bakekrazy

The three top selling cookies at the Bakery have always been Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Cherry and of course Peanut Butter. Here is the Peanut butter recipe;

Peanut Butter Cookies

ingredients needed
2 3/4 cup plus 1 Tbs. Unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup salted peanuts (half, not chopped)

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven at 350 F. Sift together the flour and baking soda. Using a stand alone mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, around 4 to 5 minutes. Scrape the bowl and beat in eggs until thoroughly combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl again. Beat in the peanut butter and vanilla until blended, about 1 minute. Scrape the bowl again. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Mix in the peanuts by folding them in.

2. Using a tablespoon, make the dough rounded and drop onto an ungreased cookie sheet approximately 3″ apart. Flatten each cookie slightly by hand, then using a fork make a crisscross pattern on top of each one. Bake until cookies are golden brown on the edges and slightly soft in the center, around 15 to 18 minutes ( an older oven may produce uneven heat, rotate your cookie sheets approximately half way through the cooking process) Once the cookies are done remove them from the oven and let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet at least 1 minute to firm up. Then transfer off the cookie sheet to a cooling rack.

TIPS: 1. Like almost all cookies blend your butter and sugar together 1st. Make sure that the butter is soft not melted. A melted butter will cause your cookies to spread out and become dry.
2. To make it easier to measure out the peanut butter, lightly coat your measuring cup with cooking oil spray and the peanut butter will slid right out.
3. The better the ingredients, the better the cookie. Use a good quality Peanut Butter and fresh Peanuts

Happy Baking

Chef Klauss

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When I was growing up the kitchen was a hub of activity. My dad used it as his starting point every morning, enjoying his cup of fresh brew coffee around 5 AM. The best conversations I had with my dad were early morning in that kitchen on my way out the door to go fishing. The rest of the family would soon get up and of course the meeting place was always the kitchen

Life happened in the kitchen, something was always baking, boiling or in a crock pot.  Neighbours came by for a cup of coffee and conversation, we all did our homework at that table. My father loved cooking and always gave my mother a break from it. My dad loved to experiment.  We were  never  surprised to find a new ingredient in any of his meal….even if it were a bone in a bowl of pasta!

 Is  it any wonder why I enjoy cooking…its about life and living it!

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Chocolate Chip Cookies

The one thing we sold a lot of were Chocolate Chip Cookies. Here is the recipe we used and a few tips.

This will make approximately 9 dozen cookies

Ingredients;
10 3/4 oz. cold unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large cold eggs
1 Tbs. pure vanilla extract
17 oz. unbleached all-purpose flour (3 3/4 cups)
12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

1. Position racks in the upper and center portions of the oven and heat the oven to 375 degrees
2. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the sugars and butter until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes once you reach high speed. Scrape the bowl and beater. Add the eggs and vanilla on low until blended. Beat on high until its light and fluffy again about one minute.
3. In a separate bowl mix together the dry ingredients (flour, salt and baking soda) Add this slowly to the wet ingredients using a wooden spoon until just blended. Dough will be stiff, now add in the chocolate chips.
4. Drop rounded measuring teaspoons of dough about 2″ apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Refrigerate the dough while the 1st batch of cookies are baking.
5. Bake until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown, approximately 8 – 10 minutes if you oven is an older model you may want to rotate the sheet trays half way through the cooking process for even baking. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and let the cookies cool approximately 3 – 5 minutes. If you try to pick them up at this point they will fall apart. Once cooled remove them from the sheet tray using a spatula and transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely. Remember to allow the cookie sheet to come to room temperature before placing dough on it. A hot sheet tray will force the cookies to spread before the cooking process and you will end up with a very crispy cookie unlike your 1st batch.

TIPS
SUGAR-the moisture of the sugar affects the chewiness; the relative amounts of white sugar vs brown sugar you use has a great effect on texture because each type has a different mositure content. More brown sugar will produce a softer, chewier cookie.
FLOUR- The way you measure flour will also make a big difference. You should try to weight it instead of measuring it, however if you do measure flour always try to fluff it up with a fork and avoid densely packed flour. Too much flour will make the cookie firm, dry and tough.
BUTTER and EGGS – Baking recipes usually specify the temperature butter and eggs, but it really does matter? Absolutely. The temperature of these ingredients helps control how much the dough spreads.

Happy Baking

Chef Klauss

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Bannana Nut Bread

3 or 4 ripe bananas (smashed)
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups of flour
1/2 walnuts crushed
pinch salt

Preheat oven at 350

mix butter and smashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg and vanilla.
Add soda and salt by sprinkling over the mixture and mix well. Add the flour and nuts. Pour
mixture into a buttered 4″ x 8″ loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack before removing from the
pan. Once cooled remove and slice to serve. (Frost the top with a good buttercream for that extra
sweet tooth)

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Beginning May 2012 the Bake Krazy Bakery of Port Sanilac Michigan will carry a new menu which will include Subs made your way, Soups, Salads, Hot Dogs. Get the best Donuts in the morning and your favorite Subs in the afternoon

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