TWD: Parisian Apple Tartlet

I was so excited about this week's TWD recipe - Parisian Apple Tartlet. My biggest reason for being excited? Four ingredients. Yes, that's right. Just 4. Puff pastry, apple, brown sugar, and butter. And believe me, it was DELICIOUS!

It is a great recipe to have in your collection because it is easy peasy, tastes great, and would easily impress company! Thanks to Jessica of My Baking Heart for a great choice. The recipe can be found at her blog.

Also, I won't be able to get around to blogs today because I am enjoying some time with the hubby in Rome. I will try to check in on Wednesday when we return. :)

SMS: Bear's Peach Cobbler

This week's Sweet Melissa Sunday recipe choice was Bear's Peach Cobbler. I honestly don't know if I've ever had peach cobbler before. I know, I know. Go ahead and gasp. Nathan did. My friend Monica did. But I really don't think that I have and, if I did, well, it obviously wasn't great because I don't remember it.

But this peach cobbler? YUM YUM YUM! I really enjoyed it. I did make a few changes to the recipe. First, the most obvious change is that I baked it in individual ramekins instead of making one big cobbler. There were two reasons behind this; 1- MUCH quicker baking time, and 2- Nathan and I wouldn't have been able to eat the entire recipe by ourselves fast enough.


The other change I made was to use frozen sliced peaches. Our commissary isn't known for it's produce department and the peaches weren't ripe the day I was going to make this. So frozen was my only choice. They worked wonderfully, except for that I should've added a little more cornstarch to compensate for the extra liquid in the frozen peaches.



Nathan, who has had peach cobbler before, loved this. He said it was a really good cobbler. I, who has never had peach cobbler, loved this. It was incredibly good and I will definately make it again!

Thanks to Andrea of Nummy Kitchen for choosing this wonderful dessert! The recipe can be found at her blog. Also, check out the amazing SMS bakers to see what they cooked up!

Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake & Snickerdoodle Scones

Whoa... I am BEHIND on posts! I made these recipes weeks ago and am just now getting around to posting them. It has nothing to do with the food. I promise you they were delicious. But for some reason I have a huge pile up of posts in my draft folder. I need to get on top of it! :)

I love snickerdoodles. They are such delicious little cookies. I tried Snickerdoodle Blondies and fell in love with them. Julia from Dozen Flours posted a comment on the blondies telling me that she had also made a cake. Then I saw it on Ingrid's blog (3 B's) and knew I had to give it a shot.

It was a HUGE success! Such a simple looking cake, but it packs a big flavor punch. It was so good plain, but I bet it would be great warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. YUM! Writing this post is making me want to whip up another bundt cake right now!

Also, I figured since I am so behind on posts, I would double up and have a snickerdoodle party! We all know I love scones and these were great! I loved the addition of cinnamon chips, but they would be great without them, too. I know those chips are a pain to find!

Enjoy!

Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake

Dozen Flours

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 cup white sugar

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup white sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

3 eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup full-fat sour cream, at room temperature

In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Mix together really well and set aside.

Preheat oven to 325F. Here's the exact way I made the crust: Using a spray product like Pam with Flour,generously spray a 9 inch Bundt pan, being careful to cover all the nooks and cranies, as well as the center tube. (Note: If you don't want to use Pam with Flour, you can just grease the pan with shortening.) Gently dust the entire inside of the pan with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. You should only need about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar, but you want to try and evenly coat the inside surface of the pan, including the tube. Save the remaining sugar and cinnamon mixture and set everything aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.Beat just the butter on medium speed for one full minute. Add the white sugar and mix for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and blade and add the brown sugar.

Mix for 2 minutes until the mixture looks light brown and uniform in color. Add the eggs one at a time, beating each for 1 full minute. Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream; beat well. Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of the cinnamon sugar mixture over top the cake. Spread the rest of the batter into the pan and sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture over the top. (If you run out of cinnamon sugar, you can mix just 1/4 cup of sugar + 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon together for the top of the cake. It should be more than enough.)

Bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

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Snickerdoodle Scones

Craving Comfort

1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup cinnamon chips. (optional)
additional cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 350º.

Spray baking sheet with cooking spray.

Combine sour cream and baking soda in a small bowl. Set aside.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt in another bowl.

Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Combine egg with sour cream mixture. Add cinnamon.

Gently stir into flour mixture until moist.

Place on baking sheet and pat into a 3/4 inch thick circle.

Cut into 8 wedge shaped pieces. Move slightly so they are not touching.

Dust with cinnamon-sugar.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Drizzle with glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Water/Milk to thin to desired consistency

TWD: Cinnamon Squares

Tracey of Tracey's Culinary Adventures chose this week's TWD recipe, Cinnamon Squares, and I'm glad she did! To be honest, I don't know if I would've made this without this group. In the past, cinnamon and chocolate just didn't seem to be a good pair for me. But this cake, WOW!

It was very simple to put together; everything was mixed by hand. The batter was delicious on its own (yes, I licked the spatula!) and I was really excited to taste the finished product. Half of the batter was poured in the pan, topped with cinnamon/sugar and chopped chocolate, then the remaining batter went on top. After the cake was baked and cooled, it was spread with yummy chocolate.

My only problem with the cake is that my chocolate all sank to the bottom of the cake. Now, it didn't taste bad, but I didn't get that pretty swirl in the middle like Dorie did. I guess that's why she gets the big bucks, right? :)

Thanks to Tracey for picking this little gem of a cake. You can find the recipe at her blog.

Eric's Birthday Party (Plus a FANTASTIC chocolate frosting recipe!)

My baby boy turned one on Friday! We celebrated his birthday on Saturday and it was so much fun that I had to share. Eric is the only boy in our group of friends and has spent his first year surrounded by girls. Because of this, Nathan came up with the great idea of having a "James Bond" party for Eric. We bought a tuxedo for Eric and all his girlfriends (plus his sister!) wore pretty dresses.

We had finger sandwiches (Cucumber, BLT, Tuna, and PB&J), veggies, cheese and crackers, and punch (Sherbet, 7-UP, and Hawaiian Punch). I also made chocolate cake with the BEST chocolate frosting ever. I got the recipe from Joy the Baker and LOVED it. (Recipe is at the bottom of post.) I also made tuxedo strawberries to top the cake. They were so cute and so delicious!

I have to thank my wonderful friend, Erica, for the pictures you see here. Also, thanks to Monica and Britteny for taking so many other great pics. Love you guys!

Hope you all enjoy the pictures!

The Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Recipe from Joy the Baker

1 1/2 cup (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup Ovaltine

Cream together butter, cocoa powder and salt. Butter mixture will be very thick. Turn off the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add powdered sugar. Turn mixer on low and mix in powdered sugar while adding milk and vanilla extract. As the sugar incorporates, raise the speed of the mixer to beat the frosting. Beat until smooth. In a 2 cup measuring glass, stir together heavy cream and Ovaltine. Turn mixer speed to medium and pour cream mixture into frosting in a slow, steady stream, until you’ve reached your desired consistency. You may not need the full amount of Ovaltine and cream.