Cooking with Demarle

I just discovered this awesome trick to doctoring up a boring sugar cookie premade mix. Yes, I know you "should" make sugar cookies from scratch, but they are SO much work...AND, they don't always turn out. So, I'm all about the premade sugar cookie mix!! (Not so much chocolate chip or oatmeal, but sugar...yes!) Anyhow, I went to a Demarle cooking demo at a fellow consultant's house (Terri Poppingo) and she served these in the Petal Tray - loved them!! Here's the simple, easy to follow, directions with photos to follow :) You will need: 1 pouch of Sugar Cookie Mix (I used Betty Crocker, but Terri used Krusteaz) 1 egg (per package directions) 1 stick of room temp butter (per package directions) 1 - 2 tsp Almond Extract (depends on your liking, but Almond is very strong so I used only 1 tsp.) You could also substitute any extract to take on that flavor - Orange, Peppermint, Lemon...and then add a topping suitable for that flavor, crushed peppermints, ...

Came across this method while searching how to make hard boiled eggs easily...since, well, I HATE making them and feel like I'm always stressed out I haven't cooked them long enough. So, I saw you can cook them in the oven and decided to try it using my handy dandy Medium Tartlet Tray...you could also use the Mini Muffin Tray as well. (Yes, you could just set them straight on your oven rack as well, but that made me a bit nervous...the last thing I want is broken egg all over my oven!) Preheat oven to 325, place tartlet or muffin tray on perforated baking sheet, fill with eggs and bake for about 30 minutes. Then, the key is to immediately submerge them in ICE cold water for about 10 minutes. Then transfer to the fridge and enjoy using, or dying in our case, your perfect (and easy) hard boiled eggs!! *After baking the eggs, mine had some brown spots on it, but once they went in the ice bath, they washed away.

I know, it's not a Demarle dish; it's a crock pot French Dip, but it's our favorite recipe!! And, the possibilities are endless for side dishes you can make using Demarle. Tonight I'm making home fries seasoned w/ the same seasonings that will be in the meat, and I'll put them on the Silpat :) Enjoy!! Ingredients 1 beef chuck roast (3 pounds), trimmed. For a leaner version, I use the chuck Crossrib roast and still trim the fat, for a cheaper, less lean version, I use a good old fashioned Chuck roast. You could also use a tri tip. 2 cups beef broth (or 2 cups water with  1 beef bouillon cube) 1/2 cup soy sauce 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1 teaspoon garlic powder 8 French rolls, split Provolone cheese is the best for french dip; put it on the hot meat right before serving the sandwiches Directions Place roast in a 5-qt. slow cooker. Add the water, soy sauce and seasonings. Cover and cook on high for 5-6 ...

This is maybe the best frosting I've tasted in a long time - so yummy!! Who needs the cake to go w/ it? ;) But, if you do, then I adjusted a box mix a little to make it yummier! Cake 1 box Pillsbury Devils Food cake mix (or whatever you like to use) 4 eggs 1/2 cup veg. oil 1 cup milk Mix until well combined. I used the Mini Muffin Tray and Small Round Mold. Preheat oven to 340 and place the muffin tray and mold next to each other on the Large Perforated Baking Sheet. Fill the muffin tray about 2/3 full and then fill the mold with remaining batter. Bake for 18 minutes, remove Muffin tray but keep mold in oven and bake the Mold an additional 8-10 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool completely. Because I wanted to get them done sooner rather than later, after about 15 minutes, I put the cupcakes in the freezer for about 5 minutes, then I unmolded them super quickly and easily! I frosted right away. Frosting Adapted from this delicious reci...

This is a new version of your Rice Krispie Treat without the messy marshmallows. AND, it works awesome in all Demarle products - flexipat, any mold, any flexipan tray - the possibilities are endless and just in time for some  fun and yummy halloween themed treats! (I tried these at a Demarle team training last night thanks to Maxine! She brought them to share along with the recipe ripped out of a magazine, so I'm not quite sure where the recipe originated and cannot give credit where credit is due, sorry!) 1 cup Karo Light Syrup 1 cup sugar 1 cup creamy peanut butter 6 cups crispy rice cereal 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips candies for decorating frosting OR melted chocolate for decorating 1. cook corn syrup and sugar together in a large pan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Bring mixture to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter; mix well. Add cereal; stir until evenly coated. OR, better yet - do this all...

My friend, Missy, has asked me to trade "date night babysitting" for treats - UM, OKAY!! :) I love baking and am trying to do it less for our house so I don't eat as much, so this is a great swap for me...I get to bake, try new things and take it to her :) Her 30th birthday party (80's theme, purple & silver) was last night and for her cake, she asked me to make chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting. The funny thing is, I hate cream cheese - there are very few things I would actually say that I "hate" but cream cheese (and blueberries) are at the top of the list. SO, I told her I would try it. Luckily, most everyone else likes cream cheese, especially in frosting, so it's not hard to find my taste testers. So, I originally tried an all home-made from scratch chocolate cake, which she liked. But, then I had her try the Kahlua cake....so, here is the recipe we ended up with. Kahlua Cake (view recipe here - http://cookingwithdemarle.blo...

Ingredients 1/2 cup unsalted butter, plus more to butter the molds 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, preferably Valrhona or Ghiradelli - or use Semi-sweet for a bit sweeter chocolate. I liked both; Joe preferred semi-sweet :) 2 eggs 2 egg yolks 1/4 cup sugar 2 teaspoons flour (I think you could omit to make flourless...this dessert is also known as "flourless cake") Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Ideally, use a Demarle Tray (I used the straight muffin tray). If you cannot, spray 4 custard cups with Pam and place on cookie sheet, or use butter and flour. Microwave chocolate and butter in large bowl on high for about 1 minute, until butter is melted. whisk until chocolate is also melted. Meanwhile beat the eggs and sugar until light and thick. Mix chocolate and butter well. Pour in egg mixture and beat until combined, then add flour and mix just til combine. Bake for about 8-10 minutes until sides are cooked and top is still glossy and undone loo...