Baking for a cause

For the past few years, I've helped provide dinner for our volunteers each night at our church's Vacation Bible School, this year it was renamed to Kids Camp. In previous years I would get catering or do some catering and some homemade food. This year it was all homemade. Lots of preplanning made it not to difficult. Pre-make some parts and pieces, ask for help in other areas. One area I've asked for help - cookies for dessert. I ask people if they are willing to make a batch of cookies. More often than not, the people who offer are people who aren't helping as a volunteer so it's their way to help out. We do get some people who volunteer and bake too, which is great too. Since I won't ask people to do something that I'm not also doing, I decided to give some cookies a try too. I made these about a week earlier and froze the dough balls, they were ready to bake the day I needed them. These cookies include an ingredient I don't see much, Cookies 'n' Creme Bars from Hershey's. Usually, I see these aren't Halloween and that's it! In fact, the big 6 bar pack was on clearance at Wal-Mart! These cookies were full of cookies and cream goodness. The Oreos added lots of crunch and the Hershey bars added that creme flavor. I'll be making these again for sure. I had to ask one of my kids to snag me one to try because they went fast and the plate was empty before I knew it!

Cookies and Cream Cookies
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cake flour
1 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
1/2 cup brown sugar, light or dark, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
15 Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookies (chopped)
9 oz. HERSHEY’S Cookies ‘n’ Crème Bars, broken into pieces (6, 1.55 oz. bars)

Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl: All-Purpose flour, cake flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the cold butter with the sugars. Cream for 3-4 minute, it will look sort of like a paste. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl as needed.
Then add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and mix again until combined.
Gradually add in the dry ingredients and then add in the chopped Oreo cookies and cookies and creme bars.
Shape dough into 7-large cookies (~5 oz. each). and bake for 10-12 minutes. Or you can make them much smaller and adjust the baking time.
Let cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 15 minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack.

The lies we tell ourself...

Somehow, I had in my head that after school ended summer was going to be a breeze. Relaxed nights, less chaos, sitting on the deck watching the hummingbirds... That's turned into a wifi camera that tells me when the hummingbirds come to visit, out most nights chasing errands, and endless to do lists and packing lists because, oh my word we have so much packed into three months I can't even see straight. One thing we couldn't forget was our girl turning 14! She was pretty busy too so we didn't decide on a cake design until a few days before her birthday party. I had in my head how to do these flowers then after they were done, I realize just how giant they would be on the cake and realized I should have/could have done them much differently. But you know what? Maybe it's not the same as the picture, but it is it's own thing and it's beautiful for that! The day I made and decorated was a rough one, but the day of the party it looked better in the daylight and we all enjoyed it.
The strawberry filling is not 3 sticks of butter... I did the full recipe of vanilla buttercream plus a third. Then took a third out and added the powdered freeze-dried strawberries and just used it as filling. By far that is our favorite strawberry filling. Tastes like strawberries and doesn't overpower anything.
Hard to believe this girl is 14! This time next year she'll be learning to drive... oh my!

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
1 1/2 cups butter, at room temperature (3 sticks)
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 - 4 Tbsp heavy cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 oz Freeze Dried Strawberries - ground into powder
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, using the paddle or whisk attachment whip butter on medium-high speed (if using whisk attachment whip on high speed) until nearly white and very fluffy, about 7 - 8 minutes, frequently scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Add in powdered sugar, heavy cream, strawberry powder, and vanilla extract and mix on low speed until blended, then increase speed to medium and beat until very light and fluffy, about 5 - 6 minutes, frequently scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Immediately spread over cooled cake or cupcakes.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
1 1/2 cups butter, at room temperature (3 sticks)
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 - 4 Tbsp heavy cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, using the paddle or whisk attachment whip butter on medium-high speed (if using whisk attachment whip on high speed) until nearly white and very fluffy, about 7 - 8 minutes, frequently scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Add in powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla extract and mix on low speed until blended, then increase speed to medium and beat until very light and fluffy, about 5 - 6 minutes, frequently scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Immediately spread over cooled cake or cupcakes.

Tornadoing and bad measuring

When you see a recipe that includes several things you already have in the house - that makes things a bit easier. This recipe is a bit of a guessing game. How much liquid do you add? Eh... until it makes sense. Isn't that the worst advice ever? I mean the way this recipe is written it's not really clear. I started with 2 cups of broth and added a little more... but also did milk instead of heavy cream. I didn't have fresh basil - well there's some growing in the garden but it was tornadoing outside so I opted to just run out and grab chives instead. That worked just fine. I loved this pasta. It was so flavorful and different from what I've made before. For sure when I see more Boursin, it's coming home with me! Last I saw at the weird grocery store it was 3 for $1! Maybe next time the weather won't be so lousy and I can add some basil... although our weather is pretty crazy...

Boursin Basil Rings
2 cups pasta rings or ditalini
4 tablespoons butter
1–2 garlic cloves minced
2–3 cups chicken broth or water
Salt and pepper
3/4 c heavy cream or milk
1 package Boursin Basil and chive flavor
Fresh sliced basil
Chopped chives

Melt the butter in a skillet and add the garlic. When the garlic sizzles add the pasta and 1 1/2 cups broth/water. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer and cover for about 5–6 minutes. Give it a stir and add more broth if needed. Stir in the cream and add the Boursin. Continue stirring until tender adding liquid as needed. Season with salt pepper and stir in the basil and chives.

16 pounds of chicken and a cookie recipe I didn't read

16 pounds of chicken in the oven and cookies to get baked too. Tossed the chicken in and started on the cookies. 20 minutes to let the butter and chocolate cool. Oof... Ok. Oh man... 45 chill to firm up? Ugh! Got those in the freezer. Who has time for recipes like this? I mean if I had read the recipe ahead, well that would have been smarter, but we know I'm not that great at that. These cookies are deeply flavored with chocolate and oh so good. I think the only tweak I'd make is adding some salt to the top. Learning to love extra salt here and there. oh and the 16 pounds of chicken? Turned in to 100+ Cheesy Chicken buns for Kids Camp Volunteers. Can't wait to bake those up too and enjoy them. Maybe I'll make a batch of these cookies to go with them.

Brownie Cookies
2½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions
In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine 2 cups of the chocolate chips and the butter. Microwave on high in 20-second intervals, stirring thoroughly between intervals, until the mixture is completely melted and smooth. Scrape the chocolate mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes to cool.
While the chocolate mixture is cooling, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a separate medium bowl. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Add the eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla to the cooled chocolate mixture and beat on medium speed until thoroughly combined. Reduce the speed to low, slowly pour the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture, and mix until all ingredients are thoroughly combined. Add the remaining ½ cup chocolate chips and mix briefly to incorporate fully.
Using a 1-ounce scoop, portion the dough onto one prepared baking sheet. You do not need to space them out. Chill until firm, about 45 minutes.
Working in batches, place the chilled cookies 2 inches apart on the other prepared room-temperature baking sheet.
Bake until the edges are set, 12 to 14 minutes. The centers of the cookies will appear and feel soft when hot but will set as they cool. Let cool on the baking sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining cookie balls.
Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days

Dodging tornados and rain to get dinner on the table

I've learned that every week lately is a "make it through" this week and it'll get less busy... over and over until you realize it never gets less busy. I oddly thought Summer would be less crazy and yet I was very wrong. I swapped dinner plans Tuesday and Wednesday because I'm still not grilling anything, and burgers aren't something I'm making. I had arranged to make one stop on my way home instead of five... yes, five I told you things were busy... as I was about to leave for home - my phone alerted me there was a tornado warning at home... so I wasn't heading there yet. I waited around for that to clear and drove through the blinding wind and rain to get home to get dinner going to we could still get our girl to where she needed to be on time. As I raced through this recipe we heard word that the storm knocked out the power where she was going so phew! One less thing to do! Good thing, because my pork tenderloins must have been massive because they took like 40 minutes in the oven.... good thing we had extra time! This had a few steps but well worth it! Add some applesauce and delicious! Yes, always applesauce with pork.

Best Baked Pork Tenderloin
1 pkg. pork tenderloins, trimmed (comes with 2 pieces, 2 – 2 ½ lbs. total)
1/4 cup kosher salt
4 cups warm water
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup ice cubes
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons butter sliced into 6 pats
Spice Mix
1 TBS EACH chili powder, garlic powder
1 tsp EACH salt, onion powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon pepper
HERBS TO ADD LATER:
1/2 tsp EACH dried parsley, dried basil, dried oregano, dried thyme

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 °F. Lay two long pieces of foil on a baking sheet – these will be used to fold up each tenderloin separately.
In a gallon-size freezer bag, mix salt with warm water until dissolved. Whisk in apple cider vinegar, brown sugar and ice, followed by pork. Brine for exactly 20 minutes then remove pork from brine, RINSE and pat very dry. The pork becomes mealy if left in the brine any longer.
Whisk together all of the Spice Mix ingredients (not the "Add Later Herbs") in a small bowl. Evenly rub pork all over with spice mix.
Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. When oil is very hot and just smoking, add pork tenderloins, you may need to work in batches. Sear each side of pork until golden, then transfer to foil.
Evenly sprinkle tops of pork tenderloins with remaining herbs (parsley, basil, oregano, thyme) then rub into pork. Evenly drizzle each pork tenderloin with one tablespoon of lemon juice (2 tablespoons total), then top each tenderloin with 3 pats of butter. Bring up the sides of the foil to completely enclose each tenderloin.
Bake at 400 °F until pork registers between 145- and 150-degrees F (63 and 65 degrees C) at the thickest part of the tenderloin, 15-25 minutes depending on thickness. This means the pork will be juicy and slightly pink in the middle. To check the temperature, carefully unwrap the foil, then wrap it back up if it need to continue baking.
When pork is done, loosen foil (so steam can escape) and let stand 5-10 minutes before slicing. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste (I like additional salt) and serve with accumulated butter sauce in the bottom of the foil.