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- Katherine on Smores Cookie Bars: I made these just last weekend for a party – I think the adults enjoyed them more than the kids! Haha.
- Seanna Lea on Smores Cookie Bars: Gah, I just made S’mores cookies! These would have been equally perfect (and look a lot easier).
- Leonard on Sugar Cookie Bars: I agree with the above, I too tend to go with desserts without frosting, but these just may be the exception
- Mandie on Smores Cookie Bars: Whoa, that looks good. Whoa.
- Silly Mom Thoughts on Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting: you want these awesome recipes, check out the salted caramel frosting here at Nosh With Me and the Red Velvet...
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Smores Cookie Bars
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Over the last couple of years, and especially when I was out of work, I started taking after my dad and stocking up on certain items when they’re on sale. This easily explains why I have about a million bars of soap as well as a lifetime supply of Glad Press N Seal (best stuff ever!). Anyway, sometime at the beginning of summer, I noticed graham crackers and marshmallow creme on sale. Not a big fan of the creme, I bought and figured I’d use it to make fudge or something. Well, that something turned into these bars.
The original recipe calls for these to be made in an 8×8″ pan and cut into 16 bars. We have way more than 16 people at my office, so I knew this was one recipe that needed to be doubled. (You’re welcome Evan!) The bars were easy to pull together and taste incredible. I was on the fence about them the night I baked them, but the following day they won my heart. A soft, chewy cookie, a layer of chocolate, a layer of marshmallow, and topped with another cookie.
Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 (1.55 oz. each) milk chocolate candy bars
1 cup marshmallow creme
Preparation
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 8-inch square baking pan.
Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Press half of dough into prepared pan.
Arrange chocolate bars over dough, breaking as needed to fit. Spread with marshmallow creme. Patch together pieces of remaining dough over marshmallow; carefully press to form a layer.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.
Recipe adapted from Hershey’s.
Sugar Cookie Bars
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Did you know last Friday was Sugar Cookie Day? Neither did I, until Thursday afternoon when two coworkers hinted at it. (This is what happens when you’re the coworker with the baking blog.) Not wanting to let anyone down, and always up for trying a new recipe on willing guinea pigs, I decided this was the perfect opportunity to test the sugar cookie bar recipe I’ve had bookmarked for a few months.
I love sugar cookies, but they’re a pain–you have to roll the dough, cut the shapes, then frost each individual cookie. That is why sugar cookie bars are such a brilliant thing! No rolling or shape cutting–simply put the dough on a cookie sheet, bake it, then frost and slice the giant cookie. Simple!
Flavor-wise, I really like the cookie. The frosting was not my favorite (I like a glaze or cream cheese frosting on sugar cookies), but it was a HUGE hit at work, so it may be best to ignore my opinion. My coworkers especially liked the cookie to frosting ratio, which was about 50-50. Overall, these were a tremendous success and I would definitely use this recipe again.
Cookie Ingredients
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Cookie Preparation
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 13 x 18 inch sheet pan and line with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixture, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes on medium high. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each. Add the vanilla. Add the flour mixture in 2 addition, mixing until just combined.
Press the cookie dough into the sheet pan, using a greased spatula or parchment paper to spread it evenly. Bake for 10-15 minutes until lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool completely.
Frosting Ingredients
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
4 cups confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4-5 tablespoons milk
Pinch of salt
Frosting Preparation
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the shortening and butter until combined and smooth. Add the vanilla and salt and mix until combined. Add the confectioners sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Cream together on medium high for about a minute. Add the milk 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing until smooth.
Spread onto cooled cookies. Slice into bars and serve.
Recipe from And Now for Something Completely Delicious.
Malted Milk Cookie Tart
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As soon as I saw this recipe I ripped it out of the magazine and stuck it on my fridge. I knew I would love it, and not only because it has a tart shell, chocolate, and malted milk balls, but also because it can be made using only one 1/2-cup measuring cup. I hate doing dishes and love recipes that are simple like that. And yes, I am a dork.
I should also mention that I had a really hard time finding malted milk powder in Los Angeles. After calling all of the major grocery store chains in the city, I finally found the Carnation brand at Gelsons, a more upscale chain. Weird and annoying.
Fortunately, this tart was well worth the time it took to find the malted milk powder. It was super easy to pull together (in fact, I made a second one which I baked in a disposable pie tin), and it tastes amazing. The shell is chewy, not overly sweet, and has a hint of salt, and is the perfect match to the chocolate and malted milk balls on top.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup malted milk powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon (scant) coarse kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, room temperature
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (about 3 ounces; do not exceed 61% cacao)*
1/2 cup malted milk balls, coarsely chopped
Photos of the process.
Preparation
Preheat oven to 325°F. In processor, pulse flour, malted milk powder, sugar, and coarse salt. Add butter; pulse until moist clumps form. Transfer dough to work surface; gather into ball. Press evenly onto bottom of 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom.
Bake crust until evenly golden brown, about 45 minutes. (Mine was done somewhere around 35-40 minutes. Set the timer for a shorter time and check it regularly.) Scatter chocolate chips over; let stand 5 minutes to soften, then spread melted chocolate over hot crust in well that forms as center sinks. Sprinkle malted milk balls over. Cool completely. Remove tart from pan; cut into wedges.
*Don’t tell anyone, but I didn’t have enough bittersweet so I used some semi-sweet. Shhh.
Recipe from page 50 of July 2010 issue of Bon Appetit.
Lemon Bars
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I’ve always loved the look of lemon bars, but the taste, eh, not so much. Whenever lemon bars are on a platter I admire their beauty but always pass on them. In fact, I don’t think I’ve even had a bite of a lemon bar since I was a kid. So when I found myself with a few extra lemons after making lemon cakes for my dentist (I know, the irony), I thought I’d give lemon bars another try. I remembered my friend Jami had mentioned her killer lemon bars before so I asked for her recipe.
When I brought these bars into work I put a note on the container that said “Ugly Lemon Bars” because I wasn’t happy with the look of the sliced bars. I was anxious to taste them and cut them before they were completely set, thus ruining the smooth pretty look of the glaze. Yes, these bars are glazed rather than sprinkled with powdered sugar, which is a plus in my book. I hate powdered sugar on things. Not only does it get all over the place, there is no way to neatly bite into anything with a powdered sugar top. Anyway, I put these bars in the kitchen at 8:00 a.m. and they were gone before noon. And all morning long people came up to me and said, “The Ugly Lemon Bars are soooo good!” There were even a couple of people who said they don’t usually like lemon bars, but they really liked these.
For the record, I still don’t like lemon bars. I’m a huge texture person when it comes to food, and the lemon bar filling I just find odd. Some people may say I am odd, but whatever.
Photos of the process.
Crust Ingredients
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
Crust Preparation
Preheat oven to 350F. Mix together the crust ingredients with a pastry blender or fork until crumbly. Press into the bottom of a 9″x13″ pan. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until crust is light golden brown.
While crust is baking, prepare filling.
Filling Ingredients
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup lemon juice
Filling Preparation
Mix together eggs, sugar, flour, and baking powder thoroughly. You can just stir it all together with a whisk. Add lemon juice and beat well. Pour over warm crust and return to oven. Bake 20-30 minutes. (Don’t let it get too brown.) Cool completely.
Glaze Ingredients
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
Glaze Preparation
Whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice to make a relatively thin glaze. Drizzle (or spread) over the bars.
Allow glaze to dry, then cut into small squares.
Yields 40-48 small lemon bars.
Recipe from Night Baking.
Bake Sales!
If you’re in the LA area and love sweets, here’s your opportunity to try some goodies from local bakers and help raise money for two great causes!
The first bake sale is organized by No Cookie Left Behind and is this Sunday, June 13 at Scoops in Hollywood from 2-5. Proceeds go to Share Our Strength, a wonderful organization that raises money to help end childhood hunger. In addition to the bake sale, there will also be raffles and a visit from the Frysmith truck in case you need some savory to go with the sweet. I’m not baking for this event as I’ll be busy making five dozen cupcakes for a friend’s baby shower, but I did participate in the last No Cookie Left Behind bake sale which was a tremendous success; I hope this one raises even more money!
The Eat My Blog bake sale, benefiting the LA Regional Food Bank, will be held on June 19 from 10-4 at Tender Greens (yum!) in West Hollywood. I am contributing chocolate cupcakes with salted caramel frosting and everyone’s favorite brown sugar cookies, so here’s your chance to try out some of my treats. If for whatever reason my baking isn’t enough of a draw, there will be 85 (!!) local bakers and bloggers contributing, including chef and KCRW “Good Food” host Evan Kleiman! Please come on down and support a great cause!
My Favorite Kitchen Things, Part 2 (GelPro mat)
I know I said I was going to talk about mixing bowls in the next part of this series, but I lied. Instead, I’m going to tell you about my love affair with my GelPro kitchen floor mat. My mom bought one for my parents’ house years ago at Bed, Bath and Beyond, and let me tell you, after baking while standing on my mom’s GelPro mat, the foam mat I bought at Target for my kitchen doesn’t even compare.
Since I’m often at my parents’ house for holidays, much of my time there is spent standing in the kitchen, and the GelPro mat is a necessity. When my parents remodeled their kitchen (double convection oven! island! huge deep sink! additional sink!), they chose stone floors which are definitely not the most comfortable floor to stand on for hours at a time. And to make matters worse, I recently developed sciatica (which I can tell you, is incredibly painful, second only to my post-tonsillectomy pain three years ago) which is aggravated by standing on hard surfaces for long periods of time. When I stand on the GelPro mat, my back and legs are happy!
So, when GelPro offered me a mat (I chose the striated style in khaki) for my own apartment, I was incredibly excited–I have 1970s ceramic tile floors which are not only ugly, but horrid to stand on. Plus, I was on my third foam mat (they get grubby and can’t be wiped clean) and was ready to do anything to avoid another doctor visit and potential MRI.
Now I can’t imagine not having the GelPro mat in my kitchen. In fact, I’m now totally spoiled and wish I had one in front of my stove too. (So what if I have a tiny galley kitchen?) In the meantime, I’m surviving by moving the mat to whichever side of the kitchen I’m currently working in. Sure beats back pain.
Wish you had a GelPro mat too? Here’s your change to win one! Because the folks at GelPro are so nice, they are giving away any 20″ x 36″ GelPro mat to one Nosh With Me reader! To enter, leave a comment telling me how you first discovered my blog, and what, if anything, you’ve made from it.
Contest ends at 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, June 13, 2010. One winner will be selected at random shortly thereafter and contacted by email. Please note this contest is only open to residents of the U.S. and Canada.
***Contest is now closed.***
Orange Sour Cream Loaf Cake
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I had good intentions. I really did. I was all set to make low(er)-sugar, low(er)-fat chocolate chip cookies from a cookbook called Eat What You Love that my best friend got me hooked on. Then I took a walk and saw the jacarandas in full bloom and cleaned out my fridge and found oranges waiting patiently to be eaten, and thought all signs point to spring (or spring baking). And once I discovered a full tub of sour cream (obviously purchased with a now-forgotten-recipe in mind, as I hate sour cream), I knew I had to make some sort of sour cream orange…thing. I googled “sour cream loaf cake” and when this gorgeous photo greeted me, I was smitten.
The original recipe called for making the batter in a food processor, but I decided early on I was doubling it and had visions of the doubled batter not fitting in the Cuisinart and ending up all over my kitchen so I opted to use my stand mixer which worked out just fine. I should also point out, this is one of those dump everything in and mix cakes, which is super nice because that way you don’t end up washing ten bowls. The recipe is similar to Ina’s Lemon Cake and Lemon Yogurt Cake because there’s a syrup that is poured and and a glaze to finish it off. And like those cakes, this one is moist and light, and the orange flavor becomes more evident after a few bites. This is one cake I will definitely be making again.
Photos of the process.
Cake Ingredients
1 cup full fat sour cream (I used light)
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
zest of 3 oranges
1 tsp real vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
½ cup extra light olive oil
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
Cake Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a loaf pan. Cut a piece of parchment paper to size and place it in the bottom of the pan.
In a food processor, process sour cream, granulated sugar, eggs, orange zest, vanilla extract, salt, olive oil, and baking powder together. Add the flour and pulse until combined, being careful not to over mix. (I used a stand mixer and it worked just fine.)
Pour the cake batter into the loaf pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Wait for 10 minutes and carefully remove to a cooling rack.
Syrup Ingredients
1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
Syrup Preparation
While the cake is cooking, add the orange juice and granulated sugar to a small sauce pan. Cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is melted and the liquid is mainly clear. About 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
Place the cooling rack on top of a piece of wax paper. Spoon the mixture over the cake. Allow the cake to finish cooling.
Glaze Ingredients
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
Glaze Preparation
Mix together powdered sugar and orange juice. Spoon glaze over the top and let the cake set up overnight before serving.
Place the cooling rack on top of a piece of wax paper. Spoon the mixture over the cake. Allow the cake to finish cooling.
Recipe adapted from The Cooking Photographer.
Oatmeal Turtle Jumbles
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There are certain recipes that get bumped up to the top of my to-bake list. When I saw this in my Google reader, I knew this was one such recipe. How could it not be?
Not only does it have chocolate and caramel, it’s made in a pan and can just be sliced. With that said, the bars are a bit time consuming–you have to unwrap caramels (I still can’t find the unwrapped baking caramels anywhere in LA!) and there is a melt on the stove step, but they’re definitely worth the fuss!
An oatmeal cookie base, gooey chocolate layer (with pecans if you don’t think, as I do, that nuts ruin everything), and oatmeal and caramel top. It really doesn’t get much better than that, does it? I think the next time I make these (trust me, there will be a next time), I’ll sprinkle some sea salt in the chocolate mixture because I’m still on my salty-sweet kick.
Photos of the process here.
Base and Topping Ingredients
6 ounces (12 TBSP or 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup purchased caramels halved
Filling Ingredients
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup pecans (I omitted these)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; coat a 9 x 13-inch baking sheet with nonstick spray.
- Cream butter and both sugars in a bowl with a mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the egg and mix to blend, followed by the flour, baking soda, and salt; mix to incorporate. Add in oats and mix on low speed until incorporated.
- Crumble 2 cups of dough over the bottom of the prepared baking sheet. Press to cover base of the pan (don’t push dough up the sides); set aside.
- Add halved caramels to remaining dough, working them in with your fingers; set aside for the topping.
- Melt chocolate chips, condensed milk, and cocoa powder together for the filling in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook until mixture is smooth, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Remove from heat and stir in the pecans and vanilla.
- Pour the filling over the dough in the pan and spread evenly. (I used an offset spatula to do this.) The layer will be fairly thin.
- Crumble dough with caramel pieces evenly over the top of the chocolate. Bake bars for 30 minutes, or until chocolate is set and topping is firm. Cool bars completely before cutting.
Recipe adapted from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody.
Cookbook Giveaway
The folks over at Snubbr, a new website that helps recommend gift ideas to people, is sponsoring a cookbook giveaway for Nosh readers. Entering is really easy–just visit Snubbr’s recommended cookbook list, choose your favorite cookbook, then come back here and leave a comment on this post with the title of the cookbook you want and why you want it. Good luck!
Contest ends at 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, May 30, 2010. One winner will be selected by Snubbr and contacted by email. Please note this contest is only open to residents of the U.S.
***Contest is now closed.***
Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
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Did I mention I got a job? I did! The company I was freelancing for hired me on permanently, so I am officially no longer funemployed. And not only do I have a regular paycheck again, I have guinea pigs again!
Which brings me to these bars. I wanted to make something that wouldn’t take a long time and didn’t involve scooping or frosting. One of my coworkers has hinted toward peanut butter and chocolate all week, so I Googled “peanut butter cookie bars” and came across these. The recipe met my requirements and was super easy to make. In fact, you could even make them with just a bowl and a wooden spoon. The bars are thin and moist, and while they’re not my favorite bar cookie ever, they’re great for those days you want to make something quick and easy.
Photos of the process here.
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 c. peanut butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. quick oats
chocolate chips to sprinkle on top
Stir together melted butter and sugars until thoroughly combined. Add egg and mix well. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla extract. Add flour, baking powder, and salt; stir to combine. Stir in oats. Press mixture into a 9×13 pan (lightly greased). Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Return to oven until golden brown and baked through, about 8-10 more minutes.
Adapted from One Ordinary Day.
Guinness Brownies
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My cousin‘s amazing band is touring the west coast right now (you should check them out!), and I wanted to make the guys some treats to have while on the road.
In addition to everyone’s favorite cookies, I wanted to to try something different, and figured this was the perfect opportunity to try out the Guinness brownie recipe everyone is always raving about around St. Patrick’s Day.
I’m happy to report the brownies with a hit with the band! They’re fudgy, rich, and full of chips, and while the Guinness gives them a distinct flavor, if I hadn’t known it was an ingredient I wouldn’t be able to figure it out. One strange part of the recipe calls for melting not only bittersweet chocolate with the butter, but white chocolate as well, something I’ve never seen before. I’m wondering what the white chocolate does to the brownies that milk or semi-sweet wouldn’t do.
Photos of the process here.
Ingredients
1 cup flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces dark bittersweet chocolate (chopped or measured chips)
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups Guinness Extra Stout beer, room temperature, no foam
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 375. Grease 9×13 pan.
- In medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder and salt until evenly combined. Set aside.
- In double boiler over low heat, melt butter, bittersweet chocolate and white chocolate chips. Stir constantly until melted. Remove from heat.
- In large bowl, beat eggs and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy; about 3 minutes. Add spoonful of egg mixture to chocolate mixture to cool it off (you don’t want to cook your eggs.) Add chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat well.
- Add flour mixture to egg mixture and beat until just combined. Whisk in beer. Pour in chocolate chips and stir to combine. Pour into prepared pan.
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes (checking for doneness starting at 25 minutes). Brownies are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let brownies cool to room temperature before cutting.
Recipe from Confabulation in the Kitchen.
Salted Brown Butter Rice Krispies Treats
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While down in San Diego at my parents’ house for Mother’s Day weekend, I happily discovered the last few Rice Krispies Treats my sister had made sitting on the kitchen counter. Knowing they weren’t going to last long, and in the mood to make something easy yet delicious, I thought it was the perfect opportunity try this adult twist on Rice Krispies Treats.
While these may look like your typical Rice Krispies Treats, they’re definitely not. Sure, they’re sweet and chewy just like the original, but when you’re least expecting it, the salt makes a very welcome appearance. And while I didn’t really notice any difference from browning the butter, I’m not complaining. These treats are yummy!
Photos of the process here.
Ingredients
4 ounces (1/4 pound or 1 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (about half a 12-ounce box)
Preparation
Butter (or coat with non-stick spray) an 8-inch square cake pan with 2-inch sides.
In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Don’t take your eyes off the pot as while you may be impatient for it to start browning, the period between the time the butter begins to take on color and the point where it burns is often less than a minute.
As soon as the butter takes on a nutty color, turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows. The residual heat from the melted butter should be enough to melt them, but if it is not, turn it back on low until the marshmallows are smooth.
Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the salt and cereal together. Quickly spread into prepared pan.
Let cool and cut into squares.
Recipe from Smitten Kitchen.
Chocolate Chip Scones
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Last week I made these cupcakes for a friend’s bridal shower and had some buttermilk leftover. Before learning I could freeze buttermilk (who knew?), I made the buttermilk cake squares (yum!), then this scone recipe showed up in my Google Reader (thanks The Food Librarian!) and boom, leftover buttermilk be gone.
I followed the drop scone directions–scoop and bake–rather than shape into a circle and cut into wedges. The scooping was easy and the scones all came out around the same size. The end result was slightly crispy on the outside and soft and moist on the inside. They weren’t as dense as the scones I’m used to, but they were definitely delicious and super easy to make.
Photos of the process here.
Ingredients
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, diced
1 teaspoon (packed) grated lemon peel (I omitted this)
3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup chilled buttermilk
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Glaze: Milk and 2 T sugar
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Line with Silpat or parchment two baking sheets.
- In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a small mixing bowl or your measuring cup, blend together buttermilk, egg yolk and vanilla. Set aside.
- Cut up cold butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture. (If you are adding the lemon zest, add here). Using your fingertips, rub in butter until the mixture is sandy or like rice grains. (Mine looked like sand, not rice grains.)
- Mix in the mini chocolate chips
- Pour buttermilk mixture over the flour mixture and mix until dough comes together. Do not overmix. Dough will be moist and soft.
- If you want to make triangle scones, gather the dough and press out on floured surface into an 8-inch round. Cut into 6 wedges.
- If you want to make drop scones, use a scooper to scoop dough onto lined baking sheets.
- Brush tops of scones with milk and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes until golden brown. (Mine took around 15 minutes.)
I got about 20 scones using a small cookie scoop.
Recipe from Bon Appétit via The Food Librarian.
Buttermilk Cake Squares
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The recipe calls these squares of deliciousness brownies; however, being the brownie expert I am, and having sampled one or two or three or a lot, I feel the need to clarify: These are not brownies, they are moist, chocolately, yummy pieces of cake topped with frosting you just plop on top of a warm pan of brownies cake. I’m guessing they were named brownies because they’re baked in a pan and cut into squares, but don’t let that fool you. These are cake squares. Yes, that is the official terminology.
Did I mention these cake squares are pretty damn good? Like, really good? Especially when they’re still warm? Well, they are. And they’re super easy to make! A few ingredients on the stove, a few in the mixing bowl (including flour and sugar together, weird, I know!), combine everything, then add in two more things. And the frosting? No need to spread and make it look pretty. It kind of glides all over the warm cake all on its own.
Photos of the process here.
Cake Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1 cup butter
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk
1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Chocolate-Buttermilk Frosting
In a medium saucepan combine 1/4 cup butter, 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, and 3 tablespoons buttermilk or sour milk. Bring mixture to boiling. Remove from heat. Add 2-1/4 cups powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on medium to high speed until smooth. If desired, stir in 3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans.
Cake Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 15x10x1-inch or a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
- In a medium saucepan combine water, butter, and cocoa powder. Bring mixture just to boiling, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add the cocoa mixture to the flour mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Add the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat for 1 minute (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared baking pan.
- Bake about 25 minutes for the 15x10x1-inch pan, about 35 minutes for the 13x9x2-inch pan, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Pour warm Chocolate-Buttermilk Frosting over the warm brownies, spreading evenly. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars.
The recipe claims to make 24 pieces, but those would be huge squares.
Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens.
Lemon Yogurt Cake
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I had some plain yogurt in my fridge that I needed to use it up, so this recipe was the perfect solution.
I wanted to bring at least one loaf into the office, so I doubled everything and made two loaves, then realized I didn’t buy enough lemons and ended up juicing an orange for the glaze, which worked out just fine. Aside from lots of prep work, the recipe was easy, albeit a little strange–I’ve never heard of folding in oil before!
The cake is good–moist, dense, and definitely very pound cake-ish. Flavor-wise, it is tart and sweet and lemony. I know people raved about this cake, but I liked Ina’s Lemon Cake recipe more. Of course, that one also has way more fat and calories, but who is keeping track, right?
Photos of the process here.
Cake Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
3 extra-large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Glaze Ingredients
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees 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 the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it’s all incorporated. 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.
Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.
When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. (I poked holes in the cake then brushed on the mixture.) Cool.
For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice and pour over the cake.
Recipe from Food Network/Ina Garten.
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