The dried cherries give it that little something extra.

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup dried cherries, chopped

DIRECTIONS

Toast pecans by sprinkling them in an ungreased heavy skillet. Cook over medium heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently until nuts begin to brown, be careful not to burn them. Remove from heat; cool.

In large bowl, beat butter and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add vanilla. Gradually add flour, beating just until blended. Stir in toasted pecans and chopped cherries.

Divide dough in half; shape each portion into 2 (1 1/4-inch-thick) logs (about 12 inches long). Wrap in cooking parchment paper; refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.

Heat oven to 325°F. Line cookie sheets with cooking parchment paper. Unwrap dough; cut into 1/4-inch slices. On cookie sheets, place slices 1/2 inch apart. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until light golden brown.

Lemon cupcakes with a Lemon-Raspberry Buttercream.

INGREDIENTS

Cupcakes
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup crisco
1 1/2 cups sugar
zest of one lemon plus 3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Lemon Raspberry Buttercream
1 cup butter softened
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup raspberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon vanilla
1-2 tablespoons of cream if needed for consistency

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350º F. Line cupcake tin with muffin cups.

Cream together butter and shortening until light and fluffy. Slowly add sugar one cup at a time,  fully incorporating each cup before adding another. Add zest. Do the same with the eggs.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine milks, lemon juice, and vanilla into a small cup and whisk together. Add to butter and shortening mixture alternately with milk mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.

Evenly distribute cake batter between cupcake tins.  I used two plus 4 more. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove and make buttercream while cooling.

Mash raspberries in saucepan and add sugar.  Bring to a boil and let simmer for 3 minutes.  Take off heat and let cool. Cream together butter and ½ cup of confectioner’s sugar at a time. After each cup of sugar has been added, add 1 tablespoon of raspberry syrup and a little of the lemon juice until all mixed.  Add vanilla and then beat on high for a few seconds.

Pipe on to cooled cupcakes as desired.

A brownie cookie with a soft chocolate center and an espresso marshmallow melted on top.

INGREDIENTS

4 dozen 1/2″ cubed espresso marshmallow bits (made ahead of time. See directions below)
12 oz bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
4 dozen chocolate disks/pieces

DIRECTIONS
Melt chocolate and butter over double boiler, whisk and let cool for 5 minutes

In a bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream together brown sugar, eggs and vanilla until incorporated. Add your cooled melted chocolate/butter mixture to your egg mixture and combine.

Slowly add dry ingredients until all combined.

Refrigerate dough for an hour or two.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Chop up marshmallows into 1/2″ cubes and set aside.

Use a small ice cream scoop to get round ball of dough.  Flatten them slightly with your hand. Bake for approx. 15 minutes.  Take out of oven and push down a chocolate piece into the cookie forming a pool for the chocolate to melt.  Top with a piece of marshmallow and put it back in the oven for 2 minutes. When it comes out you can use a kitchen torch to caramelize the top of the cookie.

ESPRESSO MARSHMALLOWS
adapted recipe from Ina Garten.

3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup espresso
Powdered sugar for dusting

Combine the gelatin and 1/2 cup of cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer and let sit.

Meanwhile, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup espresso in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin. Put the mixer on high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly.

With a sieve, generously dust an 8 by 12-inch nonmetal baking dish with powdered sugar. Pour the marshmallow mixture into the pan, smooth the top, and dust with more powdered sugar. Allow to stand uncovered overnight until it dries out.

Turn the marshmallows onto a board and cut them in squares. Dust them with more powdered sugar.

This is stupid good.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter, melted and browned
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed banana very ripe (approx. 3)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup strawberry jam (equal parts sugar and strawberries boiled for 15 minutes and cooled)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon brown sugar

DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease loaf pan.

Chop nuts and mix with brown sugar.

In saucepan, heat butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until brown bits form. Remove from heat.

Mash bananas, set aside.

Pistachios, walnuts, lemon, cranberries. BAM!

INGREDIENTS

Cake:
1/2 cup pistachios
1/2 cup walnuts
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, (cold is okay)
3 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Slightly heaped 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour

Glaze:
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

Heat oven: To 325 degrees F. Line the bottom and long sides of a loaf pan with a sling of parchment paper. Coat paper and exposed short sides of loaf pan with nonstick spray or butter.

In the work bowl of your food processor, grind pistachios, walnuts, sugar and salt together until as powdery as you can get them without it turning to paste. Cut butter into small chunks and blend with pistachio mixture. It’s going to be lumpy at first, and then balled for a minute, but keep running the machine until the mixture loosens up into a frosting-like consistency, i.e. smooth and shiny. Add eggs, one at time, blending briefly between each, scraping down sides as needed. Add milk, blend to combine. Add vanilla and baking powder and blend to fully combine, scraping down workbowl. Add flour and pulse just until it disappears.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and spread top smooth. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes.

Let cake cool in pan on rack for 10 to 15 minutes, then run a knife around cake and transfer to cooling rack. Let cool completely.

Glaze: Bring cranberries, sugar, zest, and juice to a simmer in a small saucepan; simmer for 2 to 3 minutes then pour over cooled cake.

I worked with this recipe.

Chocolate and coffee are a good team.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon espresso finely ground
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons  butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate milk

Icing
1-2 tablespoons espresso
2 cups powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour insides of 12 muffin cups or insert paper liners. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter with sugar until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract. On low speed, alternately add dry ingredients and milk to the batter, stirring until incorporated.  Evenly divide batter between cupcake molds. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pans. Cool completely before icing.

For icing, add espresso slowly to powdered sugar until desired consistency.  Pour over muffins

ItDoesntTasteLikeChicken.com claims it is the ultimate vegan chocolate cake. If the frosting is anything to go by we are in luck. 

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

INGREDIENTS

Bread

1/2 pound softened butter
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
4 eggs
2 ⅓ cups (about 5) ripe bananas

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Topping

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Using electric mixer, cream butter until smooth and fluffy. Add sugar and cream together 2 minutes more. One at a time, mix in eggs. Mix in bananas until only small lumps remain.

Stir dry ingredients together and mix into banana mixture just until combined. Pour into prepared pans. Sprinkle topping over batter.

Bake about 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack and let cool completely before wrapping tightly for storage.

I worked with this recipe.

There are some good recipes on the Real California Milk Facebook page.  I played with this one a bit.

INGREDIENTS
Crust
6 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups flour

Custard
5 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup sugar
zest of one lemon
tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Have a removable tart pan ready.  In a skillet combine butter, oil, sugar, water, and salt. Melt over medium heat.  Add flour and mix.  Mixture will be crumbly.  Take off heat and press into tart pan.  Prick holes in the bottom of the crust and bake for 10 minutes.

Add egg yolks, vanilla, sugar, cornstarch, zest, juice, and salt to a saucepan and use whisk to blend. Add milk and whisk again.  Turn on medium heat and keep whisking until it thickens (only a few minutes). Take off heat and add butter, store until melted and incorporated. Pour into pie crust and refrigerate to set.