Scottish Shortbread Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups of high quality butter (room temperature)
• 3/4 cup sugar (ground or confectioners*)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (ground**)
• 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt***
• 1.5 cups of oat flour****
• 3.25 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch*****

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Line a 9x13" pan with parchment paper, extra going up the sides*
3. Use a pastry cutter/dough blender to mix the butter and sugar(s)**
4. Mix the flours/salt/cornstarch in a separate bowl
5. Incorporate the flour mixture into the butter/sugar mixture***
6. Place in pan, press the dough until it's spread out and even
7. Cut score marks into the dough
8. Bake 35-40 minutes until golden on top
9. Leave in pan about 5 minutes to cool
10. Cut along the lines, cool on a wire rack
11. Add toppings (optional)

Notes on the Ingredients

*Scottish shortbread recipes typically call for golden caster sugar which is not really a thing in the States. While you could use confectioners sugar as a replacement for the caster sugar, I prefer to take a good sugar like Florida Crystals Organic Pure Cane Sugar, and use a Ninja blender to pulse it into a fine powder.

**I also do the same things with Florida Crystals Organic Brown Raw Cane Sugar. You don't have to use brown sugar if you don't have have/want it. Just add the sugar amount to the regular sugar, or cut back on the sugar total if you prefer.

***Using unsalted butter? Consider using 3/4 teaspoon or up to 1 teaspoon of salt instead.

****I make oat flour by pulsing regular quick oats (oatmeal) in the blender as well. You can buy oat flour or make it.

*****The cornstarch adds a little more "melt in your mouth" feel to the shortbread.  Feel free to omit and replace with oat or all-purpose flour.

Notes on the Instructions

*You can also grease a pan instead of using parchment paper. I prefer to use parchment paper and a springform pan for simple removal. Don't want them to crumble. Springform pans can be expensive, especially if you don't have 9x13 rectangular one. Two 8 inch round cake pans can also be used. On that note, you can cut the recipe in half and use one 8 inch round cake pan. The full recipe makes 32 shortbread fingers. A round cake pan will make 16 shortbread wedges.

**You can also use a food processor to mix. I don't have one, but it should work. 

***Use some muscle or a food processor. You can even use your hands, but this isn't ideal because the heat from your hands will melt the butter into the dough, and the results are best if you don't do that. But do what you have to do because it'll still be delicious.

Shortbread is delicious on its own (all that butter! mmm), but it's also fantastic dipped/drizzled with things like caramel and chocolate (sounds like a homemade Twix bar, right? but *so* much better).

I topped some of these with melted caramel chips and semi-sweet chocolate.

An example of what the wedges look like if you use a round pan.

Shortbread smells amazing when baking, just ask this nose!

Chocolate Avocado Banana Bread

Chocolate Avocado Banana Bread

Prep

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan (I used avocado oil)

Dry Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Flour
• 1/2 Cup Almond Flour
• 1/2 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt

Wet Ingredients

• 3 Tired Bananas (overripe, spotty brown)
• 1 Tired Avocado (ripe, soft, easy to mush)
• 1 Egg (Chicken or Flax) at room temperature
• 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar (fluffy, not pressed)
• 1/4 Cup Walnut Oil
• 1.5 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

Toppings

• Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips (Optional)
• Walnuts (Optional)

Mixing Instructions

• Whisk dry ingredients together in one bowl
• Mash/puree bananas and avocado in a larger bowl
• Stir remaining wet ingredients into the mashed fruit
• Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients about 1/3 a time, stir until fully incorporated
• Transfer to loaf pan and even it out
• Sprinkle with toppings and gently press into batter

Baking Instructions

• Bake for 50-55 minutes
• Let cool in pan for 15-20 minutes
• Finish cooling on a wire rack

Notes 

• The ingredients listed above are exactly what I used for the banana bread in the photo. Banana bread is rather versatile and forgiving. I often switch up the ingredients and ratios depending on what I have on hand, or if I need to make a vegan, gluten-free, or allergy-free version.
• You can use 1 cup of regular flour, or all almond flour, or a mix of coconut and almond flour if you are looking to cut carbs or make it gluten-free.
• The walnut oil can be replaced with 1/2 stick of melted butter, or a 1/4 cup of avocado oil, coconut oil, pecan oil, olive oil, or other oil you use for baking.
• If you're looking for a vegan version or just some added fiber, use a flax egg, which you can make by combining 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed with 3 tablespoons of room temperature water, and letting it sit for 10-20 minutes. You could probably use chia seed as well.
• Traditional banana bread usually calls for 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar, which I find excessively sweet. I usually use 1/4 cup or no sugar in plain banana bread. This recipe has a 1/2 cup of cocoa powder which reduces some of the sweetness from the bananas, so I used 1/2 cup of brown sugar which makes it "reasonably" sweet. You can use more or less depending on your preferences. If you use less than 1/4 cup of sugar, you may want to add an additional banana for sweetness and moisture.
• Toppings - try what you like. Coconut? Pecans? Why not. Drizzle with warm peanut or almond butter after? Yes, please.
• Banana bread coffee buzz? Sure, add some instant espresso to the batter, maybe dissolved into a flax egg first. Just got for it.

Enjoy your "Millennial" Banana Bread!

Super Fudge Brownies

An Easter treat that doesn't really have any ties to Easter other than the fact that it's chocolate.

()_()
(**)
(___)()

It's a recipe I based on Mrs. Fields brownies, but mine are a bit more chocolaty and not quite as sweet.  They are sweet enough though, trust me on that!

Recipe

• 6oz of unsweetened chocolate (six Baker's Unsweetened Baking Chocolate Squares)
• 1/4 cup of dark unsweetened cocoa powder (Hershey's Special Dark)
• 1 cup of salted butter (2 sticks)
• 4 large eggs (near room temperature)
• 1 3/4 cups of granulated sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup of flour, plus one tablespoon
• Optional toppings (e.g. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, coconut flakes, crushed cookies, mini peanut butter cups, candy pieces, etc.) You could also make some serious mocha brownies by adding instant coffee to the batter.  There are many ways to customize these for any occasion requiring delicious brownies.

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees
2. Grease  9x9 (or 8x8) pan 
3. Cut butter into small chunks and put into a saucepan on the stove-top on the lowest heat setting and then throw the chocolate squares on top
4. Stir until smooth and remove pan from heat
5. Mix eggs into a large bowl on low/med setting until they are frothy and light yellow (4-5 minutes)
6. Slowly pour sugar into eggs and mix on low speed 1-2 minutes
7. Stir vanilla into mixture
8. Slowly pour melted chocolate/butter mixture into the bowl while mixing on low speed
9. Stir flour and cocoa powder into mixture.  Stir until well blended, but do not over stir
10. Pour batter into pan and spread it out evenly
11. Sprinkle with toppings
12. Bake approx. 35-40 minutes for 9x9 pan; 40-45 minutes for 8x8 pan
13. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes
14. Chill brownies in refrigerator for 45-60 minutes
15. Enjoy your delicious brownies!

 

 

A Birthday Cake

I made this birthday cake for my brother who is a bad-ass bass player (hence the chocolate bass shaped like the one he actually plays). 

It's a two layer dark chocolate cake with boozed up vanilla amaretto almond frosting and a generous amount of toasted coconut.  I think I'm finally done with the toasted coconut theme that I've had going on all week.  I hadn't baked for a few months and now I've had three baking projects this week all with amaretto/almond/toasted coconut.  I guess I am all caught up for a little while. :-)

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have been wondering for some time now what almond butter would taste like in chocolate chip cookie dough.  I decided a while ago that almond butter is better than peanut butter and since I have baked many peanut butter chocolate chip cookies in my life, I would have to find out what almond butter chocolate chip cookies taste like.

In my previous post, I mentioned that I made toasted coconut for the first time.  I then wondered what toasted coconut flakes would be like in cookies.  I decided to bake two thoughts into one cookie when I made almond butter chocolate chip with toasted coconut flakes tonight.

Recipe (makes approx 3.5 dozen)

• 2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of salt

• 1/2 cup of butter (1 stick)
• 3/4 cup of dry roasted almond butter [unsalted]
• 3/4 cup of white sugar
• 3/4 cup of packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
• 2 large eggs

• 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup of dark chocolate chips
• 1 cup of toasted coconut flakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl.
3. Cream butter and almond butter in a separate bowl.
4. Mix both sugars and extracts into the butter mixture.
5. Beat one egg into the mixture at a time.  Eggs should be room temperature.
6. Blend the flour mixture into the bowl, about 1/2 a cup at a time.
7. Fold the chocolate chips and coconut flakes into the cookie dough.
8. Drop onto a cookie sheet, one tablespoon at a time
9. Bake 8-10 minutes and enjoy.

I think they came out fine, but the almond flavor is not as strong as I would like it to be.  If I make these again I will double or triple the almond extract.  I just really like almond flavor with chocolate. :-D

Chocolate Amaretto Coconut Cake Pops

Well it has certainly been some time since I last posted (or baked).  A couple of months ago Binky, a fellow baker and blogger (Cakeb0t) was kind enough to give a copy of her wonderful cake pop course eBook to me (How to make Cake Pops by Cakeb0t).  I had never made cake pops before, but I was interested in making them.

I initially wanted to make pink heart shaped cake pops for Valentine's Day, but unfortunately, I did not have a chance to do that.  Binky recently posted a great video on how to make heart shaped cake pops (Kawaii Heart Tutorial).  I am definitely going to attempt making shaped cake pops in the future.  I finally got around to making my first batch of cake pops last week and ended up going with the standard round shape.

For these cake pops, I used Binky's recipe for yellow cake, but I replaced half of the butter with coconut oil and used a blend of milk and coconut milk instead of just cow's milk.  I wanted a yellow cake with a bit of coconut flavor.

 

The frosting that I mixed in was an amaretto butter cream.  Normally I make a fancy butter cream frosting for my cakes and cupcakes (my secret recipe for fluffy frosting), but with cake pops I did not need to worry about making the frosting light and fluffy.  It just needed to moisten the cake and form the cake pop.  I mixed together butter, confectioners' sugar, a generous splash or two of amaretto liqueur, and a few drops of almond extract.  

[A side note about amaretto:  not all amaretto is the same, the higher the alcohol content the better (Disaronno is best (28% abv) , E'Dolce (21% abv) is about 4x cheaper and will do just fine for baking).  The alcohol provides a nice warmth depth to these sweet treats.]

 

Once I had the cake pops formed, I dipped them in melted dark chocolate and then covered them in toasted coconut flakes.  One of the reasons I made these cake pops was so that I could try toasting coconut (two firsts in one). :-)  I originally planned to dip the pops and then place them into mini gold cupcake liners (an idea I got from Binky's book!).  My cake pops however, were too large for the liners, oops!  I made the cake pops the "right size" before dipping them in chocolate.  I used a thick dark chocolate too (instead of candy melts) and after coating them, they were too big for the liners (and too small for full cupcake liners, but that would have been funny).  I stumbled into a problem because I did not make a cake pop stand for them to dry on.  I ended up letting the chocolate harden with them upside down in the toasted coconut.  This allowed them to harden without sticking to anything and making more of a mess. :-)

 

Despite my small mishap with the size of them, they actually came out quite well and were super delicious!  Amaretto and chocolate has become one of my favorite flavor combinations and the addition of the toasted coconut was perfect!  The thick dark chocolate coating added a satisfying bite of chocolate to the cake and the toasted coconut provided some nice crunch.

If you are interested in making cake pops for the first time or getting new ideas for cake pops, please check out Binky's website:  http://www.cakeb0t.com/