Spicy Chili Chocolate Cookies (gluten-free version)

The spice in these cookies are perfect for the cold days we keep having here in NYC. Have I mentioned that this winter's been a bad one? Oh yeah. I mentioned it here, here, and here. There doesn't seem to be an end in sight.

 

Two weekends ago I made these cookies to share with my fellow running team mates. A group of us cheered on other runners while standing out in the cold.

See how bundled up everyone was? Yeah. It was COLD.

 

But the chili dark chocolate mixed with cayenne pepper and cinnamon had a nice enough kick in it to help warm up whomever ate one (which was most of us.)

 

So, if it's still super cold where you are and winter seems never ending, consider making these cookies. (And if it's not, send warm weather my way and keep this recipe for next fall/winter.)

I used gluten free flour for these cookies and they turned out perfectly fine. Besides that change, I followed everything else called for in the recipe. The recipe can be found here: Completely Delicious

Bake well and prosper!

Pear Date and Coconut Cake

La di da di...oh, wait. Hey! I have a blog!

 

I've left my baby blog alone for over a month now. Time flies! I don't really have any reasons for not baking/posting. I was in Austin for a little bit in February, but besides that, I just haven't felt like baking. I'm going to blame the winter.

 

However, this past Sat I baked TWICE.

I usually always have dates on hand. Is that a weird food item to always have on hand? Well, I do. They are such an important part of eating a raw foods diet. Why important? Well, they help make desserts, which is important! 

 

I saw this recipe awhile ago and couldn't wait to try it. The cake turned out to be nice and moist. It's not overly sugary and I find it went well with chai tea. Next time I'll make sure to save time for the powdered sugar design on top. This is what one gets when making up something within a couple of minutes:

It's not awful, but I know I can do better!

 

Pear Date and Coconut Cake recipe found here: Hummingbird High

Bake well and prosper!

Caramel Rolls

I did it! I finally made my Mom's caramel roll recipe! I wanted to make it last year when I was trying to "challenge myself" in the kitchen, but I just never had the time/the right occasion to make it.

 

The recipe takes about 4.5 hours altogether and involves yeast! (I'm still slightly scared about working with yeast even though I've made these amazing donuts, this heavenly overnight coffee loaf, these delicious croissants, and this yummy from scratch monkey bread. You'd think I'd feel like a pro by now, but I don't. I still think yeast is finicky!)

 

I had to call my Mom twice to clarify some parts of the recipe and she admitted that she didn't have a real recipe for it. She had to kind of make it up when my brother asked for it a couple of years ago. Well, her slightly made up recipe has been delighting me for years and now I've "conquered" it!

Isn't it beautiful? So shiny and caramel-y?

 

I also tried something special with the recipe for Valentine's Day. I made the other dish of rolls with red colored caramel and tried to shape the rolls into hearts. Can you see the heart?

I think the red color scared my taste-testers seeing the natural colored one was eaten first. I don't blame them. As it turns out, the red dye slightly messed with the texture of the caramel.

 

But both versions tasted great! I must admit that I think my mom makes them better, but hey, she has more years of experience on me!

 

Oh, and in case you have 4.5 hours to make rolls, here's what they taste like: cinnamon rolls with caramel and pecans on top instead of frosting. Yum! 

Caramel Rolls (adapted from my Mom's Best Recipes Cookbook)
Ingredients
3/4 C scalded milk
1/4 C shortening
1 scant T yeast (1 packet should do)
3/4 C lukewarm water
1/2 C sugar
1 t salt
1 egg
4-4 1/2 C flour (see directions)
1/2 C light syrup
1 C brown sugar
4 T butter
1/2 C chopped pecans.
1 C cinnamon and sugar

Pour hot milk over shortening in a mixing bowl; let cool to lukewarm. Dissolve yeast in water (100-110 degrees F). Yeast should be good to use after about 5 minutes (there will be some foam on top of the water.) Mix these together along with the sugar, salt, egg, and 2 C flour (not the entire amount.) Beat with electric mixer until there are air bubbles appearing in the batter. Cover the bowl with a cloth and let rise for 1/2 hour. (It might not rise much. This is ok.)

Add the other 2-2 1/2 C flour: knead on counter top for 8 minutes or so. Let rise in a greased bowl, covered for at least an hour.

While it's rising, heat the light syrup, brown sugar, and butter together until melted. Mix well and pour into 2 8x8 or 9x9 baking dishes. Sprinkle chopped pecans on top of the caramel.

After the hour of dough rising, roll dough with a rolling pin onto a counter top. Roll out into about an 18 inch by 12-16 inch rectangle. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar (1 1/2 t cinnamon mixed with 1 C sugar.) Roll up dough and cut into 18 equal sections. Place on sides on top of caramel mixture (cinnamon & sugar side down), 3x3 in each pan. Let rise, covered, for 1 hour.

Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until the dough is slightly brown. Remove from oven and flip onto a cooling rack. (Place wax paper under rack.) Make sure to spoon out the left over caramel mixture that is stuck to the pan back on top of rolls.

Eat warm. Add butter if desired.

Bake well and prosper!

White Chocolate Butterscotch Buddies

I was interested in trying this twist on muddy buddies (aka puppy chow.) I figured it was the perfect fodder to bring to a Super Bowl party. It was always a beloved football party staple where I grew up in Texas.

 

I was shocked to find that no one at the party I went to yesterday was familiar with muddy buddies/puppy chow. However, I wasn't shocked to hear that they loved this dessert and kept going back for more. 

My friend above was nice enough to be a hand model for my photo shoot yesterday. He's also a professional model, so this came naturally for him. ;) I posted a photo of him posing with the dessert on my Facebook page. Have you liked my page yet? I post different photos and sometimes just some plain silly things on my FB page. You should definitely check it out: https://www.facebook.com/LifesTooShortToSkipDessert

 

Oh, and you should check out this dessert if you're a big fan of butterscotch and sugar!

White Chocolate Butterscotch Buddies (found at Creme de la Crumb)

6 cups rice chex cereal

12 ounces white chocolate chips, melted

1 small box butterscotch pudding mix (dry)

⅓ cup powdered sugar

 

Place the rice chex in a large bowl. In a double boiler, melt white chocolate. (Erika's extras: It doesn't become very syrupy. It becomes gummy and malleable.) Pour/stir in melted chocolate over cereal. Stir to coat all cereal in chocolate. (Erika's Extras: I had to do this in a couple of stages due to dealing with putty like chocolate.) Transfer to a large zip-lock bag. In a small bowl combine pudding mix and powdered sugar and whisk together. Pour into the plastic bag with the cereal mix and zip to close. Shake the bag to coat the cereal well with the sugar mix. Allow chocolate to harden, then break cereal into smaller chunks. Store in airtight container.

Bake well and prosper!

Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Have you heard that the weather in NYC has been pretty brutal this winter? Almost every day this month has been below normal temperature-wise.

 

Thankfully, Jan 1 wasn't too cold. I decided to ring in the new year by splashing into the Atlantic Ocean as part of Coney Island's Polar Bear Club Plunge.

This is me afterwards. I DID IT! I did it along with thousands of other crazy people.

 

It actually wasn't too bad. I was already cold from waiting for my friends and the water was warmer than the air. I would definitely do it again. It was a fun way to start 2014!

 

I'm pretty sure that jumping into the ocean on the first day of the year has helped me deal with this extra cold winter. You know what else has helped?

 

Baking.

There's nothing like a warm kitchen exuding lovely baked good smells on a chilly, winter evening.

 

I enjoyed baking these because they made my kitchen smell delicious and they were delicious. The whole wheat combined with dark chocolate chips brought a heartier depth to the tastes of these cookie bars. (And as an FYI, these go really well with scotch whiskey. If only I had a fire place...)

Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars (adapted from Completely Delicious)

3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups dark chocolate chips

1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line an 8 or 9-inch baking pan or 2 8x8 baking pans with parchment paper with overhanging sides.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium high speed until light and creamy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add this into the stand mixer and mix until incorporated. (Mixture will be a little crumbly.) Stir in the chocolate chips and chopped walnuts.

Press dough into the prepared baking pan and bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then lift bars out of the pan with the overhanging parchment paper and let cool completely on a wire rack. Slice into bars and serve.

Bake well and prosper!