Too Hot to Handle (baking)

We have recently had some bouts of positively stifling heat combined with humidity, which make for sticky air, frizzy hair, and not a whole lot of motivation to fire up the oven.

Unfortunately baking has become something of a stress/boredom relief tactic for yours truly, and since work has become busier and Dr. D has been away, I find myself in no short supply of either stress or boredom.  So I found myself faced with the following conundrum: do I suffer more sweltering temperatures by turning on the oven, or do I get off my lazy duff and learn a new recipe that doesn't require baking?

The latter won out, my friends.  And I am so very glad it did.

I modified a version of this recipe which I found on Pinterest, and I must warn you that 30+ bite-sized balls of heavenly peanut buttery chocolate goodness is dangerous to have just hanging around, so make plans to give some away or freeze half of the batch for later.

Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Bites

2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
6 tablespoons butter, softened
Dipping chocolate (make your own or buy at the store---I prefer dark chocolate varieties)



Combine powdered sugar, butter, and peanut butter in a large bowl until well blended. {I eventually broke down and used my hands---worked like a charm!} Chill the mixture for 30 minutes.  Shape mixture into 1 inch balls and place them on wax paper-lined baking sheets.  Chill the balls again for another 20 minutes or so.  Create and/or melt the dipping chocolate and drop the balls one at a time into it.  Using a fork, remove the ball from the dipping chocolate, let the excess chocolate drip off briefly, and place on the wax paper to dry.  Makes approxiamately 35.  Store tightly sealed in the refrigerator or freezer.

Bye-bye Bananas, Hello Muffins.

As a teen, my Dad insisted that I eat a banana every morning with my breakfast.  I completely resented it at the time, although I'm sure the potassium kept me from being a walking bruise during my rigorous year-round basketball playing days.

Needless to say, once I was in charge of my own breakfast planning, I avoided bananas completely.

It took me a long time to be able to eat anything banana-related after that, but I've finally come around and have discovered that in moderation, they're actually pretty great.  By far the best part about them is when they get too ripe, and I'm absolutely forced to turn them into something sweet and delicious.

Have a recipe!

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup white -or- brown sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg -or- 1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup plain yogurt -or- milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (approx. 2 bananas)

3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In another bowl, combine the egg/applesauce, oil, yogurt/milk, and vanilla.  Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened.  Fold in bananas and chocolate chips.  Fill greased or paper-lined cups two-thirds full.  Bake for 22 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.  Serves approximately 18 muffins.

Mason Jar Munchies

There are two things you should know about me before we dive in to this post:

1. I am becoming increasingly addicted to Pinterest.
2. Growing up in my mother's household, I've developed a lifelong affinity for mason jars.  They were a constant presence around the house, often filled to their frosty brims with ice water.  Nothing can make hydrating more appealing, in my opinion.

Needless to say, when I found this recipe while investing (not wasting!) my time perusing Pinterest boards, I knew I had to give it a try.  Monkey bread is one of Dr. D's favorite childhood sweets and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that these adorable single-serve desserts are sinfully simple to make.

Here's the recipe and some pictures, if you'd like to give it a try---and believe me, you should.

You'll need:

• four 8-oz. mason jars
• 10 refrigerated biscuts {typically one package}
• 1/2 cup of white sugar
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1 tsp. of ground cinnamon
• a quarter stick of butter, melted {optional}

First, separate the biscuits and cut each one into fourths.  Mix the white sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon together in a bowl.  {Side note: While buzzing about the kitchen in giddy anticipation, Dr. D discovered that scooping a bit of this sugary mix with a tortilla chip resulted in a tasty snack akin to Taco Bell cinnamon twists.  Go figure.}

Each piece of biscuit will then be tossed into the sugary mix for coating.  I decided to melt a little bit of butter, dip my fingers in, and lightly coat each piece before putting them into the bowl.  The original recipe doesn't call for this, but Dr. D recounted to me the awesome butteryness of the monkey bread he used to eat as a kid, so I decided to go for broke.

Once all pieces are in the bowl, toss to your heart's content!  After the pieces are sufficiently coated, prep the four mason jars with cooking spray and place ten of the biscuit pieces in each, periodically sprinkling some of the extra sugary mixture between layers.

Place the mason jars in a high-edged pan and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 15 minutes, until the dough has risen and you can see the sugar bubbling.  {I let mine cook for 17 minutes, because the dough hadn't risen as much as I wanted---I imagine the timing changes based on the brand and type of biscuits you're using.}

Remove from the oven and let the jars cool for about 5 minutes before serving.  Dr. D and I each had one fresh out of the oven---highly recommended!---and I've lidded the other two and am refrigerating them for later.  We also discovered that chopsticks proved to be a fantastic implement for fishing the delicious bread bites out of the jar.

Yum!

Fall back into productivity

So I realize that all of you got an additional hour today as we waved goodbye to Daylight Savings Time, but something tells me that I may have been sneakily gifted another few hours under the table. Very hush-hush.

I was too productive today to have only been given one extra hour. It had to have been at least three... maybe four.

One measly additional hour wouldn't have allowed me to do all of this:

• Hit snooze. Twice.

• Crawl back into bed after breakfast for a post-cereal nap with the hubster.

• Brush J-dog's hair---believe me, this is a long and arduous process consisting of equal parts push, play, and perspiration. I really can't tell if homedog loves it or hates it, all I know is he always comes out on the other end of it looking like he belongs on top of Diana Ross' head.

• Go grocery shopping. On a Sunday. When EVERYONE AND ALL OF THEIR CHILDREN AND GRANDPARENTS are also shopping.

• Bake cookies.

Want a recipe? This is to go-to favorite in our house, and the one that Dr. D asks me to make whenever he needs to bring cookies into work (which apparently, on a side note, is fairly frequently when you work with nurses). Here you go:

Chocolate Cherry Chunk Cookies

1 cup butter (or margarine), softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs (or 2/3 cup applesauce)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup dried cherries
1 cup chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time (or substitute with unsweetened applesauce like I do), then stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in separate bowl, then stir into creamed mixture until blended. Mix in oats, then chocolate chips and cherries. Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 13 minutes in preheated oven. Yields approximately 42 cookies.

It has fruit, so it's good for you.

Remember how a couple of weeks ago we had a ton of apples? Well, Dr. D and I managed to crunch our way through most of the bushel (peck? I still don't know) and this weekend we found ourselves with only a few left. Honest to goodness, I had every intention of doing wonderful and extravagant things with those apples. Really I did. Yet most of them were simply consumed in their natural, raw form.

But today something got into me. I remembered seeing this website my friend Heidi linked to on her blog called Ming Makes Cupcakes and, despite my complete lack of any sort of cupcake making experience, I decided to give the apple cupcakes a whirl.

Boy, am I glad I did. Dr. D was glad, too, and even gave it a health stamp of approval: "Well it's got fruit in it, so it has to be good for you." My thoughts exactly.

Mine didn't turn out quite as pretty as Ming's, but they are a perfect compliment to the crisp fall air that rolled in this weekend.


Here's the recipe if you'd like to give it a try. It was very easy, even for a cupcake novice like myself. Enjoy! (click on the recipe image for a larger version)

It's got antioxidants, right?

The way I see it, I deserve it. I've earned it.

It has been a long couple of weeks--I can't tell you how much restraint I just had to apply to avoid cramming about a hundred more o's into the word "long." I'm talking twelve-hour work days for many, many days in a row. Yes, I'm aware of the apparent insensitivity of that statement, coming from a person married to an almost-doctor... but holy shmokes, y'all, I'm just not cut out for that much action. Especially not when 85% of those hours are spent meeting, organizing, and entertaining new people and partaking in an endless amount of ice-breakers and team-builders. My inner introvert weeps from exhaustion.

Aside from running myself ragged, however, it's been quite a successful August thus far, and I'm tickled pink with the way things are going at work. That's why I felt completely justified in treating myself to what I had coming to me this weekend.

What's that, you might ask? Why, copious amounts of chocolate. That's what.

How can I possibly explain my love for chocolate? Let's just say, if my love for Dr. D is infinite (which, duh, it is), and my love for chocolate is a mere fraction of that infinity... it's still infinite, right? I mean, I'm no mathematician. But yeah. Chocolate is pretty great.

I found this cookie recipe at allrecipes.com, and I have a feeling it'll make it into the regular rotation. I made them with an egg substitute per usual, and they are exactly what I wanted (and earned!) after these past weeks. The hubster is also fond of them, so that's an added bonus. Let me know if you try this one out, and enjoy.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips





Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set. Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Makes approximately 48 cookies.

Sweet, sedentary Saturday

Just a quick post to say that I spent my Saturday being a laaaaaazy sack of good-fer-nothin'. And man, did it feel good.

Our home currently contains new batches of cookies and biscotti (this time white chocolate macadamia--yum!), as well as an additional four-legged friend whom we are looking after while his humans are on their honeymoon. Let me tell ya, it's hard to be productive when you're surrounded by sleepy dogs and an endless supply of baked goods. It is a miracle that I found enough motivation to drag my bummin' behind to the gym this afternoon. A marvel, I tell you.

I'm currently drafting about three different blog entries, but none are finished, so for the interim day or so I thought I might post another recipe. This one is in my regular cookie-rotation, and one of Dr. D's faves. I typically make a vegan alternative so we can share with friends (just substitute butter with margarine and eggs with unsweetened apple sauce), but these consistently come out well, vegan or otherwise.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup peanut butter (chunky preferable)
1/4 cup water
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in peanut butter, water, and vanilla. In separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into creamed mixture until blended. Mix in oats and chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 14-16 minutes. Yields approximately 42 cookies.


But maybe before you try your hand at this recipe, you should come take some of this mountain o' baked goods off our hands. Please...?

Biscotti Hottie

My mother is a phenomenal cook (I bet she's humbly scoffing as she reads that statement, but don't let her fool you). I was one of those kids that led a rather charmed, Leave It to Beaver-esque existence when it came to the home she made for us all. Home-cooked meals, cookies made from scratch, beautifully decorated dining tables... basically she's a kind of Martha Stewart/Julia Child hybrid, but even more awesome, if you can imagine. Although seemingly scattered at times, and always modest, she manages to perfectly orchestrate meals--whether they are for four or fourteen--down to the last, votive-lit detail. This is a photo of a dessert table that she just "whipped up" for an open house we had over Christmas. No big deal, right?

I truly wish I could say that I take after my mom in the culinary department, but in reality, cooking stresses me the heck out. First of all, give me something hot to handle and I will burn myself, it's just a question of how badly--on a scale of 1 to instantaneously bubbling, how bad is it? Second, if I have to time the completion of multiple dishes at once, I go manic. I start yelling at vegetables and forget to wear oven mitts (again, going back to the burning thing... not pleasant). Picture the frenzied pace of Iron Chef but instead of having a legitimate reason to be frantic, like on-the-fly desserts made with truffled buffalo pâté, I'm just trying my darndest to pan-fry a chicken breast.

The one exception to my kitchen conundrum is this: I somehow manage to fair better when it comes to baking. Before you try to tell me that baking is cooking, let me stop you: BAKING IS NOT THE SAME THING AS COOKING A MEAL. I cannot be convinced otherwise. Many have tried, all unsuccessfully.

When I bake, I can focus on one thing at a time. Oven on. Mix the dry ingredients. Mix the wet ingredients. Combine. Stir until your arm falls off. Bake. Cool. Munch. There's no guess-work in baking; no "for heaven's sake, does this need more salt? DOES IT?!"; no having to keep things warm while you're waiting for the other stuff to hurry-the-heck-up and cook already; no working with raw meat--yucka! Yes, Dr. D is a much better cook than I, so best to stick with what I'm good at.

Last weekend, in a fit of ambition (and after witnessing my husband glance listlessly into his morning coffee and mumble a wish for something sweet to go with it), I decided to try my hand at biscotti. I didn't think it would be possible to make Dr. D love me any more than he already does, but I may have achieved just that with this simple recipe. I even earned a new nickname; Dr. D, with a mouth-full of warm almond cappuccino chocolate chunk biscotti, dubbed me his "biscotti hottie."

Just in case anyone wanted to give it a go, I'm including the recipe below. A word of warning, however: the recipe calls for parchment paper to bake the loaves on. If you're a baking newb like me, you're probably like "huh?" Yeah, I had no idea what it was either. Dr. D was so excited about the prospect of fresh biscotti that he made a special trip to the grocery store for me to track down this elusive baking item, and after no success finding it on the shelves, he managed to charm one of the workers in their bakery into lending us some (and when I say "some" I mean 1 sheet--this stuff must be hard to come by!). I plan to go to a larger store in the near future and see if I can stock up, because this is only the biscotti beginning for us :)

Toasted Almond Cappuccino Biscotti with Chocolate Chunks

3/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chunks
2 cups flour
1 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 cup espresso or strong coffee, cooled
1 tablespoon milk
2 eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract


In a small bowl, whisk together the espresso (or coffee), milk, eggs, and vanilla. In a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, & spices until combined. Gradually add wet mixture and beat until dough forms, adding morsels about halfway through. With floured hands divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface roll each half into a log about 10 inches long and 2 inches wide, and transfer to parchment paper lined baking sheet, spacing 3 inches apart. Pat down slightly. Bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees, then let cool for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 300 degrees, slice the loaves on a diagonal (about 3/4 inch wide slices) and bake slices for 5 minutes on each side or until pale golden. Serves approximately 30 slices.