Spiced Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookie Bars

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Happy Fall!  I know that's a repeat statement, but fall has finally (FINALLY!) hit here in Southern California and I couldn't be more excited.  I've been on a scarf & boot jag like nobody's business.  I love me some scarves & boots, kids.  I've got it bad.

Another little something I've got it bad for lately is butterscotch chips.  I'm sure these have been around forever, but I am just getting around to discovering them and now I'm hooked.  I may or may not have several pounds of butterscotch chips in my freezer.  (Do you not remember the great pumpkin shortage a couple years ago?!  I'm not about to fall victim to another situation like that.  Call me Crazy Butterscotch Lady all you want.)

This year was my first time hosting Thanksgiving dinner.  With my parents-in-law the officially guests of honor, I took my title as Hostess very seriously and was determined to make everything from scratch. Thankfully everything turned out great (according to my in-laws ~ SCORE!) but I'm going to be honest and confess that I didn't make the pumpkin pie.  Every hostess has her secrets right?  Well this year my little secret was Costco's $6 pie.  Don't judge.

I did, however, throw together a quick festive dessert from scratch that I must share with you.  It's another one of those super easy ones, and surprisingly tasty.  Enjoy these babies with a cup of hot tea or coffee, a pair of cozy slippers and a fire in the fireplace!

Spiced Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookie Bars

| Yield: 12-18 cookie bars | Prep: 10 mins. | Bake time: 30 mins |

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 c brown sugar

1/4 c sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 c AP flour

1 tsp baking soda

1  1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp salt

3 c rolled oats

1 1/2 c butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 13x9 baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.

In a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugars until creamy and fluffy.  Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix well.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice and salt.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet in three stages, mixing until just combined.  Stir in oats and mix well.  Finally, add in the butterscotch chips and mix until evenly incorporated.  Spread into the baking pan and bake approx. 30-35 minutes. 

Stay tuned for another yummy butterscotch recipe coming up!

Stone Fruit Frozen Yogurt in Coconut Crisp Cups

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You all know that I'm a sucker for the fall and winter months, but I have to admit that summer has some pretty great characteristics as well.  Summer fruit is at the top of that list.  Peaches, cherries, nectarines and avocados are some of my favorite things in the world, and I kinda go stone fruit crazy when they are in season.  

Every summer for the past several years, we have tromped through carefully stepped over smooshed fruit on the walkway, never bothering to take a few seconds to figure out what kind of fruit tree we were dealing with.  Here's the funny/embarrassing truth: we have had a beautiful peach tree outside our door and never realized it!  What a bunch of goofs!  Now that we've figured out that useful little tidbit of info, I'm in a peach frenzy.

I've been looking for excuses to use our new ice cream maker since last month when mom & dad brought us those gorgeous cherries.  Instead of your typical sugary ice cream, this time I went for a much healthier frozen yogurt.  Oh, and did I mention it involves only three ingredients??  Okay, well, five if you include the two needed for the coconut crisp cups.  Fruit, yogurt and agave nectar are all you need to make this delish frozen yogurt, and if you're feeling fancy you can go the extra step (and the extra two ingredients) and make the coconut crisp cups.  Deceptively simple and delish?!  I'm in.

Everything you need for this recipe can be found at Trader Joe's.  Their Toasted Coconut Cookie Thins are so darn yummy, and make the perfect crumb for the coconut crisp cups.  The light coconut flavor is a great compliment to the tart and sweet peaches.

Stone Fruit Frozen Yogurt

2 ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and diced

2 ripe nectarines, peeled, pitted and diced

1/3 - 1/2 c agave nectar (sweeten to taste)

2 c plain greek yogurt*

*Note: for a more ice-creamy/less tangy flavor, try making this with vanilla yogurt.  

Once you have the fruit diced, put about half of it in a food processor and process briefly, so that some of the fruit remains in tact and some is pureed smooth.  Transfer to a medium bowl.  Add in diced fruit, yogurt and agave nectar.  Stir until thoroughly combined.  Adjust the amount of agave to your taste.  Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

This is fabulous at the soft-serve consistency.  If you'd like it a bit more firm, place in a freezer-safe container and freeze in 30 minute increments.  Careful, cuz it will freeze solid pretty quickly.  If storing in the freezer, transfer to the fridge to soften for about two hours prior to serving.  

Coconut Crisp Cups

1 sleeve Trader Joe's Toasted Coconut Cookie Thins

1 1/2 tbsp melted coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.

Pulse cookies to a fine crumb in a food processor.  Alternately you can place in a resealable bag and crush with a rolling pin.  Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the coconut oil.  Press crumb mixture into muffin tins, forming little cups.  Bake 5-7 minutes.  Cook completely before removing from tin.  (The best way to do this is to turn the tin over and lightly tap the back.)

Nutella Shortbread Bites

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Who doesn't love cookies?  Nobody I know.  There's something so comforting and homey about warm cookies and a glass of ice cold milk that makes everything in the world disappear for just a bit.

For as long as I can remember, my mom and I have made shortbread cookies at Christmastime.  Tiny little bites of shortbread perfumed with almond extract and then rolled in powdered sugar... so delish.  I decided to tweak the recipe and bit and turn it into a chocolatey treat.  It was a great decision, I have to say.

These Nutella shortbread cookies are little bites of Heaven.  Don't believe me?  Make 'em.  I dare you not to love them.  I rolled half of them in powdered sugar, and half of them in a combination of powdered sugar and cocoa powder.  These babies are dangerously yummy.

Nutella Shortbread Bites
| Yields: approx. 48 cookies | Prep Time: 10 mins | Bake time: 15 mins. |
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 c Nutella
1/2 powdered sugar
1/2 c cocoa powder
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 c flour, sifted
1/2 tsp baking powder
Powdered sugar
Cocoa powder

Beat butter and Nutella until light and fluffy.  Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa powder into butter mixture and mix thoroughly.  Add in the egg yolk and vanilla, beating until smooth.  In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder.  Then add to the wet mixture and mix until a soft dough is formed.  (Dough will be a bit crumbly.)  Knead the dough lightly.  Chill for several hours.

To bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Form the dough into teaspoon sized balls.  Note to self: take off your wedding rings prior to ball forming.  Bake for 15 minutes.  While the cookies bake, prepare two small bowls for rolling the hot cookies.  In one bowl pour about a cup of powdered sugar and set aside.  In the other bowl, pour 3/4 cup of powdered sugar and 1/2 cup of cocoa powder.  Stir until completely mixed.

The hot cookies are extremely delicate.  Gently roll the cookies a couple at a time in the powdered sugars, then set the cookies out on a baking rack to cool completely.  Store cookies in an airtight container.

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{Dairy Free} Cherry Ice Cream

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Wait - dairy free ice cream?  Isn't that an oxymoron?  Nope!  This really is dairy free.  Not only is it dairy free, it's really, really good.  I mean really good.

Last week my mom and dad came to visit and brought with them a big bag of the most beautiful tart cherries from the cherry tree in their backyard.  This tree, planted decades ago when my grandpa built the house, is so special to our family.  I have wonderful memories of climbing in the tree with my cousins and swinging on the tire swing when I was a kid in Santa Fe.  Every time I eat cherries I am taken back to that very spot.

Aren't they gorgeous??

Believe it or not, I've never made ice cream.  Not ever.  So I wasn't confident in experimenting and coming up with my own recipe this time around.  I happened to have coconut milk in the pantry and found a recipe for coconut milk ice cream on the Whole Foods website.  Now that I know how easy the whole process is I have a feeling you'll be seeing quite a few ice cream recipes pop up on the blog this summer.  Do I hear any complaints?  I thought not.

I actually made the ice cream base and let it chill overnight before churning in the ice cream maker.  The coconut milk tends to separate a bit as it sits, so give it a quick stir before you get started.  While you're making this one I'll probably be in the kitchen messing around with new flavors...  Mint chip anyone?

Cherry Ice Cream
| Serves: 6-8 | Prep time: 5 mins. | Cook time: 8 mins. |
4 egg yolks
1/2 c sugar
(2) 13.5 ounce cans coconut milk (light or regular)
2 tsp vanilla extract (or whatever other flavor you are in the mood for)
Giant handful of fresh cherries, pitted and quartered

In a good sized mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until pale yellow.  This takes some elbow grease (if you're a weakling like me) and a couple minutes.  Shake the coconut milk well and then dump it into the egg yolk/sugar mixture.  Whisk until combined.  Pour into a medium pot and cook on low/medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 8 minutes or so.)  Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.  Transfer everything to a bowl and chill thoroughly.

When the mixture is chilled and your cherries are ready, it's time to rock and roll.  Process the ice cream mixture according to the instructions that accompany your ice cream maker.  When it's just about done churning, add in the cherry pieces and process until they are thoroughly mixed in.  At this point the ice cream will be the consistency of soft serve.  If you'd like it a bit more firm, transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze prior to serving.

Lemon Cake with Strawberries and Almond Buttercream

Pin It Now! I have one word for you - Yum.  And summer.  Okay, so two words.  You are going to love today's recipe.  The cake comes from Cooking Light and is moist and fluffy.  The lemon flavor is not overdone, which makes for a great springtime or summertime dessert.

I wanted to spruce up the cake a bit, so I filled it with a layer of lemon curd and fresh strawberry slices.  Lemon and strawberries are the perfect combination.  Like chocolate and peanut butter.  Like strawberries and chocolate.  Like - well, you get the idea.  They're a match made in dessert heaven.

The grande finale in this whole story is a light and decadent almond buttercream frosting.  Are you familiar with almond extract?  It is wonderfully fragrant.  Try it in your next recipe in place of vanilla.  My mom makes these amazing almond shortbread cookies at Christmastime and when they are warm from the oven and rolled in powdered sugar they are melt-in-your mouth delicious.  I just may have to make a batch so you can see the deliciousness. 

Anyway, back to the cake...  Head's up - when it comes to the lemon curd filling, make sure to leave a bit of room on the edges.  I spread lemon curd all the way to the edge of the cake and it started to ooze out a bit after I put the second layer of cake on top.

Lemon Cake
2 c AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (that seemed like a lot to me, so I did 1/4 tsp)
1 1/2 c sugar
1/2 unsalted butter, softened
3 eggs
1 c nonfat buttermilk
zest of one lemon
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Lemon curd (you'll need a bit less than a jar)
Fresh strawberries (a handful, just depends on the size of them)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare 2 8-inch round cake pans: butter pans, line with parchment paper, butter and flour parchment paper.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  In the bowl of your mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately, beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Finally, mix in lemon zest and juice.  Divide batter among prepared pans.  Bake approx 30 minutes, or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Allow to cool in pans for five minutes, then invert onto baking racks and remove parchment to cool completely before filling/frosting.

Almond Buttercream
1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
1 tsp pure almond extract
zest of one lemon

In the bowl of your mixer, cream butter until light and fluffy.  Slowly mix in powdered sugar, mixing well.  Add in almond extract and lemon zest and beat until thoroughly mixed.  Make sure you lick the paddle attachment.  It's what all the pros do.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Pin It Now! Not really sure this qualifies as a "recipe" but it's just so darn delicious that I wouldn't feel right not sharing with you.  I never met a chocolate covered anything that I didn't love, but strawberries have to be my favorite.  They make me weak in the knees.

I actually made these a couple of weeks ago after Hubby & I played farmer at Classic Organic farm in Gaviota.  We came home with loads of fresh picked strawberries so I couldn't help myself.

Make sure to use good quality chocolate like Scharffen Berger or Ghirardelli since the chocolate flavor is front and center.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Strawberries, washed and dried
6 oz chocolate, melted

Line a plate with parchment paper.  Melt the chocolate in a double boiler and remove from heat.  Dip the berries in the melted chocolate and place on the parchment lined plate to set.  Chill until chocolate is thoroughly hardened.

Apple Crumble

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Ready for an easy dessert that gives you an excuse to buy ice cream?  Look no further!  Honestly there is no other way to eat apple crumble than with a scoop of ice cream slowly melting into it, is there?

One evening last week while Hubby was at the gym I got a random urge to bake.  Luckily this recipe uses ingredients that you probably have in your cupboard at any given time.  It took all of ten minutes to get this baby put together, and before long the house smelled deeeeeelicious.  Apples with cinnamon has to be one of the most fantastic smells ever.

I used fuji apples for this, but really you could use whatever kind of apple you like.

Actually, this is a great recipe to use with other fruit as well.  Peaches make a fantastic crumble.  Whatever is in season will of course have the best flavor. 

Apple Crumble
|Servings: 6-8| Prep Time: 10 mins.| Bake time: 30 mins.|
3 apples, any variety
3/4 c packed brown sugar
3/4 c quick cooking oats
1/4 c flour
1/3 c unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Butter (or spray with cooking spray) a medium sized casserole dish and set aside.

For the crumble topping...
In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg.  With your fingers, mix the butter into the dry mixture until you have little pea-sized pieces throughout.  Set aside.

Next, peel the apples.  Set peeled apples in a bowl of water to keep them from turning brown.  Working quickly enough to keep them from oxidizing - but not so quickly that you cut off your fingers - cut the apples into 1/2" slices.  Layer the slices in the bottom of the buttered casserole dish and cover with the crumble mixture.

Bake approximately 30 minutes or until apples are fork soft.  Serve a la mode, because you'd be crazy not to.

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One Year Anniversary Prosecco Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Filling

Pin It Now! As you know, I love cupcakes.  They are my favorite treat to make for all occasions and somehow they just make an ordinary day seem special.

One year ago today, I became a Mrs.  And at our wedding we had the same kind of cupcakes that Mr. M. used when he proposed to me.  It seems only fitting to make cupcakes to celebrate our one year wedding anniversary, right?  But they had to be extra-special....  so bring on the bubbly!

Prosecco is basically Italy's answer to champagne.  It's slightly sweet with that beautiful champagne-y tang, and of course, the signature bubbles.  The cake recipe I found at Sprinkle Bakes, and to switch things up a bit I filled them with a simple chocolate ganache (1 pt cream to 2 pt chocolate.  Melt chocolate, simmer cream, combine. Cool.  Done!)  Since our wedding was accented with deep purple and lavender I used food coloring gels to tint the frosting a lovely, romantic lavender.

Prosecco Cupcakes

Note: make sure you allow the Prosecco plenty of time to come to room temperature, especially for the frosting. 

Forgive the short blog post, but I'm ready to go celebrate with my handsome hubby over some Prosecco and cupcakes...  cheers!  :)

Prosecco Cupcakes

from Sprinkle Bakes
(Makes one dozen cupcakes)
1/2 c unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 c granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 c AP flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c Prosecco or champagne

Prosecco Buttercream Frosting

1 c Prosecco
2 tbsp reduced Prosecco (instructions below)
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
Powdered sugar, sifted

For the cupcakes...
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a muffin tin with baking cups.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy.  Add in sugar and mix well.  Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition.  Mix in vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.  In a small bowl, combine sour cream and Prosecco.  Set aside.

Beginning and ending with the flour mixture, alternately add it and the sour cream/Prosecco mixtures to the butter, sugar and egg mixture.  Batter will be somewhat thick.  Fill cupcake liners with just under 1/4 c of batter.  Bake for 17-22 minutes, until cake tester or toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool completely.  To fill with ganache, fill a pastry bag fitted with Wilton tip 230.  Carefully insert the tip into the top of the cupcake and gently squeeze until ganache is just barely oozing out the top of the cake.

For the reduced Prosecco...
Pour one cup Prosecco into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Allow to simmer approx 20 minutes, until reduced to 2 tbsp.  Set aside to cool.

For the frosting...
Cream butter until light and fluffy.  Add in sifted powdered sugar, 1/2 c at a time, until a stiff frosting forms (stiffer than your desired consistency).  Add in one cup of Prosecco and the 2 tbsp reduced Prosecco and carefully mix until thoroughly incorporated.  If frosting is too thin, add in more sifted powdered sugar.  Too thick, add in more Prosecco one tbsp at a time.  Use gel food coloring to add color, if desired.  Top with sparkling sugar or any other decor you like.  Enjoy!!

New Year's Eve Peanut Butter Cookies

Pin It Now! Happy New Year!  2011 was full of so many blessings and new experiences.  I am excited to see what 2012 brings!  I think I'll usher in the new year with something yummy... because, why not??

These are not your average ho-hum peanut butter cookies.  You see, these are more than peanut butter cookies.  They are soft, chewy peanut butter cookies drizzled with Ghirardelli chocolate.  Ohhhhh yes.  I'd love to meet the genius who first thought to pair chocolate and peanut butter.  That person deserves the first Nobel prize in deliciousness.

This recipe is so simple, yet so good, and I guarantee you have all the ingredients on hand at any given time.  And hey, if you don't feel like messing around with melting chocolate and drizzling (but who wouldn't?!) toss in a cup of chocolate chips and call it a day!  And of course make sure you sample them right out of the oven when they're all melty ooey gooey...  mmmmmm....

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 3/4 c AP flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.
3/4 c peanut butter
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat mat.  Melt the chocolate chips over a double boiler and set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.  Meanwhile, beat butter until light and fluffy.  Add in peanut butter and beat until creamy.  Beat in sugars, egg and vanilla until fully blended.  Add flour mixture and slowly mix until fully incorporated.  Dough will be somewhat crumbly.

Form about 1 tablespoon of dough into a ball for each cookie.  Place a sheet of wax paper over cookies and lightly flatten with your hands.  (Alternately, you can also go the traditional route and flatten with the tines of a fork.)  Bake cookies for 9 minutes, or until just very lightly brown on the edges.  Cool for one minute on baking sheet, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.  Drizzle with chocolate once completely cooled.