Perfect High Altitude Cookie Base

When we moved from 0 to 4,700 ft above sea level six years ago, it was a bit of a baking culture shock! Long story short, I spent a LOT of time reading, experimenting, calling foodie friends, swearing, you name it, and after a couple years got back on my game. 

As for cookies, I spent about two years tweaking my used-to-be-perfect-at-sea-level-cookie recipe so you don't have to go through the hundreds and batches and delicious calories that I did (hey, someone had to do it. You're welcome).  

I use this base all the time as a starter for cookies--add a 1 1/2 cups of your favorite mix-ins and you're ready to roll.  Current favorite is Raspberry Dark Chocolate Chunk!! (Just make sure you use dried raspberries instead of fresh, they'll ruin your cookie texture.  You can find dried raspberries at Trader Joe's or Wal-Mart).

No-Fail High Altitude Cookie Base
(I usually double the recipe, but I'm not the boss of you)

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (I prefer vanilla bean paste if you can find it)
2 3/4 cups white flour
1 1/2 cups mix-ins (chocolate chips, dried fruit, nuts, etc)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Cream butter and sugars.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each.  Add Soda, salt, and vanilla.  Add flour and mix well.  Add mix-ins. Drop by heaping teaspoon (or use cookie scoop) onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat mat.  Bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes, until edges are barely brown.  Remove from oven and let sit on cookie sheet for 3-5 minutes to cool and set.  

Notes: For Dark Chocolate Chunk Raspberry cookies, use 3/4 c. dried raspberries and 3/4 c. dark chocolate chunks.

Back to the Future Cake

Great Scott!!

Is it really 10/21/2015?

I haven't been posting much except on Social Media but couldn't let today go by without a Back to the Future Cake!  So, grab three (yes, THREE) ingredients and let's go on a culinary adventure...no need to put your shoes on, where we're going we don't need roads.

Doc's Tab Soda & Toffee Chocolate Dump Cake

Ingredients:
1 Can TAB Soda (or any soda)

1/2 cup Toffee Bits
1 box Betty Crocker Triple Fudge Cake Mix
Icing (optional) or Whipped Cream, for garnish

Directions:
I'm almost embarrassed at how easy this is.  Preheat Oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9 x 13 cake pan.  In a medium bowl, combine cake mix and soda, pour into pan.

 Sprinkle toffee bits over cake batter.  Bake 35-40 minutes until set.

It's delicious served up just like this w/ a little whipped cream!

OR

Since this was ridiculously easy, if you want to you can get crazy and frost the cake "Welcome Home Uncle Joey" style.

If you want to download and print this DeLorean Time Clock, click on the image below or HERE.
Have fun and The Future is YOURS, make it amazing!!

St. Patrick's Goodies & Giveaway

Top o' the mornin'! We've got lots of fun St. Patrick's Day ideas here (we love the Irish Potato Candy) and we'll be whipping up more fun later this week.

In the meantime, we haven't done a giveaway in awhile and our friends at McCormick offered to send TWO lucky Gourmet Mom readers a St. Patrick's Day Prize Pack with all the ingredients you'll need to make your day extra special!   

TO ENTER:
For fun, simply leave a comment telling us which green guy you'd rather kiss on St. Patrick's Day:
Kermit the Frog

OR

Jolly Green Giant

Time's up!  The winners, via random.org, are:
Comment #20 and #29!
Mandy and Caryn, congratulations!
I have sent you and email or note on your blog, please send your mailing address asap.

Did you know McCormick's website has all kinds of fabulous St. Paddy's goodies that you can whip up this week?  Here are a few of our favorites...
Luck o' the Irish Cake Pops

Emerald Mint Milkshake

Easy Green Velvet Cupcakes

Green with Envy Cheesecake Bars

Pin It

Camping Cookies

We are gearing up for Big C's Camping Birthday Party tomorrow! (No, we're not camping, just doing all the fun things that go with it). We'll be featuring a lot of the goodies and games but first I wanted to give you a sneek peek of the cookies that Kay from Rollin in Dough made for the party...Wow! Is she talented or what?! The good news for all you party animals is that she DOES ship her cookies & you can check out her Etsy shop here.
We'll be back soon with more party details and lots of fun "camping" goodies and games!

Raspberry Chocolate Magic Shell

How about some homemade Raspberry Chocolate Magic Shell topping for you and your sweetie this Valentines Day?...

If you don't know what Magic Shell ice cream topping is, it's a liquid topping that becomes a hard shell when you pour it on ice cream. Yum! So we decided to make our own homemade version. It's incredibly easy and soooooo tasty! It only takes a few ingredients and a microwave...

You could even put it in a cute jar and give as a gift! We devoured ours before I could do anything that cute, though.;)

Raspberry Chocolate Magic Shell
Ingredients:
16 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
12 oz. coconut oil
1/4 c. raspberry syrup
3-4 drops raspberry oil

Notes: I found the coconut oil at our local health food store. You can get coconut oil refined or unrefined. Either one works--unrefined will give you a slightly coconutty flavor. You can find raspberry syrup by the regular pancake syrups in your grocery store.

Directions:
Combine all ingredients except flavoring oil in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 60 seconds on high power, remove and stir. Microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until ingredients are melted and combined. Stir in 3-4 drops raspberry oil or 5-6 drops raspberry flavoring. Store in a sealed container at room temperature (do not refrigerate!). If it hardens, simply microwave for 20 seconds before serving.

To serve, pour over your favorite ice cream...

You know, I think I'd like a little more...

Mmm....getting better...
That's more like it!...

Warning: this liquid lusciousness has been known to cause serious romance. Use at your own discretion!

Jennie Garth & Pillsbury Pies!

I had a really fun surprise this morning--I was asked if I'd like to interview Jennie Garth via Skype about cooking, baking, family and how we moms can keep it all together.

I must admit that I didn't know what to expect from her since she is incredibly busy and has three girls at home. Well, let me tell you that even though this woman is a celebrity, she makes sure she is home and mentally present for her kids every day after school. They also spend lots of time together in the kitchen. Jennie, I'm so glad you made the choice to make your family your top priority and I love that you don't let business interfere with your family time.

Jennie, you said that creamy pies are your favorite,
so I thought I'd repost our very favorite, cute-as-a-button
Apple Surprise Mini Pies
(using Pillsbury Pie Crusts!)
The surprise is that there's a cheesecake layer beneath the apples! But, since they're mini-sized & baked in little jars, the calories don't count.:)

Click here for the full recipe. Jennie had some great tips for baking with your family. She said premade crusts, like Pillsbury Rerigerated Pie Crusts are a favorite because they're easy--she likes to K.I.S.S. (Keep it Simple, Stupid!). They have blackberry bushes in their yard and she also freezes seasonal produce so you can make a fabulous filling.

In fact, her oldest daughter likes to go in the kitchen herself and whip up Blackberry Pies! Then, apparently, she hides them so no one else gets any (smart girl!).

Another fun tip that she's done for years with her girls is to let them make "mini cinnamon rolls" with the leftover pie crust pieces. I've let the kids sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on them but never thought of actually letting the kids roll them up and cutting them in slices to make adorable little rolls. LOVE IT! We'll be doing that next time we whip up a pie!

Finally, when you're entertaining or anytime, don't try to overachieve. Have fun cooking and being with your family and try not to get too complicated. Wise words, indeed! Thanks for the great chat today, Jennie, we'll enjoy using your tips as we head into the Baking Season! We're giving one GourmetMom reader a "Love the Pie!" Prize pack!
Go here to leave a comment and enter.
Happy Baking!

Disclosure: I was given the chance to interview Jennie through Pillsbury and MyBlogSpark. I was not compensated in any for this post. All opinions, as always, are my own.

Orange Cup Cinnamon Rolls

I love food that does "double duty" like my Wiggly Watermelon. This time, we used orange halves to make these adorable & quick cinnamon rolls! Aren't they fun?

They'd be a perfect "back to school" breakfast!

Orange Cup Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients:
Oranges
Refrigerator Biscuits (the small kind)
Cinnamon
Sugar
Butter, melted
Cream Cheese Icing

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Slice oranges half.

Scoop out orange flesh, place in bowl to eat (or eat while you're cooking!:)). Pat orange halves with a paper towel to remove excess moisture.
Open a can of biscuits and roll out on counter to about 5" diameter. Brush with melted butter.
Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, according to your taste.
Roll out a second biscuit, place on top and repeat the butter/sugar/cinnamon.
Starting at one end, roll up biscuits. Pinch sides to seal.
Look really adorable with your front tooth missing (optional)...
Place roll in a hollowed out orange cup. Repeat until you've made the desired amount of rolls.
Bake at 375 degrees for 15-25 minutes, until rolls are golden brown (baking time will vary depending on the moisture in your oranges). Do not underbake! Make sure to take a fork and peek at the bottom of your rolls before removing from the oven. Frost with your favorite cream cheese icing (we even added a little orange juice, yummy!) and sprinkle with orange zest (optional). Enjoy!

Passion Fruit Panna Cotta

I'd love to give a huge shout-out to the people who inspired my kitchen creativity from a very young age: Gourmet Grandpa & Grandma!
I have a special treat for you! Gourmet Grandma & Grandpa are guest posting this week with their favorite spin on dishes from their favorite Disney restaurant! You can see where I got my love of creating in the kitchen and having fun. I love you, mom and dad!

Passion Fruit Panna Cotta from Gourmet Grandpa!

One of the joys of traveling is to try new foods, then see if you can recreate your favorites at home. On our recent trip to the Boma restaurant at Disney World, Gourmet Grandpa was quite taken with the Passion Fruit Panna Cotta - in fact before the evening was over he was taken several extra trips back to the dessert bar for more.

It turns out this has to be one of the simplest dessert recipes anyone could imagine. Here's how we recreated them:

Ingredients:
1 packet unflavored gelatin
3 Tbs. water
3/4 c. heavy cream
1 can frozen passion fruit juice (or your favorite tropical juice)
Wafer or sandwich cookies

Instructions:
In a small bowl, dissolve one packet of gelatin in 3 tablespoons of water. In a saucepan, combine 3/4 cups of cream with one can of frozen passion fruit juice and add the dissolved gelatin.

Heat and stir the mixture until the gelatin is dissolved and the mixture is creamy (no need to boil). That's it!
This is a really rich dessert, so you might want to try small servings. You could pour the mixture into a tartlet pan (like a small cupcake pan) or into small bowls or glasses. Chill for several hours before serving (or if you're in a hurry you can use the Colorado quick chill method shown:)).

Another serving idea is to take Oreo or other sandwich cookies, scrape the frosting out of the middle, and use the cookies to make an hors d'oeuvres style dessert. Enjoy!

Apple Surprise Mini Pies

When trying to eat right, no need to always skip dessert, just make it fabulous and an appropriate size. So, how about these adorable
Apple Surprise Mini Pies

The surprise? There's actually a cheesecake layer beneath the apple pie filling!

How cute would these be as end-of-the-year Teacher gifts? We used half pint jars but you could use ramekins or whatever else you want.

Apple Surprise Mini Pies
makes 12

Ingredients:

1 3/4 C. (1 package) Graham Crackers
1/3 C. butter, melted
24 oz. (3 pkg) Philadelphia Cream Cheese
3/4 C. sweetened condensed milk
2/3 C. white sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cans apple pie filling

2 Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crusts
12 half pint canning jars or ramekins
Drinking glass (a little larger than your jar lids), to cut out crust

Directions:
Place graham crackers in ziploc bag and crush. I think this was the kids' favorite part. Wham! Wham! Wham!

Pour melted butter into baggie with graham crackers and shake to mix well. Place 2 heaping tablespoons of graham cracker mixture into bottom of a half pint jar and carefully spread around.
For cheesecake layer, beat cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Add sugar, eggs, vanilla, and lemon juice and mix well. Place 1/3 c. of cream cheese mixture into each jar.
Fill jars to the top with apple pie filling (about 1/2 C).

Unroll pie crust. Find a drinking glass or round cookie cutter that is about 1/2" larger than your jar lid and cut out 4 circles. Re-roll remaing dough and cut out 2 more circles. Repeat with other pie crust. If desired, cut small slits or a little shape in the middle of your crust.
Place one cutout crust on each jar and pinch edges to resemble a pie crust. Finish with a light dusting of white sugar.
Place on a cookie sheet (just in case any of them leak, you don't want to clean that out of your oven!) and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes until pie crusts are browned. I came back in the kitchen to find these two little bakers waiting veeeeeery patiently for their pies to come out of the oven... Remove from oven. Tie a small ribbon around each jar, if desired, and serve. I can't wait to make these for our next sit-down dinner, they'd be adorable served to each guest for dessert!
A note: if you aren't serving these within an hour or so, you should refrigerate them. They're also fabulous right out of the fridge, we had some for breakfast.:)