Pretty In Pink-Raspberry Macaroons

Pink and Perfect - Raspberry Macaroons

I have a little bit of an obsession with French Macaroons, or at least trying to find the most foolproof recipe.  Although I have taken not 1 but 2 classes at schools to perfect my technique it still seems to be a bit of a crap shoot with the results.

Today's recipe worked wonderfully.  Not sure how that is as most of the recipes for French Macaroons are eerily similar no matter how many recipe books you spend your hard earned money on. But since the batter was not too watery and they can together quickly and piped out easily I thought it would be worth sharing.

Making them pink with a few drops of food colouring and adding a little raspberry flavouring to the shells just made them more feminine and pretty, somehow adding to their appeal.

Stiff beaten egg whites with icing sugar and egg albumen

First 1/3 of almond mixture folded in.  Mixture should be streaky.  No over mixing!

Piped out and sitting to develop 'feet' before being baked.

All baked up - They are truly pretty little things!

Pretty in Pink seemed the perfect title to this blog and had me asking myself in anyone else reading this remembers the original movie.  I saw it in the theatre during its first run..I am so dating myself.   Duckie, the quirky boy friend, grew up to become Alan on "Two and A Half Men".  Did you know an often asked question of Google is whether Jon Cryer is gay.  Well he is not and is actually on his 2nd wife...well not 'on' on.

Now back to pretty, pink macaroons.  Do you know they taste even more amazing out of the freezer. I had to hide them away from myself as my self control for all things sweet is minimal.  Just remove a couple from the freezer...and yes they froze and thawed beautifully filled with the buttercream, wait just a couple of minutes and enjoy.  You will actually close your eyes as you savour that first bite into the thin layer of crisp macaroon and then you will swoon when your taste buds encounter the raspberry buttercream filling.  If you can limit yourself to a couple at a time the damage to your waistline is negligible...or at least I choose to believe that.  And if I believe, it is so!

Now go ahead make some up and Net Flix 'Pretty In Pink' the next time you are in the baking mood.

All Baked up and Ready to Taste

Macaroons (Very Forgiving) - About 40 sandwiched macaroons

195 grams ground almonds (same as almond flour)
340 grams icing sugar
140 grams egg whites
40 grams fine sugar (granulated sugar that has been through your food processor!)
10 grams Powdered egg whites or Egg Albumen (this helps stabilize your batter)
2-3 drops Food Colouring

Preheat oven to 325F.  Parchment line your baking sheets and set aside.

Sift together the almond flour and icing sugar to remove any lumps.

Whip egg whites until frothy and add in the fine sugar and egg albumen.  Whip until stiff.

Add a few drop of food colouring to the mixture.  It is nice to use colours that compliment your flavours...yellow with lemon filling, brown with chocolate ganache, etc.

Gently fold one-third of the almond mixture into the whipped egg whites using a rubber spatula.  Your mixture should stay streaky like in the photo above.  Add in another third and fold lightly then add the remaining mixture and again fold lightly.

Using a large piping bag and a #12 tip, pipe your batter about 1 inch apart onto the prepared sheets.

Once the baking sheet is full bang firmly several times on the counter to remove air bubbles.  Rotate pan and bang again.  Let unbaked shells sit for about 20 minutes until they look glossy and firm.

Bake for about 11-14 minutes and rotate sheets half way through.  Set your timer so you do not forget to rotate baking pans.

Allow the macaroons to cool completely before filling with whatever your heart desires.  How about Buttercream (any kind), a little Nutella (why not), maybe some lemon curd.  They are so good they can be popped into your mouth with no filling at all.

Remember frozen macaroons are better than an ice cream sandwich!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Heart Shaped Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients

Love, affection, caring.  It seems to me we all could use a little more of this in our daily lives.  Even just loving ourselves a tiny bit more.

One of the easiest ways to show you care is to bake and share with a loved one or one you wish to love or one you'd like to pamper or the cute guy you have been creeping or the ...well I think you get my drift.  While grand gestures always make great reality t.v. and fantasies, most of us would kill for just a little display of affection.    The simple act of sharing something you made in the kitchen with another makes both them and us feel good.  It seems to resonate deep within us when we receive a homemade cookie or brownie.  Maybe we remember our moms baking something special for us...maybe it was for our birthdays or for a special occasion.  It doesn't matter whether the finished product was made from scratch or just by adding a cup of water and an egg to a mix, someone cared enough to set aside a little pocket of time to do something special for us.

Even if you were in a situation where you never had anything made specially for you it is interesting to note we still crave this little act of affection and recognize the warm feeling we get inside.

Really, it could be a bunch of flowers, a special CD, anything, just the fact someone took a minute to do something for us can make our day, heck our whole month!  It is one of those simple things we remember.

Butter, Brown Sugar, White Sugar and Eggs all nicely creamed.

Today's simple recipe is for a tasty treat and basically foolproof, easy and delicious chocolate chip cookie.  Make some for yourself just because you can... you deserve something warm and sweet and homemade just as much as the next person or for that special someone.

Cookie Dough ready to bake.

Instead of the chocolate chips add in mini M&M's, white chocolate or dark chocolate chips.  Whatever makes you happy.  I baked them in a heart shaped cake pan until the edges turned light brown.  You can drop by spoonfuls as the recipe suggests or make 1-2 large round cookies.  The dough is easy to form into a ball and pat out lightly.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tip:  You may want  to cut bake on the 2 cups of chocolate add-ins but this is what makes the cookie so great.  Otherwise you just have a cookie base scattered with a few chocolate bits.  Go for it!

About 20 minutes to put together and about 8 minutes to bake.

Preheat oven to 350F.  Lightly grease a cookie sheet.

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/4 cups lightly packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, mini M&M's

In medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.

In large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar.  Add in egg and vanilla and mix well.

Gradually stir in flour mixture until just combined.  Mix in chocolate chips.

Scoop approximately 1 tbsp of dough and place on prepared sheets.  Repeat with remaining dough, placing at least 2 inches apart on sheet to allow for spreading.

Bake in center of oven for approximately 8-10 minutes or until cookies are golden around the edges.

Remove and let cool completely...if you are able!

Dark Chocolate Truffle Cookies

Dark Chocolate Truffle Cookies

Today's offering is simple, sweet and superb.  Oh, and very chocolaty. 

Dark, decadent and delicious!

Need I say more....with just 1/4 cup of flour in the batter they are mostly dark, delicious chocolate, a little sugar, a couple of eggs, some vanilla and a little more chocolate.  Not much more in the way of ingredients.  The most time consuming portion of the recipe is chilling them for about 15-20 minutes before baking.  They are worth the wait!

Melted dark chocolate & butter

Whisked eggs & sugar

Chilled dough ready for baking 

Cookie dough ready to bake

Chocolate Truffle Cookies

Preheat oven to 350F.  Parchment line baking sheet and set aside.

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups good quality dark chocolate

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 eggs

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Melt butter and 1 1/2 cups of chocolate together in microwave and whisk together until smooth.

Mix flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside.  In another bowl stir together eggs and sugar and add in vanilla.

To the slightly cooled chocolate mixture add in the egg mixture and mix well.  Add in flour mixture and stir until combined.  Add in chocolate chips.

Chill dough for about 15-20 minutes.

Scoop dough onto prepared pan and bake for about 7-8 minutes until cookies look slightly cracked on the outside.  Remove from oven.

Options:  You could add in white chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips or even fold in a few nuts.

Toffee

Toffee - Sweet and Buttery!

Today's offering is Toffee.  Sweet, buttery and sprinkled with toasted nuts.

Have you ever had a McIntosh Toffee Bar? This recipe brings back memories of summer days at the cottage. After a trip to McMurray's store for pixie sticks and McIntosh toffee I'd come back to our rented cottage and whack the package of McIntosh toffee, in its red plaid packaging, on the counter and it would break into a variety of different size pieces. Then you would pop these pieces into your mouth and immediately experience the hit of buttery sweet smoothness.  Then you either chomped on the hunks of toffee and had them stick to your teeth or let them last by just melting away in your mouth.

The base of this toffee tastes just like that McIntosh bar.  Add the chocolate layer and a sprinkling of toasted nuts and you have a winner.  One tip though, no matter how tempted DO NOT lick off the hot toffee from the wooden spoon directly from the pot, unless you wish to remove all the skin from your tongue.  As tempting as it is just wait a few minutes to let it cool down enough and then sample the creamy base of this sweet treat.

Note:  You will need a candy thermometer for this recipe.

Toffee

8 ounces dark, semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate (or a mix of all three)
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts toasted
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Line a 10-inch square pan with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.

In a heavy saucepan combine butter, sugar, water and salt over a medium heat.  Once butter is melted stir occasionally and bring mixture up to 305F on a candy thermometer.

Watch carefully.  It will take a while to heat up but the temperature will quickly rise from about 270F to 305F very quickly.  Mixture will seem to thicken up and turn a light golden brown.

As soon as mixture hits 305F remove from heat and add in 1 teaspoon vanilla. (Careful it will spit and splash slightly!)

Pour mixture into prepared pan and spread to edges if needed.  Let set for about 45-60 minutes. Once toffee has set melt chocolate and pour over toffee layer and spread.  Sprinkle toasted nuts over top and press down lightly to adhere the nuts.  Put in fridge to set.  Break into pieces and enjoy.

Can be stored for at least a month but I really don't think it will last that long!

Any questions or comments....sweetenuf@bell.net

Gluten-Free Chocolate Bites or 'This Ones for You, Jolene'

Gluten-Free Chocolate Bites - Intense Chocolate Flavour!

Ingredients and Unbaked Chocolate Bites

Tonight's blog is for Jolene, one of my biggest supporters!  Jolene made a request for some gluten-free recipes.  I suggested the coconut macaroons I made a little while ago but alas she is tired of that old standby.  The other go-to option is Rice Krispie squares but they have gluten in them.  Why are they Rice Krispies and not Wheat Krispies then...that's why the company came out with a gluten free version.  Didn't they used to have a commercial asking people what they thought they were made of...Rice...hence the name Rice Krispies.  Not sure why they would need to add gluten...but I'm drifting...again!

So I found a recipe from way back and thought I would give it a try. Somewhere in my memory I recall whipping these up for a friend and having them turn out perfect...but now I am not so sure if that was a memory or just wishful thinking. 

Since there is no gluten in the recipe the batter does not come together the same as when using flour.  One thing I like to mention is to remember that a recipe without flour is not going to taste or have the same mouth feel as something with flour.  What you want to do, in my humble opinion, is make a great tasting item for the person in your life who cannot have gluten.  There are lots of food options for main courses and side dishes but desserts/treats are a little trickier!

Before I give you the recipe let me say I have not done a lot of gluten-free baking so give these a try and judge them for yourself.  They come together quickly and the original recipe says you need to form the dough (more like the chocolate sand) into little balls and press down with a fork to flatten.  Having made these 2 times lately the dough does NOT come together.  So I figured the easiest thing to do was to press the dough into a pan with a removeable bottom.  This seemed to work well and I ended up using 2 pans.  I pressed the dough lightly into the pan and baked it at 325 for about 12-15 minutes.  

There is not a big difference in the appearance of the batter after baking but it does firm up. When I took the pan out of the oven I let it cool then took a knife and cut it up. These still have a crumby or sandy texture but they do give you the hit of intense chocolate so make sure you use a good quality cocoa.

Baked Gluten-Free Chocolate Bites

Preheat oven to 325F.  

1 cup softened butter
1/2 cup Cornstarch
1/2 cup Cocoa
2/3 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups rice flour

In large bowl use electric beater to cream butter.  Add sugar and cream until light and fluffy.  Add in vanilla and mix in.

In separate bowl, whisk together cornstarch, cocoa and rice flour.  Add into creamed mixture and blend well.

Mixture will be very granular or sandy.  Make sure to scrap up the bottom of mixing bowl.

Press lightly into tart pans with removeable bottoms and bake in preheated oven for approximately 12-15 minutes.  Mixture will firm up.

While bites are still warm cut into slices or squares with a knife.

Hope you enjoy this recipe and I will certainly explore and test out a few others.  Maybe an English Toffee recipe...no flour or gluten there.

Lemon-Raspberry Buttermilk Pound Cake & Fit is the New Skinny

Lemon-Raspberry Buttermilk Pound Cake

Well another summer has left and I find the day after Labour Day to be more of a new year and goal setting time of the year than January 1st.  So to accompany the delicious recipe of Lemon-Raspberry Buttermilk Pound Cake are my musings on embracing ourselves and the need to stop 'buying' into the fit is the new skinny, you are not worthy unless you have the newest, most expensive purse (you know first a Coach bag, then a Michael Kors bag and now a Kate Spade bag) and believing that not having a wrinkle, stretch mark or acne scar is normal...especially at over 40!!

Like many of you I have become a Pinner and I enjoy different sites with fitness and health ideas but I keep seeing these ridiculously impossible images of ripped abs and 10% body fat on woman with the tag line 'Fit is the new Skinny'.  While it is great to be fit and healthy a woman's healthy body fat is much higher than the 8-10% needed to show off 6-pack and 8-pack abs.  We need this to give us boobs and hips and to make and carry babies.  We are being convinced by dieting to extremes and working out like crazy or even only working out for 20 minutes doing HIIT workouts we will be healthier and fitter and better.  I think that is the key...we are somehow convinced we will be better (because for some reason we often feel we are not good enough) and therefore more popular and life will be easy and richer...both emotionally and financially. 

Oh and what about all those unlined faces in ads for everything else.  Do you believe buying the perfect outfit and the best shoes will make you better or somehow change you.  Well me too!!  But strangely enough although I love my new makeup it did not change my features and transform me into Christie Brinkley or Christy Turlington.  My makeup plus my Weight Watchers dinner did not bring Hugh Jackman or Daniel Craig to my door.  And I didn't get a great promotion earning way more money.  Isn't that the hidden message we are constantly being sent and unfortunately believing.  Do this, buy this, and you too will be transformed.

Now don't get me wrong, I love a new pair of shoes as much as the next girl (well probably quite a bit more actually if you look in my closet) and there is nothing like a new lipstick to push away a funk but let's start this new season with focusing on what we have already and stop spending our precious time worrying about things we really cannot change.

I think this should be the Embrace Myself season.  Every wrinkle, sun spot, scar, etc. is the result of living, loving, and all the challenges and experiences that go along with that.  I have laugh lines and a few crying lines as well! Happiness and heartaches in life, successful and unsuccessful relationships with friends, family and husbands, etc. plus crappy jobs, great jobs, and more, are what make us and shape us.  I have a few physical scars from illness but I survived and am healthy.  How many people can say that!  I have a few body battle marks on account of 2 healthy children.  The frown lines between my eyes have been there forever and my laugh lines get a little deeper each year. But really, how great are all these things.  I have a great job, good friends and family, have been able to spend some holiday time away with friends and family, pay my bills, get around unassisted and enjoy the little things like take-out coffee and reality t.v.  Isn't this what having a good life is really about.

Yes I do wish I was 10 pounds thinner and could wear skinny jeans but deep down I know this is not the magic formula to happiness.  But, hey, I used to wish I had hair like Farrah Fawcett, and if I only my hair would go like hers than I to would be amazing...alas not so!!

One of the things that makes me happy is baking and now blogging!  So embrace your uniqueness (they are no longer shortcomings or flaws they are your unique bits) and give my Lemon-Raspberry Pound cake a try.  Enjoy it with a glass of milk, cup of coffee or tea and make a list ONLY of your great and awesome bits.

Lemon-Raspberry Pound Cake

Pint raspberry
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar

Mix above ingredients together in small sauce pan and bring to a boil for about 5-8 minutes until reduced and sugar has dissolved.  Cool and then press through sieve to remove seeds.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 325F.  Grease loaf pan.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
Zest of 1 lemon

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  
In a large bowl with an electric mixer cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add in sugar and beat well.  Scrape down sides and bottom of bow.  Add in eggs one at a time and beat after each.

Add in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk in 3 additions.  Fold in lemon zest and cooled raspberry sauce.

Spread evenly into prepared loaf pan and bake at 325F for approximately 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.

Glaze with a mixture of lemon juice and icing sugar if desired.

Banana Bread - No Mixer Required

Banana Bread

Ripe bananas on the counter or in the freezer.  Mash up 2-3 of them and grab a couple of bowls, a whisk and spatula and grease a loaf pan and in minutes you will have a Banana Bread ready to bake with the basic baking ingredients you probably already have in your cupboard.

To counteract all the baking I have been doing I have committed to the 30-day squat challenge I found on Pinterest.  It says not to jump right in and start anywhere in the middle but I must say I have decided to just focus on certain days, specifically days 4, 8, 12 & 16, I just keep repeating them again and again and again!  Check it out, I think you will like these days as well.  Have a piece of banana bread before and after your squat workout.  You know, food equals fuel!

Today's recipe is from Baking Unplugged and all the recipes are made without any electrical devices, no mixers or food processors.  So this is great if you are at the cottage or have kids that want to bake and you haven't got or don't wish to pull out you stand mixer since it is buried in behind the coffee grinder and food processor in the cupboard.

So before you get started with the original recipe in my version I omitted the lemon zest and the coconut and instead I mixed some pecans and dark chocolate chips and a little bit of cinnamon together and sprinkled it over the tops of the loaves before baking.  Plus I did mix a few dark chocolate chips into the batter.  Add in what you like or leave it plain but just go ahead and mix one up.

If your loaf is baking up around the edges but staying very wet in the centre tent a piece of foil and just lay over top of your loaf.  This will help stop the edges from overbaking while allowing the bread to bake right through.

Banana Bread

Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray 1 loaf pan or 3 mini loaf pans and set aside.

1 1/4 cups mashed banana

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1/4 cup buttermilk or sour cream

1 Tbs grated lemon zest

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1/2 cup toasted pecans

Whisk together the mashed bananas, sugar, oil, eggs, buttermilk or sour cream and lemon zest until reasonably light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well combined.

Dump the flour mixture into the wet mixture and sprinkle the coconut and pecans over the top of the flour.  Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until the batter just barely comes together.

Scrape batter into the prepared loaf pan and rap on counter to level.

Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.

Cool slightly and remove from loaf pan.  

Really, is there any excuse not to make this up?

Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut Butter Cookies/Swiss Mountain Shortbread/Chocolate Dipped Shortbread

Yesterday I spent a good portion of the morning fueled by a good night's sleep and several cups of coffee and had myself a little cookie baking marathon.

I baked up a variety of shortbread cookies and my kids fav's, good old peanut butter cookies.  This recipe is the same one my mom used to make for us kids and came from the same booklet as the banana cake recipe I shared the other week; the Sunbeam Mixmaster booklet included with her Mixmaster.  So this recipe is over 60 years old and the only switch up was today I use butter instead of the shortening called for in the original recipe.

This recipe is easily doubled and I would strongly suggest doing that if you or your friends and family are fans of peanut butter.  These are nice and soft and if you wish to elevate them to the next level toss in a handful of honey roasted peanuts and fold into the creamy batter.  Another option is to add in chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips or even good old plain peanuts.

Peanut Butter Cookies
Preheat oven to 325F.  Parchment line 2 baking sheets and set aside.

Sift together into a small bowl:
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Put into large bowl of mixmaster:

Fluffy peanut butter cookie dough

1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon water
1/2 tsp vanilla

Beat mixture on medium speed for 2 minutes and then stop and scrape down sides of bowl.  Add in sifted flour mixture and beat on medium low for about 1 minute scraping down sides of bowl.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto prepared sheets and press lightly with a fork dipped in flour to flatten slightly.

Bake approximately 15-20 minutes.

Orange Angel Food Cake & Winnie the Pooh

It was recently brought to my attention that Winnie the Pooh, the lovable, simple, somewhat overweight bear and I share some similar qualities or quirks.  A friend of mine recently read an article by the Canadian Medical Association,  no lie, there is actually an article outlining the different disorders the Winnie-the-Pooh story book characters may suffer from now and in the future.  (Question: As they are fictional and never grow up how can they possibly develop additional disorders?)

The Poohster and I have a similar fixation.  We are both obsessed with sweets. His being honey and mine being sugar, brown sugar, icing sugar, super fine sugar....I see what my friend means.

Orange Angel Food Cake

And tonight because of that fixation I baked up this light and simple but tasty Angel Food Cake.

The recipe is from The Barefoot Contessa's Family Style cookbook and her version is made with lemon.  I used orange zest instead of the lemon as that is what I had available.  This cake makes up light and moist and is great topped with a glaze, or whipped cream and a few berries.  

A couple of tips before going ahead and grabbing your bundt pan....you will need superfine or fruit sugar for this recipe.  Superfine sugar, fruit sugar and quick dissolving sugar are all exactly the same.  It is just granulated sugar processed finer.  It is more expensive and occasionally difficult to find so pull out your food processor, add in the required amount of sugar and process it for about 60 seconds.  You have now saved yourself about $3.00.  

The recipe calls for Cake flour (same as Cake & Pastry flour BUT different from Self-Rising flour) and says "1 1/3 cups sifted cake flour", which means you sift your flour BEFORE measuring out the required amount.  And yes, it will make a difference.  If you measure out the 1 1/3 cups and sift it then measure out 1 1/3 cups there will be flour left over.  This step helps to keep you cake light and fluffy.

I used pasturized eggs whites found in the dairy section as I just don't know what to do with the dozen or so egg yolks I would have left over after separating all those eggs.  

Always make sure you have your ingredients ready to go and double check you have everything. That way you will not find out once you have started you do not have or cannot find the Cream of Tartar.  I did make the recipe without the Cream of Tartar tonight but normally I use it. Cream of Tartar is a stabilizer and it helps to keep your whipped egg whites thick and stiff once whipped to that point.

So back to Winnie, Piglet, Owl, Tigger, Kanga, Rabbit, Christopher Robin and my issues.  Winnie suffers from Impulsivity with Obsessive Fixations on Honey.  He will grab it whenever he can and is prepared to take risks to acquire it.  I can relate.  Whenever I see a vanilla cake with vanilla frosting my mouth actually salivates.  It is like I will never, ever, ever have another piece of cake so I must eat as much as possible when the opportunity strikes.  It doesn't matter that I see it every day...I cannot help myself.  So obviously this obsessive behaviour is contributing to Winnie's obesity and my widening back end.  Do you remember when he was so fat he got stuck trying to get out of, I think it was, Piglet's or Rabbit's, door!  

I'm not sure I have reached the risk taking stage yet of searching out sugar but I would imagine if the last Smarties box on earth required me to risk a limb I might just go for it.  And Winnie also suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder which is displayed by his repetitive counting.  Is that like humming continually without realizing your doing it or ordering another cupcake book just because it is out there!

The character I found most interesting was Christopher Robin.  The CMA has diagnosed him with possible Schizophrenia as his imagination often manifests itself through auditory hallucinations-all of the characters are formed in his mind.  He may outgrow this as he is only a child.

My comment to them is....Christopher Robin is not real.  He is just as imaginary as Winnie, Tigger and the rest.  Enough said.

Orange Angel Food Cake- Especially delightful on a Blustery Day

Preheat oven to 350F.  Light spray a bundt pan with cooking spray and set aside.

2 cups superfine sugar, divided
1 1/3 cups sifted cake flour 
1 1/2 cups egg whites, room temperature (approx. 10-12 eggs)
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest

Combine 1/2 cup of sugar with flour and sift together (Ina says 4x but I did it 1x).

In the bowl of an electric mixer place egg whites, salt and cream of tartar.  Using whisk attachment beat on high until the eggs make medium-firm peaks.  With the mixer on medium speed add in the remaining 1 1/2 cups of sugar by sprinkling it over the beaten egg whites. Whisk with mixer for several minutes until mixture is thick and shiny.  Whisk in the vanilla and orange zest and continue to whisk until very thick, about 1 minute more.  Remove bowl from mixer.

Egg Whites - Thick & Shiny
Using a rubber spatula, fold in about 1/4 of the flour mixture.  Continue adding flour in fourths folding in with rubber spatula until it is all incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.  Bake for 35-40 minutes until the cake springs back when touched lightly.

Remove and let cool.  Use small rubber spatula to loosen cake from center and sides and invent onto cake plate or cooling rack.

Now sit down and enjoy a piece of this and celebrate whatever quirks make you the unique individual you are.

Ambrosial Raspberry Lemon Scones with Streusel Topping- Amazing!

Raspberry Lemon Scones with Streusel Topping

Today's post is about truly amazing, fabulously delightful, divine tasting scones and a bunch of 6 degrees of separation stuff, which is all after the recipe just in case you get bored before then!

First things first though.  I cannot take any credit for the above amazing scones.  These are like nothing I have had in ages or maybe ever.  If you have been purchasing scones at Starbucks or elsewhere STOP immediately!  Don't waste your precious money on a substandard product....at least make these once.  Just once and you will see what I mean.

I did take the photo of my cousin Jan's scones which she quickly (I mean you can make these beauties in 10 minutes-not counting baking time) baked up during my visit.  Our friend Mary sent us a link she found on Pinterest from BE BOOK BOUND, a blog that ran this recipe on February 15, 2012.

The original recipe is for Terri Bender's Lemon Blueberry Scones, which Mary made with raspberries instead of the blueberries.  She sent us the link and raved about them.  Jan has made them several times using the raspberries.  I did not get around to baking them up myself but for sure they are on my list.

One of the great things is they are just so flavourful, tender and moist.  Even the next day they retain they moistness.  Struesel topping adds so much to them and then just a small bit of glaze truly sets them apart as a must bake again treat.

So go ahead and give them a try!  Just remember we have subbed in raspberries wherever blueberries are called for.

Preheat oven to 400F.  Parchment line a baking sheet. 

My suggestions:  You don't need a food processor.  Just use your fingertips to work in butter or a pastry cutter.  No buttermilk...no worries...add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup and fill with milk to 3/4 cup measure.  Let sit for about 5 minutes.  No need to cut out biscuits.  Just pat out into a circle or square and cut through with a knife into wedges or circles.  When finished baking go over cuts again.

2 1/4 cups flour

2 tsp baking  powder

1/2 tsp each salt & baking soda

4 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup COLD butter, cut into small cubes

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 egg

3/4 cup raspberries

grated zest from 1 lemon

Streusel Topping-mix together in small bowl and set aside

1/4 cup oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 tablespoon flour

Lemon Glaze-mix together while scones are baking

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 cups icing sugar

1 tablespoon butter, melted

Sift the dry ingredients of the scone into a food processor. Add the cold, cubed butter into bowl of food processor with the lemon zest.  Pulse the mixture until the butter is the size of peas.  Pour the mixture into a large bowl, add the raspberries and toss with the flour mixture.  

Mix together the buttermilk and egg and add to the dry ingredients.  Fold together gently, being careful not to break the berries.  Press dough into a large circles on a floured surface.  Cut out dough with a biscuit cutter.  Sprinkle Streusel on top of biscuits and place them on prepared cookie sheet and bake for approximately 18-20 minutes.

Let scones cool slightly before glazing.

Now on to the 6-Degrees of Separation kinda thing.  You know the game where everyone in Hollywood is somehow connected to Kevin Bacon.  For example he starred in Foot Loose with Sean Penn's brother so he is connected back to Sean Penn..ONLY this is with Bruce Jenner, The Kardashian's and David Foster.  I'm not sure how this even began sometime during the whole baking and eating scones but it seems having access to an iPad allows you to google just way too much stuff.  

So let's begin...Bruce Jenner who most of us recognize as Kris Jenner's (nee Kardashian) poorly face-lifted husband was a Gold Medal Decathlon winner in the 1976 Summer Olympics and appeared on boxes of Wheaties (this was before athletes commanded huge price tags for advertisements, etc.)  During this time he was married to his 1st wife and had 2 children.  He also was the replacement for Erik Estrada (if you remember him you are dating yourself big time) on the hit t.v. show CHiPs!  (Who knew he was so famous before the Kardashian's!!)  Now it gets even more interesting.  His 2nd wife was Linda Thompson, who had a 5 year live-in relationship with the King, and yes, I do mean Elvis.  Really.  Linda then married Bruce and they had 2 boys, Brandon and Brody.  Yes, from the Princes of Bel-Air the short lived reality show that aired just before the divorce of Linda and her next husband David Foster.  Oh, but I am getting ahead of myself.

So Linda and Bruce have 2 boys.  Brody went on to act or reality act on The Hills.  Not sure what Brandon's claim to fame is other then they have the spoiled rich good looking thing working for them.  O.K. are you following so far.

Bruce now is married to Kris the mother of the 4 Kardashian children and they procreate and add another 2 girls into the mix, Kendall and Kylie.  So Bruce has 6 kids.  

How does all this tie in to the tabloid grabbing Kardashian's with the 6 degrees of separation.  

Brody and Brandon are step siblings.

Kendall and Kylie are half siblings.

Burt and Casey (from his 1st marriage) are half siblings to Brody and Brandon

What is even more interesting is David Foster who was married for, I believe, quite a long time to Linda Thompson, has 5 biological daughters.  Sara Foster who was on 90210 and Erin Foster who was on The O.C.  

And you remember Clay Aiken, the guy who won a season of American Idol.  Well David Foster's sister is the mother of his child.  Isn't Clay gay?  How does that all work?

Remember I did state today was a lot about nothing.   If you can retain any of this silly information it might come in handy in a trivia game.  Goretti, are you there??

Go have a scone!

Banana Butterscotch Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Icing & Toffee Bits

Banana Butterscotch Cupcakes
Topped with Brown Sugar Icing and Toffee

Today's recipe is Fluffy Banana Cake baked into cupcake liners and topped with a basic buttery icing to which I added a few tablespoons of brown sugar and after icing topped with some toffee bits for a little more of the butterscotch/caramel flavour and to add a little pizzaz.

This wonderful recipe is delicious baked in 8-inch cake pans but works well and bakes up great as cupcakes.  Fold in toffee bits, chocolate chips, white chocolate, even walnuts to the batter to add a little crunch or flavour.  These treats are moist and definitely sweet even without icing.

In today's recipe I used butter instead of the shortening called for in the original Sunbeam Mixmaster Recipe book from 1951/1952.  Seriously, we have been using this recipe forever and it was included in the recipe book accompanying my mom's Sunbeam Mixmaster which she received as a wedding gift way back when.  The recipe is great and has never failed us.  I have taken the liberty to paraphrase some of the instructions!

Fluffy Banana Cake (or Cupcakes)

Preheat oven to 350F.  Prepare muffin tins or cake tins.

2 large or 3 small ripe bananas, peeled and mashed

Sift together:

2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Into large bowl of mixer put:

1/2 cup shortening (room temperature)  I used butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Beat on medium-high speed for 1 1/2 minutes.  Scrap down sides of bowl.

Now add 1/4 cup buttermilk or sour milk into bowl of mixer and mix in quickly.

Add the sifted flour mixture alternately with the mashed banana while beating on a low speed. Scrape down sides of bowl and beat in flour in 3 additions and banana in 2 additions.  Mix only until flour has blended in.

Fold in any optional ingredients you may be using such as nuts, chocolate chips, etc.

Divide evenly into prepared pans and bake for approximately 25-30 minutes in preheated oven. Cake is done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool completely before icing.

Uniced Banana Butterscotch Cupcake
Still tasty, sweet and moist!

Cupcake with icing and toffee
Even Better

Imperfect Perfection - Macaroons

My Imperfect Macaroons!

I came across a blog by BraveTart, a baker who makes macaroons several times a day in a kitchen in the hot and humid climate of Florida.

What's so unique about another recipe or article about macaroons?  Well the fact that she says these little treats which can be so finicky to make and have a mystique surrounding them (they won't turn out if it is humid, the egg whites need to be aged for the best results, they must sit for at least 20 minutes to dry to help develop their feet before baking, etc., etc.) are really quite simple to make and most of the mystique is just nonsense.

BraveTart goes on to walk you through a recipe and also has an article on 10 Myths about Macaroons.  Check out BraveTart.com.

The point that stood out to me the most was that no matter what they look like they still taste great. You only need to be worried they are not perfect if you are selling them in a Bakery.  Otherwise give yourself a pat on the back for making them and give yourself a few times to get down the piping, the fillings and the correct consistency of your whipped egg whites and sugar before you give up.

I ate so many of my imperfects that I had to go for a walk and do one of those workouts you find on Pinterest that are supposed to scorch calories...and yes they were delicious especially the ones filled with the chocolate ganache.

So don't let these little babies intimidate you, everything needs practice and no matter their shape or size a macaroon filled with chocolate ganache, a little buttercream or even some nutella, is still perfection.  Or at least one type of perfection.  Let's not forget vanilla cupcakes, chocolate studded brownies, banana bread, shortbreads, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, toffee...

Pumpkin-Raisin Cake....So Moist & Flavourful

Pumpkin Cake warm from the oven

Well it certainly has been a while and I suppose the road to Hell is awaiting me...you know the road to Hell is paved with good intentions!  Believe me my blogging intentions are always good.

It just seems that between the idea of the recipe(s) I would like to bake or ice or decorate and the spare time to make it happen I seem to have a time management issue.  Or maybe it is having a full time job that interferes...which is a good thing...the job I mean.

Today's recipe is a truly easy, as in only a wooden spoon is needed to mix everything to perfection, moist and flavourful cake.  I tried this recipe from Nancie McDermott's book 'Southern Cakes' and it is a definite fav.

This book is filled with a little history on each cake such as it's origin or tips passed on from family or other cooks.  There are a variety of  recipes like Red Velvet cake, Ocracoke Island Fig cake, Tomato Soup cake, etc.  So this is not your everyday run of the mill cake book.

I have made this cake many times and I prefer to leave out the raisins.  I also ice it with my favourite buttercream instead of the offered Lemon-Cream Cheese Frosting.  The cake is currently baking up as I write this.

Give it a try you won't be disappointed!

TIP: make sure to buy pure pumpkin NOT pumpkin pie filling!  As well check the ingredient label to make sure your pure pumpkin is not a blend of squash and pumpkin.

PUMPKIN-RAISIN CAKE

Preheat oven to 325F.  Grease 2 8- or 9-inch pans.

2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup raisins
1cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups canned pumpkin

In a medium bowl, combine the self-rising flour with the cinnamon and nutmeg, stirring with a fork to mix everything well.  In another medium bowl, combine the raisins and nuts with 1/4 cup of the flour mixture and 2 tablespoons of the oil and toss to mix well.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar and the remaining 1 cup of oil, and mix well with a wooden spoon.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the remaining flour mixture all at once and stir just until the flour disappears into the batter.  Add the pumpkin and mix thoroughly.  Stir in the floured raisins and nuts, gently mix them in well, and then quickly transfer the batter to the cake pans.

Bake at 325F for about 25 minutes, or until the cake begins to pull away from sides of the pan and springs back when touched lightly in the center.  Cool completely.

Ice with cream-cheese frosting, or glaze or icing.

SPICED TOFFEE CHIP COOKIES

 Spicy Toffee Cookies warm from the oven

On a hot humid day like today most of you are thinking about a cold beer or a pink lemonade on ice.  I waited until the sun was setting so I could turn my oven on and not overheat my house!  Mind you sipping on the iced beverage did help pass the time.

I have had this recipe sitting in a drawer for months with the intention of whipping it up when I had a few minutes.  These contain spices you often associate with the winter season, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground ginger. In my mind warm cookies with a hit of toffee are great for any season.  Just remember if you know anyone with a nut allergy toffee chips contain almonds.

Today during a terrific yoga class the instructor was talking to the class about contentment and enjoying what you have.  We spend so much time thinking about what to do next, our to-do list, how to get more stuff and ways to run around and do more in less time so maybe, just maybe, we can have a half hour to ourselves.

How does this tie into Spicy Toffee Cookies....well it got me to thinking how happy I am in the kitchen and how very content I am in my new space and how happy I am when something I make turns out as tasty as I hope and that lead me to pull out this recipe that keeps getting put on the top of the pile of 'my bake it up soon' recipes but never seems to get done.  So today I took my yoga instructor's advice and enjoyed all my moments of baking up these easy spiced cookies.  I especially enjoyed the "quality control" portion of the exercise.

These are so quick and easy to make they will be added to my regular rotation.

Spiced Toffee Chip Cookies

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar, light or dark
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup toffee bits (I used SKOR bits)
Optional:  3-4 tablespoons of granulated sugar

Beat butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light.  Add in egg and beat well.  Add in vanilla and mix in well.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.  Add into butter mixture and mix until incorporated (just until you no flour is visible).  Add in toffee bits and stir in well.

Drop by tablespoonful onto prepared sheets and DO NOT flatten.  (You could roll into balls but I find using a medium or small ice cream scoop is easier as the dough is quite buttery.)  Space cookies about 2 inches apart as they flatten out and spread during baking.

If you wish you can roll the blobs of dough or the little balls in the sugar before placing on the baking sheets.  I just sprinkled some sugar over top of the cookies before baking.

Bake about 12 minutes or until set.

Suggestion:  Instead of toffee bits chop up some Skor bars and add in the chocolate toffee bar pieces.

I don't think you can eat just one of these spicy toffee chewy cookies.
 

Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

I seem to be craving chocolate more than usual, which is saying something believe you me, and I remembered a mouth-watering rich chocolate goodie I used to bake up.  I found this easy to whip up chocolate shortbread recipe back in 2006 on the 'Chipits' site.  

I did omit the white Chipits when I baked these up as I wanted to roll them and cut them out into shapes.  By all means add it some white chocolate chips, or mini chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips.  But these are definite winners on their own without the add ins.

The dough comes together nicely in a stand mixer and is fairly soft but can still be quickly kneaded together and patted out to about 1/4 inch thickness.  You could even drop the dough by spoonfuls and flatten slightly with the heel of your hand onto the prepared sheets to hasten the process.

Little Chocolate Angels

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 1/4 cups icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup cocoa

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

chocolate chips if desired

Preheat oven to 300F and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Beat butter, sugar and vanilla until creamy.  Add in cocoa and blend well.  Gradually add flour, stirring until smooth.  (I did all steps in my stand mixer using the #1 speed when adding in cocoa and flour).

Roll or pat the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness on lightly floured surface.  (I patted out in 3 different portions for ease of handling.) Using cookie cutter cut out desired shapes and place about an inch apart on prepared sheets.  You can re-roll scrapes of dough.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes until firm.  

Like I mentioned how easy is that and they are superb...well in my humble opinion.

These will also freeze well!  Great with a cup of tea or coffee on a beautiful Sunday in June.

Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate and a Little Peanut Butter

Firstly I should say the opinions expressed in this blog after a week of dieting late on a Saturday night in no way reflect the views of my sponsors.  Oh wait a sec, there are no sponsors and I can say whatever the heck I want!

So before we get to the baking part of tonight's blog I have been ruminating on a recent advertisement I keep hearing over and over and over on the radio.  Now perhaps this ad is irritating me just a tad since I happen to be on my own this evening while each of my boys is out doing there own thing, my ex is on vacation with his latest squeeze and a number of women I know seem to be always on the go looking after everything and worrying about their husbands reactions in case things are not done just how they would like.  How does this tie into the advertisement....well it seems we are not quite busy enough looking after our children, our jobs, our homes, etc. we are now being held responsible for our men's nether regions!!  I have never had a penis nor do I currently have the use of one but it seems I or any woman who comes in contact with their friends/partners/spouses appendage is to be responsible for making sure this area is checked out by the doctor.  I always thought this part of a guy was of the utmost importance to them and as they handle it every day, several times I would imagine, shouldn't they be worrying about it instead of us?

Well I don't know about you but it seems we have enough to worry about with our own stuff since we were probably 10 or 11... like to shave or to wax or to laser...if we laser what happens if the trend changes to the au naturel look and the hair won't come back, what happens if we shave and we get an ingrown and it shows while we are at the beach in our swimsuits, and then there's periods...pads or tampons, leaks both from that and from our bladders due to birthing babies where everybody seems to need to poke around down there and then some (but no one seems to be to concerned about us laying there with a tissue paper sheet covering us and a cold clamp awaiting us) or, OMG, did you see the size of those shears they used to cut us when we're in labour!  As if we don't have enough responsibility with our own parts down there! Were your sweet fellas overly concerned when you were pushing out babies, getting stiched up, etc. etc.  Now imagine if they had to put their package on a tray and have 10 pounds of cold metal come down and squish it for about 25 seconds (you know, like a mammogram).  Probably even less men would go for their check up....but then probably the technology would be changed so they wouldn't have to endure that!  I just feel the ad should be directed at the fellow with the correct piece of anatomy.  So now I feel a bit better! Whew, that has been weighing on my mind.

So now on to tonight's chocolate, chocolate, chocolate and a little peanut butter.  The cupcakes are chocolate with some chocolate chips added in and the icing is chocolate with some peanut butter beaten in with the butter for a yummy mix of flavours.

Tonight's recipe is one my mom found I last Month's Toronto Sun by the food writer.  Since she took the time to cut it out and mail it to me I figured I should give it a try.  The recipe is celebrating 100 years of Hellmann's Mayonnaise and Rita DeMontis includes her tweaked version of the 1937 Hellmann's recipe.

Perfectly shaped Chocolate Cupcakes before Frosting

Chocolate \Peanut Butter Icing

These babies are so simple no mixer is required.  The icing you will need a hand mixer to whip it up but it comes together in a couple of minutes.

I did Google the Hellmann's site and found, what I believe to be the original recipe.  The original includes eggs and a little more sugar.  Try this adapted version designed to make about 24 cupcakes (I got 18)  and see what you think.  These baked up beautifully and came together in just a few minutes with 2 medium bowls, a whisk and a spatula plus 18 lined muffin cups.  I used a large ice cream scoop, I'd say about 1/3 cup size, and that was perfect.

Notice this recipe has no eggs but does require buttermilk and Hellmann's mayo.  Good luck!

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes - Toronto Sun, Wednesday, May 29

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line 18-24 muffin tins with liners.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup good quality cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup Hellmann's mayonnaise
1 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

In bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and baking powder and salt.  In separate bowl, whisk together sugar, mayonnaise, buttermilk and vanilla until well blended.

Add dry ingredients into wet mixture and stir until combined.

Portion out into prepared pans and bake for approx. 20 or until cake tester comes out clean.

Ice with your favourite icing.

To mix up the Chocolate/Peanut Butter Icing I used:
1/2 cup soft butter, about 1/3-1/2 cup smooth peanut butter and mixed it together well with a mixer.  I added in about 3 cups of icing sugar plus some cocoa powder and I also melted about 1/4 cup of milk chocolate chips just because I could.  I used a little bit of cream to make a spreadable icing.

Iced Smooth with Pastel Sprinkles