I'm baaaaaack!!

Hey there, friends!  It's me, Julie.  And I'm back!!

It's been a year.  Actually, it's been a few years. 

Let's recap.

I had a baby.  There was a global pandemic (and I work in healthcare).  I had another baby.  I was home with said kiddos.  Older one went to school.  And now, as of last month, so did my baby (he's 3!!).

I've found myself with something I had only dreamed of over the past few years.  It's this foreign notion called "free time."  Showering without children pounding on the door screaming "mommmyyyyy!!"...drinking my own iced coffee with actual ice in it...grocery shopping and actually looking at what the store has to offer instead of doing a mad dash with a double stroller?  YES TO ALL OF THESE THINGS!!

It's also given me time to, dare I say, bake.

Now that's not to say I didn't do any baking over the past few years.  I have.  Even made some really great recipes that I *started* to type up and edit.  But then I never got around to posting.

So today marks my first day of taking my free time to bake.  On the agenda is an apple bundt cake with a brown sugar glaze for Rosh Hashanah lunch at my parents this week.  I can't wait to bake and share it with you!

* Also, stay tuned as I'm sure some back-dated posts will be making an appearance soon, too!

Extra thick, extra marshmallow-y toasted marshmallow Rice Krispie treats

We're 10.5 months into the COVID pandemic.  I'm 4 months pregnant.  I'm chasing around a 20 month old toddler.  I'm working in healthcare, during said pandemic.

So, suffice it to say, I haven't gotten much baking done lately.  I made some Neapolitan cookies (which I'll post eventually) and some Paleo apple crumb muffins (which I won't be posting because....ugh!).  There had been a few batches of brownies and some Rice Krispie treats, too.  Looking back through Instagram posts, I'm pretty sure I made some banana muffins, too.  And some red velvet cake Halloween cake pops, too.  Oh, and let's not forget baby J's first birthday treats!  But, in the past of 10.5 months, that's not really JulieBakes caliber baking.

But tonight I -- and by I, I mean the baby -- wanted to make, and consume, Rice Krispie treats.  Namely the toasted marshmallow Rice Krispie treats no one can seem to get enough of!  The recipe is tried and true and with two minor modifications, they are supremely elevated!!  But, today I decided to make them extra marshmallow-y and super thick!

These Rice Krispie treats use brown butter, which in and of itself it a worthwhile modification to any Rice Krispie treats.  The addition of broiling the marshmallows before melting them in with the brown butter makes them extra decadent!  In order to make them extra marshmallow-y, I 1.5 times the butter and marshmallows while only increasing the Rice Krispies by 1 cup (truth be told, I could've added another cup of Rice Krispies and they still would've been ooey-gooey delicious!).

Then, to make them super thick, I used a smaller pan.  I couldn't find my 8 x 8" baking pan so I used a smaller rectangular pan that B had, which predates me.  I had too much leftover Rice Krispie treat mix, so I started eating it off the spatula, but when that proved too hard a task (there was WAY too much leftover), I put it on a plate and flattened it, and coated it in sprinkles because....why not?  We could all use a little extra color and cheer these days!

Extra Thick, Extra Marshmallow-y Toasted Marshmallow Rice Krispie Treats

modified from this recipe, originally found here.

Ingredients:

6 Tbsp unsalted butter

16 oz marshmallows

7-8 cups Rice Krispies

Directions:

Grease a 9 x 9 inch pan lightly with cooking spray.

Melt the butter in a small sauce pan over medium-low heat.
Continue cooking the butter, swirling pan until it becomes a nice brown color (it takes about 5 minutes).
Remove from the heat.
Transfer browned butter into a large bowl or pot, big enough to hold the Rice Krispies and be able to mix them.  Alternately, you can brown the butter in the bigger pot and cut down on the amount of items needed to be cleaned later, like I did.
Set aide.

Turn the oven on to broil.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Evenly spread the marshmallows onto the lined sheet.

Place the marshmallows under the broiler for 45 seconds to 1 minute, until marshmallows are puffed and deeply golden.  For larger marshmallows, you may need longer.
WATCH THEM CLOSELY, as they can burn very quickly!

Lightly grease a rubber spatula with cooking spray.
Immediately scrap the marshmallows into the bowl/pot with the butter.
Stir to combine quickly.
Pour the Rice Krispies into the toasted marshmallow mixture.
Stir to combine.

Press evenly into the prepared pan.

Allow to cool before cutting into squares and serving.

Happy (almost) Birthday, JulieBakes!

It's funny how you never forget certain dates.  

It's been a whirlwind of a year!  The COVID pandemic hit NYC mid-March, and working in healthcare and losing our childcare (we were so lucky that baby J's grandparents watched him, but with COVID and the fact that out parents are older, meant we couldn't risk putting them at risk), well suffice it to say it's been an interesting 7 months...Oh, and then we moved at the beginning of October.  Seriously.

But, as I sat talking to B last night, and he asked me the date, I realized "Wow, JulieBakes' birthday is in 2 days!"  I don't know why, I haven't posted in nearly 3 years, but there I was remembering that this little blog of mine has a birthday on October 16!  (Full disclosure, I had to look up exactly how old the blog was turning, and was floored when I calculated that it's NINE YEARS OLD!)

Unfortunately, it's looking like I won't be able to bake anything in time to celebrate the blog's birthday, but I do have a bunch of Halloween treats planned.  I literally spent way too much money on Halloween sprinkles over the weekend...

Happy (almost) Birthday, JulieBakes!  Nine years old, I honestly can't believe it!

Whipped shortbread cookies

For the holiday pajama party that B and I went to this weekend, the theme of the drink-making contest was "night cap."  B and I decided on a White Russian.  One of our favorite bars in our neighborhood -- which we haven't been to in quite some time --  serves their heavenly White Russian with a cookie on the side.  I thought it was a biscotti, but B reminded me that it was more of a shortbread cookie (he was, in fact right).

So with all of the ingredients for our cocktail packed away to bring out to Long Island, I set about trying to find the perfect shortbread cookie recipe.  I literally had to look no further than Instagram to find a recipe posted this morning!  The recipe was for whipped shortbread cookies, which sounded delicious to me.  And seeing as I had the forethought to take some butter out of the fridge before we left to run errands this morning, I was ready to go when I got home.

It also happened to be that today was the first snow in NYC.  There's nothing that I love more than baking on a snowy day, with the warmth of the oven keeping the apartment toasty, and having cookies to sample warm out of the oven.

This dough is meant to be piped out onto the baking sheet with a piping tip and bag.  You can use a variety of tips.  Since I had the intent of serving these cookies on the side of our drink tonight, I used an Ateco 898 tip, which some people use to ice cakes.  I used the ridged side up for a little detail.  I think they came out adorable, and that they'd be perfect to rest on the top of the glass for a classy presentation!

P.S. I halved the recipe and I got over 5 dozen cookies

Whipped Shortbread Cookies
Recipe from SprinkleBakes

Makes 6 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

3 cups (6 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped (or you can substitute 2 tsp vanilla extract)

Optional decorations:
Assorted holiday sprinkles and candies
4 oz semisweet or dark chocolate, melted

Directions:

Combine butter and confectioners' sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
Mix on high speed until mixture turns pale, about 2 minutes.

Add flour to butter mixture in 3 additions, mixing well on medium speed after each addition.
When flour is incorporated, add salt and vanilla seeds.
Beat on high speed for 5 minutes -- the dough should be pale and thick.
Transfer dough to piping bags fitted with decorating tips.  You can also used a small cookie scoop.

Line two or more cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Pipe or place mounds of cookie dough on prepared pans, spacing then a least 1 inch apart.
Add sprinkles, if using.
Transfer cookies on baking sheets to refrigerator to chill for 10 minutes or until cookies are firm to touch.

While the cookies are chilling, preheat the oven to 275F.
Bake cookies 30-35 minutes, or until cookies are lightly golden around the edges and still pale in the center.  Since I piped my cookies thinner than the cookies on the original blog post, I started watching my cookies after 20 minutes.  They ended up taking 21-22 minutes to achieve desired doneness.
Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Drizzle with chocolate if using.
Store cooled cookies in an airtight container.

Lemon bars

I've been baking for a long time.  I estimate I've been baking from scratch for at least two and a half decades.  I started baking on my own before that for friends in high school, with boxed mixes, even before that.  I've made countless brownies, cupcakes, cakes, fudges, and enough cookies to feed a small army.  One thing I've never made, until today?  Lemon bars!

I honestly don't know why it's taken me this long to bake them.  I think the actual idea got planted in my head when I was shopping at Trader Joe's recently, and they had candied lemon slices. I (obviously) bought them without thinking about it, and then was trying to figure out what I could use them for.  Originally I thought about using them as a garnish on a lemon cupcake, but then the thought came to me: lemon bars!

I have to say that these lemon bars are super easy to make.  Make the shortbread dough, and while it's baking in the oven, prepare the lemon filling.  Then, pour the filling over the hot shortbread crust and pop them back in the oven.  That's it!  The hardest part wasn't actually hard, it was more time consuming -- I had tiny lemons and had to juice them all by hand.  The real hardest part is waiting over 2 hours before being able to cut into them!  (Don't worry, I cheated to taste them -- they're delicious!).

I made these for a baby shower that my friend L and I hosted for our friend E, who is expecting a baby girl at the beginning of February.  The ladies at the shower loved and devoured them!  I had a few leftover at the end of the shower that went to the soon-to-be-daddy, my dad, and B.

I really recommend these lemon bars -- the super thick lemony layer is the real proverbial icing on the cake (or rather filling on the bar ;-))

Thick Lemon Bars
from Little Sweet Baker

Ingredients:

Crust

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp corn starch
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

Filling

3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 large/regular sized lemons)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Decorations

Powdered sugar for dusting
Lemon slices or dried lemon slices

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.
Line an 8x8" square baking pan with parchment paper (I don't have an 8x8" pan so I used my trusty 9x9" pan).

Toss flour, powdered sugar, and cornstarch together.
Cut in the softened butter using a fork or pastry cutter until mixture is crumbly.  You can also pulse with a food processor.
Press into the prepared baking pan.
Bake for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together he eggs, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
Slowly add the flour, whisking to prevent lumps.
Pour the mixture over the hot crust.
Bake for another 25 minutes or until the lemon filling is set.

Let stand at room temperature to cool.
Chill in the fridge for 2 hours.

Dust with powdered sugar and top with lemon slices.

Note: Lemon bars can be refrigerated in an airtight container

Mini pumpkin spice crumb muffins

I've been looking forward to this weekend for a few weeks, since my friend and I are hosting a baby shower for another friend of ours!  There were a thousand things I wanted to bake, but only a day or two to get things done (work schedule is packed and I work super long days three days a week now).  These muffins definitely made the list, though!

Now I've said it before and I'll (have to) say it again: I hate pumpkin spice.  Like ugh, gross, despise it.  But almost everyone else loves it, including the mom-to-be, who told me she was "bad" when she got a pumpkin spice latte (caffeine is OK when pregnant, so I'm not sure why she thinks she was "bad," but I digress....).  So when hosting a baby shower for 13 women, including at least one who has confirmed her love for pumpkin spice, these muffins were a given!  Plus, they have the most heavenly looking crumb topping.  [I debated making these pumpkin spice latte cupcakes, but wanted something more breakfast/brunch-y.  And again, remember, crumbs!]

I ended up making mini muffins, since they were being served before lunch.  I halved the recipe since I didn't want to have an insane amount of muffins, and as it was I got 27 mini muffins with a half recipe.  I didn't, however, half the crumb topping since I figured mini muffins = more surface area, and I'd probably need extra crumbs.  As it ended up, I had leftover crumb topping, but that's fine.  Better to have too much than not enough!

* Full disclosure, it took me a long time to post this blog post, despite having written it and staging the photos at the time I baked them.  When I went to put the final edits on the post and add the recipe, the original link I had was defunct.  When I searched the blog again, I came across this recipe, which from my recollection is the same * 

Pumpkin Crumb Cake Muffins

From Sally's Baking Addiction

Ingredients:

For the muffins:

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/4 cup milk, at room temperature

For the crumb topping:

3/4 cup all purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

For the (optional) maple icing:

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

2 Tbsp pure maple syrup

2 Tbsp milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425F.

Spray a 2 x 12 count muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners.  This recipe makes 15 full sized muffins, so you'll need a second pan. (I made mini muffins, and used a 24-cavity mini muffin pan, but chose to use liners instead of spraying it; I halved the recipe and got 27 mini muffins, so you'd need do to this for at least 2 muffin pans).

Prepare the muffins.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt together until combined.
Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs, and milk together until combined.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry.

Fold everything together gentlyy, just until combined and no flour pockets remain.

Spoon batter into liners, until almost full.

Make the crumb topping.

Whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice until combined.

Using a fork, lightly mix in the melted butter until crumbs form.

Do not over mix.

Spoon crumbs evenly on top of the batter and gently press them down into the batter.

Bake for 5 minutes at 425, then while the muffins are still in the oven, reduce the temperature to 350F.

Bake for an additional 16-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
For my mini muffins, I baked at 425 for 5 minutes, then lowered the heat to 350F and baked for 8 more minutes.  The newer version of this recipe says to bake mini muffins for 11-13 minutes at 350F the entire time.

Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 10 minutes as you make the icing.

To make the icing, whisk the milk, maple syrup, and confectioners' sugar together until combined and smooth.  

Drizzle over muffins and serve warm.

*These can be stored at room temp for 1-2 days, in the fridge for up to a week, and can be frozen (with or without the icing, though I generally recommend freezing without icing and icing them once they've thawed).

Almond, tahini, and honey cookies

The fall is upon us, and while the fall may be synonymous with everything pumpkin spice for most, to me it means that the Jewish holidays are coming.  Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish new year) starts on Wednesday, September 20th this year, and so I've started in on my holiday baking today.

First up were these almond, tehini, and honey cookies.  Honey is used in a lot of Rosh Hasahanah treats since it symbolizes a sweet new year.  Apples and honey, to be exact.  And while these cookies lack apples, they're full of sweet honey.  Another thing they're missing?  Gluten (so if you're looking for a gluten-free recipe on this blog, this may just be the first one -- or at least the first one labeled gluten-free). 

This dough comes together in literally a manner of seconds.  Whisk together the dry ingredients in own bowl, the wet in another.  Then, add the dry to the wet and mix together -- I did this with a whisk and some upper arm strength (thanks to my barre workout this morning).  Seriously, it took seconds!  They also bake up in no time!

Honey Almond Tahini Cookies
By The Gush Gourmet
Makes about 28 cookies

1.5 cups almond flour (finely ground almonds)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp tapioca starch OR 1 Tbsp corn starch (I used corn starch)
1/2 cup well-mixed tahini
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1/3 cup sliced almonds (The recipe called for slivered almonds but I think she actually meant sliced almonds, but I bought slivered.  I actually went out and bought sliced almonds since I thought they looked pretty on her cookies.  Go with sliced almonds.)

Directions:

Whisk together the almond flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and starch in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients: tahini, honey, egg, and vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.  I added mine in 3 additions.

Place in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Place small scoops of the cookie dough on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Make sure there is plenty of space between each one (they spread a lot!).
Sprinkle a little bit of sliced almonds over each cookie, pressing down slightly so they adhere.  Don't be shy with the sliced almonds -- since the cookies spread, they too will spread out as the cookies bake.

Bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden brown.
Remove from the oven.
Cool completely before removing from the baking sheet.