Making a move...

I've been thinking this one over for a while. My sweet sista-in-law Annie started this blog as a way for us sistas to share what we've been baking. We bake more than we post, that's for sure. Life is just busy. I still plan on making occasional appearances here at Sweet Sista, but I'd like to invite you to my very own, fresh out of the oven, baking blog:

www.doublebatch.wordpress.com

In the coming weeks I'll be moving some of the content from this blog over to Double Batch so you'll see a few duplicates. But, you'll definitely be seeing some new creations as well. Stop by as often as you'd like, bookmark the blog or add it to your Reader. You're always welcome!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Hello Fall,

I baked a little something in honor of your arrival this week. I've been waiting for you and your entourage of colorful leaves, abundant harvests and decor...and, most of all, your recipes. But it's getting a little crowded around here, because your dear friend, Summer has not packed up and left yet. Frankly I think she's overstaying her welcome. 100 degrees and Fall just don't go together. She's had her turn, and if you'd politely ask her to hit the road I'd appreciate it. You are a season of comfort and breaking a sweat as soon as I walk outside just isn't comfort to me.

But, I'll tell you what is: spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Apples, pears and pumpkin. Curling up on the coach with a blanket, a mug full of steaming cider and sweatshirts. That's comfort. So anyway, I'm glad you're here, even if it's a little crowded with Summer still vying for some attention. Stay tuned Fall, I have some great posts coming in your honor.

Grateful you've arrived,
Dianna

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
This recipe makes 3 large loaves or a bunch of small ones. I love that because it means more deliveries to friends or just more for the freezer to be saved for later! But, if the quantity is more than you'd like, just half the recipe and use one of the small, 15 oz. cans of pumpkin instead of a large one. It's that easy!

1 cup vegetable oil
4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 large can of pumpkin (I love you Libby's)
3 teaspoons vanilla

5 cups flour
4 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. salt
4 heaping teaspoons cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves

12 oz. (2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips (or more, of course!)

Heat oven to 350. Grease 3 large loaf pans or approximately 8 small pans. Whisk or sift flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cloves together.
Mix together oil and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and then vanilla. Stir in pumpkin. Add dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips.
Divide batter evenly among greased pans. Bake for 60-70 minutes for large loaves, 40-45 for small loaves.

there's a cookie IN my cookie!

Yum. That's what these are. Just yum. I was a bit doubtful that mixing Oreos into a cookie could result in something to rave and blog about. I just didn't know how those precious Oreos, so good on their own, would hold up in the oven. Uh, they did great.

This is a really good recipe and it's got me thinking of a few variations already. I wonder how the Halloween Oreos would do. Would the whole cookie dough turn orange? I'm also thinking about a Nutter Butter variety with peanut butter chips. Maybe ANY cookie would do. If anybody is brave enough to try it with those darn cute Circus Animal cookies (and maybe some white chocolate chips?) I'd love to hear about the result. Warning, you'll have to chop those little creatures to bits though. :-) So many possibilities!


Oreo Cookie Cookies
adapted from Nosh and Tell

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
18 oreos, crushed

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper. (Or don't...I didn't and there wasn't cookie that got stuck!)

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Add in the crushed oreos. Beat on low speed for just a few seconds to break up the oreos in the dough. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon.

Drop cookie dough a rounded tbsp at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

that's a BIG cookie!

O.k. so it's not a cookie. It's a blondie. And, it must be a 'keeper' because I've made it twice in the past two weeks when treats were needed. I like the simplicity of this one. Sometimes I don't have time or just don't feel like dropping cookie dough onto pans. It's got basic ingredients that I typically have in the pantry, and you can substitute ingredients in or out like crazy if you want to. Have some M&M's on hand? Sprinkle them on top for some color. Change it up and add dried cranberries and white chocolate chunks instead of the chocolatey version you see here. See...LOTS of possibilities! Even if you're not too much of a coconut fan (which I don't understand...maybe we can't be friends then) just give it a try. It adds a little something 'extra' that I think you'll like.


Chewy Chunky Blondies

(from Baking: From My Home to Yours)

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips or toffee bits *
1 cup chopped pecans **
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, waiting until each is fully incorporated to add the next, then beat in the vanilla. With the mixer on low, gradually add in the flour mixture, stirring only until no streaks of flour remain. Stir in the chips, nuts and coconut by hand.
Spread batter into prepared pan, using a lightly greased spatula to even it out.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a tester comes out with only a few crumbs.
Cool blondies in the pan. I actually put these in the refrigerator for a while so that when I pulled them out with the foil they were SUPER easy to cut.

* I'm not a big fan of butterscotch chips and I didn't have any toffee ones on hand so I chopped up a king sized Hershey's bar for a little milk chocolate addition. Use whatever you have. Peanut butter chips would probably be yummy too!

** No pecans on hand so I used toasted walnuts instead.