Bake or Break Recipes

Preheat oven to 350°. Line miniature muffin pans and coat with cooking spray.

Beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add vanilla extract and mix well. Add egg and beat until blended.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to butter mixture, mixing just until combined.

Spoon about 1 & 1/2 teaspoons batter into each muffin cup. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

Beat butter and peanut butter using an electric mixer on medium speed. Mix about 2 minutes, or until combined. Add sugars and mix another 2 minutes. Add eggs and mix. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips, peanuts, and vanilla. Refrigerate dough about 15 minutes or until slightly firm.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place 2-3 inches apart on lined baking sheets. Flatten each cookie slightly. Bake 11-13 minutes or until golden. Cool on wire racks.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together butter and flour until crumbly and well combined. Transfer to an ungreased 13″x 9″pan. Pat crust firmly and evenly into the pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 30 minutes.

Sprinkle pecans and then the coconut over the crust. Pour condensed milk on top, completely covering the coconut. Spread with a spatula if necessary. Bake 30-35 minutes or until lightly golden.

Cool to room temperature. Cover tightly and allow to set overnight before cutting.

Makes 24 2-inch squares.

Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 9″x 13″pan and line with parchment paper.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Melt chocolate and butter together in the top of a barely simmering double boiler. Remove from heat.

Using the whisk attachment of an electric mixer, beat 3 eggs and 1 cup sugar on high speed for about 5 minutes, or until thick and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add chocolate mixture and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Mix well. Add flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Spread into prepared pan and set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat mascarpone cheese, 2 eggs, egg yolks, 1/3 cup sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Mix until smooth. Pour over chocolate mixture.

Bake about 35 minutes, or until cheese mixture is golden and set. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Beat butter at medium speed in a heavy-duty mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugars and beat well. Add eggs and vanilla, beating well.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, bakings soda, and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture and beat well.

Process oats in a food processor until finely ground. Add to butter mixture and beat well. Stir in chocolates and pecans.

Drop cookies by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly on baking sheets. Then, remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 9″x 13″baking pan. Line bottom with parchment paper. Butter the parchment and dust with flour, tapping out the excess.

Beat butter and sugar together on medium speed of an electric mixer. Mix for about 2 minutes, until fluffy. Add eggs and peanut butter, and beat about 2 minutes or until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. Add to butter mixture and beat on low speed until combined. Add vanilla and mix.

Transfer two-thirds of dough to pan and spread evenly. Spread jam on top of dough. Crumble remaining dough on top of jam. Sprinkle with peanuts.

Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until golden. Rotate pan half-way through baking. Tent loosely with foil if bars are getting too dark.

Cool on a wire rack. Run a knife around the edges to loosen. Refrigerate 1-2 hours. Cut into bars and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Makes about 3 dozen bars.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Stir together 3/4 cup sugar, flour, 3 tablespoons cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Stir in milk, butter, and vanilla, mixing until smooth. Pour into an ungreased 8-inch square glass baking pan.

In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar, and 4 tablespoons cocoa. Sprinkle evenly over batter. Pour hot water over the top. Do not stir.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Let stand for 15 minutes, then serve. Use the chocolate sauce in the bottom of the pan to spoon over servings. Garnish, if desired, with ice cream or whipped cream.

Makes 8 servings.

Combine 4 cups flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing well. Add flour mixture and mix well.

Divide dough in half. To one half, add cocoa and mix. To the other half, add 1/4 cup flour and mix. Stir into each dough 1 cup oats and 1 cup chocolate chips. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375°. Combine 1 tablespoon of each dough, twisting together to make one cookie. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. If dough becomes too warm, refrigerate for a few minutes then resume forming cookies.

Bake about 10 minutes or until lighter dough is golden brown. Cool on sheets for 2 minutes. Then, remove cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 4 dozen large cookies.

Preheat oven to 350°. Line mini muffin pans with paper liners.

Place butter and 4 ounces white chocolate in a large bowl. Microwave on high in 30 second intervals, stirring between each, until mixture is smooth.

Stir in brown sugar and granulated sugar. Stir in eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Gradually stir in flour. Stir in vanilla. Then, stir in white chocolate morsels and nuts.

Spoon batter into muffin pans. Bake for about 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool in pans for 5 minutes. Then, remove from pans and cool on wire racks.

Makes about 60 blondies.

Place butter and sugar in a food processor. Pulse about 15 times until sugar disappears. Add flour and salt and pulse again about 15 times until butter is no larger than small peas.

Stir together egg yolk and cream. Add to the food processor and pulse about 8 times, just until incorporated. The dough should be in crumbly pieces. Transfer dough to a platic bag and press from the outside just until it holds together.

Transfer dough to a large piece of plastic wrap. Using the plastic wrap, knead the dough a few times until it becomes one smooth piece. Flatten into a 6-inch disc. Wrap well and refrigerate for 30 minutes or freeze for 10 minutes until firm enough to put into the tart pan.

Roll dough between lightly floured sheets of plastic wrap into an 1/8-inch-thick circle. Work quickly so that dough does not soften. If it becomes too soft, place it (in the plastic wrap) on a baking sheet and refrigerate or freeze until firm.

Remove top sheet of plastic wrap. For a 9 & 1/2- by 1-inch tart pan, cut dough to an 11-inch circle. Lift the dough using the plastic wrap. Invert the dough and drape it evenly into the tart pan. Remove plastic wrap and press dough into the sides of the pan. The dough should come about 1/8 inch above the rim of the pan because it will fall during baking.

Bake at 425° for 5 minutes. When the dough starts to puff, prick it lightly with a fork. Then bake at 375° for 10-15 minutes.

Baked crust will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days.