Chewy Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Cookies

Don't these look great? One of my coworkers, Erin, is a peanut butter & chocolate lovin' addict. Seriously....she eats chocolate peanut butter out of the jar. And if it's a sweet that doesn't have chocolate on it, she'll try it out with her chocolate peanut butter or not even touch it (although she did enjoy a slice of the apple-nut jelly roll last week!). So I've finally made something that even Erin would thoroughly enjoy - at least I think.

Peanut butter and chocolate are a wonderful combination and the added oatmeal just helps you feel less guilty about eating these. See....here's me about to enjoy one.

Of course I dunked it in milk! That's the best way to eat a cookie :)

Chewy Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Cookies (Baking, Unplugged)
     Makes 2 - 2 1/2 dozen cookies, depending on size

3/4 cup oil
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
1 cup + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup raisins and/or 1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, beat the oil, water, and sugars until smooth, about 1 minute. Beat in the peanut butter until well combined. Stir in the eggs, vanilla, and salt until the dough is smooth and creamy. Stir in the flour and baking soda until almost combined. Stir in the oats and the raisins and/or chocolate chips. Let the dough stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper and drop chunks of dough (I used a small cookie scoop) onto the baking sheets, spacing at least 1 1/2" apart. Bake the cookies for 13-15 minutes, until the edges are golden and puffed in the centers, but not quite set. Don't overbake! Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Apple & Nut Jelly Roll

Wow! That word pretty much sums up this jelly roll. And doesn't it look absolutely stunning? Fresh out of the oven, the melted cinnamon, sugar, and butter were oozing out of this. Don't believe me? Take a look at this picture:

The dough and the cinnamon-sugar-butter combo made for just the right amount of sweetness. Paired with the tang of the apple and the crunchiness of the almonds, it was absolutely perfect!

I came up with this idea after trying the Cinnamon Rolls, which I wasn't too impressed with (I still think I may have messed that one up). This recipe blew me out of the water. Furthermore, instead of using my stand mixer to make the dough, I actually made the dough by hand this time. Not as bad (i.e. painful) as I though it would be. The dough also rose better than it did for the cinnamon rolls.

Now on to the recipe!

Apple-Nut Jelly Roll
     Makes 8 slices

The dough (Baking, Unplugged)

3 cups all-purpose flour (divided)
1 (1/4 oz) package fast-acting yeast
1 cup very warm water (115 degrees Fahrenheit)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
3 Tbsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt

In a medium bowl, combine half the flour with the yeast. Stir in the warm water until combined. Cover the bowl and let ferment in a warm spot in your kitchen for 30 minutes. Stir in the melted butter, sugar, and salt. Stir in the remaining flour as best you can to make a stiff, shaggy dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured wooden board and begin to knead for 10 minutes.

As you knead, sprinkle to more than 2-3 Tbsp of flour on the board to prevent the dough from sticking. Rely on the bench scraper at the beginning to fold the dough onto itself. Place the dough in a lightly buttered mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes.

The jelly roll

3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup cold butter
1 grated, peeled apple
1/2 cup chopped nuts

In a small mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Cut in the butter until crumbly.

Gently press out excess air from the risen dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured wooden board and shape into a rectangle. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mix onto the dough, spreading to within 1/8" of the edges. Top with the grated apple and nuts. Roll up the dough and place it seam side down in a jelly roll pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Refrigerate for 2-24 hours.

When ready to bake, let the pan reach room temperature while the oven is preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the jelly roll pan then turn out onto a serving platter. Serve immediately for delicious ooey-gooey goodness :)

Update: Depending on your oven, you may have to bake a little longer to ensure the middle of the roll bakes completely.

Belated Happy Valentine's Day!

I know, I know....I'm super late for Valentine's Day. But rest assured, I did make these on Valentine's.

These cute little cupcakes are pink velvet cupcakes topped with a buttercream frosting. I found this recipe on Love from the Oven, one of my favorite blogs. She had such sweet Valentine's ideas and posted ideas from other blogs as well. Of course, being that she stays on top of her blog, she currently has ideas for St. Patrick's Day. So don't wait, check out her site! But bake these cupcakes before doing so :)

Pink Velvet Cupcakes (from Love from the Oven)
     Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 cup of butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
Pink food coloring
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar.   Once light and fluffy add your pink food coloring.  Start with a small amount and increase to reach your desired shade of pink.  Blend well with butter and sugar.

Add in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add in vanilla and beat well.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.   Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the batter and beat until well combined.  Add in 1/2 of the butter milk, beat until combined, followed by another 1/3 of the dry, then the remaining buttermilk and finally the remaining dry ingredients. The batter may look a bit lumpy after buttermilk is first added, but beat well and it will combine nicely.

Fill paper lined muffin cups two-thirds full and bake at 350 degrees for approx 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Watch the cupcakes closely in the last few minutes of baking so that they do not over brown.    Allow to cool for ten minutes before removing from pan, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Buttercream recipe

1 stick of butter, softened
2 tablespoons of Crisco (you can add more butter instead of Crisco)
1 two pound bag of powdered confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla
1 teaspoon of salt
Whipping cream

Blend your butter, Crisco and vanilla together, adding in the powdered sugar and salt.   The mixture will be very dry.  Slow start adding your whipping cream, about one tablespoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency. Once you have reached the desired consistency, beat for 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy.

Wow....It's been forever

I'm sorry I haven't posted anything lately. I guess life has just been keeping me busy. I haven't had the time to bake as much as I would like to lately, but I do have a few things to post. I'll do so over the next few days so it looks like I've been busy...haha!

This was my dessert tray for Superbowl Sunday. Nothing fancy but I had to make sure we had dessert above all other food groups! So I made chocolate covered strawberries and attempted to transform them into footballs (I need a little more practice). They were so yummy - the strawberries were bright and juicy and the chocolate provided the right note to the strawberries.

The bars under the strawberries are no-bake cookies & cream bars (or if you're serving them at Christmas time, call them "lumps of coal"). No matter the name, everyone will love them... and they are super easy.

No-Bake Cookies & Cream Bars (Sweet Pea's Kitchen)
     Makes 16 bars

1 - 16 oz package of Oreos
5 cups of large marshmallows
4 Tbsp butter

Line an 8X8 inch baking pan with parchment paper letting the paper extend up two sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. Set pan aside. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse Oreos until ground. In a large, microwave safe bowl, melt butter and marshmallows in the microwave until puffed, about 1½ – 2 minutes. Stir in ground Oreo Cookies until combined. Transfer to prepared baking pan. Using a piece of wax paper, press mixture evenly into prepared pan. Let set up for at least 10 minutes. Cut into bars and serve.

These babies are chewy, moist, and chocolatey. Yum!

Kahlua Cake

Wow! This picture about sums it up. I found this recipe last week on Love & Olive Oil, except she had used bourbon in hers. However, I read the recipe and moved on with my life. Then, this week, I had to buy Kahlua to use in my Irish creme cookies. The store only had one size of Kahlua (large) and the recipe only called for a small amount. So here I was thinking, "What am I gonna do with the rest of this Kahlua?" Yes, you might say, "White Russians!" But I enjoy my wine and I wanted to do something unique with it besides drinking. After taking a little trip down memory lane, I remembered reading this recipe and thought, "This is it! I'll make this cake and substitute Kahlua for the bourbon." Yes!!!! So glad that I remembered because this cake was (is) delicious.

The cake is slightly dense, but very moist, and you occasionally hit a hot pocket of Kahlua. The ganache between the layers is spot on and the buttercream is light and fluffy. I could literally eat the whole cake (okay...maybe not the whole cake). And I'm sure you could substitute other alcohol as well....just have to try it out.

Kahlua Layer Cake (extremely slightly adapted from Love & Olive Oil)
     Makes 1 8-inch layer cake (about 16 servings depending on how big of a slice you want)

For the Cake:
1 vanilla bean split and scraped, seeds reserved
1/2 cup Kahlua
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 Tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
5 eggs, room temperature
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/4 tsp almond extract

For Buttercream:
4 ounces dark chocolate
6 ounces milk chocolate
2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

For Ganache:
4 ounces dark or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp Kahlua

Directions:
Combine the Kahlua and vanilla bean together in a small bowl. Steep overnight or as long as possible before proceeding.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and line 3 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Butter parchment.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.

Combine the sugar, butter, and reserved vanilla bean seeds in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium speed for 10 minutes, until very light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl periodically as needed. Add almond extract.

Reduce the speed to medium low and add the eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.

Add the flour mixture, one cup at a time, alternating with the buttermilk, mixing on low speed until incorporated. Immediately add the Kahlua (discarding the vanilla pod) and mix until combined.

Divide the batter among the cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned and springy. Removed from the oven and place on a wire rack until cool enough to handle. Run a small knife around the edges of the pan, then gently invert onto wire racks. Allow to cool completely. At this point, the cakes can be frozen until ready to use.

For the ganache, place chopped chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Bring the cream to a bare simmer over low heat. Pour hot cream over chocolate and stir until smooth. Add Kahlua. Set aside and allow to cool until thickened slightly. If it's too thick, you can add a little more hot cream and stir until smooth.

For the buttercream, melt chocolates in the microwave or double boiler over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter until fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add cooled chocolate and beat until smooth. Add heavy cream and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. Add more powdered sugar and/or heavy cream as necessary until desired consistency is achieved.

To assemble: level each cake with a long serrated knife. Place one layer, flat side down, on a cake stand or platter. Place 4 strips of parchment or wax paper just under the edges of the cake to keep the platter clean. Spread half of the ganache evenly over the top of the layer, followed by about 1/2 cup of buttercream. Position second layer on top and press to adhere. Repeat with remaining ganache, another 1/2 cup of buttercream, and last cake layer, flat side up. Cover the entire cake with a thin layer of buttercream and refrigerate for about 15 minutes to allow "crumb coat" to set. Remove cake from refrigerator and frost with remaining buttercream.

Enjoy! I know I did :)

So-so Cinnamon Rolls

Yes - I know my cinnamon rolls aren't that pretty. But considering this is the first time I've made any sort of dough from scratch, let alone cinnamon rolls, I think they are quite ok. The taste, however, needs improvement. There were 2 different versions of the cinnamon roll recipe in Baking Unplugged: one for if you were making cinnamon rolls immediately and one for if you wanted to start them the night before then bake them the next morning. I chose to do the overnight cinnamon roll recipe and I believe that I may have let them refrigerate for too long. They had a slightly yeasty, doughy flavor.

Oh well....maybe I'll have to make a batch of the original recipe for comparison???

To make these, you start with the following basic sweet dough recipe (Baking Unplugged, Nicole Rees):

3 cups all-purpose flour (divided)
1 - 1/4 oz package fast-acting yeast
1 cup very warm water (115 degrees F)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
3 Tbsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt

Combine half the flour with the yeast in a medium bowl. Stir in the water until well combined. Cover the bowl and let ferment for 30 minutes. Stir the melted butter, sugar, and salt into the dough. Stir in the remaining flour as best you can to make a shaggy, stiff dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured wooden board and begin to knead.

As you knead, sprinkle only tiny amounts of extra flour onto the board to prevent the dough from sticking. Rely on a bench scraper to help fold the dough over itself, since it will be sticky. Do not add more than 2-3 Tbsp of flour during the 10 minutes of kneading. Place the dough in a lightly buttered mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes.

Cinnamon Rolls (Baking Unplugged, Nicole Rees)
     Makes 9 rolls

1 recipe Basic Sweet Dough
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, soft
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Gently press out excess air from the sweet dough recipe. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured wooden board and shape into a rough rectangle. Roll into a 11" x 14" rectangle. Using an offset spatula, spread 2-3 Tbsp of the soft butter evenly over the dough to within 1/8" of the edge. Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle the mixture over the butter evenly.

Roll the dough up lengthwise, starting to roll from the long edge. Pinch the seam to seal. Roll the log on the board to that it's seam side down. With a serrated knife, gently trim 1/2" off each end. Cut the log into thirds then cut each third into three slices. Arrange the slices evenly in a buttered 9" square pan, cut-side down. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the rolls rise in a warm spot until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degree F. Bake the rolls for 24-28 minutes, until the edges and tops are browned and the rolls near the center of the pan are no longer doughy. Top with glaze.

Glaze:

3 Tbsp cream cheese, very soft
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 cup powdered sugar

In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar until no lumps remain. Spread evenly on the cinnamon rolls.

Irish Coffee Day

                                    Happy Irish Coffee Day!

Imagine my surprise when I found that every day throughout the year has a "food day" associated with it. While I can't bake something every day to celebrate, I figured I could occasionally do something. I mean....who doesn't want to celebrate and appreciate food?? After finding out that today was Irish coffee day, I decided I didn't want to do a traditional Irish coffee, but instead, bake something that contained the ingredients common to Irish coffee. Thanks to Pinterest, I found a recipe for Irish Creme Delights that were easy to make and really easy to eat :)

Irish Creme Delights (from Better Homes & Gardens)
     Makes 48 bite-sized cookies

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp coffee liqueur (I used Kahlua)
1 tsp espresso powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsps ground cinnamon
1 recipe Irish Creme Frosting (see further down)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine butter and shortening and beat on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the 1 cup sugar, coffee liqueur, espresso powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt and beat until combined. Beat in the egg and vanilla until combined. Add in the flour.

In a small bowl, combine the 1/4 cup sugar and ground cinnamon. Shape the dough into 1 inch balls and roll in the cinnamon-sugar to coat. Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and cool. Spread Irish Creme Frosting on top. If desired, sprinkle with additional cinnamon.

Irish Creme Frosting

3 Tbsp softened butter
1 Tbsp coffee liqueur
3 cups powdered sugar
1-3 Tbsp half-and-half

In a medium bowl, combine softened butter and coffee liqueur. Beat on medium to high speed until combined. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Add in enough half-and-half to make frosting easily spreadable. Top cookies and enjoy!