Polka-Dot Macaroons

Hi everyone! For my first cookie challenge, I have chosen to make these Polka-Dot Macaroons. Why? Well, we were having friends over for a gathering with lots of little kids, and the fun colored M&M's just made it so cute for them! Or so I thought... it seemed to be a big hit with the "big kids" too :)
These are very simple cookies to make, just takes some muscles to mix the ingredients since the condensed milk and the coconut flakes just want to stick together rather than blend well. So roll up your sleeves and "get 'er done!" so to speak. Enjoy the cookies!

Polka-Dot Macaroons
Makes ~3-4 dozen cookies


Ingredients: 
-5 cups coconut flakes
-1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
-1/2 cup AP flour
-1.5 cups M&M's miniature baking bits


Directions:
1. Preheat oven at 350F. 
2. In a large bowl, combine the coconut flakes, condensed milk, and flour. Stir in the baking bits.
3. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 1 in. apart (cookies don't grow during baking process) onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350F for 7-10 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned. Remove from baking sheets and let cool completely on wire racks.


Recipe originally from Taste of Home Magazine "Fall Baking Cookbook" 2010, submitted by Janice Lass in Dorr, Michigan.
For more of my cookie challenge cookie recipes, click here. 

25 Days of Christmas Cookie Challenge!

The holidays are just around the corner! Are you excited for this? I sure am!!! 
Today at work I had an idea of celebrating this holiday season with a personal challenge. With the theme of "25 Days of Christmas", I want to challenge myself to try and post about 25 different holiday cookies/bars from now until the end of the year. A little ballsy, I know, but hey, why not? So, below is the list of cookies that I plan on trying, and as I blog about the different recipes, I will also link them below. If I end up changing any of the recipes, I'll let you know.


25 Days of Christmas Cookie Recipes


1. Almond Bars
2. Angel Wings
3. Berry-Cream Cookie Snaps
4. Candy Cane Cookies - completed 12-11-11
5. Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
6. Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Snowballs
7. Chocolate Pecan Tassies - completed 11-27-11
8. Chocolate Snowballs - completed 12-7-11
9. Coconut Clouds
10. Coffee Bonbons - completed 12-12-11
11. Creme de Menthe Truffles - completed 12-11-11
12. Delicate Thin Mints
13. Dipped Pecan Spritz
14. Eggnog Thumbprints
15. Festive Shortbread Logs
16. Mocha Crackle Cookies - completed 12-18-11
17. No Bake Cookies - completed 11-21-11
18. Polka-dot Macaroons - completed 11-20-11
19. Rudolph Treats - completed 12-13-11
20. Rugalach
21. Shortbread Hearts
22. Swedish Butter Cookies - completed 12-5-11
23. Sweet Potato Spice Cookies - completed 11-23-11
24. Thumbprint Cookies - completed 12-4-11
25. Yuletide Cherry Cookies


And here is a cookie recipe I made and gave out to my neighbors last year: Danish Butter Cookies

Streusel Cupcakes

Happy Friday everyone! Ever go to your local coffee shop and crave one of those yummy pastries displayed? No? NO?!!! Well then, you have much stronger will power than I do... I'm one of those weak souls who drool at the sight of a fresh sweet pastry treat. Well, I'd go broke if I bought one every time the craving hit (and it hits a LOT). So, when I saw this recipe on my Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book, I marked it that I definitely wanted to try! This coffee cake-like cupcake was so nice, and the milk glaze on top added a nice crusty topping along the streusel topping. 
I adapted the ingredients a bit because I ended up having a lot of left-over streusel topping and milk glaze with the original measurements. Also, I think that this recipe would make a lovely loaf too (haven't tried that yet but next time I may make just 12 cupcakes and one loaf).
Hope you enjoy this recipe, and have a fantastic weekend!

Streusel Cupcakes
Makes 24 cupcakes


Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1-1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp (1-1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups sour cream


Streusel Topping:
1-1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature


Directions:
1. Make the streusel topping: whisk together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt; cut in the butter using a pastry blender or your fingertips until combined but still crumbly. Refrigerate 30 minutes before using.
2. Preheat oven to 350F and line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, and then add the vanilla, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. On slowest speed setting, add flour mixture and sour cream; alternating the flour mixture and sour cream in batches (3 of flour mixture and 2 of sour cream). Stir until just combined. 
4. Divide batter evenly among lined tins. Sprinkle half the topping over cupcakes, gently pressing it into the batter. Sprinkle evenly with remaining topping. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Once baked, transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.



Milk Glaze:
1 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted
2 Tbsp milk

Whisk together ingredients until smooth. Use immediately.


5. To finish the cupcakes, place cupcakes on a wire rack set over a baking sheet; drizzle evenly with milk glaze. Glazed cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days at room temperature in airtight containers. 


Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

Favorite Pie Crust

Boy, it's been a little while since my last posting, but I haven't felt the greatest to bake/cook in the last few weeks... for a great reason though! We are expecting our second child!!! So with all the nausea and tiredness, I haven't had much time nor energy to bake :( When I did do some baking, to celebrate the wonderful pickings of my favorite season, I decided to try my hand at apple pies. I have made different pies before, but I've never found my favorite homemade pie crust. I really like my pie crust to be flaky, despite the gooey pie filling. When the pie crust is baked all the way through, that's when I'm happiest! 

So when I saw this recipe at Pioneer Woman Cooks (btw, if you have never seen/heard of Ree Drummond, check out her website and her new cooking show on the FoodNetwork!), I figured I would try it. My husband is, well, I wouldn't say "picky" per se on pies, but he is particular (that's a better word, yes?) about how his pies taste. So imagine the pressure on my shoulders to try to achieve the best pie possible! So when this pie crust was used for an apple crumb pie, he gave it the big thumbs up! He even said he likes it better than double layered pies. 

I adapted the dough recipe and the dough rolling method (which are two different blogs on Ree's website) into this one post. I encourage you to check out each separate post (links at the bottom of this post).

Note: After dough is mixed, it has to go in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes, then 15 minutes to rest, so plan accordingly!

Ingredients

§  6 cups AP flour 

§  2 tsp salt

§3 cups Crisco (vegetable shortening)

§  2 whole large eggs

§  ½ cup + 2 Tbsp cold water

§  2 Tbsp white vinegar

§  5 large freezer-safe Ziploc bags

Directions

In a large bowl, with a pastry cutter, sift the flour and salt together, then gradually work the Crisco into the flour for about 3 or 4 minutes until it resembles a coarse meal. In a small bowl, beat the eggs with a fork and then pour it into the flour/shortening mixture. Add the cold water and white vinegar. Stir together gently until all of the ingredients are incorporated (do not overmix).

Separate the dough into fifths. Form five evenly sized balls of dough and place each dough ball into a large Ziploc bag. Using a rolling pin, slightly flatten each ball of dough (about ½ inch thick) to make rolling easier later. Seal the bags and place them in the freezer until you need them. (If you will be using it immediately it’s still a good idea to put in the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes to chill.)

When you are ready to use the dough to make a crust, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for 15 minutes. Cut two pieces of parchment paper, big enough so the rolled out crust fits on each paper. On one piece of parchment paper, sprinkle some flour, place the dough, sprinkle some more flour, and place the other piece of parchment paper. Over the paper with a rolling pin, roll out the dough, starting at the center and working your way out. If the dough is sticking to the paper, peel the paper off and sprinkle some more flour, on both sides (Make sure the rolled out dough could come off the paper easily). Continue rolling until it’s about ½ inch larger in diameter than your pie pan.

Peel off the top parchment paper and carefully place the dough (other paper side up) on the pie pan. Gently press the dough against the corner of the pan. Go around the pie pan pinching and tucking the dough to make a clean edge.

Note: The parchment paper method is completely optional; if you prefer to not use any paper, you can roll out the dough on a clean countertop. Make sure to use plenty of flour so the dough won’t stick to the countertop, and you may need a spatula to help get the dough onto the pie pan. This paper method was explained here on the  Pioneer Woman Cooks website and since I have tried it, I love it! It is less messy and I don’t get flour everywhere in my kitchen J

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks, for the dough and the rolling out method.

Black Forest Cake

Happy fall to everyone! Had a small hiatus on posting, but have some fun recipes to share with you all :)
Last weekend, the husband of my very good friend from dental school turned the big 3-0 (I know, old right? haha). Since we were going to visit them for his birthday, I offered to make his birthday cake. I asked if he had any requests on cake flavor/idea, and my friend (his wife) said that the combination of cherry and chocolate is one of his favorite flavors. 
So I went on my search for a good black forest cake. I have made a cherry cordial cupcake before, which is a similar combination of the requested cherry and chocolate flavor, but it did not use actual cherries, so I wanted something different. I have seen many promising black forest cupcake recipes, but when I came across this great recipe at the Brown Eyed Baker, I knew my search was over. Her recipe seemed simple enough to make at my friend's kitchen, but still with all the requested flavors.

The cake from the Brown Eyed Baker makes a 9-inch double layer cake. Since this was going to be for a bigger group of people, I chose to double this recipe and make 2 layers of a 9x13in cake pan. After the cake was filled and covered, it made for a pretty big cake, but the birthday "boy" was very pleased :)

I don't have a picture of what the cake looks like on the inside, but I tell you it was yummy!

Black Forest Cake
Makes double layered 9x13in cake


Ingredients
For the cake:
4 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups AP flour
1 1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
4 eggs
2 cups whole milk
1 cup vegetable oil
4 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups boiling water


For the cherries:
2 cans (40 ounces total) cherries, drained (I used dark cherries)
1/2 cup cherry-flavored brandy


For the whipped cream:
3 cups heavy cream, chilled
1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract


Directions:
1. Preheat the oven 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9x13in rectangular baking pans.
2. Whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be very thin). Divide batter between the two prepared pans.
3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until a thin knife or toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
4. Reserve 12 cherries (or so) for decorating. Combine the remaining cherries and the cherry flavored brandy; set aside.
5. To make the whipped cream, combine the heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract and whip until soft to almost-stiff peaks form. Refrigerate whipped cream until ready to use.
5. Once the cakes are cool, level the tops and place one layer on a serving platter. Using a slotted spoon, remove the cherries and place on the cake layer. Top with about 1 cup whipped cream, spreading over cherries (that’s an estimation, as I didn’t measure, just covered the cherries and spread into an even layer). Place the second layer on top. Here is an optional step: poke holes on the top of the top layer to spread some of the cherry-flavored brandy and let it soak through the cake (this made for a more moist and cherry-flavored chocolate cake). Frost the entire cake with the remaining whipped cream. Decorate as desired: I used some of the cherries that I had set aside on top of the cake, and then lined the sides of the cake with chocolate shavings.


* Note: To make the chocolate shavings, I used a cheese grater (the bigger side of the grater) to "grate" a block of chocolate. To attach them to the cake, I lifted them with an offset spatula and gently touched them to the sides of the cake.

Happy birthday Mike!

Recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker
Original chocolate cake recipe adapted from Hershey’s