Category Archives: Cakes and Cookies

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

Posted on May 16, 2012 | Leave a comment

Did you know yesterday was National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day? Apparently everything gets its’ day. So you know, I had to SACRIFICE and make a batch, since it was that day and all. Of course I had two three-year-olds at my house, so they happily went along with the plan.

I found this recipe on Pinterest, it was really simple and delicious. The cookies were so soft and fluffy, I’m embarrassed to say they are almost all gone. Of course I only ate a few, I DID have two three-year-olds here. And some hungry men in the family. I used French Vanilla instant pudding, but I think it would be fun to play around with different flavors, see what you can come up with!

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
Recipe from Two Peas & Their Pod

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
1 3.4 oz. package instant pudding mix, I used French Vanilla
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the butter and sugars. Add in the eggs, vanilla and pudding mix.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to those in the mixer and mix until well-incorporated. Add in the chocolate chips, mix well and drop by rounded spoonfuls onto a cookie pan covered with a silicone mat or parchment paper.

Bake 10-12 minutes, and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

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Posted in Cakes and Cookies, Desserts

Strawberry Cake with Fresh Buttercream Icing

Posted on April 4, 2012 | 2 Comments

Nothing says “Hello, Spring!” like strawberries. A bakery here in my town makes fresh strawberry cakes, using strawberries in the batter and the icing, it is to die for. I decided to try to do something like that, only using buttercream icing. Sort of strawberries and cream, if you will.

This cake was so easy to make, I didn’t end up using fresh strawberries, I used frozen as the recipe called for. But it made a truly delicious, moist cake and I already knew I’d love the buttercream icing, I’ve made it many times before. I hope you enjoy this as much as our friends did!

Strawberry Cake with Fresh Buttercream Icing

Strawberry Cake with Fresh Buttercream Icing
Cake recipe from Paula Deen, see post on icing here.

Cake
Ingredients:
1 box white cake mix
1 (3-oz) pkg strawberry flavored instant gelatin
1 lb. package frozen strawberries, thawed and puree’d
4 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease two 9-inch cake pans.

Mix the gelatin powder and the cake mix together. Using a mixer, add the rest of the ingredients and beat until smooth. Pour equal amounts into each pan and bake for 20-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Set aside on cooling racks. When fully cooled, ice with desired icing. Here is my buttercream icing:

Buttercream Icing Recipe seen on Confections of a Foodie Bride, originally from Williams-Sonoma Yields

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter, room temperature
6 cups powdered sugar
5 tbsp milk (I used 2 percent)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
pinch of salt
1 tsp meringue powder

Place all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and with the paddle attachment (scraper if you have it), beat on low until the ingredients are just mixed. Turn the speed up and whip the icing until it’s light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. If you don’t have the paddle scraper, then you will need to stop once to scrape the sides and bottom.

Strawberry Cake with Fresh Buttercream Icing

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Posted in Cakes and Cookies, Desserts, Easter

S’mores Cookie Bars

Posted on March 9, 2012 | Leave a comment

For some reason, I’ve been craving s’mores like crazy lately. And want to hear something shocking? I only recently had my very first s’more. Love.

I needed a dessert for an event recently and started looking through my bookmarked “to-make” recipes and landed on this one. Yum! It was pretty easy to make, the only hard part was spreading the crust part on the top and bottom. I suggest spraying some nonstick spray on your fingers and then doing it, works much better! Also, the two chocolate bars didn’t quite cover the whole dish, so I am going to make it three chocolate bars.

S'mores Cookie Bars

S’mores Cookie Bars
Recipe from Lovin’ From the Oven

Ingredients:
1 stick butter, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 king-sized Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bars
1.5 cups marshmallow fluff (the jar kind, not regular marshmallows)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl with a hand mixer), cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in the egg and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, graham cracker crumbs and salt. Add to the bowl with the butter mixture and blend well.
Divide the dough in half and press one half of it down into the bottom of a greased 8×8 casserole. It helps to spray your fingers with nonstick spray to do this. Break the chocolate bars into pieces and place over the top of the dough, covering completely. Spoon the marshmallow fluff in, spreading to cover the chocolate (it’s easy if you spray the back of the spoon with nonstick spray also!). Press the remaining half of the dough into flat squares and cover the top of the casserole.
Bake 30-35 minutes, or until turning golden. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

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Posted in Cakes and Cookies, Desserts

Praline Coated Oreos

Posted on February 21, 2012 | Leave a comment

Happy Mardi Gras, ya’ll! Today is Fat Tuesday and in its’ honor I bring you a special treat – praline coated oreos. I spotted this on Pinterest recently and after checking out the attached recipe, I decided to do it my own way.

I’m kind of weird about my pralines. I don’t like those hard, dark-colored ones. The pralines we (my mom and I) make are soft and creamy. So rather than try someone else’s recipe and risk being disappointed, I stuck with what I know. These were pretty simple to make, just make sure you let your praline “sauce” (for lack of a better word) thicken some. I did some before it really thickened and they were a sticky mess. Still tasted good though! But the ones I did once it thickened were perfect. So make sure to reach that soft ball stage and beat a little!

Note: do not attempt pralines on a rainy day!

Praline Coated Oreos

Praline Coated Oreos

Ingredients:
1 stick butter
3 cups white sugar
1 can evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 pkg oreos
chopped pecans for topping – I used honey sugared pecans for a little extra fun

Method:

In a large heavy-bottomed pot, bring the butter, sugar and evaporated milk to a boil, stirring well to incorporate. Continue stirring often until it gets to the soft ball stage, then remove from heat and add the vanilla. Start whipping the liquid until it thickens some, then quickly begin dipping the oreos and placing them on waxed paper. Make sure no kids are around because this stuff is HOT!

Before they start to harden, sprinkle the chopped pecans on top of each cookie.

Praline Coated Oreos

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Posted in Cakes and Cookies, Christmas, Desserts, Holiday, Mardi Gras, Regional Louisiana

Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

Posted on February 8, 2012 | Leave a comment

I love having parties at my house. I love being a host. Sure, it can be stressful at times but I think it’s just so much fun to think of the menu and decorations and favors. When I knew I was going to be hosting Michelle’s bachelorette party/lingerie shower at my house, I couldn’t wait to put some plans into action.

Despite having a cake, I wanted to have something the guests could take home. What better than cookies? I had been wanting to try the “flooding” technique to decorating sugar cookies, but the only problem is that often those cookies are fairly gross. The cookies aren’t that great and taste like cardboard and the icing is just blah. So I set out to make these cookies look cute and taste great too, and I succeeded.

Bra and Panty Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

Sugar Cookie Recipe
Recipe from: allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1.5 cups butter, softened
2 cups white granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Instructions:
In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add in the eggs and vanilla, then mix in the flour, baking powder and salt until well-incorporated. Remove the bowl and cover and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour, preferably overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Break off sections of dough and roll out on a floured surface until 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Cut shapes out with your desired cookie cutter and place on the cookie sheet one inch apart. Bake 6-8 minutes. Let cool a few minutes before removing to a wire rack. Cool completely before decorating.

* To make the bras and panties, I used a heart shaped cookie cutter and simply cut in half under the two rounded tops and the bottom triangle. I then took a spoon and cut out little half moons for the legs of the panties from the triangle.

How to cut the bras and panties apart

How to scoop out the leg holes for the panties

Tasty Royal Icing
Recipe adapted from Elly Says Opa, originally from Good Things Catered

Ingredients:
4 cups powdered sugar, get the sifted 10x one
2 tbsp meringue powder
small splash of almond extract
small splash of butter extract
5 tbsp water

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients until no lumps remain and it is smooth. If a color is desired, use gel color (available in the cake decorating section) using a toothpick. Continue adding a little and mixing well until desired color is reached. Put a little in a pastry bag with a small round tip for piping. Pipe the outline of each cookie, until all are done.

Once all the cookies are outlined, you’ll add a little more water to thin the icing out a little. You don’t want it watery, just runny enough that you can spread it with a toothpick. Spoon some into a squeeze bottle and gently squeeze some onto the cookie, using a toothpick to smooth it out inside the outlined area (this is called flooding, you can find tutorials online for the technique). At this point I also added little candy pearls for the bras and panties. Repeat with remaining cookies.

Allow this icing to harden overnight if you’ll be decorating with more icing details on top.

Decorated Bra and Panties

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Posted in Cakes and Cookies, Desserts, Menu Ideas, Overnight

Toffee Crunch Cookies

Posted on December 23, 2011 | Leave a comment

I just love holiday baking! While I’m not a big sweets eater, I love baking cookies, fudge, bark, etc. for friends and neighbors. There is just something about baking that puts me in the mood for Christmas, if I don’t bake it doesn’t seem right!

I was invited to a cookie swap with the moms group I’m in, so naturally I was very excited to go. I brought some mint chocolate cookies, which is actually the first recipe ever to appear on my blog and one I got at another cookie swap! All of the cookies at the recent swap were great, but there was one in particular I knew my husband would go gaga over, Kim’s Toffee Crunch Cookies. The hubs LOVES anything toffee and these were pretty knock your socks off good. And they’re really REALLY easy to make. I think I know what Santa is getting this year!

Toffee Crunch Cookies
Recipe from Kim B., originally from Secret Ingredients

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine, softened
1 package yellow butter cake mix WITH pudding (she says to make sure to get the one with pudding, it makes a difference)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1.5 cups Heath candy pieces with chocolate
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the margarine, cake mix and eggs in a bowl and mix well. Stir in the Heath candy and pecans.
Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls on a parchment paper or silicone mat lined cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool.

Toffee Crunch Cookies

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Posted in Cakes and Cookies, Christmas, Desserts, Holiday

Pumpkin Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting

Posted on October 31, 2011 | Leave a comment

Happy Halloween! Not only is it Halloween today, but this is my 400th post on the blog! I have a few posts lined up for the coming days, but wanted this one to be something really good.

I have been seeing this recipe pop up on many blogs lately and wanted to try it. For one thing, I love all things pumpkin. I also love browned butter. And let me tell you, this frosting is what dreams are made of. It was all I could do to tear myself away from the frosting bowl. You can’t help it, your first bite makes you just sigh in delight. My 3-year-old even loves them, and she’s picky as all get out!

Pumpkin Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting

Pumpkin Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting
Recipe from Prevention RD, originally from Betty Crocker

Cookies:
2/3 cup white granulated sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Browned Butter Frosting:
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3-4 tbsp 1 % milk
1/3 cup butter

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or large bowl if you use a hand mixer) beat together the sugars, butter and 1 tsp vanilla, scraping occasionally.
Mix in pumpkin and eggs until well incorporated, then beat in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
Drop dough by heaping tablespoons full onto an ungreased cookie sheet (I used a silicone baking mat). Bake 10-12 minutes or until done. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
While they are cooling, make the icing. In a medium bowl mix together the powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla and 3 tbsp milk. In a small saucepan, melt 1/3 cup butter over medium heat, stirring constantly until it turns a golden brown. Pour into the powdered sugar mixture and beat on low-speed about a minute, or till smooth. If needed, you can gradually add more of the remaining tablespoon of milk to make it creamy and spreadable. Generously frost the cookies – I found it easiest to dip them into the icing and place back on the wire rack to let the icing harden some.

Pumpkin Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting

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Posted in Cakes and Cookies, Desserts, Pumpkin, Thanksgiving

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Caramel Pecan Buttercream Icing

Posted on October 5, 2011 | 1 Comment

Are you getting tired of my “its Fall!” posts yet? I hope not, because here is another one! And I can guarantee this won’t be my last.

Last week I was cooking dinner when my daughter spotted the pictures of cupcakes on the bag of flour. For the next week she asked me every day if we could make cupcakes. Finally, Saturday I gave in. I didn’t feel like going to the store though (I cannot stand the supermarket on the weekends!) so I decided to “make do” with what we had in the house.

The end result was pretty darned good, if I do say so myself. And if you don’t want to hear me say it, just go check with the neighbors, my future sis-in-law, or my parents. I made the cupcakes out of a box mix (gasp!) with some extras thrown in and the icing was based on the icing used at my daughter’s third birthday party, but infused with Godiva Caramel Pecan Bark coffee I received as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker’s program. I hope this coffee will be available in my own because I would cry if I couldn’t make these cupcakes again!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Caramel Pecan Buttercream Icing
Recipe a Cooking With Christen original
(Inspired by this cake recipe and this buttercream recipe)

Ingredients:
Cupcakes:
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup pure pumpkin puree’
1 tsp cinnamon
4 eggs
1/4 cup Godiva Caramel Pecan Bark coffee, brewed

Icing:
2 sticks butter, room temperature
6 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk
3 tbsp brewed Godiva Caramel Pecan Bark Coffee
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
pinch of salt
1 tsp meringue powder (optional)

Method:

Mix all cupcake ingredients together and fill muffin cups 3/4 of the way full. Bake according to package directions, until a toothpick inserted in a cupcake comes out clean. Set aside on a cooling rack to cool completely before icing.

Icing:

Place all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer (with paddle attachment – scraper if you have it) and mix on low until just mixed. Increase the speed and mix 3-4 minutes or until light and fluffy. Ice as desired.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Caramel Pecan Buttercream Icing

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Posted in Cakes and Cookies, Desserts, Holiday, Pumpkin, Thanksgiving

Chocolate Chip Cookies & Cream Cookies

Posted on September 14, 2011 | 1 Comment

Got that? Sort of a crazy title, huh? Well it’s sort of a crazy cookie.

It’s also one of the best cookies I’ve ever had. Seriously addictive. And there is just one left in the cookie jar and my daughter is demanding we make cookies tomorrow. Hmmm… The original recipe called for a certain amount of Oreo cookies, but I had only three left. So I crushed those three (they were the ones with the pink berry icing) and added chocolate chips to compensate. The end result was the most fantastic fluffy cookie. I think when I make them again (*cough* tomorrow *cough*) I’ll only use the three cookies and add chocolate chips again. Maybe I’ll even do the Halloween colors.

Chocolate Chip Cookies & Cream Cookies

Heavenly.

Chocolate Chip Cookies & Cream Cookies
Recipe adapted from Sing For Your Supper

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp white granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 large egg
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp milk
3 Oreo cookies, crushed
1 cup chocolate chips (plus more if needed)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Using a stand mixer (paddle attachment) or hand mixer, beat together the butter, sugars, salt, vanilla, baking soda and baking powder until well blended. Add the egg and beat until smooth and then add the flour and beat until well incorporated. Stir in the milk and then stir in the Oreos and chocolate chips. Don’t over-mix.
Use a cookie scoop and place the cookies 2 inches apart on a baking sheet with a silicone mat or lined with parchment paper.
Bake 11-15 minutes until turning golden around the edges.
Remove to a cooling rack.

Soft and fluffy, full of chocolate!

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Posted in Cakes and Cookies, Desserts

Happy 3rd Birthday! A Minnie Mouse Party! (And Buttercream Icing)

Posted on August 19, 2011 | 1 Comment

Well it’s that time of year again, my sweet little angel turned three. This is the last year that she’ll be home with me, before heading off to pre-k. I want to cry. But as sad as that makes me, I’m also excited to make the most of this next year.

The Birthday Girl!!

I made the first day of her third year the best I could – and it wasn’t the healthiest ever. She started the day with one of her best friends having chocolate doughnuts with sprinkles for breakfast. Lunch was from Raising Cane’s, she loves their chicken, bread and Cane’s sauce. That night we had her birthday party and served one of her favorites – pepperoni pizza. I hope she had a great birthday, she seemed to enjoy it. I know one thing that was enjoyed by all: the chocolate cupcakes with buttercream icing. That was seriously without a doubt the best buttercream icing I’ve ever had. And it was insanely easy. I may or may not have saved the leftover icing for my tasting pleasure.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream Icing

Buttercream Icing
Recipe seen on Confections of a Foodie Bride, originally from Williams-Sonoma
Yields enough frosting for 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter, room temperature
6 cups powdered sugar
5 tbsp milk (I used 2 percent)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
pinch of salt
1 tsp meringue powder (optional)

Method:
Place all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and with the paddle attachment (scraper if you have it), beat on low until the ingredients are just mixed. Turn the speed up and whip the icing until it’s light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. If you don’t have the paddle scraper, then you will need to stop once to scrape the sides and bottom.

For cupcakes, transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a tip. For these, I used the Wilton 1M star tip.

Some pictures…