Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Peanut Butter Chewies with Chocolate

I've been slacking lately, I know. The last couple times i've baked it hasn't been anything new to put up. I made these the other day along with some pumpkin shortbread bars that I don't want to talk about (don't u hate when u follow a recipe exactely and it doesn't turn out??). So anyway, I thought these were good, but I probably won't make them again. Unless it's a new recipe im trying, I like to stick with things I really like instead of ones I think that are 'ok'. But that's just me. The source I got this from couldn't stop raving about them which is why I even decided to try it in the first place, because honestly, they didn't sound that good to me. But they're simple to make and also gluten free if that's somethin you're into.

Peanut Butter Chewies with Chocolate



Makes about 3 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 jar (18 oz ounce) peanut butter, crunchy or smooth
6 cups corn flakes
3 oz chocolate of your choice
Directions:
Combine sugar and corn syrup in a medium saucepan. Place over medium-high heat and stir until the mixture comes to a full boil.
Remove from heat and stir in the whole jar of peanut butter. Mix well.
Add corn flakes to a large bowl. Pour peanut butter mixture over corn flakes and mix well, taking care to coat all of the corn flakes.
With a tablespoon or cookie scoop, scoop out and form into 1-2 inch balls, depending on your preference, and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper.
Put the chocolate in a small bowl and melt in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Stir until smooth. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookies. I put them in the fridge to cool so the chocolate would harden.
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Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

I love pumpkin. So naturally there was no doubt that I would love these. They are incredibly moist and they're good hot out of the oven or cold from the fridge. I think I might have even liked them better cold when the cream cheese firmed up a little. The crumb topping made waay too much, I didn't even use half of it, so I would reccommend cutting the amounts in half for it. Also, it says the yield is 24, but I ended up with a little batter left over, enough for 3 more without the cream cheese. Which worked out perfectly since Rylee didn't really like the cream cheese. You could also put chopped nuts in the batter or topping if you wish.
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins


Ingredients:
For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
For the muffins:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
1¼ cups vegetable oil

For the topping:
½ cup sugar
5 tbsp. flour
1½ tsp. ground cinnamon
4 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions:
Make the filling by combining the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1½-inches in diameter. Smooth the plastic wrap tightly around the log, and reinforce with a piece of foil. Transfer to the freezer and chill until at least slightly firm, at least 2 hours.

To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend. In another bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.

To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.

To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (1-2 tablespoons). Slice the log of cream cheese filling into 24 equal pieces. Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely. Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffin wells.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving.
Yield: 24 muffins
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Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Crescent Rolls

It's been a long time since i've baked, or even cooked for that matter. Atleast a couple of weeks. Today I was actually in the mood to make some crescent rolls. Hopefully soon cooking will be sounding better since I do enjoy it. I asked my mom for her recipe since i've had them and like them and so I gave it a try. This wasn't my first time making crescent rolls, I have a recipe for cheddar herb ones that are really good too. I did a little experimenting with these to see what outcomes I liked best so i'll post the recipe with a couple slight modifications.

Crescent Rolls




Ingredients:
¾ Cup Warm Milk
2 1/2 t. yeast
½ Cup Butter
½ Cup Sugar
1 Teaspoon Salt
2 Eggs
4 Cups Sifted Flour
1 egg slightly beaten
water, about 1 T.
melted butter, about 1 T.

Directions:
Combine warm milk and yeast, set aside. Blend together butter and sugar. Add salt, eggs and milk mixture. Beat in flour.
Cover with damp cloth and let rise until double (about 1 1/2- 2 hours.) OR refrigerate overnight or 24 hours.
Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a circle about 12 in. and cut into 8 wedges (pizza style). Roll each piece up going from the big end to the small then curve edges down to form a crescent shape.
Cover and let rise until double about 1 hour. Mix beaten egg with about 1 T. of water and brush over crescent rolls. Bake until golden brown at 350 for 12-15 minutes, don't overbake or they won't be soft. Brush melted butter over tops immediately after removing from oven.
Makes 16 rolls
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