Rolo-doodles

I should be baking more christmas-y items, but i've been busy and lazy. So for Kelly's Christmas party and for my work party I made Kathy Morris's Rolo-doodles otherwise known as "vah jj's" which is Oprah's term for vagina! The girls from Jimmy'z named them this, not me just to clarify.

These little candy treats are super easy to make and take no time! They taste amazing too. So if you are short on time during the holiday season but want to make a great crowd pleasing treat, then this is the recipe for you.

Rolo-Doodles - Kathy "k-dot" Morris

10 rolls of Rolos
80 mini salted pretzels
80 pecan halves

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Place pretzels on baking sheet, place 1 rolo on top of each pretzel. Place tray in oven for exactly 4 minutes.
Press 1 Pecan half into each rolo.
Place in refrigerator to cool.

Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Streusel

For Thanksgiving this year I made the same pie I made last year, which for me is combining the best of both worlds of thanksgiving pies. The pumpkin pie with pecan streusel is basically a pumpkin pie mixed with a pecan pie, before this pie I wasn't much of a pumpkin pie fan. My friend Randy had a huge orphans Thanksgiving and I brought this pie to it. I wish I would have taken photos of all the food at this dinner, because I have a lot of friends that are amazing cooks and really enjoy food. All the food was delicious, and it was all so beautiful!

The pie recipe comes from a book called "the all-american dessert book" by Nancy Baggett, though the pie crust I used was not from this recipe. When I went home to visit my family in the fall, my dad had made an apple pie and the crust he made was really good. So for this pie I asked my dad to send me his recipe for the pie crust. This was actually my first time making my own roll out crust, and it was kind of hard, but not as hard as I thought it would be. I did follow the tips of rolling out the crust from Nancy Baggett's book, and I'm glad I did. She tells you to roll out the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper, and I think that was the greatest tip I've learned so far when it comes to dough. When I had made the roll out cookies I had problems with them sticking to my rolling pin and the counter, so the parchment idea is pretty genius to me! Pie crust to me had always seemed tricky, but people are a lot more impressed with your baked goods if you make your own crust, so I had to do it. I was a little afraid that I added too much water to the dough, but after it chilled for a day in the fridge, the excess water worked itself into the dough, and it probably ended up being just the right amount.

Pie Crust - Doug Medin (my dad)

1 cup all - purpose flour
1/3 cup Wondra quick mixing flour (if you live in nyc, you can find it at the food emporium)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter flavored crisco - cubed (I used regular flavor)
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cubed
1/4 cup ice water
2 tablespoons ice water as needed (I ended up using 1 tablespoon, though this is when I felt there might be too much water)

Recipe can be made with all butter.

Mix both flours, salt and sugar in bowl. Crisco is cut in with pastry blender or fork first to keep butter from soaking into the flour. Butter is cut into flour until butter balls are the size of small peas. Add water. The extra water is added until dough holds together without crumbling.
Fraisage (smear golf ball sized dough lumps onto plastic wrap to flatten butter balls into streaks) dough twice in cross directions.
Form dough into 1" thick hockey puck, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

To Roll out the pastry - The All-American Dessert Book - Nancy Baggett

Lightly grease a 9 1/2" deep pie plate and coat with non-stick spray. If the doug is cold and stiff, let it warm up until slightly pliable but still cool to the touch. Generously dust it on both sides with flour. Roll out the dough between large sheets of baking parchment into a 13 1/2" round. Occasionally check the underside of the dough during rolling and smooth out any wrinkles. Gently peel off the top sheet of paper, then pat it back into place. Flip the dough; peel off the bottom sheet. Center the round, dough side down, in the pie plate. Gently peel off the remaining paper. Smooth the dough into the plate and patch any tears, if necessary. Trim the overhang to 3/4". Fold the overhang under to form an edge that rests on the lip of the plate. Finish by fluting with your fingers or pressing into the edge with the tines of the fork. Prick the pastry all over with a fork. Loosely cover the pastry and place in the freezer while you make the filling.



Pumkin Pie with Pecan Streusel - The All-American Dessert Book - Nancy Baggett

Filling:
4 large eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 15 ounce can solid pack pumpkin
1/2 cup half and half or light cream

Pecan Streusel:
1 1/4 cups chopped pecans
2/3 cup finely crushed corn flakes
6 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

To make filling:
In a large bowl, thoroughly whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is smooth. Add the pumpkin and half and half, stirring until well blended. Turn out the filling into the pastry. Set the pie on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the filling looks set except in the center third of the pie, which should jiggle when the plate is shaken.



Meanwhile, to make the streusel:
In a medium bowl, using your fingertips or two forks, mix together the pecans, corn flakes, brown sugar, flour, and salt until well blended. Add the butter and continue mixing until evenly incorporated. Evenly sprinkle the streusel over the partially set filling. Reposition the rack in the middle of the oven. Continue baking for 20-25 minutes longer, or until the streusel is golden brown and very crisp. transfer the pie to a wire rack. Let cool, then refrigerate until the pumpkin filling sets, at least 45 minutes, before serving.

Serve at room temperature or lightly chilled. The pie will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Lemon Glazed Candied Ginger Cookies

This weekend I attempted a more difficult recipe for me, which included rolling out cookie dough. For some reason I find this to sort of be a frightening task, dough sticks to surfaces and I'm never really sure how thick roll out cookies should be. Also not to mention that rolling out cookies also means that these are basically a 2 day project, because you have to let the dough chill before ever attempting to roll the cookies. So on Saturday I set out to begin the dough project, though first I had to do a little shopping. First stop whole foods, I needed some candied ginger and lemons & I also found unbleached pre-cut parchment paper! (Also I've been stearing clear of recipes calling for parchment paper, in my mind anything calling for parchment paper was a tough one). After whole foods, I went down to soho on a mission to get a zester & I went to one of my favorite cooking stores "sur la table". I love that store, seriously that store makes me want to buy castle shaped pans, and super expensive brightly colored le creuset pots and pans. The spatula section alone....I could go on and on about this store. Anyway I got my zester and picked up a cookie sheet, because I decided it was time I own 2 of these, and it would make the baking time go by quicker. After a day of shopping for supplies and gadgets I started the dough. The dough was easy enough, the only tedious part was cutting up all of the candied ginger, it is very sticky and sugary. After making the dough I seperated into the 2 flat 1" discs as the recipe calls for, and wrapped them up and stuck them in the fridge to chill for the next 24 hours.





The next evening is when the real test begins, the rolling of the dough. I read this recipe about 50 times to figure out what exactly I was supposed to do. I admit I haven't done the roll out cookies ever by myself before. Though I did finally use my Le Creuset rolling pin that Chlo gave to me for my birthday last year. woo hoo! I definetely had some mis-haps with rolling out the dough, parts stuck to the counter sometimes, but for the most part I think I did a pretty good job. The part that I kind of failed on was the actual baking part. I burnt probably at least 10 cookies! Though from my failure I learned a few things. First off, just because a recipe calls for a certain temperature, doesn't mean that is correct for you oven. Second, even though I set a timer I still need to look often at these cookies. The second batch I baked turned out perfect.



The glaze part is easy, but this recipe made about double the amount I needed and I didn't even make the full amount it called for. One cool thing I did do was buy a squeezy sauce bottle and filled it with the glaze. Using the bottle made it really easy to make pretty squiggly lines and it was really fun, I felt professional in my make believe world.



Lemon-Glazed Candied Ginger Cookies - from marthastewart.com

2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for surface
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
salt
6 ounces unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped candied ginger
1 large egg
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup water

Sift flour, baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon salt into a bowl. Cream butter and brown sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 min. Add ginger and beat for 2 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla until well combined. Add flour mixture, and then beat on medium-low speed until dough just comes together.

Shape dough into two 1" thick discs. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour - up to 3 days.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 worked better for me). Roll out 1 disk on a lightly floured surface, cut out 2" circles - remove scraps. Place rounds 1/2" apart on parchment lined baking sheets. Refrigerate rounds 10 min before baking.

Bake rotating sheets halfway through (oops I didn't do this, maybe that is also why some burnt) until cookies are set and edges are light gold, 12 to 14 minutes. (my first batch I baked for 12 min at 350, 2nd batch 11 min at 325). Transfer parchment with cookies to wire racks. Let cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

Whisk confectioners sugar, lemon zest and juice, honey, water and a pinch of salt in a bowl until smooth. Drizzle glaze over the cooled cookies. Let stand until glaze is set, at least 20 minutes.

Pumpkin Bars - fall is here!

Recently my friend Kelly had an all girls sleepover party that turned into really just a dinner party with way too much wine! This dinner party gave me a chance to finally make my mom's pumpkin bars that i've been dying to make all fall. Now I'm pretty sure my mother would have used real pumpkin from left over jack o lanterns, but not me...I used the good old fashion can of pumpkin. Can pumpkin is just fine by me, and a whole lot easier then cutting up a giant pumpkin, de-skinning it and boiling it.



Pumpkin Bars - Cyndie Medin

4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 can 15 oz pumpkin
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon clove
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Mix together the eggs, vegetable oil, pumpkin and 2 cups of sugar.
Mix in the remaining ingrediants and mix well. Place batter in greased and floured 9 x 13 pan, bake for 25-30 min.
**My bars took almost 40 min to cook all the way through**

Frosting:
6 oz regular cream cheese
3/4 stick of butter
1 tablespoon of cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups powder sugar

Mix together until creamy & frost bars.
**I waited until my bars were completely cool to make the frosting and frost the bars**







Sorry for the bad quality of photos - my camera has died since, and this is my sign I need a new camera. I was in denial previously.

Banana Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

So after asking my upstair "roommates" what they didn't like, both Chlo and Matt claimed they didn't like oatmeal cookies, but really they meant was with raisins. Naturally when searching for the next item to bake I came across a recipe for amazing sounding cookies which of course had oatmeal in it! I decided to risk it and bake them anyway. The upstairs crew enjoyed them very much, they couldn't stop commenting on how soft and chewy they were. I'm new to baking so it took me some time to figure out what that reason was, and i'm still not sure this is the true answer, but my guess is its the Banana. The cookies taste like banana bread meets a chocolate chip cookie. I was delighted and they are quite easy too!

The recipe was taken from www.marthastewart.com.

Banana Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole what flour
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 large)
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chunks
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together flours, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside. Put butter and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. reduce speed to low. Add egg and vanilla; mix until combined. Mix in banana. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in oats, chocolate chunks and walnuts.

Using a 1 1/2 inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown and just set, 12 to 13 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers up to 2 days.

Mint Bars

Recently I was home visiting family and friends in MN, and I was over at Amy Pedersen's House which jogged my memory from last Christmas when she fed me the most amazing brownies. Of course I had to get the recipe from her and make them. They are sort of a Christmas treat, but who really cares when you want a minty chocolate treat. The recipe is from Amy's grandma Reppe, and was even in the magazine Cooking Light.

I am now paying my upstairs neighbors/friends baked goods for internet service. They were like little crack fiends begging me for these brownies! They really couldn't get enough of them! I'm trying to bake something new every Saturday. This was last weeks creation.

So there are 2 ways you can make these brownies, 1 is the half assed way which is just buying a brownie mix and then making the 2 layers yourself, or you can make the brownies from scratch.

Mint Bars:
First Layer: Brownies
1 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 pinch of salt
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
In a large bowl, mix the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla extract. Mix in the flour, salt and cocoa powder just until moistened. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is dry and the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.
Let brownies cool.

Second Layer:
2 cups powder sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons of milk
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 drops green food coloring

Combine powdered sugar, melted butter & remaining ingreadients in a medium bowl. Beat until smooth. Smooth mint frosting over cooled brownies.
I placed mine in the fridge for about a half hour before making the frosting.

Third Layer:
3/4 cup chocolate chips
3 tablespoons of butter

Melt on stove top or microwave. Spread chocolate mixture over mint spread.

I would wait maybe 15 minutes to do this last layer, as I did not and it made it a little harder to spread nicely without mixing it with the mint layer.

Strawberry Pie

My mom used to make Strawberry Pie every summer, so this year for the 4th of July I decided to make her pie.
The secret to this pie is really the crust. Its so easy and really yummy, its sort of like a sugar cookie crust.
Unfortunately I don't have any photos of the crust being created, but I do have a photo after it has been baked.




Another Great thing about this pie, is that the filling is very easy to make and uses Jello! Luckily my mom's recipe also calls for fresh strawberries, so its not all bad for you.





Boiling the strawberries, jello, sugar and corn starch is fun, but can get a little sticky if you are a sloppy cook like me.



STRAWBERRY PIE
Crust:
1 1/2 Cup Flour
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
2 TBSP Sugar
1/2 TSP Salt
2 TBSP Milk

Mix until Oily. Press into pie plate & Bake at 400 degrees, until light brown - about 20 Minutes (words directly from mom)

Filling:
1/2 Package Strawberry Jello
1 Pint of Strawberries - sliced in 1/2
1 Cup of Water (plus 1 TBSP)
1/2 Cup of Sugar
1 1/2 TSP Corn Starch

Mix Water, Jello, Sugar & Corn starch. Bring to a boil. Add 1/2 of the Strawberries. Boil 4 Minutes or until thick. Cool 1/2 hour (I put it in the fridge and also the crust). After filling is cooled Pour into the Cooled Pie Shell. Add Remaining Strawberries. Cool 2 hours and Serve with Cool Whip.

**My mom's original recipe was for 2 Pies, but 1 crust, which really never made sense to me. So above I gave the filling already converted to half the ingredients.**