White Chocolate, Cranberry, Pecan Crunches

It is always comforting to know that when the day has gone awry and I am completely frustrated I can bake something sweet and take it to work. I don't usually eat my creations. I know it sounds ridiculous that someone could make cookies, cakes, pies or the like and not touch them but the joy I get is from the baking itself. So, it is nice to know that I work with people who don't mind my cooking and are equally excited to receive the treats as I am to make them. 

Some days that is the light at the end of the tunnel.

Ingredients:

¾ cup brown sugar

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 cup butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

2 ¼ cup of all-purpose flower

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 egg

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup crushed pecans

1 cup cranberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

Using an electric mixer, Combine brown sugar, granulated sugar, and butter until it well incorporated and looks like a sticky cornmeal mixture. Add egg, vanilla, salt, and baking soda and mix until well incorporated. Add in flour a little at a time mixing until you have a sticky dough formed. Pour in white chocolate chips, crushed pecans, and cranberries and mix with spoon or with hands until incorporated.

Make ½ inch sized balls and place on greased cookies sheet or one covered with parchment paper. Bake for 18 to 20 mins or until browned. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack and cool.

Makes 4 dozen, or make 5 and freeze the dough until next time.

Orange Cupcakes and Winter Days

I, like so many others, miss summer already. I am constantly thinking about when it will return and wondering what I will do until that happens. The cold chill in the air has made me crave something citrus. While tooling around yesterday after work I decided to whip up some Orange cupcakes with cream cheese icing and I am glad I did. I also made a batch of chocolate chip cookies which make for a great snack staple.

Orange Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing.

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated white sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tablespoon orange juice
Zest of 1 orange
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 and place cupcake liners in pan. Mix together orange zest and sugar with electric mixer in a bowl until fragrant. Add butter and mix until well incorporated and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time and mix thoroughly. Beat in vanilla and orange juice. Add in baking powder and salt and mix well. Add in flour in small amounts and mix until incorporated. Add in milk and mix well. Spoon/scoop batter into each liner until they are half full. Bake for 18-20 mins and toothpick comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz package of cream cheese at room temperature
1 tsp orange juice
1 tablespoon shortening
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar; add more until desired consistancy is reached.

combine cream cheese, butter, and shortening and mix until fluffy and well incorporated. Blend in orange juice. Add confectioners sugar a little at a time until desired consistancy is reached.

Whole Wheat Waffles with Mango Butter

Mango Butter

½ cup mango, peeled, pitted and diced

½ lb butter, softened

¼ cup brown sugar

Pinch of salt (about 1/8 tsp)

Using a blender or a food processor, beat the butter, sugar and salt until light, about 1 min. Add mango and beat until combined, Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Will keep for about a week. Freeze for up to 2 months.

Whole Wheat Waffles

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

2 tlbs brown sugar

1 lg egg

1 ½ cups of milk

1/3 cup vegetable/ canola oil

Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar. Add milk and oil and combine. Add egg and mix well.

Cook the waffles as directed in the instructions that came with your waffle iron.

Baking and Such

This past weekend I bottled two batches of beer (roughly 4 cases), made two batches of pesto pizza dough, some cherry chewy oatmeal mess, a cinnamon twist and random breakfastes.

Some things I have learned.

When bottling beer make sure that you move all small open containers of beer out of your way. Beer will end up all over the kitchen. I messed up this task twice in one batch of beer. Plus side I had not cleaned the kitchen yet. Minus, dog now likes beer.

When making pesto pizza dough make a double batch. No since in having to go through all that mixing and waiting twice.

When making a Cardamon Cinnamon Twist if you don't have Cardamon (and who does) it's ok, just add some All Spice to the dough. It will taste just fine. And also if you do not have a pan big enough to support this long dough tube you have to roll up, just curve it. It will still taste just fine.

When making a cookie recipe for the first time and trying to expirement on the make up make sure to take into account the amount of moisture you add when adding fresh fruit. If you do not it will turn your Oatmeal Crisps into Oatmeal Mushies. This is not a bad thing, still tastes good, but looks like a pile of crap.

Lots of Love,
Your ever so entertaining Bor3d Baker

Coconut - Vanilla Cake with Coconut Buttercream Icing

Coconut Cake

1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup flour, sifted (or cake flour)
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon Kahlua
1 tsp coconut flavoring
1 3/2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour pan/s. Cream sugar, butter, and eggs until smooth. Add Kahula, coconut flavoring and mix well, add flour small amount at a time until well incorporated. Add baking powder and mix well. (important to mix well)

Pour into baking pan/s and bake for until toothpick comes out clean or 30 mins.

Place aside and cool completely before frosting.

Coconut Buttercream

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 tsp coconut flavoring
2 tablespoons coconut milk
4 cups sifted powdered sugar (aprox. 1 lb)

Cream butter, shortening, and flavoring until smooth. Slowly add powdered sugar until incorporated and looks like cornmeal. Add coconut milk and blend until smooth and medium peaks form. Chill for 30 min before frosting.

Carmel Strawberry Upside-Down Cake

Carmel Strawberries:

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 container of ripe strawberries (about 1 lb)

Cake:

• 3 cups cake flower, plus more for pan
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 ¼ cups sugar
• 5 lg eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 ¼ cups of whole buttermilk

Whipped Cream Frosting:

• 3 cups of whipping cream
• ½ cup of sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla

Directions: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 inch pan, line bottom with parchment paper and brush paper with butter.

Carmel Peaches: Combine the sugar, corn syrup, cinnamon in a medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to high and cook without stirring until the mixture become an amber caramel, about 5 mins. Pour the carmel into the prepared pan and set aside to cool.

Remove green from strawberries and half. Arrange the strawberries into concentric circles in the pan. Set aside while you make the cake batter.

Cake: In a large bowl, beat 1 cup butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add the sugar, beating until fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla and set aside.

In a small bowl, add the 3 cups of flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine. Add the flour mixture into the egg mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

Pour mixture over strawberries and syrup in pan. Place in middle of oven for 40 mins or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

Frosting: Whip whipping cream, while whipping add vanilla and sugar slowly. Whip until stiff peaks.

To assemble cake: carefully arrange 1 cake layer, strawberry side up, on a cake plate. Carefully stack the remaining cake layer, strawberry side up, over the first layer. Frost the cake with whipped cream frosting.

Pumpkin Bread

1 can of pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 2/3 cups sugar (can substitute Splenda or alternate sweetener)
2/3 cup vegetable or 1 1/3 cup apple sauce
2 tsp vanilla
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups of all purpose white flour
1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts

topping 1/8 cup of halved nuts and 2 tablespoons dry oatmeal

Pre-heat oven to 350. Position oven rack to low position. The pans will need to be placed in the center of the oven. Grease or spray oil on the bottom of 2 loaf pans.
Mix all dry ingredients thoroughly. Add in oil (or apple sauce) vanilla and eggs and mix completely. Add in pumpkin and nuts and fold until completely incorporated.
Pour into loaf pans and sprinkle topping if desired.
Bake loaves 50 to 60 mins or until tooth pick placed in the middle comes out clean. Cool 10 mins before loosening sides of bread and removing from pans. Cool completely before slicing. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature for up to 4 days or refrigerate and store up to 10 days.

May be frozen for up to 2 months.