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Gingerbread + Sparkly Sanding Sugar

18 Dec

Gingerbread + Sparkles

This weekend the hubs took off to the mountains for a bachelor party and I was able to spend the weekend doing things that I love…shopping, wrapping, crafting, decorating, baking, and hanging out with my lovely friends. These delicious cookies are spicy with the perfect amount of sweetness. They do take a little while, but worth the time if you like gingerbread. Now the royal icing on the other hand was a bit of a challenge. I will have to work on perfecting the consistency, so as to not end up with a huge mess. It even somehow dripped onto Teddy’s head…guess that is what he gets for begging.

The Goods:

  • 6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
  • 4 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon finely ground pepper
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup unsulfured molasses
Do It:
  1. Sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder into a large bowl. Set aside.
  2. Put butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until fluffy. Mix in spices and salt, then eggs and molasses. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Divide dough into thirds; wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.
  3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface to a 1/4-inch thick. Cut into snowflakes with a 7- inch snowflake-shape cookie cutter. Space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.
  4. Bake cookies until crisp but not dark, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.
The Goods {part icing}:
  • 4 cups sifted powdered sugar
  • 3 TB meringue powder
  • 10 TB of warm water

Do It:

  1. Beat for 8 minutes on low speed
  2. Use piping bag and small round tip to decorate
  3. Add sprinkles and sanding sugar

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Butter + Caramel + more Butter

12 Dec

This weekend was crazy busy for me. Yesterday I was headed to a party and decided to bring a baked goodie. I found this one on Pinterest and couldn’t resist. Butter, Caramel, sugar, and salt…yum. I headed to the store and picked up the goods.  When I look at recipes I typically am not the best at checking amounts before heading to the store. This time was the same and when I got home and actually read the recipe I was astounded…ONE WHOLE POUND OF BUTTER. Um, what, hold the phone. That is a lot of butter. Lucky for me my sister was home and gave me the butter. This recipe turned out to take a really long time and made a huge mess, but trust me when I say it is worth it!

We have a winner, but beware your pants may not fit tomorrow. Enjoy! And make sure you have enough butter on hand!

Salted Caramel Butter Bars

The Goods:
 
             For the Crust:
  • 1 lb. salted butter room temp
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1½ cups powdered sugar
  • 2 Tbs vanilla
  • 4 cups all purpose flour
              For the Filling:
  • 1 bag (14 oz.) caramel candies
  • 1/3 cup milk or cream
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 T. coarse sea salt (optional)
Do It:
1. In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugars. Using mixer on medium speed, beat together until creamy.
2. Add the vanilla and beat until combined.
3. Sift the flour into the butter mixture and beat on low speed until a smooth soft dough forms.
4. Spray a 9×13 inch baking pan lightly with non-stick cooking spray.
5. Press one-third of the dough evenly into the pan to form a bottom crust, and place the remainder of the dough in the fridge to chill.
6. Preheat to 325F.
7. Bake until firm and the edges are a pale golden brown approx 20 minutes.
8. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool about 15 minutes.
9. While the bottom crust is baking and the remaining dough is chilling, make the caramel filling.
10. Place the unwrapped caramels in a microwave-safe bowl.
11. Add the cream and vanilla.
12. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If caramels are not completely melted, microwave on high for 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until smooth.
13. Pour the caramel filling over the crust.  If you are going to salt the caramel sprinkle it on caramel layer now.
14 Remove the remaining chilled dough from the refrigerator and crumble it evenly over the caramel.
 
15. Return the pan to the oven and bake until the filling is bubbly and the crumbled shortbread topping is firm and lightly golden, about 25 – 30 minutes.
16. Let cool before cutting into squares.

 

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Off Week Baking

4 Dec

This last week wasn’t my best week yet. I dropped nail polish on my skirt on the way into work, spilled coffee on my desk, came home to everything pulled out of my trashcan and strewn across my living room and kitchen…all in the first two days of the week. My week didn’t get worse, thankfully, but it didn’t get better either.

My sister-in-law’s baby shower was this week and I wanted to bring something for the dessert table. I found this chocolate peanut butter ball recipe and was so excited to decorate them in the baby shower “guess the gender” theme.

They started out easy, but the last step ruined it all. I was so dissapointed, left them at home and headed to the shower. At the shower I was chatting with one of my sister-in-law’s friends and we were talking about baking, blogs, and pinterest and how sometimes it seems like everyone else can do everything and always to such perfection. So I am writing this post to show that things are not always perfect on this blog.

Peanut Butter + Chocolate Balls

And….ruined. The chocolate dipping sauce called for semi sweet chocolate chips over a double boiler, well I don’t have a double boiler so I use the double pot methos {which typically works}. The chocolate was just way too thick. It globbed on the balls and made them huge. It got everywhere and was just way too much. I can barely even eat one without a tummy ache.

I still decorated them boy + girl-ish even though I didn’t take them to the party. Oh well, maybe next time. And here’s hoping for a better week!

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Holly Jolly

22 Nov

Source: bhg.com via Virginia on Pinterest

I like the overall gist of Thanksgiving, but for some reason I have never really been its hugest fan. I’m not typically a turkey person, I don’t like eating so much that my tummy hurts, there are always way too many dishes to wash, and really I can’t help but be excited for the day after when I can head out to buy my tree! Thanksgiving is definitely overshadowed by Christmas in my book.

This year, I am making an effort to try to get into it more. My hubby has decided to use his mom’s recipe and make all the stuffing for this year, which I am excited to blog about {and eat}! I will be making place settings for the table and finally get to hang out with my nephews.

*This whole job thing is really getting in the way of my nephew “I’m your favorite” brainwashing campaign.

So here is the beginning of my effort to get into the Thanksgiving spirit!

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Cheese Please

5 Nov

Cheese is one of my favorite things in life. I recently found this amazing specialty cheese shop right down the road in Del Mar. It is probably a good thing it isn’t too close or else it could be a problem for my waistline. This tiny store has tons of different types of cheese from all over the world. You cannot go wrong {and ask for Summer she is the greatest}!

With the help of Summer, I chose a 4 yr old Gouda from Holland, a French Fromager, and truffle white cheese {so amazing I forgot its name}. After making my purchases, the hubs and I headed to my dad and his wife’s place for a wine and cheese night to thank them for watching our hairy beast while we were sailing the Mediterranean.

Best combo of the night: fromager d’affinois + homemade grand marnier honey glaze {recipe soon}

As always we had a wonderful time chatting, eating, and drinking the night away…oh and eating leftover Halloween candy! Have a splendid weekend!

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Pumpkin & Spice

28 Oct

The holidays are finally here, so to kick it off I am back to baking. Thankfully we have my mom’s 9th Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest tomorrow so I can bake without having to eat it all myself!

Pumpkin Cream Sandwiches

The Goods:

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (I used a dash of cloves & nutmeg instead)
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2/3 cup cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

Do It:

  1. Heat oven to 375° F.
  2. Beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until smooth. Add the pumpkin, vanilla, and egg and beat until combined.
  3. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a medium bowl. Slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar and butter and beat on medium-low speed until fully incorporated.
  4. Spoon heaping tablespoons of the mixture 2 inches apart onto parchment- or foil-lined baking sheets. Bake until puffed and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes.
  5. Clean the mixer, then, as the cookies bake, beat the cream cheese, heavy cream, and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Spread the flat sides of half the cooled cookies with the cream mixture. Top with the remaining cookies.

Recipe makes 8 cookies & is courtesy of Real Simple.

{even Teddy loves pumpkin}

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Baileys + My Fav Dessert

17 Sep

Little Baileys Cheesecakes
serves 8

So I know on this post I wrote about making Bobby Flay’s White Peach Margaritas, and in my defense I tried! They were awful! In Bobby’s defense, I didn’t follow his instructions precisely — so I guess it was my fault. But all that being said, I don’t have any white peach posts to write about anytime soon. Maybe I’ll try again at a later date when the taste of the original has been forgotten by my taste buds.

In search of something else to post about I saw this and couldn’t pass it up. I mean really– 5 ingredients, 10 minutes??? Yes, please. I will say that in the future I will try to branch out of the desserts but they are just too delicious. So here you go, little Baileys cheesecakes!

The Goods:

  • butter cookies of sorts (I used Chessman)
  • 1/3 cup Baileys
  • 7 oz ricotta
  • 9 oz cream cheese
  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Do It:

  1. Line muffin tin with wrappers {my mixture made about 8 cakes}
  2. Crush cookies and place crumbs in base of each, use a spoon to push down and create the base
  3. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of baileys over each cookie mixture
  4. Combine remaining baileys, ricotta, cream cheese and powdered sugar in a food processor and blend until smooth
  5. Divide mixture between muffin wrappers and refrigerate until you’re ready to eat
  6. I even put mine in the freezer for a bit cause I like it really cold and firm :)

*I put in a bit too much Baileys {I think} and they didn’t firm up as well as I would have liked. I would recommend a bit less.

And Enjoy!

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

14 Sep

Not being a huge cookie fan it is super hard for me to find cookies I actually like. Last holiday season my sister’s sister-in-law brought over the most amazing cookies! I finally got the recipe and tried to recreate. Mine were certainly not as good as her’s, but I tried…and maybe next time they will be better.

The Goods:

  • 2 sticks butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • semi sweet chocolate chips

Do It:

  1. Heat oven to 350
  2. Mix together butter, sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla
  3. Add eggs one at a time to mix thoroughly
  4. Add flour, baking soda, and salt blend well
  5. Add chocolate chips  to your liking
  6. Bake for 10-13 minutes

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Nana’s Apple Pie

11 Sep

{great grandma’s pie dish}

Apple Pie

As I type this my pie is baking and smelling so darn delicious. I can’t wait to let it cool, brew some coffee, and enjoy.

I can’t really go into exact details because Nana {the recipe’s creator} does it all by taste and sight, but here is the recipe as best as I can explain from watching her.

The Goods:

  • 8 green apples
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 1/2 Tbsp flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp cloves
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • pre-made pie crust

Do it:

1. Peel and slice all the apples {try to make the slices as uniform as possible}

2. Mix all ingredients by hand in large bowl

3. Sprinkle flour on counter and roll out the dough to fit the pie pan

4. Place the dough in the bottom and layer the apples inside {in circle design}

5. Place butter on top.

6. Cover with pie crust.

7. Flute the edges.

8. Cover edges with foil or this nifty thing.

9. Place in oven at 325 for 1 hour and 30 minutes or whenever a knife can easily slide into the apples {not too easily though}

10. Cool on rack when done.

{made for years with love by nana}

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Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

1 Sep

Baked Cinnamon Donuts

I really have to stop spending my days on Pinterest, there are just way too many amazing baked goods. I see photos of goodness, like this one, and can’t not bake. So here I am trying not to eat anymore donut-muffins. It helps that I personally saw how much butter went on during the dipping, but they really are delicious!

The Goods:

For the muffin-donuts:

  • 1 3/4 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup oil
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 cup milk

For the coating:

  • 1/4 -1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Do it:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a muffin tin.
  2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
  3. Combine oil, sugar, egg and milk in a large bowl. Add dry ingredients and stir only to combine.
  4. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 min for regular tins and 12 for minis. While muffins are baking, melt butter in a small bowl. In another small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon.
  5. Shake muffins out of the muffin tin while the muffins are still hot.
  6. Dip muffins in the melted butter and then into the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Place on a wire rack and allow to cool.

* I recommend using small muffin tins. I used both regular size and mini size muffin tins. The minis were way easier to dip and coat.

Enjoy!

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