Month: May 2010

Peanut Butter Cream Sandwich Cookies

These are good. Like, really good. And check out the oddball ingredient of the day in this recipe: cumin!

Peanut Butter Cream Sandwich Cookies

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Cookies:
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a bowl beat peanut butter and shortening with electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, egg, and vanilla. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl. Beat in baking soda, salt, and as much flour as you can. Using a spoon, stir in any remaining flour.
3. Using a level teaspoon, form dough into balls. Place 1-1/2 inches apart on ungreased or parchment-lined cookie sheets. Flatten by making crisscross marks with a fork.
3. Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to wire rack for further cooling.

Peanut Cream Filling:
3/4 cup chunky peanut butter
3/4 cup marshmallow creme
3 Tablespoons milk
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp cumin
3 Tablespoons powdered sugar

1. Whisk together all of the ingredients except the powdered sugar.
2. Gradually whisk in the powdered sugar.
3. Spread 1 teaspoon of the filling on flat sides of half of cookies; top with remaining cookies. Makes about 4 dozen sandwich cookies.

Lemon Butter Cookies

There isn’t much that I like more than lemon. Lemon candy, lemon baked goods, lemonade, you name it, I love LEMON. I also happen to love recipes that have a really small ingredient list. So you can imagine my joy when I found this recipe from MixingBowl.com! They are melt-in-your-mouth good..

Lemon Butter Cookies
Recipe Source: MixingBowl.com
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1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel
2 cups all-purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar; beat until mixture is combined, scraping side of bowl. Beat in lemon peel. Beat in as much of the flour as you can. Stir in the remaining flour.
3. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until edges are light brown. Transfer to a wire rack for cooling.

Black & White Cheesecake Squares

Yield: About 20-24 bars

Black & White Cheesecake Squares

Black & White Cheesecake Squares

Chocolate and cheesecake combine to make a wonderful treat!

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Additional Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups + 2 TB flour
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 10 oz. unsalted butter
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 8 oz. softened cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 325F.

    2. Coat 9×13″ pan with butter, cooking spray, or parchment paper.

    3. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla, beat. Slowly add flour mixture, beating after each addition.

    4. Reserve 1 cup dough, cover and refrigerate.

    5. Press remaining dough into dish – refrigerate for 30 minutes.

    6. Bake 25 minutes, cool on wire rack.

    7. Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, egg, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Spread over cooled base.

    8. Crumble reserved dough on top. Bake 25-30 minutes, cool on wire rack.

Notes

Keep your bars refrigerated!

Your yield will depend on how big or small you cut your bars.

Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake

I’ve come to the conclusion that only people born and raised in the Midwest really love and get rhubarb. It’s tangy, it’s pretty, and it makes any baked good 100x better. My friends and I were at the Farmer’s Market yesterday and the one and only item on my list was rhubarb. My friend, who is from the east coast, had no idea what I was talking about and didn’t even know what rhubarb looked like (I described it looking like pink celery.. pretty accurate, don’t you think?). So yes, I rest my case, rhubarb is as Midwestern as snow, cows, and cornfields.

I saw this recipe in the latest issue of Martha Stewart Living (thanks for the subscription, dad!). It’s an EASY cake to make and it’s really moist and delicious. I’d highly recommend this recipe!

Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake
Recipe source: Martha Stewart Living
Print Recipe

For the topping:
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
coarse salt

For the cake:
1-1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature; plus more for buttering pan
1 pound rhubarb, trimmed and cut on a very sharp diagonal about 1/2 inch thick
1-3/4 cups sugar
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest plus 1 Tablespoon fresh orange juice
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Make the topping: stir together butter, flour, sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt until moist and crumbly.
3. Make the cake: Butter a 9-inch round cake pan (2 inches deep). Dot with 4 tablespoons butter (cut into pieces). Toss rhubarb with 3/4 cup sugar; let stand for 2 minutes. Toss again, spread in pan.
4. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and 1-1/2 teaspoons salt. Beat remaining stick butter and cup sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in zest and juice. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream, until smooth. Spread evenly over rhubarb. Crumble topping evenly over batter.
5. Bake until a tester comes out clean and the top springs back when touched, about 1 hour. Let cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake and invert onto a wire rack. Let cool completely.

My notes:
* I used Pam Baking spray to coat the pan instead of butter – it worked fine.
* Let the cake cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan – if it sits out longer, the rhubarb will stick to the bottom of the pan.