Happy Valentine's Day: Biscoff Kisses

For Valentine's Day I wanted to make something fun and playful.  Unfortunately, my boyfriend won't be in town until this weekend, so I will be sharing these cookies with family and friends, which is great too.  I will be making a special dessert this weekend to celebrate Valentine's Day with him as well.

I decided to do a take on the holiday staple, The Peanut Blossom.  You know, the peanut butter cookie that has the Hershey's kiss pressed in the middle of the cookie.  I love those cookies, but I wanted to make them a bit differently.  Have you heard of Biscoff cookies?  They are those tasty, lightly spiced cookies that you get when you are on a Delta flight.  Well the makers of these cookies have come up with Biscoff Spread.  It's basically similar in texture to Nutella or Peanut butter, but it taste just like those delicious cookies.

image from Biscoff.com

I used the Biscoff Spread in place of peanut butter, and instead of the typical solid milk chocolate kiss, I used the Hershey's Kisses that are filled with caramel.  I know, right?  I thought they would go well with the Biscoff flavor, and I wasn't disappointed.  The Biscoff flavor is pretty subtle, but it adds a nice flavor that is sweet and delicious.  You could make these cookies with Nutella or peanut butter if you can't find the Biscoff spread, but I do recommend you seek it out because it's delicious.

Biscoff Kisses

    adapted from Land O'Lakes

    makes 30-36 cookies

For the cookies:

• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup Biscoff spread
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda

For rolling and finishing the cookies:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 30-36 Caramel-filled Hershey Kisses

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Combine the 1/3 cup white sugar, the brown sugar, the butter, and the Biscoff spread in a large bowl.  Using a mixer, beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add the egg, vanilla, and salt and continue beating until well mixed.  Scraping the bowl as you go along, add the flour and the baking soda and mix until the flour is fully incorporated.  At this point, if the dough is too soft you can refrigerate it until it is a bit firmer (30-60 minutes).

Shape dough into small balls.  I used a 2 tsp cookie scoop to make uniform sized cookies.  This is a bit bigger than the 1-inch balls that the original recipe calls for, but I like my cookies a bit bigger.  Rolls the balls in the additional 1/4 sugar and place on cookie sheets that are covered in parchment paper, spaced at least 2 inches apart.  

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes (for bigger cookies) or 8-10 minutes (for smaller cookies) until the cookies are lightly golden brown.  When you remove the cookies from the oven, immediately press an unwrapped Hershey kiss in the middle of the cookie.  Place the cookies on a wire rack to cool completely.  

Note: The caramel filled kisses are a bit more delicate than the solid chocolate ones, so be careful not to disturb the cookies while they are cooling or the kisses with melt into funny shapes.  (See below, not so pretty, right?)

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Easy Blackberry Cake

If you are looking for an easy weeknight cake studded with delicious fruit, then this is recipe for you.  I found this over at Pioneer Woman's website.   She calls it a cobbler, but to me, cobbler is usually a fruit filling topped with a biscuit-like crust.  In this recipe you make a batter, then scatter the fruit over top, and as the cake/cobbler bakes, the fruit sinks down into the batter and releases its delicious juices.  She does have another recipe for blackberry cobbler that is more like to kind I am used to, and I will have to try it sometime.

So like I said, this is an easy weeknight recipe, and you will see why.  It's a recipe that comes together in a flash, you don't even need to get out your mixer.  You can easily throw it in the oven while you are baking dinner on the stovetop, and it will be ready by the time you are finished eating dinner.  I made mine with blackberries like the Pioneer Woman did, but I think it would be good with almost any fruit.  I would love to try cherries, blueberries, or peaches as well.


Easy Blackberry Cake

• 1 stick of butter, melted
• 1 cup of sugar, divided (3/4 cup and 1/4 cup)
• 1 cup self-rising flour (or 1 cup flour, 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder, and 1/2 tsp. salt)
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups blackberries 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a baking dish (I used a glass pie pan).

Melt the stick of butter in the microwave.  In a separate bowl, combine 3/4 cup sugar and 1 cup flour, slowly pour in the milk and mix well.   Then pour in melted butter, and mix until it is fully incorporated into the batter.

Rinse and thoroughly dry the blackberries.  Pour batter into the prepared baking dish and scatter the blackberries over the top of the batter.  Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup over the top of the cake.  (Don't skip this step, as it gives a sweet, crisp top to the cake).

Bake in the oven until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.  For me it was about 40 minutes, but the original recipe calls for up to one hour.  So check around 35 minutes, and keep close watch from there.  Remove from oven, and cool on a wire rack.  Serve alone or with ice cream or whipped cream.


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Pumpkin Apple Donuts with Apple Cider Glaze

Fall is my favorite time of year.  Living in the Midwest, you get to experience the best of it.  The leaves change color, and it's finally getting cooler.  It's this time of year that you start to see all the pumpkin recipes showing up on the blogs and in the cooking magazines.  I love pumpkin desserts, and after I got this pan on sale the other day, I knew I wanted to make pumpkin donuts.  I had some honeycrisp apples (another wonderful fall occurence) on hand, so when I found this recipe from Cherry Tea Cakes for Pumpkin Apple donuts, I knew I had to try them out.  


These donuts are really delicious, they are cake-like considering they are baked and not fried, and the apple cider glaze add a spicy sweet topping to the apple filled donuts.  I altered the original recipe a bit by decreasing the amount of sugar and increasing the spices in the batter.  I also swapped out some of the white sugar for brown sugar to incorporate a deeper more molasses-like flavor to the donuts.  I think the changes turned out well.  You will have some extra glaze left over after you dip the donuts, but I just spooned some over the donuts once the first glaze had dried to add an extra sweet layer.  I will definitely be making these again.  


If you didn't have a donut pan, you could always bake these in muffin tins, but you would have to increase the baking time a bit. 




Pumpkin Apple Donuts with Apple Cider Glaze
    makes 10-12 donuts


For the donuts:

• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup white sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼  teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• ½  cup canned pumpkin puree
• ¼  cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup peeled, cored and chopped apple

For the glaze:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• ¼ cup, or less of spiced apple cider or milk if you don't have cider
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease donut or muffins pans.  

In a large bowl sift together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. 

In a separate bowl, mix together egg, white and brown sugar, pumpkin and oil. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stirring just to moisten. Fold in apples. Spoon batter into doughnut molds filling roughly half full to three quarters full.  

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let sit in the pan for a few minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.  Allow to fully cool before dipping in the glaze.  

To make the apple cinnamon glaze,  mix powdered sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Add cider or milk until you reach the desired consistency. Dip each doughnut in and allow glaze to set.  If you have any extra glaze you can always spoon it over the donuts once the first layer of glaze has fully set.  

Butterfinger Cookies

I've never been a huge fan of Butterfinger candy bars, they always seemed brittle and crumbly, and they got stuck in my teeth.  However, when I saw this recipe from Lori over at Recipe Girl, I thought it sounded intriguing.  The Butterfinger pieces actually melt in the batter and become chewy bits of toffee-like chocolate and peanut butter.  I love toffee and peanut butter, so count me in.

These cookies were pretty great.  They were chewy and sweet, with a slight peanut butter flavor, and Lori was right, the Butterfinger does turn into chewy bits of toffee.  I would definitely make these again. Thanks Lori for another great recipe!


Butterfinger Cookies
    adapted from Recipe Girl

• 1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature 
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups plus 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt (if using unsalted butter)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups Butterfinger pieces (I used a sharp knife to cut them up into chunks, you also end up with a lot of crumbly pieces too)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and vanilla and mix until thoroughly incorporated.  In another bowl, combine the flour, salt (if using), and baking soda.  Add to the butter/egg mixture and mix until just combined.  Stir in the Butterfinger pieces.  Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 min.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper and drop rounded tablespoons of dough (I used a medium cookie scoop) at least 3 inches apart on the sheets (the cookies will flatten and spread out).
Bake cookies for about 12 minutes or until golden brown.  Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Nectarine and Blueberry-Almond Cobbler

With summer in full swing, I thought it was a good time to post this recipe.  I adapted this recipe from David Lebovitz's book Ready for Dessert.  This book is full of lovely desserts and when I saw that the topping for the cobbler contained almond paste, I knew I had to try it.  David also has a really great blog with recipes and musings on his life in Paris.  The original cobbler called for cherries, which I also want to try, but this time I decided to make it with a combination of nectarines and blueberries.  They go very well together with the sweetness of the nectarines balancing out the tartness of the blueberries.  It a simple recipe.  The fruit is tossed with some sugar and lemon juice, and the cobbler topping is spread on top.  This isn't a typical cobbler with a biscuit like topping.  This is more like a fluffy almond-flavored cake.  It goes really well with a scoop of ice cream.  I had to bake mine about 10 minutes longer than the original recipe called for, so if your topping gets too brown before the cake is fully baked, cover it with foil so it won't burn.  

On another note, I know I haven't posted much lately, but I plan on unveiling some new features on the blog soon, so I hope you keep reading.  Thanks!

Nectarine and Blueberry-Almond Cobbler

Filling:

• 2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (if using frozen, thaw and drain them)
• 3 1/2 cup nectarines, halved, pitted and sliced into 1/2 inch slices
• Juice of 1/2 lemon

Topping:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 7 oz. almond paste, crumbled 
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk (whole milk or 2%)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the filling, in a shallow 2-quart baking dish, toss the nectarines and blueberries with 2 tablespoons of sugar and the lemon juice

To make the topping, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the almond paste and 1/3 cup sugar on medium speed until the almond paste is broken into fine pieces.  Beat in the butter, then the egg and vanilla extract.  Add half of the flour mixture, followed by the milk, then the remaining flour mixture, mixing just until combined.

Spoon the batter evenly over the fruit in the baking dish.  Bake until the topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the topping comes out clean, about 45 minutes (mine took about 55 minutes)

Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream.  

Cherry and Peach Snack Cake

 

For a Mother's Day family gathering, I wanted to make something simple and not too rich.  I saw the first cherries of the season when I was at Whole Foods earlier this week, and I knew I wanted to include them in this dessert.  Since my dad isn't a huge fan of any kind of cherry that isn't in a pie, I decided to add peaches to the cake as well.  Another one of the reasons I wanted to use cherries is because I wanted to try out my new fancy Oxo Good Grips Cherry Pitter.  And let me say, it works really well, I know I will be making some pies this summer.  

I got the recipe for this cake from the America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book.  I really like America's Test Kitchen.  They take a scientific approach to each recipe they create, and I like to read about the steps they took to come to best recipe possible.  This is a really easy, quick recipe, great for weeknight or anytime you want a light cake that isn't too rich or elaborate.  It's great plain or with a dollop of whipped cream on top.  I think if I make this cake again, I might substitute half of the vanilla extract for almond extract or maybe top the cake with crystallized ginger for a different flavor.  Both would work well with cherries and peaches.

On a side note: I made a different cake originally, and it came out of the oven just like a hockey puck.  And I had made that cake before, so I was worried that my baking powder had become inactive, so I thought I would test it out.  A quick tip, to make sure you baking powder works, add a small amount to about 3-4 tablespoons of water, if it reacts and starts to bubble, then it still works.  This tip is the same for baking soda, but use vinegar instead of water (you know like the old volcano science experiments) :)

Cherry and Peach Snack Cake

     makes one 8 x 8 inch cake

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (or 1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 2 eggs  and 1 egg white, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup whole milk, room temperature (I used non-fat plain yogurt because I didn’t have any whole milk, it worked fine)
• 2 cups ripe fruit (any fruit would work, I used a combination of fresh, pitted cherries, and diced frozen peaches I thawed and drained thoroughly )

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan with butter and dust with flour.  Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and 3/4 cup sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy 3 to 6 minutes. Beat in the eggs and egg white, one at a time, until combined, about 30 seconds. Beat in the vanilla until incorporated.

Reduce the mixer to low and beat in one-third of the flour mixture, followed by half of the milk. Repeat with half of the remaining flour mixture and remaining milk. beat in the remaining flour mixture until just incorporated. Gently fold in the fruit with a rubber spatula. Note: The batter will be quick thick, so don't be alarmed.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top and gently tap the pan on the counter to settle the batter. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar evenly over the top. Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean with a few moist crumbs attached, 45 to 50 minutes. Let the cake cool slightly in the pan, about 30 minutes before serving.  Can be served warm or at room temperature. 

Nutella Rice Krispies Treats

I love Nutella.  For those who don't know, it is basically smooth hazelnut butter with cocoa added to it.  It is delectable, and when I saw this recipe for Nutella Rice Krispie Treats over at Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy, I knew I had to make them. 

This bars are very easy to make, just like the original Rice Krispies Treats, but with the addition of Nutella.  It makes the bars a bit richer, a bit chewier, and ultimately more delicious. 

Keep in mind, when you add the Nutella to the melted marshmallows and melted butter, it makes the marshmallows harder to stir than the typical recipe, and you need to make sure the Nutella is incorporated into the marshmallows before you add the Rice Krispies.  Also, the original recipe calls for you to use a 9 x13-inch pan, but I like my Rice Krispies Treats to be thick, so I use an 8 x 8-inch pan, and I just cut smaller squares than I would when using a 9 x 13-inch pan.  This results in a denser, chewier treat, but you can use either pan you like.




Nutella Rice Krispies Treats

Makes one 9 x 13 or one 8 x 8 inch pan

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons salted butter
• 1 package (10 oz.) regular marshmallows 
• 1 cup Nutella
• 6 cups Rice Krispies cereal 

Directions:

• Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat.  Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Stir in Nutella until fully incorporated. 
• Add cereal. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until they are well coated with the Nutella/marshmallow mixture.  It helps to spray a little nonstick cooking spray on the spoon to keep it from sticking.
• Using a sheet of wax paper, evenly press mixture into a 13 x 9-inch or 8 x 8-inch pan.  (I just coated my fingers with a little non-stick spray and used them to press down the treats.)

Cherry Cheesecake Cookies

I wanted to make something a bit different for my Dad's Superbowl party this year.  I always make my Pecan Tassies, and when I came across this recipe for Cherry Cheesecake Cookies on Tasty Kitchen, I knew I had to try these.  The recipe sounded so unique.  How could you make a cookie taste like cheesecake?  Well, this recipe accomplishes just that.  It basically combines a cheesecake batter with some butter and flour in order to make cookie dough.  The dough is then shaped into balls and rolled in graham cracker crumbs.  An indentation is made in the cookie, then 3 cherries from cherry pie filling are placed in the center and the cookies are baked.  These have a really great flavor, not quite cookie, not quite cheesecake, but very delicious!  The recipe on Tasty Kitchen says it makes 36 (but at the bottom it says 48), and the original recipe is found in America's Test Kitchen Holiday Cookie Magazine.  The original recipe says it makes about 4 dozen.  I used a 1 1/2 Tablespoon scoop, and I ended up with 52 cookies.  So if you don't want a ton of cookies you might want to cut the recipe in half.  I posted the recipe below, with my changes in red. These are not easy on the waistline, but for a special treat, they really hit the spot!


Cherry Cheesecake Cookies

• 3-½ cups All-purpose Flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 2-½ sticks Butter, Softened to room temperature
• 2 packages Cream Cheese (8 Oz Packages Softened to room temperature)
• 1-½ cup Sugar
• 2 whole Large Eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs (I used ½ cups of store bought graham cracker crumbs)
• 3 cans (21 Oz. Can) Cherry Pie Filling, Drained (I only needed 2 cans, I used Comstock Brand Cherry Pie Filling which claims to have more fruit in it)

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese, butter, and sugar until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture, and mix until just combined. Refrigerate dough until firm, at least 30 minutes.

Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place graham cracker crumbs in a shallow dish.

Roll dough into 1 ½ inch balls (or use the above mentioned cookie scoop), then roll in crumbs. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Using a tablespoon measure, make indentation in the center of each ball. Place 3 cherries in each dimple. 

Bake until golden around the edges, about 12 to 14 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking.  (My cookies took about 16 minutes)

Cool for 5 minutes on the sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. (Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for 2 days.)
 
Note: to make graham cracker crumbs, process 8 whole graham crackers in a food processor until finely ground.