Ice Cream Sunday: Roasted Strawberry & Buttermilk Ice Cream

Here in Southern California, strawberry season is in full swing. The farmer’s market strawberries are especially succulent, and I buy a bunch every weekend to enjoy with my daily breakfast of yogurt and granola. However, I reluctantly parted with a pint of the sweet fruit to attempt, yet again, another strawberry ice cream recipe. I’ve tried several in the past few years, and although they have tasted okay, they weren’t stellar enough for me to scream their deliciousness from the rooftops.

I’m still not ready to scream from the rooftops, but this recipe from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home is the best one I’ve found yet. I learned from her book that strawberry chunks tend to “freeze into rock-hard, flavorless chunks” due to the “high water content” of the berries. Yep, I’ve experienced that in some of my attempts. To remedy that problem, Jeni’s recipe calls for pureed berries. Although I’ve used pureed berries in other recipes, the final ice creams just haven’t wowed me enough to share them. This particular recipe, though, produced strawberry flavor with a creamy base that also has  tang from buttermilk and cream cheese, which complements the sweetness of the fruit. The strawberries, by the way, are roasted for a few minutes, which reduces their water content a bit as well as deepening their sweet flavor.

I keep trying strawberry ice cream recipes because hubby loves the flavor. Although it’s not one of my top choices and I never order it when I buy ice cream from shops, I find I like this homemade strawberry ice cream well enough to enjoy a scoop or two for dessert at night.

Roasted Strawberry & Buttermilk Ice Cream

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INGREDIENTS

Roasted Strawberries

• 1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced 1/2-inch thick
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Ice Cream Base

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• 2 ounces (4 tbsp.) cream cheese, softened
• 1/8 tsp. fine sea salt
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp. light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup buttermilk

DIRECTIONS

1. To make roasted strawberries: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Combine sliced strawberries with 1/3 cup sugar in an 8-inch square dish; stir to mix. Roast for 8 minutes until strawberries just soften. Allow to cool slightly.
3. Puree berries in a food processor along with lemon juice. Measure 1/2 cup berries for the ice cream; refrigerate remainder for other uses. (Why make so much when all you need is 1/2 cup? If not, the strawberries will scorch or dry out during roasting.)
4. To make the ice cream base: In a small bowl, make cornstarch slurry by mixing cornstarch with 2 tbsp. of milk. Set aside.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk softened cream cheese and salt until smooth.
6. In a 4-quart saucepan, combine remaining milk, cream, sugar, and corn syrup. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat; boil for 4 minutes.
7. Remove from heat. Gradually whisk in cornstarch slurry. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring, until it thickens slightly, about one minute.
8. Slowly whisk the hot mixture into the cream cheese. Whisk until smooth. Add 1/2 cup of the strawberry purée and the buttermilk; blend well.
9. Pour the mixture into a large Ziploc bag, seal, and either submerge into an ice bath or place between frozen blue ice bags. Allow to chill for 30 minutes (I also place the ice bath in the refrigerator for the 30 minute period).
10. Churn ice cream base in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Store ice cream in an airtight container in freezer for several hours before serving.

SOURCE: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home

Cranberry-Orange Macadamia Butter Cookies

Cookie Contest Voting — help my cookies win the contest!

Click the above “Cookie Contest Voting” link and find the Facebook Fan Page link at the bottom,

then from there follow directions for voting.

Update: a friend let me know that she couldn’t locate the voting…maybe it isn’t set up yet???

Several months ago, I kept getting emails from a “virginiaplantation” that my posts were “liked.” Well, I’m not current with the world of social technology (just too much to keep up with and figure out at this point in my life but maybe someday), but I knew this had something to do with the social network. Eventually, curiosity led me to the virginiaplantation website, where I discovered a husband and wife team, Brett and Michelle, gearing up to open a bed and breakfast in West Virginia, Belle Grove Plantation. I found their endeavors interesting, so I began following their blog. Additionally, their proposed B&B isn’t too far from my mother-in-law’s place in WV, I think, so I’m hoping to one day see the fruits of their labor.

As they neared what they hoped to be an opening date, they announced a cookie contest, with the winner’s cookie to be slated as the B&B official cookie for the year, provided to guests each evening. Cute idea to have a contest, I thought. I knew I wanted to enter just for fun and to show support for their efforts. The original date of the contest was back in February, so nearly every weekend in January I was testing out variations of cookies, some of which are still living in my freezer, by the way. Most were duds, but I finally hit upon one I was happy with, which just included some minor additions to a recipe I had already posted and loved, the Macadamia Nut Butter Cookie. I added orange flavoring and some spices to jazz it up a bit.

I had the recipe typed and the pics uploaded, all ready to enter the contest, but then the contest was postponed. No biggie since I had my entry ready to go. However, the new deadline was right after we got home from our big trip, and I was consumed with trip preparations beforehand; hence, I nearly forgot to enter the contest! Luckily, I did remember.

But then promptly forgot about it as we enjoyed our exciting trip to South America. Lo and behold, I got an email announcement yesterday that my entry made it to the top 10 list! Woo hoo!! So excited!! From this point, the contest is open to the public for voting. Although it would be fun to win, I’m thrilled to have made it to the top ten. So, here is how the voting will work, and you can participate (copied from the email they sent):

We will announce the top ten cookies…on both the blog and Facebook page…On Facebook, we will create a special album with the top ten cookies…We will encourage our fans of the blog, Facebook page, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumbler and LinkedIn to go to our Facebook page and blog to review the cookie recipes.

To vote they will need to:

1.       Like our Facebook Fan Page

2.       Go to the album and Like their favorite cookie.

The voting will start on Saturday, April 13^th at 12:00am and continue until Sunday, April 21^st at 11:59pm.

So, if you would like to participate in the voting, just click the link here to get started: Cookie Contest Voting.

Or, if you want to make the cookies, here is the recipe:

Cranberry-Orange Macadamia Butter Cookies 

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Soft & chewy cookies with slightly crisp edges and a mouthful of buttery, nutty flavor balanced by the sweetness of cranberries and the freshness of orange flavoring. 

INGREDIENTS

• 5.6 ounces unbleached all-purpose flour (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 2/3 cup macadamia nuts
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 + 1/8 tsp. orange extract (or 1 1/2 tsp. orange zest)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries, chopped
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar, for coating cookies (can also add 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, too, for a slightly altered flavor)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

1. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Whisk together flour, baking soda, ginger, salt, and nutmeg; set aside.

1. Place macadamia nuts in a food processor; process until smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl once or twice (do not eliminate the scraping step; scraping and re-processing helps draw the oils from the nuts, which are needed to keep the cookies cohesive when mixing & baking).

1. Combine macadamia butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until combined, about 1 minute.

1. Mix vanilla, orange extract (or zest), and egg; lightly beat. Add to dough mixture and beat until mixed, about 1 minute.

1. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture; beat at low speed until combined and dough begins to progress from looking like small crumbs to looking like several big chunks of crumbs (it’s okay if dough isn’t fully cohesive). Stir in chopped cranberries. Chill 10 minutes, covered. (I actually slowly add the cranberries into my stand mixer while it is mixing the dough.)

1. Place approximately 1/4 cup of granulated sugar in a small bowl for dipping cookies into before baking. For large cookies, about 3 inches in diameter: Divide chilled dough into 15 equal portions, about 1 1/2 tbsp. for each cookie; roll each portion into a ball about 1 3/4 inches in diameter. Press each ball of dough between palms of hand to flatten it into a disc 1/4 inch thick. Lightly dip each disc into the sugar on both sides to coat it. Place cookies on prepared cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 11 minutes or until lightly golden. Fro small cookies, about 2 1/2 inches in diameter: divide dough into 30 equal portions, about 1 inch in diameter. Press flat between palms, place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart, and bake for 9 minutes.

1. Remove cookies from oven, cool for a couple of minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: about 3 dozen cookies small cookies or 15 larger cookies

Notes: Baked cookies freeze well. I simply place them in an airtight container, then pop the container into the freezer.

SOURCE: slightly adapted from Cooking Light magazine, December 2009 issue

Ice Cream Sunday: Affogato with Kahlua-Amaretto Ice Cream

Ever heard of the famed Pacific Coast Highway? Well, I live two blocks from a portion of it. However, it’s not the stunningly gorgeous rugged coastline part of it that you will encounter from central California and northwards. I live in sunny Southern California (with the very crowded freeways) near the very busy PCH that meanders southward toward the ritzy cities of Newport Beach and Laguna Beach. Ritzy like millions of dollars for hilltop homes overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Ritzy like homes I will only ever glimpse on my drives along PCH. Ritzy like pricey shops lining the roadway that I’ll never step into because there is no way I can ever afford anything from any of them.

Despite all that ritziness, though, it is fun to drive the highway sometimes and absorb the aura. For me, that aura is not so much the homes and shops but the beauty of the ocean that lies on the other side of the road. I’ve done this drive early early early in the morning to arrive at the beach in front of the Montage, a pricey resort, to practice my photography as the sun rises. And I’ve done this drive off season to explore the tidepools in front of the same hotel.

And I’ve also done this drive in the late afternoon heading toward glitzy Laguna Beach in the middle of summer to meet up with my husband’s sister and her hubby. You see, they live in the San Diego environs, so Laguna is a halfway point for them and us. We thought it a bright idea to meet there for dinner one night. Major mistake. MAJOR!

On a warm summer evening, apparently everyone else thinks a coastal drive is a great idea, too. We knew it would be crowded, so we left the house plenty early. Turns out the roads were much more crowded than we expected. It took f.o.r.e.v.e.r. to arrive in Laguna with lots of nervewracking traffic to navigate as we scoured the streets for a parking spot. Times like that I wish I had packed a snack for the road, for adding hunger pains to annoying traffic and mega pedestrians makes for ultra grouchiness–on both my part and hubby’s.

Well, we finally arrived–late. As did the other pair (traffic is just as bad along PCH heading northward from the San Diego area). Once we situated ourselves in a cute little Italian restaurant and got some food to fill our bellies, everyone was in a much better mood.

On this night of PCH traffic frustration, my sister-in-law introduced me to the dessert Affogato. In Italian, this literally means “drowned.” You see, the dessert is simply composed of a scoop of ice cream, usually vanilla, topped with coffee, usually in the form of espresso. Hence, the ice cream is “drowned” in the coffee. And the dessert eater has the awesome job of saving the ice cream from drowning by scarfing it up!

Who knew something as simple as ice cream swimming in coffee could taste so yummy? Well, I guess if vanilla ice cream pairs so well with root beer, why not something else, too?

After making the Kahlua-Amaretto Ice Cream awhile back, I immediately knew I wanted to try it in affogato. I use Kahlua, afterall,  to enhance espresso ice cream, so I figured the Kahlua-Amaretto Ice Cream would complement espresso even more beautifully than vanilla ice cream in this dessert. And I was right. Scrumptious. I had a serving nightly until the ice cream was all gone. If you’ve never tried affogato, I recommend it. It’s fun. It’s yummy. It’s easy. Sprinkle some cocoa powder or chocolate sprinkles or even whipped cream on top for an additional pizzazz element and you’ll be sure to impress your guests.

Affogato with Kahlua-Amaretto Ice Cream

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INGREDIENTS

• 1-2 scoops of ice cream
• 1/2 cup espresso or strongly-brewed coffee
• optional: whipped cream, cocoa powder, chocolate sprinkles for topping

DIRECTIONS

Scoop ice cream into a small bowl or dessert cup, then pour hot espresso over it. If desired, top with whipped cream, dust with cocoa powder, and/or scatter with chocolate sprinkles. Serve immediately.

Magic Custard Cake

Three magical layers that appear during baking: crusty bottom, custard middle, airy meringue top

Day One…Wednesday

I spy the picture of the Magic Custard Cake. I devour the blog post. I’m totally intrigued.

Day Two…Thursday

I’m dreaming of that Magic Cake. I’m exhausted after dealing with adolescents all day. I mix up and bake the Magic Cake anyway. It’s good. Really good. Will I manage to save some until Saturday to take pics for the blog? Immense tug-o-war between willpower and desire…

Day Three…Friday

I resist eating the rest of the Magic Cake for breakfast. Must get pics; must get pics.

Dreaming of variations of Magic Cake on drive to work: vanilla bean, orange zest, cinnamon…

I get home very late and sneak a bite…or two. Total willpower to resist eating it all. Still need to get some photos.

Day Four…Saturday 

Ahh, the weekend. Glorious weekend. Sleeping in. No rushing. Must take picture of Magic Cake. First, sneak a bite…or two. Snap. Snap. Snap. Pictures done. Ahh, delicious forkful after forkful of Magic Cake.

Uh oh…no more Magic Cake!

Magic indeed, folks! Magical in taste as well as form.

Let’s talk taste first. Light–in texture and taste and sweetness. A bit eggy, yes, but less so after a stint in the fridge. Over the top with a dusting of powdered sugar. I can imagine how stellar it would taste with some slices of strawberry or a drizzle of berry sauce. I had totally planned to make some blackberry sauce to test out my idea, but hubby ate the few berries I had set aside. Next time…

Now let’s talk form. That’s the totally fun and magical part about this cake. The batter magically transforms to make a crust, a custard middle, and an airy meringue-like top. How in the world does that happen??? Any science buffs out there who can offer an explanation? I’m thoroughly fascinated and want to know what’s going on.

So, the batter has two components: egg whites beaten to stiffness and a liquid-y portion. The eggs whites get folded into the liquid. As I was folding, the egg whites just looked like big glacier chunks floating around. I didn’t want to overmix, so I just left the chunks, but I did fold until they were about 1-inch bits. It ended up creating a slightly mountainous terrain finish to the top of the cake, but I liked the look. It gave it lots of golden peaks and valleys.

I’m guessing the magic layering happens from a separation of the ingredients. Here’s my explanation: the heaviness of the flour settles to the bottom to make the crust; the lightness of the egg whites rises to create the meringue-like top; the yolks get stuck in the middle to form the custard. Sounds logical to me. But hey, I’m not a science buff. Just hypothesizing here.

I have visions of flavor variations for the cake. Wouldn’t flecks of vanilla bean add a smidge of heightened flavor? How about a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg for a fall flair? Or orange zest to brighten the cake for spring?

Well, two days after reading about the Magic Cake, the same bloggers from whom I found this delightful cake posted their variation: Chocolate!! Woo hoo!!! Now that’s a flavor variation that scores a homerun. You can bet I’ll be making that one sooner rather than later, for sure.

Now go have some fun and whip up this Magic Cake. Watch it transform. Be amazed.

Magic Custard Cake

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INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 cups milk
• 4 room temperature eggs, whites and yolks separated
• 1 1/4 cups (150 g) powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp. water
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp. distilled white vinegar (or 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly butter an 8×8-inch baking dish.
2. In bowl of stand mixer, whip egg whites until stiff peaks form, about 10 minutes. Begin at low speed and as whites begin to foam, increase speed to medium high. As egg whites are mixing, add vinegar (this helps to stabilize the egg whites as well as make them fluffier while baking).
3. While egg whites are mixing, melt butter; set aside to cool a bit.
4. Also while egg whites are mixing, heat milk to lukewarm (between 98-105 degrees F); set aside.
5. In a separate large bowl, mix yolks and sugar at medium-high until light.
6. Add melted butter and water; mix at medium-low until blended, about 2 minutes.
7. Add flour; mix at medium-low speed until evenly blended.
8. Slowly add milk and vanilla extract, mixing on low (or by hand), until blended. Batter will be liquidy.
9. Gently fold egg whites into batter in three batches (be sure to fold; if you stir, you will deflate the egg whites). Expect egg whites to float around, but mix until the chunks are about 1-inch in size.
10. Pour batter into the 8×8-inch dish; bake for 45-60 minutes, until the top is golden. Due to custard middle, expect a slightly jiggly final product.
11. Cool cake completely before cutting. You can expedite the cooling process by placing cake in the fridge.
12. Serve as is or adorn with a dusting of powdered sugar, fresh fruit, or a fruit sauce.

SOURCE: White on Rice Couple (and their chocolate version, too)

Beignets

Am I entitled to eat six beignets after a bike ride to the Farmer’s Market where I picked up bunches of healthy greens and fruits for the week? How about slathered with chocolate almond butter (a variation of the homemade Nutella I posted the other day) and sprinkled with loads of powdered sugar? Oh yeah, that version was outta this world crazy scrumptious! I only thought of the chocolate spread because the last vestiges of it was hanging out in a jar which was sitting on the counter which was right next to where I was deep frying these delectably delicious beignets.

Ever had true New Orleans beignets at Cafe du Monde in downtown Orleans? An experience, for sure. Those delights are light and airy and they literally dump buckets of powdered sugar on top rather than a heavy sprinkling. Oh-so-yummy! Best after you’ve hit the New Orleans night scene and need a snack in the wee hours. Or early in the morning before heading off to see the sights. Works either way. If ever you get the pleasure of experiencing New Orleans, though, make beignets at Cafe du Monde a must. I traveled there well over 10 years ago and still have memories of these deep-fried delights.

As for making your own, way easier than I thought, especially this particular recipe. No big mixer with a dough hook needed. No milk. No evaporated milk.  No buttermilk. (Saw those in numerous other recipes.) No overnight stint in the fridge. Just mix it up in a bowl, cover and refrigerate for an hour, then you are ready to roll, cut, and fry.

Beware, the dough is definitely of the wet variety, meaning it’s quite sticky. Nonetheless, with lots of flour sprinkled all over your rolling surface and roller and on top of the dough, it’s easily workable. A rubber spatula makes getting the sticky dough from bowl to board a breeze, and a pizza cutter makes quick and easy cutting of the dough once it’s all rolled out.

Now for frying, a thermometer is needed. That’s what held me back for so long from making these despite that I’ve had recipes bookmarked for months and months and months. Yes, I have two thermometers (a Thermaworks and a cheapo candy thermometer from the grocery store), but neither is conducive to measuring and regulating the temperature of hot oil in a pan or Dutch oven. Well, yesterday as I wandered the aisles of Frye’s, I stumbled upon the cutest little deep fryer by Cuisinart. So darn irresistible due to its miniature size. Perfect for just us two. Not so perfect if you want to fry up goodies for a large crowd, though.

I really bought it because we’ve been frying the crappie (nice name for a fish, huh?) that hubby caught ages ago on an outdoorsman trip, and he has fond memories of the deep-fried method used to cook the crappie at the ranch where he hunted and fished. So I splurged. Well, at $40 it didn’t seem like a big splurge, so I did it.

And once I did, I knew the beignets were on tap for the following morning!

Beignets are best eaten warm, so fry ‘em up right as you are ready to eat them. The recipe below makes 2 dozen, so I halved it. I think I could also fry up a few and keep the dough in the fridge for later, although for how much longer I’m not sure. I did test out microwaving one for about 20 seconds and it tasted all warm and delish again. Like I said, much better warm than at room temp.

So glad I finally got around to trying these. They are much easier than I thought, so now when I want a weekend treat, these will fit the bill very nicely!

Quite yummy slathered with chocolate hazelnut spread before sprinkling with powdered sugar!

Beignets

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Yield: 2 dozen

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup water, heated to 110 degrees F (I used hot tap water, which measured about 120 degrees F)
• 3 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp. instant or rapid-rise yeast
• 3 cups (15 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil plus 2 quarts for frying
• confectioner’s sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Place 1 tbsp. granulated sugar and yeast in a large bowl; add water and allow to sit until it gets foamy, about 5 minutes.
2. In another bowl, medium sized, combine the flour, salt, and remaining 2 tbsp. granulated sugar. Set aside.
3. Add eggs and 2 tbsp. oil to the yeast mixture; whisk.
4. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients; stir vigorously with a rubber spatula until dough forms a cohesive but rough ball. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate until nearly doubled in size, about 1 hour.
5. Before rolling out dough, set a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet. This is where you will place fried beignets to keep them crisp and airy until ready to eat. Now, liberally flour the surface of your counter or rolling surface.
6. Use a rubber spatula to help ease the half the dough from the bowl to the floured surface. Using floured hands, pat the dough into a rough rectangle; flip it to coat with flour (very sticky later if you omit this step). Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a 1/4-inch thick 12”x9” rectangle. Use a pizza wheel to cut the dough into twelve 3-inch squares. Repeat with remaining dough.
7. Add the two quarts of oil to a large Dutch oven, aiming for about 1 1/2 inches of depth. Heat over medium-high heat to 350 degrees F (or, heat oil in a deep fryer). Place beignets in oil so they aren’t too close together, fitting in as many as your frying unit will allow. Fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes total, flipping halfway through frying. Adjust burner to maintain oil temperature between 325-350 degrees F.
8. Use a slotted spoon or spider to transfer golden brown beignets to the wire rack. Immediately and liberally sprinkle beignets with powdered sugar, then promptly eat as these are best served warm. Repeat with remaining dough.

SOURCE: Cook’s Country (from the America’s Test Kitchen folks)

Ice Cream Sunday: Kahlua & Amaretto Ice Cream

I usually don’t have tons of alcohol hanging around the house, but I do keep a bottle of Kahlua on hand for the espresso ice cream I love to make. And during the holidays, I had purchased a mini bottle of Amaretto for a cookie recipe which I never got around to making. Lo and behold, the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream book contains a recipe using both types of alcohol, and boy is it delish! You get the coffee flavor from the Kahlua with a nutty kick from the amaretto. Yummy! If I can manage to not eat it all straight from the container, I have an idea or two for using this in other dessert recipes…

By the way, when I make Ben & Jerry’s recipes, the whipping of the eggs with the sugar makes for a very light and fluffy ice cream which is always super easy to scoop, even straight out of the freezer.

Kahlua & Amaretto Ice Cream

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INGREDIENTS

• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup Kahlua
• 1/4 cup amaretto liqueur

DIRECTIONS

1. Using a hand mixer, mix the eggs in a large bowl at low-medium speed until light and fluffly, about 1-2 minutes.
2. Continuing mixing, adding sugar a little at a time, until completely blended, about 1 minute more.
3. Pour in cream, milk, Kahula, and Amaretto; continue mixing until blended.
4. Transfer ice cream base to an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.

SOURCE: Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sometimes when I get bored with making banana bread from those over-ripened bananas sitting on the kitchen counter, I’ll make these Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies instead. With the natural sweetness of bananas, the recipe lightens the sugar load, making me think it’s okay to scarf on bunches of these (hah!).

Sweetened with banana, made hearty with oats, and perked up with chocolate chips, these cookies satisfy the sweet tooth at only 115 calories each, according to Cooking Light magazine, which is where I found the recipe. So, if you want something other than banana bread to make from those mushy bananas, give these cookies a whirl.

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup mashed bananas (about 1 medium)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/4 cups (5.6 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 2 cups old-fashioned oats (the thicker kind; I buy from bulk bins at Whole Foods or Sprouts)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare baking sheets by lining with parchment paper of silicone baking mats.
2. Combine bananas, brown sugar, butter, sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl; beat with mixer at medium speed until smooth.
3. Add egg; beat well.
4. In another large bowl, whisk flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Add to banana mixture; beat at medium speed until well blended.
5. Stir in chocolate chips.
6. Drop batter by heaping tablespoons 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-18 minutes, or until golden. Cool for two minutes, then remove from pan onto cooling racks; cool completely.

Yield: 2 dozen

SOURCE: Cooking Light magazine, July 2009 issue

Brownie Bake-Off

from L to R: Brownie A: Chewy Brownie from Cooks Illustrated; Brownie B: beloved old recipe; Brownie C: Ina’s Outrageous Brownie

For years and years, I had two signature desserts: Oreo Cheesecake and Brownies. The cheesecake I made every Thanksgiving, but the brownies joined me on outings to other gatherings. The beloved brownies–everyone requested them, everyone begged for the recipe, everyone devoured every last morsel.

Enter world of food blogs and new brownie recipes, exit old beloved brownies which I ignored in the face of newbies.

The new recipes call for several types of chocolates whilst the old brownies use just one ol’ bag of chocolate chips. Hence, I playfully dubbed the recipes Rich Man’s Brownies vs. Poor Man’s Brownies due to cost-of-chocolate differences. Curious, though, I wanted to see how the old beloved brownies would stack up against the newer versions. Would the ingredients really make that much difference?

from L to R: Brownie C: Ina’s; Brownie B: old beloved; Brownie A: Chewy from Cook’s Illustrated (reversed b/c I turned the plate around for the photo)

A book club meeting (a.k.a. Chocoholics Club) provided the perfect opportunity for my experiment, and what fun to taste all the samples!

I fussed over how to set up some kind of rating system. What would I ask participants to assess other than simply their favorite? I wanted reasons. I wanted blog-worthy material to share with you. After some google searching, I learned that brownies fall into categories: fudgy, chewy, cakey… Right there I realized this process would be a challenge. I mean, how do you rate brownies when some like chewy, some like fudgy, and some like cakey? Seems to me you would have to have brownies for each of those categories. Kinda like you have most humorous, most creative, most scary, etc. for Halloween costume contests instead of only best overall, you know?

Maybe I should just let tasters judge/rank by favorites and not have any other criteria, and then have them give me their reasons why. Why not keep this simple, after all? In the end, I made a form which provided some descriptors and a chart to jot down some evaluations. Though we didn’t thoroughly use them, it provided some guidance about evaluating the brownies.

Now, which recipes to select? I had tons saved. However, I wanted just plain ol’ chocolate brownies with no fancy additions or flavors. No nuts, either. Just trying to keep this as simple and streamlined as possible.

After typing a chart of recipes with ingredients and directions side-by-side (I needed the visual), I narrowed the selections to a total of 3, each with ever-so-slight differences in ingredients:

• Brownie A: Chewy Brownies from America’s Test Kitchen (the folks at Cook’s Illustrated magazine)
• Brownie B: Double Chocolate Brownies, the recipe I have used since I was in high school, which I think came from the back of the Hershey’s chocolate chips bag
• Brownie C: Outrageous Brownies from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa

By the way, I used Ghiradelli chips for all recipes to maintain a standard across the board.

from L to R: Chewy Brownie from Cook’s Illustrated; Double Chocolate Brownie; Ina’s Outrageous Brownie

Now comes my total anal nerdy side: I carefully poured over the chart and made notes of differences. I wanted to have some understanding of how the recipes differed:

• all use melted butter but in varying amounts w/ Ina using most and Double Choc least
• Chewy & Ina use espresso powder but not Double Choc
• Chewy & Ina use unsweetened chocolate but in varying amounts
• all use chocolate but with vast differences in total amounts: Chewy @ 8 oz. (cocoa powder used to make up for least amount of solid chocolate); Double Choc @ 12 oz; Ina @  whopping 17oz!!
• only Chewy uses cocoa powder & oil; as a matter of fact, this recipe has the largest ingredients list hence most pricey to make
• all use eggs & vanilla & sugar & flour & salt but in varying amounts (Fine Cooking explains how amounts affect brownies)
• only Double Choc uses baking soda; Ina uses baking powder; Chewy uses neither
• all use melted chocolate of some sort and add choc chips into batter

FYI: After making the brownie batters, I noticed that Ina’s is the thickest, most dense. It doesn’t pour like the other batters; you really have to evenly spread it in the pan. Therefore, I guessed that her recipe would come out the fudgiest, especially because it uses the least amount of flour, and a flourless cake I’ve made before was super duper fudgy.

So what did the taste testers have to say? Which recipe was most Fudgy? Chewy? Chocolatey? Dense? Moist? Gooey? Rich?

Of all testers (10), 80% voted Ina’s Outrageous Brownies as BEST. It earned accolades for tasting most dense, most fudgy, most chocolatey, and most rich. Well, no wonder with a whopping 17 ounces of chocolate in it!! And a few bites sufficed for most because of it’s outrageous richness (although that didn’t stop me from scarfing all the leftovers in the next few days ; )

Most of the testers have eaten the beloved brownie recipe over the years and were quite surprised at the so-so quality of it after this experiment. After setting it up side-by-side with the others, it sure looks wimpy in stature–notice how flat it looks, poor thing. You can also tell by the coloring of the brownies how full of chocolate Ina’s Outrageous Brownie is–just look at its deep, rich brown coloring (best viewed in the opening two photos).

Brownie B: Double Chocolate Brownie, my former beloved recipe now falls flat against the other contenders

Most tasters voted the Chewy Brownie 2nd place for flavor. And only two people chose the old standby as the #1 pick.

Brownie A: Chewy Brownie from America’s Test Kitchen, ranked #2 by tasters

So, if you want a killer brownie, definitely try Ina’s Outrageous Brownies, oh-so-very aptly named!

Brownie C: Ina’s Outrageous Brownies and the clear winner!

I’ve provided a link above to the chart with all three recipes, but if you want them each typed up separately, here are the links:

• Chewy Brownie from America’s Test Kitchen (I posted about it many months ago)
• Double Chocolate Brownie
• Ina’s Outrageous Brownie from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa

Ho Ho Cake

Have you ever eaten Ho Ho’s, the cream-filled cylindrical pinwheel cakes coated in chocolate? Chocolate and cream. Oh my. I remember eating the Little Debbie version in my childhood. I loved to unroll it and savor every sugary bite. For some reason, unrolling it seemed to me to stretch out the amount of sweet goodness.

The ho ho cylindrical treat; image from google.com

Well, now you can recreate the flavor in pan form for a much easier and tastier version. Loaded with chocolate and layered with a cream-filled middle, this will make your eaters oooh and aaah, as my eaters did on Christmas day.

P.S. The cream filling sounds a bit strange since it’s made with flour and shortening in the ingredients, but trust me, it tastes great!

P.S.S. I found this cake to taste even better the following day…don’t know why but it did.

Ho Ho Cake

INGREDIENTS

Cake

• use either a boxed chocolate cake mix (18.25 ounces)

or Make a Chocolate Cake from Scratch (adapted from Hershey’s Chocolate Cake):

• 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp. (7.45 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp.Hershey’s cocoa powder
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1/2 tsp. espresso powder (optional, but it helps deepen the chocolate flavor)

Cream Filling

• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 5 tbsp. unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening

Icing

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
• 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
• 2 tbsp. whole milk
• 2 tbsp. hot water
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. To make cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 9 x 13-inch brownie pan (mine is 9 x 13 x 1.5 inches). If using boxed cake mix, use a larger jellyroll pan, 10 x 15 inches. If you have the larger jellyroll pan and make the cake from scratch, use the full Hershey’s cake recipe, so check the original link to Hershey’s. I altered it to fit the smaller pan.
2. In a large bowl, sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. Add milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla; beat on medium speed with mixer for 2 minutes.
4. Stir in boiling water. Batter will be thin. Pour batter into prepared pans.
5. Bake 30-35 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake before adding other layers.
6. To make cream filling: Combine the milk and flour in a small saucepan; cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of pudding, 5-8 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
7. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the sugar, butter, and shortening until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
8. Add the cooled flour/milk mixture; beat on high for 7 minutes.
9. Spread onto the cooled cake. Refrigerate until set. (I didn’t alter the ingredient measurements to fit the smaller 9 x 13 cake, so you’ll end up with some extra cream.)
10. To make icing: Melt chocolate using the double boiler method by placing a heatproof bowl over a pan filled with water that reaches just below the bowl and heat the water to a simmer, not a boil. Alternatively, melt in the microwave by heating in 15-30 second increments, stirring between each increment, until melted. Cool slightly.
11. In a large bowl, use electric mixer on medium-high speed to mix together powdered sugar, melted/cooled butter, melted/cooled chocolate, milk, hot water, and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.
12. Spread icing over cream filling.
13. Serve either at room temperature or cold, from refrigerator. (I prefer room temperature.)

SOURCE: adapted from Brown-Eyed Baker

Cookie Round Up 2012 (and a few other treats)

With Christmas right around the corner quickly followed by the end of the year, I thought I would showcase the handful of cookies I’ve posted this year just in case you need to make one or two more batches of some goodies. And for good measure, I’m adding a few other favored treats.

First, though, I want to highlight MY FAVORITE YUMMIES from both this year and last, the ones that just call out “Hello holidays!” and that I make repeatedly:

↑ Pecan Balls…my all-time favorite cookie to eat and gift to others and to bring as hostess gifts…plus, loads of people ask for this recipe

↑ Braided Sugar Cookies…a new discovery this year that I’ve mixed up three times already this season

↑ Walnut Pillows…utterly and addictively divine pillows of sweet goodness

↑ Macadamia Butter Cookies…loads of ooohs and aaaahs as people take a bite of these

Now for THE 2012 COOKIE ROUND UP:

↑ Pecan Tassies…mini pecan tarts…utterly butterly scrump-dilly-icious!

↑ Oreo Cheesecake Bites…cheesecake in very easy form yet comparable to actual cheesecake

↑ Magic-in-the-Middle Cookies…peanut butter stuffed chocolate delights…sooooooo fun to make and devour

↑ Carmelita Bars…shortbread, nuts, caramel, and chocolate layers…divinely decadent

↑ Chocolate Drop Cookies…rich chocolate flavor

↑ Vanilla Bean Cocoa Nib Meringues…light and fluffy and flavorful with nibs of cocoa

↑ Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies…the perfect combo of flavors

↑ Toffee…way easier to make than it looks and simply outrageously addictively delicious

↑ Peppermint Bark…can’t believe I’ve never tasted this until recently…boy, have I been missing out!

And  also check out  2011 COOKIE ROUND UP  in case you need to see some more goodies :  )