Scandinavian Blondies

scandanavian-blondiesMike gave me the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion for my birthday. Next to Boarman, the stone pig that my mom gave me last Christmas for our backyard, it’s my favorite gift I’ve ever gotten.

The Cookie Companion is a cookie baker’s bible, featuring variations on essentials from sugar cookies to bars and everything in between. I can honestly say that I intend to bake each recipe in its 400+ pages; with each one I read, I learn something new that I cannot wait to try.

These bars are adapted from the original King Arthur Flour recipe; I added lemon extract and lemon zest to the batter. They are delicious, both cakey and chewy, with a wonderful lemon almond flavor. If you’re not a lemon fan, you can skip the lemon altogether and just go with the traditional almond extract in the batter, or use a combination of almond and vanilla extracts.

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
  • zest of 1 medium lemon
  • 8 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup sliced almonds

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease an 8 x 8 square baking pan.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat eggs until light colored and thick. Add sugar and salt, continuing to beat until shiny and pale yellow.

Add extracts, zest, melted butter, and 1/2 cup of the flour, folding in gently. Fold in remaining 1/2 cup of flour.

Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with sliced almonds.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and are a very light golden color.

Remove from oven and cool in pan before cutting. Store at room temperature.

Makes 16 bars.

Pecan Mandelbrot

pecan-mandelbrotMandelbrot is similar to biscotti, a twice-baked creation that means “almond bread” in Yiddish. Technically speaking, this mandelbrot has no mandel, though I suspect that using almonds in this would also be delicious.

Mandelbrot is slightly softer than biscotti due to its higher vegetable oil content, but the premise is the same – bake the logs, let the logs cool for a few minutes, then quickly slice the logs and bake the slices a second time. While this might sound like a lot of work, it’s actually very easy to do, and it yields a large quantity – about 3 1/2 dozen – so it’s good for a crowd.

This recipe is adapted just slightly in preparation from Martha Stewart’s Cookies, a reliable source for excellent recipes. My kitchen smelled absolutely delicious when I made this on Labor Day, and the treats were a big hit in Mike’s office this week.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted and cooled
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon; set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.

In a mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, combine vegetable oil, 1 cup sugar, eggs, salt, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-low speed until combined.

Scrape your bowl well and with the mixer running on low, slowly add the flour mixture, beating until combined. Stir in pecans.

Turn dough onto a very lightly floured counter top. With floured hands, divide dough into three portions and shape each into a log about 3 inches wide and 1 inch high.

Place on baking sheets, leaving room between each log; they will spread during baking.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden and puffed, but firm to the touch. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 3 minutes. In the meantime, line a second baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place each log on a cutting board and, working quickly to prevent the logs from cracking too much, slice into 1/2 inch slices. Return slices to baking sheets and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar; bake for 7 minutes.

Remove from oven, then flip slices over and sprinkle the other side with cinnamon sugar; bake for 7 minutes more.

Allow to cool on baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Vanilla Bean Sandwich Cookies

vanilla-bean-sandwichesPeople cultivate vanilla in many parts of the world, but my favorite vanilla comes from Mexico. Vanilla is actually a member of the orchid family, and has been grown in eastern Mexico – where it was first cultivated – for hundreds of years.

If you’ve never worked with a vanilla bean before, don’t be afraid. Simply place your bean on a cutting board and split the bean in two lengthwise – I use a small chef’s knife for both the splitting and the scraping. Flatten out the halves so the inside of the bean faces up, then scrape your knife down each of the insides to get the seeds, which will look like a black paste.

This recipe is adapted from two different ones from Martha Stewart’s Cookies, a book I’ve used many times with great success. I ended up with an extra half-cup of filling, so next time I might pare down my filling recipe to make less.

Vanilla Bean Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 10 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 vanilla bean, halved and scraped

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.

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

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Add egg, vanilla extract, and vanilla seeds and beat on medium speed until smooth.

With the mixer running on low, gradually add flour mixture.

Using a 1-inch cookie scoop, drop scoops of dough onto prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 8-12 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until tops are very light golden and just set.

Cool on baking sheets for 2-3 minutes, then transfer on the parchment to wire racks to cool completely before filling.

Vanilla Cream Filling

Ingredients

  • 8 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preparation

In a mixing bowl, beat together butter and shortening.

Add powdered sugar in small batches, beating until combined.  Once all sugar is incorporated, beat on medium speed for two minutes

Add vanilla and beat to combine.

Using a one-inch cookie scoop, drop scoops of filling onto half of the cookies.  Spread filling to the edges, then top with another cookie.

Makes 18 sandwiches.

Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes

lemon raspberry cupcakesSummer is coming to an end, but you wouldn’t know it by the weather in Pittsburgh today. It’s in the 90s, with humidity through the roof. And when I think of summer flavors – fitting for a day like this – I think of lemon and raspberry.

These cupcakes are a delightful blend of sweet and tart, combining a lemon cupcake with raspberry filling and lemon buttercream frosting. The most labor-intensive part of this recipe is the straining of the raspberry filling; in order to get a seedless result, you’ve got to spend several minutes pressing the mixture through a fine sieve. You could certainly buy raspberry filling at your local baking supply shop if you’d like to save time, but there’s something very rewarding about making your own.

 Raspberry Filling

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces raspberries, mashed
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 4 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice

Preparation

In a medium saucepan, stir together raspberries, powdered sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until the mixture boils, then allow it to boil for 1 minute, stirring well, until the mixture thickens.

Remove from heat and press through a fine sieve to filter out the seeds. Allow to cool before using; makes about 1 cup. Once you fill your cupcakes, you’ll have a small amount of filling left over that you can use as you like.

Lemon Cupcakes

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons butter, slightly softened
  • 1/2 cup plus 6 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
  • 1 egg
  • zest of 1 medium lemon
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two 12-inch muffin ups with paper liners; this recipe made 17 cupcakes for me.

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

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon extract. Add egg and beat well, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add lemon zest and beat until combined.

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

Using a 2-inch cookie scoop, scoop batter into prepared muffin tins, filling about half full.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool completely before filling and frosting.

Lemon Buttercream

Ingredients

  • 12 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 2 1/2 to 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 3/4 teaspoon lemon extract

Preparation

In a mixing bowl, beat butter on medium speed for about 2 minutes.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add powdered sugar and beat on low speed until fully incorporated, about 3-4 minutes.

Add lemon juice and lemon extract and beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes, until fluffy.

To assemble the cupcakes:

Using the small end of a melon baller, scoop out a small amount of cake from the center of each cupcake; reserve for a trifle or another use.

Fit a piping bag with a large plain tip; twist the tip end of the bag so the filling doesn’t start to run out when you pour it in. Fill the bag, then carefully pipe filling into each cupcake.

Fit a 14-inch piping bag with a Wilton M1 tip and pipe swirls of frosting onto each cupcake.

Store in an airtight container at a cool room temperature for up to 3 days.

lemon raspberry cupcakes 2Here’s a look inside the cupcakes.

Cherry Frosting

cherry limeade cupcakesThis frosting, which I first used on cherry limeade cupcakes, could work very well on vanilla, lemon, or chocolate cupcakes. Because it uses the juice from maraschino cherries, it’s a good option for year-round baking, and you can always add the cherries themselves to top your cupcakes or cake if you like.

This recipe yields enough for at least 18 cupcakes, but I believe it could frost about 2 dozen if you use more modest portions on each cupcake than I used on my cherry limeade cupcakes. The recipe can be easily doubled to cover two-layer cakes or sheet cakes.

 

Ingredients

  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice

Preparation

Beat butter in a mixing bowl for 1-2 minutes. Add 3 cups powdered sugar and allow the sugar to fully incorporate into the butter; this will take several minutes.

Add almond extract and 1/4 cup cherry juice; beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes, then add another cup of powdered sugar and additional juice. Beat on medium speed for another 2-3 minutes.

Lime Curd

vanilla lime cupcakesWe have lemon curd, so why not lime? I used Martha Stewart’s key lime curd recipe and adapted it using regular limes. I was also surprised to see that this recipe doesn’t require tempering some of the lime mixture into the eggs, then returning the tempered mixture back into the pan for further cooking, like you do with lemon curd.

It does take a while for this mixture to reach the right consistency, so prepare to stand at your stove for about 12-15 minutes. The end result is absolutely worth it, though. You can use this curd in vanilla lime cupcakes, coconut cupcakes, or whatever else your heart desires.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • zest of 1 lime
  • 1/4 cup lime juice (about 2 medium limes)
  • 4 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

Preparation

Place a bowl and sieve next to your stove for easy access once your curd is cooked.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, eggs, lime zest, and lime juice. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture holds the shape of the whisk – this will take about 12-15 minutes.

Remove from heat and whisk in butter a few pieces at a time until butter completely melts.

Strain the curd through your sieve and press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming.

Chill for about 3 hours before using; I chilled mine overnight.

Brown Sugar Butterscotch Cake

brown sugar butterscotch cakeI’m the kind of woman who bakes her own birthday cake. This year, I wanted a brown sugar cake with butterscotch, and so I made one.

Homemade butterscotch is easier to make than you might think. Mine turned out thicker than I expected this time, probably because I cooked it over higher heat than I should have. Since my sauce ended up thicker and less appropriate for drizzling over the top of my cake, I remedied it by stirring in some heavy cream to thin it out – and it worked very well.

This recipe yields about 3 1/2 cups of batter, which made one 8-inch round cake and two cupcakes. You could easily double it to make two 8-inch rounds for a taller layer cake and would still have some batter left over for cupcakes.

Brown Sugar Cake

Ingredients

  • 1 2/3 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 8 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 egg, at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-inch round cake pan, line the bottom with a circle of parchment, and grease the parchment. Flour lightly.

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

In a large bowl, combine brown sugar and melted butter, whisking until no lumps remain. Whisk in egg, sour cream, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Slowly whisk in flour mixture until batter is completely smooth; it will be fairly thick.

Pour 3 cups of batter into the pan; make cupcakes with any batter that remains.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool in pan for about 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before filling and frosting.

Vanilla Almond Buttercream

Ingredients

  • 12 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tablespoon almond extract
  • 1 tablespoon heavy cream*

* You can omit the tablespoon of heavy cream if you like, but I’ve become a big fan of heavy cream in buttercream lately. It yields a very smooth, creamy texture that is easy to pipe and spread. 

Preparation

In a mixing bowl, beat butter for about 1 minute. Add powdered sugar and beat on low speed until all of the sugar is fully incorporated into the butter; this will take a few minutes.

Add vanilla extract and almond extract, beating well to combine, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of your bowl, then add heavy cream and beat for another minute or two.

Butterscotch Sauce

**If your butterscotch has become too thick to drizzle, add heavy cream, about 1 tablespoons at a time, and stir to thin it to a drizzling consistency.

To assemble your cake:

Slice your cake in half lengthwise and handle it very gently; my cake began to crack just a bit when I separated the top from the bottom.

Place one layer upside down on a cake platter and top with frosting, spreading frosting to about 1/4 inch of the edge.

Top frosting with about 1/3 cup of butterscotch sauce. Place the second cake layer on top; frost the top and sides.

Before serving, drizzle slices of cake with butterscotch sauce; you could also just drizzle the sauce over the top of the cake if you like.

Store in the refrigerator for up to three days; bring to room temperature before serving. When storing cakes in the fridge, they can dry out, so it’s best to use them within a day or two once they’re refrigerated.

Butterscotch Sauce

butterscotch sauceHomemade butterscotch is very easy to make. I admit that my first batch, which went into butterscotch cupcakes, turned out better than my second batch; I suspect I cooked this batch on higher heat than I should have, which resulted in a much thicker confection once it cooled.

This sauce turns out best when simmered, rather than actually boiled; use medium-low heat, and look for small to medium-sized bubbles – if you see large bubbles on the surface, turn your heat down slightly to keep the sauce at more of a simmer.

The sauce will thicken as it cools, but should still be easy to drizzle. If you happen to cook your sauce at a higher heat than you should and it turns out too thick to drizzle, simply thin it out using a few tablespoons of heavy cream to get it back to drizzling consistency. It will still taste delicious…believe me.

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in brown sugar, then heavy cream.

Bring mixture to a simmer/gentle boil and cook for 5 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla extract and salt.

Allow to cool completely before serving. Sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for 1 week.

Honey Orange Muffins

honey orange muffinsYesterday I saw a recipe for honey muffins on Taste of Home, a wonderful cooking and baking site. I’m on a low-sodium diet, so I checked out the sodium content in the original recipe and saw it was 242 mg – much too high for one muffin for someone like me.

Fortunately, my Aunt Liz sent me some reduced sodium baking powder last week, and I was able to use that to cut down on the sodium in a big way. My muffins have 93 mg each, and I also mixed in some vanilla extract, orange extract, and orange zest into the batter to turn these into honey orange muffins. The end result is not only lower in sodium, but also very tasty. Next time, I might add some chopped pecans to the batter and drizzle on an orange icing once the muffins have cooled.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder*
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup milk
  • 4 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon orange extract (or orange juice)
  • zest of half a medium orange

*Rumford makes reduced sodium baking powder; you can find it online.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners; this recipe made 17 muffins for me.

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

In a large glass measuring cup, combine egg, milk, melted butter, honey, vanilla extract, orange extract, and orange zest. Beat with a fork to combine.

Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and stir until just combined; batter should be lumpy. Using a 2-inch cookie scoop, drop scoops of batter into prepared pans, filling each well about 3/4 full.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until tops are light golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.

Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days, or freeze cooled muffins for future breakfasts and snacks.

Lemon Blackberry Cake

lemon blackberry cake 4Today, in an effort to ramp up my piping skills, I bought a basic Wilton cake decorating book at the craft store. In it, I found a cute berry-and-vine cake and was inspired to make this lemon blackberry cake.

I found a great recipe for lemon cake at My Cake School, then divided the recipe in half to make one single 8-inch round. I don’t usually double-fill cakes, but my blackberry filling made less than I was hoping for, so I thought it needed a bit of a boost; next time, I’ll double the filling recipe.

Once filled, I frosted the top only for a more rustic look, then piped on some vines, leaves, and blackberries. The end result is delicious, light, and perfect for summer. If you’d like to frost the sides of your cake as well, I’d increase the frosting recipe by at least one quarter to ensure that you have enough for piping.

Lemon Cake

Ingredients

  • 6 tablespoons butter, slightly softened but still cool
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups cake flour
  • 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1/2 tablespoon lemon extract
  • zest of 1 lemon

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-inch round cake pan, line the bottom with parchment, then grease the parchment and lightly flour the pan.

In a glass measuring cup, combine eggs, milk, vegetable oil, lemon extract, and lemon zest. Whisk to combine; set aside.

In your stand mixer, combine the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; beat for 30 seconds to combine. With the mixer running on low, add butter one pat at a time, until the mixture looks like coarse sand.

Add half the egg mixture and beat on medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes, then scrape down the bowl and add the remaining egg mixture in two batches, beating for about 30 seconds after each.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then remove from pan and place on a wire rack to cool completely before filling and frosting.

Blackberry Filling

Ingredients

  • 6 ounces blackberries, mashed
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Preparation

In a medium saucepan, stir together blackberries, powdered sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Cook over medium-high heat until mixture boils, then allow to boil for 1 minute, stirring well, until the mixture thickens.

Remove from heat and press through a fine sieve to filter out the seeds. Allow to cool before using; makes about 1/3 cup.

Creamy Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients

  • 12 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon heavy cream
  • Leaf green food coloring
  • Purple food coloring
  • Black food coloring

Preparation

In a mixing bowl, beat butter on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar all at once, then beat on low speed until all of the sugar is incorporated into the butter; this will take a few minutes. Scraped down the bowl, then beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes.

Add vanilla and heavy cream, then beat for another 1-2 minutes.

To assemble the cake:

Reserve about 1/2 cup frosting for tinting. Divide the reserved portion and tint half green and the other half purple/black; I started with purple and added black until I reached my desired blackberry shade.

Slice the cake in half length-wise; place one half on your cake plate.

Top with blackberry filling, spreading within about 1/2 inch of the edges. Top the filling with frosting, spreading gently to within about 1/4 inch of the edges. The filling is slippery, so as you spread the frosting it will mix with the filling a bit, and that’s fine.

Top with the second half of your cake and frost the top using the white frosting.

Fit a piping bag with a plain tip and fill with green frosting; pipe on vines, then switch to a leaf tip and pipe on leaves.

Fit a second piping bag with a plain tip and fill with purple/black frosting; pipe on blackberries.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.

Below is a detail of the blackberries and vines and a slice of the cake so you can see the filling.

lemon blackberry cake 2 lemon blackberry slice