December 2018

Hello Again Everyone,

I am back at the baking! Actually, since I last blogged, I am not sure that I really stopped baking.  I am always looking for an occasion to bake.  Birthdays are the perfect excuse.  In January, there was Greg's Birthday and a Boston Creme Pie for him.  Then there was Jenni at the office's birthday in February where a Cheesecake with Strawberry topping was called for! Then Marissa and her friends Kylah and Jackie came to visit before traveling for their last spring break and we celebrated Jackie's Birthday.  A Chocolate Cake was made for that occasion.  Also in March we had a snow day and that called for a baking project, Salted Chocolate Chunk Shortbread cookies.  They were the rage on social media at the time so I needed to see what all the fuss was about.They lived up to the hype.

April came and we made Ricotta cookies for Michael to take to the Blue and White Game. May was another office birthday celebration and carrot cupcakes were in order for Frank and David's Birthdays.  May had another birthday and a Milk Bar birthday cake was necessary to celebrate Michael.  June, July and August I took a baking vacation to attend two family weddings -- Andrew and Hannah in Winston-Salem in June and Allie and Joseph in Chattanooga in July.  August, we vacationed at the beach and not to worry, even though I didn't bake, there was lots of baked goods consumed during that time.  I do remember making a Lemon Blueberry bread as a hostess gift when visiting my cousin Julie and family in July.

September I was back baking when I made Baklava Shortbread Bars just because I had phyllo dough in the freezer that needed to be used and then made real Baklava with the rest of the phyllo dough another weekend.  The recipe was a Greek family heirloom, straight from Diana's mother-in-law. October was another baking vacation.  Resting up for the start of the holiday baking in November.  November did not disappoint with a Milk Bar mint cookie layer cake for Marissa's Birthday and a Pecan Pie Cheesecake for Thanksgiving.  Greg got in on the baking with a Caramel Apple Pie for Thanksgiving. He took over Mom's apple pie tradition and is carrying the torch quite well. I also made caramel apple scones for Thanksgiving weekend when family was visiting.

This weekend, I started baking for real with Milk Bar chocolate cupcakes and apple cider spice cupcakes for our work birthday celebration (will post pictures later) and I also made my first Christmas cookie, Peanut Butter Temptations.  These are by far my most requested cookie, so I made a huge batch of them so that everyone can enjoy their fill of these cookies to hold them over until next Christmas.  We were thinking ahead and bought a big bag of Halloween packaged Reeses (at half price after Halloween) so that we could use them for this recipe.  Love saving money by planning ahead! (Doesn't happen often so I need to celebrate it when it does).

This year, I have decided not to make a cookie every day but I plan to make 12 new cookies this year and of course will make a few of our traditional cookies from prior years.  It wouldn't be Christmas without some of these.

Check back periodically to see what new cookies I have found and how they have turned out.

Greg's Boston Creme Pie

Cheesecake with Strawberry Topping

Chocolate Cake

Salted Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies

Ricotta cookies with Buttercream Frosting

Carrot Cupcakes

Milk Bar Birthday Cake

Baklava Shortbread Bars

Traditional Baklava

Milk Bar Mint Cookie Layer Cake

Pecan Pie Cheesecake

Greg's Salted Caramel Apple Pie

Caramel Apple Scones

Peanut Butter Temptations

 

Recap

Hope you had a Merry Christmas! There were 18 of us at Christmas dinner so we had lots of cookie tasters.  I asked what was everyone's favorite cookie but I couldn't get a consensus.  Old favorites like the smores cups came up but of the new cookies, I heard Andes mint cookies a few times as well as the buckeyes with the toffee and the key lime filled pizzelles.  I think everyone enjoyed sampling but nobody tackled trying to eat all 24 after a big Christmas dinner.  Actually, if they had tried all varieties, they would have eaten 28 different cookies (Pecan Tassies with and without chocolate, plain and red velvet Oreo truffles, ricotta cookies with lemon glaze and with butter cream icing, buckeye with and without toffee bits). I guess they are older and wiser and more concerned about waistlines!  I enjoyed my first crack at blogging and of course always love baking.  The baking sheets have been put away until next year (mostly)!

Day 24 - Rolled Pizzelles with Key Lime Filling

For the last cookie, we decided to make something that is a favorite of Greg's.  He loves key lime pie and I found a recipe for key lime cannolis that gave me the idea for these.  The recipe made a rolled lace cookie as the shell.  While it was delicious, it was very delicate and I didn't think it would work well on a cookie tray. So instead of the rolled lace cookie, we decided to roll a pizzelle.  A pizzelle is a flat Italian cookie that reminds me of a waffle cone.  You need a special pizzelle maker, but not to worry, I had another friend, Christine, who let me borrow hers!  The pizzelles were the perfect vehicle for the key lime filling.  The filling made me long for summer at the beach!  Marissa left a couple of the filled pizzelles for Santa with a note.  She had a hunch he would like these! I think the rest of the family will too, but if they don't, I know someone who will be happy to eat the leftovers.  Hope you have enjoyed the cookie advent journey with me this month. Now all that's left to do is enjoy the cookies!  Merry Christmas!

Pizzelles: 

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 large eggs 
Pinch of salt 
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
3 ounces unsalted butter melted and cooled 
Confectioner's sugar for dusting

Directions:

Preheat the pizzelle iron, and grease or spray it if suggested in the manufacturer's instructions. Set out a cooling rack for the baked cookies. Put flour and baking powder in a medium bowl and whisk to blend; set aside. In another bowl, whisk together eggs and salt until foamy, then gradually whisk in the sugar. When mixture is smooth, whisk in the vanilla, followed by the melted butter. Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in the reserved dry ingredients. 

Using about 2 teaspoons (we used 1/2 tablespoon of batter) for each pizzelle, place batter in center of the iron, close, and bake about 2 minutes, or until golden and firm. Don't open the iron until the steam stops. As soon as the pizzelle is baked, remove from the iron to the cooling rack and continue making pizzelles with remaining batter. Should any of the pizzelles need coaxing to come off the iron, nudge them with a spatula or fork and then peel them off with your fingers. Roll them into "cannoli" shells by draping over a wooden spoon as soon as they come off the iron and are piping hot and still pliable.  Fill cooled shells with key lime filling or traditional cannoli filling.

Dust with confectioner's sugar before serving. 

Key Lime Filling:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons freshly grated lime zest

4 tablespoons bottled key lime juice or 5 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 cup mascarpone cheese (about 1/2 pound) 

In a bowl with an electric mixer beat cream cheese with sugar, zest and lime juice until smooth and beat in mascarpone.  Chill filling covered until firm, at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.

Day 23 - Rainbow Cookies

These Italian treats are truly a labor of love as they take a fair bit of time to make.  In fact, it was a two day effort.  It didn't start out that way, I was going to make them as yesterday's cookie, but we had a little mishap that set us back a bit in our process.  As I was baking the 3rd layer, I had a problem flipping the cake over onto the wire rack and the result was that the third layer broke into too many pieces to use and Marissa ended up with a small burn from the pan touching her forearm trying to help me! So I had to redo the third layer (remake the cake taking 1/3 of the ingredients -- required some elementary school math  -- Good thing I live with a math wiz).  I made these cookies for the first time last year.  I had never heard of them and my sister, Lally mentioned that it was a favorite cookie of one of her friends. Also a friend from work, Polly, said she loved them and her sister made them every year at Christmas.  Polly shared her sister's recipe with a note that instead of using almond paste as the recipe stated, her sister used almond pastry filling.  I didn't listen to this instruction as all the recipes I had seen, used almond paste.  The result last year was good but not great.  But they were so pretty and looked great on the cookie tray, I decided I would try them again.  This year I made them with almond pastry filling as I did find another recipe that also said to do this and the result was a moister cake.  It was definitely an improvement. I was very happy with the result this year.  I hope my family thinks they were worth the effort and scars.

Ingredients:

1 can (12.5 ounces) of almond pastry filling (Solo makes -- in baking aisle)
1 and 1/2 cups butter, softened (plus more for pans)
1 cup sugar
4 eggs, separated
2 cups all purpose flour
6-8 drops of red food coloring
6-8 drops of green food coloring
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
1/4 cup apricot jam
12 ounces of semisweet chocolate chips, melted

Grease the bottoms of three 13x9x2 inch baking pans.  Line the pans with parchment paper; grease and flour the paper.  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add almond filling and beat until smooth; Add egg yolks and mix until combined.  Add flour and mix until blended.  In a separate mixing bowl, beat egg whites with the whisk attachment of the mixer and beat until soft peaks form.  Fold into dough, mixing until thoroughly blended. Divide dough into three portions (about 1 and 1/2 cups, in each).  Color one with red food coloring, one with green coloring, and leave the third portion uncolored.  Spread batter in pans using an offset spatula.  Bake each color in prepared pans at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes (mine needed 12) or until edges are slightly brown.  Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then invert onto wire rack and remove parchment paper.  Cool completely.  Place green layer on a piece of plastic wrap.  Spread evenly with raspberry jam. Top with uncolored layer and spread evenly with apricot jam.  Top with pink layer.  Cover with plastic wrap and slide onto a baking sheet and set a cutting board or flat pan on top to compress layers.  Refrigerate 1 hour or overnight.

Cut into 1 to 1/12 inch wide logs.  Cover top and sides with melted chocolate.  Refrigerate to set.  Cut logs into small squares (1/2 inch).

Day 22 - Mini-Cheesecakes with Cranberry Topping

Today I made a favorite of Michael's.  They are bite size so no guilt eating these and they satisfy your cheesecake cravings.  You can top them with lemon curd or a cranberry topping which is great for the holidays.  I have also topped with a strawberry glazed with jam.

Ingredients:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs (8 double cookies)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 package (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed

Ingredients for Cranberry topping

1/4 cup water
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup cranberries (fresh or frozen)
2 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs and butter until evenly mixed.  Spoon 2 rounded teaspoons of the crumb mixture into each depression of 24 mini-muffin tins  (1 and 3/4 inch by 1 inch tins) and press into the bottoms and up the sides.

In an electric mixer,  beat cream cheese and sugar about 3 minutes until very smooth, preferable with the whisk beater.  Beat in the egg, scraping the sides of the bowl.  Add the vanilla and lemon juice and beat until incorporated.  Add the sour cream and beat just until the mixture is blended.

Fill each graham cracker-lined depression almost to the top with the batter, using a spoon.  Set mini-muffin pans on a baking sheet in the oven.  Bake for 10 minutes.  For even baking, rotate the pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking period.  The cakes will puff up but deflate on cooling, leaving shallow hollows perfect for filling with the topping.

Cook completely in the pans on wire racks.  Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

To unmold the chilled cheesecakes, fill the sink with a few inches of hot tap water.  Carefully dip each pan into the water for about 30 seconds, being careful not to allow the water to get to the top of the pan.  Use a small metal spatula or sharp knife to slip in between the sides of the cakes and the pan to pop out the cakes.  There is no need to run the spatula around the sides; the hot water makes the unmolding easy.

For filling, combine all the topping ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil stirring constantly.  Stop stirring and reduce heat and simmer for 1 minute, swirling the pan occasionally.  The mixture will be thickened but pourable.  Allow it to cool to room temperature.  Use a small spoon to place 3-4 berries with the glaze onto each unmolded cheesecake.

Day 21 - Oreo Truffles

We made these truffles for the first time in May for my nephew David's pre-prom party.  Marissa and I made a bunch of desserts for the party and these were so pretty and delicious.  Marissa had the great idea of using red velvet Oreos for these today, to give them a holiday flare! They looked so festive with red inside against the white chocolate coating.   I was lucky enough to have Marissa do the work on these today since we had a busy evening meeting friends for dinner.  We made some with red velvet Oreos and some with regular Oreos. Both were delicious yet had distinctly different tastes.

Ingredients:

1 package red velvet Oreos
5 ounces of cream cheese ( recipes used anywhere from 3 to 6 ounces) for the red velvet, with the regular Oreos which is a larger package use 8 ounces of cream cheese)
1 package of white chocolate chips, melted in double boiler or microwave (use 20 second intervals stirring in between)

Grind Oreos in food processor to make crumbs.  Mix cream cheese in electric mixer until creamy.  Add Oreo crumbs and mix until combined.  Roll mixture into one inch balls.  Freeze balls for 10 minutes.  Dip in melted white chocolate and place on a tray lined with wax paper; add sprinkles and let sit until chocolate is set (refrigerator makes it set faster). Makes about 20 truffles.

Day 20 - Cardamom Crescents

I was drawn to this recipe because of the cardamom.  I am a little obsessed with the spice.  I was watching Demaris Phillips on Food Network and she said she adds cardamom to anything that has cinnamon.  That gave me the idea to add it to my pumpkin bread.  I loved the addition.  It has a certain warmth that complements the cinnamon beautifully.  Cardamom reminds me of my mom.  She used cardamom a lot in her cooking so just the smell of the spice feels like a warm hug from mom.  She was an incredible cook and it was her way to show you how much she loved you. If she knew you loved a particular food, she would make sure to make it when you came over.  Whether it was chicken parmesan or homemade french fries for her grandchildren, or cheesecake or apple pie she remembered that you loved, she made sure that it was on the menu when you came over.  This recipe made me think of her and I can't wait to share these light, melt in your mouth cookies with the special people in my life.

Ingredients:

2 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (I think it could have used a little bit more, next time I will add 1 tsp)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 and 1/2 cup powdered sugar, divided
1 cup pecans (I toasted them lightly, to enhance the flavor)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven 350 degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Whisk first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl.  Combine 1/2 cup sugar and pecans in a food processor; pulse until coarse meal forms.  Using an electric mixer, beat butter and vanilla in a medium bowl until creamy, 2-3 minutes.  Add nut mixture; beat to blend.  Add dry ingredients; blend well ( dough will be moist but still crumbly).  Transfer to a work surface; knead to form a ball, about 4 turns.

Measure 1 rounded tablespoon of dough; form into a ball, then roll into a 1 and 1/2 inch long log (ours might have been almost 2).  Gently bend into a crescent shape, pinching the ends to taper (cookies may crack slightly).  Repeat with remaining dough, spacing about 1 inch apart on the prepared sheets.

Bake until bottoms are golden, 12-15 minutes.  Sift remaining 1 cup powdered sugar into a shallow wide bowl.  Working in batches of about 8 cookies each, roll warm cookies gently in powdered sugar to coat.  Transfer to wire rack to let cool.  Roll or dust cooled cookies with powdered sugar.  Can be made 5 days ahead.  Store airtight at room temperature.  I freeze them after they are cooled to keep them fresher.