Cantstopbaking

Where to start.....

2014-01-09T11:45:00.000-05:00

You know that friend that everyone has-the one that you meet every six weeks in the grocery store. Every time you bump into each other, you both say at the same time "We must get together and do something! Just something fun!" and then she heads to the bread section and you get some cheese. Of course, six weeks later you see each other at Target, and its the same song and dance, only this time a bit more awkward. It usually spirals down this way until you are crouching behind the Cheerios at Walmart, so you don't have to have the same old "Heh, heh, totally! We should get together!"

I don't need to spell it out for you guys, right? I mean, in July, the idea of posting a recipe was always next on my never-ending list of Things To Do. (Which still has not ended yet by the way. I don't think it ever will.) By August, it was a nice thought. September: "Post? What's a post?!"Anyways, enough with the rambling, I do have a real reason why I've completely disappeared: I started a business. A real true to life business, with a real true to life accountant! (Life lesson #264: Always marry an accountant.) Before I tell you about my little baby business, (yes starting a business is more or less like having a new baby, minus the spit up) I want to reassure everyone that I am not closing down CantStopBaking. CantStopBaking was my first and only little baby blog, and it holds a very special place in my heart. I love the writing aspect, I love trying out new recipes to post, and most of all I love hearing feedback from everyone. Unfortunately, contrary to my kids beliefs, I am not Superwoman. I know, I know, I was shocked to discover this fact. Turns out, raising four little monkeys and starting a business takes up about 25 hours of my day, leaving little or no time for baking, let alone blogging. But you know what? I am so happy with what I am doing now. I am doing something I absolutely love and you really can't argue with that. So with mixed feelings, I have to put this blog on hold for now. And that's really what it is : On hold. I really truly hope that one day I'll be able to start blogging again (most likely when my baby monkey stops using the kitchen table as his personal jungle gym.) But until then, please feel free to browse through old posts and recipes, and reminisce about the good times that we had together. I know I will.

And now onto my news!

There it is! My little baby business! I started working on getting everything together in July and I haven't looked back since. I never realized how much work it takes to start a business, but it absolutely was worth every sleepless night. Meeting new people, interacting with cuties, editing happy smiling faces- it's my dream job. Check out some of my favorite pictures in the galleries, and if you'd like to see some more, I have other ones on my Facebook page . And as a special treat for being my fans before all this went down, anyone who mentions that they are a CantStopBaking fan, gets %10 off their first shoot!

Until next time,

It's a Big One

2013-06-17T11:18:00.000-04:00

Nope, not a particularly long post today, but it's a BIG occasion:

Last week, Big D. and I celebrated our Tenth Anniversary! Woo hoo! Some people might call this an accomplishment, I consider myself just plain lucky to have Big D. at my side. I am not going to write a whole long mushy post to my hubsters, because that just ain't my thang, but I will let the food do the talking, because where I come from, we express our love through food.

Sooo, in honor of The Big Ten, instead of celebrating out of the house in some hoity toity restaurant (our absolute favorite: ETC.-check it out one day- they have the best steak, um basically ever.) I decided it made more sense to celebrate where it all went down- right at home. I had a lot of fun planning an elegant dinner, and since it was just the two of us, I was able to really go all out:

Now, I feel kind of dumb showing you these pictures after last week's post, but in my defense, I was starving...hence the snapshot style photography:

And the Pièce de résistance:

That was mid heavenly bite. Here's what it looked like in the beginning:

I am drooling just looking at it. Is that really bad? Like laughing at your own jokes? Eh, if it is, too bad-this dessert is the stuff dreams are made of. And I'm talkin' seriously good dreams. Anyhoo, lucky for you, I shall share the recipe with y'all, so you can share the love as well:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Lava Cakes (Adapted from KevinandAmanda)

Since I wanted to keep this non dairy, all ingredients I used are non-dairy. You can swap out the dark chocolate for milk chocolate, margarine for butter etc.

1/2 cup margarine, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup white sugar

1 large egg

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1 good quality dark chocolate bar ( I used dark chocolate with praline middle, and yah, it was amaaaaaazing.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 6 ramekins with non stick cooking spray. Using an electric mixer, beat margarine, brown sugar and white sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat for five minutes until creamy. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, salt and baking soda together. Reduce mixer speed to low and add in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Divide dough in half. Divide half the dough between the six ramekins and pat down. Put 2 chocolate squares in the middle of each ramekin. Divide remaining dough between the ramekins on top of the chocolate squares and pat down flat. Bake at 350°F for 18-20 minutes, until the edges are brown. As soon as you take them out of the oven, run a knife around the edges to make it easier to pop them out. Cool slightly, invert onto a dessert plate and serve warm with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup.

* I froze the extra ramekins raw and defrosted them a few days later to bake for Friday night dessert- worked perfectly! Usually, with chocolate lava cakes, you cannot reheat them, because the gooey middle is essentially batter. Since this molten part here is pure chocolatey heaven, reheating them worked out perfectly!

Until next time folks,

Oh and by the way, notice how I did not wax poetic about the sheer deliciousness of our dinner. Because seriously- words do not do justice. Plus I really don't want to make you jealous. Cuz I'm so thoughtful like that.

Chocolate Bear Claw Ring

2013-06-03T12:09:00.000-04:00

I think it's par for the course for every food blogger to self deprecatingly point out their first blog post. I seriously don't get why we do that. I don't show you those embarrassing glasses that I had in third grade, now do I? I see how it's inspiring for bloggers who are starting out now to see a before and after of your work, but still. Let's keep the dirty laundry in the hamper, shall we? That being said, it happens to be that bear claws were one of my first posts. Well definitely one of my first "hit" posts. And yes, I cringe every time I look at the pictures. But, that's not why I'm bringing this up. For some reason I feel like the recipe wasn't written clearly. It's even hard for me to follow it when I print it out to make it again. I was pretty new to blogging back then, and still standing on wobbly knees. Nowadays, I feel waaaay more confident (a little too confident, some may say) so I thought it would be a great time to bring back this baby and bump it up a notch.

Danish Rings:

Gorgeous, round yeast dough cakes that dominate Pinterest right around the holiday season. Every time I see one, I think "Wow, that would be beyond awesome using the bear claw recipe. Like mind blowingly awesome." So who can guess when is the best time to make mind blowingly awesome cake? Hmm? Any takers? When my sister comes to town! She really needs a nickname. I think I shall call her Our Newest Addition. She of the Lost in Brooklyn story. Maybe I should call her Lost in Brooklyn? No, that just sounds like a song. Ok, moving along. Yes, that is the perfect time to give it whirl, and lo and behold, I was correct (as usual.) Seriously, this stuff is crazy. There is a reason why I make bear claws once every two years- I EAT ALL OF THEM. And I'm really not embarrassed to tell you that. It's that good.

Chocolate Bear Claw Ring

This recipe does have a few steps, but don't let it scare you. I actually find it easier to make this than cinnamon buns. It can really be divided up over 2 days-you can even freeze the chocolate cake and make the ring two weeks later. It also helps that you can refrigerate the yeast dough overnight and assemble the next day.

Yeast dough

3/4 cup milk, rice or soy work fine

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons salt

3/4 cup margarine or butter, sliced into 1/2'' cubes

1/2 cup warm water

2 packages dry yeast (each package is 2 1/4 teaspoons, so here you would need 4 1/2 teaspoons)

2 eggs

4 3/4 cup flour

Heat milk until bubbles form around the edge, remove from heat. Add sugar, salt and margarine. Stir until margarine melts. Let cool. In a separate large bowl, add warm water and yeast. Let sit until yeast dissolves. Add the milk mixture, eggs and 3 cups flour. Beat with electric mixture for two minutes. Add rest of the flour using a spoon, mix until smooth. Cover the bowl with foil and refrigerate for 2 hours. (Not terrible if you do not have time to refrigerate- it just makes the dough easier to work with because its a very soft dough.) Dough can be kept in the refrigerator up to three days.

Chocolate Filling

One recipe chocolate cake, baked and cooled. I use this one. Not just for this, I use it for everything.

1/2 cup oil

1 1/2 cups milk (again, soy or rice works fine)

1 tablespoon vanilla sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup mini chocolate chips- I actually forgot to put it in this time, and you really could not tell the difference.

Combine all the filling ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, in a food processor fitted with the "s-blade" Process on high until it has a smooth, spreadable, paste-like consistency.

To assemble:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Divide dough in half. Roll out the first half on floured surface, into an approximate 9''x18'' rectangle. Spread filling over the dough as smoothly as possible. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips and press down. Now, here you can roll it up a few different ways. I tried one on each ring, and they both came out beautiful. You can either roll it straight like cinnamon buns, just make sure to keep it nice and tight. You can also fold over about 2-3 inches of dough, and continue folding, so the roll is more flat than round. Both looked very nice. Connect the ends of the roll, and pinch together as much as possible. Transfer to a lined baking sheet. Once it's on the baking sheet, you can fix up the shape to a more round circle. Now for the fun part: Using a sharp, serrated knife, slice "cuts" around the perimeter of the ring. You should cut down all the way to the bottom of the ring, but only about half way to the middle. Does that make sense? Please email me if you need that clarified, or leave a comment. To give the ring a little flare, I twisted each cut, so that the middle part, with the chocolate, is facing up. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until top is golden brown. Allow to cool.

Chocolate Glaze (do not skip this step!)

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 tablespoons margarine

2 tablespoons corn syrup

1 cup mini chocolate chips, for garnish (Yep, I forgot these too.)

Combine the glaze ingredients, except for the mini chocolate chips, in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and microwave for another 30 seconds. Stir and transfer to a ziploc bag. Snip off the corner and drizzle over cooled ring. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips. The rings freeze great, but there is absolutely nothing in the world like a bear claw fresh out of the oven. Well, I'm sure there are other things, but I'm trying not to think about it. I'm on a diet.

Ok, now because you guys are my friends (I hope?) or at least my husband,mother and sister-in-law, I'd like to point out the difference between these pictures. :

Both pictures were snapped as the cakes were cooling on the counter: No natural light set up or anything, just my camera set on manual. As a matter of fact, the new picture was taken under our dining room light fixture, which is completely yellow, and at night. I think years of taking pictures helped improve my angle and composition, and learning more about white light and light balance has helped me edit the pictures better. Just an FYI for anyone wondering.

Keeping it real,

Have a great week!

Musings on a Sunday Night

2013-05-19T23:46:00.000-04:00

I just put seven kids (four monkeys, two nieces and one nephew)to bed under the age of eight, and all are asleep before 8:30PM. They are all sleeping, and there was no alcohol involved. I think I deserve a medal of honor. Or a night of guilt free pinteresting. Either one is cool. Although the pinteresting is a little more handy.But then I just end up craving cake or cookies. Speaking of alcohol and pinterest, have you seen these lately?

One of my favorite memes of all time.

(For all you newcomers,: An 'Internet Meme' is a word, phrase, expression, iconic imagery or recognizable reference popularized amongst online communities such as on forums or in online games. They are annoying and usually carry a vibe of geeky-ness, which rides well with annoying people who are all about nerd culture. The most famous one being "LOL", 'Laugh-out-loud'.)

I happen to think that memes are one of internet's most bizarre byproducts. What exactly are they? Pictures? For what? What do we do with them? Collect them? Stifle a snort and then get back to work? Save for posterity and show to the next generation? (Now there's a scary thought.) Although I can see how the idea of having a random stranger put your exact thoughts onto a picture can be appealing.

Appealing, yet not the most intelligent. But seriously, thought that was just me who has that foot phobia.

Whose baby is this? He is absolutely adorable.

Yep, thats me.

If I see another one of these:

I will disown you Pinterest. Disown you, I say.

Except for this one. It's brilliant so I let it stay:

Don't mind me, I'm rambling. And the irony is, I haven't had a stitch of alcohol. (Just a a strawberry banana Luigi's and about 15 chocolate cookies, but that may be TMI.) You may not believe me, but go put seven kids to bed under the age of eight, and get them sleeping before 8:30PM, and then lets see if you can piece together a coherent sentence. Is piece even spelled right? Oh, who knows. On the bright side, if you manage that, you and I both deserve a fat slice of this:

Moist Chocolate Cake adapted from Foodess.com

People tell me all the time "Oh your recipes look good but they are way to complicated." Well then, this one's for you guys.

1¾ cups all purpose flour
2 cups granulated white sugar
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ tsp baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk (or substitute by putting 1 tbsp white vinegar in a cup then filling the rest up with soy or rice milk; let stand 5 minutes until thickened)
½ cup butter or margarine, melted
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup hot coffee (or 2 tsp instant coffee in 1 cup boiling water)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9x13 baking pan and set aside. In the large bowl of a standing mixer, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla extract and beat until smooth (about 3 minutes). Remove bowl from mixer and stir in hot coffee with a rubber spatula. Batter will be very runny. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake on middle rack of oven for about 35-45 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs attached. Allow to cool in pan completely and then frost.

Drunk Chocolate Frosting
1/2 cup margarine or butter
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 cups powder sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1/4 cup alcohol of your choice ( I used a mixture of rum and Walders Vanilla Vodka)

Cream margarine until smooth. Add remaining ingredients. Beat on high until light and fluffy. For a creamier frosting, add milk, one tablespoon at a time, until you reach desired consistency.

Oh, and by the way- I just finished my third load of laundry.

Actually the fifth for the day-lost track there for a minute..

Ok, I'll stop bragging now and go to sleep.

Awesome week to you, folks.

P.S. For the record, I could not have accomplished any of the above mentioned feats (or basically any of my accomplished feats for that matter) without the assistance of this dashing young man:

Except eat the above mentioned slice of cake. I can do that all by myself thankyouveramuch.

Its pretty easy being green...

2013-04-29T11:00:00.005-04:00

I have no idea how this happened, but pretty much everything I have made lately is green. I probably shouldn't over analyze that too much, right? It would require way too much brainpower for a Monday morning.....Green is basically my favorite color. Well, almost. Really teal is. Then green. Then purple and orange are tied. But I digress. What I am saying is, it's pretty up there. I wonder what Google has to say about that:

Green Flowers (or ivy, vines)

Anybody who has endured a long winter will tell you how jazzed they get at the first glimmer of green in spring. The meaning of flower color in green is about renewal, growth, hope, health and youth. Think of luscious emerald lawns, the smell rich with juicy goodness. You can’t help but smile at the thought. Green is also the color of the heart chakra, and so it takes on the meaning of good health. Bright green is the color of Mother Nature at her highest peak. Feel her bounty and embrace her gifts of harvest and health. Express these sentiments by giving a verdant ivy to a friend or loved one today!

Ooh, I am so happy I checked! Such a nice thing to hear after my nightmare last night. I got lost for 45 minutes in downtown Brooklyn...at 11:30 at night. I promise you I left half my brain cells somewhere between Canal Street and the Jackie Robinson Parkway. Um yeah, so if you see any, just give me a call. You know it's not good when you turn to your passenger and say "You know those neighborhoods that you are not supposed to stop at red lights. I wonder if this is one of them."

Just sayin...yep. All in a day's work...

Love this macro- doesn't it look like some kind of cool coral reef in the Caribbean or something?

Speaking of, that's where I want to be right now.

Now that's my kind of green. Moving on...

This was a really fun cake to make. Remember Big D.'s super cool awesome boss?

Mr. and Mrs. Awesome Boss made a party for Big D.'s co worker who just got married, and you know wherever the CantStopBaking's go, cake goes too. The color scheme was purple and green, my favorite color combination:

My favorite part of the cake: bling!!

Last but definitely not least, a cake for my gorgeous nephew's upsherin:

That's all folks!

Happy Happy Monday! Hope its a green one-

S-Monkey's Plan and a Frog Birthday Cake

2013-04-22T11:47:00.000-04:00

Its absolutely amazing what a new baby will do to the previous youngest of the family. I bet some of you know exactly what I am talking about. As much as I try to focus on showering S-monkey with love and attention, end of the day, he's been kicked off his Youngest throne and landed flat on his adorable rump. Not much fun, I would imagine. Now here is the amazing part: Kids have this inner mechanism that kicks in when they have been dethroned. I'm not sure if it's all kids or just mine, but here is how it goes in his head (and again, I am speculating here):

Hmmm, everyone is going crazy over Little Monkey (still haven't found a nickname for him that stuck yet)....why is that? He cries all day,so that can't be it. Spits all over the place, so that's not it. I asked Mommy to please bring the baby back because I really wanted a girl monkey and that didn't work...Only clue I've got is that everyone says "Oh, Little Monkey is soooo cute! If I want my throne back, I better be CUTER than him...

And yeah, that's pretty much how it's been for the past few months. S-Monkey's cute meter has shot through the roof. Seriously, the words that come out of his mouth, I just can't stop laughing. So I guess his plan is basically working.

Here is the latest birthday cake for S-Monkey, keeping up with his latest Frog obsession. And yes, thats Frog with a capital F.

Adorable or not, S-Monkey, We love you to pieces everyday!

{Hostess} Cream Filled Cookies

2013-04-15T09:52:00.000-04:00

I know my appearance around here has been a bit spotty. Good thing no one is taking attendance. I wanted to clarify something this morning. When there are no recipes up on CSB, there is no cake in the CSB household. Just wanted to make sure no one thought I am too busy fressing on cake and cookies to drop in and post something drool worthy for you. 'Cuz I care about you guys, ya know. And if you don't have cake, I won't have cake. And kind of by default, vice versa. Just wanted to make that clear. So in honor of my poor attendance, here's is something mind boggling for you:

Cream Filled Cookies

Cookies:

2 ½ cups all-purpose, unbleached flour

½ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup margarine

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder together. Set aside.Cream together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla; beat on high until well combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the melted chocolate. Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, beating on low after each addition. Beat just until the dough comes together.Cover bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough on a surface lightly coated with a mixture of flour and cocoa to about a ¼" thick. Cut with a 3" round cookie cutter (For jumbo cookies as pictured) Place the cut-outs on a prepared baking sheet and place in the freezer for 5-10 min. (This will prevent spreading.) Bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes, or until done. Allow cookies to cool completely. Makes approximately 22 jumbo cookies.

Cream Filling:

2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cold water, or enough to make the filling cohesive
Combine ingredients in mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed until combined. You may need to add water- 1 teaspoon at a time. Divide the filling equally between cookies. Roll a ball of filling in your hand and press flat onto the cookie with your palm.

Glaze:

1 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
3 ½ cups powdered sugar
4 Tbsp light corn syrup
6 Tbsp milk (rice or soy works as well)

In a medium bowl, whisk the cocoa powder and powdered sugar together. Add the corn syrup and milk, whisking until smooth.The glaze will be very thick, but still pourable. Transfer to a piping bag, fitted with a #12 tip, or to a zip-top bag and snip the corner. Pipe the glaze in a circle onto the cookies. The glaze will spread, so don't go too close to the edges. If some spills over the edge, it's ok.Let the cookies dry for at least one hour before adding the white squiggle. You can use this recipe for royal icing for the squiggle. ( It will make WAAY more than needed for 22 squiggles, so you can definitely cut the recipe in half. You can also refrigerate leftover royal icing for a different time.

And a macro:

Happy Monday guys!

Dazzling Cakes and a Crazy Story

2013-03-11T14:57:00.000-04:00

Every year around this time, I have a bit of a dilemma. Basically, everyone I see winks and says, "Hey, when are you getting some Pesach recipes up on your blog?" And that's when I try to extricate myself from the conversation. Reason being: my Pesach recipes start and end with brownies. And there's not much in between. And I am not embarrassed to share this little fact with you. Ahem. So I thought, a nice fair trade would be that while you are busy cleaning, I will dazzle you with some cakes I've been working on lately.

First up on Dazzling Cakes is this lovely number:

First, a little background. Every once in a while you meet someone, and you say to yourself, "Wow, this person is really special." And sometimes, but not quite as often, you meet someone extraordinarily special. (Quick poll: Do you say extra-ordinary or ex-troar-dinary? Just wonderin') And that my friends, I am lucky to say, is Big D.'s boss. I know, you heard right. His BOSS. And I think you'll tend to agree with me after reading this story. Eh, you might even be banging down his door for an interview. So hang tight, and read on. (Sorry, I don't think they are hiring now but if you are in the market for a mortgage or refinancing, you better run over there quick, and tell them CantStopBaking sent you. You might even catch some of those amazing cookies I sent them this morning. So hurry, before they eat them all!) You know how when it's smack in the middle of the winter, everyone is coughing and sniffling, and either getting or getting over a cold or the flu? Yeah, so that's basically what Big D.'s office looked like at the end of January. Sadly, no amount of cake can cure midwinter blues...trust me-I've tried. So Big D.'s Boss, Mark, decided that this was ridiculous. We have to cure everyone of their sniffles! So he did what most people would do:
He booked flights for everyone to Florida.

I kid you not. I could not make this stuff up if I tried.
And that would be everyone and their spouses!

So yep, February found Big D. and I en route to Tampa along with a group of the most awesome people on planet Earth. And I do not use that term lightly.

There is nothing a little surf and sunshine can't cure!

Go Magic!!

And that my friends is where the above cake came in.

Because when CantStopBaking says a BIG FAT THANK YOU she kinda says it with a big fat cake! And awesome people get awesome cake.

So Mark, a gigantic-

Oh, and I was totally serious about the mortgage thing.

A few lists and some muffins...

2013-02-19T11:05:00.005-05:00

I had a revelation this morning, as I was telling someone I had just met about my blog. I'm sure you've all realized that I write the way that I talk. Whatever pops into my head, gets typed into the post. When I imagine people reading my blog, I have an image in my head of an eager group of close friends who eagerly read every word. But in reality, I probably don't know most of you! Now, generally speaking- it's all cool. But, the problem arises when I start to moan and groan about whatever happens to be going on in my life right then. And whatever poor soul happens across CantStopBakingdom thinks that I have created a blog solely for the purpose of airing my grievances. Which is really very sad if you stop to think about it. Because you all know (and again, I'm speaking to that imaginary group of people...) how I generally like to find the humor in life and milk it for all it's worth. So on that somber note, I'd like to say Hi, everyone. It's me, CantStopBaking. I like to laugh and bake and complain. Not necessarily in that order. But it's a fact of life. And I approve this message.

And now on to the order of the day....

1) It's not Monday. Yes, I know this. Just saying.

2) Yes, I know Purim is, um, like NOW.

3) Yes, I am aware that I have not posted a single bingle thing for Purim.

4)I can continue this list all day if I really think about it.

Ok, so I mentioned that Purim is just about here. And I mentioned that I haven't posted anything Purimish per se. Soooo, in order to keep my loyal and true followers, I'll have to fix that, won't I?

First of all, there is no way in the world I can top last year's post. I love the humor in it,and I am ever so proud of the recipe. So first and foremost,

here is a link to last year's awesomeness.

Now, for this year: I don't have anything earth shattering to share with you, but I do have a muffin recipe. Which in all fairness, you can use for Purim. How, you ask? I shall tell you:

1) You can make these today and freeze them for Purim morning breakfast. I think that delivering mishloach manos on an empty stomach is just one notch less dangerous than playing with a lighter next to a pool of gasoline. Um yeah, so don't ever do that. The gasoline thing or the mishloach manos thing. But really, don't ever do the gasoline thing.

2) You can make a really yummy mishloach manos with muffins and orange juice. Been there, done that.

3) You can just make them today and eat them, because they are really good, and you are feeling very overwhelmed, so the best thing to do when you are overwhelmed is to make muffins and then eat all of them.

What? Who, me? I never said anything about being overwhelmed.

My, my, feeling very listy today. I better just give you the recipe before I go and make another list.

Strawberry Crumb Muffins

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 3/4 cup flour

1 cup chopped strawberries (can use frozen,unsweetened)

Crumb

1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 375°. Line 12 muffin tins with liners. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, milk and egg. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, sugars and cinnamon. Toss in strawberries and stir to coat with flour. Pour in milk mixture, and stir just until combined. Divide batter evenly between muffin cups.

In a small bowl, mix sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter of margarine until mixture is like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over tops of mixture in muffin pan.

Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to sit 5 minutes before removing muffins from pan. Cool on a wire rack.

Hope everyone has a happy, happy week!

Little Dictators and Cinnamon Bun Cookies

2013-02-11T11:34:00.000-05:00

I have come to accept the fact that the concept of "time" does not exist for me anymore. No need for a watch or clock in my house, folks. You see, it really doesn't matter what the actual hour is. Nope, once I had kids, the concept of time disintegrated, along with my ........brain's ability to coherently finish a sentence. Oh, don't get me wrong. Time still exists- just not in the form of numbers on a clock. You see, there are these miniature humans, and they are like little dictators. Dictators of Time. No mercy, no compassion, no excuses. Little monkey is hungry? Time To Eat. Oh, you're in the middle of doing laundry. TOO BAD. Little monkey is crying. Time to Stop Cooking Dinner. Little monkey fell asleep....aaaaand go, go go go cook dinner!! While this paragraph may sound rather choppy to you- can you imagine what it feels like to start, stop, start, stop while dancing to the tune of my Little Monkeys whims. Yeah, I'm pretty sure you can. So thats how life goes nowadays. Oh, the joys of Monkeyhood. So, this recipe is actually what inspired today's rambling. Its kind of a stop and go recipe, which coincidentally is perfect when you have a little monkey in the house: A recipe that is broken up into numerous 5 minute steps. So here we go:

Cinnamon Bun Cookies found on CraftBakeSewCreate

Cookie:

1 cup butter or margarine

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

4 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

Filling:

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Glaze:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3-4 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add in the eggs and milk and vanilla. Mix in the flour and baking powder. Refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours. Meanwhile, mix together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Remove dough from fridge. Divide in half. On a large piece of parchment paper or wax paper, roll the dough out into a 8.5''x15'' rectangle. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll the dough up on the long side. Roll it up using the wax paper, pushing it over with the was paper as you roll. The tighter the dough is rolled up the better. Repeat with the remaining dough. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 350º. Remove the dough from the fridge. Cut into 1/2 inch pieces with a very sharp knife. (I actually used a tape measure to mark 1/2 inch increments. You'd be surprised how thin a 1/2 inch is. Its really worth it, because if the cookies are too thick, they don't bake as well.) Place at least 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 9-10 minutes. Let cool for 2 minutes on the pan before transferring to cool completely.

Mix the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla together until it reaches a pouring consistency. Drizzle over the cookies.

Have a great week!

An "E-Book" and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

2013-01-28T10:23:00.000-05:00

Here we are, smack in the middle of mid-winter vacation and I'm happy to report that we have all our wits about us, and are still relatively sane. So, I figure it's been a while since I've done a book review around here, and going to the library is my basic outing for the kids' off days, so here is a book I want to share with you guys:

When I go to the library, I basically pull books off the shelves, scan for offensive material, and if it passes the test- add it to the stack. I'm kinda too busy making sure three little monkeys are not setting the library on fire, while rocking a fourth little monkey, to read every book word for word. Well, this book happened to be the first book I pulled out of our stack, when S-Monkey and I sat down to read later that night And oh. my. gosh. I totally fell in love. This book is chock full of hysterical jokes-some of which took me a minute to get, and adorable illustrations. And get this- the illustrator is in high school. Aim for the stars my friends...

Anyways, here are some of my favorites:

Get it? J-walking!!! Took me a few...

Love it!!!

Awwww....

While I was looking for images to add to the post, I came across the video that apparently inspired the book:

I have a few more books I want to share with you guys, but I'll save them for a different day. In the meantime here is a perfect recipe for when the kids are home from school. Takes really quick to throw together, and it has peanut butter; a huge no-no in our Peanut Free School. (I am not going to go all ga ga on you over the peanut butter and chocolate combo. I think we covered that song and dance already here.) These are not your basic peanut butter cookies. Actually those criss cross peanut butter cookies are one of the very few baked goods that I do not like. These are more like chocolate chip cookies, with a chewy peanut butter kick:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies adapted from TheIdeaRoom.net

1/2 cup margarine OR butter, softened

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup flour

1-2 tablespoons milk (any non-dairy substitute works fine)

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375°. In a large mixing bowl beat butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, and baking powder. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in the egg and vanilla until combined. Reduce mixer speed to low, and stir in the flour. Add in milk until combined- for puffier, thicker cookies, use 1 tablespoon milk. For thinner, chewier cookies, use 2 tablespoons. Add chocolate chips and mix till just incorporated. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Drop dough by teaspoonful. Bake 10-11 minutes, until center of cookies are set. Makes 36 cookies.

Have a great week!

Storytime Monday

2013-01-21T11:25:00.000-05:00

Ok kids, put away your flour and eggs and settle down. Its story time!

Many moons ago, the CantStopBaking family lived over the sea and through the desert in a far away land. After five moons, or perhaps I should say suns, we made the journey over the ocean, and into the lovely Garden State otherwise known as New Jersey. After this long and arduous trek, ahem *flight*, we kinda had no furniture. Zilch. Zero. Nada. With two and a half monkeys, furnishing our empty house immediately was a top priority. Of course I had grandiose plans of glossy cherry wood furniture and sumptuous leather couches, but sadly that wasn't a reality. (Did you know the New Jersey state motto is "Keeping it Real"? Ha!)

Lucky for us, there was a brilliant website, that was quite a novelty back then called Craigslist. (That was in sparkly letters by the way. If computer screens could sparkle, those letters would be sparkling.) So I scoured Craigslist- and by that I mean obsessively hit the refresh button every 3 minutes on the furniture for sale section- for functional yet classy furniture. We were able to piece everything together, and I am quite proud of what we have. One of our best finds was our dining room set. I hit jackpot on that one- a woman was trying to empty her parents house after they passed away, and she was selling it for next to nothing. I sped over there to check it out, and it really was quite nice. Beautiful solid walnut wood, with no scratches and in excellent condition. Except the chairs- they were hideous. White with Pepto Bismol and mold colored flowers, and cane backs- not quite the gleaming cherry wood set I had dreamed of. But being the optimist that I am, I figured- lets just take them, and we'll figure something out later. Well, later turned out to be just around the time that our monkeys figured out that cane backs are the perfect size to stick little fingers in. And if you wiggle them around enough, the hole gets bigger. Quite fun actually. You should try it one day. It was then that I realized that later is not quite so much later as much as it is right now. Those of you who have been following my ramblings for the past few years, know that I am nothing if not crazy. So I would never just get the chairs reupholstered like any sane person. Totally not my cuppa' tea. It was around this time that the next brilliant website was born. Pinterest. (Those were sparkly letters too, by the way.) Sheer brilliance. And a gold mine of reupholstering ideas. I had this reupholstering idea simmering in my head for about a year, with Pinterest fanning the flames, but I still couldn't get the guts to do anything about it. It's a big and scary job.Well, as the chairs turned from white, to beige, to tan to blech, I realized, the time is NOW. I might have even used those exact words when I informed Big D. of the next big project to take place in the CSB household. (To which he of course sighed the sigh of the weary, and said "Ok, how much is this costing us." To which I replied, "practically nothing." The response to that was *snort*. Men...) Anyhow, I got serious in my research and I just DID IT. I was really happy with how they turned out- there are lots of blogs on how to reupholster chairs- not so many on how to convert cane backs to fabric backs. So, I'd like to donate my lovely knowledge to the wonderful world wide web, and here is my attempt to put together a tutorial for any other person who is trying to figure out the same thing. Or for your entertainment. Either one is cool.

*Disclaimer:

I did not do this project with a newborn baby. This was tackled last April, and I have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to bequeath my knowledge to you. Which is today.

*Disclaimer after disclaimer:

This is my first time making a tutorial like this, so please bear with me. Please excuse the switching back and forth from first person to directions. If its not clear, please email me with questions- Cantstopbaking{at}gmail{dot}com. Also, I am in no way shape or form a professional upholsterer. (Ha!) This is a project that I figured out as I went along. If you are not up for some trial and error, it may be better to use a professional upholsterer. IF you are up for an adventure, have some extra time on your hands (each chair took 3+hours to do) and would like to do some budget friendly redecorating, read on:

Here we go....

1. Here is the requisite before picture. Note the cane backs, dirty fabric and ripped chair at the end.

2. Before I did anything to the chairs, I went on a huge shopping spree at a local fabric warehouse in Belleville, NJ. I was really lucky and scored beautiful fabric for $3 per yard! I used this chart for measurements.

In the end I only used about half the fabric I bought, but since it's a closeout warehouse, I did not want to risk running out of fabric, and not being able to find it again. Here is the list of supplies that I used:

-12 yards of upholstery fabric (this is how much I purchased, not how much I used.)

-12 yards plastic (with 4 monkeys, plastic covered chairs is a given.)

-thick foam padding to replace the chair cushion

-thin foam padding for the filling of the chair back

-upholstery batting

-heavy duty upholstery webbing

-upholstery trim

-sharp fabric scissors

-electric staple gun (a must- I started with a manual, and my hand was falling off after a few staples.)

- at least 2 boxes replacement staples- its better to buy extra- its a huge pain to run out to Home Depot mid-chair

-glue gun

- approximately 8 replacement glue sticks

- electric drill/screw driver- made taking apart the cushions much easier.

-sharp razor

I was able to buy everything at the fabric warehouse (except for the staple gun and glue gun) and the women there were very helpful in terms of measuring the fabrics. Total cost of all supplies was about $230. Not bad for recovering six chairs-and I can even make a matching tablecloth with the leftover fabric....

3. First step is to flip the chair over so you are looking at the underside of the seat cushion. You should be able to see a screw in each corner. Unscrew each screw, and the cushion should slide right off. (Save the screws for when you are done. If the screws are old, you may need to replace them.) If it's a really old cushion, it can be very crumbly and messy. Cut off all the old fabric and padding ( if the padding is in good condition, keep it for the chair!) Our chairs were very old, so I was not able to use the fabric as a pattern for the new upholstery. Most tutorials recommend keeping the fabric as a guide when cutting out the new fabric, so if you can salvage the shape, keep that too. As you can see in the above picture, the cane back had to go, so I got to work with a razor blade, and just cut the cane right off. You should end up with a basic frame by the time you are done. ( top right corner picture.)

4. To make a pattern for the replacement fabric for the back of the chair, I taped together 6 pieces of printer paper (resourceful, I know) and I held it up against the chair back to trace the shape. This way when I was cutting out fabric, I had an idea of the measurements. I would recommend leaving at least 3-4 inches on each side of the fabric for trimming and stapling. Ok, now you can start cutting. You need two pieces of fabric for each chair back- one for the back and one for the front. Cut out two pieces of plastic for each chair, the same size as the fabric, if you are planning on covering the chairs with plastic too.

5. All work was done with the chair facing me. To start, staple the plastic to the frame of the chair. If your chair has a border in the wood, make sure you are staying inside the border. The plastic layer is one of the easiest layers because its see thru- it gets more difficult when you staple the fabric, because you cannot see where the staple is landing. Just go slowly, and fold over the fabric to check that you are in the right place. Also, make sure the staple is in the wood- not in the empty space in the middle of the chair back. If the staple hit the wrong place, use a flat headed screwdriver to pull it out, and try again. After the plastic is in place, start stapling the fabric. Remember: This is the back layer of fabric, so you need to staple the fabric backwards- with the pattern facing the back of the chair. This way it will be what you see when you are looking at the back of the chair. It is very important that the plastic and fabric are pulled very tight. I learned from my research online, that you should start stapling at the top of the chair frame, and then work your way down. I started at the top, did a little on one side, a little on the other side, working back and forth until I got to the bottom. Make sure to pull the fabric tight each time you staple, so that it will lay flat.

6. After the back layer of fabric and plastic are in place, its time to get the back support in. The main component of the back support is the burlap webbing. I'm not sure how much I used- I measured it right before I went to the store. As you can see in the picture before the above, I used two strips vertically, and three strips horizontally. The support is fine, but when the chair is in the sunlight, you can see the outline of the webbing. If I would do it again, I would probably use three strips vertically, and four or five horizontally, so the back is entirely filled in. The webbing is the hardest part to staple- its very thick. Hang in there though, it should work. After the webbing, comes the padding. This is pretty straightforward. Cut out the shape of the back, and glue gun it to the webbing. The batting goes on top of the padding, and you can glue gun that on too- it doesn't need to be stapled. Now you are up to the last two layers- the fabric, and the top layer of plastic. It is very similar to stapling on the back layer- just make sure its nice and tight. Check each staple to make sure it didn't pop through the middle, and that it went into the wood. You are stapling through a lot of layers here, so you are going to need to use some muscle.

7. Once all the layers are stapled in place, its time to clean up your work! Trim all the layers (as pictured above) to about a half an inch to an inch past the staples. Fold over the raw edges, and staple them down so that they are facing the inside of the cushion (pictured below.) This is what you need the trim for- to cover the raw edges. When you are purchasing trim, make sure you buy a trim that is wide enough to cover the "hem" and the staples. If you can't find a wide enough trim, you made need to use two layers of trim. ( I did not purchase the trim until the chairs were done,so that I could see how wide it would need to be.)

8. Apparently I neglected to take a picture of the adding the trip step, but its pretty simple. Heat up the glue gun until its very hot. Slowly glue gun the trim right on top of the staples and the raw edges. Start at the bottom of the frame, and work your way around the chair until you reach the other end. This step needs to be done before you reattach the cushions- the cushion will cover the raw end of the trim so that no little fingers can pull it off. Be careful not to melt the plastic covering with the tip of the glue gun!

9. PHEW, the hardest part is over....now onto the chair cushion. Although the most complicated part of the chair is the back, I found the cushion very challenging. Pictured above is the board that the cushion is made out of. Basically, just trace the board onto the thick padding, and cut with a razor.

10. To measure the batting, fabric and plastic, I used the board again. Leave at least 4 inches on each side so that you have enough fabric to fold over the sides. Fold the plastic, fabric and batting over each side and staple into place. Remember- the fabric here needs to be super tight so the cushions have a nice smooth surface. I started with one side, did the side across from it, then I did the side at either end. I found the easiest way to staple the cushions was to put the cushion on another chair, kneel on top of the cushion and then staple away. That way when you get up from the cushion, the padding fills back up and smooths out the cushion.

11. Now here is the part I found challenging with the cushion- the corners. The corner above is pretty neat, but it was hard to figure out how to fold the corners so that they aren't bulky- trial and error is the way to go here. Remember- if it's sloppy, you can pull out the staples and start again. You really need to use muscle here to get through all the layers-those corners are very thick. My knight in shining armor came very much in handy here...

12.Once the cushioned is all stapled, you can flip it back over onto the chair frame. Flip the whole chair over, and screw each corner back into place. Big D. was definitely needed here to screw the cushions in- I had to hold them in place, and he screwed in each corner. Make sure the cushion is lined up properly with the frame, and that no raw edges of staples or fabric are sticking out.

And here is the final product. Ta da! Amazing before and after, no? So here we are, about nine months later, and the chairs are still doing great! I basically banned scissors from our house, but other than that, they are wearing very well.

I hope this was clear and easy to follow. Please remember, I'm happy to receive any emails with questions you may have.

Next week we'll go back to the kitchen for some yummy food....Have a great week!

Cinnamon Swirl Bars

2013-01-14T14:17:00.004-05:00

Show's over folks- its back to work for me. Now I officially know what Mama Bear feels like when she wakes up from hibernation- grouchy, tired and hungry. Is there any mother that actually rests on maternity leave? Because honestly, I think I worked harder taking care of my Grumpy Bundle of Joy than I do at work! Speaking of Mama Bears- do you think if the cubs wake up from their hibernation early, they play super quietly? Just wondering. Like do they go play with their little cub toys, whisper to each other "Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh don't wake Mama."? Just a thought on this tired, tired Monday. Totally stole that line from here, by the way:

Adorable, adorable book.

Anyhoo, in the spirit of tired and hungry people, I've been focusing on super easy recipes. And by super easy, I mean super easy for the world at large. Not for just people like me, whose concept of easy is warped. Or so I've been told. I made these cinnamon swirl bars for my friend Hyper-D whose going through a cinnamon obsession that, come to think of it, is never ending. So here ya go:

Cinnamon Swirl Bars adapted from Betty Crocker

2 1/3 cup flour

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup margarine, softened

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Filling:
1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Glaze:

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1-2 tablespoons milk or soy milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Heat oven to 350° F. Spray or grease bottom only of a 13x9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. In small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In large bowl, beat margarine with electric mixer on high speed until creamy. Beat in sugars. Gradually beat in eggs and vanilla into sugar mixture until combined. On low speed, beat in dry ingredients until combined. Spoon half the batter into pan; spread evenly. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over batter. Dollop teaspoon size amounts of remaining batter evenly over cinnamon-sugar mixture. Do not stir the batter at this point- it will look uneven with the spoonfuls on top, but the top evens out while baking, so don't worry. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.In small bowl, stir glaze ingredients until smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle over bars.

Rainbow Pinwheel Cookies

2013-01-07T10:53:00.002-05:00

Ok, a few things on the agenda for today. First of all, we just got back from an amazing weekend retreat with my husbands alma mater. It was so so nice to see my "once a year" friends, you know the ones that we always say " We really have to get together at least once this year" and then we go and see each other once a year at this retreat....Yep, those! Ok, I know, I know it's my fault we missed the BBQ, we will be there this year, and we will bring cake!! So that was first of all. Second, wow- it was an amazing boost to my ego, and slightly disconcerting to hear how many people actually know that I hate baby clothes snaps and that we were in the Poconos this summer! People I haven't seen in years follow my blog, and although I generally feel like I am talking to a blank screen, people are actually listening. Scary stuff, man. I should be careful about what I ramble about. Anyways, on to other news....you know whats right around the corner? That terrifying time of year: Midwinter Vacation...bum bu de dum!
My basic theory is to go into it with a military plan of absolute precision leaving no time for the kids to drive me up the wall, down the block and out of town. We recently made these adorable cookies, and I think they are definite vacation material: They come out looking cute, even the ones that the kids made themselves and they are great for all ages- Z-Monkey was in charge of reading the ingredients and rolling the cookies in sprinkles, Little D. handled some reading and rolled out the dough, and S-Monkey did a little of everything and ate sprinkles. And even my Grumpy Little Bundle of Joy ( I've got to come up with a better name before he develops a complex. Any ideas?) did his part by snoozing in the swing...shhhhh don't tell him we caught him actually not crying!

Rainbow Pinwheel Cookies

1 recipe sugar cookie dough ( I used this one from Allrecipes.com)

4 shades food coloring

Rainbow sprinkles

lollipop sticks (optional)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Divide dough into 4 bowls. Use a generous amount of food coloring to tint each bowl of dough into a different color. Pull of a grape size ball of dough from each color. Combine into one ball and roll gently together- it should look like a beach ball. Roll that ball into a rope about 8 inches long- we found that when the ropes got too thin, the swirls didn't come out as nice. Start at one end of the rope, and roll the dough into a coil, twisting the rope as you go. Transfer to a lined baking sheet and insert a lollipop stick underneath the cookie. Bake for 18-20 minutes. For the sugar cookie recipe I used, I froze half the dough, and with the other half we made 22 assorted size cookies- ranging from 1 inch in diameter to 3 inches in diameter.

And here's my little food stylist:

Oatmeal Fudge Bars

2012-12-24T09:27:00.001-05:00

I need to call a conference with the People Who Invent Baby Clothes. We have to tell them something that I am sure they do not know. Are they not aware that the main people who snap up baby stretchies are either majorly sleep deprived mothers or seriously clueless fathers? (Sorry Big D. Its just part of being a Man. Sweat and sawdust, my friend.) Big D. correctly commented that you need a PhD to snap those things up, and really, he's not that far off. You start snapping and before you know it, the poor little Grumpy Bundle of Joy is snapped up with his head over his feet and his toes popping out somewhere in between. Just sharing my thoughts with you on this. It's funny, because anytime someone snaps up a baby, they always sigh and say "I don't know how this thing goes..." Its like the fact everyone knows but no one talks about. So I think someone should definitely enlighten Them. Maybe we can pass a law that all baby things must close with zippers? Just banish those pesky snaps all together. Just a thought here. Anyways, for those of you not losing any sleep over snaps and zippers and grumps, here's something good to munch on:

Oatmeal Fudge Bars adapted from Baking and Mistaking

*Disclaimer: These bars are crumby when you cut them. If anyone has a solution on how to get them less crumby, I'd love to hear!

2 cups instant oats

2 cups packed brown sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup margarine or butter, melted

Filling:
3 cups chocolate chips

1/2 cup margarine or butter

2 eggs

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon instant coffee granules

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325°. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper and set aside. In a small bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add in melted margarine and stir until combined. Press 1/2 the mixture into the bottom of lined pan. Reserve the rest of the crumbs. Bake for 8 minutes and then let cool.

Prepare the filling:

Melt margarine or butter in a small saucepan. Add chocolate chips and stir constantly over low heat until melted. Remove from heat. Let cool slightly and whisk in eggs. Add in flour, sugar, coffee and salt and stir until combined. Spread over cooled crust and sprinkle with remaining oat mixture. Bake again at 325° for 25-30 minutes. Cool for 2 hours before cutting.

Coffee Flavored Crumb Cake

2012-12-10T12:53:00.002-05:00

Ever since the arrival of our Grumpy Little Monkey, sleep has been a commodity around here. For everyone. And let me tell you guys something-lack of sleep completely and totally removes my sense of humor. Seriously. For the past two weeks, I have been digging deep into my well of wit and wisdom, and sadly its dark and empty. For now at least. So instead of pushing it off for another week, I am here at last, to share a recipe with you. And guess what: there is sour cream in the recipe in honor of Chanuka.

Come back in 6 months for some humor and entertainment. Or come back next week for some food and pictures. Either way,we're cool.

Coffee Flavored Crumb Cake
This recipe is a nice change from the standard crumb cake. At first glance, you might read this as a coffee crumb cake, but it is actually a coffee flavored crumb cake. Thanks Sweet Pea for posting the inspiration for this recipe!

Filling:
2/3 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules

Cake:

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter*, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups sour cream*
2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Crumb topping:
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons butter or margarine

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside.
To make the filling: In a small bowl combine the sugar, coffee granules and cinnamon; set aside.
To make the coffee cake: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until crumbly, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Gradually add the flour mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture. (The batter will be thick)
Spread half of the batter evenly into prepared baking pan and sprinkle with half the cinnamon-sugar topping and half the chocolate chips. Spoon the remaining batter in 8 dollops over the batter in the pan and spread gently. Combine crumb topping ingredients in a small bowl. Using a fork, mix together until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter. Top with remaining cinnamon-coffee mixture and chocolate chips.
Bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

For the sugar addicts out there, combine 1 cup powder sugar and 1 tablespoon milk. Drizzle over cooled cake.

* For a non-dairy version, you can use margarine, and Toffutti sour cream.

Happy Chanuka!

Shalom Zachar!

2012-11-26T12:34:00.001-05:00

One of the nice things about having four little {boy} monkeys is that we are old pros at Shalom Zachars. A Shalom Zachar literally means "Welcome Male" but in truth its a lot of fun. Basically, the first Friday night after the baby is born, we have a small, or large get together to welcome the new baby and people send over lots of cakes and treats. I loved seeing all the creative and delicious goodies everyone sent over*-it amazed me how nice everyone is to take time out of their busy day to send stuff over! My grandmother couldn't have put it any better:

"Wow, I didn't know you had friends there!"

Anywhoo, its basically a given that my sisters are awesome. Every single one of them. And one of my super awesome sisters made these adorable cookies for us to enjoy, even though she was not at the shalom zachar. I know, I told you she is awesome!

So here's to awesome sisters and friendly neighbors! Hope you guys have a great week! And I'll be back with a yummy recipe next week!

* Would the person who sent over those amazing smores bars please raise their hand? They were delicious, and I don't know who sent them over!!

Buns out of the oven...

2012-11-19T11:49:00.001-05:00

...and its a boy!

And then there were four little monkeys...

Born November 15th, 1:54 AM.

We have 3 little monkeys who could not be more excited to welcome home their little baby brother.

I could not put up this post without a huge shout-out to the amazing nurses at Monmouth Medical Center- specifically Donna. That lady totally deserves an award! I'm sure it helps to bribe your nurses with cookies....but still, they were above and beyond awesome.

Don't worry, I'm not disappearing again. I have a whole arsenal of recipes coming your way soon. Just wanted to share the good news!

Soft Baked Chocolate Fudge Cookies

2012-11-12T09:56:00.000-05:00

Is it tacky to base the bulk of my post on my thoughts on Pinterest? Kind of like writing a blog post about not having something to write about? Cheap material? Not sure.
This is the truth though. There is a problem with Pinterest. Albeit a minor one, yet a problem just the same. Pinterest makes you dissatisfied with your tried and true recipes! Seriously it does. I have been making the same chocolate fudge cookies for ages and ages. Never even occurred to me to look for a different recipe. Then BAM, one day I come across this on Pinterest. Mouthwatering right? How can you pass on a recipe that looks like that!?

Enter: The Recipe Worm.

You know how those go by now, right? Its just like a song stuck in your head, except its a recipe. Bizarre, I know. Hey, you can't argue with it. It's the life of an obsessive baker.

Ok, now obviously I would not post a recipe if I did not believe it was The Most Amazing Recipe. I would like to point out the differences though, between this recipe, and my usual chocolate fudge cookie recipe. This recipe was unbelievable straight out of the oven. Melt in your mouth, delicious, chocolatey, cannot eat just one goodness. Once the cookies sat overnight, they had the same texture as a soft baked cookie. If you are looking for a chewy, thinner cookie, best stick with the old recipe.

Soft Baked Chocolate Fudge Cookies

Found on Annies Eats, originally inspired by Levain Bakery

1 cup butter or margarine
1¼ cup sugar
2 eggs
½ cup cocoa
2¼ cups flour
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
2½ cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Using an electric mixer, beat the margarine and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat until light and fluffy;about 3 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low, and add remaining ingredients. Mix just until combined. Dough will be very thick. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto a lined cookie sheet. Using the bottom of a glass, flatten each ball slightly. Bake in preheated oven for 11-12 minutes. Let cool completely before removing from tray.

Now go have yourself an awesome week, ok?

Moral of the Story...

2012-11-05T12:29:00.002-05:00

....Don't ever insult a hurricane.
Apparently, they are very sensitive little things...

Hope everyone made it through ok!

{Frozen} Raninu Pies

2012-10-29T12:00:00.000-04:00

I always say, the best way to deal with impending doom is to develop a nice healthy state of skepticism ...otherwise known as denial*. Apparently most people agree with me, because after skimming through my blogger feed this morning, I think one person mentioned Hurricane Sandy! Helllooooo peeps!? Who's stocking up on margarine and eggs? We have to be prepared folks! Generally I laugh at these storms, but all this hype is getting me nervous. What happens if we are flooded and I have no chocolate chips? Now that's a disaster. So in keeping with the theme of denial, let's reminisce about the summer, shall we?

Now, we've had our share of storms this summer, but the one that makes me feel all fuzzy and warm was the last one. It was on the last day of camp, after all the campers skedaddled. The camp felt so empty, there was an echo.....and then it started pouring. You know the term "sheets of rain"? That's exactly what it was like. I think the storms in the mountains are much more intense- it's like you are that much closer to the sky. Luckily, we were all in the lunchroom, helping out with a most important job: Finishing the leftovers. Being that it was pouring out, we had nothing else to do but to eat. Not much of a chore there now, is it? Anyhoo, we had the monumental task of digging our way through a 50 gallon tub (barrel?) of ice cream, and this was when I shared one of my most closely guarded secrets with everyone.

And I shall share it with you.

Ready?
If you split open an Oreo, and fill it with peanut butter and vanilla ice cream, you are eating a small piece of heaven.

Seriously. Go try it.

I always wanted to convert that into some sort of recipe, and here is what I've got:

Raninu Pies

Make Ice Cream:

Non-Dairy Vanilla Ice Cream

8 ounces non-dairy whipped topping (Rich's whip)

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs

Using an electric mixer, beat whipped topping until stiff peaks form. Add sugar and vanilla sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Pour into an airtight container and freeze overnight.

Make Cookies:

Brownie Cookies

1 1/4 cups cocoa
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup margarine
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350° F.Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk the cocoa, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Using an electric mixer, cream the margarine, granulated sugar and brown sugar together, until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients in two addition, beating until just combined. The batter will be very thick. Divide dough into 18 even balls. Place them on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Spray the bottom of a drinking glass with Pam, and press down on each cookie slightly to flatten. Bake for 11-12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are set and the tops are puffed and cracked (but still soft). Allow cookies to cool completely on the tray.

To assemble:
I found it's best to assemble immediately before serving; otherwise you have frozen cookies that are impossible to bite into. Spread the bottom of a cookie with 2-3 tablespoons peanut butter. Spread another cookie with ice cream. Cover and enjoy! Eat fast before they melt!

*All kidding aside, please treat this storm responsibly. Make sure you have enough water, flashlights and batteries. If you live in an area that has a mandatory evacuation, please evacuate. Do not visit any beaches to check out the waves!

Stay safe and warm guys!

Little D. is six!

2012-10-22T10:40:00.000-04:00

I think there is no shorter time span than the time it takes to go from year to year on my kids birthdays. Hard to explain, but it literally feels like I sat down last week to post pictures of Little D.'s long awaited Lion Cake. Maybe it has to do with the fact that birthday cake planning in our house generally starts 364 days in advance....which is how we came to have a Shark/Original Little D. Artwork Combo Cake this year.

Little D. had his heart set on having a shark cake for his sixth birthday. But when his big brother made this super cool painted cake, he wasn't all that sure anymore....

So this is what we came up with!

Little D. insisted that the shark must be smiling.

And really- who wouldn't smile with a mouth full of those adorable teeth?!

Happy Birthday Little D.! Keep on smiling!

We love you!

Tap,tap. This thing on?

2012-10-15T10:00:00.000-04:00

Well, hello there. Fancy seeing you here! I know most bloggers pop in around the end of August/beginning of September with a slew of pictures from their ultra cool summer vacation. But as we already know....I'm not really like most people, so here I am! In the middle of October! With pics from the summer! Possibly uncool, but with pictures nonetheless. So no long speeches today- I'm going to let the pictures do their talking:

Click on pictures for relevant links.

We started off our summer somewhere deep in bear country...

Otherwise known as Honesdale, PA...

Home of the world famous:

Yep, that's where I was hiding!

Ironically, I did not take a single food picture the entire summer, but here's a cool sunset picture:

And a picture of a deer:

Anyhoo...after a beautiful summer of good food, nice people,

(Tamara, that would be you!)

and a nasty case of poison oak....

We had some more good food:

Saw some more cool sunsets:

Ate some more good food:

Saw some crocs:

Laughed at some t-shirts:

And took a ride through The Everglades:

And that folks, was my summer vacation!

Stay tuned next week for Little D's Painted Shark Birthday Cake!!

Be back soon....

2012-07-09T10:17:00.001-04:00

(Photo Source:DwellbyCheryl)

No, I haven't falled asleep behind the oven.

I'm just taking a break.

Cuz' I can.

But never fear!

I'll be back-

Come and check back here in September for some mouth wateringly delicious treats!

Good things come to those who wait....

Passing down the torch...

2012-06-18T12:09:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I am going to totally waltz right in here and pretend I haven't disappeared for the past month. Yep, 'cuz I can do things like that. Anyways...

For my long time followers, you might remember that we just passed a pretty important date in the CantStopBaking household....bum bu du dum.....

Z-Monkey's Birthday!!

This year we tried something a little different, which (thank goodness!) worked out amazing. Dontcha just love when the kids like to do things that actually make things EASIER for their tired old parents. A rarity indeed, but nice nonetheless.

Sweetapolita, who incidentally is an amazingly talented blogger, and seems to be a super cool Mom, recently posted this adorable method of having kids paint on cake. I mentioned it to Z-Monkey, and he was really excited to give it a try! So here it is:

I think it's pretty adorable! He picked out all the colors, and took the whole process very seriously. Little Monkeys were banished from the room, and he really created a beautiful cake. I was so proud! The most awesome part: Little D is begging to do this for his birthday now too. And I was already researching shark cakes....bummer.