The Birthday Boy

Miles is two!

His birthday was last week, and I'm still feeling a little bit shocked by the fact that I have a two year old. Time goes by really fast and I've enjoyed this past year with him so much. He continues to get more and more fun so I'm sure age two will have even more funny moments.

Like when I took him for his two year check up, and the doctor asked, "Do you like Snoopy?" because he was wearing a Charlie Brown shirt. Miles enthusiastically replied, "I LOVE Snoopy!"

Or when we read his Spaceships book and he says "fuel tank!" and "rocket booster!" as we look at the pictures. Is it obvious that he has an aerospace engineer for a dad and rockets all over his room?

Or when we're driving in the car and he sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. For some reason he tries to sing it as fast as he can over and over, so it comes out as "TwinkleStarHowYouAreLikeDiamondSkyTwinkleStar!"

Since Miles is no longer allergic to anything I let him look through my Flour cookbook and pick out the cake he wanted me to make. He chose the yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Okay, I may have steered him toward that one, but he was very excited about it.

I'm not going to post that recipe here. But, I did make cupcakes to celebrate with our Bible study later that week. I made chocolate cupcakes and decorated half with vanilla frosting and raspberries and the other half with the chocolate-hazelnut frosting that I've been promising you since last year. So, finally, here is that recipe.

 Chocolate-Hazelnut Frosting

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (such as Nutella)
Pinch of salt

Mix butter in bowl of stand or hand-held mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds until smooth. Add powdered sugar and cocoa and mix on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. Add vanilla, chocolate-hazelnut spread and salt and mix on medium-high until light and fluffy about 4 minutes more.

Makes enough to decoratively pipe 12-14 cupcakes.

Play Time

A few months ago I started making play dough for Miles. We were bored one afternoon, so after a quick internet search and a few minutes of stirring ingredients in a pot, we were rolling snakes, making snowmen and pressing it into car shapes. Since that day Miles asks to play with the dough, or "colors" as he calls it everyday. Now he's advanced. He likes to use my cookie cutters to make star cookies. Stars are also very popular in our house right now.

This morning Miles wanted his play dough right after breakfast. 

Play dough sometimes makes a nice hat.

Or you can even stick it to your cheek if you're in that kind of mood. 

Play Dough

1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
Food coloring

Mix together the flour, water, salt, oil, and cream of tartar in a medium saucepan. Place over low heat and stir with a wooden spoon until dough forms a ball and stops sticking to the pan. This will take a few minutes. Let cool in pan 1 minute. Then place the dough on counter or cutting board. Apply several drops of food coloring to the dough and knead it in with your hands (be careful as it will still be warm when you first start to knead it). Add more food coloring and continue to knead until you get the desired color.

Store in a plastic bag for several months, or until your little one has pressed too many pieces of dirt, lint, food, etc into it and you decide it's time for a a fresh batch.

Strawberry Jam

Homemade jam is really quite easy. Throw some fruit, sugar and lemon juice into a pot and boil for a while until jam-like. You're done. And you end up with a jam that tastes like fresh, sweet fruit reminiscent of the season in which it was picked.

I stared making jam a few years ago. Before that I had always thought that making jam would be a daunting and time-consuming process. Fortunately, there are two ways to get around that:

First, you don't need to use pectin, the powdered gelling agent, to thicken your jam. Your grandma probably didn't use pectin. Fruit, plus lemon juice, plus sugar, and a long enough boil is all you need to make jam. Using pectin is totally fine (and in fact my brother-in-law made a great strawberry jam last summer using pectin), and doing so will give you a more firm consistency like the jam you buy from the store. But, I like to take a more simple route and just throw the fruit into the pot and get a softly-set jam that is great for spreading on toast, scones or even stealing a spoonful straight from the jar.

Second, canning a big batch of jam is a great way to enjoy your fruit all year long. Most summers I buy big batches of fruit and do just that. But, for a small batch of jam this really isn't necessary.  It can last for several weeks in the fridge, so you can save yourself all the time of the boiling jars, and just and chill it there. I like to store it in 1/2 pint mason jars, but any glass container will work.

Easy Strawberry Jam

3 pounds strawberries, washed, hulled and halved
2½ cups sugar
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Mix all ingredients in a heavy medium pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick, about 90 minutes.

Ladle jam into jars, cover with lids, and screw on bands gently. Allow to cool to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator.

Makes approximately 3½ cups.

Notes: You can purchase with mason jars with the lids and rings at most major grocery stores.  You'll need four half-pint jars to store this jam. Even though you are not preserving this jam I still like to run the jars, lids and rings through the hottest setting on my dishwasher to sterilize them. Store for 2-4 weeks in the refrigerator. 

Here's a bonus recipe. Strawberries generally pair well with basil. And black pepper. And goat cheese. So, I like to combine all three, spread them on toast and top with the jam. It's a yummy and hearty breakfast.

Toast with Basil-Black Pepper-Goat Cheese and Strawberry Jam 

2 ounces goat cheese, softened
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon freshly chopped basil
1 grind black pepper
1 piece of whole-grain bread
Strawberry jam

Toast the bread. While the bread is toasting mash together the goat cheese, milk, basil, and black pepper in a small bowl with a fork. Spread goat cheese mixture on toast. Spread strawberry jam on top.

Serves 1.

Brownies

Confession: I usually make brownies from a box. Gasp! I know, you think I make everything from scratch and that's mostly true. But the thing is, I actually like brownies from a box better than homemade. I've tried to make brownies from scratch several times because I really want to find THE perfect brownie recipe, but each time I'm disappointed. They come out a little cakey and definitely not chewy enough for me.

Luckily, America's Test Kitchen solved this dilemma for me. (note: I learn so much from that show. You should watch it on your local PBS station if you don't already). They did a show about chocolate a couple of years ago and it featured a chewy brownie recipe. They explained why homemade brownies are not chewy but boxed brownies are. It has to do with the amount of saturated vs unsaturated fat in a brownie. If you've ever made a homemade brownie, you probably used butter (a saturated fat), but if you've made a box brownie you know you use oil (unsaturated). A higher ratio of unsaturated fat is what produces a chewy brownie. You can read more about it here.

So, since watching the show I now use their recipe every time I bake brownies. Whew! Now, I can really say that I do bake everything from scratch. The great thing about this recipe is that it's almost as easy as using a brownie mix. There is no mixer required and it's made in only one bowl.

Well, make that two bowls, if you choose to add this decadent peanut butter filling (and you should). To make the ultimate brownie, I like to add a peanut butter filling that I've been using for a while from Martha Stewart.

The nice part about the recipe I have below is that you can make it as is for the best peanut butter brownies, or you can omit the peanut butter filling and just make the rest of the recipe and you'll have the best chocolate brownies (you may need to reduce baking time by a few minutes). Or, if you are pressed for time, there's no shame in using a boxed brownie mix. Just whip up the peanut butter filling and swirl it into the batter as I've stated below and people will still be thanking you for the great brownies. I like to use Ghirardelli brownie mix as I think it has better chocolate flavor than other grocery store brands.

Peanut Butter Brownies

Brownie Batter
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ teaspoons instant espresso powder
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2½ cups sugar
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips, or bittersweet chocolate cut into ½" pieces

Peanut Butter Filling
6 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter (do not use natural peanut butter)
¾ cup confectioners' sugar
¾ teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt

Adjust rack to lowest position in oven and heat to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 inch metal baking pan with foil leaving an overhang on all sides (this will help you remove the brownies from the pan later). Spray foil liberally with cooking spray.

Make brownie batter: Whisk cocoa, espresso powder and boiling water together in a large bowl until smooth. Add unsweetened chocolate and whisk until melted. Whisk in butter and oil (it's okay if the mixture looks curdled). Whisk in eggs, yolks and vanilla until smooth. Whisk in sugar until incorporated. Whisk in salt. Fold in flour with rubber spatula until combined. Fold in chocolate chips or pieces.

Make peanut butter filling: Whisk together all ingredients until smooth.

Pour half brownie batter into pan. Dollop half of peanut butter filling on top of batter in 12 evenly spaced mounds (no, it doesn't have to be perfect). Pour remaining brownie batter into the pan. Dollop the rest of  the peanut butter filling on top of batter in 12 evenly spaced mounds. Using a butter knife swirl the batter to create a marbleized effect, being sure to gently touch the bottom of the pan to ensure that all the peanut butter is swirled into the batter.

Bake for 30 -35 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted halfway between the center and edge of the pan (you can see where I inserted the toothpick in the photo below) comes out with just a few moist crumbs.

Let cool in pan on rack for 90 minutes. Using sling, remove brownies from pan and allow to cool in the sling on the rack for another hour. Cut into 24 squares.

Makes 24 brownies.

Notes: Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to four days. If you use a glass pan instead of a metal pan, remove the brownies from the pan (but keep in sling) 10 minutes after baking otherwise the heat retention of the glass can cause them to over bake.

Snack Time

We eat a lot of yogurt at our house. Everyday when Miles wakes up from his nap he and I both have a yogurt. He gets to choose between blueberry (which he calls "boojew") and strawberry (shaboo). I usually have Greek yogurt. I love that it's so packed with protein - if I have it as an afternoon snack it really tides me over until dinner.

Lately, I've been loving my yogurt with a sprinkle of homemade granola on top. This is a great recipe from Bon Appetit. The nice thing is that you can adapt it anyway you like - switch out the almonds, pecans, or pumpkin seeds for your favorite nuts, the maple syrup for honey, or the cranberries for another dried fruit.

For me though, I'll have to to stick to the cranberries. Miles loves when he shouts "ceeboo!" and I fish out some cranberries and toss them into his yogurt.

Granola

1 large egg white
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup roughly chopped, unsalted almonds
1/2 cup roughly chopped, unsalted pecans
1/2 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut shavings (sometimes called coconut chips)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup canola oil or melted coconut oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup cranberries

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine all ingredients except cranberries in a large bowl and stir to combine. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden, stirring every 10 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet. It will crisp as it cools. Mix in cranberries.

Makes approximately 8 cups.

Notes: If you don't have kosher salt, you can use 3/4 teaspoon table salt. Store in air-tight container at room temperature for up to two weeks. 

Happy Valentine's Day

At our house Valentine's Day consists of...absolutely nothing. I know, we're so boring, but the thing is that neither of us cares about Valentine's Day. So, every year it comes and goes with nothing special... except that I do manage to sneak in some sort of chocolate dessert. I mean, come on, it's Valentine's Day, you have to eat something chocolaty! I realize that I sound like a crazy person right now - not caring about Valentine's Day, but also insisting on a chocolate dessert. I guess I just need to get chocolate any time that I can.

It's best to make something simple on Valentine's Day as it most often falls on a weeknight. This year, I think we'll be having the recipe below for chocolate affogato. Affogato is an Italian dessert that is typically made by pouring a shot of warm espresso over a scoop of vanilla gelato, and it's absolutely perfect just like that. I like to take it up a notch though by using chocolate gelato and topping it with softly whipped cream and toasted, slivered almonds. It only takes a few minutes to make so you can easily do it after your kids go to bed.

And, if you're in the mood for a different, but still chocolaty dessert, luckily I have plenty including: chocolate peanut butter toffee cookies, fudge, maple chocolate pecan pie, chocolate zucchini cake, Texas sheet cake, coconut cake with dark chocolate chunks, chocolate caramel treasures, hot chocolate, flourless chocolate peanut butter cookies, banana streusel coffee cake, chocolate crinkle cookies, chocolate pots de creme, chocolate pecan macaroons, and chocolate chip cookies - two ways.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Chocolate Affogato

1 pint chocolate gelato or good quality ice cream
6 tablespoons hot, freshly brewed espresso
1/4 cup cold heavy cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons toasted, sliced almonds

Beat the cream, sugar and vanilla on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Set out two bowls and place two small scoops of gelato into each. Pour 3 tablespoons espresso over each. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with almonds. Serve immediately.

Serves 2.

Good Morning

If you read this blog regularly, you may be under the impression that I sit around eating desserts all day. I wish! No, in reality, while I definitely have a sweet tooth, I also enjoy eating light and healthy. I guess growing up with health conscious parents made a good impression on me. Often the dessert you may have been reading about here was preceded by something like kale and bean soup for dinner.

On Saturday mornings as a kid, sometimes my dad would make us a treat: pancakes. But, we always got whole wheat pancakes via a mix from the health food store. It didn't matter that they weren't the buttermilk pancakes that I ate at my friends' homes after sleepovers. They were delicious, and to this day I still prefer the nutty flavor of whole wheat pancakes over other kinds.

So, when I opened my Whole Living magazine several months ago and saw a recipe for whole grain waffles/pancakes, I knew I had to try it. I've adapted it, and it has become my go-to pancake recipe for the Saturday mornings when we want a departure from cereal.  Since it's fully whole-wheat I even feel okay giving Miles a pancake...without syrup that is, at least for now.

Whole Grain Pancakes

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons wheat germ
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups low-fat milk
1/4 cup canola oil, plus more for coating the pan
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pure maple syrup for serving

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, canola oil, egg, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until combined.

Heat a nonstick pan or griddle pan over medium heat. Lightly coat with canola oil. Pour batter in 1/3 cup portions into pan. Cook until the tops of the pancakes begin to bubble and the underside is golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Flip and cook another 1-2 minutes until second side is golden. Serve warm with maple syrup.

Makes approximately 10 three-inch pancakes. 

Hello!

First rule of blogging: Post often!

I know, I've been totally absent lately. Between traveling and illnesses, I'm not really sure where the month of January went. 

Fortunately, I got back in the swing of things this week and made some cookies. These are the types of cookies you want to keep in your freezer when you need a chocolate fix, and only a warm cookie laced with chocolate chips, peanut butter chips and toffee will do. This makes a large enough batch that you'll probably want to freeze a portion of the dough anyway, which is good; you'll be ready when the mood strikes. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Toffee Cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 large egg
1 cup chocolate chips
1 2/3 cups peanut butter chips (a 10 ounce bag)
1/2 cup toffee bits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set rack to middle position.

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In stand mixer, beat together butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. On low speed mix in egg and vanilla until combined. Mix in flour cocoa mixture until combined. Stir in chips and toffee bits.

Place rounded tablespoonfuls on to baking sheets lined with parchment spacing them two inches apart. Bake one tray at a time until the tops of the cookies just begin to crack, about 12 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Cool on sheet for 5 minutes. Then transfer to rack to cool completely.

Makes approximately 40 cookies.

Notes: Store baked cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to three days. Or wrap portions of dough in parchment or waxed paper and freeze in a Ziploc bag for up to three months. When ready to bake thaw overnight in the refrigerator or very briefly in the microwave before continuing with the recipe as directed.  Adapted from Gourmet magazine. 

Gifts

I love to give and receive homemade Christmas gifts. So, today I want to share two recipes with you that make great gifts. The first is a classic: fudge with walnuts. Since I was little our family has always made a batch of fudge at Christmastime. Unfortunately, the recipe got lost a couple of years ago when my mom moved. Fortunately, Art Smith's recipe is really good, and close to what we remember of our original recipe, so we started using that one. I've made a couple of adjustments and now it's perfect.

The second is Coconut Dulce de Leche, a recipe that was featured in Bon Appetit a few years ago. It's made with coconut milk instead of cream making it perfect to give to your vegan or lactose intolerant friends. But, don't reserve it just for them. Anyone who likes coconut will love it drizzled over ice cream and topped with toasted coconut. Roy prefers it over vanilla ice cream, but to me, drizzled over chocolate is the way to go.

Walnut Fudge

4 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup evaporated milk
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Two 12 ounce packages semisweet chocolate chips
Two 7 ounce jars marshmallow cream
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups chopped walnuts

Spray a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Bring the sugar, butter, milk, and salt to a boil in a large heavy-bottomed pan (I use my dutch oven) over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Continue to stir and cook for about 5 minutes more until a candy thermometer reads 234 - 240 degrees. Remove from heat.

Add the chocolate chips, marshmallow cream, unsweetened chocolate, vanilla, and walnuts and stir until well combined. Pour into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Cool completely.

To give as a gift: The fudge can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for two weeks. Cut into small squares and package in small containers or wrap in food-safe clear bags and then pop into a small box. Give instructions to your recipients to consume within two weeks. This makes a lot of fudge so you will have plenty to give away.

Coconut Dulce de Leche

Two 14 ounce cans unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/2 cups packed golden brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

Bring all the ingredients to a boil over high heat in a large, wide saute pan. Then reduce heat to medium and simmer until reduced to 2 1/2 cups, about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour into glass containers and let cool completely.

To give as a gift: The coconut dulce de leche can be stored for one month in the refrigerator. Sterilize three half-pint jars in the hottest setting on your dishwasher. When you are ready to store the hot mixture, pour it into these jars, screw on the lids and let cool completely on your counter before moving to the fridge. This recipe makes enough to fill the three jars and leaves you with some extra for yourself. Label the jars, add a ribbon, and include instructions letting your recipients know they should consume it within one month and that it is best served over ice cream (coconut based for lactose-free friends) with toasted coconut. 

Thanksgiving Recipes

Miles is really into animal sounds these days. Lately we've been asking him, "What does a turkey say?" to which he responds, "go go go." At least he's got the first letters of "gobble" down.

It's almost Go Go Go Day, so I wanted to share some Thanksgiving recipes with you. Some are already posted to this blog like my apple crostata, butternut squash lasagna, and butternut squash salad.

This year I will be making my maple dark chocolate chip pecan pie and green beans with shallots and garlic. (These green beans are an easy and light side dish. If you want to make them, simply blanch your green beans in boiling water until they just begin to soften. Drain and transfer to a bowl of ice water to shock them. Once they have cooled drain again. You can do this in the morning and then store them in the refrigerator until later. When ready to serve, heat some olive oil in a skillet. Add sliced shallots and chopped garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the blanched green beans. Cook until heated through. Season with salt and pepper.)

One recipe I make every year is Ina Garten's cranberry sauce. It is really, really good. I love that she puts in an apple; it's pectin thickens the cranberry sauce. You can make this recipe a few days in advance and simply pop it out of the fridge to come to room temperature for a few minutes once you're ready to serve.  Also, while it's still warm from the pan a spoonful over a scoop of vanilla ice cream is not a bad way to treat yourself.

Fresh Cranberry Sauce

12 ounces fresh cranberries
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored and diced
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Zest and juice of 1 orange

Place cranberries, sugar and water in saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until skins begin to burst, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and add the apple, zests and juices. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Makes approximately 4 cups.