Cranberry-Apple Sauce

*If you haven't liked my page on facebook, go do it! There are mini-posts more often than full blog posts on here!*

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! SUPER excited! I've already started my prep to make things easier tomorrow. Prep numero uno? Tossed some ingredients into my bread machine for a white bread with ground sage and thyme in it for the dressing. It was so wonderful already having that done by the time I got home from the office. Prep numero dos? Cranberry! I've got a can of jellied cranberry for hubs, since he just INSISTS that Thanksgiving isn't the same without it, but I have to have something real. Hence, this recipe. I love cranberries! Plus, this is just so pretty.

Ingredients:
1 cup fresh cranberries
3/4 cup granny smith apple, peeled and diced small
2-4 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice

Directions:
Are you ready for this? Super difficult sauce.. Throw everything into a small-ish sauce pan. Turn it on medium/medium-low. Put a lid on it. Walk away from it for about 5 minutes. 

Come back, stir gently, repeat walking away and stirring occasionally until desired consistency is achieved. Taste the sauce (carefully, it's hot!) for sweet, add some sugar if you would like it sweeter. Keep in mind that less is more! Now, breathe. You did it! I'm so proud. 

Next, focus on enjoying the rest of your dinner! 

Snickerdoodle Cookies

I love my sister dearly, but she can not cook. Period. As in, she's set the oven on fire before. Generally she's not allowed near one. Somehow though, a couple of years ago, she managed to get a batch of snickerdoodle bars in the oven, and they came out HEAVENLY. My husband, who is lover of all things snickerdoodle, declared them the best he's had. Snickerdoodles have always been one of my weak spots. I have no idea why, I just can't get them right. Well. I have finally succeeded tonight (whether he concedes or not!)! These are light, fluffy, and literally melt in your mouth. Oh, these are dangerous cookies indeed. 

Ingredients: 
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cups brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp lemon extract
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
Additional sugar and cinnamon for rolling

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400º.

Cream butter and sugars. Add extracts and eggs, mix well. Add in remaining ingredients (except for sugar/cinnamon for rolling) and mix until everything is combined. Chill for 15 or so minutes. Once chilled, form 1-2tbsp balls (I use my 1.5 tbsp scoop for uniformity) and roll in cinnamon/sugar. I use 1/4 cup sugar + 1-2tsp cinnamon. You can most definitely change this to your preferences though! Sometimes I like to get festive and use colored sugar even. Place balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes, until edges are just BARELY beginning to get golden. Remove to a cooling rack or piece of parchment/wax paper on your counter top. Enjoy! 

Cranberry Sauce

Well, it's that time of year. Food, food and more food! Thanksgiving for me though is all about turkey, stuffing and cranberries. My usual cranberry dish is a cranberry orange relish, which is super easy and pretty tasty. It's just cranberries (washed and drained), an orange (cut into small-ish chunks, skin and all), and sugar (to taste). All above goes into the food processor until it gets to where you want it to be. It's all really a matter of taste. This year though, I opted to go another route. I've had cranberry orange relish every year of my life I think. I'm almost a quarter century old, it's time to branch out! 

Ingredients:

1 bag of fresh cranberries, washed and drained

1 medium apple, peeled and chopped**

1 medium pear, peeled and chopped**

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp lemon extract (or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice)

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/2-3/4 cup white sugar or splenda (to taste)

3/4 cup water

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a medium to large sauce pan. Start with the 1/2 cup sugar, and if you need more after it's done, stir it in. Simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all ingredients are soft and cooked down into a sauce. 

Here comes my note:

**When you're chopping your apple and pear, think ahead. If you want a "rustic" style cranberry sauce (chunky), chop them into smaller pieces. I'd say probably 1/4-1/2" dice. For my sauce, I used an immersion blender once everything was done cooking, so I made a bigger dice (about 1"). 

Another note: When selecting your apples, use a red one! The sweet will offset the tart of the cranberry and reduce the amount of sugar you'll need. Also, try to buy a good looking local breed! I used a Pacific Rose apple. Same goes for pears. Try to buy a sweeter variety, and buy local! It will be fresher, better tasting, and better for your local economy! 

/end preaching

This is what mine looked like when everything was cooked down, just before I took my immersion blender to it:

And just after:

I purposely left some chunks in mine, so that it wouldn't be like a cranberry butter. I wanted a bit of substance to it still. In the future, I think that I'll just dice the apples and pears a bit smaller and leave it as is. I like the chunks! 

Nutella Cookies

Yes, you read that right. Nutella. Cookies. *SQUEE!* 

That's all the introduction these need. Really! 

Ingredients:

1 cup of nutella
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 egg
1/4-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp flour
coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375º.

Mix all ingredients except sea salt together in a bowl. Chill for.. well.. I don't know really.. We'll say 30 minutes in the fridge (covered tightly) for arguments sake. Mine lasted about 3 1/2 minutes in the freezer before I decided I was far too impatient for that nonsense. Still fantastically tasty, but if you want to do it "right," chill for 30 minutes. Roll into 1" balls, put onto an ungreased baking sheet. I use parchment paper for easy clean up later. Bake 9-11 minutes then let cool for a couple minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling set up of whatever sort you choose. People who do it "right" insert "cooling rack" here. People like me, insert "wax paper on the countertop" here. People like my sister insert "just kidding, eat it off the baking sheet and burn your face off" here. Please, don't be like my sister, and let them at least cool before stuffing your face. I will not be held liable for burns from these cookies. While they're cooling, sprinkle on the sea salt. YUM. Once you're not burned by them, EAT THEM. NOW. 

Oh, and you're welcome. For your new waistline. :)

Chocolate High Class Cookies

My High Class Cookies went over pretty well. I went to an event today that I was bringing "snacks" to.. Snacks meaning baked goods that are most likely terrible for you. I told everyone that I was open to requests, and I got a request for chocolate. The first thing that came to mind was the High Class Cookies I had made the other day, and how easy it would be to convert them to a chocolate deliciousness. I made quite a few changes from the original, the most obvious being the chocolate addition, but they turned out DELICIOUS. Because I doubled the other recipe and added an egg, they turned out to be a little less dense, but also a bit chewier. Did I mention that they're also very delicious? Oh, I did. Well, they're delicious. I only managed to snap one picture of these though before they disappeared:

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla 

3 tsp applesauce

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt, plus more for sprinkling

4 packets of instant cinnamon spice oatmeal (Can sub 1 cup regular oats and 1/4-1/2 tsp cinnamon)

1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º.

Brown butter on the stove top. See the link above to High Class Cookies for more information on this if you don't already know how. Add sugars and combine well. Let cool to almost room temperature. Add remaining wet ingredients and mix. Stir in the rest of the ingredients until just combined. 

Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet, or a parchment lined cookie sheet (I have two cookie sheets, and one I have to line and one I don't. You know your bakeware better than anyone else). Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over each cookie, and bake for 9-11 minutes.

So, there you have it. The best of EVERYTHING in a cookie! Delicious, nutty, chocolatey, and the sea salt and cinnamon work together in such a way that it leaves the consumer wondering what you've done to them and how it can be done again! 

Salted Caramel Cupcakes

Salted caramel. Most people either love or hate it. I, for one, love it. And so does one of my good friends at work. Her birthday happened to be this week, and so being the good friend I am, I made her a batch of salted caramel cupcakes for her to do what she pleased with. They were GORGEOUS. And mighty tasty! 


I've been staring at this recipe for weeks now. I have a thing about cooking sugar. I'm terrified of it. Almost as terrified of it as I am of opossums and the dark (laugh it up now, just wait until they take over!). I finally braved it though. For a good cause. I'm not going to lie, there was at least one messed up batch, and quite a few expletives, but definitely a good cause. Caramel-making is not for wusses. 

(Forgive me for the awful piping job. My piping skills are still a work in progress, and would probably be more easily honed had I a decorator's set instead of a ziplock bag.)





Ingredients:


Cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt (it really does make a difference!)
1/2 cup butter (1 stick, softened)
1 cup plus 2 tbsp brown sugar, packed
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp buttermilk


Salted Caramel:
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp salted butter, cubed
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla


Frosting:
2 sticks salted butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 - 2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
Salted Caramel




Directions:


Preheat oven to 325º. Line a muffin tin with baking cups.


Combine flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. 


Cream sugar and brown sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined after each. Add vanilla, combine. Add flour in three batches, alternating with two batches of buttermilk, combining well after each addition. Divide batter evenly between 12 cups. Bake for 25-30 mins or until a toothpick/knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool.


In a medium to large sized sauce pan, melt sugar for caramel. Whisk the sugar as it melts until it becomes deep amber in color. Add butter, whisk until melted, then add cream, slowly (watch out for the foam, it will get you if you're not careful!). Whisk until sauce is smooth. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. 


Cut a small round piece out of the top of each cupcake and fill with 1 tsp caramel, then replace cupcake piece. (See below for demonstration)

(credit to Sprinkles Bakes)

After filling the cupcakes, you should have some caramel left over if you only used the 1 tsp per cupcake. Use the rest of this caramel for the frosting. 

Beat the butter, vanilla and salt together until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar, mix until well combined. Add the caramel (you can save a smidge for drizzling over the tops if you choose, but they're still pretty good without. You can also just make another batch to drizzle over the cupcakes.. and maybe some vanilla bean ice cream. YUM. Beat the frosting until light, fluffy and airy. Start with the 1 1/2 cups, adding more if you desire a stiffer consistency. I used about 2 1/2 cups because it was pretty hot and humid the day I made them and my frosting wouldn't have held up otherwise. 

Pipe (or spread) the frosting onto your cooled cupcakes. Garnish with a caramel drizzle, coarse sugar, whatever your little heart desires. You can also visit the original site for a recipe for caramel rounds to decorate, as seen in the picture above. 

The frosting is creamy, smooth, and the perfect balance of sweet and salty. The brown sugar cupcake adds to the caramel goodness, and then there's the sweet surprise in the middle. I was informed that these tasted like a cupcake shop cupcake, only better! What praise! 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some more cupcakes to make! Next round is lemon blueberry cupcakes, post to come soon!

Chocolate Cheesecake

Even though I don't like cheesecake, I love MAKING cheesecake because the possibilities are endless. It lets my inner creative baker go crazy. Tomorrow being Mother's Day, and my mother in law and her boyfriend enjoying cheesecake, I figured that when we go down to see them, I'd make some to bring along. What better flavor cheesecake for the occasion is there than chocolate? I mean, really now. Of course it's not PLAIN chocolate, heaven forbid I ever make something PLAIN. They smell fantastic though. I can tell you that much. Even for cheesecakes. 

Ingredients:

Filling:

2 pkgs cream cheese (8oz each, softened)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tbsp Kahlua

2 eggs

Crust:

1/2 pkg of graham crackers, crushed

2 tbsp melted butter

1 tsp Kahlua

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325º. 

Cream the cream cheese. Add sugar, cocoa powder and Kahlua, blend well. Add eggs and mix until just combined.

In a separate bowl, combine crust ingredients until the liquids are well distributed.

Distribute crust ingredients between 12 muffin cups, lined. This will be JUST ENOUGH for 12. Press the crust mixture down with a spoon or fingers. Add about 1/4 cup of filling to each cup. There is exactly enough filling for 12 cups. 

Bake for 20-25 mins or until only slight movement remains in the cups. 

Simple and elegant. The Kahlua is just enough coffee to enhance the chocolate while adding that wonderful kick. And they're gorgeous. And smell delicious. Did I mention that? Another that ALMOST makes me want to try them. 


**REVIEW**


Hubby tried these, and believe me, he's my biggest critic other than myself when it comes to cooking. He said (inbetween mouthfuls) that these are rich, creamy, slightly tangy, and "MMMMMMM.. they taste a bit like tangy hot chocolate.. and some syrupy black cherries would be AWESOME on top.." (the last bit of course was after he had already shoved the rest of his in his mouth). So there you go folks, if you wanted a black forest cheesecake, these would make a perfect base. Maybe soon I'll give it a shot!

Honey Beer Bread

3 words.

Oh. My. God.

This recipe was eye opening. Who would have thought to use the butter this way? GENIUS. 

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 cup bread flour (can use all-purpose)

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp honey

12oz beer 

6 tbsp butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º. Grease a loaf pan.

Whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add honey and beer and mix until just combined. You may want to warm the honey before you add it so it's easier to mix in. If the dough is too dry, you can add 1-2 tbsp of water. 

Put half of the melted butter in the bottom of the loaf pan. Add the dough and smooth out as best you can. Pour the rest of the melted butter over the top of the dough. Bake for 50-60 mins until golden brown. 

The butter being used this way.. GENIUS. I thought it was going to give it a soggy crust, but it was soggy in no way, shape or form. It was PERFECT. 

Now. I know that there are different types of beers. Lots of different types. For this one, I used PBR because that's what I had in my fridge.. 

I don't know that I would use something as dark as a Guinness or Arrogant Bastard, but you could definitely use a good amber and it would be wonderful. 

Now. It's time to slice.. Apply butter liberally.. And ENJOY!

Homemade Alfredo Sauce

I'm Italian. (At least partially). Italian food was always big in my house growing up, and I can usually get my kids to eat it, so pasta is a staple in our house too now. Plus it's easy. Usually I boil a box of pasta then just throw in a jar of sauce, and maybe some sort of chicken or ground beef if I'm feeling fancy, but I thought I'd be adventurous tonight. We were browsing Cost Plus World Market today, and I found a bag of some YUMMY looking spinach pasta "nests".

I also happened to find a recipe for fettuccine alfredo this morning too. Match made in heaven? I think so. 


I wasn't originally going to post about this, but (as an after thought, looking into my very empty bowl) realized just the epicicity of this sauce. Yes. That's a word. Or at least it is now. Even if it's only in my "crazy words I make up" dictionary. I didn't quite have enough parmesan shreds on hand, so I improvised (SHHH don't tell my husband!) with a little ricotta. Add in some spices of my choice, and voila! EPIC ALFREDO.


Ingredients:


1/2 cup butter/margarine (1 stick)
1/2 cup half & half
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
1/4 cup ricotta
1/2 tsp garlic powder (could subs a clove or two of fresh garlic too)
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
salt & pepper to taste


Directions:


Heat the butter and half & half over medium heat in a large sauce pan until butter is melted. Add the cheeses and stir until melted and bubbly. Add the seasonings and simmer for 1-2 mins until thickened slightly. Add pasta of your choice and toss to coat, serve warm.

Excuse the crappy pictures. Please refer to the above comment about pictures not really happening because we all scarfed our food. This last bowl was my 2 year old's. Thankfully only one kid is eating like they're growing. I can't afford to feed AND clothe both of them in growth spurts anymore! My 3 year old however ate two full bowls of this. And four pancakes this morning. And french fries and chicken nuggets for lunch. SWEET JESUS. 


Anyways. Like I said. This was epic pasta sauce. It was the perfect amount for about 8-10oz of pasta, so you could maybe double it if you're doing a full pound? The ricotta adds the perfect little bit of subtle texture and creaminess that the cream and parmesan can't. PERFECTO. 


Okay. I'll leave you all with that for now. Next round of stuff to post? Blueberry Lemon Cheesecakes. Stay tuned!

Mint Nanaimo Bars

When I was growing up, there was a bakery in town that also did breakfast. We went for breakfast quite a bit, they had the BEST coffee can sourdough biscuits and gravy. Great, now that I brought those up, I'm totally craving some, which really sucks since the bakery went under about 7 years ago.. Anyways. The only other reason we went there? NANAIMO BARS. They were heaven, and they opened up my eyes to others. I've still never run across any others that were as good, but I admit, I was spoiled with these. Thankfully, living so close to the border (these bars originated in Nanaimo, British Columbia, here's the original story on their history if you're interested), these delicacies are everywhere. I can find them at my local grocery stores in the bakery. Again, not nearly as good as the originals I fell in love with, but definitely an okay substitute.


So, when I first found the recipe to try to make these myself, I admit, I was skeptical. I actually looked up probably half a dozen different recipes to make sure I wasn't looking at some obscure version. The bottom layer contains walnuts AND coconut. I'm really not a fan of nuts (except peanuts and cashews, and very occasionally). I absolutely refuse to put nuts in anything. These however are an exception. I found by researching it online that it just doesn't work to not put nuts in these. Ready? Go!

Ingredients:
Crust:1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tbsp cocoa powder
1 egg, beaten
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Middle Layer Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups confectioners sugar
2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp peppermint flavor
4 drops of green food coloring

Top Layer Ingredients
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp butter

Directions

1. In a medium sauce pan melt the butter, granulated sugar, and cocoa powder.
2. Once melted, mix in the beaten egg.
3. Add the graham cracker crumbs, coconut, vanilla, and walnuts. Stir until combined.
4. Line a 9 x 9 baking pan with parchment paper. Press the graham cracker mixture into the bottom of the pan. Place in the fridge and let cool.

5. In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar, with a hand mixer, until light and fluffy.
6. Add the milk one tbsp at a time. Next, add the peppermint and food coloring and beat until light and fluffy.
7. Spread onto the crust layer and refrigerate for 20 more minutes.

8. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and butter. Pour on top the middle layer, tipping the pan back and forth, ensuring an even layer of chocolate.

9. Place the nanaimo bars in the fridge for 30 minutes and serve cold. 

So, you can do like the recipe says (I was far too lazy to actually type it all out tonight, if you want the original page, it's here), or you can just throw everything together, layer by layer like I did. I can't even think anymore.. See that piece on top in the last picture? It's gone. VERY gone. And all I can think about right now is the rest of it sitting on my stove. (These should be refrigerated, by the way. Should they last long enough at least..)


I will leave you with these wonderful pictures to drool over, and.. and... OH GOD I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING BUT ANOTHER ONE. 


Oh, if you wanted to make the traditional vanilla version, omit mint extract and food coloring, add 3 tbsp vanilla pudding mix. There, I at least got that much in. I will post pictures of those when I get there. And I will.. eventually.. But first.. The rest of the pan is calling my name.. 


YES, YOU CAN CALL ME A FAT KID NOW. 




**Long overdue update: the vanilla version!**

I'm also going to be making a lemon version, in which I put 2 tbsp vanilla pudding mix and 1 tsp lemon extract in the filling in place of the 3 tbsp vanilla pudding mix. YYUUMMM!! Maybe I'll even add a couple of drops of yellow food coloring to make it more "spring". 

Molasses Cookies

Ok. I've been baking since I was a kid, and over the years have discovered that I cannot follow a recipe exactly for the life of me. I always have to change SOMETHING to make it my own. So, I've decided to document which I've tried, what I've changed, and how AWESOMELY DELICIOUS they turn out. First recipe on the books? My new favorite cookie recipe EVER. It started out as the Pioneer Woman's Spicy Molasses Cookies. You can find the original recipe here. The original calls for regular sugar, which I was low on, and some spices that I don't generally keep on hand, so this was more of an "I REALLY want some molasses cookies so I'm going to MAKE it work" type of a deal. The result? A more molasses-y taste from using brown sugar instead of white, and less spicy from the lack of ginger. (Side note, I recommend using Brer Rabbit Molasses, not Grandmother's). 

Here's my version:

Ingredients

• 1 cup Brown Sugar (or 1/2 and 1/2 brown and white, it turned out good that way too!)
• 3/4 cups Butter (1 1/2 sticks)
• 1/4 cup Molasses (no one will know if you add an extra drizzle!)
• 1 whole Egg
• 2 cups Flour
• 2-1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon (give or take, i just dump "enough" in)
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix sugar, butter, molasses, and egg together until well combined. Dump in dry ingredients, stirring dry ingredients together lightly on top of wet ingredients. Mix together until dough is combined.

In your hands roll dough into walnut-sized balls, then generously coat each ball with sugar. You can do this right after you make the dough, but if you don't want as much of a mess, refrigerate them for maybe 20 minutes first. Place balls on a baking sheet and bake for 9 to 11 minutes, allowing to bake for about a minute after cookies begin to crack. (Make sure they crack before you take them out!)

Remove cookies from baking sheet and allow to cool. This is important. You CAN eat them while warm, but they won't have that nice chewy texture that we all love in a good molasses cookie.

My husband has always sworn to me that he does NOT like molasses ANYTHING. These cookies wound up disappearing faster than my Girl Scout Samoas he also claimed to not like (which he won't admit he ever said now of course..). I've had numerous requests to make these again from co-workers, and so I just made another batch to take with. If they last past my kids and husband. And maybe me. I can't help it, they're just so good! And by using butter instead of shortening as the original recipe called for, they've also got a great, rich, luxurious background to the molasses. EXCELLENT! Everything's better with butter, right Paula?

Sorry. Didn't mean to ruin your appetite. I DO love Paula Deen though, just sayin'. 

Alright, I think that's all I've got for this one, other than DO IT! I'll be back soon with more recipes! Have no fear!