Category Archives: Baking

The Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

May 9, 2012 – 6:00 am

Usually I like at least one form of chocolate in my baked goods, but one of the exceptions that satisfies me without chocolate is a good, chewy oatmeal raisin cookie.

I love the way the oatmeal keeps the cookie soft and the sweet burst of flavor from the raisins. And with oatmeal being such a healthy food, I can feel good about eating this snack. I tweaked the leavening agents a bit in this recipe to deliver a bit thicker cookie. I don’t like when my cookies begin as nice mounds but then ooze in the oven only to leave me with flat cookies with mix-ins protruding out everywhere.

There are also a few Rice Krispies thrown into this batter to give the cookies a little crunch. You should know by know how important texture is to me. And the final addition that also helps make the cookies extra chewy is a bit of shredded coconut. You really can’t detect a coconutty flavor, you just know there is something extra special going on.

I already shared my all-time favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie with you,

and I can pretty confidently say that I am now introducing you to the last Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe I will ever make.

*Note: If you are a fan of Paradise Bakery‘s cookies, this one comes pretty close to their oatmeal raisin.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

by Mercedes Porter

Keywords: bake dessert oatmeal cookie

Ingredients (18 cookies)

1/2 cup (8 Tbsp) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup Rice Krispies
1/2 shredded coconut
3/4 cup raisins

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl and with an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugars.

Add eggs and vanilla and mix to incorporate.

Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and mix to incorporate.

Add oats, Rice Krispies, coconut and raisins and mix.

Scoop 1/4 cup-sized balls of dough onto cookie sheets using a cookie scoop or spoon (6 per sheet) and flatten slightly.

Bake 10 minutes. Cool on racks.

Recipe adapted from The Lemonista

cream butter and sugar together

add egg and vanilla

mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon

mix in oats, rice krispies, coconut and raisins

place dough onto cookie sheets and bake

Do you have recipes for things that are SO GOOD you never feel the need to try another recipe? What are they for?

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Tags coconut, Oatmeal, Raisins | Comments (12)

Mini Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

May 5, 2012 – 6:00 am

I was so excited when my friend Anna asked me to make some sweet treats for her party guests. Anna is an amazing makeup artist and makes making someone over look like it requires no effort at all. She asked me to make some cupcakes because she said that she is not much of a baker. I think it is so great to have a group of friends that all have different talents so that we can all learn and benefit from each other. The way that Anna can transform a woman on her wedding today to look like she just stepped off a runway, would be impossible for me, yet making a few sweets was enjoyable and required minimal effort for me. I think it is empowering to recognize the strengths that we all possess. What talents do you have to offer your friends and family?

Anna asked me to make cupcakes but I couldn’t resist adding in the Lemon Curd Tarts and Sparkly Pink Ombre Cookie Tree that I shared with you earlier in the week. I also wanted to give my friend what she requested though. Even with all of the fancy cupcake flavor combinations that are out there today, sometimes I like to stick with the classics like these Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting.

These cupcakes were perfectly infused with vanilla bean flavor and the frosting was so much fun to pipe because of the perfect consistency. The cream cheese adds just enough tang so that the frosting is not too rich but has more of a subtle chocolate flavor. So if you are looking for a new go-to classic vanilla cupcake recipe or a chocolate frosting recipe, may I highly recommend that you try these Mini Vanilla Cupcakes and Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting?

*NOTE: If you don’t have vanilla beans on hand, simply omit and you will still have plenty of vanilla flavor from the extract.

Mini Vanilla Cupcakes

by Mercedes Porter

Keywords: bake dessert vanilla cupcake

Ingredients (~32 mini cupcakes)

1 1/3 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped (omit if you’d like)
1/2 whole milk or half and half

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line mini muffin tin with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

In a large bowl and with an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together for about 2 minutes. Add eggs and mix to incorporate. Add vanilla and vanilla bean seeds (if using) and mix.

Add half of the flour mixture and mix. Add milk, mix, then add remaining flour mixture and mix well to incorporate.

Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full of batter using a small cookie scoop or teaspoon.

Bake about 12 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool completely before frosting.

Recipe adapted from Joy the Baker Cookbook

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

by Mercedes Porter

Keywords: chocolate cream cheese frosting

Ingredients (enough frosting for 32 mini cu)

4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup (4 Tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp milk

Instructions

In a large bowl and with an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth and combined.

Add cocoa powder and mix. Add powdered sugar and mix to incorporate.

Add vanilla and milk and mix until well incorporated.

Frost or cupcakes (or cake) immediately.

Recipe adapted from Joy the Baker Cookbook

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Sparkly Pink Ombre Cookie Tree

May 3, 2012 – 6:00 am

I am the girliest of girly-girls. Pink, sparkles, heart-shaped things, babies and baby animals all make me giddy. I would love to have lived in the 50′s during the Mad Men days when women were ladies and men stood up when they left or returned to the table. Nothing makes me happier than wearing a flowy dress and high heels and I would wear them everyday if I could. Even with dessert, if something is particularly feminine, I am instantly drawn to it. Like this.

I was in total bliss while constructing this pink ombre cookie tree. And you know me, I love when something turns out beautifully yet was super simple to fabricate. I didn’t have different colored pink sanding sugars so I just added increasing amounts of neon pink food coloring to 3 different bowls of sugar until I had the ombre look I was dreaming of.

This is a dessert from Sprinkle Bakes by Heather Baird. If you haven’t been over to Sprinkle Bakes blog, you really should stop by. Heather is truly an artist. Immediately when I saw this idea in her book, I couldn’t wait for an excuse to make it. The sugar cookies couldn’t be simpler and assembling the tree is a breeze. But the results really turn heads and get people talking. I think this would be a great idea for a shower, wedding or any holiday celebration. The tree is assembled by using a styrofoam cone you can find at any craft store and buttercream to stick the cookies on. Guests get to whimsically pluck a petite sweet from the tree which makes the presentation just that much more fun.

Puffy Sugar Cookies

by Sprinkle Bakes (Heather Baird)

Keywords: bake dessert snack cookie

Ingredients (75 small cookies)

1 cup (16 Tbsp, 1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cup flour
2/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
colored sanding sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl and using an electric mixer, cream butter and powdered sugar together. Add vanilla.

Add dry ingredients and mix until incorporate.

Roll dough into teaspoon-sized balls, toss in colored sugar and place 1-inch apart on cookie sheet.

Chill dough in refrigerator for 10 minutes.

Bake 12 minutes.

Vanilla Buttercream

by Mercedes Porter

Keywords: no-bake frosting

Ingredients

8 Tbsp (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2-2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-3 tsp milk or cream

Instructions

In a large bowl and with an electric mixer, cream butter and powdered sugar together.

Add vanilla and 1 tsp milk and mix.

Continue to add 1 tsp of milk at a time until the buttercream is your desired consistency. If it gets to thin, add more powdered sugar.

Adapted from Sprinkle Bakes

to make the cookies: cream together butter and powdered sugar

add vanilla, then remaining dry ingredients

roll dough into teaspoon-sized balls

drop formed dough into colored sugars and roll to coat

place onto cookie sheet and bake

to assemble the tree, spread 1/2-inch layer of buttercream onto styrofoam cone

place a dollop of buttercream onto your serving platter to hold the cone in place

place cone onto serving platter and finish frosting and smoothing

starting at the bottom, begin to gently press cookies into buttercream

So girly and sparkly, I love it!

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Brownie Pie euphoria

April 27, 2012 – 6:00 am

I know I went on and on about how interesting and unique Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook is and I maybe even sounded like I was complaining a bit. I apologize for that. I don’t want to be a downer. It’s just that people are going B-A-N-A-N-A-S over this cookbook and it initially left me feeling frustrated and stupefied. That is until I used the rest of that graham cracker crust I was telling you about to make this.

It’s pretty hard to feel anything but euphoric when molten brownie is oozing in your mouth.

Tell me what’s wrong with this picture. Oh, what’s that you said? Nothing? Yeah, that’s what I thought. This is not me being egotistical sweet teeth, this is just the cold, hard facts. This brownie pie was so incredibly easy and quick to make and the results are really mind-blowing. Imagine those molten chocolate cakes that were all the rage a couple of years ago and showed up on every dessert menu, in pie form. That means every bite is ooey gooey, melt-in-your-mouth. Not just the center bite. That means that even though my husband is notorious for taking that last, best bite of whatever it is that I am savoring, there is no best bite for him to steal in this pie. There are ONLY best bites. No dry edges or crispy crust. Just ooey. Gooey. Pure. Chocolatey. Bliss.

Ok, I’m done ranting. You just need to make this. Now. Walk away from your computer. I mean now.

Brownie Pie

by Mercedes Porter

Keywords: bake dessert chocolate pie

Ingredients (1 10-inch pie)

For the graham crust

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup dry milk
2 Tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp kosher salt
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup heavy cream

For the brownie pie

1 1/2 cups graham crust
4 1/2 oz. (~1/2 cup) 72% chocolate (or any dark chocolate)
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
3 Tbsp dark cocoa powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions

For the graham crust

Place graham cracker crumbs, milk powder, sugar and salt in a small bowl and stir to combine.

Add melted butter and cream and mix with your hands until mixture is combined and small clumps form.

Press 1 1/4 cups of graham crust into a pie tin with your fingers and palms, reserving the other 1/4 cup of graham crust. Set aside.

Graham crust can be stored in an airtight container for 1 month in the refrigerator. Microwave for 5 seconds before using again if you refrigerate it.

For the brownie pie

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a small, microwave safe bowl, combine the butter and chocolate and heat in 30 second increments until butter is melted. Mix with spatula until mixture is combined and smooth.

In another large bowl, combine the eggs and sugar and using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, whip on high until the mixture is pale yellow, about 3-4 minutes.

Replace whisk with paddle attachment and pour the chocolate/butter mixture into the eggs and mix on low-medium until the mixture is combined.

Add the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until just combined and incorporated. Do not overmix.

Add heavy cream and mix on low to incorporate.

Scrape down sides of bowl with a spatula and fold in remaining 1/4 cup graham crust.

Place pie tin with crust onto a baking sheet then pour the batter on top of the crust. Bake 25 minutes.

The pie will puff slightly around the edges. If the pie is still liquid in the center, continue baking for ~5 more minutes.

Cool completely before cutting and serving.

Serve with ice cream, dusted with powdered sugar or alone.

Recipe from Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook

make graham crust (step-by-step instructions here) and press into pie tin

melt chocolate and butter together

combine eggs and sugar and whisk until pale yellow 3-4 minutes

add melted chocolate/butter mixture

and mix to combine

add dry ingredients

mix until just incorporated

scrape down sides of bowl and fold in remaining graham crust using spatula

place pie tin onto baking sheet and pour batter into it

bake until edges are slightly puffed and center is no longer liquid

enjoy, as if I need to tell you

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Momofuku Milk Bar and Compost Cookies

April 25, 2012 – 6:00 am

I have never felt so many mixed emotions about a cookbook. Yes a cookbook has evoked fear, excitement, frustration, intimidation and giddiness all at the same time inside of me. Momofuku Milk Bar is like no other cookbook. I can assure you of that. Usually when a cookbook calls for all sorts of specialty ingredients, I am instantly turned off. I want recipes with ingredients that I have on hand or are easy to find and inexpensive to buy. However, I recognize the benefits of getting out of your comfort zone from time to time, so here I am, my mind swirling, my confidence challenged and I feel like there should be a support group for cooking your way through this book. You know, to ask questions such as “Is glucose the stickiest most annoying substance you have ever tried to measure out? Or is it just me and am I missing something?”

I started with cookies.

Cookies people. Typically one of the most straight forward things you could bake. Until now. First, I had to order glucose from amazon.com. Then I had to purchase milk powder. Is “milk powder” as it is referred to in the book the same as nonfat dry milk?? I sure hope so. Oh and potato chips. Yep, you read right, crispy, kettle-cooked potato chips were another ingredient I had to get before I could get started on these cookies. I am really not trying to complain or sound whiney, but I would not be telling you the truth and honestly reviewing this recipe and book if I did not share this experience with you. And don’t worry, it gets better.

Another unique aspect of Momofuku Milk Bar is that they use several “mother recipes” that are then ingredients for their pies, cakes, cookies, etc. Another step, yes, but honestly not a complicated one. So the mother recipe that was used in this infamous cookie recipe was their graham crust. Basically what you would expect in any old graham cracker crust with the addition of milk powder. The way I would describe these cookies is everything-but-the-kitchen-sink cookies. You’ve got mini chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, pretzels, potato chips and graham cracker crust all rolled into one cookie!

I believe that the reason they call these cookies “compost cookies” is because your kitchen counter will look like a compost heap by the time you are finished! Case in point:

I followed this recipe down to the glucose, but if you don’t want to purchase any specialty ingredients, I have included substitutions for you in the recipe. And if you are a fan of the sweet & salty combination, you may find your new favorite with these Compost Cookies.

Compost Cookies

by Adapted from Momofuku Milk Bar

Keywords: bake dessert snack cookie

Ingredients (20 cookies)

For the graham crust

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup dry milk
2 Tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp kosher salt
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup heavy cream

For the cookies

2 sticks (16 Tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp glucose (or corn syrup, or omit entirely)
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup graham crust (or 1/2 cup crushed graham crackers)
1/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 1/2 tsp ground coffee
2 cups kettle-cooked potato chips
1 cup pretzels

Instructions

For the graham crust

Place graham cracker crumbs, milk powder, sugar and salt in a small bowl and stir to combine.

Add melted butter and cream and mix with your hands until mixture is combined and small clumps form. Set aside.

Graham crust can be stored in an airtight container for 1 month in the refrigerator. Microwave for 5 seconds before using again if you refrigerate it.

For the cookies

*Note: Dough must be chilled for an hour before baking

In a large bowl, combine butter, sugars and glucose (or corn syrup, if using). Cream together for 2-3 minutes using an electric mixer on medium-high speed.

Add eggs and vanilla and beat on medium for another 7-8 minutes. Mixture will be very lightly colored and creamy.

Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix on low just until combined. Scrape down sides of bowl with spatula.

Add chocolate and butterscotch chips, graham crust (or graham crackers), oats and coffee and mix again on low just to incorporate.

Add potato chips and pretzels and mix again on low. Do not overmix or potato chips and pretzels will get crushed.

Using an ice cream scoop or 1/3 cup measuring cup, place balls of dough onto parchment lined baking sheets, flatten slightly with palm of your hand and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Bake cookies with no more that 4 per sheet and dough well spaced apart for ~12 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

Cool on sheets.

to make graham crust, combine graham cracker crumbs, dry milk, sugar and salt