Strawberry Swirl Blondie's

For the 11th week of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies.....

....I present to you Strawberry Swirl Blondie's!   A treat of all treats these blondie's are....a rich buttery taste with a lovely ribbon of strawberry jam through it.  Super easy to throw together with basic ingredients that are right there in your pantry.  And, the very BEST part of this recipe is that if you don't have strawberry jam you can easily substitute another flavor of jam - such as peach, apricot, raspberry or even blueberry.  The original recipe actually called for raspberry jam but because I had a HUGE jar of strawberry jam and no raspberry jam I used strawberry jam instead.

Strawberry Swirl Blondie's

(recipe adapted from Let's Dish)

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup butter, unsalted

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup strawberry jam (or jam of your choice)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 pan.

2. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.  Set aside.

3. Over low heat melt butter in a large saucepan.  Remove fully melted butter from heat.  Stir in sugar into melted butter until dissolved.

4. Quickly whisk in eggs and vanilla extract to butter/sugar mixture. 

5. Stir in flour mixture to the egg/butter/sugar mixture - just until combined.

6. Spread batter into prepared pan.  Spoon jam over batter and then swirl into batter with a butter knife to create a marbled effect.

7.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from the center of pan.  Cool before cutting into squares and serving.

Enjoy!

Happy Strawberry Swirl Blondie's Baking!



Week 11 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

A NUTTY Give-Away with SUPER Special Brownies

Hooray for another weekend!  In celebration of the weekend and the 10th week of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies I would like to share with all of you a fabulous GIVE-AWAY! Yes, a GIVE-AWAY!!!!!!

A couple of weeks ago I attended a local Thanksgiving Farm Fair at Stonewall Farm (such an amazing facility/farm we have here in Southern NH!).  As I was filling my bags of locally made beautiful handmade gifts I came across a table that was laiden with some of the most delicious nuts I had ever tasted from yet another local company called, The True Nut.  I had sampled their nuts before and already knew how much my taste buds enjoyed them (SO yummy!) but then as I introduced myself and started chatting further the owner of the company (Steve Ryder) I knew I had come across a gem.  Not only did Steve hand me over a bag FULL of a variety of his fabulous nuts but he was super nice!  The fun part about his company is that it was started to show his daughter how a business could be started and ran successfully with the hopes that a little bit of money could be made.  Steve did this and more for now his treats are well known and full of positive outcomes.  I feel honored to be able to give away some of The True Nuts and I know you will enjoy them too!

Enter to win all FOUR packages of nuts that you see in the above picture just by leaving a comment at the end of this post or on my Facebook page for Baking and Creating with Avril.  To double your chances of winning visit The True Nut website and come back to tell me something that you enjoyed discovering from your visit to their website.  Winner will be chosen at random.  Contest will be closed 12 midnight on Monday 12/6/10.

And now without further delay here is a wonderful brownie recipe for the holidays.....York Peppermint Paddy Brownies  (rich in chocolate flavor with a peppermint paddy surprise in the middle)....in honor of the 10th Week of The 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies....

York Peppermint Patty Brownies

(from the lovely Jaime Cook's It Up! blog...goodness do I adore her recipes!!!)

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

8 - 1 oz. squares unsweetened chocolate

5 eggs

3 3/4 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)

1 2/3  cup flour

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 bags York Peppermint Patties (generic brand is not recommended from Jaime)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line the bottom of a 9x13 pan with tin foil and spray with non-stick spray.

2. Place unsweetened chocolate and butter in a microwave safe bowl.....

  Microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each cooking interval.  Continue to cook and stir until chocolate and butter are fully melted.  Set bowl aside.

3. In a mixing bowl combine eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, salt and almond extract (if desired).  Beat for 3-4 minutes until smooth and thick....

4. Add in the melted chocolate/butter mixture and flour.  Mix until incorporated.  Stir in chocolate chips....

5. Spread  1/2 the brownie batter into prepared pan....a butter knife will help if need be....

6. Unwrap the peppermint patties and place them all over the brownie batter.....

  Carefully spread the remaining 1/2 of batter over the peppermint patty layer.

7. Bake for 25-30 minutes.  This is the tricky part. You don't want to over-bake the brownies....I found that my brownies were done once the sides of the brownies came away from the side of the pan and my toothpick had just a few crumbs of brownie batter stick to it.

Cool on a wire rack and then refrigerate for a good 6 hours or overnight.  Cut into squares (small squares are a good idea for these special brownies are RICH in flavor).

Enjoy your brownies along with browsing through all the other d'lish cookie, bar and candy recipes from the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies group.

Happy Peppermint Patty Brownie Baking!

Week 10 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

A RED Cake with Butter Cream Frosting for Week #9 of 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies

Sometimes it is fun to have a special cake for the Christmas season.  Yes, cookies are important and so are bars and candy but a good and GORGEOUSLY d'lish cake is just as important (...to me at least!).  So today in honor of the 9th Week of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies I will share with you such a cake.  I call it Raspberry RED Velvet Cake with (luscious) Butter Cream Frosting - divine, simply divine.  I made this cake for my precious sister (love and treasure her SO much is hurts!).  Here she is blowing out her candles on her cake (with the help of some little adorable friends)...

This cake's creation actually came from my sister's head...yup, it was her suggestion that I add raspberries to the batter of a RED VELVET Cake and frost it with Butter Cream Frosting.  Brilliant!

Raspberry Red Velvet Cake with Butter Cream Frosting

(cake recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman and frosting recipe from Hoosier Homemade)

Ingredients:

1 cup shortening

1 3/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 1/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp vinegar

1 oz  RED food coloring (use 2 oz. if you wish to have a darker RED color to your cake...which is what I did)

1 1/2 tsp cocoa powder

1 heaping cup of frozen (or fresh)  raspberries

1 Tbsp flour

1/4  cup raspberry preserves

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray 2 round 9" cake pans with non-stick baking spray.

2. Blend together the shortening and sugar in a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer until well blended together and fluffy.  Set bowl aside.

3. Sift together flour and salt...

....and then set aside.

4. Mix eggs, buttermilk, vanilla extract, baking soda and vinegar all together in a medium bowl.

5. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the egg/buttermilk mixture to the fluffy shortening/sugar mixture.  Please mix after each addition.

6. In a small bowl combine cocoa powder and red food coloring....

  Stir together and then add to batter in mixing bowl...

  Mix all together just until well combined - do not over beat.

7. In a small bowl gently toss 1 Tbsp of flour into raspberries....

  Gently fold raspberries into cake batter....

8.  Pour batter into prepared cake pans....

 and bake for 25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool cakes for 20 minutes before removing from pans.  Cool completely before frosting.

9. Make frosting...I used this lovely recipe here.  Place 1st layer of cake on desired cake stand/plate and then frost and spread with of raspberry jam leaving about a 1" surrounding  border so that the jam doesn't spill out onto the side of the cake....

 and then place 2nd cake on top....

  and continue to frost the rest of the cake. Decorate as you please.  I found some lovely berries at the store that I placed ontop and around the cake...yum!

(So sad that the above pic didn't come out as vibrant as it should've of...hopefully you get the idea of what a gorgeous cake this recipe creates!)

Here is a peak inside the cake....

....and an other peek....

A lovely cake to make for the holidays, special birthday or "just because". 

Happy Raspberry RED Velvet Cake with Butter Cream Frosting Baking!

Week 9 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

A gift of a Bundt cake for Week #7 of 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies

I am about to share with you an AMAZING recipe for a scrumptious cake - a Bundt cake at that!  I know that it is not a cookie, a bar or a candy recipe geared for the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies....

 ...but it is definitely worthy as a gift to be given to friends and family.  You could bake up this flavorful cake full of cinnamon goodness and sweet and soft apple slices and place it on a festive platter as a holiday gift....you will definitely be thanked with hugs and smiles once the recipients taste this cake.  I can totally promise you that!

The key to this cake are Cinnamon Chips (by Hershey).  I feel like I have just discovered the best thing since sliced bread!  I just LOVE these Cinnamon Chips!!!! Have you seen them in the baking aisle in your grocery store or baked with them already?  If so,  please do share the recipe that you have used with these chips....my addiction needs to continue on with more and more recipes using these little treasures!


The other fun part of this cake are the apples.  Instead of chopping the apples in chunks, the apples are sliced into 1/4" thick slices....

  And wowsers does it make a difference.  You can actually see and fully taste the apples in this cake instead of just "knowing" that apples are part of the recipe.  Such a gem of a Bundt cake, I mean really!


Apple Cinnamon Chip Bundt Cake
(recipe from My Baking Addiction - Lordy, what a source for fabulous recipes @ this blog!!)


Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour


1 Tbsp ground cinnamon


2 tsp baking powder


1 tsp salt


1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted


1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar


4 large eggs


2 tsp vanilla extract


5-6 apples (I used Northern Gala), peeled, cored and sliced into 1/4 " thick slices


1 (heaping) cup of Hershey's Cinnamon Chips


Glaze: (which I actually didn't make)


1 cup confectioners' sugar


1-2 Tbsp milk or water


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Thoroughly grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan and set aside.


2. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.....

Set aside.


3. In a large bowl combine brown sugar, vanilla, eggs and melted butter......

  Whisk until smooth....

 Gradually stir in flour mixture....

 - mix just until combined (do not over mix...cake will become tough if mixed too much).


4. Add in apple slices and Cinnamon Chips to cake batter..... 

 Stir gently with a large rubber spatula.  Spoon batter into prepared 12 -cup Bundt pan and smooth batter evenly all around pan...

5.  Bake for 50-60 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 15 minutes before carefully inverting onto a serving platter.  Unfortunately I do not have a picture of the full Bundt cake....as soon as it was cooled enough I cut it into slices and sent it away to hunting camp with Jeff (making sure I save a couple for the necessary pic's for this blog post - Hey,  I have priorities here!)


6.  Make glaze (if you wish) by mixing together confectioners' sugar and milk or water.  Glaze should be thick yet pourable.  Add liquid in small amounts if need be.  Drizzle over cake and let set before serving.

Enjoy!

Happy Apple Cinnamon Chip Bundt Cake Baking!

This post has been linked to Quit Eating Out - Saturday Swap Party

Week 7 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

Pillow Cookies - Week #6 for 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies

I like to make cookies.  I like to make cookies that I have never made before.  Most of all I like to make cookies that taste and look good.

In my search for cookie recipes to make for the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies....

....I found this fabulous recipe from the Clumbsy Cookie blog called Chocolate Chip Cookie Ravioli.  Just from the title it's self of this cookie I was intrigued!  What in the world is a cookie that is a "ravioli"?  Was it made with pasta?  NO it is a cookie made with a simple sugar cookie dough and topped with "chocolate chip cookie dough" (or jam - like I used) and then sandwiched with another layer of sugar cookie dough thus giving the effect of a "ravioli".  Brilliant! 

In an effort to create my own kind of cookie from this recipe I renamed the

recipe to Pillow Cookies - these cookies seem more like a fluffy soft "pillow" rather than a "pasta" kind of cookie.  Of course you may think differently...which is fine!  Name this cookie recipe whatever you wish.

I chose to go the easy peasy way and use cookie mixes rather than making the cookie dough from scratch.  I know, for many of you this is a "sin" but for me these days (I have just entered my 30th week of pregnancy) I need to find anything possible that gives me the quickest way to the end result.  Made from scratch or from the help of the lovely Betty Crocker it's your choice for these cookies.

Pillow Cookies
(recipe adapted from the Clumbsy Cookie)

Ingredients:

*Sugar Cookie Mix


*Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix


*2 eggs

*2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

*jam of your choice (I used strawberry and peach)

Directions:

1. Mix up cookie dough (according to package directions or the recipe of your choice) - Sugar Cookie Dough and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Roll out Sugar Cookie Dough to about a 1/4" thickness....

  Using cookie cutters of your choice cut out an even amount of cookies....

....and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  

3. Top 1/2 of your cut out cookies with a small tsp. of Chocolate Chip Dough (or jam) and then place another cut out cookie on top of filling.  Gently seal cookie with a fork....

4. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges and tops of cookies a lightly browned. Carefully slip parchment paper off of cookie sheets with cookies and cool on a wired rack.

HEAVEN in a cookie!

Happiness and yumminess in a cookie!

Wouldn't these cookies be just perfect on a holiday cookie tray!!!???

Enjoy checking out all the other wonderful scrumptious cookies from the rest of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies group!

Happy Pillow Cookies Baking!

Week 6 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

White Chocolate Blondies with Maple Butter Sauce - Week #5 of 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies

Do you ever find something that just makes you so happy you could just skip all over town with happiness?!?  Yup....I've have experienced that kind of happiness with this lovely oh-so-d'lish recipe. Once again, I have to applaud a huge hand of appreciation to the Tasty Kitchen as this is where I came across this treasure of a recipe which was found from the TK member, thecountrycook.   As my good friend Kylah pointed out...."This dessert is just like Applebee's!" And my goodness is she ever right! 

The bars are one of the fastest bars to whip together and pop in the oven.....but the sauce takes a little bit more patience.  You have to cook down all the ingredients for a good 20-30 minutes - and that time table is after you find the right heat level on your stove so that the sauce doesn't boil - you want the sauce to cook at a gentle simmer - needless to say boil over and get all over your stove like it did for me.  It wasn't a pretty sight.  But I gathered all my strength (and patience) and continued on with the "cooking down" of the sauce.  This time really making sure the heat of the burner didn't allow any further "boiling over".   And like magic after time the sauce oozes with a glorious maple flavor and slightly thickens.  Perfect to pour over your vanilla ice cream topped blondie. 

Thus I offer you my 5th addition to the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies.

White Chocolate Walnut Blondies with Maple Butter Sauce

(recipe found on Tasty Kitchen from The Country Cook)

Blondie Ingredients:

3 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

10 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

2 cups brown sugar

3 whole eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup white chocolate chips

Sauce Ingredients:

2 Tbsp's unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

6 Tbsp's (REAL) maple syrup

3 Tbsp's light corn syrup

Blondie Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 baking pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking powder.  Set flour mixture aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix melted butter and brown sugar together until well-blended.  Add in beaten eggs and vanilla extract.  Stir well all together.

3. Slowly add in flour mixture to the butter/sugar/egg mixture.  Stir thoroughly but make sure you do not over mix the batter....it will make your blondies tough.  Fold in nuts and chocolate chips.  Beware...your batter will be pretty thick.

4. Scoop batter into prepared pan.  Pop into oven and bake for 25-30 or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Cool and cut into squares to serve with the sinfully delicious Maple Butter Sauce and a scoop of good vanilla ice cream.  Oh Baby! - HEAVENLY!!

Maple Butter Sauce Directions:

1. Melt butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat - be careful not to burn butter.

2. Add in heavy cream, maple syrup and corn syrup.  Lower heat slightly and allow mixture to come to a gentle simmer.  Be sure to stay close to the stove to monitor heat and make sure that the mixture does not come to a boil and thus boil over sauce pan (this will be a HUGE mess....as my experience tells me).

3. Once mixture comes to a gentle simmer cook for 20-30 minutes - stirring occasionally - until sauce reduces by 1/3 and becomes slightly thickened (As the sauce cools it will thicken further).  This is the only hard part of this recipe....being patient as the sauce reduces and slightly thickens....remember to just monitor the heat of the stove so that it does not boil-over.

Serve sauce over blondies with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream of your choice.....

Happy White Chocolate Blondies with Maple Butter Sauce Baking!

Week 5 Twelve Weeks of Christmas: