Orange Ricotta Muffins (Two Ways)

Here's a word I don't use too often, because it's goofy and pathetically lacking in sophistication, but in this case, remarkably appropriate: Nummers.

Last week, on Monday morning, we were rudely awoken at 5 a.m. by an automated mass text: school was cancelled.  What?!  I jumped out of bed and looked outside to see if it had unexpectedly snowed.  Nope, looked normal.  We scanned the weather apps, and apparently there was freezing rain and ice.  So we settled back in for another hour or two of sleep.  

I always crave snow days, but I guess an ice day is almost as good.  No snow to play in, but we still get to lay back, eat leisurely, stay in PJ's, play, read, draw, and relax.  It was a great day to make these muffins my friend had just told me about.

The original recipe, from Two Peas & Their Pod, uses regular chocolate chips.  I doubled the recipe, and on my friend's recommendation, put blueberries in half, and mini chips in the other.  Both were totally nummers.  My kids preferred the blueberry; I probably preferred the chocolate, because I am genetically inclined to do so.    

My favorite part of making these, is Step 2, when you rub the orange zest and sugar together with your fingers.  Not only is it sensory therapy - like running beach sand through your hands, but sand that smells like bright, fresh, sweet orange - but it also provides the best finger-licking possible in the entire world of baking.

Nummers.

Orange Ricotta Muffins (Two Ways) (print recipe)
Makes 12 muffins

Muffins:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
Zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh blueberries -OR- chocolate chips (I prefer mini)


Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a small bowl, add the sugar and orange zest. Rub the orange zest and sugar together with your fingers.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar and orange zest mixture together until light and fluffy, about two minutes. Add the ricotta cheese and beat until smooth. Beat in the egg, orange juice, and vanilla extract.

4. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just blended, still with a streak or two of flour. Gently fold in the blueberries or chocolate chips.  Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups.

5. Bake muffins for about 18-22 minutes, or until the tops are slightly golden brown. Let muffins cool completely.

6. While the muffins are cooking, make the glaze. In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, orange zest, and orange juice. Drizzle glaze over muffins. Let the muffins sit until glaze hardens.

Recipe adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod

1 year ago:  Red Hot Cinnamon Bread
2 years ago:  Dessert Club - Breads & Spreads
3 years ago:  Blackout Cake

Chocolate-Cherry Cookies with Hazelnuts

 These little biscuits are unbelievable.  And, one my current favorite recipe features, quick and easy.  No batches in and out of the oven.  No wasted space on the baking sheet.  These darlings cook in one big corner-to-corner cookie, which you later slice into diamonds with your pizza wheel, but not before melting and spreading a boatload of chocolate on them, and sprinkling with toasted hazelnuts.  YUUUUUUUUM!

"But, Kari," you say, "your cookies aren't diamond-shaped!"  And that would be because I took geometry in the summer of 1989 - yes, summer school, to get a year ahead in math, and because the guy I liked was in summer school that year and I could ride the same bus as him, and it was sooo worth it - and haven't used a lick of it since.  I thought, Diamonds.  That means go diagonal.  So I went diagonal.  In both directions.  And ended up with squares.  Not very even ones, either.  Turns out, to get diamonds you have to go straight in one direction and diagonal in the other.  Thank you, summer school. 

Chocolate-Cherry Cookies with Hazelnuts (print recipe)
Makes about 50

2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped dried cherries
3/4 cup (5 1/2 ounces) superfine sugar
1/4 tsp salt
16 T unsalted butter, softened but still cool, cut into sixteen 1/2-inch pieces
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 T cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups hazelnuts, toasted, skinned, and chopped

1.  Place an oven rack in the lower-middle position and preheat to 375 degrees.  Line an 18" x 12" baking sheet with parchment paper. 

2.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the flour, cherries, sugar, and salt at low speed until combined, about 5 seconds.  With the mixer running on low, add the butter 1 piece at a time; continue to mix until the mixture looks crumbly and slightly wet, about 1 minute longer.  Add the vanilla and cream cheese and mix on low until the dough just begins to form large clumps, about 30 seconds.

3.  Press the dough in an even layer into the parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

4.  Immediately after removing the baking sheet from the oven, sprinkle evenly with the chocolate chips; let stand to melt, about 3 minutes.

 5.  Use an offset icing spatula to spread the chocolate into an even layer, then sprinkle evenly with the chopped hazelnuts.  Cool on a wire rack until just warm, 15 to 20 minutes.

6.  Use a pizza wheel to cut the cookies into 1 1/4-inch diamonds - this is done by cutting strips straight in one direction, and diagonally in the other.  Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Baking Illustrated: The Practical Kitchen Companion for the Home Baker

1 year ago:  Cranberry Lime Scones
2 years ago:  Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake and Frosting
3 years ago:  Blue Blueberry Muffins

Hot Chocolate Stir Sticks

Let's start 2013 off with a recipe I may have made more than any other in 2012. 

I made about 200 of these for our church's Christmas party in December, then helped stir and ladle hot milk from the stove all night, so everyone could have made-to-order hot chocolate.  When you put me in charge of the cocoa bar, you're not going to get Swiss Miss. 

Cutest mug ever, right? 

I didn't invent the whole idea, but it did evolve.  First, I thought of those chocolate-covered spoons you stir into coffee, but I didn't think it would be enough chocolate for a good 8-oz. cup of cocoa.  I hunted around food blogs for awhile, and came up with a few renditions to try - the first was just chocolate, but it bloomed within hours, and I needed something that could keep.  (And there was no way I was tempering chocolate for this quantity.)  The next one I tried was too fudgy, and fell off the stick at room temperature (but still made good hot chocolate.)  We drank a lot of cocoa at our house those first weeks of December.  Our counter became lined with Tupperware of chocolate experiments, and Poppy came to ask regularly if she could taste one of my "speriments." 

 Eventually I settled on a simple ganache, with half the cream, so it would stay just solid at room temperature, but still melt into a creamy mug.  Don't mind if I say so myself, they were the hit of the party.

 

Hot Chocolate Stir Sticks (print recipe)
Makes 12

12 oz. chocolate chips or other semisweet/dark chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 T cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
12 lollipop sticks
Cooking spray

1.  Melt chocolate and cream in microwave, for 20-30 seconds at a time, until chocolate is just melted; stir until smooth.  Add cocoa powder and stir in.  Add any flavorings you want, like 1/2 tsp peppermint extract or 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon.  Or leave plain chocolate.

2.  Spray a 12-well ice cube tray with cooking spray and dust thoroughly with cocoa powder.  Scoop chocolate mixture into a piping bag or gallon Ziploc and snip off the corner.  Pipe chocolate into the tray cups.  Stick a lollipop stick into the center of each one, giving it a twist as it goes in, to make sure the chocolate attaches.  Sprinkle anything on top that you want, like jimmies, nonpareils, coarse sugar, etc.  Or leave plain chocolate.  Chill for a at least 1 hour in the fridge.

3.  To remove chocolate from ice cube tray, twist the tray a bit like when you are getting ice out.  Place upright and gently wiggle sticks out.  If they don't come easily, run the underside of the tray under hot water for a few seconds and try again.  They should come out easily after that.  Store in refrigerator for a few days or at room temperature for a few hours.

4.  To make hot chocolate, heat 8 ounces milk in microwave or on stovetop, until steaming but not boiling.  It needs to be pretty hot.  Place stir stick in, and stir until chocolate dissolves to make one freaking decadent cup of cocoa.  Top with nutmeg, cinnamon, whipped cream, and/or marshmallows. 

Variations: 
- To make peppermint stir sticks, I added 1/2 tsp peppermint extract and a handful of crushed candy canes to the chocolate after it was melted but before piping into the molds. 
- To make salted caramel, I piped a big blob of dulce de leche on top of each chocolate cube, and sprinkled with a pinch of flaked salt just before serving. 


1 year ago:  Easy Pretzel Fudge
2 years ago:  Gearing Up for 2011
3 years ago:  Yeasted Lemon Poppy Seed Bread with Nutmeg Butter

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

About a month ago, I wanted to make this bread, which I've made many times, but I couldn't find the recipe.  I looked all over my blog, couldn't believe I'd never posted it.  I looked through cookbooks and binders - where was that favorite chocolate zucchini bread?!  Finally I found it in a family cookbook I made a few years ago, phew!  But seriously, it needs to be on here.  You need this recipes.  Two words for you:  Double.  Chocolate.  And you can see little green flecks so it's healthy-ish, too!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread (print recipes)
Makes two 9 x 5-inch loaves

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 T ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts, optional
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans.

2.  In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt; mix well.  In a separate bowl, combine sugar and eggs and beat until well blended.  Add oil and vanilla; beat until combined.  Stir in zucchini.  Add flour mixture; stir just until moistened.  Stir in nuts and chocolate chips.  Spoon evenly into loaf pans.

3.  Bake in preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in pans for 10 minutes.  Remove bread from pans; cool completely on wire rack.

1 year ago:  Raspberry-Chocolate Chip Muffins
2 years ago:  Cranberry Walnut Bread
3 years ago:  German Apple Pancake

Double Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

 It is always the right time and season for another banana bread recipe.  We have a couple go spotty at least once a month, and while we often turn to our favorite recipes - this, and this - we never turn down a new one that looks promising.

 Like, say, if it has both cocoa powder and chocolate chips.  Promising.

This one kept its promise - as you can see, moist beyond description - I do hate to overcook, so I pull it out a minute or two early, and happily enjoy the fudgy results.  But, you know, there are bananas, too, so these are totally healthy-ish.  Make a good teacher's gift, too.  I brought them in to parent-teacher conferences last month.  Can't hurt.  Bananas and chocolate - a timeless combination.

Double Chocolate Chip Banana Bread (print recipe)
Makes 2 mini loaves or one 9"x5" loaf

1 cup (4 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 T cocoa powder
1/2 cup soft unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup mashed banana (about 2-3 medium)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, mini preferred

1.  Preheat the oven to 350.  Lightly grease two 3 1/4" x 5 3/4" mini loaf pans, or one 9" x 5" loaf pan. 

2.  Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa.

3.  In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy.  Beat in the egg, then stir in the vanilla, banana, and sour cream.  Gently mix in the dry ingredients and chocolate chips until well incorporated.

4.  Pour the batter into the pan(s) and bake for 45 minutes for mini loaves or 60 minutes for a large loaf, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

5.  Remove the bread(s) from the oven, and allow to rest in the pan(s) for 10 minutes.  Turn the bread(s) out onto a rack to cool completely.

Recipe from King Arthur Flour

1 year ago:  Banana After-School Cake
2 years ago:  Coconut Lime-Curd Bars

3 years ago:   Fresh Lime Chiffon Cake

Chipotle Brownies

 

 As promised, here are my smoky spicy oh-so-chocolatey chipotle brownies!  It's like you take my favorite combo - chocolate, cinnamon, red pepper - and add that very slight smokiness that makes chipotles (smoked peppers), and wow!  We have a NEW favorite that is more than the sum of its parts!

 

And not that this recipe needs any more in its favor than that, but it also has FOUR kinds of chocolate, sour cream, and three times more sugar than flour.  All signs of a recipe to die for.

Chipotle Brownies (print recipe)
Makes 9 to 16 servings

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp chipotle powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup sour cream
4 ounces (2/3 cup) chocolate chunks

1.  Heat oven to 325.  Butter and flour an 8 x 8-inch baking pan (I doubled the whole recipe for a crowd and made it in a 9x13.)  Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, cinnamon, chipotle powder and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

2.  In a medium saucepan, bring 1 inch of water to a simmer.  Add butter, unsweetened chocolate, and semisweet chocolate to a metal bowl large enough to sit on top of the saucepan.  Melt ingredients, about 4 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir until smooth.

3.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine eggs, sugar and vanilla.  Whisk on high speed until slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes.  Pour in the melted chocolate mixture and whisk on medium for 30 seconds.  Add the flour mixture and whisk on low for 30 seconds.  Add sour cream and whisk on medium for 30 seconds.  Stir in chocolate chunks by hand. 

4.  Bake at 325 for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool on wire rack 10 minutes.

Recipe from Family Circle, February 2012

 

1 year ago:  Lemon-Scented Pull-Apart Bread
2 years ago:  Toasted Coconut Cupcakes
3 years ago:  Toronto Blueberry Buns

Chocolate Mousse Cake

When we went on vacation in June, I was looking for a very specific recipe.  It was going to be my sister-in-law's birthday that week, so I wanted to make her a cake.  We were staying in timeshare condos, but I wasn't sure what equipment the kitchen would and wouldn't have, and I didn't want to have to bring anything more than necessary.  So I wanted a one-bowl, one-pan, straightforward-prep cake that would be delicious, interesting, and birthday-worthy.  And preferably very chocolate.  Found it.

It actually takes two bowls.  But I brought my hand mixer, springform, and all the ingredients, premeasured in baggies.  And it worked out perfectly!  This cake cooks up rich and cakey around the edges, with a soft moussey offering in the center, and a crackly crust on top.  So gooey and awesome.

 

Chocolate Mousse Cake (print recipe)

Serves 8 to 10

(1 T instant coffee - totally optional!  I didn't use it)
2 sticks butter, melted
8 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
16 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, melted
6 T flour
1 cup chopped walnuts (I used pecans)
Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, for serving

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Add instant coffee, if using, to melted butter.  Set aside.

2.  Beat the egg whites until stiff, set aside.  Beat the egg yolks until lemon colored in an upright mixer.  Add the sugar to the egg yolks and beat until combined.  Add the vanilla, melted butter, and chocolate.  Add the flour, just to combine.  Fold in the egg whites and nuts.

3.  Pour into a greased and floured 9-inch springform pan and bake about 20 minutes.  Center will be soft.  Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Happy Birthday, Michelle!

Recipe adapted from FoodNetwork.com 

1 year ago:  Blueberry Cupcakes with Maple Brown Butter Frosting
2 years ago:  Best Blueberry Muffins EVER
3 years ago:  Ham and Swiss Stromboli 

Gâteau au Yaourt (French Yogurt Cake)

Having a little fun here with a cross-blog two-part post.  See here for Part 1 (how my 7- and 2-year-olds made this cake by themselves.)

And now, I give you....Le Gâteau au Yaourt:

This cake is so awesome!  Totally easy, famously hard to mess up, moist, deliciously vanilla-y, and I LOVE the high rise!

It was late afternoon by the time it came out of the oven, and we were all hungry.  My husband and middle daughter were out of town, so with half the family gone, it seemed pointless to even pretend to cook dinner.  Instead, we sliced this cake into thick wedges and ate it for dinner with tall glasses of milk.  I.  Love.  Summer.

 We froze the remainder and I am even now chomping on a hunk of it as I write.  It's so good I crave it, and how often does that happen with an unfrosted cake?  Amazing.  And just because a child can make it, does not mean it is a juvenile dessert - I would proudly serve this to company, after dinner with tea or along with fruit at a brunch, any day.  My new favorite.

Not only is yogurt an ingredient, but most of the ingredients are also measured in the 6-ounce yogurt containers, how cool is that?  Hazel was as tickled as I at the fun of measuring in non-measuring cups.  I had a hard time finding whole milk yogurt - it's all lowfat these days!  So I compromised by using part lowfat, part fancy European whole milk yogurts.  I highly recommend the combo.

Gâteau au Yaourt
(French Yogurt Cake) print recipe
2 six-ounce containers plain (or vanilla) whole-milk yogurt (use the empty containers to measure the other ingredients)
2 eggs
2 containers sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Just under 1 container vegetable oil
4 containers flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Crème fraîche, for serving (optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 375.  Grease a 9-inch round cake pan or a loaf pan.

2.  Gently combine the yogurt, eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil.  In a separate bowl, mix the flour and baking powder.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet; mix gently until ingredients are just combined (don't overmix.)  You can add 2 containers frozen berries, a container of chocolate chips, or any flavoring you like.  Bake for 35 minutes, then five minutes more if the cake doesn't pass the knife test.  It should be almost crispy on the outside, but springy on the inside.  Let it cool.  Serve with tea or hot chocolate and a dollop of crème fraîche.

Recipe from Bringing up Bébé by Pamela Druckerman

Chocolate Peanut Butter Snack Bars

 

 Just to be clear.  These chewy gooey squares are NOT for dessert.  They are SNACK bars, and a snack is anything eaten between meals, including before breakfast...you know, while your whole wheat bread is toasting.

I know they have chocolate, butter, and sugar in them.  BUT.  There are also three different whole grains, and the healthy-ish benefits of peanut butter and dark chocolate.  In fact, in the name of transparency, I ran a recipe analyzer on these, and include the nutritional info at the bottom.   Definitely more indulgent than a cup of baby carrots, but for 170 calories, a better, and infinitely more satisfying, choice than something from the vending machine.  (That is, if you can eat just one!)

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Snack Bars (print recipe)
Makes 16 bars

3 tablespoons softened butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons milled flax seed
1 cup whole oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup dark chocolate chips (semi-sweet)

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed until creamy, 4-5 minutes. Add egg, vanilla and peanut butter. Beat until combined. Add cocoa powder and beat on low speed to prevent cocoa powder flying in your face!

2.  In a separate bowl, combined flour, wheat flour, flax seed, oats, baking soda and salt. Mix together. Combine dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir until moistened. You may need to use your hands to get it all combined. Add chocolate chips and combine. Pour mixture into a greased 8-inch square baking dish. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until gooey and delicious. Serve immediately, or cut into bars and store.

Per bar: Cal 169, Fat 7.9g (Sat 3.4g), Chol 16mg, Sod 104mg, Carb 23.1g, Fiber 1.4g, Sugars 13.2g, Protein 3.8g

Recipe from Jenna Laughs

Easy Pretzel Fudge

 

 First of all, Happy New Year!

It's crazy how fast the holiday season went, and now here we are in the stark-mantled, bare-branched, chill-breezed letdown of January.  Have some chocolate.

Second, guess if Santa brought me an unexpected-despite-heavy-hints new camera for Christmas?  Yes, yes, he did.  So my photos may be improving...eventually.   First I have to get through the backlog of good things I still want to post but used my old camera on.  Then I have to figure out how to use my new awesomeness.  Then I should probably take a class or something.  Like I said...eventually.  But I did photo this easy fudge New Year's morning with it.  Perfect morning light always helps.

My sister-in-law loves chocolate covered pretzels, but for some reason can't stand chocolate when she's pregnant.  She just had her fourth child in December, so I wanted to give her some chocolate-pretzel-ness to help her start making up for lost time.  I may have also eaten my share, though I have no lost time to make up.  But it's January, and I'm depressed!  Easy fudge definitely helps with that. 

Pretzel Fudge (print recipe)
Nonstick cooking spray
2 T unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips (16 ounces)
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp fine salt
2 1/2 cups roughly chopped miniature pretzels
3/4 cups peanuts, optional

1.  Coat an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides.

2.  Place butter, chocolate chips, condensed milk, vanilla and salt in a medium heatproof bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water.  Stir occasionally until chocolate just melts and mixture is combined and warm but not hot, 8 to 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in 2 cups pretzels (and peanuts, if using.)  Transfer mixture to pan and smooth top; press 1/2 cup pretzels on top.  Refrigerate until set, 2 hours (or up to overnight, wrapped).  Using parchment, lift fudge from pan and cut into 36 squares.  (Store in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.)  Makes 36

Recipe from Everyday Food, June 2011

BONUS Steamy Sip #8: Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate

I just couldn't leave out this Steamy Sip.  It took me four stores to track down dulce de leche, then Christmas happened, but once I finally made this, Ed and I let out audible "aaaah"'s and I HAD to post it. 

As you know, salted caramel is all the rage now.  Salt brings out the flavor and balances the over-sweetness of caramel.  Sometimes, though, salt seems to be just in the name.  Not in this Steamy Sip.  The salt-to-other-stuff ratio is PERFECT.  You can taste it, but it's just right.  And lots of caramel and chocolate make it the perfect indulgent sip. 

Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate (print recipe)
4 T dulce de leche
1 1/4 cups milk
2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp coarse salt
Whipped cream, toffee bits and mini chocolate chips, for garnish

In a small pot over medium heat, warm the dulce de leche.  Whisk in the milk, cocoa powder, and salt until smooth.  Heat until warmed and serve immediately, topped with whipped cream.

Grand Prize Coconut-Caramel Bars

  

 Here is the WINNER of Dessert Club - Cookies and Bars.  It's a funny thing because when she brought them, she labeled them "Chewy Coconut-Caramel Bars" or some such, but when she won, she admitted the actual title from KAF was "Grand Prize" bars.  She hadn't wanted to seem presumptuous.  Which I guess goes to show, modesty has its rewards?  Or maybe it just shows coconut, caramel and chocolate are really good together.  

Come to think of it, a very similar combination won our Cookies night last year.  There must be a lesson in that, one I'll have to remember for next year; caramel and coconut are what people want. 

 

Grand Prize Coconut-Caramel Bars (print recipe)

1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) butter
1 1/2 cups (11 1/4 ounces) brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups (5 1/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups (6 ounces) shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened, toasted (1/2 cup reserved for topping)
1 cup (10 ounces) caramel cut from a block (or about 36 individual caramel candies), divided*
1 1/2 cups (9 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) milk or cream

*Or use 10 ounces of caramel sundae sauce, if you don't want to melt caramel.

1.  To toast coconut, spread it in a 9" x 13" pan, and bake it in a preheated 300°F oven for 18 to 22 minutes, stirring it halfway through, or until it’s a light golden brown. Watch it very closely towards the end, as it’ll go from golden to dark brown very quickly. Increase the oven heat to 350°F. In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, vanilla, and egg. Mix in the flour, salt, baking powder, and 1 1/2 cups of the toasted coconut.

2.  Spread the mixture in an ungreased 9" x 13" pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Just before the 15 minutes is up, melt half the caramel (1/2 cup); a VERY brief burst in the microwave makes this easy (probably 15 seconds or so). Drizzle the melted caramel (or caramel sauce) over the crust and return it to the oven for 10 to 12 minutes; when done it'll be medium-brown and the caramel will be bubbly.

3.  Remove the crust from the oven and, working quickly, use a heatproof plastic knife (plastic reduces the drag in sticky baked goods), or a bench knife, to loosen the edges of the crust from the pan, and to cut 2 dozen bars, leaving them right in the pan. It’s easier to cut these bars while they’re warm. Sprinkle the bars with the chocolate. Allow the chocolate to soften for about 5 minutes, then spread it evenly atop the bars. Set aside to cool completely.

4.  Loosen the bars from the edge of the pan again, and use a flexible spatula to lift them out and set them on a rack. Combine the remaining caramel with 1 tablespoon milk or cream, and heat until the caramel is pourable. Stir to combine with the cream, and drizzle over the bars. (Or drizzle bars with caramel sauce, if desired.) Garnish with the reserved toasted coconut.  Yield: 24 bars.

Recipe from King Arthur Flour
Cookies made by Dessert Club member J.B.

Peppermint Brownie Pie

 That's right.  It's brownie-in-a-pie.  When I came across this recipe, it called to me.  I was like, "I KNOW I'm making that this month."  It was the other pie I made for Lefse Day.  And I loooved it.

What is not to like?  Delicious dark chocolate homemade brownie.  In a great pie crust.  And there are a couple ways to make it pepperminty.  If you can find mint chocolate chips, it's a great way to go.  I've seen them around, especially this time of year.  Also I saw at Target Andes makes Andes mints baking squares, basically chopped up Andes mints.  Another great option.  If you can't find anything like that, it will taste the same if you use regular chocolate chips and peppermint extract.  And definitely don't forget to garnish with whipped cream and crushed candy canes - just the perfect minty crunch to top these off.  And if you really want over-the-top - I mean, it is indulgence season - use this pie as a base for an awesome sundae.  Peppermint ice cream, hot fudge, chopped Candy Cane Joe-Joe's, etc.  You get the idea. 

 Peppermint Brownie Pie (print recipe)
1/2 cup butter
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
Pastry for a Single-Crust Pie
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup mint-flavor semisweet chocolate pieces - OR - 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips and 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
Whipped cream, for serving
Crushed candy canes, for serving

1.  In a small saucepan, combine butter and chocolate.  Cook and stir over low heat until melted; cool slightly.

2.  Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350.  Prepare pastry for a single-crust pie in a 9-inch pie dish.

3.  For filling, in a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, flour and vanilla.  Stir in melted chocolate and the chocolate pieces (and pepper mint extract if substituting.)  Pour filling into the pastry-lined pie plate.

4.  Bake in the preheated oven about 55 minutes or until filling is evenly puffed and edge of filling is slightly cracked.  Cool on a wire rack about 20 minutes or until slightly warm (center will sink slightly as pie cools.)  Top each serving with whipped cream and, if desired, garnish with a mini candy cane or crushed candy canes.  Makes 8 servings.

Recipe from Better Homes & Gardens Holiday Baking magazine, December 2010

Chocolate Chip Peppermint Kisses

 I had never made meringues.  Still haven't; these came from Dessert Club member J.B., who is notorious for successful experimentation.  I love the minty essence and rich chocolate chips that stud these extremely easy but really fun cookies. 

Chocolate Chip Peppermint Kisses (print recipe)
2 egg whites
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
1 pkg chocolate chips
1/4 tsp peppermint extract

Heat oven to 300 degrees.  Beat egg whites til foamy, then add salt and cream of tartar and continue beating until whites are stiff enough to hold up in peaks (but not dry).  Add sugar, two Tbsp. at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.  Fold in chocolate chips and peppermint, and drop from tsp onto cookie sheets lined with heavy paper.  Bake for 25 minutes or until slightly brown -- just barely visible.  Remove from paper while cookies are slightly warm.  Makes about three dozen.