Cinnamon Roll Blondies

cinnamonrollblondiesThe flavors of a cinnamon roll with the convenience of a blondie? Yes, please. These treats were very easy to make, though I approached the cinnamon layer somewhat differently from how the original recipe, which I found on Celebrating Sweets, was written. I also tweaked the icing to include some vanilla extract and more powdered sugar because…well, I do that.

A word about the icing: I’d probably wait to ice these until right before serving, because the cream cheese icing takes a while to set up in the fridge…causing the blondies themselves to get firmer than I’d like them to be. Still, the flavor is delicious and I’ll absolutely make these again.

Ingredients

For the blondie layer

  • 8 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/3 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the cinnamon layer

  • 2 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • dash of salt

For the icing

  • 2 ounces very soft (almost melted) cream cheese
  • 7 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 x 8 baking tin with foil and spray the foil with baking spray.

Make the blondie layer: Combine melted butter and brown sugar and whisk until well combined, about 1 minute. Add egg and vanilla, whisking to combine. Fold in flour, baking powder, and salt with a spatula; spread in the bottom of the baking tin.

Make the cinnamon layer: Melt butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan and whisk until smooth. Stir in cinnamon and salt. Spread across the top of the blondie layer.

Bake for 21 – 24 minutes, until edges are beginning to brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool before icing.

To make the icing, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Drizzle or pipe across the top of the bars; refrigerate bars to set the icing before cutting and store in the fridge until serving. Makes 12.

Toffee Coffee Brownies

toffeecoffeebrowniesThe King Arthur Cookie Companion has an awesome brownie recipe that you can dress up any way you like. This combination is one of their many adaptations, a super fudgy brownie with coffee icing and toffee bits (though in this photo I feel like they look like chopped nuts).

Next time, I might use chocolate-covered toffee bits for even more flavor, because the toffee gets lost a bit against the coffee icing. They still taste amazing, though – are I cannot stress how fudgy they are. Like actual pieces of fudge, in many ways. Enjoy!

Ingredients

For the brownies

  • 12 tablespoons butter
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup Dutch-process (aka Hershey’s Special Dark) cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 3 eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 cup flour

For the icing

  • 1 tablespoon espresso powder
  • 1 tablespoon hot water
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 – 3 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup toffee bits

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 baking tin with foil and spray lightly with baking spray. Sprinkle the bottom with sugar; this is my tip for a slightly crunchy bottom crust that adds a nice texture to otherwise soft treats like brownies.

In a large pot, melt butter over low heat. Stir in sugar and continue heating for another minute while stirring, until the mixture is just hot. Remove from heat and stir in cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder, then whisk in eggs and vanilla extract. Stir in flour, then spread evenly in prepared pan.

Bake for 28-30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before icing.

To make icing, combine espresso powder and hot water in a medium bowl. Add powdered sugar and stir; add heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time to get a drizzly consistency. Spread over brownies, then sprinkle with toffee bits. Let the icing set before cutting. Makes 24.

Canadian Butter Tart Squares

canadianbuttertartsquaresIn addition to hockey and maple syrup (among other good things, I’m sure), Canada has a treat called butter tarts. They’re like mini pecan pies, but with raisins or walnuts instead of pecans. While I’ve never had one, I found this recipe for a bar/square version at Just So Tasty and chose walnuts instead of raisins for my filling.

One observation – I might have under-baked these slightly, because the filling wasn’t as set as I expected it to be. They’re still delicious.

Ingredients

For the crust

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 1/4 cups flour

For the filling

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup dark corn syrup
  • 2 tablespoons vinegar
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 pan with parchment paper.

In a mixer, cream butter and powdered sugar until fluffy. Add flour and beat to combine; dough will be thick. Press into the bottom of the pan in an even layer. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until pale golden in color.

While the crust bakes, make the filling. Beat butter, brown sugar, and flour until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat to combine, then add corn syrup and vinegar and beat again. Stir in walnuts.

Once crust has baked, pour the filling over the top and bake for another 30-35 minutes, until the top is set. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting. Makes 24.

Retro Fudge Brownies

fudgebrowniesPinterest bills these treats as a vintage, 1950s recipe called “lunch lady brownies.” I guess a talented cafeteria worker whipped them up decades ago and passed the recipe down…and I’m glad she did. I found the full recipe at Spaceships and Laser Beams, which isn’t exactly the brand I’d associate with a food blog, but whatever works for you. I altered the preparation steps because I feel like the original didn’t quite make sense, so I’ve gone with a method I’ve used for other brownies before and it turned out well.

Be warned: these treats are really rich and fudgy and probably have a ton of calories. But they’re delicious, and absolutely worth it, in my opinion.

Ingredients

For the brownies

  • 1 cup butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 eggs
  • 3 tablespoons vanilla extract

For the frosting

  • 4 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 3 cups powered sugar
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 baking tin with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, stir melted butter and cocoa powder together until smooth. Stir in sugar and salt, followed by eggs and vanilla, until batter is smooth. Stir in flour until no dry pockets remain.

Pour into the baking tin and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool brownies for about 20 minutes before frosting.

To make the frosting, sift together powdered sugar and cocoa powder – this will keep little bits of cocoa from clumping together in your frosting, which is something I didn’t do when I originally made this. Add melted butter, milk, and vanilla extract and stir until smooth; you can add additional milk, about 1 tablespoon at a time, for a more spreadable consistency. Spread frosting on brownies and allow to set before cutting. Makes 24.

Lemon Sugar Cookies

lemonsugarcookiesThere are a lot of different sugar cookies out there. Frosted cut-out cookies in various shapes and designs, enormous bakery-style ones with crispy edges and soft middles that probably have 600 calories, and those weird Lofthouse ones that basically taste like…well, nothing. No offense if you’re a Lofthouse fan. I just don’t get it.

This recipe is one of my favorites – it’s adapted from the King Arthur Baking Cookie Companion Essential Chewy recipe. I added lemon zest and lemon extract to the dough because lemon is one of my favorite things ever, and they turned out really well. You could do an orange version as well – so maybe next time.

Ingredients

  • 12 tablespoons butter, slightly softened
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus about 1/4 cup additional for rolling
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
  • zest of 1 medium lemon
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • Additional sugar for rolling

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place 1/4 cup granulated sugar in a small bowl; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat butter on medium speed for about 1 minute; add sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla extract, lemon extract, lemon zest, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and egg and beat until well-combined. Add flour and beat to combine.

Using a 2-inch cookie scoop, scoop dough, roll into balls, and dip in sugar to coat completely.

Place cookies at least 2 inches apart on baking sheets; they will spread some when baking. I put 6 cookies per sheet, and that worked well.

Bake for 10 minutes, until edges are barely beginning to brown and centers still look puffy. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes 22.

Millionaire’s Shortbread

millionairesshortbreadSo, millionaire’s shortbread. A shortbread cookie base with a layer of caramel and a layer of chocolate. Rich, right? You really have no idea just how rich until you try this recipe, which I found at Sugar Spun Run. Millionaire’s, indeed. More like billionaire’s in my opinion. Just a few bites are perfect, so cut small. And don’t skip the sprinkle of sea salt on top, either. You want a little salt with all of this sugar.

While these bars taste pretty good, I don’t think the textures are quite right – everything is very soft. I wanted a crispy shortbread base, so next time I think I’ll go with a different base layer and also scale back the chocolate to balance things out a bit more.

Ingredients

For the base

  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/4 cups flour

For the caramel layer

  • 2 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk
  • 14 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup light corn syrup
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the chocolate layer

  • 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • Sea salt

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 pan with parchment paper, extending up the sides.

Make the base: In a mixer, beat butter and sugars until fluffy. Add egg yolk and vanilla and beat, scraping down the sides of your bowl a few times. Add flour about 1/2 cup at a time, beating to just combine; when you’ve added about half of the flour, sprinkle in the salt with your mixer running. You don’t need your dough to be smooth; it can be a bit crumbly. Press into the bottom of your pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, until edges are just golden. Remove from the oven and allow the crust to cool while you make your caramel.

Make the caramel: This is going to take a while, friends. In a medium saucepan, combine sweetened condensed milk, butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Heat over medium and stir until everything is melted; once melted, keep stirring and bring the mixture to a boil, then turn it down to a simmer. Continue simmering, stirring constantly, until you reach 225 degrees on a candy thermometer; this took me about 25 minutes. The mixture will turn darker in color – like the color of peanut butter – and pull away from the sides as you stir it when it’s almost ready. Also, you may get brown flecks in your caramel as you stir, and this is totally fine.

Once you’ve reached 225 degrees, remove the caramel from the heat and stir in your vanilla extract. Pour the caramel over your base and spread it out in an even layer; set it aside to cool completely before adding the chocolate. You can chill it in the fridge or just leave it out at room temp (which is what I did) for a few hours.

For the chocolate layer, place chocolate chips and heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 20-second intervals, stirring between each, until the chocolate melts. Stir the mixture until it’s smooth, then pour it over your caramel layer and spread it out. Let the chocolate set for a few minutes, then top with sprinkles of sea salt and let cool completely before cutting. You can pop it into your fridge for a bit, which is what I did, or just let it sit at room temperature.

Cut into very small bars – mine made about 44 – and store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge if you prefer.

Mini Oatmeal Cream Pies

oatmealceampiesAdmit it: You have a favorite Little Debbie snack cake. The Swiss roll, maybe? Or the Christmas tree cake? If you’re a star crunch person, I really don’t get it, but I’m not here to judge. Anyway, the oatmeal cream pie was one of my favorites as a kid, and today I made a mini version.

So, these really don’t taste like the Little Debbie treats…they’re essentially just a soft oatmeal cookie with vanilla buttercream filling, but they’re still pretty good. Next time I’d like to try a different recipe and use a marshmallow buttercream in the middle, which I think might be a bit closer to the original.

Ingredients

For the cookies

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon molasses
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups quick-cooking oats

For the filling

  • 12 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 tablespoon heavy cream

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. In a mixer, cream butter and sugars until very light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add molasses, vanilla, and eggs and beat well to combine. Add flour mixture and beat to fully incorporate, then stir in oats.

Using a 1-inch cookie scoop, drop scoops of dough onto baking sheets about 2 inches apart; I baked 9 cookies on each sheet. Bake for 9-10 minutes, until just golden at the edges. Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes, then place on a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the filling, beat butter and powdered sugar on low speed until the sugar is fully incorporate into the butter. Add vanilla and heavy cream and beat 1-2 minutes until fluffy. Place in a large piping bag and snip off the tip; it’s much easier to pipe the filling in than to spread it.

To fill, flip all your cookies over and pipe a blob of filling onto half, then top with the other cookie. Makes 30 sandwiches. You’ll have some filling left over, and since it’s vanilla buttercream, you can save it for something else (or spread it on graham crackers, or eat it with a spoon, whatever works for you).

Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Cupcakes

chocolatepbswirlcupcakesOver the summer I made marble cupcakes with swirled chocolate/vanilla frosting, and a chocolate/peanut butter version also seemed like a really good idea. While swirled frosting looks fancy, I promise, it’s not. All you need are two different kinds of buttercream, a sheet of plastic wrap, and a piping bag. For real, that’s all.

This recipe uses a classic chocolate cupcake I’ve made a million times, along with my standard chocolate buttercream and a peanut butter buttercream I found at Sally’s Baking Addiction and tweaked slightly. These cupcakes are for my brother, Andy, who is visiting from North Carolina for the holidays.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 cup water

For the frostings and decoration

Chocolate Buttercream

  • 8 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream

Peanut Butter Buttercream

  • 5 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • pinch of salt

Miniature Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, for garnish

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; this recipe makes 13-15 cupcakes, depending on how much batter you place in each well.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Mix until well-blended, then make three wells for the wet ingredients.

Place vinegar, vanilla, and vegetable oil into the wells; add water and orange zest and mix until the batter is smooth. The mixture will bubble up slightly when you add the water, so just keep mixing until you get a smooth consistency in the batter, which will be fairly thin.

Using a 1/4 cup measure, fill cupcake wells about half full. Bake for 15-17 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for a few minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on wire racks. Cool completely before frosting.

Make the frostings: for chocolate buttercream, place butter in a mixing bowl and beat for a few minutes using the paddle attachment. Add powdered sugar and cocoa powder and beat on low speed until the sugar and cocoa are fully incorporated into the butter. Add vanilla extract and beat; add heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time; you may not need all 3 tablespoons.

For the peanut butter buttercream, place butter and peanut butter in a mixing bowl and beat for a few minutes using the paddle attachment. Add 1 cup powdered sugar and beat until the sugar is fully incorporated; add heavy cream, vanilla, and salt and beat to combine. Add remaining 1/2 to 3/4 cup powdered sugar – start with less, as you may not need it all. You want a smooth, pipeable consistency that isn’t too dry, which peanut butter frosting can be.

To frost: Place a sheet of plastic wrap on your counter top and spoon the frostings side by side down the length of the sheet. Wrap it up, snip off one end, and place it in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip like the Wilton 1M. Pipe a swirl onto a plate first, until both kinds are visible. Pipe swirls onto cupcakes and top with mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

White Christmas Cupcakes

whitechristmascupcakesSo, I planned to bake sugar plum cupcakes today using a vanilla nutmeg cupcake and buttercream with sugar plum jam. My jam was more like preserves, though – complete with chunks of plum. Who wants that in a frosting? Not me…hence the pivot to what I’m calling White Christmas cupcakes. Add some snowflake-themed sprinkles, and we’re in business.

The cupcake in this recipe is one I’ve used before, but this time I added nutmeg to the batter for a little bit of spice. It turned out really well, and the vanilla buttercream is all it needed. 

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

  • 1 2/3 cups flour (spooned and leveled)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg, at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)

For the frosting

  • 12 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon milk 
  • Snowflake sprinkles 

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake tins with paper liners; my batch made 18 cupcakes.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg; set aside. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt butter, then add sugar and stir to combine; mixture will be grainy. Refrigerate for 1 minute, then remove and add egg, yogurt, milk, and vanilla bean paste. Stir in flour mixture until no lumps remain.

Using a 2-inch cookie scoop, scoop batter into tins and fill about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake for 20-24 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and place cupcakes on wire racks to cool completely.

To make buttercream, place butter in a mixing bowl and beat for a few minutes using the paddle attachment. Add powdered sugar and beat on low speed until the sugar is fully incorporated into the butter. Add vanilla extract and milk, then beat to combine.

Fit a large piping bag with a large open star tip (I use the Wilton 1M) pipe swirls of frosting onto cupcakes; top with sprinkles if desired. 

 

Peppermint Cupcakes

peppermintcupcakesChristmas baking is underway, and in the last 72 hours, I’ve baked 11 things. Today’s efforts included these peppermint cupcakes, based on a recipe I’ve used before, but a decoration idea I saw a few weeks back while searching for fun Christmas cupcakes.

Two-toned frosting isn’t difficult, despite how it looks. All you need are two colors, some plastic wrap, and an enormous piping bag. I piped blobs straight into my cupcakes, then pressed them into sanding sugar to flatten them out and make them look like the peppermints that inspired these treats.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

For the frosting

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tablespoon milk
  • 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract, to taste
  • Red food coloring
  • Sanding sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners; my recipe made 13 cupcakes.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir together, then add water, oil, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract. Beat on low speed for about 2 minutes, until the batter is smooth; it will be thin.

Using a two-inch cookie scoop, scoop batter into prepared cupcake tin, filling wells about 2/3 full. Bake for 18-22 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from cupcake tin and allow to cool on a wire rack completely before frosting.

To make frosting, beat butter on low speed for about 2 minutes, until fluffy. Add powdered sugar and beat on low until all the sugar is incorporated into the butter; this takes a few minutes. Add milk and 1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract and beat for another 1-2 minutes. Add additional peppermint extract to taste; my frosting used just under 1/4 teaspoon.

Divide frosting in half; tint one half red. Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap and pipe (or just spoon) red and white frosting in alternating lines down the plastic wrap; roll it up into a log, snip off the end, and place in a large (I used an 18-inch) piping bag fitted with a large plain tip.

Pipe blobs of frosting onto each cupcake; place sanding sugar in a shallow bowl and press each cupcake into the sugar to flatten your frosting.