bake: cookie butter blossoms

I usually bake up a storm for the holidays but that was back when I lived in L.A. and had people to share it all with. up here it is mostly just the a-go-go family and if I bake like I used to, much of it would got to waste so I really limited myself to two types of cookies, a pound cake, and these awesome chocolates. The nephew-a-go-go can't do nuts so I went with a childhood fave... snickerdoodles for sure and then I thought of the jar of cookie butter I have been hording forever, why not bake with it? One of my standbys is peanut butter blossoms, I thought why not try them with cookie butter instead? And so I did, kisses and all...

There are many recipes for peanut butter blossoms, I went for this one and cut the brown sugar in half, used real unsalted butter, rolled them in cinnamon and sugar, and popped the dough in the fridge overnight. Unlike the peanut butter blossoms, these did not puff up but spread out. They also did not remain chewy but crisped up like a gingersnap. They were a hit all the same (the bath the mister took to work disappeared pretty quickly) and next time I make them I may just add chopped chocolate to the dough instead of topping them with kisses...oh and the first batch was baked at 10 minutes and were a bit too gooey so go for 12 minutes and enjoy the crunchy goodness that is a cookie butter blossom.

bake: welcome to fall cake

Hop on over to scrumdilly-do! for the ridiculously easy three ingredient masterpiece.

red {velvet}, white, and blue

 It's been a short while since I baked something swoony so after putting on my thinking cap, I came up with this little bite of goodness just in time for your Fourth of July picnic. Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cake Mix and Coconut Milk Brownies {with marshmallows and more}

*one box red velvet cake mix

*1 egg

*1/2 cup coconut milk (unsweetened)

*1/4 cup oil

*1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*1/2 cup mini marshmallows

**whipping cream (optional)

**blue m&ms (optional)

Mix cake mix, egg, oil, milk, vanilla and marshmallows until blended. I used a Duncan Hines mix which proved to be a bit clumpy. Many of those clumps refused to come out but I made the most of it anyway.

 

Pour into lightly greased baking dish and bake at 350F for about 25 minutes. Remove from hot oven and allow to cool to set. Bars will be brownie-liscious and moist.

 

 

To serve, whip up a cup of whipping cream with NO sugar. The bars are sweet enough, I found that adding even a smidge of sugar made my bars taste salty. It could be the mix I used or not but the cream ads a super nice texture and cooling flavor to the sticky-sweet red velvet. To quickly whip up some cream, toss it onto a mason jar and attache the jar to your blender blade. This will whip it up lickety split for instant enjoyment. If you are serving this dessert out doors where it is HOT HOT HOT, use a handmixer to whip your cream until it is super solid, almost like butter. Blender-mixed cream melts pretty quick as it is.

Sprinkle with holiday color via sprinkles or candies or fruit.

Enjoy! These are super sweet and marshmallowy. They are great the second day at room temperature or chilled. I used a biscuit cutter to cut perfect squares. The loose pieces were tossed and layered into little jars for happy red velvet parfaits. 

*a word of delicate caution. Red Velvet mixes use a lot of red dye which does show up after the fact in a most surprising way. ahem.

lovely love: make shortbread bites

 Shortbread cookies are a specialty of mine. I enjoy baking them and my friends enjoy eating them. When I first began baking up shortbread, I went the traditional route and attempted to roll the sugary dough into Martha Stewart-worthy logs with little success. The cookies tasted lovely but looked a little less than. One day, in my haste and frustration, I heaped all the dough onto the cookie sheet into a mound that I squared off with a sharp knife once the cookies were out of the oven. I began calling them shortbread bites and merrily went on my way. This past month, I have been seeing recipes for shortbread bites popping up all over the place. Here are a few pointers I will offer.

Your basic shortbread dough is equal parts butter, flour and sugar....give or take a smidge here or there. I use a little less sugar. The dough is so simple to make and comes together so easily you can whip a batch up with a worn wooden spoon. No mixers needed. Use confectioners/powdered sugar, it adds no grain to the dough. Add a pinch of salt, or better yet, sprinkle a little salt on top. When adding vanilla, forget a measuring spoon, simply add a cap full, that's what my mamos taught me. If you wish to add sprinkles or lavender buds, use your hands and then add a smattering to the top. Make a double batch of dough to store in the freezer. Form one part into a log so you can have instant slice and bake goodness for those gray mornings that need a pick me up. Remove the dough from the oven a minute or two even before the timer goes off. An underbaked shortbread cookie will have a dazzling bit of chew and it changes the whole cookie eating experience. 

When making shortbread bites, you can use a knife to square off edges (don't throw them away, they are just as tasty) and slice through the dough while it is still warm to cut dozens of small bite-sized piece. You can also use an assortment of your smallest cookie cutters. They have a certain charm that enhances the sweetness of the cookie. Most of all, make sure to share the wealth. A small bit of baked goodness can usual brighten the dreariest of days! Happy almost-Febraury!

Holiday Baking

Awhile back on Bread and Honey I read about baking wee yellow cakes inside a hollowed out orange. Bread & Honey is one of my favorite reads especially with the weather finally turning here in Los Angeles. Gray skies? No worries, I'll bake! Booming thunder and a downpour? I'll bake! I don't really need an excuse to bake but there is a whole lot of inspiration to be found with the Bread and Honey gals.

Enough of the blog lurve though, When Alicia posted about the campfire cakes I immediately wanted to try it. There being no camp outs in our immediate future, I made plans to remember to make them once we were out in the wild. In the meantime, the mister and I experimented with car cooking (more about that later) and found that the campfire cakes are best made in a campfire.

Before we did the experimentation however, I had to prep the oranges and since we were only going to bake two of the cakes, I needed to put the remainder of the batter into the oven as I didn't wish to waste it. Never being one for doing anything quite normally, I had an idea. An idea to expand on the campfire cakes. I stood there in the tiny kitchen staring off into space when my eyes focused on a pair of tiny pumpkins. What would happen if I baked the cake in the pumpkins? People make soup in pumpkins all the time right? At least, Martha does.I retrieved the wee squash from the shelf in front of the kitchen window and did the best damage I could to their insides. Those little guys are tough. Super tough. I scraped and cleaned and cleaned and scraped out all the ooey bits until I had enough room to add the batter. Giddy with the idea of success I danced about the tiny kitchen as I poured the batter in. With a dash of cinnamon on top I whisked the dynamic duo into the oven with fingers crossed double time. When Stacey arrived for a wee coffee break she exclaimed over the sweet cakey scent. We flung ourselves onto the smooshy sofa to chat, chat, chat away until the ping of the chicken timer clucked that baking time was over. I held my breath as I opened the oven door and then groaned and giggled over the mess. The batter had oozed itself out all over the pumpkins and as it oozed it baked. With a shrug I removed the ooey bits and plopped the cakes onto their very own plates. With a dash of spice and a flourish I presented them to my guest and we dove in. It worked, they were baked and they were good. Stacey deemed her wee pumpkin tasty and scraped away at the spicey rind. Succcess!It worked and it was tasty but here is what I will do differently. I will pour less batter into the pumpkin, about a cupcake's worth and I will add a smidge of melted butter with a sprinkling of sugar and spice. Hopefully these tiny changes will make for an extra adorable, wee pumpkin baked cake. Happy Thanksgiving!