Author: Amy

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

choc pb barsMy dear friend Bryan lives in New Mexico, and he’s very supportive of my baking endeavors. I promised to bake and blog something just for him, so, ta daaa, chocolate peanut butter bars!

Bryan and I worked together in the visitor services department at the National Building Museum in DC; I believe we first bonded over having grown up sixty miles apart in Wheeling, WV and Pittsburgh respectively. One of my favorite memories with Bryan is the day he and I conducted visitor services research (read: ran around checking out signage, exhibits, and having great fun) at other museums. Though we lost touch for a while because of job changes and moves, I was happy to reconnect with Bryan on Facebook, where you can find us liking each others statuses every five minutes.

I admire Bryan for many reasons. He’s a therapist, so he helps people make sense of their lives. He’s a great husband, doing thoughtful, awesome things for his husband Paul. He is passionately committed to causes that are of great interest to me, and he’s the kind of person who states his position with not only great conviction, but respect for alternative points of view.

If I could manage to ship these tasty bars to Bryan, I would! They feature oats, chocolate chips, and peanut butter, which are among my favorite things, and therefore fitting for one of my favorite people.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups oats
  • 1 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup butter, slightly softened
  • 1/2 cup chopped peanuts
  • 1 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 beaten egg
  • 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/3 cup peanut butter

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, flours, baking powder, and baking soda.

Add butter and rub in with your hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Stir in peanuts.

In a separate bowl, combine 1 3/4 oat mixture with chocolate chips; set aside to use as topping.

In a large measuring cup, combine peanut butter and sweetened condensed milk and whisk until smooth; set aside to use as filling.

Add beaten egg to remainder of oat mixture and mix well; press into bottom of a 15x10x1 pan.

Bake for 15 minutes; remove from oven and pour filling over bottom crust, then top with chocolate chip oat mixture.

Bake for another 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.

Cool on a wire rack.

Sugar Cut-Out Tips

 

 

 

 

 

For a long time, sugar cookies were my nemesis. I loved how they looked, but didn’t really love to make them, because I always had trouble getting the right consistency in my dough. The following tips may help you reach sugar cookie nirvana:

  • Softened/room temperature butter should be the texture of ice cream, not peanut butter. It should hold some of its shape, but not be too soft.
  • Flour incorporation takes a few minutes. The dough will go through a crumb-like stage and then change to a more cohesive dough that pulls away from the side of the mixer. When it pulls away, it’s done.
  • If your dough is too crumbly, even after a few minutes of mixing, go ahead and add another teaspoon of vanilla extract or water. Take care not to add too much water; your dough needs to be stiff enough to roll out, so if you end up adding more liquid (or your butter was really, really soft) add another tablespoon of flour to help stabilize the dough.
  • Place your dough in large  Ziploc bags or between sheets of waxed paper and roll it slightly before chilling.
  • Chill your dough for about 30 minutes; I’ve found that this gives enough time to make rolling easier, but isn’t so long that your dough is hard.
  • Remove your dough from the fridge and let it sit out for a few minutes before you roll it.
  • If you have trouble with breakage when transferring your cut cookies to the baking sheet, keep the cookie cutter in place once you’ve cut your shape, then slide an offset spatula beneath the cookie and move the whole thing, cutter and all, to the baking sheet and then remove the cutter.
  • Chill your cut-outs for 5-10 minutes before baking.
  • Different shapes = different baking times, so bake one shape at a time. For example, if you’re baking moons and stars, bake all of the moons on one sheet and all of the stars on another to ensure even baking.

Milk Chocolate Fudge

 

 

 

 

 

I will admit it: I am cheap. And I don’t like to waste, so when I found myself with half a can of evaporated milk left over from pumpkin pie last Thanksgiving, I surely didn’t want to pour it down the drain. A quick online search led me to this recipe, an easy one especially if you’re a rookie candy maker.

Remember, on this blog, we have no fear. Candy making needn’t intimidate anyone if they follow their recipe and choose a dry day to experiment (because sugar attracts water and behaves differently in humidity and rain). Essentially, candy making is about how sugar is transformed when heated, if it forms small crystals or large crystals based on what temperature it reaches and whether the molecules are agitated by stirring.

This particular recipe requires extensive and vigorous stirring, so be prepared to get a bit of a workout. It also helps to have an assistant for the step when you remove the mixture from the heat and add the marshmallows, chocolate chips, and vanilla, so you can continue to stir constantly.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2/3 cup evaporated milk
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
  • 2 cups miniature marshmallows
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preparation

Line an 8×8 baking dish with foil, extending foil over the sides.

In a medium bowl, combine chocolate chips and marshmallows; set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, evaporated milk, butter, and salt; stirring constantly, bring to a rolling boil over medium heat and cook for 5 minutes. Note: you must continue to stir the mixture while it boils for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and add chocolate chips, marshmallows, and vanilla extract. Vigorously stir until the mixture is smooth, about 3-4 more minutes. Pour into baking dish and place in the fridge to cool completely.

Cut into squares and store in the fridge.

Pumpkin Pie

 

 

 

 

 

Why do we eat pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, and not in the middle of July? Because once upon a time, long before supermarkets and canned pumpkin puree, people ate what was available to them in any given season, and pumpkins were available in the fall.

Seasonal eating is another great lesson that can be learned from your local family farm market. Pumpkins, squashes, and apples are great fall foods, as peaches, berries, and corn sweeten the summer. Citrus fruits, like my favorite clementines, are at their best in winter. So while you can procure nearly any fruit or veggie year-round, it won’t necessarily taste as good out of season.

You could certainly roast a pie pumpkin, scrape out its flesh, and use that in your pumpkin pie, but thanks to the good folks at Libby’s pumpkin puree is available year-round. This is a quick and easy recipe that works well for busy holiday times.

Ingredients

  • 1 9-inch pie crust, unbaked
  • 1 16-ounce can pumpkin puree
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 3 lightly beaten eggs
  • 2/3 cup evaporated milk
  • 1/2 cup milk*

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line a 9-inch pie dish with crust; trim edges and place on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any overflow.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg and beat with a fork.

Add eggs and beat lightly until combined.

Slowly add milk and mix well.

Pour filling into prepared pie dish.

Cover the edge of the pie with a guard or foil to prevent over-browning.

Bake for 25 minutes, then uncover the edge and bake another 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the pie comes out clean.

Cool completely.

*Full disclosure: In my flurry of Thanksgiving preparations, I totally forgot the additional 1/2 cup of milk in this pie. It turned out just fine, but next time, I’ll make sure to use both the evaporated milk and fresh milk!

Turkey Sugar Cut-Outs

 

 

 

 

 

Several Thanksgivings ago, in our tiny kitchen in DC, I made sugar cut-outs in the shape of turkeys, pumpkins, maple leaves, and acorns. Rolling out sugar cookie dough in a galley-style kitchen is next to impossible, but the little dining table we had in our living room worked very well. Decorating sugar cookies is a fun endeavor, and because I had colored sugar that year, I decided to embellish the turkeys so that both toms and hens were on the platter.

When the cookies arrived at Aunt Liz’s house, they were a big hit. My cousin-in-law, Robb, first called the turkeys “anatomically correct,” but we later agreed that “gender specific” was a more appropriate term. Either way, I now make these turkeys every year.

Ingredients

  • 1 recipe sugar cut-outs
  • 1 recipe Zella’s icing
  • Brown gel food coloring
  • Miniature chocolate chips, for turkey eyes
  • Colored sugar sprinkles, for tom feathers

Preparation

Bake and cool sugar cut-outs.

Prepare icing; add enough brown food coloring to reach your desired turkey color.

Frost turkeys with a small offset spatula or butter knife, using a swirling motion to make feather patterns.

Press a miniature chocolate chip onto each turkey for the eye.

For the toms: starting on the outside of the feather end, use a teaspoon to sprinkle on a generous amount of colored sugar; repeat with two additional colors. Gently press the sugar into the icing with your finger, then lift the cookie and shake off any excess.

Allow icing to set before storing; store between sheets of parchment or waxed paper.

Apple Pie

This summer Mike made a huge career change, leaving the office world behind for the fresh air at Soergel Orchards, a local, family-owned farm market. Soergel’s is a fun place for both kids and grown-ups; if you live in the Pittsburgh area and have never been, you must go—not just for the experience, but for the produce.

Soergel’s has helped me realize why locally-grown produce is the best choice, both gastronomically and economically. Because local fruit and vegetables spend no time in transit, they don’t have to be preserved and waxed like their commercial counterparts. Taste-wise, there is no comparison—you haven’t tasted an apple, or a strawberry, or a butternut squash until you’ve had one from a local field. Economically, buying local keeps money in your community and supports families who work incredibly hard, doing what they love, in order to bring fresh, nutritious, high-quality food to your table.

The apples in this pie are Jonagold and Mutsu from Soergel’s orchards. Using two different kinds of apples, one tart and one sweet, adds an interesting dimension of flavor.

Ingredients

  • 2 9-inch pie crusts, unbaked
  • 6 medium to large apples, preferably a mix of red and yellow or green, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line a 9-inch pie dish with crust and place on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any overflow.

In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Add apple slices and toss to coat.

Pour into prepared pie dish; cover with top crust and trim edges. Gently prick the top crust with a fork to allow steam to escape.

Cover the edge of the pie with a guard or foil to prevent over-browning.

Bake for 25 minutes, then uncover the edge and bake another 25-30 minutes, until crust is evenly browned.

Serve warm or cool.

Pie Crust

 

 

 

 

 

“I can’t make much, but I can make pie crust,” said my mother. A few days ago, as we discussed Thanksgiving plans, I expressed my concern at making a homemade crust for the pies Genny requested. I’ve never found a recipe that worked well, and so for years I’ve resorted to (dramatic pause) store-bought crust. But not this year! One cannot use store-bought crust if she wishes to be taken seriously as a baker. And so, I wrote down Genny’s recipe and hoped for the best.

My mom swears that the vinegar in her recipe makes the crust flaky. During the past week, as I scoured the internet in an attempt to earn a doctorate in pie crust, I learned that the acid in the vinegar breaks down the gluten in the flour just enough to make the dough more pliable. And because flakiness tends to result from bits of fat (butter, shortening, or lard) melting between layers of flour to create pockets, I don’t know if we can credit the vinegar for contributing to flakiness here. Although, more pliable dough means less rolling and easier handling, and we know well that over-handling dough can make it tough. Perhaps the vinegar can take some credit for flakiness.

This recipe is large enough to make three 9-inch pie crusts; you can always freeze what you don’t use.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 3/4 cups shortening
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup cold water

Preparation

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.

Measure out the shortening and break it up into tablespoon-sized lumps; add to the flour mixture and cut in using a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a small bowl, combine egg, vinegar, and water; whisk together and add to the flour/shortening mix.

Using a fork, blend together until a soft dough forms; gently combine with your hands if necessary.

Divide dough into three even portions and roll into balls, then flatten slightly into discs.

Place each disc in its own large Ziploc bag and roll out to flatten slightly.

Freeze crusts for 20 minutes before baking; crusts can be stored in the fridge or freezer until they are ready to use.

Pie Crust Tips

  • Coarse crumbs are very subjective; you just want to be sure the shortening is well-incorporated, with no large pieces remaining.
  • When cutting in the shortening and later incorporating the egg mixture, use your hands if necessary, but be very, very gentle. Overworked dough = tough dough.
  • I use ice water when working with pastry; just fill a large measuring cup with ice and water, then pour it into a smaller measuring cup when you need to combine it with the egg.
  • Make sure your egg is cold, too. Pastry likes cold.

Chocolate Chip Scones

 

 

 

 

 

Someday I hope to visit Scotland, home of shortbread and scones. How such simple ingredients–essentially butter, flour, and sugar–can yield such marvelous treats is a wonder.

These scones are certainly Americanized, not much like traditional Scottish scones, but they are light and flaky and pair very well with a good cup of tea. This recipe requires you to literally get your hands into the mix, rubbing the butter into the flour mixture, which can take a few minutes and requires great subjectivity. My mixture looked like a bowl of cake crumbs, with some smaller and larger pieces, before I added the chocolate chips and wet ingredients. And, take note that the dough will be wet and sticky when you turn it out onto the parchment-lined baking sheet; it will not be dry like biscuit dough.

Next time, I plan to add some sanding sugar to the tops for a bit of crunch.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 8 tablespoons cold butter, cut into cubes
  • 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons milk

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.

In a small bowl, whisk together egg and milk; set aside.

Add butter to the flour mixture. Using your hands, rub in the butter until the mixture looks like cake crumbs.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Add egg and milk mixture and stir together, using a fork, until the dough just comes together.

Turn out onto parchment-lined sheet and flatten to about one-inch thickness.

Cut into eight wedges and, using a small offset spatula, pull the wedges apart so they are not touching.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, until tops are golden brown.

Serve warm or allow to cool.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Veteran’s Day! As I baked these treats, which taste like an amazing combination of a sugar cookie and a dark chocolate brownie, I thought about the care packages that members of the US military receive from their families. Then, I thought about all of the veterans I’ve known—men, mostly, in my family and among my friends—and how profoundly grateful I am to have known them.

One of my favorite veterans was Francis Kruhm, our landlord in Sunshine, MD. Mike and I lived there before our move into DC while he was on active duty with the Maryland Army National Guard. Mr. Kruhm served in the Army during World War II, and was part of the invasion at Anzio, Italy in 1944.  The Kruhms were friends of my Aunt Liz’s in-laws, the Brighams, and they had a tiny apartment on the side of their house that they rented to us for an extraordinarily low rate.

About a week after we moved in, Mr. Kruhm gave me a service banner to hang in the front window. He had a full-sized flagpole in the front yard and raised the stars and stripes every single day. Mr. Kruhm was an active member of the VFW and an impressive gardener; I would often come home to find bags of corn, tomatoes, and zucchini on my porch. Even after we moved to DC and later, back to Pittsburgh, I sent Mr. Kruhm a Christmas card every year, and he sent us one in return. He passed away not long ago, another member of the Greatest Generation who surely made it into heaven.

I wish to sincerely thank all of the member of the US military, as well as their families, for their bravery and sacrifice. I am truly grateful to be a citizen of this amazing nation, and to the men and women who fought for our freedoms.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup shortening, melted and cooled
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine sugar and butter; beat until fluffy.

Add shortening and beat well.

Add egg and vanilla and beat until creamy.

Add flour mixture in two batches, beating until combined after each.

Using a two-inch cookie scoop, drop onto baking sheets about two inches apart.

Bake for 18 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack.

 

 

Caramel Frosting

 

 

 

 

 

Many amateur bakers are intimidated by caramel, but this recipe is very simple; it just requires paying close attention to the butter, brown sugar, and milk, and exhibiting some patience in waiting for the caramel mixture to cool slightly before the incorporation of the powdered sugar. It is an excellent choice for chocolate cake, but also pairs nicely with white cake or almond cake. This recipe yields enough for 24 cupcakes or one bundt cake; I have not tried to frost two-layer or sheet cakes with it yet.

Ingredients

  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preparation

Combine butter and brown sugar in a medium saucepan and slowly bring to a boil.

Boil for one minute, remove from heat, and stir in milk.

Return to heat and bring to a boil once again.

Pour mixture into mixing bowl and allow to cool slightly, about 5 minutes.

Beat caramel mixture on medium speed for a few minutes to disperse heat; the mixing bowl should not be too hot for you to touch, but if it remains warm that is fine.

Add one cup powdered sugar and one teaspoon vanilla, beating until smooth.

Slowly add the remaining powdered sugar and vanilla, beating until smooth.

Frost cake or cupcakes quickly, as this will set very quickly.