6 Desserts To Bake with Your Best Friend

good-quality chocolate

butter, melted

sugar

eggs

vanilla

all-purpose flour

cocoa powder

salt

PREPARATION

. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

. Chop the chocolate into chunks. Melt half, then save the other half for later.

. In a bowl, add the butter and sugar and mix to combine.

. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat for 1-2 minutes until the mixture has become fluffy and light in color.

. Whisk in the reserved melted chocolate (make sure the chocolate is not too hot or else the eggs will cook), then sift in the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.

. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, being careful not to overmix as this will cause the brownies to be more cake-like in texture.

. Fold in the chocolate chunks, then transfer the batter into a parchment paper-lined square baking dish.

. Bake for 20-25 minutes, then cool completely.

. Slice, and serve. Enjoy!

Makes 24 cookies

INGREDIENTS

sugar

ground cinnamon

butter, softened

vanilla

sugar

brown sugar

eggs

flour

cinnamon

cream of tartar

baking soda

salt

PREPARATION

. Preheat the oven to 375˚F (190˚C).

. In a small bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon until evenly incorporated. Set aside.

. In a large mixing bowl whip the butter with vanilla until light and fluffy.

. Add the sugar and brown sugar and mix until well incorporated.

. Add the eggs and stir until thoroughly incorporated.

. Using a sift add the flour, cream of tartar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt and sift into the dough. Combine until evenly mixed.

. Using your hands roll dough into ping pong sized balls.

. Dip the dough into cinnamon sugar mixture and roll around covering the dough ball completely.

. Place cookie dough on parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.

. Enjoy!

Servings:

INGREDIENTS

sugar

brown sugar, packed

salt

butter, melted

egg

vanilla extract

all-purpose flour

baking soda

milk or semi-sweet chocolate chunks

dark chocolate chunks (or your preference)

PREPARATION

. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars, salt, and butter until a paste has formed with no lumps.

. Whisk in the egg and vanilla, beating until light ribbons fall off the whisk.

. Sift in the flour and baking soda, then fold the mixture with a spatula, being careful not to overmix too much. This will cause the gluten in the flour to toughen which will result in cakier cookies.

. Fold in the chocolate chunks evenly, then chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. For a more intense toffee-like flavor and deeper color, chill the dough overnight. The longer the dough rests, the more complex its flavor will be.

. Scoop the dough with an ice-cream scoop onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, leaving at least 4 inches of space between cookies and 2 inches of space from the edges of the pan so that the cookies can spread evenly.

. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges have started to barely brown.

. Cool completely, and enjoy!

Servings:

INGREDIENTS

eggs whites, room temperature

sugar

powdered sugar

superfine almond flour

drops red food coloring

Filling

cream cheese

powdered sugar

milk

Strawberry jam

PREPARATION

. Preheat oven to 275ºF (140ºC).

. In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy.

. Keep beating and slowly add sugar until stiff peaks form.

. Sift powdered sugar and almond flour over the egg whites.

. Fold the dry mixture into the egg whites, giving the bowl a quarter turn every third fold. Make sure to not overmix or the macarons will not rise.

. Once the batter reaches a lava-like consistency, transfer half the batter to another bowl and add the food coloring. Mix until just combined, making sure not to overmix.

. Working quickly, put the white and pink batters into separate sandwich bags. 8.Cut the corner off of each bag and squeeze the two batters evenly into a larger gallon-size bag or piping bag to create the multicolor effect.

. Pipe 1½-inch dollops onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Take a little batter to “glue” down the edges of the parchment paper so it stays put.

. Let the macarons rest for 30 minutes to an hour, until they are no longer wet to the touch and a skin forms on top.

. While resting, make the filling by mixing the cream cheese, powdered sugar and milk in a bowl until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag and set aside until ready to fill.

. When the cookies are dry to the touch, bake for 13 to 15 minutes until they have risen to form a “foot.”

. Let rest for 10 minutes before filling. To fill, pipe a circle of the cream cheese mixture around the edge of one cookie and place a small dollop of jam in the center. Sandwich with another macaron.

. Macarons are best kept refrigerated until serving.

. Enjoy!

Servings:

INGREDIENTS

Dough

unsalted butter, melted

whole milk, warm to the touch (110–115˚F)

granulated sugar

pack active dry yeast

flour, divided

baking powder

salt

Filling

butter, softened

light brown sugar

ground cinnamon

Frosting

cream cheese, softened

butter, melted

whole milk

vanilla extract

powdered sugar

PREPARATION

. Generously butter two disposable foil pie or cake pans.

. In a large bowl, whisk together warm milk, melted butter, and granulated sugar. The mixture should be just warm, registering between 100–110˚F. If it is hotter, allow to cool slightly.

. Sprinkle the yeast evenly over the warm mixture and let set for 1 minute.

. Add 4 cups of all-purpose flour to the milk mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until just combined.

. Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.

. Preheat oven to 350˚F (180˚C).

. After 1 hour, the dough should have nearly doubled in size. Remove the towel and add an additional ¾ cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt.

.Stir well, then turn out onto a well-floured surface.

. Knead the dough lightly, adding additional flour as necessary, until the dough just loses its stickiness and does not stick to the surface.

. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about ½-inch thick. Fix corners to make sure they are sharp and even.

. Spread the softened butter evenly over the dough.

. Sprinkle evenly with brown sugar and a generous sprinkling of cinnamon. Press the mixture into the butter.

. Roll up the dough, forming a log, and pinch the seam closed. Place seam-side down. Trim off any unevenness on either end.

. Cut the log in half, then divide each half into 7 evenly-sized pieces (about 1½ inches thick each).

. Place 7 cinnamon rolls in each cake pan, one in the center, six around the sides. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes.

. Remove plastic wrap. Bake the cinnamon rolls in a preheated oven for 25–30 minutes, until golden brown.

. While the cinnamon rolls are baking, prepare the frosting. In a medium-size mixing bowl, whisk together cream cheese, butter, vanilla, whole milk, and powdered sugar, until smooth.

. Remove the cinnamon buns from the oven. While still warm, drizzle evenly with frosting.

. Enjoy!

Servings:

INGREDIENTS

Banana Bread Layer

bananas (as ripe as possible)

vegetable oil

egg

sugar

vanilla extract

all-purpose flour

baking powder

baking soda

salt

cinnamon

Cheesecake Layer

cream cheese, softened

sugar

vanilla extract

milk

gelatin powder

Caramel, for drizzling