TWD - Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies and Oatmeal Spice Shortbread Cookies and Banana Cake w/Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Tuesdays with Dorie is here! Excitement! Flag waving! Okay, maybe no flags. Donna of Life’s Too Short Not to Eat Dessert First is our host this week.

The recipe: Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Dorie also gave us a variation: Oatmeal Spice Shortbreads


I dropped the decorating ball with this batch. My kitchen sizzle was starting to fizzle. I love our baking groups but I also have my own list of "must bake" goodies and rarely do I get to do both. This last week I baked to my hearts content (literally) and learned to cut recipes in half along with freezing extras. Works great!

Dorie's recipe called for bittersweet chocolate. Brainstorm: Use my hidden stash of espresso chocolate along with bittersweet. (I know I am forgetting something.)

All the chocolate was chopped up into little chunks; mixed both shortbread recipes, rolled dough in gallon size Ziploc bags and refrigerated overnight. Took out my handy little kitchen ruler, the basic wood one we had in elementary school, and measured the dough into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Baked ALL the cookies.

There are oodles of cookies! Waited for the espresso shortbread cookies to cool then took a nibble. Immediately remembered what I was forgetting. I do not enjoy the flavor of coffee. I have coffee one morning, Sunday morning, every week and that cup is loaded with Nestle Hazelnut coffee creamer and 1 1/2 t. sugar. I sip 1/2 of the cup and talk a mile-a-minute for the next 2 hours. Weird ritual, I know, but hubby makes coffee on Sunday morning and I feel bad not having a cup. I have tried suggesting he become a tea sipper but he says all my tea cups are just too little for his fingers . . . funny ha but not funny ha-ha.

The shortbread cookies turned out cute but I guess shortbread cookies are not my thing (my first shortbread cookies). I would like to use some of the cookies in a few cheesecake crusts. I have oodles in quart size freezer bags plus Larry loves the espresso ones with his coffee. Personally, after 1 cookie and my 1/2 cup of coffee, I was dropping everything in sight. Making breakfast, I started cracking an egg open, the egg slipped out of my hand and cracked open between the stove and the counter. Interesting.

Donna, thank you for hosting TWD this week. I liked the oatmeal spice shortbread cookies and I know the cookies will be a part of some fun projects in the near future. To get the recipe, go to Donna's site and buy Dorie's cookbook.

I thought I would also share a banana cake recipe. Not to be confused with banana bread. The recipe originally came from Allrecipes.com but I altered it a smidgen. One of the changes was adding 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Makes for a light and fluffy banana cake.

Banana Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

* 1 cup white sugar

* 1/2 cup unsalted butter

* 2 eggs

* 4 ripe bananas, mashed

* 2 cups all-purpose flour

* 1 teaspoon baking soda

* 1/2 teaspoon salt

* 1 teaspoon baking powder

* 1/2 cup chopped pecans

* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FROSTING INGREDIENTS:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9 x 13 inch cake pan.

2. Cream together the butter or margarine and the sugar.

3. Add eggs, bananas, flour, soda, salt, nuts, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly and pour batter into the prepared pan.

4. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C.) for 30 minutes. Cool and frost cake.

FROSTING DIRECTIONS:

In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.

In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in whipped cream. Frost cake.

TWD: Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream W/Chocolate Covered Cherries, Pecan Chunks and Swirls of Fudge Hardshell Over Chipotle Chocolate Cake Roll + SCONES!

Is the title a mouth full or what? I made a light pink maraschino whipped cream cheese filling a person could easily just eat with a spoon. Forget putting the filling in the cake roll . . . . that GREAT of a filling/frosting!

Dorie Greenspan's Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream (chosen by our wonderful host Katrina of Baking and Boys) is an amazing two part recipe. We start with a bittersweet chocolate, melted by pouring boiling heavy cream over broken up Ghirardelli pieces. Then the custard. Delicious! Added to the melted chocolate. Finger-dipping heaven!

Chill, use my KA ice cream bowl (made the best ice cream batch to date!), add chocolate covered cherries cut into two, pecan chunks and swirls of fudge Magic Shell (for thin, hard fudge layers).

I wanted a spicy sweet kick to accompany the rich and chunky ice cream.

A chocolate cake roulade with a hint of smoked chipotle chili powder (1 teaspoon to be exact) is baked then wrapped around maraschino syrup flavored whipped cream cheese filling.

Creamy, chunky, spicy, sweet heaven. We LOVED every bite! Tuesdays with Dorie is so much fun, especially when I get a chance to take the time and see how I want to approach a recipe. Thank you Katrina! Plus, if you want to make the chocolate ganache ice cream, the recipe is posted on her blog "and" if you have the time - check out the rest of the TWD group's ice cream adventures!

While the ice cream was chilling, I decided to play in my garden. A dangerous choir right now because the red bee balm is blooming like crazy and the hummingbirds think I am competition. They come at me with their pointy little beaks then buzz just over my head by inches! The little buggers sound like mini-jets zipping around. Nerve wracking~!

I can not believe we have had rain for the last several days and my sugar snap peas are busting at the seams. I have waited two years to be able to plant peas and I am not allowing slugs to get to them first, yuck!


I picked over a gallon of peas. I use to shell peas with Grandma on the patio way back when. I love warm family memories.

I also baked strawberry scones. These scones melt in your mouth and I had clementines to use so a clementine was cut in half and juiced, to be added in the glaze later. I thought I would share the strawberry scone recipe and the Maraschino whipped cream cheese filling/frosting recipe. I love sharing family treasures as much as finding new ones =).

Strawberry Scones with an Orange Glaze

Originally found at a baking friend's Grouprecipe.com site.
(Makes 9 square scones)

3 cups all purpose, unbleached flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks of cold, unsalted butter cut into tiny pieces
1 cup Half and Half
1 tablespoon plain yogurt
12 fresh Strawberries, sliced

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar together. Add the cold pieces of butter and work it into the flour using your hands. Don't overwork the flour and butter. Mix the yogurt into the Half and Half and add the strawberries. Add the liquid to the flour and mix gently.
Turn the dough out onto the lightly floured counter. Pat the dough into a square about 1/2 inch thick. Cut the dough into squares and place on a parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then glaze with a mixture of 1/2 cup powder sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and a splash of freshly squeezed orange juice or clementine juice.


Maraschino Whipped Cream Cheese Filling/Frosting
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
3 T. Maraschino cherry syrup

Directions:

In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.

In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt, cherry syrup and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in whipped cream. Use as filling or frosting.

SMS: Crunchy with a Creamy Filling ~ Chocolate Peppermint Meringues

Sweet Melissa Sundays. I fought this one. I baked everything under the kitchen roof while trying to convince myself just how easy this candy dessert would be. I found 2 bananas close to expiring so, telling myself how wonderful I was for baking something with them instead of putting the bananas with the rest of the old geezer bananas in the freezer, I baked banana cupcakes with caramel cream cheese frosting. Recipe, of course, below. Then I found strawberries I had big ideas for in the refrigerator. Not so gorgeous now since the red berries have been in the chiller for over 3 days. Cut the good pieces out and pulled out a recipe for strawberry scones. Another killer choice.



Still early. If I am going to make the candy, I have plenty of time. I go down into the study and read the recipe. Chocolate on chocolate with peppermint. Too much chocolate and no color; except chocolate brown. It is summer, I want color. Decide on chocolate peppermint ganache as stated by Melissa BUT the chocolate will be deleted out of the meringues and pink coloring will be swirled in. Now I want to make the candy. Go upstairs and cook bacon and potato soup. Find meatballs in freezer with serious freezer burn and get the crockpot out. Make BBQ meatballs.


Clean and to be absolutely honest, I am at a loss if there is something else I cooked or baked . . . I feel like I am forgetting something. 9 pm and I guess the time was right. I made SMS and the candy turned out perfect. Loved the crispy crunch of the sweet meringue and the creamy chocolate/peppermint ganache was just right for the loud filler flavor. I actually had a ball making these cute little candies. Of course, I had to use a star tip and play with sizes. For heavens sakes; why did we join a baking group if we didn't want to have a new playfield to go crazy in?



Kelly of Sweetgrass Sensibilities, you are brilliant for picking this week's recipe out of Sweet Melissa's cookbook! Loved the candy. For the recipe, you will either have to buy the cookbook OR go to this weeks host's blog. Either way, a win-win choice! Do not forget to check out the rest of us crazy bakers having a little fun in the kitchen by clicking here!

Fleeting moments of perfection giving way to a lifetime of memories.

I almost forgot! Here is the recipe for the banana cupcakes with caramel cream cheese frosting. You may want to just add a spoon to the frosting and forget dolloping it onto the cupcakes.

My cupcake recipe came from Sally. A wonderful Internet cooking/baking friend who is talented beyond belief in the kitchen. The frosting recipe was adapted from the Cream Puffs in Venice blog and she is also amazing in the kitchen!

Banana Cupcakes

Ingredients:
¼ cup butter
¼ cup solid Crisco
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
2½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 medium bananas)
¼ cup buttermilk or sour cream (I always use sour cream)

Directions:

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, Crisco, sugar and extract.
Beat in eggs, one at a time.
Mix dry ingredients together and add to creamed mixture alternately with bananas and sour cream (or buttermilk).
Grease 18 muffin tins (or line tins with cupcake liners); fill tins 3/4 full (I always get exactly 18 out of this recipe).
Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.
Cool and frost.

Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
1 pkg. (8 ounces) at room temperature

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup caramel sauce

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar)

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together at high speed until light (about 2 minutes).
Lower the speed and add the vanilla extract and caramel sauce. Mix well.
With the speed on low, add the icing sugar until incorporated and then increase the speed to high and whip the frosting for 2 minutes.
Apply liberally to the base of your choice.

German Apple Cake

Don't you love a moist, comforting dessert that tastes better the second and third day? Especially when the dessert makes enough for 12 people? A dessert that comes from years and years of tried and true baking with love in a Mother's kitchen?

I adore my German apple cake with a light cream cheese frosting recipe just for all those reasons. Stuffed with apple slices, the cake tastes amazing. Cinnamon floats throughout as a mild but definitely present flavor and the cream cheese is not thick; just a thin coating, adding a delicious end touch.The recipe came from my baking friend Janeen's 90 year old mother and ever since the recipe has reached my kitchen (I have no idea how long ago that has been now), has continued in the tradition of being baked with love.

German Apple Cake

2 large eggs
1 cup veg oil (beat with eggs until foamy), add
1-3/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla (mix together), then add:
2 cups flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda (mix all together) add:
4 cups thinly peeled and sliced apples (about 4 – I use Granny Smith)
Frosting:
1 - 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened
3 TBL melted butter
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees; grease and flour a 9 x 13 baking dish.
Add vegetable oil to eggs in mixer and beat until foamy. Add the sugar and vanilla and mix. Now, add the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Mix together. Add thinly sliced apples by folding in with a spatula. The batter will be very thick but this is normal and there will seem to be more apple then batter. Again, this is what you want.

Bake for 50-60 minutes.

Frosting:
Mix ingredients til smooth. Add a little milk if too thick.