My non-baking days are O-V-E-R

Up until 7 days ago, I diagnosed myself as a non-baker.  There are multiple reasons for this – all including baking fails.  Like BIG fails.  Most recently, I was prepping sweet onion rolls the night before Thanksgiving.  Decided I was going to really WOW my guests this year, instead of purchasing store bought.  No surprise to me, all 2 dozen rolls went straight from the oven into the garbage at 11pm.  This is the … oh I don’t know … 5^th batch of <insert baked good here> that has been fully dumped into my trash.  My brother-in-law boosted my mood that night when he told me that it was okay that I didn’t know how to bake – because, really nothing you bake is healthy anyway.  And he secretly ran to Whole Foods Thanksgiving morning and filled my kitchen with dinner rolls.  What a guy!

A few days later…I decided I was done, DONE not knowing how to bake.  I finally listened to my husband (shh!) and started to measure ingredients, instead of my typical ‘yep, that looks like a tablespoon.’ Plus, I was invited to a holiday cookie party and needed a few impressive deliverables.

So.  After a few pain points ‘Alan, does this look light and fluffy?’ ‘Alan, is this the RIGHT kind of baking soda?’ ‘Kristyn, dear god you are making the biggest mess of your life’.  I DID IT.  I made delicious Peppermint Brownies & Lemon Ricotta Cookies.  All ya gotta do is measure – who knew?!

I challenged myself again, just to make sure it wasn’t a one-time fluke.  I used the quart of fresh cranberries we received in our CSA box this week to make Cranberry Orange Bread.  My co-workers asked for the recipe.  Alan’s co-workers give it a thumbs up.  Hubby likes it too.  Success!  Again!

Peppermint Brownies (from Real Simple)

Makes 24
Hands-on Time: 30m
Total Time: 1hr 45m

Ingredients:

For the brownies:

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for the pans
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs

For the ganache:

1/3 cup heavy cream
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon pure peppermint extract  << WARNING: DO NOT USE MORE THAN THIS, TOO MINTY
1/4 cups crushed peppermint candies (about 5 candies)

Directions:

1. Make the brownies: Heat oven to 350° F. Generously butter 2 12-cup mini muffin pans. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, and salt; set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate over low heat. Remove the pan from heat and mix in the sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs and mix until combined. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined (do not overmix).
3. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling them no more than two-thirds full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a brownie comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Set the pans on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes, then transfer the brownies to the racks and let cool completely. 
4. Make the ganache: Place the cream and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high, stirring occasionally, until melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk to combine. Whisk in the peppermint extract. Let cool 10 minutes.
5. Assemble the brownie bites: Spread the ganache over the cooled brownies and sprinkle with the candies. Place them on a baking sheet and refrigerate until the ganache is firm, at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours.
6. Storage suggestion: Keep the brownie bites at room temperature in a single layer, covered, up to 3 days.

Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze (from Giada De Laurentiis)

Prep Time:15 min
Inactive Prep Time:2 hr 20 min
Cook Time:15 min
Serves 44 cookies

Ingredients:

Cookies:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
 
Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
 
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cookies:

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.

Glaze:

Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours. Pack the cookies into a decorative container.

 
Cranberry Orange Loaf
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour 
Servings: 12
 
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries 1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup orange juice
Optional sweet glaze – powdered sugar, juice of orange, and vanilla extract
 
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in orange zest, cranberries, and pecans. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together margarine, sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in orange juice. Beat in flour mixture until just moistened. Pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until the bread springs back when lightly touched.
4. I added this step, and didn’t measure – opps.  Juice the orange you have leftover.  Add a bit of vanilla extract.  Then add powdered sugar until the mixture become a milky glaze consistency.  Drench the top of the loaf after you remove it from the oven.  This kind of cuts down on the tartness or cranberries.
5. Let stand 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Wrap in plastic when completely cool.