Fall is here!...at least for the moment

Well thankfully the heat has passed and the leaves are falling.  It is beautiful outside, but I'm suddenly reminded of just how much fun it wasn't raking an acre of leaves last year.  Oh well, my pumpkin bread makes up for it!  I love pumpkin recipes.  I have more than I can post on here, but I will start this week by posting my favorite pumpkin bread.  I made it last night (2 loaves) and by late morning, we were down to one.  I can't think of anything better to make my house smell wonderful.  I have had this recipe for a long time.  I can't remember if I got it in high school or college, but it's always been a hit.  And thankfully, it's ridiculously easy (anyone who knows me well, knows I have an odd aversion to yeast).

Pumpkin Bread

1 can pumpkin (16 oz)

1 2/3 C white sugar

2/3 C veg oil

2 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

 3 C flour

2 t baking soda

1 t salt 

1 T cinnamon

1/2 t nutmeg

1/2 t apple pie spice or ground cloves

1/2 t baking powder

Blend together the first five ingredients.  In a separate bowl whisk together the dry ingredients to be sure there aren't any lumps.  Then stir into the wet ingredients.  Grease two loaf pans ( I use Pam with flour, it's awesome) and separate the batter.  I use a measuring cup to be sure of even distribution. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. 

To make it a bit healthier, you can substitute in some whole wheat flour.  As a general rule, you substitute a third without a big difference.  I also suggest using Whole Wheat Pastry Flour.  It's ground much finer and it's even less noticable.

No-Cook for a Hot Day

Hot day, no cooking recipes were not exactly what I had planned to post on this time of year.  I was so excited to get into my fall recipes, but then our airconditioning went out, no big deal right?...then here comes an unusual heat wave for this time of year in Ohio.  So I won't dare do anything that would heat up the house.  I'm so eager for pumpkin cookies, rich hot chocolate, and apple tarts, that I'm definately dissapointed.  But I can't just not make anything!  That's not an option.  I remembered a recipe I saw on the food network a few months ago, and decided to try it out with a couple of substitutions.  It's easy, yummy and requires no 'cooking' aside from the microwave.  Perfect for a hot day. 

It's called Cookie Candy, and is very rich (everything I make is rich).

2 sticks butter, softened

1 C crunchy peanut butter
3 C confectioners sugar
1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs
1/2 C peanuts, coarsely chopped
2 C semisweet chocolate chips

Line 13x9 in pan with foil, then spray with pam.  In mixer combine butter, peanut butter, sugar, graham crackers crumbs, and peanuts until it starts to form a ball.  Press into foil lined pan with spatula.
Melt chocolate chips in microwave (I use 30 second intervals, stirring in between).  Spread evenly over cookie layer in the pan.  Refrigerate for a few hours.  Cut into peices.  Enjoy!

With that list of ingredients it has to be good right?

Product review for a Lazy Day

Even I, who loves to bake, wants to make something lazy sometimes.  I thought it would be fun to do something different and do a product review of a couple lazy day products I've used recently- Krusteaz cookie mix, and Papa Murphy's cookie dough.

The other day I was at the grocery store and the 'New Item' tag caught my eye.  It was for this Krusteaz brand Bakery Style Chocolate Chunk Cookie mix.  I was intrigued by the words 'Bakery Style' and the picture definately looks good, so I grabbed it.  It's easy enough, just add softened butter and one egg, mix it up and bake.  While they were baking, of course I had to sample the dough.  That alone got me kinda excited.  The dough was very yummy and that's usually a good sign.  Once baked, they had a good strong vanilla flavor, but the texture was more cakey than I usually like.  All in all, pretty good for a mix, and I'll probably try it again.

Every Friday night at our house is Family Pizza and a Movie Night.  I stopped by Papa Murphy's to grab a pizza (not Jared's favorite, but it's cheaper, so there ya go) and while I was in there I picked up a tub of their premade chocolate chip cookie dough.  I overheard the cashier saying they actually make it in the store themselves, so that was a good sign.  The dough wasn't quite as tasty to eat raw (okay, I know you're not supposed to do that, but let's just be honest, it's one of the best things about making cookies, and we all do it).  But once baked I really loved the crispy texture even though they didn't actually get hard.  And really, can you beat just scooping it straight onto the pan?  It doesn't get any easier.

So final verdict?  Papa Murphy's had the best cookies, but Krusteaz made better dough, and was a better deal for that matter.

It's funny though, because I've been thinking about writing this blog for a few days now, then yesterday I found a recipe for Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies and decided to try it out.  It took me all of 5-6 minutes to get the dough together and in the oven, which made me think- do I really need those lazy day products?  Is 5-6 minutes really that hard even when I'm tired or whatever?  And one of the things I love the most about baking is the actual process, learning new skills, or perfecting techniques.  So does this mean I'll never buy another tub of Papa Murphy's cookie dough?  I'm sure I will, because I know that I have those moments when scooping something onto the pan is the most effort I want to put into it.  And it's a pretty decent outcome for such little effort. 

Coming Soon....Fall Recipes!!  Yummm, my favorite baking time of year!

Adventures in Cake Decorating

Ann's fifth birthday was last week and we had a tea party to celebrate. I'm not a cake decorator at all, I usually keep it pretty simple, but this is a birthday cake so things are different. She was going to be wearing a pretty yellow hat for the party, so I decided to make a cake to match (same ribbon and all). I was pleased with how it turned out considered it was a first attempt with no trial run or anything. It wasn't perfect, but Ann loved it and that's what really matters.
The recipe I used didn't turn out to be anything special, in fact, I was dissapointed. I got it from the Martha Stewart Wedding Cakes book, but it turned out rather dry ( I probably overbaked). But the buttercream recipe was good and worked well.
It's hard to see from this picture, but the texture on the hat turned out nicely. I used a trick I learned at a class a couple of years ago. You wait until the frosting is dry enough that it won't stick to your finger when you touch it, then you use a paper towel and place it gently on the cake. Then gently rub your finger over the surface, and this transfers the texture from the paper towel. It gave it a nice finished look and the texture really looked like a hat would.

Here's the cake recipe I wish I would have used. I've used it in the past when a friend recommended it and it comes out nice and rich, and very moist. It's also super easy. It's great for a layered cake, I usually make it in two 8 in rounds.

Chocolate Cake
2 C Sugar
1 3/4 C flour
3/4 C Cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 C milk
1/2 C veg oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 C boiling water

Stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, powder, soda, and salt. Make well in center, then add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat on medium for two minutes. Stir in boiling water.
Pour evenly into pans (I usually use cup measures for this part).
For two 8 in rounds, bake on 350 for 30- 35 minutes. Cool for ten minutes in pan then remove to wire racks.

As another tip, I'm usually adament about using parchment to avoid sticking, but I've fallen in love with Pam for Baking that has flour in it. It works perfectly. I used it on the hat cake (which was a pizza pan and a pyrex bowl), and both came out without sticking at all. Love it!

Chocolate Mousse...need I say more?

When I think of the perfect, rich dessert, my mind goes to mousse. It's elegent, it's rich, and so creamy. I came across a recipe a few years ago that is still my favorite. I've tried other recipes, but this has become the standard that I set all others against. Some recipes use gelatin, but I don't like the texture. Some are more like a chocolate whipped cream, which doesn't have as much depth in my opinion. I prefer recipes that use eggs. I know some people obviosly don't like to consume raw eggs ( I live on the wild side) so if you're one of those, you can substitute in refridgerated egg product for a similar result. Also, I think using superfine sugar really improes the result. It dissolves quicker and doesn't taste grainy. Another tip I got (courtesy of Alton Brown) is to have both the whipped cream and the melted chocolate as close to room temperature as possible. That way the chocolate won't seize up when you mix the two together. I've found this to be really important and since I discovered this trick it has saved me a headache or two. This is always a big hit at parties or showers and it's easier than you think.

Chocolate Mousse

8 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

3 eggs

1/4 C superfine sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 C whipped cream

Melt the chocolate you're favorite way then set aside to cool.

Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar for 5 minutes, or until thick and pale and increased in volume.

Beat the melted chocolate and vanilla into the eggs.

Gently fold in the whipped cream until just combined. There may still be a few streaks.

Spoon into dessert cups and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Serve as is or top with a strawberry, chocolate curls, a cookie, or whipped cream.

Now doesn't that sound easy?

Lemon Custard Berry Tart

I know this is a deviation from my usual intensely chocolate desserts, but there were all of these beautiful berries on sale at the grocery store, so I felt inspired. We had a BBQ to go to at one of Jared's professors homes and he had said I would bring dessert, so this is what I decided on. The picture doesn't do it justice, it was so pretty I didn't want to eat it! But it was delicious and pretty easy. I've decided that pastry dough like pie crusts and tart crusts are so much easier if you have a pastry cutter and use wax paper to roll it out on (one piece on the counter, one piece on top). So here's a very summery recipe to give a try.

Tart shell

1 1/4 C flour

2 T sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 C butter flavored shortening

4 T cold butter

3-4 T cold water

After rolling out the dough and placing a in a tart pan with a removable bottom, line the crust with aluminum foil. Bake for 10 minutes at 425, then remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Lemon Custard Filling

1 large lemon (you want 1 tsp lemon peel, and 2 T juice)

6 T butter

1/3 C sugar

1 T cornstarch

4 large egg yolks

1 C heavy cream, whipped

Berries for topping

In saucepan over medium heat, heat butter, sugar, and cornstarchuntil it thickens and begins boiling. Boil 1 minute.

In small bowl, beat egg yolks, then pour in a little of the hot sugar mixture and stir well. Then pour the eggs back into the saucepan with all the sugar mixture, stirring quickly. Return to simmer and cook, stirring constantly for 1 more minute, until it coats the spoon well. Remove from heat and stir in lemon peel and juice. Refrigerate until very cold, about an hour. Then fold in whipped cream. Pour into tart shell and top with berries. Done!

Truffle Cookies

Oh my! I have had this recipe for a long time, but just made them for the first time today. Almost five years ago I was wandering around this fun street in Portland with Jared (I was still pregnant with Ann) and we stumbled across a cool little bookstore. Of course, I was checking out their cookbooks and found this collection of pamphlet type cookbooks for only $4. I of course chose the one all about chocolate (It's called 'Anne Wilson, Classic Essentials, Chocolate' and totally worth it), and it has turned out to be an all-time favorite with some of the best recipes. The kind of stuff that's truly indulgent and feels gourmet. Well Yum. These cookies were kind of like a dark chocolate brownie, and pretty easy to make. If you like the brownies on the edges of the pan, then you'll love these. Each cookie is like getting a corner brownie. They were nice and chewy and especially good while warm. Give em a try!

Triple Chocolate Cookies
3/4 C butter
5 oz semi sweet chocolate ( I use chips)
1 1/2 C flour
3/4 C cocoa powder
1 1/2 C brown sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 C semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Sift together the flour and cocoa powder, then stir in the sugar. Set aside.
Melt the butter and chocolate over low heat until smooth. Stir into the flour mixture with the eggs. Then stir in the chocolate chips.
Drop by spoonfuls (I am loyal to my cookie scooper, like a mini ice cream scoop) then flaten slightly with hands.
Bake for 10 minutes, then let cool on pan for about 5 more minutes before cooling on a wire rack. Enjoy!