No Empty Chairs

June 19, 2013 · 9:28 am

Softball (or Baseball) Cookies

We made it to the end of another girls’ softball season! Last week was our end-of-season party and awards night. Since I had a couple-dozen plain round cookies left from the graduation party Fruit Pizza Cookies (stored in the freezer), I made these softball cookies in our team color (Go Purple Bandits!) for the girls to eat after their pizza.

I used a simple Glacé Icing to frost these (just powdered sugar, milk, corn syrup, vanilla or almond extract and gel food coloring) that you mix with a whisk. You could also use a Royal Icing. Click HERE to see soccer ball cookies made with Royal Icing. There are also some more detailed pictures there of piping and flooding sugar cookies.

To make the baseball/softball cookies:

Using thick white piping-thickness icing, pipe a circle around the edge of each cookie. Using thinner flooding-thickness white icing, fill the center of each cookie with white icing. Use a toothpick to move icing around to completely fill center. Use toothpick to pop any bubbles. Let cookies set for about 30 minutes before piping on colored lines (ball seams).

Using thick colored piping-thickness icing (I used purple, but you could use red for a traditional baseball), pipe two arcs at the edges of the cookies. Pipe “v’s” to complete seams. Let icing harden at least 24 hours before stacking cookies.

In humid weather it will take even longer for the icing to harden. After 36 hours, mine were still slightly soft. Royal icing dries harder and faster than glacé icing, but I didn’t have any meringue powder and I like the taste of the glacé icing better, especially with almond extract.

Little J in her Bandits uniform. She was voted Best Hitter by her teammates.

Little J had a great coach this year that really focused on fundamentals, and her game improved a lot. Her favorite thing to do was to slide. Whether the ball was anywhere near her or not. Here she is sliding into third:

She tried this in a game once wearing shorts (“It’s too hot to wear pants, Mom!”). After coming home with a softball-sized scrape on the edge of her bum, I haven’t had to nag anymore about the wisdom of pants.

RECIPE:

Sugar Cookies with Glacé Icing

Servings: About 5 dozen using a 3-inch round cookie cutter
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Sugar Cookies

3 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
About 7 – 7 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Beat sugar, butter, sour cream and vanilla until fluffy. Beat in eggs. Add soda, salt and enough flour to make a moderately stiff dough (start with 7 cups and add additional flour if needed). Chill dough for 20 minutes to 1 hour for easier handling. Roll out dough to desired thickness (I like these fairly thick) and cut with cookie cutter.

Bake at 375°F for 9-11 minutes; if they brown, it’s been too long. They should still look white when done.

Glacé Icing
——–(from Our Best Bites)
1lb powdered sugar (about 4 cups) + additional for thickening piping icing
¼ cup+ 2 Tbs whole milk or cream
¼ cup + 2 Tbs light corn syrup
1 tsp almond or vanilla extract
Gel food coloring

With a whisk, combine sugar, milk or cream, corn syrup and almond or vanilla extract until smooth. NOTE: If you are using cream, you will need 1-2 Tbs more. Using cream does help the icing look whiter. Add food coloring for desired colors.

You will use this same recipe for both glazing and piping. The way it is right now is the consistency you want for glazing. It’s smooth and thin. It easily runs off of a whisk in a thin drizzle.

To prepare the icing for piping, add more powdered sugar until icing is thick enough to hold its shape.

To make the baseball/softball cookies:
Using thick white piping-thickness icing, pipe a circle around the edge of each cookie. Using thinner flooding-thickness white icing, fill the center of each cookie with white icing. Use a toothpick to move icing around to completely fill center. Use toothpick to pop any bubbles. Let cookies set for about 30 minutes before piping colored lines (ball seams).

Using thick colored piping-thickness icing (I used purple because our team was the Purple Bandits, but you could use red for a traditional baseball), pipe two arcs at the edges of the cookies. Pipe “v’s” to complete seams. Let icing harden at least 24 hours before stacking cookies. In humid weather it will take even longer for the icing to harden. After 36 hours, mine were still slightly soft.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Tagged as baseball cookies, Cookies, dessert, glace icing, recipe, softball, softball cookies, sugar cookies

June 17, 2013 · 8:08 am

Graduation Party: Individual Fruit Pizza Cookies

At a graduation party for Big A and her best friend M we had a dessert bar where guests could make their own mini fruit pizzas using sugar cookies, fruit dips and chopped fruit.

I made plain round sugar cookies (about 4” in diameter) to use as a base for the fruit pizzas.

There were two fruit dips that we used as frosting for the cookies, a Berry Fluff Dip (which I didn’t get a good picture of) and a Creamy Nutella Dip. Using a fruit dip instead of a regular frosting makes for a less-sweet base for the fruit, which I prefer.

The Nutella fruit dip needs to be stored in the refrigerator, but should be served at room temperature. The dip will get very thick in the fridge, almost fudge consistency. Fudge. Nutella fudge. That is something to ponder for next Christmas.

This “fruit dip” also makes a great frosting for sugar cookies or brownies:

To top frosted cookies, there was an array of chopped fruit. We used fresh pineapple, blueberries, strawberries, mango and kiwi.

The graduates and their friends loved it!

Congratulations Class of 2013. We are so proud of you Big A!

RECIPES:

Individual Fruit Pizza Cookies

Servings: About 5 dozen using a 3-inch round cookie cutter
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Sugar Cookies
3 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
About 7 – 7 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Bake at 375°F for 9-11 minutes; if they brown, it’s been too long. They should still look white when done.

Creamy Nutella Fruit Dip
8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup Nutella
½ cup heavy cream

Warm cream cheese and Nutella slightly (about 30 seconds in the microwave) and then stir together with the cream until well mixed. Serve at room temperature. Store in the refrigerator.

Berry Fluff Fruit Dip
1 container marshmallow fluff
1 container Cool Whip
1 container strawberry flavored cream cheese, softened
½ cup sweetened raspberry (or strawberry) puree or seedless jam

Mix all ingredients until well blended.

To make individual fruit pizzas:
Cut out sugar cookie dough with a 3-4” round cookie cutter and bake. Prepare dessert bar with sugar cookies, fruit dips and chopped fruit (choose from strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, pineapple, kiwi, mango, nectarines, peaches, grapes). Guests can assemble their own cookie fruit pizza.

Creamy Nutella Fruit Dip

Servings: Makes 2 ½ cups
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8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup Nutella
½ cup heavy cream

Warm cream cheese and Nutella slightly (about 30 seconds in the microwave) and then stir together with the cream until well mixed. Serve at room temperature. Store in the refrigerator.

Serve as a fruit dip or as a frosting for cookies or brownies.

NoEmptyChairs.me

Berry Fluff Fruit Dip

Servings: Makes about 4 cups
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Berry Fluff Fruit Dip
1 container marshmallow fluff
1 container Cool Whip
1 container strawberry flavored cream cheese, softened
½ cup sweetened raspberry (or strawberry) puree or seedless jam

Mix all ingredients until well blended. Serve as a fruit dip or as a frosting for cookies.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Tagged as Cookies, fruit, fruit dip, fruit pizza, graduation party, marshmallow fluff dip, nutella fruit dip, sugar cookies

June 14, 2013 · 9:25 pm

Croquembouche for a Sweet Sixteen

The end of the school year and all of the activities that come with it have left me behind in writing about some of the treats we have been enjoying here. So today I am going back a few weeks to the Sweet Sixteen celebration we had for our Middle K. She didn’t want a party, but was excited to come home with a driver’s learning permit. Three drivers under the age of 21: don’t even ask about our insurance rates!

Instead of a traditional birthday cake, Middle K wanted a Croquembouche: a cream puff tower drizzled with burnt-sugar caramel that sticks the cream puffs together. We filled them with a simple butterscotch mousse made from packaged butterscotch pudding whipped with half milk/half cream.

Many croquembouche are very tall (2-3 feet tall) and are served as wedding cakes. We were not quite as ambitious with ours, but it certainly made for a fun birthday cake.

Just-Baked Unfilled Cream Puffs

RECIPES:

Croquembouche

Servings: 12
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Cream Puffs
½ cup butter
1 cup water
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs

Filling: Pudding, whipped cream, custard or mousse

In a medium saucepan, combine butter, water and salt. Bring to a boil. Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously. Cook and stir until mixture forms a ball that doesn’t separate. Remove from heat. Cool 10 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating with a wooden spoon after each addition until smooth.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Drop batter by heaping tablespoons, 3 inches apart, onto a greased baking sheet. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden. Cool completely on a wire rack. Fill with desired filling (SEE ASSEMBLY TIP BELOW).

Burnt Caramel
2 cups sugar
½ cup water

Place sugar and water in a saucepan and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat until sugar turns light brown, about 15–20 minutes. Remove from heat. (If caramel begins to harden in the pan before you are done, place pan over low heat until re-melted)

To Assemble Croquembouche:

Prepare cream puffs and desired filling (whipped cream, pudding, custard, mousse). Place filling in a pastry bag with a long filling tip. Pierce the cream puffs (do not cut cream puffs in half) with the pastry tip until tip is about 1 cm into the cream puff. Squeeze pastry bag to fill cream puff.

Place one layer of cream puffs in a circle on a serving plate. Drizzle the tops of the cream puffs with a small amount of the burnt caramel. Immediately place a smaller circle of cream puffs on top of the hot caramel (work quickly before the caramel hardens). Repeat with increasingly smaller layers of cream puffs topped with caramel. Once your tower is assembled, use a spoon or fork to drizzle hot caramel in strands around the outside of the tower. Serve same day as assembling.

NoEmptyChairs.me

Cream Puffs

Servings: 12
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½ cup butter
1 cup water
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs
Filling: Pudding, whipped cream, custard, or mousse
Optional glaze: melted chocolate to drizzle over top

Preheat oven to 400°F. Drop batter by heaping tablespoons, 3 inches apart, onto a greased baking sheet. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Cut cream puffs in half. Scoop out and discard any soft dough inside. Spoon in desired filling and replace top. Optional: drizzle tops of cream puffs with melted chocolate. Serve immediately after filling.

To make Eclairs: Prepare batter as above. Spoon into a pastry tube fitted with a Number 10 or larger tip. Slowly pipe strips of batter onto a greased baking sheet, making each strip about 4” long. Bake as above. Fill and frost with chocolate glaze.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Tagged as birthday cake, burnt caramel, cream puffs, croquembouche, dessert, food, recipe, tower

June 3, 2013 · 3:45 pm

Butterfly Cupcakes with Raspberry Swiss Meringue Icing

For bookgroup this month, we read Proof of Heaven, by Eben Alexander. It is an autobiographical account of neurosurgeon Dr. Alexander’s experience while he was in a coma. It is an interesting glimpse into his vision of the afterlife and how the experience changes him when he returns. We were meeting at my house this month and I wanted to tie our dessert into the book. So I decided to recreate the butterfly on the book cover which plays a roll in Dr. Alexander’s experience.

______

I ran out of steam (and time) after making 11 butterflies, so the rest I just topped with a fresh raspberry. I love these cupcake liners that look like a field of grass.

The cupcakes are made from a simple doctored white cake mix and are filled with a raspberry filling in the center. The icing is a Swiss Meringue Buttercream into which I beat some of the raspberry filling. No food coloring, just thickened raspberry puree.

Here is a picture of similar white cupcakes with raspberry filling (before I replaced their little cake caps that I cut out to make holes):

I first made these chocolate butterflies on cupcakes for Little J’s 6th birthday three years ago. Here is a link to a tutorial on making the butterflies:

HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE BUTTERFLIES

RECIPES:

White Cupcakes

Servings: 36
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White Cupcakes
(from Our Best Bites)

1 box white cake mix (Duncan Hines)
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
¾ tsp salt
4 egg whites (or 3 whole eggs if you don’t need it perfectly white)
1 1/3 cups water
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract (use clear vanilla if you want a pure white cake)
1 tsp almond extract

Mix all dry ingredients with a whisk, then add wet ingredients. Beat with a mixer for two minutes until fluffy.

To make a round layer cake: Pour into greased, floured pans (fills two 8 or 9″ rounds) and bake according to cake package directions.

Tip: When cakes come out, cool for 5 minutes on wire rack, then wrap securely with two sheets of plastic wrap (in a “+” sign). Allow to cool all wrapped up (keeps the moisture from evaporating out) then pop in freezer on a cutting board to keep them flat. Once they are frozen, they are super easy to frost and defrost in about half an hour.

To make cupcakes: fill paper liners ¾ full and bake according to box directions. Makes 36 regular sized cupcakes.

NoEmptyChairs.me

Raspberry Filling

Servings: Makes about 1 ¾ cups filling (without seeds)
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Raspberry Filling

12 oz raspberries, fresh or frozen (about 2 ½ cups of not-crushed berries)
½ cup water
½ cup sugar
½ Tbs lemon juice
2-3 Tbs ClearJel or cornstarch
¼ cup cold water

In a heavy saucepan, combine raspberries, ½ cup water, sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, crushing berries slightly with the back of a spoon. For a seedless sauce: strain the berries through a fine sieve, pushing the pulp through the sieve with the back of a spoon. Return seedless puree to the saucepan (rinse saucepan first if there are seeds clinging to the sides). Mix the cornstarch and water in a small bowl; stir into puree in the saucepan. Return mixture to a boil; lower heat and simmer for 1-2 minutes, or until slightly thickened and no longer cloudy. Chill before using.

Yield: about 1 ¾ cups filling (without seeds)

NoEmptyChairs.me

Raspberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream Icing

Servings: Frosting for 24 cupcakes or one 2-layer round cake
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1 cup egg whites (about 8 large egg whites, or use “Just Whites” carton of egg whites)
1 ½ cups sugar
pinch of salt
2 cups unsalted butter (4 sticks), at room temperature**
2 tsp vanilla extract (or use small amounts of other flavored extracts)
about 1 cup Raspberry filling (see recipe above)

In the top of a double boiler, stir together egg whites, sugar and salt. Bring water in bottom of double boiler to a low simmer; cook until the temperature of the egg whites reaches 160°F and sugar is completely dissolved (rub mixture between fingertips-it should not feel gritty). Mixture will be foamy and not a uniform consistency.

Transfer the egg white mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer. With the whisk attachment, whip until meringue is completely cooled and glossy peaks form, about 10 minutes. DO NOT ADD BUTTER UNTIL BOTH THE BOWL AND FROSTING ARE COMPLETELY COOL. Switch mixer attachment from the whisk to paddles. Add butter 1-2 Tablespoons at a time until incorporated. Mixture may appear curdled at times. Continue beating until butter is fully incorporated and frosting is fluffy and smooth. This will take about 10 minutes. Add vanilla and beat smooth. Add raspberry filling and beat until frosting is a uniform color (start with about ¾ cup filling, beat, and then add more if you want a more pronounced raspberry flavor).

**BUTTER NOTE: butter should be room temperature soft, but not at the point of melting. If the butter is too cold, it will not incorporate well into the meringue, and you will have butter chunks. If the butter is over-soft, it will cause the icing to curdle while beating-this is okay, it isn’t ruined: it will just take longer (more beating) for the frosting to become smooth. If icing still won’t set, place in the fridge for 20 minutes, and then beat again.

Storage: Store frosted cake at room temperature (frosted cake will be fine at room temp for several days). This is a great icing that does not get “crusty” like a regular buttercream. To store leftover icing: store in a covered container in the refrigerator. When ready to use, bring to room temperature and beat until light and fluffy.

Yield: frosting for a two-layer round cake or about 24 cupcakes

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Tagged as cake decorating, cakes, chocolate butterflies, cupcakes, dessert, raspberries, raspberry filling, recipe, swiss meringue buttercream, white cake

April 23, 2013 · 11:30 am

Layered Chicken Taco Salad in Baked Tortilla Bowls

Sure, you can eat taco salad on a regular plate, but it is much more fun to eat it out of an edible tortilla bowl. Tortilla bowls are also a great enforcer of portion control. Have you ever noticed that when you layer taco salad on a plate it seems to grow well beyond your original intentions by the time you add all of the toppings you want? Tortilla bowls are the perfect solution, especially for the kids in my family who usually end up with a plateful of food they can never finish.

Intimidated by the thought of shaping and deep-frying tortillas? Me too. Good thing these are simple to make, and baked instead of fried. All you need is a super-old-scratched-and-rusty muffin pan.

To make your baked tortilla bowls, warm tortillas slightly in the microwave (just enough to soften). Spray both sides of tortillas lightly with olive oil cooking spray (or brush very lightly with oil). Turn a muffin tin upside down. Press tortillas into the spaces between muffin cups. Make sure the bottoms of the tortilla bowls are flat so that they will not wobble when served on a plate. Bake at 400F for 8-10 minutes, or until crunchy and just beginning to brown.

You can layer your regular taco salad fillings in the bowl (seasoned ground beef, cheese, lettuce, etc) or try this layered shredded chicken salad. It is similar to some of the semi-fast food Mexican restaurants where you build your own burrito/salad. There are layers of seasoned chili-cilantro rice, black beans, crock-pot cooked shredded chicken, and a cilantro ranch dressing.

This Green Chili Cilantro Rice is also great served alongside other Mexican dishes or grilled meats.

RECIPES:

Layered Chicken Taco Salad in Baked Tortilla Bowls

Servings: About 8
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Crock-Pot Shredded Chicken
Green Chili Cilantro Rice
Tortilla Bowls
Cilantro Ranch Dressing
Black Beans – mix with 1 Tbs lime juice
Shredded Cheese
Corn
Lettuce
Chopped jalapenos or banana peppers
Salsa
Sour Cream

Place baked tortilla bowls on a plate. Layer with rice, black beans (these are really good mixed with 1 Tbs lime juice!), shredded chicken and other desired toppings. Top with cilantro ranch dressing and serve.

Crock-Pot Shredded Chicken
2 lb boneless chicken breasts or tenderloins
1 cup prepared Italian salad dressing
½ cup salsa
1 Tbs taco seasoning
2 cloves garlic, minced

Stir together all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until chicken can easily be shredded. Shred chicken, stir in sauce from pot and serve. If the sauce is too thin (this will especially happen if you use chicken that is injected with broth), shred chicken and return to crock pot, then cook on high with the lid OFF until sauce thickens.

Green Chili Cilantro Rice
1 ¾ cup chicken broth (or water+2tsp chicken bouillon)
1 can (4 oz) diced mild green chilies, undrained
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs olive oil
½ tsp salt (omit salt if using bouillon)
1 cup Basmati rice (or other long grain variety rice)
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Combine broth, green chilies, garlic, olive oil and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Stir in rice, cover, and simmer over low heat for 20-25 minutes, or until rice is cooked. Stir in chopped cilantro. This can also be cooked in a rice cooker: combine all ingredients except cilantro in rice cooker and cook according to directions; stir in cilantro.

Tortilla Bowls
Flour tortillas
Olive oil (or olive oil cooking spray)
Muffin tin

Warm tortillas slightly in the microwave (10-15 seconds; just enough to soften). Spray both sides of tortillas lightly with olive oil cooking spray (or brush very lightly with oil). Turn a muffin tin upside down. Press tortillas into the spaces between muffin cups. Make sure the bottoms of the tortilla bowls are flat so that they will not wobble when served on a plate. Bake at 400°F for 8-10 minutes, or until crunchy and just beginning to brown.

Cilantro Ranch Dressing
1 package ranch dressing mix
1 cup mayonnaise
½ cup buttermilk or regular milk
2 tomatillos** or 4 Tbs green salsa
½ bunch of cilantro (about 1 cup chopped)
2 cloves garlic
1 lime, juiced
1-2 jalapenos (with or without the seeds; with seeds=spicier)

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until well mixed. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours before serving for optimal flavor.

**Optional: Roast tomatillos for 20 mins at 400°F before adding them to the blender. If you are using a spicy green salsa instead of the tomatillos, go easy on the jalapenos.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Tagged as baked tortilla bowls, cafe rio, chipotle, cilantro ranch dressing, crock pot, entree, main dish, moes, recipe, shredded chicken, taco salad

April 9, 2013 · 10:47 am

Partying with Penguins

Today is my baby girl’s 9th birthday. We worked together to create this fun Penguin Cake. She has a delicious cotton candy belly.

Here is the penguin without the cotton candy:

We love having Little J in our family. She is just as sweet as her penguin friend.

Happy Birthday Little J

We love you always!

Inspiration for cake from an Australian Women’s World Cookbook magazine from 1998. Cake frosted with this Buttercream Frosting (with the addition of orange extract).