Christmas was awesome. Simply awesome. The big, jolly man made the trek to our house and came down the chimney - actually, this year, he came through the front door. My ever growing clever daughter asked, "How will Santa get through the glass on the fireplace, Mommy?" Sigh. 

I had to be one step ahead of clever clogs and pull out the big guns. A very special magic key, exclusively for Santa. Universal for any door. Thankfully, I picked one up several years ago on sale at the Hallmark Shop. Once I explained to her the procedure, she seemed content and asked no more questions.

After Santa delivered on the goods, he and I kicked back and noshed on some eggnog pound cake and tea while watching classic Christmas movies; stealing kisses here and there. Brings a whole new perspective to the classic Christmas song, "I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus", except my kids were sound asleep and that song is utterly ridiculous. I mean, OUR Santa wears flannel pajama bottoms and a well loved and worn Scott Dixon Indycar racing t-shirt. If he actually dressed up as Santa and delivered presents like that, I may laugh at him for all eternity.

But for the record, Santa's an awesome kisser.

EGGNOG POUND CAKE

Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat all ingredients together at low speed with an electric mixer until blended. Increase speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes.

Pour into two lightly greased 9x5-inch loaf pans. Bake for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely.

Wishing you all a very happy and healthy 2012! Happy New Year and Happy Baking! 

Wanna make the easiest treat on the planet? Then child, do I have the treat for you! The secret? It's only 3 ingredients. Yes, that's right my pretty. Three.

Now there is no excuse to show up to a Christmas party empty-handed. Unless of course you lose all control and eat them en route.

Which is a totally understandable.

1 bag waffle-style pretzels

Rolos - Here is a little tip I learned. When purchasing Rolos, buy the ones you find in a roll, not individually wrapped. Otherwise, you'll be peeling foil off for hours.

While I love almost every cookie known to man, there are some I just do not. Cookies with any sort of dried fruit in them such cherries, apricots, or pineapple are forbidden near me (however, cranberries and raisins are embraced with open arms) and cookies with ginger as the main ingredient need not apply. I also don't like care for cookies that have way too many nuts or are swimming in powdered sugar. Someone once told me that shortbread is not a Christmas cookie. Tell that to any true Brit and they'll smack you senseless.

Of course, my Christmas Baking Extravaganza 2011 will kick off in a few short weeks, I can't forget about my wonderful gluten-intolerant husband. I know he will be pretty bummed that there will be cookies he can't eat without feeling the effects the following day. I have searched for some recipes that will appeal to him and his digestive system and found this delightful cookie. 

Flourless Peanut Butter Double Chocolate Chip Cookies will make his days merry and bright. 

And score me an extra present in my Christmas sack! 

FLOURLESS PEANUT BUTTER DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Recipe adapted and slightly modified from Recipe Girl

 3 cups powdered sugar

Did you ever have so many bananas that you don't know what to do with them? 

That's me. All the time. 

I am a sucker for slightly off bananas in the grocery store. I'll buy them, peel them, and stick them in Ziploc bags until I can use them. I found several bags in the freezer the other day and realized I need to curb my impulse for buying anymore.

As much as I love banana bread and muffins, sometimes I want something different besides the usual suspects. Like cookies. I always want cookies.

Enter Banana Walnut Cookies. I wasn't sure how they would turn out, but thought I have nothing to lose, aside from some of the bananas, and everything to gain, like freezer space.

As a girl, space is crucial. No matter where it is. The freezer should be no exception.

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ cup ground flax seeds

¾ cup butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 large egg

1½ cups mashed banana
½ cups steel cut oats, finely ground

1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350ºF degrees. Line cookie sheets with silicone liners or parchment paper.

In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, flax seeds, and salt until well blended; set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until well blended.

Add egg and bananas. I pureed the bananas with ½ cup oatmeal to add some extra goodness. By grinding/breaking down the oatmeal with the bananas, it helps yield a smoother looking cookie.

Stir in the flour mixture on low speed until just combined.

Using an ice cream scoop, drop cookie dough onto prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Immediately transfer cookies to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before storing.

Yields: About 2½ dozen

Happy Baking!

I know, I know, zucchini season has come and gone, but I just can't help myself - I love the stuff.

Although pumpkin is this seasons 'it' fruit, I will always give zucchini it's due. I throw it in almost everything I make. Zucchini has so much goodness. It's a very underrated fruit. 

These came about when I was looking for some cookies to make with the 100 zucchinis I got from the local farm we get our fruits and veggies from.

These are a keeper and quite the tasty treat.

Kind of like John Krasinski from The Office. (Can I get an Amen?)

ZUCCHINI CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

½ cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups grated zucchini

1½ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 cups old fashioned oats

¼ cup ground flax seeds

2 cups chocolate chips (I love dark chocolate chips in these cookies!

Preheat oven to 350º. 

In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and flax seeds; set aside. In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Stir in the egg and vanilla, mix well - batter will be light in color.

Stir in the shredded zucchini and mix until combined.  

Combine zucchini mixture and flour mixture together and blend until incorporated.

With a wooden spoon or spatula, stir in the oats and chocolate chips by hand. 

Yields: About 3 dozen cookies 

Happy Baking!

I LOVE Williams-Sonoma. I really do. It's my happy place.

I attended their Customer Appreciation Night a few weeks back - 10% off everything in the store, including sale prices. Yeah. I did some real damage to the husband's credit card and I'm thinking of skipping town when the bill arrives next week. 

My favorite purchase was definitely the Breville Pie Maker. After weeks of admiring it, I finally broke down and bought it. Let me tell you, it's been WELL worth it. I've made pies that even I didn't think were possible with this crafty and ingenious machine. However, we'll save that for another post.

I also picked up a few jars of Muirhead Pecan Pumpkin Butter.  

This delightful creation is something to get excited about. As I was walking around the shop, mentally keeping track of all the items Santa could get me that would prompt me to squeal with joy, a sweet sales guy named Ty was walking around with a tray of these super delicious squares. 

I ate 3 of them. I did my usual moaning as I devoured each one and, at the same time, convinced myself I NEEDED 4 jars. Imagine my excitement when I got to the till and they were on sale even further. Squeee! When I got home and did some digging on the internet, I discovered an entire website with dozens of recipes specifically for Muirhead butters.

I guess it goes to show it doesn't take a lot to make me happy. 

Expensive happiness perhaps, but not a lot.

PECAN PUMPKIN SQUARES

Adapted and slightly modified from Williams-Sonoma

  

1 box yellow cake mix

½ cup butter, melted
1 jar Muirhead Pecan Pumpkin Butter
3 eggs
1 tablespoon flour
¼ cup flour
¼ cup butter, softened
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup old fashioned oats

¼ cup ground flax seeds

There are some combinations that deserve to be together: chocolate and peanut butter, milk and cookies, Saturday mornings and cartoons; while others should not: chocolate and orange (gag), chocolate and bananas (double gag), Kim Kardashian and marriage. Okay, so perhaps that was a bit mean, but c'mon. 72 days? Really?

Today, I had a real hankering for a good peanut butter cookie. One of my most favorite cookies (and I stress on the word ONE because I have about a dozen) are the Girl Scout Cookies, Do-Si-Dos. Peanut butter goodness. When I moved to Canada, I happily discovered they sold them in the grocery store YEAR ROUND under the name, Pirates. You can only imagine my enthusiasm.

Speaking of Pirates, let's rewind to a few nights ago. Halloween night. My daughter made out like one - and she was literally the cutest pirate at that. After 3 very successful trips out that night, her 'treasure' consisted of 21 bags of chips and 23 pounds of chocolate. Seriously, I'm not too far off the mark. I guess the upside to being adventurous in the kitchen is knowing that I can incorporate much of her loot into some recipes. 

When all was said and done, the winner of the night were the Smarties candies. Smarties candies are not to be confused with the Smarties in the States. Those are what Canadians call. Rockets. Anyway, we counted out 46 mini boxes. 46. That's at least like $10 worth of chocolate right there. Since we will not eat that many Smarties (well, SHE won't, but I just might) we opened a few boxes and threw them into our peanut butter oatmeal cookie batter.

Good call. They were just what the cookies needed. A beautiful marriage of a beautiful combination guaranteed to put a smile on your face the entire time.

No pre-nup required.

1¼ cup CHUNKY peanut butter

¼ cup butter, room temperature

1 cup packed brown sugar*

2 eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup oatmeal - both rolled oats or quick oats work well
3 tablespoons ground flax seed, optional

1 cup Smarties Candies

*For a slightly crispier cookie, substitute 1 cup of brown sugar with ½ cup brown sugar and ½ granulated sugar.

Preheat oven to 350º. In a bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together; set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat peanut butter, butter, and sugar until light and fluffy. 

  
Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until smooth. Add oatmeal and flax seeds, if using, and mix.


With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture, beating just until combined. 

 
Using wooden spoon or silicone spatula, stir in Smarties by hand. 

Using an ice cream scoop, drop onto baking sheets.


If using a small scoop, bake until golden, about 9 to 11 minutes. If using a large scoop, bake for 13 to 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool.

Yields: About 3½ dozen with small scoop or 2½ dozen with large scoop. 

Happy Baking! 

When I first discovered these cookies on Pinterest, I pinned them, but forgot all about them. A few days before Halloween, I came across The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle's blog and caught her version of these sweet cookies. I loved the chocolate touch she added and followed suit. We made them for my daughter's teachers and, needless to say, they went over better than a kid in a candy store.

Super cute and delicious? You can't ask for anymore than that.

There are 2 things that drive me crazy about people.

Actually, there are about 1,143 things that drive me crazy about people, but for the sake of this blog, I'll keep it to the two that pertain to this recipe and something that just happened.

The first is when I sell something on Craigslist. 99% of the time, the items I sell are very reasonable and in pristine condition. It grinds me to no end when people try to get my goods for nothing. I was selling a brand new pair of Strawberry Shortcake fleece pajamas - with tags attached, perfect for gift giving as they were thankyouverymuch - for $8. I originally bought them for $17.99, but decided to cut my losses and sell just below half of what I paid since I wasn't going back to that shop I bought them from anytime soon. I had a buyer ask if I would let them go for $3! THREE DOLLARS!?!? Give me a break.

The second is folks is people that don't share recipes. I understand that your Aunt Dottie's 100-year-old soufflé recipe has been the family secret for years, but don't tease me with photos, tell me how delicious it is, let me moan through it, and NOT expect me to ask for the recipe. That's just cruel. In my opinion, recipes are like good advice. They're meant to be shared. Don't be so difficult. I'm not going to sell it and make a million dollars on your recipe...and even if I did, you snooze, you lose. Just kidding. Fortunately, I'm not that kind of person. I'm a lover, not a fighter and it's just not in me to be any other way. 

I first found this recipe online a few years ago. The site I got it from had amazing photos with step by step instructions. What could go wrong? Everything. I was so disappointed. Mine looked nothing like theirs and I'm sure it did not taste the same either. What a waste. Last year, my MIL picked up the cookbook, Delicious Disney, by total coincidence at a garage sale. Guess what was in it? You betcha. This beauty. I did a cartwheel (true story!) When I went back to the site, I realized the author had the posted the incorrect recipe. Unfortunately, this is not the first time this has happened. I get so annoyed because ingredients are not cheap. Some recipes I make can cost up to $20 when all is said and done.

Anyway, I gave it another shot correctly and we all absolutely moaned through it. We love it and it's the only bread pudding I ever make. Even my gluten-intolerant husband can't resist it. He pays for it the next day, but says it's worth every bite.

You may gain 5 pounds eating this dessert, but I assure, it is worth every swear word you will speak when it comes time to put on those skinny jeans for a night out with the girls. 

DISNEY'S O'HANA BRED PUDDING

Recipe adapted and slightly modified from Delicious Disney Cookbook

5 large eggs
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups whole milk
1 loaf challah bread or egg-style bread (large enough to fill 10 cups)
½ cup crushed, canned pineapple
¼ cup sweetened shredded coconut


Heat oven to 350ºF. In large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, salt, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cut bread in ½-inch cubes. I just tear them.

Add bread, pineapple, and coconut to egg mixture. Grease large baking dish with butter. Add bread custard mix to the greased baking dish. 

**The recipe calls to bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes. I have found that it was too long and didn’t give the bread pudding it’s pillowy inside that I love.  After several attempts, I found 40 minutes was perfect.  

Remove from oven. Let stand 5 minutes.

CARAMEL SAUCE

1 cup dark brown sugar

½ cup corn syrup

½ cup unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup rum - optional

(If you use the rum, the original recipe also calls for 3 bananas to be sliced, added, and flambéed along with the sauce. This creates a sort of Bananas Foster sauce. I make this without both (and prefer it) and it is still - OMG delicious!) 

In a sauce pan, combine dark brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, and half of the heavy cream. Using high heat; bring to a rolling boil. Allow mixture to boil 10 minutes and add remaining heavy cream. Let it boil additional minute. Add rum (if using) and vanilla extract. 

If you want to use the bananas, rum, and flambé the sauce, here are the instructions to do so. Amaze your friends and family! I would, but knowing me, I would burn the house down!

Carefully flambé the pan using a long stemmed lighter. Let boil until the flame goes out. Reduce to a simmer and stir with a high heat spatula.

Peel and slice bananas; add them to the caramel sauce. Remove the caramel from the heat and set aside. Place scoop of ice cream on top each portion of bread pudding.

Yields: About 12-14 servings.

Happy Baking!

It has been 2½ months since I blogged. I know. I'm totally hanging my head in shame, but I can explain. 

First, our best camera broke. 

My husband and I seriously have the WORST luck with technology. You name it - VCR's, DVD players, stereos, cell phones, and more importantly, cameras. They just seem to break. It's frustrating. Our kids have 6 cameras in their toy box - all of which were working at one time. Buying another camera wasn't in the budget when we really need a new roof. The camera we were making do with takes mediocre & grainy photos, so we resorted to taking photos with film for awhile. I know, right? What's film? I can't believe they actually still develop film. Luckily and thankfully for us, they do. 

We finally went out last week and bought one before my baby boy's first birthday. I wasn't risking his special day to a crappy camera or film. I've gotten spoiled with digital and he deserves it.

Aside from being absent photo wise, we've also had a very busy summer and time just got away from me. 

So, I thought I better get cracking. What does one blog after such an absence and just in time for Fall? 

Something with pumpkin. What else?

I'm really sad to see the my flip-flop weather go, but there is nothing like that crisp weather, watching the leaves change colors, and pulling sweaters out of their summer hibernation to officially kick off the baking season.

I'm so giddy with joy I could almost wet myself. 

Almost.

PUMPKIN SANDWICH COOKIES WITH VANILLA CHAI BUTTERCREAM

2½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1½ cups granulated sugar

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 egg

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste


VANILLA CHAI BUTTERCREAM 

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Preheat oven to 350º. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves; set aside. 

In another large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together sugar and butter until fluffy. Add in egg and vanilla and beat until well blended. Add pumpkin.

Slowly incorporate wet and dry ingredients together. 

Using a small ice cream scoop with a retractable mechanism, drop dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. 

Bake for 13-15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a couple minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

To assemble the whoopie pies:

When the cookies have cooled completely, place a dollop of filling on the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edge of the cookies. Add sprinkles if desired.
 
Yields: About 20 Whoopie Pies.

Happy Baking!