The Daring Bakers Make Strudel
The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of Make Life Sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague, by Rick Rodgers.
I felt a lot of excitement for this challenge because I adore puff pastry and have wanted to try making my own for some time, and of course anything with apples, spices, and rum-soaked raisins just has to be good, right? And besides, this gave me a chance to play around with my long-forgotten high school German and prepare for my trip to Germany in a few weeks! Read more
The Daring Bakers Make Cheesecake: Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Cheesecake
The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.
The infamous cheesecake recipe comes from Jenny’s friend Abbey, and in this challenge we were given lots of room for creativity. We had to use the cheesecake recipe as is, though we could flavor it any way we wanted to. We also had freedom to choose the crust and anything else to go with it. I chose to make a variation on my mini chocolate pecan pies and spotted a recipe in one of my mother’s cookbooks that gave me the idea for how to put it together. Bourbon and pecans are a classic combination, so it seemed natural to flavor the cheesecake and the pecan topping with bourbon.
After being on hiatus for several months, I was glad to get back into the fun of the challenges and enjoyed it thoroughly, especially since cheesecake is my favorite dessert. We liked the combination of flavors, and the cheesecake was a hit with all my neighborhood friends. Read more
Whole Wheat Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars with Chocolate Chips
I first made these oatmeal peanut butter bars about six years ago, and they were an instant hit at home and at parties and picnics. The rich flavor belies their simplicity—an oatmeal peanut butter cookie crust with chocolate chips sprinkled on top then drizzled with peanut butter glaze—and they always garner “ohs” and “ahs” when served to peanut butter and chocolate lovers. Because I’m trying to switch over to whole grains in all our baking, I’ve swapped out the all-purpose flour for whole wheat pastry flour, but you can use unbleached all-purpose flour if you cannot find whole wheat pastry flour in your area.
The dough is pretty sticky and will even cling to silicone spatulas, so I just wet my hands and press the dough into the pan with my fingers, and it doesn’t stick to me. Read more
Cranberry Apple French Toast
Inspired by cranberry orange upside down cake, I wanted a good easy hot breakfast for holidays mornings such as Christmas or Thanksgiving when I don’t have much time for a big breakfast. Baking French toast is an easy and delicious way to make it without having to stand over the stove while cooking each slice. The toppings go into the bottom of the pan with the bread and custard on top. To serve, simply scoop out spoonfuls and turn over onto plates. The fruit and juices run down and around the plate, soaking the bread in it’s goodness. It doesn’t look like much on the plate when everything dumps over, but the spices and the flavors of fresh cranberries, apples, and oranges will make up for its unassuming appearance.
Like many baked French toast recipes, this one requires an overnight resting time in the refrigerator so the bread can soak up some of the custard by morning. Pull the pan out of the frig while the oven preheats, then bake covered for about 40 min. You can remove the foil for the last few minutes to help brown and crisp the top layer of bread.
CRANBERRY APPLE FRENCH TOAST
Serves 6.
Equipment
2-1/2 to 3-quart oval casserole with tall sides (like a Pyrex French White casserole)
Ingredients
4 tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter
1 cup (110 g) packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup (28 g) chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
zest and juice of 1 orange, divided
1 medium to large apple, chopped (or thinly sliced)
1 cup (100 g) fresh cranberries, rinsed
1 loaf challah or French bread, cut into 1/2-inch (1.3 cm) thick slices
6 eggs, beaten
2 cups (480 ml) half & half
Preparation
1. Melt the butter and pour into the casserole. Stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, nuts (optional), orange zest, and 2 tablespoons of the orange juice. Press along the bottom to form a kind of crust.
2. Arrange the apples and cranberries over the butter and sugar mixture.
3. Arrange the bread slices in a way that covers the fruit. Drizzle half the remaining orange juice over the bread.
4. Whisk together the beaten eggs and half & half, and pour half of it over the bread.
5. Make another layer of bread, drizzle remaining orange juice and then pour on the remaining egg mixture.
6. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
7. Preheat oven to 375° F/190° C. Remove plastic wrap, cover with foil, and bake for approximately 40 minutes. Remove the foil for the last few minutes of cooking to brown and crisp the top layer of bread. Scoop out large spoonfuls and turn over onto serving plates.
More Breakfast Recipes
More French Toast Recipes From Around the Blogs
Smitten Kitchen – Boozy Baked French Toast
Simply Recipes – Crunchy French Toast
Pinch My Salt – Spiked Egg Nog French Toast
The Leftover Queen – Mango Stuffed French Toast
Mocha Toffee Bars – 12 Days of Cookies
Day 11 of our 12 Days of Cookies extravaganza thing, and I can’t believe it’s almost over. I had my eye on these mocha toffee bars because I adore chocolate and coffee together, and after making and enjoying them I’ve converted Michael as well. He even asked if we could add these to our annual Christmas cookie list along with the Cajun macaroons, so we have found a couple new favorites.
The cookies are straightforward and easy to make. The only trouble I ran into was baking time. My oven tends to run cool, plus my jelly roll pan doesn’t exactly heat evenly so the sides were done before the middle was even set. I ended up with crispy edges and chewy middle.
The coffee flavor is in the shortbread crust, and I simply use instant coffee and add a little extra coffee to the hot water. The original recipe calls for espresso powder, which isn’t always easy to find.. The chocolate topping is simply melted semi-sweet chocolate chips poured right onto the hot shortbread, though I mixed dark and semi-sweet chips. The chopped cashews are roasted and salted, a nice contrast to the slightly dark chocolate topping.
Bourbon Balls – 12 Days of Cookies
Day 10 of our 12 Days of Cookies extravaganza thing, and I have to say that I almost didn’t make these bourbon balls because they seemed more like a confection than a cookie to me, except for the fact that they start with a whole bag of Oreos. Yes, crushed chocolate Oreos make the base for these decadent little treats, and the other taste treat is the bourbon soaked raisins.
Making these seemed like it would be so easy, and the mixing is very very easy; the rolling is what tripped me up. I ended up with some very sticky mixture that seemed to coat my hands in layers and I had to rinse my hands completely between each ball. Finally I decided the mixture needed some chilling time, so I covered it and stuck it in the frig hoping for a better rolling experience the next day. My hero, Michael, came to my rescue and rolled the remaining balls for me and his turned out beautifully. He coated them in cocoa before rolling and wore gloves to keep them from sticking so much.
The flavor is wonderful, though I would want more bourbon next time.
