SHORTBREAD LEMON COOKIES

Recipe from the book: BAKING by James Peterson with some tweaking.(*)

Makes 35 cookies

1 3/4 C flour
1 t salt
1 C butter, cut into 1/2 inch slices
3/4 C granulated sugar
1/4 C turbinado or granulated sugar (optional) i used light brown sugar instead. *

*zest of 2 lemons

In a bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Combine the butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and cream the butter using the paddle attachment blade on medium to high speed for about 1 minute, or until fluffy.

Turn off the mixer, add the flour mixture and zest, turn the mixer on at low speed. Gradually increase the speed to medium and beat for about 1 minute, or until the dough clumps together.

Transfer the dough to a parchment paper that will just fit into a sheet pan. Use rolling pin and your fingers to press the dough into a 9 by 12 inch rectangle about 1/3 inch thick. Sprinkle evenly with the turbinado sugar (brown sugar), if using. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

*The book didn't  suggest to use cookie cutters but i did. Cut the dough right before putting them into the oven.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown on top. Slice the rectangle, while still hot, into 1- inch wide strips. Cut across the strips by making four slices, 2 1/4 inches apart, at about a 30 degree angle with the 1 inch strips, to form diamonds. Let cool completely on the parchment paper before serving.

Store tightly sealed in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

"Shortbread dough is similar to extra buttery sweet pastry dough but contains no liquid. These cookies are quite salty - a delicious juxtaposition with their sweetness-but if you don't want the salt, cut it in half"- JAMES PETERSON.

I like salty and sweet combination so i didn't reduce the salt content but go ahead if you think there is too much salt...but believe you me... it's just perfect and w/ a hint of the lemon...this recipe is definitely a keeper!!!

BANANA UPSIDE DOWN BROWNIE FUDGE

My daughter was craving for some brownies and bananas at 12 midnight, so i suggested to bake both. This banana upside down brownie fudge was the end product of both the cravings and wow did this hit the spot!!!

Brought some to work the following day and they asked for the recipe. So I've got to share this semi-homemade "sinfully delicious" brownie fudge.

Ingredients:

1 box brownie fudge
2 eggs
1/4 C water
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/3 C brown sugar (light or brown)
2 pieces of ripe bananas (sliced on a bias)
Non stick cooking spray

1. Pre-heat the oven at 375 degrees F.
2. Follow the cake mix instructions to make the brownie batter.
3. Arrange the sliced bananas on a greased baking pan.
4. Sprinkle the brown sugar on top of bananas and around the baking pan.
5. Pour the brownie batter over.
6.  Bake for 35 - 40 minutes or do the toothpick method, stick a clean toothpick in the cake, when it comes out clean then it's done.
7. Cool for about 10 minutes then turn the pan upside down.

RED QUINOA BARS

Got this recipe from my daughter. I must admit i was not really enthused when she told me that she's bringing home some quinoa bars. Now don't get me wrong, i love quinoa, i've always cooked them savory, soup or a side dish but never as a sweet treat!

Oh they are good not to mention healthy=;) For more quinoa "fyi" and nutritional value check it HERE .

I made some tweaking to the original recipe. My changes will be in bold letters.

Ingredients:

2 C water
1 C quinoa-well rinsed (I USED THE RED QUINOA)
1/2 - 3/4 C dark brown sugar
1 C rice flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t ground cloves
1/4 t fresh grated nutmeg
1 t anise seeds ground
1/2 C raisins (I ADDED 1/2 C OF GOLDEN RAISINS )
1/2 C chopped dried dates and apricots ( I USED 1 C DRIED MANGOES)
1/2 C walnuts- toasted and skinned (I USED MIXED NUTS-WALNUTS, HAZEL NUTS, ALMONDS)
3 1/2 oz. apple sauce
1/2 C fresh orange juice
2 t vanilla extract
3 3/4 t egg replacer mixed with 6 T water (I USED 1 EGG)

1. Bring the water to a boil and add the quinoa cover and cook over low heat till water is absorbed. About 15 minutes, remove, cool and fluff.

2. Mix the sugar, flour, powder, soda, spices, nuts and fruits.

3. Add the cooked quinoa. Mix the applsesauce, egg (beaten), orange juice and vanilla then add to the dry. Mix well.

4. Place mixture in a sprayed 2" deep 1/2 hotel pan or if you want them thinner you can bake them on a sheet pan.

5. Bake in a 350 degrees F oven till a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan then cut into squares.

6. Serve with some homemade ice cream if you want.

7. You can increase some of the fruits and nuts if you want a denser bar, but be careful not to make it too sweet.

UNCOOKED RED QUINIOA

COOKED RED QUINOA

BARS FRESH OFF THE OVEN

I HONESTLY PREFER THE DRIED MANGOES AS OPPOSED TO THE DRIED DATES AND APRICOTS.

NUTELLA, PEANUTBUTTER CREAM CHEESE FROSTED CUPCAKES

I got a hankering to make this monochromatic/combined frosting design i found HERE . I finally made them! Made these cupcakes for a co-worker who just graduated from high school.

I first thought of food coloring but then it'll make the cupcakes ordinary, so i decided on nutella and peanut butter. I love both plus i know it will be a perfect color combination  with out compromising the flavor. The end result? PERFECTION. Oh did i mention i used cake mix? Yes..i did!

Ingredients:

1 Yellow cake mix box
1 C water
1/3 C softened butter
3 eggs

Cupcake Ingredients:

Follow the cake mix box instructions

** 1 box will yield 24 cupcakes.


FROSTING:


2 C confectioners’ sugar

8 oz cream cheese, softened

5 T unsalted butter, softened

1 t vanilla extract

3-4 T smooth peanut butter

4-5 T nutella

Mix and beat the first 4 ingredients on medium speed for at least 5 minutes or until all are incorporated.

Divide the frostings into 2.
1st half-  mix in the peanut butter. Set aside

2nd half- mix in the nutella. Set aside

Put the peanut butter frosting on one side of a  piping bag. 

Then put in the nutella frost on the opposite side

PAN DE COCO

This is my April Bread Challenge. I have always wanted to learn how to bake one of my favorite Filipino bread Pan de Coco. I was planning on using the dough for my walnut rolls but i figured i should go authentic, i know that sour cream is definitely not one of the ingredients in making pan de coco.

I also thought of making my pan de sal dough but then that'll defeat my bread challenge ( to make different kinds of yeast based bread at least once a month). I finally found this rolls recipe from Red Star Original, BROWN AND SERVE PAN ROLLS with some tweakings.

These rolls turned out good but not exactly the kind of dough i remembered used for the Pan de Coco. So..i'm still on a quest to find that perfect dough, soft, pillowy pan de coco dough but this recipe would suffice for now.

Y: 24 rolls

FILLING:

2 C brown sugar
2 C sweetened coconut flakes

Mix both ingredients and set aside.

BREAD DOUGH:

1 1/3  C  Water
1/4  C  Oil
5 C  Bread Flour
1 t Salt
2 T  Sugar
4 1/2  t Active dry yeast ( 2 packs of 1/4 oz active dry yeast)

NOTE: MILK MAY BE USED IN LIEU OF WATER FOR A SOFTER CRUMB AND CRUST ROLLS.

MIXER METHOD

In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 + 1/2 C flour, yeast, sugar, and salt; mix well.

Combine water and oil; heat to 120 degrees F.

Add to flour mixture. Blend at low speed until moistened; beat 3 minutes at medium speed.

By hand, gradually stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.

Knead on floured surface until smooth and elastic, 5 to 8 minutes.

RISING, SHAPING AND BAKING

Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top.  Cover; let rise until dough tests rise

Punch down dough and knead on a floured board for 5 minutes.

Divide dough and roll each half into a 12×2 inch log.

Cut each into 12 pieces to yield 24 rolls.

Roll each piece into a ball using your hands then rolling it flat into a 3 inch diameter circle.

Place a little of soften butter and a heaping tablespoon of the coconut sugar filling.

Gather sides of round, pinch together and twist.

Place pinched side down on parchment paper, repeat until done.

Cover; let rise in warm place for an hour or until indentation remains after touching.

Bake rolls in a 350 degrees F oven for 25 minutes or until brown.

Let set 30 minutes in pans.  Turn out of pans; cool on a wire rack to room temperature.

CHOCOLATE GOOEY BUTTER COOKIES

I've seen these cookies around the foodblogsphere but didn't bother making them until now. My frined MARINA gave me the recipe. It does look like the crinkled cookies but soft. We liked this, i will add chocolate chips on my next batch.

1 (8-ounce) brick cream cheese, room temperature

1 stick butter, at room temperature

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (18-ounce) box moist chocolate cake mix

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg. Then beat in the vanilla extract. Beat in the cake mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner's sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and "gooey." Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, if desired.

HELLO DOLLY BARS

Recipe from Cooking Light- Annual Recipes, 2008. Really, really good, you have to make these to understand what i mean!.
Line your pan with parchment paper, so it will be easy to take them out of the pan and cut into bars.

Y: 24 serving bars

1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs (about 9 cookie sheets)
2 T butter melted
1 T water
1/3 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 C butterscotch morsels
2/3 C flake sweetened coconut
1/4 C chopped pecans, toasted - i used almonds
1 (15 oz. ) condensed milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Line bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 baking pan with parchment paper, cut off excess paper around top edge.

3. Place crumbs in a medium bowl. Drizzle with butter and 1 T water, toss with a fork until moist.

4.Gently pat mixture into an even layer in pan (do not press firmly).

5. Sprinkle chips and morsels over crumb mixture.

6. Top evenly with coconut and nuts.

7. Drizzle milk evenly over top.

8. Bake at 350 degrees fro 25 min. or until lightly browned and bubbly around edges.

9. Cool completely on wire rack.

I love the combination of the coconuts, chocolate chips, butterscotch morsels and the nuts.

 

BANANA NUTS AND CHOCOLATE CHIPS MUFFINS

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups plus two tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup ripe bananas, mashed (about two smaller bananas)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup nuts, finely chopped
1 cup chocolate chips or morsels

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

1. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together.

2. In another bowl, mash the bananas. Whisk two large eggs and add those to the bananas. Add the oil, milk, sugars, and sour cream. Blend well. Stir in the nuts and chips.

3. With a spatula, mix the dry ingredients into the liquid mixture. Stir until just combined. Spoon the batter into 12 well-greased muffin tins or muffin liners. Ten muffins will give you large, nicely-domed muffins. Fill any unused muffins cups half full of water.

4. Bake for eight minutes at 425 degrees. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for another 6 to 10 minutes or stick a toothpick in the muffins and when it comes out clean it is cooked. Let the muffins sit in the tins for a few minutes and then remove them to wire racks to cool.

TIP: The burst of heat in the initial high temperature helps dome the muffins.

HUNGARIAN WALNUT ROLLS

This is my simple way of welcoming a new member to our family. I've been cooking Hungarian dishes so my niece will be able to cook these tried and tested dishes and add to her recipe book! I will be blogging some more soon.Welcome to our family Mikey! Take good care of my sweet little niece=;).

Baking is not really my forte' but i've challenged myself to at least bake (a yeast based bread) once a month. This Hungarian Nut Roll is my third. This bread is definitely a keeper, i'm already thinking of different fillings i could use in lieu of the nuts the next time i make this. The dough is so good.

Recipe Adapted from Red Star Original Yeast Recipes

Yields: 2 Rolls

Ingredients:

Milk 1/3 C
Sour Cream 1/2 C
Butter 3 T
Egg yolks 2  room temperature
Egg 1 room temperature
Bread Flour 3 + 1/2 C
Sugar 1/2 C
Salt 1/2 t
Active Dry Yeast 4+1/2 t

Filling:
Milk 2 T
Walnuts, freshly ground 2 C
Sugar 1/4 C
Brown Sugar 1/4 C
Butter, 1/4 C room tempereature

Egg 1

Vanilla 1/2 t

Combine yeast, 1 1/2 c flour, sugar and salt. Heat milk, sour cream  and butter to 120-130 degree F. Add to flour mixture; blend on low speed. Add egg yolks and egg; beat 2 to 3 minutes on medium speed. By hand stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface 5 to 7 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place dough in lightly oiled bowl; turn to grease top. Cover, let rise until dough tests ripe, about 40 minutes.

Prepare Filling
In a medium-sized saucepan, combine milk, wlanuts, sugar and butter.
Cook on medium heat until mixture resembles a paste, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat; cool.
Stir in vanilla.
Fold in beaten eggs.

Shaping, Rising, And Baking
Turn dough on to lightly floured, surface; punch down to remove air bubbles.
Cover; let dough relax for 10 minutes. Divide dough into 2 parts.
On lightly floured surface, roll each half to a 12- x 12-inch square.

Spread half of cooled Filling to within 1 inch of edges. Roll up tightly.

Pinch edges to seal; turn ends under.

Place seam-side down on greased baking sheet.

** Repeat with remaining dough. Prick top of roll every 3 inches with fork to eliminate air bubbles. Cover; let rise in warm place until indentation remains when lightly touched, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes until browned. Cover lightly with foil to prevent over browning. Brush with melted butter to maintain a soft crust. Breads are very fragile when warm. Using two spatulas carefully lift Walnut Roll from baking sheet onto rack to cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar when cool; slice to serve. Freezes well.

**Using parchment paper to line baking sheet makes it easier to transfer rolls to cooling rack.

My First Pan de Sal (Popular Filipino Breakfast Bread)

I've been craving for hot pandesal and the only way to satisfy my craving is to bake some.  It took me a while to find a good recipe that doesn't call for bread machine. I finally found two recipes that didn't need any bread machine.

Pan de sal means Salt Bread. This is a popular Filipino breakfast bread. Check HERE
for some fyi about the bread.

This first recipe is adapted from My Love for Food with some tweaking. Over all, this recipe is close to the pan de sal that i use to like. Although, it could use a little bit of sugar and more proofing time the next time i'll use this recipe.

Baking this pan de sal brought out the impatience in me, i knew that the bread needed another proofing w/c i did but for a short time. I also knew that my bread will not be as high as what a pan de sal is suppose to be. I know , i know, i'll give it more time to proof the next time i make them.

Ingredients:
1 C milk (lukewarm)
1/2 C water (lukewarm)
1 egg (room temperature)
1/4 C sugar (i'd probably add a little more)
3/4 t salt
5 T softened butter (i used unsalted)
2 T oil
4 C flour ( I used bread flour)
4 t dry yeat (I used 2 packets of fast rise yeast sometimes called rapid yeast)
Breadcrumbs (I used cornmeal)

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients first. Mix well for about 5 minutes or until ingredients are incorporated.

2. Add in the wet ingredients, mix for another 5 minutes or until the dough loosens from the sides of the bowl.

3. Sprinkle some flour on your bench table. Knead the dough with your hands by folding it then pushing it w/ the base of your palm for about 3-5 minutes or until the dough is elastic.

4. Put the dough back in the bowl. Cover it with cling wrap, put the dough in a warm place and let it rise until double in size.

5.  Sprinkle some cornmeal on the baking sheet pans.

6. Form the dough into logs about 2 inches wide and long enough to make about 24 pieces of small size bread.

7. Arrange cut up breads on the baking sheet pans then sprinkle the top with cornmeal.

8, Let these proof again until they double in size.

9. Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes or until golden browned.

APPLE CRUMB MUFFINS

This is a California Blue Ribbon Winner recipe by a friend of mine Marina who is also a food editor for Taste of Home Magazine. She's got more great accomplishments check HERE


For this recipe, she suggested to use gala, Fuji or Golden Delicous. I used gala and cortland variety.

Y: 12 muffins.


3 1/2 C Flour
3 C peeled and chopped apples (i chopped them small)
2 C sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 C vegetable oil
1 1/2 c walnuts, chopped
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c raisins
Sifted confectioner's sugar
dash of nutmeg ( my addition)
1/3 cup milk (pls. check ****, i didn't have buttermilk)

***Marina's footnote was to add 1/3 cup buttermilk if desired, or if mixture is too dry.

Preheat oven to 30 degrees F.
Greased and flour muffin tins (I used muffin liners)
Combine flour, apples, sugar, salt, soda and cinnamon in a large bowl.
Stir in oil, milk, walnuts, raisins and vanilla. Mix well.
Divide batter into prepared tins and bake 30 minutes. (I cooked mine for 40 minute coz i know my oven will not cook the muffins in 30 minutes)
If desired lightly sprinkle tops of muffins w/ sugar and bake as directed.
When completely cooled dust w/ sifted confectioners sugar (W/c i forgot to do so)

ENJOY!!!!