A Christmas Tradition

These cookies are very special to me because they are the foundation of my favorite childhood memory. As a twelve year-old, I was extremely shy and quite awkward in social settings. It was a strange and lonely time for me. On top of my not having very many friends, I was sick with mononucleosis and strep throat for much of my seventh grade year. The one part of my life that was stable and sure was the relationship I had with my family. My mother became my strength and I looked up to her for everything. This is why, when she had agreed to participate in a community-wide Christmas cookie exchange and had to make 12 dozen cookies, I was honored that she would ask me to help her.

As life goes, we started the baking process at around ten p.m. the night before the exchange, and ended up baking until well into the early morning (and yes, it just so happened that this extravaganza fell upon a school night). I loved that time I had with my sweet mother to talk and laugh together. She knew how to love me better than anyone else and I am eternally grateful for her kindness towards her young, awkward daughter. She became my best friend that night and has remained that way since. These are the cookies that we made together, and no matter how many cookbooks I sift through, these will always be my favorite.

Orange Shortbread Cookies

Adapted from The Lion House cookbook

1 cup butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp (or more) grated orange rind

1 tsp orange extract

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)

1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 F. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Mix in orange rind and orange flavoring. Gradually add flour until all is incorporated. Divide dough in half; roll out to 1/4 " thickness on a floured surface. Use a circular cookie cutter to make shapes. Place cookies on baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake for 10 minutes, or until very slightly browned. Cool cookies on wire rack. Meanwhile, melt chocolate chips in microwave or in double boiler. Dip half of the cookie in chocolate and cover in chopped nuts if desired. Let harden on wax or parchment paper. Because of the high butter content in these, they will take on the flavor of any surrounding food. Make sure they are stored in a covered container. Enjoy! They are delicious! (Makes about 4 dozen)

*Note: The way my mom and I did them was a little bit different. We rolled them into 2 inch logs and flattened one side with a fork. After baking we dipped the non-flattened side in chocolate and nuts. They were very pretty.

Apple and Raisin Bread Pudding

I have never really loved bread pudding. Or Tres Leches. Or Flan. I think it has something to do with the squishy feeling in my mouth- I like things with texture and variation. That's probably why I ended up loving this bread pudding! It is full of raisins and apples to break up the soft monotony of bread with custard (although... that was pretty darn good too). I also added a simple strudel topping for added crunch on top. Altogether, a new favorite of mine! This would be awesome with ice cream or whipped cream on the side.

Apple and Raisin Bread Pudding

(Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

1 pound bread, crusts removed (I used cottage wheat)

1 Cameo or Braeburn apple, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

3 oz. raisins (2 little boxes worth) plumped in hot water for 15 min

3 large eggs

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

3 cups milk (I used skim and it turned out great)

1 Tbs molasses

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 Tbs butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut bread into 1 inch cubes and toast for 6 minutes or until crisp on top. Arrange in a buttered 13x9 inch pan and sprinkle raisins and apples on top.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs with sugar for 1 min and add spices, salt, and vanilla. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine milk and molasses. Cook until very warm to the touch, and add to the egg mixture while stirring constantly. Pour over bread in pan and let sit for 5 minutes while preparing the strudel.

Mix brown sugar, flour, and butter with your fingers until small peas form. Sprinkle over bread mixture and bake for 40 minutes or until puffy and firm to the touch. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Leesa Turns 22!

My roommate and dear friend Leesa turned 22 yesterday! Happy birthday to her. I met Leesa just two months ago, but she has quickly become one of my best friends! She's always up for a laugh and we have tons of fun hanging out in our little apartment.

Leesa is very unique in her eating habits because she was diagnosed with Celiacs disease last year. This means she can't eat gluten (which is in 99% of baked goods). She has done so well and has been a great example to me of self discipline... I don't know if I would be strong enough to do what she does.

Since it was her birthday, she needed a cake! I was really nervous about this at first because I've never baked gluten-free other than some cupcakes awhile back. Sarah and I looked and looked online for a good cake recipe, which we ended up finding on foodgawker. (Side note: if any of you love looking at pictures of beautiful food, check this site out. It's my new favorite.) The cake is really strange sounding because it is made with black beans. Yes. I know. Gross, right? WRONG! This cake didn't taste like beans at all. I am not even a fan of chocolate cake and I loved this! Please, please try it. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake

(Adapted from Healthy Indulgences)

1 can unseasoned black beans (15 oz)

5 large eggs

1 Tbs vanilla

6 Tbs unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup plus 1 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare a 9 inch round pan by greasing lightly, placing a 9 inch round of parchment paper in the bottom, greasing lightly again, and dusting with cocoa powder.

Drain and rinse beans, shake to remove excess water. Place beans, 3 of the eggs, and vanilla in a blender and puree until completely smooth. Whisk together cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda in a small bowl, set aside.

Beat butter with sugar until smooth and light in color. Add eggs one at a time, beating for one minute after each addition. Pour bean batter into egg mixture and mix until smooth. Finally, add cocoa mixture and beat on high for 1 minute. Pour into prepared pan and hit bottom of pan firmly against countertop a few times to remove any air bubbles.

Bake for 45-50 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan before inverting. This cake is best after left out for a few hours so all of the flavors can come together. We served this with slightly sweetened whipped cream, caramel sauce, and a crushed Skor bar.

Cream Puffs

Many people that I know are scared of making fancy french pastries. This is probably a valid concern when talking about puff pastry with layers of butter between each layer of thinly spread dough, but cream puffs are seriously very easy. (That can be our little secret. You can let the people you are serving think they are some intricate dessert you have labored over all day.)

Cream Puffs

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup milk

4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

4 large eggs, slightly beaten

pinch of salt

2 Tbs granulated sugar (if making sweet instead of savory cream puffs)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Bring water, milk, butter, salt, and sugar to a boil. Stir constantly until bubbles appear and add all of the flour at once. Remove from heat and stir vigorously until all of the flour is incorporated into a smooth paste. The mixture will form a ball and the sides of the pan will be clean.

Mix in eggs one at a time. It is very important that the liquid is completely absorbed before adding the next egg. Once all of the eggs are added, transfer the dough into a Ziplock gallon bag and cut the tip off to form a hole approximately 1/2 inch in diameter. Brush with milk or egg wash.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pipe 1 inch circles, leaving at least an inch between each. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown, then turn oven off and crack the door slightly. Let the puffs (Haha. I don't know what else to call them) bake for an additional 10 minutes to dry out.

For the filling, you can use vanilla ice cream, custard, or whipped cream. We did whipped cream and loved them. Just whip some heavy cream with a few Tbs. of powdered sugar and a tsp. of vanilla until stiff, then pipe into the cut shells.

Sarah Turns 21!

Let me tell you about Sarah. She LOVES sweets. (I think that is why she is so sweet... Sarah is the closest thing to perfect you will ever find.) She went to pastry school in Mexico and later worked in our college bakery making all sorts of delicious things. She knows her sugar.

This weekend marked her 21st birthday, which meant I had to find the perfect cake to serve. Since we are roommates and best friends, she's seen and tasted every type of cake I've ever made! I wanted her to have something new.

Luckily, I love to look at food blogs. It is my most productive way to waste time. This cake was found on Cookie Baker Lynn and fit perfectly for the occasion!

Lynn's Peanut Butter Cake was perfect. It is four-layer white cake with peanut butter frosting between each layer and chocolate frosting on the outside. I added peanut butter to the chocolate frosting too, (just because my mom does that whenever she makes peanut butter cups) but you can really use anything with chocolate and butter in it. Sprinkle Reece's Peanut Butter Cups on top and voila! Your cake is done. Hope you like it as much as Sarah and I did!

Peanut Butter Frosting

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/8-1/4 tsp salt (to taste)

3 cups powdered sugar

3-4 Tbs milk

Cream the peanut butter and butter together until light in color and smooth. Add vanilla and salt and mix until well incorporated. With mixer on low, add powdered sugar in a little bit at a time until too stiff to mix (or until all of it bunches up on your mixer like it did for me!) Add milk and continue with the sugar until it has all been used. Add milk and mix until frosting is smooth and spreadable.

Becca's Wedding

First off, my apologies for the poor quality on these pictures. I'm not sure why they look a little bit grainy. I really need some help when it comes to the technology department. Anyway, My cute friend Becca was married a couple of weeks ago and I was lucky enough to make her cake! Becca has a really fun and bubbly personality which was definitely reflected in the type of cake she asked for. It was made of 350 cupcakes! This idea has become really popular in the area lately. Becca's wedding colors were based off of bright gerber daisies so we had lots of oranges and pinks included in the fondant flowers. Like me, Becca does not particularly like chocolate cake so we did them all vanilla with cream cheese frosting. There was only one actual cake layer that sat atop the cupcake display so that she could still have the traditional "cutting of the cake". While cupcakes may seem simple (they did to me), this cake took SO LONG to make. See the stand they are all sitting on? It's made out of cardboard boxes that my kind mother and I measured, cut, taped, and covered in two layers of fabric. Luckily that was a one time project and I now have a cupcake tower that I can use for more weddings! Also, fondant takes forever to work with. I ended up just buying a pasta machine to make the rolling-out process go faster... but it was a great learning opportunity!

P.S. Special Thanks to my wonderful friend Breanna who helped me transport the cake and set it all up. It is quite the adventure to transport 350 frosted cupcakes on a hot August day. I couldn't have done this without her help!

Tami's Wedding Cake

WHY do I love baking so much? After pouring cup after cup of batter into pans and waiting hours for all of the layers to be done, and after getting flour and powdered sugar and cream cheese all over my clothes and hair... you would think I would be sick of cake. But I'm not! I would gladly start it all up again tomorrow morning if given the chance. Seriously. This is so funny to me but I'm glad I have found something I'm so passionate about! I can't wait to do Becca's wedding in a couple of weeks. This cake was vanilla with raspberry filling and cream cheese frosting. I loved it. Tami and I definitely have similar taste preferences when it comes to dessert. Can I tell you a secret though? This cake was flavored with vanilla, almond, and lemon. I totally messed up one of the layers and put PEPPERMINT in instead of lemon! Haha I couldn't believe it but when I tasted it afterwards it wasn't half bad, so I went with it. I'm sure some people were very confused if they were lucky enough to get one of the random minty pieces, but I actually thought it was a nice addition! Who knows... maybe I have created a new favorite. Just don't tell Tam Tam.

Tami also wanted 250 cupcakes in varying flavors to go along with her cake (she had a dessert bar for her reception), so I got to decorate all of the cupcakes on Friday with one of my best friends. Luckily I didn't have to do it all alone-- Tami's sisters and cousin offered to bake a lot of them. We had chocolate, pumpkin, oreo, vanilla, and coconut. I should have taken more pictures before the crowd showed up, but here is one:

I've never had Oreo cupcakes before so I had to just invent a random Oreo recipe. It's not hard and they turned out to be my favorite flavor!

Oreo Cupcakes

1 white cake mix

1 small box vanilla instant pudding

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup oil

4 eggs

5 Tbs cocoa powder

6-8 Oreo cookies, crushed

Mix all ingredients well. Fill cupcakes 2/3 full (I found that the perfect amount was 2 Tbs plus 1 tsp.... or one ice cream scoop in my case). Place in a 350 degree oven for 12-15 minutes or until the cupcakes spring back when lightly touched.

We served these with Oreo cream cheese frosting and a mini Oreo placed on top.