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Saturday, December 31, 2016

Snickers Pie


Happy New Year's Eve!  Are you doing anything special?  We are hunkering down in the house, binge watching Homeland, and ordering Chinese takeout.  I cannot wait to get started.

This Snickers Pie has been floating around the internet for a while.  From the minute I saw it I knew eventually it would find its way to my kitchen.  I took a few recipes, used the most healthy additions, and then took some store bought short cuts.

Instead of making my own crust, I bought an Oreo crust pre-made.  The recipe below describes how to make caramel sauce.  I used fancy caramel sauce I received as a gift a few months ago.  Total hands on time was about 20 minutes.

While you are waiting for it to set, feel free to scrape the blender clean. Mr. J and I were arguing over the spatula.   He was shocked when I said there was soy milk and tofu in the pudding mixture.  And then he ate some more.




Snickers Pie

by Emily Morris, Adapted from Eat, Live, Run
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Keywords: dessert chocolate pie



Ingredients (serves 8)
for filling
  • 1/2 cup chocolate soy milk
  • 12 oz dark chocolate chips
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 12 oz silken tofu
for serving
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 10 oz caramels, unwrapped and chopped roughly + 2 tbsp heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
  • flaky sea salt
Instructions
Make the chocolate pudding filling by melting the chocolate chips using a double boiler or in a large metal bowl placed over a pot of simmering water. Once they’ve melted, add the chocolate soymilk, the vanilla extract and the tofu. Whisk well. Place mixture in a blender or vita-mix and process for about thirty seconds, or until completely smooth.

Pour mixture into pie shell and place in the fridge for 1 hour to set.

To finish the pie, melt the caramels with the cream over low heat in a small pot. Whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Spread the cream over the chocolate and drizzle the caramel on top. Scatter the peanuts and flaky sea salt all over to top.
Pie can be made a day ahead of time and kept in the fridge.
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Friday, December 30, 2016

My Favorite Posts 2016

Another year is coming to a close and I am a bit dumbfounded as to where the time went. Things flew by.  We are now entering 2017 and soon we will be a family of four.  As the year closes I was looking back over my posts.  Not nearly as many as the past but I am OK with that; life is different now.  Here are some of my favorites.

Honey Oatmeal Bread

Honey Roasted Snack Mix




Thanks for sticking with me over the years.  Best to you and yours and a Happy New Year!
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Friday, December 23, 2016

Iced Oatmeal Cookies


I am in a baking mood. I think it is the cold temperatures and the thought of Christmas being right around the corner.  I am hoping to spend all weekend in the kitchen.

These cookies were super easy and oh so delicious. They were to appease Mr. J when he was begging me to get him Little Debbie oatmeal pies.  Those packages cookies gross me out. They always have, even when I was a kid.  I cannot bring myself to buy them.

I ate a whole bunch with no glaze.  Mr. J liked the glaze. I will be making these again. Soon.  With thoughts of peanut butter frosting sandwiched in between two cookies.  

Cheers to a weekend of baking!

Iced Oatmeal Cookies

by Emily Morris
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Keywords: bake dessert oatmeal cookie
Ingredients (30 cookies)
For the Cookies:
  • 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Glaze
  • 2 cups confectioners sugar
  • 3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
For the Cookies:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray baking sheets with cooking spray and set aside.
Place rolled oats in a food processor and pulse for about 10 seconds until coarse.

Mix oats with flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Using an electric mixer cream butter and sugars.

Add in eggs one at a time then vanilla extract.

Gradually add in flour mixture until combined.

Roll dough into 2 tablespoon size balls and place on baking sheet spacing about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until the bottoms begin to brown.

Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Glaze:
Mix confectioners sugar and milk together in a medium bowl.

Quickly dip tops of cookies into glaze and let excess drip off.

Place back on wire rack until glaze sets.
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Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Classic Molasses Cookies



I am slowly tackling my Christmas baking list. There is no way I will get all the way through it but I think the good ones will get done.  These were made - some were eaten and some were wrapped up to give as small tokens of love. 


There is something about molasses, ginger and cinnamon that just makes sense around the Christmas season. 


I made these cookies on a bit of a whim as they were easy and I wanted to entertain Olivia for while before it was lunch time.  She loves helping in the kitchen, especially when it involves cookies. 


Classic Molasses Cookies

by Emily Morris
Prep Time: 10 minutes, plus 30 minute chi
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Keywords: bake dessert cookie
Ingredients (24 cookies)
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for coating balls
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg, plus 1 yolk
  • 1/3 cup molasses
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves in a medium bowl and set aside.

Using a mixer, cream butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg and egg yolk and mix until combined. Then add the molasses and mix until combined.

Slowly add in the flour mixture, mixing on low until completely combined.

Chill dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Scoop dough with a 1 1/2 inch cookie scoop and roll into 1 1/2 inch balls. Then roll balls in sugar and place on baking sheet 2 inches apart.

Bake for 9-10 minutes. Remove from oven and lightly sprinkle tops with sugar.
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Sunday, December 18, 2016

Christmas Morning Coffee Cake

Two layers of moist cake with a thick layer of sweet cinnamon sugar and topped with a whole bunch of crumb topping.



My favorite tradition for Christmas morning is waking up to do stockings. We do it first thing in the morning once everyone has gotten up and prepared a cup of coffee. It is amazing how long we can draw out the process of opening the little packages that fit into our now stretched out stockings.  


By the time the stockings are completely done our bellies are rumbling for some food. My family always has coffee cake Christmas morning. My mom wakes up early so we rise to the sweet smell of cinnamon.  


There is no official recipe for her coffee cakes although I know she rotates between two or three tried and true recipes from older church cookbooks. I tell you Midwest church cookbooks are a plethora of good things.  With Christmas coming oh so soon, I was getting in the mood for coffee cake. We aren't celebrating with my family this year so I thought I would whip one up for our own "mini" Christmas morning. 


This coffee cake is not the simplest to put together. More so it is huge and takes a while to bake. If you are like me and wake up hungry you will want some other snacks to munch on as you wait for this to come out of the oven.  But it is worth the effort. The best part is the massive amounts of crumb topping. It crumbles a bit with each forkful. 

Extra Crumb Topping Coffee Cake

by Emily Morris, Joy the Baker Cookbook
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Keywords: bake breakfast cake
Ingredients (serves 12)
    For the Topping:
    • 1 3/4 cups (about 12 ounces) granulated sugar
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 2 cups (about 10 ounces) all-purpose flour
    • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
    • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
    For the Filling:
    • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
    • 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
    • 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
    • 3 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    For the Cake:
    • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
    • 1 1/2 cups (about 10 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
    • 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
    • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
    • 3 large eggs
    • 3 3/4 cups (about 18 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
    • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
    • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
    • 3/4 cup sour cream
    • 1 1/4 cups whole milk
    Instructions
    Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9- by 13-inch baking pan and set aside.
    To make the topping:
    In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, salt, flour, and cinnamon. Add the butter and stir until thoroughly combined and the mixture resembles moist corn meal. Set aside.
    To make the filling:
    In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.
    To make the cake:
    In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together until well combined, about 4 minutes. Beat in vanilla.

    Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Scrape the bowl down between each egg addition to ensure that everything is properly mixed. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

    In another small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and milk. It may be a bit lumpy. On low speed, add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the batter. As it incorporates, add half of the sour cream mixture. Add another 1/3 of the flour mixture and the remainder of the sour cream mixture. Mix until barely incorporated and add the remaining flour. Finish incorporating the dry ingredients with a spatula to ensure that all of the flour is well incorporated.

    Spread about half of the batter into the prepared pan, pushing it to the edges with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle the filling on top of the batter.

    Dollop the remaining batter across the top of the filling and use a spatula to spread batter across pan. Use a butter knife to gently swirl the filling into the batter with a few gentle strokes.

    Sprinkle the topping evenly over the batter and bake the cake until is golden brown and a cake tester or wooden skewer inserted into center comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes.

    Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes before serving. Cake will last, well wrapped, at room temperature for 4 to 5 days.
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    Monday, December 12, 2016

    Christmas Breakfast Ideas

    We spend Christmas morning slowly opening our stocking gifts and snacking on coffee cake. Of course there are loads of other breakfast items, including make ahead ideas, to my your Christmas morning extra cozy and yummy.

    Here are some of my favorite breakfast ideas.

    Baked Pumpkin French Toast





















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    Friday, December 9, 2016

    My Favorite Christmas Cookies

    One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is baking up wonderful sweet treats. Each year I do a mix of family traditions and new recipes.  This year I am afraid time will pass me by a bit and I won't get nearly enough baking done.  Looking over my list of cookies from previous years only makes me want to make more. If you are searching for a few more cookies to bake up here is a list of my favorites. 
















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    Wednesday, December 7, 2016

    Holiday Shopping at UncommonGoods

    It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas if that means lots of packages being delivered to our house. Are you done with your Christmas shopping?  I always have a goal of being done by Thanksgiving.  It never happens. 

     This year I am about 85% done and most of my shopping was completed online.  If you want to go to one website to do all of your shopping it should be UncommonGoods. They really do have something for EVERYONE.  And their items are super unique and well uncommon. There is no risk here of getting something someone already has or will get from someone else this holiday season.


    UncommonGoods helped me do some early Christmas shopping and I was able to get something for several members of my family.  


    I spent some time browsing the website and going through all of their suggestion lists for men, kids and stockings.  I got something for Baby Morris to be.  The little organic cotton veggie teethers were too cute to pass up.  Miss O got a cute little doggy night light. You squeeze the leg and the whole thing lights up.  


    My aunt is an avid gardener and after a quick search I thought this tool kit was beautiful.  Each tool has a wooden handle and stainless steel.  The best part is the packaging. The tools came in a large wooden box that can be re-purposed as a planter. It's two gifts in one.


    I got this super cool taco kit for Mr. J. Unfortunately he was home when the delivery happened and opened the box before I could stop him.  My hubby thought he was being a good husband
    . It came in this beautiful wooden box for storage.  I didn't mention earlier but most all of the items from UncommonGoods are created with the environment in mind, without harm to animals or people. Their mission is to support and provide a platform for artists and designers. The taco kit came with a little note from the artist. 


    If you still have some shopping to do check out UncommonGoods for the rest of those on your list. You will find something.

    *This post was sponsored by     Uncommon Goods but all opinions are my own. 

     "At the core of our company is a great respect for the integrity of the creative individual and the belief that it is our responsibility to use our business to impact the world in a positive way."
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    Tuesday, December 6, 2016

    Peanut Butter Blossoms


    Hello Hello!  Things have not slowed down one bit since I last checked in but I did manage to do a bit of holiday baking this weekend.  I made the classic Peanut Butter Blossoms first.  These are Mr. J's favorite cookies this time of year. 

     It was a family affair as Miss O helped unwrap the chocolates.  She also did a very good job of taking the unwrapped chocolate from the finished container.  She just didn't want to give up the chocolate. I cannot say I blame her but it got to the point I wasn't sure we would have enough to finish the cookies.  

     I hope to do a bit more baking before Christmas but my list far exceeds the amount of sweets we will be able to consume.  


    Peanut Butter Blossoms

    by Emily Morris
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Keywords: bake dessert chocolate peanut butter cookie
    Ingredients (36 cookies)
    • 36 Hershey's Kisses Milk Chocolates
    • 1/2 cup butter
    • 3/4 cup creamy Peanut Butter
    • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
    • 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
    • 1 egg
    • 2 tablespoons milk
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 1/3 cup additional granulated sugar for rolling 
    Instructions
    Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates.

    Beat butter and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

    Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar, if desired; place on ungreased cookie sheet.
    Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges.

    Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Makes about 36 cookies.
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