Snickerdoodle Bread

I'm back! I took a little blog vacation while we worked on some wedding details. We've been busy the past couple months meeting with photographers, DJ's, florists, etc. Now that all of the big stuff is out of the way, I hope to be better about blogging, and cooking (dinners have been pretty boring lately).

Each year I look forward to holiday baking. This year, I made Christmas cookies with a few of my students who won a holiday baking date with me at a school auction. We made sugar cookies, spritz cookies, and dipped pretzels. After 2 hours of baking with three 7 year olds I decided that was enough holiday baking for me. Then I came across a recipe on Pinterest for Snickerdoodle Bread. How could bread that tastes like a Snickerdoodle not be amazing??? Turns out it is just as amazing as it sounds plus it makes the kitchen smell awesome!

The bread isn't moldy I promise, it's just lots of cinnamon sugar goodness!

Snickerdoodle Bread
* Makes two loaves

2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 c. butter, softened
2 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 c. nonfat Greek yogurt
1 pkg Hershey's Cinnamon Chips
3 T. sugar
3 tsp cinnamon

In a stand mixer, cream butter, sugar, salt and cinnamon until fluffy. Add eggs and mix well. Add vanilla and yogurt and mix well. Add the flour and baking powder slowly and mix well. Stir in the cinnamon chips. Set aside.

Spoon batter into 2  loaf pans until about 2/3 full. Mix 3 T. sugar and 3 t. cinnamon in a bowl and sprinkle over the batter in each loaf pan (I only used about half of this mixture). Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Let cool before removing from pan.

Berry-Orange Tart with Pistachio Crust

Two years ago, my family went to Sonoma over Thanksgiving.  While on vacation, we took a cooking class at Relish Culinary Adventures. One of the recipes we made was a Fig-Orange Tart. My mom changed the recipe up a bit while I was home over Father's Day weekend and it turned out AMAZING. I loved the combination of the berries and nectarines and the pistachio crust has a ton of flavor. This looks incredibly fancy but isn't difficult and it's sure to impress family and friends at your next summer barbeque!

Tart crust before putting into the tart pan.

Tart crust before baking.

Our finished tart. How good does this look???

Berry-Orange Tart with Pistachio Crust

Crust:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/3 c. confectioner's sugar, sifted
1 tsp. freshly grated orange rind
3/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 c. blood orange olive oil (this can be found at any olive oil store or upscale market)
1/2 c. finely ground pistachios
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

Filling:
zest of one orange
1/2 fresh orange, juiced
2 T. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
6 oz. orange marmalade
1 pint blackberries
1 pint rasperries
2 thinly sliced nectarines
2/3 c. blanched almond slices

Preheat oven to 350.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter. Add 1/3 cup confectioner's sugar and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in 1 tsp. orange rind, the ground ginger, and a pinch of salt. Slowly mix in the blood orange olive oil and the chopped pistachios. Add 1 1/2 cups of flour in small batches, beating after each addition. Beat the mixture until well combined. Press the dough evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 10-inch removable bottom tart pan. Prick the tart crust a few times with a fork and bake in the middle of the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until slightly browned around the edges.

While the crust is baking, warm the orange marmalade over low heat. When the crust has been removed from the oven, spread 1/3 of the marmalade over the crust. Cover with the blueberries, raspberries, and sliced nectarines, fanning the fruit over the tart crust. Sprinkle the top of the tart with the blanched almonds and then drizzle with the remaining orange marmalade.

Bake at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes or until the top is golden. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes; remove from the tart pan, and serve warm or at room temperature.

Apple Pie with Crumb Topping

I went home a couple of weeks ago for Mother's Day. It was so nice to spend the weekend with my parents and have the chance to visit with Kansas City friends.  Before heading back to Chicago, my mom and I made an apple pie. I had been craving pie and it sounded nice to spend Mother's Day baking with my mom. We used a couple of different recipes for our apple pie and it turned out fantastic.  As soon as I boarded the plane I was kicking myself for not finding room in my carry-on for a piece of leftover pie!

This picture was taken before baking the pie.

Apple Pie with Crumb Topping

Prep/Cook Time: 1 hour

1 pie crust- I use Pillsbury but you could certainly make a homemade crust

Pie Filling:
2/3 c. sugar
2 T. flour
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
dash nutmeg
6 -8 tart apples, pared, cored, and sliced (6 cups) - I used half Gala and half Granny Smith

Crumb Topping: 
1 1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 450.

Press pie crust into a pie dish. Flute the edges. Put the sliced apples in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine the first 4 filling ingredients; stir into apples. Turn the apple mixture into the pie shell.

In a small bowl, combine the dry topping ingredients. Pour the cooled melted butter into the dry ingredients and stir until small to medium sized crumbs form. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the apples and bake at 400 for 45 to 50 minutes.

Classroom Treats

I thought I would share pictures of a couple of my latest treats for my students. I recently read Charlotte's Web to the class. After we finished the book, we had a little party to watch the movie. I made Wilbur cookies that turned out pretty stinkin' cute in my opinion! I just made basic sugar cookies, frosted them and then used marshmallows as the nose, chocolate chips for the eyes, and strawberry wafer cookies for the ears. Super easy and 100% approved by 16 1st and 2nd graders!

Last week, we celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday. We had a fun-filled day of Dr. Seuss inspired activities. At the end of the day I gave the students Thing 1 and Thing 2 cupcakes. I just made strawberry cupcakes with vanilla frosting. I really wanted to use blue cotton candy as the blue hair but I couldn't find it anywhere so blue icing worked in a pinch. The cupcakes were a huge hit as is but I'm totally keeping my eye out for blue cotton candy for next year!

Celebration Cake Balls

I have been wanting to make cake balls for the longest time. I love mini bite-sized treats, and well to be honest, anything mini (the travel section at Target makes me incredibly happy). I have thought about trying my hand at making cake balls on numerous occasions but the thought of 40 some small balls of cake and frosting sitting around and tempting me deterred me. I finally had the perfect reason to make these though, my good friend Thru is turning 30 tomorrow and I thought these would be the perfect treat to bring to her birthday party.

The below recipe makes about 20 vanilla and 20 chocolate cake balls. You could easily just make one cake. You could also use store bought frosting but I love cream cheese frosting and it's easy to make so I decided to make my own. I love the endless possibilities with these cake balls- different cake flavors, flavored candy coating, fun sprinkles, different shapes, etc. These are so fun and beyond cute!

Celebration Cake Balls

Makes about 40 cake balls
Prep/Cook Time: 2 hours (includes time to let them set)

For the cake:
1 small Jiffy Devil's Food Cake mix
1 small Jiffy Yellow Cake mix
2 eggs
1 cup water

For the icing:
1/2 stick of butter, softened
1/2 of a package of 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla
about 2 cups powdered sugar

For decorating:
2 packages of white vanilla Wilton Candy Melts (available at Michaels, Hobby Lobby, Walmart, etc)
sprinkles

In two separate bowls, make the cake mix according to directions (mix cake mix with 1 egg and 1/2 cup water). Bake both cakes according to directions. Remove from the oven when golden and let cool.

Meanwhile, prepare the cream cheese frosting in a stand mixer. Mix butter, cream cheese, vanilla and powdered sugar.

Once the cakes have cooled, cut into pieces like you would cut brownies (I didn't use the edges because they were a little brown) and put the cut cake pieces into two large mix bowls. Add about 1/2 cup of the cream cheese frosting to each bowl. Stir to combine. Roll into small balls and place on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper or parchment paper. Put the cake balls in the freezer about 30 minutes to harden.

Melt Candy Melts in two separate small bowls. I microwaved each bowl for 30 second intervals and stirred in between heating. It took about a minute and half in all. Add food color if desired. Drop a couple of cake balls into the candy coating and use a fork to remove. Shake off the excess and place back on the wax paper covered cookie sheet. Sprinkle generously with sprinkles. Once all of the cake balls have been dipped place back in the freezer for about 20 minutes to set.

Bourbon Pecan Tart

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. I love spending time with my family, eating great food and of course Black Friday shopping! After a short school week last week I headed to St. Louis where I spent my Thanksgiving break with my family. Thursday was a day full of cooking, eating, and eating some more. Instead of a classic pecan pie we used the below bourbon pecan tart recipe from Cooking Light. I have made this recipe numerous times and it never disappoints. This is super easy recipe that is perfect for any holiday (or regular day) dessert.

Bourbon Pecan Tart
** from Cooking Light

1 c. light brown sugar
3/4 c. dark corn syrup
3 T. flour
2 T. bourbon
2 T. molasses
1 T. butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 large egg white
2/3 cup pecan halves (you may want to add extra)
refridgerated pie crust
1/2 ounce bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine first 10 ingredients, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in pecans. Roll dough into a 13-inch circle; fit into a 9-inch removable-bottom tart pan coated with cooking spray. Trim excess crust using a sharp knife. Spoon pecan mixture into prepared crust. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Place chocolate in a Ziplock bag; microwave on HIGH 1 minute or until melted. Stir until smooth and cut the edge of the bag. Drizzle chocolate over tart.

Chocolate Coconut Blondies

This past weekend Brady and I spent the afternoon in the suburbs at a barbeque hosted by a former co-worker of Brady's and his wife. It was nice to get out of the city for the day, enjoy some good food, and visit with our friends but I have to say the real highlight was hanging out with their two month old triplets. Yes, I said triplets!! They were absolutely adorable and I couldn't have been more excited to have not just one, but three babies to hold!

I wanted to bring a few things to the barbeque and felt like it was the perfect excuse to bake. I came across the below recipe for Chocolate Coconut Blondies and knew that I had to give them a try. Not only did they look amazing but the Brown Eyed Baker said they tasted like Somoas, my favorite Girl Scout cookie. I thought they turned out great, I loved the combination of chocolate and coconut. Next time, I think I will add also drizzle melted caramel on top to make them taste even more like Somoas.

Picture courtesy of Brown Eyed Baker 

Chocolate Coconut Blondies
** from Brown Eyed Baker

Makes about 16 bars
Prep/Cook Time: 1 hour (includes cooling time)

1 c. all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
4 ounces unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 c. light brown sugar
1 large egg
1½ tsp vanilla extract
1 c. sweetened flaked coconut
1 c. chocolate chips

Topping:
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 8x8 square baking dish. 

In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the melted butter and brown sugar and stir until combined. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat with the mixer until combined. Slowly beat in the flour mixture and then stir in the chocolate chips and coconut.

Spoon the batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until set and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Be careful not to overbake. Let the bars cool.

Once the bars have cooled, combine the chocolate chips and butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir continuously until the chocolate is melted. Use a spoon to drizzle on the melted chocolate or spoon the chocolate into a ziplock bag, cut a small corner off, and then pipe the chocolate onto the bars.