Baked Goodies: Cowboy Coffee Cake

My brother was taking a culinary class and decided to share some of the easy recipes with me. This "Cowboy Coffee Cake" is my favorite so far.

It is a nice little treat any time of the day with coffee, tea and maybe a side of fruit. 

The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 teaspoon vinegar
• 1/2 Cup milk
• 1 1/4 Cup all-pupose flour
• 3/4 Cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 Cup shortening
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 egg

Instructions:

1. Prepare sour milk:
Add a 1/2 teaspoon vinegar to 1/2 Cup milk
Let stand for 5 minutes

2. In medium bowl mix

• 1 1/4 Cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 Cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

3. Cut in until crumbly:

• 1/3 Cup Shortening

4. Set aside 1/4 cup of this mixture for topping

5. In a small bowl blend together the following:

• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

6. Add the spices to the bowl with the flour mixture. Mix together.

7. Add sour milk and egg to bowl. Mix together lightly

8. Pour into greased and floured baking pan.

9. Sprinkle 1/4 Cup crumb topping over cake.

10. Bake at 375 F. for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean

I hope that you enjoy this as much as my family does.

Butter Toffee Cookie

My favorite cookie at Mrs. Field's is the Butter Toffee. My obsession began 12 years ago and to this day I'm always bummed when they don't offer it when I visit the mall. My BF (Adam), just informed me that he rather have cookies then scones so I'm going to keep to it. I do love cakes, breads and brownies- maybe those will be in my future. Back to the cookies :) I've been searching for a good dupe of the recipe that is a trade secret of Mrs. Field. 

Baking and cooking are trial and error undertakings. This particular recipe has your standard ingredients plus the toffee bits. I didn't know but you can find the toffee bits along side the chocolate and peanut butter chips. Anyhoo, I followed the recipe to a T and it yield 28 jumbo size cookies. I think it's the amount of butter that you use and the toffee that spreads the dough when baking. Mine ended up as a flatter cookie compared to the chocolate chip ones with a nice crispy edge, and chewy middle. Most of my cookies are like that. Because my oven heats uneven I did turn my sheet around half way through the baking time. It gave me a more uniform cookie. The cookie was soft out of the oven like the peanut butter ones so I kept them on the parchment paper and transferred the whole thing to my cooling rack. By the time the next batch was done I was able to take the cookies off the paper and just had them on the rack.

Here is the result of my efforts. Adam thought the cookie was perfect just the way it is, but I would like it with less vanilla.

The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/2 Cup Salted Butter
• 1 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Cups Toffee Pieces

Directions:

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift together flour and baking soda. Cream together butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time. Add toffee pieces to mixture. Mix creamed mixture and dry mixture together. Use rounded tablespoons to measure dough. Place dough at least 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

2nd to the Easiest PB Cookie Recipe

I can't remember where I came across this cookie recipe. I have a feeling it's pretty standard though. My friends and family came up with awesome ideas for cookies for me to try. I was really intrigued by the bacon and chocolate chip cookie. At last I was the only one in my house hold. What if I didn't like them once they were done and I had to throw away 30 odd cookies? I just couldn't commit. These particular cookies were going to have jam hearts, but I wanted to try the recipe as it stands alone. That way for future baking I can play with measurements or add what ever ingredients (chocolate chips, butter toffee) I want. As far as prep goes it's a one bowl type of deal, and mixing doesn't cause you to have buff arms like other dough does.The end cookie was a good size and baked evenly (I rolled the dough into 1 inch balls). It does call for salt and I had just used a pinch. The edges were crispy with a chewier inside, thanks to the brown sugar. Super peanut buttery and delicious. Here is the recipe to try it out for yourself.

• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Shortening
• 1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
• 1 Egg
• 1 1/4 Cup Flour
• 3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
• Salt

     In a large bowl, combine sugar, brown sugar, shortening, and peanut butter. Beat in egg. Add in flour,baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Roll into balls. Press with fork vertically and horizontally. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes at 350 F.

Sunday Cookies: The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

I don't know about you, but cookies last about a week at my house. I enjoy baking and right now I'm going through a cookie phase. I found this perticular recipe on Allrecipes.com. What made me try it was the amount of butter used without calling for shortening. Drop cookies are so easy, everything is in one bowl and you don't have to refrigerate the dough. This batch is without walnuts, that could easily be added in before baking. I love chocolate with nuts, but the BF said (and I quote),"Why do you have to make everything so fancy? What's wrong with plain?". This is the result of the compromise. Next batch chocolate with walnuts!