Texas Sheet Cake

I finally made this cake and it was an instant hit.  My uncle is really picky and pretty much only eats his favorites and he told me I can make this cake for him any time.

Thanks Dessert for Two!  This was quick, easy and delicious.

Texas Chocolate Quarter Sheet  yields 4-6, so pretty sure I doubled the recipe

PREP TIME20 minutes

COOK TIME20 minutes

TOTAL TIME40 minutes

Ingredients

• For the cake:
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
• 2 heaping tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• For the frosting:â?¨7 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 heaping tablespoons cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 heaping cups powdered sugar

Instructions

2. Preheat the oven to 350.
3. Lightly spray a quarter-sheet pan with cooking spray. A quarter-sheet pan measures 12x10-inches.
4. First, make the cake. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt.
5. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter.
6. Once melted, stir in the cocoa powder and boiling water.
7. In a measuring cup, stir together the buttermilk, egg, baking soda and vanilla.
8. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture, following by the boiling water mixture.
9. Stir together all cake ingredients very ell, and then pour into the prepared pan.
10. Bake cake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
11. While the cake bakes, make the frosting. In the same saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat.
12. Stir in the cocoa powder, buttermilk and vanilla until well-combined.
13. Remove the pan from heat and whisk in the powdered sugar.
14. Immediately when the cake comes out of the oven, pour the frosting over. Use an off-set spatula to spread the frosting to the edges of the pan.
15. Let the cake cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Peanut Butter Cookies

My cousin just had a birthday and when I asked what dessert she usually likes best she answered "peanut butter."  She's not a fan of chocolate so V and I made her classic peanut butter cookies.

There are hundreds of recipes for this but I was immediately drawn to Joanne Chang's version from Flour.  I had her on the brain since I just started following her on Instagram and she posts pictures of pastries almost every day.  Flour is our favorite bakery in Boston and I love Joanne's cookbook.  I don't have the hard copy with me now but thankfully someone else posted the recipe on her blog.

Thanks to Joanne Chang and Madeline from Thursday Night Baking!  These cookies are perfect.  We halved the recipe and it still made almost 30 cookies.  No stand mixer was required either- just some good old-fashioned elbow grease.  10 minutes wasn't quite long enough for us so I ended up somewhere around 13 minutes.  The warm cookies were amazing with caramel swirl ice cream, and they were nice and crisp the next day.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cup chunky peanut butter (not all natural, there is too much oil in it. Stick with the Jiff!)
• 2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes)
3. Beat in the eggs and vanilla on medium speed for 2 minutes, or until combined. Scrape down the bowl and mix again to ensure completely mixed.
4. On medium low speed, beat in the peanut butter for another 2 minutes.
5. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt until well mixed. On low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture, mix until just combined.
6. Drop the dough in tablespoon sized balls onto ungreased baking sheet. Using a fork, make the traditional criss cross pattern on top of each cookie. Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown on the edges, but still pale in the center. Let cool on baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cinnamon Rolls

Pioneer Woman has a classic cinnamon roll recipe which looked fun, delicious, and surprisingly easy enough for me to accomplish in one afternoon.  I've made it three times now and it's never disappointed me.  I most recently made it with my mom and toddler and they were able to help with the assembly process (and had a lot of fun in the process.)  My daughter loved them so much that she did her best to eat more than one roll at each sitting (and often succeeded.)

It's not a fast recipe (you need at least 2 1/2 hours from start to finish, more if you refrigerate the dough for a little) but it yields a lot of cinnamon rolls.  I usually don't add coffee to the frosting but I'm sure it'd be delicious if I did.  It was a nice intro to baking with yeast as well.

Thanks, Ree!  

Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 quart Whole Milk
• 1 cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 packages Active Dry Yeast, 0.25 Ounce Packets
• 8 cups (Plus 1 Cup Extra, Reserved) All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
• 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt
•  Plenty Of Melted Butter
• 2 cups Sugar
•  Generous Sprinkling Of Cinnamon
•  _____
•  MAPLE FROSTING:
• 1 bag Powdered Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Maple Flavoring
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1/4 cup Melted Butter
• 1/4 cup Brewed Coffee
• 1/8 teaspoon Salt

Preparation Instructions

For the dough, heat the milk, vegetable oil, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat to just below a boil. Set aside and cool to warm. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let it sit on the milk for 1 minute.

Add 8 cups of the flour. Stir until just combined, then cover with a clean kitchen towel, and set aside in a relatively warm place for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove the towel and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and the remaining 1 cup flour. Stir thoroughly to combine. Use the dough right away, or place in a mixing bowl and refrigerate for up to 3 days, punching down the dough if it rises to the top of the bowl. (Note: dough is easier to work with if it’s been chilled for at least an hour or so beforehand.)

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

To assemble the rolls, remove half the dough from the pan/bowl. On a floured baking surface, roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 30 x 10 inches. The dough should be rolled very thin.

To make the filling, pour 3/4 cup to 1 cup of the melted butter over the surface of the dough. Use your fingers to spread the butter evenly. Generously sprinkle half of the ground cinnamon and 1 cup of the sugar over the butter. Don’t be afraid to drizzle on more butter or more sugar! Gooey is the goal.

Now, beginning at the end farthest from you, roll the rectangle tightly towards you. Use both hands and work slowly, being careful to keep the roll tight. Don’t worry if the filling oozes as you work; that just means the rolls are going to be divine. When you reach the end, pinch the seam together and flip the roll so that the seam is face down. When you’re finished, you’ll wind up with one long buttery, cinnamony, sugary, gooey log.

Slip a cutting board underneath the roll and with a sharp knife, make 1/2-inch slices. One “log “will produce 20 to 25 rolls. Pour a couple of teaspoons of melted butter into disposable foil cake pans and swirl to coat. Place the sliced rolls in the pans, being careful not to overcrowd. (Each pan will hold 7 to 9 rolls.)

Repeat the rolling/sugar/butter process with the other half of the dough and more pans. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cover all the pans with a kitchen towel and set aside to rise on the countertop for at least 20 minutes before baking. Remove the towel and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown. Don’t allow the rolls to become overly brown.

While the rolls are baking, make the maple icing: In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, butter, coffee, and salt. Splash in the maple flavoring. Whisk until very smooth. Taste and add in more maple, sugar, butter, or other ingredients as needed until the icing reaches the desired consistency. The icing should be somewhat thick but still very pourable.

Remove pans from the oven. Immediately drizzle icing over the top. Be sure to get it all around the edges and over the top. As they sit, the rolls will absorb some of the icing’s moisture and flavor. They only get better with time… not that they last for more than a few seconds. Make them for a friend today! It’ll seal the relationship for life. I promise.

Boston Cream Pie

My dad had a big birthday this year and since he was going to be in town afterwards I asked what he wanted for his birthday cake.  He requested Boston Cream Pie and I happily obliged.

Reviews for the Saveur recipe were consistently good so I made the cake a day or two before, put it in the freezer, and made the pudding the day before.  Assembly was quick the next day and the chocolate ganache on top was spot-on.  It was the surprise hit of the party.

Thanks, Saveur!

Boston Cream Pie

SERVES 10

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CAKE
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
1½ cups flour, plus more for pan
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. kosher salt
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs
⅔ cup buttermilk

FOR THE FILLING AND GLAZE
1 cup sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
½ tsp. kosher salt
½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped and reserved
6 egg yolks
1½ cups milk
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 oz. 60-percent bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup heavy cream

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Make the cake: Heat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 9″ round cake pan; set aside. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; set aside. In another bowl, beat butter, sugar, and vanilla on medium-high speed of a hand mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each, until smooth. Alternately add dry ingredients and buttermilk in 3 batches, beginning and ending with dry ingredients; beat until just combined. Pour into pan; smooth top with a rubber spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes, and then invert onto a wire rack; let cool completely.

2. Make the filling: Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, salt, and vanilla seeds in a 4-qt. saucepan; add yolks, and whisk until smooth. Stir in milk, and place pan over medium heat; cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and add butter one cube at a time, whisking until smooth; stir in vanilla extract. Transfer pudding to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap; chill until firmed, at least 2 hours.

3. Make the glaze and assemble cake: Place chocolate in a bowl. Bring cream to a boil in a 1-qt. saucepan over high heat; pour over chocolate and let sit for 1 minute. Slowly stir chocolate and cream until smooth and shiny; set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Using a serrated knife, split cake horizontally into two layers so that the top layer is slightly smaller than the bottom. Spread chilled pudding over cut side of bottom layer and cover with top layer; pour chocolate glaze evenly over cake, letting it drip down the side of the cake. Refrigerate cake until glaze is set, at least 30 minutes. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Peach Cobbler

There's debate as to whether this is really a cobbler or not.  I think someone described it as closer to a "buckle" (I would agree) but regardless it went well with our Southern Food-themed Super Bowl get-together.

I used a frozen fruit mix (thawed) and added canned peaches because that's all I had on hand.  I'd recommend at least 20 ounces of fruit.  The recipe looked really weird going into the oven but came out delicious and normal-looking.  I also used 1/4 cup of sugar for the fruit.

Thanks to Suellen Anderson for posting this on Food.com!

Peach Cobbler

Batter
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup room temperature milk
1 room temperature egg

Filling
1 (28 ounce) can sliced peaches, drained
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

1 Melt butter in a 9 x 13 inch pan.
2 Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder & salt.
3 Stir in milk & egg.
4 Pour evenly over melted butter.
5 Combine peaches, sugar & spices and spread over batter-DO NOT STIR!
6 Bake 35-45 minutes at 350°F until batter comes to the top and is golden brown.
7 Serve warm with ice cream.

Yellow Cake and Dairy-Free Frosting

My daughter turned 2 in November.   She demands cake every other day so why should her birthday be any different?  I was happy to make her a cake but I didn't want to make the same mistake as last time: giving my dairy-allergic baby frosting with milk in it.  Let's just say we stopped taking pictures after cake time.

I was going to do myself a favor and make it from a boxed mix again. (Last year I did this with white cake mix but I made it more complicated by making a rainbow cake.  To my credit I baked it a week or two before and froze it.  I highly recommend this!) Unfortunately I ran out of cake mix!  Fortunately I had the internet to the rescue.

The Kitchn had a yellow cake recipe that tasted great AND was just as easy as a box mix.  Thank you, Faith Durand and the Kitchn!

The frosting was super-easy and also delicious.  Not great if you're not a coconut fan though.  My friend was surprised at how good the cake was cuz it looked so pedestrian.  I was not surprised that none of the cake was left after I went to put my daughter to sleep.  V ate two pieces by herself.

Basic Butter Yellow Cake
makes one 9x13 or two 9-inch cakes

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Take the butter out of the fridge to soften and preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare one 9x13-inch pan or two 9-inch round pans by greasing them thoroughly with butter or baking spray. You can also flour them, if you want, although this isn't strictly necessary. Sprinkle a little flour over them, tilt and shake to distribute evenly, then tap out the excess over the sink.

Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat the softened butter and sugar together until fluffy and light, then add the eggs and beat until fully incorporated and light. Beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, and finally the milk and vanilla. Beat everything together on low for 30 seconds, then high for 3 minutes.

Immediately pour into the prepared pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops spring back slightly when pressed.

Let cool on wire racks for at least 15 minutes, then flip each pan over onto the rack and tap gently all over. Lift the pan slightly. If the cake doesn't feel like it's falling out smoothly, lay a slightly damp kitchen towel over the pan and tap again. If necessary, let the cakes cool more. If they have been baked thoroughly, however, they should fall right out of the pans once they've cooled a little and the sides of the cake have shrunk back from the pan.

Cool completely then frost and eat!

Coconut Oil Frosting

ingredients:
1/4 cup unrefined (virgin) coconut oil
16 oz powdered sugar
4-6 tablespoons coconut or soy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
This is much easier with a hand blender, but you can definitely do it with a whisk - and build some muscles! It's also best if you can measure out the powdered sugar with a scale. If you don't have one, feel free to just use two cups of powdered sugar and a little less soy milk. :)

steps:
"cream" the coconut oil until it breaks up and gets nice and smooth
add in 1/4 of the powdered sugar, the vanilla and 2 tablespoons of soy milk
mix together until nice and smooth
keep adding powdered sugar along with tablespoons of soy milk as needed until everything is combined - you don't want any clumps of powdered sugar or coconut oil.
frost everything in the vicinity
This frosting melts pretty easily, so make sure whatever you put it on is nice and cool. It should be enough to cover one 9x13 sheet cake. :D

Martha Stewart's Banana Bread

I love my other banana bread recipe but this one made good use of what I had: two bananas and sour cream.  My sister-in-law liked it because it didn't taste too banana-y (she's a good sport for trying it even though she doesn't love bananas) and my mother-in-law even called to say how much she liked it.  

Thanks, Martha Stewart!

Martha Stewart's Banana Bread

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature, plus more for pan
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, and beat to incorporate.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture, and mix until just combined. Add bananas, sour cream, and vanilla; mix to combine. Stir in nuts, and pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Let rest in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.

Yogurt Cake

I had a lot of yogurt that needed to be consumed so I made this cake.  I brought it to work and it was devoured within an hour.  I negotiated a schedule switch with a coworker by promising her a yogurt cake (thanks again, KP!)  Magic cake!

I used vanilla extract and vanilla yogurt instead of lemon, but I think  any flavor of yogurt would work.  I used peach yogurt the first time and you couldn't taste the peach.  I used butter instead of margarine, too.  

Thanks, Ruthey and allrecipes!

Yogurt Cake

• 1 cup margarine, softened
•  2 cups white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (8 ounce) container lemon flavored yogurt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch bundt pan. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the lemon extract. Alternately beat in the flour mixture and the yogurt, mixing just until incorporated.
3. Pour batter into a 10 inch Bundt pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Brownies

Around the holidays Nestle came out with a chocolate chip mixture of chocolate chips and mint chips.  I bought it because I love chocolate-mint-everything and then proceeded to forget about it.  I was organizing my pantry and found them, and the stars must have aligned cuz I also came upon this recipe from a friend's blog.  It's from Allrecipes.com, but I'll give you the link to her site.  She's very creative!  AND she has great taste in brownies.  I ended up using the bag of chocolate chips/mint chips as part of the recipe and thus made mint brownies.  My sister and I have probably eaten a quarter of the pan already cuz they're refreshingly delicious.

Thanks, Ilene!  

Brownies (recipe at the end of the post)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used my mint/chocolate mixture plus regular semi-sweet chocolate chips)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease an 8×8 inch square pan.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, butter and water. Cook over medium heat until boiling. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted and smooth. Mix in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the chocolate mixture. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until brownies set up. Do not overbake! Cool in pan and cut into squares.

Zucchini Bread

Zucchini is definitely one of my favorite veggies.  I love it fried and now I love it shredded and baked into zucchini bread.  

This recipe had a nice crunchy crust and yielded two loaves- perfect for giving as a gift.  My friends tried to decline the second loaf to take home but they didn't really protest after I wrapped it up for them. 

I made the recipe as written, except I didn't flour the pans cuz I forgot!  No harm done.  I also left out the walnuts because I didn't have any.  I added mini chocolate chips because I love chocolate chips, too.

Thanks again, allrecipes and thanks V Monte, whoever you are!  Your mom is awesome.

Zucchini bread

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 1/4 cups white sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.