Sour Cream Coffeecake with Cinnamon Chocolate Swirl

Happy Birthday to my M-O-M! We celebrated my Mom this morning with a fabulous brunch at my sister's place in Minneapolis. I offered to bring the sweets, which included this coffee cake and some cupcakes (a later post?)

Hmmm, maybe I should have taken a picture of the entire coffee cake?

I took several pieces over to my sister's for sharing, but knew the entire 9x13 monster cake was too much. We shared it with my mother-in-law and selfishly kept a few pieces for ourselves!

Here's my piece later on tonight...

So it turned out very "m" (moist) and flavorful. I thought the chocolate swirl would be a bit more pronounced but I wasn't unhappy with it. It was enough. I'm not super fond of pecans but they were ground up in the crumb topping and were fine. My food processor blade is on recall so I used the blender. Worked great.

This was a good recipe and I'm glad it worked out. How can you go wrong with so much butter, sugar and sour cream?? AND IT MAKES A TON. Great for a crowd!

Click here for the stolen recipe for Sour Cream Coffee Cake Heaven.

Christmas Cookies 2014

I love Christmas cookies. I like that I get to be in charge of them every year (for both sides of the family) and I like making something new each year.

I asked my family for their requests. I received these: almond crack candy, Mexican wedding cakes, peanut butter blossoms with dark chocolate kisses, and chocolate peppermint crackles. Yay! The chocolate chip peppermint crackles were new to me, and I added Cinnamon Sugar cut-outs to round it out.

 

These didn't make it to the Christmas platters but I made gingerbread cake balls for a work holiday potluck. They were a hit!

 

A picture of my handy chocolate melter. I never thought it would get so much use. Melting chocolate for strawberries, for candy melts, cake balls, and now making my own body butter/creams (a later recipe?)

 

Back to cookies.

The Chocolate Chip Peppermint Crackle cookies were better than I expected. They had crushed peppermint candies inside the dough, tasted brownie-like, and then were topped with a piece of peppermint candy to make them pretty. I was so glad these made it on the platter!

The peanut blossoms are a pretty standard cookie but my Jimmy said these tasted better than usual. It's that love ingredient, you know! And the dark chocolate kisses were a great choice. Good job, Richie!

 

 

The Mexican Wedding Cake cookies. Can you believe that I didn't even try these? They are made with pecans. I'm okay with pecans but the peanut butter blossoms and almondy candy called my name so much more.

 

 

I really, really enjoyed making royal icing this year. I had this plan of making gnome cookies for over a month. I wanted to try an easier technique using royal icing and it worked so well! I made one huge batch of royal icing and then separated it into a few bowls for different colors. I only made one consistency of royal icing- thin enough to spread but thick enough to stay put. I used this woman's blog for her technique.

Here's Frosty the Snowman, complete with a flower on his hat! These were fun but required a lot of patience. The colors needed to be piped one color at a time, so they didn't run together. I'd wait 15-20 minutes and then go back to the cookie with another color or to add a detail on top of a color. They were worth it. I think they were darn near perfect.

 

One gnome as Santa!

 

The gnomes were the most fun. I knew my sister would love them :) I was even able to add the tiny eyeballs once I became familiar with the consistency of the royal icing. Delicate work.

 

The cookies dried overnight but I still took care that they wouldn't smear. I kept recalling my Thanksgiving cookie fiasco so I made sure the covered pan had plenty of room above each cookie and then I carried the tray on my lap during the car ride. They made it!

 

Yay for cookies!

 

Click here for the stolen recipe for Gingerbread Cake.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Cinnamon Sugar Cut-out Cookies.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Hershey's Peanut Butter Blossoms.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Mexican Wedding Cake Cookies (or Snowball Cookies).

Click here for the stolen recipe for Chocolate Chip Peppermint Crunch Crackle Cookies.

There is no shared recipe for the Almond Crack Candy. Sorry!

 

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Chunky Pecan Pie Bars

I haven't kept up with my blogging and recipes. I keep saying I feel like I've lost my baking mojo.

For this recipe I was inspired by a challenge. The principal at my school had his birthday on Wednesday. The office staff decided to bring treats on Friday to celebrate. I asked him what he really, really, really likes because I wanted to make something new. Pecan pie. Uh....

I wasn't looking forward to pie crust. I knew I wouldn't even attempt it. So I decided to google "pecan pie" and "Brown Eyed Baker"- my favorite blogger. I knew she'd have some kind of recipe! Bars! A very simple recipe too!

 

This is a very simple crust to make. A stick of softened butta, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and 1 1/2 cups flour. Combine until crumbly and then press into a 13x9 pan! Easy! Bake for 10-15 minutes.

The filling is just as easy... Whip up some eggs, corn syrup, vanilla, sugar, and melted butter. Stir in chocolate chunks and chopped pecans.

Bake! Cool! Done!

A few of my coworkers said these bars were amazing. I totally trust their opinion. I did taste a bit of these bars but not too much. I don't really care for pecans. Weird huh? But my whole pan of bars disappeared so I know they were enjoyed. And the birthday guy told me they were "yummy". Oh good!

I would make these again for pecan pie fans :)

Click here for the stolen recipe for Chunky Pecan Pie Bars.

 

Stay tuned. I have quite a few new recipes that I just never posted!

 

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Pumpkin Pie Fudge

I had never made fudge!

 

I made this fudge for my friend Jessica, a fellow pumpkin lover. We had a Secret Santa exchange and I was thrilled to draw her name. She's the best-est!

I bought these pretty little bowls at Target and filled them up with probably 1 1/2 pounds of fudge.

The fudge was very sweet and full of a wonderful pumpkin flavor. I didn't know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised by how easy fudge is to make. Evaporated milk, white chocolate, marshmallow fluff, walnuts, canned pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, sugar, etc. I didn't have a good thermometer so I did some guesswork on when it was done. I'm glad it turned out well :)

I froze a bit of the fudge and some of it made it on to my Christmas cookie platters a week later. Yay!

Click here for the stolen recipe for Pumpkin Pie Fudge.

 

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Skillet Apple Crisp

I made this deliciousness for Thanksgiving. I was happy to bring leftovers home and enjoy it more and more. My sister sent me this recipe, from Cook's Illustrated. I had to follow the revised instructions since I didn't bake the apple crisp in the cast iron skillet as directed.

I did cook the apples on the stovetop and then transfer the mixture to a 9x13 pan, finishing it off in the oven. I had also never used Golden Delicious apples. I found them to hold their slice well. A great apple crisp apple! Those CI cooks know what they're doing.

I don't think I'm a pecan (or any kind of nut) fan until I love them in a recipe like this. The pecans really, really made the dessert. The topping is out of this world good. It's so good that we've baked apples since this recipe and made small amounts of the topping to bake along with it. SO GOOD.

 

My sister sent me the recipe, via email, but I found a cooking blog with the recipe.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Skillet Apple Crisp.

 

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Crockpot Apple Cinnamon Steel-cut Oatmeal

I'm not a big cooked oatmeal fan (I didn't think) but my doctor suggested adding oatmeal to my breakfast line-up because it's packed with protein and will keep me full. I've heard that steel-cut oatmeal is the healthiest but it takes a lot longer to cook. Voila. Crockpot!



I have issues with texture so when I saw this gloppy finished product I was a bit scared. I added a bit of brown sugar, dried cranberries, and sliced almonds. SO much better! It wasn't as gloppy as I thought but rather chewy and hearty.

It was very easy to throw together and I imagine that you can change up the basic recipe as you like. I think adding dried fruit would be great. If I added dried fruit I wouldn't add more liquid, because I think I like my oatmeal on the drier side. If I made it exactly like this again I would decrease the water by 1/2 cup.

I saw on other websites that people didn't like making the oatmeal directly in the crockpot because of the browned bits on the sides (they were preparing the oatmeal in a bowl within the crockpot, like a steam bath). I actually thought those bits added a lot to the flavor and texture. It firmed it up.

The verdict: Did it keep me fuller and not make me break out into the shakes by 10am? I think I need to eat it a few times more and then decide.

It makes 5 1-cup servings and the recipe says it freezes well. I did freeze a few portions but they didn't last long in the freezer. We ate them up pretty quickly! We'll definitely be making this again.

I did need to buy two ingredients that I wouldn't normally have in the house. Each bag cost around $5. The steel cut oatmeal will make 3 crockpot recipes. And then for the ground flaxseed you only need 2 Tablespoons so this bag will last a long time. I should find some other recipes for the flaxseed. I think it's one of those ingredients that I've seen around but I hadn't made the leap to buy it until now. In muffins?

Click here for the stolen recipe for Crockpot Apple Cinnamon Steel-cut Oatmeal.

German Chocolate Layer Cake

My husband's family came over for a belated birthday celebration dinner on Sunday. I asked him to choose a cake for his day. I was happy that he asked for German Chocolate- I mean, I just don't get to bake with coconut often enough!

I didn't show Jim the cake but just put in the fridge. You can see that the cake looks GOOD.

4 thin layers of moist chocolate cake and loads of coconut pecan filling.

The chocolate cake was very light- not too chocolatey. It was made with a bit of espresso powder for a deep, not too sweet taste. The filling was made lots of egg yolks, sugar, and butter. It is gooey and delicious.

Even after our dinner guests we are left with half of the cake. What to do??? :)

The recipe is from one of my best cookbooks, Baking Illustrated, but I found the recipe online.

Click here for the stolen recipe for German Chocolate Cake.

German Chocolate Cupcakes

I have a friend. Let's call him "Pal". His birthday falls on December 31st, New Year's Eve. Instead of thinking that the whole world celebrates his birthday, he thinks the party is just NEVER about him. Also, his birthday falls during our winter break each year so no treats from his work buddies. When I became friends with Pal I told him that I would make him cupcakes one day. I thought about his half birthday, but darn! That falls during our summer break. (We're not constantly on breaks at Anoka-Hennepin, it just works out that way... Well, unless you visit me at school. I'm constantly on breaks then, right, Pal?) So anyway, running joke that I would make him cupcakes. FINALLY today I knew I was going to see my Pal. I surprised him with these German Chocolate Cupcakes. He once told me that they were among his favorite kind of cakes. The recipe is from David Lebovitz, AKA the Ice Cream God. He is also a trained pastry chef. He knows his stuff. The cake was wonderful- nice and fluffy from the whipped egg whites and tasty from the Dutch cocoa and coffee. The frosting? Not like a normal German Chocolate frosting. It was more of a topping. Chocolate, toasted coconut, pecans, and a quick custard of evaporated milk and eggs. Mmmmm. Gooey. A six pack! To take home and share. Happy Birthday Hal! Thanks for giving me an excuse to make one of my favorites too :) Click here for the stolen recipe for German Chocolate Cupcakes.

Dad's Rocky Road Ice Cream

It's not my Dad's recipe :) It was made for my Dad because I know it's his favorite kind of ice cream. It's my sister Ana's too, I found out. Anything by David Lebovitz is my favorite, so we're all in agreement over this ice cream.

I used his lovely chocolate ice cream recipe and then mixed in some toasted chopped almonds and mini marshmallows. OMG. So good! So creamy and chocolate-y. I think the only thing that could have made this better was to make my own homemade marshmallows. I didn't want to go nuts though. Ha!

Click here for the online recipe for Rocky Road Ice Cream.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Turtle Cookies

I usually stick to recipes, not changing one little detail. I found this recipe and I loved the idea of making a spectacular, different kind of thumbprint cookie. The original recipe used melted caramel candies but I knew that I have a salted caramel recipe up my sleeve that kicks that idea's butt.

I'm going to just announce that this recipe stinks. I think maybe then I won't have to share with anyone else. Okay, maybe my husband will get a cookie or two :)



Seriously, these are great. I don't even like pecans. You know, I keep saying that about nuts. I think I may have changed my mind after my husband's pecan pie. I think I just don't like plain nuts but if they are encased in sweet gooeyness or coupled with chocolate and salted caramel... well, what's a girl to do? EAT IT!

In this picture you can see that I didn't even wait for the caramel sauce to cool and harden a bit before putting it together. I need to learn patience!

Click here for the stolen recipe for Chocolate Turtle Cookies.
Click here for the salted caramel recipe. This sauce is included in one of the best brownie recipes ever.

Thanksgiving

It's amazing how little time it takes to scarf down all that food, all that love, energy, and time spent cooking for two days. Was it worth it? Of course! I was very happy to try so many new recipes. I don't think a single one really disappointed. My cranberry walnut rolls weren't light and fluffy, but kind of dense but still good. It was one recipe I wouldn't repeat as is. I wonder if I kneaded too much? Anyway, lots of good food. And I made my own gravy! Very proud and happy :)


OH! And my husband made both desserts. I can't make any claims on those. He did a fabulous job!


Appetizer-

Stuffed Mushrooms

Meal-

Pioneer Style Herb Roasted Turkey with Sage Gravy

Unfortunately, I didn't get any "after" pictures of the turkey. This is the 20 pounder slathered in herb butter. James declared it "yucky" looking.

The turkey ended up with a fabulous brown crust. It was darn pretty. I am so regretful that I did not get one little picture. Oh well. I have something better- leftovers!

Pioneer Woman's Creamy Mashed Potatoes- These were great because I made them ahead of time and just stuck them in the oven while the turkey rested.


Brussel Sprouts Gratin- This isn't a picture from tonight's gratin. I was flying around the kitchen at the very end and didn't take a picture of the gratin or the turkey. Bummer.



Sourdough Stuffing with Carmelized Onions and Apples

Framboise Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry Walnut Rolls

Dessert-

Jim proudly serves up his creations.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Chocolate Pecan Pie

We are all satisifed and full. Our guests all went home with plenty of leftovers. That 2o pound bird was more than enough for our meal and many others. Happy Thanksgiving!