Cupcake, my love

Walkin in a Winter Wonderland

2008-12-16T07:14:00.004-07:00

Snow! Yes I have snow! I have it on my doorstep, I have it on my bushes, I have it on my car...I HAVE SNOW! As I mentioned in a previous post, the Westside of Albuquerque doesn't usually see snow. So when I was at work yesterday and the beautiful flakes kept falling from the sky and suddenly turning into 3 inch piles outside the office I was ecstatic. There's something about snow that turns everything into a beautiful serene landscape.

This is the time I wish I was a kid again! Our schools are, for now, on a two hour delay, which takes me back to my own childhood snow days. I would wake up, run into the kitchen and have my ears ringing with the words that came out of my mom's mouth, "No school...snow". My brother and would get all bundled up and head out for our first mission, snowman building. But not just one snowman, we would make a Daddy, a Mommy, a Sister and a Brother snowman. The next task was sledding.

We used to live by a park that had this huge hill, we actually the park was built kinda like a pit. We'd show up at the park and all the other kids would have these fancy sleds and would make it half way down the hill and come to a complete stop. Well we didn't have enough money for a sled, so my parents gave us an extra scrap of linoleum they had from when we revamped the kitchen floor. All the kids gave us a look of disgust when we pulled out our blue checkered linoleum sled. Chris and I were a little embarrassed at first, but the second we zoomed down the hill like a speed racer, making it all the way to the bottom, the embarrassment quickly faded.

Pretty soon everybody wanted to take a turn on our sled! Ah, those were the days! As I'm writing this post they just announced all schools are cancelled, and I just received a text from my boss that we still have to go to work, no delay, no closure. Please, please can I go back to being a kid?!

This week's TWD was another great cookie recipe, that I'm sure Santa would LOVE to eat during his busy night of present deliveries. This recipe, Buttery Jam Cookies, is brought to you by Heather of Randomosity and the Girl . I really enjoyed these cookies, they were light, buttery and the surprise chunks of jam really got me excited! Not only will this be a favorite of Santa's but of favorite of my family, and hopefully yours!

Dear Heroes,

2008-12-11T16:11:00.008-07:00

See, I'm a little too old to actually mail my Christmas Wishlist to Santa (Hey, I still make one, it just doesn't go to the North Pole). So I figured this year I would send my Christmas Wishes and Santa Cookies to someone a little more special. Jason Lansdon is my new found Santa. At the young age of 25 Jason is a Sergeant in the U.S. Marines, and is currently on his four tour in Iraq. This Christmas Jason will be away from his wife Jackie and his three month old baby girl Jayden.

I was introduced to Jason when I joined the Baking Gals group. Baking Gals has teams of bakers, who bake for an individual, and their troop, who is serving our country. After reading through this round's teams, I was struck by Jason's introduction. Being that I am 24, I can't imagine having been to Iraq four times and to be away from my family at the Holidays.

Jason's favorite cookie is Chocolate Chip, and I wasn't going to deny him of his favorite cookie. But, I figured some of the other bakers would also be sending chocolate chip cookies, so I wanted to make mine a little different. I added some grated orange zest and grand marnier to the batter. Why have I never done this before? I made myself a mini cookie and was in heaven at first bite.
I also sent along some Oatmeal Crisps. Which are crunchy, mixed with a little bit of spice. A perfect holiday cookie.

I am just so proud of all these men and women who are serving our country, and know that cookies could never say how grateful I am for their strength, bravery and selflessness. They truly are my heroes, and I will always be thankful to them for making sure that all of us here at home wake up every morning to a safe and free United States of America! My Christmas wish is to say Happy Holidays Sergeant Lansdon and Crew and may you have a safe and blessed New Year! You will be in my thoughts and prayers!

Oatmeal Crisps

Ingredients
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon grated whole nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (optional)
1 cup packed brown sugar
5 tablespoons butter or stick margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup regular oats

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 7 ingredients (flour through pepper) in a medium bowl. Beat sugar, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg; beat well. Stir in flour mixture and oats.
Drop by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until crisp. Cool on pan 2 to 3 minutes or until firm. Remove cookies from pan; cool on wire racks.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

2008-12-09T07:45:00.004-07:00

It's officially holiday time here in Albuquerque. As I woke up and turned the TV on this morning the first thing that I heard was notice of school cancellations, which can only mean one thing...SNOW! Now in New Mexico, we get quite a bit of snow up in the Eastern part of the state, but when it snows here in Albuquerque, it's usually only the mountains that see any of the snow.

Albuquerque is pretty much divided in half, one half is the east side. Which is home to the Sandia mountains (which holds the worlds longest tram ride!) and pretty much downtown Albuquerque. Then you have the west side, which is where I live. The west is the newer, continuously growing part of Albuquerque.

So, although my side of town hardly ever gets any snow, I love waking up in the morning and looking over at the Sandia's which have been frosted with white icing! Then you get the sun peeking up over the mountain and you have the most beautiful winter wonderland you've ever seen!

And although this weeks TWD could mimic my Sandia's with a good coat of icing, I chose to leave my Grandma's All-Occasion Sugar Cookies icing free. I did however decide to adjust the flavor a little bit by adding some orange zest and some allspice to the mix. And boy-oh-boy did I hit the Christmas nail on the head! The cookies were fruity, yet had the warm coziness that everyone loves during the holidays from the allspice. To check out the recipe and make a batch of these yummy cookies for yourself check out Ulrike's blog Kuchenlatein.

It's the Holiday Season

2008-12-01T21:22:00.008-07:00

It's that time of year again people! It's time to wake up at the crack of dawn and stand in 3 hour lines for Christmas presents. It's time to get on the wobbly ladder and hang the Christmas lights. It's time to have the smell of an evergreen tree permeating your house. It's time to get in the kitchen and bake, bake, bake and then bake some more Christmas cookies!

TWD started off the Holiday baking with Linzer Sables, chosen by our first male TWD-er, Dennis of Living the Life! And I have to say that this recipe is pretty easy going. I sometimes hate when it seems like Holiday cookies take more effort to make than they do to enjoy. But these cookies were simple and straight forward.

I still don't know if I'm a big fan of them yet. I'm not sure how I feel about the cookie itself. It was good and crisp, but for me tasted a little bland. I also am not a fan of inhaling powdered sugar when I eat my cookie so I chose to fore go suffocation this time around :)

There's plenty more to bake and plenty more to decorate, so stay tuned for more Holiday Baking!

What came first, the pumpkin or the pecan?

2008-11-25T07:07:00.004-07:00

Yahoo! We are just days away from my second favorite holiday, Thanksgiving. There are a few reasons why i love this holiday. I would like to say that the first reason is the food, but I'd be lying. The biggest reason I love Thanksgiving is that I get to spend of full day of cooking, laughing and sharing memories with my family.

In my house we start cooking the night before actual Turkey Day. We have to make the cornbread for the stuffing (or dressing as we call it), pies are made the night before, and we also make a breakfast casserole to have in the morning. Then, at the crack of dawn on Thursday Mom and I are up, with coffee in hand and we are chopping away. Celery, onions, sausage, all meet the knife, and we are thankful for their sacrifice.

The rest of the day is filled with me, Mom and Dad moving about the kitchen, with pots clinking, burners boiling, and Mr. Turkey roasting away. The smells fill the kitchen quickly and little by little the magic starts to happen. Deviled eggs are made, green been casserole is browned, pea salad is refrigerating, marshmallows on the sweet potatoes are melting, biscuits are rising, gravy is thickening, cranberries are jellied, pickled and olives are trayed and of course Mr. Turkey is carved.

My plate is piled with food, and I'll probably go back for seconds. The crowd of family now moves to the living room to surround the TV and watch some football. The dogs sit close and stare with puppy dogs eyes, begging for a morsel. After a few hours and some games, the pies, pumpkin and pecan, are unveiled, coffee is brewed, wine is opened and we all sit around the table talking about memories past. This is also the time that we bust out the shopping ads and create our plan of attack for the next days shopping mission.

It is for all of these reasons that I love Thanksgiving. I love spending all day with my family, I love, love the food, I love the football game, I love playing games at the table, and I love to be able to reflect on everything I am thankful for.

This week I was thankful for TWD for a few reasons. Vibi from La Casserole Carrée was our recipe queen this week and she chose Dorie's Thanksgiving Twofer Pie. It's half pumpkin and half pecan. I was so excited about this one, because my pie crust actually worked. When TWD made our blueberry pie, my pie crust was dumped in the trash and store bought was substituted. But not this time! My pie is completely home/hand made! The pumpkin filling had an extra kick thanks to the rum, which I really liked. And I loved the crunchy topping and nutty pecans. If you're anything like my family where we always make a pumpkin pie and a pecan pie, your life may have just got a little easier thanks to this scrumptious hybrid!

A-ha...kinda

2008-11-21T07:19:00.006-07:00

I wish I could have an "A-ha" moment. Deep down inside I really have an urge to change my life, do something different and achieve my career goals. Only problem is I don't know what that career is. My mind has changed so many times that I have no clue anymore of what I want to do. I'd really like to start my own business, my ultimate goal would be some kind of bake shop. But, I'm not financially ready for that step yet.

So my mind wanders to other things. Personal Trainer, Real Estate Agent, something in Magazine Design, or even going to school to get my Masters...in what, I don't know. And with times being a little tough these days I feel like I would like to have a second source of income. I don't necessarily want to get another job. I'd like to find something easy that I could do in my "afterwork" hours, that doesn't have me working another 5 hours at night.

I just have so many thoughts running through my mind and I don't know how to sort them, where to take them, or what to do with them. I think about the woman that I want to be. Successful, financially independent, respected, entrepreneur, and innovative. Its connecting the dots to get to that woman that I'm having problems with. I just keep praying that while I'm having my coffee one morning I will all the sudden say "A-ha" I know now what it all means!

Until that day comes, I had an "A-ha" moment with this cake. I saw a recipe on Epicurious.com for Brown_Sugar Spice Cake with Caramelized Apples. The cake sounded so warm and comforting, some thing to help lift my spirits. Only problem was I didn't have any apples. Think, think, think. A-ha!!! I've had this jar of Pomegranate Jelly forever, and a can of pears in the pantry that needed to be used. So I figured I mix them together for my topping, and what do you know, I had one of the best cake I have ever, ever made! The flavors were so reminiscent of fall, and matched perfectly together that I found myself dying for another piece. At least I had some sort of an "A-ha" moment.

Brown-Sugar Spice Cake with Warm Pear-Pomegranate Compote

Adapted from Epicurious.com

Cake
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup dark amber or Grade B maple syrup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter and flour cake pan, knocking out excess flour.Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a bowl.
Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg until combined. Add maple syrup, sour cream, and vanilla and beat until combined well. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, then mix until just incorporated.
Spread batter in cake pan and bake until cake is golden brown and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes.

Compote
1/4 cup pomegranate jelly
1 can of pear halves, cubed

Place both the jelly and the pears in a bowl and microwave for 2 minutes, or until jelly have liquified. Mash pears, slightly to add texture. Spoon mixture over cooled cake.

High Spirits

2008-11-18T07:06:00.004-07:00

It's time to kick off Holiday Season! This year, the holidays are a little more special to me because I'm living on my own. It's my first time to ever go out and buy Christmas decor, decorate my own tree and host my own cocktail parties. Ever since I was little I always dreamed about this! I know, you may think it's silly, but I was raised in a Christmas loving family. My mom, god love her, has an entire shed in the backyard dedicated to Christmas decor. Every year our house would transform into this magical wonderland full of Gingerbread Kitchen, Snowmen Living Room, Santa Family Room. Every room had it's own theme, and there wasn't one spot of the house left untouched.

Well, her magic decorating elf dust has sprinkled its self on me. For now I find myself roaming the stores planning out my themed rooms. Buying up endless amounts of red and green. And with each purchase I make I find my self smiling more and more. I never knew that creating my Christmas Wonderland could lift my spirits so much.

To compliment my "high spirits" theme, I decided to give my Arborio Rice Pudding of this week's TWD challenge some added spirit. When I saw that Isabelle of Les Gourmandes d'Isa chose this recipe I decided to stray away from the original flavors of vanilla and/or chocolate. I wanted a little kick to my rice pudding, so I added a little cinnamon, orange zest and Grand Marnier.

I also noticed that many TWD-ers were having probably with their puddings being to liquidy, so I actually used 1/2 c of rice and reduced the milk by about 3/4 of a cup. I was left with silky, creamy, orange-y rice pudding. I was tempted to eat my whole margarita glass, but I put the spoon in the dishwasher before I had a chance :) This recipe was such a cinch to make, and has endless possibilities to it. So I raise my glass and toast to the kick off of the Holiday Season, may all your days be merry and bright!

Turning Old Into New

2008-11-14T16:46:00.006-07:00

With the economy heading south for the winter, the time to stretch every penny is upon us. I find myself now making sure to use every last drop of milk, saving every last piece of chicken thinking that I can use it as part of my lunch the next day, even using my tea bags twice or reheating old coffee just to save a few bucks. The funny thing is, that it actually feels a little rewarding to find new, inventive ways to pinch the penny.

So, after successfully baking TWD Kugelhopf and having two or three slices of it, I was left staring at a whole loaf of Kugelhopf that was almost destined to make it to the trash. Not that I wanted to throw it away, but I just couldn't eat that much Kugelhopf on my own! When I thought all hope was lost for my little friend, a spark of hope glimmered in the distance.

That spark of hope is called bread pudding! That's right! I took my crusty three day old Kugelhopf and turned it into a White Chocolate Pecan Bread Pudding. Since cool dark nights are swallowing the sunshine of my day earlier and earlier, I couldn't think of anything better to cuttle up to than a warm bowl of bread pudding. And kugelhopf is actually a great "bread" to use, it was crusty on the top, but light and custardy throughout the center.

To all of you out there who are battling these tough times, I raise my spoon to you and say Show Them What You're Made Of! Because we are a nation, a species, a world who have overcome many, many tough times. We will make it through this, just as we have before and come out on top, stronger and ready to face a new day!

White Chocolate Pecan Bread Pudding with Cinnamon Syrup

Ingredients

3/4 c whole milk

3/4 c half and half

1/2 c sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Dash of salt

3 eggs beaten

4 1/2 c (1/2 inch) cubes of Dorie Greenspan's Kugelhopf

1/4 c white chocolate chips

1/2 c chopped pecans

Directions

Combine milk through eggs in a bowl and whisk together. Place Kugelhopf cubes into 8 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour milk mixture over Kugelhopf. Press down on bread to absorb the milk mixture. Sprinkle white chocolate chips and pecans over top. Cover with foil and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place baking dish in a 13x9 pan, add hot water to pan to the depth of 1 inch. Bake, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake and additional 10 - 20 minutes, until wooden skewer comes out clean.

Cinnamon Syrup

Ingredients

1 c water

1 c packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

Combine water and brown sugar in saucepan and bring to boil over high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil for about 10 minutes, until mixture is reduced to about a cup. Remove from heat, and whisk in the cream and cinnamon. Keep sauce warm and serve over warm bread pudding.

Rising Again

2008-11-11T08:07:00.005-07:00

Hello Blog World!! I am so happy to be back! My surgery went perfectly, although they did discover that I have arthritis at the age of 24, but other than that all is fine. I am now in my recovery stage. Today was the first day, in three weeks, that I was allowed to take my stiff-leg brace off. And boy does it feel good to bend (slighty) my knee!

As with todays' TWD, I feel like I am rising again, on my way back to my full potential. It's gonna take some time to be completely 100%, but like a good Kugelhopf (chosen by Yolanda of the All-purpose Girl), it's all about the waiting process! I don't think there couldn't have been a better chosen recipe to represent these last few weeks for me!

I must admit, I was a little nervous about making this recipe, not only because it had been a few weeks since I have even looked at my mixer, but also because of the dreaded word Y-E-A-S-T. As you may remember from the TWD Sticky Buns I was very apprehensive about a yeast recipe, because all of my previous attempts with yeast had failed. But I tell you, there's something about Dorie's recipes that always seem to work out. I now have two successful yeast baked recipes under my belt, and am slowly starting to warm up to the bubbly, fermenting little guy!

I wanted to switch up my Kugelhopf, maing it a little more suited for the fall season that has hit New Mexico like a shcokwave. So, I opted to used dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. And boy what a match. The sweet/tartness of the cranberries gave the perfect zing the the airy, buttery dough, and the scattered bite of white chocolate was a sweet, melty surprise. And who says you need a traditional Kugelhopf pan? I made half the dough in my Brooche molds, and the other half in a tube pan, and they worked perfectly. I can't wait to make this recipe again, but try different additions!

A Minor Leave of Absence

2008-10-21T06:08:00.003-07:00

Dear Bloggers,

I just wanted to let you all know that I will be out of the blogging world for a week or two. I'm going into the hospital today to have knee surgery. After years of cheerleading, dancing and marathon running, my young 24 year old knees have finally given up on me, and need to be fixed. I hope to have a speedy recovery and should be back to blogging and baking within a few weeks!

Thanks for the support!
Stephanie

Light as Air

2008-10-14T06:08:00.008-07:00

This has to be one of my favorite times of the year. Here in Albuquerque, if you look out your window just as the sun is rising, you'll notice jewel tones filling the sky. You'll hear roaring noises that are floating up above. You'll see people gathering on their porches, in their backyards, and in the street, all staring up at the sky. And for what? This...

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. This world renowned event brings balloonists from all over the world, with balloons of all shapes and sizes to this great city to participate in the World's Largest Balloon Fiesta. The event is a week and a half long and hosts regular Mass Ascentions, Balloon Glows, Special Shapes Rodeos and Glowdeos (Shaped Balloons that fly in the morning and glow at night), and Balloon Races (hundreds of balloon race into the park to grab envelopes off poles that are 15 ft in the air).

If you ever needed an excuse to travel to Albuquerque, this is it. People begin arriving at the park at 5 am and stay all day to see the over 800 balloons take flight. Of course, to get up that early, it requires a lot of coffee, well for me anyway. We woke up at 4:15 to get ready, and by 5:30 I had already had three cups of coffee. And what goes best with coffee?

Cranberry Pecan Biscotti of course! Which was this weeks TWD pick by Gretchen of Canela & Comino. Gretchen actually picked Lenox Almond Biscotti by Dorie, but I wanted to change out the nut and add some cranberries. I just think cranberries have such a "fall" feeling and I adore them in any type of cookie. These were so lite and crisp, and a perfect mate for my little coffee mug :)

No Time to Post

2008-10-08T17:29:00.004-07:00

I am so sorry that I don't have time to post about TWD this week. It's is Balloon Fiesta time in Albuquerque, and that means we're up at 4:30 am, out to the balloon field by 5:15 and watching over 700 balloons take off until about 10:30 am. Then it's back home, sleep for a few hours and get back out to the field around 5:00 pm to watch the balloon glows.

I did have time to complete the Caramel Peanut Topped Brownie Cake, and was ecstatic that for the first time...Ever...I was able to successfully make caramel. I have had many failed attempts, and this was finally my break through moment!

I actually switched to pecans, because that was the only thing that I had on hand, and it turned out wonderfully. I took this lovely little cake to work and everybody about died. Which is always my goal when I bring something to work :)

Check out other TWD members and get the recipe from this week's recipe chooser Tammy of Wee Treats by Tammy, and make it at home, you'll die with one bit! (But of course you'll go to heaven!!)

Fall Harvest

2008-10-02T10:40:00.004-07:00

Fall is defnitely making a statement here in New Mexico. While the temperature is still a little warm, many signs that fall is here are popping up all around. More and more balloons are filling the skies, which is an indication that Balloon Fiesta is taking flight next weekend. There are pumpkin patch signs popping up all around the city. Creepy ghosts and spooky bats are starting to crowd the porches in my community.

There's a chill to the morning air that takes your breath away, but in a weird way is a little bit comforting. The sun no longer shines past 7 at night, and the rays don't seem to be as scorthing as they once were. Cool breezes whisp through the leaf-filled trees, as a warning that the days off branch exposure are near.

Comforting aromas fill the kitchen. Comfort food is slowly making it's way to the nightly menu. Pumpkin puree cans are stocked in the pantry. Baked cinnamony aroma engulfs my body and sense like a warm blanket thats come to protect me from dreary days ahead.

That baked aroma is the heart warming, soul-soothing Pumpkin Pound Cake. I absolutely love pumpkin, especially in the fall. There's something about pumpkin that drowns all my sorrows and takes away all my fears, leaving me in a moment of sweet serenity. And with a moist and scrumptious cake like this, with a steaming cup of hot tea, it's hard not to completely loose yourself. I'm sad that fall is here, but am happy that pumpkin can rescue me at any time! This recipe was courtesy of Cooking Light.

Life's Riches

2008-09-29T17:34:00.007-07:00

Doesn't it seem that too often we don't reward ourselves? I know, for myself, that I always feel a sense of guilt if I splurge on something special, or buy something that I know I shouldn't, or even eat something that isn't necessarily healthy. I beat myself up over these things and even am to the point where I sometimes feel that I don't deserve my splurges. I scold myself for "rewarding" myself.

It wasn't until recently that I realized how unhealthy not splurging is. If I tell myself that I can't have a hamburger or a donut, I'll end up binging out on ice cream. If I tell myself that I'm not worth a pedicure twice a month then I feel like I can't spend my hard earned money on two days a month of pampering myself. If I don't allow myself to buy things for my new apartment, then I always come to home to an empty house, which makes me feel depressed.

Now don't get me wrong, I"m not saying that I'm gonna run out and buy a brand new car just because I've been wanting one for a few years and fell like I deserve it. I think there are smart ways to splurge on yourself to keep you from getting stuck in a rut. I also think that the occasional smart splurge can take you to a higher place, mentally.

For example, when I'm able to eat the finest food in my little one bedroom, 812 sq ft apartment, it takes me somewhere else mentally. I can picture myself sitting at a fine dinning restaurant, surrounded by first class people. It's incredible to be able to bring that sense of "high class" home with you. That's exactly the feeling I got with this week's TWD recipe.

I have always thought of Creme Brulee as something very fancy, hard time make and only worthy to touch the lips of people who have a lot of money. I don't know where this impression came from, but I'm sure My Best Friend's Wedding didn't help my thoughts of Creme Brulee. And I had my doubts when Mari of Mevrouw Cupcakes chose Dorie's Creme Brulee. But I was amazed to find out how easy the recipe actually is.

I wanted to kick my Creme Brulee up a notch, since plain Creme Brulee just wasn't fancy enough, so I steeped some Chai Tea bags into my milk, and added cinnamon to my egg mixture. Within five minutes I had completed my Creme Brulee batter! It was just that simple. The result was amazing! Very creamy and exotic tasting, yet comforting to the soul. Which taught me one thing. I don't have to be high class or non-splurgant to enjoy in life's riches!

My Big Fat...

2008-09-26T15:55:00.004-07:00

There are so many things that could finish this title.

First things that comes to mind is My Big Fat Crazy Family. (But I'm sure many bloggers could say the same thing). I'm tellin' you my family is a crazy group of people. First there's Dad, who is ultra reserved until Coors Light shows up, which turns Dad in to a fun loving, joke crackin', "what'd you say?", kinda guy. He often has many moments of forgetfulness too. You can tell him something one minute, and two minutes later he'll have totally forgot what you said.

Then there's Mom. She's a crazy lady who can totally keep herself entertained. I remember, as a kid, she would make up the dumbest jokes and she would die laughing over them for about an hour. For example, here in New Mexico there's a little city know for its caverns called Carlsbad. Well we had gone down to Carlsbad for a family vacation, and Mom's big joke was "Oh Carl's bad". We just looked at her with a blank stare as she broke out in laughter. Thank goodness she decided not to become a comedian :)

Third is me. And I already know that I'm a nuthead. I'm ultra controlling, things have to be done my way or no way. (Which is something I'm working on desperately to fix). I'm also very silly and stupid. Andy hates it, but I always talk in weird voices or constantly quote from movies.

Finally is Chris, my younger brother. He's always making up these crazy inventions. We used to have a big huge trampoline outside called, The Tramp. Well Chris came up with this crazy idea to take the wheels off his bike and put padding all over the frame. He then proceed to use the padded bike to do flips and tricks on The Tramp, kinda like a motorcross rider does tricks off a dirt ramp.

But, I guess every family has their crazy stories. With those stories come some of the fondest memories, hardest laughs and face streaming tears. And there is no way I would trade my crazy family for anything in the world.

However, of all the things that I could use to complete the My Big Fat title , I would say that My Big Fat Chocolate Chip Cookie would have to be the best choice! Months ago I watched Bobby Flay throw down with Levain Bakery, and I was star struck. These cookies from Levain were the biggest cookies I had ever seen. I slowly started seeing copycat recipes pop up and finally decided to give them a try. I used this recipe from Cookie Madness, but made one small change. I found a Lindt chocolate bar that had a cherry chile filing, so I chopped that up and substituted it for half of the regular chocolate chips.

I cannot tell you how good these were! Each cookie is 4 ounces, which you can see from the picture. They were so big that the 12 cookies were overflowing out of my cookie jar. I'm sure this shouldn't be a problem though seeing as I don't think they'll last very long. So here's to many Big Fat things in our lives that end up being the greatest blessings (in disguise).

Life is Full of Dimples

2008-09-22T19:25:00.004-07:00

Dimples...isn't that one of those facial features that everyone wishes they had? Dimples are always a sign of innocence and beauty. A feature, whose goal is to cause envy. Envy of a smile that is so stunningly cute that it was poked at the end, like an exclamation point of a sentence. As with dimples, there are many other things about other people, and the way they live their lives that I envy and am jealous about.

One of those things is, and it seems so simple, is belonging to a book club. I, for the longest time, had heard people talk about book clubs and the tons of books that they are able to read, and share with others. I had a friend in college, who was an ARMY wive, that belonged to the "ARMY Wives Book Club". Everywhere I turned, book club, book club! Oprah's book club, Barnes and Nobles book club. U-G-H!!

Until January 2008, when my best friend Annmarie and I had had it! We were going to start our own book club. Our very first book was "Kite Runner". That book ended up being one of my all time favorite books. We try to get through a book a month, sometimes it takes us a month and a half. We are currently reading "The Hours", and I have no complaints so far!

It's so great to share a love for books with someone, be able to sit down, over a cup of coffee and talk about what we as individuals are taking from the book. We have decided to keep our book club at a two person limit. Not that we don't want to share our club with anyone else, but as two young adults we feel that the start of our book club is something sacred. Something that the two of us can share in, hoping that others look at us the way I look at dimples.

While immersed in my September book, I couldn't help but also be introduced to the perfect book reading cake! Dorie's Dimply Plum Cake (except made with Peaches) was the perfect compliment to my cup of Chai Tea and an hour on the couch with the women of "The Hours". Michelle of Bake-En couldn't have picked a better recipe for me.

As mentioned earlier, I traded plums for peaches. I am a die hard peach fan and decided that grapefruit zest might make an interesting accent flavor. Sprinkle in a little cinnamon and you've got one heck of a cake. The peaches were so sweet, but were hit with a little grapefruit punch right at the end. And the cake is so buttery and light that I had to force myself to stay away from the pan. Here's to everyone whose every turned envy into passion and love!

It's Alive!!!

2008-09-17T19:59:00.005-07:00

It's Alive! It's Alive! Buhhaaaaha!!!

My camera that is! As many of you know, new puppy Chloe tore my USB cord to shred, so I've been using my cell phone to upload my pictures (which has been a real pain in my ass). But, yesterday Andy and I went to WalMart to buy some groceries. We were kind of wandering around and happened up the Electronics department. "Do you think they'll have my cord?" "Doesn't hurt to get check..." So off I went to the counter to ask the almighty question.

"Well no we don't carry those those cords here," Mr. Man with a big Santa beard said. "But, if you're only looking to upload your pictures on to the computer we have a memory stick for it." He guides me over to the large rack of camera accessories and picks up this tiny plastic package. "This here device lets you take your memory card out of the camera, and upload the pictures to the computer." BRILLIANT!!

I was so excited to get home and try it out. But, I have to admit, I was a little skeptical. I just had a bad feeling that this new toy just wasn't going to work. I took it out of the package (fingers crossed) and stuck it into my USB port. Then, with a hope and a prayer, I took out my memory card and inserted in to the little device.

Next thing I knew I hard a "ba-ding" from my computer letting me know that it had reckognized a new device. And suddenly, to my heart's amazement the screen for my picture download came up!!!! WOO-HOO!

So I give you my TWD Chocolate Chunkers!! Thanks WalMart!

The Adventures of Chloe

2008-09-13T12:46:00.006-07:00

A day in the life of Chloe...

2:30 am - Wake up with Baxter, follow him to front door and whine to go outside. Keep whining until Mom wakes up and bring me my pink leash. As soon as I see Mom I start swaying this long thing back by my legs that Mom and Dad call a tail. Mom grabs my leash and I start jumping for joy. The big door to the outside finally opens and I am free...for 5 minutes. I love feeling the breeze blow through my hair, but hate the wet pokey grass sticking me in the feet. I run to the front door and scratch to get in, because I am dying for a cookie! I hate when Mom makes me do tricks for my cookie though, oh well. No tricks, no cookie. I gobble my cookie up quick-quick, because Baxter chews fast and I hate sharing. Back to bed now.

7 am - Whoa! It's time to wake up! Mom's in the shower and I gotta get in there to steal the blue things that she always wears on her feet. This is the only time those things aren't guarded so I gotta grab them quick. Aha, got 'em! Now out to the living room to chew on them...ah damn, Mom's yelling at me to bring them back. Quick hide, then she'll never know it was me!

7:30 am - Eat some breakfast. Go out on porch, sniff around for crazy flying critters that I can jump at. I see Baxter staring at me and challenge him to a dual. He hates when I bite the ears, so that's the first thing I go for! Now the feet, now poke him in the side with my nose. Now whack him with my "tail" weapon! Ha ha, he runs away to Mom...I win!

8:30 am - Mom leaves to work, Dad goes shortly after. I hunt around for fun things to play with.

1:00 pm - Mom's back and finds out that I found some treasures. I don't know why she seems unhappy. I did a good job at tearing all those cords up! I even got in the bathroom and cleaned out the trash, I should be getting a cookie for all of my help! Egh- oh well. If I give her kisses she'll forgive me...I'm not worried.

7:00 pm - Mom and Dad stay in the kitchen making lots of noise, but things smell so yummy. I'm jealous. I beg for a taste, but they never give in. Wait, what's this? Ah my squeaky duck it glaring at me, he wants to wrestle. ATTACK! I fling him around to get him a little confused then I bite at his belly, SQUEAK SQUEAK. Yeah, take that, and that! Now I tear at the face, his fluff is going everywhere! I win!!

9:00 pm - Finally it's bedtime, I'm exhausted. At least I know I beat all my competitors today. And now I dream about treasures to find tomorrow.

(The smell that Chloe smelled this particular evening was my Banana Peanut Butter Chip Cake with Caramel Drizzle)
Banana Peanut Butter Chip Cake with Caramel Drizzle
1 box yellow cake mix
1 c mashed bananas
1/3 c water
1/3 c vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 bag of peanut butter chips
Jar of caramel sauce

Heat oven to 350, spray 13x9 baking dish with nonstick spray.

In large bowl, beat cake mix, bananas, water, oil, eggs and vanilla extract with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Pour into pan. Sprinkle peanut butter chips evenly over batter.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen cake. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Pour caramel sauce overtop and serve.

Compromise

2008-09-08T20:47:00.004-07:00

This week's theme is compromise. I am trying to compromise with my camera (see previous post for info). I had this ingenious idea that my video camera can take pictures, and that was going to be the solution to my problems. Only problem was the battery on the cam-corder is dead, and the charger is at my parents house. Ok, I'll compromise...I'll go over to their house and get the charger. Yes, yes, yes! I was so excited on the way home thinking that I had my camera problem all figured out.

Well, I pull out the cam-corder and realize it's the wrong charger. That's just great! As I look around the house trying to get an idea of what else I can use for my pictures I glance at my phone to check the time. Wait a minute! My phone takes pictures! Yes, that's right. It takes pictures I can totally e-mail them to myself and post them on my blog. Problem solved.

Well, turns out that the pictures aren't the best quality, but you know what, at least it's a picture! And that is good enough for me!

Being on the theme of compromise, I decided to "compromise" this week's Tuesday with Dorie recipe a little bit. Rachel of Confession of a Tangerine Tart chose a most fabulous chocolatey cookie. Da-da-da-daaaaaa...Chocolate Whopper Malted Drops!! And might I say, if you like chocolate, this is the cookie for you! The recipe calls for regular Whoppers and Chocolate Chips, which I had to compromise with Reese's Peanut Butter Whoppers and Peanut Butter Chips. I'm an addict for chocolate and PB, and these cookies hit the spot. The chocolate fudigness of the cookies really brought out the nutty PB flavor, and are great dunkers in a glass of cold milk.

Obviously these were a hit with Andy, because I made these cookies in the morning, and by bedtime, this is what my cookie jar looked like.

Bake on Bloggers!

This is NOT How I Planned It!

2008-09-02T11:12:00.002-07:00

Andy and I got a new puppy!! For Andy's birthday I decided to surprise him with our new little addition. She's a six month old black terrier mix, who has the sweetest face ever! Andy was so excited, because he hasn't had his "own" dog since he was eight!! We decided to name our little girl Chloe. At first she was a little shy, I adopted her from the ABQ Animal Shelter, but she warmed up to us in a hurry.

I had it all planned out that I was going to post about Chloe and show you guys just how cute she is. I planned to introduce her to the world in addition to my TWD post. Keyword her is planned!

After working on Sunday, I came home to find that Chloe loves electronics. So much so that she chewed my USB cord for my camera in half! Yes, people, she had no mercy on the poor little cord.

After my shock and anger passed I thought, "no biggie I'll just go to Best Buy and get a new one". Don't we wish it were that easy. Of course Best Buy doesn't carry the stupid cord, they tell me that I have to buy it from the Sony website. ...ugh! Fine!

I get home, look up the Sony website, and to my disbelief the FREAKIN thing is on backorder!!! WTF!! At that point I was livid because that means that I have no way to post pictures to my blog!!! (And I have no clue when I'll be able to next)

So I plan on writing my TWD post, but it will not have any pictures :(

Blog world, meet my new puppy Chloe (who you can't see)!

TWD: One Day Late

2008-08-27T18:50:00.005-07:00

Aah!! It's Wednesday and I'm writing my post for TWD! I don't really know what happened, but I realized about an hour ago that I forgot to write my post. DUH!!! So here it is, better late than never!

I am so glad that Amy, of Food, Family, and Fun picked and icy treat for this week. Seeing as how summer is coming to close, I wanna get all my ice cream eating in that I can. And boy was this one a good one! Dorie's Chocolate Banded Ice Cream Torte was amazing!! Who doesn't love ice cream with ganache? I DO, I DO!!

I must admit however that I am not a huge fan of raspberry ice cream, so I had to adjust the recipe a little bit. I started thinking about my favorite ice creams and right away cookie dough popped into my head. I wouldn't know how perfect an idea this was until the next day when I went out to dinner...Andy and I had gone to Jason's Deli and I was giving a blessing. After we ordered our dinner the lady at the counter asked us if we wanted to buy a bag of cookies pieces. Apparently there was a new hire who tried to take the cookies of the tray a little too soon and all they were left with was chucks of cookies. And at $0.50 a bag how could I resist?

I knew immediately these were gonna go into my ice cream treat. When we got home I was ready to start on my Torte. I poured a cup of coffee, ready to begin the ganache when another spark of genius hit me...Kahlua in the ganache? Dare I? Heck yes!!!

My little torte turned into this amazing cookie "dough"/chunk, coffee drinking ice cream. When it was all said in done the flavors of my torte were outstanding. The kahlua ganache with the chocolate chip/white chocolate macadamia/almond biscotti balanced perfectly together. And although it does take some time to get to the end process, the actual preparation is very, very easy. And the sky is the limit with flavor combos, which is always a plus when you wanna "reserve" the same dessert later in time!! Thanks AMY!!

Mud Pie Revised

2008-08-21T16:07:00.007-07:00

At the age of four years old I remember making my very first "baked" good. It was my mud pie, and the ingredients couldn't be easier. Water, dirt and hands. And the directions were just as easy. Pour water over dirt, mix with hands. Smoosh mixture into cupcake shape and serve.

I guess I had a dream early on to become a baker. Because from cupcakes I graduated to stacked mud cakes, decorated with special rocks. Of course there was always mud cookies that had flower petal sprinkles. With such an easy and adaptable recipe the options were endless. I was sure that I had a huge hit on my hands.

The only problem was people weren't reacting to my goodies as well as I had hoped they would. I never understood why my mom was so excited to receive my mud pie, but never took a bite. I mean how can one say "Oh wow Stephie this is the most tastiest pie I've ever had," if they don't even put it in their mouth and chew it. And then Dad was always saying that he was so full from lunch or dinner that he just didn't have room, but always asked me to save it for him in case he got hungry later.

Well, twenty years later I am here with a revised Mud Pie (Cake) that is just about as easy to make as my original, but tastes 1 million times better, and doesn't leave any grit behind. And to my surprise people actually ate this mud pie and enjoyed it ;) So I guess my dream of being a fabulous baker still lives on thanks to Jennifer of Bake or Break! Her chocolate cobbler recipe was so reminiscent of my mud pie. I did make one little twirk to it, and that was that I reduced the water amount so that I could add a few shots of Kahlua. But blogger I am telling you this is like heaven in a baking dish. Please, please, please make it! It will take you five minutes to put it together and will take you five lifetimes to get over!!

Who Says Granola is Boring?

2008-08-19T06:07:00.005-07:00

Back in the day granola was thought as something boring and bland. Just a bunch of oats toasted up and nothing special or fancy. Lately though granola has been all the craze. With it's versatility and variety of flavor combonations what's not to love?

Especially when you can add granola to a cookie!

Yes that's right...a COOKIE. (And dare we call it healthy? Sure why not ;) ) With this week's Tuesdays with Dorie we did just that! We turned already scrumptious (yet a little boring) granola into one of the best, and I mean best, cookies I have ever had.

The combination of almonds and peanuts into the batter gave it such a crunchy texture, and the nuts were practically roasted while the cookies were baking, which really brought out that nutty flavor. And I am such a sucker for raisins, especially in cookies. There's something about a hot oven that can plump up raisins, that really gets me going.

I really love how these cookies are sweet but not too sweet either. When I usually eat cookies I can only have one, maybe two, at a time because they give me a tummy ache. But not with these bad boys! Which, now that I think about it can turn out to be a big problem if you know what I mean!

Excellent, excellent choice Michelle! Check out the recipe at Michelle's Bad Girl Baking blog!!

Ok, Ok, I Give In!

2008-08-17T19:35:00.002-07:00

After making my ice cream sandwiches for TWD I began receiving requests for the recipe of the cookies that I had made. And let me just say that these were the best oatmeal cookies I have ever had. They were crunchy on the edges, but still soft on the inside and had a real yummy nutty oatmeal taste to them that rules over any other oatmeal cookie.

So I decided that since so many people were interested in the cookies, and the simple fact that I forgot to post the recipe in my rush to make the "TWD Deadline", that I would make yet another sandwich and post the recipe.

These sandwiches came together so easily with the help of a jar of Marshmallow Fluff, and yet they were outrageously delicious. Everybody at work was mad at me that I brought these in because they all had their fair share of cookies that morning. I tried to tell them that the oatmeal in it made it ok, and I guess they bought it. Because those cookies were gone in a flash :)

Nut Oatmeal Cookies
Courtesy of The New Best Recipe
Ingredients
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
16 TBSP (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 c light brown sugar
1 c sugar
2 eggs
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 c chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions
Adjust oven racks to the low and middle positions of the oven and heat to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Whisk flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt together in a medium bowl.
Beat butter on medium speed until creamy. Add the sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
Stir the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Stir in the oats and nuts.
Working with 2 TBSP of dough each time, roll the dough into 2 inch balls. Place on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake until cookie edges turn golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool at least 30 minutes.

Sour Blueberries

2008-08-11T20:07:00.004-07:00

I am flabbergasted!! Tuesday's with Dorie never cease to amaze me. When I first bought Dorie's book almost two years ago there were some recipes that, just by name, I had decided not to try. To me there's something about a name. A name can explain everything. A name gives identity. A name relates an object to the brain. And when I read the name Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream I didn't know what to think. My first reaction was to the Sour Cream part. I am a huge sweet cream girl, I love my sweets. Sour in an ice cream (unless it's Sour Patch Kids) just doesn't seem like a sane thing to do.

But, needless to say that's why I joined this group. I wanted to have a reason to try every recipe, whether I liked it or not. Baking gets kinda boring if you don't experiment. Besides, I've been pleasantly surprised before by my lovely little Apple Cheddar Scones.

So, off I went to make this thing called "Ice Cream". In making the blueberry syrup I almost hit a snafu. The dang syrup was so good that I almost ate it all, but I made sure to leave plenty for my ice cream. It was a difficult task :) Then I dumped it into the blender gave it a whirl and added my sour cream base. I looked on in awe as my deep sea of indigo blue slowly transformed into a light airy lilac purple. As soon as everything was blended together I dunked my spoon in to get and early taste.

I so wanted to say "Oh my gosh, this is absolutely disgusting." But, I couldn't bring myself to do it! I had to take another bite just to see if I was really tasting it right. Then I found my tongue craving yet another bite of the sweet blueberry taste with just a slight tang to it. I just couldn't believe that this was actually good and that I wanted to keep eating it!

Things got even better once I turned my liquid heaven into a frozen blueberry goodness and slapped it between two homemade oatmeal pecan cookies! I actually think this dessert is one of the best representations of summer that I have ever had. And I am so happy that Dolores of Chronicles in Curiosity chose such an extraordinarily, original, mind blowing recipe!

...Making up for the non-exisiting marble

2008-08-05T07:28:00.004-07:00

Today's TWD is brought to you from Ashley of A Year in the Kitchen. Little Miss Ashley chose a most scrumptious looking Black and White Banana Loaf (aka chocolate Marbled Banana Bread). I am a huge banana bread lover, and was really excited to try this one out, because I have never actually had chocolate and banana together in a loaf...I know call me crazy.

This was the first TWD recipe that I was actually a little disappointed with. After reading so many people's comments on how they didn't like the nutmeg taste, I knew right away that I would be omitting that from my recipe, I was too afraid to chance it. After I got my batter mixed up, I found it to be very runny, which was my first indication of an "un-marbled" loaf.

I did like Dorie said and dolloped blobs of one batter on top of blobs of the other batter, took a knife and being my marbling technique. But, since my batter was so runny to begin with both batters started melding together...which didn't really bother me, because it was gonna taste the same either way...right? (I have to ask those of you who had a perfectly marbled bread :) )

The oven timer dings, I pull out my big brown loaf from the oven and am immediately happy with the smell. Now I wait to see if my marbling turned out. 20 minutes later, and the answer is...NO. I have hardly any marbling in my bread, but hey, looks can be deceiving. So, I cut a warm slice and hungrily take a big bite out of it. My reaction was...mixed...the bread was very moist, but I don't know if I really cared for the flavor. It actually seemed a little bland.

So, I got to thinking. I needed a way to cover up the blandness and I knew just the thing. I pulled out my Starbucks Java Chip Ice Cream, put two whopping scoops on top of my chunked up Black and White Loaf. I then proceeded to amaze myself...and my tummy...and flambeed some bananas, bananas foster style!! Yeah you heard me!

And now I had a Black and White Loaf that I truly adored!!

Fill Me Up Buttercup

2008-07-30T20:45:00.004-07:00

Ever have a day when your stomach feels like a bottomless pit? No matter how much you eat, little tum-tum just keeps begging for more. I absolutely HATE that feeling. It's so frustrating! I try to stick to a healthy diet, being conscientious of what I eat, and how much of it I eat. But then there's days like today.

I wake up, have a rice cake with peanut butter, raisins and two dried apricots. This is my preworkout snack, everyday, never fail. When I get home from the gym little tum-tum is crying for some food, which is a normal behavior for tum-tum at this time of day. To the kitchen I go, pour blueberries, strawberries and chunks of peaches into a big (BIG) cereal bowl. And because I'm a freak-o and can't choose one cereal, I have to have a mixture of Kashi Go Lean, Kashi Honey Sunshine and Cascadian Farms Wheat Squares (Hey I told you I was a freak-o). I chase my cereal down with a big cup of hot tea. But tum-tum now wants something sweet and of course I can't say no, so I have a few bites of cake and maybe a tiny scoop of peanut butter.

Normally I'm fine at this point, for a few hours, but like I said today was one of those days. So, about an hour later I find myself craving Starbucks, I immediately jump in the car and head over to get my tum-tum something warm to drink (my thinking behind warm is that it will take me longer to drink it, so hopefully I won't want anything else too soon). "Hi! Can I get a Grande Decaf, Extra Hot, Extra Foam Cafe Misto with Sugar Free Vanilla?" Say that ten times fast...I always make sure to warn the barista that they're gonna need to grab my cup and a pen and be ready to write it down :)

Tum-tum of course isn't satisfied with my coffee for long, so it's spurts of carrots, peaches, turkey slices, handfuls of cereal, a few bites of a muffin, a cup of hot tea, a few dried figs, a few more handfuls of cereal, some broccoli, a spoonful of peanut butter with honey and a cheesecake bite that I turn to. And that's all before dinner time!

Dinner is a bowl of pasta with lemon chicken, mushrooms onions and peas. Then a bite of a cookie. Three hours later tum-tum is craving something sweet again, so it;s a few scoops of vanilla ice cream with a drizzle of honey and a chai hot tea with a shot of espresso.

I am now at the point where I'm looking back on my day and in complete disbelief that I can let tum-tum control my day like that...I then look on my dresser and realize that I am about ready to enter my favorite part of the month, and ladies I'm sure you know what I mean ;)

So to cure any tum-tum cravings I give you Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats with chunks of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. That should shut any tum-tum up...I just can't guarantee for how long!

Summa' Summa' Summa' Time

2008-07-28T20:07:00.003-07:00

Can I just say how much work sucks! Here I am, nearing the end of summer, not yet been able to take a vacation, more tired than I've ever been and only realizing that this is the way of adulthood. There aren't any more nights of riding my bike around the neighborhood past sunset. The idea of playing with June Bugs is no longer appealing. Staying up past my bed time is not even a thought. And I hate to say it, but all of my "chores" are now completed before my adulthood bedtime of 9:00.

Where do the days go? Summer used to last forever. It was full of vacations, sleepovers, loads of ice cream, watermelon spitting contests and nights of sleep out on the giant trampoline in the backyard. Now all I dream about when i get off work is getting some food in my belly and going straight to bed.

Life's funny isn't it.

We always want what we can't have, and when we get to the point of having what we've always wanted, we realize that we don't want it anymore. I guess that's the way the cookie crumbles, or so I've heard. But at least we have food to help take us back to those lazy summer days!

So, here we are at yet another Tuesday, celebrating another recipe down in this journey to complete Dorie's amazing book! Michelle, of Michelle in Colorado Springs, was our hostess this week. And what a treat she chose...Dorie's Summer Fruit Galette. And let me tell you, there could not be an easier recipe out there.

My Peach Galette with Pomegranate Jelly came together so quick and easy that it will definitely be one of my go to recipes when I'm ready for something quick and easy! Hope you all enjoy! Happy baking :)

TWD: Two for One

2008-07-22T07:10:00.005-07:00

When I saw the pick for this week's TWD I was actually really excited! Amanda of Like Sprinkles on a Cupcake picked Dorie's Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler.

Reason #1 for excitement: I love, love, LOVE cobbler.

Reason #2 for excitement: I have become very fond of the pink celery, other wise know as Rhubarb.

Reason #3 for excitement: The recipe seems soo easy!

Of course, with reasons for excitement comes reasons that the recipe had to be altered...

Altercation reason #1: I live in Albuquerque, NM and could not find Rhubarb anywhere! I used to be able to find it frozen, but that still wasn't an option.

Altercation reason #2: I actually like an entire crust on cobblers, not biscuit sized droppings.

...So with that I give you my Altered Peach Cobbler made with Dorie's Crust :) (Scroll down for the extra helping of TWD)

Last week the TWD Gang made Chocolate Pudding. I unfortunately couldn't participate in it, because I thought I didn't have the right equipment. But, thanks to those who left comments on my blog saying I could use a whisk I was ready to give that Chocolate Pudding a whirl!

I decided to use Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder, just because I'm a dark chocolate freak. I also flamed up some mini marshmallows and added a caramel drizzle to the top! I felt like I had just made some fancy high-end dessert, and the pudding just melted in my mouth.

Thank you Bloggers for convincing me to use my whisk, never again will I have store bought pudding!!

A New Friend

2008-07-19T14:42:00.005-07:00

Ever since I was little, I have always liked stone fruits, particularly peaches and nectarines. There's nothing like biting into a juicy piece of fruit on a hot summer day. With juice running down your face and your mouth exploding with a sweet goodness, there's no better way to divulge in the warm weather of summer. And although I am a die hard stone fruit fan, there's one fruit in which I particularly never get a craving for.

That lonely fruit would be the plum. Not that I have anything against the purple jewel toned fruit, I just never get an overwhelming urge to sink my teeth into the tart little plum. However, I have been seeing a lot of recipe that use the lonely plum. So this got me thinking...maybe plums are like Granny Smith Apples, you give them a little heat and they sweeten right up. And who doesn't love a baked Granny Smith apple?

After searching through recipes, reading comments and finding out that plums were only $0.99 a lb., I had come to a decision. I was on a mission to make something that would finally allow me to add one more fruit to my list of favorite summer fruits! My accomplice in this mission was Martha's Open-Face Plum Cake.

I cannot begin to tell you how simply satisfying this recipe was! Not only was it the easiest recipe to make (ever), but I am now a plum believer! The plums really took on a sweet, juicy flavor. They also held their shape really well too, which was nice because it allowed me to get a good chuck of plum with each bite. I will never again say that I don't really care for plums! I see them in a whole different light now, and know that I have other ways to eat them that will ensure me being a plum fanatic from now on!

Raindrops Keep Fallin on My Head...and a TWD Mishap

2008-07-14T16:07:00.005-07:00

These last few weeks have been the strangest weeks here in the hot and dry land of Albuquerque, New Mexico. We have been experiencing something that is rare to us, and almost foreign. The little drops keep falling down from the sky every night when these huge black clouds gather together. And when they hit you they explode like tiny little water balloons that are being dropped by the millions. I think somebody up in the sky is keeping score of how many water balloons fall too, because every few minutes there are these bright flashes from the sky, followed by the crowd above roaring with excitement.

Since things have been so gloomy around here, for reasons unknown, I decided to help bring a little sunshine into my gray life. Nothing screams summer to me more than the color yellow and the taste of lemon. That refreshing taste and warm, soul-brightening color can turn any rainy day into a tiny, smidgen of a sun ray :)

I give you my Rainy Day Blues Lemon Cake with fresh raspberries! (I actually cheated a little bit by using a store bought cake mix...blame it on the weather) Which came out really well, I simply made the batter, spread it in the pan, dropped the raspberries on top and shoved her in the oven. I usually don't like raspberries in my cakes or desserts because of the seeds, but surprisingly the seeds seemed to have baked there way out of my cake. Which made me one happy camper.

Hope that you all aren't experience this streak of weird weather, but if you are...look on the bright side...there's always cake!!

...I unfortunately couldn't participate in this weeks TWD because I don't have a food processor :( I'm hoping to buy one within the next two weeks though, and I'll have to play a little catch-up. But too see all the marvelous Chocolate Puddings visit each TWD member, and thanks to Melissa for choosing such a yummy looking recipe, I hope to try it soon!!

It's a Love Hate Relationship

2008-07-08T12:11:00.004-07:00

One of my favorite movies growing up was Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory (and not the Tim Burton film!!). Just the thought of getting to stay at such an elaborate candy factory all day and eating as much sweets as I wanted seemed so amazing! I remember watching that movie a hundred times and each time there was something new that I had missed the first 76 times I watched it. Of course the most distinguishing factor of that movie was the Golden Ticket.

Right after I saw Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory for the first time (not completely understanding that this was strictly a movie) I would get so excited to get a candy bar from the store. I'd immediately tear open the wrapper and be devastated that there was no Golden Ticket, I quickly learned what the difference between real life and make-believe in the movies meant. But it was incredible what a rush I would get from opening those candy bars. Not only was there the overwhelming joy of getting to eat a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, but there was also the thrill of looking for that twinkly gold wrapper inside that would unlock my sweet tooth's fantasy world. And even though I never got a ticket, and finally figured out I never would I still had my candy bar to comfort me :)

I must admit thought, that while I loved the movie, I didn't really care for all of the characters. I especially disliked Violet Beauregarde. There was something about her that just didn't sit right with me. Maybe it was the fact that she was chewing the same ole crappy piece of gum for lord knows how long, or that she was so bossy, or that she wore that awful blue jumpsuit. I haven't yet, after about 20 years of watching that movie quite figured it out yet, but I know that i just didn't and don't like her. So, for some odd reason my Double Crusted Blueberry Pie for this weeks TWD reminded me of Violet.

The pie was amazing and had really great flavor, but the crust was not my friend. I actually had a really hard time making this silly crust, I think my problem was that I added too much water. (So after cursing the pie crust out for not coming out right I went to the store and bought a refrigerated, premade pie dough. I know, I know I shouldn't have done that, but I couldn't help it I was about ready to loose it with the dough!) Once I had that problem resolved everything came out amazing! I used frozen blueberries instead of fresh, and they actually held their texture and shape a lot better than the fresh would've. Each bit was a burst of blueberry goodness.

So maybe my connection to TWD and Violet was that there was a part of each of them that I didn't like, or that Violet blew up to be a gigantic blueberry, rolled away to be drained, just like I drained my giant blueberries in my mouth after each devilish bite! Thank you Amy (of South in Your Mouth) for stirring up some wonderful childhood memories (visit her website for the recipe).

As American as Apple Pie

2008-07-04T11:06:00.004-07:00

On the day that we are celebrating America's Independence I figured no dessert could be more appropriate than Apple Pie! It's no wonder why this pie is one of America's most favorite and maybe most patriotic dessert. The combination of crunchy, sweet apples, with spicy cinnamon and of course a crispy crust will melt your heart instantly. With it being the Fourth of July, I couldn't just make any ole Apple Pie, I had to go all out.

I remembered a few month's ago seeing this amazing Apple Pie on a Food Network show, and immediately knew this would be the perfect Birthday Pie for my beloved country. The original recipe is an enormous "Savannah High" Apple Pie, which calls for 24, yes 24, apples...I decided to half it and use 12. 12 crispy green Granny Smith apples still turned out to be a lot, especially when you're finely slicing the apples instead of just making chucks. But the end effect was to die for. You see, with this recipe you slice the apples very thin, then stack them in layers creating a really tall, really packed apple pie. And did I mention there's streusel layers in between apple layers? You heard right bloggers! Then you top the whole pie of with a layer of crust, which after its baked, gets a layer of sticky, gooey caramel pecan topping. I can't begin to tell you how good this pie was!

I can't wait to enjoy this pie with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream while we watch fireworks burst up above to commemorate this beautiful country and all it has to offer! And to all of those who have fought so hard to keep providing Americans with the independence, freedom and glory that we treasure I can't thank you enough! Happy Birthday America!!!

I'm A Believer!

2008-07-01T07:22:00.005-07:00

So I must admit when I saw this week's TWD recipe I was a little reluctant. I remember about a year ago when I bought Dorie's book I read through every page, as I'm sure most of us do. I was making notes of things that I thought I just couldn't live without, which of course was almost the entire book. One of the few items that didn't make my expanding list were the Apple Cheddar Scones. I mean I like apples and cheese, but together in a scone just didn't sound right. So I just completely skipped over that page without a second thought...until last week when I visited the amazing TWD webpage and saw that Karina of The Floured Apron picked this recipe.

I was debating whether or not I wanted to make them, and I finally decided I'll never know unless I try. And what is life if you don't take chances, right? So I set out to the store, bought all my ingredients and brought them home ready to make the best, of what I thought was the worst :)

I of course am a batter taster, so the second I had the batter all prepared (which is my fav scone recipe, because they come together soo quickly) I had to stick my lightly sun kissed index finger into the golden yellow batter. Straight into the mouth and a slight turn of the head was my response. The batter tasted sweeter and better than what I had thought, but still not convinced I told myself that I wouldn't be swayed until I tasted the actual baked product.

As the minutes on the timer ticked away, the most amazing, sweet, fruity aroma filled my apartment. My barrier against this recipe was slowly starting to deteriorate! The second the timer went off I ran to the oven and pulled out these gorgeous, sunshine yellow with orange speckled scones. It was hard for me to let them cool before tasting them, but the minute I put them into my mouth and was able to process the flavor my barrier completely crumbled, leaving me standing there wanting another bite of these sweet scones.

I think the combination of the sweet yellow corn meal, dried apples and apple juice really helped to mellow out the sharp cheese. So I must say thank you so much to Karina for widening my horizons and to try not to prejudge a recipe before I've tasted it. To see other TWD Blogger experiences check out the famous Tuesdays With Dorie Blog!

Mixin' It Up

2008-06-24T11:30:00.007-07:00

We're having a little fun with mixed fruit for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie! And wouldn't you know it that I picked the same mixture of mixed fruit as this weeks hostess! Beth, who is the wonderful creator of Our Sweet Life chose to make Dorie's Mixed Berry Cobbler. And what better dessert says summertime like cobbler? This recipe was so easy to put together, because it's all based around frozen fruit, and seeing as how I am a huge fan of frozen fruit, my freezer was packed with plenty of options.

I don't know what it is about the mixture of peaches and blueberries that always gets my heart...and stomach...pumping, but it does! So of course I grabbed those two fruits right away. It wasn't until I lifted up my frozen bag of peaches that I saw the little leftover bag of frozen blackberries peeking out at me. I figured that the addition of these deep purple-y sweet fruits couldn't hurt the cause, so I pulled that bag out as well. I also wanted to give me crust a little bit more of a homey flavor, so I added cinnamon and nutmeg to my batter...awesome choice!

After about 25 minutes of baking my house was smelling so amazing. Andy came home half way through the baking time and about died when he stepped in through the door. "What are you making? And is it ready for me to eat?", were the first two questions out of his mouth. And I must say, despite some other baker's complaints about the recipe, I found it to be a very delicious, easy and comforting dessert to turn to. Dolloped with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream, this dessert totally made my night!

A Birthday and a Trip to Paradise

2008-06-23T13:29:00.006-07:00

I must say, life has become a little different now that I am all grown up and living on my own. Signs of adulthood are definitely seeping their way into my life. Today is my 24th birthday and I just can't believe how quickly time has passed. I remember being a little girl, seeing women who were around the age of 24 and just being in awe. I was so envious of them, I wanted to be grown up and where high heels, drive a car, have a job, and be able to do "grown up" things. I feel, in a way, I cheated myself out of childhood because I wanted to grow up so badly. And now that I'm grown up, it's not all it's cracked up to be :)

My younger days were spent worrying about who I would hang out with at recess, whether or not I should spend my allowance on the Boys II Men C.D., and making sure to get all the Disney character's autographs every summer that we went to Disneyworld. Now, being a grown-up, my yearly family vacations have come to an end :( With everybody working it's so hard to coordinate schedules, and to find somewhere to go that fits into every one's budget. So although this year had some great milestones, it also brought up milestones that I never thought I would've encountered.

Seeing as how I badly need a vacation and don't have the time, the money or the company to go with, I made myself a little mini vacation to Jamaica...and I didn't even have to leave my apartment! I had recently purchased "Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey" and saw a great recipe for a Banana Rum Cake. So I figured that if I can't go to Jamaica I would bring Jamaica to me. This cake was my saving grace for my stint of adulthood depression, and one I'm sure I will turn to frequently as the years start accumulating!

Bahama Mama Banana Rum Cake
Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O'Connor

Ingredients
Dark Rum Glaze
1 stick unsalted butter
1/4 c water
1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c dark rum
(I was short on time when making this recipe so I actually made a glaze out of powdered sugar, milk and some rum)

Cake
1 1/2c toasted chopped pecans
3 sticks unsalted butter
2 c sugar
1 c firmly packed brown sugar
5 eggs, at room temp
1 c mashed, ripe bananas (about 3 bananas)
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp dark rum
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 c sour cream

Directions
For Glaze
Combine butter, water and sugars in heavy bottomed saucepan over med-high heat and bring to boil. Immediately reduce heat to med-low and simmer for 5 min. Remove from heat, stir in rum, set aside and keep warm.

For Cake
Position rack in middle of oven, preheat to 350 degrees F. Spray a 10-cup tube pan with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle pecans in bottom of pan and set aside.

In large bowl with an electric mixer set on med speed, beat butter and sugars until mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in mashed bananas, vanilla and rum. Sift flour, baking soda and powder, and salt over the batter and fold in using a rubber spatula, just until no streaks of flour remain. Fold in sour cream. Spoon batter over nuts in the pan and spread to the edge using the back of a rubber spatula.

Bake until wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out with no more than a few moist crumbs clinging to it, 60-80 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Use wooden skewers to poke holes all over the cake and pour 1/4 c of glaze over the cake. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes more. Place a serving platter of the cake and invert to release the cake onto the platter. Spoon the remaining glaze over the cake, a little at a time, and let stand until the glaze is completely absorbed in the cake. As the glaze hardens, this will encase the cake in a rummy, sugary shell.

Let the cake cool completely before cutting into wedges and serving. This cake will last 2 to 3 days when covered well.

Where Have I Been?

2008-06-18T10:56:00.004-07:00

OMG! I can't believe I've neglected my poor little blog! But, it was for good reason, I've had some family members fall ill that need some lovin', which left no time for bakin'. Everyone is doing much better now though, so here I am, back in action. And of course I'm starting my return with the latest Tuesdays With Dorie, brought to you by Caroline of A Consuming Passion. She chose the lovely Peppermint Cream Puff Ring, which I must say I was a little nervous about. I have always wanted to make cream puffs, but for some reason was a little nervous to give it a try. To my amazement this was actually a really easy recipe to make!

Since it is just Andy and I, I did make some adjustments to the recipe. First off, him and I are big mint fans, so I nixed the peppermint. Second, there no way the two of us would've been able to eat the whole ring, and I didn't want it to go to waist, so I decided to just make individual cream puffs. And third, seeing as how I live in freakin' New Mexico, which at 9:00 in the morning is already in the upper 80's expected to reach 97 degrees by 2:00pm, I opted for vanilla ice cream instead of the cream.

The moment my mouth was filled with the creamy, slightly crunchy, caramely goodness, I about died, and then asked myself why had I never made these little goodies before? I hate when you think something is going to be really difficult to make, so you put it off and put it off, then you make it, and you kick yourself for letting all those days go by, that could've been filled with cream puffs.

The only downside is that since they're so easy to make, I'll probably be making them often, and starting to see my tummy begin to grow :( But...what can you do!

TWD: Keep Stickin' With It!!

2008-05-27T09:10:00.004-07:00

I had no clue that when Madam Chow picked Dorie's Pecan Honey Sticky Buns that I was preparing to have the toughest, most grueling arm workout I'd ever experienced. You see I own a Kitchen Aid, but I don't have the dough hook for it, but my parents own one too and they have do have a dough hook. Ding--light bulb! When I had last visited them I made sure to grab the dough hook so that I could participate in this week's TWD bake-off. Problem solved right...wrong!!

I was very excited and nervous to start my Sticky Bins, because one, I've tried yeast baked goods before and they came out like crap and two, well who doesn't get nervous when working with yeast? Putting all that aside I cut open my two yeast packets, dumped them into my mixing bowl and started to dump in the other dough ingredients. With fingers crossed and a deep breath I turned on my mixer only to find that my parents dough hook wasn't long enough for my mixing bowl. That dam thing only scraped the top of my flour mixture!

This can't be happening, I was ready to give it up right then and there. I had no idea what I was going to do. Then I looked back at the recipe and saw that Dorie had actually done it by hand before. "Well I'm already screwed, so I might as well just try it by hand and see what happens". I was shocked and proud of myself that I was actually going to give it a go. I pulled out my wooden spoon and began stirring away, things looked good so far.

It was the adding of the butter that really got me! There was no way that I could get all the butter mixed in with my rinky-dink wooden spoon. I threw it on the counter and plunged my hands into the bowl. Kneading two tablespoons of butter in with one hand, then switching to the next to knead in another two tablespoons of butter. I did this for 25 minutes! Each minute that passed I just kept thinking that this was totally not gonna work. I was going through all of this manual labor for nothing. But, after the 25 minutes I had a dough that looked and felt like a batter...which is exactly what Dorie had said the end product would be. A little glimmer of hoped filled my heart.

Next I let my dough rise, coming every 30 minutes to deflate the air. This process really started to build up my confidence, because my dough was actually rising...something that I have never had happen before! after the two hour time period the dough went into the fridge and I gave it a good night kiss, tucking it in with it's plastic wrap blanky and slowly closing the door.

Half asleep at 5:30 in the morning I suddenly remembered my little dough baby sleeping in the fridge. I hopped out of bed quickly getting the dough out of the fridge and plopping it out on the counter. OMG!! This can't be happening! I don't have a rolling pin! Somehow that small detail slipped my mind, but I didn't get discouraged! I was going to find a way to get this damn dough rolled out. With some quick think I found a can of refrigerated pizza dough, which very much resembled a rolling pin...and worked a lot like a rolling pin!

With one more prayer I stuck my buns in the oven watching the clock tick down the 30 minutes. Beep-beep, beep-beep...moment of truth. I slowly pulled down the oven door and ---Aaaawww--- I had Sticky Buns! They were the most gorgeous buns I had ever laid eyes on! I was almost in tears because they were so beautiful and I had made them completely by hand! I scooped one off of the baking sheet and took my first bite and I nearly melted. The bun was so light and flaky, with a wonderful buttery taste. I had finally done it! I conquered my yeast fears and I did it all on my own with no fancy machinery to help me! This will be a day I will never forget! Thank you Tuesdays With Dorie and thank you Madam Chow for making this one of the best baking days I've had!

Pecan Honey Sticky Buns

For The Glaze:

1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup honey
1-1/2 cups pecans (whole or pieces)

For The Filling:

1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

For the Buns:1/2 recipe dough for Golden Brioche loaves (see below), chilled and ready to shape (make the full recipe and cut the dough in half after refrigerating it overnight)
Generously butter a 9-x-13-inch baking pan (a Pyrex pan is perfect for this).

To make the glaze: In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the brown sugar, butter, and honey to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar. Pour the glaze into the buttered pan, evening it out as best you can by tilting the pan or spreading the glaze with a heatproof spatula. Sprinkle over the pecans.
To make the filling: Mix the sugars and cinnamon together in a bowl. If necessary, in another bowl, work the butter with a spatula until it is soft, smooth and spreadable.
To shape the buns: On a flour-dusted work surface, roll the chilled dough into a 16-inch square. Using your fingers or a pastry brush, spread the softened butter over the dough. Sprinkle the dough with the cinnamon sugar, leaving a 1-inch strip bare on the side farthest from you. Starting with the side nearest you, roll the dough into a cylinder, keeping the roll as tight as you can. (At this point, you can wrap the dough airtight and freeze it for up to 2 months . . . . Or, if you want to make just part of the recipe now, you can use as much of the dough as you'd like and freeze the remainder. Reduce the glaze recipe accordingly).With a chef's knife, using a gentle sawing motion, trim just a tiny bit from the ends of the roll if they're very ragged or not well filled, then cut the log into 1-inch thick buns. (Because you trim the ragged ends of the dough, and you may have lost a little length in the rolling, you will get 15 buns, not 16.) Fit the buns into the pan cut side down, leaving some space between them.Lightly cover the pan with a piece of wax paper and set the pan in a warm place until the buns have doubled in volume, about 1 hour and 45 minutes. The buns are properly risen when they are puffy, soft, doubled and, in all likelihood, touching one another.
Getting ready to bake: When the buns have almost fully risen , center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Remove the sheet of wax paper and put the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Bake the sticky buns for about 30 minutes, or until they are puffed and gorgeously golden; the glaze will be bubbling away merrily. Pull the pan from the oven.
The sticky buns must be unmolded minutes after they come out of the oven. If you do not have a rimmed platter large enough to hold them, use a baking sheet lined with a silicone mate or buttered foil. Be careful - the glaze is super-hot and super-sticky.

What You'll Need for the Golden Brioche Dough

2 packets active dry yeast (each packet of yeast contains approx. 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch water
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch whole milk
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature but still slightly firm

To Make The Brioche: Put the yeast, water and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and, using a wooden spoon, stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and salt, and fit into the mixer with the dough hook, if you have one. Toss a kitchen towel over the mixer, covering the bowl as completely as you can-- this will help keep you, the counter and your kitchen floor from being showered in flour. Turn the mixer on and off a few short pulses, just to dampen the flour (yes, you can peek to see how you're doing), then remove the towel, increase the mixer speed to medium-low and mix for a minute or two, just until the flour is moistened. At this point, you'll have a fairly dry, shaggy mess.Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, set the mixer to low and add the eggs, followed by the sugar. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes, until the dough forms a ball. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter in 2-tablespoon-size chunks, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding the next. You'll have a dough that is very soft, almost like batter. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.Transfer the dough to a clean bowl (or wash out the mixer bowl and use it), cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 40 to 60 minutes, depending upon the warmth of your room.Deflate the dough by lifting it up around the edges and letting it fall with a slap to the bowl. Cover the bowl with the plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. Slap the dough down in the bowl every 30 minutes until it stops rising, about 2 hours, then leave the uncovered dough in the refrigerator to chill overnight. (This is where you start up on the Sticky Bun Recipe).

TWD: Blast from the Past

2008-05-20T11:43:00.004-07:00

For this week's TWD our lovely hostess Tara of Smells Like Home chose a recipe that I wish I could've participated in, which was the Traditional Madeleine's...however I don't yet have a Madeleine pan :( So I was able to choose a past TWD recipe and bake that instead. And I have to say I believe I picked a winner. I have been wanting to make Snickery Squares forever now, so I decided this was the best time to do it.

For my squares I wanted to make a different base than shortbread, so I decided to make a peanut butter cookie base...which OMG was so yummy! How can you go wrong with PB, dulce de leche and chocolate? Oh duh, you can't!! I was actually mad at myself that I had waited so long to make this recipe, because it was soo easy, and soo good!

Seeing as how I had already changed the base of the cookie, I decided to fore go the caramelized peanuts, thinking that plain dry-roasted might be a little bit better, and wouldn't be too overwhelming. Not to mention that I cannot make caramel to save my life. I don't know what it is but every time I try, I fail. So to keep from getting disappointed I took the easy route :)

Happy Tuesday Everybody!

Snickery Squares
(This is the original recipe, to make the PB Base just use a any PB cookie recipe and bake accordingly)

For the Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
2 TBSP powdered sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

For the Filling:
½ cup sugar
3 TBSP water
1 ½ cups salted peanuts
About 1 ½ cups store-bought dulce de leche

For the Topping:
7 ounces bittersweet(I used semi since hubby doesn’t like bittersweet), coarsely chopped½ stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 8 inch square pan and put it on a baking sheet.

To Make the Crust:
Toss the flour, sugar, powdered sugar and salt into a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Toss in the pieces of cold butter and pulse about 12 times, until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Pour the yolk over the ingredients and pulse until the dough forms clumps and curds-stop before the dough comes together in a ball.Turn the dough into the buttered pan and gently press it evenly across the bottom of the pan. Prick the dough with a fork and slide the sheet into the oven.Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes, or until it takes on just a little color around the edges. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool to room temperature before filling.

To Make the Filling:
Have a parchment or silicone mat-lined baking sheet at the ready, as well as a long-handled wooden spoon and a medium heavy bottomed saucepan.Put the sugar and water in the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Keeping the heat fairly high, continue to cook the sugar, without stirring, until it just starts to color. Toss the peanuts and immediately start stirring. Keep stirring, to coat the peanuts with sugar. Within a few minutes, they will be covered with sugar and turn white—keep stirring until the sugar turns back into caramel. When the peanuts are coated with a nice deep amber caramel, remove the pan from the heat and turn the nuts out onto the baking sheet., using the wooden spoon to spread them out as best you can. Cool the nuts to room temperature.When they are cool enough to handle, separate the nuts or break them into small pieces. Divide the nuts in half. Keep half of the nuts whole or in biggish pieces for the filling, and finely chop the other half for the topping(I kept mine whole).Spread the dulce de leche over the shortbread base and sprinkle over the whole candied nuts.

To Make the Topping:
Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Remove chocolate from the heat and gently stir in the butter, stirring until it is fully blended into the chocolate.Pour the chocolate over the dulce de leche, smoothing it with a long metal icing spatula, then sprinkle over the rest of the peanuts. Slide the pan into the fridge to set the topping, about 20 minutes; if you’d like to serve the squares cold, keep them refrigerated for at least 3 hours before cutting.Cut into 16 bars.

A Good Luck Gift

2008-05-18T15:23:00.004-07:00

Andy, my boyfriend, is a golf-aholic...he manages a golf store, he plays golf (and is trying to go pro), his idol is Tiger Woods, and he drives a VW Bug that is painted to look like a golf ball with a big red tee on the top of it. Ok, stop laughing! He's also not a very "well-balanced meal" type of guy. His daily eating routine is a Mountain Dew and a bowl of Fruity Pebbles for breakfast, two Mountain Dews for a snack, a Whopper Value Meal from Burger King (with a large Sprite) for lunch, a Mountain Dew and Tiger-ade (Tiger's Gatorade) for an afternoon snack, a healthy dinner prepared by me with a Mountain Dew, and ice cream with five Oreos, 1/2 a bag of Sour Patch Kids and a Coke for dessert. Then he stays up until 2 in the morning and will have some scrambled eggs and cereal for a midnight snack! Surprisingly, and frustratingly, he doesn't gain a pound! He is a little stick figure, which is totally not fair...but that's a whole other story.

So, when he told me that he was playing in a golf tourney this weekend I decided that I would make him a healthy, filling, portable snack for him to take to the course. The first thing that popped into mind was scones, especially since he was teeing off at 7:30 am. Scones are also easy to transport in a golf bag, unlike big muffins. My Honey Oatmeal Scones would be sure to give him the boost that he needed, and would also last in his tummy for a few hours, thanks to the hearty oatmeal.

When he called me to tell me that he had made it on to the next round I secretly told myself that it was due in part to my special good luck gift! Hey I have to get credit somehow!!

Honey Oatmeal Scones
1 egg
1/2 c cold buttermilk
2 tablespoons honey
1 2/3 c flour
1 1/3 c old-fashioned oats
1/3 c sugar, plus some for sprinkling
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Stir eggs, buttermilk and honey together, set aside.
Whisk flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg together in a large bowl. Drop in the butter and working with your fingertips rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly.
Pour the egg mixture over the dry ingredients and stir with fork until the dough just starts to come together, it'll be sticky so don't get scared, and don't over work the dough. Still in the bowl gently turn it with a rubber spatula 8 to 10 times. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it in half. Working with one half at a time pat the dough into a rough circle that's about 5 inches in diameter, cut into 6 wedges and place on the baking sheet, sprinkle lightly with remaining sugar. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until their tops are golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes before serving, and serve plain or with jam, honey, peanut butter, yada-yada!

A Trip to Florida for Tuesdays with Dorie!

2008-05-12T19:30:00.007-07:00

It's my first Tuesday as a TWD member and I couldn't have been more happier with the choice! Dianne of Dianne's Dishes was the lucky picker of the week and chose Florida Pie. At first, when reading the recipe it sound like it was going to be reminiscent of Key Lime Pie, but with a hint of coconut, and I must say I was wrong. While the pie does have a lime cream center, the most amazing, and my most favorite, part of the pie was the coconut cream base. I reminded me a lot, which is also Dorie's description, of the filling in an Almond Joy or Mounds candy bar...can you say YUM!

Seeing as how I am still adjusting to my new apartment I have not yet been able to invest in a food processor (hopefully next week) so I used a store bought graham cracker pie crust. I was surprised at how quickly this pie comes together and how quickly it made me want to get in my bathing suit and eat it while lounging in a beach chair.

Some people really believe that food can take you places, and I am one of those people. A few years ago I went to Jamaica, and this pie totally took me back! Back to the smoldering, sweaty heat, but the refreshing taste of something like Florida Pie quickly cooling down your body. I hear the little Jamaican girls surrounding me in the shallow, lapping waves, asking me why my hair is so different than theirs. Following me around the beach just in awe of my nationality and differences.

When food can give you that kind of feeling, you know it's a keeper. I can't wait to share this pie with my family and see where it takes them!

P.S. - I was super stoked to be able to use my little blow torch for the first time :)

Florida Pie
1 9-inch graham cracker crust (page 235), fully baked and cooled, or a store-bought crust
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
4 large eggs, separated
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh Key (or regular) lime juice (from about 5 regular limes)
1/4 cup of sugar

Getting Ready:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put the pie plate on a baking sheet lined with parchment of a silicone mat.

Put the cream and 1 cup of the coconut in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring almost constantly. Continue to cook and stir until the cream is reduced by half and the mixture is slightly thickened. Scrape the coconut cream into a bowl and set it aside while you prepare the lime filling.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl beat the egg yolks at high speed until thick and pale. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the condensed milk. Still on low, add half of the lime juice. When it is incorporated, add the reaming juice, again mixing until it is blended. Spread the coconut cream in the bottom of the graham cracker crust, and pour over the lime filling.

Bake the pie for 12 minutes. Transfer the pie to a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes, then freeze the pie for at least 1 hour.

To Finish the Pie with Meringue:
Put the 4 egg whites and the sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, whisking all the while, until the whites are hot to the touch. Transfer the whites to a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, or use a hand mixer in a large bowl, and beat the whites at high speed until they reach room temperature and hold firm peaks. Using a rubber spatula, fold the remaining 1/2 cup coconut into the meringue.

Spread the meringue over the top of the pie, and run the pie under the broiler until the top of the meringue is golden brown. (Or, if you've got a blowtorch, you can use it to brown the meringue.) Return the pie to the freezer for another 30 minutes or for up to 3 hours before serving.

Somedays You Feel Like a Nut...and Chocolate

2008-05-08T15:54:00.007-07:00

My life seems to be a little nutty right now. I'm in the "growing up" phase of trying to decide what I wanna do with my life...and what I don't. I know that I want to travel too, but where, and how do I afford it? I want to start reading more and spending more "me" time, but when will I do that? I want to buy new things for my apartment, but how do I pay for it? I want to get caught up on my Realty TV shows, but when will I find the time?

Its funny...I always thought that being a grown up meant freedom, whew was I wrong! I feel so constricted and tied down right now. I always imagined my twenties as being the most care-free time in the world! But I've got bills to pay, mouths to feed (Mine and Andy's, no babies here...yet), a house to clean, a job to attend, workouts that must be done and sleep that MUST be slept. So how do you do it? How do grown ups find time to fulfill their dreams, travel to far off places, read a good book, bake some great cakes?

My mind has been running in so many directions that i feel like an absolute nut case! I feel like I should sit down and make a to-do list or have some priority...but I don't want to live my life that way. I want some spontaneity, but it just seems impossible. Hopefully the shell to this nut will break soon, and hopefully it'll be for the better :)

Chocolate Oatmeal Almost Candy Bars
Baking from Home to Yours ~ Dorie Greenspan

Oatmeal Layer
2 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted, room temp, butter
2 c packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 c old-fashioned oats
1 c salted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Chocolate Layer
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 c (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c moist, plump raisins
3/4 c coarsely chopped peanuts

Getting Ready: Center a rack in oven & preheat to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9x13 inch baking pan and place the pan on a baking sheet.

Oatmeal Layer: Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Beat butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add brown sugar and beat for 2 minutes, then add eggs one at a time, beating for one minute after each egg goes in. Beat in the vanilla. The mixture should be light and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add dry ingredients, mixing just until they disappear. Still on low speed stir in oats and nuts. Set aside 1 1/2 to 2 cups of the mixture, then turn the remaining dough into the buttered pan. Gently and evenly press the dough over the bottom of the pan. Set aside and prepare the next layer.

Chocolate Layer: Set heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Put the condensed milk, chocolate chips, butter and salt in the bowl and stir occasionally until the milk is warm and the chocolate and butter are melted. Remove the bowl from the pan of water and stir in the vanilla, raisins and peanuts.
Pour the warm chocolate mixture over the oatmeal crust, then scatter the remaining oatmeal mixture over top. Bake 25-30 minutes until topping is golden brown and the chocolate is dull. Transfer the baking pan to a rack and cool for 2 hours. Run a blunt knife between the edges of the cake and pan, and carefully turn the cake onto a rack. Turn right side up, then refrigerate at least an hour before cutting. Cut into rectangles.

Heavenly Goo!

2008-05-04T14:45:00.004-07:00

I am a huge fan of Dorie's Blondie recipe, in her book Baking From My Home to Yours. But I wanted to put a new spin on it and see if I could create my own special blondie recipe, and Bloggers, I did it! My recipe is a Caramel Apple Pecan Blondie, and it will knock your socks off! I am a caramel apple addict and have been craving something caramely for a while, so I figured I'd give my theory a whirl.

I must say that I was getting a little nervous when I was pouring the caramel into the batter, because I was so afraid that it wasn't going to work and that I was gonna have this awful glob of dough...but NO! My caramel beat in perfectly with the butter and brown sugar. After I had the dry ingredients mixed in, I folded my chopped Granny Smith Apple and the pecans. Let me tell you guys, this was probably the best dough I HAVE EVER had! I could not put my spoon down, so that gave me much hope that my blondies were going to turn out great.

After letting them cool, I made the first nail biting slice and was greeted with a smile on my face. The caramel apple blondies looked like real blondies! I must admit that they were a little gooey-er than a regular blondie, but who doesn't like goo? My first blondie creation...a winner! (If only we still had our Browniebabe Contests)

Here Figgy, Figgy!

2008-04-27T15:02:00.004-07:00

While at the grocery store last week I was slowly pushing my unmanageable cart down the produce department. I felt like I was a drunk driver who couldn't keep control of their car...only problem was I wasn't drunk, and it was my grocery cart, not my car! Getting more and more frustrated I began to think about how much I hated grocery shopping. I'm one of those people who plan out their meals for the week and only take on trip to the store, only to spend upwards of one hundred dollars a week and being faced with the miserable challenging of carrying all my groceries in by myself. Needless to say that with a misbehaving cart I was on the brink of foregoing grocery shopping for the week and living on pizza delivery.

It was at that very moment that I had, unknowingly, made my way all the way to the back of the produce department only to find myself in front of a big wooden shelf full of dried fruits and a variety of nuts. My interest was peaked. Dried pears, Bourbon candied pecans, dried mango, trail mix...and a big bag of mission figs! I have been craving figs for a while and could not believe that I had almost missed this opportunity all thanks to a stupid grocery cart.

I excitedly put the figs in the cart, scurried through the other aisle picking up the rest of my items on the list and making my way over to the check out. While standing in the check out line my brain was running wild thinking of what I was going to create with my treasure find. I had an immediate attraction to the idea of a cookie. I started thinking that something salty might also be a really good compliment to the sweet figs. Knowing that I wanted to add chocolate to my salty, fig creation, I was slowly starting to form one of the best cookie recipes I have EVER had! Little did I know how big a hit this cookie was about to become.

Stumbling through my front door with five bags of groceries on each arm, I dumped them all on the kitchen floor and immediately got to work. Yes, that's right I left my grocery out while I concocted my cookie recipe...I mean what's more important here people?

I used a basic chocolate chip cookie dough to start. I then delicately opened my bag of figs, as if they were a precious package that was fragile even to the touch of soft hands. Reaching in I gently scooped out a handful of the deep purple figs, laying them out on the cutting board, ready and willing to dice them up into little pieces. I think my initial delicacy with them was my way of saying sorry for what I was about to do. Once I had the figs prepared and added to the chocolate chip cookie dough I opened up my pantry door and found my secret ingredient. PRETZELS! I grabbed two big handfuls of the salty, crunchy pretzels and crushed them with my hands over my mixing bowl. Carefully mixing the pretzels into the dough I couldn't resist anymore I had to take a bite.

I dipped my small silver spoon into the saltfully sweet dough and scooped out a huge chunk, making sure to have a little bit of everything in my first bite. Opening my mouth with fingers crossed I was met with an explosion of flavor and textures. The dough was somewhat sweet, thanks to the chocolate chips, but the figs added a chewy texture that was meet perfectly with the salty crunch of the pretzels. As the dough melted away in my mouth I found myself quickly reaching for another spoonful, and another, and maybe one more. Forcing myself to stop eating the dough, I dropped them by the spoonful on to my cookie sheet and sent them off to the oven.

Even as baked cookies they still held onto their texture variety and were even more amazing with the meltiness of the chocolate chips. My friends and family could not stop raving about how light the cookies were, but still had a delicate sweetness to them, and were totally shocked with the pretzels bites. I invite all of you to give these awesome cookies a try, your taste buds will love you forever, and you'll actually be thankful that you made that dreadful trip down the grocery store aisle!

Figgy Chocolate Chip Pretzel Cookies
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) chocolate chips
1 cup chopped mission figs
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pretzels

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips, figs and pretzels. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Who Wants a Cupcake...or is it Cheesecake?

2008-04-20T13:47:00.002-07:00

I've been thinking that I want to start getting more creative with my baking. With people like Peabody of Culinary Concoctions and Helen of Tartelette (two of my most favorite bloggers) whipping up fabulous creations, I've been feeling a bit inspired. These two ladies have some of the most creative minds I've seen when it comes to decadent, show stopping desserts. My mouth salivates when I visit their blogs. They take very basic simple recipes and add their own special touch to them to make each and every dessert their own. And I totally wanna be like them when I grow up!

So I started thinking in general about flavors that I like and then I started figuring out ways that I could put them together. To start my mind immediately jumped to a white cupcake. I love the simpleness of the plain white cupcake, but I wanted to give it a little pizazz. Think, think, think...many ideas popped into my head like adding chunks of candy bars or stirring in nutella, but that was killing the whole reason I like the white cupcake, it's simple and light. After my mind drifting through ideas for a few minutes I finally stopped on something that I really thought could work and stay true to the air, soft feel of the white cupcake. Cheesecake!

Yes I did! I said cheesecake, and while I wish it could've been homemade I don't yet have a food processor at my new apartment, so I couldn't make my own cheesecake. I decided to go with Sarah Lee's frozen strawberry topped cheesecake. I cut the creamy, still frozen, cheesecake up into bite size chunks, slipping a few into my mouth when Baxter (my Terrier sous chef) wasn't looking. After whipping up my cupcake batter and pour it into the cupcake pan I excitedly dropped the cheesecake morsels into the center of the cups and sent them off to the oven, fingers crossed.

Upon opening the oven door everything looked ok, my biggest fear was that the cheesecake pieces were going to make huge sink holes in the cupcake, but thanks to my crossed fingers, my cupcake creations were spared :) After the cupcakes had cooled I took a tub of cream cheese icing that I had on hand on shmeared it on top of my fluffy white cupcakes. And to give the cupcakes that extra special attention to detail I rolled them in graham cracker crumbs, just to hit home that cheesecake flavor.

The second I finished rolling the last cupcake in the crumbs i quickly grabbed my knife and picked my sacrificial cupcake, cutting straight into his heart. Which revealed a white cupcake exterior gently cradling a gooey, creamy red and white cheesecake center. I had succeeded! My cupcake creation was a hit, and was just the start of more fabulous creations to come!

The Sandwich that Became a Dessert!

2008-04-14T16:17:00.004-07:00

Hands down PB & J is my most favoritest sandwich ever! I don't know if it's the American childhood nostalgia that makes my heart thump for PB & J or if it's the gooey jelly layered on top of crunchy, chunky peanut butter. I remember back to my elementary school days when PB & J was a frequent visitor to my light pink Carebears lunch box. When the bell would ring for lunch I would get so excited because I knew what was waiting for me. PB & J is like a sweet lunch treat that could brighten up any horrible day at school. And while yes, there were times when my jelly was pile on a little too thick and would bleed through the bread, but who the heck cares! That just proves the bond that PB & J and I share, the poor sandwich's heart would bleed, crying out for my to let it free of the joyous Carebears and sink deep into the comfort of my tummy!

And what about all the variations of PB & J that can be made! It's as simple as switching up the flavor of the jelly from Strawberry to Grape to Apricot...or the PB from crunchy or creamy. Sometimes a few bananas or raspberries would find their way in or maybe a shmear of Nutella. I've even stuck my PB & J in a skillet, and we played "grilled cheese" dress up, this being one of my most favoritest ways to have PB & J because everything gets melty and you take a bite of that gooey heaven and your head just falls in contempt.

Well since I love this little sandwich so much I decided to try out a new recipe I had seen which actually turns the infamous PB & J into a scrumptious cookie bar! I know I jumped for joy too! This recipe is courtesy of Martha Stewart and was actually one of her best so far. The base has a great solid cookie texture to it, but the jelly keeps it's sticky consistency (unless you're bad and you eat it straight out of the oven, and then it's a gooey bit of WOW!...but I wouldn't know that from experience). And the crunchy nuts on the top just add to the outrageous nutty flavor! I actually didn't have peanuts, but I did have mixed nuts, so I used those and the bars were amazing.

So here's to the love of my sandwich life, one of my best food friends...The PB & J!

Makes about 3 dozen
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups strawberry jam, or other flavor
2/3 cup salted peanuts, roughly chopped
Directions
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan with butter, and line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease the parchment, and coat inside of pan with flour; set aside. Place butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. On medium speed, add eggs and peanut butter; beat until combined, about 2 minutes.
2. Whisk together salt, baking powder, and flour. Add to bowl of mixer on low speed; combine. Add vanilla. Transfer two-thirds of mixture to prepared pan; spread evenly with offset spatula. Using offset spatula, spread jam on top of peanut-butter mixture. Dollop remaining third of peanut-butter mixture on top of jam. Sprinkle with peanuts.
3. Bake until golden, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool; cut into about thirty-six 1 1/2-by-2-inch pieces.

Doctor's Order

2008-04-08T14:15:00.004-07:00

Never fails, as soon as spring rolls around and it's time to play outside I get hit with a whammie of a cold, better known as bronchitis! Yeah, totally sucks! So as I'm lying on my death couch (couch is so much more comfortable than a bed when you have drainage) I'm obsessing over the Food Network. My two favorite girls, Giada and Ina, are whipping up some glorious desserts and I start to hear my tummy rumble.

But the doctor said to stay in bed and rest, "That's the only way to get rid of this Stephanie!" Tick tock, tick tock, I wait another half and hour and decide to rebel against doctors orders, I've gotta make me a snack!

I'm immediately hit with a gooey craving, but know that I want gooey + fruit + crunchy, honestly if I ever find out where cravings come from maybe they'll make more sense. As I'm flipping through recipes I'm not finding anything that is jumping out...I take a break...blow my nose...and dive back in. Then it happens, my epiphany! Some type of upside down cake is what my heart (and tummy) desire.

With no pineapple in the house I know I'm gonna need to get creative. Low and behold in my frozen fruit and veggie packed freezer I find a bag of blueberries and some pecans. Ding-Ding-Ding, we have a winner. The thought of warm blueberries, coated in a nutty caramel sauce, bursting in my mouth almost had me feeling better...almost. And let me just say if I weren't sick I could've scarffed the whole cake down!

Blueberry Upside Down Cake
Topping
1 stick butter
1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries
1 cup chopped pecans

Put all ingredients in a 9 inch cake pan.
Cook ingredients over medium flame until butter and sugar are melted, turning a caramel brown color.
Set aside

Cake
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 3/4 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 325°F.
Sift cake flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon into medium bowl.
Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in another medium bowl until well blended.
Add eggs 1 at a time and beat until well blended after each addition.
Mix in vanilla extract.
Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with whole milk in 2 additions.
Spoon batter into blueberry-pecan prepared cake pan.
Bake 35 minutes or until top of cake is golden brown.
Let cool for 10 minutes and invert on to cake platter.

Hey There Chickadee!

2008-03-24T17:26:00.004-07:00

Spring has definitely sprung here in the Land of Enchantment (New Mexico)! My tree is full of light pink flowers, the birds are chirping, and the sunshine is actually warm. I can't tell you how much a relief it is to start having warm weather. I was actually able to drive in my car yesterday with the windows down, music blaring and my arm hanging out the window. And boy oh boy there's nothing like having the warm radiance from above gently heat your skin.

So to celebrate the spring season, as well as Easter Sunday, I made some little chick cupcakes. I was actually browsing around Martha Stewart's website and came across the recipe for these little cuties. The second I saw them I just got the biggest smile and knew that I couldn't turn down the opportunity to spread the smiles, which I was overwhelmed with when I took them over to my parents house. My mom about died when she got the first glimpse at them.

I almost felt a little guilty biting into the head of these little baby chicks, but the second my taste buds registered the toasted coconut, the feeling of regret quickly passed. My yellow cake was so moist and was complimented well by the vanilla buttercream, and the crispness of the coconut. I couldn't find black licorice ropes (nor do I care for black licorice) so I used some left over brownies and rolled little pieces of them into balls for the eyes.

Hope Spring is on the way for you and that the little chicks remind you that warmer days are on their way :)

Luck of the Irish

2008-03-19T11:36:00.004-07:00

Happy (Belated) St. Patrick's Day! Seeing as how St. Patrick's Day was on a weekday it took me few days to get to the post...

I grew up in a family that goes all out for every, and I do mean every holiday. My mom (although I call her a dork now...secretly wanting to be her when I grow up) is a holiday fanatic. So it's no surprise that she has green coming out the wazoo on St. Patrick's Day. She loves her little leprechaun earrings and buying us St. Patty's Day underwear, she has a shamrock headband and even green socks, but there was one day that she took the addition of green to our life way too far.

I was in middle school and was coming downstairs ready to make a nice bowl of Lucky Charms, watch some Saved By the Bell and prepare for a long day of education. "Cling-Cling" the geometric shapes and colorful marshmallows filled my bowl. I open the refrigerator to grab the milk and about died. My "creative" mom had put green food coloring in the entire gallon of milk! All I kept thinking was mold, mold, moldy milk! Needless to say I did not have Lucky Charms that day or the next, and that milk probably sat in the fridge for four days without being used, until my dad, sick of starring at the disgusting chug, threw it away.

That is one of my "fondest" memories of St. Patrick's Day, one I'll never forget and never do to my kids (when I have them). And while I may not have green milk, I will have green cake. My vanilla cake got a few Irish kicks to it thanks to some Baileys and green food coloring. I also added a little mint flavoring and some chopped up Andes mints, with of course and overloaded amount of chocolate buttercream...mmm!

Happy Pi Day!

2008-03-14T15:33:00.004-07:00

It's the beloved 3.14! When I was younger this was probably one of my favorite days to go to school, I always looked at the month of March in hopes that the 14th feel on a school day. Now you're probably wondering why on Earth any child would want to go to school.

Well, the answer is Pi Day at school was simply that, it was Pie Day. My school would dedicate the entire day to everything pie, and hello...how much do I love pie! We would have pie walks and pie eating contests, pie tosses and pies in your face. It was simply heaven! And even though I was an undercover math geek March 14th was the one day I didn't have to be embarrassed to proclaim my love of math...because everyone else as doing it to. But after the 14th my admiration for math was again tucked away for another year.

It always amazes me the traditions one carries on, especially if they were ingrained in you from a young age. So when I began talking about Pi Day two nights ago with my boyfriend, contemplating what kind of pie to make for this glorious day I was shocked when he asked the dreaded question, "What is Pi?". My mouth almost hit the floor, I went on to explain to him my middle school memories only to get the "blank face" response. He had no clue as to what I was talking about, and here I am at 23 years old still believing that everyone celebrates Pi Day. My heart was absolutely broken.

To make me feel better (and to spread the word about Pi Day), this post is dedicated to all of you out there who never had the chance to experience all the great things Pi Day has to offer. March 14th should be filled with meringues and fruits, chocolates and creams, double crusted and crumbs, piping hot and frozen pies of all kinds! As an offering to anyones first Pi Day, I give to you Raspberry-Peach Crumb Topped Pie! Happy Pi Day bloggers!

Pushing Up Daisies...

2008-03-09T15:15:00.009-07:00

...Strawberry daisies!

I was so stoked to use my new little baking pans that I got and thought long and hard about what to make. I wasn't in the mood for chocolate, I wanted something light and cakey and the only thing I could think about was strawberries. Strawberries just remind me so much of warmer weather, which I am dying to have. So, to bring a little sunshine in my life I made these little Strawberry "Daisy" Cakes.

Once my little babies came out of the oven and curled up on the couch with a steaming cup of mint green tea, my latest book club book (Sophia's choice) and of course a plate of my little cakes. Not being able to wait another minute I took a small nibble (ok maybe not small) and was whisked away to a grassy field where the sun shines not stop, keeping me comfortably warm, while a nice summer breeze blows through the weeping willow. If only it were that easy! But escaping for a few moments is better than never leaving at all.

The recipe for these cakes is courtesy of Martha Stewart, and actually starts with a packaged cake mix. But with the addition of fresh strawberries, and using strawberry nectar instead of oil, these cakes took on a flavor all their own. They were so moist on the inside, but had the golden crisp crunch to the outside, which my taste buds are a huge fan of. I also made a little glaze for them which just added to the moistest-ness, because once the hot cakes soaked all of the yummy glaze up the glaze was contained within every spongy corner of the cake.

Here's to the wishful dreaming of warmer days to come!

Welcome Home!

2008-03-03T19:05:00.002-07:00

Slowly but surely my quaint little apartment is becoming a home. I never thought it would be so difficult to turn something so foreign into something warm, cozy and comforting. My first days in my new home were very awkward, I didn't have much furniture, no decorations on the walls and found myself surround by plain, uninviting cardboard boxes! But over the last two weeks, and after many ventures to Target, I'm starting to see my home come to life.

The sophistication of cherry wood, the playfulness of colored plates hung on the wall as decoration and the many ideas of paint colors reeling through my head are giving my home the personality it was missing. And of course, nothing makes a home feel more like home than a good morning of baking. Adjusting to my little apartment sized kitchen was a little awkward but my Raspberry Coffeecake didn't seem to notice any differences :)

With the smell of warm raspberry in the morning circulating my apartment I knew I was no longer living in an apartment. This is my home, where many days of baking, sleeping, crying, laughing and living will take place. I look forward to these days with anticipation and fear. Anticipation in my first step towards "independence", adulthood and creating, for myself, the life I dream about. Fear of loosing my connection with my family, closing the door on my childhood and not living up to the hopes I have for my future.

But as the windy road of life unfolds before me, it's things like making Raspberry Coffeecake that keep me grounded and comforted.

Love is in the Air!

2008-02-14T08:00:00.005-07:00

Valentine's Day has to be one of my favorite holidays, not only does this holiday celebrate my favorite color (pink) but it also "allows" me to eat all the chocolaty goodies I want! I know, I know, Valentine's Day should be centered around love and being with the people you love, which for em it is, I have an amazing boyfriend, whom I am madly in love with (not to mention we're moving into our apartment today!). But you'd have to be a dummy to not think about chocolate on Valentine's Day!

I mean how can you resist chocoalte covered strawberries, little chocolates with gooey filling inside, chocoalte cupcakes, chocoalte fondue, hot chocoalte with melty marshmallows, chocolate dipped cookies (I could go on forever, but I think you get the point).

Another thing I love aboout Valentine's Day is think back to my elementary school days. We had to make our Valentine card holder out of red and pink construction paper, decorating it with sparkly glue and colored markers. There were stick figures of boys and girls holding hands, and crocked hearts floating around their heads. Then there was the excitment of going to the store and picking out your cards to give all your classmates...Carebares or Beauty and the Beast? Carebares or Beauty and the Beast? Uum...Beauty and the Beast! The worst part was actually having to write all your classmates names on the cards, but with a few hours of some good Nickelodeon that task seemed to whiz by. On Valentine's Day I'd wak to school in anticipation, praying that nobody else had bought the same cards as me, but that wish almost never came true :( It was finally time to pass out the cards and hurry back o my seat to tear them open and read all the notes. And of course there were those cute elementary school scribbled remarks on a Transformers card that always made me blush...Sadly those days are long gone and here I am all grown up planning a "real" Valentine's Day night!

So to celebrate Valentine's Day I made a few little goodies, mostly chocolate, one not :)

First we have Black Forrest Cupcakes (chocolate cupcakes with cherry pie filling, topped with vanilla buttercream) Second is the ever popular Red Velvet Cupcake. Then Raspberry White Chocolate Shortbread Hearts!

But the best one of all..the Valentine Goody that I'm entering in "A Heart For Your Valentine" Blogging Event" is one of Donna Hay's recipes. It's calles Raspberry-Spiked Chocolate Brownies and they are to die for!! I used a cookie cutter to cut these moist, gooey brownies into cute little hearts! Happy Valentine's Day everybody!!

Wasting Away in Margarita-ville

2008-02-10T17:44:00.000-07:00

I was hoping to use the cupcakes as some libations for my Super Bowl party, but I ended up drowing my sorrows in them as the fourth quarter ended and I was faced with the reality that my undefeated Patriots had just lost the biggest game of the season! Damn it...but thank goodness for my Margarita Cupcakes...otherwise I wouldn't have survived :)

These cupcakes were the absolute moistest cupcakes I have ever had in my life! I had heard about Margarita cupcakes before, but had never tried or had one. And now I'm kicking myself for wasting so many years of my life without these cupcakes! I'll admit that I was a little shocked they came out so good, because when I tasted the batter I was a little skepitcal...they were VERY strong thanks to the 1/2 cup of tequila and the few splashes of Grand Marnier that I added.

But when my fluffy, bright yellow cupcakes came outta the oven, I grabbed on, peeling off the wrapper immediately and took a bit (hey if they weren't good, I wasn't gonna serve them to all my friends who think I'm a baking God :0) ) One big bite of my cupcake and a sign of relief came from my overstuffed mouth that was gorging on an outrageously good cupcake!

I think the package of pudding also helped to moisten these babies up, and I am now excited to try a variety of cupcake mixes with puddings...something I had never thought of before.

So if you'll please pull out your ID so that I can verify you're over 21...

...All right now, raise your cupcake high and make a toast!!

Ingredients
1 package lemon cake mix
1 (4 ounce) package instant lemon pudding mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup frozen margarita concentrate
1/4 cup water
4 large eggs lightly beaten
1/2 cup gold tequila
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier

For the frosting I used a store bought white buttercream frosting, added a squirt of lime juice and some lime zest.

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine cake mix, pudding mix, vegetable oil, limeade, water, eggs, tequila and Grand Marnierin a large mixing bowl.
Beat for 5 minutes at medium speed with an electric mixer.
Pour batter in prepared cupcake pan.
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until inserted toothpick in the center comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes.
Remove from pan and cool completely.

I've been Memed!!

2008-01-30T12:54:00.001-07:00

Sweet Rosie of Rosie Bakes a Piece of Cake was kind enough to Meme me, and I can't tell you how excited I am. I've been curious at to how people get memed and no longer have to wonder. (These are the rules: 1. Link to your tagger and post these rules. 2. Share 5 facts about yourself 3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them). 4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their Blogs.)

So I now have to list 5 facts about me, and then pass my meme tag along :)

Fun Fact #1: When I was a sophomore in high school I broke my arm in cheerleading, and now permanently have two plates and thirteen screws...and no I do not set of the metal detectors :)

Fun Fact #2: I desperately want to be Giada de Laurentiis when I grow up.

Fun Fact #3: I am addicted to reality tv, and have everything from Survivor to Apprentice to The Hills (just to name a few) set up on my Tivo so that I NEVER, NEVER miss an episode!

Fun Fact #4: I am currently applying for my Master's in Education, starting in the fall...which hopefully doesn't affect my blogging!

Fun Fact #5: Do not ever leave an unattended dessert around me! I'll eat it :)

And now that you know a little about me, lets find out a little about
-Baking Soda at Bake My Day
-Jenny at Jenny Bakes
-Helen of Tartelette
-Brooke of Cookie Jar
-Jennifer and Oliver at Chocolate Shavings

Daring Bakers Will Make You Pucker!

2008-01-28T18:48:00.000-07:00

I must admit when I saw this month's Daring Bakers Challenge I was a little relieved! Lemon Meringue Pie...totally doable! I've made crust before, even some form of pie custard and I've definitely made meringue, so I figured I had this challenge in the bag! And what a better way to start the New Year than with a light, refreshing, make ya crave for warmer weather pie!

So one cold January day, hours before the Packers were set to play the Giants, in what was to be one of the most upsetting days of my life (sorry Packers:0( ) I set out to complete my DB Challenge. As I went to print out the recipe I was curious to see other DB's experiences and after reading some of the posts I was a little nervous. Many DB's were having trouble with the custard and meringue being too runny and ruining their crust. But I calmy read and re-read the instructions and just decided "To heck with it...if it's runny then oh well".

I got together all of my crust ingredients, which came together easily in my food processor, which made me very excited. I eagerly placed my crust into it's new glass pie plate home, and tried to give it a little decorative edge...which totally didn't work. Carefully poured my pie weights in, to reveal a "clink,clink,clink" sound that got my heart beating in excitement, and sent the shell off the the oven. When The shell came out I couldn't help but to snag an edge of the crust, which was soo good I was totally ready to get eat the crust by itself. It was so light and flakey and really reminded me of a sugar cookie...I know right! What could be better than a sugar cookie crust!

With the crust set off to the side to cool I got to work on the custard. I was sure to watch the boiling points of my custard, not want to over cook it and completely ruin my pie. So at the sign of the first bubbles (thanks to Tartelette's advice) I turned off my flame. I was in shock at how thick the mixture was, but at how much yummy lemon zing it had from the fresh squeezed lemons! The baby chick yellow of the custard had me mesmerized for a few moments day dreaming of the warm weather that is soon to come. Whoa snap out of it Steph!

My creamy custard was poured into it's golden brown pie shell and left to cool for a few hours. Those few hours gave me time to watch my Patriots go on to be champions and left me contemplating the fate of the upcoming Packers game. With my family glued to the T.V. in suspense of Brett Favre's future I was beginning to hear comments about my pie. "Maybe if we had some pie to distract us from the game this wouldn't be so bad!" And that was my hint that it was time to make the meringue. My family is not very patient when it comes to dessert, as you can tell.

The clear egg whites sat in the silver Kitcheaid bowl ready to be whipped into stiff peaks, and so they were. Within minutes I had transformed clear mookey liquid into a thick, white peaky pillow. Not waisting a second I plopped my meringue on top of my pie, using my spatula to create some outrageously pointy peaks, gave my pie a good luck blessing and shoved her in the oven.

"Beep, Beep...Beep, Beep" the oven was calling my name! With one last prayer I opened the oven door and literally jumped for joy.Sitting in front of my was the most gorgeous Lemon Meringue Pie I had ever seen. The peaks were a mocha brown but the base of the meringue had kept it's winter white color. With the family pressing my for their pie I cut into the billowing mountain tops with out much time for it to rest.

As the knife slowly pulled out the very first slice, I held my breath. And to my amazement I just cut a perfect piece of pie. The entire slice came out perfectly, as if I had been making Lemon Meringue Pie from the moment I was born! Words cannot describe to you the sense of accomplishment that I had felt. Not to mention that the taste of this pie was one of the best I've had. Even my boyfriend, who hates Lemon Meringue couldn't help but eat the entire slice that had been handed to him.

Daring Baker's Lemon Meringue Pie Challenge: A Success!!!

Lemon Meringue Pie
Makes one 10-inch (25 cm) pie

For the Crust:
¾ cup (180 mL) cold butter; cut into ½-inch (1.2 cm) pieces
2 cups (475 mL) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (60 mL) granulated sugar
¼ tsp (1.2 mL) salt
⅓ cup (80 mL) ice water

For the Filling:
2 cups (475 mL) water
1 cup (240 mL) granulated sugar
½ cup (120 mL) cornstarch
5 egg yolks, beaten
¼ cup (60 mL) butter
¾ cup (180 mL) fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon zest
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract

For the Meringue:
5 egg whites, room temperature
½ tsp (2.5 mL) cream of tartar
¼ tsp (1.2 mL) salt
½ tsp (2.5 mL) vanilla extract
¾ cup (180 mL) granulated sugar

For the Crust:

Make sure all ingredients are as cold as possible. Using a food processor or pastry cutter and a large bowl, combine the butter, flour, sugar and salt. Process or cut in until the mixture resembles coarse meal and begins to clump together. Sprinkle with water, let rest 30 seconds and then either process very briefly or cut in with about 15 strokes of the pastry cutter, just until the dough begins to stick together and come away from the sides of the bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and press together to form a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 20 minutes.

Allow the dough to warm slightly to room temperature if it is too hard to roll. On a lightly floured board (or countertop) roll the disk to a thickness of ⅛ inch (.3 cm). Cut a circle about 2 inches (5 cm) larger than the pie plate and transfer the pastry into the plate by folding it in half or by rolling it onto the rolling pin. Turn the pastry under, leaving an edge that hangs over the plate about ½ inch (1.2 cm). Flute decoratively. Chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the crust with foil and fill with metal pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Cool completely before filling.

For the Filling:

Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan. Remove from the heat and let rest 5 minutes. Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together. Add the mixture gradually to the hot water, whisking until completely incorporated.

Return to the heat and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. The mixture will be very thick. Add about 1 cup (240 mL) of the hot mixture to the beaten egg yolks, whisking until smooth. Whisking vigorously, add the warmed yolks to the pot and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in butter until incorporated. Add the lemon juice, zest and vanilla, stirring until combined. Pour into the prepared crust. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the surface, and cool to room temperature.

For the Meringue:

Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar, salt and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually, beating until it forms stiff, glossy peaks. Pile onto the cooled pie, bringing the meringue all the way over to the edge of the crust to seal it completely. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a rack. Serve within 6 hours to avoid a soggy crust.

"Mmm...doughnuts" ~Homer Simpson

2008-01-27T10:44:00.000-07:00

When I saw that Peabody from Culinary Concoctions and Helen of Tartelette had decided to throw a "Time to Make the Doughnuts" blogging event I had no choice but to participate. I had never made homemade doughnuts before, and have actually been craving a good doughnut for quite some time, so I figured what better time than now! So off I went in search of an easy...non yeast...doughnut recipe (I'm still terrified to work with yeast!) After looking for a few days I came across an interesting recipe on Epicurious' website.

The doughnut was called Maple-Glazed Sour Cream Doughnut with Sugared Walnut Streusel, it was love at first read! There was no yeast at all, the recipe sounded very simple and the flavor combination left my lips smacking in anticipation. So that was it my recipe hunt had ended!

With the sun barely peeking over the mountains and gloomy snow clouds covering the wintry morning sky, it was time to fry up some doughnuts. Right away my kitchen was letting off the aroma of breakfast, and I had only made the dough for my fried little treats. It was the orange zest in the dough that awakened my family's nose giving them their morning hunger pains.

My dough was ready in about 5 minutes, but need to rest for an hour. So while the dough was nestled in the corner staying warm, I got to work on the streusel which was also very, very easy! The recipe calls for walnuts, but I had pecans, so that's what i used. And who doesn't love cinnamon sugared pecans in the morning? By baking them in the oven the streusel gets a really nice crunch to it, which also brings out the flavor of the pecans. I had to force myself to quit eating the topping, it was so good!

Finally the hour had passed and I cranked the blue flame under the Le Crueset to "High"...time to rock and roll! With my doughnuts cut into typical doughnut shaped I carefully lowered batches of orange specked doughnuts into the hot oil. For a second there I could've sworn the oil was saying "Snap, Crackle, Pop", cementing the idea of fresh doughnuts for breakfast into my head.

When the puffed doughnuts had their summer glow it was time to retrieve them from their boiling hot swimming pool...which I had become quite envious of. Here I was standing in warm pajamas trying to keep my feet from freezing on the cold as ice tile, while my doughnuts were basking away in the heat, turning their skin from eggshell white to summer golden brown...bastards. Little did they know I would get my revenge!

Out of the hot oil the doughnuts dried off on some paper towels. I got a paper bag and dumped some cinnamon and sugar in it and quickly tossed the hot doughnuts holes into the bag. Shake, shake, shake, shake...and out they came covered in white crystals, smelling heavenly. The doughnuts were dunked into the maple glaze (twice, just to make sure they were good and coated) and then covered in the crunchy streusel.

With the doughnut process complete it was time to taste my creations, and let me just say "You can't eat just one". These doughnuts were so good! They had the texture of cake doughnuts and the glaze gave the doughnuts just enough flavor without being overwhelming, but it was the struesel that really brought home the flavor. My family was so happy to wake up on a Sunday morning and have outrageously good, but not too sweet homemade, hot, crisp doughnuts. And to make sure everybody had something they could eat I left a few doughnuts just plain, and a few with just the maple glaze...mom can get a little picky as to what toppings are on her doughunts :)

Thanks Peabody and Helen for a great blogging event!!

By George I Think I've Got It!

2008-01-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

I think I'm starting to get the hang of cake decorating! At first, what seemed like a daunting task, how now become some sort of happy chaos in my life! When a close friend (Michelle) called and said that it was her daughter's birthday and she'd like me to make Niki a cake I have to admit I was a little nervous.

The theme of Niki's birthday party was "Death of a Teen Idol", which was this huge murder mystery plot. Each girl that was coming to the party was e-mailed her "character" a week in advance, and she was to come dressed and in character to the party. The party, which was an entire day's event would have a horrendous murder, where one of the party attendants was the killer, and the whole idea of the party was to find out who the killer was.

Seeing as how the party was based around a murder, Michelle wanted a graveyard cake. So at first my mind was reeling with ideas. I'd have a spooky tree and crows and tombstones, maybe even a skeleton...Whoa, whoa, whoa...I suddenly realized that my cake was starting to sound more like a Halloween cake than a birthday cake. So back to the drawing board I went.

I started with a "Death by Chocolate" cake, which was probably one of the best chocolate cakes I've made! When I was shaping the cake I couldn't resist and had a bite of the "throw away" pieces, and I almost died! Pure chocolate bliss. I then covered the cake in chocolate frosting...of course! Now to the decorating. I knew I wanted tombstones but I didn't want the cake to look gothic, which is where the green grass (which is actually food colored coconut) came in. My tombstones are made out of Milano cookies, the pebbles are chocolate covered raisins and the tress...well they're fake. I said I think I got it, not that I was a cake decorating pro. With my planning I realized that writing Happy Birthday across coconut was going to be a little challenging, so I decided to make a dirt path for my message, which is made out of crushed chocolate graham crackers.

Overall I think this cake came out pretty good! Michelle flipped when she saw it, which is something I wasn't expecting. I still looks a little amateurish, but hey practice makes perfect, so I guess I'll stick to practicing :)

Movin', Movin', Movin'

2008-01-11T14:27:00.001-07:00

Well the time has come...My once little bright yellow fuzzy wings have transformed into elegant white wind soarers! As I walk to the edge of my comfy, familiar nest I look back to my parents and feel a little remorse, I think about my childhood and all my family memories that were created in this warm, soothing, never-wanna-leave nest. But then I look out at the horizon and know that I am ready.

My once little chickadee body is ready to take flight, spread my wings and begin a new chapter of my life. All of my fluffy down has shed away, leaving a more mature, responsible version of my childish self.

And while I am still very scared to take the plunge, I know that my parents taught me well and I will have no problem sailing peacefully into the horizonal future. Yes, I am ready to fly the coop!!

I found a quaint little apartment right by the river, surrounded by trees and overlooking the beautiful Sandia Mountains. And while this chickadee has decided to move out from the house, she is not far from the warm-hearted parents! Which, is one piece of comfort for my know reeling mind.

After paying my damage deposit and filing out my application I had a huge sense of joy engulf my body...a place of my own...to decorate, live and create lasting memories...I don't know if I've ever been so excited!

With moving also comes change though, and sadly enough my oven in the apartment will be nothing like the oven at my parents house. But after a few goes with the smaller, more antique oven I think I'll be back to producing some scrumptious sweets. So to hold me over until then I decided to make a few goodies while I still have the "spoiled girl" oven! My Mocha-Toffee Cheesecakes came out so sinfully delicious that I had to force myself not to eat another bite! But with that creamy mocha cheesecake oozing at you, how can you resist?

Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients
36 commercial prebaked miniature phyllo dough shells (I used a premade pie crust)

1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee granules

1 teaspoon hot water

1 teaspoon Kahlúa (coffee-flavored liqueur)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup (4 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese

1/2 cup (4 ounces) block-style fat-free cream cheese

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

3 tablespoons toffee bits (such as Skor)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place 1 phyllo shell into each of 36 miniature muffin cups. (I used regular sized muffin pan)
Combine coffee granules, hot water, and Kahlúa in a small bowl. Place coffee mixture, sugar, and the next 5 ingredients (sugar through egg) in a food processor; process until smooth. Spoon about 1 tablespoon cheese mixture into each shell; discard the remaining filling. Sprinkle cheesecakes evenly with toffee bits.

Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until set. Remove from pans, and cool on a wire rack.

The other goodie that I made was moist Double Chocolate Cupcakes. With no frosting on them, I was skeptical as to whether or not I would like them but the added chocolate chips to the batter really intensify and satisfy my chocolate tooth! And the came out so light and airy, not crumbly, which is always good!

Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup egg substitute (I used two regular eggs)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup 1% low-fat buttermilk

1 1/4 ounces dark (70 percent cocoa) chocolate, finely chopped (I used a handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips)

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir with a whisk.
Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well combined (about 3 minutes). Add egg substitute and vanilla, beating well. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to granulated sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Fold in chocolate. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups lined with muffin cup liners. Bake at 350° for 18 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan; cool completely on a wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.

When Life Knocks You Down, Have Pie!!

2008-01-08T10:29:00.000-07:00

It's funny how each of us choose to deal with life's mishaps. For some people they journal, for others they open themselves up to friends, for me I turn to dessert. There's something about dessert that is so comforting to me. The aroma, the taste, the texture, the amazing combinations of flavor, all appeal to my sense and turn a horrible day into sweet sorrow :) Dessert will listen to all of my problems and never once judge me or correct me, dessert agrees that I am always right and offers me it's shoulder to lean on.

But it is that sense of comfort from dessert that I find so mind boggling! I mean even after writing the ways in which dessert offers me comfort and solace I still find it hard to believe that food has that kind of effect on people. The effect of becoming your best friend when dessert can't even talk. How is it that I trust dessert with so many of my secrets and feelings, but am too afraid to share them with people that I've known my whole life? Or when I feel all alone in this big world that dessert can turn it around, making me feel instead that I am on top of a little bitty world?

Maybe I will never know what it is about dessert that draws me in so close, and maybe I don't need to. If a slice of pie makes me happy, then by gosh I'm gonna have it! So here's to finding happiness in the New Year, however that maybe!

And to kick off my year of joy and happiness I turned to an amazing recipe from Epicurious for a Triple Berry Pie with Crumb Topping. Suddenly the holiday blues melted away and I was reminded of the warmth of the sun shining on my face in the midst of summer. My feet gently sweeping across the prickly spears of green grass, while relaxing with a nice glass of cool ice tea. I'm telling you, this pie took me to the wonderful days of summer that I am so longing for, and was allowed to escape to for a few blissful moments!

Friend in need!

2008-01-05T21:53:00.001-07:00

It's 12:30 in the morning and my best friend is in hysterics! Her and her boyfriend (of 3 years) just broke up and she desperately needed someone to talk to. The second we hung up I knew that I needed to make my dear friend Annmarie a "Hate Your Boyfriend" dessert. I immediately started looking around for a recipe. I knew I wanted to make something chocolaty, because chocolate is definitely recommended in relieving the pain of a broken heart, but I didn't know what kind of chocolate item I wanted to make...until I saw it!

This glorious masterpiece came is thanks in part to Peabody and it's called "Chocolate Crunch Slice". This is the richest, most decadent "get over your boyfriend" piece of chocolate you will ever have! It's basically melted chocolate, cream, butter and Oreos! How easy is that? And since I wanted to show my compassion for my totally amazing friend I decided to put my chocolate slice in some Hesrhey Kisses molds that I've had lying around in my cupboard. These Kisses will totally knock your socks off! Peabody's recipe called for dark chocolate but I used milk chocolate, and they were still very, very rich, but oh so satisfying. (Eating these are great post break up or pre-period, but not recommended before a dentist appointment :0) ). And they're such a cinch to make, how could you not want to try them?

In giving this to my friend, I just wanted her to know how much I care about her and that she truly deserves the most scrumptious kisses everyday, so forget the dumbie that let her go and look forward to the real Mr. Right, because I know he's out there for her! So to all those girls out there looking for love, don't give up...have a kiss!

Oh my god!!

2008-01-04T17:02:00.000-07:00

"Uum...Steph...look who it is! I think that's Bobby Flay" was the only thing my mom had to say while in Chelsea Market in NYC. And you know what...she was right!! I turned around and my mouth dropped, standing right there in front of me was Bobby Flay, a man who I watch almost on a daily basis on the Food Network. I felt like such a retard, because there I was just starting at him, as he slowly walked by me. My stare must have been recognizable, because he quickly caught on to my gawking and came over to say hi. I has no idea what to do at this point, and suddenly the only thing that came out of my mouth was, "I watch you everyday! Can I take a picture with you!!!" I know, pitiful. Typical celebrity awe that makes you say the dumbest things EVER! Not to mention that it had been snowing and raining that day, so my hair was all crapped out!!! But he kindly and luckily said yes to our photo moment! Just wish I could've talked him into letting me go up to the Food Network Kitchens with him.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-03T12:26:00.001-07:00

Happy New Year Bloggers! It's hard to believe that we have headed into the year of 2008! It seems like just yesterday I was a young fifteen year old, begging my parents to let me go out with my friends to celebrate the new millennium, and now here I am, eight years later wondering where time went!

Oh, well no time to dwell on what was...because I've got a lot planned for this upcoming year. After searching through many different options of "what to be when i grow up", I think I have finally decided! My plan is to go back to school in the fall and get my Master's in Education and become a High School English teacher. Which I am so excited about!

But don't get scared! I of course will need sweet treats to get me through my time back at school, so I have also resolved to bake and blog more than I currently do. I am a frequent guest to Peabody's blog and am so jealous of here seemingly weekly posting of outrageous baked goods. So I have decided, with Peabody as my role model, to be more adventurous in my baking and blog more than twice a month :)

With that being said I wanted to share with you my special New Year's Eve treats. The first is a recipe that I found on BettyCrocker.com, which uses a packaged chocolate chip cookie dough mix. These goodies are known as Luscious Layer Bars and will totally knock your socks off!

The chocolate chip cookies are the base to the butterscotch, chocolate, coconut, pecan, white chocolate topping. Similar to Seven Layer Bars, these bars are so moist and gooey, and full of sweet, sweet flavor! When I took these bad boys out of the oven I just couldn't resist, I got a spoon and dug out the corner, revealing a melty, oozy, warmly soft morsel, which I immediately devoured!

These second little gooey I made was a mini cheesecake which I found on the Pillsbury Website. (who has time, with drinking and staying up late, to actually make recipes from scratch!) These scrumptious cheesecakes are called Black Forest Cheesecake Desert Cups, which are so easy to make.

My favorite part of the recipe is that the base of the cheesecake is actually packaged brownie mix. I'm a huge brownie fan, so I was very very satisfied when I saw that on the recipe list. The brownie is then topped with a creamy chocolate cheesecake, and covered with cherry pie filling!
Need I say more?

All it takes is one bite of this cheesecake to turn your world upside down!! Happy New Year everybody and may 2008 be the best year yet!!

Holiday Hangover!

2008-01-03T12:11:00.000-07:00

I feel awful for leaving the blogging world hanging, but with the holidays, and my trip to New York City I was left with no time for blogging, but I'm back and ready to blog, blog, blog!

I know we're well past Christmas, but I had to post this beautiful cake I made. It's an Eggnog Layer Cake that melted my heart! I'm usually not a big fan of eggnog, but I decided to give this recipe a whirl and thank goodness I did! I have never had a moister cake in my life, thanks to whole cup of eggnog that gets mixed into the batter :) The cake is also lightened by beating egg whites and gently folding them into the cake batter.

This was also one of my most successful attempts with a butter cream frosting, usually my butter kinda curdles up, but not this time. The frosting was so smooth and creamy that it brought tears to my eyes.

And with the cake being so light and not overbearing, I unfortunately ate way more cake than necessary, but I guess that was the holidays are all about! Sorry to post this so late in the holiday season, but if you're looking for a great cake, with a unique flavor this Eggnog Layer Cake from Holiday Baking is just the thing!

Ovens ding, are you listen'?

2007-12-06T17:17:00.001-07:00

Lots of things in the kitchen
A beautiful sight
And goodies to delight
Walking in a baking wonderland

With the leaves completely off the trees and the continuous overcast, it can only mean one thing...CHRISTMAS!! And with Christmas, and the holiday season comes lots and lots of baking. My holiday baking list this month is outrageous. There are so many recipes and goodies that I want to make that I don't even know where to begin. The good thing is that it doesn't really matter where I start, because every thing is so scrumptious that there is NO disappointment!

Starting with tradition, we always have to have chocolate chip cookies on hand. And what better way to kick off holiday baking than with a batch of warm melty chocolate chip cookies? While I was at the store buying my baking ingredients I happened along these festive chocolate chips and knew I had to have them. They were the perfect addition to my cookies!

Another tradition in my family is Peanut Butter Balls. I don't know when this tradition started but I remember as a little girl helping my mom in the kitchen make these devilish little treats. I used to eat handfuls of them...which thanks to my slowing metabolism, I can't do anymore...but a few little Peanut Butter Balls won't hurt :) Made with crunchy peanut butter and rice krispie treats, these yummies have just the right amount of crunch to them, and then are topped with a smooth milky layer of chocolate!! The last tradition in our family is chocolate covered pretzels, hey, what can I say we like our chocolate!!! And these pretzels need no explanation. Sweet, salty and crunchy, the perfect combo.

Sugar cookies are something that definitely remind me of Christmas, and I think these cutie pies are sure to become a tradition. I wanted to do Snowmen and Snowflakes for everybody to enjoy, so that people from all religious backgrounds could share in eating my little winter buddies. I remember that sugar cookies used to be so daunting for me to make, but they are quickly getting easier and easier to make. I almost feel bad eating the heads off my little snowmen, but with their light crispy texture and sweet icing who can resist? I also decided that these wintery friends needed to participate in Food Blogga's "Eat Christmas Cookies" extravaganza, here's the link for anyone interested http://foodblogga.blogspot.com/

Ginger, ginger, ginger...what is the holiday season without a little ginger? I'm a little tired of the traditional gingerbread men though, so I thought I'd make a fabulous Ginger Cookie. And fabulous it was! This cookie had just the right amount of spice and a little kick right at the end, thanks to a tiny bit of cracked black pepper mixed into the dough. To me, the perfect cookie has a crisp edge, but a moist, chewy center, and this was exactly the texture of my Ginger Cookies. I could literally eat a dozen of these warmly spiced cookies!

A new cake that I wanted to try this year was Chocolate Peppermint Cake, and boy am I glad I did. I took a basic chocolate cake recipe and kicked it up a few notches with a splash of peppermint extract. And let me tell you, the house smelled sooo good and festive that I almost turned into Mrs. Claus herself :) To top of my deliciously moist chocolate cake I made a simply vanilla buttercream, adding a tiny bit a peppermint extract and a splash of peppermint schnapps, I could've ate the frosting by itself, it was that good!!! The peppermint flavoring of the frosting matched perfectly with the chocolate cake, and neither one was overbearing, so it was a success! And to give my cake a little holiday decor I crushed up some candy canes and covered the sides of this to die for holiday cake!

Last but definitely not least is my two different brownies. The first batch was just good ole fashioned chocolate brownies with pecans. Perfect for any chocolate lover, these little babies get extra chocolaty with the addition of chocolate chips. Hey, I told you already, I like my chocolate!! I only wish I had some peppermint ice cream to scoop onto these decadent brownies! And while I can't get enough of these brownies, I must say that my White Chocolate Blondies have to be one of my all time favorite brownies! Full of White Chocolate, Butterscotch Chips and Pecans these blondies will leave you speechless. I had to pry myself away from the tray :( The secret to making my blondies moist is the addition of coconut, which you can't taste at all, but lends a great texture to the blondies. And here to display my treats is my buddy Ginga, who helped me out a lot in the kitchen these last few days! If it weren't for him I would have burned oven hands :) Thanks Ginga, I love you!

Well there you have it bloggers, the beginnings to my holiday baking. Stay tuned for more festive treats, and may you have a wonderful and happy holiday!!