Matcha Green Tea Shortbread Cookies

May 18th, 2013 Posted in Baking
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Ingredients:

3/4 (2.25 oz.) cup confectioner’s sugar

1 1/2 tbsps matcha green tea powder

10 tbsps (5 oz.) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 3/4 cup (8.5 oz.) flour

3 large egg yolks

1 cup granulated sugar (to coat the dough)

Method:

Whisk the confectioner’s sugar and matcha powder together. Beat the butter and matcha sugar mixture together in Kitchenaide mixer . Add the flour and stir until just combined. Mix in the egg yolks until they are incorporated and the dough comes together. Gather the dough into a ball and flatten it into a thick disc. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until it is firm. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to about 1/2-inch thickness. Use a small cookie cutter to cut shapes from the dough.  Roll the cut shapes in granulated sugar and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes or until they begin to turn golden at the edges.

 

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Delicious Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches

September 18th, 2011 Posted in Baking
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Okay, so obviously these are not the kind of things you’d send with your kids in their lunches at school, due to allergy risks and such, but damn, these cookies are really good, so i felt the need to share! So if you are lucky enough to live in a peanut free household, I would definitely suggest giving these bad boys a try. I originally got the idea from a Betty Crocker cookbook, which suggested using Betty Crocker cookie mix as a base for the cookies, but I was unable to actually buy the suggested cookie mix in Canada.

Thus, I used my own recipe for oatmeal peanut butter cookies, and made an easy but delicious spread for the middle. The  best part of these sandwiches is how superbly soft they are, so be mindful of over cooking to keep them nice and soft. All that being said, here it is!

 

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup margarine, softened
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cups oats, quick oats for baking
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup Betty Crocker vanilla icing

Directions

  1. Combine margarine, peanut butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla. Blend together very well.
  2. Add flour, oats, baking soda and salt with mixer. Chill dough 15 minutes in the refrigerator. Roll into balls by hand.
  3. Place on sprayed cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven until edges very lightly browning (about 7 to 10 minutes). Don’t overcook. We store them in a plastic storage containers, and they stay soft!
  4. Let cool on counter, mix up the vanilla icing with the peanut butter in a small bowl. Use it as the filling to spread between two cookies and voila- Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches! Enjoy!

 

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Why I love Bisquick

March 9th, 2011 Posted in Appetizers, Baking
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Honestly, I LOVE bisquick. Its the lazy cook’s ultimately mixture of flour-y goodness. It can be used for pancakes, waffles, tea biscuits, pies, etc. One box of bisquick on hand is a lifesaver when you are looking for a quick, easy meal to make in a JIFF.

Here are some of my favourite Bisquick Recipes:

Impossibly Easy Cheeseburger Pie

  • 1 lb. cooked ground beef
  • 1 1/2 c. chopped onion
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. pepper
  • 1 c. shredded cheese
  • 1 1/2 c. milk
  • 3/4 c. Bisquick
  • 3 eggs

Mix all the ingredients together and pour in a 9 x 11 baking pan (sprayed with nonstick oil). Bake at 400 degrees 30 to 40 minutes.

Bisquick Waffles:

  • 2 cups Bisquick mix
  • 1 1/3 cups milk
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • bowl
  • measuring cup
  • mixing spoon
  • waffle iron
  1. In a medium-sized bowl, measure 1 egg, 1 1/3 cup milk, 2 teaspoons vegetable oil, and 2 cups Bisquick mix.
  2. Mix the batter with a spoon just until mixed.
  3. Pour into waffle iron and follow the settings on your iron to ensure its fully cooked.

Red Lobster Rip Off Garlic Biscuits:

  • 2 c Bisquick Baking Mix
  • 1/4 c butter, melted
  • 2/3 c Milk 1/4 ts Garlic powder
  • 2 oz Shredded cheddar cheese
  • Heat oven to 450 degrees

Mix baking mix, milk and cheese until soft dough forms; beat for about 30 seconds. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Mix margarine and garlic
powder; brush over warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet.

No one needs to know it was made with Bisquick ;)

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Berries In A Basket Cake

January 16th, 2011 Posted in Baking, Desserts
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This is one of my favourite ways to dress up a cake in a super cute way. Its also one of the easiest ways to dress up a cake in a super cute way. EASY= good choice every time.

I’m a big cheater, and I used store bought cake mix in a box. For the cake in the pictures below, it was a Betty Crocker SuperMoist Chocolate Fudge cake mix. I’m not going to go step by step into how to bake the cake, because the directions are on the box, and because any cake recipe will do for this cake, I just prefer  chocolate in every situation :D

The night before you plan on serving the cake, bake your cake how you wish. For the cake down below, I used two small circular cake pans, but I’ve also made this cake using a heart shaped cake pan or a square cake pan. I like sitting my cake in the fridge when its done right in the cake pan you used to bake it in, because its easier to deal with and less likely to break apart if its cool.

For putting the cake together you will need:

  • 2 cans Presidents choice Dark Chocolate or Hazelnut flavored rolled wafers. I used almost 2 400g cans for this cake, so you would need to double or triple that for a square or a rectangular cake. If you don’t live in Canada, any rolled wafer cookies will do, so long as they are rolled :P
  • 1 container Cool Whip
  • 1 batch of your favorite icing (the flavour honestly doesnt matter, so pick something that compliments the flavour of your cake
  • 2 containers fresh strawberries
  • 1 container fresh blueberries

Putting the Cake Together:

  1. Shave away the excess cake on the surface of your cake to make it flat (its easier to decorate this way)
  2. If your cake is two layers, add your filling and put the top layer on.
  3. Smear your frosting around the side of the cake only. This will just be the glue to hold your basket together and shouldn’t be visible when the cake is done.
  4. Cut your wafers so that they are approx the height of your cake, and start sticking them around the parameter of the cake. You could make them exactly the same size, but personally I like the look a bit better when they are just slightly uneven.
  5. After the whole parameter of the cake is done, you can wrap the basket together with ribbon if you wish. I usually do just to make sure it stays together better.
  6. Generously spread the cool whip over the top of the cake.
  7. Trim your berries and top the cake with as many as you like.

Keep it in the fridge til your ready to serve :D

 

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Easy-As-Pizza-Pie , Home Made Pizza Dough

January 1st, 2011 Posted in Baking
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This is a really awesome, easy recipe for homemade pizza dough that doesn’t require a bread maker to make :) I have made this recipe multiple times and it really is a no fail recipe.

Easy Pizza Dough

  • 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
  • 1 teaspoon white sugar
  • 1 cup warm water (should be warmer than room temperature, but not “hot”)
  • 2 1/2 cups bread flour
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Method

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until the yeast has become frothy. Avoid stirring the yeast/sugar mixture (it really does not make the process go faster :P )
  2. Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Knead with hands until nice and smooth.
  3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Grease pizza pan. Roll out the dough onto the pan.
  4. Add your pizza sauce, and whatever ingredients you desire. Pop into the over and bake for 15-20 minutes.
  5. Nom like you’ve never nom’d before.

Before I finish this post, I’d just like to point out, this is my first post of 2011 :) What a delicious way to start out the new year!

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Last Minute Christmas Cookie Baking

December 18th, 2010 Posted in Baking, Desserts
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Breton Brittle Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 28 Dare Breton Crackers
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 pkg. (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Arrange a single layer of crackers over bottom of pan. Arrange a second layer ofcrackers to cover spaces between crackers in first layer. In medium saucepan combine sugar and butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat; pour evenly over crackers in pan. Dump chocolate chips over the crackers and sugar / butter mixture. Allow the chocolate chips 5 mins to melt. Spread chocolate over the crackers evenly with a spoon. Let harden at room temperature. Break to serve.

Peanut Butter Blossoms Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 cup butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 7 dozen hersheys kisses (unwrapped)
  1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, beat 1/2 cup granulated sugar, the brown sugar, peanut butter, butter and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in flour, baking soda and baking powder.
  2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in additional granulated sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
  3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are light brown. Immediately press 1 chocolate candy in center of each cookie. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.
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