smookies?

Smore Cookie Bars. Seriously one of the best inventions in the world. A graham cracker flavored cookie, a layer of yummy melted milk chocolate, a fluffy layer of marshmallow goo, and another layer of cookie. Delicious. I've made them multiple times, and never have they failed to impress. Probably not wise to serve at a very fancy gathering, as they tend to get a little messy. But anywhere else, throw these easy cookie bars together and serve them warm. :) I found these here.


What You'll Need:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 king-sized milk chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s)
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)(though one day, I am going to try this with whole marshmallows and see what happens)


Preheat your oven to 350, prepare your 8x8 pan... 


So in a bowl, cream together the butter and both the kinds of sugar until it gets light. This whole "creaming" thing is another one of those "not if you live in a dorm" kind of luxuries, so I usually just melt the butter and mix it in and pretend I followed the directions. Then add the egg and vanilla, stir til combined, set aside.
In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, crumbs, baking powder, salt). Once this is all together, throw it into the butter mixture. However, if, once again, either you're lazy or have limited supplies or what not the only real benefit of this step is combining the crumbs and the flour, so I usually just skip it and throw it all straight into the butter mixture because its less bowls to wash. But shhh, dont tell. 
Next, you're gonna divide the cookie dough in half, and put one half of it into the bottom of your 8x8 pan and make an even layer. Then place the chocolate bars over them, they should probably fit perfectly but if not break and make it fit! Then spread the marshmallow fluff. Fun! Sticky! Yay! I've learned this works a lot more effectively when the marshmallow fluff is not cold. Next, the really fun and sticky part, putting the second layer of cookie on top of the marshmallow fluff... Good luck! According to the recipe, the easiest way is by flattening the dough into small shingles and laying them together. I usually just kind of go at it and hope it works. 
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until lightly browned and it smells wonderful. The recipe says cool completely, but I definitely prefer them warm. And with leftovers I usually just microwave them for a few seconds at a time to warm them up, and they stay delicious. 
Enjoy!

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Raspberry Lemon Bars

So lemon bars are sort of my claim to fame back home baking wise. They were the first thing I ever really baked on my own... And I used to bake them like almost every day. So I was really excited when I found this new twist on them. However, I was not as thrilled as I thought I'd be with the result, but everyone else seemed to like them. I guess that's because I was expecting lemon bars, and thats not really what they were. They were like tart raspberry bars. But they are still a nice summer tasting treat, just don't be expecting lemon bars with a hint of raspberry. 
So you'll need:
(crust)
9 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

(filling)
1 1/2 cups  sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup  fresh lemon juice (from 2-3 lemons)
2 tablespoons lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
2/3 cup (65 g) unbleached, all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 cup (150 g) frozen raspberries, defrosted
1 tablespoon powdered sugar [I used a few more]


Now keep in mind that I live in a dorm. I do not have measuring cups. In fact, I haven't used a measuring cup in so long it is actually kind of sad. But those are the measurements off of the recipe I used, so I mean it is what it is. 


So start with your oven preheating to 350, as usual. You'll need an 8x8 pan, either greased, lined with parchment paper, or just chillen. 
Then you'll cream your butter and sugar with your electric mixer (another thing missing in my dorm)(I ended up just using my hands, it was actually quite an adventure.), then mix in your flour til its incorporated. Put your crust into your pan, put your pan into your oven, and let it cook for about 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, this would be a prime oppurtunity to start juicing those lemons if you have not already done so. If you have, hang out til the crust is done, then prepare your filling while it cools. This was a weird part of this recipe for me, as I'm used to recipes that call for pouring it over a hot crust, but I did what it told me to do. So to prepare mix sugar, eggs, lemon juice and zest,  and flour in a large bowl. Pour raspberries into a sieve* and press through to extract all the pulp and juices. Whisk into lemon mixture and pour into crust. 

*Sieves, yet another thing I do not have hear in my dorm room. I attempted to use a very mini strainer I found for $2 at Albertsons, but it was just messy and frustrating, so I ended up just crushing my frozen raspberries and throwing them in. Maybe thats why these came out so weird...
Anyway, cook for about 30-35 minutes according to the recipe, though for me it took almost an hour and the filling in the middle still didn't pass the tooth pick test. Oh well... Cook until its done I suppose. Cool, top with your powdered sugar, cut, enjoy. 
I hope this works better for you than for me!
And yes, I know I should stop using my Iphone and start using my real camera. So sue me.

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Passover! But not.

So I made passover-friendly lemon bars, but they were awful. And I have never made/consumed awful lemon bars until today. So I'm going to choose to not give that recipe to you. Instead, I'm going to share my staple lemon bar recipe, because they are actually delicious. Obviously they would be, because it is Martha Stewart's Recipe. But we'll just keep that on the down low.

So you will need:
[for the crust]
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, frozen; plus more for dish
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt

[for the filling]
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup whole milk
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting


Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, as usual. Line your 9x13 (or 8x8 if you want fatty ones), grease it, whatever you usually do. I just slab some butter down and otherwise they are buttery enough to come out without sticking. 


So start with the crust ingredients. You'll need a grater. Yes, like a cheese grater. Grate your butter on the side with the big holes, all 1 1/2 sticks of it. Why? Because it spreads it out better and makes the crust evenly flaky instead of chunky flaky. And its fun-ish. Put it to the side.
Whisk (or mix with whatever mixing device you choose. I hate whisks, I use a fork.) the other crust ingredients (flour, sugar, salt). Once its combined, mix in the butter. It will look crumbly, thats okay, thats the flakiness. Transfer this mixture to the prepared dish. Freeze for about 15 minutes, I usually do about 20-25 cause I get distracted, but the recipe says 15. Then bake the crust for about 17 minutes. Again the recipe says until golden brown, but that hardly happens. I usually go by when it becomes fragrant. DO NOT TURN YOUR OVEN OFF!


While the crust is in the oven (yes, while, you'll want to pour this over the hot crust) you're going to whisk together the eggs, sugar, flour, and salt in a bowl until smooth. Throw in the lemon juice and milk. If you finish before the crust does, make sure you give it a last stir before pouring it over the hot crust. Reduce the temperature to 325, and bake until filling is set and edges are slightly golden brown, about 18 minutes. Once cool, dust with powdered sugar. Cut, serve. Enjoy!!

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Matzah Toffee!

You'll need:

Enough matzah to cover the pan you're using (about 5 sheets?)

1 bag semi sweet chocolate chips

1 cup of butter (2 sticks)

1 cup dark brown sugar

And an oven that has been heated to 450 degrees.

(or any equal proportion, based on how much you're making)

So start by lining your sheet with the matzah. I used a normal cookie sheet and put down tin foil under it. You'll want to put something, tin foil, parchment paper, wax paper... whatever your preference. Line the matzah evenly, in a flat single layer. You'll have to break some pieces to fill in the awkward shape... Then set that aside.

Next, take a small pot and put the brown sugar and the butter in it. Put it over medium heat and bring it to a gentle boil. Until it starts boiling, I'd suggest stirring it a bunch to get the sugar broken up and make sure its melting evenly. Once it starts boiling though, leave it alone for five minutes. At this point it should be nice and thick. Then remove it from the heat and pour it evenly over your matzah, while still hot. Like, remove from stove, pour on matzah. No break there. 

Stick this in the oven for 4-5 minutes. Remember, the oven should be PREheated to 450 degrees. Take it out, sprinkle the chocolate chips over it relatively evenly (don't worry, once it melts you'll be able to cover everything) and stick it back in the oven for ONE (1) minute. Take it out of the oven and spread the chocolate over the whole thing nice and beautifully. 

Let it cool and harden, break into pieces, store as you wish... or ya know, eat it. Cause thats why you made it. Enjoy! 

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Delicious Brownies

Now, I am not a giant fan of chocolate. In fact, I very rarely eat chocolate, in any form; brownies, chocolate cake, etc. However, these are some of the best brownies ever.
And the best part? THEY ARE SIMPLE! Except for the whipped cream. But that is so unbelievably worth it, so it does not even matter. 


So here it is, Brownies with a White Chocolate Whipped Cream


You'll want to start with the whipped cream, as it takes longer. So you'll need:
A whole bag of your favorite white chocolate chips + 1 cup of heavy cream. That is it. 
Throw those into a pot and heat on low heat until the chips are melted. Once they are melted, you can raise the heat slightly, but still not even past medium. Now, stir constantly and heat for about 15-20 minutes. Stir CONSTANTLY. White chocolate has a habit of burning, and burnt whipped cream just does not sound fun. Then remove from heat and let it cool while you move on to the brownies.


For the brownies you will need:
1 1/2 cups of white sugar
3/4 cup of flour
3/4 cup of cocoa
3 eggs
3/4 cup of butter
1  cup of chocolate chips
a 9 x 13 pan, and an oven that has been preheated to 350. 
Oh, and a pot.


So to start, you'll melt the butter into a pot. If you only want to use one bowl/pot for the whole process, use a seemingly unnecessary large pot for this part. Anyway, once the butter is melted remove it from the heat.
Stir in the white sugar, followed by the cocoa once it is combined. 
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each one. Throw in 2/3 of a cup of the chocolate chips after this. 
Once everything is extremely mixed, throw in the flour. Now this is the important part: BARELY mix it. If you over mix or even mix past the point of it being combined, it will turn your brownies cakey instead of chewy. Now if you want cakey instead of chewy, mix at your own will. However, chewy > cakey in brownies, so I'd say stick with barely mixing it. 
Once that is done, throw it into your greased/parchment-paper lined pan (or ungreased/unlined...your choice), throw the rest of the chocolate chips over the batter. Pop them in the oven for about 20 minutes. 


While those are cooking, you'll want to bring back the white chocolate situation. Now this is the part where I pray to the money trees everyday that eventually I will get a kitchen aid stand mixer, however, I do not yet have one... So it took me about forty minutes of whipping with a hand electric mixer. But anyway, whip as you normally whip, be it in your fancy little kitchen aid where you have to do no work, or old fashioned with a whisk. Now the important part is to NOT spread it on the brownies until they are COMPLETELY cool. Otherwise you will have wasted a lot of time whipping. 


Hope you enjoy. They are my favorite brownies. 

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Layer Yellow Cake

So clearly I like to bake, a lot. However, one feat I had never attempted until today was a simple layer cake. They are surprisingly easy. I've made something similar to a layer cake, but never a straight off the front of a cake mix box kind of cake. So today I decided too. It turned out a little dry, but I might have over cooked it.


I used a recipe I found on food gawker, my favorite website ever. This simple yellow cake was extremely easy and tasty, but as a said a little dry. But it was easy and used ingredients that almost any basic baker always has laying around the house, so that was nice. However, I cheated a little and used store-bought chocolate frosting. Oopsie. 


Yellow Cake: 

 2 3/4 cups cake flour 

 1 1/2 cups sugar

 3 3/4 tsp. baking powder

 3/4  tsp. salt 

 12 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature 

 3/4 cup milk, room temperature

 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

 4 eggs, room temperature 

Preheat the oven to 350.

I used two round pans, feel free to use square, rectangular, cupcakes... whatever you please. Triangles maybe?

Sift the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl, or kitchen aid mixer bowl. Cut the butter into 1/2 inch cubes and mix them into the flour mixture on low speed.  The mix should be lumpy. Add the milk and the vanilla extract.  Mix on medium for another minute.  Add the eggs one at a time and mixing in between each addition. Pour the batter into the cupcake pan or the two pans equally. Bake 15-20 minutes for cupcakes and about 30-35 minutes for the cakes.  Let cool completely on a wire rack.  

Then take the cakes out of the pans, making sure they are completely cooled. Once again my lazy side prevails, and instead of flattening the tops, I stuck the domed side down in a plate so it didnt show. I frosted the top of that layer, stuck the other layer on, leaving the dome on top... and frosted the whole thing. Wha-la. 

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