Almond Walnut Cookies

These cookies were continuation of my attempt to branch out from traditional dessert flavours.  Yes, I know that they're cookies and dipped in chocolate, but they have walnuts!  Which, while still fairly dessert-y, was a new thing for me.  I also haven't baked cookies in AGES, sometime that's totally strange for me, considering my childhood specialty was cookies of the peanut butter chocolate chip variety. 

The original recipe said these were to make four dozen cookies, two teaspoons of dough each, but I ended up with about twenty good sized cookies.  It original recipe also called to bake them on parchment paper, which I didn't have, so I reduced the heat and upped the cooking time to stop the bottoms from burning.  If you ever have any problems with burnt-bottom cookies, though, the best solution is to let them cool, then run the bottoms over a cheese grater a few times.  This will grate off the black, bad tasting burnt part and leave you with just delicious, delicious cookie.

Preheat oven to 325. 


In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter, brown sugar and vanilla until pale and fluffy.  This took me a LONG time and was very stressful. Light and fluffy? What did that mean? Oh god, what if I beat it too long? In the end it ended up taking me about ten minutes, and I beat it until it achieved a consistency like thick whipping cream.  Don't forget to scrape down the sides so you don't waste any dough.

Add the flour mixture at low speed, then stir in the walnuts.  After this, I realized the beater wasn't doing the dough any favours in terms of getting it to stick together, so once everything was mixed I used my hands to form it into a big ball.

Grease a baking sheet and form the dough into egg-shapes.  You could definitely fit more onto a pan than I have here, they don't spread at all. Bake for about 7 minutes then check them, then bake in 3-4 minute intervals until set.  It's a really dry dough so they don't need much, just enough so the top is set and the bottom is lightly browned. If in doubt, take them out, I would say. They'll firm up as they cool.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler until smooth.  Remove from heat and dip half of each cookie, one cooled,  into the chocolate.  Place on a tinfoil or parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Sprinkle walnuts over the chocolate covered half of the cookie.  Place cookies in the fridge to allow chocolate to set, around 15 minutes.

Almond Walnut Cookies

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts (4 ounces)

For Decoration:

• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts (2 ounces)

Adapted from:  Erza Pound Cake

Pineapple Cake

Pineapple caaaaaaaake! I've been trying to branch out from the traditional dessert flavors of chocolate, peanut butter and cheesecake (NOT that there's anything wrong with any of those!) and this cake was the result.  I was kind of skeptical at first but the icing really made the cake - it ended up gooey delicious because of the holes poked in it before the icing is applied. I know it seems like a lot of liquid to pour on a hot cake, but trust me, it's worth it.

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9x13 pan.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add eggs, pineapple and vanilla. Beat at medium speed until combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 min or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

In a saucepan, combine icing ingredients Bring to boil over med heat; boil for 2 min, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

 

Poke 1/2-in holes in the cake with the end of a mixing spoon at 1-in intervals. Pour icing over hot cake. Sprinkle with chopped pecans and coconut. 

Pineapple Cake

2 c flour
2 c sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 8-oz cans crushed pineapple, undrained
1 tsp vanilla extract
Coconut icing
1 c chopped pecans
1 c sweetened flake coconut

Icing:
1 c butter
1 5-oz can evap milk
1 1/2 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla

adapted from:  Perry's Plate

Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake

this cheesecake has a surprise!

...and that surprise is brownies! Yes, that's right, there are brownies right in there with the cheesecake, creating a 'mosaic' of brownie chunks within the cake.  I've never baked a proper cheesecake before, and I was really happy with how this one came out.  The top cracked, but once it was covered by the ganache you couldn't tell. I would have also liked my ganache to be smoother along the top, since the top of the cake was uneven it didn't quite happen.  It was still delicious though, and surprisingly easy for a very impressive cake.



To make the brownies, preheat the oven to 350°. Line a 9×13” baking pan with foil, leaving the ends of the foil overhanging the sides of the pan. Grease the foil and set aside. Microwave chocolate and butter in a large microwave-safe bowl on high for 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until the butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add salt and flour; mix well. Spread into prepared pan.

To prepare the crust, combine all crust ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until well combined. Press onto the bottom and one inch up the side of a 9-inch springform pan. Fill right away or chill for up to 2 hours.

mmmm...cheesecake

For the cheesecake, preheat the oven to 350°. Beat the cream cheese in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating on low speed, scraping down the bowl between additions. Add vanilla and sugar and beat until well combined.

Pour enough cheesecake batter onto crust to cover the bottom.

Gently place brownie squares on top of cheesecake batter, leaving about an inch or so between pieces.

Add enough cheesecake batter to cover brownies and add more brownies on top of that.

Bake in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes or until cake is set 3 inches from edge but center is still slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken. Allow to cool completely.

To make the ganache, put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring the cream to a boil, the pour hot cream over the chocolate and let sit for 30 seconds. Working with a rubber spatula, gently stir the chocolate and cream together in small circles, starting at the center of the bowl and working your way out in increasingly larger concentric circles. When the ganache is smooth and shiny, stir in the butter piece by piece. Don’t stir the ganache any more than you must to blend the ingredients – the less you work it, the darker, smoother and shinier it will be. Let sit until it thickens to desired consistency. Then pour on top of cooled cheesecake and spread evenly. Chill to set.

Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake

For the brownies:
 4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
¾ cup butter

1 ¾ cups sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

½ tsp. salt

1 cup flour

For the crust:

1 ½ cups finely ground graham crackers

5 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

1/3 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. salt

For the cheesecake:
3 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sugar

For the ganache:
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup plus 1 tbsp. heavy cream
2 tbsp. butter, cut into two pieces


Adapted from: Amanda's Cooking