Zucchini Bread

This was the most delicious zucchini bread ever--I've now found a way that I like zucchini :)

Zucchini Bread (adapted from Joy of Baking)

1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
1 cup shredded raw zucchini (1-2 zucchini)
1/2 cup peeled and grated raw apple, (about 1 large apple)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup safflower, corn, or canola oil
1 cup granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)[****I omitted this out of preference]

Garnish:

Toasted coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

Zucchini Bread: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in center of oven. Grease (or spray with a nonstick vegetable spray) a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.

Toast the pecans or walnuts for about 8 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool and then chop coarsely.

Grate the zucchini, using a medium grater, and then peel and grate the apple.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, and nutmeg.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract until well blended (about 2 minutes). Beat in the grated zucchini and apple. Add the flour mixture, beating just until combined. Then fold in the nuts and coconut.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan (at this point I generously sprinkled sugar in the raw to give the top a nice texture once it came out of the oven.) Bake until the bread has risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 to 60 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from the pan.

Well wrapped, this bread will keep for several days at room temperature (if unfrosted) or for several days in the refrigerator (if frosted). This bread can be frozen.

Makes one - 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf.

Frosting: Beat the butter and cream cheese until very smooth with no lumps. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar until fully incorporated and smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract. Spread over the top of the cooled zucchini bread. Garnish with toasted coconut, if desired.

(Note: To toast coconut - Place on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree F (177 degree C) oven for a few minutes until lightly browned. Watch carefully.)

Nutella Brownies

As always, our trusty Nutella has never steered me wrong. I think, for me, anytime I see Nutella in the name of a recipe, I can almost instantly assume that it will be a hit. The original recipe calls for caramel and hazelnuts, which unfortunately I did not have on hand. I tossed around the idea of making my own caramel sauce, but just decided that was to be too much work, I forged ahead without. The results were just as lovely without, however, I feel there should be a way to work in a cream cheese swirl. Let me know if anybody figures out a way to work that in :)

Nutella Brownies (Inspired by bell'alimento at Tasty Kitchen)

½ cups All-purpose Flour
⅓ cups Cocoa Powder
¼ teaspoons Baking Powder
1 pinch Salt
1 cup Sugar
½ stick Unsalted Butter
2 whole Eggs
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
½ almond extract
¼ cups Nutella (1/4 cup Nutella, melted if desiredfor garnishing)
Nuts, if desired (I used pecans because thats what I had on hand) hazelnuts would be ideal though.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Into a mixing bowl, add your flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. Using a whisk, mix together and set aside. Into your stand mixer or in a bowl using a hand mixed, add the sugar and butter; cream together. Add in eggs one at a time and mix well. Add in your vanilla and almond extracts. Gradually add in your flour mixture until it’s well combined. Batter should be thick and sticky.

Spray an 8"x*" ovenproof dish with cooking spray. Place a piece of parchment paper (slightly larger than your dish to allow for handles) inside. It will adhere to the bottom of the dish. Pour the batter in the prepared dish. Spoon the Nutella over the batter, and swirl throughout the batter using a spoon or a spatula. Place in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes until sides are firm and center is no longer giggly.

Allow brownies to cool completely before removing. Cut your brownies to your desired size using a serrated knife. Make a small indentation with your finger into each brownie. Take your melted Nutella and drizzle over the tops of the brownies. Garnish with the nuts.

Nutella Rocky Road Tart

*Sorry teddy grahams, you are cute and tasty but you'll be cookie crumbs soon!

Oh my my-I've really done it this time! I asked for a vote and the vote was nearly unanimous, I needed to make something with Nutella. I wish I had words for how tasty this little one is. There is something extraordinary that comes with the meeting of Nutella and chocolate ganache that makes mouths happy. When the recipe states "whisk in the Nutella and pour over tart shell," after you have done that do yourself a favor and pause and lick the whisk and the bowl clean, you'll be glad you did.

OK, enough with the praises! Seriously, this recipe came together quite quickly, it was very easy, and is sure to impress. The original recipe calls for a 14"x4" tart pan, sort of a rectangular shape. I used a 9"tart round tart pan, but I suppose you could easily substitute an 8" or 9" pie pan/plate or even a 9"x9" square pan. There's no excuse now-try this.

Nutella Rocky Road Tart (From Culinary Concoctions by Peabody)

Crust:

1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (I used Chocolate Teddy Grahams)

6 Tbsp melted butter

Filling:

6 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup mini marshmallows, divided

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, divided

Directions for the crust:

*Spray your cooking vessel with non-stick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl mix together your cookie crumbs and melted butter so that it forms the consistency of wet sand. I used a food processor as I had to crush my little teddy grahams, so I added the butter directly to the food processor after they were made into crumbs.

Dump the crumbs into your pan and use either your fingers or the bottom of a glass or a measuring cup to press the crumbs down and up the sides of your pan forming a full crust. Using the center rack in your oven, bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Directions for filling:

Place the chocolate chips in a medium sized bowl and set aside. In a small saucepan, bring cream to a boil. Once that happens, pour the cream over the chocolate chips and let sit undisturbed for two whole minutes. After that, whisk until the two are incorporated. Whisk in the Nutella and the resulting mixture should be smooth and glossy.

Assembling the tart:

Place half of the marshmallows and walnuts in the tart shell. Pour the chocolate mixture over the tart shell, covering the marshmallows and walnuts. Once that is complete, top with remaining marshmallows and walnuts.

Place in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. Cut and serve. This dessert is very rich, so servings should be a little smaller, serves about 10.

Lemon Almond Tart

Lemon Almond Tart (from Cooking Light)

1/2 cup blanched almonds
3 tablespoons brown sugar
36 vanilla wafers
1/4 cup butter, melted
Cooking spray
1 (10-ounce) jar lemon curd (homemade preferably)
3 large egg whites
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine first 3 ingredients in a food processor; process until finely ground. With motor on, drizzle butter through food chute; process until blended. Press about 1/4 cup crumbs into the bottom and up sides of each of 9" tart pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until toasted. Cool.

Preheat broiler.

Spoon curd evenly into crust. Place egg whites and salt in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until soft peaks form. Combine granulated sugar and 1/4 cup water in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until a thermometer registers 250°. Pour hot syrup in a thin stream over egg whites, beating until stiff peaks form. Spread egg white mixture over tart. Broil 30 seconds or until lightly browned.

Hazelnut Biscotti

Each Holiday season comes around and I have to make biscotti's! They are great to bring to work, or to a friends house for coffee or tea. They are especially nice because they are a nice option that isn't super sugary sweet, with all of the cookies and bars out and about that wonderful time of the year. Katie Lee Joel once described that biscotti's are named so because they are twice cooked (bi- meaning two.) She stood them up and baked them once after slicing to eliminate the extra cook time. That way the hot air in the oven could circulate to both sides. She gave rosemary biscotti's out as wedding favors when she married rockstar Billy Joel. Rosemary has many historic symbolic ties to weddings, among them is the belief that the herb represents fidelity and remembrance (and other as seen here.) However, in the summer of 2009, Katie and Billy split.

Hazlenut Biscotti's (adapted from Tyler Florence, Food Network)

1 1/2 cup hazelnuts

1/2 cup of unsalted butter, softened

3 eggs

1 cup of sugar

1 tsp almond extract

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

*semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Lay the hazelnuts out on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Toast in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until the the nuts are lightly toasted. Remove from oven.

With an electric mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy. With the mixer running, gradually add eggs, sugar, and almond extract; mix until creamed. Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix the dough until smooth. Using a wooden spoon, mix in the nuts until evenly distributed.

Move the dough to a lightly floured surface and cut in half. Roll each half into a log, each 12 inches long by about 1 inch tall. Place the logs on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for about 35 minutes until the bottoms are lightly browned. Remove from oven and let the logs cool for five minutes, and then move them to a cutting board. Slice each log on a diagonal into 12-14 one inch thick pieces. Put the biscottis back onto the baking sheet and bake five minutes, remove from oven and flip, baking the the other side up for five minutes as well. Remove from the oven and let cool. Store in an airtight container.

For an added treat, melt some semi-sweet chocolate chips over a double boiler and dip the bottom half of each biscotti in the chocolate and let dry until hard on the parchment paper.

***Note: the flavors in this biscotti are interchangeable. If you choose to you can use a different nut, or none at all. You can use dried fruit, or seasonings and spices. Whatever you want to add is up to you :)

"Sandies"

I think the original, or correct name for these cookies are "Russian Tea Cookies." However, growing up my brother and I have known these as sandies. I've altered these a little from growing up, but now my husband Brian loves these! For a final touch, I have a sugar glitter that I sprinkle on afterwards for a pretty little snow ball effect (sugar glitter found at Michaels Craft Store)

"Sandies"

3/4 cup shortening

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup confectioner sugar

2 Tablespoons almond extract

1/4 cup water

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Cream together shortening, butter, and confectioner's sugar. Once complete add extracts, flour, water, and walnuts. Stir to combine.

Roll into 1 inch balls and place on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake at 325 degrees for 10-12 minutes until the bottoms are lightly browned. Quickly and carefully move to a cooling rack with parchment or wax paper underneath for easy cleanup. Either gently roll the cookie in a bowl of confectioner's sugar while the cookie is slightly warm. Or using a sifter, dust the tops of the cookie generously with the confectioners sugar.

Cool on the racks. For a nice touch use the sugar glitter for a pretty effect.

Pecan Pie Cookies

Pecan Pie Cookies (from Elizabeth's Edible Experience)

Cookie Ingredients:

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

Filling Ingredients:

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all cookie ingredients except flour and baking powder in large mixer bowl and beat until creamy. Reduce speed to low and add baking powder . Beat until well mixed.

Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Using your finger, make a small indentation or well big enough to host a small teaspoon of filling.

Combine all filling ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine. Place one teaspoon of filling in each cookies' well. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool one minute on the sheet and move to cooling rack. Enjoy!

**One note, I had extra filling left over. I saved it because I plan on making these again in the near future. However, it might be okay to scale back the filling quantities.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

TheI've heard a bit about the pumpkin shortage in certain parts of the country and am fortunate to report no site of one here yet. Sorry if this applies to you-I can send you some if you'd like. That being mentioned I thought I would get a jump start to fall baking while the pumpkin was available. And boy did I find a good one. Goodthingscatered is a goldmine for wonderful baked treats, check Katie out if you get a chance. The little cookies made the house smell scrumptious and is a wonderful way to kick off the first full day of fall!



Spiced Pumpkin Nut Cookies

2 c. plus 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 ½ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
3 Tbsp oil
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 c. dark brown sugar, packed
3/4 c. pumpkin puree
1 Tbsp applesauce
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 c. chopped walnuts
3/4 c. raisins

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment.
-In large bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
-Whisk to combine well and set aside.
-In bowl of stand mixer, combine butter oil and sugars.
-Beat on medium speed until fluffy and light in color, about 1 minute.
-Add pumpkin, beating to combine.
-Scrape down sides of bowl and then add applesauce, egg and vanilla, beating to combine well.
-Scrape down sides of bowl then add flour mixture.
-Beat on low until barely combined, or use a wooden spoon to just barely incorporate, do not over mix.
-Remove bowl from mixer.
-Add walnuts and raisins and gently fold into batter.
-Chill the batter, covered in the refrigerator for one hour.
-Using large spoon, spoon 2 inch wide rounds onto baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart.
-Place into oven and bake for 13-15 minutes.
-Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes.
-Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 36 cookies

Macadamia Nut Blondies

When I was first introduced to Blondies it was many years a go at Applebees, and it had that buttery, gooey sauce dripping from the heaping scoop of ice cream melting on top of the Blondie. And man was that delicous! Recently I learned that a blondie is a brownie, but without the chocolate. There are countless recipes and combinations for these little darlings, but I love mine with macadamia nuts and white chocolate. Also I use almond extract versus vanilla for a little something different. Enjoy this one bowl wonder.

Macadamia Nut Blondies

7 Tbs butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. almond extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup Macadamia Nuts
*1/4 cup white chocolate chips optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8 pan with foil and lightly spray with cooking spray. In a large microwave safe mixing bowl melt the butter. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Mix the brown sugar with the melted butter and beat until smooth. Beat in egg.

Add salt, stir in the flour, almond extract and baking powder. Mix in white chocolate chips if using. Pour into prepared pan and use a spatula to evenly spread mixture in pan and level the top. Bake for 21-22 minutes or until set in the middle. We generally like things on the lesser done side of things, so if you prefer a more done bar add 2 minutes to cooking time.

Cool on rack before cutting. Then swoon.