2012 Holiday Treats and Sweets Roundup

Tomorrow is Christmas. I honestly can’t believe how fast this day came. I had so many ideas of goodies to share with you, but I couldn’t bake fast enough. I still have a few recipes to share with you for any leftover eggnog you may have lying around in the fridge and some cute cookies you can bring for a New Years party. I also have a stack of papers with other recipes I need to bake and share before I go back to school in January, hopefully these things will get done. I like sharing recipes with y’all.

So because I’m a little scatter-brained at the moment, I'm giving you a few recipes I think would be perfect for Christmas treats. If you haven't decided what will go on your Christmas dessert table, hopefully you'll find a little nibble you like here. 

First up are these Whole Wheat Donuts. These are so soft and way too easy to make. One batch of six donuts will take you less than 30 minutes from start to finish. With a little sprinkling of powdered sugar, these will be the perfect start to your Christmas morning.

These Chocolate Chip Scones are a little more sophisticated. The chocolate chips are perfectly sweet in comparison to the soft and tender bread. The only thing that makes these scones even more amazing is the peanut butter glaze that goes on top. If I could, I would eat a bowl of that glaze with a spoon, it’s really that good.

There’s a cookie Santa will not be expecting. These are Chocolate-Studded Cookie Bars and they are amazing! The recipe calls for dark brown sugar, which makes these irresistibly dark, gooey, and chewy. Make sure to pair this with an extra tall glass of milk.

This Cinnamon Roll Rice Krispie Treat is seriously the easiest thing you will ever make. These are soft, chewy, and perfect for those you want a little crunchy sweet treat. Oh, and you better not leave that cream cheese frosting off either.

I personally think pumpkin shouldn’t be used after November 30^th, but some people can’t get enough of pumpkin, so I present you the BEST pumpkin bread/cake you will have in your life. I made this back in October for the Cake Slice Bakers and I loved it so much I made another three batches within the same month. I’m sure your family will be eternally grateful if this cake is on the dessert table after a good Christmas dinner.

Here is a little more traditional Christmas dessert. This is the Shoo-Fly Cake; it doesn’t sound like a Christmas dessert, but the molasses and spices added remind me of gingerbread cake. It’s soft, delectable, and the aroma of this cake in the oven will make your house smell like the holidays.

These Bakery Style m&m Cookies have quickly become my favorite. The dark brown sugar lends a dark and chewy cookie. The milk chocolate is a perfect match and because m&m comes out with so many different holiday colors, these cookies can quickly go from a fall-themed cookie to a Christmas cookie perfect for Santa to munch on after leaving presents underneath the tree.

When I saw the Molasses Cookies with Ginger Cream CheeseFilling on The Pastry Affair, I knew I had to make them. I’m so glad I made these this year because they have become my favorite Christmas treat. The cookies are perfectly soft and tender and the ginger cream cheese filling is so delicious you’ll want to eat it out of the bowl.

I hope you guys enjoyed this little roundup. Have a very merry Christmas!

Cake Slice Bakers - December 2012: Mississippi Mud Cupcakes

Happy Thursday, everyone! I can’t believe Christmas is only 4 days away! It’s unbelievable. I have so many more recipes to share with you for the holiday season, but first I will share this month’s Cake Slice Bakers cake.

The wining cake this month was the Mississippi Mud Cupcake. Mud cakes are typical sheet cakes known for their deep chocolate notes, nutty mix-ins, and gooey marshmallow toppings. Julie Richardson takes the sheet cake and turns it into a cute little cupcake.

I wasn’t too exciting about making this recipe only because of the marshmallow frosting. The marshmallow frosting is a combination of stiff egg whites and sugar syrup, something I have never been comfortable with.

I’m terrible at making candy. In February earlier this year I tried making marshmallows, boy was that a disaster. I basically made pink cement; it took about 10 hours of a hot water soak to get the whisk attachment free from the pink gunk. Oh and then there was the honeycomb candy disaster too where I made honey colored tar. Yeah, you can see why I’m a little apprehensive when it comes to anything that involved melting candy.

Despite my apprehension I trucked on and made the frosting anyways. You can take a guess as to how it turned out. If your guess is “horrible-tasting, honey-colored mush” then ding, ding, ding, you are a winner! I wasn’t too disappointed because I knew it wouldn’t turn out the way I wanted. So I went back to the drawing board. I knew I needed marshmallow frosting so I just looked up some marshmallow fluff buttercream from Baked Bree and used that to top the cupcakes.

Theses cupcakes have a lovely dark color, and their texture is light and soft. I had omitted the pecans in the cupcakes, but I loved the added texture and flavor of the semi-sweet chocolate chips. The frosting I used is really airy and delicate and pairs nicely with such a soft cake.

Mississippi Mud Cupcakes

Recipe from Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson

Frosting adapted from Baked Bree

Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes

1 cup hot coffee

¾ cup unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa powder

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. baking soda

1 cup toasted chopped pecans

1 cup, semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 eggs, room temperature

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

½ cup canola oil

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Frosting

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1 7 oz. jar marshmallow fluff

1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners; set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the hot coffee and cocoa powder. Make sure to get all the clumps dissolved. Set the mixture aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Mix in the pecans and chocolate chips, making sure to thoroughly coat the mix-ins in the flour mixture.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Pour in the liquid chocolate mixture. Mix until combined. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Mix until combined. Fill each cupcake liner about 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool in the cupcake tin for 10-15 minutes before removing. Repeat with the remaining batter if any is left. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting. 

To make the frosting: beat the butter until fluffy. Add the marshmallow fluff and continue to beat for 2 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar gradually. Beat for another 2 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine. Frost the cupcakes as desired.

Molasses Cookies with Ginger Cream Cheese Filling

I wanted to share this with you on Monday, but after reading so many posts about the victims of Newtown, Connecticut, I didn’t think I could. I was going to make a post saying how my heart goes out to the friends and families of the victims as well as the community of the city, but I couldn’t talk about such tragedy with something happy such as sandwich cookies. I know I’m kind of doing that now, but I feel I should say at least something. So make sure to hug your loved ones just a little longer and harder this holiday season.

I have so many baking ideas for this holiday season, I’m not sure I’m going to be able to do it all. I’ve even bought eggnog (something I have yet to try, but love the smell of so far) and I don’t even have a recipe for anything with eggnog!

One thing that I can cross off my holiday baking list is gingerbread. I did not make traditional gingerbread men; instead I made gingerbread sandwich cookies! These things are truly amazing. I think I had five (or was it six?) the day I made these. I was a bad girl, but they just kept getting better and better!

The cookie is so soft and bakes up super big and puffy! The gingerbread flavor is really out of this world. Last year I made traditional gingerbread men, but I didn’t really like them because the cookies were crunchy, and if you’re new to this blog, you’ll need to know I had flat and crunchy cookies. Flat and crunchy have no purpose when it comes to cookies.

The ginger cream cheese frosting is the most amazing thing ever. I think cream cheese frosting is my favorite frosting ever because it’s never too sweet, like I find buttercream frosting to be. I couldn’t really detect the ginger in the frosting, but you can see the ginger flecks, and that looks real pretty.

These cookies are actually the first sandwich cookie recipe I have made. There is something so calming about sitting in front of a row of cookies and a bowl of frosting.

Molasses Cookies with Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting

From The Pastry Affair

Makes 16 sandwich cookies

Ingredients

Molasses Cookies

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking power

¾ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 tsp. ground ginger

¼ tsp. ground cloves

½ cup dark brown sugar

4 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature

2 eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup unsulfured molasses

Ginger Cream Cheese Filling

2 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

3 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature

½ tsp. ginger

Pinch of salt

1 cup powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

To make the cookies: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a medium bowl. Set the bowl aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream together the brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until fully incorporated. Pour in the molasses. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed; the mixture will look a little curdled. Decrease the mixer’s speed to low and gradually add 1/3 of the flour mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Repeat until all the flour has been incorporated. Take a medium-small cookie scoop (I used one that’s about 1 ¼-1 ½ inches in diameter) and portion out the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Space the dough about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes (mine were perfect at 7:55 minutes). Cool the cookies on the tray for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough. Allow the cookies to cool completely before filling.

To make the filling: beat the cream cheese and butter until completely incorporated. Add the ginger and salt. Gradually add the sugar. By that I mean at a tbsp. or two at a time. Powdered sugar is a pain to clean when it flies everywhere. Refrigerate the filling for 5-10 minutes. Pile a tsp. or two onto the flat bottoms of half the cooled cookies. Place the remaining unfrosted cookies on top of the frosting. Keep cookies in the fridge in a sealed container.

Sugar-Dusted Drop Sugar Cookies

Finals are done, I’m on break, and I’m reunited with my stand mixer; everything is now good.

But I have been procrastinating. I’ve had bakers block for the past few weeks due to those 5 hour calculus study sessions, but when I got home I had no idea what to make.

I know I wanted to make something festivy and Christmasy for you all, but I honestly had no idea what to make. Then I remembered sugar cookies are both festive and easy! Well, the traditional sugar cookie isn’t easy; it’s labor intensive and I didn’t want to do too much, so I found a recipe for drop sugar cookies. 

These are as easy as making chocolate chip cookies. Just cream the butter and sugar, add some egg yolks (which gives these a nice pale yellow color) and vanilla, mix in your flour mixture, scoop, roll in sugar and plop onto a tray.

The edges hold firm as the center is nice and soft. The raw sugar crystals lend a little bit of a crunch factor that is really nice too. I have never used raw sugar before, so I wasn’t totally sure how it was going to turn out. But after crunching down on the sugar crystals I realized I like the raw sugar coating more than sugar cookies rolled in regular white sugar.

Today also marks the 12^th week of 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats. I have been bad and haven’t participated in the countdown for several weeks. That’s what college does to you, it takes away from the important things in life. I kid… sort of. So here is my contribution to the last week of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats. Thank you Brenda for hosting such a fun blog hop!

Sugar-Dusted Drop Sugar Cookies 
Slightly adapted from Dramatic Pancake
Makes 2 dozen

Ingredients
3-4 tbsp. raw sugar (for rolling)
½ cup + 2 tbsp sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 egg yolks, room temperature
¾ tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 ¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. cream of tartar

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Place the raw sugar in a bowl and set aside

Cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed in the bowl of a stand mixer until light in color and fluffy in texture. Beat the egg yolks in one at a time. Add the vanilla. Scrape the bowl down as necessary.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Go back to the stand mixer and turn the speed down to low. Add half of the flour mixture and beat. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, repeat with remaining flour mixture. Turn the speed up to medium and beat until the dough sort of comes together like play-dough.

Portion out the dough by using a small/medium cookie scoop. Release the dough and roll the tops of the dough in the raw sugar. Place cookie dough sugar side up onto the prepared baking tray. Bake for 9-10 minutes or until the tops have become slightly crackled. Cool on the tray for two minutes before removing onto a cooling rack.

Peanut Butter Blondies with Milk Chocolate Frosting

So… you know how I said I was so excited about finals coming up and going home? Well that nostalgia has worn off. I’m freaking out over calculus (I spent 3 ½ hour reviewing on Saturday and about 5 on Sunday!) and chemistry (something I haven’t even glanced at because of how much I’ve been reviewing calculus). College is stressful… and I know I’m not being cheery right now, and it’s sad because it’s finally December: the most amazing holiday month ever!

I go to Target for groceries and out of the hour I spent at target, about 25 minutes was spent actually grocery shopping. The other 35 minutes were spent skinning around the Christmas isle all giddy like. I have a sickness, but I don’t care. I love Christmas!

So I know I’m supposed to be making Christmassy things like gingerbread men, molasses cookies, sugar cookies, and all the like, but I just don’t have the time. I will be baking a lot during the winter break, so hopefully I’ll knock a bunch of stuff off my various baking lists.

So what I have for you are peanut butter blondies with milk chocolate frosting. I know I’ve said I’m not much of a peanut butter and chocolate fan… but I think I’m only a non-peanut butter-chocolate fan when it comes to Reese’s. There’s something just not right about that stuff.

The whole apartment smelled like peanut butter as these were baking in the oven. It was simply heaven. And the milk chocolate frosting is so soft and not cloyingly sweet (something I’ve always had trouble with when making frosting). I actually think it could have used a little more milk chocolate flavor, but it was good nonetheless.

I cut the pan into sixteen portions and in less than 12 hours all but two and a half squares were gone. I might have over-baked them slightly though as they were not as chewy as I would have liked them to be. Other than that small detail, these were lovely.

So tell me, what are you guys making this holiday season?

Peanut Butter Blondies with Milk Chocolate Frosting

Slight adapted from Joy the Baker

Makes one 9-inch square pan

Ingredients

Blondies

1 cup (120 g) unbleached all-purpose flour

½ tsp. baking powder 

¼ tsp. salt

5 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed

1 cup (192 g) dark brown sugar

½ cup (128 g) creamy peanut butter

1 egg, room temperature

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Milk Chocolate Frosting

3 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

1 ½ tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/8 tsp. salt

¾ cup powdered sugar

1-1  ½ tsp. milk

¼ cup (60 g) milk chocolate, melted

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line a square baking pan with tin foil. Grease the foil with cooking spray; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, set aside. Melt the butter and sugar together in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until butter and sugar have melted into each other. Stir in the peanut butter. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool for several minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well incorporated. Gently add in the flour, careful not to over mix it. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread. (My batter was pretty thick, but I had used the whisk melted butter and dry sugar method.)

Place the pan in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes. Allow the blondies to cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting: beat the butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed. Sift the cocoa powder, salt, and the powdered sugar into the bowl in small increments, you don’t want cocoa and sugar all over your floors. Add the milk, ½ tbsp. at a time. Pour the melted chocolate into the bowl and beat until fully incorporated. Frost the cooled blondies and cut into servings.