Cooking in Pajamas

2 1/4 c. All-purpose flour 1 tsp Baking powder 1/4 tsp Salt 1 c. Butter, unsalted, room temperature 2/3 c. Sugar 2 Egg yolks 1/4 tsp Cinnamon 1/4 tsp Nutmeg (freshly grated if possible) 1/4 tsp ground Ginger 1/4 tsp ground Cloves 1/4 tsp ground Coriander 1/4 tsp ground Cardamom 1 c. Cinnamon Chips Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Combine all the dry ingredients. Set aside. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks. Add the flour mixture in two additions and mix until clumpy. Gather the dough into a ball. Roll the dough into 1" balls and place on baking sheets.  Flatten the balls a little with the bottom of a small glass. Bake until the cookies are golden brown, approximately 7-9 min. Cool the cookies on a baking rack. My comments: Ever had the Chai Latte from Starbucks?  It is one of my all-time favourite latte.  Mmm...yum!!   Imagine my excitement when I saw this Cinnamon Chip Chai Shortbread Bars recipe . ...

Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce 1 8 oz. package of Fresh cranberries 1/2 c. Sugar 1.5 tbsp Fresh squeezed orange juice Zest from 1 orange 2 tbsp Grand Marnier Preheat oven to 325°F. Toss the cranberries together with sugar, orange juice and orange zest in a glass baking dish. Cover with foil and place the glass dish on a baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour. Remove the cranberries from the oven and stir in the Grand Marnier. Store in the refrigerator until use. Thumbprint Cookie 2 1/4 c. All-purpose flour 1 tsp Baking powder 1/4 tsp Salt 1 c. Butter, unsalted, room temperature 2/3 c. Sugar 2 Egg yolks Zest from 1 orange 1 tbsp Freshly squeezed orange juice 1 tsp Vanilla extract 1/3 c. Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce (optional: puree sauce) Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Combine flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks, orange zest, orange juice and vanilla. Add the flour mixture in ...

1 c. Salted butter, room temperature 1 c. Dark brown sugar, packed 1 tsp Vanilla extract 16 Salted-top soda crackers ~ 1.5 c. Hershey's special dark chocolate chips A few pinches of sea salt (not iodized table salt) or colour sprinkles Preheat the oven to 350 ° F. Line the bottom of a 9x9" square silicone baking pan with soda crackers.  (If you are not using silicone bakeware, line the baking pan with tinfoil and spray with cooking spray before placing the crackers.) (This next step is important to avoid the butter from separating from the toffee, forming an ugly layer of fat on your toffee and chocolate.) Melt the butter and sugar together in a sauce pan on low-medium heat, stirring slowly.  When the butter and sugar are melted and mixed well, increase the heat to medium-high.  Once the toffee starts to boil, stop stirring.  Bring the toffee to an angry boil and boil for 3 minutes without stirring.  The toffee should be a dark golden brown colour. ...

Chocolate Cookie 1.25 c. All-purpose flour 1/2 c. Premium cocoa 1 tsp Baking soda 1/4 tsp Baking powder 1/4 tsp Salt 1 c. White sugar 1/2 c. + 2 tbsp Butter, unsalted at room temperature 1 Large egg Peanut Butter Cream 1 c. Icing sugar 1 c. Chunky peanut butter, all natural, no sugar added 5 tbs Butter, unsalted at room temperature 1 tsp Vanilla extract 1/4 tsp Salt 1/4 - 1/3 c. Milk For the chocolate cookies: Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line two baking sheets with Silpat (silicone baking mat) or parchment paper. Mix together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Set aside. In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer.  Beat in the egg. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture.  Stir until well combined. Set up a bowl of water for moistening your hands.  (If you don't do this, the batter will stick to your fingers.) Take a rounded teaspoon of batter and roll it gently into a ...

2 c. Flour 2 c. Rolled oats 1 c. Brown sugar 1/2 tsp Baking soda 1 c. Butter, unsalted 1 pkg (250 g)  Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Chipits 1 c. Dulce de leche Caramel Cream Spread 3 Tbsp Flour Optional: 3/4 c. Pecans, toasted and chopped Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 13” x 9” pan.  (I sprayed mine with PAM canola oil.) Combine flour, oats, sugar and baking soda in a large bowl. Cut the butter into the flour mixture and mix with your hand until the butter is incorporated.  This mixture should be crumbly.  Set aside 3 cups of this mixture (approximately 1/2). Press the remaining mixture into the greased pan. Bake for 10 min. Sprinkle the chocolate chips (and pecans) over the baked crust bottom. Mix 3 Tbsp of flour with the the caramel cream spread.  Drop blobs of the caramel cream on top and try to spread them out as much as you can (they won't spread as they bake). Sprinkle the rest of the oat and butter mixture evenly over t...

8-9 c. Apples, peeled, cored and cubed 3-4 Tbsp Fresh lemon juice 1 Cinnamon stick 1/4 - 1/2 c. Brown sugar 1.5 c. Water 4 strips Lemon peel Place the apples in a large sauce pan. Add water, 2 Tbsp lemon juice, cinnamon stick, 1/4 c. brown sugar and lemon peel. Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 20 min. Adjust the amount of lemon juice and brown sugar according to your taste. Remove the lemon peels and cinnamon stick.  Mash the apples with a potato masher. My comment: My friend and I took our boys to a local apple orchard a few weekends ago and we came home with way too many MacIntosh apples for us to eat by themselves.  So I decided to make some applesauce and I found this wonderful recipe on Simply Recipe  that promised a hint of citrus flavour in the applesauce.  My family loves lemony treats, so I was rather excited about this recipe. As always, I didn't follow the recipe to the dot.  I ended up with a lemon-flavoured a...

1 c. Butter or margarine 1/2 c. Natural peanut butter (ie. no sugar added) 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract 1.5 c. Brown sugar 2 c. Graham cracker crumbs 1 c. Rolled oats 1 bag (250 g)  Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Chipits Melt the butter in the microwave and and stir in the peanut butter.  Blend well.  Then, add the vanilla extract and set aside. In another mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, rolled oats and brown sugar with a fork. Pour the peanut butter mixture into the dry mixture.  Stir until everything is combined. Line a 9x13" dish with wax paper. Spread the peanut butter and graham cracker crumb mixture in the dish and press down firmly. Put the chocolate chips in the same bowl you used for mixing the butter and peanut butter. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until all the chocolate chips are melted (approximately 3-4 times). Spread the chocolate on top of the peanut butter bar b...