Baking Monday - Caramel Apple Cookies

As I still had a surplus of apples in the house today (HAD, no longer do I have, they are now all smooshed into sauce and resting comfortably in the freezer), I decided to make these.



I didn't have apple pie spice, so I just used cinnamon and think I prefer it. (Another tip: one juice box contains the perfect amount of apple juice needed for the recipe!) I think the frosting is a tad sweet - next time I would try only using 1 cup of powdered sugar and making more of a glaze than a frosting. Overall - thumbs up. If I saw these on a cookie plate, I would probably not try them (No chocolate? Why bother?) but that's the great thing about Baking Monday, trying something new and finding unexpected gems.

No recipes lined up for next week yet. Any suggestions?

Baking Monday - Whoopie Pies

AKA Where have you been all my life?

So, somehow, I ended up married to someone who likes vanilla. I know, right? I mean it barely counts as a flavor. I had no ideas for this week, so I went to my husband. He suggested something chocolate filled with vanilla cream. Oh! Sounds like Whoopie Pies to me.

I have never made these before, but I remembered seeing them on Bakerella's website. I used her recipe from this book to make the cakes, and this recipe from Gourmet for the filling.



I used my trusty TBSP mini scoop to make the cakes. It was recommended to make them a day ahead, and they were perfectly soft and cakey.



This was the fun part ... piping the filling on to each cake.



Oh. My. Gosh.

Seriously. I cannot believe I have gone this long without ever making these. I can't wait to have the kids try them after school, because they are going to go crazy.

The recipe called for Dutch-process cocoa, which I've never used before. I don't know what those wacky Dutch do to their cocoa that makes it so expensive, but I will never change a single step of this recipe because it is A-MA-ZING. The filling is very sweet ... it made my teeth hurt a bit ... but these are so moist and gooey and chocolatey and perfect. I believe that this will be my new go-to dessert.

Clark Won A Major Award!

We went to see a performance of Amber Brown Is Not A Crayon last week and all entered a drawing sponsored by BOOKS. Clark won a gift basket filled with books and movies: Desperaux, Percy Jackson, Nim's Island, Tuck Everlasting and Wimpy Kid. Also boxes of candy, two Amber Brown books, a mug, pencils, shirt and bookmark. He won't be able to read the books or watch the movies for a couple of years, but big sis will be VERY excited.

Update: She was!

Mini Craft Project

I saw these pencil toppers on Family Fun and had to make something for my Muppet-loving sis. I'm guessing she doesn't have much use for pencil toppers at her job, so I made magnetic bookmarks instead.



I covered them with masking tape, folded and trimmed each one, then added a little adhesive magnet to the bottom of each one inside. (I also did a little Photoshop-ing to erase some of the guide lines.)



Back and front. So cute!

Baking Monday - Peanut Brittle Bars

I made these bars today. They are very rich and gooey. They're supposed to be baked in a 15x10x1 pan, I need to get one of those (and of course, my birthday just went by, rats!), so I used a 9x12 instead. Consequently, they ended up quite thick, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. These were just okay ... looked much more enticing in the cookbook. But I might be willing to try them again in the right size pan.

Baking Monday - Mint & Almond

I've had a little crush on mint and almond flavorings lately, and have been seeking out recipes to make with them. Over the weekend, I made this awesome peach tart. My aunt made it for a brunch a couple of weeks ago, and it was delicious. I made it with fresh peaches instead of canned and - most importantly - replaced the vanilla extract with almond. Yum, yum, yum. I took a before picture, but forgot to take a picture of it afterwards ... rats! It was beautiful.



This week, I made Chocolate Mint Chip cookies from the Mrs. Field's cookbook.



They're not much to look at, but really, really good. I used regular chocolate chips instead of mint, and they were great. This recipe makes a LOT of cookies, half the dough ended up in the freezer to enjoy another time. Oh, remember how much I loved the apple bars because I only used one measuring cup? Not so much with this recipe. Be prepared to wash lots of dishes. (3/4 of one kind of sugar and 2/3 of another? Seriously?)

The good news: I had two "best desserts ever" again this week, but now I think my tasting group is just easy to please.

Every Once in Awhile ...

... big sisters do nice things for their little brothers.