Ingredient: all purpose flour

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bread

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bread

This is the ultimate chocolate chip bread! There are no cookies in this recipe, but it tastes so much like freshly baked chocolate chip cookies that Chocolate Chip Cookie Bread is the perfect name for it. Brown sugar, vanilla and jumbo chocolate chips really help to mimic that beloved chocolate chip cookie flavor. I love the big pockets of chocolate that come from using jumbo chocolate chips, but of course you can substitute regular or mini chocolate chips if you prefer.

I typically wait until a loaf is cooled off before slicing it, but in this case, I wanted to capture the melted pools of chocolate for the video. The fresh baked chocolate chip aroma was so heavenly, that it took all of my willpower not to immediately devour the entire loaf! It’s easier to slice a fresh baked loaf when it’s cooled off. But if you want to experience the melty chocolate chips, warm your slice in the microwave for 10 seconds.

To watch the TikTok video, click here.

Print Recipe
 Chocolate Chip Cookie Bread
A moist, tender loaf cake with brown sugar and chocolate chips that tastes just like chocolate chip cookies
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Keyword cake, chocolate chip
Servings
loaf
Ingredients
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Keyword cake, chocolate chip
Servings
loaf
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line the bottom of a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Grease and flour the insides.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the 1 3/4 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  3. In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until fluffy and well combined.
  4. Beat in egg, egg yolk and vanilla in 3 separate additions, making sure each one is fully incorporated before adding the next.
  5. In a small bowl, whisk milk and sour cream together.
  6. Add flour mixture to batter in two additions, alternating with half of milk mixture after each addition. Beat just until combined. Do not over mix.
  7. Set aside a handful of chocolate chips for top of loaf. In a small bowl, toss remaining chips with 1 teaspoon flour, making sure to coat them all, then fold them into the batter. This will help to prevent them from sinking.
  8. Transfer batter to prepared baking pan. Top with reserved chocolate chips.
  9. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn oven heat down to 325ºF and continue baking until loaf is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 45-50 more minutes.
  10. Cool loaf in pan for 10 minutes then turn loaf out onto a cooling rack.
Recipe Notes

*If you want to use mini chocolate chips, use one cup (6 oz or 170g)

Roasted Tomato Mac & Cheese


Print Recipe


Roasted Tomato Mac & Cheese

Cheesy, comforting mac and cheese with roasted tomatoes, bacon and fresh herbs. Serves two as a main dish or three as a side dish.

Course Dinner, Main Dish
Keyword mac & cheese, pasta

Servings
Servings


Ingredients

Course Dinner, Main Dish
Keyword mac & cheese, pasta

Servings
Servings


Ingredients


Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Place tomatoes on a baking sheet. Gently toss with a drizzle of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

  2. Roast until tomatoes are blistered, about 15-25 minutes, depending on the size of your tomatoes.

  3. Turn oven down to 350ºF. Cook and drain pasta according to package directions.

  4. Set aside 1/4 cup of each of the cheeses for the top.

  5. In a small bowl, whisk milk and heavy cream together.

  6. In a 2-quart oven safe pot, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute.

  7. Slowly whisk in milk and cream. Heat until thickened, whisking out any lumps. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (I used 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.)

  8. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in 3/4 cup each cheddar and Gruyere cheeses. Taste sauce and season with more salt or pepper if necessary.

  9. Fold in cooked pasta, roasted tomatoes, bacon, 1 teaspoon parsley and 1 teaspoon chives. Top with remaining cheese.

  10. Bake in top third of the oven, just until cheese is melted, about 7-10 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining parsley and chives.

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.

Raspberry Truffle Brownies

Raspberry Truffle Brownies

Who else loves those heart shaped boxes of chocolates we see at Valentine’s Day? That adventurous first bite of chocolate, when you don’t know which flavor you’re getting, is so much fun! I adore the fruit ganache filled chocolate bon bons. If you love bon bons too, you’ll love these brownies. They’re rich, fudgy and topped with a silky raspberry ganache that makes you feel like you’re biting into a raspberry truffle. The ganache adds an elegant touch to these brownies, so dried rose buds, rose petals and crispy chocolate pearls were my toppings of choice.

This isn’t the first time I’ve created elegant brownies. I displayed beautifully decorated brownies at two previous cookie conventions and they were well received. Elevated brownies are unexpected, but they’re definitely appreciated!

To watch the Raspberry Truffle Brownie Instagram video, click here.

Print Recipe
 Raspberry Truffle Brownies
Course Dessert
Keyword brownies, raspberry truffle
Servings
Ingredients
Course Dessert
Keyword brownies, raspberry truffle
Servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325ºF. Line an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a couple of inches of overhang.
  2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder and salt.
  3. In a large heat safe bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water, melt the butter and chocolate together, stirring occasionally, until smooth.
  4. Beat sugar into butter and chocolate mixture until well combined.
  5. Add eggs, egg yolk and vanilla to chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth.
  6. Fold in flour mixture until combined, scraping the bottom of the bowl as needed.
  7. Transfer batter to prepared baking pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs on it, about 25-30 minutes. Do not over bake. Let cool completely.
  8. Place white chocolate in a medium bowl.
  9. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, simmer raspberry purée until reduced by half. Combine heavy cream with reduced purée in saucepan. Heat until bubbles start to form around the edges. Do not boil.
  10. Pour over white chocolate and let stand 5 minutes. Stir until smooth and well combined. Spread over cooled brownies.
Recipe Notes

To find dried rosebuds, click here.

To find dried rose petals, 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 butter over medium heat. Add apples, sugar and cinnamon.
  2. Cook, stirring occasionally, until apples are tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer apples to a bowl and let cool to room temperature.
Crumb Topping
  1. In a medium bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon and salt.
  2. Work in butter with your fingertips until mixture looks like wet sand. Press together to make 1/2-inch chunks.
Cake
  1. Preheat 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 cake pan with aluminum foil and place pan on a baking sheet.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
  3. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar, with an electric mixer on medium speed, until light and fluffy.
  4. Beat eggs and vanilla into butter mixture in three separate addition, making sure each addition is incorporated before adding the next.
  5. In a small bowl, whisk milk and sour cream together.
  6. On low speed, mix flour mixture into batter in three separate additions, alternating with milk mixture. Beat just until combined.
  7. Transfer batter to prepared baking pan. Smooth top with a spatula.
  8. Drain any excess liquid from apples. Top cake batter evenly with apples, then topping mixture.
  9. Bake until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes. Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan and continue cooling.
Icing
  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, melted butter, vanilla, salt and 2 tablespoons of cream. Add additional cream until desired consistency is reached. Drizzle over cooled cake.
Recipe Notes

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

Caramel Apple Blossoms

Caramel Apple Blossoms by Brownie Mischief

Whether you call them apple blossoms, apple dumplings or apple fussbudgets, (which are named after your great grandfather’s second wife’s cousin), these are cute little apple pastries. I made them because I was craving apple pie, but I didn’t have enough apples to bake one. I didn’t invent them, and I don’t know who did, but I’ve had frozen ones and I’ve seen them on restaurant menus. I thought it would be fun to make them, and it was! I could’ve just put some pie dough in muffin cups and made quick little pies, but flower shaped things automatically get extra points for cuteness. And if you know me, you know I love my cute bakes!

Print Recipe
 Caramel Apple Blossoms
Course Dessert
Keyword pastry
Servings
blossoms
Ingredients
Topping
Course Dessert
Keyword pastry
Servings
blossoms
Ingredients
Topping
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice until combined.
  2. Add brown sugar, sugar, melted butter, flour, cinnamon and salt to apples. Stir until combined.
  3. In a medium bowl, mix together all topping ingredients. Set aside.
  4. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  5. On a lightly floured surface, roll pie dough to 1/8-inch thickness.
  6. Cut out 12 5-inch blossom shapes, re-rolling dough as necessary.*
  7. Lightly mark a 2-inch circle in the center of each blossom. Make cuts between the petals to separate them, just up to the edge of the center circle.
  8. Top each blossom with about 2 generous tablespoons of apples.
  9. Brush dough petals with egg wash. Form blossoms by lifting and overlapping each petal 1/2-inch in a spiral pattern similar to a rose. Tuck the last petal under. Press petals together to seal so filling won't leak out.
  10. Top each with a spoonful of topping. Place in refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes. Don't skip this step. This will help blossoms keep their shape.
  11. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Brush blossom dough all over with egg wash. Wipe any drips off of parchment paper. Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is starting to bubble, about 23-28 minutes.
  12. Drizzle blossoms with caramel sauce.
Recipe Notes

*When re-rolling pie dough, cover and let rest for several minutes to help avoid shrinkage.

Skillet Chicken Pot Pie with Herb Crust

Pot pies belong to everyone. They date back to ancient times and many cultures worldwide have various versions of savory pies. It’s a very popular comfort food dish here in the U.S. and many people already have a favorite recipe. The recipe I’m sharing here isn’t the only way to make a pot pie, but it’s one way to do it that happens to be delicious! I usually bake pot pies in a casserole dish, and you can certainly bake this one in a casserole dish if you want to. But I thought it would be nice to save a step and try baking one in a skillet. I love baking other things, such as cornbread, in a skillet so I had a feeling it would be good. I used an 8-inch cast iron skillet. Click here to find the skillet I used.

I had a ton of fresh herbs on hand, so they ended up in my pie crust on a whim. I was very pleased with the results. Feel free to switch up the herbs and use your favorites. Typically when you bake or roast something with fresh herbs, they tend to turn black and crispy. But don’t worry, they’ll be safely nestled inside the crust. And speaking of the crust, this one is tender and flaky due to my grandmother’s method of working the fat into the dough with your fingertips. You want to end up with flat dime size pieces throughout. A little vegetable shortening helps to add structure and flakiness and the butter makes it taste good. A touch of vinegar helps to inhibit gluten formation, so you’ll have a tender, flaky crust rather than a chewy one. And if you’re one of those people who tends to over work your dough, the vinegar can help with that. But please do yourself a favor and don’t over work your dough!!

Now I’m going to give you the best piece of cooking advice my grandmother ever gave me: Taste as you go! Taste everything as you are preparing it, not just when it’s done. So when you’re making your filling for this pot pie, add the herbs, salt, pepper and sage a little bit at a time until it tastes good to you.

Print Recipe
 Skillet Chicken Pot Pie with Herb Crust
Skillet chicken pot pie with fresh herbs baked into the crust
Course Main Dish
Keyword chicken pot pie, pastry
Servings
Ingredients
Herb Crust
Filling
Course Main Dish
Keyword chicken pot pie, pastry
Servings
Ingredients
Herb Crust
Filling
Instructions
Herb Crust
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Work shortening into the flour mixture with your fingertips until evenly dispersed throughout.
  2. Work butter and herbs into the flour mixture with your fingertips, creating flat dime size pieces.
  3. Mix ice water and vinegar together. Sprinkle over flour mixture a little at a time, stirring until dough comes together. You may not need all of the water depending on your climate.
  4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough briefly by folding dough over onto itself a few times. Do not over work dough! Form dough into a disk. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour or up to overnight.
Filling
  1. In an 8-inch cast iron skillet, heat butter over medium heat. Sauté onions, celery and carrots until onions are translucent, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with flour and cook one to two more minutes, stirring frequently.
  2. Stir in chicken broth slowly. If your sauce seems lumpy, use a whisk and vigorously whisk until smooth. Simmer on low until thickened. Stir in heavy cream. Add herbs and seasonings to taste. Add a splash of chicken broth if your sauce seems too thick.
  3. Mix in chicken and peas. Remove form heat. Set aside until skillet is cool enough to handle.
Assembly
  1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
  2. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to a 10-inch round. Place dough over filling, tucking ends under and crimping with your fingers or with a fork. Brush pie with egg wash. Cut a 1-inch X in the center of pie to allow steam to escape.
  3. Bake until golden brown, about 40 minutes. Cover edges of crust with strips of foil if they start to brown too fast.

Lavender Shortbread Sandwich Cookies with Honey Buttercream

Lavender Shortbread Sandwich Cookies with Honey Buttercream

Lavender and honey go so well together. Bees know it, fairies know it, princesses know it. The flavor combination is so delightful in these cookies, that I decided to share them with you. In addition to delicious, compatible flavors, these cookies have a divine texture combination. The shortbread cookies have a tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture. Together with the silky, smooth honey buttercream, they’ll make you feel fancy and regal. You’ll hold your head up higher, ring for your tea and declare that you do indeed deserve fine things!

Some people are nervous about baking with lavender because they don’t want their baked goods to taste like soap or perfume. That can be a concern if the lavender flavor is too pronounced. However, if you don’t use enough you won’t be able to taste it at all. There’s a fine balance. If you use the right amount, it will taste pleasant and have sweet undertones. I used two teaspoons of culinary lavender in these cookies, but you can adjust the amount to your tastes. You can start out with one teaspoon, bake a small sample of dough and taste it, to customize the flavor.

Speaking of tasting, my grandmother always said, “taste as you go.” This is also helpful when making the honey buttercream. Typically, when making other flavors of buttercream, you add more powdered sugar if your buttercream is too thin. In this case, adding more powdered sugar can make the buttercream too sweet. Once you have added the amount of honey that tastes good to you, you can add a little cornstarch if you need to stiffen it up a bit.

Print Recipe
 Lavender Shortbread Sandwich Cookies with Honey Buttercream
Tender lavender scented cookies with silky honey buttercream filling
Keyword cookies
Servings
Ingredients
Lavender Shortbread Cookies
Honey Buttercream
Keyword cookies
Servings
Ingredients
Lavender Shortbread Cookies
Honey Buttercream
Instructions
Lavender Shortbread Cookie
  1. In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar and salt.
  2. In a separate large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Mix in lavender.
  3. Beat in flour mixture on low speed, just until combined
  4. Divide dough into two discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (but not more than 8 hours)
  5. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into 2-inch circles. Place two inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. Refrigerate cut cookies for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
  6. Preheat oven to 325ºF. Bake cookies until edges are light golden brown, about 12-14 minutes.
  7. Transfer cookies to a cooking rack to cool completely.
  8. Pipe or spread about 1/2 tablespoon of buttercream on the bottom of half of the cookies. Top with remaining cookies.
Honey Buttercream
  1. In a medium bowl, beat butter and sugar together until smooth. Add honey, one tablespoon at a time until desired sweetness and consistency is reached.
  2. Mix in a pinch of salt to taste.
  3. Mix in cornstarch, if necessary, to firm up buttercream. *See notes below.
Recipe Notes

*The addition of cornstarch helps to firm up buttercream without adding additional sweetness.

To find culinary lavender, click here.

Strawberries and Cream Profiteroles

Strawberries & Cream Profiteroles

Imagine you’re in a beautiful room, reclining on a plush velvet chaise lounge. There’s a dainty table nearby. On the table is a cake pedestal with a little pyramid of small, perfectly plump, pink pastries. They’re filled with sweet, luscious strawberry cream. And they’re all yours. This Strawberries & Cream Profiteroles recipe can make that dream come true. Maybe not the velvet chaise lounge, but really any comfortable chair will do while you indulge in these delicious little gems. Profiteroles have a way of making you feel regal and majestic. I think princesses and princes snack on them. Most of us don’t have a personal pastry chef or the budget to order from a French bakery every day, but we can certainly follow a recipe and make one of the easiest pastry doughs there is. Choux pastry or pate à choux is used to make profiteroles, cream puffs, eclairs, churros and other pastries. Once you get the hang of it, the possibilities are endless.

This recipe features fresh strawberries, but frozen strawberries will work too. You can also substitute raspberries or peaches. To find the recipe for Peaches & Cream Profiteroles, click here. The strawberry purée can be made a day or two ahead and stored in the refrigerator. To make it easy on myself, I like to make the strawberry purée on day one, the pastry cream on day two, then make the profiteroles and strawberry icing and assemble on day three. It’s also helpful to practice the French culinary style of prep, mise en place, which means to have all of your ingredients and equipment in place before you begin. Everything will go much smoother and prevent you from feeling overwhelmed.

Print Recipe
 Strawberries and Cream Profiteroles
Bite sized choux pastry puffs filled with fresh strawberries and cream filling and topped with fresh strawberry icing
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Keyword profiteroles, strawberry
Servings
profiteroles
Ingredients
Strawberry Pureé
Strawberries and Cream Filling
Profiteroles
Strawberry Icing
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Keyword profiteroles, strawberry
Servings
profiteroles
Ingredients
Strawberry Pureé
Strawberries and Cream Filling
Profiteroles
Strawberry Icing
Instructions
Strawberry Purée
  1. Purée strawberries in a blender or food processor. Strain puréed strawberries through a sieve.
  2. Transfer strawberry purée to a small saucepan. Stir in lemon juice.
  3. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer until strawberry purée is reduced by half.
  4. Remove from heat. Stir in strawberry extract. Set aside to cool completey.
Strawberries and Cream Filling
  1. Bring milk to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat.
  2. Meanwhile, whisk sugar, cornstarch and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the egg and whisk until smooth.
  3. When milk starts to boil, remove from heat and pour 1/3 of the hot milk into the egg mixture and whisk to combine.
  4. Pour the egg mixture back into the remaining hot milk and cook over medium heat, whisking continuously, until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens.
  5. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla extract.
  6. Pour mixture through a sieve placed over a bowl. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and let cool completely.
  7. Set aside 2 tablespoons of strawberry purée. Add remaining strawberry purée to cooled pastry cream and stir to combine. Cover strawberry pastry cream and chill in refrigerator.
  8. In a medium bowl, whip heavy cream to stiff peaks with an electric mixer at high speed. Fold whipped cream into cooled strawberry pastry cream. Set aside in refrigerator.
Profiteroles
  1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper,
  2. Combine water, butter and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
  3. Reduce heat. Add flour and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until mixture pulls away from sides of pan and forms a ball.
  4. Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low speed until steam dissipates and mixture cools to lukewarm.
  5. Add eggs one at a time and beat on medium speed until smooth, stopping to scrape down bowl.
  6. Transfer mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. (I used *Ateco tip 808)
  7. Pipe 1 1/4-inch mounds, about 2 inches apart, on prepared baking sheets. Smooth tops with a wet finger.
  8. Bake 15 minutes, then turn down the oven heat to 350ºF and continue baking until golden brown, about 8-10 more minutes. Using a toothpick or skewer, prick a small hole in each profiterole to allow steam to escape. Place on a wire rack to cool completely.
  9. Use the tip of a paring knife to make a pilot hole in the bottom of each profiterole.
  10. Place strawberries and cream filling into a piping bag fitted with a medium round piping tip. (I used **Wilton tip 12)
  11. Place tip into the pilot holes and fill each profiterole with filling.
Strawberry Icing
  1. In a medium bowl, whisk all icing ingredients together until smooth. Spoon over filled profiteroles. Refrigerate profiteroles until ready to serve.
Recipe Notes

*To find Ateco tip 808 click here.

**To find Wilton tip 12 click here.

Cheddar Ham Biscuits

Have you ever had one of those mornings where you wake up starving? It typically happens to me when I skip dinner the night before. So one morning that happened. My family and I were really hungry, there was a bit of leftover holiday ham in the fridge and these fluffy, satisfying biscuits were born. I think these biscuits need to be included in all lumberjack breakfasts from now on.

If you love ham and cheese anything, you’ll love these biscuits. You can also add fresh chives or swap out the ham for bacon if you like. I love baking them in a cast iron skillet because of the rustic, crispy sides and bottoms you get from the high heat conductivity of cast iron. To find the cast iron pan I used, click here. You can also bake them in a 9-inch cake pan or pie plate.

Print Recipe
 Cheddar Ham Biscuits
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Servings
biscuits
Ingredients
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Servings
biscuits
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Butter a 9-inch cast iron skillet*
  2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
  3. Work butter into flour mixture with your fingertips, until flat dime size pieces are formed.
  4. Gently stir in cheese and ham.
  5. Stir in buttermilk a little at a time until a shaggy dough is formed.
  6. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
  7. Fold dough over onto itself a few times. Form dough into a 7-inch diameter 3/4-inch thick round.
  8. Using a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, cut dough into seven biscuits. Press the scraps together and cut one more biscuit. If dough becomes warm at any point, chill in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes, then proceed with recipe.
  9. Transfer biscuits to prepared pan. Brush with melted butter.
  10. Bake until biscuits are puffy and tops are golden brown, about 22-25 minutes.
  11. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes

To find the skillet I used, click here.

Strawberry Shortcake Crumble Muffins

strawberrry shortcake crumble muffins

Have you noticed the strawberry shortcake crumble topping trend? I noticed many people sharing various versions of the crumble recipe all over Tiktok. I’ve seen the topping on cake, cupcakes and countless other desserts. Most people seem to make it using strawberry gelatin mix and vanilla pudding mix. The version I’m sharing here uses freeze dried strawberries instead. I’m not opposed to using gelatin mix, I just seriously love the tart, natural flavor of freeze dried strawberries.

This topping is irresistible on these tender strawberry muffins. I wanted to pile on as much crumble topping as possible so I used tulip baking cups. They’re made of grease-proof parchment paper squares. You can buy them online or make them yourself with squares of parchment. You can use the link provided at the end of the recipe to find the ones I used. Keep in mind, if you use standard muffin liners, you’ll use less batter and topping for each muffin, so you’ll end up with a few more muffins.

I used fresh strawberries for the puree in the muffins, but feel free to use frozen, defrosted strawberries if you cant get fresh ones.

Strawberry shortcake crumble muffins

Print Recipe
 Strawberry Shortcake Crumble Muffins
Strawberry muffins topped with strawberry shortcake crumble
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Keyword muffins, strawberry
Servings
muffins
Ingredients
Strawberry Shortcake Crumble Topping
Strawberry Muffins
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Keyword muffins, strawberry
Servings
muffins
Ingredients
Strawberry Shortcake Crumble Topping
Strawberry Muffins
Instructions
Strawberry Shortcake Crumble Topping
  1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt.
  2. Cut cubed butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or with your fingers until it forms pea size pieces.
  3. Place half of crumble mixture into another medium bowl and combine with freeze dried strawberries. Mix well and press together with your fingers to form pea sized pieces.
  4. Gently combine the two bowls of crumble together. Set aside in refrigerator while preparing muffin batter.
Strawberry Muffins
  1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line a 12 serving muffin tin with tulip baking liners or parchment squares.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
  4. Add eggs and extract. Beat until well combined.
  5. Add dry ingredients and beat on low speed, just until combined.
  6. Add buttermilk, strawberry puree and food color. Beat on low speed, just until combined.
  7. Divide batter evenly into muffin liners.
  8. Sprinkle crumble topping evenly over batter.
  9. Bake at 375ºF for 5 minutes, then turn oven temperature down to 350ºF and continue baking until topping is golden and a toothpick inserted in center is clean, about 13-17 more minutes.
Recipe Notes

To find tulip baking cups, click here

To find floral tulip baking cups, as seen on TikTok, click here

 

Marshmallow Mudslide Cookies

marshmallow mudslide cookies

Have you ever had mudslide cake? It’s a deliciously messy chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and marshmallows, also known as Mississippi mud cake. I saw one covered in a layer of marshmallow fluff and it made its way into my dreams. I woke up with the inspiration to make a cookie version of the gooey mudslide cake.

I saw a few mudslide cookie recipes out there that used standard size marshmallows and chocolate chips mixed into the cookie dough. If you’ve ever baked with marshmallows, you know that they nearly disappear during the baking process. Chocolate chips melt beautifully into little pools of chocolate, but then harden once cooled to room temperature. I happily volunteered to address these challenges! After some trial and error, I created a satisfying cookie with plenty of gooey marshmallow goodness and a rich fudge filling that stays soft at room temperature. Dreams do come true!

marshmallow mudslide cookies

Print Recipe
 Marshmallow Mudslide Cookies
Chocolate fudge-filled cookies topped with toasted marshmallows
Course Dessert
Keyword chocolate, cookies
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Fudge filling
Cookies
Course Dessert
Keyword chocolate, cookies
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Fudge filling
Cookies
Instructions
Fudge filling
  1. Melt chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk together in a double boiler or in the **microwave in a medium microwave safe bowl.
  2. Stir in chopped nuts. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Cookies
  1. Heat oven to 350º.
  2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, cream butter with an electric mixer.
  4. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar and mix on medium speed until light and fluffy.
  5. Add eggs one at a time and mix until well combined.
  6. Add vanilla and mix until combined.
  7. Add dry ingredients in two increments, mixing just until combined.
  8. Roll fudge filling into tablespoon sized balls
  9. Roll cookie dough into 1/8 cup balls then flatten into a disc with your fingers and place a ball of fudge filling in the middle of each disc. Wrap the cookie dough around the ball of filling, sealing it completely.
  10. Place cookies about 2 inches apart on large baking sheets.
  11. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven.
  12. Turn on broiler.
  13. Place a marshmallow on top of each cookie.
  14. Broil cookies until marshmallows are toasted. This takes about 1 minute. CAUTION Watch cookies carefully when broiling! They can go from done to burnt in the blink of an eye!
Recipe Notes

*I used Kraft Jet-Puffed S'moreMallows, but if you're unable to find them, use jumbo marshmallows. Cut them in half lengthwise with kitchen shears. Place on cookies cut side down.

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