http://www.marthastewart….d-cream-cookies

My last baking feat for my last day of work. They have all said they will miss my baking so I thought I’d bring something on my last day. Plus the week after a holiday weekend is always super busy so a sweet treat always helps to make the day a bit easier.

I decided to try this recipe for Blueberry and Cream Cookies but with some changes because I didn’t have all the ingredients. I followed some of the substitutions recommended in the comments on the Martha Stewart website.

Ingredients

* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (used whole wheat flour)
* 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 teaspoons salt (used 1 tsp as recommended by others because 2 tsp made the cookies too salty according to the comments)
* 1 cup (8 ounces) Plugra European-style unsalted butter (used regular unsalted butter)
* 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
* 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons light-brown sugar
* 1/4 cup glucose (used agave syrup)
* 1 large egg
* 3/4 cup dried blueberries (used 1 cup blueberry preserves)
* 1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup Milk Crumbs (used 1 cup white chocolate chips but recipe for Milk Crumbs available online at Martha Stewart website)

Directions

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix together butter, sugars, and glucose until well combined. Add egg and mix until well combined.
3. Add flour mixture and mix until well combined. Add blueberries and milk crumbs and mix until well combined. Using an ice cream scoop about 2 1/8 inches in diameter, scoop dough into balls and place about 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Transfer baking sheets to refrigerator until dough is chilled, about 15 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to oven and bake, rotating pans halfway through baking, until cookies are golden brown and tops begin to crackle, about 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

I think the cookies came out a bit too sweet so I would reduce the amount of sugars and/or agave syrup (or glucose if following the recipe). One day I’ll have to try the Milk Crumbs recipe to see what they actually are like but since I had white chocolate chips, that’s what I used and it turned out fine. The cookies are pretty dense and cake-like and seem to go well with a cup of coffee or tea (to even out the sweetness). Because I used blueberry preserves, the coloring of the cookies were not that great looking but still tasted good.

Not sure how much I will be baking once baby is born but I’m hoping he will want to join me in the kitchen once he’s old enough.

http://www.marthastewart….est-marble-cake

I tried another recipe from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook.

Marble Cake

Ingredients

Makes one 9-by-5-inch loaf

* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
* 1 3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup sugar (used light brown sugar)
* 3 large eggs, room temperature
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 2/3 cup buttermilk, room temperature
* 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan; set aside. Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix in vanilla. Add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the buttermilk and beginning and ending with the flour. Set aside 1/3 of the batter.
3. In a bowl, mix cocoa and 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water with a rubber spatula until smooth. Add the cocoa mixture to the reserved cake batter; stir until well combined.
4. Spoon batters into the prepared pan in 2 layers, alternating spoonfuls of vanilla and chocolate to simulate a checkerboard. To create marbling, run a table knife (or wooden skewer) through the batters in a swirling motion.
5. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until a cake tester comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Transfer pan to a rack to cool 10 minutes. Turn out cake from pan and cool completely on the rack. Cake can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

The cake came out really dense, the chocolate part almost like a fudge but simple and yummy.