Thursday Treats: Good Housekeeping's Fudgy Brownies {Good Housekeeping}

I love brownies because they are so easy.

You don't need multiple bowls or fancy gadgets.

All you need for these brownies is 2 {small} bowls, a wooden spoon, whisk, and a saucepan.

Unless you're me and you don't use a big enough saucepan...than you will need another {big} bowl :D

Oh, and if you use the normal 8"x8" pan...you will have to double your baking time.

Just in case you guys don't read this recipe right.

I really hope I'm not the only one who does that!!

The brownie is not too sweet--you use unsweetened and dark chocolate--so its a perfect base to jumpstart your creativity.

It is delicious on its own...

topped with mini chocolate chips...

sweetened coconut {this is for my Pastor's wife--she loves coconut. Me? Not so much!}...

or M&M's :D

Oh, and underneath the toppings? Fudgy chocolate frosting!

And, it all works because the brownie isn't sweet, but has a rich chocolate flavour that is quite delicious on its own, or topped by frosting and goodies!

Good Housekeeping's Fudgy Brownies

Good Housekeeping

1+1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1+1/2 sticks {3/4 cup} butter

4 squares {4 oz} unsweetened chocolate, chopped

4 squares {4 oz} semisweet chocolate, chopped

2 cups sugar

1 tblsp vanilla

5 large eggs, beaten

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 13"x9" baking pan with foil; grease. In a small bowl, blend flour and salt.

2. In a heavy 4-quart saucepan, melt butter and chocolates over low heat, stirring frequently until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs; stir until well mixed. Stir flour mixture into chocolate mixture just until blended. Spread batter evenly into your prepared pan.

3. Bake until toothpick inserted 1 inch from the edge comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

4. When cool, lift foil, with brownie, out of the pan; peel foil away from the sides.

Cut and serve. Enjoy!!

Thursday Treats: Drop Sugar Cookies {Good Housekeeping}

I was quite skeptical that these cookies would turn out. They just seemed...too easy.

Just flour, baking powder, salt, butter, sugar, an egg and vanilla. Simple ingredients. No chilling. No cutting out.

And, they're soft and chewy.

These cookies taught me two things. I need glasses and the need to correctly read recipes :D

I only needed 1+1/3 cups of flour, but I thought I was supposed to put in 1+3/4 cups. I was so confused when my dough didn't form, but separated into thousands of dry little balls. After I figured out I had put way too much flour in, I threw an extra egg and 1/4 cup of butter in to even things out.

Whew. An easy, but unnecessary fix if I was but paying attention :P

Drop Sugar Cookies

by Good Housekeeping

1+1/3 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

M&M's and chocolate chips: optional mix-in

1. Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.

2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy--your mixer should be on medium speed. Beat in the egg next as well as the vanilla. Reduce the speed of your mixer and add the flour mixture just until combined.

3. Drop dough by heaping teaspoons {I use a small ice cream/cookie scoop} 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake until edges are brown--10 minutes or so--and make sure to rotate your pan at the half-way mark. {Unless you have a convection oven, in which case you can disregard the rotating instruction.}

4. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

5. You can store cookies in a cookie jar for 1 week or freeze up to 3 months.

So, since I'm not a huge fan of plain cookies {ie, sugar or shortbread cookies} I threw in a handful of M&M's and milk chocolate chips into the dough after I made 1 plain batch.

Both taste really good...but, the ones with the mix-ins are the bomb. I've been really, really, really wanting some M&M cookies, and these totally fit my craving.

Good thing the recipe didn't make a huge batch!

Thursday Treats: Cake Pops {Bakerella}

A couple in our church got married back in August, and I had the pleasure {with lots of ahhhhhh!!!! moments in which I would psyche myself out, lol} of doing their cake and dessert table {with the help of my dear friends Sarah and T!}

Because I wanted to focus on the dessert table, the cake was more of a traditional look and the customary bride/groom feed each other cake. In that case, only the top of the 3 tiered "cake" was actual cake :D The bottom two were just Styrofoam from Michael's.

One of the many things we had on the dessert table were cake pops! I must say, even though I read the recipes, read all the techniques/trouble-shooting tips, looked at pictures, read reviews...I did not get it perfect the first time...or 10th time :D Until you get into a rhythm, these take work.

Definitely do some a week or two before you need them just to get a feel of how things should go.

Otherwise, these were delicious. My personal favourite would be chocolate cake with chocolate coating :D, but these were pretty good too. The colours were pink and baby blue and we primarily just used those colours as accents to the white and burlap we used for decoration. It turned out very nice!

I was out hopping garage sales when I came across Bakerella's book Cake Pops. That's when I knew I had to include them in the Wedding Dessert Repertoire.

I'm giving you the basic recipe here, but if you go to her website, Angie has a lot more tips, photos, recipes, and inspiration to create your own one-of-a-kind treat. These Minions are SO cute!

{Basic} Cake Pops

Cake Pops by Bakerella

You will need:

18.25 oz box cake mix {chocolate, yellow, white etc.}

9-by-13-inch cake pan

large mixing bowl

16 oz. container ready-made frosting

large metal spoon

wax paper

2 baking sheets

plastic wrap

48 oz {3 pounds} candy coating

deep, microwave-safe plastic bowl

48 paper lollipop sticks

How To:

1. Bake the cake as directed on the box, using a 9 by 13 inch cake pan. Let cool completely.

2. Once the cake is cooled, get organized and set aside plenty of time {a couple hours} to crumble, roll, and dip 4 dozen cake pops.

3. Crumble the cooled cake into a large mixing bowl. you shouldn't see any large pieces of cake.

4. Add 3/4 of the container of frosting {you don't need the rest} and mix it into the crumbled cake using the back of the metal spoon, until thoroughly combined.

*If you use the entire container of frosting, the cake will be too moist and you will pull your hair out trying to get these to work.*

5. The mixture should be moist enough to roll into 1+1/2 inch balls and still hold a round shape. After rolling the cake balls by hand, place them on wax paper-covered baking sheets.

6. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for several hours in the fridge or in the freezer for about 15 minutes. You want the balls to be firm--don't freeze.

*Oh, by the way...make sure you have room in your fridge prior to making these :)*

7. Place the candy coating in a deep, microwave-safe plastic bowl. Melt the candy coating following package instructions. Don't overheat!

It's dipping time!

8. Take a few cake balls at a time out of the fridge/freezer to work with. If you had'em in the freezer, move them to the fridge at this point so the rest don't freeze.

9. One at a time, dip about 1/2 inch of the tip of a lollipop stick into the melted candy coating, and then insert the stick straight into a cake ball, pushing it no more than halfway through.

10. Holding the lollipop stick with cake ball attached, dip the entire cake ball into the melted candy coating until it is completely covered and remove it in one motion. Sake sure the coating meets at the base of the lollipop stick. This helps secure the cake ball to the stick when the coating sets. The object is to completely cover the cake ball and remove it without submerging it in the coating more than once. A small, deep plastic bowl is helpful during this step.

11. When you remove the cake pop from the candy coating, some excess coating may start to drip. Hold the cake pop in one hand and use the other hand to gently tap the first wrist. Rotate the lollipop stick if necessary to allow the excess coating to fall off evenly, so one side doesn't get heavier than the other.

12. Repeat with the rest of the cake balls

13. Store the cake pops in an airtight container on the counter or in the fridge for several days.

Enjoy and have fun!!

'Member, if you want more details or pictures of the steps, head over to Bakerella's website :).

*PS. I'm doing posts on recipes I've tried {mostly from my cookbooks} and either enjoyed, or hated. I do include websites or links to particular cookbooks, but that is more for clarification and because I totally love them. I've not been asked by anyone for endorsement. Just so we're all clear on that :D

Thanks!*

Creamy, Dreamy Oreo Dessert

This is one of the most loved desserts I've ever made.

I'm sure I got the inspiration from somewhere--perhaps my Kraft book??--but I have made it my own way for the last, oh, say dozen times.

It is so incredibly simple, has 4 ingredients, and can be whipped up in no time. The hardest part is allowing it to sit in the fridge for a couple hours to soften the cookie bits.

This dessert is so creamy and LIGHT {texture wise--definitely not in calories!} that it is a perfect complement to a heavy meal.

Creamy, Dreamy Oreo Dessert

Me

Inspired by Kraft

4{8oz} blocks of cream cheese

1 liter whipping cream {use the highest % of fat. I use 35%}

1/2 to 1+1/2 cups icing sugar

Either a package of  Mini Oreo cookies, or a regular pack you break into pieces. In the pictures above, I've just broken Oreo cookies into pieces. 

1. In a bowl, mix the blocks of cream cheese one at a time until smooth.

2. Starting with 1/2 cup of sugar, blend into the cream cheese. Keep adding sugar until it is just a little bit too sweet. Set aside.

3. Next, you'll want to whip your cream until it gets to the "hard" stage. A little bit before it turns into butter :D {I don't add any sugar to my cream...that's why I over-sweeten the cream cheese mixture. In the end, it all works out!}

4. Now, using a third of your whipped cream, gently fold it in your cream cheese mixture. Continue until the whipped cream and cream cheese mixture are fully incorporated.

*Don't beat! Otherwise, you will lose all that fluffiness you just whipped into the whipping cream!*

5. Fold in the Oreo cookies/pieces. Transfer into a trifle bowl and decorate with more cookies/pieces!

You can either eat it right away, or chill in the fridge until you are ready to eat. It's all a matter of whether you want your Oreos to be crunchy or soft. I've always taken it to church, so mine sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Either way, I hope you enjoy!!

I had buttered chicken for my first meal in my new apartment...one of 3 I've made for myself :P

See, I do eat real food...once in a while {I ate leftovers for at least a week! I really have to find me a cookbook for 1 person meals} :D

On a side note...it was really, really, really good. I didn't mind the leftovers. :)

Monday Moments: My Love of Cookbooks:::Betty Crocker:::

Now, I have a lot of cookbooks. My mom tells me I have too much; I say you can never have too many books and in my humble opinion, cookbooks are in a class all on their own. I love reading through cookbooks. My Nana Jane started me going when she gave me the Taste of Home Annual Cookbook for Christmas when I was 14.

{Source}

{{{Those brownies on that gorgeous cake stand {{love those too and anything yellow :)} are SO good. Those were the first things I made from my cookbook :D}}}}

It was my favourite gift that year! I curled up on my bed and read the different entries. I loved looking at the pictures. Ooohing and aahhing over the many delicious looking and sounding recipes...and skipping over the ones that sounded...oh, groossss!!! not so appetizing. I read it cover to cover and then savoured my favourite parts: read anything to do with baking delicious desserts :)

Since that Christmas on, I have acquired a great deal of wonderful cookbooks. Mostly on baking because I like to cook by throwing in a little bit of this and that :) And, the fact that it's only me eating supper isn't a huge motivator to cook...especially since I've always been accustomed to making enough to feed a crowd of at least 10. I love to bake though, and I really want to cook/bake through my books. And where else to chronicle my journey but through this here ol' blog of mine?

These cupcakes are a classic. I love this recipe because you dump everything in your mixer, mix, bake, and frost. Very simple. And delicious...as long as you don't over-bake them ;)

Chocolate Layer Cake

Betty Crocker Cookbook

2+1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1+2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa

1+1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1+1/4 cups water

3/4 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1. Heat oven to 350. Grease bottom and sides of  2 round pans {8 or 9 inch} with shortening {I've used butter} and lightly flour.

2. In large bowl, beat all ingredients with a mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pans.

3. Bake pans for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool pans for 10 minutes and then invert onto a cooling rack.

4. Fill and frost with your choice of frosting!

*Make sure you just use the baking time as a guideline. Use your eyes and nose to test for done-ness. The cake/cupcakes can get very dry if you don't pay attention. Also, make sure you know where your hotspots are in your oven. I always rotate my baking halfway through cooking time to ensure an even baked goodie.*

Snickerdoodles

Now, my personal choice of cookies is chocolate chip. I could eat those ALL day. But, my boss and friend, Silvana, tries to stay away from chocolate because they're a trigger for her migraines.

I've been varying my baked goods to include some non-chocolate items. These snickerdoodles fit the bill.

They are crispy around the edges and have puffy, soft centers. They've got big butter flavour {use the best butter!} and the perfect amount of sweetness and spice. I've tried several different recipes from different cookbooks and can't say I've noticed too much of a difference. However, this is my favourite recipe because it doesn't include shortening, but is all-butter. :D Oh, and I just love Joanne Chang's cookbook, Flour, which this particular recipe is from. I've tried several of her spectacular goodies--bannana bread, and most recently Milk Chocolate-Hazelnut Cookies as well as her Ginger-Molasses Cookies--and I'm totally in love.

Snickerdoodles

Flour by Joanne Chang

{My changes in Blue}

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1+1/2 cups sugar, plus 1/2 for coating

2 eggs

2+1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp kosher salt {I just use table salt}

2 tsps cream of tarter

1/4 cup ground cinnamon

{For my coating mixture, I just use about 1/4 cup of sugar and a couple heaping teaspoons of cinnamon. I don't like keeping extra sugar mixture around, but make more each time I make a batch of these cookies.}

1. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and 1+1/2 cups sugar on medium speed for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture is light and fluffy. Stop the mixer a few times and use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and the paddle to release any clinging butter or sugar. Beat in the eggs on medium speed for 2-3 minutes, or until thoroughly combined. Scrape the bowl and paddle again to make sure the eggs are thoroughly incorporated.

2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tarter. On low speed, slowly blend the flour mixture into the butter-sugar mixture and then mix just until the flour is totally incorporated and the dough is evenly mixed.

3. For the best results {Although, they do taste just fine if baked right away, if you have the time, follow this step!} scrape the dough into an airtight container and let it rest in the refrigerator overnight, or  for 3-4 hours before baking. When ready to bake, position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees F {I like to keep my temps at 325 degrees. For my oven, this just seems to work better.}

4. In a small bowl, mix together the remaining 1/2 sugar and the cinnamon. Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons {I use a small ice cream scoop} into the cinnamon-sugar mixture and roll to coat. Place the coated balls of dough on a baking sheet, spacing them about 3 inches apart. Flatten each ball slightly with the palm of your hand.

5. Bake for 15-18 minutes {I let mine bake for 12-15 minutes}, or until the cookies are golden brown on the edges and lightly soft in the center. Let cool on the bvaking sheet on a wire rack for 5-10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely.

6. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days. The unbaked dough may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Enjoy!!