Posted by Beth on Sep 7, 2022 in Blog, Bready or Not, chocolate, cookies | Comments Off on Bready or Not Original: Chewy Honey Graham Cracker Cookies
Today’s Chewy Honey Graham Cracker Cookies are a new twist on my original Chewy Honey Cookie base recipe.
This time around, crushed graham crackers are substituted for some of the all-purpose flour. This not only changes the texture, adding some pleasant grittiness, but also introduces a different sort of sweetness that pairs beautifully with chocolate.
Want to try some of my other original cookie recipes that use this same base? Here you go!
Bready or Not Original: Chewy Honey Graham Cracker Cookies
This fresh take on my classic Chewy Honey Cookies substitutes crushed graham crackers for some of the flour, resulting in a delicious cookie with a different texture and sweetness.
Course: Dessert, Snack
Keyword: chocolate, cookies, graham cracker
Author: Beth Cato
Equipment
plastic wrap
teaspoon or tablespoon scoop
Ingredients
3/4cup1 1/2 sticks unsalted buttersoftened
1/2cuplight brown sugarpacked
1/2cupwhite sugar
2Tbhoney
1large egg room temperature
1Tablespoonvanilla extract
1cupbread flour
1/2cupall-purpose flour
1/2cupgraham cracker crumbs
2teaspoonscornstarch
1teaspoonbaking soda
1/2teaspoonsalt
1cupchocolate chipsadd a variety!
Instructions
In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and honey and beat until creamy and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then mix in the egg and vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: bread flour, all-purpose flour, graham cracker crumbs, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Sift together.
Slowly stir together the wet ingredients and flour mix until just combined. Sprinkle in the chocolate chips. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and stash in the fridge for several hours or days; dough can also be frozen at this stage.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven at 350-degrees. Use greased stoneware, parchment paper, or silpat mats. The cookie dough, even straight from the fridge, has a soft Play-Doh-like consistency, and will spread when it bakes; keep this in mind when spacing cookie dough.
Teaspoon-sized cookies need to bake 9 to 12 minutes; Tablespoon-sized take 11 to 13 minutes. Let set on cookie sheets for 10 to 15 minutes before moving to a rack to cool completely.
Store cookies will keep in a sealed container, between waxed paper or parchment layers, for weeks. They are excellent for travel or shipping.
If you’re in need of a refreshing summer bundt cake, look no further. This Sicilian Orange Bundt Cake is it.
This is a super-easy cake to make. The ingredients are minimal. It doesn’t make a massive cake. The oranges get used in the cake and in the glaze, so nothing is likely to go to waste.
I love that the orange makes the cake look orange AND taste orange. There is something aesthetically pleasing about that. No surprises, no fake-outs. Orange cake tastes like orange. Got it.
If you have any leftovers, no worries. I found that the cake freezes wonderfully, even glazed. Freeze those extra slices the first day and they’ll taste fresh when you thaw them later!
This light bundt cake is orange in appearance and in flavor, with a sweet orange glaze for added oomph! Modified from Food & Wine September 2020 issue.
Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: bundt cake, citrus
Author: Beth Cato
Equipment
small bundt cake pan
Ingredients
Cake
2cupsall-purpose flour
3large orangeszested and juiced
1 1/2Tablespoonsbaking powder
1 1/2cupswhite sugar
1/2cupvegetable oil
3large eggs room temperature
Glaze
3/4cupconfectioners’ sugar
3teaspoonsorange juice
orange zest
Instructions
Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Use a baking spray with flour (or alternatively, some extra vegetable oil and flour) to coat the interior of the bundt pan. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, 2 Tablespoons of orange zest (the rest reserved for the glaze), and baking powder. Set aside.
In a big mixing bowl, beat together sugar, vegetable oil, and eggs on high speed until it becomes quite pale, about a minute and a half. Add 1 1/4 cups orange juice, beating until combined. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients, scraping bottom of bowl as needed.
Pour batter into the pan. Bake for 45 minutes, until the middle passes the toothpick test. Cool for about 20 minutes, then invert it onto a rack to completely cool, speeding the process in the fridge if desired.
Make the glaze. Measure out the sugar. Add orange juice and any remaining zest. If mixture is thick, add a touch more juice; if runny, add more sugar. It should be a thick texture as it is drizzled on the cake. Let glazed cake set at least 30 minutes at room temperature or in fridge before slicing in.
Cake is great kept sealed at room temperature for up to 3 days. It can also be sliced and frozen, glaze and all, and makes for a delicious treat even weeks later.
Posted by Beth on Aug 29, 2022 in Uncategorized | Comments Off on CoKoCon is this coming weekend!
Note that this is updated from the previous post several weeks ago. I now have a signing on Sunday afternoon.
I’m attending my first in-person convention in about three years this Labor Day weekend. CoKoCon is a small con in the Phoenix area. This year, it’s at a new location at the DoubleTree in Tempe. I’ll be there Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and early Monday morning. Feel free to talk, ask to have books signed (which I’ll gladly do unless I’m on the run to a panel!), and generally hang out. I’ll be in a black mask, channeling my old favorite Mortal Kombat ninjas.
Panels are always subject to change; I’ll post any updates via Twitter and Facebook.
Friday, September 2
4:30pm Writing on the Spectrum
Fiesta Ballroom 2, 4:30pm – 5:30pm
Neurodiverse writers talk about how their unique filter on the world impacts their writing and about neurodiverse representation in books.
Saturday, September 3
10am Beth & Mike’s Book Club: The City We Became
Coronado, 10am – 11am
Michael Senft, who runs the Sci-Fridays Book Club at the Poisoned Pen, and Nebula Award®-nominated author, Beth Cato, will be leading a discussion on The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin. Read or listen to it ahead of the event or come in blind, but beware of spoilers!
6pm Writing Speculative Poetry
Fiesta Ballroom 2, 6pm – 7pm
Join our award-winning poets as they discuss the craft and market for speculative poetry, and maybe even share some of their own award-winning work!
Sunday, September 4
1pm Literary Charcuterie
Coronado, 1pm – 2pm
Let’s talk about the glories of food in literature and reality and inspire everyone to scamper for the nearest cheese shop (and there are several near the hotel!)
2:30pm Signing: Beth Cato
Dealers’ Room, 2:30pm – 3:30pm
6pm Author Self-Care: Not Post-COVID Yet
Fiesta Ballroom 2, 6pm – 7pm
We’re back in person, but are we really back to normal? This popular panel returns in a world that still hasn’t gotten through the COVID times.
7:30pm Historical Fiction Meets Fantasy
Fiesta Ballroom 2, 7:30pm – 8:30pm
What is the proper proportion of facts with fiction when writing historical fantasy? What resources the perils and joys of research.
I love frosting, so take it on my authority that this Marble Sheet Cake is delicious without need of any frosting on top. Plus, enjoying the cake in naked or near-naked form with just a sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar on top reveals that beautiful marbling to the world.
That marbling is delicious stuff, too. The base batter is vanilla-flavored, with the other portion including cocoa powder and additional goodness.
The texture of the cake is tender and soft. Since there’s no need for frosting, this is a good travel cake. When I made this for my husband to take to work, I individually wrapped pieces to-go in a plastic bin. They made the journey without issue.
Modified from One Bowl Baking Special Issue from Bake from Scratch.
This beautiful 9×13 cake features marbled cocoa and vanilla. It’s delicious enough (and pretty enough) to not need any frosting on top. Just a dusting of confectioners’ sugar will do!
Course: Dessert, Snack
Keyword: cake, chocolate
Author: Beth Cato
Equipment
9×13 pan
aluminum foil
nonstick spray
Ingredients
Vanilla batter
3cupsall-purpose flour
1 3/4cupswhite sugar
1Tablespoonbaking powder
1teaspoonkosher salt
1 1/2cupsmilk room temperature
3/4cupunsalted butter melted
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
3large eggs room temperature
Cocoa batter
2Tablespoonsunsalted butter melted
1/3cupunsweetened cocoa powder sifted
1/2teaspoonalmond extract
Topping, optional
2Tablespoonsconfectioners’ sugar
Instructions
Preheat oven at 325-degrees. Line a 9×13 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, pour in milk, butter, and vanilla, stopping a few times to scrape the bottom of the bowl. Add eggs one at a time. Batter should be smooth.
Measure out about 3 cups of the vanilla batter and pour it into the pan. Add the remaining three ingredients to the bowl, mixing until smooth. Dollop heaping spoonfuls of the cocoa batter onto the vanilla. Use a butter knife to swirl the colors to create a marbled effect. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to knock air bubbles free.
Bake for about 35 minutes. The middle should pass the toothpick test. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Use foil to lift the cake onto a cutting board for easy slicing. Sprinkle on confectioners’ sugar just before serving. Store in a sealed container.