Soft Lemonade Cookies

As always I am finding lemon recipes.

Ingredients:

1 c. butter, softened

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

3 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 can(6 oz) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed

additional sugar

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Combine flour and baking soda and add to creamed mixture alternately with 1/3 cup of lemonade concentrate, beating well after each addition. Drop by spoonfuls 2 inches apart and bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Put on wire racks then brush warm cookies with the remaining lemonade concentrate and sprinkle with sugar, and let cool.

Chocolate Raspberry Cookies

I love anything to do with chocolate and raspberry

Ingredients:

1 c. butter, softened

3/4 c. sugar

3/4 c. packed brown sugar

2 eggs

3/4 c. chocolate chips, melted and cooled

1/2 c. fresh raspberries, pureed

3 c. flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1 c. vanilla or white chips

In a large mixing bowl cream butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one. Beat in melted chocolate and raspberries. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to the creamed mixture. Stir in the white chips. Drop by spoonfuls at least 2 inches apart. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until edges brown. Cool on wire rack

Eclair Paste

This is called pate a choux, or eclair paste, and you can also make cream puffs with it too. It takes a lot of eggs and you may not need them all. This can be kinda tuff with piping but give it a try, they are yummy!

Ingredients:

1 c. water

1 c. milk

3/4 c. plus 2 Tablespoons of butter, cubed small

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/4 c. flour

8-11 eggs

In a sauce pan heat the milk, water, and salt and butter, until butter is completely melted, do not let boil until butter is melted. Once butter is melted, let it come to a boil, once it does take off heat and add all the flour immediately stirring to combine, put back on stove top stirring mixture constantly, until it comes together like a ball and leaves a film on the pan. Then put in a mixing bowl with paddle attachment, let it cool down a little bit. Then start adding eggs one at a time on medium speed. For the first few eggs stop and scrape if needed. You may not need all the eggs, once your mixture is yellowy, making threadlike ribbons while mixing and is shiny and firm, stop mixing. Now preheat oven to 325 degrees, and you'll want to line your baking sheet with parchment paper. Now take a large piping bag with a large circle tip, with no fancy shape, pipe your eclairs or cream puffs. For puffs just make a large dollop leaving no air pockets. If  you are making eclairs, and you want them to be filled with something, you'll want them at least 2 1/2 to 4 inches wide and 6 inches long with no air pockets. Once done piping bake immediately for 20-25 mins, or until light and fluffy, take one out of oven while rest are in and break it open, if it's eggy or moist it's not done. Once it just has a little bit of eggy texture turn off oven and let sit for 5 min then take out and let sit and cool completely. If cutting them open take out most of inside and fill with pastry cream, whipped cream. 

Key Lime Pie!

I made this today in class, and I'm in love! Okay it's not a true key lime pie cause it's impossible to get real key limes here, but regular will suffice. If you are able to get a hold of true key limes I applaud you and use them instead.

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 c. crushed graham cracker crumbs

1/2 c. sugar

1/4. c. butter, melted

Combine crumbs and sugar and mix in the butter, it should still be a little crumbly but stick together when pressed into the pie tin. Make an even layer of the crumbs in the tin and up the sides, it will not go along the lip. Then bake at 325 degrees for 10-15 minutes, let cool down on wire rack.

Lime Filling

4 egg yolks

4 tsp. lime zest

1 can 14 oz sweetened condensed milk

1/2 c. fresh squeezed lime juice

1 tsp. green food coloring (optional)

IN mixer beat yolks and zest with a whisk for 2 minutes on high speed. Then beat in the milk, then juice and food coloring(if you don't use the food coloring, it will be a very pale yellowy color. Let stand in bowl for a few minutes and it will start to thicken a little. Once it's thickened a bit, pour into the crust and spread out evenly. Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes, until center is set but still a little wiggly, and it will be firm. Let cool completely on wire rack. Once it's cooled down make freshly whipped cream, add a little vanilla and powdered sugar to sweeten it to your taste. Let it get firm peaks, then spread an even layer over the lime filling. Garnish with more fresh lime zest. Keep refrigerated. 

Salmon

Okay, I have a confession I love love love salmon, I would eat it every other day if I could afford it, and Mike was so kind to get me a few fillets today, and since I didn't have the stuff so make my favorite lemon and rosemary salmon, I decided to make my own up with what I had and what came out was so awesome, I guess this school thing is actually working. Here is my Sweet and Spicy salmon

4 fillets of salmon

3 TBS brown sugar

2 TBS soy sauce

2 TBS beef stock or broth.

1/8 -1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper (depends on how hot you want)

1/2 tsp. creole seasoning or chili powder

Put all in bowl and mix together and coat each piece evenly and let sit in the mixture while your skillet is getting hot. Heat you pan with olive oil over medium heat. Place each fillet in skillet and pour any remaining sauce over the salmon. Once a crust if formed on one side of the salmon turn over and let that side get crispy. let cook for about 10 min depending on how thick your fish is. Once it's turned opaque and flaky it's done!

Now here is my lemon and rosemary recipe

4 fillets of salmon

1/4 c. lemon juice

4 slices of lemon

1/4c. white wine (optional, but really it's so much better with it and the alcohol cooks out)

1 TBS whole capers

1/4 c. chopped fresh rosemary

salt

black pepper

olive oil

First take your olive oil and just pour a little over the fillet and rub all over top and bottom, then take a little pepper and salt and sprinkle over your fillet. Then take 1 tablespoon of the rosemary and rub over the fillet. then take a small piece of foil and put the salmon on it and create a little pocket and pour 1 tablespoon each of the lemon juice and wine over it, be sure to not let it spill out, keep it in the foil. then put 2 slices of lemon over the fillet and then 1 tsp of the capers. then wrap tightly in the foil. If you have a grill let it heat up to a medium heat and just put the foil wrapped pieces over and let cook about ten minutes. If still too pink let cook until opaque and flaky. If you don't have a grill it would work in the oven at 375 degrees. 

Chocolate Filled Biscotti

I will be making these tomorrow and it does take two days, the cream cheese dough needs to chill in the fridge overnight. And yes I have officially gained 5 pounds due to all this baking. And this is not traditional twice baked biscotti so it stays soft and not super hard.

Ingredients:

Cream cheese dough:

2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 c. butter (1 stick), softened

3 oz plain cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Chocolate Filling:

1-14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 c. chocolate chips

1 c. walnuts, coarsely chopped (optional, you could use pecans, cashews, hazelnuts)

For the dough, in a small bowl mix flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl with paddle attachment beat butter and cream cheese until well blended. Add the egg and mix well then add vanilla. reduce to low speed and gradually add flour mixture just until blended. Divide dough into three equal pieces. wrap separately in plastic and put in fridge overnight.

When ready the next day make chocolate filling first. In a saucepan heat sweetened condensed milk and chocolate over medium heat just until chocolate melts. Remove from heat and add walnuts, or whatever nut you choose. Set aside and let cool to room temp. Now preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  and grease your cookie sheet. Remove one piece of dough and on a lightly floured piece of wax or parchment paper roll out dough into a rectangle about the size of a piece of notebook paper. Just make sure it's an even rectangle. Spread heaping 1/4 c. filling down the middle lengthwise. Starting from a long side fold over filling using the paper to help it over. then fold the other side over the filling so it overlaps. Pick up waxed paper and flip your cookie log onto the cookie sheet seam side down. Repeat with another one and bake 2 at a time for 20-22 minutes or until edges are lightly golden. Let cool on sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to wire racks. While cooling prepare remaining of dough and filling and finish baking. When completely cool slice crosswise on diagonal to make 12 equal pieces. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or dunk half in melted milk or white chocolate, or drizzle chocolate on top. Roll chocolate dipped ones in chopped peanuts or sprinkles. Wrap tightly in plastic to store.

Maple sauce for blonde brownies

This is the copycat for Applebees blondie with the yummy sauce.

3/4 c. maple syrup, use real maple syrup!! imitation will not taste as good

1/2 c. butter

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Combine syrup and butter in saucepan and heat until butter has melted, then add sugar and mix until dissolved and stir in walnuts. Pour over your blonde brownie and vanilla ice cream and it's awesome!