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 Oreo Pizza There’s a pizza company who used to make this dessert pizza. I’ve deconstructed it to marshmallow creme, frosting and oreo cookies.
Frosting:
1/2 stick butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 pkg Oreo cookies, broken into quarters, thirds and halves
1 pizza dough *
1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow creme
Can do the frosting night before:
Microwave butter for 15 seconds. Let rest 10 minutes. Beat until smooth. Add powdered sugar and stir, gently at first, then until smooth. Let rest 5 minutes and then stir some more to make it fluffy. (You could do this with an electric mixer and skip the resting.)
Preheat oven to 400F or according to directions, if using a premade pizza dough. Spread out pizza dough, starting at center, on a standard round pizza pan. Prebake crust for 8-10 minutes, until it’s just starting to brown. Remove from oven.
Spread frosting over pizza; it will be melty, but that’s ok! Sprinkle broken cookies over frosting. Bake 6-10 min or until golden brown around edge.
Melt marshmallow in microwave on HIGH 25 seconds, stir well. Drizzle (or slosh, as pictured above) over pizza.
* Click here to see the recipe I use for pizza dough. Pictured is a Pillsbury Artisan Pizza Crust that we spread out to fit a round pan.
 Banh bao are the larger ones, and the kaliji bao are the smaller ones. Our Daring Cooks’ December 2011 hostess is Sara from Belly Rumbles! Sara chose awesome Char Sui Bao as our challenge, where we made the buns, Char Sui, and filling from scratch – delicious!
Total time: 3 hours.
Makes 20.
Filling Ingredients
1 pound of chicken meat, cooked, diced
2 T curry powder
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cm ginger, minced
2 T oyster sauce
2 T oil
1 T cornstarch
1/2 c chicken broth
1/2 tsp 5 spice
1/2 c finely chopped cilantro (optional)
3 Tbsp coconut milk (optional)
Bun Ingredients
1 cup milk, scalded
¼ cup (60 gm/2 oz) sugar
1 tablespoon oil
¼ teaspoon (2 gm) salt
2½ teaspoons (8 gm/1 satchel) of dried yeast
3 cups (420 gm/15 oz) plain flour
Filling Directions:
1. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or pan. Sauté the onions for one or two minutes until soft. Add garlic and ginger to the wok/pan and cook another 2 minutes.
2. Add diced chicken to the wok/pan and stir. If using coconut milk, add it here and completely coat the chicken.
3. Add oyster sauce, curry powder and 5 spice to the chicken mixture, stir fry for one minute.
4. Mix cornflour and stock together and then add to the chicken mixture.
5. Stir well and keep cooking until the mixture thickens, 1 or 2 minutes.
6. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool completely before using. The filling can be prepared up to 2 days in advance, covered with plastic wrap, and refrigerated.
 Probably should have used more filling for this batch. Bun Directions:
1. Scald milk and then stir in sugar, oil and salt, leave to cool until it is lukewarm. Once it is the right temperature add yeast, leave until yeast is activated and it becomes frothy, about 10 – 15 minutes.
2. Sift flour in to a large bowl.
3. Add milk/yeast mixture to the flour. Bring the flour mixture together with your hands.
4. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for approximately 10 minutes. The dough should be smooth and slightly elastic.
5. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Leave to rise until it is double in size. This will take from 1 – 2 hours depending on weather conditions.
6. Punch down dough and divide in to 20 equal portions.
7. Roll each dough portion in to a 7 – 8cm (2¾ – 3 ¼ inches) round.
8. Place 1 tablespoon of filling in the centre of the round, gather the edges together at the top and place on a 8cm (3 inch) square of baking paper. Repeat until all dough has been used.
9. Cover and let rise for 20 minutes.
10. Place buns in bamboo steamer, leaving space between the buns.
11. Heat water in a wok until it is simmering and place steamers one on top of each other in the wok.
12. Place lid on top bamboo steamer and steam for approximately 12 minutes.
I have not tried these with coconut milk, since I liked it just fine without it. I’ve done them with and without cilantro, and I’ve tried it with both chicken and pork (pork filling was a little more substantial than the pictured chicken filling that seemed sort of flat). Chicken with cilantro, sans coconut milk, is by far the best route.
I originally found this on the LA Times archived recipes as “Gali Ji Bao”, and I said “hah! Golly Jee Bow”, so I had to make it. Glad I did, too; these were the boy’s favorite out of the bunch.
 Bánh Bao Our Daring Cooks’ December 2011 hostess is Sara from Belly Rumbles! Sara chose awesome Char Sui Bao as our challenge, where we made the buns, Char Sui, and filling from scratch – delicious!
Total time: 3 hours.
Makes 16.
1/2 pound ground pork, ground chicken, or ground turkey
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 eggs, hardboiled, peeled, and quartered lengthwise
Chinese sausage, sliced thinly on the diagonal into coins
about 2 tsp sugar
2 tsp fish sauce (optional)
1/2 cup peas (optional)
Bun Ingredients
1 cup milk, scalded
¼ cup (60 gm/2 oz) sugar
1 tablespoon oil
¼ teaspoon (2 gm) salt
2½ teaspoons (8 gm/1 satchel) of dried yeast
3 cups (420 gm/15 oz) plain flour
Bun Directions:
1. Scald milk and then stir in sugar, oil and salt, leave to cool until it is lukewarm. Once it is the right temperature add yeast, leave until yeast is activated and it becomes frothy, about 10 – 15 minutes.
2. Sift flour in to a large bowl.
3. Add milk/yeast mixture to the flour. Bring the flour mixture together with your hands.
4. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for approximately 10 minutes. The dough should be smooth and slightly elastic.
5. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Leave to rise until it is double in size. This will take from 1 – 2 hours depending on weather conditions.
6. Punch down dough and divide in to 16 equal portions.
7. Roll each dough portion in to a 3 1/2 inches to 4 inches round.
8. For each bánh bao, roll out dough. Put approximately 1 tbsp of raw ground meat in center, top with egg quarter, and press 3-5 slices of Chinese sausage around the meat. Pleat dough around and around, gathering edges together on top. Pinch to seal well. Repeat until all dough has been used. Place on 4 inch square of parchment paper. Let rest 20 minutes.
9. Place buns in bamboo steamer, leaving space between the buns.
10. Heat water in a wok until it is simmering and place steamers one on top of each other in the wok.
11. Place lid on top bamboo steamer and steam for approximately 15 minutes.
Bánh Bao are typically made with quail eggs, but I don’t have access to those, so I just used some quartered chicken eggs. You can substitute andouille sausage and a pinch of crushed red pepper for the Chinese sausage, but it’s not quite the same.
 Char Sui Bao Our Daring Cooks’ December 2011 hostess is Sara from Belly Rumbles! Sara chose awesome Char Sui Bao as our challenge, where we made the buns, Char Sui, and filling from scratch – delicious!
Requires Char Sui.
Total time: 3 hours + 24 hours for Char Sui.
Makes 20.
Filling Ingredients
350 gm (12 oz) char sui (finely diced)
2 shallots (finely diced)
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
¼ cup (60 ml) chicken stock
1 teaspoon (3 gm) cornflour
½ tablespoon vegetable oil
Bun Ingredients
1 cup milk, scalded
¼ cup (60 gm/2 oz) sugar
1 tablespoon oil
¼ teaspoon (2 gm) salt
2½ teaspoons (8 gm/1 satchel) of dried yeast
3 cups (420 gm/15 oz) plain flour
Filling Directions:
1. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or pan. Sauté the shallots for one or two minutes until soft.
2. Add diced char sui to the wok/pan and stir.
3. Add oyster sauce, dark soy sauce and sesame oil to the pork mixture, stir fry for one minute.
4. Mix cornflour and stock together and then add to the pork mixture.
5. Stir well and keep cooking until the mixture thickens, 1 or 2 minutes.
6. Remove mixture from wok/pan and place in a bowl to cool. Set aside until ready to use.
 Char Sui Bao Bun Directions:
1. Scald milk and then stir in sugar, oil and salt, leave to cool until it is lukewarm. Once it is the right temperature add yeast, leave until yeast is activated and it becomes frothy, about 10 – 15 minutes.
2. Sift flour in to a large bowl.
3. Add milk/yeast mixture to the flour. Bring the flour mixture together with your hands.
4. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for approximately 10 minutes. The dough should be smooth and slightly elastic.
5. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Leave to rise until it is double in size. This will take from 1 – 2 hours depending on weather conditions.
6. Punch down dough and divide in to 20 equal portions.
7. Roll each dough portion in to a 7 – 8cm (2¾ – 3 ¼ inches) round.
8. Place 1 tablespoon of filling in the centre of the round, gather the edges together at the top and place on a 8cm (3 inch) square of baking paper. Repeat until all dough has been used.
9. Cover and let rise for 20 minutes.
10. Place buns in bamboo steamer, leaving space between the buns.
11. Heat water in a wok until it is simmering and place steamers one on top of each other in the wok.
12. Place lid on top bamboo steamer and steam for approximately 12 minutes.
I tried a variety of doughs for the steamed buns, and the listed recipe gave the best first night results. If overcooked, it didn’t hold up very well, though. So don’t overcook! These froze and steamed (plus five minutes) very well.
 Carrot Cake Adapted from Joy of Cooking.
Total time: About 2 hours.
2 large carrots (2 cups grated carrots)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 cup shredded coconut (optional)
Preheat oven to 325F.
Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and spices, set aside. Grate your carrots using the small holes on the cheese grater (if you haven’t already).
Cream together oil and sugar until slightly fluffy. Add eggs and mix until smooth. Slowly add flour mixture and mix until smooth. Add grated carrots, nuts and coconut (if using) and combine well.
Bake in a greased pan for 60-80 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean.
Frosting: estimated 1:4:1 mix of cream cheese, powdered sugar and brown sugar, plus 1 tsp vanilla extract
I put my pecans on top instead of inside the cake. And yes, I served this for breakfast. It actually tasted better chilled (and the frosting set beautifully).
 Pumpkin Muffcake 1 3/4 c flour
1 1/2 c pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 c oil
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
Preheat oven to 350F.
Grease a muffin tin with soft or melted butter. Dust with sugar.
In a medium sized bowl, combine flour, spices, baking soda and baking powder, set aside.
Stir together sugar and oil until well blended. Add pumpkin puree and eggs. Mix until smooth. Add flour mixture and mix well, removing larger clumps, until mostly smooth.
Pour batter into greased muffin tin, and bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the closes muffin comes out clean.
I put some (soaked, drained) raisins in a handful of the muffins, and while it was good, it wasn’t as good as the muffin by itself. Slathered in butter was the way to go, but I still feel like it was missing something. Walnuts maybe?
 Pyramid of Pumpkin Biscotti 3 cups of flour
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 Tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp ginger
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp of cloves
1/8 tsp allspice
Sift together flour, baking powder and spices, set aside.
Cream together butter and sugar until well incorporated (it won’t cream perfectly), about 3 minutes by hand. Combine eggs, pumpkin and vanilla, and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.
Add flour mixture and stir well. If dough is still really wet to the touch, you can chill it for 15-20 minutes to make it easier to handle or dust with flour.
Divide dough into two pieces. Form into long flat loaves about 1/2 inch tall and 12-15 inches long. Place the loaves 3-4 inches apart on a prepared or non-stick baking sheet.
 Pumpkin Biscotti loaves after first baking Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 10-15 minutes (or until you can handle the loaves without burning yourself) on the baking sheet or a cooling rack.
With a serrated or extremely sharp kitchen knife, cut diagonally into 1/2 inch thick slices. Lay the slices flat on the baking sheet.
Bake for 20-24 minutes, turning over once. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Makes about 2 dozen.
This recipe can use fresh or canned unsweetened pumpkin puree. During the second bake, you’ll be able to determine if your biscotti is drying out well enough. If the cookies still feel soft when you flip them, you might want to reduce your heat and let them bake a little longer than suggested. Biscotti is supposed to be a firm, dry cookie.
You could dip or drizzle with chocolate or something else, I suppose, but we tend to prefer our biscotti without decoration.
 Pumpkin Bread Total Time: 1 hour
Makes 1 loaf.
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cup fresh pumpkin puree
1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
Some people add chopped nuts. I don’t.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Grease a loaf pan with soft or melted butter. Dust with sugar.
In a medium sized bowl, combine flour, spices, baking soda and baking powder, set aside.
Stir together sugar and oil until well blended. Add pumpkin puree and eggs. Mix until smooth. Add flour mixture and mix well, removing clumps, until smooth.
Pour batter into greased pan, and bake 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
This recipe calls for fresh pumpkin puree, which has considerably more water in it than the stuff you find in a can. For a recipe with canned pumpkin, please see Dad’s pumpkin bread (it makes two loaves!).
 Perfect Pocket Dough That’s right: I’m calling it perfect because it is. I’m even giving it a special large photo all its own.
Total time: 20 minutes.
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup plain yogurt
2 Tbsp oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
Makes about 10 sandwich pockets.
In a large mixing bowl, sift together dry ingredients.
Make a well in the middle. Add oil and yogurt into the middle, mix well, and incorporate into the flour mix until most of the flour has turned into pea sized or larger clumps.
Using your hands, combine the clumps together to form a soft ball of dough. Let rest 15 minutes before using.
Seen here with ham, cheese, and mashed potatoes. I scooped the filling out to show the dough a little better, but some potatoes stayed behind; they wanted to be eaten that badly.
This is a much better dough for Cheesesteak Sandwich Pockets.
 Chocolate Dipped Pretzels Total time: 4 hours.
Makes about 2 cups of smooth chocolate sauce.
1 cup cocoa powder
6 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and sugar, set aside.
In a separate large mixing bowl, cream together cocoa powder and butter until a smooth paste forms.
In a saucepan on medium heat, combine water and cocoa paste until hot, but not boiling. Add this mixture to flour and sugar. Add milk, and mix well. Remove all lumps, and you should have a nice chocolate sauce.
At this stage, it’s great for fondue, really. It might need a little more sugar (you’ll have to taste it, to see). I was hoping for something a little more solid, though. Even after chilling in the refrigerator, it didn’t become hard. Well, maybe it would have, if I hadn’t immediately dipped my pretzels into it. The pretzels became soggy, and the chocolate stayed soft. These tasted better dipped in candy sprinkles or powdered sugar. They’re slightly bitter by themselves.
When chilled, this chocolate is just like Fudge I in consistency, and while it’s unique and rich, it’s not what I wanted. Solid, it’d be good for chocolate chunk cookies or *inside* something else.
There’s always next year, I guess.
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