I was on the Upper West Side dog sitting (for Ice, see below) this past weekend and my baking was called upon for a bar birthday get together. I wasn’t in my own kitchen to bake, so I peeked around and came up with a stash of Hershey kisses and a box of Cocoa Krispies. I found a recipe online for Cocoa Krispy cookies and ran with it.

I’m calling these “Dirty Mikes” because

A. the birthday guy was named Mike and if you knew him you’d get it,

B. and because you could really put whatever you have laying around the kitchen in them. I think these would be interchangeable with nuts, chocolate chips, shredded coconut, crushed potato chips, maybe even Cap’n Crunch. Heck, why not.

These cookies have a really nice crunch because of the cereal addition. Nicole I’m sorry you didn’t get to eat any

*I also didn’t have my camera with me so these were all taken on my iphone 5

Look at the Camera Ice!

Anything Goes Cookies or “Dirty Mikes”

inspired by Group Recipes

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter (room temp)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1  cup Cocoa Krispies cereal (these last two ingredients you can alter depending on what you have on hand)
• 1 cup chopped chocolate chips (I only had hershey kisses so I chopped about a cup of those up)
• * you could also try adding 1 cup crushed potato chips, shredded coconut, pecans or nuts, chopped Milk Duds .. experiment deliciously!

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare cookie sheet with non-stick spray or line with parchment paper
Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add egg and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
In a separate bowl, mix flours with baking soda. Slowly add dry ingredients to butter mixture. Mix well. Using a wooden spoon, fold in cereal. Do not over mix.
Form tablespoons of mix into balls by hand and drop onto cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake about 12 minutes, until bottoms are golden brown. I cooked for about 12-14, i still wanted a little chewy, the cereal provides the crunch. Transfer to cooling rack.

People go blueberries when I bring in this bread to work. I think it’s the aspect of something with fruit in it. I used 6oz chobani plain greek yogurt but any kind will do, or sour cream even. It’s pretty flexible with what you happen to have in your fridge at the time. So buy some frozen/fresh blueberries and bake something yum!

Ingredients

as adapted from SmittenKitchen.com

1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (to toss blueberries in)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 serving plain greek yogurt (these usually come in 6oz or 7oz packages)
1 cup sugar
3 extra-large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (approximately 2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 pint blueberries, fresh or frozen (approx 2 cups)

Lemon Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Toss the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour, and fold them gently into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 (+) minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Mine took about an extra 10 minutes.

Wait till the loaf is cooled in pan, before moving to a wire rack and drizzling with lemon glaze (mix all ingredients together until smooth).

If you think my photographs are improving it’s because for my birthday (today) I was gifted a Canon Speedlite 430EX II Flash by my sous chef! Pretty nice, right!

This coffee cake is a true family classic. My mother has been making this dessert/breakfast as long as I can remember. It’s easy, pretty, and of course, delicious! When I moved into my first apartment 7 years ago, my mother put together a book of family recipes, this cake being one of them, and I’m happy today to share it with all of you!

“Before you were born, we attended tennis camp that was located at Mt. Holyoke College. They served us three meals a day in the college’s alumni housing. There was a chef that made our meals and she made this coffee cake. We asked for the recipe for this and thereafter, named it the ‘Tennis Camp Coffee Cake.’ ”

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar
½ cup butter (melted)
1 cup sour cream (you can use non-fat)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups flour

For topping (mix & hold in small bowl)

½ cup brown sugar
½ cup nuts (optional)
½ cup chocolate chips
1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 confectioners‘ sugar for dusting!

1.   Beat sugar, vanilla, butter & eggs together with electric mixer for 3 minutes.

2.   Add sour cream.

3.   Add dry ingredients and mix well.**

4.   Put ½ of batter into greased & floured bundt pan.

5.   Sprinkle ½ of topping on top of batter.

6.   Add remaining batter and then remainder of topping.

7.   Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

** You can add a little milk to dough to make it smoother. I didn’t need to do this  

I found my chocolate cookie recipe on Smitten Kitchen and my Snowflake Cookie Cutters were from William Sonoma. I don’t see them on their website anymore, but these look pretty similar. I don’t celebrate Christmas, so I find snowflakes to be pretty holiday neutral, but you could do this recipe with any shape cookie. I think round could be cute as well, and of course traditional candy cane shaped.

Happy Holidays Eaters!

Office Cookie Swap

Ingredients

Chocolate Roll-out cookies from Deb at Smitten Kitchen

3 cups all-purpose flour *plus extra for rolling.
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

Icing

3 Tbsp Meringue powder
1/3 cup warm water
2-2.5 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 tsp pure peppermint extract

candy canes for decoration (optional)

colored sugar for decoration (optional)

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Whisk dry flour, salt and baking powder in bowl and set aside. Mix butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and cocoa in mixer. Gradually add flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour.

Roll out cookie dough on floured counter. Cut into desired shapes, brushing extra deposits of flour off the top. (It does disappear once baked, though, so don’t overly fret if they go into the oven looking white.) Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 8 to 11 minutes (the former for 1/8-inch thick cookies, the latter for 1/4-inch cookies) until the edges are firm and the centers are slightly soft and puffed. I went with a little thicker and baked for exactly 11 minutes each time. Perfection!

Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Begin to prepare the icing (start with 2 cups and add more if needed). Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Beat on low til combined and then increase speed until your icing thickens. The consistency should look like marshmallow fluff. Frost cooled cookies and top with crushed candy canes and colored sugar if desired. You can also separate the frosting and use food coloring to add some hue. If you want to save frosting just make sure it’s in an air tight container. A small mason jar worked just fine for me.

Allow frosted cookies to sit and icing will harden making the cookies stack-able for easy transportation. The candy canes caused mine to stick a bit but nothing major. I added some parchment sheets to break them up.

The year I made my own puree with unused jack-o-lanterns from my Halloween party and was left with the wonderful problem of too much pumpkin. We made pumpkin chili, pumpkin mac and cheese, pumpkin pie and these pumpkin cookies. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Above Ariel scooping  out the guts to make some fresh pumpkin puree!

Pumpkin Cookies

from AllRecipes

makes 3 dozen

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (or your own homemade)
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.
4. To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners’ sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency.

When looking for ideas on how to execute these cupcakes, I didn’t find great suggestions for making the head. Some websites suggested just adding globs of frosting to build it up, but I did one better. These turkeys have a peanut butter-chocolate malt ball head with frosting covering (Thank you Dylan’s). So delicious you could eat them right up, mmmm. I wanted to use candy corn for the beak, but could not find any last year, so I made do with fondant and added food coloring. I used white fondant (you can buy at Micheals, or baking supply or make your own) for the eyes and dotted with an edible food pen. Pecan tail feathers round out the decoration.

I went with a traditional chocolate cupcake for the bottom and chocolate butter cream frosting for the top. I think a vanilla cupcake would be fine, as long as you kept chocolate frosting on top. I happen to love this particular chocolate cupcake recipe because it calls for melted chocolate over cocoa powder. Is there anything better than watching chocolate and butter melding in a pan over low heat? I didn’t think so.

I brought these to a bar, my family Thanksgiving dinner and work. They were enjoyed by all; including the one child who had a mild allergic reaction to the peanut butter malt ball. An allergy wouldn’t have stopped me from eating these either. When carrying intricate cupcakes like these I highly recommend this 2 Layer-Cupcake Carrier.

Detailed decoration diagram/photos below

Chocolate Cupcake

adapted from The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Book of Desserts recipe for Chocolate Truffle Cake

makes about 36 cupcakes (I got 34 out of my batch)

12 oz unsweetened or semi-sweet chocolate
2 sticks butter
2.5 cups water
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups flour
2 cups sugar (if using semi-sweet chocolate I subtracted 1/3 cup sugar from 2 cups)
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Prepare cupcake tins with liners and preheat oven to 325 degrees. In heavy 4 quart saucepan over low heat, heat 12 squares chocolate, 2 sticks butter, and 2.5 cups water, stirring frequently until melted and smooth. Remove from heat, cool slightly. In large bowl, with wire whisk or fork, beat eggs and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in warm chocolate mixture. To chocolate mixture, add flour, sugar, baking soda and salt; continue beating with wire whisk or fork until batter is smooth and blended.

Pour batter into cupcake liners about 3/4 full and bake 20 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire racks until cold enough to decorate.

Chocolate Frosting

2 sticks of butter  at room temperature
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1/4 cup heavy cream, add slowly by Tablespoons
2.5 cups confectioners sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Note: To melt chocolate, place in a double-boiler over simmering water on low heat for approximately 5 to 10 minutes.  Stir occasionally until completely smooth and no pieces of chocolate remain.  Remove from heat and let cool for 10-15 minutes.

MMMMMmmmm apple crisp makes my apartment smell like a yum factory. I went apple picking back in September and I’m still sitting on a bushel of apples. The other night when my boyfriend was craving something sweet I whipped up some apple crisp.

I haven’t made apple crisp since high school. It’s so easy to make I just forget all about it. It’s also not something I usually want sitting around the house because this happens (see photo above, nom nom nom).  It’s much easier to pack up a bag of cookies and send them off to work, a heavy dish of apple crisp however, not the easiest to transport via subway. Heavy dishes of apple crisp left at home can lead to excessive apple crisp eating = deliciously dangerous.

This recipe is adapted from this awesome book I grabbed at work a few years ago Mad Hungry: Feeding Men and Boys.

Ingredients

Filling

4 medium apples (granny smith are preferred but I used whatever I had from picking)

2 Tbsp white sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces

Topping

3/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup brown sugar (light or dark)

1/4 cup walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped

3 Tbsp flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

pinch of cloves

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position rack in center of oven. For the fruit filling, peel, core and cut apples into 1/2 inch wedges place in medium bowl. Toss apples with  the sugar, cinnamon and flour. Pour into a buttered 8×8 square baking dish or one of similar size. Scatter cut butter pieces on top.

Take same medium bowl as before (don’t worry about cleaning in between) and combine topping ingredients; oats, brown sugar, nuts, flour, salt and spices.  Cut in butter pieces using a pastry blender, fork or two knives to combine until crumb topping forms together. You want pea size topping clumps. Sprinkle the topping mixture over the apples in pan covering all apples. Bake on center oven rack for 40-45 minutes until the topping is dark golden and apples are bubbling. Cool slightly on wire rack and serve in bowls. Served with vanilla or cinnamon ice cream makes this an extra special treat!

Two weekends ago we packed up the car and headed up to Vermont for a super exciting event!! Details to come in future blog post. We tried to be as Vermont-y as possible. We camped, cooked over a wood fire, found a massive bottle of maple syrup and most importantly, visited the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream factory (see photographic evidence below)! I went for a tour of the factory over a decade ago and still talk about it, it’s my own personal heaven.

As a kid I read the Ben & Jerry’s Cookbook as if it was a fairytale. The story opens with the tale of two students who began their decadent empire in a renovated gas station and churned it into a worldwide sensation! After the intro, the book reveals all of the delicious ice cream recipes so any old Harry, Jane or Joanna (ME!) can make them. So far Mint Oreo is our favorite; what’s great about this recipe is you can really mix in anything. We’ve mixed in cut-up brownies. Chocolate chunks and even cake would probably work. You can no longer find Mint Oreo at B&J scoop shops or pints as it’s been renamed Mint Chocolate Cookie, but don’t worry, you can always whip up a batch at home!

Mint “Add Anything” Ice Cream

from Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book

Ingredients

Sunday mornings are for pancakes, especially lovely Sunday mornings when it’s not 98 degrees outside. Today I was finally able to use my kitchen without creating an at-home sauna sweat box. Windows open and a lovely breeze of high 70′s blowing through my apartment, I happily whipped up some Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes. My boyfriend happily gobbled them up. I mean really, who is not happy when chocolate for breakfast is on the menu?

My bf walked in when I was cooking and jokingly asked if the ratio was 2:1 on chocolate chips (2 for the pancakes 1 for my mouth). Sometimes there are advantages to being the cook.

My father is the breakfast maker in my family, and he ingrained in me this important tradition: Whenever there are chocolate chips in the batter, at least one pancake must be shaped like Mickey Mouse.

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

as adapted from Bubby’s Brunch Cookbook

*note this made a ton of pancakes.. I still have batter. I would definitely halve the recipe next time.

*secondary note. Bananas are optional. This also works as just a chocolate chip pancakes recipe.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons sugar

4 cups all-purpose flour

5 teaspoons baking powder

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups sour cream

5 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

2 1/2 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 mushy bananas (optional) I deleted a tablespoon of butter for each banana I used

—————
1. Combine the sugar, flour, baking soda and salt in large mixing bowl
2. Using wire wisk beat eggs for 2 minutes until frothy. If using bananas mash them in here. Beat in sour cream, butter, milk and vanilla.
3. Using large spoon or rubber spatula, briskly fold the egg mixture into the flour mixture until just combined, don’t over mix. The less you mix the fluffier your pancakes will be.
4. Pre-heat stove top griddle or pan to 400 degrees. It’s ready as soon as water flicked on pan sizzles. Lightly butter griddle and use ladle or measuring cup to pour batter onto griddle forming pancakes 4-5 inches. Drop chocolate chips into wet batter side of pancake. It’s ready to flip when air bubbles (approx 10) form on other side.

Rules about pancakes: The first batch of pancakes is always the worst, feed these to the boys. Also, I’m constantly adjusting the heat as it changes the longer you’re cooking. Don’t leave pancakes unattended, as they may be eaten. 

]]> http://www.simplysifted.com/2012/07/31/banana-chocolate-chip-pancakes/feed/ 1 http://www.simplysifted.com/2012/07/17/best-blueberry-muffins/ http://www.simplysifted.com/2012/07/17/best-blueberry-muffins/#comments Tue, 17 Jul 2012 15:13:03 +0000 Joanna http://www.simplysifted.com/?p=897

This is my first summer participating in a CSA; fresh veggies and fruits have been arriving every other week. This week we received 3 pints of plump blueberries so I’ve been making blueberry loaf, blueberry cake, muffins, pancakes –  blueberry everything!

The recipes from the cookbooks on my shelves have only produced lackluster muffins, so this time I googled “best blueberry muffin” and the following recipe popped up with 5,746 reviews. If it’s good enough for over 5,000 muffin eaters I thought I could spare some blueberries to test it out.

I've been getting huge bags of there every other week! YUM!

And after 40 minutes of measuring, mixing and baking…

5746 reviewers were not wrong. The muffins were pretty darn delish!

Blueberry Muffins

adapted from AllRecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour + 1 Tbs to toss with blueberries
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• zest from 1 lemon (you know my obsession with zest, I added this)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon