Gingerbread Bread

Bake-a-palooza is just around the corner, but some things - like holiday baking - just can't wait. 

Today's snow storm provided the perfect excuse to stay inside and bake.

 

Taken from The Secret Recipe Blog
Makes three mini loaves or a 9 x 9 pan

BREAD
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
2 1/2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon orange extract, optional
1 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon baking soda

FROSTING
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
2 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 inch square pan or three small loaf pans

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Stir in orange extract. Mix baking soda into applesauce and stir into creamed butter mixture.

Add flour mixture. Mix until smooth.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan (s).

Bake the 9 x 9 pan at 350 degrees F for 40 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Bake the three small loaf pans at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

FROSTING:
Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in vanilla and orange extract. Slowly beat in confectioner’s sugar.
Once the cake has cooled, evenly spread the frosting on top.  Decorate with chopped candied orange peel or candied ginger .

My Notes:
Delicious! I was originally thinking this would make a great holiday gift. I'm not so sure about that, though, because of the frosting. I guess I will just have to eat them all.

Candy Bark

. . . or what to do with your left-over Halloween candy.

In case you are not already in a candy coma or in case you just don't have the energy to make dinner tonight or in case you have lots of extra Halloween candy - I insist you try this.

Halloween Candy Bark 
Makes 1 cookie sheet

Original Source: October 2010 Bon Appetit



Prep time: 15 minutes, plus an additional 10 minutes
Cooling time: 30 minutes, plus an additional 30 minutes


1 lb bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 Butterfinger candy bars (or 8 fun size bars), roughly chopped
3 toffee candy bars (or 6 fun size bars), roughly chopped
8 Reese cups, cut into wedges
1/4 C up honey roasted peanuts
3 oz yellow, orange, and red peanut M&Ms, coarsely chopped
3 oz good quality white chocolate, finely chopped

Line a baking sheet with non-stick foil.

Place the chopped bittersweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.  Heat, stirring occasionally until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.  Pour the chocolate over the foil and smooth into a thin layer with a spatula.

Evenly sprinkle the melted chocolate with chopped candy bars, Reese cups, honey roasted peanuts, and peanut M&Ms.  Press gently to adhere the candy to the melted chocolate.  Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes.

Melt the white chocolate, again using the double boiler method, until smooth.  Drizzle over the chilled candy bark.  Return to the refrigerator and let chill again until the white chocolate is set, 30 minutes more.

Peel the sheet of chocolate away from the foil and break into irregular pieces.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and every second in between.

My Notes:
Next time, I will use regular chocolate instead of bittersweet.
Next time, I will use peanut butter M&Ms instead of peanut.
Next time, I will buy the honey roasted peanuts instead of the unsalted.
Next time, I might add some crumbled up pretzels.

Week 34: Carrot Cake (belated Easter)

I've been meaning to share this for awhile. I got distracted by the pizza, though.

Here's the cake I made for Easter. . . .

I have an incredibly complicated carrot cake recipe from my great uncle involving pineapple and raisins and coconut and shredded carrots and lots and lots of mixing. Needless to say, I was a little skeptical of this carrot cake recipe - it doesn't have hardly any ingredients. It did not, however, disappoint.

Taken from Pioneer Woman Cooks

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 50 Minutes
Servings: 12



FOR CAKE:
2 C sugar
1 C vegetable oil
4 whole eggs
2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
2 C grated carrots

FOR ICING:
1 stick regular butter, softened
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 pound powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 C pecans, chopped

Mix together the sugar, oil and eggs in a large bowl. In another bowl sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add to first mixture and combine. Then add carrots and mix well. Pour into a greased and floured pan (bundt, sheet cake, 9 x 13 pyrex) and bake until done, 25 to 50 minutes, depending on the pan you use.

(I used two circle pans. It still took close to 50 minutes to cook.)

Cool completely.

In larger bowl, cream butter and cream cheese. Add sugar and vanilla and blend, then mix in the nuts. Spread on cooled carrot cake.

I doubled the frosting recipe, ate many spoonfuls, and still had lots and lots left-over.




My notes:
This recipe is a keeper. I think it may have replaced my great-uncle's stand-by simply because it's way easier.

My mom was awfully proud of herself; she taught Luke to stick his fingers in the frosting and lick them off. Guess the cake really was irresistible.

Week 28: Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

I made the family Christmas letter the first year I dated Brad. His grandma included me and described me as "a nice Irish girl." I'm definitely not Irish (and just how nice I am is debatable), nevertheless it seems right to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

I present Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Bailey's Buttercream Icing.



Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Bailey's Buttercream Frosting
Adapted from:
Cupcakes Take the Cake
The Cupcakery
Makes 24 cupcakes

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 cups sugar
1 cup stout
3 eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract




Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two muffin tins (for 24 cupcakes) with paper liners.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, ginger, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to combine melted butter, sugar, and stout. Add the eggs, one at a time. Stir in sour cream and vanilla. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until incorporated.



Divide batter evenly into paper-lined muffin tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes, rotating pans once, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and turn onto a wire rack. Let cool completely before icing.

Chocolate Ganache

12 ounce package Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips (or milk chocolate)
1/2 cup heavy cream

Combine both ingredients in a double boiler.

Continue to mix thoroughly over boiling water until ingredients are smooth and chocolate is completely melted.

Layer this ganache on completely cooled cupcakes and allow to harden.

Bailey's Buttercream

4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. whole milk
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 (2 1/2 Tbsp. Bailey's Irish Cream)

With an electric mixer, cream the butter and salt for about 30 seconds.

Add half of the powdered sugar and the milk to the butter and beat again until combined. Scrape down the bowl.

Add the remainder of the powdered sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice. Beat until combined. Scrape down the bowl again.

Add Bailey's Irish Cream and beat on high speed for 5-6 minutes or until the frosting is fluffy.



My notes:
The cupcake batter made WAY MORE than 24 cupcakes. I stopped at 24 and threw the rest of the batter away. The ganache would have frosted 100+ cupcakes. I should definitely have only made a half batch. The frosting was just about perfect for 24 cupcakes.

The cupcakes themselves were really flavorful but a little dry. I think I may have made then too small and over-baked them.

The ganache and the Bailey's buttercream were a delicious combination.

I'd imagine these would taste great washed down with a Shamrock Shake.

Week 22: Heart Sandwich Cookie

Thought I'd share this for three reasons.
1. I don't make dessert often enough.
2. Valentine's Day is coming.
3. It's another reason to use Nutella.

Everyday Food, January / February 2010, p. 124



1/2 C old-fashioned rolled oats
1 C all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1/3 C whole-wheat flour
1/2 tsp coarse salt
3/4 C (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 C packed light-brown sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla sugar
1/2 C chocolate-hazelnut spread (aka Nutella)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread oats on a rimmed baking sheet; bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl; stir in flour and salt.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar on medium until fluffy. Add vanilla; beat to combine. Scrape down bowl.

Add oat mixture; beat until blended.

Form dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough 1/8" thick, dusting lightly with flour as needed. Cut out cookies with a 2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter; place 1/2-inch apart on two parchment-lined baking sheets.

Bake until cookies are golden around edges, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Repeat with remaining dough, chilling if too soft (re-roll and cut scraps).

Spread filling on flat side of half of the cookies; top with remaining cookies.

To store, cover and keep at room temperature, up to two days.

Makes 30 sandwich cookies.

My notes:
The final product was very tasty and really cute. There were some rough patches along the way, though. The recipe asks to chill the dough for two hours. This resulted in dough that was too chilled to even roll out. It was a big mess! And, I didn't end up with anywhere near 30 sandwich cookies - more like 15 cookies. It's also possible that I didn't roll the dough at 1/8" thick. The fact is, 1/8" is really thin, and the dough was already difficult to work with. The end results was thicker cookies which required more Nutella. And, more Nutella isn't really a problem for me.

Week 13: Cornbread Dressing with Sausage and Fall Apples

I had big plans to test-drive several different stuffing recipes in the first weeks of November and pick the perfect one to take to Thanksgiving.

It didn't exactly turn out that way.

I made one recipe; it was good. And, I decided to make a different recipe (the one listed below) the night before Thanksgiving to take to dinner. Risky, I know, but it came highly recommended.

Cornbread Dressing with Turkey Sausage and Fall Apples
From Oprah.com (recommended by my sister-in-law)
Makes 10 to 12 servings

3 Tbsp vegetable oil
12 oz ground turkey sausage
3 medium onions, chopped
2 C chopped celery
3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
9 C crumbled buttermilk cornbread (see recipe below)
2 C fresh sourdough bread cubes
2 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp fresh thyme
2 tsp fresh sage
1 tsp salt
Pepper to taste
3 C chicken broth



Warm 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage, crumble, and cook completely.



Add remaining 2 Tbsp oil to same skillet. Add onion, celery, and apples (with sausage). Saute until tender. Set mixture aside.



Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Crumble cornbread. Cut sourdough into 1-inch cubes. Place on large baking sheet. Bake 15 - 20 minutes (stirring every five minutes) or until golden and crunchy.

Note: The cornbread gets really crumbly; it doesn't hold its shape very well. Don't be surprised.



Raise oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Add bread to sausage, onion, celery, and apple mixture.



Butter a 9" x 13" x 3" pan plus a 9" x 9" baking dish. Divide dressing between dishes. Drizzle half of broth over dressing. Bake 30 minutes; remove from oven and drizzle remaining broth over dressing. Bake additional 20 to 30 minutes, or until dressing is browned on top but still moist in the center.

I broke this last step up in to two steps. I drizzled with half the broth and baked for 30 minutes. Then, I took it out of the oven and packaged it up for transport to dinner. Once there, I added remaining half of broth and baked for 20 minutes at 350. It worked out perfectly because the stuffing baked for just as long as turkey needed to cool.

Buttermilk Cornbread
** I made the cornbread the night before the stuffing. **

1 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 C flour
2 C yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 C buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
4 Tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease bottom and sides of 9-inch iron skillet with oil. Allow skillet to heat while you prepare batter.

Sift together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter.

Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir together until just blended.

Using oven mitts, remove hot skillet. Pour in batter. Bake for 25 minutes.



The verdict. . . this had a lot of flavor and was relatively easy to make. The recipe definitely made enough servings to fill up some seriously hungry dinner guests. I think I liked this one better than the Sourdough Stuffing with Sausage, Apples, and Golden Raisins. The cornbread really added some great flavor and texture.

Week 12: Sourdough Stuffing with Sausage, Apples, and Golden Raisins

Confession. I love to eat stuffing but have never made stuffing.

Okay, so that's not entirely true. The only stuffing I've made is trusty, ol' Stove Top.

But, this year one of my Thanksgiving contributions is. . . you guessed it. . . the stuffing, and I cannot bring myself to show up with a box of Stove Top. Thus, the hunt for the perfect stuffing recipe began.

Here's what I know about my stuffing preferences.
1. I prefer stuffing with meat in it
2. Adding the guts that come in the plastic bag in the turkey freaks me out
3. I don't like nuts in my stuffing

My search for the perfect recipe began at Food Network where I found a recipes from my favorite celebrity chefs:
Ina Garten
Giada De Laurentiis

Next step was an email to friends requesting recipes. Much to my delight, at least one friend confessed to never having tried anything but Stove Top, too! The email resulted in a vote for The Pioneer Woman's stuffing recipe, a top secret family recipe, and cookbook favorite.


I narrowed the search down to three and made a commitment to try all three before Thanksgiving. Stay tuned for the results.

Um, yeah. So, I did make a commitment to actually try three kinds of stuffing. But, T-day is now about a week away. I am going to be in Philadelphia instead of the comfort of my own kitchen for five of the days between now and then. The chances of me actually making three different stuffing recipes are slim - unless I eat nothing but stuffing on the days I'm home between now and Thanksgiving. And, I'm afraid if I do that I won't want to eat stuffing on Thanksgiving.

Sourdough Stuffing with Sausage, Apples, and Golden Raisins
from Bon Appetit - November 2009 (page 111)

Makes 16 servings
Preparation for about 45 minutes
Bakes for 45 minutes to 1 hour
Stands for 10 to 15 minutes

1 1 1/2-lb loaf sourdough bread
2 lbs bulk pork breakfast sausage
2 large onions, chopped (about 4 generous C)
2 C chopped celery (about 5 stalks)
4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) butter, divided
6 C 1/2-inch cubed, peeled Granny Smith apples (about 28 oz)
3/4 C golden raisins (about 4 oz)
2 tsp ground sage
2 1/2 C low-salt chicken broth
3 large eggs

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Remove crusts from bread and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 13 cups). Spread bread cubes in single layer on large rimmed baking sheet. Bake until pale golden, stirring occassionally, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer bread to very large bowl.



2. Saute sausage in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through, breaking up into small pieces with back of fork, 8 to 10 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage to bowl with bread cubes.



3. Add onions and celery to drippings in skillet; saute golden brown, about 12 minutes. Transfer to bowl with bread-sausage mixture (do not clean skillet).



4. Melt 2 Tbsp butter in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples; saute until tender, about 10 minutes. Add to bowl with bread mixture; mix in raisins.



5. Melt remaining 2 Tbsp butter in same skillet over low heat. Add 2 tsp sage; stir 30 seconds. Add sage butter to bowl with bread-sauage mixture; toss to blend. Season stuffing with salt and freshly ground black pepper.



Can do all of this one day ahead. Cover and chill.

6. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Generously butter 15 x 10 x 2-inch glass baking dish.

7. Whisk broth and eggs in medium bowl; add to stuffing and toss to mix.

8. Transfer to prepared baking dish. Bake stuffing uncovered until top is golden and crisp in spots, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes and serve.

Week 9: Spooky Cooking

My favorite kitchen helper came for a visit and some spooky cooking. We tackled two Halloween recipes.



Candy Corn Kiss Cookies
from Tasty Kitchen



1 1/2 C Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1/3 C Butter (about 5 1/2 Tbsp), Softened
1/2 C Creamy Peanut butter
3/4 C Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/8 tsp Cardamom
Granulated Sugar, For Rolling In
10 oz bag Of Hershey's Candy Corn Kisses

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in the peanut butter and then the egg and vanilla.

Add in the dry ingredients half at at a time, mixing until well-combined.

Roll the dough into balls about 1″ thick. Roll them in the granulated sugar.

Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes, and then let cool. Top each cookie with a Hershey Candy Corn Kiss! When the recipe says "then let cool," it really does mean let cool. If you put the Kisses in before the cookies are cool enough they will melt. But, be careful because if you put the Kisses in when the cookies are too cool the kisses won't stick.


Pumpkin Pie Bites
from Bakerella
Be sure to check out the recipe on Bakerella. Her little pies are much cuter than mine!

Makes 24



2 refrigerated ready-to roll pie crusts

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 C sugar
1 C canned pumpkin
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter

Optional
1/2 cup chocolate morsels
vegetable oil
re-sealable plastic bags

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Use cookie cutter to cut 12 pumpkin shapes from each pie crust. You will need to roll the dough thinner than it comes out of the box and will need to roll and re-roll and roll and re-roll the scraps to get 12 out of each crust.

Press dough shapes into a 24 cup mini muffin tray. (Make 12 at a time, alternating cups to make sure pie crusts don’t overlap each other.)

Apply egg whites from one egg to the top edges of each pie. I forgot this step.
Mix cream cheese, sugar, canned pumpkin, remaining 2 eggs, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice together until thoroughly combined.

Spoon mixture into each pumpkin-shaped pie crust.

Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Remove pies to cool and repeat with second pie crust. Place the muffin tray in the freezer to cool it quickly for re-use.

Makes 24 pies. Keep refrigerated.

To decorate, melt chocolate in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave on medium. Heat in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until melted. Add a little vegetable oil to make the chocolate more fluid. Transfer to a re-sealable plastic bag and cut the corner off. Drizzle or draw faces on pies. Natalie got really impatient, so we didn't make it to the decorating stage. We just covered the little pie with whipped cream and enjoyed.

Happy Halloween, everyone. My favorite part of Halloween is that once it's over Thanksgiving preparations can begin! I love Thanksgiving - definitely my favorite holiday.