Top Secret Recipes version of Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bar by Todd Wilbur
The tangy cranberries and sweet lemon frosting make this cake bar a holiday favorite that evokes piles of cloning requests when Starbucks stops selling it after Christmas. Now, with this easy-to-make clone, this treat can be a perennial hit. Break out this red and white treat for the gang on this holiday and you might be as popular as the guy in the red and white suit.
Cake
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup diced dried cranberries
6 ounces white chocolate, cut into chunks
Frosting
4-ounces cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup diced dried cranberries
Drizzled Icing
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Make cake by beating butter and brown sugar together with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla, ginger, and salt and beat well. Gradually mix in flour until smooth. Mix 3/4 cup diced dried cranberries and white chocolate into the batter by hand. Pour batter into a well-greased 9x13" baking pan. Use a spatula to spread the batter evenly across the pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until cake is light brown on the edges. Allow cake to cool.
3. Make frosting by combining softened cream cheese, 3 cups powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. When the cake has cooled, use a spatula to spread frosting over the top of the cake.
4. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of diced cranberries over the frosting on the cake.
5. Whisk together 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk, and shortening. Drizzle icing over the cranberries in a sweeping motion or use a pastry bag with a fine tip to drizzle frosting across the top of the cake.
6. Allow cake to sit for several hours, then slice the cake lengthwise (the long way) through the middle. Slice the cake across the width three times making a total of eight rectangular slices. Slice each of those rectangles diagonally creating 16 triangular slices.
From: Top Secret Recipes
Makes 16 bars.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Quick Chicken and Dumplings
1 1/2 pounds chicken breast tenders
1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
2 tablespoons butter
1 russet potato, peeled and diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced or thinly sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 rib celery, diced
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, 1/3 palm full
2 tablespoons flour, a handful
1 quart chicken broth or stock, canned or paper container
1 batch of dumplings made with Bisquick (2 cups Bisquick + 2/3 cup of milk)
Handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
3/4 cup frozen green peas
3/4 cup frozen corn
Dice tenders into bite size pieces and set aside. Wash hands.
Place a large pot* on stove over medium high heat. Add oil, butter, vegetables and bay leaf and cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Season mixture with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Add flour to the pan and cook 2 minutes. Stir broth or stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Add chicken to the broth and stir.
Bisquick, milk and parsley. Drop tablespoonfuls of prepared mix into the pot, spacing dumplings evenly. Boil for 10 minues. !dd peas and corn, and stivery gently. Cover pot tightly and reduce heat to medium low. Steam dumplings 8 to 10 minutes. Serve in shallow bowls.
*A wide, low pot is better than a taller narrow pot. I used a tall narrow pot and the dumplings all clumped together.
1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
2 tablespoons butter
1 russet potato, peeled and diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced or thinly sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 rib celery, diced
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, 1/3 palm full
2 tablespoons flour, a handful
1 quart chicken broth or stock, canned or paper container
1 batch of dumplings made with Bisquick (2 cups Bisquick + 2/3 cup of milk)
Handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
3/4 cup frozen green peas
3/4 cup frozen corn
Dice tenders into bite size pieces and set aside. Wash hands.
Place a large pot* on stove over medium high heat. Add oil, butter, vegetables and bay leaf and cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Season mixture with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Add flour to the pan and cook 2 minutes. Stir broth or stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Add chicken to the broth and stir.
Bisquick, milk and parsley. Drop tablespoonfuls of prepared mix into the pot, spacing dumplings evenly. Boil for 10 minues. !dd peas and corn, and stivery gently. Cover pot tightly and reduce heat to medium low. Steam dumplings 8 to 10 minutes. Serve in shallow bowls.
*A wide, low pot is better than a taller narrow pot. I used a tall narrow pot and the dumplings all clumped together.
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Ginger Cookies
The hardest part of these cookies is finding the ginger preseves/jelly/jam, but so worth the find.
Ginger Cookie
From Food Network Kitchens
Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 30 cookies
User Rating: 4 Stars
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
5 cracks freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar, plus more for rolling the cookies
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsulphured molasses
2 tablespoons ginger preserves (see Cook's note)
Whisk the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, mustard, salt and black pepper together in a medium bowl.
Beat the butter and the sugars with a hand mixer electric mixer on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat on medium speed until just incorporated, about 20 seconds. Add the molasses and ginger preserves and continue beating until the batter is an even light brown color, 30 seconds more.
Add the dry ingredients all at once, beating slowly to make a soft, smooth dough. Use a rubber spatula to make sure all ingredients are combined. Then beat again for 20 seconds. Cover the bowl with plastic and refrigerate the dough until firm, about 25 minutes.
Put about 1/2 cup sugar in a small bowl. With a cookie scoop or a small ice cream scoop, portion the dough into a slightly heaping tablespoon for each cookie. Roll the dough, by hand, into balls. Roll the tops of the balls in the sugar, and space them 2 inches apart on a nonstick or lightly oiled cookie sheet. Refrigerate until firm, about 25 minutes. (The chilling is what gives this cookie a beautiful, crackly crunch on top, and a soft, chewy center.)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Bake until the top is crackly, and the insides peeking out through are dark and moist but not raw, about 15 to 20 minutes. Briefly cool the cookies on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
Serve or store in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 weeks.
Cook's Note: Ginger preserves give lots of flavor without the hard chunks of crystallized ginger. It is found in most grocery stores.
Copyright 2005 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved.
Ginger Cookie
From Food Network Kitchens
Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 30 cookies
User Rating: 4 Stars
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
5 cracks freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar, plus more for rolling the cookies
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsulphured molasses
2 tablespoons ginger preserves (see Cook's note)
Whisk the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, mustard, salt and black pepper together in a medium bowl.
Beat the butter and the sugars with a hand mixer electric mixer on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat on medium speed until just incorporated, about 20 seconds. Add the molasses and ginger preserves and continue beating until the batter is an even light brown color, 30 seconds more.
Add the dry ingredients all at once, beating slowly to make a soft, smooth dough. Use a rubber spatula to make sure all ingredients are combined. Then beat again for 20 seconds. Cover the bowl with plastic and refrigerate the dough until firm, about 25 minutes.
Put about 1/2 cup sugar in a small bowl. With a cookie scoop or a small ice cream scoop, portion the dough into a slightly heaping tablespoon for each cookie. Roll the dough, by hand, into balls. Roll the tops of the balls in the sugar, and space them 2 inches apart on a nonstick or lightly oiled cookie sheet. Refrigerate until firm, about 25 minutes. (The chilling is what gives this cookie a beautiful, crackly crunch on top, and a soft, chewy center.)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Bake until the top is crackly, and the insides peeking out through are dark and moist but not raw, about 15 to 20 minutes. Briefly cool the cookies on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
Serve or store in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 weeks.
Cook's Note: Ginger preserves give lots of flavor without the hard chunks of crystallized ginger. It is found in most grocery stores.
Copyright 2005 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved.
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