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Brown Butter Sugar Cookies

Last night, I had plans to make these delicious cookies. I was just about to make them when David said to me, "No! Wait just a half hour!" So, waited I did. Rather impatiently I might add. It was so worth being patient for once in my life though because sure enough, about a half hour later, I heard a knock on the door. I answered it and to my surprise, David's parents were standing there with a big box in their hands, which I assumed was a box full of things for David. I was so wrong though!

They set the box down on the table and told me that it was an early Christmas gift for me. I opened it up and the best suprise ever was inside: a pistachio-green KitchenAid! I was beyond thrilled! In fact, my deoderant got quite the workout because I sweat a lot when I'm excited...too much info? Oh well, it's true!

After I got it unwrapped, I rinsed it off and started making these yummy cookies! Let it now be known that these were the first ever cookies made in my awesome new KitchenAid!

 It was a good first cookie, if you ask me. I love a chewy sugar cookie and, as I've mentioned before, I adore brown sugar! It gives such a depth of flavor to cookies. I used to make my own brown sugar, but I ran out of molasses and haven't bought anymore yet...I should get on that soon because homemade brown sugar is truly the best.

to make brown butter sugar cookies:

14 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour1/2 teaspoon baking soda1/4 teaspoon baking powder3/4 teaspoon salt1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk1 1/2 Tablespoons vanilla extract1/8 cup white sugar
1/8 cup brown sugar

In a medium saucepan, melt and brown the butter. Let cool for 15 minutes.

When the butter is done cooling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. In your standing mixer or using a bowl and hand mixer, cream together the melted butter (making sure to scrape all the browned bits into the bowl as well) and the brown sugar together.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside

Add the egg into the butter and sugar mixture and mix together until incorporated. Scrap down the sides of the bowl and then add the egg yolk and mix again. Mix in the vanilla extract.

Stir the flour into the mixture until just incorporated.

In a small bowl, mix together the white and brown sugar. Scooping out cookie dough into tablespoon balls, roll in the sugar mixture until well coated. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat. Continue with the rest of the cookie dough, making sure to give the cookie dough balls two inches of space between one another. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until the edges and set and the bottoms are slightly golden. Enjoy with a cold glass of milk.

 

Grandma's Brownies + PRINTABLE

Now-a-day's my grandma and I are pretty close. She is my hero and the kind of person I want to be when I grow up because she's borderline genius and so incredibly loving. My grandma lives about four hours away so growing up, I didn't get to see her that often and get a chance to eat all her goodies. I do, however, remember one week that we spent up north and my sister and I were the lucky ones that got to go hang out at Grandma's house and bake brownies with her! They were so good and it was the first time I had ever seen anyone make brownies from scratch (sorry Mom, but those boxed mixes just don't do it. You have other wonderful attributes that I adore you for).

This past July my mom and I spent a weekend up north with my grandma's and while we were there, my grandma showed me a handful of handwritten recipes. She let me take them home with me and copy them; it felt like I was taking home gold! I finally was able to get the chance to make these brownies this week and they are so decedant. These brownies are really rich, super chocolatey, and so so fudgy (in a good way)! I highly suggest taking a small warm brownie and having a glass of milk on hand to wash it down. It's perfect!

Since my grandma's handwritten recipes meant so much to me, I thought you would all like the chance to be able to write down your own recipes for you to pass on to family members or just to keep on hand. You can download some of your own pretty printable recipe cards here to enjoy!

to make triple chocolate brownies:

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter2 cups sugar3 eggs1 tsp. vanilla extract1 cup all-purpose flour1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips1/2 cup milk chocolate chips1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Butter a 9 x 9 inch metal baking pan.

In a large glass bowl, combine the chopped unsweetened chocolate and the cubed butter. Microwave on high for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes until butter is melted. Stir until completely combined. Mix in sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Add flour to mixture and stir, then combine all chocolate chips. Pour batter into the baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when poked in the center. Do not overbake otherwise they're get too chewy. Once out of the oven, sprinkle a tablespoon of two of extra chocolate chips and gently press into the top. Let cool in baking pan on top of a cooling rack.

Enjoy with a glass of milk.

 

Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Happy Labor Day everyone! Enjoy the last bits of summer with some delicious and GIANT cookie ice cream sandwiches! I always celebrate the end of summer with a yummy ice cream treat and this year, I baked up my favorite chocolate chip cookies and make some ice cream sandwiches with them. Do you have any end-of-the-summer traditions?

Nutella Cookies + Video

Guys! I made my very first vlog! I am beyond excited right now and so very proud to show it to you guys! There are some mistakes and I said "uhm," "okay?" and "alright?" wayyyy too many times. I was a little nervous. Next time though, I'll be ready with some awesome jokes because in my head I'm a young, brunette, Amy Poehler/Tina Fey combo and I wanna show you guys. So, without further ado, here is my very first how-to video with Nutella cookies (my most popular recipe on here)!

 

(on a side note, I learned that my video camera takes photos while it's taping and it was always at a time when I was smiling at the camera! They look like we did it on purpose, but we didn't! I'm amazed! Can you tell?)

What did you all think of the video? I would love to hear your thoughts on how it was, what you would like to see next, what you would not like to see next and all sorts of other things! I was thinking of doing a pancake how-to next since I know of a lot of people that don't know how to make them (gasp!) and I want to show you how easy it actually is. What would you all think of that? I wanna hear!

 

p.s. Don't forget that Friday we'll be discussing our Movie of the Month! If you haven't yet, be sure to watch 12 Angry Men!

to make Nutella cookies:original post here.

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Nutella
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

In another bowl (or bowl of a stand mixer) combine the nutella, butter, and both sugars. Cream together for about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and blend together. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients until just incorporated.

Shape the dough into walnut-sized balls (I use a cookie dough scooper for this) and place on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper about 3-4 inches apart. Slightly press down on the tops to flatten just a little bit. Bake for 10-13 minutes. Cool on the rack, then enjoy!

Gooey S'mores Dip

My favorite part of summer are the s'mores. In fact, I love them so much that part of the reason I like having a gas oven is because I can make them all year round (is that safe?). My mom taught me that trick when I was younger and I've been doing it ever since! What can I say? I'm a marshmallow addict.

Last weekend, during our sister sleepover, I made up a batch of these delicious & gooey s'mores dip. It was a hit with my sisters and I (and Instagram)! I can't wait to make this for a party because I think it would be great as an easy dessert that I wouldn't mind taking a few minutes away from the gathering to whip up real fast. Plus, the graham crackers make a great spoon without having to dirty any dishes.

All you need is a good pie pan, some chocolate chips of any variety, and some marshmallows! I used regular sized marshmallows, but mini ones would work great too if that's what you have on hand.

The first time I made this, I used a mix of regular chips and chocolate chunks, but this go-round I tried out mini chips because that's what I had and chocolate is chocolate, right?

I love marshmallows. And if you love marshmallows as much as I do, just keep a few extra on hand to munch on while you make this s'mores dip all pretty looking.

I hope you make this and enjoy it with your closest s'mores lovers. Lucky for me, I have three sisters that enjoy them as much as I do.

to make s'mores dip:

2 cups chocolate chips (any kind)
17 regular sized marshmallows, cut in halfgraham crackers, for dipping

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Farenheit. Grease up a pie pan using butter or non-stick spray.

Evenly spread out the chocolate chips into the bottom of the pan and top with the halved marshmallows, sticky-side down. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes until golden brown on top. Let cool slightly and then dig in like a maniac because it's s'mores dip.

Strawberry Polenta Cake

David and I went strawberry picking a while ago and man, did we make out with all the strawberries! They were delicious and so juicy and so many. I found a recipe for raspberry polenta cake and I thought it would be perfect with strawberries as well! I love the way it turned out! The polenta is a little crunchy and warm. The strawberries lend a delicious sweetness and juicy burst of flavor. So yummy!

First, we cut up some juicy strawberries and put them in a bowl to set aside for later. I've learned that freshly picked strawberries are the very best kind. I think it's because they are the literal fruits of your labor (bending over to pick all those guys in the hot sun is prett tiring).

We mix some polenta with some other yummy things to make the cake base and pour it into a hot pan that was freshly coated with butter. Sprinkle plents of ripe strawberries over the top. Really as much as you want; I wanted this much.

After it bakes for a short while, the edges get nice and crunchy and the center stays soft while the strawberries sink further into the cake to add suprise bites of flavor.

Serve it with ice cream, obviously. Ice cream makes everything so much better (e.g. bad days, sad days, even the best kind of days are better with ice cream)!

to make strawberry polenta cake:
adapted from Love & Lemons

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup finely ground polenta
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup strawberries
butter to grease the pan

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit with a 8 or 9 inch square baking pan inside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, polenta, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined.

In a small bowl, mix together the milk, syrup, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Pour into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined without over whisking it. The mixture may seem a little wet, but don't worry because the polenta will absorb the moisture as it bakes.

Using an oven mit, take the pan out of the oven and carefully grease the pan with butter. Pour the batter into the pan and sprinkle the top with strawberries. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden and crisp and a toothpick comes out clean from the center. Let cool slightly, but it's best served warm with vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!

 

*Because this is fresh fruit, store in the fridge no longer than two or three days. I left mine out on the counter and David thought I had made another one with chocolate chips. Yuck!

malted-milk cake

Yesterday I made this cake because I felt like making a cute, pretty cake. The first round, I didn't butter/flour my cake pans enough and one of the cakes got ruined, but likely it was a day I had nothing to do so I didn't mind (too much) that I had to remake it. All day yesterday David and I spent our time getting stuff done and planning things for the home, so this was a nice reward (or possibly a pre-reward, hehe). I hope you enjoy making it -- and eating it -- as much as we did.

xoxo

to make malted-milk cake:
adapted from Food & Wine

2 1/4 cups cake flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup malted milk powder (you can find it by the hot cocoa mix)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups cold milk
4 egg whites

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees farenheit. Butter and lightly flour two 9-inch round cake pans and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, all-purpose flour, malted milk powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl or standing mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and vanilla and mix until combined. Beat in a third of the flour mixture until just combined then half of the milk. Alternate between the two, ending with the flour mixture.

In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until fluffy and forming stiff peaks. Slowly fold into the batter until just combined. Seperate the batter into cake pans evenly and spread the mixture until flat. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick or fork comes out clean after being poked in the center. Let cool completely on racks before frosting.

 

to make chocolate malt frosting:
adapted from Martha Stewart

3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cups malted milk powder
1/4 cup boiling water
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
11 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted & cooled
few pinches of salt
malted milk balls to garnish (optional)

In a small bowl, combine the cocoa powder and malted milk powder. Whisk in the boiling water until combined.

In a large bowl or the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add cocoa mixture and beat until combined. Mix in the melted chocolate and salt and beat until smooth. Spread frosting on one layer of cake, then add the second cake on top. Frost the whole cake by adding a dollop of frosting on top and spread from the center to the sides. Top with chopped malted milk balls.

chocolate nut granola

My all-time favorite snack is yogurt and granola. It's pretty easily at hand, sweet, crunchy, and always delicious. My favorite granolas are from Trader Joe's because they're never overly sweet and they're super crunchy. So, when I found this recipe, I knew I was gonna have to make it right away. I only changed it slightly because it was pretty wonderful on it's own. I've been munching on it all week and it keeps me more full for a longer period of time than regular, grain granola does but it tastes just as good!

to make nut granola:barely adapted from Delighted Momma

1 cup pecans
1 cup raw almonds
1 cup walnuts
1/4 cup flax seed
3/4 cup coconut oil (you can also use butter here if you don't feel like shelling out money for the coconut oil)
2 Tbs. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbs. cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat your over to 300 degrees Farenheit and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. In a food processor, first add your almonds. Pulse a few times until half way to granola texture. Then add the pecans and walnuts and pulse a few times until all nuts are granola texture. I add the almonds first because they're a little more tough than the other nuts and take a little extra push to make them granola-y. Pour the nuts onto the baking sheet and add the flax seed. Mix up until well combined.

In a small pot, combine the oil, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, cocoa, and salt and melt over medium heat while stirring regularly. Gently pour over the nut mixture then mix until combined evenly. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Enjoy how you would any other granola!

french toast + brown sugar bacon

Saturday night, me and our friend, Aubry had a quadruple birthday party for David and his three friends (Mike, Tom, and Ido) who all have birthdays in March as well. It was a blast and I couldn't have asked for a better turn out! We had so much fun eating a lot of food (especially the awesome white chicken chili that Aubrey made us!) and hanging out with a group of people we don't always get to see too often at once. We also had some fun laughing at a bunch of old vidoes of the guys that Tom brought over and, let's just say there were some pretty embarrassing moments on David's part. The next morning, I made everyone breakfast and, even though it ended up only being three of us, I stil tried my best to make a yummy breakfast! I made some blueberry syrup for our french toast and some brown sugar bacon (mmm!).

to make blueberry syrup:way scaled down from this recipe

1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen; I used frozen)
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup water
lemon juice, from half a lemon

In a saucepan over medium low heat combine the blueberries, sugar, and water. Stir occassionaly and smash the blueberries against the side of the pan. Continue cooking for roughly 20 minutes until thicker and syrupy. Add the lemon juice in the last few minutes and stir thouroughly. Sever warm with french toast.

 

to make brown sugar + pepper bacon:
slighly adapted from here.

1 lb. thick-cut bacon
2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

 

Set the oven to broil. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil (it helps with the clean-up) and place a cooling rack on top. Place bacon strips on the rack about a half inch apart. Place under the broiler for 3-5 minutes. Take out of the oven and sprinkle with brown sugar mixture and place under the broiler for another 3-5 minutes and DON'T BURN IT! After it's cooked, place on a paper towel-lined plate and let cool slightly until the sugar crystalizes.

Enjoy!

 

 

lemon pancakes + tips for breakfast in bed

For David's birthday on Sunday, I didn't have much planned, but I knew I wanted to make him breakfast in bed. I ended up making him some very delcious lemon buttermilk pancakes and not-so-delicious burnt bacon. I learned a few things along the way about what and what not to do for making breakfast in bed that I thought you might like to hear about!

Do make them something they'll love. Even if you'd much rather have s'more waffles instead. I decided to make him some lemon blueberry pancakes.

Don't forget the blueberries. Because I did and we were both bummed when we realized it part of the way through breakfast. I think David was really looking forward to some blueberries, but they were still delicious! My tip is to make sure you have all of your ingredients out on the counter beforehand so you don't forget anything like I did.

Do make a great morning drink. If I were fancier, I probably would have made some mimosas because...well why not? Instead, I made one of my favorite morning drinks which is half orange juice and half apple juice. A splash of cranberry would probably be great with this too.

Don't burn the bacon. Seriously: it's gross. In my defense, I used a different type of bacon than I normally do so when I broiled it in the oven (my preferred method of cooking bacon) I didn't keep an eye on it like I should have.

Do greet them with a cheerful face. That morning ran very smoothly and I was able to cook everything realtively quick. However, this doesn't always happen and on those occasions, I think it's best not to let them know and just show up with a smile on your face and breakfast in your hands. mmm!

to make lemon buttermilk pancakes:
only slightly adapted from Becky Bakes

1 1/2 Tablespoons granulated sugarzest of 1 lemon2 Tablespoons butter melted and slightly cooled1 cup buttermilk, well shaken1 egg1 cup flour1 teaspoons baking powder1/2 teaspoon baking soda1/2 teaspoon saltabout 1 cup blueberries (optional)

 

Heat a large pan or skillet over medium heat.

In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and lemon zest until pale yellow and fragrant. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, buttermilk, and egg together. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar mixture and stir until just combined. There should be a few lumps in the batter and that's good.

Place a small pat of butter in the pan and swirl until evenly coated or spray with non-stick cooking spray. In 1/4 cup amounts, pour batter into pan about 3 inches apart. If using blueberries, drop several in the pancake batter. This is a much easier method than stirring them into the bater beforehand.

Once the batter starts bubbling on the sides and the bottoms are slightly golden, flip using a spatula. Continue cooking on other side until golden brown.

Serve warm with butter and powdered sugar or maple syrup.