Pecan Shortbread Cookies

These were some of the most delicious cookies I've ever tasted. It was crumbly, buttery, nutty and not overly sweet. Tracy and I both admit that we couldn't just eat one and put it away. The chocolate dipped ones were just as good although it got to be a little messy due to the summer heat. Tracy brought some home to share with her hubby and she said he couldn't stop eating them either. She said the cookies didn't last longer than a day. I saved some for Chance on the kitchen island but didn't let him know because I didn't want him to make a meal out of it. However, when Tam and I were munching the next day, Chance obviously saw us and helped himself to a few and was sharing enough to give his brother Ty some as well and before you know it, the entire plate was gone. It's nice to see that everyone (adults and kids) enjoyed this recipe. I'll definitely make this again.

Pecan Shortbread
1999, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, All Rights Reserved
Prep Time: 15 min Inactive Prep Time: 30 min Cook Time: 20 min Level:
Easy Serves:
20 to 24 cookies Ingredients
3/4 pound unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups small diced pecans
Directions
Cook's Note: This recipe can easily be doubled, as what was shown in the episode.


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.


In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla and almond extracts. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter/sugar mixture. Add the pecans and mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.


Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut into 2 1/2-inch squares with a plain or fluted cutter (or cut into any shape you like). Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet.


Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature and serve.

Thai Red Curry with Chicken

I found this recipe for red curry and really like that there's also a recipe on how to make your own curry paste. I never thought that making curry paste could be this simple. It's just a matter of gathering all the ingredients and pureeing everything into a paste. The most time consuming part of making this is the paste itself. Preparing the curry is quite easy. I didn't exactly use the same ingredients as called for in this recipe. I substituted the duck meat for chicken and added carrots, russet potatoes, thai tomatoes, and was going to add taro as well but the pot was getting to be too full, so I left it out. I also used only 1 can of coconut milk and added water to cover the ingredients. I had to also add some salt and fish sauce for seasoning/taste. This turned out quite alright. Although, next time I would probably add more paste, more veggies, and more salt/fish sauce. I tend to like my food well seasoned especially if I am going to eat it with rice/bread.


http://wanderingchopsticks.blogspot.com/2008/11/thai-red-curry-paste.html
Thai Red Curry Paste
Adapted from "Step-By-Step Thai Cookery" by Hilaire Walden.

For about 1/2 cup, you'll need:
2 stalks lemongrass, thinly sliced
1 2-inch knob ginger (or galangal if you want to be authentic)
Peel from 1 lime (kaffir if you want to be authentic)
1 tblsp Mam Ruoc (Vietnamese Fermented Shrimp Paste)
1 shallot
4 garlic cloves
2 large chilies or 6 small chilies, or however much heat you can stand, de-seed if necessary
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp black pepper

Add all ingredients to a food processor and puree until finely minced, scrapping the sides down if necessary. Freeze any leftover paste.



Thai Red Curry with Roast Duck, Bamboo Shoots, Eggplant, and Pumpkin

For a very large pot, you'll need:
Thai Red Curry Paste
About 1 cup pumpkin, diced
About 1 cup bamboo shoots, sliced
About 6 Thai eggplants, cut into segments and soak in salty water to draw out mucous
2 13-oz cans Coconut Milk
1/2 roast duck
As many sprigs of Thai basil as you'd like, leaves removed
Nuoc Mam (Vietnamese Fish Sauce), to taste

Begin by making my recipe for Thai red curry paste, or use packaged paste. Set aside.

Dice the pumpkin into 1-inch chunks. If the pumpkin rind is too hard, pop it in the microwave for 5 to 10 minutes to soften.

Cut the Thai eggplant into quarters or eighths and let them soak in salty water to draw out the black mucous. You may substitute with one Japanese eggplant or a small Italian eggplant.

Pull the roast duck from the bones, skin also if you wish. Set aside.

Do not shake your can of coconut milk. See the coconut cream in the photo below? Spoon that out, reserving the liquid in the can. I like my curries very creamy, so do this with both cans. If you want to cut down on coconut milk, then use just one can and sub water for the rest.

Dry fry the coconut cream with as much curry paste as you'd like. I like a lot, so I used my whole batch. You can start with 1 or 2 tblsp of paste and see how you like it. It's easy enough to add more, but you can't remove it once everything is incorporated.

Keep stirring until you get a nice, smooth paste.

Then add in the rest of the coconut milk liquid. Then fill each can halfway with water, swish it around get the last of the coconut milk and pour that into the pot. If you're only using one can of coconut milk, then fill up the can completely so that there's enough liquid for the curry. Drain the eggplants and add them, along with the pumpkin and bamboo shoots. Make sure there's enough water to cover all the ingredients. Turn the heat down to medium-low and let simmer for at least half an hour.

Check to see if the curry has thickened to your liking and the vegetables have softened. Add a few squirts of fish sauce if necessary. Add the roast duck and Thai basil leaves and let simmer for an additional 10 minutes.

Serve with french bread or with rice.

Chocolate Matcha Bundt Cake

I actually didn't make this in a budnt pan because I didn't have 1hr&15min to wait for this to bake so I used a 9x13 brownie pan and cut the bake time to about 30 minutes. It came out pretty well. I didn't do as good a job creating the marble look because I just dumped the entire chocolate mixture first and then the matcha mixture and sort of stirred the two together. It got all mixed up and the matcha green ended up looking more brown. Don't let the looks deceive you. It really is a delicious cake. Of course you have no idea what I am talking about because I didn't take any pictures. Maybe next time I'll do better..


Chocolate Matcha Bundt Cake
http://www.bakerella.com/bundt%E2%80%A6-whats-matcha/

Chocolate Mixture
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Matcha mixture
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2-3 Tbsp matcha powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Wet ingredients
3 cups sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 eggs, room temperature
1 3/4 cup milk, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Grease and flour (or cocoa) a 10 or 12 cup Bundt pan. (If using a 10-cup pan, you can reserve any extra batter for cupcakes.)
With a wire whisk, mix the dry ingredients for the chocolate mixture in a small bowl and set aside.
In another small bowl, do the same for the matcha mixture.
Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, milk and vanilla and mix until thoroughly combined.
Divide the creamed mixture evenly in two separate bowls.
Slowly add the chocolate mixture to one half of the creamed mixture and mix thoroughly.
Then, add the matcha mixture to the other half of the creamed mixture and mix thoroughly.
Drop alternating spoonfuls of each mixture into the bundt pan until it’s about 3/4 full.
For a marbled effect, gently run a knife through the two batters in a swirling motion. (Once or twice will do the trick.)
Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies & Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

I have been craving these chocolate chip cookies for days now and finally got the chance to make a batch of each kind. I got greedy and couldn't just make one kind. I had all the ingredients for both, so I figured why not. You might think that I ate it all myself but that was not the case. I did share a lot of these cookies with coworkers and friends and family and whomever wants one. I think everyone enjoyed it. Who doesn't like a cookie every now and then or maybe one a day. I think one per day is not too bad right? It might not be good for your health but it sure is good for the taste buds and sometimes that overrides everything else. I don't really want to admit it, but this happens to me a lot. yeah.

Magnolia Bakery Vanilla Cupcakes & Snickerdoodles (Tina & Lena's Birthday)

We celebrated Tina's early birthday and Lena's belated birthday with Cupcakes and snickerdoodles baking at midnight. I had to wait for my little ones to go to bed first and then join them in baking. We had such a fun day filled with activities and there's not a better to end the day than to bake and eat fresh baked cupcakes right before bedtime. We were singing birthday songs and blowing out candles while the werewolves were coming out at night. How crazy! These kids really had the energy of an energizer bunny. Just kept going and going and never seem to run of battery. As tired as I was that day, it was so much fun spending some quality time with family. The girls enjoyed baking and were very hands on. They measured out the ingredients, mixed everything and even decorated the cupcakes. They did such a wonderful job. I love how the cupcakes look so enticing. It really was yummilicious. You should have been there to try one.




Magnolia's Vanilla Cupcakes from the Food Network website:

Ingredients
Cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Icing:
Vanilla Buttercream, recipe follows
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 2 (1/2 cup-12 capacity) muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Marshmallow Frosting: (can't remember where I found this recipe but it was from the internet)

1 TBSP milk
3 TBSP sugar
1/2 bag of marshmallow (~6 oz)
1 TBSP boiling Water
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

In a iny sauce pan on very low heat, warm the milk and sugar. Make sure it doesn't boil over, just want to heat it up.

In a double boiler, melt the marshmallows. When they start to soften, add the boiling water and stir.

Remove from the heat. In your mixer bowl pour the melted marshmallow in as well as the vanilla and beat. Beat in the melted milk/sugar until cooled.

Use an offset spatula to frost. This is very very sticky.

P.S. we only needed about 1/2 the frosting we made.

Vanilla cupcakes & doll cake

Krystin and I volunteered to make Cara's birthday cake this year. So we got together this day to test out the decoration on the doll cake and the lavender infused whipped cream frosting for the vanilla cupcakes. It was our first time using dried lavender and I think we did something wrong the first round because the cream wouldn't whip to a stiff peak. We whipped the heavy cream for a good 10 minutes I think and it just sort of turned into lumps or butter? It was at a point of no return and could not be salvaged or at least we didnt' want to chance having this happen again the 2nd round. So we did a fresh batch and BOY! it really turned out great. The lavender flavor was very subtle and the cream was very light. I could have eaten more but I had to refrain. I have to watch my waist line these days... especially with the slowing metabolism, old age..etc..etc..
Cara and Chance helped with lining the muffin tins. Cara also helped with cutting the purple marshmallow fondant into little shapes for decorating the skirt. We used Betty Crocker cake mixes and premade yellow buttercream frosting for the doll skirt. Krystin decorated the skirt with Cara's help. I think she's got a natural talent for cake decorating. Her hands are a lot steadier than mine that's for sure. My only concern now is I am not sure if we can duplicate the colors for the actual day. I guess we will have to wait and see. I will keep you posted.

Here's the recipe. Enjoy!

Vanilla Cupcakes
from Amy Sedaris
16 cupcakes

1½ sticks unsalted butter
1¾ cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
2½ teaspoons baking powder
2½ cups flour
1¼ cups milk

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.
2. In large bowl, cream together butter and sugar.
3. Beat in eggs, vanilla, salt and baking powder.
4. Add flour in 3 batches, alternating with milk.
5. Beat at low speed for 30 seconds or until mixture is smooth and satiny.
6. Divide batter evenly among cups. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until tops are pale gold and toothpick or skewer inserted into center comes out clean.
7. Cool on wire rack for 45 minutes or until at room temperature.


Lavender Frosting Ingredients
http://everythingbaked.blogspot.com/2007/05/fairy-cakes-with-lavender-frosting.html

1/3 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon dried lavender
3 cups icing sugar
Violet gel paste food color

Carrot Cake

We had three birthdays this month at work so I volunteered to bring a cake. I have been wanting to make a carrot cake for a while now and this was the perfect opportunity to do so. I found so many recipes online and was not sure which would be the best one to use. So I improvised and ended up making my own version of the cake. I think I added too many ingredients because the cake turned out a little dense. Other than that, most people thought it was moist and delicious. They all thought I should quit my job and open a bakery. Of course, I told them I would never leave my job. I can't even remember which carrot cake recipe I based this off of except for the fact that I added coconut flakes, raisins (soaked in homemade wine 24hrs prior to using), substituted 1/2 the oil with applesauce, and added about an extra 1/2 cup of carrots. I might have over baked it by about 10 minutes too. Plus the cake was made a day ahead and kept in the fridge. For the topping, I used toasted coconut flakes on top and chopped pecans on the sides of the cake. If I were to make this again next time, I am going to tweak it somehow so that the cake would be lighter in texture.

A two layer carrot cake with pecans - frost with the cream cheese frosting.
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
2 cups sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 cups grated carrots
2 cups chopped pecans
Preparation:
Measure and sift together all dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Blend in the oil and eggs. Fold in grated carrots and chopped pecans. Spoon batter into 2 greased and floured round layer cake pans. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes. Frost with cream cheese frosting

Whipped Cream Cream Cheese Frosting:

Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 cup white sugar (I probably used a little more than 1/4 cup only)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Directions
In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.
In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in whipped cream.