S'More Bars

The world needs more bake sales. It's a fantastic excuse to bake whatever you want, without any of the calories, because you know...you're not actually eating any of it because it's usually for a good cause and any you eat are the ones you can't sell. So when my friend asked me to help her out I said yes and went on a hunt for the perfect bake sale recipe. Lucky for me, there's a whole week's worth of bake sale goody ideas over at Sophistimom's Blog!

I've already tried lemon bars, and while they were fantastic, I didn't think they'd survive being packaged and stacked, so I picked two other recipes. A cookie recipe that will be going into my "make every chance you get" file that I'll tell you about later, and these bars. They're the easiest thing in the world to throw together, taste fantastic, look lovely, and go great with a cold glass of milk. I think they were a hit too, my friend asked me to make her another batch ;)



s’mores bars
via Sophistimom

10 oz (300g) graham crackers (two cellophane wrapped stacks)
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
1 pinch of kosher salt
1 14 ounce can (400g) sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups (250g) semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups mini marshmallows

1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. In a large resealable bag (or in a food processor), smash graham crackers until finely ground. I should have probably used the food processor, but it was strangely therapeutic to smash the bag of crackers with my fist. I call this "Free Therapy".
2. Stir in melted butter and salt. Press into a 13×9″ pan. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven.
3. Sprinkle on chocolate chips. Drizzle can of condensed milk over graham crackers; follow with marshmallows.
4. Bake for 20 minutes more, until marshmallows are lightly browned. Let cool completely.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Hi, my name is Anna and I'm a hoarder. I am categorically incapable of sticking to grocery lists , I can never remember about the things I already have, and product placement most definitely works with me. I'll go into a store with a strict plan and I'll come out with a bunch of interesting finds without any plans on how to use them. As a second step on the road to recovery (the first was admitting that I have a problem), I am now going through the process of cleaning out my pantry. I made a promise to myself to not buy anything that's not on my very short list of perishables until I can see the back wall of the pantry. It's a daunting task, I've accumulated quite a variety of stuff.

One of these things is a giant jar of peanut butter. For some reason I keep buying it, even though I only occasionally make PB&J sandwiches (I usually lack bread). Well, no more. The peanut butter cake I made recently put a major dent in my supply and I further depleted the inventory by adding a Chocolate Peanut Butter ice cream to my repertoire. It has once again been inspired by the ever talented David Lebovitz. I started with his recipe for easy Peanut Butter ice cream, added some melted and cooled chocolate and upped the half and half amount to get the right texture. My ice cream machine has been getting quite a work out this summer and if this keeps up, I might have to invest in a bigger and better machine that does not require duct tape.

I have a few more ideas for the peanut butter, but the next challenge is...what to do with all the crushed pineapple cans?




Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream
adapted from David Lebovitz, The Perfect Scoop

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
3 cups half and half
4 ounces dark chocolate, melted and cooled to room temp
pinch of salt
1/8 tsp vanilla extract

Purée the peanut butter, sugar, half and half, chocolate, salt, and vanilla in a blender or food processor until smooth. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. That's it! Easiest recipe ever.

Watermelon Jam

Have you ever come across a recipe so unique and intriguing that you just had to run out and get everything you'd need to give it a try? Well, when Stef from Cupcake Project was searching for the best way to get the flavor of watermelon into a cupcake, her friend Marissa from Food in Jars got to work and came up with a watermelon jelly. Watermelon jelly say what? I had to try it. The ingredients were simple, and I always have watermelon within reach during the summer, so I ran home cut one up into chunks and got to work. I followed the recipe to the letter, but even two days later the contents of my jars still resembled more of a runny sauce then a nice thick jam or jelly. I think I got a bit nervous at the smell the jam was taking on and I may have not cooked it as long as I should have.

Once I was sure that it just will not set no matter how long I waited, I reopened all the jars and dumped everything back into the pot. I added a bit more lemon juice to try and cut the sweetness and boost up the pectin, and recooked the mess to 215F again, letting it boil for a bit longer then I was strictly comfortable with, but this time everything came out great! The jam set and I had 7 shiny jars of lovely jelly tasting quite strongly of watermelon. I'm already plotting "I know what you did last summer" desserts to make with it, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that my jam exchange partner will like it too.



Watermelon Jelly
adapted from Food in Jars
makes about 7 eight ounce jars

6 cups pureed watermelon (remove any seeds prior to pureeing)
5 cups white sugar (I think next time I'd add 4 or less)
1/2 cup bottled or fresh lemon juice
1 packet powdered pectin

Combine watermelon puree, sugar and lemon juice in a large, non-reactive pot (anything but aluminum). Get one bigger than you think, you'll want plenty of space for things to foam up without overflowing. Bring to a boil and let it boil vigorously until the temperature of mixture reaches 220 degrees. Be sure to stir frequently, you don't want it to burn on the bottom. Add the powdered pectin and boil for another five minutes.

Remove from the heat and pour into clean, sterilized jars, leaving about a half inch of headspace. Wipe rims, apply lids and screw on bands. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

When time is up, remove from canner and let jars cool completely, preferably overnight. When they’re cool enough to handle, remove rings and test seals. You can eat immediately or store unopened jars in a cool, dark place for up to a year. Print up some pretty labels (I used the template from here found at this cool site) and start scheming.

The Jam Exchange

A few months ago, Steph over at Steph Chows posted about hosting her second jam exchange, and since I'm waist deep in jars of jam this summer, I thought it'd be fun to participate. A few weeks later I got an email telling me that my partner would be Evan, from Sweete Bakes and I immediately popped over to her blog to take a look around and see what sort of things she might like. I found out that we had a lot in common! We both made boozy blackberry jam, and in our back and forth emails we both agreed that every recipe can be improved by a splash of alcohol. Aside from some fantastic cake and cookie recipes I found over on her blog, I learned that she's also a little crazy like me when it comes to never saying no to a baking opportunity, though she does have me beat on the farthest traveling wedding cake delivery.



Keeping all that in mind, I packed a jar of my Vanilla Bourbon Peach jam and a jar of a secret jam that I'm keeping a surprise until she gets her box, and dropped it in the mail. But she's so much more organized then I am and the very next day I had a box waiting with my mail when I got home. In it was a lovely note and two pretty jars of jam. A lovely blackberry blueberry port jam made with port from a local vineyard and an intriguing three pepper jam. I've been eating the blackberry jam in my pb&j sandwiches since last week and I'm planning to take her suggestion and try the pepper jam with fish, just as soon as this week's craziness dies down a bit. Thank you Evan!

Is it too early to sign up for next years exchange now?

Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

I love labor day weekend. It's the last long weekend where I can relax before the insanity of the holidays truly kicks in. It's one of the last weekends for BBQs here where the weather is starting to cool. I can finally turn off the AC and fling open the windows. It's the end of summer without quite feeling like the start of fall.



It's also the time when I no longer hesitate to turn on the oven, so I didn't even blink when my friend requested a cake for her husband's birthday, which was this past Sunday. "It must have peanut butter!" she said, and after a few emails back and forth we decided on a banana cake with peanut butter frosting (and a couple of ice creams, of course).



I have two simple recipes for peanut butter frosting, one of which I used a while back for my puppy cupcakes, but the banana cake would take a bit more research. I didn't want it to be as heavy as a banana bread. I wanted it more cakey, so when I found a recipe on Allrecipes with so many fantastic reviews, I thought I'd give it a try.



The cake came out great, and despite all the other food at the party, there was still a considerable dent made in the three layer cake. I even pulled out one of my pretty cake stands. Usually when I sell cakes or make them for parties I won't be attending, I don't want to worry about getting my containers or plates back, so I put the cakes on cardboard rounds and into cardboard boxes, but I have four cake plates that sit unused and unloved, waiting for a cake to be made that doesn't have to leave the house. It was nice to pull one down and give it purpose.



Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
recipe adapted from AllRecipes

Note: I increased the cake recipe to make 3 9-inch layers and I sort of made up the frosting to match, but be aware that this is a very rich cake, so serve a slice with a tall glass of milk.

3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1-1/2 pinches salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1-1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup and 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 eggs
6 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup buttermilk

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 3 - 9 inch round pans.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream butter, white sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in the bananas.
- Add flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk to the creamed mixture. Pour batter into the prepared pans.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Peanut Butter Frosting
recipe by me

2 cups peanut butter
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream

Whip together the first 3 ingredients until smooth and a bit lightened. Slowly drizzle in the heavy cream until the frosting comes to the consistency you like. Feel free to add more sugar if you like things sweeter or of you want a bit of a thicker frosting. Spread a thin layer between the layers of the banana cake and use the rest to frost the top and sides.

If you keep the cake in the fridge, be sure to take it out and let come to room temp before serving. Also, if you like chocolate, I would also recommend possibly adding a layer of ganache into the middle of the cake.