Melting Moments with a Twist

Until just a couple of days ago,Old Man Winter surprised all of us here in Minnesota with some unseasonably warm weather, allowing us to temporarily hang up our coats and defrost our toes. To celebrate this wonderful February thaw, I baked a batch of Melting Moments:

Made from a simple, shortbread-like dough, Melting Moments go by many names, each with its own slight variation: Snowballs, Russian Tea Cakes, Greek Kourambiedes, Mexican Wedding Cakes, etc. Most types call for some kind of chopped nut and instruct you to roll each cookie in powdered sugar. But I wanted something a little bit different.... I thought, "If you can roll these cookies in confectioner's sugar, why not roll them in coconut flakes, graham cracker crumbs, or sprinkles, and skip the nuts altogether?"

Here's the recipe I came up with, adapted from Jean Watanabe Hee's Hawaii's Best Local Desserts book:

Melting Moments with a Twist

1/2 C butter or margarine, softened

1/4 C powdered sugar

3/4 tsp vanilla

1 1/8 C cake flour

Sprinkles

In a medium bowl, beat butter and sugar until well blended. Add vanilla and beat well. Stir in flour; mix well. Form into 1-inch balls. Pour sprinkles onto a plate or flat work surface. Roll each ball in sprinkles until thoroughly coated. Place on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from baking sheets and cool on a wire rack.

I ended up with a plateful of tender, buttery cookies that literally melted in my mouth! The sprinkles made them look extra fun and added to their appeal. You can even divide the dough and mix food coloring into them to create a cookie rainbow. For bite-sized cookies, make each dough ball 1/2-inch or so in size, because the sprinkles will increase the cookie's circumference. (Just be sure to decrease the baking time by a few minutes.)

Also, Happy Belated Valentine's Day! Here are some pics of the red velvet cupcakes I whipped up for our three-course V-day dinner at the restaurant. They turned out great--soft, silky smooth texture, just sweet enough, and fairly quick to prepare. Happy baking!

Cherry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Yay! This is my first recipe-related blog post! One of my favorite treats to bake is the cupcake, and our restaurant, T.O.PS. Pizza and Hoagies, sells some of my creations. We always keep a stash of carrot cake cupcakes on hand, and offer seasonal varieties too. So far, I've baked batches of chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet cupcakes, and decided it was time to mix things up a bit with cheesecake cupcakes!

Now, I love "The Golden Girls," and can chow down a cheesecake just as quickly as Dorothy, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia. (Well, maybe not exactly--that would give me an epic tummyache!) The thing is, I'm not too experienced with baking cheesecakes. This recipe, however, reminded me a lot of these Miniature Cheesecakes I made during my high school 4-H days, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

The first time I made these, they turned out terrible! I was left with a pile of cracked cream cheese, liquidy sour cream topping, and a mushy mess that mostly ended up in the trash. :( The only saving grace was that they tasted great! 

I couldn't let this cupcake disaster defeat me; with a few minor tweaks, I knew I could get this recipe to work. A few days later, I tried again, and the results were times better! The first major change I made was to allow the cream cheese to soften longer, which eliminated the cracking. The second change I made was to immediately remove the cupcakes from the oven after allowing the topping to set for only 5 minutes. After cooling the cupcakes on a table for about half an hour, I popped them into the fridge, where the cakes and topping could firm.

 The result? Yum! The lesson learned? If at first you don't succeed, bake, bake again. :)

Aloha & Welcome!

Thanks for stopping by my *brand new* baking blog! I've thought about starting this blog for quite some time now, and finally decided to go for it! My goal is to use this space as a way of sharing my kitchen messes and successes with friends and family I don't see often enough, and spread some sweetness to others.

Although I sell some of my baked goods at our family restaurant, I don't consider myself a "baker," just a baking enthusiast. I love trying, creating, collecting, and experimenting with recipes. Maybe some day I'll even invent some of my own!

So why "The Shortcakery," you ask? Back in my college days, I worked at a Girl Scout camp under the nickname "Shortcake." The name has stuck, to a certain extent, and I'd probably still respond to it. I also absolutely adore strawberry shortcake (both the dessert and the American Greetings cartoon character).

I hope you enjoy your visit today and check back often for more posts, pics, and recipes.