Mint Chocolate Chip Brownies

This is the same recipe I used for the best brownie that I shared on my blog in February of last year.

They truly are the best--they are even called that! Go check out my blog entry from Feb. 2011 for the recipe! You will LOVE them! They only thing that's different is that I added a mixture of dark and mint chips! Mmmm mmm good :)

They were scrumptious!

Apple Turnovers

Ever just feel like a flaky pastry dessert? :)

This was a simple recipe that turned out amazing (with the exception of one of the sheets of puff pastry!) But, I still was impressed.

I chose apple turnovers but any type of filling would be tasty!

Ingredients:
-4-5 apples--peeled, cored & sliced
-2 Tbsp. butter
-1 c. brown sugar
-1 tsp. cinnamon
-1 Tbsp. cornstarch
-1 Tbsp. water
-1 pack puff pastry, thawed

1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat and place sliced apples in skillet.

Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon and cook, stirring for 2 more minutes.


2. Stir together the cornstarch and water and pour into the skillet and mix well. Cook almost another minute or until the sauce has thickened. Remove from heat to cool slightly.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Unfold the puff pastry and repair any cracks by pressing back together. Trim each sheet into a square and then cut each larger square into 4 smaller squares.


Spoon apples onto the center of each square. Fold over from corner to corner into a triangular shape, and press edges together to seal.


Place turnovers on a baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch between them.

4. Bake for 25 minutes, until puffed and lightly browned. Eat warm or leave to cool :)

Double Birthday Cakes!

My sister just celebrated her birthday and I wanted to make her a special cake :) She chose the Tomboy cake out of the darling Miette cookbook. The cakes in this cookbook are so adorable--they are six inch cakes, slightly smaller, rich and delicious! The recipes make 2 cakes, so you can always freeze one, but I decided to go with 2 since they were small.

The cake is double chocolate, which was nice and moist and rich. I did a raspberry buttercream frosting and an orange buttercream (and even topped it with my own homemade orange zest!). They were quite a bit of work, so if you are interested in the recipe, please leave me a comment and I'd be happy to send it your way.


Double Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Buttercream Frosting


Double Chocolate Cake with Orange Buttercream Frosting

FINALLY!: A chocolate chip cookie worth blogging about!

Let me just say, as I give my self a nice, quick pat on the back (haha), that I HAVE DONE IT! You are now looking at....well, reading about, a new chocolate chip cookie master. I can only laugh as I write this because, if any of you out there read my blog, know that I have had nothing but struggles when it comes to baking this cookie--the most common cookie in the world! I know, hard to believe it myself, but the one thing I could seriously never make "correctly" was the chocolate chip cookie.

And now, I can say, that day has gladly passed :) I found, and tweaked a bit, a recipe for an amazing chocolate chip cookie! A friend once shared with me that it might help to find a recipe that incorporated shortening with the butter, so that is where I began my journey. It was something I never tried before but am sure glad I did. I also chilled my cookie dough in the refrigerator for about a half hour before I baked them. I think this helped form the amazing texture that this cookies had--(meaning, they actually held together beautifully!)

I am happy to share this recipe in case there just might be the chance that someone else out there has struggled with the chocolate chip cookie before. Well, fear not, my friends...for this recipe is sure to delight!

Ingredients:
-1/2 c. shortening
-1/2 c. butter
-3/4 c. granulated sugar
-3/4 c. packed light brown sugar
-2 eggs
-2 tsp. vanilla
-2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
-1 tsp. baking soda
-1 tsp. salt
-1 (12 oz.) package of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets (or line with parchment paper)

2. Cream butter, shortening and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually stir flour mixture into creamed mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips. Drop round spoonfuls onto cookie sheets.

3. Bake 8-10 minutes or until light brown. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Apple & Blackberry Crisp

What better way to kick off the new year with a warm piece of apple & blackberry crisp topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream?

Mmmm...good!

I got this recipe online. I was looking to use up the blackberries I had left from Christmas and wanted to make a tasty dessert! This crisp is delish--similar to the regular apple crisp I've made before, but with a little bit of a new twist! It's fast and easy and you'll love it!

Ingredients:
Filling:
-3 Fuji apples--peeled, cored and sliced 1/4 in. thick
-1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries
-1/4 c. granulated sugar
-1/2 c. plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

Topping:
-1/3 c. rolled oats
-1/3 c. almonds, coarsely chopped
-3 Tbsp. light brown sugar
-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
-3 Tbsp. butter, softened

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil an 8x8-inch glass baking dish. In a bowl, toss the apples with the blackberries, sugar and 2 Tbsp. of the flour.


Scrape the filling into the baking dish.

2. In a bowl, toss the oats with the remaining flour and the nuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Add the butter and rub it thoroughly.


Sprinkle the topping over the filling and bake for 35 minutes until the filling is bubbling and the topping is browned. Let the crisp cool for 10 minutes before serving.


**You can serve it just the way it is but it tastes great with a bit o' vanilla ice cream**

Homemade applesauce

I've been wanting to make homemade applesauce for SO long. My grandma used to make this all the time--it was one of my favorite things! She supposedly never had a recipe for it, so I tried my best to come up with something I thought might work :)

It doesn't really look anything like hers--hmmm...but it's ok :) I can keep trying. There is nothing wrong with this applesauce--it actually tastes pretty good! But, when you're expecting your grandma's, it's slightly disappointing :( I don't know if I'll ever be able to recreate hers, but I'm going to keep trying!

If you are looking for a good homemade applesauce though, this recipe works great!

Ingredients:
-4 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
-3/4 c. water
-1/4 c. sugar
-1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Combine apples, water, sugar and cinnamon in a medium saucepan.


Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes, or until apples are soft. Let cool and then mash with a potato masher or a fork.

Mixed Berry Crumble Tart

I've been looking for new things to make for Christmas dessert. I usually do a pie or two but I've been wanting to change things up a bit--have a little more variety. Last year I made a cranberry cake, so this year I decided to go with a tart.

I love tarts. They have become one of my favorite things to make, so I am excited to do this for Christmas. I feel like there is not a whole lot of variety with tarts--lemon or some sort of chocolate tarts are really popular and since there is going to be a chocolate pie my aunt is bringing, and I'm not a huge fan of lemon, I decided to go with berry...mmm.

This tart has a crumbly, streusel topping, which I'm guessing is going to be scrumptious--I don't know yet! I'm writing this entry before I've even tried it :)

Ingredients for the tart crust:
-1/4 c. toasted almonds, ground in food processor
-1 c. flour
-2 Tbsp. sugar
-1/4 tsp. salt
-6 Tbsp. cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
-1 lg. beaten egg
-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Grind almonds in food processor.


In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and egg. Add the butter until combined. Add the nuts, vanilla and salt. Mix together with a fork to blend.

2. Work in flour with fork and use hands to form a round ball. Knead the dough gently with fingertips. Wrap the ball of dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.


3. Unwrap dough on light floured surface and roll out. Butter the tart pan and mold pastry into pan, making it even. Poke holes on bottom of crust. Line with parchment or foil and use beans or pie weights to hold down.

4. Bake in oven at 350 degrees F. for 20 minutes. Take out to cool while you work on your filling.

Ingredients for the filling:
-3 (1-pint) baskets fresh berries (I used blackberries, raspberries & blueberries)
-1/2 c. sugar
-finely grated zest of 1 med. orange
-4 tsp. unbleached all-purpose flour

In a medium bowl, combine the berries, sugar, orange zest and flour and stir to blend well. Use a silicone or rubber spatula to scrape the filling into the cooled tart shell.

Ingredients for the topping:
-1 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
-3/4 c. sugar
-1/4 tsp. salt
-1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-in. pieces

1. Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the cold butter and mix on medium-low speed until the mixture begins to form clumps the size of small peas.

2. Cover the filling evenly with the topping.


3. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 40 minutes, until the fruit is soft and bubbling and the topping is golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool for 20 minutes before serving. Or, cool completely, then reheat just before serving. Serve with a scoop vanilla ice cream!