Chocolate Dipped, Strawberry Frosted Sugar Cookies

So, what’s a girl to do with a big ol’ container of leftover strawberry frosting?

That’s the question I pondered while strolling through the supermarket aisles.  Well, strolling isn’t the best word.  When it comes to shopping I tend to be a go in, get what I need, and get the heck outta there kind of person. The refrigerated rolls of sugar cookie dough did catch my eye, though.

I brought a package home thinking “cookie sandwiches.”  As a rule I’m not much of a pink person, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized the frosting was just too pretty to cover with a cookie.

That’s when cookie genius struck, as it (ahem) usually does.  Why not frost the cookie, showing off the sweet, fluffy pinkness, and then dip half of it in dark, rich chocolate for a nice contrast? Sweet, simple, and tasty. 

Frost the cookies.

Chill for an hour or two.

Melt some chocolate and grab some sprinkles.

Voila! How easy was that?

The Daring Bakers’ Challenge, 2012 February: Quick Bread

The Daring Bakers’ February 2012 host was – Lis! Lisa stepped in last minute and challenged us to create a quick bread we could call our own. She supplied us with a base recipe and shared some recipes she loves from various websites and encouraged us to build upon them and create new flavor profiles.

My friend and coworker Stacy recently gave me a bag of praline pecans so I could experiment in the kitchen.  After throwing around some ideas in my head, such as praline cheesecake bites and praline brownies, I decided to combine the two ideas – and finish my Daring Bakers Challenge.  Three birds with one stone (or praline).  That’s not bad for a Monday night.

Thanks for all of your encouragement, Stacy!  And don’t worry, I’ll save a piece (or two) of bread for you.

Brownie Loaves with Praline Cream Cheese Filling

(adapted from Best-Ever Brownies)

Cream Cheese Filling

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

2T butter, room temperature

2 T flour

1 egg

½ t vanilla

¼ c caramel topping

½ c roughly chopped praline pecans

Brownie Loaf

2 c flour

¾ c cocoa

1 t salt

1 t baking soda

1 t cinnamon

1 ½ c butter, room temperature

2 c sugar

1 c brown sugar, firmly packed

2 t vanilla

5 eggs

1 c milk, room temperature

½ c roughly chopped praline pecans, if desired

Preheat oven to 350° F.  Grease two 9-inch loaf pans.

To prepare cream cheese filling, with a hand mixer, beat cream cheese and butter about 1 minute, until fluffy. Beat in flour, egg, vanilla and caramel topping.  Set aside. [Note: As you can see, the bread just has a thin ribbon of cream cheese filling.  This was perfect for my tastes – and it kept the bread very moist. Next time I’ll try doubling the filling recipe for more of a cream cheese punch.]

To prepare brownie loaf, in a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.

In a large bowl, beat butter with a hand mixer until light and fluffy.  Add sugars, then vanilla.  Add eggs, one at a time.

Alternately add milk and flour mixture, just until combined.

Pour about ¼ of the batter into each loaf pan.  Pour half of the cream cheese mixture into each pan, then add the remaining brownie loaf batter to the pans.  If desired, sprinkle with ½ c praline pecans.

Bake 45 – 50 minutes, or until bread springs back from a light touch.  Cool in pans for about 5 minutes and then transfer the loaves to a cooling rack.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Pie Bars

You knew it was going to be a good day when your teacher rolled in the really tall cart with the TV on top of it.  Growing up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where weather and farm reports were big news, we could always count on seeing that TV on Groundhog Day.  Thank you, Punxsutawney Phil, groundhog superstar.

Believe it or not, I almost forgot the day this year.  I’m afraid I have no groundhog-shaped cookies or cakes with fondant animals to mark the occasion.  That’s going on the list for next year. 

If you’re willing to use some imaginative thinking, however, the marshmallows peeking out from the chocolate are kinda like a groundhog peering out from his home. (Just humor me, okay?  It’s been a long week.)  Oh, and check out the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club’s website.

Peanut Butter Pie Bars (adapted from Joy of Baking)

Crust

1 ¾ c broken chocolate wafer cookies

6 T butter, melted

Filling

1 c peanut butter

1 c powdered sugar

8 oz cream cheese

½ c heavy cream

1 heaping cup mini marshmallows

Topping

6 oz chocolate chips

2 T butter

1 T heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350° F. 

In a food processor (or use a sealed plastic baggie and a rolling pin if you’re feeling stressed or angry or just in the mood to smash things), make cookie crumbs.  In a small bowl, combine cookie crumbs and melted butter and press into an 8 x 8 square pan. 

Bake 10 minutes, or just until crust sets.  Let cool in pan.

Beat together peanut butter, powdered sugar, and cream cheese.  In another bowl, whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form.  (Use a chilled metal bowl to make the job go faster.)  Gently fold the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture.  Spread mixture on top of the cooled crust and sprinkle the marshallows on top.  Refrigerate until firm.

Melt together chocolate and butter, then stir in heavy cream. Spread the chocolate over the peanut butter mixture, letting some marshmallows peek out here and there (you know, like little white, sugary groundhogs).  Keep refrigerated.

Chocolate Ginger Truffle Cake

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

As promised, here’s the chocolate truffle cake recipe.  Usually, I flavor the cake with strong brewed coffee (orange zest in the cake batter or raspberry jam between the cake layers is tasty, too), but for Thanksgiving dessert I thought as hint of ginger would be yummy.

Remember to take the finished cake out of the fridge a couple hours before serving.  The truffle filling sets up hard (a sharp knife dipped in hot water will do the trick) and you probably don’t want to take a chainsaw to your dessert.  While power tools add drama to the presentation, you’ll end up wasting a lot of cake.  No one wants that.

Chocolate Ginger Truffle Cake (adapted slightly from Forrest Gump: My Favorite Chocolate Recipes)  

1 c cocoa

2 c boiling water

2 ¾ c flour

1 ½ t grated ginger root

2 t baking soda

½ t baking powder

½ t salt

1 c butter, softened

2 ½ c sugar

4 eggs

1 ½ t vanilla

Truffle Filling

12 oz chocolate chips or finely chopped chocolate

1/3 c butter, cut into small pieces

1/3 c powdered sugar

1 T egg substitute

½ t ground ginger

2 T milk

Chocolate Frosting

6 oz semisweet chocolate

½ c half and half

1 c butter

2 ½ c powdered sugar

To make the cake, preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans.

Stir together cocoa and water until smooth.  Set aside.

Combine flour, ginger root, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Beat together butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until fluffy. On low speed, alternately add flour mixture and cocoa mixture, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Be sure to incorporate each addition thoroughly.

Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cakes spring back with a light touch.  Cool cakes in the pans 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the truffle filling, melt the chocolate in a large bowl.  I microwaved it in 20-second intervals, stirring between each interval. When the chocolate has melted, with an electric mixer, beat in butter and powdered sugar until the mixture is smooth.  Beat in egg substitute and milk, then stir in ground ginger.

Immediately spread the truffle mixture between the cake layers.

To make the frosting, combine the chocolate, half and half, and butter in a large saucepan.  Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the powdered sugar.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let it cool for 20 minutes.

Put the bowl of frosting on a bowl of ice water and beat the mixture at medium speed until it reaches a spreading consistency.