Sweet of the Week #51, Secret Ingredient Cookies with Bentley and Connie

My idea list for baking projects is never short.  A stack of cookbooks sits on my coffee table, my bookmarked list of recipes that have caught my eye is lengthy.  Yet I didn't plan out all 52 Sweets in advance, I often waited for spur of the moment inspiration.  Wouldn't you know the idea for Sweet #51 came at just the right time, no digging in the archives, cookbook library or box of magazine tear-outs required!

I wanted to make an All-American classic recipe this week, but with a twist of some sort.  Maybe a chocolate chip chile cookie or an apple pie with spices whose names I can't pronounce.  At just the right time, a TwitterFriend* mentioned cookies that contain cornflakes and oatmeal, Secret Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies from Cindy Mushet's book, Baking Kids Love.  Last week I had looked at this book at Sur La Table in Omaha.  It has a beautiful cover, but I put it back because it wasn't gluten-free and I don't often bake with kids.  That shouldn't stop me!  First, I am learning to de-gluten anything (that's right, bring it!). Second, I don't mind a messy kitchen and am learning that it is okay to use my hands instead of a kitchen utensil. I should have bought that book!
*What do you call people you know only on Twitter?  Friend? Acquaintance? Friendly? Twiend? I am relatively new to the whole Twitter thing and am going with TwitterFriend.  Share the right word if you've got it!

I found the recipe here.  You can click on the link to find it OR you can go buy the book.  I think you should.  I'm going to. And then I'm borrowing some cute kids to bake with soon.

Here are my modifications to the recipe:
*I used my favorite gluten-free flour blend to make these gluten free
*Added one extra egg (making the total 5)
*Added 2 teaspoons guar gum to the flour blend
*Used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats
*replaced Kellogg's Cornflakes with Nature's Path Gluten Free Honey'd Corn Flakes
*refrigerated dough for about 15 minutes before baking, placing back in the refrigerator between batches

I made these small (a heaping tablespoon of dough) and baked 8 to a large cookie sheet for 12 minutes. I got more than 75 cookies from one batch.  I do not know what the texture is like with the original recipe.  With my gluten-free modifications, they were like a bit like a Toll House cookie, rather thin, with a really crispy surprise, the cornflakes. These cookies scream for a glass of cold milk, so much so that I delivered them with my favorite milk. 

This week's Sweet Friends are Bentley and Connie. That's right,  it's a two-for-one special this week!

Bentley and Connie are, to me, the perfect example of an All-American family, just with a little twist...like this week's recipe.  A blended family, beautiful kids who make me giggle, a dog, a house in the suburbs and a SUV with the added twist of more talent and creativity than most.

Bentley and Connie are both incredible photographers.  Remember those beautiful photos on my blog when I made Gluten Free Girl's brownies?  Bentley shot those.  Both Bentley and Connie have been very gracious in offering to photograph food for me, to teach me more about photography, to offer tips on what camera to buy more times than I can count.  Bentley is my PhotoShop go-to when I need photo help for my job and has talked me through photo editing on the phone too many times, never pointing out that he has surely told me what I need to know many times before.  Connie and I have shared many laughs at the funny things people outside of the special events industry say to those of us who live and work there.  I feel like they "get" me and that's a really great thing to find in a friend. Soon I'm going to get myself a real camera, one of those fancy ones that takes purty pictures...and then I'm turning to Connie and Bentley to learn the real secret of photography, you know...that it isn't so much about the camera as it is about the person holding it.


I use a point and shoot camera and an iPhone for my food photos.  Bentley has said several times he can show me how to get better photos with what I already have. To prove this point, he sent me these beautiful photos, taken with a point and shoot camera. Amazing. Bentley and Connie inspire me to work harder to take photos that are as delicious as the sweets I bake...and I WILL work on that soon!

Photo by Bentley Skeie

Photo by Connie Skeie

Sweet of the Week #50, Bourbon Pecan Fig Pop Tarts with Jenny

Toasted on the Left, Parbaked on the Right

I like single-serve treats, as well as just about anything single-serve I can freeze and re-heat one of later.  That was the plan with these pop tarts, parbake them, freeze and then toast as craved.  Yeah. That was the plan.  None of these made it to the freezer at my house.  Delicious! Pop tarts...all grown up.

Start with this:
Pie Crust
2 1/2 cups of my favorite gluten-free rice flour blend
1/4 t. salt
3 T. granulated white sugar
1 t. xanthan gum
1/4 cup shortening (Crisco sticks)
1 1/2 sticks butter, cold and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup very cold water (this is the key!)

Extras
1 egg (egg wash for crust)
3 T. sucanat for sprinkling on top of pop tarts (Turbinado sugar might also work, but would probably melt more into the top of the pop tart)

Mix flour, salt, sugar and xanthan gum together.  I do not sift the rice flour blend, however if you were substituting all-purpose flour, I would sift.  Add Crisco and break up with a pastry cutter.  Next add the butter and mix with pastry cutter until crumbly. You should still be able to see butter not completely mixed in.  Begin adding the cold water, just a little at a time until you reach the texture of pie crust dough.

Divide the dough into two equal balls and chill between two sheets of plastic wrap for 30 minutes. Make the filling while the dough chills.

While dough chills:
Bourbon Pecan Fig Pop Tart Filling
1 8 oz. jar Fig Spread (I found this in the cheese department at Whole Foods)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup bourbon (I used Woodford Reserve)

Combine ingredients in a small saucepan.  Over medium heat, bring to a boil while stirring occasionally.  After mixture reaches a boil, continue cooking for about 5 minutes, still stirring occasionally.  If you do not stir it gets pretty foamy.

While the filling cools, roll out dough and cut for pop tarts.  Instead of rolling out on a floured surface, roll out dough between the sheets of plastic wrap.  Roll out slightly thinner than for pie crust.  Each ball of dough should roll out into a rectangle the size of a large baking sheet.  You will cut this into 8 rectangles the size of a pop tart from the grocery store, I guessed that to be about 4" x 6".

Put a heaping tablespoon of filling in the center of half of the dough pieces.  Cover with another piece of dough and seal using a fork.  Brush the entire pop tart with egg wash. Using a fork, pierce the pop tart in 3 or 4 places to allow steam to vent. Sprinkle lightly with sucanat.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  These will be just barely brown, not as browned as a toasted pop tart.  This is because they are only par baked.  If you want to eat these immediately, you could bake them a bit longer.

If you want to get all fancy, you can make a glaze to go on top of these.  I did not have good luck toasting them with the glaze (think toaster fire...) but it does work well in a toaster oven or under the broiler on low for just a few moments.  When placed vertically in the toaster, the glaze slid off and created a little excitement in the kitchen.

Bourbon Glaze
1/2 cup plus 2 T. powdered sugar
1 T. bourbon

Mix together in a small bowl.  Spread onto top of pop tart with a knife.

This week's Sweet Friend is Jenny of Making a Foodie.  She is the first food blogger I knew in person.  I met Jenny at Deanne's housewarming party. In conversation, I found out Jenny grew up near Tulsa.  I was preparing to work in Tulsa for an extended period of time and asked if she would e-mail me a list of restaurant recommendations, mentioning briefly that vegetarian suggestions would be great.

A few days later, I got a lengthy e-mail from Jenny.  She had gone to a lot of trouble for me, a mere acquaintance from a party, and put together a list of restaurants in Tulsa.  She mentioned places that might work for a vegetarian and also teased that if I asked for tofu in Tulsa, they might get a rope.  I printed the list and took it with me to Tulsa. I packed my own tofu just in case.

While working in Tulsa, I would often have dinner with other artists working at the same event.  The e-mail of restaurant recommendations from Jenny became referred to as "The Jenny List" by those of us looking for good places to eat.  I could count on my cell phone ringing nearly every afternoon I was in Tulsa, with the friend on the other end asking, "What's on The Jenny List for Thai food?  Any Mexican recommendations?  I'm kinda hungry for deli food.  What's Jenny say?" 

I don't think any of these folks have had the pleasure of meeting Jenny, but last Summer one of them did ask me if I could get a Jenny list for any other cities. What was on that list was a good, solid group of recommendations, none of them a let-down.  I dined at restaurants in Tulsa that rival those in larger cities.  I ate at a diner straight from a Normal Rockwell painting.  The best Thai food I have ever eaten was in Tulsa.  Jenny's recommendations were just what this vegetarian girl needed to thrive in that town.  I've since been back to Tulsa a few times and have always made time for a meal at a restaurant from The Jenny List. Now that she is hosting Test Kitchen events in Tulsa, my list of places to try there is broadening.

Then I became a food blogger.  Jenny pointed me in the right direction a few times, provided me with some donut leads to get me started on my first 52 journey.  Recently she shared some insight on a new food endeavor of mine and I'm really grateful for it. She's got a terrific way of sharing information without pointing out my lack of experience in this area and I trust her food knowledge, in part because she has SO much enthusiasm for food. I love that!

On Christmas morning, I dropped these pop tarts off on Jenny's doorstep, shared a quick hi-bye and was back on the road.  I neglected to take a picture of Jenny with the pop tarts. Instead, you get this one...Jenny and her handsome little man ordering donuts. This is perhaps the greatest lesson I have learned from Jenny--dine anywhere, try it all, whether it be an award winning restaurant with a famous chef or a donut shop. And enjoy it all!

Sweet of the Week #49, Chocolate Beer Buckeye Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting with Eileen

Did I mention when I made the Chocolate Beer Cupcakes for Movember how much I loved the cake?  I did?  Well, I'll say it again...it's one of my favorites from the entire year of sweets.  It's moist, yet has a nice crunchy crust on top.  It's got a very rich chocolate flavor.  And if you are disciplined enough to have one waiting for a couple of days, the beer flavor becomes more noticeable.  It's just a very tasty cake. I plan to use it again and again as the foundation for many chocolate cake creations.

So I made it again.  This time I topped the cupcake with a Buckeye.  I did not bake the Buckeye in the cupcake, rather I placed it on top after the cupcakes had been baked and cooled.  These cupcakes tend to sink in the middle after baking, which makes them perfect for tucking a little surprise on top of before frosting. And while it may seem a little tedious to make cupcakes, a candy and frosting, you can make the candy ahead of time.  Buckeyes freeze pretty well, so tuck a couple dozen in the freezer the next time you make them!

I frosted these with a super rich peanut butter buttercream frosting.  This is a delicious frosting and holds up well unrefrigerated should you be traveling with cupcakes. 

Here are the recipes you will need for this creation:
Chocolate Beer Cupcakes
Buckeyes

Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting
1 stick butter
1 cup peanut butter (I use creamy)
1 lb. (approximately 4 cups) powdered sugar
3 T. cream

Using stand mixer, mix butter and peanut butter together until fluffy.  Slowly incorporate powdered sugar.  Add cream one tablespoon until the desired consistency is reached.

After baking and cooling the cupcakes, place one Buckeye on top of each cupcake.  Then frost over the top of the Buckeye.  I used a large star tip in a mechanical pastry bag, allowing the frosting to flow down over the Buckeye.

This week's Sweet Friend is Eileen.  I know Eileen because of that silly little car I drive.  I've met so many interesting people because of that car--and our friendships end up being linked to much more than the car. I'm not sure how an auto manufacturer has so clearly defined their demographic, but I meet lots of foodies, hardcore foodies, because of my ride. Interesting!

Eileen lives in Omaha, about 3 hours away from me.  Recently she came to KC for Tour de Donut and brought my husband Candy Cane JoeJoe's from Trader Joes.  She gets it--she understands this food thing we have going on at our house!  This week it was our turn for a visit. We went to Omaha and had lunch with Eileen.  (And we did go to Trader Joe's but the candy cane JoeJoe's were already gone.)  We had lunch at Blue Planet Grill, which is perfect for carnivores, vegetarians and gluten-free eaters.  I had a Buffalo tofu wrap in a gluten-free tortilla.  I also could have had a sandwich on a gluten-free bun or a pizza on a gluten-free crust. There were many options and it left me wishing Kansas City restaurants would get on board so I could eat out more often close to home!

While eating lunch, the conversation turned to food, baking specifically.  *Surprise!*  How nice to eat lunch with someone who doesn't return my comments on baking with weight versus measures with a blank stare, who understands my giddiness about a Dorie Greenspan cookbook!  Eileen has spent a considerable amount of time in Europe and lived in Germany for several years so we have much to discuss about foreign baking, more than what lunch out provided.  While it would annoy many, Eileen is great to indulge my questions about food from other lands and in between talking about all of that, we snuck in a fair bit of chatter about zippy little cars, twisty roads and group roadtrips.  This was a thoroughly enjoyable lunch, so much fun that I wouldn't hesitate to drive 3 hours for lunch again soon!

Sweet of the Week #9 1/2, Brussels Sprouts Cupcakes with Mandy +1

Maybe you are wondering where I got off on my numbering system. After all, I should be sharing Sweet #49 with you.  Instead, I'm backtracking, sort of.

Week #9 was a raw vegan cheesecake, shared with Mandy.  A lot has changed in the last 40 weeks and Mandy is now pregnant.  Very pregnant. This called for an exception to the 52 Sweets rule.  I've slipped an extra sweet into the journey to celebrate Mandy and the little guy that will soon join her family.  Sweet 9 1/2...

A few weeks ago, I came across this recipe for Brussels Sprouts cupcakes* from I Heart Cupcakes.  I sent a link to Mandy, thinking it was the perfect cupcake to stole off any pregnancy cupcake cravings. Not so! Mandy said it sounded good!   I love Brussels sprouts, but in a cupcake?  Yes, in a cupcake. 

Today Mandy came to the gym expecting to train the small group of us who work out with her every week.  Instead, we surprised her with a visit from her favorite yoga teacher, Sarah.  We spent an hour on the  mat instead of doing the scheduled interval training.  And then we had cupcakes.  Brussels Sprouts cupcakes.  At the gym.

*I modified the recipe above, making this gluten-free and vegan. I've also converted it from weights to measures.  It isn't overly cake-y, but was very well received today (no extras to bring home) and is very hearty.  I will definitely be making them again!

Brussels Sprouts Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
(Vegan and Gluten-Free, makes 12)

2 T. Flax Seed Meal, added to 6 T. of hot water (let this set for awhile to gel)
1/2 c. sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 1/2 c. of my favorite gluten free flour blend
11 Brussels Sprouts, grated (125 grams in the original recipe)
2 medium carrots, grated (125 grams in the original recipe)
2 T. chopped walnuts (35 grams in the original recipe)
2 T. raisins (20 grams in the original recipe)
3/4 cup coconut (40 grams in the original recipe)
1 t. fresh grated ginger root
1/2 t. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake pan with 12 liners.

Mix flax seed meal with hot water and set aside for a few minutes to thicken.  Once thickened, beat with sugar and oil for a couple of minutes in the bowl of stand mixer.  Add flour, cinnamon, ginger and vanilla extract and mix for about a minute.

Fold in carrots, Brussels sprouts, walnuts, raisins and coconut.  Fill each cupcake liner with a scant 1/3 cup of the mix.  Bake for 20-22 minutes.  These will test clean using a toothpick when they are done.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
(Vegan)
1 stick Earth Balance Butter Substitute
8 oz. Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheeese
1 lb. powdered sugar, sifted (a little more than 4 cups)
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. grated ginger
1 t. vanilla extract
12 pieces crystallized ginger, ginger chews or other ginger candy

Cream the Earth Balance and Tofutti BTCC together with a hand mixer for a couple of minutes.  Add the sifted powdered sugar a little bit at a time and beat for approximately 4 minutes until smooth.  You can vary the thickness of this frosting by adding more or less powdered sugar.  It's very forgiving.

How they look after baking...

Frost using your preferred method.  I used the mechanical pastry bag with the large star tip and topped each one with a piece of crystallized ginger.  

(Frosting tip:  I mixed this without the cinnamon and ginger and split it in half at that point.  I saved the other half for another baking project that calls for a basic cream cheese buttercream frosting.  Then I added the cinnamon and ginger to the remaining half for this project.)

Sweet of the Week #48, Sufganiyot with Dawn

I find myself in the home stretch, nearing the end of this year's 52 project. I almost made it to the finish line without making donuts.  I couldn't let that happen and the timing was perfect--Hanukkah gave me the opportunity to make traditional jelly-filled donuts, sufganiyot, to share with a friend!

Soon after I eliminated gluten from my diet, I tried to make donuts with a savory filling.  I filled them with roasted pears, brie and walnuts.  They were pretty tasty and I knew this recipe from Gluten-Free Bay would be the one to turn to when it came time to make a more traditional donut.  I have modified the Gluten-Free Bay recipe, which was originally inspired by this recipe from Gluten-Free Utah. Big thanks to them for the inspiration!

Sufganiyot (makes approximately 18)

2 eggs, beaten
1 cup buttermilk
2 T. butter, melted
1 1/2 t. vanilla bean paste

2 1/2 cups of my favorite flour blend
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda 1 t. salt
1 t. xanthan gum
1/2 t. nutmeg
1 t. cinnamon

1 egg, set aside for egg wash

1/2 cup sugar in a bowl, set aside for dredging after frying

Raspberry fruit spread (I use Trader Joe's, but any variety and flavor of jam, jelly or fruit spread would work)

Whisk eggs, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla bean paste in a large bowl.

Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  Fold slowly into the wet ingredients, either using your hands or a large mixing spoon.  When the ingredients are mostly combined, you may want to use your hands to knead the dough a few times.

Let the dough rest for 15 minutes.  Prepare countertop or rolling mat for dough by sprinkling with extra flour blend.  Roll dough to 1/4 inch thick.  If the dough is very sticky, add a bit more flour.  It's essential to roll the dough only 1/4 inch thick, any thicker and the dough will not be cooked all the way through.

Heat canola oil to 375 degrees in pan for frying.

Using a 2 3/4" or 3" donut cutter with the hole cutter removed, cut disks out of the dough.  Place 1/2 t. fruit spread in the center of a disk, brush with egg wash and top with a second disk of dough.  Crimp with edges with your fingers until it is sealed.

Place in hot oil with slotted spatula/frying spoon.  Cook until very brown on one side, about 3 minutes.  Turn over and brown on the other side.  Remove from oil and place on baking sheet lines with 2 or 3 layers of paper towels  While donuts are still warm, dredge in the bowl of sugar to coat.

These donuts are best served warm.  If you must make them in advance, they can be re-heated in the microwave but become pretty heavy and chewy.  Warm, fresh from the fryer, these are really yummy! 

This week's Sweet Friend is Dawn.  I met Dawn via her adorable children who would come see me creating balloon sculptures most Mondays for a long time.  She is also the sister of Celeste, who was the recepient of my first attempt at Jewish Sweets. I adore this entire family!

Dawn is one of the most enthusiastic people I know--and I love me some enthusiasm!  She pursues life with gusto and we've had a few conversations about life changes related to nutrition and fitness that have given me lots of food for thought. Dawn recently took a serious tumble off of her bike (the kind with broken bones), yet she is already back teaching water aerobics.  I can't imagine what it would take to hold her back from reaching her goals or encouraging others to reach theirs. 

Usually I deliver a sweet face-to-face, but with the holidays in full force, it is sometimes hard to make a connection.  Such was the case with the pink box of sufganiyot.  I carefully tucked it behind a planter on Dawn's porch and called her later in the day to tell her where I had left it.  The phone call made me smile.  When she spotted the box (one of my pink bakery boxes, reminiscent of some many West Coast donut shops), I asked her to open it.  Her response is definitely one of my favorites of the year.  She squealed.  Really, she did...and then she said,  "SUFGANIYOT! My kids will be so excited!"

I heard from both Dawn and Celeste the donuts were quickly devoured.  Dawn's British husband said they reminded him of a British donut so now I'm on the hunt for information about these and thinking about a field trip, which Dawn has already offered to guide.  52 Donuts might be going international...

I don't have a picture of Dawn with one of these yummy donuts, but I do have a picture of her from a group bike ride we went on this Summer.  I'm including it instead, with hopes that next Summer will provide many more opportunities for us to be on bikes together. I'll bring the donuts!

Sweet of the Week #47, Buckeyes with Robin

In recent months, I've been noticing many food items newly-labeled "GLUTEN FREE," items that have always been gluten free or those that are naturally gluten free.  While grocery shopping, my husband joked that they should add a gluten free label to the bananas. It really is this crazy--products labeled gluten free are popping up everywhere.  While I appreciate the labeling, there are so many food options that have always been gluten free.  This week's sweet is one of those: the buckeye.

 Where I live, most people call these chocolate peanut butter balls, I call them buckeyes.  They look like a buckeye and while they may not bring you good luck like carrying the real thing in your pocket reportedly does, I think they will tickle your tastebuds!

(This recipe is a combination of the many, many classic recipes available on-line.  I don't profess to have created this recipe, nor do I know it to be the best variation.  It tasted great to me!)

Buckeyes (makes approximately 60)

2 cups creamy peanut butter (I used Trader Joe's unsalted organic)
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 t. vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 T. shortening (I used Crisco sticks, easy to measure)

Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In stand mixer bowl, combine peanut butter, butter, vanilla extract and powdered sugar.  Add the powdered sugar in slowly.  Mix until a crumbly, stiff dough forms.

Shape into balls using a scant 2 teaspoons of dough for each ball.  Place on lined baking sheet and refrigerate.

While dough balls are in the refrigerator, melt shortening and chocolate chips together in a double boiler.  Stir occasionally until all chocolate has melted.  Remove from heat.

Remove the balls from refrigerator.  Place a wooden toothpick into the center of a ball and dip about halfway into the melted chocolate.  Return to wax paper, chocolate side own and remove toothpick.  Repeat with remaining balls, return to refrigerator to set, approximately 30 minutes.

When removing balls from the refrigerator, you might want to give the tops a little smoosh to cover up the toothpick hole.  I like the way they look best without the hole, but this is purely optional.


This week's Sweet Friend is Robin.  She is originally from Ohio, land of the Buckeyes!  Last year I asked her about making these and tried my hand at them.  This year, I asked her again how she makes them as my first attempt was questionable--I made them about the size of golf balls.  Robin gave me some great pointers. Some people use chunky peanut butter, some add rice crisp cereal.  She makes them the traditional way, smooth peanut butter and about the size of a real buckeye.

Robin and I became friends at the gym.  Last week while at the gym, she mentioned she had gotten so much more from the exercise class we both attend than physical fitness.  I totally agree with her--I have gotten great friends like Robin!  She's committed to eating right, exercising and being a great mom, but she also seems pretty committed to having lots of fun!  We recently talked about donuts at the gym.  I love that balance!

When I delivered the buckeyes to Robin's house, her husband was wearing a Buckeyes sweatshirt.  I know I chose the right place for this week's Sweet!