Treat of the Week

I did it! I accomplished my new year's resolution. I made a treat a week...that's 52 treats this year.  Actually, I think I made more, but some of them I didn't take pictures.

I had hoped that I would blog about each one, but sometimes it was hard to find the time to be on the computer when I spent so much time in the kitchen.

Here's my year of baking!

January

1. Oreo Stuffed Cookie

2. Inside Out Carrot Cupcakes

3. Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Roll

4. Peanut Brittle Bacon Cookie

5. Champagne Cupcake

February

6. Cookies 'n Creme Rice Krispie Treats

7. S'more Rice Krispie Treats

8. Sopapilla Cheesecake

9. Cupcakes

10. Individual Baked Oatmeal

March

11. Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

12. Better Than Crack Brownies

13. Gummy Bear Cake

14. Fluffernutter Blondies

April

15. Cake Batter Cookies

16. Easter Cookie Pops

17. Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cupcakes

18. Chocolate Chip Cookie Layered Brownie

May 

19. Baked S'more

20. S'more Cobbler

21. Strawberry Margarita Cupcake

22. Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

June

23. Oreo Pops

24. Peppermint Patty Brownies

25. German Chocolate Brownies

26. Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

27. Peanut Butter Cup Baked S'more

July

28. Tagalong Cupcakes

29. Plum Crumb Bake

30. Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

31. Fourth of July Cake

32. Barbie Cake

August

33. Chocolate Chip Cookies

34. Peach Cheesecake

35. Mini-Cupcakes

36. Chocolate Pie

September

37. Pumpkin Spice Donut Hole Muffins

38. No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake

39. Cheesecake Brownie Bites (not pictured)

October

40. Pumpkin Spice Cookies

41. Candy Corn Cupcakes

42. Pumpkin Cupcake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

43. Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

November

44. Pecan Phyllo Tarts

45. Pumpkin Pie

46. Pumpkin Fudge

47. Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Treat

48. Cinnamon Cheesecake with Pumpkin Pie Frosting

December

49. Sticky Bun Breakfast Ring

50. Christmas Cookies

51. Peppermint Oreo Rice Krispie Treats

52. Blonde Oreo Rice Krispie Treats

53. Fudge Mint Brownies (Not Pictured)

54. White Chocolate Topped Ginger Cookies (Not Pictured)
55. Peppermint Meringue Drops (Not Pictured)

I spent a lot of time in the kitchen baking and most of the time I enjoyed it.  My family and friends enjoyed eating all of the treats:) 

I'm going to keep trying new recipes, but probably not quite as many.

Cookie Exchange

I've heard about cookie exchanges for years and have seen a lot about them on Pinterest lately.  I decided to host one this year.  I thought it would be a good excuse to get some friends together around the holidays and we all would end up with some great cookies.

Along with the cookies, I made some appetizers and holiday drinks.  Although its not that cold in California in December, I thought hot chocolate would be a yummy drink.  It also gave me an excuse to make some cute marshmallow stir sticks.  I put out some Kahlua if people wanted to add it to their drink.  It's my favorite!

I also made a Candy Cane Cocktail.  This was delicious.  It was a mixture of strawberry vodka, cranberry juice, and creme de menthe.

I had some appetizers for people to snack on and I made a dessert for everyone to eat while at my house. 

These Peppermint Oreo Rice Krispie Treats were amazing.  They had Trader Joe's Peppermint Jo Jo's in them. On top they had crushed candy canes and were drizzled with white and semi-sweet chocolate. 

All the cookies that my friends brought were delicious also.  I put out all of my white platters for them to put the cookies on before we did the exchange.
 

I found some super cute mini spatulas at Target that I got for a party favor.  I tied a mini cookie cutter to each one also. 

For the exchange, I made Peppermint Meringue Drops.  I found the recipe last year in Sunset Magazine.  I made them twice and everyone loved them, so I thought I'd make them again.  I always thought that meringue cookies would be difficult, but they were pretty simple to make. 

Peppermint Meringue Drops
From: Sunset Magazine

Ingredients:

• 2 large egg whites, at room temperature 
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup plus 1 1/2 tbsp. coarsely crushed peppermint candies

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 250°. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in a deep bowl with a mixer, using whisk attachment if you have one, just until soft peaks form. Add vanilla and salt. With motor running and mixer on high speed, pour in 1 tbsp. sugar and beat 10 to 15 seconds, then repeat until all sugar has been added. Scrape inside of bowl and beat another 15 seconds. At this point, meringue should form straight peaks when beaters are lifted. Fold in chocolate chips and 1/3 cup candies with a flexible spatula.
2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, using a bit of meringue at corners as glue. Using a soup spoon, drop meringue in rounded 1-tbsp. portions slightly apart onto sheets, scraping off with another spoon. Sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tbsp. candies.
3. Bake until meringues feel dry and set when touched but are still pale, 30 to 35 minutes, switching pan positions halfway through. Turn off oven, open door, and let cookies stand about 10 minutes. Let cool on pans.
4. Make ahead: Up to 2 days, stored airtight.

I realized after I made these that they might not last very long, so I started searching for another recipe that I could also make.  I found a recipe for a soft gingerbread cookie.  Luckily I had all of the ingredients.  They were good and I'll definitely make them again next year.

White Chocolate topped Ginger Cookies
From: Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
2 tsp. Ginger, Ground
1 tsp. Cinnamon, Ground
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg, Ground (I used fresh)
1/4 tap salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 cup white chocolate chips

Preparation:

Mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt in large bowl.
Beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Add molasses, egg and vanilla; beat well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Press dough into a thick flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges of cookies just begin to brown. Immediately press about 5-6 white chocolate chips into center of each cookie. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of my cookies up close:( 

The exchange was fun.  Hopefully everyone will want to do it again next year.  It was a nice way to start the holiday season.

Fall Baking

I love fall...the changing trees, cool days, and pumpkin pie.  I love all things pumpkin.  The past few weeks I have been very busy baking with pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice.  Here's a quick run down on what I've made.

Pumpkin Spice Donut Hole Muffins
From: Glorious Treats
These were for my husband to take to work.  A great, yummy treat any time of day.

Candy Corn Cupcakes
I saw these on Pinterest and they were perfect for the Fall Festival at my husband's school.

Pumpkin Pie Spice Cookies
Another great recipe from Glorious Treats.  I made these for school and they gotten eaten up quickly.  A great fall cookie.

Pumpkin Cupcake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
From: Half Baked
These were great.  Super moist and not too much cinnamon in the frosting.

No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake
From: Skinnytaste
This was really easy and really yummy.  She used a pre-made pie graham cracker crust, but I made my own. 

Pumpkin Fudge
From: jamiecooksitup
This was great.  It was rich, but not too rich.  It made a lot, so next time I would probably half the recipe.  It's a bad picture, really looks much better in real life.

 
Cinnamon Cheesecake with Pumpkin Pie Frosting
From: gimme some oven
I made these for Thanksgiving. They were delicious and since they have pumpkin pie on top, no one missed having a regular pie.

Pecan Phyllo Tarts
From: Skinnytaste
This was the other dessert for Thanksgiving.  They are made with frozen phyllo cups, so they were quick to make. 

Pumpkin Pie
Filling From: Skinny Taste
Crust From: Made
For our second, Thanksgiving my sister requested pumpkin pie for dessert.  I found the pie filling on Skinny Taste.  It was good and I couldn't tell a difference from my old pie recipe.  She used ready made pie crust, but I tried a new recipe that I found.  This recipe used vinegar and an egg.  It made a great crust.  The recipe makes enough for more than one pie.  Now I have crust ready to go in the freezer.

Chocolate Pie
From: You Say Tomato
I made this for Thanksgiving also.  It is a great recipe from a friend.  It uses tofu in the filling, so it has a lot of protein.  She has started teaching her own cooking classes and has some great recipes.

Now I'm ready for Christmas baking.  Bring on the peppermint and gingerbread!

Peach Cheesecake

Before school started we were invited to a brunch.  The hostess called it "drunk brunch".  I was in charge of bringing dessert and thought that I should bring something with alcohol in it. 

When I was talking about it with my husband, he remembered an idea that someone had given us while in Napa.  They recommended soaking peaches in a sweet wine and put them on cheesecake. A perfect idea for our brunch.

I found a recipe on Epicurious from Bon Appetit. They didn't call for the wine soaked peaches, but I soaked them over night and topped the cheesecake in the morning.  I soaked the ones that were in the compote also, but since it was baked I'm sure the alcohol cooked out.

"Drunk" Peach Cheesecake
From: Bon Appetit via Epicurious
 
Ingredients
Crust

• 25 gingersnap cookies (about 6 ounces), coarsely broken
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Filling

• 4 small peaches (about 1 1/4 pounds), peeled, pitted, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

• 4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Glaze

• 1/2 cup peach preserves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 large peach, peeled, pitted, very thinly sliced

Directions

 

For crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grind gingersnaps in processor to coarse crumbs or crush in a zipper bag with a rolling pin. Add butter and blend until evenly moistened. Press crumbs over bottom and 1 inch up sides of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Bake crust until beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Cool on rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.

 

For filling:
Combine peaches, 2 tablespoons sugar, and lemon juice in heavy large saucepan. Cover and cook over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves and peaches are juicy, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Uncover and cook until peaches are tender and juices thicken, about 5 minutes. Cool compote.

Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese in large bowl until fluffy. Gradually add 1 1/4 cups sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Mix in sour cream and vanilla. Spoon half of cheese mixture (about 3 cups) into crust. Spoon peach compote over by tablespoonfuls, spacing apart. Top with remaining cheese mixture.

Place large piece of foil on oven rack. Place pan with cheesecake on foil. Bake until puffed, set in center, and beginning to brown, about 1 hour. Place hot cheesecake on cooling rack; cool 5 minutes. Run small sharp knife around pan sides to loosen. Place cheesecake, uncovered, on rack in refrigerator and chill overnight. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; keep chilled.)

 

For glaze:
Combine preserves and lemon juice in heavy small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until glaze comes to simmer. Strain into small bowl. Release pan sides; place cheesecake on platter. Spread glaze over top of cheesecake to within 1/4 inch of edge. Chill cheesecake until glaze sets, at least 30 minutes and up to 8 hours. Arrange peach slices in center of cake and serve.

It was delicious.  I wish I would have had a chance to go to the farmers' market for the peaches, but store bought worked just as well.

Chocoate Chip Cookies

One night, a friend of my husband's stopped by for dinner.  We weren't expecting him, so I didn't have anything prepared for dessert...I always have a dessert when someone is here for dinner:)  They were sitting around watching baseball or football or something sporty on TV and I getting a sweets craving.

I had seen this recipe for The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie on Pinterest and decided I would try them out.  I could satisfy my sweet tooth and make sure I kept my dessert serving reputation. 

They were great!!  A glass of milk with a couple of cookies and we had very happy bellies.

Best-Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

From: Apple a Day - barely adapted from Anna Olson, Food Network Canada

Ingredients: 

3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened 

3/4 c. brown sugar 

1/4 c. granulated sugar 

1 egg 

2 tsp. vanilla extract 

2 c. all purpose flour 

2 tsp. cornstarch 

1 tsp. baking soda 

1/2 tsp. salt 

1 c. bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy and light in color. Add egg and vanilla and blend in.

3.  Mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chunks.

4.  Using a standard-sized cookie scoop or tablespoon, drop dough onto a prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges.  (The tops will not brown, but do NOT cook longer than ten minutes.)

5.  Let cool, on the sheet, on a wire rack for five minutes.  Remove from baking sheet and let cool completely.  

 

Makes approximately 3 dozen.  I would probably half the recipe if I was just making them for us in the future.  I sent quite a few home with our friend.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

Last summer, when we visited my husband's grandma in Cape Cod we went to the annual Fourth of July pie sale.  It's a pretty big deal.  Everyone stands around the table with their hand on the pie they want and at 6:00 you can buy your pie.

My brother-in-law and I stood in line to get pies for everyone.  I chose apple and strawberry rhubarb.  My husband and his brothers made fun of me...they said that no one likes rhubarb.  Well, Grammy loves rhubarb.  The rhubarb pie was the first one gone (mostly because she and I were the only ones eating pie).

This summer she came to stay with us for a few days.  I wanted to make her a rhubarb pie, but didn't have time to deal with crust.  I found a great recipe for strawberry rhubarb crumble at Smitten Kitchen.

It was my first time making anything with rhubarb.  She was excited and again said that it was her favorite.  I served it with some ice cream and it was great. 

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumble
From Smitten Kitchen

For the topping:
1 1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons Demerara sugar (or turbinado sugar aka Sugar in the Raw)
Zest of one lemon
1/4 pound (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:
1 1/2 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 quart strawberries plus a few extras, hulled, quartered
Juice of one lemon
1/2 cup sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch of salt

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Prepare topping: In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugars and lemon zest and add the melted butter. Mix until small and large clumps form. Refrigerate until needed.
2. Prepare filling: Toss rhubarb, strawberries, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt in a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate.
3. Remove topping from refrigerator and cover fruit thickly and evenly with topping. Place pie plate on a foil lined baking sheet, and bake until crumble topping is golden brown in places and fruit is bubbling beneath, about 40 to 50 minutes.

Tagalong Cupcakes

I found this recipe in the fall and was waiting for Girl Scout Cookie time to make them. 

Unfortunately for me, I wasn't eating treats when it was cookie time. I still bought my cookies and just put them in the freezer until I was ready to enjoy them.

I kind of forgot about them:) Then one day I was going through the freezer and found them. I knew it was time for this recipe. They were so good. My husband ate three of them and gave himself a stomach ache. I gave a few to my mom and step dad and he asked if I had any more after they finished them. I'll definitely make these again next Girl Scout Cookie season. 

Tagalong Cupcakes

From: Bru Crew Life

Ingredients:

For the Cupcakes

1 white cake mix  
1 box Girl Scout Tagalongs 

For the Frosting 1 c. butter, softened  
1/2 c. peanut butter  
2 tbsp. water  
2-4 tbsp. honey  
1 tsp. vanilla  
1/8 tsp. salt  
4 c. powdered sugar

Instructions:

For the Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350* Place liners in cupcake pan. Make up the cake mix according to the directions. Put 2 tbsp. of batter in the liner. Set a cookie on top and then finish filling the liner with batter. Fill it at least 3/4 of the way full. Bake 22 minutes. Let cool. Frost with Honey Peanut Butter Cream. 

For the Frosting

Cream butter and peanut butter. Add the water, salt, and vanilla and cream again. Slowly add the powdered sugar. After all the sugar is added, beat in another 1-2 tbsp. water. Then beat in the honey until creamy.

Fresh Plum Crumb Bake

We have a plum tree in our back yard that produces a TON of plums every summer.  We can spend an hour picking plums up and then an hour later the ground is covered again.  My husband started taking plums to people everywhere we went.

On the Fourth of July we went to a friends for a BBQ and he took some plums with us.  My friend laughed when we gave her the plums because she had just gotten some from her mom.  She had made a wonderful plum crumb bake with her plums.  I had to get the recipe from her, so I could finally do something with all of our plums.

Fresh Plum Dessert
From: Unknown

Ingredients:
7 large plums, pitted and quartered (we have small plums, so I used about 20)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons plus 1 cup all-purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions:

In a large bowl combine the plums, brown sugar 3 tablespoons flour and cinnamon.

 Spoon into a greased 2-quart baking dish.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and remaining flour.  Add egg; stir with a fork until crumbly.  Sprinkle over plum mixture.  Drizzle with butter.

Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes or until plums are tender and top is golden brown.  Cool for 10 minutes before serving.  Serve warm or at room temperature.
I served it with some vanilla ice cream.  It made it even better.

I have made this three times trying to use up some plums.  Thank goodness that plum season is coming to an end.

Fourth of July Cake

For my niece's birthday I am making a Barbie cake.  I will cover the cake with fondant, but I have never worked with it before.  I decided to practice by making a cake for the Fourth of July.

Most things that I read about fondant said that the store bought stuff tastes pretty nasty.  I didn't want to make a cake that didn't taste good, so I found a recipe online to make my own using marshmallows.  It was pretty simple and tasted great!

Using fondant was like working with play-doh.  It was fun and not as scary as I thought it would be.  I know that it's not perfect, but for my first attempt I think it turned out pretty good.  It's something that I'll try again.  There are so many different ways that it can be used. 

For the cake I used the same recipe from Glorious Treats that I use for my vanilla cupcakes.  As I've said before, I will never use another vanilla cake recipe.  I also used a strawberry filling from her and her cream cheese frosting under the fondant.

Peanut Butter Cup Baked S'mores

We had our second annual end of the school year/beginning of summer barbeque at our house.  It's a nice way to start the summer.  Kevin does the barbequing and I do the sides and dessert.

I went with the summer time theme and made another s'more treat.  This time I used peanut butter cups instead of plain chocolate.  These are by far my favorite baked s'more that I have made. 

Peanut Butter Cup Baked S’mores 
From: Mels Sweet Life (adapted from Pinch of Yum and Sprinkle Some Sunshine)

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
16 peanut butter cups
1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff*

This is not marshmallow topping. See previous post about fluff.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8×8 baking dishing with parchment paper; coat lightly with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl of the bowl of stand mixer, beat butter and sugars until fluffy.  Beat in egg and vanilla until combined.  Scrape down the sides.  With the mixer on low, stir in the flour, baking powder, salt, and graham cracker crumbs until mixed.
3. Spread 2/3 of the dough on the bottom of the prepared baking dish.  Lightly press the peanut butter cups into the dough, then spread marshmallow fluff on top.  Press the remaining dough on a non-stick surface into the shape of an 8×8 square.  Place the square on top of the fluff and press down lightly.
4. Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges just begin to brown.  Allow to cool for at least two hours to give the bars a chance to set, then remove from the pan and cut into squares with a large, sharp knife.

Oreo Pops

I signed up to bring cookies to a baby shower at school.  Someone else was bringing sugar cookies, so I needed to think of something else.  I still wanted something cute and girly, not just a regular cookie.  Someone else was bringing cupcakes.  I thought about cake pops, but they're not a cookie and are close to cupcakes.

I did a Google Image Search of baby shower desserts.  There were a lot of cute ideas...mostly sugar cookies, cupcakes and cake pops.  Not what I was looking for.  Then I saw one that had Oreo Pops. 

This was perfect.  They count as a cookie and I could make them cute and pink.  I did a quick search and found out how to make them.  They were pretty easy (easier than cake pops).

Oreo Pops

From: Easy Baked 

INGREDIENTS:
One package of Double Stuff Oreos
2 (12oz.) bags of Wilton White Candy Melts (any color)
24 Lollipop sticks
edible glitter, sprinkles or whatever type of decoration you wish

DIRECTIONS: 
Carefully twist apart all of the Oreo cookies.  I used the store brand cookies.  These twisted apart quite easily.  Others had commented they had a hard time not breaking any cookies and I didn't break any.

Using one of the pop sticks, make an indentation in the white filling of each cookie.

Melt the Candy Melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring until completely melted and smooth. You could also use a double boiler

Dip the end of one stick into the melted white chocolate, drizzle a little in the center of the white cookie filling and then gently press it into the indentation made.

Place the top of the cookie back on and allow white chocolate to harden (5 minutes or so), cementing the cookie back together with a stick inside.

Holding the stick, lower the entire Oreo into the bowl of melted white chocolate, spooning it over the top and sides to cover it completely.

Allow the excess chocolate to drain off and gently place covered Oreo on a piece of parchment paper to harden. 

Top with edible glitter (or whatever topping you are using) immediately before the chocolate hardens.  You can also drizzle any extra chocolate you have over the cookie.

I put some floral foam in these white bowls.  Then I covered them with clear stones and tissue paper.  It made a cute display with all the other treats that people brought.