logo

THE SEMISWEET SISTERS

Two sisters who love to bake...

Archives for February 2021

Bakery Style Sugar Cookies

By Leave a Comment

Bakery Style Sugar Cookies.

I tried to make a copycat version of the big sugar cookies that Whole Foods sells with sprinkles on top. You know the one’s in the fresh baked good section behind the glass doors that sell for $1? I have a hard time walking by them without buying one to eat on the way home! These seem very close to their version.

I’m sorry I have way too many different sugar cookie recipes posted on our blog. I probably have 20 different types of sugar cookie recipes posted. Sugar cookies are kind of my thing. I love a good sugar cookie. I’m kind of obsessed. This type of sugar cookie is soft and thin as you can tell a little bit from the photos.

I flattened them with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar then put them in the fridge for 30 minutes so they didn’t spread out too much when baking.

Recipe makes 20 large sugar cookies. If you don’t want that many you can cut the recipe in a half and make 10.

 

Bakery Style Sugar Cookies
 
Print
Recipe type: Dessert
Ingredients
  • 1 cup salted butter, softened (2 sticks)
  • 1½ cups sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2¾ cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 /2 teaspoon baking powder
  • sprinkles for decorating (optional)
  • milk for brushing the tops
Instructions
  1. In a mixing bowl using an electric mixer cream butter and sugar together. Mix in egg and vanilla extract.
  2. Add flour baking soda, and baking powder and mix well.
  3. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper. Take 2.5 Tablespoon size scoops of cookie dough and roll into balls. Place on cookie sheet and use the bottom of a cup dipped in sugar to flatten down slightly (see photo above for example).
  4. Place in refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
  5. After chilling dough. Preheat oven to 375 F.
  6. Brush top of each cookie with milk then top with sprinkles.
  7. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are just starting to brown.

 

 

 

Share

Kolaches Czech Pastries

By Leave a Comment

Kolaches Czech Pastries with Streusel Topping.


My sister makes these and I absolutely love them! You can add whatever filling you like. My sister likes to fill them with a cream cheese filling which is made with cream cheese and powdered sugar mixed together. Some people fill them with a their favorite flavors of jams or pie fillings. You can even keep it simple and just fill with them with a stresuel topping. I kept it simple and they taste like little mini coffee cakes to me minus the cinnamon which you could also add.

   

So we knead the dough in a bread machine but you can also use a stand mixer or knead by hand. Warning: The dough is very sticky to work with and if it seems a little sticky and wet compared to breads you are used to making this is normal. I over added on the flour the first time I made them and it wrecked the texture/taste.

So after the first rise you immediately divide them. Then shape them in a ball. Then you punch down a hole in the center with your fingers, brush with egg wash and top with toppings. Then you bake them.

I’m a little weird and like them plain and simple with just the crumb streusel topping. The rest of the family likes them with the cream cheese/powdered sugar filling plus stresuel topping.

Recipe makes 24 Kolaches.

This recipe only has one dough rise, it doesn’t need a second rise.

Bakes for 13-16 minutes or until the edges are starting to brown.

Kolaches Czech Pastries
 
Print
Recipe type: Dessert
Ingredients
  • 1⅓ cup warm milk
  • 2¼ teaspoon yeast
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 4¾ cups flour
  • 12 Tablespoons butter
  • 3 large eggs
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg yolk (save egg white for brushing tops)
  • -egg white wash-
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 Tablespoon milk or water
  • -Topping-
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 2 Tablespoons butter
Instructions
  1. Add milk, yeast, flour, sugar, butter, eggs, egg yolk, and salt to mixing bowl or bread machine.
  2. Knead dough for 6-8 minutes until a soft sticky dough forms. The dough is a little more sticky then most breads. If you keep kneading it will form in a dough ball.
  3. Cover and let rise for about an hour or until doubled in size.
  4. Preheat oven to 375 F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or non-stick baking mat.
  5. Divide dough into 24 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, place on baking sheet. Flatten with the palm of your hand to about 3.5-4" in diameter. Use your fingers to punch down an indent into the center to hold the filling.
  6. Mix sugar, flour, and melted butter together.
  7. Brush pastries with egg wash, sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of topping on each pastry. (You can add cream cheese mixed with powdered sugar to the center or pie filling, etc. if you wish).
  8. Bake for 13-16 minutes or until the edges are starting to brown.

 

Share

Brown Sugar Muffins

By Leave a Comment

Brown Sugar Muffins.

These Brown Sugar Muffins are simple to make and you can spice them up by adding nuts or chocolate chips if you want. They taste great for breakfast served warm with butter. The brown sugar I think helps to keep them moist and the texture was very soft.

You can sprinkle the top with sugar, coarse sugar, cinnamon, etc. I added a little sugar to the top before putting them in the oven to bake.

Recipes makes 14-16 brown sugar muffins.

 

Brown Sugar Muffins
 
Print
Recipe type: Dessert
Ingredients
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup milk
  • ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease muffin pan or line with muffin cups.
  2. In a mixing bowl combine brown sugar, egg, milk, vanilla, and butter.
  3. Mix in flour and baking soda.
  4. Fill muffin pan cups ⅔rds full.
  5. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until edges are browning and toothpick inserted in center of one comes out clean.

 

Share

Soft Pretzel Bites Dairy Free

By Leave a Comment

Soft Pretzel Bites Dairy Free.

It is super easy to make dairy free soft pretzel bites. I used water in place of milk and olive oil instead of butter. They taste the same as the dairy version if not better. You get that dark golden brown color from boiling the pretzel bites in a solution of water and baking soda before baking. Some recipes call for doing an egg wash but my pretzels turn out just as dark whether I do an egg wash or not so I skip that part and save an egg.

 

So above is what your bread should look like after being in the bread machine or kneaded for a few minutes. If it’s too dry add a tablespoon of water at time until it looks right. If too wet do the same with tablespoons of flour.

Next put the dough out on a floured surface and divide into six pieces. Roll out each piece into a long rope about 1/2 inch thick.

 

Cut each rope into 1- 1 1/2 inch pieces and set aside. Next you will boil in the baking soda water solution for about 30 seconds. I could only fit about 12 in my sauce pot at a time.

This recipe made about 65 pretzel bites depending on what size you cut them. You can also split the recipe in half and make a smaller batch if you want. You probably need two cookie sheets to bake them all. You can sprinkle with salt before or after you bake them. I like to use pink Himalayan salt because coarse salt can be a little too salty for me.

……

Soft Pretzel Bites Dairy Free
 
Print
Ingredients
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 2¼ teaspoons or 1 packet of rapid rise yeast (I use quick rise active dry yeast)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2¼ cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Soda Bath Dip:
  • 2 Tablespoons baking soda
  • 4 cups water
  • Topping: Coarse Salt for topping-(coarse kosher salt or table salt) & olive oil
Instructions
  1. Add all the Pretzel ingredients, water, oil, yeast, brown sugar, flour and salt in a mixing bowl or your bread machine in that order. If your machine has a quick dough setting use that, if not just use regular dough setting. If kneading my hand or using a stand mixer start mixing the ingredients together. If it's too dry add a tablespoon or 2 of water if too dry, do the same with flour. Knead for about 10 minutes. Dough should be a nice ball by the time your done kneading.
  2. Let dough rise for 20-30 min.
  3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with nonstick mats or parchment paper.
  4. Put the dough on lightly floured surface and break into 6 pieces. Roll each of the 6 pieces out into long ropes about ½ inch thick, then slice into 1- 1½ inch long pieces. (see pics) Set cut pieces aside until they are all rolled and cut.
  5. Mix baking soda and water in a sauce pot until dissolved. Bring to boil on the stove top. Add 10-12 pretzel bites to the boiling water. Boil for about 30 seconds then remove with a slotted spoon. Place on baking sheet. Continue until you have boiled all the pretzels.
  6. Bake at 425 F. for 8-12 minutes or until browned. Brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with table salt or course salt. Serve with your favorite dip.

 

Share

Classic Apple Pie Dairy Free

By Leave a Comment

Classic Apple Pie Dairy Free with Oil Pastry Pie Crust.

I made an 8″ Apple Pie with this recipe. If using a 9″ pie pan then you can increase the amount of apples by 1 cup. This was my first attempt at doing the lattice top. I normally only do the regular flat top that you cut some slits in but I think this looks prettier. My mom always tells me that my grandma used to make the lattice top pies so I wanted to give it a try. It was actually much easier then I thought it would be but I did watch a youtube video on how to do it before I started, lol.

My mom and grandma both had that big red Betty Crocker Cookbook that they used to make pies. My mom has hand written in pencil next to the recipe her customized version. The book has changed a little depending on what issue you have. She always uses milk for the crust instead of water but I’m keeping it dairy free.


Classic Apple Pie Dairy Free
 
Print
Recipe type: Dessert
Ingredients
  • -Pie Crust (8-9")-
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ⅔ cup vegetable oil
  • 4-6 Tablespoons cold water
  • -Apple Pie Filling-
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons flour
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • pinch of salt
  • 5 cups of sliced/diced apples, peeled.
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
  2. Make pie crust: In a mixing bowl mix flour and salt together. Add vegetable oil and 4 Tablespoons of water. Mix. If dry add another Tablespoon of water until ball of dough forms.
  3. Divide dough into 2 ball. Roll one ball out in between 2 pieces wax paper lightly floured using a rolling pin. Roll to the size that will fit your pie pan. Take the second ball and roll out again to about the same size, cut into 10-14 strips for the lattice style top.
  4. Make pie filling: In a mixing bowl mix sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and apples together.
  5. Grease pie pan.
  6. Add bottom pie crust to pan. Pour in apple mixture. Cover pie with top piece of pie crust by weaving the lattice top together.
  7. To make lattice you place 5-7 strips of crust going one way then weave the rest of the strips in between. Press edges down firmly when done.
  8. Cover edges with 2-3 strips of aluminum foil to keep the edges from browning, removing the last 15 minutes of baking.
  9. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until crust is golden. Let cool before serving.

 

Share

Thick Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies

By Leave a Comment

Thick Soft Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies.

Soft Extra Thick Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies. I used Mega Stuf Oreos for this recipe but you can also use regular Oreos. We love Mega Stuf Oreos so I just used what I had on hand. You can add 1 cup of chocolate chips to the recipe or you can omit it if you just want a cookies and cream style cookie.

Recipe makes about 16 large cookies or 2 cookie sheets of cookies. I used a cookie scoop (amazon affiliate link) that was about 2.5 Tablespoons.

 

Thick Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies
 
Print
Ingredients
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup salted butter (2 stick) semi cold*
  • ¾ cup + 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 12 Mega Stuf Oreos or 16 regular Oreos, chopped or crumbled
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 F. degrees. Grease cookie sheet or line with non stick baking mat.
  2. Use an electric mixer to cream brown sugar, sugar, & semi cold butter*(you want the butter to be a little cold, I took mine from the frig, microwaved it for 10-14 seconds, cut it into pieces then added it to the bowl).
  3. Add eggs & vanilla, mix.
  4. In a separate bowl mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, & salt together. Add to the creamed butter/sugar. Beat with mixer until everything is mixed in.
  5. Stir in chocolate chips. Stir in crumbled Oreos.
  6. Scoop 2½ tablespoons of cookie dough into a ball (golf ball sized) & drop onto greased cookie sheet. (I used a large cookie scoop/ice cream scoop). Don't touch the dough with your hands or it will warm it up too much. If you want to use your hands then you will need to place the cookie sheet in the frig for 20 min. before baking so the cookies don't go flat.
  7. Bake 10-12 minutes or until the edges are just starting to brown.

 

Share

Connect With Us