Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Let me present you with what I call a merging of two obsessions. You may remember way back in the day when I merged pecan pie with cheesecake. I’ve done it again, but this time it’s Chocolate Silk Pecan Pie. Indecisive about which pie to make? Make ‘em both! Pecan pie on the bottom and chocolate silk pie on the top!
So, how’s it taste?
Talk about rich. This pie is decadent. Sweet and a bit salty pecan pie is on the bottom. You can leave out the small amount of salt, but I recommend leaving it in if you’re a fan of sweet ‘n salty like me. Then silky, rich, smooth chocolate on the top. Mmm! It’s an indecisive person’s dream! The only thing odd is that the texture gets to me a bit. The top is so velvety smooth and then boom, you’ve got coarse, crunchy pecans in the same bite. The flavor is outstanding, but I almost wanted the top to be thicker to match the thickness of the bottom. It sure didn’t keep me from going back for seconds though!
Chocolate Silk Pecan Pie
Ingredients:
1 refrigerated pie crust, softened as directed on package
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
3 tbsp. butter, melted
1/8 tsp. salt, if desired
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup hot milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1 1/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup whipping (heavy) cream
2 tbsp. powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla
Chocolate curls, if desired
Directions:
1. Prepare pie crust as directed on package for one-crust filled pie using 9-inch pie plate. Heat oven to 350°. Beat granulated sugar, corn syrup, butter, salt and eggs in small bowl with electric mixer on medium speed 1 minute. Stir in pecans. Pour into pie crust in pie plate. Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until center of pie is puffed and golden brown. Cool 1 hour.
2. While filled crust is cooling, place hot milk, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla and the chocolate chips in blender or food processor; cover and blend on medium speed about 1 minute or until smooth. Refrigerate about 1 hour 30 minutes or until mixture is slightly thickened but not set. Gently stir; pour over cooled filling in pie crust. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm.
3. Beat whipping cream, powdered sugar and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla in chilled small bowl on high speed until stiff peaks form. Spoon or pipe over filling. Garnish with chocolate curls. Store in refrigerator.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Merry Christmas! I hope you and your family are enjoying a wonderful holiday. Here’s a treat sweet enough to top any dessert and also great for giving as a gift. This Silky Chocolate Caramel Sauce is so simple to make with only four ingredients!
So, how’s it taste?
Just like its name, it’s silky smooth. Mostly chocolate with a hint of caramel in the background from the brown sugar. Make sure you use good quality chocolate for this recipe. These four ingredients combine to make the most decadent dessert topping. Serve over cheesecake, brownies, ice cream, the list is endless. I served mine over a slice of coconut bread. On a whim, I grabbed a box of Archer Farms Coconut Quick Bread Mix. Mix the ingredients and bake in a bread pan. They aren’t kidding when they say quick bread. It’s absolutely delicious and incredible with the chocolate caramel sauce.
Silky Chocolate Caramel Sauce
Ingredients:
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup whipping cream
10 tbsp. butter
4 oz. semisweet baking chocolate, chopped
Directions:
1. In 2-quart saucepan, cook brown sugar, whipping cream and butter over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a full boil.
2. Add chocolate; cook about 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted and sauce is smooth. Serve warm or cover and refrigerate until serving time.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Hey look! It’s another potato recipe! Who can ever decide between potatoes and sweet potatoes? Well, if it’s the holidays, then I say don’t bother. We have both. I’m the kind of girl that could order a veggie plate and it have a baked potato, fries, potato salad, potatoes au gratin, etc. and be perfectly content with my meal. So, when mom suggested this Sweet Potato Pecan Casserole I was all for it. And guess what? It’s a healthier version from the usual! Score!
So, how’s it taste?
I couldn’t believe how tasty it was considering it was the lighter cousin of what I’m used to eating. It was really, really flavorful. I might even go so far as to say I like it the best! And now the mind-blowing part…there’s not an ounce of butter in it. The honey and spices make it so good. It was nice to really taste the potatoes instead of all that butter. The pecan and brown sugar topping add just a hint of richness and make this dish special.
Sweet Potato Pecan Casserole
Ingredients:
Cooking spray
3 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 5 medium), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1/3 cup honey
1 large egg
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mist an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a pot with a large steamer basket in place. Put the sweet potatoes in the basket, cover and steam until tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the potatoes to a bowl and let cool slightly. Add the honey, egg, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, the nutmeg, ginger and 1/2 teaspoon salt; whip with an electric mixer until smooth. Spread the sweet potato mixture in the prepared baking dish.
3. Mix the brown sugar, pecans and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a bowl; sprinkle over the potatoes. Bake until hot and beginning to brown around the edges, 40 to 45 minutes.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Switched gears on ya big time, didn’t I? I think I’ve given you enough sweets to keep you busy baking in the kitchen for a bit! Now, I’m getting back around to the rest of the yummy eats we had at our Thanksgiving table. Remember those pork loin chops? And the peas and corn with bacon? These Buttermilk Chive Mashed Potatoes joined them on our plates. I mean what’s a Thanksgiving without mashed potatoes, right?
So, how’s it taste?
I stumbled upon this recipe when I waltzed into Williams-Sonoma and picked up their flyer. They always have such good recipes (and gadgets!) in there. I knew right that second I had my mashed potatoes. We pretty much make some kind of potato every year, so I like to change the flavors to keep it interesting. These mashed potatoes were so good and creamy. Believe it or not, the picture you see is half the recipe! It makes a ton. The half-and-half adds a touch of richness and the tang from the buttermilk was really subtle. The chives provided that hint of onion in the background. I added just a bit more of the liquids to make my potatoes the consistency I like. As with any mashed potato recipe, it’s a “to taste” dish and a nice change from the usual salt, milk, and butter version.
Buttermilk Chive Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients:
5 lb. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more, to taste
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup half-and-half
8 tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives
ground pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Put the potatoes in a large pot. Add 2 tsp. salt and enough water to cover the potatoes by 3 inches. Bring to a boil over med-high heat, reduce the heat to med-low and simmer until the potatoes are tender when pierced, 15-20 minutes. Drain well.
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine buttermilk and half-and-half and heat until just warm. Set aside. Set a potato ricer or food mill over the pot and pass the potatoes through in batches. Add the butter, then gradually add the buttermilk mixture, stirring constantly with a large wooden spoon until the potatoes are smooth and creamy. Stir in the chives an season with salt and pepper. Serves 8 to 10.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Are you cookied out yet? Have I put you in a sugar coma? I hope you’ve got room for one more! These Apricot Sour Cream Tea Cookies are the last of the 2010 baking day extravaganza, and they happen to be my favorite one out of all of them. It’s usually a chocolate goodie or some kind of cookie that has everything in it that makes the top of my list. These cookies just say Christmas to me with the spice of cinnamon and cloves. They are definitely a winner.
So, how’s it taste?
You would never believe the base of these cookies are from a roll of refrigerated sugar cookie dough. The flavor is nothing like sugar cookies. The apricots and the apricot preserves are sweet and the sour cream adds a subtle tang. Combine all that with pecans and the sugar cookie dough and it’s one perfect cookie. But wait, there’s more! The cooled cookies are crunchy and not too much on the sweet side, but that’s where the glaze comes in. Dip the cookies in glaze and they become soft and sweet. Easy cookies to make and such a delicious result.
Apricot Sour Cream Tea Cookies
Ingredients:
Cookies
1 roll (16.5 oz) refrigerated sugar cookies
1 cup pecan halves
3/4 cup dried apricots
1/4 cup apricot preserves
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
Directions:
1. Let cookie dough stand at room temperature 10 minutes to soften. Meanwhile, heat oven to 350°F. Spray cookie sheets with no-stick cooking spray or use parchment paper.
2. In food processor, place pecans, apricots, preserves, cinnamon and cloves. Cover; process with on-and-off pulses 20 to 30 seconds or until pecans and apricots are finely chopped and mixture holds together.
3. In large bowl, mix pecan mixture and sour cream. Crumble cookie dough into pecan mixture, stir with wooden spoon until well blended. Stir in flour until well blended.
4. Drop dough by 24 heaping tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto cookie sheets. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool on cookie sheets 2 minutes; remove to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 20 minutes.
5. Place waxed paper under cooling racks. In medium bowl, stir powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Dip tops of cookies into glaze; place on racks and let stand 5 minutes. Dip cookies again; let stand 5 minutes longer or until glaze is set.
Other goodies from Cookie Baking Day 2010:
Almond Macaroons
Buttery Pecan Rounds
Crunchy Muncher Cookies
Striped Icebox Cookies
Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chunky Peanut, Chocolate, and Cinnamon Cookies
Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies
Sunday, December 19, 2010
My mom and I have been baking these Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies for many years. They always make it on the cookie list, even though I’m a big fan of trying new varieties. There’s just something about these cookies that I love. I think I’ve told you before that I hate sugar cookies, so you would think I wouldn’t go near these. But they have cream cheese. That little bit of cream cheese in the dough changes everything.
So, how’s it taste?
I love these cookies. Bite-sized morsels of pure deliciousness. The cream cheese really does make all the difference. It’s similar to a sugar cookie, but with the flavor pumped way up. The texture is slightly soft, yet slightly crisp. The fun part is how versatile these cookies are. You make any shape with a cookie press. We do the trees for Christmas and there’s also one that looks like a wreath. You could use red food coloring and make a batch for Valentine’s Day. They really are fun to make. I let my mom do the cookie pressing and I like to decorate. It’s a tradition we save these for baking last. Probably because I tend to cover the kitchen in sprinkles by the time I’m done!
Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
food coloring, if desired
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream butter and cheese. Add sugar and mix well until light and fluffy. Add egg yolk and vanilla. Mix well. Gradually add flour and salt and mix well. Add food coloring if desired.
3. Place dough in cookie press, press onto cool ungreased cookie sheet. Decorate if desired.
4. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Store in air tight container at room temperature for several weeks or freeze for up to 2 months.
Other goodies from Cookie Baking Day 2010:
Almond Macaroons
Buttery Pecan Rounds
Crunchy Muncher Cookies
Striped Icebox Cookies
Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chunky Peanut, Chocolate, and Cinnamon Cookies
Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
Apricot Sour Cream Tea Cookies
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Say hello to the only gingerbread cookie I’ll be eating from now on. These Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies are amazing. I immediately put them on my list to bake just so I could taste the combination of chocolate and gingerbread together. We’ve made some pretty stellar gingerbread cookies in the past, but these really kicked it up a notch.
So, how’s it taste?
Chewy like they are supposed to be with yummy bites of chocolate. What makes this gingerbread version so fantastic is not only the chocolate, but the freshly-grated ginger. I mean these are truly gingerbread. If you’re not a fan of ginger, these aren’t for you. It’s got your usual ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg, and I was afraid the addition of chocolate would make them lose their spice. Absolutely not! I think these are more gingery-spicy (new word!) than regular gingerbread. I’m tempted to bake some more already!
Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients:
7 oz. best-quality semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tbsp. unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
8 tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 tbsp. freshly grated ginger
1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Directions:
1. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add molasses; beat until combined.
3. In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water. Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in baking-soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture. Mix in chocolate; turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat dough out to about 1 inch thick; seal with wrap; refrigerate until firm, 2 hours or more. (I found you only need to put the dough in the freezer for about 15 minutes. I just put it in there in the mixer bowl and skip the plastic wrap!)
4. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Roll dough into 1 1/2- inch balls; place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes. (I skip the refrigeration step.) Roll in granulated sugar. Bake until the surfaces crack slightly, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Other goodies from Cookie Baking Day 2010:
Almond Macaroons
Buttery Pecan Rounds
Crunchy Muncher Cookies
Striped Icebox Cookies
Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chunky Peanut, Chocolate, and Cinnamon Cookies
Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies
Apricot Sour Cream Tea Cookies
Friday, December 17, 2010
I had high hopes for these Chunky Peanut, Chocolate, and Cinnamon Cookies. I thought they’d be pretty phenomenal with the combo of peanut, chocolate, and cinnamon, and was expecting them to be chewy, gooey cookies. We usually make some sort of peanut butter cookie and a chocolate chip cookie so I was hoping this would be an awesome combination of the two with my favorite ingredient with chocolate…cinnamon. As it turns out, these cookies got my vote for the least favorite of the nine varieties we made.
So, how’s it taste?
I wanted them to be fabulous so badly. There’s only a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon for five dozen cookies, so I should have known that flavor wasn’t going to shine through. You could barely taste it. The cookies didn’t spread out at all from the flattened ball shape. They ended up being small, crispy cookies. They were good, not bad at all, but just not my thing in a cookie. Just a regular ol’ peanut butter cookie with peanuts and chocolate chips. But then again, it’s hard to compete with the eight other kinds we made! Without a strong cinnamon flavor, these cookies didn’t stand a chance!
Chunky Peanut, Chocolate, and Cinnamon Cookies
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp.ground cinnamon
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup roasted, salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Put butter and peanut butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Add sugars; mix 2 minutes. Mix in eggs. Gradually add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips, peanuts, and vanilla with a mixing spoon until well distributed. Refrigerate dough until it is slightly firm, 15 minutes.
2. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Space balls 2 to 3 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Flatten slightly. Bake until just golden, about 13 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool. Serve with ice cream.
Other goodies from Cookie Baking Day 2010:
Almond Macaroons
Buttery Pecan Rounds
Crunchy Muncher Cookies
Striped Icebox Cookies
Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies
Apricot Sour Cream Tea Cookies
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Cookie number five from baking day. We’ve reached the halfway cookie! My mom picked out these Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies after seeing them in a magazine. I secretly turned up my nose to them because they have a sugar cookie base and I hate sugar cookies. I thought for sure they weren’t going to be close to good. However, I am a big fan of chocolate and mint together, and I guess my mom could pick one cookie after I picked the other eight, lol!
So, how’s it taste?
Well, big shocker here, mom was right! These were the best mint chocolate chip cookies ever. I couldn’t believe it. They are incredibly minty and I loved both the chocolate chips and the mint chips. They were crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, which is my favorite cookie texture. This cookie came a close second to another cookie for my absolute top favorites. I brought a bunch of cookies to work and am more than happy to leave them, but somehow the bag of these cookies made their way back home with me. Oopsie! And they kept falling into my mouth all day yesterday. Sneaky little sweet treats.
Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) sugar cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. mint extract
6 to 8 drops green food color
1 egg
1 cup creme de menthe baking chips
1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, extract, food color and egg until soft dough forms. Stir in creme de menthe baking chips and chocolate chunks.
2. Using small cookie scoop or teaspoon, drop dough 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool 3 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Serve warm or cool completely. Store tightly covered at room temperature.
Other goodies from Cookie Baking Day 2010:
Almond Macaroons
Buttery Pecan Rounds
Crunchy Muncher Cookies
Striped Icebox Cookies
Chunky Peanut, Chocolate, and Cinnamon Cookies
Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies
Apricot Sour Cream Tea Cookies
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
These Striped Icebox Cookies look so unique and festive, I thought they’d be perfect for our cookie baking day. The dough has yellow cornmeal, which was interesting, so I couldn’t resist giving them a try. I was in charge of the filling and mom handled the dough. See how I planned that? The beauty of these cookies is they don’t have to be perfectly square. They look more homemade to me and show a lot of love was put in to them.
So, how’s it taste?
They weren’t the easiest cookies to make and there’s a lot of freezing in between steps that we found unnecessary. You can use any red jam, or any color jam, you like. I used cherry for mine. The cornmeal added a crunch to the cookies, yet they still stayed a little chewy from the jam stripes. They taste really, really good. It’s hard to detect the flavor of the jam, but it gives such a sweetness to balance out the not-so-sweet dough.
Striped Icebox Cookies
Ingredients:
Filling
3/4 cup dried cherries
1/3 cup cherry jam or other red fruit jam
1 tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. pure almond extract
Dough
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. coarse salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Make filling: Process cherries, jam, and sugar in a food processor until coarsely pureed. Transfer to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and stir in almond extract. Let cool completely.
2. Make dough: Whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 4 minutes. Mix in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined.
3. Transfer dough to a work surface. Divide into four equal pieces. Roll one piece of dough between two sheets of parchment paper to a 3 1/2-by-9-inch rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Repeat with the remaining dough pieces. Transfer with parchment to a baking sheet, and freeze 30 minutes. (We’d suggest freezing for a bit less. The dough was really hard and stuck to the parchment after 30 minutes.)
4. Assemble cookies: Remove top pieces of parchment. Spread 1/3 of the filling evenly over one rectangle. Top with another rectangle; remove parchment. Repeat with remaining filling and rectangles, leaving the top rectangle uncoated. Wrap in plastic, and freeze 1 hour.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Trim dough to 3 1/4-by-8 1/2-inch brick. (We didn’t trim to avoid wasted cookies.) Cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Space 2 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with nonstick baking mats (such as Slipats). Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are pale golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Cookie can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 weeks.
Other goodies from Cookie Baking Day 2010:
Almond Macaroons
Buttery Pecan Rounds
Crunchy Muncher Cookies
Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chunky Peanut, Chocolate, and Cinnamon Cookies
Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies
Apricot Sour Cream Tea Cookies
Share
Subscribe to RSS Feed
Subscribe via Email
Follow Me on Twitter
Like Me on Facebook
Follow Me on Pinterest
