Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Christmas Gifts


I wanted to prove that there are other people who get to enjoy what I bake besides myself and my husband. To be honest, Andy knows that most of the food is off limits and doesn't get to eat as much as he would like. 

The refrigerator and freezer are now empty after I bagged the goodies as a gift for my teachers! 

Red Velvet Brownies

I have recently fallen in love with all things Red Velvet. I have to give PF Changs a shout out for their Red Velvet Cake....it's to die for and it's served in a tall shot glass. I have been searching for an interesting Red Velvet Cake recipe for awhile and finally found this one on www.bakedperfection.com. I just served these brownies to my teachers at school and they loved them! 








Red Velvet Layer:1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon red food coloring
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Cream Cheese Layer:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 8-inch baking pan, and set aside.

Brownie layer: Add melted butter to a large bowl and add the sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, salt, food coloring, and vinegar, in that order, mixing between additions. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl and stir it into the cocoa mix. Fold in the flour until lightly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, saving 1/4 cup of the batter for the top.

Cream cheese layer: Blend together the cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Gently spread the cream cheese layer on top of the brownie batter in the pan. Dollop the remaining brownie batter over the cream cheese layer. Using a skewer or the tip of a knife, drag the tip through the cream cheese mixture to create a swirl pattern. Bake the brownies for 30 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before cutting.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Chocolate Coffee Mix


I came across this recipe when I was browsing food blogs. I found this super cute website, www.singforyoursupperblog.com and this recipe quickly stuck out. Ask my husband or even my assistant director at school, that I am not approachable until I have my cup of coffee in the morning. And like most women, chocolate always puts me in a good mood! 

As soon as my driveway was plowed from being in a Blizzard Warning for two days, I drove to pick up the ingredients that I needed to make this. The plan is to give it away as gifts to help everyone start their day off right! 


Chocolate Coffee Mix
-slightly adapted from www.singforyoursupperblog.com

Ingredients
1/2 cup instant coffee (I actually used ground coffee)
1 1/2 cups powdered Coffeemate creamer
1/2 cup 
Nesquik (powder)
1/4 cup sugar
dash salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

Mix all ingredients in a blender. If you used the instant coffee then use 1-3 heaping teaspoons per cup of boiling water. If you used the ground coffee then I used 3 tablespoons to 4 cups of water and put through the coffee maker. I also used liquid Peppermint Mocha Creamer to add a punch of peppermint. 

Enjoy!






Saturday, December 11, 2010

Andes Candy Cookies

I was given this recipe at a cookie exchange a few years ago and it has been on my list of items to make but I can never find mint M & M's so I substituted with Andes Candies. I happened to have a whole bag full (thanks Jen and Amanda)!

I also must clarify that this is my second post of the day and a possible 3rd is on the way due to being in a Blizzard Warning. So please take that into account when you start judging me for not having a social life on a Saturday night!

Andes Candy Cookies


Ingredients


3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 sticks of butter
1 teaspoon vanilla (or peppermint extract)
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt (I never add salt when baking)
crushed Andes Candies (eyeball it)

Directions


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Blend together the sugar, brown sugar, eggs, butter, and vanilla. Once those are blended together mix and add slowly the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add crushed candy, stir, drop on a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.

White Chocolate Chip and Cranberry Cookies

These are by far my favorite cookies of all time! As soon as cranberry season begins I can't wait to make these cookies. The recipe asks for dried cranberries but like I have stated in earlier posts, I love cranberry, so I refuse to use the dried and go for the fresh. You could also substitute vanilla for the brandy but come on who doesn't like a little alcohol?!



White Chocolate Chip and Cranberry Cookies


Ingredients


1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon brandy
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries

Directions


1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease cookie sheets.

2. Cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and brandy. Combine the flour and baking soda; stir into sugar mixture. Mix in the white chocolate chips and cranberries. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets.

3. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Take them out while they are still doughy. Allow to cool for 1 minute on the cookies sheets before transferring.



Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Peppermint Truffles

As every holiday season, I start to notice a trend in my baking. Two years ago it was cranberries, last year peppermint, this year it's goodies in the shape of a ball. It's quick and easy when I don't have a bunch of extra time (which is all the time). I love that I can roll the dough into a ball and then put it in the freezer until I have time to finish. And that is exactly what I did. I made the dough for the Peppermint Truffle several days ago and just finished them up tonight.

This recipe took a little experimenting. I found a basic recipe for "Easy Decadent Truffles" but I wasn't satisfied with the "easy" part and in normal Kaiti-fashion, I had to turn something easy into something more difficult. Nevertheless, the end result is delicious! I was also bored with vanilla extract so I knew I wanted to replace it with peppermint. And what better pair then peppermint and white chocolate?! Enjoy!!



Here is the "easy" recipe first:


Easy Decadent Truffles


Ingredients

8 oz of softened cream cheese
3 cups confectioner's sugar
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions

In large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually beat in confectioners sugar until well blended. Stir in melted chocolate chips and vanilla until no streaks remain. Refrigerate and shape into 1 inch balls. Coat in your favorite flavor!


Kaiti's Peppermint Truffles (still amazingly easy)




8 oz softened cream cheese
3 cups confectioners' sugar
3 cups white chocolate, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract

Directions


In large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually beat in confectioners sugar until well blended. Stir in melted chocolate chips and vanilla until no streaks remain. Refrigerate and shape into 1 inch balls. Roll in red sprinkles or coat in melted white chocolate and then roll in sprinkles. 





Friday, December 3, 2010

Pipka Cake

A few years ago my mother-in-law introduced me to Door County and Pipka. Pipka (yes that is her name) has a shop in Sister Bay that sells her infamous Santas' and other cute items, especially cake!!! (http://www.pipkasofdoorcounty.com)


We were at Door County for our annual girls weekend when Sherrie introduced us to "Pipka Cake." Pipka sells the special pan at her store in Sister Bay and apparently she makes 6 cakes a week for her customers to enjoy.  


This cake is truly amazing because you can turn it into whatever you want! I happen to be a fan of chocolate chip or cranberry.  You don't need to have the pan  (you could use a meatloaf pan) but it's super cute and once you taste this cake you are going to want the pan!  The pan is called Rehrucken Baking Pan. Below is the basic recipe. I tend to like Vanilla extract better then Almond and I add fresh cranberries or chocolate chips. I will be trying to Turtle recipe soon! 




Pipka's Scandinavian Almond Cake
Beat well:
1 1/4 C sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp pure almond extract
2/3 C milk

Then mix in:
1 1/2 C flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

And slowly add:
1 stick melted butter

Butter cake pan.
 Pour batter into pan and bake at 350 degrees for 38-45 minutes until golden brown. Cool in pan for 6 minutes (this is critical in order for the cake to come out of the pan. I use a timer.) Invert cake onto cooling rack. Sprinkle with confectionary sugar before serving. Variation; Before pouring batter, sprinkle sliced almonds in the pan bottom. Recipe can easily be doubled. Cake freezes well.


VARIATIONS
* Substitute lemon extract and add zest of lemon
* Substitute lemon extract and add poppy seeds
* Substitute orange extract and add zest of orange
* Substitute vanilla extract and add blueberries
* Substitute rum extract and top with shredded coconut
OR ADD TO ORIGINAL RECIPE

* Blueberries
* Door County chopped dried cherries plus some chocolate chips
* Top cake with sliced almonds
* Spread cake with Nutella and jam!

Pipka's Special Turtle Cake
Mix up original recipe, putting half the dough in the pan. Then drizzle caramel sauce across the dough, then sprinkle mini chocolate chips and chopped nuts. Spoon in the rest of the dough and bake as always.