TWD - Espresso Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

I love, love, love shortbread cookies. The sandy, buttery, melt in your mouth goodness that shortbread cookies are all about. And, since finding Dorie's cookbook, I have learned to bake my own crumbly, crunchy shortbread cookies. This week, Donna of Life's too short not to eat dessert first (which is one of my motto's btw!) chose Dorie's Espresso Chocolate Shortbread Cookies. And, what a wonderful choice it was. Thank you so very much Donna! Not only was it a big hit for me, I shared it with the gang at Starbucks and even with a couple of favorite regulars and everyone who tried one Loved! them. Can you say Christmas presents? :)

Super easy to put together. I even made it easier on myself by using mini chocolate chips. I used two packages of Via, Starbucks instant coffee (really good to drink and great in recipes) (And, no, I don't get commission!). The hardest part for me was leaving the dough in the fridge for several hours to chill. Oh, and waiting for the wonderful smelling, as they baked, cookies to bake.

The finished product was a perfect shortbread cookie with a strong coffee flavor and just a hint of chocolate, in spite of how loaded with chips each cookie looks. The espresso was definitely the dominating flavor. Which was fine with me. The only person who really wasn't crazy about these was the hubby. He is not a big coffee drinker and found the flavor to be too strong for his tastes. But, he was in the minority. :)

So once again I would like to send out a great big thanks! to Donna for her choice. This recipe would lend itself to indefinite variations and I can't wait to try some other combinations.  Like cinnamon and apple bits. Or chocolate and peanut butter chips. Or pecans and chocolate chips. Hmmm, wonder if it's too late to start a batch now. :) If you would like to see what the other TWD'ers did, go here.


I will leave you with a couple of pictures of my last two cakes. The mermaid cake was for my Starbucks boss's little girls. They were having a combination birthday/pool party Saturday. And the presents cake was for a co-worker of my daughter. A baby shower cake for the soon to be mom.

TWD - Oatmeal Breakfast Bread (muffins!)

Hi all! I missed the first two recipes this month,(busy working)  but I am here with the third recipe for August.  That recipe, Oatmeal Breakfast Bread, was picked by Natalie of Oven Love. She has lots of yummy recipes posted and great photos to go along with them. Be sure to stop by and check them out.

I have family visiting right now. My Mom, Dad and younger brother are here from Florida. They will be staying till Wednesday morning. Last night we had a house full with the three of them, me and my hubby,  and my two kids came out with their spouses. We had spaghetti, fresh baked bread, and for dessert, chocolate bread pudding (from Dorie's cookbook!) There was a lot of talking and laughing. Tons of pictures taken. Great time!

This morning I decided to bake the Oatmeal Breakfast Bread to have with our coffee. Only I decided to bake muffins instead of a loaf of bread. I thought the muffins would be easier for everyone to grab and eat and that muffins would be ready much quicker than bread.

This was a quick recipe to put together. Mix up the topping using brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. The batter was easy to mix up. Flour, sugar, eggs, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves,salt, baking powder, baking soda, oil, applesauce. I folded in some raisins that I plumped with some boiling water. Then lined two muffin tins with baking papers and using my large scoop, I filled each of the muffin papers about 3/4 full and popped them into the oven.

I set the timer for about 25 minutes and when I checked them, they were done. I pulled them from the oven and set them out to cool. My brother was chomping at the bit to try them. He said they smelled delicious, which was true. My Dad said he wasn't interested in them, because he doesn't like oatmeal baked...he likes oatmeal in a bowl with milk and brown sugar, but doesn't like oatmeal cookies or oatmeal bread. Kind of like me with bananas. I love bananas fresh but can't take them baked in anything. Mom was neutral, though she did say the muffins smelled good while they were baking.

Once I had photographed the muffins for my blog, I tried one and my brother tried one. Delicious!! Dorie says to wait for the bread to cool before eating it, but the muffins were wonderful warm from the oven. Soft with a tender crumb, and the light taste of cinnamon. The topping was crunchy and sweet. The raisins nice and chewy. I ate two and my brother ate 4!! He was going to eat more, but decided he was going to show a little self-control. :) Mom tried one and talked Dad into trying one. And, he liked them! He was going to have a second one, but thought I had counted them and didn't want to eat muffins that were set aside for someone else. Oh well, he can have more tomorrow morning!

So, thanks Natalie. Great choice! It was a big hit here at my place. If you want to see what the rest of the bakers thought stop by TWD and check it out.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Brrrr-ownies!

Karen of Welcome to our Crazy Blessed Life picked this weeks TWD choice. She picked Brrrr-ownies. I was excited to see brownies as the choice, until I read the recipe. When I saw that Peppermint Patties were to be used I started having my doubts.

I am not a big peppermint person. I used to like peppermint. But that was before a Christmas party at which I got a little over intoxicated on Rumplemintz, a very potent peppermint schnapps, and finished my night praying to the porcelain god. :}For some reason, ever since that night, long, long ago, I am not too crazy about peppermint. Go figure.

However, the hubby loves peppermint. Peppermint patties, peppermint gum. Peppermint ice cream.  I love him in spite of that. And, because I love him in spite of his love of peppermint, I decided to bite the bullet and make these brownies for him.

These were so simple to put together. Melt some chocolate and butter. Mix in some sugar, eggs, vanilla and flour. Fold in some chopped up peppermint patties. I have to admit, it seemed a terrible shame to me to "ruin" a perfectly delicious tasting brownie batter by adding the patties, but I went ahead and added them. Poured the whole bowl of batter into a buttered foil lined pan and baked away.

I peeked at the brownies after about 28 minutes, to see how they looked and was horrified to see white bubbles of peppermint patties oozing up out of the crust. (At this point I had not read the P&Q). I figured it was too late to do anything about it, and left the pan in the oven for another  few minutes till they were done.

I followed Dorie's directions for peeling off the foil, but had several spots of brownie/melted patty that stuck to the foil. I forged ahead, grabbed a knife and cut the batch into 16 small bars. Took some pictures and set the brownies aside.

Later, when the hubby tried them, and sang his praises about how delicious and chocolate-y and moist and chewy they were, I decided to try a little bite to see what all the fuss was about.

Wow! These things are soooo good. Dangerously good. Moist. Chewy. Rich. Full of dark chocolate-y flavor. Surprisingly not overly peppermint-y. There is a cooling sensation in your mouth as you eat them, but I really didn't feel like I was eating peppermint patty laced brownies. I loved them!

These I will make again and I am thinking all kinds of candy bar additions...Milky Ways, Snickers, peanut butter cups...the list goes on and on. If  you would like to see what the other bakers thought, head over to TWD and find out. Me? I think I might go eat me a brownie. :)

On a different note...I had a busy week (busy compared to how it's been anyway) in my baking business. Thought I would leave you with a few pictures of the cakes and cupcakes I made this week.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Tarte Noire

I recently posted a picture of this tart on Tumblr and as of now, only 8 hours later, it has been re-blogged over 100 times. So, I thought I would re-post the original post, with the recipe, for anyone who might have missed it the first time. This is a Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from her book "Baking, from my home to yours". If you could only have one baking cookbook, this is the one to have.

Hello again! I hope that this finds everyone well and rested after a big holiday weekend. Did you have a cookout? Did you watch a fireworks show? Did you spend time with friends and family? I did all of that and also played in the pool, slept late, and, made one of the best desserts I have made in a long time. What dessert would that be you ask? It was this weeks TWD choice, Tarte Noire, that Dharmagirl of bliss: towards a delicious life picked.  If she lived closer I would visit her so I could kiss her for choosing such a fabulous recipe. Well, I probably wouldn't kiss her, but I would definitely hug her or shake her hand or something. This may be my favorite recipe so far. I kid you not. Please drop by Dharmagirl's blog and get the recipe. You won't be sorry.

We had my hubby's best friend come and stay with us for the weekend. He arrived on Saturday and settled in for the festivities. We cooked steaks on the grill...nice juicy rib-eyes. Some corn and some baked fries rounded out the meal. We went out in the field after dinner and had our own little fireworks show. My hubby set off the fireworks while I snapped photos and the hubby's best friend shot video.

The guys hopped in the pool after the fireworks show and floated around for a while. I passed...it was a bit too cool for me to get in the water. Then, before bed, I served the two of them a slice of the Tarte Noire. They loved it! They both scarfed it down in what seemed like seconds, and all but licked the plates clean. I like it when something I make brings such a satisfied expression to my hubby's face, not to mention his friend's face(who, after all these years, is also my friend).

I put this recipe together in no time early Saturday morning. I decided to make the chocolate shortbread crust and it came together quickly and perfectly in my food processor. I baked it after letting it sit in the freezer for 30 minutes. When I pulled it from the oven, to cool before adding the ganache, I got the brilliant idea to cover the bottom of the crust with a thin layer of caramel! I thought about nuts, but decided to just go with the caramel.

The ganache came together as easily as the crust, becoming this dark, shiny, smooth bowl of deliciousness. :) I used a combination of bitter-sweet and semi-sweet chocolate and poured it over the caramel in the crust. Put the tarte in the fridge for 30 minutes to set up and then sliced a piece for myself  a picture. Yeah, that's it. For a picture. :)

I also tasted it, just to see if it was okay before serving it to the guys later that night. Couldn't serve them something I hadn't checked was edible, right? The ganache was silky smooth and  so creamy. Not too sweet. Rich and delicious! The caramel underneath was a perfect touch, adding just a little sweetness and texture to the chocolate. And, the crust? Crunchy, tender, buttery, chocolate-y, and perfect against the creamy chocolate and chewy caramel. With as easy as this was to put together, I can see making it again and again. I wonder if you could do a white chocolate version. Almonds would be wonderful in this too. Maybe in the crust. Of course, it was fabulous just as I did it, and I would certainly make it the same again.

So, a really big, BIG thanks to Dharmagirl for this weeks pick. Just awesome! And, check out what the others thought of it by clicking here. :)

TWD - Raisin Swirl Bread

I get a lot of emails from friends and family. Jokes. Stories. Prayers. And questionnaires. You know the kind...what's your favorite season? What's your favorite color? What's your favorite smell? Whenever I am asked what's my favorite smell (and isn't smell a verb??) I always list two...fresh ground coffee and fresh baked bread. Guess the fresh ground coffee explains why I chose to work at Starbucks part-time. :)

As for the fresh baked bread...I don't think there is anything that smells as wonderful as the yeasty aroma of bread as it is baking. Unless you add cinnamon. Cinnamon smells fabulous coming from the oven. Think apple pie or cinnamon buns. So, when I saw that Susan of Food.Baby had chosen Raisin Swirl Bread for this week's TWD I was ecstatic! I love making home-made bread. For me it is an almost zen-like experience. The aromas, the kneading, the blending of flour and yeast resulting in something so wholesome and comforting as fresh bread. I am always much more relaxed after baking fresh bread. What a perfect recipe for me to get back into my baking with.

My only disappointment in this recipe was I didn't get to knead the bread! The kneading is done in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Or at least mine was. I suppose there are those who aren't lucky enough to have an electric mixer with a dough hook, but I am. And, I used it to make this bread.

It came together quite easily. In fact, each step turned out exactly as Dorie writes in the recipe. It rose beautifully and smelled divine even before I baked it. I didn't use the orange zest, as I had no oranges. I was going to add the nutmeg, but forgot. :} I did add the vanilla and the cocoa. I was intrigued by the addition of cocoa and couldn't wait to try it. I love raisins so not adding them was never an option. Well, in all honesty I did think about not adding them, because the hubby doesn't like raisins, but, decided this one was for me!

As the bread baked the house filled with the wonderful aroma of cinnamon and yeast and I found myself taking deep breaths as I puttered around. Within minutes of removing it from the oven I was cutting a slice from the end of the loaf. The swirl inside looked perfect. All along the swirl, like little travelers on a road, were the raisins. The steam rising from the slice was scented with a sugary cinnamon smell. I popped it into the toaster (I always toast raisin bread) and spread some butter over the freshly toasted slice and took my first bite.

Heavenly! The bread had a tender but tight crumb. The crust on the outside was chewy and crisp. The raisins were moist and chewy. The cinnamon swirl was delicious...I did not notice the cocoa, but felt that a bit more swirl would have been nice. In fact, the next time I make this I think I will double the amount of swirl. As easy as this was to put together (lengthy but easy) I can see making it again and again. I took two slices into work and shared it with my co-workers. They loved it! The rest is here, with me. In fact, I had two slices this morning for breakfast. And, I may have two slices for lunch!

So, thank you Susan for such a terrific choice. It was a wonderful way to come back to baking and blogging. If you would like to see who else tried this fabulous bread, look here.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Swedish Visiting Cake

I saw my first hummingbird of the season this afternoon! I have had my feeders out since Monday of last week. And watching for hummingbirds every time I looked out the window. Which is a lot, as my window is at the kitchen sink and I spend a fair amount of time in my kitchen.  Actually the hubby saw it first. He was washing his hands at the sink and looking out the window and said "Hello Mr. Hummingbird". And, I said, "What! Really! There's a hummingbird out there?!" And, pushed him out of the way so I could see my first little guy of the season. I have been watching and watching, and nothing.  And, he sees one first. Hmmm. :]

Now that I have that out of the way, welcome to another addition of Tuesdays with Dorie. This week the recipe chosen was Swedish Visiting Cake and Nancy of The Dogs Eat the Crumbs  chose it.  Nancy has a great blog. She posts all kinds of wonderful recipes and always has "n.o.e's notes" in which she shares tips and/or changes she has made to the recipe to make them her own, and she always ends with "the verdict", sharing her opinion of the recipe. Not to mention the beautiful photos she shares of each dish she makes.

Nancy picked a real winner (at least in my opinion) with this cake. It was simple to put together. It baked quickly in a cast iron skillet. And, it was delicious! Chewy, moist, crispy, lemony, nutty, delicious!  I left it on the counter in the skillet and each time I happened by it in the kitchen, I cut off a small slice. And, another slice. And, another...and... suddenly it was all gone! Well, it took a couple of days before it was gone , but it was gone far too quickly for me. Fortunately it was easy to make. Extremely so. One bowl, one skillet. My kind of recipe. :)

Nine simple ingredients. Sugar, lemon zest, eggs, salt, vanilla and almond extracts (optional), flour, butter and almonds. I didn't have any usable lemons in the house. I had two, but they had been around long enough that they were more like little baseballs then lemons. So, I used some lemon extract in my sugar. I also added both the vanilla and the almond extracts. My skillet was a 10" instead of the 9" called for in the recipe, but I just baked my cake a few minutes less.

In the recipe Dorie states that her friend says you can start making this when you see guests coming up the road and be serving it when they are sitting down to coffee. That is not too far from the truth. I would say it took only 15 minutes max to mix the batter up and no more than 25 minutes to bake it. Within an hour, I was savoring the first of many slices of this wonderful, chewy, moist,crispy, lemony, nutty cake. (Is there an echo in here?)  And, you could be too! Head over to Nancy's blog for the recipe and swing by TWD and see who else baked this wonderful cake.

And, now, I want to thank Chaya of My Sweet and Savory for the sweet awards she gave to me on Friday the 9th. At least I think she passed them both on to me. :} I "met" Chaya several months ago when she invited me to join Have the Cake  and submit a Red Velvet cake I baked with SMS. She is one busy lady, involved with I don't know how many different blogs and she posts a fabulous recipe just about every day, with lots and lots of step by step photos. Always something yummy! She didn't say there was any rules about the awards or that you had to pass them on to a certain number of people, but I would like to pass them on to a few of my blogging friends.

First of all, Julie of Little bit of Everything. She and I have become friends and not only keep in touch via our blogs, but we email each other at least once a week. I always smile when I see a comment from Julie. Can't wait to hear about the cake classes Julie!

Michelle of Flourchild is another friend who makes me smile. Not only do we share a last name (Murphy) but it turns out both of us are married to men named Steven! We have to meet someday Michelle! I'm willing to come to Idaho for a visit. :)

Leslie, of Lethally Delicious is one of my friends from Tuesdays with Dorie (or was it Sweet Melissa Sundays where we met?). She always has something nice to say whenever she drops by (which is often). Thanks for being a friend,  Leslie.

Lastly, but not least,  is Tracey of Tracey's Culinary Adventures. I get a lot of artistic ideas from the fabulous pictures she takes, tons of yummy recipes to try that she has already tried, and, whenever she drops by my blog she always has something nice to say. I'm so glad we "met" Tracey!

Okay, that's it. I have to get to bed as I have three houses to clean tomorrow. And, when I get home, I have to start making 4 different fillings and 4 different cupcakes for a bride-to-be's cake tasting on Thursday. I have several recipes I have made in the past week, dinners and desserts that I want to post. I don't have to work at Starbuck's until Thursday night, so I am hoping I can post a little in the next day or two. :)

TWD - Mocha-Walnut Marbled Bundt cake & Coconut Tea Cake

Can you believe it's April already? I can't. Seems like last week was Christmas. Now, it's the 5th of April. Easter is over. Spring is in full bloom. And I baked not one, but two weeks worth of recipes for TWD!

I wasn't able to bake last week's Coconut Tea Cake, the recipe that Carmen of Carmen Cooks picked for her turn as hostess. You need to drop by her blog and see the gorgeous pictures of her cake. I just didn't get to it before the deadline to post it for TWD last week.  This week, Erin, of When in doubt...leave it at 350, picked the Mocha-Walnut Marbled Bundt cake. On Wednesday of last week I had one of those "good news, bad news" days. The bad news was that the two houses I was supposed to clean both canceled their cleanings. One woman was short on money and the other had a daughter home sick. So, I had the day off. The good news was since I was off I would have the time to bake not just one, but both of the TWD recipes. The coconut one for me and the Mocha-Walnut one for the hubby. I had everything I needed to bake both on hand and after gathering it all together, I got to work.

I am pretty sure I had baked the Mocha cake before. I had Dorie's book long before I became a member of the group and had baked a lot of different recipes from it. (The almond biscotti is one of my early favorites!) I had a posted note on the page for it and vaguely recall baking it. I couldn't recall what we thought of it though.

I decided to bake the Coconut Tea cake first.  I had read a lot of posts that talked about mild coconut flavor, so I upped mine by adding about 1/2 teaspoon of coconut extract. I also added the dark rum Dorie mentions. (optional, but so good is what she said) I used untoasted coconut in the batter, and toasted coconut sprinkled over the top of a glaze I made using milk, coconut extract and powdered sugar.  After burning a batch of coconut in the oven last time I had to toast coconut I decided to play it safe and "toast" it in a frying pan, on top of the stove, under my watchful gaze. Turned out perfect. (Hahaha, as I am typing this I am looking over the recipe and just realized I used a paddle attachment rather than a whisk attachment to mix up the batter. Guess it didn't hurt the cake any.)

This cake came together easily and turned out fabulous. Moist, chewy, rich, definitely a recipe I will make over and over again. It reminded me of a buttery pound cake, only coconut flavored. :) Thanks Carmen for a delicious pick. I loved it.

This week's recipe, the Mocha-Walnut Marbled bundt cake was also a winner here at my house. I whipped it up as the coconut cake was baking. It was pretty simple to put together. I had coffee already brewed and keep espresso powder on hand all the time. It's great for kicking up the flavor of chocolate. I actually use Via, the new instant that Starbucks sells. I didn't toast the walnuts before grinding them. I used a large ice cream scoop and scooped the batter into the pan, alternating the white batter with the chocolate batter. Once it was all in the pan I dragged a knife through the different batters to marble it.

I read several blogs of bakers who made this last week and all mentioned really watching the baking time, or even cutting it shorter by a few minutes. I set the timer for 10 minutes sooner than Dorie suggests and it was perfectly baked when I checked it. I cooled it, made a chocolate glaze using dutch processed cocoa, coffee, powdered sugar and a touch of vanilla. Once I drizzled it over the cake I then sprinkled a few chopped walnuts on top.

Delicious! Moist with just a hint of nutty flavor. I think I would toss some chopped walnuts into the batter next time. I like nuts in my baked goods. And, I might even kick up the espresso a bit, give it a tad more coffee flavor. It was almost lost in the chocolate. But, still, a delicious cake. Thanks Erin. You picked a winner. :) Be sure to drop by her blog for the recipe. And, of course, stop by TWD and check out what all the other bakers who baked this week thought.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Soft Chocolate and Raspberry Tart

Raspberries and Chocolate. What a wonderful combination. Many thanks to Rachelle of Mommy? I'm Hungry! for picking this recipe for our Tuesdays with Dorie choice this week. Please drop by her blog. She has the prettiest backgound and her site is full of recipes, product reviews, and fabulous photos! Thank you Rachelle for choosing such a fabulous dessert.

I for one was thrilled to see this recipe come up and just as thrilled to give it a try. Raspberries and Chocolate. What a wonderful combination. :) Is there an echo in here?!

I love Dorie's tart crust recipe. I have used it for several different tarts now and I must say, for me, it is about foolproof. Throw it together in a food processor and press it into a tart pan, bake it and boom! You are in business. I made this one with the nuts as she recommends. Turned out perfect. My only complaint, and it happened the last time I baked this crust, is that a small amount of the tart stuck to the foil when I peeled it off of the tart after the first baking. So, my pretty tart looks a bit rough in the pan. But, I am not losing too much sleep over it because no one can see it after I add the filling, what ever it might be.

I made the tart crust up last Friday and popped it into the freezer. Then, this morning I baked it and set it on the counter to cool. I almost over baked it. Got distracted multi-tasking, but pulled it from the oven just in time I think.

I was lucky enough to find some really nice raspberries at the grocery store that weren't too outrageously priced. And, wonders will never cease, there wasn't a moldy one in the bunch!

Once my tart crust had cooled I covered the bottom with the fresh raspberries. Then, I made up the filling. I didn't have any milk chocolate in the house, but I did have two bars of Ghirardelli's Semi-sweet chocolate. I decided to use 3 ounces of the bittersweet bar I had and 2 ounces of the semi-sweet bar. The filling came together with no major problems. I did have what seemed like a lot of bubbles and I rapped the bowl on the counter quite a few times trying to get them all to rise to the surface and pop.

Put the tart into the oven, set the timer for 30 minutes and went off to do other things around the house (usual day off stuff...laundry, changing sheets, dishes, catch up on my blog reading, etc.) After what seemed like a good while I went into the kitchen to see how much time was left on the times. What I saw was "End". I guess I never heard the beeper go off! I yanked open the oven door, expecting to see a burnt mess, but the tart didn't look bad at all. I stuck a knife into the center and it came out with some streaks of chocolate. So, I lucked out. Seems a fair number of bakers had to bake their tarts longer than the recipe stated. I guess I did the same, without realizing it. :D

The verdict? Oh! My! Goodness! Susan! Put down the fork and step away from the tart!! I swear I could have eaten half of it in one sitting. The crust is crisp, and buttery and tender and just delicious! The chocolate filling is like silk in your mouth. Wonderfully creamy and smooth and rich. The raspberries almost melt when you bite into them and the tartness of each berry is perfection when paired with the chocolate. After I took my pictures I scarfed down the slice on the plate and then began eyeballing the rest of the tart. It was only with the greatest use of willpower was I able to put down the fork. The hubby? He said he'd rather eat the carrot cake! Can you imagine?!?! If you read my post about the carrot cake I made over the weekend you will realize the impact of that statement . He'd rather eat the carrot cake.  Hey, that's absolutely fine with this girl!

Please drop by TWD to see what the other bakers thought of this fabulous dessert. There was a lot of buzz about different fruits being used. Can't wait to see!

Tuesdays with Dorie - Toasted Coconut-Custard Tart

Beryl of Cinemon Girl chose this weeks Tuesdays with Dorie recipe. It's a Toasted Coconut-Custard Tart, if you didn't already know. If I knew where she was, I would go kiss her! Coconut is one of those things that I love, but seldom get to have because the hubby isn't crazy about it. He will usually eat a small slice of his Mom's coconut cream pie at Thanksgiving, but other than that, it's not one of those things he asks me to make. And, I really don't need to make something I will have to eat by myself. I keep losing weight, but darned if it doesn't keep finding me!

So, when I saw this weeks choice I almost passed.  But, I reasoned, a tart is much smaller than a pie (yeah, right!) and I could share some with my mother-in-law and father-in-law, since they both like coconut. My mother-in-law is recovering from hip surgery so I thought making it and taking some to them would cheer them both up, and keep me from eating the whole tart by myself. With all that in mind, I forged ahead.

I preheated my oven and read over the recipe. Decided to toast the coconut while I worked on the tart crust. I sprinkled coconut over a sheet of parchment paper I put on a baking sheet. I placed it in the oven, telling myself not to forget it was in there and burn it. Then I started mixing up the dough for the tart. After several minutes (or 5 or more, I don't know) I smelled something cooking and realized it was my coconut! Yanked open the oven door and there was my baking sheet, full of what had been beautiful coconut, now full of almost burnt coconut! I think the only thing that kept the whole cup and a half from going straight into the trash was that it had gone into the oven frozen. The outer edges of the coconut was too dark to use, but all the coconut in the center was almost perfectly toasted. Whew! Lucked out on that one. I do stuff like that all the time. Put something in the oven and say "Now don't forget this", and then forget it! :}

After that little mishap, everything went as smooth as glass. The tart dough came together perfectly. Baked it and set it on the counter to cool. Made the custard. The only deviation from the recipe I made was to add about 1/4 teaspoon of coconut extract, to kick up the coconut flavor.  It seemed a bit thick at first, but I added a little milk to it when I took it off the stove until it was the consistency I thought it should be, then finished it with the butter and coconut. Set that in the fridge to cool.

After the crust was cool enough I spooned the custard into it. Smoothed it out and then I whipped up the whipping cream and piped it on top of the custard filled crust. I sprinkled some toasted coconut on top and stood back to admire my work.

Perfection! I cut a couple of slices to take to the in-laws and then cut a sliver to taste. Oh. My. Goodness! It was divine. The custard was creamy, rich, full of bits of toasted coconut with just a hint of the dark rum coming through. The crust was tender, but crumbly, "sandy" is the description in the book, and it fits. The whipped cream on top, with a tiny bit of rum, light and airy, is the perfect compliment to the rest of the tart. I can't wait till after dinner when I can have another slice, a bigger one this time!

If you would like to see what all the other bakers thought of this fabulous dessert, head over to TWD and check them out. Excuse me while I head to the kitchen. I think I am going to have that slice before dinner...life's uncertain you know. :)

Tuesdays with Dorie - Dorie's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

I will admit up front that I am a Toll House cookie baker. Whenever I make chocolate chip cookies, I use the Toll House recipe and chips. That's what my hubby likes and I try very hard to make things he likes. Since I don't usually eat the cookies, what hubby wants is what hubby gets. Sometimes I even bake the pre-made cookies for him. Again, that's what he likes. He asks me to buy some of those bake and eat cookies. Poor man. :)

So, I was really excited to try Dorie's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies. Thought maybe I could expose my hubby to some "real" cookies. Show him how the rest of the world lives, so to speak. I had high hopes about using the recipe that Kait of Kait's Plate chose for this week's TWD. Stop by her blog to pick up the recipe and take a look around. Kait takes lots of great photos of all the things she bakes each week.

Back to my review. I gathered all my baking supplies to make these cookies. Butter,eggs, flour, vanilla,  sugars, I even dug out the good chocolate, 72% cocoa dark chocolate. 2 bars that I chopped into big chunks and added to the batter. I also added some chopped pecans. Scooped out balls of the dough onto my cookie sheets and popped one into the oven, then sat back waiting for deliciousness.

Well, what came out of the oven the first time were flat, dark, almost burnt cookies. Disappointed I turned down the oven temperature a few degrees and baked the cookies a minute or two less. Second batch, still flat, but not quite as dark. Third batch baked a few minutes less, and, still flat. I baked 6 trays I think and every batch was flat, flat, flat! I thought the cookies tasted great! The dark chocolate was perfect with the sweetness of the dough. The pecans added nice texture and nuttiness. The cookies were crisp when you first bit them and then chewy as you, well, chewed them. But, they looked terrible. Not sure what I did wrong. I don't usually end up with flat cookies. My hubby? Took one look and asked "What are those supposed to be?" I got him to try one, and that was the only one he ate. "Don't do a thing for me", is what he said as he left the kitchen, leaving a half eaten cookie behind.  So, while I liked the flavor, the hubby didn't. And, since it's for him I usually bake cookies, I guess I will stick to the recipe on the yellow bag of chocolate chips. Maybe if I could figure out what I did wrong and get them to bake up fluffy (???) he might reconsider. But, I guess I will just stick to his favorite and pass on these.

But, don't let my disappointment with these cookies sway you. Go to TWD and see what all the other bakers thought. I saw some beautiful cookies using the same recipe.


Before I leave, I wanted to acknowledge today's date and its significance for me. I am writing this because it's been on my mind all day, and for me, it's best if I put what's in my heart and mind on paper, so I can move on, let it go. The following is not funny or upbeat and I only tell you, my readers, so that you may choose to skip this part if you'd like.

On this date, 5 years ago, my dearest friend and soul mate (as we used to call each other) passed away from cancer. Linda was 44 years old when she died. We had been friends for 27 years. We met when I was a waitress in a little diner next door to where she worked. She would come in for breakfast (bacon and toast) each morning and over time we became friends. It was an unlikely friendship. I was 5 years older, married with a child. She was a young, career minded single woman. I was a tomboy and she was a "girly" girl. When we would go out together, I would be ready in minutes and would stand watching as Linda primped and fluffed and readied herself for going out. It was something we laughed about often. Our friendship survived not only time, but distance when my husband at the time took a job that moved us from upstate NY to Richmond, VA. Linda and I would talk on the phone for hours at a time. At least once a year I would travel to Rochester and spend a week with her. We would sit up till the wee hours of the morning, drinking coffee and talking about anything and everything. We wrote long letters (pages and pages!) to each other on a weekly basis. I still have boxes of letters she wrote to me over the years. We had no secrets from each other and didn't cut the other one any slack or pull punches when necessary. When Linda had her first, of many surgeries to try and stop the cancer, I was always there in the waiting room. She fought a hard battle for 2 years. When her doctor sent her home in September of 2004 and told her there was nothing else to do, she still didn't give up. I drove up to Rochester every weekend to be by her side, leaving on Fridays and returning home on Mondays. When it started to snow and the roads became treacherous, her husband flew me to Rochester every weekend so I could be with her. Just like in the old days, we would stay up all night talking. We talked about death and dying. We talked about missed opportunities. We talked about all the fun we used to have. We talked about making the most of what you are given. Even though we both knew she was dying, we still found time to laugh together.  I took care of her, cooked for her, bathed her, helped her in anyway I could.  I left Linda on Monday the 14th of February. Kissed her good-bye and told her I would be back on Friday, like I had been doing every weekend for the previous 4 1/2 months. Her husband called me Tuesday evening and said to come back to Rochester. I left on a plane at 6AM Wednesday morning. While on a layover in DC, at 7:30AM,  I got the call from her husband that she had passed away. There has been a hole in my heart since then. I still think of her, every day, even after 5 years. I miss you Linda...

Tuesdays with Dorie - Rick Katz's brownies for Julia

Another Tuesday and another terrific (chocolate!!) recipe from Dorie's book, "Baking". This week's yummy selection is Tanya's choice. Tanya's blog, Chocolatechic is where you can find the recipe. Tanya is a woman of few words, but, they are always worth reading. :) Please be sure to drop by her blog and check it out.

I whipped these brownies up yesterday afternoon. I almost messed up. I had the book open on the counter and as I looked at the recipe to double check where I was and what was next, I realized I was reading the wrong recipe. I almost made Bittersweet Brownies instead of Rick Katz's brownies for Julia! :D Never a dull moment around here folks!

The brownies were pretty simple to put together. Melt some butter with chopped chocolate, unsweetened and bittersweet. Stir in some sugar. Beat some sugar with eggs. Use half in the melted chocolate. Whip the other half. Add that to the melted chocolate/egg mixture, sprinkle with flour, blend that in,pour into pan, bake. See, simple. I decided to bake my brownies in a special brownie pan a good friend bought for me last year. In my house, the hubby and I fight over the corners when we have brownies. I like the crusty edges, and so does he. If I don't watch him, he will eat all the corners and I won't get any! Elaine, my friend, bought me a pan that bakes 12 individual brownies!! Each brownie is all edges!! I love it. And, I don't have to cut brownies each time I want one. They are already "cut" for me! Life is good!

I was multi-tasking while the brownies were baking, and almost ruined the whole batch. I was in the other room, writing up the post about Braised Short Ribs when the buzzer went off letting me know the brownies were done. Well, I didn't hear it. After several minutes (5 or 10??? I don't know!) my hubby said, "hey, I think your stuff is done in the oven". I raced into the kitchen and yanked the pan out of the oven. And, actually, I think it was good I "forgot" them. Several of the posts I read about these said they were "gooey" inside. Mine were moist (believe it or not!) but not gooey. And rich. And full of chocolate flavor. These are some seriously good brownies! Seriously! But, hey, don't just take my word for it. Check out what the other bakers thought of this one. Oh, and Tanya, Thank You!!!

Tuesdays with Dorie - Milk Chocolate Mini Bundt Cakes

Mmmm, cake! And, not just cake, chocolate cake. And, not just chocolate cake, chocolate cake with walnuts! And, not just chocolate cake with walnuts. Chocolate cake with walnuts, mini sized! Sweet, tiny, chocolate, individual cakes full of chocolate-y flavor and walnuts! Mmmmm, cake!

This week's TWD was Milk Chocolate Mini Bundt Cakes and it was Kristin, of I'm Right About Everything, who picked this winner. Be sure to stop by her blog for the recipe (if you don't already own a copy of Dorie's book). As soon as I saw her choice I was excited!  I love chocolate cake, love nuts, of all kinds, and had a new cake pan I couldn't wait to use. It makes 6 cute heart shaped cakes and when I saw this recipe I knew I would use this pan for it.

I had no problem with making the cake part of this recipe. My pan that makes 6 cakes? Well, there was only enough batter to fill 4 of the 6 openings. I guess the heart shapes were a bit larger than a typical mini bundt pan. I just filled the two empty containers with water and baked away. Seems like they baked for about 25 minutes. The first time I checked to see if they were done, there was still batter on the knife. Another 5 minutes in the oven took care of that.

It wasn't until my glaze seized up in the pan, after adding the corn syrup, that I remembered all the comments I had read (and said "Oh, I will have to remember that"...Hah!) about problems with the glaze. I solved my issue by heating up some heavy whipping cream and stirring that into the glaze until I could pour it over my cooled mini heart cakes. I sprinkled a few toasted walnuts over the top of each cake before the glaze hardened.

The verdict? Delicious! I could detect the nutty flavor from the walnuts, and, the ribbon of nuts and cocoa in the center was a nice surprise (even though I knew it was there). The cake was delicious, full of chocolate flavor, rich, moist, everything I was hoping it would be. The milk chocolate was a nice change of pace from all the dark and bittersweet chocolate desserts I seem to have been making. And, the glaze, once I got it right, was just sweet enough.  A little early for Valentine's Day, but I "heart" this recipe! :)

Drop by TWD and see what everyone else thought of this one. Next week...more chocolate! :)