Day 93 - Butterscotch Cookies

Last night while I was working on the blog, I was also on Facebook. 
I love to multitask.
It's so much more productive.
Especially when you're also on social media!
One of my young friends on FB (and I say young because I am truly old enough to be her mother), Ashley, posted that she was baking.  Of course, I was curious as to what she might be baking and am now always on the lookout for new recipes, so I just had to ask.  I also told her that if they were yummy I wanted her to share and I would think about putting it on the blog. 
I really didn't think about it for very long because all day all I could think about was butterscotch cookies and how yummy she said they were.  Ashley even said that her brother, Jared, liked LOVED them and he doesn't like cookies with nuts.
So, it really was a no-brainer.
Ashley is a sweetheart and I miss her.  We used to work in retail together, and she is an extremely intelligent and beautiful woman.  She also has the most beautiful brown eyes.
I love that she loves to bake - something I didn't know about her until recently.
Thanks for sharing these with us, Ashley!  I look forward to making these again in the future.

Butterscotch Cookies

¾ cup salted butter, softened (1½ sticks)
6 oz. cream cheese, softened
¾ cup packed brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs
3 cups flour
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
1¼ cups chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350ºF.
In a mixing bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, and sugars and beat until light and fluffy.



Mix in the vanilla and baking soda.
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition.

At this point, I just wanted to jump into this batter, it was so smooth, and delicious!

Add the flour, one cup at a time, beating thoroughly after each.
Fold in the butterscotch, white chocolate chips, and nuts.
Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

These cookies were SO rich and delicious!  The cream cheese with the two different flavored chips was magical.  I made the first batch without the nuts because I have a family member who doesn't like nuts.  I tasted one of those and one from the second batch and decided I really liked the ones with the nuts the best.  I haven't finished baking all of the batter, but I'm thinking that it will probably make a total of about 48 cookies.

I rate everything I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best.  My son and daughter thought they should be given 3 rolling pins, but because I'm the boss and I REALLY liked them, I'm going to overrule the youngin's and give them a 3½!  They really are very good.

Happy baking!

Day 80 - Brown Butter Pantry Bars

       I know, weird title, but I couldn't think of what else to call them because this is truly a recipe from scratch.  Not that all of the previous 79 haven't been, it's just that this one I completely made up out of my own little head.  I was looking through the pantry and found various ingredients and thought if I threw them all together, they might make a decent tasting bar.  We'll see.  I guess I could have called them Odds & Ends Bars, too, but the other title sounds a little more appetizing, I think.

     Brown Butter Pantry Bars

     ½ cup (1 stick) butter
     1½ cups flour
     ½ cup sugar
     1 egg
     1 teaspoon vanilla
     1 can sweetened condensed milk
     ½ cup white chocolate chips
     ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
     ½ cup cherry Craisins (sweetened dried cranberries)
     ½ cup chopped peanuts

     Preheat oven to 350ºF.
     In, small pan, melt butter until it is browned.  Remove from heat.

     In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, and sugar.
     Add butter, egg, and vanilla to mixing bowl.  Mix well until thoroughly combined.

     In a 9 X 13" baking dish, spread dough evenly over bottom of pan.
     Pour can of condensed milk over dough, spreading evenly with a spatula.

     Sprinkle semi-sweet and white chocolate chips on top of condensed milk.  Follow with Craisins.

     Scatter peanuts evenly over top.
     Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes.

 Allow to cool completely before cutting.
    
     I probably should have added a ½ teaspoon salt to the dough, but I forgot.  This was fun!  I really liked being creative and adding different things.  I was going to add some miniature marshmallows, but I thought that might be overkill and that they would already be sweet enough.
     Yes, they are very sweet and they fall apart easily.  They are not too exciting, so I wouldn't recommend printing this recipe.  I didn't even take a finished picture because it just wasn't worth it.  They were waaayyyyyy too sweet.  I am amazed that people are able to make recipes up.  I can follow a recipe, so that it turns out really well, but make my own things up?  I'm just not there yet and I wonder when I will be.  Everybody has a special purpose in life; maybe mine's just following the recipes, not creating them.  I'm okay with that, but I'm still jealous.
     I rate my recipes on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best.  These didn't cut it, so I'm giving them a 1.  Oy.  They were really sickening sweet.  Although the dough with the brown butter was good, maybe I'll have to work that into something else.
     Happy baking!

Day 50 - St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes

          We aren't Irish here, but since my daughter was going to a party at a friend's house and needed to bring some food with green to share, I figured I'd make some cupcakes.  I had high expectations - thought they would look picture perfect when they were sliced in half, that they would taste unlike anything anyone has ever eaten, that the frosting would be delicious and fluffy, and that it would sit atop the cupcake with a perfect swirl.  My husband is always telling me to go into everything with no expectations, especially when it comes to our childrens' athletic activities.  That way I'm not emotionally attached to the outcome, say of a baseball game should there be a loss, and there are no disappointments.  I suppose expectations could apply to cupcakes, too.  But I've watched 'Cupcake Wars' and that other show, 'DC Cupcakes' (I think), and they almost always have perfectly tasting and looking cupcakes.  Ok, I know they do this for a living and they are masters in their craft, but why can't I know exactly how to do everything right the first time I try it?  It's not too much to ask, is it?

     I adapted recipes from two cookbooks for this; one for the cupcake itself and one for the frosting.  The cupcake recipe came out of The New Doubleday Cookbook, p. 802; authors, Jean Anderson and Elaine Hanna; publisher, Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc.; ISBN 0-385-19577-X.  The frosting recipe was from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Thirteenth Edition, p. 602; author, Marion Cunningham; publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., a division of Random house, Inc.; ISBN 0-394-56788-9.

     Basic White Cupcakes - will make 18 cupcakes

     2½ cups sifted cake flour

     1 tablespoon baking powder

     ½ teaspoon salt

     2/3 cup butter 

     1½ cups sugar

     1 teaspoon vanilla

     3/4 cup milk

     4 egg whites, at room temperature

     green food coloring

     muffin cups

    

     Preheat oven to 375ºF.

     Sift flour with baking powder, and salt, and set aside.  Cream butter until light, gradually add 1¼ cups sugar, continuing to cream until fluffy.  Add vanilla and at a low speed, mix in dry ingredients alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry and adding about one third of the total at a time.  In a separate bowl beat egg whites until frothy, slowly add remaining sugar, and beat to very soft peaks.  Fold into batter just until blended.

                                        

  Spoon one third of the batter into another bowl.  Add 5 drops of food coloring.  Mix until well combined.  If a darker green is desired, add more food coloring by drops of two, and then mix thoroughly.  Repeat if necessary.  Drop one tablespoonful of white batter into each muffin cup.  Smooth flat with a knife.  Drop one tablespoonful of green batter gently on top of white, being careful not to mix the two colors together.  Smooth out the green with a separate knife.  On top of the green batter, gently drop one tablespoonful of white batter.  Smooth flat with a knife. 



Third layer of batter added; white on top of green.

Muffin cups should be 3/4 full.  Place cupcakes in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until tops are a little golden brown or an inserted toothpick comes out dry.  Cool on wire racks and cool completely before frosting.

     Seven Minute Peppermint Frosting
( Just so you know, I definitely made adaptations to this frosting recipe which I suggest you DO NOT follow because they don't work.  Below is the exact recipe as it is in the book.  I'll share my mistakes at the end.)
    
     1½ cups sugar
     ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
     1/8 teaspoon salt
     2 egg whites
     ¼ cup water
     ½ teaspoon peppermint extract

     Mix sugar, cream of tartar, salt, egg whites, and water in a pot or bowl over simmering water.  Beat steadily over low heat with a rotary or electric hand beater until the frosting stands in peaks, about 5-7 minutes, no more.  Remove from heat and continue to beat until thick enough to spread.  Add the peppermint extract before spreading.

Yes, those are white chocolate morsels you see in there with all the other ingredients.

     I really wanted some peppermint white chocolate frosting on these babies.  Yeah,... no.  My frosting definitely didn't turn out the way I had expected it to.  It may have been the 1 cup of white chocolate morsels I put in the pan over the heat with the other ingredients or it may have been that I left out ½ cup of sugar only because I ran out (duh! who runs out of sugar during a 365 day baking challenge?!).  I also thought that not having that ½ cup of sugar wasn't going to make that much of a difference because I had added the chips and thought the sugar should be decreased anyway.  What a mess.  I cannot tell you how frustrated I was becoming.  At the end of 5 minutes over the heat, the frosting was runny, and not peaking as it should have been.  It wasn't anywhere close.  So, do I add powdered sugar, flour, or cornstarch to thicken it?  I had NO idea.  The powdered sugar seemed the most logical, but I really didn't think I needed to add anymore sweetness and was nervous about that powdered sugary taste.  The flour and cornstarch?  Looking at other frosting recipes, I didn't see one that contained either of those.  So, the most logical thing to me?  Add a WHOLE container of Betty Crocker White Whipped Frosting!!  WOO HOO!!  No, I'm not saying woo hoo because it worked (remember, we people from New England can be very sarcastic at times).  My frosting adaptations can be labeled as another 365 day mishap (how many am I up to now?).  Oh well, I guess if you don't make mistakes, you can't learn from them.  I'm just extremely disappointed what I didn't learn from this was how to fix the frosting.  Adding a can of ready-made frosting didn't do it, but I have to admit, it did make it a little less runny.  You can see from the picture that the frosting is flat on top of the cupcake.  Oh well, c'est la vie!  They still tasted good.

     The inside of the cupcakes were cool, but they didn't turn out the way I had them pictured in my head.  Yes, I am my worst critic and a perfectionist, I suppose.  My kids liked them and the feedback from my daughter's party was good.  I'll get there.  It's just going to take practice and patience.

     My rating system is on a scale of 1-4 with four being knock-your-socks-off delicious.  These St. Patrick's Day cupcakes were given a 3 rolling pin rating despite the flat frosting.  It still tasted good, more pepperminty than chocolaty.  So, save yourself some trouble, and use the recipe for the frosting as I posted it or... you can always use the canned kind, too.

     Happy baking!

Day 49 - Fudgy Peppermint White Chip Marshmallow Brownies

          I went to the Body World exhibit today with my daughters and found it very fascinating.  I've always been amazed by the human body and the intricacies of it.  If I didn't become so light-headed from hearing of people's pain and the sight of blood, I might have had a career in the medical field.  Then again, I always wanted to be dressed for work in a really nice suit and have a huge corporate corner office in Manhattan, too.  Anyway, while going through the sections of the exhibit, there were quotes on display, and this one really resonated with me:

 "We don't see things as they are.  We see things as we are."

The Talmud

With so much of our upbringing and outside influences clouding our views, it becomes impossible to see the truth in things.  Consequently, we each have our own beliefs as to what is or isn't true.  People experiencing the same situation will each come away with a different version of what happened and their own point of view.  Just something to think about as you're washing dishes today.

     Well, I have to tell you, those fudgy peppermint white chip marshmallow brownies were truly chocolaty.   And yes, these are a mouthful to say and a mouthful to eat.  I adapted the recipe from The New Doubleday Cookbook, p. 849; authors, Jean Anderson and Elaine Hanna; publisher, Doubleday, a division of Random House; ISBN 0-385-19577-X.  I saw the recipe for Fudgy Saucepan Brownies and decided that I needed to give them some ompf!

     Fudgy Peppermint White Chip Marshmallow Brownies

     3/4 cup butter or margarine
     4 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
     1 teaspoon peppermint extract
     2 cups sugar
     4 eggs
     1½ cups unsifted flour
     ½ teaspoon salt
     1½ teaspoons vanilla
     1 cup white chocolate chip morsels
     1 cup miniature marshmallows

     Preheat oven to 375ºF.  Grease a 9" X 9" X 2" pan.
     Melt butter and chocolate in a medium saucepan over lowest heat.  Add peppermint extract.

  Pour mixture into mixing bowl.  Mix in remaining ingredients in order listed, beating well after each addition.

  Pour batter into pan and bake for 40 minutes. 

Cool pan of brownies to room temperature and cut into 16 squares.

      My rating system is on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the absolute BEST!  The family and I decided that these should receive a 3 rolling pin rating.  I must tell you that I have to disagree with my husband and son who said they were dry.  I find that very bizarre because mine was not dry at all.  I have absolutely no idea why they thought that.  I was thinking these couldn't be any more moist.  Can't you see in the picture how moist they are?  Weird!  I was really glad that I added the mint.  It was subtle, but tasty.  The marshmallows...well, they were another story.  They disappeared.  The kids asked me a few times, "Where are the marshmallows?".  They must've melted and made the brownies chewier and sweeter.  You have my permission to leave them out because I don't really think using them made much of a difference anyway.  I really liked the brownies and there are a few still left, but tomorrow I will show restraint and not nibble their edges or be sucking up the crumbs.
     Happy baking!
 
 

Day 44 - Frgookie

     Wow, two nights in one week that I can't finish the blog before midnight.  I just quickly posted what I had in order to have it dated correctly, hitting the publish button at 11:59 (WHEW!) and kept working on it.
     Frgookie.  Yes, I spelled it right, but it really isn't even a word.  My husband made it up thinking it was something we had actually eaten.  See, we've been to a few restaurants that sell a chocolate cookie served in a cast iron skillet.  One place had a special name for it that I can't remember and my husband, a few months later said, "let's go to the place that has the Frgookie". So it's stuck.  This cookie concoction is to die for!  It is not quite fully baked and it's served with vanilla ice cream.  Every time it comes to our table, the scene is reminiscent of a pride of ravenous lionesses attacking their prey.  It isn't pretty.  If you don't have a spoon ready and you're not digging into it the moment it hits the table you are going to be out of luck.  Come to think of it, I don't think the members of this family are more passionate about anything else.  Well, except for the Red Sox, and I guess the Patriots are close behind.  And the exact same thing happened tonight when I put it on the table.  I told my husband that he'd better get into the kitchen or he wasn't going to have a chance of getting any.  Unbelievable.  It's like these kids haven't been fed in days, especially that teenage boy.
     We love chocolate chip cookies and the only recipe I ever and will ever use is the one on the back of that red and yellow Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Morsels bag.  It's the best and I've never had any problems.  The past few times when I've made the Frgookie I've used the refrigerated Toll House cookie dough, place 3/4 of the dough in the skillet and then flatten it out to the edges of the pan.  But this time, I made our own dough.  We loved this dessert so much that I went and bought a small cast iron skillet and haven't used it for anything else but this one thing.

     Frgookie - makes 2
     2¼ cups all-purpose flour
     1 teaspoon baking soda
     1 teaspoon salt
     1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
     3/4 cup granulated sugar
     3/4 cup packed brown sugar
     1 teaspoon vanilla extract
     2 large eggs
     2 cups (12 oz. pkg.) Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
     1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

     Preheat oven to 375ºF.
     Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.  Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixing bowl until creamy. 

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Stir in morsels and nuts.
     Spoon half of batter into an 8-inch cast iron skillet, pressing until dough has reached the edges of the pan.  Save remaining batter for tomorrow or make a second one to eat right away.
     Bake for 18-20 minutes.

                                     

     Be careful not to over bake because then the edges will be harder.  It's not that you can't eat them, it's just that they may be left in the pan.  The annihilators like things soft and gushy as you can see from the picture below.  I left it in just a few minutes too long tonight.

     Hmmm...how many does this feed, you ask?  I really cannot give you an honest answer because eating this is like a competition; who's got the fastest reflexes, the largest spoon and who just wants to inhale it instead of savoring the wonderful flavors.  Needless to say, every time we have this someone feels as if they didn't get their "fair share".  It can also become a little hostile when there isn't much left to be eaten, fighting for that last little bit.  Also, you want to make sure that no one is sick.  This not something to be eaten by those who are afraid of "double dippers" although you could ask for separate plates and divide it up.  The equal portion problem would be solved then, too.

     My rating system is on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best.  The Frgookie earns 4 rolling pins!  You are going to score BIG points with your loved ones when you make this and they'll be asking for it again and again and again.

     Happy baking!

Day 35 - Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

         My mother-in-law gave me this recipe because my kids absolutely love when she makes these cookies, and it's also on the back of the Craisins bag if you're ever needing it.

      Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies
     2/3 cup butter
     2/3 cup brown sugar
     2 eggs
     1½ cups oats
     1½ cups flour
     1 tsp. baking soda
     ½ tsp. salt
     6 oz. package Craisins (sweetened dried cranberries)
     2/3 cup white chocolate chips or chunks

     Beat butter and brown sugar until fluffy. 

Add eggs and oats. 

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt.  Add to butter mixture. 

Stir in cranberries and chocolate chips.  Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a baking sheet.

  Bake at 375ºF for 10-12 minutes.  Makes 4 dozen.

     I'm mixing the brown sugar and the butter together, then take out the salt and baking soda and realize I have less than ¼ cup of flour left.  How can this happen?  I'm doing an experiment/project/challenge that will last me a whole year on baking and I have less than ¼ cup of flour in the house?!  Not well prepared, so had to run mid-recipe out to the store.  I bought the 10 pound bag, so that should last me through the middle of next week...I hope.
     My kids love these cookies!  I don't know if I made them as well as Grammy did; things always taste better when there are some warm fuzzy memories associated with them.  But they were excited to come home from school to find them on the counter.  My husband gave them the thumbs up, too.  I preferred the plain ol' Craisins mixed with white chocolate chips personally.  Alright, so I had a little snack while I was mixing things together - just making sure they were safe to eat and weren't going to make anyone sick.  On a scale of 1-4 rolling pins with 4 being the best, these cookies deserve a 3½!
     Happy baking!