Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies

I tried this new recipe today. It's from Martha Stewart but I had to do some tweaking. Not sure if it is the high altitude of Utah or if I just like my cookies softer than ol' Martha. Whatever it was, they were delicious! I'm waiting for my mom to get home from her little trip so she can have some...she has an affinity for carrot cake. These little morsels are the perfect handheld dessert. A dessert that assures cream cheese icing in every bite!

1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots (about 3 large carrots)
Cream Cheese Icing

Blend sugars, butter and shortening together until light and fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla; stir well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices; add to creamed mixture. Stir in oats and carrots, mix until well combined.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonful on greased baking sheet (or better yet a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mat) at least 2-inches apart. Cookies will spread while baking. Bake in a 350 degree oven 8-9 minutes. Transfer baked cookies onto a wire rack to cool. Assemble sandwich cookies by pressing two together with a generous dollop of cream cheese icing in the middle. Store loosely covered. Makes about 35-40 (2 1/2") sandwich cookies.

Cream Cheese Icing
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 cup butter at room temperature
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Blend cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla. Whisk until frosting is smooth and fluffy.

Chocolate Buttercream Cake

In honor of The Boy's 1/2 birthday, I made my most favorite chocolate cake recipe...Chocolate Buttercream Cake adapted from Barefoot Contessa. I've been making this cake for years and its dense, moist chocolately layers bring smiles to the faces of whomever I serve it to. Included is the Buttercream Frosting recipe, and while it is a jewel, the cake can carry off any favorite chocolate frosting beautifully (except purchased canned frosting because you know how strongly I feel about that).

*For best results, make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature. Prepare your baking pans by greasing them generously and dust lightly with flour.

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup butter (no substitutions)

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 2-8" cake pans with butter and flour.

Combine flour, cocoa and baking soda in a small bowl. Set aside. In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter ans sugar on high speed until light, approximately 5 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Combine the buttermilk and sour cream. On low speed, add the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture alternately in thirds, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture. Mix the batter only until blended. Batter will be thick.

Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a spatula. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

10 oz bittersweet chocolate

8 oz semisweet chocolate

3 extra-large egg whites at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

Pinch cream of tarter

1/2 tsp salt

1 lb UNSALTED butter at room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

Chop the chocolate and melt in a bowl over simmering water until smooth. Allow to cool.

Mix the egg whites, sugar, cream of tarter and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitter with a whisk. Heat the egg whites in the bowl over simmering water until they are warm to the touch, about 5 minutes. Whisk on high speed for 5 minutes or until the meringue is cool and holds a stiff peak.

Add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, while beating on medium speed. Scrape down the bowl, add the chocolate and vanilla and mix for 1 minute or until the chocolate is completely blended in. If the buttercream seems very soft, allow it to cool and beat it again.

Basil Shrimp with Feta and Orzo

Here's another favorite family dinner. It's perfect for summer. It goes together easily and the flavor combination is top-notch. I've made it the oven but it could also easily be done on the grill. The recipe calls for a foil oven bag (like Reynolds brand) but if you don't have one, assemble your own out of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Orzo is a rice-shaped pasta found with the other pastas.

1 regular-size foil oven bag
Nonfat cooking spray
1 1/2 cups uncooked orzo pasta
4 tsp olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cups diced tomato
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3/4 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined*
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Generously coat the inside of oven bag with nonfat cooking spray. Place bag on a large cookie or jelly roll pan.

Cook pasta in plenty of boiling water for 5 minutes. Do not overcook. Drain pasta and place in a large bowl. Stir in 3 tsps oil and next 7 ingredients. Place orzo mixture in prepared oven bag. Combine shrimp and basil. Arrange shrimp mixture on orzo mixture. Fold edge of bag over seal. Bake for 25 minutes or until shrimp are done. Place bag on a platter and cut open bag with a sharp knife or kitchen shears. Drizzle with remaining 1 tsp oil.

*I've substituted chicken in this recipe several times. I would recommend using cooked chicken strips and assembling all the ingredients in the oven bag. Cook at the same temperature until all ingredients are heated through (about 10 minutes).

Adapted from Cooking Light, March 2001

Warm Toasted S'more Bars

Not cooking over an open fire anytime soon? Try these instead! When I made these everyone agreed they were the tastier treat. But if you're looking for the authentic dessert, you'll have to put on your hiking boots, get your hair real greasy and let the smoke get in your eyes.

And like the name states, these are best served warm. If you're not going to eat them all in one sitting (then I'm seriously worried about you and the company you're serving them to) then just reheat them in the microwave for a few seconds.

1 (1 lb 1.5 oz) pouch sugar cookie mix (like Betty Crocker brand)

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 cup butter, melted

3 cups milk chocolate chips

4 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

Mix cookie mix and graham cracker crumbs. Stir in egg and melted butter until soft dough forms. Press dough evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13-inch pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Do not overbake.

When cookie crust comes out of the oven, immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Let stand 3-5 minutes or until chocolate begins to melt. Spread chocolate evenly over crust.

Turn oven to broil. Sprinkle marshmallows over melted chocolate. Broil with top 4-5 inches from heat for 20-30 seconds or until marshmallows are toasted. Watch closely as marshmallows will brown quickly. Allow to cool 10 minutes before serving.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

This dish is perfect the the warmer weather we've been having. You could serve it as an appetizer or make it a main course. If you are serving a large crowd, make several batches and keep it warm in a crock pot. The original recipe calls for Boston Bibb or butter lettuce leaves but I just use the good old iceberg lettuce and it turns out nicely. If you do use iceberg variety, tear off the first few layers as they are generally thin and would not hold up to becoming a "wrap". Also, lettuce wraps are a little messy (as any tongue tingling dish is) so make sure to have plenty of napkins ready.

If you love PF Chang's soothing lettuce wraps, these are a close copy-cat. The only thing I don't bother with are the fried rice noodles. If you want to add those to the dish to make them more "authentic", go here for the easy how-to.

I've also made this dish with a variety of vegetables. Chopped mushrooms, chopped bell peppers and matchstick carrots would work great in this recipe.

16 Boston Bibb or butter lettuce leaves, washed and dried
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp ground ginger
3 Tbsp hoisin sauce (found in the Asian food section)
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 tsp sesame oil (preferably dark sesame oil)
2 tsp chili garlic sauce (or less depending on heat preference)**
1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts, minced fine
1 Tbsp cooking oil
1 (8 oz) can whole water chestnuts, diced
1 bunch green onions, chopped


In a small bowl, whisk together crushed garlic, soy sauce, ground ginger, hoisin sauce, cider vinegar, sesame oil and chili garlic sauce. Set aside. In a large skillet, heat cooking oil over medium-high heat until hot. Stir fry minced chicken until no longer pink. Pour over soy sauce mixture; stir. Add water chestnuts and green onions; cook until mixture is heated through. Serve in lettuce leaves.

*You can substitute the minced chicken breast for ground chicken if you don't want to bother with the prep work OR this recipe also works nicely with ground beef, pork or even ground turkey.

**Chili Garlic Sauce is an Asian staple and condiment. You can find it in most supermarkets in the Asian food aisle. Here is a picture of the brand I use.

Look at these little darlings!

The Huz gave me a set of 8 mini trifle dishes for Mother's Day. Of course I hinted a little. I love them as I do all things miniature. I made the following recipe today for a party. I made it in my regular sized trifle dish as I was feeding a crowd (and transporting it to the crowd). The new recipe was well received...

Easy Brownie-Berry Trifle

1 package brownie mix (9x13" pan size)

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup milk

1 (3.4 oz) pkg instant vanilla pudding mix

2 1/2 cups whipping cream, whipped

4 cups assorted berries of choice (sliced strawberries, raspberries, blackberries), sweetened lightly with sugar

Mix and bake brownie mix according to package directions. Cool completely and cut into cubes. Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk milks together. Add pudding mix; whisk until smooth. Fold in whipped cream.

Layering ingredients, start with a layer of brownie cubes. Next, arrange a layer of berries. Carefully spread a layer of cream mixture over top. Repeat layers. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving.

Magic Peanut Butter Middles

I'm captivated by anything that contains a surprise middle - whether it's a cupcake, chicken cord-on-bleu or these little pieces of joy...Magic Peanut Butter Middles. I found the recipe on the internet and after some tweaking, I think I've come up with a gem of a recipe. They are slightly more laborious than say a "drop" cookie but definitely much easier than cut-out cookies. After one bite, you'll agree that the prep was absolutely worth it!

Filling:

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

Cookie:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

2 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp sour cream

3 cups flour

1 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

For filling, thoroughly mix 1 1/2 cups peanut butter with confectioner's sugar. With floured hands, form 45-50 - 1 1/2-inch balls. Place on wax paper-lined tray and freeze for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make cookie dough, beat butter and sugars together until light and fluffy; approximately 5 minutes. Stir in eggs, 1/2 cup peanut butter, vanilla and sour cream; mix thoroughly. Combine flour, cocoa powder and baking soda; stir into butter mixture.

To assemble cookies, take approximately 1 1/2 Tbsp chocolate cookie dough and roll into a ball. Using your thumb, make an indentation in the center of each ball and place one peanut butter filling ball. Carefully cover the filling center with chocolate dough and re-roll to make a round shape. Flatten slightly with the bottom of a drinking glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 7 minutes. Do not overbake or cookies will become hard.

Store in a tightly sealed container. Makes 45-50 large cookies.