Italian Butter Cookies

As long as I can remember I have had a love for these cookies. It's truly closer to an obsession. Like I could eat a lot of them. Especially the chocolate dipped shells and the sandwich ones! When I was little, my Dad took me to this adorable bakery every Sunday after church and let me get four cookies of my choosing. And every week I got some variation of these cookies! It was my special father-daughter date time with Daddy. We would drive home from church while I munched on the cookies and I would just yap on and on about life while my dad just listened. It's still one of my all time favorite memories. The bakery closed many years ago and last month it was knocked down. But even now when I drive by all I think about is driving home from church with my Dad and my cookies.

So after years of searching and trying out recipes, I found a fantastic recipe which is as close as possible to the cookies from this bakery. They are simple butter cookies that start with an almond paste base. You can find them at almost any bakery in NJ or NY, but I have never mastered them myself until recently. And I have the approval of one of my best friends, who is also addicted to these cookies, and  from everyone at the bridal shower of a close friend, so they were a total hit!

The real difference I learned with other recipes and attempts was whether to use butter or shortening. It ends up the recipe I found uses both, butter and shortening, as well as almond paste to make a great mixture of flavor and texture. This cookie is both crumbly but not too dry and just melts in your mouth. Hope you love these as much as I do!

For this month's What's Baking challenge, Nicole, from Seven ate Nine, choose Italian theme and I was thrilled! Being fully Italian and growing up cooking, eating, and loving all things Italian, this is my favorite challenge yet. So I am here to share the best Italian butter cookie recipe I have found! Mangia!



1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup plus 2 tbsp confectioners' sugar (sifted)
4 egg whites
3 oz almond paste
pinch of salt
1 tsp almond extract
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup cocoa powder (optional)

Optional toppings and decorations:
1 cup bittersweet chocolate, chopped and 1/3 cup heavy cream (for making ganache)
sprinkles
maraschino cherries, drained and cut in half
jams

1. In a mixer with paddle attachment, beat just the almond paste on medium high until it becomes soft. (Wish I had the homemade kind, but I just used the canned one) Then add the butter and shortening and continue to cream them all together. *It is important that the butter is room temp

2. Add in the confectioners' sugar while mixing on medium to incorporate. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

3. Continue by adding in egg whites and extracts slowly and keep mixing on medium. Scrape down sides of the bowl.

4.  Sift in the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) together in the mixer until blended in and stop. If you would like all or part of your dough to be chocolate, add in cocoa powder. I made half of mine chocolate and kept half vanilla.

5. Fit pastry bag with a large star tip and fill with dough. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Begin to pipe star, shells,  or fingers. Try to keep your baking sheets with similar shapes to not alter cooking time, because the thicker and bigger cookies will of course bake slightly longer.
*If making star/rosette shapes cookies, you can add a maraschino cherry to the center of each cookie or cover with sprinkles.

6. Bake cookies in 350 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. Remove from sheets and let completely cool on drying racks.

7. Now onto decorating, the fun part! For the star/rosette cookies they were decorated before baking with sprinkles or a cherry. The fingers are traditionally done with either jam or chocolate ganache filling, but feel free to experiment with your own ideas. I used a raspberry preserve in a ziploc bag with a small cut on the tip to fill the vanilla fingers. Just squeeze the jam in the middle of the flat side of the cookie and then place another flat side down on top to make a sandwich. For the chocolate fingers, I used chocolate ganache. It is made my simply heating whipping cream in microwave for approx. 2-3 minutes until hot then pouring over chopped chocolate. Allow it to sit for 4 minutes then stir until smooth and thick. Using a spoon, I spread the ganache in the middle of the finger cookie and top some of the vanilla finger cookies. The shells are simply dipped in the remaining ganache and then sprinkled. Allow all the cookies with ganache to set fully.

My favorites were the vanilla shells with ganache and sprinkles, vanilla fingers with raspberry jam, chocolate fingers
with chocolate ganache, and chocolate rosettes with maraschino cherries. Enjoy! What are your favorite kinds! If you make a variation of this recipe or try new shapes and toppings, please share them! I love to see new inventions of old favorites. My next project, might be cream cheese (cheesecake like) filling.



Source: Woodland Bakery in Chatham, NJ's website

Acorns Treats

 

For a recent Winnie the Pooh baby shower I helped with for one of my very best friends, I made these Acorns. I discovered them on the all amazing pinterest of course. My weakness and addiction. And these acorns proved to be cute and yummy! And best of all quite simple!

hershey kisses, unwrapped
a handful of  chocolate melting wafers or bark
mini round nutter butter cookies
mini chocolate chips

*the amounts for this recipe are completely dependent on how much you want to make. the kisses, cookies, and choc chips are one per acorn

1. Melt your melting chocolate. I used two squares of chocolate bark. Pour into a squeeze bottle or bag with the tip cut off for easiest application.

2. Pipe a small dot of chocolate atop the flat bottom of the hershey kiss and place a cookie flat against it.

3. Pip a very small dot of chocolate in the middle of the cookie and top it off with a mini chocolate chip.

4. Let set. I used a cookie drying rack with many slats to let the acorns rest without toppling over.

Source: We are that Family, via pinterest

Mini Brownies

Belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year's Eve to everyone! We are in a our new home!!! And we somehow managed to host a 20 person Christmas dinner made up of 5 courses with help of our awesome family!! We owe a lot to all the members of my family who dedicated countless hours to do everything from cook, clean, and unpack to lay flooring and painting. We still haven't fully unpacked and despite the fact that the kitchen floors are still not grouted, it was a perfect Christmas in our new home! However, our house and the internet have yet to be friends so this is my first post in the month of December as ironically the month and year come to a close! Pictures, stories, and of course, more recipes to come in 2012! Wishing many blessings to all of you in this new year!



Since December is National Brownie Month, Nicole, from Seven Ate Nine , chose a brownie challenge for this month's What's Baking. I used the brownie recipe from Baker's chocolate topped with a simple ganache for icing. It was a perfect bite-sized treat!




4 squares unsweetened Chocolate
3/4 cup butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup chocolate chips or chunks


1. Melt the chocolate squares and butter in medium sized bowl in the microwave for about two minutes or until melted. Stir until thoroughly mixed together. Set aside to cool slightly.

2. Transfer chocolate mixture to a mixing bowl and add in sugar. Beat to incorporate.

3. Add in eggs and vanilla on low. Mix in flour and nuts until well blended. We skipped nuts for those who may be allergic, but it would be good. You could replace nuts with white chocolate or semisweet chunks too.

4. Using a small cookie scoop and a well VERY greased mini muffin pan, scoop small amounts into each cup. Put into a preheated oven of 325 degrees and bake for 12-14 minutes. Do not overbake. Flip them onto baking racks to cool. Make sure you grease those cups well or they will get stuck!

5. While the mini brownies cool, heat one cup of heavy cream on stove top or in a microwave until it reaches a boil, then remove. Pour atop chocolate chunks or chips. I opted for milk chocolate, but any kind will do! Let the hot cream soften the chocolate and then stir.

6. Dip mini brownies into the ganache for a yummy topping or eat them naked if you prefer. I also topped them off with dark chocolate chunks, festive sprinkles, and cinnamon chips. Use whatever you have in the pantry! Enjoy! HAPPY NEW YEAR!



Source: Baker's Unsweetened Chocolate Box or Kraft Recipes

Blueberry White Chocolate Cookies

When will this craziness end? The weather has been a constantly changing threat in the area all week long. First, we begun with an earthquake (luckily with no damage). It was so foreign to NJ and NY. And now we are preparing for hurricane with some possible negative ramifications. The food stores were like a madhouse today full of scurrying customers in search of water, batteries, flashlights, generators, and food. After some likewise shopping of my own and some fun craft purchases to keep me busy during the looming possibility of a long power outage, I knew we would be in for some fun! Well, as soon as I heard we could stuck without power (translate to not being able to cook/bake), hubby and I started baking! We whipped a few batches of brownies and muffins for the family to enjoy, as well as these yummy cookies chock full of fresh, summer blueberries! These are slight adaption of white chocolate raspberry cookies made earlier this summer. They were such a huge hit with everyone, we gave them a "re-mix" with blueberries. Summer certainly has been unpredictable this year!

Jade, from The Mess Pot, hosted the What's Baking Challenge this month, and her choice was to Celebrate Summer with a nice, fresh summer recipe. So since I had some local blueberries, I simply incorporated them into part of this yummy cookie recipe.





8 oz butter (2 sticks), softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk (7 oz)
2 cups self-rising flour
7 oz white chocolate chips or chopped pieces
1 pint blueberries


1. Cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until well blended.

2. Add the sweetened condensed milk and continue to mix.

3. Sift in the flour slowly, while mixing it into the dough with your hands.

4. Stir in the white chocolate.

5. Take small pieces of dough and flatten it into a disk with your fingers.

6. Place a few blueberries into the middle and fold up and over.

7. Bake on parchment lined baking sheets in a 350 degree oven for about 12-15 minutes. Rotate baking sheets halfway through bake time.

8. Allow cookies to set on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes while cooling, then transfer to wire racks to fully cool.





Source: Phil Vickery from Womenseverything.com

Also featured on: Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friday

Guest Post- Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Muffin (My Tasty Journey)

Good morning all! I'm excited to feature my first ever, guest blog post by the lovely and talented Donna, from My Tasty Journey. Donna is a yoga obssessive fellow Jersey girl and an avid foodie and travel-crazy blogger. She very generously volunteered to make quite a few dozen of these yummy cappuccino chocolate chip muffins for the Great American bake sale I hosted back in May. And they were one of the hits of the day! Hope you enjoy her and her scrumptious baked goods.


Hi everyone! My name is Donna and I blog over at My Tasty Journey.com. Amanda had asked me to share a recipe I had made for her Share our Strength bake sale a couple months ago. I ADORE this recipe for bake sales because you can double/triple the recipe EASILY, PLUS it has enough flavors to not need any frosting. No frosting = No mess = Travels well! Not to mention, they really couldn't be simpler!

First, you gather up the usual suspects:



Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Muffins

~1 package (18 1/4 oz.) vanilla cake mix
~1 package (3.4 oz.) vanilla pudding mix
~2 teaspoons instant espresso
~1/4 cup boiling water
~1 cup milk
~1/2 cup canola oil
~4 eggs
~2 cups mini chocolate chips


1.- Combine the espresso & boiling water and stir until nearly dissolved. (It doesn't have to dissolve completely. I've never had a problem with coffee grinds in my cupcakes) Allow to cool slightly.




2.- Next, combine the cake mix, pudding powder, eggs, milk and oil in a mixer and blend on medium speed until combined.




3.- Once everything is combined, turn your mixer to low and slowly pour in the slightly cooled coffee mixture.




4.-Beat for 3 minutes until all of the ingredients have blended completely.




5.- Fold in the food of the gods. I mean, the chocolate chips!




...and try not to sneak too many bites of the batter. This bowl smells HEAVENLY, I promise!




6.- Pour about 1/4 cup of batter into lined cupcake trays. (not too much, these babies GROW!)




7.- Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 18-20 minutes or until the "toothpick test" proves they are done!




And WALLAH! Done! Each recipes yields about 2 1/2 dozen, so it's pretty simple to make a HUGE batch in a short amount of time. Try these out if you love coffee & quick recipes


--


Donna

www.mytastyjourney.com


Please feel free to stop over and visit Donna at her blog. She features everything from workout information and healthy eats, to sweet snacks and travel finds, both local and abroad. Her warm amicable spirit flows through her writing and her food leaves you happy and healthy!

Also featured on: Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Made From Scratch Tuesday, Works for Me Wednesday, What's Cooking Wednesday

Banana Split Float and Introducing... Hubby's Kitchen Endeavors!

Welcome to a new section of my blog devoted to the men in our lives. It's called Man Made! (yes cheesy, I know) It's a compilation of the food and drinks that are made by hubby, with or without assistance. This usually consists of drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), all things grill related, and any form of cooking involving a giant flame. Hubby himself will be sharing his new concoctions with you whenever he gets a moment in the kitchen to experiment! I'm so proud of hubby and his culinary skills considering when we met in college, he could barely handle making mac and cheese from the box, and he lived off hamburger helper and various "processed, pre-made food". Since then he has mastered much more and introduced real home cooking into his repertoire. Hope you enjoy this new little segment! (Man Made recipes unless otherwise noted are hubby's own creations, for better or for worse, and are made, photographed, and written by himself)


Banana Split Float

On occasion I get to help in the kitchen, usually I'm in charge of all "tall jobs" and make a great sou-chef. My kitchen tasks consist of cutting chicken, peeling 4 million cloves of garlic, or getting that plate off the top shelf. Once and a while I have a culinary inspiration, and it almost never works out. I would say that 9 times out of 10 the smoke alarm goes off and on a good day we still have enough of an appetite to enjoy the take-out that became a necessity. One of the places in the kitchen that I'm not so bad is Mixology.

Amanda had purchased this bottle of banana liqueur to make bananas foster around Christmas time, but life got in the way so she never got around to it. So I had been staring at this bottle for a few weeks and the craving finally took over last night and I just had to use it! I rummaged around and came up with a little something. Banana Split - for grown ups! I found some of our favorite daiquiri mix and a ton of little toppings and sweet liqueurs. I grabbed our trusty blender and went to work. Each layer tastes delightful on its own but all together this drink combines well an taste like one of my favorite desserts!

2 1/2 cups of ice, divided
2 oz banana liqueur
1 tbs caramel sauce
4 oz strawberry daiquiri mix
1 oz Grey Goose Vodka
1 oz Godiva Chocolate Liqueur
4 small scoops of vanilla ice cream
2 oz Bailey's Irish Cream
maraschino cherries, for topping

1. First, blend 1 cup ice and banana liqueur until smooth. Then add caramel and blend again for 10-20 seconds

2. Pour into bottom of the glass and rinse blender.

3. Blend 1 cup ice, daiquiri mix, and vodka for about 30-45 seconds. Then add chocolate liqueur and blend again until incorporated.

4. Tilt glass and pour slowly while spinning glass. Rinse blender.

5. Blend 1/2 cup ice, ice cream and Irish cream. Blend until there are no chunks of ice left and mixture is creamy.

6. Pour slowly to float foam on top of liquids. Top with a maraschino cherries or two, throw in a straw, and you are all set to enjoy your dessert/drink!



Also featured on: What's Cooking Wednesday

Peanut Cashew Candy Cups

Today I woke up to a winter wonderland outside the window. The beautiful, pristine snow blanketed the ground and trees under a bright, sunny sky. Today is the perfect post-Christmas day to spend home, in the kitchen. It's time to make some candy today!

This candy is made, oddly enough, in a crockpot! I received my first crockpot after I got engaged to my hubby a few years ago, from one of my best friends. She is a crockpot genius, and I had little, if any experience using one before. I still have a long way to go, but I'm getting better at the mastery of crockpot cooking! So turn on your crockpot and get ready for a batch of sweet and salty candy cups!

9 oz semisweet chocolate baking squares

3 oz unsweetened chocolate baking squares

1 lb and 8 oz vanilla almond bark

10 oz milk chocolate

1 tsp vanilla extract

16 oz dry roasted peanuts

9 oz salted cashew pieces

1. Turn the crockpot on low and put all the chocolate in and cover.

2. After one hour, uncover and stir well. Return the lid and let sit for 20 minutes.

3. Then remove lid and stir. This time add the peanuts and cashews. Return the lid and let cook for another 20 minutes. Remove lid and stir.

4. Using a small cookie scoop, fill mini cupcake liners with the warm chocolate mixture. Then wait about half an hour to let the chocolate fully set up.

Chocolate and Caramel Squares

I apologize for the overflow of desserts and sweet things; I'm still updating all the desserts that were made for Thanksgiving. This is one of those cheating desserts, where it uses some pre-bought items and is so easy to make. I am a fan of "make it all from scratch", but every now and then, I cheat too! This shortcut dessert will not disappoint!

5 oz evaporated milk

14 oz pkg of caramels

1 pkg of German Chocolate or Devils Food Cake mix, pudding-included

1 cup chopped nuts

1/2 butter, softened

1 cup chocolate chips

1. Heat unwrapped caramels and evaporated milk (reserve 2 tbsps for later) over low heat, stirring frequently until smooth. Remove from heat.

2. In a separate bowl, combine cake mix, nuts, butter, and reserved 2 tbsps of evaporated milk. Mix well until crumbly then press half of the dough mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Set aside the rest of the dough for later.

3. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the partially baked crust. Carefully spoon caramel mixture over chocolate chips. Crumble reserved dough mixture over caramel and chocolate chips. Return to oven and bake 15 -20 more minutes. Cool completely and cut in bars.

Taken from Pillsbury's Best of the Bake Off Cookbook

Meeting Bakerella and Cake Balls

When I heard Bakerella was coming to New Jersey I was so excited and knew I needed to go! I love, love her website and all the incredibly cute confections she makes. She was hosting a signing for her new book, Cake Pops, in Williams Sonoma.

It started with a demonstration of different techniques and tips. Robert and I were late, as usual, and missed the first few minutes. She was very friendly and answered people's questions.




Then we hopped in line to get our book signed and, since we were late, we waited till the end of the line, which wasn't really bad. The line moved quickly and we chatted with some interesting people. I met Katie, from Tuesdays with Katie, who is a local food blogger as well. Then I got to meet to Bakerella and have her sign my book!


Bakerella was very cheerful and friendly. She chatted with everyone and took pictures. I even got Robert to take a picture with us. What a good husband! He waited in line with me and took pictures.

Cake Balls




Cake balls are super sweet, moist, and covered in chocolate! The steps are simple, but time consuming! It uses all ingredients that you have in your home. If you have never made them, it's fun, so give it a try!


9 x 13 Cake from 1 box of cake mix or homemade cake
About 10 oz of Frosting
Chocolate (for dipping)
Decorations


1. Take your already baked and cooled cake and cut it into four quarters. Hold two pieces and rub them together over a large bowl to make the cake crumble. Continue crumbling all the cake. If you only need a few cake balls then wrap the two other squares of cake into plastic wrap and freeze them to make more cake balls later. (A large batch makes just about 50 cake balls, so halving the recipe to use only two quarters will make 20-25 cake balls.)

2. Mix in your favorite frosting until the icing can hold together the cake crumbles. The icing binds everything together well. Remember if you are making a half batch to also halve the icing.

3. Using hands, roll into cake balls and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Let chill in the freezer for 20 minutes or in the fridge for a few hours.

4. Melt desired chocolate till smooth and dip cake balls into chocolate. Let set on parchment covered sheets. Sprinkle any decorations on that you like, sprinkles, coconut, nuts, etc. You can also drizzle some chocolate on covered cake balls. ( More ideas for cake balls and cake pops @ Bakerella's website )



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Halloween Bark

Halloween is over. The costumes and wigs put away, fun face makeup washed off, and everyone is exhausted from the sugar high beginning to wind down. What is left the next day but...... Lots of Candy! And everyone loves candy! At least some kind of candy. My favorite is either M&M's (Plain, Peanut Butter, Pretzel) or Milky Ways. Robert usually opts for all things Peanut Butter or super sweet ones like Sugar Babies.

Even though we all love candy, there is only so much candy you can eat. I have been trying to think of fun things to do with the candy. I saw a recipe in Bon Appetit for Peanut Butter and Toffee Halloween Bark and decided to try out my own version of Halloween Bark to put some of this candy to use.

1 bag of chocolate chip, milk
15 mini Reese's peanut butter cups, cup in quarters
3/4 cup of Peanut Butter M&Ms or Reese's Pieces
3/4 cup candy corn

1. Heat the chocolate chips in either a double boiler or in the microwave, constantly stirring until melted.

2. Line a cooking sheet with wax or parchment paper and smooth melted chocolate to cover. (about 1/4-1/2 inch thick)

3. Now go crazy! Starting sprinkling all the candies on top of the chocolate! Keep going until the whole surface area is covered.

4. Don't be afraid to get creative! I made three different batches (only photographed this one). I made another with semi sweet chocolate chips, butterscotch chips swirled in, crushed pretzels, and peanuts, and a last batch (peanut free) with white chocolate, crushed Oreos, and candy corn. You can put anything you want it. If you like Butterfingers, go ahead or if you want to crush some items or leave others whole, that's great! It's all up to you!

5. Place in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes or so to fully harden. Take it out and break it in pieces.


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Cookie Sandwiched Cheesecakes

This is quick and simple variation of my cheesecake recipe made into cute little sandwiches. It's very easily adaptable to your own tastes. I'm a fan of chocolate chip cookies (the chewy kind) and Oreo's too! The only way to improve on this recipe would have been to have my own chocolate chip cookies or be really brave and make my own Oreos. Someday...
But for now, please enjoy these yummy handheld snacks! They are a perfect kid-friendly version of cheesecake!

1 1/2 lbs cream cheese
1 1/3 cups sugar
5 large eggs
16 ounces sour cream
1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoons lemon juice
1 package of chewy chocolate chip cookies
1 package of Oreos (or any other cookies you like)


1. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy.

2. Add sugar and continue beating on low.

3. Add eggs one a time and keep on low speed.

4. Add flour, lemon juice, and vanilla.

5. Stir in sour cream.

6. Place cupcake liners in pan. Put one half of an oreo(icing side up) or chocolate chip cookie(flat side facing up) in each liner.

7. Spoon cheesecake filling on top till just about full.

8. Top with corresponding cookie to finish.

9. Bake on 325 for 15 minutes.

10. I also took used some chopped Oreos as topping and some combined in the filling for a slightly different approach in some sandwiches.

Colossal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Nestle Tollhouse

Colossal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 sticks butter
3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tbsp molasses
2 eggs (room temperature)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk choc mini kisses


1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat.

3. Pour melted butter in mixing bowl.

4. Add sugar.

5. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed.

6. Slowly add eggs and vanilla.

7. Add molasses.

8. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a seperate bowl. Slowly add in the flour mixture.

9. Stir in chocolate chips.

10. Let chill in refrigerator.

11. Roll into balls and place on baking sheet. Slightly flatten cookies.

12. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

13. Let cool for 1 minute then transfer to cookie racks to cool completly.

EAT!