Showing posts with label Dessert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dessert. Show all posts

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Sugar Cookies - Thick and Chewy - Buffalo...

The day has finally arrived....a day I can proudly say the perfect THICK & CHEWY sugar cookie has come into existence! It has been years of testing, practice, trial and error but look no further for the recipe is here!

Brenna's Thick and Chewy Sugar Cookie Tips:
Dough stage - Butter must be room temperature (not melted, not cold). Beat the butter and sugar for 5 or more minutes (should turn fluffy and light white in color). When dough is formed, wrap and chill at the very least 30 minutes.
Rolling stage - Roll the cookies 1/3" to 1/2" thick. Yes, that thick. Place on a cooled cookie sheet. Place in the refrigerator 15 or so minutes (to re-chill the butter) before baking in the oven.
Baking stage - Bake only 6-7 minutes - the cookies will still be soft to the touch and pale in color (not golden brown).




1st stage of creaming the butter and sugar

2nd stage of creaming the butter and sugar

3rd (and final) stage of creaming the butter and sugar

Perfectly creamed butter and sugar (5 minutes later)

Evenly mix all the wet ingredients

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface

Pat the dough into a disk and then wrap with plastic and chill

Roll to 1/3" to 1/2" thickness

Roll to 1/3" to 1/2" thickness

Bake 6-7 minutes - still pale in color

Thick and fluffy!





Piping bag and small round tip (or use Ziplock baggies)

Place over a cup to easily pour in frosting without a mess

Wilton's Gel Food Coloring - the best


Just pipe around the edges - let it dry completely
Fill in the spaces









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Sugar Cookies Thick and Chewy (Holly)
Author: Brenna Bowers
Serving: 30-40 thick cookies (about 2-3” each)


Ingredients:
1 cup salted butter (if using unsalted butter, add another ½ tsp of salt), room temp
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
1 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
7 cups flour

Frosting:
4 cups powdered sugar*
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 Tbs milk
brown gel food coloring

chocolate/brown sprinkles

*chocolate frosting: substitute 3 Tbs. of powdered sugar for unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:
In an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar for 5 minutes - or until light white and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract; beating until evenly mixed. Add sour cream and again, beat until just mixed.

In another large bowl, combine salt, baking soda and flour. Add to the wet mixture, in 3 additions, mixing in between each addition. Mix just until it forms a dough.

Sprinkle your counter with a light dusting of flour. Press the dough into a circular disk, adding enough flour to just keep the dough from sticking to the counter. Place into the refrigerator 30-60 minutes.

With a rolling pin (or wine bottle) roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/3” -1/2” thick. Really. And press with a cookie cutter. Use a spatula to carefully slide under each cookie and place onto a parchment-lined cookie sheets (Tip 1).

Bake at 375 degrees F. for 6-7 minutes. THEY WILL NOT LOOK DONE…BUT THEY ARE! Leave them on the cookie sheet to cool completely before moving to prevent cracking the cookie.  

Frosting:
In an electric mixer, beat all the ingredients together until evenly mixed. It should be slightly runny, adjust with more powdered sugar or milk.
Place a small piping tip into a pastry bag (or use a Ziplock plastic baggie and cut the tip) and fill with the prepared frosting.

Outline each cookie and let the frosting harden. Then go back in and pipe the frosting to fill each cookie. Top with chocolate sprinkles.



Tip 1: (Optional) Sugar cookies have the tendency to flatten as they bake, therefore they loose their detail. To prevent this, start by placing rolled cookies onto a cooled parchment-lined cookie sheet. Secondly, place the cookie sheet into the refrigerator 10-15 minutes to re-chill the butter in the dough and then place straight into the oven for baking.



Monday, July 16, 2012

Wine & Sunflower Wedding Cake...

Love, happiness, smiles and joy filled our hearts at the Gallagher Wedding. Andrew and Amy Gallagher, may your lives be blessed with a fruitful marriage and be filled with the love of Christ!

Thank you for the privileged of designing your wedding cake, it was great to be a part of your special day.

Now for my friends and family, I am happy to share with you the themed:
 

Wine and Sunflower Wedding Cake 

Chocolate Wine Cake with Port Ganache &

 Chai Tea Cake with Cream Cheese Buttercream


designed by Brenna Bowers
























Monday, March 5, 2012

Java Chip Cupcakes with Espresso Cream Frosting...

Alright alright, I know.....I cheated a little by using  a cake box mix. But if this is what it takes to get YOU into the kitchen to bake, my job here is done!

Simplicity is key, therefore this is an almost fool proof recipe--unless you don't follow my directions :)

Happy baking!

-Brenna

Java Chip Cupcakes with Espresso Cream Frosting




The batter is thick!

Notice the hunks of Oreo (from the pudding mix) and chocolate pieces.

A very light and moist cake!








Java Chip Cupcakes with Espresso Cream Frosting
Author: Brenna Bowers
Serving: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
Java Chip Cupcakes:
1 cup water
2 Tablespoons instant coffee granules
1 box (16.5 oz.) Duncan Hines “Dark Chocolate Fudge” cake mix (any will do)
1 package (4.2 oz.) Jell-O “Oreo Cookies and Cream” instant pudding
½ cup chocolate chips, chopped
4 egg whites
2 Tablespoons canola oil

Espresso Cream Frosting: 
1 Tablespoon instant espresso granules
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
4 ounces (1/2 package) cream cheese, room temperature
4 cups (about 1 pound) powdered sugar, sifted

24 paper baking cupcake liners
24 chocolate covered espresso beans (optional)
brown sprinkles (optional)

Directions:
Java Chip Cupcakes:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Warm the water (20 seconds in the microwave) and stir in coffee granules.

In a large mixing bowl combine cake mix, pudding, chocolate chips, egg whites, oil and coffee-water. Beat until well mixed (about 1 minute). Fill each paper baking cupcake liner three-quarters full. Bake for about 15 minutes.

Espresso Cream Frosting:
In a small bowl, add the instant espresso into the vanilla extract. Once the coffee granules are dissolved, sir in the cocoa powder until it forms a paste.

In a large mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese until it is fluffy (about 5 minutes). Beat in the coffee-vanilla-cocoa paste until evenly distributed. Beat in the confectioner’s sugar, one cup at a time, until the frosting is thick and smooth.

Assembly:
Pipe the frosting onto cupcakes using a large star tip. Top each cupcake with an espresso bean and sprinkles.

Chill until ready to serve.