Saturday, May 26, 2012

snickerdoodle.blondies


This post is a result of a little baking therapy. The past week I started my new job as a nurse fellow. Monday through Wednesday were pure orientation and Thursday and Friday I was orienting at my assigned clinic. It was a lot of information and with any new job comes questioning of your competence. Today was all about recovering and doing things I know I'm good at: baking and crafting...while having a Harry Potter marathon!! I couldn't be completely unnerdy and since I've fallen asleep at practically every midnight showing I needed to catch up! ;)

I've noticed these snickerdoodle blondies being posted on many other blogs, so I thought I would give them a try myself. They were so easy to make compared to regular snickerdoodle cookies AND they were just as tasty! 

SNICKERDOODLE BLONDIES

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons grated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
a pinch nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and/or line a 9x13 inch pan.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and set aside.
3. In large bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar for 3-5 minutes.
4. Add eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, and beat until smooth.
5. Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. 
6. Spread evenly in prepared pan (mixture will be somewhat cookiebatter-ish, so it's best to spread out with a greased spatula or hands).
7. Combine the granulated sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a little bowl. 
8. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the batter.
9. Bake 25-30 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed. Cool before cutting.
10. ENJOY!! :)

Thursday, May 17, 2012

strawberry.yogurt.cake

(I forgot to snap a picture of the final product, so here is the picture from the 
blog I adapted the recipe from: aspicyperspective.com)

Whoa...Long time, no post! My baking significantly decreased over this past semester because of two reasons: 1) My roommates and I gave up all sweets for lent. 2) I have no life other than nursing school. I am now home for the summer and ready to post all sorts of yummy stuff starting with this strawberry yogurt cake. My last bundt cake was a total fail, but I braved it with this cake because I just love how bunt cakes look! Weird?...maybe...:) One of my very good friends had been in Jamaica on a medical missions trip and I got to pick her up from the airport. It was wonderful hearing about her experience! This is the cake I made for dessert during her stay. It was super good. The yogurt gave not only a nice vanilla-y taste, but really good consistency! YUM-O! 


I wanted to try a step-by-step picture post, so here goes! Enjoy!!


STRAWBERRY YOGURT CAKE

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (divided)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces yogurt (I used vanilla.)
1 1/2-2 cups fresh strawberries, diced
1 cup powdered sugar
1-3 tablespoon(s) milk

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt cake pan.
3. Sift or mix 2 1/4 cups flour, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside. 
4. With an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until it's light and fluffy.
5. Beat in eggs. 
6. Alternate beating in the flour mixture and yogurt. Mix until just incorporated. 
7. Toss the strawberries with remaining 1/4 cup flour. 

8. Gently mix floured strawberries into the batter.
9. Pour batter into greased and floured bundt pan. 
10. Bake in preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. 
11. Let cool at least 20 minutes before flipping over on a wire rack. Let cool completely. 
12. Once cooled, mix milk and powder sugar together. Drizzle over top of cake.
12. ENJOY! :)