Cookie Press Review - Guest Blogger

This is something from my first Guest Blogger (aka my sister). Enjoy!

As the youngest baker babe, I try to follow in my esteemed sister's footsteps. I love to bake, but I lack the motivation to bake something that doesn't come from a box. Knowing that I like to bake, this past Christmas my boss gifted me with a Kuhn Rikon Stainless-Steel Cookie Press with Storage Box and a cookie sheet. I just now got around to using them (partly because I just got a new job and I felt guilty that I hadn't used it) and the results were quite good, with only one minor mishap.

I had never used a cookie press before nor had I ever seen one used in person. I found it to be a bit daunting at first as my flowers would not stick to the cookie sheet. It turns out that you have to push the trigger slowly (Apparently it's not a cookie slinging contest with a cookie press. Turtle speed is definitely the way to go). Once I got the speed down, the cookies were flying onto the cookie sheets. The press certainly makes pretty cookies with very little effort. I made butter spritz cookies, because it was the most basic recipe I could find in my cookbook at home from my friend Betty. Spritz cookies are popular in Germany at Christmas time, when people tend to use food coloring to make them festive colors. Mine were just the plain variety, but they were remarkably tasty. A little like a shortbread cookie, but surprisingly moist. (At least the later batches were moist. I burnt the first batch on the bottom a little. Not good eats. I found that the 6-9 min suggested cooking time meant 5-6 minutes in my oven. I would definitely keep an eye on them while baking.) You can add frosting or sprinkles to them, but mine were naked all the way. I will definitely make more spritz cookies in the future. And I will send them to my relatives. I promise.

Happy Easter Take Two - Greek Traditional Goodies

I wasn't sure what was going to write about this weekend. There didn't seem to be any upcoming holidays to tie into and I was still recovering from my recent birthday baking blunder. Then my friend mentioned that she was baking for the Greek Orthodox Easter this weekend, and I know I couldn't let this traditional holiday pass by. My knowledge of Greek tradition is sadly limited to the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", but I do know that they make great food (and a lot of it!). I try not to miss our local annual Greek Church food festival (that is actually soon approaching for this year). The pastry table is always the first place I stop. I can't pronounce anything I eat like Galaktoboureko (a Custard-filled phyllo pastry) or Koulourakia (Butter cookies). Baklava is probably the only thing I know what I am eating. You can click here for a sample of a traditional Greek Easter Sunday Dinner menu complete with recipes and word pronunciations. The traditional foods of the holiday include lamb, red eggs, and Tsoureki Paschalino (a sweet Easter dessert bread). Just be prepared for a full day/week of cooking as I believe the menu is over two pages long. As for me, I will just wait for my local Greek Church's festival. I have a feeling that the people that know how to pronounce them can do a much better job baking them. Απολαύστε!

Mocha Chocolate Cheesecake – A Birthday Blunder

Here is another story of a baking project with not so stellar results. Because of my blog and my birthday, it created a perfect storm to whip up something great to showcase to my fellow friends and co-workers. Although a lot of people thought it was weird I wanted to make my own birthday cake, I told everyone at work not to buy me a “supermarket” cake this year. I was bringing in my special Mocha Chocolate Cheesecake from a recipe that my mother used to make. I never really knew what was in it, but all I know was that when someone important came over we served it for dessert. So I found the same recipe, got the ingredients and went to work. Everything came together, so I brought it in to work with me. Well, the original recipe called for letting it sit for 20 minutes before serving. By the time we got to it, it was Cheese soup! It still tasty good, but for presentation it would have got a double F. My poor co-workers, they keep saying how great it tasted, but I know they were thinking, “Man this lady is really a baking bimbo”! So as we all reflect on our birthdays, this is yet another baking mistake that I must face and move on, hoping that the knowledge it brings will make be a better baker in the end. I have discovered that if you don’t let it sit out and serve it straight from the freezer, it is a mighty good dessert. Enjoy!

Mocha Chocolate Cheesecake

1 ¼ cup crushed chocolate wafer cookies
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup margarine
8 oz cream cheese, softened
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup chocolate syrup
2 Tablespoons instant coffee
1 teaspoon hot water
1 cup whipping cream, whipped

Mix crushed cookies with sugar and butter. Press into 9x13 pan. Chill. Beat cream cheese. Add milk and chocolate syrup. Dissolve coffee in water. Add to mixture. Fold in whipped cream. Cover and freeze at least 6 hours. Serve straight from the freezer.

Every Day should be Earth Day!

Every year on April 22nd, we celebrate Earth day. To some it may not be a big holiday, but to me it should be the most celebrated. Of course I think I am slightly biased considering my birthday is on this day as well. But seriously, considering the Pope declared polluting the environment a sin, we should all take a better look at what we can do to stop the damage we have caused. For all those Baker Babes out there, here are a few simple tips to get started today.

1. Use reusable bags for buying all your groceries and baking supplies. I have the bags, now I am just working on remembering to take them into the store with me. A lot of stores even give you a small discount now for bringing your own bags. Want something really cool to tote around? Buy a Baker Babe Tote!
2. Recycle as much as you can. I am lucky that I live in a city that has free curbside recycling pickup, but if you don’t take the extra effort to take it to a center once a month or back to a store. Sometimes I even donate items like egg cartons, milk jugs, and paper towel tubes to my son’s school where I know it will go to good use in art projects.
3. Bake local. When you think about your menus, try to pick items in season that you can get locally. For me that means apples in the fall and berries in the summer. It is still ok to mix it up with some exotic foods once in a while. The last time I checked, they don’t grow coconuts in New Hampshire.
4. If all else fails and you get so depressed about the destruction of our Earth, bake up some goodies. To celebrate I suggest “Dirt Cups” or “Earth Globe cookies”. Happy Earth Day!

Death of a Bake Sale

Today my son had a bake sale at his school. Since it wasn’t his class that was coordinating, I didn’t have to bake anything, but I was looking forward to the yummy treats that he was going to bring home with the three dollars I tucked in his pocket. I was very disappointed when he came home with Oreos and a brownie and muffin that clearly came from a boxed mix. Come on Moms, what is wrong with us? Are we that lazy/over-worked/baking illiterate that we can’t come up with something homemade? You don’t even see homemade rice krispies anymore. There are also so many restrictions that come with bake sales these days too. Some schools have no nut policies, so that takes away the peanut butter cookies and anything with nuts in it (which is usually the only healthy part of a baked good anyways). A lot of schools are getting rid of bake sales, because they "encourage" pediatric obesity (I say everything in moderation). Since my son’s school is even connected to federal funding, they have a policy that you can only bring in treats that are purchased and wrapped up, which means no homemade birthday treats. So that meant for today’s bake sale the kid’s could buy things, but they couldn’t eat them until they got home. It really is sad. The end of a baking era is near. Goodbye, my sweet bake sale, goodbye. Perhaps someday we will meet again.

Vanilla – I like it white

When I make my baked goods and share them with my friends, I also get asked the question “What is the great flavor in it”? At last I am ready to share my secret. Almost two years ago I had friends that traveled to the Dominican Republic. When they were gone, we helped them around their house and they returned the favor with a thank you gift from the islands. It was a wonderful bottle of clear vanilla extract (called vainilla on the bottle) that has this amazing flavor. I have used it in my baked goods ever since and always get rave reviews. Now the bad news. My supply is getting low, my friends are not going back to the Dominican Republic any time soon, and I can’t find it in any stores or online. So unless any one knows of an underground vanilla supplier that I can talk to, I may have to investigate other types of foreign vanillas that I have heard are good (like Madagascar, Tahitian, and Mexican). All I know is that the brown liquid from the supermarket is not going to cut it for me anymore.

Hawaiian Cake Craving

We all have cravings, and for some reason mine has been for carrot cake. I think it started two weeks ago when I went to get a carrot cake for a work celebration. There is a place in NH that makes the best carrot cake (that just happens to be vegan too). I looked up to see what time they opened and planned my morning accordingly When I showed up at 8:30 am sharp, the door was locked and the lights were out. I left with no cake, but an intense desire for the sweet dessert. Two weeks later I am still craving it, so I feel I need to give in. Unfortunately this week I have had zero time to bake, yet alone go to the store to get the supplies I need. But come Saturday morning, this Hawaiian Cake is mine! It is similar to carrot cake, but jazzed up with coconut and pineapple. This recipe has been a family and bake sale favorite for many years. Enjoy!

Hawaiian Cake

2 cups grated carrots

8 oz crushed pineapple (drained)

3 oz coconut

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cup oil

4 eggs

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup chopped nuts

Mix sugar, oil and eggs. Mix in flour, baking powder, cinnamon and baking soda. Mix in remaining ingredients. Place in a sheet cake pan or make cupcakes. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 min.

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 package (3 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, milk and vanilla with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar on low speed until smooth.

Baker Babe Birthday Wishes

Ok, I admit this week, I am totally exploiting my blog for my own selfish reasons. I figured I only have two chances a year to get gifts and with my birthday coming up later this month I wanted to give the ones that are closest to me a heads up on the gift selecting process this year. Even though I feel like my kitchen cabinets are filled up, I constantly find myself starting a baking project only to realize that I am missing a piece of equipment. So below are Baker Babe’s top gifts to give me this year! Hopefully with new equipment I can whip up a wonderful birthday surprise to showcase to all my Baker Babe fans.

Flour Sifter
I have to admit that when a recipe calls for sifted flour, I just kind of shake it around a little hoping that helps.

Mango Splitter
Just because cutting a mango is always a challenge, I would be anxious to see if this really works.

Mandolin Slicer
Because cutting can be tricky and I would like to keep all my fingers.

9-Inch Round Cake Pan
I discovered that I didn’t have these when I made my son’s birthday cake, so had to borrow some. Two would be nice.

Tart Quiche Pan
I can visualize myself making some awesome fruit tarts this summer.

Silicone Fluted Tube Pan
Because some day, I am sure I am going to have to make a Jello mold.

Egg & Yolk Separator
I lost my old one and this one is so dang cute!

Bake Me A Wish
No time to cook or live far away? Never fear, send me a cake via the mail from Bake Me A Wish. I am a big carrot cake fan or of anything with chocolate in it.

Booze
As I said before, I like booze, I want booze, BUY ME BOOZE!

Baker Babe Merchandise
What could be better than wearing my own Baker Babe Logo, so people have to stare at my chest?

Exercise Bands, tubing and a 5lb medicine ball
Because being a Baker Babe takes it toll on the body. Without exercise, Baker Babe would turn into Baker Blob and nobody wants to see that!

Maple Syrup Cookies - A Sign of Spring!

It's April 2nd, I’m all ready for spring and we keep getting more snow! I need a sign that spring is heading our way, any sign. Oh, yes, Maple Syrup - the pure gold of trees. Tasting the sweet syrup always brings back great memories. Many don't know, but back in my youth I almost started a career in the maple syrup business. My friend’s family had a sugar shack and I was often over to help. Of course, it didn't take long for me to dump over a whole bucket of sap and get quickly put on "supervising" duties (Dang, those buckets were heavy). Sadly, my sap collecting days were over, but nothing could beat eating those warm soggy baked apples straight out of the syrup boiler. So in memory of those days gone bye, I baked up these Maple Syrup Cookies. Similar to Snickerdoodles, they have a nice sweet, cinnamon flavor. Enjoy!

Maple Syrup Cookies
1/4 cup Pure Maple Syrup
3/4 cup soft shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon

Measure the syrup in a 1 cup measuring cup. Add shortening until syrup comes to 1 cup line. Cream shortening and syrup with sugar. Add egg and beat until fluffy. Add all dry ingredients into creamed mixture. Blend together. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.