Snickerdoodles

How can a name like snickerdoodle conjure anything but good times?   These cookies with a funny name and I go way back.  Snickerdoodles are similar to a sugar cookie, with the addition of cream of tartar, and are rolled in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.  

Snickerdoodles are the first cookie my mom taught me how to make by myself.   She showed me how to cream the sugar and soft butter together until they are light and fluffy to get that perfect texture.   She taught me to never skimp on the vanilla.   Nothing compares to good quality, pure vanilla extract.   And most important, if you leave them in the oven until they look done, they are probably over-baked.   Cookies will continue to cook on the hot pan after they are removed from the oven.  Once they are cool, they will be just right. 
 

Red Velvet Cake and Cream Cheese Ice Cream

I don’t have a list of specific favorite things today, but I do have one general favorite.  It’s ice cream.  Ice cream is one of my favorite things ever.  I’m not picky about the flavor.  I like anything from caramel to cookies and cream.  The only thing I really don’t like messing up my frozen treat is nuts.  And even then, I can sometimes handle pralines.  How can nuts that are rolled in sugar taste bad?

 

Not only is ice cream one of my favorites to eat, it’s also fun to make.  I have the ice cream attachment for my Kitchenaid and it is awesome.  I keep the bowl in the freezer, so it’s always ready when a craving for ice cream strikes.  Recently when the weather started turning warmer, I knew I wanted to make the first batch of the season, but I had to decide on a flavor.  Then I remembered the red velvet cake scraps in my freezer from my baking disaster back in February, and thought that was a good place to start.  I found a recipe in Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home with a cream cheese base that mixes in gooey butter cake.  Cream cheese ice cream with chunks of red velvet cake mixed in?  It was done and done.   

Tres Leches Cake with Coconut and Lime

Happy Cinco de Mayo!  What better way to celebrate than with tres leches cake?  Okay, maybe a margarita.  But if you’ve never tried tres leches cake, you’re in for a treat.  Tres leches cake is a simple yellow sponge cake soaked in a sweet milk mixture and topped with dreamy whipped cream.

I’ve made a basic tres leches cake for Cinco de Mayo the last few years, and I had planned to do just that this year, too.  But on the day I planned to bake the cake, my latest issue of Fine Cooking Magazine arrived, and it had an entire spread on variations of this Latin American dessert.  After looking at the photos, I wanted to taste one of each.

So I decided to do something a little different this time by putting the lime in the coconut and mixing it all up.  For the soaking liquid, I replaced the cream with half a can of unsweetened coconut milk and some lime juice.  I have to say, it was a delicious change.

Friday Faves for May 4

1.  I’ve become very good friends with this SmartStick immersion blender by Cuisinart.  It’s very handy for anything from mixing salad dressing in it’s companion measuring cup to blending soup right in the pot.

2.  This yummy sandwich made of turkey, bacon, avocado and ranch on focaccia from Kneaders Bakery has been on my mind this week.  If all goes well, I’ll have one before the day is over.  (photo from kneadersbakery.com)

3.  This Nexxus Pro Mend leave-in treatment swears to bind and repair split ends, and I  like to believe that it works.  It smells so good that I want to pour it into a  glass and drink it.  (photo from nexxus.com)

Happy Friday!

Easy Ham and Cheese Brunch Pastries

I love to spend time in the kitchen on Sundays.  I might wake up early when it’s still breakfast-time and throw together a batch of muffins to bake while I read the newspaper and peruse the sales ads.  Lately, it’s been more likely that I’ll wander in just after noon and spend the afternoon preparing dinner.  And sometimes it’s nice to spend the morning being lazy and then put together a quick brunch.

These pastries are perfect for just that.  The only real planning involved is remembering to leave the frozen puff pastry in the fridge overnight to thaw.  I combined Black Forest ham from the deli with some shredded mozzarella that I already had, and after tossing in the spices, they were in the oven in less than ten minutes.

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Browned Butter and Cream Cheese

Do you have a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe?   I do, too.  I could practically mix the dough and plop them in the oven in my sleep.  That said, I’m not against trying something new when I want to switch things up.  When I saw these on mel’s kitchen café, I was curious enough to give them a try.

 

It was the addition of cream cheese to the cookies that grabbed my attention.  How could you go wrong by starting with soft, chocolate-studded cookies and adding the tangy flavor of cream cheese?  And since the butter had to be melted first, I thought I may as well brown it, too.  It sounded like a win-win to me.  The last thing I noticed was the lack of eggs, which is great if you happen to be baking for someone with an egg allergy.  I don’t recall ever making this type of cookie without eggs to hold everything together.

 

Classic Banana Bundt Cake

       

Do you know who Dorie Greenspan is?  She is one cool baker lady.  She has way of writing instructions that makes you feel like you can conquer anything in the kitchen.  And listening to her speak is even better. She occasionally comes on The Splendid Table podcast as a guest to promote a new book or talk about some baking project.  I could listen to her talk about baking all day long. 

 

I’ve been baking this cake from her book, Baking: From My Home To Yours, for years.  It’s moist and packed full of banana flavor.  No fancy ingredients are required, so if you always have over-ripe bananas in your freezer like I do, it never involves a trip to the store in advance.  It travels well, so I’ve brought it work many times for a Friday treat, and people are always happy to see it.  Her recipe in the book suggests topping it with a lemon glaze, but I’ve never tried it that way.  It’s delicious on its own or with a little powdered sugar dusted on top. 

This recipe was picked by Mary from The Food Librarian back in 2009 for Tuesdays with Dorie.  TWD is a group of dedicated bloggers who baked and blogged their way through the entire recipe book cover to cover. 

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Orange-Cream Cheese Frosting

Where I live, spring doesn’t seem to exist for more than a few days at a time.  We get a mix of winter and summer back and forth until summer sticks around for a while.  Last week, it snowed four inches one day, and by the next afternoon it was nice enough to enjoy a family party outdoors.

One of my favorite moments at the party was watching my little cousin enjoy one of these cupcakes.  I wish that I had been able to snap a picture.  As she held a mini cupcake in her hands, she proceeded to lick the frosting off the top before biting into the cake.

These carrot cake cupcakes are all about spring.  They are light and moist, with just enough orange in the frosting to add a bit of citrus sunshine.  I like that they have enough carrots so they don’t disappear while they bake.  They are a breeze to mix together, and can be in the oven in no time.

Friday Faves

Wow. This week flew by, and I have a feeling the upcoming weekend, packed with activities, will fly by faster.   
                                         

 
Joy’s blog is one of my favorites to read, and her podcast that she does with Tracy cracks me up every time.  Now she has her own cookbook, and I can’t wait to bake my way through her recipes. 

I ate exactly two of these coconut crème eggs from Dove, and then proceeded to give the bag away.  And it wasn’t because they were bad.  It was because they were too good.

 
My favorite dinner this week was from a small snippet. When I found the pin for these Spicy Thai Noodles on Pinterest and added it to my dinner board, I knew it would be a winner.  We added some sautéed shrimp and steamed snow peas, and really enjoyed it.  I wished I had taken a couple pictures and shared it here, but we ate it all.  But I’m sure we’ll make it again.

Have a happy Friday!

Friday Faves

Happy Friday!

Today I added a blogroll with a list of a few of my favorite blogs.  It’s over on the right side of the screen.  When I’m looking for dinner ideas or maybe a tasty new cupcake, they never disappoint.

I’ve already shared this delicious soup from Pink Parsley and these fabulous hamburger rolls from Confections of a Foodie Bride.

Check ‘em out!