Edible Sugar Cookie Dough
Here we are again guys, the beginning of the week. And if there is any better day to be making a batch of cookie dough that you can eat raw, I don’t know which. So let’s get to it.
I’m gonna be honest. I eat a lot of cookie dough as it is, and I’m talking about the stuff with raw eggs and raw flour right in there. I feel like through my life I’ve probably built up a tolerance entirely from eating cookie dough. It is what it is man, and I love tasting a dough before putting it in the oven. I’m not sorry.
BUT, if we can have cookie dough that is actually safe to eat, it’s probably the better choice. Plus, if we can make cookie dough with no intention of baking it, what a freakin treat that is. It’s summer, I’m not trying to turn on my oven more than I need to.
I wish I could say this is completely a no-bake recipe, but it’s not. I’m sure you’ve always known that you shouldn’t eat raw eggs and such, but actually you shouldn’t eat raw flour either. So, the first step in this process is actually to bake your flour for a few minutes to just make sure it’s safe. I would highly suggest you line your baking sheet generously with foil- this is going to make it much easier to get out.
And one other item I’m using that is cooked is actually the sugar. I’ve recently started keeping toasted sugar on hand at all times, via the suggestion of Stella Parks, a super amazing pastry chef. It’s particularly nice in cookie dough recipes because it adds just a slight bit of extra flavor. I’ll let you decide on what you want to do on that one- it’s great either way!
Otherwise, no cooking. You can play around with different flavors and add-ins here, whatever you feel like! I’m keeping it simple with sprinkles today- it’s a great option. Enjoy guys!
Edible Sugar Cookie Dough
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 3/4 cup toasted sugar (use regular if not toasted)
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tbs. milk
- 3 tbs. rainbow sprinkles or other add-ins
Instructions
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To cook the flour- I recommend doing this in a big batch and storing it for future use. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and evenly spread flour over the sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, cool, and store. I find that this process can make the flour clump up a bit, which means you'll want to sift before using it.
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In a medium bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, and milk until smooth. Sift in the cooked flour (it will likely clump from baking, so sifted is needed here) and beat until smooth. Add a little more flour or milk if you'd like a different consistency.
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You can enjoy this now at room temperature, or cold, which is my favorite. Store in a container in the fridge- it will stay good for about a week. Enjoy!
Blueberry Ricotta Cake
Remember that time I said we’d be on blueberries for a while? Still on it guys. I’ve been meaning to make a ricotta cake for a while now, and this is a great pairing of flavors!
Ricotta cake is typically lemon, but I’m keeping this one simple and adding in fresh blueberries. It bakes up super tall, and I’ve topped it with some raw sugar for a little crunch on top.
I rarely ever buy ricotta, which is why I haven’t yet made a ricotta cake. But I had some extra from a dinner I made, so I went ahead and threw it into a recipe. And officially, I’m only ever buying more than I need from now on, because this cake is too good.
You don’t actually taste too much of the ricotta- it is a mild tasting cheese after all- but it gives it just a little tang, and it helps the cake keep a fluffy, creamy texture. The blueberries just give you that extra somethin in here, and I think any small berries would work well here as well! For that matter, I bet chocolate chips would be awesome too.
This type of cake is really my favorite kind though. Not because of the ricotta, but because it’s just one pan, super simple, no need for a frosting. Plus, since it bakes up really tall, and looks really beautiful in the end. Honestly, it’s kind of like coffee cake, and we all know you can eat that for breakfast.
Anyways, make this cake, it’s a perfect choice for entertaining, and it’s easy to pull together!
Blueberry Ricotta Cake
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 3/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 2 tbs. raw sugar
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease an 8-inch round cake pan, and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, ricotta, melted butter, and vanilla extract.
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Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until almost combined, but some of the dry mixture is still dry. Pour in the blueberries and sliced almonds, and stir together until combined, and no more dry mixture is showing.
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Pour the batter into your prepared cake pan, and smooth evenly with a spoon. Sprinkle the raw sugar on top. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan, and gently remove before serving!
High-Altitude Vegan Chocolate Cake
Hey guys! I’ve got a vegan cake for you today and it’s something pretty dang special. It’s so good actually, and so simple, that I’ve been using it as my go-to chocolate cake recipe.
You can bake this into cake layers, into cupcakes, or into a loaf like I did here. No matter what, you’ll end up with a fluffy, super chocolatey, perfectly textured, vegan cake. I first worked on this recipe because I was looking for a great vegan option for a friend’s birthday. I did not expect that I’d use this recipe for anything and everything!
Here’s the thing about vegan baking- I am not a big fan of using weird ingredients in baking. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I definitely will do it, but in general, I prefer to just keep to simple ingredients, and things that you can find at most grocery stores. But this cake doesn’t use anything weird whatsoever. You almost certainly have everything you need to make it already.
Of course, I’m always worried about how the flavor is going to come through as well when you are omitting dairy and eggs from a recipe. You won’t miss it at all here though- and I strongly recommend you go for dutch processed cocoa powder. There’s really not a ton of it in the recipe, so the dark stuff will really give you a strong chocolate flavor!
I’ve also included a chocolate sauce of sorts to drizzle over the top. It’s almost like a syrup, and it adds to the effect of an indulgent cake overall. It’s super simple to whip up as well, but feel free to top this cake however you’d like!
Enjoy!
Vegan Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 3/4 cup flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup dutch process cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp. instant espresso powder (optional)
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tbs. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. white vinegar
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup water
For the chocolate syrup:
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 tbs. dutch process cocoa powder
- 2 tbs. water
Instructions
For the cake:
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Generously grease an 8 inch loaf pan, and preheat your oven to 350 degrees. (see notes for other baking options)
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In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder, salt, and baking soda. In a medium bowl, stir together the vanilla extract, white vinegar, oil, and water.
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Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture, and whisk to combine until completely smooth. The batter will be fairly thin. Pour into your prepared baking pan, and sprinkle with able a tablespoon of coarse sugar (optional).
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Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool before removing from pan and serving.
For the syrup:
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In a small saucepan, stir together the sugar, cocoa, and water until combined. Cook over medium heat until it reaching a rapid boil. Pour into a heat-safe container to cool until the cake is cooled. The sauce will be very thin, but it thickens as it cools. Drizzle over the cake before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- For cupcakes- line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners. Follow all instructions the same, except bake for about 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- For a layer cake- this recipe will make one 8-inch round cake. You can double it or triple it. The bake time will be about 30-35 minutes for this option.
Strawberry Cornmeal Cake
Strawberry Cornmeal Cake- sounds weird, but it’s soooo good. You might remember I made a cornmeal cake before, and it’s almost like a form of coffee cake.
I mean, technically it’s not, but it gives you that similar feel of a very hearty, only lightly sweet cake. It’s a great breakfast cake, and if that’s not already a thing in your life, are you even living? I mean, let’s be honest, I’ll eat ANY kind of cake and call it breakfast cake, but this is more sensible.
The cornmeal creates an interesting texture, even though we’re only using a quarter cup. And I don’t like a dry cake, so I’ve added sour cream here to get to a tender crumb. You can replace that with greek yogurt, or even mayonnaise- I know that sounds weird, but I promise it works totally fine, and won’t make your cake taste weird.
So strawberries are in season, and it’s a great time to bake with them. I’ve sliced them pretty thick here, you want to have substantial strawberry flavor in the cake. When strawberries bake into a cake, they often actually seem to lose a little flavor, so don’t skimp here. My strawberries were pretty big, and sliced them into thirds for this cake.
And we’re topping things off with coarse sugar. I do this a lot with un-frosted cakes. The coarse sugar will bake into the cake just slightly, and it gives you a nice crunch on top to vary up the textures in your cake. Be generous here, it’s worth it!
Last but far from least in my book, I topped each slice of cake with a dollop of whipped cream. Strawberries and cream are not new, and it goes perfectly here. Do whipped cream, do ice cream, or eat the cake plain- it’s going to be wonderful no matter what! Enjoy guys!
Strawberry Cornmeal Cake
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
- 5-6 large strawberries, hulled and sliced thick
- 2 tbs. coarse sugar
- 1 cup sweetened whipped cream or ice cream (optional)
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and generously grease an 8x8 inch cake pan. Line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang to help remove the cake after it bakes. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract, eggs, and sour cream until smooth.
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Add in the flour, salt, cornmeal, and baking powder. Beat until completely combined. The batter will be fairly thick. Spread evenly in the prepared baking pan. Lay the thick slices of strawberries in rows on the cake, 4 in each row and column.
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Sprinkle the coarse sugar evenly over the top. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean and the top has become lightly brown. Cool completely in the pan, and slice into 16 pieces. Top with whipped cream or ice cream as desired to serve. Enjoy!
Blueberry Pie Bars
I just wanna take a moment for blueberries. Great in nearly every baked good, great as jam, I mean even a strong poptart flavor.
I’m thrilled that blueberries have been on sale lately, it’s about to be blueberry city up in here for a few weeks. This week, it’s blueberry pie bars and guys. These are the perfect summer dessert.
So listen, I don’t like making pie very much. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s great when the holidays roll around and everyone is in the kitchen, but normally I just don’t enjoy rolling out dough. So we’re not doing that today. Instead we’re using a shortbread crust that you simply press into the bottom of your pan. We’re using that same dough for the crumble by adding a few oats to the mix.
The pie filling is pretty simple. Start with blueberries, lemon zest, sugar, and cornstarch and cook them together. The blueberries will release juices and once the mixture boils, you’ll get a thick, jam-like sauce. We’re spreading that over the crust layer after a quick trip to the oven. Then, top things off with the remaining crust, mixed with oats of course, and you’ll send everyone back into the heat for a bit.
Basically, you want to bake these up until the top is lightly golden, about 20-25 minutes should do the trick. Remember, you’ve got a sugary pie filling in there, so it’s important to wait for it to cool off before you remove it from the pan and try to eat it.
And anyways, slice em up and enjoy guys. You can keep them at room temperature, and they’ll last for several days. The perfect party dessert? I think yes.
Blueberry Pie Bars
Ingredients
For the crust and topping:
- 1 cup softened butter
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
For the blueberry filling:
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tbs. fresh lemon zest
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 1 tbs. cornstarch
Instructions
For the crust and topping:
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper. Lightly spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, beat together the butter and powdered sugar. Add in the salt and vanilla extract. Add in the flour and beat until a dough forms.
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Press about 2/3 of the dough into the bottom of your prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake in your preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until just slightly golden on the edges.
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With the remaining dough, mix in the oats. This should create a more crumbly dough. Set aside, uncovered (to create a more dry crumb).
For the blueberry filling:
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In a medium saucepan, add the blueberries, sugar, lemon zest, salt, and cornstarch. The mixture will seem dry, but the berries will release their juice as they cook. Stir over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the mixture is boiling and thickened.
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Spread the blueberry filling over the cooked crust. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the top. Return to the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the top becomes lightly golden brown. Cool before removing from the pan and slicing.
