Monthly Archives: September 2017

Mix It Up Friday – Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice

29 Friday Sep 2017

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from Tracey G.

Nearing the end of September, I’m still thinking apples, but also starting to think pumpkin! So, when I saw the King Arthur Flour mix for Pumpkindoodle Cookies, I decided I needed to try them! I love Snickerdoodles, and in my opinion the addition of pumpkin and spices could only add to them – and I was correct!

This mix was super easy to pull together, all it required of me, by way of ingredients, was a stick of butter and one egg. That’s it! The cinnamon-sugar to roll them in before baking is provided for you, which was a really nice inclusion.

You blend the mix along with the butter and egg, and it does come together quickly. Once you have a smooth dough, you scoop by the tablespoonful and roll them in the cinnamon-sugar mix. I used my cookie dough scoop to make them, and it was super easy to get them from the bowl, to the cinnamon-sugar and onto the baking sheet – and lastly, into a 350° F oven for about 13-15 minutes. When the cookies come out of the oven, they cool on the cookie sheets for 15 minutes. I then transferred mine to a rack to finish cooling.

We all enjoyed these immensely – both Harry and Jeremy have pretty much demolished the whole batch between the two of them, I think I’ve had maybe at the very most, 3 out of the 22 I got out of it. It says it makes 20, so I was pretty close –  I guess I got a couple bonus cookies, lol. They are reminiscent of a molasses cookie  with the addition of pumpkin, plus pumpkin pie spices, and then the coating they received of cinnamon-sugar gave them the Snickerdoodle trait. They were not dry at all, but moist and chewy and have kept their chewy texture. I absolutely loved this Pumpkindoodle Cookie Mix – it’s simple, easy to prepare and yummy to eat, what’s not to love?

 

from Kris B.

I am not one of those people who is beating down the door at Starbcucks when the Pumpkin Spice Lattes return each fall.  Yes, I do like pumpkin spice…a lot, but I much prefer it in baked goods rather than coffee.  Cinnamon, cloves, allspice…those are the flavors of fall to me.  Admittedly, my favorite baked pumpkin spice recipe is one for pumpkin bread given to me by my mom, but I was willing to give King Arthur Flour’s Pumpkin and Spice Muffin Mix a try.

Despite that this mix says right on the box “Do not eat raw mix, dough, or batter,” I ate a spoonful of the batter as I scraped the bowl.  I was surprised by a heavy molasses taste.  It wasn’t bad; it just wasn’t what I was expecting.  The flavor is somewhere between traditional pumpkin bread flavors and gingerbread, leaning more towards the gingerbread.  In very small, faint, vertical text, King Arthur does say next to the name on the box that molasses is a signature ingredient in these muffins.  Once you know to expect molasses rather than cinnamon and allspice, the muffins tasty.

Requiring only the addition of three eggs, a cup of water, and 1/3 of a cup of oil, to the contents of mix, the batter for the muffins comes together quickly.  It can either be made into a loaf or muffins.  The instructions say that the box makes a dozen muffins. I got fourteen standard muffins.  As with Tracey and her cookies, this was bonus week!

These muffins are great with coffee and fruit for breakfast, as a sweet treat after lunch, or as a snack any time of day.  Like the traditional “pumpkin pie” spices, molasses too is one of those flavors that, to me, says fall.  Being that fall is my favorite season of the year, I am for anything that reminds me of cooler temperatures and the colors of the changing leaves.

Happy fall, everyone!

Pumpkin and Spice Muffin Mix

Food Friday – Let’s Get Sconed!

22 Friday Sep 2017

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Something you may not know about me (or if you know me, believe about me) is that I am a rule follower.  This probably stems from growing up as an only child in a military family.  I always followed the established rules and did what I was told to do by my parents and other adults because I am also “a pleaser.”  Though I am now a mature adult, at least numerically, and don’t have to follow all the rules set by others, old behaviors die hard.  When it comes to making something from a recipe written by someone else, I feel an obligation to follow their instructions…sometimes to a fault.  There are times where my instinct tells me that something is not right with a recipe, but I am hesitant to trust that instinct, wondering if it is my ego that is taking over, something I seriously don’t want to happen  Another thing you may not know about  me is that people with inflated egos really rub me the wrong way!

That all sets the stage for my experience making this week’s recipe, Cinnamon-Cappuccino-Pecan Scones.

Tracey and I schedule each week’s recipe offering long in advance.  Often when a choose the recipe that I will make, I am “judging a book by its cover.”  That was the case with this one.  The title drew me in.  How can you go wrong with cinnamon, cappuccino, and pecans?  I was pretty excited when it came time to make these scones.  It was not until then, that I sat down and read the recipe in its entirety.  When I did that, a few things caught my attention, not necessarily in a good way.  They were: 1. The recipe only uses 1/4 cup of sugar. 2. The recipe calls for the addition of 4-5 TBS of water.  No baked good uses water except for bread.  Because these things were a little concerning to me, I read the comments on the King Arthur website about these scones.  The reviews were “aces and spaces,” either the bakers thought they were fabulous or terrible.  In some ways, that is not surprising.  Differing opinions always exist.  The thing that caught my attention was that several of the comments mentioned flavored chips.  The recipe, as posted here, does not include baking chips of any kind.  Looking a little more closely, I noticed that the most recent comment was from 2013.  Something was not right here.

But, because I am a rule follower, I set about following the posted recipe for Cinnamon-Cappuccino-Pecan Scones exactly as it is written.

I should have trusted my instinct.  They were terrible!  The texture was not right and they were flavorless.  I would go as far as to call this initial attempt a major fail.

I am also one who perseveres, often against the odds.  So, I went back to my thoughts about the issues with the recipe as posted and began to make new rules, my own rules.

Here are the changes that I made:

  • I reduced the baking powder from two teaspoons to one
  • I used 1/2 cup of sugar rather than a 1/4 cup
  • I doubled the amount of cinnamon from one teaspoon to two teaspoons
  • The ingredient list that reads, ” 1/3 cup pecans, processed or blended until very finely ground” proved a bit ambiguous to me.  Is it 1/3 cup of pecans that are then processed, which will yield much less than 1/3 cup of finely processed pecans.  I used 1/3 cup of finely processed pecans, but, honestly, I don’t think the amount used matters one way or the other in this instance.
  • I doubled (and then maybe added a little more) the espresso powder
  • I used 3/4 cup of full-fat plain yogurt.
  • I omitted the water entirely.
  • I added an egg.
  • I added 1/2 cup of caramel chips.  (I would have prefered a dark chocolate but my husband won’t eat chocolate in baked goods.  Weirdo!)

Other than those changes, I followed the instructions exactly! 🙂

The result?

The overall flavor was 100 times better.  The scones were still a little dry for my personal taste, but they are edible, especially with a nice cup of dark roast coffee, something that the first batch was not.  I may give this recipe another try.  If i do, I will probably double the amount of butter from a half a cup to a full cup.  Don’t judge! In case you didn’t know, scones are all about the fat.  Don’t think about that, just enjoy!

Back to being a rule follower and perhaps a little TMI…

I’ll take full responsibility for this week’s post title.  It’s a bit of a personal joke. A couple of weeks a go, I was in Denver where both getting sconed and getting stoned are legal.  Despite having had many opportunities in college, I have always chosen flour over weed.  Before we left for Colorado, I told Weber that I had added something to my bucket list.  Being one who had crossed that one off of his list a long time ago, he told me to go for it.  Damn being a rule follower, I couldn’t do it.  It is however, still on the list.  Maybe another time. I might be able to break this rule following habit yet! 🙂

from Tracey G

First let me preface my part of this post by saying, I fully approve that title! LOL!!! 😀 And I absolutely love my blog partner!! <3

When I chose this recipe for Cranberry-Orange Scones this week – I chose it because it happens to be one of my favorite flavors of scones and muffins, and to be honest, I didn’t really read the recipe at first. So, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it used white whole wheat flour when I did finally read through it! I just happened to have some King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour in my cupboard, so that made me even happier, although they do say you can use regular all-purpose flour, so if you don’t have any around you’re still good to go.

I decided to make 2 batches, one with the White Whole Wheat, and another with the AP flour, that way I could attest to each variation, and let me say I loved them both. I ended up making another batch of the white whole wheat ones because the first batch ended up being eaten before making it to photos… But that also speaks to how easily they come together. It’s a very simple recipe and technique, not to mention a fairly quick bake time. You can have these mixed, shaped and baking quickly, and be munching on them with tea or coffee in no time flat!

The recipe uses the basics: flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, half and half, butter and an egg. The extras that make them what flavor they are include orange juice, orange zest, dried cranberries and optional allspice. I added the allspice to both flour versions, and I loved the background taste it gave it – it blended well with the orange/cranberry tastes.

After you mix your dry ingredients in a bowl, you cut in your butter, then toss your dried cranberries in. Now you blend the half and half with the egg, orange juice and orange zest in another small bowl, then stir this into the dry ingredients mixing just until it comes together. It’s at this point it gets turned out onto a floured surface for a couple kneads and shaping into about an 8-inch circle, about 1/2 in thick, transfer to your baking pan. Brush with milk and sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired. I used the KAF Coarse Sparkling Sugar for 2 batches, and regular granulated sugar for one. Now, here’s where I deviated a bit – the recipe states to cut into 10 wedges, well, I went with 8 wedges instead, just because I wanted to. Bake for about 15 minutes in a 425° F oven, or until they are golden brown. They recommend serving immediately and I found they’re still good even a few days later. I would like to see how they freeze next time I make them.

I couldn’t have asked for a better or easier recipe for my favorite flavored scones – it’s a recipe I know I’ll be turning to quite often!! I can highly recommend King Arthur Flour’s Cranberry-Orange Scones, made with either White Whole Wheat Flour or AP Flour. Both are equally good, and I really enjoy knowing it’s a way to sneak some whole grains in, in a very tasty way!

Food Friday – King Arthur Flour September 2017 Bakealong Challenge: Cinnamon-Apple Twist Bread

16 Saturday Sep 2017

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from Kris B.

Making the King Arthur Flour Bakealong Challenge each month accentuates how quickly time flies.  It seems like just last week that we were making the Golden Focaccia that was August’s Bakealong Challenge!  And here it is, the middle of September already!  The signature ingredients in this month’s challenge, Cinnamon-Apple Twist Bread, scream fall to me.  The apple bins filling up at the grocery store mean it’s almost time to make homemade applesauce.  And, I love the smell of the cinnamon infused pine cones that line the entrance to our grocery store in the fall.  Once these are in place, it definitely feels, or at least smells, like fall to me.  Now, if we could just convince the Texas weather that 95 degrees is not an acceptable fall temperature!!!

On to the September 2017 Bakealong Challenge, the Cinnamon-Apple Twist Bread…

This is by far is my favorite Bakealong Challenge thus far!  The bread is moist with just a slight sweetness to it and the texture is not too heavy and not too light..  The cinnamon apple filling is just the right proportion of fruit and spice.  I feel like Goldilocks in my descriptions here. 🙂  The best part about this recipe is that though its twist makes it look a bit fancy, it is super easy to make.  And, it doesn’t require any “out of the ordinary” ingredients.

Due to poor planning on my part, I started making this bread at 9 pm at night.  It was nearly midnight at the point the bread had been through its initial resting phase, first rise, and I had made the filling and shaped the twist.  It needed another hour and a half rise and then to be baked for 30-40 minutes.  My day had begun at 4:45 am and completing the bread at this point was going to keep me up until 2am or better.  My body said, not so nicely, think again.  In the tips included with this recipe, it said that the bread could be worked to the point of the last rise, exactly where I was, and then be put in the refrigerator overnight.  It could then be taken from the fridge, allowed its last rise, and be made and served fresh and warm in the morning.  It was a sign.  My job was to test this variation to the recipe.

The shaped bread was in the refrigerator for about eight hours.  I took it out first thing in the morning, allowed it to rise for an hour and a half, and then baked it for 35 minutes, splitting the difference in the generous 30-40 minute range for baking.  Once coming out of the oven, the bread had to cool completely before the final step of adding the glaze could be completed.  So, it was three hours more the next morning before the bread was ready to be eaten.  If you choose to make the Cinnamon-Apple Twist the day before and intend to serve it fresh the next day, I’d suggest brunch instead of breakfast.  Or, plan on getting up several hours before your scheduled breakfast hour!

However and whenever you make the Cinnamon-Apple Twist Bread, know that in the end, it is worth every minute of your time whether late at night or early in the morning.  And, if you are concerned with such things, it is also worth every calorie ingested when you eat way more of it than you should!

From Tracey G.

As Kris said, I can’t believe it’s the KAF September Bakealong Challenge already! Time does indeed fly by these days, Harry’s in back in school and that makes me even more aware of where we are at any given point during the year! Those lazy days of summer vacation are long gone and feel like a distant memory already – and it’s only been 2 weeks!

This month’s KAF Bakealong Challenge, Cinnamon-Apple Twist Bread (here’s a link right to the KAF Cinnamon-Apple Twist Bread Walk-Through) is absolutely wonderful. I can tell you without a doubt, that I will make this again. The bread reminds me of a yeast doughnut-type taste and texture, and it’s another one of those things I find myself actually saying out loud: “I can’t believe I made this, THIS came out of MY kitchen!”. I love it when I feel that way about something. This rivals any bakery treat in presentation – it looks beautiful. I still look at the photos now (as the bread has been LONG gone for awhile now, Jeremy and I between the 2 of us, had them gone in probably 2 days!), I’m still shaking my head in wonder – I did that. Me. Little old me! Wow!

It is very easy to do. But, as Kris said, we discovered it’s one of those things that while easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy, it does take some time. Now, that’s not to say it’s time that you’re spending working with them, nope, it’s rest, rise and bake time. So, while it’s doing it’s thing resting, rising and baking – you can be doing your thing!

After initially mixing the dough, you let it rest for about 30 minutes, then do the kneading, I use my stand mixer for the kneading. It now moves onto a rising phase, which, for me it took closer to the 2 hour mark of the 1 1/2 to 2 hours suggest rising time. While it’s doing that you make your filling.

For the filling it’s grated apple, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon and thickener of choice. They give directions for either corn starch or Instant ClearJel as the thickener. I used the Instant ClearJel (which, by the way is one of my FAVORITE pantry items!) and it was a snap to throw the stuff together. Just mix in your Instant ClearJel with your sugar and cinnamon, then toss with the apples/lemon juice mixture. It thickens with no cooking. If you choose the cornstarch route, it involves a small amount of cooking – certainly NOT a deal breaker when making this bread by any means.

Once your bread is ready to be shaped, you divide it, and set one piece aside to work with one at a time. You roll out your dough to approximately a 10×12-in rectangle. The dough is a dream to work with. Initially it kept snapping and shrinking back, but that didn’t last long and it then behaved and rolled out wonderfully. Once it’s rolled, you spread with half of the filling. Yep, the filling is minimal, so no worries there. It’s a pretty thin layer – but let me say that’s all you need, it’s perfect as is! Roll up starting with the long side as if you were making cinnamon rolls (and there is a variation for this recipe to make them into rolls if you wish in the Tips section at the end of it!). Once it’s rolled and the seams are sealed, you slice it down the length to make two pieces. Transfer one piece to your parchment lined pan, with the filling side up. Now, they give you a couple different ways you can achieve the twist, for both of mine, I slightly crossed the second piece atop the first and I worked from the center to one end, “braiding” them together, keeping the exposed filling side up at all times. Then I went back to center and repeated going the other way – it’s absolutely laughably easy!! Really!! Now, repeat with your remaining dough. I baked each of mine on separate pans, but you could do both on one. Their Apple-Cinnamon Twist Bread Bakealong Challenge Walk-Through shows you just how easy the shaping is!

The Cinnamon-Apple Twist Bread right after being shaped, before 2nd rising.

The bread  twists now have another rising time, about another 1-2 hours, which once again, mine was closer to the 2 hour mark. Then you bake them in a 350° F, for 30-40 minutes. They direct you to check after 20 to see if they are browning up too fast, and if so, to tent them lightly with foil for the rest of their baking until done. I did have to do this with mine as my ends were browning quickly. When they come out, you allow at least an hour to cool, then glaze! Done!

One of the Cinnamon-Apple Twist Breads right out of the oven

I’d thought the Golden Focaccia was my favorite Bakealong Challenge, but it’s been replaced with this one, the KAF Cinnamon-Apple Twist Bread September 2017 Bakealong Challenge!! This is so far, by far my favorite one. I still love the Golden Focaccia, don’t get me wrong, but this one is something I have plans for – it will make a fabulous holiday food gift! It’s so pretty, it makes you look like a pro!!! I’ll take that! And I look forward to my next favorite King Arthur Flour Bakealong Challenge! Bake on everyone! 😉

 

Food Friday – Pie for Dinner or Dessert!

08 Friday Sep 2017

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from Tracey G.

I love apples. I love pears. It’s a toss-up for me as which I like better, and I honestly don’t think I could choose!! I saw this recipe for Apple-Pear Pie from King Arthur Flour and, unfiltered first thought was “why didn’t I ever think of that combination?”! I don’t even think I got any further in my recipe search for this week’s Pies, Tarts & Turnovers category! I saw this one and it was an immediate “this one!!” sentiment.

It’s a really easy recipe – nothing fancy, just a straight-forward fruit pie. You have your choice as to what double crust pie pastry recipe you use, if you have a favorite use that. If you don’t here’s the one I used with great success, it’s KAF’s Classic Double Pie Crust recipe, and it hasn’t failed me yet. I’ve used it whenever I need a pie pastry recipe, as it’s easy and it’s always been a joy to work with. I’ve made it with all-purpose flour and with KAF’s Pastry Flour Blend and it’s worked beautifully with either.

The longest and most “work/effort” of this recipe is the readying of the pears and apples! I did it all by hand instead of getting out the peeler-corer-slicer thingy, and it did take a bit of time to do.

Your apples and pears are then tossed with the dry mixture of seasonings, sugar and thickener. The dry mixture is a combination of cinnamon (I didn’t have the Madagascar Cinnamon they call for, but used instead the Vietnamese Cinnamon I have on hand), ginger, sugar, salt and Instant ClearJel. I did look up on their Pie Thickener Chart that in the case of apples, and it looks like cornstarch can be use measure for measure in substitution of the Instant ClearJel if you don’t have it. I used the Instant ClearJel, so I can’t say if I had good luck with anything else for this particular recipe.

After the fruit has been tossed with this mixture, you add lemon juice and vanilla to the bowl, mixing them in well. In a saucepan, you melt 4 tbsp butter and add the fruit filling mixture to the pan to cook for about 10-20 minutes until the apples and pears start to soften and their juices start to thicken up. This then gets cooled completely.

Once it’s cooled, into your prepared pie pan it goes, placing the top crust however you desire (I did a lattice-style top crust), brushing with milk and sprinkling with Coarse White Sparkling Sugar OR, regular granulated sugar like I did, because the boys don’t care for the crunch of the big sugar crystals. Once you have that done – it’s into the freezer with the unbaked pie! I’ve never frozen a pie partially before baking it, but as the saying goes, there’s a first time for everything! You pop it into the freezer for 15-30 min until firm. Now, after this bit of freezing time, it gets baked. The temperature starts off at 425° F for the first 15 minutes, then it’s turned down to 375° F for an additional 50-60 minutes. All that’s left is to allow it cool completely before serving – then eat!

I absolutely loved this pie – not only is it two of my favorite fruits, but the combination of ginger, cinnamon and vanilla are wonderful. I’m pleased to have this Apple-Pear Pie recipe to add to my pie recipe collection – it was a great combination of flavors all the way around. Only thing that would maybe make it better – eating it warmed up with vanilla ice cream!

 

from Kris B.

Food processor blade – 1: Me – 0.

I chose this week’s offering of Hearty Ham and Spinach Quiche because I was short on time this week and needed my recipe to serve as both a meal for my familyand a subject for my post. Also, I was intrigued by this pie’s crust because it requires no rolling!!!

Little did I know that the most difficult part of the recipe, at least for me, would be washing the food processor blade before I even started baking.  My daughter had used it the night before, so the blade was is the dishwasher dirty. I pulled it out of the dishwasher without incident, but I was not so lucky once I got it the sink and added soap. Yep. It slipped and sliced the top of my finger. Upon hearing my explicative that rang out from the kitchen, Weber’s first words were, “Does it need stitches?” Sharp instruments and I have a dicey reputation in the kitchen. (Pun intended.). I am happy to report that I did not need stitches, only multiple layers of pressure wrap were necessary.

My daughter was kind enough to finish washing the blade. 🙂

Once I got my finger wrapped and found some food service gloves, I continued on with the making my pie. From this point on, it was smooth sailing. No choppy seas! Lol!

As I said, the crust for this pie is made completely in a food processor. The ingredients are mixed, rolled into a log that will fit through the food processor’s feed tube, and then chilled overnight. When you are ready to make the actual crust, the dough is fed into the food processor’s feed tube and grated using the coarse grate blade. To assemble the pie, the grated dough is pressed into a nine inch pie plate. Super easy! I am all for a pie crust that does not require rolling…if it tastes good, which this one did!

The filling, minus the ham and sour cream, is also mixed using the food processor. The ham is layered in the bottom of the pie plate, followed by the spinach mixture, and then topped with a thin layer of sour cream. I have to say that I was not so sure about this sour cream layer when I was assembling the pie, but once it is cooked and all of the flavors meld together, the whole is much more impressive than the sum of the parts.

This pie can also be made ahead of time or even frozen and reheated.

I suspect that the crust recipe used here could be used with almost any of your favorite pies. I am excited about the idea of a crust that I don’t have to roll! Give it a try!

Food Friday – Cookie Time!

01 Friday Sep 2017

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from Kris B.

 

I am quickly approaching fifty-six years of life.  During those years, I have experienced  many changes and much growth, but with some things, not much is different at all.  My preferred dress is still jeans, t-shirts, and tennis shoes.  I still like to read, write, and draw in my “down” time.  And I still pack my lunch everyday to go to school.  My favorite lunchbox lunch has not changed over all these years either.  PB&J, carrots and celery, sliced apples, and cookies…I am never disappointed to find these things when I  sit down and zip open my lunch bag!  The one small change from my lunches as a child to those of today is that I do almost always have homemade cookies rather than store-bought.  In those occaisional instances where the homemade isn’t happening, the one supermarket cookie that I do still love is Oreos.  When I take these iconic cookies apart and eat the creme filling first, I feel like I am about eight years old.

In most things, I am a purist.  That is true with my Oreos.  These days, Nabisco has been experimenting too much, in my opinion, with this classic cookie…Cotton Candy, Red Velvet, Root Beer, Key-Lime Pie, Blueberry Pie; these are not Oreos!!!  They may be tasty cookies, but they are not Oreos.  Having said that, I do make an exception for the limited edition Pumpkin Spice Oreos in the fall and the new Dunkin Donuts Mocha Oreos that were released over the summer.  My all-time favorite “non-traditional” Oreo,however, was the Uh-Oh Oreo, an Oreo that flip-flopped the traditional flavors using a vanilla cookie with chocolate creme filling.  Being that my  favorite kind of cake is also yellow cake with chocolate frosting, the “backwards” Oreos were a an acceptable alteration to the classic Oreo cookie.  Unfortunately, the Uh-Oh Oreos found themselves on the discontinued food list back in 2011.  They were, however, the catalyst for Nabisco using cookies other than chocolate in the Oreo family of cookies.  You can easily find Golden Oreos, vanilla cookies with the traditional white creme, on grocery store shelves.  Somehow, this just is not the same.

All that to say that I was super excited to find King Arthur Flour’s recipe for Reverse Faux-Reos, vanilla cookies with chocolate cream filling!!!

The cookie in King Arthur’s recipe is a simple sugar cookie-like recipe consisting of flour, sugar, butter, salt, vanilla, and baker’s ammonia.  Baker’s ammonia?  Why is there always one elusive ingredient???  The King Arthur recipe did say that baking powder could be substituted as the leavening agent in these cookies, but that the substitution would create a cookie with a different texture.  Because inquiring minds want to know, I had to do some research on baker’s ammonia, an ingredient that I have not previously encountered in a recipe.  I found the following in an article by Cook’s Illustrated:

Baker’s ammonia, also known as ammonium bicarbonate (and often sold as ammonium carbonate), was the primary leavening agent used by bakers before the advent of baking soda and baking powder in the 19th century. In fact, certain recipes for European and Middle Eastern cookies and crackers still call for it today.   When we purchased the powder from a mail-order source (it can also be found at some Greek and Middle Eastern markets), we quickly discovered its biggest drawback: an extremely potent smell. (In fact, it turns out baker’s ammonia is the stuff that was passed under Victorian ladies’ noses to revive them when they swooned.) Because of its noxious scent, it is used to leaven only low-moisture baked goods like crisp cookies and crackers that thoroughly dry out during baking, lest the ammonia linger.

When we tried trading baker’s ammonia for baking powder in a recipe for crisp sugar cookies, we found that not only can the two products be used interchangeably, but the baker’s ammonia produced a lighter, crunchier crumb. This is because when its tiny crystals decompose in the heat of the oven, they leave minuscule air cells in their wake from which moisture easily escapes. Furthermore, this leavener leaves none of the soapy-tasting residue of baking powder or baking soda. It works so well, we’d be tempted to use it for crisp baked goods all the time if it were more readily available.

I used baking powder.

Having never used baker’s ammonia, I have no means for comparison as to the cookies’ texture.  All I can say is that they taste just fine to me.

Once the cookie dough is mixed, it is scooped by teaspoonful onto a parchment-lined baking pan and then flattened to a thickness of 1/4 inch.  Using a cookie stamp to flatten your cookies would make for a pretty final product.  Unfortunately, I could not find my small cookie stamps so my cookies are just pure and simple flattened sugar cookies.  Looks aren’t everything and the taste is not affected at all, so I’m good with my plain-Jane looking cookies.  Lol!

Real Oreo creme has a unique texture.  My biggest curiosity about this recipe was whether or not the chocolate creme used in the Reverse Faux-Reos would be close enough to my beloved Uh-Oh Oreos.

The chocolate creme filling consists of semi-sweet chocolate chips, corn syrup, vanilla, espresso powder (a definite bonus!), heavy cream, and confectioner’s sugar.  The first five ingredients are heated together and then the confectioner’s sugar is beat into it.  At this point in the process, I was a bit concerned about what the texture of the filling would be like as it was fairly runny while still hot.  I let it cool for several minutes before beginning the cookie assembly.

The chocolate filling began to stiffen after several minutes of cooling.  With half of the cookies placed with their flat sides up, I used a small scoop (about a TBS) to place a dollop of chocolate in the middle of each cookie. The top cookie of the “sandwich” is then placed on top.  Gently pressing on it pushes the filling out to the edges of the cookies, creating the classic sandwich cookie look.  The filling continued to cool and harden and after several hours, it had the exact same consistency as the Oreo creme filling.  Score!!!

I am one happy kid fifty-five year old grown woman. 🙂

from Tracey G.

I know I’ve said it a million times, and just to give you all fair warning, I’ll probably say it a million times more – but I love finding uses for my KAF Self-Rising Flour! This has got to be one of the neatest products in my opinion and I am having great fun finding ways to use it! I ran across this recipe when I was on the hunt for my cookie recipe offering this week: Self-Rising Crunchy Sugar Cookies.

Sugar cookies are loved around here – me, I prefer to do a rolled out fancy (or not so fancy) cut-out cookie. But, the oldest “boy” around here, a.k.a. Jeremy, loves plain, old fashioned rolled/dipped in sugar, sugar cookies. The kind Grandma used to make. Which, unfortunately are the kind I never think to make! This recipe was perfect – his favorite cookie and so simple, it’s criminal!

This recipe involves five ingredients. Six, if you include the extra garnish of sugar to roll them in. That’s it. It’s self-rising flour, shortening (or butter), sugar, vanilla and an egg. It’s a basic cookie recipe, you mix it in the usual way – cream shortening (or butter), vanilla and sugar until fluffy, then beat in your egg, and lastly add in your flour. You scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, and mix until thoroughly combined. After you have it mixed, you chill the dough for at least 30 minutes – this step makes it easy to work with.

To bake, you can either grease or line baking sheets with parchment paper. Place your garnishing sugar in a bowl to dip the cookies it before baking. Make 1 to 1.5-inch balls and dip them in the sugar before placing them, sugar side up, on the prepared cookie/baking sheet. Bake them 8-10 minutes in a 375° F oven.

They do puff as they bake, but once you remove them from the oven and let them sit on the cookie sheet 5 minutes before removing them to a rack to completely cool, they fall and start to crisp up.

They were a big hit around here, both for eating and with me for how easy they were! This would be an ideal recipe if you need something in a hurry – either last minute class treat or bake sale treat etc. I’ve not tried to freeze them, but they do say that they are freezable.

Self-Rising Crunchy Sugar Cookies from King Arthur Flour are another wonderfully tasty and easy recipe to add to your recipe collection when you need a nice old-fashioned style sugar cookie!

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