tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51898224122731068882024-02-08T21:10:10.066-05:00Ice Cream Before DinnerStephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.comBlogger343125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189822412273106888.post-8821363606067059232014-07-03T15:03:00.001-04:002014-07-03T15:03:48.149-04:00Buttermilk Cornbread<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/ca6e6de5-5da6-498d-97b3-3c105abc45f7_zps73887782.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/ca6e6de5-5da6-498d-97b3-3c105abc45f7_zps73887782.jpg" height="288" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Recently, I had my sister and her boyfriend visiting from New York. It was so much fun having them in town, I didn't want them to leave! On their last night with us, we had an easy night in with a delicious homemade dinner and a competitive game of scrabble. We prepared a Chicken and Spicy Sausage Paella with Mushrooms, and whipped up some Buttermilk Cornbread to go with it. Both dishes were delicious, in fact we have made the paella a regular dish in our home. But the Cornbread… ooh the cornbread. It reminded me of the corn muffins I used to eat as a kid (I have spoken of my childhood love for <a href="http://www.entenmanns.com/op-prod.cfm/prodId/720300002/catId/8#.U7WkpBZy9uY" target="_blank">mass-produced corn muffins</a> on the blog before - <a href="http://www.icecreambeforedinner.com/2012/10/honey-corn-muffins.html" target="_blank">here</a>). In fact, the next morning I couldn't resist toasting up some of the leftovers with butter for breakfast. These were a huge improvement from the Entenmann's corn muffins I ate growing up. </span></div>
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Buttermilk_Cornbread_zps23515c47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Buttermilk_Cornbread_zps23515c47.jpg" height="253" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>Buttermilk Cornbread</u></b>, slightly adapted from <a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/grandmothers-buttermilk-cornbread/">Allrecipes.com</a></span><br />
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<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2/3 cup granulated sugar</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 eggs, room temperature</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 cup buttermilk (I used low fat)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/2 teaspoon baking soda</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 cup cornmeal</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 cup all purpose flour</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt</span></li>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Preheat to 375<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">° F. Line an 8 inch square pan with <a href="http://www.thesmartbaker.com/8in-cake-pan-pre-cut-parchment-square-24-pack/">Perfect Parchment</a>. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a large skillet, melt the butter. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat just until combined. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a measuring cup (I used the same cup I measured the buttermilk in to save from washing more dishes), combine buttermilk with baking soda. Add to butter-sugar mixture and stir to combine. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">In another small bowl, whisk </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">cornmeal, flour, and salt to combine. Stir into buttermilk mixture until few lumps remain. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 - 40 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Allow to cool most of the way before removing from the pan.</span></span></div>
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189822412273106888.post-73119348176386652822014-03-28T15:08:00.000-04:002014-03-28T15:09:56.794-04:00Nutella-Filled Chocolate-Nutella Cupcakes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/NutellaCupcakes1_zpsd6a9c0dc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/NutellaCupcakes1_zpsd6a9c0dc.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Recently, we welcomed another niece into the family. For the then mom-to-be's baby shower, we made cupcakes we knew the mommy would love: Nutella Cupcakes! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In this recipe, Nutella is mixed right into the batter. The cake itself baked up wonderfully - light, fluffy and airy. But I wanted to make sure that the nutella flavor was unmistakable and over the top, so I hollowed out the center of each cupcake and filled it with straight up nutella. The chocolate-nutella cupcakes with the nutella center contrasted nicely with the vanilla buttercream frosting. For a bit of decoration and added chocolate decadence, each cupcake was topped with a chocolate peanut butter heart.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I will add more pictures soon so you can see the cupcakes in more detail. For now, here is a sneak peek at how the cupcakes were all dolled up for this ultra girly, adorably pink baby shower. What do you think of the personalized cupcake wrappers? We made these to say "Welcome Mila" - our new niece's name. These were our prototypes; these are not currently available for sale yet. The baby shower guests loved them! They wore them as tiaras when they were done with their cupcakes. :) </span><br />
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/NutellaCupcakes2_zps95b5b78b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/NutellaCupcakes2_zps95b5b78b.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The simple addition of ribbon to the edges of a cupcake tower make for such an elegant display!</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Nutella-Filled Chocolate-Nutella Cupcakes</b> adapted from <a href="http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/nutella-cupcakes/" target="_blank">Gimme Some Oven</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Ingredients</u>:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 1/2 cups granulated sugar</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 eggs, room temperature</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 tsp vanilla extract</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 1/2 cups all purpose flour</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/2 cup hershey's special dark cocoa powder</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 tsp baking soda</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/4 tsp fine sea salt</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/2 cup buttermilk</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/2 cup lukewarm coffee</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/4 cup nutella</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Additional nutella for filling (optional)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Preheat to 375 and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners (around 24). In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the nutella. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk buttermilk and coffee to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter mixture, alternating with buttermilk mixture. Mix just until combined. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool the rest of the way.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once cupcakes are entirely cooled, using a sharp paring knife to cut a circle in the top of the cupcake. (I do this by inserting the knife straight up and down in the cupcake center, and rotating the cupcake with my other hand. The core will pop right out with a spoon… these are also a perfectly popable snack! :). Scoop about 1/2 cup of nutella into a piping bag and fill the cupcakes with the nutella.</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My favorite vanilla buttercream frosting recipe</span></b><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Ingredients</u>:</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4 cups confectioner's sugar</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 tsp vanilla extract</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">pinch of fine sea salt</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/4 cup milk or heavy cream (optional)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Place butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and turn the mixer on low. Slowly add the confectioner's sugar. When all the sugar is in, add the other ingredients: vanilla, salt, and if desired, the milk/heavy cream (this makes it a little creamier, but also slightly less stiff for piping. It tastes great both ways).</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let mix on medium/high for 5 minutes. Pipe onto completely cooled cupcakes with a piping bag.</span><br />
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189822412273106888.post-43842276047647603402014-02-25T18:55:00.001-05:002014-02-25T18:55:25.426-05:00Biscoff Blossom Cookies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Biscoff_Thumbprint_Cookies_zps37e6f37a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Biscoff_Thumbprint_Cookies_zps37e6f37a.jpg" /></a></div>
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On our first business trip for The Smart Baker, we flew to California to visit a new distributor's facilities. It was also my first time ever in California. It was a trip full of firsts: first visit to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, driving through the mountains in California, going to Crumbs (actually, we happened upon the grand opening of the new LA location of Crumbs!), walking the Santa Monica pier and Venice Beach, and so much more. While the trip was memorable for being the first Smart Baker business trip and our first trip to California together, it was always very memorable because it marks the occasion of my first BISCOFF COOKIE. Flying home, they handed us each this little individually wrapped cookie … and I fell in love. </div>
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If you love Biscoff like me, you're sure to enjoy these cookies. They are soft baked sugar cookies with 3/4 cup of biscoff spread mixed right into the dough. I topped some of the cookies with a <a href="http://www.wilburbuds.com/docs/products/Wilbur_Product/mixedbuds1lb.html" target="_blank">Wilbur Chocolate Bud</a>, and others, I left without. Both were completely wonderful, but I may have loved the ones without chocolate a little bit more. </div>
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<b>Biscoff Blossoms</b>, adapted from <a href="http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/biscoff-blossoms-kiss-cookies/" target="_blank">Gimme Some Oven</a></div>
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<u>Ingredients:</u></div>
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1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp</div>
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3/4 cup Biscoff spread</div>
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1/3 cup brown sugar</div>
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1/3 cup sugar</div>
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1 large egg, room temp</div>
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1 tsp vanilla extract</div>
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2 cups flour</div>
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1 tsp Baking soda</div>
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1/2 tsp sea salt</div>
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Wilbur chocolate buds (or Hershey Kisses) optional</div>
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About 2/3 cups turbinado sugar for coating</div>
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Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a baking pan with <a href="http://www.thesmartbaker.com/categories/pre-cut-parchment/" target="_blank">parchment paper</a>. </div>
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In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter, biscoff, and both sugars. Beat on medium-high until light and creamy (about 3-4 minutes). </div>
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Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined. </div>
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In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture into the butter mixture and beat until just combined.</div>
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Roll dough to approximately 1 tablespoon sized balls. Roll each ball in turbinado sugar and place on the parchment lined sheet approximately 2 inches apart.</div>
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Bake until the cookies are just beginning to crack on the surface (around 10 minutes). If topping with chocolate buds, gently press one into the center of each cookie immediately after removing from the oven. After 5 minutes, remove to cool completely on a wire rack. </div>
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<b>Also, if you happen to be reading this on the day it was posted (February 25, 2014) please be sure to tune in to CNBC tonight at 9pm eastern time to see our episode of Shark Tank! </b></div>
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/1658451_701895789884223_74831848_o_zpsc56fb3a3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/1658451_701895789884223_74831848_o_zpsc56fb3a3.png" height="185" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189822412273106888.post-57218987858299977862013-12-18T22:09:00.000-05:002013-12-18T22:09:01.981-05:00Whole Wheat Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cinnamon Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/GingerbreadCupcakes_sm_zpsf034a706.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/GingerbreadCupcakes_sm_zpsf034a706.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With the holidays right around the corner, this is a great recipe to have in your back pocket. Recently, I went to a little get-together and needed a quick and easy holiday treat. I had a box of <a href="http://www.hodgsonmillstore.com/en/mixes/whole-wheat-gingerbread-mix-71518-00005-001_group" target="_blank">Whole Wheat Gingerbread mix</a> from Hodgson Mill sitting in the pantry. I'm generally kind of wary about any sort of baking mix, due to the chemicals and other weird things in the ingredients list. Much to my surprise, when I looked at the ingredients list on the box of this Gingerbread mix, I saw only ingredients that I could easily pronounce… Whole grain whole wheat flour, molasses, brown sugar, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, salt and cloves. Knowing everything in this mix was a normal baking ingredient I typically stock in my own pantry, I found <a href="http://www.hodgsonmill.com/OurKitchen/RecipeList/tabid/540/i/90/Default.aspx" target="_blank">this recipe for Whole Wheat Gingerbread Cupcakes</a> on Hodgson Mill's website and set to work with no hesitation. These have a wonderful texture, not something you'd expect from a whole wheat recipe. And the little bit of cocoa added to the batter, along with the cinnamon brown sugar buttercream really make these something special. </span></div>
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/GingerbreadCupcake_zps52237cbe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/GingerbreadCupcake_zps52237cbe.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>Whole Wheat Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cinnamon Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>For the cupcakes (makes 15 cupcakes)</u></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ingredients:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 15oz box Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Gingerbread Mix</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 tsp cocoa powder</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 tsp baking powder</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 tsp ground cinnamon</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/4 cup light brown sugar</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3 large eggs, room temperature</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3/4 cup water, room temperature</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 26px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a medium bowl, whisk together the gingerbread mix, baking powder, cocoa powder and brown sugar, and set aside. </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 26px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and eggs. </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 26px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Using a large spoon, stir the dry ingredients into the wet in three additions alternating with the water, beginning and ending with the dry mixture and stirring until it’s incorporated and the batter is smooth. </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 26px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fill a paper lined muffin tin ½ to 2/3 full with batter. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 26px;">Bake cupcakes in a 350</span><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">˚</span><span style="line-height: 26px;">F oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Immediately remove the cupcakes from the pan and cool on a wire rack. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>For the frosting</u></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ingredients:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (1 1/2 sticks) </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/3 cup light brown sugar</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">pinch of fine sea salt</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/8 tsp vanilla extract</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/2 tsp ground cinnamon</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3 cups powdered sugar</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/8 - 1/4 cup milk</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 26px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add brown sugar, salt, vanilla and cinnamon beating until well incorporated. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time beating well after each addition. One tablespoon at a time, add the milk and beat on high speed. Add milk until the desired consistency is reached. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.</span></span></div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189822412273106888.post-73263403469489834032013-12-07T08:00:00.001-05:002013-12-07T08:00:20.239-05:00Hodgson Mill GIVEAWAY!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/PumpkinMuffins3_400_zps1e745704.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/PumpkinMuffins3_400_zps1e745704.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.icecreambeforedinner.com/2013/12/have-grain-holiday-pumpkin-crumb.html" target="_blank">for the Whole Wheat Pumpkin Crumb Muffin with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling and Salted Caramel sauce recipe, click here.</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/656_10152858484040696_1432982716_n_zps1e3e3910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/656_10152858484040696_1432982716_n_zps1e3e3910.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Those <a href="http://www.icecreambeforedinner.com/2013/12/have-grain-holiday-pumpkin-crumb.html" target="_blank">Whole Wheat Pumpkin Crumb</a> muffins with from my last post were the perfect fall or winter breakfast (or snack… at any time of the day). That was one of those recipes when I was really sad when they were gone. I think I'll be making them again soon. I have so many other plans for the <a href="http://www.hodgsonmill.com/" target="_blank">Hodgson Mill</a> flours sitting in my pantry, too!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Want to try baking with Hodgson Mill's flours for yourself? The nice people are Hodgson Mill are nice enough to offer a Prize-Pack giveaway for one lucky Ice Cream Before Dinner reader! One lucky winner will receive a<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"> $25 value of assorted Hodgson Mill products, your choice of </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;">c</span><span style="line-height: 14px;">hoice of gluten free or whole wheat products.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 14px;">Also, don't forget! </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 13px;">Hodgson Will is also doing a </span><a href="http://bit.ly/25DaysOf" style="background-color: white; line-height: 13px;" target="_blank">“25 Days of GRAIN Holiday” Sweepstakes</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 13px;"> - One winner will be selected to win every day for 25 days – winner's choice of $25 worth of gluten free products or an assortment of whole wheat baking mixes and flours! Plus, they're offering a </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;">$1 off coupon, good for any 5LB bag flour or cornmeal (</span><a href="http://bit.ly/GrainSavings" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/GrainSavings</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;">)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/f476b11/" id="rc-f476b11" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script></span>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189822412273106888.post-33459804041688112242013-12-05T22:11:00.000-05:002013-12-06T06:32:43.520-05:00Have a GRAIN Holiday: Pumpkin Crumb Muffins with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling and Salted Caramel Sauce<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How many times have your grand baking plans ended in disaster? For me, it has been quite a few. This Thanksgiving was no exception, except thankfully this time I was able to turn it around into a total baking win - and I found a new favorite muffin recipe in the process. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I had very high hopes for Thanksgiving dessert. I was going to make crepes for the first time. We prepared all of the fixings (the filling, the sauce) ahead of time besides the crepe batter - we left that to the last minute so that the crepes would be fresh when it was time to eat… It turns out crepes are not as easy to make as all those Parisian crepe makers make it look. After many attempts, we finally got some that weren't so bad-looking, but they were hardly the perfect looking pastry I had envisioned. While it tasted pretty good, it just didn't live up to my expectations. I think I'll leave the crepe making up to the experts.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The morning after, I found myself awake early... with a muffin craving... and lots of extra ingredients left over from the failed crepe making experiment. Armed with a variety of premium flours from <a href="http://www.hodgsonmill.com/" target="_blank">Hodgson Mill</a>, I set to work. The end result was an absolutely perfect Morning-After-a-Holiday muffin (or any other day muffin, for that matter). These moist, <b>Whole wheat Pumpkin Muffins</b> have a <b>brown sugar crumb</b> on top, and a <b>Cinnamon Cream Cheese filling</b>. <b>The Salted Caramel drizzle</b> is an absolute MUST and takes these muffins to the next level of awesome. I enjoyed these so much, I think I'll be making them on the day after Christmas, too. You would never guess there are whole wheat! I really think the high quality flour used made a big difference here. The awesome people of Hodgson Mill are giving out $1 off coupons good on any 5 lb bag of Hodgson Mill flour or cornmeal, <a href="http://bit.ly/GrainSavings" target="_blank">click here</a>. Plus, they are doing a <a href="http://bit.ly/25DaysOf" target="_blank">25 Days of GRAIN holiday sweepstakes</a>. <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 13px;">One winner will be selected to win every day for 25 days – winner's choice of $25 worth of gluten free products or an assortment of whole wheat baking mixes and flours.</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://i1372.photobucket.com/albums/ag352/srensing1109/PumpkinMuffins3_400_zps5ab95182.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://i1372.photobucket.com/albums/ag352/srensing1109/PumpkinMuffins3_400_zps5ab95182.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://i1372.photobucket.com/albums/ag352/srensing1109/PumpkinMuffins5_400_zps65e6ad79.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://i1372.photobucket.com/albums/ag352/srensing1109/PumpkinMuffins5_400_zps65e6ad79.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pumpkin Crumb Muffins with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling and Salted Caramel Sauce,</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">makes 12 muffins</span></div>
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<u><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ingredients for the muffin: </span></u></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 1/2 cups White Whole Wheat Hodgson Mill flour</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 tsp cinnamon</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/4 tsp nutmeg</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/2 tsp baking soda</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/2 tsp fine sea salt</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 large eggs, room temperature</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 cup granulated sugar</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">14 oz pure pumpkin (aka pureed pumpkin, canned pumpkin)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2/3 cup canola oil</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract</span></div>
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<u><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ingredients for the Crumb topping: </span></u></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/2 cup White Whole Wheat Hodgson Mill flour</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/3 cup light brown sugar</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/2 tsp cinnamon</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled</span></div>
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<u><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ingredients for the Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling:</span></u></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4 ounces cream cheese, softened</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 1/2 tsp cinnamon</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Directions</u>:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a muffin tin with 12 liners and set aside.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Prepare the filling: Using a hand mixer, combine the softened cream cheese and the cinnamon and sugar. When they are fully incorporated, add in the vanilla. Mix to combine. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag and refrigerate.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Prepare the crumb topping: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter with a fork or whisk. It should form small crumbs. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Prepare the muffin batter: In a large bowl, whisk to combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Fold in the wet ingredients until combined.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fill the wells of the cupcake tin with the batter, about 2/3 full. Pipe a dollop of cinnamon cream cheese filling onto the top of the batter. Then, sprinkle each muffin with crumb topping.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Bake for about 18 - 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the batter (not the cream cheese) does out clean with only small crumbs. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan before removing to a cooling rack.</span></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Salted Caramel Sauce</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Ingredients</u>:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/2 cup salted butter</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/2 cup heavy cream</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 cup granulated sugar</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 1/4 cup milk</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt + additional for topping</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Directions</u>:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter together with the heavy cream. Remove from the heat and set aside. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Spread sugar into a thin, even layer at the bottom of a large pot. Turn the heat to medium-low and allow the sugar heat up for 8 minutes, no stirring. Let the sugar continue to heat up for the next 8 minutes. Towards the end of this time, it should begin to liquify. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When it begins to appear light brown and clear in spots, begin to fold the melted sugar on top of the unmelted sugar with a spatula. Continue to fold until the entire thing has melted and it turns golden brown - This happens very quickly, so keep a close eye on it. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When it turns golden brown, remove it from the heat and quickly stir in half of the cream-butter mixture - Stirring continuously the entire time. Be careful to avoid bubbles and splashes from burning you. Don't be scared if it begins to harden and clump. If this happens, return the pot to medium-low heat and stir constantly until it has all melted. Be patient! If you want a thicker caramel, keep on the heat, stirring constantly for another 10 minutes. Keep in mind, it will thicken as it cools. As the last step, add in the sea salt and stir to incorporate.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Drizzle on top of the pumpkin muffins immediately before serving. The caramel sauce can be stored in the refrigerator, and heated in the microwave prior to drizzling. Serving suggestion: Sprinkle a small amount of sea salt on top of caramel drizzle before serving.</span></div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189822412273106888.post-58325280090946347002013-11-17T08:22:00.004-05:002013-11-17T08:22:55.512-05:00Third Annual “Have a GRAIN Holiday” recipe contest from Hodgson Mill<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For three years running, Hodgson Mill has hosted a "Have a Grain Holiday" recipe contest. 50 bloggers create delicious seasonal baked goods using their high quality flours. My entry into this contest two years ago was <a href="http://www.icecreambeforedinner.com/2011/12/gingerbread-cake-bites-with-lemon.html" target="_blank">Gingerbread Cake Bites with Lemon Frosting</a>. The result was adorable, bite-sized, pretty delicious, and perfect for holiday parties. Plus, knowing that their flours, "<span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">have nutritious whole grains still ground between millstones, just as they did, oh, 6000 years ago," I felt pretty good about serving it, too. </span><span style="line-height: 24px;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 24px;">I love the flavors of holiday baking, so I'm already starting to brainstorm ideas for this year's contest… more to come in the next few weeks! </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">To celebrate this contest, Hodgson Mill has a coupon good for $1 off any 5LB bag of Hodgson Mill flour or cornmeal - get yours here: </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><a href="http://bit.ly/GrainSavings" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/<wbr></wbr>GrainSavings</a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> It gets better… they're also going to host a special sweepstakes launching on 12/1 – with a chance to win a prize every day for 25 days! I'll share this link with you in the next few weeks, too. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">Furthermore, one lucky reader of IceCreamBeforeDinner.com will receive a great selection of assorted </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><a href="http://www.hodgsonmill.com/" target="_blank">Hodgson Mill</a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> – a $25 value - winner's choice of gluten free products or a selection of Whole Wheat items (US residents only).</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Woo, holiday baking! Have you starting testing out new holiday recipes yet?</span></span>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189822412273106888.post-5104617098421407152013-08-06T12:48:00.000-04:002013-08-06T12:48:20.035-04:00Classic Lemon Bars<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheX7dHOaGvsKKfvqUW8VHgmtwJQLzoNMcBj8nVxEbDwcv10KjVBchKQWXAdi2tdBKeeK-hx8LKXrZx9dLriJJxA48DciIN4GTM9SbO0AHrELOt8ILp1I9sknbH0JzOt5PHtC8Hqz2dtDQ/s1600/Lemon_Bars1.jpg" /></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Summer is winding down here in Central Florida. Even though it is only early August and we still have quite a few months of hot summer weather left, school is about to start back up so it seems that time spent sitting by the poolside is pretty much at an end. ...But one more tart, citrusy summer recipe couldn't hurt, though, right? We made these Classic Lemon Bars recently and they have a wonderfully tart, tangy taste that just screams of summer. These were delicious as is, but were even more amazing when served with freshly prepared whipped cream. For my favorite vanilla whipped cream recipe, scroll down to the end of this post. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzch13QNiZkiYlWwOQaaK-6NHe2hhp-L3ldDbHBWqW9n_s1PBvzqaGmESAO8KnulYo6h1EUUnUCimzzzv5-Qpe2lSrIUkC6XZoQH5VEpxPpkJr-oULM2rVlQA2ouR03nXqhzPDE8qaqM/s1600/Lemon_Bars2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzch13QNiZkiYlWwOQaaK-6NHe2hhp-L3ldDbHBWqW9n_s1PBvzqaGmESAO8KnulYo6h1EUUnUCimzzzv5-Qpe2lSrIUkC6XZoQH5VEpxPpkJr-oULM2rVlQA2ouR03nXqhzPDE8qaqM/s400/Lemon_Bars2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>Classic Lemon Bars</u></b>, adapted from <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/classic-lemon-bars-recipe/index.html" target="_blank">Food Network</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Ingredients for the crust</u>:</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Oil for greasing the pan</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 1/2 stucks unsalted butter, diced</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 cups all purpose flour</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/4 cup packed light brown sugar</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, plus more for garnishing</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Ingredients for the filling</u>:</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4 large eggs plus 2 egg yolks, room temperature</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 cups granulated sugar</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/2 cup all purpose flour, sifted</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 teaspoon grated lemon zest</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 6 - 8 lemons)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To make the crust:</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 x 13 pan with oil and line with <a href="http://www.thesmartbaker.com/categories/pre-cut-parchment/" target="_blank">parchment</a>, leaving an overhang on the 2 long sides. Lightly grease the parchment with oil. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a food processor, pulse butter, flour, both sugars and salt until the dough comes together, about 1 minute. Press evenly into the pan and up the sides about 1/2 inch making sure there are no cracks. Bake until lightly golden, about 20 - 25 minutes.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To make the filling:</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. Whisk eggs, yolks, sugar, and flour in a bowl until smooth. Whisk in lemon zest and guide. Remove the crust from the oven and reduce oven temperature to 300 F. Pour filling over the warm crust and put back in the oven. Bake until just set, about 30 - 35 minutes. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Allow the bars to cool in the pan on a rack, then refrigerate until firm for at least 2 hours. Using a knife or spatula, trace around the outside of the bars to release them from the sides of the pan. Lift the bars out of the pan with parchment and slice. If desired, dust with confectioner's sugar prior to serving. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px; text-align: justify;"><u>Vanilla Whipped Cream</u></b><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px; text-align: justify;">:</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px; text-align: justify;" /><u style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px; text-align: justify;">Ingredients</u><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px; text-align: justify;">:</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px; text-align: justify;">1 cup cold heavy whipping cream</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px; text-align: justify;">2 tsp mexican vanilla</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px; text-align: justify;">1/8 C granulated sugar + additional, if desired</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px; text-align: justify;" /><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px; text-align: justify;">Beat all ingredients together, on high, until mixture reaches light and fluffy consistency. Add more sugar if desired to reach desired sweetness.</span></span>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189822412273106888.post-23186513677204246072013-06-22T10:03:00.000-04:002013-06-23T16:38:50.198-04:00Easy Fourth of July Cupcake Tower<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/4thCupcakerTower_zpsde83e8e9.jpg" imageanchor="1"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="210" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/4thCupcakerTower_zpsde83e8e9.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sometimes (ok, the majority of the time) you want to make a big statement with your dessert display, without spending hours and hours in the kitchen. When you're having a party, you just don't have the time to painstakingly make teeny tiny fondant shapes to go on 60 cupcakes. You've got other things to do like clean the house, put up decorations, make the food, set up chairs, etc. This <b>Easy Fourth of July </b><b><a href="http://www.thesmartbaker.com/categories/Cupcake-Treat-Towers/">cupcake tower</a> </b>looks impressive without taking a long time or putting in lots of careful effort to make it look that way. </span><br />
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Favorite7_zps27a0d8fc.jpg"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Favorite7_zps27a0d8fc.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Favorite2_zpse1813c5a.jpg"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Favorite2_zpse1813c5a.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<i><u><b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Things you will need: </span></b></u></i><br />
<i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(I left out amounts of everything so you can adapt to your own party's size)</span></i><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Your favorite cupcake batter</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Your favorite frosting </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Red & white striped liners</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Card stock that can go in the printer</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.thesmartbaker.com/content/Blog/JulyFourthDoily.jpg" target="_blank">Blue star pattern circle printables</a></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Red, White, and Blue striped ribbon</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Glue dots (or other method for attaching ribbon to the cupcake tower) </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">fresh blackberries, blueberries and red raspberries, rinsed and dried <i>(for about 65 - 70 cupcakes, I used 1 quart of each type of berry)</i></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">small fourth of july themed pinwheels</span></li>
</ul>
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<ol>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">First, we baked up simple vanilla cupcakes in red and white striped liners that we picked up at the craft store. We made about 64 cupcakes. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While those were baking, we printed out blue star pattern circles on card stock and punched them out into cute little doily shapes with a paper punch (similar to <a href="http://www.joann.com/paper-shapers-x-large-nesting-punch-circle-scallop-3-364574-square-2-nesting-papr-shaprxl/xprd623285/">this one</a>) though you could easily just cut them into squares or circles with regular scissors. If you want to decorate your tower like we did, you'll need half as many doilies as you have cupcakes. We alternated: 1 cupcake with a <a href="http://www.thesmartbaker.com/content/Blog/JulyFourthDoily.jpg" target="_blank">blue star doily</a>, 1 cupcake with a pinwheel, etc. </span></li>
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/doilies_zps4a8dc128.jpg"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/doilies_zps4a8dc128.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Use glue dots to attach the red, white and blue striped ribbon to the edge of each tier of the <a href="http://www.thesmartbaker.com/categories/Cupcake-Treat-Towers/">tower</a>. </span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Steps 1 - 3 can all be done in advance! Doing these 1 - 2 days before your event is fine!</span></li>
</ul>
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Ribbon_zpsbcfe1d5f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Ribbon_zpsbcfe1d5f.jpg" width="426" /></span></a></div>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Frost the cooled cupcakes</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Decorate the cupcakes with the berries. I used 3 blueberries, 1 blackberry, 1 red raspberry on each cupcake. Gently press into the frosting.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Place all cupcakes on your <a href="http://www.thesmartbaker.com/categories/Cupcake-Treat-Towers/">The Smart Baker Cupcake Tower. </a></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Alternate decoration types on the cupcakes: 1 cupcake gets a pinwheel, the next one gets a blue star doily, next one gets a pinwheel, the following gets a doily, etc.</span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Voila! You're done! That's it! This was quick and easy to do. If you use a box cake mix, or buy plain, frosted cupcakes from the grocery this would be even quicker. Everyone will think you spent hours making your impressive Fourth of July dessert display!</span></div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189822412273106888.post-63076118763755830162013-06-21T23:55:00.000-04:002013-06-21T23:55:03.306-04:00Cracker Jack Snacks and a GIVEAWAY<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Baseball was a big part of my family growing up. Of course, we'd often go to Shea Stadium and watch the Mets play (though if I remember correctly, I was pretty much only interested in the soft serve ice cream served in a little plastic Met helmet). However, Little League was a much bigger part of our lives than major league games. I was the only child who never played (I've never really been much of a competitive athlete... unless bake-off's count) but my older sister played when she was little and my younger brother played from the time he was very young until he aged out. My father was even (and still is!) the president of the local little league. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My brother is much younger than my sister, Jenn, and I (10 years younger than me, and 12 years younger than Jenn) so by the time my brother was playing, we were old enough to help out during his games. While dad was doing his presidential duties, my sister and I would often help out in the snack shack. My favorite part of helping out was when our shifts were over, and my sister and I would grab a bag of Cracker Jack snacks and a soda, and we'd share it as we sat on the bleachers and watched the rest of Christopher's game. When I think of Cracker Jack snacks, I remember those summer nights talking and laughing on the bleachers with my sister, cheering on my little brother as he pitched his heart out. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Cracker Jack brand has been around for 120 years (isn't that amazing?!). In celebration of this big anniversary, they're putting out new flavors, improving on the original variety, and modernizing their prizes. I was lucky enough to sample the new flavors, <span style="background-color: white;">Butter Toffee and Kettle Corn. Both of which were delicious... I can't tell which one I enjoyed more. The Butter Toffee variety could satisfy any sweet tooth, while the Kettle Corn had a more subtle sweetness, and kept me coming back for another handful, time after time. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>Giveaway</u></b><u>:</u> Cracker Jack snacks has offered to giveaway 6 bags of the 3 assorted flavors to one lucky reader of Ice Cream Before Dinner!</span><br />
<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/f476b10/" id="rc-f476b10" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><u><b>*Details and rules:</b></u></span></span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Open to residents of the U.S. only</b></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Giveaway will end Friday, June 28, 2013 at 12:00 AM EST.</b></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Giveaway will be conducted via <b>rafflecopter (www.rafflecopter.com)</b></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Winner will be announced by Tuesday, July 2nd, 11:59 PM EST.</b></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Winner will be notified by email and will have until Friday, July 5th to claim their prize and provide their mailing address</b>, after which, if the winner does not respond with their mailing address, another winner will be selected.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;"><b>Winner will receive </b></span></span></li>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">6 bags of the 3 assorted flavors of Cracker Jack snacks provided directly from Cracker Jack brand.</span></span></ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><b style="background-color: white; line-height: normal;">Disclosure:</b></span></span></li>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: normal;"> The <span class="il">Cracker</span> <span class="il">Jack</span> snack products were provided to me by <span class="il">Cracker</span> <span class="il">Jack</span> brand for my participation in this blogging/trial program. Any and all opinions posted on this blog are based on my own experiences with the Cracker Jack brand products. <span class="il">Cracker</span> <span class="il">Jack</span> brand provided the product for the giveaway for my review on this blog and for the giveaway. I was not compensa</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: normal;">ted for my partici</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: normal;">pation.</span></span></ul>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189822412273106888.post-48405779458789826322013-06-19T21:57:00.000-04:002013-06-19T21:57:05.147-04:00Key Lime White Chocolate Chip Cookies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Recently, we took a weekend trip to the Sarasota area. It's only about 2 1/2 hours away, yet we had never made the relatively short journey over. I'm glad we finally decided to spend some time there because we loved it there. In just a few days, we visited Sarasota, St. Petersburg, Tampa, Siesta Key, and Longboat Key. Some of our favorite things from our trip involve food (obviously). First, we thoroughly enjoyed visiting <a href="http://www.thelollicakequeen.com/">The Lollicake Queen</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PerqCoffeeBar%E2%80%8E">Perq</a>, and meeting the wonderful, kind, creative minds behind the two establishments (more on that to follow in a later blog post). We're a bit jealous of people who live in Sarasota and get to have their lollicake cake pops whenever they want! </span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>As you can see, we enjoyed our fair share of lollicakes </i>:)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We also enjoyed wonderful dinners at <a href="http://www.indigenoussarasota.com/">Indigenous</a>, <a href="http://www.owensfishcamp.com/">Owen's Fish Camp</a>, and breakfast at <a href="http://www.station400.com/">Station 400</a>, all of which we'd love to go back to again! </span><div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Second, we loved shopping at the Sarasota farmer's market. WOW! I wish we had something like this in our immediate area, I'd visit all the time! It was bustling with friendly vendors, tons of customers, and lots and lots of goodies. One thing we just couldn't resist was a pound of fresh key limes. With them, we whipped up this batch of soft Key Lime White Chocolate Chip cookies. These didn't last very long... always a good sign :)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">PS - Do you <a href="http://www.instagram.com/thesmartbaker">follow us on Instagram</a> yet? Whenever we go on Foodventures like these, we always post pictures along the way! </span><div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Soft Key Lime White Chocolate Chip Cookies, </b>adapted from <a href="http://www.cookiemadness.net/2005/06/key-lime-cookies/">Cookie Madness</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 cup granulated sugar</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 large egg + 1 large yolk, room temperature</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 1/2 cup all purpose flour</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 teaspoon baking powder</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/4 cup freshly squeezed key lime juice</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 1/2 teaspoons key lime zest</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3/4 cup white chocolate chips</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Preheat oven to 350 F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy. Then, add the egg and yolk. Beat.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and sea salt to combine. Turn the mixer to low and add the flour mixture. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Next, add the lime juice and zest. Add the chocolate chips and mix until just combined (do not over mix). </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Roll dough until 1 to 1 1/2 inch balls and arrange on parchment lined baking sheets approximately 2 1/2 inches apart. Bake for around 10 - 12 minutes or until edges just barely begin to brown. </span></div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189822412273106888.post-17832717340369998562013-06-07T19:13:00.007-04:002013-06-07T19:13:51.445-04:00Cowgirl Birthday Cupcake Tower<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here at The Smart Baker, we've made all different types of decorated cupcakes for parties. Lately, rather than make a lot of time-consuming edible decorations I've been using Cupcake Picks as simple but chic cupcake toppers. It is so easy to make the cupcakes match the theme of the party. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This April was our niece Ella's 4th birthday, which she celebrated by having a party at the farm with a petting zoo and pony rides. To go with the theme, we made her this Cowgirl Cupcake Tower. There were chocolate and vanilla cupcakes in pink, blue and green gingham print liners, with contrasting color gingham cupcake picks with her name on them.</span><br />
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/CowgirlCupcakesCupcaketower_zps5f37fc7b.jpg"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/CowgirlCupcakesCupcaketower_zps5f37fc7b.jpg" width="426" /></span></a></div>
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189822412273106888.post-29102626782183696432013-06-03T16:56:00.000-04:002013-06-03T16:56:33.749-04:00Highly Addictive Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I often make cakes, pies and tarts which require slicing before serving. If someone wants a piece they need to very deliberately pick up a knife, grab a plate, slice and serve. However, I really enjoy making things people can casually snack on, too. These things don't require knives for slicing, spoons for scooping, or even plates for serving. These things can just be picked up and popped in one's mouth. I think these types of things are usually the biggest hit (or at least the type with the least left over). </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is one of my top favorite "snacking" recipes. It is pretty easy to prepare, and results in a bite-sized, sweet-n-salty, highly addictive snack. I found this this recipe on <a href="http://www.mamasaywhat.com/salted-caramel-pretzel-bark/">Mama Say What!?</a> and I'm very glad I did, because this was thoroughly enjoyed by all who snacked on it. My favorite way to enjoy it is straight out of the freezer!</span><br />
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/SaltedCaramelPretzelBark_zps33f0e1c7.jpg"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/SaltedCaramelPretzelBark_zps33f0e1c7.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u><b>Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark</b></u></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Ingredients:</u></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/2 of a 1 lb bag of mini pretzels</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 cup lightly packed light brown sugar</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 cups chocolate chips of your choice (I used semisweet)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fine sea salt (I always use <a href="http://www.diamondcrystalsalt.com/Culinary/Products/Sea-Salt/Sea-Salt.aspx">Diamond Crystal</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Preheat your oven to 350 F.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Line a large jelly roll pan (or two 9x13 pans) with <a href="http://www.thesmartbaker.com/categories/pre-cut-parchment/">precut parchment paper</a>. Carefully, line the trays with the mini pretzels making neat rows, placing the pretzels right up against each other. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a medium saucepan on medium heat, melt the butter. Add the brown sugar and stir. Allow the sugar to dissolve and let it bowl gently just until it starts to stick to the bottom and it forms a nice smooth caramel. Let it bubble and little and get nice and thick.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Remove from heat, and pour evenly over the rows of pretzels. Put in the preheated over for 5 minutes (this will help the caramel spread out even more evenly). Remove from the oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top. Place back in the oven for just 1 minute, and then spread the chocolate chips around with a offset spatula until mostly melted. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sprinkle generously with sea salt, and allow to cool at room temperature for a few minutes. Then place in the freezer for 2 to 3 hours, until completely frozen. When frozen, break it up into pieces and serve. (I like to keep it in the freezer until I serve it). </span></div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189822412273106888.post-8414099562905280362013-05-29T11:55:00.000-04:002013-05-29T11:55:06.972-04:00Toilet Humor... Crap, You're Old cake<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Most of the time, I make Princess cakes, or Lightning McQueen cakes, or cupcake towers themed with cute little jungle animals or smiling ladybugs. Recently, however, I made a cake quite different from the adorable desserts we're used to making. We were requested to make a toilet shaped "Crap, You're Old" cake for our brother in law's 40th birthday... complete with a baby ruth sitting in the bowl. Take a look for yourself... if you have a strong stomach. Weak stomached readers, you may want to press the back button on your browser and skip this post. :)</span><div>
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/ToiletCakeCrapYoureOld_zps48057648.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/ToiletCakeCrapYoureOld_zps48057648.jpg" width="435" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To create this unique shape, we used many different sizes and shapes for the baking pans.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>For the tank:</u> We made two 8 inch square cakes, cut them in half and stack them on top of each other (making a four layer 8x4 inch cake)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>For the bowl:</u> We did a two layer 8 inch round cake and carved down the sides to get the curvature at the bottom where it meets the base. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>For the base under the bowl:</u> We used one 6 inch round cake</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All of the cakes were frosted and covered in white fondant. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To make the blue "water" for the inside of the bowl, we simply tinted clear piping gel with food coloring and piped it into the bowl. To make the... err.... "present" in the bowl, we microwaved a Baby Ruth candy bar for a few seconds and shaped it a little bit. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The cake was a pretty big hit at the party. We asked the question "Funny or just gross?" on The Smart Baker's Facebook page and there were some pretty strong feelings about this one. There were just as many people that thought it was hysterical as those who felt it was just too gross to eat. What do you think? Would you make this cake? And would you actually eat it if it was served at a party? </span></div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189822412273106888.post-47370793920752993142013-02-24T21:42:00.000-05:002013-02-24T21:42:04.754-05:00Sweet and Salty Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Sweet_and_Salty_oatmeal_cookies_SMALL_zpsb27734dc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Sweet_and_Salty_oatmeal_cookies_SMALL_zpsb27734dc.jpg" /></a></div>
Are you into the Sweet and Salty trend? We so completely are. Every recipe I make includes fine sea salt in one way or another. This new recipe, however, take it to a whole other level. This is like a cross between a potato chip and a chocolate chip cookies... in a good way. It has the sweet and chewiness of a oatmeal chocolate chip cookie combined with the salty addictiveness of a potato chip - I definitely "could not stop at just one".<br />
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*The basic oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough recipe is formed into balls which is then rolled in a combination of Sugar in the Raw and fine Sea Salt. The original recipe called for 1 1/2 Tablespoon of salt, but I found that to be just too much. So, in the recipe below I reduced it to 1/2 Tablespoon. If you find it to too salty / not salty enough, simply adjust the recipe to fit your tastes. <br />
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<u><b>Sweet and Salty Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies</b></u> adapted from <a href="http://www.mykitchenaddiction.com/2010/10/salty-sweet-chocolate-chip-oatmeal-cookies/">My Kitchen Addiction</a><br />
<u>Ingredients</u>:<br />
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened<br />
1/2 cup granulated sugar<br />
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed<br />
1 egg, room temperature<br />
1/4 cup light corn syrup<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla extract<br />
3 cups old fashioned rolled oats<br />
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour<br />
1 teaspoon baking soda<br />
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt<br />
1 cup chocolate chips<br />
1/2 cup raw sugar (such as Sugar in the Raw)<br />
1/2 Tablespoon fine sea salt* (see note about salt amount above)<br />
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In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add in egg and beat until smooth. Add the corn syrup and vanilla, and beat until fully incorporated.<br />
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In a separate bowl, whisk to combine oats, flour, baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, mixing on low until the batter comes together. Stir in the chocolate chips. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.<br />
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Towards the end of chilling, preheat the oven to 375 and line several cookie sheets with <a href="http://www.thesmartbaker.com/categories/pre-cut-parchment/">pre-cut parchment</a>. In a small dish, combine raw sugar and fine sea salt. Roll cookie dough balls to about 1 inch, and roll each in the sugar-salt mixture. Using your palm or a flat spatula, press down gently to slightly flatten. Bake 8 - 10 minutes or until edges are just barely golden - do not over bake! Cool on pan about 5 minutes and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189822412273106888.post-85356979997839226832013-01-31T18:16:00.001-05:002013-01-31T18:16:47.729-05:00Berry Key Lime Cheesecake with Greek Yogurt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Blog%20Photos/greek_yogurt_cheesecake1_zpse1c193ac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Blog%20Photos/greek_yogurt_cheesecake1_zpse1c193ac.jpg" /></a></div>
Sometimes, you just need a cheesecake. Wouldn't you agree? It's great when said cheesecake is made with Greek Yogurt, so even when you're indulging you can feel just a little bit better about it. <br />
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I'm kind of picky about my cheesecake. I'd rather not eat it if it's not amazing. Mediocre cheesecake isn't really worth it for me. Next time I'm feeling cheesecake, I think I'll go the Greek Yogurt route again because it lent the cake such a wonderful texture. It was nice and light, unlike some heavy dense cheesecakes I've eaten. The flavor from the flavored greek yogurts (raspberry and key lime) was noticeable but not over the top strong. Overall this was a great (and SUPER SUPER easy!!) dessert. We had <i>no</i> problem getting rid of the left overs.<br />
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Blog%20Photos/greek_yogurt_cheesecake2_zps42604b43.jpg"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Blog%20Photos/greek_yogurt_cheesecake2_zps42604b43.jpg" /></a></div>
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<u><b>Berry Key Lime Cheesecake, from <a href="http://www.oikosyogurt.com/greek-yogurt-recipes/print/berry-key-lime-cheesecake.aspx">Oikos</a></b></u><br />
<u>Ingredients:</u><br />
Crust -<br />
9 Graham Crackers<br />
2 Tbsp Granulated Sugar<br />
4 Tbspn butter, melted<br />
Filling -<br />
2 (5.3 oz) single serve containers of Dannon Oikos Key Lime Greek Yogurt<br />
2 (5.3 oz) single serve containers of Dannon Oikos Raspberry Greek Yogurt<br />
4 eggs, rom temperature<br />
1 can sweetened condensed milk<br />
4 Tbsp All Purpose Flour<br />
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In the bowl of a food processor, pulse graham crackers, sugar and butter. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan. Set aside.<br />
In a bowl, combine key lime yogurts with 2 eggs, 2 Tbspn flour and half of the sweetened condensed milk. If desired, add food coloring.<br />
In a separate bowl combine raspberry greek yogurts with 2 eggs, 2 Tbspn flour and half of the sweetened condensed milk. If desired, add food coloring.<br />
Pour Berry mixture on top of the crust. Then slowly pour the key lime mixture on top of that. Swirl with a knife if desired.<br />
Bake a 250 F for 30 - 40 minutes, until the center of set and edges are fully cooked. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or over-night before serving. <br />
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Blog%20Photos/greek_yogurt_cheesecake3_zpsf11d06b4.jpg"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Blog%20Photos/greek_yogurt_cheesecake3_zpsf11d06b4.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189822412273106888.post-39976327316644715972013-01-06T08:25:00.000-05:002013-01-06T08:26:15.147-05:00Apple Cinnamon Blondies<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hard to believe all the Holiday hub-bub is over. Yesterday, we took down our Christmas tree and put away the last of the decorations. I always feel a tiny bit sad when we do that, though it is nice to get that corner of the living room back. Is everyone still in sugar shock from Holiday parties and dinners? That's just not possible for us over here. So if you're like me and you're not in a giving-up-sugar stage, then you may want to make these <b>Apple Cinnamon Blondies.</b> It has all the comforting homeyness of apple pie, but is much much easier. The end result is a moist, sweet, flavorful blondie that is just begging to be enjoyed with a scoop of ice cream on top :) We put Sea Salt Caramel Gelato on top and that may just be one of the best decisions we made all week. </span><br />
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Blog%20Photos/apple_blondies_zpsc58bc51a.jpg"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Blog%20Photos/apple_blondies_zpsc58bc51a.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>Apple Cinnamon Blondies</u></b> adapted from <a href="http://www.bakedbyrachel.com/2012/09/apple-cinnamon-blondies/">Baked by Rachel</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Ingredients:</u></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 20px; padding: 0px 0px 15px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 1/2 cups lightly packed light brown sugar<br />1 stick unsalted butter<br />1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour<br />1 teaspoon fine sea salt<br />1/2 teaspoon cinnamon<br />1/2 teaspoon baking powder<br />2 large eggs, room temperature<br />1 teaspoon vanilla extract<br />1 1/2 cups chopped granny smith apple, skin on (approx. 1 medium apple)<br />1/2 cup cinnamon mini baking chips (I used <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/cinnamon-mini-baking-chips-16-oz">King Arthur Flour</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Directions</u>:<br />Pre-heat oven to 350; spray a 9.5-inch tart pan with non-stick cooking spray, and line 1 small baking dish (1 cupcake, 1 mini springform, etc.) with parchment and set on a large cookie sheet (this way if anything drips, it will fall on your cookie sheet and not the bottom of your oven). Set aside.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Melt butter and brown sugar in a heavy duty saucepan over medium heat stirring constantly; remove from heat and set aside.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a medium bowl, whisk flour, salt, cinnamon and baking powder. In a separate large bowl, whisk eggs and vanilla. Add melted butter and sugar mixture and whisk until combined. Slowly whisk in dry ingredients just until combined. Fold in chopped apples and cinnamon chips.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pour batter into prepared baking pans and place cookie sheet in pre-heated oven for 25-35 minutes or until a knife comes out clean from center. The small baking dish will most likely be finished a few minutes ahead of the 9.5 inch tart pan, so keep an eye on it. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Allow to cool almost entirely in the pan. When ready to cut, separate pan by carefully running a knife around the edges and then pushing up from the center of the bottom of the pan.</span></div>
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Blog%20Photos/apple_blondies2_zpsa745fcc4.jpg"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Blog%20Photos/apple_blondies2_zpsa745fcc4.jpg" /></span></a></div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189822412273106888.post-10436911308864163472012-12-23T09:05:00.001-05:002012-12-23T09:27:35.409-05:00Best Rolled Sugar Cookies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/best_rolled_cookies1_zps7625ec50.jpg" target="_blank"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/best_rolled_cookies1_zps7625ec50.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Do you and your family decorate cookies for the holidays? I'm not sure if it is the extra humidity in the air here in Florida, or if it is my short temper with all things that involve a rolling pin, but the process of rolling out cookies is not one that usually occurs without some kicking and screaming. No matter how much flouring of the rolling pin and the counter that goes on, and no matter how thorough and frequent the dough chilling is, everything always sticks to what it is not supposed to and the cookie cutters never work like they're supposed to. So, Daniel and I have developed the slightly wasteful yet much less frustrating and MUCH quicker method of using cookie cutters. I wish I had taken pictures along the way, but I'll just have to explain as best as I can...</span><br />
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<ol>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Chill your cookie dough in the refrigerator</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Roll out cookie dough in between two sheets of <a href="https://www.thesmartbaker.com/categories/pre-cut-parchment/" target="_blank">Pre-Cut parchment</a> that fit the size cookie sheet you are using. (By rolling the dough between two sheets of parchment, you won't have to worry about the dough sticking to your rolling pin!). </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Put the cookie sheet back in the fridge to re-chill a little bit. (This step helps the top layer of parchment peel off easily and cleanly so it can be re-used).</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Place cookie sheet in the preheated oven to bake one large cookie the size of your cookie sheet.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Immediately when your cookie dough is done baking, remove from the oven and slide the parchment to a heat-proof surface (I slide it on to our granite countertops). While the cookie is still soft, use the cookie cutters to cut cookie shapes out of the baked cookie dough.</span></li>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Not only is this method quicker and easier, but you end up with tons of cookie scraps to eat! Ok, so it <i>does</i> "waste" some cookie dough, but I use the term "waste" lightly because Daniel and I ate the cookie scraps for days after. Another nice thing about this method is that you don't have to worry about the cookie dough puffing during baking and ruining the cute cookie-cutter shape you worked so hard to cut. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What do you think? Is this method too wasteful for you or do you think it would keep the peace during all of your holiday baking? For me, I find it saves my sanity so it is worth losing a few cookies worth of dough due to the cookie scraps byproduct. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cookie scraps!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/best_rolled_cookies3_zpsbf5d6c94.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/best_rolled_cookies3_zpsbf5d6c94.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Anyway, this is a new-to-me cookie recipe that I'm quite happy with. The cookies are nice and soft (a quality many people commented on, "how do you get them so soft??") and flavorful. I'd say this is a very good basic sugar cookie recipe.</span></div>
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/best_rolled_cookies2_zps7e369470.jpg" target="_blank"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/best_rolled_cookies2_zps7e369470.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies</u></b> adapted from <a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/the-best-rolled-sugar-cookies/?scale=60&ismetric=0">Allrecipes.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Ingredients</u>:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 cups white sugar</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4 eggs, room temperature</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">5 cups all purpose flour</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 teaspoons baking powder</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 teaspoon fine sea salt</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.</span></span></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">Place about 1/3 of the dough in between two 9x13 sheets of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness. Place dough back on a cookie sheet and place in the fridge for a few moment to re-chill the dough and allow the top layer of parchment to peel off cleanly. </span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake cookies about 8 to 12 minutes or until the dough just barely starts to brown at the edges. Remove from oven, slide the parchment on to a heat proof surface such as granite countertops or a wooden cutting board and immediately cut the soft cookie into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place on a cooling rack to cool completely. </span></span></div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189822412273106888.post-62442638374096653022012-12-02T10:00:00.000-05:002012-12-02T10:00:49.076-05:00Little Girl Cupcake Towers<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Not sure why I never posted these photos! In April, both of our nieces have their birthdays. This year, we celebrated a third birthday, and the girl of honor wanted a pink and purple Princess themed Cupcake Tower. This is the <u><b>Princess Cupcake Tower</b></u> we made for her big day:</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Ellas_3rd_cake_1.jpg" target="_blank"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Ellas_3rd_cake_1.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We used an 8 inch cake as the top tier...</span></div>
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Ellas_3rd_cake_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Ellas_3rd_cake_3.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And cupcakes with paper and fondant toppers as the next two tiers...</span></div>
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Ellas_3rd_cake_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Ellas_3rd_cake_2.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We also celebrated a first birthday! For this, we made an Owl theme cupcake display with a similar color scheme. This is the <b><u>Owl First Birthday Cupcake tower</u></b> we created for this special little girl...</span></div>
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Mayas_1st_bday_cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Mayas_1st_bday_cake.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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This one had a 6 inch cake as the top tier with a fondant Owl and a fondant One cupcake topper. The cupcakes all have little fondant flower toppers, too. </div>
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Mayas_1st_bday_cake_top2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Mayas_1st_bday_cake_top2.jpg" width="546" /></a></div>
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For both of these, I used <a href="http://www.thesmartbaker.com/products/5-Tier-Round-Cupcake-Tower.html" target="_blank">The Smart Baker's Five Tier Round Cupcake Tower</a>. It was so much fun to work with such girly colors and themes! I'm so excited to continue using their girly party themes as cake inspiration as the years go on!</div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189822412273106888.post-28960804376877602512012-11-19T21:38:00.000-05:002012-11-19T21:38:20.733-05:00Soft Gingerbread Blossoms<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Gingerbread1.jpg" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Gingerbread1.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I live practically across the street from a grocery store. Two grocery stores in fact. They're less than a 1/4 of a mile away. Many, many times I have had to turn the kitchenaid mixer off while preparing a dough or batter to make a quick run to go get more eggs or milk that I forgot to buy. Case in point - these cookies. I didn't realize until the last minute, after 4 hours of dough chilling, that I needed white chocolate chips to stuff in the freshly baked cookies. At this point, it was already getting "late" (well, late for me) and I needed to have these finished for work the next day. Ug! But luckily, I'm able to hop on over to the store and be back in the kitchen baking within 10 minutes. Over the almost 5 years of living in this house, I would have ruined many a bowl of batter if I didn't live so close. Anyone else do this? I do it a few times a month!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">These cookies are definitely worth a trip to the grocery store, even if it's more than 1/4 mile away. They are soft and tender, and not overly gingery or molassesy. They're more like a hybrid of gingerbread and a snickerdoodle. Even non-gingerbread lovers enjoyed these cookies. Perfect for the upcoming holidays! Maybe these will find their way to your cookie platters this season. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>Gingerbre</u></b><b><u>ad Blossoms </u></b>adapted from <a href="http://www.culinaryconcoctionsbypeabody.com/2010/12/07/white-chocolate-topped-gingerbread-cookies/" target="_blank">Culinary Concoctions by Peabody</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Ingredients</u>:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">3 cups flour</span><br style="line-height: 22px;" /><span style="line-height: 22px;">2 tsp. ground ginger </span><br style="line-height: 22px;" /><span style="line-height: 22px;">1 tsp. ground cinnamon</span><br style="line-height: 22px;" /><span style="line-height: 22px;">1 tsp. baking soda</span><br style="line-height: 22px;" /><span style="line-height: 22px;">1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg</span><br style="line-height: 22px;" /><span style="line-height: 22px;">1/4 tsp fine sea salt</span><br style="line-height: 22px;" /><span style="line-height: 22px;">1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature</span><br style="line-height: 22px;" /><span style="line-height: 22px;">3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar</span><br style="line-height: 22px;" /><span style="line-height: 22px;">1/4 cup molasses</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/4 cup maple syrup<br style="line-height: 22px;" /><span style="line-height: 22px;">1 egg</span><br style="line-height: 22px;" /><span style="line-height: 22px;">1/4 cup granulated sugar</span><br style="line-height: 22px;" /><span style="line-height: 22px;">1 tsp. pure vanilla extract</span><br style="line-height: 22px;" /><span style="line-height: 22px;">approx. 1 cup white chocolate chips</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">In a large bowl, whisk to combine flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt.</span><br style="line-height: 22px;" /><span style="line-height: 22px;">Beat butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.</span><br style="line-height: 22px;" /><span style="line-height: 22px;">Add molasses, maple syrup, egg and vanilla; beat well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed. Wrap top of bowl in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours.</span><br style="line-height: 22px;" /><span style="line-height: 22px;">Preheat oven to 350°F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets.</span><br style="line-height: 22px;" /><span style="line-height: 22px;">Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges of cookies just barely begin to brown. Immediately press about 5-6 white chocolate chips into center of each cookie. Allow to cool completely.</span></span>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189822412273106888.post-47649236322420922632012-10-28T09:17:00.003-04:002012-10-28T09:17:43.624-04:00Chocolate Truffle Cookies with Sea Salt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Chocolate_Truffle_cookies.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Chocolate_Truffle_cookies.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Today is October 28th. Halloween is just around the corner... and there are already Christmas decorations and advertisements all over the stores and TV. It does feel like Fall gets a little bit rushed, especially after Halloween is over. Oh well, might as well start planning those Christmas cookies now then, right? :)</span><div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">These unique Chocolate Truffle Cookies would be a great addition to any Christmas cookie platter. They have a nice shiny "crust" (similar to the top of a brownie) and the inside has a texture that combines a chocolate cookie, a rich fudgy brownie, and a chocolate truffle. And BONUS - they're super easy to make. </span></div>
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Chocolate_Truffle_cookies2.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Chocolate_Truffle_cookies2.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">do you see the napping doggy in the picture above?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>Chocolate Truffle Cookies with Sea Salt</u></b>, adapted from <a href="http://www.ghirardelli.com/recipes-tips/recipes/chocolate-truffle-cookies-sea-salt?id=1184" target="_blank">Ghirardelli</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Ingredients</u></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">¼</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"> cup all purpose flour</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">¼</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"> teaspoon baking powder</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">¼</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"> teaspoon salt</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;">1 </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 22px; text-align: justify;">½</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"> cups </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;">dark chocolate chips</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;">2 tablespoon unsalted butter</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;">2 eggs, room temp</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 22px; text-align: justify;">½</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"> cup granulated sugar</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;">1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;">fine Diamond Crystal sea salt for sprinkling</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;">additional 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips (optional) for mixing into prepared dough</span></li>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Prepare cookie sheets with <a href="http://www.thesmartbaker.com/categories/pre-cut-parchment/" target="_blank">Precut Parchment paper</a>. Set aside.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the top of a double boiler, melt chocolate and butter until smooth. Turn off the heat and let chocolate sit over warm water. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt and mix to combine. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In another bowl, whisk together sugar and eggs. Slowly add the warm chocolate mixture. Stir to combine. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Add vanilla and mix. Stir in flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated, do not over mix. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If adding chocolate chips to the batter, allow to cool for a few minutes (if batter is too warm, the chocolate chips will melt). Stir in chocolate chips. Then chill for at least 10-15 minutes.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Preheat oven to 350°F. Scoop rounded tablespoons of batter and place on prepared cookie sheet. Sprinkle each cookie lightly with sea salt. Bake for approximately 7-8 minutes until the outside looks slightly cracked. Do not over bake because they will continue to bake a little as they cool once removed from the oven. Cookies should be soft and gooey in the center.</span></div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189822412273106888.post-2115639626721915452012-10-26T09:23:00.002-04:002012-10-26T09:54:16.079-04:00Friday Giveaway!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizj-OLTBRKQ1pUf8feBn5FhBYeK8MEGhG-hqbyo3h9ns0xd_y2cyFi7gs2Oi3r6We_CAnE9bXTfmnO-8n0uYiuIKNtkcOeb88g_SHMA97jAkknCgKyA3IfnEFImP-Fsa1WW6U4r4m801Q/s1600/justsugarcoatit125125x1222.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizj-OLTBRKQ1pUf8feBn5FhBYeK8MEGhG-hqbyo3h9ns0xd_y2cyFi7gs2Oi3r6We_CAnE9bXTfmnO-8n0uYiuIKNtkcOeb88g_SHMA97jAkknCgKyA3IfnEFImP-Fsa1WW6U4r4m801Q/s1600/justsugarcoatit125125x1222.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUiOyUwAEZ9T_GKqdAfjOs-s2kKBCTOiWQJM4rf6_9yMS-qQmXpMPr4EZtR2AY8LEAaRognwD6KEnjs0yp6u-JCnDkqU3GntMbYDxKN3gg5Fb9S7I3R_gEniIWSRrZ2Lfy6I8nqmHYcuk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-10-26+at+9.21.41+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUiOyUwAEZ9T_GKqdAfjOs-s2kKBCTOiWQJM4rf6_9yMS-qQmXpMPr4EZtR2AY8LEAaRognwD6KEnjs0yp6u-JCnDkqU3GntMbYDxKN3gg5Fb9S7I3R_gEniIWSRrZ2Lfy6I8nqmHYcuk/s320/Screen+Shot+2012-10-26+at+9.21.41+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">It's Facebook Friday Giveaway time! We are excited to announce our first super duper collaborative Giveaway from The Smart Baker AND </span><a data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=444834882198858" href="https://www.facebook.com/justsugarcoatit" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">Just Sugar Coat It</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">. Just Sugar Coat It, the place for all things baking, carries baking cups, cookie cutter</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">s, tulip cups, and individual cupcake stands and much more! Check out some of the goodies they carry and enter for your chance to win a $40 credit to Just Sugar Coat It. All you have to do is go to </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.justsugarcoatit.com&h=7AQFO7FQy&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.justsugarcoatit.com</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"> and comment on our </span><a href="http://facebook.com/thesmartbaker" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" target="_blank">facebook</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"> post with what you would get from them if you won the gift certificate AND like them on Facebook (</span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/justsugarcoatit" rel="nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/justsugarcoatit</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">). While you’re there be sure to enter their giveaway for your chance to win a $40 credit from The Smart Baker. Winner will be announce on Friday Nov. 2nd, so get your entry in. (Winner will be chosen at random and must comment on this post and be a "liker" of Just Sugar Coat It)</span><br />
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189822412273106888.post-57136052084623633852012-10-15T18:11:00.002-04:002012-10-15T18:11:45.311-04:00Honey Corn Muffins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Honey_Corn_Muffins_zps9e76144d.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Honey_Corn_Muffins_zps9e76144d.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When I was younger, I lived on <a href="http://www.entenmanns.com/op-prod.cfm/prodId/720300002/catId/0" target="_blank">Entenmann's Corn Muffins</a>. My mom would cut them in half, butter then, and put them in the broiler until they were perfection. The little brown toasty bits at the edges were my favorite, I'd pick those off and eat those first. Sometimes, instead of those corn muffins, I'd eat <a href="http://www.thomas100calorie.com/Our-Products/Toast-R-Cakes/Toast-R-Cakes/Thomas-Corn-Toast-R-Cakes/Default.aspx" target="_blank">Thomas' Toast R Cakes Corn Muffins</a> (or as little Stephanie referred to them, "flat corn muffins"). I guess you could have called my younger self a mass produced corn muffin connoisseur. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Grown-up Stephanie still appreciates a good corn muffin. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm not going to pretend I didn't ask my mom to pick up a box of my beloved flat corn muffins when I went home to NY this past summer. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> But for some reason, I've never made them from scratch before. After baking this recipe from Baked Explorations, I have no idea why, seeing as they were so quick to throw together. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This recipe baked up delicious little corn muffins. I'm not sure I'll ever need to try another recipe since this one was just so good. Buttery with a perfectly dense crumb. I ate one (or two) plain without butter or honey, but I think if I were to toast and butter one up, I might just experience flashbacks to my afternoons after getting home from Kindergarten sitting on the couch in my den watching Match Game re-runs. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Rather than baking them in standard cupcake liners, I used these adorable mini brioche style liners from <a href="http://www.justsugarcoatit.com/" target="_blank">Just Sugar Coat It</a>. Instead of 12, I was able to get 18 small muffins (perfect size!). Let me tell you, I love these liners! They are stiff and hold up well, and make something as plain as a corn muffin look quite fancy.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For the recipe, look to <a href="http://bakednyc.com/books/baked-explorations/" target="_blank">Baked Explorations</a>, or <a href="http://www.karenscookiescakesnmore.com/2012/10/club-baked-honey-corn-muffins.html" target="_blank">Karen's Cookies Cakes and More</a>. Make sure you visit the <a href="http://club-baked.blogspot.com/2012/10/bakers-links-to-honey-corn-muffins.html" target="_blank">blogroll</a> and see how these muffins came out for the other Club Baked bakers. </span>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189822412273106888.post-58745405278910782592012-10-06T18:44:00.000-04:002012-10-06T18:49:54.642-04:00Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Snickerdoodles1_zps4c7f0934.jpg" target="_blank"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Snickerdoodles1_zps4c7f0934.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Are you a soft, chewy cookie person or a crunchy person? I'm both (darn. I just love cookies) but Daniel is a soft cookie person true and true. We both love cinnamon so soft cinnamon-sugary Snickerdoodles are a favorite around here. But to be honest, a lot of the time I am just too lazy to individually roll each dough ball in cinnamon sugar. It takes a while and I usually make quite the mess in the process (though, to be fair, I make a mess in the kitchen no matter what I'm doing). So recently when I was in the mood for snickerdoodles but just couldn't get the motivation to go through the cinnamon sugar rolling process, I decided to just press the dough into a 8 inch cake pan. What a beautiful decision that turned out to be because these Snickerdoodles came out nice and tall and soft. Lesson learned - take the easy, lazy way out and sometimes, just sometimes, it works out.</span><br />
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Snickerdoodles2_zps89dca467.jpg" target="_blank"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Snickerdoodles2_zps89dca467.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars</u></b>, adapted from </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 22px;"><a href="http://bakednyc.com/books/baked-elements/" target="_blank">BAKED Elements</a>, Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito</span></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Ingredients</u>:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 sticks unsalted butter<br />2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour<br />2 ½ tsp cream of tartar<br />1 tsp baking soda<br />1 Tablespoon plus 2 tsp. cinnamon, divided<br />¾ tsp freshly ground nutmeg<br />½ tsp fine sea salt<br />2 large eggs, room temp<br />1 Tablespoon whole milk<br />1 cup plus 3 Tablespoon granulated sugar, divided<br />½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat swirling the pan occasionally until the foam subsides and the butter browns, about 8 to 10 minutes. Pour the browned butter through a strainer directly into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat the butter on low speed to release the heat and bring it to room temperature, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, tartar, baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a small bowl, combine eggs and milk. Whisk lightly.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once butter has cooled, turn off mixer and add 1 cup of the granulated sugar and the brown sugar, and beat on medium for about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat again for a few seconds. Turn the mixer to low and stream in the egg mixture, continue beating on medium until thoroughly combined.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Add the flour mixture in three parts, beating after each addition for 10 to 15 seconds, or until just barely incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and gather the dough into a mound in the middle. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 inch cake pan with <a href="http://www.thesmartbaker.com/8in-cake-pan-pre-cut-parchment-square/" target="_blank">pre-cut parchment paper</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Gently press the cookie dough into the prepared cake pan. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of cinnamon until the mixture is uniform in color. Sprinkle over the cookie dough. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Bake until a cake tester inserted into the dough comes out clean. I think mine took about 20 minutes, but I would start checking at about 15 minutes if you want a soft, not dry cookie.<br />Set the pans on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Use the parchment tabs to lift the cookie out of the pan and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.</span></div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189822412273106888.post-26966087268631635222012-10-01T00:30:00.000-04:002012-10-01T06:38:58.227-04:00Burnt Sugar Bundt Cake with Caramel Rum Frosting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Burnt_Sugar_Bundt_title_zps7e69f55f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Burnt_Sugar_Bundt_title_zps7e69f55f.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Burnt Sugar cake? I've never tasted anything with "Burnt" intentionally in the name (though I've sampled my share of <i>accidentally</i> "burnt" recipes). The title had me intrigued. Browed butter (which is kind of "burnt" I guess) adds a delicious nutty flavor to recipes, so I thought Burnt Sugar must do something similarly magical, right?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In this recipe from Baked Explorations, the directions said to melt sugar (just sugar) slowly on medium heat on the stove top. I was a little scared that I'd burn it, even though the recipe is called "Burnt Sugar Bundt Cake". I think I've always had something else in with the sugar when I've melted it, like corn syrup or water so the idea of melting sugar and sugar alone had me concerned. But my fears were all unwarranted because it really was simple. The sugar melted slowly and without one single problem. It turned into a delicious smelling caramel after the addition of coconut milk, heavy cream and lemon juice.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The rest of the cake went off without a hitch, too. Half of the homemade caramel is added right into the cake batter, and the other half is turned into a frosting (though mine was much runnier, and more of an icing or a glaze than a frosting). With a somewhat intimidating sounding title, the cake really was pretty easy to put together.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I let it rest for one day before serving it (willpower!). We found it deliciously simple, and I mean that in a good way. The cake itself it is like a moist, but not at all dense pound cake with a subtle taste of caramel/burnt sugar. The frosting is very sweet and compliments the cake perfectly. Everyone will enjoy the flavor of this cake, even the kiddies if you choose to make the caramel rum frosting into a caramel vanilla frosting like I did...simply use 1 tsp pure vanilla instead of 2 Tbsp rum. </span></div>
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Burnt_Sugar_Bundt2_zps12fad472.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/icecreamb4dinner/Burnt_Sugar_Bundt2_zps12fad472.jpg" /></a></div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Burnt Sugar Bundt Cake Recipe</span></strong></div>
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<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ingredients</span></strong></em></address>
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<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For the Burnt Sugar Liquid</span></strong></em></address>
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<span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">½ cup granulated sugar</span></span></address>
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<span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">½</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> cup heavy cream</span></span></address>
<address style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">approx. 3/4 cup coconut milk</span></span></address>
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<span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice</span></span></address>
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<span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /></span></span></address>
<address style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For the Bundt Cake</span></strong></em></address>
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<span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3 cups all-purpose flour</span></span></address>
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<span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 teaspoon baking powder</span></span></address>
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<span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">½</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> teaspoon baking soda</span></span></address>
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<span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 teaspoon salt</span></span></address>
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<span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 ¼ cups unsalted butter (2 </span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">½</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: normal;"> sticks),</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: normal;"> room temperature</span></address>
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<span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 cups granulated sugar</span></span></address>
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<span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4 large eggs, room temperature</span></span></address>
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<span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract</span></span></address>
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<span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Burnt Sugar Liquid (see above)</span></span></address>
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<span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /></span></span></address>
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<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For the Caramel Rum Frosting</span></strong></em></address>
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<span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter</span></span></address>
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<span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 tablespoons dark rum (OR 1 tsp pure vanilla extract for an alcohol free version)</span></span></address>
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<span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 1⁄3 cups confectioners’ sugar</span></span></address>
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<span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Burnt Sugar Liquid (see above)</span></span></address>
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<span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /></span></span></address>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Make the Burnt Sugar Liquid</span></strong></address>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">In a medium saucepan over medium heat, slowly melt the sugar. Use a wooden spoon to stir it continuously to ensure even melting. When the sugar turns a dark caramel color, remove the pan from the heat and slowly stream in the cream while continuing to stir (don’t worry if mixture starts to clump). Return the pan to medium heat and stir until completely combined; cook for 2 minutes longer, stirring. </span><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Transfer the burnt caramel mixture to at least a 2-cup heatproof liquid measuring cup (like Pyrex) and add enough coconut milk to make 1 1/4 cups liquid. Add the lemon juice. Whisk to combine, divide the mixture in half, and set both portions aside.</span></span></span></address>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Make the Bundt Cake</span></strong></address>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Generously spray the inside of a 10-inch Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray; alternatively, butter it thoroughly, dust it with flour, and knock out the excess flour. </span><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. </span></span><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Add the vanilla and beat for 5 more seconds. </span></span><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Retrieve one of the reserved portions of burnt sugar liquid. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the burnt sugar, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat again for 10 seconds. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a small sharp knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Gently loosen the sides of the cake from the pan and turn it out onto the rack.</span></span></span></address>
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<span style="font-size: 13.3333px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /></span></span></span></address>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Make the Caramel Rum Frosting</span></strong></address>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Put the butter, rum, confectioners’ sugar, and remaining portion of burnt sugar liquid in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until the frosting is shiny and smooth. </span><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Use an offset spatula to spread the frosting over the crown of the Bundt in a thick layer. Let the frosting set before serving.</span></span></span></address>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></span></span></span></address>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Be sure to check out the other Club Baked bakers' versions of this Baked Explorations twist on a traditional Bundt! I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did. </span></span></span></address>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03398447322556987174noreply@blogger.com0