Just ONE spoonful of sugar!? Better make that two cups...
Other than a couple of weeks for my Wilderness First Responder training, I've been staying at Mount Rainier National Park with Brian. I of course intended to get fully reacquainted with the park and do lots of hikes and snowshoe in different areas, and although I was able to do some of that, often times the weather was not very conducive to long days of outdoor activities. So I had to take on some other activities instead!
Of course I crafted a bit, mostly finishing up a scarf and working on some slippers (post to follow), but the rainy weather left me craving baked goods, and the idea of the oven helping to warm up the house was definitely welcomed.
One night after dinner, Brian and I fantasized about some ridiculous chocolate-raspberry-coffee-cream-cake explosion. After realizing that we lacked the ingredients and the know-how to make our dream dessert, I decided it was time to take on a few baking projects. I went into town the next day to get basic baking supplies, and started to put them to use.
I've baked plenty in the past, but never really "from scratch". What has surprised me the most is that the seemingly excessive amounts of sugar needed for most delicious recipes doesn't bother me at all. Adding cup after cup of sugar somehow brightens my day and even gives me just a bit more hope for the future of mankind. But maybe I'm just crazy and really excited about cookies and cakes.
Anyway, I've spent the past few weeks putting the oven to good use and have had some pretty wonderful results. Here are the highlights!
Chocolate Chip Cookies
How could I not start with a classic? My sister advised that the recipe she's liked best for chocolate chip cookies has been the recipe from Nestle Tollhouse. Following her suggestion, I used this recipe and I have to agree; they were delicious! I even took some to a potluck and got great reviews. Not a bad confidence booster for my first time!
Big Soft Ginger Cookies
Brian and I both absolutely love all things ginger, especially cookies, so the next recipe choice was obvious. These ginger cookies were quite easy to make, and they definitely came out big, soft, and really, really tasty. The amount of ginger was perfect, and I appreciated the molasses for the added iron and magnesium. It's hard to turn down another cookie when it's got at least a little more nutritional value.
Skillet Pineapple Upside Down Cake
After a visit to the grocery store, we ended up with quite a bit of fresh pineapple because of a good sale. With an extra pineapple sitting on the counter, I quickly saw the opportunity to make one of my favorite desserts. We don't have any cake pans in the house, but we have an awesome cast iron skillet, so I found a recipe specific for that use.
This recipe is a little more work intensive (especially since I had to cut the pineapple), but it was so much more than worth it. The cake had a fantastic flavor and texture, but the top "crust" was the best part. The recipe instructs you to melt butter into the pan and sprinkle a layer of brown sugar before adding the pineapple and the cake batter. As it bakes, the butter and brown sugar crystallizes with juice from the pineapple slices and creates something absolutely magical.
The Best Brownies
The recipe might be "the best" but my production of these brownies was not my best work. I used the cast iron skillet again, but didn't think about the dimensions of the skillet compared to the smaller pan size suggested for use in the recipe. Long story short, I over-baked them and they got dry.
I will use this recipe again, though! It's one of the simplest and easy to follow recipes that I found online and it had great reviews from other users. My brownies were still edible, and even had a decent flavor after I baked them for too long, so I have no doubt they will turn out awesome the next time around.
Perfectly Chocolate Cake
Last but certainly not least, is the chocolate cake that may have changed my life. I used this recipe simply because it most closely matched the ingredients I had at the house (I didn't want to have to substitute things like buttermilk found in other recipes), but I'm extremely pleased with the results. The only thing I changed in the recipe was using hot coffee instead of hot water. The flavor difference was subtle, but I loved that it took a little bit off of the sweetness edge. I made this in the cast iron skillet (just had to follow one of the other time/temperature adjustments listed in the directions) and it came out moist and dense, but not too heavy.
For the icing, I found a recipe that doesn't use powdered sugar since we didn't have any at the house. This One Minute Chocolate Icing took just a little longer than a minute, but is marvelous. To get a little more kick out of the rich fudge-y goodness, I added a touch of ground cinnamon and ground clove to the icing. To finish, I sprinkled coconut flakes over the top off the cake. Eating this with a cup of coffee for dessert was heavenly, and has solidified the love of yet another activity for me.
Of course I crafted a bit, mostly finishing up a scarf and working on some slippers (post to follow), but the rainy weather left me craving baked goods, and the idea of the oven helping to warm up the house was definitely welcomed.
One night after dinner, Brian and I fantasized about some ridiculous chocolate-raspberry-coffee-cream-cake explosion. After realizing that we lacked the ingredients and the know-how to make our dream dessert, I decided it was time to take on a few baking projects. I went into town the next day to get basic baking supplies, and started to put them to use.
I've baked plenty in the past, but never really "from scratch". What has surprised me the most is that the seemingly excessive amounts of sugar needed for most delicious recipes doesn't bother me at all. Adding cup after cup of sugar somehow brightens my day and even gives me just a bit more hope for the future of mankind. But maybe I'm just crazy and really excited about cookies and cakes.
Anyway, I've spent the past few weeks putting the oven to good use and have had some pretty wonderful results. Here are the highlights!
Chocolate Chip Cookies
How could I not start with a classic? My sister advised that the recipe she's liked best for chocolate chip cookies has been the recipe from Nestle Tollhouse. Following her suggestion, I used this recipe and I have to agree; they were delicious! I even took some to a potluck and got great reviews. Not a bad confidence booster for my first time!
Big Soft Ginger Cookies
Brian and I both absolutely love all things ginger, especially cookies, so the next recipe choice was obvious. These ginger cookies were quite easy to make, and they definitely came out big, soft, and really, really tasty. The amount of ginger was perfect, and I appreciated the molasses for the added iron and magnesium. It's hard to turn down another cookie when it's got at least a little more nutritional value.
Skillet Pineapple Upside Down Cake
After a visit to the grocery store, we ended up with quite a bit of fresh pineapple because of a good sale. With an extra pineapple sitting on the counter, I quickly saw the opportunity to make one of my favorite desserts. We don't have any cake pans in the house, but we have an awesome cast iron skillet, so I found a recipe specific for that use.
This recipe is a little more work intensive (especially since I had to cut the pineapple), but it was so much more than worth it. The cake had a fantastic flavor and texture, but the top "crust" was the best part. The recipe instructs you to melt butter into the pan and sprinkle a layer of brown sugar before adding the pineapple and the cake batter. As it bakes, the butter and brown sugar crystallizes with juice from the pineapple slices and creates something absolutely magical.
The Best Brownies
The recipe might be "the best" but my production of these brownies was not my best work. I used the cast iron skillet again, but didn't think about the dimensions of the skillet compared to the smaller pan size suggested for use in the recipe. Long story short, I over-baked them and they got dry.
I will use this recipe again, though! It's one of the simplest and easy to follow recipes that I found online and it had great reviews from other users. My brownies were still edible, and even had a decent flavor after I baked them for too long, so I have no doubt they will turn out awesome the next time around.
Perfectly Chocolate Cake
Last but certainly not least, is the chocolate cake that may have changed my life. I used this recipe simply because it most closely matched the ingredients I had at the house (I didn't want to have to substitute things like buttermilk found in other recipes), but I'm extremely pleased with the results. The only thing I changed in the recipe was using hot coffee instead of hot water. The flavor difference was subtle, but I loved that it took a little bit off of the sweetness edge. I made this in the cast iron skillet (just had to follow one of the other time/temperature adjustments listed in the directions) and it came out moist and dense, but not too heavy.
For the icing, I found a recipe that doesn't use powdered sugar since we didn't have any at the house. This One Minute Chocolate Icing took just a little longer than a minute, but is marvelous. To get a little more kick out of the rich fudge-y goodness, I added a touch of ground cinnamon and ground clove to the icing. To finish, I sprinkled coconut flakes over the top off the cake. Eating this with a cup of coffee for dessert was heavenly, and has solidified the love of yet another activity for me.
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