Betty Crocker Cookie Book

Out of all the names in cookie books out there, Betty Crocker is one of the most, if not the most, famous. This fame was gained with good reason. Dozens of generations have grown on Betty's goodies and it shows in that she remains hugely popular throughout the years.

This book honors the Betty Crocker good name. Dozens of oh-so-yummy different recipes for everyone to enjoy. The variety is quite astounding as she has more than enough cookies to fill up several chapters ranging from drop cookies, bar cookies, shaped cookies, kids cookies, etc. She even has a special chapter that's bound to become very useful in this day and age, dedicated to cookies for special diets. Here you'll find several treats for people on diets or with conditions such as diabetes or certain food allergies.

Betty's instructions are, as usual, very simple to follow through and not only that, she even makes it easier on you by providing little tips on baking strategies, ingredient substitutions, etc. on almost all of the recipes. This makes it a cinch to turn out perfect cookies every time no matter what your baking skill is like.

Spring Fling Layered White Cake

My aunt emailed me a couple of weeks ago with this recipe, wondering if I would be willing to make it for my grandma's birthday. My grandma is borderline diabetic, so she tries to avoid sweets as much as possible. I have never worked with Splenda before (or cake flour, for that matter), but I was up for the challenge and dove right in.

The recipe was straightforward and easy to follow. It really was no different than making any other kind of cake. I snitched a tiny taste of the cake as I was slicing the layers (an art I am in dire need of practicing) and was pleasantly surprised by how normal it tasted. I figured you would be able to tell that it wasn't made with real sugar, but I certainly couldn't.

I was not a fan of the frosting, but then again I'm not a cream cheese kind of girl. Unless it is heavily sweetened. Or the cream cheese flavor is barely noticeable. As it was, the frosting was mostly cream cheese (1 whole pound...yikes!) and a fat free cream cheese, which I have to believe takes some of the flavor out of it. I would have much rather seen the cake paired with this pudding-based frosting (or even this pudding/cream cheese/whipped topping frosting probably wouldn't be bad).

But the true test was what all of the guests would think of the cake. I was nervous, of course, and kept my fingers crossed that it would be a hit. The verdict? It was delicious! Grandma even had two pieces. I didn't try the finished product, but all of the guests that tried it raved about how good it was. I would definitely like to try this cake again and experiment more with the filling and the frosting.

Happy 84th, Grandma!

Spring Fling Layered White Cake
(Source: Splenda)

Cake:
1 1/2 cups SPLENDA® Granular
3 3/4 cup cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
7 large egg whites
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Diabetic Cream Cheese Frosting:
1/2 cup light butter, softened
1 cup SPLENDA Granular
1 pound fat-free cream cheese
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Apricot & Strawberry Filling:
3/4 cup reduced sugar apricot preserves
1 pint strawberries, thinly sliced

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray two 9-inch cake pans with baking spray. Set aside.

2. Make cake. Sift flour. Mix SPLENDA, flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar together in a medium sized mixing bowl. Mix on low speed until ingredients are blended. Add softened butter. Mix on low speed until butter is very finely distributed (about 2 to 3 minutes).

3. Add egg whites. Mix on low speed until incorporated. Scrape sides of bowl. Mix on medium-high speed 1 to 2 minutes or until batter is light and well blended. Scrape sides of bowl. Add buttermilk and extracts. Mix on medium speed until blended.

4. Pour cake batter into prepared pans. Bake in preheated 350°F oven 20 to 25 minutes or until edges of cake appear slightly dry. Allow cake to cool in pans 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks until ready to ice.

5. Prepare Icing. Beat softened butter and SPLENDA briefly in a medium sized mixing bowl (until SPLENDA is just incorporated). Add cream cheese. Mix until lump free (about 1 minutes). Scrape sides of bowl and add vanilla. Mix well.

6. Assemble cake. Slice cooled cake layers in half. Using a serrated knife slice cakes in half horizontally, to create 4 cake layers.

7. Place 1 cake layer on cake stand or plate. Spread 1/3 of the preserves over the cake layer. Top with 1/3 of the strawberries. Repeat process until all layers are assembled.

8. Ice cake.

Makes 18 (1/2-inch thick slice) servings.

Cinnamon Buttermilk Muffins with Struesel Topping

I've been eying these muffins for quite some time and I finally made them this weekend when I was looking for a way to use up some of the buttermilk I had sitting in my fridge from when I made the Spice Cake for Alison's birthday last week.

The muffin itself has a slightly sweet and subtle cinnamon flavor and bakes up with a moist, tender and fluffy crumb, thanks to the buttermilk. This is a nice contrast to the sweet brown sugar and cinnamon streusel that gives the muffins a crisp and sweet top. Without the topping, the subtle flavor of the muffin would be lost and the muffin might even be considered too plain.

The original recipe for this muffin, from Williams Sonoma, calls for dipping the muffins in melted butter and then in a cinnamon sugar topping. I would be interested in trying it this way, as I imagine both the look and the taste of them would be a lot like those yummy cinnamon sugar doughnuts.

Cinnamon Buttermilk Muffins
(Source: Bakingblonde's Weblog)

For the muffins:
7 Tbsp butter

2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground Cinnamon
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the Struesel:
2 Tbsp flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp butter, softened

1. Preheat an oven to 350°F. Grease 6 jumbo muffin cups with butter or butter-flavored nonstick cooking spray; fill the unused cups one-third full with water to prevent warping.

2. To make the muffins, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, combine the butter and sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat well until pale and smooth.

3. In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Add to the butter mixture in 2 additions, alternating with the buttermilk and vanilla. Stir just until evenly moistened. The batter will be slightly lumpy.

4. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full.

5. To make the topping, in a small bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or forks until mixture resembles cornmeal. Gently sprinkle topping evenly over batter in prepared muffin tin. Gently press down topping slightly.

6. Bake until the muffins are golden, dry and springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25-27 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Unmold the muffins and let stand until cool enough to handle.

Makes 6 Jumbo Muffins (or 9 regular muffins)

Pillsbury Best Cookies Cookbook: Favorite Recipes from America's Most-Trusted Kitchens

An Introduction filled with helpful information for successful-every-time cookie baking precedes the chapters that cover every type of cookie. There are Drop Cookies, Hand-Formed Cookies, Refrigerator Cookies, Rolled Cookies, Bars and Brownies, Holiday Cookies, and, of course, Bake-Off(R) Favorites. And with the Pillsbury name behind the recipes, cooks can be assures that they are reliable and delicious.

Each recipe is accompanied by easy-to-read sidebars with headings such as Ingredient Substitution, Make It Special, Storage Tip, and Holiday Fact, which provide all sorts of information for making cookie baking easier and more fun. The recipes are also tagged with bullets: Editor's Favorite, Kid Pleaser, and Chocoholic's Choice, which help readers find exactly the recipe they're looking for.

Dixie Spice Cake with Caramel Frosting

In case you haven't noticed, we like to celebrate things at the office. We use pretty much anything as an excuse to have cake. This time it was Alison's birthday. She has gotten away with not celebrating her birthday for the last two years. I put a stop to that this year and she was a very good sport about it.

I really like spice cake. I think it has to be one of my favorite kinds of cake. It is also the only kind of cake I actually enjoy eating cream cheese frosting on. This particular spice cake was good, but I have definitely had better and will need to continue my search for the perfect spice cake recipe. The caramel frosting was very rich and was a nice change of pace from the cream cheese frosting you usually find it paired with.

Dixie Spice Cake with Caramel Frosting
(Source: Pillsbury Baking)

Cake:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup shortening
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Caramel Frosting:
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Generously grease bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with shortening or cooking spray; lightly flour.

2. In large bowl, beat all cake ingredients except walnuts with electric mixer on low speed until moistened, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat on medium speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in walnuts. Spread batter evenly in pan.

3. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

4. In 2-quart saucepan, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar. Cook over low heat 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add milk; cook until mixture comes to a rolling boil. Remove from heat. Gradually beat in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. If needed, add a few drops of milk for desired spreading consistency. Spread over cooled cake.

Serves 24

Fudgy S'mores Bars

After a much needed vacation, I am back in the kitchen with a recipe that is sure to please any crowd. I brought these over to dinner at the in-laws house tonight and they were a hit.

The bars are very simple and come together really quickly, especially if you have a stash of graham cracker crumbs tucked away in the pantry. The recipe takes no more than 30 minutes from start to finish, even less time if you've got graham cracker crumbs on hand. The bars are best eaten within several hours of coming out of the oven, but will keep for several days in an airtight container.

When it comes to graham cracker crumbs, I have found it's easiest to break the graham crackers into smaller pieces before placing them into a large Ziploc bag. Be sure to let all of the air out of the bag before you close it, otherwise you are liable to pop the bag. :) Once sealed, place the bag on a firm surface and run over the crackers with a rolling pin until they reach your desired consistency. I have found that 12 squares (6 full sheets) equals about one cup of crumbs.

Fudgy S'mores Bars
(Source: Pillsbury Baking)

Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (12 squares)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

Topping:
4 cups miniature marshmallows
3/4 cup M&Ms
1/4 cup hot fudge topping, heated

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 13x9 inch pan with shortening or cooking spray. In a large bowl, beat crust ingredients with electric mixer on low speed until coarse crumbs form, scraping bowl occasionally. Press mixture evenly in bottom of pan.

2. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle marshmallows evenly over crust; bake 1 to 2 minutes longer or until marshmallows begin to puff.

3. Sprinkly M&Ms evenly over marshmallows; drizzle warm topping over top. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

Make 32 bars.

Cinnamon-Oat Scones

In addition to making another batch of oatmeal raisin cookies for my dad, I decided to be bold and attempt making scones for the very first time. Scones sound hard to make, but I found them surprisingly simple. This particular recipe, I admit, yielded scones that were a little dry and too bland for my taste, but otherwise fine. What little flavor they did have was the result of the cinnamon-sugar topping, which was quite tasty but not enough flavor for me. If I were to make this particular recipe again, I would add more spice to the scone batter itself. However, it's more likely that next time (yes, there will most definitely be a next time) I will try something else. This seems right up my alley. :)

Cinnamon-Oat Scones
(Source: Pillsbury Baking)

Scones:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup milk

Topping:
1 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray. In medium bowl, mix flour, oats, brow sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. With pastry blender or fork, cut in 1/2 cup butter until mixture is crumbly. Add milk all at once; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.

2. On floured work surface, gently knead dough 5 or 6 times. Place on cookie sheet; press into 6-inch round, about 1 inch thick. Brush top with melted butter.

3. In small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over top. Cut into 8 wedges; separate slightly.

4. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Strawberried Peanut Butter M&M Cookies

From the moment I first laid my eyes on these M&Ms, I knew I had to make them into a cookie.

But what kind of cookie?
Peanut Butter?
Oatmeal?
Chocolate Chip?

In the end, I settled on a recipe for M&M cookies, which is basically your ordinary chocolate chip cookie. This recipe yields a cookie that is not overly sweet, but just as tasty as any other cookie. At some point I might try an oatmeal or peanut butter (or a combination of both) with the other bag of M&Ms I purchased.

A few things to note:

1. The original recipe is supposed to yield 50 cookies. Mine yielded about 3 dozen average sized cookies. Clearly we have very different ideas of what is meant by "heaping teaspoonfuls." I think I would have ended up with bite-sized cookies if I had followed their idea of "heaping." Quite frankly, I am much happier with my interpretation. :)

2. The recipe calls for the cookies to be baked for 10-13 minutes. I enjoy a softer cookie, so I always go slightly under what they consider to be the minimum baking time. But to each his own.

Strawberried Peanut Butter M&M Cookies

(Source: Adapted from Red's Ultimate M&Ms Cookies)

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups Strawberried Peanut Butter M&M’s
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy; beat in egg and vanilla. In medium bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt; blend into butter/sugar mixture. Stir in M&M’s and chocolate chips. Drop dough by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

3. Bake 9 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and centers are still soft. Do not overbake. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; cool completely on wire racks. Store in tightly covered container.

Make approximately 3 dozen.

Cookbooks

I have a serious love-hate relationship with cookbooks. I love the idea of them - a bunch of great recipes, all in one place and organized in a way that always makes sense. But the reality of it is, in any given cookbook, there are always only a handful of recipes that make it onto my "must try" list and this frustrates me to no end.

I have finally found the perfect solution to my problem.

The library.

The freaking library.

It's the best solution a baker like me could ask for. You can check out as many books as you want for 3 weeks as many as 3 times in a row (that's 9 whole weeks, providing no one else wants the book during that period), which gives you ample time to try as many or as few recipes as you please. If you're anything like me, you will get a little carried away and wind up with 7 different cookbooks (6 of them baking-related) at once that need to be plowed through.

The best part is this: when I have tried all of the recipes I am interested in, I can simply return the cookbook and pick out a new one. It's no big deal if I only try one or two recipes out of a book because I didn't spend a ridiculous amount of money on it. And, let's face it, cookbooks can be expensive. And of course, if I like the book enough, I can always add it to my personal collection later on.

Below is a helpful list of cookbooks broken into 3 pretty self-explanatory categories: My Personal Collection, Tried-and-True, and Must-Try. At some point I may get into reviewing cookbooks I've used, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

My Personal Collection:
The Essential Wok Cookbook
The Essential Asian Cookbook
The Essential Baking Cookbook
The Newlywed's Cookbook
Betty Crocker's Cooking for Two
Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook 14th edition
Stir Fries: Best-ever Wok & Pan Recipes
If I Gotta Cook Make It Quick!
Fix-it & Forget-it Slow Cookbook: Feasting with Your Slow Cooker
Pancakes & Waffles
Cupcakes!
Recipe File

Tried-and-True:
Betty Crocker Cookie Book
The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion: The Essential Cookie Cookbook
Pillsbury Best Cookies Cookbook: Favorite Recipes from America's Most-Trusted Kitchens
The Candy Bar Cookbook
Pillsbury Baking
Best Ever Cookie Book
Mrs. Fields Best Cookie Book Ever!

Must Try:
Muffin Bible
Baking By Flavor
The Essential Christmas Cookbook
Pillsbury Holiday Baking: Treats Filled With Cheer For A Magical Time of Year
The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook: Recipes from the Classic Cookie to Mocha Chip Meringue Cake
Big Fat Cookies
Big, Soft, Chewy Cookies
KitchenAid Baking Companion
Kitchen Aid Great Baking and More
Ultimate Mixer Cookbook
The Mixer Bible: Over 300 Recipes for Your Stand Mixer
Pillsbury Best of the Bake-Off Cookbook: Recipes from America's Favorite Cooking Contest
The All-American Cookie Book
The Good Cookie: Over 250 Delicious Recipes from Simple to Sublime
Cookies: More Than 70 Inspiring Recipes
Great Cookies: Secrets to Sensational Sweets
Bake Me I'm Yours...Cookie
Field Guide to Cookies: How to Identify & Bake Virtually Every Cookie Imaginable
S'mores: Gourmet Treats For Every Occasion
The Weekend Baker: Irresistible Recipes, Simple Techniques, and Stress Free Strategies for Busy People
How Baking Works: Exploring the Fundamentals of Baking Science
Martha Stewart's Cookies: The Very Best Treats to Bake and to Share
101 Easy Peasy Cookie Recipes
King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking
King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion: The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook
Crazy About Cupcakes
Cookies, Brownies, and Bars
Hello, Cupcake!: Irresistibly Playful Creations Anyone Can Make
500 Best Muffin Recipes
The Ultimate Muffin Book
Pillsbury Best Muffins & Quick Breads Cookbook
Pillsbury Best Cookies Cookbook
Martha Stewarts Cupcakes: 175 Inspired Ideas for Everyone's Favorite Treat
Mom's Big Book of Cookies
Coffee Cakes: Simple, Sweet, & Savory
Betty Crocker Cookies Cookies: 100 Recipes for the Way You Really Cook
Betty Crocker Cookies Cookies
Bite-Size Desserts
The Complete Baking Cookbook
500 Cookies
No-Bake Cookies
Betty Crocker Just Cupcakes
Betty Crocker Simply Dessert
Marshmallows: Homemade Gourmet Treats
Cupcakes
Cupcakes, Cupcakes, & More Cupcakes!
The Cake Book

S'mores Cookies

The key to making these cookies is to omit the marshmallows and Hershey's bars until the cookies are almost done baking. This ensures 1) the marshmallows don't get too chewy and 2) the milk chocolate does not get dried out, resulting in a cookie that tastes just as good as the real thing.

S'mores Cookies
(Source: Cookie Madness)

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate (I used milk chocolate and only 1/2 cup)
1 cup miniature marshmallows (approximately)
2 Hershey Bars, broken into pieces (or other favorite milk chocolate)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. Cream butter and both sugars with an electric mixer; beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in salt and baking soda making sure they are well distributed and free of lumps; stir in the flour, followed by graham cracker crumbs. Stir in chocolate chips.

3. Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets, spacing about 3 inches apart. Bake for 9 minutes. Remove and quickly press marshmallows and chocolate into cookies. Return to oven and cook until done (about 3 or 4 more minutes)

Makes about 2 dozen