1 cup butter
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
5 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp coconut extract

Mix everything together in a bowl. Dough will [...]]]> These delightful creatures taste like one of my favorite Provo bakery’s cookies. I won’t say which bakery.

1 cup butter
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
5 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp coconut extract

Mix everything together in a bowl. Dough will be surprisingly dry. Spread evenly in cookie sheet pan (11×13). Bake in 350 degree oven for 12-14 minutes. Cool for at least 1 hour. Frost with frosting listed below. Cut in small squares and serve.

Frosting:
1 cup butter, softened
5 cups powdered sugar
3 oz cream cheese
1 tsp coconut extract
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-4 Tablespoons heavy cream or evaporated milk, to achieve desired consistency
Pink food coloring if you are feeling creative, or leave white and sprinkle with multi-colored jimmies. So cute.
 

Combine ingredients and bake cake at 325◦ for 50 minutes.
Sauce:
1/8 cup water
½ cup sugar
1/8 cup rum
¼ cup butter
Boil water, sugar, butter for one minute, add rum and continue [...]]]> 1 box vanilla cake
½ cup oil
½ cup rum
4 eggs

Combine ingredients and bake cake at 325◦ for 50 minutes.
Sauce:
1/8 cup water
½ cup sugar
1/8 cup rum
¼ cup butter
Boil water, sugar, butter for one minute, add rum and continue boiling (until you are comfortable with amount of alcohol burned out, at least one minute). Double sauce recipe if you want the cake to be soggy. Pour sauce over cake.

1. Make the Sugar Cookie [...]]]> what happens when a sugar biscuit meets a peach:
Sugar Cookie Peach Cobbler
Today’s Class Notes:
How To Make Sugar Cookie Peach Cobbler:
(Makes 1 9×13 pan of goodness)
PLACE TWO LARGE MIXING BOWLS ON THE COUNTER. ONE FOR THE DOUGH;ONE FOR THE PEACHES.

1. Make the Sugar Cookie Dough.
Dump the following ingredients into the first large bowl–
½ cup sugar
¼ cup butter
1 egg
¼ cup sour cream (or vanilla or plain yogurt)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
dash or pinch of salt

There’s no rhyme or reason to this. Just dump everything into a bowl and mix with a hand mixer (or a wooden spoon–my favorite method). Once ingredients are totally combined, cover the bowl in saran wrap and put it in the fridge. It can chill while you prepare the peaches.
2. Prepare the Peaches.
Choose 4-5 fairly ripe (meaning a little bit soft) peaches. Peel the peaches using a plastic knife (you know, the way you learned in Cooking School). Slice peaches around the pit, then put slices in second mixing bowl. Add ¼ cup flour, 1 Tablespoon sugar. 1 tsp. cinnamon. Mix together and dump in the bottom of a 9×13 baking pan.
3. Take cookie dough out of the fridge.
Using a regular old spoon, scoop the cookie dough out and place the spoonfuls about 1 inch apart on top of the peaches.
4. Bake the cobbler at 350°for 30-40 minutes or until the cookie dough is golden and you can see the peaches bubbling. Serve it while it’s hot, and serve it with vanilla ice cream, fresh cream drizzled on it, or ice cold milk. YUMMY.

Ingredients:
For the Crust:
1 ½ Tablespoons sour cream
3 Tablespoons ice water
½ cup flour
2 Tablespoons yellow cornmeal
pinch of salt
4 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
For the Filling:
3-4 ripe peaches
1 Tablespoon [...]]]> Cooking School/ The Peach Galette

Ingredients:
For the Crust:
1 ½ Tablespoons sour cream
3 Tablespoons ice water
½ cup flour
2 Tablespoons yellow cornmeal
pinch of salt
4 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
For the Filling:
3-4 ripe peaches
1 Tablespoon honey- to toss with peaches
1 Tablespoon honey- to drizzle over galette
1Tablespoon cold unsalted butter (to be used after you assemble the galette)

Directions:

1. Stir 1 ½ Tablespoons of sour cream and 3 Tablespoons of ice water together in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Make sure your cold 4 Tablespoons of butter is cut into 4 pieces.
3. Put ½ cup flour, 2 Tablespoons cornmeal, and pinch of salt in a large bowl. Stir with a fork to mix.
4. Drop the butter pieces into the bowl, tossing them once or twice just to coat them with flour. With a large fork, work the butter into the flour, aiming for pieces of butter that range in size from breadcrumbs to small peas. The smaller pieces will make the dough tender. The larger will make it flake.
5. Sprinkle the cold sour cream mixture over the dough, 1 Tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork to evenly distribute it.
After you’ve added all of the sour cream mixture, the dough should be moist enough to stick together when pressed; if it’s not, add additional cold water, 1 teaspoon at a time.
6. With your hands, gather the curds of dough together. You’ll have a soft, malleable dough, the kind you might want to overwork—BUT DON’T!.)
7. Turn the dough out of the bowl. Press each piece of dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate while you prepare the peaches.
8. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
9. Peal and section 3-4 ripe peaches. Toss with 1 Tablespoon honey and set aside.

10. Put the dough on a lightly floured work surface and roll it into an 11-inch circle that’s about 1/8 inch thick. Use a regular piece of paper to measure the circle. Since the dough is soft, you’ll need to lift it now and then and toss some for flour under it and over the top.
11. Roll up the dough around your rolling pin and transfer it to the prepared baking sheet.
12. Spread the peaches over the dough in a fan shape. Make it look pretty.
13. Fold the uncovered border of the dough up over the filling, allowing the dough to pleat as you lift it up and work your way around the galette. Because you’re folding a wide edge of dough onto a smaller part of the circle, it will pleat naturally—just go with it.
14. Using a pastry brush or your fingers and a bit of water, very lightly paint the edges of the crust.
15. Drizzle the entire galette with 1 Tablespoon honey.
16. Bake the galette for 35 to 40 minutes or until the pastry is golden and crisp.
17. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooking rack and let the galette rest on the sheet for 10 minutes. Slip a wide spatula or a small baking sheet under the galette and slide in onto the cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature, cutting the tart with a pizza wheel or sharp knife.

*Adapted from the recipe by Julia Child in “Baking with Julia”
**This makes a small galette that serves 4 people at the most. You may want to double the recipe. Be honest with yourself.

Originally published October 22, 2009

It’s a shame how long I’ve gone without posting anything. Life has taken over. Last summer, as we drifted about enjoying [...]]]> Happy Halloween and let the cider drinking begin! Seriously, I may hand this out next week instead of candy. As my daughter Annabelle says, I am totally not kidding.

Originally published October 22, 2009

It’s a shame how long I’ve gone without posting anything. Life has taken over. Last summer, as we drifted about enjoying our free time, I looked at my growing girls and suspected that Fall would be crazy nutty. And although I usually don’t write much about my family online, I must say that this Fall has been spectacular. E and G are turning into amazing people. They enjoy their music and it’s starting to pay off. A is thinking about starting to read. P has discovered the joy of multi tools. I accomplished the one thing I knew I had to do after I finished bearing children–I ran a marathon. It was exhilarating, difficult, dissapointing, and emboldening all at the same time. I’ll do another some day. Having written all of that, here is a recipe you must have for the Fall. Fix this for the Trick or Treaters and you will be the talk of the town.

Make buttermilk syrup and let it cool in the fridge (can be done even a few days in advance). Recipe below.

Buy peaches at your local farmers’ market.

Wash, peel, and slice peaches.

Drizzle peaches with buttermilk syrup.

Serve.

Email me because you can’t believe how [...]]]> What can I say? It’s this simple:

Make buttermilk syrup and let it cool in the fridge (can be done even a few days in advance). Recipe below.

Buy peaches at your local farmers’ market.

Wash, peel, and slice peaches.

Drizzle peaches with buttermilk syrup.

Serve.

Email me because you can’t believe how amazing this idea is. TortillasAndOranges@gmail.com

I know, I know.

Buttermilk Syrup
1 cup butter
1 cups buttermilk
2 cups sugar
1 t. baking soda
4 T. Karo syrup
2 t. vanilla

Mint Brownies
This confection consists of three different layers: A brownie-like base, a mint filling, and a chocolate frosting. The recipe below makes a large batch (2 9×13 lasagna pans [...]]]> There is a famous pastry at my alma mater. The mint brownie. Most students love it, a few hate it. You judge for yourself.

Mint Brownies
This confection consists of three different layers: A brownie-like base, a mint filling, and a chocolate frosting. The recipe below makes a large batch (2 9×13 lasagna pans or one baker’s half sheet–a 13×18 pan).

Layer #1–brownie base
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts

Layer #2–mint filling
3 cups powdered sugar
3 Tblsp butter
2 Tblsp evaporated milk
2 Tblsp milk
1 tsp. peppermint flavor
green food coloring (optional)

Layer #3–chocolate topping
5 Tablespoons butter
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 and grease bottoms of two 9×13 pans or one baker’s half sheet (aka jelly roll pan–13×18). Make layer #1. In a stand mixer, mix all ingredients (oil, sugar, cocoa, eggs, flour, salt, vanilla, nuts). Bake brownie base for 20-30 minutes. While layer #1 bakes, wash stand mixer bowl and make layer #2. Combine all layer #2 ingredients (powdered sugar, butter, both milks, peppermint flavoring, and green food coloring). Remove layer #1 from oven. While brownie base is still warm, spread layer #2 over base. Cool in fridge or on counter. Once brownie base is cooled completely, make layer #3. Combine butter and chocolate in microwaveable bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Carefully mix chocolate chips and butter together until completely melted. (Remember, if you overheat the chocolate it will seize and become a crumbly mess. You can avoid this by melting the chocolate slowly and carefully. In a microwave, melt chocolate no longer than 30 seconds, checking and stirring it often and letting it sit in its own heat until melted.)
Spread chocolate layer over mint layer and let cool. Score into small bites and serve.

Danny: What kind of cake do you want?
Me: Chocolate would be lovely.
Danny: Great. [...]]]> My birthday was last weekend. I had a blast. A few days before my birthday Danny and I were driving in the car and he sweetly asked what cake I’d like. Here’s how the conversation went, script style:

Danny: What kind of cake do you want?
Me: Chocolate would be lovely.
Danny: Great. I think I’ll make a French chocolate cake, a flourless dark chocolate creation.
Me: Ummm. That sounds amazing.
[pause for 5 minutes while I gather courage]
Me: Actually Danny, I have to be honest with you. I want a real chocolate birthday cake. I know you are an amazing baker and I know that flourless cake is so fancy. But I am who I am. I want a two or three layer, “thick with chocolate frosting, makes you sick it’s so good All American Chocolate Birthday Cake.”
Danny: Hey baby, whatever you want.

No, he really did say that. He is very very nice to me.
The next day he searched the Internets and came up with a Magleby’s chocolate cake copycat recipe. For those of you who don’t know about Magleby’s, let me enlighten you. Magleby’s is a Provo, Utah Institution. It’s been around since I was in diapers and it’s still going strong today. While I could write several posts about the Magleby’s I willingly mock, their crown jewel quiets all the food snobs in Provo (and trust me, THAT is a growing crowd). Magleby’s Chocolate Cake is their best and most famous dish. People love it so much that Magleby’s sells darling little packages of their cake in each restaurant’s storefront. I’ve been know to grab one occasionally, and DON’T ask why. You may make this and ask me, “What’s the big deal?”. The truth is, I don’t know. I do know that for most of my BYU friends, the big deal is that one of the world’s greatest comfort foods can be found just down the street. And when you live in a dorm or a student apartment and you did poorly on a test or your boyfriend broke up with you or you are really really homesick, a culinary fix (and a gallon of milk) are just down the street…at Magleby’s.

Magleby’s Chocolate Cake
Very meticulously, grease and line with parchment paper 3 9-inch baking/cake pans. Force yourself to do this first so it’s out of the way. I know it’s a pain but you’ll be so glad you did it.

Mix together then set aside:
1 Cup butter (softened to room temperature)
1 Cup water
4 T. heaping cocoa

Sift together the following:
2 Cups flour
2 Cups sugar
1/2 t. salt

Pour chocolate mixture over dry ingredients, gently mix.

In separate bowl combine the following:

2 Eggs, lightly beaten
1 t. soda — dissolved in little water
1 t. vanilla

Combine with chocolate ingredients… then add

1/2 Cup sour cream

Gently mix. Do not over mix.

Divide the batter evenly among 3 9-inch rounds, then bake at 325 for about 1 hour.

Frosting (PS, Magleby’s freeze the cakes before frosting)
1 cup butter — let sit until room temperature
1/2 cup milk
3 T cocoa
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Alternate ingredients while stirring by hand with whisk or your favorite hard spoon.