twd ~ chocolate spice quickies

Whenever I have someone over for dinner, I spend as much time thinking about the dessert as the main course. I see it as the big finale. I planned an intimate dinner for two last week, and took Dorie's suggestion to pair the chocolate spice quickies with ice cream. It was delicious. The cookies are great solo, and are subtle enough in flavor to be addictive. These aren't rich, despite the spices and chocolate, which is one reason why they paired so wonderfully with Dorie's chocolate ganache ice cream.
The ice cream overshadowed the cookies a bit. I added a little expresso powder and salt to the ganache to bring out the intense chocolate.
Thanks to Jessica of My Baking Heart for this week's pick! Check out her blog for the recipe and some beautiful food pics.

twd ~ Tropical Crumble

I've been fighting with my laptop for the past 45 minutes. It doesn't want to type. It tells me I am holding down the control button, even when I raise both hands above my head and wave a white flag.



What I really don't want to do is get on the phone with tech support people. How long will it take? Will it be under my warranty? If I keep banging around on this thing will it suddenly start working again?

I'm hoping it keeps behaving long enough to make my post. Hey, it's almost midnight.

The tropical crumble, on the other hand, was not a problem at all. It was simple and easy, and turned out to be quite delicious.



I made a few substitutions. I used almonds instead of pecans, and orange zest instead of lime. I added just a little coconut to the topping, and a smidgen of whipped cream at the end. The cream quickly melted, but blended nicely with the fruit anyway.



I've fallen off exercising lately, and finally put in a good 6 miles this evening so I didn't feel too bad about eating this straight from the oven at 10pm. It was too perfect at the park not to enjoy it! I saw a film crew doing scenes for the movie What to Expect When You're Expecting. Chris Rock was the only one I could really recognize or hear.

Thanks to Gaye at Laws of the Kitchen for this week's pick!

twd ~ Carrot Spice Muffins & Banana Peach Brekkie

I love baked goods packed with little treasures - carrots, nuts, seeds, raisins - each bite brings a new combination of tastes. I love Morning Glory muffins and always am tempted when I see one sitting in a pastry case, regardless if it's morning, noon, or night.

These carrot spice muffins are no disappointment. In fact, they are too darn good. The are moist and packed with some of my favorites - carrots, coconut, ginger, cinnamon, walnuts, and raisins! Now that's a mouthful.

I used half whole wheat flour and half white, which worked well. For breakfast, it's hard to eat just one delicious muffin so I paired it with my new favorite fruit combination. One lovely, ripe Georgia peach + one banana + a spoonful of sunflower seeds + a little bit of whipping cream poured over = yummers!

Thanks to Nancy of The Dogs Eat the Crumbs for this week's pick. Head over to her blog for the recipe.

twd ~ Chocolate Chocolate Chunk Muffins

This recipe could inspire a great debate - is it a muffin or a cupcake?

I meant to follow the recipe exactly, but I just can't seem to make it happen. Instead of using half the chocolate melted in the batter, I melted all of it and poured in. So when I got to adding the chunks, I had to reach back in the bag and add a little more. This is really chocolate chocolate chocolate chunk muffins.



I wonder if the added chocolate makes these even more cupcake like. My first reaction is that they are straddled between the two worlds, and not very satisfying as either. I added almonds on top to some, just for a little decor.



They are a beautiful color. I only got 11 out of the recipe because I purposefully made the first six big. I'm out of town for the 4th of July, and my cat is having a sleep over with the guy I'm seeing. My mom said this must mean he really likes me. I figured, just in case cat sitting is more than he expects, big chocolate muffin-cakes are in order.

Thanks to Bridget of The Way the Cookie Crumbles for this week's pick! Head over to her website for the recipe.

twd ~ Sour Cream Chocolate Cake Cookies

Thanks to Spike of Spike Bakes for the wonderful pick this week! I was very happy to have something 1) chocolatey and 2) a cookie.


These disappeared way too quickly. I baked them on Wednesday for a gathering on Friday. When they came out of the oven, a guy I'm seeing was over, so he had to try them. Then a friend came over and we made dinner, so naturally we had one for dessert. Since she was going back to work, she needed to take a few. Three dozen down to two dozen.

Two dozen for a gathering of seven sounds fine. Within five mintues they were gone. The thing I didn't take into account was that this was a gathering of our organization's summer interns. College kids eat a lot, especially after running from the park to a bookstore to get away from thunderstorm that was dropping gallons. But the great thing about college kids: it didn't matter a bit and we were able to laugh it off and have a wonderful, wet time!

Since I'm not a big raisin and chocolate fan, I subbed chocolate chips. Everytime I bit into one, I thought it would be wonderful with icing or filling of some sort. This would be a great base for whoopie pies!

twd ~ Date Nut Loaf

Calling this a loaf makes it sound like bread. But as my friend said after taking a bite, "Hey, this is like cake!"

It's cake dressed up like bread. It has lovely walnuts and dates that take the stage, and lots of butter and cream cheese hiding in between. I'm now thinking of making muffins out of this batter and putting cream cheese icing on top for cupcakes.



I stuck to Dorie's recipe this time completely! I didn't have the correct size loaf pan, so I made a regular and a mini loaf. The mini was done in the specified time, however, the larger one took another half an hour. It made me a little nervous because that's a long time over, but it turned out a lovely golden brown and very moist.



Check out all the lovely walnuts and dates! The walnuts are definitely the best part for me. Thanks to Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet for a great pick this week!

twd ~ Chocolate Biscotti

Thanks to Jacque of Daisy Lane Cakes for a wonderful pick this week!

I love biscotti. It's so nice to have a perfectly dippable sweet treat to accompany coffee or tea. It feels much more grown-up than cookies, and perhaps that's why I've never thought about making it. I tried once before, with mixed results. This recipe was great - almonds, chocolate chips, cocoa.

I only made two slight changes - it might be a record for me with a TWD! I halved the recipe, and I mixed the chocolate half bittersweet chips, half dark chocolate chunks.

The dough was very sticky and I had a little trouble shaping it into logs. The recipe says to bake for 20 mins or so, remove and cut into nice biscotti strips, and bake for another 10 mins or so. I think I baked it a little too long during the first baking round because I had trouble cutting it without making a crumbly mess.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this biscotti was the keeping factor. I went out of town unexpectedly because of a feline death in the family. When I came back last night, and pulled the biscotti out of the cabinet, it was just as good as last Monday when I made them!

twd ~ Peach Brown Sugar Plain Cake

This cake may not have turned out to be the prettiest, but what it lacks in looks, it makes up for in taste.

This week's TWD was chosen by Cindy of Everyday Insanity. The original reciped calls for blueberries; I subbed two peaches and cut the recipe in half. It ended up a little heavy on the peaches for it to stay together. One would have been plenty but I do love the moisture they added. I used barely ripe peaches to retain some of the tartness you get with berries.

I really enjoyed making this one tonight. Sometimes TWD sneaks up on me, and it can feel like one more thing hanging over me. It's been a stressful past couple of days trying to catch-up from being gone last week on a work trip. I love the work trips to New York because I get away and get to visit my sister, but it's coming back to the same old stressors and the work piled up that is daunting. Being able to turn on the radio, have a glass of wine, and bake up a delicious, simple cake really raised my spirits tonight. It made me remember what I first loved about baking.

twd ~ Oatmeal Nutmeg Scones & Maple Cornmeal Biscuits

I'm so excited for this weekend. Not only is it long weekend (yay federal holidays!) but I will get to bake up Oatmeal Nutmeg Scones and Maple Cornmeal Biscuits for one of my good friend's baby shower! This is the first baby shower I've ever helped host, and I'm both nervous, feeling like I'm forgetting something, and excited because I know it's going to be a fabulous time!

We decided on brunch for the menu. So in addition to the scones and biscuits, there will be grits, egg & artichoke pie, home-style potatoes, fruit, mimosas, and muffins.

Both the scones and the biscuits were super easy to mix up. I was pleasantly surprised. They are currently sitting in my freezer, awaiting the big day. Hopefully they'll bake up wonderfully light and delish!

twd ~ Cornbread Shortbread Cookies

I've been utterly slack with twd lately. The weather has been perfect...that ideallyic time down South when he warm and breezy, before the humidity sets in. I made a resolution to make this week's selection regardless of how hard or time consuming. Thankfully it was neither. It was Monday night before I got around to making it, nothing like a deadline to light a fire under me, and didn't have a lemon or any citrus. Divergence one.

Monday after work. I had stopped for a quick workout at the gym, then booked it home for a quick shower before a friend picked me up. Since the dough had to chill, I decided to make it during the 30 minutes I had to get ready. I usually don't take very long, but that's stretching it a little. Hurrying, I accidnetally read the sugar amount for the cornmeal amount and dumped in twice as much cornmeal as needed. Divergence two.

To try and correct this, I added a couple of extra tablespoons of butter. Divergence three.




Hmm, I wasn't sure how these would turn out at all. I stuck the dough in the frig, in a nice little ziplock baggie, and crossed my fingers hoping for the best. Three hours later, I popped a few little squares in the oven; just a few for pictures and tasting. The rest of the dough will stay until Wednesday night, and get baked up for my sister's visit on Thursday.

These were delicious! Even with the extra cornmeal. I had two tasters and they both loved these. The cornmeal adds a lovely texture that adds that something I always find missing from shortbread. Added bonus - no eggs! No eggs = guilt free cookie dough :)

twd ~ Honey Nut Brownies

Thanks to Suzy of Suzy Homemaker for this week's pick!

These brownies are all about the honey!
The honey makes them very dense and very sweet. It overplays the chocolate a bit. I used pecans for the nuts, and loved them. You definitely need nuts in these.
These were good straight out of the oven, but better the next day when the flavors seemed to have mixed and mellowed a bit more.

twd ~ Citrus Fig Sunshine Muffins

Lauryn of Bella Baker picked these week's twd recipe - Citrus Current Sunshine Muffins! As you can tell from the title of this post, I did a little substituting. I actually played around with these more than usual.



To begin with, I used vegetable oil instead of butter. I didn't read ahead to the "butter, melted and cooled" and didn't have time once I started mixing the other ingredients. Okay, I really didn't have the patience. I left out the lemon juice and extract because I didn't have it, and didn't quite have enough orange juice. I added a couple tablespoons of wheat germ, a couple of figs, a tablespoon of raspberry preserves, some chopped pecans, and a little agave. Everything but the kitchen sink!

So how did they turn out...delicious! They are a little on the dry side, but very grainy and good. The orange taste comes through nicely, but isn't overpowering at all.

twd ~ Corniest Corn Muffins

March has sprung it's madness already.
Fights breaking out outside my office building just when I'm sneaking out for a mid-day coffee.
Unfriendly people suddenly becoming friendly.
Friendly people becoming stressed and jumpy.
It's all very strange.

Which is kind of what happened with these muffins. I made them at the end of February, and tasted one as soon as it was cool. Delicious! Especially with a little butter and honey slathered on. But a couple of days later, when March rolled in, I bit into a muffin to discover that the kernels had morphed from crunchy yellow spots to hard, chewy blots. Now I know a muffin two days old isn't going to taste as good. I was expecting that, but these had done something funny with the kernels.

So I just put more butter and more honey on them and noshed away.



I love corny things, and used stoneground meal and frozen corn kernels. Somehow I ended up with lopsided tops.



Thanks to Jill of My Next Life for a great pick this week!

twd ~ Toasted Almond Scones

Mike of Living Out West was the lucky twd'er that got to choose this week.



I quartered the recipe and ended up with four little cutie scones. I used all milk, no cream, and somehow ended up with a very sticky, wet dough. I added a couple of tablespoons of wheat flour and crossed my fingers, hoping for the best!

These were delicious! They aren't very sweet, which I really like in a scone. The toasted almond taste is wonderful! I wasn't sure these were going to be worth the trouble, but they definitely are. And, actually, they aren't that much trouble. I forgot all about these, all weekend, and remembered Monday night at 10pm. They were done by 10:30 and waiting in a little box for breakfast! Yum!

twd ~ Chocolate Oatmeal Drops

A big thank you to Caroline and Claire of Bake With Us for this week’s twd pick! These were amazing! One of the reasons I love baking along is that I make things I otherwise wouldn’t. Kugelhopf anyone? Or how about Cottage Cheese Pufflets?

Usually, I like what I make. There’s a rarely a time when I don’t, and then you can make a safe bet that I messed up the recipe somehow. But very rarely will I actually make things again, not when there are so many new recipes and old favorites. These however, are going into the old favorites file very quickly!

I knew I would like these just looking at the ingredient list. I love chocolate cookies with oats, and these have both cocoa and melted chocolate. Very chocolaty! They have a great texture, crispy on the outside like chocolate chip cookies, but very fudgy in the middle. I took them to a Super Bowl party and they disappeared pretty quickly. It was hard keeping my spoon out of the dough! These are delish pre-baked and baked!

twd ~ Great Grains Muffins

Thanks to Christine of Happy Tummy for the great pick this week! This was one that I had highlighted as a possible pick for my turn. I didn't end of picking it, so I'm very excited to get the chance to make it now.

I hardly ever make a full recipe for twd. Since we bake every week, I like to downsize the servings by at least half, usually by three-quarters. But this week, I made the full recipe because I knew I was going to love these!



As much as I did love these, I would like them grainier. I can't pick out the oats at all, though the cornmeal adds a nice, subtle taste. I love prunes so this gave me a great excuse to buy them.

In the cookbook, Dorie's picture shows the muffin with a nice chunk of (what looks like) cheddar cheese. I haven't tried that yet, but I think it'll be great!

twd ~ Nutty, Chocolately, Swirly, Sour Cream Cake

This week's post is chosen by Jennifer of Cooking for Comfort.

This cake knocked my socks off! It was a very pleasant surprise.

The name intrigued me, but also made me a little wary. Nutty, chocolately, swirly, and sour cream all in a bundt cake? Sounded high maintenance. But it turned to be very simple.

I substituted yogurt for the sour cream, and went heavy on the swirl spices, nuts, and chocolate chips that get layered in the batter. I quartered the recipe and baked it in a mini loaf pan. It was the perfect amount.

It smells lovely baking! Not just normal baking good, but licking the air good. It's an incredibly moist cake with a nice crispy top. I put in two layers of swirl. Perhaps I was being dense tonight, but I didn't quite understand Dorie's directions for making an indentation in the batter with the back of a spoon in the middle of the bundt cake pan...don't bundt cake pans have a hollow center? So I just did two layers - simple and it got the job done.

twd ~ Tangerine Muffins

Thanks to Betsy of A Cup of Sweetness for this week's TWD pick. I was happy to see the muffins on the list amid all the chocolate cookies and cakes this month. It's nice to have something a little different.



Keeping with that thought, I took a few liberities with the recipe. I used tangerines instead of lemons because 1) that's what I had and 2) I was curious how they would turn out. My grandmother gave me a loaf of Lemon Poppyseed Bread at Christmas that is still sitting in the fridge. I also didn't use poppy seeds at all. I didn't want to buy them because I simply don't understand them. My mom LOVES poppy seedy things - bagles and muffins and breads. She loves poppy seeds. But to me, they don't have much taste, look like little dead bugs, and get stuck in people's teeth.



So no seeds - except those in the raspberry jam that I used to fill the center of each muffin. On top, lots and lots of sugar + tangerine juice drizzle! Putting it on reminded me of making Pilsbury Orange Danish rolls as a kid. Only, these are much better. They are more like little cakes than hearty muffins. Really good.

Happy New Year! twd ~ Midnight Crackles

Thanks to Laurie of Slush and Jules of Someone’s In the Kitchen who chose Midnight Crackles for the anniversary recipe. TWD is three years old and still going strong! Thanks to Laurie for starting it, and to everyone whose comments and blog posts have made this a wonderful experience for me. Bring it on 2011!

Now to the recipe. I'm very curious to see how these turned out for everyone else. Mine came out rather cake-like - very thick for a cookie and not at all chewy or crispy. I made the dough before Christmas, and put it in the freezer for a few days. When I took it out to bake, the dough was very hard, so hard there was no scooping or shaping involved. It was more breaking and beating into the semblance of a circle.

Baked up these are good, but there's something that makes me look at them askew. Are these little cakes in cookie clothing? I can't quite put my finger on it, but something is odd. I spiced these up, adding the "Playing Around" suggestions of ginger and coriander. Perhaps it's the ginger + chocolate combo that's throwing me off. I've still got dough in the freezer, so I'll play around with next batch, make them smaller and thinner and bake them less time.

For all those making resolutions - Good Luck!

twd ~ Apple-Coconut Family Cake

I can hardly believe - it's my turn to pick! After a little more than two years, I'm happy to still be baking along with all the other twd bakers and have a reason to make a new delicious dessert every week!

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As found in Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours:

Apple-Coconut Family Cake

The tastes in this light, moist cake are coconut, a hint of cinnamon and the sweetness of apples, all of which put you in mind of early fall. Our friend Michael Vogel aptly calls it a "family" cake.

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
3 apples (I use Golden Delicious), peeled and cored
2 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup plain yogurt
6 tablespoons flavorless oil, such as canola or grapeseed
1 tablespoon dark rum
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup shredded coconut, preferably unsweetened
About 1/2 cup apple jelly, for glaze

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

Cut 2 of the apples into a small dice, cover with plastic wrap and set aside. Cut the third apple from blossom to stem into slices about 1/4 inch thick; cover.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and 1/2 cup of the sugar together for a minute. Whisk in the yorut, oil, rum and vanilla and whisk for about a minute, until smooth. Still using the wisk, or switching to a rubber spatual, fold in the flourt mixture, followed by the coconut and the diced apple.

Scrape the batter into the pan and jiggle the pan from side to side a couple of times to even the batter. Arrange the sliced apples in an attractive pattern over the top of the cake - I like to make a sunburst pattern - and sprinkle the apples with the remaining 2 teaspoons sugar.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the apples and cake are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the springform pan to a rack, and cool the cake for 20 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, make the glaze. Warm the apple jelly with a splash of water just until it liquefies.

Once the cake has cooled for 20 minutes, run a knife around the edges of the cake and release the sides of the pan. Using a pastry bursh, give the top of the cake a generaous gloss of glaze.

Makes 8 servings.
Serving: The cake can be served warm or at room temperature. While it is great as is, it's scrumptious with a little whipped cream.
Storing: This cake is a good keeper. Wrapped well, it will keep at room temperature for about 4 days. Because of the apples and glaze, it isn't a good candidate for freezing.

Playing Around:Coconut-Nut Family Cake
Keep the coconut in the cake, but add 1/2 cup ground pecans or walnuts and an equal amount of the same nut, finely chopped. This double-nut cake is just as good made with slices of pineapple or pears as it is with apples.
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I tried to make this by sticking to the recipe. I managed to do mostly that. I used coconut rum instead of dark rum because that's what I had. For some strange reason, the store didn't have apple jelly so I used raspberry. It made the cake a nice red color - very festive for the Christmas season!

Saturday I ran my first marathon. Afterwards, I was ready for a little cake on Sunday and this was perfect.