Acts of Sweetness

Chocolate, peanut butter cups and brownies oh my!

So, it’s fairly obvious that we have a major sweet tooth here at the Acts of Sweetness HQ. We also have a weakness for the delicious combination of chocolate and peanut butter. When Anna came across this recipe for Peanut Butter Cup Crunch Brownies, she just had to try them herself. She had to! So she dropped everything, ran out to grab the ingredients, and started to make these crunchy and chewy delights.

Here’s how!

Ingredients:

- One batch of the brownie recipe that you like the most. Here’s a link to the recipe that we used, except we modified it slightly, using only semi-sweet chocolate…unsweetened chocolate isn’t really our thing.
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) salted peanuts *although you can leave these out if you don’t have them on hand!
- 8 peanut butter cups, chopped
- 1 1/2 (375 mL) cups of creamy or smooth peanut butter
- 1/2 tablespoon (7.5 mL) unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 (375 mL) cups rice puffs

This is a photo of us making the brownie mix. Look at all that chocolate and sugar! MMM.

How to make it!

1. Make your brownies like you normally would but bake for 5 minutes less. Remove them from the oven and sprinkle the top with the peanuts and chopped peanut butter cups. Return to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes. This is after we’ve sprinkled the peanut butter cups and peanuts on top of the brownie mix. Soon to be put back in the oven!

2. While they are finishing baking, melt the chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in the cereal to evenly coat.

Melted chocolate and peanut butter. HEAVEN!

3. Remove the brownies from the oven and evenly pour the chocolate and peanut butter mixture over top. Spread it around evenly, don’t forget to sample some…

4. Refrigerate for 2 hours before cutting and serving. ***** This didn’t really happen in the Acts of Sweetness kitchen, so our brownies ended up looking like this…

But when you do leave them in the fridge, it’s worth it. They are easier to eat, and the texture of the cool topping with the chewy brownies is really quite something.

Enjoy!

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The Acts of Sweetness Team at the Bonnie Gordon Cake Show!

The Acts of Sweetness Team was lucky enough to spend our Sunday at the Bonnie Gordon Cake Show! We couldn’t believe how many cakes there were especially because each and every one was extremely creative and beautiful! The theme for the competition this year was the Four Seasons. Each designer had to use this theme in one of two ways, either incorporate all four seasons into one cake, or choose one season. It must have been a tough decision for the judges, because we thought every cake was amazing.

This cake is the Grand Prize winner! The designer created a cake of 4 different drawers representing the different clothes and accessories you would wear each season. From hats & mitts to sunglasses and flip flops!

This cake won for the most Innovative Design!

Here are a few more photos of beautiful designer cakes…

If you want to see more check out our Flickr and of course you can see them on Facebook! There’s not one, but two albums!

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The Acts of Sweetness Team Party It Up at Creative Bug!

The Acts of Sweetness Team had the loveliest of weekends – despite the rain! We were invited to celebrate the re-opening of Heather Habgood’s Creative Bug. It was full of all kinds of homemade sweets and crafty little kids! It was an honour to be a part of her re-opening, and to share the beautiful new space with her friends! Check our Creative Bug here!

The Acts of Sweetness Team and Heather, of Creative Bug!

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Crumbly chocolate chip cookies!

The Acts of Sweetness team needed a little pick me up so we decided to make a classic: chocolate chip cookies! We usually prefer ooey gooey and chewy chocolate chip cookies, but these shortbread-style chocolate chip cookies bring something different to the table, and are super easy to make!

Ingredients:

- 3/4 cup (175 mL) unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup (50 mL) Redpath soft brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50 mL) Redpath Organic Sugar (it’s nice and fine!)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) vanilla essence
- 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) self-raising flour
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) dark chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) milk chocolate bits

The goods!

We had to soften the brown sugar so we put it in a little bowl, covered it with a moistened paper towel and stuck it in the microwave. We checked on it every 20 seconds or so, softened it with a spoon and repeated. Sometimes, you’ll have to re-moisten the paper towel.

At this point we have preheated the oven to 350F and greased two baking trays. Using electric beaters, we beat the butter, sugars and egg yolk in a small bowl until light and creamy. Then we added the vanilla and beat until combined.

We transfered the mixture to a large bowl and added the flour and half the chocolate chips. Using a metal spoon, we stirred the mixture until it was combined. We used our hands to knead the mixture together.

This happens to be our favourite part! The dough is ready to be put in the oven, but not before we sneak in a couple of bites! We had to restrain ourselves though because we almost ate it all…oops!

Next we rolled level tablespoons of the mixture into balls and pressed the remaining chocolate bits firmly onto the tops of the balls. We arranged the balls on the tray, leaving room for spreading. We baked for about 15 minutes, but make sure you watch them because every oven is different. As soon as they get golden brown at the bottom they are ready!

From little dough balls to delicious crumbly cookies!!

YUM! The recipe calls for them to cool, but let’s just say most of them didn’t make it that far here at the Acts of Sweetness headquarters!

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A Sweet New Addition to the Acts of Sweetness Team!

Anna, the newest Acts of Sweetness Ambassador!

Hi fellow lovers of everything sweet! I’m Anna and am really happy to be joining the Acts of Sweetness team to sprinkle everywhere we go with a little bit of sugar and a lot of joy. I’m a baker’s daughter with a soft spot for chocolate chip cookies and I can’t wait to add more recipes to my collection (hint hint!!). See you around the community! And remember: there’s nothing wrong with getting your hand caught in the cookie jar .

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Messages for Mom: A Mother’s Day Giveway

We all have a special little lady in our lives who takes our temperature when we’re sick, holds our hand when we’re scared, and laughs at all our puns.

Here’s your chance to give her a message of love and thanks. The Acts of Sweetness team want to help you have a day together with your special lady in our Messages for Mom: A Mother’s Day Giveaway. The winner will receive the cutest cupcake carrier, two aprons (for you both!), a decorating pen, and a few other Redpath sur-prizes!

Here’s what you need to do to enter:
1) Go to the Redpath Facebook Page and click ‘Like’
2) Post to our Facebook Wall a sweet message you would like to tell your mom. Something you’d put on a cake!
3) You will be entered into a draw and the winner will be chosen at random.

Rules & Regulations:

1) The contest opens Tuesday, May 3, 2011.

2) Each contestant is limited to one submission.

3) Contest closes on Sunday, May 8, 2011 at noon.

4) Open to residents of Canada only.

5) Must be 19 years of age or older.

Good luck to you all, and we look forward to your sweet, sweet messages!

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Estonian Easter Eggs with the Acts of Sweetness Team

We’ve heard the Easter Bunny has been seen around the Acts of Sweetness HQ so we decided to decorate a little, make him/her feel a little more at home – starting first with Kendel’s Estonian Easter Eggs.

This is an incredibly easy and natural way to dye eggs – no mess, we promise!

Things you’ll need:

White eggs - any size, any quantity

Rags - cut into squares large enough to wrap around an egg

Thread - or elastic bands, in our case

A small bag of red and yellow onion skins - just do a little free shopping at your local grocer - they'll be confused, but will let you walk out of there with just the skins if you ask nicely!

In preparation, put a pot of water on the stove, and as you complete an egg, drop it in the pot.

First, take a square of rag and place it over your hand. Put a couple layers of onion skins on your palm - like you're making a bed for the egg. Once you think you've got enough to cover that side, place your egg in its bed and begin covering it like Calla here.

Next, wrap up your egg. Secure the rag with thread, by wrapping it around numerous times, or, an elastic. Having a mid-sized furry helper is necessary.

When you're about ready to boil the eggs, turn the burner on and get that water going. As you finish an egg, plop it in the pot.

Since you’ll be hard boiling the eggs, AND colouring them, give them about 5 or so minutes in the pot once it has reached boiling.

So, they've boiled for a sufficient amount of time. Remove the pot from the heat, pour out the hot water, and run cold water over the eggs for a couple minutes. You're cooling them down to set the colour, and so that you can handle them. Hold them tight in your hand - still wrapped up - to see if you can feel any heat from them. If so, keep cooling.

They're cool? Yay! Time for the reveal! Peel it all away to see your beautiful new egg

Send us your pictures – we’d love to see how they turned out for you!

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Last Call for The Canadian Pie Company Contest!

We’re nearing the end of one sweet contest in partnership with Toronto’s very own The Canadian Pie Company! Redpath Sugar and The Acts of Sweetness Team are looking for your best pie recipe! We want you to post your recipe to our Facebook note as a comment. Then, have your Facebook friends “Like” your comment. The scrumptious pie with the most “Likes” will win. And the winning is happening soon! The contest closes this Friday, so, bakers and bakerettes, get your recipes in!

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Pancake Tuesday: The Acts of Sweetness Team’s Best Oatmeal Pancakes

Pancake Tuesday is a highly celebrated event in the Acts of Sweetness Kitchen! What better way to celebrate a day dedicated entirely to those warm, fluffy, silver dollars than whipping up a fresh batch?

The Acts of Sweetness Team's Best Oatmeal Pancakes

We love sharing our recipes, especially ones that we’ve tried, tested and proven to be true! Mix up a batch of these Best Oatmeal Pancakes the next time you’re in the mood for a fluffy start to the morning.

The Acts of Sweetness Team’s Best Oatmeal Pancakes

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup (125 mL) rolled oats
- 1 cup (250 mL) flour
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) Redpath Golden Brown Sugar
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) salt
- 1 cup (250 mL) milk
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) melted butter
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) chocolate chips (optional)
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) vanilla

Directions:

Soak oats in milk for about 10 minutes.

Mix all of the dry ingredients (Tip: If your brown sugar is a little hard – put it in a microwave safe dish with a damp paper towel draped on top and place in the microwave for about 20 seconds at a time until soft consistency).

Add wet ingredients to the dry and mix with a fork or whisk until well blended.

Let the mixture stand for about 5 minutes before cooking. (If you desire a little something extra, try banana, blueberries, or chocolate chips! We have a sweet tooth and took the chocolate chips for a whirl – delicious!)

On a skillet or in a well greased pan, add your mixture and cook until golden brown.

Add a pinch of Redpath Sugar on top of your pancakes! We love using the Redpath Cinnamon Sugar!

Enjoy!

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A Sweet New Addition to the Redpath Acts of Sweetness Team!

Kendel, the newest Acts of Sweetness Ambassador!

Hi Everyone! My name is Kendel and I’m so excited to be the new Acts of Sweetness Ambassador. Savannah and I will be out and about in the truck and I look forward to meeting you all and swapping baking stories! I love pies, and oatmeal cookies, and I make a mean Banana Loaf based on a recipe I’ve adopted from my mom. What’s your most favourite family recipe? See you soon and have a fantastic week!

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Zesting Up The Kitchen: Baking Citrus Ginger Blondies with Cream Cheese Icing

The Acts of Sweetness Team has been bundling up lately — it’s been capital C-O-L-D where we are!

Cold as it may be, there’s nothing better than coming inside from the crisp winter air and feeling your cheeks tingle and your nose warm up to something lovely baking in the kitchen. So we thought to ourselves, what recipe could we give our readers to give them that same warmth?

Our answer: Citrus Ginger Blondies with Cream Cheese Icing.

Before we get to the recipe (we know that you’re drooling all over the keyboard by now…) we have to introduce our baking companions for the day. Great company in the kitchen is essential to the baking process!

It just so happens that we got to whip whisks with the best of company this weekend! We were thrilled to be in the kitchen with Breakfast Television Winnipeg’s host (and fellow croissant enthusiast), Pay Chen, and Nota Bene pastry chef, Logan Prong.

What to bake? We put on our pastry chef hats and got to thinking… cookies? cake? brownies? and that’s when Logan came up with the brilliant idea of Blondies !

Did you know that before there was a brownie there was a blondie? Legend has it that a baker accidentally mixed melted chocolate into a batch of biscuits et voila! A brownie was born. It just might be the best ‘accident’ in baking history!

Not only did we make blondies, but Logan added a twist: citrus and ginger topped off with a decadent, smooth cream cheese icing. Just the word citrus reminds us of summer and warmer times.

Pay and Logan got to it: measuring, mixing, and our favourite part: zesting! Soon enough, the kitchen was smelling like a citrus wonderland. Pay Chen and Logan are excellent bakers in crime together! Janet and I filmed the process that will soon be turned into a baking feature on YouTube (keep your eyes peeled!) while Pay and Logan created baked magic.

Pay Chen and Logan Prong are all set to back in the Acts of Sweetness kitchen!

After the bars were made, we got to the good stuff: the cream cheese icing. There is a sweet and tangy aspect to cream cheese icing that just can’t be beat! The end result yields soft, fluffy and bold cream cheese icing that will have you licking the bowl and spatula clean.

We present: Citrus Ginger Blondie Bars with Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:

Blondies:
- 1 1/3 cup (325 mL) All Purpose Flour
- 3/4 teaspoon (4 mL) kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) baking powder
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) butter
- 1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons (95 mL) Redpath granulated white sugar
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (210 mL) Redpath Golden Brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons (10mL) vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup (50 mL) candied ginger, chopped
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) ground clove
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) ground nutmeg
- 1 each – lemon/lime/orange; juiced and zested

The ingredients for the citrus ginger blondies are all lined up and ready to go!

Icing:
- 1/2 lb (250 g) cream cheese
- 1/2 lb (250 g) butter
- 2.2 lbs (about 1 Kilo) Redpath icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) milk (or cream)

The ingredients for the icing sugar are ready to go!

Directions:

*Preheat over to 350F (175C)

1. Cream butter in a mixer until light and fluffy.
2. Add brown and white sugar into the butter. Beat until well combined.
3. Add eggs one at a time to the butter and sugar mixture and beat until fluffy.
4. Add candied ginger, juice from 1 lemon, 1 lime, and 1 orange and zest to the butter mixture.
5. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and spices.
6. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat until just combined.
7. Spread out batter evenly into a greased pan 8X8 inch pan.
9. Bake for 25 minutes at 350.

Icing
1. Add the room temperature butter to the mixer. You want to cream the butter to a light consistency – mix on a high speed. The best attachment for the mixer is the whisk to ensure enough air gets into the mix.
2. Add the room temperature cream cheese to the butter. Cream cheese is most flavourful when warm, it can sit out for up to eight hours!
3. Mix together so that it’s an even consistency – looks light and fluffy.
4. Stop to scrape down the sides and bottom and the mixing bowl.
5. Add vanilla extract and continue to blend.
6. Start to add the icing sugar a cup and a half at a time. Start at a low speed and increase. Blend until smooth and free of any lumps.
7. Once the blondies have cooled, evenly spread the cream cheese icing over the blondies.
8. If you find that there is too much icing left over, you can wrap the remainders up in cling wrap and store in the freezer (for up to 6 months!). When you wish to use it again, simply thaw gently in the microwave and stir it up to a fluffy consistency.

Cream cheese icing is all mixed up and ready to be spread!

Enjoy these Citrus Ginger Blondies with a hot cup of tea on a cold winter’s day and you’ll be dreaming of summer days in no time…

The final product: Citrus Ginger Blondies!

Thank you to Pay Chen and Logan Prong for coming into the Acts of Sweetness Kitchen to help bake with us! We had a wonderful time.

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Bakerella Giveaway

Thomas Alva Edison invented the lightbulb. The Wright brothers invented the airplane. Move over gentlemen, there’s a new addition to the history books and it’s Cake Pops.

Unless you’ve been living under a cinnamon bun, you’ve probably heard of Bakerella, the inventor of the great “cake pop”. What is a cake pop you ask? It’s basically cake that has been crumbled, mixed with cream cheese, and then formed into a ball.

Bakerella aka Angie Dudley is a Southern Belle from Georgia. Her cake pops and blog have launched her into baking stardom, scraping spatulas with the likes of Martha Stewart and Blake Lively. Recently she has been traveling around the U.S. on a book signing tour, visiting Williams Sonoma locations all over.

Bakerella visits Williams Sonoma for a book signing

When we visited Williams Sonoma at the start of November we eagerly asked if Bakerella would be making a Canadian stop. We were told no; we left the store dragging our feet, with frowns on our faces.

And then, a Christmas miracle! Bakerella announced her Toronto stop on her blog. We knew that we had to get a picture of her in the Acts of Sweetness truck. We even tweeted at her a picture so she could see how cute it is.

When we arrived at Williams Sonoma there were already lots of people waiting so we grabbed a number and snacked on peppermint bark (Yum!) while she answered questions and gave a short talk on cake pops.

As soon as she saw our aprons she pointed at us and waved-she recognized us! We sat down for pictures and a short chat and then after the event, she and her mother bundled up and joined us for a quick chat and photoshoot with the truck.

Bakerella braved the cold for a couple pictures with the Acts of Sweetness team

Mission accomplished!

Wait a minute, you ask, is that all we get? Just a photo of Bakerella with the truck?

Of course not!

We have 2 signed copies of Cakepops to give away, 2 signed Acts of Sweetness aprons and these adorable cupcake sugar caddies.

The grand prize features an autographed copy of Cakepops, an Acts of Sweetness apron and cupcake sugar caddies

To enter click here and comment on the photo telling us about a gift you gave someone else over the holidays. Ask your friends to back up your story by voting for your comment. There are prizes for first and second place.

The winner will be announced January 24, 2011.Good luck!

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Things are heating up in the Redpath Kitchen!

We’re always having fun in the Redpath kitchen. New recipes, weird results or delicious batches of fresh cookies, we’re always baking up something.

We had a special guest visit us in the kitchen — this is something that we’re very excited to share with everyone! We had Erin Bolger, the Happy Baker come and join us in the kitchen for a series of baking segments that we will share throughout the seasons.

You may recognize Erin from Cityline, or the Steven and Chris Show on CBC. We love her (New York Times Bestselling!) book, The Happy Baker: A Girl’s Guide to Emotional Baking. We also think she’s pretty amazing herself. She was very sweet, down to earth, and really knew her way around the kitchen. If you haven’t read her book it is a recipe book full of delicious desserts and funny dating stories.

Erin shares a giggle with the crew

We had a lot of fun behind the scenes. One of the jokes on set was about a sweet potato we fondly called “Spud”. Sometimes we needed to angle plates or products to get just the right shot and when we were in need Spud was there. Last we heard, Spud was on to bigger and better things and even landed an audition for a potato chip commercial. We wish him the best!

Heather and Erin take a break from a long day of shooting

Another baking superstar on set was Heather Habgood-Warring, also known as Creative Bug. Heather entered the Happy Baker contest and won the opportunity to bake with Erin in one of our upcoming videos. We were very excited to meet Heather and she was a delight to have on set. Heather was a natural on camera and we will be releasing her recipe and video in the spring, so stay tuned!

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Pepperminty Perfections

The Acts of Sweetness Team woke up to a winter wonderland on Saturday morning! We thought: what a perfect day to warm up the kitchen! We decided to try a recipe for peppermint brownies.

We love the taste of fresh, crisp peppermint and when it’s blended with chocolate; we think it’s the ultimate!

We did some research and found a recipe for mouth watering brownies. Chewy, rich brownie with a layer of chocolate ganache and topped off with peppermint cream sounds amazing, right?

We thought so too! So we set to baking.

As we went along our merry way of pouring, mixing, hmm-ing and haw-ing over the recipe, we hit a few bumps. How much chocolate? It calls for how much extract? And bake it for that long?!

We added extra dashes of flavour here, more milk there, and extra chocolate there. We thought we were rolling along pretty well!

Adding dashes of sugar and spice.

But, once was all said and done…

The final product might look delicious... but the brownies were dry and not very minty!

Our peppermint cream wasn’t so pepperminty. Our ganache was not a smooth glossy consistency. It resembled another bowl of brownie mix! The brownies came out looking and smelling like brownies but when we cut into them, we realized they were dry and too dense. Basically, we had made a fancy looking brick.

We were just not happy with the results. And of course, we like our brownies moist, rich and flavourful, especially if we’re going to share the recipe with friends and family! So, it was back to the cutting board for us.

This time, we tried a simple peppermint brownie recipe that was no fuss and no muss!

So The Acts of Sweetness Team presents to you:

Pepperminty Perfections – The Ultimate Peppermint Brownie.

Ingredients:

- 2 (1 ounce) (60 g) squares unsweetened chocolate
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) butter (no substitutes)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup (250 mL) Redpath granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) all-purpose flour

Filling:

- 3 tablespoons (45 mL)butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) Redpath Icing Sugar
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) milk
- 3/4 teaspoon (4.5 mL) peppermint extract

Glaze:

- 1/2 cup (125 mL) semisweet chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) butter
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) milk

It looks like a lot of steps but trust us, we found these brownies easy to bake with little clean up afterward.

Directions:

*Pre-heat oven to 350F (175C)

Combine butter and chocolate in a microwave safe dish to melt.

In a measuring cup (or microwavable dish) combine butter and chocolate and melt in the microwave. Be careful not to burn the mix! We put ours in the microwave for 20 seconds at a time, stirring until everything was combined and smooth. Let it cool a bit.

Melted chocolate and butter.

In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour and and eggs. We mixed them with a fork (you can also use an electric mixer!). Once it’s well combined stir in the chocolate mixture.

Blend the eggs, sugar, and flour - we used a fork.

Add the chocolate mixture and stir until well combined.

Pour batter into your 9″ brownie pan that has been greased.

Pour the batter into a greased 9" pan and bake for 20 minutes at 350!

Pop the mix into the oven for 20 minutes (poke with a toothpick or fork to see if they’re done!)

Filling:

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and beat until smooth. We used a stand-mixer, but an electric mixer will also do the trick!

Combine all ingredients and blend until smooth. We can just smell the peppermint now...

Spread over warm brownies and set in the fridge to cool.

Smooth the cream over the cooled brownies.

Glaze

Melt the butter and chocolate until smooth (again, we did 20 second intervals in the microwave until melted). Add milk and stir until combined.

Combine butter and chocolate -- melt it down. Deliciousness in chocolate form.

Spread over cooled brownies.

The final (and delicious) product. Enjoy!

Voila! You have your very own Pepperminty Perfections! These brownies are the perfect sidekick to: glasses of cold milk or warm mugs of coffee and tea. We hope that you have fun in the kitchen and like we’ve learned: practice makes perfect!

Happy Baking!

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Happy New Years!

Happy New Years, everyone! We hope your holidays were delightful and full of baked goodness!

As we roll into 2011, the Acts of Sweetness team can’t help but think of new resolutions. Of course we thought to ourselves: get even more creative in the kitchen.

To kick off 2011 with a sweet bang we have just the ooey-gooey recipe for everyone’s sweet tooth!

Warning: The chocolatey contents of this recipes may cause excessive drooling. We are not responsible for any keyboard damage that may occur.

The Acts of Sweetness’ Ooey-Gooey Fudgey Cookie

Ingredients:

- 1/3 cup (75 mL) flour (that’s not a typo…the batter only needs a little)
- 1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) baking powder
- 6 oz. unsweetened chocolate
- 4 tablespoons (60 mL) butter
- 2 extra-large eggs
- 1 1/3 cups (375 mL) Redpath Granulated sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5 mL) ground espresso powder
-1 teaspoon (5 mL) vanilla
- 3/4 cup (175 mL) white chocolate chips

*optional : Crushed peppermint to add for a minty kick!

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Directions:

*Preheat over to 350F (175C)

Fill a pot with water and place a heat-proof dish on top of the pot. Bring the water to a boil (this is also called a ‘double-boiler’). Chop the unsweetened chocolate into coarse bits and place in the heat-proof dish along with the butter. Turn the heat to a simmer and stir while the combination melts.

Melt the combined butter and chocolate over a simmering pot of water.

Continue to stir until the mixture is well combined and melted. Set aside to cool.

Combine flour and baking soda in a mixing bowl. Make sure to blend well with a fork or whisk.

Combine baking soda and flour in a bowl. Whisk or mince well.

In a large mixing bowl (or stand mixer) crack your eggs. Add sugar, espresso powder, salt and vanilla.

In a mixing bowl combine eggs, sugar, vanilla, espresso powder and salt.

Combined ingredients - mix on medium-high for 13 minutes.

Blend for about 13 minutes on medium-high speed. You want to whip up the batter so that the cookies are light and fluffy! (and we really mean whip them – get as much air into this batter as possible!)

Once the mix has been blended, add the chocolate and butter mixture.

Add the chocolate and butter mixture to the bowl. Yum!

Mix together on medium-high speed for another 3 minutes, you want to keep the air in the batter. Watch the batter transform into a rich, chocolatey batter right before your eyes!

Adding the chocolate mixture will instantly turn your batter into a beautifully rich consistency!

Add the flour mixture and with a rubber spatula fold it into the batter, scraping down the sides as you go to incorporate everything. Remember: we want this batter to be light and fluffy, so keep folding to maintain the whipped aspect.

Once everything is well combined, add the white chocolate chips.

Once the flour has been thoroughly incorporated, fold in the white chocolate chips.

With your spatula, continue to fold the chips into the mix.

Grab your cookies pans (if your not using non-stick pans, line with parchment paper!). Drop tablespoonfuls (or if you like your cookies bigger — just eyeball it!) onto the cookies sheets. Make sure that they are evenly spaced, the cookies like to spread out. Unless you’re like the Acts of Sweetness Team and don’t mind if your cookies turn into one giant cookie! Note: now is the time to add that peppermint for that extra kick. Sprinkle some of crushed peppermint ontop of the cookies.

Pop your cookies into your preheated oven!

The cookies are ready to bake!

Bake for about 12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

Marvel and enjoy with a big glass of milk!

Ready to enjoy!

These also make a great gift! It will be a true Act of Sweetness if you give any of these ooey-gooey creations away. As they say: sharing is caring. So go ahead and share with friends (if there’s any left!).

We hope you enjoy and if you have any recipes that you’d like to share, please feel free to share with us either here or on our Redpath Sugar Facebook Page.

Happy Baking!

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It’s Starting to Look A Lot Like Christmas…

With the fresh blanket of snow covering the windowsills of the Redpath Kitchen and ours mouths watering at the mention of gingerbread, the Acts of Sweetness Team can feel Christmas right around the corner!

Janet and Savannah had their reindeer noses ready to go back in August!

We’re slowly counting down our advent calendar days until the man in red jumps down the chimney. While we’re waiting we thought: why not spread the holiday cheer a little early?

The Acts of Sweetness Team will be spreading goodwill (and cookies) on December 22nd from 12PM – 2PM at 293 Augusta Avenue in the heart of Kensington Market, Toronto. The Acts of Sweetness Truck will be there, holiday carolers from the Salvation Army will be serenading the bustling market shoppers and there may even be a surprise visit from one jolly cookie lover.

We would love to see some smiling faces out! If you’re in the area come and join us for carols, cookies and cheer. See you there! Ho Ho Ho!

Santa's favourite cookie? The Redpath sugar cookie of course!

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On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donder and Blitzen!

After meeting Santa in the summer, we’ve been dreaming of sugar plum fairies non-stop. It was finally time to be in the Toronto Santa Claus Parade this weekend!

Back in August, we told him just how excited we were to have our Redpath float in the Santa Claus Parade.

The Acts of Sweetness pay an early visit to Santa!

The day finally came on Sunday, November 22nd to be a part of the Toronto Santa Claus Parade! After teasing everyone with sneak peeks of our Redpath Sugar float, we were finally able to share it with the hot chocolate-gripping, blanket-clad crowds of Toronto.

The Redpath Sugar Castle floats on with the Queen of Cupcakes

The Queen of Cupcakes made her debut and dazzled the crowds with her glittering Sugar Cube castle. We had a great time in the parade. We were surrounded by smiling faces, goofy clowns and other creative floats. The Redpath Acts of Sweetness truck got to kick off the parade with Janet at the wheel! Beep Beep!

The Redpath Acts of Sweetness Truck kicks off the Toronto Santa Claus Parade, make way for those reindeer!

Of course we were over the moon about Santa FINALLY coming to town (with all of his reindeer, no less). We weren’t the only ones waiting to see Santa again! Crowds gathered to see the big guy glide down the street in style.

Santa comes to town with all of the reindeers leading the way

We’re hoping we made the nice list this year… and if we don’t, we’ll leave him extra Redpath sugar cookies to change his mind. He may of mentioned a few months ago that they were his favourite cookie…

Thank you to all who came out for the parade, it was a chilly day! We hope that you kept warm.

If you have any photos of the Redpath truck, float or memories of the parade, feel free to share them with us over at the Redpath Facebook site! We’d love to hear from you.

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He’s Making a List and Checking it Twice!

Santa Claus is coming to town… and the Acts of Sweetness Team couldn’t be anymore excited!

On Sunday, November 21st, 2010 Redpath and the Acts of Sweetness Team will be participating in the Toronto Santa Claus Parade. We tried our best to sneak up to Santa’s Workshop and capture footage of Redpath’s float, but Santa and the elves have very tight security. Here is a sneak preview of what’s to come on Novemver 21st:

Santa Claus Parade Redpath Float Sneak Peek

It’ll probably be a chilly winter day, so you’ll definitely need to have a warm cup of hot chocolate with you while you watch the parade. Does anyone have any amazing hot chocolate or warm cider recipes to share with us? We’re always looking for new ideas so feel free to post a recipe or comment on here.

We’re very excited to be participating, we’ve been waiting for Santa for months and he’ll finally be here! We hope to see you there.

Janet and Savannah are all set for Santa's arrival.

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Turkey Tales: Happy Thanksgiving!

As is with most Canadians, the Acts of Sweetness team enjoyed this past Thanksgiving weekend with family and friends over turkey, stuffing, and (of course) an endless array of fall sweets. After a great day of fun at Malvern Collegiate Institute’s Red and Black day I packed my car with some Redpath goodies and began the drive to Ottawa.

Three cheers for cookies!

I started out for Perth, Ontario early Saturday morning to meet Paula, the Vanilla Bean Baker. Paula and I have become quite good friends over Twitter and once I discovered she lives in the Ottawa Valley I knew that being a Valley girl myself, it was inevitable that we get together for a coffee and some treats. The drive was beautiful and I took the opportunity to stop along the way to purchase some fall fudge flavours, apple and pumpkin, to give to Paula, as well as a delicious Caramel Apple Pie.

Paula and I greeted each other like old friends and we sat down for a coffee and chatted about baking of course! I had a package for Paula which included an Acts of Sweetness apron, a spoon, our sugar cookies, and the desserts I had picked up along the way. I was absolutely floored by the cookies Paula baked and frosted for me–all with the Redpath logo! They were delicious and I snacked on them quite a bit while I was driving to and fro all weekend. Paula’s cookies have her trademark vanilla flavour and if you look closely you can the see flecks of vanilla in the cookie.

Janet and the Vanilla Bean Baker's Redpath Cookie!

After saying goodbye to Paula I was off to meet with Chef Andree and Paola of C’est Bon Cooking for a food tour of the Byward Market. Born and raised in Ottawa, Paola was a fabulous host and guide to the bountiful local delicacies and produce that the Ottawa area has to offer. Chef Andree accompanied us and added an educational component to the tour by adding in information on different ingredients, cooking techniques, or answering whatever questions we had. We covered quite a bit of ground and visited many different restaurants, cafes and shops (too many to mention). The tour would not have been complete without Paola’s vast knowledge of the history of the Ottawa and Byward Market culture and history. If you are a foodie in the Ottawa area I highly suggest you book a tour with C’est Bon Cooking.

Chef and owner, Steve Mitton of one of the restaurants we visited, Murray St.

While on the tour we sampled many different items including the best rhubarb tart I have ever tasted, local cheese from Quebec, sweet apple syrup from a Brockville orchard, genuine french fare including authentic French frites and croissants as well as and a plump tomato fresh from the market.

The colours at Byward Market are amazing!

The C'est Bon Cooking Food Tour crew! We had a great time tasting and touring around.

After tasting all the great flavours Ottawa has to offer you might think that I was too full for Thanksgiving-but no need to fear, I made room! After sampling a little of everything from the turkey dinner I made my way over to the dessert table. Pumpkin pie, Canadian butter tarts, sugar pie, and cookies made their way onto my plate as well as a second helping of my favourite–carrot cake.

On behalf of Redpath and the Acts of Sweetness team, we hope you enjoyed the long weekend with family, friends, and delicious sweets.

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Have You Ever Wanted to Help Host a Baking Show?

Let’s be honest for a minute here, everyone. Sometimes, when you’re baking in the kitchen, do you ever stop to pose for the ‘camera’? Do you talk your recipe through and explain to the ‘audience’ what’s going into the oven?

If this sounds like something that you might partake in, Redpath Sugar has just the contest for you!

Redpath Sugar is giving you the chance to help host your very own baking segment on Redpath Sugar’s YouTube Channel alongside professional baker, Erin Bolger (author of The Happy Baker).

How to enter: Post a recipe that uses Redpath Sugar and an unusual ingredient (what’s unusual? you may ask. Unusual can be anything from lavender, chilis, or different herbs and spices like Rosemary) on Redpath’s Facebook page.

We will select a recipe at random on Tuesday, October 19th, 2010.

This is your chance to show us what you got and we want to see it!

Happy Baking everyone!

Erin Bolger, The Happy Baker.

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