Orange cardamom crinkles

I decided to make these cookies today because they looked so delicious in the little ebook I got from The American Butter Institute.  I love citrus cookies, lemon bars.. Mmm, my absolute favorite.  I had all the ingredients I needed at home and so I whipped them up this afternoon.

They had a very bright, sunny flavor but they were lacking in the cardamom department.  I even ground fresh cardamom, but the flavor just wasn't there.  I'm thinking 1/4 tsp wasn't enough.. or my cardamom is just past it's prime.

My kid, on the other hand, LOVES these cookies.  I'd be safe to say by now he's gobbled up about half of them.  For him I'll try again tomorrow... after we run to the mall (I know, I know.. but it MUST be done) and the grocery store for a few quick things (which will include another fresh orange and hopefully some fresh cardamom.)  I'm thinking that instead of drizzling them with chocolate as the recipe states I'm gonna sandwich them with some instead :)

Ingredients:

zest of 1 orange
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with
parchment paper.
In small bowl, rub orange zest into sugar until it resembles
wet sand. In large bowl, cream butter and zesty sugar until
light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla, egg and orange juice. Scrape
sides and continue mixing. Stir in cardamom, salt, baking
powder, baking soda and flour until just combined.
Pour powdered sugar in a shallow bowl. Roll heaping
1 teaspoon of dough into ball, roll in powdered sugar, and
place on prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between
each cookie. Repeat with remaining dough.
Bake about 10 minutes, until bottoms begin to brown and
cookies aren’t shiny in center. Remove from oven and transfer
to wire rack to cool completely.
Once all cookies are baked and cooled, melt chocolate in
microwave-safe bowl in microwave for 20 second intervals
until mostly melted. Stir until completely melted. Transfer
to sandwich bag. Snip corner and pipe swirls over cooled
cookies. Serve!

Grated apple pie.. the absolute best apple pie I have ever had in my life.

Around Thanksgiving last year my Honey and I were browsing through Cooks Illustrated Magazine on the iPad and came across this pie that looked like nothing we'd seen before.  Right then and there that pie was placed as the first item on the Thanksgiving Day menu.

Thanksgiving rolled around and after dinner was done I went about making this pie and made a Big mistake... being short on white sugar I added some brown sugar and the pie never set.  It was a soupy mess.  It was delicious, but a mess nonetheless.

After we went apple picking last weekend I set my sights on making this pie again and armed myself properly with this recipe at hand:

Grated Apple Pie

Ingredients

1 1/4 C Sugar
1/2 C (1 stick) Unsalted butter
3 Tbs Flour
2 tsp Vanilla (I make my own, use the real stuff)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
3 medium apples, Peeled and coarsely grated
1 unbaked deep dish pie shell

Directions
Preheat oven to 400°

Peel your apples and set them in a bowl of water with a little squeeze of lemon juice to keep them from browning.

In a large bowl beat together the first seven ingredients (you can use a mixer for this, but I did it by hand since My Honey doesn't have a mixer and it came out perfect every time).  Set aside.

In another bowl carefully grate your apples on the largest part of your cheese grater (I did this at home using my food processor on a smaller grater and although the pie came out good, it wasn't as good as when I did it with the good old fashioned cheese grater).

Fold the apples into the batter and carefully pour the mixture into your unbaked pie shell. (I put the pie on a pan to catch any drippings to avoid any potential spills)

Bake the pie in the center of the oven for 10 minutes and then lower the temp to 350° for 40-50 Min until golden brown on top.

Let cool completely before serving.

 We clearly didn't let it cool completely before serving... but it was still delicious :)

My Thanksgiving baking plan...

I really wanted to take today off so I could get everything done.. But the pile of stuff on my desk and the knowledge that I’d have at least 2 nasty notes on my desk on Monday morning if it was all still sitting there was motivation enough to just come in and get it done so it’s not hanging over my head.

The marshmallows are done, they just need to get stuck on sticks, dipped and sprinkled.

I’m going to get dough made tonight.. A whole LOT of dough so that tomorrow morning I can run and get some shopping done and then come home and bake like a fiend, lol.

I’ll be making a double batch of each of Italian Anis cookies, Chocolate Caramel Bars, Chocolate surprise cookies (which I’ll be filling with Nestle chocolate chips), and a batch of Original Nestle chocolate chip cookies since I never make any “normal” cookies according to one family member.  Not sure if the pumpkin pie will be happening this year, but I’ll also be making a batch of apple pie tartlets since they’re easier to travel with and I can easily spread them across 3 cookie trays.

It’s going to be a LOT of baking and chances I’ll be up till midnight, but it’s all good just for the smiles on the faces of all my family and friends that are going to enjoy them.

and my holiday confection making has begun...

Yesterday in my marshmallow making frenzy I went and whipped the marshmallows a bit longer than I did the last time.. And it made a LOT of marshmallows.

boiling the sugar syrup to 240°f

adding the sugar syrup to the gelatin

about 3 minutes into the process

Marshmallow "batter"

I wound up making a 13X9 inch pan as well as an 8x8 with the remainder.  After I poured most of the marshmallow “batter” into the 13x9 I went and stirred in about half a cup of frozen Nestle Toll House mini morsels into the marshmallow, gave it a good stir and spread it into the 8x8 pan.  Most of the chips stayed intact.. A few melted resulting in a nice swirl effect.  As you see here in the first picture.























They weren’t particularly big, which I’m glad for because they’re seriously sweet (but then again, I’m not a marshmallow fan, I make them purely for the enjoyment of others.

Most of the vanilla marshmallows will be put on lollipop sticks and dipped in chocolate, some will be stuck on top of the chocolate caramel bars and I’ll probably leave some as they are.

I have a plan in my head, but I fear I’m getting ahead of myself and taking tomorrow off work is starting to look like a better and better idea.  I’m sure if I go and make some dough tonight and keep it in the fridge I’ll be able to work tomorrow and then just bake most of Wednesday.  I just really need to find the motivation.  Sleep eluded me last night, and I feel it rapidly catching up with me.

Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies & Baking with The Kid

Baking is something I love to do.  I grew up baking with my grandma and my kid has grown up baking with me.  He’s not so little anymore (who am I kidding, he’s not little at all anymore unless he’s standing next to Shaq).  It’s still something that he enjoys doing with me though.  There’s nothing like the sweet satisfaction of a home baked goodie and the smiles that ensue while enjoying them.

Last week I got a Nestle baking kit from Foodbuzz and last night The Kid and I baked up some mini chocolate chip cookies using the Nestle Tollhouse Mini chocolate chip cookie dough.  Preheat the oven to 350 and bake for 12 minutes and viola, cookies!  No mess to clean up, no measuring, just take straight from the fridge to the oven and you’re all set.

I was pretty impressed with the way these mini cookies turned out, from solid little squares on the baking sheet into perfect little round cookies.  Yum!

I'll really be getting my bake on this weekend to prepare for thanksgiving, because what's a holiday without fresh baked home made goodies?  I will be posting pictures to this post later and more this weekend when the baking extravaganza in my kitchen begins :)


I Will be getting this dough again, to use for the bottom of a cookie crusted cheesecake or cheesecake bites (I'm not sure yet) and I'm considering flattening out an entire brick of this dough to fit into an 8x10 cake pan and topping with brownie batter! Yeahhhhhh! Yummy!  There are so many things you can do with this dough.  Whether it's the basic cookie, or you're looking to jazz it up, the possibilities are infinite just use your imagination!

Just be careful.. I like raw cookie dough as much as the next gal, but it's not safe to eat because of the raw eggs in the dough.  I was surprised but you can't eat this stuff raw.. says it right on the package:


Bummer.. I baked just 6 cookies for myself and the kid though and it was just what I needed to shut that sweet tooth up ;)

With the assistance of coupons from Foodbuzz I also got 2 bags of Nestle Toll House Morsels.  Since I'm going to be a baking fiend this weekend, some of those will go towards baking the ever popular Chocolate Caramel Bars

and coating the marshmallows my friend doesn't believe I can make... ya know, these:

and possibly making an attempt at stirring some mini chips into a batch of marshmallows before they set.

The possibilties in my head are endless and once I get myself to the grocery store and sit myself down with a list and a plan I'll know exactly what I'm going to be creating.. since on Thanksgiving I have 3 stops to make and a few people I want to send some goodies to also I have to be sure to make plenty :)

You can’t come unless you bring cookies

These are the words uttered by the bestie’s nephew last Saturday.. “Ashley can’t come over unless she brings cookies” Well... had I have been properly prepared, it wasn't 110° in the shade and had I not just moved I would have.. But now I will bake a special batch just for him.. Ya know, because I’m cool like that.

I can’t just make any cookies though.. I have to make Chocolate-Caramel Bars.  These have been highly coveted cookies since the first time I baked them with the bestie.  I make them for every special occasion and holiday now. No cookie tray goes without them, because they really are that good (So good that I've never brought them into the office to share).  The last time I made them instead of using prepackaged caramels I used caramel sauce that I made and OMG they were So incredibly amazing.

Just for kicks I might make a batch of Whoopie pies too for the main fact that you can’t help but smile when you say the name and they’re unbelievably good too.

The bestie's only here for 2 more weeks.. I must break in my new oven and share the goods before she goes back to Africa.  Plus.. what's better for the soul than some home baked goodies?

What's better than a Homemade Marshmallow?

A homemade chocolate covered marshmallow on a stick!!!

I made Marshmallows* last Sunday and had them sitting in the oven to set up and dry out a bit.  I kept the marshmallow as a slab until yesterday because it's been wickedly humid here all week.  I cut the marshmallows up using my pizza wheel dusted with a little powdered sugar and then tossed all the marshmallows into a gallon size Ziplock bag. I tossed in 1/4 cup powdered sugar and shook it good to cover all sides of the mallow so none stuck together and give the chocolate something good to hang on to.

I took about 20 marshmallows and stuck them on Popsicle sticks, gave them a good tap on the side of a bowl to remove the excess powdered sugar and put them in the fridge to hang out until I was ready to cover them in chocolate.

I went over to my local party supply store and got a bag of chocolate melts, melted them down and using a rubber spatula coated each mallow in chocolate.  Don't dip the chocolates directly in the chocolate because they'll start to melt (trust me here, I learned by experience) Just get a good scoop of chocolate on the spatula and spread it around the marshmallow.  I sprinkled some colored sugar crystals on them too while they were still hot for some extra color and a little extra texture.

Set the chocolate covered marshmallows on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper so they don't stick and easy cleanup. Store the covered marshmallows in the fridge covered in plastic wrap or in a ziplock bag.

* When I made these marshmallows I used the Marshmallow syrup that I had leftover from the last time I made Marshmallows.  Using the marshmallow syrup gives you bigger fluffy marshmallows than using corn syrup and I find you whip them for a shorter amount of time also.  In total, this time I whipped the marshmallows for around 6 minutes and they were ready to go.

A few Memorial Day Weekend Recipes

I get tons of emails every day with recipes.. .so many so that I have them directed right into their own folder in my inbox so I don’t miss any and I go through it weekly, save the ones I like and know I’ll use in the folder to print out when I get a chance.

Today there were a gazillion different things for the big memorial day weekend so I thought I’d share a few of these great recipes with y’all.

I don’t have an outdoor grill (my LL does, but he’s not willing to let me use it) I do, although have a fairly large George Foreman Grill, which is awesome.. I don’t always get that charred flavor, but if that’s what I’m looking for I will occasionally toss whatever I’m making in the broiler.

Lemon Pesto Marinade
(from iVillage)
Yield: Makes about 1 1/2 cups Serving

Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon grated fresh lemon zest (from 1 or 2 lemons)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 small garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup whole basil leaves, loosely packed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup parsley leaves, loosely packed
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon zest and lemon juice. Set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the basil, parsley, mint, dill and garlic until finely chopped. While the machine is still running, slowly drizzle in the reserved olive oil mixture until well combined. Add the salt and pepper. Adjust with additional salt if desired.

Brush on or marinate fish and seafood no more than 30 minutes prior to grilling. If using with chicken, vegetables or beef, brush on or marinate up to 4 hours in advance. Drain off the marinade slightly before grilling.

Grill over medium-high heat—if your grill is too hot, the herbs will burn too quickly.

Both The Kid and myself Love horseradish.. not sure how this came to be, but he really digs the stuff.  I will sometimes make a rub with horseradish, salt, pepper and lemon juice for steaks, let it sit for an hour or so and toss it under the broiler and then serve it with a horseradish mayo on the side.

Bloody Mary Burgers with Horseradish Dressing


Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3/4 to to 1 1/4-inch piece horseradish root, freshly grated
1 1/2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
2 tablespoons crème fraîche
4 to 8 dashes Tabasco or other hot sauce, to taste
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
4 good bread buns, ciabatta rolls, or thick slices of baguette
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
 romaine lettuce leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
Tomato slices
3 pounds ground round
Ketchup (optional)
A little canola or olive oil

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix together the tomato paste, horseradish, celery seeds, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and a generous grinding of black pepper. Add the beef and mix thoroughly with your hands, making sure the seasonings are spread throughout the meat. Let stand for at least an hour for the flavors to develop. Meanwhile, make the horseradish dressing: Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Break off a small piece of the beef mixture, the size of a walnut, and fry in a little oil until well cooked. Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary.

Shape the meat into 4 patties about 3/4 inch thick. Lightly brush each one with oil, then place on a grill over high heat. It’s hard to give exact cooking instructions due to variables such as the thickness of the burger, the heat of the grill, and personal preference. For a medium-rare burger, you will probably need to grill for 3 to 4 minutes, then flip over and cook the other side for a couple of minutes. If you’re cooking the burgers indoors, use a lightly oiled grill pan set over medium-high heat. Let the burgers rest for a minute or two while you prepare the buns.

To serve, toast the buns or other bread lightly on the cut side, then top with the lettuce leaves and tomato slices. Add the burgers and smear with horseradish sauce, and a dollop of ketchup if you like. Top with the other half of the bread.

Good with French fries, obviously, but if they’re too much effort, really good potato chips will do.


I ABSOLUTELY Love Greek food, so this is definitely one I’m going to try.

Lamb Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce

Ingredients
(1 lb) good-quality lamb ground
4 artisan-style hard rolls
1 tsp minced garlic
4 small handfuls of baby spinach leaves
1/2 tsp ground cloves
 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp light brown sugar
1 tbsp olive oil

directions
Prep: 15 min Total: 30 min (Quick)

Put the lamb in a bowl and add the garlic, cloves, cumin, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Mix with your hands until well combined, then shape into four burgers. Chill until ready to cook.

Mix the red onion with the vinegar and sugar. Let marinate while you prepare the sauce. Squeeze the cucumber to remove excess moisture, then mix with the yogurt, garlic, mint, and a little salt and pepper. Chill.

When ready to eat, heat a ridged cast-iron grill pan. Sprinkle the burgers with a little kosher salt and brush with olive oil. Cook the burgers until browned and cooked through, 3–4 minutes on each side.

Meanwhile, split the rolls and toast them. When the burgers are cooked, assemble your creation with baby spinach leaves, tzatziki sauce, and the drained marinated onions.


This is very close to the way I make Turkey burgers.. I’ve never tried it with chicken though.. Another marked to try asap :)

Chicken Mushroom Burgers

Ingredients
1 pound lean ground chicken (or turkey)
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups finely chopped mushrooms
6 whole wheat buns, halved
2 green onions, chopped
Tomato slices, for Toppings
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
alfalfa sprouts or leaf lettuce, for Toppings
1/4 cup oat bran
cranberry sauce or mustard, for Toppings
1 1/4 teaspoons dried tarragon or 1 tbsp fresh
 light mayonnaise, for Toppings
1/2 teaspoon salt


Directions:

Lightly combine chicken, mushrooms, onions, garlic, oat bran, tarragon, salt and pepper. Gently form into 6 evenly shaped patties, about 3/4-inch thick. Refrigerate patties for at least 1 hour before grilling (see Tip).

Preheat grill on medium. Place patties on lightly oiled grill rack. Close lid and grill for 6 to 7 minutes per side or until an instant-read thermometer inserted sidewise into center of each patty reads 165°f; turn once.

During last few minutes of cooking, place buns on top rack of grill to warm. Fill each bun with a cooked patty; top with choice of garnishes. Makes 6 servings.

Tip: Patties hold together best if covered and refrigerated for about 1 hour before cooking.

Safety Tips: A little care for your chicken is in order. After handling raw chicken, wash your hands and all utensils with hot soapy water and rinse well. After grilling, always put burgers on a clean plate. Never use a plate that held the raw burgers.

Lemonade cookies

I am still in shock that Easter is this Sunday.  Even though it's later than usual this year I'm still kinda stunned, lol. It doesn't quite feel like spring here in NY yet, let alone the fact that it's almost May.

I bought up a bag of lemons at the grocery store on Friday for the Chicken with Lemons & Olives (which to me was a great lesson in paying attention while shopping as 3 loose lemons were $4 and a bag of 6 lemons was $3.49.)  I took the lemons home, washed them and they're sitting on my kitchen counter, waiting for me to use the rest of them up. (yea, you read that right, I washed them.  I always wash all my produce before I use it or put it in the fridge... don't you ever wonder where the fruit flies come from? *shudder*)

I wanted to make lemon bars, but I'll save that for another day when I have a little more time.  I'm taking off work towards the end of the week so The Kid can get a break from coming to the office with me and I can get a break from the madness too.

I knew I had this recipe somewhere and it turned out to be in the recipe binder (which I will also be going through and tabbing this weekend)  I'm so glad I found it because I've been thinking of these cookies all.week!

I'm making these tonight.. Pictures will follow :)


Lemonade Cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar + ½ cup for dusting the cooled cookies
 1tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, softened
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 350̊. F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl combine flour, confectioners' sugar and lemon zest.

 Add butter and vanilla and beat together until a soft dough forms.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons onto the cookie sheet leaving about an inch in between each one.

 Bake one sheet at a time for 12-15 minutes, until cookie bottoms are golden brown.

Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

After the cookies have completely cooled you can move on to the next step:

Place the remaining 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar in a quart or gallon-sized zip-top bag.

Carefully drop 12 cookies at a time into the sugar and shake to coat.

Store cookies in an airtight container or zip-top bag.

There are cookies.. and then, there are These

These are the cookies that are one of the most incredible cookies I've ever made... these are the ones that have been known to mysteriously disappear from the cookie plate or, in last year's case they were snatched up by a certain someone and stashed in a box where nobody else could find them. 


Yea, they're that good. So good in fact that I now double the recipe and make 2 batches of it so nobody gets left out.. and make a reminder to myself to make one without coconut because of an allergy.  Leaving out the pecans isn't a huge deal.. and if I'm making them to give on a platter I will leave them out and sometimes, pecans just aren't in my cookie baking budget.


We refer to these as "The Sticky Cookies" they're so amazing.  I made these the first time with The bestie, who is now in Mozambique and made a special request for the recipe, so when I shipped her a box full of goodies the other day, I added the recipe in along with a conversion chart because Everything's different on the other side of the world.  


I'm Mailing some of my friends cookies, but unfortunately I'm not sure these would ship well.. so here's the recipe to share so nobody gets left out.

Chocolate-Caramel Bars

1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/4 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Butter
2 Cups coarsely chopped Pecans (we used walnuts)
1 Cup Flaked coconut (Oops, I forgot the coconut when we went to the supermarket, lol)
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp. vanilla
20 vanilla caramels
2 Tbs. Milk
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°f. For crust, in a medium bowl stir together flour and brown sugar. Cut the butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Press flour mixture into the bottom of a 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking pan. Bake 15 minutes. 

2.  Sprinkle coconut and nuts over partially baked crust. In a small bowl stir together sweetened condensed milk and vanilla, pour over coconut and nuts. Bake for 25-30 minutes more or until set.  Let stand in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes

4. In a small saucepan combine caramels and milk. Heat and stir over medium-low heat just until caramels melt (be very careful here, molten caramels will give you a nasty burn!) Drizzle caramel mixture over baked mixture. Sprinkle top with chocolate chips. Cool completely and cut into bars.

Lulu’s Italian-American Bakery, Fresh Meadows, NY

Lulu’s Italian-American Bakery, Fresh Meadows, NY

Hot Damn! Lulu’s is one of the best bake shops around hands down.

I happened by a car show at one of the local high schools on my way to the grocery store on Sunday and they had some stands and whatnot and I saw cupcakes.. So naturally I had to just stop and see what the deal was and I was excited for 2 main reasons: 1. The cupcakes were not left out in the open for flies and bees to buzz around and land on (FYI, if your food is left out in the open, uncovered, you will not get any business from me) they were in a small display case and 2. all the cookies and other goodies were lovingly wrapped in little baggies tied with ribbon with a sticker from the shop on them.

The Kid got an Oreo cupcake and I got 2 (HUGE) rainbow cookies in a little plastic bag That cupcake never had a chance.. By the time we got to the car and the kid sat down that cupcake was devoured, followed by “Mom, that was the best cupcake you’ve ever bought!” I had a little more restrain, and waited until we got home to have one of the cookies.. And Holy Cow.. Wow, absolutely amazingly unbelievable, hands down the absolute moistest rainbow cookies that I’ve ever had in my life. They were sooo good. I still have one in the fridge.. At least, I think it’s still there unless the kid got his grubby little hands on it and didn’t tell me. Shoot, now I’m gonna have to go and check when I get home. Everything was $2 which was awesome.. Which also means that I will definitely have to find my way over to Lulu’s one of these days no matter what kind of hike it is for me to get there. I would drive 2 hours just to get some of those rainbow cookies!

***I just realized that their web site isn't quite up and running yet.. I'll be sure to let y'all know when it does though :o)

The Biggest cake I've ever made

Sunday was my best friend's son's 3rd birthday party. We've been planning the cake for weeks, first it was going to be a Buzz Lightyear cake, then she called me around 10 one night and had an idea, she wanted to make a train cake, but not just any train, we made the train from the book Freight Trains by Donald Crews.


In Particular, this train, that moves throughout the book.. in it's entirety!


We started baking early Saturday afternoon and after taking a break for a few hours to have dinner at her brother's for her sister in law's birthday (and running home to grab a change of clothes and my hand mixer because we burnt hers out!) the baking resumed around 9:30pm until almost 2am Sunday morning.. baking cakes, cupcakes and whipping up batches of buttercream frosting. By the time we got to bed the cakes were all filled, layered, shaped and mostly iced and all we had to do come morning was bake a batch of mini cupcakes and finish icing them as the wheels on the train.

It was a big job.. the biggest I've ever done at least:


We had to put the leaf in the dining room table just to fit the whole cake!





But, it was a huge success and her son was so excited when he saw the cake... and Everyone loved it!

12 days of cookies, Day 5: Mexican Chocolate Cherry Cookies

This recipe makes 5 dozen cookies, They're unbelievably good and you can freeze the dough with no problems at all.

Mexican Chocolate Cherry Cookies

2¾ hours | 2½ hours prep

SERVES 30 , 2 cookies

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup powdered sugar
60 candied cherries, halved

1. Stir chocolate in top of double boiler over simmering water until smooth; cool.
2. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients in medium bowl.
3. Using electric mixer, beat 1 3/4 cups sugar and butter in large bowl until light.
4. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then vanilla and chocolate.
5. Gradually add dry ingredients, beating just until combined.
6. Chill dough until firm, about 2 hours.
7. Preheat oven to 350°F.
8. Lightly butter 2 large baking sheets.
9. Place powdered sugar in shallow pan.
10. Form dough into 1-inch balls.
11. Roll each ball in sugar to coat; shake off excess sugar.
12. Arrange cookies on prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 1/2 inches apart.
13. Press 1 cherry half into center of each cookie.
14. Bake until cookies puff and crack but are still soft, about 10 minutes.
15. Transfer cookies to rack and cool completely.
16. (Cookies can be prepared ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week, or freeze up to 1 month.).

12 days of cookies, Day 4: Chocolate Suprise Cookies

I made these for the first time last year and watched my best friend's sister eat almost the whole plate over the course of the day, lol.. they're sooo good!

Chocolate Surprise Cookies

1/2 cup Butter, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
about 36 semisweet chocolate chunks or miniature kisses

Preheat oven to 350°f. In a large bowl beat butter with electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until combines, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer and stir in any remaining flour; knead dough together if necessary.

Shape 1 tsp of the dough into a ball & press a chocolate chunk into the ball and reshape dough into a ball. Repeat with remaining dough and chocolate. Place dough 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 12-14 minutes or until bottoms are light brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies, day 3 Rainbow cookies

Rainbow cookies (or Venetians as they are sometimes called) are my #1 favorite cookie Ever.. and after the first time I made them I understood why they are $7.99 a pound at the bakery. They are a LOT of work.. but the results are always so amazing that it is so worth the effort :)

Rainbow cookies


Ingredients:
7 ounces almond paste
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 cup margarine or butter, room temp
3 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour, Sifted
1/4 teaspoon salt
15 drops green food coloring
15 drops red food coloring
2/3 cup apricot preserves (pressed into a coarse sieve to remove any large pieces of fruit)
3 ounces semisweet chocolate
1 teaspoon vegetable shortening

Directions:

1. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease 3 8"x8" metal baking pans. After greasing, line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper, smoothing the paper down onto the pan. Grease the tops of the parchment paper and then flour the pans. Put aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, Beat together on medium-high speed the Almond Paste, Sugar, Almond Extract and butter until well blended. (there might be some small lumps of Almond Paste remaining and that's fine.).

4. Reduce speed to medium and beat in the eggs one at a time until blended.

5. Reduce speed to low and then add the flour and salt slowly to the mixture until combined.

6. Take two small bowls and add 1 rounded cup of batter into each bowl. (there should be another rounded cup of batter still in the original mixing bowl.).

7. Add 15 drops of red food color to one bowl and 15 drops of green food color to the other. Stir each bowl until evenly blended with color.

8. Spoon the untinted batter into one pan. With metal spatula spread batter evenly (layer will be about 1/4 inch thick). Repeat with red batter in second pan and green batter in remaining pan.

9. Bake until set and toothpick inserted in center of layers comes out clean. 10-12 minutes.

10. Cool in pans on wire rack about ½ hour. Cake should be cool to the touch.

11. Run tip of knife around side of pans to loosen layers.

12. Lay a piece of parchment paper on a flat surface that will be able to fit in refrigerator.

13. Take the green layer and flip over pan onto parchment paper. Gently pull off the parchment paper. Spread 1/3 cup of apricot preserves onto the green layer.

14. Take the untinted layer and remove from pan. Place it onto the green layer with the wax paper side up. Press down gently and then remove the parchment paper.

15. Spread remaining 1/3 cup of Apricot preserves onto the untinted layer.

16. take the remaining red layer and remove from pan and place upon the white layer again with the parchment side up. Press down gently and remove the parchment.

17. In a 1 quart saucepan, heat chocolate and shortening over low heat, stirring frequently, until melted.

18. Spread melted chocolate mixture on top of the red layer evenly. Do not put mixture on sides.

19. refrigerate until chocolate is firm, at least 1 hour. (at this point, if you want, you can cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days before serving).

To serve, with a large sharp knife, trim about 1/4 inch from the edges. Cut the stacked layers into 6 strips. Cut each strip crosswise into 6 pieces. You will get 36 square cookies from this.

Place the cookies in a single layer in a waxed paper lined container. They can be refrigerated for up to one week or freeze up to 3 months. These cookies must be kept in the fridge.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies, day 2 Ginger cookies

I made an army of gingerbread kids last night and these cookies are So good!

Gingerbread cookies

1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1 Tbs. grated fresh ginger or 3/4 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 tsp tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour


In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the sugar, ginger, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in molasses and egg until combined. Beat in the while wheat flour and as much of the all purpose flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in and remaining all purpose flour. Divide dough in half. Cover and chill dough about 3 hours or until easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 350°. On a well floured surface roll half the dough at a time until 1/8 inch thick. Using cookie cutters cut out dough. Place cutouts 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 6-8 minutes or until edges are firm. Let stand for 1 minute on cookie sheet. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Decorate.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies, day 1 Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

Since I baked so many cookies for Thanksgiving (I didn't cook for the first time in years, I had to bring something, lol) I wanted to share some of the awesome cookie recipes that I have here in my cookie arsenal, lol... sure to please, easy and, oh yea, absolutely Delicious! Many of these recipes are Egg Free, I hadn't planned that but it works well for people with allergies.

Cookie#1 Sour Cream Sugar Cookies
Makes appx. 48 cookies

1/2 Cup Butter, softened
1 Cup Sugar
1 Tsp. baking powder
1/4 Tsp. baking soda
dash salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

In a large mixing bowl beat butter for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat until combined; scrape sides of bowl. Beat in sour cream, egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Divide dough n half. Cover and chill dough for 1-2 hours or until easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 375°f. On a well floured durface roll half the dough at a time until 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Using desired cookie cutters cut out dough, place 1" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 7-8 minutes or until edges are firm. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool.

Decorate =o)

Easter Pastiera

This is my favorite Easter recipe and like lots of authentic regional desserts this one has a story. The legend of the Pastiera is that Queen Mariateresa d’Austria, wife of Ferdinando II of Borbonè, had a nickname "the queen who never smiled". One day her husband, who was outgoing and loved eating, convinced her to try a new recipe. As soon as she tried her first piece of pastiera she couldn’t resist smiling, and at this piont her husband shouted: "I’ll have to wait next Easter to see my wife smiling again!"

This recipe is a little different from the one I grew up with as it doesn't have a crust, I never liked the pastry around the creamy filling and always left the remnants on my plate.. this one leaves nothing to be spared :) Plus, it's not sickeningly sweet (and after all that candy, you want something refreshing ;) )


Pastera

1 quart whole milk
3/4 cup arborio rice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
unsalted butter, for pan
all-purpose flour, for pan
3 lbs fresh ricotta cheese, drained 3 hours, preferably over night, through cheesecloth
3 large eggs, plus
3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Strawberry or Raspberry sauce

1 pint fresh strawberries or raspberries
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:
1. Bring milk to a boil in a large sauce pan over medium high heat.
2. Stir in rice, cinnamon, salt and vanilla bean.
3. Reduce heat to medium low, cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until rice is very tender and has absorbed all liquid, about 30 minutes.
4. Remove pan from heat, stir in 3/4 cup granulated sugar, cover, let cool, stirring occasionally.
5. Discard vanilla bean.
6. Preheat oven to 350̊F degrees.
7. Butter and flour an 8-inch springform pan.
8. In a large bowl, fold together, the rice mixture, ricotta, whole eggs and egg yolks, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar, very carefully using a rubber spatula.
9. Pour into prepared pan.
10. Bake until golden, 65 to 70 minutes, cover with foil if starting to brown too much.
11. Transfer pan to cooling rack.
12. When cake has cooled completely, run a knife around edge to loosen.
13. Gently remove ring; transfer cake to a serving plate.
14. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, and serve at room temperature with sauce.

Sauce:.
1. Combine all ingredients in a medium nonreactive saucepan.
2. Cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until berries are soft, 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Serve warm or at room temperature.

OMG Easter is almost here!

It just dawned on me that Easter is 3 weeks away and I haven’t even started planning the Easter basket for The Kid. I don’t put a lot of candy in his basket, he’s not a big candy eater. I put some candy in there, but I like to do unique things, last year it was a few traditional Easter candies like Jelly beans, Peeps, cadbury eggs, reeses and m&m’s.. But I also hid a whole bunch of Astronaut Ice cream in there that I got off ThinkGeek (man, I love that store!) And a game for the Wii.

I’m stumped this year though! Come on Moms and Dads I need some Great Easter Basket ideas.. I always love to *WOW* The Kid on Easter morning.

How do you cook your corned beef & Cabbage for St. Patrick’s day?

I do the Corned beef in the crock pot with potatoes and then I cook the cabbage separately, usually I season and sautee it. Soggy cabbage is so yucky!

So.. How do you do it?