V.v.V Sugar Cookies V.v.V

Oh me oh my, am I behind on blogging about my consumption!

I made my spin teacher sugar cookies, because… well why not?

As you can see, I made them red and shaped like a crab. Why you ask?…It’s an inside joke between us! 

I would explain the many definitions of the crab...(its symbol being: V.v.V)..but then this wouldn’t be an inside joke anymore, would it?!

The one good thing about making sugar cookie dough rather than chocolate chip, or another kind of chunky cookie is that you can shape, mold, or cut them out however you like.

So get creative!

Sugar Cookies
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
*to make crab sugar cookies, your additional ingredients will be: crab shaped cookie cutter, red food coloring, frosting pen, and chocolate chips!

1. In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover; chill dough at least 1 hour, or overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 400. (* to add dye, knead red dye into dough)-Roll out dough on floured surface to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into shapes with cookie cutter. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets, or a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely before icing. Makes 5 to 5 1/2 dozen 3-inch cookies.

Cake Boss

Every Thursday there is a farmer’s market across the street from my office building.

There is an array of fruit, vegetable and flower vendors, as well as ethnic eateries.

Every Thursday for the past 4 years of working at my company my boss purchases his weekly cupcake from the Blue Cupcake stand.

I agree with my boss, that Blue Cupcake makes the best cupcakes I have ever tasted! Her creations and flavors out weigh those of the mogul cupcake shops, such as Crumbs and Sprinkles! (sorry guys!)
 

My boss takes his Blue Cupcake Thursday’s very seriously; if he is not here on a Thursday either I or my other co-workers are required to pick up his favorite cupcake for him, so he may have it upon his return! His favorite is their strawberry cupcake.

Last year for his birthday the office pitched in and had Julie (the owner) of Blue Cupcake make my boss a giant strawberry cake!
This year however, since I have taken up baking as a hobby, and sadly enough, Blue Cupcake is moving to Colorado (my boss is so distraught!) I took it upon myself to bake him my own special creation for his birthday cake.

I don’t think I will ever try to imitate the cake of this decadent strawberry cupcake. It is just too moist and perfect, and I know anything I ever attempt to make or try, will be a disappointment.

Therefore, knowing that he loves the light texture and flavor of her cake - I decided to make a light fluffy lemon cake and incorporate a strawberry buttercream frosting!

I adapted a lemon cake from a lemon layer cake with lemon cream frosting from the blog: The Virtual Goody Plate…and created the strawberry frosting, using a standard vanilla buttercream recipe!

This cake is perfect for summer, and my boss and his family really enjoyed it!

Lemon Layer Cake

2 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring)

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup whole milk

2 1/2 T fresh lemon juice

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

* I added 1 tablespoon of vanilla (because who doesn’t like vanilla in their cake!?)

* I also added 2 tblsp. lemon zest!

* I actually had to make this twice in order to have two round cake pans worth. Maybe it is just me…because the picture I adapted this recipe from sure as heck displayed a “layered cake”; but as I poured the batter, it only filled one pan.

So maybe if you prefer, simply double the recipe…or make it twice like me..to be safe…maybe you will have more batter than I had for the first round!

1. Preheat oven to 375. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans and line bottoms of each with rounds of wax or parchment paper. Butter paper and dust pans with flour, knocking out excess.

2. To make cake, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. (and lemon zest-optional).  In a separate bowl stir together milk and lemon juice (mixture will curdle and that's a good thing.)..also add vanilla extract here-optional!

3. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until pale and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and milk mixture in batches, beginning and ending with flour, mixing at low speed until just combined.

4. Divide batter between pans, smoothing tops. Bake in middle of oven until a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 10 minutes, then invert onto racks, remove paper, and cool completely.

Strawberry Vanilla Buttercream

1 cup butter, softened
1 tbl. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt

5-8 cups powdered sugar
1 cup of fresh strawberries, chopped

Beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.
Gradually add powdered sugar alternately with strawberries, beating at low speed until blended and smooth after each addition.

Granola continued...

After I shipped off my fathers care package of treats to him on Friday, I realized I still need to think of something to make for the father’s day celebration I would be attending out here on the west coast…for Tyler’s father.

Since I had just gathered an abundance of granola bar recipes-crunchy, soft, not so crunchy or not so chewy…I had granola on the mind.

I also recalled to myself that every time we house sit for his parents there is a plethora of granola and bran cereals in their pantry.

*light bulb moment!* - well of course! Make Jeff granola cereal, made by yours truly!

 As with the bars you can get very creative here. There are no strict rules. It is your cereal so add what you would like to the oats!

For Jeff, I used- chopped pecans, almonds, and dried cranberries!

So sweet and simple! Once the granola has completely cooled, store in an airtight container or plastic bag in the refrigerator. It will keep for several weeks. Makes up to 5 cups! 

Homemade Granola Recipe:

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)

¾ cup sliced or slivered almonds

½ cup- 1 cup chopped pecans

¼ cup wheat germ-optional

1 tablespoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons canola oil or 2 tbls. unsalted butter; melted

½ cup pure maple syrup

1 cup dried fruits (cranberries, cherries, apricots, and/or raisins)-optional

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and place rack in the center of the oven. Either butter or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl combine the rolled oats, nuts, wheat germ, ground cinnamon, and salt.

In a small bowl, stir together the oil (or melted butter), and maple syrup. Pour mixture over the dry ingredients and toss together, making sure all the dry ingredients are coated with the liquid.
Spread onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 30-45 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally so the mixture browns evenly. (The browner the granola becomes without burning-the crunchier the granola will be).

Place on a wire rack to cool. You will notice that the granola may still be sticky when it is removed from the oven but it will become crisp and dry as it cools.

Make sure to break up any large clumps of the granola while the mixture is still warm.

Once the granola has cooled add the dried fruits.

Again, once the granola has cooled, store in an airtight container or plastic bag!

Happy Father's Day!!!

As I grow older I realized I have become that nagging daughter that father’s dread. I don’t feel that I have always been this way; just more so as I approach 30.

I mean I will be honest I am the only child so I am sure I have been a handful throughout the years, or whined about other concerns or materialistic items..but I have never been so naggy about my parents being healthy until recently.

At times I am sure it is annoying...but it is out of LOVE!..and isn’t that my job as the daughter? : )

Anyway as you already know from my mother’s day entry, I live very far away from my parents; so as with mother’s day I thought it best to bake something for my dad and ship it, for Father’s Day!

For him I decided I wanted to make him something for breakfast. I notice when I am home that he often grabs a couple of cups of coffee and then jets off to work, leaving him very hungry by 11am for lunch. I really believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and sets the tone for your eating habits for the remainder of the day.

Therefore I decided to make him a hearty and healthy breakfast treat: Homemade Granola Bars!

Since I didn’t know which he would prefer, I made both chewy and crunchy …plus he could have a variety to last him for about 2 weeks!

I hope you enjoy them daddy! Miss you and love you lots! Xoxo

I adapted the crunchy granola bar recipe from the Joy of Baking site. (click for recipe)

I did not use the sunflower or pumpkin seeds as directed. Instead I decided to go with all the scraps of nuts and chips I already had in my pantry.

* which brings in another great reason to bake granola bars..1. They are healthy, 2. You can get rid of left over add-ins you have available in your pantry! (baking and cleaning house..all in one!)

So I followed this recipe using the following add-ins:

½ c. dried cranberries, ¼ c. white chocolate chips, 1 c. sliced almonds, ¼ c. raisins, ½ c. milk chocolate chips, plus ½ cup wheat germ!

 

For the soft chewy granola bars I used a recipe from the site Kitchen Stewardship.

I had a lot of batter left over after placing as much as I could in my pan. Therefore I took a trick I learned from a mommy and me site. Instead of baking her granola in a large pan, she had her kids place the batter in lined muffin tins, pressing the mixture down with your hands or a spoon:

This recipe is quite simple:

4 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour or spelt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup butter, softened*
1 cup honey

Add-ins-1/2 cup walnuts; ½ cup milk chocolate chips

Lightly butter a 9×13-inch pan.  In a large mixing bowl combine butter and honey first:

Then add all ingredients except add-ins.  Beat hard until combined.  Stir in add-ins.  Press mixture into pan — really jam it in there so your bars don’t fall apart.  (You can use your hands!)  Bake at 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.  Let cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into bars.  Let bars cool completely in pan before removing and serving.

Devouring NYC!

It’s been about a month now since my trip to NYC to visit my bestie Stephanie for her birthday!

But I thought before heading off into Memorial Day weekend I’d share a few of the delights I got to taste during my stay:

(Friday)Once I was shuttled into the city and onto the doorstep of Steph’s apartment, I was greeted with my first New York bagel (of the trip) from H&H bagels. So fresh, and warm, right out of the oven..no toasting necessary, just slice and eat!

For lunch we headed into Brooklyn to meet up with my buddy Bronson. He took us to lunch at DuMont’s, on Union Ave. in the Willamsburg area. this place is cute with a classic look to it. They are known for their burger, however I had the grilled eggplant and artichoke sandwich; Steph had the huevos rancheros, and Bronson had the pulled pork tacos!:

For dinner we had reservations at The Stanton Social.

We arrived an hour beforehand, to chat and sip on their marvelous martinis...literally went down in 3 sips : ) 
A few bites we dined on at the social:

Maryland Jumbo Lump Crabcake 'Corn Dogs’ (pictured); pulled pork sliders;

Red Snapper Tacos - creamy avocado & spicy mango

(pictured);

French Onion Soup Dumplings;

Old School Meatballs; Chicken N Waffles (pictured); Mac N Cheese (pictured); and of course doughnuts for dessert!

(Saturday)A cure for the martinis, wine and champagne the night before, lunch at The Burger Joint..hidden in the swanky Le Parker Meridien.

Perfectly cooked burgers; no substitutions or exceptions-served on fluffy buns with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles and, of course, ketchup, mustard or mayonnaise. Slim fries, that taste like McDonald’s fries..mmmm mmmm!

A few hours later…time to stop for a snack... where else would one go..other than-Magnolia Bakery of course!

DORK:  

Dinner with friends at Punch-amazing sangria

Sunday morning we headed up to the Essex’s area early, to find the infamous Doughnut Plant:

As you could conclude...by the looks of this picture..I never got my donut from there. The line wasn’t moving an inch..we hung around for about 20 minutes or so..but we had to jet off to Essex’s restaurant for Steph’s birthday Sunday Funday brunch! (pictured) Crab Cake Benedict:

potato pancake topped with house cured salmon gravlax, salmon caviar & poached eggs:

 

Brunch wasn’t until 330pm…so late night New York pizza by the slice was the perfect thing to have for a late dinner.. in the midst of traipsing around the city bar hopping!

And last but not least late night bingo party at the Standard hotel in the meatpacking district…champagne/vodka punch bowl!!!!

Needless to say…sweets come in all different shapes, sizes, and consistencies! ; )

Have a great and safe weekend!

 

Low-fat Lemon Yogurt Cake

For my California Mother's Day (for Tyler’s mother) the entire family gathered at his parent’s house for a bagel & lox brunch! (one of my favorite things)

Although I was told not to bring anything, I planned on doing so anyway : )

Since summer is in the air, and everyone always has a tendency to say they are trying to be a bit healthier this time of year, I thought I’d make something a bit lighter than say a coffee cake.  Something light, fresh, and fruity!

I remembered my friend Heith sent me an email a while back regarding an episode of the Ina Garten cooking show he watched. He said the cake looked magnificent on the episode and that she served it with a blueberry reduction sauce. 
Knowing that everything Ina Garten makes on her show is exquisite, and the fact that it was a cake made with lemon’s and yogurt...I thought I would revisit the email he sent me with the recipe.

As I stated that I wanted to keep it on the lighter side, since I’d be serving it along with the bagels, I decided to adjust her recipe a bit and make it low-fat!

Low-Fat Lemon Yogurt Cake
Adapted from Ina Garten’s Lemon Yogurt Cake
Makes one 8 by 4 inch loaf cake

The texture of this cake is somewhat dense like a pound cake, but also super moist. Also, the original recipe calls for ½ cup of vegetable oil. I ended up using a little less, about ⅓ cup, and the cake came out just fine. Feel free to adjust the amount of oil to your liking.

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt or lemon yogurt
1 cup sugar
1 whole large egg, 3 large egg whites
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
⅓ to ½ cup vegetable oil

For the glaze:  

1 cup confectioners’ sugar 

Freshly squeezed lemon juice 

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease and flour an 8½ by 4¼ by 2½-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper.

Measure the flour, baking powder, and salt into a small bowl and whisk until combined. In a large bowl, mix together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and slowly whisk together. Fold the vegetable oil into the batter until it’s all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 40-60 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. If the glaze is still too thick, continue adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice until it’s runny enough to pour.

Carefully place on the cake a baking rack over a sheet pan or a sheet of parchment paper. While the cake is still warm (but not hot!), pour the glaze over, allowing it to drip down the sides

Happy Mother's Day!!!

I know we just had a chocolate chip cookie entry, but I’d like to say a quick thank you to my Mom!

For Mother’s day I baked her the first recipe she ever taught me how to make; a recipe I am sure was a first for a few of us!

Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip cookies...the infamous recipe on the back of the bag! : )

(My favorite part..eating the cookie dough by the spoonful, as you add them to the cookie sheet of course!) 


My mother and I live very far away from each other. I would have preferred to have made her an entire meal. Perhaps the first entrée dish/meal she ever taught me how to make; my favorite: Tuna Casserole! …(or tuna nuna casserole, as I use to call it!)...

However I do not believe that tuna would have shipped very nicely, even as an overnight package! : )

So mom, Happy Mother’s day! I hope you enjoyed your cookies, and thanks for introducing me to the world of baking!!!!!!!

I love you!