S'mores Cookies

I don't like camping. It's just not my thing. But if I have to go along, we better be having s'mores! So yummy, s'mores make my heart happy. So when I saw a recipe for S'mores Cookies on the Girl Who Ate Everything's blog, I wanted to try them out. These are dangerously delicious, and they make a ton, so, word to the wise...make them for a party or for when you have guests over...don't keep them all at home or you won't be able to stop eating them. I made one or two small adjustments to her recipe, but these cookies are a winner for sure.

S'mores Cookies
Ingredients:
11 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2.5 cups flour
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows
3 regular sized Hershey’s bars, broken into pieces
32 cinnamon graham cracker squares (I used Trader Joe's)

1. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, sea salt and cinnamon to combine. Set aside.

2 In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter with white and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixer and combine on low speed.

3. Fold in the chocolate chips and marshmallows. Chill dough in refrigerator for 1 hour.

4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line baking pans with parchment paper.

5. Lay out graham crackers side by side on the pans as close as possible (they should be touching).

6. Place tablespoons of dough (try not to eat all the dough!!) on graham crackers about 1 – 1.5 inches apart. Press down slightly with fingertips.

7. Bake for 5 minutes then remove from oven to press Hershey’s bar pieces on to the top. You can place as many pieces or as little as you want depending how much chocolate flavor you want.

8. Bake for an additional 5 – 7 minutes or more if your cookies are thicker. They will be done when the edges begin to turn golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool. For clean cutting make sure cookies are completely cool and cut with a sharp knife.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp Bars from the Smitten Kitchen

I am not a rhubarb fan. My experience with rhubarb has been stringy, sour and generally unpleasant. But I live in the rhubarb capital of the Pacific Northwest. It's available in abundance up here, and when I saw Smitten Kitchen's posting for a strawberry rhubarb crisp that you put together in one pan, I thought it would be worth a shot. Oh my goodness...I'm so glad I tried it! These bars are delicious and so easy to make! If you're scared of rhubarb, try these! They are moist, crunchy, sweet without being overly tooth-achingly sweet and are amazing with vanilla ice cream on top. Delicious!

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp Bars (via the Smitten Kitchen)
Ingredients:
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar
Heaped 1/4 teaspoon table salt
Heaped 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional, but helps firm up the filling)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon granulated sugar, divided
1 cup small-diced rhubarb (from about 1 1/2 medium stalks)
1 cup small-diced strawberries
Powdered sugar, for decoration, if desired

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Place oats, flour, brown sugar, salt and baking soda in bottom of baking pan and mix. Pour melted butter over, and stir until clumps form. Set 1/2 cup of this crumble aside. Press the rest of the crumb mixture evenly in the bottom of the pan.

3. Spread half the fruit over the crust. Sprinkle it evenly with cornstarch, then lemon juice, and 1/2 tablespoon of granulated sugar. Spread remaining fruit over this, and top with second 1/2 tablespoon sugar. Scatter reserved crumbs over fruit and bake bars for 30 to 40 minutes, until fruit is bubbly and crisp portion is golden.

4. Let cool in pan and cut into squares. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired. Store leftovers in fridge.

Cinnamon Bun Ice Cream - without a machine

Last night, my friend Tori made a no churn, machine-less ice cream for dessert. It was amazing. It had a texture similar to gelato, but tasted like ice cream. She made a version with Nutella (I know, right???) and toffee pieces...it was DELICIOUS!! Tonight, I wanted to try my own version, so I made a Cinnamon Bun ice cream. The idea is that it tastes like cinnamon rolls right out of the oven. And it does. Yummy. This recipe, and way of making ice cream, came from a blog called www.kevinandamanda.com. I'm so thrilled! I plan on buying an ice cream machine, but this recipe makes me re-think that plan a bit, or at least delay it. There are TONS of different options for this recipe...fresh fruit, candy, flavorings, etc.

Cinnamon Bun Ice Cream
Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
1 (14 oz.) Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Whip heavy cream to stiff peaks in large bowl. Whisk sweetened condensed milk, butter, cinnamon, and vanilla in large bowl. Mix well. Fold in whipped cream.

2. Pour into a 2-quart container and cover. Freeze 6 hours or until firm. Store in freezer.

Raspberry Almond Coffee Cake

This one is for my mom who loves raspberries more than anyone else I've ever met! I found this recipe in a magazine a while back, took a picture of the recipe in my phone and waited until I could get fresh raspberries from the farmer's market to make this. Today, I bought a 1/2 flat of mixed raspberries and blueberries, pulled out this recipe, made a few small changes and cooked this baby up. It's lovely. Tart because of the berries, a little sweet because of the sugar, crunchy due to the almonds and barely dense because of the whole wheat pastry flour. All in all, a nice, tasty treat. And if you make 8 slices, each slice comes in right around 230 calories a piece! Not bad for dessert, though this would be a nice breakfast as well.

If you're not a raspberry fan, you could easily substitute blueberries, blackberries, huckleberries or strawberries into this recipe. You could also change the nuts for something different, but be sure to chop them up smaller so they don't weigh the cake down. I'm including the recipe for icing, but I totally forgot about the icing until I was writing this recipe down! Oops! It really doesn't need it, but feel free to add it if you want.

Raspberry Almond Coffee Cake
Ingredients:

CAKE:
1 cup fresh raspberries
3 tbs brown sugar
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tbs butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup sliced almonds

ICING:
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1.5 tsp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a bowl, combine the raspberries and the 3 tbs brown sugar. Stir to combine.

3. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients of the cake, including the sugar. In a smaller bowl, combine the egg, sour cream, butter and vanilla. Mix well. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir until combined.

4. Spoon half the batter into a greased 8"round baking pan. Top with raspberry mixture. Spoon remaining batter over the top; sprinkle with almonds. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan (I used a springform pan) to a wire rack.

5. In a small bowl, combine the icing ingredients; drizzle over coffee cake. Serve warm.

Tori's Cheesecake

My friend Tori makes a super yummy cheesecake. When I asked her about it, she told me it was the easiest recipe ever. I asked her to share. I'm so glad she did - it was super easy to make and very delicious to eat! I know my sister Kendis doesn't believe cream cheese should be used for sweet dishes, but this cheesecake is wonderful! Tori has put mini chocolate chips in it, put chocolate on top of the crust, topped it with a raspberry sauce...it's all so good! I had a jar of my freezer strawberry jam from the summer, and I knew it would be a tasty topper for this cheesecake. Boy was it ever - like it was made for that sole purpose!

One note about cheesecakes...they sometimes split on top during or after the cooking process. I used a water bath in the oven in a pan underneath my cheesecake to prevent the splitting, and it worked during the cooking process. You are supposed to let the cheesecake cool in the oven (with the oven off and the oven door open) before removing it, and I'm thinking if I'd done that with the water bath intact during that time, it might not have split, but I had to get my lasagna in the oven, so I removed my cheesecake when it was done cooking and, well, it split a bit on top...but that's what the strawberry sauce was for! No one even noticed!

Tori's Cheesecake
Ingredients:

For the crust:
1.5 cups crushed graham crackers
2 tbs sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

1. Mix together and press into bottom of 9-inch springform pan.

For the cheesecake:
(3) 8-ounce packages of cream cheese
(1) 14-ounce can Eagle brand condensed milk
3 eggs
2 TBSP vanilla

1. Beat/whip cream cheese until light, add milk and mix until well incorporated. Mix in eggs, add vanilla. Pour into pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 55 minutes (until top springs back lightly when touched).

2. Open door of oven and cool in oven, then refrigerate.

3. When cool, top with topping of cheese or eat plain!

Grandma Mac's Oatmeal Cake

Back in the day when I worked for Capital One, I had an employee, Geri, who brought this cake to a potluck we had in the warehouse. From the first bite of this cake, I was emphatically hooked - like eyes rolling in the back on the head hooked - like, "oh my gosh, I can't believe how good this cake is" hooked - like, "if I don't get this recipe, I'm going to die" hooked! Yes, it's that good. Don't believe me? Andy tried it for the first time tonight and had the E-X-A-C-T same reaction. He had three pieces. Okay, so did I. It's that good.

Geri brought this cake every year on my birthday (did I mention that she was like my favorite employee???), and on our last celebration day before Capital One closed, she brought the cake and her recipe. This was an oatmeal cake her grandma made, and she was kind enough to pass along the recipe to me. And I'm passing it along to you.

This is not a healthy cake. In fact, it's so full of sugar, I'm almost embarrassed to tell you how much, but oh my goodness, it's good! I made mine in a 9 X 13" pan so I could cut the cake into 24 pieces, which didn't seem to help much since Andy and I both had the aforementioned three pieces each. The only change I made was to sub out the AP flour with whole wheat pastry flour. I might try to make some changes to lighten this recipe up in the future, but we'll see...why mess with perfection?

Grandma Mac's Oatmeal Cake
Ingredients:
1 cup quick cooking or old fashioned oats
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or AP flour)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbs milk
1.5 combined cup total of oats, coconut and chopped nuts (not 1.5 cup each but a combined total)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 X 13" baking dish.

2. Boil 1 cup of oats in 1.5 cup water for 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, combine 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup brown sugar and 2 beaten eggs until creamy. Add oats when done.

4. Combine 2 cups flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda.

5. Mix the wet with the dry ingredients until combined. Pour into prepared pan.

6. Cook for 25 minutes. Remove the cake and turn the oven up to BROIL.

7. Meanwhile, combine 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 tbs milk and the 1.5 cup of combined oats, coconut and nuts (I used pecans) until well mixed.

8. When the cake comes out of the oven, immediately spread the topping over it. DON'T FREAK OUT when the cake sort of sinks down. Just spread the topping as best as you can, but don't worry about covering every corner just yet. Put the cake in the broiler and broil just until the frosting bubbles (like 15-20 seconds). Watch closely as you WILL burn the cake if you leave it in too long. Remove the cake and with a spreader, spread the warm frosting over the entire length of the pan.

9. When cooled slightly, cut into pieces and ENJOY! Try to eat just one piece!

Granola Cookie Wedges

Cooking Light put out their 2nd annual 40 under 40 issue - basically, 40 meals ready in 40 minutes or less. It has a ton of different recipes, many of which look very promising, and it included sides and desserts. Desserts. Yum. This recipe was one of the desserts listed, and while I altered it a bit, removing the toasted pecans (so sad, I know, but Nathan doesn't like nuts), it was a one bowl affair, super quick to make, heavenly to smell while they baked, and delicious to devour! These are a bit sweeter than your standard cookie because there is much less flour in this recipe, so one wedge is really enough.

Granola Cookie Wedges (original recipe via Cooking Light)
Ingredients:
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg white
2.25 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips
Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl; stir until well combined. Weigh flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Add flour, oats, nuts, and chocolate chips to sugar mixture; stir until just combined. **(I omitted the nuts and added 2 more tbs of chocolate chips.)

3. Scrape the dough into a 9-inch glass pie plate coated with cooking spray, and spread to edges using a spatula. Bake at 350° for 13 minutes or until set. Cool slightly on a wire rack. Cut into 8 wedges.

Blueberry Maple Cake

I saw the recipe for this cake months ago on the fabulous Cookie and Kate website, and I socked it away, waiting for blueberries to come in season. Today, I decided I couldn't wait for fresh blueberries, and I decided to try it with frozen blueberries that I put up myself last summer. To my utter delight, this recipe worked great with frozen blueberries! And I'm so glad, because this just hit the spot! I wanted something cake-y, sweet, warm, a little gooey and fabulous and this cake hit every single one of those requirements!!! I've linked to Cookie & Kate's website here for the recipe, but I've also reprinted below. Yum, yum, yummers!

Blueberry Maple Cake
Ingredients:

Cake
1.5 cups plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
.25 teaspoon baking soda
.25 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup real maple syrup
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup milk (I used non-fat)
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup fresh blueberries (I used frozen!!)

Glaze
3 tablespoons real maple syrup
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Pinch sea salt or kosher salt
1/4 cup powdered sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-inch square pan.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: maple syrup, egg, milk and melted butter. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix just until combined and gently fold in the blueberries. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for about 23 to 26 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

4. While the cake is cooling, make the glaze. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the maple syrup and salt, then stir in the powdered sugar and cook until the sugar is completely dissolved, stirring constantly. Pour the warm glaze over the cake and use a pastry brush to distribute the glaze evenly. Let the cake cool completely, slice and serve.

Cocoa Coconut Bits from the Sprouted Kitchen

Have you been by the Sprouted Kitchen website before? If not, I HIGHLY recommend you check her stuff out! Her tag line is "A Tastier Take on Whole Foods" and boy, is she right! Her food is gorgeous and delicious. I bought her cookbook for my birthday and have been thoroughly enjoying it since. One of the recipes I found on her site is this one for Cocoa Coconut Bits, a delightful little cookie/truffle that will satisfy your sweet tooth and your chocolate craving all in one. Super easy to make, delicious to enjoy, and fairly low in calories (though high in sugar - but all natural sugar), these little treats have won my heart! Be sure to try these ones...they are perfect!

Cocoa Coconut Bits (via the Sprouted Kitchen)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups dried, unsweetened coconut (I buy mine in the bulk section at the natural foods market)
1/2 cup natural cocoa powder
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup grade b maple syrup or agave nectar
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1. In a mixing bowl. Combine the coconut, cocoa powder and rolled oats together. Stir in the maple, coconut oil, vanilla and optional dash of cinnamon. Mix to coat everything evenly. Set in the fridge for 20 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 215 degrees.

3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a mini scooper or your hands, make 1 inch balls and set them on the baking tray (they don't spread, ample space between is not important). Bake them on the middle rack for 20 minutes. Remove to cool.

Irish Pound Cake

For dessert on St. Patrick's Day, I made this pound cake. I'm not sure how authentically Irish it is, but it sure was delicious! I got the recipe from All Recipes and it is a pound cake in the true sense of the word. It's loaded with sugar, butter, cream cheese and refined flour - yikes! But for a special treat one day of the year, this cake hits the spot! Yummy! I topped mine with cut strawberries and a little plain yogurt with brown sugar mixed in. If you're serving this to your kids, like I did, don't worry about the whiskey - it imparts a wonderful flavor, but the alcohol pretty much gets cooked out. This was a nice end to our St. Patrick's Day menu, and it's a dessert that is fitting for a party. **I couldn't locate mace, so I used freshly grated nutmeg, being sure to grate the outer shell of the nutmeg, as I hear that is what mace actually is in the first place!**

Irish Pound Cake
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
6 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups white sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups self-rising flour
1/8 teaspoon ground mace (or freshly grated nutmeg)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (1.5 fluid ounce) jigger Irish whiskey

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a tube pan.

2. Beat the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the sugar until well blended. The mixture should be noticeably lighter in color. Add the room-temperature eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next. Beat in the 2 tablespoons flour with the last egg. Stir in the remaining 2 cups flour until just combined; stir in the mac, vanilla, and whiskey. Pour into the prepared tube pan.

3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Jam Shortbread

There's nothing quite like the smell of shortbread right out of the oven. Many people like that chocolate chip cookie smell, or a cake baking in the oven, but for me, shortbread is the perfect sweet something I want smelling up my kitchen...that, or fresh-baked bread. Mmmmm... I found this recipe in the most recent issue of the Food Network magazine, which is funny, because I love looking through the magazine, but almost never cook anything from it, but these little squares caught my eye, and they were easy to make. I did change out whole wheat pastry flour for the AP flour, but the rest of the recipe remains the same. Make sure you give these the adequate 20 minutes to rest of the counter once they are cooked, but then feel free to dig in!

Jam Shortbread
Ingredients:
1.5 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
10 tbs butter, at room temperature
6 tbs preserves, any flavor (I used cherry preserves)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line an 8-inch-square baking dish with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang. Whisk the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Work in the butter with your fingers to make a crumbly dough. (You could do this in the food processor.)

2. Refrigerate 2 tbs of the dough for topping. Press the remaining dough into the baking dish; freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.

3. Bake the crust 15 minutes. Spread the preserves on top, leaving a 1/2-inch border; crumble the reserved dough on top. Return to the oven and bake until the edges are golden brown, 25 more minutes. Let cool 20 minutes, then lift out of the pan and cut into squares.

Easy Slice and Bake Cookies

I love cookies, and I can't seem to do without them for very long, so I need a cookie that tastes good, is low in calories but is all natural and that I won't devour 40 in one sitting. Tall order, I know. But an old Eating Well issue caught my eye a while back with a modifiable recipe for Slice & Bake cookies that you make yourself. I traded out my favorite Whole Wheat Pastry Flour for the AP flour/white whole wheat flour combo suggested, and I used coconut oil rather than canola oil, but I did keep the sugar rather than use honey since this was my first time making these. I chose a cinnamon sugar version, ala snickerdoodle, and they turned out great! The recipe said it made about 6 dozen cookies, but my batch ended up making 102 cookies! And each of these little gems is only 33 calories a piece! WHAT??? I know...I can still hardly believe it...that means, I can pop 3 of these puppies for 99 calories! CRAZY, but true!

I can't wait to try the other variations of this cookies (mini chocolate chips, coconut and almond, etc...) Hurrah for slice and bake cookies - homemade ones, that is.

Easy Slice & Bake Cookies (via Eating Well magazine)
Ingredients:
3 cups whole wheat pastry flour (my substitution - they had you using 1/2 white whole wheat and 1/2 AP)
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 tbs cinnamon
5 tablespoons canola oil (I used coconut oil)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tbs sugar for the top

1. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

2. Beat sugar, oil and butter in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer on high until smooth, scraping down the sides. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth, scraping down the sides. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined.

3. Place half the dough on a large piece of plastic wrap and shape into a 10-inch log (it’s OK if it’s not perfectly round). Repeat with the remaining dough. Wrap and freeze until just firm, about 45 minutes. Reroll the logs to make them rounder and return to the freezer until very firm, at least 1 hour more.

4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

5. Remove one roll of dough at a time from the freezer and let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes. Unwrap the dough and slice crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick rounds, turning the dough a quarter turn after each slice to help keep the cookies round. Place 1/2 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. If your cookies aren’t as round as you want them to be, shape the dough with your fingers. Sprinkle each cookie with a little coarse sugar and gently press it into the cookie to help it adhere.

6. Bake 8 minutes for soft cookies or 10 minutes for crisp cookies. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining roll of dough, if desired.

Sour Cream Apple Coffee Cake

I was in Oklahoma last week visiting my mother, and while I was away, Andy made this recipe that he found online at Runner's World. It was tasty, low calorie and full of good carbs and fiber. I made another batch of it tonight, subbing out the sugar with honey and I think it improved it! This batch is super moist and full of flavor. Best part about it, one slice (12 servings total) is a mere 164 calories! It's a super before-workout snack and a great recovery treat as well. We use 100% whole wheat pastry flour in our version, but you could use a mixture of all-purpose flour and whole wheat pastry flour if you wanted. I'm posting the recipe as I made it tonight, but you can find the original recipe on the Runner's World site (linked from here).

Sour Cream Apple Coffee Cake (inspired by Runner's World recipe)
Ingredients:
1.5 cup whole wheat pastry flour
.5 cup honey
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
.5 cup apple juice
.25 cup sour cream
1 egg white, lightly beaten
2.5 cups diced peeled apples
.25 cup plus 2 tablespoons currants

Topping:
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons toasted wheat germ or finely chopped walnuts
To make the topping, combine the brown sugar and wheat germ or nuts in a small bowl and stir to mix well. Set aside.

1. Combine the flours, baking soda, and cinnamon in a medium bowl and stir to mix well. In a separate bowl, combine the honey, apple juice, sour cream and egg white. Pour into the dry ingredients bowl and mix to combine. Fold in the apples and currants.

2. Coat a 9-inch round pan (I use a tart pan with a removable bottom) with nonstick cooking spray and spread the batter evenly in the pan. Sprinkle the topping (the brown sugar and wheat germ) over the batter and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 33 minutes, or just until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cut into 12 slices. Good served warm or cold.

Nutella Turnovers

Over the weekend, I needed something chocolate-y, but something pastry-like as well. Pastries are definitely a weakness with me - when I walk into a bakery, which I don't do often for this very reason - it's like all reason and restraint escape panting through the door wondering how they go there in the first place. When my eyes land on puff pastry, almond paste, chocolate, croissants, danishes, cannoli...well, good grief, I can't go on because I'd like my reason and restraint to be here for the day. So, I peered in my pantry and freezer and saw puff pastry and Nutella. Puff pastry and Nutella? I mean, how can you go wrong? Ignore the calorie intake on this one, or be really good, and just eat one, but eat these...they are delicious! You don't need much - just a box of frozen puff pastry, thawed, a jar of nutella, and an egg. That's all it takes to whip these babies up. Good for breakfast (please have some fruit with it), a snack or a dessert, these turnovers are just a treat. But they are addicting, so only make enough for everyone to have one so they don't lie around the house tempting you. Unless you like that kind of thing.

Nutella Turnovers
Ingredients:
4 tbs Nutella
1 pkg frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat, or butter the pan. Without rolling out the pastry, cut into four equal squares. One box usually contains two sheets of puff pastry, so you will have 8 total pieces of pastry once everything is cut. Place on the baking sheet.

2. Crack the egg in a separate dish and mix it up. Using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash over each puff pastry square...just the side that is facing up.

3. Put 1/2 tbs of Nutella in the center of each pastry. Pull over the bottom right-hand corner to the top left-hand corner and seal with your fingers. Brush the tops with egg wash. Using a knife, cut a small slit in the top of the pastry to let the air escape.

4. Put in the oven for 15-18 minutes. If using two pans, rotate them during the cooking process to ensure even browning on your pastries. Let cool for 10 minutes before eating...the filling will be HOT.

Homemade Marshmallows

I wanted to make something for a few of my friends for Christmas, something they could enjoy during the cold winter months ahead. I decided on homemade marshmallows, because they look so fun to make, and I heard they tasted 10X better than the store-bought version. These were fun to make, and yes, they do taste 100X better than the store-bought version. In fact, last night, we used them to dip in chocolate fondue. Yum...rich, but yum. I used AB's recipe, and what a cinch! However, I will say, I'm glad I have a KitchenAid mixer, because I'm not sure if a regular mixer would've stood the test here. You do a lot of mixing on high for quite a bit of time.

My marshmallows were not quite as puffy (once cut) as the ones in the grocery store, because I spread them in a 1/2 sheet pan. Next time, I might just make thicker ones by spreading them in a quarter sheet pan. And there will be a next time because the variations are endless! I made vanilla, but you could make chocolate, peppermint, honey, etc...

Homemade Marshmallows (recipe via Alton Brown)
Ingredients:
3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 cup ice cold water, divided
12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
Nonstick spray

1. Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.

Gelatin blooming...

2. In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.

3. Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows.

4. Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.

5. When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

6. Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

French Macarons

When someone says macaron or macaroon around here, most of us think of those most delectable coconut balls of utter deliciousness. I have a dear friend who makes them and they just sort of melt into your mouth effortlessly. But in France, the macaron (spelled with only one "o") is quite a different treat. These are typically sandwiched light as air cookies filled with some type of delicious filling. And they are deceiving little cookies because they look as if they would taste entirely different than they do. They appear as though they will be hard or crunchy, but in reality, they have a minimal crunch around the edges, or the "feet" of the cookie, but are soft and melty on top. The filling provides a stable base in the middle that ties the whole thing together.

A couple months ago, I landed on a blog called Pastry Pal, and she had a free downloadable book on how to make and perfect the French macaron, complete with step-by-step pictures, a troubleshooting guide, and several different types of flavor additions and fillings. I downloaded it immediately and have just been waiting for the opportunity to try my hand at these! Saturday evening I made my first batch. I chose coffee flavored macarons filled with Nutella, because what could be bad filled with Nutella? The 50 or so cookies I made disappeared among eight adults in a matter of minutes. Tonight I made chocolate macarons filled with dark chocolate ganache. Richly decadent yumminess.

Rather than post the recipe here, I'm going to provide you a link to Pastry Pal's site, because her guide is the ultimate and is absolutely beautiful!!! Try these little dreamy cookies out - they will become a favorite!!! **You can download your free guide on the right hand side of her site.**