1st Blogiversary! Lavendar Brownie Cupcakes & Something I can eat right now....

Today marks 1 year from my first blog post, fruit sushi. I made a delicious Asian pasta salad last night (recipe to come), so I must have some serious asian persuasion this time of year. I had big plans to attempt a re-creation of the most delicious banana caramel cake I ate at a restaurant a few months back, however, due to my dietary restrictions until May 11th that deliciousness is going to have to wait. I did attempt a vegan/gluten free version, but they came out with about the same consistency of a gummy bear. Instead my 1 year blogiversary will be celebrated with some Lavendar Brownie cupcakes (for everyone else) and some no-bake almond butter chocolate bars (for me and everyone) inspired by a recipe from a fabulous blogger I met at the bakesale the other weekend. Everything (banana cupcakes aside) turned out great and I feel like my blogiversary recipes are the perfect culmination of my year of experiments......some successes, some failures, but overall a sense of pride that comes with creating something with my hands and the joy of sharing my creations with others.





Lavendar Brownie Cupcakes
recipe from Martha Stewart Cupcakes Book

Ingredients
-3/4C + 2T all purpose flour
-1/2t baking powder
-1/2t salt
-10-1/2T butter
-3-1/2oz unsweetened chocolate
-1-1/3C sugar
-2 large eggs (room temperature)
-1t vanilla extract

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line 24 standard muffin tins with paper liners (I could have filled mine a little less, but I only got 15 cupcakes from this recipe).
2. Melt butter and chocolate in double boiler. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
4. On medium speed beat together chocolate and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in Vanilla.
5. Reduce speed to low and slowly add in flour until just combined.
6. Spoon batter into muffin tins, fill a little over half way. Bake about 18-20 minutes, rotating half way through. I took them out when a toothpick came out almost clean. They continue to cook as they cool and I did not want them to be dry. Allow to completely cool before spooning on the icing.

Lavendar Icing (This recipe made about double what I needed)
-1/3C whole milk
-1/2t dried lavendar
-3C confectioner's sugar
-Violet food coloring (or equal parts blue and pink)

1. Bring milk and lavendar just to a boil in a small sauce pan. Remove from heat, cover and let steep for 5 minutes.
2. Strain milk/lavendar mixture into a medium bowl. Be sure to remove all of the dried lavendar bits. By hand, mix in 3 cups of confectioner's sugar. Slowly add in food coloring. I ended up using 4 drops of blue and 4 drops of pink.
3. Immediately spoon onto cupcakes and smooth with a knife.

Crystallized Flowers
-Edible flowers
-2t meringue powder
-2T water
-Superfine sugar

1. Remove stems from flowers
2. Whisk together meringue powder and water
3. Brush meringue mixture onto flowers one at a time and sprinkle with sugar. Place on a tray or wire rack and allow to dry completely.

No Bake Almond Butter Chocolate Bars
recipe adapted from Bridezillabakes

Ingredients
-1C granola
-1C almond butter
-1C earth balance margerine (or butter)
-3C powdered sugar
-12oz dark chocolate

1. Butter a 9x13 pan and set aside. Mix together first 4 ingredients (slowly adding powdered sugar until you reach the right consistency add more if necessary, I added a bit too much and they turned out crumbly). Spread evenly into pan.
2. Melt chocolate in double boiler and spread over bars. Allow to set before cutting.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

I originally decided to make these cupcakes for the bakesale because they do not need frosting and since they needed to be packaged individually I figured it would save me quite a bit of time not worrying about smudging frosting, but per usual, my sweet tooth got the better of me. I could not resist making these into my own version of Mrs Field's cookie cupcakes. I you have ever had one, then you know why I had to proceed with that direction. If you have not had one, please immediately make these or go out to the nearest Mrs. Field's at once and buy one. Because this is not simply taking cookie dough and baking it in a cupcake tin they are not quite as dense as my original inspiration, but that makes them a perfect pair with the frosting. They are sort of a cakey cookie, and I am sorry, but it would just be in poor taste to serve cake without frosting. In order to keep them a little more tidy for packaging purposes, after they came out of the oven I used the rounded side of a melon baller to smush in a 1/2" well to fill with frosting. After filling the indentation with frosting I continued to swirl it up just a smidge to make them super cute. Since these are for a bake sale I also found the cutest ribbon to finish off the packages that says 'Thank You' to our oh so generous customers. I am still a few weeks away from being able to eat anything like this, but my taste testers were thoroughly impressed, so this definitely goes on the 'make again' list. I just don't know if I will ever get to that list with so many new things I want to try!

Recipe Adapted from Martha Stewart

Cupcake Ingredients (makes 24 cupcakes):

-1 1/2 Cups all purpose flour

-3/4 teaspoon baking powder

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-1 Cup unsalted butter, room temperature

-3/4 Cup sugar

-3/4 Cup light brown sugar

-3 eggs

-1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

-1/2 Cup milk (I used unflavored light soy milk, but non-fat cow's milk would work as well)

-8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chunks

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Line a standard size muffin tin with cupcake liners.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, & salt. Set aside.

3. At medium-high speed cream together butter and both sugars until pale and fluffy- about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium and add eggs one at a time until combined. Add in vanilla.

4.  Reduce speed to low and alternate adding flour mixture and milk in at least two batches. Stir in chocolate chunks by hand.

5. This is where I halt the process and refrigerate the dough for at least 24 hours, but you could also bake them immediately.

6. Fill each cup with 1/4 Cup batter. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer the tins to wire racks and allow the cupcakes to cool completely in the tins.

7. After the cupcakes have been out of the oven 10 minutes, use your melon baller to push into the tops of the cupcakes to create a 1/2" 'frosting well'.

8. After cupcakes are cooled completely, use a pastry bag to fill/frost the cupcakes.

Dark Chocolate Frostng Ingredients:

- 16 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

-6 Tablespoons Cocoa powder

-6 Tablespoons boiling water

-3 Sticks unsalted butter, just at room temperature (I have had a lot of trouble with my frostings if the butter is too warm)

-1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

-1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Melt semisweet chocolate in a double boiler, or glass bowl over a simmering pot of water. Be sure not to let the water boil or touch the bottom of the bowl. Continuously stir over the heat until chocolate is just about smooth. Then remove from heat and stir until smooth. Set this off to the side, stirring occassionaly until completely cooled, about 30 minutes.

2. Stir together the Cocoa powder with boiling water until smooth, set aside.

3. In a mixer on medium-high speed combine butter, sugar, and salt until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

4. On low speed mix in melted chocolate until combined. Beat in cocoa mixture. Scrape down the sides as needed until fully incorporated.

Magic Blondies

I have found a new favorite recipe! Not just because it tastes great, but it is the perfect recipe to use up all the half bags of chocolate chips, craisins, coconut, nuts, or anything else you may have in your cabinets from a baking extravaganza around the holidays. These were so easy and delicious I actually made them two nights in a row. My roomies were quite dissappointed when I didn't bring any leftovers home from the ones I brought to the office so we made another batch that night. This recipe, of course, comes from Martha Stewart. I made them in a mini-muffin pan and it was the perfect size for the plethora of flavors.

Ingredients:
-2/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut
-2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
-2/3 cup chopped pecans (about 2 1/2 ounces)
-2/3 cup dried cherries or cranberries
-1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
-1 teaspoon baking powder
-3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
-9 tablespoons (1 1/8 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
-1 cup packed light-brown sugar
-2 large eggs
-1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line a standard 24-cup mini muffin tin with paper liners; set aside. Stir together coconut, chocolate, pecans, and craisins in a medium bowl; set aside.

2.Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

3.Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla; mix until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, and mix, scraping down sides of bowl, until well combined. Mix in 1 cup coconut mixture.

4.Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each about three-quarters full. Sprinkle remaining coconut mixture over tops. Bake blondies until a cake tester inserted into center comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, about 15 minutes. Blondies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.

Chocolate Pretzels

I am now the proud owner of the Martha Stewart Cookie book and Martha Stewart Baking Handbook and simply cannot be baking enough these days. With my new kitchen aid mixer I am virtually unstoppable. I have quite a few baking supplies/ingredients left over from all of my holiday candy making so I have been narrowing down my choices by making things that don't require a trip to the grocery store......the snow and freezing temps have also ignited my baking drive a bit. I suppose another factor in my choices is the new year's inspiration to drop a few pounds, but a girl's got to eat and I just can't cut out sweets entirely.


My first recipe for the new year was Martha Stewart's Chocolate Pretzels from her cookie book. although they are shaped like pretzels they remind me much more of a biscuit or biscotti. They are not very sweet and taste best with coffee or tea. They turned out well, but not quite sweet enough for my taste. I much prefer a pretzel covered in chocolate. I could see myself making these again, but only in addition to a variety of other cookies and sweets in order to fill up a tray and add something that breaks up the really sweet things.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon good-quality instant espresso powder
3 tablespoons boiling water
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg yolk
Sanding sugar, for sprinkling (I used some left over sugar sprinkles I had from my christmas sugar cookies)


1. Stir cocoa and espresso powders into the boiling water in a small bowl until dissolved; set aside. Meanwhile, put butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until creamy. Mix in vanilla and salt. Reduce speed to medium-low. Mix in egg, then cocoa mixture. Gradually add flour, and mix until a smooth dough forms. Turn out onto a piece of plastic; pat into a square. Wrap dough, and refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.


2. Divide dough into 24 equal pieces. Roll into balls. Shape balls into 12-inch-long ropes. Twist each rope into a pretzel shape. Space 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.


3. Preheat oven to 325°. Whisk egg yolk with 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl. Brush cookies with egg wash; sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until dry, about 35 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 1 week.

Nutella Kiss Cookies

This is becomoing an old favorite of mine that I could devour year round, but they always remind me of the holidays.

Ingredients:
-1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1/2 cup chocolate hazelnut spread (I used world market's brand, super tasty!)
-1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
-1/2 cup sugar
-1/2 cup light brown sugar
-1 egg
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-red and green sugar sprinkles
-1 package Hershey's Kisses (I used candy cane, milk chocolate, and caramel)


Directions:
1.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.


2.In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.


3.In another medium bowl, place the chocolate hazelnut spread, butter, and both sugars. Using a hand mixer, cream the ingredients together, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and blend until incorporated.


4.Stir in the dry ingredients, just until incorporated.


5.Shape the cookie dough into 1/2" balls with a table spoon. Rolls the balls in the sprinkles. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven. Quickly place a chocolate kiss in the middle of each cookie. Return the cookies to the oven and bake for another 2 minutes. Cool the cookies on a wire rack.


These were one of the first treats I made for the holidays so after they cooled completely I stored them in an air tight container and put them in the freezer. When I was ready to serve them I place them on the counter overnight with a slice of bread in the container to help soften them up and they were perfect.

Triple Chocolate Turtle Fudge

This recipe is near and dear to my heart because it is the first candy I ever made by myself while I was in college. It was such a success and definitely sparked my interest in getting creative in the kitchen.


Recipe adapted from Pillsbury.com:


Ingredients:
-4.5 Cups Sugar
-1/2 Cup Butter (1 stick)
-1 12oz can evaporated milk
-12 oz sweet baking chocolate, chopped
-2 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
-1 cup chopped pecans
-1 14oz package caramels
-2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream

1. Line a 9"x13" baking pan with foil, spray with non-stick spray. In a double boiler over medium heat combine sugar, butter, and evaporated milk. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a full boil, stirring constantly. Without stirring, boil over medium heat until thermometer reads 234°. Remove from heat.
2. Add marshmallows, chocolate chips, sweet chocolate, and unsweetened chocolate. Stir until all chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
3. Stir in the vanilla and 1/2 Cup pecans. Quickly spread mixture into the pan.
4. In a double boiler melt caramels and heavy whipping cream. Stir frequently until completely melted and combined. Drizzle over fudge and sprinkle remaining pecans on top.
5. Cool overnight. Lift foil from pan and cut into 1" squares.

Almond Butter Balls

Even though I have pretty much discovered that if I crack open a new jar of peanut butter to eat or make some treats with I won't end up with a migraine I am still in a constant search for tastey recipes that use an alternate for peanut butter, so I thought I would attempt making peanut butter balls with almond butter instead and I think I like them even more than the original!

Ingredients:
2 Cups Almond butter- I used trader joe's creamy sea salt variety, YUM
1/4 C unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-2.5 Cups powdered sugar- I may have used a bit more to get them to the right consistency
12oz semisweet chocolate chips
2 T butter

1. In a double boiler combine almond butter, butter, and salt until smooth and creamy. Remove from heat and add vanilla and powdered sugar until the mixture has the consistency of cookie dough.
2. Roll the dough into 1/2" balls, place on a cookie sheet lined with wax or parchment paper and chill for 2 hours.
3. In a double boiler melt the chocolate chips and butter until smooth.
4. Dip the balls in the chocolate one at a time. Place on a wire rack or baking sheet and place back in the refrigerator to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. These also freeze really well.

Chocolate Caramel Candies aka homemade snickers bars

I historically have made myself sick over eating an abundance of these rich little candies every Christmas and I still haven't learned my lesson. These are SO delicious. I suppose for the average person these are extremely rich and half a piece is probably sufficient, but I could eat these all day all season long!

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home:
Ingredients:

Bottom Layer
-1 Cup Milk chocolate chips
-1/4 Cup butterscotch chips
-1/4 Cup peanut butter
Filling
-1/4 Cup Butter
-1 Cup sugar
-1/4 Cup evaporated milk
-1.5 C Marshmallow creme
-1/4 peanut butter
-1 teaspoon vanilla
Caramel Layer
-1 14oz package caramels
-1/4 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
Top Layer
-1 Cup milk chocolate chips
-1/4 Cup butterscotch chips
-1/4 Cup creamy peanut butter

1. line a 9"x13" pan with foil sprayed with non-stick spray.
2. In a double boiler combine the 'Bottom layer' ingredients until melted and smooth. Pour into the pan and place in refrigerator to set.
3. In a double boiler melt butter over medium heat. Add sugar and evaporated milk until gently boiling. Reduce heat to medium low and boil and stir for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in marshmallow cream, peanut butter, and vanilla. Spread over first layer, refrigerate until set.
4. In a double boiler combine the caramels and cream. Stir over medium low heat until melted and smooth. Pour over marshmallow layer and refrigerate until set.
5. In a double boiler combine all 'Top layer' ingredients and stir until melted and smooth. Pour over caramel layer and refrigerate until set. Once set, cover and refrigerate over night.
6. Remove foil from pan and cut into 1" squares.

Angel Food Candy, Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles, White Chocolate Haystacks

We had a lovely work holiday party last night and I of course offered to make some candies for the occassion. In addition to a copius amount of chocolate caramel candies I also brought some other old favorites, Angel food candy and White Chocolate Haystacks (that my Grandma Vi had at every Christmas) and a new endeavor/favorite- chocolate hazelnut truffles.

Angel Food Candy- recipe from Allrecipes.com
Ingredients
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Dark Corn Syrup
1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar (or any white vinegar)
1 Tablespoon Baking soda
1 12 oz package semisweet chocolate chips (i also threw in some leftover butterscotch chips)

1. Butter a 9"x13" baking dish
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat combine the sugar, corn syrup, and vinegar. Stir until sugar dissolves. Heat without stirring until the mixture reaches 300-310° or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms hard, brittle threads.
3. Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda. Pour into prepared pan and do not spread. Allow to cool completely
4. In a double boiler melt chocolate chips stirring constantly until smooth. Break candy into pieces and coat with the chocolate. Place pieces on a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles- recipe from Taste of Home
Ingredients:
-3/4 Cup powdered sugar
-2 Tablespoons cocoa
-4 milk chocolate candy bars (1.55oz each)
-6 Tablespoons butter
-1/4 Cup heavy whipping cream
-1 Cup ground hazelnuts

1. In a large bowl whisk together the powdered sugar and cocoa. Set aside. In a double boiler melt the butter and candy bars. Add heavy cream and reserved sugar/cocoa mixture. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until mixture is thickened and smooth. Pour into an 8" square dish. cover and refridgerate at least 5 hours.2. Using a melon baller or spoon, shape candy into 1" balls and roll into crushed hazelnuts. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

1st is the worst, 2nd is the best....

In the past seven days my baked goodies have been in two different competitions. The first was an apple pie bake-off at my office. I think I have only baked one apple pie prior to this so I was pretty nervous. So nervous in fact that I did a trial run earlier in the week just to make sure my skills were up to par. The verdict of the bake-off, 2nd place, losing by 1 measly vote! However, I'm calling it a tie. Later in the day my office manager spilled the beans that she voted for my pie, but then decided not to count her vote. It was also declared that my crust was the best, yay! I think next time around all I would need to do is amp up my filling a bit with some more spices or a surprise.....the winning pie had craisins mixed it, admittedly, it was very tasty.

The second bake-off was a cookie bake-off at Bethaney's clinic. We decided to make S'mores cookies and they were awesome! A little graham cracker added to a simple chocolate chip cookie dough and some marshmallows on top, yum! They were very easy to make, but transporting them from cookie sheet to parchment paper proved to be extremely tricky. The dough really spreads thin and they fall apart if you take them off too quickly, but are really tough to get off the cookie sheet if you wait to long. Something about these cookies being thin and chewy makes them really delicious though. So, this was another 2nd place treat, the winner being some sort of brownie cookie. In my eyes a brownie beats a cookie most of the time so I can't complain, but perhaps I could question whether or not it was cookie enough to be in the competition.

Ah well, I'm a novice at baking and competing in bake-offs so I will take my 2nd places with pride and hope for the best with future entries. Here are a couple of solid delicious recipes:


Apple Pie (adapted from The Elegant Farmer):
Ingredients:
Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks), cut into pieces
1/3 cup ice water (I ended up using a couple more tablespoons than this)


Filling:
2 Granny Smith apples/3 Honey Crisp apples, peeled, cored, and thickly sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces


Directions:
1.Make the Crust: combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in the butter until pea-sized pieces appear. Add the water and continue to cut in a few more times—it will still look crumbly. Transfer the crumbs to 2 pieces of parchment paper or foil and form into 2 disks. Wrap the discs with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
2.On a work surface lightly dusted with flour, roll out 1 disk to a circle about 1/8-inch thick. Keep rolling until the circle is at least 2 inches larger than your 9" pan. Line the pie pan with the dough, letting the edge hang over a bit. Roll the second disk, place it on a sheet pan and chill it until you're ready to build your pie.
3.Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.
4.Make the Filling: In a medium bowl, toss the apple slices, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg together. Transfer to the pie shell and dot with the remaining butter. Brush the overhanging edges of the dough with water. Carefully cover with the rolled-out top crust and pinch the edges together, turning them under all around to make a thick edge. To decorate the rim, press it all around with the back of a fork, or just pinch it to seal. With a scissors, cut a few V-vents in the center.
5. Slide the pie into the brown paper bag and fold the top down. Staple bag shut and place it on a sheet pan. Bake for 1 hour.
6.Remove the pie from the oven and cut a large circle in top of the bag. Return to the oven and bake until the crust is golden brown, about 15 minutes more.


Let the pie cool at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.


 
S'mores Cookies (recipe adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod) makes 4 dozen:
Ingredients:
1-1/2 Cups all purpose flour
1 Cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 Cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups mini marshmallows
3 Hershey bars, chopped

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375°
2. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda, & salt.
3. In a large bowl beat together the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beat until combined.
4. Slowly beat in the flour mixture, about 3 additions, until smooth.
5. Drop small tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 8 minutes, remove and push 3-4 marshmallows and 3-4 pieces of chocolate onto each cookie. Place back into oven and bake an additional 3-4 minutes. Remove and cool on parchment paper.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes- Happy Birthday Claire!

I LOVE other people's birthdays. I have always been a fan of other people's birthday celebrations and I think I like them even more now since it is the perfect excuse to make something sweet for the masses. Claire requested a lot of something chocolaty and delicious so that she would have treats to enjoy for awhile after her birthday. Did I have the perfect recipe for her. Martha Stewart's Salted Caramel Cupcakes. For a total of 52 mini cupcakes I figured there would be plenty to go around. I learned a few things while making these.

1. do not microwave the water and then forget to put it in the mixture
2. do not overfill the liner, if anything they are better off lower than recommended.
The first batch made it into the garbage.
3. It is not smart to immediately put a finger covered in 360° caramel to your mouth
4. these are DELICIOUS and worth the time and effort
I made these over the course of a few days, starting with the frosting since it can be refrigerated up to 5 days. The next night I made the cupcakes, and on the final night I made the caramel and with the help of Bridget and Bethaney, assembled these delicious little morsels of heaven





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Chocolate Frosting ( I actually made a half batch and it was more than enough, this is the full recipe below):
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon boiling water
2 1/4 cups (4 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 pounds best-quality semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Directions:
1.Combine cocoa and boiling water, stirring until cocoa has dissolved. set aside.
2.With electric mixer on medium-high, beat butter, confectioners' sugar, and salt until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add melted and cooled chocolate, beating until combined and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in the cocoa mixture.
3.Frosting can be refrigerated up to 5 days, or frozen up to 1 month in an air tight container. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat on low speed until smooth again.

Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup warm water

Directions
1.Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line mini muffin tin with paper liners.
2.Whisk together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, add eggs, buttermilk, oil, extract, and the water; beat until smooth and combined.Spoon the batter into liners about two-thirds full.
3.Bake approximately 15 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Transfer tins to wire racks and allow to cool for 10 minutes; turn cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.

Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 1 month in air tight containers.To finish, use a paring knife to cut a cone-shaped piece (about 1/2 inch deep) from the center of each cupcake and throw away the pieces. I used a small melon baller.

Salted Caramel
2 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup water
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, preferably fleur de sel

Directions
1.Heat sugar with the water and corn syrup in a heavy saucepan over high, stirring occasionally, until syrup is clear; clip a candy thermometer to side of pan and stop stirring.
2.Cook until syrup comes to a boil, washing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush as needed. Boil, gently swirling pan occasionally, until mixture is caramelized and just reaches 360°F. 3.Remove from heat and slowly pour in cream; stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in sea salt.Use immediately; if caramel begins to harden reheat gently until pourable.

Spoon 1 to 2 teaspoons warm Salted Caramel Filling into each hollowed-out cupcake. You will notice the caramel will sink into the cupcake a little, just fill it up a bit more. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over filling.Use a pastry bag with a medium open-star tip (I used Wilton #1M) and pipe Dark Chocolate Frosting onto each cupcake, swirling tip and releasing as you pull up to form a peak. Garnish each cupcake with a pinch of sea salt. Cupcakes are best eaten the day they are filled and frosted. Store at room temperature in airtight containers - do NOT refrigerate.

Peppermint Patty Cupcakes

Another delicious recipe by who other than Martha?! I love that these are actually brownies in cupcake form and the peppermint patty center melts perfectly to give the entire cupcake a hint of mint. I also really liked that these did not call for a frosting (and it was not needed, they were plenty rich and flavorful on their own). Because there was not any frosting these were super easy to transport to the BBQ I was headed to. I purchased a large bag of peppermint patties so I thought it would be cute to make these cupcakes in a mini version. I tested this out by making 4 mini's first. I think the mini version would work with junior mints, but the small peppermint patties were still too large. The mint spewed out of the tops of the cupcakes and made a huge disaster. In fact, the tops popped right off the mini's. I'll have to try these again with junior mints, because a large cupcake is actually nearing too rich, even for me, which is next to impossible! Although if I make them as mini's I may just have to top them off with a bailey's frosting or something of the sort. I was a little disappointed that mine also didn't have the pretty cream center like the picture shows in the book, so I just went with the peppermint patty pic. Since I don't feel right about publishing a recipe that Martha does not have on her website, I'll let the St. Petersburg Times do it for me.

RECIPE!

Martha's Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

I have been putting this entry off long enough and it's time to face the facts that I screwed these cupcakes up. I was so excited about them, so even though they tasted okay I have not wanted to think about them since. I will definitely try to make these again, because I have confidence in Martha that these can be fantastic. I think there were a few problems with my approach:

1. I need bigger bowls (see photo)

2. I made them too far in advance (lesson learned: pick a quicker recipe when having a busy week prior to leaving for a long weekend)

3. Don't double a batch that calls for gently folding in egg whites.....I'm pretty sure this is the reason they turned out way too dense.

Most people still seemed to enjoy these, but considering I brought these to a flip cup tournament and 'Super Simons' Sunday' (a yearly party with my family in Door County), where there may be just a bit of alcohol involved, I'm not convinced these were that good.

I did get to make use of my new handy dandy cupcake carriers, which worked liked a charm, super glad I made the investment. Something tells me my co-workers and out of town friends will enjoy the investment as well.

Check out the following links for the recipes:

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Dark Chocolate Frosting

I also had some issues with the frosting and needed to add quite a bit more confectioner's sugar. I think I may have let the butter get a little too soft and perhaps I should have selected a thicker frosting since I was concerned about it staying in tact for my travels.

Good Luck Fudgy Brownies

Bridget and Bethaney were home a couple of weekends ago for a final exam so I had to put my birthday 'Bakers Edge' to use to make some brownies, a study treat and good luck gesture for their upcoming exam. I decided to try a recipe from http://www.visionsofsugarplum.com/ since her oreo cream cheese brownies were so amazing. This time I went with the chewy fudge brownies. While they were absolutely delicious, I think I decided I really like a chewy 'cakey' brownie vs. fudgy. These were extremely dense, as a fudge should be, and I think I was craving a little more crumble. Anyway, the baker's edge worked like a charm, as did the sentiment of my making these, because the girls did great on their exam. If you are looking for a rich dense fudgy brownie, this is the recipe for you!

Nutella Kiss Cookies

One of my favorite cookies has always been the peanut butter blossom, but since I try to stay away from peanut butter these days (due to the migraines they inflict) and I love nutella I thought I would try these cookies with a bit of a twist. They are also a pretty dense cookie so I thought they would travel well. I made a double batch (which ended up being 100 cookies, whoops!) and sent some off to the bike & builders, brought some into work, AND had extra to bring to Molly for the 4th of July in St. Louis. This ended up being a pretty wet dough, so it helped with the handling to place the dough in the refrigerator for a bit before forming the balls and rolling in the sprinkles (green and gold sprinkles to send my love the green bay way). I also used a mix of caramel kisses and regular milk chocolate for a bit of a twist. The caramel kisses are a little delicate and cracked on quite a few, so I might try rolos next time. I think these could also be really cute with the red/white peppermint kisses around the holidays. I found this great recipe at Food Network from Giada De Laurentiis.

Ingredients:

-1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1/2 cup chocolate hazelnut spread (I used world market's brand, super tasty!)
-1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
-1/2 cup sugar
-1/2 cup light brown sugar
-1 egg
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1/2 cup orange sprinkles, or orange sugar
-1 (9-ounce) package of chocolate candy kisses (use any kind you like, i think they would all work)

Directions:

1.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2.In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3.In another medium bowl, place the chocolate hazelnut spread, butter, and both sugars. Using a hand mixer, cream the ingredients together, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and blend until incorporated.

4.Stir in the dry ingredients, just until incorporated.
5.Shape the cookie dough into walnut-sized balls. Rolls the balls in the sprinkles. Place the cookies on a heavy cookie sheet about 4 inches apart. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven. Quickly place a chocolate kiss in the middle of each cookie. Return the cookies to the oven and bake for another 2 minutes. Cool the cookies on a wire rack.

Chocolate Haystack Surprises

I have recently tread into the dangerous waters of co-workers expecting treats. I do love to bake and am happy to share with my work peeps, but I'm not quite sure how I feel about the random visits that are purely to check out if I'm harboring a baked good.....for now I'll just be flattered that people like my treats and keep my fingers crossed that they don't get angry when their blood sugar gets too low. I decided to whip up these chocolate haystacks last Friday to satisfy the sweet tooth's in my office and start everyone's weekends off right. There are a lot of things to choose from for the 'surprise' in the haystack, but this time I went for marshmallow's.....not only did I have some left over from the 'Disaster Bars', but I LOVE marshmallows! This is also a great summertime recipe since you don't have to turn on the oven. You will need some refrigerator space to cool the chocolate and 'set' the haystacks. I hope you enjoy my super technical 3 step recipe!

Ingredients:

-1- 12oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

-1/4 C butterscotch chips

- 1 C mini marshmallows

-7 C chow mein noodles

1. In a double boiler melt the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips over low heat.

2. Pour over chow mein noodles and marshmallows.

3. Scoop stacks onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets and cool.

Disaster (Waiting to Happen) Bars

I have been putting a lot of thought into the next mail order treat that I was going to make, and since I can't afford to send things overnight, I have to come up with things that will ship well and stay delicious for 3-5 days. I thought these layer cookie bars may be the answer.......with the only dry ingredients being crushed up nilla wafers and cocoa and everything soaked in sweetened condensed milk, these may be a bit over board (I am trying to avoid using the word moist, because I hate it, but the more I bake the more I realize I may have to come to terms with the word. If anyone has a good synonym please let me know). I have named them 'Disaster Waiting to Happen Bars' because I figure one of three things will happen.

1. They will arrive in perfect condition and be delicious

2. They will meld into giant bars that will still be delicious but only edible by eating out of the container with a fork.

3. A goopy disaster will arrive that could only be served as perhaps an ice cream topping at your own risk.

After getting rave reviews on my 'skilz' from the Bike and Build crew I am slightly nervous to send such a questionable goodie, but it's really the thought that counts, And how picky can people be that are biking 90 miles a day and building houses on their days off?

I will have to update you all on how these bars arrive. However, if I wasn't shipping them I would just rate them as a darn right tasty treat.

Ingredients:

-3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine
-1-3/4 cups nilla wafer crumbs
-6 tablespoons cocoa
-1/4 cup sugar
-1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
-1 cup dark chocolate chips

-3/4 cup toffee bits
-1 cup mini marshmallows

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Melt butter in 13x9x2-inch baking pan in oven. Combine crumbs, cocoa and sugar; sprinkle over butter.

2. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly on top of crumb mixture. Top with chocolate chips and toffee bits; press down firmly.

3. Bake 20 minutes. Sprinkle marshmallows on top, Bake additional 5-6 minutes. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

Oreo Cream Cheese Brownies

This was quite an experiment for me, since I have never made regular brownies from scratch, let alone fancy'in it up with cream cheese and oreos, but I think I did a pretty swell job. I found this recipe on visions of sugar plum and the combination of dark cocoa and cream cheese made it a must try for me. Brownies from scratch is like anything else I have tried to make from scratch; just a couple extra ingredients and a couple extra steps, but a whole lot better than store bought. So that equals totally worth it for me! Hopefully my co-workers enjoy them, and the 2 that have wedding dresses to fit into this winter won't be too upset with me for bringing in yet another treat. I did substitute some of the full fat items for reduced fat and they still taste extremely rich and delicious, but I would still rather not know the nutrition facts of these!

Natalie about to enjoy brownie # ?, she does not have a wedding dress to fit into.

Ingredients:

-1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

-3/4 cup granulated sugar

-8 ounces (1 package) cream cheese, softened (i used 1/3 less fat version and it seemed to work well)

-3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

-2 teaspoons vanilla extract

-1 cup all purpose flour

-1/2 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
-1/2 teaspoon salt

-2 large eggs
-1 1/3 cups coarsely chopped Oreo cookies (i used the reduced fat oreos and I can't tell a difference)

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8-inch square baking dish with foil; coat foil with cooking spray.

2.Melt the butter in a small saucepan, over medium heat. Whisk in sugar and bring to a boil, whisking frequently; boil 1 minute. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

3.In a small mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and vanilla extract, until well combined, about 1 minute.

4.In a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder and salt; whisk until combined.

5.In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, until combined. Whisk in melted butter-sugar mixture until well combined.

6.Stir in flour mixture until just combined, followed by Oreo cookies.

7.Spread half of brownie batter into baking dish, followed by cream cheese layer; dot the top with remaining brownie batter, and spread evenly, as best as you can. Run a knife through batter to make "swirls".

8.Bake at 350 degrees F, for 25 minutes.Cool on a wire rack to room temperature before slicing. Lift foil out of baking dish, and slice. For easier slicing, try freezing the brownies for 30-60 minutes.