Double Lemon Delight

Small town, community event coming up? Or just in need of a comfort food, this fits the bill.

• Cook lemon pudding with two cups boiling water for 5 minutes
• Add lemon jello at let dissolve (stir); add an additional cup of cool water
• Allow to set slightly and add 8 oz of cool whip, mandarin oranges and crushed pineapple (make sure to drain the fruit)
• Refrigerate and enjoy!

This is AWESOME!  Just the right of amount of sweet with a little bit of tang. 

Dutch Letter Bars

Dutch letters are a central Iowa specialty and treat. This recipe turns these pastries into a bar. Yum!

Dutch Letter Bars
1 cup butter

1 can almond paste
2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk (reserve egg white)
1½ cups sugar
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons almond extract
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Sliced almonds
Coarse sugar
Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Melt butter and mix in almond paste. Add in remaining ingredients and blend well. Spread in 9x13 pan. Brush w/ beaten egg white; sprinkle w/ almonds and sugar

Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown

Homemade Brownie Comparison

Before this week I don’t think I have ever made brownies from scratch. 1) I love me some Betty Crocker fudge brownies and 2) I’m largely disappointed when I try homemade brownies at bake sales, etc. Some restaurants do it right (mmmm, I’m thinking of you Wilde Roast Café), but I’ve never had a homemade version that made me ask for someone’s recipe.

I’ve had this Fudgy Chocolate Brownies recipe from Martha Stewart Living saved for about three years. I made them last Saturday in hopes of bringing them to a party. Sadly, they were overcooked and dried out (egad, is there anything worse than dry brownies?) Beyond baker's error, they were just too rich and not the right consistency for me. I didn’t love them and ended up tossing them out.

Now that I was started on this brownie path, I figured I may as well keep going. Last night I made Mark Bittman’s brownies and they were/are heavenly. Fudgy and sweet, with just the right crusty crunchy top.

What I thought was interesting were some glaring differences in the two recipes:
Chocolate
Martha’s called for eight ounces, Mark’s called for two (the online recipe calls for three)
Eggs, sugar, flour
Whatever Martha’s recipe calls for, Mark’s calls for roughly half that amount

Obviously that would lead you to believe Martha’s recipe would be bigger/thicker/more to the brownie, but I didn’t find that to be the case. They were slightly bigger, but not by much.

Survey says: Mark Bittman brownies win.

Bar Recipes?

Anyone have a good bar recipe? I swear, before moving to the Midwest I'd never really thought about bars, just cookies.

There's a place in Des Moines that makes a cookie/brownie bar where there is a layer of brownie on the bottom with what tastes like chocolate chip cookie dough on the top. I can't find a recipe like it online and I haven't searched my cookbooks, but thought I'd see if anyone has one yet. Or even just a link to one you haven't tried.

I'm open and I need a new baking recipe for next week!

Lemon Pound Cake

I have chronicled my search for lemon bread, but what I really should have admitted is that I was searching for something similar to Starbucks' lemon pound cake. This recipe from Dozen Flours is pretty darn close.

Her post is much more detailed, and gives some hints and tips. I'm just reposting the main instructions. I tend to shy away from four bowl recipes, but this one was worth it.

Better Than Starbucks Lemon Pound Cake
4 lemons
3 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, completely softened
3 cups superfine, Baker's or caster sugar
6 eggs, warmed for 10 minutes in hot tap water before using
1 cup full-fat sour cream, at room temperature

Glaze
2 lemons
2 cups powdered-sugar*, sifted

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a 16-cup tube pan and dust with cake flour; tap out any excess. Be sure to grease and flour the center column too.

Zest four of the lemons. With a very sharp paring knife, cut the tops and bottoms off of each lemon. With one cut side down on the cutting board, trim the pith off the lemon, vertically, going all the way around each lemon, exposing the flesh of the lemon. Over a bowl, cut segments from membranes, letting fruit and juice fall into the bowl, being sure to discard the seeds and the remaining membranes. With a fork, break segments into 1-inch pieces.

In a separate bowl, combine the sugar and the lemon zest. Work the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic. Set aside.

Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

Beat the butter for 2 minutes at medium speed in the electric mixer. Add half the sugar and mix for 2 more minutes, then add the rest of the sugar and mix again for 4 minutes, stopping once to scrape down the bowl and the beater blade.

Remove the eggs from the warm water. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating just until combined after each addition (about 30 seconds). On the lowest setting, mix in the dry ingredients, then the sour cream. Lastly, gently fold in the lemon juice and segments. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

Bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean, about an hour and a half. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes.

While the cake is cooling, juice the remaining 2 lemons. In a small bowl, slowly add the powdered sugar to the and stir until smooth. It should look thick, opaque, and should be thin enough to it should be pourable. If it's too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it's too thick, add more lemon juice. Poke small holes all over the top of the cake using a fork or toothpick. Carefully pour about 1/2 the glaze over the tops and the sizes of the cake. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours or overnight.

Cover the remaining glaze and keep at room temperature. About a half hour before you're ready to serve, pour the remaining glaze over the cake.

Peppermint Fudge

I got not one, but two requests for this recipe. The mint fudge recipe I’ve used before calls for cooking the chocolate, which I think leads to a harder, more bitter fudge. This is smooth and has a much lighter consistency.

Here’s the funny thing. The recipe calls for round peppermint candies (Everyday Foods always goes the anonymous route on naming candies), so I picked up York Peppermint Patties because that’s where my mind went automatically. It wasn’t until I turned the page over to make a copy that I realized they meant Starlight mints. You can decide (heck, you can even use Junior Mints), but I’m sticking with Yorks.

Peppermint Fudge
Nonstick spray
2 ¼ C (16 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
1 C round peppermint candies, plus more for garnish
¾ C heavy cream
3 ½ C mini marshmallows
5 T unsalted butter
1 ¼ C sugar
1 t coarse salt

Lightly coat 8 or 9 inch square baking pan with nonstick spray. Line pan with two pieces parchment paper in both directions, leaving a 2 inch overhang on all sides.

Place chocolate chips in a bowl. In food processor, pulse candies until finely chopped. In medium saucepan, combine candies, cream, marshmallows, butter, sugar and salt over medium high. Whisk until smooth, 5-8 minutes.

Pour mixture through strainer (not necessary with Yorks) into bowl with chocolates. Let stand 1 minute, then stir until smooth. Pour into baking pan and refrigerate until set, about 3 hours. I place my garnish Yorks on about halfway through. Cut into squares.

Stores covered and refrigerated for 1 week.

Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies

The better-for-you chocolate chip cookies! I made these last night using a recipe from Slice of Feist via the Crepes of Wrath, which had been adapted from the Chicago Sun Times. You follow?

Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil


• 3/4 cup granulated sugar


• 3/4 cup brown sugar


• 2 eggs


• 2 1/4 cup flour (I used about 2 cups white flour and 1/4 cup whole wheat flour)


• 1 teaspoon vanilla


• 1 teaspoon salt


• 1 teaspoon baking soda


• 1 cup chocolate chips


• A dash of milk, approximately 1 tablespoon
  

Instructions

Combine sugars and oil. Add eggs. Add vanilla and remaining dry ingredients. Add milk. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes at 375 degrees.

Notes: I was afraid these would taste like olive oil, but they didn't! The cookies were chewy and tasty and heart healthy (well, at least a little healthier than the butter/margarine/shortening variety). This will probably become my go-to option for chocolate chip cookies because now I can eat more with less guilt.

Holiday Blondies

I made these Holiday (Halloween) blondies over the weekend and they were a big hit. What I liked most was a) the recipe called for melted butter b) it called for an 8 x 8 pan, which was the right amount for the gathering since we had other treats. I got asked if there was peanut butter in them because they were very creamy and slightly nutty.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus more, room temperature, for pan
1 cup packed light-brown sugar (I used dark brown because that's what I had)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
1/4 cup each orange, yellow, and brown candy-coated chocolates (from a 12.6-ounce bag)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush an 8-inch square baking pan with butter; line pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Butter paper. (I skipped the parchment and sprayed with cooking spray)

In a large bowl, whisk together butter and sugars until smooth. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Add flour and salt; stir just until moistened. Transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth top. Arrange candies in 12 rows (2 rows per color, repeating once) on top of dough. (I used the monster mix and did a circular pattern)

Bake until top of cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. (Mine was done in 30 minutes) Set pan on a wire rack and let cool completely.

Photo and recipe from Martha Stewart.

Far Too Easy Treasure Brownie Cakes

This is no earth shattering recipe by any means, but they were tasty.

Treasure Brownie Cakes

1. Mix up brownies. I used the Betty Crocker mix, you could make your own
2. Butter muffin tin, including around the edges
3. Scoop in 1/4 cup or less of brownie mix, place candy on top, then cover with more brownie batter
4. Bake for 20-30 minutes, depending on your oven and the candy

I used York peppermint patties (which explode) and Rolos (which sink to the bottom). Both were good and made for completely different tastes. Others to try: Hershey kisses, Reese's peanut butter cups, caramels, chocolate chips or Andes mints.

What I liked best (besides the taste) was ease of transport. These would be good for camping or tailgating (why I made them).

Pumpkin Chocolate Dessert Cake

I made this cake for the first time yesterday and while mine came out just slightly undercooked, it was still delicious, easy and I would make again any time! It tasted like fall to me :) Also, per some other recommendations, I added 1 cup of mini chocolate chips to the recipe as well - fold in at the end. Enjoy!

"This fabulous pumpkin cake is so moist you may weep, and the creamy frosting will satisfy anyone's sweet tooth!"

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup butter
2 cups white sugar
1/3 cup applesauce
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin

Frosting:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 cup confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9 inch Bundt pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and baking soda. In a large bowl, beat together 3/4 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, applesauce, and eggs. Mix in 1/2 cup heavy cream and pumpkin. Stir into the flour mixture just until blended. Spread evenly in the prepared pan.
3. Bake 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan over a wire rack. Invert cake onto a serving plate.
4. Place the brown sugar, 1/2 cup butter, and 1/3 cup heavy cream in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil while stirring to blend until smooth. Cook until sugar is dissolved. Whisk in the confectioner's sugar, and drizzle over the cake immediately.

Oh Wow! Gooey Cookie Pie Bites

I just came across this recipe for Gooey Cookie Pie Bites. The pictures make it look delicious and there are a lot of good Fall Recipes shown on side of the page as well. I would cook each and every one of those foods! Check out the Single Serving Pie in a Jar and the Pumpkin Pie Milkshakes. Oh My!

Key Lime Pie

I grabbed this off our cooking message board at work because I just realized I have some leftover and slightly burnt sugar and spice cookies in my freezer. I'm in a cleaning out the freezer kind of mood, plus a cleaning out my e-mail folders kind of mood. This recipe is from someone who grew up in Key West, so seems promising.

Key Lime Pie
1 can condensed milk
4 egg yolks (beat until yellow), save the whites
½ cup lime juice fresh or bottled
Graham cracker crust

Beat 1 egg white stiff, fold into the condensed milk, yolks and lime juice. Bake in oven at 350 until set; about 10-15 minutes. While cooling, beat the remaining egg whites and gradually add 6 tablespoons sugar and ½ teaspoon tartar to make a meringue. Top pie with meringue and place in oven until golden brown.

Thanks, Amanda!

I have been wanting to make ice cream all summer and finally made this Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato recipe found by Amanda. It was heavenly!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins

I initially wanted to make Camby's chocolate zucchini bread, but didn't have unsweetened chocolate bars on hand. Unsure how to work around that essential ingredient, I turned to Google for similar recipes...and I found this from Penzeys Spices. Very, very delicious.

(Source)

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup room temperature butter (1 stick)
  
• 1/2 Cup vegetable oil
  
• 1 3/4 Cups white sugar
  
• 2 large eggs
  
• 2 tsp. vanilla
  
• 1/2 Cup milk mixed with 1/4 tsp. white vinegar (i.e., sour milk)
  
• 2 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
  
• 4 TB. cocoa powder
  
• 1 tsp. baking soda
  
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  
• 1/2 tsp. salt
  
• 2 Cups peeled and finely grated zucchini - 3 small zucchini
  
• 1 Cup chocolate chips
  
• 1/4 Cup chopped nuts (optional)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 325°. Line 2 standard muffin pans with papers. In a large bowl, mix butter, oil and sugar until creamy. Add eggs, vanilla and sour milk. Blend well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add to the butter mixture and stir by hand to combine. Add grated zucchini and half the chocolate chips and stir well. Spoon the batter evenly into the pans, filling each paper 2/3 full. Sprinkle the other half of the chocolate chips and nuts on top and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

NOTES: I don't use cupcake papers; I just grease and flour the muffin wells. Extra chocolate chips makes these extra delicious.

Enjoy!

Slab Pie

Why I have never, in all my life, heard of a slab pie until I saw this Sour Cherry Slab Pie recipe on Smitten Kitchen. I'm not a huge cherry fan (though I love the artificial flavor), but I'm quite interested in the idea of a slab pie.

A slab pie has double the crust and filling as a regular pie. Rectangular since it is baked in jelly roll or high sided baking sheet, they are easier to transport and hold onto. Now we are onto something.

For the last few weeks I've been thinking about doubling this recipe with the frozen rhubarb and strawberries I have in my freezer.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Recipe
3 cups rhubarb stalks cut into 1/2 inch pieces (Trim outside stringy layer of large rhubarb stalks; make sure to trim away any and discard of the leaves which are poisonous; trim ends.)
1 cup strawberries, stemmed and sliced
1 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons of quick cooking tapioca
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of grated orange peel
Unbaked pastry for two-crust 9 inch pie(If making a 10 inch pie, or just want more filling, use 4.5 cups of rhubarb, 1.5 cups strawberries, and 1 1/4 cup of sugar)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix the rhubarb and the strawberries with the sugar, tapioca, salt, and orange rind. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Turn into a pastry lined pan. Top with the pastry, trim the edge, and crimp the top and bottom edges together. Cut slits in the top for the steam to escape.

Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes, reduce heat to 350°F, and bake an additional 30-40 minutes longer (40 to 50 minutes longer if doing a 10-inch pie). Cool on a rack. Serve warm or cold. If you do cool to room temperature, the juices will have more time to thicken.

Photos from Smitten Kitchen.

Double Decker Brownies

These were brought in to work for the (Jennifer and myself) head of our team's birthday. His daughter made them, and I think I snuck at least 3 of them throughout the day. I loved the butterscotch layer best.

Double Decker Brownies

CHOCOLATE LAYER
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Pinch salt
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup baking cocoa

BUTTERSCOTCH LAYER
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

FROSTING
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3 tbsp. milk
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup butterscotch chips
1 tbsp. shortening

CHOCOLATE LAYER
In a bowl, combine eggs, sugar, flour, walnuts, and salt. In another bowl, stir butter and cocoa until smooth; add to egg mixture and blend well with a wooden spoon.

Pour into a greased 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside.

BUTTERSCOTCH LAYER
Cream butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour, salt, and walnuts. Spoon over the chocolate layer.

Bake at 350˚ for 30-35 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan; cool.

FROSTING
Combine brown sugar, butter, and milk in a small saucepan; bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in confectioners’ sugar until smooth.

Quickly spread over brownies. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and shortening, stirring frequently. Drizzle over frosting.

Makes 3 dozen brownies

Rhubarb Custard Pie

This recipe is from my mother-in-law and much loved by my beloved.Rhubarb Custard Pie
3 C cut up rhubarb
2 eggs, beaten
2 T milk
1 1/2 C sugar
3 T flour
1/4 t salt
1/4 t nutmeg
1 pie shell

Combine eggs, milk, sugar, flour, salt and nutmeg. Mix with rhubarb and put in pie shell.

Topping
1/2 C butter
1/2 C brown sugar
1 C flour

Cream together and top pie shell with mixture. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 400, then for an hour back at 300 or 350. Serve with warm with vanilla ice cream and/or whip cream.

Photo from here.

Rhubarb Strawberry Cobbler

Rhubarb and Strawberry is one of my favorite fruity dessert combinations.

I made this Rhubarb Strawberry Cobbler over the weekend. It was very good but the cobbler part was definitely more like a biscuit (maybe that's what a cobbler is??) so be warned if you are going to try it and are looking for something different. It would have been even better with vanilla ice cream but alas, we're trying to be healthier....

Photo courtesy of: http://images.craveonline.com/

Spring for Lemon Thyme Bars!

I was flipping through the channels yesterday and had to stop when I saw Giada De Laurentiis making these Lemon Thyme Bars for a spring dessert. They looked super easy to make and I love that they combine lemon and thyme in a sweet combination. I will definitely be making them in the near future and love having another reason to grow fresh herbs in the summer!

Picture from here.

Whoopie Pies!

Ok, I know these aren't Irish in sticking with the theme, but just saw this on Yahoo and how good do these sound?! Like a trip down memory lane too... :)

Whoopie Pies

FOR THE CAKES:
1/4 pound (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup buttermilk

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM FILLING:
3 large egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 pound butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon sea salt.

1. For the cakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until light and creamy. In a separate bowl, whisk together the baking soda, salt, flour and cocoa. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in three parts, alternating with buttermilk, and combining well after each addition.

2. Using an ice cream scoop or a spoon, scoop out 12 1/4-cup mounds of batter and place about 6 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until tops are puffed and cakes spring back when touched, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely before filling.

3. For the buttercream filling: For best results, follow directions carefully, paying attention to required temperatures. Fill bottom half of a double boiler (or a medium saucepan) with an inch or two of water, and bring to a boil over high heat. In top half of double boiler (or a metal bowl), combine egg whites and sugar. Place over simmering water and whisk just until sugar is dissolved and temperature reaches 180 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.

4. Using a whisk attachment on a heavy-duty mixer, whisk egg whites and sugar on high until they double in volume and become thick and shiny. Continue to whisk until cool. Reduce speed to medium and begin to add butter about 1/2 tablespoon at a time, until all the butter is incorporated. Add vanilla and salt. If mixture looks curdled, continue to whisk until it is smooth. Increase speed to high and whisk for 1 more minute. Use immediately or place in an airtight container and chill for up to 3 days, whisking buttercream again before using.

5. For assembly: Using an ice cream scoop or spoon, place 1/4 cup buttercream on flat side of each of 6 cakes, spreading it to edges. Top filled half with another cake to sandwich the buttercream. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or wrap individually and freeze for up to 3 months.
Yield: 6 pies.