Desserts

Our Hands Down, Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies


These come from Sally's Baking Addiction: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/05/13/chewy-chocolate-chunk-cookies/
Full instructions are on her website. I read through them but then I just wing it a little bit. Her directions and measurements are all very precise.

Ingredients:

• 2 and 1/4 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour, measured correctly
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks or 170 grams) unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup (150 grams) light brown sugar, loosely packed
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk*
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup (180 grams) chocolate chips or chocolate chunks

Then she says to chill the dough for 10 minutes. Sometimes I do... sometimes I don't. Depends on how much I just want to eat cookies. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and bake for 10-12 minutes. I just usually do 10.

Cinnamon Roll Cake

I put this under desserts but we like this for breakfast. It is a cake though.... No shame.

I got this from Cookin' Up North: http://cookinupnorth.blogspot.com/2011/07/cinnamon-roll-cake.html

Cake:
3 c. flour
1/4 tsp.salt
1 c. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 c. milk
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. butter, melted

Topping:
1 c. butter, softened (****I use half that)
1 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Mix everything together except for the butter. Slowly stir in the melted butter and pour into a greased 9x13 pan. For the topping, mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Drop evenly over the batter and swirl with a knife. Bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes.

Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
5 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla


While warm drizzle the glaze over the cake.

My Favorite Vanilla Sponge via Cake Boss
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups cake flour, plus more for flouring the cake pans
2 cups sugar, plus more for unmolding the cake
3/4 cups vegetable oil or 1 1/2 sticks of butter
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 extra large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup whole milk

Position a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350F.
Put the flour, sugar, vegetable oil, baking powder, vanilla and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. (If you don't have a stand mixer, you can put the ingredients in a bowl and use a hand mixer with the blending attachments.) Mix on slow just until the ingredients are blended together, a few seconds, then raise the speed to low-medium and continue to mix until smooth, approximately 1 additional minute.
With the motor running, add 1 egg at a time, adding the next one after the previous one
has been absorbed into the mixture. Stop the motor periodically and scrape the bowl from
the bottom with a rubber spatula to integrate ingredients, and return the mixer to low-medium
speed. After all the eggs are added, continue to mix for an additional minute to
ensure the eggs have been thoroughly mixed in. This will help guarantee that the sugar is
dissolved and that the flour has been thoroughly mixed in, which will help produce a
luxurious mouth-feel in the final cake.
With the motor running, add the milk, 1/2 cup at a time, stopping the motor to scrape the
sides and bottom between the two additions. Continue to mix for another minute or until
the mixture appears smooth. Before baking, be sure the batter is at 70-73F or the cake will
crown.
Grease two 9-inch cake pans (2 inches high) with the butter, and flour them.
Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans, using a rubber spatula to scrape
down the bowl and get as much batter as possible out. Bake until the cake begins to pull
from the sides of the pan and is springy to the touch, 25 to 30 minutes.
Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour.
The cakes should be at room temperature before you remove them from the pan. Put a
piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet, top with sugar, and one at a time, turn the
pans over and turn the cakes out onto parchment; the sugar will keep it from sticking.

Refrigerate or freeze until ready to decorate.
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/recipe/13670_Buddy_Valastro_Vanilla_Cake/#sthash.t270nSO5.qjtu

My Buttercream Frosting
I really just eyeball this recipe.(Sorry, Brynne.) I start with:

1 cube of butter (do not try to melt/soften)
enough shortening to match the amount of butter
1 tsp vanilla

Blend the crap out of that to get it somewhat smooth.

Then I add enough powdered sugar to make it not look..buttery. Like a lot of powdered sugar. After it looks like thick frosting and not butter, I add just enough milk to get it to the consistency I want. And VIOLA! (Add all the coloring, or whatever, your heart desires.)


 Homemade Oreo Cookies
Cookie Ingredients:
   2 boxes Devil's Food Cake Mix (I actually use 1 box of Devil's Food and 1 box of German Chocolate)
   4 eggs
   1 1/2 cups shortening
   1 tsp. vanilla

Combine cake mixes, shortening, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well. Place bolls on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Filling Ingredients (Cream Cheese Icing):
   8 oz. cream cheese
   1 cube margarine (or butter..whatever)
   2 1/2 cups powdered sugar (possibly more)
   1 tsp. vanilla

Combine cream cheese and margarine; beat til smooth. Add powdered sugar and vanilla; beat again. You may need more powdered sugar or a little milk depending on the consistency you want.

Mom's Coconut Bread
This stuff is super good. My mom always makes it around Christmas because it's great to put into the small loaf pans to give away to neighbors or teachers or whomever.

BREAD INGREDIENTS:
   4 eggs
   1 c. salad oil (not sure what that means.. I use vegetable oil)
   2 c. sugar
   2 tsp. coconut extract
   3 c. flour
   1/8 tsp. baking soda
   1/2 tsp. salt
   1 c. buttermilk
   1 c. flaked coconut
   1 c. chopped macadamia nuts (I suppose this is optional but makes it freaking good)

First beat together:
   4 eggs
   1 c. salad oil (not sure what that means.. I use vegetable oil)
   2 c. sugar
   2 tsp. coconut extract
In a separate bowl:
   3 c. flour
   1/8 tsp. baking soda
   1/2 tsp. salt
 **dry ingredients are then added to the cream mixture alternatively with 1 c. buttermilk.Fold in coconut and nuts. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. (a little over an hour the last time I did it)

THEN..............................

GLAZE INGREDIENTS:
   1 c. sugar
   1/2 c. water
   2 Tbsp butter
** Bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, remove from heat. THEN add 1 tsp. coconut extract. Poor the glaze over warm bread. Let stand for 4 hours. (I just leave it overnight. This recipe takes some time.)

Mrs. Field's Cookies
This recipe has become my go-to in Oklahoma. Maybe it's the difference in sea level. I dunno. Spencer has also perfected this one. Do not over bake. Seriously. 10 minutes is plenty of time.

INGREDIENTS:
   1 c. brown sugar
   1 c. white sugar
   1 c. margarine
   2 eggs
   1 tsp. vanilla
   2 1/2 c. oatmeal
   1/2 tsp. salt
   1 tsp. baking powder
   2 c. flour
   2 tsp. baking soda
   2 c. chocolate chips

Cream first five ingredients. Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix. Bake for 8-10 (go with the lower number) at 350 degrees.

 Mom's Sugar Cookies
As you can see, I get a lot of recipes from my mom. That's what moms are for, right?
My mom makes these every year for Valentine's Day. We would each get a giant sugar cookie of our own. Super cute idea that I think I will hang on to.

INGREDIENTS:
   1 c. butter
   1 c. sour cream
   2 c. sugar
   3 eggs
   1 tsp. baking powder
   1 tsp. baking soda
   1 tsp. salt
   1 tsp. vanilla
   4-6 c. flour (Honestly, I never measure flour. But on this recipe it is possible to have too much! I go for soft and just a little sticky.) 

 Mix butter, eggs, and sugar. Add cream and dry ingredients, using 4 cups of flour. Add vanilla. Gradually add just enough more flour that you can roll dough out. Cut with cookie cutter. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.