Cinnamon Puff Pastry

Ingredients

1 8 1/2-oz sheet puff pastry dough
3 tbsp softened butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup miniature chocolate chips
1 egg, lightly beaten
6 oz chocolate candy coating
Crushed nuts for decorating,optional

Instruction

You need to start with puff pastry dough that is thawed but still cool, so take it out of the freezer and let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before you’re going to need it. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper. Dust your work surface with flour, then roll out the sheet of puff pastry until it is about 14 inches long by 10 inches tall. Cut the sheet in half lengthwise, so you’re left with two long rectangles. Spread the butter on one half of the pastry. Mix together 2 tablespoons of sugar and the cinnamon, and sprinkle it generously on the buttered dough. Spread the chocolate chips evenly on top of the cinnamon. Brush the second pastry half with the beaten egg. Carefully lift the dough and place it, egg side down, on top of the chocolate chips. Press along the edges, then lightly run a rolling pin on top of the dough to seal them together. Use a pizza cutter or a sharp knife to cut the dough crosswise into 24 strips that are each about 1/2-inch wide. Gently twist the strips several times, then set them on a parchment-covered baking sheet. Press the ends down so they stay flat on the sheet. Repeat until all of the dough is formed into twists. Brush the twists with the beaten egg, and sprinkle them with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until they’re puffed and golden brown throughout. Rotate the trays halfway through baking so they bake evenly. Let the twists cool completely at room temperature. Melt the chocolate candy coating, then dip each end in the coating. If you want to add chopped nuts, sprinkle them on top of the coating while it’s still wet. 

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Brownie Butter Cake

Ingredients:

Brownie:

140g (5oz) dark chocolate (broken into pieces)
50g (¼ cup) unsalted butter
50g (¼ cup) brown sugar
1 Egg
35g (¼ cup) all-purpose flour

Butter cake:

120g (½ cup) unsalted butter
100g (½ cup) sugar (I reduced by 1 Tbsp)
2 Eggs
120g (1 cup) all-purpose flour
2g (¼ tsp) baking powder
50ml (3 ½ Tbsp) fresh milk

Instructions:

Grease and line a 10cm x 20cm (4×8-in) loaf pan with aluminium foil.

Preheat oven to 180C/350F.

To make brownie, melt chocolate and butter over low heat. Remove and leave to cool slightly. Stir in brown sugar until blended.

Add in egg, mix well. Fold in flour, mix until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove.

To make butter cake, beat butter with sugar until creamy. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Fold in sifted flour and baking powder, alternately add in fresh milk, mix to form batter.

Spread the butter cake batter over brownie, bake in oven at 160C/320F for 25-30 minutes or until cooked. Insert a cake tester in the middle to check doneness.

Enjoy!

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Sangria Cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes

         1 & 1/2 cups flour

         1 tsp baking powder

         1/2 tsp baking soda

        1/4 tsp salt

       3/4 cup sugar

       2 eggs

       1 stick butter, melted

         1 & 1/2 tsp vanilla

         1/2 cup sour cream

        1/2 cup chopped strawberries

         zest of 1 orange

         1/4 cup blueberries or diced apples

To top the cupcakes

           Orange slices, strawberry slices and blueberries.

Buttercream

        1 stick butter, room temperature

        1/2 cup vegetable shortening

        2-2.5 cups powdered sugar

      1/2 tsp vanilla

    2 cups red wine 

   1/4 cup sugar

Instructions

Cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Whisk and set aside.

In a mixing bowl combine the eggs, melted butter, vanilla, and sour cream until combined.

Slowly add half of the flour mixture to the liquid, stirring to combine. Repeat with the rest of the flour mixture. Add in the chopped strawberries, orange zest, and blueberries or chopped apples. Stir to mix.

Divide the batter among a muffin pan lined with muffin liners, fill the muffin cups to be about a little more than 1/2 full.

Bake for 14-16 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Red Wine Syrup

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the red wine and sugar to a boil. Once the wine starts to boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, you still want to see the wine boiling, just not a rigorous boil. Allow the wine to thicken and reduce, about 20-30 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow it to cool at remove temperature. This is where the wine will begin to thicken. Once the wine has cooled to room temperature, you can place the saucepan in the fridge to help speed on the cooling process.

Buttercream

In a mixing bowl, combine the room temperature butter and shortening, beat using an electric mixer for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.

Add 1/4 cup of the red wine syrup and mix. You can add more later, but you do not let the buttercream to become too wet.

Begin to add in the powdered sugar, about 1 cup at a time. Slowly beat the mixture until the powered sugar is incorporated. Continue this process, adding enough powdered sugar to make sure the frosting isn't too wet. You can add more red wine syrup at this time if you’d like the flavor to be stronger. You may have to add more powdered sugar too.

Transfer a portion of the frosting to a large ziploc bag or piping bag fit with a piping tip. Push or squeeze the frosting down, getting rid of any air pockets. If using a ziploc bag, cut half one corner, making a hole between the size of a dime and a penny.

Begin to pipe the frosting onto a cupcake, starting with the outside edge and working your way into the center of the cupcake, progressively stacking the frosting as you go around in circles.

Top each cupcake with a small orange slice, strawberry slice and one blueberry.

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Chicken & Pasta

INGREDIENTS

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1 1/2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 lb chicken tenders

1/4 cup butter, divided

2 cups heavy cream

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine salt, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper.  Sprinkle over both sides of chicken tenders.
In large saute pan, melt half of the butter over medium-high heat.  Cook the chicken tenders until done, about 8 minutes.
Pour the cream and remaining butter into the skillet.  Lower heat and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 5-7 minutes.  Serve chicken and sauce over pasta.

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Macroons

INGREDIENTS

Strawberry Macaroon Shells
4oz Almond Flour
8oz Powdered Sugar
5oz Egg Whites
2 1/2 0z. Sugar
2 Tsp. Strawberry
1/2 Tsp. Salt
Pink Gel Coloring

Vanilla Macaroon Shells 
4oz Almond Flour
8oz Powdered Sugar
5oz Egg Whites
2 1/2 0z. Sugar
2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/2 Tsp. Salt

Chocolate Buttercream
1/2 Cup Butter
2 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar
1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
4 Tbs. Cocoa Powder
1-3 Tbs. Milk

INSTRUCTIONS

Measure out all of your macaroon ingredients for the strawberry shells first.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, pour in egg whites, salt, and sugar. Set timer for 3 minutes and beat at a medium speed using the whisk attachment. Once the 3 minutes are up turn it up about 3 notches to speed 7 and beat for another 3 minutes. Once those are up turn it all the way up on high and beat one last time for 3 minutes.

While your meringue is beating sift your almond flour and powdered sugar into a bowl. Once all is sifted you should have some small bits of almond that were too large to pass through. If there is a tsp. or less you just leave them out, if there is more you will want to send them through a food processor to grind them up before pouring into the batter.

Add in strawberry extract and pink gel coloring then beat on high for about 30 seconds, stop and use a spatula to scrap all the unmixed meringue from the sides, then beat for 30 more seconds.

Here is where you really have to pay attention, you will need just the right consistency to get a good macaroon.

Add in dry ingredients. Using a spatula “fold” the batter with about 25-28 turns of the spatula going around the bowl then across in a swooping pattern. By doing this you are deflating some of the extra air from the batter. Make sure to get everything off the bottom mixed in. At first it will seem really thick and clumpy but it will smooth out quick. You want a thickness that is still thick enough to hold a little shape but thin enough to fold back into itself. You can check this every few stirs by holding up your spatula with batter on it, the batter should “drop” off the spatula but then settle into the batter after a few moments.

Using a small round tip and piping bag, pipe small 1-1.5 inch circles onto either a macaroon mat or parchment paper. Again, I used a macaroon mat and it really made this process so easy. But you could simply pipe circles on to parchment paper and even pre-draw circles on the bottom as guides. Either way you need to remember you batter will spread a bit so you don’t want to pipe all the way to the sides or the circle. I find it best to pipe the circles by holding the tip straight up in the center and letting it “flow” out. You will have small peaks at first but the first tip should have already appeared after you’ve piped about 5 macaroons. If not, you want to stick the batter back in the bag and deflate it a little more.

Preheat the oven for 290-300 degrees. Then set your piped macaroons trays on the counter and set the timer for 25 minutes. Don’t place the macaroons in the oven right after piping. After about 25-30 minutes your macaroons should have a slight “crust” over them. When you gently touch them they should not stick to your finger. Bake for 15-18 minutes.

After pulling tray from oven, carefully pull the baking mat or parchment paper off the baking tray and on to the counter to cool. Let the cool completely before attempting to remove.

Repeat process with vanilla macaroons shells adding vanilla extract instead and no coloring.

While your last shells are baking time to whip up some yummy chocolate buttercream to fill them with.

In a mixing bowl or bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter until fluffy add in 1 tsp. vanilla, beat until combined. Then add in powdered sugar and cocoa, beat until fully combined. Add in milk a little at a time beating in between until you’ve reached desired consistency.

Using the same size tip and piping bag, pipe buttercream on one side of each macaroon and then sandwich together.

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Cinnamon Bread

Ingredients

Dough

3/4 cup whole milk

2 1/4 tsp instant yeast

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

2 tbs granulated sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups all-purpose flour

Filling

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 tsp cinnamon

Vanilla Glaze

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1-4 tbs cream

Instructions

Heat milk until it reaches 105 degrees either on the stovetop or in the microwave. Stir in yeast packet and sugar and let it sit until the top becomes thick and frothy, about 3 minutes. Pour mixture into bowl of stand mixer and add melted butter, beaten egg and salt. Mix until combined. Add half of the flour and mix on low speed. Once combined, add the rest 1/4 cup at a time until the dough is sticky but workable and doesn't get stuck on your hands. Once dough is together, knead for another 5 minutes on low speed.

Work dough with your hands to form a ball. Grease a large bowl, or use the same bowl, and place dough in. Cover and set dough in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. I like to turn my oven on to 200 degrees, turn it off and place the bowl in there.

Once doubled in size, roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle shape. Combine cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Brush on melted butter and cover in cinnamon sugar mixture. Cut dough length-wise into 5 long strips. Stack them on top of each other. Cut 6-7 sections across your stacks.

Grease a 9x5" loaf pan and loosely stagger your stacks in the pan. If they aren't snug to the edges of the pan, don't worry about it. It will bake up fine. If there is extra cinnamon sugar that spilled off while transferring the stacks into the pan, don't waste it! Sprinkle it on top of the dough in the pan. Cover dough with plastic wrap and allow to sit for 45 minutes to an hour until it doubles again in size.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 22-27 minutes or until very lightly browned on top. Remove from oven, run a knife around the edges and allow to cool in pan for 20 minutes. During this time, whisk glaze ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside (add more cream/milk for desired consistency). Flip pan over and very carefully remove loaf and set on a large plate or platter. Drizzle glaze on top and serve!

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Popcorn Balls

Ingredients

        10 cups Popcorn 

        1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons butter

     1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons Agave Nectar

      1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon salt

      1 teaspoon vanilla extract

       Hershey's Special Dark Miniatures

       Crushed Pretzels

        

         Instructions

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in Agave nectar and salt. Boil approximately 1 minute. Stir in Vanilla. Pour mixture over popcorn and coat evenly. Bake popcorn mixture in a roasting pan at 325 degrees for 25 minutes, stirring regularly. Remove from pan and allow to cool just enough to work with the popcorn. With greased or buttered hands, form into balls.

Place on a wax paper-lined baking sheet and allow to cool completely. Melt dark chocolate in a double boiler. Dip each popcorn ball in the chocolate, then in the crushed pretzels.

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Chocolate Croissant

Ingredients

·      2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour

·      3/4 cup lukewarm milk

·      1 envelope (7 grams) active dry yeast

·      1 teaspoon salt

·      1/4 cup (45 grams) butter, melted and cooled

·      1/4 cup (50 grams) sugar

·      1 pound (450 grams) baking chocolate, chopped

·      1/2 cup butter, room temperature

·      1 egg, lightly beaten (optional, to brush the croissants for a shiny crust)

·      2 oz (55 grams) chocolate, melted (optional to drizzle over the croissants once baked)

 Instructions

In a mixing bowl, add the flour. Make a well in the middle and pour the lukewarm milk. Sprinkle the dry yeast over the milk, give it a little stir with a fork and let the yeast proof. Soon bubbles will appear and the yeast will foam and double in size.

Fit your stand mixer with the dough hook. Turn it on to the lower speed.

Add the melted butter, sugar and with the dough hook on, knead the dough until it cleans itself from the sides of the bowl.

Place the dough in a buttered dish, cover with a tea towel or a plastic wrap and let sit until doubled in size. This should take about 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into 12 (almost) equal pieces.

I found the dough works best if it’s chilled, so place the pieces of dough in the fridge and cover them loosely. Take out only one piece at a time.

Fit your pasta sheet roller to the stand mixer and set it to #1 setting. Flatten one piece of dough, flour it lightly and shape it into a rectangle.

Turn on the mixer to the lowest speed. Pass the dough through the pasta sheet roller. Flour and fold the dough in half. Pass it again through the pasta attachment, still on setting #1. For best results, fold the dough and pass it through the pasta attachment for a total of 2 times. Change the setting to your pasta roller to #2. Pass the dough sheet 2 times through it.

 Change the pasta roller setting to #3. Pass the dough sheet 1 time.

If needed lightly flour the pastry sheet.

Change the pasta roller setting to #4. Pass the pastry sheet 1 time.

Do the same with setting #5, #6 and for the flakiest croissants #7 and #8.

Lightly flour the pastry sheet if needed as you thin it out.

Once the pastry sheet is rolled out, brush it with softened butter. For me it was easier to spread a thin layer of butter using a small spatula vs using a pastry brush.

Place chopped chocolate at one end, and with your fingers roll the pastry sheet. Place the rolled chocolate croissant in the fridge, on a baking sheet until all croissants are done.

At this point, you can place the croissants in the freezer and take them out when needed (make sure they are in a freezer safe bag or container) or, you can bake them all at once like I did.

Take the rolled croissants out of the fridge and leave them at room temperature for a couple of hours until almost double in size. Like I said, I have made this recipe 3 times so far and noticed that if I let them rise in the afternoon, it takes about 3 to 4 hours.

Alternately, you can leave the croissants rest overnight on the counter. At night, my kitchen is not as hot as in the afternoon, so the croissants needed 7 to 8 hours to double in size.

It’s totally up to you and how pressed you’re with time. If you have frozen croissants, you may have to leave them longer to rest on the counter, maybe 9-10 hours.

Just before baking, brush the croissants with a beaten egg. This step is optional, but I love the shiny brown crust it gives to the croissants.

Heat the oven to 400F. Bake the croissants in the hot oven for about 25 minutes or until brown (at golden brown the croissants are not fully baked).

Drizzle some melted chocolate over the warm croissants and serve warm, preferably.

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Roasted Chicken

Ingredients

·         1 chicken (4-5 pound),at room temperature

·         4 carrots

·         6 spring green onions

·         1 head of garlic, cut in half

·         3 lemons, 2 cut in half and remaining half sliced into thin slices

·         4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

·         2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

·         1 bunch fresh thyme sprigs

·         Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

·         ½ cup white wine

·         ½ cup chicken stock or broth

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425° and position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Mix the butter with lemon zest, salt and pepper.

Pat the chicken dry and rub half of the butter and lemon zest mixture under the skin and the rest over the chicken. Work 4-6 lemon slices under chicken skin and season with salt and pepper.

Generously season cavity of chicken with salt and pepper and stuff with lemon half, ½ head of garlic, 3 onions and thyme sprigs. Truss legs with cooking twine and tuck wings under bird.Arrange remaining vegetables on bottom of roasting pan and set the chicken breast-side-up on top of vegetables in roasting pan. Add ½ cup of white wine.

 Roast for 30 minutes or until the breast is firm and just beginning to brown in spots. Using tongs, turn the chicken breast-down, baste with juices and roast for 20 minutes longer, until the skin is lightly browned.

Using tongs, turn the chicken breast-side-up and baste again. Add a ½ cup of water. Roast for about 20 minutes longer, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the inner thigh registers 155° to 160° and juices are running clear.

Transfer the bird to a cutting board and tent with foil. Remove vegetables from roasting pan. Set the pan over high heat. Add the stock and cook, scraping up any browned bits. Press the lemon to release the juices. Carve the chicken and serve with lemon jus and roasted vegetables.

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Peanut Butter Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 cup shortening
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar for decoration
2 (9 ounce) bags milk chocolate candy kisses, unwrapped

instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

 In a large bowl, cream together shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar, and 1 cup white sugar until smooth. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating until fully incorporated. Mix in milk and vanilla.

 In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to the peanut butter mixture until well blended.

 Shape tablespoonfuls of dough into balls, and roll in remaining white sugar. Place cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

 Bake in preheated oven for 10 to12 minutes. Remove from oven, and immediately press a chocolate kiss into each cookie. Allow to cool completely; the kiss will harden as it cools.

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Pumpkin Cheesecake

INGREDIENTS

12 Biscoff Cookies, crushed into crumbs
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup pure pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 large tub (12 oz.) whipped topping (Cool Whip), thawed, divided

INSTRUCTION

 In a medium bowl, combine Biscoff Cookie crumbs and butter. Divide the crumbs into the bottoms of your trifle glasses. Gently press crumbs to form an even layer of crust. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin, vanilla, sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Beat until well combined and creamy. Use a spatula to fold in half of the whipped topping. Gently combine ingredients until no streaks remain. To Assemble the Trifles: Pipe or spoon a layer of pumpkin cheesecake onto the Biscoff crust followed by a layer of whipped topping. Repeat layers until your trifle reaches the top of your glass or jar. Store trifles in the refrigerator until ready to serve. If desired, garnish with Biscoff cookie crumbs.

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French Silk with Bailey's Cream

INGREDIENTS

6-8 ounces chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed - depending on how thick you want the cookie layer to be. (I used Oreo's)

2 tablespoons butter, melted

½ cup butter, softened

1 cup Irish Cream Liqueur such as Bailey's

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

½ cup white sugar

3 large eggs

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine crushed cookies and melted butter. Set aside. Bring Irish Cream to a simmer in a small saucepan and simmer for about 10 minutes or until volume is reduced by one half and Irish Cream has is beginning to thicken . Remove from heat and set aside to cool. - As it cools it will develop a thick, syrupy consistency. Place semi-sweet chocolate chips in a microwave-safe container and heat on high for 30 seconds. Remove from microwave, stir and cook for another 20 seconds. Stir until chips are melted and chocolate is smooth. You may need another 10 seconds or so in the microwave. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Cream the softened butter at medium to high speed with an electric mixer for 1 minute or until light and fluffy. Add sugar, a little at a time, and continue to beat until light and fluffy. This will take 3-5 minutes. Scrape bowl often. It must be mixed long enough so it's no longer gritty. Add the cooled Irish Cream syrup to the butter mixture and mix until well combined. Slowly add the melted chocolate, beating on low to medium speed until the chocolate is well blended and mixture is smooth and creamy. Scrape bowl again. On medium speed, add eggs one at a time, beating for two minutes after each addition and scraping bowl between each egg. Layer chocolate mixture and the cookie mixture in parfait glasses, goblets or pretty dessert dishes. If desired top with a sprinkle of the crumbs or lightly sweetened whipped cream and chocolate curls - or all three! Serves 6-8, (depending on the size of your glasses or bowls) I used 6 ounce glasses and got 8 servings.

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