Samoa Girl Scout Cookies

So every year my boyfriend and I order at least one box of Samoa cookies and one box of Thin Mints from the girl scouts.  This year we chowed down the box of Samoa's really fast and we both wanted more.  I have been seeing lots of other bloggers make homemade girl scout cookies so I decided to try it too.  As I was looking through recipes I noticed that the base cookie for Samoa's and Tagalongs was the same.  So this last Sunday I decided to make both.  It turned into an all day project and I think next year I will just buy more boxes of Samoa's.  Getting the coconut Carmel mixture on the cookies was not fun and very messy, as well as dipping the cookies in chocolate was long and messy too.  And in the end, the cookies were okay, but nowhere near as good as the ones that come out of that purple box!  If I make the cookies again, I would make the cookies a bit thinner and next time I wont do the center hole cutout.  Trying to shape the sticky Carmel coconut goop around the cookie was almost impossible!  Overall it was a good experience but I am not sure it was worth my time.  If you try them, let me know how yours turn out!

Recipe adapted from Baking Bites
Yield: about 3 dozen
Cookie Ingredients:
1 Cup Butter, unsalted and room temperature
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 Cups Flour
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla
2 Tablespoons Milk


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, followed by the vanilla and milk, adding in the milk as needed to make the dough come together without being sticky.
3. The dough should come together into a soft, not-too-sticky ball. Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough is very sticky.
4. Divide the dough into 2-3 pieces, roll the dough out between pieces of wax paper to about 1/4-inch thickness (or slightly less) and use a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter to make rounds, or whatever you have. 
5. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and use whatever you can find to cut out the center hole, (try the end of a wide straw, or a knife to cut a smaller center hole, or the base of a pastry tip).
6. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms are lightly browned and cookies are set.
7. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Topping Ingredients:
3 Cups Shredded Coconut (I used unsweetened but you can use either)
12oz. Chewy Caramels
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
3 Tablespoons Milk
1 Cup Chocolate (I used semisweet chocolate chips but whatever you have is fine)


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300. 
2. Spread coconut evenly on a baking sheet and toast 20 minutes(mine only took 5 minutes!!), stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Be sure to watch it because mine toasted REAL fast! Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
3. Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.  Let cool for at least 10 minutes.
4. Using the spatula or a small offset spatula, spread topping on cooled cookies, using about 2-3 tsp per cookie.  This is a messy step! 
5. While topping sets up, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each cookie into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a zip lock bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle finished cookies with chocolate.
6. Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.
7. Enjoy!

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

I am kind of a science dork; therefore I love Alton Brown and Good Eats.  His method of explaining recipes and science is great and his food/recipes are amazing!  I have made many of his recipes, mostly dinner stuff, but for a long time I have wanted to make his overnight cinnamon rolls.  I loved the idea of doing all the work the night before and in the morning just being able to pop them in the oven.   I decided today was just as good as any other day to try these so off to the supermarket I went.  I guess I bought the wrong kind of yeast and I didn’t realize it until after I had made the dough and was waiting for it to rise.  I was reading the reviews and someone had said that if you bought active dry yeast then you need to follow the directions on the package before adding it to the bowl.  I was very disappointed that I had made such a crucial mistake, but I decided to continue making them even though the dough didn’t rise much.  In then end the cinnamon rolls turned out ok, they were just very dense.  I didn’t want to make a cream cheese frosting so I just made a simple glaze to drizzle over the rolls.  I hope this recipe will encourage all the other bakers out there to try making cinnamon rolls for your families!  If you have only a few people in your house and don’t want to make all 12 cinnamon rolls, you can freeze them after they are rolled and cut up.  I have 3 more batches of 3 rolls that I can bake up any morning!  

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls - Adapted from Alton Brown

Dough Ingredients:

4 Eggs Yolks, room temperature

1 Egg, room temperature

1/4 Cup Sugar

6 Tablespoons Butter, unsalted and melted

3/4 Cup Buttermilk, room temperature

3 1/2 - 4 Cups Flour

1 Package Instant Dry Yeast - Not ActiveDry - If you buy active then you must follow directions on package first

1 1/4 Teaspoon Salt

Cooking Spray for pan

Filling Ingredients:

1 Cup Brown Sugar, packed

1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

1 Pinch of Salt

2 Tablespoons Butter, unsalted and melted

Glaze Ingredients:

1 Cup Powdered Sugar

1 Tablespoon Milk

1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla

Directions

1. For the dough: in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, and buttermilk. 
2. Add approximately 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt; whisk until moistened and combined.
3.  Remove the whisk attachment and replace with a dough hook. Add all but 3/4 cup of the remaining flour and knead on low speed for 5 minutes. 
4. Check the consistency of the dough, add more flour if necessary; the dough should feel soft and moist but not sticky. Knead on low speed 5 minutes more or until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. 
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead by hand about 30 seconds. Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl, lightly oil the top of the dough, cover and let double in volume, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
6. For the Filling, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Mix until well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.
7. Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape the dough into a rectangle with the long side nearest you. Roll into an 18 by 12-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the 3/4-ounce of melted butter, leaving 1/2-inch border along the top edge. 
8. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border along the top edge; gently press the filling into the dough. Beginning with the long edge nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Firmly pinch the seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down. Very gently squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness. 
9. Using a serrated knife, slice the cylinder into 1 1/2-inch rolls; yielding 12 rolls. Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking dish; cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.
10. The next morning, remove the rolls from the refrigerator and place in an oven that is turned off. Fill a shallow pan 2/3-full of boiling water and set on the rack below the rolls. Close the oven door and let the rolls rise until they look slightly puffy; approximately 30 minutes. Remove the rolls and the shallow pan of water from the oven.  I accidentally skipped this step, but i already had dough rising problems.
11. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
12. When the oven is ready, place the rolls on the middle rack and bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes.
13. While the rolls are cooling slightly, 
14. Spread over the rolls and serve immediately.
15. Enjoy!!

Lemon Sugar Cookies

For the longest time I have wanted a zester/mircoplane and yesterday I finally found one on sale at Home Goods.  I was so happy in the store people were giving me weird looks, but that's ok because I now have a zester!!  I have been saving up recipes that need a zester and this was my first choice.  I love sugar cookies and I love lemons, so this recipe was a no brainer.  While making them, I loved how my kitchen smelled, like fresh lemons.  I had a serious problem keeping my fingers out of the cookie dough.  I think I ate about 4 cookies worth of dough, which normally I don't do, but I couldn't resist with these.  Needless to say, I was very excited to take them out of the oven, but I was patient and let the cookies cool.  I ate one faster then you can say "lemon sugar cookie!"  A little later, when I was taking pictures, I took a bit out of one for effect, but then couldn't resist taking another bite, and by then end of the photo shoot the cookie was gone. All I can say is good thing I went on a run today...

Lemon Sugar Cookies - Adapted from My Baking Addiction 

Yield about 3 dozen depending on size

Ingredients:

1 Cups Butter, unsalted and room temperature

1 1/2 Cup Sugar

1 Egg

1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla

Zest of 1-2 large lemons, I would recommend at least 1 1/2

4 Tablespoons of Fresh Lemon Juice

2 3/4 Cups Flour

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

Extra sugar for rolling cookies

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a small bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and whisk together. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of your mixer, cream the butter and sugar until smooth.
4. Beat in the egg, vanilla, lemon juice and zest. Mix until fully incorporated.
5. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until a dough forms.
6. Roll tablespoon size balls of dough in the extra sugar.  Place on cookie sheet 2 inches apart.
7. Bake 8-10 minutes or until very lightly browned.
8. Let cool, then ENJOY!

Nutella Brownies

I love Nutella, as you probably know by now!!  I found this recipe about 3 days ago and made these in my first moment of spare time. I literally couldn't wait for them to come out of the oven and cool!  They are so chewy and chocolaty and perfect!  There is only a slight flavor of nutella, which was kind of disappointing but the overall brownie was crazy good!!  I also liked the recipe because it made a large pan of brownies and they are over an inch thick.  I feel like most recipes are for small square pans and sometimes don't puff up very much, but not these.  Its a lot of batter and they grow a ton in the oven!  The other thing that I love about this recipe is you melt the butter in a sauce pan, so it doesn't have to be room temperature.  That bugs me when you have to wait an hour for the butter to come to room temperature before you can start baking.   So this is another plus for this recipe for me.  Overall, I think you should definitely make these if your a Nutella nut like me!

Nutella Brownie Recipe - Adapted from Ravienomnoms Blog
Yield - About 24 squares
Ingredients:
1 Cup Butter, Unsalted
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Teaspoons Vanilla
4 Eggs
1 Cup Flour
3/4 Cup Baking Cocoa Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1 Cup Nutella, melted until runny
1 Cup Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
Some chocolate shavings for the top (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
3. In a small sauce pan, melt the butter on low heat.  Then add the sugars and vanilla.  Stir until combined.  
4. Remove from heat and move the mixture to the bowl of your mixer.  Let cool for about 15 minutes.
5. Add one egg at a time and make sure that the egg is completely mixed in before add the next egg.
6. Add the dry ingredients, stir til incorporated.
7. Add the melted nutella, about 30 seconds in the microwave will do it.
8. Add the chocolate chips and stir.  
9. Pour the batter into a greased 9x13 pan.  Add the chocolate shavings to the top if you want.
10. Bake for 35-40 minutes.
11. Remove from the oven and let cool before slicing.
12. Enjoy with a glass of milk!

Oreo Cupcakes

Oreo's are amazing and that is a fact.  Not only are they delicious to eat when dunked in milk, they are also delicious in a cupcake!!  I found this recipe a while ago and made them for the first time before I had started my blog.  They were a huge hit with everyone and so I decided to make them again and feature them on my blog.  The cupcake recipe alone is great for everyday use, or you can add the Oreo at the bottom to make these.  The frosting is the Swiss Meringue buttercream that I have made a few times, you just add crushed Oreo at the end.  I made regular size cupcakes and mini's as you can see in my photos.  I like the mini's better because they are bite size and amazing!  The perfect chocolate cupcake with a great light Oreo frosting is like heaven in your mouth!  If you love Oreo's like I do, you will love this cupcake!!

Oreo Cupcakes Recipe from A Cup Full of Cake

Yield: 30 Regular Size Cupcakes or 12 Regular and 24 Mini

Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

Ingredients:

3 Cups Flour

2 Cups Sugar

1/2 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, best quality possible

2 Teaspoons Baking Soda

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1 Cup Whole Milk

1/2 Cup Bittersweet or Semisweet Chocolate, melted and cooled

1/2 Cup and 1 Teaspoon Boiling Water, have this ready to go

3/4 Cup Vegetable or Canola Oil

2 Eggs, room temperature

2 Tablespoons Vinegar, not wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

1 Package of Regular Size Oreo's and 1 Package of Mini Oreo's

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Prepare the cupcake tin with paper baking cups, and carefully twist off one side of the Oreo and place one in the bottom of each cupcake liner with the cream side up.  Use the regular size Oreo for the regular size cupcake, and use the mini Oreo for the mini cupcakes.
2. Whisk together the 5 dry ingredients in a medium size bowl; flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a large bowl with a hand mixer, or in the bowl of your Kitchen Aid, whisk the eggs together until slightly thicken and a pale color.
4. Add the milk, vanilla, oil, and vinegar, beat until combine
5. Add in the melted chocolate and beat until combine. Be sure to scrape down the sides.
6. Add all of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just to combine.
7. Add the boiling water and mix just to combine. Be sure to scrape down the sides.
8. Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full.
9. Bake for 15-18 minutes for the regular size, and a little bit less for the minis, about 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
10. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Oreo Swiss Meringue Buttercream adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cup Sugar
6 Egg Whites
Pinch of Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar
2 Cups of Butter, unsalted and room temperature, cut into tablespoons
1 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla

Oreo Cookie Crumbs (12-14 whole Oreo's and the cookie tops from cupcakes, pulse in food processor until it is fine crumbs, or I just put them in a Ziploc back and crushed them myself with something heavy because I don't have a food processor. The smaller pieces would have been better for piping the frosting but that's okay.)

This recipe makes enough to frost a 2 layer cake or frost 24 or more cupcakes, depending on the amount of frosting per cupcake...

Directions:

1. Heat sugar and eggs: Bring a saucepan filled with about 2 inches of water to a simmer. Meanwhile, combine sugar, egg whites, and salt in a large heat-proof mixing bowl. Set bowl over (not in) simmering water, and whisk until whites are warm to the touch and sugar is dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes. (Heating the eggs relaxes their proteins, enabling the eggs to whip up higher and more quickly; the sugar also melts, for a silky smooth consistency.) Test by rubbing between your fingers; the mixture should feel smooth.
2. Whip meringue: Attach bowl to a standing electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat on low speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar, and beat on medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form and mixture is cooled completely, about 10 minutes.
3. Mix in butter: Reduce speed to medium-low; add butter 2 tablespoons at a time, beating to incorporate fully after each addition. Don't worry if the buttercream appears curdled at this point; it will become perfectly smooth again with continued beating. After all the butter has been incorporated, beat in vanilla.
4. Finish: Switch to the paddle attachment. Add the Oreo crumbs and beat on the lowest speed to reduce air bubbles, 3 to 5 minutes. Let stand, covered with plastic wrap, at room temperature. (If not using the same day, transfer to airtight containers and store in the refrigerator up to 3 days or the freezer up to 1 month. Before using, bring to room temperature; beat with paddle attachment on the lowest speed until smooth and pliable, about 10 minutes.)
5. I frosted the cupcakes with a large pastry bag and a 1M tip, and added another mini Oreo on top for decoration. 
6. Enjoy!!!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting

So I found this company online called Sof'ella Gourmet Natural Foods.  They made all kinds of gourmet box mixes from breads, to cupcakes, pancake mixes and more.  I found a couple of mixes that I wanted to try and ordered them!  I was so excited when they came in the mail, and I couldn't wait to try them.  I wanted to make the red velvet first because I have not made cupcakes in a few weeks.   So all you have to add for the mixes is butter, eggs and water.   These are fool proof for beginning bakers or if you do not have the supplies, resources, or energy for baking from scratch.  I have never made red velvet from scratch, but I have tried some delicious red velvet from various bakeries, and this box mix is amazing in comparison!  If you don't tell anyone that this is a box mix, no one will know, just keep it a secret between you and your kitchen!  Be sure to check out their website Sof'ella.  The best part is these mixes are very reasonably priced!  They range from $4 to $6 and have gluten free options too! I hope you enjoyed these as much as the hard working team at Working Wardrobes did!!  In the next few weeks I will also be baking their lemon bars and sea salt caramel brownies, so be sure to check out those reviews too!

Recipe Yield: 12 Cupcakes, or 1-9"Cake, 12 Whoopie Pies

Cake Ingredients:

1 Box Cake Mix

1 Stick of Butter, unsalted and room temperature

2 Eggs

3/4 Cup Water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease the cake pan if needed.
2. Cream the butter in a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of your Kitchen Aid mixer.
3. Add the eggs and mix until combine.  Then add the cake mix and water and mix just until combine.
4. Add the batter to the pan, or muffin tins.
5. Bake as directed by the box.  For cupcakes it takes about 18-20 minutes.
6. Allow to cool before removing from the pan.

Vanilla Bean Buttercream

Ingredients:

1 Bag of Frosting Mix

2 Sticks of Butter, unsalted and room temperature

Directions:

1. Cream the butter in a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of your Kitchen Aid mixer.
2. Add the frosting mix and water, mix until smooth.
3. Once the cupcakes are cooled, frost the cupcakes.
4. Enjoy!!

Butter Toffee Cookies

I was shopping the other day and felt like splurging on the peanut butter chips I used in the last recipe and these toffee bits I used in this recipe.  To find this recipe I just googled toffee bit cookies and I found this on the Land O'Lakes website.  Coincidentally, I used Land O'Lakes butter too, but just because it was on sale at the grocery store.   So I realized that the toffee bits are just chopped up heath bar, so if you don't want to buy the toffee bits, just buy a couple of heath bars and chop them up yourself, I will do that in the future.  Anyway, these cookies are amazing!  I love Heath Bars so this cookies are dreamy!!  The toffee bits stay crunchy after baking so these cookies not only have great flavor but they have great texture!!  They are a little thin, but I like them anyway!

Recipe Adapted from Land O'Lakes
Yield about 4 dozen
Ingredients:
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Butter, unsalted and room temperature
2 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
2 1/2 Cup Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Package of Toffee Bit

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl.  Beat in the eggs and vanilla until creamy.
3. Add the flour, baking soda and salt, mix until  combined.  Be sure to scape the bowl.
4. Stir in toffee bits.
5. Drop dough onto cookie sheet and bake for 10- 12 minutes, or until lightly browned.
6. Cool for a few minutes and move to cooling rack.
7. Enjoy!!

Reece's Pieces Cookies

As you might have already guessed, I LOVE peanut butter.  I saw this recipe a few days ago and it went straight to the top of my baking to-do list.  This cookie has Reece's Pieces, peanut butter chips, and chocolate chips.  I think the cookie might have been better if it was a peanut butter cookie with the add-ins, but this cookie was still delicious!  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as i did!!

This recipe is adapted from The Sweet's Life

Recipe - Yield 4 dozen

Ingredients:

3 1/2 Cup Flour

3/4 Teaspoon Salt

3/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1 Cup Brown Sugar

3/4 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Butter, unsalted and room temperature

2 Eggs

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

2 Cups Mix-ins (A combination of Reece's Pieces, chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix together flour, salt and baking soda is small bowl.
3. In a large mixing bowl, or in your Kitchen Aid mixer, cream the butter and sugars.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combine.
4. Add the flour mixture, and beat until combine.  Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
5. Add the mix-ins, and mix just until combine.
6. Drop the dough onto the cookie sheet, and bake until lightly brown.  About 8-10 minutes.
7. Cool the cookies and Enjoy!!

Happy Birthday Bryan!

Today I made a cake for one of my young readers.  He turns 6 today and really wanted an Advengers birthday cake with flames!  So here is what I made!  I hope you have a great day Bryan and you love your cake!

Crispy Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe I made today with the 2 1/2 year old twin girls I babysit.  The mom had the idea that these would be granola bar like cookies and some what healthy.  Whether these are healthy or not is debatable, but I will tell you that they are delicious!  There is a tablespoon of cinnamon which I love and will make your home smell wonderful!  

Recipe - Yield 4 dozen

Ingredients:

1 Cup Butter, unsalted, room temperature

1 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Brown Sugar

2 Eggs

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

1 1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour

1 Tablespoon Baking Soda

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

1/2 Cup Chopped Pecans

3 1/4 Cups Rolled Oats

Directions:

1. Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl - the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
2. Cream the butter and sugars together.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth.
3. Add dry ingredients and mix until combine.  Add pecan and oats and mix.  
4. Divide into 4 balls and roll into a log.  Refrigerate for at least an hour.  
5. Cut log into 1/2 inch cookies and bake until brown and crispy, about 15-18 minutes, or for a softer and chewier cookie, bake for 12-14 minutes.  Cool on rack.
6. Enjoy!!