White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Cookies

My boyfriend loves these white chocolate chip cookies. He's been requesting I make them for a while, but I wanted to make other things. Well, I finally made him some...and he ate all of it....all 4 dozen cookies. =]

I got this recipe from the back of the Ghirardelli white chocolate chip bag. I think that's the best recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups white chocolate chips (11 oz)

1 1/2 cups Macadamia nuts, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º.

Cream together butter and sugars until fluffy (scrape down the sides). Add vanilla extract and the eggs, one at a time. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, salt, and baking soda. Slowly (add about a cup at a time) the dry ingredients to the mixer and mix well.

Last, once batter is completely combined, fold in the white chocolate chips and the macadamia nuts. Scoop out onto heaping 1 tablespoon scoops onto a baking sheet. I used a cookie dough scoop to help keep the sizes uniform.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until just beginning to brown.

Cake Pops

My boyfriend's company has a monthly BBQ party on Fridays. I decided to make cake pops, since nobody really likes dealing with cake cutting and plating. Most of the people at the party are guys. =]

So I decided to make bite size cake pops. Easy to eat, and you don't have to deal with cutting cake!

This is an extremely easy recipe. A tad time consuming, but is very worth it!

Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 box cake mix (bake as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
• 1 16 oz can of readymade frosting
• Wax paper
• Baking sheets
• Paper lollipop sticks
• Styrofoam block
• Candy melts, or chocolate
• Assorted color sprinkles

Directions:

1. Bake the cake as directed. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into a large bowl.

2. With a large spoon, mix thoroughly with about 3/4 of the can of frosting. You won't need the rest.

3. Roll mixture into quarter-size cake balls and place on a wax paper-covered baking sheet. (I used a cookie scoop to get uniform ball sizes.)

4. Place cake balls in the freezer for about 15 minutes to firm up. Transfer them to the refrigerator to keep chilled and to avoid freezing.

5. Melt candy/chocolate over a double boiler, or microwave if desired. Using enough candy melts to fill a deep bowl.

6. Remove a couple of cake balls from the refrigerator at a time to work with.

7. Dip the tip of a lollipop stick into the melted coating and insert into the bottom of cake ball.

8. Then dip in the bowl of candy/chocolate coating and remove in one motion without stirring. Make sure the entire cake ball is covered. Using a deep bowl is helpful here. If your coating is too thick, you can add a few drops of vegetable oil or shortening to help thin it and make it easier to work with.

9. Remove and allow any excess coating to fall off the pop and back into the bowl.

10. Work quickly with one cake pop at a time and before the coating sets, sprinkle color sprinkles on cake pop.

11. Place in a styrofoam block to dry. Enjoy.

Samoa Pizookie (Caramel de-Lites)

My boyfriend loves samoa cookies from the girl scouts. The cookies are also known as caramel de-lites now. Regardless of their name, my boyfriend loves these cookies. However, he wanted to be able to 'a la mode' this cookie. Kinda like a brownie a la mode.

The first thing that comes to mind is the pizookie by BJ's Restaurant. So I decided to turn this samoa cookie into a Samoa Pizookie for my boyfriend.

He loved the results. I made it twice now, and each time he and I would eat it all up. =]

Samoa Pizookie (aka Caramel de-Lites)

Ingredients:

For Cookie Base:
1/2 stick of butter, soft
1/8 cup sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
up to 1/2 tbsp milk

For Coconut Topping:
1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened)
4-oz good-quality chewy caramels
1/8 tsp salt
1 tbsp milk
3 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Be careful not to burn the coconut! Check frequently to make sure it’s not getting too toasted. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, followed by the vanilla and milk, adding in the milk as needed to make the dough come together without being sticky (add the milk a bit at a time — you may not need much, or any at all). The dough should come together into a soft, not-too-sticky ball. Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough is very sticky.

4. Roll the dough into an 8 inch diameter circle. Spray an 8 inch cast iron skillet with pam (vegetable spray). Place it into the cast iron skillet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. 

5. While the cookie is baking with 5 to 7 minutes left, unwrap the caramels and place in a saucepan. Melt the caramels with milk and salt on the stove-top over low-medium heat. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.

6. Remove the cookie from the oven, and spread the coconut caramel mixture all over the cookie.

7. Melt the chocolate in the microwave (or double boiler), and drizzle all over the top of the coconut caramel mixture.

8. Serve with 3 giant scoops of vanilla bean ice-cream. Sprinkle with some shredded coconuts if desired. Enjoy.

Pecan Pie

After we moved to our new place, the hubby and I have been trying all the local restaurants around our area. We found a place that makes super delicious pecan pies. I've been trying to figure out the recipe for a while. I've finally created a pecan pie that I am super proud of. I actually believe this pie tastes better than the local restaurant. =]

I believe you will love it to. Give it a try. =]

Ingredients:

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1 cup packed light brown sugar

• 3/4 cup light corn syrup

• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

• 2 cups chopped toasted pecans

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• 3 eggs, lightly beaten

• Refrigerated pie crust

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Dust some flour all over the pie pan before unrolling pie crust over pie pan. This is to prevent the pie crust from sticking to pie pan.

In medium saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and stirring constantly, continue to boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the nuts and the vanilla. Set the mixture aside to cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Whisk the beaten eggs into the filling until smooth. Put the pie shell on a sheet pan and pour the filling into the crust.

Bake on the lower oven rack until the edges are set but the center is still slightly loose, about 40 to 45 minutes. (If the edges get very dark, cover them with aluminum foil half way during baking.) Cool on a rack. Serve slightly warm or room temperature.

Angel Food Cake

I've been gaining weight...mostly from eating too much good food (aka baked sweets). I can't help it...dessert is so good!!!

So I finally decided to bake an Angel Food Cake. No fat! Yay! Hopefully I won't be gaining anymore pounds. =]

I didn't have time to snap a photo of the cake I made....but it turned out super beautiful. Tall and so airy! I used a tube pan (angel cake pan) that was 4 inches in height...the cake was sooo tall I wish I had a 5 in or 6 in one instead! It didn't have enough height to climb, but don't worry, it did not fall over. I borrowed this photo from Pennies on a Platter, but used a different recipe!

Recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup cake flour, sifted
• 12 egg whites (the closer to room temperature the better)
• 1/3 cup warm water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a food processor spin sugar about 2 minutes until it is superfine. Sift half of the sugar with the salt the cake flour, setting the remaining sugar aside.

In a stand mixer bowl, combine egg whites, water, vanilla extract, and cream of tartar. Using the whisk head, mix until foamy on medium. Slowly sift the reserved sugar, beating continuously at medium speed. Once you have achieved medium peaks, sift enough of the flour mixture in to dust the top of the foam. Using a spatula fold in gently. Continue until all of the flour mixture is incorporated.

Carefully spoon mixture into an ungreased tube pan. LET ME REPEAT! UNGREASED! It can't climb if it's greased! Bake for 35 minutes before checking for doneness with a wooden skewer. (When inserted halfway between the inner and outer wall, the skewer should come out dry).

Cool upside down on cooling rack for at least an hour before removing from pan.

Chocolate Almond Log Cookies

I've been so busy in the past 2 months that I haven't baked that much. I just moved to a new place, and am still unpacking boxes at the new place. I've managed to finally bake something new this weekend!

Chocolate almond logs - yum. They are kinda like macarons (which I hate making fyi), since it uses lots of almond powder...but these won't crack on you. =] They are crunchy on the outside, and a lil chewy inside. I liked them, give it a try if you are an almond lover!

Recipe:

Ingredients:

2 large egg whites

1 cup of super fine sugar

1 3/4 cups of almond powder

1/2 tsp almond extract

4 oz semi sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Beat the egg whites at high speed until stiff peaks form.

Using a rubber spatula, fold in sugar, almond powder, and almond extract.

Fill a pastry bag, fitted with 1/2 inch plain tip, and pipe out 3 inch long lines spaced 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheets.

Bake until golden brown, 15-20 mins.

Transfer to cooling racks.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over barely simmering water. Drizzle the chocolate in a zigzag pattern over the logs. Enjoy

Eclair Tarts

My boyfriend loves eclairs. However, I don't want to bake the same dessert over and over, it would get boring quick. So I came up with a new dessert idea...eclair tarts! It would still taste like an eclair, but I wouldn't be baking the exact same thing. Problem solved!

These eclair tarts were delicious. The tart shell is soft and crumbles apart gently when you bite into it. Just wonderful! I think you will enjoy eating this!

Tart Shell:

1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 egg yolks

2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

Filling:

1 (5 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix

2 1/2 cups cold milk

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Glaze:

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup whole milk

1 tbs light corn syrup

2 tsp vanilla extract

4 oz semisweet chocolate chips

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

For shells: Preheat oven to 325 F.

Cream butter until soft. Beat in sugar and vanilla. Then add egg yolks and beat until creamy. Gradually stir in flour until well mixed.

Lightly spray tart molds with oil spray. Take about 1 tablespoon of dough and press into mold, spreading dough as thin as possible.

Bake in oven for about 10 minutes. Cool and remove from tart mold. I used a toothpick to help me get them out. Fill them with the whipped vanilla filling and drizzle with chocolate glaze.

For filling: Combine pudding mix and milk in medium bowl according to package directions. In a separate bowl, beat cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Beat in 1//4 cup powdered sugar and vanilla. Fold whipped cream into pudding. Use filling to fill tart shells.

For glaze: Combine butter, milk, corn syrup, and vanilla in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until butter is melted. Decrease heat to low, add the chocolate chips and whisk until melted. Turn off heat and add powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Drizzle over filled tart shells.