White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies

For our family Christmas I made these delicious, soft and chewy cookies. The cranberry/white chocolate combo may be a bit festive but I still think they could be made year round. The blog I got them from emphasized cornstarch, dark brown sugar, and careful baking times to make perfectly soft cookies; however, I didn't have dark brown sugar and my cookies still turned out super soft and chewy.

Ingredients

- 3/4 cup butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp. cornstarch
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3/4 cup white chocolate chips*
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries*

*I used a little bit less of each, I found that there was a bit too many pieces compared to the amount of dough 

Directions

1. In a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars together on medium speed until fluffy and light in color. Mix in egg and vanilla. On low speed, mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt.

2. Stir in white chocolate chips & dried cranberries.

3. Chill dough (covered) for 30 minutes or up to 3 days.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly spray with cooking spray.   Drop balls of dough (1.5 tablespoons each) onto cookie sheet.

5. Bake for 8-9 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges. Do not cook them longer than 9 minutes, even if they look uncooked when you take them out, after letting them cool they will harden up. Remove and let cool for 5-10 minutes on the cookie sheet. Transfer to cooling rack.

After letting my dough cool overnight we had a massive hardened ball of dough.

Bonus: We also made Christmas holly cupcakes using M&Ms and green sugar cookies!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

What did you all do for Thanksgiving? Thanksgiving has never really been that big in my family but this year it was especially small with just my mom, brother, sister and I which really didn't work well with the fact that I was in the mood to cook all the things! Hence my mom and I made a massive feast for four people, two of whom are quite picky and didn't eat very much. Also my brother is now vegan and so with only two meat eaters we made an entirely vegetarian meal which my mom said felt like we were eating all side dishes. Whatever, it was delicious.

Turkey-less Thanksgiving... is it real Thanksgiving?

Most of the things we made were things I had made before including Caitlin's delicious stuffing from last year but one new recipe I tried was Pumpkin Cheesecake. The cheesecake was so good it makes me sad to think of it because I could not bring any of it back to school.

Also, funny side note, I got the recipe from the Philly Cheesecake Website and when I went to print it from my mom's computer I went to Kraft's website instead because they are the same company. Well it seems the Kraft people are a little crazy because the Festive Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe is only available x6, that is making 6 cheesecakes. When I printed it I was extremely confused as to why I needed 9lbs of cream cheese! Just curious as to why anyone would ever need to make 6 cheesecakes Kraft...

Ingredients
1 cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 and 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
3 eggs
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 and 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
3 250 g pkg. Light Philadelphia Brick Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup pecan halves
Some melted chocolate for pecans
9 inch Springform pan (go buy one if you don't have one, so key for cheesecake!)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine crumbs and butter and press into your springform pan. Set aside.
2. Mix pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar and cornstarch. Add pumpkin mixture.
4. Pour over crust and bake for 50-55 minutes. Cool completely at room temperature and then refrigerate for 4 hours minimum.
5. Melt chocolate in a ziploc and use to attach pecans. Serve with real whip cream if you really don't care about calories for the day.

Our beautiful centre piece!

THE BEST SUGAR COOKIES EVER MADE

Ok so I know we already have a sugar cookie post on here. Those are delicious no lie, but they are just your run of the mill cookies. These are amazing. These cookies will have people telling you to drop out of school and start a bakery I swear. These cookies are so light and fluffy they are addictive.

I made them last Christmas, but decided not to blog about them because I wasn't ready to share my secret with the world. But now its out: you need an electric mixer. This recipe is essentially just a regular sugar cookie recipe however after each step you need to beat them to incorporate air. That is what makes them so different. So simple! So sneaky! So scrumptious!

We made them for Valentine's Day  Eat-Your-Feelings-Day!

Ingredients

4½ cups all-purpose flour
4½ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. salt
1½ cups butter, room temperature
1½ cups sugar
3 eggs
5 tsp. vanilla extract

Frosting:
5 cups icing sugar, sifted
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
7-8 tbsp. milk
Food colouring
Sprinkles

Directions

1. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt, and whisk together to blend. 

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat together on medium-high speed until soft and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Blend in the vanilla. 

3. This is where it gets messy. Add in dry ingredients in parts and mix with the electric mixer on low speed. Cover and chill the dough for 1 hour.

4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough into evenly sized balls and flatten slightly on the prepared baking sheet. Bake about 10 minutes or just until set. Do not overbake! Overbake cookies are not fluffy! The edges should be no more than very lightly browned if at all. 

5. To make the icing, whisk together all the ingredients until smooth. Add in either milk or icing sugar until desired consistency is achieved. Frost the cookies once they are completely cooled.

Look at that drip.

Oh and you may have noticed this recipe makes A TON of cookies. But don't worry, they will all be eaten within a few days. All you need are some friends who have a lot of feelings to eat.

Peppermint Kiss Cookies

I've been dreaming about these since I found the Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses at Shopper's. And since I had a vision, I kind of had to create my own recipe, as none of the others on the web seemed right. So, I used this base from the Hershey's website, and just replaced the chocolate kisses with Candy Cane.

They came out wonderfully, but if I were to make them again I might experiment with adding crushed candy cane to the dough, so if you do make them and are feeling adventurous, do that, and tell us how it goes!

Ingredients:
-1/2 cup softened butter
-3/4 cup white sugar
-3/4 cup brown sugar
-2 eggs
-1 tsp vanilla
-1 tbsp milk (i used almond milk)
-2 1/4 cup white flour
-1/3 cup cocoa powder
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 cup chocolate chips
-1 back unwrapped Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses to top

Directions:
-Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
-Mix dough, roll into golf-ball sized balls, place on a baking sheet, and press down the center of each with your thumb, just a little bit.
-Bake for 10 minutes or so, and then immediately place kisses in the center of each cookie.
-If you want them to harden while keeping their shape, put they trays in the refrigerator to cool, but also eat one like 5 mins after they come out because the Kiss will be melty and AMAZING.

Caution: these are the best cookies you will ever make and you may eat like 3 of them. Plan to go for a run that day...

Christmas-M&M-Candy-Cane-Vanilla-Rice-Crispies-White-and-Dark-Chocolate Bark

I <3 bark.

Loosen your belt. Give up on your diet. Or give it all away (that's what I did)!

But actually, I caution you that this is the best candy cane bark, or bark of any kind really, that I have ever made. Makes amazing gifts, or a festive treat for all of your holiday parties. This recipe is also dead easy, and having already been to 3 holiday parties, I understand that ease is of necessity.

We got the recipe here, and it goes like this: 

Ingredients:

-1 pack (8 squares) semi-sweet baker's chocolate

-1 pack (8 squares) white baker's chocolate

-2 cups Vanilla Rice Crispies 

-6 candy canes

-1 pack christmas-coloured M&Ms

Directions:

-Melt semi-sweet chocolate in a double-boiler and line a baking pan with parchment or wax paper. When chocolate is fully melted (no lumps) pour it over the parchment, filling the baking sheet but leaving a couple inches from each edge. 

-Sprinkle a layer (approx. 2 cups) of any kind of Rice Crispies cereal (we used vanilla).

-Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler and spread it over the cereal layer. 

-Crush 6 candy canes and sprinkle the bits and your M&Ms over the white chocolate

-Place the baking sheet in the fridge to fully harden (about 2 hours), then break it either with your hands or a knife into the size of pieces you desire.

Watch yourselves, I'm serious, you will want to eat it ALL! Or you will eat too many M&Ms while making it and never want to see chocolate again in your life (for that day, at least). I may have done this...

Be back soon with more Christmas posts!

Christmas Cake (Part 1 of 2)

So, we've told you about Caitlin's Scottish grandma before, and we have news. She's baaaaack. This time all up on the Christmas recipes. First on the list (really should be made well in advance), is CHRISTMAS CAKE! Yummm! Actually many of you probably hate it, which is fine, but Caitlin thinks it's da bomb because Grandma has been bringing it over since Caitlin grew teeth.

Ideally this cake should be made in October and stored in the freezer to age (we made ours in early November-- oops), but just give it as long as you can.

So, I give you the recipe, word for word from Grams. Have fun trying to figure out quantities :)

"¾ lb. almonds

1 lb. glazed red cherries (whole)

4 rings green glazed pineapple, chopped           

½ lb. citron peel (thin strips)

1 lb. mixed glazed fruit

1½ lbs. bleached seedless raisins

2/3 c. water and 1/3 c. sugar—simmer with just the raisins and cool; pour over fruit and let stand overnight.

Cream 1 lb. soft butter with 2 C. fine white sugar. (2 c butter)

Add 6 eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

4 ½ C. flour sifted with 2 tsp. baking powder and ½ tsp. salt,

¾ C. evaporated milk (or 1 small tin), and

2 tsp. almond flavouring.

Line small Christmas cake tins (the kind where the bottom pops out) with brown paper cut from bags; trace the bottom of the pan onto the brown paper bag and cut out for the bottom, cut a strip of paper that is about 1 inch higher than the pan and lay around the outer edge.  Grease the paper.  Pour the batter into the greased paper lined tins.

Bake at 275 degrees F. for 3 ½ to 4 hours or until done – I’d check this frequently."

Also note that this recipe makes A LOT of fruitcake. Like 5 loaf pans worth...
Needless to say, if you invite us to an event around the holidays, fruitcake will be present.


Stay tuned for Part 2 in which we unveil the aged fruitcake and attempt to top it with marzipan! 

Our Halloween

This is so late, but we figured we should still post a lil collection of the AMAZING and spooooooky goodies we made this lovely Hallows Eve.

First things first: WITCHES' FINGERS
Caitlin has been making these with her momma ever since she was a little girl. AWWWW.
Dough:
-1 cup butter
-1 cup icing sugar
-1 egg
-1 tsp vanilla
-2 3/4 cups flour
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp salt
Toppings (nails and blood):
-3/4 cup whole blanched almonds
-red decorator gel

Mix the dough and put it in the fridge for about a half hour. Shape the dough into creepy fingers with lotsa knuckle and stuff going on, and press an almond in as the nail. Take a fork to make pronounced wrinkles on the knucles.

Bake at 325 for about 15-20 minutes, let cool, and then take off each almond and squeeze decorator gel underneath then put it back into place, making the blood ooze. YUM!

Next project, a new, but DELICIOUS one: Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies, from here!
Cookies:
-2 cups flour
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp salt
-2 teaspoons cinnamon
-1 tsp nutmeg
-1 cup butter
-1 cup sugar
-1 tbsp brown sugar
-1 egg
-2 tsp vanilla
And for the Icing:
-4 cups icing sugar
-1/2 cup butter
-2 tsp vanilla

Bake cookies at 375 for about 8 minutes, cool, and ice.

The last thing we made were some beaauuutiful birthday cupcakes for our dear friend Alia! They were just from a box, but check out that decorating, yo!

Hope everyone had a safe and happy weekend!

A Grown-Up Thanksgiving

Not sure if I'm alone in this but whenever I watched Friends when I was younger I thought they were so grown-up and cool that they had their own Thanksgiving dinners. So this year, when McGill decided that we should spend our "holiday" in the library we decided to have our own Thanksgiving dinner because screw you McGill, I will not spend all of my time holed up in Schulich.

Our dinner was very successful, we cooked up a feast and our guests each brought a few dishes of their own. We also played headbands, you know that game they played in the pub in Inglorious Basterds, except when we played not everyone ended up shot to death, which I think is more fun.

So Odessa made the "Holiday Chilli" that has become a family tradition ever since she became a vegetarian and her mom makes it for every holiday and nanaimo bars because she had a craving. Caitlin made vegetarian stuffing, gravy, tofurky and pumpkin pie (all very Thanksgiving-y). Daniele made brussels spouts, a hell of a lot of brussels sprouts.

Holiday Chili
It comes from here, the result of googling "what to make a vegetarian on Thanksgiving".  And it is VERY YUMMY!

Ingredients
3 sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red pepper, diced

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 16 oz. can crushed tomatoes
3 tsps. cumin, or more, to taste
1 tsp. oregano
2-3 green onions, thinly sliced, optional
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Bake or microwave the sweet potatoes until just firm. When cool enough to handle, peel and cut into 3/4-inch dice. Set aside until needed.

2. Heat the oil in a large pot (I used a wok because it is a very large recipe). Add the onions and garlic and saute over medium heat until the onion is golden. Add the remaining ingredients except the green onions, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then simmer gently, covered for about 25 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender.

3. Stir green onions, then season gently with salt. If time allows, let stand off the heat for an hour or two, then heat through as needed.

Stuffing times! We adapted the recipe from here, and not to make Caitlin's head bigger than it already is, but it was AMAZING.
On the day of, Caitlin dried the bread cubes by putting them in the oven at 225 for 15 minute intervals for about an hour, stirring in between. Also, a tip: Use a VERY large bowl, or two bowls while mixing the stuffing. It's not easy in a small one, let me tell ya!

Vegetarian Apple Stuffing
-12 tbsp butter
-2 chopped onions
-3 stalks chopped celery
-3 apples, diced
-8-10 cups bread cubes (we used part whole wheat part white)
-1 cup walnuts
-2 tsp thyme
-1 tbsp sage
-2 eggs
-3 cups vegetable broth, maybe a little more
-Salt and pepper

Directions:

-Melt half the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat, and add the onions and celery, and a bit of salt and pepper. Cook until softened, and transfer to a bowl.

-Again, in a skillet, melt the remaining butter, then add the apples and cook on high until they are soft, but not mushy, then add them to the onion bowl.
-Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and mix thoroughly
-Put mixture in a 9x13 baking dish and cook uncovered for 45 minutes or so

Next up: Tofurky! Or braised tofu with poultry seasoning!
This recipe is so easy and soooo so delicious. Caitlin has made it for 2 years now, and it's always a crowd pleaser.
Directions:
-Heat some oil in a skillet on high
-Cut desired amount of plain or herbed tofu into 1/2 inch slices and let them cook in oil until browned on both sides
-Add about half a cup of vegetable broth to the skillet once tofu has fried, along with poultry seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Lower the heat so the broth is simmering, and cook until all broth is absorbed
-Keep more broth on hand because you might need more, but you want the tofu to slowly absorb it

To top the tofu off we used this veggie gravy. Pretty standard recipe, and actually tastes eerily meat-gravy like... 

And then there was pie. Ohhh the pie. Bakerella has actually created the best pumpkin pie recipe we have EVER tried. If you haven't tried this yet, you're welcome (or I'm sorry, I don't know).

Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chip Pie:
-1 deep pie crust

Cream cheese layer:
-8 oz cream cheese
-1/2 cup sugar

Pumpkin layer:
-15 oz. can pumpkin purée
-1 cup sugar
-1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice (we used a mix of cinnamon and nutmeg)
-2 eggs
-1/2 cup evaporated milk

Topping:
-1 cup chopped pecans
-1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-2 tbsp pure maple syrup

Directions:
-Spread cream cheese layer in the base of the crust, then layer the pumpkin layer on top. Bake for 20 minutes at 350.
-Add toppings and bake for another 25-30 minutes

Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving! Get ready for our halloween post. 

Easter Improv!

After finishing 4 exams in 3 days, I needed to unwind a bit. I figured what better way to do this than to bake things. with mini eggs.

I wanted to make nests, but all the recipes either had too many ingredients, or seemed too sweet, so I just kinda played it by ear and made a delicious, yet still very sweet, creation!

sooo cute :D

Here are my made-up ingredients:

1 cup melted semi-sweet chocolate

1 cup unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup all natural peanut butter (I used crunchy because that's all I had, but I would opt for smooth next time)

Mini eggs or jelly beans, or any other egg-shaped candies for garnish 

yummy ingreds

I basically just melted the chocolate, mixed the peanut butter and coconut, and then combined the two bowls. Set out little nests on wax paper spread out on a baking tray, and refrigerate for a few hours-overnight to set, and then store in the fridge or freezer. 

 These were probably one of the easiest things I have ever made. Such a festive addition to any easter gift pack. 

I think my roommates are going to hate me a little bit for making them so many treats in my newfound spare time (I made oatmeal cookies this week too), but I actually cannot handle having a light workload, so I have focused a fair amount of my attention toward the kitchen this week. Deal with it.

Enjoy your nests! I'm sure we will be back with more Easter treats in the very near future, so stay tuned.

 chillin' wit sum bunnies

so cute and springy!

April Pick-Me-Up ☼

Oh man, April. A month of conflict; Rain and sun, Exams and Freedom, and then amidst all this dichotomy: A chocolate holiday, EASTER! I love Easter, and this year at Ste. Fam, we started early and made some delish hot cross buns (recipe synthesized from a variety of online sources). It was a most exciting exam break, and a pretty easy process, not removing me from my Art History paper for TOO long.

Put down those notes, put yo bunny ears on and get ready to knead!

Oh hey, appetizing. Glistening with apricot topping.

You will need:

• 1 1/3 c warmed milk
• 1/4 c white sugar
• 1 tbsp instant yeast
• 3 c flour
• 1/4 c softened butter
• 2 c dried fruit of choice (I recommend raisins and apricots)
• 2 lightly beaten eggs
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp all spice
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp salt

And eventually, to finish...

• 4 tbsp apricot jam
• 1/4 c flour 
• 4 tbsp water

Directions:

-Mix yeast warmed milk, and sugar together with a whisk until sugar is dissolved, then set aside for 10 minutes until mixture is frothy, like this:

-Mix together flour, spices, salt, and dried fruit, then gradually blend with eggs and yeast mixture. You will get a nice, gooey dough ball, so be sure to flour your hands before kneading for 5 minutes. Don't add too much flour though, or your dough will be dry!

It got a little sticky, but then white flour rescued me (giving it some redeeming qualities since I despise it usually)!

-Next, get a clean bowl and pour enough oil to coat the base, then roll the dough ball in it until the surface is covered, put a towel or saran wrap over the bowl, and leave the dough to rise for 45 minutes. 

-When dough is risen, divide it into 12 balls and place in a baking pan so buns are not quite touching at this point. Cover and let sit for 20 more minutes.

-For the crosses: Mix together 1/4 c flour and 4 tbsp water, then place in a plastic bag with a hole, or an icing dispenser, and paint crosses on the buns when they are ready to be put in the water.

-Heat the oven to 400 F and bake for 10 minutes. Bring the temperature down to 350 and bake for another 20, or until buns sound hollow when you tap them. 

-Warm about 4 tbsp apricot jam and put it through a strainer to get rid of chunkies. Brush over buns while they are still warm. 

A delicious and festive breakfast!

Hoppy Early Easter to all! (Yes, really lame pun intended...)

St. Patty's Day Fare

Just in case you haven't noticed, we like to go all out on holidays. Hosting the party is kind of our thing here at 169, so obviously we couldn't miss a holiday as important and intoxicated as St. Patrick's Day!

We hosted a most popular pancake funnel party, which began at 8:30 in the morning, in order to insure that we could partake in some festivities before our 10 am classes.

Our Lucky Charms and funnel :)

We served green pancakes (from a mix because of demand-- so sorry for the lack of recipe), prepared with beer, lucky charms marshmallows, and green food colouring and sprinkles. To ensure that everyone had a little something in their stomachs before the long day ahead, of course.

Yummm!

Odessa enjoying a 9 am margarita with her patty-cakes

Hope everyone had a great day and celebrated accordingly.