Here’s an oldie but goodie!

I have always been a cookie lover and cookies are the sweet treat that I make most often.  I have been making these Snickerdoodles since I was a kid and I still love them!  They are chewy, buttery and full of flavor.

I recently found out that this was my grandmother’s recipe that my mom used to make in college.  (I have made a few minor changes over the years.)  It is so fun to have a recipe that has been passed down!  Hopefully I my daughter will continue to love these and eventually make them for many years to come.

Snickerdoodles don’t last very long in my house, which is good because they can dry out easily, usually after 2 days.  A great way to keep moisture in the cookies, is to put a piece of bread in the storage container with them.  I wrap the piece of bread in a paper towel, which helps prevent the cookies directly underneath the bread from absorbing too much moisture.  The cookies stay moist and the bread dries out.  I have also heard that using marshmallows in the same way can help keep the cookies from drying out.

Snickerdoodles

Ingredients:

1 cup butter flavored vegetable shortening
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups, plus 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 3/4 cups sifted flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon

Method:

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large bowl, cream the shortening and sugar.  Add the eggs and mix until fully incorporated.  Scrape down sides of bowl as needed.

2.  Sift together and gradually add in the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Form into a ball and chill dough for at least an hour.

3.  Roll the dough into balls the size of a walnut.  In a small bowl, combine the remaining 2 Tbsp sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon.  Roll the balls in the sugar/cinnamon mixture to evenly coat.

4.  Bake at 400 degrees, on a Silpat or parchment lined baking sheet, for 8 -10 minutes until very lightly golden brown.  Cool before serving and store in an airtight container.

*FYI:  The day I was planning on making these, I discovered that I was out of cream of tartar.  I looked online to see if there were any possible substitutions and found out there is no substitution for cream of tartar.

It’s the time of year when citrus is in season and I love the scent of citrus fruits.  I am a warm weather person, and they make me feel like it’s just a little bit warmer outside in this cold winter as I anxiously await spring.  With the gorgeous abundant selection of citrus fruits in the grocery store, I decided I had to make something with oranges.

The orange flavor in these muffins is very light and not at all overpowering.  My daughter is quite a picky eater and she even liked these!  To lighten things up a bit, I used 1% milk and low-fat sour cream.

Orange Glazed Muffins
This recipe is slightly adapted from Annie’s Eats.

Yield: about 20 muffins

Muffin Ingredients:

1 cup milk
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (from 2-3 oranges)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
2 sticks (16 oz) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
zest from 1 orange

Ingredients for the Glaze:

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (from 1-2 oranges)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
zest from 1 orange

Method:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a muffin pan(s) with 20 muffin liners.  In a medium mixing bowl (or 4 cup glass measuring cup), combine the wet ingredients:  milk, juice, sour cream, eggs and butter.  Whisk to blend.  This mixture can become very lumpy if your butter is hot, so be sure to cool it a bit.  You don’t want to cook your eggs!

2.  In a very large bowl, combine the dry ingredients:  flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Whisk to blend.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined.  Gently stir in the orange zest.

3.  Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full.  Bake 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool 5-10 minutes in pan.  Transfer to a wire rack placed over a baking sheet.

4.  To make the glaze, combine all ingredients in a small bowl.  Add more juice to thin glaze, if needed (or more powdered sugar to thicken).  While the muffins are still warm, gently spoon or drizzle glaze over the top of each muffin.  This recipe made quite a bit of glaze so I reglazed my muffins several times to enhance the orange flavor.  Feel free to use as little or as much as you like!  Allow the glaze to set before storing in an airtight container.

Tips and Thoughts:

If you’d like more orange flavor, you could add a teaspoon of orange extract or use more orange zest.

*One of the most indispensable kitchen tools that I own is a Microplane Zester/Grater.  This tool is great for zesting citrus fruits and finely grating cheese, chocolate, and ginger.  I highly recommending getting one if you don’t already own one!

I recommend using organic oranges if possible.

*Another great way to add a little more orange flavor to the muffins (or other baked goods, whipped cream, or yogurt) is to make orange or citrus sugar.*

Citrus Sugar

Cut long strips of orange zest (or other citrus fruit such as: lemon, lime, or grapefruit) from an orange.  Trim any white pith (pith is bitter so be sure you don’t have any on your zest).  Mix into a large airtight container of granulated sugar.  Do not open for 2 weeks.  Use as desired!

Since I was a kid, I’ve loved shortbread cookies.  I think I first had them in those tins you get around the holidays.  Walkers makes a pretty good shortbread cookie, but they’re not quite the same as the kind I like to make at home.

When I first moved to the Seattle area, I got a job working at Williams-Sonoma.  I learned a lot about kitchen gadgets and tools and was lucky enough to try many of the specialty foods that Williams-Sonoma carries.  My favorite was a cookie mix for Shortbread cookies.  I couldn’t get enough of these cookies and was devastated when the line was discontinued.  I stocked up on several bags of this special cookie mix and kept them around long after the “best buy” date so that I could continue to enjoy them for as long as possible.  Eventually I used my last bag of mix (Don’t worry, they were still good even after their prime.) and knew I had to find some way to replicate these delicious cookies.  After a long search, I adapted a recipe from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook which closely resembles the mix from Williams-Sonoma.  I am happy with the lovely dense texture and buttery flavor and I hope that you will like them, too!

For an extra treat, you can dip these cookies in melted chocolate.  You could also sprinkle a little cinnamon in with the sugar or add a little cardamom to the dough for a more exotic flavor.  I encourage you to experiment!  Stay tuned for a post on my favorite chocolate shortbread recipe, soon to come!

Shortbread “Fingers”

Ingredients:

3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp powdered sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
granulated sugar for sprinkling

Method:

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Butter a 12 x 8 inch baking dish and line with parchment paper.

2.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed for 3-4 minutes.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add powered sugar. Mix on low speed until combined and then increase speed to medium for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.  Scape down sides again, then slowly add flour and salt, and beat on low speed until just combined (scrape sides of bowl as needed).

3.  Transfer dough into prepared baking dish and spread evenly with a spatula.  Chill in refrigerator for about 30 minutes or until firm.

4.  Prick dough all over with a fork (you don’t need to go all the way through).  Bake for 40-45 minutes or until light golden brown.  Immediately sprinkle dough with granulated sugar.  While still hot, cut dough into 4 x 1 inch “fingers” and allow to cool in the pan.  Store in an air-tight container.

Tips and Thoughts:

I am somewhat lazy in that I don’t really like to grease baking bans.  Instead, I use a Silpat liner (or you could use parchment paper) on a baking sheet and shape the dough into a free-form rectangle with my hands.

I have found that I enjoy these the most the day after they are baked because they are a little bit softer, and will last about a week in an airtight container.

A great thing about shortbread cookies is that they don’t contain eggs so they are great to make for someone with egg allergies or sensitivities.

You can really taste the butter in these cookies, so I recommend using the good stuff for optimal flavor.

Happy New Year!  I wish everyone the best for 2012 and look forward to an exciting year as my family moves from the Seattle area back to Northern Virginia, where we previously lived.  We are very excited and the big move is only 6 weeks away!

I love to bake all sorts of things but would like to share with you my current obsession, cake pops…

I first heard about cake pops about a year ago from some friends, who were getting them from a big chain coffee shop.  I tried one at a friend’s house and thought they were good but didn’t really think about them again until this past summer.  They were becoming increasingly popular and I was seeing them everywhere: in various magazines I receive, cake pop maker commercials on tv, and several websites and blogs.  I decided to look up the popular book by Bakerella and order it online.  A few days later I had a cake pop at another friend’s birthday party and I thought to myself, “I should try making these for myself at home!  I think I could do it.”  When I got home from the party I did some more investigating and got my supplies ready to go.

I started experimenting with different flavors and testing them out on friends.  Most of my friends now just assume whenever we have a get-together, I will be making cake pops so it was only fitting that when I was invited to a friend’s house for a New Year’s Eve party, I bring some over!

I have found that the flavor favored by most (and the easiest to roll and shape) is the classic yellow butter cake dipped in vanilla candy coating.  Feel free to experiment with various cake and frosting flavors. The dipping step can be time consuming, but they are actually quite easy to make.  I’m sure you will see many cake pops on here in the future!

Here’s the Basic Cake Pop Method:

You will need:

• 1 box of cake mix, any flavor (and required ingredients)
• 1 cup of simple buttercream frosting (*see recipe) or store-bought canned           frosting
• 1 pound of candy melts, any color and flavor
• Vegetable shortening
• 4 or 6 in lollipop sticks
• Sprinkles, sanding sugar, or other candy to decorate
• Flower foam or styrofoam blocks to allow the candy coating to harden.

1.  Follow directions to prepare cake on any boxed cake mix.  I use a 9 x 13 glass dish.  Allow to cool completely. Trim any crusty edges or dark spots on the cake.

2. Using your hands, crumble cake into a large bowl.  Add frosting: you can either use 1 cup of a simple buttercream frosting or about half of a small container of store-bought frosting. I would recommend starting out with about 3/4 cup frosting and then add more if needed.  You will want the “dough” to just come together, and you will probably have to stir for several minutes before this happens.  Be careful not to use too much, or your cake “dough” will be very gooey and difficult to roll into balls.

3.  Shape “dough” into small balls about the size of a ping-pong ball, or approximately 1 Tablespoon of “dough.” I use a very small ice cream scoop to produce consistently sized balls. Roll in the palms of your clean hands to create a smooth ball.  You might need to wash your hands a few times during this process if they get sticky from the “dough.”  Chill at least two hours.  (*You can also freeze these for future use if you do not want to make a whole batch.  Thaw in the refrigerator before dipping.)

4.  In a deep microwave safe bowl, slowly melt the candy coating in the microwave for 30 second increments until smooth.  I use a 2 cup pyrex measuring cup. To thin the candy melts, add tablespoons of shortening until desired consistency, depending on how much coating you are using.

5.  Dip the tips of the lollipop sticks in the melted coating and insert into the chilled cake pop balls.  This helps them stay on the stick when completely coated.  After they have hardened, you can start dipping the cake pops.

6.  To dip the cake pops, lower the cake balls into the melted candy coating and completely coat the outside.  Be sure not to move the pop around too much in the coating because this can loosen the cake ball from the lollipop stick and they can fall off.  Gently tap the stick on the edge of the bowl to allow any extra coating to drip off.  Decorate immediately and insert the lollipop stick into the floral foam or styrofoam to allow the coating to harden.  Be sure to space them far enough apart so that they don’t touch during the cooling process.

7.  You can store these at room temperature for the day and refrigerate overnight.  If refrigerated they will stay fresh for about a week.

Yield:  30-40 cake pops

*I found all of the supplies I needed at my local craft store and use Wilton candy melts.

Simple Buttercream Frosting:

1 stick butter, room temperature (I use unsalted butter, but you can use salted)
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
3-4 Tablespoons milk
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract (optional)

1.  Beat the butter in a large mixing bowl with paddle attachment until smooth and creamy.

2.  SLOWLY add small amounts of the powdered sugar and beat on low until combined.

3.  Add 3 Tbsp milk and vanilla, if using, and mix on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add more milk if it’s too thick, until desired consistency.  If you add too much milk, just add a little more powdered sugar.  Refrigerate any leftover frosting.

Yield:  about 3 cups

Many recommend sifting the powdered sugar, but usually I’m too lazy to do that, and I’ve found that it doesn’t make a big difference, especially when using this buttercream for cake pops.

To be honest with you, even though I love to bake, I haven’t been doing much baking this holiday season because we are going to be moving in a couple of months.  I’ve been trying not to buy much at the grocery store, and use up the food in my pantry, but I just couldn’t resist!  I have been in the mood to bake the last few days, especially something chocolate. Ever since I discovered this recipe on Pinterest, I’ve been dying to try it out and I just happen to have all of the ingredients on hand.  My sister made these the other day and said they were delicious, so I gave in to my sweet tooth and decided to make them.  Plus, what goes better with chocolate than peanut butter?  Just be sure to have a nice cold glass of milk close by.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

by Greta White

1 (18.25 ) package yellow cake mix
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
2 eggs
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 (12 oz) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
2 Tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup sweetened, shredded coconut (optional)

1. Combine cake mix, butter, eggs, and peanut butter in a large mixing bowl.  Reserve 1 1/2 cups to crumble on top. Press remaining batter into a lightly greased 9×13 inch pan.

2. Combine chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and 2 tablespoons butter in a glass bowl and slowly melt over a double boiler.  Once melted, remove from heat and stir in vanilla and coconut.

3. Spread chocolate mixture over pressed batter and crumble the reserved 1 1/2 cups of batter evenly over the top.

4.  Bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  Cool before serving (if you can!).

Welcome to my website!  My name is Emily and I love to bake!

I’m just getting started, as you can see, but I plan to post about my love for all things sweet (and savory).  I enjoy collecting recipes and cookbooks and reading about what others are baking and doing in the kitchen.  If you have any comments, I’d really like to hear from you.  Happy Holidays!

I found this simple cookie recipe on V and Co. and wanted to give it a try.  This evening my daughter and I made these cookies for Santa, using red and green sanding sugar instead of colored sprinkles.  I hope he likes them!

Here’s the recipe:

White Cake Christmas Cookies

1 box white cake mix
1 egg
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup water
sanding sugar or sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients (except for sugars/sprinkles) in a large bowl.  Place sanding sugar in another small bowl.  Roll dough into walnut-sized balls.  Flatten each ball slightly and dip into sanding sugar.   Place onto an ungreased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart.  Bake about 15 minutes or until done.  Cool and enjoy!