Alton's Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sometimes I feel like I'm always baking "fancy" or "elaborate" things and I long to make something basic. Like chocolate chip cookies. I can't remember the last time I made chocolate chip cookies. Part of the reason I never make them is because I can't stop myself from eating the dough so I end up with very few cookies and a stomach ache! I'd seen some chocolate chip cookies on TasteSpotting recently that inspired me to make cookies late last night. I figured I would send them to work with Shane today and I told him I was making them, which meant I had to actually bake the cookies and not just eat the dough from the bowl :) This recipe makes some pretty big cookies (Alton uses an ice cream scooper with 1/3 cup capacity and these spread quite a bit in the oven). They're also really delicious - chewy and soft - everything I want in my chocolate chip cookies!


Alton Brown's Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
from FoodNetwork.com

2 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate chips)

Heat oven to 375 F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat (I just melted it in the microwave). Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough (I chilled it for about 1 hour), then, using an ice cream scoop, drop rounds of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, rotating the baking sheet for even browning.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

TWD: Chocolate Cream Tart!

This week's TWD was chosen by Kim of Scrumptious Photography: chocolate cream tart! The photos on her site are really amazing and definitely worth checking out! I'm a bit late getting this week's recipe posted so this is going to be a short one.


Though Dorie's recipe called for a chocolate tart shell I just knew the combination of chocolate custard and a chocolate tart shell would be chocolate overload for me. I made Dorie's sweet tart dough recipe and it turned out perfectly! I briefly contemplated making the chocolate coconut cream option Dorie suggests in "playing around" but decided against it since I was already pulling things together at the last minute (that said, I'm putting it on my list of things to try in the future). My custard came together easily - have I mentioned that I love Dorie's custard recipes? Every other custard recipe I've tried has been a fail but Dorie's always seem to work! If I'd had more time I might have added a peanut butter layer in the tart somewhere but in lieu of that, I added some peanut butter chips on top of the whipped cream.


It was REALLY hot here today so you might notice my chocolate custard was getting runny as I was taking photos of the tart and the peanut butter chips were melting. I cut a piece for myself and gave it a try. I can definitely see how this could be a truly amazing dessert. I really don't like bittersweet chocolate so the chocolate custard wasn't sweet enough for me but if I made this again with milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate I'd be in heaven! This is one Dorie recipe I know I will definitely revisit!


Many thanks for Kim for a great pick this week! The recipe for Dorie's chocolate cream tart can be found on Kim's site or in Dorie's wonderful book if you want to check it out! Be sure to head over to TWD to see all of this week's tarts.

Sunday Afternoon Snack: Baked Tortilla Chips

If you're anything like me, your favorite part of going to a Mexican restaurant is the yummy, warm tortilla chips they bring to snack on. We went to a restaurant recently and I boxed most of my meal to bring home so I could instead eat the tortilla chips while they were warm! The other day while I was wondering around Whole Foods I saw some corn tortillas and grabbed them so I could finally try making my own tortilla chips. I'm not sure why I haven't tried sooner as it really couldn't be more simple. You just brush a little vegetable oil on the tortillas, cut them up and pop them in the oven to bake. You can also fry them (which I'm sure is yummy though not very healthy) but I went the baked route this time. I didn't have any salsa on hand but even by themselves, these warm tortilla chips were really good!!


Baked Tortilla Chips
from FoodNetwork.com

Twelve 6-inch corn tortillas
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Fine salt (optional - I didn't salt mine)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Brush both sides of the tortillas with the oil. Stack the tortillas and cut the pile into sixths (I cut mine into eighths) to make chips. Spread the chips out in a single layer on two large baking sheets and season with salt. Bake until golden brown and crisp, rotating the baking sheets once, about 12 to 15 minutes.

Sweet Melissa Sundays: Granola Breakfast Cookies!

It has been SUCH a gorgeous weekend here - bright blue skies with temperatures near 80 = happy Tracey! Today promises to be just as nice so I'm hoping to get outside and plant some flowers and do some yard work before enjoying the Celtics and Red Sox games. But first, let's talk about this week's Sweet Melissa Sundays recipe!


This week's recipe was chosen by Jessica of A Singleton in the Kitchen: granola breakfast cookies! The recipe will be posted on her blog if you want to give these a shot. I admit I was a bit lazy this week with the recipe. The cookies incorporate granola (pretty obvious from their name, right?) and call for a recipe from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book for that granola. There were some unique ingredients in the granola recipe that I didn't have on hand and truth be told, we're just not granola people in this house so even if I'd made that granola no one would have eaten the portion that wasn't used for the cookies. Luckily, I found some Bob's Red Mill coconut granola in my freezer so I substituted that. I added some raisins and craisins to the mix as well as some spices to jazz it up a bit. I also substituted whole wheat pastry flour for the whole wheat flour but otherwise stuck to the recipe.


These cookies are terrifically simple to throw together. The dry ingredients are whisked together in one bowl and the wet ingredients in a second bowl. The wet ingredients are a bit unique in that honey and molasses are used in place of granulated sugar or brown sugar. The dry ingredients are added to the wet ingredients and finally the granola is mixed in. That's it! The cookies are ready to head into the oven.


The cookies are chewy and soft even after they've cooled. The verdict? I liked the cookies, but if they were sitting on a table with 2 or 3 other types of cookies, they probably wouldn't be the first ones I'd reach for. I think the molasses flavor was a bit too prominent for me. If I made them again I'd add some chocolate chips. I should add that we had friends over last night and one friend tried several of these cookies and was definitely a fan so take my opinion with a grain of salt and give these a shot for yourself :) Many thanks to Jessica for her pick this week. If you haven't visited her blog, definitely stop by and say hi!

Baby Back Ribs

The last time we were at the store we picked up some ribs as a special treat. We very rarely buy ribs but occasionally the craving strikes and we give in. When I began looking for a recipe to make the ribs this week, I turned to the Food Network's site. I knew I'd seen an episode of Good Eats on which Alton Brown made some ribs that looked terrific so I was hoping to find that recipe. Not only did I find the recipe, but I discovered that the recipe had a 5-star rating and had been reviewed by 752 people!! That seems like a pretty sure bet to me!

The recipe is really simple. First, a dry rub is put on the meat and the meat is refrigerated for at least an hour. Then you throw together 5 ingredients which will serve as the braising liquid for the ribs. The braising liquid is poured into the foil packets in which you cook the ribs. Low, slow heat cooks the rib and finally the braising liquid (removed from the foil packets) is reduced and serves as a glaze for the ribs. The reduction of the braising liquid was a bit of a pain for me as it took FOREVER but it was worth it in the end. These ribs are amazing! So tender and flavorful. We're already looking forward to making them again!

Baby Back Ribs
from FoodNetwork.com (Alton Brown)

2 whole slabs pork baby back ribs

Dry Rub
8 tablespoons light brown sugar, tightly packed
3 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon jalapeno seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon rubbed thyme
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Braising Liquid
1 cup white wine
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon honey
2 cloves garlic, chopped

Preheat oven to 250 F.

In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix well. Place each slab of baby back ribs on a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, shiny side down. Sprinkle each side generously with the dry rub. Pat the dry rub into the meat. Create a foil packet for each slab of ribs and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour.

In a microwavable container, combine all ingredients for the braising liquid. Microwave on high for 1 minute.

Place the ribs on a baking sheet. Open one end of the foil on each slab and pour half of the braising liquid into each foil packet. Tilt the baking sheet in order to equally distribute the braising liquid. Braise the ribs in the oven for 2 1/2 hours.

Remove the ribs from the oven and open one end of each foil packet. Transfer the braising liquid into a medium saucepot. Bring the liquid to a simmer and reduce by half or until of a thick syrup consistency. Brush the glaze onto the ribs. Place under the broiler just until the glaze caramelizes lightly. Slice each slab into 2 rib bone portions. Place the remaining hot glaze into a bowl and toss the rib portions in the glaze.

Lemon Angel Food Cupcakes

This week's TWD left me with several leftover egg whites and indecision as to what to do with them. Last time I had egg whites I tried my hand at macarons. That was fun and they were delicious, but I wanted to try something else this time. Luckily, I remembered that just a few days ago I'd seen lemon angel food cupcakes on Two Peas and their Pod - perfect!

These cupcakes are really terrific in a number of ways. First, they're super simple and require just a few ingredients. I had them in the oven minutes after I started making them. Also, they're more healthy than your typical cupcake so you don't have to feel as guilty about eating more than one :) Finally, and most importantly, they're yummy! They're so light and airy and have just a hint of lemon flavor. I think they'd also be delicious with some blueberry sauce and I may just whip some up later this week!


Lemon Angel Food Cupcakes
as seen on Two Peas and their Pod, originally from Baking Bites

Cupcakes
3/4 cup superfine sugar, divided
1/2 cup sifted cake flour
5 large egg whites, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of one lemon

Icing
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice


Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

In a small bowl, sift together cake flour and 1/4 cup superfine sugar.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites until foamy, then add in cream of tartar and salt. Gradually add in the remaining 1/2 cup of superfine sugar while the mixer is on high speed, beating the egg whites to soft peaks. Mix in the vanilla extract and lemon zest. Fold the flour/sugar mixture into the beaten egg whites in two or three additions.

Divide the batter evenly into prepared muffin tins. You will end up filling each of the tins almost to the top.

Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until the cupcakes are golden brown and the tops spring back when touched. Cool on a wire rack.

To make the icing: Put the confectioners' sugar in a small bowl and add about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the lemon juice. Stir with a spoon to moisten the sugar, then add enough additional lemon juice, a dribble at a time, to get an icing that is thin enough to drizzle from the tip of the spoon. Drizzle lines of icing over the tops of the cupcakes.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

TWD: Four-Star Chocolate Bread Pudding

This week's TWD was chosen by Lauren of Upper East Side Chronicle: four-star chocolate bread pudding! I have to confess that I almost skipped this week's recipe. You see, I've never had bread pudding and didn't think this would be something I'd like at all. I reconsidered after seeing how easy the recipe was and, well, because I joined this group to try things I wouldn't otherwise make!

Since it was my first time making bread pudding, I decided to follow Dorie's recipe to the T. I wish I'd had time to make my own bread to use in the recipe but by the time I decided to participate this week, there just wasn't enough time. I went with a loaf of challah from Whole Foods as the next best option. I was glad Dorie provided instructions for "staling" the bread in the oven since my loaf was very fresh.

I loved how simple this recipe was: heat the milk and cream then whisk it into a combination of sugar and eggs before adding the chocolate and pouring it over the bread. I threw some raisins in with my bread as Dorie suggested since I absolutely love the combination of chocolate and raisins. The bread didn't quite soak up all of the liquid before I baked it, which I subsequently learned worried some of the other TWD bakers, but I was blissfully ignorant and didn't even consider it might be a problem!

Fortunately, in the end, I don't think the extra liquid mattered at all. My bread pudding seemed done after about 35 minutes and I didn't even let it cool before trying some. Oh my, am I ever a chocolate bread pudding convert!!! This was SO good! It sort of reminded me of soggy french toast and I mean that in a very complimentary way :) I'm not sure if I'd like "regular" bread pudding because for me, the chocolate seemed like a key ingredient but perhaps I'll give it a try with some of my leftover challah. One thing is for sure and that's that chocolate bread pudding is not a terribly photogenic food, but I'm not going to hold it against it.

Thanks Lauren for introducing me to the goodness that is bread pudding! You can find the recipe on Lauren's blog. Be sure to head over to the TWD blogroll to check out the other bakers.

Sweet Melissa Sundays: Caramel Apple Turnovers with Sweet Ricotta Filling

One of the most fun parts of being a part of a baking group is that eventually you get to choose the recipe that the group bakes. I was really fortunate to be among the first few people to join the Sweet Melissa Sundays group, so my turn to choose the recipe came around quickly! After flipping through the book several times, I found that I kept coming back to the caramel apple turnovers with sweet ricotta filling. For one, I enjoy baked apple desserts (and when you add puff pastry to the mix it's a recipe for true love). Also, I was curious about whether I'd like ricotta in a sweet application. Finally, I still struggle to make caramel so I figured it'd give me a chance to challenge myself with that part of the recipe.

I started by making the sweet ricotta filling. I drained my ricotta as the recipe instructed but even after almost 24 hours, it didn't really seem to release any liquid. I wasn't too worried and figured that the flour added to the filling would help absorb any excess liquid. I thought the sweetened ricotta was delicious!

Next, I made the caramel apples, which were definitely the most stressful part of the recipe for me. I have never successfully made caramel so I wasn't sure how this would go. I got the sugar and water boiling and everything seemed to be going well until I added the apples. At that point, the caramel sort of seized and turned into several hard lumps. Since I didn't have any more apples, I kept going to try to save it. After some more time on the heat, the caramel clumps dissolved and things seemed to get back on track. Though the recipe calls for low heat, I boiled the caramel and cooked the apples on medium heat because it just seemed like it would take forever on low. The apples honestly didn't smell as appetizing as I'd expected while they cooked, but I snuck a taste and they were dangerously good - very sweet though from the caramel.

Finally, I assembled the turnovers. The puff pastry got a little warm during the process so I stuck it in the fridge for a few minutes at one point, but otherwise assembly was a breeze. I put the assembled turnovers back in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes before baking them. I deviated from the recipe and baked at 400 F for about 25 minutes based on a few other turnover recipes I'd seen and they puffed up nicely and got some good color. They smelled so good I could barely wait for these guys to cool off a bit before trying them! All I have to say is wow, these are amazing! Definitely in my top few desserts I've ever had. That said, while I enjoyed the ricotta filling before it went in the oven, I wasn't crazy about it in the turnovers. I'd probably leave it out next time. I had one turnover and I gave one to my mailman in an attempt to get these out of the house so I wouldn't eat all 4. Shane doesn't eat apples so there are still 2 more sitting in my kitchen.... I might have to hit the gym a few extra times this week to justify eating one more of them.

One of the nice things about this recipe is that the individual components can be made in advance. The assembled turnovers can even be frozen for weeks. I think this would make them a great dessert for company. I know I'd be thrilled to be served a warm apple turnover if I were at someone's house :) I will definitely be making these again - but only if others are around to help me eat them!

Caramel Apple Turnovers with Sweet Ricotta Filling
from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book, by Melissa Murphy

Caramel Apple Filling
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
pinch salt

Sweet Ricotta Filling
1/2 cup ricotta, drained overnight (see Note below)
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest (I used lemon zest)

Note: To drain the cheese, line a strainer with one to two layers of cheesecloth. Set over a deep bowl, making sure the strainer does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Place the ricotta in the lined strainer. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the cheese and place a plate on top of the plastic wrap to act as a weight on the cheese. (I drained my cheese for close to 24 hours and it really didn't really release much liquid at all.)

Turnovers
1 large egg
2 tablespoons heavy cream or whole milk
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons sugar
one 12-inch square puff pastry, 1/4-inch thick, chilled

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 375 F (I baked mine at 400 F).

To make the caramel apple filling: In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat, heat the sugar and 2 tablespoons of the water until amber (I used medium heat and the process took about 20-25 minutes).

Add the apples and stir to combine. Continue to cook over low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Once the apples begin to soften, add the remaining 2 tablespoons water and the salt and cook until they are a tender, chunky sauce consistency (Again, I used medium heat here and the process took close to 30 minutes). Set aside to cool. (The caramel apple filling can be made up to 3 days in advance and kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator.)

To make the sweet ricotta filling: In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, egg yolk, sugar, flour, vanilla, salt and zest and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use. (The sweet ricotta filling can be made up to 3 days in advance and kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator.)

To assemble the turnovers: In a small bowl, combine the egg and heavy cream with a fork and set aside. This is your egg wash.

In another small bowl, combine the cinnamon with the sugar and set aside. This is your cinnamon sugar.

Place the chilled puff pastry on a lightly floured board. With a sharp knife, cut the pastry into four 6-inch squares. Place one-quarter of the ricotta filling just off center on each of the 4 squares. Place one quarter of the caramel apple filling on top of the ricotta.

Using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash around the edges of each square. Fold each pastry in half, corner to corner, to form 4 triangles. Gently press together the washed edges of the turnover to seal, and gently pat down each mound of filling so that it fills the pocket of each triangle. Chill the pastries until firm. (The pastries may be assembled to this point and frozen wrapped in plastic wrap and aluminum foil for up to 3 weeks.)

Using the pastry brush, brush the tops of the turnovers with the remaining egg wash and sprinkle generously with the cinnamon sugar. Cut three steam vents in the top of each turnover. Bake for 45 minutes, or until deep golden brown (At 400 F, mine were golden after 25 minutes). Remove to a wire rack to cool.

The turnovers are best served warm the day they are made.

Peanut Butter Crispy Bars

Mary of The Food Librarian has got to be one of my favorite food bloggers. Everything she makes looks amazing and I envy her photography skills like you wouldn't believe. Mary, who as you may have guessed from her blog title is a librarian, celebrated National Library Week on her blog this week. If you haven't already done so, you must stop by her site to see what she's been up to this week....great recipes, fun giveaways and the best part of all: the librarian action figures. They've really been cracking me up all week and I'm feeling a bit sad they won't be around to brighten my days anymore. As I've blogged about plenty in the past few months, I've really come to appreciate everything my local library offers, which may also explain why I've enjoyed Mary's posts so much!

A few months ago I was able to get my hands on the well-known Baked cookbook by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. I made these muffins and loved them. Unfortunately, that was the only recipe I tried before I had to return the book to the library. I put in another request for the book immediately and after a short wait, got it back again! This time I've resolved to make more than one recipe and I started with the peanut butter crispy bars. These bars are the most popular refrigerated bars made at the bakery and it's not hard to see why: chocolate, peanut butter, crisped rice cereal - they're an adaptation of the Rice Krispy Treats many of us loved as kids.

These bars are super simple to make. I'd note just a few things. First, you do have to chill two of the layers (for about an hour each) to allow them to set so plan accordingly. Next, when you add the chocolate icing layer I recommend tilting the pan to spread the chocolate as opposed to using a rubber spatula to push it into the corners. I used a spatula at first and even though my milk-chocolate peanut butter layer had set, the warm chocolate icing loosened it up a bit and I wound up mixing a bit of that layer with the chocolate icing. Finally, the authors recommend cutting the bars into 9 squares but because these are so rich I decided 16 squares might be better. These were a big hit with just about everyone who tried them. Shane had a problem with the texture but he was the only one who had any complaints. These definitely tend to soften up if left sitting out and I think they were better cold so that's something to consider when serving.

Peanut Butter Crispy Bars
from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

Crust
1 3/4 cups crisped rice cereal
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Milk Chocolate-Peanut Butter Layer
5 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup creamy peanut butter

Chocolate Icing
3 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 72% cacao), coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon light corn syrup
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

To make the crust: Lightly spray a paper towel with nonstick cooking spray and use it to rub the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan. (I lined my pan with aluminum foil (which I sprayed with the cooking spray) so the bars could simply be lifted out once they set.)

Put the cereal in a large bowl and set aside. Put 1/4 cup water into a saucepan. Add the sugar and corn syrup to the pan and use a small wooden spoon to stir the mixture just until combined. Cook over medium-high heat and bring to a boil; cook until the mixture reaches 235 F on a candy thermometer.

Remove from the heat, stir in the butter and pour the mixture over the cereal. Working quickly, stir until the cereal is thoroughly coated, then pour into the prepared pan. Using your hands or a rubber spatula, press the cereal mixture into the bottom of the pan only. Let cool to room temperature while you make the next layer.

To make the milk chocolate-peanut butter layer: In a large nonreactive metal bowl stir together the chocolate and peanut butter. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook until the mixture is smooth, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir for about 30 seconds to cool slightly. Pour the mixture over the cooled crust. Put the pan in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until the top layer hardens.

To make the chocolate icing: In a large nonreactive metal bowl, combine the chocolate, corn syrup and butter. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook until the mixture is completely smooth, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir for about 30 seconds to cool slightly. Pour the mixture over the cooled milk chocolate-peanut butter layer and spread into an even layer. I recommend simply tilting the pan to spread the chocolate around as opposed to using a rubber spatula which is more likely to disturb the layer below. Put the pan in the refrigerator for 1 hour or until the topping hardens.

Cut into 16 (or 9) squares and serve. The bars can be stored tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Three Cheese White Pizza

I wanted something quick and easy for dinner recently and since I had some homemade pizza dough in the fridge from a few days earlier, pizza seemed like an obvious choice. The only problem was I realized I didn't have any tomato sauce handy. I did have the ingredients on hand to make a quick batch but I wasn't in the mood. I started browsing through my Baking Illustrated book and came upon a few recipes for white pizza which sounded delicious, and more importantly, simple. I combined bits and pieces of a few recipes to come up with one that worked with the ingredients I had available. I haven't included quantities in the list of ingredients below because I don't believe any two people like exactly the same amount of cheese on their pizza. So, feel free to use as much or as little as you like to achieve the right level of cheesiness. I used about 1/3 - 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/4 - 1/3 cup ricotta cheese and a few tablespoons of Parmesan cheese.

I liked this pizza so much more than I expected to when I dug in! Something about the simplicity of the dough with a little olive oil, garlic and cheese just really worked for me. I ate it for dinner one night and then had leftovers for lunch the next day I liked it so much!

Three Cheese White Pizza
adapted from Baking Illustrated by the editors of Cook's Illustrated

1 recipe for pizza dough (recipe can be found here - please note, this recipe makes enough for 3 pizzas - the remaining 2 pieces of dough can be frozen for up to several weeks)
extra-virgin olive oil for brushing the dough
1 garlic clove, sliced very thinly
shredded mozzarella cheese
ricotta cheese
grated Parmesan cheese
dried thyme

Make the pizza dough (or use store bought for an even quicker meal!). Place a pizza stone on a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 500 F.

Lightly brush the dough with olive oil. Scatter the garlic slices around the dough. Sprinkle the dough evenly with the mozzarella cheese, leaving a 1/2-inch border uncovered. Dot with the ricotta cheese and sprinkle with dried thyme, if desired.

Slide the dough onto the heated pizza stone. Bake until the crust edges brown and the cheeses are golden and bubbling, about 8 to 12 minutes. Remove pizza from the oven and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

Hamburger Cupcakes!

Shane and his friends started a tradition many years ago called "meat fest". Essentially, it's a day to celebrate meat and eat as many varieties and strange concoctions involving meat as possible. The tradition has carried on and we recently celebrated this year's meat fest with everyone. I am by no means a vegetarian, but often I find myself wishing there was a non-meat option at meat fest. Problem is, non-meat options are sort of frowned upon. I solved my dilemma this year by making these little hamburger cupcakes! I figured even if they didn't actually involve meat at least they resembled it.....close enough, right? :)

I can't remember where I first saw these, but I used this photo as my inspiration. I couldn't find a recipe anywhere so I scoured many resources for recipes I thought would work. The cupcakes consist of vanilla cupcakes to represent the hamburger bun, chocolate cupcakes to represent the hamburger, frosting for the ketchup and mustard and shredded coconut (dyed green) for the lettuce. I also added sesame seeds to the tops of the vanilla cupcakes (secured with a bit of orange juice brushed on) to give the buns more realism. Here are links to the recipes I used:

Annie's recipe for vanilla cupcakes
An old Dorie favorite for the chocolate cupcakes
Bridget's easy vanilla buttercream (originally from Cook's Illustrated) for the frosting

Being the fool I am, I waited until the last minute to make each of the components for the burgers so these were a definite labor of love. While making these I decided I need to get a second bowl for my KA mixer to make life easier. If I were to make these again I would definitely make the cupcakes a day or two in advance and just frost and assemble on the day I needed them. The frosting was actually one of the more tricky aspects of the cupcakes and I really wasn't able to achieve the colors I was going for. My ketchup is more pink than red but no matter how much red gel coloring I added, I couldn't seem to achieve red.

These were a lot of fun and despite all the work, I'm glad I made them! They were very tasty, though a little tricky to eat because of their height. And even though they didn't involve any meat, just about all of them were gobbled up at meat fest, so that has to be a good sign!

TWD: 15 Minute Chocolate Amaretti Torte!

This week's TWD was chosen by Holly of Phe/MOM/enon: the 15 minute chocolate amaretti torte! I had a couple of initial thoughts about this recipe. First, I was pumped that it was so easy to put together. It has very few ingredients: almonds, amaretti cookies, egg, sugar, butter and melted chocolate. The batter is thrown together in the food processor so it really can be in the oven within 15 minutes. My second thought about this recipe was that its timing was a bit unfortunate. Yesterday I posted about a decadent chocolate layer cake I made for the Sweet Melissa Sundays baking group this weekend. I've also eaten a fair amount of chocolate Easter candy so to say I'm a bit chocolated out would be an understatement.

I had a bit of trouble finding amaretti cookies for this recipe. A few of the other TWD bakers made their own, but I just wasn't up for that challenge on top of everything else I had going on. Fortunately, I discovered in our question and answer section that several people had found the cookies at Starbucks so I headed there and was able to secure a box. (I also snagged a bottle of Blue Cattle Truck Mexican vanilla at a major discount while I was out which I am SO excited to try!)


I chose to make 1/4 of the recipe and bake it in my 4-inch springform pan since we already had a ton of sweets sitting around. As you might imagine, 1/4 of the recipe was a very small amount of batter. Best part about that? I used my mini-prep instead of having to pull out my 14-cup food processor. As much as I love that thing, it takes up a ton of room in the dishwasher! My 4-inch cake took about 23-34 minutes to bake and as Dorie warned, it domed quite a bit in the oven. Not to worry, it deflated as it cooled and the final product was quite thin. Mine was also fairly misshapen, so I was glad to make the glaze to try to hide its flaws.

The verdict? Not my favorite Dorie recipe. It was just ok for me. Incredibly chocolaty desserts tend to be hit or miss for me. When they're a miss it's usually because they're too rich and I think that was the case with this one. I did skip the whipped cream Dorie suggested serving with the torte and I suspect that was part of the problem. Some whipped cream or a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream may have been just what this torte needed!

Many thanks to Holly for a fun pick this week! Head over to her blog for the simple recipe for this torte! And, as always, check out our blogroll at TWD to see how everyone else fared!

Sweet Melissa Sundays: Brooklyn Brownout Cake

This week's Sweet Melissa Sundays recipe is the Brooklyn Brownout Cake and was chosen by Elyse of Confectionery Creations! This is a truly decandent recipe: brownie crumbles sandwiched between two layers of chocolate cake which are then topped with chocolate ganache!

There are a number of steps to this recipe but as Melissa, the author of The Sweet Melissa Baking Book, said, they are all pretty simple. Of course, that probably assumes you're not a huge procrastinator like me! I could have made the brownies in advance so I'd have had one less thing to do, but, you guessed it, I didn't. (I made the brownies from the book but I'll save that post for when the recipe is selected. For now, suffice it to say - YUM! Possibly my favorite brownie recipe ever.)

I finished the brownies last night and made the cake this morning. I used 8-inch cake pans instead of the 7-inch pans called for the in recipe so my cake layers were a bit short. The ganache comes together easily and was so wonderfully shiny! I also thought it was easy to work with and made frosting this cake fun (and I typically am not a fan of frosting layer cakes). I decided not to use the extra brownie crumbles on top of my cake because they weren't all that visually appetizing. However, I thought the top of the cake needed something. First thing that came to mind was peanut butter chips (chocolate and peanut butter can't go wrong) but when I checked the pantry I didn't have any. I went with white chocolate chips instead just to add some visual interest and liked the effect!

After all the work to put this cake together I simply had to try some. OH MY GOODNESS! This is amazing! It's incredibly rich and moist and chocolaty! The brownie crumbles between the layers aren't really apparent in the photos but I could definitely taste them. They add a nice textural contrast to the cake. Because the cake is so rich I don't feel tempted to eat too much of it so it's actually the best possible kind of treat to keep around :) I would definitely recommend keeping a glass of milk nearby with this one.

A huge thanks to Elyse for this week's selection! She'll have the recipe on her blog if you want to give it a try. So far so good with the recipes our group has tried from this wonderful book!