Foodstuffs.

no-bake strawberry cream pie

2008-06-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

Featuring peak-season berries pureed into a pudding, this easy, breezy confection takes 10 minutes to prepare (plus fridge time).

SERVES 6 TO 8

The Ingredients:

2 lbs. fresh strawberries (about 4 pints), tops removed, plus 4 strawberries, reserved
1 ¼ cups milk
¾ cup sugar
5 tbsp. cornstarch
3 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
2 ½ cups graham-cracker crumbs
10 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. confectioners' sugar

Place 2 pounds strawberries in a blender and blend on high until pureed, about 10 seconds (do in two batches if necessary). Combine milk, sugar and cornstarch in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, and whisk until dissolved. Add the strawberry puree and lemon juice. Cook on high heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture is thick and bubbling (about 7 minutes); remove from heat. Place graham-cracker crumbs in a 10" x 1 ½"-deep pie plate, drizzle with melted butter and mix until all the crumbs are moistened. With the back of a spoon, press evenly into the bottom and sides of the pie plate to form a crust. Pour strawberry filling into crust and let cool completely (about 30 minutes). Cover and refrigerate overnight. Just before serving, place heavy cream in a mixing bowl and, with an electric mixer, blend on high until stiff peaks form. Add confectioners' sugar and blend another 10 seconds. Using a spatula, spread the whipped cream over the filling. Slice reserved strawberries, add to top and serve.

Fig Crumble Bars

2008-05-11T19:09:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
Makes 20

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for pan
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
8 ounces dried Calimyrna figs (about 1 1/2 cups), stems removed
3/4 cup apple juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan; line bottom and two sides with a strip of parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang. Butter paper; set pan aside.
In a food processor, pulse together 2 cups flour and 1 cup sugar. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer half of mixture to prepared pan; with lightly floured fingers, press firmly into bottom. Set aside. Shape remaining mixture into large, moist clumps; transfer topping to a bowl, and set aside. Wipe food processor bowl clean.
Make filling: In food processor, blend figs, apple juice, lemon zest, and remaining 2 tablespoons each flour and sugar until a thick paste forms.
Using a small offset spatula or table knife, spread filling over crust. Sprinkle with topping. Bake until topping is golden brown, 60 to 65 minutes.

Transfer pan to a wire rack; let cool completely. Using paper overhang, lift crumble from pan, and transfer to a cutting board; cut into 20 bars. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days.
From:

HEART OF DARKNESS BROWNIES

2008-05-06T12:30:00.001-07:00

Wowza, I told you this cookbook could be dangerous! These really should be called Heart Will No Longer Function After Consumption Brownies. They're totally/totally insane-o, muy delicioso, and I love them to pieces.

HEART OF DARKNESS BROWNIES
from Stick, Chewy, Messy, Gooey

Recipe numero uno from my new dessert cookbook.
Click on photo for larger image.

The ingredients/tools. Melt butter + chocolate together, set aside to cool. Beat up 6 eggs (only after I broke them all did I realize I should have split the recipe in half). Add the sugars + vanilla extract. Add chocolate mixture to egg mixture. Sift in flour + salt. Mix it all up and stir in fixings of choice.

We didn't have snickers and other nut allergies led to the chocolate chip exclusivity. Bake for 20min and throw on a few marshmallows for 2min. Drizzle goodness on top and enjoy.

Some tips:

Definitely consider using cupcake liners aka baking cups. No matter how liberally I greased and floured, these suckers did not want to come out easily.
Don't overbake the marshmallows as they can get a bit tough. If you think they won't get brown enough, increase the oven temp before throwing the pan back in.
Restrict consumption to ONE brownie. They're killer.
Holly's right that 6 eggs did not make 700 brownies. It just felt like waaay too much batter in a bowl to not have a solid plan to get them outta my home as soon as they came out of the oven. I recommend creating a plan and list of people to give these to before beginning the process.

Banana Bread with Chocolate and Cinnamon Sugar

2008-05-05T13:24:00.000-07:00

HOLY COW! This bread is amazing! Totally hit the spot for a late Sunday dessert while wrapping up weekend activities and dreading the ever pervasive Monday morning return to work. We cut thick slices of it and drank super cold glasses of milk while taking in some bad TV and working on our laptops. The idea of a non-fat dessert created in an only-one-bowl-required style was incredibly appealing to me ("non-fat" read: no butter or oil added, but plenty of fat from eggs and chocolate chips). This is in no way "healthy" but is a much better way to use up those ripe bananas piling up in my freezer than the traditional bread.

Melty chocolate intertwined with just enough banana flavor and topped off with a crunchy, cinnamony crustiness? Oh goodness.

And to add to Molly's comment on frozen bananas, when defrosting, try throwing them onto a Teflon-coated frying pan or baking sheet. You'll have thawed fruit in less than an hour.

Banana Bread with Chocolate and Cinnamon Sugar
courtesy of Orangette

3 very ripe bananas (the size doesn’t much matter; medium to large works)
2 large eggs
1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

For topping:
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter or spray an 8-inch square pan.

In a medium mixing bowl, mash the bananas well with a fork or potato masher. Add the eggs, and stir well to combine. Add the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and vanilla, and stir to mix. Add ¾ cup of the chocolate chips, and stir briefly. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together the topping ingredients. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the batter in the pan, and top with the remaining ¼ cup chocolate chips.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Blondies are good for a Quickie.

2008-03-25T21:25:00.000-07:00

Quickie dessert, that is. I can't speak to the other thing your dirty/dirty minds thought of. A batch of them are in the oven as I type and I seriously can't wait 'til they're done. While I was mixing up the batter, the overwhelming smell of melted butter and brown sugar nearly did me over. Review to follow.

SIMPLE EASY BLONDIES

1/2 cup of butter, melted
1 cup of tightly packed dark brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon of baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1/3 cup of butterscotch chips (chopped walnuts and chocolate chips are equally tasty)

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter and flour an 8X8 pan. Whisk together the melted butter and sugar in a bowl.

2 Add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk.

3 Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, mix it all together. Add the butterscotch chips or other mix-ins.

4 Pour into the pan and spread evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool. Cut into squares and serve.

Makes 9 blondies.

Should I make this PB Bundt?

2008-02-06T08:20:00.000-08:00

Peanut Butter Pound Cake

Recipe from Taste of the South. Read and see more at Bake or Break.

1 cup butter, softened
1 & 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
10 ounces swirled milk chocolate and peanut butter morsels
confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 325°. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan and set aside.

Beat butter, sugars, and peanut butter at medium speed until fluffy. Add vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add to butter/sugar mixture, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Spoon batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 25 minutes, until done. If necessary, cover top of cake with aluminum foil to prevent excess browning.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Garnish, if desired.

Martha's Lamb Cupcakes - DONE! SUCCESS!

2008-01-24T22:02:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

Makes 24

Billy's Vanilla Frosting + 1/2 scraped vanilla bean (easier than her recipe for this cupcake)
24 cupcakes (used my own fave vanilla recipe)
2 ounces mini marshmallows, halved crosswise
6 full-sized marshmallows, halved lengthwise, then diagonally to create lamb ears

Directions

Frost the cupcakes.
Arrange the halved mini marshmallows around the perimeter of each plain-buttercream cupcake, in two concentric circles. Leave room for ears on the edges, and an empty circle in the center for the face. Place halved full-sized marshmallows in reserved spots for the ears. I piped pink frosting for the nose and chocolate eyes instead of bubblegum and chocolate drops that Martha called for.

AWESOME - Martha's soft chocolate chip cookies

2008-01-22T22:20:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

Makes about 2 dozen - I DOUBLED RECIPE TO MAKE IT WORTH MY WHILE

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons sour cream
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup milk-chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Beat butter and sugars with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with sour cream, and beat until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips by hand. Cover, and freeze for 10 minutes.
Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing about 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly. Bake until centers are set and cookies are pale golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes.

Made 2 dozen for my sister (freshman in college). Mailed in a care package with some cupcakes for her and the other dorm kids!

Apple Cider Doughnuts

2007-10-24T17:25:00.000-07:00

Apple Cider Doughnuts
adapted from Diana’s Desserts
serves 24

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: You will need a mini bundt baking pan with 6 or 12 cavities or a 6 or 12 cavity doughnut baking pan.

approximately 3 tbsp sugar for baking pans
hazelnut oil* for baking pans
2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp baking powder
1½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp grated nutmeg
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup apple puree
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup apple cider
1/3 cup plain yogurt
3 tbsp hazelnut oil*

ICING (optional)
1 cup icing (confectioner’s) sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp milk

*Hazelnut oil is basically oil that is pressed from hazelnuts that possesses a delicate nutty and buttery flavour. If hazelnut oil is not available, you can substitute with macadamia oil or vegetable oil.

Preheat oven to 190ºC.
Brush cavities of a mini bundt pan or doughnut pan with hazelnut oil.
Sprinkle with sugar, shaking out excess.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; set aside.
In another bowl, whisk together egg, brown sugar, apple butter, maple syrup, cider, yoghurt and hazelnut oil.
Add dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.
Divide the batter among the prepared mini bundt pan or doughnut pans, filling only about halfway up the pans.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the tops spring back when touched lightly.
Loosen edges and turn the doughnuts out onto a rack to cool.
If required, clean the pans then re-coat it with oil and sugar.
Repeat with remaining batter.

TO MAKE THE ICING
Combine the icing sugar, vanilla and 1 tbsp of milk in a small bowl.
Mix until the icing is of a drizzling consistency. If not, add more milk.
Turn over the doughnuts into the bowl of icing and dip for about 5 seconds until the tops are completely covered.
Return to wire rack to allow icing to set.

Martha's Monkey Cake - DONE! SUCCESS!

2007-09-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

Serves 10 to 12

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
3 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising), plus more for dusting
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 very ripe, large bananas, mashed (about 1 1/3 cups)
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup chopped pecans, optional
Fluffy Chocolate and Yellow Buttercreams
2 black-licorice drop candies
Black-licorice rope, for decorating

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8 1/2-inch-diameter 3-quart stainless-steel or ovenproof bowl and 1 cup of a large (1-cup capacity) muffin tin; set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and brown sugar; mix on medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to medium; mix in flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with banana mixture. Stir in pecans.
Fill prepared muffin cup three-quarters full. Transfer remaining batter to prepared baking bowl. Transfer to oven, side by side. Bake cupcake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool in tin on a wire rack. Continue baking large cake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes more (1 hour and 40 minutes total). Let cool in bowl on a wire rack 30 minutes. Invert bowl to remove cake; let cool completely.
Trim flat side of cake to be level. Trim away top of cupcake to be level. Cut cupcake in half vertically for the two monkey ears. Cut bowl cake in half horizontally to make 2 layers. Spread 3/4 cup chocolate buttercream on top of flat layer. Top with domed layer. Transfer to a cake plate. Spread a thick layer of chocolate buttercream over entire monkey head. Spread buttercream over cupcake ears. Attach ears to sides of head, top of cupcake facing forward, securing with toothpicks.
Place remaining chocolate frosting in a piping bag fitted with a small plain round tip (such as Ateco #5). Pipe dots around bottom edge of cake in a continuous line. Switch to a small multi-opening tip (such as Ateco #233); pipe hair on top of head.
Fill another piping bag fitted with a large plain round tip (such as Ateco #11) with yellow buttercream. Pipe an oval near the front base of cake. Fill in with frosting, and smooth. Place 2 small pieces of licorice rope inside for nose. Add a long piece of rope for mouth. Place licorice drops above oval for eyes. Pipe yellow half-circles in centers of ears; fill in with frosting, and smooth. Decorated cake can be refrigerated up to 3 hours.

First published: May 2006

Marbled Banana Bundt Cake

2007-09-24T20:43:00.000-07:00

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 ripe, medium bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream (low fat is fine)
1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted

Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease a 12-cup bundt pan (12-inch diameter).
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in the eggs one by one, waiting until each has been incorporated to add the next. Beat in vanilla extract and mashed bananas.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mix and stir to combine. Add in the sour cream, followed by the remaining flour mixture.
Remove 1 1/2 cups of batter into a small bowl and stir in cocoa powder.
Pour 2/3 of the plain batter into the prepared bundt pan, top with cocoa batter and spoon the rest of the plain batter on top. Run a knife through the batter gently to swirl.
Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly pressed.
Turn cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
Serve plain, or dusted with powdered sugar.

Serves 12-16.

‘Perfect’ Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2007-09-24T19:31:00.000-07:00

*Wendy Gaynor’s ‘Perfect’ Chocolate Chunk Cookies

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 cups semisweet chunks (preferably imported).

1. Place the butter in a large bowl and cream at high speed until
fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 4
minutes, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs, one
at a time, until completely mixed.

2. In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt and baking soda. Add to the
butter mixture at low speed until just combined and add vanilla
extract. Beat on medium speed, scraping bowl down, until blended. Do
not overmix.

3. Add chocolate chunks and mix till thoroughly combined. Refrigerate
batter until cold, preferably overnight.

4. Preheat a conventional oven to 350 degrees or a convection oven to
300 degrees, and line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop
heaping spoonfuls of batter 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheets
and bake, turning tray once, until golden brown around edges and soft
(but not bubbly), about 9 minutes in a convection oven or 12 in a
conventional one. Cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 36 to 72 cookies, depending on size.

*This recipe appeared in The New York Times on October 27, 2002.

This is disgusting.

2007-09-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

who would even THINK about creating this. yuk.

Recipe - Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

2007-09-23T13:59:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

Serves 16.

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
40 ounces (5 packages) cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Put butter and brown and granulated sugars into mixer bowl; mix on medium until pale and fluffy. Mix in vanilla, eggs, and yolks. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the cream. Stir in chocolate chips.
For each of the 5 layers, drop 1 level cup batter onto center of a baking sheet lined with parchment (keep unbaked dough refrigerated). Using a small offset spatula, spread into an 8-inch circle. Bake until edges are pale golden brown, about 12 minutes. Remove from oven. Use offset spatula to reshape circle. Return to oven; bake until edges are golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes more. Transfer to wire rack; let cool. Can be stored airtight up to 1 day.
Mix cream cheese and confectioners' sugar in clean mixer bowl on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Spread onto 4 cookies. Stack cookies, placing unfrosted cookie on top. Refrigerate until frosting is set, at least 20 minutes or up to 4 hours. Serve at room temperature.

First published Spring

Recipe - Stareos

2007-09-23T13:49:00.000-07:00

Stareos

Servings:

18 cookies

Ingredients:

Chocolate Shortbread
1½ cups all-purpose flour
Pinch of kosher salt
½ cup unsweetened cocoa power, sifted
8 ounces (16 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
½ cup granulated sugar
Flour for dusting

Filling

1 cup mascarpone cheese
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

To make the chocolate shortbread:
In a bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder and set aside. Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on low speed until the butter and sugar begin to incorporate, about 15 seconds. Add the dry ingredients and continue to mix until the dough comes together, about 3 minutes. It will look dry just before it comes together.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough ¼ inch thick. Using a 2-inch star cutter, cut out scraps, reroll, and continuing cutting out cookies until you have 36 cookies. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 1 inch apart. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Bake the shortbread until firm, about 35 minutes. At the midway point, switch the baking sheets between the racks and rotate them 180 degrees to ensure even baking. Let cool on the baking sheets to room temperature.

To make the filling:
In a small bowl, stir together the mascarpone, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Turn 18 of the cookies bottom-side up on a work surface. Using a table knife or small icing spatula, spread about 1 tablespoon of the filling on the bottom of each cookie. Top with remaining cookies, bottom-side down Planning Ahead The shortbread dough may be made and cut out a week in advance. Wrap tightly and refrigerate or freeze.

The cookies may be baked 2 days in advance. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. The mascarpone cream may also be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate, but bring to room temperature before assembling the sandwiches. The cookies should be assembled the day you are going to serve them and keep covered and refrigerated until serving.

whiskie bits bakeshop

2007-01-09T22:09:00.000-08:00

they deliver in the bay area. need to find an excuse to have a cupcake delivery. stat.