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.

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.

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Peanut Cookies

Nothing is better than warm cookies and milk, seriously nothing. I am a big fan of chocolate chip cookies in all their forms but I get bored of the same old same old Tollhouse recipe. So while going through my November back issues of Martha Stewart ('cause it is never too early to plan for Thanksgiving!) I came across this variation on the theme.

Martha has given me so many wonderful cookie recipes over the years and I think my favorite is still the Torie's Chocolate Chip that I have blogged about previously. In this case, she combines the classic flavors of peanut butter and chocolate and adds the seductive twist of cinnamon. Ever had a Cinnamon Kitkat? Pure genious. There is nothing like spice with chocolate.
I kept these cookies small so that I would have alot to give away and so that they would be two-biters for while we played cards with R & J this weekend. I highly recommend making them bigger just because I think they look nicer, but if you want to set them along side a bowl of vanilla icecream, or just devour them as little muncheables, then tiny is perfect.

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Peanut Cookies a la' Martha
Makes about 5 dozen
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup roasted, salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
Put butter and peanut butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until combined, about 2 minutes.
Add sugars; mix 2 minutes. Mix in eggs. Gradually add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips, peanuts, and vanilla with a mixing spoon until well distributed. Refrigerate dough until it is slightly firm, 15 minutes.
Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Space balls 2 to 3 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Flatten slightly.
Bake until just golden, about 13 minutes.

In Search of Comfort Food

It was a long weekend here in Canada. Sadly, it rained almost the entire time. I feel bad for all the optomistic campers out there who are convinced that the sun will shine as soon as Friday 4pm arrives. They are not so lucky, and while I will admit that leaving town for the three days even in a rainstorm is better than staying at home with not much to do, this weekend proved to be a lazy one. We spent most of it with R & J as usual, but this time they were kid-less which allows for lazy afternoons on the patio and trips to local pubs. The weekend also gave me time to bake yet again, still unphased by the brownie-cookie incident.

Rain always has a way of sending me in a search for a homey comforting dessert of some kind. Cookies and cake won't do it, a light fruity dessert is better for al fresco picnics of which there were none this weekend. No, I wanted something substantial that smelled like my Grandma's house. The only person that I could think of to fill this request was Martha Stewart.

As an aside, I have received many ribbings about my Martha obsession. But to them all, I gladly say that I would not be half the cook, baker and general homemaker if not for her tips and recipes. I have probably 6 years worth of back issues sitting in various piles around the apartment and nothing cheers me up more when I am searching for that "home" feeling.

While flipping through the October issues I have collected - and yes I know it is August right now - I came upon an entire article on the humble Bread Pudding. The basic recipe as well as 4 variations were included and I just knew that this was the recipe I was after. It was simple and would smell delicious and also feeds a crowd.

I made the Banana Rum version but the original is just as good. The secret ingredient I used was the Cinnamon Crunch bread from my local bakery which definitely was dense enough and flavorful enough to stand up to the rest of the ingredients. I would recommend using a denser loaf of bread and preferrably something a bit more exotic than basic challah although that is the easiest option. The recipe came out a bit too soupy and not as eggy as it should so I have tweaked it just a bit and come up with what I think is a fantastic bread pudding. A drizzle of caramel sauce and perhaps some whipped cream would also not go amiss.



Martha Stewart's Bread Pudding
Banana Rum ingredients optional

1 large loaf bread - challah or dense sweet white bread
2c. milk
2c. cream
4 eggs
1 T. vanilla
1c. sugar
1t. cinnamon
1t. nutmeg
Optional:
3T. rum
3T. butter
1/2c. brown sugar
2 large bananas, sliced



Cut the bread into one inch cubes and set aside. Butter a 9x13 casserole dish and set aside.
Heat the milk and cream over medium until just starting to simmer. Remove from heat.
Whisk together the eggs, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl. Slowly add the warm milk, by ladlefulls, whisking well so as not to cook the eggs. Poor the mixture over the bread and stir to combine. Place mixture in greased dish and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until the top is brown and the middle is hot and bubbling.

For the rum banana version, add the rum to the custard mixture. Saute the bananas in the butter and brown sugar until soft. Stir the banana mixture into the bread and custard.

Torie's Cherry Chocolate-Chunk Cookies

This is the oatmeal cookie recipe I used on the weekend and I have used many times before. My biggest fans of these cookies are the pastors at Northside Friends who devoured them a few Christmas's ago.
I made them for the first time with my grandma who was very upset at the price of dried cherries and then what little they did for the flavor after shelling out the cash. I use raisins or leave them out altogether, whatever you fancy.
Underbake them for sure and grease the cookie sheet or the toffee pieces will stick and burn. I have yet to make less than 4 dozen with this recipe. Martha Stewart must make huge cookies!
Enjoy!

Torie's Cherry Chocolate-Chunk Cookies
Makes about 2 1/2 dozen

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups oats
1 cup dried cherries
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
1 cup toffee pieces


1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, sift together flour and baking soda.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice during mixing. Add the egg; mix on high speed to combine. Add the vanilla; mix to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

3. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, and mix on low speed until well combined. Add the oats, cherries, chocolate, and toffee pieces; mix to combine after each addition.

4. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of dough onto a lined baking sheet. Repeat, spacing 2 inches apart.

5. Bake cookies until golden brown, about 10 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container up to 2 days.