Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits.

Two words: Make these.

If you've ever been to Red Lobster, you know exactly what I'm talking about: their endless supply of baskets full of piping hot, bursting-with-cheddar-cheese biscuits. They're soft, they melt in your mouth, they're brushed with melted butter and garlic... and they're addicting. 

Cheddar bay biscuits. They're world famous. They even have their own Facebook page.

In what world does a biscuit have a Facebook page? 

Our family's been using this recipe for years and they taste almost the same as the ones from the restaurant. They couldn't be any easier to make. Enjoy!

Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Printable Recipe

Biscuits
2 1/2 cups Bisquick baking mix
3/4 cup cold whole milk
4 tablespoons cold butter
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 heaping cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

For brushing on top...
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
A pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter or fork. You don't want to mix it too thoroughly... just until there are small chunks of butter about the size of peas.

Add cheddar cheese, milk, and 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder. Mix by hand until combined, without over-mixing.

Drop dough in approximately 1/4 cup mounds onto an ungreased baking sheet. An ice cream scoop works best. They don't have to be perfect!

Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.

When you take the biscuits out of the oven, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter and stir in the 1/4 teaspoon of parsley flakes, 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder, and pinch of salt. Brush over the tops of the warm biscuits, using up all of the butter. 

See? Imperfection. Makes about a dozen biscuits.

Source: Unknown. 

Gingersnaps & An Epic Book Sale Find.

Every few months our library holds a book sale where, for $5, you can take home as many books as you can carry. Since I spend all of my free time either reading, in libraries, or daydreaming about the library in Beauty & the Beast (and baking), I get really excited about these book sales. You never know what you'll find.

Last year I found a bartenders' guide from 1948.

1948. With yellowed pages and ingredients that made no sense and everything (Kina Lillet? Caperitif? The white of one egg?!?). 

This caught my eye on Saturday. I have no idea how it got mixed in with all the books, but this pretty flowery box of possibilities was just lying there, ignored and unwanted, and I had to know. I looked around shyly, grabbed it, and ran to a corner to explore its contents.

Inside was this pretty blue recipe binder! I've been wanting one for so long, but never got around to it.

And not only was it in perfect condition... it was overflowing with recipes. See?  

Someone had donated their entire collection of family recipes. I wiggled my toes, did my very best not to dance, and started going through its pages, feeling a little intrusive, like a historian or a recipe archaeologist. 

Very funny.

That's better.

Caramel corn ice cream... oh how I am so making you this summer.

My boyfriend and I are planning a camping trip this spring and there were even pages on camping food!

I started thinking this book had magical, intuitive powers at this point.

(Not to mention the fact that the binder eerily matches my blog layout, right down to the pink daisies.)

This made me hungry.

Fancy apples.

Yes, please. Cheesecake = love.

Chocolate-banana crepes. Crepes has been on my aspirations list since before this blog was even an idea in my head.

Thank you, Ray273. This recipe has a unique twist at the end that I can't wait to try.

Did I mention that the box was full of recipes too? It's going to take awhile to sift through the whole thing. I can't wait to try the tortilla casserole to see what else I find.  

In the meantime... I made gingersnaps!

Gingersnaps

Printable Recipe

3/4 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup molasses

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

Additional sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the shortening and sugar. Beat in the egg and molasses. Combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture.

Roll dough into balls and roll in extra granulated sugar. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned and crinkly. Remove to wire racks to cool. 

Source: Taste of Home Best Loved Cookies & Bars, Fall 2007. 

Marbled Chocolate Chip Cookies.

 I'm really excited about this post.

This is the first recipe that I've pulled completely out of my own head. And by "completely out of my own head" I mean I took my recipes for chocolate chip cookies and chocolate-chocolate chip cookies and swirled them together as one. It's the little things in life.

Best decision ever.

Also... a couple of blog changes! I added links over the weekend to printer-friendly recipes for all my posts to make it easier to bake without lugging a laptop around. I hope everyone finds this helpful.

And a second, more exciting change... I now have a Facebook page! I figure my friends will appreciate my not updating my status every time I'm in the kitchen inventing cookies or running out of vanilla (yesterday). Plus it'll be easier to share updates, new posts, ideas and links, things like that. Don't be shy!

Marbled Chocolate Chip Cookies

Printable Recipe

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

1 cup shortening

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chocolate chips

Chocolate Cookie Dough

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cup flour

1 1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

For chocolate chip cookie dough, combine the shortening, sugars, eggs, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir flour, baking soda, and salt with a whisk or fork and add in batches to the creamed mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl when needed. Mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and set aside.

For the chocolate cookie dough, cream the softened butter and sugars together. Beat in eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking with a whisk or fork until combined and add in batches to the creamed mixture until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. 

Take a 1/2 tablespoon of each (or more, depending on how big you want these) and press together. Gently roll it into a ball until it looks like this:

Bake for 11-13 minutes, let cool for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!

Source: A Bakergirl original.

Black & White Cookies.

I have literally just eaten the best cookie of my life.

And then again for breakfast.

I can't even describe these cookies without doing them injustice. Let's just say they were so good, I had to update my Facebook status.

I don't even care that these like quite imperfect. They're soft and cake-like, like a light lemony pancake or a cross between Lofthouse sugar cookies and shortcake. They melt in your mouth. They change your life. And for the indecisive like me, they're iced with a both a rich chocolate and a vanilla glaze.

(But if we're being honest, the vanilla glaze is the best half... and that's saying something from a chocolate lover like me.)

Apparently these are a big deal in New York. All I know is that they taste like they're from a bakery. Like a real bakery. With pink boxes and glass cases of cupcakes and the overpowering scent of vanilla and everything. They don't taste homemade. They taste like they were made by someone who knew what they were doing. Is that even possible?

 

I recommend starting with a big bite out of the middle.

What New Years' resolutions?

Black & White Cookies

Printable Recipe

Cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

Vanilla Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons hot water

Chocolate Glaze

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

3 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In a small separate bowl, stir together buttermilk, vanilla, and lemon extract.

Beat together the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add eggs, beating until well combined. Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches at low speed (scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally), beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix until smooth.

For New York-sized cookies (these came out bigger than pancakes... about 4-5 inches in diameter), spoon 1/4 cups of batter about 2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet. This part is a little difficult, so gather your patience: smooth with a butter knife very delicately until they're round and flat, like uncooked pancakes. Bake in the middle of the oven until tops are puffed and pale golden, and cookies spring back when lightly touched, about 15-17 minutes.

For regular-sized cookies, spoon a large tablespoonful of batter (I used a cookie scoop... best $2 culinary investment you'll ever make) about 2 inches apart on a greased baking sheet. Smooth with a butter knife to flatten until they look like little half-dollar pancakes (is it just me or is this post making anyone else crave pancakes too?). Don't worry if they're not perfect... you're going to flip them upside down, ice them, and then eat the entire batch in one sitting. Bake for 11-13 minutes.

Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack and chill (to cool quickly), about 5 minutes. Start making your glazes!

In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1 tablespoon corn syrup, and 2 tablespoons hot water, until smooth. Yay, vanilla glaze!

In a separate bowl, melt butter and chocolate in microwave for about one minute. Add the corn syrup and stir until smooth. That's your chocolate gaze.

Note: I ended up having to make an extra half-batch of both glazes.

Once the cookies are cooled, face them all bottom side up. Spread half the cookie with vanilla glaze and the other with chocolate glaze. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to set. Then prepare to eat the best cookie of your life.

Makes 4 New York-sized cookies and about 20 regular-sized cookies.

Helpful Tip: If possible I would store these in the refrigerator. If not, whatever you do, do not stack these cookies on top of each other. The icing softens and the cookies all stick together and get very unattractive.

Source: Barely adapted from Joy the Baker.

Confetti Cookie Bars.

 Confetti brownies. We'll get back to these.

Santa came! I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas... I can't believe it's almost New Year's already! I'm so excited for 2011 and I can't wait to see all the exciting stuff I hope this year brings my way. I don't usually make resolutions (at least publicly & written on the internet), but one of my biggest goals for this year is to keep writing in this blog and baking. I love it (and everyone who's in the kitchen when I'm trying out new recipes seems to love it too), but now that Christmas is over, I feel less compelled to bake.

Not that I have a choice... nearly everything Santa my family and friends gave me this Christmas had to do with baking (or vampires... don't judge me. I have an unhealthy addiction to The Vampire Diaries & True Blood.)

For example, this. It's adorable. Do you know what it is?

Measuring cups. I wouldn't lie to you. I'm in love.

Decorating tips! I can't wait to play with frosting.

Even my stocking stuffers had to do with baking!

Mini martini glasses. For when baking gets stressful?

I also got a new brownie pan and immediately used it to make these cookie bars for New Year's Eve... 

Confetti cookie bars! The mini M&Ms in them make really festive, like confetti, and I love the crushed pretzels in them. 

Happy New Year!

Confetti  Bars (Chocolate Chip M&M Cookie Pretzel Bars)

Printable Recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon, optional
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup mini M&Ms
1 cup pretzels, crushed

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray.

In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Using a mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about one minute. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. On low speed, beat in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chip, mini M&Ms, and crushed pretzels.

Spread the batter evenly in the pan, pressing down with a spatula. Sprinkle a few M&Ms on top, if desired. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown. The middle might be a little gooey, but it's okay; the bars will set up. Transfer the pan to a rack and allow to cool completely. 

Source: Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod. 

A Last Minute Christmas Morning Recipe.

December 24th... and all I want to do is bake something. I'm resisting.

For now. 

I love Christmas Eve. I think I may love it even more than Christmas. The excitement, the family, the way time crawls so slowly, the twinkling lights, singing carols by candlelight, watching Love Actually, and holding out the slightest hope that Santa really does exist (I'm a bit like Brittany from Glee, I won't lie to you)... the entire day is magic. 

If you need a last minute recipe for Christmas morning (or Christmas Eve dinner... or now), this is my absolute favorite. We make it every Christmas and occasionally for birthdays and it's the most delicious thing I've ever eaten in my life.

And since it's Christmas Eve and who wants to run to the store again, I can promise you that you probably have all of the ingredients already. 

These soft, cinnamon-nutmeg-y baked doughnuts take almost no time at all to make and are rolled in melted butter and sugar immediately after they're pulled out of the oven. If you have kids, I can promise you from personal experience (I'm making lots of promises today, aren't I?) that they'll have a ton of fun helping you make these... I've been helping my mom since she had to stand me on a chair to reach the counter.

I don't have any photos of my own because it's not Christmas morning yet, but I couldn't wait to post the recipe. And if we're being honest, they wouldn't last long enough to photograph anyway. Here's the link to Betty Crocker's recipe if the words rolled in melted butter and sugar haven't convinced you yet and the photo from their site: 

Oh addiction.

Buttons & Bows

Printable Recipe

2 cups Bisquick mix

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 cup milk

1 egg

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix, 2 tablespoons sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, milk, and egg until soft dough forms.

Place dough on surface sprinkled with Bisquick mix. Roll dough into a ball; knead about 5 times. Press or roll dough until 1/2-inch thick.

Cut dough with doughnut cutter dipped in Bisquick mix. To make bow shapes, hold opposite sides of each ring of dough, then twist to make a figure 8. On ungreased cookie sheet, place bows and buttons (the dough from the center of each ring).

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Immediately dip each bow and button into melted butter, then in 1/2 cup of sugar. Serve warm.

Source: Betty Crocker.

Merry Christmas!

Chocolate Chip Peanut Meltaways.

It's almost Christmas. Can you feel the magic yet? 

My mom always says that if anything magical could ever possibly happen, it would happen on Christmas Eve. This is probably why at 23 I still find myself listening for reindeer hooves on our roof. 

If you need an extra cookie just in time for Christmas Eve, these are one of Santa's my dad's favorites. They're similar to the Mexican wedding cakes I made last week, except that these have chopped up roasted peanuts and bits of chocolate in them and are rolled in a mixture of powdered sugar and cocoa powder. 

And they make a lot. And they're delicious. 

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Peanut Meltaways

Printable Recipe

1 cup butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/3 cup powdered sugar + 1 1/2 cups for rolling cookies in

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup salted roasted peanuts, chopped

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate, minced

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Blend together butter, vanilla, almond extract, 1/3 cup powdered sugar, and all-purpose flour until dough holds together. 

Stir in chopped salted roasted peanuts and minced semisweet chocolate.

Shape dough into 3/4-inch balls and place about 1 inch apart on a baking sheet.

Bake until cookies are pale golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes; if using more than 1 pan in 1 oven, switch pan positions halfway through baking. Cool on pans for 5 minutes.

Place 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar in a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons cocoa and mix with a fork. A few at a time, gently turn warm cookies in sugar, then cool on racks. When cool, coast cookies again with sugar.

Makes about 120.

Source: Sunset, 1998.