S'mores Pie 09/30/2011
 I hate when I have to go to a potluck and the people in charge tell me what to bring. I completely understand why they do this -- who wants to end up eating only brownies for dinner? -- but seriously! I am a baker. A baker, people! So when Melanie had her class potluck at school and I got assigned fruit or vegetables...well, you can imagine my disappointment. I decided I need to be a bad, bad girl, ignore the powers that be, and bring pie instead. Pie, you ask? The Fabulous Baker girl made a pie? I know what you're thinking. I still really don't like fruit pie. If I've said it once, I've said it a million times. Fruit is fruit. Chocolate is dessert. Therefore, when I found this recipe on another blog for Smores Pie, I knew I had to try it. It seemed like a perfect, authority-defying, addition to our potluck. Here are some comments I received about this pie: "I think I'm in love. If I could, I would run off and marry it!" "This pie means business!" (Not sure what this means, but it sounded good.) "This may just be my new favorite food." Want to know a little secret? All these comments came from my family. Because the pie never made it to the potluck. We took watermelon instead. So much for defying authority... S'mores Pie From Cookiesandcups.com adapted from Hershey’s WARNING: This pie is very, very rich. A small piece will suffice...for most of you. For some of you, you will go back for a second piece. That happened at our house. I'm not naming names, but, honey, you know who you are. 3/4 cup white sugar 1 cup all purpose flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 cup salted butter (1 stick) 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla 1 cup graham cracker crumbs 1 7oz container of Marshmallow Creme6 Regular sized Hershey Bars, broken into pieces (I think I used about 7 1/2) Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 9″ pie pan with baking spray. Beat butter and sugar together until combined. Add egg and vanilla. On low add flour, graham cracker crumbs and baking powder. Divide the dough in half. Press half the dough in the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pie pan. Spread Marshmallow Creme on top of the crust. Top that with the broken chocolate. Lay the remaining half of dough on a sheet of waxed paper. Cover with another piece and roll out to a 9-inch circle. Take off the top piece of waxed paper. Carefully flip the crust over on top of the pie. Peel of paper. Pinch top and bottom crust together to seal. Bake for at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until the crust is light brown and set. Add Comment 15 Minute Fudge 11/01/2010
 I love when I get requests! Okay...maybe this wasn't exactly a request but a friend of mine did ask if I had a good fudge recipe and I figured I might as well run with it. I am, surprisingly, not a huge fan of fudge. I know that is bizarre coming from me but it's true nonetheless. I like fudge but I just don't go crazy for it. It's not something I make regularly. My mom is the fudge maker in the family. She usually makes it for the holidays. Her favorite recipe is Fantasy Fudge which comes from the back of a jar of marshmallow cream. I didn't want to use this recipe because the marshmallow makes it really hard to stir. A couple of years ago, Ella had a cooking birthday party. It was a blast! My best party idea, ever! I asked everyone to send me a recipe and then I compiled them into a little cookbook to give our guests. One of the recipes we got, from one of Ella's good friends, was for fudge. I decided to give it a try. It is from Cooks' Illustrated and is pretty simple to make. I like it for a couple of reasons. First, it doesn't require any weird ingredients. Most of them I already had in my pantry. Although it does have a "secret" ingredient: baking soda. This apparently makes the fudge firmer and drier. Second, it wasn't overly sweet. I think that because it wasn't so sweet, it really highlighted the chocolate. If you make this, be sure to get the best quality chocolate you can get. Since the chocolate is so prominent you want to make sure you like the chocolate you use. One thing I didn't like about it is that it wasn't as creamy as I would have liked. I suspect that has more to do with me than the recipe, but I'm not sure. The recipe calls to mix together the chocolate and sweetened condensed milk before melting the chocolate but I wonder if it would be creamier if you started to melt the chocolate first. When I mixed it together, the chocolate didn't melt smoothly and wasn't all shiny like regular chocolate and at times it looked grainy. I just couldn't tell if it was melting properly. You definitely don't want grainy chocolate as it is a sure sign the chocolate is seizing up and will soon be inedible. Although, I think I might like Fantasy Fudge better (only because of it's creamier texture -- not necessarily because of the taste) I would definitely make this again. It was really easy and has a nice rich, chocolate flavor. Plus, I didn't have to go to the store for marshmallow cream. Next time I do want to try melting the chocolate a bit first to see if that makes a difference in the texture. All in all, I'd give this four stars out five. It really did taste good. I really liked the flavor and if you are someone who doesn't mind the less than creamy texture, you might even give five stars, Try it yourself and let me know what you think! 15-Minute Chocolate Walnut Fudge Note: I skipped the walnuts. My kids won't eat things with nuts. Normally, I like things nut-less (like chocolate chip cookies and brownies) but fudge is the one thing I prefer with nuts. I would definitely add them next time! 16 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped fin 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/8 tsp. salt 1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts Line 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, allowing extra foil to hang over edges of pan. Lightly coat with vegetable oil spray. Toss chocolates, baking soda and salt in medium heatproof bowl until baking soda is evenly distributed. Stir in condensed milk and vanilla. Set bowl over 4-qt. saucepan containing 2 cups simmering water (or double boiler). Stir with rubber spatula until chocolate is almost fully melted and a few small pieces remain, 2 to 4 minutes.(Make sure to remove fudge because if it stays in the double boiler too long, it's possible that the chocolate will separate producing a greasy fudge.) Remove bowl from the heat and continue to stir until the chocolate is fully melted and mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Stir in the walnuts. Transfer the fudge to the prepared pan and spread in an even layer with a spatula. Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours. Remove from the baking pan by lifting the foil extensions. Cut into squares. Fudge can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in a cool place up to 2 weeks or frozen up to 3 months. This fudge will change texture and become drier the longer it is stored. If freezing, do not cut the fudge into squares; thaw at room temp, then cut. Millionaire's Shortbread 10/13/2010
 I didn't mean to take the summer off -- but it turns out that's exactly what I did. I just jumped ship and swam out to sea. Actually, the truth of the matter is that I was busy. Very...very....very busy. I'm exhausted just thinking about it. As busy as it was, it was also very nice. We did a lot of fun things -- baseball games, swimming, vacation! Good times! But now the time has come to set my sights back on baking. I wanted to get back in the swing of things earlier but I really haven't made any recipes worth sharing. That is until now! And trust me, I am back in a BIG way!!! A couple of days ago, I realized that I was supposed to bring the snack for the board meeting (for which I have the privilege of being secretary) for Norah's preschool. I realized this the day of the meeting, of course. I figured I'd take something savory and something sweet. I scoured my pantry and came up with the savory. I scoured my recipes and came up with Millionaire's Shortbread. Surely these things are named, not because they are expensive to make, but because they are so rich and quite frankly they make you feel like a Queen (or King, as the case may be). They are incredibly easy to make and require no fancy ingredients. Just my kind of recipe...super simple and with a definite WOW factor! I have to say that my fellow board members were impressed just by looking at them (love that!). Everyone asked if I made them. I heard such comments as, "I wasn't going to have any, but since everyone says they are so good..." and "I am going to lick my plate." Really...what better compliment can a baker get? So if you want to feel like a millionaire and want some accolades to go along with it make these. Go on! I'll be here when you get back. Millionaire's Shortbread taken from The English Kitchen For the Shortbread: 9 ounces flour 3 ounces caster (superfine) sugar 6 ounces butter, cut into chunks For the Caramel: 4 ounces butter 4 ounces light brown sugar 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk For the Chocolate: 7 ounces good quality chocolate (dark, milk, white, or a mixture is up to you) Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 13 by 9 inch baking sheet (the kind with sides). Set aside. Weigh the flour, sugar and butter into a bowl. Cut the butter into the flour and sugar with your finger or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Knead the mixture until it forms a dough. Press the dough into the prepared pan. Smooth out evenly. Prick all over with a fork. Bake for 20 minutes, until firm to the touch and very lightly browned. Remove from the oven and cool completely. To make the caramel, place all the caramel ingredients into a saucepan. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved, stirring constantly. Bring to the boil, still stirring. Reduce the heat to low and cook very gently for about 5 minutes or until the mixture thickens. Do not stop stirring as the mixture will catch and burn if you don't keep it moving (I don't know if this is true -- but why chance it?). Remove from the heat and pour over the cooled shortbread. Allow to cool completely. To make the chocolate topping, break the chocolate into pieces and place into a heatproof bowl. Bring a small amount of water in a saucepan to a simmer. Set the bowl on the top of the pan. Don't let the bowl to touch the water. Melt completely, stirring occasionally. Pour over the cold caramel and leave to set. Cut into squares or bars to serve. Note: These bars do not have a lot of ingredients so the ingredients that you do use are very important. Use the best that you can get.  Tom Cruise may have had Renee Zellweger at hello, but chocolate is all you need to capture my heart. Add cookie and cheesecake to the mix and you might as well get a net to catch me as I swoon. I'm not sure where there bars originated. I saw them on several different blogs so I thought I'd throw mine in the cyber mix too. Why not? These are just too good not to share. Even though there are three parts to this recipe, they are easy to make. Give them a try and I promise you will be thanking me! Just a note: These are really rich, so a little goes a long way! Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars Crust: 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs 5 Tablespoons butter, melted 2/3 cup miniature chocolate chips Cookie Dough: 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips Cheesecake Filling: 10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 large egg, at room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9″-square baking pan. Line pan with parchment paper, leaving enough to extend over the sides. Butter the parchment paper. (I just sprayed my pan with no trouble.) To prepare the crust combine graham cracker crumbs and butter until crumbs are moistened. Stir in the mini-chocolate chips. Press crust mixture into bottom of pan and 1 inch up sides. I forgot to go up the sides and it was just fine. Bake for 6 minutes. Set pan on wire rack to cool. Next Prepare the cookie dough. Using an electric mixer, mix butter, brown sugar, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract at medium speed until smooth. Decrease mixer speed to low and add flour To prepare the filling, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar just until smooth. Add egg and vanilla extract, beating just until blended. Pour batter into baked crust. Drop cookie dough by teaspoonfuls over the top of the filling. Bake about 30 minutes, or until set. Transfer to wire rack. To decorate with drizzled chocolate, place chocolate in a sandwich bag on a microwave safe dish and microwave in 30 second intervals moving the chocolate around between. Using scissors, cut the very tip off the sandwich bag. The smaller your cut, the smalled the drizzle. I skipped this step...it didn't seem necessary. Okay, I was just being lazy. Using the edges of the parchment paper, remove bars from pan. Cut into bars and serve. A couple of things: 1. This recipe is easily doubled. 2. You can make the crust ahead of time. 3. You can make the cookie dough a head of time too. 4. I wouldn't recommend making the cheesecake part ahead of time because it would have to be refrigerated and you'll need it at room temperature to pour over the crust.  As the East coast dug themselves out of the snow, we here in the Midwest geared up for our own snowfall. While we certainly didn't endure the "storm of the century" we did get a snow day. As a former teacher, I think I am predisposed to like snow days. I think I am one of few parents who actually do. The fact is, I love snow. It is so clean and pure and lovely. I see it as a gift from God. It's his way of telling us to slow down, you're going too fast. Some of us take this to heart and hunker down but most of us, dig out our shovels or snow blowers and clear pathways on our sidewalks and driveways. We complain about the too slow snowplows and bad drivers. However, the sensible among us do what God intended. We play. We make snowballs for our dog to chase. We build snow people and snow angels. We make forts and slide down snow-covered slides into a pile of snow. We do this until our hands and faces and feet hurt and then we come inside to warm up. And that is exactly what we did yesterday -- my three girls and me. We bundled up in our warmest winter wear and we played. Not for long. Norah's boots wouldn't stay on and she kept taking off her mittens. Melanie fell, face first, in the snow. Still...we played and then we drank. Homemade hot chocolate and homemade marshmallows. Both of these recipes come from a new (new for me anyway) cookbook from Williams Sonoma called Family Meal. This is a gorgeous book with beautiful photographs and scrumptious recipes. Many of the recipes are for things you'd normal buy like ricotta cheese, yogurt, egg dye, and bacon. And all of it is family-friendly with lots of ways to get kids involved. There is a ton of information in here too -- a great read! It is broken down into categories such as dairy, eggs, fruit, chicken, and sugar, spice, and chocolate -- which is where you'll find the recipes for marshmallows and hot chocolate. We made the marshmallows first. Although the recipe calls for them to sit over night before cutting, we skipped that part and had not trouble with them at all. The recipe was pretty much the same as others I've tried. The only difference is that this one actually worked for me. The marshmallows came out soft and pillowy and delicious. When they were in the hot chocolate they were downright ethereal. They were creamy and airy and just melted in your mouth almost like whipped cream but with a little more substance. They are a bit more sophisticated than their store-bought equivalents so they'll please the adult palate but sweet and yummy enough for the kid in all of us. Coupled with the fabulous hot chocolate -- it's a treat not to be missed. Snow day or not! Homemade Marshmallows From William-Sonoma Family Meals 1/4 cup cornstarch 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar 1/2 cup water 1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 1/2 cup water 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 tablespoon light corn syrup 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract in a small bowl, sift together the cornstarch and confectioners' sugar. Line a 9 x 13 pan with aluminum foil and then lightly oil the foil. Sift 1/4 cup of the cornstarch-sugar mixture into the pan. Leave any excess in the bottom. Pour the water into the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water, whisk together and let stand for 5 minutes to soften. Whisk in the salt and cream of tartar. Fit the mixer with the whisk attachment and beat on high until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Put 1/2 cup water into a saucepan. Stir in the granulated sugar and the corn syrup. Place over medium-high heat, bring to a boil, and cook without stirring until it turns pale tan, about 250 degrees (firm ball stage). Turn the mixer on medium speed and drizzle the hot sugar syrup into the gelatin mixture, aiming between the beater and the side of the bowl. Be very careful! Increase the speed to high and whip the mixture until it is white and thick, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat until the mixture cools, about 20 minutes. Pour into the prepared pan. Dip a palette knife in cold water and smooth the surface. Let a skin form on the surface, about an hour. Dust with 1/4 cup of the cornstarch-sugar mixture. Let rest overnight at cool room temperature. (We just let it sit for an hour or so and it was fine.) Line a pan with parchment paper and with the cornstarch-sugar mixture. Dip cookie cutters into the mixture and cut out marshmallows (or just use a knife). Layer the marshmallows in the pan, dusting with more cornstarch-sugar. Cover tightly and store at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Note: Although I'm sure you all are smart enough for me to skip this part, I feel the need to add that working with boiling sugar syrup can be dangerous. Please do not allow kids to pour the sugar into the mixer. This is an adult only step. The rest is pretty kid friendly. My girls particularly liked how the gelatin changed after soaking in the water and cutting out the marshmallows. We used a small, pretty heart. Hot Chocolate From William-Sonoma Family Meals 4 cups whole milk 1/2 cup heavy cream 6 ounces bittersweet or milk chocolate (or a mixture -- we used mostly milk because that 's what I had) 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2-4 tablespoons sugar Marshmallows Pour the milk and cream into a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Place over medium-high heat and heat to just below boiling. Whisk in the chocolate, vanilla and cinnamon. Continue to whisk until milk is frothy and the chocolate is melted. Whisk in sugar to taste. Divide among warmed mugs and top each with marshmallows. Serve right away.  Brownies...What Better Way to Start 11/15/2009
 I am so excited to finally be in my new home! To celebrate I have chosen five of my favorite baking recipes and two I hope become favorites to share this week. I can't think of a better way to start off than with chocolate! I don't think it is a secret that I like simple recipes. I don't think that good food needs to be fussy or difficult. I used to stay away from brownie recipes because they all seemed to require melting chocolate. Since then I have developed a love of standing at a warm stove, slightly flushed, stirring the slowing melting pools of shiny chocolate as its deep aroma wafts up. It's a very sensual experience that I didn't appreciate at the time so I was very happy to find this recipe from King Arthur's Flour. Not only are these moist chocolatey brownies outstanding, there is no melting required and they are simple to make. I have altered the preparation somewhat, but the ingredients are all the same. I once made these for a friend who had just had a baby. She said they were "to-die-for". I couldn't agree more. When I die just bury me with a batch of these and I'll be happy. The Best Brownies Ever (Seriously) 2 sticks unsalted butter 2 1/4 cups sugar (I like baker's sugar) 11/4 cups dutch-processed cocoa (I use regular cocoa most of the time) 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 tablespoon vanilla 4 eggs 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups chocolate chips Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch pan. In a large microwavable bowl, melt the butter. Once melted, stir in the sugar and put back into the microwave and heat for about one minute, until the sugar has dissolved a bit. Do not allow to boil. Mix together the cocoa, salt, and baking powder. Stir into the butter mixture. Mix together the vanilla and eggs. Stir into the butter-cocoa mixture. Stir in the flour and then fold in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 28-30 minutes. These brownies are very moist and it can sometimes be difficult to tell whether or not they are done. Watch them carefully so they don't over bake. |
