Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Throughout the month of October we have had a lot to celebrate. My brother got engaged, a couple of friends had babies and simply the fact that it's Fall. To properly enjoy this season we needed a treat with pumpkin... some cheesecake wouldn't hurt either. Let me just say: these bars are creamy, pumpkin goodness!! We served them at three separate dining engagements and each time they received glowing reviews.

Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars with a Gingersnap Crust
(Source: Recipezaar)
SERVES 12, 12 -15 squares [I think I cut closer to 20 squares]

Ingredients
CRUST
2 cups finely crushed gingersnaps
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

PUMPKIN BATTER
1/2 cup canned pumpkin [I used 1 c.]
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

CREAM CHEESE BATTER
3 (8 ounce) packages light cream cheese, softened [I used 1.5 packages]
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs
Directions
Preheat oven to 325°.

Line bottom and sides of a 9"x13" baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on all sides. Set aside. CRUST: Blend cookies, sugar, and cinnamon in a food processor until finely ground; add pecans and butter and combine. Transfer crumb mixture to prepared pan, and press gently into bottom. Bake until fragrant and slightly firm, 12 to 15 minutes. PUMPKIN BATTER: In a medium bowl stir together pumpkin, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves until combined; set aside.

CREAM CHEESE BATTER: In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and vanilla, beating until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating at low speed after each addition just until combined.
Stir 1/3 of the cream cheese batter (about 1 1/2 cups) into the pumpkin batter until smooth. Pour remaining cream cheese batter over crust. [I followed the 1.5 c. suggestion and ended up with way more pumpkin batter than cream cheese mixture; probably because I upped the pumpkin and decreased the cream cheese. Unfortunately I didn't realize this right away.] Place large spoonfuls of pumpkin batter randomly over cream cheese batter. Using the tip of a table knife or a thin metal spatula, gently swirl the two batters together. This should have a marbled look. [By the time I realized my pumpkin batter situation, I already dumped the cream cheese mixture on top of the ginger snap crust and topped that with the pumpkin batter. However, I still wanted a marbled bar. My only choice was to scrape the cream cheese batter remnants from it's bowl. Thus my marbling is minimal. Next time I would put the pumpkin layer as the base and add spoonfuls of the cream cheese batter for more substantial marbling.] Bake for 25 to 30 or until center is just set.

Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cover and chill for 4 to 24 hours before lifting out of pan and cutting into squares or bars. Store any remaining bars in the refrigerator. [I slightly over-cooked the bars, which lead to a crack. On the bright side, once cut... no one knew but me... and now you.]

Cut+Eat+Enjoy!


With this post, I'm also joining in on Flavor-of-the-Month, hosted by Bridget of Bake at 350.

Craft #10: Bake + Decorate a cake

I've mentioned my brother is getting married. Early last week my mom, Dominika and I were out to lunch talking wedding and they suggested I bake the wedding cake. Having never baked a 9" two-layer cake, let alone decorated one, I was excited to accept the challenge. {By the way, when my brother found out he was a little disappointed; he had was really looking forward to the fun (and boy is it ever!) of cake tastings. Good thing I don't like to see my little-bro upset.}

Eric and Dominika had invited us to dinner on Friday; the perfect opportunity for cake tasting #1. I asked what flavor they would like to try and my sister-in-law candidate suggested raspberry. I googled raspberry and almond layer cakes (Who doesn't like almond right?!) and started perusing. It took some time, but I finally landed on a recipe that worked for me [i.e. - didn't require 12 egg whites or 2 lbs of butter].

Classic White Layer Cake with Butter Frosting and Raspberry Almond Filling
{Source: Cook's Illustrated via this link}

Classic White Cake:
Nonstick cooking spray
2 1/4 cups cake flour (9 ounces), plus more for dusting the pans
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
6 large egg whites (3/4 cup), at room temperature
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar (12 1/4 ounces)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened but still cool

Butter Frosting:
16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened but still cool
4 cups confectioners' sugar (1 pound)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon whole milk
Pinch table salt

Raspberry-Almond Filling:
1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds (2 1/2 ounces), toasted and chopped coarse
1/3 cup raspberry jam (seedless)

For the Cake: Set oven rack in middle position. (If oven is too small to cook both layers on a single rack, set racks in upper-middle and lower-middle positions.) Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray; line the bottoms with parchment or waxed paper rounds. Spray the paper rounds, dust the pans with flour, and invert pans and rap sharply to remove excess flour.

Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into 2-cup glass measure, and mix with fork until blended.

Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter; continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining.

Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed (or high speed if using handheld mixer) for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium (or high) speed and beat 20 seconds longer. Divide batter evenly between two prepared cake pans; using rubber spatula, spread batter to pan walls and smooth tops. Arrange pans at least 3 inches from the oven walls and 3 inches apart. (If oven is small, place pans on separate racks in staggered fashion to allow for air circulation.) Bake until thin skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes.

Let cakes rest in pans for 3 minutes. Loosen from sides of pans with a knife, if necessary, and invert onto wire racks. Reinvert onto additional wire racks. Let cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.

For the Frosting: Beat butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, milk, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed until sugar is moistened. Increase speed to medium-high (high if using handheld mixer); beat, stopping twice to scrape down bowl, until creamy and fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. Avoid over beating, or frosting will be too soft to pipe.

For the Filling: Before assembling cake, set aside 3/4 cup of the frosting for decoration. Spread small dab of frosting in center of cake plate to anchor cake, and set down one cake layer. Combine 1/2 cup of remaining frosting with almonds in small bowl and spread over first layer. Carefully spread jam on top, then cover with second cake layer. Spread frosting over top and sides of assembled cake. Pipe reserved frosting around perimeter of cake at the base and the top. Cut the cake into slices and serve.

{almond layer topped with seedless raspberry jam}{topped with second cake layer}{crumb coat + second frosting... should have thinned the icing some}{decorative piping on top of cake + raspberries}{the last piece of cake}

For my very first attempt, I was pretty impressed with myself. The cake itself? I liked it. I thought it was moist and flavorful. My mom and Rich, however, both thought it was a bit dry. So I'll try to remedy that next time. I would probably omit the almond layer next time; paired with the raspberry jam it tasted a too much like PB&J. {Oh! And I learned Dominka does not care for almond... so I would omit it for that reason too.} The flavor for their second tasting has already been selected: lemon + poppy seed. Yum!!

About dinner: My brother and Dominika are such wonderful hosts!! We were greeted with drinks and didn't mind (and if they did, they sure didn't let on) that I had invited our parents over for the cake tasting. Once a drink was empty the offered more of the same (+ other fun options like Polish Wodka or tea in addition to beer, wine or water)! Once our parents left they worked together in the kitchen putting the final touches on dinner. Eric chopped the veggies and dressed the salad while Dominika topped the pork with a sour cream sauce and plated the rice. Eric even added a sprinkle of his favorite Polish salt on top of each rice pilaf before we sat down together. In a word: YUM!! Dinner was spectacular! I am not a big fan of pork roasts, chops, etc... but I think I just don't know how to prepare them, because this was outstanding! Thanks you two for such a terrific dinner and lovely time; I can't wait for a repeat performance!

Plum & Blueberry Cobbler

Last week we were invited to our friend's house for a mid-week dinner party. Weekends get so hard to plan around, especially during the summer, but weekdays... I just never think to capitalize on them. I offered to bring a fruit cobbler for dessert and they accepted. I already had plums and blueberries on hand and was hoping I could find some a recipe that combined the two.

In the general scheme of things, this was a relatively light dessert; no butter, less than 1 c. sugar and fresh fruit. I, of course, partnered it with vanilla ice cream which took away some of the "lightness" of the dessert, but it was "light" vanilla ice cream so that helped.

Plum-Blueberry Cobbler
(Source: Prevention Magazine)

8 plums, quartered [I used 5 plums, sliced thinly ~12 slices/fruit]
1 pint fresh or frozen blueberries [I used fresh]
1/2 c. sugar [I used 1/3 c.]
4 t. sugar
2 T. unbleached or all-purpose flour
3/4 t. baking powder
1/8 t. salt [I probably used closer to 1/4 t. salt]
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 egg white, lightly beaten [I used a whole egg]
1 1/2 T. vegetable oil [I used 2 T. apple sauce and 1 t. vegetable oil]
Dash of cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Coat an 8" x 8" baking dish with nonstick spray.
In a large bowl, combine the plums, blueberries, 1/3 cup of the sugar, and 2 tablespoons of the flour. Pour into the prepared baking dish, sprinkle fruit with cinnamon.
In a medium bowl, combine 3 teaspoons of the remaining sugar, the baking powder, salt, and the remaining 1 cup flour.

In a small bowl, combine the buttermilk, egg white, and oil. Pour into the medium bowl with the flour mixture. Stir until a thick batter forms. Drop the batter in tablespoonfuls on top of the fruit. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 teaspoon sugar.Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden and bubbly. Remove to a rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition facts (recipe w/o my alterations): 203.5 calories, 3.3g fat, 0.3g saturated fat, 0.6 mg cholesterol, 75.3 mg sodium, 41.7 g carbohydrates, 25.6 g total sugars, 2.3 g dietary fiber, 3.5 g protein

{Here's what the dish looked like after the party. Yeah, they must have hated it.} :)

Birthday Cupcake Formula: Cherry Coke Float + Margarita = YUM

Below are the recipes I used for my birthday cupcakes. They were relatively easy and very tasty. I ended up with a 16 cupcakes per recipe. I brought an even assortment of each kind to my parent's house, my aunt and uncle's, more to another aunt, more with to tailgating and we still ended up with some at the house! I promptly ate them all. (Okay - Rich had one.)

Cherry Coke Float Cupcakes
(Source: Coco Bean, among others)

Cupcake Ingredients
1 large egg
1/2 c. buttermilk [I used what I had on hand: fat free half and half]
2 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. baking soda
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 t. salt
3/4 c. Coca-Cola
1/4 c. maraschino cherry syrup
1/2 c. unsalted butter
3 T. cocoa powder
24 maraschino cherries

Cola Icing Ingredients
1 c. powdered sugar
2 T. cola

Cherry Buttercream Icing Ingredients
3 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. butter or margarine
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
About 2 T. maraschino cherry syrup

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Beat the egg, buttermilk, and vanilla in a bowl. In a second bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. In a saucepan, boil the Coca-Cola, and cherry syrup gently for five minutes. Melt in the butter and cocoa powder. Pour into the dry ingredients, stir well with a wooden spoon, and then add the liquid ingredients, beating until everything is blended. Pour into the cupcake pans and push a cherry into the center of each cupcake. Bake for 15 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

When cool, mix together to Cola Icing ingredients (powdered sugar and cola) drizzle over the cupcakes. Let dry.

To make the cherry butter cream frosting, mix the powdered sugar and butter together in an electric mixer on low. Once combined, add vanilla and cherry syrup. Increase speed of mixer to medium and beat for 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth and of spreading consistency. Top cupcakes with cherry buttercream and a cherry.
{I thought these cupcakes were a bit dry and dense compared to the margarita variety. Additionally the frosting was way too sweet and thick; I should have thinned it out more. Lastly, I wouldn't add the Cola icing next time; it looked cool but was too sweet for me.}Margarita Cupcakes
(Adapted from: Hip Hostess & Annie's Eats)

Cupcake Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 1/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large egg whites
1 t. vanilla extract

Margarita Ingredients
3/4 c. margarita mix
4 T. tequila
2 T. Cointreau

Lime Buttercream Icing Ingredients
4 T. butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 T. margarita mix
1 t. lime zest
3 cups powdered sugar
fresh limes (for garnish)

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cups of muffin tins with paper liners. In a small bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir together with a fork. Set aside. In another small bowl, combine the margarita ingredients (margarita mix, tequila, Cointreau), mix and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the sugar and butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in the egg whites one at a time, scraping down the bowl between additions. Stir in the vanilla extract.

Add in the dry ingredients in three additions alternately with the margarita mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Stir just until combined, being careful not to over mix. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

To make the icing, in a large bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, margarita mix, and lime zest. Beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, and continue beating until smooth. If icing is too thin, add more powdered sugar, a couple tablespoons at a time.

Spread icing generously on each cooled cupcake or use a pastry bag to frost. Sprinkle cane sugar around the edges of the cupcake for a “salt rimmed” look and garnish with lime wheels or wedges.
{These were delicious!! They were moist, airy and light in texture; I am totally going to make these again!! Oh, word to the wise, do NOT inhale as you take these out of the oven; the alcohol in the air is quite potent. }

Anyone want s'more?

Okay... hokey title, I know.

I came across this recipe a few weeks ago and was waiting for the right occasion to make them. Our friends threw a BBQ party at the beginning of June to show off their new house. I figured this was the ideal occassion for s'more bars. The bars are super yummy and very sweet. I would totally make them again, but next time I need to sit farther away from them. I honestly ate more than half of the pan!!

S'more Bars

(Source: Betty Crocker)

Ingredients

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1 cup graham cracker crumbs [I used half of a graham cracker box]
1 cup butter or margarine, melted
3 cups milk chocolate chips (18 oz) [I had open bags of semi-sweet, butterscotch and white chocolate chips, so I used a combination of all three... but no where near 3 cups worth]
4 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows [one full bag of mini marshmallows]

Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, stir together cookie mix and crumbs. Stir in melted butter until soft dough forms. Press into ungreased 13x9-inch pan.

Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until set. Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Let stand 3 to 5 minutes or until chocolate begins to melt. Spread chocolate evenly over crust.

Set oven control to broil. Sprinkle marshmallows over melted chocolate. Broil with top 4 to 5 inches from heat 20 to 30 seconds or until marshmallows are toasted. [I set the time for a full minute, so mine are extra toasted. Word to the wise: watch these closely. I was moments from a fire.]

Cool 10 minutes. [I recommend you wet your knife several times to cut through the marshmallows... they are really sticky]

Really tasty. Really sweet. Really easy. Repeatable. Definitely.

The other ice cream sandwich cookie

In addition to the non-fat gingersnaps, I made Coconut Almond White Chocolate Chip Cookies for ice cream sandwiches. I thought the bold flavors of the cookies would pair well with mango ginger, basil and chipotle chocolate ice creams. [Oh by the way, this post is not part of the 'eggstra egg white' series. I've exhausted my egg white recipes for now.]


For these I used the same recipe as in the Cookies!!! post from February. This time, in addition to 1 cups of white chocolate chips, I added 1.5 cups of sweetened flaked coconut and 1 cup toasted sliced almonds [both of which I had on hand - yea!]. This made for a very hearty cookie. I think the coconut dried the cookies out a bit more making them crunchier. But the texture is a perfect pairing for ice cream!!


I didn't take a single photo as I baked the cookies so I don't have anything to show for that process. However, I'll end this post with an ice cream sandwich montage.*

*Mom - these are the sandwiches I made for you, Dad and Eric. They are packaged up and ready for tasting.

Eggstra Egg White Use #3: Non-fat Gingersnap Cookies

This recipe I stumbled on accident. In fact, I was in the process of making these for my ice cream sandwiches when I got to the egg whites on the ingredient list. I had just finished making three batches of cookies, two of which were custard based, so I certainly had egg whites on hand and was set!

Non-fat Gingersnaps

(Source: David Lebovitz, who apparently was inspired by Ina Garten)

Ingredients

1 cup, packed (215g) dark brown sugar [I used light]

1/4 cup (75g) applesauce [I used closer to 1/2 c.]

1/3 cup (45g) molasses (preferably mild-flavored)

2 1/4 cups (315g) flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon1

1/2 teaspoons ground dried ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large egg whites, at room temperature [All of my egg whites were combined in a tupperware container, so I measured out 1/3 c. of egg whites]

1/2 cup (50g) finely-chopped candied ginger
Additional sugar (about 1/2 cup, 100g) mixed with a big pinch of cinnamon for rolling the cookies

In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, beat the brown sugar, applesauce, and molasses for five minutes at medium speed, with the paddle attachment.

Meanwhile sift together the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt.

After five minutes, stop the mixer, scrape down the sides, and add the egg whites. Beat another minute. With the mixer at its lowest speed, add the dry ingredients until completely incorporated, and mix on medium for one minute more.

Stir in the chopped candied ginger. Chill the batter very well. [I just put it in the freezer while I whipped up another batch of cookies]

To bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Pour some cinnamon-scented granulated sugar in a shallow baking dish. Scoop the cookies into heaping tablespoon-sized balls (about the size of an unshelled walnut) and plunk them down into the sugar.

Afterwards, use your hands to form the dough into sugar-coated balls: don't be shy with the sugar either. It not only helps to shape the sticky dough, but makes a lovely crust for the finished cookies.

Put the cookie mounds evenly-spaced on the two baking sheets, leaving room (at least 3-inches, 8cm) between them to spread. Bake for 13 minutes, or until the cookies feel just barely set in the center. Remove from oven and cool.

This recipe made ~30 small cookies. They are kind of cake-like. I'm assuming that has to do with no butter and only egg whites. But they are very, very good.

{This is the only photo I have of them baked. The cookies are good on their own or with ice cream!}

Eggstra Egg White Use #2: Angel Food Cake

The second recipe I wanted to try was Angel Food Cake. A few weeks ago I was watching the Martha Stewart show and she made an Angel Food Cake. I remember her listing 10 egg whites as one of the ingredients. What a PERFECT way to put egg whites to use?!

Angel Food Cake

(Source: Martha Stewart)

Ingredients:
1 cup sifted cake flour (not self-rising) [I used whole wheat flour... it's what I had on hand]
1 1/2 cups sugar
12 large egg whites [I used 10 egg whites. Again, it was all I had on hand.]
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, with rack in lower third of oven. Sift flour and 1/2 cup sugar into a bowl.

Whisk whites with a mixer on medium speed until frothy, about 1 minute. Add cream of tartar, vanilla, and salt; continue whisking until soft peaks form, about 2 1/2 minutes. With mixer running, gradually add remaining cup sugar. Increase speed to medium-high; continue whisking until firm, not stiff, peaks form, about 2 minutes.

Sprinkle whites with 1/3 of the flour-sugar mixture. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold to combine. Sprinkle remaining flour-sugar mixture over whites in 2 additions; gently fold to combine.

Transfer batter to a 10-inch angel food cake pan with legs [I used a loaf pan and 6 cupcake molds]. Gently run a knife through the center of the batter to remove any air bubbles. Bake until a tester inserted into center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes.

Remove pan from oven, and invert onto its cooling legs (if your tube pan doesn't have legs, invert it over the neck of a wine, or similarly shaped, bottle to cool); let cool, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Run a knife around the inner and outer edges of cake to remove. Invert onto a serving platter. (Use a knife to separate cake from bottom of pan.) Let cool on a wire rack. Unfrosted cake can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

At this point I tasted the cake and it was D-R-Y!! It could have been that I used 2 less egg whites or used whole wheat flour, but the cake was dense and dry. Thus it needed toppings to add moisture.

So I ran to the store and picked up Cool Whip Free and strawberries. I cut up the strawberries, sprinkled them with 1 T. sugar and allowed them to mascerate for a few hours.

When I was ready to serve the cake, I split the loaf in half and layered the middle with 1/3 the Cool Whip, 1/2 the strawberries and another 1/3 of the Cool Whip and put on the second layer. I topped that with another 1/3 of Cool Whip and the remaining strawberries.

The moisture from the strawberries and Cool Whip helped, but the cake was still dry. Next time I would use the full amount of egg whites and consider changing the flour or add a syrup that could soak into the cake.

{I cut the cake loaf into three very large servings; I gave one to Rich and two were mine. Rich was only able to eat half of his (I served this after a large dinner) so I ate his too. Granted this was over the course of a few days, but soooo tasty!!}

Eggstra Egg White Use #1: Meringues

The first recipe I found was for meringues. I love meringues. They are so light and airy. Plus they are sweet treats and not a lot of calories. After all, they are sugar, egg whites, cream of tarter (or sometimes vinegar) and vanilla or some other extract. As my friend Mary would say, "They are like eating air." [Technically she uses this phrase to describe eating water chestnuts, but I feel it applies here too. Albeit meringues are like eating sweetened air]

I made my first batch after the Cinnamon Honey ice cream. Since the occasion was my Dad's birthday, I decided to make pecan meringues. After all, his favorite pie is pecan so I figured this would be a good alternative.

One thing you should know before I go on about these recipes involving egg whites. Oil and egg whites (especially egg whites that have been beat into soft or stiff peaks) are not friends. Be sure to have very clean oil-free hands, bowls and mixing equipment.

Pecan Meringue Cookies
(Source: Simply Recipes)
Ingredients
1 cup whole pecans (preferably lightly roasted - 8-10 min at 250°F)
3 egg whites
Pinch salt
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vinegar

Preheat oven to 300°F. Place pecans in zipper baggie and beat them with a wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Set aside.

Put egg whites into a stand-up mixer bowl. Add salt. Start the mixer speed on low, gradually increasing the speed until soft peaks start to become visible and the egg white bubbles are very small and uniform, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Increase the speed to medium-high, and slowly add the sugar to the egg whites. Continue to whip the eggs and sugar for a few minutes. Then add the vinegar to the bowl. Increase speed to high and whip the egg whites until they fluff up and become glossy, and stiff peaks form when the whisk is lifted, 4-5 minutes.
Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the pecan pieces. [Fold those pecans in! Do not think you should use the mixer to re-fluff the meringue. If you do, you'll end up with soup. Take it from me. I was on the phone when I added the pecans. By the time I got to dropping the meringue onto cookie sheets, I thought the meringue could use a bit more mixing. I was wrong. Remember my foreword: Meringue ≠ Oil, even the oil from pecans.]
Drop by teaspoons onto a cookie sheets that have been lined with parchment paper or Silpat.

Put the cookies sheet in the 300°F oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Leave them in the oven overnight. In the morning they should be ready - crisp on the outside, light and airy on the inside. If they are a little marshmallowy or chewy on the inside in the morning, just let them dry out for a few more hours. [I have made meringue before, but this was great. Overnight in the oven allowed the meringues to dry completely!]

Makes 12-24 cookies, depending on the size.

{My version made more than the expected 12-24 each}
{The final product was yummy. Destination: My Parent's House}

Craft #4 - Candy Sushi

Before April even started I had a plan for this month's craft. I spotted Candy Sushi online earlier this week and considered making it for April Fools Day but decided instead to make it for our family Spring Celebration earlier today. Candy sushi looks like regular sushi but is made with rice crispies, gummy worms, licorice, fruit roll-ups and other candy options.

I started by making a batch of rice crispy bars following my usual recipe, the one on the bag of marshmallows. I added an extra handful of mini marshmallows to make sure the bars were pliable enough, but next time I would add quite a few more to the mix (maybe close to doubling the amount). I poured the rice crispy mixture into a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Press the mixture (damp hands help curb the stickiness) into a thin layer (~1/2" thick). [The recipe I used made 1 full cookie sheet and a 9x9 pan.]

Once cooled, I trimmed the bars into rectangles the width of a fruit roll-up and added candy.

I rolled the Rice Crispy around the candy, but only one time around (otherwise the "rice" layer will be too thick).

I trimmed the excess with a sharp knife, wrapped the log with a fruit roll-up and squeezed. [Green roll-ups would have been ideal, but fruit roll-ups are surprisingly hard to find!! So instead I settled on Tropical Tie-Dye and Crazy Orange Wildfire.]

I removed the cellophane wrapper and...

...cut the log, again using a sharp knife, into 1" rounds. [I liked to leave the candy sticking out the log ends, similar to sushi rolls at restaurants.]

My one batch of rice crispies made 12+ rolls of candy sushi. Each roll provided 5-6 sushi pieces.

I also had extra rice crispy trimmings that I turned into nigiri. Gummy octopi [plural for octopus] and Swedish fish served as my nigiri fish pieces and I placed them on a 1"x2" block of rice crispy.

I cut a fruit roll-up into ~1/2" strips and wrapped each gummy/rice crispy block.

Ta-da! I had created my own all-you-can-eat version of candy sushi!! The sushi sparked a lot of fun comments and conversation at the party; hopefully everyone thought it was tasty too! [As far as taste goes, I "tested" several pieces during the creation process for quality purposes ;) and I thought they were good. ]

[It's not pictured here, but I also created mock-wasabi and ginger. I took green food coloring and coated mini-marshmallows for wasabi and piled sliced strawberry fruit roll-up for ginger. I found another SUPER cute idea, but discovered it post-party: chocolate sauce for soy sauce. So cute!!]

Cookies!!

This recipe has been on a number of different sites. I made a few batches for the purse party and then a few more batches for care packages. They are intended to be oversized thick and chewy cookies, like what you would find at a gourmet shop or cookie store. [I don't think I make mine big enough... I should work on that...]

They use melted butter and an extra egg yolk to keep their soft texture. These cookies are best served warm from the oven but will retain their texture even when cooled. To ensure the proper texture, cool the cookies on the baking sheet. [I've not done this, but should...]

Thick & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Source: Cooks Illustrated)
Makes approximately 18 large cookies

Ingredients:
2 c. + 2 T. unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
12 T. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cooled until warm
1 c. packed light or dark brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
2 t. vanilla extract
1 - 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (can be exchanged for M&Ms, Reese’s, etc)

Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

Either by hand or with an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in the chips to taste.

Roll a scant 1/4 cup of the dough into a ball. Hold the dough ball with the fingertips of both hands and pull into 2 equal halves. Rotate the halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at their base, again forming a single ball. Try not to smooth the dough’s uneven surface. Place the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, jagged surface up, spacing them 2 1/2 inches apart.

Bake until the cookies are light golden grown and the outer edges start to harden yet the centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the sheets. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets with a side metal spatula.