Quick Vanilla Buttercream
3 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream or whole milk
In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.
Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream/milk if needed for spreading consistency.
Posted in Frostings | Tagged buttercream, frosting, vanilla | 2 Comments »
Take a look at that: cheesecake sandwiched perfectly between two layers of cookie.
The result? Well, it’s just a bit of deliciousness that takes on a mean addiction. Just eating one to sample was nearly impossible.
I’ve done the cheesecake and chocolate chip cookie combination before. This recipe, however is far more focused on the cookie with a little bit of cheesecake. I like that. Wait, I liked the other one too.
What can I say? It’s just a good combination.
Make a double batch and really spread some holiday sweetness to those you love!
Cheesecake Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
adapted from King Arthur Flour
Chocolate chip cookie layer:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup butter flavored vegetable shortening
1 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Cheesecake layer:
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Heat oven to 350. Cream together the butter, shortening, sugars, vanilla, salt and vinegar. Beat in the egg, then the baking soda and flour. Stir in the chocolate chips. Divide the dough into two equal portions and set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl cream the cream cheese with the sugar until thoroughly combined. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
In a 9×13 pan, spread 1/2 of the cookie dough mixture evenly across the bottom.
* This is a tricky step. Be patient with the process. It’s not like you’re pouring cake batter in. Remember, this is cookie dough…and the chocolate chips are no help when it comes to spreading the dough out.
Spread the cream cheese mixture on the top of the cookie dough. With the remaining cookie dough, flatten chunks of dough between your hands into discs, and then place on top of the cream cheese mixture. The dough discs don’t have to touch, just place them near each other so they cover the surface as well as possible.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the top is brown and cooked through. Cool completely and store in the refrigerator. Cut into bars and enjoy!
Posted in Bars & Brownies, Chocolate | Tagged bars, cheesecake, chocolate chip, cookie | Leave a Comment »
So, I thought I’d take a couple of weeks off from blogging and before I knew it, a couple of months had gone by. Seriously, how it is possibly almost Thanksgiving?
I have been cooking and baking…just not blogging much. But I do have to say that this is by far the sweetest pumpkin creation this season:
I’m coming back, just in time for the holiday season with a few new recipes that are simple, but do not disappoint. Who doesn’t love simple at this crazy time of year? Thanks for sticking with me.
This recipe for Rocky Road bars is rich and delicious. The shortbread crust balances out the richness of the chocolate just perfectly.
If you’re one of those thoughtful bakers who makes a variety of treats to plate and deliver to friends, consider adding this recipe into your stack of must-bake items for the holidays.
Rocky Road Bars
adapted from King Arthur Flour
For the crust:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, salted
1/2 teaspoon salt*
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups flour
*If you use unsalted butter, increase the salt in the recipe to 1 teaspoon.
For the topping:
3 cups chopped semisweet or dark chocolate or chocolate chips
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup toasted diced pecans
3 cups mini marshmallows
Heat the oven to 300. Line a 9×13 pan with foil and grease the foil. (Or just grease the pan. Using foil is a personal preference because then I can lift the foil out and cut the bars easier.)
In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the butter, salt, sugar, and vanilla, then beat in the flour. The dough will seem very dry, and won’t seem to want to become together at first.
Press the dough into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface with your fingers. Prick the dough all over with a fork to keep it from bubbling up as it bakes.
Bake the crust for 35 to 40 minutes, or until it’s golden brown around the edges and beginning to brown on the top. Make the topping while the shortbread begins to cool.
Place the chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl, or in a saucepan. Heat in the microwave, or over low heat on a burner, until the cream is steaming and barely beginning to form bubbles.
Remove from the heat, and stir. The chocolate will gradually form a lump in the center of the bowl, then will start to expand as it absorbs the cream. Eventually the chocolate and cream will become one. Keep stirring until it’s very smooth. It WILL all come together. If all the chocolate doesn’t seem melted, reheat very briefly, and keep stirring.
Spread the warm chocolate atop the cookie crust. Sprinkle with the marshmallows, then the pecans.
Cover the pan, and place the bars in the refrigerator for about 15 to 20 minutes, to set the chocolate a bit. Using a sharp knife cut into bars.
Posted in Bars & Brownies, Chocolate | 2 Comments »
I haven’t seen my Uncle Dennis (but we call him Denny) in years, but he’s got a winning pancake recipe that makes me think of him often. Years ago he cooked up some of these wonders when we all gathered in remote Ely, Nevada for my grandmother’s funeral. They were a hit with all of us, and my family has been making this recipe ever since.
My mom likes to add in bananas, Dad likes blueberries, and my dear friend Heather always threw in chocolate chips when we made them in college. I prefer to pour batter on the hot griddle and then add something in, rather than mixing it into the batter in the bowl. But that’s just me.
We even made Uncle Denny’s pancakes while camping in Tahoe by mixing all of the dry ingredients together at home and then packing the butter, eggs and buttermilk in the cooler.
Just recently I substituted one cup of whole wheat flour for the all-purpose, white flour, and I dare say that the pancakes turned out even better. Uncle Denny’s recipe doesn’t call for vanilla extract, but isn’t just about everything more tasty with a little vanilla?
The rise time for pancakes is what really makes them light. Try to give the batter at least ten minutes, and if you’ve got twenty, well, that’s even better!
One more thing: if you’ve got left over pancakes, listen up! Instead of tossing them into the trash like frisbees, put a little butter and syrup on them, let that soak in and then place the pancakes into a Ziploc bag. They can hang out in your freezer until ready to eat. At that point, they’ll need maybe 20 seconds in the microwave and then finish off in the toaster. WAY better (and healthier and cheaper) than anything Eggo or anybody else makes, that’s for sure!
Uncle Denny’s Pancakes
printer friendly recipe
2 cups of all-purpose flour (or substitute 1 cup of whole wheat flour)
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
1-2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
Combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat eggs lightly and whisk in buttermilk, butter and vanilla. Combine with dry ingredients. Mix only until moist. Let rise 10-15 minutes.
Posted in Breads - Quick & Muffins | Tagged breakfast, buttermilk, pancakes | 2 Comments »
Not only did we survive camping, we had an amazing time.
Thankfully, this is the only bear who wandered through camp.
Simply put, he’s a camper at heart. He was a champ.
Camping with family and friends always makes the trip more fun, but it also makes meals much easier. Each family was in charge of one major meal. That means less menu planning, more free time, and the chance to try other delicious food that I might not normally eat.
The August issue of Sunset Magazine has a great feature on Dutch oven cooking. After seeing this recipe, my husband immediately declared it as a ‘MUST make.’
How many times to you see a recipe in a magazine, think it would be great to try, and then never make it? Well, this time we actually followed through and the results were incredible.
If Dutch oven cooking isn’t your thing, this recipe could easily be adapted to cooking in a roasting pan in the oven. It’s a delicious alternative to the traditional roast and makes great use of those in-season, summer vegetables. And, despite the length of the recipe, it’s EASY to make. Your biggest challenge will be waiting 3 hours to eat, I promise!
Since we didn’t make any alterations to the original recipe, I’ll just give you the link.
Many thanks for all of your suggestions for cooking while camping! We’ve got years of trips like this one ahead of us and will definitely be trying something new each time.
Posted in Dinner | Tagged beef, camping, dutch oven, vegetables | 1 Comment »
My accountant/auditor husband supervised as Random.org picked a number. The comments were numbered as they came in and the lucky winner is STEPHANIE who wrote:
Denise, our family calls those thumb pies! i have never heard of anyone else that made them! we fill them with pudding and we don’t do the sugar on the outside. yours sound much more “gourmet” we’ll have to try it next time!
it’s hard to choose a favorite camping meal! here are some great ones: dutch oven potatoes (bacon, onion, potatoes, cheese), tri tip, sloughhouse corn on the cob.
for breakfast we like cowboy breakfast: cooked in a dutch oven (sausage, tatertots, eggs and cheese) or throw it in a tortilla with salsa for breakfast burritos.
have a great trip!
Stephanie, the bundt pan is on it’s way as soon as I get your address.
A HUGE thanks to all who entered and gave really great suggestions for camping food. I’ll be reporting back on the fun, food and adventures with the little one.
There may be another giveaway coming soon. Stay tuned!
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Well, it’s taken FAR too long to get to this point, but this, my friends, is Double Batch’s 100th post!
So to celebrate and say thanks for reading, I’m giving away a little something.
Isn’t she lovely? It’s the Nordic Ware Platinum Collection Original bunt pan. I’ve got one, and it’s pretty sweet…at least for a bundt pan.
I do love a bundt cake, simply because they rarely require any frosting. Sure, you might add a glaze or a dusting of powdered sugar, but that’s much more simple (and faster, and cleaner!) that having to frost a double layer cake. The shape of the cake is all the decoration you need. Love that.
Here’s how to enter:
Now, to the heart of this 100th post, I’m sharing with you one of my most favorites.
This recipe is always a winner. Lemon and blueberry were just meant to go together. My recipe gives instructions about a glaze to finish it off, but if you’re in a hurry or glazing just isn’t your thing, dust the cake with a little powdered sugar. Either way, you’ll LOVE this sweet creation!
Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake
adapted slightly from Martha Stewart
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 teaspoon for blueberries and zest
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
2 cups blueberries
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)
Lemon glaze (optional, see below)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, whisk 2 1/2 cups flour with baking powder and salt; set aside.
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Beat in vanilla.
Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions of sour cream.
In a bowl, toss blueberries and zest with remaining teaspoon flour; gently fold into batter. Coat a 12-cup nonstick Bundt pan with cooking spray. Spread batter in prepared pan.
Bake cake on bottom rack of oven until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes.
Cool in pan 20 minutes. Invert onto a rack; cool completely, top side up. Dust with confectioners’ sugar or glaze when cooled.
For the lemon glaze: Whisk ¼ cup fresh lemon juice and 2 cups confectioner’s sugar (add more for thicker glaze) together. Mix until all the sugar has dissolved and there are no longer lumps. Drizzle glaze over the cake.
Posted in Cakes | Tagged blueberry, bundt, cake, lemon | 18 Comments »
My sister-in-law is due with her first little one in a few weeks so, of course, we had to celebrate and have a baby shower!
I took a cue from the decor and made some cookies.
As usual, I used my favorite sugar cookie recipe. If you’re looking for some really helpful tutorials about basics of royal icing, The Sweet Adventures of Sugar Belle has some awesome tips and video to get you going. LOVE her blog.
I kept the design pretty simple. I’m still learning and my hand control with a piping bag is just o.k.
The last thing I needed was to get the cookies outlined, filled and dried AND THEN mess up on the decoration.
So I traced hearts onto a piece of parchment paper, turned it over, taped it to my table and piped out a bunch of hearts.
Once I let them dry, those little hearts peeled off from the parchment perfectly and then secured to the cookie with a little royal icing. A MUCH better strategy than piping hearts free-hand and ending up with a white blob that I can’t do anything about.
I packaged them up and sent these little sweets home with the friends and family who came to celebrate Brittany and her little man. Can’t wait to meet Noah’s new cousin!
Posted in Cookies | Tagged onesie, royal icing, sugar cookie | 3 Comments »
It wasn’t until college that I learned you could buy baked beans. Like, in a can.
My mom had always made ours, so I just naively thought that baked beans were one of those foods you just had to make to partake of. I guess those college years bring enlightenment in a number of ways.
This recipe for Yankee Baked Beans is a long-time family favorite. I have tried (and tried and TRIED) to photograph the end result. I just don’t think baked beans are a very photography friendly food. Tasty, but maybe not all that pretty. So, instead, I have my mom’s original recipe for you to see.
Don’t you love it? It’s definitely been put to good use over the years. Who knows how long ago or what magazine that mom of mine snatched it from.
I love going through my mom’s recipe box. It’s like a little bit of culinary personal history being able to see her handwriting through the years and what recipes she’s collected from magazines and friends along the way.
Back to baked beans: these are GOOD — plain and simple.
They aren’t a lot of work and the taste is so. much. better. than just dumping something out of a can. Oh, and since the baking time is in the HOURS, your house ends up smelling amazing. I sure hope barbecue is a smell they have in heaven.
You can print out the original by clicking on it, or there’s a printer friendly version HERE.
Finally, to my friend EmyLee, sorry it took two months to get this recipe out there to share. Thanks a gazillion for being patient with me.
Posted in Dinner | Leave a Comment »
The last recipe from the great cookie baking project. You know you’ve got a winning treat when they disappear as quickly as these did.
Enjoy!
Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 cubes) butter
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup dried cranberries
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup pecans, chopped (optional, but highly recommended)
Heat oven to 350.
Cream butter and sugars until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Slowly add the flour mixtures to the cream mixture. Stir until incorporated. Add the dried cranberries, white chocolate, and pecans. Mix until combined
Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto baking sheets. Bake the cookies until the edges are set and beginning to brown but the centers are still soft and puffy, about 10-14 minutes.
Posted in Cookies | 2 Comments »
Double Batch 