Spiced Brownies

These brownies were introduced to me by friend Emily a few months ago. I loved them the moment I tasted them then, but kept forgetting to ask Emily for the recipe. Then earlier this week, when deciding what to bring as I tagged along to a Father's Day get together here on the right coast, but wanting to at the same time honor our DaddyBob on the left coast, I remembered Emily's excellent spiced brownies, and finally asked for the recipe.

I chose to  honor DaddyBob with these brownies because they remind me of Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles, which DaddyBob adores.  We call those cookies "Wait For It Cookies" because the heat doesn't kick in right away.  These brownies are like that, too. The heat sneaks up on you, warming the back of your throat only after you swallow each bite.  

If you want to have some bakerly fun, put these brownies out in front of a crowd, watch as people dive at them with shouts of "Oooo! Brownies!" and then sit back and smirk as they realize that what they just ate isn't your typical treat.

Which, by the way, is totally something DaddyBob would do - he's practically a professional smirker. He's also a wonderful teacher, so it's no surprise that Becky and I enjoy keeping people on their toes. Afterall, it takes a slightly mischievous dad to raise slightly mischievous daughters :-)

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there, and a big, cross-country hug to ours.

-Katie

Spiced Brownies
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen, who adapted it from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking and the Baked Bakery in Red Hook, Brooklyn

Makes 24 brownies

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
11 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 72% cacao), coarsely chopped
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13 baking pan with foil and grease foil. 

2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, salt, cocoa powder, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon. Set aside.

3. Put chocolate, butter, and instant espresso powder in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined, then remove the bowl from the pan. The mixture should be room temperature.

4. Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add remaining eggs and whisk until combined. Add vanilla and stir until combined. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.

5. Sprinkle flour mixture over chocolate mixture. Using a spatula (not a whisk), fold flour mixture into chocolate until just a bit of flour mixture is visible.

6. Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth top. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it.

7. Set brownies on wire rack to cool completely. Using foil edges, lift entire pan of brownies out onto cutting board and cut into squares. Tightly covered with plastic wrap, brownies keep at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

Growing up, Becky and I used to await the day every June when Mama B came home from Costco with a giant tub of red vines. That tub signaled the official start of summer in our house; it was a symbol of the hours of swimming, koosh ball games, and zip-a-dee-doo-dah singing day trips to come.


Man! I couldn't WAIT for that tub of red vines to appear on our kitchen counter every June!


But you know what? If you put a giant tub of red vines in front of me now, yeah, I'd get all nostalgic and grab one red vine. I might even bite both ends off and use the red vine as a straw in a can of fruit punch soda, just for old times' sake.


But then I'd be done. Because just as our summer activities have evolved from playing catch to enjoying free Shakespeare in the park, so have our palates evolved.

Of course, not everything has changed. We do still sing zip-a-dee-do-dah, and do still feel it's not summer until we've had a special treat. With all the baking we've done in the last few years, a new "it's not summer until..." tradition has emerged: strawberry shortcakes.


We're big fans of good ol' Bisquick shortcakes, and I can whip those babies up in less than 20 minutes. But I'll admit that when I recently carried Bisquick shortcakes, plus strawberries, plus whipped cream to a dinner party...in the city...in the rain...I wished I'd had a more portable version of this fabulous treat.


Well, leave it to Martha to grant my wish. These Strawberry Shortcake Cookies gather all the summery goodness of traditional strawberry shortcakes into one easy-to-bake, easy-to-transport, easy-to-eat cookie. If they had sold these at Costco when we were little, well, I might still actually like red vines today. Not that I'm wishing that was the case - I'm happy to have eaten my life's fill of red vines as a kid; it leaves me with the rest of my life to eat strawberry shortcake, in cookie form or otherwise.

What are your "it's not summer until..." traditions?

-Katie

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
Adapted slightly from Martha Stewart, via Tracey's Culinary Adventures
Makes 3 dozen cookies


12 oz strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (2 cups)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup heavy cream
coarse sugar, for topping the cookies

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a small bowl, stir together strawberries, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons sugar, then set aside.  


3. In a large bowl, combine lemon zest and remaining 7 tablespoons sugar. Rub zest into sugar with fingertips until moist and fragrant. Add flour, baking powder, and salt to zest/sugar mixture and whisk to combine. Use a pastry cutter to cut butter into flour mixture until you have coarse crumbs.  Add cream to  bowl and stir until dough starts to come together. Gently stir in strawberry mixture.

4. Use a small cookie scoop (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) to portion dough onto prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 1 1/2 - 2 inches apart.  Sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake about 15 minutes, or until cookies are golden brown. Transfer pans to wire racks and let cookies cool.  Cookies are best the day they're made, but can be kept in an airtight container for 1 day.

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dear Sunday Treats readers,

It's been three weeks since we last posted a recipe. Actually, four, if you look closely and realize that Katie's Mother's Day post didn't include a new recipe, but rather linked to recipes we've posted in the past. Sneaky, Kate, real sneaky.

It's been a busy month in the world of K&B, what with the end of the school year, 3-day weekends, allergy season (yuck), birthday parties, bridal showers, and dance rehearsals and performances. We seem to actually be busy these days. Overall, I like to consider that a good thing.

The not-good thing, of course, is that it means we've been neglecting our blogging duties. Please do not take that to mean we've been neglecting you, faithful readers! In fact, part of our busy-ness has sprung from the myriad of picnics and parties and celebrations we've been baking for. It's the post-baking posting that's eluded us.

We sincerely thank you for your patience. And, to some of you, we also express our gratitude for your persistence. It's certainly a lot easier to put your nose back to the grindstone (er, keyboard), when you have friends and coworkers reminding you in gentle yet exasperated tones that "you didn't post a recipe this week, again."

To reward you for your patience, I am about to unveil the recipe that has become a K&B signature. Drumroll please...

Presenting the famous, fantastic, fabulous...Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies! Oh yeah, and they're vegan, too!

The story of these cookies starts in El Salvador - a country known for it's spectacular pupusas and pan dulce, not cookies. However, while studying abroad there in college, our fellow American student and enthusiastically vegan friend Miguel decided to prove to his housemates that a meatless, dairy-less, eggless, etc.-less existence could still be tasty by whipping up a batch of said banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

Aspiring bakers that we were at the time, Miguel had to fight Katie and I out of the kitchen while he worked. When the cookies came out of the oven, he had to fight to save a cookie or two for himself. My most prized possessions from those four months abroad include my personal journals, drawings from the children I accompanied in the coffee fields each day, and the recipe for these cookies.

 

There are many, many reasons I love these cookies. 1) They are simple to throw together, with no mixer required (which was good, because in El Salvador, we didn't have one). 2) They make use of my favorite egg replacer - ripe bananas. 3) Good ol' oatmeal gives them stability, but more importantly allows you to rationalize eating one or five of them for breakfast. 4) They're great for entertaining vegan friends, but hold their own against traditional baked treats - so much so that I sometimes forget they are vegan at all. And 5) My coworkers request them, conversations are started by them (what do you mean they're vegan?!), and friends of friends remember who I am by tasting them. Muchas gracias a Miguel, they've given Kate and me our reputation as superb bakers.

For a while after discovering their power, Katie and I attempted to keep the recipe for these cookies to ourselves. Then, of course, we realized the irony and selfishness in hogging a recipe we'd in fact gotten from a friend in the first place. Now we share the recipe as often as we bake the cookies, which, I'm sure, is what Miguel would want us to do.

So there you have it. Have at 'em, amigos. And when someone asks you for the recipe, be a good friend and pass it on.

-Becky & Katie

 

Vegan Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe via friend Miguel

Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

1½ cups flour, less one tablespoon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

¾ cup canola oil

1 1/3 cups unrefined (raw) sugar

One to one and a half ripe bananas (when smashed, volume should equal that of approximately two eggs)

2 tablespoons vanilla soy milk (plain or banana soy milk are fine, too)

1½ tablespoons vanilla (be generous)

3 cups quick oatmeal

12 oz. dark chocolate chips or chunks (check label to make sure chocolate does not contain milk products)

Non-vegan substitutions: When baking for a non-vegan crowd, I've often substituted regular milk for soy milk and semisweet chocolate chips for the dark chocolate. The result is still quite tasty, but in my opinion, not quite as good as the original.

Note: As quick oats tend to be smaller and less sturdy than other oatmeal varieties, I like to use half quick oats and half quick-cooking "old fashioned" oats. However, any type of quick-cooking oats will do.

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl; set aside.
3. In large bowl, stir together oil and sugar until creamy. 
4. Using a fork, potato masher, or the bottom of a sturdy glass or plastic cup, smash bananas in a flat-bottomed bowl or tupperware until you achieve a consistent texture. There should be no large lumps. Add bananas to the sugar/oil mixture, stirring until well combined.
5. Add soy milk and vanilla and stir well.
6. Slowly add in the flour mixture and stir until well combined.
7. Stir in oatmeal and chocolate chips.
8. Place heaping tablespoons of batter onto cookie sheets about 3 inches apart.
9. Bake approximately 10 minutes. Cookies are done when the inside looks moist, but not too wet, i.e. when they no longer look too "shiny". Because there are no eggs in the batter, they will not brown as much as classic chocolate chip cookies. They will, however, turn a golden tan.
10. Remove cookies from oven and allow them to sit on the sheet for about two minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies will be delicate when hot, but will firm up as they cool.
11. Cookies are best the day they are baked, or the following day, but can be stored in an airtight container up to five days. You’ll know when they are no longer good because the taste changes. To keep moist, loosely wrap a slice of bread or apple in a paper towel and place in airtight container with cookies.

Mother's Day treats of all sorts

Sooooo...remember back in March when we got all mushy talking about the Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars that Mama B and Aunt Jan make?

Guess who I saw last weekend? And guess what I got sent home with?

YAAAAYYYYYY!!!!!

These are of the mint variety. They got slightly squished on the plane but are no less delicious. Mama B and Aunt Jan - it was wonderful spending Mama's Day weekend with you, and I have the cookies to prove it :-)

I also got to spend Mother's Day with my godparents - a real treat since I didn't get to know them much growing up. And what do you know? My godfather is a baker, too! We had a friendly Mother's Day brunch bake off, naturally.

My godfather has some mean french rolling pin skills, and more patience than I think I'll ever have in my lifetime. This is his Cream Cheese Coffee Cake in progress.  My competition entry was my usual brunch contribution: Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake. It was hard to tell who won our bake off - I ate four(!) pieces of his coffee cake, and I think he probably ate equal of mine...

In the end, it really didn't matter who won - the time in the kitchen together was prize enough :-)

Did you bake anything special for Mother's Day?

-Katie

Hummingbird Cupcakes

When Kate and I were little, our family had a bright red hummingbird feeder hanging outside the kitchen window. 

"Girls! Quick, come here! Shhhh.... look!" 

We'd stand there with Mama B or DaddyBob and marvel at these tiny, magical, beautiful birds, wings moving so fast you could hardly see them. They'd drink from the feeder, seemingly suspended in midair, and then, just as quickly as they arrived, they were gone.

Alas, half the time we missed it because we just weren't quick enough.

  

Which is kind of what happened when I brought these hummingbird cupcakes to work a couple of weeks ago. Here then gone? Um, yeah. Did Becky the baker and barer of tasty treats get one? Nope.

 

Which is why I saved three of them at home for myself. :-)

 

No one knows for sure how Hummingbird Cake got its name. Some say the recipe has roots in Jamaica, where the bird in question is a national symbol. Others claim the cake's sweetness draws folks to the table as sugar water draws birds to the feeder. Me? I'm with the crowd that calls this recipe the "Cake that Doesn't Last". Like witnessing the marvel of a hummingbird outside your kitchen window, you better act fast and grab some of this cake before it disappears.

 

 

 

I like this recipe because the tropical ingredients scream sunshine. It's simple to make, yet feels fancy - like banana bread all gussied up for a special occasion. Traditionally, it's made as a three-layer cake, which would be perfect to serve at an Easter or Mother's Day brunch (Happy Mama's Day, Mama B!)

 

The cupcake version that I share with you today makes the traditional transportable, which is key for subway-riding bakers like yours truly here in the Big Apple. So, whip 'em up, pack 'em up, and watch 'em fly away. And don't forget to save one for yourself. 

 

-Becky

 

Hummingbird Cupcakes

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Makes 24-30 cupcakes

For cupcakes:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups sugar

3 large eggs

2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 large)

1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup chopped walnuts, or pecans

1 cup unsweetened coconut

For cream cheese frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature

Approximately 1 pound confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans for garnishing

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, with rack in center. Line cupcake pan with paper liners; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.
3. With an electric mixer, beat butter, vanilla, and sugar until combined, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, incorporating each before adding the next. Beat at medium speed until mixture is pale yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. In a medium bowl, stir together banana, pineapple, walnuts, and coconut. Add to egg mixture, mixing until combined. Stir in flour mixture.
5. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 28 minutes.
6. Let cool one minute in pans, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. To make frosting, beat cream cheese and vanilla with electric mixer until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. With mixer on medium speed, gradually add butter, beating until incorporated.
8. Reduce mixer speed to low. Gradually add sugar until icing is smooth and reaches desired consistency.
9. Frost cupcakes using an offset spatula. Sprinkle with chopped pecans. Serve cupcakes at room temperature, or store in refrigerator up to three days.

Glazed Lemon Sugar Cookies

It's Easter Sunday! He is risen! Spring is here! The flowers are in bloom!

Now where is the chocolate?!

I ask, because, well...there was a teensy bit of Easter drama in our house this year. See, every year since the sis and I have moved to the big city, Mama B the Easter Bunny has sent us an Easter basket in the mail.

This year, however, one particular sister of mine hinted that Beck and I didn't want said Easter basket. She hinted that we were too old for an Easter basket, or that - contrary to the number of sweets we bake - we are actually eating pretty healthy these days and wouldn't want all the Easter candy to go to waste.

I guess that sis was right - it's true that a giant basket of candy in our house will not get fully eaten, and nobody likes to waste food.

But in that moment when I thought about Easter morning arriving and there being no chocolate duck (Katie = chocolate duck; Becky = chocolate bunny) to munch on before church...well, that just didn't feel right. The whole chocolate duck/bunny thing is one Easter tradition we are definitely not too old for.


And I knew that Mama B the Easter Bunny didn't feel right about it either, because I happen to know that Mama B the Easter Bunny rather enjoys her outing to Cost Plus World Market and Schurra's Candy Shop the Magical Easter Meadow to fill that Easter basket with said chocolate duck and bunny.


So I made a phone call and set the story straight with Mama B the Easter Bunny. Easter morning came and so did an Easter basket. Not a big one, mind you - just one small chocolate duck and one small chocolate bunny and a few other tiny things. There was enough that the tradition was maintained, but not so much that anything will go to waste.


As we change, so do our traditions.

This Easter is also significant to Becky and me because it is the first Easter since we were ten years old that we haven't danced at church. It was a difficult Triduum for this reason, but also a life-giving one - a chance to let new joys take the place of old ones, for old traditions to be augmented by new ones.


Our dear friend we usually dance with has a tradition of making giant sugar cookies on Easter. While we couldn't share Easter joy with her through dancing this year, we thought the least we could do was share some Easter sugar.


These are for you, dear friend. May your Easter be filled with the energy of new life, or in the very least, the energy of a sugar high :-)


Easter blessings to all,


- Katie & Becky

Glazed Lemon Sugar Cookies

Recipe from friend M

Makes 12 4-inch sugar cookies

Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon lemon extract or lemon oil (or almond extract)

3 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Icing

Powdered sugar

Juice of one lemon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment.

2. Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg and extracts and mix well.


3. Add flour and baking powder and mix until well blended.


4. Roll dough out to 1/4-inch thickness between two sheets of parchment paper. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters and place cutouts on baking sheets.


5. Bake 5 to 10 minutes, until edges of cookies are just starting to brown and centers are no longer shiny. Slide parchment off baking sheets onto cooling racks.


6. To make icing, squeeze lemon juice into bowl and add powdered sugar a little at a time, whisking, until desired consistency is reached. Frosting should be thin enough to paint onto cookies, but not so thin that it spreads and drips off sides of cookies. Divide frosting into several small bowls or glasses and add food coloring as desired.


7. Use a small paintbrush to paint designs on cookies, decorating with sprinkles as desired.

Peanut Butter Pretzel and Toffee Bonbons

Today is Mama B's birthday! Say it with me now...

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAMA B!" :-)

Kate and I, of course, asked if Mama B had any requests for a blog post celebrating her birthday. Of all the treats she suggested - and there were many, as Mama B is a respected member-at-large of the Sunday Treats baking team her request for truffles was the most enticing.

 

"Mmmmmmm, what kinda truffles, Mama B?", I asked.

"Oh, you know, those chocolately ones."

"Um, Mama B, all truffles are made with chocolate..."

"You know - those ones you always make! With the oreos!"

Well, as much as I wanted to please Mama B for her birthday, we've already posted the recipe for the awesomely easy and spectacularly tasty Oreo Truffles for all you Sunday Treats readers.

So Kate suggested these little pretties. Technically speaking, they're bonbons and not truffles, but then again, the oreo truffles are technically bonbons, too, so, technically, we stuck with Mama's B's original request for something along the lines of "those chocolately truffles", which, though she didn't know it, are technically not truffles but bonbons.

And technically, that last sentence was horribly grammatically incorrect due to its run-on-ness and overuse of the word 'technically'.

 

Back to my point.

Oh Mama B! How I wish you could apparate to New York and taste one of these. Believe me, a cross-country, interdimensional voyage on your birthday would be worth it. Biting into one makes me feel like everything in my life is going to be just fine.

Know who else makes me feel like that? You.

Happy birthday, Mama. We love you!

 

Peanut Butter Pretzel and Toffee Bonbons

Adapted from melskitchencafe.com

Makes approximately 6-7 dozen bonbons

*Note: To chop the pretzels, place several large handfuls in a ziploc bag, release the extra air and seal, and roll over the top with a rolling pin until the pretzels are crunched up into 1/8-inch pieces. You could also use K&B's preferred method: stomping on the bag! Measure the crumbs and continue the process until you have 2 cups.

8 tablespoons butter, softened to warm room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

2 cups peanut butter

1 cup toffee bits

2 cups crushed pretzels

1 pound chocolate (semisweet, milk, bittersweet)

1 tablespoon coconut oil

Toffee, chopped nuts, chocolate jimmies for garnish

1.    In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until evenly combined. Add the peanut butter and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Stir in the toffee bits and pretzel pieces by hand with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.

2.    Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment or waxed paper. Roll the peanut butter mixture into 1-inch balls and place them on the lined baking sheets. Freeze for 15-20 minutes until firm. At this point, the balls can be transferred to a sealed container or freezer ziploc bag and frozen for up to 2 months.

3.    Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and coconut oil together in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring every 30 seconds, until completely melted and smooth. Alternately, use a double boiler to melt the chocolate. If chocolate is very warm, allow it to cool for a few minutes. You want it to be smooth and thin, but not too hot.

4.    One by one, toss a peanut butter/pretzel ball into the melted chocolate and using a fork, cover the ball with chocolate. Lift the covered bonbon out of the chocolate with the fork, then gently shake the fork from side to side to remove excess chocolate. Scrape the bottom of the fork along the edge of the bowl and then, setting the bonbon very close to the parchment paper, use a knife to gently scoot the bonbon off the fork and back onto the baking sheet (or, use a new parchment or waxed paper lined sheet). Immediately sprinkle with your garnish of choice. Refrigerate finished bonbons until ready to serve.