Fun New Detective Series – by Joanne Fluke

The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder is a fun book that came highly recommended, and free, from a friend. I don’t think I would have picked it up off the shelf, because I am ashamed to admit that I often base my book buying decisions on the cover art, and this one is sadly lacking.  It is a quick, easy read that is entertaining on a couple of levels.

I am still trying to decide if I liked the mystery or the included recipes best.  I really appreciate the main character, Hannah Swensen, as she is a strong, independent small business owner.  Hannah is not intimidating or overwhelming, and is therefore very believable as a main character from a small town.  Both the strong tie to the setting, Minnesota in this case, and the relationship between Hannah and her mother had me remembering my first Stephanie Plum mystery.  I haven’t tried any of the cookie recipes that were included throughout the book, but I do have plans to do so this weekend and will report back with pictures and a full review then.

For now, if you are looking for a cozy mystery to read at the beach or poolside, I would recommend this one for a quick and easy read.

Great New Recipe From a Great Site

I was in a hurry one day during the holiday madness to find a quick and easy dessert to make to share with co-workers at our annual Christmas Lunch and stumbled upon a site I had not been to before.  My Recipes is a great place to search for new dishes to try, and they have helped me plan several parties already in the few short weeks I have spent surfing their site.

There were quite a few amazing recipes to choose from for my party at work, but I finally settled on the recipe below.  Not only did this become my favorite new Christmas goody to make, but it makes a double batch, so you will have two tarts when you are done.  I froze one and used it a week later at a family gathering and got lots of compliments, in fact my sister-in-law was so anxious to have this recipe that she took the one I had used and couldn’t wait for me to email it later!  The other great thing about this recipe is that it is rich enough that you can cut it into very small fudge-like portions and make it go quite a long way.

Peppermint Brownie Tarts   

Ingredients

·         4  (1-ounce) unsweetened chocolate baking squares

·         1  cup  butter, softened

·         2  cups  sugar

·         4  large eggs

·         1  cup  all-purpose flour

·         1  teaspoon  vanilla extract

·         1  cup  semisweet chocolate morsels

·         1/2  cup  butter, softened

·         1  (16-ounce) package powdered sugar

·         1/3  cup  milk

·         1/4  teaspoon  peppermint oil

·         1  Chocolate Glaze

·         1/2  cup  crushed peppermint candy canes

Preparation

Microwave chocolate squares in a microwave-safe bowl at MEDIUM (50% power) 1 1/2 minutes, stirring at 30-second intervals until melted. Stir until smooth.

Beat 1 cup butter and 2 cups sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Add melted chocolate, beating just until blended.

Add flour, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in vanilla and chocolate morsels. Spread batter evenly into 2 greased and floured 9-inch tart pans with removable bottoms.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely on wire racks.

Beat 1/2 cup butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add powdered sugar alternately with milk, beating at low speed after each addition. Stir in peppermint oil.

Divide butter mixture between each tart, spreading evenly over cooled brownies in pans; cover and chill 1 hour or until firm. Divide Chocolate Glaze evenly between each tart, spreading over chilled butter mixture in pans. Sprinkle crushed peppermint candy around outer edge of each tart

Fantastically Fun Baking Site

I have been baking for weeks, and am elated and terribly sad today.  I found Fancy Flours today, a week AFTER Christmas!

I am somewhat new to really fancy baking sites, so perhaps this is already a very popular site, but I was blown away today by their inventory.  I found a Bundt pan on sale in the shape of a cathedral, which I simply can’t wait to use next Christmas (hmmm . . . wonder if I can use if for Easter dinner too).  I also found all kinds of cupcake paraphernalia and more cookie cutters than I have ever seen in one place before.  I think what really blew me away though was that they had these cool chocolate transfer sheets to turn ordinary treats into works of art.  

If you love to bake, and you haven’t been to this site, grab a drink and curl up somewhere comfortable so you can spend a while at this awesome website!

Cafe Thursday – Peanut Butter Cookies

And the mad dash of holiday baking at my house has now begun.  Every year I try to get the kids involved in some holiday baking.  Although they are teenagers, I find that with a little encouragement, both teens are actually happy to help make cookies as it is a bit of a tradition in our house and we all find comfort in the activity. 

DD and I made these peanut butter cookies already and they were delicious!  I tweaked a recipe that I found over at the Joy of Baking site.  I used her peanut butter cookie recipe, but added some peanut butter chips, and then drizzled melted white chocolate on top of the cookies.  They were super rich and warm and wonderful, and when paired with a glass of milk they are Heaven on Earth!

I think the next cookie on our list will be some chocolate mint cookies that are so rich and sweet you can only eat one.  Watch for that recipe in the next couple of days.

Thanksgiving Menu

Everyone has their own Thanksgiving traditions and menus, so I thought I would post mine as both an archive for me for next year, and just in case it may be interesting or helpful to anyone else who may be putting together a last minute list.

Thanksgiving Menu

Turkey soaked in William-Sonoma brine

Stuffing (my own recipe, but could use stovetop, add onions, celery, sausage and raisins)

Sweet Potato Casserole (I add a row of mini marshmellows to the top for DH)

Mashed Potatoes with gravy

Green Bean Cassarole

Corn

Rolls

Relish tray

Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie

Apple Crisp

More Baking Fun

DD and I have had some more fun baking our new favorite treat, cake balls! 

We needed to make a snack for a bake sale at school, and while the sale was a bust, we sure did make lots of friends happy with our treats.

Ours are not as cute as the ones over at Bakerella, but we did ok for our first time out I think.  They look more like mushrooms than cupcakes I think, maybe that is why no one bought any.  I made mine out of red velvet cake and next time I will use chocolate cake like Bakerella did.

Finally Friday Fun – Halloween Cake Balls

Long story short, I went to one of my favorite sites yesterday, The Pioneer Woman, and she had a post about some Halloween cake balls she made.  She said that she got the idea from Bakerella, and now I have another favorite site.  As luck would have it, DD had just sent me a text message reminding me that she needed treats for today so we gave it a go.  Now, ours are not nearly as cute as Pioneer Woman’s or Bakerella’s, but my daughter was impressed and was excited to share them with her friends, so in my book, that is all that matters!

Happy Halloween!

Dealing With Christmas Stess – Part 2

 

As promised, today I will share one of my secrets for dealing with Christmas stress this year.  I am cheating.

That is right, the second thing I stress out about most years is all of the baking I have to do in order to take cookies everywhere I go.  I am not gonna slave in the kitchen for hours upon hours trying to make the perfect cookie this year!  I am going to start with some dough provided by good old Pillsbury, and go from there.

In fact, over at the Pillsbury site they have some pretty darn good looking recipes that I plan to use, as well as some of my own editing of their dough.  Why reinvent the wheel?  Most cookies consist of sugar, butter, flour, I think that is what is in the Pillsbury stuff . . . right?

And instead of making 30 different kinds of cookies, I am going to narrow in on a couple and do them really well.

Finally Friday Fun

The weather forcast for here in Chicago this weekend is not so pretty. Lots of cold wet stuff, either snow or slush or slushy rain, so we are making plans at our house to do lots of baking.
One of my favorite Christmas cookie recipes has been handed down from generation to generation. It is an odd recipe, but a good one. My daughter and I will be making some of these up tomorrow. . .

CANDY LASSES (Christmas cookies)

Cream: 2/3 cup butter

¼ cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugarBlend: 1 egg
2 tbsp. MolassesAdd: ½ cup peppermint candy canes crushed

Sift: 2 cups flour
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. ginger

Beat well after blending in egg and molasses—then stir in peppermint candy and dry ingredients—drop by teaspoon onto greased cookie sheets—bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.

Cool cookies for at least 5 minutes before removing from sheets.

Frost cookies with peppermint frosting.

To make peppermint frosting, add red food coloring, a few drops of peppermint flavoring, and some crushed peppermint candy canes to plain vanilla frosting.