How is it already Christmas week? Seriously… this year has gone by way too fast! I feel like I’ve barely set foot in the kitchen this year; let’s hope I do better in 2012 now that I’m kinda figuring out how to balance being a working mom & wife. I’ve been trying out my crock pot a bit too although I haven’t found any blog-worthy recipes yet but I will be back soon with some new savory recipes as well!

I whipped up these cookies awhile ago. Hubby is a sucker for all things little debbie (well actually all things sweet and sugary). I’ve had homemade little debbie type treats on my to-do list for years for him. I’ve already made homemade hostess cupcakes (chocolate cupcakes with cream filling) and moon pies before. Now it was finally time to tackle Oatmeal Cream Pies! These were easy to put together and delicious! Definitely a treat for all you oatmeal cookie lovers!

Oatmeal Cream Pies

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulatedsugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp honey
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats

For filling:
2 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350° F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.

In large mixer bowl, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, honey and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Slowly add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and mix just until incorporated. Stir in oats. Chill dough in refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Drop tablespoon sized dough onto prepared baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes just until the edges start to brown. Cookies will seem moist in the middle but they will set up. Cool on baking sheet until set and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

For Filling: In a double boiler, add egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar and heat over simmering water. Whisking frequently, heat until egg whites become very frothy and sugar is dissolved (approx. 160 degrees). Carefully add egg mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed for several minutes until egg mixture will hold stiff peaks and is light in texture. Carefully fold in vanilla until incorporated.

Assemble Cookies: Spread filling onto flat side of one cookie; top with flat side of second cookie to make a sandwich. Repeat with remaining cookies and filling. Store in covered container.

Source: Macaroni and Cheesecake, originally Homemade by Holman

I started making this a couple years ago. When I first heard about it, I thought the saltines were incredibly strange but they give the “toffee” a good texture and the salt from the saltines are great in contrast to the sweetness of the sugar & chocolate.  Over the years this recipe got a new nickname… I started calling it crack cause its so good (not that I actually know what crack is actually like) and totally irresistible. Its always a bit like Christmas year around… aka Christmas Crack.

Not only is it only 5 ingredients. Its so easy and quick to make and everyone always raves about it! Its one of my go-to homemade gifts for the holidays. You can use all kinds of chocolate, dark chocolate is my personal fave but semi-sweet is my go-to as I typically have a bag of semisweet chocolate chips in the pantry. Top it with nuts or toffee bits, sprinkles or whatever else your heart might desire!

Go make this now. You won’t regret it. Well your waistline might but your tastebuds won’t

Saltine Toffee aka Christmas Crack

4 ounces saltine crackers (1 sleeve)
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4- 1 cup dark brown sugar
12 oz (or 2 cups) chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate
1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a 15×10 by 1-inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Line pan with single layer of saltine crackers.

In a saucepan, combine the butter and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high and boil for 3 minutes without stirring. Immediately pour over saltines to cover crackers completely.

Bake for 5-6 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before spreading melted chocolate evenly across crackers. Top with chopped nuts.

Cool completely and break into pieces.

Source: Adapted from Allrecipes

I’ve been slow getting into the flow of baking with pumpkin this year. You see, its still hot in Texas! Not 100+ degrees hot anymore, Thank God! But it is going to get above 80 again today. Its Thanksgiving week; this weather is just cruel!! I’m ready for scarves and boots, and hot chocolate and pumpkin! But we’re still hanging onto summer and I’m having a hard time feeling the holidays yet! But there’s no stopping them, Thanksgiving is in fact this week whether or not I’m ready for it. We’ll be heading out to see my folks for Turkey Day this year! I’ll help in the kitchen but I’m not doing much planning or anything which is a bit of a relief after the fall that I’ve had.

A couple of weeks ago we had a bit of a cool spell so I rushed to bake something up with pumpkin. These were tasty although I’ll be the first to admit that I still like our good old fashioned pumpkin roll more than any other pumpkin baked goodie (sorry that post is still missing the photo I lost several years ago!) These were good though and everyone always loves whoopie pies! Perfect treat for Thanksgiving to have alongside your pie since they’re not too big and a sampler of desserts is always the way to go Enjoy!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For cream cheese filling:
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
6 Tbsp butter, softened
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350° F. Lightly grease or line four baking sheets with parchment paper.In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Set aside. Beat butter and sugar in large mixer bowl on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin and vanilla extract; beat until smooth. Stir in flour mixture until combined. Drop by heaping measuring teaspoons onto prepared baking sheets.Bake for 10-13 minutes or until springy to the touch. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

For Cream Cheese Filling: Beat softened cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl on medium speed until fluffy. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until light and fluffy.

Assemble cookies: Spread a heaping teaspoon of filling onto flat side of one cookie; top with flat side of second cookie to make a sandwich. Repeat with remaining cookies and filling. Store in covered container in refrigerator.

Source: Very Best Baking

A baby changes everything. I’ve always thought its a silly statement — I mean seriously, Sherlock? Of course a baby changes everything but in the best ways. It is such a blessing and honor to be a mom. I love it, more than anything! I’ve been neglecting this poor blog because when I’m not at work — I spend every moment I can soaking up our sweet baby boy. There’s nothing more rewarding than being a momma. I was thrilled when I heard Amy of Sing for Your Supper was expecting! Amy is one of my favorite bloggers out in the blogosphere! (Don’t let it go to your head, Amy). She’s sweet and down-to-earth and I just love her blog. She’s also particularly special because she’s an Aggie, well an honorary one. She didn’t attend Texas A&M but she did the next best thing… she married an Ag!

Anyway, Kelsey of Apple a Day approached several bloggers awhile ago about hosting a virtual baby shower for our fellow blogger and friend, Amy. I knew I wanted to participate in Amy’s honor but I struggled with what to make — for some reason I just could not get scones out of my head. Mini scones are such a good baby shower food! At the time I was also incredibly focused on margaritas so I merged the ideas — Key Lime Mini Scones. If you lack self control like I do, I’d recommend making a double batch.

To see what everyone else whipped up for this virtual baby shower, pop over to Apple a Day or Sing for Your Supper to see the full roundup of sweets in honor of Amy’s sweet baby girl. Congrats Amy, and we can’t wait for your arrival sweet baby girl!

Glazed Mini Key Lime Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold
1/4 c. key lime juice
1/4 c. heavy cream (or half and half)

For the Lime Glaze:

1 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. key lime juice

In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.  Add the cream and key lime juice, processing until just combined. Transfer the dough onto a floured surface and gently knead just until the dough is combined enough to shape into a ball.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Roll out dough until it is about a 1/2″ thick. Let dough rest in refrigerator for 15 minutes. With a knife, cut the dough into small triangles. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes, until lightly golden brown on top. Move to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and key lime juice. Add more or less key lime juice for desired consistency. Spoon glaze over scones and allow to dry.

Source: Adapted from Cooking during Stolen Moments

I have to say, I really admire you working mommy bloggers who manage to keep up with your blogs. I’ve been back at work full-time for a few weeks now and I just can’t keep up! How do you do it? I miss blogging! I miss my blogosphere friends but by the time I get home from work all I want to to do is spend time with the little man and take care of all the cleaning and all that fun stuff! I’m sure I’ll figure it out at some point… in the meantime, bear with me as I find a new balance.

Hubby has a serious love of all things sweets. Most of the time when I do some baking its a treat with him in mind, and these moon pies are no exception. They’re one of his favorite rare treats (the store variety that is) so I thought I’d give it a try and make him some. I honestly didn’t expect to love these as much as I did. These were fantastic. Well worth the effort!

Moon Pies

For the Cookies:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt

For the Marshmallow Filling:
2 egg whites
Pinch cream of tartar
Pinch salt
2/3 cup light corn syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

For the Chocolate Coating:
12 ounces semisweet chocolate
¼ cup vegetable oil

To Make the Cookies: In a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter until creamy. Add the brown sugar and beat at medium-high speed until fluffy, 3 minutes. Beat in 1 teaspoon of the vanilla and the 1 whole egg. Add the 2 1/4 cups of flour and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and beat until a soft dough forms. Divide the dough in two thin disks, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Working with one disk at a time, roll out the dough to about 1/8-inch thickness. Using a 2½-inch diameter round cutter, cut out the rounds and place them on the prepared baking sheets, about ½ an inch apart. Refrigerate the cookies (on the baking sheets) for 10 minutes.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on the pans for a couple of minutes, and then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.

To Make the Marshmallow Filling: Using a mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the the egg whites with the cream of tartar and the salt until firm peaks form, gradually increasing from medium-low speed to medium-high speed as the egg whites gain volume. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, boil the corn syrup over high heat without stirring until it registers 230-235°F on a candy thermometer. Slowly drizzle the hot corn syrup into the egg whites and beat at high speed until glossy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low, beat in the vanilla extract and the powdered sugar.

Assemble Cookies: On cookie sheets that fit in your freezer, line up half of the cookies. Using either a pastry bag or a spoon, mound marshmallow filling on half of the cookies. Top each cookie and press lightly to spread marshmallow to the edges. Place cookie sheets in freezer.

Meanwhile, using a double boiler or in the microwave on 50% power and in 30 second increments, melt the chocolate and vegetable oil together until completely smooth. Place the assembled cookies on a wire rack set over a sheet of wax paper. Spoon the melted chocolate over each cookie so that it runs down the sides and covers most of the cookie. Allow to set at room temperature for about 2 hours (or pop in the fridge/freezer to speed up the process). If desired, once chocolate has hardened, flip over and spoon melted chocolate over the other side to completely coat cookies. Store in refrigerator.

Source: Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

I’m happy to say that chocolate is my friend again. Somewhere near the end of my pregnancy chocolate and I became BFFs again. 8-ish months of wanting nothing to do with chocolate was just weird. I’m glad to be back in the world of chocolate lovers

I’ve made these brownies several times now; they quickly became my go to recipe. I can throw them together quickly and the ingredients are things I’m almost guaranteed to have on hand which makes them great for an unplanned chocolate craving. They are deliciously chocolatey and rich. Give them a try next time you get a late night hankering for some brownies!

SoNo Bakery Brownies

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
Pinch of baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp light corn syrup
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Prepare a 8-inch square baking pan (butter, spray or line with parchment paper). Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the sugar and corn syrup, whisk to combine. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time. Whisk in vanilla. Fold in the dry ingredients, then chocolate chips. Don’t overmix.

Pour batter into prepared pan, smooth the top. Bake for 30 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature. Cut and serve.

Source: Adapted from the Food Librarian, originally seen in The Sono Baking Company Cookbook

I’m becoming more and more convinced that this child in my belly is not mine. Wanting non-chocolatey baked goods is just flat out WEIRD. I’ve made these cookies about three times in the last month? Clearly this child is my husband’s and he has taken over my tastebuds. I’ve always been able to appreciate non-chocolate baked goods, but the fact remains that chocolate is just better. Well that was a fact until recently.

From everything I can find on Ranger cookies, the origin remains unknown. These buttery, hearty cookies contain rolled oats and coconut, and some include pecans and crushed corn flakes (or rice krispies). I’ve seen some recipes with chocolate chips and some without; pretty sure my Grandmother always makes them with. Basically its one of those recipes that everyone seems to make a little differently but oats and coconut are consistent. I use rice krispies instead of corn flakes cause it gives me an excuse to use up the rest of the box of cereal for rice krispies treats!

They are rich and satisfying, and especially good with a glass of milk. And I may or may not have eaten a cookie or two for breakfast, oats and cereal = breakfast, no??  Enjoy!

Ranger Cookies
Yields: 60 2- to 2 1/2- inch cookies

1 cup  unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup shredded coconut
3 cups crispy rice cereal or cornflakes

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Beat together the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla and salt until fluffy; add the eggs and beat until smooth. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and baking soda; add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until well blended. Stir in the oats, coconut, and cereal, mixing just until blended.

Drop the dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto lightly greased or parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake for 10- 12 minutes, or until they’re golden brown.

Source: Adapted from King Arthur Flour

This baby in my belly can’t get enough of these. We all know I’m normally a chocolate-fiend. I can appreciate good non-chocolatey baked goods but craving non-chocolate goods is just odd. Really. I spent a week craving sugar cookies (again odd since I’ve pretty muchly not touched anything sweet in months) so I finally caved. I am making yet another batch of these this weekend too. Buttery and sweet (but not too sweet) with a bit of tang from the lime.

I’ve actually had this recipe flagged in my google reader forever (well the recipe is originally for lemon cookies) but lime just sounded better. I’m a bit worn out on lemonade as it was one of the only things I drank for months. Really, I think they’d probably be good with any citrus though! OH and I also love that recipe is easy to halve which comes in handy when you don’t need the temptation of two dozen large cookies!

Lime Sugar Cookies
Yields: ~2 dozen 4″ cookies

2 cups granulated sugar, divided
Zest of 2-3 limes, divided
1 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla
1 Tbsp. lime juice
2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda

Prepare lime sugar: In a mini food processor, blend 1/2 cup sugar with zest of 1-2 limes (~1 tsp). Pulse several times until the lime zest is incorporated into the sugar. Put sugar mixture in a shallow bowl and stir lightly with a fork to break up any clumps. Set aside.

Prepare cookies: In a medium bowl, stir together flour, salt, cream of tartar and baking soda. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and remaining 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar. Blend in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla, lime juice, and remaining lime zest. Add flour mixture, approximately one cup at a time, blending well after each addition, until all flour is incorporated.

Refrigerate dough for one hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Using a cookie scoop or your hands, shape two tablespoonfuls of dough into a ball and roll in the lime sugar. Place ball of dough on cookie sheet and press down lightly with the bottom of a glass until cookie is about 1/2 inch thick. Repeat. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes.

Source: Adapted from Pinch my Salt

Sorry I’ve been slow to post lately. I have a big backlog of photos & recipes but haven’t had time to edit/proof lately. The new job is keeping me really busy ( and life too)! Fall always keeps us on the road a bunch and weekends fill with family trips and visitors, which makes it hard to keep up with blogging on top of a new busy day time job. I’m weeks behind when it comes to Project Pastry Queen (on the verge of having to call it quits for a bit sadly), and may even need to take an official blogging hiatus but we’ll see if I can squeeze in some time for one or two updates a week. So bear with me for a bit as I find a new balance!

Its hard to believe but its only mid-September and the windows are open and I am bummed out on the couch with the laptop in hand. You know what that means? Fall is upon is because its actually cool enough today for us to have the windows open and I love it! I’m ready for temps to continue dropping! Especially because Fall means lots of Pumpkin goodies and I’ve been craving pumpkin for months and have been trying to hold off until at least mid-September. Now that open window season is up on us (however temporary), I’ll get busy with some pumpkin treats in the kitchen. Yum.

Carrot cake also makes me think of Fall, not as much as pumpkin, but definitely fall-ish in my book. I guess its the spices? Whatever it is, its delicious! I actually whipped this cake up a few months ago for my sister-in-law’s birthday per her request. It was fantastic. Hubby loved it too even though he doesn’t consider himself a carrot cake fan. Enjoy!

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
3 cups grated carrots (~ 9 carrots)
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries (I omit)
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 large eggs

For the frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 pound (3 ¾ cups) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or ½ teaspoon pure lemon extract
½ cup shredded coconut (optional)

Finely chopped toasted nuts and/or toasted shredded coconut, for topping (optional)

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter three 9-x-2-inch round cake pans, flour the insides, and tap out the excess. Put the two pans on one baking sheet and one on another.

To make the cake: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, & coconut. Working with a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the sugar and oil together on a medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs one by one and continue to beat until the batter is smooth. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear. Gently mix the chunky ingredients. Divide the batter among the baking pans.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until a thin knife inserted into the centers comes out clean. The cakes will have just started to come away from the sides of the pans. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and unmold them. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

The cakes can be wrapped airtight and kept at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.

To make the frosting: Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the lemon juice/extract.

If you’d like coconut in the filling, scoop about half of the frosting and stir the coconut into this position.

To assemble the cake:
Put one layer top side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. If you added the coconut to the frosting, use half of the coconut frosting to generously cover the first layer (or generously cover with plain frosting). Use an offset spatula or a spoon to smooth the frosting all the way to the edges of the layer. Top with the second layer, this time placing the cake stop side down, and frost with the remainder of the coconut frosting or plain frosting. Top with the last layer, right side up, and frost the top- and the sides- of the cake. Finish the top with swirls of frosting. If you want to top the cake with toasted nuts or coconut, sprinkle them on now while the frosting is soft.

Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes, just to set the frosting before serving.

Serving/Storing: This cake can be served as soon as the frosting is set. It can also wait, at room temperature and covered with a cake keeper overnight. The cake is best served in thick slices at room temperature and while it’s good plain, it’s even better with vanilla ice cream or some lemon curd. The cake will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. It can also be frozen. Freeze it uncovered, then when it’s firm, wrap airtight and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost, still wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator.

Source: Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Its really hot this summer. Technically its not as hot as it was last summer, but somehow it seems worse this year or I’m becoming a bigger and bigger wimp. You’d think that being born & raised in Texas would mean that I have some sort of tolerance from the heat but no! One of the best ways to cool down is a bit of ice cream. I’ve mentioned before that sherbet is my new summer go-to. Not as bad for you as ice cream but fruity with some fabulous creaminess. One of my priorities for this summer was to find/create a perfect orange cream sherbet. This is it. We love love love this recipe. You can use grocery store orange juice. Its still good but fresh squeezed is worth the effort Enjoy!

Orange Cream Sherbet

1 Tbsp grated orange zest from 1 to 2 oranges
1/2 – 3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/8 tsp kosher salt
2 cups fresh-squeezed orange juice, ~ 2 to 3 pounds oranges
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole milk

In the bowl of a food processor or a blender, combine all of the ingredients except the milk, and process until the sugar is dissolved, approximately 1 minute. Transfer this mixture to a mixing bowl, and whisk in the milk. Cover the bowl, and place in the refrigerator until the mixture reaches 40°F or below, approximately 1 hour.

When mixture is thoroughly chilled, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Serve immediately or transfer to storage container; press plastic wrap against surface of sherbet & freeze until firm. To serve, let stand at room temperature until softly softened.

Source: Adapted from Alton Brown