TWD: Yogurt...I mean Ricotta Bread

I know I've been lacking a lil bit with my Tuesdays with Dorie baking BUT I'm back! Of course, I did some tweaking with this recipe. Instead of French Yogurt Cake with Marmalade Glaze, mine became Nutty Orange Ricotta Bread mainly cuz I had some Ricotta Cheese left over and ORANGES seemed like such a spring-like addition. The nuts and raisins? Well, I feel the need to add them to just about anything so there you go! :)


Ingredients:

1½ sticks butter, softened
1 c sugar
2 eggs
½ c Ricotta cheese
½ c orange juice
1 Tbsp grated orange peel
1 c all-purpose flour
½ c whole wheat flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ c chopped walnuts
½ c raisins

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add Ricotta, orange juice and peel. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in walnuts and cranberries.

3. Pour into a greased 9 x 5 x 3-in loaf pan. Bake for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack to cool completely.

TWD: Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins

So I've been slacking a lil with my Tuesdays with Dorie through the crazy holidays but I'm BACK! I was SO excited to make these muffins cuz I'm always looking for savory muffin recipes since sweet ones really only work for breakfast and snacks. AND Greg LOVES Corn Muffins! Remember my Bobby Flay wannabes? I changed the recipe just a lil (you know me!) by using jarred Roasted Red Peppers, omitting the jalapeno and cilantro, and adding some Mexican shredded cheese. They came out SO yummy and great for a hearty meal!


Ingredients: (12 muffins)

1 c all-purpose flour
1 c yellow cornmeal
3 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 c buttermilk
1 stick (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg yolk
1 c frozen corn kernels, thawed
1/2 c roasted red bell pepper, chopped

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease or line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, chili powder, salt, baking soda and black pepper.

3. In a large glass measuring cup, whisk the buttermilk, melted butter and egg yolk together until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients. Gently stir to blend. Stir in corn and peppers. Batter will be lumpy.

4. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

TWD: My FIRST ever CHEESECAKE!

With all the baking I do, can you believe I've NEVER made Cheesecake before? OMG it was SO easy and barely any ingredients at all! I even added some PECANS on the bottom just to jazz it up a little. You know me! I'm just gonna pretend like it's what we were supposed to make for Tuesdays with Dorie even thought I totally went off track this time. At least it gave me the idea right? I can't wait to taste it tomorrow night! :)

Ingredients:

2 pkg (8 oz each) Cream Cheese, softened
½ c sugar
½ tsp vanilla
2 eggs
½ c pecan halves
1 Graham Pie Crust (6 oz)

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Toast pecans for 5 minutes.

2. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; mix just until blended.

3. Pour pecans onto crust; cover with cream cheese batter.

4. Bake 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

TWD: Holiday Sugar Cookies

Ok so it's not really the Tuesdays with Dorie recipe that we're supposed to make but I found this recipe on the Land of Lakes website and thought it'd be perfect! I used my Cookie Press again to make the cute Christmas Trees and Wreaths. Don't they look SO cute and festive? SUCH an easy recipe too!

Ingredients: (5 dozen cookies)

1 c (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 c sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 c all-purpose flour

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine all ingredients except flour in large mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy (2 to 3 minutes).

2. Reduce speed to low; add flour. Beat, scraping bowl often, until well mixed (2 to 3 minutes). (If dough is too soft, cover; refrigerate until just firm enough to form cookies (30 to 45 minutes).)

3. Place dough in cookie press; form desired shapes 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

TWD: Linzer Sables using my NEW Cookie Press

I ordered a Cookie Press from Amazon a couple of weeks ago and have been just itching to use it! SO for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie, I took it for a spin. I LOVE it! It's SO cool how the cookies just come out in perfect little shapes! There are 12 different cookie disks and I cannot WAIT to try them all out! The Christmas Tree one will definitely be used real soon! :)

Ingredients: (12 sandwiches)

1/2 c butter
1/3 c sugar
1 c flour
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/4 c jam, any flavor

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. In large mixer bowl combine sugar, butter, egg, salt, and vanilla. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until mixture is light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add flour. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed, 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Place dough in cookie press. Form desired shapes 1 inch apart on cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

4. Let cookies cool completely and spread 1 tsp of jam in between 2. (I used both peach and strawberry.)

TWD Thanksgiving Pie and I'm Thankful For...

...Pillsbury Pie Crust! It's Tuesdays with Dorie time again and this week we're making Thanksgiving Twofer Pie. What is that? Well, it's basically a Pumpkin Pie and a Pecan Pie combined into 1 YUMMY All-in-One Thanksgiving Pie. It's RIDICULOUSLY good and trust me, you will be THANKFUL for Pillsbury Pie Crust cuz it makes your life SO much easier!

Ingredients:

For Pumpkin Filling:
¾ c granulated sugar
1¾ tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 large eggs
1 c pure pumpkin
1/2 can (12 oz) evaporated milk

For Pecan Filling:
¼ c packed brown sugar
1 tsp all-purpose flour
½ c light corn syrup
½ tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 c pecan halves or broken pecans
2 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted

1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell

Prep:

1. Preheated oven 425° F.

2. For the Pumpkin Filing: Mix sugar and pumpkin pie spice in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

3. Pour into pie shell.

4. For the Pecan Filling: In large bowl, mix brown sugar, flour, corn syrup, vanilla and eggs until well blended. Stir in pecans and butter.

5. Pour on top of Pumpkin Filling.

6. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve warm or refrigerate.

TWD: Cranberry Kugelhopf

It's Tuesdays with Dorie time again! Again I had NO idea what Kugelhopf is. BUT after doing some research, I found that it's pretty much a Bundt Cake from Austria! (Yes I know I like to simplify things!) I just recently bought a Bundt Pan from Target and was really excited to use it! I also have some cranberries left over so I made Cranberry Kugelhopf! The cake turned out SO moist and yummy! :)
Ingredients:

2 c all-purpose flour
1 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 c orange juice
1 egg
2 Tbsp oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 c whole cranberries

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 12-cup tube pan.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a large bowl.
3. Combine orange juice, egg and oil in a medium bowl. Beat until well blended.
4. Add orange juice mixture to flour mixture. Stir until just moistened. Gently fold in cranberries.
5. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
   

TWD: Rugelach - My Cheater Version

It's Tuesdays with Dorie time again and this week we're making Rugelach. Now, I had NO idea what that is, but after looking at them, I thought they look just like sweet Croissants! Being the Lazy Baker that I am (and someone who hates waiting for the dough to chill and using a rolling pin), I totally cheated and used Pillsbury Crescents instead! I also used regular old Strawberry Jam (cuz that's what I had in the fridge) and they turned out REALLY yummy! I'm sure Dorie's version would've tasted more home-made but these were good enough for me! hehe

Ingredients: (4 cookies)

1 (4-count) pkg Pillsbury Crescents
1 Tbsp chopped nuts
2 Tbsp jam

Prep:

1. Preheat over to 350°F.

2. Unroll dough and separate into triangles. Spoon a thin gloss of jam in the middle and press nuts into dough. Carefully roll them up into crescents.

3. Bake 13 to 17 minutes or until edges are deep golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet.

TWD: Mini Chocolate Candy Corn Cupcakes

For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie, we're making Chocolate-Chocolate Cupcakes. SO I thought I'd try to incorporate those into my Cookie Fridays by making Mini Chocolate Cupcakes! AND since it's almost Halloween, I added some Candy Corn so they'd be more festive. I also didn't top them with icing cuz I didn't want them to be too messy to bring to work. How cute right?


Ingredients: (24 mini cupcakes)

1 c all-purpose flour
1/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick butter, softened
3/4 c sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c buttermilk
48 Candy Corns

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line or grease a 24-cup mini muffin tin.

2. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. Working with a stand mixer or hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the sugar and beat until it is blended into the butter. Add the egg, then the yolk, beating after each addition and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.

4. Beat in the vanilla, then reduce the mixer speed to low and add half the dry ingredients, mixing until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and add the buttermilk, mixing until incorporated, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients.

5. Divid batter evenly among the muffin cups and bake for 22 to 25 minutes, until the tops of the cakes are dry and springy to the touch and a knife inserted into their centers comes out clean. Immediately press 2 Candy Corns into the tops of each cake.

TWD: Pumpkin Muffins

Another Tuesday with Dorie. This time, it's Pumpkin Muffins. They were so easy to make and REALLY yummy! I halved the recipe and only made 6 but I'm sure I'll be making more soon since they're PERFECT for fall! This time I actually FOLLOWED the recipe and didn't turn them into something else! hehe

Biscottis gone Cookies

I joined Tuesdays with Dorie and this is my very first recipe! I was really excited to make the Lenox Almond Biscotti but they didn't work out quite so well for me. I tried shaping them after mixing AND after chilling the dough for 30 minutes with no success. SO I decided to just make them in to Almond Cookies! They actually turned out really good! They're soft and have a very distinct Almond flavor. I hope Dorie won't mind! :)

Ingredients: (2 dozen cookies)

1 ½ c all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1/2 c yellow cornmeal
1 stick (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 c sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp pure almond extract
3/4 cup sliced almonds

Prep:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together. Add the cornmeal and whisk again to blend.

3. Working with a stand mixer or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together at medium speed for 3 minutes, until very smooth. Add the eggs and continue to beat, scraping down the bowl as needed, for another 2 minutes, or until the mixture is light, smooth and creamy. Beat in the almond extract.

4. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. You'll have a soft, stick-to-your-fingers dough that will ball up around the paddle or beaters. Scrape down the paddle and bowl, toss in the almonds and mix just to blend.

5. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the bottoms are lightly golden.