All posts for the month January, 2012

Snickerdoodle Whoopie Pies

When I made the vanilla whoopie pies yesterday, I also made snickerdoodle whoopie pies. I just didn’t post them because my pictures turned out terrible. It’s not easy taking a pretty picture of something that is almost all brown Besides, these were so yummy, they deserved a post all their own.

My husband loves snickerdoodles and he asked me if I could make a snickerdoodle whoopie pie sometime. Justin rarely makes requests, so I wanted to make these for him. I looked in my books for a recipe, but I couldn’t find one. I figured that a snickerdoodle is basically a sugar cookie coated in cinnamon sugar. So, I could make a vanilla whoopie pie and just sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar for the same effect. I had Justin taste them to make sure they were what he was looking for. Well, he ate 8 pies in a half hour, so I guess they were!

Usually I send most of what a bake with Justin to school to share with his students. But, mid-whoopie pie he turns to me and says “These I am not sharing.” Sorry kids.

Snickerdoodle Whoopie Pies:

1 recipe vanilla whoopie pie cakes

Cinnamon sugar- I just eyeballed it, heavy on the cinnamon (If you’re not into eyeballing it, Martha Stewart uses 1/4 cup sugar with 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon to coat her snickerdoodles)

1 recipe marshmallow filling

Follow the recipe for vanilla whoopie pies, except before baking, sprinkle the top of the batter liberally with cinnamon sugar. Bake according to the recipe.

Source: Vanilla whoopie pies from Whoopie Pies: Dozens of Mix’ em, Match’em, Eat’em Up Recipes and the marshmallow filling from Martha Stewart

9 Comments

by Just Baked on January 31, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in whoopie pies

Tagged cinnamon, marshmallow, sandwich, Snickerdoodle, whoopie pie

Posted by Just Baked on January 31, 2012

http://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/snickerdoodle-whoopie-pies/

Vanilla Whoopie Pies

Whoopie pies (or gobs) are a popular treat in the Northeast, supposedly originating with the Pennsylvania Amish. If you ask most people here in the Midwest what a whoopie pie is, unless they are a foodie, you’ll probably get a huh? Basically it is a small cake, in the shape of a cookie, sandwiched together with a sweet, creamy filling. What’s so fun about whoopie pies, besides the name , is that there are so many different flavor combinations of cakes and fillings. So far, I’ve made chocolate chip and chocolate cakes and marshmallow and buttercream fillings. But, how about lemon with lemon mascarpone cream or banana with salted caramel or mocha with tiramisu filling? So many different whoopie pies to try…. Ahhh, I guess those are for another day. But, I’ll be sure to share. Today I made vanilla whoopie pies with the traditional marshmallow filling. I have been making a lot of chocolate desserts lately and I thought it was about time I make something that my husband would enjoy. I decided to roll them in some red, white, and pink nonpareils to dress them up for Valentine’s Day. It’s right around the corner. Are you ready? If not, here is a super cute, delicious, little hand-held dessert that you can make for your Valentine. I can bet they’re gonna love it! Mine did!

Vanilla Whoopie Pies

Yield: 24 whoopie pies

Whoopie Pie:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 tablespoons vegetable shortening

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or the seeds from a vanilla bean (I added about 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste with the extract. Can’t have too much vanilla!)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together. Sift onto a large piece of wax paper.

In the bowl of a mixer with the paddle, beat the butter, shortening and both sugars on medium speed until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and buttermilk and beat until combined. Don’t worry if your batter looks curdled. Mine did, but then came together when I added the rest of the ingredients.

Combine the milk, baking soda, and vinegar in a small measuring cup. With the mixer on low, add the milk mixture to the batter along with the flour mixture. Beat just until everything is combined. Add the vanilla and beat on medium for 2 minutes, until completely combined.

Using a small cookie scoop (1 tbsp) , drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between cookies. (I got 16 cookies per sheet.) Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, for 10 minutes (start to check at 7 minutes) , or until they are set and just beginning to brown. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Marshmallow filling ( I used Martha Stewart’s recipe because I prefer butter in the filling to shortening)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

1 jar (7 1/2 ounces) marshmallow Fluff

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add Fluff and vanilla and continue mixing until well combined. I put the filling into a large Ziploc bag, and cut off the corner, so I could easily pipe the filling onto the bottom cookies.

Source: Vanilla whoopie pies from Whoopie Pies: Dozens of Mix’ em, Match’em, Eat’em Up Recipes and the marshmallow filling from Martha Stewart

12 Comments

by Just Baked on January 30, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in whoopie pies

Tagged dessert, frosting, marshmallow, sandwich, vanilla, whoopie pie

Posted by Just Baked on January 30, 2012

http://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/vanilla-whoopie-pies/

Texas Sheet Cake

I am a huge Top Chef fan, but I have to admit this season in Texas has been really disappointing. The chefs aren’t near the caliber of previous chefs and don’t have enough personality for me to really care about who goes home. I thought I was tired of Texas food with all the annoying Texas inspired food challenges. But, I guess not, because I still wanted to make this Texas dessert staple. I have never tried a Texas sheet cake. I thought it was just a big, thin chocolate cake. But, I have come to find out it so much more. It is a super moist, rich chocolate cake that is slathered with warm chocolate frosting while it is still hot, creating a fudgy middle layer. What’s not to love? And bonus, it is super easy to make. No mixer required, just a whisk and a spatula. Now this is a Texas size cake, so be sure you have plenty of people to share this with. Or maybe you might not want to share. Go ahead, be selfish. Keep it all to yourself. Who could blame you?

Texas Sheet Cake

Yield: 18 x 13 pan of cake- depending on the size you cut the pieces ~ 24 squares

2 cups (10oz) all-purpose flour

2 cups (14 oz) sugar

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 large eggs plus 2 yolks, room temp

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ cup sour cream, room temp

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used Ghirardelli)

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

¾ cup vegetable oil

¾ cup water

½ cup (1.5oz) Dutch-processed cocoa powder (I used Valrhona)

Chocolate Icing

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

½ cup heavy cream

½ cup (1.5oz) Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

3 cups (12 oz) confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup (4oz) toasted pecans, chopped (I omitted)

1. For the cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 18- by 13-inch rimmed baking sheet. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Whisk eggs and yolks, vanilla, and sour cream in another bowl until smooth.

2. Heat chocolate, butter, oil, water, and cocoa in large saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk chocolate mixture into flour mixture until incorporated. Whisk egg mixture into batter, then pour into prepared baking pan. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer to wire rack.

3. For the icing: About 5 minutes before cake is done, heat butter, cream, cocoa, and corn syrup in large saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Off heat, whisk in confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Spread warm icing evenly over hot cake (quickly!) and sprinkle with pecans. Let cake cool to room temperature on wire rack, about 1 hour, then refrigerate until icing is set, about 1 hour longer. (Cake can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.) Cut into 3-inch squares. Serve.

Source: The America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

Helpful Hints:

The key to perfectly moist Texas sheet cake is to let the warm icing soak into the hot cake. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, pour the warm icing over the cake and use a spatula to spread the icing to the edges of the cake. This creates the signature fudgy layer between the icing and the cake.
Spread the icing quickly, as it starts to set and creates a wrinkled look to the frosting. Although this probably isn’t noticeable if you use the nuts.
Cut when cold for nicer slices, but serve at room temperature for best taste and texture.
I had some sticking to the bottom of the pan because the cake is so moist. I think next time I will line the bottom with parchment.

3 Comments

by Just Baked on January 27, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Cake

Tagged cake, chocolate, dessert

Posted by Just Baked on January 27, 2012

http://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/texas-sheet-cake/

Lemon Lime Crinkles

Here in Chicago, it’s 30 degrees and the ground is covered with slushy, dirty, nasty snow. It’s so cold that it makes you not want to leave the house unless you really have to. I’ve lived here all my life, so you would think I’d get used to it. But, no, I don’t. I still hate the winter. I would move some place warmer in an instant if all my family and friends didn’t live here. So, to chase away the winter blues, I thought I would bake something to remind me of summer. When I think of the warm Chicago summer, I think of my kids running through the sprinkler, shooting each other with water guns and me watching, trying to keep cool with a cold drink. Nothing really quenches your thirst better than a tall glass of ice cold lemonade. I came across these lemon lime crinkle cookies and I thought they would replicate the flavor of my favorite summer drink. You make a basic sugar cookie dough and add some lemon and lime zest to give it a bright citrus flavor. They have crispy edges, a chewy middle and a lemon lime flavor that is totally addicting. Unfortunately, summer is several months away. But if you make some of these cookies, it will add a little warmth to your otherwise freezing cold day.

Lemon Lime Crinkles

Yield: 36 small cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 egg

1 Tbsp finely shredded lemon peel (Microplane)

1 tsp finely shredded lime peel (Microplane)

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 Tbsp white, yellow, and/or green nonpareils or plain sugar – I went a little crazy with the sprinkles

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add 1 cup of sugar, the baking soda and cream of tartar. Beat until combined, scraping the bowl occasionally. Beat in the egg, lemon and lime peel, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer and then finish mixing by hand with a wooden spoon.

Place the nonpareils or sugar in a bowl. Shape the dough into 1 inch balls. Dip the tops of the dough balls in the nonpareils or roll in sugar. (I pressed the tops in the nonpareils, then rolled the uncovered part in sugar.) Place two inches apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet. (I got 16 cookies/sheet). Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or just until the edges start to brown. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Cookies 2008

5 Comments

by Just Baked on January 25, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Cookies

Tagged cookies, dessert, lemon, lime

Posted by Just Baked on January 25, 2012

http://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/lemon-lime-crinkles/

Peanut Butter Cup Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies

As I’ve mentioned before, I love peanut butter. I am always looking for a new recipe so I have an excuse to eat even more peanut butter. So, when I came across this recipe for peanut butter cookies stuffed with Reese’s Peanut Butter cups, I thought a cookie couldn’t be more perfect. You make a basic peanut butter cookie dough, roll it into balls, press half of a peanut butter cup into it, and pinch the dough closed over it. Easy enough and super delicious. Caution: Do not taste these immediately out of the oven! The middle becomes a molten pool of peanut butter and chocolate and you could burn your mouth very badly. I’m not gonna say I know personally….I’m just saying.

Peanut Butter Cup Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies

Yield: 42 cookies

3/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

21 miniature chocolate-covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped and halved

Unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine butter and peanut butter. Beat with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour. If necessary, cover and chill about 30 minutes or until dough is easy to handle.

Shape dough into 1-1/2-inch balls. Press a peanut butter cup half into each ball and shape dough around peanut butter cup to enclose. Place cookies 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet – I used parchment. (I got 16 cookies/sheet)

Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are very lightly browned. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool. If desired, sprinkle cookies with cocoa powder. Makes about 42 cookies.

Storage: Place cookies between waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Cookies 2008

Helpful Hints:

Spray the measuring cup with Pam before measuring the peanut butter.
I didn’t have to refrigerate the dough before rolling. I didn’t find it too sticky.
These taste best the day they are made

5 Comments

by Just Baked on January 23, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Cookies

Tagged cookie, dessert, peanut butter, Reese's

Posted by Just Baked on January 23, 2012

http://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/peanut-butter-cup-stuffed-peanut-butter-cookies/

Cook’s Country Black and White Cookies

I have never been to New York, though I would love to go just to eat. On my list of New York must have foods: bagels, pizza (could it possibly be as good as Chicago?), cheesecake, a good deli sandwich, and some black and white cookies. Somehow, for someone who loves cookies, I have never had a black and white. Crazy, I know. For some reason, I am always drawn to them when I see recipes in a cookbook or magazine. Maybe it is the size? I mean, who doesn’t love a giant cookie? Most likely it is the 2 flavors of icing in one cookie. I love chocolate, but vanilla is also delicious….I can never make up my mind. With these cookies I don’t have to. I always thought it was weird that most of the recipes I see have lemon in them. Lemon and chocolate just don’t seem to go together to me. This recipe leaves it out for this same reason. So, what you get here is a giant vanilla flavored, cakey cookie, coated in both chocolate and vanilla glaze, just like you would get in a real NY deli…well, minus the lemon.

Cook’s Country Black and White Cookies

Yield: 12 cookies (I only got 10)

Cookies

1 3/4 cups (8 3/4 oz) all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

10 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1 cup (7 oz) sugar

1 large egg

2 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350°F. Adjust racks to upper middle and lower middle. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Set aside

Using a stand mixer with a paddle (I used my hand mixer ), beat butter and sugar on medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat until combined. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour in 3 additions alternating with 2 additions of sour cream, scraping down the bowl as needed. Give the dough a final stir by hand.

Using a greased 1/4 cup measure, drop cookie dough 3 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. I got 4 to a sheet, they spread quite a bit. Bake until the edges are lightly brown, 15 to 18 minutes, switching and rotating the sheets halfway through baking (I did one sheet at a time). Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, 1 hour. Make the glaze.

Glaze

5 cups (20 oz) powdered sugar, sifted

7 Tbsp whole milk (divided)

2 Tbsp corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

3 Tbsp dutch processed cocoa powder, sifted

Whisk sugar, 6 Tbsp milk, corn syrup, vanilla and salt together in a bowl until smooth.(I had to add a bit more milk because my glaze was too thick). Transfer 1 cup of glaze to a small bowl and reserve. Whisk cocoa and the remaining 1Tbsp of milk into the remaining glaze until combined. Working 1 cookie at a time, spread 1 Tbsp of vanilla glaze over half of the underside of a cookie (the flat side) with an offset spatula. Refrigerate until the glaze is set, about 15 minutes. Cover the other half of the cookies with 1 Tbsp of chocolate glaze and let the cookies sit at room temperature until the glaze is firm, about 1 hour. The cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Source: Cook’s Country February/March 2012

5 Comments

by Just Baked on January 20, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Cookies

Tagged chocolate, cookie, dessert, vanilla

Posted by Just Baked on January 20, 2012

http://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/cooks-country-black-and-white-cookies/

Flour’s Chocolate Cupcakes with Crispy Magic Frosting

Cupcakes! Oh, how I love cupcakes! But, I guess really who doesn’t? There is just something about those thick swirls of frosting, covering a moist, delicious hand-held cake that is completely irresistible. I have heard great things about Flour Bakery ever since Joanne Chang’s Sticky Bun Throwdown with Bobby Flay. I chose to make her chocolate cupcakes mostly because I was intrigued by the name of the frosting- Crispy Magic Frosting. And oh my gosh, this frosting is indeed magic. With all the baking I do, I have somehow never made a cooked frosting. I guess I was a bit intimidated, but it was so much easier than I thought. First you make a meringue and then add butter, three sticks of butter to be exact. I almost had a heart attack when I read that. It is amazing to me, how a frosting with so much butter could still taste so light and airy. I just don’t get where the crispy comes from though. I guess it is supposed to develop a thin sugar coating as it sits, making it crispy. But mine never did and from the reviews I read, I am not alone. But, honestly, that really doesn’t matter, because this is hands down the best frosting I ever had, crispy or not. And then, you pipe this delicious frosting onto a rich and moist, deeply chocolate cupcake. Well, wow! That’s all I can say. My sister said she would trade one of her children for another cupcake. Now that’s one heck of a cupcake!! I think she was only half kidding

Flour’s Chocolate Cupcakes with Crispy (?) Magic Frosting

Yield: 12 standard size cupcakes

2 oz (56 grams) unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine (I used Callebaut)

1/4 cup (30 gram) Dutch-process cocoa powder- I recommend Valrhona

1 cup (200 grams) sugar

1/2 cup (one stick/114 grams) unsalted butter

1/3 cup (80 gram) water

1/2 cup (120 gram) milk

1 egg

1 yolk (Tip: Save the white for the frosting)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup (140 grams) flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Line your muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners. In a large heatproof bowl, combine chocolate and cocoa powder. In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the sugar, butter, and water, stirring occasionally, until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves (3 to 4 minutes) . Pour the butter mixture over the chocolate and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Let cool slightly and whisk the milk, egg, extra yolk, and vanilla into the chocolate mixture until combined.

In a bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together until blended. Add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth. Let the batter sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour to thicken. Or, cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350F. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins, filling until at least 3/4 full. Bake for 30 minutes or until the tops spring back when pressed lightly with a fingertip and they pass a toothpick check. I would start checking at 20 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Frosting

2/3 cup (140 grams) granulated sugar

2 egg whites

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) of room temperature butter, very soft, cut into 2 inch pieces. Yikes!!

1 2/3 cups (230 grams) confectioner’s sugar

1/4 tsp kosher salt

2 Tbsp milk

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

In a heatproof bowl, whisk the sugar and egg whites into a slurry. Fill a saucepan about 1/4 full with water and bring to a simmer. Set the bowl over the water but do not allow the base of the bowl to touch the water. Whisk for 3 to 5 minutes or until the mixture is hot to the touch. It will thin as the sugar melts and becomes more white in color.

Pour the mixture into a mixer bowl or with a hand mixer, whip on medium-high speed for 6 to 8 minutes or until the mixture becomes thick and white like meringue and is cool to the touch. At medium speed, add the butter a few chunks at a time, beating for 3 to 4 minutes or until it is all incorporated. Add the powdered sugar, salt, milk, and vanilla and beat until smooth and satiny. You should end up with 3 1/2 cups of frosting- way more than is needed for 12 cupcakes. If not using immediately, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Or, you can store it up to two weeks in the fridge, allow it to soften at room temperature and then beat in the mixer for a few minutes until smooth.

Source: Flour: Spectacular Recipes From Boston’s Flour Bakery + Cafe

Helpful Hints:

Use scale measurement!
I had a lot of extra frosting left over- enough to frost at least 6 more cupcakes.
Save your extra egg white that is not needed in the cake batter for your frosting.
Use high quality chocolate for the best results.

8 Comments

by Just Baked on January 18, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Cupcakes

Tagged chocolate, cupcakes, dessert, frosting

Posted by Just Baked on January 18, 2012

http://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/flours-chocolate-cupcakes-with-crispy-magic-frosting/

Sherry Yard’s No-Bake Cheesecake

I am so sad. My Kitchen-Aid broke Tuesday and it is in the shop until Monday, at least. :( So, what is a baker to do? Well, I have been trying to find desserts that I can mix by hand, use a food processor or even my old school hand mixer. I got Desserts by the Yard for Christmas and I came across a recipe for no bake mini cheesecakes. Perfect! The book is written by Sherry Yard, Wolfgang Puck’s pastry chef. I was surprised that the woman behind all the fancy pastries for the Oscars also had a recipe for such a simple, but delicious dessert. The crust is made up of Nilla wafer crumbs, no butter, just crumbs. A lemony cheesecake filling is then piped over the crust. You then refrigerate them for a few hours and you have cheesecake without all the hassle of a leaking spring form pan, baking in a water bath and trying to hide the cracks. I love that you can change the dessert up in a variety of ways- add fresh fruit or pie filling to the top, fold chocolate chips into the filling, use an Oreo crumb crust and topping…the possibilities are endless. So if you need a quick and delicious dessert for some easy-peasy entertaining, look no further than these no bake mini cheesecakes. After all, everything is better in mini!

Mini No-Bake Cheesecakes

Yield: 24 Mini Cheesecakes

12 vanilla wafer cookies

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons sour cream

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

12 ripe strawberries, hulled and halved OR quartered (depending on the size)

Pulse cookies in a food processor until you have crumbs. Line the cups of 2 mini muffin pans with paper liners and spoon a layer of cookie crumbs into the bottom of each.

In bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. On low speed, beat in sour cream and lemon juice until well combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down sides of bowl.

Spoon or pipe filling into cups, dividing evenly. Refrigerate 2 to 4 hours, until set, or overnight.

Sources: Desserts By The Yard: From Brooklyn to Beverly Hills: Recipes From the Sweetest Life Ever

Helpful Hints:

I found that chilling overnight allowed the crust to set better.
If you don’t have a pipping bag, just cut off the corner of a Ziploc bag and pipe it that way or you can just use a spoon.
Sherry Yard says she also pipes this filling into raspberries…now that sounds delicious. Or how about hulled strawberries?

Caramel Crumb Bars

If there was a Baker’s Hall of Fame, Nick Malgieri would be one of the first inductees. So, when he says that if given the choice, caramel crumb bars would be the cookies he would chose above all others…well, you take notice, and then make those bars. They did not disappoint! The buttery shortbread crust serves double duty as the crumb topping as well. Then you add a layer of creamy homemade caramel…oh my goodness! My son took a bite, said MmmMmmm and then proceeded to eat three more bars. Mind you he is a little bitty thing, just 45 pounds, so that is a lot of cookie bars! I was going to send them all with my husband to work tomorrow because keeping them in the house would be dangerous for me. But, I think I have enough willpower to save a few to surprise Jack in his school lunch tomorrow before I eat them

Caramel Crumb Bars

For the crust/crumb topping

8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour (spoon flour into a dry-measure cup and level off)- DIVIDED

For the caramel filling

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Position a rack on the lowest level of the oven; preheat to 350°F

Line the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper or foil, then lightly butter the paper/foil. (save your butter wrappers- they work nicely for this purpose)

For the dough: Combine 2 sticks of butter, the sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle. Beat on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture is soft and light. Add the vanilla and mix to incorporate.

Reduce the speed to low, then gradually add 2 1/4 cups of the flour (spooned into the cup and leveled) and beat until well incorporated to form a smooth dough. Use a spatula to scrape down the bowl and paddle.

Remove the bowl from the mixer; transfer 3/4 of the dough into the prepared pan. Use the palm of your hand to press the dough down lightly and evenly. Chill the crust dough while you make the topping: Work the remaining 1/4 cup flour into the remaining dough with your fingertips so that it forms small crumbs. Set aside at room temperature.

For the caramel: Combine the butter, corn syrup, brown sugar and condensed milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Allow the mixture to boil gently, stirring often, for about 10 minutes, until the mixture starts to thicken and darken slightly. Pour into a stainless steel bowl to cool for 5 minutes.

To assemble: Pour the cooled filling on top of the chilled dough, then scatter the crumb mixture evenly over the top. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the filling bubbles gently and is a deep caramel color and the dough and crumb topping are baked through.

Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 to 20 minutes, until lukewarm. Use the parchment paper/foil to lift the slab of bars out of the pan and onto a cutting board before it has cooled completely. Cut the slab into roughly 2-inch squares.

Source: The Modern Baker: Time-Saving Techniques for Breads, Tarts, Pies, Cakes and Cookies

Helpful Hints:

Be careful with the caramel so it doesn’t get too thick. I made mine a bit too thick and it was very hard to spread. After using an offset spatula for most of the spreading, I used my hands to press the caramel onto the places I just couldn’t get the caramel to stick (it had cooled enough by then)
It is also helpful to dollop the caramel all over the bars and then spread the large dots of caramel together with an offset spatula. There is less pulling at the crust I found.
Be sure to spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off so you get the right amount of flour.
My dough was a bit more crumbly (dry) than it should have been because my Kitchen Aid broke (Gasp!) and I had to use my old-time hand mixer- which apparently is a bit harder to handle than I thought. I had the mishap of some butter jumping out of the bowl. So, the crumb mixture should be in bigger pieces of crumb. It is more of a cosmetic thing…they still tasted wonderful.
I think a sprinkling of Maldon sea salt before the crumb topping would be a wonderful addition.

7 Comments

by Just Baked on January 13, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Bars

Tagged Bars, caramel, crumb, dessert

Posted by Just Baked on January 13, 2012

http://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/caramel-crumb-bars-2/

Blondies

I love chocolate chip cookies, but sometimes I just don’t have the time to scoop out and bake sheet after sheet. I’m sure you can imagine with three kids, time is something that I usually don’t have a lot of. I can have this batter done in 10 minutes, exactly enough time to sneak away before they realize I am gone. You don’t even have to take out your big old mixer- this is mixed by hand. Forgot to take out butter? No problem, this recipe uses melted butter. Don’t have the ingredients? I bet you do. They require just basic pantry ingredients, so you are always prepared in an emergency requiring some delicious cookie bars. It’s so crazy easy. You just make the batter, spread it in the pan, and bake it. That’s it. And, it is so versatile. The butterscotch cookie is a great base for a variety of mix-ins. I usually do plain chocolate chip, because I guess am a purist. But M & Ms, Reese’s cups, toffee chips, a sprinkle of sea salt, I could go on and on… they would all be delicious. And, warm out of the oven with a scoop of ice cream and hot fudge, well that is obviously delicious too. So I think I left you with no excuses. You just have to make these blondies!

Blondies

Yield: About 24 blondies (13 x 9 pan)

1 1/2 cup (7.5 oz) all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

12 T (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 1/2 c packed (10.5 oz) light brown sugar

2 large eggs

4 tsp vanilla (Nielsen-Massey if possible- it makes a big difference)

1/2 cup (3 oz) semisweet chocolate chips (I use about 1/3 of the bag)

1/2 cup (3 oz) white chocolate chips (I omit)

1 cup (4 oz) pecans, toasted and chopped (I omit)

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 350°F. Line a 13 x 9 with aluminum foil (overhang over pan) and spray with Pam.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, whisk the butter and sugar. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla until combined. Stir in flour mixture until just incorporated. Stir in the chips.

Scrape batter into the prepared pan and smooth. Bake until a toothpick in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 22-25 minutes, rotate 1/2 way through baking.

Let them cool for 2 hours (ATK’s recommendation- I could never wait that long). Remove from pan by the aluminum foil overhang and cut.

Source: The America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

Helpful Hints:

I don’t melt the butter completely in the microwave. I melt most of it, then I use the residual heat to melt the rest of the butter. That cools the butter enough to use right away. No wait!
You don’t have to line your pan with foil. You can just use spray. I just like being able to pull the whole bar out and cut them on the table- it makes for much nicer cut blondies.

Just Baked

All posts for the month January, 2012

Snickerdoodle Whoopie Pies

Vanilla Whoopie Pies

Texas Sheet Cake

Lemon Lime Crinkles

Flour’s Chocolate Cupcakes with Crispy Magic Frosting

Sherry Yard’s No-Bake Cheesecake

Caramel Crumb Bars

Blondies

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