Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tonight I was in the mood for something minty. I found this simple recipe for mint chocolate chip cookies from Betty Crocker so I decided to try it. It was a 2010 Prize Winning recipe so I figured it must be very good. I thought I had gone a little heavy on the mint extract (great find), but after the cookies were done I thought the flavor was just right. I added creme de menthe chips and the recipe also called for semi sweet chocolate chunks which I thought might have been too much so I ommited them. I like the cookies, but they definitely needed that extra chocolate bite. I will try again and add milk chocolate chunks or chips the next time. I also just had the idea that these would be great for ice cream sandwiches. YUM!

Recipe:
1 pouch sugar cookie mix ( or use your own sugar cookie recipe)
1 egg
6-8 drops green food coloring
1/2 cup butter softened
1/4 to 1/2 tsp mint extract
1 cup creme de menthe baking chips
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chunks

1)Heat oven to 350 F.
2)In large bowl stir in cookie mix, butter, extract, food coloring, and egg until soft dough forms. I use my mixer instead of stiring by hand.
3)Stir in both chips
4)Using small cookie scoop or teaspoons, drop dough 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet
5)Bake 8-10 minutes or until set
6)Cool 3 minutes, remove to wire rack

Makes 36 cookies

Sticky Buns

So tonight I was finally able to make the Sticky Bun recipe I got from the Flour Cookbook. The recipe is two recipes in one. First you need to make a brioche dough at least one day before you can start the sticky buns. The dough needs to proof overnight. So after I got home from work I made the "Goo" that gives the sticky buns its stickiness. Once that was complete I rolled out the dough and filled it with the sugar and pecan filling and rolled it it up like a jelly roll. Then you have to let the buns proof again in the "Goo" for a few hours. once they were proofed I baked them for 35 minutes. Let me tell you they were worth the time and effort. Of course I had to have one tonight and it was amazing. I can't wait to make these again. Check out the pictures below that show all the steps I took.

The Brioche Dough

Buns proofing

The finished product

Banana Bread

Tonight I tried a new recipe for Banana bread. I bought this amazing cookbook by the owner and baker of Flour Bakery in Boston, and it is full of all these decadent recipes. I decided to start off with the banana bread since I had a bunch of bananas that were fully ripe. Anytime I make any type of bread I always just cream the eggs and sugar together for a minute or two, but with this recipe it states to mix for 4 minutes until the egg mixture is fluffy and airy. This makes sense to make a great base for the bread so it's not overly dense. Well the bread came out great and my house now smells wonderful. I hope I can keep the family away from it until tomorrow....doubt it.

In addition to making the banana bread I also made a brioche dough. I am planning on making sticky buns tomorrow and in order to make anything with brioche dough you need to make it the day before so the dough can proof overnight. This is not a dough you can make in a few minutes there are multiple steps and each part takes at least 5 minutes. The dough was probably mixing for over 30 minutes. I don't think my Kitchen Aid (my baby) has even turned so hot from mixing before. The dough looked like the description in the book. I guess tomorrow I will find out if it turns out good. Pictures will follow.

Strawberry Pecan Bread

Well tonight on this very cold winter night I decided to make some Strawberry Pecan Bread. I have made this prior but last time I used walnuts, but I thought I would change it up this time. The bread looks and smells amazing. I can't wait to cut into it and see how it tastes. Lat time I made this bread tow loaves were gone in a matter of half an hour. I take that as a good sign.

In addition to the bread, I wanted to try something else this weekend. I ended up making a batch of almond biscotti. The last time I tried biscotti I didn't cook them enough. Unfortunately this time I think I over cooked them. They are very difficult to master, but I am not giving up yet though. I tried one and they tasted really good. They remind me of these Greek cookies my Mom used to make, Koulourakia, which are a dry, butter shortbread type cookie. Well now to cleanup and decide what new sweet I will try this week.

Family Pizza Night

Well it seems that the family tradition of learning and loving to cook at an early age is continuing in my family. Tonight was my husband's Birthday and for weeks now my almost five year old has wanted to make smiley face pizzas for his Birthday dinner. So we planned that once I got home from work my husband would be banned and we would start our surprise. It was so much fun seeing my son so excited and helping with ever aspect of making the pizzas. The pizzas we made were super easy and delicious. You can buy your own dough or make your own. I used the pillsbury dough in the can tonight because we were short on time. Use a glass to cut the dough into medium size circles and then just sauce and cheese them. I used the ragu pizza sauce and it was pretty good.My son told me we had to use peppers for the mouth, broccoli for the nose and olives for the eyes. the end result was adorable. You can let the kids decide what toppings they want to use and let their imagination go crazy. 

I encourage families to let their kids help out in the kitchen as often as you can. My fondest memories are helping my Mom  in the kitchen standing on a chair because I was too little to reach the counter. Wether it be helping mix batter, or pouring in the flour they, feel so special when they help out.  It is also great to let your kids decide what to make or have for dinner. They are eating too so they should have a say. Little things like that make the kids feel involved and want to help out more.

Half Moons

Tonight, on this cold rainy, dreary night, I finally tried to make homemade half moon cookies. These are always a treat when you go into an Italian Bakery, and most of the time I can't resist them. Well I found a recipe that seemed fairly easy, and after playing around with it and making some changes I was ready to go. Of course my kids see me baking and decide they want to join in on the fun and keep asking to help ( they are 4 and 2 so I say no, not this time). Anyway I make the batter and it seems to runny so I add more flour and the batter resembles Anise cookie batter. Not sure if this is good or not since I have never made these before. I make my test cookie and it looks perfect. I continue on and end up making a little over two dozen cookies. While they cool I start making the frostings. This is always the tricky part, you usually end up putting in too much powdered suger or too much milk so it takes a bit to end up with the right consistence. Well I think the end result is wonderful. Take a look at the pictures and let me know what you think. Well I'm off to decide what I will try next. If you have any suggestions please leave me a comment.

Thank you

Triple Chocolate Treasures

Tonight I tried a new recipe for a triple chocolate cookie with a hidden treasure. If you are a chocolate lover these are for you. Double chocolate cookie with marshmallow and then covered in a chocolate fudge ganache.

Fall Creations

This past Fall I tried a bunch of new recipes and some were amazing. I tried making whoopie pies for the first time and if that wasn't stressful enough I decided to try pumpkin whoopie pies because I knew that a few of my friends LOVE pumkpin everything. I have never worked with pumkpin before this. So I played around with a recipe I found and ended up with pumkpin whoopie pies with cream cheese filling. Turns out that they were a HUGE hit. I ended up making them for 2 seperate bake sales, a birthday party, Thanksgiving day, and for co-workers. I couldn't believe that people kept telling me how amazing they were and are still asking me to make them. Yay!!!!

In addition to the whoopie pies I tried making a recipe I found for sugar cookies that look like candy corn. Seemed easy enough, not so much. The cookies were alot smaller than I thought they would be, and out of a few dozen I ended up with only half looking decent. However I am not a quiter so I will try again.

Checkerboard cake

I attempted my first checkerboard cake, and for the most part it came out ok, but I think the cake was too moist and wasn't as solid looking as I wanted. It sure did taste good though. I guess I have to try it again.

Pam's Sweet Delights

Hi my name is Pam Wallace and I  began baking at an early age with my Mom. I remember loving to help her make brownies and every holiday I would help make Kourambiedes (Traditional Greek butter cookies). I always loved being in the kitchen covered in flour and having the house smell heavenly with all the wonderful confections that we would make.
While attending Culinary school I loved all the classes, but was more drawn to the baking classes.
After years of baking for my family and friends with a push from my supportive husband I decided to start my own business. In 2006 Pam's Sweet Delights was born. I am just starting this blog to pass the word along and share photos and stories of my journey on this new road. I am new to blogging but I am hoping to learn and expand my knowledge.