Secret Recipe Club: World Peace Cookies

Hello.  It's me guys!  I know I was a little sporadic last week, but I warned you, remember?  Life is crazy.  Life is about to get really crazy.  I start at Jack Fry's on Thursday.  And I still have my other job.  And I still have to go to school.  So yeah, this blog is looking like it's coming in 4th place.  So if I go missing for a little while, know that I'm just busily trying to make something of myself.  And I will try my best to at least post once a week!

Anyway, that brings me to today's post.  It's Secret Recipe Club time!  It's where all of the bloggers in my designated group get shuffled around and get assigned another blogger's recipe to remake on our own blog.

I was assigned Beantown Baker.  Jen is such a super fun gal.  She creates the most amazing baked goods - with her other half being her guinea pig, as well!  She's an engineer by trade and she still makes time to blog some goods!  I definitely must learn her secret of balancing a busy life!

I don't know if my choice was "legal" - I chose to do Jen's September SRC choice - World Peace Cookies.  Technically, it is a recipe on her blog, so I guess it's still fair game.  I was in the mood for some chocolate and these just kept calling my name.

Ingredients:
Adapted from Beantown Baker

1 & 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
11 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup 72% dark chocolate (I used some Ghirardelli squares), chopped

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, and baking soda together.

Beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla and beat for 2 minutes more.

Pour in the dry ingredients, and mix on low speed for about 5 times, or until flour is incorporated and looks somewhat crumbly. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix only to incorporate.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it together and divide it in half. Shape each half of the dough into logs that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours or up to 3 days.  (I think mine were in there for about 2 days - I ended up getting busy (surprise surprise)).

When you are Ready to Bake:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Using a sharp thin knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch thick. (The rounds are likely to crack as you're cutting them — don't be concerned, just squeeze the bits back onto each cookie.) Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between them.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 minutes — they won't look done, nor will they be firm, but that's just the way they should be. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies rest until they are only just warm, at which point you can serve them or let them reach room temperature.

And voila!  World Peace Cookies.  They really do make all of your troubles disappear - even if just for the 5 seconds it takes to devour one of them.  They're also perfect with a cold glass of milk!


So thanks Jen for letting me peruse your lovely blog, and I'll be back to test out some more treats - don't you worry!


Interested in the Secret Recipe Club?  Check it out and find out how to join here!

Cream Cheese-Stuffed Poached Pears & Chocolate

Oh we're getting fancy up in here!  Well, as fancy as I know how to be right now.

I recently got the chance to sample some Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolates through the Foodbuzz Tastemaker's program.  So I decided to whip up something simple and elegant - and honestly, I just wanted to play around in the kitchen!

Ingredients:

Peaches:

4 pears, peeled, cored, and quartered
1 liter water
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Filling:


1 cup cream cheese
1/8 cup brown sugar

Chocolate Sauce:
 
12 oz. can evaporated milk
12 oz. Ghirardelli 72% Cacao Twilight Delight, chopped
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Place pears in a medium saucepan and cover with water.  Bring to a low boil under medium heat.  Stir in honey and cinnamon.  Poach the pears for about 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Make sure that the pears don't float up above the water or they will cook unevenly and brown from being exposed to the air.  Remove pears from liquid and place on a paper towel-lined plate to dry.

To make the filling, combine cream cheese and brown sugar in small bowl until smooth. Match pear halves by size. Spread about 1 rounded tablespoon cream cheese mixture on cut side of one pear half; press cut side of second pear half into cream cheese. Repeat with remaining pears.

For the chocolate sauce,  heat evaporated milk to boiling in a medium saucepan.  Stir in chocolate. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is slightly thickened and smooth.  Remove from heat and stir in the brown sugar, vanilla, and salt.



Playfully arrange the stuffed pears, as well as some without any stuffing, on a plate.


The chocolate was absolutely delicious.  I'm not really that big of a fan of dark chocolate, but combined with the refreshing pears and rich cream cheese filling, it really hit the spot.  It was a simple after-dinner dessert that really impressed both Andy and I!

Hope you guys have a great Monday!


*I was provided free samples of Ghirardelli's new line of Intense Dark Chocolates through the Foodbuzz Tastemaker's Program, but all opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Chocolate Cupcakes w/ Toffee Crunch

Happy Friday guys!

I'm so glad the weekend is upon us!  I've still got to work tomorrow, but I've got Sunday and Monday off, so it's not too bad.

Any plans for the weekend?  We're probably going to be lazy - I know I'm going to be catching up on some sleep! 

Anyway, I thought I would end the week with a sweet treat!  It won the last bi-weekly poll and was a winner in our house too!  The original recipe had some Caramel Frosting to go with it - but I wasn't in the mood to fool with frosting and just kept them simple with some chocolate ganache and toffee bits. 

And don't forget to vote in this week's bi-weekly poll - I'm obviously in the mood for something chocolately!




Ingredients:
Adapted from Bakers Royale's recipe

1 cup flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons hot coffee
1/2 cup Heath toffee bits


Chocolate Ganache:


2/3 cups dark chocolate
2 tablespoons whole milk



In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

Add the butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat on medium speed for one minute.  Stir in hot coffee.

Beat for 20-30 seconds until the batter is smooth. The batter will be slightly on the thin side. 

Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.  Divide the batter evenly among the liners. Bake 18-22 minutes just until a toothpick inserted into a few of the cupcakes comes out clean. Set the pan on a rack to cool completely.

To make the ganache, place the dark chocolate and milk in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds.  Stir until combined and smooth (you can heat again in 15 second intervals if chocolate isn't completely melted).

Once cupcakes are cooled, dip the tops into the ganache and sprinkle desired amound of toffee bits on top! 

These were delicious!  So simple and just enough of that toffee crunch to bring these to another level!  I think Andy had one of these for breakfast everyday for the past week - so we know he liked them!

Have a great weekend guys!

Andes Mint Cupcakes

Okay, so these weren't the winner of last Friday's poll... but seriously.  I just had to make them.  I mean, Andy.  Andes Mint.  They were meant to be.  Right?  So don't fret, the winner of the poll was something "bourbon-flavored" - and it will come soon enough.  But right now, we're talking about these cupcakes.

They were so good.  They flew like hot cakes.  Andy probably ate 6 in the matter of two days.  Which he probably shouldn't have since he has a tux-fitting coming up this Saturday... but I digress.

Anyway, it's late, so I won't jibber-jabber any longer.  Plus, I have to get up early, so I should be heading to bed!  So without further ado...

Ingredients:
Adapted from Your Cup of Cake's recipe

Cupcake:


1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup buttermilk
Devil's Food Cake mix


Chocolate FIlling:

1/3 cup chocolate chips
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
5 Andes mints, chopped


Buttercream Frosting:


8 oz package cream cheese
1/2 cup unsalted butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
neon green food coloring

Andes mints, optional - about 5 chopped and 18 whole

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pans with liners.

For the cupcakes: In a medium bowl, mix sour cream, oil and vanilla extract together.  Add eggs, one at a time, stirring well in between each addition.  

3.    Alternate adding the cake mix and liquids (buttermilk and water), starting and ending with the cake mix.  

 

4.    Fill liners 2/3 full and bake for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Place on a cooling rack to cool slightly.

5.    Chocolate Mint Filling:  Melt chocolate chips, 5 Andes mints, and heavy cream together in the microwave in 30 second intervals.  Mine melted quickly, no more than 1 minute.  

 

6.   Place filling in a squeeze bottle and insert into middle of cupcakes, filling with desired amount (about 1-2 teaspoons per cupcake).

     Green Buttercream:  Beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.  Add powdered sugar, heavy cream beat well.  Add a few drops of green food coloring (I think I did about 8-10) and stir well.

 

8.   Pipe buttercream onto cooled cupcakes and top with extra Chocolate Mint Filling and an Andes Mint.

So silly me couldn't find any peppermint extract anywhere this weekend.  So I kind of improvised on this one - I'm sure it would have been extra special with the added mint flavor, but we didn't seem to mind =)  I mean, seriously - look how happy Andy is!

Have a great (what's left of) Wednesday guys!  And don't forget that the CSA round up is tomorrow, so there's still time to send me your local produce pictures @ mtlabor85@yahoo.com!  I'll post it sometime tomorrow afternoon (maybe evening because I have a softball game at 6:30).  See you guys tomorrow!

 

Coffee Ice Cream Pie

One of my favorite parts of our wedding planning is the fact that we'll be having an ice cream bar.  Yeah.  Ice. Cream. Bar.  Need I say more?

And the Comfy Cow here in town will be providing said ice cream bar.  The Comfy Cow is known for it's unique flavors like Cookie Monster Dough (jam packed with cookies galore!), Cake Batter Up, Red Velvet (we both swear you can distinctly taste the cake AND icing separately, it's amazing), and Banana Nana Fofana. 

But on a recent trip to the Cow, and after a recent blog search (and not to mention this was last week's poll winner), I was after one thing - Freshly Brewed Coffee.  Ice Cream.  This is definitely one of the best coffee flavored ice creams I've ever had, and I could totally eat the whole quart by myself... but I decided to share and put that sucker in an ice cream pie!  So enjoy!

Ingredients:
Adapted from Handle the Heat's recipe

Crust:

10 Oreos
10 Golden Oreos
Pack of Chocolate Graham Crackers (about 10-12)
10 Grasshopper Cookies (they're the Keebler version of Thin Mints)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling:


1 quart coffee-flavored ice cream


Chocolate Ganache Topping:

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 350 F. 

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the oreos, golden oreos, graham crackers, and grasshopper cookies.  Pulse until cookies are crumbled finely.  Obviously, I was cleaning out all of the cookies from the pantry.  Feel free to just stick with one cookie for the crust if you'd like, but I thought the crust was pretty awesome with all of the different types - or maybe I just had that Cookie Monster Dough ice cream on the brain and decided to implement it into the crust.

Add the melted butter to the cookies and pulse until the mixture resembles wet sand.

Pat the mixture into a 9 inch spring-form pan, going along the sides, as well. 

Bake the crust for about 10 minutes or until slightly hard.  Place on a cooling rack to cool completely.  Then place in freezer for 30 minutes to harden up.

Meanwhile, remove ice cream from freezer and sit at room temperature to soften.

You can also make the ganache during this time, as well.  Place heavy whipping cream in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer.  Remove from heat and add chocolate chips.  Let sit for about 5 minutes.  Stir in tablespoon of butter until mixture is smooth.  Let cool slightly.

Remove crust from freezer.  Dump ice cream into a large bowl and stir until it becomes smooth and spreadable.  Spread the ice cream on the chilled crust.  Top with ganache and chill for at least 3 hours.

Andy and I both loved this pie!  The jam-packed cookie crust went perfectly with the awesome coffee ice cream.  And it's not just limited to coffee ice cream.  The possibilities are endless with this one!  As the days get hotter, this is the best way to end the day and cool off =)

Hope you guys have a great Wednesday and see you all tomorrow!

Derby Pie Fudge

Okay, I'm a couple weeks late with this, but seriously - is there really not a good time for fudge?  Don't lie.  I know you guys like some chocolate.

Now, I don't know if Kern's Derby Pie is available to people outside of Kentucky, but I know that it's available year-round to us, and we are quite fortunate.  Because really, this is the quintessential pie to have during the horse-racing season!  Now, if you don't have this readily available to you, don't fret.  A quick Google search produces tons of Derby pie recipes that you could use.

But if you Google search "Derby Pie Fudge", on the other hand - you're pickin's are slim!  Google has never heard of such a thing.  I told a co-worker this, and she immediately told me I needed to patent this.  Hehe, good idea, but really, I totally want to share this amazing goodness with all of you!  Trust me. The guests at the Derby party we brought this to were overjoyed with happiness once they saw this.  It wasn't like they were saying "hey, that fudge stuff is good"... they were saying things like "Oh my God, I don't even like fudge and I love this!"  No joke.

Oh, and don't forget to vote in this week's poll.  I'm feeling like something sweet once again...





So what are you waiting for?  Make this fudge pronto! (And if you're in the Louisville area on June 25th, I'll be selling this at a Great American Bake Sale site!  - I'll get you the info if you want it!).


Ingredients:


2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups marshmallows
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 Derby Pie (I had to save a slice to eat, of course - but you could always use the whole pie), chopped

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and slowly add sugar.  Stir in evaporated milk and salt until sugar is dissolved.

Bring mixture to a boil and stir constantly for about 5 minutes, until mixture thickens.

Remove from heat and add marshmallows, milk chocolate, and semi-sweet chocolate chips.  Stir until chocolate and marshmallows are melted.

Stir in vanilla and chopped Derby Pie pieces.

Line a 1-inch tall pan (8x8) with parchment paper.  Pour in chocolate mixture and chill in the fridge until set, about 30 minutes.

Cut fudge into squares and try to stop yourself from eating the whole pan.  It's going to be really hard!

Easter Bark

Happy Monday guys!  How was everyone's Easter weekend? 

I spent the day at work, but it was real slow (Thank goodness!), so I even got to come home early.  It rained practically all weekend, too, so I'm lucky that my garden is still there!  I saw many pictures on Facebook of others who had planted flowers and other things, and they were just flooded out!  My heart goes out to you guys and your plants!

"Bark" won the poll on Friday, so I was pretty excited to get right into it!  I looked up a couple of Easter bark recipes and most of them included Jelly Beans - which I'm not a very big fan of, so I decided to go a different route with this.  I told Andy I would be giving him an excuse to buy Easter candy so he picked out a bag (Reese's eggs - of course!) and I picked out a bag (Nestle Crunch eggs).  And the rest is history!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 lb. unsweetened or dark chocolate, chopped (I used some gourmet 98.5% - but if you can't take it that high, feel free to scale down to whatever suits you)
1 cup almonds, chopped
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs, chopped
1 cup Nestle Crunch Eggs, chopped
White chocolate
Food Coloring

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Slowly melt the semi sweet and unsweetened chocolate in a double boiler over the stove, stirring occasionally.  When chocolate is about 3/4 melted, take bowl off of heat and stir to melt the remaining chocolate.

Stir in almonds, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds.  Coat the nuts well in the chocolate.

Finally, add the chopped peanut butter eggs and crunch eggs.  Mix well.

Spread the mixture onto the parchment paper in an even layer.  Place baking sheet in the freezer to let chocolate set, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt white chocolate over double boiler (or microwave) until at a "drizzling" consistency.  If using more than one color, separate into 2 or 3 bowls.  Then add a couple drops of each color to it's relative bowl.  Take chocolate out of freezer and drizzle each white chocolate color on top.  Place back in freezer to set for about 5 to 10 more minutes.

Peel parchment paper from chocolate and break into bark pieces. 

At first, I thought the unsweetened chocolate would be a little too strong, but the semi-sweet chocolate and the Reese's & Crunch eggs really balanced it out.  The chocolate had just enough sweetness to it!  I even convinced myself that this was pretty healthy because it's loaded with nuts!  Wouldn't you have liked to have your Easter basket filled with this?!  I know I was glad to!

What's your favorite type of bark?  Have a great rest of your Monday guys!

Samoa Cupcakes

Happy Monday guys!  Today was my first day back to work after vacation, and I'll have to say it wasn't too bad.  But I could use another week of vacation - just sayin'.

How was everyone's weekend?  I volunteered for the MS Walk downtown on Saturday and then came home to take a nap - which led to practically sleeping Saturday away (we didn't wake up until 6!).  Then Sunday we went to a Bats game - the minor league baseball team in town - which was pretty fun too.  I mean, you can't beat hot dogs and baseball, right? 

Samoa Cupcakes won the poll on Friday, so I figured I'd get started (and not make you guys wait a week or two) and post that recipe since I had time this weekend!

I'd have to say that these are pretty awesome.  I used my new favorite chocolate cake recipe (seriously, I'm never making chocolate cake any other way) and made a couple adjustments to a caramel frosting recipe - and the end result is something truly amazing.

Ingredients:

Cupcake:
Adapted from Foodess's recipe

2 cups sugar
1 & 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon clear vanilla
1 cup hot coffee

Coconut-Caramel Frosting:
Adapted from Sweet Pea's Kitchen's Recipe


2 sticks (1 cup) of unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups dark brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons clear vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

For the cupcakes, preheat oven to 350F.  Line 2 muffin tins with paper liners. 

In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add in eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla.  Beat with a hand mixer for about 2-3 minutes, or until combined.  On low speed, slowly beat in hot coffee until just combined. (The mixture will be VERY aqueous, but don't fret).  Divide batter among paper liners, filling them halfway full (I ended up with roughly 34-36 cupcakes).

Bake cupcakes on the middle rack of oven for about 20-22 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.  Transfer cupcakes to wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting, melt the butter in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in salt and brown sugar.  Allow mixture to boil, stirring constantly.  Cook over low heat for about 2-3 minutes until the brown sugar is completely dissolved.  Stir in milk and return mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. 

Remove pan from heat and stir in vanilla.  Cool mixture to lukewarm, about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Once mixture is cooled, stir in about 3/4 cup of the toasted coconut.  Add in powdered sugar and beat on medium speed until at desired consistency.  My frosting never got to a very thick state (maybe it was the 2% milk I used, instead of whole milk??), but I actually liked it this way - it was more of a glaze.

Spread glaze on cooled cupcakes.

Melt chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in 30 second intervals.  Place chocolate in a piping bag with a fine tip (or you can put it in a plastic sandwich bag with the corner cut off - I like this method because there's no clean up!) and drizzle chocolate atop glaze.  Then garnish cupcakes with remaining toasted coconut.

And then try to resist eating all 36 cupcakes.  I had to take several to work this morning, but I think I've still got about 10-15 cupcakes around here.  I've got to hide them from myself - in the fridge.  Which, considering I open my fridge every hour or two, it doesn't seem to be the best of hiding spots.

Hehe, but seriously.  These. Are. Delicious.  Have a great Monday guys!

Honey-Caramel Ice Cream Sundaes

It's Friday!  Woop.  Woop!  The only bummer about Fridays, for the next 11 weeks, is that Andy has a class until 10pm.  Yup.  Meaning that my Friday nights will pretty much consist of me hanging out with the dogs at home.  I'm so exciting, aren't I?!

With the exception of this Friday night.  My friend Kendra and I just had dinner at Varanese (you know, my fave restaurant in all of Louisville).  Needless to say, I'm in a rather food-induced sort of coma.  It was so friggin' good. 

Yeah, I waited until the last minute to post the last poll winner, didn't I?  I promise, I try to post them earlier, but life gets in the way.  Busy busy, as can be.  But you'll forgive me, I'm sure.  After you see how awesome this ice cream is. =)  Oh... and don't forget to vote for the new poll down below!


Ingredients:
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop

1/2 cup honey (buy local! - if you can)
1 & 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 & 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, plus 1 tablespoon
5 egg yolks
about 10 soft caramel candies
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
bananas, optional
sesame seed brittle, optional (recipe below)
chocolate syrup, optional


Sesame Seed Brittle
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop

1/2 cup mixture of black and white sesame seeds
3 tablespoon honey

In a small saucepan, heat the honey until warm.  Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

In a large saucepan, heat the milk, sugar, and salt until warm and sugar is dissolved.

Pour the heavy cream into a large bowl and place a metal strainer over top.  Pour the honey into the cream and stir until combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks until combined.  Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the egg yolk bowl, whisking constantly.  Then transfer egg yolk mixture back to sauce pan over medium heat.  Stir constantly with a heatproof spatula until mixture thickens and coats spatula.

Pour the custard into the strainer over the heavy cream and stir until mixed together.  Place bowl in an ice bath to cool.  Once at room temperature, cover mixture with plastic wrap and allow to sit in refrigerator overnight.

The next day, melt the caramel candies with 1 tablespoon of heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl.  (30 second intervals until caramel is smooth should do it).  Let cool to room temperature.

Take custard mixture out of the fridge and prepare in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions, about 30 minutes or so.  About a minute or two before it is done, drizzle cooled caramel into machine to create a "swirl".

To prepare sesame brittle, heat 3 tablespoons of honey in a sauce pan until warm.  Add sesame seeds and fold in until coated with honey.

Preheat oven to 350 F and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.

Spread honey-sesame mixture over foil in an even layer.  Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until golden.  Watch it carefully because it can burn rather quickly.  Let cool until hardened.  Then break up into pieces.

In a medium skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of butter.  Slice banana into 1/2 inch slices.  Add bananas to skillet and fry until warmed and slightly browned/carmelized.  Remove from skillet and allow to cool slightly.

To assemble sundaes, place 3 scoops of ice cream in a bowl.  Top with semi-warm bananas (in my opinion, there is nothing better than warm bananas and ice cream!) and sesame seed brittle.  Drizzle chocolate sauce on top, if desired.  Try not to eat the whole thing.  I dare you.

This was awesome.  Damn awesome, if I do say so myself.  I loved the ice cream.  The honey and caramel were two different dimensions of sweetness that paired so well together.  Try it out.  I know you'll love it!

Enjoy your weekend guys!

What should I make this weekend???

Donuts & Chocolate Malt Milkshakes

Remember when I said there were 3 winners for the last poll?  And I said I would post them all?  Yeah, I got a little busy with slurries of Making A Blog Video, Celebrating Andy's new job, and just life in general.  So you guys get a double feature today with the other 2 winners (the 1st one was the Samoas!).

Now some might argue that Donuts and Chocolate Milkshakes don't go together, but I beg to differ.  Most people drink milk with donuts, right?  I know we do, at least.  So why not amp up the milk and add some ice cream and have yourself a milkshake?  Sounds pretty darn compatible to me!  Hehe.  Either way, both of these recipes are winners, whether you keep them separate or share them together!

Hope you guys have a really awesome weekend!  I know we will... starting with tonight's dinner at The Village Anchor!  And don't forget to vote in the new poll... I'm in an ice cream mood!


Donuts:

Ingredients:
Adapted from My Kitchen Snippet's Recipe

1 & 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
2 cups vegetable oil, for frying
powdered sugar, optional

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.  Combine well.

Slowly pour in the milk and mix until a sticky dough is formed.  Then incorporate softened butter into the dough.

Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for a couple of minutes until it is smooth and elastic.  Place in a clean, greased bowl and cover with a warm kitchen towel until slightly risen, about 1 hour.  My dough didn't rise that much, or well... I was a little antsy and didn't want to wait that long for it to double.  You can let it rise longer if you want, but my finished product turned out pretty delicious, so if you're impatient like me, then this is fine.

Pull off small pieces of dough and form small 1 inch round balls.  Place on parchment-lined baking sheet.  Cover with warm kitchen towel and allow to slightly rise for 1 more hour.

In a large cast iron skillet, heat 2 cups of vegetable oil under medium high heat.  You'll know when the oil is ready when you can add a small piece of dough and it sizzles.

Add dough balls in batches (I did about 5 per batch) and fry for about 1-2 minutes per side, or until donuts are golden brown on both sides.

Transfer cooked donuts to paper-towel lined bowl to cool slightly.

When all donuts are complete, take a paper bag (or you can place them in a large bowl to toss) and add donuts to bag.  Pour desired amount of powdered sugar in bag and close.  Shake until you coat the donuts all over.

I loved how the powdered sugar sort of melted on the still-warm donuts.  It was perfect.  They were very reminiscent of a funnel cake in donut form.  And we all know how much I love funnel cakes.  Next time I may try filling these babies with jelly or chocolate cream or something delicious!


Chocolate Malt Milkshakes:
Adapted from Smells Like Home's Recipe

Chocolate Malt Sauce:

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 tablespoons chocolate malt Ovaltine
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For milkshakes (makes 2 - perfect for when your fiance refuses to share):

1 pint chocolate ice cream
5 tablespoons chocolate malt sauce
2/3 cup milk


Whipped Cream:

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon clear vanilla

For the chocolate malt sauce, add cream, corn syrup, Ovaltine, brown sugar, salt, and 3/4 cup of chocolate chips to a small saucepan under medium heat.  Bring to a boil and stir until chocolate has melted.  Turn heat down to low and let simmer for about 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, vanilla, and remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips.  Let the sauce cool for about 10 minutes.

To store extra sauce, cool the sauce completely and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days.  Reheat in a microwave or over low heat on the stovetop.

For each milkshake, I added 1/2 the ice cream, desired amount of chocolate sauce, and milk to a cocktail shaker and used my immersion blender to blend it up until smooth.

Drizzle some chocolate sauce on the inside portion of some chilled glasses (we got a little messy with this) if you want and pour blended shakes into each glass.

Quickly whip up some fresh whipped cream (or use some pre-made - I won't judge!) by whisking heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla together in a bowl until soft peaks form.  Top each shake with the cream and get ready to fully indulge in a glass of happiness.

I could see Andy's permanent smile just glow on his face as he ate this.  He loved every bite and even tried to sneak a bit of mine after he finished with his!

So yeah, lots of good treats that can prep you guys for some good times this weekend!  And I just realized a genius idea for the remaining chocolate sauce (because yes, you will have leftover chocolate sauce unless you just load your milkshakes with it!) - it would be perfect drizzled over those donuts or inside as a gluttonous filling!  See... I told you milkshakes and donuts go well together!  Don't forget to vote in the poll!

I want ice cream.  And ice cream sundae, to be exact.  So help me decide what flavor ice cream to use and I'll surprise you with a delicious sundae!!  Have a great weekend guys!

Homemade Samoas

How was everyone's weekend? 

I made it through my 5k!  I'm still alive and kickin'!  I gave myself 36 minutes to do the 5k (about 12 minute miles - I was pretty lax on myself), and I finished in 33:51!  Not bad for only going on one practice run in a month and a half. 

It was actually an exhilarating race.  Over 10,000 participants and I finished 5610 out of them!  So heck, I had to just give myself a pat on the back.  And I guess I have something to work towards for next year! 

And another awesome surprise, when I got home on Friday night from work, I came home to a big package from Foodbuzz sitting on my desk.  Puzzled, I had to quickly open it up.  And to my astonishment was a Flip Video Camera and a variety of Newman's Own Salad Dressings and Tomato Sauces.  So thanks to Foodbuzz and Newman's Own, I get to make a 5 minute video on a recipe using one or more of the products that takes 30 minutes or less.  So watch out for it soon, because it'll be the first video on the blog!  And I'm sure not the last!

Anyway, what won the poll last Friday?  Well it was a 3 way tie!  I couldn't just pick one over the other, so I decided to do all 3 over the course of the next 2 weeks.  I'm not going to reveal all of the winners at once, that way it's a little bit of surprise!  So obviously, the first revealed winner was in the "Girl Scout Cookie" category, and being that Samoas are my absolute favorite Girl Scout cookie, I had to give them a shot!


Ingredients:
Adapted from The Sweet Life's Recipe

Shortbread Cookie:

1/2 cup sugar
1 & 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon clear vanilla
2 cups flour
large pinch of salt

Topping:

3 cup sweetened shredded coconut, lightly toasted
12 oz. chewy caramels
large pinch of salt
3 tablespoons whole milk
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.

Line a 9 x 13 pan with aluminum foil.

For shortbread, in a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg and vanilla extract.

Slowly add in flour and salt until mixture is combined.  The dough will be really sticky.

Using hands, press dough into an even layer in pan.  Bake for 20 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.  Carefully lift foil from pan and place on wire rack to cool.

While waiting for shortbread to cool, you can prepare the topping.  Unwrap caramel candies and place in microwave safe bowl along with milk and salt.  Heat in microwave for about 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir occasionally. Watch it carefully so that the caramel does not burn.  Allow caramel to slightly cool and then fold in toasted coconut.  Mix well.

Once shortbread is cooled, spread caramel and coconut mixture atop shortbread in an even layer.  Place in freezer to cool, about 10 minutes.  Once cooled, cut into evenly sized bars.

Place chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and heat, in 30 second intervals, until chocolate is completely melted.  Dip the bottom of each bar in chocolate and place on wax paper lined baking sheet (a small enough sheet that can fit into the freezer/fridge)

I chose the "abstract" way of decorating the top of the bars, just use a fork and quickly drizzle over bars for a nice effect.  Alternatively, you can place the melted chocolate into a piping bag and decorate as you wish.

I dare you to have just one.  It's damn near impossible.  Wanna bet?  I'll win every time, I know it! =)

Andy absolutely loved these.  I asked him whether they were better than the actual Girl Scout cookie version, and he put it nicely - "You can't really compare them to the actual Samoa because they're different.  These are more like a cookie bar."  So then of course (I just had to ask), I replied to that by saying "Well what would you rather have?"  You bet your ass he said that he'd rather have these!  So go on... try them for yourself!  See you guys tomorrow! 

P.S. - details about my first giveaway get unveiled tomorrow too!

Chocolate Cupcakes w/ Nutella Buttercream Frosting

TGIF!  I've got the weekend off of work and I'm ready for it!  I'm not so ready to wake up super early tomorrow morning and fun 3.1 miles at 8am.  In the cold.  But, it's my own doing.  I freely signed up for the race knowing what I was getting myself into.  And so if I'm to be punished, so be it.

Bold statements are usually made in our house.  Usually those involving death threats (in a loving manner, of course.  like I tell everyone who looks seemingly shocked after I threaten to kill Andy - this is how we talk, hehe) or, heaven forbid, threats to take away chocolate cupcakes to one's co-workers instead of leaving them at home.  Yes.  Andy looked at me with disgust as I loaded these up last week to take to work.  Hey.  I left him 3.  And he had already eaten 3 the night before too.  So seriously.  He had his fill, it was time to give them to a more deserving crowd. 

I know it took me a while to post these, but hey, I wanted to save the best for the end of the week.  And there's a new poll at the end of this post, so don't forget to vote for my next little treat (I promise it won't take me as long to post this time!).

Obviously, they were still a tad warm when I frosted them - but it's hard to resist =)

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:


1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons espresso powder
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon white/clear vanilla extract
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
chopped hazelnuts (optional)

Nutella Buttercream:

Adapted from My Baking Addiction's recipe

1 & 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 13-ounce jar of Nutella
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon white/clear vanilla extract
2-3 cups powdered sugar (original recipe called for a full lb., and by all means, go ahead with that if you'd like, but I just couldn't see using that much sugar)
6-8 tablespoons heavy cream

For the cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line muffin pans with paper liners.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Mix well and set aside.

In a separate, medium-sized bowl, combine the milk, vegetable oil, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar, and mix well.

Slowly add wet mixture to dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated.

Fill muffin liners about halfway to 3/4 full.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove cupcakes from oven and let cool in tin for about 10 minutes.  Remove cupcakes from tin and transfer to a wire rack to let cool to room temperature before frosting.

For the frosting:

This makes a TON of frosting, so you could definitely save some for later or half the recipe if you're not doing too many cupcakes. (I made about 18 cupcakes, and still had a bunch leftover)

In a large bowl, beat butter and Nutella until well combined. 

Slowly add in powdered sugar and continue beating until incorporated.

Add salt, vanilla, and 3 tablespoons of heavy cream. Beat on low speed until moistened.  Add heavy cream, one tablespoon at a time, until you reach your preferred consistency. 

Beat frosting on high until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.

Fill a piping bag with a little bit of frosting and pierce the cooled cupcakes in the center to fill and then decoratively frost the tops.  Sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts, if desired.

Remember those bold statements I was talking about earlier?  Well, Andy mocked me when I told him I was buying Nutella.  He's somewhat sheltered in the Nutella area, and jokingly made faces at me as I put it in our cart at the grocery.  

So to his surprise, he actually loved these cupcakes.  So much so, that he made the boldest statement ever, saying that these were the best cupcakes I'd ever made.  Ever.  So seriously, if Andy can make such a statement, I think these are definitely worth a go.  And as for my coworkers, they loved them too.  So they're definitely a crowd pleaser. =)

And to the poll!  I'm in a vague and random sort of mood, so I'll leave it somewhat open.  I'll definitely need something to replenish me after I'm done with my race tomorrow morning!  Enjoy your weekend guys!