baking | Stephanie's Slice Of Life

Tag: baking
- French Bread
  
  Posted at 7:00 pm by StephMo
  
  Oct 23rd
  
  I am making homemade soup for dinner tonight and what better than a crusty loaf of bread to go with it. Even though I had to run to the store for some ingredients for the soup, I decided to bake my own bread instead of buying some. There is just something so comforting about warm bread right out of the oven.
  
  It is not very difficult to make this bread , and there isn’t much kneading involved. This recipe is once again from my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook and it doesn’t appear to be on-line. This cookbook is like gold to me, I may need to get it insured along with my wedding rings!
  
  Ingredients:
  
  3 – 3 1/2 cups bread flour
  
  1 tbsp. sugar
  
  1 tsp. salt
  
  1 package active dry yeast
  
  1 cup very warm water
  
  2 tbsp. vegetable oil
  
  1 egg white
  
  1 tbsp. cold water
  
  Combine 2 cups of flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a large mixing bowl.
  
  Add warm water and oil and beat on low speed of an electric mixer for 1 minute scraping the bowl frequently. Increase speed to medium and beat for another minute.
  
  Stir in 1/2 cup of flour at a time until the dough is easy to handle.
  
  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic.
  
  Grease a bowl with olive oil and roll the dough over in the bowl to coat with the oil. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the dough has doubled in size.
  
  Punch down the dough and cut in half. Roll out each half into a rectangle on a lightly floured board.
  
  Starting with the long side, roll the dough up tightly to form a loaf.
  
  Pinch the edge and the sides of the dough, then roll the loaf back and forth a few times.
  
  Place loaves on a greased cookie sheet. Make small slices across the loaves, then brush with cold water. Let rise uncovered for an hour until it doubles in size.
  
  Once it has risen, brush the loaves with the egg white and cold water mixture.
  
  Bake for 25-30 minutes at 375 degrees until brown and bread sounds hollow when tapped.
  
  Now try not to eat all of the bread before you make the soup!
  
  Posted in Breads, French Bread, Recipes | Tagged baking, bread, bread recipe, food blog, food blogger, french bread, french bread recipe
- M & M Cookies
  
  Posted at 10:21 am by StephMo
  
  Jan 17th
  
  For years any time I baked M&M cookies I just used my regular chocolate chip cookie recipe and added M&M’s instead of chocolate chips. They were good, but just good. Then I started looking around and trying other recipes and found this recipe which is great! This recipe uses shortening as opposed to butter, which I must say makes quite a difference.
  
  These cookies stay plump and soft, which has to do with the shortening. I have been so used to recipes containing butter, but often times they cook too thin for my liking. I am not sure where I found this recipe, but it has been a favorite ever since I did.
  
  Ingredients:
  
  1/2 cup sugar
  
  1 cup packed brown sugar
  
  1 cup shortening
  
  2 eggs
  
  1 1/2 tsps. vanilla
  
  2 1/2 cups flour
  
  1 tsp. baking soda
  
  1 tsp. salt
  
  1 cup (plus more) M&Ms
  
  Combine sugars, shortening, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl, then add to large bowl and mix well. Add 1 cup M&Ms.
  
  Drop by teaspoonfuls (I like to use cookie scoop) onto baking sheet. Gently add a few M&Ms onto the top of each cookie.
  
  Bake for 9 to 11 minutes at 350 degrees.
  
  The thing that’s fun about M&Ms is that you can use their Holiday colors, or whatever colors you choose. Except when you take out all of the reds and blues for the 4th of July, make sure you tell your peanut allergic son because he may think the leftovers are Reese’s Pieces and get a little nervous 🙁
  
  Posted in Cookies, M&M cookies, Recipes | Tagged baking, cookie recipe, cookies, food blog, food blogger, homemade cookies, life blogger, M & M cookies, M&M cookie recipe, M&M cookies, M&Ms, my slice of life, my slice of life blog
- Coconut Macaroons
  
  Posted at 7:39 pm by StephMo
  
  Dec 21st
  
  In my opinion, coconut and chocolate are one of the world’s best combinations. When I was younger I used to love Mounds and Almond Joy bars. Do you remember the commercial “Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t. Almond Joy’s got nuts, Mounds don’t”? I might be dating myself a little, regardless I still love the combination.
  
  These macaroons not only combine coconut and chocolate, but are one of the easiest things to put together. If you are looking for an impressive and delicious dessert, here it is!
  
  Ingredients:
  
  2 (7 oz) packages of flaked coconut
  
  1 (14 oz) can of sweetened condensed milk
  
  2 tsps. vanilla extract
  
  1 cup mini chocolate chips
  
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine sweetened condensed milk and vanilla in a medium bowl. Add coconut and combine well. Add 1 cup of mini chocolate chips and mix well.
  
  I use a cookie scoop and drop onto a very well greased aluminum foil lined cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned around edges.
  
  Once cooked these are very difficult to remove from the cookie sheet without falling apart. I try to at least loosen them from the aluminum foil with a spatula until I can transfer them to a cooling rack.
  
  Some will fall apart, which of course means you have to eat them!
  
  Posted in Coconut Macaroons, Cookies, Recipes | Tagged baking, coconut and chocolate, coconut chocolate chip macaroons, coconut macaroon recipe, coconut macaroons, coconut recipe, food blog, food blogger, macaroon recipe, macaroons
- Childhood Candy Cane Cookies
  
  Posted at 3:34 pm by StephMo
  
  Dec 13th
  
  I can vividly remember getting so excited for these candy cane cookies as a child. My mother would make them every year out of her Betty Crocker cookbook, and they were such a treat! Years ago I decided to make my own and found a Betty Crocker recipe on-line that I assumed were the cookies of my childhood, well they weren’t. It appears that Betty has made a few versions over the years, but the ones I remember as a child are still my favorite.
  
  The original recipe calls for almond extract, which due to nut allergies I no longer use in any recipes. I have made these with just using more vanilla, and I have also made these with substituting peppermint extract for the almond. While they are both very good, my family is down the middle with which version they prefer, so I alternate the versions I make so that it is fair to everyone.
  
  Candy Cane Cookie Recipe:
  
  1/2 cup butter softened
  
  1/2 cup shortening
  
  1 cup confectioners sugar
  
  1 egg
  
  1 1/2 tsps. almond extract (I either use peppermint or vanilla)
  
  1 tsp. vanilla
  
  2 1/2 cups flour
  
  1 tsp. salt
  
  1/2 tsp. red food color
  
  1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy
  
  1/2 cup sugar
  
  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine butter, shortening, confectioners sugar, egg, and flavoring. Blend in flour and salt. Divide dough in half and mix red food coloring into one half.
  
  Shape teaspoonfuls of dough into balls and then roll on a floured board into 4 inch ropes. Place a white and a red rope side by side and twist together.
  
  Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and curve top to form a cane. Bake for 9 minutes or until set and very light brown.
  
  Mix peppermint candy and sugar and immediately sprinkle on cookies when out of the oven. Let cool on cookie sheets for a few minutes before transferring to cooling racks.
  
  I love that my fond childhood memories have now become my children’s memories!
  
  Posted in Candy Cane Cookies, Cookies, Recipes | Tagged baking, baking blog, betty crocker candy cane cookies, candy cane cookies, christmas cookies, cookie recipe, cookies, food blog, food blogger, holiday cookies, my slice of life
- Hats Off For Santa – Brownie Santa Hats
  
  Posted at 12:56 pm by StephMo
  
  Dec 2nd
  
  Ho Ho Ho! It’s December, which means it’s time to start thinking about Holiday baking! I love to bake around the holidays, and it has been a tradition for years and years. I change things around some years, but I have my favorites and this is one of them. They are adorable, and so delicious! You need a round brownie, some cream cheese frosting, strawberries, and that’s it! The three flavors go so well together.
  
  If you don’t have a small muffin pan, you could bake them in a rectangular pan and cut them into circles. Personally, this way is much easier and worth the money for the pan. When I try to cut anything into circles I always end up with hexagons, octagons, basically some kind of “gon” but not a circle. I must have been too busy chatting that day in Kindergarten.
  
  My “go to” brownie recipe is the One Bowl Brownie recipe that comes inside the Baker’s Unsweetened Chocolate Box. It is one of the best that I have found, and it only uses one bowl. It’s a win win. You could use store bought brownies or a brownie mix, but this recipe is so easy that it really is worth making homemade. Here is the brownie recipe:
  
  Ingredients:
  
  1 pkg. Baker’s unsweetened chocolate
  
  3/4 cup butter
  
  2 cups sugar
  
  3 eggs
  
  1 tsp. vanilla
  
  1 cup flour
  
  Microwave the butter and chocolate together for 2 minutes until the butter is melted.
  
  Stir well until the chocolate melts.
  
  Stir in the sugar.
  
  Stir in the eggs and vanilla until well mixed. Add the flour and combine well.
  
  Line a 9″ x 13″ pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Pour the brownie mixture into the pan and cook at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out with fudgy crumbs.
  
  If you are using a small muffin pan, spray the pan with cooking spray before adding the batter to the pan.
  
  Once the brownies are done and cooled, you pipe some cream cheese frosting onto the tops to look like the fur trim on Santa’s hat. If you have a frosting bag, you can choose a fancier tip if you prefer. One of these days I will invest in a frosting bag, but until then I just use a sandwich bag with one edge cut off. It makes an absolute mess this way, and if you are like me you will be covered in frosting. However, I can definitely think of worse things to be covered in than cream cheese frosting.
  
  I have shared my cream cheese frosting recipe before, but here it is again. I can pretty much guarantee you will not be upset that you might have to lick some of this frosting off of your hands.
  
  Cream Cheese Frosting – Beat 1/2 cup softened butter with 8 oz. softened block cream cheese with electric mixer. Beat in about 3 1/2 cups of powdered sugar. Add 1 1/2 tsps. vanilla and beat until creamy. Taste for sweetness, add more sugar if not sweet enough.
  
  Once the brownies are frosted, you cut the tops off of the strawberries and stick one on each brownie. Add a little bit of frosting on the tip to make the fur pom pom, and you are done.
  
  One thing to be aware of, the red juice from the strawberries might run into the frosting the longer they are kept refrigerated. They look best if made soon before serving.
  
  I can’t wait to make these this year, and I just might ask Santa for a frosting bag 🙂
  
  Posted in Holiday Treats, Sweet Treats | Tagged baking, cream cheese frosting recipe, one bowl brownies, Recipes, santa hat brownies, santas hat brownies
- These Blueberry Muffins Really Are To Die For
  
  Posted at 9:27 am by StephMo
  
  Nov 19th
  
  I grew up in a very urban town where wild blueberries weren’t something I ever came across. Dandelions, sure, but not any type of wild berry. So when I realized there were blueberries and raspberries growing in our yard in Maine, I was basically beside myself with joy.
  
  Every summer I will painstakingly bend over to pick every blueberry I possibly can. Then I will limp back to the house with my tiny crop which never yields enough to make a pie, but there are enough to make muffins. One day as I came back hunched over moaning in pain and covered in mosquito bites, my husband said “you know they sell blueberries at the store right?” Ha ha, yes I know that, but for me there is just some happiness associated with picking my own berries. However, I am putting a blueberry rake on my Christmas list because that happiness is starting to deplete with every year older I become.
  
  Before I owned a “farm” I was never a big muffin baker. Every recipe I tried always seemed to be dry, or the edges were just too brown. Since my blueberry crop wasn’t large enough to make a pie, I decided to give muffins another shot and look for a good recipe. Well, here it is. They are moist, and almost seem too easy to make.
  
  Ingredients:
  
  1 1/2 cups flour
  
  3/4 cup sugar
  
  1/2 tsp salt
  
  2 tsps baking powder
  
  1/3 cup canola oil (or vegetable oil)
  
  1 egg
  
  1/3 cup milk
  
  1 cup blueberries
  
  Topping:
  
  1/2 cup sugar
  
  1/3 cup flour
  
  1/4 cup butter, cubed
  
  1 1/2 tsps cinnamon
  
  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a muffin tin or line with paper liners.
  
  In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. In a measuring cup add the oil and egg. Add milk until it reaches the 1 cup mark. Combine the egg/milk mixture with the dry ingredients and mix well.
  
  Fold in the blueberries.
  
  Fill the muffin tins to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping if you like. I have made these with no topping, with just some sugar sprinkled on top, or with the crumb topping. Either way is just absolutely delicious!
  
  For the crumb topping combine the sugar, flour, butter, and cinnamon. Cut the mixture with a pastry cutter or with a fork.
  
  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  
  Sometimes when I have enough raspberries to pick, I have added them to the recipe as well.
  
  I will admit I have also made them with blueberries from the store, and they are just as good 🙂
  
  Posted in Blueberry Muffins, Muffins, Recipes, Sweet Treats | Tagged baking, blueberry muffin recipe, blueberry muffins, muffin recipe, muffins, raspberry muffins, recipe
- This Chocolate Cake Recipe Really Does Take The Cake
  
  Posted at 8:38 pm by StephMo
  
  Nov 12th
  
  When we moved into our home 13 years ago, our neighbor baked us a bundt cake. I don’t remember what frosting it had on it, I only remember the cake was fantastic. Come to find out it is the recipe on the back of the Hershey’s Cocoa container. Believe me when I say, this cake, really takes the cake!
  
  It is the only chocolate cake I will make, and have made since then. I usually make it as a bundt cake, but have made cupcakes and a sheet cake over the years as well. It has been the only cake my daughter requests on her birthday for I don’t even know how long. And since her birthday was 4 days ago, I just made one!
  
  When the cake is for my daughter, I just use Betty Crocker’s Vanilla Glaze recipe. When it’s for someone else, I put Betty Crocker’s Chocolate Glaze on top of the vanilla glaze. My daughter isn’t a big fan of chocolate glaze, that’s why I don’t make it for her, not because I don’t think she’s worthy lol.
  
  ** A few tips, first make sure to sift the dry ingredients, especially when using cocoa powder. Also, I use water from the tap because mine gets really hot. I have used it when it didn’t get quite as hot, and the recipe doesn’t work well.
  
  Here is the cake recipe, or you can take it right off of the container.
  
  Ingredients:
  
  2 cups sugar
  
  1 3/4 cups flour
  
  3/4 cups cocoa powder
  
  1 tsp. salt
  
  1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  
  1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  
  2 eggs
  
  1 cup milk
  
  1/2 cup vegetable oil
  
  2 tsp. vanilla
  
  1 cup boiling water
  
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt pan (or whichever pans you prefer).
  
  Sift all of the dry ingredients together. As I stated earlier, it is really important to sift the ingredients and not just mix.
  
  Add the eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for two minutes while scraping the sides constantly.
  
  Add the water into the batter and mix well with a spoon or spatula, the batter will be very loose. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30 – 35 minutes until a toothpick or knife comes out clean.
  
  This cake is so moist it doesn’t even need glaze, but why not add a little butter right? Yum.
  
  The glaze recipes are from Betty Crocker’s New Cookbook, which I received as a wedding shower gift in 1998. It’s always been my “go to” cookbook. I don’t believe these recipes are on-line, so here they are.
  
  Vanilla Glaze:
  
  1/3 cup butter
  
  2 cups powdered sugar
  
  1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  
  2 to 4 tbsp. hot water
  
  Melt the butter in a saucepan and remove from the heat.
  
  Stir in the vanilla, then stir in the powdered sugar and add hot water 1 tbsp. at a time until the glaze is smooth and consistency of thick syrup.
  
  Then you can just drizzle the glaze how ever you would like over the cake.
  
  Chocolate Glaze:
  
  1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  
  2 tbsp. butter
  
  2 tbsp. corn syrup
  
  1 to 2 tsp. hot water
  
  Heat the chocolate chips, butter, and corn syrup in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until the chocolate chips are melted. Cool slightly.
  
  Stir in the hot water 1 tsp. at a time until the consistency of thick syrup.
  
  Drizzle over the cake just as I have the vanilla glaze. As I mentioned previously, the chocolate glaze is amazing on top of the vanilla glaze. Yum!
  
  Posted in Cakes, Chocolate Cake | Tagged baking, betty crocker recipe, blog, blogger, bundt cake, chocolate cake, chocolate glaze, food blogger, vanilla glaze
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