S'mores Cupcakes

This past weekend's wedding cupcakes included a s'mores cupcake with a toasted marshmallow frosting. I was so excited to use my new creme brulee torch from Bed, Bath and Beyond LOL. I liked them so much I made them for a football party Sunday and I'm going to make them again to bring in to school for my teacher friends this week lol. Here's the recipe I used, but of course you can modify it to your liking.

For the graham cracker crust, you can use pretty much any homemade recipe. I just mash up a pack or two of graham crackers in a food processor (aka my "magic bullet"). Add a few table spoons of butter and sugar til it's slightly moist. Press it in the bottom of each cupcake liner - I use a small glass to press it down evenly.

For the cake, and for my chocolate cake recipes I love to use Martha Stewart's Devil's Food Cake recipe. It makes at least 36 cupcakes and I usually cut the recipe in half. I do a little less than an ice cream scoop full. Pour into each cupcake liner and cook for about 15 minutes (depending on your oven).

After the cupcakes are cooled I top them with Trophy Cupcakes Toasted Marshmallow Frosting. It's basically a meringue frosting that I use the creme brulee torch to "toast". The recipe on the site says it makes enough for 2 dozen... when I think it makes enough for 20 dozen!!! I cut it down and this amount makes really makes a smaller amount good enough for 2 dozen or so.

Marshmallow Frosting
Modified from Trophy Cupcakes/Martha Stewart

3 egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
Dash of cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes. (I make sure they reach at least 140 degrees F)
   
2. Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined. Use immediately (it cannot be saved for later use)
   
3. Optional: use a creme brulee torch to toast the frosting like a marshmallow :)
   

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

I'm so behind on my blog these days... grad school has consumed me! Hopefully will find time to post some of the things I have done recently as well as one more upcoming wedding for a friend next week. In the meantime, I found an hour of my morning to bake some tasty yet healthy muffins. I had some very brown bananas that needed to be used. I like banana bread but it takes forever to bake in the bread pan and I usually burn the sides and the middle is not cooked. So I used my large muffin tin to make big muffins instead. The BF couldn't even tell they were whole wheat ;-) This recipe is a keeper!

Whole Wheat Banana Muffins w/ Chocolate Chips and Pecans
Adapted from the blog Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body
Makes 1 loaf (or 9 large muffins)

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup AP flour
1/4 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk (can substitute regular milk which I did)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups mashed very ripe bananas (about 3 large or 4 small bananas - I was short one banana and I subbed a few tablespoons of canned pumpkin in its place)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup mini chocolate chips (I put extra of course)
1 cup Chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 8×4-inch loaf pan with cooking spray (I used a large muffin tin). In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate large bowl, mix sugars and oil with a whisk or fork until well blended (about 1 minute). Add eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Add banana, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add flour mixture; mix with a whisk or fork just until moist. Fold in mini chocolate chips (and pecans if you want). Don’t over-mix. Spoon batter into prepared pan or two ice cream scoop fulls per muffin tin. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes (or 30 minutes or so for the large muffin tin) or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

My friend Ashley (the one who we had the birdy baby shower for) just had her baby last week! The sweetest little boy named Brayden :) Whenever I go to visit them I try to bring some treats with me. This week request was peanut butter! I looked around and came across this recipe for peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. It got rave reviews from mama Ashley and everyone else I gave extra cookies too.
When it comes to cookies I LOVE soft baked cookies. I'll eat crunchy ones, but they have to be dipped in milk to soften them up. This recipe makes a very soft cookie that is still soft the next day (if you have any left). They also don't spread very much so you can fit a lot on one pan ;-) Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe modified from All Recipes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I subbed 1 cup whole wheat flour for o ne of the cups of all-purpose flour)
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups chopped semisweet chocolate (I used Nestle's new semi-sweet/white chocolate swirl chips)
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the corn syrup, water, and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the peanut butter mixture. Fold in chocolate chunks. Drop by 1/4 cupfuls 3 inches apar t onto ungreased baking sheets (I used my small cookie scoop which drops them in tablespoon fulls, which I baked for about 9 minutes).
3. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are golden. Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheet before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

   

One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes

Here is an easy chocolate cake recipe if you need a quick dessert. It doesn't use a lot of utensils either (because you all know we hate doing dishes!). And you can top it with whatever you like (I topped these off with a quick vanilla cream cheese frosting)... Enjoy :)

One Bowl Chocolate Cake
From All Recipes
Makes about 36 cupcakes or 2, 9in Rounds

Ingredients

• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two nine inch round pans.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed of mixer. Stir in the boiling water last. Batter will be thin. Pour evenly into the prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

A few things about this chocolate cake recipe: it is a soft lighter cake, almost like a box mix texture (so I don't think it would be very sturdy for stacking or anything like that); if you are making cupcakes like I did, fill the liners no more than 2/3's of the cupcake liner because anymore than that and you will have cupcakes with overflowing "muffin tops" and that ain't pretty (basically when I used my ice cream scoop to portion the cupcakes, right where the metal thingy is that swoops across to release the ice cream/batter is, that is the line I used to fill the scoop). Also, this recipe is easily cut in half (I made 17 cupcakes when I cut in half :).

9 years

The key to a man's heart: bacon & bourbon

Today marks our 9 year anniversary together! That is my boyfriend and I ;-) Crazy huh?! Were not really into gift giving but we do always try to go out to a nice dinner somewhere and maybe give a creative little gift. This year I decided to surprise him with this dessert I saw in the latest issue of Food & Wine Magazine. He's not really a sweets person yet he complains I make things for everyone else and not him. Seriously... men?! lol.

I love the irony of the card next to the bacon brownies

I instantly wanted to make these Bacon Bourbon Brownies when I saw them in the magazine. I love the sweet and salty combo and he loves bacon and alcohol just brings it all together. I find homemade brownies hit or miss for me. I've made a batch before that came out rock hard and others that were just okay. I'm actually a fan of the box mix becuase they always turn out right and taste damn good! So anyways... These were actually really good but just a few things: After I baked these, I don't know if I over baked them a few minutes or what, but the outside ones were a little dry. These are definitely a dark chocolate kind of brownie and it needed a little something sweet (maybe that's just me). I whipped up some Maple Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting to top it off with which married perfectly together with the brownie. In the end the BF liked them and that's what matters the most. Happy anniversary babe!

Bacon Bourbon Pecan Brownies
From Food & Wine

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pecans

1/2 pound sliced bacon

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 packed cup light brown sugar

3 tablespoons bourbon

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, allowing 2 inches of overhang on 2 opposite sides. Spray the paper with vegetable spray. Spread the pecans in a pie plate and toast for about 8 minutes, until fragrant. Let cool, then coarsely chop the nuts.
2. In a skillet, cook the bacon over moderate heat, turning once, until crisp, 6 minutes. Drain on paper towels and let cool; reserve 3 tablespoons of the fat. Finely chop the bacon.
3. In a saucepan, combine both chocolates with the butter and stir over very low heat, until melted; scrape into a large bowl. Using a handheld electric mixer, beat in both sugars with the reserved 3 tablespoons of bacon fat. Beat in the bourbon. Add the eggs and salt and beat until smooth. Sift the cocoa and flour into the bowl and beat until blended.
4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle the bacon and pecans on top. Bake for about 50 minutes, until the brownies are set around the edges but slightly wobbly in the center; a toothpick inserted into the center should have some batter clinging to it. Transfer the pan to a rack and let the brownies cool completely. Lift the brownies out of the pan using the parchment paper. Cut into squares or rectangles and serve.

Maple Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter (room temp)

1/2 block of cream cheese (4oz.) (room temp)

Powdered Sugar

2 tsp. bourbon

1 tsp. maple extract

Directions:

1. Mix together butter and cream cheese in your stand mixer until combined.
2. Add about a cup of powdered sugar and the bourbon and maple extract and continue to mix.
3. Add a little more powdered sugar until it is the consistency you desire. (I never measure my powdered sugar).
4. Put in a ziploc bag, cut off the corner of the bag and drizzle onto the cooled brownies.

Semi-Homemade Mini Lemon Tarts

I pulled a Sandra Lee last weekend and made "semi-homemade" mini lemon tarts garnished with fresh berries for the wedding shower. The lemon curd I had prepared a few weeks before hand for the wedding cake I did recently (which was actually for the bride to be's now sister in law ;-). The lemon curd froze really well and did not loose any of it's thickness when defrosted. This is a great recipe for summer and mini desserts are all the rage right now.

How to make "Semi-Homemade" Mini Lemon Tarts....
1. Prepare lemon curd (this can be done in advance and like I said it freezes well. When you need to defrost it, put it in the refrigerator 24hrs before you need it.)
2. Prepare the mini shells with pre-made pie crust
3. Pipe the lemon curd in the shells and garnish to your liking (these can be prepared the night before and kept in the fridge).

Lemon Curd By The Joy of Baking

3 large eggs

3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar

1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons) (do not use the bottled lemon juice)

4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 tablespoon (4 grams) finely shredded lemon zest

In a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisktogether the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice until blended. Cook, stirring constantly (to prevent it from curdling), until the mixture becomes thick (like sour cream or a hollandaise sauce) (160 degrees F or 71 degrees C). This will take approximately 10 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately pour through a fine strainer to remove any lumps. Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk into the mixture until the butter has melted. Add the lemon zest and let cool. The lemon curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Cover immediately (so a skin doesn't form) and refrigerate for up to a week. Makes 1 1/2 cups


Mini Pie Shells

You can find pre-made pie dough in the refrigerator section at your grocery store. I found mine near the cookie dough. Unroll the dough on your counter and using at least a 3in circle cookie cutter cut out circles. I around 8 circles in one dough. Place them each in a muffin tin cup. You want to make some sort of well for the curd to sit in. Don't forget to pierce the bottom of the dough or it will balloon up! I baked mine on 400 degrees for 5-6 minutes (this may vary according to the directions on the box). Let them cool. Now you're ready to fill with the curd!

*I tired using the extra dough by putting all the scraps together and re-rolling it out, cutting out the circles, and everything... but when it baked it shunk up and did not make a cute little bowl/well like the others. Still tasted good though ;-)

Here is a funny pic my friend sent me of her family's dog rocking a "sombrero cookie" as her dad called them when he first saw the tarts LOL...

Salted Caramel

Preparing ingredients for a wedding cake and cupcakes this weekend. One of the flavors the bride and groom chose was chocolate and salted caramel. I'm a bit obsessed with salted caramel, even though some may say "it was so last year" but I don't care! Something about that sweet and salty combo.... It's great for fillings (which I will be doing for the cupcakes this weekend); a topping on chocolate ice cream; or just eating by the spoonful ;-) Here is the recipe which is pretty easy to follow. The site I got the recipe from has good pics for those first time caramel sauce makers (I will admit, I burnt my caramel sauce the first time I tried to make it).


Salted Caramel Sauce
Modified from Simply Recipes

Ingredients

• 1 cup of sugar
• 6 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• Kosher Salt
  

Method

1 First, before you begin, make sure you have everything ready to go - the cream and the butter next to the pan, ready to put in. Making caramel is a fast process that cannot wait for hunting around for ingredients. If you don't work fast, the sugar will burn. Safety first - make sure there are no children under foot and you may want to wear oven mitts; the caramelized sugar will be much hotter than boiling water.

2 Heat sugar on moderately high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. As soon as the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring. You can swirl the pan a bit if you want, from this point on. Note that this recipe works best if you are using a thick-bottomed pan. If you find that you end up burning some of the sugar before the rest of it is melted, the next time you attempt it, add a half cup of water to the sugar at the beginning of the process, this will help the sugar to cook more evenly, though it will take longer as the water will need to evaporate before the sugar will caramelize.

3 As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be dark amber in color), immediately add the butter to the pan. Whisk until the butter has melted.

4 Once the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat. Count to three, then slowly add the cream to the pan and continue to whisk to incorporate. Note than when you add the butter and the cream, the mixture will foam up considerably. This is why you must use a pan that is at least 2-quarts (preferably 3-quarts) big.

5 Whisk until caramel sauce is smooth. Add kosher salt to taste. Let cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then pour into a glass mason jar and let sit to cool to room temperature. (Sauce will thicken as it cools). Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Warm before serving.

Makes a little over one cup of sauce.

strawberry shortcake

Whipped up some easy strawberry shortcakes the other day for dessert. Still waiting for the strawberries to come in to season (definitely had to sugar them up a bit), but the cake part was super easy and tasted so good! Especially when served right out of the oven ;-) I added a touch of lemon zest to the biscuits and vanilla bean to the homemade whipped cream. The following recipe that I used is from Baking Bites. I cut it in half so I'd have just enough and not many leftovers.


Strawberry Buttermilk Shortcakes
Recipe adapted from Baking Bites
Makes just about 5 servings (depending on how big or small you prepare the biscuits)

1 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
3 1/2 tbls butter, chilled and cut into pieces
3/8 cup buttermilk (that's half of 3/4 cup ;-)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract Fresh lemon zest (about a half lemon)
Fresh, ripe strawberries
Homemade whipped cream

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

3. Rub in butter with your finger tips until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (or pulse a few times in a food processor).

4. Stir in buttermilk, vanilla extract and lemon zest until the dough comes together. Add an additional tablespoon of buttermilk if the dough is slightly dry.

5. Drop by 1/4 cups (use a measuring cup) onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Or, I gently spread out the dough to around a 1/2 inch thickness and cut out the short cakes with a heart shaped cookie cutter (or use a small biscuit cutter). I got about 10 heart shaped biscuits with the size cutter I used.

6. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden.

I like to serve them immediately out of the oven. Slice in half, put in fresh strawberries, homemade whipped cream, and enjoy ;-) I'm definitely ready for summer and strawberry season! ~Cara Lee

Snow Day

We had our first 2011 snow storm here in the DC area this past Wednesday. It was kinda crazy - not as bad as the blizzard last year, but people got stuck on the roads for hours and power is still out for many in the area :( Luckily we had power and I am ever so grateful.

Of course I was snowed in and itching to bake something. But what? All week there were these store bought cinnamon rolls on the counter. I try to never eat that stuff. My motivation for staying away? Just look at the label:


I can't even read half the ingredients names. 15 grams of fat in only half a roll?! Holey moley! So I decided to make my own rolls. I made the dough, let it rise once and formed the rolls before I went to bed so they would be ready to pop in the oven in the morning. Here's the recipe I used with my modifications in red.

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
Modified from All Recipes

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs

Filling

• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped pecans
  
• Melted butter

Directions

1. Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Add the butter and stir until melted; let cool until lukewarm.
2. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the milk mixture. Add the sugar, 3 cups of flour, salt and eggs; stir well to combine with paddle attachment. Then switch to the dough hook and Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 8 minutes.
   
3. Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. (My house is pretty cool and dry since it's the winter time. Since I have a gas oven I turned it to 170 degrees and placed the dough in the bowl on top of the stove to create a warm/humid environment to rise. I think my house was still too cool so I let it sit a little longer and it finally began to rise.)
   
4. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 10x 14 inch rectangle. Lightly brush the far edge with water. In a small bowl combine the cinnamon and 3/4 cup brown sugar and sprinkle over the rectangles. (I divided my dough into four sections and rolled it out separately. So much easier to deal with smaller rolls! This way you can also do some without the nuts for those who do not like them. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon. After you roll the dough into a rectangle, brush with melted butter then sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon then sprinkle with nuts.)
   
5. Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces; place the pieces in a greased 9x13 inch baking pan, or 12 inch deep dish pizza pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rise overnight. (Since I had 4 smaller rolls, I cut them each about an inch and a half thick and placed them in muffin tins. I got about 24 rolls. Since the house was cool I left them out to rise overnight on the counter).
   
6. The next morning, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Take the rolls out of the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. (Since I left them on the counter I did not have to wait for them to come to room temp.)
   
7. Bake the rolls for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden. (Since I used the muffin tins, I only had to bake them for 15-18 minutes. If you use the tin, be careful NOT to over bake. Also may want to put the pans on top of a cookie sheet because some of the filling dripped over when I baked them in the tins.)
8. Top with your favorite cream cheese frosting or glaze.
   

These were so yummy! Baking them in the tins make them a little more crustier, so like I said be careful not to over bake (I did that to a few by accident). I think these have become a snow day tradition - I made them during the blizzard last year too. I say calories don't count when it snows! ;-) ~Cara Lee

PS - 4 more days to enter the GIVEAWAY (just a reminder ;-)

baking is my therapy

I was feeling a little blue the other day... schools about to start up again, its cold, and sometimes ya just get bummed out. For some, it's retail* therapy that makes them feel better but for me, it's baking. It always makes me feel happy and accomplished (well... as long as the recipe turns out ;-) .

(*For those of you who prefer retail therapy, check out my giveaway this week!)

So I decided to make cookies. But what kind? Yes, my favorite is oatmeal chocolate chip, but I wanted to try something different. I've been wanting to try making these cookies from Momofuku Milk Bar in New York. I've heard about this place on blogs and on the food channel and what not. So I found the recipe for "copycat" cornflake, marshmallow and chocolate chip cookies at The Cookbook Chronicles that I decided to try out. As you know I love oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and these cookies have some of those ingredients so I was sold.

Copycat Momofuku Cornflake Marshmallow cookies

Makes 20 cookies
The Cookbook Chronicles

2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature

1 ¼ cup packed dark brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp kosher salt (plus more for sprinkling)

3/4 cup oatmeal

1 1/4 cup lightly crushed cornflakes (= about 1 1/2 cup cornflakes before crushing)

2/3 cup mini chocolate chips*

about 3/4 cup mini marshmallows

*The chocolate chips in the original Momofuku Milk bar cookie are minis, though substitute with regular-sized chips if you prefer

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes on medium speed. Add the eggs and vanilla extract, and beat until combined.

Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and beat on low speed, just so the dry ingredients become incorporated. With a wooden spoon, mix in the oatmeal, crushed cornflakes, and chocolate chips.

(If you have time and would like the cookies to spread a little less, refrigerate the dough for two hours.)

On a parchment-lined baking sheet, scoop up and roll the dough into golf ball-sized spheres. (Six will fit comfortably on one pan–give them room to spread!) Lightly press down 4 mini marshmallows in the center of each ball of dough. Sprinkle tops with a touch more salt. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Be sure to leave enough space on the cookie sheet !

Bake for 9-10 minutes. The cookies will still look soft in the middle when you take them out of the oven. Allow them to cool directly on the tray for a few minutes before moving them onto a platter.

How cute are those plates?!

Outcome: I did the recipe exactly as followed ( as well as putting them in the fridge, but only for about an hour). I watched them bake and they rose beautifully in the oven, but when they cooled they fell... so very flat. I did not let this discourage me because they tasted great and were still chewy (even the next day). BTW - I hate crunchy cookies! Soft please ;-) Maybe I will try to change up the baking soda/powder ration next time? Anyways, I really liked this recipe. I love the salty and sweet combo. I hope to try a real Momofuku cookie soon. Hey, you know what these cookies reminded me of? The Tony the Tiger Cookies my mom used to bake when I was a kid. Such good memories... I'm happy now :) ~Cara Lee

My Favorite Cookies

My absolute favorite cookies in the world are oatmeal chocolate chip. Sometimes when I need my fix I get the $1 oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from Potbelly's. Just recently I found these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with pecans from Elevation Burger which are made with organic eggs and butter. Loved the pecans in there! So I decided to make my own cookies this week. One of my last attempts was not so successful.... but I think I have found my "go to" recipe for now! Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies w/ Coconut and Pecans
Recipe Modified from All Recipes
Makes about 30 mini cookies

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup flaked coconut

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Beat in egg, then stir in vanilla. In separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Gently mix in the quick oats, pecans, coconut and chocolate chips. (Important not to over mix cookie dough). Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto un-greased baking sheets. (I used a small cookie scoop).
3. Bake for 10-12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy with a cold glass of milk :)

For the rest of the week I have to prepare a cake and cupcakes for my BF's neice's birthday. Tinkerbell... so extra girly :) Happy hump day and have a good week! ~Cara Lee

Homemade Doughnuts

For the New Years party I put together, I was so excited to make homemade baked doughnuts. I ordered a mini doughnut pan from cooking.com a week before and thank goodness it came in the mail just in time. I will admit that a baked doughnut may not be AS satisfying as a fried one from Krispy Kreme... but these were still tasty and can satisfy that doughnut craving. They're also super easy!


Doughnuts
Recipe modified from All Recipes

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter milk
2 eggs, beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons melted butter

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease a doughnut pan. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Stir in butter milk, eggs, vanilla and butter. Beat together until well blended. Spray pan with cooking spray (I used the butter flavor). Fill each doughnut cup approximately 3/4 full. (Tip: fill a zip loc bag and cut the corner for easy filling.) Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until doughnuts spring back when touched. Allow to cool slightly before removing from pan.


Almond-Orange Glaze
Recipe modified from All Recipes
Ingredients
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons hot water
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon orange extract

To make glaze, blend confectioners' sugar, hot water, almond and orange extract in a small bowl. Dip doughnuts in the glaze and let set for a few minutes. (I decorated them with edible gold star glitter from Wilton)

Chocolate Glaze
Recipe from Alton Brown
Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup whole milk, warmed 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

DirectionsCombine butter, milk, corn syrup, and vanilla in medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until butter is melted. Decrease the heat to low, add the chocolate, and whisk until melted. Turn off heat, add the powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Place the mixture over a bowl of warm water and dip the doughnuts immediately. (I decorated them with sprinkles, mini chocolate chips and toasted coconut). Allow glaze to set for 30 minutes before serving. (For some reason my glaze never set :( But it still tasted good.)

And on that note....

Getting Ready for New Years Eve

I'm so excited I have NYE off for once. I've been working in a restaurant throughout college/grad school and I always miss the ball drop. Not doing anything crazy but I am excited to be putting together the hors dourves and desserts for the little get together we are planning with friends. I'm also using Love the Day's free printable for decor and inspiration for the food table. BTW - the printables are being offered on behalf of Operation Shower. Check them out if you get a chance :)

Soooo, today I prepped some of the desserts for NYE...

Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Some sprinkled with toasted coconut, chocolate chips or drizzled with white chocolate

Chocolate Covered Oreo Pops
Decorated with edible star glitter and a little edible gold dust

Homemade Marshmallows

Now, I have been wanting to make my own marshmallows for a long time! I got the big box of Knox Gelatin (kinda expensive) and it has just been sitting there for a few months now. So finally I made them. I read good things about Martha Stewart's recipe so I gave it a try. I can officially confirm that once you have had a homemade marshmallow, ya can't go back to store bought!

Homemade Marshmallows
Recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart
Makes about 16

Ingredients

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 3 (1/4-ounce) packages unflavored gelatin
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pure peppermint extract (I did vanilla extract instead)
• Confectioners' sugar, sifted, for coating
  

Directions

1. Lightly spray a 9-by-9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Line pan with plastic wrap, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides; set aside. (This confused me a bit, I think I was supposed to put the plastic THEN spray)
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water; let stand for 10 minutes. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water. Place saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil; boil rapidly for 1 minute. Remove from heat, and, with the mixer on high, slowly pour the boiling syrup down the side of the mixer bowl into gelatin mixture. Add salt and continue mixing for 12 minutes.
3. Add peppermint extract and mix until well combined. Spray a rubber spatula or your hands with cooking spray. Spread gelatin mixture evenly into pan using prepared spatula or your hands. Spray a sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place, spray side down, on top of marshmallows. Let stand for 2 hours.
4. Carefully remove marshmallows from pan. Remove all plastic wrap and discard. Cut marshmallows into 2-inch squares using a sprayed a sharp knife. Place confectioners' sugar in a large bowl. Working in batches, add marshmallows to bowl and toss to coat. Marshmallows can be stored in an airtight container up to 3 days.

These are SO good! They also last longer in hot chocolate than store bought marshmallows and that makes me happy ;-) I did take a little of the batter and added some matcha powder to make a small batch of green tea marshmallows and they were very good too. I plan to experiment with other flavors in the future.

I have a few more desserts I plan to make and hopefully the rest of the food will turn out okay too ;-) Hope you all have a wonderful New Year's Eve! ~Cara Lee

Merry Christmas

Christmas season just makes me want to bake stuff whenever I have time. I whipped up these gingerbread cupcakes for fun today. I must say I am impressed with the recipe I found. I was also impressed with the $1.50 stand I found at the thrift store this week ;-) But back to the cupcakes, they cooked up beautifully with a few modifications I read in the reviews.
Gingerbread Cupcakes
Makes approximately 1 dozen cupcakes
Recipe modified from the Food Network

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unsulphured molasses
• 1 large egg, at room temperature, lightly beaten with a fork
• 1/4 teaspoon orange extract
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, molasses. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth. Add orange and lemon extract.

In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, salt, and cloves. Whisk the molasses mixture into the flour mixture until evenly combined.

In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the baking soda and baking powder. Whisk the hot water into the batter until just combined. Transfer the batter into the prepared cupcake liners. Bake at 325 for about 18-22 minutes. After they have cooled top them off with cream cheese frosting (I added a little lemon juice to my cream cheese frosting for a little kick). Garnish with crystallized ginger and enjoy!

So yummy and very moist. It's not a very strong gingery cupcake which I actually prefer. I think this would be good any time of year - not just the holidays.

Merry Christmas! May your holiday be restful... just like my dog Rocco!

~Cara Lee

Vegan Pumpkin Muffins

So last night one of my closest friends invited me over for dinner. I was excited because she said she was ordering Indian food and she had exciting news. I had been raving to her all week about these pumpkin cupcakes I had made the other day and I wanted to bring over something (I hate going to people's houses empty handed). Since she is vegetarian, I decided to whip together some vegan pumpkin muffins. I'm amazed how nice and light these came out! Perfect for fall :)
Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
(adapted from Food.com)

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
• 1 cup pumpkin puree (fresh or from a can)
• 1/2 cup soymilk (I had vanilla soy milk)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (I actually used canola oil)
• 2 tablespoons molasses (I subbed regular syrup since I had no molasses)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Grease muffin tins with vegetable shortening or spray on oil. (I used liners)
   
3. Sift together dry ingredients.
   
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients (pumpkin through molasses).
5. Pour wet into dry and combine.
6. Fill muffin tins 2/3 of the way.
7. Bake for about 15-18 minutes, till a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Enjoy!

Oh I forgot to tell you the wonderful news: my friend asked me to be in her wedding! I'm so excited!!! I'm so pumped to be apart of Ash & Andrew 2011 ;-)