i’ve taken a bit of a break from the make { and } take kitchen.  my weekends have been packed, work has been nuts { and } i’m still coming off the overload of holiday baking.  some exciting news, though – i adopted a cat last week!  her name is frenchie, she’s about a year old { and } i adore her.  while frenchie is adjusting well to my place, i was worried about how she would do with the baking.  when baking for the blog, it’s time-consuming { and } spread out.  frenchie did really well, though.  she was curious about the eggs { as you’ll see below }, but other than that – not interested.  what a relief that was.   

now, back to the baking…i’m fully aware that i am a baking snob of sorts.  mostly in the sense that i don’t like to make plain recipes.  i think it’s mostly because when i make something, i want it to be  r e a l l y  good, not just another baked good.  there is something to be said for the classics, though { and } it happens almost every time – i ask for suggestions { and } i get basics: chocolate chip cookies, brownies, snickerdoodles, oatmeal cookies, etc.  i’m not a fan of brownies typically, but these were tasty.  in a classic, old-fashioned, dare i say it – b a s i c  brownie.  i added my own twist with the extra salt { and } chocolate chips, the outcome was delicious.  i am hooked on the bon appetit desserts cookbook, it’s so nice to have such a variety of really solid, reliable recipes in one place.  i look forward to making many, many more recipes from it to share.   

you need a good baking chocolate for the base.

the newest addition to the make { and } take kitchen.  believe it or not – this was the only time throughout the brownies that she was even remotely interested in what i was doing. 

classic brownies.

ingredients:

• 5 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup { 1 stick } unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

directions:

1. preheat oven to 350°f.  spray a 13 x 9 x 2 pan with parchment paper with non-stick spray, line with parchment paper { allow about 1 inch overhang }, spray parchment paper. 
2. in a medium saucepan over low heat, melt butter { and } chocolate, stirring constantly.  transfer mixture to bowl of stand mixer { and } allow to cool for 10 minutes.
3. add sugar { and } vanilla to chocolate mixture, using the whisk attachment – mix together until thoroughly combined.
4. scrape down bowl, add eggs { and } salt, mix until batter is lightened in color, 2-3 minutes.
5. stir in flour by hand until just combined.  stir in chocolate chips.
6. spread mixture into prepared pan { and } bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 25-30 minutes.  cool in pan on wire rack 30 minutes.

my aunt eve got me the bon appétit desserts cookbook for christmas { and } i  l o v e  it.  i love that it’s not only separated out by category { cakes, cookies, candy, etc. }, but also by difficulty, or as they call it – a whisk rating.  it’s nice to be able to choose something to make based on it’s whisk rating – it even has an index for the ratings.  i picked this cake on a day i was looking to be more challenged { and } i am so glad i did.  every part of it is fantastic.  the carmelized pecans are just like the nuts from the vendors at theme parks, so good – especially straight out of the oven.  { and } the frosting.  holy cow.  it is  t h e  best cream cheese frosting i’ve ever made.  so simple { and } s o o o  good.  i highly recommend making this cake, it’s a definite crowd pleaser.  you can find the recipe here.

your basic yellow cake with pecans added.

split into equal cakes.

carmelizing pecans is super easy.  mix an egg white with water, dissolve brown sugar into the egg white { and } toss in the pecans.

very basic cream cheese frosting.  i don’t know why, but this recipe is so damn good.

i’m telling you – straight out of the oven.

the first round of baked goods that i made for christmas gifts was mainly from your typical 4000 recipes enclosed christmas cookie magazine.  { and } i have now learned that i need to stick to what i know works.  ina garten, martha stewart, gale gand, dave lebovitz, food { and } wine, foodnetwork.com, bon appétit { and } my fellow bloggers.  i saw these cookies on a few blog posts { and } saw the recipe when i bought martha’s annual christmas cookie magazine.  i love lemon.  these are unique in that you make lemon sugar for the cookie { and } use a simple lemon glaze for the topping.  they are a simple buttery cookie with a nice basic glaze.  i liked them a lot, the dough is not exactly friendly, but i got through it. 

for as much zest as is in these cookies, they are surprisingly subtle.

these are becoming some of my favorite pictures.

the recipe calls for the cookies to be dipped, but I found that using a squeeze bottle was way easier { and } less messy.

the holidays are officially over.  my kitchen that just a few short weeks ago housed 12 pounds of butter, 6 pounds of cream cheese, 5 dozen eggs, 20 pounds of brown, granulated { and } powdered sugar { and } 8 pounds of flour has slowly dwindled to near nothing.  { and } thank god.  i’m finally back to normal – not running my dishwasher, cleaning my counters, { and } sweeping my floors all day long.  as i’ve previously mentioned, i bake for christmas gifts { and } this year was no different.  i made many, many cookies of all different kinds.  to name most of them – peanut butter bars, christmas toffee, peanut butter truffles, hot chocolate cookies, vanilla meringue swirls, lemon wreaths, blueberries { and } cream cookies, merry mocha cookies, double chocolate espresso cookies, german chocolate toffee cookies { and } these chocolate peppermint cookies.  there was no way i could photograph to blog them all.  i wish i had taken pictures, minimally, of the finished products, but just ran out of time.  these cookies, along with the blueberries { and } cream, were my favorite of the 2010 baking marathon.  think girl scout thin mint cookies.  or the marshall field’s/macy’s chocolate covered peppermint cookies.  they are  d a m n  good.  it’s a martha stewart recipe { i chose to dip them in milk chocolate rather than the white chocolate the recipe calls for } that is very time consuming, tedious, delicate { and } quite frankly a pain in the ass to make.  but so worth it. 

be sure to use a good quality cocoa powder.

do yourself a favor – use starlight mints or small candy canes for crushing.  large candy canes are a big pain in the ass to unwrap.

the dough gets split into two discs { and } refrigerated, but is still very delicate.

prep your work surface before taking your dough out.

l i g h t l y  flour your work surface, but be careful because it can get sticky quick.

here’s where it gets interesting.  you roll the dough out to 1/8-inch { and } chill again.

you then cut out the circles { and } chill a third time.

since these cookies are to be crispy, it’s nice that you can make them ahead { and } dip in chocolate when ready.

dip into the chocolate of your choice.

dip { and } sprinkle with peppermint.

delicate to gift, I wrapped them individually in parchment { and } then put into bags.