baked

Making Woopie

2012-02-14T11:19:00.002-06:00

Pies! Whoopie Pies! get your mind out of the gutter! this is a wholesome blog.

Word on the street is that whoopie pies are making a comeback and are the "new" thing. I don't know about that... I didn't grow up with whoopie pies, so as far as making a comeback - its a first for me. Some may even argue that I'm way behind the trend wagon, which may be true, but how's a girls supposed to keep up with boutique doughnut shops and cake pops?!

Lets get started!

Whoopie Pies - thanks Epicurious

For cakes

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg

For filling

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
2 cups marshmallow cream such as Marshmallow Fluff
1 teaspoon vanilla

Make cakes:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until combined. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a small bowl.

3. Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a handheld, then add egg, beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and alternately mix in flour mixture and buttermilk in batches, beginning and ending with flour, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, and mixing until smooth.

4. Spoon 1/4-cup mounds of batter about 2 inches apart onto 2 buttered large baking sheets.

5. Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are puffed and cakes spring back when touched, 11 to 13 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack to cool completely.

Make filling:
Beat together butter, confectioners sugar, marshmallow, and vanilla in a bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.

• Filling can be made 4 hours ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature.

Assemble pies:
Spread a rounded tablespoon filling on flat sides of half of cakes and top with remaining cakes.

Lazy baking weekends

2012-01-15T08:15:00.000-06:00

Remember when I made all of those peanut butter cookies a few weeks ago? Yeah it was that time that I told girl scouts to watch out (don't worry... i love girl scouts. I actually wound up buying 6 boxes of cookies from my colleagues daughter the next day- I caved in).

Well my fellow bakers, you know that the title of this post is not entirely accurate. You see, although baking can be very relaxing, it requires a fair amount of prep, concentration, skill, and then clean up! Making goodies from scratch is not lazy at all!

What IS lazy is taking pre frozen dough balls out of the freezer and throwing them in the oven for a quick treat instead!

Remember that I used the new mini scoopers to scoop out all of those perfectly measured dough balls? Well, while one of the sheets was baking, I scooped out half of the dough onto a parchment lined cutting board- here you don't need to be concerned with spacing, just so long as they don't touch. Then, I placed the board with all of the dough balls on it in the freezer, and went back to baking the rest of the cookies, pulling out the drying rack, making a fresh pot of coffee (because coffee and pb cookies taste sooooo good together!) Cleaning up my tools and my work zone, taste testing each batch - baking is a lot of work! After all that was done (about an hour later) I pulled the dough board out of the freezer, pulled the frozen balls off the paper and plopped them into a plastic freezer bag. For good measure, I wrote the date on the bag. You don't want these to be in The freezer too long.

When you are ready to bake one of these pre-made treats, place the frozen dough on a cookie sheet as you normally would, spacing a few inches apart. Then turn the oven on to 350 and let the dough come to room temperature. Once dough has softened, you can make hatch arms with a fork. Bake for 12 minutes turning half way. Let cool and eat! Easy peasy. And perfect for a lazy weekend!

baked... year 2

2012-01-02T10:40:00.002-06:00

I can hardly believe another year has gone by! It really doesn't seem like it was that long ago that I was sitting in Filter cafe on a cold January morning typing away last years new years reflection. Last year's post celebrated the recipes, the process in making delicious things, and the dedication it takes to keep up with it - not in a way that is a chore - doing things you love should be fun. But we all know that other stuff: family, work, friends, relationships (life) sometimes gets in the way of us getting to do the things we LOVE the most. Last year we celebrated that Baked held us accountable to come back and do the things we love.

chocolate truffles from Katherine Ann Confections, Chicago

This past year has been no different - 2011 has been just as busy, if not more so than 2010: I moved into another new apartment (2 years of moving in a row-whoa!). Started a new job. Went away for 8 weeks of training for said new job. Picked up where I left off last winter with my knitting- this time selling mittens, bears and pillows at a small sale more on that here. Traveled to see family in far and distant places like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio - And have loved every minute of it. 2011 was a little more on and off with the posts- a few lulls in the summer (really who wants to turn the oven on when its 100 degrees outside?!). 2011 also experienced a lull in making treats because this sugar baby needs to watch her sugar intake. tTrust me I'm still figuring out how to do this without cutting out everything delicious entirely (more to come on this). 2011 brought more posts about yummy treats I have encountered while out and about. 2011 had me revisiting my own posts, referencing favorite recipes to re-create (and noticing typos and some incomplete descriptions-sorry about that). 2011 connected me with you, the reader - to my continued surprise, you are reading and following along and trying out the recipes yourself! thanks for the photos you have shared, keep em coming! 2011 also was all about appearances - Baked has gone through many visual transformations in the last year - and no doubt there will still be more!

By comparison, Baked is still a baby blog and I love that it is this way. It still feels personal. When I do sit down to type out these posts, I have so many ideas: topics to write about, products to review, how-to videos to record, more family recipes to make and share, family bakers to interview, favorite dessert spots around town. If I were a full time blogger there still wouldn't be enough time!

In 2012, I hope to post more often, the goal is once a week. In 2012, I hope to try more new recipes from loved ones AND get the stories that are made alongside the recipes. In 2012, I hope to learn more about you, the reader, and what you like to bake.
2012 is about doing what you love. Recognizing what it is that you are most happy doing, and making time for it. Of course it is still a lot of work, but it is worth it because you are doing it for yourself. We are all so busy these days. That's not going to change, but it's important to jam in some "love to-do's" on our ever growing to-do list!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Macaroons from Alliance Bakery, Chicago

Watch out Girl Scouts!

2012-01-02T00:24:00.001-06:00

I found a recipe for peanut butter cookies that are just as good as your peanut butter cookies and now can have them whenever I want... not just the one time of year when i order from you and eat the whole box in one sitting! HA Take that!

Wow. Where did that come from? in all of the cookie excitement crazy me came out. Ok. lets go back and take away all of the snarky comments about girl scouts. they work hard. But I am still excited about this new to me peanut butter recipe.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment. In a large bowl, mix together peanut butter, sugars, eggs, baking soda, salt until smooth.

2. Shape the dough into balls ( about one tablespoon each) and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Using the tines on a fork, press into dough to make a hatch mark.

I love using my scoopers for this. they create perfectly measured round balls of dough without getting your hands totally gooey.

use your favorite fork, i prefer using wider forks to cover cookie surface area. Press and drag.

Holy big cookies Batman! these were scooped with a slightly bigger scooper... about 1/4 cup in size.

Scooper size as it relates to cookie size.

seriously delicious. Seriously moist. Seriously... i ate 5 of them fresh out of the oven! (Shhhhh. dont tell Daniel... he says i need to watch my sugar!)

Best.Peanut. Butter.Cookie. Recipe. EVER.

Pop Pop Pop!

2012-01-01T23:26:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!!!!

I don't know about you, but the last few days have been amazing! I have been busy catching up on all of the tasty recipes i have been dying to try (more on that to come). I think I was cruising through the December issue of Real Simple when I can across this recipe for Pop Overs.

Now, I had never made anything like this before, but the name sounded so good, and it kind of reminded me of a starter we had at this super tasty restaurant here in Chicago, The Bristol. So after a quick glance at the ol pantry, I was thrilled to see that I had all of the ingredients needed to make these treats! Let the baking begin!

See the Bucktown Apple Pie contest mug?

Popovers (thanks Real Simple Dec 2011, pg.270)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan (i melted 4 tbs)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, spooned and leveled

1 1/2 cups whole milk

4 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush the cups of a 12-cup nonstick muffin tin with melted butter.

I don't know if my muffin pan is noon stick, but this seemed to do the trick.

also using a silicone brush to spread the butter in the pan seemed to be a pretty good way to go.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, milk, eggs, butter and salt until only a few lumps remain, but do not overmix.

Make sure all of the flour is mixed in and doesn't settling to the bottom all goo-like.

3. Divide batter among the prepared muffin pans and bake until puffed and deep golden brown, 30 - 35 minutes. Do not open oven door before 30 minutes or the popovers will collapse. Remove one to see if the underside is browned. Serve immediatley.

No joke, these things grew like this in the oven - spiral and shell-like.

ta da!

Aren't they beautiful?!

One more pic to show just how tall they grew.

Now here is the part where I admit that these actually tasted totally different than we had expected them to... Honestly, I thought they would be more bread like, and maybe taste like a croissant. But of course with that many eggs, it would taste more like eggs than it would bread - and im not saying it was bad, it was actually quite good (I ate three). Just different than I had originally imagined they would taste. That happens sometimes. Recipes turn out different than you imagine they should.

Jam!

BBQ!

Oh glorious BBQ. it tasted sooooooooo goooooood!

This would be such a fun treat to make for a New Years day brunch, guests could graze and enjoy pulling these apart. Good finger food. Maybe its time to have some visitors!

We hope you have been able to relax these past few days, maybe you even had a few days off! Have you tried any new recipes?

An Attempt at Aunt Lou's Molasses Cookie Recipe

2011-12-30T00:06:00.001-06:00

If you are a loyal reader of baked, you know that this blog is less about stoner food, and more about celebrating desserts, and honoring loved ones and the recipes they have shared with us. I suppose if you do find yourself reading while influenced by a certain substance, you are welcome to be inspired and enjoy these recipes too - though i may not recommend operating an oven!

Right before Thanksgiving, I found myself reflecting on desserts, and then the desserts that i have learned from my family, i mean the recipes that my mom has shared with me, and many of those are recipes that she was taught by her mother (Honeybunch) or Aunt (CioCia Katie). I got to thinking about all of the tasty treats that i have inhaled throughout my lifetime that reminded me of my loved ones, and suddenly realized that there is a major void when it comes to the tasty treats from my dads side of the fan! All credit goes to mom when it comes to creating these tasty treats, but it was my dad who taught me that you can never have too many cookies and milk.

While i was home for Turkey Day, I asked my dad about the recipe that i remember the most: Aunt Lou's Molasses Cookies. Funny because i was fairly young when i had these treats, though the memory is so vivid! I had to have been three years old when we would go and visit her at the farm house in Adrian, Michigan. Her kitchen wasn't fancy by todays standards, but it always smelled good! and hidden behind the pantry door where she kept a bunch of stuff - but most importantly was the jar of cookies! she only had molasses cookies. i hadn't had them before, and i haven't had them since, So when my dad brought out his moms recipe box and we found Aunt Lou's Molasses Cookie recipe in there, i was totally geeked!

Here goes the first attempt, er two. not exactly what i remember... but its a start. And in true baked form, we are sharing the successes and the flops with you:

don't you love a recipe card?!?!? until you actually start to read it and try to follow it. holy molasses, this ones going to need some time to figure out!

all ingredients lined up and ready to go!

Sour milk!? yes. pour 1tbs on lemon juice into measuring container, and then fill to the 1/2 c. line with milk

molasses

molasses + sugar

molasses + sugar + sour milk

.... + dry ingredients

mix it all together

add butter and blend.

no i don't think it is supposed to look this way.
or smell this way.

poo, i think i did something wrong. cookie dough is not supposed to look like this.

start over.... with all the same ingredients, though this time we are only going to do a half recipe. AND we are going to use all of the common sense we have from years of cookie making that says you are supposed to CREAM the butter and the sugar together, and then add eggs and spices, and then alternate flour and milk.
this is what it SHOULD look like!

though, the recipe card didn't say how much flour to add... read it again... " enuf flour for soft dough - roll out".
and with Molasses being a thick sticky viscous substance, with butter and lots of milk, this was a very moist batter. so i started adding flour in 1/2 cup increments.
after 4 cups, the dough still looked like this, but common sense said stop.

because they are supposed to be roll out- sugar cookies style cut out cookies, we had to refrigerate the dough.
and because i have been traveling all over the Midwest for work during the month of December, hosting a HUGE work event, preparing for a huge work related exam, AND speed clicking through online shopping this year, this dough didn't get made until 2 hours before we were supposed to leave the windy city for t-town. call me a procrastinator.
its a good thing the dough needed to be chilled..
though in reality this dough really was chill in in the trunk of the honda civic.

and now to the fun part! roll out dough.

select favorite cup (in lieu of 3.5" diameter circular cookie cutter)

place cutouts on cookie sheet

sprinkle sugar on top

add more sugar... memory says these were crusted in sugar!

wah wah... ok so the picture doesn't make them look all that bad. they were more cakey than we remembered, and they were too light in color. BUT their flavor brought back memories!

round 2. instead of rolling our dough, we rolled them into balls and then rolled them in sugar, and then pressed with our fingers to flatten

they came out like this... not the right caramel color, but they started to get the cracked surface.... we are getting somewhere!

couldn't have upset dad though... he loved having them. or at least he said he did. :)

the search continues.... I'm determined to find a recipe that gets me closer to the cookies we ate 25 years ago.

got a molasses cookie recipe to share? id love to hear what you are baking!

yo mamma's punkin pie

2011-12-02T09:16:00.001-06:00

Dream in Chocolate

2011-02-21T13:22:00.001-06:00

Birthdays are special days that deserve special desserts. ...for my chocolate loving father, he got a very special chocolate layered cake. Ghirardellhi chocolate cake, Nutella and Raspberry Jam layers, Ghirardellhi Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.

Recipes to come soon, if you want to try this sooner, check the side of the Ghirardellhi unsweetened cocoa can for both the cake and the frosting recipe. Overall process goes like this:

1. Spray cake pans with non-stick baking spray. I used two 7" cake rounds that are 2" high. Combine ingredients according to the recipe, use the best ingredients you can, and no substitutes! This recipe creates a great moist cake. Divide batter evenly between 2 pans (maybe use a little less, and use the leftover for cupcakes). As it bakes, the batter rises and fills the cake pan. I had to keep my cake in for about 15 minutes more than the recipe called for... watch your cake, test with a toothpick and remove once toothpick comes out clean.

2. Once cake is cooled, slice cake horizontally to create layers. An easy way to do this is to place your round cooled cake on a flat cardboard round or on top of your cake stand... something flat and round. With a serrated bread knife in your right hand. Gently press the knife into the cake with your right hand, and start to rotate the cake with your left hand. As the cake rotates, slice in deeper with the knife. You should be able to slice through the cake, creating layers or slicing off the top in a flat and uniform way.

3. Place your bottom layer on your cake stand or round cardboard. Pipe Nutella in a spiral on top of the layer. Nutella is so thick and sticky that I think you would risk tearing the cake apart if you tried to spread it on. If you pipe it, you have more control over the consistency of the filling layer. Once you are finished piping. place the next layer on top.

4. When piping the raspberry jam layer, consider making it one of your middle layers. Over time, the raspberry will ooze through the cake. If you have a nutella layer below, it sort of acts as a barrier and controls the raspberry ooze. the cake below the raspberry layer will be saturated and extra delicious!

5. once all layers are piped and stacked, dollop your chocolate buttercream on the top on the cake, and start to gently spread to the outside and down the sides of the cake. It's up to you how elaborate you want the outside frosting to look. Up to you!

snowed in, and dreaming of dessert

2011-02-02T11:38:00.000-06:00

Happy Snow Day everyone! I hope you are safe and warm and in your homes today. Here in Chicago, the snow is still falling, and I am bundled up on my sofa on a conference call.

Last week, we were lucky to receive an amazing delivery of cupcakes from a new bakery in town... Crumbs delivered a cupcake tasting to the office this week. Everything about the delivery was amazing, Crumbs really thought of every touch point to the cupcake experience. All of their packaging, the large over-sized bag that comfortably balanced the dessert containers. Provided menus described mouthwatering flavors of cakes and other desserts, they even had their own branded cupcake liners. The cakes themselves were beautifully frosted, and i loved the assortment of flavors and design styles. We were presented with a visual feast of crazy large muffin cakes and were delighted with every bite. Well done Crumbs, well done.. we will be ordering from you soon!

i hope heaven tastes this good

2011-01-10T23:52:00.001-06:00

Have you ever had home-made meringues? I mean... really home-made? Not the weird chalky things in the plastic containers at the grocery store... But real, hand-whipped, warm meringues?! Eating these, I am literally filled with a warm dissolving-sugary happy emotion and all I want to do is eat more with hope that this feeling would last forever.

A little dramatic? Maybe.

Meringues Chantilly (thanks Ina)

4 large egg whites (at room temperature)

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

pinch salt

1 c. granulated sugar (divided into 2/3 and 1/3)

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1. The original recipe asks you to preheat to 200... the lowest setting on my oven is 250, so I went with 250. I suppose if you were in the same situation and wanted to be exact, you could use an oven thermometer to find 200 exactly. Anyway... get the oven warm and line 2 baking sheets with parchment.

2. In a bowl with an electric mixer and your whisk attachment (you're nuts if you try this one by hand), whisk the eggs, salt and cream of tartar on high just until frothy.

3. Add 2/3 c. sugar and whisk on high until stiff peaks form. This will take longer than you think.. When you think it is done... whisk for a little bit longer to be sure you have stiff peaks, not wimpy peaks. Whisk in vanilla.

4. Add remaining 1/3 c. of sugar, and FOLD in to egg white fluffiness. Do not stir or mix, doing so will deflate the magic that has happened.

5. Scoop mixture into a pastry bag.. and though I have not tried another style piping tip, I would agree with Ina, that a large star shaped tip makes these really special. Don't worry about being perfect... just swirl on the parchment lined baking sheet.

6. Place both sheets in the oven for a long time... if you are baking at 200... keep in the oven for 2 hours. If you baked at 250, shorten baking time to 1 hr. 45 mins. If you are making these for a crowd, try to serve immediately because when they are warm they are incredible! at the very least, sneak one for yourself!

my first healthy cookie.... EVER!

2011-01-07T13:45:00.000-06:00

I have been thinking about this idea of making healthy desserts ever since Katie shared with me her copy of Alicia Silverstone's book, the Kind Diet. It had a whole chapter dedicated to desserts! reading the ingredients, I found that i was both inspired and intimidated.... she was calling for all sorts of ingredients that I have never used before, different flours, sweeteners, different everything.. It was all so fascinating, but a little overwhelming to thing what my bill at whole foods would be if i re-stocked my pantry with all of these ingredients. As it is, I have more baking ingredients on hand at any given time than other food groups!

A cookie request came in from Daniel... to make the healthiest oatmeal cookies I could possibly bake for him. After going through my cookbooks and coming up with the same old oatmeal cookie recipe i usually make... I found a fantastic video clip from Alton Brown on the Food Network and found a way to make healthier cookies with some of the familiar ingredients in my cupboard, and added a few extra.

Oat Flour Cookies (modified from Alton Brown's Oti-est Oatmeal Cookie Recipe)

12 oz. of old fashioned rolled oats

4 oz wheat germ

1 tsp baking powder

1tsp cinnamon

pinch kosher salt

5 oz butter,

5 oz unsweetened apple sauce

6 oz dark brown sugar

3 1/2 oz granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 c. sliced almonds

1 c. coconut

4 oz dark chocolate, i used bittersweet squares (chopped and shavings)

1. preheat oven to 375.

2. in a high power blender or food processor, blend 8 oz of old fashioned oats, about 2-3 minutes, until it looks like flour. add wheat germ, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. blend for a few seconds until all is combined.
3. with your mixer, blend sugars, applesauce, butter together until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla.

4. add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mix completely. With a wooden spoon, combine almond, coconut, and chocolate. Scoop out heaping teaspoons onto parchment lined cookie sheets, bake in the oven for 12-14 minutes, rotating sheets half way through baking.

Best Peanut Butter Cookies Ever!

2011-01-01T20:54:00.002-06:00

I don't know about you.. but I have have had the HARDEST time making peanut butter cookies... my recipes have been delicious, but very dry, and are easily overcooked and need to be dunked in milk or coffee so much that you might as well call it peanut butter biscotti! the thing is, I love peanut butter and I love cookies, and there isn't anything like a good peanut butter cookie...

A peanut butter cookie recipe given to me from my mom, given to her from Toni Moore, one of her oldest friends.... These are foolproof, moist, and delicious and will be this way for days... and even better when you add a chocolate kiss!

Double Peanut Butter Cookies
1 1/2 c. sifted flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. creamy Jiff peanut butter
1/2 c. crisco shortening (solid)
1/4 c. light corn syrup
1 tbs. milk

1. Combine Flour, sugar, soda, and salt. Add shortening and peanut butter and with your mixer, cut in shortening and peanut butter until it resembles a coarse meal. Blend in syrup and milk.
2. Shape into a roll that is 2" diameter. Chill in the fridge for a few hours at least...even better overnight.
3. After chilling dough, cut into slices 1/8" - 1/4" thick and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. 8 slices per tray work well (these cookies expand and are large!)
4. Next, press dough disks in center with your fingers, and pipe about a tbs of peanut butter onto the rounds. After piping, take another disk of dough and place on top and then press edges down with a fork, sealing the peanut butter inside.
5. bake in a 350 degree oven for 12 minutes until slightly brown. Immediately after removing cookie dough from oven place a chocolate kiss in the middle of each cookie. (kisses will become soft from warm cookies... let cool before trying to store them).

Espresso Toffee with Chocolate and Pecans

2011-01-01T20:39:00.001-06:00

When the recipe calls for a candy thermometer... use it... there is no way you can guess what the molten sugar temperature is.

vegetable oil spray
1 c. unsalted butter
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 tbs corn syrup
2 tsp. finely ground espresso beans
1/4 tsp kosher or sea salt
3 tbs. water
1 c. finely chopped bittersweet chocolate
1/2 c. chopped pecans
candy thermometer

1. generously spray 9 x 13 pastry pan with oil,and set aside on hot pads
2. Melt butter in heavy bottomed 2 qt. saucepan, add sugar, corn syrup, espresso, salt and water. Stir until all sugar dissolves
3. Attach candy thermometer to side of the pan. Stir slowly as the temperature rises to 260 degrees. Continue heating without stirring until it reaches 300 degrees.
4. Immediately remove the pot from the heat and carefully pour toffee into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the chocolate on top and allow to sit for 5 minutes. use a spatula to spread the chocolate over the toffee (careful not to press too hard and mix through the toffee layer to the bottom of the pan). Sprinkle nuts on top of the chocolate and allow to cool completely.
5. break the toffee into bite sized pieces ( the toffee should lift off the pan, and should break when you slam it on counter... or hit it hard with a wooden spoon). Store in air tight container at room temperature or in the freezer (not the refrigerator... no idea why... just do it)

eat as is or as a topping.

baked.... one year later

2011-01-01T18:35:00.000-06:00

Wow Wow Wow..

I cant believe it has already been a year since starting baked. A year ago, I wanted to start something that fed my soul... something that I could enjoy when I came home from a long day at work, something to do when I was bored and feeling un-inspired, something to do when I missed my family and was feeling homesick, and something that would challenge me to try new things.

This year of baking has been a lot of fun trying new recipes and sharing old favorites with you. I have loved connecting with my family and sharing recipes that we grew up on. Connecting with old friends and favorite foods and moments that revolved around sugar. And finally connecting with new friends... it has been so cool to hear that you have been reading my posts and being inspired yourself to try out these creations!

My most favorite thing about baked has been that it has evolved into a digital cookbook that can be accessed from any computer or mobile device that can connect to the web. It has enabled me to bake a favorite recipe when I am away from my cookbooks.

For the new year... More recipes, more bakery inspirations, more favorite things!

I call them snowballs.. .

2010-12-12T14:44:00.003-06:00

You may know them as Mexican Wedding Cakes, Austrian Nut Balls, of by another name.. but this recipe reminds me of the holidays. I don't remember having this cookie every year during Christmas, but every once and a while i would see them at holiday parties, or they were included in the cookie care package from my mom when I was away at school. These cookies are so wonderful because they are rich and delicious and dence and once you take a bite, your mouth fills with a great almond-nutty flavor, and the only thing that makes it better is taking a swig of milk or coffee when your mouth is filled with the cookie.

There are two recipes featured here. One sticks to the original recipe, and the second is chocolate-coffee-nutty lovliness! Both are rolled in Vanilla Sugar that feels like freshly covered snow.

Austrian Nut Balls makes 2 dozen cookies

1 c. ground nuts (pecans, walnuts, or hickory nuts)
1 c. soft butter
1 3/4 c. vanilla sugar (confectioners sugar with a vanilla bean thats been hangin out inside)
2 1/2 c. sifted flour
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine nuts, butter, sugar, flour and vanilla. Knead gently and quickly into a smooth dough and shape about 1 tsp of dough at a time into a 1" **dough may be really flaky. don't worry, when you reach in with clean hands and grab some of it it will stick together. form as you would a snow ball. the butter particles will hold it all together** Bake on ungreased cookie sheet in a moderate oven, 350 degrees until slightly browned, about 17 minutes. Cool for 1 minute. While Still Warm, roll in Vanilla Sugar. Cool completely, and roll again in Vanilla Sugar.

Mocha Nut Butterballs

1 c. soft butter
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. instant espresso powder
1/4 c. cocoa
1 3/4 c. sifted flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 c. finely chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, or hickory)
Vanilla Sugar

Chop Nuts. Cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla until light. Add instant coffee, cocoa, flour, salt and mix well. Add finely chopped nuts. Shape into 1 " balls. Bake on ungreased sheets in preheated slow oven, 325 degrees for about 15 minutes. While warm, roll in Vanilla Sugar, and then roll again when cool.

Brown Bananas Banana Bread

2010-12-12T14:07:00.000-06:00

I love this recipe because one of the main ingredients is something that you would normally throw away once it starts to get too soft and go bad, but instead, mash it up and combine with the other ingridents to make something fabulously delicious! This is also a recipe where I choose to use milk and butter, although I know there are recipes where you can substitute these fatty ingredients with healthier alternatives, I can hardly think of taking away such marvelous ingredients.

Another thing to consider when making Banana Bread - it always tastes best when it is freshly baked, so unless you are going to have people over to share it with, consider baking it in small loaf pans, or into muffins. These can be individually wrapped and even frozen to save for later.

2 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 c. very ripe mashed bananas (3 medium)
1/4 c. milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 large eggs
1 c. nuts (walnuts or pecans)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Evenly grease loaf pan. I used a 9" x 5" glass pan.
2. In medium bowl, combine flour, bakig powder, salt, and baking soda. In small bowl, combine bananas, milk and vanilla.
3. In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Reduce speed to low; alternatly add flour mixture and banana mixture until just blended. Fold in nuts at this time.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until toothpick comes out clean, about one hour and 10 minutes.
5. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

Say what?! Sufganiyot!

2010-12-08T16:27:00.000-06:00

When I asked Daniel what he wanted for Hanukkah... this was what he requested. Last night we gathered all of the ingredients and were able to make these tasty little jelly dohnuts in my kitchen. Takes some time, but well worth it, and it was reletively easy!

3/4 c. warm water (about 110 degrees)
1 envelope active dry yeast
2 1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
pinch of salt
2 large eggs, separated
2 tbs unsalted butter, room temperature
vegetable oil for frying
1/4 c. raspberry jam

Day 1
1. in a large bowl stir together warm water and yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes, until it bubbles and gets foamy. Add 3/4 c. flour, 1/4 c. sugar, and salt and mix unitl well combined.
2. Add egg yolks, and remianing 1 3/4 c. of flour. Mix until combined and knead dough in bowl until all flour is incorporated. Turn out onto a lightly floured worksurface and knead until smooth. Knead in butter until incorporated.
3. Transfer dough to a well oiled bowl, turning dough several times to coat entirely with oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Day 2
4. bring dough to room temperature for 30 minutes. On a lightly floured worksurface, roll out dough into an 11 inch square about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out about 24 2 inch rounds. Reroll scraps and cut out remaining circles.
5. line a baking sheet with a clean kitchen towel. In a smal bowl, lightly beat egg whites. Brush edge of a dough round with egg white, then mound 1/2 tsp on jam inthe center. top with another round and press edges to seal. repeat with remaining rounds. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and let rise until puffy for 20-30 minutes.
6. Heat 3" oil in heavy bottomed fry pan until it reaches 360 on a deep fry thermometer. working in small batches, slip dough into hot oil. Fry truning once until golden brown, about 1 minute
7. using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towl covered cooling rack to drain.
8. while still hot, dip them in sugar. Serve immediatley.

Bucktown Apple Pie Contest

2010-10-10T19:51:00.000-05:00

After a night of marathon baking, today I took 2 of the 4 pies baked to the Bucktown Apple Pie Contest and Festival. Going into this weekend, I had a very different idea of how I would use my time, baking and hanging out in the park were not on the list, but sometimes, the best thing is to give in and go with what sounds like the most fun... instead of doing the other chores you had planned on doing. My pies did not make it to the finals, or even the semi finals, but they were all gobbled up by the hungry festival attendees. What a great fundraiser idea... a fun activity for the community to get together to raise money for the community center. I am glad i was able to do my part. Take a peek at pics below.

Apples at the Farmers Market in Wicker Park

20 Johnathan and Granny Smith Apples

The Pie Crust Dough

Rolling out the Dough and Trimming to size for the Pie Pan.

Super cool decorations in the Field House.

Honeybunch's Apple Pie

One of two of the Rooms where all of the Contestants Pie's were on display to the public. For 3 tickets, guests could purchase a slice of pie. Or for a lot more tickets, they could purchase an entire pie to take home!

Daniel was in heaven with all of the choices of pie!

The park's Field House was such a great reflection of the community.. . kids art work on the walls, schedules for different activities and classes. Makes me wish my neighborhood had something like this.

Outside of the Field House, there were tents with food, and crafts, and even square dancing!

This is the Field House that all of the proceeds went to... old buildings need lots of cheese!

... and there were even pony rides for the kids!

will bake pies for a good cause

2010-10-09T20:11:00.003-05:00

While lounging around last night, Daniel came across an ad for the Bucktown Apple Pie Contest in Time Out Chicago. Of course my ears perked up and started to plot my strategy for winning the contest. The website outlines a few of the judging criteria, to which I am pretty confident I have a chance at catching their eye with Honeybunch's Apple Pie recipe. This recipe, as many of you, my faithful readers know was the inaugural recipe to hit this very fine Baked blog.

After a lot of encouragement, I drove around all afternoon buying up apples, unsalted butter, and pie tins. Now I am taking a break... my hands are a little raw from cutting in the butter and flour with my pastry cutter. Next peeling apples! All for a good cause... right?

Ill post more updates as the pies come along... i have some great ideas for the crust! If you are in town tomorrow, stop on by Holstein Park at 2200 N. Oakley. I hear there will be a lot of apple pie to go around!

Cupcakes... not any old chocolate and vanilla

2010-09-12T15:11:00.001-05:00

Nutella Cupcakes

Chocolate Cake, King Arthur Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe

2 c. King Arthur Unbleached Cake Flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 3/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. unsalted butter, very soft

1/3 c. vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. milk

1/2 c. brewed, cooled coffee

4 large eggs

1. Preheat oven 350 oven.

2. Place strainer over large mixing bowl and sift in all dry ingredients... yes all dry ingredients... until all lumps are eliminated.

3. Add butter and mix at low speed for 1 minute. With the mixer running, add the oil and continue mixing until the mixture looks like sand.

4. Combine the vanilla with the milk and coffee or water, and add it all at once. Yes.. seriously do this. it may be a little messy, so keep your mixer at a low speed, or add the splash guard if your mixer comes with one. Mix for one minute at low speed. Stop to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, then mix for 30 seconds.

5. Add the eggs one at a time, beating at medium high speeds between additions. The batter will be thin.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan of your choice... for cupcakes place papers in cupcake pan. This recipe will make 24 cupcakes, bake in oven for 24 minutes.

Nutella Filling

Jar of Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread

Plastic piping bag

Injector tip

1. While Cupcakes are baking in the oven, prepare the piping bag.

2. After cupcakes are removed from oven, while still sitting in the warm baking pan, poke the injector tip/piping bag into the center of the warm cupcake and squeeze a marble size amount of Nutella into the center of the cake. You might want to practice as the Nutella can be sticky and hard to gauge how much you have squeezed into the cake.

3. Let the cupcakes cool as you normally would by removing them from the baking pan and cooling on a wire rack. When the Nutella is injected into a warm cupcake it melts and oozes into the cake... its just better.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, Ghirardelli

If you haven't guessed by now, there is a lot of chocolate in these cupcakes. The manfriend would argue that they dont need any frosting, as they are sweet and sugary enough. But I insist on adding at least a small layer of frosting to add a creamy smooth texture to offset the cake-y and sitcky textures. your call how much or as little as you want to use.

6 tbs butter, softened

2 2/3 c. confectioners sugar

1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa

1/3 c. milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. In bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy.

2. In a separate bowl, sift confectioners sugar with cocoa.

3. Blend sugar mixture with butter mixture, alternate with milk, beating well after each addition. Beat until smooth. Blend in vanilla.

Makes about 1 c. of frosting.

Almond Vanilla White Cake with Orange Buttercream Frosting

Tender White Cake, King Arthur Recipe

2 3/4 c. King Arthur Unbleached Cake Flour Blend

1 2/3 c. sugar, superfine is best

1 tbs. baking powder

3/4 tbs salt

3/4 c. (12 tbs) unsalted butter, softened

4 large egg whites, plus 1 whole large egg

1 c. full fat vanilla yogurt

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix all dry ingredients for 2 minutes on slow speed to blend and aerate.

3. Add the soft butter and mix into a paste.

4. Add the egg whites, then the whole egg, beating after each addition to begin building the structure of the cake. Periodically scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

5. In a small bowl, whisk the yogurt with the vanilla and then almond extracts.

6. Add yogurt mixture 1/3 at a time to the egg mixture. Beat for 2 minutes after each addition until fluffy, scraping the bowl.

7. Pour batter into pre-papered cupcake pans and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. dont take out early or the cakes wont rise and be fluffy.

Orange Buttercream

make white buttercream frosting... skip the vanilla and add a squeeze of fresh orange juice, and the zest from one orange. mix completely and frost as you prefer.

Cupcakes for Everyone..... at Sweet Petal

2010-09-10T15:39:00.000-05:00

Big Big Day for us here at Baked.. we were honored to be asked to be a part of the Sweet Petal trunk show. Melisa had a great group of Artists, Desingers, and Baker at the flower shop. We came with 2 flavors of mini cupcakes to taste, and had larger versions for sale. Check out a few pics from last night... recipes to come soon!

Melisa, Kay, and Megan at Sweet Petal

Kay

Occupant is an incurable chocoholic....

2010-09-06T22:39:00.001-05:00

A long time ago I received a door knob card from Sarah that read "Warning: Occupant is an incurable chocoholic, enter at your own risk!" Even as a child it was clear that I was on my way to a serious addiction that I have not been able to shake. This year for my birthday i couldn't hep myself... i had to combine some of the worlds best flavors. Warning... eating half of one of these cupcakes will leave you jittery and caffeinated from the overload of sugar, chocolate and espresso.

Espresso Cupcakes (thanks Nigella)

1/2 c. soft unsalted butter

1/2 c. dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

3/4 c. self rising flour (or 1 c. regular flour and 1 tbs. baking powder)

1 tbs. cocoa powder

1tbs espresso coffee powder

2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted

1-2 tbs. milk.

1. Preheat oven to 400. place 12 cupcake liners in muffin pan.

2. Cream butter, and sugar in mixer at medium speed. Add eggs one at a time until combined completely.

3. Add flour, cocoa, and coffee powder and mix until your batter is smooth.

4. Finally add the melted chocolate. Thin the batter as needed with milk.

5. Pour batter into pre-lined pan and place in the oven. Recipe says cook for 15 -20 minutes... be very careful not to overbake... if you do the cake will be very dry... but nothing that cant be fixed with an accompanying glass of milk.

Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting (see archive recipe... Ghirardelli is my favorite)

Smash a row of Oreo cookies (there are many techniques) and mix into chocolate butter cream.

This is the easiest cupcake to frost...it is so chunky and textured because of the mixed in cookies, don't waste your time on trying to make this frosting smooth. glop it on top, embrace the texture, and garnish with Oreo cookie crumbs.

more more more!

2010-07-24T23:17:00.001-05:00

When you know you cant have something, you want it more... right? This is especially true for a few things in my life right now: super tasty ice cream in decadent handmade waffle cones, and coming home to do some baking after a frustrating day.

As I type, I sit next to a towering wall of boxes of all of my kitchen supplies. My amazing mom mom came into town and helped pack up everything. I think it is kind of funny that when I see everything packed up and put in to boxes, the kitchen boxes far outnumber the other household boxes. (Definitely a sign that it is time for a real kitchen).

Check out these amazing cones! Bobtail is one of my most favorite places in the neighborhood to go to indulge. They have really creative ice cream flavors and really delicious hand made waffle cones. I'm sure if it has been as sweltering where you are as it has been here, you have been easily justifying 2 ice cream cones a day as I have! I have been addicted to coffe/mocha flavors lately, and with every bite I am reminded of my great aunt Helen. Her favorite Baskin Robins flavor was Jamoca Island Fudge. I always thought that was was a funny name for ice cream, now I am finally appreciating the flavors!

Change happens.... get excited.

2010-07-21T23:45:00.000-05:00

After 6 amazing years in my vintage studio apartment, the time has come to move to a new place. My apartment has been a creative studio not only for my confections, but also for growing plants, painting, drawing, knitting, sewing, rendering, drawing floor plans and construction details, building models, organizing. Thousands of movies were watched, hundreds of magazines have come and gone, and the best part.... there have been many friends to share these very special 400 square feet with. This little apartment has gone under so many transformations and has adapted to every one of my creative whims, whether all of the furniture needed to be pushed aside to accommodate large drawings on the floor, or having enough seating for friends to come over and hang out, or having enough work surface to have all of my baked goods spread out and cooling. Little apartment you have treated me well.

The new place is only a few blocks away, but the building has a totally different kind of personality. It is a one bedroom apartment in a mid-century building, and I am so excited! I am most looking forward to having a little more space... and a real kitchen! and a real bedroom!

For now, I am savoring the last few weeks in the first apartment I have lived in on my own. It has meant a lot to me.

Marathon Baking ... part 4

2010-06-30T09:21:00.001-05:00

Snickerdoodles

How much fun is this!!! These cookies are easy to make and the warm cinnamon makes your kitchen smell AMAZING! I baked these cookies in a ball shape, but i suppose you could press down on the ball of dough a little bit if you prefer a more flattened cookie.

1 2/3 c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. butter, at room temperature
1/3 c. + 2 tbs sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbs cinnamon

1. Pre-heat oven to 350.
2. Combine flour, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter with 1/3 c. of sugar until light in texture and pale in color, then beat in egg and vanilla.
4. Stir in the dry ingredients until you have a smooth, coherent mixture.

5. spoon out the remaining sugar and cinnamon into a small bowl. Then with your fingers, squeeze out pieces of dough and roll between the palms of your hands into walnut-size balls. Roll each ball in the cinnamon-sugar mixture and arrange on your prepared baking sheets.

6. Bake for about 15 minutes, cookies should be golden brown. Take out of oven, let cookies rest on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Then, transfer to wire rack to cool.