Cherry Pie Cookies

 Now through January 16, 2017, please vote for my Easy Pie Cookie recipe on Instructables, I sure would love a robot apron! Also, hurry on over to my facebook page for a chance to win a free pro membership to Instructables.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-Pie-Cookies/

Oh my goodness, get out of town, these cookies are delish!

There weren't any notable dishes or recipes in the cooking magazine we just got in the mail until the very last pages, when hubby spotted the ad for Lucky Leaf Cherry Pie filling.  The ad featured a plateful of delicious looking cookies and a recipe for Cherry Pie Cookies.

We all love cherries, so I tried the recipe right away, and then made them again for Thanksgiving.  The cookies were a big hit and now they are a new family favorite.

The easy to bake cookies are almost magical...their disappearing act is amazing.

Cherry Pie Cookies
by Lucky Leaf

Makes 2 dozen cookies
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup margarine, softened
2 cups flour
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 (21 oz) can of cherry pie filling
1/2 cup white chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips (I used Wilton candy melts)

Mix butter and margarine until fluffy.  Add flour, powdered sugar and vanilla just until combined and soft dough is formed.

Roll the dough into two-inch balls.  Place on greased baking sheet or baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Press thumb into center of cookie to make a well.  Place cherries into each cookie.

Bake for 12-15 minutes.  Allow cookies to cool.

Melt chocolate according to package directions.  Drizzle over cookies.  Let chocolate set and serve immediately or store in an airtight container.

Notes:  I made my balls a little smaller than the recipe calls for, about 1 1/2 in., and did not push down the center too hard, so the cookie does not get thin in the center and break.  I placed 3 cherries in each cookie, and came up a bit short on cherries.  Drizzling the chocolate didn't work for me , so I used a small ziplock bag, snipped a corner then piped the chocolate on.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie

Headed out the door with a pumpkin pie donation to the Ashville, Ohio, Village Chapel Election Day Dinner

My friend Kim organizes the Ashville, Ohio, Village Chapel Election Day Dinner every year.  This year she needed extra pies and cakes, so I whipped up a batch of pumpkin pies.  The church smelled so good when I dropped the pies off, no wonder the event gets bigger each year.  My friend Kim does such a wonderful job organizing this huge event while juggling her job, school and family needs.  What a blessing she is to our community.

My pumpkin pie recipe is based on the Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie recipe (recipe at bottom of page), except I swap out one can of evaporated milk with a can of sweetened condensed milk and use 1/2 cup less sugar.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
4 large eggs
1 can (29 oz.) Libby's Pumpkin
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

2 unbaked 9-inch deep-dish pie shells

Add all of the ingredients to a a large bowl and mix until combined.  Pour into pie shells.
Bake for 15 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. and cover crust with crust sheilds.  (I use foil but it is a real pain, and really wish I would invest in the sheilds). Continue to bake pies for 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.

Cool pie for 2 hours then refrigerate.  Note:  The pies will be puffed up when hot and will relax as they cool down.



Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie
(recipe from the label)

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
4 large eggs
1 can (29 oz.) Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
2 cans (12 fl. oz. each) Carnation Evaporated Milk
2 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shells

Mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in small bowl.  Beat eggs in large bowl.  Stir in pumpkin and sugar spice mixture.  Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

Pour into pie shells.

Bake in preheated 425 degree F. oven for 15 minutes.  Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F. bake 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.  Cool on wire rack for 2 hours.  Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Note: Do not freeze pie, as this will cause the crust to separate from the filling.
*3 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice may be substituted for the cinnamon, ginger and cloves, however, the taste will be slightly different.

Cookie + Brownie = Crownie

How Crownies Were Born
The first time I made a brownie with a chocolate chip cookie on top and rolo's in the middle, the cookies sank.  They looked fine coming out of the oven, then slowly the middles started sinking, like quicksand.  I tried baking the cookie/brownies again and the middles sank again.  I tried making them six more times trying a different experiment each time...and each time they looked oh so delicious coming out of the oven, but slowly but surely the middles would sink, along with my heart.  I tried all sorts of adjustments based on the science of baking.  Clearly the cookie brownie experiments were not baking completely and ah, I was about ready to give up.  My family and neighbors encouraged me to keep baking and keep trying, because they were enjoying my failures and wanted to keep taste testing them, lol.

OK, so dear son was completely enjoying my failures, but one day he felt sorry for me and said, "Mom, why don't you just flip the pan over when you take them out of the oven".  OMG!  perfect.

And this is the upside down true tale of the luscious, melt in your mouth, delicious brownie, chocolate chip cookie with a rolo center.  And since that is a mouthful to say, dear hubby crowned them "Crownies". 

*Update 10-03-16: Recently Betty Crocker changed their package directions for preparing brownies to use less oil.  I made 3 batches of crownies last week.  For the first batch of crownies I used the new brownie directions with less oil, and my crownies did not turn out as well.  This recipe is my tried and true recipe, hope you love them.   
  Crownies 
You will need the following components:

• Brownie mix, I have been using Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie Mix

• Mini Rolo's

• Chocolate chip cookie dough 

• Wilton mini square baking pan (pictured below; the Wilton pan has deeper cavities and are slightly larger than other pans I have seen). 

Yield: 12 crownies. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Prepare Pan by generously spraying with butter flavored cooking spray.

Make the Brownies
1 Betty Crocker packaged fudge brownie mix.  *DO NOT PREPARE ACCORDING TO PACKAGE DIRECTIONS ON BOX.  Instead, combine brownie mix with 2 eggs, 2/3 cup oil and 1/4 cup water.   Pour the batter equally into the baking pan cells.  (About 2 very large tablespoons each cell, but lots easier to pour and transfer a bit with a spoon if needed).

Bake brownie mix for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and place 2 mini rolo's on top of each brownie.  Brownies will not be cooked yet, but that's ok.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

1 sticks butter, room temperature

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoon molasses

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

6 Tablespoons sugar (3/8 cup)

6 Tablespoons packed brown sugar (3/8 cup)

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 2/3 cups flour

about 1/2 of a 12 ounce bag of chocolate chips (I use slightly less than 1/2 a bag or about 5 ounces)

Cream butter, sugar, molasses and vanilla.  Mix in egg. Add baking powder, baking soda, salt, flour, then mix. Stir in the chips.  Shape dough into 1inch balls.

Flatten a 1in chocolate chip cookie ball into a square and place on top of brownie/rollo.

After pre-baking brownies add mini rolo's and chocolate chip cookie dough

Bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool 5 min then place a cookie sheet on top of the baking pan and flip the baking pan and cookie sheet upside down.  The cookie sheet will be on the bottom with the inverted baking pan on top of it.  Allow to cool completely, or at least 20 minutes.

After baking chocolate chip cookie layer, get a baking sheet ready

Ready, flip! Let cool

Yay!  No more sunken middles, only delicious desserts :)

Note: With this recipe you will have leftover cookie dough, enough for about 4 cookies.  I have tried to make the brownie layer thinner, but they were more difficult to remove from the pan. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bowls

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bowls

On a lazy Saturday afternoon while watching TV, the ladies at Bake, Decorate, Celebrate were making Chocolate Cookie Bowls with a Wilton cookie bowl pan.  Their dessert bowls looked yummy and it looked like lots of fun making them, so I hunted down the pan, then read the reviews.  Whoa...this pan got a public lashing.  Cooks were having a hard time making the bowls and complaining that the chocolate chip cookie recipe that came with the package was terrible.  Well, I ordered the pan anyway.

My first attempt at making the chocolate chip bowls with the Wilton recipe was so bad I am embarrassed to post a picture here.  If you need a good laugh today, you can see it on my facebook page

The final recipe and batch #3 is a community recipe written with the help of Ileen Cummings, Robin Wilson, Nathan Andre, and Sue Hale Hayes. Thanks again for all of your input and help.  You can visit Robin's cookie recipe and blog at Rustic Flavor.   

I am not sure why Wilton continues to publish the terrible chocolate chip cookie recipe, because as you can see from the picture above, the bowls are really cute with a good recipe.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bowls

Our bowl recipe is a cross between a soft cookie and pie crust, perfect for holding a bowl shape.

1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 stick butter
1 1/2 teaspoon molasses
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 + teaspoon baking soda (just a wee bit more than a 1/4 tsp.)
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, frozen (I used Ghirardelli semi-sweet)

Cream the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, molasses.  Whip your egg then add it to the butter/sugar and mix. Add 1 1/2 cup flour and mix.  If you dough is very sticky add another 1/4 cup of flour and chill dough for at least 10 minutes.

Lightly spray your pan with butter spray and then wipe it off.  The pan should be oily feeling but not slathered with spray.

Roll out your chilled dough on a floured surface and cut in 4 1/2 inch diameter circles. (I used a lid that I dipped in flour).  Place dough on the backside of the pan and lightly firm up around the pan with your fingers.  Do not pull the dough down the sides, it will spread as it bakes.

Cook in a 350 degree preheated oven for 9-11 minutes.  Remember the cookie bowls will continue to bake on the pan after they are removed from the oven, so under-bake them.

If saving your bowls for later use, store with a slice of white bread, it will help keep them moist.

Lessons learned:
Whip your egg right before you add it to your dough to introduce air, but don't whip it and let it sit around because it will deflate.
Molasses is acidic and reacts with the baking soda, which adds more air.
If butter is too firm, your dough will not get fluffy.

Extra special thanks to Robin Wilson for suggesting I freeze my chips to help bind them to the dough...it works! 

For more baking science fun, check out http://www.culinate.com/articles/features/baking_chemistry

Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, Black Forest Cake

 

For our last German class of this year, our instructor mentioned he wanted to buy a Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte.  He told us how much the cake was going to cost, and that he would have to drive about an hour to pick it up.  We also decided as a class, that we needed a non-alcoholic version of the cake, because our class meets at a local high school. I'm not much of a cake baker, but I volunteered to make one anyway.  My husband found a recipe online, and I made a test cake just to make sure I could make one.  I accidentally made extra batter for the test cake, but it turned out perfectly.  A week later, I made the cake for class and followed the recipe exactly.  One of my layers was so thin that it fell apart, and I had to remake it.  This recipe is my accident version, with extra batter and frosting, so your layers will not be too thin.  An awesome cake, that tastes great too!

Cake:
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups water
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Cake Directions:  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in water until blended.  In a microwave melt chocolate, stir until smooth, then stir in vanilla until blended. Combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda and add to creamed mixture alternately with chocolate mixture beating well after each addition. Pour into four greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

Chocolate Filling:
5 ounces German sweet chocolate
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Chocolate Filling Directions:  Melt chocolate in a microwave and stir until smooth.  Stir in softened butter until smooth, then add almonds.

Cream Filling:
4 cups heavy whipping cream
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla

Cream Filling Directions: Beat cream until it begins to thicken.  Add Sugar and vanilla, beat until soft peaks form.

Topping:
1 can cherry pie filling
3 cups sliced almonds

To assemble cake: place one cake on a serving platter, spread with a fourth of the chocolate filling and a fourth of the cream filling.  Repeat layers.  Top with remaining cake and chocolate filling.  Place 2 cups of the remaining cream filling in a pastry bag with a large star tip.  Pipe around top edge of cake.  Fill center with cherry pie filling.  Spread remaining cream filling over sides of cake; press almonds into sides.

Note: Allow to chill for several hours or overnight to allow the cream to set.  Otherwise, the layers will slip a bit as you are trying to cut it.

Chocolate Eclair Cake

Chocolate Eclair Cake

Very easy recipe, perfect for a family dessert or potluck.  My neighbor introduced us to this yummy cake at a neighborhood gathering.  I frantically tried finding a similar recipe online, but ended up with disastrous results.  So glad my generous neighbor shared her recipe with us, it is a new family favorite! We are not sure why it is called a "cake" because it's more like a pie, lol.

Recipe from my neighbor Peggy.  

This needs to be made 24 hours ahead of time.

Cake:

1 (1 pound) box graham crackers

2 (3-1/4 oz.) boxes instant French Vanilla pudding

3-1/2 cups milk

1 (8 oz.) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Frosting:

1-1/2 cups confectioners sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

3 tablespoons butter, softened

1/3 cup milk

2 teaspoons light corn syrup

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Butter the bottom of a 13x9 pan. Line with whole graham crackers. In large bowl or electric mixer, beat pudding with milk at medium speed for 2 minutes. Fold in whipped topping. Pour half the pudding mixture over graham crackers. Place another layer of whole graham crackers on top of pudding layer. Pour over remaining half of pudding mixture and cover with another layer of graham crackers.

For frosting:

Blend together sugar and cocoa in mixing bowl or electric mixer.  Add butter and milk, mixing well. Add corn syrup and vanilla. Beat with mixer until creamy. Cover cake with frosting and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Note: The Eclair Cake could be made into an easy Tiramisu by substituting some espresso and 2 teaspoons rum flavoring for part of the milk.