Lemon Bliss Cake

Don't let the mild-mannered photos fool you. This might be one of the most delicious/addictive things I've ever baked. 

I know. I usually go for decadence over simplicity. The more peanut butter, marshmallows, caramel, and chocolate, the better, but seeing that "Lemon Bliss Cake" was one of the top-rated recipes on King Arthur Flour, I figured I'd give it a shot. I mean really, how good could it be? Then again, among the 2,613 recipes on the site, a boring "Lemon Cake" must be pretty good to beat out Chocolate Cream Pie. 

I was in trouble.

This is to die for.

Moist, soft, and delightfully lemon-y. Then you add a lemon-sugar glaze on top that creates a perfect crust.

Mmmm crust.

I followed this recipe almost exactly.

Lemon Bliss Cake

1 cup unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons baking powder

3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

1 cup milk

finely grated rind of 2 lemons OR 3/4 teaspoon lemon oil (I used rind of 2 lemons AND 1/2 teaspoon of Fiori di Sicila)

GLAZE

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

3/4 cup sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 10" tube pan, or a 9" to 10", 9- to 10-cup capacity bundt-style pan. (I didn't have a bundt pan - seriously - and just used a 9"x13" pyrex dish)

1) Beat together the butter, sugar, and salt, first till combined, then till fluffy.

2) Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. 

3) Add the baking powder, then add the flour alternately with the milk, starting and ending with the flour. Mix until smooth. Stir in the grated lemon rind or lemon oil (or Fiori di Sicilia).

4) Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula.

5) Bake the cake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. (It took 45 minutes in my over with the 9x13 pan)

6) While the cake is baking, make the glaze by stirring together the lemon juice and sugar. Set it aside.

7) Remove the cake from the oven, and set it on a rack. After 5 minutes, run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen, and turn the cake out onto a rack. Place another rack on top, and flip it over, so it's right-side-up. (I acutually skipped this step and just glazed it right in the pan)

8) Poke the hot cake all over with a cake tester or toothpick.

9) Stir the glaze to combine, and immediately brush it on the hot cake. Let it sink in, then brush on more glaze, continuing until all the glaze is used up.

10) Allow the cake to cool before slicing.

11) Try not to eat all of it in one sitting.

oops.

Super Brownies

I'm about to share with you my hands-down, super favorite, super fudgy, super dark, shhhh...super secret brownie recipe. There are actually a couple secrets to this...things that will make these the brownies of your dreams...things that will make all your chocolate recipes better...things that you'll "forget" to tell people when they ask for the recipe :). 

Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating...a little.

These are very moist and dense.

These are no cakey brownies.

You've been warned.

So now that you're tempted...what's the secret recipe?

Ingredients
(adapted from King Arthur Cookie Companion)

3/4 cup butter (1.5 sticks)

2 cups sugar

1 cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey's dark chocolate)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon espresso powder (that's secret #1)

1 tablespoon vanilla

3 large eggs

1 cup flour

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate (secret #2)

1 cup chocolate chips (secret #3)

Directions

1. Buy a brownie edge pan (secret #4).
2. Preheat oven to 325. Lightly grease said recently purchased brownie edge pan.
3. Over low heat, melt butter. Remove from heat and add sugar. Heat again, but just slightly (not bubbling). This will dissolve more of the sugar and will give the brownies a nice shiny coat crust top. (secret #5).
4. In a double-boiler over low heat, melt unsweetened chocolate and chocolate chips.
5. Add cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla to the melted butter.
6. Whisk in eggs and melted chocolate.
7. Add flour and stir until combined.
8. Spoon into prepared pan.
9. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (or with minimal crumbs). If you do use the brownie edge pan, start checking the oven at 25 mins, as it will cook faster.
10. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

It's up to you which secrets you'd like to "forget" when people ask you for the recipe.

Cookie Stands in Action

Thanks to a little D*Sponge linkage, my DIY cookie stands are probably the most popular of my posts. So how did they turn out?

Adorable...if I do say so myself.

We also screen printed bags so people could load up on the 1,200 cookies my mom, my mother-in-law, and I made.

My cousin, taking her share.

To make the bags, I bought these (p.s. Uline is my secret weapon, they have everything) and Gocco'd a monogram that I designed in Illustrator. A round computer-printed label would work just as well if you don't want to screen print them.

And here's the cookie stand tutorial, if you missed it.

Some cookies never made it into the bags.

But a few did. :)

The reception hall was amazing, we dropped everything of a couple days before and they had the whole table set up perfectly when we arrived.

Mmmm...oreo cookie cookies.

OK so I just went to grab a link and apparently, I haven't posted this recipe yet. I'll have to get on that.

There's no real recipe for these PB cup cookies, just a couple steps: 

1. Scoop store-bought peanut butter cookie dough into a greased mini muffin tin. 

2. Bake as directed 

3. As soon as they come out of the oven, stick a mini reeses cup in the middle.

4. Curse the day that PB first met chocolate and put on your "buffet pants."

I don't even know what these are.

They might be PB-O-Cocos, but they look rounder. 

Whatever, they were gone by 10:00 anyway.

The boy loves pinwheels.

These are from that Cookie Companion book over there on the right ---------->;

(scroll up a little bit)

Not enough decadence for my taste though.

But what can you do? I'm married to him now :)

All photos by The Observatory

Lemon-Raspberry Sugar Cookies

Just like the 10 million other people out there, January means the reintroduction of words like 
"vegetables" and "treadmill" and 
"if you don't hand over that bag of Cheetos, you're going to lose an arm." 

So far it's been going well. I've been working out, keeping track of what I eat, 
and so far I've only gained 2 pounds.

Unfortunately for someone who writes a blog called "weddings and cookies" January also means a lack of content, because it's never a good idea to have a bunch of 

warm...

delicious...

soft...

sweet...

cookies....

Oh my. How'd those get there?

Ok, I caved. Deliciously caved.

It all started with this:

I picked up this raspberry-flavored sugar at the grocery store months ago, knowing that it would be perfect as the sugar coating on lemon sugar cookies.

And it did!

I realize that I've basically made these before. Well, I've definitely made the Perfect Lemon Sugar Cookie recipe before. And I've made lemon cookies with jam. But a) never together, and b) never with raspberry sugar.

It's a good combination. Totally worth all the treadmill time I've just subjected myself to.

They're crunchy on the outside, while saying perfectly chewy and soft inside. They have a delightfully-light lemon flavor, and the raspberry sugar and jam pairs perfectly with the lemon.

So how do you make these?

Make a batch of Perfect Lemon Sugar Cookies, 

but with a couple modifications (in italics below).

The Recipe

(copied from the Crepes of Wrath blog)

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract

zest of 1 lemon

1/2 cup raspberry-flavored sugar

1 cup raspberry jam

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or tin foil and spray lightly with Pam.

2. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. Rub together the zest and granulated sugar until the sugar is a pale yellow color. This helps to infuse all of the oils in the zest into the sugar and gives your cookies an even more lemony flavor. Using a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and very fluffy (about 3-5 minutes).

4. Beat in egg, vanilla extract, and lemon extract.

5. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients and mix until just moistened.

6. Roll rounded tablespoons of dough into balls, and roll in raspberry sugar. Place on lined cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart.

7. Bake about 8 minutes in the preheated oven. They should be almost done but still gooey in the middle. Using a spoon, make a small impression in the middle and add a spoonful of jam. Return cookies to over for about 3 minutes, until they're set.

8. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks. As soon as the cookies have cooled, store them in an airtight container to keep them nice and soft. Makes around 20 cookies.

And enjoy!

Thanks, that was fun!

I'm back...and married!

Now the (blog) work begins.

I've been promising photos and tutorials and ideas and more photos and as much as I want to keep my promise it will be a few weeks before the photos are available, and I want to use only the best photos for my readers. :)

Until then, enjoy this embarrassing photo of me taking a bite out of our giant rice crispy treat/groom's cake (which the bridesmaids and I made the previous night).

(photo credit Paula Atallah aka Maid of Honor Extraordinaire)

Dreamsicle, Creamsicle

For the most part, I'm done with the cookie testing and onto the cookie making (only 48 days to make 1,000 cookies - along with a million other things!). But with a Memorial Day BBQ to attend, I wasn't about to let a baking opportunity pass me by.

I needed something summery, light, something that went well with beer.

Enter foodgawker.com. Have you seen this website? Let's just say, don't go there if you're hungry.

As I was perusing for cookies, I saw the glowing photo of Orange Creamsicle Cookies by The Girl Who Ate Everything.

Talk about perfect for summer! Made with white chocolate and a nice orange flavor, they just taste like warm weather and relaxation!

(that's not too dramatic, is it?)

Perfectly chewy too!

Recipe

(copied from The Girl Who Ate Everything)

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 firmly packed brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons orange zest (I used a little more ~3 oranges)

2 cups white chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

3. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture until combined. Stir in orange zest and chips.

4. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Do not flatten cookies; it will make them dry. Bake 8 - 10 minutes or until golden brown around edges. Do not overcook! Cookies will be plump. Cool for several minutes on cookie sheets before transferring to rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

I wouldn't recommend forgetting about the container and storing it open on a porch overnight, but if you don't do that they should stay nice and soft for 3 days.

Enjoy!

Having my Cake and Eating it too!

Over the weekend, the boy and I went to the bakery to have cake for breakfast, I mean, taste cake for the wedding.

We enjoyed orange cake

and chocolate cake

and lemon cake

and vanilla cake

and yellow cake

and double-chocolate fudge cake

and buttercream frosting

and white chocolate mousse

and chocolate frosting

and some more orange cake

and raspberry filling

and lemon cake

and diet pepsi!

And after the sugar coma set in...we set out to paint our house.

Word of advice, if you need to paint a house, don't have cake and diet pepsi for breakfast.

Anyway, here's the cake!

Ok, so for the first time ever (I swear) I forgot to bring paper to a meeting. So being someone who needs to see things to understand, I grabbed the nearest napkin and sketched out the design we decided on.

You can picture it perfectly, right?

How about in ivory, with ivory piping, and monochromatic blue ribbons and a monogram? Got it? Great!

and with this on top... :)

Vanilla Toffee Chippers

This might be a new fave!
(do I say that every week?)

One bite of this cookie and you'll know you recognize the flavor, but what is it?

pudding?
vanilla bean?
something...birthday-esque?

People will be guessing what complicated list of ingredients went into this fabulous chewy cookie.


The secret?
It's ridiculously easy...


The Recipe
(adapted from Once Upon a Gourmet Gin)

One (18.5 oz) box of yellow cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
6 full-size heath bars crushed
1 tsp vanilla
~ 4 Tbsp flour (I threw in a small handful to make them less sticky)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix cake mix, oil, eggs, vanilla, and flour in medium bowl.

3. Crush heath bars in plastic bag with mallet. Stir into batter.

4. Using a cookie dough scoop, drop dough onto cookie sheets sprayed with non-stick coating or use parchment paper about 2 inches apart.

5. Bake 9-11 minutes until edges are just starting to brown. They may look underdone in the middle, but that's OK.

6. Let cool ~10 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to cool.

Nice firm outside, wonderfully chewy inside, and tastes kinda like birthday cake - go cake mix! The chocolate toffee bits add a wonderful buttery crunch, and well chocolate never hurts.

Enjoy!

World Peace Cookies

I wish I could come up with a more clever title, but if you've ready a cookie/cooking blog in the last year, then you'd know that all the clever, pun-tastic titles for Dorie Greenspan's World Peace Cookie have already been taken.

I also wish that the sun wouldn't set before I get home from work so I could take some natural-light photos, but alas, we'll have to settle for adjusted, low-light photography (because I refuse to use the flash).

After reading blog post after blog post and drooling over foodgawker photos, I was actually a little reluctant. I mean, can a cookie this talked-up really deliver?

Well, for someone who thinks cookies should be chewy, soft, and gooey, this little sandy chocolate nugget was rather addictive.

They definitely needed a day to rest. The one(s) I tried right out of the oven crumbled at the first bite, but the next day, these had firmed up delightfully leaving a chocolate-y pleasant (not overpowering) cookie. Well done bloggers, well done.

Recipe

(from Dorie Greenspan but I actually used the recipe from Smitten Kitchen to make the cookies - I'm assuming they're the same)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (11 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

Directions

1. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together.

2. Beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more.

3. Turn off mixer, pour in the flour, drape a kitchen towel over the stand mixer to protect yourself and your kitchen from flying flour and pulse the mixer at low speed about 5 times, a second or two each time. Take a peek — if there is still a lot of flour on the surface of the dough, pulse a couple of times more; if not, remove the towel.

4. Continuing at low speed, mix for about 30 seconds more, just until the flour disappears into the dough — for the best texture, work the dough as little as possible once the flour is added, and don’t be concerned if the dough looks a little crumbly. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix only to incorporate.

5. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it together and divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours.

6. Getting ready to bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

7. Working with a sharp thin knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch thick. (The rounds are likely to crack as you’re cutting them — don’t be concerned, just squeeze the bits back onto each cookie.) Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about one inch between them.

8. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 minutes — they won’t look done, nor will they be firm, but that’s just the way they should be. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies rest until they are only just warm, at which point you can serve them or let them reach room temperature.

For me, the dough was really crumbly and I was sure I did something wrong. But I just kept pushing it together (when making the log and cutting them into discs) and everything turned out just fine!

Red Velvet Gooey Cookies

Let's start with the image that started it all:

Photo credit: Peace of Cake

(her photo is better than all of mine)

When I stumbled on this photo, I knew that I would be making a stop at the grocery store on the way home from work the next day.

I've been looking for a good red velvet cookie recipe and just haven't been satisfied - to the point where I didn't even post about the other ones I've tried, but the search is over.

These are easy, soft, sturdy, and most importantly....D-licious!

(7 people in my office - myself included - finished off the entire tin by 3:00 PM)

They just melt in your mouth.

Recipe

(from Peace of Cake)

(wait 'til you see how easy this is)

1 brick (8-ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
1 egg
1 t. Vanilla
1 (18-ounce) box red velvet cake mix
Powdered sugar, for rolling/dusting

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth.

3. Beat in egg, then the vanilla.

4. Beat in the cake mix.

5. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up.

6. Roll batter into tablespoon-sized balls and then roll them in powdered sugar.

7. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and "gooey." Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, if desired.

This is going on my "favorites" list!

Sorry about my lack-luster photos, just look at the first one, that's all you need.

UPDATE: Someone in my office made these with carrot cake mix and they were just as tasty! I'm going to try lemon at some point too. Oh, and chocolate with mini chocolate chips...or chocolate with mint chips...or...

PB-O-Coco Cookies

Or at least that's what I'm calling them!

They are also known as "Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Cookies," but personally, I think PB-O-Coco has a little more pizazz.

I've never really been a fan of peanut butter cookies. Which is ironic because it's my personal belief that peanut butter can make just about anything better...especially a spoon and my mouth.

So when I saw the pictures from Brown-Eyed Baker, I thought I might have a hit. When these first came out of the oven, I had my obligatory taste. And, I hate to say it, I wasn't impressed. They seemed a little crumbly and bland, but I figured they weren't bad and would work.

...but I spoke too soon.

Maybe it was all the cookie dough testing, or the fact that they just came out of the over, but a few hours later, after they had a chance to rest, I tried another - you know just to make sure.

It was great!

Soft, with a little bit of chewy, good chocolate to peanut butter ratio, and moist.

Highly recommended.

The Recipe

(copied from Brown-Eyed Baker)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
½ cup rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

3. On medium speed, cream together the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat to combine. On low speed, gradually add the flour until just combined. Stir in the oats, and then the chocolate chips.

4. Use a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons) and drop dough onto prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden. Cool completely on the baking sheet and then store in an airtight container at room temperature.

To make the toothpick/topper. I used a heart punch and the same cupcake wrapper. The wrapper was a little hard to punch, so I cut off the bottom, double-stick taped it to white paper, then punched the two pieces of paper. I punched a second white heart and double-stick taped a toothpick between the white layer and the purple layer.

Too cute!

Second-Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever!

It pains me a little bit to refer to these as the "second-best" chocolate chip cookie, but my heart goes out to the classic Tollhouse recipe. That will always be my #1, but these....

come pretty gosh-darn-diddly close.

Introducing one of my favorite chocolate chip cookies, the "Best Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie"

I've been making these for years and they always make a great impression. They've got that bakery storefront appeal.

Let's start with the basics of what makes this cookie amazing.

1. Size

Most cookies recipes say "drop by tablespoon" onto cookie sheet. This recipe?

Drop by 1/4 cup.

Dude.

Look out behind you!

2. They're soft and chewy.

mmmmm....chewy.

3. They're super easy!

The Recipe

(from allrecipes.com)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy.

4. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.

5. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

6. Prepare to bask in the cookie-loving admiration of friends and co-workers.

Enjoy!