Category: Sweets

Dessert, Sweets

Food Memories – The Last Brownie

by Wendi6 Comments on Food Memories – The Last Brownie

Semi Homemade

Dara Bunjon is the woman behind the Baltimore Dining Examiner and Dara Does It.  She’s got her finger on the pulse of the food industry from PR to food styling to cooking instructions.  This post originally appeared on the BDE.  Many thanks to Dara for sharing…although I still don’t know what I would say to get the last brownie.

What Would You Say Or Do To Get The Last Brownie?

I don’t know why but my post have been a bit, not earth shattering thought provoking of late with Sandwiches cut diagonal or across – point and counter point, If you could choose just one cookbook and today’s question,  What would you say or do to get the last brownie? I’m not sure what has sparked my introspective meanderings but alas they are here.

To answer the question proffered, I go back to the scene in the movie Notting Hill and think a group of friends around the table, and then I think about the friends. Recently I have been dining a lot with media folks so these are who I first pictured in my scenario and think no,  they are very cognizant of their weight and would split the brownie equally or just manage one bite each.

Time to picture another group of friends and these friends are ones who are indulgent when it comes to food. I would have to be clever, manipulative and sharp – traits not high on my skill level but let’s give it a go. I will blame it on my dear mother, may she rest in peace, who would bribe me as a child with $10 if I could gain 10 pounds in a year.  That this brownie will bring me to the 10 pound mark for the year and with my ten spot I would make them my delicious five spice brownies for the next gathering. Option 2: As a child  being vertically challenged I always had difficulty reaching the counter top to get the cookies and brownies and my arms weren’t long enough to reach them on the table – I was deprived as a child. Hell, I’m just not that clever. Why don’t you have a go at it!  ( Related Story: Memories from my yout )

Five Spice Brownies

BAH Note:  These are some powerful brownies.  I made them to thank our neighbors who had come to our rescue with candles and dry ice during a power outage.  Of course, having to test them for quality control, the first batch never made it out of the house.  So a second box of Ghiradelli brownie mix was picked up at the store and transformed with a bit of orange zest and five spice powder.  It just so happened to be a snowy Saturday when batch number two finally made it next door.  And would you believe that when The Mistah and I went outside to shovel, the neighbors had already cleared the sidewalk in front of our house.  Now, I can’t guarantee that these brownies will have the same power with your neighbors, but it can’t hurt to try.  As Dara said when I related my neighborly story to her, “Simple is good at times.”  I couldn’t agree more.

  • 1 box of Brownie Mix
  • 1 orange finely zested (Microplane works great)
  • ½ teaspoon of Chinese five spice powder (even McCormick makes this-not hard to find)

Add all the ingredients to a bowl and follow the box directions.

{printable recipe}

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Dessert, Sweets

Wannabe Making Whoopie

by Wendi13 Comments on Wannabe Making Whoopie

Whoopie!

Pies, y’all. Wannabe Whoppie Pies.  But that’s not what I started out to make.  Nope, not in the least.  I set out to make a Retro Recipe for Vanilla Wafers.  I’ll admit that maybe my attention was spread a little too thin.  I had orange chicken going in the kitchen, was stumbling my way through a sewing project in the dining room, and really wasn’t paying attention to Vanilla Wafers.  I creamed the butter with half of the sugar called for and didn’t realize it until all the eggs and half the flour and milk had already been added.  I then spent a good five minutes trying to figure out which would be a worse way to break the recipe – by having not enough sugar or by adding more sugar too late in the process. I decided to gamble and see what would happen if I added the rest of the sugar along with the flour.  To say that what I pulled out of the oven was not what I was expecting would be an understatement. Continue reading “Wannabe Making Whoopie” →

Dessert, Sweets

Apple Almond Coffee Cake

by Wendi4 Comments on Apple Almond Coffee Cake

Apple Almond Coffee Cake
Do you ever step back from something only to find patterns or themes emerge that you hadn’t expected?  Like not seeing the forest for the trees, sometimes the patterns in my cooking don’t become obvious to me until I’m at the computer to give them virtual life here at BAH.  And then I’m all, oh, what a coinkydink.  Of course, the Universe being what it is, it’s not a coinkydink at all.  It’s the Universe giving me an opportunity to compare and contrast.  And Universe, may I gently remind you that those compare and contrast essays were my least favorite writing assignments in school?  I’m just saying, maybe you could throw a little something different my way?  For now, we’re going to work with what we’ve got and talk about Inspired Taste’s Apple Almond Coffee Cake. Continue reading “Apple Almond Coffee Cake” →

Drinks, Sweets

Hot Stuff

by WendiLeave a Comment on Hot Stuff
image from http://www.istockphoto.com

Is it weird to talk about hot cocoa in April?  Is hot chocolatey goodness governed by the seasons, only be to enjoyed in the cold days of winter?  What about a wet spring morning?  Or a late summer night under a starry sky?  Or a crisp fall afternoon?  Do marshmallows melting into a pool of rich cocoa tell the difference between daylight savings time and standard time?  I say it’s time to stop the discrimination; time to stop treating hot cocoa as a seasonal beverage.  With only four ingredients, most of which you may already have, you can enjoy a cup of hot cocoa anytime you like.  And if you really can’t bring yourself to even think about drinking a hot beverage in the dog days of summer, put a few ice cubes in a blender and whip yourself up an icy cocoa treat.

Hot Cocoa

Alton Brown

BAH Note:  The mix can be stored indefinitely in an airtight container according to Mr. Brown.  I found that the mix doesn’t dissolve completely in hot liquid.  So I tried sifting it through a fine mesh strainer with only marginally better results.  However, when I took my tiny pestle to the mix in a plastic container and gave it a good mashing, I was quite happy with my cup of hot chocolate.  I also prefer to add a bit of half and half, but that’s just me.

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 cup cocoa, preferably Dutch processed
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered milk
  • 2 teaspoons corn starch
  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper, cinnamon, or five spice powder

Whisk all the ingredients together in a medium bowl.  Fill a mug half full with the cocoa mixture.  Add heated water and stir to combine.

{printable recipe}

Dessert, Sweets

Food Memories – Jan’s Cheesecake

by Wendi9 Comments on Food Memories – Jan’s Cheesecake

Cheesecake

My father got remarried when I was about 12.  When he introduced my brother and I to his girlfriend, we called her Miss Jan.  Then, after they got married, I just called her Jan.  I think it was the first time that I called an adult by their first name.  Everyone was always Mister or Miss.  To this day, I still fall into that habit.

When I sent out the request for Food Memories, Jan said:

It has to be a cheesecake from me.  I have baked them for years for anyone’s birthday where I worked.  At Stryker, Michael & Bill fought over them.  They didn’t want to share them with anyone. Michael didn’t.  Even jerky Scott loved them.  At Tri-County Gas, Gary drooled over them.  At Garrison Forest School, they fought over them.

I often say that you don’t need a special occasion to make special recipes.  But sometimes, you really do.  Like Jan’s Cheesecake.  Because if you’re going to bust out the cream cheese, eggs, and sour cream, you better have a bunch of people helping you to polish off the results.

Like Jan said, I love them………but my hips don’t!

Jan’s Cheesecake

BAH Note: When you  add the melted butter to the graham cracker crumbs and sugar, it will seem dry, like it won’t hold together.  I promise you it will.  If you don’t believe me, I’ll give you Jan’s phone number and you can call her like I did just to make sure.  You’ll want to use your fingers to really combine the butter with the crumbs.  Sometimes it’s nice to get your hands dirty.

Also, when you press the crust into your pan, use whatever method you are most comfortable with.  Some people use the bottom of a glass.  I used the bottom of a 9 inch cake pan.  So what if the bottom of my crust was stamped with Calphalon?  It was a perfect fit and gave me a nice, even crust.

Finally, Jan mentioned not to overmix the batter or else the cake is more likely to crack.  I think I should have mixed the cream cheese and sugar a little better before I added the eggs because there were a number of cream cheese lumps in my final batter.  The top still cracked on me anyway so what’s the difference?

Crust

  • 1 cup of Graham crackers crumbs
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 3 tablespoons butter- melted

Filling

  • 3- 8 ounce packages of Cream Cheese
  • ¾ cup of sugar
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 3 eggs

Topping

  • 8 ounces sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Combine crust ingredients in a medium bowl until moist and press into the bottom of a 9” spring form pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes.  Reduce your oven temperature to 300 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine your softened cream cheese, sugar, juice and zest, mixing until well blended.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Pour mixture over crust.  Bake at 300 degrees for 55 minutes.

Combine sour cream, sugar and vanilla.  Carefully spread over cheesecake.  Continue baking for 10 minutes.  Take a knife and go around the edge of the cake.  Then let it cool before removing the rim of the pan.

Refrigerate overnight and it is ready to serve!

{Printable Recipe}

Dessert, Sweets

Trendy

by Wendi10 Comments on Trendy

Cookies

One of my nicknames in high school was Trendy Wendi…thanks Tiffany Wilson, sorry I didn’t see you at the reunion last summer.  The funny thing about that is that I am, and have always been, so far behind the times that it’s not funny.  I’ve never been a gauge of what the “cool kids” are doing.  I was still inching along with dial up when most of the world was running at lightning fast dsl speeds.  Seven years ago I tried to convince The Mistah that Tivo was nothing more than a glorified VCR, a passing fad, when he said he wanted one.  And sometime in the 90’s when an ex was gushing over something called an MP3 player, I couldn’t understand the hype.  It is safe to assume that I have come to see the light on all these things.  I’m just not what you would call an “early adopter” of technology.  I’m same way with food too. Continue reading “Trendy” →

Sweets

Fluffy

by Wendi17 Comments on Fluffy

White Frosting

Fluffy is one of my more colorful nicknames, thanks to a former coworker (hi Grage, howyadoin?).  But as the years have gone by, it seems as though things have gotten less fluffy in general.  Life has a way of deflating and obscuring the fluff, which is a shame because fluffy is light.  Fluffy is fun.  Fluffy is happy.  These are all good things.  And did I mention that, in the kitchen, fluffy tastes good? Continue reading “Fluffy” →

Dessert, Sweets

Food Memories – Gramma Rhetta’s Lemon Bars

by Wendi8 Comments on Food Memories – Gramma Rhetta’s Lemon Bars

Gramma Rhetta's Lemon Bars

Today’s food memory comes from Dana of The Kitchen Witch.  If it weren’t for the fact that I live in Bawlmer and she lives somewhere in Colorado, I would swear that we’re twins.  Because not only do we manage to somehow share a brain across a continent, we both luv lemon and have a special place in our hearts for our Grandmother.

This post originally appeared on The Kitchen Witch on 20 July 2009.  My thanks to Dana for sharing her story, and her memory of Sassybritches.  She sounds like one feisty lady I would have liked to have known. Continue reading “Food Memories – Gramma Rhetta’s Lemon Bars” →

Dessert, Sweets

Retro Recipes – Cinnamon Cake

by Wendi11 Comments on Retro Recipes – Cinnamon Cake

Retro Recipe - Cinnamon Cake

When the weather predictions call for snow measured in feet, instead of inches, my first instinct is to fire up the oven and get baking.  There’s something hard wired in my brain that says copious amounts of time locked inside should be celebrated with sugar, butter, and flour.  Luckily, all the ingredients for Cinnamon Cake were safely tucked away in my pantry as SNOMG (thanks Pigtown for this catchy phrase) came barreling into town.  I say luckily because if you’ve ever been inside a grocery store the night before a big winter storm around these parts, you know that it’s that last place you want to be.  So to kick off the first really big storm of the decade, I rocked it old school with one of the recipes in a random collection of cookbook pages that I got from my grandmother.  I have no idea what cookbooks these may have been or exactly how old they are.  But trust me, Cinnamon Cake stands up to the test of time.  And it makes a great snack when you’ve just freed your car from 2 feet of snow.

Cinnamon Cake

BAH Note: I get all confused when a recipe says sifted flour vs. flour sifted.  To me, flour sifted means you measure then sift where sifted flour means you sift then measure.  Since I have no great way to sift directly into a measuring cup, I say fluff your flour a bit then measure.  Don’t be alarmed when you put the melted butter and cinnamon sugar on top of the batter.  The edges of the cake will bake up around it and then it will sink through the batter in places.  This end result is similar to a coffee cake without a crumb topping.

  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cup sugar plus 1/2 cup sugar, divided
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 2 cups sifted flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 4 tablespoons melted butter plus 5 tablespoons melted butter, divided
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Butter and flour a 9 x 13 pan.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs.  Slowly add the 1 1/2 cups sugar and continue to beat until very light.

Add the dry ingredients and milk in several additions, alternating between wet and dry, beginning and ending with the dry.

Add the 4 tablespoons of melted butter and mix until thoroughly blended.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth it out evenly.  Drizzle 5 tablespoons of melted butter over the top of the batter.

Combine 1/2 cup sugar with the cinnamon in a small bowl.  Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the top of the cake.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until a tester comes out with only a crumb or two.

{printable recipe}

Dessert, Sweets

Book Club

by Wendi15 Comments on Book Club

Bon Bons

I’ve had a library card for about as long as I can remember.  Growing up, there were two public libraries within walking distance of my house.  But I can’t say that I recall being in them much.  A lot of my books were checked out of the school library, not to be opened until I was slung across the wing back chair in the living room.  That chair was my favorite place to read.  My head rested comfortably up against one of the wings and my legs dangled over the arm. Continue reading “Book Club” →