Fudge

For Christmas this year, I decided I wanted to bake some of my gifts for my clients and co-workers. I made some of the Malted Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk cookies (and of course, saved some for myself), and then I decided I wanted to make some fudge after seeing a really easy recipe on Beantown Baker.

She suggests using the defrost setting on the microwave to melt the chocolate, which worked out really well! The only problem I had was that I forgot to pick up some sweetened condensed milk at the store, but luckily I found a recipe for a substitution for it, so I didn't have to run back out to the store. The fudge was nice and creamy, and hopefully everyone I made it for enjoys it!

Fudge
All Recipes

3 cups semisweet chocolate chips (like Beantown Baker, I used 2 cups milk chocolate and 1 cup semisweet, Ghirardelli chips.)
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup butter
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Place chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and butter in large microwaveable bowl. Cook in microwave on defrost until chips are melted, about 3 - 5 minutes, stirring once or twice while cooking. Stir in nuts, if desired.

Pour into well-greased 8x8 inch baking dish (I just lined mine with aluminum foil for easy removal); refrigerate until set.

Cranberry-Orange Cookies

These cookies are absolutely amazing! I picked up some extra bags of fresh cranberries from the grocery store during their post-Thanksgiving sales, and was excited to come across this recipe last week. The orange zest & juice combined with the tartness of the cranberries is an unbeatable combination. I seriously can't stop eating these; they are super simple to throw together, and will definitely be in my rotation of holiday cookies from here on out. I found this recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Good Things Catered. You can never gone wrong with any of Katie's recipes, they are all fantastic!

Cranberry-Orange Cookies
Good Things Catered

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c. brown sugar, packed
1 c. granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp grated orange zest
juice of 1/2 orange
1 tsp vanilla
1 c. chopped fresh cranberries

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment.
-In medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, and whisk; set aside.
-In bowl of stand mixer, combine butter and sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
-Add yolk and beat until fully incorporated.
-Add orange juice, then zest and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated.
-Turn mixer to low speed, add flour mixture and beat until just incorporated.
-Remove bowl from mixer, stir in cranberries, and place 1 Tbsp rounds of dough onto cookie sheets. Be sure to place the cookies several inches apart, as they do spread a bit while baking.
-Place cookies in the oven and bake, switching baking sheet positions half way through baking time, for 12-14 minutes (they should not brown)
-Remove from oven and let cool on pans completely, about 10-15 minutes.

Makes about 18 Tbsp-sized cookies

Warm Baked Autumn Oatmeal

Once I find myself craving oatmeal, I know that cooler weather has finally started to arrive. I found this recipe in the newspaper my husband is interning at, and it sounded so tasty I couldn't wait to make it this weekend. It is made with old-fashioned rolled oats, and it takes a bit more time to cook than instant oatmeal, but the flavors are so much richer...not to mention the lack of added salt, sugar and other added ingredients found in processed foods.

I added dried cranberries, but this is a pretty versatile recipe, so you can experiment with different fruit, nuts, and spices to your liking.

Warm Baked Autumn Oatmeal
Ogden Standard-Examiner

1 3/4 cup water
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2/3 cup milk
4-oz. carton egg substitute (I used two eggs)
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup dried fruit bits
Non-fat vanilla yogurt, optional
Chopped, toasted pecans, optional (I omitted as I didn't have any)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray and 8x8 inch square baking dish with nonstick spray; set aside.

Place water in medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in oats and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a small bowl, whisk together milk and egg, and set aside.

Add brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt to oats; stir well. Blend in milk mixture and dried fruit bits. Pour into prepared dish.

Bake, uncovered, for 30 to 35 minutes, or until center is just set. Allow to cool 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Spoon into individual serving dishes. If desired, dollop each with about a tablespoon of nonfat vanilla yogurt, then sprinkle with chopped, toasted pecans.

Serves 6.

5-Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

This recipe is very, very dangerous. It is so simple to make, and you probably have all of the ingredients sitting in your cupboard at any given time, so beware! You might make this the first time and make it the next 2, 3 or 4 nights as well...

5-Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
a small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high. The cake will rise over the top of the mug. Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate. (This is also excellent with a scoop of chocolate ice cream on the side.)

The Famous NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

This cookie recipe has been making its way around the blogosphere, and when I saw it a couple of weeks ago, I knew I had to make it. The recipe comes from the NY Times, also home of the famous no-knead bread recipe we loved so much. The most difficult step of baking these cookies is the waiting period of 24 - 36 hours, during which the dough is chilled in order to deepen and heighten the flavors. I could only manage to wait about 26 hours before I had to break out the dough...but it seemed like long enough to do the trick! These were some of the richest cookies I have ever eaten, which also may have had something to do with the 60% cacao chips I used. My husband didn't really care for the sprinkle of sea salt on top, but I really enjoyed it; we agreed to disagree. Definitely not your run-of-the-mill chocolate chip cookies, but they make a special treat if you are willing to take that extra time to wait.

Photo courtesy of Nicholas Draney Photography

NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from The New York Times, David Leite, and Jacques Torres

2 cups minus 2 Tbsp. (8 ½ oz.) cake flour (I used A/P as I didn't have any cake flour on hand)
1 2/3 cups (8 ½ oz.) bread flour
1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. coarse salt, such as kosher
2 ½ sticks (1 ¼ cups; 10 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼ cups (10 oz.) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. (8 oz.) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ¼ pounds bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks, preferably about 60% cacao content (I used Ghirardelli)
Sea salt, such as Maldon

Combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk well; then set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until very light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low; then add dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the bowl of dough from the refrigerator, and allow it to soften slightly. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (about the size of golf balls) onto the baking sheet, sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.

Almond-Glazed Sugar Cookies

Photo by Nicholas Draney Photography

I recently discovered that I am very, very fond of almond. I have been tagging every recipe I come across that has anything almond-related in the ingredients list. When I came across this recipe for almond sugar cookies, I had to make them that very night because they sounded so good. And they didn't disappoint; these cookies are the perfect blend of good old-fashioned sugar cookie with a great hint of almond flavor. I found this recipe by way of The Spicy Skillet, where she switched up the almond with lemon...these sound delicious as well!

These sugar cookies were really easy to make, as there was no rolling/cutting out/refrigerating of the dough needed. I got about 2 dozen cookies out of this recipe, and I'm going to have to give some away before I eat them all myself! There is nothing like a really great sugar cookie, and this one is definitely a winner.

Almond-Glazed Sugar Cookies
Your Home-Based Mom

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. almond extract
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Mix butter, sugar and extract in a large bowl. Beat until creamed, 1 to 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Beat 1 to 2 more minutes. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet and flatten balls to 1/4 inch thickness with the bottom of a buttered glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 400 for 7-9 minutes or until edges are very lightly browned. Cool 1 minute. Move to a wire rack. Stir together glaze ingredients with a wire whisk. Decorate cooled cookies with glaze and sliced almonds (optional).

Glaze: 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 tsp. almond extract, 4-5 tsp. milk.

Guinness-Milk Chocolate Ice Cream

I wanted to make a classic chocolate ice cream with my new ice-cream maker; I love milk chocolate, and had found the perfect recipe in The Perfect Scoop, by David Lebovitz. I showed my (Irish) husband my book, and he was immediately drawn to this recipe instead on the next page. It turned out to be delicious combination; so incredibly creamy and rich. If you are a fan of Guinness, this ice cream is for you.

Guinness-Milk Chocolate Ice Cream
from The Perfect Scoop

Photo by Nicholas Draney Photography

7 oz. milk chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
4 large egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup Guinness Stout
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Put the chocolate pieces in a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the top.

Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer over the milk chocolate, then stir until the chocolate is melted. Once the mixture is smooth, whisk in the cream, then the Guinness and vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.