Happiness Project:#55: Happy Heart Cookies!

March 22, 2015 1 Comment

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Love. Friendship. Happiness. Joy. Pain. Sadness. Life. For those of you who have been following my blog, from the very first recipe post, a little over 2 years ago, you’ve seen my Heart here. My Joys. My Life. My Struggle. For everything worth meaning. And you know of the importance I place upon being able to express all of these feelings & experiences. Because I believe in the power of sharing one’s Life and one’s Heart to those who will listen. No matter how shadowed or darkened that I may be. And it’s because of you, you who support and love me through it all, that I’ve journeyed to where I am today. It’s because of YOU that I am still here. In more ways than one. And it’s because of you that I know, truly know, of the immeasurable blessings within this beautiful little life of mine.

So for you, I am thankful. From every little piece of my heart. Thank you for letting me be, me. This Happy Heart Cookie recipe is for YOU ❤

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground cinnamon

pinch of kosher salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350F. Spray a 9×10 inch glass baking dish. Then layer with parchment paper. Lightly coat (again) with (a butter & flour) spray. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, and stir for a few minutes until nicely combined.

In another large bowl, on a stand mixer (or by hand held), beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar on high until fully blended and creamy.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Blend in the vanilla extract and continue mixing for 3 to 4 minutes.

Stir in the flour mixture, in two batches, until just combined.Then throw in those chocolate chips and stir em up!

Spoon out the cookie dough into the prepared dish and evenly spread out the entire dough with either a rubber spatula or the flat of your hands.

*I prefer to use my hands with most of my cookie recipes so that I can feel the dough between my fingers. There’s something uniquely therapeutic (and magical even) about working with cookie dough within ones hands, instead of with a spatula or rolling pin. And wonderfully, beautifully messy.

Once you’ve spread out and flatted the cookie dough in the baking dish, pop it into the oven and let bake for 20-25 minutes, depending upon how firm or slightly gooey you like a chocolate chip cookie’s center. Though when it comes to cookies, any cookies, there’s never really any right or wrong way to create the perfect cookie. Right? Right!

Let cool on a wire rack for about 10-15 minutes before getting creative with your heart (or any other) shaped cookie cutters. When using your cookie cutters with this baked cookie, gently press the cutter into the giant cookie so that it doesn’t crumble or break. Gently extract each cut heart piece and serve! Or store in a favorite family cookie jar or fun container for up to 4 days.

To all of my Family, Friends and Followers, thank you for everything! ❤ ❤ ❤

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Happiness Project: #54: Birthday Candy Popcorn!

March 21, 2015 Leave a Comment

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Birthdays! HUZZAH for Birthdays! Up until I became a Mother of my beautiful 2 year old Daughter, I was always very C’est la vie about celebrating another birthday. But thanks to the love that I have with my Baby Girl, my heart has changed, in every way that matters most. Especially, when it comes to birthdays. Because, yes, mommyhood truly DOES change all.

So for my one & only Daughter’s 2nd birthday earlier this month, besides creating a Vanilla Strawberry Cake with a side of Funfetti Minnie Mouse Cupcakes, I also threw together some Candy Popcorn for all of the kiddos at her Minnie Mouse themed party. With Sprinkles. And Chocolate Chips. And maybe a little bit of white chocolate candy melts. Because movie time is always made better with popcorn AND candy, right? Right! And the best thing about this super FUN popcorn recipe? It’s quite possibly the SIMPLEST recipe that a busy parent can hope for. Which is beyond (beyond) wonderful! Believe me. I know. Oh, and did I almost forget to mention, it’s very versatile, as well? It is! Ready for some Pop-tastic (ha!) Party Food?? Look no further!

2 bags of sea salt popcorn (non-buttered!)

1 (8oz) bag of white chocolate or vanilla flavored candy melts

1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup rainbow jimmies or sprinkles

*OR add in whatever small candies that you or your kiddo(s) prefer! M&M’s? Hershey’s Kisses? Butterfinger Bars (crushed up)?You name it! Hence the versatility!*

Pop the 2 bags of popcorn according to the bagged instructions. Place the popped popcorn into a large bowl and set aside.

Heat up the candy melts in a microwave safe bowl, in two to three 20 seconds intervals, strirring in between each 20 second interval, until smooth and fully melted.

Slowly pour the melted chocolate into the bowl of popcorn. Then layer with both cups of the chocolate chips and sprinkles.

While the melted chocolate is still warm, with a rubber spatula, gently stir the chocolate and candies into the popcorn, making sure to toss the popcorn at the bottom of the bowl until fully coated.

AND serve! In all of it’s gooey, messy, joyful yumminess!

So. SO. Easy.

And perfect for every little pair of hands within your family. Or any adult child at heart ❤

“Do not regret growing old. It is a privilege denied to many.”

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Happiness Project: #53: My Baby Girl’s Favorite Strawberry Frosting!

March 14, 2015 2 Comments

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It’s official! My sassy, determined, brave, loving, beautiful Baby Girl is now TWO years old! TWO! Hence I have tears of pure joy streaming down my cheeks, as I attempt to write my heart out. Which is not always an easy thing to do, when your heart feels like it’s exploding within your chest and tears are blinding your very sight. But write I shall! Because writing, to me, is truly THAT important. For therapy, sanity and love. Most especially, for love.

Love that began with my Husband, nearly 10 years ago, and was multiplied with the Miracle of my Baby Girl. This Miracle that I reflect on and am immensely grateful for, every morning that I rise, with her smile shining down upon me, and every evening when I close my eyes, with those soft brown Toddler curls dusting my pillow. But how, how do you truly explain this type of forever Love? A love so empowering and so depthless that it becomes the very air that you breathe and beat of ones heart? In all actuality, you can’t. This kind of Love, the Love that only a Mother has, is indescribable. And like no other, in this wide, brimming world of ours. But not necessarily one that I haven’t found a way to express. With words. And recipes. Especially, in recipes.

So to honor the birth of my beautiful Daughter, two years ago, on March 8th at 10:36am, I present to you a frosting that I’ve been working on for over an entire year. This frosting that embodies so much of the beauty, sweetness and uniqueness of my mischievous two year old. My Baby Girl’s Favorite Strawberry Frosting! Who’s ready for some Love??

1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1/4 cup pureed fresh strawberries, washed, cored & diced before being pureed

2 to 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

On a stand mixer, on medium speed, whip up the softened butter for a few minutes until smooth and shiny.

Dropping the mixer speed down to a lower setting, slowly add in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until fully blended.

With the mixer still blending, add in the 1/4 cup of freshly pureed strawberries, mixing until just incorporated.

Add in up to 3 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream, depending on how thin or thick you like the texture of your frosting and beat on high speed for a few minutes, until whipped and nearly doubled in size.

And FROST. On cookies or cupcakes. Or pop in a cup or so of this yummy treat into the fridge (covered) for 15 or so minutes until cooled enough to use as a fruit dip. Yes, I DID just say that you can use this lovely, sweet frosting as a fruit dip! Because strawberries, my friends! Strawberries!

From my Heart to your kitchen & the many tummies of those you love, enjoy!

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Happiness Project#50: Funfetti Bundt Cake!

January 12, 2015 2 Comments

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I’ve been having a very difficult time recently, being alone everyday, particularly as a Mom. Before I had my Baby Girl, I loved being alone & spending more time at home than anywhere else. I was content with my husband and my books and my favorite tv shows. It was ME, then. The NOW me, though, is very (surprisingly) different than that once-comfortable house hermit. Mostly because of my Daughter. Who has changed me, in the best of ways. Thanks to her, I now understand the importance of getting both out of the house and out of my normal comfort zones. For once, I truly enjoy long walks in the sun. And going to the local zoo. And chasing birds. And riding carousels. And simply taking our time while doing whatever it is that we’re doing. Because, yes, my friends, children change EVERYTHING. Something that I am eternally thankful for.

Anyhow, even though I’ve discovered a new found appreciation for expanding my daily boundaries, up until recently, I felt perfectly at peace with it being just my Daughter & I. Going out and about and exploring the world (all over again for me) together. Even when we were traveling down south, every month, to see my older sister and her three boys, once a month seemed perfect. Until now. Now, I want to be around my sister and nephews all the time. For myself and my Baby Girl. The connections that both Ari & I have with my sister and her boys are unlike any that we have here (even with the Family that we have within our immediate area). The experience of being a Family with a child, while being with another Family with a child, or children, is incomparable to anything else. With my sister and her boys, I KNOW love. Constant, empowering, comforting love. Where we play and sing and dance and laugh and truly enjoy every moment together. Even when we’re out running multiple errands. Even when we’re saying nothing at all. So whenever that one magical week ends and my Daughter & I drive back home, I end up feeling how I am today. Sad, alone and little lost. Like a huge piece of my Heart is missing and the day is a little less bright without it. A feeling that I sometimes have for days. Which gets worse at night, when the house is quiet and everyone else is asleep. When I have nothing else to think of but memories.

So to always commemorate the memories that my Daughter and I have created with the Cooper Family, I’ve decided to share one of my favorite cake recipes. A recipe that always reminds me of my sister and her three loving, affectionate, absolutely amazing boys. All who I love and adore like no other. With one of the happiest candies ever created: sprinkles. Because how can you not see rainbow sprinkles and feel Love?

From my heart to yours, may this bright and cheerful bundt cake always bring you happiness, my friends.

For the Cake:

2-1/2 cups cake flour, sifted

2 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

2-1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract

pinch of kosher salt

4 large eggs

1 cup whole milk

1 cup rainbow sprinkles

Preheat your oven to 350F. Butter and flour 1 fluted bundt cake pan. Depending on what type of bundt pan you use, the bottom part of the cake will reflect how light or dark the cake pan is. Hence, since I used a very dark bundt pan, this particular cake ended up being quite brown on it’s bottom (shown in the above featured photo).

In a stand mixer, on medium speed, beat together the flour, sugar, oil, baking powder, vanilla extract and salt, until gently mixed throughly. Drop the mixture speed down to a slower speed and add in each egg, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Now, slowly add in the 1 cup of whole milk, using a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, once or twice to ensure that the batter doesn’t become lumpy or unmixed. Mix for 1 minute until thick and smooth.

After taking your bowl off of the stand mixer, gently fold in the 1 cup of sprinkles. Followed by pouring the funfetti batter into the well buttered & floured bundt pan.

Pop your bundt pan into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out dry. Let cool on a wire rack, still in it’s pan, for around 30 minutes to an hour until the cake is cool enough to unmold from the pan.

Now here’s where you get to be choosy. Vanilla Glaze or Dusted Sugar? Such a difficult dilemma. *wink* If you end up wanting to apply a thin vanilla glaze versus a fine dusting of powdered sugar, for the glaze you will need:

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract

In a medium sized bowl, add in all three ingredients and whisk together until you’ve reached a desired consistency. If your glaze is too thin, add more powdered sugar for thickness. If your glaze is too thick, add in a couple of tablespoons of milk to thin it out. And then, drizzle! Drizzle away!

Oh and don’t forget to sprinkle. Again. Because there’s no such thing as too many sprinkles. Not in my life =)

P.S. After creating this blog nearly 3 years ago, THIS is my 50th recipe post! Exciting!

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Happiness Project#48: Eggnog Snowflake Cookies!

December 23, 2014 Leave a Comment

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Tomorrow! Tomorrow is always that one special day of the year that I look forward to the most! Not because of bows or tags or pretty wrapping. But because I get to spend an entire 3 to 4 days with my favorite souls on earth. My Mom, my two sisters & my three awesome nephews! My Family. My Heart. We’re not one of those families who puts much weight into giving that “perfect” gift or any gifts, actually. Well, okay, with the exception of gift giving for the kids, that is. Because kids should be a little spoiled this time of year. Just a little bit, right? With us adults, though? No thanks! That’s one of the many things that I adore about my Family’s beliefs. Christmas isn’t about gifts. It’s simply about being together. For food and dancing and games and recipe adventures. When we’re finally all together, the circle is whole and my heart is complete. And there’s no happier place on earth.

So in preparation of Christmas Eve festivities, I wanted to make a special cookie that embodied so much of the joy and elation that I feel when my Family is finally all together again. And since Eggnog is my Husband’s favorite holiday drink, I started there. And ended up with pretty blue sprinkles and shimmering white cake dust. The result? Snowflake perfection. That tastes just like Christmas! And Home. And best of all? Just like Family.

For the Cookie Dough:

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

pinch of ground cinnamon

pinch of kosher salt

2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons eggnog

Snowflake Glaze:

The whites from 1 egg (only the egg whites)

White cake dust, which you can find at Michaels Craft stores or most cake decorating shops

Blue sugar crystals

Ready? Let’s get Christmasy!

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt together. Set aside.

Using the bowl on a stand mixer, or by hand held, beat the butter  and two sugars together, until light and fluffy.

Add in the egg and beat until well combined. Follow by slowly adding in the flour mixture and mixing until just incorporated.

Now, scrap down the sides and bottom of the bowl to form a rough shaped dough ball in the center of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 2 hours. Why 2 full hours? Because if the dough isn’t chilled long enough, it will be too soft to roll out and cut shapes with. Which can be very, very frustrating.

Before you’re ready to start rolling out that well chilled dough, preheat the oven to 350F and prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat baking mats.

Now to the rolling and shaping! On a cold, lightly floured work surface (preferably marble), roll up half of the cookie dough into a large ball and then firmly roll out into a 1 inch flat circle. Using whichever cookie cutter shape you like most, shape, shape, shape away! Continue to roll out & shape the remainder of the chilled dough, until you have filled up both of your cookie sheets.

*Quick Tip: Remember to lightly flour your work surface between each division of balled dough. Otherwise, the dough will stick to the work surface and become super messy to lift up.

Pop your cookies into the oven and bake for 9-10 minutes, until the edges become slightly browned. Remove from the oven and let sit on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.

Ready for the super pretty part of this recipe? Let’s go!

Crack the 1 egg, and in two small bowls, divide the egg white from the egg yolk. Using a fork, whisk up the egg white for a couple of seconds.

Using a small pastry brush, lightly coat the tops of each cookie with the egg wash. The egg wash will give your cookies a lovely subtle shine. Follow by sprinkling each cookie with a little bit of the white cake dust. Ending with an additional sprinkling of blue sugar crystals. Or whatever colored sprinkles you like. That’s what’s so wonderful about Christmas cookies! You can use whatever colored sprinkle you want and the end result will still be decisively merry and bright!

And there you have it! With a little bit of elbow grease and a whole lot of Love, you can share the very best of Holiday cheer, rolled up into one yummy treat.

From my Family to yours, Happy Holidays, my Friends! xoxo

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Happiness Project#47: S’mores Blondies!

December 17, 2014 Leave a Comment

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S’mores. EVERYONE in my family really, REALLY likes S’mores! Though LIKE perhaps, is much too small a word. Love is a more accurate description. Or single minded obsession even. Since we’re being so honest about it. And over Thanksgiving weekend, ALL they talked about was wanting S’mores. S’more. S’mores. S’mores. Even after I had slaved away creating an 8 inch Lemon Vanilla Cake for them, which also happens to be another of their favorite flavors. Pft! Lemon! So to appease this single-minded Family obsessive, I quite literally steam rolled into this new recipe. One that didn’t quite go as planned the first time around. Because, yes, my friends, there IS such a thing as TOO many marshmallows. Trust me. There is. So don’t do it. Just. Don’t.

However, coming up with a S’mores recipe even better than my previous S’mores Cookie Sliders, was no small feat. My Family expects perfection and perfection they shall have! Okay, okay, this perfection snobbery is all mine, not theirs. Not theirs in the slightest. Just another beautiful, unique thing about my Family. We’re more about Love and Togetherness verses expectation and perfection. Because perfection, as the saying goes, is boring.

Anyhow, I’m assuming, at this point, that you’d really, REALLY just like this recipe. And so it shall be.

For the Blondies:

8 tablespoons salted butter, melted

1 cup light brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of kosher salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

S’mores Topping:

2 regular sized Hershey bars, broken into pieces (approximately 1 cup)

3/4 cup mini marshmallows

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly butter or spray an 8×8 inch baking pan. Dust with flour, tapping out the excess.

By handheld or stand mixer, blend the butter and brown sugar together for a few minutes. Beat in the egg and then the vanilla. Beat until smooth. Add in the salt and then the flour, until just incorporated.

Pour into the pan, using a spatula to gently press the batter into the pan’s edges.

Set your timer for 20 minutes. Pop the Blondie batter into the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

While you’re waiting for the Blondie bottom to half bake, prep the two ingredients needed for the S’mores Topping.

Halfway through baking, at 10 minutes in the oven, pause your 20 minute timer and remove the half set Blondie batter from the oven. Lay out each broken Hershey chocolate piece on top of the Blondie, in whatever pattern you’d like, followed by gently pressing the mini marshmallows in between whatever spaces are available between the chocolate pieces.

Once you’re happy with laying on that S’mores topping, pop the pan back into oven. restart the timer and let bake for the remaining 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool throughly in the pan, on a cookie sheet, before cutting up into 12 bars. Store airtight, for up to 3 days.

So what do you think? This S’mores Blondie might not be the prettiest but as long as it tastes yummy then that’s all that really matters, right?

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Happiness Project#46: Classic Peanut Butter Cookies!

December 13, 2014 Leave a Comment

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Alright! Alright! After 3 of my friends contacted me within this past month, asking for my well-loved Peanut Butter Cookie recipe, I’ve finally decided to blog it out for them, and well, everyone else, too. Just so I can make finding it (& keeping it) much easier for everyone interested, myself included. Since we all know how crazy a Mother’s life can be during the holiday season, after all. Without the extra madness of hunting down one’s favorite recipe.

The story on this forever favorite home cookie of mine? Years and years ago, before I had gone to Pastry School, I wasn’t able to bake ANYTHING without burning it. Especially cookies. Just between you and me, I couldn’t bake a decent enough cookie to save my life. I didn’t have the patience required, at that point, to truly LEARN and FEEL the craft of baking. Because once you’ve discovered the passion for kitchen wizardry, all you really need to be truly good at it, is the patience to learn the basic baking techniques needed within any staple recipe and the importance of practice. Practice truly does make perfect. Trust me. You have no idea how many hours of the night that I’ve spent in my tiny, little kitchen, re-doing a recipe over and over and over again, until I got it just right. That’s just how it’s done, my friends.

Anyhow, after tweaking this cookie recipe 3 or 4 times, I finally got it just right. Being the super pastry snob that I am, after all. *wink* So from my kitchen to yours, (& all of those 3am baking sprees), here it is!

1/2 cup salted butter, softened at room temperature

1-1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling and sprinkling

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat your oven to 370F. Dust two baking sheets with granulated sugar or fit with a Silpat baking mat. Seriously, people, go out and buy a Silpat baking mat! It will make all of your baking experiences so much easier (& cleaner). Just do it!

In a large mixing bowl, by handheld or stand mixer, beat the butter and peanut butter on medium speed for a few minutes, until fully incorporated. Add in the granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda and baking powder and mix well. After scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl, add in the egg and vanilla extract. Slowly, beat in the flour until just incorporated. Chill your dough for 10 to 20 minutes (especially, if it’s too soft to handle), until it’s firm enough to shape. If you’re planning on using fun cookie cutters, let the dough cool in the fridge for 30 to 45 minutes so that’s it’s stiff enough to roll out evenly.

*Tip: most cookie doughs will gradually warm up when being handled for extended periods of time, so don’t hesitate to pop the dough back into the fridge to cool again between filling up each cookie sheet.

Now comes the fun part. Let’s get rolling! By hand (or small cookie scoop), roll the dough into 1-1/2 inch balls. Roll each ball gently into reserved granulated sugar until fully coated. Place up to 12 cookie balls onto each cookie sheet. Using a fork, gently flatten by making crisscross markings. Pop the cookie sheet into the oven, one sheet at a time, and bake for 8-9 minutes, until the bottoms are slightly browned. Remove from the oven and let rest on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.

Sprinkle or dust lightly with more (yes, more!) granulated sugar. Though you don’t really NEED to add more sugar. They’re quite yummy as is. I personally just really like that extra pop of sugar on top! Never said I was sensible now, did I? Ha!

There you have it, all of you cookie monsters! The best of all things classic! Happy Baking!

P.S. DO NOT consume these cookies if you’re trying to avoid yummy, sugary temptations. This cookie is NOT at all a good addition to my own Menopause diet. Trust me.

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Happiness Project #43: Peppermint Surprise Cookies!

November 8, 2014 Leave a Comment

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Huzzah! November is here and so is a rather beautiful Fall! With gold and green leaves, crisp nights and stunning moons! An absolute favorite season of mine! Despite the sad fact that I’m no longer able to withstand wearing some of my favorite fuzzy sweaters. Menopause. No fun. But even though my Fall wardrobe is suffering, my Daughter’s however is ridiculously cute! With purple birds and striped leggings and adorable animal beanies. Seriously people, if adults were able to look just as cute in clothing as Toddlers, I’m positive that this sometimes dreary world of ours would be a much merrier, happier place.

But since this is not always the case, what’s the next best thing to a guaranteed happy day? Cookies. Bright, crunchy, merry cookies! With the taste of fresh peppermint bursting upon one’s tongue. And chocolate. Because, well, chocolate. So in light of what I’m now officially dubbing “Cookie Season,” my sister found this fantastic recipe on Pinterest that was a MUST BAKE NOW kitchen adventure. In which my 20mo Baby Girl gleefully helped us with. And by “help,” I really mean by indulging in. A little too much, in this Mama’s opinion. And yes, I blame her Auntie. Anyhow, after catching both my sister and Baby Girl ecstatically stealing far too much of this cookie dough, this lovely, crunchy, fragrant cookie is what we came up with. Just like the original recipe, though with a few minor adaptations. Ready for some guaranteed holiday cheer? Here you have it!

1 box white cake mix

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

pinch of kosher salt

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon peppermint oil (or extract)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 cup crushed Oreo Cookies

1 cup crushed Peppermint candies

1/2 cup M&M’s or mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

*Optional: Can’t have chocolate? Instead of adding in Oreo cookies and M&M’s, add in 1 cup of pecan chips instead! Or drizzle with a vanilla frosting glaze. Therefore, you’ll still get that extra crunch and added bit of sweetness.

Firstly, preheat the oven to 350F. Line up two baking sheets with Silpat mats or parchment paper.

In a stand mixer (or easily by hand held), combine the cake mix, melted butter, salt, egg and both extracts. Beat at medium speed until a soft dough forms. Add in the cream cheese and mix until gently combined. With a wooden spoon, gently stir in the crushed Oreo’s, crushed Peppermint candies and M&M’s. Pop your dough into the fridge for 30-40 minutes to help the texture stiffen up a bit before rolling.

Once you’re happy with the dough’s stiffness, firmly roll the dough into 1-1/2 inch balls and place them onto your lined cookie sheets. Bake for 10-11 minutes until the cookie bottoms are slightly browned. Once removed from the oven, you’ll notice that the crushed peppermint candies have liquified and oozed out a bit from each of the cookies. With the edge of a metal spatula, gently scrape the edges back into a circular (cookie) shape. Well, unless you like a messy (but still pretty) cookie. Transfer your soft cookies onto a wire rack & let cool for a few minutes before either serving or storing (covered).

Ridiculously easy. And very festive. Oh, and let’s not forget, super Toddler friendly. Since my Daughter ended up sneaking in a good 4 or 5 of these little munchies while I wasn’t looking. Which, I do not always recommend for a 20mo Toddler, by the way. Unless, of course, you’re totally okay with watching your little one go through a rather hysterical sugar high.

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Happiness Project #38: The PERFECT Peanut Butter Brownies!

July 12, 2014 7 Comments

 

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Brownies. Let’s talk about Brownies. Brownies…perplex me. Because they’re very much like a cake yet flat, with a decisively fudgey texture. And by the way, how wonderful of a word is fudgey? It just screams summer days, languishing on the front lawn, with a scoop of half melted vanilla ice cream dripping joyfully down your fingers. Well, it does to me, anyway. Anyhow, back to the ever so elusive Brownie. I’ve been trying to create the PERFECT Brownie for well over a year now. No matter how many recipes I’ve tinkered with, nothing has just WORKED. Really? But for heavens sakes, why not, you’re wondering. The honest truth? I’m a brownie snob. In the worst way. They’re either too cake-like or too fudgey. Yet never both. And BOTH is what I want. So you can probably imagine how frustrating this year long quest of mine has been. Or ridiculous. Depending on how you see it. To make a long story short, about a month ago, I finally (FINALLY) figured it out. The PERFECT Brownie. With peanut butter, just because. And yes, I am still dancing my silly Happy-Happy-Mama Dance. Because this Brownie is THAT good. Don’t believe me? Try it. You’ll see. Ready?

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus 1/3 cup for coating pan

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of kosher salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray or butter a 9×11 inch baking pan. Or use a 12 cup muffin pan, like I did in the above photo. Sur La Table has a lovely 12 cup square muffin pan by Fat Daddio which you can find on their website. Evenly coat the buttered pan with 1/3 cup flour and tap out any excess (flour). Set aside.

In a small saucepan, over low heat, melt the chopped chocolate and butter until fully combined. Once melted, transfer to a medium sized mixing bowl and let cool slightly.

Stir the sugar and peanut butter into the melted chocolate. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating with a wooden spoon until just combined. Stir in the vanilla extract.

In another small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixer, until just combined. Pour the brownie batter into your buttered/floured pan, spreading evenly, making sure to reach into each corner.

Bake for 19-20 minutes, until a toothpick, inserted in the center of the pan, comes out clean.

Cool throughly, on a wire rack, before cutting up into 12 bars. Serve with vanilla ice cream. Or your favorite peanut butter frosting, like I did. We all know that there’s no such thing as too much chocolate with peanut butter.

And there you have it, my friends. A little bit fudgey on the inside and a little bit cakey on the outside. Perfection? I think so.

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Happiness Project #31: Merry Christmas Red Velvet Whoopie Pies!

January 12, 2014 Leave a Comment

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This year, or to be more accurate, last year, my twin sister REALLY wanted something Red Velvet for Christmas Eve, so the baker in me was undeniably all too obsessively happy to oblige! Enter the elusive Whoopie Pie. Firstly, what a rather festive, albeit somewhat silly, dessert name! Who comes up with this stuff, anyway?! Secondly, red velvet. Most of my family and close friends already know that I’ve never been a big fan of red velvet (desserts). If you’re going to give me chocolate then please just give me CHOCOLATE not COLORED chocolate. Chocolate is chocolate, right? Oh, SO wrong. Until I recently discovered a tub full of scrumptious red velvet cookies at Costco, nothing that I’ve tried has been impressive enough to replicate. But since making my family happy, makes me happy in turn, I went on a fairly exhaustive hunt for the best of red velvet dessert recipes. And was very pleased by what I found. At first, I thought about tinkering around with a red velvet cheesecake idea, yet as the hours until Christmas Eve started ticking down, I unexpectedly changed my mind. Since I still know a (surprising) number of friends & family who have never had the pleasure of tasting a Whoopie Pie before (some who have never even heard of the name), I knew it was the perfect opportunity to dapple around with one. With a twist. Why use something as simple as red food dye to color my cocoa when I could infuse it with actual red velvet flavoring instead? Which, to me, took these whoopie pies to the next level. Of yumminess. Don’t believe me? Try experimenting with both and you be the judge!

For the Pies:

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup buttermilk, well shaken

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup salted butter, softened to room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1-1/2 tablespoons red velvet flavoring (or 2 tablespoons red food coloring) *I prefer using red velvet flavoring versus red food coloring because of how much richer the taste becomes with it)

Preheat your oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with Silpat baking mats or parchment paper. You’ll need three separate bowls for this recipe, so add those to your placement of necessary kitchen tools. In bowl #1, whisk together the cocoa & baking soda. Set aside. In bowl #2, stir in the buttermilk, vanilla and red velvet flavoring until well mixed.  Set aside.

On a stand mixer, beat together the butter and brown sugar, at medium speed, until light & fluffy. Add in the egg until fully combined. After dropping your mixer speed to a lower setting, add in the flour, followed by the buttermilk mixture, in 3 separate batches. Always starting with and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl between each addition to create a smoother texture. Mix until just smooth (but do not over mix).

Now the fun and very pretty part! Using either a large cookie scoop or large spoon, drop up to 6 scoops of pie dough onto each lined cookie sheets. This will make you roughly 12 pie sides, equaling 6 fully assembled whoopie pies! Can I get a “Yum!”

Bake for 11-13 minutes. Whoopie Pies are meant to be a large, puffy type of “cookie” so don’t worry if you think that they are a bit soft once out of the oven. Cool throughly on a wire rack.

While your “cookie” pies are cooling, here’s what you’ll need for the cream cheese filling:

1 (8oz) package of cream cheese

1/2 cup unsalted butter, warmed to room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2-3 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

In a bowl on your stand mixture, add in the cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract and powdered sugar, mixing at low to medium speed until well combined and smooth. Mix in the heavy whipping cream and whip at high speed for 2-3 minutes.

Using a large spoon or large round decorating tip with a piping bag, spread a large dollop of filling onto one side of 6 of your whoopie pies. Press each 12 halves together and there you have it! 12 lovely, decadent Christmas Whoopie Pies! Your family or friends will adore these (and you for making them)!

Happy New Year and Happy Baking, my friends!

Filed Under: Baking, Dessert Treats! Tagged With: , ,
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