Cinnamon Spritz Sandwich Cookies: Baked Sunday Mornings

These cookies are like a snickerdoodle sandwich 

with marshmallow inbetween them  

They are so stinkin' good!

The filling reminded me of the filling inside of those oatmeal sandwich cookies that you buy at the gas station when the junky food terrorists are winning their battles. LOL!  

But seriously that filling is yummy! And easy!

The cookies?....well they were a different story.  I had a hard time piping out the cookies because the dough was very stiff and I don't think I had the right tip, but I think they turned out pretty anyway.

For the recipe please go here

To see what the other bakers did go here.

Next up is Milk Chocolate Malt Semifreddo with Chocolate Syrup.

Oh my! 

Until then

Enjoy!

Chocolate Cupcakes

Love me some chocolate!  
I had a couple of birthdays this month and both of these special people love 
chocolate as well so I decided to make them these cupcpakes.

They were moist,  and bursting with a deep chocolate richness! I used the frosting recipe that was with the cake recipe and it was creamy, fudgy and delicious. 
They were extremely simple to make.  You may think the batter is too runny but it bakes up beautifully.  Love this recipe.
Why use a box...it is so easy to make cake from scratch!  
You must try these....
Enjoy!

  

Moist Chocolate Cake

original source: Foodess

For cupcakes preheat oven to 375 instead, and line two 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. Divide batter evenly among cups and bake 20-25 minutes, until tops spring back when gently pressed and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Makes 24 cupcakes.

Ingredients

• 1¾ cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated white sugar
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1½ tsp baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk (or substitute by putting 1 tbsp white vinegar in a cup then filling the rest up with milk; let stand 5 minutes until thickened)
• ½ cup butter, melted
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup hot coffee (or 2 tsp instant coffee in 1 cup boiling water)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch baking pans (or line with parchment paper circles) and set aside.
2. In the large bowl of a standing mixer, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla extract and beat until smooth (about 3 minutes). Remove bowl from mixer and stir in hot coffee with a rubber spatula. Batter will be very runny.
3. Pour batter evenly between the two pans and bake on middle rack of oven for about 35 minutes, until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs attached.
4. Allow to cool 15 minutes in pans, then run a butter knife around the edges of each cake. Place a wire cooling rack over top of each pan. Wearing oven mitts, use both hands to hold the racks in place while flipping the cakes over onto the racks. Set the racks down and gently thump on the bottom of the pans until the cakes release. Cool completely before handling or frosting.

Healthy Pineapple Zucchini Bread

It's zucchini time!  

My garden is starting to give me some beautiful zucchini. I know yours is too!  Here is a healthy and delicious way to use some of it.  I love the pineapple with the zucchini this makes a lovely moist quick bread.  Try it...you will definitely like it!

Healthy Pineapple Zucchini Bread
adapted from Josies Pineapple Zucchini Bread 

Ingredients
3 eggs
1 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled 
3/4 cup Truvia baking blend
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups zucchini, grated and drained well
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup golden raisins


Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Beat the first four ingredients.
Add the next three ingredients and mix well.
Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
Bake in a 2 greased loaf pans 5x9, for an hour.
Cool for 10 min and turn out on rack.

Note: if using smaller loaf pans bake for 40 minute.

Happy Summer!

Til next time...

Enjoy!

Strawberry-filled Angel Food Cake: ABC

I was really excited when I saw this cake up on the Avid Bakers Schedule.  This angel food cake recipe reminded me of a cake that my Mom would make me almost every birthday I had when I was a girl. 

She would use store bought angel food cake and cut it up in 
cubes and mix it with strawberries, gelatin and cool whip then put it in
an angel food cake pan and refrigerate until firm and 
then frost it with whipped topping 
and fresh strawberries.  

I just had to make this one.  

I have made an angel food cake before and it was really a simple cake to make.  This recipe on the King Arthur Flour site is also very easy.  There are 12 egg whites in this recipe and I have been very curious to find out if the separating your egg yolks with a water bottle thing really worked!  So I decided to give it a try. 

Here is a tutorial that I found on You Tube.

It worked pretty well I broke one egg yolk trying it but my water  bottle was kinda flimsy...I need a stronger one.   Pretty cool, huh? Although I still like just separating the yolks in my hand.   Well anyway, back to the cake!  

I baked up beautifully, I let it cool and put it in the freezer while I made the strawberry filling. (Give me a spoon and I could have eaten the entire bowl! LOL!) After the cake froze for a couple of hours, I hollowed out the middle using a grapefruit knife...it worked really well!  The frozen cake made this step really easy. The hubby, dog and I tasted the angel food cake scraps....yummy!  I filled and frosted the cake and stuck in the freezer and anxiously awaited for the 2 hours to pass so we could dig in! 

You gotta try this one I know  this cake has a lot of steps to it...but if you break it up and make the cake the day before and make the filling the day of it is very manageable and really not hard at all. 
We ate this right out of the freezer! 
I wrapped up the rest and into the freezer it went!  Just hope the junky food terrorists leave me alone so I am not tempted to eat the rest!   Oh my, I am a work in progress!
Until next time... Enjoy!

We sure did enjoy it!  It was a nice 4th of July treat!

Strawberry-Filled Angel Food Cake Light and fluffy angel food cake, filled to bursting with fresh strawberry mousse, offers creamy clouds of berry goodness. Serve just out of the freezer for a cool and creamy summer treat. Top of Form Recipe summary Hands-on time: 25 mins. to 35 mins. Baking time: 40 mins. to 45 mins. Total time: 3 hrs 10 mins. to 3 hrs 45 mins. Yield: One 10" filled cake, about 12 servings Cake ·         1 cup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour ·         1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar ·         12 large egg whites ·         1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar ·         1 cup granulated sugar ·         1 teaspoon vanilla ·         1/4 teaspoon salt Filling ·   2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries,  mashed ·        1 envelope unflavored gelatin ·         2 cups heavy cream ·         1/4 cup sugar ·         1/2 teaspoon vanilla Directions 1) Preheat the oven to 325°F. Get out a 10" angel food pan; do not grease the pan as this will inhibit the rise of the cake. 2) To make the cake: In a small bowl, sift together the flour and confectioners' sugar. Set aside. 3) Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in a large bowl. Whip until foamy at medium speed; this will create lots of smaller bubbles, which are best for structure. 4) When nice and foamy, slowly add the granulated sugar. Increase the mixer speed to high, and beat for 4 to 5 minutes, until the whites are stiff but not dry — think shaving cream consistency. 5) Remove the bowl from the mixer and sift 1/3 of the flour/sugar mixture over the meringue. Add the vanilla and salt; fold everything in gently, until no streaks of flour remain. Repeat with the rest of the flour/sugar mixture, in two more additions. 6) Scrape the batter into the pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and springs back when lightly touched. 7) Cool the cake UPSIDE DOWN over a bottle (or using the pan's feet) for 2 hours, or until completely cool. Remove from the pan carefully, and place in the freezer for an additional 2 hours, to firm up before hollowing. 8) While the cake is cooling and chilling, prepare the filling. Place the mashed strawberries, sugar and gelatin in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir together, then microwave for 1 minute. This will melt and "bloom" the gelatin. 9) Remove the mixture from the microwave, and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 to 60 minutes, or until thickened. 10) Place the strawberry mixture in the clean bowl of your mixer and pour in the cream, vanilla, and strawberry flavor, if using. Whip until thick. 11) To assemble: Turn the cake bottom-side up and cut a channel in the cooled cake with a serrated blade. Think of it as digging a moat through the center of the cake, leaving inner and outer walls for support. Be careful not to cut through the bottom of the cake. 12) Dollop the filling in evenly, spreading it over the entire "moat." Fill to the top, then use the remaining filling to cover the entire cake, like frosting. Place the cake back in the freezer for 2 to 3 hours, or up to overnight. The filling will freeze into a lovely semifreddo consistency that will slowly melt as you enjoy your slice of cake. 13) Serve with strawberry sauce or crushed strawberries mixed with sugar, if desired. Store any leftovers, well wrapped, in the freezer or refrigerator. Yield: one 10" filled cake, about 12 servings.