Ingredient: all purpose flour, sifted

Glazed Lemon Muffins

Glazed Lemon Muffins

However your day is going today, it’s about to get better. I can confidently say these lemon muffins are some of the best you will ever taste. Follow the recipe exactly, weigh your ingredients and you’ll be enjoying these soft, tender muffins in no time.

These delightful muffins are perfect for breakfast, brunch or an anytime snack. I love enjoying one with a cup of strawberry or chamomile tea.

Print Recipe
 Glazed Lemon Muffins
Soft, tender lemon muffins glazed with lemon icing
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Keyword lemon, muffins
Servings
muffins
Ingredients
Muffins
Icing
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Keyword lemon, muffins
Servings
muffins
Ingredients
Muffins
Icing
Instructions
Muffins
  1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a 12-serving muffin pan with tulip baking liners.* (You can also use standard muffin liners. They hold less batter so you may end up with a couple of extra muffins.)
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  3. In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar and lemon zest, with an electric mixer, until light and fluffy.
  4. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until well combined.
  5. Add extracts and beat until combined.
  6. On low speed, mix in flour mixture in two additions, alternating with half of sour cream after each addition. Mix just until combined. Batter will be thick.
  7. Divide batter evenly into muffin liners. (If using standard muffin liners, fill 3/4 full.)
  8. Bake at 375ºF for 5 minutes. Turn the oven heat down to 350ºF and continue baking the muffins until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 12-16 more minutes. Do not over bake.
  9. Transfer muffins to a cooling rack to cool completely. Brush icing onto muffin tops with a small pastry brush.
Icing
  1. Whisk the powdered sugar, melted butter, and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice together until smooth. Add additional lemon juice until your desired consistency is reached.
Recipe Notes

*To find  tulip muffin liners, click here.

To find floral tulip muffin liners, click here.

Pink Velvet Cookies

Pink Velvet Cookies

Whenever I walk into a bakery, my eyes are always drawn to anything pink. Pink cupcakes, cookies, donuts or anything with pink icing will inevitably come home with me. This probably started in childhood. Most bakeries back then, including the bakery my aunt always took me to, had pink boxes, so I associate it with delicious, freshly baked treats. Maybe pink desserts do taste better or maybe our minds just tell us that. Either way, if you love pink treats, you’ll love these cookies.

Pink velvet is similar to red velvet, but without the cocoa powder and red food color. The texture should be somewhat velvety, like red velvet cake. I have yet to taste a velvety red velvet cookie, but I think the texture of these cookies is pretty velvety as long as they’re not over baked. Pink velvet desserts are typically vanilla flavored. I upgraded the flavor by adding a touch of cherry flavoring. It’s not enough to give you cherry flavored cookies, but it will add depth to vanilla flavored treats. It’s an old bakery trick that I learned years ago that adds a fruity note in the background.

For best baking results, I recommend using a scale to weigh your ingredients, especially your dry ingredients. If you love baking, you should invest in a food scale if you don’t already have one.

To watch the Pink Velvet Cookies TikTok video, click here. To watch the Pink Velvet Cookies Instagram video, click here.

Print Recipe
 Pink Velvet Cookies
Pink vanilla flavored crinkle cookies with chewy exteriors and soft, velvety centers
Course Dessert
Keyword cookies, pink velvet
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Optional
Course Dessert
Keyword cookies, pink velvet
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Optional
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.
  3. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar and oil until light and fluffy.
  4. Beat egg whites into butter mixture in two addition, until well combined.
  5. Beat in extracts until well combined.
  6. Add gel food color, a little at a time with a toothpick, until desired shade of pink is reached. (Adding remaining ingredients will lighten the color slightly.) Beat until evenly distributed.
  7. Add flour mixture to batter and beat just until combined. Mix in white chocolate chips if using.
  8. Roll dough into balls, about 2 tablespoons each. I used a #30 portion scoop.*** Roll dough very generously in powdered sugar. Place two inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets.
  9. Bake until cookies are puffed and tops are set, about 11-13 minutes. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack.
Recipe Notes

*The cherry flavoring in this recipe is not intended to make a cherry flavored cookie. The addition of cherry flavoring adds a subtle fruity note. You can also use pure cherry extract. Use a bit less (scant 1/2 teaspoon)  because extracts tend to be stronger than flavorings. DO NOT use imitation cherry extract. It has a medicinal flavor that will disappoint you. If you want your cookies to be cherry or strawberry flavor, reduce vanilla extract to 1/2 teaspoon and  use 1- 1 1/2 teaspoons of natural cherry or strawberry flavoring.

**To find the pink gel food color I used, click here.

***To find the portion scoop I used, click here.

This recipe was updated on 2/14/23.

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

These cute kitties were created as a special request by someone who grew up playing with Webkinz. Do you remember the Strawberry Cloud Leopard? It was a cute pink Webkinz plushie. The cookies are made of tender, buttery shortbread dough. They get their natural color and flavor from freeze dried strawberries. Mini chocolate chips are added to make the adorable leopard spots. I originally made this cookie dough into hearts for Valentine’s Day but it’s perfect for the Strawberry Cloud Leopards!

To watch the Strawberry Cloud Leopard Shortbread Cookies Instagram video, click here.

Print Recipe
 Strawberry Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies
Tender strawberry shortbread cookies dotted with mini chocolate chips
Course Dessert
Keyword cookies, strawberry chocolate chip
Servings
4-inch tall cookies
Ingredients
Course Dessert
Keyword cookies, strawberry chocolate chip
Servings
4-inch tall cookies
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Pulverize freeze dried strawberries to a powder with a small food processor or a clean spice grinder. Pass through a sieve to strain out seeds.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, powdered sugar and salt together.
  3. In a large bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy. Add freeze dried strawberry powder and vanilla extract. Beat until well combined.
  4. Add flour mixture and beat just until dough comes together. Fold in mini chocolate chips.
  5. Divide dough into two portions and form into disks. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
  6. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Alternately, you can roll dough between two sheets of parchment paper. Cut cookies into desired shapes. I used a 4-inch cat cookie cutter.**
  7. Place cookies about 2-inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets. To prevent excessive spreading, refrigerate cut cookies for 30 minutes prior to baking, especially if your dough becomes warm as you work with it.
  8. Preheat oven to 325ºF. Bake until cookies are slightly puffed and edges barely start to turn light golden brown, about 12-14 minutes. (Smaller cookies will need a shorter baking time.) Let cookies cool on cookie sheet for 3 minutes then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. Decorate as desired.
Recipe Notes

To find a cat cookie cutter, click here.

Strawberry Sweetheart Brownies

Strawberry Sweetheart Brownies

At the Brownie Mischief website, all types of brownies are welcome. We all know and love chocolate brownies. But there are other less common brownies in the universe, that deserve to shine too. Let me introduce you to Strawberry Sweetheart Brownies. These lovely pink creations aren’t strawberry cake or strawberry blondies. They contain white chocolate and they’re made with the same baking method as brownies. When you bake chocolate brownies, you want to be careful not to over bake them, to achieve the rich, fudgy texture. The same is true for these strawberry brownies. When you test for doneness, the toothpick should have a few moist crumbs attached to it. If the toothpick is clean, the brownies have baked too long and will likely be a little dry and cakey, although still edible. So make sure to test for doneness well before the end of the baking time!

The baking temperature for this recipe is 325ºF. I noticed that when baking in a heart shaped cake pan, things tend to bake unevenly because of the shape. So I used a lower temperature to help with even baking. If you don’t have an 8-inch heart shaped cake pan, you can also use an 8-inch round cake pan. To find the cake pan I used, click here.

Strawberry Sweetheart Brownies

To watch the Strawberry Sweetheart Brownies Instagram video, click here.

Print Recipe
 Strawberry Sweetheart Brownies
A heart shaped strawberry brownie made with fresh strawberries topped with strawberry icing.
Course Dessert
Keyword brownies, strawberry
Servings
Ingredients
Strawberry Brownies
Strawberry Icing
Course Dessert
Keyword brownies, strawberry
Servings
Ingredients
Strawberry Brownies
Strawberry Icing
Instructions
Strawberry Brownies
  1. Preheat oven to 325ºF. Line the bottom of an 8-inch heart shaped cake pan*** with parchment paper. Spray the insides with nonstick spray.
  2. In a large heat safe bowl, melt butter and white chocolate together on the stovetop over a pan of barely simmering water or in the microwave for 20 seconds at time, stirring at each interval. White chocolate overheats easily, so be vigilant.
  3. Add the sugar and salt to the butter mixture and mix until well combined.
  4. Add egg and egg yolks. Whisk until smooth.
  5. Pass strawberry purée through a sieve to remove seeds. Set aside 2 tablespoons of strawberry purée for icing. Add remaining purée to batter. Mix until well combined.
  6. Add extracts and food color. Mix until combined.
  7. Stir in flour until combined, scraping bowl as needed.
  8. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake until toothpick inserted in center has a few moist crumbs on it, (not batter), about 25-30 minutes. Do not over bake. Let cool in pan. Remove from pan and top with strawberry icing.
Strawberry Icing
  1. Whisk all icing ingredients together until smooth and well combined.
Recipe Notes

*To make strawberry purée:   Purée clean, hulled and quartered strawberries in a blender or food processor. **To find the food color I used, click here. **To find the heart cake pan I used, click here.

This recipe was updated on January 24th, 2023

Cinnamon Crumble Scones

The weeks following the winter holidays always feel peaceful to me. The rush is over and it’s time to catch my breath and rest. When it’s chilly and raining outside, I love spending time at home curled up in my coziest fluffy pajama bottoms and fuzzy socks. Give me a blanket, 75 pillows, a warm cup of tea and these Cinnamon Crumble Scones for ultimate coziness!

The crumb topping on these scones will remind you of a cinnamon crumb cake, which makes them extra nostalgic and comforting. The technique of folding the dough over itself gives them a flaky layered texture. For the tenderest scones, make sure not to over work your dough.

To watch Instagram reel, click here. To watch extended TikTok video showing baking process, click here.

Print Recipe
 Cinnamon Crumble Scones
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Keyword cinnamon, scones
Servings
scones
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
Cinnamon Filling
Scones
Icing
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Keyword cinnamon, scones
Servings
scones
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
Cinnamon Filling
Scones
Icing
Instructions
Crumb Topping
  1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, sugar cinnamon and salt.
  2. Work in butter with your fingertips until it looks like wet sand. Press together to make dime size chunks.
  3. Set aside in refrigerator until ready to use.
Cinnamon Filling
  1. In a small bowl, mix filling ingredients together until well combined.
Scones
  1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
  3. Work butter into flour mixture with your fingertips or with a pastry blender until pea sized pieces are formed.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk together heavy cream, sour cream and vanilla extract.
  5. Stir cream mixture into flour mixture a little at a time until dough comes together. If your dough is too dry add 1-2 more teaspoons of heavy cream.
  6. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold dough over onto itself a couple of times.
  7. Pat dough into an approximately 9 x 5-inch oval. Spread cinnamon filling on half of the dough to within 1/2-inch from the edges. Fold dough in half bringing short ends together. Press edges to seal.
  8. Shape dough into a 7-inch round, about 3/4-inch thickness. Cut into 8 wedges. (Or 6 wedges if you prefer larger scones.)
  9. Pinch the pointed tip of the wedges and tuck under to seal. This helps to prevent the top layer from sliding off while baking. Place wedges about 2-inches apart onto prepared baking sheet.
  10. Brush tops of scones with heavy cream. Top with crumb topping. Bake until light golden brown, about 18-22 minutes.
  11. Transfer scones to a cooling rack to cool. Drizzle with icing.
Icing
  1. In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, butter, 1 tablespoon of milk and vanilla. Add additional milk until desired consistency is reached.

Chocolate Gingerbread

Chocolate Gingerbread

Chocolate gingerbread is gingerbread’s elegant sister. It has the warm spices we love in gingerbread combined with the earthy depth of chocolate. Topping this rich, tender loaf with silky cream cheese frosting is the best possible choice to take it over the top. It’s a lovely loaf to enjoy during the holiday season and beyond. Enjoy it with a hot drink for a cozy, comforting winter treat.

Make sure to check out my method for making sugared cranberries below. No raw eggs required!

Print Recipe
 Chocolate Gingerbread
Course Dessert
Keyword cake, chocolate gingerbread
Servings
loaf
Ingredients
Chocolate Gingerbread
Cream Cheese Frosting
Course Dessert
Keyword cake, chocolate gingerbread
Servings
loaf
Ingredients
Chocolate Gingerbread
Cream Cheese Frosting
Instructions
Chocolate Gingerbread
  1. Preheat oven go 350ºF (180ºC). Line the bottom of a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Grease the insides and dust with a mixture of equal parts flour and cocoa powder.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves.
  3. In a large bowl, beat the brown sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla together until smooth.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and milk.
  5. Add flour the mixture to the batter in two additions, alternating with the milk mixture, beating just until combined.
  6. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 38-45 minutes.
  7. Cool the loaf in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn the loaf out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Frost with cream cheese frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
  1. In a medium bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth.
  2. Add the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of milk, the vanilla and salt. Beat until smooth. Add additional milk, if needed, until your desired consistency is reached.
Recipe Notes

To make sugared cranberries and rosemary for garnish:  Mix 1 teaspoon of meringue powder* with 1 tablespoon of water. Place 1 cup of fresh cranberries in a bowl and coat them in the meringue powder mixture. Drain any excess liquid then coat the cranberries with granulated sugar.  Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet to dry at room temperature for at least 1 hour. Use the same method for sprigs of rosemary.

*To find meringue powder, click here.

Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies


Print Recipe


Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies

Fudgy chocolate peppermint crinkle cookies

Course Dessert
Keyword cookies

Servings
cookies


Ingredients

Course Dessert
Keyword cookies

Servings
cookies


Ingredients


Instructions
  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.

  2. In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer at medium speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in 2 cups (227g) powdered sugar until well combined. Set aside the remaining 1/2 cup (113g) of powdered sugar in a shallow dish.

  3. Beat in eggs in two separate additions, making sure each one is incorporated before adding the next. Add the extracts and the melted chocolate and beat until well combined. Beat in the flour mixture just until combined.

  4. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

  5. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.

  6. Roll the dough into 15 2-tablespoon size balls, 1 1/4 ounce (35g) each. Roll the dough balls generously in the reserved 1/2 cup of powdered sugar.

  7. Place the dough balls 3 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. Bak until the cookies puff and the tops are set, about 10-12 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a cooking rack to cool.

Chocolate Raspberry Cookie Tartlets

Chocolate Raspberry Cookie Tartlets

My fascination with Christmas cookies started as a child when my elderly neighbor used to bring over a tray of her homemade Christmas cookies every year. I loved the moment where I got to choose a cookie from the beautiful, interesting selection. In my humble opinion, I think a holiday cookie should be something special. It should be something that you don’t eat on a regular basis, maybe because it seems fancy or requires a little extra work to make. Or maybe it has a special meaning or a fond memory. These Chocolate Raspberry Cookie Tartlets check all the boxes for me. They have that something special a cookie needs to be the star of the holiday cookie tray…tender jam-filled chocolate dough, dipped in shiny chocolate with a pretty pop of red.

Print Recipe
 Chocolate Raspberry Cookie Tartlets
Keyword chocolate raspberry, cookies
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Keyword chocolate raspberry, cookies
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. In a medium bowl, sift together powdered sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
  2. In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese, with an electric mixer on medium speed, until smooth.
  3. Add powdered sugar mixture and beat until well combined.
  4. Beat in egg and vanilla until well combined.
  5. On low speed, beat in flour just until combined.
  6. Divide dough into two equal portions. Wrap with plastic wrap and form into disks. Refrigerate at least two hours or overnight.
  7. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  8. Roll dough between two sheets of wax paper to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut dough into 3-inch rounds, re-rolling scraps as necessary. If dough becomes too soft at any point, chill in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes then continue with recipe.
  9. Place rounds on prepared baking sheets. Top each round with a teaspoon of jam.
  10. With a small food safe brush or with your finger, apply a small amount of water to the edge of half of each round. Fold over and press edges to seal.
  11. Bake until tops of cookies look set, about 9-11 minutes. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
  12. In a small bowl, mix melted chocolate with coconut oil until smooth.
  13. Dip cookies about 1/3 of the way into melted chocolate. Top with freeze dried fruit or sprinkles.
Recipe Notes

*To find freeze dried raspberries, click here.

To find the cookie cutter I used, click here.

To find food safe brushes, click here.

Grandma’s Apple Crumb Cake

Grandma's Apple Crumb Cake

I remember my grandma making coffee cakes and sweet muffins for breakfast, along with eggs, sausages, hot coffee and a big pitcher of milk on the table. The older generation really loved their coffee cakes. I’ve noticed that many Millennials and Gen Z’s think coffee cake contains coffee. Maybe some coffee cake does contain coffee, but in general, coffee cake is called that because it’s typically eaten with coffee. A classic coffee cake is usually a subtly sweet cake with cinnamon, crumb topping and maybe some icing. The Apple Crumb Cake recipe I’m sharing with you has the elements of a classic coffee cake, but so much better! The cake is fluffy and soft, the crumb topping is chunky and plentiful, and the apples are perfectly tender. And don’t get me started about the icing!

Why do most of our grandmothers cook and bake so well? Because they’ve had decades of trial and error to perfect their recipes, tweaking them here and there until they’re approved and loved by their families, neighbors and friends. This cake has had its share of trial and error. She has earned her place as a well-loved, delicious, beautiful queen of coffee cakes.

Print Recipe
 Grandma's Apple Crumb Cake
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Keyword apple, cake
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Apples
Crumb Topping
Cake
Icing
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Keyword apple, cake
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Apples
Crumb Topping
Cake
Icing
Instructions
Apples
  1. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the apples, sugar and cinnamon.
  2. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer the apples to a bowl and let cool to room temperature.
Crumb Topping
  1. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon and salt.
  2. Work in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture looks like wet sand. Press together to make 1/2-inch chunks.
Cake
  1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Line a 9-inch cake pan with a removable bottom*, or a 9-inch springform pan, with parchment paper. Wrap the bottom of the cake pan with aluminum foil and place pan on a baking sheet.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
  3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar, with an electric mixer on medium speed, until light and fluffy.
  4. Beat the eggs and vanilla into the butter mixture in three separate addition, making sure each addition is incorporated before adding the next.
  5. In a small bowl, whisk the milk and sour cream together.
  6. On low speed, beat the flour mixture into batter in three separate additions, alternating with milk mixture. Mix just until combined.
  7. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan. Smooth the top with a spatula.
  8. Drain any excess liquid from the apples. Top the cake batter evenly with apples, then the topping mixture.
  9. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes. Cool the cake in pan for 10 minutes. Remove the cake from pan and transfer it to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Icing
  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, melted butter, vanilla, salt and 2 tablespoons of cream. Add additional cream until desired consistency is reached. Drizzle over the cooled cake.
Recipe Notes

*To find the cake pan I used, click here.

Fudge Filled Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Fudge Filled Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are traditional holiday cookies, probably because of the pretty, crackly powdered sugar covered exterior that reminds us of snow. They always seem to show up on cookie trays at Christmas time and I’ve loved them since I was a child. I decided to take my old favorites to another level by adding a surprise inside! Two years ago, I made some cookies with fudge filling that my family and friends raved over. They’re my Marshmallow Mudslide Cookies. To view the recipe, click here. I used the same concept for these Chocolate Crinkle Cookies. I filled them with a simple, smooth fudge filling that stays soft at room temperature. The results were absolutely delicious!

Print Recipe
 Fudge Filled Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Chocolate crinkle cookies with a smooth fudge filling that stays soft at room temperature
Course Dessert
Keyword chocolate, cookies
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Fudge Filling
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Course Dessert
Keyword chocolate, cookies
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Fudge Filling
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Instructions
Fudge Filling
  1. In a double boiler or in the microwave*, melt chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk together until smooth. Set aside to cool while preparing cookie dough.
  2. Cover and refrigerate for two hours. Roll filling into 1-inch balls.
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
  2. In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
  3. Gradually beat in 2 cups (7 3/4 ounces) of powdered sugar until well combined. Set aside remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar in a shallow dish.
  4. Beat in eggs and vanilla in three separate additions, until smooth. Stop to scrape bowl as needed.
  5. Beat in melted chocolate until combined. Beat in flour mixture just until combined.
  6. Cover and refrigerate dough for 2 hours. Don't skip this step.
  7. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
  8. Roll dough into 15 2-inch balls, 1 1/4 ounce each. Flatten each ball into a 3-inch disk. Place a fudge ball in the center of each disk and wrap dough around it, pinching edges together to seal. Roll dough balls generously in remaining powdered sugar.
  9. Place dough balls three inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake until cookies puff up and tops are set, about 11-13 minutes. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack.
Recipe Notes

*To melt fudge filling in microwave, heat for 30 seconds. Stir, then microwave for 10 second intervals, stirring until melted.

MAKE AHEAD INSTRUCTIONS: To make cookie dough one day ahead, prepare cookie dough. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate in a covered container up to 24 hours. To make fudge filling one day ahead, prepare filling and chill for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Roll filling into 1-inch balls and place on a parchment lined tray. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 24 hours. 

Sweet Cornbread Muffins

These soft, tender, fluffy, sweet cornbread muffins are my favorite version of cornbread ever! No hate to the crumbly, savory cornbread that some people prefer. I like that too! Coincidentally, the latter has fans who leave the most heated comments on my cornbread posts. Maybe their cornbread is making them cranky. This cornbread recipe is delightful and would cheer up anyone, especially when it’s served warm and slathered with butter and honey. Positively divine.

I used a square muffin pan because it makes the muffins look absolutely adorable. The pan is also known as a brownie pan. The pan details are in the recipe notes. Feel fee to use a standard round muffin pan instead.

Print Recipe
 Sweet Cornbread Muffins
Soft, tender, fluffy, sweet cornbread muffins
Keyword cornbread, muffins
Servings
square muffins
Ingredients
Keyword cornbread, muffins
Servings
square muffins
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour a 12-serving square muffin pan, also known as a brownie pan.* (You can also use a traditional round muffin pan. The baking time may be a little shorter.)
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, sour cream, oil and butter until smooth.
  4. Add egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix just until combined. A few lumps are okay.
  5. Transfer batter to prepared pan, filling wells halfway full. (Fill 2/3 full if using a round muffin pan.)
  6. Bake until edges turn golden brown and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 17-20 minutes. Do not over bake.
  7. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes them transfer muffins to a cooling rack. Serve warm or room temperature.
Recipe Notes

*I used a Fat Daddio's square muffin pan. It's available at kitchen stores and online.  If you can't find that one, Chefmade also makes a good one. The cavities on that one are a little smaller, so the baking time may be shorter. To find it, click here.

If you're using a dark colored pan, reduce your oven temperature to 325ºF

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches

Soft Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

I never imagined that I’d ever be posting a peanut butter cookie recipe. There are already crunchy peanut butter cookies, soft ones, chewy ones, and those peanut shaped store bought ones out there. I mean, do we even need another peanut butter cookie recipe? After I tasted this one, it’s a resounding YES! These soft, tender cookies combined with a silky, smooth filling are a new peanut butter experience that I had to share.

The key to getting the soft texture in the cookie, without being dry, is cake flour. So don’t substitute it, because it’s vital to achieve the correct texture. Make sure to weigh your flour for the most accurate results. The second important ingredient is heavy whipping cream. Just a little added to the filling gives it a luxurious, silky texture.

This recipe makes sixteen medium size peanut butter cookies, which will give you eight sandwiches. If you want more, you can double the recipe or make the cookies smaller. Smaller cookies will have a shorter baking time.

Print Recipe
 Melt-in-Your-Mouth Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches
Course Dessert
Keyword cookies, peanut butter
Servings
cookie sandwiches
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Cookies
Peanut Butter Filling
Course Dessert
Keyword cookies, peanut butter
Servings
cookie sandwiches
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Cookies
Peanut Butter Filling
Instructions
Peanut Butter Cookies
  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, cake flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, beat the peanut butter, butter and shortening until smooth.
  4. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined.
  5. Set aside 1/4 cup (50g) of the granulated sugar. Beat the peanut butter mixture with brown sugar and remaining granulated sugar, with an electric mixer at medium speed, until light and fluffy.
  6. Add the flour mixture and beat just until combined.
  7. Roll the dough into 1 1/2-inch (3.8cm) diameter balls (about 1 1/4 oz or 35g each). Roll the dough balls in the reserved granulated sugar.
  8. Place the dough balls 3 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Flatten with a fork, making a criss cross pattern.
  9. Bake until the cookies are puffy and start to crack around the edges, about 9-11 minutes.
  10. Let the cookies cool on baking sheet for 1 minute, then carefully transfer them to a cooling rack. The cookies will be fragile, but they will firm up as they cool.
  11. Place a spoonful of filling on the bottoms of half of the cooled cookies. Top with remaining the remaining cookies.
Peanut Butter Filling
  1. In medium bowl, beat the peanut butter and butter together until smooth.
  2. Beat in the powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla and salt until smooth.
Recipe Notes

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