Desserts for Dudes: That's Some Pig!

Cuts of meat: the only way to make a pink, decorated cookie look manly.

When I saw this cookie cutter on etsy, I knew I must have it.  (I bought the cow, too.)


I toyed with the idea of baking up a chocolate-bacon cut-out cookie, but I really wanted these to be pink.  For the pink, you can either tint your cookie dough pink with food coloring, or use a pink dough.  I used some leftover watermelon cookie dough, but I will say, it's a little disconcerting eating a watermelon-flavored pig.

The cookie cutter really does all of the decorating work for you.  The imprints are nice and deep and remain throughout baking.

When cutting, though, some of the smaller sections wanted to stick in the cookie cutter.  I nudged them out with a chopstick.  You can see a little of it here...

...I think it's ok, though.

To decorate, I used a #3 tip and white royal icing.

Bada-bing. Bada-boom. Done.

Sooie!  Here piggy, piggy!!!

Buttercream and Cookie Shortcakes

I mean, really....who says strawberry shortcake has to include whipped cream and cake? 
(Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

 

This recipe was definitely inspired by Amanda's beautiful red velvet cookie shortcakes. I saw them on her blog last year and they imprinted onto my brain. 

If you're looking for an easy and delicious and patriotic dessert for Independence Day this year, look no further.

Also, can we make cookies and buttercream a thing?  As in...remember the cabbage soup diet?  I propose a cookies and buttercream diet.  I might already be on day three.  Haven't lost any weight, but I am so, so happy.

Bake the cookies ahead of time, whip up a simple American buttercream, toss some summer strawberries with a little brown sugar...layer them all up and you have a beautiful red, white, and blue dessert.

{Don't you love slicing strawberries and tossing them with sugar?  They become glossy and beautiful, and make their own little syrup. Try these on your oatmeal with some Greek yogurt...once you're finished with the cookies and buttercream diet, that is.}

Layer....

....EAT.

You'll find the recipe over at Imperial Sugar.
{Feel free to omit the blue food coloring and serve them ANY time of year!}

I heart watermelon...not really.

I admit it.  I don't like watermelon.
{Are we still friends?}

What if I told you that I like watermelon-FLAVORED food?  Are we friends again?

I made you some watermelon-flavored cut-out cookies...they're so yummy and the prettiest pink color. 

They're decorated up really simply, so you can whip up a batch quickly and bring them along on a summer picnic without much fuss.

I'm blogging about them over at Parade.  Come on over, grab the recipe, the tutorial...and a little more watermelon-dislike confession.  Ah, I feel so much better now.

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Desserts for Dudes: Peanut Butter Swirl Chocolate Chip Blondies

If I want a sure-fire dessert hit with my boys, I know exactly the combo to go to: peanut butter and chocolate.

Enter Averie Sunshine's book, Peanut Butter Comfort.  It arrived on my doorstep a few weeks ago and I've been salivating over the more than 100 recipes and gorgeous pictures every since.  I'm talking, you'll want to eat peanut butter for every meal for the rest of your life recipes.

If you have a peanut butter lover in your life, I cannot recommend this cookbook highly enough.

Because June is Desserts for Dudes month around here, I let kiddo pick our first recipe to try.  (I also let him choose because I truly wanted to make ALL of them.)

He choose the Peanut Butter Swirl Chocolate Chip Blondies...and oh. my. gosh.  They are dreamy.  Rich, creamy, delicious.

Peanut Butter Swirl Chocolate Chip Blondies
{from Peanut Butter Comfort, with permission of Averie Sunshine}

yield: 9 large squares

1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted 
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup chocolate chips, divided
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350.  Line an 8x8" pan with foil and spray with cooking spray; set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the melted butter and brown sugar.  Add the egg and vanilla and stir to combine.  Add the flour and stir just until combined, taking care not to overmix.

Fold in 3/4 cups chocolate chips. Pour batter into the prepared pan, smoothing with an offset spatula if needed.

Melt the peanut butter in the microwave for about 45 seconds, on high power, and stir until smooth.  Evenly drizzle the peanut butter over the batter.  Run a knife through the batter, back and forth a few times, to marble it. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips over the top.

Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until the edges begin to slightly pull away from the pan.  The peanut butter won't appear fully done but will set up as the blondies cool.

Allow the bars to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.  Store blondies in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Averie, thanks for letting me share your recipe! 

The rest of you guys...get in your kitchen this instant and make these beauties!  (I'll admit that was a little bossy, but DO IT!)

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Desserts for Dudes: Blueberry Cheesecake Pie

It's true.  Men prefer pie over cake.  And by "men," I mean my husband and my dad, but I feel pretty safe making that generalization based on these two people.

I'm fairly certain that's why there are new and contradictory "studies" in the news every other day.  Who knows what to believe anymore?  Here's what we can believe in: pie.

{Oh, there are cookies involved, too.}

This pie combines two of Mr. E's dessert loves...cheesecake and pie.  Win, win.

Speaking of Mr. E, I told him that he'd have to check the blog this week for another Father's Day present.  The truth is...I really don't treat him as nicely as I should.  This man who is a wonderful father to kiddo...just the right mix of disciplinarian and goofball.  This man who is a devoted and loving husband.  A man who washes the dishes EVERY NIGHT.  A man who has spent hours (days? weeks?) of his life listening to me complain about the deleterious effects of humidity on curly hair.  A man who knows the names behind the blogs I love, and listens while I read their blog posts aloud and describe every recipe.

Here I am with a baking blog, and I rarely make his favorite dessert....pie.  That's no way to treat the man you love!  Well, here's your extra Father's Day gift, Mr. E.  One pie each month for one year. 

{I wonder if he thought I was going to say "sports car?"}

Blueberry Cheesecake Pie

for the crust:
1 & 1/2 cups crushed gingersnaps
2 TBSP sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, melted

for the filling:
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

for the topping:
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 & 1/2 TBSP cornstarch mixed with 2 TBSP water

Preheat oven to 325.

Stir the crust ingredients together.

Press into a 9" pie pan.  Bake for 8 minutes; remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth.  Add in the lemon, vanilla, and eggs; beat until combined thoroughly.

Pour into the baked crust and bake for 25 minutes, just until set.  Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Meanwhile, combine the blueberries, water and sugar in a medium saucepan.

Bring to a boil.  Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring halfway through.  Stir in the cornstarch/water mixture, increase the heat and return to a boil.  Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from the heat and let cool.

Spoon the thickened berries over the cooled cheesecake filling.  Chill for at least one hour before serving.  Store in the refrigerator.

(adapted from Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library Pies and Tarts, 1992)

Is YOUR dude a cake guy or pie man? 

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Desserts for Dudes: Bacon-Banana Pancakes with Buttery Bourbon Maple Syrup

You can bring home the bacon, 
Fry it up in a pan,
And then add it to some pancake batter,
Just because you can...

{If you are younger than 30, please ignore the above. Thirty and up? I expect you to be strutting through the house holding a frying pan and spritzing perfume right now.}

OK...so these are not "dessert," but we're using the term loosely here.

MAKE THESE for your hubby or dad this Father's Day.  
I'M NOT KIDDING.

Bananas, bacon, bourbon, maple syrup?  Total dude pancakes.
(In case you're wondering, I may have eaten four after taking the pictures. With extra syrup.)

(Also, I felt I was channeling Jessica while baking with bourbon...the girl is onto something.)

 ***update: Jessica totally posted bacon pancakes with bourbon syrup today, too! Did I tell you I was channeling her, or what!?!?***

Bacon-Banana Pancakes with Buttery Bourbon Maple Syrup

yield: 12 pancakes

for the pancakes:

8 slices bacon

1 egg

1 cup mashed, ripe banana

2 TBSP packed light brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 TBSP bacon grease

for the syrup:

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1 TBSP bourbon

1 TBSP salted butter

Fry the bacon in a skillet until crispy. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve 2 tablespoons bacon grease for the pancakes. Once cool enough to handle, break the bacon into pieces.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg for one minute.  Add in all of the remaining pancake ingredients, whisking until just combined. Allow the batter to sit for several minutes to help the flour to absorb into the liquid without over-whisking.

Heat a non-stick griddle to 350 degrees, or heat a skillet on the stove and coat with butter. Ladle 1/4-cup size scoops of batter onto the griddle. Place a few pieces of bacon onto the top of each poured pancake.

Let the pancakes cook for a few minutes on each side, until done.

Meanwhile, heat the maple syrup, bourbon, and butter in a saucepan over low heat.

Serve the pancakes with butter and the warm bourbon syrup.

Do it!  For your dude...'cause you're a woooooman, Enjoli! ;)

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Brusha, brusha, brusha: Brush Embroidery Cookie Tutorial

First, for all of you who thought immediately of Jan in Grease when you read that post title, I love you.
Here's a clip.

{Brush embroidery cookies look so romantic, almost like they belong in Victoria Magazine.}

Over the last couple of weeks, my dining room and kitchen tables have been covered in cookies.  Pint glasses filled with piping bags have collected on the kitchen counter.  We were eating a lot of take-out...and ice cream. (That has absolutely nothing to do with cookie decorating, but it happened.)

This is how things typically run at the end of a school year.  I even tried the ol', "I bet your teachers would like gift cards instead of cookies this year."  Kiddo was having none of it.

So, in my mad rush to make and package cookies, I neglected to photograph any tutorials.  I popped a quick picture onto Instagram and, well, the masses spoke.  OK...3 people spoke, but I decided to take some quick how-to pics.

Here's what you need to know about brush embroidery: IT'S SUPER DUPER EASY!!!  I think the first time I ever saw it was a Ali Bee's beautiful blog.  I used a method almost exactly like hers except, I used a damp brush.

To make brush embroidery cookies, you'll need:

• sugar cookies that have been outlined and filled with royal icing, and have dried overnight (I used a mix of AmeriColor Dusty Rose + Lemon Yellow for the base color.)
• royal icing for the embroidery, I used AmeriColor Ivory (piping consistency) 
• disposable icing bag
• coupler and tip (#2)
• clean, flat paintbrush
• cup of water
• paper towels

{Please note that I had already decorated all of the cookies BEFORE taking pictures for this tutorial. I scraped all of the brush embroidery off of one cookie to show you. Hence, the weird finish on the base.}

Use a #2 tip to pipe squiggly lines as an outer layer of petals.

Dampen the brush with water, then blot very well on a paper towel.  Place the brush right into the icing and pull towards the center.

Make another layer,

and then another.

In the center, pipe some dots for the flower center.

Done.  See?  EASY!

And, who says brush embroidery has to be soft and pastel?

Who wants to try it?!?

{Some of the links above are Amazon Associates links.}

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