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Miss Erika’s Caramel Surprise Brownies

Brownies in the Bakers Edge Pan

Sometimes, you need a big batch of brownies to get through a cold Winter’s day. This recipe makes a nice thick brownie, and is ideal for use with the Baker’s Edge brownie pans (seen here).

Miss Erika’s Caramel Surprise Brownies Recipe

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 10 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 cup sugar
  • 2 sticks butter
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 TSP vanilla
  • 1 cup caramel chips

Sift flour, cocoa, and salt together in a large bowl and set aside. Cream sugar and butter on low speed with your mixer until combined, then add eggs and vanilla. After the mixture is well-combined, add in flour mixture and beat until texture is smooth. Stir in caramel chips by hand.

Add batter to your favorite brownie pan and smooth to spread it evenly throughout the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

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Halloween Honey Cookies

Halloween Honey Cookies 1

I tend to make the bulk of my rolled out cookies during the holidays. But since I was craving my honey cookies, and Halloween is just around the corner, I decided to make some this week. They’ll make fun care packages…

Halloween Honey Cookies 2
My favorite Halloween cookie cutter is the scary cat. When decorated with the spooky purple rubble sprinkles, it’s adorable (and tasty!):
Halloween Honey Cookies 3

Honey Cookies

  • 1/3 cup vegetable shortening
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2/3 cup honey
  • 1 teaspoon lemon extract
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Cream vegetable shortening, sugar, egg, honey, and lemon extract in your mixer or a large bowl until light and fluffy. Sift in flour, baking soda, and salt; stir until well blended. Separate dough into 3 balls and wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured board, roll dough 1/4-inch thick and cut into shapes with your favorite cookie cutters.  Place 1-inch apart onto prepared cookie sheets.

Bake 8 minutes. They will look pretty brown due to the honey but don’t fret! Adding the icing will moisten them up, making a crispier cookie better. Decorate with your favorite royal icing and cover with festive Halloween sprinkles like these or colored sugar.

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Rum Banana Bread with Milk Chocolate Chips


Rum Banana Bread with Milk Chocolate Chips

Rum Banana Bread with Milk Chocolate Chips

Adapted from Pastry Affair’s dark rum banana bread. Yields one 9 x 5-inch loaf

  • 1 stick butter, at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
  • 2 cups ripe bananas, mashed (about 4 average sized bananas)
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup rum (I used Malibu)
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a loaf pan or line it with parchment paper.

In a mixer or a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs individually and mix until combined. Add vanilla extract and mashed bananas and mix until combined. Mix in dry ingredients, scraping down bowl, and mix until all flour is evenly incorporated into the batter. Stir in the rum and the chocolate chips.

Pour batter into the loaf pan and bake for 70-80 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes before removing from pan and transferring loaf to a cooling rack to cool completely.

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Miss Erika’s Holiday Bread Pudding

our tiny bread pudding for Christmas Eve dessert

It's becoming a holiday tradition for me to make my bread pudding for bringing to our Sonoma Christmas dinner with L's family.

  • 1 loaf of Challah, stale, torn into bite-size chunks (approx 9 cups)
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 quart milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 cup bourbon (I used Knob Creek)
  • 1 package chocolate chips

Preheat oen to 325 degrees.

Beat eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and bourbon together. Add bread chunks, stirring them into the egg mixture. Let sit for 30 minutes to allow bread to soak up the egg mixture. Pour into buttered 2 quart baking dish. Add chocolate chips and gently toss with bread chunks.

Bake 45 minutes or until set.

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Holiday Star Cookies


Holiday star cookies, originally uploaded by almostgold.

Starting in on the frosted+sugared cookies now.

 Merry Christmas Cookies

1/3 cup vegetable shortening

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

2/3 cup honey

1 teaspoon lemon extract

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, cream vegetable shortening, sugar, egg, honey, and lemon extract until light and fluffy. Sift in flour, baking soda, and salt; stir until well blended. Refrigerate dough at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).  Lightly grease cookie sheets.

On a lightly floured board, roll dough 1/4-inch thick and cut into shapes with your favorite cookie cutters.  Place 1-inch apart onto prepared cookie sheets. 

Bake 8-10 minutes. Ice with your favorite royal icing technique. I like to slather them in frosting then cover them with colored sugar. 

Share with those you love.

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Making Homemade Pasta

When I first brought home Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking , I dove in to the recipes for homemade pasta, determined to try my hand at it. But it never happened. You see, I am cursed with a galley kitchen, its limited counterspace eaten up by my convection oven, Kitchen Aide mixer, and espresso machine.

I am also cursed with the need to see visual demonstrations of new cooking techniques in order to understand and execute on them. Marcella’s books were beautifully written, but didn’t give me much guidance.

Fast forward. KQED’s foodie blog has a step-by-step pictorial on making pasta. It gave me the visual queues I needed to get the process. Now if only someone can help me double my counterspace…

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The Blueberryist Muffins

BlueberrymuffinI am blessed with working downtown, steps away from a weekly farmers market.

This past week, in addition to the amazing peaches, nectarines, and strawberries that made their way home with me, I bought a pint of blueberries.

These were bursting with flavor, and needed to be used right away. I obliged by whipping up the blueberry muffin recipe I had just seen on the CHOW blog.

I'd seen comments therein about these being a little salty. Lacking any kosher salt, I subbed in some grey sea salt. The results are a few spikes of salt that perfectly offset the sweet berries.

Now I just have to decide what to do with more of these luscious berries this week. Thinking some sort of bread maybe?