's.

7. Lauren is a perfectionist and felt the need to cover the parts of the Kit Kat bars that were still showing with butterscotch chips. This is arguably unnecessary but also awesome if you want to do it.

8. Finish by tying a bow around the cake using a pretty ribbon. (Technically optional but not really)

Get crazy with cake and when in doubt, bake!

<3 Dena

Chocolate Amaretto Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (whenindoubtbake) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 22:10:00 +0000

Chocolate Amaretto Cookies

I began this baking adventure by asking myself, “What’s better than chocolate?” The answer, of course, is nothing. That is, except adding other delicious things to chocolate. So, after a thorough search of my kitchen, I found an ingredient that I knew would add something extra special to normal chocolate cookies: amaretto liqueur. The liqueur gives these super-chocolaty cookies a delicious nutty flavor. I will warn you that this recipe yields a surprising amount of cookies. I ended up with 60. Not that this is really a problem :-)

Ingredients:

· 1 stick butter (softened)
· ¼ cup Crisco butter flavored shortening
· 1/4 cup melted semi-sweet chocolate chips
· ¼ cup melted milk chocolate
· 1/4 cup brown sugar
· 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
· 1 egg
· 1 tsp vanilla
· ¼ cup amaretto liqueur
· ¼ cup milk
· 1 1/4 cup flour
· 1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder \
· 1/2 tsp salt
· 1 tsp baking soda
· ½ tsp cinnamon
· 1 tsp cornstarch

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Melt butter, shortening, chocolate chips, and milk chocolate together.

3. Mix in brown sugar and granulated sugar,

4. Add in egg, vanilla, amaretto liqueur, and milk.

5. Gradually mix in flour.

6. Add cocoa, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and cornstarch.

7. Drop dough by a tablespoon onto a greased cookie sheet.

8. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes.

Enjoy these cookies with friends, and when in doubt, bake!

<3 Dena

The Ultimate Reese's Cake

noreply@blogger.com (whenindoubtbake) — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 07:06:00 +0000

The Ultimate Reese’s Cake: Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cake with Peanut Butter Icing, Covered in Reese’s Fudge

As promised in my birthday cake post, here is how you can make the amazingly epic Reese’s cake that I made for Lindsay’s birthday. I must warn you that a lot of ingredients and various steps go into this, but it is all SO worth it for the end product. I recommend reading through the entire recipe before starting, as I listed the ingredients under their parts of the cake, rather than all at the beginning of the recipe.

Chocolate Cake Ingredients

2/3 cup flour

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup cocoa

2/3 tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1 tsp vinegar

3 tbsp warm water

3 tbsp melted butter, cooled

2/3 tsp vanilla

Suggests 350 for 20 minutes

Peanut Butter Blondie Swirl with Pieces of Reese’s

¼ cup + 2 tbsp PB
6 tbsp butter
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla
¾ cup + 2 tbsp flour
½ tsp baking soda
3 tbsp milk
½ cup pieces of Reese’s, chopped up

*Preheat oven to 325

*Grease a deep 9-inch round pan

*In separate bowls, mix chocolate cake and peanut butter blondie batter. For both, mix ingredients in the order listed.

*Pour peanut butter blondie batter into pan, then pour the chocolate cake batter on top. Swirl together with a knife

*Bake for 35-40 minutes.

*Let cake cool before icing

Peanut Butter Icing

6 tbsp butter, softened
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tbsp milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

*In an electric mixer, mix butter and peanut butter

*Add in powdered sugar gradually.

*Add milk and vanilla

*Mix until well combined

*Ice cake

Reeses Fudge

6 normal size Reese’s peanut butter cups
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

*In a stovetop pot, melt together Reese’s, chocolate chips, and peanut butter.

*Remove from heat and add in sweetened condensed milk.

*Pour this mixture over the cake. There may be some left over (lucky you, chef!).

*Let cake cool so the fudge covering can harden. This will go faster in a freezer or refrigerator, but will still work even at room temperature. But who really has that kind of patience?

*If desired, decorate the top of the cake with mini Reese's cups.

Remember, an afternoon is best spent making cake!

...and when in doubt, bake!

<3 Dena

Spicy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Popsicles

noreply@blogger.com (whenindoubtbake) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 17:41:00 +0000

Spicy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Popsicles

Months ago, I bought a Zoku popsicle maker. For those of you have not heard of this awesome contraption, it allows you to make popsicles in about 9 minutes. After first getting it, I experimented with it a few times, but since then it has really just been taking up freezer space. So, I decided it was time to put it to use again. Not being the hugest fan of fruit flavors, I grabbed a can of pumpkin from my pantry and with very few ingredients made this delicious treat! It's super easy to make, and super quick if you have a Zoku!

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla
About 3 tbsp chocolate chips

Yield: 6 Zoku Popsicles

Directions:

Mix all of the above ingredients except the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe container. Microwave on high for 1 minute, or until the pumpkin puree is well dissolved. Put half a tablespoon of chocolate chips at the bottom of each popsicle part of the Zoku. Pour mix into the Zoku or whatever popsicle container or maker you are using. Wait for them to freeze, which will be about 9 minutes in a Zoku and probably around an hour if you're just using an ice cube tray or other popsicle container that doesn't facilitate fast freezing. Last but not least, enjoy!

Cool down like the weather, and when in doubt, bake!
<3 Dena

A Special Birthday Cake Edition

noreply@blogger.com (whenindoubtbake) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 22:55:00 +0000

A Special Birthday Cake Edition

Ever since making Lauren’s “21 cake” I have become semi-obsessed with making birthday cakes for my friends with their favorite candies and flavors. I have not posted many of these epic creations because there is so much involved in them that I do not always remember what all I put in them. Nevertheless, I wanted to share some of these cakes because I think what is really most exciting about them is all of the fun components, rather than the recipes themselves.

The next cake I made after Lauren’s cake was my own birthday cake in July (judge away). This was recently after I came up with my red velvet brownie recipe. I was so in love with the red velvet brownies that I decided I just wanted my cake to be a giant red velvet brownie covered in one layer of milk chocolate fudge and then another layer of white chocolate fudge that was colored pink. As always, no regrets!

Later in July, I celebrated my friend Sarah’s birthday, and along with Lauren and our friend Maggie, made a delicious chocolate chai cake with a Nutella and Kinder icing. Sarah loves chai and everyone loves Nutella, so needless to say, this cake went over great!

In August, my friend Lindsay turned 22, and Lindsay loves Reeses, so I made a cake inspired by Reeses. I actually do have this recipe saved, and will post it at a later date as it will be an extremely long post on its own! But to give you an idea of what went into this cake, I swirled chocolate cake batter with peanut butter blondie batter and pieces of Reeses peanut butter cups. Then I iced the cake with peanut butter icing. To finish it off, I covered the entire cake in Reeses fudge and topped it all with mini Reeses cups around the edges. I don’t know that I have ever been more proud of anything I’ve made. I’m a peanut butter and chocolate lover, too, so I was a huge fan of this cake!

I reunited with my love of birthday cake making last Friday to make a cake for my friend Kanushri’s 21st birthday. Kanushri loves butter, salt, and spice (and some things nice). So for her, I made a buttery spice cake using pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, masala tea spice, and chai concentrate powder. Then, I made a salted toffee icing using melted toffee candies. I covered her cake in white chocolate fudge, because it’s really hard for me to make a cake look pretty after just icing it, but things tend to look a little better after I cover my messy icing jobs in fudge. And anyways, who doesn’t love fudge? I figure it’s a welcome bonus. To finish this cake off, I topped it with heath bar pieces!

I have many more friends with birthdays coming up soon, so look out for some more cake posts. Hey, I may even remember to write down how I make them!

Spread love through cake, and when in doubt, bake!

<3 Dena

Copycat Jim N Nicks Cheese Biscuits

noreply@blogger.com (whenindoubtbake) — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 17:26:00 +0000

Copycat Jim N Nicks Cheese Biscuits

Yesterday, I tried Jim N Nicks cheese “biscuits” for the first time and they changed my life forever. Those quotations were necessary because these things are nothing like any other biscuit you’ve ever had. They’re more like cheesy cornbread with a biscuit-y top. I woke up this morning with an urge to bake, and decided to recreate them. As a first step, I examined several copycat recipes for them. I looked at every single website on my first page of Google search results and something very obvious struck me about all of these recipes. And that was that they were all wrong. Not one of them had cornmeal. I’m not sure how they all managed to miss this key ingredient, but not to worry, I have fixed this little error, combined some elements from various copycat recipes already out there, and added a few insights of my own. The result? Pretty darn delicious and quite close to what I tried last night at Jim N Nicks.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
¾ cup cornmeal
½ cup sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp melted butter flavored shortening

1 egg
¾ cup buttermilk

½ tsp vanilla

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Yield: About 2 dozen

Directions:

1. Grease muffin tins.
2. Position an oven rack in the center.
3. Preheat over to 400 degrees.
4. Mix flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
5. In a separate bowl (but like actually) mix melted shortening, egg, buttermilk, and vanilla.

6. Pour liquid ingredients over dry ingredients just until well combined.
7. Add in cheese and mix lightly. Be careful not to over-mix.

8. Put between 1 ½ and 2 tbsp batter in each muffin tin.
9. Bake for 14-15 minutes.

10. Let cool and enjoy!

Recreate the things you love, and when in doubt, bake!

<3 Dena

Gingerbread Hot Chocolate Pancakes

noreply@blogger.com (whenindoubtbake) — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 17:41:00 +0000

Gingerbread Hot Chocolate Pancakes

My inspiration for this recipe came from a recent brunch with two of my best friends from high school, Lakelyn and Tori, and their boyfriends, Christian and Thomas. Since I celebrate Christmas with movies and Chinese food, I’m always interested to hear about what Christmas is like for those who celebrate more…traditionally. My friends discussed how Christmas morning was the only day of the year that they were morning people, and how when they were younger they would often wake up really early on Christmas morning, only to have to wait for everyone else to wake up before opening presents. Thomas even mentioned one Christmas when he woke up at 2 AM and stayed up until 7AM, when his family opened presents, playing his Gameboy by the Christmas tree, anxiously waiting to open presents.

Being a firm believer in food as a solution to (almost) all problems, I began to think about a Christmas breakfast treat to make the morning extra special, and to entertain those who wake up a little earlier than everyone else.

What you need:

· 2 eggs

· 2 tbsp melted butter

· 1 cup all-purpose flour

· 3/4 cup milk

· ¼ cup brown sugar

· 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

· 1/2 tsp vanilla

· 3 tbsp molasses

· 2 packets hot chocolate mix

· 1 tablespoon baking powder

· 1 tsp ginger

· ½ tsp cinnamon

· ¼ tsp nutmeg

· 1/2 teaspoon salt

Optional: 3 cup melted marshmallows

Yield: 3-4 servings (depends how hungry you are!)

What to do:

1. Mix the ingredients in the order listed (except for the marshmallows) until well combined.

2. If possible, let the batter sit overnight in the refrigerator. I recommend this with this recipe and all pancake recipes, but it’ll still work even if you don’t have the time or discipline to wait. I rarely have either.

3. Fry the batter in a pan on low-medium heat, using butter.

4. If desired, top with melted marshmallows.

5. Enjoy!

Have a merry Christmas and when in doubt, bake!

<3 Dena

White Chocolate Cheesecake-Filled Red Velvet Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (whenindoubtbake) — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:58:00 +0000

White Chocolate Cheesecake-Filled Red Velvet Cookies

Christmas time is here! Let’s face it: this time of the year was made for baking. It’s cold outside, there are tons of fun sprinkles and such in the grocery store, and there are enough cookie exchanges and ugly sweater parties to keep baked goods in high demand all season long. For baking bloggers like us, however, it means we need to step up our game. During the rest of the year, people are happy enough that we’re even making chocolate chip cookies, but when everybody and their moms are baking (quite literally), people expect something more from us, something that will stand out among the crowd. It’s a tough task, but who would we be if we weren’t ready for it?

Lately red velvet has taken the world by storm. What started as a humble cake is now a type of latte, tea, hot chocolate, cookie, brownie, ice cream, cheesecake, etc. People love red velvet, and after one taste, it is easy to understand why. Red velvet is especially perfect for the holiday season since the colors and the flavors just scream Christmas. While perusing red velvet recipes on Pinterest and some of my favorite baking blogs, I noticed that almost every recipe that wasn’t for a cake or a cupcake involved using boxed red velvet cake mix. CHEATERS!!!!! Red velvet cake is SO MUCH BETTER when it is homemade, and I believe the same can be said for any other red velvet dessert. As somebody who is morally opposed to using boxed mix 99% of the time, I knew what I had to do: create a red velvet cookie recipe entirely from scratch. And fill it with white chocolate cheesecake filling. Because I can. Trust me, one bite of these cookies, and you’ll never look back at boxed cake mix again. These cookies will be the hit of any holiday party or cookie exchange, I promise J

White Chocolate Cheesecake-Filled Red Velvet Cookies

(Makes about 3 dozen)

For the Cookies:

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup packed brown sugar

½ cup granulated white sugar

2 eggs

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla

1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar (Don’t freak out! It’s a key ingredient in good red velvet. Just ask Paula Deen.)

Red food coloring

1. Preheat oven to 375^o F. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, both sugars, baking soda, and salt. Mix well until ingredients are well-blended and there are few to no clumps.

2. In another bowl, combine melted butter, eggs, vanilla, and vinegar. Beat together until well-blended, and add to ingredients in first bowl. Mix well.

3. Add red food coloring to dough until dough is desired hue of red. If needed, add one or two drops of blue food coloring to darken. Make sure color is completely mixed evenly into the dough to avoid streakiness.

For the cheesecake filling:

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 8-oz package cream cheese

½ cup granulated white sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

4. For the filling, microwave white chocolate chips for 30 seconds in microwave, stir. Continue microwaving for 10 second intervals as needed, stirring in between each, until chips are just melted. Add cream cheese and sugar to melted chocolate, beat until ingredients are combined but not gooey. Stir in flour.

5. Roll level tablespoons of the cookie dough into balls. Divide each ball into two halves, with one juuuusssst slightly larger than the other. Flatten the smaller half into a circle on a well-greased cookie sheet. Spoon a small amount of filling onto the round.

6. Flatten the slightly larger half into a circle and place over the bottom half and filling. Press edges together to seal.

7. Repeat until cookie sheet is full, leaving at least a couple of inches between each cookie. Bake cookies for 9-11 minutes until edges are set but not too browned (Mine all baked in 9 minutes no problem).

8. Let cool and devour!

These cookies have received rave reviews from so many people. They are easy to make, and they look just so dang festive! If you want to dress them up a bit, you can drizzle melted white chocolate on top and shake on a few festive sprinkles J I hope you enjoy these as much as I (and everybody else) did, and remember: When in doubt, bake!

<3 Lauren

Butterscotch Chai Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (whenindoubtbake) — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 23:19:00 +0000

Butterscotch Chai Cookies

Despite what the weather might suggest, we have reached that special point in the year that the Gregorian calendar likes to call “December.” This fateful month triggers a wide range of emotions for various people: excitement about spending the holidays with family, fear for the apocalypse on the 21st, or, for college students across the land: stress, stress, and more stress because finals are approaching. Everyone deals with stress in their own way. Some complain, some watch movies, others exercise or flee to remote places where they can escape their problems. I bake. A lot. Like more than usual. Last Friday, in order to de-stress, I decided to devote some time to my favorite pastime. I knew I wanted to make one thing I had made before and one new creation. So, in addition to my all-time favorite Red Velvet Mocha Brownies, I made these delightful and spicy butterscotch chai cookies.

Ingredients:
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup Crisco Butter flavor shortening
1 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup butterscotch chips, melted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs plus 2 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. plus 1 tbsp all purpose flour
¼ cup powder chai concentrate (I used Pacific Chai’s Spice Chai Latte)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cornstarch

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Mix butter and shortening with the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. (preferably do not use an electric mixer, mix with a spoon) 3. Add in melted butterscotch chips
4. Gradually add in flour, adding no more than ½ a cup at a time.
5. Mix in chai concentrate, baking soda, salt, and cornstarch.

6. Using a tablespoon, drop dough onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.

Yield: About 4 dozen

Keep calm, and when in doubt, bake (especially to keep calm),

<3 Dena

Honey Mozzarella Corn Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (whenindoubtbake) — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 00:16:00 +0000

Honey Mozzarella Corn Muffins

In case our recent slew of pumpkin posts was not enough of an indicator, Thanksgiving is fast approaching! And though I love traditional thanksgiving foods, I’ve come to the realization that I am officially physically incapable of making anything “normal.” I signed up to make cornbread for an early Thanksgiving potluck with my friends at school and this was no exception. I figured that since honey and mozzarella are good together, cornbread tastes great with honey, and cheesy cornbread is amazing too, why not combine them together?

Ingredients

· 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
· 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
· 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
· 1/4 cup granulated sugar
· ½ teaspoon salt
· 1/4 cup milk
· ¼ cup greek yogurt
· 1 large egg
· 2 tbsp butter, softened
· 2 tbsp honey
· ½ cup shredded mozzarella

Yield: 22 mini muffins

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Into a large bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the whole milk, eggs, butter, honey, and mozzarella. Add the wet to the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.

Place 1 tbsp batter into each muffin tin.

Bake for 8 minutes, until golden.

Try switching up your all time faves, and when in doubt, bake!

<3 Dena

White Pumpkin Chip Butterscotch Blondies

noreply@blogger.com (whenindoubtbake) — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 20:09:00 +0000

White Pumpkin Chip Butterscotch Blondies

I hate cold weather. Hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it. To me, fall marks the onset of snowstorms, frozen fingers, nippy winds, and general, dark unhappiness. Nevertheless, fall does bring with it two redeeming features—fall clothing and pumpkin. Now, if you’re like me, you would love to use pumpkin year-round and ignore culinary seasonal traditions. Unfortunately, the grocery stores and I do not see eye-to-eye. Countless times, I have tried to buy pumpkin only to be told that it is “not in season” or “only carried during certain times of the year”. Frankly, I call shenanigans because canned pumpkin is good for like umpteen years (or, ya know, two), but fall is the one time a year that I can lay down my burning torch and buy pumpkin in peace, in bulk, and in good fashion.

Today’s recipe is a modification of an old favorite recipe from a dilapidated 1970s era Betty Crocker cookbook that my mother has owned ever since I can remember.

Ooooh, vintage

I remember as a kid wanting to make brownies, but I was upset because we had no chocolate. So, using flawless little kid logic, I found a recipe for butterscotch brownies that didn’t require any chocolate. Somehow, I thought that melding these ingredients would give me delicious, chocolaty brownies through some sort of super magical blending of ingredients, with a hint of butterscotch to boot! Alas, the brownies were not chocolaty, but thankfully were still quite delicious. Many years later, I am revamping the recipe and adding my own touch—and also a hint of chocolate.

White Pumpkin Chip Butterscotch Blondies:

Ingredients:

¼ cup butter or margarine

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

½ can pumpkin

1 tsp. Kahlua

¾ cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

¾ cup white chocolate chips

¼ cup Smucker’s (or other brand) butterscotch caramel sauce

2 tbsp cream cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350^o. Melt butter. Combine in large bowl with brown sugar, egg, Kahlua, and pumpkin. Once well-blended, add flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Mix until batter forms, then stir in white chocolate chips until just mixed.

2. Spread batter in well-greased 8x8 pan. Drizzle butterscotch caramel sauce over batter, and disperse cream cheese in dollops spread out across the pan. Using a knife, marble in sauce and cream cheese using swirling, loose figure-8 motions.

Om nom nom nom batter

3. Bake 30-40 minutes until edges begin to separate from pan and center is no longer jiggly. Let cool and then enjoy!

I must say, these disappeared within 2 days. Although I am still not a fan of fall, I love any excuse to give people (mostly myself) pumpkiny goodness J Enjoy your Thanksgiving and remember: when in doubt, bake!

<3 Lauren

Caramel Pumpkin Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats

noreply@blogger.com (whenindoubtbake) — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 17:17:00 +0000

Caramel Pumpkin Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats

There’s nothing that makes you want to be a kid again quite like being a senior in college. And if you’re in my position right now, though I can’t help you return to a time of no worries or responsibilities, I can tell you how to make a version of an all-time favorite childhood snack that is more grown up, but in a good way. So take a break from panicking about your future, and use the BEST fall ingredient (pumpkin, of course) to make a delicious treat that combines the goodness of classic rice krispie treats with chocolate, caramel, and pumpkin! What’s not to love about that?

Ingredients:

4 tbsp (1/2 stick) butter
½ of a 15 oz can of pumpkin
½ tsp vanilla
½ cup plus 2 tbsp flour
¼ cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp granulated sugar
½ cup chocolate chips
Pinch of salt

Other ingredients:

1 ½ cups mini marshmallows
½ cup caramel candies

2 cups Rice Krispies
2 cups Cocoa Krispies

Directions:

1. Melt butter, pumpkin, vanilla, flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, chocolate chips and salt together in a saucepan over medium heat until chocolate chips are melted and well combined with other ingredients.

2. Pour the marshmallows caramels into the saucepan and stir mixture until caramels and marshmallows are fully melted and well mixed in with other ingredients. Remove saucepan from heat.

3. Pour mixture over a bowl of the mixed Rice Krispies and Cocoa Krispies, and mix together.

4. Spread into a coated 8 or 9 inch square pan.

5. Let cool for about half an hour.

Kick back, relax, and when in doubt, bake!

<3 Dena

Pumpkin Dulce de Leche Chocolate Chip Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (whenindoubtbake) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 15:53:00 +0000

Pumpkin Dulce de Leche Chocolate Chip Muffins

It’s safe to say that fall is here. Though summer is my favorite season and I miss it already, fall certainly has some redeemable qualities. The Vanderbilt campus gets especially beautiful covered in the autumn leaves. Starbucks has pumpkin spice, so I can get a pumpkin chai tea latte, or “chumpkin,” as my barista last week called it. And I have an excuse to bake an obnoxious amount of things with pumpkin without feeling at all ashamed. This post is about my first pumpkin creation of the season. They got rave reviews from all who tried them, so even more than usual, I encourage you to give them a try!

Ingredients:

1 box Jell-o flan pudding mix

1 box Jell-o butterscotch pudding mix

1/4 cup milk

¾ cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 /2 of a 15 oz can pure pumpkin puree (about ¾ cup)

1 egg

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 teaspoon cornstarch

¼ cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup Chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Whisk flan pudding mix and butterscotch pudding mix with ¼ cup of milk for about 2 minutes.

3. Mix in caramel sauce packet

4. Add in melted butter

5. Add eggs

6. Add pumpkin puree

7. Mix in cornstarch, salt, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon

8. Add in sugar

9. Mix in flour

10. Add chocolate chips

11. Separate batter into muffin tins.

12. Bake for 18 minutes in greased regular-sized muffin tins, or 10 minutes for mini muffins.

If you can’t fall in love with fall, fall in love with pumpkin…and when in doubt, bake!

<3 Dena

Nutella Cookie Crusted Peanut Butter Blondies

noreply@blogger.com (whenindoubtbake) — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 17:23:00 +0000

Nutella Cookie Crusted Peanut Butter Blondies

Sometimes it’s hard for me to believe that I spent the first 19 or so years of my life without Nutella. Growing up, I remember seeing the commercials advertising Nutella as a “healthy breakfast”. Though I now know these claims are incredibly dubious, I was always intrigued. A chocolate spread for breakfast seemed right up my alley, though any food that could be described as “healthy” was not my usual style. I was in college when I first tried Nutella, and it was truly love at first bite.

For as long as I can remember, I have been a huge fan of peanut butter. It very much had a place in my life for all of those years before Nutella won over my heart. According to the National Peanut Board, the average child will eat 1500 peanut butter sandwiches before they graduate high school. Given that I brought a peanut butter sandwich for lunch almost every single day from kindergarten to high school graduation, and did not slow my consumption during the summer, I am sure that I had way more.

Lucky for me, I do not have to choose between my two favorite spreads. They taste great together. And though I do a lot of baking with one or the other, I have not made many things using both. This really is a shame, and it will surely change soon, because these sweet and salty peanut butter blondies with a Nutella cookie crust are absolutely delightful! I recommend you give these a try, here’s how:

1. Begin by greasing a 9 inch square pan and preheating the oven to 350.
2. Make the dough for the Nutella cookie crust

Nutella cookie crust

½ stick of butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar (1/4 cup sugar + 1 tbsp honey/syrup)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup Nutella

1 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 tsp corn starch
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

3. Mix wet ingredients and sugar, and then gradually add dry ingredients. (mixing ingredients in the order listed will work)
4. Spread dough in the bottom of the pan, as pictured below.

5. Begin making the blondie batter.

Peanut butter blondies

3 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tbsp oil
1 large egg
¾ cup brown sugar, packed
¼ cup sugar

2 tbsp honey
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 ½ tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

6. Again, mix wet ingredients and sugar, and then gradually add dry ingredients, as in the order listed.
7. Pour batter in the pan, over the cookie dough. (batter will be thick)

8. Bake for 30 minutes, or until edges brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out dry.

Just pretend Nutella is healthy, and when in doubt, bake!

<3 Dena