No Chill Soft Sugar Cookies

I tried a new recipe this year. As much as I love the recipe I usually use, I don't have the time or energy to pre-plan the dough, wait a day for it to chill, etc. I wanted something quick and easy but still delicious. This was it! Bao and Mike both like the texture of this dough more than the usual. I still think the other is more "pillowy" but maybe I have to make both and we can do a side by side tasting?

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup butter, softened
• 1 Cup granulated white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 cups all purpose flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. In the bowl of your mixer cream butter and sugar until smooth.
3. Beat in extracts and eggs.
4. In a separate bowl combine baking powder with flour and add a little at a time to the wet ingredients. The dough will be very stiff. If it becomes too stiff for your mixer turn out the dough onto a countertop surface. Wet your hands and finish off kneading the dough by hand.
5. DO NOT CHILL THE DOUGH. Divide into workable batches, roll out onto a floured surface and cut. You want these cookies to be on the thicker side (closer to 1/4 inch rather than 1/8).
6. Bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet until firm enough to transfer to a cooling rack.

Original recipe and images © In Katrina's Kitchen 

Make boxed cake mix taste close to homemade

Found this tip online and definitely am using it!

To any boxed cake mix you can add/substitute:

• add an extra egg
• substitute the water called for in the recipe with milk {same amount as is called for}
• substitute the oil called for in the recipe with melted butter {same amount as is called for}
• add a small box of instant pudding {added with the cake mix}
• add extract {1 teaspoon of your favorite extract}

Follow the instructions on the box.
These alternatives add a little more of a rich taste and improves the texture.
You can try some substitutions/additions or all - give it a try and see what you think!

Mom's shrimp and crab bruschetta

I don't know what to call this appetizer but since its something delicious topped on a slice of baguette, I went with bruschetta. I hope I didn't offend anyone with that decision! This Valentine's day I volunteered to cook dinner however with V-day being on a Thursday, I needed a meal that was quick, but still delicious and festive. Momma Ngo to the rescue! I don't have exact proportions of my ingredients because.. Well... I was winging it.

Ingredients:

1/4 lb of shrimp
1 can of crab meat
Mayo (I used some fancy alternative from whole foods)
Garlic
Onions
Italian parsley
Pecorino Romano cheese
Red pepper flakes
Salt
Pepper



Instructions:

1. Clean and devein shrimp. Chop into small pieces
2. Sauté the shrimp pieces with butter, garlic and onions. Salt and pepper to taste.
3. Combine your cooked shrimp and crab meat in a mixing bowl with finely chopped parsley.
4. Add grated pecorino romano
5. Add enough mayo to bind this mixture together so it can sit on top of your bread.
6. Cut baguette into 1 in slices and lightly olive oil each side.
7. Spoon the crab mixture onto each slice
8. Top it with more pecorino
9. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 8 minutes or when the cheese on top has melted and you can see some golden edges on the crab mixture
10. Top with more chopped parsley

I'd recommend adding lemon to the mix if you're not using the lemony mayo alternative I used... Enjoy!

Pistachio Bundt Cake

My friend Hong made this super moist pistachio bundt cake that I loved but I had to modify it since Brooke does not like chocolate (hers has chocolate chips in it). I found another recipe that the family enjoyed on Allrecipes.com. Moist, light and easy to make:

Ingredients:

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix (I used Betty Crocker French vanilla cake mix)
• 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant pistachio pudding mix 
• 4 eggs 
• 1 1/2 cups water 
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil 
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 
• 7 drops green food coloring (optional) 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan.
2. In a large bowl mix together cake mix and pudding mix. Make a well in the center and pour in eggs, water, oil, almond extract and green food coloring. Blend ingredients, then beat for 2 minutes at medium speed.
3. Pour into prepared 10 inch tube pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes, or until cake springs back when lightly pressed. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Jacques Torres' Secret Chocolate Chip Cookie

I saw this on Pinterest and took the holiday break to make all the stuff I wanted to try. I started with chocolate chip cookies because I have a recipe that tastes great but doesn't look like as nice as I would like it. This recipe looks and tastes great. Mike says it's the best cookie I've ever made to date. So here it is, Jacques Torres' Chocolate Chip cookies:

Makes twenty-six 5-inch cookies or 8 1/2 dozen 1 1/4-inch cookie.

Ingredients
1 pound unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
4 large eggs
3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour
3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 pounds bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats; set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Reduce speed to low and add both flours, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and chocolate; mix until well combined.
- Using a 4-ounce scoop for larger cookies or a 1-ounce scoop for smaller cookies, scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.
- Bake until lightly browned, but still soft, about 20 minutes for larger cookies and about 15 minutes for smaller cookies.
- Cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Tips:
1. It took 20 minutes in my oven for my cookies to be golden on top.
2. I used an ice cream scooper and to prep the dough and put them in the refrigerator for a day before baking them to have them look pretty and wrinkly like a bakery cookie.
3. I added 1 1/2 cup of walnuts to mine. I like nuts in my cookies.