Snickerdoodles

This is my mom's recipe for snickerdoodles. Most people think that snickerdoodles are just regular sugar cookies rolled in cinnamon and sugar. And for the most part, they are. But the cream of tartar is the key ingredient. It gives the cookies a bit of a sour bite that's unique. Don't bother with any snickerdoodle recipe that has little or no cream of tartar, it's just not the same.

Snickerdoodles

Ingredients:

1 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 3/4 cups flour

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Sift dry ingredients and set aside in a bowl.

3. Combine shortening and sugar in mixer bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs and mix to combine.

4. Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet.

5. Refrigerate the dough for about 15 minutes to stiffen it up.

6. Combine cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Roll balls of cookie dough approximately 1 inch in diameter, then roll in the cinnamon and sugar.

7. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes.

Apple Cake

Fall is my favorite season. As it starts to get cooler and the air conditioner is no longer needed in our apartment I start to think about baking more. I love it when the kitchen smells delicious and the oven warms the whole room. Another favorite thing about fall is apples. Apple picking, apple cider, apple pie, apple cake. Yum! This is a super easy recipe for apple cake that I got from my former roommate Jen. It's moist, crisp and sugary on the edges and takes only about 10-15 minutes to get it in the oven.

Apple Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

1 cup melted butter

2 eggs

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

dash salt

4 cups peeled and diced apples (6-8 medium sized apples)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan with either butter or oil spray and set aside.

2. Mix sugar and melted butter in a bowl until light and fluffy, then add eggs and mix to combine.

3. Sift dry ingredients together and add slowly to the wet ingredients.

4. Fold in diced apples.

5. Spread batter evenly in greased 9x13 pan.

6. Bake for 45 minutes until edges and top of cake are golden brown.

Kosher Dill Pickles

I finally got around to making some pickles with some cucumbers and dill from the farmer's market a few weeks ago. I wasn't sure what recipe to use, either a vinegar based one or kosher salt brine based. I went with the kosher pickles and it was super easy and totally worth it. These pickles are perfectly crisp and salty. Hopefully I can get some more cucumbers before the farmer's market is over for the season this month.

Kosher Dill Pickles
Adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

Ingredients:
1/3 cup kosher salt
1 cup boiling water
2 pounds pickling cucumbers, quartered lengthwise
5-10 crushed garlic cloves, depending on your taste
1 large bunch of fresh dill, stems removed, roughly chopped
1 tbsp pickling spice

Instructions:
1. Boil water, add to salt in a large bowl, stir to dissolve salt. Add some ice cubes to cool the mixture.

2. Add all remaining ingredients to the bowl.

3. Add enough cold water to cover the cucumbers. Take a plate smaller than the circumference of the bowl and another object to weigh it down and keep the cucumbers under the water.

4. Let cucumbers sit at room temperature 3-4 hours at room temperature then put in sealed containers (mason jars or tupperware) in the refrigerator. The pickles will keep for 1-2 weeks.

Beer Braised Potatoes

What's better than beer, cheese, and potatoes all mixed together? Not much. This is a pretty heavy side dish, we had it with steak and spinach but next time I'd probably opt for something a little lighter with it like a piece of fish or chicken or just a salad.

Adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

Ingredients:

2 pounds all purpose potatoes or small red or white potatoes

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups of beer

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 tbsp cornstarch

Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. If using all purpose potatoes, peel and cut into large but bit sized pieces. If using small red or white potatoes, don't peel and just cut in half or quarters depending on the size of the potatoes.

2. Add oil to large pot or braising pan over medium/high heat. Once hot, add the potatoes. Salt and pepper the potatoes and stir to coat with oil. Once potatoes start to turn golden brown, add the chopped onion and garlic. Stir to combine, cook for 1-2 minutes until onion starts to soften.

3. Add enough beer to just cover the potatoes, bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat to medium/low. Stir to make sure the potatoes don't stick to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender, about 20-25 minutes. Add more beer if the potatoes are sticking to the pan.

A note on the beer: use a kind of beer that you actually like to drink. We had some IPA's leftover in our fridge from a friend and thought we'd just use that even though we don't really care for IPA's. The bitterness of the beer definitely stayed in with the potatoes. Next time we'll use something different to avoid that bitterness.

4. Toss the grated cheddar cheese with the cornstarch and add once the potatoes are tender. Stir to combine and melt the cheese. Add a little more beer if they look too sticky, they should be fairly saucy.

Easter Cake Pops!

Cake pops are making the rounds on food blogs lately mostly thanks to the insanely cute creations from Bakerella. This was my second attempt at making these and it went much more smoothly than the first! While both tasted good, getting the aesthetics down takes a bit of practice, and I still haven't quite figured out how to avoid flat topped cake pops yet, but with more practice I'll be busting out cute little mini cupcakes, chicks, and all sorts of holiday related pops.


Cake Pops
Original inspiration from http://www.bakerella.com/


1 box cake mix of your choice
1 can of store bought frosting of your choice
Candy melts or chocolate (from your local craft store)
Lollipop sticks
Decorations/sprinkles of choice



1. Cook the cake according to the box directions in a 9x13 pan.

2. Cool cake completely.

3. Once cool, break up cake into large bowl, add can of frosting and stir with large spoon to combine. You want this all pretty smooth, any big chunks of cake may fall out when dipped later.

4. Once combined, scoop out cake into small balls, about 1" in diameter with a cookie scoop or melon baller. Or just eye it. Roll balls in your hands until uniform in shape and place on cookie sheet.

5. Freeze or refrigerate cake balls until cold and stiff throughout.

6. Put candy melts or chocolates in a small container, not too wide so the cake can be almost submerged. Melt candy according to directions or by putting in microwave at 50% power for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between.

7. Take cake out of freezer or fridge. Place a stick in the cake and then evenly roll it in the melted chocolate. Then place on parchment or wax paper to dry. If you are adding decorations, you need to do it now, the chocolate hardens very quickly. And if you need to reheat the chocolate, be sure to place the cake back in the freezer to keep firm. You don't want them falling apart or off the sticks in the chocolate!

8. If you have some that look like they're going to fall off the sticks, drizzle a little chocolate around where the stick is to seal it.

These are the Easter ones we made this weekend to bring to my family's. It's a good thing they're bite sized, cake + frosting + chocolate = major sugar rush!

Apple Wheat Muffins

These muffins are probably the best baked good using wheat flour that I've had. Normally you think wheat flour and you think it'll be dense or dry, but these are anything but. They're super moist and have a real delicate crumb.

Apple Wheat Muffins
From http://www.smittenkitchen.com/

Yields: 15-18

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon (use good strong cinnamon!)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
2 large apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Grease and flour a muffin pan or two and set aside.

Mix the dry ingredients (flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon) and set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream the butter, granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of the brown sugar together until smooth and fluffy. Add the egg and mix well.

Mix in the buttermilk gently. (If you over-mix, the buttermilk will cause the mixture to curdle.)

Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the apple chunks last.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, sprinkling the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar on top.


Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the oven to 400°F, and bake for an additional 5 - 10 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork with Homemade Buns

Another rainy Sunday project. I've made this pulled pork a few times and it's always deeeeliiicious. I think it will make 95% of men drool instantly like Pavlov's dog when they smell it. Something about dudes and bbq-type food...

Let me start by saying I know nothing about serious bbq food. I know there are people who are very strict about how they cook it. Charcoal vs. gas vs. smoked...Texas bbq vs. North Carolina bbq. I know nothing of this. But, I think that a dry rub on any meat is a great start. Who can complain when there's a pile of bbq sauce drenched super tender meat in a homemade bun? Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I also made the rolls to go with this from scratch. I felt like I was underutilizing a King Arthur Flour baking cookbook I got for Christmas, so I put it to use today.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

(I have no idea where I got this original recipe, but I've changed it enough over the last couple of years that I feel like I can call it mine now)

Start with either 1 4-5 lb. boneless pork shoulder roast or 2 1.5-2lb roasts.

For the dry rub:

4 tbsp dark brown sugar

3 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 1/2 tbsp kosher salt

1 1/2 tbsp pepper

1/2 tbsp garlic powder

1. Mix all of the dry rub ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Put the pork roast(s) in the bowl with the rub and cover on all sides. Place roasts in a large plastic bag and refrigerate with dry rub for 6-24 hours (I forgot to do this last night, so only let the rub sit for a couple of hours today and it still came out fine).

To cook the pork:

1 cup water

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 cup cider vinegar

3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 tbsp liquid smoke

1 cup BBQ sauce, plus additional after cooking

2. Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker and whisk together. Place roasts in slow cooker with the liquid mixture, cover, and turn on low.

3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours depending on the size of the roasts. If liquid does not cover roast, flip occasionally during cooking.

4. Once pork is very fork tender (i.e. falls apart when forked) remove from slow cooker and drain all but 1/2 cup of cooking liquid.

5. Take a fork and knife or 2 forks and shred pork into small pieces. Add back into slow cooker with 1/2 cup cooking liquid and stir to combine.

6. Pour as much bbq sauce as desired in with pork and stir together. This is a matter of preference, some like it saucy, some like it dry, so there's no real measurement.

Now for the buns!

King Arthur Flour's "Beautiful Burger Buns"

From the King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion

1 cup lukewarm water

2 tbsp butter, softened

1 large egg

3 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp instant yeast

1 tsp onion powder (optional)

1/2 tsp dried minced onion (optional)

1. Combine all ingredients in stand mixer bowl and mix with dough hook until combined into a soft smooth dough (mine was rather sticky, which turned out to be fine).

2. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise for about 1 hour.

3. Flip dough out onto floured surface. Cover top surface in flour as it will be quite sticky. Separate dough into 8-10 roughly equal pieces (I did 8 as the recipe says, but would do 10 next time, they were slightly larger than burger buns when done). Shape each piece into a flattened ball and place on a greased baking sheet or 13x9 pan and cover with plastic wrap.

4. Let rise 30-40 minutes "until they're quite puffy" (a very exact direction from the cookbook). Just eyeball it, they'll almost double in size again by the time they're ready.

5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake buns for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

Then for dinner, serve bun piled high with pulled pork, add some sweet potato fries and you have a full happy belly.

Cinnabon Clone - A love at first taste recipe

Need a recipe that will instantly make someone fall in love with you? Or ensure that someone you're already with will love you forever? Well, this is it.

I saw a recipe on http://www.allrecipes.com/ recently for a "clone of a Cinnabon." Allrecipes can be a hit or miss site since anyone can upload recipes, but I like that it has a ton of traffic, so you can sort the good recipes from the bad by the ratings and reviews from other people. This recipe had a perfect 5 star rating from over 2,500 people. That's usually a good sign.

These are definitely a weekend kind of project, there are a few steps, a bunch of dishes, and a few hours involved in the whole process. But I've made cinnamon buns from scratch before and some from a King Arthur Flour kit, but this recipe takes the cake. If you click through to the allrecipes site, please, whatever you do, do not click on the nutrition information button. These are worth the calories.

Clone of a Cinnabon
Recipe from: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Clone-of-a-Cinnabon/Detail.aspx

For the dough:
1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast

1. Combine all ingredients in stand mixer bowl fitted with the dough hook attachment. Turn on low to medium speed and let the dough hook do its thing. The dough hook is wonderful, no messy kneading by hand, it does all the work for you. Just remember, don't lock the mixer down since it will jump a little while kneading.

2. Once combined into a smooth dough, transfer dough to a mixing bowl that's been sprayed with oil. Cover tight with plastic wrap and put in a warm place to rise for about an hour. I usually put the bowl on the back burner of our gas stove where it gets some heat from the pilot light. But any other warm spot will do: top of your dryer while you're doing laundry, the top of your fridge. Or leave just out at room temperature for a little longer.

3. Wait until dough has doubled in size. It should go from this:

To this:
4. Lightly flour a spot on your counter, flip the dough out, then take a rolling pin and roll out to about a 16x21" rectangle. Cut off any uneven edges.

For the filling:
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened
5. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. A trick I learned today: if you have some brown sugar that's rock hard, put it in a microwave safe bowl, cover the hard pieces with a damp paper towel and microwave for about 30 seconds. Don't microwave too long or the sugar will melt.

6. Spread 1/3 cup butter on dough evenly with a butter knife. Then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly. Make sure your dough is not too close to the edge of the counter, otherwise, when you go to roll it all up, the brown sugar/cinnamon will fall out the end all over the floor. Yes, I learned this the hard way. I am a very messy cook.

7. Start at one end and roll up the dough. Cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased (Pam spray, not butter) 13x9 pan and place back in your favorite rising spot for another half hour until rolls have almost doubled and fill the pan.

8. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

9. Bake rolls at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes until just golden brown on top.

For the glaze:
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

10. While the rolls are baking, beat together all glaze ingredients until smooth in a mixer with a whisk attachment. The consistency will resemble cake frosting more than glaze.

11. Spread the glaze evenly on warm cinnamon buns. Then, enjoy!