On the 3rd Day of Baking...

Day 3 -

After weeks of drooling over the Peppermint Bark on the cover of the Williams-Sonoma catalog, I almost gave in on a weak moment and ordered some. That is, until I saw the price -- $26 a tin! Holy cow! I mean I know this stuff is truly to die for and peppermint oil/extract is not cheap, but seriously? Especially since I happen to know bark is possibly the simplest thing in the world to make (my dark chocolate pistachio bark is yum-o), I was not going to give in, I was going to make my own.

Layered Peppermint Crunch Bark
17 oz. white chocolate, finely chopped
30 red/white striped peppermint candies, coarsly crushed
7 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
6 Tbsp. whipping cream
3/4 tsp. peppermint extract

• Turn baking/cookie sheet bottom side up, and cover with tin foil.
  
• Mark a 12 x 9 inch rectangle on the foil.
• Stir white chocolate in a double boiler until candy thermometer reaches 100 degrees. (chocolate will feel warm to the touch)
• Remove from water and pour 2/3 cp. melted white chocolate onto rectangle on foil.
• Using an icing spatula, spread chocolate to fill rectangle. Sprinkle with 1/4 cp. crushed peppermints. Chill until set, about 15 minutes.
• Double boil dark chocolate, then stir in peppermint extract and cream until just smooth and melted. Cool to barely lukewarm, about 5 minutes.
• Pout bittersweet chocolate mixture over white chocolate rectangle and spread. Refrigerate until very cold and firm, about 20 minutes.
• Re-warm white chocolate until candy thermometer reaches 110 degrees. Working quickly, pour white chocolate over firm bittersweet layer and spread to cover. Immediately sprinkle with remaining peppermints. Chill just until firm, about 20 minutes.
• Lift foil with bark onto work surface; trim edges. Cut bark lengthwise into 2" strips. Using metal spatula, slide bark off foil and onto work surface.
  
• Cut each strip crosswise into 3 sections and each section diagonally into 2 triangles. Keep refrigerated until 15 minutes before serving.

Notes of Interest:
--- The key to any good chocolate baked good (be it pie, candy, cookie, etc.) is GOOD chocolate. I know this seems like something silly, but I have seen too many people buy the cheap chocolate thinking it won't make a difference, but it really does. If you are going to take the time to make it, do it right, buy the quality chocolate.
--- There are a thousand slightly different variations of peppermint bark out there to choose from. Don't be overwhelmed, choose one that suits your comfort level in the kitchen, your personal preference in ratio of white/brown chocolate, and your preference of chocolate sweetness. I personally like the really bitter chocolate since the peppermint and the white chocolate already sweeten the bark so much, but that's just me. I also liked this recipe because it kept the middle layer sort of creamy, almost truffle-esque.
--- I found that cutting the pieces into triangles tended to make the edges crack. Therefore, I resorted to cutting mine in rectangles. I think they still look pretty!

On the 2nd day of baking...

Day 2 -


My "little sister" Christy makes these INCREDIBLE cookies that I finally stole the recipe for. Since I love them so much it was only fair that they made it into the 12 day baking marathon. I must admit, I was a bit afraid of the idea of sour milk going into anything tasty, but I am an avid fan of these cookies (even though I don't really like butterscotch), so I followed the recipe. Christy says if you don't sour the milk the cookies will be too sweet.

German Butterscotch Jumbo Cookies

1 1/2 cp. milk
3 tsp. vinegar
2 cps. sugar
1 cp. shortening
2 eggs
4 cps. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
1 bag (12 oz.) butterscotch chips
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. sugar

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a small bowl combine milk and vinegar. Let sit 5 minutes for milk to sour.
• In a large bowl, mix together sugar, shortening, vanilla and eggs.
• In another small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.
• Slowly mix in the dry ingredients and the milk to the wet bowl.
• Add butterscotch chips and mix well.
• Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet.
• Mix together cinnamon and sugar topping; sprinkle on each cookie.
• Bake at 350 degrees for about 13 minutes.

Notes of Interest:
--- The cookies are SO moist and delicious, but truthfully I would add more butterscotch next time. The cookie can handle more.
--- I don't believe these cookies have any true German origins. I believe they were named as such because Christy would make them for her German class in High School!

On the 1st day of baking...

Day 1 -

Brad had been dreaming about Oatmeal Cookies lately, even going so far as picking up the Quaker Oats container (in the supermarket) and telling me that the world's best Oatmeal Raisin cookie recipe was under the lid so we should buy it. He's subtle, eh? Well, not one to resist any baking feat of "worldly" deliciousness, they got chosen as the first days baking. Brad helped me make them, which was fun, and they came out pretty darn well -- once we decided we needed to adjust the oven rack anyhow. The hardest thing may just be getting any left after the 12 days if Brad keeps eating them all!

Quaker Oat's Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
1/2 pound (2 sticks) margarine or butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
3 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1 cup raisins

• Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat margarine and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.


• Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.


• Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Notes of Interest:
--- I decided not to add in the raisins as I know a certain amount of people don't particularly care for them. I really wish I had though, I think it would have helped with the slightly baking soda taste in the cookie.
--- Brad says these were good, but they weren't the recipe he remembered -- will have to try the other one on the Quaker Oats website next time. It is slightly different enough (shortening vs. flour, etc.) that it may be just the key.

12 Days of Baking

Somehow Christmas time always seems like such a good time to bake. If nothing else it's a great excuse to heat my apartment without turning the heater on! After debating on what to bake this year and being so overwhelmed with great choices, I decided I'd bake them all. Ok, not all of my favorites, but 12. Sort of symbolic, I thought it would be fun! I'm just hoping I didn't bite off more than I can chew! Figured plates of goodies would make great gifts for some of my coworkers, friends, and such... not to mention the added bonus that I get of snagging some for myself along the way!

Wish me luck!

"Frankenstein Brain" Cupcakes

In the spirit of Halloween and my love of baking, I decided to enter the "Booo-tiful Halloween Cupcake Contest" hosted by a blog I like howtoeatacupcake.net. My friend Angie was hosting a Halloween party, to which she suggested we bring goodies, so I figured it was a good excuse! I wanted to create something unique with fall flavorings, so I started pondering all my favorite fall foods and I came up with the following:

"Frankenstein Brain" Cupcakes
(AKA Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting)



Cupcakes:
1/2 c. butter
1 3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. sour milk or buttermilk
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. cocoa
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 c. finely grated zucchini
1 (6 oz.) pkg. chocolate chips
1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  
• In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add oil, eggs, vanilla and sour milk; beat well.
  
• In another bowl combine cinnamon, cloves, flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda.
  
• Slowly add dry mix to liquid mixture.
  
• Add zucchini and chocolate chips. Mix well.
  
• Pour into muffin tins.
  
• Bake for 10-15 minutes.
  

* NOTE:Since the recipe was for a cake, I added an extra 1/4 cup of milk to make the batter a little less thick.

Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 3/4-6 1/4 cups powdered sugar
sifted 1/2 cup butter, softened, not margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla

• Beat together cream cheese, butter, cinnamon and vanilla on medium speed until light and fluffy.
  
• Add about half the powdered sugar and beat until mixed well.
  
• Gradually add the remaining powdered sugar until you reach a spreading consistency.
  

* NOTE: I added extra cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg because I like the flavors. I also dyed the frosting green for fun!

The final product:

I am very happy about the way they turned out! A few people (AKA Brad) were a little afraid of zucchini, but for the most part I got really great reactions! Even if I don't win the contest it was really fun to be creative! Not to mention enjoy a sweet treat!

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies

After hearing about Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Swirl Brownies from several blogs I like, I decided they were a must try. The recipe can be found here.



I really wish I had thought to take a picture of the whole tray before I cut it though, it was really beautiful!

Unfortunately, I must have done something wrong (or missed a step?) because the batter wa pretty think. When I split into the two sections into the bowl for pumpkin mix and chocolate mix I admit I was tempted to scratch the whole thing. I am really glad I didn't, though my perfectionist side WAS a bit disappointed that they didn't come out quite the right consistancy. When I mixed the oil into the pumpkin side the consistancy turned out perfectly, but there was nothing to help out the chocolate half. Oh well. Perhaps next time I'd add oil to the chocolate half too.

The brownies came out so pretty and my co-workers raved. I con't know if I'd necessarily make these again, but the pumpkin half was excellent and would make for a great pumpkin bread all on it's own. That would definitely be worth a try!

Mother's Day / Glen Ivy Day Spa - 2008

My mom is an Elementary School Principal. While she loves the job most of the time, these last few years have been really hard on her, and I can see how much stress she is taking on, and how the job is really aging her.

Every year, my Dad and "Uncle" Bruce go on a fishing trip in the Spring that always seems to fall on Mother's Dsy. It used to upset my mom, but now it's almost become a joke, and my Mom and I spend the day shopping or something incredibly girly. This year, I wanted to do something special for her (and hopefully take some of her stress off) so I planned a surprise that we could both enjoy. I told her to make the day free, but didn't tell her what the plans were. I think she was about to go crazy from curiosity by the time the day arrived.

I went to her house Saturday night so I could give her card (with a packing list) and wake her up with a light but decadent breakfast.

• "Mock" eggs benedict - I used an artichoke heart instead of English Muffin, and Black Forrest Ham instead of Canadian Bacon. It was actually an idea from the South Beach diet, though they suggested a light version of the hollandaise sauce but I didn't make it.
  
• Strawberries with Whip Cream
  
• Chocolate Croissants - something we'd devoured when in Barcelona a few years ago.
  
• Lemonade -- I wanted to do Mimosas, but I thought alcohol would be a bad idea before a day in the sun!
  

(She wasn't happy I was taking pictures of her without makeup on so she didn't let me take many...)



We then left for Glen Ivy Day Spa, where I'd booked us appointments for massages and body wraps. I'd heard great things about the place but had never actually been there. We arrived and I was pleased to see it was so pretty with lush greenery and flowers everywhere.





They had pretty koi ponds (with turtles)...

We spent the day going from the Clay Mud Area, the Mineral Bath, lap pool, lounge pool, to the "The Grotto"... I can't even explain how cool it is there, you'll have to take my recommendation. But let's just say, my mom and I already have a date to come back!