Category Archives: Baking

Holiday Baking List 2021

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Holiday baking season is here!!!!

If you would like to place an order, please email me at bakerlovesjazz@gmail.com

LOCAL ORDERS ONLY!!!!

Please allow 5-7 days in advance for all orders.

Orders for Christmas must be placed no later than Friday, 12/17/2021

Orders need to paid for in advance of pickup. I accept Cash App and Venmo.

Featured Desserts

McNannygocious Pound Cake – $30 (a jewel of a cream cheese pound with rich flavor!) (Half cake – $17.50)

Eggnog Pound Cake – $30 (half cake – $17.50)

Lime Cream Cheese Pound Cake – $35

7 Up Cake – $35 (half cake $20)

Banana Bread or Banana Chocolate Chip Cherry Bread – $35

Classic Rum Cake – $40 (half cake $20)

Eggnog Rum Cake – $40

Chocolate Eggnog Rum Cake $40

Lunchroom Butter Cookies – 6 for $12/a baker’s dozen for $25

Chocolate Chip Cookies – 6 for $12/a baker’s dozen for $25

Holiday Baking List 2020

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I am baking this holiday season!.

If you would like to place an order, please email me at bakerlovesjazz@gmail.com

LOCAL ORDERS ONLY!!!!

Please allow 5-7 days in advance for all orders. Orders for Christmas need to be placed no later than Friday, 12/18/2020.

Orders need to paid for in advance of pickup. I accept Cash App and Venmo.

Featured Desserts

Classic Pound Cake – $30

Eggnog Pound Cake – $30

Lime Cream Cheese Pound Cake – $35

7 Up Cake – $35

Rum Cake – $35

Eggnog Rum Cake – $40

Chocolate Eggnog Rum Cake $40

Lunchroom Butter Cookies – 6 for $12/a baker’s dozen for $25

Chocolate Chip Cookies – 6 for $12/a baker’s dozen for $25

Banana Bread or Banana Chocolate Chip Cherry Bread – $30

Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

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Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached
½ teaspoon Leavening agents, baking soda
½ teaspoon Salt, table
¾ cup Butter, without salt
1 cup Sugars, brown
½ cup Sugars, granulated
1 tablespoon Vanilla extract
1 Egg, whole, raw, fresh
1 Egg, yolk, raw, fresh
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Step 1 – Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

Step 2 – Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

Step 3 – In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.

Step 4 – Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Baker’s Note: These have become my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. I have added nuts and bacon to the recipe (not at the same time..haha.) I recently used salted caramel chips and the result was delicious!

Chicago Public School Cafeteria Butter Cookies

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Chicago Public School Cafeteria Butter Cookies

From Food.com

Ingredients

1 cup softened butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I sometimes use lemon extract)
1 pinch salt
4 teaspoons sugar (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
3. Mix in vanilla extract.
4. Mix in flour gradually.
5. Using a small cookie scoop, roll dough into balls and slightly flatten on ungreased cookie sheets.
6. Flatten cookies with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar if desired.
7. Bake until golden brown (approximately 12-15 minutes.
8. Makes about 2 dozen.

Bourbon Cake

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1 cup of butter (2 sticks)
2 cups sugar
3 cups sifted Cake Flour
3 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup bourbon (I like Maker’s 46 or Four Roses Single Barrel)
1 package of Jell-O French Vanilla pudding

Cream butter, gradually add sugar, creaming until light and fluffy. Sift flour with baking powder and salt. If you also like to add butter in your food, you might want to read articles such as is I can not believe its not butter healthy.

Add eggs one at a time to creamed mixture, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture alternately with milk and flavoring, beating after each addition until smooth.

Add package of French Vanilla pudding, and bourbon and mix well together. Pour batter into a greased 12-cup bundt pan. Bake at 350º for 55 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes then remove and place on a wire cooling rack with wax paper under and let cool before putting on the glaze.

Bourbon Glaze #1

2 sticks of butter
1/2 granulated sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup Karo syrup
1 cup of bourbon
1 tsp vanilla extract

Melt butter in saucepan until lightly boiled (do not overheat). Add powdered sugar slowly with a wire wisk then add granulated sugar. Once dissolved under low heat, add brown sugar. After the brown sugar has dissolved, add Karo syrup. Keep stirring with wire wisk. Bring to a light boil. Add bourbon and bring to a boil while stirring with a whisk. Remove from heat and wisk in the vanilla extract. Add more powdered sugar or use less bourbon for a thicker glaze.

Drizzle and brush the glaze over the cake. Continue to brush the cake with glaze that has ran down the side. Let dry and serve.

Bourbon Glaze #2

2 cups powdered sugar
A few tablespoons of milk
A few tablespoons of bourbon

I use a measuring cup to put all the ingredients then mix with an electric hand mixer to get the glaze to the thickness I desire. Place wax paper under wire rack. Place cooled cake on the wire rack and pour glaze over cake until completely covered and let it dry.

Hearts and Stars…..

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Hearts, stars, and chocolate! Oh my!!! I have been making the Half Hearted Valentine Cookies for many years now and every year, I learn something new. This year, I learned that the thicker cookies hold up better and are easier to release from the cookie cutters. The thinner cookies are harder to pick up and put on the cookie sheets. They also brown faster than the thicker cookies. You notice there are a few star shaped cookies too! I got a set of star shaped cookie cutters on clearance at Crate and Barrel right after Christmas. Enjoy!!!

Lime Cream Cheese Pound Cake

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I started making this cake a couple of years ago after having a slice of Charlie Frank’s Key Lime Pound Cake.

I adapted this recipe from this Lime Cream Cheese Pound Cake recipe. The 10 cup Fleur-de-Lis cake bundt pan makes for a lovely presentation but the 12 cup bundt will hold all the batter. I used 3 sticks of butter instead of 2 1/4 sticks. I also doubled the amount of sugar and lime juice for the glaze because I am a little heavy handed with my brush.

Lime Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Ingredients:

For the Pound Cake:

3 1/4 cups cake flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3 sticks of unsalted butter
8 oz. cream cheese
3 cups granulated sugar
6 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 tbsp. lime juice
2 tsp. very finely grated lime zest

For the Glaze:

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup fresh lime juice

Garnish:

Confectioners’ sugar (optional)

Instructions:

Have all ingredients at room temperature. Position oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 325 degrees F (160 C). Grease and flour a 9 or 12-inch bundt pan or Fleur-de-Lis* cake pan.

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt, set aside.

With an electric mixer, fitted with a flat beater, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy and smooth, about 30-40 seconds. Add 3 cups of the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, stop mixer and scrape bowl occasionally. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and 3 tbsp. lime juice (or regular fresh squeezed lime juice). Reduce speed to low. Fold in flour, baking soda, and salt mixture in 3 additions, blending each addition just until smooth, stop mixer and scrape bowl occasionally. Fold in lime zest.

Spoon batter into prepared pan, making sides higher than in center. Bake until cake is golden, and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 1/2 hours. Cool upright in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Invert cake onto cooling rack with waxed or parchment paper placed underneath rack, and glaze.

Makes 12-16 servings.

Lime Glaze:

In a small bowl, whisk 1/2 cup fresh lime juice and 1 1/2 cups sugar until blended. Set rack over a sheet of waxed paper, Generously brush cooled cake with glaze. After glaze has set; approximately 10 minutes, lightly sprinkle cake with confectioners’ sugar.

Notes:

Nordic Ware’s Fleur-de-Lis cake pan can be purchased at Nordic Ware’s website at: http://www.nordicware.com.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

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I am always amazed by number of people who will visit my website over the next week for dessert recipes as we all prepare for Thanksgiving. Thank you so much for stopping by. I do not get to update this site much but it holds its own. I am wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving and good baking!!! Please send me some of your favorite recipes and I will post them. Enjoy!!!

Lemon Icebox Pie

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The last Lemon Icebox Pie of the season.

I made a couple of pound cakes for a friend’s mom in late winter. I delivered them and she told me that I needed to learn how to make a lemon icebox pie. Being a baker who does love a challenge, I researched on the internet and found a recipe that I liked. It was really simple to make and no baking was required. I made a couple for Easter and a few during the summer. However, the photo above is the last lemon icebox pie for the year. I made it for my friend’s mom who inspired me to learn about lemon icebox pie. I took it over to her and she was totally surprised and quite pleased. She said it was her favorite dessert. That truly warmed my heart.

I used Emeril Lagasse’s Lemon Icebox Pie recipe as shown below.

Ingredients

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 (14-ounce) can condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoons lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 prepared graham cracker crust

Directions

Combine the cream cheese, milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla in a large bowl. Mix on medium speed until smooth. Pour into the pie crust. Refrigerate overnight.

Note: I actually froze mine overnight then put it in refrigerator a few hours before serving so it would still be firm. I want to try it with limes too!

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/lemon-icebox-pie-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback

Sock It To Me Cake

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Sock It To Me Cake

Sock It To Me Cake

Sock It To Me Cake

2 sticks unsalted butter (at room temperature)
2 cups sugar
3 cups sifted cake flour
4 eggs (at room temperature)
1 cup milk (whole or low fat)
1 cup sour cream
3 tsps baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract
2 tsps cinnamon
2 tbsps brown sugar
1 cup finely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a separate bowl, mix together your filling of cinnamon, brown sugar, and finely chopped pecans and set aside.

Cream the butter in large bowl. Gradually add sugar, creaming until light and fluffy. Sift the already sifted cake flour with baking powder and salt. Add eggs one at a time to cream mixture, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and almond extracts. Add flour mixture alternately with milk, blending after each addition until smooth. Add sour cream. (Do not overbeat as this will yield a dry cake.)

Pour 1/2 of batter into your greased Bundt or tube pan. Pour dry mixture on top of your batter. Pour remaining batter over the dry mixture.

Bake for 1 hour. Test with a toothpick and make sure it comes out dry. Let cake cool for 25 minutes then invert onto wire rack to continue cooling.

Glaze

1 cup confectioner’s sugar
2-3 tbsps milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix together and drizzle and brush over cake. Adjust glaze to your liking.

Editor’s Note: This recipe is special to me because my mother made this cake for our family when I was child. It is also one of the first cakes I made when I was a teen. We used boxed cake mix for this cake originally. I was unable to find a Sock It To Me cake recipe from scratch that I liked so now you have one! Enjoy!!!