I’m happy to report that the bars taste really good, and taste better about a day or two later. I think it takes a bit of time for the peanut butter and oats to really come together.
It came out looking messier than I would’ve liked, but that‘s because I used chocolate chunks, and not mini-chocolate chips as originally specified. I’ve been on an oats kick recently. I want to eat oats, just not in oatmeal, and cookies and bars have been a great solution.
Made these last night! I've made them several times before and they're great. I make them when I want to bake but don't have much in the house, and don't have a lot of time.
I was thinking about this thread. I made a discovery a few days ago that other bakers probably already know about. When I started baking, I learned to freeze freshly baked cookies in Ziploc freezer bags. Then when I wanted a cookie, I could set one out to thaw or I could microwave it if I wanted to hurry things along. Not bad, especially at first, but after a few weeks, the texture of the cookies starts to change. They get wetter and denser and aren't quite as good as when they were fresh.
This week, I made five pounds of chocolate chip cookie dough, scooped it into balls, and froze the balls on a cookie sheet for an hour or so. After they'd set up enough not to stick together, I put the dough balls in a freezer bag with the oven temp and cook time written on it. If you're cooking from frozen, you just add a minute or so to whatever the recipe says. Now, when I want a cookie or two, I can have them warm and fresh out of the oven in 10-15 minutes. This is awesome!!! I cook them on a sheet lined with parchment paper so I don't even have to wash a pan.
I do this all the time for savoury food to make dinners quicker, but I never thought of it for cookies. But then again, I have 2 kids and a husband to help eat a batch and I’ve never had a complaint about 3 day old home made cookies.
I did that once and ended up eating most of the raw cookie dough straight from the freezer without cooking the biscuits! It is so delicious. I rolled it into a log and then you were meant to cut off slices and bake from the freezer but instead I was cutting off slices and eating straight up! Try it and thank me later. PS I don't really have a raw egg aversion or any concerns about getting salmonella from it.
Here’s my Latvian chocolate cake I made for my birthday party. Layers of vanilla and chocolate sponge cakes, vanilla custard, strawberry jam and flaked almonds on top. It was a lot of work, but so good. Obviously Latvians know their cakes.
Yay, thanks @skwigg ! I always forget about Handle the Heat, and everything she makes looks amazing. I'll let you know if I make those monster cookies though. I turn to Sally's Baking Addiction really anytime I want to bake, because it always turns out well. I made her strawberry cake for a baby shower recently and the new mom told me it was the best cake she's had in awhile!
Yum! Both of those look amazing @jazzapple. Everything I've made from Sally's Baking Addiction has been great.
My go-to cookie is the Ultimate Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from Handle the Heat that I shared a few posts up. The long chill time means no instant gratification if you want same-day cookies, but the wait is worth it. They're huge, chewy, and loaded with chips. I always have some in the freezer.
I'm super intrigued by that Peanut Butter Cup Surprise Monster Cookie though. Anything with a peanut butter cup in the center is ok by me. Let us know how the cookies turn out.
Yay, my login works now!! I've made this twice in the past couple weeks, both presents for family:
https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/spiced-gingerbread-loaf/ It's amazing. I skipped the glaze because both people I made it for don't like glaze. It doubles nicely, too!
Baking cookies for my brother soon too who is headed out of town for work for two months, so I want to make him a big batch he can freeze. Was thinking of these, but any other suggestions are welcome! https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/peanut-butter-cup-surprise-monster-cookies/
It's a butter crust, which I've had terrible luck with in the past. For some reason, mine have always come out tough compared to shortening crusts. This recipe uses a sticky and wet dough that seems like it will never work. (Actually, when I made it as written, weighing the flour, it wasn't sticky and wet enough, so I added another splash of water.) Once you chill it and the butter hardens, it's easy to work with. The big super secret is that you fold the dough up like a business letter before you roll it out. This gets the flakey layers started. It was so perfectly tender, buttery, and flaky. I was amazed! It almost reminds me of puff pastry, or a croissant.
I made a cherry slab pie with it. I've never made a slab pie. I feared it would overflow and I'd have a big cherry puddle mess on a cookie sheet, but it came out perfectly. I followed Deb's sample pie recipe but used canned cherry filling instead of rhubarb. You can also make two standard single crust pies or one double crust pie with the recipe.
That cake looks delicious! I'm bookmarking that recipe to make at some point.
Today I baked chocolate chip cookies. We have had cookies of some sort in our house since Christmas. But before we went away on our trip we ran out of cookies and I didn't have time to bake any. Well let me tell you we have all been missing our post-supper cookies the past 4 days! So I baked up a batch tonight. I use Mr. Fields Cholesterol Free Chocolate chip cookies. I don't care about the cholesterol part, I just love the recipe. It's fairly easy to make and they are DELICIOUS!
Not really baking per se, but I made Lasagna tonight. I've been making Cooking Light's Classic Lasagna with Meat Sauce at least every other weekend this winter. It is insanely good and worth all the effort it takes to make.
I've been birthday baking! I made a batch of Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies from Handle the Heat. At first glance, this recipe looks really fussy with two kinds of flour and the multi-day chill time, but it's so easy and the cookies are so delicious! I actually like that you make the dough in one session and pull it out and bake it on another day. It makes both processes seem quick and easy. These cookies are huge and extra chewy thanks to the bread flour. I used a 3 tablespoon scoop. Plus, they're almost more chips than cookie. Yum!
Then I made the Chocolate Olive Oil Cake from Smitten Kitchen. That is a terrible and unappetizing name for a wonderful cake. They're also called "wacky cakes," which is what I've been calling it. It's based on recipes from The Great Depression that don't include eggs or butter because those were expensive and hard to come by. It's a single layer baked in a 9-inch round cake pan. There are only like seven ingredients, one bowl, no mixer. The recipe called for a cup and a half of water or coffee. I used espresso. My husband and I both had two pieces after dinner. We probably won't be able to sleep. 😄 He was highly skeptical of the no eggs or butter situation but ended up loving it. The cake is super moist. He said it reminded him of Hostess cakes, which makes sense. I'll bet there are no butter or eggs in those either! LOL You can't taste the olive oil at all, or the espresso. It's super chocolatey, and I love the shiny frosting. I will definitely make it again.
Anybody else been baking lately? Any good recipes to share?
I was also going to suggest the Hershey's Black Magic Cake. I've made it many times. It's a winner.
I use this recipe to frost it: https://addapinch.com/perfect-chocolate-buttercream-frosting-recipe/ I use Hershey's Special Dark cocoa in both recipes. It gives it a dark, dark color and rich flavor, that and the espresso powder. I was skeptical of that ingredient, not being a coffee drinker, but it's critical for a rich chocolate flavor. There's no coffee taste to it at all, just amazing chocolate.
I'm thinking about making myself a Black Magic Cake for my birthday next month.
I've been entrusted/asked to bake a cake for a friend's (small) wedding! She's asking for a chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream. I want to do a big and slightly outlandish cake, I'm thinking 3-4 layers. Any recipe suggestions? I've found some promising ones on brown eyed baker, pioneer woman, and epicurious but it's so hard to know!! If anyone has a go-to chocolate cake or one they've tried and enjoyed, would appreciate it!!
https://www.hersheys.com/kitchens/en_us/recipes/black-magic-cake.html. This is a no fail chocolate cake that my family has used for years. It is very moist.
I’m happy to report that the bars taste really good, and taste better about a day or two later. I think it takes a bit of time for the peanut butter and oats to really come together.
Been thinking about my next baking project, and I feel like these from Christina Tosi will hit the spot: https://www.christinatosi.com/post/little-motivators-for-duncan-hines
Wow! Those granola bars look great, @Joyce. Thanks for the recipe. I may have to try those when my grocery store ones run out.
I made these peanut butter bars from the Real Food RDs blog: https://therealfoodrds.com/5-ingredient-peanut-butter-granola-bars/
It came out looking messier than I would’ve liked, but that‘s because I used chocolate chunks, and not mini-chocolate chips as originally specified. I’ve been on an oats kick recently. I want to eat oats, just not in oatmeal, and cookies and bars have been a great solution.
Made these last night! I've made them several times before and they're great. I make them when I want to bake but don't have much in the house, and don't have a lot of time.
https://recipeforperfection.com/decadent-flourless-brownies-recipe-sundaysupper/
I haven't made these but I want to! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQiii4pg4s8 Cupcake Jemma is wonderful.
I was thinking about this thread. I made a discovery a few days ago that other bakers probably already know about. When I started baking, I learned to freeze freshly baked cookies in Ziploc freezer bags. Then when I wanted a cookie, I could set one out to thaw or I could microwave it if I wanted to hurry things along. Not bad, especially at first, but after a few weeks, the texture of the cookies starts to change. They get wetter and denser and aren't quite as good as when they were fresh.
This week, I made five pounds of chocolate chip cookie dough, scooped it into balls, and froze the balls on a cookie sheet for an hour or so. After they'd set up enough not to stick together, I put the dough balls in a freezer bag with the oven temp and cook time written on it. If you're cooking from frozen, you just add a minute or so to whatever the recipe says. Now, when I want a cookie or two, I can have them warm and fresh out of the oven in 10-15 minutes. This is awesome!!! I cook them on a sheet lined with parchment paper so I don't even have to wash a pan.
OMG! That cake is magnificent!
Thanks 😊
Gorgeous!!! You are a baker extraordinaire!! Thanks for posting it. i Hope you’ve had a wonderful day xx
Yay, thanks @skwigg ! I always forget about Handle the Heat, and everything she makes looks amazing. I'll let you know if I make those monster cookies though. I turn to Sally's Baking Addiction really anytime I want to bake, because it always turns out well. I made her strawberry cake for a baby shower recently and the new mom told me it was the best cake she's had in awhile!
Yum! Both of those look amazing @jazzapple. Everything I've made from Sally's Baking Addiction has been great.
My go-to cookie is the Ultimate Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from Handle the Heat that I shared a few posts up. The long chill time means no instant gratification if you want same-day cookies, but the wait is worth it. They're huge, chewy, and loaded with chips. I always have some in the freezer.
I'm super intrigued by that Peanut Butter Cup Surprise Monster Cookie though. Anything with a peanut butter cup in the center is ok by me. Let us know how the cookies turn out.
Yay, my login works now!! I've made this twice in the past couple weeks, both presents for family:
https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/spiced-gingerbread-loaf/ It's amazing. I skipped the glaze because both people I made it for don't like glaze. It doubles nicely, too!
Baking cookies for my brother soon too who is headed out of town for work for two months, so I want to make him a big batch he can freeze. Was thinking of these, but any other suggestions are welcome! https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/peanut-butter-cup-surprise-monster-cookies/
I've just discovered the most amazing pie crust recipe. It's the Smitten Kitchen Extra-Flaky Pie Crust.
https://smittenkitchen.com/2019/03/extra-flaky-pie-crust/
It's a butter crust, which I've had terrible luck with in the past. For some reason, mine have always come out tough compared to shortening crusts. This recipe uses a sticky and wet dough that seems like it will never work. (Actually, when I made it as written, weighing the flour, it wasn't sticky and wet enough, so I added another splash of water.) Once you chill it and the butter hardens, it's easy to work with. The big super secret is that you fold the dough up like a business letter before you roll it out. This gets the flakey layers started. It was so perfectly tender, buttery, and flaky. I was amazed! It almost reminds me of puff pastry, or a croissant.
I made a cherry slab pie with it. I've never made a slab pie. I feared it would overflow and I'd have a big cherry puddle mess on a cookie sheet, but it came out perfectly. I followed Deb's sample pie recipe but used canned cherry filling instead of rhubarb. You can also make two standard single crust pies or one double crust pie with the recipe.
Behold!! 😍
That cake looks delicious! I'm bookmarking that recipe to make at some point.
Today I baked chocolate chip cookies. We have had cookies of some sort in our house since Christmas. But before we went away on our trip we ran out of cookies and I didn't have time to bake any. Well let me tell you we have all been missing our post-supper cookies the past 4 days! So I baked up a batch tonight. I use Mr. Fields Cholesterol Free Chocolate chip cookies. I don't care about the cholesterol part, I just love the recipe. It's fairly easy to make and they are DELICIOUS!
Not really baking per se, but I made Lasagna tonight. I've been making Cooking Light's Classic Lasagna with Meat Sauce at least every other weekend this winter. It is insanely good and worth all the effort it takes to make.
I've been birthday baking! I made a batch of Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies from Handle the Heat. At first glance, this recipe looks really fussy with two kinds of flour and the multi-day chill time, but it's so easy and the cookies are so delicious! I actually like that you make the dough in one session and pull it out and bake it on another day. It makes both processes seem quick and easy. These cookies are huge and extra chewy thanks to the bread flour. I used a 3 tablespoon scoop. Plus, they're almost more chips than cookie. Yum!
Then I made the Chocolate Olive Oil Cake from Smitten Kitchen. That is a terrible and unappetizing name for a wonderful cake. They're also called "wacky cakes," which is what I've been calling it. It's based on recipes from The Great Depression that don't include eggs or butter because those were expensive and hard to come by. It's a single layer baked in a 9-inch round cake pan. There are only like seven ingredients, one bowl, no mixer. The recipe called for a cup and a half of water or coffee. I used espresso. My husband and I both had two pieces after dinner. We probably won't be able to sleep. 😄 He was highly skeptical of the no eggs or butter situation but ended up loving it. The cake is super moist. He said it reminded him of Hostess cakes, which makes sense. I'll bet there are no butter or eggs in those either! LOL You can't taste the olive oil at all, or the espresso. It's super chocolatey, and I love the shiny frosting. I will definitely make it again.
Anybody else been baking lately? Any good recipes to share?
I was also going to suggest the Hershey's Black Magic Cake. I've made it many times. It's a winner.
I use this recipe to frost it: https://addapinch.com/perfect-chocolate-buttercream-frosting-recipe/ I use Hershey's Special Dark cocoa in both recipes. It gives it a dark, dark color and rich flavor, that and the espresso powder. I was skeptical of that ingredient, not being a coffee drinker, but it's critical for a rich chocolate flavor. There's no coffee taste to it at all, just amazing chocolate.
I'm thinking about making myself a Black Magic Cake for my birthday next month.
Yay!! Thank you both so much. Luckily it's a very small wedding, ~20 people. She's asking two people to make the cakes, so that eases some pressure:)
I made my sister's wedding cake!!! It was a massive project and stressful at times but I loved it. It was a white chocolate mud cake. Good luck!!
I've been entrusted/asked to bake a cake for a friend's (small) wedding! She's asking for a chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream. I want to do a big and slightly outlandish cake, I'm thinking 3-4 layers. Any recipe suggestions? I've found some promising ones on brown eyed baker, pioneer woman, and epicurious but it's so hard to know!! If anyone has a go-to chocolate cake or one they've tried and enjoyed, would appreciate it!!