Author: Amy

Lemon Cupcakes

 

 

 

 

 

Ahh, lemons.  Fans of amy bakes in the ‘burgh know very well of my sincere appreciation of this sunny citrus fruit.  I’ve had a recipe for lemon cupcakes on my mind for a while now, and these are prepared with a simple lemon cream cheese frosting, but I look forward to experimenting with strawberry or raspberry cream cheese frosting in the future.

I don’t usually pipe my frosting, but these cupcakes seemed to request it.  I have big plans to buy a massive pastry bag and enormous plain tip the likes of which are seen on the Food Network, but for these I used a regular 12-inch pastry bag fitted with a #12 Ateco tip.  You could certainly embellish these cupcakes with sprinkles, colored sugar, or a bit of candied lemon peel, but I’ve gone the traditional route with a simple swirl of frosting.

Note: lemon curd can be made from scratch, but I used ready-made lemon curd that I found in the jelly and jam section of my grocery store.

Lemon Cupcakes

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 12 tablespoons butter, slightly softened
  • 1 3/4 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • Zest of 2 medium lemons
  • 1 1/4 cups milk

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line two 12-inch muffin ups with paper liners; you will need additional liners, as this recipe yields about 30 cupcakes.

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar, and vanilla.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.

Add lemon zest and beat until combined.

Add flour mixture and milk alternatively, in three batches, beating until combined.

Using a cookie scoop, scoop batter into prepared muffin tins, filling about half full.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool completely before frosting.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 4 tablespoons shortening
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons lemon curd
  • yellow food coloring

Preparation

In a large bowl, sift powdered sugar and salt together; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter, cream cheese, shortening, and vanilla.

Add powdered sugar in four batches, beating well after each addition.

Add lemon juice and lemon curd and beat well.

Add several drops of yellow food coloring and beat well.

To frost:

Spoon frosting into a 12-inch piping bag fitted with a #12 Ateco tip.

Pipe frosting in a swirl on top of each cupcake.

Store in the refrigerator.

Devil’s Food Cake

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike’s first “real” job as a newspaper reporter took us to LaPlata, Maryland.  After we moved there it took me a few months to find a job, so I spent the summer baking, sending the results of my confectionery endeavors in to his office.  This cake was a particular favorite, proclaimed by one of his colleagues to be worthy of a blue ribbon at the county fair.  Allegheny County doesn’t have a fair, but if it did, you can bet I’d enter this in it.

I’ve found that if you grease cake pans, then line them with waxed paper or parchment paper and grease the paper before flouring the pan, your cakes will pop out easily.  You can certainly use the traditional grease and flour method without the paper, but this is my preferred technique.  To make the liners, I place the paper down on a counter top, lightly trace its circumference with the tip of a knife, then cut a slightly smaller circle of paper to fit inside the pan.

Also, when I frost cakes, I always frost the sides last.  You can certainly frost the top last if you’d prefer, but I find that saving the sides for last makes a smoother edge where the side meets the top.  I’m not a huge fan of elaborate decorations on cakes, so I use an offset spatula and smooth strokes to create a very homemade, old-fashioned appearance. 

Ingredients

 

  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 1 3/4 cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/3 cups water
  • 1 recipe fudge frosting

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly grease two 9-inch round cake pans.  Line the bottom of each with waxed paper, lightly grease the waxed paper, and lightly flour each pan.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.  Mix well and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat shortening on medium speed for 30 seconds.

Add sugar and vanilla; beat until combined.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined after each.

Add flour mixture and water alternatively in three batches, beating on medium speed until just combined.

Divide batter evenly between the pans and bake for 35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in pans for about 10 minutes; run a knife around the edge of each pan to loosen the cakes, then turn them out onto cooling racks and remove the waxed paper from the bottom.  Flip right-sides up and allow to cool completely before frosting.

 

Iced Oatmeal Applesauce Cookies

 

 

 

 

 

Mike and I have been married for 12 years, and together for nearly 16.  We met at a frat party on the first night back for the fall semester at Frostburg State University in 1996 and have been together ever since, joking that we got married by default because it simply didn’t occur to us to look for anyone else.

Our tastes in food are drastically different, precipitating a number of challenges in the kitchen.  Mike will eat almost anything and seems to have a particular fondness for foods that make me gag, like sauerkraut, for example.  He also loves vegetables (even Brussels sprouts), puts condiments on everything, and enjoys chunky tomato sauce, chunky applesauce, and yogurt with fruit in it.  I would be perfectly happy eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the rest of my life, I peel apples and peaches because I don’t like the skin, I believe the only accoutrements a sandwich or burger needs are cheese and well-done bacon, and I prefer my sauces and yogurts chunk-free.  Perhaps the greatest divide in our relationship is his fondness for raisins, as I cannot understand why shriveled grapes are appetizing.

Mike has three favorite cookies: chocolate chip, pecan rugelach, and these iced oatmeal applesauce cookies.  He’s had a busy week so far and will have an even busier weekend, so there are for him.

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup chunky applesauce
  • 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup raisins

For the icing

  • 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 2-3 tablespoons water

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line several sheets with parchment paper or foil.

In a mixing bowl, combine butter and sugars; beat on low speed until well-blended.

Add egg and applesauce; beat until very well-blended, about two minutes.

Add oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; beat on low speed until combined.

Add raisins and stir by hand to incorporate.

Using a two-inch cookie scoop, drop cookies onto baking sheets about two inches apart; you should have six cookies per sheet.

Bake for 13-15 minutes, until golden brown.

Remove from oven and cool on baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Combine powdered sugar, vanilla, and one tablespoon water.  Add additional tablespoons water, one at a time, until you reach a smooth, drizzly consistency.

Channel your inner Jackson Pollock and drizzle icing over cookies.  Allow icing to set before storing.

Banana Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

 

 

 

 

Bananas fare poorly in our kitchen.  Perhaps we have improper air flow, or really need one of those banana hanger gadgets.  Either way, before I know it even the greenest of bananas turn spotted and brown on our counter top.  When I pass them, I swear they whisper that I’m a bad hostess.

I once asked Mike if a particularly leopard-looking bunch was a nonverbal request for banana bread, to which he replied, “no, but if you wanted to make some that would be nice.”  I thought about making banana bread with our uber-ripe bananas tonight, but then I flipped through a cookie book and found a sticky note, left by Mike, on the page with this recipe.  I suspect that adding a bit of peanut butter to the batter would make them even more enticing, so stay tuned for Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies in another post.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 12 tablespoons butter, slightly softened
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup thoroughly mashed very ripe banana (2 small bananas or 1 medium banana)
  • 1 cup old-fashioned oats
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Line several baking sheets with foil and spray with cooking spray.

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

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugars.

Add egg and vanilla and beat well.

Add flour mixture and banana and beat until combined.

Stir in oats and chocolate chips until well combined.

Using a two-inch cookie scoop, drop cookies onto prepared baking sheets about two inches apart; you should have six cookies per sheet.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until light golden brown all over and centers are almost firm when pressed.

Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack and allow to stand for 2-3 minutes to firm up slightly.

Transfer cookies from the baking sheet to another wire rack to cool completely.

Blackberry Cobbler

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Independence Day!   Let’s take a moment to express our sincere thanks to the men and women of the United States military for protecting our freedom and for their bravery, selflessness, and sacrifice.

Being an American is pretty awesome, no matter what anyone says about politics.  We have a beautiful country with a diverse landscape and ample natural resources.  We have freedom of speech, the press, and religion.  We have the right to vote.  We have access to education.  We have choices, and we have hope.  Those are amazing gifts, and not one of us should take them for granted.

In celebration of Independence Day, I wanted to make a traditional American dessert.  Since the blackberry bushes in our yard yielded an impressive crop in the past few days, Mike suggested blackberry cobbler.  Cobbler originated in the British American colonies, where settlers lacked the ingredients and equipment they needed for English desserts.  To remedy this, enterprising colonial women combined uncooked biscuit dough or dumplings with stewed fruit, and cobblers were born.  Cobblers are so named not only because they resemble a cobbled street when baked, but also because their ingredients were quite literally cobbled together.

Mike, a veteran of the Maryland Army National Guard, proclaimed this cobbler excellent.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups blackberries
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted

Preparation

Rinse blackberries well and place in a medium bowl.  Add sugar, mix well, and let stand for about 20 minutes, mixing occasionally to distribute the sugar evenly.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and milk; mix well.

Add melted butter; mix very well.

Pour batter into an ungreased 8-inch baking dish.

Spoon berry/sugar mixture over the top.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the dough rises and turns golden brown.

Serve warm or let cool; add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream if you like.

Steamed Crab Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs with Vanilla Icing

 

 

 

 

 

The Great State of Maryland has played a huge role in my life.  My mom was born and raised there, and I chose Frostburg State University for college, married a Maryland boy, and lived there for a while before moving to DC.

Marylanders are proud of the Chesapeake Bay, its history, and its industry.  Mike can tell you, in great detail, about the pollution that led to a serious reduction in the crab and oyster populations in the 1980s, precipitating the “Save the Bay” initiative. Fortunately, Marylanders are environmentally-minded, and the bay is now a healthy source of tasty seafood, the most famous of which is the blue crab.

Crab feasts are social events, involving iced tea, beer, Old Bay, newspaper-covered picnic tables, and epic storytelling.   They last for hours and hours.  I had never eaten a crab until I met Mike, and his dad taught me how to whack the shell open with a mallet and extract the meat with a knife.  I admit that I had the patience for one crab-whacking only; to this day, I prefer my crab in cake form.

These crab cookies are dedicated to all of my favorite Marylanders.

You will need:

  • A crab-shaped cookie cutter
  • One double batch of Sugar Cut-Outs
  • One batch vanilla icing (see below)
  • Red and brown gel paste food coloring

Vanilla Icing

Ingredients

  • 6 tablespoons shortening
  • 2 egg whites
  • Pinch of salt
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1-2 teaspoons water

Preparation

Combine shortening, egg whites, salt, and 1 cup powdered sugar in a mixing bowl.  Beat well on medium speed for about one minute.

Add one cup of powdered sugar at a time, beating well on medium, then high speed for about one minute after each.

Add vanilla extract and beat well; if you want a thinner consistency, add one to two teaspoons of water and beat very well.

To create cookies:

Reserve a small portion of the icing to tint brown for eyes; tint remaining icing red.

Frost crab bodies red, then pipe on eyes.

Let icing harden for a few hours before storing; store between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container.

Almond Clouds (gluten-free)

 

 

 

 

 

This weekend Mike and I are off to the Clarksville Picnic in my mom’s hometown of Clarksville, Maryland.  The picnic is one of the highlights of my year; it features the white elephant rummage sale, bingo, pony rides, games for kids, a bake sale, a quilt raffle (which my mom won three years ago, and that quilt is now on my bed) and a family-style fried chicken and baked ham dinner.

I love the picnic because it gives me a chance to hang out with my Maryland family, the descendants of the Feaga-O’Donnell clan.  The lynchpin is Aunt Liz, my mom’s twin sister. Yes, my mom has a twin.  And no, you cannot get a word in edgewise when they’re together.

Anyway…Aunt Liz is the youngest of the six O’Donnell kids, and her home, Glyndon, is the center of my Maryland universe.  Tucked into a corner of Montgomery County that hasn’t been developed to death, Glyndon is a classic white colonial with black shutters, a wood stove, and a dog pen that’s been home to many faithful mutts over the years.

Aunt Liz puts on meals like nobody’s business.  Her Thanksgiving dinners are legendary, her breakfasts the stuff of myths.  She’s an excellent cook and baker, but she was diagnosed with Celiac Disease a few years ago.  After mentioning some almond cookies she liked that she’d gotten at an allergy-free store, I decided to go on the hunt for a gluten-free almond cookie that I could make on my own, and I found this one.

Aunt Liz proclaimed it the best cookie she’d ever eaten in her life.  The highest of praise, indeed.

Ingredients

  • 10 ounces almond paste
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • Powdered sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325.

Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.

Break up almond paste into pieces.

In a mixing bowl, combine almond paste, sugar, and salt until uniformly crumbly.

Gradually add egg whites until dough is smooth and paste-like.

Add almond extract and beat well.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared sheets, leaving ample room in between; I bake six cookies per sheet.

Using a small sieve, generously dust each cookie with powdered sugar.

Bake for 20-22 minutes, until edges are light golden brown.

Cool for several minutes on baking sheets, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.

Dust with more powdered sugar if desired.

Almond Biscotti

 

 

 

 

 

Pittsburgh’s Strip District is a 20-odd block extravaganza of ethnic food shops, restaurants, and eclectic stores.  It is my favorite part of Pittsburgh, a neighborhood I truly missed when I lived in DC.

On weekends the Strip teems with an endless flow of Pittsburghers and their out-of-town relatives, many of whom appear awestruck at the spectacle that is Penn Avenue on a Saturday morning.  They wander in and out of the shops, picking up fresh mozzarella, olives, pepperoni rolls, kielbasa, pierogi, tortilla chips, avocados, basmati rice, and knockoff t-shirts.  In the air hangs an intoxicating aroma, and that aroma emanates from Enrico Biscotti.

Enrico is a tiny shop that makes its biscotti from scratch, by hand.  Huge glass jars line the counter, featuring everything from anise almond to doggie biscotti with cheese and bacon (naturally, Millie has had Enrico’s doggie biscotti and loves it).  Enrico’s founder left his corporate job to pursue baking full-time, making him one of my heroes.

While my biscotti can’t compete with Enrico’s, the recipe below is quite tasty.  These biscotti are great candidates for drizzling with or dipping in melted chocolate, and they pair well, as all biscotti does, with coffee or tea.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup blanched almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups flour
  • 3/4 cups sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, beat eggs and extracts; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine baking powder, salt, flour, and sugar; mix well.

Gradually add egg mixture until dough begins to form.

Add almonds and continue to beat until the dough comes together.

Turn on a lightly floured surface and roll dough into a log that is about 12 inches long and 3 inches wide.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until firm.

Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes.

Slice log into 1/2 inch slices and arrange on the baking sheet.

Return to the oven and bake for 12 minutes on each side, until the edges are very light golden brown.

Cool completely on a wire rack.

Peanut Butter Cookies

My mom Genny will be the first to admit that she’s not Betty Crocker.  She certainly bakes with Betty’s help though, employing boxed mixes or pouches that require only an addition of eggs and water to produce whatever cookie, cake, or treat she wishes to make.

Genny’s recipe for peanut butter cookies involves a box of yellow cake mix, peanut butter, a few eggs, and probably some oil.  I’m not sure where she got this recipe, or why cake mix is involved, but it turns out a pretty tasty cookie.  Especially when a Hershey’s Kiss is plopped in the middle.

The recipe below yields a classic homemade peanut butter cookie and isn’t meant for the Hershey’s Kiss; that recipe requires a slightly sturdier dough made with shortening and a different quantity of flour.  If you want to get creative with this recipe, try pressing some milk chocolate chips into the tops of these cookies when they are right out of the oven.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter, slightly softened
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • Granulated sugar, for rolling

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, combine butter and peanut butter; beat on medium speed for 30 seconds.

Add sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, and baking powder; beat until combined.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg and vanilla; beat until combined.

Add flour and beat until combined.

Using a one-inch cookie scoop, scoop out dough and roll into balls, then roll in granulated sugar.

Place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart, then press a crisscross pattern into the top of each cookie with a fork.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just golden brown. The centers of the cookies should still be puffy and look somewhat raw; that’s okay, as they’ll continue to bake as they cool on the baking sheets.

Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Black Bottom Mini Brownies (Version One)

 

 

 

 

 

 

People often ask me what I miss about living in DC, and I tell them many things; our dear friends, our cool apartment on the Hill from which, in the winter when there were no leaves on the magnolia tree, you could see the top of the Capitol Dome, the Metro, the ample assortment of activities, the fact that we could walk to almost everything and only needed one car.  Oh, and of course, easy access to Starbucks.

From our apartment, there were three Starbucks shops in short walking distance; from my office on G Street, there were at least five.  While working at Catholic Charities Foundation, my friend Kelly and I literally went to Starbucks every day.  Sometimes more than once.

Among the treats behind the curved-glass dessert case was the infamous black bottom cupcake, a marvelous confection of cream cheese batter and dark chocolate batter that was at once spongy and dense.  I’m sure it had about a million calories, but it was totally worth it.

This recipe reminded me of the black bottom cupcake, though I have to wonder if the author actually tested it before it was published.  The original baking time needed to be nearly doubled, and when I popped each brownie out of its muffin cup after they cooled, they basically fell apart.  I’d suggest many changes, including baking in full-size muffin cups or a rectangular pan, reducing the quantity of mini chocolate chips in the cream cheese layer, or spooning significantly less batter into each mini muffin cup.  Let’s call this recipe Version One and keep trying, eh?

Ingredients

Cream Cheese Layer

  • 3 ounces cream cheese, slightly softened and cut into chunks
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon butter, melted
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Chocolate Layer

  • 4 tablespoons butter, cut into chunks
  • 2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup minus 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Coat a 24-cup mini muffin tin with nonstick spray.

In a food processor, process the cream cheese, sugar, butter, egg yolk, and vanilla until well blended and completely smooth.

Pour into a bowl and add the mini chocolate chips, stirring to combine; set aside while preparing chocolate layer.

In a small bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda; set aside.

In a medium, microwave-safe bowl, combine butter and baking chocolate.  Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until chocolate almost melts; remove from microwave and stir until the remaining chocolate melts completely.

Add sugar and stir until well combined.

Add flour mixture and stir until very well combined.

Spoon about 1/2 tablespoon of the chocolate mixture into each mini muffin cup.

Spoon about 1 teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture over the chocolate layer, distributing batter evenly.

Spoon remaining chocolate batter evenly over the cream cheese layer.

Place muffin tin on a baking sheet and bake for about 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out almost clean; if the bottom is a bit moist, that is okay.

Cool completely in pans on a wire rack, then remove gently using the tip of a table knife.