Our Italian Kitchen

Salted Caramel Pie

2012-01-28T16:35:00.009-05:00

For this January's What's Baking Challenge, we were asked by Melissa from I Was Born to Cook, to make a snowy day sweet, which couldn't have come at a more perfect time since we just had a lil snow storm locally. My favorite part of a snow day, is cuddling inside with some warm blankets and a few good movies, and or course, some festive baking. This is a great snow day treat since the sweet and slightly salty pie is simple to make and you can't stop eating it!

1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 5 ounces)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 cans sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
Fleur de sel
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

1. In a small bowl, mix the graham crackers crumbs with the melted butter and brown sugar.

2. Press the crumb mixture into a 9" pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and let cool.

3. In a large glass 13" x 9" baking dish, add the sweetened condensed milk. Sprinkle about 1/2 tsp fleur de sel on top of the sweetened condensed milk. Cover with foil.

4. Place the baking dish into a large roasting pan and pour hot water into the roasting pan until about 1/3 up the way of the baking dish.

5. Place in a 425 degree oven for 2 hours, stirring two or three times throughout the cooktime. Continue to replenish the hot water in the roasting pan as needed.

6. Once the condensed milk has taken on a golden caramel color and thickened as well, remove it from the oven. The mixture may be lumpy, but don't worry it will smooth out as it cools.

7. Spoon the caramel into prepared pie crusts and cover by pressing plastic wrap sprayed with vegetable oil on top of the pie. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

8. Whip heavy cream with powdered sugar until light and fluffy, then pile high the fresh made whipped cream onto the pie and serve!

Source: Food And Wine

Mini Brownies

2011-12-31T12:41:00.014-05:00

Belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year's Eve to everyone! We are in a our new home!!! And we somehow managed to host a 20 person Christmas dinner made up of 5 courses with help of our awesome family!! We owe a lot to all the members of my family who dedicated countless hours to do everything from cook, clean, and unpack to lay flooring and painting. We still haven't fully unpacked and despite the fact that the kitchen floors are still not grouted, it was a perfect Christmas in our new home! However, our house and the internet have yet to be friends so this is my first post in the month of December as ironically the month and year come to a close! Pictures, stories, and of course, more recipes to come in 2012! Wishing many blessings to all of you in this new year!

Since December is National Brownie Month, Nicole, from Seven Ate Nine , chose a brownie challenge for this month's What's Baking. I used the brownie recipe from Baker's chocolate topped with a simple ganache for icing. It was a perfect bite-sized treat!

4 squares unsweetened Chocolate
3/4 cup butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup chocolate chips or chunks

1. Melt the chocolate squares and butter in medium sized bowl in the microwave for about two minutes or until melted. Stir until thoroughly mixed together. Set aside to cool slightly.

2. Transfer chocolate mixture to a mixing bowl and add in sugar. Beat to incorporate.

3. Add in eggs and vanilla on low. Mix in flour and nuts until well blended. We skipped nuts for those who may be allergic, but it would be good. You could replace nuts with white chocolate or semisweet chunks too.

4. Using a small cookie scoop and a well VERY greased mini muffin pan, scoop small amounts into each cup. Put into a preheated oven of 325 degrees and bake for 12-14 minutes. Do not overbake. Flip them onto baking racks to cool. Make sure you grease those cups well or they will get stuck!

5. While the mini brownies cool, heat one cup of heavy cream on stove top or in a microwave until it reaches a boil, then remove. Pour atop chocolate chunks or chips. I opted for milk chocolate, but any kind will do! Let the hot cream soften the chocolate and then stir.

6. Dip mini brownies into the ganache for a yummy topping or eat them naked if you prefer. I also topped them off with dark chocolate chunks, festive sprinkles, and cinnamon chips. Use whatever you have in the pantry! Enjoy! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Source: Baker's Unsweetened Chocolate Box or Kraft Recipes

Yeast Dinner Rolls

2011-11-27T21:22:00.013-05:00

Hello all! Sorry I've been rather scattered in my posting, I know you've heard it before, but we are actually moving in this weekend! It's taken us about five months to get everything up and running at our new home! Fixer-upper homes that basically need to be gutted and then rebuilt kinda take some time. Hubby and I had crazy, unrealistic aspirations to be done and moved in months ago, but reality hit us, along with the rest of life's business (work, family, obligations) all mixed in with construction, creating a full few months! But the end is near. I just finished painting my new kitchen (AHH! so excited)! For those interested, it's a very soft yellow entitled Popcorn Ball. It seemed fitting. We have so much to be thankful in every aspect of life; but anyhow, back to the food....

For this month's What's Baking challenge, we were requested to bake something savory by Jey, from The Jey of Cooking. So, despite my love for all things sweet, I'm always up for a challenge. I wanted to keep it simple though, considering the craziness of the holidays along with our home endeavors. So I opted for something everyone seems to like and can't get enough of, rolls. And Hubby and I love Texas Roadhouse Rolls! I only just discovered this eatery during my college years, and have always enjoyed their rolls. So when I came across these copycat rolls, I knew they were winners! I only regret that the photos are lacking, since I was photographing during Thanksgiving prep! Hope you enjoy!

4 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 cup milk
3 tbsp of melted butter,slightly cooled; plus some for brushing
1/2 cup sugar, plus one tsp
2 quarts all purpose flour (approx. 7-8 cups)
2 eggs
2 tsp salt

1. Add the yeast to a small bowl with the warm water and let dissolve. Stir in a tsp of sugar.

2. Scald the milk in a small saucepan, and let cool slightly to lukewarm. Add the cooled milk to the yeast mixture. Also, stir in the sugar, and enough flour to make batter. (The recipe I was using actually stated to make a medium batter. However, despite my baking savyness,I was unsure exactly what a medium batter entailed. I googled but to no avail. I think it's somewhere in the realm of the thickness of cake batter.)

3. Let stand until foamy, and then add in eggs, butter, and salt. Beat to incorporate.

4. Add more flour until a soft dough forms. Sprinkle some flour on the rolling surface and let the dough rest. While you are waiting, grease a large bowl and set aside. Knead the dough until you have a smooth round ball. Place the ball of dough into the greased bowl and turn over to be sure to grease both sides of the dough.

5. Cover the dough and let rise in a warm spot until it doubles in size (about an hour). Punch down the dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and cut the dough into workable portions for shaping. Let the dough rest ten minutes.

6. Shape the dough into your desired forms and place onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. How many rolls you make will greatly depend on the size you choose. I made mine rather small and managed to get about 4 1/2 dozen. Let them rise for about another 30 minutes or so, until they double in size.

7. Bake on 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter immediately. (Ok, so here's a how-to-know-you-are-too-tired-to-be-baking moment. I completely omitted this step! I just forgot. The rolls were still yummy, but lacked that extra softness from the brushed tops.

You can enjoy these with some cinnamon butter (Because I had to work a little bit of sweetness in somehow!) The recipe will be coming shortly!

Source: Eat Cake for Dinner

Lady Bug Sugar Cookies

2011-11-08T21:25:00.000-05:00

with some pink girly flare!

Yes, these are pink lady bug cookies, because almost everything is better in pink, is it not? But more importantly, these cookies were made for a special one year old on her birthday! I made these lovely lady bugs for my best friend's adorable little girl. We had the pleasure to visit my wonderful friend and her sweet little girl for the weekend and we had a blast! She is truly the cutest thing since cupcakes and sprinkles!

These cookies are made of lemony vanilla dough and topped with royal icing. The recipe for these cookies has similar flavorings to an earlier sugar cookie I've made on here, but is a very different. As any of you who follow my posts know, I am always on the hunt to perfect my sugar cookies recipe, which means getting the joy to try many other recipes! Whether it's a cookbook, a magazine, a blog, a friend or family's recipe, or whatever, I'll gladly give a new recipe a whirl! And my husband and family don't mind serving the taste testing committee! This particular recipe is one I've heard much positive rumblings about in the cyber world. It's courtesy of the blog, Bake at 350, which posts all things cute, sweet, and colorful! The writer is both witty and incredibly talented with a piping bag! I used her basic sugar cookie recipe, only switching out some flavorings.

Lemon Vanilla Cookies

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar
2 sticks (salted) butter, cold
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp lemon extract
1/2 tsp lemon zest

1. Start by combining the flour and baking powder in a bowl; set aside.

2. Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand or electric mixer.

3. Add in egg, extracts, and zest beating after each addition.

4. Slowly add in the dry mixture, beating and scraping the bowl down frequently.

5. Be sure to give the dough a quick hand knead before rolling it out.

6. Roll out your dough and grab your favorite round cookie cutter. Transfer the cut cookies onto parchment lined baking sheets.

7. Pop the baking sheet with cookies in the freezer for just a few minutes before placing them into a 350 degree preheated oven. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes and then allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheets for a few minutes before moving them to cooling racks.

8. Once the cookies are fully cooled, decorate the cookies with your favorite colors for lady bugs following this recipe for royal icing from a previous post on house cookies.
For these cookies, I learned how to make polka dots on flooded icing! (Polka dots are one of my favorite things !) A full post on the how-to for this fun technique will be coming soon!

Source: Bake at 350

Also featured on: Made from Scratch Tuesday

Blueberry White Chocolate Cookies

2011-08-27T19:40:00.008-04:00

When will this craziness end? The weather has been a constantly changing threat in the area all week long. First, we begun with an earthquake (luckily with no damage). It was so foreign to NJ and NY. And now we are preparing for hurricane with some possible negative ramifications. The food stores were like a madhouse today full of scurrying customers in search of water, batteries, flashlights, generators, and food. After some likewise shopping of my own and some fun craft purchases to keep me busy during the looming possibility of a long power outage, I knew we would be in for some fun! Well, as soon as I heard we could stuck without power (translate to not being able to cook/bake), hubby and I started baking! We whipped a few batches of brownies and muffins for the family to enjoy, as well as these yummy cookies chock full of fresh, summer blueberries! These are slight adaption of white chocolate raspberry cookies made earlier this summer. They were such a huge hit with everyone, we gave them a "re-mix" with blueberries. Summer certainly has been unpredictable this year!

Jade, from The Mess Pot, hosted the What's Baking Challenge this month, and her choice was to Celebrate Summer with a nice, fresh summer recipe. So since I had some local blueberries, I simply incorporated them into part of this yummy cookie recipe.

8 oz butter (2 sticks), softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk (7 oz)
2 cups self-rising flour
7 oz white chocolate chips or chopped pieces
1 pint blueberries

1. Cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until well blended.

2. Add the sweetened condensed milk and continue to mix.

3. Sift in the flour slowly, while mixing it into the dough with your hands.

4. Stir in the white chocolate.

5. Take small pieces of dough and flatten it into a disk with your fingers.

6. Place a few blueberries into the middle and fold up and over.

7. Bake on parchment lined baking sheets in a 350 degree oven for about 12-15 minutes. Rotate baking sheets halfway through bake time.

8. Allow cookies to set on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes while cooling, then transfer to wire racks to fully cool.

Source: Phil Vickery from Womenseverything.com

Also featured on: Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friday

Peach Tarts

2011-08-16T08:23:00.012-04:00

Well, the home renovation projects are underway! Life is busy and fun right now, but with all the craziness going on, it's been a quick cooking month. Here is one of my favorite easy sweet treats with fresh summer stone fruit. And it's so simple to switch out peaches to use your favorite stone fruits.

1 pkg frozen puff pastry dough, divided (or you can make your own,which is on my to-do list)
3-4 peaches, pitted and sliced thin with skin on
3 tsp rum extract, divided
3 tsp vanilla extract, divided
3 tsp cinnamon, divided
1/2 cup sugar, divided
1 tsp salt, divided
*Makes 3 tarts*

1. Allow the frozen puff pastry to thaw slightly (about 30 minutes or until pliable). Unroll the dough and cut it into thirds.

2. Roll each piece of dough out until about 1/8" thick. Transfer to baking sheet.

3. Layer the sliced peaches on the center of the dough in rough rows, leaving about an inch of dough around the exterior.

4. Fold up the sides lengthwise and then fold up the top and bottom edges. Repeat with remaining dough and peaches.

5. Sprinkle a few tablespoons sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon,a pinch of salt, 1 tsp vanilla and rum extract over each tart.

6. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 18-20 minutes or until puff pastry is golden brown. Serve with fresh whipped cream for a yummy dessert!

Enjoy!

Source: adapted from Veggie Belly
Also featured on: Made From Scratch Tuesdays, Mangia Monday, and Southern Fairytale

Nectarine and Blueberry Scones with a Honey Butter Glaze

2011-07-28T07:54:00.014-04:00

This month of new home demolition is crazy as ever, but we are beginning to see the progress, which is so encouraging! I'm so very excited to finally move in! Hopefully it will be next month! For now, we are busy bees getting everything ready that we can. And the best part, we are finally free of those scorching hot days!

This month's What's Baking Challenge was to Bake Local, hosted by Lindsey of Our Share of the Harvest. I'm a big fan of using local foods and supporting local businesses so this was right up my alley! I stopped by two farmer's markets and a roadside stand to get my booty for this fun recipe.
My favorite farmer's market purchase was definitely the raw fall honey. It's so different than the honey you buy at a store and it's healthier for you too! I also scored some yummy nectarines and blueberries.

I have a little funny story related here. I was planning to make a stone fruit crostata with my local bought produce for this month's challenge. I started making my normal go-to Lidia Matticchio Bastianich's recipe and, much to my dismay, the dough was not forming at all! It never harden, just stayed liquid. Yuck! I ended up throwing it away. My confidence was starting to get shaken, but I figured I have to try again anyway. So I went for attempt #2, which started out better, but the end product was still lacking. I couldn't figure it out. Why was my dough behaving so funny? The humidity in the kitchen? My ingredients were not chilled enough? Should I have used a different utensil to mix? I was truly baffled by these events!

So I let the dough chill in the fridge overnight, as per the directions. In the morning, it was none the better. I was unable to roll it out, only press it into a disc with my palms to flatten. But I had to try to bake it at this point just to see what would happen. So I threw together my fruit filling and laid in on top and rolled it all up. Finally, it looked pretty good, despite my earlier issues. I popped it in to bake hoping it would turn out well. I left the kitchen for barely a minute or two, then came back to check on it to find.... that the dough had melted! Yes, that's right, melted! Literally. It ran down the parchment, over the pan, off the sides and onto the oven floor where it had already puddled. The best part? The puddle was on FIRE! Needless to say, I was done baking that day... Well, the end of my story is that I cleaned it up and decided to make scones. I am using my mother's kitchen since we are in the middle of moving, and discovered that when I thought I was using flour, the whole time I was using confectioner's sugar!!! My mom keeps them in these large upright Tupperware containers. And I know the spot the flour lives, but apparently she switched up their order in the closet. I can't believe I didn't notice it earlier, but at least I found out why! I guess we need to purchase some labels for our containers... Thanks for listening to my crazy story and now if you are still reading this enjoy these scones! They are so sweet and full of fresh fruit; hmmm... breakfast or dessert?

3/4 cup diced nectarines, peel on
3/4 cup blueberries
4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg, divided
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 cup cold heavy cream, plus additional for brushing
1/3 cup honey
1/4 butter

1. Mix all the wet ingredients together in the bowl of a stand mixer.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients.

3. Slowly add the flour into the wet mixture, stirring periodically. This dough will be quite stiff.

4. Turn the dough onto a well floured surface and knead with floured hands for a minute a two.

5. Flatten your dough slightly and press all your frozen fruits into the dough. Continue to knead for another minute or two to spread the fruit evenly through your dough.

6. Using your hands, shape the dough into a large, flattened circle. Using a floured knife cut the dough in half to form two half moons. Then cut each each half moon in thirds resulting in a total of six wedge shaped scones.

7. Now you can either place a few on a parchment lined baking sheet or you can freeze them for later use. To freeze, simply place scones on a baking sheet in freezer just long enough to harden, then transfer into freezer bags. Defrost and brush with cream when you are ready to bake them at a later date. To bake, brush them with a few tablespoons of heavy cream and place them in a 425 degree oven for about 24-26 minutes.

8. While the scones are baking away in the oven, put the honey and butter in a glass measuring cup in the microwave for 90 seconds (a minute and a half) on high, stirring once halfway through.

9. When scones are cooling, brush them with honey butter and let sit for 20 minutes then brush them again. This helps them to stay fresh for up to 4 days. It's a natural (and very sweet) replacement for preservatives!

Enjoy!

Source: Adapted from 5 Second Rule and Baking and Books

Also featured on: Made From Scratch Tuesday, Works for me Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friday, Ultimate Recipe Swap

Guest Post- Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Muffin (My Tasty Journey)

2011-07-20T11:54:00.004-04:00

Good morning all! I'm excited to feature my first ever, guest blog post by the lovely and talented Donna, from My Tasty Journey. Donna is a yoga obssessive fellow Jersey girl and an avid foodie and travel-crazy blogger. She very generously volunteered to make quite a few dozen of these yummy cappuccino chocolate chip muffins for the Great American bake sale I hosted back in May. And they were one of the hits of the day! Hope you enjoy her and her scrumptious baked goods.

Hi everyone! My name is Donna and I blog over at My Tasty Journey.com. Amanda had asked me to share a recipe I had made for her Share our Strength bake sale a couple months ago. I ADORE this recipe for bake sales because you can double/triple the recipe EASILY, PLUS it has enough flavors to not need any frosting. No frosting = No mess = Travels well! Not to mention, they really couldn't be simpler!

First, you gather up the usual suspects:

Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Muffins

~1 package (18 1/4 oz.) vanilla cake mix
~1 package (3.4 oz.) vanilla pudding mix
~2 teaspoons instant espresso
~1/4 cup boiling water
~1 cup milk
~1/2 cup canola oil
~4 eggs
~2 cups mini chocolate chips

1.- Combine the espresso & boiling water and stir until nearly dissolved. (It doesn't have to dissolve completely. I've never had a problem with coffee grinds in my cupcakes) Allow to cool slightly.

2.- Next, combine the cake mix, pudding powder, eggs, milk and oil in a mixer and blend on medium speed until combined.

3.- Once everything is combined, turn your mixer to low and slowly pour in the slightly cooled coffee mixture.

4.-Beat for 3 minutes until all of the ingredients have blended completely.

5.- Fold in the food of the gods. I mean, the chocolate chips!

...and try not to sneak too many bites of the batter. This bowl smells HEAVENLY, I promise!

6.- Pour about 1/4 cup of batter into lined cupcake trays. (not too much, these babies GROW!)

7.- Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 18-20 minutes or until the "toothpick test" proves they are done!

And WALLAH! Done! Each recipes yields about 2 1/2 dozen, so it's pretty simple to make a HUGE batch in a short amount of time. Try these out if you love coffee & quick recipes

--

Donna

www.mytastyjourney.com

Please feel free to stop over and visit Donna at her blog. She features everything from workout information and healthy eats, to sweet snacks and travel finds, both local and abroad. Her warm amicable spirit flows through her writing and her food leaves you happy and healthy!

Also featured on: Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Made From Scratch Tuesday, Works for Me Wednesday, What's Cooking Wednesday

White Chocolate Raspberry Cookies

2011-07-19T12:22:00.008-04:00

So far summer has been full of fun, change, and busy days. The humidity has been unfortunately high, but there are also days where the heat breaks and it's just beautiful! However, our past few days have looked something like this.....

Oh, the joys of moving! More packing and less posting this month, but it will be all worth in the end, once we are fully moved in and settled in our home! It won't be for awhile, but we are making due in the process.

While all the hectic moving and construction goes on, I still managed to squeeze in some baking time this week. I made these cookies for my hubby's co-workers who were super helpful and gracious to my husband. We thanked them with these cookies, and some other treats which will be coming over the next week. Good thing I did my baking this past week, because the heat index is continually climbing. Also, tomorrow I will be featuring my first guest post so stay tuned for scrumptious cappuccino chocolate chip muffins from Donna at My Tasty Journey! Now back to the cookies...

White Chocolate Raspberry Cookies:

8 oz butter (2 sticks), softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk (7 oz)
2 cups self-rising flour
7 oz white chocolate chips or chopped pieces
1 pint raspberries

1. Cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until well blended.

2. Add the sweetened condensed milk and continue to mix.

3. Sift in the flour slowly, while mixing it into the dough with your hands.

4. Stir in the white chocolate.

5. Take small pieces of dough and flatten it into a disk with your fingers.

6. Place one or two raspberries into the middle and fold up and over.

7. Bake on parchment lined baking sheets in a 350 degree oven for about 12-15 minutes. Rotate baking sheets halfway through bake time.

8. Allow cookies to set on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes while cooling, then transfer to wire racks to fully cool.

Source: Phil Vickery from Womenseverything.com

Also featured on: Mangia Monday, Mouthwatering Monday, Made From Scratch Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday

Red, White, and Blue Mini Layer Cakes for Two

2011-06-28T08:46:00.017-04:00

This month's What's Baking challenge, from Heather of Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks, was to bake a layer cake. And I love layer cakes! You get more icing and filling than other cakes! Why not have layers? The logic seems to work, at least for me.

Since the 4th of July is coming up just around the bend, I decided to make my layer cake patriotic with red, white, and blue components. Red was simple, because I love red velvet, blue was just a spin-off of red velvet now called blue velvet, and since hubby had just taken a trip to Junior's recently and brought me some cheesecake, I had cheesecake on the brain. The assembly resembles our wedding cake as well! Our wedding cake was chocolate and vanilla layers with actual NY cheesecake in the middle covered with chocolate ganache. Well, this is similar, red and blue velvet cake with cheesecake piped in the middle covered with white chocolate ganache. And if you are thinking to yourself, "Which was better?", all I can say is... I'm not going to argue with either one!

Cheesecake:
1 1/2 lbs cream cheese
1 1/3 cups sugar
5 large eggs
16 ounces sour cream
1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoons lemon juice

Cake: (Red Velvet/Blue Velvet)

2 1/2 cup cake flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs, room temp
1 1/2 cup oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp gel food color, approx.
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp white distilled vinegar

White Chocolate Ganache:
8 oz white chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream

*Makes 3-4 mini layer cakes*

1. Let's start with making our cheesecake, since it has to cook and cool the longest. You may recognize this cheesecake recipe from an earlier post here. It's the same minus the crust.

2. Start by creaming the softened cream cheese. Then add the sugar and eggs, one at time, while continuing to beat on low.

3. Add flour, lemon juice, and vanilla. Stir. Fold in the sour cream.

4. Pour batter in a 9" springform pan and bake on 325 degrees for about an hour and fifteen minutes. No need to be worried about cracking or appearance for this cheesecake seeing as it be piped later. Once cooled, place in fridge until time to assemble cake.

5. Now, let's work on our cakes. We are going to make red and blue velvet cakes in 9" cake pans. To do so, we are going to simply divide the batter and add red food coloring to one half and blue food coloring to the other half. If you wanted to make a few more mini cakes, you could double the recipe and dye each batch, red and blue respectively. This recipe is from an earlier post of red velvet stuffed cupcakes.

6. In a medium bowl, sift together all of the dry ingredients for the cupcakes: flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa, and salt. Set aside.

7. In the bowl of a stand mixer add all the wet ingredients: eggs, oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar. Beat until smooth.

8. Slowly add the dry mix into the wet mix and blend for a minute or two until fully incorporated. Pour batter into two greased and floured cake pans.

9. Bake at 350 for 28-33 or until fully done. Test with toothpick. Set aside to cool.

10. Once both the cheesecake and cakes are fully cooled, you can begin to make the white chocolate ganache. Place the white chocolate, slightly broken up, into a double boiler over low heat.

11. Stir and let chocolate melt slowly. Add in the heavy cream and continue to stir over low heat. Once fully melted, continue to stir for about 2 minutes, then remove from heat and allow to cool for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally while cooling.

12. Time to assemble! Start by using a cookie cutter or I used a biscuit cutter to make 3 " circles. Depending on the exact shape of the pan and cutter, you will yield either three or four of each color. Place the blue circles on a baking rack. Blue cakes will be bottoms and red cakes will be tops, but you can feel free to switch 'em up!

13. Scoop cheesecake into a piping bag fit with a coupler and large round tip. Begin piping on top of each blue cake circle to fill the surface. Continue with all bottoms. Place red circles on top of the cheesecake filling to finish the cake tower.

14. By now, the ganache should be fully cooled. Be sure to place a dish or cookie sheet under the baking rack to catch the drips. Start spooning white chocolate ganache over the cakes and let it drip down the sides.

15. Depending on the thickness you desire, you may want one or two coats of ganache. I did two on mine. After the first coat, pop them in the fridge for 10 minutes and then apply second coat!
That's it! Now you have a perfect patriotic dessert for the 4th of July! Enjoy!

Also featured on: Savory Sunday, Mangia Monday,Moutherwatering Monday, Made from Scratch Tuesday, Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, This Chick Cooks

Quattro Formaggi Pizza with a Twist

2011-06-24T10:14:00.003-04:00

So my husband is obsessed with this one pizza from our area that is a white pizza with cheddar on it. He will always hands-down choose that pizza over any others, so I figured it's about time I make it for him! I changed it up a little bit and threw in some extras so it's basically four cheese white pizza with a twist. And needless to say, Robert gave it a try and loved it! He said this pizza his new favorite. Hope you enjoy this yummy pizza!

Dough:
1 pizza crust dough, whole wheat (we bought ours for a local pizzeria, but you can make our own or buy one at the grocery store)

Sauce:
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 cup of heavy cream
3/4 cup of pecorino romano cheese, grated
2 tsp pepper
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp oregano
1 clove of garlic, crushed

Cheeses and Toppings
12 oz Mozzarella cheese, grated
8 oz Ricotta cheese
4 oz cheddar cheese, sliced
2 oz Pecorino Romano, grated
half of a fresh red pepper, cut into thin strips (or a roasted red pepper)
15 leaves of fresh spinach
1 tsp garlic powder

1. Start out by making the pizza sauce, and since this is a white pizza, it's an easy, but flavorful alfredo sauce for the pizza base.

2. Melt your butter and mix in the flour with a wooden spoon over medium heat. Keep mixing until the flour is fully dissolved into the butter (about 3 minutes).

3. Add in the heavy cream and stir to incorporate. Let cook for another minute or two while stirring.

4. Lower the heat and add in your spices; pepper, nutmeg, oregano, and crushed garlic. Stir and let simmer on very low.

5. Stir in cheese and remove from heat. Set aside to let cool.

6. While the sauce cools, start prepping our pizza dough. Shape your dough into an flat oval with your palms and place on a your work surface. Sprinkle some corn meal over the dough and flip it over. Start rolling your dough until it reaches your desired thickness.

7. Transfer your dough to a pre-heated pizza stone or a metal pizza pan/cookie sheet lightly greased with shortening and stretch it to cover the surface. (Your pizza stone should be warmed in 475 degree oven for about 10 minutes) Spread alfredo sauce onto dough.

8. Now time to start adding the cheeses! Sprinkle on the mozzarella. Next, lay the cheddar slices on top, spacing them slightly apart until you cover the pizza.

9. Using a ice cream or cookie scoop, Start scooping ricotta balls onto the pizza, keeping them spread apart. Sprinkle on pecorino romano cheese.

10. Scatter some red pepper slices and spinach leaves over the pizza. Sprinkle some garlic powder over the pizza and get ready to eat!

11. Pop that pizza in a 425 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, until the cheeses are fully melted and slightly golden brown. Hope you enjoy your pizza!

Also featured on Foodie Friday and Full Plate Thursday

Watermelon Fruit Basket

2011-06-21T08:48:00.002-04:00

It's starting to get that hot streak back, which I was more than happy left those last two weeks. And while I live to bake, sometimes when it's really hot outside I just don't want to turn on the oven at all. It's on those occasions that all the no-bake desserts are my best friends.

Since it's been so warm out recently, I turned to a fruity sweet snack instead of another baked treat. This is a super easy and very fun fruit dessert to make, plus it's healthy! It can be used as a centerpiece, a dessert item, or just part of a backyard party. And all you need is a little bit of time, a knife, and a melon baller/cookie scoop.

This watermelon basket was made to celebrate my favorite uncle's recent promotion. He's now the head honcho of the east coast! We also made a cake decorated with the his company logo, but I didn't think it turned out quite cute enough for blogging. He's pretty into all things healthy so this dessert was right up his alley. Hope you enjoy this fruit basket!

1 whole watermelon
1 pint blueberries
1 pint strawberries
1 pineapple, cut into chunks
1 pint of raspberries
6 kiwis, sliced

1. The only tricky part to this endeavour is making the basket. Be sure your watermelon has a flat bottom so it will be able to stand freely and is as blemish free as possible. Begin by using a pairing knife to score the portions that are going to be cut away. You will be removing the top half of the watermelon on the outer edges. Basically, from halfway up the watermelon to the top will be completely removed except for about 3 inches in the middle for the handle.

2. Then using a sharp knife, cut out the top right and left portions, being careful to leave the middle section for what will be the handle.

3. Remove sections of pulp from inside the basket bottom and inner handle, placing them aside to later be shaped into melon balls. Continue until the watermelon is hollow.

4. Using an ice cream scoop, scrape around the hollow inside to make it even and smooth. (No need to be too fussy though, it will be covered up with all the yummy fruit soon!)

5. Using a sharp knife, begin making diagonal cuts on your handle to make the triangular edges. Continue along all the edges of the handle and basket.

6. Then start filling your basket with the fruit. Blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries can go in whole. The pineapple can simply be cut into chunks. The watermelon (and any other melon too, we usually use cantaloupe or honeydew as well) needs to be balled. Using a cookie scoop or melon baller, stick the end in the melon and turn it around full circle, then pull it out and you have a melon ball! Feel free to add in any other fruits you like as well.

7. Toss all the fruit together in your watermelon basket and you are all set! (I placed the kiwi slices on top and did not toss them in because they are more delicate.) You can also serve this with a fruit dip, like this Irish Cream Fruit Dip. If you have any leftover strawberries and blueberries, these Red, White, and Blue Berries are perfect for upcoming 4th of July parties. Enjoy!

Also featured: Mangia Mondays, Mangia Mondays, and Mouthwatering Mondays

Marinated Chicken Kebabs

2011-06-12T21:52:00.009-04:00

Here's a quick and easy marinade for chicken kebabs! Perfect for these months of summer heat to do all the cooking outside!

2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
3 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp dried pepperoncino
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup corn oil
3 tbsp water
3 lbs chicken cutlets, cut into cubes
wooden skewers

1. Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. This mixture is basically a homemade version of a Good Season or other Italian dressing dry mix and can be stored for approx. 2 months in a sealed container. You could even double or triple this recipe and have it in your pantry(use approx 3- 3 1/2 heaping tbsp for each batch.) Then when you are ready to make the dressing, you have it on hand!

2. Add the olive oil, corn oil, and water to the dry seasoning and whisk to blend well.

3. Place the chicken cubes and the dressing together into a sealed bag or container and refrigerate overnight (at least 4 hours) to let the flavors become fully absorbed.

4. Soak your skewers half an hour or so before you are ready to assemble to help prevent burning. Slide the marinated chicken pieces onto the skewers.

5. Now you are ready to grill! Throw your kebabs on the grill until fully cooked, rotating halfway through to even char all sides. Enjoy your chicken kebabs as appetizer, a quick dinner, or a barbecue side dish!

Also featured on: Mouthwatering Mondays, Mangia Monday, and Mangia Monday

Stuffed Crust Pepperoni Pizza

2011-06-12T21:38:00.009-04:00

So today my little brother, John, is graduating from 8th grade. I can't believe he's that old already!! And his birthday is this weekend so it's a super party packed weekend ahead (and don't forget Father's Day is in there too). One thing that anyone who knows John is aware of is eating habits. He is the most particular eater ever. (As I've mentioned before in my younger days, I tended to be a picky eater too but I surprisingly grew out of it). And my little brother is no different! His favorite foods consist of the ever famous Kraft Mac and Cheese, Chicken cutlets, Pizza, and Eggo Waffles. But at least there is some good homemade food he likes too. And pizza is probably his favorite food ever. So for this weekend of celebrating, we will be having some homemade pepperoni pizza for my ever picky, ever crazy, ever silly, little brother!

1 pizza crust dough (we bought ours from a pizzeria, but you can make one or buy one from a grocery store too)

1 1/2 cup of quick marinara sauce
10 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 tsp salt
3 tsp pepper
1 clove of garlic, crushed
3 oz Pecorino romano cheese
5 oz pepperoni, sliced thick (or about half a stick)
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
12-14 mozzarella sicks, cut into thirds

1. Shape your dough into an flat oval with your palms and place on a your work surface.

2. Sprinkle some corn meal over the dough and flip it over. Start rolling your dough until it reaches your desired thickness.

3. Transfer your dough to a pre-heated pizza stone or a metal pizza pan/cookie sheet lightly greased with shortening and stretch it to cover the surface, even have some overhang if possible. (Your pizza stone should be warmed in 475 degree oven for about 10 minutes)

4. Now I wanted to try something different with this pizza, so I took mozzarella sticks chunks and lined them around the edge of the pizza pan and rolled the overhang of crust on top of the mozzarella sticks to make a stuffed crust. Be sure to pinch the dough together or the melted cheese will escape-a lesson I learned.

4. Spread your sauce over dough top with mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle on your seasonings; salt, pepper, oregano, and basil.

5. Add the pepperoni slices. I purchased a stick of pepperoni and used a mandoline to cut them. It was a super fast and easy way to cut pepperoni and you can gauge the thickness you desire.

6. Sprinkle on your Pecorino Romano cheese(and you can use more than the suggested amount above, it's ok. I won't tell anyone) and maybe even a little extra mozzarella too since this is a stuffed crust pizza, it's all about the cheese.

7. Bake your pizza for about 15-20 minutes on 425 degrees. I also like to broil the pizza on low just for a minute when it's done to crisp the pepperoni. Enjoy your pizza!!

Also featured on: Ultimate Recipe Swap and Full Plate Thursdays

Review of 2011 Bloggers Bake Sale

2011-05-31T09:12:00.008-04:00

A few weekend ago, I hosted one of the many bake sales for the 2011 Bloggers Bake Sale team for Share Our Strength through the Great American Bake Sale. This is the second year of the annual event, created by Gaby, from What's Gaby Cooking, where food bloggers from across the nation join together by setting up local bake sales on the same day to share their yummy treats and at the same time raise funds and awareness for Share Our Strength!I hosted one of the bake sales for the New Jersey region at local farm and garden center, Heaven Hill. Share Our Strength is hosting a campaign to raise to end childhood hunger in America by 2015 and is helping children all across America gain the nutrition that is needed.

During the week approaching the bake sale, my grandmother became more ill and weak and moved in with my family. Sadly, she passed away the same week. We were so busy with everything going on at home that I didn't get to bake at all. Luckily, I had solicited the help of some wonderful food bloggers who were gracious enough to help out and their efforts were wonderfully appreciated! So the day before the bake sale, I woke up at 5am and started baking like a crazy woman. It was a lot of fun and my family pitched in to help with the massive amounts of flying baking sheets and dirty dishes. By the end of the day, we had everything baked, cooled, and individually wrapper and ready for the bake sale.

The bake sale ended up being a hit and we raised 300 dollars! I'm so grateful for all the people who stopped by our bake sale and supported us! We did have some very delicious treats for sale and we sold well over half our baked goods. Two wonderful ladies, Danielle and Melissa, who are fellow Jersey Bites writers baked up some wonderful treats from raspberry oatmeal chocolate chip cookies to dark chocolate brownies and peanut butter cup filled chocolate chip cookies to brownie cookies bars. Danielle even worked the bake sale with me while being 8 months pregnant! Also, Donna, from My Tasty Journey, baked cappuccino chocolate chip cupcakes/muffins (guest post from Donna with the recipe for these coming soon!) and a bunch of loaves of banana breads. They were so yummy! Thank you girls so much for all your baking! My contributions were largely in the form of cookies. I'm not sure why, but I was on a cookie frenzy! I baked M&M sugar cookies, traditional chocolate chip as well peanut butter chocolate chunk, and cinnamon roll cookies. I also made some lemon blueberry muffins and cashew peanut clusters. My mom made some yummy super crumb cakes too, which were big sellers! I wish I had taken more photos of the individual items, but oh well, next time. And next year, I plan to try again and to challenge myself even more and raise more money for Share Our Strength!

(this is my adorable cousin and her bestie, who might as well be part of the fam, bringing in the crowds)

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

2011-05-27T09:03:00.011-04:00

This is slightly late, but it's been a crazy month so far. This month's What's Baking theme was to a bake a sweet treat for Mother's Day. I choose these Lemon Blueberry Muffins which I've made a few times before and they always come out great!

1 cup milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour,plus a few tbsps
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 tbsp grated lemon zest

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients; 3 cups of flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

2. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. (The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.)

3. In a small bowl, mix together the milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture. Stir together just until incorporated. (Do not over mix this mixture or the muffins will be tough when baked.)

4. Toss your blueberries with a few tbsp of flour to coat them. (If you are using frozen, do not thaw them first.)

5. Fold in the blueberries and lemon zest very gently to not break the blueberries or you will have blue batter.

6. Fill each lined muffin cup with the batter, using a cookie scoop or an ice cream scoop. Remember to fill any unused muffins cups with water to prevent the pan from warping.

7. Place on the middle rack of a 350 degree preheated oven and bake until very lightly browned and firm to the touch and/or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 - 22 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool. ( I also made a few mini muffins and those bake on the same temperature for 9-11 minutes; test in similar fashion.)

Makes 16 - 18 regular-sized muffins.

Source: Joyofbaking.com, originally from Oregon's Cuisine of the Rain by Karen Brooks.

Also featured on: Foodie Friday

Still standing...

2011-05-16T08:50:00.006-04:00

Hello readers! It's been a sad and busy week for us. I apologize for my lack of posting. This month already has proved to be challenging. The month began pleasantly anticipating the usual May fun of my birthday and Mother's day. I also, began planning for the 2011 Bloggers Bake Sale to support Share Our Strength in the fight against childhood hunger. However, life switched paces quickly as my grandma's cancer worsened and she was placed into hospice care and moved in with my family. We tried our best to make her comfortable, and to spend as much time as we could with her. Unfortunately, she grew weaker by the day and lost her battle with cancer on May 13. Her services will be held this week, so I won't be posting much until after then. She was a beautiful woman inside and out, as you can see from these photos. Thank you for all the prayers and kind words. My family greatly appreciates it!

On a positive side note, the bake sale was a huge success! I will share a post later this week with recipes, photos, and details surrounding the bake sale! Thanks to all those helped me with the bake sale during this hectic, saddening time. Thanks to Donna, from My Tasty Journey, and Melissa and Danielle from Jersey Bites, for all their hard work baking sweet treats for the bake sale! I couldn't have done it without, especially during this time for my family! Your generosity was so appreciated!!

Check out the Bloggers Bake for Hope Virtual Bakesale

2011-05-04T06:39:00.008-04:00

If you are interested in buying some wonderful, homemade, and creative baked goods and also help raise money for Breast Cancer/ Susan G Komen Fund, then here's your chance! Stop by the Bloggers Bake for Hope Virtual Bake Sale website starting today and going on through midnight on Friday, May 6th. You can then bid on the item of your choice (and there are lots of photos of yummy sweets to peruse, including Anginettes made by me!)

After that, simply choose the amount you would be willing to donate in exchange for that baked good and place a bid. The winner will be notified afterwards and sent to paypal to finalize their order. Then us, the bloggers, will be packaged your baked good and sending it your front door. I hope that you take some time to visit this virtual bake sale and help fight breast cancer with sweet treats!

We finally bought a house!

2011-05-03T10:49:00.003-04:00

I apologize for my absence this past week or so, but don't worry it's for good reason... I have an announcement to make.

We are home owners!

Hubby and I bought our first house last week and it has been a crazy few months trying to get everything finished up. We are super excited and ready to tackle the new and fun challenge of owning a home! There is some construction that needs to be done still so we won't be moving in for a little while, but our weekends are happily full of sledge hammers and dumpsters! My hubby teases it's our home away from home since we aren't staying there yet. I can't wait to fully move in ! I'll be sure to keep updating throughout the process. Ah, my very own kitchen... Soon!

Since our attorney is close family friend, I thought I'd make her a treat to say thank you for her hard work with the closing. And what's more appropriate then house cookies! I made these once before when one of my best friends bought her first house. I tried adding some new elements such as keys, moving boxes, and sold signs. I made templates for the cookies by drawing on card stock and then cut the cookies out using a small paring knife.

These cookies were a variation of the usual vanilla and almond version. I've been playing with different flavors recently and trying to new variations of my usual sugar cookie recipe. I truly loved this one! It was different and the lemon was a great addition!

Lemon And Vanilla Cookies

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp Madagascar bourbon pure vanilla powder
Zest of half a lemon (or the zest of a whole lemon, if you love lemon)
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and powdered sugar on medium until smooth, about 1-2 minutes.

2. Add in the egg, vanilla extract, vanilla powder, and lemon zest until blended.

3. Next, pour in the flour and salt on low speed just until incorporated.

4. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough until chilled and firm(about 2 hours).

5. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough out between two lightly floured pieces of wax paper to about ¼-inch thickness.

6. Cut with cookie cutters and transfer to the prepared baking sheets.

7. Bake on 375 for 8-10 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through baking, until fully cooked but not at all browned.

8. Allow to cool on the baking sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

9. Decorate with royal icing, marshmallow fondant, or any other favorite toppings! I used royal icing from this recipe I used earlier to make house cookies, which was my first attempt to decorate with royal icing and ever since then I've been hooked!

Source: Annie's Eats
Also featured on: Tempt my Tummy Tuesday and Tasty Tuesday

Banana Split Float and Introducing... Hubby's Kitchen Endeavors!

2011-04-13T06:04:00.011-04:00

Welcome to a new section of my blog devoted to the men in our lives. It's called Man Made! (yes cheesy, I know) It's a compilation of the food and drinks that are made by hubby, with or without assistance. This usually consists of drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), all things grill related, and any form of cooking involving a giant flame. Hubby himself will be sharing his new concoctions with you whenever he gets a moment in the kitchen to experiment! I'm so proud of hubby and his culinary skills considering when we met in college, he could barely handle making mac and cheese from the box, and he lived off hamburger helper and various "processed, pre-made food". Since then he has mastered much more and introduced real home cooking into his repertoire. Hope you enjoy this new little segment! (Man Made recipes unless otherwise noted are hubby's own creations, for better or for worse, and are made, photographed, and written by himself)

Banana Split Float

On occasion I get to help in the kitchen, usually I'm in charge of all "tall jobs" and make a great sou-chef. My kitchen tasks consist of cutting chicken, peeling 4 million cloves of garlic, or getting that plate off the top shelf. Once and a while I have a culinary inspiration, and it almost never works out. I would say that 9 times out of 10 the smoke alarm goes off and on a good day we still have enough of an appetite to enjoy the take-out that became a necessity. One of the places in the kitchen that I'm not so bad is Mixology.

Amanda had purchased this bottle of banana liqueur to make bananas foster around Christmas time, but life got in the way so she never got around to it. So I had been staring at this bottle for a few weeks and the craving finally took over last night and I just had to use it! I rummaged around and came up with a little something. Banana Split - for grown ups! I found some of our favorite daiquiri mix and a ton of little toppings and sweet liqueurs. I grabbed our trusty blender and went to work. Each layer tastes delightful on its own but all together this drink combines well an taste like one of my favorite desserts!

2 1/2 cups of ice, divided
2 oz banana liqueur
1 tbs caramel sauce
4 oz strawberry daiquiri mix
1 oz Grey Goose Vodka
1 oz Godiva Chocolate Liqueur
4 small scoops of vanilla ice cream
2 oz Bailey's Irish Cream
maraschino cherries, for topping

1. First, blend 1 cup ice and banana liqueur until smooth. Then add caramel and blend again for 10-20 seconds

2. Pour into bottom of the glass and rinse blender.

3. Blend 1 cup ice, daiquiri mix, and vodka for about 30-45 seconds. Then add chocolate liqueur and blend again until incorporated.

4. Tilt glass and pour slowly while spinning glass. Rinse blender.

5. Blend 1/2 cup ice, ice cream and Irish cream. Blend until there are no chunks of ice left and mixture is creamy.

6. Pour slowly to float foam on top of liquids. Top with a maraschino cherries or two, throw in a straw, and you are all set to enjoy your dessert/drink!

Also featured on: What's Cooking Wednesday

Giant Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie

2011-04-07T08:41:00.012-04:00

Welcome to the Autism Awareness section of my blog post for the month of April in honor of my brother! I'm sure most people have heard of autism, but how many people really know what it is? Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder that affects people in every walk of life. It is classified by particular behaviors and difficulty in communications. Not every person with autism presents the same characteristics. People are categorized "on the spectrum" based on levels of functioning. But what's so surprising is how very many people are being diagnosed with autism, asperger's or other disorders on the PDD spectrum. According to a study done two years ago, one child in every 110 children is born with autism. Even more so affrected are boys with a 1 to 70 ratio. Where we live has one of the highest rates of autism in the country; 1 in 94 children born are affected. Those results are staggering when compared with other developmental delays. These reasons, plus many more are simply the beginning of why it's crucial to spread awareness. The more we know, the more we can accomplish.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program... I've been trying to think of a way to share Autism Awareness in my food this month and have come up with some good ideas and some not so good ideas. This simple recipe is merely a fun way to spread awareness with baked goods which feature the colors and symbols of Autism Awareness. Some people call this concoction a cookie pizza and others call it a cookie cake. I'm leaning toward pizza, but either sounds good, because it'll be gone so fast!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie "Cake/Pizza"
This cookie cake is simply a double batch of the peanut butter cookies I previously made here, but I will share the revised recipe.

1 stick butter (softened)
1/2 cup peanut butter ( I used smooth, but chunky would be great too)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar 1 egg
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (I used min kisses!)

Chocolate Ganache (for topping)
1 cup of heavy cream
1 1/2 cup chopped chocolate

Giant Cookie

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Cream butter, peanut butter, sugar, and brown sugar in a mixing bowl.

3. Add the egg and continue to beat until fluffy.

4. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

5. Slowly add dry mix to peanut butter mix while beating.

6. Stir in chocolate chips.

7. Cover a 16" pizza pan with foil or parchment and spread cookie dough with a lightly greased spatula. I even gave the foil a quick spray before filling the pan just to be sure there had no surprises later...

8. Bake on 350 for 18-23 minutes, until fully cooked through. Remove from oven and let cool.

Ganache

1. Take your chocolate bar and break it up into smaller pieces for easier melting. Spread out the pieces in a large bowl. You can use whatever chocolate you have on hand, but the better the chocolate, the better the results. I used a large milk chocolate bar I had hanging around Valentine's Day.

2. Heat the cream on medium-low. Watch it carefully. It will simmer for a few minutes and then as soon as it reaches a boil, immediately remove it from the heat and pour over the chocolate.

3. Stir the chocolate and cream together until smooth and fully incorporated.

4. Pour the ganache over the cookie and help spread it out to the edges with a spoon or spatula.

5. Then decorate as you desire. You can use candy, marshmallows, other types of melted chocolate or peanut butter, icing, nuts, or whatever toppings you want. I used mini M&Ms in the colors of the autism awareness ribbon. Then just cut a slice and eat!

For more information about Autism, please visit these sites:
Autism Society of America
Autism Speaks
Easter Seals

Remember to Support. Educate. Advocate. for Autism Awareness now and all through the year!
Source: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, previously blogged by me, originally from Stephanie Cooks

Also featured on: Full Plate Thurdays

Fruit Salad with Sweet Dressing

2011-04-05T06:58:00.019-04:00

April is an important month for me and my family, because April is Autism Awareness Month! For anyone who knows me, you know that I love my family tons! My little brother is very special to me. He's my buddy. And he's autistic.

Throughout the month of April, I hope to share, a little about my brother and about autism, along with many of my posts. As I'm sure many people know, the Autism Awareness ribbon is characterized by puzzle pieces and primary colors. Also, the color "blue" has become a symbol a Autism Awareness through the Autism Speaks insignia. I will be blogging about autism along with my usual recipes for this month. Thank you to everyone in their support of Autism Awareness and spreading the word!

This is a very simple fruit salad which I chose to feature today, because its colors are similar to that in the Autism Awareness Ribbon. I hope to feature some foods that highlight the color themes for Autism Awareness, as well as, some of my brother's favorite foods in the up coming weeks.

6 strawberries, sliced
4 oz blueberries
1/2 cantaloupe, diced
1/2 pineapple, cubed
1 bunch of green grapes
1 bunch of red grapes
4 tbsp honey
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp lime juice
2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp cinnamon

1. Rinse all of the fruit and pat dry with paper towels. Place all the fruit in a large bowl.

2. In a small bowl, add honey. Slowly, add in lemon and lime juice while stirring.

3. Stir in vanilla and cinnamon.

4. Drizzle the dressing over the fruit and lightly toss until well coated. Serve chilled.

What's Baking Round-up ~ Bake From Your Heritage

2011-04-01T06:54:00.032-04:00

I had the honor of hosting this month's What's Baking Challenge. While trying to choose a theme for the month of March, I thought about what I most frequently blog. I mostly cook and bake dishes that my mother and grandmothers did. So very much of my kitchen experience stems from my family. Environment and genetics both help shape a person to be who they are, and family, as well as heritage, are part of both. All the memories and fun in the kitchen, for me, are almost always shared with my mom. My family is a great part of who I am so I thought, what better challenge than to bake a dish that represents your family and your heritage. So for March, everyone was asked to Bake from their own Heritage. I hope everyone enjoyed sharing little bits of their own history through their recipes here!

Sicilian Cassata Cake

Melissa, from I Was Born To Cook, shared her Sicilian cake, spongy layers filled with cannoli cream

Ostaka

Ammie, from Adventures in my Kitchen, showed off her traditional Swedish cheesecake topped with lingonberry berry preserves

Joe Frogger Cookies

Catherine, from Pursuing Domestic Goddessness, shared crispy cookies from her New England heritage

Reuben Sandwiches

Jade, from The Mess Pot, boasted her Irish fare of glazed corned beef brisket

Sandbakkels

Carrie, from Carrie's Sweet Life, flaunts her Scandinavian confections, filled shortbread cookies

Streuselkuchen

Lindsey, from Our Share of the Harvest, shared a moist, German cake with a nut and sugar crumble topping

Traditional Tourtière

Jill, from JBean Cuisine, exhibts her love for French-Canadian foods with these cute and savory meat pies

Babovka

Heather, from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks, baked her chocolate and vanilla Slovak pound cake sprinkled with powdered sugar

Buttermilk Oatmeal Muffins

Yudith, from Blissfully Delicious, made her Indonesian-style muffins with chocolate chips

Irish Brown Bread

Cara, from The Boys Made Me Do It, shared a traditional and hearty Irish bread.

Anginettes

I made these cookies to celebrate my Italian heritage, a dense cookie with a lemon glaze

Be sure to check April's What's Baking Challenge-Spring Baking hosted by Leanne, from The Martin Family. You can use some light, fruity desserts or tap into the colors of sping! Thanks to everyone who participated! All of your entries look fantastic!

Anginettes

2011-03-29T19:29:00.007-04:00

To really know oneself, I feel it's important to know where you came from. Being Italian is as much a part of my past heritage as it is a part of my current lifestyle. Many of the foods I make are Italian because that's the food I grew up learning to cook. I'm proud of my heritage and hope to pass on our family traditions and recipes, along with our love of food, family, and values. It's crucial for younger generations to carry on these traditions and appreciate for culture. So for this month's What's Baking challenge, I choose to Bake from Your Heritage.

There are certain foods that are very always made by my family, because they are recipes passed own through generations. This is one of them. These cookies, anginettes, were made by my Great Aunt Matt long before I was born. They're present at every family party and get-together I can remember. Some relatives in our family have a particular dish that is "their' thing". This was Aunt Matt's cookie. My grandmother has a particular cookie that is hers too, however it's not baked so we'll save that for some other time. Enjoy this favorite Italian cookie, from my home to yours!

Anginettes (Italian Cookies with Lemon Glaze)

2 1/2 pounds flour
1 tbsp baking soda
5 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 tsp
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
6 eggs, beaten
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup crisco

1. In a large bow, mix together the dry ingredients; flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sugar, vanilla, eggs, and Crisco.

3. Alternately add dry ingredients and milk a little bit each time until batter is smooth and not sticky.

4. Roll dough into 1" balls and drop on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper about an inch apart.

5. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes. Place tray on bottom rack of oven then halfway through baking rotate to top rack and replace with a new filled cookie sheet.

6. Cookies are done when slightly golden brown. Set aside to cool while making lemon glaze.

*Yields about 7-8 dozen one inch round cookies*

Lemon Glaze

3 1/2 -4 lbs confectionery sugar
juice of 5-6 lemons
a few tbsp cold water
sprinkles/nonpareils

1. Mix together the sugar and lemon juice.

2. Add a few drops of cold water, little bits at a time, until the icing is thick an has no lumps.

3. Dip cookies upside down in glaze to coat the cookie tops and place on wax paper to dry.

4. Add sprinkles before the glaze hardens. Enjoy!!

Stay tuned for the full What's Baking Round-up in the next few days!

Bailey's Irish Cream

2011-03-22T06:48:00.004-04:00

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I wanted to make something Irish, especially since hubby is Irish and loves, well, all things edible. These two ideas collided and out came, Bailey's Irish Cream. Irish cream is great as a drink, but also a great addition to baking and cooking. Plus, it contains two of the best flavors, chocolate and coffee. Who doesn't love that? It almost tricks you into thinking it's a dessert in itself!

1 tsp instant espresso granules
1 1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp powdered sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream, divided
3/4 cup milk
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 Tbsp honey
1 1/2 cups Irish whiskey
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. In a small bowl, mix together the espresso, cocoa powder, cinnamon, powdered sugar, and 3 tbsp of heavy cream. Stir until dissolved and set aside.

2. Pour all the remaining ingredients into a large bowl including the cocoa espresso mixture.

3. Use an immersion blender to incorporate all ingredients together for 20-30 seconds until your mixture is smooth. If you do not have an immersion blender a traditional blender on pulse or puree will work as well.

4. Pour it into your favorite sealable containers. Let the drink sit overnight for all the flavors to blend together.

5. Be sure to give it a good shake before using and enjoy your homemade Irish cream for up to 2 months. Store in refrigerator.

Source: 6 Bittersweets

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