Sugar Cooking

The Best Thing I've Ever Baked!

2011-10-08T13:44:00.000-07:00

I am thrilled to announce the arrival of our new baby boy! After baking for 41 weeks Brody Oliver was born 9/20/11 at 2:42AM, weighing 8 lbs, 8 oz. I am completely in love!

More baked goods to come as soon as I get some sleep... :)

Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream

2011-09-17T11:31:00.000-07:00

These cupcakes almost don't need words. Just read the name and look at the pictures. You really can't go wrong with chocolate and caramel. And the sea salt mixed into the buttercream just takes these to a whole different level. It cuts the sweetness of all the caramel, plus"salted caramel buttercream" sounds so much more sophisticated than just plain old "caramel buttercream".

And the best thing about these cupcakes? They are so easy! It's just a doctored up devil's food cake mix. (Shhhh. Don't tell all my friends that ate them last night. They think I made them from scratch!). I made them for Ross' 30th birthday yesterday, and the truth is I don't usually use boxed cake mixes, but being almost 41 weeks pregnant (yup, you read that right...41 weeks!), I wanted to take the easy route. I'm really glad I tried this recipe because it will definitely be my go to recipe if I don't feel like making a cake from scratch. Everyone raved about them and as soon everyone was done with their first, they eyed the table for someone to split a second cupcake with!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream
Recipe: Adapted from My Baking Addiction

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:

1 (18.25 ounce) package Devil’s Food Cake mix
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs; lightly beaten
3/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon of vanilla

For the frosting:

3 sticks butter; room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
2/3 cup caramel syrup
1 pound confectioners’ sugar

For garnish:

24 rolos
chocolate sprinkles

Directions:
For the cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line (2) 12 cup muffin tins with paper liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs, water and vanilla until well combined and smooth.
Evenly divide the batter amongst the prepared pans
Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch.
Cool cupcakes thoroughly on wire rack.

For the frosting:

Cream the butter in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. Add the vanilla extract, salt and caramel syrup and combine well.
Begin adding in the sugar and mixing thoroughly after each addition. After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, give it a taste and decide if you want to add in more caramel syrup. For thicker frosting you can gradually add in a little more sugar.

Pumpkin Cornbread

2011-08-30T13:23:00.001-07:00

Is August too early to start baking with pumpkin? Maybe, but that's not stopping me...

The temperature was down in the 60's here the other day, making it really feel like Fall. All of a sudden the only thing I wanted to eat was a hot bowl of chili and some cornbread! As soon as I came across this recipe for pumpkin cornbread, that sealed the deal! The cornbread isn't overly pumpkin-y; it has just the right amount of pumpkin flavor hanging out in the background. It's perfect served with a drizzle of honey on top, alongside a bowl of chili!

Recipe: Adapted from SugarCrafter
Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup cornmeal
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin purée
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup milk
1 Tbsp honey

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease an 8×8″ baking dish. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, spices, brown sugar, and cornmeal.
In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs, and then stir in the pumpkin, oil, milk and honey.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until combined, and then pour the batter into the pan, smoothing out the top as much as possible.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Mini Carrot Cake Cheesecakes

2011-08-20T12:18:00.000-07:00

When I was conceptualizing this dessert in my head I asked myself "Are you really going to cheesecake and top it with a cream cheese frosting?" The answer: A resounding yes!

I don't know if I should be ashamed of this cream cheese on top of cream cheese concoction or proud of it, but I do know that I am very glad I made it! And so is everyone else who got to try it. Somehow I justified this cream cheese overload to myself because I'm pregnant, but let's be honest, once the idea was in my head there was no turning back, pregnant or not!

If you're asking yourself it the cream cheese icing is really necessary, or thinking about making the cheesecake without the icing, let me just stop you right now. The icing is crucial. I tried one plain without it, and it just tasted okay. It really lacked that carrot cake taste. The cream cheese icing on top really brings out that true carrot cake flavor and brings the whole dessert together.

I thought this dessert was great as it is, but next time I might try incorporating some toasted walnut or pecan into the crust. Or maybe decorate the top with a nut (instead of making Ross fish out all the orange sprinkles out of a bag of multi-colored sprinkles). Also, it should be noted that the recipe could easily be doubled. I didn't trust myself with that much cheesecake around, so I made a small(er) batch. I used my mini cheesecake pan and got about 14 mini cheesecakes. They went fast.

Mini Carrot Cake Cheesecakes
Ingredients:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs
4 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted

8 0z cream cheese, softened
1 egg, room temperature
1/3 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely grated
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt

4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 lemon extract (or a squeeze of lemon juice)

Directions:

To make the crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray mini cheesecake pans with non-stick spray, or line mini muffin tins with paper liners. Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar. Press into pans (I used about 1 tablespoon per cheesecake). Bake for 10 - 12 minutes until golden brown.
To make the cheesecake: Beat cream cheese and sugar with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the egg. Add carrots, flour, spices, and vanilla extract. Spoon on top of crusts so they are about 3/4 full.
Bake until set, about 18 to 22 minutes.
Transfer pans to a rack and let cool. Refrigerate until ready to frost.
To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and extracts. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Frost with cream cheese icing. Enjoy!

Chocolate Covered Pretzles & One in the Oven!

2011-08-13T13:23:00.000-07:00

Well some of you may have noticed that my blog has slowed down considerably over the last few months. If there was ever a good excuse, this is it... I'm pregnant! Very pregnant as a matter of fact, my due date is in less than a month! Ross and I couldn't possibly be more excited. This is our first baby and somehow time seems to be standing still and going in fast forward all at once.

I didn't plan on blogging so infrequently while I was pregnant, but it just kind of got away from me. It started with the first trimester nausea where I couldn't stomach the thought of being in the kitchen cooking. Then I took a few trips that had me out of town and away from my kitchen for awhile. And then I just kind of lost my baking mojo. I didn't seem to have the energy to bake, and when I did, I seemed to always forget to take pictures.

Now, with my due date quickly approaching, I seem to have my mojo back. I'm realizing that in one month I probably won't have the freedom (or energy) to whip up a back of cookies on a whim just because I feel like it. This has me taking advantage of what time I have left and all of sudden I have a long list of things I can't wait to make (and blog about)! I know I should probably be focused on making some freezer meals for after the baby is here, but I just can't help making a few sweet treats too.

These pretzels are an homage to my pregnancy. I didn't have any weird pregnancy cravings like pickles and ice cream, and I never sent Ross out in the middle of the night for something I just had to have, but I did develop a slight obsession with pretzels. It started in my first trimester when I was nauseous all the time; the only thing I seemed to want to eat was pretzels. I think I've consumed more pretzels in the past 8 months than I have in my entire life. I think it's something about the saltiness that really does it for me. And these chocolate covered pretzels, well they're just about perfection my eyes! The salty and the sweet are perfect together and the colorful sprinkles just make me happy!

Chocolate Covered Pretzels
Ingredients:

Mini Pretzels
1 lb chocolate (any kind will do) or candy melts
Sprinkles (optional)

Directions:

Melt the chocolate in a microwave or a double boiler.
Dip the pretzels in the chocolate. I did this buy submerging the pretzels in the chocolate and then fishing it out with a fork. I would tap the fork against the side of the bowl to let any excess chocolate drip off.
Place the pretzels on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.
Apply sprinkles before the chocolate hardens.

The Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies

2011-06-23T07:42:00.001-07:00

Even though I already had a peanut butter cookie recipe that I love, I had an itch to try a different recipe for no particular reason. And I am so glad that I did! This peanut butter cookie is indescribably good. It has a perfect peanut butter flavor and the texture is just what you want from a peanut butter cookie. The cookies are thick with a slightly crispy exterior and a thick, soft interior.

The cookie includes both chocolate and peanut butter chips. As a rule, I generally use dark chocolate when baking cookies, but peanut butter cookies are the one exception to this rule. I read in the Baked cookbook that milk chocolate is preferred for peanut butter cookies because the dark chocolate can taste bitter against all the sweetness of the peanut butter.

As a bonus, the cookies are rolled in sugar before they are baked. This step could probably be left out if you're short on time, but it does add to the texture, flavor, and appearance of the cookies. Either way you definitely want to have people to share these with, because trust me you don't want these cookies sitting in your kitchen testing your willpower. They will win!

Peanut Butter Cookies
Recipe from: Smitten Kitchen
Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter at room temperature (I used smooth)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)
2 tablespoons of sugar, for sprinkling

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the peanut butter and chocolate chips.
Place sprinkling sugar on a plate. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls into the sugar, then onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion. Using a fork, lightly indent with a crisss-cross pattern (I used the back of a small offset spatula to keep it smooth on top), but do not overly flatten cookies.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. Cookies may appear to be underdone, but they are not. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

Key Lime Pie Fudge

2011-04-25T14:17:00.001-07:00

I absolutely love key lime pie, so when I saw a recipe for key lime pie fudge it took me all of .25 seconds to start writing down the ingredients on my grocery list. I had high hopes for this, and it did not disappoint. It's insanely easy to make. The only hard thing about this is keeping yourself from eating it all, because this stuff is addictive!

I thought this was really good the way it is, but when I make it again I think I'll increase the lime juice a little more. That's just a personal preference though. I like my citrus desserts to be really tart! I also added a pinch of salt to the fudge, which I think is necessary to cut the sweetness from all the white chocolate. With summer bbq's right around the corner, I have a feeling this will be making its way into my kitchen a lot!

Key Lime Pie Fudge
Recipe: Slightly adapted from Dozen Flours

Ingredients:

1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1-1/4 cups finely crushed graham crackers
3 cups or 4, 4-oz bars of good quality white chocolate, finely chopped
14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon finely grated Key lime zest, about 5-6 Key limes
1/4 cup key lime juice – freshly squeezed is better

Directions:

Line a square 8"x8 baking pan with foil or parchment paper, extending it up and over pan (this helps you get it out of the pan later). Butter sides and bottom of the pan, especially the corners. Set aside.
To make the crust: Preheat oven to 375. In a medium sized bowl, melt butter in them microwave. Stir in sugar with a fork, braking up any lumps. Add crushed graham crackers and toss to mix well. Spread evenly into the baking pan and bake for 4 to 5 minutes or until edge is lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.
Stir white chocolate and sweetened condensed milk in a large heavy saucepan over low heat just until chocolate is melted and all the lumps are gone. Remove from heat and stir in zest and juice. Spread mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
Cover and chill for two hours or overnight. Lift the fudge from pan using edges of foil. Peel off foil and use a heavy non-serrated knife to cut the fudge into one-inch pieces. (Tip: Keep a damp kitchen towel handy to clean off the knife after each cut. This will keep give your fudge a cleaner appearance.) Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.

Meyer Lemon Bars

2011-03-16T09:47:00.001-07:00

I've been on the search for meyer lemons for such a long time. For years I kept hearing about them, reading about them, seeing them on tv, but I just couldn't find them! For a lemon lover, this was torture. I had just about given up when I saw a box at Wegman's a few weeks ago. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them!

(Ross is such a good hand model, isn't he?)

Lemon bars are kind of like chocolate chip cookies for me. I am always looking for that perfect recipe. The crust needs to be buttery and firm, not too soggy and not too crisp. The filling needs to be tart and not too sweet. I want a lemon bar that will make my mouth pucker. It should have plenty of lemon juice and lemon zest! And most important, the filling needs to be plentiful. I like a lemon bar with a high filling to crust ratio. This recipe definitely fits the bill! The ratio of sweet to tart is perfect. The only thing I may change next time is to increase the filling recipe by 50% to get a taller bar. Whether I'm using meyer lemons or regular lemons, this is officially my go to lemon bar recipe!

Recipe: Meyer Lemon Bars
The Crust From: My Baking Addiction
Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter -- (1 1/2 sticks) at
very cool room temperature, cut into
1-inch pieces, plus extra for greasing pan

The Filling
Ingredients:

4 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup flour
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions:

For the crust: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 13-by-9-inch baking dish and line with one sheet parchment or wax paper. Dot paper with butter, then lay second sheet crosswise over it.
Pulse flour, confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch, and salt in food processor workbowl fitted with steel blade. Add butter and process to blend, 8 to 10 seconds, then pulse until mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse meal, about three 1-second bursts. (To do this by hand, mix flour, confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl. Freeze butter and grate it on large holes of box grater into flour mixture. Toss butter pieces to coat. Rub pieces between your fingers for a minute, until flour turns pale yellow and coarse.) Sprinkle mixture into lined pan and press firmly with fingers into even, 1/4-inch layer over entire pan bottom and about 1/2 inch up sides. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.
Dust with Confectioners’ sugar and cut into squares.

Chocolate Chip Banana Walnut Bread

2011-03-15T10:27:00.000-07:00

...and I'm back. After taking a longer than expected break from blogging, I'm back, with the only banana bread recipe that you will ever need. The last few months have been pretty busy for me so blogging and baking have taken a back seat, but the other day I saw some overripe bananas on my counter and I knew what needed to be done.

I set out to find the best banana bread recipe and narrowed my search down to 2 recipes: This highly rated recipe from AllRecipes.com and a recipe from Baking Illustrated. As luck would have it, I found an awesome blog that made and compared to two recipes and the Baking Illustrated bread was the clear winner. After doing a bunch of reading about banana bread I learned a few important tips:

Use very, very, very ripe bananas. The ugly brown spotty ones.
If you're using walnuts, toast them before putting them into the bread. It gives them a great flavor.
Use yogurt over buttermilk or sour cream.
Melt the butter as opposed to creaming it with the sugar.

Overall, I was very impressed with this bread. It had great banana flavor, a perfect crumb, and lasted for days without getting too dry or soggy.

Chocolate Chip Banana Walnut Bread
Recipe: Adapted from Baking Illustrated, seen here
Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup of sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups very ripe, soft, darkly speckled large bananas, mashed well (~3 bananas)
1/3 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled (3/4 stick)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped coarse (optional)
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease the bottom/sides of a 9 by 5 loaf pan. If your walnuts aren’t toasted, spread them on a baking sheet and toast them until fragrant for 5-10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside
Mix the mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla with a wooden spoon in a medium bowl. Lightly fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined. Fold in the nuts and chocolate. The batter should look thick and chunky. Scrape into the loaf pan.
Bake for about60 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean. Cool for a few minutes then eat! You can keep this bread for up to 3 days if properly wrapped in plastic wrap.

Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Icing

2010-10-23T11:38:00.000-07:00

More pumpkin stuff and cream cheese stuff? Yup, more pumpkin and cream cheese stuff! And I have a small confession to make about these cookies. I made them a year ago for a Halloween party I went to last year. By the time I got around to uploading the pictures Halloween was long gone, so I figured I'd wait to this year to post them. I'm actually very impressed with myself for remembering about them!

These cookies were a huge hit at the party I brought them too. But then again, would you expect anything less when you top a pumpkin cookie with cream cheese icing? I didn't think so. The cookies are light and cakey and frosting adds the perfect finishing touch.

The recipe makes a huge amount of cookies so feel free to scale it down, or just do what I did and make huge cookies! I ended up using about 1/4 cup of dough for each cookie.

Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Icing
Recipe: Adapted from www.allrecipes.com, Seen at My Baking Addiction

Ingredients

2 cups unsalted butter; softened
2 cups white sugar
2 cups canned pumpkin (solid; not pie mix)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour

Directions
1. Cream butter, white sugar and pumpkin. Add eggs and mix well.
2. Sift together the baking soda, ground cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, salt and flour. Add to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
3. Drop from spoon to cookie sheet. Bake 13-15 minutes at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter, softened
3-4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk

Directions
Mix the cream cheese with the butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and milk in a bowl. Heat in a microwave for 15 seconds. Drizzle spoonfuls over the cooled cookies and smooth with the back of a spoon or a spatula.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

2010-10-17T17:55:00.000-07:00

Hello, my new favorite pumpkin treat! Nice to meet you. Where have you been all my life?

Oh... are you expecting me say more about these? Are the pictures not enough to make you want to go bake them RIGHT NOW. Ok fine, I don't think words will do them justice, but I'll try. This muffin is a cross between a cupcake, pumpkin pie, and cheesecake. It's Fall in a bite. They're easy to make and even easier to look at. The only hard thing about these is watching them leave as your husband takes them to work.

I got the idea from these muffins over at Annies Eats. I used the same base, but instead of molding the cream cheese into log, freezing it, slicing it, and hiding it in the middle of muffin I decided to alter the filling a little bit and go black bottom cupcake style with these. I like the idea of the cream cheese showing so you know exactly what's in store. And the cinnamon sugar topping? That's just a nice little bonus that adds the perfect finishing touch!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins
Muffin and Topping adapted from: Annies Eats
Makes: About 45 mini muffins (12 regular)

For the filling:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 large egg
1 tbls flour
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

For the muffins:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tbsp. plus 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup + 2 tbls vegetable oil

For the topping:

1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tbsp. flour
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
2tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions:

To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese, egg, flour and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Set aside.
To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.
To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.
To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin about 2/3 full with batter. Add a dollop of filling on top. (I would say I used about a tablespoon of batter and a heaping teaspoon of filling. They were pretty full going into the oven.) Sprinkle with topping. Bake or 14 minutes. Cool. Eat. Smile.

Caramel Corn

2010-10-13T10:17:00.001-07:00

This post is going out with a disclaimer: This stuff is seriously addicting! I didn't even think I liked caramel corn that much, but I (along with 10 other people) could not stop eating this!

I took a giant batch of this to my friends place for Canadian Thanksgiving and even after we ate dinner and dessert, and everyone was as full as could be, hands were still reaching into the bowl of caramel corn because they just couldn't get enough. It's easy to make this festive and colorful by adding in seasonal candy. I added in candy corn to half of the batch and some fall colored m&m's to the other half.

Make this soon, but make sure you have plenty of friends to share with, because trust me if it's just you and the caramel corn, the caramel corn will win.

Caramel Corn
Adapted from www.allrecipes.com
Ingredients:

7 quarts plain popped popcorn
2 cups dry roasted peanuts (optional)
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
Make popcorn and place in a large bowl (or 2 large bowls). I actually used a double bagged brown bag from the grocery store. It worked great and cleanup was easy!
Combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring enough to blend. Once the mixture begins to boil, boil for 5 minutes while stirring constantly.
Remove from the heat, and stir in the baking soda and vanilla. The mixture will be light and foamy. Immediately pour over the popcorn in the bowls or bag. Stir to coat.
Bake for 1 hour, removing the pans, and giving them each a good stir every 15 minutes. After it has baked separate into pieces if need. Allow to cool completely, then store in airtight containers or resealable bags

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

2010-09-20T15:42:00.000-07:00

I do a lot of stupid things, but this one takes the cake (pun intended). I had this recipe bookmarked for 2 years before I got around to making it. Two whole years! Why oh why did I wait this long to make it? It is hands down the best cake I've ever made.

I don't make cakes all that often because I prefer cookies, brownies, and cupcakes (things that are easy to send to work with Ross), but when the occasion presents itself I love making layer cakes.

Last week was Ross' 29th birthday. When I was giving him a few options for a cake to choose from, I'm pretty sure he didn't hear anything after I said "Chocolate Peanut Butter." I read off the list to him, but I could tell he was just waiting for me finish talking so he could blurt out "I want the chocolate peanut butter one!"

This cake did not disappoint. The cake itself was light and moist. It wasn't too too chocolaty, which was good when you paired it with the peanut butter frosting. And the peanut butter frosting... there are no words. Just go make it. I know it sounds weird because it has peanut butter and cream cheese, but trust me on this one, it's amazing. And the chocolate peanut butter ganache is the perfect finishing touch (not to mention it does a great job hiding all the frosting imperfections)!

A few notes about the recipe:

I'm leaving the original instructions for the cake, which produces a 8 inch cake. I ended up halving the recipe and making a 6 inch cake. I did not halve the recipe for the frosting or the ganache. I had leftover, but don't worry, I put them to good use. :)
The original ganache recipe calls for 8 ounces of chocolate, but I read comments on the original post from people who had trouble with the ganache spreading so I reduced the chocolate down to 6 ounces.
This cake is rich and intense, serve it in the thinnest slices possible!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Recipe: Adapted from Smitten Kitchen Makes an 8-inch triple-layer cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup neutral vegetable oil, such as canola, soybean or vegetable blend
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped peanuts (I used honey roasted), optional

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cakepans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.

2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine them well. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend. Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Divide among the 3 prepared cake pans.

3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper liners, and let cool completely. (Deb note: These cakes are very, very soft. I found them a lot easier to work with after firming them up in the freezer for 30 minutes. They’ll defrost quickly once assembled. You’ll be glad you did this, trust me.)

4. To frost the cake, place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or large serving plate. Spread 2/3 cup cup of the Peanut Butter Frosting evenly over the top. Repeat with the next layer. Place the last layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. Once the cake is fully frosted, it helps to chill it again and let it firm up. The cooler and more set the peanut butter frosting is, the better drip effect you’ll get from the Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze.

5. To decorate with the Chocolate–Peanut Butter Glaze, put the cake plate on a large baking sheet to catch any drips. Simply pour the glaze over the top of the cake, and using an offset spatula, spread it evenly over the top just to the edges so that it runs down the sides of the cake in long drips. Decorate the top with chopped peanuts. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes to allow the glaze and frosting to set completely. Remove about 1 hour before serving.

Peanut Butter Frosting
Makes about 5 cups

10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter, preferably a commercial brand (because oil doesn’t separate out)

1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.

2. Add the peanut butter and beat until thoroughly blended.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

6 ounces seimsweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup half-and-half

1. In the top of d double boiler or in a bowl set over simmering water, combine the chocolate, peanut butter, and corn syrup. Cook, whisking often, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

2. Remove from the heat and whisk in the half-and-half, beating until smooth. Use while still warm.

Chopped Greek Salad & My Favorite Greek Dressing

2010-08-21T08:00:00.001-07:00

Okay so I definitely feel kinda lame for posting about a salad because...well... it's a salad. But since this salad finds its way to my dinner table at least once a week, I figured it was time to post about it. And really, this post isn't about the salad as much as it's about dressing. Aren't all salads really about the dressing anyway?

Once I started making my own salad dressings, I have never gone back to store bought. Have you read the ingredient list in that stuff? It's all sugar and words I can't pronounce. I'll take my sugar in the form of cookies, not salad.

This greek dressing is great because I can pretty much guarantee that you have all the ingredients to make the dressing right now. You can throw it together on a moments notice. The other thing that I love about this dressing is that it has a high ratio of vinegar to oil. Most vinaigrettes have wayyyyyyy too much oil in them. This dressing uses more vinegar than oil so it gives it a really good tang and makes a little bit go a long way.

I'm posting a "recipe" for the salad based on what I usually put in it. Obviously change things around as you see fit. The version I'm posting is a vegetarian version, but if I have leftover chicken I usually throw that in too. This makes quite a bit of salad. It usually makes enough for me and Ross for dinner one night and lunch the next day.

Chopped Greek Salad
Ingredients:

1 bag of romaine, washed, dried, and chopped
2 - 3 tomatoes, chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped (I use one orange and one yellow)
1/2 - 3/4 cup cucumber, chopped
1/2 - 3/4 cup garbanzo beans
1/3 cup kalamata olives, roughly chopped
1/2 feta, chopped

Directions

Throw everything in a large bowl and mix it together!

My Favorite Greek Dressing:
Source: AllRecipes.com
*Note: The quantities are a little weird. This is because the recipe is scaled back from a restaurant recipe that makes like 120 servings.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 1/4 tsp dried basil
1 tsp onion poweder
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil

Directions:

Whisk together all of the ingredients except the olive oil.
Slowly stream in the olive oil while whisking until well blended.

Greek Salad Dressing

Cranberry Almond Granola

2010-08-16T13:12:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love granola, but I hardly ever buy it because every time I read the nutrition facts in the store I'm reminded that most granola is full of calories and sugar. I've tried a few granola recipes before and none of them were worth blogging about... until I tried this one.

This granola uses unsweetened applesauce in place of oil, which reduces the calories and makes it a lot healthier. I also used a combination of brown sugar, agave, and a little bit of maple sugar to sweeten it. It's not super sweet oatmeal, so if you're looking for something sweet just add a little more sugar. I adapted the recipe from David Lebovitz, and it uses 1 tablespoon of oil along with applesauce. I'm not sure why, but I went with it anyway. The recipe is really adaptable and it will be my base recipe for granola from now. Next time I think I'll throw in some sunflower seeds and maybe some dried apricots. The flavor combination are endless!

Recipe: Cranberry Almond Granola
Highly Adapted from: David Lebovitz
Ingredients:

3 cups old fashioned rolled outs
1 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup toasted wheat germ
1/4 light brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup agave (I used light), or honey, or maple syrup
2 tbls maple syrup
1 tbls vegetable oil
1/2 - 3/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries (or other dried fruit)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300F (150C).
In a very large bowl, mix together the oats, almonds, coconut, toasted wheat germ, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.
In a small saucepan, warm the applesauce with the agave, maple syrup, and oil.
Mix the applesauce mixture into the dry ingredients until thoroughly dispersed, then divide and spread the mixture evenly on two baking sheets.
Bake the granola for about 45 - 60minutes, stirring every ten minutes, until the granola is deep golden brown.
Remove from oven, mix in the dried fruit, then cool completely. Store the granola in a large, airtight container. It will keep for up to one month.

Chewy Chocoalte Chip Oatmeal Cookies

2010-08-08T07:29:00.001-07:00

I hope there's no limit to the number of times a food blogger can post a chocolate chip cookie recipe and declare it amazing. Here's another one. This time it's a milk chocolate chip cookie with oatmeal in it. I know the picture makes them look flat and crispy, but these cookies came out so chewy and the oatmeal added some great stability and texture. Ross said he didn't even notice the oatmeal, that they just tasted like really good chocolate chip cookies.

The cookies are pretty straight forward and easy to make. The only advice I have to offer is to take the cookies out of the oven after 10 minutes even if they don't look done! I was REALLY skeptical about taking them out because they still looked doughy and raw, but I let them sit on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes to cook a little more, then transferred to the cooling rack. They were perfect and they stayed chewy for days! Also, I halved the recipe and it came out fine, so if you're looking for a small batch of cookies go head and halve it. I'll post the recipe for the entire batch though.

Side note: If you're wondering why I haven't blogged in a while it's because I took a little vacation to New York for my birthday. I had a great time, ate way too much, and bought some awesome stuff. And even though it was high on my priority list, I somehow did not make it to the Levain Bakery for one of their famous chocolate chip cookies. Oh well, that just gives me a reason to try the copycat recipe that's been floating around the internet. Here's a couple pictures from a baking supply store that I went to. Valrhona chocolate and sprinkle heaven! It's amazing I didn't walk out of there with an entire rainbow of sprinkles in every size and shape. I did get some awesome (gigantic) tips for frosting cupcakes, so you can expect some cupcake recipes soon! I'm thinking mint chocolate chip but if you have any other suggestions, send them my way!

Recipe: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from: Kar in the Kitchen
Makes: About 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 stick) butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 generous teaspoon vanilla
2 cups oatmeal
2 cups milk chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder together and set aside.
Beat butter and sugars until very fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well incorporated.
Add half dry ingredients, mix until incorporated, then repeat.
Stir in oatmeal and chocolate chips.
Drop cookies onto cookie sheet using two spoons or a scoop and bake 9-11 minutes, depending on how done you like them. I prefer to take the cookies out around the 9 or 10 minute mark (they will look underdone) and let them finish cooking on the cookie sheet out of the oven.

Peanut Butter Butterfinger Cookies

2010-07-23T14:39:00.000-07:00

If you know me at all, you should know that when it comes to cookies, I can't leave well enough alone. I have this habit of saying to myself "what else could I could put into this cookie to make it even more over the top"? My best examples: Oreo Cookie Cookies & Chocolate Chip Pretzel Cookies. Today, I decided to go with butterfingers.

I've been itching to throw butterfingers into a cookie recipe for a while and when I saw this peanut butter cookie, it looked absolutely perfect to me. I was a little skeptical about the recipe because it has a whole tablespoon of baking powder, but it was a David Lebovitz recipe so I decided to trust the man and forge ahead. In the end, I had mixed reactions to this cookie. It was thick and chewy and didn't spread too much which is what I look for in a peanut butter cookie, but I definitely thought it had a bit of a strange aftertaste to it. At first I thought maybe the cookie was too sweet (you know, since I added a bunch of candy to an already sweet dough), but then I thought maybe the aftertaste was coming from the baking powder. It could be too much baking powder, it could be that I need new baking powder, or it could've just been in my head (after all my husband loved these cookies and had no problems scarfing them down). Whatever the case may be, I'm not quite done experimenting with this cookie recipe. I think it has the potential to be a great peanut butter cookie. Next time, I'll skip the butterfingers and bring the baking powder down to a teaspoon.

Peanut Butter Butterfinger cookies:
Source: Adapted from The Busty Baker, originally from Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz
Makes: About 30 Cookies
Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
10 fun size butterfinger bars, chopped

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together butter, sugars, and peanut butter just until smooth. Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and mix just until the dough comes together. Add in the butterfinger and mix together.
Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours or up to overnight. Remove the dough from refrigerator and let it come to room temperature.
With racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, preheat to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats.
Using a 1-inch cookie scoop or a heaping tablespoon place cookie dough on prepared cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Using the back tines of a fork, make a crosshatch pattern on each cookie, flattening it slightly.
Bake, rotating sheets halfway, until cookies begin to brown at the edges but centers still look slightly uncooked, 9 to 10 minutes. Cool cookies on the baking sheet for 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Spicy Sweet Potato Hash

2010-07-19T19:07:00.001-07:00

I absolutely love breakfast foods, but I hardly ever make them. My standard breakfast consists of a bowl of Special K or Multi-grain cheerios. Occasionally, I'll make a bowl of oatmeal, but on most mornings I can't be bothered to put a bowl in the microwave (No judging). So when I had the brilliant idea to make breakfast for dinner last night, I was very excited to try some breakfast recipes that have been lingering in my mind. I made this spicy sweet potato hash and a smoked salmon frittata (recipe coming soon).

This hash was absolutely delicious. It's healthy and flavorful and pretty easy to throw together. It has sweet potatoes, onions, and red peppers. It did involve a lot of chopping, but that can all be done ahead of time. And of course you can chop the pieces to be a bit larger, which will save some time. I, however, have this crazy idea that things taste better when they're chopped smaller (remember, no judging). This, of course, makes making salad a very labor intensive process for me. My salads are exclusively chopped: chopped greek salad, chopped cobb salad, chopped chicken ceasar salad... you get the idea. The bottom line is, whatever size you chop your potatoes, this will still be amazing.

* Note: I read a bunch of different recipes for hashes and some of them had you boil the potato pieces in some water for about 3 - 4 minutes before you put them in the pan with the onions and peppers to make sure they were cooked all the way. I decided to do that, but ultimately came to the conclusion that if you chop your potatoes as small as I did, it's unnecessary. If your pieces are larger, go ahead and boil them first to make sure they are cooked all the way through, but they only need a couple minutes. They should be slightly tender but still hold their shape.

Spicy Sweet Potato Hash
Ingredients:

1 tbls vegetable oil
2 - 3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped* (See note above)
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (add more if you want, I have a low spice tolerance)
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp brown sugar

Directions:

Pour the oil into a large skillet and place over high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and saute, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the rest of the ingredients, lower the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 - 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender and some are browned. The potatoes will begin to stick as they cook. Just continue to turn with a spatula.

Pretzel Cookies with Chocolate & Peanut Butter Chips

2010-07-18T08:13:00.000-07:00

It seems like the culinary world has been slightly obsessed with the salty/sweet combination lately. I keep seeing salted caramel desserts and fleur de sel sprinkled on top of various desserts. I for one, am completely for this. Once I made the infamous NY Times chocolate chip cookie recipe with sea salt sprinkled on top, I was hooked. So when I had a bunch of left over pretzel salt from making soft pretzels, I knew exactly what I would do with it.

These cookies were awesome. I loved what the pretzels added to the cookie. They stayed nice and crispy, which was a great contrast to the chewy cookie. And of course you can't go wrong with milk chocolate chips and peanut butter chips.

I absolutely loved the combination of pretzel, milk chocolate, and peanut butter and I would make these again in a second. The only change I might make next time is to the base cookie recipe. I strayed from my normal recipe because I wanted to find a recipe that made less cookies (strange, I know). This recipe was good, but if you have a favorite cookie recipe feel free to use that instead.

Another note about these cookies is that they did not spread very much for me. The first batch barely spread at all, so I smushed down the second batch a little before putting them in the oven.

Recipe: Chocolate & Peanut Butter Chip Pretzel Cookies
Makes 24 cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. of salt
1/4 tsp. of baking soda
1/2 cup of butter at room temperature
1/2 cup of tightly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1 egg (beaten)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup broken up pretzel pieces
Preztel Salt or Sea Salt

Directions:

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a larger bowl, beat the butter and sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). On low speed, slowly add the beaten egg and vanilla extract. Beat to combine, scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the flour mixture and beat just until there are no more streaks of flour. Stir in the chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and preztels. Cover and refrigerate for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop out well rounded tablespoonfuls of the dough and sprinkle with pretzel salt. Leave about 2 inches between each ball. Bake for 10 minutes. If you prefer crispier cookies increase the baking time by 1-2 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing.

Chickpea Salad

2010-07-14T13:22:00.000-07:00

This has become pretty much my favorite thing ever this summer. I love making it at the beginning of the week and having it to snack on when I get hungry. The chickpeas provide plenty of protein and the olives and feta give it a delicious saltiness.

This salad is really easy to make with whatever you have on hand. I had sun-dried tomatoes that I needed to use up but I think it would also be great with slow roasted cherry tomatoes. Some toasted pine nuts would also make a great addition.

Chickpea Salad
Ingredients:

1 can of chickpeas (about 15 oz), rinsed and drained
1 can of artichokes, roughly chopped
1/2 cup of kalamata olives, roughly chopped
1/2 cup of feta (I used reduced fat), diced
1/2 cup of sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
2 tbls basil, chopped
1 - 2 tbls extra virgin olive oil
1 tbls red wine vinegar
1 tbls lemon juice, optional (just add a little vinegar if you don't have lemon)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and stir together. Add salt & pepper to taste. Refrigerate and serve cold or at room temperature.

Butterfly Cupcakes

2010-07-12T13:56:00.001-07:00

I saw these cupcakes in this book, Hello Cupcake, a while back but never really had an occasion to make them.... until last Friday that is. My friend was having a party to celebrate Arts Fest that happens every summer in State College. I asked what I could bring and she said "an artsy dessert." Done!

Overall these cupcakes took a little bit of work, but they weren't hard, and they were a lot of fun to make. When I brought these to the party, everyone was really impressed and couldn't believe that I had actually made these.

Here's a rundown of the steps to make the wings:

Get/make a stencil of a butterfly wing to use as your template. I just freehanded mine with the brush tool in Photoshop, then made a word document with 6 sets of wings on 1 page. (See below)
Lay down your template, and put wax paper over it.
Melt the dark cocoa candy melts. I melted them in a bowl then poured the melted chocolate into a squeeze bottle. I found the squeeze bottle was much easier to use when outlining the wing, and making antenna.
Place about 1/2 cup of colored candy melts in a plastic bag. Microwave in 10 second intervals, unsealed, massaging the candy melts in between, until the candy is completely melted and no lumps remain. Press out the excess air in the bag and seal. Push the mixture down to one corner of the bag and snip off a very small corner.
Trace the outline of the wing template with the dark cocoa melted candy. Do the wings one at a time otherwise it will be too set to swirl by the time you have outlined two wings.
Use the bag of colored candy melts to fill in the outline. Be generous, so that it will spread all the way to the sides.
Use a toothpick/chopstick to spread the colored candy to meet the outline.
Use a tooth pick to swirl the edges together slightly to form a pattern.
Sprinkle the top and bottom of each wing with a few white nonpareils.
Repeat this process until you have enough wings. I suggest making a few extra of each color, just in case.
Make antennas. Again, I just freehanded a template.

Note: You may need to remelt the candy a few times during this process. To do this, just pop it back in the microwave for 10 seconds.

Once you are finished making the wings, let them harden. I actually put mine in the fridge for a couple hours because it was HOT out that day! You can definitely make the wings a few days ahead of time if you want.

Once the wings have hardened, frost some cupcakes. Place the wings into the cupcakes leaving about 1/8th of an inch in between them. Use melted chocolate (again in a squeeze is probably easiest) to draw a body to connect the wings. Place the antenna in the cupcake.

I had a heck of a time getting the antenna into the cupcakes without breaking. Again, I blame the humidity. I actually ended up breaking about 10 antenna so make plenty extra. I found that placing the antenna in the freezer helped their stability.

Now, if you've seen these cupcakes before, you'll probably notice that mine look a little flat. That's because it was super hot and humid the day I decided to make these. I tired to get the butterfly to form a V and look a little more 3d but it just wasn't happening so I gave up and settled for flat butterflies. Pretty, flat butterflies.

If you want to see some more butterfly cupcakes and another tutorial check out Annies-Eats. Her tutorial is great and inspired me to try it on my own!

Toasted Israeli Couscous Salad with Grilled Summer Vegetables

2010-07-08T08:10:00.000-07:00

This summer, in an effort to eat healthier I've gotten in the habit of making side salads like this to have around the house. I'll make way more than I need, serve some of it as a side dish for dinner, then put the leftovers in the fridge. Salads like this are great cold and I love having them around any time I want something to munch on between meals. It's a lot easier to avoid junk food when you open the fridge and have a healthy, colorful, ready made snack staring you in the face.

(All the grilled veggies, chopped up and ready to get mixed into the couscous)

One great thing about this recipe is that it made me realize that I actually like peppers! I always thought I didn't care for peppers, but it turns out I just don't like green peppers or raw peppers. Marinated and grilled red/orange/yellow peppers are a completely different story! As a matter of fact, a lot of the peppers went straight from the grill to my mouth!

This is a Bobby Flay recipe that I found on FoodNetwork.com. It has great reviews all around and is incredibly adaptable. It's a perfect summer recipe with all those veggies, and it would make a great veggie drawer clean out recipe if you have vegetables that you need to use up before they go bad. I ended up changing it up quite a bit. Here are my notes on the recipe:

I ended up using almost the same amount of veggies as the original recipe, but much less couscous. The recipe calls for 1 pound of couscous and I ended up using about 6.3 oz because that was the only package of israeli couscous I could find. I think it works great better with a higher veggie to grain ratio. The directions for cooking the couscous in the recipe were pretty vague, so just use as much couscous as you want, just follow the directions on the package.
Instead of using water to cook the couscous, use vegetable stock or chicken broth to give it more flavor. I needed about 2 cups of liquid so I used 1 can of chicken broth and a little bit of water to get to 2 cups.
I added feta cheese because... well... feta makes everything feta.
The original recipe calls for asparagus which I'm not really a fan of so I left it out and added an extra pepper instead.
And finally, I'm a complete idiot and somehow managed to forget to add the fresh herbs to the couscous. It's suppose to have basil and parsley in it, which I'm sure would have made the salad even better, but it was still great without it.

Toasted Israeli Couscous Salad with Grilled Summer Vegetables
Recipe: Adapted from FoodNetwork.com

Ingredients:

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 green zucchini, quartered lengthwise
1 yellow zucchini, quartered lengthwise
12 cherry tomatoes
1 red bell pepper, quartered and seeded
1 orange bell pepper, quartered and seeded
1 yellow bell pepper, quartered and seeded
1/2 cup feta cheese, chopped
2 tbls basil chiffonade (stack leaves, roll in a cigar shape and cut crosswise into thin strips)
2 tbls cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 package Israeli couscous, prepared according to package directions (See Recipe Notes above)
Chicken broth or vegetable stock

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard and garlic, slowly add the olive oil and whisk until combined. Season with salt and pepper. Pour 1/2 the marinade over the vegetables and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Preheat the grill. Remove the vegetables from the marinade and grill the vegetables until just cooked through.
Cut the zucchini and peppers into 1/2-inch pieces, cut the tomatoes in half. Set aside.
Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat, add the couscous and toast until lightly golden brown. Cover the couscous with the hot stock/hot water and bring to a boil, cook until al dente and drain well. Place in a large serving bowl, add the grilled vegetables, feta, and herbs and toss with the remaining vinaigrette. Serve at room temperature

Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies

2010-06-30T06:08:00.001-07:00

Are you ready for the easiest cookie recipe ever? This is it. I feel silly looking back at all the times I've thrown away egg whites when the recipe calls for just yolks. Knowing how easy it is to make meringues pretty much guarantees that no egg white will go unused again!

I'm not gonna go so far as to call this a healthy cookie because there a decent amount of sugar in these, but as far as cookies go these are definitely on the healthy end of the spectrum. They are essentially fat free. No butter, no oil, no egg yolks. Just egg whites and sugar.

If you've never had a meringue before they are hard to explain. The exterior is crackly and crispy but the inside is so light and airy. I love the way it practically dissolves in your mouth when you take a bite.

A few notes about the recipe:

Make sure your egg white are at room temperature. Separate them when they are cold, then let the egg whites sit for about 30 minutes at room temperature.
Temperature. I saw some recipes that said to cook at 200 degrees for a long period of time (1.5 - 2 hours) and some recipes that said to cook at 300 degrees for a shorter period of time. I went right in the middle. I cooked them at 250 for about an hour. Then I turned off the oven and let them sit in the oven for about another hour.
Working with egg whites. Make sure your bowl is very clean and dry, otherwise you will never get your whites to stiffen.
Sugar. The recipe calls for extra fine sugar. I used regular sugar and pulsed it in the food processor for about 30 seconds. Don't overdo it though, you don't want powder.
Chocolate. I used mini chocolate chips and I took a knife to about 1/3 of them and chopped them really really finely. This gave the cookies more a of a speckled look which I liked.

Chocolate Chip Meringues
Recipe: Inspired from SmittenKitchen
Ingredients:

3 egg whites room temperature
Pinch of salt
1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cups of superfine sugar
6 oz mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200°F.
Beat egg whites until foamy. Add salt, cream of tartar and vanilla, and beat mixture again until it holds soft peaks.
Add the sugar, gradually, beating the batter until it is stiff.
Fold in the chocolate chips. Spoon batter onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets (or pipe the batter if you want). Bake for 1 hour, rotating the pans half way through cooking. After 1 hour, turn off the oven. Let the meringues sit in the oven for 1 - 2 hours.

Blueberry Muffins with a No Fail Streusel Topping

2010-06-24T08:34:00.000-07:00

I've been searching for the perfect blueberry muffin recipe for a while now. I've tried countless recipes on the internet and I've come really close a few times but there was always something off about each recipe I tried. Too dry, too dense, too flavorless, too sweet, not sweet enough. I finally turned to a cookbook that I've had on the shelf for a few years (shocking, I know) and there it was...when I was least expecting it, I found it, the perfect blueberry muffin.

This muffin uses buttermilk and lemon zest to add to the flavor. It is light and perfectly sweet and tastes exactly like a blueberry muffin should. And the streusel on top is just perfect. If you're looking for a recipe to use up some blueberries give this one a try... you won't be disappointed!

Blueberry Buttermilk Muffins with Streusel Topping (Makes 14 Muffins)
Recipe: Adapted from "Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins, & More"
Ingredients:

1 recipe of streusel topping (recipe follows)
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour, spooned in and leveled
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup (1 1/3 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly firm
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

Directions:

Prepare the struesel topping (recipe follows).
Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Heat teh oven to 375 F. Line fourteen muffin cups with paper or foil cupcake liners.
In a large bowl, thoroughly whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
Cut the butter into 1-inch pieces and place in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the lemon zest and mix on medium speed until smooth and lightened in color, about 1 minute. Add the sugar in a steady stream, then blend in the egg and vanilla, scraping down the side of the bowl as needed.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, dividing the flour into three parts and the buttermilk into two, starting and ending with the flour. mix just until blended after each addition.
Gently fold in half of the blueberries.
Fill each cup about 2/3 full. Place a layer of blueberries evenly over the batter, then place a dollop of batter on top of the blueberries. it's okay for the berries to show. Take a handful of the streusel topping and crumble it over the batter and berries completely covering the tops of the muffins with the crumbs. Press gently to adhere. Brush any stray crumbs from the top of the muffin pans using a small pastry brush.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the streusel topping is golden brown. To ensure even baking, towards the end of baking time, rotate the pans top to bottom and front to back. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool.

Struesel Topping
Recipe from: "Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins, & More"
Ingredients:

6 - 7 tbls unsalted butter (See note)
1 cup all purpose flour, spooned in and leveled
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbls finely chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Directions:

Place the butter in a 2 qt heavy bottomed saucepan and heat until almost melted; remove from heat and cool to tepid.
Whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and nuts (if using). Add to the butter and stir with a fork until blended and mixture begins to form crumbs. Gently squeeze the mixture with your hand to form larger lumps, then break them apart with your fingertips. Before using, let the streusel stand for 10 to 15 minutes.

Note: Start with 6 tablespoons of butter. If the crumb mixture appears to be too dry or too crumbly add a bit more butter. If the mixture requires additional butter, push some of the crumbs aside and place the butter in the cleared spot. Place the saucepan on low heat, positioning it so that the butter is over the heat.

Tomato, Corn, Avocado Salsa

2010-06-23T07:10:00.000-07:00

I'll pretty much eat anything if it has tomato and avocado in it. Now that it's summer and tomatoes are flavorful, plentiful, and cheap I find myself making salsas all the time. This is one of my favorite because it screams summer!
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So what do I do with this salsa? Pretty much everything. I've thrown it on top of grilled mahi mahi. I've served it as an appetizer with some blue corn tortilla chips. Last night I served it with black bean quesadillas. And more often than not, I just eat it with a spoon.

The recipe is more of a guideline than a recipe. Feel free to add more jalepeno and onion if you want more heat. My only note: Don't be shy with the salt. All of the ingredients really need it to help their flavor come through.

Corn Tomato Avocado Salsa Recipe
Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of diced tomato (I used about 4 roma tomatoes)
1 avocado, diced
1 cup of corn (canned, fresh, or frozen)
1/4 of a small red onion, finely diced
1/2 of a jalepeno, seeded and diced
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbls chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Healthy Zucchini Apple Muffins

2010-06-20T11:42:00.001-07:00

After posting about blueberry cheesecake ice cream and smores brownies, I figured I should make something a little healthier. I had some zucchini and apples that I needed to use up so I threw them into a healthy muffin recipe not really sure what to expect. I had 2 zucchini and 2 apples. I couldn't decide if I wanted to grate the apples or dice them, so I grated one and diced the other. I really liked the bites of diced apple running through the muffin. These came out great and I'll definitely be making them again!

This was my first time making a "healthy" muffin, so I still used a little real sugar and real oil. I think next time I make them I would cut the sugar out completely and just use a little more agave or honey. I definitely recommend keeping the walnuts in the recipe. I'm not usually a fan of nuts in muffins, cookies, or brownies, but in this case the walnuts added a really nice texture to the muffin.

Zucchini Apple Muffins
Recipe: Makes about 16 muffins
Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup AP flour
2 cups grated zucchini (squeezed, then packed into a measuring cup) [about 2 medium zucchini]
1 apple, peeled and grated
1 apple, peeled and diced
1 egg
1 egg white
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 agave or honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup of unsweetened applesauce
3 tbls canola oil
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F and line muffin cups with paper liners. Grate zucchini by hand or using a food processor, then gently squeeze grated zucchini to remove some of the water.
In a medium-sized bowl, beat egg, egg white, then add vanilla, sugar, and agave nectar and mix to combine. Stir in the grated zucchini, and apple then the oil and applesauce.
In a smaller bowl, combine AP flour, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Stir dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture, then fold in chopped walnuts and apples.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let muffins cool a few minutes in the muffin tin or cups, then remove and cool a few minutes more.

Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

2010-06-17T09:25:00.000-07:00

Blueberries, cheesecake, and ice cream. Those are pretty much 3 of my favorite things, so naturally I absolutely loved this ice cream. Ross declared it the best ice cream that I've ever made (but to be fair he says that every time I make a new ice cream flavor).

I definitely had my doubts about this recipe. It uses no eggs and gets it cheesecake flavor from a packet of instant cheesecake flavored jello pudding. There is no actual cream cheese in this recipe, but if you tasted it, you wouldn't know. It came out amazing. It was creamy and rich and indulgent, the way ice cream should be!

A couple notes about the recipe:

It makes A LOT of ice cream. You may have to freeze the mixture in 2 batches depending on the size of your ice cream maker.
I used 2% milk for the ice cream and it was fine.
If you wanted to save time you could buy a premade graham cracker crust and crumble that into the ice cream instead of making the graham cracker crust yourself.

Recipe: Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Adapted from: AllRecipes.com

Blueberry Mixture:

1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup water
1 1/4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Graham Cracker Mixture:

2 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted

Ice Cream:

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant cheesecake or vanilla pudding mix
1 quart heavy whipping cream
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Gradually stir in water until smooth. Stir in blueberries and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.
In a large bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Stir in butter. Pat into an ungreased 15-in. x 10-in.x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack.
In a large bowl, whisk the ice cream ingredients. Fill ice cream freezer cylinder two-thirds full; freeze according to manufacturer's directions. Refrigerate remaining mixture until ready to freeze. Whisk before adding to ice cream freezer (mixture will have some lumps).
Crumble the graham cracker mixture. In a large container, layer the ice cream, graham cracker mixture and blueberry sauce three times; swirl. Freeze.

Smores Brownies

2010-06-12T13:29:00.000-07:00

I am clearly developing an obsession with smores. First there was smores bars, then smores cookies, and now smores brownies! And you know what? These are my favorite...hands down!

If you're looking for a dessert to bring to some bbqs this summer, look no further. This will definitely be a crowd pleaser.

I don't really know what else to say about these except that they are insanely delicious! It's the Baked Brownie, plus graham cracker, plus marshmallow. I'm beginning to think you can addgraham cracker and marshmallow to any dessert and it will only make it better.

Smores Brownies
Recipe: Idea from Joy the Baker
Ingredients:

1 batch of Baked Brownie batter (or your favorite brownie recipe)
1 cup graham crackers, roughly crushed with your hands
12 big marshmallwos

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.
Prepare brownie batter.
Mix in graham crackers
Pour into prepared baking dish and dot with 12 big marshmallows.
Bake for 30 - 35 minutes.
Marshmallows will be browned and puffy but will deflate as the brownies cool. Cool for at least 20 minutes than slice with a sharp knife, cleaning the knife with hot water if it gets too messy and sticky.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting (and My Blogiversary!)

2010-06-09T16:48:00.001-07:00

Today marks 1 year since I started SugarCooking and what better way to celebrate than with cupcakes! Cupcakes seem to be my answer for everything. Birthday coming up? I'll make cupcakes! Barbeque this week? I'll make cupcakes! Going to a friends for dinner? I'll make cupcakes! Who had a heart attack? I'll make cupcakes!

These cupcakes were great. The batter was light and moist and it wasn't overly sweet. It tasted exactly like you would expect it to, like a snickerdoodle cookie in cupcake form. The recipe comes from Martha Stewart, and she recommended using her Seven Minute Frosting, but I thought a cinnamon cream cheese frosting would be better. And it was. I guess that's not really a fair statement since I've never tried the seven minute frosting, but I seriously cannot imagine anything tasting better than this frosting!

As part of my blogiversary celebration post, I'm posting my top 10 favorite posts from the last year. It was hard to narrow it down but here they are...

1. Oreo Cookie Cookies

2. Cappuccino Brownies

3. Smores Bars

4. Nutella Cookies

5. Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

6. Smores Cookies

7. Key Lime Pie Ice Cream

8. Black & Tans (Like Black & White Cookies, but with peanut butter!)

9. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

10. Chocolate Malt Cupcakes

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
Recipe: Adapted from Martha Stewart, makes 14 cupcakes
Ingredients:

3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups cake flour (not self- rising), sifted
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon, plus 1/2 teaspoon for dusting
1/2 cup (1 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cups sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for dusting
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cups milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together both flours, baking powder, salt, and 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon.
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored up to 2 days at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
To finish, combine remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sugar. Pipe frosting on each cupcake. Using a small, fine sieve, dust peaks with cinnamon-sugar. Cupcakes are best eaten the day they are frosted; keep at room temperature until ready to serve.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 stick of butter, softened
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 - 4 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine butter and cream cheese. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
Add the cinnamon, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar (1 cup at a time). Beat until smooth and creamy.

Asian Turkey Burgers with Hoisin Mayo

2010-06-04T07:24:00.001-07:00

Turkey burgers are one of my favorite things to make during the week. They're quick, easy, healthy, and make great leftovers the next day for lunch. I'm always looking for new flavor combinations and this asian style burger just replaced the greek style burger as our new favorite.

The burger gets most of its Asian flavor from grated ginger, grated garlic, and hoisin sauce added to the meat. It was also one of the most moist turkey burgers I've ever eaten. These burgers are great plain since they have so much flavor. Just add a drop of hoisin mayo and they're perfect!

Asian Turkey Burgers
Recipe: Adapted from Eating Well
Ingredients:

1.3 lbs of ground turkey (I used 93/7, but I think turkey breast would be fine too)
1/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
1 egg
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 scallions, trimmed and sliced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, grated
Salt & Pepper to Taste
Hoisin Mayo (Recipe Follows)

Directions:

Combine the first 7 ingredients and mix well. Form the mixture into patties. (I made mine smaller than normal burgers and got 6 burgers. You should be able to get 4 - 5 regular sized burgers).
Sprinkle the patties with salt and pepper.
Heat grill or grill pan to medium high. Oil the grill and grill until browned and no longer pink in the center, about 5 - 7 minutes per side.

Hoisin Mayo
Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonaise (I used light)
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
dash of sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Grilled Corn Salad

2010-06-03T05:41:00.000-07:00

The other day I went to the store and fresh corn was on sale. It was 10 ears of corn for $2! Clearly, I had to buy some corn. I had no idea what I was going to make with it, but I knew I'd figure something out. And I did. And it was so good, I went back to the store 2 days later so buy even more corn and make the same dish again. Yes, you read that right. I might this corn twice in 2 days!

The recipe is pretty simple, but requires a little time and labor. This was my first experience grilling corn, so I read a lot of different methods before beginning. It seems like the preferred method is to keep the husks on, remove the silks, soak in water for about 30 minutes, then grill for about 20 minutes. That's exactly what I did and they came out so good!

I took bits and pieces from different corn recipes I saw and ended up with this. Some recipes call for mayo, sour cream, or creme fresh to be mixed in with the corn but I wanted the freshness of the corn to stand out so I just used a tiny bit of butter. The recipe calls for cotija cheese and I definitely encourage you to seek it out instead of replacing it because it really takes the corn to a whole new level!

Grilled Corn Salad with Cotija Cheese
Ingredients

8 - 10 ears of corn, silks removed, husks on (soaked in water for 30 min)
1/2 tbls butter
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbls chopped, fresh cilantro
1/2 cup cotija cheese, crumbled
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp ancho chili pepper (I'm a wimp with spice, add more if you want)

Directions:

After soaking the corn, grill on medium high for about 20 minutes.
When the corn is cool enough to handle, remove the husks and cut the corn off the cob.
Saute in a pan over medium high heat with the butter, lime juice, cilantro, salt, pepper, chili powder, and chili pepper.
Add the cotija cheese just before you are ready to serve.

Banana Bars 2 Ways: Peanut Cream Cheese Frosting & Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-06-01T15:27:00.000-07:00

I'm always looking for new ways to use up extra bananas. Don't get me wrong, I love banana bread, but I was looking for something a little different this time around. These frosted banana bars did not disappoint!

I couldn't decide between regular cream cheese frosting or a peanut butter cream cheese frosting. So what's a girl do to? Make both of course! Which one was my favorite? Well whichever one I was eating at the moment. Seriously, both frostings were amazing. The peanut butter cream cheese far exceeded by expectations. I wasn't sure how peanut and cream cheese would go together, but holy cow this stuff is incredible!

Ross preferred the peanut butter one hands down, but that's no surprise because he loves anything peanut butter. His first reaction when he tried a bite was, "Wow. You should put this frosting on more stuff!" (What he really meant is that I should make something chocolate and put it on that, because according to Ross while banana + pb is good, chocolate + pb is unbeatable).

The original recipe calls for a 10 x 15 jellyroll pan, but I divided the batter into two 8 x 8 pans. You could also make these in a 9 x 13 pan. Whatever you chose, cut them into small pieces but the icing is some sweet stuff!

Frosted Banana Bars
Recipe: Adapted from AllRecipes.com
Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cups white sugar
1/4 cup of brown sugar (increase to 1/2 cup if you like it sweeter)
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2-3 bananas)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 10x15 inch jellyroll pan (or 9x13, or two 8x8's).
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the batter. Finally, mix in the mashed banana. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake for 25 - 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow bars to cool completely before frosting.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting (Enough for an 8 x 8 pan, double for 9 x 13)
Recipe: Adapted from SmittenKitchen

5 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 stick (2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 - 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/3 - 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, preferably a commercial brand (because oil doesn’t separate out)

Directions:

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes
Add the peanut butter and beat until thoroughly blended.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting (Enough for an 8 x 8 pan, double for 9 x 13)
Ingredients:

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 stick butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 - 3 cups confectioners sugar

Directions:

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes

Mocha Chip Cookies

2010-05-28T06:44:00.000-07:00

Is there a maximum number times of times a food blogger can post a cookie recipe and declare that it's amazing? I hope not, because this is officially another one of my faves. Add that to my list with Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, Smores Cookies, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, these Oatmeal Cookies, and Oreo Cookie Cookies! (Wow, that's a lot of cookies!)

If you're thinking that you won't like this cookie because you don't like coffee, think again. Even coffee haters loved this cookie. The coffee flavor comes from 3 tablespoons of instant coffee powder mixed into the dough (I used instant espresso. Oops). The result is a wonderful, chewy cookie with a hint of coffee flavor that really adds to the depth of flavor.

I found the recipe on Framed, but it originally comes from the book Baking with Julia. The recipe says to throw in 1 pound of chocolate chips or chunks but it doesn't specify what kind. I ended up using half white chocolate chips and half dark chocolate chunks. I loved the white chocolate in there and would definitely recommend using at least half white chocolate if you make this recipe. The sweetness of the white chocolate really balanced out the coffee flavor.

Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe: Adapted from Framed, Originally from Baking with Julia
Ingredients:

2 cups flour
3 tablespoons instant coffee powder - I used espresso powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, cut into chunks
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound chocolate chips or chunks - a mix of white chocolate and dark chocolate

Directions:

Whisk the flour, coffee, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.
Beat the butter in a mixer until lightened. Add granulated sugar and beat for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar and beat for another 30 seconds. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla and beat until blended.
Turn mixer speed down and add flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Add chocolate and mix until evenly blended in.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for several hours to overnight.
Preheat oven to 350, and line cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpat. Drop a heaping tablespoon full of dough onto sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies. Bake for 10-12 minutes. (I baked mine for 11 minutes and they were perfect. They looked underbaked, but after cooling on the pan for 2 minutes, and then cooling on the rack, they were perfectly chewy)

Caprese Chicken & My Go-To Chicken Marinade

2010-05-27T07:04:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for something quick, healthy, and delicious to jazz up some grilled chicken, this is it. This is a really light and fresh summer meal. And the best part is, you don't even have to turn on the oven! I threw together the bruschetta a few hours before dinner, then went outside to grill the chicken 15 minutes before we were ready to eat. To quote Ina, "How easy is that?". We love anything with tomato and mozzarella in the this house, so I know this would be a hit.

The marinade I used for this chicken is my standard grilled chicken marinade. I use it A LOT in the summer. It's amazing what a difference a little marinade makes. The recipe below was scaled down from the original quantities, I used this to marinade 3 boneless, skinless breasts, but it would probably be enough for 4.

Chicken Marinade
Recipe: Adapted from AllRecipes.com
Ingredients:

1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard (I used regular mustard)
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 tablespoon dried parsley

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix together oil, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, wine vinegar, and lemon juice. Stir in mustard powder, salt, pepper, and parsley. Use to marinate chicken before cooking as desired. The longer you marinate, the more flavor it will have.

Caprese Chicken
Recipe: Adapted from BakedBree
Ingredients:

1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered
1/2 of a medium red onion, finely diced
1 cup of mozerella, diced
1/4 cup of fresh basil, chopped
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper

Directions:

Add all the dry ingredients to the bowl. Sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste and combine. Don't be shy on the salt, it really brings out the flavor of the tomatoes!
Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar to taste and mix together. I probably used about 1/4 cup of each.

Grilled Mahi Mahi with Pineapple Cucumber Salsa

2010-05-25T07:44:00.000-07:00

When the sun is shining and it's warm outside, I crave really light food and fresh flavors. This dish is perfect (not to mention quick and healthy). I usually stray way from cooking seafood because I'm always worried that I'll overcook or undercook it, but mahi is a pretty forgiving fish. Overall, this was really easy to put together. I just drizzled the fish with some olive oil, sea salt, pepper and lime and put on my grill pan for about 4 - 5 minutes on each side. The salsa absolutely made the dish. The sweetness of pineapple and the coolness of the cucumber completed the fish perfectly. The quantities of the ingredients in the salsa are really flexible so feel free to add more or less of whatever you want. I served this with a side of brown rice and it was a perfect meal. Enjoy!

Recipe: Grilled Mahi Mahi with Pineapple Cucumber Salsa
Ingredients:

2 mahi mahi fillets
Salt & Pepper
olive oil
2 limes
1 cup pineapple, chopped
3/4 cup cucumber, finely chopped
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 jalepeno (seeds removed) finely chopped
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped

Directions:

To make the salsa, combine pineapple, cucumber, juice of 1 lime, onion, jalepeno, and cilantro. Add salt and pepper to taste.
To cook the fish, heat a grill pan to medium high. Drizzle the fish with olive oil, salt, pepper, and the juice of 1 lime. Cook for 4 - 5 minutes on each side.

Baked Falafel

2010-05-17T14:10:00.001-07:00

I absolutely love falafel, but as I previously mentioned, I hate frying things. So when I saw a recipe for baked falafel, I knew I would have to make. It's always a gamble when you take a food that's typically eaten fried, and try your hand at making it healthier, but these falafels were a huge a success. I was really surprised at how crispy they got in the oven.

I basically just read a bunch of falafel recipes and pick and choose what sounded good from each one. The recipe is pretty flexible. Feel free to add or take away spices to your liking. I threw everything in the food processor, formed them into balls, squashed them down a little bit so there would be more surface area to get crispy, then baked them at 400 degrees. It's really important to flip these half way through so both sides get crispy.

Overall these were a huge hit. I served them in pitas with some chopped up cucumber, tomatoes, feta, and homemade tzatziki sauce. I also threw together a rough chopped salad with my favorite greek dressing. Enjoy!

Recipe: Baked Falafel

Ingredients:

15 oz can garbanzo beans drained
1/4 - 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs (I used panko)
1/4 of an onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup of parsley
1/4 cup of cilantro
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tsp salt
1 tsp corriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp baking powder

Directions:

Place garlic, onion, cilantro, parsley or mint, chickpeas, and bread crumbs in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to chop and blend ingredients.
Sprinkle lemon juice and olive oil over chickpea mixture and pulse a few more times. Sprinkle baking powder, salt, and spices over mixture and pulse until the chickpea mixture reaches a workable paste-like consistency. Add additional lemon juice or olive oil if it seems to dry.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. While the oven is getting hot, line a baking pan with foil and brush with olive oil. Scoop balls (about the size of a golf ball) of dough into your palms and form them into patties. Set aside on work surface while you form the remaining mixture.
Arrange falafel patties on oiled baking sheet and brush them with olive oil. Bake at 400 degrees F for about 20 - 25 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and crispy. Turn once midway through baking.
Remove from oven and let falafel cool on pan for a minute or two before removing to plates or pitas with a spatula.

Coconut Cupcakes

2010-05-17T08:21:00.001-07:00

These guys have been on my to-bake list for quite some time now. I finally got the chance to make them the other day and they were everything I expected them to be! This is a recipe from Ina Garten, and she has yet to disappoint. The cake itself is really light and fluffy and is flavored with vanilla and almond extract. The frosting is the star though (as usual). It's a cream cheese icing (also flavored with vanilla & almond extract). Why is cream cheese icing so damn good?!?!? Overall, I thought these were great and I absolutely loved the way they looked with the white frosting and the white coconut sprinkled on top!

Recipe: From The Barefoot Contessa

Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

3/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 extra large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
14 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut
1 pound cream cheese
3/4 pound butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 pounds confectioners' sugar, sifted

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325. Line 2 muffin pans with liners.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to low, and add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl between each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix until incorporated.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk in three additions, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined, and fold in 7 ounces of the coconut.
Fill each liner almost to the top with batter. Bake 25-35 minutes, or until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans for 15 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
For the frosting, mix the cream cheese and butter in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the vanilla and almond, and gradually add the confectioners' sugar. Mix until smooth.
Frost the cupcakes with the cream cheese icing and sprinkle the tops with the remaining coconut.

Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-04-25T13:30:00.001-07:00

If it has nutella in it, I want it. These cookies are no exception. They're dangerously addictive. Make them, have one (okay maybe 2 or 3), give them away. Otherwise they'll be calling your name from the kitchen! I took these to a tailgate this weekend and they disappeared rather quickly.

These cookies are pretty much perfection. They are similar in consistency to a good peanut butter cookie: mostly chewy, but slightly crumbly as well. The original recipe calls for chopped hazelnuts, but I'm a bit of a cookie purist so I omitted the nuts and added in some extra chocolate chips. If you like nuts in your cookie, then add 1/2 cup of chopped hazelnuts. The original recipe also calls for 2 tbsp of cocoa powder, but I only used one because I wanted it to be slightly chocolaty, not overly chocolaty so the nutella wouldn't be overpowered. (If you click on the link where I got the recipe from you can see the difference in color between mine and hers. Hers are a lot darker and richer looking). Overall, these cookies were perfect and I wouldn't change a thing!

Recipe: Adapted from Alpineberry
Yeild: About 24 - 30 cookies
Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp of salt
7 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp.
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2/3 cup Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (it's just what I had in my pantry. feel free to just add more of the regular chocolate chips instead)

Directions

Mix together flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside dry ingredients.
Cream together butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in Nutella and vanilla extract. Mix in egg.
Add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Add chocolate chips.
Chill for 1 hour. (This step can be skipped if you want, but I always chill my cookie dough because I think it makes a huge difference).
Drop tablespoons of dough 2 inches apart onto parchment lined baking sheets. Bake at 350 for about 11 minutes until the edges look set. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes then carefully remove to cooling racks.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

2010-04-24T06:10:00.000-07:00

This is one of those posts, where I don't even want to write anything. I feel like I should just be able to post the title and the pictures and that should have you bolting into the kitchen to make these. That's what happened to me anyway when I saw these on Annies Eats.

These are more than just cupcakes. When all the elements of the cupcake are combined and you take that first bite, it's magical. These are eye rollingly good. And you know what? I don't even like cookie dough that much! I'm not one of those people who eats it out of the bowl with a spoon as I'm baking off cookies. I prefer the finished product. But the cookie dough flavor in these is just perfect!

They definitely take a lot of time. I suggest making the filling and mini cookies (if you're using them) the day before, and making the cupcakes and frosting the next day. The cookie dough that you use for the filling is eggless, so it's completely safe to eat. And be warned, when you taste it alone, it's just okay, but when you taste it inside the cupcake it's perfect! Enjoy!

Recipe from: Annies Eats
Yield:24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups light brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips (semisweet or bittersweet)

For the filling:
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tbsp. light brown sugar, packed
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
7 oz. sweetened condensed milk
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

For the frosting:
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
3½ cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. salt
3 tbsp. milk
2½ tsp. vanilla extract

For decoration:
Tiny chocolate chip cookies
Mini chocolate chips

Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners (24 total). In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and brown sugar. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir together to blend. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl on low speed, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, mixing each addition just until incorporated. Blend in the vanilla. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the cookie dough filling, combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up a bit, about an hour.

To fill the cupcakes, cut a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake. Fill each hole with a chunk of the chilled cookie dough mixture.

To make the frosting, beat together the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy. Mix in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Beat in the flour and salt. Mix in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.

Frost the filled cupcakes as desired, sprinkling with mini chocolate chips and topping with mini chocolate chip cookies for decoration.

Crab Cakes (Baked) with 2 Dipping Sauces

2010-04-12T09:20:00.001-07:00

This weekend we hosted a "Goodbye Winter" BBQ and I served these mini crab cakes as an appetizer. They were a perfect Spring appetizer. They were surprisingly light and the hint of lemon inside really made them shine.

I didn't feel like frying 30 crab cakes (Actually I never feel like frying anything, I hate it. It makes your house smell like oil and I always manage to get burned by the splats of hot oil). So anyway, I decided to bake these instead. I coated the outside with panko and then put them in the oven for about 15 - 20 minutes. Then at the end I broiled each side just for about a minute to make sure they got nice and brown.

(Before they went into the oven).

I served these with 2 dipping sauces: a spicy avocado dipping sauce and a spicy mayo. The spicy avocado was the clear favorite.

Crab Cakes: Recipe adapted from a bunch of places like here and here.
Ingredients:

1/4 c. mayo
1 tbls chopped chives
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp dried taragon
1/4 tsp Old Bay
1/4 tsp Dried thyme
1 tbls dijon mustard
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
1 pound jumbo lump crab meat
2 cups panko breadcrumbs, divided

Directions:

Whisk together the first 10 ingredients.
Add in the crab meat, breaking up slightly.
Add in 1 cup of panko breadcrumbs.
Form into patties of desired size. At this stage, I actually spread the crab meat mixture out onto a sheet pan (about 1/2 inch thick) and used a small round cookie cutter to get the shape I wanted.
Using the remaining 1 cup of breadcrumbs, coat each crab cake with panko. Chill for at least 1 hour.
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes turning once halfway, on a parchment lined baking sheet. When they are almost done set the broiler on high to brown. I did this for about 1 minute on the first side, then flipped and broiled for another 30 seconds on the second side. Watch them carefully at this point because they brown quickly!
Serve with extra lemon wedges or dipping sauces (recipes below).

Spicy Avocado Dipping Sauce: Recipe Adapted from here.
Ingredients:

1 avocado, pitted and peeled
1 tbls mayo
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. sugar
Half of a jalepeno (if you don't want it too spicy, remove the seeds and stems)
1/3 cup of milk

Directions:

Add the first 6 ingredients in the food processor and pulse a few times. Slowly add in the milk and puree until it is smooth and has reached the consistency that you want.

Spicy Mayo
Ingredients:

Mayo
Siracha Hot Sauce

Directions:

Mix together. I used a 3:1 ratio of mayo to hot sauce, but just start from there adjust to taste.

Roasted Red Pepper White Bean Dip

2010-03-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

I'm back! Sorry for the huge gap between posts. Two weeks ago I went on vacation to Las Vegas and since I practically ate my way through the city I decided to take the next week off from baking.

Last week we had a few people over for a poker game during the week, so I wanted something that I could make that was easy and healthy. I didn't have high hopes for this because, to be honest, I don't really like red peppers (or green, or yellow, or orange for that matter). But I had a jar of roasted red peppers in my pantry that was begging to be used so I through this together. Wow! It was actually really good. It was such a crowd pleaser. Everyone kept going back for more.

This is ridiculously easy to put together. You pretty much just open up a few cans and pop everything in the food processor with some lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, and olive oil. Seriously, it doesn't get any easier. Not to mention, it's such a pretty color!

Recipe: Adapted from Closet Cooking Ingredients

1 15 oz can of white beans, drained and rinsed
1 small jar of roasted red pepper, coarsely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Add everything to the food processor and puree until smooth. Add more olive oil (or water) to thin to desired consistency.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. The PERFECT cookie.

2010-03-02T13:38:00.000-08:00

Ok, this is it. This is THE chocolate chip cookie recipe. And I know I've said that before. A few months ago I was boasting about this cookie, but you see that was before I tried brown butter! Now there's no going back. How do I know this is one? Because I have no desire to keep trying chocolate chip cookie recipes anymore. I have no little voice in the back of my head saying "this one is really good, but maybe there's a better one out there."

This is essentially the infamous New York Times chocolate chip cookie recipe, but with brown butter instead of regular butter. Thank you, Blue Ridge Baker for this amazing idea. It basically combines the NY Times recipe with the Cook's Illustrated method for using brown butter. If you've never had brown butter before, then get yourself in the kitchen right now and make something with brown butter because there are no words to describe its wonder (but I'll try anyway). It gives the cookies such a depth of flavor. It creates this really aromatic, caramel/toffee background. You taste it immediately when you bite into the cookie, but it's not overpowering, it's just perfect.

This was the first thing I've made with brown butter, and to be completely honest I think I could've browned the butter a little more but I was scared of burning it, so this may be more like a light brown butter chocolate chip cookie. All I know is that is head and shoulders above any other cookie recipe I've tried. (Although, my previous favorite cookie will still have it's place when I need to throw together a cookie quickly). This recipe is a little demanding of your time but sooooooooo worth it. First it requires browning the butter. Then, it requires letting the brown butter and sugars sit for a few minutes. Then, after the dough is finished, there's the dreaded 24 hours of waiting while it rests in the fridge.

I stayed pretty true to the NY Times recipe and used 2 kinds of flour: cake and bread, because I happened to have them both on hand. Blue Ridge Baker used All Purpose flour and clearly loved her cookies as much as I loved mine, so that should work fine too. She also cut the recipe in half so if you are looking for a smaller batch of cookies, head over there and check our her recipe. But seriously, don't cut the recipe in half. You'll want every single one of these! I plan on making these cookies again and possibly incorporating 2 changes. 1) I may use dark brown sugar per the Cook's Illustrated recipe, just for curiosity sake. 2) I may add an extra egg yolk. This is a method I learned from Alton Brown's "The Chewy" in order to help it retain its chewiness. But as it stands, this is the best cookie I've ever eaten. Enjoy!

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from NY Times and Blue Ridge Baker
Ingredients:

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons(8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted brown butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate chopped into chip size pieces

Directions:

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugars. Pour hot brown butter over sugars, and without stirring, place in refrigerator to cool the butter to room temperature. Attach bowl to mixer and on medium speed, beat until light in color and fluffy. If butter isn't becoming pale, it isn't cool enough. Pop it back in the fridge for a few more minutes and try again.
When butter mixture is desired consistency, add egg and beat for 30 seconds. Stir in vanilla. Add dry ingredients, and mix until just incorporated. Stir in chocolate. Form dough into a log and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment. Form dough into balls a little over an inch in diameter, or 1.5 ounces. Place balls at least 2" apart on baking sheet, and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Bake for about 12 - 15 minutes, or until slightly puffy, dry on top and tinged with golden.
Let stand on baking sheet for about 1 - 3 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Rugelach

2010-03-01T05:55:00.000-08:00

Another cold and snowy weekend means another baking project has been completed. When I finished work Friday afternoon and checked the weather report for the weekend I knew I'd be staying inside cooking, baking, and watching movies. I got great suggestions from people for what to cook. On Friday I asked Ross what he wants for dinner. His usual response is something along the lines of, "I don't know. Whatever you make is fine with me," which is 100% true because he literally will eat anything that I make, he's just not really one to come up with ideas. Well imagine my surprise when he replied with "How about penne with vodka sauce and chicken?". My response was an immediate yes followed by searching the internet for the best recipe. Fast forward a few hours and vodka sauce was made. It was amazing, however the pictures were not so that post will have to wait. Anyway, back to my point and the rugelach.

My point was that I got great suggestions from people all weekend long. A few hours after the vodka sauce suggestion I checked facebook where I left a status requesting movie/baking recommendations. My aunt brilliantly suggested that I make rugelach. It was the perfect idea. Rugelach is slightly time consuming, but not too complicated. If you've never had rugelach, they are sooooo good! It's a little crescent shaped pastry filled with basically whatever you want. They aren't too sweet because there is no sugar in the dough. Traditionally there is some sort of cinnamon/sugar, jam, nuts, raisins or currants, or chocolate. I made 2 types. The first was apricot/currant and the second was chocolate/cinnamon/walnut. They were both amazing but the apricot was the winner. It both looked and tasted better than the chocolate which I was surprised about.

Rugelach: Recipe from Dorie Greenspan
Makes 32 cookies
Ingredients:

For the dough

4 ounces cold cream cheese, cut into 4 pieces
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the apricot filling

1/3 cup raspberry jam, apricot jam or marmalade
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons dried currants or raisins (I probably used less. Just sprinkle them on till it looks like you have enough)

For the chocolate filling

2 T chopped walnuts (again, I probably used less)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped, or 2/3 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

For the glaze

1 large egg
1 teaspoon cold water
2 tablespoons sugar, preferably coarse sugar

Directions:
For the dough

Let the cream cheese and butter rest on counter for 10 minutes. It should be slightly softened but cool.
Put the flour and salt in a food processor, scatter over the chunks of cream cheese and butter and pulse the machine for 6 to 10 times. Then process, scraping down the sides of the bowl often, just until the dough forms large curds. Do not work the dough too long that it forms a ball on the blade.
Remove the dough from the food processor, divide into half, shape each half into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to a day. (Wrap airtight, the dough can be frozen for up to 2 months.)

To make the filling

Heat the jam in a saucepan over low heat, or microwave until it liquefies. Mix sugar and cinnamon together.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. (Silicone baking mats are great for rugelach.)

To shape the cookies

Pull one packet of dough from the refrigerator. If it is too firm to roll easily, leave it on the counter for about 10 minutes or give it a few bashes with your rolling pin.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into an 11- to 12-inch circle. Add fillings as desired in the following order: jam, cinnamon sugar, nuts, chocolate, currants.
Cover the filling with a piece of wax paper and gently press the filling into the dough, then remove the paper and save it for the next batch. (This helps the filling stay in place. I only found it necessary with the chocolate batch).
Using a pizza wheel or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 16 wedges, or trigangles. (The easiest way to do this is to cut into quarters, then cut each quarters into 4 pieces.)
Starting at the base of each triangle, roll the dough up so that each triangle becomes a little crescent.
Arrange the roll-ups on one baking sheet, making sure the points are tucked under the cookies, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (The cookies can be refrigerate overnight or frozen for up to 2 months; don't defrost before baking, just add a couple of minutes to the baking time.)

Getting ready to bake

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350 degree F.

To glaze

Stir the egg and water together. Brush a bit of the glaze over each rugelach. Sprinkle the cookies with sugar.
Bake the cookies for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until they are puffed and golden.
Transfer the cookies to racks to cool to just warm or to room temperature.

Multi-Grain Waffles

2010-02-28T06:43:00.000-08:00

I've never really been big on making breakfast. My usual morning routine is scarfing down a bowl of Special K with some honey, cinnamon, and a banana while I check my email. Occasionally, I'll have some oatmeal but most days I can't be bothered to be to put a bowl in the microwave for 90 seconds (I know, I'm ridiculous) so clearly any sort of waffle/pancake/omelette during the week is out of the question.

This weekend I got a very undeniable waffle craving though. Besides, I figured it was about time to put the waffle maker to use. The one we got for our wedding. The one that's been sitting in the back of the kitchen cabinets for almost 2 years now. I decided to go for a multi-grain waffle that uses whole wheat flour. After seeing the list of ingredients I wasn't sure how they were going to come out. It seems rather healthy for a waffle. They actually came out really good though. As in, I'll probably be making them on a regular basis (only on weekends of course). They definitely don't have the perfect texture. The exterior could be a little crispier and the inside could be a little lighter and fluffier, but the taste is spot on. If you're looking for a healthy waffle recipe, give this a shot.

(Marcus REALLY wanted to try these. I swear he practices this look when we're not home!)

Multi-Grain Waffles: Makes 8 waffles
Adapted from: FoodNetwork.com
Ingredients:

2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2/3 cup whole-wheat flour
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup toasted wheat germ or cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional, but gives them a great nutty flavor)

Directions:

Mix buttermilk and oats in a medium bowl; let stand for 15 minutes.
Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, wheat germ (or cornmeal), baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.
Stir eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla into the oat mixture. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients; mix with a rubber spatula just until moistened.
Coat a waffle iron with cooking spray and preheat. Spoon in enough batter to cover three-fourths of the surface (about 2/3 cup for an 8-by-8-inch waffle iron). Cook until waffles are crisp and golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter.

Black Bean Turkey Chili

2010-02-24T15:26:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I know that for a blog called "SugarCooking" I've had a serious lack of sugar related posts lately. I've just been craving really hearty, healthy foods lately. So I figured instead of not blogging at all, I'd just blog about all the healthy things I've been making. (I know, boring). But fret not, I promise to return with some sugar laden, full fat treats soon.

So about this chili. It's easy, it's delicious, it's filling, and it's healthy. I found this chili to be just about perfect. It has a little heat but it's not too spicy. If you like things really spicy feel free to dial up the cayenne or even add in some chopped jalepeno. This is a perfect meal for a cold, snowy night; it will warm you right up. Enjoy!

Black Bean Turkey Chili: Adapted from AllRecipes
Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1.3 lb ground turkey (I use 93/7)
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
3 cans black beans, undrained
1 1/2 tbls chili powder
1/tsp cumin*
1 tbls dried oregano
1 tbls dried basil
1 tbls red wine vinegar
1 tbls worchestershire sauce
1/2 tbls brown sugar
1 tsp cocoa powder ** (see note)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp cayenne peper
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat; cook onion and garlic until onions are translucent.
Add turkey and cook, stirring, until meat is brown. Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 60 minutes or more, until flavors are well blended.
Serve with sour and cheese, if desired.

Notes:
* I find cumin to have a very overpowering taste so I always reduce the amount called for. Feel free to add more if you like the flavor.
** I've seen a few recipes add cocoa powder to them so I tried it because I was curious. I don't know if there was a noticeable difference. I don't think I used enough to actually taste it.

Chicken, Spinach, Goat Cheese Quesadillas with an Avocado Sour Cream

2010-02-21T11:34:00.000-08:00

These quesadillas are delicous, quick, and healthy... what more can you ask for? I recently got a new grill pan because I've been seriously missing the summer time grilling. All this snow is just too much for a Florida girl to get used to! I figured I'd try out the grill pan with this quesadilla recipe.

Since I pretty much love anything with spinach and goat cheese in it, it's no surprise that I loved these quesadillas. They really came out perfect. The cheese was melting and gooey on the inside and the tortilla was crisp on the outside.

I can't remember where I first read this (although I wish I did so I could give you credit!), but I remember someone suggesting to toast the inside part of the tortilla on the pan for about 30 seconds before you put the fillings on. That way is crisps up just a little bit; enough to prevent the cheese from making the inside of the quesadilla soggy. Brilliant, right?

This recipe is obviously quite adapatable to your likes and dislikes. I also put in some montery jack cheese to give it that gooey melty texture. I think caramelized onions would be great in here, as would roasted garlic. All the recipe quantities are approximate, but just common sense and put them on in quantities that look right.

Chicken, Spinach, Goat Cheese Quesadilla
Ingredients:

Flour Totrillas (whole wheat would work fine too)
Chicken (cooked and sliced)
Garlic (1 tsp., minced)
Baby Spinach (1 pre packaged bag)
Salt, Pepper, & Cayenne Pepper to taste
Goat Cheese (4 oz, crumbled)
Reduced Fat Shredded Monterey Jack
Non-Stick cooking spray or olive oil

Directions

Heat the spinach with the garlic, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper over medium-low heat in a pan until just wilted. Remove from heath and set aside.
Heat the grill pan (or regular pan) over medium-high heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray or drizzle with olive oil. Toast the inside of the tortilla for about 30 seconds.
Take the tortilla off the grill pan and assemble as follows. Over half the quessadilla sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of monterey jack cheese, following by a few slices of chicken, then the spinach, then the crumbled goat cheese.
Add to the grill pan and cook for about 1 - 2 minutes. Carefully use a spatula to flip the empty half of the tortilla onto the loaded half. At this point I like to let the quesadilla cook for about 30 more seconds, then flip it over. Give it another 1 -2 minutes, then remove from the pan and enjoy!

Avocado Sour Cream
Ingredients

1 Avocado, chopped
1/3 c. sour cream
1 T maynoaise
1 lime juice
1/4 t onion powder
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Use a fork to mash the avocado as much as you can. (You can put it in the food processor if you want a smoother dip, but I just use a fork and a spoon).
Combine it with all other ingredients and stir together.

Note: If you want a thinner dip, strip in a few tablespoons of buttermilk. If you want a smoother dip, throw everything in the food processor.

Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

2010-02-20T06:34:00.000-08:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely love lemon, so when I saw how ridiculously simple this recipe was I knew I had to try it. It uses boxed cake mix (which I almost never do!) and just requires throwing in a few eggs, some oil, and some fresh lemon juice and zest.

I think the fresh lemon zest and juice is what really brings things cookies to another level. It somehow gives that boxed mix a fresh taste. These are not the best cookie in the world, but they are pretty darn good and so easy to make. So if you have a box of lemon cake mix sitting in your pantry, whip this up!

The only recommendation I would make is be sure not to underbake these. While underbaked cookies are sometimes yummy underbaked cake batter is just kinda gross. I ended up baking mine for just about the full 9 minutes.

Lemon Cake Mix Cookies: From My Baking Addiction
Ingredients

1 (18.25 oz) package lemon cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 c vegetable oil
2 teaspoons of lemon zest
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1/3 cup confectioner's sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Pour cake mix into a large bowl. Stir in eggs, oil, lemon juice, lemon extract, and lemon zest until blended.
Drop teaspoonfuls (mine were probably a tad bigger) of dough int o a bowl of confectioner's sugar. Roll them around until they're lightly covered (It may help to put the dough in the fridge for a little while first). Once sugared, put them on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 6 - 9 minutes in the preheated oven.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries with a Honey Lime Dip

2010-02-18T08:01:00.001-08:00

I absolutely love sweet potato fries. If I'm at a restaurant and they're on a menu, chances are that I'm ordering them. I even manage to convince myself that they're "healthier" since you know, they're sweet potatoes not evil white potatoes. Never mind the fact that they are fried and oily.

With these fries I don't have to convince myself that they're healthier because they are. No frying here! These "fries" are baked in oven. They came out a lot better and crispier than I had expected. The real trick to these is to make sure that they're all cut the same size so they cook evenly. I like my fries a little on the skinnier side so I cut mine pretty small. You definitely don't want them big like steak fries otherwise they'll never crisp up the way you want. Also, make sure that you have a really good knife to work with because cutting through raw potatoes can be a tough job. These fries are worth it though!

The dipping sauce is completely optional because the fries are great without it, but we all know that having something to dip your food into makes it more fun (and tasty)!

Recipe: Baked Sweet Potato Fries with a Honey Lime Dip
From: Our Best Bites
Ingredients:

2 medium sized sweet potatoes
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t coriander
1 t kosher salt
1 t parsley
fresh ground paper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet lightly with cooking spray.
Slice your sweet potatoes into french fry shape and size. About 1/4" (maybe a tad bigger). Check out this site for a picture guide on cutting the fries.
Put the sweet potatoes in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Use your hands to make sure they are evenly coated.
Add all the herbs and spices and continue to toss until well coated.
Place in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. No opening the oven door! Not even for a quick peak!
After 15 minutes, take them out and flip them. Be careful as they may be a little soggy at this point.
Continue to cook for another 15 - 20 minutes. Take out of the oven and serve immediately.

Recipe: Honey Lime Dipping Sauce
Adapted From: Our Best Bites
Ingredients:

6 oz container non-fat greek yogurt, plain
1 T mayo (reduced fat is fine)
1/2 T honey
Juice from half a lime (or more to taste)
1/4 t cumin
1/8 t oregano
1 t parsley
1/2 t onion powder
3/4 t salt

Directions:

Mix honey, yogurt, mayo, and lime together until combined.
Add in spices and herbs.

Japanese Cucumber Salad

2010-02-16T10:17:00.001-08:00

There was this pan-Asian restaurant where I went to college that always served a side of cucumber salad with whatever meal you ordered. It was simple and it was perfect. Vinegary, slightly sweet, and slightly spicy. I've tried numerous times to recreate the recipe and while I've gotten close a few times, I always knew I just missing the mark. That is, until now!

I tried this recipe last night and it was exactly what I was looking for, nothing more and nothing less. This is really easy to throw together and can be made ahead. It's a very light and refreshing salad that is a great side to any Asian influenced meal. I served it alongside a honey-ginger grilled chicken breast and brown rice.

Recipe: Japanese Cucumber Salad (Adapted from: For the Love of Cooking( Ingredients:

1 english (hothouse) cucumber, peeled
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1/2 cup of water
3 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

Directions:

Peel the cucumber then cut in half lengthwise. Take a small spoon and scoop out all the seeds from the cucumber. Cut into bite size pieces and place in a colander, sprinkle with salt and toss well. Drain 1 hour. Place on several layers of paper towels. Let stand for 5 minutes, pressing down occasionally. Rinse and pat dry.
Combine vinegar, water, sugar, and pepper in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cook until reduced to 1/3 cut (about 10 minutes). Remove vinegar reduction from heat; cool. Combine cucumbers and vinegar deduction in a medium bowl; toss well. Enjoy.

Perfect Pizza Crust and Roasted Garlic Chicken Pesto Pizza

2010-02-15T06:48:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to make my own pizza crust for a really long time, but for some reason I've been hesitant. I've never been much of a bread beaker and I tend to avoid recipes that deal with kneading or rising. Yesterday, though, Ross and I decided to be brave and try making our own pizza dough for Valentines Day dinner. (On a side note: I absolutely love when Ross gets involves with a cooking project. It makes it a lot more fun. Ross, if you're reading this. Hint, Hint!)

If you're going to start making pizza dough I figured that a recipe called "Perfect Pizza Crust" was the place to start. I cannot express to you just how impressed I was with this recipe. It had a big name to live up to, and it did. The crust really is pefect. It's the perfect thickness and it's crispy yet chewy at the same time. The pizza that came out of the oven was one of the best pizzas I've ever eaten. I couldn't stop marveling in our accomplishment and that made every bite taste better! I can't wait to try this recipe again subbing some of the white flour for whole wheat.

If you're at all thinking about tackling pizza dough from scratch, search no further. This is the recipe you want.

I chose to throw some roasted garlic, pesto, chicken, mozzarella, and parmesan on mine, but with this dough I'm sure you could put anything on it and it would still be amazing!

The Perfect Pizza Curst
Source: Annies Eats (great blog!) orginally from Baking Illustrated
Ingredients:

1/2 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
1 envelope (2 1/4 tsp.) instant yeast
1 1/4 cups water, at room temp
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 cups (22 oz.) bread flour, plug more for dusting
1 1/2 tsp salt
Cornmeal
olive oil or non-stick cooking spray for greasing bowl

Directions:

Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes. Add the room temperature water and oil and stir to combine.
Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Briefly combine the dry ingredients at low speed. Slowly add the liquid ingredients and continue to mix at low speed until a cohesive mass forms. Stop the mixer and replace the paddle with the dough hook. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 ½ to 2 hours. Press the dough to deflate it.
To bake, place a pizza stone in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven to 500° for at least 30 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Form both pieces of dough into smooth, round balls and cover with a damp cloth. Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no more than 30 minutes.
Working with one piece of dough and keeping the other covered, shape the dough and transfer to a pizza peel or round of parchment dusted with semolina or cornmeal. Top as desired. Slide the dough onto the pizza stone. Bake until the crust edges brown and cheese is golden brown in spots, about 8 to 12 minutes. Repeat with remaining ball of dough or freeze for later use.

Recipe: Roasted Garlic Chicken Pesto Pizza Adapted from Annies Eats Ingredients:

1 perfect pizza crust (recipe above)
1/2 cup prepared pesto (store bough or homemade)
1 bulb of garlic
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked
Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese

Directions:

To roast the garlic: Peel away the outer layers of the garlic bulb skin, leaving the skins of the individual cloves intact. Using a knife, cut off 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of the top of cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic. Place the garlic heads in a baking pan; muffin pans work well for this purpose. Drizzle a couple teaspoons of olive oil over each head, using your fingers to make sure the garlic head is well coated. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 400°F for 30-35 minutes, or until the cloves feel soft when pressed. Remove garlic gloves and smash with a fork.
Spread roasted garlic over pizza dough. Do this to taste. I used almost the whole (small) bulb, but I LOVE roasted garlic.
Spread the pesto on the pizza.
Add the sliced, cooked chicken.
Sprinkle with mozzarella.
Top with fresh grated parmesan.
Bake on preheated pizza stone for 8 - 12 minutes.

Thai Pineapple Fried Rice

2010-02-13T18:55:00.000-08:00

After people see my blog/receive a plethora of baked goods from me, I get asked the same question a lot. "How are you NOT 300 pounds?". Well the answer is actually pretty simple. I don't eat dessert for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Well it's little more complicated than that. For one, I go to the gym at least 4 - 5 days a week for about an hour. Second, I try to give away about 98% of what I bake. Usually I'll keep a couple of whatever I make in the house and send the rest out of the house as soon as possible. At the very least, I put it in the freezer (but let's be honest, that's not gonna keep me away for too long). I also (try) to limit my baking, and desserts in general, to once a week. Obviously, there are exceptions to this but I do well with guidelines so that's what I tell myself. And finally, and most importantly, I actually eat really healthy when it comes to non-dessert related items. I do the whole shebang. Whole grains, lots of fresh fruit and veggies, and lean proteins.

Sugar is my weakness. I go all out when it comes to sugar. Everything I bake is usually all the way. I give myself that liberty because of the above reasons and because when it comes to savory stuff I have no problems going light. I use reduced fat/non fat items on a regular basis. I swap out lean ground turkey for ground beef whenever I can. (I can't even remember the last time I ate a cheeseburger). You could tell me that I'm not allowed to eat another french fry for as long as I live and I'd be okay with that; but if you were to tell me no more cookies or ice cream then we'd have a problem.

So how come all you've seen so far is the sweet stuff? Well for one the blog is called "SugarCooking". But more realistically there are actually a few good reasons. 1) It gets dark around 6:00 at this time of year and that makes it hard to take pictures when we're sitting down to dinner. 2) Even if there was enough light to take pictures, I'm sometimes slow and I'd feel bad letting the food get cold so I could take pictures of it. 3) I actually eat a lot of the same foods (whole wheat pasta with a turkey bolognese, this pasta dish, grilled chicken with veggies, turkey and black bean chili) on a weekly basis and that would just be boring to blog about.

So why am I telling you about all this? Well, I'm going to make an effort to start blogging about more of the savory stuff I make. I've gotten a little faster at taking pictures and I have a good lighting set up now so that will take care of reasons 1 & 2 above. But the real driving force is I think this will inspire me to broaden the dinner repertoire in my house. So, I present to you the first of hopefully many healthy, savory dishes. This thai style pineapple fried rice is delicious. I was so impressed with how it came out. It was fragrant and flavorful and really hearty.

It came together really quickly. Just make sure you have all your ingredients prepped and measured before you start because everything goes into the pan pretty quickly so you won't have time to be running around measuring stuff in between steps. I chose to use brown rice instead of white rice. I also added tofu (quick, easy, and healthy) but I think chicken or shrimp would be a great addition too. The pineapple is absolutely the star of the meal though. It adds such an unexpected brightness and sweetness to the dish that really balances with the spices.

Thai Style Pineapple Fried Rice Recipe: Adapted from Closet Cooking
Ingredients:

2 tablespoons oil
2 shallots (thinly sliced)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 red chili (optional, I omitted it because I was scared)
1 egg (lightly beaten)
3 tablespoons chicken stock (or vegetable broth)
3 tablespoons fish sauce (or soy sauce)
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup cashews (roasted)
3-4 cups cooked brown rice (preferably a day old)
1 cup pineapple cut into bite sized pieces
tofu (or any protein) (drained and cubed)
soy sauce
1/4 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup currants (or raisins)
2 green onions (sliced)

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the shallots, garlic, chillies and stir-fry until fragrant, about a minute.
3. Add the egg and stir-fry for a minute.
4. Add the chicken stock, fish sauce, curry powder and sugar and stir-fry.
5. Add the cashews and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
6. Add the rice, break up any clumps and stir-fry for a few minutes.
7. Add the tofu and soy sauce to taste (I used about 1 tbls),gently stir.
8. Add the pineapple, peas and raisins and stir-fry to mix them in.
9. Remove from heat and serve garnished with chopped green onions.

Mini Red Velvet Cupcakes

2010-02-12T09:07:00.000-08:00

Well I couldn't let Valentine's Day go by without baking some sort of dessert decorated with cute red, white, and pink sprinkles. These (not so red) red velvet cupcakes were the perfect vessel for such sprinkles. And the cream cheese icing. Ross will eat anything will cream cheese icing. Seriously I could serve him raw brussel sprouts with cream cheese icing and he'd gobble them down!

I decided to go the mini route because I think mini desserts are cuter, and well Valentine's Day is all about cute stuff. The red velvet cake came out really good. It was really moist and flavorful and everything you'd want from a red velvet cake. Unfortunately I didn't check the status of my red food coloring before I started putting together the batter so my cake didn't turn out as red as it should have.

I'm definitely keeping this in my collection for the next time the need for red velvet comes a long. The only thing I might change next time is to reduce the cocoa powder a little bit. I thought it tasted a little too chocolaty for red velvet, so I may knock it down to 2 tablespoons next time. Enjoy!

Recipe: Adapted from The Repressed Pastry Chef
Ingredients:

1c cake flour
1/4c cocoa
1/2tsp salt
2/3c vegetable oil
3/4c sugar
1 egg
1oz (2T) red food coloring
1/2tsp vanilla
1/2c buttermilk
1/2tsp baking soda
3/4tsp white vinegar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line12-cupcake pans with cupcake liners and spray with cooking spray.
Whisk cake flour, cocoa and salt in a bowl.
Place oil and sugar in bowl of an electric mixer and beat at medium speed until well-blended. Beat in eggs one at a time.
With machine on low, very slowly add red food coloring (and water or syrup, if necessary). (Take care: it may splash.) Add vanilla.
Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk in two batches. Scrape down bowl and beat just long enough to combine.
Place baking soda in a small dish, stir in vinegar and add to batter with machine running. Beat for 10 seconds.
Divide batter among cupcake pans, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake for about 12 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Note:: The recipe above has been scaled down to 1/3 of the original recipe. The original recipe yields 3 dozen cupcakes: 3½ cups cake flour ½ cup cocoa powder 1½ teaspoons salt 2 cups vegetable oil 2¼ cups white sugar 3 large eggs 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) red food coloring 1½ teaspoons vanilla 1¼ cup buttermilk 2 teaspoons baking soda 2½ teaspoons white vinegar

Cream Cheese Frosting
Click here for my cream cheese frosting recipe

Coleslaw

2010-02-11T06:32:00.000-08:00

Let me start by saying that I don't particularly like coleslaw (and on that note I don't like macaroni salad, potato salad, or egg salad). I basically don't like mushy things that are held together with copious amounts mayonnaise. This coleslaw is different though. It has a much lighter, fresher taste. It has the perfectly balance of sweet and tart.

I first stumbled across this recipe when I was having a bbq last summer and needed a quick side dish that I could make ahead. I wasn't even expecting to like the coleslaw, much less be making it again and again. But I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted it. It was nothing like the mushy, slimy stuff I had come to expect when hearing the word "coleslaw". I made it again last week for the super bowl to accompany some sliders I made. So, if you're a coleslaw hater, give this is a try. You may be surprised at how much you like it!

Recipe: Adapted from AllRecipes.com
Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) package coleslaw mix *(See notes)
2 tablespoons finely minced onion
1/4 cup white sugar *(See notes)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
A sprinkling of poppy seeds (optional)

Directions

Combine the coleslaw and onion in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, salt, pepper, milk, mayonnaise, buttermilk, vinegar and lemon juice; mix until smooth. Pour mixture over the coleslaw and onion; stir well and chill for 1 hour.

Notes:
1. All I found was a 14 oz package of coleslaw mix. So I still made all of the liquid, I just didn't pour it all over the coleslaw. I'd suggest pouring about 2/3 of it, mixing it, and then going from there. You can always add more.
2. The original recipe called for 1/3 cup of sugar. Some of the reviews stated it was a tad too sweet so I cut it back a little. I think it could be cut back even more if you like a more tart coleslaw.

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Squares

2010-02-10T06:34:00.000-08:00

Did you ever have one of those recipes where you had it bookmarked forever, and then you finally make it and you want to kick yourself for waiting so long? Well that is exactly what happened here. I can't even tell you how long this has been sitting in my list of "to make" recipes. Oh how I wish I had made these sooner!

Dulce de leche is hard to come by around here and I haven't gotten around to trying to make my own (plus that whole exploding can rumor kind of scares me). However, when I was in Miami over the holidays, there were jars of dulce de leche in every grocery store. I picked up one up and I knew exactly what I'd be making with it! These cheesecake squares are creamy and rich and decadent. Make sure you cut them into small pieces because just a bite or two is enough. I really love the way the creamy cheesecake contrasts with the texture of the glaze on top. At first I actually thought about skipping the glaze because I didn't want the chocolate to overpower the cheesecake, but I'm really glad I made it. Plus, it makes them look a heck of a lot more impressive.

I originally found the recipe on Smitten Kitchen. And after reading through Deb's description and a lot of the comments I noticed that some people mentioned it didn't have a strong dulce de leche flavor. It was more of a cheesecake flavor with a hint of dulce de leche. I decided to up the amount of dulce de leche I used. I figured I could do that and it would still hold its shape because the squares contain gelatin. You'll probably notice my squares are a little darker than Deb's and that's why. I reflected my change in the recipe below.

Recipe: Adapted from Smitten Kitchen Ingredients

For crust
3 1/2 oz graham crackers, crumbled (1cup)
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For filling
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (from a 1/4-oz envelope, will be just about half an envelope)
1/4 cup whole milk
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
3/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup dulce de leche

For glaze
3 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), coarsely chopped
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons light corn syrup

Directions

Make crust: Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325°F. Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with 2 sheets of foil (crisscrossed), leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides.

Finely grind crackers with sugar and a pinch of salt in a food processor. With motor running, add butter, blending until combined. Press mixture evenly onto bottom of baking pan. Bake 10 minutes, then cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes.

Make filling: Sprinkle gelatin over milk in a small bowl and let stand 2 minutes to soften. Beat together cream cheese, eggs, salt, and gelatin mixture in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until well combined, about 2 minutes, then stir in dulce de leche gently but thoroughly. Pour filling over crust, smoothing top, then bake in a hot water bath (I was able to fit mine in a 9×13-inch baking pan) in oven until center is just set, about 45 minutes. Cool cheesecake completely in pan on rack, about 2 hours. Chill, covered, at least 6 hours.

Glaze cake within 2 hours of serving: Heat all glaze ingredients in a double boiler or a small metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth, then pour over cheesecake, tilting baking pan to coat top evenly. Chill, uncovered, 30 minutes.

Lift cheesecake from pan using foil overhang and cut into 1-inch squares with a thin knife, wiping off knife after each cut. (Don’t skip this step! A clean knife is essential for uber-neat squares.)

Note: Cheesecake (without glaze) can be chilled up to 3 days

Smores Cookies

2010-02-09T13:52:00.000-08:00

These pictures should really speak for themselves, but in case you need more convincing, here we go. Chocolate chip cookie + graham cracker + marshmallows + hersheys bar = AMAZING.

I made these for the Super Bowl and everyone was really impressed with how they looked and tasted. I love the what the graham cracker crumbs add to the cookie. It really brings home that smores taste. And I absolutely love the way you can still see the letters on the Hershey bar.

Do you really need me to say more here? Just look at the picture! Go make these! Now! :)

Recipe: Adapted from Baked Perfection
Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 dash of cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
3 Hershey bars, chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium bowl combine the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda, salt, and dash of cinnamon. In a second larger bowl beat together the butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheet (I chilled the dough for an hour first; I always do).
Bake for 8 minutes, and remove from the oven. Push 3 to 4 marshmallows and a few pieces of hershey bar into each cookies. Return to the oven and bake an additional 2-3 minutes until fully cooked. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

Ricotta Ice Cream

2010-02-06T10:08:00.001-08:00

I was so intrigued by this recipe that the second I saw it I knew I had to try it. So nevermind the fact that there's a blizzard outside, last night I was making ice cream. This ice cream tastes just like a frozen cannoli! The taste of the ice cream is incredible. The texture on the other hand is a little weird. It was sort of grainy because of the ricotta. I guess that I should throw out a disclaimer that I am very picky about textures. I don't like cottage cheese because it's too lumpy; I don't like pudding because it's too smooth (this is weird, I know). Ross didn't mind the texture at all. In fact, he loved everything about this ice cream.

The ice cream itself is really simple to make. It's basically just combining ricotta, milk, simple syrup, and vanilla extract and then pouring it into the ice cream maker. And I guess as far as ice creams go this one is on the healthier side. There are no eggs or heavy cream.

I decided to just make the ice cream and not the cones, but I think these would actually be very good inside of cones (or cannoli shells!) because the I think the crunchiness of the cones would disguise the grainy texture a little more. If you're looking for a really rich and creamy, decadent ice cream, then this isn't it. But if you want something delicious and different, try this!

Ricotta Ice Cream
Recipe: Giada de Laurentiis, Food Network
Ingredients:

1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta
1 cup whole milk
1 cup simple syrup, recipe follows
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips* (the original recipe calls for 1 cup, but I thought 1/2 was perfect)

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk together ricotta cheese and milk until smooth. Add the simple syrup and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
Pour the ricotta mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. Add the chocolate chips 10 minutes before the end of freezing.

Simple Syrup

1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar

In a saucepan, combine water and sugar over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Take the pan off the heat and allow the syrup to cool.

Cake Pops

2010-02-01T06:26:00.000-08:00

I've been seeing these pop up around the internet for a while now. I've been waiting for a good reason to make them and I finally found one.... a cold, gray Saturday with nothing to do. These were a lot of fun to make (I even got Ross to help with the dipping and sprinkle application and even though he'll never admit it, I think he actually had fun!).

They are a little time consuming so make sure you have enough time or just bake the cake/roll the cake balls the day before. It's really important to make sure your cake balls are chilled really well before you start the dipping process. I was really impressed with how cute these were. What was even more impressive though was how good they tasted! I knew they were going to be adorable but I had very low expectations for how it was actually going to taste since it was boxed cake mix after all... but these were actually really good!

Step by step directions can be found here at Bakerella. I chose to use Devil's Food Cake and Cream Cheese frosting.

(This is the reject pile. A.K.A. the ones that I'm keeping)

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-01-21T07:25:00.000-08:00

It's funny how sometimes we stumble across the best recipes when we're hardly expecting it. Normally when I bake something, it's planned out pretty far in advance. I have an ever-growing "to bake" list of recipes that I want to try. For instance, right now Chai Cupcakes, Chocolate Ginger Cookies, and S'mores Cookies are next up to bat. I usually know a few days ahead of time when I'm going to bake and I hardly ever bake on a whim. But the other night I found myself with a few hours of free time and as we were sitting on the couch relaxing I declared to Ross "I'm going to bake some cookies."

I didn't want to have to go out to get ingredients so I wanted to make something with ingredients I had on hand. This ruled out all of the aforementioned to bake items. I found this recipe for Mint Chocolate Chip cookies on Lovin From the Oven. (If you haven't check our her blog, go now, it's awesome!). I wasn't expecting much from the cookies because she actually said that she didn't like them...actually I believe she said she hated them. She didn't like the peppermint extract in the cookies. I was prepared to hate them. I wasn't even planning to blog about them. BUT, the second I took a bite of one (about 11:00 PM on Sunday night) I had to grab my camera immediately and start taking pictures (albeit pretty bad ones, but the cookies make up for it, I promise). You, yes you, need to make these cookies.

I actually made 2 batches because I was little scared about the warning that came with the original recipe. One with peppermint extract as stated and one with a teaspoon of vanilla extract instead. They were both amazing, but everyone preferred mint ones more. The mint was not overpowering at all; it was just right. Even if you don't like mint make these cookies with vanilla because they're sooo good. They are thick and chewy and they have a perfect, slightly crispy exterior. And do you know what the best part is? They are EASY. No need for 2 kinds of flours, no extra egg yolk, no chilling for 36 hours, no gourmet chocolate that's $10/lb. Just plain old delicious chocolate chip cookies (with a little bit of mint).

Recipe: Adapted from Lovin' From the Oven

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. of salt
1/4 tsp. of baking soda
1/2 cup of butter at room temperature
1/2 cup of tightly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1 egg (beaten)
1/4 tsp. of peppermint extract
1 cup of chopped dark chocolate (I used 1/2 c. semi-sweet chips and 1/2 c. bittersweet)

Directions:

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a larger bowl, beat the butter and sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). On low speed, slowly add the beaten egg and peppermint extract. Beat to combine, scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the flour mixture and beat just until there are no more streaks of flour. Stir in the chopped dark chocolate by hand. Cover and refrigerate for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop out well rounded tablespoonfuls of the dough and roll them into balls. Leave about 2 inches between each ball. Bake for 10-12 minutes. If you prefer crispier cookies increase the baking time by 1-2 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Buttercream & Chocolate Buttercream

2010-01-18T06:34:00.000-08:00

Ok I know it's been a while since I blogged. Things have been a little crazy lately. First there was finals which is busy season for me since I run a tutoring company. Then I was on vacation in Miami for 3 weeks (I know, tough life) and while I did do a little baking, I didn't take any pictures. Now I'm finally back home and starting to settle into routine again. So I bring you these...

We had some friends coming over the night to play board games and I really wanted to try out a new decorating tip that I got so I figured I'd whip up a batch of cupcakes. To me, finding the perfect cupcake recipe is sort of like finding the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. Everyone has their own favorite and even when you find one that you think is the best, you just can't help yourself from trying other ones. Well, I'm glad I kept trying new recipes because this one is amazing.

The cupcakes came out perfect. I've made cupcakes that have sunk in the middle, that have been dry, that have a top that's too domed, etc. And while they all taste good, I want one that tastes good AND looks good. Really, is that too much to ask? Well this is it. The cake was flavorful, moist, and it rose just the right amount leaving a perfect canvas for frosting.

For the frosting I made a Vanilla Bean Buttercream. I always use Magnolia's Vanilla Buttercream recipe which is simple and delicious. However, I had been seeing a fair amount of recipes with shortening in them lately so I decided to add about a tablespoon of shortening to the recipe. This really gives the buttercream some stability. I took half the buttercream and added a vanilla bean and I took the other half an added a few spoonfuls of cocoa powder. The vanilla buttercream was amazing. I could (and perhaps did) eat that stuff by the spoonful. The chocolate? Eh. I don't think cocoa powder is the way to go for chocolate buttercream. Next time, I'll be less lazy and actually use melted chocolate.

I got the recipe from My Baking Addiction who got it from Baking at Home with the Culinary Institute of America. Be sure to check out her blog because she turns the cake into Cinnamon Swirl Cupcakes which look divine! The original recipe is for a an 8" cake, but if you want to make cupcakes just fill the cupcakes about 2/3 full and bake for 18 - 20 minutes. (Note: I cut the recipe in half and got 16 cupcakes)

Recipe: Yellow Butter Cake from Culinary Institute of America

Ingredients

3 ½ c cake flour
2 c sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 c (2 sticks) butter, unsalted, diced, at room temperature
1 c whole or low-fat milk (divided use)
4 large eggs
2 large egg whites
2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Coat two 8” cake pans lightly with cooking spray
Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and ½ cup of the milk. Mix on medium speed until smooth, about 4 minutes, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
In a separate bowl, blend the eggs, egg whites, the remaining ½ cup milk and the vanilla extract. Add to the batter in 3 additions, mixing for 2 minutes on medium speed after each addition. Scrape down the bowl between additions.
Divide the batter evenly between the two pans. Bake until the layers spring back when touched lightly in the center, 35-40 minutes.
Remove the layers from the oven and cool completely in their pans on wire racks. Release the sides and bottom of the layers from the pans with a narrow metal spatula or a table knife before unmolding and finishing with fillings and icings.

Chocolate Toffe Cinnamon Chip Cookies

2009-11-23T20:02:00.000-08:00

I stopped in a grocery store that I don't usually shop at the other day just to pick up a few things. As I was making my way down the aisle I saw a bag of cinnamon chips out of the corner of my eye. My husband looked at me like I was crazy as I immediately grabbed 2 bags with a huge smile on my face and tried to (calmly) explain to him how I've tried looking in our regular grocery store for cinnamon chips so many times but never found them.

I had a hard time deciding what I want to make with them (luckily I bought 2 bags and now I know where to buy more) but ultimately decided on some chocolate toffee cinnamon chip cookies when I saw the bag of heath pieces in my pantry. I was a little worried that I might be throwing too many flavors into one cookie, but once I tasted the cookie I realized I had nothing to be worried about! All the flavors married together amazingly!

These are really good. They have a perfect chew with a crispy exterior. The cinnamon and toffee makes them a perfect fall cookie. I decided to use mini chocolate chips because I didn't want the chocolate to overwhelm the cinnamon and toffee. I ended up using about 1/3 cup of cinnamon chips because I was worried about it tasting too cinnamon-y. You could definitely taste the cinnamon but it wasn't overpowering. If you really like cinnamon then add more, but I liked them just they way they were!

I will definitely be making these again, but in the mean time I'll be looking for other recipes to use my remaining bag of cinnamon chips. (Hint, hint... suggestions welcome!)

Recipe - Makes 20 - 30 cookies
Adapted from AllRecipes
Ingredients:

2 cups bread flour (regular will work fine too)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 Tablespoons milk
1 cup toffee bits
1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup cinnamon chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, egg yolk, and milk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended.
Stir in the chocolate chips, toffee chips, and cinnamon chips by hand using a wooden spoon. (At this point I like to chill the dough for at least 1 hour. If you don't they will still taste amazing but they may spread a little)
Drop cookie dough by rounded spoonfull onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 2-3 inches apart.
Bake for 15 in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

The Great Cookie Spreading Experiment

2009-11-17T12:16:00.000-08:00

I know I'm long overdue for a post, but this one is a good one! I call this the great cookie spreading experiment. (I feel like Alton Brown!) You see, a few months ago I posted about how I found the PERFECT base for my chocolate chip cookie recipe. I was happy as a girl could be. But then... a few people tried the recipe themselves and reported that their cookies spread a little when they were baked. This confused me since mine hardly spread at all the first time I baked them (maybe it was the weather?).

The recipe that I used called for milk to be added into the cookie dough. I figured that reducing the liquid would reduce the spreading, and so the cookie spreading experiment was born.

(1/4 c, 2 T, no milk)

The original recipe called for 1/4 cup of milk. I made the recipe as written orginally, with 2 tablespoons of milk, and with no milk. The results?

From left to right: no milk, 2 tablespons., 1/4 cup

As you can see, there was a definite difference in the spreading. Sure enough the 1/4 cup of milk DID spread a lot. Even though they all tasted amazing, I had a clear favorite. My favorite was the middle cookie with 2 tablespoons of milk. The reduction from 1/4 of liquid helped with the spreading but having some liquid in there kept it moist and chewy. The ones with no milk were also really good. The bread flour and the extra egg yolk kept them chewy. They held their shape really well, so if you're looking for a cookie that definitely will not spread, skip the milk all together!

So here it is... my OFFICIAL favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe

Recipe - Makes 20 - 30 cookies
Adapted from AllRecipes
Ingredients:

2 cups bread flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 Tablespoons milk
1.5 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup mini m&m's (optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, egg yolk, and milk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended.
Stir in the chocolate chips and m&m's by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

The Best Oatmeal Cookies Ever

2009-10-16T13:54:00.001-07:00

These are definitely the best oatmeal raisin cookies I have ever eaten. I'm usually not a fan of oatmeal raisin. Actually, let me clairfy, I'm usually not a fan of raisin. I like the oatmeal and cinnamon part! These cookies promised that even raisin haters will love them!

The recipe utilizes a method of soaking the raisins for a couple of hours before they go into the cookie. This produces a plump and moist raisin inside the cookie. And even though the recipe promised that you'd love the cookies, even if you hate raisins, I STILL debated skipping them. Lucky for me, I was baking these for a friend who actually does like raisins so I was forced to keep them in, and I'm so glad I did! These cookies are soft and chewy and even better on day 2.

I will definitely be making these again (and again and again). In this batch I decided to mix in some white chocolate and dried cranberries. The recipe is really adaptable so feel free to add in whatever you'd like!

Recipe: From Journey to Crunchville
Ingredients:

1 cup butter, room temp
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
1 TBSP (yes tablespoon) vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinammon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 cups oatmeal (quick cooking or old fashioned, not instant)
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions

The key is to soak the raisins. This makes all the difference in the world. Beat eggs and vanilla together and then add the raisins, stir. Soak for an hour or two. I just walked by a few times and stirred it while I waited.
Preheat to 350 F. Cream butter and sugars with mixer. In a seperate bowl combine flour, salt, baking soda, cinammon, ginger & nutmeg. Stir the dry ingredients until well blended. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture and mix well. Now add in the egg & raisin mixture (I used my hands). Then add oatmeal and chocolate chips/nuts and combine well. Form into balls on cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for 2-5 minutes or until firm enough to transfer to wire rack.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars with Streusel Topping

2009-10-11T13:11:00.001-07:00

The day has finally come. The day when I have to blog about a dessert that I made that was sub-par. Unfortunately, as delicious as its name sounds, this dessert fell flat for me.

I had a bunch of apples that I wanted to use so I was looking for a good apple recipe. After reading numerous apple crisp, cobbler, and pie recipes I settled on this Caramel Apple Cheesecake Square recipe. The name just drew me in!

The cheesecake layer was good and the apple layer was good (though it probably could've been doubled... the apples sort of got lost), but the crust and the topping left a lot to be desired. The crust was soggy and didn't hold up to the layers very well. If you have a good crust recipe definitely use that instead. I would maybe use this recipe from the lemon bars I made this summer. And the topping just seemed a little too floury for me. I'm really surprised that it didn't turn out better because it had a lot of positive reviews. Oh well... at least I got a few pretty pictures!

Recipe: From FoodNetwork.com
Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Streusell topping, recipe follows
1/2 cup caramel topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Then add eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust.
In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle evenly with Streusel topping. Bake 30 minutes, or until filling is set. Drizzle with caramel topping.

Streusel Topping

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients.

The Best Carrot Cake

2009-09-22T15:58:00.000-07:00

Every time I bake a cake I gain more and more respect for people who can frost and decorate their cakes to be picture perfect. I always have this grand idea in my head that the frosting will come out smooth and seamless, but it never does. So what's a girl to do? Cover the cake with pecans and sprinkles of course!

I don't have too much to say about this cake, except YUM. I thought it had the perfect amount of spice. It was perfectly moist. And the cream cheese icing... to die for! It is the perfect carrot cake and I will look no further for a carrot cake recipe!

I got the recipe off of allrecipes because it had good reviews (and a lot of them!), but I changed a lot after reading some of the reviews. I subbed some oil for applesauce, added some crushed pineapple, and changed the spices around a bit. When I went to add the nutmeg (one of the last steps), I realized I was out. I did, however, have Pumpkin Pie Spice which contains nutmeg so I figured "what the hell?". No regrets!

The recipe called for a 9x13 inch cake but I used three 6" rounds and got a nice tall, small cake. Either way I'm sure it will taste amazing!

Recipe: Adapted from AllRecipes
Ingredients:

4 eggs
3/4 cups vegetable or canola oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 oz crushed pineapple (drained)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or nutmeg)
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

8 oz cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup butter softened
3.5 cups confections sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
In a large bowl, beat together eggs, applesauce, oil, sugars and 3 teaspoons vanilla. Stir in drained pineapple. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots. Fold in pecans. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and extracts. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Frost the cooled cake.

Chewy Chocolate Chip M&M Cookies

2009-09-17T07:49:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I raved about how I found the perfect base recipe for chocolate chip cookies. This week I decided to experiment a little. The recipe is really similar to Alton Brown's "Chewy". One of the main differences is that Alton Brown uses bread flour. Since I had a bag of bread flour laying around (from the last time I made the chewy), I decided to try my cookie recipe again, but this time using bread flour.

These cookies were a huge hit. Everyone that had them said they tasted like they were from a fancy bakery. I added in some mini m&m's to make them a little more colorful and festive, but those are optional.

These cookies were great on day one, but they seemed to get better and better on the second day. One of main differences between bread flour and AP flour is that bread flour contains more gulten. This gives rise to a chewier cookie. And a chewier cookie is always a plus in my book. :)

Recipe - Makes 20 - 30 cookies
Adapted from AllRecipes
Ingredients:

2 cups bread flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup milk
1.5 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup mini m&m's (optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, egg yolk, and milk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended.
Stir in the chocolate chips and m&m's by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Perfect Party Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

2009-09-08T08:15:00.000-07:00

No food blog is complete without a basic go-to cupcake recipe. This recipe comes from Dorie Greenspan's "Perfect Party Cake". As its name implies, it makes the perfect cake. I've tried other so called "perfect" cake recipes and they just don't compare. This cake has the perfect level of moisture and a perfect texture. (Have I used the word "perfect" enough yet?)It's very light and airy, but it can still hold up to a heavy dosing of buttercream on top.

The cake also uses lemon zest and lemon extract. I thought it would be really lemony but it wasn't at all. It just added a brightness to the taste.

I chose to throw my favorite buttercream on top. It's the Magnolia Buttercream recipe and in my opinion it's the only buttercream recipe you need. It is so simple to make. It comes out perfect every time and, unlike other buttercreams, there is no cooking or shortening involved.

Cupcake Recipe: Adapted from "Baking: From my Home to Yours" - By Dorie Greenspan
Makes about 20 cupcakes
Ingredients

2 ¼ cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

Directions

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter, and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and will aerated.
Fill each cupcake 3/4 full. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until the cupcakes are well risen and springy to the touch- a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool.

Buttercream Recipe: Adapted From Magnolia Bakery
Ingreidents:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3 to 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 2 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Homemade Oreos

2009-09-03T09:11:00.000-07:00

I almost never repeat recipes. I have soooo many recipes bookmarked and dog eared that it just doesn't make sense to bake the same thing twice. This recipe is the exception. These cookies are the most demanded item that I bake.

As a matter of fact you probably won't even believe me if I tell you who requested these cookies. The nutritionist at my husband's gym. Yes, you read that right. My husband is taking these cookies to the nutritionist and his personal trainer at his gym. How's that for an irresistible cookie?

I first saw these cookies on Smitten Kitchen (one of my absolute favorite blogs, ever!) a year ago and I knew instantly that I had to make them. Since I've made them they've received comments such as "omg. she's gonna put oreo out of business" and "they taste just like oreos, only better."

The filling is a dead ringer for the oreo filling. The cookie is an improvement. It's soft and chewy (but still sturdy enough to stand up to all the filling) and a tad bit sweeter than the cookie part of an oreo. The original recipe calls for Dutch process cocoa but I used Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa. It's a mix of natural and dutch process. I think it was perfect for the job because it contributed to the dark, almost black color of the cookie which really resembles an Oreo.

These will definitely impress anyone you make them for. The recipe is really easy to make, just make sure you flatten the cookies slightly before you bake them so they come out flat and round.

Recipe: Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Ingredients:
For the chocolate wafers:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa*
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar**
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg

For the filling:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.
In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.
Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.
To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream. Dunk generously in a large glass of milk.

*I used Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate. It's a mix of natural and dutch process cocoas. I really like how it came out because it made the cookies dark just like real oreos. I also read A LOT of the comments on Smitten Kitchen's original post and it seems that the general consensus is that regular unsweetened cocoa powder will work just fine.
** I went right in the middle and used 1 1/4 cups and this was the perfect sweetness for me.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-08-29T19:56:00.001-07:00

These are hands down the best peanut butter cookies I've ever had.

It's no surprise they come from the Baked cookbook. Have I raved enough about this cookbook yet? These guys are seriously geniuses. Everything I've made from the book is brilliant!

The way these cookies are described in the book is as follows: "neither too dry and crumbly, nor too moist and characterless; rather it is the perfect balance of crispy and chewy". I think that pretty much says it all.

The chocolate chips are the perfect compliment to the peanut butter cookie. The recipe calls for using milk chocolate chips and warns against using semisweet chocolate because that would taste bitter against the peanut butter. I'll take their word for it.

For once, I did not change a thing about this recipe. The recipe requires chilling the dough for at least 3 hours. I chilled mine over night. The cookies were amazing the same day, but I thought they were INCREDIBLE the next day.

Recipe: from Baked (go buy this book!!!!)
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup creamy peanut butter
6 ounces good quality milk chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions

Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat teh butter and sugar together until fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. The mixture will look light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and peanut butter until just incorporated.
Add half of the flour mixture and mix for 15 seconds. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix until just incorporated.
Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold in the chocolate. Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Drop the dough by rounded tablespoon onto the prepared baking sheets, at least 2 inches apart. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with granulated sugar and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until the tops of the cookies just begin to brown. Remove the pan from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely.

Mango Jicama Slaw

2009-08-23T16:05:00.001-07:00

As Summer is nearing its end I'm trying to eat as many summery foods as I can. I'm looking forward to cooking with all the Fall flavors that I love (apples, pumpkins, butternut squash, ginger), but I am not looking forward to the cold weather the comes along with it.

When I was at the store the other day I have no idea why but I decided that I wanted to buy a jicama. The result is this delicious, fresh salad. It's really easy to throw together; it just involves a little chopping.

We ate this along side chicken tacos and it was a perfect compliment. When you're buying the mango make sure you buy one that isn't too ripe otherwise it'll be slipping all over the place when you try to slice it.

Recipe
Ingredients:

1 jicama, sliced
1 mango, sliced
Juice of 1 lime
Half a jalepeno pepper (seeds removed), finely diced
1 teaspoon of sugar
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Just combine all the ingredients and you're good to go!

Chocolate Toffee Cookies

2009-08-21T07:55:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for a rich, decadent cookie that will satisfy your chocolate craving, this cookie will get the job done. The cookie has a chocolate base with pieces of toffee and toasted walnut studded throughout.

What's interesting about the recipe is that it only uses 1/2 cup of flour in the entire recipe. It's more like a brownie masquerading around as a cookie than an actual cookie.

The cookie was pretty easy to make. The whole thing came together in about 15 minutes. Then comes the hard part... the dough has to chill for 45 minutes before you bake it off. These are well worth the wait though.

I'm not usually a fan of nuts in my cookie but I decided to leave the walnuts in this time and they were a really good compliment to the cookie! As a matter of fact I didn't make many changes at all to this recipe except for increasing the salt content a little (shocking!) and making the cookies smaller than what the original recipe called for. The original recipe was titled "Giant Chocolate Toffee Cookies" and suggested using a quarter cup of batter per cookie. I wanted to get more than 18 though so I used about a heaping tablespoon per cookie. I also sprinkled the tops with sea salt and added a few toffee pieces on top to make them pretty. But, I promise they'll be just as good if you skip that step!

Also, don't be disappointed if you take a bite of these right when they come out of the oven. They are much much better once they've cooled and rested for a little while.

Recipe: Adapted from Epicurious
Ingredients

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups (packed) brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
5 1.4-ounce chocolate-covered English toffee bars (such as Heath), coarsely chopped
1 cup walnuts, toasted, chopped

Directions

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl; whisk to blend. Stir chocolate and butter in top of double boiler set over simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove from over water. Cool mixture to lukewarm.
Using electric mixer, beat sugar and eggs in bowl until thick, about 5 minutes. Beat in chocolate mixture and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture, then toffee and nuts. Chill batter until firm, about 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment or waxed paper. Drop batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto sheets, spacing 2 1/2 inches apart. Bake just until tops are dry and cracked but cookies are still soft to touch, about 15 minutes. Cool on sheets. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.)

Cappuccino Brownies

2009-08-13T11:11:00.001-07:00

I had a talk with myself the other day. I told myself that I was forbidden from making any more recipes that I found on the internet until I started using the (many) cookbooks that I have. I have a tendency to gravitate towards recipes I find on the internet because there are pretty pictures and people have reviewed them and offered their critiques. (Of course, this doesn't stop me from buying cookbooks; it just delays my using them.) Well, I'm glad I "forced" myself to start using my cookbooks because this one is a real winner! So let this post be a reminder to those of you with neglected cookbooks on your shelf...

I started flipping through the book "Bars & Squares" that I have and marking pages of the recipes I wanted to try. Before I knew it half the book was marked! I highly recommend this book. Everything I've ever made from here has come out amazing. I have no idea why it has been neglected for so long. I ultimately decided on the Cappuccino Brownies because it was a rainy day and they just seemed like a good rainy day snack.

You see that corner piece on top? That one is mine!

These are truly brilliant! The brownie itself it amazing. Very dense and chocolaty. The coffee flavored filling is something else all together. This stuff is dangerously addictive! It would make a great cupcake frosting or filling between layers of a cake. The bitterness of the espresso powder cuts the sweetness of all the sugar so the frosting isn't sickeningly sweet like some are. And the ganache on top... well it's chocolate ganache people... need I say more? Individually all the components of this brownie are amazing, but when you put them together it's divine!

This takes a little while to make because you have to let it cool between layers but overall it's pretty easy. Feel free to cut these into small pieces because it is very rich and a little bit goes a long way.

I took a few liberties with the recipe. The recipe below includes the changes I made. First off, I changed the brownie to be a little more like the "baked brownie" that I'm absolutely in love with. I added cocoa powder (in addition to the melted chocolate) and I used part white sugar and part brown sugar. And of course I upped the salt because I tend to do that with almost every dessert I make these days. For the filling I almost doubled the instant espresso powder that it called for because I wanted a stronger coffee taste. The coffee taste is definitely there but it isn't at all overpowering.

In my opinion these are best served cold from the fridge. The filling is little firmer and I think it just brings out the taste more. But then again, I'm the person who puts every candy bar in the freezer before I eat it so my opinion may be a little biased. I'm sure these will be good any way you eat them!

Recipe: Adapted from: Bars and Squares
Ingredients:
Brownie

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp instant espresso coffee powder
1 tbsp dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Frosting

2 1/2 tsp instant espresso coffee powder
1 - 2 tbsp milk or cream
2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
1/4 cup butter, softened

Glaze

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup whipping cream

Directions:

Brownie: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter the sides and bottom of an 8 x 8 square baking pan (or line with parchment paper).
In a medium bowl combine flour, espresso powder, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Put the chocolate chips and butter in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, untill the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat but keep the bowl over the water and whisk in sugars and vanilla until completely combined. Remove the bowl from the pan. The mixture should be room temperature. Add in the eggs one, one at a time, whisking lightly after each addition.
Using a spatula, fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just combined. Do not overbeat! Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 - 35 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on rack.
Frosting: In a bowl, combine espresso powder and 1 tbsp of milk or cream, stirring to dissolve. Add in butter and sugar. Using an electric mixer, beat on low speed to blend then on medium speed until creamy, adding more milk, if necessary to make a smooth, spreadable consistency. Spread evenly over the brownie. Chill to harden, about 1 hour.
Glaze: Put the chocolate chips and whipping cream in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth. Let cool to lukewarm. Spread over frosting. Chill until chocolate is set, about 1 hour. Cut into bars or squares.

White Chocolate Key Lime Macadamia Nut Cookies

2009-08-10T07:41:00.001-07:00

Yes, that's right... another post involving key lime. That's because I bought a bottle of key lime juice the other day to make key lime pie ice cream and I still have half a bottle burning a hole through my fridge (did that work?).

All day long I kept thinking about what I should make with my key lime juice. Key lime pie, key lime tartlets, key lime bars, key lime meltaways? I decided on the key lime cookies because I had all the ingredients on hand. But the good news is, I still have key lime juice left so I predict another key lime flavored treat in the near future. (Read: if you know any must make key lime recipes, send them my way please!)

These cookies are really good. They are basically just white chocolate macadamia nut cookies kicked up a little bit with the addition of lime juice and lime zest. The lime is subtle, not overpowering. It's not the first thing you taste when you bite into the cookie but the lime flavor creeps in as you chew.

I took my new favorite cookie base and subbed the chocolate chips with white chocolate, then added macadamia nuts and key lime. And let me stress again that I cannot say enough good things about this cookie recipe. It is hands down my go to cookie recipe, no matter what I'm adding in. I've tried the NY Times cookie recipe, I've tried AB's "The Chewy", I've tried the Nestle Tollhouse recipe, and I've tried countless other recipes... and you know what? They've got nothing on this recipe! Actually that's not entirely true. The NY Times recipe did teach me a couple valuable lessons.

Salt. The only thing I changed to the base of the cookie recipe was to increase the salt content. And I'm sure a little sprinkling of sea salt right before they go into the oven wouldn't hurt either.
Refrigerate the dough before baking. The NY Times article explains more of the science behind this, but it basically just adds to the depth of flavor. I also find that it prevents the cookies from being too flat and spreading too much. I didn't leave it in for a whole 36 hours (who could?), but even a couple hours does some good here!

Recipe: Adapted from AllRecipes
Makes about 36 cookies
Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons key lime juice
Zest of 1 lime
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups white chocolate chips
1/2 cup macadamia nuts, chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line cookie sheets wiht parchment paper.
Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, lime juice, lime zest, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips and macadamia nuts by hand using a wooden spoon.
Chill dough in fridge.
Drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoon onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart. Sprinkle with sea salt if desired.
Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Greek Turkey Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce

2009-08-05T13:37:00.001-07:00

These turkey burgers are packed full of flavor. They have onions, garlic, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, and feta inside. And a generous helping of tzatziki sauce piled on top. This is not your average , dry turkey burger. This guy is moist and flavorful. You won't be missing beef burgers any time soon!

The quantities, and ingredients, in this recipe are incredibly flexible. I'm just starting to acquire a taste for sun-dried tomatoes and olives so I decided to go a little easy on them, but feel free to add in more if want. If you're running short on time you can ditch the onions and garic in place of a litlte onion powder and garlic powder, and use frozen spinach.

I chose to cook mine under the broiler. If you want to throw them on a grill I would add in egg to help bind so they don't fall apart. Also, do not use 99% lean turkey breast. Make sure you go for the 93/7 ground turkey, otherwise your burgers will be really dry! Now go make these! They are easy, delicious, and healthy!

Recipe:
Makes 4 - 5 burgers

Greek Turkey Burger
Ingreidents

1.3 lbs lean ground turkey
Half an onion, finely chopped
2 - 3 cloves of garlic, minced
Olive oil
Spinach (Fresh or frozen)
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon corriander
1 teaspoon paprika
1/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1/3 cup chopped kalamata olives
4 oz crumbled reduced fat feta
Salt & Pepper to taste
Tzatziki sauce (recipe follows)
Lettuce
Tomato
Whole Wheat Buns

Directions

Saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil until the onions are tender and transulcent.
Add in the spinach and cook until it is wilted.
Combine the ground turkey with the onions, garlic, and spinach. Add in the spices, sundried, tomatoes, olives, and feta and combine.
Form into patties.
Place in the oven on the middle rack and broil for 15 minutes, flipping once half way through cooking.
Assemble with lettuce, tomato, and tzatziki sauce.

Tzatziki Sauce
Ingredients:

6 ounces plain greek yogurt
1/4 cup cucumber, finely diced
1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt & Pepper to taste

Key Lime Pie Ice Cream

2009-08-04T15:05:00.000-07:00

Move over Oreo Cookie Cookies, I have new favorite recipe!

If you like key lime pie, you will love this recipe. It literally tastes like someone threw a key lime pie into my ice cream maker.

This recipe is seriously good enough to justify buying an ice cream maker if you don't have one already.

It is by far the easiest ice cream recipe I have come across. No stove, no blender, no strainer. Just a bowl, a whisk, and an ice cream maker. I had a few doubts about the recipe because it doesn't use any eggs, but the result far exceeded my expectations. It has a really great, almost light, texture. It's not super rich and creamy which pairs will the citrus flavor. It's perfect for summer!

The recipe calls for graham crackers to be added in, but when I made these ginger cookies the other day I saved a couple since I knew I'd be making this ice cream later in the week. The ginger cookies were the perfect match for the ice cream, both in texture and in flavor.

The original recipe also calls for 2% milk and fat free sweetened condensed milk, but I used whole milk and regular sweetened condensed milk. I think next time I'll try it the way it was originally written to compare.

Recipe: Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup bottled Key lime juice (such as Nellie and Joe's)
1/2 cup whipping cream
Dash of salt
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
6 graham crackers (1 1/2 cookie sheets), coarsely crushed, divided
Key lime wedges (optional)

Directions:

Combine first 5 ingredients, stirring with a whisk. Pour mixture into freezer can of an ice-cream freezer, and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Stir 1/3 cup graham crackers into ice cream. Spoon ice cream into a freezer-safe container, and cover and freeze for 1 hour or until firm. Sprinkle each serving with 1 teaspoon graham crackers. Garnish with lime wedges, if desired.