by Danielle Jackson
Some of you may know this, but in addition to being a
publicist at Sourcebooks, I’m an avid baker.
I.
LOVE.
BAKING.
Which is sort of a tough hobby to have when you have to fit
in a wedding dress pretty soon… but oh well! I still love to bake, and I especially
love to share baked goods with friends. I’ve gone as far as to schedule weekly “snack
days” in the Sourcebooks PR department. We have a schedule and we all take it
VERY seriously. And more often than not, we all make something homemade (though
we do not judge store-bought items). The last few years I’ve alternated baking
things for family and friends with making crafty items for them. It’s a lot of
work, but I think these special handmade—and sometimes edible!—items are really
fun.
Here are three of my all-time favorite things to bake, and
share with people! The photos below are my own :)
Mini-Pecan Tarts
(from our very own CAROLYN BROWN!)
I love these for the Fall—and they are so easy! In the photo below, you’ll
note I cheated, and just used mini-phyllo cups that I bought from the grocery
store.
Tart Ingredients
- 1/2
c. butter
- 3
oz. cream cheese
- 1
c. flour
Directions
- Soften
butter and cream cheese.
- Mix
in flour.
- Roll
in ball; chill.
- Press
into small tart pans with thumb.
Filling Ingredients
- 1
egg
- 1
tsp. melted butter
- 2/3
c. pecans, chopped
- 3/4
c. lite brown sugar
- 1
tsp. vanilla
- 1/4
tsp. salt
Directions
- Mix
filing ingredients together.
- Fill
shells 1/2 full.
- Bake
at 325°F for 25-30 minutes until shell is light brown.
Chocolate Caramel
Potato Chips (from
BigOven.com)
Potato chips are my weakness—once I eat one I eat a million. So adding
sugar to this saltiness was a perfect match for me. This was one of the first
things I made for the PR dept. Snack Day. Time consuming? For sure. Worth it? YES!
Ingredients
- 12 oz milk chocolate
- 12 oz rippled potato chips
- 14 oz caramels, unwrapped
- 3 Tablespoons half and half
- 4 oz Heath Bar Brittle (Note from DJ: I just crushed up a
bunch of Heath bars)
Directions
Line baking sheets with wax or parchment paper and set
aside. Put caramels and half and half in a microwave safe bowl and microwave
for about 3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Stir until melted and creamy.
Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the melted caramel
halfway down both sides of the potato chips. Be sure to brush only a light
coat, or the chips will get too soggy. Place on lined baking sheets to set for
about 30 minutes.
Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and dip the
caramel coated chips about a third of the way, allowing the excess to drip off.
Sprinkle the Heath Bar bits on the melted chocolate and place back on the wax
paper to set for about 2 hours.
'Self-Frosting'
Nutella Cupcakes (from FauziasKitchenFun.com)
I made these for my birthday this past March and all 24 of them disappeared
early in the evening! Nutella is possibly one of the most amazing things ever
made… ever. And because it is so awesome, there’s no need to frost these
cupcakes! I think they would also work for a brunch dessert.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups
self-rising flour (180gm)
- 1 ½ tsp. vanilla
essence
- 2 large eggs (use 3 if you have small eggs)
- ½ cup milk
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup butter/margarine
- 3-4 tbsp. powdered hazelnuts (Note from DJ: I don’t always
include this part)
- quarter/half cup Nutella spread (or peanut butter/any
chocolate spread)
Directions
Grind the sugar to a powder and set aside.
Sift the flour twice, then mix the powdered hazelnuts into
it.
Line your cupcake pan with papers. Preheat oven to 170 C.
Beat the butter with the sugar until light and creamy. Then
add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Now add a third of the flour and beat until combined, then
add half the milk. Again beat the batter until milk is mixed in. Add another
third of the flour, mix it in, and then add the remaining milk. Finally add the
last of the flour and the vanilla essence. Beat just until everything is well
combined.
Pour into the cupcake liners (I filled to three-quarters of
the way) and then on top of every cupcake, add about 1 slightly heaped tsp. of
Nutella. Using a toothpick, swirl the Nutella into the tops of the cupcakes,
making sure to turn some of the white batter on top of some parts of the
Nutella so that the 'frosting' is intertwined slightly with the cupcake.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the
batter/white part of the cupcakes comes out clean. If you stick the toothpick
into the Nutella it will be gooey because the chocolate will not solidify
during baking, so take care to check the white parts.
Remove from pan and let the cupcakes cool on a rack. They
are yummy warm or at room temperature.
What’s your favorite
thing to bake? Share that in the comments, and you’ll be enetered to win one of
two Jenny Colgan Prize Packs! Jenny Colgan is one of our women’s fiction
authors, and her books have a sweet theme, and include recipes! The prize pack
will include a copy of Meet Me at the Cupcake
Café, and an advanced reader copy of The
Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris (in stores February 2014).
**Contest open to US and Canada only. Please leave an email
address so I can contact you easily! Winners will be chosen on Monday, October
14.**
Chocolate chip cookies with double the chips!!
ReplyDeleteLove to bake Nestle toll House cookies!!
ReplyDeletefunmail07 at gmail dot com
DeleteThis must be the time people are thinking of holiday treats - other blogs are discussing this lol. My favorite cookie is a light thumbprint with jelly filling and almond extract in the batter and sprinkled with nuts if desired!
ReplyDeletecatslady5(at)aol.com
I hate cooking, Danielle. It is fun to use the Easy-Bake Oven I got for my daughter. The added bonus is the food tastes horrible, so although she likes it, I am not tempted.
ReplyDeleteLess than a month until the BIG DAY!
chocolate chip cookies
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
LOVE cooking! It's my second love...right behind writing. Pecan pie and pumpkin cheesecake are two of the favorites around here this time of year, but we also like to make "death by chocolate" bundt cakes, too! Can't wait to try the recipes you've got here, Danielle!
ReplyDeleteI love to make desserts. One of our family favorites is a chocolate chip and walnut bar cookie (Congo Bars.) My son loves raspberry-almond bars. My neighbor loves chocolate-peppermint squares. Milky Way cake, pecan pie, Mississippi mud cake--they're all great. I'm looking forward to trying some of your recipes. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThese suggestions all sound delicious! Keep them coming.
ReplyDeleteShana--I do not like to COOK, I much prefer baking. At least my future husband knows this, and makes most of our meals ;-)
It's funny, because I thought you asked me what my favorite thing to bake was. You did? Ahahahahaha. *Wipes tears* That's a good one. Phew. I needed that. Ha. Umm. Anyway. I don't bake. Because I like my house and I don't want to see it burned down. *WINK*
ReplyDeletejustforswag(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
My favorite thing to bake and eat is chocolate decadence (flourless chocolate cake...misnamed since there is a very small amount of flour used). Always serve it with a dollop of slightly sweetened whipped cream and raspberry sauce drizzled on a plate. I don't bake often.
ReplyDeletelittle lamb lst at yahoo dot com
I make a killer chocolate chunk cookie!
ReplyDeleteI'm not a very creative cook at all. I can do cookies and cakes but that is probably about it. However I think I REALLY have to try those potato chips. YUM
ReplyDeleteMinDaf @ Aol.com
I have a cookie recipe that calls for a package of cake mix, a brick of cream cheese, a stick of butter, an egg, and powdered sugar. So decadent!
ReplyDeleteGood Morning!
ReplyDeleteI had the opportunity to do more baking this weekend: brownies topped with a semi-sweet ganache, with pecans and caramel on top :)
Anyway, our random winners are:
LSUReader
and
Crystal Benedict
I'll be emailing you both shortly.
Thanks again to everyone who commented!
Danielle