Goodbye February, Hello March! Welcome March With Your Family Favorite!

We're going to do something a little different this week.. I'd like YOU to share your favorite family desserts. Is there a favorite that Mom always made? Did Grandma or Grandpa make something that made every holiday special? Make it and share!

The idea behind the Heirloom cookbook series is about honoring heirloom recipes of the past and creating new.

We'll run this recipe selection for two weeks. As you submit your creations, please share the recipe (step by step instructions) so others may add it to their cookbook.

I'm anxious to see your family favorites!

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies: Move Over, Girl Scouts!

This time of year, many people are addicted to the Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies that are frequently sold by the Girl Scouts.  I believe they have some stiff competition!

 

Bernie - GA

 

"For these Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies, I used crunchy peanut butter in the cookies and creamy peanut butter in the filling.  These are over the top rich and decadent." 

 

Missy - MA

 

"For this recipe I used in-store ground peanut butter, unsweetened, natural.  I thought the peanut butter looked a bit dry, so when I mixed the batter together I added one tablespoon of coconut oil to the mixture.  For me, this recipe yielded 24 fairly large cookies.  They puffed a bit more than I would have liked, which caused them to lose a bit of the forked crosshatch detail on the tops.  The flavor fell a bit flat for me but I think it has to do with the peanut butter that I used.  Also, with regards to texture, I was really hoping these cookies would be crispy on the edges and moist, almost chewy on the inside (like the peanut butter cookies of my childhood) but they are not, they are crispy all the way through.  I used creamy peanut butter in the filling mixture.  The filling is tasty, fluffy and it's creamy texture is a nice contrast to the crisp cookies.  I haven't eaten one of the constructed sandwich cookies yet but I have a feeling the filling is going to ooze right out at the first bite due to the crisp cookie texture."

 

 

 

Maria - IL

 

"I was really excited to do this recipe as I had an excess of peanut butter to use up.  This was a very simple and easy recipe to follow.  It seems that 20 minutes is a bit much as some of the cookies got a bit browner than I had intended them to be, so, the next batch I did at 18 minutes and that was just enough!  I decided to kick it up a bit and make two different fillings.  I intended this recipe to be a double batch, but it ended up being a batch of 16 very large cookies!  I ended up using most of the filling anyway which were Nutella and Honey Peanut Butter.  SO GOOD!"

 

Sue - NJ

 

"The cookie jar is full!  Thanks!" 

Recipe of the Week: Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Our recipe this week was selected by Justin.  He's opted to move away from all the cakes and selected the Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies found on page 102.  I have a feeling these will rival any Girl Scout cookie!

"You Pick" Winner! Congratulations!

A great big congratulations to Jo-Ann for winning our double giveaway of a Beekman 1802 baseball cap (highly collectible!) and vintage William Beekman t shirt, both signed by Brent and Josh!  To claim your prize, drop an email to BeekmanBakes@Comcast.net with your mailing address so we can rush the items to you! 

Thanks to everyone for participating in the "You Pick" recipe selection!  You never cease to amaze me with your talents, and your commitment to our little baking community. 

You Picked - You Created!

You could almost hear the mixers 'whirring' and feel the heat from the ovens with these wonderful submissions in the "You Pick" contest!  Congratulations to everyone for such outstanding work!

 

Bernie

 

"I decided to bake a birthday cake for my friend George.  He told me that special occasions with his family always involved a coconut cake and I was excited to try the coconut cake in the book.  The cakes baked up quite tall, so I decided to split the layers and make a four layer cake.  The lemon curd itself is divine.  It was a big hit at the birthday party.  Combined with the fluffy white cake topped with light meringue frosting, it was scrumptious!  I saved one piece to eat the next day and it was even better.  I will be baking this cake often." 

 

 

Jo-Ann

 

"For this contest, I chose the Blondies with White Chocolate and Macadamias.  This is the first recipe I've made from  the Heirloom Desserts cookbook.  I chose it because I already had all the ingredients on hand, so not having to slog through the snow and slush to get to the grocery store was a big plus!  I used fresh eggs from our community farm conveniently located right next to our house!  They came out great!  My son ate three for dessert last night!  I hope I win!" 

 

 

John

 

"This week I chose to make the Stained Glass Gelatin Cake from the spring section.  I was hoping it would make it feel a little spring-like with all this snow and cold weather!  It didn't really come out as nice as I'd like it to be, but it does look very 'homemade.'  It reminds me of my aunts 'Italian flag' jello she always makes for every holiday gathering which everyone loves!  The tricky part to this is watching as the white lime gelatin is setting up for the first time.  It sets fast!" 

 

Justin

 

"I made the Do-It-All Yellow Cake with the icing from the coconut cake!  It was so easy and it tastes great!" 

 

Maria

 

"Since it was Chinese New Year, I figured I'd get into an 'Asian' theme and pick the Chocolate Rocky Road Potstickers!  I'd been pondering making these for a while and it was so simple!  I used the square wonton skins instead of round as stated in the book.  Oddly enough, the potstickers they show in the book ARE the square kind, so, I was good.  I found it easy to assemble and it was quick to make.  Some of the filling sometimes oozed out of the openings, but with a dusting of cocoa powder/powdered sugar, it was heavenly!  A nice quick dessert!  I love the crunch and the chocolatey-nutty goodness! Yum!" 

 

Missy

 

"My 'you pick' choice was the hello dollies.  Well... they were scrumptious!  We at them until they were all gone and then we ate the crumbs out of the zip-lock bag.  I used good quality bittersweet (60%) chocolate chips in this recipe.  So easy.  So divine!  I will surely make these again.  For a recipe with so few ingredients it checked off all the boxes... sweet, salty, buttery, crunchy, nutty, spicy, rich, Yup!" 

 

Sue

 

"Chocolate Rocky Road Potstickers.  Delicious!  In addition to being delicious, the best part for me was my husband and I worked together on these amazing treats.  Simple, fun and yummy!" 

 

Kenn

 

"There's nothing I love more than a delicious coconut cake, and that's what I got when I finished this recipe!  The cakes were heavenly;  light and moist.  I used my favorite seven-minute frosting that included a bit of coconut milk and coated the outside with toasted coconut.  Needless to say, this cake didn't last long!" 

You Pick Contest

First, let's hope the Groundhog predicts an early spring!  Winter has been brutal for many parts of the country.  I think we could all use a little 'green' in our lives about now! 

This week, it's your choice of recipes with a twist. You pick what you want to make, You make it and submit your photos for posting on the blog, and you could win a double prize of an autographed Beekman 1802 'vintage' shirt and an autographed Beekman 1802 baseball cap! 

 

 

We're going to run the You Pick contest for TWO WEEKS. All submissions must be made no later than noon (eastern time) on Saturday, February 15, 2014.  Submissions will be posted at that time.  The winner will be randomly selected from the blog submissions and announced on Sunday, February 16, 2014.  

Start paging through the book and select your recipe! Good luck!