Archive for the ‘Blogging Event’ Category

Whoopie Pies

Oct 27th, 08 / 11 Comments

As soon as I saw that whoopie pies were this months cookie carnival recipe I was excited. I honestly have never heard of whoopie pies until I started my blog and started reading other blogs, lots of people had made them. Ever since seeing them I wanted to make them, but needed the perfect reason, this was it. It was the cookie recipe. :) And I have to say we really liked them :)

 

I also decided to make half pumpkin filling and half pink cherry filling and submit this to the power of pink challenge blogging event. So please do your monthly self breast exam this month!

Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies (From: Martha Stewart)

  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

FOR THE FILLING

  • 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 1/4 cup canned solid pack pumpkin
  • Pinch of cinnamon
  • Pinch of nutmeg

Prepare cookies: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.

Place butter, shortening, and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add egg; mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in half the flour mixture, then the milk and vanilla. Mix in remaining flour mixture.

Drop about 2 teaspoons dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies spring back when lightly touched, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks and let cool 10 minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheets and transfer to wire racks using a spatula; let cool completely.

Prepare filling: In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together cream cheese, butter and confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg; whip until smooth, scraping down the bowl as necessary. For the cherry filled ones I omitted the pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In it’s place I added cherry flavoring, and pink food coloring.

Pipe or spoon about 2 teaspoons filling on the flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, keeping the flat sides down.

 

 

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World Bread Day

Oct 16th, 08 / 4 Comments

I actually used this focaccia for the panini’s I made with our soup. This was a very simple recipe. I mixed it up I got home and could pretty much just leave it and it worked itself out.

Today is also world bread day. Go enjoy some bread today :)

Blitz Bread: No-Fuss Focaccia (Inspired By: Amber’s Delectable Delights From: King Arthur Flour)

  • 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) warm water
  • 3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) olive oil (plus additional for drizzling)
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 3 1/2 cups (14 3/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 tablespoon instant yeast

Lightly grease a 9″ x 13″ pan, and drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil in the bottom.

Combine all of the ingredients, and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 60 seconds.

Scoop the sticky batter into the prepared pan, cover the pan, and let it rise at room temperature for 60 minutes, till it’s become puffy.

While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375°F.

Gently poke the dough all over with your index finger.

Drizzle it lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with pizza seasoning, and/or the dried herbs of your choice, if desired.

Bake the bread till it’s golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.Remove it from the oven, wait 5 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

 

 

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Peanut Brittle

Oct 5th, 08 / 4 Comments

As soon as I saw this group I knew I wanted to participate, my grandpa, and uncle where both in the service and my best friends husband is in the service and is leaving for Iraq in January. I mentioned to my mom that I need to make something this weekend and she said sure and we started thinking. We decided on peanut brittle.

This was rather easy to whip up and tastes excellent, it was hard to keep your hands out of it. I will be sending it to our solider tomorrow.

THANK YOU to our soldiers all around the world!

Peanut Brittle(From: Betty Crocker)

  • 1 1/2 t. baking soda
  • 1 t. water
  • 1 t. vanilla
  • 1 1/2 c. sugar
  • 1 c. water
  • 1 c. light corn syrup
  • 3 T. margarine or butter
  • 1 lb shelled unroasted peanuts

Butter 2 cookies sheets, 15 1/2×12 inches; keep warm. Mix baking soda, 1 teaspoon water, and the vanilla; reserve. mix sugar, 1 cup water, and the corn syrup in 3-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, to 240 degrees on candy thermometer or until small amount of syrup dropped into very cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from water.

Stir in margarine and peanuts. Cook, stirring constantly to 300 degrees or until mall amount of mixture dropped into very cold water separates into threads that are hard and brittle (watch carefully so mixture does not burn).  Immediately remove from heat;stir in baking soda mixture.

Pour half of the candy mixture onto each cookie sheet and quickly spread about 1/4 inch thich. Cool; break into pieces.

Makes about 2 pounds of candy.

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Sweet 100

Oct 5th, 08 / 1 Comment

I did the Omivore 100 a few weeks ago, but anyone that knows me knows that I am MUCH more a baker then a cooker, so when I saw this knew I had do it.

What’s your score?

  1. Red Velvet Cake
  2. Princess Torte
  3. Whoopie Pie
  4. Apple Pie either topped or baked with sharp cheddar
  5. Beignet
  6. Baklava
  7. Black and White Cookie
  8. Seven Layer Bar (also known as the Magic Bar or Hello Dolly bars)
  9. Fried Fruit pie (sometimes called hand pies)
  10. Kringle
  11. Just-fried (still hot) doughnut
  12. Scone with clotte cream
  13. Betty, Grunt, Slump, Buckle or Pandowdy
  14. Halvah
  15. Macarons
  16. Banana Pudding with nilla wafers
  17. Bubble tea (with tapioca “pearls”)
  18. Dixie Cup
  19. Rice Krispie treats
  20. Alfajores
  21. Blondies
  22. Croquembouche
  23. Girl Scout cookies
  24. Moon cake
  25. Candy Apple
  26. Baked Alaska
  27. Brooklyn Egg Cream
  28. Nanaimo bar
  29. Baba au rhum
  30. King Cake
  31. Sachertorte
  32. Pavolva
  33. Tres Leches Cake
  34. Trifle
  35. Shoofly Pie
  36. Key Lime Pie (made with real key lime)
  37. Panna Cotta
  38. New York Cheesecake
  39. Napoleon/mille-fueille
  40. Russian Tea Cake/Mexican Wedding Cake
  41. Anzac Biscuits
  42. Pizzelle
  43. Kolache
  44. Buckeyes
  45. Malasadas
  46. Moon Pie
  47. Dutch Baby
  48. Boston Cream Pie
  49. Homemade chocolate chip cookies
  50. Pralines
  51. Gooey butter cake
  52. Rusks
  53. Daifuku
  54. Green tea cake or cookies
  55. Cupcakes from a cupcake shop
  56. Creme Brulee
  57. Some sort of deep fried fair food (twinkie, candy bar, cupcake)
  58. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting
  59. Jelly Roll
  60. Pop Tarts
  61. Charlotte Russe
  62. An “upside down” dessert (Pineapple upside down cake or Tarte Tatin)
  63. Hummingbird Cake
  64. Jell-O from a mold
  65. Black forest cake
  66. Mock Apple Pie (Ritz Cracker Pie)
  67. Kulfi
  68. Linzer torte
  69. Churro
  70. Stollen
  71. Angel Food Cake
  72. Mincemeat pie
  73. Concha
  74. Opera Cake
  75. Sfogliatelle / Lobster tail
  76. Pain au chocolat
  77. A piece of Gingerbread House
  78. Cassata
  79. Cannoli
  80. Rainbow cookies
  81. Religieuse
  82. Petits fours
  83. Chocolate Souffle
  84. Bienenstich (Bee Sting Cake)
  85. Rugelach
  86. Hamenstashen
  87. Homemade marshmallows
  88. Rigo Janci
  89. Pie or cake made with candy bar flavors (Snickers pie, Reeses pie, etc)
  90. Divinity
  91. Coke or Cola cake
  92. Gateau Basque
  93. S’mores
  94. Figgy Pudding
  95. Bananas foster or other flaming dessert
  96. Joe Froggers
  97. Sables
  98. Millionaire’s Shortbread
  99. Animal crackers
  100. Basbousa
31/100 I have some fresh dessert ideas :)

Pink Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies

Sep 16th, 08 / 8 Comments
I can’t believe it is September, I never got around to the August cookie recipes so I made sure to do this one right away so that it got done. I do not like grapefruit but I decided to give these a try, as this was the whole reason I wanted to join this group.

 

I thought these tasted wonderful, although I don’t like grapefruit these just tasted fruity to me.

Pink Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies (From: Martha Stewart)
You can bake the cookies and make the filling a day ahead.

  • Grated zest of 1 Ruby Red grapefruit, plus 1/4 cup freshly squeezed juice
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
  • 3/4 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • Pink Grapefruit Filling
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a small bowl, combine zest with 1 tablespoon sugar; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together both flours, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and remaining sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add egg yolks, and beat until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in reserved zest-sugar mixture. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the juice, and beat to combine.
Turn out dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, and shape into a 1-inch-thick disk. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
 
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out disk to 1/8 inch thick using a lightly floured rolling pin. Using a lightly floured 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out rounds and place about 1 inch apart on prepared sheet. Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until edges are golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack to cool 5 minutes. Transfer parchment paper and cookies to rack to cool completely.
   
Using an offset spatula, spread 1 tablespoon filling onto flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, keeping flat sides down. Once filled, cookies can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Pink Grapefruit Filling
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed Ruby Red grapefruit juice
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in honey. Add juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, until filling holds together and is smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl, cover, and set aside until ready to use.

 

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