SUZIE SWEET TOOTH

Cakes, Treats, and Everything Sweet

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    • Lemon Bars

      Lemon Bars

      Mr. Craigg, how happy are we that you have a bountiful lemon tree

      Growing all happily in sunshine and degree of 70

      I’m so thankful that you have a daughter that works with me

      Who is more than willing to bestow your citrus o’ bounty on thee

      Mr. Craigg, I don’t know how you do it, growing that lovely lemon tree

      I think you must be dancing a jig around that tree

      Or perhaps you are singing songs gleefully

      I tried to grow a wee lemon tree

      My Husband threatened divorce on me

      If I even tried to grow one more tree, said he

      What ever it is, I thank ye, as my tummy is feeling oh so joyfully

      Thank you Susan for the lemons!

      Lemon Bars

      Crust:

      1  1/2 Cups all-purpose flour

      1/2 Cup powdered sugar

      1/8 tsp. salt

      1  1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cubed; kept cold

      1 tsp. vanilla

      Lemon Filling:

      2 1/2 Cups sugar

      6 large eggs, room temp

      1 Cup fresh lemon juice

      3 Tbsp. flour

      2  1/2 Tbsp. lemon zest

      1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9 inch pan with a  parchment sling; both sides, leaving at least a 2 inch overhang. Spray lightly with baking spray.

      2. In a food processor blend the flour, sugar and salt and pulse to combine. Add the cold butter and pulse on and off to combine until it resembles a coarse meal. Add vanilla and process until the dough begins to come together. Press the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Dock the crust lightly with a fork.

      3. Bake the crust at 350 degrees for about 26 minutes or until golden brown. Prepare the filling while the crust is baking.

      Filling:

      1. Whisk the sugar and eggs together until blended. Whisk the lemon zest and juice together. Add the flour and whisk to combine.

      2. Reduce the oven to 325 degrees and pour the filling over the hot crust. Bake until the sides are set and the filling no longer moves in the center when the pan is shaken, about 35 minutes. Place the pan over a wire rack and cool completely. Chill the bars at least 4 hours or overnight .

      3. Using the sling; lift the entire dessert out of the pan. Fold down the sides. Cut into squares. Sift confectioners sugar over the top.

      Happy Baking,

      Suzie

    • Weight Watcher Friendly Muffins

      Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

      Okay, I hate the word diet, so we are not even going there. Claudia would wag her finger at me if I even brought up the word. I can see her scolding me right now with her sweet toothy grin.  It’s a life style change. We are getting healthy. We are changing our lives. Yes Darling, we totally get it :-) These are “healthy”, “lighter” and most of all; Weight Watcher friendly. To all my peeps who are going through the process with me at Weight Watchers counting points and slimming down, these muffins are each 5 points and they are really good. I came across this recipe a few years ago and have hung onto it ever since. Hey Claudia! (she’s our WW leader and might I add,  SHE IS FIERCE!) this is in honor of you and thank you for the weekly love you always share! She keeps all of us on track each week and gives us unbounded support. These muffins are screaming for a cup of cider. I wonder how many points that would be….Claudia??? how many points is cider?!?

      Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

      (recipe from Nov. 2007 Cooking Light issue)

      • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 ounces)
      • 1 teaspoon baking soda
      • 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
      • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
      • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
      • 1/4 teaspoon salt
      • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
      • 1 cup granulated sugar
      • 1 cup canned pumpkin
      • 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
      • 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
      • 2 tablespoons canola oil
      • 1 large egg
      • 2/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries, chopped (such as Craisins)
      • 1/2 Cup walnuts (optional)
      • Cooking spray

      Preparation

      • Preheat oven to 375°.
      • Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and next 5 ingredients (though cloves); stir well with a whisk.
      • Combine granulated sugar and next 5 ingredients (through egg) in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 3 minutes). Add flour mixture to sugar mixture; beat at low speed just until combined. Fold in cranberries.
      • Place 12 paper muffin cup liners in muffin cups; coat liners with cooking spray. Spoon batter into prepared cups. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove muffins from pan immediately; place on a wire rack.

      Happy Baking,

      Suzie

      Printable Recipe:

      https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-7_j8nWxeguHNzlvENO9Ewe3wtCHqs-XaRMfXQoQXkA/edit

    • Pretty In Pink Strawberry Guava Cupcakes

      Strawberry Guava Cupcakes 

      Breast Cancer Awareness Month continues with pretty in pink cupcakes, and to also honor my friend Ruth and her birthday. Ruthie as we like to call her sprinkles sugar where ever she goes; just like these pretty cupcakes. Happy Birthday Ruthie! We love you so much.

      Strawberry Chiffon Cake

      (this chiffon cake recipe is from Jennifer at use real butter) please check out her blog- it is amazing. Her site is www.userealbutter.com)

      [note: this recipe calls for a lot of egg whites- because of this I like to buy the carton of fresh egg whites; you can find them near the butter section of your grocery store] It will save you time and you won’t have a ton of egg yolks leftover.

      14.5 oz cake flour

      8.75 oz. confectioners sugar

      0.5 oz. baking powder

      6.75 oz. whole milk

      6 oz. canola oil

      3-4 oz. strawberry puree

      2 eggs

      13 oz. egg whites

      9.5 oz. granulated sugar

      1 tsp. vanilla

      (Guava jam for filling cupcakes)

      1. Pre heat your oven to 350 degrees. Line 3 standard muffin tray with cupcake liners.

      2. Sift the dry ingredients (except the granulated sugar) together and set aside.

      3. In a large bowl combine the milk, oil, 2 eggs, strawberry puree and vanilla.

      4. Whip the 13 oz. of egg whites and the granulated sugar together until they reach medium peaks.

      5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients from step 3 and combine until incorporated.

      6. Fold the whipped egg whites into the batter gently. Note; if you like you can add some additional red food coloring at this point if you want your batter a little darker.

      7. Fill the paper liners with 1/4 Cup batter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-16 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool on a wire rack. Fill and frost when completely cool.

      Strawberry Buttercream

      8 egg whites (or equivalent of liquid “just whites” the carton will tell you the conversion amount)

      2 Cups sugar

      6 sticks unsalted butter

      2 tsp. vanilla

      3/4 C strawberrry preserves

      1. In the mixer bow of a stand mixer place the egg whites and sugar and place over a saucepan of simmering water.

      2. Heat the egg white mixture while whisking until the temperature is about 160 degrees and/or the mixture is very warm to finger touch and can no longer feel any sugar crystals between your fingers.

      3. With the whisk attachment; place the bow on the stand mixer and whip until you have a stiff meringue and the bottom of the bowl is barely warm. Add the butter one tablespoon at a time until all of the butter is incorporated; mix on high speed. Add the vanilla and strawberry preserves. Whip until smooth.

      Assembly:

      If you desire you can remove a piece of the cupcake with an apple corer and fill with guava jam. Frost the cupcakes with the buttercream and sprinkle with choice of decorated sugars. To get the swirled effect as above I have used a 1M Wilton pastry tip.

      Printable Recipe:

      https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qwk7bcg94gqkPvmUSOF098gJEPYdIFaZHkwKTS3P6RU/edit?hl=en_US

      Happy Baking,

      Suzie

    • Halloween Candy Corn Cookies

      I’ve never been a fan of candy corn because they are too sweet for my taste, but I can’t resist these cute little cookies. Get one of your little goblins to help you press the cookie dough into the pan.

      Candy Corn Cookies  

      (These are 2 bite mini cookies; about 1  1/2 inches)

      Recipe: yields about 6 dozen

      Basic sugar cookie recipe for cutout cookies

      3 Cups all purpose flour

      1 tsp. baking powder

      1/2 tsp. salt

      2 sticks cold butter

      1 Cup sugar + 2 tsp.

      1 egg

      1  1/2 tsp. vanilla

      1/2 tsp. almond extract

      ——————————–

      “orange” gel paste food coloring

      “egg yellow” gel paste food

      1. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

      2. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle blade beat the cold butter until softer and pliable. Add in the sugar and beat until smooth. Add the extracts and egg and mix to combine. Stop the mixer to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the flour mixture and beat until combined. The dough will be crumbly; remove if from the bowl and press together any loose bits of dough to combine.

      3. Divide the dough into 3 equal parts. If you have a scale this is easier to do. You will find it easier to switch over to grams and divide the dough into 3 equal parts. Color two of the 3 parts by adding a drop at a time to each dough to color one orange and the other yellow.

      4. Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap. Starting with the non colored dough press the dough into the bottom of the lined pan. Top that with the yellow cookie dough and press into place so it is flat and smooth. Top with the orange dough and smooth and flatten and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the dough and refrigerate the dough for a couple of hours at least until the dough is cold and firm enough to cut.

      5. Remove the dough from the pan and peel off the plastic wrap. Slice off a slab of dough from the short end of the loaf about 1/2 inch thick. Cut each slice into 5 triangles and place the cookie triangles onto a parchment or Silpat lined cookie sheet. Continue by slicing off one slice at a time and taking that slice to create 5 cookie triangles until you have used up all of the cookie dough. Leave about 1 1/2  inches in between cookies. Sprinkle generously with granulated sugar. Bake one sheet at a time and leave the other cookie sheet in the refrigerator while you are baking off the other. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 12-13 minutes. Let the cookies cool a couple of minutes on the cookie sheet and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

      Printable Recipe:

      https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WRgMhakQc5KXiEt5-cMVtiIuJP64x3lRGDM8vtGarMc/edit?hl=en_US

      Happy Halloween,

      Suzie

    • Pretty In Pink French Macarons

      My funky pretty in pink continues with more pink recipes honoring Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Today is raspberry macarons.

      I’ve been macaron obsessed for a while now. I have made them several times and they are very persnickity. You cannot make macarons when the weather is foggy or humid. Well, you can but it is very difficult for them to turn out right. This makes me sad as I love to make them but I live in the fog belt of San Francisco and most of the time I cannot get my macs to turn out right. I am so jazzed that we’ve been having awesome hot and sunny weather here in The City this week and I took the opportunity to make macarons the other day.

      Raspberry Macarons

      1  3/4 Cups Confectioners sugar

      1 Cup almond meal*

      * A word on almond meal: (I buy almond meal from Trader Joes and sift it like three times to get all the brown flecks out so the almond meal is more blond color) You can also take about 1 heaping cup of blanched sliced almonds and put in the food processor to grind to a fine powder. Sift it through a strainer to get out the big lumps of almond that just don’t grind well. If you choose to make your own almond meal know that you need to add a couple of Tablespoons of confectioners sugar so that the meal does not turn into paste.

      1 Tbsp. raspberry powder (from dried raspberries)* [If you don’t have it; don’t stress-just omit it]

      *A word about raspberry powder: You can find sources online that has raspberry powder. (To make your own: spread fresh raspberries out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and dry in a warming oven (set to the lowest temp possible) until bone dry, then grind to a powder in a blender). Here is a source for raspberry powder: www.znaturalfoods.com

      3 egg whites from large eggs

      pinch of cream of tartar

      4 drops of red food coloring (or powdered red food coloring)

      1/4 Cup super fine sugar

      1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Prepare 2 sheet pans with parchment paper or a Silpat liner.

      2. Mix together the confectioners sugar, almond meal, (and raspberry powder if you have it). Beat the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer along with the pinch of cream of tartar until you have a thick foam, then add the red coloring and superfine sugar and beat for about 1 minute until you have firm peaks.

      3. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the almond meal/sugar mixture until it is incorporated. the mixture should be thick but runny at the same time. Put the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain 1/2 inch tip.

      4. Pipe the macarons into about a quarter size shape on the sheets leaving at least 2 inches of space in between cookies. After piping; take the tray and rap it heavily on the counter to help release any air bubbles in the piped cookie and  leave the sheets out on the counter for one hour to let the macs form a skin on them and this helps them dry out slightly and helps add to the success of creating what is known as the “foot” on the macaron which is the curly looking ruffle along the edge of the cookie. After the cookies have rested for an hour. Place an empty sheet pan underneath the pan so you have a double panned cookie sheet.

      5. Bake the macs at 325 degrees for about 10 minutes.

      6. Slide the macs off the sheet pan and lett cool on a wire rack. When cold, lift them off the paper and sandwich them with about 1 tsp. of raspberry buttercream (recipe below) or raspberry seedless jam.

      Raspberry Buttercream

      3 large egg whites

      1 cup sugar

      2 sticks butter

      1/2 Cup raspberry jam/preserves

      1. Place the egg whites and sugar inthe bowl of a stand mixer. Place over a baine marie (simmering water bath) and whisk the mixture and cook on low heat until the egg white and sugar are warm and the sugar is dissolved when you touch it with your fingers you should feel no sugar particles. The mixture should be around 160 degrees.

      2. Place the bowl on the stand mixer and with the whisk attachment whisk until you have stiff and glossy peaks and the bottom of the bowl is no longer warm or when you feel the meringue it is not warm to the touch. Gradually add the butter one tablespoon at a time until the mixture comes together and becomes smooth. Add in the raspberry jam and whip until smooth.

      Pistachio version:

      Omit the raspberry powder and red food coloring. Add 2 drops of green food coloring to the egg whites after they are whipped. Fill with pistachio buttercream: Make the buttercream as above but replace 1 Tablespoon pistachio paste for the raspberry jam.

      Happy Baking!

      Suzie

      Printable Recipe:

      https://docs.google.com/document/d/18IccGo_twwlhUCLK-ez6x1jmskJ0riMB9ZPXJU_aTHA/edit?hl=en_US

    • Pretty In Pink Marshmallows

      Strawberry Marshmallows 

      I’m honoring Breast Cancer Awareness Month by making some pink treats. Here is a fun recipe to try for marshmallows. It’s super easy and they are very light and fluffy. The strawberry puree adds a lot of flavor as well as the pink color.

      Strawberry Marshmallows

      (recipe by Elizabeth LaBau @ About.com Candy)

      (The mallows take several hours to cure so plan ahead to make them the day before)

      4 envelopes gelatin

      3 Cups sugar

      1 1/4 Cup light corn syrup

      1 1/4 Cups water, divided

      1/2 Cup strawberry puree*

      1 tsp. strawberry flavoring (optional)

      1/3 Cup confectioners sugar

      1/3 Cup cornstarch

      *You can make strawberry puree by cooking fresh or frozen berries in a saucepan for about 10 minutes, then blending the soft berries in a blender or food processor. Strain the mixture to remove any seeds.

      1. Prepare a 9×13 pan by lining it with aluminum foil and spraying it liberally with non-stick cooking spray.

      2. Place 1/2 cup of the water, strawberry flavoring, and the strawberry puree in the bowl of a large stand mixer. Sprinkle the gelatin on top and stir briefly to distribute. Let the gelatin sit and dissolve for at least 5 minutes.

      3. Place remaining 3/4 cup water, corn syrup, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar and insert a candy thermometer.

      4. Allow the mixture to cook without stirring until it reaches 240 degrees on the thermometer (soft ball stage). Brush down the sides occasionally with a wet pastry brush to avoid crystallization. While the candy cooks, briefly run the stand mixer on low to ensure the gelatin and puree is well mixed.

      5. Once the sugar mixture reaches the proper temperature, remove it from the heat immediately. Turn the mixer on low, and slowly pour the hot syrup into the mixer bowl; being careful not to let the hot sugar touch the whisk attachment. [If you have a large glass 3 cup measuring cup] you can transfer the hot syrup to the cup instead and it is easier to pour.

      6. Gradually increase the speed of the mixer to high. Whip the marshmallow mixture for 10 minutes, or until it is stiff and shiny. You can tell when it is done when you stop the mixer and lift up the whisk and the marshmallow will slowly drip back down into the bowl into a thick and shiny stream.

      7. Pour the marshmallow into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Allow it to sit and firm up at room temperature for about 10 hours (overnight).

      8. Sift the confectioners sugar and cornstarch together. Cover your workstation with waxed paper and liberally sprinkle the surface with the sugar/starch mixture. Sprinkle the top of the marshmallow with the sugar/starch coating and flip the marshmallows out face down onto the prepared surface.

      9.Carefully peel back the foil from the marshmallow, and sprinkle the top of the marshmallow slab with the coating powder. Spray a large knife with nonstick spray and coat both sides with the powder. Cut the mallows into squares, coating the knife blade with sugar/starch as needed. Roll the cut edges of the mallows in the coating mixture so that all sides and smooth and not sticky.

      10. Store the mallows in a dry airtight container in a dry location. Do not refrigerate them or keep them in a humid place. If they are stored longer than 3 days, you may need to re-roll them in coating. Fresh marshmallows go stale after about a week.