Peanut Butter Creme- Filled Devil's Food Cupcakes

I haven't baked in a long time, except of course for sugar cookies to decorate, but for some reason, that's different. The cookies are so easy to make and they are , for me, a means to the enjoyment of the decorating part.

I tend to bake less in the summer for obvious reasons- hot, sticky,less desire to eat baked goods ( thank goodness for that ), but every once in a while, I sit down and leaf through my cookbooks and huge three-ring notebooks with recipes I have accumulated and vow to make someday. Last night I got the urge and just went with it. After finding a recipe which I had all the ingredients for, I jumped right in, at 10 o'clock at night.(I'm on vacation- I can sleep in!)
The combination of chocolate and peanut butter is one of my favorites and this recipe by Bobby Flay is one I have had on my list for a long time. I used the recipe as is , except for the gananche frosting. I had some chocolate buttercream frosting on hand so of course I used that instead. I piped it on using a medium sized flower tip.

They are as delicious as I had expected them to be, so I sent them with my daughter when she went back to the army this morning. Otherwise I would have finished off the whole bunch and the two new pairs of pants I bought would not have liked that at all!

Amazing Giveaways!

If you like decorating cookies or even just looking at them, then you have to visit Glory's blog "Glorious Treats. She does some of the most amazing work I 've ever seen and her blog is lots of fun to read. This week she is having three ( yes 3!!) incredible giveaways for cookie cutters from three of the best cookie cutter sources there are.

The first is from Foose Cookie Cutters, the second is from Copper Gifts and last but certainly not least is from a truly amazing site called Ecrandal. Even if you are not into decorating cookies yourself, it's lots of fun just to see the interesting shapes they make.

These amazing designs are from Ecrandal.

            These are from CooperGifts.

                                            These fun ones are from Foose.

                                                                                             

                                                                 .

So take a jump over to Glorious Treats - feast your eyes and join in the fun! Who knows? Maybe you'll even win!

She's here!

She's finally arrived!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010 2:32 a.m.

Baby girl ( no name yet!)

8lbs. 1oz.

and just the most gorgeous thing ever created ( that's the "grandma " in me talking- did you expect something else!?)




I'm participating in Tidymom's I'm Lovin' It Fridays - Have a look!

Practicing baby cookies

We are still waiting ( somewhat impatiently!) for my eldest daughter to give birth. To help pass the time I am baking and decorating baby theme cookies. She will  probably have a party when the baby is about a month old and I am planning on setting up a dessert table for the event. These are just practice ( they've already been eaten!) Hopefully, next time I post there will be some exciting news!

onsies

                            bottles

                                                                                   rattles

                                     bibs

                                                                      duckies

Flowers for a Friend

A friend of mine had some surgery last week and I thought I would brighten her day with a flower bouquet- one she can enjoy looking at AND eat at the same time!

                              
                                              

More Summer Fun

Here are a few more cookies I made for friends at school to wish them a happy summer vacation.

I am still working hard on perfecting the icing- not sure if I like the corn syrup glaze , royal icing, a combination of both, or maybe someting I haven't even tried yet. Well, now's my chance to experiment! I have all summer to work on it!

 sunglasses

 sailboats( just in case you couldn't figure that out!)

wrapped candy

 ( I 've seen these on other blogs and just love them- didn't have a cookie cutter so I found a picture and made a template.)

Cookies for Summer

Yeah!  Boo hoo! One more week of school. Actually, I love my work, but teaching has such a high rate of burnout and anyone who thinks teachers have an easy job should come try it for a week  day. As much as I enjoy being with my students, I find that by the end of the school year, I really need the summer to "recharge" my batteries. Teaching the little ones (K-2) is like being on stage all day long! I really am just a frustrated actress!

I made these summer time cookies for my colleagues at school to wish everyone a Happy Summer! My plans for the summer include working more on cookies during the break and perfecting some of my skills. And of course, the most important thing- my eldest daughter is giving birth to her first child ( my first grandchild and my Mom and Dad's first great- grandchild!!). We are on pins and needles now. Her due date is June 16th so I suppose it could be any day now- just waiting for that phone call!  Anyways, I will have something exciting to keep me occupied this summer!

So , what are you doing this summer? I'd love to hear !

coconut trees

beach balls and sandy feet

bite of watermelon, anyone?

sea shells by the seashore

sunny smiles

flip floppin' along

Making Bread

I love making and decorating cookies, but second to that is making bread. When I first starting experimenting with bread, I bought a bread maker. After a while I decided to try it the old fashioned way. What a difference! For me, the kneading by hand is almost primal.The mixing of those simple ingredients together to form a loaf of bread, is theraputic. Watching it rise ( well , I don't actually sit there watching it- at least for the whole time!), shaping it, and baking in the oven as the house fills with an unrivaled smell, is an amazing feeling. ( Little things excite me!)

I love to experiment with new kinds of bread. One thing I still haven't attempted is a sour dough starter. Another two weeks and school is out so that is on my to do list for the summer vacation. This time I made two kinds of bread- a "health " bread with spelt flour and flax seeds. Delicious- those are the rounds loaves above.

The whole grain bread recipe made 4 loaves(!) so I stuck them in the freezer. Took one out yesterday , warmed it in the oven for a bit, and it was just like fresh baked.

Whole Grain Bread ( for 4 loaves- you could halve it if you don't want so much bread)
* note: If you choose to include the cracked wheat in the recipe, it needs to soak in water overnight. I didn't happen to have any at the time, so did not use it, but have done so in the past and it adds a great crunch to the bread.

650 grams bread flour
200 grams whole wheat flour
220 grams spelt flour
20 grams gluten
35 grams dry yeast
40 grams sugar
750 ml. water
70 ml. olive oil
20 grams salt
3 grams fresh ground pepper
100 grams flax seeds
100 grams roasted sunflower seeds
100 grams cracked wheat, soaked in water overnight

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add all the dry ingredients.
2. Slowly add the wet ingredients and knead for about 10 minutes or until the dough separates from the sides of the bowl.
3. Transfer to a work surface and knead the dough by hand until smooth.
4. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size.
5. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and form each one into an oval shape. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, cover and let rise again until doubled in size.
6. Preheat oven to 230 C, lightly flour the top of the loaves and, using a sharp knife or razor, make diagonal slashes across the top.
7. Bake 30 minutes, until the loaves brown and when the bottom is tapped, it sounds hollow.
8. Cool on a rack. Be sure it is completely cool before slicing. (I can never wait that long!)

Flax Seed and Spelt Flour Bread( makes 2 round loaves)

250 grams sifted bread flour
180 grams spelt flour
100 grams whole wheat flour
10 grams gluten
15 grams dry yeast
30 grams sugar
10 grams salt
350 ml. warmish water
30 grams of wheat bran
50 grams flax seeds

1. In the bowl of a standing mixer, add all ingredients except for the water
2. Mix thoroughly and slowly add the water while the mixer is running. Knead about 10 minutes until you get a soft and very flexible dough.
3. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size.
4. Divide the dough in two and form each one into a round loaf. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and let rise again until doubled in size.
5. Preheat oven to 230 C, lightly flour the tops of the loaves and makes slashes with a scissors or sharp knife.
6. Bake 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 200C for another 20 minutes until the bread browns.
7. Cool on a cooling rack before slicing.

P.S. Gave my bread machine away to someone who wanted a more "instant" bread method. At least it went to good use!





An added note (5/28/10) this post is participating in "I'm Lovin It " party at TidyMom- jump over and take a look at everyone's entries. http://www.tidymom.net/2010/05/im-lovin-it-cleaning-bathroom.html

Pretty Cookies

Decorating cookies really does relax me. I spent Sunday morning home, all by my lonesome ( I love that "me" time) and decorated cookies. I try to have some in the freezer all the time, so whenever I get the urge to decorate, they're always there.

These are for no special occasion- just going to give them away to whoever I happen across. That's fun just in itself!

 

Chocolate Chip Bread Rolls

Chocolate Chip Bread Rolls

I recently received a small  recipe booklet from a local yeast company. I must say, most of the recipes look really good and it was just a matter of which one to start with. Bread is one of my favorite foods and I'm a chocolate freak so the combination of the two of them together sounded like a winner. Hard to decide if they are a roll or a glorified muffin, but whatever, they're darn good!

Easy to make, delicious ( and addicting!) to eat; I highly recommend giving them a try.

Chocolate Chip Bread Rolls

makes 20 rolls

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups self- raising flour ( 500 g.) ( I didn't have any so I made my own)

8 grams active dry yeast

50 grams butter

1 cup milk ( 250 ml)

1 tsp. salt

1/4 cup brown sugar ( 50 g.)

1/2 package chocolate chips ( 150 g.)

How to:

Place all ingredients except the milk and butter in the bowl of a standing mixer. Mix together thoroughly using the kneading hook, and slowly add in the milk. Add butter and knead for 4 minutes on high speed until the dough is soft and flexible.

On slow speed, add the chocolate chips  until blended in thoroughly. Form a  large ball of dough and place in a bowl. ( I just used the same one.) Sprinkle lightly with flour and cover. Let rest for 30 minutes.

Form small balls of dough ( about 50 g. each). Place on two parchment covered baking sheets. Make two diagonal slices on top of each ball with a sharp knife or blade. Cover and let rise for 40 minutes.

Brush with a beaten egg and bake 15 - 20 minutes in  a 200C ( 190 F) preheated oven.