Easy Christmas Sugar Cookies!

I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet but I already have a hangering for Christmas cookies. When I was little (and actually still today), one of my favorite Christmas traditions wtih my family was making and decorating Christmas cookies. My mom always made sugar cookie dough and us kids would line up at the table/bar in the kitchen and she would cut out all types of shapes (reindeer, wreaths, snowmen, Christmas trees, etc.) and we would all decorate them. She let us run wild. We stood by the philosophy that the more decorations the better (even though sometimes the taste of the cookie was sacrificed with the abundance of sugar sprinkles and red hots). Today, I decided to give the sugar cookie thing a try. I wanted to make sure I could do it when needed. It was really simple. I usually think the typical sugar cookie is lacking a little flavor so I varied a couple of recipes and made a vanilla almond sugar cookie. They were delicious!

Here are some of the results. I realize that the decorations are totally amateur but I had limited decorating tools. Just a couple of tubes of Betty Crocker Cookie Icing I found at the store. Pretty neat stuff if you don't want to make your own icing.

Vanilla Almond Sugar Cookies - Christmas Cookies!

Ingredients:
2/3 cup butter, softened

3/4 sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 tablespoon milk

3 teaspoon pure vanilla

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined. Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla until combined. Beat in flour slowly, a little at a time until mixture becomes dough.

2. Cover and chill dough for about 30 minutes or until dough is easy to handle.

3. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough at a time until 1/4 inch thick. Use cookie cutter to cut into desired shapes. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Decorate with sugar, sprinkles, etc.

4. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes. Cool.

5. Decorate with icing.

Enjoy!

Meringue Snowflakes!

I saw these in a magazine and thought it was a really neat idea for the holidays. I should first say that I don't really love meringue. My mom is always embarassed because I always request that she leave meringue off of all of her pies and she thinks it looks silly--I try to explain to her that it tastes so much better that way! I'm sure many of you would disagree. However, even though I don't love meringue, I love all things crafty, original and Christmas-y. Also, I was intrigued to see a new way to use meringue. What a neat holiday treat to bring to someone's house! It also looks pretty impressive (if you can pull it off).

The best thing is that you can make all sorts of designs --you don't have to stick to the snowflake. The meringue can be piped into snowmen, wreaths, Christmas trees, or just about any shape you like. I read that some people even use them as cake decorations! I was thinking it might be neat to put them on cupcakes.

I am going to try to make them this weekend. I will let you know the results.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 teaspoon flavored extract, such as lemon, peppermint, orange, or almond
2 tablespoons colored sugar or edible glitter

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 200°. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until frothy, about 3 minutes. Set the mixer speed to high and beat another 3 minutes or so until the eggs whites are fluffy.

2. Add the confectioner's sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and continue beating until the egg whites are stiff and glossy, about 5 minutes. Then beat in the extract.

3. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a pencil to draw snowflake patterns on the paper. The meringues will not spread, so they can be drawn fairly close together. Turn the papers printed-side down and stick them to the baking sheets by dabbing a little meringue in each corner.

4. Spoon the meringue into a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip and pipe it, erring on the thick side so the snowflakes will be less fragile, onto the paper-lined sheets following the patterns. Sprinkle the meringues with colored sugar or edible glitter.

5. Bake the snowflakes until dry but not browned, about 1 hour. Carefully slide the parchment paper from the baking sheets to wire racks and let the meringues cool completely.

6. Using scissors, cut the paper between the meringues to separate them. Then gently peel away the paper from each one, keeping one hand under the snowflake to support the edges. The meringues will stay crisp for up to 2 weeks if stored in an airtight container at room temperature (do not refrigerate them). Makes about 20.

Tip: For the best results, avoid making them on a humid day.

Christmas Fun

I totally stole this post idea from my BFF (and Nanny) Jennifer. I love all things Christmas so I thought I'd include it:

1. Wrapping paper or gift bagsWrapping paper.
I really like to wrap gifts although over the last several years I have found myself using more and more gift bags. Just out of convenience. I will try to wrap them all this year. Opening wrapped gifts is just more fun.

2. Real tree or artificial?
Artificial (again, the convenience thing). Though, growing up we always had a real tree. It was a family tradition to go to a Christmas tree farm and pick out a tree as a family. They always smelled so nice--like Christmas. We were in charge of watering it every day. Lots of great memories. My dad would never hear of anything other than a real tree, though I think he lost the battle a year or so ago when my mom came home from the store with an artifical tree.

3. When do you put up the tree?
We always put it up the day or weekend after Thanksgiving. I can’t put up Christmas decorations soon enough! However, when we had a real tree growing up, putting it up that early sometimes meant that the tree would be dead by Christmas. Too funny.

4. When do you take it down?
Usually after the New Year.

5. Do you like eggnog?
Not really. Not even when it’s spiked :)

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Barbie Dream House or a bike. Santa never wrapped our gifts and Alan (my brother) and I would always sleep in each other’s rooms and get up really really really early in the morning and creep out into the living room and the lights would all be out except the Christmas tree lights and all of our presents would be sitting out under the tree--shining under the lights. Presents just look better with Christmas tree lights shining on them. I distinctly remember seeing my barbie house and thought it was the best thing in the whole world. I also just always remember how shiny a new bike looked under the Christmas tree. I think my Dad did too which is why it seemed like at least one of us got a new bike every year!

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes. My parents have a nativity scene and each of us kids have our own nativity scene as well. Every year, since we were little, our church would give each child a piece to a nativity scene. By the time you were 13 or so you had a completed scene. I still put mine up in my house.

8. Hardest person to buy for?
My grandfather. Well, he’s the hardest and the easiest. The hardest because he already has everything and the easiest because he always loves anything you give him.

9. Easiest person to buy for?
This year will be K.P. -- kids are always easier. I could just wrap a magazine or a shoe from the house and he would be happy. Kids are always the most fun to buy for as well because they genuinely love everything.

10. Worst gift you received?
All gifts are good gifts.-- this was Jennifer’s response but I liked it so I stole it :)

11. Mail or email cards?
I prefer mail but I don’t send out cards myself so I am just thankful to receive them. Although, I may try to send them out this year.

12. Favorite Christmas movie?
Too many -- I love the Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman. It always feels like Christmas time when those come on. I really love all Christmas movies though.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
I love shopping but I HATE crowds so I try to start early. I love the way malls are decorated for the holidays but I can’t stand to fight the crowds. My grandmother would be so proud of me the last couple of years because I completed most of my shopping before Thanksgiving. You always had to give my grandmother your Christmas list by September or October or she would threaten to not get you anything. Too funny. I try to buy online and early. I have already bought the majority of my gifts for this year.

14. Have you ever recycled a gift?
No

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
I love Christmas Day lunch at my grandmothers. The usual yummy Christmas menu: turkey, dressing, cranberries, mashed potatoes, corn, broccoli/rice casserole, sweet potatoes, green beans, etc. and then about 6 different kinds of desserts.

16. Clear or colored lights?
I like clear lights and colored decorations (balls, etc.)

17. Favorite holiday song?
I like: O Holy Night; Baby, It’s Cold Outside; Silent Night -- really, all of them. I really really really like Christmas music. I will keep my radio on Christmas music station the entire season.

18. Travel or stay at home at Christmas?
Stayed in Houston area - both grandparents lived in town so visited both but just during the day.

19. Can you name all the reindeer?
Hmmm...let me try: Dasher and Dancer, Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donder and Blitzen...”but do you recall, the most famous reindeer of all....”-- ha ha ha -- I have NO idea if those names are right or spelled right. I just sang the song in my head and that’s what came out. I’ll have to check it after I post this...

20. Angel or star on top of the tree?
Star

21. Open Christmas eve or morning?
We normally open family girfts on Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning we open gifts from Santa.

22. What’s the corniest tradition you miss doing?
Not that it's corny but I used to LOVE decorating the Christmas tree. We always did it as a family and would make an evening of it. We would put on Christmas music -- we loved the Capitan Kangaroo Christmas album -- and dance around and decorated the tree. We always videoed the evening so we have a lot of really funny home videos of the festivities. After we were finished we would turn off all of the lights and listen to the Nat Kind Cole Christmas album and all sit on the couch and look at the tree. It was always so beautiful. I hope to keep the tradition alive with my own new family.

23. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
Crowds!

24. What’s the worst thing you’ve seen related to Christmas?
I try not to think of anything bad - Christmas is such a great time of year but I do hate the idea of children who do not have a special Christmas. That’s why Andrew and I always adopt a child or two for Christmas (through our firms) and buy them Christmas presents. We have a good time shopping and picking out the gifts and we ALWAYS go over the suggested budget.

25. Which looks best, theme trees or homey trees?
I think they both look beautiful. I love classic beautiful Christmas trees (not trees that are too trendy). I like the traditional Christmas colors. Growing up we always had a "homey" tree full of handmade ornaments & family ornaments.

26. Gingerbread or sugar cookies?
Sugar cookies (I really don’t like gingerbread at all). We always had a family tradition of making homemade sugar cookies and decorating them for Santa and his reindeer. It was really fun. Of course, sometimes we would put so much decorations on the cookies that they didn’t taste good at all. But it was always fun.

27. Do you like fruitcake?
No...does anybody?

Tis the Season!

Ok, I have failed miserably at posting lately. I will try not to make excuses for myself but I have been busy...really....ok, not busy, just distracted. Ok, not distracted, just lazy. I'll just blame it on the economy. That seems to work for everything else :) Anyways, I just needed a little something to kick my butt back into gear. I needed motivation. I needed desire. I needed a newfound enthusiasm. I needed...something. Well, now I have it! The air is crisper. College football is in full throttle. Stores are getting busier. Calendars are being filled up. All because of the delight of what is just around the corner. THE HOLIDAY SEASON!

What better time to pick back up my baking than the holiday season. There are new recipes to try. Cookies to bake. Turkeys to roast. A casserole to mess up :) I have been getting more and more excited every week about all of the yummy holiday food that is around the corner. My mind has been filled with visions of sugar plums...oh wait, that is another story. Anyways, the point is, I am ready. I am ready to bake again. I am ready to douse myself with flour and dive head first into the kitchen.

I really must give a little credit to my friend Melissa who helped inspire me because she had the great idea of having a cooking swapping party. I had never heard of a cookie swapping party before but the second I heard the words "cookies" and "cocktails" I was sold.

Christmas Cookie Swapping Party:

Essentially, the party goes like this: Everyone bakes a dozen or so of their favorite cookie or candy (or whatever delicious-ness you can think of) for each person that is attending, plus a few extra cookies to munch on at the party. Usually about 10-12 people participate. At the end of the party everyone goes home with a large variety of cookies. It is perfect because it gives you something to bring to Christmas parties and other holiday functions. It is also just a good excuse to get together with your girlfriends and share recipes and be merry.

It should be a fun time! I plan to try out several recipes for the party. Actually, before the party so I know which ones are the best. I am trying my first this weekend. Stay tuned!

Need baking help? Check out Baking 911

As you know, I'm pretty new to this whole baking thing. Although my experience is limited, I learn something new every time I bake. However, I still have tons of questions. Questions like, why am I adding eggs? What would an extra egg do? What if I used less sugar? How do I make the cookies softer? What does baking powder do? What is baking soda? What is the difference between salted butter and unsalted butter? And the list goes on and on...

Baking is pretty scientific. A good baker knows her ingredients and knows how they work. In my quest to broaden my baking knowledge I came across a great website that explains all of these things! For those wanting to understand a little more about the science in baking, check out:

http://www.baking911.com

I recommend the tabs "How Baking Works" and Baking Terms" -- very helpful stuff!

Dieting and Brownies - a perfect mix

I've totally been slacking this week with my blogging and my baking. I know. I admit it. One of the main reasons is that I am on a fitness kick and trying to lose my baby weight (by the way, the little guy turned 5 months on Saturday -- he's getting so big!). Anyways, I had a baby this year and I'm turning 30 in 3 weeks. 2 really big milestones and, thus, the reasoning for the fitness kick. One might ask why in the world I would start a blog dedicated to baking the year I had a baby. I would respond with that by saying what better time to start a blog about baking than after you've had a baby. I've got hormones flying and and my taste buds are still out of whack. I thought it might make for some interesting creations :) Anyways, back to turning 30. I am having a big celebration in Vegas with a group of friends for my 30th birthday. Actually, we are celebrating all of us that are turning 30 this year. Let's hear it for 1978! We plan on partying by the pool all day one of the days and I am determined to look good in my bikini! I gained over 40 pounds when I was pregnant so I had the last 6-months to lose it. Despite all of the desserts I have made, I've done really well. I've only got 3 weeks to go and I don't want all of my efforts to go to waste so I've been kind of reluctant to make great desserts that I just know I will gorge myself on. After my birthday, I promise I will be back in full throttle.

Last night my husband was complaining about not having anything sweet to eat after dinner so I dug around in the pantry to see if there was anything quick I could whip up. I found a box of Pillsbury Fudge Supreme Chocolate Chunk Brownies. I threw in some oil, egg and water and presto, I had me a batch of brownies. I know...I know I'm a poser for not whipping up a batch of homemade brownies but, seriously, I don't think I could make any that taste as good as these. They may be the best brownies I have ever eaten. No joke. The next time you are at the grocery store, I would definitely recommend picking up a box. You will not regret it :)

Easy Creamy Homemade Banana Pudding

Ok, so I finally made it to the grocery store for some butter. I went ahead and bought 3 boxes so I wouldn't run out any time soon (and couldn't use my lack of butter as an excuse to be lazy and not make a new dessert). I mentioned earlier this week that I wanted to make homemade banana pudding. I grew up with my mom making it for us all of the time, using an old family recipe. It is soooo good. It is more of a vanilla pudding with bananas added to it. It has a thicker texture than most puddings but that is what I love about it. It is also really easy to make. It only takes about 20 minutes so you can whip it up in a flash. Also, pudding is so versatile in that you can serve it different ways. As you can see from my pictures, I served in out of a trifle bowl. You can also serve in individual pudding or dessert dishes which is very cute. I probably should have done that with this because I only made one batch and it barely even filled a quarter of my trifle dish! I would definitely recommend doubling or tripling the recipe if you want to serve it in larger dishes.

Enjoy!

Homemade Banana Pudding

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 cups milk
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 stick butter

Directions:
Combine sugar, flour and milk. Cook on stove over low-medium heat until slightly thickened.
Add egg yolks and continue cooking until thick.
Add vanilla and butter.
Layer in bowl with Vanilla Wafers and bananas.


NOTE: this recipe only makes enough for about 4 people. I would recommend doubling the recipe to make a larger amount. You can tell from my pictures that I barely filled up a couple of inches on the bottom of my trifle bowl.

Dessert Drought

Ok...Ok...I know it has been like a week since I've posted anything but I've been on vacation. Really. My husband, who had gotten used to our constantly having desserts in the house has started complaining about the lack thereof. I keep reassuing him that "No, I haven't already given up on my quest to domesticate myself and become a master dessert-maker, I'm just taking a couple days off." I have a list of desserts I have planned on making all week but I just haven't found the time. Ok, the truth is that I am out of butter and I just haven't wanted to run to the grocery store. Coming back from vacation is kind of depressing so I just haven't mustered the energy. I also ate about 3000 calories a day in desserts alone while I was on vacation so I thought a week haitus might be good for me. I am having dinner with girlfriends tonight so its a no-go tonight but I promise to whip up something yummy tomorrow! I'm thinking about making my mom's fabulous homemade banana pudding. I think the recipe comes from some great-aunt of mine. Regardless, it is sooo good. You will never want to eat store-bought pudding again after you see and try this recipe. It is a completely different texture and taste than regular pudding. I used to always request my mom's banana pudding for my birthday instead of a cake. Yes, it's that good. Ok, I've put it out there...and I'm craving it...now I have to make it.

By the way, did you know that there is a website called http://www.banana.com/. It has everything you need to know (and didn't even know you needed to know) about bananas. It has recipes, instructions on how to grow bananas and the history of bananas (which apparently dates all the way back to 6th century BCE). Kind of interesting stuff.

I learned that the banana plant is not a tree. It is the world's largest herb!!! Who would have thought?

Searching for Perfection: Part 3 - Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie Bars

I said last week that I was in search of a great chocolate chip cookie recipe. I solicited recipe ideas and my goal was to find a good recipe and run with it, adding my own variations and making adjustments as I felt like it. Well, I started with a great cookie recipe and made slight changes to make it better (see post below). I then made that recipe better by adding ice cream. Yummy! Just when I thought I couldn't make it any better, I did. I added oatmeal, more chocolate chips and made a flat pan of chocolate chip oatmeal bars.

My husband said they were like a delicacy. He said they tasted expensive. I think that means he liked them! He's been eating them with ice cream on top!







Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
4 teaspoons pure mexican vanilla
2 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
2 cups semi-sweet morsels (I used Hershey's chocolate chips)

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat brown sugar, butter and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs, milk and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats and morsels; mix well.

Spread out entire mixture evenly onto ungreased baking sheet.


BAKE for 9 to 10 minutes for chewy cookies or 12 to 13 minutes for crispy cookies. Cool on baking sheets for 1 minute; remove to wire racks to cool completely.


This should satisfy my chocolate chip cravings for a while. I'm heading to New Braunfels for va-cay for the rest of the week but look for some different desserts next week. I promise...no more chocolate chips for a while!

Searching for Perfection: Part 2 - Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

As I lay awake thinking about how good my chocolate chip cookies were I couldn't help but wonder how I could make them any better. I know there were different recipes I could try but I still had a whole batch (ok, well half a batch...I have eaten quite a few of them) of cookies that I didn't want to go to waste. Then it hit me, I could make an ice cream sandwhich out of them! I've seen it done before but I had not had one in forever and I certainly had never made one myself. It couldn't be too hard, right? All I needed to do was throw some ice cream in between 2 cookies and I had an ice cream sandwhich, right?

Here's what I did: I first put several of the cookies in the freezer (for about 10 minutes) so that they would be harder and the ice cream would spread on easily. Second, I choose my ice cream. I figured that I couldn't go wrong with Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream (I mean really...does it really get any better?) so I put some in a bowl and mixed chocolate chips in it (I was totally channeling Marble Slab...but without the marble slab...and without the metal scoops to bang around on the slab.) After mixing the ice cream and chocolate chips I got my cookies out of the freezer and spread the ice cream on top of one cookie and then firmly pressed another cookie on top of it. I then rolled the cookies (the sides of the cookies) in chocolate chips to add more. I then promptly (because the ice cream was quickly starting to melt) placed the cookie sandwiches back in the freezer. They were hardened and ready to eat in about 10 minutes.

This is a great way to use leftover cookies!

Here's some pictures!

Chocolate Chip Cookies...Searching for perfection: Part 1

On my quest to find the perfect chocolate chip cookie I plan to try out many recipes. Last night I tried my first and it was a success. The cookies are awesome. I had my friends Jennifer and Kasey as tasters and they both raved about how yummy they were. I was proud of myself.

After reviewing about a dozen recipes I decided to start out easy. I mentioned in my previous post that a friend recommended the Nestle Toll House recipe on the back of their bag of chocolate chips. I thought this was a good place to start so I took the recipe and made a couple of minor changes. First, I used Hershey's chocolate chips instead of Nestles'. I know...I know...it's the Nestle recipe but I was told (by a chocolate lover) that Hershey's has better tasting chocolate so I had to defer to her expertise. Second, I used Pure Mexican Vanilla that my mother recently brought back from her trip to Mexico. Pure Mexican Vanilla comes from Mexican vanilla beans and means that nothing has been added or taken away from the bean. My mom always cooks with Mexican Vanilla and I think it adds a distinct vanilla flavor to any dessert. Third, (because I love vanilla) I added 3 times the required tsp in the recipe. I had read that this gives them a stronger aroma and just makes for an all around better cookie. Fourth, the recipe calls for nuts and I'm not a big fan of nuts in my cookies so I didn't include them. Although I plan on trying several more recipes, this is definitely one I will continue to make over and over. I may try some additional variations but it's a great recipe to start with.

Here's the result. Yummy!



What you don't know is that there almost were no cookies at all because my friend Jennifer and I couldn't stop eating the batter. It was sooo good...


Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 teaspoons pure mexican vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Hershey's semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Chocolate Chip Cookies - Looking for perfection

Ok, who doesn't love chocolate chip cookies?

I've been obsessed with them lately. Maybe it's because I haven't had a good one in a long time. When I was pregnant my wonderful husband made me 2 chocolate chip cookies (the slice and bake Pillsbury cookie dough ones) every night. How sweet. Even when he didn't want any he would make them for me. I justified needing them because I knew I was supposed to be drinking lots of milk because it was good for the baby. However, I don't like milk unless I have something chocolate-y to go with it. Thus the need for chocolate chip cookies.

I guess this is a good time to mention that before I was pregnant I never even really ate sweets. Don't get me wrong, I would always take a bite of a dessert if someone were to order one after a meal but I never really craved them. I just never really had a sweet tooth. I never understood those people who had to have desserts after every meal...or who always carried a bag of candy in their purse (Kasey :). I just didn't have the craving. I was more of a meat and potatoes girl. I could eat an ultimate cheesburger with chili-cheese fries and still want to share an order of onion rings. I love salty foods. Well, that all changed when I became pregnant. I suddenly had cravings for all things chocolate. I craved chocolate chip cookies, Peanut m&ms, Snickers, brownies and most of all chocolate ice cream.

My FAVORITE ice cream in the world is served at a Houston dessert place called The Chocolate Bar. It's called Creamy Dreamy Chocolate Truffle. It's dark chocolate ice cream with chocolate truffle chunks in it. YUMMY! I drug my husband there several times a week throughout the entire pregnancy. We finally started buying pint-sized containers so we wouldn't have to go back every other day. We went so much that the guy behind the counter actually told us that we should look into purchasing one of the actual tub containers of ice cream. Yes, the ones that they scoop the ice cream out of! I was mortified. I sent Andrew back alone to get my ice cream after that (Again, what a great husband). He said that he would actually hang around the store and wait until the same check-out guy was helping someone else so as to avoid embarrassment. Too funny! All of those who know me also know that I'm a boring orderer. What I mean is that I order the same thing at every restaurant I go to. If I find something I like I always get it. If it ain't broke...ya know?

I digress...the whole point of this post is that I've been craving really good chocolate chip cookies. Now the old me would just run out to the store and buy my Pillsbury cookie dough cookies and be done with it. However, because I'm on a mission to domesticate myself, I figured I should try to make my own homemade chocolate chip cookies. Shouldn't every mom know how to make really good cookies? Isn't that like a requirement for a good mom?

The problem is that I'm pretty picky when it comes to what I like in a chocolate chip cookie. I don't want them too thin but I don't want them thick either. I also do not like crisp cookies. I want them gooey--but not so gooey that they fall apart when you pick them up. Understand? So, I'm on a quest to find the recipe for the perfect chocolate chip cookie (perfect for me anyways).

A friend of mine suggested today that I try out the Nestle Toll House recipe (the one on the chocolate chip package). She said they were her favorite. I may try it out but it seems kind of commercial. I'm looking for something a little different. I want to uncover someone's great-grandmother's recipe that is just out of this world. I am actually planning on making about 3 or 4 batches of cookies this week. My husband's out of town so what else do I have to do?

If you have any good recipes, please send them along. I'd love to try them!

Traditional Strawberry Shortcake

I don't know what it is but summertime always makes me think of cool desserts. Maybe it is because it is so hot here in Texas (I think it was 98 degrees yesterday....uggg). Regardless, I've been wanting to make a cool refreshing dessert. I wanted to do something with fruit and berries but I kept coming back to cobblers and pies. Although I love myself some hot berry cobbler it still wasn't exactly what I wanted. After perusing different recipe ideas I came across a great recipe for strawberry shortcake. That's it, I thought! What's more refreshing than strawberry shortcake. In my search for the perfect recipe I discovered that strawberry shortcake is traditionally made with biscuits. Yummy. Who doesn't like biscuits? I personally don't really enjoy sponge-type cakes so I was really excited about making a good dessert even better. It also gave me an excuse to try my hand at making homemade biscuits. I found a great biscuit recipe (which I varied a little) on http://www.homesicktexan.blogspot.com/. So I had it. I was going to make homemade biscuits, homemade whipped cream and top with fresh strawberries.

The recipe also made me a little nostalgic. When we were little my Granddad would call biscuits "cat heads." It always made us laugh and I thought he must have made it up to be silly. Well, when I was reviewing biscuit recipes I discovered that a "cat head" biscuit is actually a name for a biscuit where the dough was "dropped" on to the pan (as opposed to using a biscuit cutter to shape the biscuits). It's also because the biscuits are supposed to be as big as a cat's head. In the spirit of childhood memories I decided to make "cat head" biscuits.



Homemade Biscuits:

Ingredients:
Two cups of flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of sugar (can add more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 stick of butter, cold (8 tablespoons)
3/4 cup of buttermilk


Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients together. Cut the stick of butter into pieces, and work into the flour mixture with your hands or a pastry blender until it resembles pea-sized crumbs.
3. Add the liquid, mixing until a bit loose and sticky. Pour dough out on a floured surface, and knead for a couple of minutes. Dough should be smooth and no longer wet. You can sprinkle more flour on the surface if you find it’s sticking (I had to keep adding flour).
4. Roll out dough until it’s 1/4 of an inch thick, and then fold it in half.
5. Using a round cutter (can use a glass or a cup if don’t have a biscuit cutter) cut out your biscuits from folded dough. To make "cat head" biscuits, after kneading dough, just scoop dough and drop on to pan. Shape as you please (I actually folded dough and shaped edges).
6. Place on a greased baking sheet close together (so they rise up not out), and bake for 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Makes 10-12 biscuits.


Strawberry shortcake
Ingredients:
2 pints of strawberries, rinsed, hulled and quartered
1/4 cup of sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 tablespoons of honey

Directions:
1. Toss the strawberries with the sugar in a bowl, and leave out at room temperature for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally.
2. Pour the cream into a chilled bowl, and whip with either a whisk, eggbeater or mixer until thickened (be careful to not whip it too much or you’ll turn it into butter!).
Gently stir in the vanilla. Cover and chill until ready to use (though if it sits too long it will revert back to its liquid state and will need to be whipped again). Optional: My mom said that she adds sugar to her cream to make it sweeter. I chose not to do it this time but I'm sure it makes for a sweeter cream.
3. Cut each biscuit in half, and on the bottom half place some strawberries and whipped cream. Put the top half on and add some more berries and cream.
4. Drizzle with honey and serve!



Results: The recipe was actually pretty easy. The only problem was that I made the biscuits on Friday and didn't make the rest until Sunday. By Sunday, the biscuits were a little dry. I will need to make some adjustments next time. I was worried about the dessert turning out ok so I also made a batch up backup brownies. We ended up eating both!

Dessert Flirt proudly presents: Baking with Lara!

Since I will only be making 1 dessert a week (at least for now) I thought it a good idea to include great dessert recipes from other people who make great desserts. Thus, Dessert Flirt proudly presents Baking with Lara! Lara is a friend of mine who makes really good desserts. Really, they are quite impressive. What's more impressive is that she is a 20-year-old college student. When I was in college I think the only dessert I ever "made" was heating up a Chips Ahoy cookie in the microwave. I did have to perfect the heating times (was 10 seconds too short? was 30 seconds too long???) so it did require some sort of thinking :) However, I definitely did not have the baking skills that Lara has. I will be occasionally posting her "guest" recipes so definitely check them out when I do!

Here's Lara...



Here are the two desserts she made for the 4th of July....

LIGHTER THAN AIR CAKE

PREP TIME
30 Min
COOK TIME
25 Min
READY IN
9 Hrs 55 Min

INGREDIENTS
· 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
· 8 ounces cream cheese
· 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
· 1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice
· 2 (8 ounce) cans mandarin oranges, drained
· 1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
· 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

DIRECTIONS
1. Mix and bake cake mix as per package instruction for two 8 or 9 inch round layers. Let layers cool, and then split each layer in half so as to have 4 layers.
2. In a large bowl, whip cream cheese until soft, and then gradually mix in confectioners' sugar. Stir in the pineapple with juice and the drained mandarin oranges, reserving about 5 mandarin orange slices to decorate the top of cake. Mix in the dry pudding mix. Fold in the whipped topping.
3. Place one cake layer on a cake plate cut side up; spread with frosting. Place another layer cut side down on the first one, and top with more frosting. Repeat until all layers are used, spreading last bit of frosting on top and sides of cake. Decorate with reserved mandarin orange slices. Refrigerate overnight before serving.

CARROT CAKE WITH COCONUT ICING

CARROT CAKE INGREDIENTS
· 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
· 1 tablespoon baking powder
· 1 teaspoon baking soda
· ¾ teaspoon salt
· 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
· ½ teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg
· 1 cup pineapple juice
· ½ cup canola oil
· ¾ cup sugar
· ½ cup pure maple syrup
· 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
· 1 cup macadamia nuts, roughly chopped (I used walnuts instead)
· ¼ cup crystallized ginger, chopped (I didn’t find this, so I used 1 teaspoon of ground ginger)
· 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
· 2 cups carrots, grated

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Have ready two 8-inch round spring form cake pans, lightly greased.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and ground spices.
3. In a separate mixing bowl, mix together the pineapple, oil, sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in batches, and combine well with a hand mixer. Fold in the macadamias (or walnuts), ginger, coconut, and carrots.
4. Divide batter evenly between the two round cake pans, and bake for 40 to 45 minutes.
5. Let cool in pans, then remove from pans and put a layer of coconut icing between the layers, and another layer of coconut icing on top.

COCONUT ICING INGREDIENTS
· ¼ cup nonhydrogenated margarine at room temperature
· ¼ cup coconut milk
· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
· 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
· 1 cup unsweetened coconut

DIRECTIONS
1. Cream the margarine until light and fluffy. Add the coconut milk and vanilla and combine. Add the sifted confectioners’ sugar and mix until smooth. Add the unsweetened coconut and combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Review: Crave Cupcakes - A great addition to Houston!

Yesterday I mentioned a new bakery in Houston called Crave Cupcakes (http://cravecupcakes.com/) and said that I hoped I could try it out soon. Well, I couldn't wait so I rushed over there right after work. I even woke up my sleeping baby from a nap to go (something I have never done in his 4 months of life). After reading all about it I just really really wanted a cupcake! I also mentioned that the reviews had been mixed. Some people loved it, some peopled didn't and I wanted to check it out for myself. Well, I am here to tell you that I thought the cupcakes were FABULOUS!

I tried the strawberry, dark chocolate and hummingbird. Here's a picture.



After purchasing the cupcakes I immediately had to taste each of the icings and did so in my car! My personal favorite was the strawberry! The icing is made from pureed strawberries. Yummy! The dark chocolate was also very good. It was really rich. I haven't tried the Hummingbird (some sort of banana nut bread with pineapple and cream cheese icing) yet but if it is anything like the other two it will be delicious. I plan on having it today.

My friend and nanny Jennifer also made a purchase. She picked lemon coconut, dark chocolate and Hummingbird. Here's her box.



She loved the lemon coconut and described the cupcakes as having the "perfect cupcake/icing ratio." Her mother (for whom she bought the dark chocolate) said they were "awesome!"

The bakery itself was really cool. It had a modern/retro thing going on and the staff was very friendly. I will definitely be returning!

Crave Cupcakes - Houston

I was doing some shopping this holiday weekend when I drove past a new bakery called Crave Cupcakes. The bakery was located in Uptown Park (for those in Houston). The store front was enticing but I was in a hurry and unable to drop in. I was excited about learning more so I tried to look them up once I returned home and I couldn't find a website. It seems as though there is already a similar cupcake bakery in Canada named Crave Cupcakes (see http://www.cravecupcakes.ca/) (Their menu looks delicious by the way.) but this is not the same company.

Although I couldn't find a website I did find some other sites that discussed/reviewed the new bakery.

The blog Cupcakes Take the Cake posted a description and review of Crave Cupcakes by the Houston Press blog Eating Our Words.

The designer cupcakes ($3.50 each) are made fresh each day starting at 5 a.m. Leftovers are given to charity or tossed. Doors open at 8 for the breakfast variety. Milk, sugar cane sodas and brewed-by-the-cup fresh ground coffee are also available. Cupcakes can be special-ordered a day in advance.

Owners Brad Dorsey (with restaurant experience) and the husband and wife filmmaker team of Elizabeth Harrison and Peter Cooper set up shop here because Harrison always wanted to do a bakery and they all wanted to do it in their hometowns of Houston.The sign at the front promises European chocolates and Madagascar bourbon vanilla, among other mouth-watering ingredients. Dorsey says they are in the process of finding their feet now, rotating different flavors each day but so far those with chocolate in them seems to be winning. Red Velvet – how Texas – was a sellout the day we were in.

At the bottom of the post were several comments from those who have stopped by. It seems that the reviews are mixed. Some love it...some don't. I'd love to hear from anyone who has been!

I will hopefully be able to stop by myself sometime soon.

Apple Dumplings

I had planned to make a pie or cobbler for the 4th of July but I came across a family recipe for apple dumplings and I couldn't resist. I made a mess in the kitchen (flour everywhere!) but the dumplings were a success!





Recipe:

Ingredients for Dumpling Pastry:
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup water
1 stick of butter

Directions:
Mix together flour and salt
Cut in shortening, sprinkle with water and mix lightly with a fork until moistened.
Gather together with fingers.

Roll out a little less than 1/8'' thick and cut into 7'' squares.
Slice medium tart juicy apple for each dumpling (I used small granny smith apples and they worked great!)
Place apples on squares. Pour sugar and cinnamon mix over each (mix = 1/2 cup sugar & 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon)
Fold dough & dot with 1 tbsp butter on top.

Directions for Syrup (to drizzle on top):
Boil together 3 minutes 1 cup sugar, 2 cups water, 3 tbsp butter, 1 tsp cinnamon
Drizzle syrup over each dumpling before placing in oven and halfway through baking.

Bake immediately 40-45 minutes or until crust is brown and apples are cooked through.

Drizzle syrup over dumplings.

Serve warm.

(I served them with vanilla ice cream! Definitely recommended!)

Hot out of the oven....

4th of July!!!

How fun to have a holiday to celebrate my first dessert! I haven't decided what I am going to make yet but I have to try something all-american. I'm thinking an apple pie or maybe a cobbler.



Here is the recipe for the Sour Cream Apple Pie I was planning on making. I will definitely be making it soon.

Sour Cream Apple Pie

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 egg
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups apples, peeled and chopped
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch single crust pie
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter

DIRECTIONS
1. Stir together 2 tablespoons flour, salt, 3/4 cup sugar and nutmeg in bowl. Combine egg, sour cream and vanilla in another bowl; mix well. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients; mix well. Stir in apples and spoon mixture into unbaked pie shell.
2. Bake in a preheated 400 degree F (205 degrees C) oven 15 minutes.
3. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake 30 minutes more. Remove pie from oven. Increase temperature to 400 degree F (205 degrees C).
4. Prepare cinnamon topping and sprinkle over pie. Return to oven and bake 10 minutes more. Cool on rack.
5. To Make Cinnamon Topping: Combine 1/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon in bowl. Cut in 2 tablespoons butter or regular margarine until crumbly, using a pastry blender.