#91) Lemon Poppyseed Sandwich Cookies with Strawberry Cream Cheese Filling

As I was bustling around the kitchen making these lovely little sweet treats, it dawned on me just how much I have missed baking over the past year.  Don't get me wrong, I simply adore the trips to the playground, the toddler cuddles, and the countless other adorable 'mommy' things that have been occupying my time lately... but there is something about a dusting of flour over the countertop, the smell of freshly baked cookies, and licking the icing bowl clean that makes me dance around the kitchen with a goofy grin on my face.

For my 'come-back' recipe I wanted to use some fresh summer flavours - lemon and strawberry are two of my favourites and I figured it would be even better to mix them together than to just use one.  The cookies have a crisp lemon flavour and they melt in your mouth.  The filling has the expected tang of cream cheese frosting balanced with the sweetness of strawberry jam.

Mr Treat has a very different opinion than I regarding how much filling is appropriate in a sandwich cookie.  His philosophy - less is more (let the flavours blend, not compete).  My philosophy - more is more (let the flavours scream from the rooftops that they are here!).  He won this time, but I will leave it to you to decide how much of this scrumptious frosting filling to sandwich between your cookies (note that I only used about half of the frosting this recipe made and am currently looking into how to use it up in another recipe before I devour it all with a spoon).

And although I wouldn't suggest handing over the platter of cookies to any kid, Toddler Treat thoroughly enjoyed the bite or two he stole from his momma's treat.

Cookies

Ingredients 

1 cup butter or margarine, room temperature

1 ½ cups icing sugar

1 egg, room temperature

2 tsp lemon zest (1 large lemon or 2 small lemons)

2 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed

1 tsp vanilla, or seeds of 1 vanilla pod

3-3 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1tsp salt

2 tsp poppy seeds

Steps

Preheat oven to 400°F.

On low speed and with whisk attachment, cream together butter and icing sugar until pea-sized beads form. 

Change to paddle attachment.  Add the egg, zest, juice, and vanilla.  Scrape sides and bottom of bowl and mix on low to combine.

In a large bowl sift together 3 cups of flour, baking powder, and salt then add to the wet ingredients one cupful at a time. 

Mix until the dough forms a ball on the paddle.  Add a little extra flour if the dough seems sticky. 

Roll out on parchment paper to about 1/4" thickness (if your dough is slightly sticky you will need to dust with flour occasionally . Cut into desired shapes and bake for 7-9 minutes, or until slightly firm and lightly golden on the bottom.  Carefully remove from own and let cool completely on wire rack.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Filling

Ingredients

4 ounces cream cheese (half a block), chilled

1/4 cup butter or margarine, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups icing sugar

2 to 4 tablespoons strawberry jam

Steps

With paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on high speed until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and mix to combine.

Add 2 1/2 cups of icing sugar, and beat until the sugar is incorporated. The mixture will be thick. 

With the mixer on low speed, add 2 tablespoons of jam and beat until well combined. Add more jam by the tablespoon if necessary to create a smooth texture. The filling, however, should remain thick.

Assembly

Transfer the filling to a pastry bag and pipe filling onto the underside of half the cookies. Top the filling of each with a second cookie.  Chill until the filling is firm.

*Yield will vary depending on thickness and diameter of cutouts.

#90) Coco Chai Rooibos Chiffon Cake with Maple Meringue

Inspiration, according to Oxford Dictionaries, is "the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative."

For the first installment of Anna's Bake Off, Anna Olson has asked her fans to make her Earl Grey Chiffon Cake with Maple Meringue (or add your own creative flair).  She also asked that we keep tea time in mind for our photos and talk to her about what inspires us.  

Well, I went the creative route and made a couple little changes to the recipe.  First of all, I halved the cake recipe as husband and I have no will power whatsoever and would devour the entire thing between the two of us. I used David's Tea Coco Chai Rooibos (amazing!) as the flavor base for the cake, used some vanilla sugar I had kicking around, and I traded out the lemon zest for orange zest.  I also added some sugar shards as a garnish to finish it all off.

As for my inspiration, well, can you see the springtime tea pot in the background there?  Well that springtime tea pot represents my spring baby, who made his début just 10 weeks ago.  In such a short time this little bundle has changed my life incredibly and he has come to inspire me in so many ways.  His adorable giggles are proof that I can do the hardest job in the world and that alone inspires me to throw myself headfirst into any other challenges that come my way.  Boiling syrup - why not?  Making meringue - no problem!  This kid's momma can do anything :)  (Well, she can try to anyway)

Just an FYI - this was my very first attempt at a chiffon cake and seeing as I had never made one before, I didn't have the proper tube pan in the kitchen.  Although the end product was delicious, because I couldn't cool the cake upside down, there was a certain airiness missing.  So my advice to all you chiffon cake newbies - get the right pan!

Coco Chai Rooibos Chiffon Cake

Ingredients

1 1/2  tsp Coco Chai Rooibos loose tea
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp  boiling water
4 egg whites, room temperature
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup + 2 tbsp pastry flour
1/2 cup sugar, seperated
1/4 cup vanilla sugar
1 1/4 tsp  baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 egg yolks, room temperature
1/2 tsp finely grated orange zest
1.5 oz  milk chocolate, chopped and melted

Steps

- Preheat the oven to 325 F.  Keep an 10-inch tube pan ungreased.  (I used 8-inch round pan - not the best idea I ever had)

- Steep the tea in the boiling water, until the water cools to room temperature.  Remove tea diffuser.

- Whip the whites with the cream of tartar until foamy, then add 2 tbsp of the sugar and continue whipping until the whites hold a medium peak.  Set aside.

- Sift flour, remaining sugar, vanilla sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl or into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment.  Add cooled tea, vegetable oil, egg yolks, vanilla and orange zest.  Whip this mixture on high until it is thick, about 4 minutes.  Add the melted milk chocolate and whip in on low speed.  Fold in half of the whipped egg whites by hand until they are incorporated, then fold in the remaining whites (the batter will be quite fluid).

- Bake the cake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top of the cake springs back when gently pressed.  (With the right kind of pan...) Invert the cake pan onto a cooling rack and cool the cake upside down in its pan.  To extract the cake, run a spatula or knife around the outside edge of the cake, then tap the cake out onto a plate.
Maple Meringue

Ingredients 

2  egg whites, room temperature
1/2 tsp  cream of tartar
2 tbsp sugar
3/4 cup  pure maple syrup

Steps

- Whip egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy, then add sugar and whip to a soft peak.  

- Bring maple syrup to a boil and cook uncovered and without stirring until it reaches a temperature of 242 F (softball stage) on a candy thermometer.  

- While beating on medium speed, carefully pour maple syrup into meringue by pouring it down the side of the bowl (this will help prevent splashing of hot syrup) and continue whipping until mixture has cooled but is not quite room temperature, about 3 minutes.

- Use a spatula to spread the meringue over the entire surface of the cake (use a small spatula or butter knife to frost the cake inside the center hole).  

Sugar Shards

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

Steps

- Combine sugar and water in sauce pan.  Heat and stir on medium-low until sugar is dissolved.

- Boil, uncovered, on medium-high for 5-10 minutes, without stirring, until deep golden brown color.

- Pour onto greased baking sheet and let cool for 20 minutes.

- Use knife to break into shards. 

- Use tongs to garnish cake with shards (to avoid pesky finger prints on your pretty sugar shards).

#89) Strawberry Surprise Mini Cupcakes

Wow!  So much to share...  and not just the delicious little cupcakes in the picture :)

Husband and I have welcomed our own little sweetie into the world!  Our little man is already 9 weeks old and is perfect in every possible way :)  He has changed our lives in so many ways, but it seems like things are just how they were always meant to be - a truly amazing feeling.  It blows me away how much he changes each and every single day... before you know it he'll be making sweet treats of his own, maybe like these cute little cupcakes :)

Now, for anyone who reads my recipes, you know I am a chocoholic at heart - there's no denying it.  So the thought of a simple vanilla cupcake doesn't really excite me all that much, but throw some homemade Strawberry Rhubarb Apple Jam in the middle of that thing and I am all over it!  Top it all off with some fluffy Strawberry Rhubarb Frosting and I will devour it :)  So that's just what I did.  Give it a try and let me know how many you chow down before sharing!

Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup vanilla sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup Strawberry Rhubarb Apple Jam, recipe found here

Steps

-Preheat oven to 350F.  Line mini cupcake pan with paper liners.
-Cream butter and sugars.
-Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
-Whisk together dry ingredients in small bowl.
-Alternately add dry ingredients and milk, stirring to incorporate after each addition.
-Divide half the batter between 24 mini cupcake liners.
-Spoon 1/2 teaspoon of jam into each liner.
-Cover jam with remaining batter.
-Bake for 7-9 minutes.
-Let cool completely.  Frost and enjoy!

*makes 24 mini cupcakes

Strawberry Rhubarb Frosting

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cup icing sugar
2-3 tbsp Strawberry Rhubarb Apple Jam, depending on personal taste

Steps

-Cream butter.
-Slowly beat in icing sugar.
-Stir in jam.

#88) Cocoa Bliss Chocolate Cake

Okay guys, we've got less than two weeks left to go until our little bun comes out of the oven!  It sure is a very exciting time for us and we couldn't be happier, but I have a feeling if you asked my husband what the hardest part of having a pregnant wife is, he would surely say something about all the munchie missions I have sent him on in the last 9 months.  I have asked for everything from chips to burgers to slushies...  But for those of you who know me well, you know that I have asked, even begged, for chocolate cake!  And this hasn't been one of these one-time only, limited time offer cravings either - this one pops up every other week.  (My poor husband!)  So, knowing my weakness for homemade versus store-bought cake, he offered to make me a decadent, over-the-top chocolate cake full of whipping cream, cream cheese, and butter...  Oh yeah, I am that lucky ladies!  But sometimes its the simplest things in life that bring the most pleasure, so we worked together and made this very simple yet very satisfying chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.  No fancy ingredients, just all the good ones :)  Try it out the next time you are craving chocolate cake and you won't be disappointed, I promise!

                                                       Photo by souRIRE photography


Chocolate Cake 

Ingredients

2 cups sugar

1 3/4 cups flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder (the better the cocoa, the better the cake!)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk (I used half evaporated milk and half water)

1/2 cup vegetable oil (don't skimp, trust me its worth every drop)

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup boiling water

Steps

-Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease and flour two 9-inch round pans.

-Mix together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.

-In a small bowl gently whisk together eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla.  Add to dry ingredients and mix on medium until well-incorporated.

-Stir in boiling water (don't worry, the batter really is supposed to be that thin).  Pour batter into prepared pans.

-Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let the cakes cool in pans for about 10 minutes, then remove and let cool on wire racks.  Let cool completely then slather on the icing :)

Chocolate Icing

Ingredients

1/2 cup margarine, melted (I didn't have any butter in the fridge)

2/3 cup cocoa powder

3 cups icing sugar

1/3 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

Steps

-Stir together melted butter and cocoa.  Add about 1 cup of icing sugar then half the milk.  Stir to incorporate.

-Add the remaining icing sugar, milk, and vanilla.  Stir to combine.  (At this point I like to give my Kitchen Aid a good work out and let it whip that frosting for several minutes to make it as fluffy as possible - so delicious!)

*Be sure to check out this week's "Sweets for a Saturday" here: http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.ca/2012/04/sweets-for-saturday-66.html

#87) Chewy Oatmeal Crunchies & an Announcement

I haven't been around much lately, have I?  Not since July!  I have a laundy list of excuses to explain my absence, if you're interested...

Let's see...  where to start???  Well let's start with August...

August - travelled to best friends' wedding :)  brought parents back to the Big Land :):)  (didn't leave a lot of computer time)

September - new job, oh and (warning, big announcement coming up...) first trimester exhaustion = zombie

*That's right, we've got a bun in the oven!!!!!  And well, he's almost ready to make his début (6 more weeks).

October & November - I worked and I slept, that is all.  Who knew a baby the size of a pea needed so much of momma's energy?????

December & January - tried to catch up on some of the regular things I had missed out on in October and November (husband, friends, dog, etc.)

February & March - oh this is a fun one... Sick leave due to pregnancy-related, severe hip and pelvic pain (this makes buzzing around in the kitchen pretty much impossible...  these cookies would not exist if it wasn't for husband's help, trust me.)

So there you have it, my plea for your forgiveness.  I promise to do better from now on, really, I do!  Please accept these cookies as my sincere apology.  They are chewy and crunchy all at the same time, thanks to the rice crispies (who says you can't have your cake and eat it too?).

PS - Stay tuned, I think there might be another sweet treat in the near future, if I can walk tomorrow, that is :)

Ingredients

2/3 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp vanilla
2 cups rolled oats, old-fashioned (not instant)
1 cup flour
1 cup rice crispies
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Steps

-Pre-heat oven to 375F.

-Beat butter and brown sugar unitl fluffy.

-Beat in egg and vanilla.

-Add dry ingredients.

-Stir in chocolate chips.

-Spoon heaping tablespoonfuls onto greased or lined cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.

-Bake for 10 minutes or until golden.  Let cool on pan for 2 minutes, before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

*makes about 3 dozen cookies.

#86) Starwberry Rhubarb Apple Jam

While I was thinking abut what to write for this post it dawned on me it is really all about generosity - the generosity of others to be more specific.

See, all the major players in this post - the strawberries and rhubarb in the jam, and the bread in the photo - were all given to me.  The strawberries and the homemade whole wheat bread are from my generous mother-in-law, and the rhubarb was a gift from one of husband's co-workers (those Rhubarb Pie Cupcakes I sent him to work with must have been ok :p).

The other "invisible" key player in this post is the food science lesson I learned thanks to Christina over at Form V Artisan.  She has a couple of posts where she generously explained the science behind making strawberry jam - all about negatively charged pectin and candy thermometers - the whole bit.  So I took what I learned from her and applied it to my own jam concoction, and I have to say, it worked out just as she said it would!

So you see, all you need sometimes to be inspired to get in the kitchen is the generosity of others!

Now on to the recipe - it was my first attempt ever at homemade jam...  I usually leave the jam making to my aunt who generously brings some to Newfoundland for me each summer.  But I decided I am a big girl now and it is time to figure out how to do it myself.  The jam has a great texture - thick, smooth, and sticky :)  Husband would have liked some more fruit chunks, but what can I say, I like smooth jam so I mashed away at the fruit while it was cooking :)  There is a touch too much cinnamon so next time (yes, there will be a next time) I will add maybe just half.  And oddly enough, the one little apple I added for extra pectin packed a lot of punch.  Next time maybe just half an apple.

So there you have it - my first ever homemade jam!  Hope you enjoy :)

Ingredients

2 2/3 cups rhubarb, chopped (if frozen, let thaw first)
1 cup strawberries, chopped (if frozen, let thaw first)
1 granny smith apple, peeled and chopped into small pieces
1 1/3 cup sugar (don't skimp! see this post)
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

Steps

-Add rhubarb, strawberries, and apple to a large pot and put over medium heat.  Stir occasionally until some liquid has been released (3-5 minutes).
-Add sugar and cinnamon and bring to a boil.  Let boil for 3 minutes, then add lemon juice.
-If you have a candy thermometer, attach it to your pot and continue to boil, stirring occasionally until you get to 220F.  (If you do not have a candy thermometer, continue to boil, stirring occasionally until mixture is thick and resembles syrup - about 15-20 minutes.  You will see the bottom of the pan as you stir.)
-Transfer to sterilized jar(s) and let cool completely before refrigerating.

*I got two small jars of jam, which would be about one large jar.  If you double, triple, quadruple, etc this recipe be sure to do so precisely.

A Blog Birthday and an Epic Fail

A few days ago Sweet Treats turned 3!!! (Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Sweet Treats, Happy Birthday to you.)  So I thought it would be a cool idea to run a poll here and on our facebook page to see which one of our favourite recipes we should revisit for the occasion.  Surprise, surprise - peanut butter balls won!  (Chocolate and peanut butter - always a favourite!)

But just revisiting a recipe wasn't exciting enough.  I thought it would be really fun to put a new spin on an old favourite.  So what can you do to a peanut butter ball, I wondered...  Add BACON of course!!!

In theory - great idea.  In reality - kind of a fail.

I made the peanut butter ball filling as per usual and then added 6 strips of crumbled bacon.  I thought for sure the bacon flavour would add that nice smoky, salty layer to the peanut butter...  Um, no!  The bacon got totally lost in the peanut butter and all I was left with were peanut butter balls with added calories :(

Even though the recipe didn't work out the way I had hoped, I am still very happy that Sweet Treats has been around for three whole years and look forward to future blog birthdays.  And I am very thankful for all the readers across the world who take the time to stop by Sweet Treats every now and again.  Keep it coming - I will have new treats soon, I promise...  Strawberry rhubarb jam anyone???  Stay tuned!

Speaking of birthdays, I have one coming up very soon and can't decide what kind of sweet treat to celebrate with.  Suggestions?

#85) Rhubarb Pie Cupcakes

I may love sweet treats, but I have to tell ya, I really do love tart flavours.  Give me a bit of lemon any day!  So that's why I was so excited when one of husband's co-workers kindly gave me a big bag of fresh rhubarb from her garden.  The only question was, "What do I make?"

I could have done the ol' strawberry rhubarb combination, but that just seemed too straight forward.  Then it dawned on me that I haven't made cupcake in way too long!  So there you have it - a rhubarb pie cupcake :)

The cupcake itself is kind of heavy, due the skipped creaming step, but I wanted to mimic a tart shell you might put your pie filling in.  The pie filling is straight up rhubarb with just enough sweetness to take the edge off.  And the frosting?  OMG the frosting!  I am not great at frosting and I am not a huge fan of how overly sweet homemade frosting can be.  Also, I wanted to re-create the whipped cream you might have on a piece of rhubarb pie.  So I went on the hunt for something a little different and found 7-minute frosting.  Okay, mine took more like 14 minutes, but SO worth it!  It's like a fluffy marshmallow sitting on the top of the cupcakes.

Give 'em a try and let me know what you think :)  Oh, and don't forget to vote for our blogiversay recipe revisit to your left.  Thanks!

Rhubarb Pie Filling

Ingredients

4 cups chopped rhubarb

1 1/3 cups sugar (start with 1 cup and add accordingly throughout cooking process depending on the tartness of your rhubarb)

6 tablespoons flour

Steps

-Combine all ingredients in large saucepan.  Cook over med-high heat for about 10 minutes, until liquid from rhubarb moistens the mixture.  (I covered mine and stirred often.)
-Reduce heat to low and let cook until all the rhubarb pieces have broken down.  Mixture should be thick.

-Remove from saucepan to bowl and allow to cool completely.

Cupcakes

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups cake flour (for those of you with AP flour - measure out all your flour, remove 7 tbsp, replace with 7 tbsp cornstarch - def worth the extra effort!)
2 cups sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup milk
4 eggs
2 egg whites
2 tsp vanilla

Steps

- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line muffin cups with paper liners.
- Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into large, deep bowl.
- Add the butter and 1/2 cup of the milk. Mix on medium speed until dough-like consistency.
- In a separate bowl, blend the eggs, egg whites, the remaining 1/2 cup milk and the vanilla. Add to the batter in 3 additions, mixing for 2 minutes on medium speed after each addition. Scrape down the bowl between additions.

Assembly

-Add 1 heaping tablespoon of batter to liners.  To centre of batter add 1 1/2 tsp of rhubarb filling.  Cover filling with another tablespoon of batter (be sure the bottom batter and top batter meet to seal in the filling).
-Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until skewer comes out clean.
-Let cool completely on wire rack.

*Makes 3 dozen filled cupcakes.

7-Minute Frosting

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup water

3 egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 tbsp vanilla (I used homemade rhubarb syrup)

Steps

-Add sugar, water, egg whites, and cream of tartar to a large double boiler bowl.  Beat with electric mixer until mixture is foamy (about 1 minute).
-Put bowl over simmering water and beat with mixer until soft peaks form (supposed to be about 7 minutes but it took me more like 14).
-Remove from heat, add vanilla, and continue to beat to thicken frosting (about 2 minutes).
-Let cool completely before using.

#84) Berry Burst Muffins

It's the last day of Canada Day weekend.  I wish I could say its been a sunshine-y weekend filled with BBQs and beers, but really its been one rainy day after another - and more in the forecast.  I feel particularly bad for husband, because he downright loves Canada Day!  Even with the rain pouring down he put not one, not two, but three Canadian flags up in your front yard :)  So to raise our spirits I headed to the kitchen today armed with some of husband's favourite flavours - berry and maple.

These cranberry muffins have a great texture and a good play on sweet and sour.  Although husband thinks the muffin could have been a little sweeter, it complimented the tart cranberries nicely. 

The crunchy maple topping wasn't as good as I had hoped.  It kind of crumbles off as you are eating the muffin.  So two options: 1) push the topping down into the batter before baking or 2) skip the topping and just sprinkle the batter with a hefty serving of maple sugar before baking.

The berry filling is delicious, but you can easily double the recipe and add more to the insides of your muffins if you want.

So give 'em a go and let me know if they brighten up your rainy day :)

Berry Filling

Ingredients

1 cup mixed berries (fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup water
1/8 cup sugar
1/2 tbsp cornstarch

Steps

-Bring berries, water, and sugar to a boil and let summer until about half the water has evaporated. Reduce to low heat.

-Mix together cornstarch with enough water to make a runny paste. Add to berry mixture, constantly stirring, until berry mixture begins to thicken.

-Continue to cook for 2 minutes over low heat.

-Push through a sieve and funnel into a squeeze bottle.  Let cool until needed.


Crunchy Maple Topping

Ingredients

1/4 cup maple sugar
1/4 cup flour
3 tbsp butter

Steps

-Mix together in a small bowl and set aside until needed.


Cranberry Muffins
Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups cranberries, chopped
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar (use 1 cup if you like 'em sweet)
1 cup yogurt (I used raspberry flavoured)
1/2 cup oil
1/2 tsp vanilla

Steps

-Preheat oven to 400F.  Line a muffin tray with 12 paper liners.
-In a large bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add cranberries and stir to coat (this will keep them from sinking to the bottom of your muffins).
-In a small bowl mix together eggs, sugar, yogurt, oil, and vanilla.  Add to dry ingredients, stirring just until combined.
-Divide batter between 12 lined muffin cups.  Top each muffin with maple topping.
-Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean (mine took 18 minutes).
-Let cool for 10 minutes on wire rack still in the tray.  Remove from tray and place on rack.
-Insert the nozzle of the squirt bottle into top of each muffin (as far in as it will go) and squeeze until berry filling starts to ooze out. 
-Let cool completely on wire rack.

#83) Little Lemon Pies

"A change is as good as a rest." - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930)

Changes keep life interesting, I get that. But there is too much of a good thing, right?

For the past 13 years, half of my life, I have moved 10 times. That's a lot of change. Each move has been for different reasons - following my family, moving for school, finding new job opportunities. It has been hard in a lot of ways - never really having a home, no permanent address, not to mention actually moving all of my belongings. The past couple of years have been the hardest because I am married now and have a newly purchased home, only I have been living 3 1/2 hours away, separated by a gravel highway (yeah they still exist in some corners of the world).

BUT... that is all over now because I have moved into our new home with husband permanently! No more temporary mailing addresses, no more packing up my life. I am home :)

You know what that means, right? I finally get to enjoy my new kitchen and all its fixins. Expect lots of new sweet treats over the summer, and remember, if you have any requests or suggestions e-mail me at dani@sweettreatsdani.com or find us on facebook :)

What better way to start off summer with some refreshing lemon pie? These two-bite pies are great for your next BBQ with some friends, or your next work social.

Pie Crust

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 cup butter
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
2 tbsp cold water

Steps

-In a medium bowl, stir together flour, sugar, lemon zest, and butter until small, coarse crumbs appear. (I used a fork for this, but it would have been easier with a pastry cutter.)
-In small bowl, combine egg yolk and water. Stir into flour mixture.
-Knead pie dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.

-Preheat oven to 375F. Spread pie dough into an ungreased mini-muffin pan (makes 24). Bake for 10 minutes or until golden. (They will puff up, don't worry!)
-Let cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on wire rack.

Lemon Curd

Ingredients

1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp butter
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten

Steps

-Mix cornstarch and water together in medium saucepan. Add sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly.
-Stir half of hot lemon mixture into slightly beaten eggs. Add egg mixture to saucepan. Bring to gentle boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and cook for 2 minutes.
-Pour into bowl and cover with plastic wrap (touching the surface of the curd) and chill until needed.

-Once pie shells and curd have cooled completely, fill shells with about 1 1/2 tsp of curd each. (There will probably be a little left over, but that shouldn't be a problem... Lick that spoon!!!)

***I used 2 lemons for the zest and juice in this recipe.

#82) Irish Bread Pudding

Happy New Year everyone :) I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas season with lots and lots of sweet treats and turkey!

Husband and I spent our very first Christmas in our new home this year, just the two of us... It was hard being away from our families, but we had a great Christmas nonetheless.

But just because our families weren't around doesn't mean our friends weren't :) We had a great Christmas Day dinner complete with Gingerbread Cheesecake (coming soon) and a very delicious Irish-themed New Year's Eve dinner... complete with Irish Bread Pudding and Sticky Whiskey Caramel. (I know the previous post is very similar, but consider this one a slight improvement)...

Irish Bread Pudding

Ingredients

1 loaf sliced cinnamon raisin bread, torn into bite-sized pieces
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 cups milk
1 375 mL can evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar

Steps

-Put bread pieces in a large glass bowl and drizzle with butter.

- Heat milk and evaporated milk with vanilla. Let cool slightly so the eggs do not scramble in the next step.

- Beat eggs with sugar. Add to milk mixture.

- Add enough mixture to bread to soak and let stand 15 minutes. (Depending on the bread you use, you may not need all the custard mixture. I had about 1 cup left over and I rolled it over into a great Whiskey Rice Pudding - coming soon!)

- Pour bread mixture into well-buttered 13x9 glass baking pan.

- Bake at 350 for 30 minutes (325 for convection) or until light golden brown on top.

Serve with sticky caramel whiskey sauce.

Sticky Caramel Whiskey Sauce

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 tbsp whiskey

Steps

-Add sugar and half the water to a deep steel bottom pan.

-Put over medium heat. Let mixture come to a deep amber colour, watching closely - sugar can burn extremely quickly. Do not stir.

-Once you have a deep amber colour remove from heat. Add whiskey and remaining water. Stir to combine.

-Return to medium heat until the mixture is smooth once again.

-Serve over bread pudding, or just eat with a spoon :)

#81) Cinnamon Bread Pudding

Do you love food?

I love food. I love food so much that I really, truly hate to see any be wasted.

That's why bread pudding is such an awesome sweet treat - a real "recycler recipe" :) It lets you use up stale bread that would otherwise end up in the trash and you can dress it up with whatever fix-ins you have in the cupboard (chocolate chips, dried fruit, bananas)!

For this bread pudding I used some homemade raisin bread (compliments of my mother-in-law) and some whiskey left behind from a recent girls' night.

I made the dessert for a small potluck with some of the girls and it was a hit. Although I found it a tad too sweet, the pudding was rich and the sauce was gooey and delicious - sounds like a great dessert to me :)

What are your favourite "recycler recipes"?

Cinnamon Raisin Bread Bread Pudding

Ingredients

3 cups stale cinnamon raisin bread, torn into bite-size pieces
3/4 cups milk (I used skim)
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar (could easily use 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup brown sugar (could easily use 1/4 cup)
1 tbsp molasses
1/2 tbsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Steps

-Set aside bread.

-Whisk together milk, eggs, sugars, molasses, vanilla, and cinnamon.

-Add bread and stir to coat. Let sit for 20 minutes.

-Preheat oven to 350oF.

-Butter 6 muffin cups.

-Divide mixture between 6 muffin cups.

-Bake for 15-20 minutes until custard has set. (A kinfe should come out almost clean)

-Let cool slightly in cups before serving.


Whiskey Caramel Sauce

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 oz whiskey
1/4 cup evaporated milk or heavy cream

Steps

-Melt butter and sugar over medium heat.

-Add whiskey and let cook off for about 10 minutes, stirring often.

-Slowly add milk/cream, stirring constantly. Cook over low-medium heat for another 5 minutes. (I made mine ahead of time and as it sit in the pot it got thicker)

#80) Apple Carrot Cake

Fall has come and gone here in Labrador, believe it or not! We are actually in the early stages of Winter already. You know what that means? Rich, spicy desserts that fill you up and make you feel warm and fuzzy inside :)

That's exactly what this extremely moist carrot cake does. The addition of grated apple and apple sauce really gives the cake its moisture, and the spices warm it up so you can stay safe from those bitter winter winds. It's all topped off with a thick maple cream cheese frosting that will make anyone go back for seconds!

In my after-school baking group we work very hard to make sure our sweet treats offer maximum flavour and enjoyment with limited amounts of fat and calories. Although this cake has a bit more sugar than we normally would use, it definitely has some of the qualities we look for in a healthier version of an old favorite:

- only 2 tbsp butter in the cake

- no oil

- replacing some of the sugar with maple syrup provides some manganese and zinc

- fat-free cream cheese for the frosting

So give the recipe a try and let me know what you think!

Apple Carrot Cake
Ingredients

2 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 maple syrup (get the real stuff, table syrup doesn't have the same flavour)
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk (I used soy milk soured with about 1 tbsp vinegar)
1/4 cup applesauce
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 cup flour (if you want to boost the fibre, use some whole wheat flour)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup grated apple, no peel
1/2 cup grated carrot, no peel

Steps

Preheat oven to 350F.

Spray and 8" pan with non-stick spray.

In a small bowl, combine sugars, butter and maple syrup until well-blended.

Add buttermilk, egg, and applesauce. Mix well.

In a large bowl, combine flour, spices, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients until just combined.

Fold in apple and carrot.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Let cool in pan for 10 minutes then remove from pan and continue cooling on a wire rack.


Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients

1 block fat-free cream cheese
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
500 g icing sugar

Steps

-Combine cream cheese and butter.

-Add rest of ingredients and mix until smooth.

*This recipe makes more icing than you need for the cake. I am saving mine in the freezer for a cupcake recipe I have in the works for this weekend :)

PS - please excuse the pic... souRIRE photography was not around :(

#79) Peanut Butter Blondies

This past summer has been quite important in my life - a perfect wedding day, an amazing honeymoon, a new SUV, and our first home.... Needless to say, with all the important things going on in our lives recently, my husband (oh that is so fun to say!) and I haven't had a lot of down time, and that means I haven't been in the kitchen a whole lot lately...

But, once we bought the house we decided we should make the kitchen somewhere we would go out of our way to spend time. How are we doing this? A new floor, a fresh coat of paint, and most importantly, a new stove... But not just any stove - this, my dear friends, is a CONVECTION OVEN! For those of you who are scratching your head and asking yourselves what on Earth I am talking about, let me tell you I was in the same state only a few months ago, until I started doing some reading about these amazing ovens. The fan in the back of the convection oven cirulates all the hot air in your oven so you get more even baking in less time. Still not convinved? What if I told you I baked 3 sheets of my chocolate chip cookies at one time and each sheet was perfectly baked to perfection? No burnt bottoms, no undercooked centres - just perfect crispy edges with chewy centres! Seriously, a baker's dream :)

Now on to the blondies - I cam back from our honeymoon in Quebec City with lots of neat ingredients to play with, but one of my favorite was the Belgian milk choclate chips I got at La Fudgerie. If you are ever in the area, it is well worth your time to stop in for a look. (The creme brulee fudge is out of this world!) So I toyed around with a couple of ides for these bad boys, but then decided it was about time for yet another peanut butter and chocolate combo. These bars are kind of like a peanut butter blondie dotted with creamy milk chocolate - are you drooling yet? I thought so!

Now I bet you wanna scroll down for the recipe, don't ya????

Well, I must confess that I have "misplaced" the scrap of paper this beauty was scribbled on, but I am sure all my wonderfully creative friends out there in cyberspace (yes, you!) can whip up something equally as good, or even better in fact!

Happy Baking :)

#78) Strawberry Squares

Hello again everyone! The summer months sure are flying by, aren't they? Its hard to believe that in just 4 days I will be a married woman!!! Gonna be a good weekend :)

But enough about that and let's get talking about that dessert. (I have to apologize for the quality of the pic... I had to do it myself and, well, my skills stop at the kitchen :p)

I came home to my parents' a few days ago and one of the first things we did was go to a U-Pick for some fresh strawberries. We left the field with almost 20 cups of strawberries!!! The very first thing my dad asked for was a pan of strawberry squares and I couldn't say no :) But if you follow along on this blog at all you know I avoid using any packages in my baking and prefer to do everything from scratch - and those strawberry squares have gelatin in them to keep them nice and firm once they cool. So I done a bit of googling to find a gelatin substitute and what I actually found out was what gelatin is made out - bones, hooves, and connective tissue! (I am done with anything jelly and jiggly) It was time to find another way to make these squares.

So I put myself to work in the kitchen and whipped up a nice syrup, added my berries, and thickened it all with some cornstarch and water, and with my fingers crossed I put the squares in the fridge and hoped for the best.

Although they don't cut out with the same clean edges as the jelly version, they are so tasty and bone-free that my dad forgave me :) What do you think?


Strawberry Filling

2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar (could easily be reduced to 1 cup)
3 cups berries (I used whole fresh, but frozen would work too)
2 tbsp cornstarch

- Bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring often.
- Once it reaches a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often.
- Add berries and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.
- Mix cornstarch with enough water to make a liquid, not a paste. Add to berry mixture all at once and stir quickly.
- Continue to cook for 5 more minutes, stirring often.
- Put a large sieve over a large bowl. Pour berry mixture through sieve. (This will separate the berries from the syrup and remove any lumps of the cornstarch mixture.
- Let cool for 30 minutes.


Graham Cracker Bottom

2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon

- Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
- Mix together all three ingredients and press into a 9X9 glass baking dish.
- Bake for about 10 minutes, or just until it starts to brown.
- Remove from oven and set aside.


Chantilly Whipped Cream

500 ml whipping cream, cold
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla

- In a cold bowl with cold beaters, whip the cream until soft peaks form (it will take a while so don't give up!)
- Add the icing sugar and vanilla and whip until stiff peaks form.
- Keep cold until ready to use.


Assembly

- Place cooled strawberries from sieve on top of graham cracker bottom.
- Pour enough syrup over the berries to cover. (The leftover syrup is excellent for crepes!!!!)
- Let set in fridge until stiff.
- Cover with whipped cream. (The leftover cream is excellent for crepes!!!!)

Strawberry

#77) Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

After nearly 2 years of blogging (my blog bday is on the 19th), it is sometimes hard to find new sweet treats to share with you guys. It is true, I tend to stick within my comfort zone of chocolate and peanut butter a lot, but every now and then it is really fun to whip up something totally different than my usual flavour combos, and that's why I enjoyed this cake so much!

I have to admit, until this bad boy came out of the oven, I had never even tasted any lemon and poppy seed sweet treats before - but I have been converted! This cake is so light and citrus flavour is so crisp that each bite addictive. And the four-berry curd in the middle - OMG! I was a little unsure while it was still hot, but once it cooled and settled into the cake.... well, let's just say it was a match made in heaven :)

I am going to be MIA again now for a while - July is gonna be a busy month - so with the exception of a couple of possible posts this week, I won't see you much next month. I am away in beautiful Quebec for two weeks, travelling home to Newfoundland for a week, getting married, and heading back to Quebec for the honeymoon... See you in August!!!


Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

Ingredients

2 1/3 cups cake flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seed
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup evaporated milk
5 egg whites, room temperature (keep the yolks for the curd)
1/2 tsp sugar

Steps

-Spray 13x9 inch pyrex dish and line with parchment paper (long enough so there are "handles" on each side to lift out cooled cake).

-Preheat oven to 350F.

-In a medium bowl, stir together cake flour, baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds.

-In a large bowl, cream sugar, zest, and butter.

-Add flour mixture and milk alternately to butter mixture in 4 additions, starting with milk and ending with flour. Beat after each addition.

-In a separate bowl, beat eggs and 1/2 tsp sugar until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into batter.

-Pour batter into prepared dish and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in dish for 15 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely. Cut down the middle to form to square cakes.


Four-Berry Curd

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups berries, fresh or thawed
5 egg yolks, lightly beaten
3/4 cup sugar
3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Steps

-Melt butter in large sauce pan.

-Add berries, yolks, and sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently and mashing berries. Mixture should thicken. (Mine didn't thicken very much so I ended up with a slightly runny curd, but the flavour was great)

-Once thickened, pour through a large strainer to remove the large pieces of berry. Add lemon juice and let cool to room temperature (should thicken more as it cools).


Assembly

-Pour some curd over top of one square cake. Place second cake on top.

(There will be plenty of curd left over to add to individual servings, as desired)

#76) Cinnamon Cupcakes

Have you missed me? Well, that's not important - what is important is that I have missed you! But I am here with cupcakes in hand hoping you will forgive my long absence, yet again...

Here's the deal, fiance and I are getting married in just 65 days!!! (Yes I am nervous, but everything is falling into place nicely) So to get in shape and shed a few pounds I have hired a trainer and joined a Booty Boot Camp. Let me tell you, this trainer knows her stuff and she makes sure I work hard. But you know what that means, less time to be in the kitchen and super bad guilty conscious for eating all the sweet treats I love so much!

Buuuuuuuuuuuuutttttttt - last weekend was the May Long Weekend and I decided it was about time I got back in the kitchen and started playing with some ideas and ingredients.... the guilty conscious went on vacation :)

I started out wanting cinnamon buns, but I have a strange fear of yeast and am quite nervous about using it... I know, this makes no sense and cinnamon buns would be worth it, right? Yeah, I couldn't do it... So I done the next best thing - cupcakes!!! But sticking with the cinnamon bun craving I slapped some cinnamon sugar in the middle and topped them all with a highly addictive lemon cream cheese frosting. You have to try them!!!!!!!!!

Cinnamon Filling

Ingredients

1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cocoa powder

Steps

- Mix together in small bowl.

Cupcake Batter

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups cake flour (for those of you with AP flour - measure out all your flour, remove 7 tbsp, replace with 7 tbsp cornstarch - def worth the extra effort!)
2 cups sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup (soy) milk
4 eggs
2 egg whites
2 tsp vanilla

Steps

- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line muffin cups with paper liners.

- Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into large, deep bowl.

- Add the butter and 1/2 cup of the milk. Mix on medium speed until smooth.

- In a separate bowl, blend the eggs, egg whites, the remaining 1/2 cup milk and the vanilla. Add to the batter in 3 additions, mixing for 2 minutes on medium speed after each addition. Scrape down the bowl between additions.

Assembly

- Place 1 1/2 tsp cake batter into the muffin liners.

- Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of filling into the muffin cups.

- Cover with more batter, filling cups about 2/3 full. Use a toothpick to swirl the cinnamon centre.

- Bake at 350°F for 18-20.

- Cool completely.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

1 8-oz block (light) cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
Juice of 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup)
Grated rind of one lemon
1/2 cups icing sugar (this will change depending on moisture content of cream cheese, amount of juice in lemon, etc. - you want a smooth, fluffy consistency, but not pipeable frosting)

Steps

- Beat together all ingredients except icing sugar until combined.

- Add icing sugar 1/2 cup at a time until proper consistency is achieved.

#75) Chocolate Swirl Banana Bread

I went out to a "girls' night" last weekend and thought it would be nice to add a sweet treat to the finger food menu... I had loads of bananas in the kitchen, and a couple handfulls of different kinds of chocolate chips kicking around... Well, what goes better together than banana and chocolate?

The banana bread was good, but I like a nice dense banana bread so to improve I would add another banana next time around. Also, the recipe I tweaked said to use all the batter in one loaf pan, but it was a lot of batter so I divided it into two loaf pans and got two nice loaves.

(PS - please forgive the poor photo, but souRIRE photography wasn't visiting last weekend)

I've got a few more bananas to use up this weekend... any suggestions for a banana sweet treat you'd like to see here?

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 cup chocolate chips + extra for the top(I used a mixture of white and mini semi-sweet)
2 cups ripe banana (about 4 bananas)
1/2 cup melted butter
1/4 cup (soy) milk
2 eggs

Steps:

-Preheat oven to 350ºF. Prepare 2 loaf pans with spray oil.

-In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips. Set aside.

-In another bowl, mix together bananas, butter, milk, and eggs. Pour over flour mixture and stir just until combined.

-Divide between two loaf pans.

-Sprinkle additional chocolate chips on top (up to you how much!)

-Put loaves in the oven for 3 minutes. Remove and run a butter knife through each loaf lengthwise and widthwise to swirl the chocolate. (I used a "sawing" motion so I didn't drag the batter all over the place)

-Return loaves to oven and bake for another 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

-Let cool completely before slicing.

How to Bake: The Prepared Pantry

Hi everyone!

I know I have been MIA for a while but let me tell you I have not been lying down on the job - during Easter break I made a trip home back to Newfoundland for my bridal shower, where the theme was "Desserts for Dani." We had cake, cookies, cheesecakes, bars, and cupcakes - but I didn't get any good photos, sorry!

While I was on my little trip the folks from The Prepared Pantry contacted me about a great e-book they offer via their website. I should tell you I have been looking for a good how-to baking book for quite some time now - you know, not just a collection of recipes but a book that tells me the who, what, when, where, why, and how of baking. I have found some in bookstores, but am far too frugal to spend $75 on any book. That's why when I got this e-mail I signed up right away. Now, once a week I get a chapter e-mailed to me until I eventually have collected all 250 pages. I am currently on Chp 3 and have found the information very useful and explanatory. Sign up right now!



After I signed up I browsed through their website and found they offer a lot of neat products. Mainly they sell mixes, but you will also find herbs, spices, and tools as well. I have found a dozen or more items I wouldn't mind having, and have bookmarked them all for my fiance to have a look at (hint hint).

I hope you find this site as intersting as I did, and please, let me know if you have found any other similar places I might enjoy :)

#74) Peach Upside-Downs

I have been drooling over my copy of Better Homes and Gardens' "Ultimate Desserts" since I got it in the mail last week. So I thought today was a good time to try out one of the many recipes I had picked out. The recipe in the book is a Caramelized Fresh Apricot Upside-Down Cake. Well, as I have said before, I live in Labrador so getting anything "fresh" is a pretty hard task. Also, I couldn't find canned apricots, so I went with canned peaches. And I couldn't justify making a whole cake for just myself, so I halved the recipe and made cupcake versions. Oh, and I have to apologize for the quality of the photo - fiance, aka souRIRE photography, wasn't here to do it today.

Here is my version of the recipe:

Syrup

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar
1/8 cup butter (almost 2 tbsp)
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp lemon juice

Steps

-combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Let boil for 5-10 minutes (mine was done in about 7), stirring often. You want the syrup to be a rich amber colour. (watch closely as colour begins to change as syrup can go from sweet to burnt in just seconds)

-set aside.

Cakes

Ingredients

6 canned peach slices, drained (I will cut them into smaller pieces next time)
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, separated
1/2 tsp vanilla

Steps

-preheat over to 350ºF and lightly spray 6 muffin cups with Pam.
-place peach pieces into muffin cups.
-pour slightly cooled syrup over peach pieces. Set aside.
-stir together flour and baking powder in small bowl.
-in a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Add egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in milk and vanilla.
-in a clean, dry bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.
-fold one quarter of the egg whites into cake batter. Fold in remaining egg whites.
-using a 1/8 cup measure, divide batter among muffin cups.
-bake for 18-22 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. (mine took 22 minutes)
-let cool on wire rack in for 5 minutes, then run a knife around edges to loosed cupcakes. Carefully turn over onto a plate. Spoon any remaining syrup over cupcakes.