Pound Cake

Having a stress fracture and being a senior who's pretty much checked out of school, I now have more time on my hands...great!
So instead of memorizing everyone's address from the school phone book or stalking my facebook minifeed, I instead have found different excuses to bake.
So tonight is a track team dinner so obviously I need to bake!

How about a nice pound cake? A little change from the typical store-bought cookies and brownies that are usually served, but its still so simple to make.

Recipe:
Ingredients:
3 sticks of butter
8 oz package of cream cheese
3 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 eggs
3 cups flour


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 F.

Run your knife along the edge to
make it easier to remove the cake.

Cream together the butter and cream cheese well and then add the sugar. Once this is well mixed, add the salt and vanilla, and then add each of the 6 eggs one at a time. Once all these ingredients are mixed together, slowly add in the flour.
Bake for 1 1/2 hours, and do not over-bake.
(Set your clock timer for a little earlier to check to prevent over-baking from occurring. Insert a toothpick to check to see if comes out clean, and is ready.)

Once the batter is homogenous, pour it into a well-greased 10 tube pan.

Sift powdered sugar on top to add a finishing touch.

Whole Wheat Cornbread

My Dad loves when I bake something semi-healthy for him so when he works out after dinner there is something he can grab and have for a treat. To take a healthier spin in comforting cornbread, I made it whole wheat, and only used honey, and no granulated sugar, to sweeten it up.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup cornmeal

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup oil

1 cup milk

1 egg

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 F and grease an 8 x 8 inch pan.

In one medium bowl combine together the corn meal, flour, baking powder, and finally, salt. In another bowl combine together the honey, milk, oil and eggs. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until well combined, but make sure to not over-mix.

Very easy to cut these.

Pour the batter into your already greased pan and place in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until the cornbread is golden brown.

These aren't very sweet, so spread on some butter to make them even more savory.

Chocolate Mint Cookies

So now I'm back from vacation with a tan and crutches.

The day before I was leaving for the DR, I had to get an MRI because my leg was hurting and it turned out that I have a stress fracture which literally sucks. After many tears, I was forced to get crutches, and this was all at 5 o'clock and I hadn't even packed yet. Anyways, I still had a great time away (my friends gobbles up the muffins at 5 in the morning), but now I can't run in the outdoor track season. However, I am obviously going to all the meets and therefore still must make the team treats for after running.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons peppermint extract

2 cups flour

2/3 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease cookie sheets.

Beat together the butter, brown sugar, eggs, peppermint and vanilla. One well blended, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt. 


Stir in the chocolate chips so they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.

Drop the dough by rounded teaspoons about 2 inches apart onto your prepared sheet. 


Bake 10 minutes and let cool before removing from the cookie sheets.

Yeah, those blobs don't look to appetising.

These cookies are incredibly easy to make and are moist with the right blend of chocolate and peppermint. 

My friend Olivia who loves peppermint is on the team too and I actually made her these cookies as a good luck for getting into Dartmouth and she did!

Ready to bring to the team.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Tomorrow morning some of my friends and I are leaving for senior spring break to Punta Cana! We are all very excited, except for the fact that we have to leave at 5 in the morning. This leaves no time for a real breakfast, so I thought I could make some nice muffins for us to take with us in the car ride to the airport to snack on.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup milk

¼ cup sour cream

½ cup butter melted and cooled

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 ½ cups semi sweet chocolate chips

I might have filled these
up a tad too much...

Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees and heavily a muffin tin or line with baking cups. In one bowl, combine the flour, brown and white sugar, cinnamon baking powder, chocolate chips, and salt. In another bowl, combine the milk, egg, butter, and sour cream until well blended. Slowly add in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until the whole mixture is well mixed. Finally fold in the chocolate chips.

Fill each muffin tin until its about ¾ of the way full and place the muffins in the oven for 18-22 minutes (until an inserted toothpick comes out clean).

If possible, serve while they are still nice and warm, but don’t burn yourself while you remove them from their tins!

Peanut Chocolate Eggs

Though I do not celebrate the Christian holidays, when Easter comes around I kind of wish I did. All the cute animals, pastel colors, and not to mention treats look so fun to make and decorate. But who says I still can't bake for Easter? I know plenty of people who celebrate the holiday, so I decided I would just make these absolutely amazing chocolate covered peanut butter eggs.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 ¼ cup creamy peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup graham crackers

¼ cup butter

4 tablespoons milk

1 ½ cups semi sweet chocolate chips

2 tablespoons butter

¼ cup heavy cream

Sprinkles (for decorating)     

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, ¼ cup butter, graham crackers, vanilla, and milk until well blended. Shape the peanut butter mixture into a bunch of tablespoon sized eggs and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place them in the freezer for an hour.

To prepare the chocolate coating, place the 1 ½ cups semi sweet chocolate chips, 2 tablespoons butter, and ¼ cup of heavy cream into a saucepan over low heat. Constantly stir the mixture until smooth, making sure it does not burn.

Once ready, remove the eggs from the freezer and one-by-one, dip each egg into the chocolate. To make this easier you may use a fork to dip each egg in. Tap off the excess chocolate and place the eggs back onto the parchment paper.

Make sure to sprinkle the sprinkles on before the
chocolate hardens.

You may then decorate with sprinkles or other icing if desired.

Wait until cool before eating.

Wait for them to harden before removing them from the paper.

These came out soooooooo well. They are nice and fluffy on the inside- better than any store bought Reese's candy.

Apricot Almond Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal raisin cookies are a classic for a good reason. The combination of oats and dried fruit is tasty, but it can be even better when you se an unexpected fruit combo such as dried apricots.

For this recipe you can use whatever type of dried apricot is your favorite, and any nut you like. I thought almonds worked best with the taste of apricots.

Ingredients:

Almonds and apricots chopped
& ready on the cutting board.

½  cups rolled oats

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup  softened butter

½ cup packed light-brown sugar

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 cup roughly chopped dried apricots

3/4 cup chopped almonds

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Toast the oats in the oven for 10 minutes. After the oats have cooled, in a medium bowl, combine the oats, flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugars and then afterwards beat in the egg and vanilla. Once this is all well mixed, slowly mix in the oat mixture. Afterwards fold in the apricots and almonds (may do this by hand).

Roll the dough into 2 dozen balls on greased baking sheets. Using your fingers, flatten balls to about a 3/4-inch thickness.

Bake cookies for about 15 minutes, or until the edges begin to golden.

Give the cookies 5 minutes to cook on baking sheet, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Easy Chocolate & Peanut Chip Squares

I like to have an easy, quick recipe on hand for it I ever need to whip something up in a moment's notice. One of my easiest recipes is my chocolate and peanut chip squares, which are perfect to make when a friend calls you over, upset about something, and all they need is someone to take to and something comforting to eat.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter 

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk

2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

1 cup peanut butter chips  

Directions: Heat oven to 350°F and grease an 8x8 inch pan.

Melt the stick of butter and then mix it in a bowl with the graham cracker crumbs. Press this mixtureevenly to the bottom of the pan. Afterwards, sprinkle the semi sweet chocolate chips and peanut butter chips evently over the graham cracker mixture and then use a spatula (or your hands) to press down the chips into the graham cracker mixture. Once done, open up the can of sweetened condensed milk and pour it evenly over all of the chips.

Place the bars into the oven for 25-30 minutes. Let them cool before slicing.

You can use your hands too to press it down firmly.

White and Semi Sweet Chocolate Cookies

A while ago I made these type of cookies with chocolate and candy canes for the holiday season, and my friend asked me to make them again because he liked their type of "scone-like" consistency. SInce the Christmas season has long passed, I no longer have candy canes in my house so I decided to add in white chocolate chips instead and slightly different flavoring to make these cookies still interesting, but the same type of texture.

Ingredients:

½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips

½ cup white chocolate chips

½ cup softened butter

1 cup sugar


1tsp baking powder

½ teaspoon salt


2 eggs


1 teaspoon vanilla

½ teaspoon almond extract

2 ½ cups flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F and grease 2 cookie sheets.

In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add in the baking powder, salt, eggs, almond extract and vanilla. Mix well and then gradually add in the flour.

plain batter

chocolate chips

                         +

= perfect dough

Once this is all well blended, toss in both types of chocolate chips and give the dough a quick final mix.

Almond extract gives these cookies a distinct flavor.

Use a cookie scoop or regular spoon, drop balls of dough 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes in your preheated oven. Remove from oven and let them cool for a minute before transferring them to wire racks.

Banana Bread Cookies

While banana bread is tasty, it sometimes isn't the best for serving because you have to slice it. To solve this, I designed a recipe that combined the great taste of banana bread in a cookie style that everyone loves. The result is cookies that are crisp on the edges like regular cookies, but have a middle that is the classic banana bread consistency.

Ingredients:

Don't worry, the batter is
supposed to be gloopy.

½ cup of softened unsalted butter

1 cup of sugar

1 egg

2 large bananas

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups of flour

¼ teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

½ cup sweetened coconut flakes

½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips

½ cup of pecans

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease two cookie sheets.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and continue to beat until well combined. Mash the bananas in a separate bowl and add them to your butter/sugar mixture. In another bowl, Mix together the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg and slowly add it to the butter and banana mixture and mix until just combined. Add in the coconut flakes and finally fold in the pecans and chocolate chips.

Drop in spoonfuls of the batter onto parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until nicely golden brown. Let cool on wire racks.

In order to make these healthier, you could replace some of the white flour with white whole wheat flour and still get great cookies.

Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies

My Dad absolutely loves tennis and has for a while now volunteered to teach tennis to underprivileged children on the weekends with the program Grassroots. As a special treat, my Dad invited some of the kids over to our house to watch a tennis match and have pizza. In order to top off their meal, I decided to make special cookies for them to enjoy after pizza. 

They scarfed them up instantly and told me they were the best cookies they ever had.

Right out of the oven.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/44 cups oats

1 stick softened butter

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup sugar

1 egg

1½ teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup dried cranberries

2/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chunks

½ cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F and grease cookie sheets and set them aside.

Beat together the butter and sugars and slowly add in the egg and vanilla.

In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Slowly stir this dry mixture into the wet mixture until well mixed. Afterwards, stir in the oats, and finally the cranberries, chocolate chunks, and walnuts.

Roll the dough into small balls and place on the greased baking sheets.

Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes so the centers are still soft.

Let cool and then remove from cookie sheets.