Nov.
11

Yes it’s Tuesday but there’s no Tuesday’s-with-Dorie recipe for me.  It’s been a very hectic week – moreso than usual – and when I saw what the TwD recipe was, it was more involved and more time consuming that I could handle. So, sorry to say, no TwD for me.  Consider this a “by-week” (or is it “bye-week”?  maybe “buy-week”? Hey, I like actually really that last one!).  But I did make something… chocolate cupcakes with 7-minute frosting :)

I recently read an article in the Washington Post about Cupcake Wars.  Turns out the winner was a chocolate cupcake with chocolate ganache icing from Georgetown Cupcake.  Since the article included the recipe I thought I’d go ahead and make it to see if it was really ‘all that and a bag of chips’.  Feeling rather ambitious I decided to do a whipped cream type of filling and make these into something more resembling Hostess Cupcakes.  I remembered quite a while back reading a blog post about making your own Hostess Cupcakes, Devil Dogs and Ring Dings. I searched and searched and searched… and finally found it right here. The recipe for the filling was actually 7-minute frosting. 

Having never made 7 minute frosting before, I went for it with gusto.  But somewhere between baking the cupcakes, waiting for them to cool, searching for the filling recipe and making the 7 minute frosting for the filling, well, all I can say is that my “get up and go” simply “got up and went”.  So I never got to part of my grand plan where I was to make the ganache.  Instead… I frosted the cupcakes with the 7 minute frosting.  It was a big hit with the Hubs and the Kids because they said it tasted like marshmallow fluff.  Unfortunately I really did not like this “frosting” at all.  But it’s very popular and for some people it’s their absolute favorite home made frosting.  So if you’ve never tried, it, you really should.  I mean, what have you got to lose… besides seven minutes bwaaaaaaaaaaaahahahaha I crack me up :)

Oh, and truth-be-told, the chocolate cupcakes themselves were nothing remarkable.

 

Have a delicious day!

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Posted in Chocolate, cupcakes, recipes | 13 Comments »

Nov.
04

Rugelach… times two! – TwD

Posted by Em at: 8:00 am | 31 Comments

Not only is it Election Day in the United States but it’s Tuesdays-with-Dorie, too :)  This week’s recipe was for rugelach… one of my favorite cookies.  While I love to eat rugelach, I’d never even considered trying to make them because the finished product looked as if it had to be an uber-complex process.  And my first attempt truly was humbling because it was an uber-mess which was uber-disappointing.   But because I love these so much, I refused to be put down by these little cookies.  I switched things up and finally, finally produced some very tasty (and kinda cute, if I must say so myself) rugelach :)

 

I usually pretty much love Dorie’s recipes. Her recipes for the Perfect Party Cake, Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters, Chocolate Pudding and Cream Puff Ring are among my faves  But, although I hate to admit it, some of Dorie’s recipes simply just don’t work well for me.  Take for example Dorie’s recipe for pie crust.  Try as I might, I just can’t get it right. And the same thing with Dorie’s recipe for rugelach.  

 

I wanted to love Dorie’s rugelach recipe but either the recipe is off or the directions leave a lot to be desired. I’m not quite sure which.  I followed the recipe exactly as written and had nothing but trouble.  The butter/cream cheese/flour didn’t produce a “dough” by pulsing 8 times in the food processor.  In hindsight, I probably should have run the FP longer… but I was afraid since the directions said not to overmix.  The dough didn’t come together, after being refrigerated for an hour it was rock-solid, trying to roll it out was a real chore and trying to roll up the little triangles just was darn near impossible for me.  In the oven, those suckers just spread all over the place – the filling spread – the dough spread – it was an ugly ol mess and these are the best looking of the batch of 16 cookies.  

I honestly don’t know what happened because the vast majority of the other TwD bakers had absolutely no problem with Dorie’s recipe… and I’m thrilled for them :)  So don’t go by my experience alone… check out the results from the other TwD bakers right here. 

But I refused to be outdone by this recipe since after starting to make it, heck, I wanted to eat some tasty rugelach! The next day I started all over again and this time I used Ina Garten’s recipe.  The dough came together much better, it rolled out fine, everything… everything just worked out for me :)

 

Both times (Dorie’s recipe as well as Ina’s recipe) I made two batches, each with a different filling.  One was apricot preserves, cinnamon sugar, almonds and grated chocolate…. the other was cranberry preserves, diced apples, cinnamon sugar, golden raisins and almonds.  Both were very good but I definitely preferred the cranberry-apple variety.  DH just loved them both equally :)
Having made both Dorie’s rugelach and Ina’s rugelach back to back, it’s easy to compare and contrast my experience. Ina’s recipe has sugar in the batter so it gets a bit of a sweetness boost right there.  Also, Ina’s method is to use a stand mixer to cream the butter and cream cheese…. as opposed to Dorie’s recipe in which a food processor is used to pulse the ingredients together.  Any way you slice it Ina’s recipe just worked out better for me.  
If you’re interested in Dorie’s recipe, it can be found at the blog of this week’s TwD host Piggy of Piggy’s Cooking Journal.   If you’d like Ina’s recipe, it can be found here.   Making rugelach is a whole lot easier than you might think… it sure was for me. 
 
Have a delicious day!!
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Posted in Chocolate, Dorie Greenspan, Ina Garten, Tuesdays with Dorie, almond, cinnamon, cookies, fruit, recipes | 31 Comments »

Nov.
01

Iced Pumpkin Cookies

Posted by Em at: 5:53 pm | 12 Comments

These cookies come with a warning.  I should be kind and put it in big, bold, flashing neon red letters… but you won’t listen.  How do I know this, you ask?  Because I didn’t listen either when my friend Jamie made them and gave the same warning.  But you guys are a lot smarter than me and I bet you will listen – so I’ll give you the warning… these cookies are SERIOUSLY addicting!  Oh sure, you may scoff, and giggle, and laugh, and guffaw at that warning.  Trust me when I say I didn’t believe it either.  And then on a whim, I made them because, well, I felt like baking and I had some leftover pumpkin puree from the muffins I’d made. I lost count of how many I consumed the first night because holy mother of pearl these are goooooooood. Cake-like, oh-so-soft, melt-in-your-mouth, disappear-from-the-tray-in-an-instant, good.  I honestly think they have become my favorite cookie – and based on the raves from my coworkers, they might become yours too!!


Now that Halloween’s over and we’re officially into “the holiday season” and “turkey month”, it feels like the perfect time to blog about these fantabulous pumpkin cookies.  When I first saw them on Jamie’s blog I didn’t give them a second thought. Oh sure, they looked pretty… heck, everything on her blog does… but the caramel icing completely turned me off.  Her post said the recipe was adapted from one on All Recipes so I set out to find the original.  It took a bit of searching but I found it, halved it and tweaked some ingredients figuring I just wouldn’t make the icing. Nothing wrong with a nekkid cookie, right ;-)

When I made the first batch, I discovered they really weren’t cooked enough using the stated bake time.  I had to actually put them back in the oven after DH and I tasted one.  But the remaining batches I cooked longer and that worked fine.  Upon tasting one, I knew I was doomed.  Well, that’s not entirely true since I wasn’t doomed! Sadly, the same can’t be said for my hips, butt and thighs cuz sure as can be, they were doomed.  Totally worth it though because wow – wow – wow! These cookies are somethin’ else!  I even ended up making the icing and that just took them completely over the top.  I took them to work and my coworkers absolutely raved over them. I mean R-A-V-E-D!  I couldn’t keep up with the emails that were flying in.  Oh yes, I do recall they raved over the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes but the raves for these cookies were actually bigger, louder, more enormous, totally from the heart… and the belly ;-)  People asked for the recipe! People asked how soon I could make more! People told me I missed my calling and should’ve been baker! People. Loved. These. Cookies. Period.  End-of-story.  

 

Iced Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup shortening
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 4 tablespoons milk
  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F, line cookie sheet with silicone mat

Cream shortening, granulated sugar and pumpkin. Add egg and mix well. Add the baking soda, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and flour and mix well.
Using a small-to-medium sized disher (cookie scoop) or generous tablespoon, scoop batter onto cookie sheet. Using a wet finger, smooth points/peaks and gently press down tops. Bake 15-18 minutes then remove from oven and transfer to cooling rack and cool about 10-15 minutes before icing. 
To Make Icing: Cook butter, milk, and brown sugar until dissolved. Cool and add confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Place a sheet of waxed paper under the cooling rack, take the cooled cookies and holding one at a time dip upside down into the icing, invert and place on cooling rack.  Decorate with sprinkles while icing is still wet.  Allow icing to fully set… if you can!!… before eating :)

 

Enjoy!

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E870F3868.png" style="border: none; background: transparent;"/>

 

Posted in cookies, pumpkin, recipes | 12 Comments »

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