What I’m Baking – Page 2 – The Earnest Baker

S’mores Cookie Cups

August 31, 2018January 22, 2019by Kristine HinterkopfLeave a Comment

S'mores Cookie Cup

So I might be way too excited to share this post. How excited, you ask. Well, so excited that I’m legit typing this on my phone while camping. Thank goodness for 4Gs and awesome cell service….because you guys NEED these for your Labor Day weekend.

Every once in a while I come up with a seriously over the top idea. Something so decadent and indulgent that it makes even me pause….and that’s saying a lot. These S’mores Cookie Cups are one of those recipes. The general idea come about in a rather simple way. I love cookie cups (anyone else remember getting the frosted ones from Mrs. Field’s at the mall??) and wanted to create a summery twist on them. And, to me, nothing says summer more than s’mores.

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What I'm Baking

Salted Oatmeal Tahini Cookies with Boozy Cherries and White Chocolate

August 17, 2018January 22, 2019by Kristine Hinterkopf6 Comments

Tahini Oatmeal Cookies

Okay, since I promised to have this recipe up last week and then totally dropped the ball (I’m the worst…..I know) – I’m going to keep today’s post short and simple. These Salted Oatmeal Tahini Cookies are quite possibly my new favorite cookie. First of all, they help fuel my out of control tahini addiction (I seriously cannot get enough of it!) and second of all, the flavor combo is AMAZING. There’s just something magical about the combination of tahini and cherries. They play off each other beautifully with the tart, sweetness of the cherries being the perfect balance to the nuttiness and earthiness of the tahini. And the white chocolate just adds a little extra sweetness to bring everything together.

There are a couple keys to this recipe. One is the bourbon soaked cherries. It takes a little extra forethought to soak them ahead of time, but trust me – it is sooooo worth it. It plumps up the cherries and adds a nice depth to the cookie. And you’re left over with some cherry infused bourbon, which is never a bad thing! The second key is using the best tahini you can find. It’s the star and base ingredient in this recipe, so please do not skimp. I’m partial to Soom and highly recommend seeking a jar out. It’s by far the best tahini I’ve ever had and is like 99.99% responsible for my newfound tahini addiction…..most of the time you can find me eating it straight out of the jar with a spoon (don’t judge me til you’ve tried it).

Alright, I promised a short post – so let’s get on to the recipe. Make them, love them, and PLEASE tell me all about it so I can eat vicariously through you…..cause I can’t have sugar or barley for another week and that makes me sad.

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What I'm Baking

Mango Key Lime Pie Bars

July 17, 2018January 22, 2019by Kristine Hinterkopf5 Comments

Mango Key Lime Pie Bar

Summer is finally in full swing here in Montana and these long, hot days have me craving tart, refreshing desserts. And these Mango Key Lime Pie Bars are my essential summer dessert. Like if I don’t make them at least three times a summer, something is seriously wrong.

There are a few things that make these my go-to option: 1. I grew up in Miami and am therefore required to love all things Key Lime 2. They take barely any time to make and 3. They freeze beautifully and are absolute perfection eaten straight out of the freezer on a hot, sunny day…..which is what I tend to do during the hottest parts of the year. Because let me tell you, there is NOTHING better than hanging out on the patio, eating a refreshingly cold Mango Key Lime Pie Bar and letting the heat from the sunshine beat down on you. Throw in a hazy IPA to drink and you’ve pretty much found my happy place.

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What I'm Baking

Salted Tahini Caramel Brownies

June 22, 2018January 26, 2019by Kristine Hinterkopf8 Comments

Sometimes when you’re developing a recipe, you have a very specific image in your head of how you want the finished product to look. This was the case five years ago when I came up with my original Salted Caramel Brownie recipe. I had the most insanely, frustratingly specific idea of how I wanted them to look. I wanted two fudgy, dark chocolate brownie layers with a layer of thick salted caramel in the middle. It couldn’t be pockets of caramel or a faint ribbon of caramel – it had to be a distinct, gorgeous, continuous copper layer of caramel.

No joke, I drove myself crazy trying to accomplish this. Every time I pulled the brownies out of the oven, I’d get my hopes up thinking maybe this adjustment fixed it. But, more often than not, the caramel layer would bake into the brownies and all I’d be left with is the faintest caramel remnant. I was just about to give up, when a seemingly crazy idea popped into my head. What if I created a frozen layer of salted caramel??? This would give the brownies enough time to bake and because the caramel was frozen it wouldn’t immediately dissolve into the brownie layers.

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What I'm Baking

Meyer Lemon Coconut Cream Pie

March 23, 2018January 26, 2019by Kristine Hinterkopf4 Comments

Coconut Lemon Cream Pie

Winter here this year was ROUGH. I’ve been referring to it as the never ending, relentless winter, because that’s how it felt to me. So many storms, so much snow, so much ice…….just so much winter. Those who follow me on Instagram know I’ve been training for a marathon and I’m not kidding when I say – I picked the wrong year to train. Even though I love running and racing, I’ve always been a bit of a fair weather runner…….especially when it comes to winter conditions. Typically, I take December through February off and try to get in more cross country skiing (aka my ONLY winter sport). But I’ve always wanted to run the Colorado Marathon which is in May every year……which meant I HAD to train this winter.

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What I'm Baking

Cowboy Cookies with Bourbon and Smoked Sea Salt

March 7, 2018January 26, 2019by Kristine Hinterkopf12 Comments

Sharing is caring or at least that’s what they say. In most cases, I’m all about sharing – especially when it comes to food I’ve made. However, there are a couple areas in my life where sharing is a little harder. The first is french fries (there’s never enough!)…..and the second is recipes. Let’s be honest here, every baker or chef has at least one recipe they don’t want to share. That one recipe they’ll protect fiercely and keep to themselves. The recipe they’re most proud of and the thought of sharing it physically pains them. This one is mine……..

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What I'm Baking

Homemade Samoas

February 25, 2018February 2, 2019by Kristine Hinterkopf4 Comments

Homamade Samoas

We all have our favorite Girl Scout cookie. That one cookie we dream about all year long until cookie season finally arrives. For some it’s Thin Mints. For others it’s Tagalongs or Do-si-dos. But for me, it will always be Samoas. There’s just something about their caramelly, coconutty, chocolatey goodness that I can’t get enough of and I don’t know why. Now I’m sure there’s some sort of article or quiz that can tell me “What Your Favorite Girl Scout Cookie Says About You!”….and, actually, if there is one – can someone please send it to me?? Cause I legit want to know. Like is one cookie personality better than the other? And what does it mean if you’re Team Samoas and your husband is Team Thin Mints??? Oh man, this is going down a seriously strange tangent. I should probably get back on track……and obviously Google all these things later.

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Salted Peanut Caramel Pretzel Scotcheroos

October 28, 2016February 2, 2019by Kristine Hinterkopf3 Comments

Caramel Pretzel Scotcheroo

Because it’s Halloween weekend…..and because I’m obsessed with Take 5 candy bars, I decided to share the recipe for these awesome Take 5 inspired Scotcheroos! These bars have a Peanut Butter Rice Krispie / Pretzel base, a Salted Peanut Caramel middle, and are topped with a Dark Milk Chocolate Glaze. They’re salty-sweet perfection and everything I dreamed of when developing the recipe. Hope you guys love them as much as I do!

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What I'm Baking

Cookies and Cream Cookies

August 22, 2016February 5, 2019by Kristine Hinterkopf1 Comment

Random fact about me……I’m not the biggest fan of Oreo cookies. I’m not sure why, but Oreos just don’t do it for me. Here’s where it gets a little weird though – even though I don’t really like Oreos, I loooooove anything Cookies and Cream! It makes no sense, I know!! But man, if you put Oreos in just about anything (ice cream, donuts, cake….) I’m all over it. These cookies were inspired by my love for all things Cookies and Cream. They have both crushed and chopped Oreos in them and a little white chocolate and milk chocolate to balance out the flavor. The end result tastes like the perfect bowl of Cookies and Cream Ice Cream…..but in cookie form! Hope you guys like them as much as I do!

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Mocha Stout Cupcakes for High-Altitude

March 13, 2014February 7, 2019by Kristine Hinterkopf2 Comments

Over the past few years, beer has slowly become my go-to drink of choice. It’s something that kind of crept up quietly on me. I’ve always loved beer, but when given the choice I would usually go for wine or something stronger like a Manhattan. These days though, beer always wins. There’s a very good reason for this gradual change in my beverage habits. Over the past decade or so, beer has experienced a sort of renaissance. People all over the States are going out of their way to create good quality, unique craft beers and this is a trend I am most definitely enjoying.

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