Bake Me Home

 ...making the world a better place, one cookie at a time.

There is a local charity that I think is absolutely amazing. It was started by twin sisters in 2008, when they were just 7 years old. They wanted to help people who were living in shelters. Since they loved baking cookies with their mom, they came up with "Bake Me Home". You can read their story here.

Each family, when leaving the shelter, receives a cloth "Bake Me Home" bag that contains:

• a $20 Kroger grocery store gift card
• a jar of homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookie mix
• mixing bowl
• wooden spoon
• baking sheet
• pot holder
• spatula
• toothbrushes (family pack of 6) and a tube of toothpaste
• a booklet of recipes donated by the Nutrition Council of Greater Cincinnati and put together by our friends at Mt. Washington Presbyterian Church

These girls are incredible. In addition to the original Tote Bag Program, they now have a Pantry Tote Program (which distributes bags to food pantries) and a Family Portrait Program (which gives family pictures to shelter families - photography services donated by local photographers). You can read about those programs here.

And there is the "Bake Me Back Home" program. A $30 donation sends 2 dozen cookies to a military member. "Our goal is that the taste of our homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies will help our military men and women feel like they are “back home,” even if it’s just for a moment." All packages can include a personal message and are cushioned with packages of homemade caramel corn.

You can find their oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe here. You can buy t-shirts and sweatshirts with the Bake Me Home logo here - 30% of the proceeds go back to Bake Me Home.

You can also volunteer and/or make a donation here. $5 buys enough brown sugar for 30 jars of cookie mix! And don't think that you have to live in the area in order to help - they also need people to:

• knit, crochet or quilt pot holders to add to tote bags
• donate new or gently used 5×7 picture frames

You can email them at cookiegirls@bakemehome.com

They're on Facebook, too! 

Mother's Day cake

You have to check out this amazing Mother's Day Cake! It was made by iammommy - and believe it or not, this was her first attempt at making fondant! I want to be just like her when I grow up!!

She had me with the pink! I adore pink! Pink swirlies and pink hearts? Divine. If the cake is chocolate, I'll take two. Praise the chocolate & spun sugar fairies - it is!!

 

But wait - there's more!! Check out the swirlies again. Yeah. They aren't just random marks - they're letters. And they spell out "Happy Mother's Day" over and over. I couldn't believe my eyes - who can write that perfectly in such tiny print? And who has the patience? Well, obviously, iammommy does - she is sooooo cool.

And the thing that really blew me away is that she says it only took her an hour to decorate this cake. An hour. I know it would take me half a day - and it wouldn't look nearly as nice. And look at those itty bitty hearts!!

She shares her secrets here - there is a recipe for the fondant (which is a marshmallow fondant, so it's sweeter and easier to work with than regular fondant), and she used a box mix for the cake.

Now I want cake.

My first BakeItPretty order!!!

The other day, I placed my first order for cupcake goodies from bakeitpretty.com. So when the order arrived - I couldn't wait to rip it open and see what kind of magical cupcake-baking goodness was inside! Then I remembered that I wanted to take pictures, so there would be no ripping. I'll take the pictures quickly...

Look at that pink cuteness peeking out of the box!

Awwwww - it's adorable!!!

Some groovy baking cups

And these are almost too cute for words!!

The entire haul - lots of cute baking cups, 3 new (BIG) icing tips, opal sanding sugar, and violet sugar crystals (the pic doesn't do the color justice - it's a gorgeous purple!)

I highly recommend bakeitpretty.com - the quality of the supplies is outstanding, the shipping was incredibly fast, and the packaging/presentation just made me smile. I will definitely be purchasing from them again!

Cookie recipes, part 2

Last Monday, I posted recipes for three of my favorite cookies - chocolate chip, Mexican wedding cakes, and spritz.

Today, I'm going to give you the recipes for my oatmeal, snickerdoodle, and peanut butter cookies. I'm going to have to bake some cookies when I finish here - my mouth is watering!

Gus and Buddy really like my oatmeal cookies. My secret ingredient is a package of Quaker Cinnamon & Spice instant oatmeal. The spices are perfect for a cookie!

Oatmeal Cookies
(makes 30-36 cookies)

1/2 c. butter-flavored Crisco
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 pkg. Quaker Cinnamon & Spice instant oatmeal
approx. 3/4 c. uncooked oatmeal (I use Quaker regular oatmeal)
3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. walnuts (optional)
1/2 c. raisins (optional)

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, cream Crisco and sugars; add egg and vanilla; mix well. Pour the package of Cinnamon & Spice oatmeal into a 1 cup measuring cup, then continue filling to the top with the regular oatmeal. Place the oatmeal in another mixing bowl, then add the flour, baking soda, & salt; mix well. Add dry ingredients to first bowl, mix together well. Add nuts & raisins, if desired.

Drop by teaspoonful onto cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees. If you want them to be really chewy, don't allow the edges to brown too much.

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Gus really likes my peanut butter cookies, too. The ones with the chocolate kisses in the center are usually a hit - but he likes his plain. My secrets for these cookies are: Jif peanut butter; don't press the cookie down too far; and sprinkle the tops lightly with granulated sugar.

Peanut Butter Cookies
(makes 36-40 cookies)

1/2 c. butter-flavored Crisco
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. Jif peanut butter
1 1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
Hershey's kisses, unwrapped (optional)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In bowl, cream Crisco and sugars. Add egg, vanilla, and peanut butter; mix well. In another bowl, mix dry ingredients together, then add to first bowl; mix well. Roll dough into balls about 1.5 inches in diameter. Using a fork (it's best to dampen it with water), lightly press down on dough - then turn fork 90 degrees and press a second time - so that the fork marks criss-cross. Sprinkle tops lightly with granulated sugar. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Cookies edges should not be brown - if the edges brown darker than a golden color, the cookie is usually burnt on the bottom.

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The last cookie recipe is for snickerdoodles. This recipe came from my Grammy - and they are the best cookies ever! They are best served from the oven; only cooling them enough to keep them from breaking when you hold them. Mmmmmmm!!

Snickerdoodles
(makes about 60 cookies)

1 c. butter-flavored Crisco
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cream of tartar
cinnamon & granulated sugar mix

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In bowl, cream Crisco and sugar. Add vanilla and egg, mixing well. In another bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar together; add to first bowl.; mix well. Shape dough into small balls (I use a heaping tsp. of dough to make a ball about 1 1/4 inch in diameter). Roll balls in cinnamon/sugar mix, then place on cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

I do not allow these cookies to brown at all - not even on the edges.

For the cinnamon/sugar mix: you can buy premixed bottles at the grocery store in the baking aisle, but I usually make my own. I don't really measure - I have a container that I use for mixing and it holds about 1/2 c. sugar. If I had to guess how much cinnamon I add, I would say it's 1-2 tsp. You can vary it according to your taste.

Enjoy!! If you try any of the recipes, let me know!

Cookie recipes...

Cookies count for Monday's Meal, don't they? Who doesn't love freshly-baked cookies? I like them best when they're just cool enough to not fall apart, but still warm enough to make you close your eyes & sigh with contentment. Yum.

I have a few tried-and-true recipes that I've used over the years - and they're always a big hit. I'm a cookie baker who likes her cookies to be chewy in the center and just slightly crunchier at the edges. No hard, crunchy cookies in this kitchen!! The one exception is my Mexican wedding cakes, but even those aren't really crunchy.

This is a tray of cookies that I made for Gus to take to work at Christmastime:

I thought I'd share my cookies recipes with you - starting with the Mexican wedding cakes. Lulu loves these - and even though I'm not a fan of this type of cookie, I think they're pretty tasty, too.

Mexican Wedding Cakes
(makes 36-42 cookies)

1 c. butter (or butter-flavored Crisco)
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 c. chopped pecans

Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cream butter and sugar in bowl. Add vanilla and flour; mix well. Add pecans; mix well. Roll dough into balls about the size of a walnut. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Let cool slightly, then roll in powdered sugar. It's messy rolling them in sugar while they're still warm, but it melts the sugar slightly - then you can roll them in sugar a second time to get a nice even coating.

These cookies are best stored in tins. They can also be frozen.

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This spritz cookie recipe came from Gus's grandmother. According to him, no one bakes cookies like Grandma A. - and if he says something I made is "almost as good as Grandma A's", then I have almost achieved perfection and there is no greater compliment. Someday, I hope to hear my grandchildren saying that "no one bakes cookies like GiGi (or Grammy or whatever they decide to call me)".

Spritz Cookies
(makes about 5 dozen)

1 c. butter (or butter-flavored Crisco)
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. almond or vanilla extract (I use almond)
1 egg
dash of salt
2 1/4 c. flour

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter and sugar together in bowl. Add egg and almond/vanilla extract; mix well. In separate bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder - then add to other ingredients. Fill cookie press with dough - press cookies onto cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

If you're decorating the cookies with colored sugar, nonpareils, or sprinkles, you can add these before baking. You can also ice the cookies after baking/cooling. You can also tint the cookie dough with food coloring or gel coloring before adding it to the cookie press.

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The last recipe I'm posting today is the one for chocolate chip cookies. This is a recipe that I have used since I started baking cookies around age 12. Everyone always loved these cookies - but for some reason, when other people try the recipe, the cookies never turn out exactly like mine. And no, I don't have a secret ingredient! LOL! These are definitely chewy cookies - if you like yours firmer, I recommend substituting white sugar for the brown sugar.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
(makes 48-60 cookies)

1 c. butter-flavored Crisco
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. water
2 eggs

2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 c. chocolate chips (I prefer milk chocolate)

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream Crisco and sugars together in bowl. Add vanilla, water, and eggs. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt together in another bowl, then add to first mixture. Finally, add the chocolate chips, mixing well. Drop by teaspoonful onto cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Tip: I like to use parchment paper under my cookies when I bake them!

More recipes soon!

My cupcake journey, part 1

This is my first attempt at making "fancy cupcakes". I decided to go with the recipe from Annie's Eats for Guinness Cupcakes, but I substituted Young's Double Chocolate Stout for the Guinness. I only made half a batch because I didn't want to waste ingredients if we didn't like the cupcakes, LOL! Turns out I should've doubled the recipe because they are DELICIOUS!!! Very moist, and the chocolate isn't overpowering - which made it a hit with my family. This recipe called for Bailey's Irish Cream frosting, but my husband asked me to make regular buttercream frosting instead. So I used:

• 3 c. powdered sugar
• 8 TBSP. unsalted butter
• 4 TBSP. heavy whipping cream
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

cupcake ingredients

 stout, butter, & cocoa heated over medium heat

 

cupcake batter

mini cupcakes ready to bake

cupcake after baking

 pink buttercream frosting

 

getting ready to frost the cupcakes

the finished product!

 

These cupcakes were flying off the table faster than I could decorate them. I think my daughter ate two without frosting! And then two more after they were frosted, LOL! My son ate three or four, my husband ate one, and my daughter's boyfriend ate two (and they took four with them to eat later). I think this recipe is a keeper! My husband doesn't like a lot of frosting, so that's why some of them only have a little swirl on top. I definitely need to practice my decorating technique, but overall, they're not bad for a first attempt. And it was a lot of fun!

Things I learned:

• Mini cupcake liners/tins are a pain to fill - and it's hard to not make a mess on the inside of the liners.
• It doesn't matter if you get make a mess on the inside of the liner because the cupcake rises enough to cover it up. Duh.
• Don't bother buying cute cupcake liners if you're making chocolate cupcakes - because you can't see the design once the cupcakes are baked.
• Mini cupcakes take almost as long to bake as regular-sized cupcakes.
• Cupcakes are really messy if you try to peel off the liners before the cupcake is completely cooled. :-)
• Making cupcakes is addictive!

Now I'm off to find some really cool liners and sparklies for my next batch!