July 11: Blueberry Muffin Cookies

Blueberry Muffin Cookies

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups (8 oz) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (4 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 large egg
3/4 cup fresh blueberries, or 1/2 cup dried
Coarse sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Line two baking sheets with nonstick foil or parchment paper.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium-size bowl; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and creamy. Beat in the lemon zest. Reduce the mixer speed and add the egg. Beat until the egg is blended in. By hand or using the lowest speed of the mixer, add the flour mixture and stir until it is mixed in. If using fresh berries, carefully fold the berries into the dough. If using dried, stir them in.
4. Scoop up tablespoonfuls of dough and shape into small balls. Arrange 2 1/2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake one sheet at a time for 12 minutes, or until lightly browned on the edges and top. Let cool on baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dry ingredients

Addition of the lemon zest

Addition of the egg

Addition of the flour mixture

Addition of the fresh blueberries

Addition of the coarse sugar

Thoughts: I really wanted to use fresh blueberries vs. dried but if I had used dried, it wouldn't have been so messy. I tried to fold the blueberries in carefully but it is hard to incorporate them without mushing a couple of them open. Some of them also exploded while they were baking. Other than that, it was ok. I don't know if they taste like a blueberry "muffin" but it was good.

July 9: Monster-Size Sugar Cookies

Monster-Size Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups (9 oz) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (4 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons (0.8 oz) butter-flavored or plain vegetable shortening
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon maple syrup or pancake syrup
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Colored sprinkles or coarse sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Line two baking sheets with parchment or nonstick foil.
2. Mix the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and shortening until creamy. Add both sugars slowly and beat for a full 5 minutes. Beat in the syrup. Reduce the speed to medium-low and beat in the egg, vanilla, and almond extract.
4. On the lowest speed of the mixer, add the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Divide the dough into eight equal size balls. Arrange four of the balls on the prepared baking sheet and press down the centers with a drinking glass. Sprinkle with colored sprinkles. Repeat with the remaining cookie dough.
5. Bake one sheet at a time until the edges are golden, 11-13 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for about 4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dry ingredients

Addition of sugars

Addition of maple syrup

Addition of egg and extracts

Thoughts: This recipe only yields 8 cookies so I doubled the recipe. Very very easy recipe...you just have to make sure you don't remove the cookies from the cookie sheet too soon because they are large enough that if they are still warm, they'll break. They were very good.

This Week's Concoctions Ending 7/8

Here are some highlights of items that I made this week other than the "Weekly Cookie"

A while ago my cousin gave me his recipe for chocolate chip cookies which is a little different than the usual. It uses almond extract!

It was one of my co-worker's birthdays this week and she requested lemon cheesecake bars. Since I actually followed the directions relating to letting the pan cool, it was pretty easy although there wasn't quite enough "topping/icing".

This Week's Concoctions Ending 7/1

Here is the highlight of an item that I made this week other than the "Weekly Cookie"

I had my recipe exchange program on Saturday and the theme was "fruits and vegetables". So I made one of my favorites: ambrosia. It was a little different than I have made in the past because I added cinnamon and nutmeg. It was good though!

June 27: Orange Blossom Bars

Orange Blossom Bars

Ingredients:
Base:
1 (18.25 oz) box orange cake mix
8 tablespoons (4 oz) unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg

Filling:
1 (15-16 oz) can vanilla frosting
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 large egg

Topping:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons (2 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed orange juice

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Line a 9x13-inch metal pan with nonstick foil.
2. Make the base: In a mixing bowl, stir together the cake mix, melted butter, and egg. Press firmly into the prepared pan.
3. Make the filling: In a mixing bowl, stir together the frosting and softened cream cheese. Add the egg and stir, but do not beat, until smooth. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the cake mixture and spread to the edges.
4. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the edges are slightly browned and set. The middle should still be jiggly. Don't overbake. The filling will set as it cools and after it chills. Let the pan cool to room temperature.
5. Make the topping: Beat together the cream cheese, butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and orange juice in a bowl. Carefully spread the topping over the cream cheese layer. Chill for about 2 hours. Grasp the edges of the foil and lift from the pan. Set on a cutting board and cut into 32 squares.

Base ingredients

Base

Filling ingredients

Addition of the egg

Before the oven...

And after

Topping ingredients

Thoughts: This was easy until I stopped following the directions. I should've let the pan cool after baking it. Because I was running out of time, I just let it cool for like 15 minutes (the pan was still hot) and tried to spread the topping on it. First, there was not enough topping to cover the pan (so I would double it in the future). Second, it was extremely difficult to spread because the filling hadn't cooled so it was still jiggly. I'm not crazy about orange flavored things so this was not my favorite.