scotch shortbread

want to make cookies but don't have any eggs? make these. very simple cookies and so buttery and addictive! made/ decorated them for my tennis kids.

recipe
1c butter, softened
1/4c sugar
2c flour

preheat oven to 35o degrees. mix butter and sugar together then add the flour. if dough is crumbly add 1/2tbs. more of butter. roll on a lightly floured board. cut into small shapes about 1/2'' thick. place 1/2'' apart on sheet. bake for 20minutes.

this recipe comes from my mom. so easy and delicious the only changes i made was doubling the recipe (make about 30-35cookies) and took them out a few minutes early then frosted them! mmm, usually not frosted, but good either way.

mrs. fields cookies

i might like these chocolate chip cookies better than the "one clove" blogsite recipe post. they turned out gooey and chocolately ... the best combo.

recipe
1lbs. butter
11/2c sugar
2c brown sugar
3eggs
2tsp. vanilla
6c flour
11/2tsp. soda
11/2tsp. salt
4-6c chocolate chips (milk chocolate)
2c walnuts (opt.)

preheat oven to 35o degrees. cream the butter until light and fluffy; add sugar slowly while beating butter. then add the eggs and vanilla. sift dry ingredients and add to cream mixture. mix well then add the chips. drop by ice cream scoops onto ungreased sheet, keep in balls. bake for 8-10minutes. don't overbake.

like my artistic picture? these cookies come from one of my mom's recipes. if you haven't noticed already this recipe calls for some big measurements. don't worry; i cut this recipe in half and still made 4dozen cookies! you might be wondering how i cut 3eggs in half, i decided to beat the second egg in a small bowl then just add half of the mixture (seemed to work, but if you have enough to fulfill the original measurements i would do that just in case). when it comes to baking i've learned that halving recipes doesn't always work out as successfully as cooking recipes does, so be careful. and besides halving the recipe and leaving out the walnuts i didn't make any other changes. took the cookies out at 81/2 minutes and they were delicious!

confetti squares

these are so fun. they are a new and improved version of a rice krispie and so good -- i made these for the little kids i teach tennis for in the summer!

recipe
9tbs. unsalted butter
1tsp. salt
12c (21/2bags) miniature marshmallows
6c Rice Krispies
6c Cap'n Crunch
6c Fruit Loops
Vegetable-oil cooking spray

lightly spray a 9x9x2''' baking pan with vegetable oil cooking spray. set aside. melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. add salt and marshmallows. stir with a wooden spoon until melted. remove from heat and add the cereals until well combined. transfer the mixture into the pan. to prevent sticking (important!) spray hands with cooking spray and press mixture into the pan. let cool, about 3ominutes. cut and store in airtight container for up to 3days.

sorry the second image is kinda blurry! okay so my mom found this recipe from martha stewart and it's always a hit whenever we serve it at events/ bake sales etc. so easy to make and no bake time needed! i don't change the recipe at all -- definitely keep this recipe around.

chocolate- carmel slice

this was the second candy recipe we made for the girls coming over before the harry potter premiere last night. another yummy success. a little more complicated with the steps and more ingredients.

recipe
crust
1c flour
1/4c brown sugar
2tsp. cornstarch
1/4tsp. salt
1/2c chilled unsalted butter, cut in cubes
1tbs. ice water
1egg yolk

toppings
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2c brown sugar
6tbs. unsalted butter, diced
2tbs. corn syrup
1tsp. vanilla

6oz. semisweet baking chocolate, chopped
3tbs. whipping cream
flaked sea salt (such as Maldon)

preheat oven to 35o degrees. butter 11x7x2'' metal baking pan. blend the first 4 ingredients in processor. add butter. add the ice water and egg yolk. blend until moist clumps form. press the dough onto the bottom of pan. bake until golden about 20minutes. cool completely.

then whisk the first 5 ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil. boil until thermometer reads 225 degrees. (about 6minutes, whisking constantly) pour carmel over crust; cool 15 minutes to set.

melt chocolate with cream in microwave in 15-second intervals. spread chocolate over warm carmel; sprinkle with sea salt. refrigerate until chocolate is set, at least an hour then cut and serve.

as you can see i saw this recipe in bon appetit and really wanted to make it. it reminds me of these gourmet carmel chocolates we get at the met with sea salt on them, delicious. and these bars turned out so good. i followed the recipe exactly because it was my first time but i did only put the crust in for 16minutes because it was already golden. next time i'd try to keep the carmel over heat longer (for a more chewy texture) and put less salt on (got a little carried away).

almond roca

another rainy/ dreary day in the middle of july this year, so i decided to experiment with making some candy. lindsay came over to help me and the almond roca turned out great.

recipe
14oz. hershey's milk chocolate bars
1lbs. whole unsalted almonds
4cubes of butter
2c sugar

no oven baking here. grind the chocolate bars and almonds in a cuisinart food processor. press half of the mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 glass pan. then melt the butter and sugar to a boil. stir until it turns to a dark color and the candy thermometer reads over 300degrees. test the candy in cold water. pour over the first layer of nuts. sprinkle the rest of the mixture, press wax paper over top and cool for 20minutes.

this recipe comes from our aunt romy. she taught us how to make it over christmas break this year, and it's truly the best almond roca ever. i'd venture to say better than brown&haley, but that's just my opinion.

chocolate cupcakes with vanilla icing

these cupcakes turned out so well! i made these for our new neighbor kids next door, anna and connor -- they are cuties. so i wanted to make them a 'kid friendly' dessert, and what better than chocolate cake.

recipe
cake
1egg
1stick unsalted butter, softened
11/2c flour
1/2c cocoa powder (optional for chocolate cupcakes)
1/2c buttermilk
1tsp. vanilla
1tsp. baking soda
1/2tsp. salt
1c sugar
1/2c hot water

icing
3c powdered sugar
3tbs. cocoa powder (optional for chocolate icing)
2tbs. whole milk
2tbs. buttermilk
4tbs. unsalted butter, softened
1tsp. vanilla
1/8tsp. salt

preheat oven to 35o degrees. line the muffin tin with paper cups. combine the cupcake ingredients in a bowl, adding the water last. beat until smooth. fill the cupcake holders evenly with the batter. bake for 20-25minutes. for the icing combine all the ingredients together. mix until smooth and creamy. cool completely! then ice and decorate the cupcakes.

i got this recipe from emeril and thought it was a great success! (usually he has such complicated recipes) i decorated them with sprinkles and chopped up hershey's bars. the only changes i made was use half&half mixed with water instead of the whole milk (didn't have any) and baked them for only 17minutes and they were definitely done. oh and what's great about this recipe is that you can mix up the cakes and icings however you like -- vanilla/chocolate cake, vanilla/chocolate icing. just add/leave out the cocoa powder. so easy and yummy.

carmelitas (carmel cookies)

these are probably the BEST cookies we make. my mom has been making these since we were little and it was always such a special surprise to come home after school to these. mmmm ... the cookie bars will only usually last 24hours in our household before they all get eaten up.

recipe
crust
3/4c butter
3/4c brown sugar
1tsp baking soda
1c flour
1c oatmeal

topping
33 kraft caramels
3tbs. half&half
3tsb. butter
1c chocolate chips
1c chopped pecans

preheat oven to 35o degrees. start with the crust: melt the butter. add to the melted butter, the brown sugar, baking soda, flour and oatmeal. mix together and press (3/4) of the mixture into a 9x12 baking pan. bake for 10minutes. while the crust is baking, make the filling: melt together the caramels, butter and half&half over the stove. pour the mixture over the hot crust and sprinkle the remaining crust, pecans and chocolate chips. bake again for 15minutes then cool and serve.

this recipe comes from my aunt romy. her recipe of it is a little bit different than the one i posted (asks for more caramels, evaporated milk, smaller pan and no nuts!) but both of them taste about the same. nonetheless, delicious cookie bars and always a favorite.

vanilla cupcakes

happy fourth! i usually make barefoot contessa's flag cake but this year was a little more low key so i tried these cupcakes. they're technically "strawberry-lime" cupcakes but i didn't love the frosting enough to blog about it. but if you want a simple, homemade vanilla cupcake this recipe is the one ...

recipe
11/2c flour
11/2tsp baking powder
1/4tsp salt
2eggs, room temperature
2/3c unsalted butter, melted
2tsp vanilla
1/2c milk

preheat oven to 35o degrees. line the muffin tin with cupcake liners. beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until light and foamy, about 2minutes. while beating, gradually pour in the butter and then the vanilla. add half the dry ingredients then the milk, then the rest of the dry ingredients. divide batter evenly in prepared pans. bake for about 30minutes.

this recipe comes from the online food network website under "strawberry-lime" stuffed cupcakes. the vanilla cake bakes faster than 30minutes, i pulled them out at 23minutes and i thought they were a little dry so i would go even less. but other than that an easy recipe for vanilla cake!

texas sheetcake

this cake is amazing. always a success anywhere we make it, it's light and fluffy. almost like a less dense version of a brownie with great frosting. it's usually made in the summer -- i grew up on having it after bbq's with other families. sooo good!

recipe 

cake

2c flour

2c sugar

1c butter

1c water

4tbs cocoa powder

1/2c buttermilk

11/2tsp baking soda

2eggs

1/2tsp salt

1tsp vanilla

frosting

4tbs cocoa powder

1c butter

6tbs buttermilk

1bs box powdered sugar

(lots of steps! follow carefully) preheat oven to 35o degrees. mix in a bowl the flour and sugar. then boil the butter, water and cocoa powder together. pour the boiled ingredients oven the above dry mixture. mix well. then beat together the buttermilk, baking soda, eggs, salt and vanilla a separate bowl. add the two mixtures together. pour into a greased jellyroll pan. slap down to remove bubbles. bake for 20minutes. 

during the last five minutes of baking, making the icing. boil the three ingredients together and pour it all over a bowl holding 1lbs box of powdered sugar. mix together and pour all over the hot cake after 5minutes of cooling, enjoy!

as you can see, this cake gets eaten fast! this recipe comes from the hersey family. they would always make it for dessert when we got together. i follow the recipe exactly except for the salt. since i use salted butter, i only put a dash of salt (if that) into the cake batter. but other than that, follow the directions!

fresh peach cake

this cake was so good. i made it for one of our iverson dinners two nights ago and it was a big hit. 

recipe

1stick butter, room temperature

11/2c sugar

2eggs, room temperature

1c sour cream, room temperature

1tsp vanilla

2c flour

1tsp baking soda

1tsp baking powder

1/2tsp kosher salt

1tsp ground cinnamon

3 large peaches

1/2c chopped pecans

preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch square pan. beat the butter and 1c of the sugar for 3-5min on medium speed, until light and fluffy. then add the eggs, sour cream and vanilla. then the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda&powder and salt). mix until just combined. in a small bowl combine the remaining ingredients (cinnamon and 1/2c sugar). spread half the batter in the pan and top with a layer of  half the peaches then 2/3of the sugar mixture. spread the remaining batter on top, rest of the peaches, sugar and the pecans. bake the cake for 45-55minutes. 

before

after

i found this recipe in one of the bon appetit magazines and have been waiting to bake it ever since. its a barefoot contessa recipe so i knew i'd probably turn out. i made sure to have everything at room temperature before i started. i used salted butter and left the kosher salt out. it baked for longer than expected, at about 60minutes. its texture is more of a coffee cake than an actual cake cake. i served it with whipped cream, very good!