Category: Baking

2017, Baking, blog, cookies, debbie, may, myblog, recipe

Cookie de Tacos

Debbie
Happy Cinco de Mayo! 
I celebrated by creating these adorable cookie tacos for a surprise birthday party for one of Nate’s friends. 
Colorful Cookie Tacos
This type of plate helped the tacos stay upright 
Ingredients:
Golden Oreos
Sprinkles
Chocolate Frosting 
Food Coloring (green, yellow, red)
Coconut flakes (I used unsweetened) 
Instructions: 
  1. Using the food coloring, dye the coconut flakes a green (lettuce) or an orange-yellow color (cheese) I used shot glasses to stir the food coloring into the coconut flakes. 
  2. Remove the top part of the Oreo and remove the inner frosting (My frosting disappeared into my mouth…) 
  3. Carefully cut in half the Oreo cookie. Sometimes I just broke it apart and other times I used a knife in a sawing motion. 
  4. Put the two half pieces together in your hand and add a spoonful of chocolate frosting 
  5. Dip it into sprinkles and colored coconut toppings 
After the first couple, I had a nice assembly line going and it wasn’t too labor intensive. 
My work station 
I saw this on Pinterest and wanted to try to make it myself
2016, august, Baking, blog, debbie, myblog, recipe

My Late Summer Apple Pie

Debbie
Dough + Apples + Butter = Yum 
I was talking to a co-worker about how I had a lot of leftover apples from the farmer’s market and I wanted to bake something with them and she printed me off this apple crostata recipe.
I definitely altered the recipe from the original. For starters, I didn’t make my own pie crust, I bought the pie crusts, I also didn’t use orange zest and I didn’t use allspice. 
The pie came out tasting really good and was a huge hit with my roommate and boyfriend. 
Ingredients:
1 package of pie crust for the top and bottom 
3  apples
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
Instructions: 
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Place one of the pie crusts in a floured pie-shaped baking dish 
For the filling, core and cut the apples into 8ths. (I sprinkled my apples with lemon juice to keep them from turning brown) 
Cover the pie crust dough with the apple chunks.
Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl 
Add the butter and mix until the mixture is crumbly. 
Sprinkle evenly on the apples. 
Gently fold the remaining pie crust piece over the apples to enclose the dough.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden and the apples are tender. 
Allow to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.
My apple pie

Recipe adapted from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/apple-crostata-recipe.html?oc=linkback

2016, apple, august, Baking, blog, debbie, graphics, myblog

Apple Pie Bites

Debbie

Apple Pie Crescent Roll Bites 
I hosted a small house warming party on Friday night and I wanted to make a fun snack so of course, I looked on Pinterest for some ideas. I found these apple pie bites and thought that would be a good way to use the apples I’d bought from the farmer’s market. 
I used recipes from both Cakes Cottage and The Blond Cook to make my own apple pie bites. 
Apple Pie Bites
Yields 8 
Ingredients
  • ⅓ cup brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 3 tablespoons melted butter
  • ⅓ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
  • 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and sliced into small slices
  • 1 (8-ounce) can of crescent rolls
Instructions 
  1. Heat oven to 375°F. 
  2. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. 
  3. Unwrap the crescent roll and separate the triangles.
  4. Melt butter and toss apple slices in butter.
  5. Sprinkle each triangle with brown sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle with the walnuts,
  6. Cut  the apple into 8 equal slices.
  7. Place a piece of apple on each triangle of dough and roll it in a croissant.
  8. Arrange crescent rolls on a cookie sheet.
  9. Spread the remaining butter on each crescent roll and sprinkle with additional sugar and cinnamon.
  10. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden.
Apple + Brown Sugar + Walnuts + Crescent Roll

If I were to make this snack again, I’d use smaller apple slices. I thought my slices were a bit too big to fit inside the crescent roll. I also might’ve doubled the recipe so it would make 16 and not 8. 
2016, Baking, blog, cookies, debbie, deborahgillum, february, myblog, recipe

Vegan and Gluten Free Cookies

Debbie
I enjoy baking and wanted to challenge myself with my next recipe.
I chose to make cookies, but not just any regular cookies: These are vegan, whole grain and gluten free. 
For the recipe, I had to go shopping. So I went to Kroger and in the healthy food section, purchased new ingredients like raw sugar, coconut oil, oat flour, vegan chocolate chips (I admit at first I didn’t realize chocolate chips have milk from cows in them) and other special ingredients. 
Cookies before baking
It was a fun challenge to make these special delicious cookies and I hope to try more vegan and gluten free recipes. Now that I have some of the ingredients, like a big jar of coconut oil, nothing is stopping me from making similar baked goodies. 
I found the recipe on Pinterest by searching “gluten free vegan cookies” and it’s from a blog called Texanerin. 
This recipe took me about an hour total I made 24 large cookies. I could’ve made 36 normal size cookies.
Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups oat flour (use certified gluten-free oat flour)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons raw sugar or coconut sugar (I used raw sugar)
  • 1/2 cup  milk of choice (but not canned coconut milk, as it’s too thick) (I used Almond Milk)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 3/4 cups  rolled oats (use certified gluten-free oats, if necessary) (Quaker makes gluten free oats)
  • 1/2 cup  chopped walnuts (Why is a little bag of nuts soooo expensive at the grocery? Oh well.)
  • 3/4 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips 

Directions:
What my cookie dough looked like
  • Preheat the oven to 350 °F
  •  Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the oat flour, baking powder, and salt. 
  • In a large bowl, add the coconut oil, sugar, milk and vanilla and beat with a large spoon or with an electric hand or stand mixer until well combined. Slowly add in the dry ingredient mixture and stir just until combined.
  • Fold in the oats, walnuts and chocolate chips. Form into 1″ balls and place 3″ apart on the prepared baking sheet. Do not press the balls down.
  • Bake for 10 minutes or until the centers of the cookies no longer appear wet (they should not brown – if they do, they’re overbaked and will be cakey instead of chewy). They should have formed a light crust.
  • Let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
  • Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

2016, Baking, blog, debbie, february, muffin, myblog, recipe

Cream Cheese Cranberry Muffins

Debbie

On Feb. 2 I finally baked Cream Cheese Cranberry Muffins. It was one of those recipes I’d been thinking about baking for a month or so but kept putting it off because I was “too busy.” Like, I had the ingredients bought and ready for a week or so.

I got the recipe from my Taste of Home Bakeshop Favorites book, but it’s also available online here
In no way, shape or form did I invent this recipe. I’m not that advanced.

If I could make these muffins, again, I’d halve the recipe because it makes 2 dozen and that’s too many muffins for one girl.

I’d also follow the instructions properly and not mix up teaspoons and tablespoons. Yup, I added 1 1/2 tablespoons of both vanilla extract and baking powder. I was pretty embarrassed when I realized my mistake. I thought “Huh, seems like a lot of baking powder.” Well, because it was too much.

My muffins turned out fine but I’m sure I caused some unknown internal damage to the muffin batter.

Cream Cheese Cranberry Muffins Recipe photo by Taste of Home

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup butter, softened  (I used two whole butter sticks and microwaved it for 10-15 seconds) 
  • 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened  (Again, I nuked mine in the microwave for 10 secs)
  • 1-1/2 cups sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract  (Note to Deborah: teaspoon. Not tablespoon.) 
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder (Note to Deborah: teaspoon. Not tablespoon.) 
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries  (So I couldn’t find frozen cranberries in Meijer. I used a can of liquidy cranberries. I also bought some frozen raspberries. The can of cranberries was fine. I didn’t measure a full two cups. I just drained the can through a strainer and poured it in.)
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans (I love pecans. Favorite part of the recipe.)


DRIZZLE:  (I didn’t make the drizzle)

  • 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 3 tablespoons 2% milk

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 350°. 
  • In a large bowl, cream butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. (I used my Kitchen Aid mixer)
  • Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. 
  • Combine flour, baking powder and salt; stir into creamed mixture just until moistened. 
  • Fold in cranberries and pecans.
  • Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. 
  • Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the muffins comes out clean. 
  • Cool 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.
  • Combine confectioners’ sugar and milk; drizzle over muffins. 
Baking, blog, cookies, debbie, debbiegillum, july, myblog

Strawberry chocolate chip cookies

Debbie
Photo from Sally’s Baking Addiction
Easy + Delicious = Debbie’s Favorite Recipes
I found this recipe on Pinterest for these delicious Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies, courtesy of Sallys Baking Addition blog.
I made it last Sunday and took the leftovers into my co-workers. They looked at the cookies strangely at first (“Why’s it pink?”) then once they smelled them, they were a hit. The cookies have a strong strawberry smell and are very berry soft. I would make this recipe again because of how simple it was. You can mix it all by hand and the ingredients are pretty common household items. 
Makes 24 cookies. 
Ingredients:
  • 1 box (18.25 oz) strawberry cake mix
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 cup vegetable/canola oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 and 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I just used like a half a bag) 

In the oven
Instructions:
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
  • Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 
  • In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix and baking powder. 
  • In a smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, and vanilla by hand.
  • Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir to form a dough 
  • Gently mix in the chocolate chips.
  • Drop rounded balls of dough onto prepared baking sheet. 
  • Bake for 10 minutes
  • Allow to cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes
  • Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely
Cookie dough
Baking, blog, breakfast, debbie, july, myblog

Pancake bites

Debbie
What mine looked like pre-baked
This morning I had some time so I decided to bake something cool for breakfast. I remembered seeing on Pinterest these yummy pancake bites so I decided to give them a try. 
Ingredients:
  • Pancake mix
  • Toppings like: Chocolate chips, syrup, fruit, Nutella, nuts, bacon, sausage, etc
Instructions:
  • Preheat over to 350 degrees F
  • Spray muffin cups with non-stick spray
  • Make the pancake mix according to instructions. I had to add a cup of water to the powder mix. 
  • Pour the pancake mix into the muffin tin cups, about 1/2 full. 
  • Add your toppings. 
  • Bake 12-14 minutes 
My observations: 
  • The Nutella sank to the bottom of the pancake bite. Try swirling it in the pancake mix. 
  • Syrup was a great topping! 
  • I had to bake mine for about 14-15 minutes and they still came out a bit moist. 
  • With my pancake mix, I could only make 8. 
  • I would’ve liked to have added fruit but I just hadn’t bought any. 
  • Easy breakfast recipe, less clean up than regular pancakes. 
  • Mine came out looking gross but tasted fine, so I didn’t take a picture of my finished food. 
From Pinterest 

Recipe credit: http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2012/01/day-in-my-pouch_25.html 

and 
http://bloggingmomof4.com/mini-pancakes/
They thought of this recipe first. 
Baking, blog, cookies, debbie, debbiegillum, june, myblog

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Debbie
Cranberry white chocolate cookies
Even the dough looks delicious

Last night, I used a recipe from Pinterest to make some delicious white chocolate chip cranberry cookies.

It was a pretty straightforward recipe that I’d recommend to someone who is willing to be patient for these delicious puppies. You can find the original recipe here.

The recipe does ask you to chill the dough for at least 2 hours. I went for a jog/ watched Friends/ unpacked from the weekend. Another thing that made this recipe unique to me was that it called for 2 tsp of cornstarch. I had to go out and buy some of this but it was only $1. I think this helped thicken up the cookies.

Bakes at least 3 dozen

Ingredients:

3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar (I used light brown sugar and lived to tell the tale)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg,
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch (aka cornflour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup white chocolate chips (I used half a bag) 
3/4 cup dried cranberries (I used a bag of Craisins)

Instructions:
 
In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until completely smooth and creamy.

Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and mix on medium high speed until fluffy and light in color.

Beat in egg and vanilla on high speed.

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt together until combined. It’ll look like a whole lot of white powder.

On low speed, slowly mix into the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined.

The cookie dough will be quite thick. Add the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries  mix on low for about 5-10 seconds until evenly distributed.

I passed them out at work

Cover dough tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.

Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. I was impatient and didn’t wait the full 10 minutes and it just made the cookies harder to roll.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Place rolled balls on each baking sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges. They will look extremely soft when you remove them from the oven.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Deb’s Notes: I’d bake this recipe again. It wasn’t too hard, especially with my new Kitchen Aid mixer. I just had to buy the white chocolate chips, cornstarch and craisins. So, the ingredients were pretty standard. The only annoying part was waiting for it to chill, but it was worth it. Maybe next time, I’d cut the recipe in half. It made a lot!  

Baking

Easy Oreo Delight Cupcakes

Debbie

Learn how to bake these easy Oreo delight cupcakes!

I went to visit Bryn Du Mansion, where I used to intern at last summer. I didn’t want to show up empty handed, so I decided to bake something. Bruce, my boss, loves Oreos and even has a poster of a stack of Oreos with milk. So I decided I wanted to bake him Oreo cupcakes. I’m not a master baker yet so I did a Google search for “Easy Oreo cupcakes” and this recipe popped up. I loved it and wanted to share it with you.

Be sure to put an Oreo on the bottom, cream
side facing up, before you pour in the batter.

Yield: 30 cupcakes

Ingredients: 1 box of white cake mix (I used vanilla cake mix)
Eggs, water, and oil or whatever the cake mix needs
1 tub of Frosting (I used cream cheese)
2 packs of Oreos (I bought 1 family pack and used them all up)

Preheat the oven according to the directions on the cake mix box (usually 350). 
Next, prepare the cake mix as directed. 
Crush or chop 14 Oreos and gently mix them into the batter. I crushed them by putting them into a ziploc bag and crushing it with a rolling pin.

Place cupcake liners in the pan. Spray the inside of the liners with oil. 
Next, twist as many Oreos as you have cupcake liners in half. 
Place the half with cookie and white cream on it in the bottom of each cupcake. 

Here you can see my baked cupcakes,
my Oreo frosting I made and my chopped Oreos.

The other halves (without cream) will be used in the frosting. Fill each cupcake about 1/3 full with batter (they really plump up). 
Bake as directed on the cake mix box.
While their baking, prep the frosting. Chop the other halves of the Oreos you didn’t use. Add the Oreos to your frosting and mix with a knife.
 Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting. Frost carefully and then add 1/2 of an Oreo for decoration on top.

Final product!
Here’s what the inside looks like.