December 19th, 2011 · Comments Off
Recipe adapted from Baking from My Home to Yours Read more at Bake or Break.
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- pinch of salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces (plus more for preparing the pans)
- 2 & 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
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Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly butter miniature muffin pans (24 cups total). Place muffin pans on a baking sheet.
Whisk together flour and salt. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt butter, chocolate, and brown sugar. Stir frequently to avoid overheating or burning. Remove from heat when mixture is smooth. Allow to cool for 1-2 minutes.
Stir in vanilla and egg until well-blended. Add flour and stir just until incorporated. Batter should be smooth and glossy.
Spoon batter by teaspoonfuls into muffin cups, filling each cup about 3/4 full. Batter should fill 16-24 cups. Fill any empty cups with 1 teaspoon water.
Bake 14-16 minutes, until the tops spring back when touched. Cool on wire racks for a few minutes. Then, remove from pans to cool completely on wire racks.
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December 18th, 2011 · Comments Off
Recipe from Momofuku Milk Bar, via Gilt Taste. Read more at Bake or Break.
- 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- cinnamon sugar*
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Preheat oven to 350°. Grease an 11″x 15″ baking pan.
Mix butter, sugar, oil, eggs, and milk with an electric mixer. Mix in vanilla. Add flour, salt, and baking soda, and mix well.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Spread evenly with off-set spatula or knife. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Bake 20 minutes, or until edges are light brown. Allow to rest for 10 minutes. Then, cut into squares.
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*To make cinnamon sugar, mix 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon for every 1/4 cup granulated sugar.
December 15th, 2011 · Comments Off
Recipe adapted from Cooking Light Way to Bake. Read more at Bake or Break.
Crust
- 4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
- 1 cup quick-cooking oats
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 3 tablespoons orange juice
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Preheat oven to 325°. Spray an 11″x 7″ baking pan with cooking spray.
Whisk together flour, oats, brown sugar, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Drizzle butter and orange juice over flour mixture. Stir until moistened and mixture is crumbly.
Reserve 1/2 cup of crust mixture. Press remaining crust mixture into bottom of prepared pan.
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Filling
- 1 & 1/3 cups dried cherries (about 6 ounces)
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
- 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
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In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and stir well. Spread filling mixture over crust in pan. Sprinkle evenly with reserved crust mixture.
Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until edges are golden. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.
Makes 24 bars.
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December 13th, 2011 · Comments Off
Recipe adapted from All You.
Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 large egg white, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 large ripe bananas
- 1/4 cup milk
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Preheat oven to 375°. Spray an 8-inch square pan with cooking spray.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, beat butter, oil, and sugar. Beat in eggs and egg white, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in vanilla.
In a separate bowl, mash bananas with milk. Set aside.
Gradually mix half of dry ingredients into butter mixture. Mix in bananas. Mix in remaining dry ingredients. Pour cake batter into prepared baking pan.
Bake 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on wire rack.
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Frosting
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 & 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons chopped toasted nuts (optional)
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Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese and vanilla. Reduce speed and gradually add confectioners’ sugar.
Spread frosting on cake. Sprinkle with nuts.
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December 12th, 2011 · Comments Off
Recipe adapted from Food Network. Read more at Bake or Break.
Crust
- 1 & 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 12 bite-size peanut butter cups*
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Preheat oven to 350°. Place a cupcake liner in 12 cups of standard muffin pan(s).
In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter. Stir until crumbs are moistened. Press crust into each muffin cup. Place 1 peanut butter cup in the center of each crust.
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*I used Trader Joe’s mini peanut butter cups and placed 3 in each cup.
Filling
- 16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
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Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add sugar and mix until combined. Mix in flour. Mix in vanilla, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Spoon mixture over peanut butter cups and crusts, filling to the top of each cup.
Bake 20 minutes or until set. Cool completely before serving. Keep any leftover cheesecakes refrigerated.
Makes 12 mini cheesecakes.
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December 10th, 2011 · Comments Off
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart.
Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 & 1/3 cups vegetable or canola oil
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 3-4 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
- 1 cup chopped assorted nuts (pecans, almonds, etc.)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
Sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer on high speed, combine oil, sugar, and eggs on high speed until blended. Mixture will be lemon yellow. Decrease mixer speed to medium, and gradually add flour mixture. Mix just until blended. Mix in vanilla. Stir in apples and nuts.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 75-90 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove cake from oven and cool slightly on wire rack. Then, invert cake onto rack to cool completely.
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Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup evaporated milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
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Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened to desired consistency.
Pour over cake immediately.
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December 8th, 2011 · Comments Off
Recipe from Great Cookies. Read and see more at Bake or Break.
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup unsalted butter, slightly firm
- 2 cups lightly packed brown sugar (very fresh!)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons finely chopped nuts, divided
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
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Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 10 1/2″x 15 1/2″x 1″ jelly roll pan.
Mix flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter until light. Add brown sugar gradually (about 1/4 cup at a time). Beat until light in color. Add eggs, 1 at a time, and beat after each addition. Mix in vanilla.
Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add flour mixture. Mix just until incorporated. Stir in 1 cup chopped nuts and chocolate chips.
Spread batter in pan. Smooth top with an offset spatula. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons (or more, if you’d like) nuts on top of batter.
Bake 16-18 minutes, or until sides are lightly browned. Do not over-bake. A wooden pick inserted in the center should come out with moist crumbs.
Cool on wire rack for 1 hour before cutting into bars. Store in an airtight container for 5 days. Bars may also be frozen.
Makes about 5 dozen bars.
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December 7th, 2011 · Comments Off
Recipe adapted from Fat Witch Brownies. Read and see more at Bake or Break.
Filling
- 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup finely chopped hazelnuts
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In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add egg, lemon juice, and vanilla extract, beating until well-blended. Stir in hazelnuts. Cover bowl and refrigerate. |
Brownies
- 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts
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Grease and flour a 9-inch square baking pan. Set aside.
Melt chocolate and butter in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently. Remove from heat to cool.
Combine flour and salt. Set aside.
Beat sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Add cooled chocolate mixture. Beat until well-combined. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing just until combined. Stir in hazelnuts.
Spread half of the brownie batter into prepared pan, just covering the bottom. Spread chilled filling over brownie batter. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°.
Spread remaining brownie batter on top of the filling. (Warning: This is far easier said than done.) Swirl the layers by inserting a butter knife into the pan and lifting straight up. Repeat in a pattern or randomly over surface of brownies.
Bake 30-33 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean or with dry crumbs. Cool in pan on wire rack for 1 hour. Cut brownies just before serving.
Brownies should be covered and stored in the refrigerator.
Makes 12-18 brownies.
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December 6th, 2011 · Comments Off
Recipe from an unlabeled clipping buried deep in my “to-bake” stack. Read and see more at Bake or Break.
Muffins
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
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Preheat oven to 350°. Line muffin tins with 24 paper liners.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, beat butter at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add sugar and mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Add sour cream and vanilla. Beat until blended.
Gradually add flour mixture. Mix until just blended. The batter will be thick.
Spoon muffin batter into cups, filling about 2/3-full. |
Topping
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 cup finely chopped pecans
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
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Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Sprinkle over muffin batter in muffin tins.
Bake muffins for 25-30 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.
Makes 24 muffins.
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December 5th, 2011 · Comments Off
Recipe from Taste of Home. Read and see more at Bake or Break.
- 3 cups salted peanuts (no skins), divided
- 2 & 1/2 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups peanut butter chips
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 2 cups miniature marshmallows
- kosher salt or sea salt, optional
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Place 1 & 1/2 cups peanuts in the bottom of an ungreased 11″x 7″ pan.*
Melt butter and peanut butter chips in a large saucepan over low heat. Stir until smooth.
Remove from heat. Stir in condensed milk and marshmallows. Continue stirring until smooth and well-blended.
Pour peanut butter mixture over peanuts in pan. Sprinkle remaining 1 & 1/2 cups peanuts over top of peanut butter mixture. If saltier bars are desired, sprinkle lightly with salt.
Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Then, cut into bars. Bars can be served chilled or at room temperature.
Makes about 30 bars.
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*These can be made in a 9″x 13″ pan. Use another cup of peanuts, divided between the bottom of the pan and the top of the bars. The same amount of filling will work and give you slightly thinner bars.