Archives for December 2012

Day 9: Chewy Butterfinger Cookies

December 17, 2012 by kim 1 Comment

Day 9 of my 12 days of cookies: Chewy Butterfinger Cookies. Butterfingers are a candy that I love to hate. They taste so good, but the aftermath totally sucks. They get stuck into every little crevice inside your mouth. Not only do they get stuck, they’re super glued to your teeth. Dentists love that.

Does baking Butterfingers into a cookie make them any easier to chew? Not really… but they sure make the cookie taste good.

Still have some Halloween candy leftover? Throw them into a cookie. That’ll solve all your problems. Chopping candies into little pieces make them much more manageable to eat.

These cookies are a little flat, but that’s because they’re so chewy. YUM!

Recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction.

Day 9: Chewy Butterfinger Cookies

Yield: 2 1/2 dozen

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 large egg
8 fun sized butterfinger candy bars, chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 375F degrees.
Cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the egg.
Add in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in butterfinger pieces by hand.
Drop by rounded tablespoons onto baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

https://lovintheoven.com/day-9-chewy-butterfinger-cookies/

Day 8: Maple Granola Cookies

December 14, 2012 by kim Leave a Comment

Day 8 of my 12 days of cookies: Maple Granola Cookies. This recipe comes from the back of the Cascadian Farm Organic granola box that I buy from the grocery store. I always buy this brand of granola to put into my vanilla yogurt because it’s favored out of the many accessible ones that I’ve tried. It’s sweet, extra crunchy, and has the perfect sized clusters. It’s the next best thing after McDonald’s fruit and yogurt parfait granola. If I could buy that stuff in bulk, I’d be all over it.

One day while pouring the granola out, I noticed that there was a recipe on the back of the box for maple granola cookies. How did I miss that the last 25 times I poured granola into my yogurt? I pulled my previous box out of the recycle bin to make sure it wasn’t something new that they added. Nope, the same recipe was on that box, too.

I’m a true believer that if things are on the back of boxes, cartons, or bags, then it has to be worthy. Why else would they put something on the back of thousands of their products for everyone to see? I mean, they could put whatever they wanted to: their face.. a riddle.. a cardboard cutout of a rhinoserous…

….but no, they chose to put numbers and words. Boring, right? There has to be a reason for their nonsense.

Sure enough, there was. These cookies are awesome. They’re sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. The granola softens just the teeniest bit after being baked in with the dough, resulting in an almost (but not quite) oatmeal cookie. You’d think you lose the maple flavor after being baked, but it shines right through in the end. Enjoy these cookies on a cold winter night!

From Cascadian Farm

Day 8: Maple Granola Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups Cascadian Farm® organic maple brown sugar granola
3/4 cup raisins (I left these out)
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cream together the butter, sugars, vanilla, and eggs.
Stir in flour, baking soda and salt until well mixed.
Add in granola, raisins and pecans.
Drop by rounded tablespoons onto baking sheet.
Bake for 11 to 13 minutes or until light golden brown.

https://lovintheoven.com/day-8-maple-granola-cookies/

My 2012 Holiday Gift Guide for the Baker

December 12, 2012 by kim 3 Comments

How are you guys doing on your holiday shopping? Are you all finished? Have been since June? I’m usually more of a last minute shopper, but I somehow was able to finish all my shopping before December.

Just in case you were still looking for that “perfect” gift, I’ve compiled a list to help you out for that baker/foodie/kitchen fiend friend of yours.

Books:

1. The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman: $19.75 – I’m a huge fan of Smitten Kitchen’s blog and link back quite a bit to her page. I’m so excited that she was able to put together a cookbook of her own and show off her talented work. Deb’s book won’t disappoint the blog reader.

2. Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller: $24.99 – This book covers savory, sweet, easy, and complicated recipes. It’s a versatile book for every kind of baker.

3. Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan: $25.97 – I probably repeat this way too much on my blog, but this really is my favorite cookbook.

4. The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook by Lindsay Landis: $12.71 – Every recipe has cookie dough. Every. Single. One.

Gifts under $10:

1. Baker’s Twine Sampler from hobbiesfromtheheart on Etsy: $9.99 – I’m currently obsessed with twine. Decorate with it, wrap up some cookies, secure a package… I’d love to have it in every single color!

2. Half-Dozen Egg Cart from Anthropologie: $8.40 – Use this to carry eggs or jewelry. Same thing.

3. Assorted Blue Cupcake Liner Pack from CupcakeSocial on Etsy: $5.05 – Pretty cupcakes mean pretty blog pictures!

4. Homegrown Monogram Mug from Anthropologie: $8 – I’d personalize everything in my kitchen if I could.

Gifts under $25:

1. Poppy Ring Rolling Pin from Anthroplogie: $18 – I received one as a gift for my birthday years ago and I still love it more than ever. It’s even more gorgeous in person, if that’s possible.

2. Snapware Large 2-Layer Cupcake Carrier from Amazon: $18.97 – Snapware makes the most reliable carriers, if you ask me. They last, are heavy duty, lightweight, and carry a whole lot.

3. A Year of Cookie Cutters from Crate & Barrel: $18.71 – One cookie cutter for every month of the year. Get rid of all those unnecessary cookie cutters and keep them all in one place.

4. Personalized Recipe Cards from InvitaPaperStudio on Etsy: $22 – Yes, more personalized items. I was serious about getting everything in my kitchen personalized.

Gifts under $50:

1. 14kt filled gold baking necklace from FreshyFig on Etsy: $42 – The perfect little sentiment.

2. Norpro 3 Piece Stainless Steel Cookie Scoop Set from Amazon: $44.60 – I go through cookie scoops like no one’s business. Norpro is the only brand that seems to last longer than the others.

3. Keep Calm and Bake on Print from LivyLoveDesigns on Etsy: $30 – Comes in different colors so you can match your kitchen.

4. The Original Kitchen iPad Rack / Stand / Holder from Amazon: $27.95 – My iPad is used in the kitchen quite a bit, and this handy dandy tool will keep it out of the way of flour bombs.

Gifts under $100:

1. Pink Essentials from Sur la Table: $84.96 – For the girly girl baker.

2. Breville BJE200XL Compact Juice Fountain 700-Watt Juice Extractor from Amazon: $99.95 – Juicing’s the new fad! I would throw everything in this thing.

3. Gourmet Moleskin Gift Box from Williams Sonoma: $69.95 – As if Moleskin couldn’t take more of my money, they come out with this little set targeted toward the baker. Be still my heart.

4. Personalized Recipe Gift Set with Embosser from Williams Sonoma: $69.95 – A cute and tough recipe box that can be passed down from generation to generation. Oh, and more personalizing.

Gifts for balllerrsss where money ain’t a thang:

1. Nespresso Machine from Amazon: $249 – The new machine that has come to replace the Keurig. I demoed this in a Sur la Table store and was blown away by the results. Sure, it’s a bit pricier than a Keurig, but the espresso that comes out of it is heavenly.

2. Le Creuset Signature Enameled Cast-Iron 5-Piece Cookware Set from Amazon: $379.95 – Le Creuset will forever be my “Chanel” to the kitchen.

3. Cricut Cake Personal Electronic Cutter from Amazon: $343.99 – Totally unnecessary, but totally entertaining.

4. Ruffoni Copper Cookware Set from Anthropologie: $1098 – I love the look of these copper pans. If I had a hanging pot rack, I’d be all over this set. Well, assuming I’d have a grand to blow as well.

Do you have any items to add to the list?