Rustic Mini Chocolate Cream Pies

I love “rustic” because it implies imperfection (which suits me, since I’m completely imperfect).  However, I love it when my baking turns out well. . .perfect.  Confused?  Me too.

These chocolate cream pies came to be when my daughter found a picture of some pudding pies that I didn’t have the ingredients for – instant pudding, premade pie crust, and the like.  This homemade version was a big hit, and is sure to be a repeat.

In other exciting news, today is my niece’s 7th birthday. . .Happy Birthday Girlie!

Rustic Mini Chocolate Cream Pie

Pie Crust Adapted from An Adobe Oven to a Microwave Range

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/4 cups shortening

1 egg

5 Tablespoons water

1 Tablespoon vinegar

In the food processor, combine the flour, salt,  and baking powder.  Pulse 2 to 3 times.  Add the shortening and pulse until coarse-looking crumbs appear.  Add the egg, water, and vinegar and pulse just until combined, and the dough starts to pull away from the sides.

Open the lid of the food processor, and pat the dough.  It should be soft, but not sticky.  Scoop the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until it all comes together.  Grab a golf ball sized piece of dough and roll it out on the floured surface.  Place the rolled-out dough inside a muffin pan, or individual pie pan, cut to size, and prick the bottom of each pie with a fork about 5 times.

When all of the wells have been filled with pie dough, bake them in the oven at 375 degrees for about 20 – 25 minutes, or until lightly browned.  The bottoms will puff up just a little.  Let them cool in the pan.

*As an added touch, we melted 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and spooned the melted chocolate onto the bottom of our cooled pie crusts to prevent the crust from turning soggy, before pouring in the hot filling.

Chocolate Cream

1 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

3 squares of semisweet chocolate (I used Baker’s)

3 egg yolks, beaten (in a small mixing bowl, set aside for tempering)

Whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a medium saucepan (this will help prevent lumps).  Add the milk, heavy cream, and chocolate.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture boils and thickens.

Boil for 1 minute, and remove from heat.

Gradually stir at least half of the hot mixture into the 3 beaten egg yolks whisking constantly to temper (slowly bringing the yolks and hot milk to the same temperature to prevent the egg yolks from scrambling).

Then add the tempered egg mixture back into the rest of the hot milk, whisking constantly to combine.  Return the custard mixture to the stove (over medium heat) and bring to a boil – for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and add 1/4 teaspoon vanilla and 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter.  Whisk until fully incorporated.  Then pour through a sieve into a large (4 cup) glass measuring cup.

Don’t omit this step!  Even when I think I’ve fully incorporated the egg yolks, there are always a few chewy bits that end up in the sieve.

Pour the chocolate cream into the cooled pie shells, and let set at room temperature (about 30 minutes) before refrigerating (to prevent sweating).

Store in the refrigerator, and serve cold.

Makes about a dozen pies using this individual pie pan.

Mustache Chocolate Valentine Pop

You’ve seen all the cute “mustache” tags out there in blogland, right?  Well, there’s no way my kids would hand Valentine’s out at school if they contained the words ”love”, “be mine”, “heartbreaker”, “eyes for you”, you get the idea.  Boys are gross, girls are gross, end of story.

But I love the mustache so much, so this was my answer, and as luck would have it I’m planning on making 70+ chocolate mustaches for Valentine’s Day this year – I know, I’m crazy!

However, if my kids are any indication, these should be a big hit with their friends.  I got some great pics of them all posing with their chocolate mustaches – too cute.

I bought the mustache mold from here.  The treat bags can be purchased at Walmart in their cake decorating/wedding section, or from here.  The lollipop sticks can be purchased here.

Chocolate Mustache Valentine Pops

Chocolate compound coating. 1 pound makes approx. 12 mustaches

lollipop sticks

mold

Melt the compound coating according to the directions on the package.  Place the lollipop stick into place and spoon the melted compound coating into each mustache well and roll the stick around to make sure it’s completely covered in coating.  Gently tap the mold onto the counter to smooth out the coating and help prevent bubbles (some of mine still had some).

Place in the freezer, lying flat, for 10 minutes.  When done, carefully turn the mold over onto a clean counter and they should come right out.  If not, gently tap the corners of the mold to release any that are resistant.

Let come to room temperature before you package.

Strawberry Thumbprint Scones

These aren’t your typical dry biscuits – nope, these are so much better.  They’re soft, cake-like, moist bits of yumminess, or as my son calls them ”awesome good.”

They come together fast in the food processor and go right into the oven.  My favorite part is the strawberry jam in the middle – I mean, who doesn’t like a little glimpse of summer in the winter?!  That’s why people can summer produce, right?

I almost didn’t make these, being that it’s still Christmas break here and it’s crazy with the kids still at home (happily riding their scooters around the house while dad is at work, because that’s why we have a wood floor, right?).

You see, Christmas Break = verge of a nervous breakdown for me.  I knew if I made these and they failed, then I would have pushed myself over the edge, because nothing puts a wrinkle in my panties like wasting precious resources (I’m talking my time and energy) making a recipe that doesn’t turn out.

And trying said recipe in the midst of wiping crayon off of a laptop, while explaining that “life isn’t fair, which kind of makes it fair” to feuding siblings, and chasing down the offender who keeps throwing candy wrappers on the floor – well, it was a gamble.

But all’s well that ends well, because this one is a keeper.

This recipe came from this cookbook - which is also a keeper.  And I have to add a big thanks to my in-laws for the wonderful homegrown (frozen) strawberries I used to prepare these!

Strawberry Thumbprint Scones Adapted from Savory Sweet Life

2 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 cup heavy cream

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

3/4 cup jam (I used strawberry topping – recipe below)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor and pulse.  Add the pieces of butter and pulse until coarse crumbs appear.  Pour the flour mixture to a large mixing bowl and add the heavy cream, egg, and vanilla - stir just until combined.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times.  Roll the dough into a large ball and cut into quarters.  Roll each of those into balls and press (or roll) the dough into 1/2 to 3/4 inch circle and, using a pizza cutter, cut each flattened disk into quarters.

Place each scone onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Gently press your thumb in the middle of each scone – I did it a couple of times to make room for more filling - the best part!  Spoon a heaping spoonful into the indentation.  Bake for 15 minutes.

Prepare glaze while the scones are cooling, and drizzle the scones with the glaze.

Almond Glaze Adapted from Savory Sweet Life

1/4 cup milk

1 – 2 cups powdered sugar (add as needed to get a thick consistency)

1 teaspoon almond extract

Combine 1 cup of powdered sugar, almond extract, and the milk in a small bowl.  Whisk until thick, but pourable.  If it’s still too thin (mine was) add more powdered sugar.

Strawberry Topping Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

dash of salt

1/3 cup water

4 cups fresh or frozen strawberries

Place the sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan and whisk together to break up any lumps.  Then add the water and stir well.  Add in the strawberries.

Over medium heat, cook and stir until the sauce is thick and just starting to boil.  Stir for 1 to 2 minutes more, then take off the heat and let cool.  Store in the refrigerator.

Delicious served over ice cream, cheesecake, on top of fresh baked scones, or to coat fresh strawberries for pie!  Yum!

Gingerbread House Cookies

Nothing says Christmas to me more than the taste, and smell, of freshly baked gingerbread.  I always get excited about the kids’ class parties, especially when there’s “gingerbread house” decorating.

I’m using that term loosely because I’ve seen ice cream cones, graham crackers, and (my least favorite) milk cartons decorated like gingerbread houses.  In fact, last year I was asked to donate candy to decorate “gingerbread houses,” and I thought it sounded like fun.  Until, I walked into the classroom and saw a mom hard at work hot glue gunning graham crackers to the sides of milk cartons for the kids to decorate with frosting and candy.  Not such fun – because it’s not edible!

What a complete and total waste. . .and nothing chops my hide like wasted time and candy.  The good news is that out of that, came this cookie.  My kids had a blast decorating their own cookies and consuming their creations, and this would be a great activity for the kids to do at their school parties.  I just filled disposable frosting bags with royal icing (tying the tops off with rubber bands), and snipped of the tips (instead of dirtying frosting tips) and let them loose with the candy.

Click here for a soft and chewy gingerbread recipe.

Now for the fun. . .the decorated cookies:

I bought my bird house cookie cutter from King Arthur Flour last year, and they don’t carry it anymore.  But no worries, you can find a great selection of house cookie cutters at Copper Gifts, Copper House Cookie Cutter.

Gingerbread Reindeer + Rudolph

This gingerbread is so good, buy new spices (they make such a huge difference), and play around with the amounts until you get the flavor you like - I personally prefer more cinnamon.

My kids got a kick out of handing these beauties out to their teachers, and I was relieved that it was a consumable gift – no worries about giving them clutter or duplicates.  Trust me, these are big concerns when one is married to a minimalist.

Gingerbread Adapted from Martha Stewart

3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup unsulfured molasses (I used Grandma’s Brand)

In a large bowl whisk the dry ingredients together and set aside. In a food processor, pulse the butter and brown sugar together until creamed. Add the egg and molasses and pulse until well combined.

Add in the flour/spice mixture all at once and pulse until everything is completely incorporated. The dough will be very sticky, but resist the urge to add more flour.

Set a sheet of plastic wrap on the counter, and spoon the dough onto it. Wrap the dough up in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours, or until the next day.

When you’re ready to bake your cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then roll the dough 1/4 an inch thick on a lightly floured surface, and cut with cookie cutters. Place cut outs on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Transfer the cookies (left on the parchment) to a wire rack to cool immediately out of the oven.

Once cool, frost with royal icing* and decorations of your choosing. Enjoy!

For the simple decoration seen above, I just followed the directions on the back of my meringue powder, and added white food coloring (as an extra precaution, but certainly not necessary) to keep the frosting from turning yellow due to the butter content in the cookies.

King Arthur Square Bake and Give Pans with Lids

Mini Reindeer Cookie Cutter

Red and White Baker’s Twine

EK Success Real Estate Sign Paper Punch

Creamy Hot Chocolate

My kids love hot chocolate, and they can drink a lot of it.  So when I came across this recipe I knew I had to try it. 

They loved it, and I loved that I only had to make 1 batch – hooray!

Creamy Hot Chocolate Adapted from here

6 cups whole milk

1 (14 ounce can) sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

your favorite ice cream

In a large pot combine all the ingredients (except the ice cream) and warm on low heat, stirring occasionally until the chocolate has melted – about 45 minutes.

Whisk before serving - the top tends to form a “skin.”  Place a generous scoop of your favorite ice cream on top of each serving.  This is a great option for little kids that can’t wait for their hot chocolate to cool down. 

Enjoy!

Snowman Candy Bar Party Favors

I’ll be back to sharing recipes really soon, but today is all about party favors!  I have a tendency to go overboard, and my husband suggested that I just give out bags of candy as party favors for my daughter’s birthday.  While there is certainly nothing wrong with his idea, I’m one of those people who care about how much thought was put into the gift, not the price.

I remembered that I had torn this idea from a Martha Stewart Living magazine years ago, and knew it was perfect!  My daughter and I had a lot of fun putting these cuties together.

Snowman Candy Bar Party Favors Adapted from Martha Stewart Living Magazine

XL Candy Bars (I bought the Hershey XL bars)

Freezer paper – I tore off 14 inch sheets (but it will depend on the size of the candy bar)

Black ink pad

Colored yarn (I used Bernat Baby Blanket yarn in Baby Blue)

Orange felt or construction paper

Strong clear tape

Glue

Scissors

Place the freezer paper down, shiny side up, short end facing you and wrap your candy up.  Tape the back of the paper, and fold down the ends – like wrapping a present and tape those too.

Turn the covered candy bar over and dipping the tip of your pinky finger in ink – gently dab on the eyes and the mouth.  I dipped my finger after each stamp for consistent color.

Cut the felt into narrow triangles, and glue the felt nose into place between the eyes and the mouth.  Take the yarn and cut about 2 feet, fold it over (so you have a double scarf) and tie it in a knot around the “neck.”  Then simple trim the ends with scissors to the desired length.

Rose Cake

I received a comment from Lisa (Hi!) and she requested some information on this cake - which previously was nothing more than a  photo in a birthday collage I’d thrown together earlier this year.  See, I do read comments!

Anywho, this is the rose cake. . . and I love it.  Like me, you’ve probably seen these rose cakes everywhere, and they are so much fun.  I wanted to do something a little different with mine – I wanted a strawberry cake (something about strawberry just screams summer to me) covered in colored roses.  And I wanted them layered so some actually stand taller than the others, for visual interest.  For the recipes, see below.  For a great tutorial, click here.

To layer the roses (on the top of the cake only), simply pipe a rose over the bare space between roses.

Although this particular cake was a soft Strawberry Cake, I think a lovely white cake (just omit the sprinkles unless you want a “funfetti” cake) would also make for a stunning interior.

Super Soft Strawberry Cake Adapted from Family Circle Magazine

3 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup solid vegetable shortening
2 cups granulated sugar, divided
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons strawberry liqueur
1 cup buttermilk
Red food coloring
2/3 cup diced strawberries
6 egg whites
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 350.  Spray three 9 inch (round) cake pans with PAM spray and line with parchment.  Set aside.

Whisk the cake flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.  In a large bowl, cream the shortening and 1 ½ cups of sugar together.  Beat in the vanilla and the liqueur until combined.

Next, in three additions beat in the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk – beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

When the flour and buttermilk are completely incorporated, add the diced strawberries and a few drops of red food coloring.*

In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy and add the cream of tartar, and gradually add the remaining ½ cup sugar.  Continue beating until stiff peaks have formed.

Gently stir some of the stiff egg whites into the batter.  Then fold in the remaining egg whites until completely incorporated.

Divide the batter between the three prepared cake pans and bake in the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until done.  Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes in the pan (placed on top of a cooling rack).  After 10 minutes, turn the cakes out onto the wire rack to continue cooling.**

*The cake lightens up after baking, so I like to add enough color for the batter to be a shade or two darker than my desired color.

**My sister-in-law (Hi Lisa!) shared this tip with me – it not only keeps your cake really moist, but it also helps when assembling layer cakes.  Instead of cooling on the wire rack after the 10 minute cooling period in the pan, turn the cakes out onto plastic wrap and carefully (they’re hot!) wrap them up.  Then wrap each layer in foil and stack them on a cutting board (or cookie sheet) and place them in the freezer for at least an hour.

Click here to get the recipe for my favorite Italian Meringue Buttercream.  It’s delicious and the perfect consistency for piping frosting.

Soft Peanut Butter Cookies

I’m not a big peanut butter fan, but when I am in the mood for peanut butter these are the cookies I like to make.  They’re super soft and add just the right amount of sweetness to counteract any bitterness from the peanut butter.  Does anyone else think peanut butter is bitter?

The trick to keeping these beauties super soft, is really simple.  Don’t over bake them!  In fact, I take them out of the oven and let them cool directly on the baking sheet.

Don’t be like my husband and eat one right out of the oven, unless you like gooey peanut butter dough.  Just be patient and let them cool for 45 minutes to an hour and they’ll be perfect.  I promise!

Soft Peanut Butter Cookies Adapted from Ghoulish Goodies (I know, great title, right?!)

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup smooth peanut butter (I use Skippy Natural)

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/4 – 2 3/4 cups flour (more on this in a minute)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a cookie sheet with parchment.  Set aside.

Using your beaters, cream the butter, brown sugar, sugar, and peanut butter together until creamy.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.

Add 2 1/4 cups flour, baking powder, and salt.  Beat until the flour is completely incorporated.

Take a cookie scoop (about 1 1/2 Tbsp size) and scoop out some cookie dough to “test” if there is enough flour.  Another secret to soft peanut butter cookies – less flour!

To “test” the cookie dough, roll that scoop of dough in between your hands to make a ball and place it on the parchment-lined baking sheet.  Take a fork and gently press the tines into the ball of dough flattening it.  Lift up and repeat on the other side, making a crisscross pattern.

If the dough is too sticky to make the crisscross, then throw it back into the bowl with the rest of the dough and add another 1/4 cup of flour and retest.

Once you’re able to make the crisscross pattern with minimal stickness (my dough still had some, but that’s good because it means softer cookies!) Then pop the cookies into the oven for 12 minutes.

When done, leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 45 minutes, or an hour, to cool completely.  Enjoy!

*I like to freeze the cookie dough.  To do this, simply do everything except don’t put them in the oven, instead place them in the freezer, and take them out after an hour and place in a ziploc bag.  Frozen cookies take about 20 minutes to bake.

Candy Apple Whip

You’ve probably seen this “salad” around the web. . .I think it’s known as “snickers salad.”  I love the concept of a dense whipped cream base loaded with crisp apples and chewy bits of candy, but I can’t in good conscience call it a salad – it’s a dessert!

No matter what you choose to call it, it’s delish, and it’s the perfect time to make it with all those leftover Halloween candy bars.

Candy Apple Whip

4 ounces cream cheese (full-fat)

1/2 cup powdered sugar (dip and scoop method)

2 cups of heavy whipping cream

1 granny smith apple, peeled and sliced into chunks

4 small snickers, baby ruth, milky way, and/or 3 musketeers bars – chopped

Beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar together until smooth.  Slowly add the heavy whipping cream and beat until nice and fluffy.  Taste to make sure you’ve added enough powdered sugar, and adjust as needed.

Add the apple and chopped candy bars.  Stir together and serve, or refrigerate until serving time.  Enjoy!