Whole Wheat S'more Cookies

I mentioned in my last post that Bon Appetit has some whole grain recipes in this months issue. This is good news for me because I love to bake but I really want to start adding ingredients that are a little more wholesome and perhaps have some health benefits without tasting like cardboard.

Flour is a good way to change a baking recipe for the better. I find whole wheat flour to be nuttier and more filling, so not only does the baked good taste richer, it also only takes one serving to fill you up. The problem is in the density of whole wheat flour. After all, no one makes a chiffon cake out of whole wheat flour. It is heavy stuff! Every time I add it to cookies or muffins, I end up with a heavy product and the texture is not quite where it should be.

After looking over this cookie recipe, though, I noticed that the butter is melted before hand which definitely makes for a chewier cookie. The hope was not to have a "healthy" tasting cookie but a yummy, chewy cookie that no one would take a bite and say "these are different". That is rarely ever a good response.

The cookies have virtually no difference from any other chocolate chip cookie recipe I have made except for the 3 cups of whole wheat flour. The marshmallows and chips are still there, as is the sugar but you get the added flavor and benefit of a whole grain. So maybe this is a bit of a stretch in the grand scheme of healthy eating ... but I never said this cookie was for dieters!

I also cannot, in all honesty, say these would easily replace my beloved chocolate chip cookie recipe. The end result was almost like a bran muffin top. Cakey like a muffin but the ingredients of a cookie. Make sense? Don't get me wrong, they were delicious but just not what I was expecting at all. The marshmallows exploded a bit in the cookies, leaving gooey carmelized puddles and I used milk chocolate chips for creaminess although the regular semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips would go really well with the nutty flavor. I omitted the nuts, as usual, because Josh hates nuts in his cookies, and I don't think I would recommend using them anyway now that I know these taste more like muffins. I think the crunch would detract from the finished product.
So try them out and see what you think. Don't think healthier, think heartier.
Ciao!
Picture coming tomorrow!

Whole Wheat S'more Cookies
Bon Appetit, February 2008
Ingredients:
3c. whole wheat flour
1 1/2c. packed brown sugar
3/4t. salt
1/2t. baking soda
2 large eggs
1/2c. buttermilk
1 T. molasses
1 1/2t. vanilla
1/2c. butter, melted
1 1/2c. milk chocolate chips
1 c. mini marshmallows
3/4c. coarsely chopped walnuts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 35o. Line 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Whisk flour, sugar, salt and baking soda in a large bowl.
Whisk eggs, buttermilk, molasses, and vanilla extract in medium bowl. Whisk in butter.
Add egg mixture to dry ingredients, stirring until dough is evenly moistened.
Stir in chocolate chips, marshmallows and nuts.
Drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets, spacing about 3 inches apart (about 12 cookies per sheet). Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until golden brown, dry to touch, but still slightly soft, about 15 minutes.
Let cookies cool on sheets 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool (cookies will firm up).
Can be made two days ahead.

Skinny(er) Salmon with Dill Sauce

What a cliche' - a healthy recipe at the beginning of the new year! I am sure blogs all over the globe are devoting themselves to cleansing the stomach after a good month of gluttony. Josh and I are doing everything in moderation but I did feel the need to get some healthy protein back in our lives.

For those of you who have never seen or heard of the Eat, Shrink and Be Merry cookbook (they have a television show as well as several cookbooks) think of it as remakes of all your favorite recipes with less sugar and fat. I love the humourous anecdotes in the margins and the recipes are easy and simple.

In this case I was craving a fattening tartar sauce to go with our salmon. Maybe even a dill cream sauce. This is where I decided to try a recipe I have looked at for quite some time and never followed through. Josh marinated the salmon in lemon juice whisked with dijon mustard and some chopped dill for about an hour before we grilled it on our indoor grill. I think marinating is always a good idea but we have definitely just thrown the salmon steak on as is and ended up with a good result.

The sauce was extremely easy and, except for the dill, used ingredients found in my cupboard and fridge all the time. The result was a tangy sauce that offset the salmon very nicely and we will definitely make again to replace our beloved tartar sauce. As much as the idea of low fat or fat free sour cream turns people off, I did not even notice the difference in the sauce once the other flavors were mixed in.

In the picture you will see some dark spots on top of the salmon and the white dill sauce. That is Josh's addition of chipotle hot sauce because there are very few foods he eats without hot sauce. Believe it or not, it was actually quite good on top although I am not sure I would recommend that addition.

As an aside, I just received Bon Appetit February 2008 today and it looks like I am not the only one who is looking at the lower sugar and lower fat options in recipes. There is a fantastic article on using whole grains in baking as well as a few articles on the slow food movement. Definitely worth picking up this month!
Ciao!

Hook, Line & Simple ... or Creamy Dill Sauce for Salmon
Ingredients:
1/3c. light or fat free sour cream
2T. maple syrup
1T. dijon mustard or honey mustard
1T. fresh lemon juice
1T. minced fresh dill
1t. grated lemon zest
Directions:
Whisk together all the ingredients and serve very cold over freshly grilled or broiled salmon.

Maple Sugar Cutout Cookies

I have another submission for my Christmas baking saga. I do apologize for the lack of photos. Seems in all the busyness of the holiday I did not snap as many pics as I normally would have. It's too bad because everything looked so good and I find recipes are more appealing with photos. However, you have to trust me on this one.

Sugar cookies are a Christmas staple around my house although I think they are awfully tedious for the end results. I have decided that picking one cookie cutter and sticking with it for the whole batch is sufficient. It eliminates the ultimate problem of keeping like sizes with like to avoid burning and then no one is fighting over who got the bigger cookie. So this year I made Maple Sugar Cookies and used a 3" snowflake cutter.

This recipe is one of the most delicious sugar cookies I have ever made. I do hesitate to use the word "Maple" in the title because, while there is both maple syrup and maple flavoring in the dough, neither came through all that much. There was a definite richness to the taste and I would say it is a cross between a sugar cookie and a Gingerbread cookie. When I opened the tin a week later, I was hit with the most amazing aroma.

One of my favorite features of the dough was how easily it rolled out. Even the third and fourth rolling of the scraps were no trouble at all. The tiny cracks, what few there were, easily rolled back together. I definitely doctored the amount of maple flavoring and the cinnamon. If you aren't a big cinnamon fan, I would consider cutting the amount in half again, although I already did quite significantly.

The one batch made 4 dozen which was plenty. They stayed soft for the first week and then were more on the crisp side. I loved them dunked in coffee and they definitely kept their flavor weeks later. This recipe is worthy of a card in my recipe box and is now a Christmas staple in my house. I hope it will be in yours as well.
Ciao!

Maple Sugar Cutout Cookies
Ingredients:
2/3 cup softened butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
3 T. maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp maple flavoring
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Directions:
In a large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in egg, maple syrup and vanilla.
Blend in cinnamon, flour, baking powder and salt until well mixed.
Divide dough in half and chill for 1/2 hour.
Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
Grease two large cookie sheets.
On a lightly floured surface, working with half the dough at a time, roll 1/8-inch thick. (Have some flour on hand to dip cookie cutter into.)
Dip cutter into flour and cut dough into shapes.
Using a metal spatula, place cookies 1/2-inch apart on cookie sheets.
Reroll trimmings and continue to roll into shapes.
Bake 8 minutes or until very lightly browned.
Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely.

Cranberry Pecan Drop Cookies

I am always very excited to try new recipes at Christmas. In fact, very few items on my baked goods plates are tried and true favorites. I think it would be much smarter for me to make the same dozen items every year, but it is always so satisfying to try something new and have people love it.

Such is with this recipe. This was the perfect addition to my repertoire as I tend to make everything very sweet and full of chocolate. This cookie is the opposite entirely. It is not sweet really at all and the tart cranberries and chopped pecans were such a fantastic combination with the bourbon.

I ended up making a mistake somewhere along the way and had to reconfigure how the cookies were formed, yet I think they turned out better than the original would have. I think they were supposed to be more shortbread or sable - like. The dough was to be chilled and rolled into a log, then sliced. Well my dough was sticky and soft and perfect for a drop cookie. I was impatient as always and just scooped it into tablespoon balls. They baked puffy and cakelike. The best part of this cookie is they were still soft three weeks after baking, which is quite unusual.

A few tips for this one. Chop the pecans really finely. I used a mini chop until they were tiny pieces. You want crunch not actual discernible pecan chunks. Also, I soaked the dried cranberries (and this recipe would be equally good with raisins) in the rum (you could also use bourbon or brandy) for about an hour which plumped them up considerably. If you don't want to use alcohol, I think applejuice or cider would work equally as well.

The flavors were much deeper a few days later when they had time to sit in an airtight container. This is definitely a winter cookie that would be good to make long after Christmas is over.
Ciao!

Cranberry Pecan Drop Cookies
Makes 36
Ingredients
1/2 C sugar
1-1/4 C flour
1/2 stick (1/4 C) butter
2 eggs
3/4c. pecan pieces
1c. dried cranberries or raisins
1/4 C rum or bourbon
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
confectioners sugar
Directions:
Soak the dried fruit in the liquer for about one hour. Drain the liquid from the fruit and set aside.
Sift the flour and mix with the nuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking powder.
Cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, making sure each is incorporated before adding the next one.
Alternately add the liquer and the flour mixture. Fold in the dried fruit.
Chill the batter for 30 minutes and then scoop tablespoon size balls onto a greased baking sheet.
Bake 8 minutes in a preheated 350º oven. Cool and sprinkle with confectioners sugar.

Tis' the Season for Exhaustion

It is now New Years Eve, and thank God for that because holidays that last this long are a bit too much. The non-stop eating and the very late nights have lead to Josh and I being lethargic and bordering on the grumpy side. I think it is because we are out of routine and we haven't eaten enough veggies!

So tonight we will have some yummy food with dear friends and ring in another new year. After that, I hope to stop baking and start cooking up a storm from my dear Rachael Ray who never fails to have easy recipes that are perfect for after work.

My postings have been non existent and I do apologize. I had a very successful baking Christmas with only one eggnog fudge flop. I think everything else turned out really well and I found a new favorite or two which I promise to share. Maybe my New Years Day will be quiet enough to get this done.

I did receive a gluttony of cookbooks for Christmas this year - three Paula Deen's, a Nigella Lawson, a Dorie Greenspan and a Jamie Oliver. Very excited about them all.

Happy New Year, happy new recipes.
Ciao!

Cheaters Eggnog Bundt Cake

We had a whirlwind weekend of Christmas activities to usher in my favorite holiday. I don't think I could have fit more events into two days if I tried.

Friday we picked out our Christmas tree in possibly the coldest weather we have had yet. Matthew put his arms around each frozen pillar of tree and helped Amanda and I pick based on the girth, not the shape, of the White & Nova Scotia Pines. It was definitely a gamble and at $65 - yes, I did pay that for a Christmas tree - I was hoping it would be beautiful. Turns out, the girth trick did work because my tree is 6 feet of perfectly spaced branches laden with my 1950's glass ornament collection. I am in love with this tree.

Saturday night we decorated my parents tree and we had a full house to do it. My sister brought over her new pup and my mom's dog was there as well. Organized chaos! It was for this night of festive fun that I decided to bring the dessert.

Eggnog was a must ingredient but other than that, I had no idea. It was on one of my favorite sites Taste of Home that two lovely ladies came to my aid with a quick and easy cake. I will admit that the central ingredient is a box vanilla cake mix and I am very sorry to disappoint any baking purists, but the results were well worth the shortcut.

This cake, when warm and first glazed, reminded me of an eggnog Krispy Kreme donut, but once it cooled off, the trademark heavier bundt cake texture came through. The flavors are fantastic and I have nothing to add to this recipe. Just glaze it once when it has come out of the oven and then drizzle glaze over it again when it has cooled.
Ciao!

Eggnog Bundt Cake
Ingredients - Cake:
4 Tablespoons butter or margarine
1 packaged yellow cake mix
1 1/2 cups commercially prepared eggnog
2 eggs
1 teaspoon rum extract
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Ingredients - Glaze:
2c. powdered sugar
2T. melted butter
3T. eggnog
1t. vanilla

Directions - Cake:
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cake mix, eggnog, eggs, rum extract, nutmeg and melted butter on low speed for 30 seconds or just til moistened. Beat on medium for 2 minutes or until smooth. Pour into greased bundt pan.
Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
Brush with half of the eggnog glaze.
Cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Drizzle with remaining glaze.

Directions - Glaze:
Combine the glaze ingredients in a bowl, whisk well. Add more eggnog if needed for a consistency that will drizzle from a spoon.

Pass The Rumballs!

Rumballs are one of my favorite Christmas treats. I could eat a dozen in no time. Maybe I like them, not only for their taste, but for the fond memories I have of my Grandma when I make them.

It was at her house that I first learned how to mix the ingredients and shape the balls so they were all even. Grandma does not think that rumballs made with graham crackers are even remotely the real deal so I have come to learn that the extra expense for the Nilla wafers is worth the end result. While Grandma still bakes each Christmas, the rumballs have fallen to me and I make far too many each year. I think we were still eating them in February last holiday.

That's not to say I won't make just as many this year, but I will not keep them hidden. We were all so afraid of running out that I tried to ration us. And I guess a bit too much. This year, let the rumballs - made with Nilla wafers - flow.

There isn't too much to say about the recipe. I find that the rum and corn syrup amounts are not completely accurate and you have to adjust as you go. The dough should be not too wet - too much rum - and not too sticky - too much corn syrup. So whisk in the rum and corn syrup mixture and use your hands to knead it in. If it is not making balls that easily roll together, you need more liquid. Dry rumballs are terrible, plus the powdered sugar coating will absorb some of the moisture so err on the side of sticky rather than just barely holding together.

Also, the ingredients need to be really finely ground so use a food processor. Grind the nuts until they are wet and sticking together. This will really help the balls form.I store mine in an airtight - do not use cheap Christmas tins for this - container so that they age but do not dry out in any way. Be prepared when you open the lid, they will smell really strong after a few weeks.

I made three batches the other night and that is tons. Hope someone eats them. What am I saying? They will be gone before I know it!
Ciao!

Grandma's Bourbon Walnut Balls
Makes 36
Ingredients:
2 1/2c. finely ground vanilla wafer crumbs
1c. finely ground pecans or walnuts
3 T. Cocoa powder
1c. powdered sugar
1/2c. bourbon or rum
3T. corn syrup
Confectioners sugar to roll the balls in

Directions:
Mix the first 4 ingredients in a bowl.
Whisk the corn syrup and rum or bourbon together. Pour into the dry ingredients.
Mix with your hand until sticky but solid walnut size balls form. Add more of the wet ingredients if needed, starting with more corn syrup.
Roll balls into powdered sugar and store in an airtight container.

A Make Ahead Dinner

With all the Christmas entertaining coming up, I wanted to put some dinners in the freezer that I could pull out at a moments notice, heat and serve. These stuffed shells are so simple and I spent last night building two foil baking pans full.
The easiest way to serve them is with a big salad and crusty garlic bread but I am going to serve them on the weekend as a side dish with an italian chicken parmesan or veal parmesan and a salad.
There really isn't much to say about the recipe. I eyeballed the amounts more or less and you can do the same. Just make sure that the mixture is stiff so that it doesn't leak out of the shells.
The big trick is not to overcook the pasta. Cook them until they are too firm to eat and not too soggy - about 7 minutes.
I used the pre-shredded Italian blend Kraft cheese but a mixture of parmesan and mozzarella or just mozzarella will work really well. I also used canned spaghetti sauce to make it quick and easy.
Ciao!

Ricotta Spinach Stuffed Shells
Makes 24 shells
Ingredients:
1 box jumbo pasta shells
3c. ricotta cheese
1c. drained, chopped spinach
2c. grated cheese
1 egg
2c. tomato sauce

Directions:
Cook pasta shells in boiling water until not quite al dente. Discard any broken shells.

In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta, spinach, egg and 1c. cheese.

Spoon 1c. sauce into the bottom of the baking dish.
Scoop filling into the shells so that they are full but not overflowing. Place open side up in the baking dish.

Spoon remaining sauce over the shells and then sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Or wrap pan in foil and freeze for up to one month.

Fruitcake for the Fruitcake Haters

What is there to say about fruitcake really? Most people despise it, and for good reason. I will agree that fruitcake, on average, is a dry, dense brick with nothing for flavour but the sickly sweet afternotes of old candied fruit. Sounds appetizing doesn't it? It certainly doesn't look appetizing. Have you ever seen fruitcake in a store? Nothing is as unappealing as that.

I will admit to buying store fruitcake last year. The recipe was a new one and I will never use it again, by the way. Fruitcake Rumballs promised to be delicious and I believed the catchy descriptions. I crumbled the storebought cake into the food processor with cocoa and rum and tried to make a dough that I could roll. Bottom line, the balls were lumpy and wet and the only one who ate them was my mom, I think out of obligation. For future, I will stick to my tried and true rumballs and leave the store's fruitcake to the Boxing Day bargain shoppers.

So after my fruitcake issues, you might wonder why I am posting a fruitcake recipe. I hate fruitcake like the next person but this recipe from my Canadian Living Christmas cookbook is a wonderful cake. The book claims it will win over all fruitcake haters and they were right. Except for the few in my family who refuse to eat glazed fruit no matter what, I managed to pawn off many slices and people came back for seconds.

The trick to this recipe is the dough that binds it together. There is more of it than most fruitcakes I have made and it is not cloyingly sweet, nor is it molasses bitter and dark. The orange and almond flavor is prevelant and the cake is delicious. I use more raisins and nuts than fruit to make sure my family will eat it. I would highly recommend you give this one a try in the coming weeks. Just make sure you leave a good 3 weeks for it to mellow before serving.

A couple notes since I made it on the weekend...
I used the full amount of nuts and raisins and only 6 cups total of fruit - mixed candied and mixed peel. If you are using whole fruits like the recipe calls for, then use the full amounts. If you are using the tiny diced mixed fruits you can use alot less and should or else there will not be enough batter to go around.
Use metal loaf pans if possible. The glass ones that I used took a lot longer to cook, 3.5hrs, and I found that the cake does not cook as evenly.
Let the cakes cool for as long as possible before removing them from the pans. They should be completely cool, otherwise the cake starts to have small cracks.
Once the cakes are on a board and out of the pans, brush all the surfaces with rum or orange juice or a combination of both.
I stored mine wrapped in plastic wrap and two layers of tinfoil. After a few weeks, brush them with your choice of liquid again.

Give this recipe a shot, it might surprise you.
Ciao!

Light Orange Almond Fruitcake
Canadian Living Christmas Cookbook
Ingredients:
3 cups mixed candied fruits
2 cups golden raisins
3/4 cups candied green cherries cut in half
3/4 cups candied red cherries cut in half
1 1/2 cup chopped candied pineapples
1 1/2 cup coarsly chopped blanched almonds
1 cup candied lemon & lime peels
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 Tbsp coarsly grated orange rind
1 tsp almond or vanilla extract
1/2 cup orange liqueur or orange juice

Directions:
Grease and flour two 9x5 in. loaf pans; Set aside.
In large bowl, combine the fist seven ingredients; toss with 1/2 cup of the flour. Set aside.

Mix remaining flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, orange rind and almond or vanilla extract, beating well.
Add flour mixture alternately with orange liqueur or juice. (Three additions of dry, two addition of wet) Mixing just until flour is incorporated. Fold in fruit mixture. The batter will be very thick.

Pour into prepared pans, smoothing tops. Place a shallow pan half filled with boiling water on bottom rack of oven. Bake cakes on center rack in a 250 (yes, 250) degree oven for 2 1/2 hours or until a toothpick inserter into center comes out clean. (This make take as long as 3 hours.) Cover loosely with foil if cakes start to crack. Let cool completely in pans.
If you wish, wrap in two thicknesses of cheese cloth soaked in brandy and in some aluminun foil until ready to eat.

A Simple Applesauce Cake

My fridge turns into an abyss for half used jars of food. I don't know how it happens but eventually I will clean out the fridge and find the tomato sauce I had had so many plans for, or the capers (who uses capers?) that would have been perfect if only I had known where they were.
So that is how this half full jar of applesauce came to be. I needed part of it for the Caramel Apple Cake I made the other day and then stuffed the jar into the fridge and forgot about it. Now, a week later, I need to use it up and I don't have a single applesauce cake recipe. Enter Martha Stewart and her wealth of recipes on the website. A quick search led me to this cake which I am now in love with.
The cake is very simple with subtle flavors. I like it because you can pick up a slice and snack on it, or top it with icecream (we used Chapman's Eggnog icecream) and serve it warm as a delicious dessert. I put the whole cake together in minutes and, what I love best, all the ingredients are staples in my pantry.
I upped the spice and omitted the cardamom in the original recipe, adding allspice instead. Other than that, I did nothing to it. Simple, quick and delicious!
Ciao!

Applesauce Cake
Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Magazine
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 large eggs
2 cups applesauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
In another bowl, with an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and honey until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture; beat just until combined. Beat in applesauce.
Generously coat a nonstick 9-inch tube pan with cooking spray. Spoon batter into pan; smooth top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (but slightly wet), 50 to 60 minutes.
Cool on a wire rack 10 minutes. Turn out of pan onto a cutting board or baking sheet; invert cake onto rack, top side up. Cool completely.

Christmas Already!

As you can see from the picture on the left, Christmas is now upon us. Or at least that is what the catalogs and department stores would have you think. In reality, they have been eagerly hoisting the holiday on us since October 15th. What exactly is so appealing about an artificial tree and light strung garland stuck in amongst jack o' lanterns and witches garb? Seems like such an odd juxtaposition.
Nevertheless, Christmas is now an almost three month holiday. My LL Bean catalog came in October, christmas Cd's emerged in Costco shortly after. I have even begun to Christmas shop, and did much of it on the Thanksgiving weekend. Why? Because sales are aplenty in the fall and stores love early shoppers. They know that even though you break the bank in November and swear you are done, you will be back the last week of December for that "one extra thing". It's a gold mine.
To sum up this little diatribe, I do love Christmas and all it offers. I will begin my Christmas baking this weekend and won't stop until the third week of December. So here is to weeks and weeks of yummy smells and new, hopefully successful, recipes.
Ciao!

Baking With Rachael Ray

Can Rachael Ray bake? My guess is no. Well, at least not well enough to make the cake featured in her November 2007 magazine. She must have realized that all good magazines need a dessert recipe, or two, and hired a pastry chef to fill this gap.
At any rate, I had to try the cake for my Dad's birthday because a chocolate fan he is not. Caramel on the other hand, is a favorite and this cake looked like it would fill the bill. I love the idea of fruit fillings instead of even more icing.
So the cake was easy to make and tasted delicious. Hard to slice, I found, but I think a serrated knife would have worked so much better, as the cake is delicate and the apple slices need to be cut through as well.
A few quick tips for the cake-
I used the Pam Baking spray again, and again I was pleasantly surprised. The cakes fell right out of the pans, no crumbling issues at all.
The tops of the cakes are a tad wet looking. If you try and get rid of that look, you will burn the rest of the cake. Don't rest the cake upside down to cool because the wet spot will stick to the board and not let go.
Freeze the cakes for a half hour or so before frosting so the wet spot firms up and doesn't stick to the icing knife.
To ice it, run a two inch strip of frosting around the top edge of the bottom layer and then pile the apples in the middle to avoid leakage.
I used about 4 cups of icing sugar in the frosting but I also used more caramel sauce. The frosting is definitely a preference thing and it firms up really well in the fridge so don't worry about making it too thin to get the desired flavor.
Ciao!

Caramel Apple Layer Cake
Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups plus 1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 sticks (1 pound) plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 crisp apples (about 1 pound), such as gala, peeled and thinly sliced lengthwise
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup store-bought caramel sauce

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Generously grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
Using an electric mixer, combine the flour, 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, the baking powder and salt.
Mix in 2 sticks butter at low speed until the mixture is crumbly.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, 1/2 cup cream, applesauce and vanilla. Mix into the flour-butter mixture at medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute.
Divide the batter between the prepared pans.
Bake until springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the cake to release the layers, invert onto the rack and let cool completely.
In a medium skillet, melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat.
Add the apple slices and remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar and cook, stirring often, until the apples are tender and the juice is syrupy, about 15 minutes.
Stir in the remaining 3 tablespoons cream and simmer for 3 minutes.
Remove from the heat and let cool.
Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, beat the remaining 2 sticks butter and the caramel sauce. Slowly add the confectioners' sugar to taste, and until light, creamy and spreadable. Place in the refridgerator if too soft.
Place 1 cake layer on a cake plate; spread the apple filling evenly on top, then cover with the remaining cake layer. Using an offset spatula or butter knife, cover the top and sides of the cake with the caramel frosting, swirling the top to make a decorative pattern.

Do You Daydream In Cookies?

Sometimes you buy something just for the sake of buying it, or because it is a new product you have never seen before. Both of these reasons would apply to the ridiculous - although cheap - purchase I made in Target a few weeks ago. Now bear in mind that we do not have a Target in Alberta. This is a glorious store that trumps Wal-Mart in every way. So you can't blame me for being dazzled by the lights and sheer amount of amazing products.

It was in the Halloween candy aisle, while looking for mini Almond Joys, that I came across Hershey Kisses Candy Corn edition. You can read more about them at Candyblog although I think they give the kisses an unfair review.

True, the candy is not chocolate in any sense. And true, doesn't taste like chocolate but then again, I didn't really expect it to. What you do get is a creamy confection that is a cross between real candy corn and butter flavored wax. Now before you say "yuck" I would suggest a taste. They are extremely addictive. I had to put the bag away before my "taste for research purposes only" went any further and I did not have enough left for cookies.

And I did want them for cookies. I envisioned yummy candy kisses cookies in butterscotch flavor perhaps? Well, apparently there are very few original Kiss Cookie recipes on the net. Almost every one I found was peanut butter and very little variation from the theme. So after hunting for days and days for the perfect recipe, I finally, and quite by accident, stumbled upon this one on the Martha Stewart website. She used mini peanut butter cups in the middle, which I think would be far more delicious than my freaky Kisses. What I loved about her recipe was it was simple, and promised a softer cookie. I did not like the idea of a hard as a rock peanutbutter cookie with a soft Kiss centre.

Well, the cookies were amazing. So amazing in fact that Josh thought about them all day at work. Justin devoured them, and Johnson ate entire cookies in one bite. They are heaven. Soft and chewy, peanutbuttery and smooth. The candy corn centre was rich and a perfect balance with the cookies.

Because we do not get the candy corn kisses in Canada, I will use the Caramel Chocolate Swirl Kisses instead. These cookies will definitely have repeat peformances in my house.
Ciao!

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
Martha Stewart, Makes 3 Dozen
Ingredients:
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar, for rolling dough
36 chocolate kisses or mini peanut butter cups, chilled and unwrapped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Using an electric mixer, cream peanut butter and butter in a mixing bowl until smooth.
Add brown sugar; beat until combined, scraping down bowl as needed.
Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until incorporated.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, gradually beat in flour mixture in two batches.
Scoop off dough by the tablespoon; roll into balls. Place granulated sugar on a plate; roll balls in sugar, coating completely. Place 2 inches apart on a nonstick insulated baking sheet.
Bake until cookies begin to puff up slightly, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven.
Press one peanut butter cup in center of each cookie. Return to oven; continue baking until cookies are golden brown and chocolate has begun to melt, about 3 minutes more. Let cool at least 10 minutes on baking sheet before transferring cookies to rack to cool completely.

Mom's Halloween Birthday

It is my Mom's birthday. On Halloween, I know. We actually like having her birthday on Halloween because it gives us a good excuse when we are trying to get out of another brutal Halloween party. This way we can hand out candy to the cute little kids, and then turn out the lights and watch a movie when the older, more obnoxious 'trick or treaters' come around. This year A & J opened their home to the party. A good idea because they are in a new neighborhood with lots of young families so we had adecent turn out of cute little kids. It also gave A a chance to practice her baking skills with me as we attempted my mom's birthday cake. I say attempt because I hate making layer cakes. I never end up with an even looking tower. It's always lopsided or one layer is careening off the top.

To stack the deck in my favor, I chose a cake from my beloved Paula Deen. Her cakes look amazing, are easy to prepare and I am sure cannot fail. This specific one is out of her Christmas Baking 2007 magazine which mom picked up for me in the States. I have poured over this magazine so many times that I probably know where every recipe is in it. The cake turned out really well with nice, even layers. The icing tasted really yummy the night we made it and was ten times better the next day. I think I will use it on cupcakes in the future. The layers of cake were light and moist and did not rise up with too much of a dome so the cake stayed flat. Next time I will partly freeze the layers first before icing as it was a little difficult with them slightly warm. I used the Pam Baking spray again and the layers fell out of the pan perfectly.

When we sliced the cake open, it looked so even and delicious. It tasted even better. The cake went a long way. It is quite rich and half the cake fed 9 people generously. Looks like alot of work, really wasn't. Oh, and the orange and black balls on top are malt balls, Halloween edition. Ciao!

Chocolate Malt Cake
Paula Deen's Holiday Magazine
Ingredients for cake:
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 cup malted milk powder - such as Ovaltine
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Malted Milk Balls for garnish

Ingredients for icing:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup cocoa
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup malted milk powder
5 cups powdered sugar

Directions for Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 3 - 9" cake pans.
In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder.
In a small bowl, combine milk and malted milk powder, stirring to dissolve.
Add milk mixture, oil and eggs to flour mixture, beating at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.
Add sour cream and vanilla, beating until just combined.
Pour batter evenly into pans, and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool and then remove from pans. Spread icing between layers and on top and sides of cake. Garnish with malted milk balls.

Directions for icing:
In a large bowl, beat butter and cocoa powder at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.
In a small bowl, combine cream and malted milk powder, stirring to dissolve. Add cream mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed to combine. Gradually beat in icing sugar until spreadable.

Sweet Potato Bourbon Poundcake

Can I tell you how much I love sweet potatoes? And bundt cakes. I make alot of Bundt cakes. Not on purpose really, but I find they are very easy to make and always turn out beautiful and delicious. When I found this recipe last week it seemed like the perfect autumn cake to make while I had Saturday to myself.
Yes, I had the whole day completely to myself. No Josh, no guests, just me. With all that free time I managed to get alot of housework done and make the applesauce that I have posted, below. While the applesauce simmered away, I made this cake. The best part about bundt cakes is you can mix them up in minutes and then throw them in the oven for an hour and not worry about them. I have never had one burn or be too dry.
This cake could be compared to a carrot cake but without the overwhelming vegetable taste. It definitely is dense and not sweet which, for having 1.5 cups of sugar in it, was a bit surprising. Nevertheless, it is very subtle and would go quite well with whipping cream. We ate it with good vanilla icecream.
I really don't have much to add to this recipe.
The original recipe called for very little spice so I upped it quite a bit. Even with the additions, I think it could even use some more.
I roasted the sweet potato in the oven which meant I had to let it cool for a while in the fridge before adding it to the egg mixture. If you have sweet potato left over from dinner, this would be a much easier step.
Also, the syrup mixture looks like alot but if you baste the cake with it right out of the oven and while still in the pan, then you will get the bottom of the cake nice and moist. I turned the cake out of the pan while barely warm and basted it probably three more times flipped the right way up. This kept it really moist and held the pecans to the top a little better.
Ciao!


Sweet-Potato Bourbon Bundt
"Bundt Classics" by Dorothy Dalquist

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1 cup cooked sweet potato
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup bourbon or apple juice
1 tablespoon baking powder (yes, a tablespoon)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon salt
Nonstick cooking spray with flour
1 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together brown sugar, butter, and eggs until very light and fluffy.
Add sweet potato and vanilla; beat to combine.
Combine flour, baking powder, pie spice, and salt in a bowl.
Add half the flour mixture to the mixer and mix until just incorporated.
Add the milk and combine.
Add the remaining flour and combine.
Finally, add the bourbon and 1 cup chopped pecans and stir in just until incorporated.
Lightly spray a 10 or 12 cup Bundt pan with cooking spray.
Sprinkle bottom of the pan with 1/4c. chopped pecans. Pour in cake batter.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes.
Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack.
Brush cake with bourbon syrup.
Serve cake slices with any remaining syrup.

Bourbon syrup:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Boil for about 5 minutes
Add 1 T Butter
2 T Bourbon
1 tsp. vanilla
Boil for another 2 minutes, until beginning to thicken