Monday, March 18, 2024

STRAWBERRY SHORTBREAD COOKIES

 I love when I can share a new recipe with you from a Cafe Treats Baker, but especially when it is so different from any treat we have had. Newby Cafe Treats Baker, Dorene, decided to make this shortbread and I know a lot of people were glad she did. They were awesome!!!!

I personally want to try these myself, but first I have to buy some freeze-dried strawberries. I have seen them at Aldi, a grocery store I frequent, but have never seen a recipe for using them. Now I do though.

Dorene saw the recipe in the new Southern Living magazine. She said she froze the dough at least 24 hours maybe 25. She also said she only baked hers 10 - 11 minutes.* She then allowed them to cool on the cookie sheet. I would imagine it would depend on the thickness of the dough when you cut them out.

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STRAWBERRY SHORTBREAD COOKIES

1       cup freeze-dried strawberries (from 1 {1 - oz} pkg) plus more for garnish

3/4    cup unsalted butter, softened (1-1/2 sticks)

1-1/2 cup powdered sugar, divided

1/2    teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract

1-1/2 cups flour, plus more for work surface and cutters

1/2    teaspoon kosher salt

2       tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)


In a food processor, process the strawberries until finely ground (the consistency of granulated sugar), about 30 seconds, set aside.

Beat the butter and 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar in a stand mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute.

Beat in the vanilla and ground strawberries until combined, about 30 seconds. Set aside.

Whisk together the flour and salt in a medium bowl until combined. 

With  the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating just until dough comes together, about 1 minute. Don't forget to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. 

Shape the dough into a 6 - inch disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Let it chill until firm, at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut desired shapes using lightly floured 2 - inch cookie cutters.

Combine scraps of dough til smooth and return to the refrigerator.

Place cut shapes onto prepared baking sheet about 1 inch apart and freeze until firm about 10 minutes.

Bake until the edges are set, about 14 to 16 minutes. Depending on the thickness of the dough, they might be done sooner.* Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing the baked cookies from the cookie sheet to a wire rack to finish cooling completely, about 30 minutes.

(Crush additional freeze-dried strawberries that you will sprinkle over the glazed cool cookies.)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar until smooth. 

Dip, drizzle, or spread the glaze over the cooled cookies  as desired.

Sprinkle the crushed freeze-dried strawberries over the cookies. Let stand until the glaze is set about 30 minutes.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

ESPRESSO CAKE MIX COOKIES

 

I first met Friend Dorene a few years before COVID when she started assisting my husband and me with preparing the table for communion at PWUMC. Then COVID hit and for a while we didn't have an in-person service. Even after we returned to in-person service communion was different. Go forward a number of years now and I started seeing Dorene at church helping with hospitality. It was so good working with her again. She has the prettiest smile.

Anyway, a couple of Sunday's ago she told me she would like to help with the Cafe Treats. I was so surprised and so pleased. Well, she signed up immediately for the next Sunday and has contributed each Sunday since.

These cookies were one of her first. They just don't look pretty, they taste good also. She got about 6 dozen cookies from the recipe. When she brought them to church, she had 3 dozen on a platter and another 3 dozen wrapped in foil to freeze for the next Sunday. What a Treat!!

We are so lucky to have Dorene part of our group.


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ESPRESSO CAKE MIX COOKIES

1       box yellow cake mix

1/2    cup oil

2       large eggs

1/8    cup espresso powder


Blend the cake mix, oil, and eggs together.

Refrigerate the batter for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

Shape into small balls the size of walnuts.

Sprinkle with the espresso powder.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack.


Monday, March 11, 2024

LEE'S CHOCOLATE CAPPUCCINO BROWNIES

 

Cafe Treats Baker Lee made these Chocolate Cappuccino Brownies a few weeks ago. I was anxious to write up the recipe for a post because everyone said they were so good. (I admit I don't like coffee so I didn't eat one, but I trust they were good because they didn't last long and Wayne ate one and said they were good. He also said they weren't very strong with the coffee taste.)

I had the recipe finished and realized there wasn't an ingredient that would have made them cappuccino. I reread Lee's written recipe to make sure I didn't make a mistake. Nope, I didn't. I sent Lee a text asking him if he had omitted an ingredient from the recipe, but he didn't answer me back. I finally was able to see him at church yesterday and he told me he had left out the espresso powder. He thought he had added a teaspoon, but said he would check the recipe at home and let me know.

Right after lunch I received an email from him saying he was wrong about the amount. He said the original recipe called for 2-1/4 teaspoons but that he had reduced it to 1-1/2 teaspoons. That is probably why my husband said it wasn't strong with the coffee taste. I will leave it up to you as to the amount you use when you make the brownies. 

I do hope you will give the recipe a try. 



PRINT RECIPE.

CHOCOLATE CAPPUCCINO BROWNIES

For the brownie layer:

4          oz  fine quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped

6          tablespoons unsalted butter, grated

3/4       cup sugar

1          teaspoon vanilla

2          large eggs

1/2       cup all-purpose flour

1/4       teaspoon salt

2-1/4    teaspoons of espresso powder (Lee only used 1-1/2 teaspoons)



For the cream cheese frosting:

4          oz cream cheese, softened

3          tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

3/4       cup confectioners' sugar

1/2       teaspoon vanilla

1/2       teaspoon cinnamon


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8 - in pan. Remove any excess flour. Set aside.

Melt the chocolate with the butter over low heat in the microwave. Blend until smooth.

Whisk in the sugar and vanilla.

Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking until mixture is glossy and smooth.

Stir in the flour, salt, and espresso powder until blended well.

Spread the batter evenly into the pan and bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a rack.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

With an electric mixer beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.

Add the confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon and beat until well combined.

Spread evenly over the brownie layer.

Chill for at least one hour before cutting and serving.

Friday, March 8, 2024

FUNFETTI BARS

 Funfetti bars and cookies are very popular with the Cafe Treats bakers and patrons at Platte Woods United Methodist Church. I needed an option to serve for our patrons who are watching their sugar intake whether just to be healthier or due to a medical condition. 

When I need a sugar-free option, I often use a sugar-free or now they call it zero sugar cake mix. That means that so many of my sugar-free recipes can be made not sugar free by using a regular cake mix. 

This recipe uses a diet 7up because it was advertised as a sugar-free recipe. Just like with the cake mix, if you aren't wanting a sugar-free treat, you can just use a regular 7-up or Sprite drink.

The problem with my treat that was supposed to be sugar-free was the addition of the sprinkles that make it "funfetti". I considered substituting some sugar-free chocolate chips, but didn't. I just used half of what the original recipe called for. I personally can't imagine what it would have been like with a whole half cup. 

So that means my recipe wasn't really sugar-free. I personally really regretted that but I just advertised it as sugar-free except for the sprinkles. No one complained.

The bars were really delicious. I cut the bars small as I usually do and only took half of them to church Sunday (24 bars). I froze the rest so that means I can take them next Sunday and won't have to make something else this Saturday. 





PRINT RECIPE.

FUNFETTI BARS

1     box sugar-free classic yellow cake mix or regular yellow cake mix

12   oz Diet 7up or regular 7-up

1/4  cup sprinkles

sugar-free powdered sugar or regular powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 - inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.


Empty the cake mix into a large mixing bowl. Pour in 7up and stir with an electric mixer for 2 minutes. (Increase the speed to medium after the liquid has been absorbed.)

Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.


Stir in the sprinkles and

then spread the batter evenly in the pan.









Bake for 34 to 38 minutes. Test doneness with a toothpick inserted in the center.

Cool in the pan on a wire rack. 


Cut in bars when ready to serve.

Then dust the top with the powdered sugar.








Store in the refrigerator.


Monday, March 4, 2024

CHOCOLATE CHIP BLONDIES/MIX


This is the second recipe in a week that I have made a recipe from one of my most recently purchased estate sale cookbook, Taste of Home Grandma's Favorites, 2023. I wanted something fast and easy, as usual, and not similar to another treat one of the Cafe Treats Bakers was bringing Sunday.

This recipe is a bonus because you can make the blondies to eat now or you can prepare the dry ingredients layered in a jar and give it as a gift with the instructions for the added "wet" ingredients needed for the receiver to make the bars themselves.

You only bake the bars for about 15 minutes which surprised me since they are baked in a 9 x 13 - inch baking pan, but the recipe warns not to overbake and they were ready in 15 minutes for me.

I only was able to enjoy one small bar as I was cutting them Sunday morning before taking them to church. They didn't last long enough for me to sneak another one. I will just have to make them again.


 

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CHOCOLATE CHIP BLONDIES/MIX

2     cups flour

1     teaspoon baking soda

1     teaspoon salt

3/4  cup packed brown sugar

3/4  cup sugar

1     cup semisweet chocolate chips

2     large eggs, room temperature

3/4  cup canola oil

1     teaspoon vanilla extract



Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease or spray a 9 x 13 - inch baking pan. Set aside.


Combine the dry ingredients with a whisk.

Set aside.


In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, oil, and vanilla until blended.


Gradually add the dry ingredients,

mixing well each time.


Spread evenly in the prepared pan.


Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not overbake.


Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.


Cut in squares when ready to serve.









DIRECTIONS FOR THE MIX

Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt together with a whisk. 

Using a 1-quart jar, layer the flour mixture, then the brown sugar, then the granulated sugar, and finally the chocolate chips in that order. Cover and store in a cool, dry place up to 3 months.

Include instructions for preparing (adding the ingredients to the eggs, oil, and vanilla as instructed above) when you give it as a gift.

 


Wednesday, February 28, 2024

CHEWY DOUBLE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

 

I was scrolling through some text messages and found this recipe from December that Friend and Cafe Treats Baker June made for the Cafe Treats. She was unable to come the Sunday she had signed up for and brought them the following week when I was absent.

June often makes treats from diabetic cookbooks and this one was no different. I think June uses Splenda while I use stevia products. The nice thing about the recipe is who can make it either way. They made such a pretty picture.

I must do a better job from now on about getting the recipes shared on a timely fashion.

PRINT RECIPE.



CHEWY DOUBLE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

nonstick cooking spray

1/3       cup  margarine 

1/3       cup sugar, or sugar substitute

1/3       cup brown sugar, or brown sugar complete blend

1          egg

1/2       cup skim milk

2          teaspoons vanilla

2          cups quick oats

1          cup flour

1/3       cup cocoa

1-1/2    teaspoon baking powder

1/2       cup reduced fat chocolate chips (you can also use sugar-free chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, beat margarine, sugars, and egg until creamy. Beat in milk and vanilla. Fold in oats flour, cocoa, and baking powder.

Drop dough using a small cookie scoop (1 tablespoon size) onto cookie sheet.

Bake for 6 minutes, then sprinkle tops with chocolate chips and bake 6 more minutes. Cool for 1 minute before remaining to a wire rack to finish cooling.

70 calories per cookie - 55 calories with sugar (using sugar substitutes)





Monday, February 26, 2024

MOM'S CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Believe it or not, it has been a while since I last bought a cookbook at an estate sale. Friend Janice and I went to an estate sale on Thursday and I didn't even look long enough at the titles to see if I might find one or two that looked like good ones. Janice was so proud of me.

Saturday morning after breakfast (I made my awesome buttermilk biscuits), we drove up to Platte City to the home of our grandchildren's godparents to buy some eggs from them. The weather has been so unseasonably warm that the eggs started laying again. I thought we were going to go there and come straight back home, but I mentioned there was an estate sale in town that had started the day before and my husband said we could go.

I wouldn't have bought the two cookbooks if Wayne hadn't strongly questioned me about not finding anything in the kitchen that interested me. So I went back through and picked up two cookbooks that I had noticed the title of but didn't actually pick them up and look through them. When I did, I couldn't resist them. 

This recipe came from the one entitled Taste of Home Grandma's Favorites, 2023. It is one of those cookbooks with inviting pictures of some of the recipes. That kind of cookbook is hard for me to pass up. Be prepared for my sharing some of them in the near future.

The added instant pudding in these chocolate chip cookies helps create a softer, slightly different tasting chocolate chip cookie.



 

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MOM'S CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1       cup butter, softened (2 sticks)

3/4    cup packed light brown sugar

1/4    cup sugar

1       package (4-serving size) instant vanilla pudding mix

2       large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten

1       teaspoon vanilla extract

2-1/4 cups flour

1       teaspoon baking soda

2       cups chocolate chips (I used dark cacao)


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. 


In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes.


Add the pudding mix, eggs, and vanilla.


Combine the flour and baking soda and

then slowly add to the creamed mixture and mix well.


Fold in the chocolate chips.


Using a small cookie scoop, scoop dough and place on ungreased cookie sheet. (I lined my sheets with parchment paper.)

My cookies didn't flatten much so I pressed the scoop slightly with my fingers.


Bake until lightly browned 10 to 12 minutes. 


Cool slightly and then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.


Wednesday, February 21, 2024

CRUNCHY KRISPIE COOKIES

A couple of weeks ago my husband asked me who had bought the Fruity Pebbles cereal he found in the pantry. I told him I had bought them to make Rice Krispie Treats but didn't use the whole box. I had planned to use the rest in a different recipe eventually.

Eventually came sooner than I expected when I was looking through some recipe cards looking for a recipe to make for the Cafe Treats and found this recipe from a long time ago for Crunchy Krispie Cookies using what else, but Fruity Pebbles. So that Saturday I found myself in my kitchen making Crunchy Krispie Cookies.

Crunchy is definitely a perfect name for them. The next day at church I saw our lead pastor eating something on her way to the service and I asked her which treat she chose. She showed me and I told her what they were called. She said she had looked everything over and decided she couldn't pass up the Fruity Pebbles. We both shared a laugh.

If you like Fruity Pebbles too, you might want to give this recipe a try.

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CRUNCHY KRISPIE COOKIES

1       stick (1/2 cup) margarine, softened (I used unsalted butter)

1/2    cup brown sugar

1/2    cup white sugar

1       egg

1/2    teaspoon vanilla

1/4    teaspoon almond flavoring (I used 3/4 teaspoon vanilla)

3/4    cup flour

1/2    teaspoon baking soda

1/2    teaspoon salt

1       cup quick oats

2       cups Krispie cereal (I used Fruity Pebbles)

1/2    cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.


In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.

Add the egg and flavoring and

beat well to combine.


Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; add to the creamed mixture.


Mix in the oatmeal and cereal.



May add 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup chopped nuts.


I added 1/2 cup white baking chips.


Scoop out dough using a tablespoon cookie scoop and place on cookie sheet. (The mixture is fairly crumbly but the "globs" baked well even if they looked crumbly.)


Bake for 10 minutes.

Allow to cool for at least a minute before removing to finish cooling on a wire rack.


Makes 3 to 4 dozen