Grand Marnier Biscotti
Posted: October 12, 2011 Filed under: Biscotti, Breakfast, Brunch, Cookies, Halloween, Holiday Recipe Leave a comment »As you know, I love love love biscotti. So when I stumbled upon this site of different biscotti recipes, I know I had to try many of them. The first? The Grand Marnier Biscotti. They came out great and I was even surprised how easy making candied orange peels are. I used a food network recipe. Check it out!
This recipe does suggest dipping in chocolate after, but I omitted this time and they were just fine! Great actually!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter, room
temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking
soda
2 eggs
2-1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup candied orange peel
1 tablespoon dried orange peel
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier
Approx. 1 cup dark chocolate, melted
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375-degrees F. Lightly grease a large baking sheet.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light. Add all the remaining ingredients, except the chocolate.
Divide the dough into 2 sections. Shape the dough into slightly flattened logs about 3-inches wide.
Place logs about 3-inches apart on baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes. . Do Not Shut Off Oven! Remove from oven and place baking sheet in a wire rack to cool 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees.
Transfer each log to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch slices. Place the slices cut side down on the baking sheets. Bake 12-15 minutes, turning biscotti over once during time. Cool on wire rack.
Once the biscotti are cooled, dip the bottoms into the melted chocolate and allow to harden.
Soft frosted sugar cookies
Posted: October 10, 2011 Filed under: Cookies, Dessert, Halloween, Holiday Recipe Leave a comment »You know those soft sugar cookies you get in the bakery section of the grocery store covered in lots of frosting? Yep, these are it! Now you can enjoy those wonderfully soft, delicious, sugary cookies at home. Found on Annie’s Eats, these were easy to make and tasted just like the store-bought…well I think a lot better, but I am a sucker for homemade over store bought baked goods any day!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
For the cookies:
4½ cups all-purpose flour
4½
tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. salt
1½ cups (3 sticks) butter, at room
temperature
1½ cups sugar
3 large eggs
5 tsp. vanilla extract
For the frosting:
5 cups confectioners’ sugar,
sifted
1/3 cup (5 1/3 tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted
1 tbsp. vanilla
extract
7-8 tbsp. milk (plus more, as needed)
Food coloring
(optional)
Sprinkles (optional)
Directions:
To make the cookies,
preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone
baking mats. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt, and
whisk together to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter
and sugar and beat together on medium-high speed until soft and fluffy, about
2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition
and scraping down the bowl as needed. Blend in the vanilla. With the mixer on
low speed, add in the dry ingredients mixing just until incorporated and evenly
mixed. Cover and chill the dough for 1 hour.
When you are ready to bake the cookies, scoop a
scant quarter cup of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten the ball slightly and
place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing
the cookies at least 2-3 inches apart. Bake about 10-12 minutes or just until
set. (Do not overbake! The edges should be no more than very lightly browned
if at all.) Let cool on the baking sheet for several minutes. Transfer to a
wire rack to cool completely.
To frost the cookies, place the confectioners’
sugar in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter, vanilla, and milk to the bowl
and whisk until smooth. Whisk in additional milk as necessary, 1 teaspoon at a
time, until you reach your desired consistency. Tint with food coloring if
desired. Use an offset spatula or spoon to frost the cooled cookies. (If the
frosting begins to thicken as you decorate, just continue to whisk in small
amounts of milk to keep it workable.) Top with sprinkles if desired. Store in
an airtight container.
Salted Caramel Chocolate Shortbread Bars
Posted: October 6, 2011 Filed under: Bars-dessert and cookie, Caramel, Chocolate, Cookies, Dessert 3 Comments »Mmmmmmmmmm, the title says it all. This bar is so flipping good. It tastes like a Twix bar, but so much better! This does require some time to make, but each step can be done in stages so you arent locked into the kitchen all day and the work is SO WORTH IT. Again found on Annie’s Eats, I knew this was perfect as the 2nd dessert I was sending to H’s work potluck!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
For the shortbread layer:
2 cups all-purpose
flour
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted
butter, at room temperature
½ cup sugar
For the caramel layer:
1 cup (2 sticks)
unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup sugar
4 tbsp. light corn syrup
2
cans sweetened condensed milk
For the chocolate layer:
8 oz. semisweet or
bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tsp. light corn syrup
½ cup (1
stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Fleur de sel or sea salt, for
sprinkling
Directions:
To make the shortbread
layer, preheat the oven to 325° F. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment
paper. In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir with a
fork to blend, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter
and sugar on medium speed until well blended, about 1-2 minutes. With the mixer
on low speed blend in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Transfer the
dough to the prepared baking pan and press in an even layer over the bottom of
the pan. Bake 15-18 minutes or until golden. (If the crust puffs up a bit
while baking, just gently press it down while it is cooling.) Transfer the pan
to a wire rack and let cool completely.
To make the caramel layer, combine the butter,
sugar, corn syrup and condensed milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
Heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter is melted. Increase the heat to
medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, stirring
constantly. Continue simmering and stirring until the mixture turns an amber
color and thickens slightly. Pour the mixture over the shortbread layer, smooth
the top, and allow to cool completely and set. (I chilled at this stage to
ensure that the caramel layer would not melt when the warm chocolate was
added.)
To make the chocolate glaze, combine the
chocolate, corn syrup, and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of
simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is completely
melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour evenly over the caramel layer and use an
offset spatula to smooth the top. Allow to cool for a minute or two and then
sprinkle with fleur de sel. Chill, covered, until ready to slice and serve.
Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes
Posted: October 4, 2011 Filed under: Cakes/Cupcakes, Caramel, Dessert, Halloween, Holiday Recipe, Pumpkin 1 Comment »For H work cupcakes this month I wanted to bring in fall flavors. I had done so many light, fruity flavors this summer, that it was time to pull out the pumpkin! I had seen this on Annie’s Eats and knowing how much I love Starbucks pumpkin lattes, I knew this would be a hit. And it was. I did use SMBC to top mine as I was worried the heat of the office might deflate the whipped cream topping and the SMBC was just perfect. Buttery but light and perfectly paired with the pumpkin cupcake!
ENJOY!
Yield: about 2 dozen cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the
cupcakes:
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. espresso powder
2 tsp.
baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. grated
nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. salt
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
4 large eggs
½ cup coffee or espresso, for brushing
For the whipped cream: (I used SMBC but here is the whipped cream recipe as it is perfect for it)
2¼ cups heavy cream,
chilled
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
For garnish:
Ground cinnamon
Caramel sauce-I used Annie’s recipe as I always do for caramel topping
Directions:
To make the cupcakes,
preheat the oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a medium
bowl, combine the flour, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon,
nutmeg, cloves and salt. Stir together and set aside. In the bowl of an
electric mixer, blend together the pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar and
oil. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the
mixture on low speed, add the flour mixture in two additions, mixing just until
incorporated.
Fill the cupcake liners about three-quarters full.
Bake until the cupcakes are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center
comes out clean, 18-20 minutes. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool
for 10 minutes, then remove the cupcakes from the pans. While the cupcakes are
still warm, brush them two or three times with the coffee or espresso, allowing
the first coat to soak in before repeating. Let cool completely.
To make the frosting, place the heavy cream in the
bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium-low
speed at first, gradually increasing to high speed. Blend in the confectioners’
sugar gradually. Whip until stiff peaks form, being careful not to over-beat.
Use a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip to frost the cooled cupcakes.
Sprinkle with ground cinnamon and drizzle with caramel sauce. Store in an
airtight container and refrigerate.
