All posts by Ruth Wendel

About Ruth Wendel

I'm a musician, Registered Dietitian, cook, and baker. I love food, and want to share my delight for it with the world. I hope you enjoy my recipes and, if you haven't developed a love for baking already, I hope you will! View all posts by Ruth Wendel →

Campfire Cupcakes

July 2, 2015Cakes and Cupcakes, Uncategorizedmarshmallow; chocolate; cupcakeRuth Wendel

Hi friends! Happy 4th of July weekend! I was flipping through my Cupcake Bible this past week and came across a great recipe for S’mores Cupcakes. Since my last S’mores Dip recipe was so popular, I decided to go round two for the s’mores! This recipe is really simple and cute, and was a huge favorite among my family and my dad’s coworkers. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick softened butter or margarine
1 and 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
7 whole graham crackers (14 squares)
1 and 1/2 cup marshmallow fluff
Chocolate candies of your choosing (I chose Kit-Kats, but Hershey milk chocolate bars are more traditional. You’ll need as much as you want to top each cupcake.)

Preheat the oven to 350ºF, and line 14 cupcake cups with the paper baking cups. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl, and set it aside.

Combine the milk and vanilla, and set those aside.

Beat the butter in a large bowl with a stand mixer at medium speed until the butter is creamed. Add the sugar, and beat for three minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Now, put the mixer to medium speed and add the milk mixture and flour mixture alternately, starting and ending with the flour mix.

Pour the batter into the cupcake cups, so that they’re about 3/4 full. I got 14 out of the mix, but you may get more or less. According to the book, I was only supposed to get 12. It happens!

Bake the cupcakes for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool them in the pan for 10 minutes, and then take them out and finish cooling them on a cooling rack.

When the cupcakes are completely cooled, put a small dollop of fluff on the top of each one. This will act as the glue for the graham crackers.

Now, break each graham cracker in half so that you have about 14 squares. Put one square on each cupcake.

Now, put a larger dollop of fluff on each graham cracker.

And now, put the candy on top of the fluff like you would on a s’more!

You can either eat the cupcakes like this, or take it up a notch by toasting the fluff. If you want to do that, put all the cupcakes on a baking sheet. Put them in the freezer for about 15 minutes (this prevents the cupcakes from cooking more when they’re under the broiler). When they come out of the freezer, broil them on high heat just until the fluff gets toasted. The chocolate may melt and the cracker may toast- added bonuses!

These cupcakes are seriously so good. I hope you’ll give them a try for your 4th of July party! Have fun on the 4th, and happy baking!

S’mores Dip… Yeah, I Said It

June 17, 2015Miscellaneouschocolate; marshmallow; graham cracker; s'moresRuth Wendel

Hi friends! I hope you’re all having a stellar June, and congratulations to all the high school graduates! Today, the recipe is a remake of a favorite summer dessert- s’mores! I’ve been seeing this recipe pop up all over Facebook, and I knew I had to give it a try and share it with my non-Facebook readers. This is seriously one of the simplest recipes you’ll find. Let’s dig in!

Ingredients:

10 oz bag of marshmallows (the medium/large marshmallows work well)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 bars Hershey milk chocolate
Any other chocolate you have on hand and want to use
1 package Graham crackers

A note about the chocolate- it really doesn’t matter what type you use. I used a mixture of three different chocolates (Hershey milk chocolate, Hershey Bliss milk chocolate, and semisweet chips), and it was delicious because the flavors mixed into a really yummy deep chocolate. If you only have chocolate chips on hand, that will work well too! This is a flexible recipe.

Pour the chocolate into the bottom of an aluminum pie dish, or another pie dish that you may have on hand. Arrange the chocolate into a single layer so that it evenly melts.

Arrange the marshmallows in concentric circles on top of the chocolate.

Now, put the dish in the oven to broil. I used a low broil setting to simulate slow toasting over a fire! After the marshmallows are toasted nicely, turn the oven onto 350°F and leave the dish in just until the chocolate is melt-y. You’ll be able to see if it’s melted through the marshmallows, so no worries about that! When you’re satisfied with the condition of your chocolate and marshmallows, take it out of the oven and… voilà!

Use your Graham crackers (or a spoon, whatever!) to scoop the yummy dip, and enjoy! This serves a ton of people, so this is a great dish for a summer party! Just a note, this dip also keeps well for a few days. The chocolate does re-harden, but you can melt it again or just eat it with hardened chocolate. I did both, and it was delicious! I hope you give this summer fun recipe a try. Happy baking!

My Hiking Fuel

June 1, 2015Miscellaneousgranola; trail mixRuth Wendel

Hey friends! Happy summer! I hope you’re all out enjoying some gorgeous June weather! Last week, my fiancé and I headed to Mt. Monadnock for some hiking. First, however, we made some delicious granola trail mix to keep us going the whole way up the mountain! Here are the ingredients for the baked granola:

Ingredients:

4 cups old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup sweetened coconut
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cocoa powder
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla

First, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Now, mix the wet ingredients together in a smaller bowl and pour them over the dry ingredients. Mix the wet and the dry ingredients together until they’re fully combined.

Pour the mixture onto a large baking sheet lined with wax paper or a silicone baking mat, so that the mixture is in a single layer.

Bake the granola at 350ºF for 20 minutes, tossing the granola with two forks (or whatever you want to use) every 5 minutes so that it all browns evenly.

After 20 minutes, the granola should be delicious and golden brown!

Let the granola cool, and then you can mix it with whatever other trail mix goodies you enjoy! We mixed ours with dried sweetened cranberries and M&Ms, but it would also be delicious with raisins, chocolate chips, peanuts, pretzels…the list goes on!

And for your viewing pleasure, here are pictures from the top of Mt. Monadnock.

I’d say it was worth the climb! I hope you all enjoy your summer, and give this recipe a try! Happy baking!

Oven-Roasted Fancy Fries

May 18, 2015Miscellaneouspotato; roasted; garlic; Parmesan; rosemaryRuth Wendel

Hi friends! Happy May, and happy college graduation to my friends! I have a super simple but delicious recipe for you today, for gourmet roasted French Fries! Here are the ingredients:

Ingredients:

4 white potatoes, washed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp rosemary, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

First, preheat the oven to 450ºF. Cut the potatoes into wedges (you should get about 8 wedges per potato).

Combine all of the other ingredients into a simple sauce, and toss the potatoes in the sauce until they are fully coated.

Arrange the wedges on a baking sheet so that they are all on one side. Bake them in the oven on one side for 20 minutes, and then flip all of the wedges onto the other side. Put the baking sheet back in the oven, and bake the flipped wedges for another 10 minutes. When they come out, they should be crispy and browned!

Even though this recipe is really quick and simple, it’s absolutely delicious! These fries are great on their own, and also stand up nicely to condiments like ketchup and mustard. We had these with salmon for dinner, and are also having them with a roasted chicken- they really are a nice side dish for just about any meal! Enjoy!

Strawberry Shortcake

April 25, 2015Cakes and Cupcakesbiscuit; strawberryRuth Wendel

Hi friends! I just got back from a visit to Pennsylvania for the annual Mennonite Relief Sale! It’s always a super fun time of eating homemade goods, auctioning off quilts, and much more (and it’s great knowing that all the proceeds go to charity!). While in Pennsylvania, we celebrated my sister’s birthday with a delicious strawberry shortcake. It was so good that I knew it was worthy of being my next recipe post! Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder (NOT BAKING SODA)
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes
1 beaten egg
2/3 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 450ºF. Combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder together in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter, cut in the cold butter until the mixture looks like large crumbs.

Measure out the milk in a liquid measuring cup, and then crack an egg into the milk. Beat the egg and milk together until they are thoroughly mixed.

Pour the milk/egg mixture into the dry ingredients. Using a spoon, spatula, or your hands (my favorite tool) mix the ingredients together just until they’re moistened and combined. Don’t overmix it, or else you won’t get a light and flaky shortcake- you’ll get dense bread.

Spread the dough into a greased 8″x1.5″ round baking pan. (We doubled the recipe, which is why you see two pans here.)

Bake the dough for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes.

While the cake is baking and cooling, you can get your berries going! We used fresh strawberries and blueberries, and just sprinkled sugar over them and let them macerate so that they were really sweet and juicy.

You can also make some fresh whipped cream! All you have to do is take however much you want of heavy whipping cream and, using either a stand mixer or a hand mixer, whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Then, sprinkle some sugar into the cream until you have your desired sweetness.

And now, put it all together into a sweet, light, and fresh dessert! This cake is so delicious and flaky and buttery, and the berries added the perfect touch of freshness and a slight tart bite. And of course, the whipped cream was just perfect. I hope you all give this recipe a try! Happy baking!

Springtime at Last!

April 12, 2015Lunch and Dinnergrill; vegetablesRuth Wendel

Hi everyone! I don’t want to jinx it, but it seems like Spring might finally be upon us! The warm weather rekindled our itch to get outside and grill, and so that’s what this post is all about! My dad got a new grill with a rotisserie for his birthday, so we had rotisserie chicken, and spice-grilled vegetables that were my responsibility. Here are the spices and other ingredients you’ll need for the veggies:

Garlic powder
Chili powder
Ground mustard
Fresh lemon juice
Salt
Black pepper

The veggies I used were zucchini, summer squash, asparagus, and green peppers. I cut the zucchini and squash into spears, the green pepper into wedges, and just cut the woody ends off of the asparagus. Arrange them on a baking sheet or a grilling pan.

Squeeze lemons over the vegetables until they’re thoroughly coated to your liking.

Now, sprinkle the spices over the vegetables in whatever quantities you choose! I used a few tablespoons of chili powder and garlic powder, and a very small amount (maybe a teaspoon) of the ground mustard. Then, sprinkle salt and pepper generously over all the vegetables.

Put the pan in the grill at 350ºF, for about 10 minutes. You can turn the vegetables on the pan to get them browned all over, or you can just leave them. We tossed them at the very end, because we just wanted to get them softened and a bit browned.

And now, just to show you how well the rotisserie worked, here’s a picture of the yummy chicken!

Perfect, right? This was such a great spring meal- we ate like kings and the food was so light and fresh! This may be a simple recipe, but those vegetables were so delicious, and the spices brought out the natural flavor of the veggies. Seriously, you should try it! Happy grilling!

A Day on Pinterest

March 28, 2015Chocolatescookie dough; cookie dough balls; chocolate chipRuth Wendel

Hi friends! Happy almost-April, and almost-Palm Sunday! I was so pleased that so many people enjoyed my last recipe for No Bake Cookies, and I knew I needed to find a recipe to top it. I was perusing Pinterest the other day when I happened upon a recipe for Cookie Dough Truffles. I couldn’t help myself- I had to give them a try! These turned out so spectacularly that I had to share them, even though it’s not my original recipe. So here is the recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles, originally Pinterested by BruCrew Life.

PS- if you’re currently worrying about Salmonella, don’t. They’re egg-free!

1 stick butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cup flour
1 large bag mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp shortening

In a large bowl mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar until they’re fully combined and fluffy. Add the condensed milk and vanilla, and beat until combined. While the mixer is on low, slowly add in the flour and mix well. Finally, add in 1/2 cup chocolate chips and mix.

Put the whole bowl of cookie dough in the freezer for 15 minutes to stiffen the dough. After the 15 minutes are up, line a cookie sheet with wax paper, roll the cookie dough into 1-inch balls, and place the balls on the cookie sheet. Put the cookie sheets back in the freezer for 15 minutes (so that they will be easier to dunk in chocolate later!).

Just before it’s time for the dough balls to come out of the freezer, melt the shortening in a small bowl. Put the rest of the mini chocolate chips into a separate larger microwave-safe bowl, and pour the melted shortening over them. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between.

Here’s where you get to decide your technique- you can either fully roll the truffles in chocolate, or just dip them partially. I did both methods, and I found the simple dipping method to be much easier. You can also taste the cookie dough better with the simple dipping method. I’ll explain both methods, though.

For the complete rolling method: spear a dough ball with a toothpick, and dip the ball into the melted chocolate. Spoon more chocolate over the top, and then wipe the excess chocolate away. Put the truffle back on the cookie sheet, and twist the toothpick out.

The dip method: spear the truffle with a toothpick, and just simply dip the truffle into the melted chocolate, without spooning more chocolate over the top. Place the truffle back on the baking sheet, and twist the toothpick out. If you’re feeling fancy, you can fill in the hole made by the toothpick with more melted chocolate.

Stick the truffles back in the freezer to harden the chocolate, and then enjoy! These do taste really good when cold, so I would recommend keeping them in the fridge or freezer. We’re going to freeze ours and save them for Easter treats! I hope you guys get a chance to try these- let me know what you think! Happy baking!

Cookies ‘n Cream Cupcakes

March 1, 2015Cakes and Cupcakescupcake; oreo; cookies and cream; chocolateRuth Wendel

Hey friends! Happy end of February- Spring is officially coming! To celebrate, I made a great new recipe for Cookies ‘n Cream cupcakes! They’re light and sweet chocolate cupcakes, with that perfect Oreo crunch and the thick Oreo cream in a sweet glaze! Here’s the recipe:

1 chocolate cake mix, plus ingredients for the mix (I used a milk chocolate mix, but I also think a dark chocolate mix would give the cake a perfect bittersweet taste.)
1/2 package Mega-Stuf Oreo’s
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
3 tbsp and 1/2 tsp milk
1/8 tsp cream of tartar

First, preheat the oven to 375ºF (or whatever the mix instructs) and line 2 cupcake sheets with cupcake papers (this recipe makes about 24 cupcakes). Make the cake mix according to the directions on the box, and portion the batter evenly among the cupcakes. Bake for however long the box directs, or about 15 minutes. When the cupcakes come out of the oven, cool them in the sheets for 5 minutes and then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool thoroughly.

While the cupcakes are baking, separate the Oreo’s into the cookies and the cream. I did this by twisting the Oreo’s until one cookie came off, and then ran a knife under the cream to separate it from the other cookie. With a fork, fluff up the cream. Put the cream in a pastry bag or a plastic food storage bag with the corner cut off (you’re going to pipe the cream into the cupcakes).

Put the chocolate cookies in a plastic storage bag, and pound the bag with either a rolling pin or a meat tenderizer until you’ve successfully smashed the cookies to smithereens. Set the cookie crumbs aside.

When the cupcakes are fully cooled, begin piping the cream into the center of the cupcakes. To do this, insert the tip of the pastry bag into the cupcake and squeeze the bag as hard as you can! The cream is reeealllllyyyy thick, so it took some muscle to get it out of the bag. Totally worth it, though! You can also do this by hollowing out a little area in the cupcake and just squeezing some of the cream into the little hollowed area.

Now, time to make the glaze for the cupcakes! Take the confectioner’s sugar, milk, and cream of tartar and mix them in a small bowl until they form a glaze consistency. It should be slightly runny, but not so thin that it can’t be controlled when being spread over a cupcake. Take as many of the Oreo cookie crumbs as you want and sprinkle them into the glaze- but be sure to save some to top the cupcakes with!

Spread glaze over each cupcake to taste. Don’t worry, there is plenty for each, so you don’t have to skimp!

Finally, top the cupcakes with the Oreo cookie crumbs. You can do this either by sprinkling the crumbs on top, or by putting the crumbs in a bowl and rolling the cupcake in the crumbs. Both methods worked well!

And finally, enjoy! These cupcakes are super yummy and so fun and easy to make! Feel free to give them a try, and treat yourself! Happy baking, and happy March!

The Chocolate I Dream About

February 14, 2015Chocolateschocolate; peanut; Reese's; peanut butterRuth Wendel

Hey friends! Happy almost-Valentine’s Day! I’m sure some of you are making plans with your sweeties to celebrate, and I wish you a very happy holiday with your loved one! My fiancé will not be around for Valentine’s Day, sadly, so I decided to treat myself to some yummy chocolate. That decision morphed into a new creation, namely a chocolate that I just made up that I’m calling Nutty Bark. It is so simple to make this chocolate bark, and it’s heavenly! Here are the ingredients:

2, 4-ounce boxes of Baker’s semi-sweet chocolate bars
1/2 cup chopped cashews (or peanuts, or really any nut)
1/2 cup Reese’s Pieces

First, chop the cashews if they’re not pre-chopped. Sprinkle the cashews and Reese’s Pieces on a non-stick baking mat or on wax paper in a baking sheet.

Next, in a microwave safe bowl, melt the semi-sweet chocolate. Hint: Heat it for 30 seconds, then stir. Heat for another 30 seconds and stir again. Continue heating in 10-second increments after that until it’s fully melted. This chocolate melts perfectly into a silky smooth liquid. Pour the chocolate over the chopped nuts and candies and, using a rubber spatula, spread the melted chocolate out so there is one uniform layer.

Put the pan in the fridge for about 1 hour or until the chocolate has completely hardened. You should be able to pull it off the wax paper or baking mat in one heavenly chocolate brick.

Now, break the chocolate slab up! I suppose you could also just eat it all right then, and that would be perfectly acceptable too. I plan on sharing this bark with my family, so I had to break it into smaller pieces. You can break it up with your hands, a knife, or however you prefer.

Now, dig in! This chocolate bark is the perfect balance of a sweet chocolate (but not too sweet!) and a creamy salty-sweet peanut bite, and it’s delightfully crunchy but melts smoothly on the tongue. If that doesn’t say “Happy Valentine’s Day”, I don’t know what does! Happy eating!

Baking and Breaking Bread

Yummy Creations that Inspire Community

All posts by Ruth Wendel

About Ruth Wendel

Campfire Cupcakes

S’mores Dip… Yeah, I Said It

My Hiking Fuel

Oven-Roasted Fancy Fries

Strawberry Shortcake

Springtime at Last!

Cookies ‘n Cream Cupcakes

The Chocolate I Dream About