old-fashioned apple crisp

okay so lauren and i tried this barefoot contessa recipe, instead of the apple crisp recipe we usually use, for dinner with the iversons last night. the steps were fairly simple, the only really tedious task was peeling and slicing the 5lbs of apples!

recipe
5lbs mcintosh/ macoun apples
l lemon grated zest
1 orange grated zest
2tbs. squeezed orange juice
2tbs. squeezed lemon juice
1/2c sugar
2tsp. ground cinnamon
1tsp. ground nutmeg

for the topping
11/2c flour
1/4c sugar
3/4c light brown sugar
1/2tsp. kosher salt
1c oatmeal
1/2lbs cold unsalted butter, diced

preheat oven to 350 degrees. butter 9x14x2'' oval baking dish. peel, core and cut the apples into large wedges. combine the apples with the first part of ingredients. pour into the dish. to make the topping, combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal and cold butter in the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment. mix on low speed. scatter evenly over the apples. bake for one hour. serve warm.

this recipe comes from barefoot contessa's parties cookbook. everyone loved it, but i thought the orange flavor was a little too strong. so if i made this again, i would put in less orange zest/ juice. also good to note is that it takes the full hour to bake!

peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

this batter always turns out great, and the cookies are delicious. this recipe makes about two dozen (a little less than most doughs) but it's a keeper. the plus side is that it only needs half of what most cookie doughs ask for (one stick of butter/ one egg).

recipe
1/2cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2cup dark brown sugar
1/2cup sugar
3/4cup peanut butter
1tsp. vanilla
1egg
1cup flour
3/4tsp. soda
1cup chocolate chips

preheat oven to 325 degrees. mix together the butter and sugars. then blend in the peanut butter, vanilla and egg. add the dry ingredients last. then stir in the chocolate chips. scoop on two sheet pans and bake for 14minutes.

this recipe comes from my mom. it's baked regularly in our household!

mahogany cake

okay so i just made this cake for the first time with my mom last night. we made it a bundt cake but it would be delicious in any shape. make sure you have all the ingredients for this cake! a couple main ingredients you might not usually have on hand (buttermilk, brewed coffee, cocoa powder).

recipe
cake
2cups sugar
1cup butter, softened
5 eggs
1/4cup cold brewed coffee
2tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
1cup buttermilk
1tsp. baking soda
21/2cups flour

icing
1cup butter, softened
16oz powdered sugar
1/4cup cold brewed coffee
1/4cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2tsp. vanilla

preheat oven to 350 degrees. grease and flour three 9'' round pans. mix the sugar and butter together. beat in the eggs one at a time. add the coffee and cocoa. then measure the buttermilk, remove one tbs. (to mix with the baking soda) and add the remaining buttermilk. stir in the baking soda and buttermilk mix. pour into the prepared pans and bake for about 30minutes. let set and cool. for the frosting beat the butter  and sugar then add the rest of the ingredients.

this recipe comes from allrecipes.com online (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/grannys-mahogany-cake-and-frosting/Detail.aspx). first off, if doing this cake in a bundt pan, it takes a good 45minutes to cook all the way through. second, make sure to let the cake cool COMPLETELY. we added the frosting too soon and within ten minutes the frosting was melting off the cake! but despite this, the cake was very yummy and reminded me and my mom of our texas sheet cake (... coming soon).

raspberry oatmeal bars

this is the first time i've tried this recipe. i tried them during school this year and absolutely loved them. they reminded me of these camel bar cookies we make all the time at home so i thought i'd give these bars a try.

recipe
3/4cup butter (room temperature)
1cup brown sugar
11/2cup flour
11/2cup oats
1/2tsp. baking soda
raspberry jam (cup or so)

preheat the oven to 400 degrees. cream together the butter and sugar. then add the rest of the ingredients. press half the mixture into a greased 13x9 pan. then spread the first layer with jam. sprinkle the remaining mixture over the top. bake for 20-25 minutes (i did 22min) and cut warm.

this recipe comes from my english teacher at school. i asked her for the recipe after she made them for our field trip. her bars seemed thicker and less crumbly than mine so next time i'd try: add more jam and split the mixture 3/4 (for the bottom) and 1/4 (for the top) to make it easier to pick up and eat. but they turned out delicious and very easy to make.

mom's banana bread

this banana bread is probably made once a week in our kitchen. so moist and good for breakfast or a yummy snack. and it's a great use for the bananas that go bad!

recipe
3large bananas (smashed! yes there is a story behind there)
1cup sugar
1stick of butter
2 eggs
2cups flour
1tsp. soda

preheat oven to 350 degrees. cream the sugar and butter together. add the eggs. then put in the rest of the ingredients and save the bananas for last. pour into a greased, flour pan. bake for 1 hour - half way through cover the bread with foil.

this quick and easy recipe comes from my mom, she makes it the best! i usually pull the bread out a few minutes earlier ... if you haven't noticed already i tend to bake more towards the underdone side -- that's just my preference!

easy double chocolate brownies

these are dense, fudgy brownies that taste delicious. i like them because they are brownies made from scratch but not hard to make at all. and all the ingredients are simple and usually can be found in any pantry.

recipe
24oz pkg chocolate chips
1/2cup butter
3 eggs
11/4cup flour
1cup sugar
1/4tsp baking soda
1tsp vanilla

preheat oven to 350 degrees. grease 9x13 baking dish. melt 1cup chocolate chips and butter in a sauce pan. stir until smooth. remove from heat. stir in eggs until smooth. stir in flour, sugar, soda and vanilla. add remaining morsels. spread in prepared pan. bake for 18 minutes, should look undercooked then cool before cutting (cool in refrigerator after they get to room temperature first).

this recipe comes from kristeen petersen and these goodies have always been a hit wherever served! the things i would highlight about this recipe is that these brownies are suppose to look underdone when taken out of the oven and they will not set until refrigerated.

chocolate chip cookies

the first post of my baking blog, this blog serves as a recipe bank for me. i'm going to keep track of my trials and errors in the kitchen and post about my favorite baked successes. so i decided to start with the most basic, chocolate chip cookies. out of all the cookies doughs i've made, this one seems to bake the best. the cookies are soft and chewy, just the way i like my cookies. 

recipe

2cups flour

1/2tsp. baking soda

3/4cup salted butter, softened

1cup brown sugar

1/2cup white sugar

1tbsp. vanilla extract

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2cups semisweet chocolate chips

preheat oven to 350 degrees. prepare cookies sheets. in a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. then beat in vanilla, egg and egg yolk. add the dry ingredients until blended. stir in the chocolate chips. drop 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie. bake for 15 minutes (i always do a few minutes less) and then cool. 

this recipe comes from "one whole clove" blog (http://www.onewholeclove.typepad.com) the only changes i made were to use salted butter instead (can add a dash of salt if needed, this way i don't have to monitor my salt because the butter already has it) and i didn't have enough chocolate chips so i used one cup of white chocolate chips this time.