A Whole New Kind of Crack Cookie: The Smack Cookie

Name courtesy of The Husband.

I think I may have just made a cookie I like more than Crack Cookies. And, let's face it, that's saying a LOT!

Truth be told, they are Crack Cookies, but with a twist--Cinnamon. Everybody together now: mmmm.

I've been wanting to use cinnamon chips for a long time but no store I checked had them. Finally, about six months ago, I spotted them at the nearby Albertson's, but still didn't buy them. Then a month or so ago, a friend suggested Crack Cookies with cinnamon chips, so I figured it was about time.

Of course, I couldn't just replace the chocolate chips with cinnamon chips. I needed more. One of the things I love best about cinnamon is eating it with butter and sugar. An idea was born and I think it totally makes them.

Sissy's Variations:

• Add cinnamon to taste (oh, come on, we all know you taste the cookie dough). I added it during the creaming of the butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla. I don't know if made a difference, but that's where I felt it needed to go.
• Here's the real kicker:  melted butter with cinnamom and sugar brushed on top. I did this as soon as they were out of the oven, so for my cookies, that meant when they were still a little soft on top. I think this allowed the butter to seep in good, but then also gave a good almost glaze to the top.

I have to say, even The Husband asked for a second cookie right away. He said it kept getting better the more he chewed. Can't beat that. I told him he got to name them, thus, Smack Cookies--at least for now. I really hope they are as good next day, not hot out of the oven. Because hot out of the oven, these may be the best cookies ever!

More Lightened Up Desserts

In honor of my friends Darren and Stacy, I thought I'd post a couple more desserts from my Lighten Up! 5-Ingredients Less Fat Recipes cookbook. After I posted the Mexican Chocolate Cake recipe, Darren decided to go home and bake it for Stacy. She was impressed. So, here are a couple more recipes that are equally as tasty. I haven't made them recently, but they are tried and true!

3 Ingredient Chocolate Cake
Ingredients:
1 (16 oz.) can dark sweet cherries, drained, syrup reserved
5 egg whites
1 reduced fat chocolate cake mix

1. Puree cherries in food processor.
2. Mix pureed cherries and egg whites in a large bowl with electric mixer.
3. Add dry cake mix and 1/4c. reserved cherry juice.
4. Mix well, and pour into a sprayed 9" x 13" pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
12 servings; per serving: 225 calories, less than 4g of fat

Sissy's Variations: I like to make this cake in a bundt. I don't know what made me do that, but I really like that you get way more than the 12 servings and it's easy to transport.

Banana Pudding
When I first started using this cookbook, I made my husband (then my boyfriend) highlight all the recipes in it that he thought he would like. This one got highlighted and marked with "oh yes!" It did not disappoint. It's so good, that you don't even miss what's missing.
Ingredients:
1 large (6 servings) pkg. sugar free vanilla instant pudding
2 1/2 c. skim milk
1 (8 oz.) tub frozen light whipped topping, thawed
3/4 c. POST GRAPE-NUTS Brand Natural Wheat and Barley Cereal
4 bananas, sliced

1. Mix pudding mix and mild in a large bowl with a whisk.
2. Add thawed whipped topping.
3. Layer in a serving dish: half the cereal, half the banana slices, half the pudding.
4. Repeat layers.
5. This must be refrigerated 6 hours or up to overnight for the cereal to become soft.
8 servings; per serving: 200 calories, 4g fat

Sissy's Variations: I can't think of any variations that I've ever done myself except adding a few banana slices decoratively on top of the cereal. I've been meaning to try this with the lower calorie/lower fat/light 'Nilla Wafers used in classic Banana Pudding.

Mexican Chocolate Cake

Finally updating with a new recipe. Not really a new recipe to me, though. This Mexican Chocolate Cake is an old, easy standby that's not only super yummy, but also lower in calories and fat than most cakes (most desserts, in general). This makes it vastly different from the other recipes in my blog!

I made the cake for a Cinco de Mayo potluck lunch at the office and had one request for the recipe and multiple compliments on the cake, so what better way to start back on the blog?

The recipe is from my Lighten Up! 5-Ingredient Less Fat Recipes cookbook.

Ingredients (cake):

• 5 egg whites
• 2 1/2 c. unsweetened cinnamon applesauce
• 1 reduced fat chocolate cake mix
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
  

1. Beat egg whites with electric mixer until foamy.
2. Mix in applesauce.
3. Add dry cake mix, vanilla, and cinnamon.
4. Mix at medium speed for 1 minute.
5. Spread in sprayed and floured 9" x 13" pan.

Ingredients (topping:)

• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1. Mix topping ingredients and sprinkle on top.
2. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes.
12 servings; per serving: 220 calories, 3g fat

Sissy's Variations: I can never seem to find unsweetened cinnamon applesauce, so I just use plain unsweetened and add cinnamon until I think it looks right. Sorry, measurement! I also just spray the pan with cooking spray, but don't flour and have never had an issue with sticking.

Crack Cookies Gone Wild

In case you're wondering, yes, I've probably lost my mind. The very first recipe I ever blogged about was Crack Cookies, which are just crazy good chocolate chip cookies that I make that are kind of famous. So, last week my very good friends Dina had unexpected back surgery. Two days before her surgery, I had told her I'd make some Crack Cookies to bring to work that week to make her feel better (she LOVES my Crack Cookies--I bake them for her as her Christmas present every year). Well, her surgery ended up being scheduled way before we expected, so I didn't get to make them beforehand, so I told her that as soon as she was up for it after surgery, I would send her a whole batch via her sister (who I also work with). So, not knowing when I'd need to make them, I just got all the stuff to make them and decided to play with recipe a little bit.

Recently, I had bought some dark chocolate and white chocolate chips and some semi-sweet chocolate chunks.

 

So, I bought some more milk chocolate chips (the ones I prefer to use) and headed home to check out what all I had.

 

 

I found some Mini M&Ms for baking and some semi-sweet mini chocolate chips.

 

 

I had a plan. If they were already Crack Cookies, jazzing 'em up this way could only mean one thing: Crack Cookies Gone Wild. Hey, I already said I know I've lost my mind!

The recipe makes 4 dozen cookies, so I decided to try 4 different kinds of Crack Cookies.

I made up the dough as usual. Then I split the dough into four 3/4 c. batches. I used about 1/2 c. (probably a little more) of add-ins for each dozen since the original recipe calls for 2 c. chocolate chips.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Regular (milk chocolate)

 

 

 

 

Dark Chocolate Chip

White Chocolate/Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chip

Mini M&M/Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunk

Unfortunately, I was a bit distracted and the first night's batch didn't turn out quite as good as I liked. They were a little more over cooked than I usually like, but they were still good, so I hear. That batch went to work with Bill. I made the same thing the next night to take to work with me, and while they didn't get quite the same reception as regular Crack Cookies, they were enjoyed. The white chocolate in particular seemed to be a hit.

Update 9/10: I made Dina her Crack Cookies this week. Her sister was going to be able to take them to her on Tuesday, which happened to be the same day she got her staples out. I got an email from her this morning saying they were the best batch ever. I had to agree. I knew as soon as I pulled them out of the oven that they were perfect, and of course I had taste one. There really is no other cookie like a Crack Cookie!

Peanut Butter Cookies

I'm not the biggest fan of peanut butter cookies (weird, since I really love peanut butter in every form), but others really do, so I figured I'd give them a try. Since my very favorite cookies are my Crack Cookies, so I really wanted to find a peanut butter cookie that was close. In searching my Google Reader, I came across these Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies from Fresh From Cate's Kitchen blog. The recipe is really similar to my crack cookie recipe, so I decided to try it.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
(adapted from Fresh From Cate's Kitchen)

Ingredients:
1 stick (1/2 c.) butter, softened
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 12-oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat.

2. Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt.

3. Mix the butter and both sugars in stand mixer on medium until fluffy. (The recipe doesn't specifically mention where to add the peanut butter, so I added it here.) Stir in vanilla and egg and mix on low until combined.

4. Add the flour mixture and mix on low just until the flour is no longer visible. Stir in chocolate chips.

 

 

5. Drop by large spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake 8-10 minutes, or until just set. Remove from the oven and let cool on sheet fro 5 minutes, then eat or transfer to wire wrack to cool completely.

 

Sissy's Variations:
I made two batches and I wanted one with nothing in it, so I made plain PB cookies. The other batch, I used  semi-sweet chocolate/peanut butter swirl chips because they looked fun.

Unfortunately, somebody was distracting me (we won't name names!) and they cooked a little longer than I would have liked. They were still good (yes, I tried them), but a little on the crispy side for my taste. Everybody liked them, but I will do better next time.

And I'm thinking I may try to adapt the crack cookies to peanut butter cookies one of these days.

Boston Cream Pie

I love Boston Cream Pie. I always have, even as a kid. My dad used to buy them at this pie place when I was little. Years later, I found a recipe for one in my stepdad's Betty Crocker cookbook. I was so excited! And then my stepdad said he really liked it too, so I knew I had to try it. Boston Cream Pie was actually the first thing I ever baked that wasn't from a box mix. Really, a pretty heavy undertaking for a fairly novice baker, but it turned out great. I now have my own Betty Crocker cookbook, but I've compared the recipes and they are the same. I usually make it for my stepdad's birthday, but I didn't get to this year, so when he invited us for Labor Day dinner, I said I'd make it for him.

For anybody who hasn't had a Boston Cream Pie (and if you haven't, what the heck are you waiting for), it's not actually a pie. It's a fabulously layered cake with a cream filling and a chocolate glaze. Really, it's heaven.

Boston Cream Pie
(from Betty Crocker)

Ingredients:
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sugar
1/3 c. shortening
3/4 milk
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
1 large egg
Cream Filling
Chocolate Glaze

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom and side of round pan, 9 x 1 1/2 inches, with shortening; lightly flour.

2. Beat all ingredients except Cream Filling and Chocolate Glaze in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan.

3. Bake about 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

4. Make Cram Filling and Chocolate Glaze. Split cake horizontally in half. Spread filling over bottom later; top with top layer. Spread glaze over top of cake. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Store covered in refrigerator.

Cream Filling
Ingredients:
1/3 c. sugar
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. milk
2 large egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 tsp. vanilla

Mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt in 2-quart saucepan. Mix milk and egg yolks; gradually stir into sugar mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 2 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Press plastic crap on filling to prevent a layer of skin from forming on top; cool.

Chocolate Glaze
Ingredients:
3 tbsp. butter or stick margarine
3 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
1 c. powdered sugar
3/4 tsp. vanilla
About 2 tbsp. hot water

Melt butter and chocolate in 1-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently; remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir in water, 1 tsp. at a time, until smooth and spreadable.

Sissy's Variations:
Since it was Labor Day and I didn't have anything else to do, I decided to make an attempt at Boston Cream Cupcakes. I've been wanting to do this for awhile. I made up another quick batch of batter and made a little over a dozen cupcakes.

I made another batch of cream filling, which I put in a pastry bag with a tip. I filled the cupcakes through a few different holes in the top. I thought I got enough in them, but we discovered upon eating them that I'm going to have to work on filling cupcakes.

The other thing I thought I wanted to try after having made it the day before was chocolate ganache instead of the chocolate glaze. They are pretty similar, but I was so nervous about screwing it up. The last couple of times I've made the glaze it hasn't quite turned out right. No matter what I do the texture is off--almost lumpy. So I thought the ganache would be perfect.

I went ahead made the chocolate glaze and decided to use it on the cake and the ganache on the cupcakes. Turned out, I had enough ganache to cover the cupcakes and the cake. I glazed the cake with the glaze and then topped it with the ganache. I think the outcome was prettier and had a richer chocolate flavor.

(Oh, I said it made just over a dozen cupcakes. Well, Bill and I had to taste test a few to make sure they came out okay!)

The family raved!

White Coconut (Cup)Cake: Take 1

 

My mother-in-law's birthday was August 28, but we were not celebrating until the following Sunday. Since I'm on this big baking kick right now, I decided I was going to make her a cake. Bill's family doesn't do birthdays like my family does, but I'm trying to change that a little bit and baking  a cake seemed like the way to go. So, after asking the clueless Bill what kind of cake his mom liked, I texted my sister-in-law to find out.  I was shocked when she came back with white coconut. Why, you ask? Because white coconut happens to be my mother's favorite cake, and I was planning on making one for her birthday later in September. Only thing was, I'd never done a coconut cake. Now, I had the opportunity to do it twice. And cupcakes were an even more perfect choice because I knew in my family nobody but Mom likes coconut cake (which means she never gets one for her birthday) and I was pretty sure nobody else in Bill's family did either.

In my ongoing attempt to get away from my old stand-by recipes, I went in search of a new white cake recipe. Turned out I didn't need to look far. My dad gave me the Texas Country Reporter Cookbook for Christmas a few years ago, and I've tried a few things in it. When I went to cakes, I found Sam Houston White Cake. From the cookbook: "According to legend, this was Sam Houston's favorite cake recipe." So, I had to try it. I tried to make the White Mountain Frosting from my Betty Crocker cookbook, but that didn't work out so well, so I went back a traditional buttercream. I made half the batch of cupcakes with white buttercream and coconut and the other half I made my first attempt at ganache--all I can say about that is yum.

As this was my first attempt, I'm not sure it was quite as much of a coconut cake as it probably should have been, but I know what I'll differently next time!

Sam Houston White Cake
(adapted from Texas Country Reporter Cookbook)

Ingredients:
3/4 c. margarine or butter, softened
2 c. sugar
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. water
1 tsp. almond extract
6 egg white at room temperature

1. Cream butter and gradually add sugar, beating well.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine milk and water.

 

3. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with mild mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix well after each addition.

4. Stir in almond extract.

5. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form and fold into batter.

6. Pour batter into three greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool.

Sissy's Variations:
I'm all about sifting these days, even recipes aren't calling for it, so I sifted the dry ingredients. Like I said, I baked these as cupcakes--it made about 2 dozen large.

 

I filled up the muffin pans a little more than I probably should have, but I still though the result was great.

 

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
(from the Betty Crocker Cookbook)

Ingredients:
3 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. butter or stick margarine, softened
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 to 2 tbsp. milk

1. Mix powdered sugar and butter in medium bowl with spoon or electric mixer on low speed. Stir in vanilla and 1 tbsp. of milk.

2. Gradually beat in just enough remaining mild to make frosting smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too thick, beat in more mild, a few drops at a time. If frosting becomes too thin, beat in a small amount of powdered sugar. Frosts 13 x 9-inch cake generously, or fills and frosts an 8- or 9-inch two-layer cake.

Sissy's Variations:
Here's where the coconut part of the cake came in. I frosted the cupcakes generously and topped with flaked coconut and toasted coconut. Sorry for the bad picture--bad lighting in MIL's kitchen!

 

Chocolate Ganache
(from the Betty Crocker Cookbook)

Ingredients:
2/3 c. whipping (heavy) cream
6 ounces semisweet baking chocolate, chopped

1. Heat whipping cream in 1-quart saucepan over low heat until hot but not boiling; remove from heat.

2. Stir in chocolate until melted. Let stand about 5 minutes. Ganache is ready to use when it mounds slightly when dropped from a spoon. It will become firmer the longer it cools.

3. Pour ganache carefully onto top center of cakes; spread with large spatula so it flows evenly over top and down to cover side of cake. Glazes 13 x 9-inch cake or top and side of an 8- or 9-inch two-layer cake.

Overall, I thought the cake part was just okay--not quite moist enough for my taste, but my mother-in-law loved it asked for the recipe. She thought it was the perfect amount of coconut, but I think I will try using coconut extract next time--maybe in both the cake and the icing, or maybe just the icing. Recommendations welcome! As for the ganache, I will definitely make this again. I can't believe I've gone this long without it in my life.

Cinnamon-y Apple Cobbler

So, after the very cinnamon-y coffee cake earlier in the week, I was craving more cinnamon-y goodness. I was looking to make a dessert for poker night and I knew almost all of us liked apple cobbler. So, knowing I wasn't going to have a lot of time for this dessert, I searched for a simple recipe. This one was not only simple, but really good. It got raves.

French Apple Cobbler

Ingredients:

Apple Filling:
5 cups tart apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. water
1 tbsp. butter, softened

Topping:
1/2 c. flour, sifted
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. butter softened
1 egg, slightly beatened

1. Preheat oven to 375. Lightly butter 9-inch baking dish.

2. In a medium bowl, combine apples, 3/4 c. sugar, 2 tbsp. flour, cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. salt, vanilla, and water. Turn into buttered square pan. Dot with 1 tbsp. butter.

 

3. Combine all topping ingredients. Beat with a wooden spoon until batter is smooth.

4. Drop batter in 9 portions over the apples, spacing evenly. Batter will spread during baking.

5. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. Serve warm with cream or ice cream.

Sissy's Variations:
I chopped rather than sliced my apples. I just liked that consistency better. And I used at least 2 tbsp butter to dot the filling.

The main thing I did different was adding a butter, sugar, cinnamon mixture to the topping at the end of the baking. I melted about 2 tbsp. of butter and mixed with sugar and cinnamon. I poured the mixture over the crust about 10 minutes before it finished cooking. I think it made a great addition.

Seriously Chocolate Brownies

 

That's no lie--these were the chocolate-iest  (no, it's not a word, but I'm a copy editor--we get to make them up) ever.

Little did I know that these brownies would be the kick-off to my six-day baking marathon. Seriously, I baked six days in a row. These brownies were to be for poker night. We have a group of friends we play poker with every week or so. There is usually food involved, and I insisted on bringing dessert. I really wanted to make something with lots of cinnamon and butter, so I settled on apple cobbler, but our one very good friend Scott is a bit of a picky eater and I wasn't too sure he'd do cobbler. But I knew he'd go for brownies. To say Scott loves brownies would be an understatement.

So, I went in search of another good recipe. I made some for work a few weeks ago, and they were really good. But I like this whole experimenting thing right now, so I decided to try a new recipe. After searching my Google Reader full of WC girls' blogs, I settled on these from Baking Blonde's Weblog Seriously, the perfect brownie.

Best Brownies
(adapted from Hershey's Best Brownies)

Ingredients:
1/2 c (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. Hershey's Chocolate Syrup*
2 eggs
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 c. mini Semi-sweet Chocolate chips*
1/4 c. mini Milk Chocolate chips*

*Baking Blonde's variations.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 8 x 8 inch pan with foil and lightly spray with cooking spray.

2. In large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, stir together butter and sugar. Add and stir in vanilla and syrup. Add eggs one at a time and mix well. Gently fold in flour mixture until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.

4. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan.

5. Cool brownies on counter for 5 minutes. Place brownies, still in pan, in refrigerator for 30 minutes (this was a tip from Baking Blonde to bring out the chocolate flavor--it worked) to cool.

6. Remove from fridge and finish cooling on counter. Once completely set and cooled, lift foil and brownies from pan. Peel back foil and using a sharp plastic knife, cut brownies. Store covered at room temperature.

Sissy's Variations:
I loved the idea of the chocolate syrup, so I used that.

I changed up the addition of the chocolate chips just a little, using 1/4 c. each of milk chocolate and dark chocolate chips and semi-sweet chocolate chunks.

 

I used my stand mixer instead of mixing my hand, and it worked  great. I did use the refrigerator trick, but then mine sat for another 24 hours before eaten.

They seemed to be a hit--super rich and very chocolate-y.