Tag: Dessert

Snickerdoodles

I am back in cookie baking mode. This time around, I’m going the more traditional route. First on my list, classic snickerdoodles.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2/3 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 ounces)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Continue reading Snickerdoodles

Double Chocolate Soufflés

As I’ve mentioned before, I cannot help myself from making a million desserts in December. There is something about the last month of the year that makes me want to bake my little heart out. Oxo has decided to help my cause by asking me to check out their new and improved Egg Beater. I am a huge fan of Oxo products (bowls, containers, apple corers; you name it, I have it). So I knew that their egg beater would find a happy home in my kitchen. Oxo also sent me an extra egg beater to give away to one of lucky reader. Details will be below!

 

The egg beater has a non-slip grip handle for ease of use. The beaters are removable and  then entire base can be detached and is dishwasher-safe (a must in my kitchen. I’m way too lazy to clean dishes after cooking). The beater itself has managed to improve upon its predecessors by adding a steel bridge at the bottom that can rest on the bottom of the bowl. This allows the beaters to be slightly in the air without causing arm strain.Note: This contest is now closed. Congratulations to Jill J;you have won! Check your e-mail 🙂
Photo courtesy of oxo.com


Their website had a great video that shows all the features so I wanted to include that hereas well.

So I really wanted to test this bad boy. I decided to not only test it’s ease of use, but it’s ease of cleaning by making a recipe that uses the egg beater in more than one step of the process. How about a chocolate souffle topped with a warm fudge sauce and some freshly made whipped cream? (Not going to lie, the whipped cream was an afterthought because my souffle collapsed. Sigh. Still learning…)
Ingredients:
   Souffle:
Cooking spray
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups fat-free milk
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
6 large egg whites
   Sauce:
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fat-free milk
1/2 ounce bittersweet chocolate, chopped
  Whipped cream:
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon powered sugar

 

This recipe requires a bit of oven preparation. Take out the top rack of your oven. Position the other rack as low as possible. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Spray six 8-ounce souffle dishes (or ramekins) with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with 2 tablespoons (or 1 teaspoon per ramekin) of sugar and set aside.

In a large saute pan, combine 1/2 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, 3 tablespoons cocoa, and the salt over medium-high heat, stirring with a whisk or the Oxo egg beater. Add 1 1/4 cups milk, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes or until it begins to thicken, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and add 3 ounces chocolate, stirring until smooth. Add to a large bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.

 

In a medium bowl, add the egg whites (reserve one egg yolk!) and beat using your egg beater until stiff peaks form. This took a good 5 minutes for me.

Once the egg whites are beaten, the chocolate mixture should have cooled. Add the vanilla and egg yolk to the chocolate mixture and stir.Fold in 1/4 of the egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture.

Once combined, gently fold in the remaining egg whites.

 

Spoon the mixture into the ramekins. Sharply tap the dishes two or three times on counter to even out each mixture in the ramekin. You want them to be about 3/4 full so that they can puff over the top of the ramekin. If you are making these ahead of time, you can cover the ramekins at this stage and freeze until you’re ready to bake them.

 

When ready to bake, place them on a baking sheet and place in the preheated oven (which is at 425) on the bottom rack. Immediately reduce the temperature to 350 degrees (keep the souffles in the oven and don’t open the door, the temperature will slowly lower over time). Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the side comes out clean.

The sauce can also be made ahead of time if you so wish. Melt the butter in a small pot over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa, and 1 tablespoon flour, stirring well with a whisk.

Gradually add 1/2 cup milk stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute, continuing to stir. Remove from heat, add 1/2 ounce chocolate and stir until smooth. Spoon over warm souffles.

 

To make the whipped cream, add the heavy cream to a bowl. Using the egg beater, beat the cream until peaks are just about to form. Add the vanilla and the powdered sugar and beat until peaks form. Add a dollop of the fresh whipped cream to the souffle and serve.

 

So my souffle came out puffy and happy and I was so excited!

But as I started adding the chocolate sauce, it began to deflate. Sigh.

So I topped it off with the fresh whipped cream and called it even.

Souffles are notoriously difficult to make, but I wanted to at least give it a shot. Who honestly cares if it deflated though? It still tasted wonderful! I think even a collapsed souffle still looks pretty darn nice as well, no?

 

So if you’re still with me, you can win your very own Oxo egg beater to beat and whip until your heart’s content.
How to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck, and feel free to leave me a comment below with any questions, comments, or complaints 🙂

Note: I received both a free egg beater for myself and for the giveaway through Oxo’s Blogger outreach program. All opinions and photos with the exception of the egg beater photo are mine.

It’s My Birthday & I’ll Make Cake Pops If I Want To

This year has flown by. I can’t believe we are about two weeks away from Christmas already! Which means I have a weekend of celebrations upon me, it’s my birthday!
I have been intrigued by cake pops for a while now. I have no idea how a little ball of cake could keep my interest, but I have been looking for an excuse to try these out. I wanted to focus on making the actual cake pop so I used the best from-the-box cake mix there is: Funfetti of course!
Ingredients:
Cake Mix
Eggs
Water
Vegetable oil
12 oz frosting
Assorted candy coatings
Wax paper
Lollipop sticks
Styrofoam, or a pop stand
Assorted sprinkles

Bake the cake according to box directions. Allow to cool. While its cooling, prepare to make the cake pops. Set out two cookie sheets lined with wax paper. Gather the lollipop sticks and place near the cookie sheets. Set out a large mixing bowl.
Finely crumble the cake in a large mixing bowl.
Add the frosting to the crumbled cake and mix to combine (This gets realllly messy, which is why I don’t have a photo). Roll the cake into balls and place on the wax paper. I got I think 28 cake balls from one box of candy, but I think I made them a bit big. Oops.
Pop in the refrigerator overnight, or for a few hours. To decorate, melt the candy coating according to directions in the microwave. (This was surprisingly more difficult than I expected. I managed to burn one of the batches!) Be sure to use somewhat deep bowls. You want enough melted candies so that you can completely submerge each cake pop in it.
When the candies are smooth, take out a few cake pops. Dip the tip of a lollipop stick into the candy coating.
This will work as a glue to keep the cake pop in place. Stick the lollipop stick into a cake ball Repeat with remaining cake balls. Allow to set (I left mine overnight, but if you return it to the fridge for maybe 30 minutes I think that would be just fine).
Take a cake pop and submerge in the melted candy coating. Do not swirl the cake pop, or they might fall off!
boooooo
Be sure to coat the entire cake ball. Remove from the candy coating by pulling straight up.
To remove excess candy coating, hold the cake pop over the bowl and tap the wrist holding the cake pop gently until some of the coating falls off. Place the completed cake pop into a cake pop stand or into some Styrofoam to set.
You now have a cake pop! If you want, you can add sprinkles or other decorations.
Soo… mine turned out so lumpy; and drippy. They are more like cake lumps, not cake balls. Who cares? They were delicious!
Here’s some of my “birthday-themed” cake pops:
and here’s some of my Christmas-y cake pops.
These cake pops take quite a bit of time, but I was pretty giddy with the results!

I made these over three days because I was making them during the week, so you can most certainly make these ahead of time. Just place the dried and finished cake pops in an air tight container or back in the fridge.

I hope all my friends like them!

Ginger Lemon Pinwheel Cookies

I promise I’ll stop my cookie binge after this post. I was looking for a somewhat “adult” cookie for a bake sale at work and I came across this recipe for Ginger Lemon Pinwheel Cookies. Ginger and lemon cookies? Hmm. This recipe takes a long time (a lot of refrigerating, freezing, etc.) so if you plan on making these Ginger Lemon Pinwheel Cookies, make sure you have a good chunk of time, around 2 hours.

but they are so pretty it’s worth it!

Ingredients

Ginger dough:

  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • Dash of ground allspice

Lemon dough:

  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg white
  • the zest of 2 lemons
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

To make the Ginger Lemon Pinwheel Cookies, begin by making the ginger dough. In a medium bowl, add the flour, ginger, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and allspice, stir with a whisk to combine.

Add 1/4 cup butter and the brown sugar to a large bowl. Beat with a mixer on medium until well combined.

You will end up using an entire egg in this recipe. To remove the yolk from the egg white, crack the egg over a bowl carefully. Split the two ends of the egg and move the egg from shell piece to shell piece until the white falls into the bowl and the yolk is left in the shell. Reserve the egg white for the lemon dough.

Add molasses and egg yolk to the sugar and butter. Beat until well blended.

Add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat at low speed just until combined.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

To make the lemon dough, add 5 tablespoons softened butter and the sugar in a large bowl. Mix at medium speed until blended. Add the egg white and beat until combined.

Add lemon rind, 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, and vanilla using a mixer to blend.

In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat at low speed just until combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap; chill 30 minutes.

Unwrap ginger dough. Roll ginger dough between sheets of plastic wrap into a 13 x 8 1/2–inch rectangle (3/16 inch thick). (I honestly just eyeballed this). Chill 10 minutes.

Unwrap lemon dough. Roll lemon dough between sheets of plastic wrap into a 13 x 9–inch rectangle (3/16 inch thick). Basically I just tried to make it slightly thinner than the ginger dough. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Chill 10 minutes.

Carefully stack ginger dough on top of lemon dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border along one long edge.

Starting with the long side without a border, roll up dough, jelly-roll fashion. Seal edges (do not seal ends of roll). Cover with plastic wrap; freeze 30 minutes.

Remove the dough from the freezer. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap dough. Cut with a sharp knife into 40 slices (I got 39 out of mine, so close!)

Arrange slices 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Bake one batch at a time for 9 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

So I can’t lie, this Ginger Lemon Pinwheel Cookies recipe has to be one of the most time consuming and difficult cookie recipes I’ve ever made. But the result is pretty awesome. I was so proud of myself when they turned out looking like pinwheels!

You primarily taste the gingerbread, but the aftertaste is a light lemony flavor.

I thought these two flavors might compete with each other, but they end up being quite complimentary. Who knew?

Also, these Ginger Lemon Pinwheel Cookies are pretty snazzy looking aren’t they? 🙂

These Ginger Lemon Pinwheel Cookies are not soft chewy cookies (like a chocolate chip), they are more firm than that. They would probably be awesome dipped into some tea. Yum!
Print

Ginger Lemon Pinwheel Cookies

Two cookie recipes rolled together to create these yummy ginger and lemon pinwheel cookies!
Course Dessert
Keyword Cookies, Ginger, Lemon, Pinwheel
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Chill Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time 2 hours
Servings 40 cookies

Ingredients

Ginger dough:

  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • Dash of ground allspice

Lemon dough:

  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg white
  • the zest of 2 lemons
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • Begin by making the ginger dough. In a medium bowl, add the flour, ginger, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and allspice, stir with a whisk to combine.
  • Add 1/4 cup butter and the brown sugar to a large bowl. Beat with a mixer on medium until well combined.
  • You will end up using an entire egg in this recipe. To remove the yolk from the egg white, crack the egg over a bowl carefully. Split the two ends of the egg and move the egg from shell piece to shell piece until the white falls into the bowl and the yolk is left in the shell. Reserve the egg white for the lemon dough.
  • Add molasses and egg yolk to the sugar and butter. Beat until well blended.
  • Add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat at low speed just until combined.
  • Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  • To make the lemon dough, add 5 tablespoons softened butter and the sugar in a large bowl. Mix at medium speed until blended. Add the egg white and beat until combined.
  • Add lemon rind, 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, and vanilla using a mixer to blend.
  • In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat at low speed just until combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap; chill 30 minutes.
  • Unwrap ginger dough. Roll ginger dough between sheets of plastic wrap into a 13 x 8 1/2–inch rectangle (3/16 inch thick). (I honestly just eyeballed this). Chill 10 minutes.
  • Unwrap lemon dough. Roll lemon dough between sheets of plastic wrap into a 13 x 9–inch rectangle (3/16 inch thick). Basically I just tried to make it slightly thinner than the ginger dough. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Chill 10 minutes.
  • Carefully stack ginger dough on top of lemon dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border along one long edge.
  • Starting with the long side without a border, roll up dough, jelly-roll fashion. Seal edges (do not seal ends of roll). Cover with plastic wrap; freeze 30 minutes.
  • Remove the dough from the freezer. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap dough. Cut with a sharp knife into 40 slices.
  • Arrange slices 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
  • Bake one batch at a time for 9 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Notes

If you make this recipe, share a photo on Instagram and tag me @icancookthat!

Lemon Scented Blueberry Cupcakes

My work is hosting a bake sale this week, so I am using it as the perfect opportunity to try out these cupcakes from Cooking Light that caught my eye a while back. How fantastic do Lemon Scented Blueberry Cupcakes sound?
Ingredients:
Cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups (about 6 3/4 ounces) plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
10 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 large egg
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed
Frosting:
1/4 cup (2 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind plus more for garnish
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Fresh blueberries (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place paper cupcake liners into the muffin cups. Melt 1/4 cup butter over medium low heat. Zest the lemon.
Add 1 1/2 cups flour plus 1 tablespoon to a medium sized bowl. (I suggest springing for cake flour if you can find it, if not all purpose flour works just fine). Add the granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Stir to combine.
Add melted butter and egg to a large bowl. Stir with a whisk to combine.
Add buttermilk, milk, and 1 teaspoon lemon rind to butter mixture (I used zest from 1 lemon), stirring with a whisk to combine.
Add the flour mixture to the buttermilk mixture, stirring until just combined.
In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with 1 tablespoon flour.
Add the blueberries to the batter, stirring until just combined.
Spoon batter into the muffin cups. I use an ice cream scoop to get evenly portioned cupcakes.
Bake for 25 minutes or until a pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove and allow to finish cooling on a wire rack.
Prepare the frosting while the cupcakes are cooling. Add cream cheese, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon lemon rind, vanilla, and 1/8 teaspoon salt to a bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed until just blended.
Gradually add powdered sugar mixing until just combined. Stir in lemon juice.
Add the frosting to a ziplock bag. Cut off one of the bottom corners.
Squeeze the icing on top of the cooled cupcakes. Top with blueberries and lemon zest if desired.
I absolutely loved these cupcakes. The lemon zest added great flavor to the sweet blueberry cupcake.
I am having a bit of a problem with the idea of giving these away. I want to keep them all for myself! But that is terribly selfish of me so I guess I should share their deliciousness.
Remember to refrigerate the cupcakes, the icing is part cream cheese.
Print
Lemon-Scented Blueberry Cupcakes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

    Cupcakes:
  • 1 1/2 cups (about 6 3/4 ounces) plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
  • 10 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
  • 3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed
    • Frosting:
  • 1/4 cup (2 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
  • 2 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind plus more for garnish
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • Fresh blueberries (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place paper cupcake liners into the muffin cups. Melt 1/4 cup butter over medium low heat. Zest the lemon.
  2. Add 1 1/2 cups flour plus 1 tablespoon to a medium sized bowl. (I suggest springing for cake flour if you can find it, if not all purpose flour works just fine). Add the granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Stir to combine.
  3. Add melted butter and egg to a large bowl. Stir with a whisk to combine.
  4. Add buttermilk, milk, and 1 teaspoon lemon rind to butter mixture (I used zest from 1 lemon), stirring with a whisk to combine.
  5. Add the flour mixture to the buttermilk mixture, stirring until just combined.
  6. In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with 1 tablespoon flour.
  7. Add the blueberries to the batter, stirring until just combined.
  8. Spoon batter into the muffin cups. I use an ice cream scoop to get evenly portioned cupcakes.
  9. Bake for 25 minutes or until a pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove and allow to finish cooling on a wire rack.
  10. Prepare the frosting while the cupcakes are cooling. Add cream cheese, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon lemon rind, vanilla, and 1/8 teaspoon salt to a bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed until just blended.
  11. Gradually add powdered sugar mixing until just combined. Stir in lemon juice.
  12. Add the frosting to a ziplock bag. Cut off one of the bottom corners.
  13. Squeeze the icing on top of the cooled cupcakes. Top with blueberries and lemon zest if desired.
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Sweet and Salty Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am on a bit of a cookie kick at the moment. I’m blaming the particularly brisk weather. I also realized that Christmas is only 7 weeks away so it’s time to test out cookies that I can give away near the holidays. Cooking Light always has really delicious sounding recipes, and this one was no exception. The original used peanuts instead of walnuts, but I happened to have walnuts on hand.

 

Ingredients
1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup granulated sugar
 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Parchment paper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add the flour, baking powder and baking soda in a medium sized bowl. Stir to combine.

 

Add sugar, brown sugar, and butter to a large bowl. Beat with a mixer until well blended (about 2 minutes)

 

Add vanilla and egg and beat until well combined.

 

Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture. Beat on low until blended. Stir in the walnuts, salt and chocolate chips.
Add the dough to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, about one teaspoon per cookie. Keep them 2 inches apart so they don’t run together while baking.

 

Bake for 12 minutes and cool on pan for 5 minutes. Allow to cool completely on wire racks.

 

I cooked mine for 14 minutes, and I found them to be a tad too cooked, so I suggest trying 12 minutes. You can always pop them in for a minute or two longer if need be.

I loved the random burst of salt that just enhanced the chocolate chip flavor.

I wanted a bit more walnuts though, so I’d suggest bumping the walnuts from 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup.

Past that, these were really tasty cookies!

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I never seem to eat all my bananas before they get too ripe. I know the go-to saver for over ripe bananas is banana bread, but I wanted to use them for something a little different. Cooking Light had a great cookie recipe that used ripe bananas, so I tried it out.
Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 medium)
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 5 3/5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/4 cups)
  • 2 cups old-fashioned oats
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • Cooking spray (or parchment paper)
Click to see savings
Continue reading Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Day After Halloween Brownies

If you’re like every other American adult the day after Halloween, you have a whole lot of random candy sitting in your house. My guess is you either 1. want to get rid of it ASAP or 2. consume it all in one sitting. Well friends, I have a recipe to satisfy both ends of the spectrum.  Two Peas and Their Pod had a wonderful Peanut Butter Snickers Brownies recipe on their site that got me thinking. Any chocolately goodness could be thrown in these brownies to make a yummy dessert! So I used Dark Chocolate Reese’s and Peanut Butter M&M’s to make these Day After Halloween Brownies! Past that, the recipe is the same as Two Peas and Their Pod, so thank you very much for posting this great idea!
Feel free to use whatever chocolate you have lying around the house. Just be sure to end up with about 1 1/2 cups of candy to make the recipe consistent.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup butter
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 4 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup dutch processed cocoa
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped candy (I used about a dozen Reese’s Cups and a bag of Peanut M&Ms)
  • 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

Continue reading Day After Halloween Brownies

Bread Pudding with Peanut Butter-ROOT Sauce and Sliced Bananas

I have wanted to make bread pudding for a long time. But I’ve been too lazy to actually search for inspiration. So when the “How to Cook Like A Top Chef” cookbook literally showed up on my door step containing a recipe for Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bread Pudding, I knew it was time for me to finally make the delicious treat. I actually made this for a really decadent breakfast over the weekend, a little treat for making it through a long week.
Ingredients: (serves 2)
(adapted from Ash & Ashley’s Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bread Pudding)
3 eggs
1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 brioche knots, cut into cubes (I got 9 cubes per knot)
1 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 oz ROOT liqueur
1 banana, sliced

Begin by whisking together the eggs and honey vigorously until combined and fluffy.
 
In a pot, add 1 cup heavy cream over medium heat until it begins to bubble lightly. Reduce the heat to low.  Add a little bit of the warm cream to the egg/honey mixture, whisking vigorously so that the eggs don’t curdle. (This is called tempering). Add the egg mixture to the pot with the remaining cream, whisking constantly until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Prepare the brioche rolls, cutting into cubes.  I bought the rolls at Trader Joe’s, they are the perfect size for individual servings of bread pudding.
Add the bread cubes and the custard to a large bowl, stirring lightly to coat.  Add the chocolate chips.  Allow to sit for at least a half hour at room temperature. If planning ahead, you can do up to this step the night ahead of time and allow the bread to soak overnight.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Add the bread mixture to a loaf pan.  Place the loaf pan into a cookie sheet with sizes. Add hot water into the cookie sheet so that the entire bottom is covered.
Cook for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
While the pudding is cooking, make the sauce.  Add 1/2 cup cream and the condensed milk to a pot over medium heat.
When it bubbles, reduce to low and whisk in the peanut butter, ROOT, and vanilla extract.  ROOT is a flavored liqueur that slightly resembles the taste of root beer. I made an awesome chocolate cake with it before so I thought it would work great in a sauce for bread pudding. You can read my post and more information on ROOT here. (If you’re making this for kids, feel free to just omit the ROOT.)
Whisk until smooth. If you want it a bit thinner, add more cream.
Spoon the sauce over the bread pudding while still warm. Top with banana slices.
What an absolutely delicious bread pudding. I can’t believe I ate this for breakfast, but I’m not ashamed either, it was amazing! I’m glad I only made a serving each for my boyfriend and I, or I’d eat this all day!
I had some of the sauce left over, which I plan on saving for ice cream!
The flavors work really well together in this dish (and how could they not??): chocolate, peanut butter, banana, with a hint of root beer at the end.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

At the request of a coworker (and by request I mean he brought in cans of pumpkin puree), I finally made a pumpkin classic — Pumpkin Bread. Although usually made with walnuts or pecans, I instead decided to use chocolate chips. I used a recipe from Cooking Lightas a base for the recipe.

Ingredients:
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon cloves
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 large eggs
2/3 cup water
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
Cooking spray
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Add the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves to a medium sized bowl.
Combine using a whisk.
Add the sugar, egg substitute, oil, buttermilk, and eggs in a large bowl.
Using a mixer, beat on high until well mixed.
Add 2/3 cup water and the pumpkin puree.
Beat on low until blended.
Add the dry flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and beat on low until just combined.
Add the chocolate chips. Combine using a spatula. Be sure to not overmix.
Add batter into 2 9×5 inch loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Using a knife to loosen the edges, remove from pans and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

You can either half this recipe, or freeze the extra bread for up to one month. Just tightly wrap it in plastic wrap before putting it in the freezer.

The original recipe topped the bread with pecans or chopped walnuts, feel free to do that as well before baking.

If you think the bread is browning too much on top, cover it with tin foil towards the end (with 10-15 minutes left).

This bread is so so yummy. I love when I can pass off a dessert-like bread for a breakfast also. (Shh.)
I limited a bit of the spices, more so than I usually would, so that the star would be the sweetness from the chocolate chips. Definitely a winner!

Skinny Iced Pumpkin Cookies & Review of Melt Buttery Spread

One of the huge downsides of my pumpkin obsession is that most of the sweets made with pumpkin really should be eaten in moderation (something I am not capable of adhering to). So I am always in search of a way to lighten the calorie intake of those desserts so that I can still enjoy them without feeling terribly guilty afterwards.

Kelly from Eat Yourself Skinny recently had a post trying out a new buttery spread called Melt with rave reviews. Luckily, Melt graciously sent me two packages of their organic buttery spread for me to try out as well!

So what exactly is melt and what makes it different from other butter substitutes? Melt contains virgin coconut oil, flax seed oil, palm fruit oil, and canola oil — all healthy cooking oils and “good fats.” Typical buttery spreads are made of hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, which have been liked to obesity, heart disease, etc. Melt is also organic, gluten free, soy free, kosher, and has 50% of the saturated fat and fewer calories than butter. Whew.
Melt’s, well, melt point is close to original butter’s melting point, making it perfect for baking. Typical buttery spreads usually have a lower melting point, which means they tend to separate during the baking process resulting in a flat cookie. So what better way to really test out Melt’s best qualities than making a batch of Skinny Iced Pumpkin Cookies? I adapted this recipe from AllRecipes.com.

 

Ingredients (this makes 3 dozen cookies):
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup Melt buttery spread
  • 1 1/2 cups white sugar
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing, for drizzling:

  •   1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
  •   2-1/2 teaspoons 2% milk
  •   3/4 teaspoon melted Melt buttery spread
  •   1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Continue reading Skinny Iced Pumpkin Cookies & Review of Melt Buttery Spread

Stuffed Pumpkin with Cranberry Raisin Bread Pudding

When I came across the title of this recipe, I was intrigued. I wasn’t sure if this would actually be a success, but it sounded so interesting I had to give it a try. So behold, Stuffed Pumpkin Cranberry Raisin Bread Pudding.

Ingredients:
1 pie pumpkin, about the size of your hand
1 stick of butter (1/4 cup) plus 1 teaspoon butter, melted and divided
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup half and half
1/3 chopped pecans
1/2 a raisin bread loaf, cut into smaller pieces
1/4 cup fresh cranberries
Lemon-Vanilla Sauce, to taste
1 vanilla bean, split
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
A pinch of salt
1 teaspoon butter or margarine
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Add the butter to a pot over low heat to melt. Cut off the top of the pumpkin. Reserve the lid.

 

Scoop out the pumpkin seeds and pulp.

Brush the inside of the pumpkin with 1 teaspoon melted butter. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon brown sugar.

 

Cut the bread into similar sized pieces.

Top with the lid. Add the egg, sugar, half and half, pecans, raisin bread loaf pieces, and the remaining melted butter to a bowl and stir to combine.

 

 

Pour the pudding mixture onto a cookie pan sprayed with cooking spray. Add the pumpkin to the cookie sheet as well.

 

 

Bake the pumpkin and bread pudding for 25 minutes. Allow to cool enough to handle and add the bread pudding to the pumpkin.

 

 

While the pumpkin and bread pudding are baking, make the lemon-vanilla sauce. Split the vanilla seed down the middle.

 

Add vanilla bean, water, corn starch, sugar, and salt to a saute pan over medium heat. Stir until smooth and thickened. Add the butter, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Stir to combine. Remove from heat when the mixture is warm.

 

Pour the lemon-vanilla sauce over the bread pudding as desired.

Have you ever been in possession of a recipe that is so good that you almost don’t want to share it? Well, this is one of those recipes. It took a lot of internal debating before I finally decided to share this recipe with you. (Yes, it is that good).

 

 

The bread pudding is sweet and slightly toasted, adding a little bit of a crunch to the dish and the cranberries add a pop of tanginess. The lemon-vanilla sauce is citrusy and sweet at the same time.

 

 

But the best part is that the nifty presentation has an additional enhancement: you can eat the pumpkin! Yay!

 

The pumpkin roasts and softens in the oven, making it easy to scrape away at it bite by bite.
You can make this recipe in individual sizes if you’re really looking for a dessert presentation that wows. Just use smaller pumpkins and distribute the bread pudding among them.

 

Pumpkin Pie Milkshakes & Making Your Own Pumpkin Puree

After visiting several supermarkets in search of pumpkin puree only to find they were sold out, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Amy’s Cooking Adventure had instructions on how to make my own puree using pie pumpkins so I tried it out. To test out my finished product (and as a nice pat on the back) I made pumpkin pie milkshakes to celebrate.
Continue reading Pumpkin Pie Milkshakes & Making Your Own Pumpkin Puree

Godiva Coffee – Pumpkin Spice & Caramel Pecan Bark

I am in love with fall, it is by far my favorite time of year. It is the only time of year I can give into my love of all things pumpkins and not get funny looks. Sadly, I feel like the autumn season seems to be getting shorter and shorter, so I need to get as much “fall” food and drinks as I can. As a member of Foodbuzz’s Tastemaker Program, I was lucky enough to receive two different limited edition fall coffees from Godiva: Pumpkin Spice and Caramel Pecan Bark.
The coffees are based off of Godiva’s Pumpkin Spice Truffles and their  signature Caramel Pecan Bark. The Pumpkin Spice coffee has a wonderful pumpkin pie taste, with hints of nutmeg and cinnamon. The Caramel Pecan Bark has notes of toasted pecan and caramel. I couldn’t wait to try them!

I decided to make two different recipes for each coffee to really test out their flavor. The weather in Philadelphia has continued to be pretty darn humid, so I made a few chilled coffee drinks. I also decided to use some of the coffee grounds to make my own Caramel Pecan Bark.

First to make the Caramel Pecan Bark. Making bark is really simple and makes a great gift or easy party dessert. I incorporated some of the coffee grinds to enhance the flavor of the chocolate.

 

Ingredients:
16 oz dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons whipping cream
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Begin by chopping your chocolate. I was feeling particularly lazy so I just used my food processor.

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Line a pan with parchment paper and spread the chopped chocolate evenly on top. Bake for 5 minutes or until melted. Using a spatula, spread the melted chocolate evenly so that it is the same thickness throughout.
While the chocolate is melting, make the caramel. Add the sugar to a pan over medium high heat. As soon as it begins to melt, begin to whisk vigorously until mostly melted. (see photo) Take care not to burn the sugar!
Add the butter and whisk to combine. Be careful, it will bubble!
Remove from heat. Wait 10 seconds and add the cream, whisking to combine.
If you’re not feeling particularly gutsy, feel free to just purchase caramel sauce. Making the caramel can be tricky, it took me two tries. I burnt the first one so badly that my entire condo filled with smoke! Oops.
Chop the pecans. I used raw pecans; for extra flavor use toasted.

Sprinkle the pecans over the melted chocolate.

Sprinkle on the coffee grounds and top with the caramel.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow to harden.

Break into uneven pieces, so as to resemble bark.
Yum! I think next time I make this, I think I would add just a bit of sea salt to finish it off.  However, this was delicious on its own!
On to the drinks. First up is a Pumpkin Spice Martini, adapted from a recipe sent to me by Food Jaunts. She was nice enough to let me post it on here, so thank you very much! If you have a minute, be sure to check out her blog, it’s fabulous!
 
Ingredients:
3 oz brewed Pumpkin Spice coffee, cooled
1 oz vanilla vodka
1 oz Godiva chocolate liqueur
Ice

Begin by brewing your coffee. Set it aside and allow it to cool to room temperature.

Add ice to a shaker. Pour in the vanilla vodka, Godiva liqueur, and coffee. Shake and strain into a martini glass.
If you don’t have a shaker, you can use anything that has a secure lid. Just be sure to use a strainer over the martini glass so that no ice enters the glass.

I absolutely loved this drink, I wish more martinis tasted this good! The vanilla, chocolate and pumpkin spice flavors delivered a smooth and tasty drink.

You can add whole coffee beans to the martini glass for some extra flair if you’d like. They’ll float to the top!

In my attempt to be creative, I’m pretty sure I ended up making a chilled Caramel Pecan Bark Vietnamese Coffee. Either way, it was tasty!

Ingredients:
6 oz brewed Caramel Pecan Bark coffee, cooled
2 tablespoons condensed milk
2 tablespoons milk
A few ice cubes
Whipped cream
Extra coffee grinds or chopped pecans for garnish
Begin by brewing your coffee and allowing it to cool.

Add the coffee, condensed milk, and milk to a blender.

Add ice and blend until pureed. Pour into coffee mugs and top with whipped cream, coffee grounds, or pecans if desired.
Condensed milk is already sweetened with sugar, so I personally don’t think you need any more sweeteners in this. If you have a big sweet tooth, sub out the milk with more condensed milk.
I love how this tasted! It was more of a dessert drink than a coffee drink but I’m ok with that. The caramel and pecan flavors still shown through, making a really delicious treat.
No coffee post would be complete without Iced Coffee. This recipe takes some make ahead time, but is so worth it, so that your coffee isn’t watered down. I found this recipe on The Pioneer Woman and was really impressed with the results!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Caramel Pecan Bark coffee grounds
2 cups cold water
Ice
Milk, cream, or half & half (whatever you prefer)
Sweetener, if desired

Note: you will need a cheesecloth for this recipe.

Add the coffee grounds to a container that has a lid.

Pour in the cold coffee and mix to combine.

Allow to “brew” for at least 8 hours. Place a fine mesh strainer over a medium bowl. Place a few layers of cheese cloth over the strainer and pour the coffee mixture into the strainer. Give it a while to strain through. Use a spoon to press through the remaining liquid.
Add ice to a glass.

Pour the coffee into the glass, filling it just over half full.

Add your milk/cream/half & half. Stir to combine.


Sweeten the iced coffee if desired. (Note: the Caramel Pecan Bark coffee has some sweetness to it, so I didn’t think it needed any sugar)
This is perfect to serve with the bark!
I don’t think I will ever make iced coffee another way again. The flavor of this was amazing, not even a little bit watered down!
 
Last but not least, I decided to try a recipe for a Pumpkin Spice Latte, right off of the GodivaCoffee.com website.

Ingredients:
6 oz brewed Pumpkin Spice coffee
3 teaspoons pure maple syrup, divided
4 oz warm milk
Whipped cream, if desired

Begin by brewing your coffee. Add the coffee to a mug of your choice and keep warm.

Heat the milk over medium heat until warm. If you’re feeling fancy, use a whisk to whip the milk until frothy. Add 2 teaspoons maple syrup and the milk to the coffee. Stir to combine.

Top with whipped cream and drizzle with the remaining 1 teaspoon of maple syrup.

This is a great “fancy” coffee drink to make at home when, like me, you don’t own an espresso machine. The flavors are very similar to popular pumpkin spice lattes out there and is so simple to make!
I hope some of my experimentation will inspire you to come up with some of your own recipes. The Godiva fall coffees make for a great base. I am so excited to enjoy this coffee for the rest of the season!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

I am so excited that pumpkin season is back, and to share this recipe for Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting! I eat/drink pumpkin flavored things all year, but September through December are when I can truly indulge in my pumpkin obsession.

To kick off the season in style, I decided to make pumpkin cupcakes.

The cupcake recipe is adapted slightly from Annie’s Eats recipe for Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes and the icing is an adaptation of a Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting from Kraft.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes:

  • 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2  teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice
  • 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 Green Mountain Pumpkin Spice K-Cups (about 3 tablespoons?)
  • 1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 cup canola oil
  • 4 large eggs, at room temperature

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • 1 8 oz. package of Cream Cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon  vanilla extract
  • 1 16 oz package of powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Continue reading Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

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