Pastel Conversation Heart Cookies!

Just like the world-famous candies! So incredible it’s literally unreal. Why does writing on things with food coloring pens just get me so excited? There must be something therapeutic about filling in a hundred tiny pastel hearts with romantic sayings…who knew? I’m going to take them to my friends at the Minuteman Arc www.minutemanarc.org/programs/adult-services tonight where I volunteer on Monday nights with my Telem group. We’ll come up with some great sayings, write on the cookies and then eat them. Yum!!!

This Trip to New Hampshire & Vermont was amazing!  We had a fantastic group led by Ms. Guy and Ms. Brennan.  We studied everything about food, and made all our own meals too!

Here was our schedule:

Day 1:

* Keene Farmers Market

* Wichland Woods: Mushroom Grower

* Food shop for the week

Day 2:

* Bo-Riggs Cattle Farm

* Cheshire Gardens

* Picadilly Farm

* Volunteer at Stonewall Farm

Day 3:

* Orchard Hill Breadworks

* Abenaki  Farm

* Stonewall Farm

Day 4:

* Stonewall Farm

* Live Cooking Show with Luca Paris

* Keene visits: Hannah Grimes, Ye Goodie Shop

Day 5:

* Stonewall Farm

* Walpole Creamery

* Alyson’s Orchards

* Community Kitchen

Day 6:

* Grafton Cheese

* C & S Grocery Warehouse

Day 7:

* Stonewall Farm Final Visit

* Barbeque and Swimming at Granite Lake… but it rained so this never happened!

What an amazing trip!  Thank you Ms. Guy and Ms. Brennan!!!

Speaking with David Burke in NJ on March 4th!

Click for information about Chef David Burke

Click for information about Chloe Rosen

Click for information about Soul Kitchen

Click for the NJ Center for the Book Website Announcement

Looking for the best recipes on the web? You’ve found the right place! I’m always scouring the internet trying to figure out the subtle differences between recipes, and I’ll share them here with you for a quick one-stop shop.

For Chocolate and Peppermint Patty Lovers!

Patty-Cake

8 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped finely

7 eggs

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup melted butter

1/4 cup softened butter

7-8 Mini York Peppermint Patties

Generous pinch of salt

1. Grease an 9-inch baking dish with melted butter and set aside.

2. Place the chopped chocolate in a glass bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water (the bowl should not touch the water), and stir gently until melted. Remove from heat.

3. Chop 2 of the peppermint patties up into small pieces and place into a microwave-safe bowl. In five second increments,  microwave the pieces until they are just melted.

4. Stir the peppermint patty mixture into the melted chocolate mixture until combined. Add the melted butter and softened butter and mix until smooth. Set aside.

5. Crack the eggs into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and add both sugars. Turn the mixer on to medium-high and whip until light colored, fluffy and thick (it should be about 3 times its original volume), about 5 minutes. Add vanilla extract and salt.

6. Add the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and stir gently together with a rubber spatula until combined.

7. Pour 1/2 of the batter into the prepared baking pan. Slice the remaining 5 peppermint patties horizontally (they may fall apart a bit) so you have thin pieces. Place the pieces of peppermint patty on the top of the batter, spacing it out a bit, leaving a half an inch border along the outside. Spoon the remaining half of batter on top and smooth with a spatula.

8. Place the pan into the preheated oven and bake for about 18-20 minutes. The top should be entirely baked and a toothpick inserted into the middle should come out a bit gooey.

9. Eat the cake warm (it has a molten quality) with ice cream or let it cool to room temperature (it becomes silken and fluffy) and eat with whipped cream.

Here’s my recipe for Carmelized Banana Upside Down Cake which was a Finalist in the Cambridge Housing Assistance Fund’s Fourth Annual Benefit for the Homeless. Try it and let me know what you think!

FOR THE CAKE:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 ripe bananas, mashed with a fork

FOR THE BANANAS:

1 cup brown sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/8 cup water

3-4 bananas, sliced diagonally into coins

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. FOR THE CAKE: Cream butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.

3. In another bowl, mix flour, salt, cinnamon and baking powder together. Add to butter mixture in 3 parts, alternating with milk. Add in lemon zest and mashed bananas and stir until combined.

4. FOR THE BANANAS: In a small saucepan, place butter and brown sugar. Mixing well over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil. When the mixture is smooth and thick and boiling, add the water and stir quickly until smooth and dark-colored. Remove from heat.

5. In the bottom of a greased 9-inch baking pan, spread a thin layer of the caramel mixture and then cover it with banana slices, spiraling out from the center and overlapping slightly. When the whole bottom is covered, drizzle a few more tablespoons of the caramel mixture on top so each banana is covered. Set the rest of the caramel aside for later. Spoon the cake batter on top of the bananas and bake for about an hour until the top is puffed and golden and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

6. Let the cake cool in its pan for 5 minutes, then invert and turn out onto a flat serving dish. Drizzle the cake with the remaining caramel mixture and serve warm with whipped cream and fresh mint. For more delicious recipes from Chef Chloe, click here!

2011 Semi-Finalist in Amateur Bake-Off

Recipe for Homemade Thin Mints
Makes 50 Cookies

Ingredients
For Dough
•¾ cup granulated sugar
•2 stick butter, melted
•1 egg
•1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
•1 tsp vanilla extract
•1 tsp peppermint extract
•1½ cups all-purpose flour
•¾ cup cocoa powder
•1 tsp kosher salt
•½ tsp baking soda
To Coat
•2 bags (12 oz each) bittersweet chocolate chips
•3 tsp peppermint extract
•3 tbsp butter, room temperature
How-to
Make Cookies

1.In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter and granulated sugar until well combined. Whisk in the vanilla, peppermint extract and chocolate. Add the egg and whisk until thoroughly incorporated
2.In another bowl (or on a flexible mat), sift together the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda
3.Stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture. The dough will start to seem too thick to stir and you may find it easiest to switch to mixing it with your hands until it comes together
4.Let the dough sit at room temperature for about 1 hour to firm up
5.Divide the dough in half and transfer each to 2 long pieces of parchment or waxed paper
6.Using your hands, shape each half of dough into logs about 10″ long and 2-½” in diameter
7.Place the logs at the edges of the parchment paper and roll the parchment around, using the parchment to smooth and form the logs
8.Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or until firm. The logs may settle and sink a bit in the fridge, so re-roll it every 10-15 minutes to maintain a uniform shape. At this point, the dough log can be wrapped in plastic and stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or frozen for later use (for up to a month). If the dough is frozen, thaw overnight in the refrigerator before proceeding
Slice & Bake

1.Preheat oven to 325° and situate a rack in the center of the oven
2.Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
3.Cut each dough log into ¼” slices
4.Place the slices about 1″ apart on the prepared baking sheet
5.Bake 15-25 minutes, or until the cookies are firm to the touch. Check them frequently after 16 or 17 minutes, poking them in the middle. As soon as they feel firm to the touch, remove them from the oven
6.Let cool completely
Coat & Cool

1.Melt the chocolate chips over a double-boiler (assuring that the simmering water does not touch the bottom of the bowl)
2.When completely smooth and glossy, shut off heat and stir in the butter and peppermint extract (the residual heat will help the butter to melt)
3.Using two forks, dip each cookie into the chocolate mixture, covering both sides and letting the excess drip off through the tines of the fork. Place on a sheet pan lined with tin foil or parchment paper and refrigerate for at least 25-30 minutes, until set and cold. Enjoy!

courtesy of www.how2heroes.com

I do believe I’ve done it. The ever elusive perfect chocolate cake has been found. Stop your searches. Stop your cookbook buying and internet scouring. Look no further than the back of the Hershey’s special dark cocoa powder box. I know, I know, I too was so skeptical, but let me tell you, with a bit of tweaking, this is easily the most delicious thing I’ve ever put in my mouth. I use 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter instead of the oil (yick) and use some higher-quality black cocoa to add depth, as well as vanilla and melted chocolate in the batter. Whip up a little ganache til its fluffy, slather it on, and then enjoy.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups Sugar
1 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour
3/4 cup unsweetened dutch processed cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup strong black coffee (instant OK)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Pre-heat Oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 2 9″ round baking pans. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with paddle attachment, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix on low until dry ingredients are thoroughly combined. With the mixer on low, add the butter a tablespoon at a time, and mix until incorporated. Add eggs and buttermilk and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add coffee and vanilla and beat until thoroughly incorporated. The batter will be relatively thin. Pour the batter evenly into prepared pans.
3. Bake in pre-heated oven for 30 – 35 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely.
4. Frost as desired.

Fluffy Chocolate Ganache Frosting