Chocolate Walnut Biscotti

Happy holidays!  I've been a bit MIA, as life has kept me pretty busy over the last few months, but now that it's the holiday season I am getting back in the kitchen.  This month's challenge for What's Baking was to make biscotti.  Biscotti is one of those things that I usually enjoy when I have it, but I don't usually seek it out.  However, I was intrigued and excited to take on this challenge.

I turned to my trusted copy of The Craft of Baking and found the perfect recipe - chocolate walnut biscotti.  Sounds good to me!  In general, making biscotti is pretty easy - make the dough, roll it into two logs, cook it, cut it, cook it again and done.  Then I noticed a "tip" at the bottom of the page saying that the dough is very sticky, so you should use ample flour while rolling it out.  Yeah, that turned out to be an understatement.  I thought I used plenty of flour while rolling out the first half of the dough....see the picture below to see how well that turned out!  My second half went over much better.  In the end, you cut the logs into the individual biscotti so no one would guess how awkward the shape was to begin with, but I am still laughing at myself for how it looked!

This was a fun challenge.  And biscotti keeps for weeks in an airtight container so this is something that I could bring as a hostess gift or can serve to guests even if I don't want to prep one more thing in the day or two leading up to the event.  I always a love a good make-ahead recipe!

Be sure to check out Coleen's blog The Redhead Baker to see this month's round-up.

Chocolate Walnut Biscotti (slightly adapted from The Craft of Baking)

Ingredients
1 cup walnut pieces, roughly chopped
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, at room temperature
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp coffee extract (recipe below)
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Spread the walnuts in a single layer on a second baking sheet.  Toast them in the oven, stirring occasionally, until they are lightly golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool the sheet on a wire rack.  Keep the oven on.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, baking soda, and salt.  Beat on low speed until well combined and no butter pieces are visible, about 4 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolk, coffee extract, and vanilla.  Add the mixture to the flour mixture and beat on low speed to combine.  Add the cooled nuts and the chocolate chips and beat just to combine.
- Turn out the dough onto a generously floured work surface (***if you think you've put down enough flour, add another generous sprinkle!) and divide in half.  Shape each portion into a 16 x 2inch log, and transfer them to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 3 inches apart.
- Bake, rotating the sheet halfway through, until the logs are firm to the touch (about 20-30 minutes).  Transfer the logs, still on the parchment paper, to a wire rack and let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
- Reduce the oven temp to 250 degrees F.
- Transfer the warm logs to a cutting board.  Using a serrated knife, cut the logs on the diagonal into 1/3-inch-thick slices.  Arrange the slices, cut side up, on the baking sheet.  Bake until the biscotti are dry and firm to the touch, about 1 hour.  Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the sheet of biscotti cool completely on the rack.
- Biscotti can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks.


Coffee Extract

Ingredients
1/4 cup hot water
2oz jar of instant espresso powder

Directions
- Slowly stir the hot water directly into the jar of espresso powder.
- Cover the jar with the lid (closing the lid tightly) and shake well to combine.
- Use immediately or keep in a dark cupboard at room temperature for up to 6 months.

S'mores Brownies

I have a family friend who will almost always bring her famous "brownie s'mores" to a party.  And they go like hot cakes.  Seriously delicious.  She very nicely shared her recipe with me and I saw how insanely simple they were to make (ie make boxed brownie mix, before it's done cooking pull it out, add marshmallows and chocolate chips, finish cooking then add graham crackers, cut and eat).  I have made them on more than one occasion since she shared this with me (uh, don't kill me for sharing this, Nancy!).  So when it was decided that this month's What's Baking theme was going to be Variations of S'mores, I knew I wanted to tackle brownie s'mores, but I wanted to think outside of "the box".

I was invited to a barbecue at a dear friend''s house earlier this month and I knew this would be the perfect treat to bring as my contribution to the meal.  They keep kosher as well, so I knew I would need to make these parve.  I asked around to some blogger friends and after reviewing a few dairy-free brownie recipes I settled on one from Cathy's Kitchen Journey.  Except when I went to make it I didn't have time to get the espresso powder, so I essentially made the recipe she adapted from (I left out the nuts in case of allergies as well).  Though I realized toddlers were going to be eating these so I should probably omit it anyway otherwise you probably didn't want to be around these little ones come bedtime!

The intended date this post was to go live was actually ON National S'more Day, however I decided to do a second try and adjust how I assembled the brownies.  You see, I had originally made them using kosher mini marshmallows, which I had chopped to try to make them a little gooey-er (for whatever reason I find them never get as gooey as non-kosher marshmallows).  They tasted good, but a guest at the party had commented that she couldn't eat them because she's vegetarian (and therefore couldn't eat the fish gelatin). She mentioned that if I had used Fluff she could have eaten it, as it does not have any gelatin.  A light went off in my head.  This was the perfect substitution in the brownies!  So, thankfully my nephew was having a birthday last weekend, so I quickly offered to bring some brownies to share with the guests.

my first attempt

The final result is delicious and definitely something that I will be making again.  It really isn't much harder than baking brownies out of a box!


Brownie S'mores (adapted from AllRecipes.com)

Ingredients
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa power
1/2 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup vegetable oil, divided
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature 
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
8oz  (approx) Fluff
3 large rectangles graham crackers

Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9x13in pan.
- In a large bowl, stir together the cocoa powder and baking soda.  Add 1/3 cup vegetable oil and boiling water.  Mix until well blended and thickened.
- Stir in the sugar, eggs (one at a time) and remaining 1/3 cup oil.
- Add the flour, vanilla, and salt.  Mix just until the flour is blended in.
- Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 30min.
- While it's baking, put the graham crackers in the food processor (breaking into smaller pieces as you put them in).  Pulse until they are a fine crumble.
- Remove the pan from the oven (do not turn the oven off!).
- Spoon Fluff over the brownies, letting it sit approx 1 minute before spreading (it's much easier to spread after it's melted a bit).
- Sprinkle the graham cracker dust over the marshmallows, gently pressing down to help it stick to the Fluff.
- Bake an additional 5-7 min.
- Allow to cool before cutting and serving.

Angel Food Cupcakes

Summertime.  The time of year when berries are in season and I crave light, airy desserts.  This month's theme of What's Baking was Baking with Fresh Fruits which made me very excited.  I am always looking to expand my repertoire, especially for dishes I can bring to a party or BBQ so I took this challenge as an opportunity to do just that.  When I think of fresh fruit and the summer, I immediately think of one of my favorite treats - angel food cake with whipped cream and berries.  Seriously....a moist, light cake with fluffy whipped cream and super ripe berries.  There is nothing better.  And to make it handheld and easier to eat?  Yum!  Excuse me while I go eat another cupcake before typing the next paragraph.

This recipe that I found online produced a perfectly moist cake.  And to make it a little more fruity I added fresh berries into the batter so there's even more of a berry punch in each bite.  I'll admit, I only put berries into half the batch I made just in case it didn't come out as I intended, but next time I'll be adding berries to all my cupcakes.

This was not only a great way to use the berries I've received in my CSA box but they are also the perfect addition to any summer party (they can even be made red, white and blue for 4th of July!)  And remember how I said I was trying to find something I could bring to a party?  Well, I didn't actually have any parties to attend before this blog post had to go live, so I hope my neighbors are hungry!

Angel Food Cupcakes (slightly adapted from Cooking Classy)

Ingredients
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 cup cake flour
1/4 tsp salt
6 egg whites, room temperature
2 1/2 tbsp warm water
1/2 tsp + splash vanilla extract, divided
3/4 tsp cream of tartar
strawberries and/or blueberries
1 pint heavy cream

Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line muffin tins with cupcake liners (my batter yielded 18 cupcakes)
- In the food processor, pulse granulated sugar until it is super fine (a minute or two)
- In a mixing bowl, sift together half the sugar, all of the flour and salt.
- In the mixing bowl of your electric mixer (a large mixing bowl if you're using a handheld mixer) whisk together the egg whites, water, 1/2 tsp of vanilla and cream of tartar at a low speed until well combined.  Turn mixer up to a medium speed and slowly add the remaining sugar until medium peaks form.
- Sift a thin layer of the flour mixture over the egg white mixture and using a rubber spatula, fold it into the egg mixture to incorporate it.  Repeat with the rest of the flour mixture, using small batches (I did about 10 additions).
- Divide batter into the liners, filling them 3/4 of the way (you should have some batter left over at this point).  Slice the strawberries or halve the blueberries and insert the berries throughout the batter in the liners (pushing the berries into the cups).  Use the rest of the batter to cover the berries, filling the liners almost to the top.
- Bake cupcakes for 18-20 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let cool completely on wire racks.
- While the cupcakes cool, whip the heavy cream and a splash of vanilla into a fluffy consistency.  Once the cupcakes are cool, spread the whipped cream on top (I used a silicone decorating tool). Then top with additional berries (sliced strawberries or whole blueberries).

Passover Apple Cake

I hate to show up to my grandmother's house for a seder empty handed.  I knew I was bringing gefitle fish to my in-laws the next night but that's my grandmother's specialty so I had to come up with another idea.  Dessert is usually my go-to but during Passover you have to be careful what you make since many options come out dry or tasteless.  In an effort to try new things this year, I turned to my copy of Arthur Schwartz's Jewish Home Cooking.

In this book there is a gorgeous photo of a slice of apple cake.  It looks nice and cakey and delicious. Plus it was parve, which is always a good thing.  So I set out to recreate that cake.  Following his recipe I didn't exactly get the cake in the picture, but what I did end up with was absolutely delicious!  I adjusted the recipe a bit as I went since the original called for 5 apples, sliced.  I put half this amount in the middle of the cake then went to put the other half on top.  After getting 2 layers of apple slices and still having one and a half apples left (plus the batter didn't cover the first apple section) I realized this was just way too much.  I think that my adjustment will help get a better ratio of apple to cake.

The cake was incredibly moist and delicious.  Most of it was finished at the seder, and the leftovers that we divided up amongst a few of us didn't last long.  I'll be sure to make this again next year!

Passover Apple Cake (slightly adapted from Arther Schwartz's Jewish Home Cooking)

Ingredients
Topping:
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg

Cake:
3 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil (cottonseed oil during Passover)
3/4 cup cake meal
3 medium apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4 in slices (preferably Golden Delicious apples)
1/3 cup raisins (optional)

Directions
- Position an oven rack in the center of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Lightly oil an 8 inch square glass baking dish.
- In a small bowl, mix together the topping ingredients and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, with an handheld mixer, beat the eggs on medium speed until well mixed.
- Beat in the sugar 2tbsp at a time, beating until the mixture is thick and foamy.
- Beat in the oil, adding it in a steady stream.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then using the spatula stir in the cake meal, blending well.
- Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan.  Sprinkle half of the topping over the batter.  Top with half of the apple slices and all of the raisins (if using).
- Scrape the remaining batter over the apples, spreading it out to cover the apples evenly.  Arrange the remaining apple slices on top of the batter.  Sprinkle the remaining topping mixture over the apples.
- Bake for 1 hour 15min, until the topping has begun to carmelize.
- Let the cake cool in the baking dish for several hours before slicing and serving.

Sweet Potato Pie

It's Pi Day!  Not only is it 3/14, but it's 3/14/15, even better!  Every year on March 14th I think 'why didn't I make a pie?!" so when Kate from Kate's Recipe Box announced a link up for Pi Day I jumped at the chance.

This challenge allowed me to tackle something on my bucket list, as well.  I have had in mind to make a sweet potato pie since last Thanksgiving my father asked if I could make a one to bring to the family's festivities.  The host of the meal vetoed that as they had too many pies already (and sweet potato dishes in the main course) so I did not fulfill my father's wish.  In fact, he almost missed out on this pie but thankfully I had plans to be in his area a few days after I made this, so I made sure to deliver him a slice.

The pie filling is perfectly fluffy and just sweet enough without being too sweet.  And I have to say, my attempt at a homemade pie crust was a lot more successful than the last time I tried.  It rolled out nicely and even the crimping seemed to come out better!  I had made an adjustment to that recipe so maybe that's what did it? Who knows?!  But I am proud of how this pie came out, taste and presentation-wise.

Sweet Potato Pie (slightly altered from Alton Brown)

Ingredients
1lb 3oz sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/4 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
5 egg yolks
Kosher salt
1 9 inch deep dish pie dough, either frozen or homemade (*see recipe below)
1 cup chopped pecans
1 tbsp real maple syrup

Directions
- Put cubed potatoes into steamer basket and place steamer basket into a large pot of simmering water that is no closer than 2 inches from the bottom of basket. Allow to steam for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Mash with potato masher and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- In a small pan, toast pecans over low heat until fragrant.
- In the bowl of an electrical mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the mashed sweet potato, yogurt, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, egg yolks, and salt, to taste.  Beat until well combined.
- Pour batter into the pie shell.  Sprinkle the pecans on top and drizzle with maple syrup.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Once fully cooled, pie should be refrigerated.

*Pie Dough (slightly altered from Craft of Baking)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp kosher salt
8 tbsp (1 stick) chilled, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup vegetable oil spread
1/2 cup ice water, plus more if needed

Directions
***For best results, measure out ingredients and chill in the freezer for 15 minutes before making the dough
 
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, and salt; pulse to combine.
- Add the butter and the shortening, and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, with some larger pieces remaining. 
- With the machine running, add the ice water through the feed tube in a slow, steady stream, processing just until the dough begins to bind and holds together when squeezed in the palm of your hand, 5 to 10 seconds.  If the dough is too dry, add a bit more water, 1 tbsp at a time. 
- Turn out the dough onto a clean work surface and shape it into a flattened disk.  Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or over night (the dough can be frozen for up to 1 month; thaw it overnight in the refrigerator before using)
  Be sure to check out these other Pies for Pi Day:     Strawberry Pop Tart Pie from Kate's Recipe Box

Indiana Sugar Cream Pie from Eva Bakes

Coconut Cream Pie from Relish

Individual Pepperoni Pizza Pot Pies from Cheese Curd in Paradise

Lemon Cheesecake Pie from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks

Chocolate Pecan Pie from Cookaholic Wife

Holiday Tarts

When my cousin got married back in the early 90s our aunt compiled a booklet of family recipes for her.  At my bridal shower I was handed the booklet which my cousin lovingly passed down to me.  Considering our aunt had since passed away, this was even more special as it made me feel that the gift was from our aunt as well.

As I was deciding what treats to make for my family this year, I flipped through this booklet and came across this recipe for holiday tarts from my grandmother.  Because my grandmother passed away a week after my 11th birthday I don't necessarily remember her making these, but as soon as my mom opened her package she exclaimed "you made my mother's holiday tarts?!" so I knew I made them well.  My grandmother would make them as free-form thumbprint cookies but I made use of my mini muffin tin to make mini tarts.  What I love about her recipe is the "old school"ness of it.  She suggests using a thimble to make the nest.

I love family traditions, especially around the holidays, so it made me very happy to incorporate my grandmother's recipe this year.

Holiday Tarts (slightly adapted from my grandmother's recipe)

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup pastry flour
1 egg, separated
1/2 cup pecans
jelly (I used strawberry, but my grandmother used mint)

Directions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar.  Add slightly beaten egg yolk.  Gradually add flour.
- Roll into small balls by hand then dip in lightly beaten egg white.  Roll balls in chopped nuts.
- Press ball into greased mini miffin tin, shaping so the sides are higher than the center, creating a "nest".
- Bake for 20 min at 300 degrees.
- Let cook for 5 min before transferring to a wire cooling rack.
- Allow to fully cool, then fill centers with jelly.

Iced Pumpkin Cookies - Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap

When I asked my uncle what I could contribute to our Thanksgiving meal, his response was "how about a cookie that is appropriate for little fingers?".  We had nine kids 5 and under (including my own) so I was happy to oblige.  And I knew the perfect holiday treat to make, too!

My dear friend Jessica over at Sunny Side Up had just made these Iced Pumpkin Cookies for her Blogger's Choice swap and raved about them, so they were the obvious choice for my Thanksgiving dessert.  To make them more toddler-friendly I left the icing off, but everyone still raved about them.  My sister-in-law even made them herself that weekend!  And bonus, the recipe Jessica had based hers on was actually dairy-free, so if you're looking to make them parve, just check out the post at Dough See Dough.

These cookies went over so well at Thanksgiving (and made so many - I got about 45 cookies with one batch!) I knew immediately that these were the cookies that I would send out this year for the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap.

I love this cookie swap.  You send out 3 dozen or so of one cookie and get cookies in return from 3 different bloggers.  It always opens up my world of blogs to follow, as well!  I sent my cookies to Take a Bite out of Boca, Flamingo Musings, and Shikha la Mode and in return I got delicious molasses spice cookies from Three Sixty Five Degrees, chocolate chip oatmeal hazelnut macaroons from My Upbeet Life and cranberry chocolate chip cookies from The Dreamery.

From the response I have been getting from everyone that tries these cookies, I know that they will be making a comeback next fall.

Iced Pumpkin Cookies (from Sunny Side Up)

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup pack dark brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree (I used fresh, but you can also use 100% canned pumpkin)
1 egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 cup confectioners' sugar
4 tbsp milk
1 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract


Directions
- Preheat oven to 350f.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.  Set aside.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer (fitted with a paddle attachment) cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl then add the pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla.  Mix  until well combined.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients (I add 1/4 cup at a time), scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Using a rounded tablespoon (or a cookie scoop), place the dough 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.  Wet your hands with a little water (so the dough doesn't stick to them) and gently mold the dough into a more rounded circle, flatten, and smooth.
- Bake 13-15 minutes.  Allow to cool on teh baking sheet for 5 minutes  before transferring to a wire cooking rack.
- While the cookies are cooling, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk, melted butter and vanilla extract.  Add the additional tbsps of as needed to reach your desired drizzling consistency.  Drizzle over the cookies and allow to harden before storing.

It's noted that the cookies may become too moist being stored in tupperware or a ziplock bag.  If this happens, you can store them with parchment paper between each layer and leave a corner of the tupperware lid open.

Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

My annual tradition to kick-off to the holiday season is getting a peppermint hot chocolate from Starbucks.  Yes, I know they are available all year around, but it doesn't seem right having one mid-July.  I always indulge in this treat Thanksgiving weekend.  Something about the minty chocolatey-ness (yes, that's a word) brings the cozy feelings of the holidays.

When Colleen from The Redhead Baker announced her Cupcake Day event I knew that I wanted to make a cupcake version of my favorite holiday drink.  After one more "research trip" to Starbucks I got to work.

I scoured the internet to find a good recipe for the cupcakes and came across one on 2Teaspoons, then added my own spin on the icing with adding a mint whipped cream.  Most recipes I found had a buttercream or marshmallow frosting, but when you order a hot chocolate they always ask if you want whipped cream.  The appropriate answer, of course, is a hesitant "ok, just a little".  That way you feel like you're not going to blow a ton of calories and can pretend they actually write "just a little" and not just mark it to get a huge glob of deliciousness added on top.

I have to say, this is maybe one of my favorite things ever to come out of my kitchen.  I ended up with some mint whipped cream left over and could probably adjust the measurements so you'd wind up with less, however it's so delicious that I could eat it by the spoonful or put on top of a mug of actual hot chocolate, so why would I deny you that pleasure as well?!

This is going to be a permanent addition to my holiday baking.  I already have ideas to make mini cupcakes if we need a treat for any holiday parties.

Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cupakes with Mint Whipped Cream Frosting (slightly adapted from 2Teaspoons)

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup + 1 heaping tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, divided
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup + 2tbsp granulated sugar, divided
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp + 1/4 tsp peppermint extract, divided
1/2 cup buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk, mix 1/2 cup milk and 1 tbsp white vinegar and let it sit for 5 min)
2 cups heavy cream

Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Melt butter and chocolate chips in a microwavable bowl for 2 min, then stir to combine.  Add in the heaping tbsp of cocoa powder and stir.  Set aside to cool.
- In medium bowl, sift together remaining cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl, which together eggs, 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, light brown sugar, vanilla and peppermint.  Once that is combined, whisk the butter/chocolate mixture in.  Stir in the buttermilk.
- Gradually (I used 1/4 cup at a time) add in the flour mixture, stirring to combine before each addition.  The batter will be the consistency of a thick chocolate pudding.
- Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.  Divide batter evenly amongst the 12 liners.
- Bake until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted, approx 18 minutes.
- Let cook completely before frosting.
- In a medium bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer) whip heavy cream, 2 tbsp granulated sugar, and 1/4 tsp peppermint extract until it becomes a stiff whipped cream.  ***I love to use the whisk attachment that came with my immersion blender, otherwise it makes for a really great arm workout!
- Once the whipped cream is set, fill a frosting bag with it and pipe it onto each cupcake.


Full list of Cupcake Day participants:

• Hot Cocoa Cupcakes by The Redhead Baker
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes by The Cooking Actress
• Vanilla Candy Cane Cupcakes by Noshing With The Nolands
• Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Nerds Cupcakes by Amy's Confectionery Adventures
• Vegan Midori Melon Cupcakes by NinjaBaker
• Chocolate Bourbon Cupcakes with Candied Butter Pecan Frosting by From Gate to Plate
• Dark Chocolate Rum Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream by Lemony Thyme
• Gingerbread cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting by Eva Bakes
• Cranberry Apple Cupcakes by The Pajama Chef
• Almond Joy Cupcakes by Our Eating Habits
• Buttered Rum Cupcakes by Adventures in All Things Food
• Maple Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Cone Head Cupcakes with Ice Cream Frosting by The Spiffy Cookie
• Candied Buddha's Hand-Eggnog Cupcakes by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Almond Joy Cupcakes by Food Lust People Love
• Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Chocolate Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting for 2 by Kate's Recipe Box
• Cranberry Cupcakes with White Chocolate Buttercream by Cheese Curd In Paradise
• Peppermint Patty Cupcakes by Comfortably Domestic
• Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Biscoff Marshmallow Buttercream by Making Miracles
• Chocolate Cupcakes with Red Velvet Frosting by {i love} my disorganized life
• Lemon Cupcakes by Miss Information
• Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cupcakes by Kosher Kitchen
• Peppermint Cream Cookie Cupcakes by Take a Bite out of Boca
• Cupcake Christmas Wreath by Lick the Spoon

Pumpkin Spice Bread

Cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon.

Those are the flavors of fall to me.  I know it's fall when I break those ingredients out for my baking attempts.  When this month's theme for What's Baking was announced as "baking with pumpkin or squash" I was excited.  While I love a good zucchini bread, my favorite way to enjoy squash is in soup or just roasted with brown sugar, maple syrup, etc.  I think I made it known when we last had the pumpkin theme two years ago that I was never a big fan of pumpkin flavored things.  I realized after making Pumpkin-Parmesean Biscuits that I actually enjoy pumpkin when it's baked in with other ingredients.  I think I mostly am turned off by the over pumpkin-ing of everything lately.  I mean, there are pumpkin Oreos, and, of course, the beloved "PSL" (when did that become a thing?  Why can't people just say "pumpkin spice latte"?  I have no idea and I have no desire to try it).

With the theme in mind, I flipped through a few of my cookbooks for inspiration and came across this recipe for Pumpkin Spice Bread in The Craft of Baking and set out to see if the pumpkin could, once again, win me over.

The end result is delicious.  It's easy to make (two bowls and a loaf pan, no mixers necessary) and there was no panic that it would be ruined after my son awoke from his nap earlier than planned.  In other news, the container of demerara sugar is a great toy that will provide enjoyment for as long as mommy needs to finish getting the batter ready.

Be sure to check out Carrie's Sweet Life for her upcoming round-up of all this month's submissions.

Pumpkin Spice Bread (from The Craft of Baking)

Ingredients
unsalted butter, at room temperature, for greasing the pan
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp sour cream
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
pinch of ground white pepper
1 tbsp demerara sugar

Directions
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Line the bottom of an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 in loaf pan with parchment paper, and grease the bottom and sides with butter.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg, egg yolk, and oil.  Add the pumpkin, sour cream, and vanilla and whisk well to combine.
- In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and white pepper.
- Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet, then whisk together gently to just combine.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle the top with the demerara sugar.
- Bake, rotating the pan once, until the bread is firm to the touch, well browned, and slightly cracked on top, about 55 minutes.
- Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let stand for 5 minutes.  Then turn out the loaf onto the rack t cool.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.

*The bread will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Teiglach

G'mar tov!

I hope you all had a sweet Rosh Hashanah.  Ours was filled with family, friends, and food.  Lots and lots of food.  Especially being eaten by my one year old.  This kid packs it away and I have no idea where he puts it all since he's so small!  But now we know he likes matzah balls, gefilte fish and kasha.  He hasn't voiced his opinion on my gefilte fish vs my grandmother's, though.  He seems to enjoy them both equally.

As I was preparing for the holiday I knew I wanted to bring something to my grandparents'.  I have brought honey cake in the past but wanted to do something a little different this year.  So I turned to my trusty Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking for ideas.  Everything in their Rosh Hashanah section looked better then the last but the one that jumped out at me was teiglach.  I'd heard of teiglach before but had never had it.  It is basically hard dough balls covered in a honey mixture.  What's not to like about that?!  And this recipe calls for ground ginger which adds a nice kick.

The end result tasted great and was a hit with my family.  In the future I may try to make the dough balls a little bigger but I like that it's a bite size dessert that easy to share.  I didn't get fancy with my plating this time since I had to be able to transport it.  Next time I would try to put the balls in more of a shaped tower.

I wish all a happy new year and may you have an easy fast.

Teiglach (from A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking)

Ingredients
Dough:
3 eggs
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour + more for dusting

Honey Syrup:
3/4 cup honey
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup shredded coconut

Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and lightly smear with vegetable oil or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, sugar and salt.
- Blend in the flour to make a very soft dough.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, adding just enough flour, if necessary, to make it easy to roll.
- With your hands, roll the dough into long ropes, about 1/2 inch wide.
- Pinch or cut off 1/2 inch pieces (I used my pizza cutter for quick and easy cutting).  Place all the little pieces on the prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake, shaking the sheet occasionally, until the dough pieces puff and are golden brown (15-20 min).

- Once the dough is baked, make the syrup: In a saucepan, heat the honey and sugar together and boil very gently for 3-5 min until just amber colored.
- Lower the heat, then stir in the ginger, walnuts, and the baked puffs, tossing to coat them.
- Spread the mixture out onto a lightly greased baking sheet (using wet hands or a spatula) or arrange the teiglach in a tower formation.
- Sprinkle with coconut.
- Allow it to cool and harden (leave out or you could put it in the freezer for 30 min).
- This is a sticky dessert, so either pull off pieces to eat or you can use 2 spoons to take a section.

Getting Ready for Rosh Hashanah

We are a week away from Rosh Hashanah and I'm sure everyone is planning their new year menus.  I have placed my order for whitefish, carp and pike so I can make my gefilte fish on Tuesday.  I may also whip up some noodle kugel.

If you are in search of some new ideas on how to ring in a sweet 5775, I asked some blogging buddies for dishes that use honey and here are a few other recipes I'd like to share:

***All pictures belong to the blog I link the recipe to***


Start your day off with these delicious breakfast ideas:

Honey Butter Croissants from Eva Bakes



Honey Almond Granola from Books & Cooks




Grapefruit Honey Cereal Muffins from Adventures in My Kitchen




Grapefruit Honey Yogurt Scones from The Way the Cookie Crumbles



And end your meal with some of these sweet treats:



Honey Cake that I posted in September 2012



 Karidopita (Greek Walnut Cake) from Elly Says Opa



Baklava from Elly Says Opa



Honey Ice Cream from The Way the Cookie Crumbles


I hope these recipes help you have a sweet new year!

Blueberry Coffee Cake

Summer is here!  I am so excited to use all the great produce out there.  Who doesn't want to enjoy some fresh berries?!  I was pondering what to make for this month's What's Baking for the summer produce theme when Jenn from Jenn Cuisine mentioned a blueberry coffee cake that was a family favorite from when she was growing up.  I love blueberries so this one jumped straight to the top of my list.

I had also recently received a wonderful gift of salts, sugars and other spices from myspicesage.com. One of the sugar I was gifted was a blueberry flavored sugar.  I ended up mixing this with the brown sugar in the topping which I think added a little something extra to it.

This was very easy to make, although I did have a little snafu with the topping.  In my head it said melted butter which wasn't the case, though in the end I think it tasted pretty good as I made it.  I used light sour cream, 1/3 less fat cream cheese and Skim Plus milk which made me feel a little better about the multiple slices I ate.  The cake is pretty big, so this is definitely one to share.

Blueberry Coffee Cake (from The Main Wild Blueberry Cookbook)

Ingredients
Cake:
3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
2 /3 cup milk
1 1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 cups blueberries, drained
8oz cream cheese, cut into 1/2 in cubes

Topping:
1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions
- preheat oven to 350 degrees
- grease a 9 x 13in pan
- combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Set aside
- in a separate bowl, combine slightly beaten eggs, sour cream, milk, vanilla and melted butter.
- add dry ingredients and stir only until well mixed.
- fold in cream cheese cubes
- gently fold in blueberries.
- spoon into prepared pan
- in a separate bowl mix the topping ingredients
- spread topping evenly over the batter
- bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean

S'mores Pie

When I sign up for a recipe swap, I usually look through my assigned blog and try to find something that would fit perfectly into my week's menu plan, usually as a main dish.  This was not that kind of a swap.  I fully admit that this recipe choice is a case of "why not to choose a dish on an empty stomach".  As I looked through The Cookaholic Wife's recipe index this S'mores Pie jumped out at me.  I knew that I needed to make this immediately.

This pie was so easy to make and was just as delicious as I expected it to be.  I would be more afraid of just how much of the pie I'll end up eating if it weren't for the fact that my husband already ate 2 slices.  So I think my waistline will be just fine....until the next time I make the pie.

Thank you again to Sarah at A Taste of Home Cooking for hosting the swap!

S'mores Pie (from The Cookaholic Wife)

Ingredients
1 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (approx 10-11 sheets)
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
10 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
marshmallows (either 1 cup mini, whole or 16 large, halved)


Directions
- Preheat oven to 325
- Put the graham crackers in food processor and pule until crumbs.  Stir the butter into the crumbs until combined, then press the crumb mixture into a 9" pie plate.  Place the pie plate on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil.
- Heat the heavy cream and milk in a saucepan over a medium-law flame until it simmers slightly around the edges.  Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate until melted.  Whisk in the sugar and salt.  In a separate bowl lightly beat the two eggs, then add slowly to the chocolate mixture while whisking.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into the crust.  Bake for 25-30 min until set.
- Remove the pie from the oven and spread a layer of marshmallows on top.  Set the oven to broil and put the pie back in the oven until the marshmallows are toasted (approx 20 seconds).
- Let the pie cool slightly, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
*** It's recommended to heat the pie in the microwave for about 10 seconds before eating for an extra gooey bite***

An InLinkz Link-up

Irish Tea Cake

I should start by apologizing for my absence of new posts lately.  A lot has happened since my last update and this post is long overdue.  I am going with the theory of "better late than never" on this one.  But let me back up and explain from the beginning...

About two months ago I received an e-mail inviting me to participate in a "virtual baby shower" for Jessica of Sunny Side Up.  A virtual baby shower is when a "host" blogger reaches out to a group of other bloggers and assigns a theme for the "shower" and a date for their blog post to go live.  Essentially everyone invited makes a dish that they would bring if they were invited to a real baby shower but instead they blog about it.  I was excited to participate because A) I had never participated in a virtual shower before and I had always wanted to be involved in one and B) Jessica and I had become "labor buddies".  She was due 15 days before me and although we met originally through a cooking message board over a year ago, we ended up on the same pregnancy board so we paired up to talk about everything we were going through.

The date for the shower was August 27th.  With everything going on between the move and preparing for our baby, I had set aside the morning of August 25th to bake my contribution.  And then that morning rolled around, and SURPRISE!!  My water broke!  So instead of doing something to celebrate Jessica's baby, I ended up with one of my own!

So as you could guess, the last month has been quite busy.  We're finally getting a hang of this parenthood stuff and I was able to get back into the kitchen this weekend and bake.  The first thing I wanted to do was to actually make my baby shower dish since we were actually looking forward to eating this one and were a little disappointed we missed out last month.

The theme of Jessica's shower was to make something Irish, to celebrate her daughter Maeve.  After some Googling, I found this recipe for Irish Tea Cake.  It is a super simple recipe, and doesn't take much time at all to prepare.  And best of all, I had all of the ingredients in my pantry already!  I think that this is the perfect treat for any daytime party (such as a shower) or when you have company over for tea (or coffee).  This might end up as my go-to dish when I want to have something around the house or to bring to a friend's house for a visit.

You can check out the full shower "menu" at Jessica's blog here and be sure to check out her latest blog post to see baby Maeve, who arrived on September 3rd (and is quite the little cutie!).

 

Irish Tea Cake (slightly adapted from Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter; softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
confectioners' sugar for dusting


Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9 inch round pan.
- With your mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs (one at a time), then stir in the vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  Stir into the batter in small amounts, ,alternating with milk.  If the batter is too stiff, a tablespoon or two of milk may be added.
- Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool in pan on a wire rack, then turn out onto a serving plate.
- Dust with confectioners' sugar right before serving.

S'more Bites

The summer is always full of barbeques and other outdoor get-togethers, and I'm always searching for the perfect dish to bring to the party.  When this month's issue of Self magazine showed up, it had a section of "fresh, easy, fun" dishes that don't take a lot of cook time.  The recipe for the s'more bites immediately jumped out at me because, well, who doesn't like s'mores?!

I made these for a 4th of July barbeque and they were a big hit.  And according to the magazine they're not too unhealthy

They were pretty easy to make, though I had to make sure I was spreading things out evenly.  The rice crispy layers I ended up just using my hands to break it apart and make sure I filled in any holes.  And I had spread the chocolate a little too thin and in some pieces the graham cracker didn't adhere to the chocolate, so next time I'll make sure that I leave it a little thicker so it can fuse together a bit better.

What's also great about this is that you mix the butter, marshmallow and rice crispys on the stove, and you have to melt chocolate, but there's no oven used in this and it's served at room temperature, so I was able to make this shortly before we walked out the door and didn't have to make it in advance enough to cool down, etc.

S'more Bites (recipe from Self magazine)

Ingredients
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 bag (10oz) marshmallows
6 cups rice-crisp cereal
1 cup melted, semisweet chocolate chips
rectangular graham crackers (approx. 15 squares)
1 cup marshmallow crème (such as Fluff)

Directions
- In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Stir in marshmallows and cook, stirring until smooth, 2 minutes; remove from heat.
- In a bowl, combine marshmallows with cereal; mix well.
- In the bottom of a 9x13 in pan, spread half of the cereal mixture into a thin, even layer.  Top with warmed chocolate.  Place graham crackers in a single layer over chocolate, breaking crackers as needed to fit; top with crème.  Spread remaining half of cereal mixture over crème; press lightly to cement layers together.
- Let it sit at room temperature for at least 15 min before cutting and serving.

Milk-Chocolate Tart with Pretzel Crust

This month's theme for What's Baking was "sweet n salty".  This left open so many possibilities!  I had made salted caramel blondies last fall which were delish, but did I want to go that route again?  I turned to trusty ol' Google and came across this recipe for a chocolate tart with a pretzel crust.  Yes, please!!!

It was a little time-consuming, though I could have split it up a bit more and done the crust either earlier in the day or the night before, but I didn't mind spending the time on it (it was a lot of "do this then let it chill for 30 min" steps so I had some free time to do other things).

One issue I ran into was with the crust.  It was super hot in my apartment when I was making this, so I'd take the dough out of the fridge from chilling, and it would warm up pretty fast.  This may have been the cause for the crust not staying formed when I went to bake it.  Even with the pie weights the crust rose more than it should have.  But even if the end result was more crust than chocolate (I ended up being able to put in maybe 3/4 of the filling) it still came out delicious.  I don't know if I needed more chocolate, and the crust was so good I wanted more of it.

I ended up bringing this as a dessert for our Father's Day celebration with my in-laws and not only did everyone enjoy it, but I got the best compliment of all - as we were saying our goodbyes my nephew only wanted to know if the chocolate pie was staying!

Milk-Chocolate Tart with Pretzel Crust (slightly adapted from foodandwine.com)

Ingredients 
Crust:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened 
1 1/4 cups coarsely crushed thin pretzels (3 1/2 ounces) 
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar 
1/2 cup all-purpose flour 
1 large egg 
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

 

Filling:

1 1/2 cups heavy cream 

3/4 lb milk chocolate, chopped 

sea salt, crushed pretzels and crème fraîche, for serving  

Directions
- In a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter with 3/4 cup of the pretzels and the confectioners' sugar at low speed until creamy. Beat in the flour and egg. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of pretzels, being sure to leave some pretzel pieces intact. Flatten the dough between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 30 minutes.

-  Roll out the dough between the sheets of plastic wrap to a 12-inch round. Peel off the top sheet and invert the dough over a 10-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough into the corners and patch any tears. Trim the overhanging dough and refrigerate the shell for 30 minutes or until firm. 

- Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer. Off the heat, add the milk chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Transfer the filling to a bowl and let cool to room temperature, about 1 hour.


- Preheat the oven to 350°.  Line the shell with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake for about 30 minutes, until nearly set. Remove the parchment and weights and bake for 10 to 15 minutes longer, until the tart shell is firm; cover the edge with foil if it darkens too much. Let the shell cool completely. Brush the melted chocolate over the bottom and up the side and refrigerate for 10 minutes, until set.

- Pour the filling into the shell and refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and crushed pretzels. Cut into wedges, top with crème fraîche; serve.

Derby Tartlets

This month's What's Baking theme was mini bites.  So when I got this month's issue of Food Network Magazine and saw this recipe for Derby Tartlets I knew that was what I wanted to make.  The combo of the walnuts and chocolate is delicious and brings me back to my childhood when I would get Derby Pie from a local restaurant.  This was a perfect bite sized way to enjoy this old favorite.  And, of course, to make it a little more "derby" appropriate it incorporates bourbon, like all good Kentucky dishes should.  I used the complete amount of bourbon in the filling, but didn't add as much to the whipped cream as I need to watch my consumption of non-cooked alcohol.  But I used a splash so that the cream still had a bit of that flavor.

They were pretty easy to make, though there's a lot of non-active time spent.  But at least partway through you can take a break.  I ended up making the crusts as I was doing some work around the house and then when they went onto the rack to "cool completely" we went out for dinner, then I made the filling when I returned home.  So it's not something where you really feel like you're stuck home all day to make.

I think my favorite part of this is the walnut crust.  Definitely makes a difference!

Derby Tartlets (from Food Network Magazine, May 2013)

Ingredients

for the crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
4 tbsp cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 in pieces
2-3 tbsp ice cold water
cooking spray

for the filling:
1/3 cup milk chocolate chips
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup plus 3tbsp heavy cream
2 tbsp burbon
1 tbsp confectioners' sugar
candied walnuts, for topping


Directions

- Make the crusts: pulse the flour, walnuts, granulated sugar and salt in a food processor until finely ground.  Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal.  Drizzle in 2-3 tbsp ice cold water and pulse until dough starts to come together.  Turn out onto a sheet of plastic wrap; shape into a disk, then wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
- Spray  an 18-cup mini-muffin pan with cooking spray.  Press 1 tbsp dough into the bottom and up the sides of each cup (it helps to flatten dough into mini discs first).  Refrigerate 20 min.
- Preheat oven to 375.  Bake the crusts until golden brown, 20-25 min, then press the centers of the crusts down with a small spoon.  Let cool in the pan 10 min, then remove to a rack to cool completely.
- Make the filling: Combine 3 tbsp cream and 1 tbsp bourbon in a small, microwave-safe bowl and microwave until simmering, about 30 seconds.  Put the chocolate chips in a bowl and pour the hot cream/boubon mixture over the chocolate chips and let stand 1 min, then stir until smooth.  Let cool slightly.
- Spoon the filling into the crusts and let set, about 20 min.  Whisk the remaining 1/4 cup cream and 1 tbsp bourbon with the confectioners' sugar until soft peaks form; spoon into the tartlets and top with candied walnuts.

Decadent Fudge Brownies with Glossy Fudge Frosting

It's Passover again!  I'm trying to expand my Passover repertoire this year (and not make so many things from boxed mixes), so I cracked open A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking which I had received as a Chanukah gift from my husband's aunt and uncle.  Many recipes looked delicious, but this one really stood out to me.  Brownies that were Kosher for Passover and tasted good???  What??!!  So I decided to give them a whirl.

Boy am I glad I did!  They really are decadent, and everything about them is delicious, down to the mocha frosting (the recipe says you can use either water or coffee, I highly recommend using the coffee!).  To be honest, these were some of the best brownies I've had, Passover or not.  I think I may even break this out at other points of the year!  Maybe I should stock up on Passover cake meal.....

And the best part?  This month's theme for What's Baking is "sprinkles", so these qualify for my submission there, too.  Though regular sprinkles have corn starch, so I used the sugar crystal type.

Decadent Fudge Brownies with Glossy Fudge Frosting


Ingredients

for the brownies:
2 cups white or brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter or unsalted Passover margarine, melted and cooled
3 eggs
1 tablespoon brewed coffee
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1/4 tsp salt
1 scant cup matzah cake meal

for the frosting:
2/3 cup water or brewed coffee
7 oz semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp unsalted butter or Passover margarine, softened


Directions
- preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- lightly grease a 7-by-10 inch rectangular baking pan, a 9-inch square pan, or an 8 or 9 inch springform pan.
- in a bowl, mix the sugar into the melted butter, then the eggs, coffee, cocoa, salt, and cake meal.
- spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 25 min.  Do not overbake.  The brownies should be set and seem dry to the touch, but there should not be a crust around the sides.
- Cool in the pan

For the frosting:
- heat the water or coffee in a small saucepan.
- as it comes to a boil, reduce the heat and stir in the chopped chocolate.
- remove the pan from the stove and stir until the chocolate is thoroughly melted.
- cool in the refrigerator for about 30 min.
- whisk in the softened butter or margarine and spread the frosting on top of the cooled brownies.
- let frosting set
- cut into squares (or wedges if using a round pan)

Caramel Shortbread Bars

It's time for the monthly recipe swap, hosted by the fabulous Sarah of Taste of Home Cooking.  When I saw the theme of this month's recipe swap, I immediately got excited.  Who doesn't love dessert??!!  I sent off my submission and eagerly awaited my assignment.  When I first saw these caramel shortbread bars I was excited, they looked delish!  It wasn't until I went to go make them that my feelings for this dessert started to sour.

I try not to adjust recipes that I'm assigned.  The point of the swap is to make what is sent you, not just something like what is sent.  So although I was a little surprised at just how much butter went into a dish baked in an 8x8 pan (3 1/2 sticks!!) I went with it and hoped for the best.  Thankfully I didn't have much planned the weekend I made this.  There are so many steps and most of the stuff has to then chill for an hour.  I ended up making this over the course of 2 days.

The end result was just ok.  It seemed way too butter-y and the chocolate was a bit bitter.  I think if I made this again I'd adjust a few things - I'd make less dough (and definitely use less butter), more caramel and use 70% cocoa (the original recipe said "the higher percentage, the better" so I aimed high).  My proportions seemed a bit off from what Coleen had ended up with.

Thankfully my husband's coworker will eat almost anything put in the break room, so I sent these treats with him and they were gone within a few days.

Caramel Shortbread Bars (submitted by The Redheaded Baker)

Ingredients:

For the cookie crust: 

- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, soft 
- ¼ cup granulated sugar 
- ¼ cup powdered sugar 
- 1 tsp vanilla extract 
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 
- ¼ tsp salt
For the caramel:
- ½ cup light brown sugar 
- 1 cup sweetened condensed milk

For the chocolate glaze: 
- 9 ounces chocolate, finely chopped (the higher percentage, the better) 
- 1 ½ tsp light corn syrup 
- 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, soft

Directions: 
- Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving three to four inches of overhang on two sides.  
- Cream the butter in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and creamy. Beat in the sugars and vanilla.  
- Whisk together the flour and the salt, then fold into the butter mixer. Spread the dough into the baking pan and smooth in an even layer. Chill for one hour.  
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes, just until the cookie crust starts to brown at the edges.  
- Refrigerate crust until ready to add caramel layer, at least one hour and up to two days.  
- Place the brown sugar and sweetened condensed milk in a medium saucepan. Cook on low heat, stirring frequently, for one hour to 90 minutes, until caramel-colored and thickened.  
- Pour over cookie crust. Place in the freezer for one hour.  
- Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before adding chocolate glaze.  
- Place the chocolate, corn syrup and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water over lowest heat. Stir frequently, until only a few lumps of chocolate remain. Remove from heat and stir until smooth. Pour over caramel layer. Refrigerate at least one hour.  
- To cut, dip knife in boiling water, wipe clean with a kitchen towel, and make a cut. Dip knife in hot water, wipe dry, make another cut. Repeat with entire sheet. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator with wax paper between each bar.