Rosemary Butter Cookies

I forgot where I got this recipe but I have been making it for a couple of years now, so delicious and different. Coating the outsides of the dough with cornmeal or sanding sugar lends a lovely bit of crunch.

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 egg white, beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

3/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1/2 cup fine sanding sugar

Directions

1.     Put butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in whole egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour, rosemary, and salt, and mix until combined.

2.     Halve dough; shape each half into a log. Place each log on a 12-by-16-inch sheet of parchment. Roll in parchment to 1 1/2 inches in diameter, pressing a ruler along edge of parchment at each turn to narrow log. Transfer to paper-towel tubes to hold shape, and freeze until firm, about 1 hour.

3.     Preheat oven to 375. Brush each log with egg white; roll in sanding sugar. Cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Space 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment. Bake until edges are golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Store in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

 

Makes about 5 dozen

 

Rudolph and his friends

Blog from My Little Cupcake Pop.

You can find all the supplies in our Christmas Store.

Look what an upside down heart can make!

Supplies you will need.

In addition you might need a black food writing pen (for the mouth) and red color dust (for the cheeks) and a couple of chocolate melts (for the eyes).

Dip the heart into the candy melts and right before dry add pretzels then let dry.

First I add the nose with a drop of candy melts to make it stick. Then I used chocolate candy melts to make the eyes.
1 drop for each.

There is something about the simplicity of this one that I really like.

The Bow is two jumbo hearts facing each other. A drop of candy melts in the center and stick on the green sprinkle.

The cheeks I colored on with a brush and pink color dust.

I added some eyelashes to dress up the girls.

Bow on top and it's a girl.

Bow on bottom and it is Rudolf.

Gâteau Chocolat Orange

Original Recipe in english from one of my favorite blogs
Bird On A Cake

 

 

 

Ingrédients

Gâteau au Chocolat

• 1 tasse d'eau bouillante
• 2 tasses de sucre
• 1 3/4 tasse de farine
• 3/4 tasse de poudre de cacao
• 2 cuillères à thé baking soda (bicarbonate de soude)
• 1 cuillère à thé baking powder (levure)
• 1 pincée sel
• 2 œufs
• 1 tasse de babeurre (buttermilk)
• 1/2 tasse d'huile
• 1 cuillère à thé d'extrait de vanille
• 1 cuillère à soupe d'extrait d'orange

Glaçage Orange et fromage à la crème

• 1 (8 oz.) paquet fromage à la crème
• 1/2 tasse de beurre non salé
• 5 tasses de sucre en poudre
• 1 1/2 cuillère à thé d'extrait d'orange
• 1 cuillère à thé d'extrait de vanille
• Colorant gel orange

Ganache au Chocolat

• 1 tasse de pépite de chocolat mi- sucré
• 2/3 tasse de crème
• 1 cuillère à thé de vanille

Instructions

Gâteau au Chocolat

Préchauffez votre four à 350 degrés. Tapisser le fond de 3 moules (de 8 pouces chacune) d'une bande de papier parchemin et huiler les bords. Faire bouillir un peu d'eau pendant que vous préparez vos ingrédients

Dans un grand bol, mélanger le sucre, la farine, le cacao, le baking soda, le sel et le Baking powder. Ajouter les œufs, le babeurre, l'huile, la vanille et l'extrait d'orange. Bien mélanger le tout.

Ajouter doucement 1 tasse d'eau bouillante à votre mélange. Mélanger pour 1 1/2 minute avec votre mélangeur. Votre mélange sera liquide. Mettre le mélange égale dans les 3 moules de gâteau et les faire cuire de 18 à 22 minutes (Vous pouvez insérer un cure-dent profondément au centre du gâteau et, lorsque vous le ressortez, si le cure-dent est sec et ne présente pas de traces de pâte crue, le gâteau est prêt)

Glaçage Orange et fromage à la crème

Laisser le beurre et le fromage à la crème à la température de la pièce. Dans un grand bol, mélanger le fromage, le beurre, l'extrait d'orange et de vanille. Graduellement ajouter le sucre en poudre. Ajoutez votre colorant.

Ganache au Chocolat

Place les pépites de chocolat dans un bol en métal. Faites chauffer la crème à feu moyen. Enlever immédiatement du feu quand ça commence à bouillir. Verser la crème sur le chocolat. Attendez 2 minutes. Doucement mélanger pour faire fonder le chocolat. Ajouter la vanille. Laisser la ganache refroidir si vous préférez une consistance épaisse.

 
Envoyez-moi des photos de vos gâteaux si vous essayez la recette. tamara@kitchenjukebox.com

Pumpkin Carving Competition

 

We have this tradition at my house to gather friends and family at the end of October and have some « Friendly » pumpkin carving competition.  Since my daughter just turned 2 I think this year she will enjoy it. Do you have any traditions for Halloween?

Just preparing for this year by finding some templates: 

• Love Martha Stewart’s templates since you always can find easy to hard templates depending on your level  
• Found some fun and easy ones on the HGTV site
• Hershey’s web site has some interesting ones  Easy        Intermediate      Advanced

 

Will you join us this year?

 

Simple Buttercream Recipe

 

 

 

I have been using this recipe for years - This recipe uses powdered sugar, butter, vanilla and milk. This is a great recipe for decorating and piping on cupcakes and cakes.

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks or 1/2 pound), softened (but not melted!) Ideal texture should be like ice cream.
• 3-4 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar, SIFTED
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (I use Nielsen-Massey)
• up to 4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

Instructions

1. Beat butter for a few minutes with a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and turn your mixer on the lowest speed (so the sugar doesn’t blow everywhere) until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter. Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and 2 tablespoons of milk/cream and beat for 3 minutes. If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add remaining sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add remaining milk 1 tablespoons at a time.

* For Chocolate Buttercream, add  1/2 cup  of good cocoa powder (I use Valrhona)

 

Camouflage Cupcakes

 

I got this recipe from one of my favorite blogs

http://www.glorioustreats.com/2011/07/perfect-vanilla-cupcakes-recipe.html

Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes

Recipe by Glorious Treats

Yields- 15-16 cupcakes

·         1 1/4 cups cake flour

·         1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

·         1/2 teaspoon baking soda

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         2 eggs

·         3/4 cup sugar

·         1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

·         1/2 cup oil (vegetable, canola or extra light olive oil)

·         1/2 cup buttermilk

·         (or 1/2 cup milk plus 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar or lemon juice- add acid to the milk then set aside for 5 minutes before using)

Directions:

* Preheat oven to 350*F.

* In a medium bowl, add cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir together with whisk, and set aside.

* In the bowl of an electric mixer, add eggs and beat 10-20 seconds. Add sugar and continue to beat on medium speed about 30 seconds. Add vanilla and oil, beat.

* Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add about half of the flour mixture. Add half of the milk, then the rest of the flour and the rest of the milk. Beat until just combined. Scrap down the side of the bowl.

* The batter will be thin. Pour batter into a muffin pan prepared with paper liners. Fill liners about 2/3 full.

* Bake cupcakes in pre-heated oven for 12-14 minutes.

* Cool in pan 1-2 minutes, then remove cupcakes from pan (carefully) and finish cooling on a wire rack.

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1- I made the batter and divided it in 3.

• Color one batch with a green food coloring.  I used Forest green from Americolor
• The second one I only added some cacao
• The 3^rd I left it as is.

2- Fill the liners with the 3 colors

3- I used a toothpick to mix the colors, that’s it.

Then I did the same with the icing 3 different colors, fill the 16’’ decorating bag with a 1M tip with the 3 colors (one beside the other) it was a bit messy.

And voilà!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where do you keep your sprinkles and colored sugar?

I found these amazing space saving containers
Unique interlocking bottle design
You can stack them as high as you want.
Yu can even use them for your Spices or Loose Leaf Teas.
Made of crystal clear break resistant acrylic.

http://tinyurl.com/9xhyucw 3.99$ each