Category Archives: baking

Garlic butter breadsticks

baking 7 Comments

*tap tap*

Is this thing on?

I’m so sorry for my absence of late. I’ve been a little pregnant, you see (throws confetti).  And while this is awesome and nothing short of a miracle, I’ve been rocking the kind of symptoms that have left me avoiding the kitchen like the plague. But there’s starting to be a teensy light at the end of the tunnel, and this week I actually cooked something. I did not, I’m afraid, take pictures of it. Baby steps. So to speak.

ANYWAY.

These are a knockoff of Olive Garden’s bread sticks; I found the recipe in an old Food Network magazine. They have the yum.

Garlic butter breadsticks

Ingredients

For the dough:
    • 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
    • 1 1/2 cups water
    • 4 1/4 cups AP flour
    • 2 Tbsp butter, softened
    • 2 Tbsp sugar
    • 1 Tbsp salt
For the topping:
  • 3 Tbsp butter, melted
  • 1/4 – 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • Pinch of dried oregano

Instructions

Make the dough:
  1. Mix all ingredients together in stand mixer bowl till dough forms (this will take about five minutes), then knead with the hook attachment for about 2 minutes, or by hand for about three minutes or until very smooth
  2. Roll into a 2-foot long log, then cut into 16 pieces (just cut the log, then logs in half over and over till you have 16 pieces; measuring is for the birds), and place these 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper; cover with a cloth and let them rise until doubled. The original recipe said this would take 45 minutes, but with my A/C cranking it took more like 2 hours, which is fine — just watch for them to get nice and puffy
  3. Preheat the oven to 400F while you melt the butter for the topping
  4. Brush the breadsticks with about half the butter then sprinkle on the salt
  5. Bake until very lightly golden, about 12-15 minutes, while you combine the garlic powder and oregano; pull the breadsticks out and brush them with the butter, then sprinkle on the garlic/oregano mixture

Enjoy!

Nutella shortbread bites

baking, breakfast, dessert, snacks 9 Comments

It’s been at least a week since I posted a recipe with Nutella! What am I thinking? I can stop anytime I want. Ahem.

ANYWAY!

This will shock you, but this is a ridiculously easy recipe; a riff on the also ridiculously easy shortbread two ways.

Nutella shortbread bites

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 2 Tbsp. Nutella
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar (unsifted)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup flour (unsifted)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325F
  2. Cream the butter until the color lightens, then cream in powdered sugar, then Nutella, then vanilla, then flour
  3. Knead briefly without adding any flour until dough is smooth (look for it to be a uniform color)
  4. Scoop dough by the teaspoon onto a parchment-paper lined cookie sheet — they’re fine just left as little rounds, no need to flatten them out
  5. Bake for 20-30 minutes until very lightly browned, then transfer to a wire rack to cool
  6. Eat as is, or dust with powdered sugar as below:

These are AWESOME with coffee. Or for breakfast. Or after supper. Or as a snack. Or, um, well you get the idea.

Buzzy Brownies

baking, dessert Leave a comment

My sweet friend Sarah has a love for Starbucks VIA. When Kiddo and I were getting a college care package together for her last week I was already planning some basic brownies…. and then I saw the VIA in the cabinet. Score! The result? Fudgy, caffeinated, rich chocolaty brownies. I, ahem, may have eaten one before I sent the rest off. Just so I could report back to y’all, obviously.

Buzzy Brownies

Ingredients

  • 1 stick butter
  • 1-2 tbsp chocolate chips
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/8 tsp baking powder
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 pack VIA coffee or a Tbsp. or so of espresso powder

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F
  2. Spray a 9 inch square pan with nonstick spray, then lay in a piece of parchment paper just wide enough to cover the bottom of the pan, and long enough so the paper hangs off both sides of the pan by a good few inches (you’re making a sling for your brownies). Spray the parchment paper with nonstick spray
  3. Melt the butter with the chocolate chips (I did this in the microwave), then add in sugar and cocoa, mixing well. Add dry ingredients and eggs and mix again
  4. Spread into your prepared pan and bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted halfway between the middle and the edge of the pan comes out clean
  5. Remove the pan from the oven and wait 5 minutes, then use the sling to pull the brownies out of the pan and transfer to a cutting board; cut the brownies with a plastic knife (I don’t know why this works, but it keeps the brownies from getting torn up), then use the sling again to transfer to a wire rack to cool completely

Shortbread two ways

baking, breakfast, dessert 5 Comments

I got a new shortbread pan from King Arthur Flour last week and it included a recipe booklet. I had NO idea shortbread was so easy to make! The Yankee has taken several batches to work already, with more requested. Check this out!

Classic shortbread

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar (unsifted)
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla or maple syrup
  • 1 cup flour (unsifted)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325F
  2. Cream the butter until the color lightens, then cream in powdered sugar, then vanilla, then flour
  3. Knead briefly without adding any flour until dough is smooth
  4. Press dough into nonstick sprayed pan and prick surface with a fork
  5. Bake for about 30 minutes until lightly browned, and cool in the pan for 10 minutes; turn onto a wooden cutting board and cut immediately (if you wait till it cools it will fall apart when you cut it)

For even more easy fun, try out some chocolate shortbread!

Chocolate shortbread

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar (unsifted)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup flour (unsifted)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325F
  2. Cream the butter until the color lightens, then cream in powdered sugar, then cocoa powder, then vanilla, then flour
  3. Knead briefly without adding any flour until dough is smooth
  4. Press dough into nonstick sprayed pan and prick surface with a fork
  5. Bake for about 30 minutes until lightly browned (make sure the edges do not brown too much), and cool in the pan for 10 minutes; turn onto a wooden cutting board and cut immediately (if you wait till it cools it will fall apart when you cut it)

Enjoy, and happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Apple cake muffins

baking, breakfast, dessert, snacks 4 Comments

Apples. Oats. Chocolate chips. How can this possibly go wrong?

It CAN’T.

My friend Vanessa came over while I was in the middle of winging these today, and they turned out to be the perfect dessert after our lunch of chicken and dumplings.  They’re based on Rick Bayless’ recipe for Grandma’s Moist Apple Cake from Rick and Lanie’s Excellent Kitchen Adventures. I tweaked and added and subtracted and adjusted and came up with these. And I’m not sorry.

You can add a chocolate glaze or a dusting of powdered sugar over the top of this, but I think they’re pretty great just as is. Let me know what you think!