Decorated Sugar Cookies

This week on my online mom's group was the Cookie challenge, which I hosted.  The group vote was for fall decorated cookies (the Peanut Butter Sandwiches came in second).  This is my recipe, which I've had for years and slowly tweaked.  It's perfect for cut outs.  It doesn't spread or fluff up too much and it's not particularly sweet, which is nice because the royal icing is.  

Enjoy!

Cookies

2 sticks butter

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon milk

2 1/2 cups flour

Pinch salt

Royal Icing

2 egg whites

4 cups sifted powdered sugar

1 juiced lemon

milk for thinning to flow consistency 

Cookies

• Preheat to 325
• Whisk flour and salt.  Set aside.
• Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add vanilla and milk.  Beat until combined.  Add flour mixture and beat until just combined.
• Roll out thick on powdered sugar covered surface.  Use cookie cutter.  Re-roll any scraps.
• Bake until edges are pale golden, about 10-12 minutes.  Cool.

Royal Icing

• Beat egg whites to stiff peaks.  Mix in sugar and lemon.  Beat 1 minute.
• Color (I use Wilton gel colors)
• Outline first, thin icing, then fill in using a toothpick to push into corners.  
• Let dry overnight before stacking.

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

I saw this recipe on Martha last week and just couldn't pass it up.  It's from 'Wichcraft (one of Tom Colicchio's restaurants) and they looked so tasty.  They were!  The oatmeal gives them a nice and different crunch.  And I loved the turbanado sugar.  

The recipe states it makes a dozen sandwiches but I got close to 30, and that's with half of them being thicker than called for.  The filling amount was perfect for all of those though.  When I make them again I'll roll thicker and cut the filling in half.  It's just not good for my rear to have that many cookies sitting around eying me up.

Enjoy!

Cookies

1/2 cup plus 4 tablespoons room temperature unsalted butter

1 cup old fashioned oats

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons AP flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar (I used light and threw in about a tablespoon of molasses)

1/2 cup peanut butter

Turbanado sugar for sprinkling 

Filling

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Cookies

• Line baking sheets with parchment. Preheat to 350.
• Melt 4 tablespoons butter in medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add oats and cook until toasted, stirring, about 5 minutes.  Cool.
• Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.
• With paddle attachment, cream 1/2 cup butter and both sugars.  Add peanut butter and mix well.
• Add oat mixture and flour mixture.  Mix on low until combined.  Roll dough between two sheets of parchment about 1/4 inch thick (I did thicker and liked it better).  Refrigerate until chilled.
• Cut out using 2 inch round cookie cutter.  Sprinkle with turbanado.  Bake 10 minutes.  Cool on sheets.

Filling

• Mix all ingredients together with paddle attachment on medium until smooth.  Use a disposable pasty bag to cover half of cookies.  Top with other half.

I got the recipe from Martha.

Chocolate Cinnamon Cupcakes

First, I must apologize to my 3 faithful readers.  I have been gone too long.  I have been baking, but have managed to forget to take pictures of the final product.  I've also been working on a side project.  My friends on my on-line mom's group have helped me start up a cookie business of sorts.  So I've been busy making about 1,117 thousand cookies for trials and pictures.  Take a look!  Sugar on Top orders.  

Anyway, these cupcakes I made for my coffee meet-up, which is where most of my baked goods end up.  They get treats, I get free coffee.  Win-win.  They're a nice, moist cupcake with a cinnamon icing that has a nice kick to it.  And they go wonderfully with coffee!

I halved this recipe and got 9 perfect cupcakes out.  I accidently kept the icing recipe full scale, but it's a good thing because I used it all on those 9.  If I had made the full cupcake recipe I would have had some pretty skimpily frosted cakes!

Enjoy!

Chocolate Cinnamon Cupcakes

 1 1/2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

3/4 cup hot brewed coffee

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

Heavy 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Heavy 1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

Heavy 1/4 cup oil

3/4 cup buttermilk

Heavy 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

• Preheat oven to 300.  Line cupcake pan.
• Put chocolate in hot coffee, stirring occasionally, until fully melted.
• In a medium bowl, combine sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
• In bowl of electric mixer beat the eggs until slightly thickened and a light color.
• Slowly add oil, buttermilk, and vanilla to eggs.  Then add melted chocolate mixture.
• Add the sugar mixture until well combined.
• Pour into liner about 3/4 of the way full and bake for about 35 minutes.

Cinnamon Buttercream Icing

2 sticks butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 cups powdered sugar

• Beat butter until light and fluffy.  
• Add vanilla.
• Slowly add sugar and cinnamon.  Beat on high for about 5 minutes.

This recipe was slightly adapted from Ice Cream Before Dinner

THE Brownies

That's it, the search is over.  I have found THE BEST BROWNIES EVER.  That's right, EVER.  I have been searching for years for the perfect fudgy, thick, chocolaty brownies and these are it.  They are phenomenal.  After finishing the last one today at lunch my husband said after dinner "You know, if feels kind of empty without the brownies here".  That's how good they are.  

The recipe calls for Dutch cocoa, which I was out of and the grocery store nearby doesn't have, so I used Hershey's and it was still fine.  I'm making a run to Whole Foods this week to pick up the Dutch cocoa as well as some Schaffen Berger chocolate.  I figure it can only make them better!

Enjoy!

Deep Chocolate Brownies

2 sticks of unsalted butter

8 oz bittersweet chocolate

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

5 eggs

2/3 cup flour

1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa 

1/2 teaspoon salt

• Preheat oven to 350.  Line a 13x9 inch pan with parchment.
• Melt butter and chocolate in a double boiler until smooth.  Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm.  Whisk in sugar and vanilla.
• Whisk in eggs one at a time until glossy and smooth.
• In a separate bowl whisk together flour, cocoa, and salt.  Whisk into chocolate mixture.
• Spread in pan and bake until center comes out with crumbs, 25-35 minutes.  I like my brownies on the undercooked side so I stopped right at 25.  

My son and sous chef also enjoyed them!

I found this recipe in Gourmet.

Magnolia Bakery Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream

I haven't made an everyday chocolate cupcake in a long time so I figured I was due.  This is a pretty typical chocolate chocolate cupcake.  The frosting was bit fluffy for my taste as I tend to prefer a dense frosting, but it was tasty.  The cake itself was nice and moist.  Overall a good chocolate cupcake.

Enjoy!

Cupcake

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

4 eggs

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Frosting

1 1/2 cups butter, room temperature

2 tablespoons milk

9 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled to room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

For cupcake:

• Heat oven to 350.  Line a 12 cup cupcake tin.
• Sift together flour and baking soda in small bowl.
• With mixer, cream butter and sugars together.  Beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
• Add eggs one at a time until incorporated.  Add chocolate and beat until well combined. 
• Alternately add buttermilk/vanilla and dry ingredients.  Do not over mix.
• Scoop into liners about 2/3 full.  Bake 20-24 minutes.  

For frosting:

• Beat butter until creamy.  Add milk and beat to combine.  Add chocolate and vanilla and mix until smooth.  
• Slowly add sugar.  Once all is added beat on medium high until fluffy, about 2 minutes.  

I found both these recipes in More From Magnolia.

Caramel Apple Mini Cupcakes

How stinkin' cute are these?!?  I had a Back to School picnic to go to and brought these.  I've made the full size version in the past but figured I could get people to eat 2 or 3 minis (and I was right!).  

I apologize for the severe lack of process pictures lately.  I've been getting caught up in the baking and realize at the end that I haven't taken any.  Anyway, there's nothing tricky or odd about these so there's really no need for extra pictures.

Enjoy!

Cupcake

3-4 Granny Smith apples

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup canola oil

1/4 cup apple cider 

1 teaspoon vanilla

Frosting

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

4 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons cider

3 1/2-4 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Drizzle

1/2 cup evaporated milk

4 ounces individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped

For cupcakes:

• Heat oven to 350.  Line 24 mini cupcake or 12 regular cupcake tins.
• Rinse and core apples.  Bake 30-40 minutes or until soft.  Peel and puree.
• Sift together flour, sugar, spices, baking soda, and salt. 
• Slightly beat eggs.  Add oil, cider, vanilla, and one cup of pureed apple.  Stir to combine.
• Combine wet and dry ingredients.  Mix only until combined; do not over mix.  
• Fill liners 2/3 full.  Bake mini cupcakes 12-14 minutes, regular cupcakes 18-20 minutes.

For frosting:

• Melt butter in small saucepan.  Add sugar and milk and cook on low until sugar dissolves.  Stir in cider.
• In a stand mixer on low mix butter mixture and sugar until combined.  Turn to medium-high and beat until full.  Frosting may be a little loose, even with the sugar, so chill for a few minutes if necessary.  

For drizzle:

• Combine milk and caramels in saucepan.  Cook on low until smooth.  Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes.  Drizzle over iced cupcakes.  

This recipe was adapted from Caramel Appletini Cupcakes.

S'Mores Cheesecake

I meet with a group of former colleagues each Tuesday for coffee and I've volunteered to bring treats.  It gives me a chance to make a dent in the 14,117 "to try" recipes I have sitting in various places around my house and they seem to appreciate it.  Well, this week it was canceled but only after I had made this weeks' treat: S'Mores Cheesecake.  So here I am with a whole cheesecake just waiting to be eaten.  

It's very tasty, if not a tad sweet.  I like the marshmallow topping but that's really where a big chunk of the sweetness is coming in so I may reduce the amount by half or so next time around.  And all though it's a very tasty topping I'm sure jarred Fluff would do if you don't want to make it yourself.  

Make sure you make the cheesecake portion the night before you need it so you can properly chill it overnight.

Enjoy!

Crust

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

3 tablespoons sugar

6 tablespoons melted butter

Filling

9 ounces milk chocolate (I had to use chips but it worked fine)

16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup whipping cream

3 eggs

Topping

1 cup sugar

2 egg whites

3 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/8 teaspoon salt

12 large or 120 mini marshmallows (if using large, cut into quarters)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

For crust:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Stir all ingredients together and press into a parchment lined springform pan.  I used my square one for no other reason than that I like it.
• Bake 12 minutes. Cool.

For filling:

• Melt chocolate in a double boiler.  Cool to lukewarm.
• Blend cream cheese, sugar, and salt until smooth.  Make sure not to go crazy here.  Over beating can cause a cheesecake to crack.  More on that later...

• Add whipping cream and mix until incorporated.
• Add melted chocolate then eggs one at a time.  
• Pour over crust
• Bake at 350 for 15 minutes then reduce oven to 200 and continue baking for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes.  Now, to that cracking issue.  I never, ever, ever crack cheesecakes. Well, except for that one time 5 years ago in a weird oven and the two other times that I've not listened to myself.   But seriously, no other time.  I don't use water baths or anything else "fancy" other than the above method - long, low heat.  I seriously think this is what helps me not crack them.  Any time I've used another method, they've cracked.  Just like this one did.  So, I'm altering the directions to my method.  And I'm never following any other baking directions for a cheesecake again.  Seriously.  
• Once done (check for a wiggle by shaking the pan.  It shouldn't be set at this point, the center should shimmy nicely), turn off oven, crack the door and leave the cheesecake in until the oven is cool, about an hour or so.  
• Remove and place in refrigerator overnight.  

For topping:

• Whisk sugar, egg whites, water, cream of tartar, and salt in a large metal bowl.  Set over saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes.
• Remove from over water (but keep water simmering) and stir in marshmallows.  Let them sit and soften for about 3 minutes.  Return over water and beat until shiny medium-stiff peaks form.  Beat in vanilla.
• Place on cheesecake.  Let stand until set, about 15 minutes.
• Either use a torch to singe the top or a broiler for about 3 minutes.  

I varied the recipe I found in the July 2008 Bon Appetit.