Chocolate Wafer Ice Cream Sandwiches

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Courtney

Did you know it’s been a whole…um, oh, 4 posts since my last chocolate dessert?

(Really?  Only 4?  Well, that’s not nearly as long ago as I was convincing myself of yesterday.)

Hmmm, I’m thinking I just wanted an excuse to make a chocolate recipe (though really, it being a Thursday is reason enough around here).  Plus I was in the mood to cook alone – I mean, as much as I love my boys and I love working with them in the kitchen, it’s much easier to bake on my own: less mess, less arguing, and less noise.

And sometimes, I just need a little time to myself.

So, I looked in my cupboards, googled the ingredients I had on hand…and came up with this delicious summer treat.  (What can I say, I’m an eternal sunshine optimist in this rainy land.)

The Recipe:

Chocolate Wafer Ice Cream Sandwiches, adapted from smittenkitchen

(Makes about 50 wafers and 25 small ice-cream sandwiches.)

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour

3/4 c unsweetened dark cocoa powder

1 c plus 2 T sugar

1/4 t salt

1/4 t baking soda

14 T (1 & 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened

3 T whole milk

1 t pure vanilla extract

1 quart vanilla bean ice-cream

Combine the flour, cocoa, sugar, salt, and baking soda in the bowl of food processor and pulse several times to mix thoroughly.  Cut the butter into about 12 chunks and add them to the bowl.  Pulse several times. Combine the milk and vanilla in a small cup.  With the processor running, add the milk mixture and continue to process until the mixture clumps around the blade or the sides of the bowl.  Transfer the dough to a large bowl or a cutting board and knead a few times to make sure it is evenly blended.

Form the dough into a log about 14 inches long and 1 3/4 inches in diameter.  Wrap the log in wax paper or foil and refrigerate until firm, at least one hour, or until needed.

Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.  Lightly grease baking sheets or line with parchment paper.  Cut the log of dough into slices a scant 1/4-inch thick and place them one inch apart on the lined sheets (cookies will spread).  Bake, rotating the baking sheet from top to bottom and back to front about halfway through baking, for a total of 10 to 12 minutes.  The cookies will puff up and deflate; they are done about 1 1/2 minutes after they deflate.

Cool the cookies on the baking sheets on racks, or slide the parchment onto racks to cool completely.

(These cookies should crisp as they cool. If they don’t, you’re not baking them long enough — in which case, return them to the oven to reheat and bake a little longer, then cool again.)

Once cooled, pull out ice-cream container and let sit out for about 5-10 minutes to get soft.  Place one scoop on a cookie, top with another, and gently press to evenly spread ice-cream.  Wrap in plastic wrap and put in freezer for at least 10-20 minutes.

{Printable Recipe}

The Results:

I turned up a little music and had a great time singing and dancing away while making these.  (Sorry no videos for your enjoyment – really you should thank me for that.)

I was excited to use my food processor instead of the KitchenAid  – for two simple reasons; one, it is much quieter, and two, everything’s contained – so no mess!  Making the dough was a snap (though do not get tempted to add a little extra milk when the dough doesn’t seem to come together as you like.  It may cause a very sticky dough – just hypothetically, that is.)

I’d also suggest wrapping your dough in wax paper, not aluminum.  The foil really wanted to to stick to my dough (though probably my own fault), and I had a hard time slicing my cookies on it (again, my fault – probably could’ve moved to a non-stick surface).

My sticky misshapen log of chocolate.

Now, a lesson I learned (that should’ve been obvious) – the more misshapen your log, the more misshapen your cookies.  So you may want to take some time to form an actual cylindrical log.  Mine was not – and many of my cookies were funky shaped.

But I did have a few that were just fine – and they were all set to accept their duty as a vessel for some cold creamy ice-cream.

Now, I have to say these sandwiches were absolutely wonderful.  The crispy wafer cookies get just a teeny bit chewy in the freezer - which actually makes the sandwich even better!  The cookies are not overly sweet, so they pair perfectly with the sweet ice-cream.  Everyone loved them (even if it was only 50-something degress outside).

I also want to let you know that I did not, in fact, make 25 sandwiches, so I had plenty to enjoy by themselves – and they are also very good on their own, too.  Dark, crispy, and quite addicting…yum!

The best thing about this recipe, is that it’s almost like a base recipe that you can change up for your own personal preferences… change up your ice-cream to mint chocolate chip or strawberry or anything your little heart desires.  Hey, you could even add a little mint or coconut extract to the cookies and really play around with flavors.  You just cannot go wrong.

So, go forth this lovely holiday weekend and make yourself a treat.

I know you deserve it.

9 Comments

Posted in Baking and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Courtney

On a non-cooking note, I’m just going to start out by saying I jinxed myself.

For those of you that are following our semi kitchen remodel, I posted on Monday that our new countertops would be coming on Friday.  Literally 20 minutes later, Hubs received a phone call that the materials wouldn’t be ready on Friday…so we’re now planning on Tuesday next week (and yes, I know I’m probably jinxing myself again by sharing this).

So we’re still cooking/baking in a bit of a mess, but I’m getting pretty used to it by now.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming…

This week is my oldest’s week to bring snack for preschool.  After last time’s cupcake fun, he insisted on making something else for his friends.  We decided on muffins – and I let him choose the flavor.  Who knew he’d go for lemon?

The Recipe:

Lemon Blueberry Muffins, adapted from allrecipes.com

(This makes 12 muffins.  I doubled it to make 24.)

1 3/4 c flour

3/4 c sugar

1 T grated lemon peel

1 t baking powder

3/4 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

1 egg

1 c plain yogurt

6 T butter or margarine, melted

1 T lemon juice

1 c fresh blueberries

In a large bowl, combine the first six dry ingredients.  In another bowl, beat the egg, yogurt, butter and lemon juice.  Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

In third bowl, roll washed and dried blueberries in flour (this prevents them from settling at the bottom of the muffins).  Add to the rest of the batter.

Fill greased muffin cups two-thirds full.  Bake at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes in muffin pan then carefully remove by sliding a butter knife around sides and popping them out.  Finish cooling on wire rack.

{Printable Recipe}

The Results:

My oldest was so excited to be back in the kitchen again – and, since the little one was napping, he had free reign over the kitchen and all ingredients/gadgets.

I just love how proud he is to be helping (and I’m sure everyone at school got to hear how he made the muffins himself).  After mixing up everything and ladling the batter into the pan, we dropped a couple extra blueberries on top of each muffin to make them extra-blueberry-y.  When they came out of the oven, the extra ooze was obvious.

You know it’s good when it oozes blueberries.

These muffins definitely passed the test with the preschooler crowd – if the almost empty container was any indication.  My oldest adored them and has had several in addition to the one at school.

I thought they were really good – but I have to tell you, I dialed back the lemon flavor just in case it would be too much for some of the kiddos.  If I were making these just for my family, I probably would’ve doubled the lemon zest/juice – and may have even used lemon yogurt.  There is a definite light lemon flavor, but it can get lost in bites with extra blueberry.  I really enjoyed the lemon/blueberry combination, though, and look forward to exploring it again in the near future.

What really made these great, in my opinion, was the texture.  The yogurt made them extra moist without making them heavy at all.  And the bursts of blueberry goodness was simply a treat for the senses.

This is definitely a recipe I will be making again.

(Hopefully on my new countertops!  :)   )

8 Comments

Posted in Baking and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Clean out your Cupboard Cookies

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Courtney

It was a long weekend.

Hubs had weekend duty, so he was at work both days… which left me with two hooligans to keep busy (while attempting to keep my patience in check.)

We did pretty good on Saturday, as it was a beautiful day, and we had t-ball smack in the middle of the day.  Sunday, on the other hand, was kind of gray – a perfect day to stay in and spend some time together in the kitchen.

Now, it being a lazy Sunday, I had no desire to get out of my pj’s before noon, so I searched around our house for possible ingredients.  And I came across four partial bags of mix-in left-overs from previous recipes: some large dark chocolate chips, semi-sweet chips, peanut butter chips, and some sweetened flaked coconut.

Gotta include a pic featuring the ugly counters – as they will be gone on Friday!

I decided why not use these in the best chocolate chip cookie recipe – and see what happened.

The Recipe:

Clean out your Cupboard Cookies, from me and Hubs

1 c butter, softened

3/4 c sugar

3/4 c brown sugar

2 eggs

1 t vanilla extract

1 T milk

2 c oats, processed until fine

2 c flour

1 t baking soda

1 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

4 oz dark chocolate chips

4 oz semi sweet chocolate chips

3 oz peanut butter chips

3 oz sweetened flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, and milk until well blended and forms a light batter-like consistency.  Add processed oats, flour, soda, baking powder, and salt.  Stir until well incorporated. Fold in chips and coconut.  Using a tablespoon, drop onto baking sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes – remove when sides turn golden brown.  Cool on wire rack.   Makes 3 dozen.

{Printable Recipe}

The Results:

Well, first I had to gather my sous-chefs… which means I had to pull out the mixer and they both came a-running.  (They do love to use our kitchen machines.)

We all took turns measuring, dumping, and turning on the mixer.  The boys were in pure heaven.

After everything was blended, we added our random ingredients and were ready to go.

Now, since there was so few of each thing, when you ate a cookie, you had no idea what it would taste like – it could have salty peanut butter or chewy coconut or rich chocolate or any combination thereof.  It’s kind of fun, like five types of cookies in one recipe, and you have no idea which one you’re going to get.

I do have to say, though, I definitely prefer the original recipe.  It’s just perfect at it is.

This one was really good, too – so if you’re looking to clean out some of those leftover bits of this and that (and you want to keep your kids happy and occupied), you should give this recipe a try.

 Have a wonderful Monday!

11 Comments

Posted in Baking and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Courtney

I know, I know, I know… two cakes in a row.

I have no self-control.  (Especially when I see something that looks so good.  And necessary.  Like right now.)

Though my right now got pushed off a day when I realized it needed an hour and forty minute baking time (and we had t-ball) – I am very glad I read through all the directions before I made this one.

This recipe is pretty simple, but the results are out of this world.

The Recipe:

Cream Cheese Pound Bundt Cake, adapted from Elizabeth’s Edible Experiences

1 c butter, softened at room temp

1/2 c shortening

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened at room temp

3 c sugar

6 large eggs

3 c flour

1/8 t salt

1 T vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Lightly grease and flour a 10 inch bundt cake pan.

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy (do not over beat); add sugar gradually beating well until fully incorporated.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating at low-speed until mixed in.  Gradually beat in flour and salt, also at low-speed until just blended.  Add vanilla.

Pour/scoop into bundt pan.  Smooth top with a spatula.  Bake for 1 hour and 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the middle.

Let cool on wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes.  Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack.

{Printable Recipe}

The Results:

I think I stated pretty much everything you need to know at the very beginning: easy and out of this world.

What caught my eye originally (on Pinterest, once again) was how beautiful a color this cake is.  And I love me a bundt cake – a perfect and pretty shape without any of the work.

This cake is buttery, cream cheese-y, and sweet.  I’m not going to lie and tell you it’s light, but it’s denseness isn’t overpowering at all – and it is as moist as can be.

The bottom (which was the top when cooking) gets almost crispy and caramel-y, which is a fun bonus texture.  This cake is amazing as a stand alone, but I just had to try it with a little strawberry topping.

And this is where we moved to out of this world… seriously amazing.

Cake win number two for the week; I’m on a roll, folks.

Happy Thursday!

12 Comments

Posted in Baking and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Midnight Mint Dark Chocolate Layer Cake

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Courtney

If you haven’t noticed, I’m kind of a ‘go big or go home’ baker.

I’m usually not in the least intimidated to try a baking recipe.  In fact, I love the challenge and the possibility it might actually turn out exactly as I’d hoped.  (Which means at about 90% of what the original recipe is and about 80% of what the pictures look like.)

So, when I was planning a dessert to take to my mom for Mother’s Day, I really wanted to try something big.  And this recipe I found on Pinterest certainly fit the bill.

The Recipe:

Midnight Mint Cake, adapted from Rock Recipes

Cake:

2 c sugar

1 c cake flour

1 c all-purpose flour

3/4 c dutch process cocoa

2 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

2 eggs

1 c buttermilk

1 c black coffee

1/2 c vegetable oil

1 t vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer for 2 minutes.

Pour into 2 greased and floured 8 or 9 inch cake pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out  clean.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

When completely cooled, split the two layers horizontally with a serrated bread knife to make 4 layers

~~~~

Frosting:

4 c powdered sugar

1/2 c vegetable shortening

1 c butter

1 t mint extract

3-4 T milk, depending on your preferred frosting consistency

Using an electric mixer on low, mix the butter and icing sugar together until the butter and shortening break up and get evenly dispersed throughout the sugar in small pieces.  The mixture will still appear dry at this point.  This stage ensures even distribution and prevents butter or shortening lumps in your frosting.

Add mint extract and milk.  When the icing reaches the desired consistently continue to beat it on high-speed for 5 minutes to incorporate more air into the frosting to make it lighter and fluffier.  Frost the middle and sides evenly with the frosting and chill the cake for several hours before adding the chocolate ganache glaze. 

~~~~

Glaze:

1 c dark chocolate chips

1/4 c whipping cream

1 t mint extract

In a double boiler melt together all ingredients.  Stir this mix constantly and get it off the heat as soon as the chocolate is melted.  You do not want this mixture hot but just luke warm; as close to the melting point as possible.  Let it cool down if it gets too hot.
Working as quickly as you can, ( a lazy susan is a big help if you have one) pour the ganache directly in the center of the cake, and then using an icing spatula spread it evenly over the top of the cake, letting it drip off the sides.

Store the cake in the refrigerator but take it out at least an hour before serving to let the frosting warm up to room temperature.

{Printable Recipe}

The Results:

I’m going to admit, right of the bat, that I was a little worried about making this cake.  Mostly because the last time I made a layered cake, it did not go well at all.  But that was many, many months ago – and I feel like I’ve learned a ton since then.

The cake part was a snap – until I went to cut my rounds in half.  I asked Hubs for any advice, and his snarky reply was to make sure I cut them horizontally.  (Ha, ha, so not funny, Hubs.)  I tried my best to cut them evenly and level-y, but let’s just say that did not quite happen.  It wasn’t horrible, just not very equal.

Next, it was time to make the frosting.  The original recipe called for 8 cups of powdered sugar, which I was pretty sure would not fit in my mixer.  So, I halved everything – and also reduced the amount of mint extract.  (I was looking for a hint of mint flavor, rather than an overwhelming taste.)  And the half recipe made just the right amount of frosting (in my opinion).

(Oh, and I still ended up exploding powdered sugar all over the place.  It’s just inevitable.)

When I went to frost the layers, I came across another problem…my frosting was really sticky, and kept pulling up parts of the cake.  I added a touch more milk and remixed, but it was still sticky.  Again, I added milk, still sticky.  At that point, I just decided to spread away.  (So you will notice little flecks of cake in the frosting – I say it just gives it character, right?)

I didn’t worry about covering everything perfectly, since I knew the ganache would hide any open spots.

After letting the cake and frosting cool, I made my ganache.  Again, I lowered the amount of mint extract (this time I only used half the amount called for in the original recipe).  It never got really smooth, but I was worried about it getting too hot…so I just spread it on the top.

Now, my cake was not nearly as pretty as the cake I was hoping for…but everything came out (mostly) great, and it stayed assembled together.  So I consider this a big win.

And the flavor was really, really good, too.  It was still rather minty – which makes me wonder what it would’ve tasted like had I used all the called-for mint.  The chocolate cake was dark and rich (though I think it got a smidge dried out in the refrigerator).  Now, the ganache – the ganache was simply fantastic!  Though not pretty, it was a perfect balance of the chocolate and mint – and just took the cake over the top.

I loved how impressive it looked when cut, too.  Don’t you just want a big bite?

I got rave reviews from the whole family, including my mom – with the ganache getting the most comments.

So I went big – and it worked!

(Next time I’ve got to try one of these gorgeous layer cakes featured on Sweet Samsations…but maybe not for another couple of months.)

Hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day!

26 Comments

Posted in Baking and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Courtney

My streak of amazing bread baking had to end at some point.

(Not that this turned out bad, it just wasn’t up to my usual standards.)

I’m not going to blame the recipe.  (Though it was certainly the most complicated bread that I’ve made so far.)

I’m not going to blame the fact that I was short on a couple of ingredients.  (Though I think I did a pretty good job coming up with substitutes.)

I am going to blame my inability to add – more specifically, my inability to add minutes into hours.

I’ll get back to my issues in a minute.  Here’s the recipe, because I’m pretty sure it’s a good one… if you do it right.

The Recipe:

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread, adapted from America’s Test Kitchen

Biga:

2 c bread flour

1 c warm water (100-110 degrees)

1/2 t instant or rapid-rise yeast

Soaker:

3 c whole-wheat flour, plus extra for kneading

1/2 c wheat germ

2 c whole milk

Dough:

1/8 c honey

1/8 c molasses (the original recipe just calls for 1/4 c honey, but I didn’t have enough, so I added the molasses)

4 t table salt

2 T instant or rapid-rise yeast

6 T unsalted butter, softened

2 T vegetable oil

bread flour for work surface

The night before:

For the Biga: Combine bread flour, water, and yeast in large bowl and stir with wooden spoon until uniform mass forms and no dry flour remains, about 1 minute.  Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature overnight (at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours).

For the Soaker: Combine whole-wheat flour, wheat germ, and milk in large bowl and stir with wooden spoon until shaggy mass forms, about 1 minute.  Turn out dough onto lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes.  Return soaker to bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight (at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours).

The day of:

For the Dough: Tear soaker apart into 1-inch pieces and place in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook.  Add biga, honey, salt, yeast, butter, and oil.  Mix on low-speed until cohesive mass starts to form, about 2 minutes.  Increase speed to medium and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes.  Turn out dough onto lightly floured counter and knead 1 minute.  Shape dough into ball and place in lightly greased container.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature 45 minutes.

Gently press down on center of dough to deflate.  Holding edge of dough with fingertips, fold partially risen dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward middle.  Turn bowl 90 degrees; fold again.  Turn bowl and fold dough 6 more times (total of 8 folds).  Cover and allow to rise at room-temperature until doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.

Adjust oven racks to middle and lowest positions, place baking stone on middle rack, and heat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray two 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray.  Transfer dough to well-floured counter and divide into 2 pieces.  Working with 1 ball of dough at a time, pat each into 8 by 17-inch rectangle.  With short side facing you, roll dough toward you into firm cylinder, keeping roll taut by tucking it under itself as you go.  Turn loaf seam side up and pinch it closed.  Place loaf seam side down in prepared loaf pan, pressing gently into corners.  Repeat with second ball of dough.  Cover loaves loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature until almost doubled in size, 60 to 90 minutes (top of loaves should rise about 1 inch over lip of pan).

Place empty loaf pan or other heatproof pan on bottom oven rack and bring 2 cups water to boil on stove top.  Using sharp serrated knife or single-edge razor blade, make one ¼-inch-deep slash lengthwise down center of each loaf.  Pour boiling water into empty loaf pan in oven and set loaves on baking stone.  Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.  Bake until crust is dark brown and internal temperature registers 200 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 40 to 50 minutes, rotating loaves 180 degrees and side to side halfway through baking.

Transfer pans to wire rack and let cool 5 minutes.  Remove loaves from pans, return to rack, and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.

{Printable Results}

The Results:

Okay, I’m going to be completely honest with you here… I have no idea what a biga or a soaker is – just that they are the things I mixed beforehand to make this bread.  (I’m sure you could look them up, but I’m on a limited time schedule and this could take a while.)  I just trust ATK, so I went with it… or at least tried to.

So, the night before I got all excited and made the biga.  As I went to make the soaker, I realized we were completely out of milk (which is probably the first time in about ten years that this has happened).  Anyways, I was already in my pj’s, and I knew we’d have our milk delivery in the morning, so I decided I could just make the soaker then.

In case you were wondering what a happy biga looks like.

The next morning is where my math skills come into question.  See, the soaker needed to rest for at least eight hours before starting the dough.  And the dough needed several rises of length, in addition to the actual bake time.  And we had a t-ball game later that afternoon.  And I needed to use the biga before 24 hours were up.  All that information went swirling into my head, and I thought I had worked it out so I would be finishing the bread just in time.

It was about 5 minutes into the first rise, when I realized that I the bread would be ready an hour later than I had thought.  So, I started using some of my ‘happy rising dough’ tricks (which include a damp towel to cover the bowl and a slightly warm oven).  And it was working great.  I was able to cut out 15 minutes of rise on the first two rises.

It was during the third rise, in the bread pans, that things started to go wrong.  I was following the directions as closely as I could, and I had turned my oven up to 400 degrees as directed.  Unfortunately, I did not think through what that would do to my bread loaves.  Instead of uniformly getting bigger, the front (away from the back vent of my oven) rose beautifully, but the back stayed short and started to cook instead.

Need a visual?  Here’s what the finished loaves ended up looking like:

As you can see, one end is much shorter and more cooked than the other.  (And let’s just ignore the crazy flour on the loaf to the right – another long story – and I think one long story is plenty for a post.  :) )

Okay, the moral of this story, for me, is to follow the advice I would give my students if they were doing a math story problem about this: show your work!  (Aka: write it out, so you can double-check your math, and know you will be done at the right time, and therefore, will not be scrambling and using speed up techniques that can backfire.)

The flavor of this bread is exactly what was advertised, very similar to whole wheat bread you can find pre-sliced in the stores.  It wasn’t my favorite flavored bread (possibly because I was so disappointed with the process), but Hubs adored it.  The texture was a little dense, especially at the ‘bad’ ends – and I think going for the full rise times would have helped immensely.

As a stand alone, the bread didn’t do too much for me.   But I did try it in a pb&j sandwich – which I ended up really liking.  So, I don’t know what to tell you.  I don’t think I’ll be making this again – it just seemed like a lot of work.

I do believe, though, if you love wheat bread and actually follow their instructions, it has the possibility of being great.

(Now off to go practice some math.  Grrr.)

10 Comments

Posted in Baking and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.

Pina Colada Popsicles

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Courtney

I think I may have mentioned at some point how much I hate my counters.

(I’m going somewhere with this, I promise.  Stick with me.)

We purchased this house from another family, and they had decided to have tile counters installed in the kitchen.  If you’ve ever worked in a tile kitchen, it’s not ideal.  First of all, any time I attempt to roll something out, I end up with creases from the grout dips.  Second, the grout cracks and no matter how much we try to refill and seal, it just keeps happening.  And finally, it just looks like crap.  The grout they chose is a light gray color that has degraded to a speckled, dirty mess – and nothing gets it clean.

I had learned to live with this over the seven-plus years we’ve lived here.  Mostly because I could ignore it, since I rarely did anything in the kitchen except the dishes.

But now, now that I use the counters many times a week, it drives me absolutely crazy-insane.

So, this spring, when Hubs got a nice little bonus check, we decided something needed to be done about it.  And we went forward with ordering some gorgeous slate-colored acrylic counters.  I can’t tell you how excited I was.

Well, while ordering, they asked us if we wanted to pay for demo…or do it ourselves.  In the interest of saving a little money and having fun swinging a sledge-hammer, we opted to do the demo ourselves.

Let’s just say our plan to demo the small bar area and lower it to give us more counter space did not quite go as planned.  As in, we found a fun pipe about a half-inch taller than the existing counters.  (Half inch – grrr!)

Fun times – the vent piping (1/2 inch too tall) comes form the wall and goes to the sink.

Countertops are now currently on hold, as we prepare to open the half wall, re-pipe, and rebuild the wall.

So, to make my long story even longer, I have not been happy with my kitchen, so I haven’t wanted to really cook.

But, that doesn’t mean I haven’t been looking for fun non-cooking recipes to make with my boys that I can share with you.

The Recipe:

Pina Colada Popsicles, from The Reality of Skinny

1 can pineapple chunks, in juice

1 banana

1 can coconut milk

1/2 t vanilla extract

Blend and freeze.

The Results:

This counts as cooking, right?  And the boys got to play with the blender – a favorite thing to do in our house.

I did one batch in our popsicle mold and another set in an ice-cube tray.  Both turned out really good.  Honestly, they taste just like virgin pina coladas.

Always an easy way to make little popsicles – all you need is plastic wrap and toothpicks.

(Which has me thinking that they might be even tastier with a little rum thrown in….hmmm.)

The boys (and their friends who were visiting) loved them.  And I knew that they weren’t too bad at all for them to eat.

Yes, he’s having a too cool, bad hair moment. But he’s enjoying the pop.

The small ones are perfect for quick pick-me-ups.

action shot

And I have visual proof that they both enjoyed them.

Now I just need to make a batch for Hubs and I (with rum) as a celebratory treat – when we finish the wall.

Wish us luck.

13 Comments

Posted in Cooking Fun and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Lime Sugar Cookies

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Courtney

I’ve been distracted this week.

Not only did T-ball season start (which honestly, is the best way to enjoy baseball),

Isn’t he adorable?

But I started reading that book for my book club.  Now I’m pretty sure that if you’re a woman, a woman who has friends, and/or especially if you are a woman in a book club, you know exactly what book that book is.  (If you don’t, ask a friend or two, they’ll be more than happy to tell you, I’m sure.)

Let’s just say that that book is distracting.

So, this week has been all about baking, because I can continue to read between the recipe’s steps.  I’m hoping to get back to some dinner cooking again next week.

Anyhow, I decided to go with this cookie recipe since tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo – and I love any excuse to make a sweet/tart/sour treat – and my last lime-y excursion was so successful.

The Recipe:

Lime Sugar Cookies, adapted slightly from Sweet and Crumby

1 1/2 sticks of butter, softened

1 1/2 c granulated sugar

2 T lime zest (zest from two limes approximately)

2 egg yolks

1/2 c sour cream

1 T lime juice

2 1/2 c all-purpose flour

2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

1/2 c confectioners sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Line (or spray) cookie sheets.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter on sugar on medium speed.  Add the lime zest, egg yolks and lime juice and combine.  Then add your sour cream and mix on low until just incorporated.

In a medium-sized separate mixing bowl, whisk together the flour through salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and combine on low-speed until just mixed in.  Don’t over-mix.  Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out balls of cookie dough and place on the cookie sheet.  Bake for 12-14 minutes or until slightly golden on the outer edge.  The cookie should be just a little bit firm when touched lightly.

Sift powdered sugar on top of them while they are still warm.  (This will help the powdered sugar stick onto the cookie.)

{Printable Recipe}

The Results:

The cookies, themselves, were a breeze.

(I did learn that I like the shape for the cookies when rolled into a ball – though on my first sheet I just dropped them with the scoop.)

I kind of had a small snafu with my sifter while they were cooling, though.  Instead of a gentle snow dusting on top of the cookies, it decided to dump a truckload all over.

I’ve always known that the sifter was not my friend.

Anyways, the second cookie sheet went much more smoothly with the rounded balls of dough and my conquering of the sifter.

Now, let’s move on to the taste.  Geni has done it again, folks, with the perfect ratio of sweet sugar to tart and sour lime.  As she suggests, serving them with a salty margarita will be on my list of things to do this weekend.

Lesson for all you food photographers out there: do not place items covered in powdered sugar on a colored plate. It will not look good.

I think you should add it to your list, too.

(And I sincerely apologize for the over-sized pictures – WP won’t let me size them down for some reason.)

Now off to finish my book.  ;)

27 Comments

Posted in Baking and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Mint Milanos {Copycat}

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Courtney

So, remember a couple posts ago when I said that macaroons are my favorite cookies…well, I might have been wrong.

I had forgotten all about Mint Milanos.

Mint Milanos are my go-to cookie if I need something ASAP from the store.  And if I happen to be walking down the aisle and they’re on sale…let’s just say I am in big trouble then.

But today, today I learned how quick and easy they are to make at home.

Such a good thing – and a bad thing, too.

The Recipe:

Mint Milanos, adapted from eat, live, run

2 sticks butter, softened

1/2 c sugar

1 3/4 c flour

1/4 t salt

2 t vanilla extract

~~~~

1 c semi sweet chocolate chips

1/4 t mint extract

~~~~

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream together the softened butter and sugar either using a mixer or a wooden spoon.  Add the flour, salt and vanilla and mix until a soft dough comes together.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for thirty minutes.

After chilling, roll dough flat 1/2 inch thick (it’s helpful to use the Saran wrap on top of the dough so it doesn’t stick).  Cut out into shape of your choice.  (If necessary, re-chill dough to make it easier to work with.)  Place cookies on a lined or greased cookie tray and bake for 20 minutes, or until the edges start to brown.

Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Melt chocolate in a glass dish in the microwave during 30 second intervals, stirring well after each.  When chocolate is smooth, add mint extract and mix well.

Slather melted chocolate on one cookie and then sandwich another cookie on top.  Repeat until all cookies are sandwiched together.  Let cool for a few minutes until chocolate hardens.

{Printable Recipe}

The Results:

You never know when you try one of these type of recipes, how they’re going to turn out.  And let’s just say this one does not disappoint.

I had a little bit of a struggle with the dough, mostly because I adapted the dough to be cut out instead of rolled into a log and cut.  The dough is really sticky, so I needed to make sure it was really chilled – and I used a spatula to gently lift off each of my Milano shaped cookies.

(By the way, my cookie cutter: a homemade plastic popsicle bottom that broke.  Hey, you use what you can that works.)

Anyhow, the cookies were crispy and buttery.  The chocolate was minty and rich.  Combined, they were simply delicious.

Overall, a solid version of the original… I think, though, to make them perfect, I’ll have to tweak a bit next time.  First, I’ll roll my dough a bit thinner – my cookie ratio was a little much for my chocolate.  Second, when I slather my chocolate, I will slather it and slather it good – and probably use a tad less mint extract.

But, with these small changes, these cookies are going to be amazing.  I just know it.

Not perfect looking, but with their taste, it doesn’t matter at all.

I seriously can not wait to make these again.  :)

13 Comments

Posted in Baking and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Strawberries and Cream Muffins

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Courtney

It’s secret shame time, again, here at Misadventures in Cooking…

This post has been brought to you by my unhealthy penchant for boxed Jiffy Muffins.

(There’s just something about them – add egg and oil, mix, bake, and voila: preservative-filled but moist and delicious muffins.  Sometimes, I just can’t help myself.)

Anyways, this weekend, I decided that I needed to help myself…and making some delicious strawberry muffins from scratch would do the trick – I hoped – and break my bad-boxed-muffin-habit.

The Recipe:

Strawberries and Cream Muffins, adapted slightly from Jane’s Sweets and Baking Journal

4 oz full-fat cream cheese, very soft

1 1/2 T of liquid from one whole egg, beaten lightly

1/3 c sugar

1/4 t vanilla extract

~~~~

1 c whole milk (or, you can use something like 2/3 c 2% milk, and 1/3 c half-and-half mixed together)

1/2 c butter

1 1/2 t vanilla extract

2 large eggs

~~~~

2 c flour

3/4 c sugar

2 1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

1 c fresh ripe strawberries chopped into very small pieces

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Put paper liners in the cups of your muffin pan, or use nonstick baking spray liberally.

In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, 1/3 c sugar, 1 1/2 T beaten egg liquid, and 1/4 t vanilla extract.  Mix until almost all the lumps are gone. Set this aside, but don’t chill it.

Melt the butter slowly in a sauce pan on low heat.  Once melted, add the vanilla extract and milk into it, stirring to combine.  Cool until the mixture is just warm (if the milk didn’t cool it), then whisk in the eggs.

Thoroughly combine with a whisk, in a large mixing bowl, the rest of the dry ingredients (except berries).  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.  Pour all of the butter and milk mixture into the dry ingredients, blending just until combined.  Don’t overmix.  It’s okay if a few little flour streaks are still evident.

Using a scoop, fill each muffin cup barely half full.  Scatter a few pieces of strawberry on top of each one.  Using a small spoon, dab a generous teaspoonful or so of the cream cheese mixture on top of the berries.   On top of that, add on another tablespoon or two of the muffin batter.  On top of that, add a few more pieces of strawberry.  Push them in just slightly.  Sprinkle the tops of the unbaked muffins very generously with coarse sugar, which lends a nice sparkle, and adds a little crunch.

Bake the muffins for about 15 to 18 minutes, until they’re light golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.  The middle of the cupcake should be kind of firm when lightly pressed with a finger.  Check on the muffins early, and if they’re browning too fast, lightly cover the pan with a sheet of foil.

Let the muffins cool in the pan, on a rack, for a couple of minutes, then carefully remove them from the pan to cool on the rack.

Makes about 12 to 14 muffins.

{Printable Recipe}

The Results:

Now, don’t be intimidated that there are a lot of steps (I almost let that stop me from attempting these).  I’m pretty sure they’re all there for a reason – some super cool baking science reason that I don’t know.  But just know, it all works out in the end.

The star of each muffin is, of course, the strawberries.  I found some gorgeous ripe ones at our local TJ’s that I just couldn’t resist.   (I may have eaten one or two or seven while baking.)

It was actually quite fun layering up the muffin liners – though I think I may have gone a little overboard on a couple.

As they baked, the scent of strawberry wafted throughout the house making us all smile.  It also built up the anticipation.

I ended up having to bake them almost 10 minutes more than suggested, but I just think my oven’s finicky like that.  They came out looking all gorgeous and golden.

And the flavor was absolutely delicious.  The muffins are a balanced mix of sweet strawberries, tangy cream cheese, and moist bread-y muffin – though the strawberry flavor is the definite winner.

So, my conclusion… I can definitely make muffins that blow the Jiffy ones away…they might just take a little longer.

But they are so worth it!

15 Comments

Posted in Baking and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
← Older Posts
→
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 883 other followers