Ingredient: powdered sugar, sifted

Blackberry Oatmeal Cookies

Blackberry Oatmeal Cookies by Brownie Mischief

We’ve all heard our parents telling their childhood stories of walking miles to school and suffering worse hardships than we ever had to. My mom used to tell me stories like that, but she had a sense of humor, so her stories were always fun to listen to. She used to tell me about her friend’s mother, who would make big, delicious oatmeal cookies. My mom would trade her baloney sandwich nearly every day to get one of those cookies from her friend. She reminisced about those cookies so much, that I set out to make her some when I learned to bake. She and my grandmother would taste test batch after batch of my cookies over the years. I have probably baked enough oatmeal cookies to circle the earth. Okay that’s an exaggeration, but seriously I have baked quite a few. Of all the oatmeal cookies I’ve baked, these are one of my favorites!

Most of the time when you see fruit added to an oatmeal cookie, it’s dried fruit, like raisins or cranberries. That’s mostly because if you just dump fruit into your cookie dough, the fruit releases water, leaving soggy spots in your cookies. To solve that issue, for this recipe, I macerate the blackberries before baking. The purple blackberry juice that’s released from the berries is used to make a beautiful lilac icing to drizzle over the cookies.

Print Recipe
 Blackberry Oatmeal Cookies
Course Dessert
Keyword blackberry, cookies
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Brown Butter
Macerated Berries
Oatmeal Cookies
Icing
Course Dessert
Keyword blackberry, cookies
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Brown Butter
Macerated Berries
Oatmeal Cookies
Icing
Instructions
  1. In a small, light colored saucepan, melt 1/2 cup (4 oz or 113g) of butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until deep golden and fragrant. Keep a close eye on it. It can go from toasted to burned very quickly. When you see brown particles form, remove from heat and immediately transfer the butter, including the particles, to a small bowl. Refrigerate until solid, about one hour.
  2. Place the blackberries in a medium-size bowl. Sprinkle with granulated sugar and toss to coat. Let sit for 30 minutes until the berries release their juices.
  3. Drain the blackberries and reserve the juices.
  4. Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  5. In a separate medium-size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
  6. In a large bowl, beat the brown butter, softened butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
  7. Add the eggs and vanilla extract in three separate additions and beat until well combined.
  8. Stir in the flour mixture just until combined. Stir in the oats just until combined. Gently fold in the blackberries.
  9. Scoop 1/4 cup sized portions of dough, about 2 inches apart, onto the prepared cookie sheets. *I used a #16 2-ounce scoop.
  10. Bake until the cookie tops are set and the edges are golden brown, about 13-15 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
  11. Pass reserved blackberry juice through a sieve to remove the seeds.
  12. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, heavy cream and one tablespoon of the reserved blackberry juice until smooth. Add more blackberry juice, a little at a time, until the desired consistency is reached. Drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies.
Recipe Notes

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

Pink Lemonade Cake

This cheerful little loaf cake feels like a spring or summer picnic with lemonade and sunshine. It’s similar to a pink lemonade cake that my elderly neighbor used to make when I was growing up. She made it for all the neighborhood kids and we always gobbled it up. When I was about ten years old she taught my friend and me how to make it. She used a yellow cake mix in a large baking pan and poked holes all over the cake, then drenched it in a pink, sugary lemon icing. I transformed that happy pink lemonade memory into a delightful loaf cake made from scratch.

To watch the TikTok video, click here.

Print Recipe
 Pink Lemonade Cake
A tender, moist loaf cake that tastes just like pink lemonade
Course Brunch, Dessert
Keyword cake, pink lemonade
Servings
8 x 4-inch loaf
Ingredients
Pink Lemonade Cake
Lemon Syrup
Icing
Course Brunch, Dessert
Keyword cake, pink lemonade
Servings
8 x 4-inch loaf
Ingredients
Pink Lemonade Cake
Lemon Syrup
Icing
Instructions
Pink Lemonade Cake
  1. Preheat oven to 325ºF (163ºC). Line the bottom of an 8 X 4-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Grease and flour the sides.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and sour cream.
  4. In a large bowl, beat the sugar, oil, eggs, lemon zest and strawberry extract until smooth.
  5. Stir in the flour mixture in two additions, alternating with the milk mixture. Stir just until combined. Stir in food color a little at time until your desired shade is achieved.
  6. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare lemon syrup.
  7. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and transfer to a cooling rack. Poke holes all over the top of cake with a skewer.
  8. Brush the warm cake generously with the lemon syrup. Let the cake cool completely, then top with icing.
Lemon Syrup
  1. In a small saucepan, combine the juice of one lemon with enough water to equal 1/4 cup. Add sugar and stir over medium-low heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat.
Icing
  1. In a medium bowl, beat the butter, powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, the strawberry extract and a pinch of salt, until smooth. Add more lemon juice until your desired consistency is reached. Mix in gel food color.
Recipe Notes

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

Raspberry Rose Shortbread Cookies

Raspberry Rose Shortbread Cookies

I don’t think I’ve ever created a recipe that delighted all of my senses as much as these cookies. I used dried rosebuds in the cookie dough, but you can also use dried rose petals. Whether you purchase dried rose petals or make them yourself, they’re pleasantly fragrant with a subtle flavor. To find dried rose petals, click here. To find dried rosebuds, click here. I pinched the calyx and stem off of the rosebuds to avoid large crunchy bits in the cookies, then I crushed the roses with a mortar and pestle. You’ll hear the satisfying crunch of the delicate, dried rose petals. You can also place them in a plastic bag and roll over them gently with a rolling pin.

The finished cookies have a rustic, almost shabby chic look with their cracks, rose-speckled dough and beautifully imperfect dried roses. And of course, you’ll want to sample a warm cookie. The cookies will taste tender and slightly sweet with a hint of rose. I like a more subtle rose flavor in my baked goods. But if you prefer a stronger rose flavor, feel free to add a small amount of rose water to your dough. Start with 1/4 teaspoon, because a little goes a long way.

If you’re like me, you’ll taste a spoonful of the raspberry ganache because you can and should. For the raspberry ganache, please use a good quality white chocolate! In some recipes, it’s fine to use white chocolate chips or candy melts if you prefer, but NOT this one. In my humble, yet educated opinion, you should never use chocolate chips to make ganache. I studied chocolate in culinary school with a master chocolatier. I never use chocolate chips for ganache because they contain stabilizers that keep them from melting completely, which prevents you from having the smoothest ganache possible. They also contain less cocoa butter and tend to have a waxy mouth feel.

For this recipe, when it comes to butter, you should also be a little bit picky for successful baking. Low quality butter tends to contain more water and your cookies may spread too much. So make sure to use good butter. Your butter should be room temperature, but not warm. If the butter is shiny, it’s too warm. Don’t try to speed up the softening of butter with your microwave. That’s not a hack, in spite of what you may hear on the internet. Microwaves heat unevenly and will potentially melt your butter. The best way to speed up the softening of your butter is to simply cut it into cubes. By the time you get the rest of your ingredients ready, the butter should be soft enough to use. My last, but most important success tip, is to weigh your ingredients.

You’ll find this recipe and more delightful bakes, in my cookbook “Enchanted Baking.” Click here for more info.

Print Recipe
 Raspberry Rose Shortbread Cookies
Rose petal shortbread cookies filled with white chocolate raspberry ganache
Course Dessert
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
Filling
Course Dessert
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
Filling
Instructions
Cookies
  1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper
  2. In a large bowl, beat the butter, with an electric mixer on medium speed, until smooth. Add the rose petals and beat on low speed until combined.
  3. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Beat until well combined.
  4. On low speed, mix in the flour in two additions. Beat just until combined.
  5. Roll the dough into 1 1/4-inch balls, about 1/2 ounce (14g) each. Place the dough balls about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets.
  6. Bake for 7 minutes, then remove from the oven. Press indentations into each cookie with a 1-inch diameter pastry tamper or with the flat top of a 1-inch diameter bottle cap.
  7. Return the cookies to the oven and continue baking until the edges are light golden brown, about 5-6 more minutes.
  8. If the indentations in your cookies lose definition, press again with the tamper or bottle cap while the cookies are still hot on the baking sheet.
  9. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Filling
  1. In a small saucepan, bring the pureéd raspberries to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the purée is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Transfer the raspberry reduction to a small bowl and set aside.
  2. Place the white chocolate in a medium heat safe bowl and set aside.
  3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the heavy cream to a simmer, just until bubbles form around the edges. Do not boil. Stir in the raspberry reduction and heat just to a simmer again. Do not boil.
  4. Pour the hot cream mixture over the white chocolate, making sure all of the white chocolate is submerged. Let it sit for 2 minutes, then stir with a spatula until smooth.
  5. Let the ganache cool until slightly thickened. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon into the indentation of each cookie. The ganache will continue to firm up as it sits.
  6. When the ganache in the cookies has firmed up, decorate with dried rosebud or rose petals, if desired.
Recipe Notes

*To find dried rose petals, click here.

**To find dried rosebuds, click here.

Blueberry Earl Grey Tarts

Blueberry Earl Grey Tarts

These Blueberry Earl Grey Tarts have three individual components, which, when combined together, are absolutely delicious. I experimented with each separate component of this recipe until I perfected them individually. The tart crust is flaky and tender, yet sturdy enough to hold the filling. The filling is just sweet enough for my sweet tooth and the whipped cream has just enough Earl Grey flavor.

This recipe makes enough whipped cream to cover the entire tops of the tarts or you can be like me and try to be artistic and avant-garde with your whipped cream. To make the Earl Grey infused whipped cream, use your favorite Earl Grey tea, whether it’s loose leaf tea or a teabag. We don’t discriminate here. All forms of tea are welcome! I do have a favorite Earl Grey tea. If you want to check it out, click here. The tea will make your whipped cream a dull pale yellow. This issue is purely aesthetic. I added a tiny bit of violet gel food color which brightens the whipped cream. You can add more if you want a lavender shade.

Print Recipe
 Blueberry Earl Grey Tarts
Course Dessert
Keyword blueberries, tarts
Servings
4-inch tarts
Ingredients
Tart Crust
Blueberry Filling
Earl Grey Whipped Cream
Course Dessert
Keyword blueberries, tarts
Servings
4-inch tarts
Ingredients
Tart Crust
Blueberry Filling
Earl Grey Whipped Cream
Instructions
Tart Crust
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, powdered sugar and salt.
  2. Work in butter and egg yolk, with a pastry blender or with your fingers, until pea sized pieces are formed.
  3. Add ice water one tablespoon at a time until dough comes together.
  4. Form dough into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerate for at least one hour or up to overnight.
  5. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to scant 1/4-inch thickness.
  6. Cut dough into six 5-inch rounds. Press rounds into six 4-inch or 4 1/4-inch tart pans
  7. Dock the bottoms of tart crusts with a fork. Freeze for 30 minutes.
  8. Heat oven to 375ºF. Place tart pans on a large baking sheet.
  9. Line tart shells with 6-inch parchment rounds. Fill with pie weights. (You can use dried beans or rice if you don't have pie weights)
  10. Bake tart shells for 12 minutes. Remove parchment paper and pie weights. Continue baking until tart shells are light golden brown, about 4-6 more minutes.
Blueberry Filling
  1. Set aside 1 cup blueberries. Combine the remaining 3 cups blueberries, sugar, corn starch and lemon juice in a medium saucepan.
  2. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until blueberries are softened and sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes.
  3. Stir in the reserved 1 cup of blueberries during the last minute of cooking.
  4. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
Earl Grey Whipped Cream
  1. Combine heavy cream and tea leaves or tea bag in a small saucepan.
  2. Heat just until bubbles form around the edges.
  3. Transfer to a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool.
  4. Pass through a sieve to strain out tea leaves or remove tea bag.
  5. Cover surface with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to chill.
  6. Transfer chilled cream to a large bowl. Whip with an electric mixer until thickened.
  7. Add powdered sugar and food color in separate additions and continue whipping at high speed just until stiff peaks form.

Vintage Chocolate Cake

Dark Chocolate Cake with the Best Chocolate Frosting

If you love chocolate cake, this is the post for you! Chocolate cake is one of the best comfort foods there is. I’ve tasted many over the years, but my all time favorite was one I had growing up. I’ve spent years trying to duplicate the moist, nostalgic cake from my childhood. I noticed that nearly every chocolate cake recipe on the internet is a variation of the century-old recipe from the Hershey’s Cocoa tin. I think many people have passed it down as a family recipe, each grandmother adding her own personal touch. Even some celebrity chefs have claimed it as their own. It’s an easy, delicious, moist recipe and its popularity is well deserved. You can tweak the flavor additions a bit to make it your own too. It’s a recipe that’s hard to mess up.

This cake is topped with the ultimate silky, smooth, deeply chocolate frosting. I developed this recipe mostly because I couldn’t find a chocolate frosting recipe that didn’t taste gritty and/or look speckled from the cocoa powder. Swiss meringue buttercream with melted chocolate added is one alternative. But, while it is smooth, silky and perfect for piping, it’s missing that deep chocolate richness. Another option is chocolate ganache. It looks rich and creamy in those viral videos, but it’s a little too rich and overpowering to use as frosting in my opinion.

I think this frosting is the one! It has the best of both worlds, velvety but not too rich. You’ll notice that this frosting contains maple syrup. The syrup gives it a very subtle maple flavor in the background, but mostly, it helps to make the frosting silky and gives it shine. You can adjust the sweetness level of the frosting by choosing the chocolate you prefer. I used bittersweet chocolate, which I think is just right. This recipe makes enough frosting to frost a 2-layer 6-inch cake. You can easily double the recipe for larger cakes.

Print Recipe
 Vintage Chocolate Cake
Course Dessert
Keyword cake, chocolate
Servings
2 layer 6-inch cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Course Dessert
Keyword cake, chocolate
Servings
2 layer 6-inch cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
  1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the bottoms of two 6-inch cake pans with parchment paper. Grease the insides and dust with a mixture of equal parts flour and cocoa powder. Wrap the cake pans with damp cake strips if you have them.
  2. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the sugar and stir util well combined.
  3. Combine the the egg, egg yolk, buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Whisk lightly to combine.
  4. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and mix on low speed with an electric mixer, until combined. Stop the mixer. Scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl with a spatula. Turn the mixer up to medium speed and beat for 30 seconds.
  5. Add the hot coffee and stir until well combined.
  6. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans, dividing batter evenly between the pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 25-28 minutes without cake strips or about 28-32 minutes with cake strips.
  7. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes then remove the cakes from the pans and transfer to a cooling rack.
  8. Trim the cake layers to your desired thickness, from 1-inch to 1 1/2-inches thick. Fill and frost with chocolate buttercream frosting.
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
  1. In a small saucepan over low heat, whisk together the maple syrup, water, cocoa powder and espresso powder until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
  2. Melt the chocolate in a medium bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl. Remove from heat and set aside to cool to lukewarm.
  3. In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer at medium speed, until smooth and light in color. Add the powdered sugar and salt and continue beating until smooth and well combined.
  4. Gradually add the the cooled maple syrup mixture and beat on low speed until combined.
  5. Stir in the melted chocolate until well combined. Smooth out any air bubbles by stirring gently with a rubber spatula.
Recipe Notes

*For smoothest results, use chopped bar chocolate and make sure chocolate is completely melted.  Do not use chocolate chips. Chocolate chips do not melt completely and can make your frosting lumpy.

 

The Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Dark Chocolate Cake with the Best Chocolate Frosting

If you’ve landed here from Instagram, welcome! You’ll notice that this is an ad-free website with no annoying pop-ups. I work very hard creating and testing delicious recipes to share with you. So if you like this recipe or any of my other popular recipes, make sure to follow me on Instagram and/or TikTok.

This is the ultimate silky, smooth, deeply chocolate frosting. I developed this recipe mostly because I couldn’t find a chocolate frosting recipe that didn’t taste gritty and/or look speckled from the cocoa powder. Swiss meringue buttercream with melted chocolate added is one alternative. But, while it is smooth, silky and perfect for piping, it’s missing that deep chocolate richness. Another option is chocolate ganache. It looks rich and creamy in those viral videos, but it’s a little too rich and overpowering to use as frosting in my opinion.

I think this frosting is the one! It has the best of both worlds, velvety but not too rich. You’ll notice that this frosting contains maple syrup. The syrup gives it a very subtle maple flavor in the background, but mostly, it helps to make the frosting silky and gives it shine. You can adjust the sweetness level of the frosting by choosing the chocolate you prefer. I used bittersweet chocolate, which I think is just right. This recipe makes enough frosting to frost a 2-layer 6-inch cake. You can easily double the recipe for larger cakes.

Print Recipe
 The Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Silky smooth chocolate frosting with an intense chocolate flavor
Course Dessert
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Course Dessert
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. In a small saucepan over low heat, whisk together the maple syrup, water, cocoa powder, and espresso powder until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
  2. Melt the chocolate in a medium bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, making sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl. Stir gently until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool to lukewarm.
  3. In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer at medium speed, until smooth and light in color. Add the powdered sugar and salt and continue beating until smooth and well combined.
  4. Gradually add the cooled maple syrup mixture and beat on low speed until combined.
  5. Stir in the melted chocolate until well combined. Smooth out any air bubbles by stirring gently with a rubber spatula.
Recipe Notes

*To find my favorite Dutch process cocoa powder, click here.

**For the smoothest results, use chopped bar chocolate and make sure chocolate is completely melted.  Do not use chocolate chips. They contain an ingredient which prevents them from melting completely and may make your frosting lumpy.

 

Lemon Buttermilk Cakelets

Sending sunshine your way with these cute, delicious bite-size mini cakes. Lemon Buttermilk Cakelets are tender and moist with a burst of fresh lemon flavor. They’re easy to make and they bake up quickly. They make an adorable addition to a spring teatime, baby shower or summer picnic.

Print Recipe
 Lemon Buttermilk Cakelets
Mini lemon cakes with lemon icing by Brownie Mischief
Course Dessert
Keyword cake, cupcakes, lemon, lemon
Servings
cakelets
Ingredients
Lemon Simple Syrup
Cakelets
Icing
Course Dessert
Keyword cake, cupcakes, lemon, lemon
Servings
cakelets
Ingredients
Lemon Simple Syrup
Cakelets
Icing
Instructions
Lemon Simple Syrup
  1. Measure the juice of 1 lemon. Add enough water to equal 1/4 cup (89ml). In a small saucepan, simmer the lemon juice and water mixture with the sugar and lemon zest, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool, then strain out the lemon zest.
Cakelets
  1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Grease and flour a 24-serving mini muffin pan* or use liners.
  2. In a medium-size bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together until well combined.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk the sugar, oil, eggs, lemon zest and extracts together until smooth and well blended. Mix in the flour mixture in 2 additions alternating with half of the buttermilk after each addition. Stir just until combined. Do not over mix.
  4. Fill the muffin cups 2/3 full. (I used a portion scoop). Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 8-10 minutes. Be careful not to over bake to avoid drying out the cakes. Let the cakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove them from the pan and transfer them to a cooling rack. (Repeat with any remaining batter.)
Icing
  1. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, melted butter and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. Add additional lemon juice as needed to achieve the desired consistency. Whisk until smooth. Spoon the icing over the cooled cakes.
Recipe Notes

*To find the mini muffin pan I used, click here.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Tarts

Does anyone else remember those old peanut butter cup commercials where two people on the street would collide and a chocolate bar would miraculously end up inside of a jar of peanut butter? Then the person carrying the open jar of peanut butter would say, “Hey you got chocolate in my peanut butter!” and they would suddenly discover it’s a delicious combination. The real question is, why was anyone walking around outside with an open jar of peanut butter? I miss those silly commercials.

If you love chocolate and peanut butter together, you’ll absolutely love these tarts. The creamy peanut butter filling and the silky chocolate ganache topping are perfect together. The chocolate cookie crust adds a nice crunch. I used heart shaped tart pans to make the tarts a little more special for Valentine’s Day. To find the tart pans I used, click here. You can also use round tart pans if you prefer.

Print Recipe
 Chocolate Peanut Butter Tarts
Course Dessert
Keyword chocolate peanut butter, tarts
Servings
tarts
Ingredients
Crust
Filling
Topping
Course Dessert
Keyword chocolate peanut butter, tarts
Servings
tarts
Ingredients
Crust
Filling
Topping
Instructions
Crust
  1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. (180ºC). Place four 4-inch tart pans with removable bottoms* on a baking sheet.
  2. In a medium-size bowl, mix the crushed sandwich cookies with the melted butter until well combined. Press the crumb mixture into the tart pans.
  3. Bake for 8 minutes. Let cool completely.
Filling
  1. In a medium-size bowl, beat the peanut butter and softened butter until smooth. Add the remaining filling ingredients and beat until smooth and well combined.
  2. Fill the cooled tart shells with the filling. Refrigerate the tarts until set, at least 2 hours.
Topping
  1. Place the chopped chocolate in a small bowl.
  2. In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream over medium-low heat just until bubbles form around the edges. Do not boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let sit two minutes then stir until smooth.
  3. Spoon over the peanut butter filling. Add toppings if desired. Refrigerate until chocolate is set. Carefully remove tarts from pans.
Recipe Notes

To find the tart pans I used, click here.

Apple Spice Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

Apple Spice Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

These Apple Spice Cookies were one of my most popular cookies last fall so I decided to bring them back a little early this year. The combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in this cookie dough will remind you of cinnamon rolls and apple pie and inspire you look forward to fall.

The apples in this recipe are cooked briefly on the stovetop to bring out the flavor and create the perfect texture. Dropping raw apple chunks into cookie dough or cake batter is usually not a good idea. If you’ve ever baked an apple pie, you know that apples release liquid as they cook and that liquid will end up in your baked cookies, creating soggy spots. So definitely don’t skip this step!

These gorgeous, golden brown cookies are perfectly delicious on their own, but extra credit goes to the Brown Butter Icing for taking them over the top!

apple spice cookies with brown butter icing

Make sure to head over to Instagram to watch the video of these Apple Spice Cookies being created: Click here

Print Recipe
 Apple Spice Cookies with Brown Butter Icing
Spice cookies with fresh apples and brown butter icing
Course Dessert
Keyword cookies, holiday, thanksgiving
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Cooked Apples
Apple Spice Cookie Dough
Brown Butter Icing
Course Dessert
Keyword cookies, holiday, thanksgiving
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Cooked Apples
Apple Spice Cookie Dough
Brown Butter Icing
Instructions
Cooked Apples
  1. Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add apples, sugar and cinnamon to the skillet.
  2. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender, about 4-5 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Drain any excess liquid from the cooled apples.
Apple Spice Cookies
  1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy.
  4. Beat in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract, one at a time, until well combined
  5. Stir in the flour mixture, just until combined.
  6. Fold the the cooled apples into the cookie dough.
  7. Divide the dough into 12 equal golf ball size portions and place them 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
  8. Bake until golden brown, about 11-13 minutes. Let cool 1 minute on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Brown Butter Icing
  1. In a small saucepan, cook the butter over medium heat until golden brown and fragrant. When brown specks start to form in the bottom of the pan, remove from heat.
  2. Immediately transfer the browned butter to a small bowl. Whisk in the the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, salt and 1 tablespoon milk. Add more milk as needed to reach desired consistency.
  3. Drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies.
Recipe Notes

NOTE:  If your cookies spread too much when baking, refrigerate dough for 30 minutes, then bake as directed.

Pumpkin Spice Mini Loaves with Caramel Filling

pumpkin spices mini loaves with caramel filling

In early September, I saw someone announce the fall season on social media. In addition to people pointing out that it was too early for the announcement, the word police corrected the person with the word autumn. Since both terms are correct, we can call the season whatever we prefer. I think autumn is a pretty sounding word, so I’ll use it for the rest of this post. Whatever you call it, these Pumpkin Spice Mini Loaves are a perfect little celebration of the season. They have just the right amount of pumpkin spices, making them so fragrant that your kitchen will smell like cozy autumn heaven.

pumpkin spices mini loaves with caramel filling

I call them loaves because I originally made them in mini loaf pans. They’re so cute and delicious that I often give them as holiday gifts. This year I decided to try them in ramekins and I loved the results! I used 6-ounce ramekins, but you can use 8-ounce ramekins, any size mini loaf pans, a muffin pan or even an 8 or 9-inch loaf pan. Keep in mind that baking times will differ. To find the ramekins I used, click here.

Print Recipe
 Pumpkin Spice Mini Loaves with Caramel Filling
Mini loaves of tender pumpkin bread with caramel filling and luscious cream cheese frosting
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Keyword loaf, muffins, pumpkin, pumpkin bread, pumpkin spice
Servings
mini loaves
Ingredients
Pumpkin Spice Mini Loaves
Cream Cheese Frosting
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Keyword loaf, muffins, pumpkin, pumpkin bread, pumpkin spice
Servings
mini loaves
Ingredients
Pumpkin Spice Mini Loaves
Cream Cheese Frosting
Instructions
Pumpkin Spice Mini Loaves
  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour seven 6-ounce ramekins or six 8-ounce ramekins or any loaf pans of your choice.
  2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Set aside.
  3. In a separate large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
  4. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well combined.
  5. Beat in pumpkin and vanilla until combined.
  6. Stir in flour mixture just until combined.
  7. Divide batter evenly into prepared ramekins. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Do not overbake. (Mini loaves or muffins bake for 15-25 minutes, depending on size. 8 or 9-inch loaf bakes for 40-50 minutes)
  8. Cool completely if serving in ramekins or remove from pans after cooling for 10 minutes. Continue to cool on wire rack.
  9. Make 3/4-inch well in the center of each loaf. Fill with caramel sauce. (For an 8 or 9-inch loaf, poke multiple holes with a skewer. Fill with caramel sauce.)
  10. Top with cream cheese frosting and pumpkin seeds
Cream Cheese Frosting
  1. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter together with an electric mixer until smooth.
  2. Add vanilla extract and salt and beat until combined.
  3. Gradually add powdered sugar and beat at medium speed until combined.
  4. Add heavy cream and beat at low speed until combined.

Raspberry Lemonade Brownies

Raspberry Lemonade Brownies by Brownie Mischief

Raspberry Lemonade Brownies are the perfect easy recipe for spring and summer. They’re so pretty and delightfully delicious! The fudgy lemon batter is brightened with fresh lemon zest and raspberries, then topped with a sweet-tart burst of flavor and color from fresh raspberries. The icing contains no food coloring. Just three raspberries will give you that luscious shade of pink!

I want to clarify that lemon brownies are not lemon bars. We all know what a lemon bar is. The one we all know and love has a lemon curd filling on a shortbread crust, possibly drizzled with lemon icing or sprinkled with powdered sugar. The lemon brownie is a whole different animal. Don’t mistake lemon brownies for lemon cake either. Lemon brownies contain white chocolate which gives them a rich, fudgy texture like their chocolate cousins. We may be tempted to call them blondies, but blondies have a butterscotch flavor and typically don’t contain chocolate. Now that we got that straightened out, we can sleep peacefully tonight.

Print Recipe
 Raspberry Lemonade Brownies
Course Dessert
Servings
bars
Ingredients
Raspberry Lemonade Bownies
Raspberry Lemonade Icing
Course Dessert
Servings
bars
Ingredients
Raspberry Lemonade Bownies
Raspberry Lemonade Icing
Instructions
Raspberry Lemonade Bownies
  1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF (165ºC). Line an 8-inch square baking pan* with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium microwaveable bowl, melt the white chocolate and butter in the microwave for 20 second bursts, stirring after each one. Alternately, melt the white chocolate and butter on the stovetop in a heat safe bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir gently until smooth.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, egg yolk, lemon juice, zest and salt until smooth and well combined. Stir in the melted white chocolate mixture. Add the flour and mix just until combined. Gently stir in the raspberries.
  4. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan. Bake until the top is set, the edges are light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs on it, about 23-28 minutes. Let the brownies cool in the pan.
Raspberry Lemonade Icing
  1. In a medium-size bowl, smash the raspberries with a fork.
  2. Add the powdered sugar, melted butter and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Whisk until smooth, adding more lemon juice as needed. Spread the icing over the cooled brownies.
  3. Cut into 2-inch squares and serve with additional raspberries, if desired.
Recipe Notes

*To find the 8 x 8 inch pan I used, click here.

 

Mini Hummingbird Cake

Mini Hummingbird Cake

If you haven’t noticed already, I love little cakes. Mini cakes are not only cute and charming, they’re likely to make you very popular. This recipe makes two darling Mini Hummingbird Cakes, one to keep and one to share. Hummingbird Cake is a delightful way to use your ripe bananas. The version I’m sharing here also contains pineapple, pecans and coconut. This fruity, nutty combination reminds me of spring and would be perfect for Easter or a spring picnic.

Print Recipe
 Mini Hummingbird Cake
Hummingbird Cakes filled with bananas, pineapple, pecans and coconut, topped with cream cheese frosting and decorated with graham cracker crumb moss and fresh chamomile flowers.
Course Dessert
Keyword cake, hummingbird
Servings
4-inch 2-layer cakes
Ingredients
Hummingbird Cakes
Cream Cheese Frosting
Optional Decor
Course Dessert
Keyword cake, hummingbird
Servings
4-inch 2-layer cakes
Ingredients
Hummingbird Cakes
Cream Cheese Frosting
Optional Decor
Instructions
Hummingbird Cakes
  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the bottoms of four 4-inch cake pans**** with parchment paper. Grease and flour the insides.
  2. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon until well combined.
  3. In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, brown sugar and oil with an electric mixer, until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract in three separate additions, making sure each one is incorporated before adding the next. Stir in the bananas, pineapple, pecans and coconut until combined.
  4. Transfer the batter to prepared cake pans, about 1 cup of batter in each pan. Place the filled cake pans on a baking sheet.
  5. Bake until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, about 25-28 minutes. Cool the cakes in pans 10 minutes then turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack.
  6. Trim the cakes to 1-inch thickness. Fill, stack and frost the cakes with cream cheese frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
  1. In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer until smooth and pale. Beat 1 tablespoon of heavy cream, the vanilla extract and salt into the butter until well combined.On low speed, beat in the powdered sugar a half cup at a time, until well combined.
  2. In a medium-size bowl, mix cream the cheese with remaining 1 tablespoon heavy cream, with a spatula until smooth. On low speed, beat the cream cheese mixture into the butter mixture until smooth and well combined.
Decor
  1. To make the graham cracker crumb moss: In two small bowls, dilute 1/8 teaspoon of each gel food color with a few drops of vodka. (Vodka will dissipate as crumbs dry.) Place the graham cracker crumbs in a plastic food bag. Add diluted food colors a little at a time and seal the bag. Shake the bag and gently massage it to distribute the color. Add more diluted food color as needed until desired your shade of green is reached. Spread the crumbs out onto a parchment lined baking sheet to dry. Apply the crumbs to bottom edges of the frosted cakes.
Recipe Notes

*Chop the coconut flakes to achieve a finer texture. This step is optional.

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

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

****To find the 4-inch cake pans I used, click here.