Peppermint Frosted Brownies

Need a chocolate fix fast? I mean...CHOCOLATE. Like the kind of fix that will put you in a sugar induced coma for a few hours? Oh, that's what you need? Make these!

These were super duper rich. I added the peppermint buttercream just because I had a craving for it. I made regular buttercream and flavored it with peppermint and added some red food coloring. Easy as can be!

The recipe for the brownies is also really easy. They come together very quick. My main tip for these...make sure you bake them long enough. Mine were too gooey in the middle.

Chocolate Brownies
Source: Food Network
Yield: 1-2 dozen depending on how big you cut them.

2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 t. salt
3 eggs
1 cup cocoa
1 cup flour

Set oven to 350. Grease a 9x9 pan.

Combine sugar, butter, salt. Whisk in eggs. Stir in cocoa and flour. Transfer to pan bake 30 min.

Easy peasy.

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

I've been learning a lot about buttercreams. I always thought buttercream was just your simple icing of powdered sugar, butter, milk or cream, and vanilla. Which is great. But I learned today that there are French buttercreams (made by pouring a sugary syrup at softball stage over egg yolks), there are Italian or Swiss buttercreams (similar to the French but using egg whites) and even German buttercreams which use pastry cream.

I've made a faux Swiss buttercream and last year for my birthday I made a real Swiss buttercream. This week I made a lemon Swiss buttercream and it is amazing.

I've had lemon cupcakes on my list of things to make for about six months. Finally I decided I was going to make a batch. The cake part has a fantastic crumb. Light, lemony, perfect. Then I made the frosting. It seemed not as hard as it did the first I made Swiss buttercream. It is a little scary after you add the butter to the meringue and it looks like a mess. It gets better. I swear. Give it time. Let it do its thing.

I didn't have lemon extract in the house so I used fresh lemon juice in both the cupcakes and the frosting. Worked out just fine. Be sure to use the lemon zest because it adds quite a bit of the lemon flavor.

Have fun with these!!

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

Source: Humble Gourmand

Yield: One dozen

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
zest of 2 lemons
2 large eggs
½ cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine butter, sugar, and lemon zest in large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer beat on medium-high speed until the mixture is fluffy and much lighter in color. Combine the flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl. In a third, small bowl, combine the buttermilk and lemon extract.
Add the eggs one at a time to the mixer, making sure to fully incorporate the first egg before adding the second. Alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk in the following order: add 1/3 of the dry ingredients, 1/2 of the wet, another third of the dry, the rest of the wet, and the rest of the dry. Mix until just combined and finish with a spatula.

Bake in the top third of the oven for about 20 minutes or until the tops are slightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cool completely before topping with the lemon buttercream.

Lemon Buttercream Frosting
7 egg whites
Pinch cream of tartar
2 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
½ c. water
1 lb. unsalted butter at room temperature
2 tsp. lemon extract
Yellow food coloring (optional)

Place egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on low speed. Add sugar, corn syrup, and water to a pot and swirl or mix with a spoon so that the sugar has the consistency of wet sand and all of the granules are moistened.
Cook the sugar on high to 235F. At this stage, which candymakers call the soft ball stage, most of the moisture gets cooked out of the sugar. Immediately add the cooked sugar to the egg whites, which should be foamy at this point. Turn the mixer speed to high and whip the meringue to a medium peak. Add the butter in small clumps (about 1½” cubes) and whip until the mixture becomes light and fluffy, and holds together. Add the lemon extract and food coloring if using and whip to combine.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk

I like to say thank you with a sweet treat. A friend of mine recently did me a favor and to say thank you I gave her a plate of these delightful little cookies.

These cookies are awesome for a variety of reasons.

1. They come together super quickly.
2. The texture is fantastic. Nice and soft.
3. A perfect balance of peanut butter and chocolate
4. They are the perfect size.

And they come from Martha Stewart so you know they are good. Right??!


Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Source: Martha Stewart
Yield: 3 dozen

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup peanut butter
4 tablespoons ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat peanut butter, butter, and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until smooth. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture, beating just until combined. Stir in chocolate chunks.

Drop dough by heaping tablespoons, 1 inch apart, onto two large baking sheets. Bake until golden, 13 to 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool.

Sweet Cheeks Guac

This is my own version of guacamole. It is chunky, flavorful, and versatile. I like to scoop it with chips but I also like to put it on my veggie burger. It is great in a burrito and the last time I served it I used it as a side with chips next to Cajun shrimp.

You can make this to your liking. My sister likes hers extra limey. I like mine with extra cumin. You could also had some hot sauce or chopped jalapeno for a bit of heat. I'm guessing on the measurements for the recipe below. I usually eyeball it and taste here and there. I'll do my best!


Sweet Cheeks Guac
Source: ME!
Yield: 2 servings

1 ripe avocado
1/4 cup diced red onion
1 plum tomato, chopped
2 T olive oil
Juice of half a lime
4-5 shakes cumin
Salt
5 sprigs cilantro, torn

Cube the avocado and mash slightly leaving large chunks. Add the onion and chopped tomato. Drizzle with olive oil and lime juice. Stir. Add cumin and salt. Add cilantro last so it is nice and fresh.

Humming Bakery Vanilla Cupcakes

I do enjoy all the new concoctions of flavored cupcakes going around. However, you'll find that I mostly stick with the basics. I suppose the pink lemonade cupcakes were a bit wild for me. To me, the simplicity of a vanilla cupcake with vanilla icing is perfection.

The recipe for these cupcakes came from Joy the Baker who posted the recipe from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook. I adore these sweet little cupcakes. They were a cinch to make and oh so delicious.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Icing
Source: Joy the Baker and Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

Yield: 1 dozen cupcakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
a scant 3/4 cup sugar
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
pinch of salt
3 T unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 t vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and butter in a large bowl. Using a hand held mixer beat on a slow speed until the mixture is a sandy consistency and everything is combined. Gradually pour in half the milk and beat until the milk is just incorporated.

Whisk the egg, vanilla and remaining milk together in a separate bowl for a few seconds, then pour into the flour mixture and continue beating until just incorporated. Scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side or the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Continue mixing until the batter is smooth. For just a few minutes. Don’t bother overmixing.

Spoon the batter into paper lined muffin tins, dividing evenly between 12 cups. Bake for 20 minutes, rotating half way through or until lightly golden and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool slightly in the pan, then cool on a wire rack completely before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream

2 cups powdered sugar

5 T unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 T milk
1/4 t vanilla extract

Beat the powdered sugar together in a medium sized bowl with an electric mixer on medium low speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed. Turn the mixer to low. Combine milk and the vanilla extract and slowly stream it into the butter and sugar mixture. Once incorporated, turn the mixer to high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. The longer the frosting is beaten, the fluffier and lighter it becomes. When you reach the desired consistency, frost the cooled cupcakes.

Ebelskivers

Are you still there? Are you still speaking to me? I understand if not.

Sometimes life gets in the way of blogging. You know what I mean??

Can I win you back with some delightful filled pancakes also known as ebelskivers? Oh, did I notice you perk up a bit? How about that I filled half with jam and half with a Nutella buttercream? Yes? OK. Good.

My sister bought me this fancy little pan for my birthday and I just adore it. It is so easy to use. The batter is really thin but it gives you a very light and fluffy "pancake" to fill. I used strawberry jam for a few and then made a delicious filling of Nutella, butter, and cream. FABULOUS!! These were gone in no time!

Ebelskivers
Source: Williams Sonoma
Yield: A ton

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 Tbs. ground cinnamon
1 cup seedless berry jam
4 cups all-purpose flour
5 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
About 5 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted

In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar and cinnamon. Transfer to a mesh sugar shaker. Fit a pastry bag with a plain round tip and fill with the jam. Set aside.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and vanilla. Whisk the egg mixture into the flour mixture until smooth.

Put 1/4 tsp. butter in each well of a filled-pancake pan. Set over medium heat and heat until the butter begins to bubble. Pour 2 Tbs. of the batter into each well. Cook until the bottoms are golden brown and crispy, 3 to 5 minutes. Using 2 wooden skewers, turn the pancakes over and cook until golden and crispy, about 3 minutes more. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Using the tip of the pastry bag, pierce one side of each pancake and pipe jam into the center. Dust the pancakes with the confectioners' sugar mixture and serve immediately. Makes 55 pancakes.

A Decade

I watched my mother die. I was 19 and the process was slow. She held on to life so dearly. She wanted to see the grandson she had been waiting to meet (he was born 14 days later). She wanted to be sure that it was OK to let go, to be sure that her husband and her three children would be OK. Eventually, either she grew tired of holding on or she knew that we would be OK. She died late at night and it was pouring rain.

Do you know what that did to me? It changed me. Forever. For the first few years it just made me sad and mad. I couldn’t (and still don’t) understand why it happened to her. To us. She was a good woman and the best mother. I was always able to deal with my sadness, anger and confusion through words, spoken and written. I always kept a journal. I would visit her grave on April 10th and on Mother’s Day with the journal and write until my hands cramped. I have always talked openly about her death. Now, a decade later, her death has left me with a raw and honest passion. I want to educate people. I want to make a difference.

It is so frustrating to watch people with a “passion” which is really just self fulfillment. Don’t drink the Kool Aid kids! Think outside of the box about education. Every single person needs education regarding cancer. Not just the wealthy. Not just the poor. Not just young or old, male or female. All. This isn’t about you as the volunteer. This is about helping, educating, and changing the world.

Hug your moms, your aunts and your sisters. Let them know you love them. I still let my mother know I love her, everyday.

Paula Deen's Ultimate Coffee Cake

If you are ever in a pinch and need a breakfast or brunch item to bring to a gathering, this one is perfect.

I made this for brunch with my family the last time my sister was here visiting. It was nearly gone even before the eggs and pancakes came off the griddle. This is ooey and gooey and sticky sweet. I loved it!

The best part is that it is so easy to make. Throw it together the night before and bake it off in the morning. Your friends and family will thing you are so talented. Just nod, smile and say thank you. They don't need to know you didn't slave over this all morning!

**Against Me!, Don't Lose Touch** "Constant entertainment for our restless minds. Constant stimulation for epic appetites"


Ultimate Coffee Cake
Source: Paula Deen
Yield: 8 servings

16 to 18 unbaked frozen dinner rolls
1 (3-ounce) package regular butterscotch pudding mix, not instant
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted

The night before place frozen rolls in well greased Bundt pan. Sprinkle dry pudding mix over rolls. Sprinkle brown sugar over pudding mix. Sprinkle chopped pecans over brown sugar. Pour melted butter over all. To prevent the dough from forming a hard crust while its rising overnight, cover with a damp towel or tightly wrap with plastic wrap. Let rise overnight at room temperature, about 8 to 10 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake in oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Turn pan over onto a serving platter to remove. Serve by pulling apart chunks with forks.

Favorite Wheat Bread

I've been a bad blogger! I swear I've been meaning to post, life has been wild the past couple weeks. Work is crazy and by the time I get home and have time to write a post, I'm half asleep on the couch. I'm learning about policy, rule making and building codes. My brain is mushy by the end of the day!

During my time away from the blog a friend asked if I had a wheat bread recipe I would be willing to share (hi Ashley!). I can't believe I haven't shared this already! I make this bread quite often. It is my favorite wheat bread, it isn't whole wheat but it is soft and it comes out perfect every time. This is a great sandwich bread.



Favorite Wheat Bread
Source: All Recipes
Yield: 3 loaves (I usually halve this and make one big loaf)

3 cups warm water
2 packages active dry yeast
1/3 cup honey
5 cups bread flour
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon salt
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup honey. Add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.

Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey, and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky - just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.

Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes; do not overbake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely

Molasses Glazed Walnut Scones

I've been eyeing this scone recipe for a few months now. I've never made scones and really...I didn't think I even liked them. Something about this recipe sounded really good. I think it was the glaze!

I didn't have any pecans so I used walnuts instead. I feel like you could even use almonds. Also, I didn't have maple extract so I used a tablespoon or so of real maple syrup. I had just put the scones in the oven to bake when I noticed that I forgot to put in the sugar. DUH! It was too late and I figured when they came out they would be duds.

Nope! They were awesome. The glaze adds so much to them and made up for the fact that I forgot the sugar! The egg yolks make for a soft scone instead of one that easily falls apart. I will definitely make these again...with the sugar!

Molasses Glazed Walnut Scones
Source: Bon Appetit
Yield: 8 scones

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3/4 cup pecans, toasted, broken into pieces
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon maple extract (I used maple syrup!)

2 tablespoons whipping cream (I used skim milk)
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon mild-flavored (light) molasses

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F. Combine flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl; whisk to blend. Add 6 tablespoons butter; using fingertips, rub in until butter is reduced to pea-size pieces. Mix in pecans. Whisk buttermilk, egg yolks, and extract in medium bowl. Add to flour mixture. Toss with fork until dough comes together in moist clumps. Gather dough into ball. Press dough out on lightly floured surface to 8-inch round; cut into 6-8 wedges.

Arrange wedges 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 16 minutes; transfer to rack.

Whisk remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar, 4 tablespoons butter, and cream in heavy small saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Remove pan from heat. Whisk in powdered sugar and molasses. Spread glaze over warm scones. Let stand until glaze sets, at least 30 minutes. (Who can wait 30 minutes????)