Bake Off!

We're not cooking Thanksgiving, but we have tried some new recipes recently. In fact, Sis is a baking fiend. She's on Pinterest a lot, choosing recipes, planning what to make next. We even had a Great Brownie Bake-Off; she made our regular recipe and I made Mama Teacher's special brownies. It was a tie, but the fun part was pretending we were on the Great British Bake Off, one of our favorite shows--Bud even interviewed us! She makes great crepes, especially in our new ceramic non-stick skillet, and has a recent thing for micorwavable mug cakes, which I don't quite understand. 

Perhaps she should start her own baking blog!

Mama Teacher's Special Brownies

1 pkg. (4 oz.) BAKER'S Unsweetened Chocolate 




3/4 cup butter or margarine 



2 cups sugar 



3 eggs 



1 tsp. vanilla 



1 cup flour 




Heat oven to 350°F. Line 13x9-inch pan with aluminum foil with ends of foil extending over sides. 

Spray foil with cooking spray.

Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is

melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour

and nuts; mix well. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake 30 to 35 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not

overbake.) Cool completely. Use foil handles to remove brownies from pan before cutting to serve.

Molten Nutella Lava Mug Cake

• from Kirbie's Cravings
• 4 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup Nutella
• 3 tbsp fat free milk

Preheat oven to 350F. In an oven-safe mug (it won't rise too high, so an 8 oz is fine), add all four ingredients. Mix with a mini whisk vigorously until batter is completely mixed and smooth.

Place mug on a baking sheet and then place into oven. Bake for approximately 16-18 minutes (mine took exactly 17 1/2 minutes). Watch the cake carefully towards the end. You want the cake to have puffed up except the center, which should still look dark and not completely set (but no longer wet, like photo above). Let cake cool a few moments before eating. You can top with powdered sugar and eat with ice cream if desired.

Molten Chocolate Lava Mug Cake
from Girl on Gourmet

2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
3 tablespoons heavy cream
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 pinch of salt
3 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup vanilla bean ice cream (optional)

Combine the butter, egg, and cream together in a coffee mug until well combined. Add the flour and sugar and keep stirring. Add the cocoa, vanilla, and salt and stir until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Place the mug in a microwave and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the mug from the microwave and let it sit for a few minutes to cool.
Top the cake with the ice cream, grab a spoon, and dig in.

Sis's #1 Crepes

from Sweet as Honey

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (230g)
3 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract optional
1 teaspoon white sugar optional
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter melted or vegetable oil of your choice

In a large bowl add the flour, eggs, salt, vanilla extract, melted butter and sugar if used.

Using a whisk or electric mixer, beat in the milk gradually until a smooth batter form with no lumps.
Heat a lightly buttered crepes pan over medium/high heat.
Pour or scoop the batter onto the pan, then tip and rotate the pan to spread batter as thinly as possible.

Brown on both sides about 1-2 minutes on each sides and serve hot with your favorite fillings

Recipe Notes

Store: you can cook all the crepes then store them in the fridge, on a plate covered with plastic wrap. It store well up to 2 days.

Filling ideas: jam, chocolate spread, honey, maple syrup, apple compote, fruits, nut butters, whipped cream, ice cream, nuts, coconut and more!

Chocolate Lava Cakes

from Sally's Baking Addiction

6 ounces (170g) high quality semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup (115g; 1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup (31g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (60g) confectioners' sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks²
optional for topping: ice cream, raspberries, and/or chocolate syrup

Spray each ramekin with nonstick cooking spray and dust with cocoa powder. This ensures the cakes will seamlessly come out of the ramekins when inverted onto a plate in step 7. *Or spray half of a 12-count muffin pan and dust with cocoa powder. If baking in a muffin pan, the recipe will yield 6 cakes.

Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C).

Coarsely chop the chocolate. Place butter into a medium heat-proof bowl, then add chopped chocolate on top. Microwave on high in 10 second increments, stirring after each until completely smooth. Set aside.

Whisk the flour, confectioners' sugar, and salt together in a small bowl. Whisk the eggs and egg yolks together until combined in another small bowl. Pour the flour mixture and eggs into the bowl of chocolate. Slowly stir everything together using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. If there are any lumps, gently use your whisk to rid them. The batter will be slightly thick.

Spoon chocolate batter evenly into each prepared ramekin or muffin cup.

Place ramekins onto a baking sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes until the sides appear solid and firm-- the tops will still look soft. *If baking in a muffin pan, the cakes only take about 8-10 minutes.
Allow to cool for 1 minute, then cover each with an inverted plate and turn over. Use an oven mitt because those ramekins are hot! The cakes should release easily from the ramekin. *If you used a muffin pan, use a spoon to release the cakes from the pan and place each upside down on plates.
Add toppings. Serve immediately.

Make ahead tip and freezing: You can prepare the batter through step 4. Cover tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Allow to come to room temperature before continuing with step 5. You can freeze the baked lava cakes for up to 3 months. Allow them to cool completely before freezing. Re-heat in the microwave.

Recipe Notes:

Make sure to use high quality chocolate, not chocolate chips. You won't have much "lava" with chocolate chips! I suggest high quality chocolate baking bars sold in the baking aisle such as Baker's, Ghirardelli, Nestle, or Lindt. They're all typically sold in 4 ounce bars, so you will need 1 and 1/2 bars total.

A note on the eggs-- for this recipe, you need 2 whole eggs plus an addition 2 egg yolks. After 10-14 minutes in an oven this hot, the eggs should be cooked to 160°F which is considered safe to eat. If you're concerned, you can take the temperature to be sure!

Chocolate Cures Everything

Having read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in one day before our trip to Texas, the kids were allowed to see the movie today!  And so we all spent the hot afternoon curled up inside with the AC on watching HP 3.  The Boggarts and Dementors are scary, but as HP fans know, chocolate heals Dementor damage.  And so I passed around squares of good dark chocolate while we watched.  And, for dessert tonight (and mind you, dessert after dinner is a very rare treat), we're having Hot Fudge Cake which I coincidentally spotted in the new Taste of Home when I was at the grocery store this morning.

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Hot Fudge Cake
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons baking cocoa, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup 2% milk
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup packed brown sugar
1-3/4 cups hot water
Ice cream or whipped cream, optional

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, whisk milk, oil and vanilla until blended. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moistened.
Transfer to an ungreased 9-in.-square baking pan. In a small bowl, mix brown sugar and remaining cocoa; sprinkle over batter. Pour hot water over all; do not stir.

Bake 35-40 minutes. Serve warm. If desired, top with ice cream. Yield: 9 servings.

Taste of Home

Appreciating Teachers

It's Teacher Appreciation Week, the one week a year America appreciates its teachers. 


Seems wrong somehow, no?  Like how you only show your love for loved ones on Valentine's Day.


I won't get on my soapbox here about the under-appreciation (pay/support/respect) of teachers here.  


Instead, in baking brownies for the teacher lunch at school today, I'm sending along virtual brownies to all of my favorite teachers here.  


Please know that I appreciate you all year long!


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My Favorite Brownies

Makes 24 brownies

One 12 oz. package (2 cups) Semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

½ cup butter

3 eggs

1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla extract

½ cup chopped nuts (optional)

In large, heavy saucepan over low heat, melt 1 cup chocolate chips and butter (for best results, melt butter then add chocolate chips and melt—prevents chocolate sticking to saucepan); stir until smooth. Remove from heat. Add eggs; stir well. Add flour sugar, baking soda, and vanilla; stir well. Stir in remaining (unmelted) chocolate chips and nuts, if desired. Spread into greased 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Bake in preheated 350°F oven for 18-22 minutes or until set. Cool completely. Cut into 2-inch squares.

Nestle chocolate chip bag

Egg Shortage

There are no more Cadbury mini eggs.

And I've checked.

Apparently, this happens every year. People buy them as soon as they see them. Stores run out. There are no second shipments.

Not to the department store, the grocery stores, or the drugstore I visited.

Maybe I'm what you called addicted? obsessed? with those little eggs. I like them, for sure, but I can usually do without them. I've noticed, however, that in my current not-feeling-so-great state, I like them more than usual. And have been looking for them.

I lucked out this morning: I found two small purple bags at the drugstore, the last of their yearly stock. Someone had hidden them among the jellybeans, perhaps in hopes of coming back for them! But I know that purple when I see it . . . . It might not take me to Easter, but it'll take me through the week. Because, Lambeth, I don't crave the red meat you think would do me good, I want those little, pastel-colored, candy-coated chocolate eggs.

Thank heavens the kids don't like them, because this Easter Bunny is not sure she could share.

Scratch 'n Sniff

I have never, as far I know, made pudding from scratch. Until today.

Having made some strawberry jello for Bud (from a box, but I'm going to tackle making homemade flavors with gelatin this summer), Sis and I decided to make chocolate pudding with my new box of cornstarch. We made up a double boiler with a pot and stainless steel bowl and made up whole milk with 1% and half & half (that's 3 tb half & half with milk added to one cup, so here 1/2 cup + 1 tb half & half plus milk to add up to 3 cups). I had Ghiradelli double chocolate chips (6 oz = 1 cup). And we had pudding makings! Sis very carefully babysat the milk/cornstarch, less carefully helped clean up the ingredients during a lull and spilled almost the entire rest of my new box of cornstarch (that's 16 oz or so on my floor, folks), but c'est la vie. You don't cook with kids if you want your kitchen to be clean. Back to the pudding: the smell alone as we added the chips to the thickened mixture was divine as it all melted together. Mmmmmm, incomparable. And I haven't even had a real bowl of it yet, just lickings from the spoon, which was all that was left after the kids wiped clean the bowl of the double boiler and the bowl into which we strained the pudding, almost lump free because Sis stirred so well.

It's going to be a good snacktime.

(And if that's not enough, I have some new "early American" GMO-free small-kernel popcorn from Little Pops I can make! Since we've forsaken microwave for stovetop-popped, thanks to Mama Teacher.)

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Homemade Chocolate Pudding

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups whole milk
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Combine the cornstarch, sugar and salt in the top of a double boiler, simmering gently and stirring occasionally to scrape down sides. When the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of the spoon (about 15 minutes), add the chocolate and continue stirring for about 2 to 4 minutes, or until the pudding is smooth and thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. (I wonder if you could add almond or orange extract instead??)

2. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer and distribute into serving bowls.

3. Cover with plastic wrap (placing wrap actually against the pudding if you don't like skin) and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days.

from Smitten Kitchen via John Scharffenberger

Like Chocolate for Bribery

I'm sure it was the chocolate bar that made her all better. The trip to the ped was no fun, with a strep culture--Sis cried at the very mention of the culture and only cooperated after receiving a "yes" to her request for a big chocolate bar (the nurse grimaced when the doctor requested one; she has given them to Sis before and hates to see her that miserable, knowing Sis must blame her, she said. Wait til shots in August, which Sis said must be worse than a culture! For the first time ever, it didn't take 2-3 people to restrain her while the nurse did the test. She actually sat on my lap and opened her mouth. Chocolate is a powerful antidote to fear and pain, I guess.). Throat cultures suck, so I agreed with no guilt. The rapid culture came back negative. She had a low point after the visit but was better by nightfall, bright-eyed and almost chipper during storytime as Mama entertained her and Bud with a muppet-like green dinosaur. They talked for 45-minutes after lights-out, a sure sign of improvement. And she's been sleeping ever since. The doctor thinks it's just another virus--asked if we'd been in a pool with lots of kids or something like--and thinks it will last a few more days. The doctor called Sis "the fever kid", making Bud, who I don't think has ever had a fever, or maybe just one, the "injury kid," with stitches, staples, dislocated elbows, neck braces, etc. At least it's not both at the same time, which hopefully means our week will end better than it started. With chocolate . . . .

Chocolate Park

Sis loves chocolate. Chocolate cake. Chocolate frosting. Chocolate pudding. Chocolate milk. Chocolate chip cookies. Chocolate candy.

And so I told her about the "chocolate park," or Hershey's, PA. I said it had chocolate food, chocolate games, and chocolate rides.

She is ready to go.

In truth, we had long considered heading out to PA to see friends near Philly, so going to the chocolate park was not too far out of the realm of possibility. And definitely more interesting to me than Sesame Place, even if I don't particularly like Hershey's regular chocolates (I do now like some of their new dark chocolates, the Cacao Reserve line; otherwise, it's too sweet and waxy). Mama isn't much into chocolate (I still love her, though: more for me!) and hasn't been that wild about heading west. But now I have someone on my side, an irresistible and persistence preschooler.

Sis and Bud even made their own "chocolate park" this morning. The spread nighttime diapers all over the floor and then stood at the door taking tickets. We then danced around the diapers like stepping stones, our "chocolate game." We ate some chocolate and then played somewhere.

Come on, what could be better than that?

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

I'm biased because they're my Bammie's recipe (Gommie's mom--yep, weird names on that side of the family.)

We made them yesterday in honor of Gommie.

And for once, Sis ate more cookies than dough!

That's an unqualified success.

Just don't ask me a). why there is a teaspoon of hot water or b). how she got 100 cookies from a dough that I can only make 60 with!!!!

Note: bags of chocolate chips used to be 14 oz!!!! 12 works fine too.

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Mom’s Mom’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

The best-ever moist and chewy chocolate chip cookie. I’ve been making these for years—they can be individual cookies or one large cookie (with chocolate chips sprinkled and spread for frosting, which we’ve served at our holiday parties). These were the first cookie I made with Mama and I then taught her brother how to make them (how to make any cookies with the double spoon method, the triple tray method, etc.—they don’t have an oven) But it never makes 100!

Makes 100

1 ½ cup sifted flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup shortening

¾ cup brown sugar (firmly packed)

¾ cup granulated sugar

2 eggs (Eggbeaters also work)

1 teaspoon hot water

1 cup nuts

2 cups oatmeal (quick or regular; uncooked—old fashioned regular are best)

1 teaspoon vanilla

14 oz. chocolate chips

Cream shortening until soft. Add sugars gradually, cream until light and fluffy. Add eggs (1 at a time), beating after each. Add vanilla and hot water. Sift in dry ingredients. Add nuts, oatmeal, and chocolate chips. Bake at 375°F for 8 minutes.

Bammie

A Decade

Last night was our 10th anniversary. We had actually celebrated in grand style last week, doing something we were both desperate to do--we got a babysitter and went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (yes, we've read HP7 and loved it; no I won't post any details). Add to that dinner at the theater--we're both devotees of junk food at times--and some Ben and Jerry's ice cream, and it was an amazing night.

But last night was the real date. 10 years. Wow. Amazing what can change in a decade. Then, she was working at her first job in Chicago and I was a grad student in NYC. We'd met three years earlier, shelving books at a summer library job in NYC, and pretty much dated since then, though we didn't realize it until later.

So last night we reminisced--3 moves, 3 cats, 5 jobs, 2 children, several trips, thousands of meals. And we're still in love. It's all very amazing, especially since the year we got together, two couples we knew broke it off in the 10th year. We always joked that we'd skip 10. But we made it through the 10th year and are starting 11.

And so, knowing me so well, DP went to Penzey's Spices and Balducci's and brought home two things I'm addicted to--dark chocolate (the darker the better) and cooking magazines. We savored one of the chocolates, not a pure dark chocolate, but marzipan coated in dark chocolate. Delicious, reminds me of a candy a Danish co-worker once gave me. Anton's, Antoine's, something, with plum filling and marzipan. The cooking magazines--Penzey's One--will be perfect for the selection of spices she brought home. A treat for us both.