Dessert

Potato Chip Cookies

April 16, 2018 by Sarah Baade 1 Comment

As I look through my grandmother’s recipe box, I realize that she saved far more dessert recipes than any other kind. I can relate! For years, I have cut out recipes and carefully taped them into notebooks by category. I have a notebook for main dishes, one for sides and one for drinks. Each of these is partially filled. Then I have two notebooks for desserts that are overflowing. No lie, I have loose cut out recipes tucked away in the back of each one. Perhaps it is time for another notebook? I clearly started this habit pre-Pinterest but I still enjoy flipping through those pages and seeing the “love” (okay, mess) and notes that I made on some of those recipes. You know it is a really good one if there are stains all over it!

So as to live up to my grandmother’s standards, I decided it was time to make another dessert. There are so many to choose from in that recipe box and eventually I hope to get to most of them – have no fear, I will not resort to the shrimp Jello recipe I found. I’ve been wanting something unique rather than classic lately so I’ve opted to update her recipe for potato chip cookies. After a quick google search, I learned that this is more common than I thought (even Martha Stuart has a recipe for them!) but the butterscotch chips set this recipe apart from any other I’ve seen.

Tips:

If you’re not a fan of butterscotch, swap those chips out for chocolate.
I used plain ridged potato chips for this recipe. I placed them in a large zip lock bag and then rolled over them with a rolling pin until they were evenly crushed.

Potato Chip Cookies

Makes 4 ½ dozen cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

11oz package of butterscotch chips

2 cups crushed potato chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Beat in eggs then stir in vanilla and baking soda. Gradually mix in flour. Stir in butterscotch chips then stir in crushed potato chips.

Scoop teaspoon-sized mounds of cookie dough onto lined cookie sheet, leaving 2-inches between the cookies. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes or until edges begin to turn golden brown. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and transfer the cookies to cooling racks.

Potato Chip Cookies - Slice Of Honey Blog

Original recipe source unknown. Recipe has been modified from this version for the purpose of this blog.

One Bowl Dark Chocolate Cake

March 28, 2018 by Sarah Baade 2 Comments

Sometimes the timing is so bad it is actually perfect. One year ago I was taking my daughter to daycare for the first time and preparing myself to go back to work after having been home with her for the first few months of her life. Those crazy postpartum hormones were still raging and I needed a distraction so I wouldn’t cry all day while being away from her. I had thought about blogging for quite a while and had been encouraged to do so by friends (some of them hadn’t even known it was on my mind). So I did it. I took an old recipe out of my grandmother’s recipe box and I started my food blog. It was a bit scary and I wasn’t sure how I would find time to continue with it once I went back to work, but I did it. I took that first step, made that first post. Here I am, one year later, still going and going stronger than I thought I could. Aren’t friends amazing?! They knew I had it in me and encouraged me to go for it. I huge thank you to those ladies as well as my husband for supporting me on this journey.

Now let’s get to today’s recipe. What is a birthday without cake?! I love it when you can toss all ingredients into one bowl and come out with something delicious so that’s what I did here. One bowl, guys! Fewer dishes to wash when you’re cleaning up. This is a two layer cake that I made a little bit fancier by spreading ganache between the layers and covering the frosting with sprinkles. To me, sprinkles just scream “LET’S CELEBRATE!” I hope you’ll join me in celebrating one year of blogging with a slice of this chocolate cake!

Tips:

1)There is no need to do a crumb coat of frosting here since the sprinkles will hide the few crumbs you might otherwise see in the frosting.

2)If you’d like to simplify the layering a bit, make a little extra of the cream cheese frosting and use that instead of the ganache in between layers of cake.

3)When applying the jimmies (sprinkles), put cake dish on a baking sheet to help catch any that fall off as you go.

One Bowl Dark Chocolate Cake

Cake Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 cup dark cocoa powder

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

¾ cup mayonnaise

3 eggs

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ cup water, lukewarm

Ganache Ingredients:

3oz dark chocolate chips

3oz heavy cream

Frosting Ingredients:

8oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups powdered sugar

10oz rainbow jimmies

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two 9″ round cake pans with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly add in milk. Mix in mayonnaise, eggs and vanilla until well combined. Pour in water and mix until fully incorporated.

Pour equal amounts of cake mixture into cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until a test stick can be inserted and removed clean. Once cakes are baked, let cool 20 minutes before removing from pans. Let cakes finish cooling on a wire rack.

Once cakes are fully cooled, you can make the ganache. place chocolate ships in a medium bowl. In a small sauce pan, heat cream to a simmer. Pour cream over chocolate ships and let sit for 5 minutes. Whisk mixture until fully combined and smooth. Let cool another 5 minutes. Cut domed tops off of each cake. Place first layer of cake on a serving platter of your choice. Pour ganache over bottom layer of cake and spread until it is evenly coated. Place top layer of cake on ganache.

For the frosting, mix cream cheese and butter on medium speed in a mixing bowl. Stir in vanilla and add powdered sugar one cup at a time. Once all ingredients are fully combined and smooth, cover cake in frosting. Using your hands, gently press jimmies onto sides and top of cake. Remove any unwanted jimmies that fell onto the dish as you decorated the cake.

Boozy Truffles

February 7, 2018 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

Let’s talk Valentine’s Day. Whether you love it or hate it, this holiday is great for making and eating sweet treats! It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone but food is definitely my favorite way to celebrate a holiday. My typical go-to is cake or cookies but I wanted to change it up this year. One of the things I love about these truffles is that you can customize them just by changing up the flavor of liqueur. I know we just finished up Christmas and all of its peppermint glory but who says we can’t use that flavor all year round? I absolutely love peppermint with dark chocolate so I went for it! I also wanted to do something more unique for a white chocolate flavor which brought me to horchata. You could make these truffles as a gift for your valentine but you could also just treat yourself – you deserve it!

Tips:

If you aren’t much of a drinker, don’t invest in a full-size bottle of liqueur. Just skim the section of single serving bottles (you know, like the tiny bottles they have on airplanes or in hotel minibars).
The white chocolate filling is a bit sticky and challenging to work with. Do yourself a favor and leave them in the freezer right up until you are ready to dip them in the dark chocolate coating. You could even pull just a few out at a time as you go. Trust me, they are worth the extra effort though!

Boozy Truffles

Dark Chocolate Filling:

¾ cup dark chocolate chips

1/3 cup heavy cream

2 Tablespoons liqueur – I used a peppermint coffee flavor

White Chocolate Filling:

1 cup dark chocolate chips

1/3 cup heavy cream

2 Tablespoons liqueur – I used an horchata flavor

Dark Chocolate Coating:

1 ½ cups dark chocolate chips

1 ½ teaspoons vegetable oil

Decorative garnish – I used crushed peppermint pieces and gold colored sugar sprinkles

Directions:

For dark chocolate filling, place chocolate chips in a medium heat safe bowl. In a heavy saucepan, bring cream to a low boil. Pour cream over chocolate chips and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk liqueur into cream and chocolate mixture until mixture is blended together and smooth. Cover bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 1 day. Repeat this process for the white chocolate filling.

Once fillings are chilled, shape into 1 inch balls then place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Place in freezer for 1 hour.

For the dark chocolate coating, place chocolate chips and vegetable oil in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until completely melted.

One at a time, dip chilled ball of filling into coating mixture, making sure each one is completely coated. Place each truffle back onto the parchment paper lined cookie sheet and sprinkle with decorative garnish. Once all truffles are garnished, refrigerate until coating is set or you are ready to serve them.

PUMPKIN PECAN PIE

November 21, 2017 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

Thanksgiving is all about sharing a meal with those you are thankful for. I’ve lived all over the place so spending time with family by blood is not alway an option for this holiday. However, I have been incredibly blessed to make friends who are dear enough to be called family. Some I had known for years before being invited, others I had only known for a few months. Regardless of the age of friendship, it is incredible to gather around a table and express gratitude. Even in years that life has brought challenges, ESPECIALLY when life has brought challenges, there is plenty to be thankful for. A roof over my head, friends/family to lean on or celebrate with, food on the table (even if not in abundance). I hope that this year, you will be spending time with loved ones and celebrating the wins and/or overcoming the losses of the year together.

While I haven’t been a life long pumpkin lover, I knew I needed to try this recipe from my grandmother’s recipe box. What a joy to have her with me in spirit as I made this pie for friends. This pie is the perfect balance of both pumpkin and pecan. For those of you who can’t decide between the two flavors, this is your solution!!! Grandma also gets bonus points for this recipe because it is so amazingly easy. The hardest part is getting it into the oven without spilling the filling. Check out the tips below for help with that.

Tips

If you are using pre-made pie crust that is in an aluminum tin, place it on a baking sheet before pouring the filling in and keep it on the baking sheet even while baking it. The tin is flimsy enough that it is easy to spill the filling while transferring it to the oven if you don’t have the support of the baking sheet.
If you are using a roll-out pre-made pie crust and placing it in your own glass/metal pie dish, go ahead and put a baking sheet in the oven on the bottom shelf. If you happen to have any filling bubble over the edge of the crust the baking sheet will catch it and save you from a mess in your oven.

For those wanting to be more decorative with the pie, you can customize your crust by imprinting the edges with items you can find in your own kitchen. For this one, I used the handle of a measuring spoon so get those cute little dots. You can absolutely sprinkle the pecan pieces all over the top. I chose to make a circle out of the nuts near the crust edge before sprinkling the rest.

Print Recipe

PUMPKIN PECAN PIE

Why choose between pumpkin and pecan when you can have both? This pie is the perfect marriage of both flavors and is incredibly easy to make.

Course: Dessert

Keyword: Dessert, Pecan, Pie, Pumpkin

Servings: 8 slices

Ingredients

1 unbaked 9" pie crust
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
15 oz canned pumpkin
1 cup dark corn syrup
2 Tablespoons butter melted and cooled
1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. If using a roll out pie crust, unroll it and place it in a pie dish. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, pumpkin, corn syrup and butter. Pour mixture into pie crust. Top with chopped pecans. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until filling does not jiggle. Once cooled, serve topped with whipped cream.

*Original source of this recipe is unknown. Directions are slightly modified from my grandmother’s recipe card.

Strawberry Pastry

September 17, 2017 by Sarah Baade 2 Comments

God bless the person who decided pastries were an ideal breakfast food! Can I get an “AMEN”??? That sweet, carb loaded goodness might not actually be part of a healthy, balanced diet but it certainly does give me motivation to actually eat breakfast. My eyes don’t exactly light up the same way when presented with a bowl of plain oatmeal.

Homemade pastry is particularly delicious but it is also time consuming. I don’t have a lot of spare time these days so I fully embrace the pre-made puff pastry sheets found in my local grocer’s freezer section. Slice it, shape it, fill it and you’ll have beautiful little delights that fit in the palm of your hand. Whether you want to share these treats with friends is totally optional – I’ll admit I ate most of these myself.

Tips:

Be sure to pull the pastry sheets out of the freezer ahead of time. It takes about 30-40 minutes to thaw out.
The strawberry mixture will end up with some juice in the bowl. Try to avoid scooping the juice onto your pastries as it will leak out and get a bit messy.

Strawberry Pastry

Ingredients:

16oz strawberries, sliced

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon corn starch

1 tablespoon orange zest

17.3oz package puff pastry sheets, thawed

Glaze:

2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a bowl, combine strawberry slices, orange zest, sugar and corn starch.

Cut each sheet of puff pastry into 9 squares. For each square, gently fold diagonally in half to form a triangle. With a sharp knife, slice dough ¼ inch from each edge – slices should not quite meet at the corner. Unfold triangle, you will have two L shapes framing an inner square. Fold the corner of one L over to the opposite corner of the square. Do the same with the other L. Dough will now have a diamond shape. Fill inside of diamond with strawberry mixture. Repeat folding and filling process for each square of dough.

Place each filled pastry on lined cookie sheet. Back for 15 minutes or until pastry begins to turn light golden brown. Let cool completely.

For the glaze, whisk orange juice and powdered sugar with a fork. Gradually add milk until glaze has reached desired consistency. Drizzle glaze over pastries.

Fruit Bruschetta

August 5, 2017 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

I love hitting up my local farmer’s market for seasonal produce and I love hosting friends at my house for tasty eats. The best is when these two loves come together with an easy recipe that is dressed to impress. When hitting up the farmer’s market, I often browse for what looks enticing and create a dish from the ingredients found rather than coming in with specific ingredients to find. This has resulted in me being more creative in the kitchen but has also expanded my palette. When you find a golden baguette and perfectly ripe berries you can’t walk away empty handed. For this recipe, I ultimately combined fresh finds with what I already had in my kitchen – goat cheese, mint, plums and honey. Listen, I like fresh but I also hate to waste so I’m all about using what is already on hand too.

This fruit bruschetta is light and flavorful but it is also so easy to make. It is ideal for entertaining and could be used as an appetizer, a dessert or even a snack.

Tips:

This recipe highlights using seasonal fruit. If you can’t find plums, substitute them for blueberries, pomegranate seeds, or whatever seasonal berry you can find.
Watch the bread slices closely in the oven, it is all too easy to accidently burn them. The goal is for the bread slices to be lightly toasted on each side.

Fruit Bruschetta

Ingredients:

Ciabatta baguette

8oz goat cheese (softened)

1 Tablespoon fresh mint, chopped

1 cup raspberries, washed

1 cup blackberries, washed

1 cup plums, washed and sliced

Honey for drizzling

Directions:

Set your oven to Broil.

Slice baguette diagonally into ½” thick slices. Lay out the slices of bread on a cookie sheet and place in the oven for 1 minute or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven, flip each slice of bread over and place back in oven for 1 minute or until lightly golden. Remove cookie sheet from oven and let bread slices cool completely.

In a bowl, combine goat cheese and chopped mint leaves. Spread goat cheese onto bread slices (be generous, it’s delicious!). Top with fruit as desired then drizzle with honey.