black and white

i've been pretty busy these days, and i made these little pound cakes quite some time ago and never got around to posting them. they are very tasty, and very simple to make. i thought with the election coming up tomorrow, i'd post it now. since i'm a dual citizen (canada-us) i can vote in both countries, and did... i sent in my absentee ballot over 2 weeks ago! go democracy! i'll be glued to CNN tomorrow.
and in two weeks... another vote- this time for mayor of vancouver!

Ingredients

Marble Cake (martha stewart baking handbook)

Makes one 9-by-5-inch loaf

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 1 3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan; set aside. Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix in vanilla. Add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the buttermilk and beginning and ending with the flour. Set aside 1/3 of the batter.
3. In a bowl, mix cocoa and 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water with a rubber spatula until smooth. Add the cocoa mixture to the reserved cake batter; stir until well combined.
4. Spoon batters into the prepared pan in 2 layers, alternating spoonfuls of vanilla and chocolate to simulate a checkerboard. To create marbling, run a table knife (or wooden skewer) through the batters in a swirling motion.
5. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until a cake tester comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Transfer pan to a rack to cool 10 minutes. Turn out cake from pan and cool completely on the rack. Cake can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

september song

"Oh, it's a long, long while from May to December
But the days grow short when you reach September
When the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame
One hasn't got time for the waiting game

Oh, the days dwindle down to a precious few
September, November
And these few precious days I'll spend with you
These precious days I'll spend with you"

the words to this song has been in my head for... 19 days, and i suspect they'll be there for 11 more. things has been very busy around here and unfortunatly my poor blog has suffered. the kids are back to school, and back to their after school activities. as i said before, for our labour day family bbq, i made disaster cupcakes. i didn't intend to make "disaster" cupcakes, but i think that's what happened. i was pretty rushed for time and as i woke up the next morning, i realized what went wrong: i forgot to add the warm water! OMG! not since my salt cookies when i was a new teenager did i make such a mistake. o, wait... i take that back... i forgot to add the eggs in my danish braid... and a couple weeks ago i forgot to add the oil in the pizza dough. i really should start wearing my glasses when i bake.
once i realized what happened, it made so much more sense. they smelled good, tasted okay,but baked in less than half the specified time and were very dense. i may try it again one day.
one bowl chocolate cupcakes
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with liners; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla; mix batter until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed.
Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about one-third full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.a little buttercream and sprinkles, meh, i served them anyway...

kumbaya

i made this campfire cake for my friend's daughter. she was hosting a sleep-out-in-refrigerator-boxes party and thought a campfire theme would be great. after some research on the good ole interweb i found two possible ways to make the cake: make a "normal" cake and have pretzels and candy on top creating the campfire; or make the cake the actual campfire. the latter is what i decided upon.

on some magasine's site (i can't remember which one) i had found the idea and they used 2 store bought pound cakes with the corners trimmed off. that just wasn't going to cut it. then i remembered the buche de noel. that would be perfect. i did take their idea of melting life savers for the fire. i couldn't find any doughnut holes so i grabbed some bridge mixture and tossed them with some icing sugar for the coals. sponge sheet cake

adapted from williams-sonoma CAKES

2/3 cup cake flour

pinch of salt

4 large eggs, separated, plus 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

position a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 350 degrees F. in a 10x15x1" jelly roll pan butter, parchment and butter again. dust with flour and tap out the excess. sift the flour and salt together in to a small bowl. set aside.

in a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the 5 egg yolks and 1/3 cup of the sugar. beat on med-high speed until the batter is thickened and pale yellow and falls back on itself like a ribbon when the beaters are lifted, about 3 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula. add the vanilla extract and beat until combined. transfer the yolk mixture to a large bowl; clean and dry the mixer bowl thoroughly.

beat the egg whites in the clean bowl of your mixer, now fitted with the whip attachment, on medium speed until foamy, about 1 minute. increase the speed to med-high and continue beating until the whites are holding soft peaks when the whisk is lifted, about 2-3 minutes. turn the mixer to medium and add the remaining 1/3 cup sugar 2 tbsp at a time. after all the sugar has been incorporated, beat for 1 minute more to have stiff peaks.

using a rubber spatula, pile 1/3 of the egg whites on top of the yolk mixture and begin folding. the first addition will lighten the batter. add the remaining egg whites on top of the mixture and fold them in. still using the spatula, fold in the flour mixture in 4 additions. the batter will be light and foamy.

pour the batter int the prepared pan. bake undisturbed for 12 minutes. if the cake looks set and the surface is lightly browned, tough the top gently. if it feels firm, insert a toothpick in the centre. if it comes out dry, the cake is done. if it comes out wet or with crumbs clinging to it, bake for another 2 minutes.

using pot holders, carefully transfer the sheet cake to a wire rack. let the cake cool int he pan until cool to the tough, about 25 minutes. the cake will shrink slightly as it cools. run a thin knife along the inside edge of the pan to loosen the cake, keeping the knife pressed against the side. invert a wire rack on top of the cake and invert together. lift off the pan and discard the parchment. using both hands, carefully the turn the cake top side up. the cake is now ready to be filled and rolled.

chocolate american buttercream

1 cup butter, room temperature

4-6 cups confectioner`s sugar (depends on how sweet you want it)

1é4 cup cocoa powder

1é4 cup milk (or more if you added more sugar)

1 tsp vanilla extract

beat all ingredients in the bowl of your mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until smooth and creamy. scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula.

100!

well, i made it. 100 posts. i can't believe i found enough to talk about for 100 posts. june has been a very busy month with school ending and so i offered to make a cake for the teacher's appreciation luncheon at our daughter's school. i made my standard chocolate cake recipe (below) that i found on allrecipes.com many moons ago. it's very moist and has a wonderful crumb. i use it for regular cakes, cupcakes-both regular and mini sizes, and bundt pans. which is what i made. my dad brought me a castle shaped bundt pan a couple weeks ago and this was the first opportunity i had to use it where i didn't have the leftover cake laying around the house. i also made cookies for all the teachers and support staff and VP's and the retiring principal. unfortunatly i didn't get any pics of the cake. or the cookies. ah well... next time!

dark chocolate cake

2 cups boiling water
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 1/4 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 3 - 9 inch round cake pans. In medium bowl, pour boiling water over cocoa, and whisk until smooth. Let mixture cool. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at time, then stir in vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture. Spread batter evenly between the 3 prepared pans.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool.

*the only things that i have done differently the last few times i have made this is to substitute milk for the water, and not boil it. i also sifted the cocoa powder with the flour and other dry ingredients. the results are the same and you don't have to wait for the cocoa water to cool.

birthday time!

i have always wanted to make one of those cakes that are gooey in the middle but never knew how. for christmas derek got me the williams-sonoma "cakes" book and i found what seemed like a pretty decent recipe for it: individual molten chocolate cakes (pg 131). Derek loves chocolate. i mean he really loves chocolate.indeed it was quite gooey in the middle, and a little cakey towards the edges. very lovely and warm.
happy birthday derek!

individual molten chocolate cakes

unsalted butter for preparing the ramekins
10 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into 8 equal pieces
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp instant coffee powder dissolved in 2 teaspoons hot water
1 tbsp confectioners' sugar for dusting

position a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 350 degrees F. butter the bottom and sides of 6 3/4cup ovenproof ramekins, and put them on a rimmed baking sheet.
combine the chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl and place over barely simmering water. stir occasionally until smooth and all of the chocolate has melted. remove the bowl from the pan and set aside to cool slightly.
sift the flour through a fine-mesh sieve placed over a small bowl. set aside. in the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, and salt. fit the stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a handheld mixer with the twin beaters. beat the mixture on medium-high speed until it thickens and the colour lightens slightly, about 4 minutes. stop the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. reduce the speed to low, add the vanilla extract and dissolved coffee, and beat until combined. with the mixer running, add the flour 1 tbsp at a time. using a large rubber spatula, stir about one-third of the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture to lighten it. scrape the remaining chocolate on top of the batter and, using the spatula, fold the mixtures together just until no streaks of the chocolate mixture are visible.
pour the batter into a 4cup glass measuring cup, using the spatula to scrape out every last bit from the bowl. pour about 1/2 cup batter into each prepared ramekin. bake until the edges look firm and dull on top and the centre looks shiny and slightly wet, 16-18 minutes. you may see a few tiny holes on top. these cakes should be under baked, so do not bake longer than 18 minutes.
let the cakes cool in the ramekins on wore racks for 10 minutes. put the confectioners' sugar in a fine-mesh sieve and sift an equal amount over the top of each cake. using pot holders, transfer each ramekin to an individual serving plate. serve right away.

no help

the kids were bugging to help make something after school today and when it came down to it, if it wasn't cupcakes, they weren't as interested. so they made mini marshmallow and toothpick structures and i made "grammy's chocolate cookies". i first made these cookies a couple christmases ago and made the "wild" addition of peppermint extract to it. some people don't like the combo, but me- i love the combination of chocolate and mint, and these cookies are beautifully dark chocolate and chewy... as long as you don't leave them in the oven too long. like i did. oops. the second batch turned out great though! grammy's chocolate cookies

adapted from martha stewart's cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Dutch cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups (2 sticks plus 4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar, plus more for dipping
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, 2 cups sugar, and eggs on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix to combine. Gradually add dry ingredients, and combine with mixer on low speed. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and chill until dough is firm, about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with Silpat baking mats. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Dip top of each ball into sugar. Place on prepared baking sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until set, about 8 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

of course, they were more than happy to eat the cookies...

welcome home cupcake!

our 8 year old daughter, ella, went away this weekend to girl guide camp. she's a first year brownie. she'd been on many weekend trips to my parents' but never so far away, and never without talking to her at least once each day, if only to say goodnight. i think the whole weekend was harder on me letting her go than her actually going.

while she was away i got to thinking it'd be nice for her to come home and there'd be a special treat for her. i'm always calling her sweet pea or honey buns, but i didn't really feel like making anything that was decorated with sweet peas or made with honey. and then i saw a new favourite blog of mine, bakerella. she made these awesome cupcakes with candy melt flowers on top. brownies are orange and brown. i had orange and brown candy melts. i was too lazy to make the pattern for the flowers so i just free handed them and they're definitely not as pretty as bakerella's but still...the recipe i used was from one of my newish books, "cupcakes!" by elinor klivans. it was very straightforward and very easy to follow. i didn't use her recipe for the sticky fudge frosting, i just felt like making a whipped ganache frosting instead. i think the cake itself could definitely use a little more something... i'm just not sure what, i mean, it is a butter cake. maybe some lemon zest. the frosting i just kinda winged it- and it wasn't perfect, but sure was tasty.
butter cake cupcakes with whipped ganache frosting
by elinor kilvans

cupcakes:
1 1/4 cups cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup whole milk

position a rack in the middle of the oven. preheat the oven to 350F. line 12 muffin tin cups with paper cupcake liners.

sift the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. in a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until smoothly blended and creamy, about 2 minutes. stop the mixer and scrape the side of the bowl as needed during the mixing. add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is blended into the batter. add the vanilla and beat for 2 more minutes. on low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 additions and the milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and mixing just until the flour is incorporated and the batter looks smooth.

fill each paper liner with 1/4 cup of batter, to about 1/2" below the top of the liner. bake until just the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, about 22 minutes. cool the cupcakes for 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. turn out the cupcakes and cool completely before frosting.

frosting:

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup whipping cream

(i think you're supposed to add 1 tbsp of butter but i didn't)

place the chocolate chips in the bowl of your mixer and scald the whipping cream in a small saucepan on the stove. pour over chocolate and rest for 5 minutes. whisk until blended. (this is probably where you'd add the butter) cool in the fridge for about an hour before beating the mixture to the desired consistancy, shove it into your piping bag and go to town!. top with candy flower.

i picked up these awesome cupcake carriers from my maiden trip to williams-sonoma on south granville. one for my brownie for her school lunch and one for my handyman!

freakin brilliant idea

happy birthday papa!

friday was my dad's 71st birthday! on one of my many trips to the gourmet warehouse i saw these:my mom had asked us to get him some corn holders around christmas time, but i never got around to it until i found those. i also picked up a "butter girl". she was also at the gourmet warehouse, but i found them online here.

i can always remember growing up knowing that black forest cherry cake was my dad's favourite- but only the version from his mother's german cookbook. i made it last year for his birthday and so i made it again this year. it's fairly simple, using the beaten eggs for volume. one thing though... make sure your flour and cocoa is fully combined before folding it into the batter as it will deflate the eggs and you'll end up with a much denser cake. still tasty though. also, if you don't want to spend the dollars on the kirsch, just use the juice from the jar of cherries- i bet no one will even notice!

black forest cherry cake
chocolate curls:8oz semisweet bar chocolate
to make chocolate curls to garnish the cake, the bar or chunks of chocolate should be at room temperature but not soft. hold the chocolate over wax paper or foil and shave the bar or square into thin curls with a sharp narrow-bladed vegetable peeler. draw the peeler along the wide surface of the chocolate for large curls, and along the narrow side for small ones. handle the chocolate as little as possible. refridgerate or freeze the curls until you are ready to use them.

cake:

1tbsp butter, softened

6tbsp flour

10 tablespoons sweet butter

6 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

1/2 sifted flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. with a pastry brush or paper towel, lightly coat the bottoms and side of three 7-inch round cake pans with soft butter, using about 1 tablespoon of butter in all. sprinkle 2 tablespoons of flour into each pan, tip them from side to side to spread the flour evenly, then invert the pans and rap them sharply on a table to remove any excess flour. set the pans aside.clarify 10 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan by melting it slowly over low heat without letting it brown. let it rest for a minute off the heat, then skim off the foam. spoon the clear butter into a bowl and set aside. discard the milky solids at the bottom of the pan.

in an electric mixer, beat the eggs, vanilla and 1 cup of sugar together at high speed for at least 10 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and fluffy. combine the 1/2 cup sifted flour and unsweentened cocoa in a sifter. a little at a time sift the mixture over the eggs, folding it in gently with a rubber spatula. finally, add the clarified butter 2 tablespoons at a time. do not overmix. gently pour the batter into the prepared cake pans dividing it evenly among the three of them.bake in the middle of the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until a cake tester insterted into the centre of each cake comes out clean. remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool in the pans for about 5 minutes. then run a sharp knife around the edge of each cake and turn them out on racks to cool completely.

syrup:

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup cold water

1/2 cup kirsch (or just brandy, or juice from jar o'cherries)

meanwhile, prepare the kirsch syrup in the following fashion: combine 3/4 cup sugar and 1 cup of cold water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring only until the sugar dissolves. boil briskly, uncovered, for 5 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and when the syrup has cooed to lukewarm stir in the kirsch.transfter the cakes to a long strip of wax paper and prick each layer ligtly in several places with the tines of a long fork. sprinkle the layers evenly with the syrup and let them rest for at least 5 minutes.

filling and topping:

3 cups chilled heavy cream

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

1/4 cup kirsch (or brandy or juice)

1 cup poached pitted fresh red cherries, or 1 cup drained and rinsed canner sour red cherriesfresh sweet red cherries with stems, or substitue maraschino cherries with stems, drained and rinsed

if you are using fresh cherries for the filling, poach them in the following fashion: remove their stems and pits, then combine them with 2 cups of water and 3/4 cup of sugar in a small saucepan. bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low, simmer for 5 minutes, or until the cherries are tender. drain them in a colander, discarding the syrup, and pat the cerries completely dry with paper towels.

in a large chilled bowl, beat the cream with a whisk or a rotarty or electric beater until it thickens lightly. then sift 1/2 cup of confectioner's sugar over the cream and continue beating until the cream forms firm peaks on the beater when it is lifted out of the bowl. pour in the 1/4 cup kirsch in a thin stream, and beat only until the kirsch is absorbed.to assemble the cake, place one of the three layers in the centre of a serving plate. with a spatula, spread the top with a 1/2 inch of whipped cream and strew the cup of fresh or canned cherries over it leaving about 1/2 inch of cream free of cherries around the perimeter. gently set a second layer on top of the cherries and spread it with 1/2 inch of chipped cream. then seth the third layer in place. spread the top and sides of the cake with the reamaining cream.with your fingers, gently press the chocolate curls into the cream on the sides fo the cake and arrange a few chocolate curls and fresh or maraschino cherries attractively on top.

my sister made mini pineapple upside-down cakes! yummy!

sticky chewy messy gooey

i bought this book a few months ago, "sticky, chewy, messy, gooey" by jill o'connor. to be honest, i totally bought it because it's a beautiful book, the bonus is, all the recipies are written well, are simple, and almost all chocolate! i think i've read it about 10 times, drooling over the photos. last night i finally made my first dessert from it- chocolate mascarpone cheesecake pots with shortbread spoons (page 27-28, and the cover photo!).

it was so easy to follow, and had my oven not been in a bad mood, it would have turned out perfect. my oven you see, is rather small, and doesn't maintain a constant temperature and usually it takes at least 3 times making a recipe to determine the exact baking times. as it was, my chocolate cheesecakes were only near perfect. if anyone knows me, that's not quite good enough when it comes to desserts. my shortbread spoons were perfect... the second time i made them- the first time i put too many on the sheet and they all melded together whilst baking and broke when i tried to seperate them.

the recipe calls for ramekins or oven safe coffee cups or bowls. i went out to canadian tire in search of classic white ramekins with fluted edges and found these great mini pots. i'd seen them before at the gourmet warehouse but never had a need for them before, as much as i had liked them then. now, i couldn't resist!

chocolate mascarpone cheesecake pots

1 cup heavy cream
4 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
8 oz mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup sugar
3 large eegs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
pinch o' salt
1tbsp dark rum, brandy or grand marnier (optional (i chose brandy as i don't like rum and didn't have any GM))
boiling water as needed
vanilla ice cream
shortbread spoons for serving (recipe follows)

position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325F

in a saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer over medium heat. remove the pan from the heat before the cream starts to boil oand add the chocolate, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth. set aside and let cool to room temperature.

in a large bowl, whisk together the mascarpone and sugar until smooth add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition utnil the mixdture is smooth. add the vanilla, salt, and rum (if using) and whisk to combine.

pout the cooled chocolate mixture into the mascarpone cheese mixture and whisk gently until smooth.

put eight 4oz custard cups, ramekins, or small oven proof coffee cups in an empty 9x13" baking pan. divide the chocolate-cheesecake mixture among the cups.

put the baking dish in the oven and then carefully pour boiling water into the pan, adding just enough water to reach halfway up the sides o fthe custard cups. cover with aluminum foil.

bake until the tops of the cheesecakes appear solid but jiggle slightly when shaken, 30-40 minutes. the perfect consistency is a little soft, but not liquid. the cheesecake pots will firm up as they cool. transfter the pots from the baking pan to a wire rack and ledt cool to room temperature. cover each pot with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight before serivng. the cheesecake pots can be prepared up to 2 days before serving.

top each cheesecake pot with a scoop of ice cream and drizzle with chocolate and caramel sauces.

shortbread spoons

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour1/4 tsp salt
in a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. stir in the vanilla. add the flour and salt and stir together until the mixture forms a soft dough.
pat the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. refridgerate for at least 1 hour and up to 1 week.
on a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out 1/4" thick and cute into 4 inch spoons (trace a small desert spoon onto some cardstock). place the shortbread spoons on a parchment lined baking sheet and refridgerate until cold and very firm, 45-60 minutes.
position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 300F. remove the shortbread spoons from the refridgerator and immediatly place in the oven. bake until the edges of the cookies are a pale, golden brown but the centres are still bery pale, 25-30 minutes. transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and let cool slightly. using a large metal spatula, transfter the cookies from the baking sheets to the wire racks and let cool to room temperature. store the cookies, tightly covered at room temperature, for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 weeks.

it's a marshmallow world!

last night we got a pretty good dumping of snow, enough to close schools anyway. just before lunch seth and i took a walk to our local grocer in the snow. i think seth hit me with a snowball every 10 feet or so. he's loving the snow that's for sure! it got me thinking... how can i make snowballs to eat...? i mean, i can probably make a sugar or butter cookie and roll, cut and ice them, but i think i've had enough of that for at least a couple weeks after ella's party. it's too cold for ice cream rolled in coconut (well, many would argue about that...). but what about rice krispies rolled in coconut??? while we were at the store i picked up a box of rice krispies, a bag of marshmallows, white chocolate, and sweetened coconut.

seth was very excited to make them with me, until his buddy finn came over and then i was left on my own to create. woe is i.

my first thought was to make the snowballs, temper the white chocolate, then dip and roll. then i just figured what the heck, why not just do it the easy way for once!

white chocolate rice krispie snowballs

1/4 cup butter

1 package of mini marshmallows

1 cup white chocolate

1 tsp vanilla extract

10 cups rice krispies (or other similar cereal)

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut (could be more, i didn't measure)

line 2 cookie sheets with wax paper.

melt the butter over medium-low heat in a large pot or saucepan. you can do this in the microwave, too, in a microwaveable bowl, but i almost never use ours.

add marshmallows and white chocolate and stir utnil completely melted, remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

with buttered hands (i didn't care too much for getting my hands all gooey... ick, and stick!lol!) grab some mixtue and form a ball. roll into coconut. let completely cool and enjoy.

chocolate chip cookies

it's raining out. the kids are going nuts. what do we do? bake cookies! mmm, warm from the oven chocolate chip cookies...

1 cup unsalted butter, room temp

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups chocolate chips

pre-heat oven to 350 degrees, line cookie sheets with parchment or silpat.

in a medium sized bowl sift or whisk together the flour and baking soda, set aside. in the bowl of an electric mixer ,fitted with the paddle attchment, on medium cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy, scraping down sides with a rubber spatula as needed. add eggs one at a time, incorporating well. add salt and vanilla. add flour mixture until just combined and then toss in the chocolate chips. do not overmix.

drop dough onto prepared sheets about 2" apart and bake for 8-11 minutes. cool on sheets for one minute and then transfer to wire rack to cool.

mmmm!