Thursday, February 28, 2013

Chewy Chocolate Sugar Cookies



Guys!  I took Rope Rage again and I survived!  I know!  So I think I'm an athlete now?  Pretty sure that it means I'm an athlete.


So there's sorta this weird thing that happens to me when I work out.  My blood starts pumping and it's like my emotions are on overdrive.  So something like a particularly moving commercial will bring me close to tears.  On a treadmill.  In the middle of a run.  In public.  It even happened once during an especially moving commercial on the Barbie brand (as in a "Girls can rule the world"-type branding commercial).  

I don't think I need to tell you what happened during Rope Rage when the instructor played Beyonce's "Girls."  I was overcome.  Luckily, no one noticed as I mouthed the lyrics and fought back tears while finishing my burpies.


Aside from the obvious mental issues I have, I think it's important we discuss Chewy Chocolate Sugar Cookies.  This recipe is actually a slight adaptation from an America's Test Kitchen recipe for Chewy Sugar Cookies which I've tried and loved.  Adding chocolate to anything is a sure-fire win but I was shocked at just how sure-fire winning-iest it was.


I can say with confidence that these may be my favorite cookies I've ever made.  The cocoa flavor is SO deep and they're really the perfect chewy texture.  They look so simple but they're really a satisfying cookie.  Many of my coworkers felt the same way.  So pour yourself a glass of milk and prepare to eat a whole batch.  Athletes need their fuel, after all.

 Here's the recipe!  

Chewy Chocolate Sugar Cookies
yields: about 2 dozen

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, plus 1/3 cup for rolling
2 ounces cream cheese
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and still warm
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 Tablespoon milk (or half & half)
1 Tablespoon brewed coffee (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: 
1.  Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with silicon mats or parchment paper and set aside.  

2.  In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3.  Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar, cream cheese and melted butter in a large bowl and whisk briskly until smooth.  A few lumps may remain but they'll eventually combine.  Whisk in oil until combined.  Add egg, milk, coffee (if using), and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth. 

4.  Add flour mixture to wet ingredients. Fold in with a rubber spatula until all flour is incorporated and a soft dough forms.

5.  Measure remaining 1/3 cup sugar into a small bowl. Using a 2 Tablespoon cookie scoop, portion out 12 dough balls per baking sheet (or as much as your sheets will allow).  Roll each dough ball in your hands, then roll in sugar to coat.  Space about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. 

6.  Bake 1 sheet at time at 350°F for 11-13 minutes, rotating half way thru, until cookies are set and tops have cracked.  They may look a ittle underdone but the edges should be barely set.  Don't overbake!  Cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Enjoy!  

Recipe barely adapted from Craving Chronicles

Monday, February 25, 2013

Homemade Clif Bars

I, like many many other food bloggers, have gotten on the "make things from scratch that are usually easily purchased from the store" wagon.  There's just something satisfying about recreating a taste in your own kitchen AND having that satisfaction that you can pronounce every ingredient involved.

I'm certainly no health-nut (I say this with one hand in a bag of cheddar penguin-shaped crackers) so making things homemade isn't a personal philosophy to remain healthier.  I just like food that tastes good, man.  And I like making it in my kitchen.  Sometime's it's as simple as that.


The original recipe calls for raisins to be pulverized in a food processor.  When I made it, I found the resulting bars to taste too, well, raisin-y.  Go figure.  I thought perhaps the raisins would mostly provide texture but there was a distinct raisin-y flavor as well.  Being that I'm not the biggest raisin fan, I thought I'd swap them out on my second go and use dried apricots instead.  For my tastes, muucchhh better.

And I tossed in some vanilla whey protein powder for good measure.  If you don't have any protein powder, then you will ruin these bars.  KIDDING.  Just leave it out, they'll be just fine.  Apricot-y.  Chocolate-y.  Protien-y.  Non-raisin-y.  Yummy.  

Here's the recipe!  

Homemade Clif Bars
yields about 9 bars

Ingredients
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup unfrosted mini shredded wheat (or 3 large biscuit size shredded wheat)
1 cup dried apricots
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1/3 cup vanilla whey protein powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup honey
1/4 peanut butter
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips  

Instructions
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.  

2.  Place apricots in a food processor and pulse until chopped.  The mixture will be sticky.  Add the shredded wheat, oats, protein powder, cinnamon and salt and pulse until well incorporated.  

3.  In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, honey, and peanut butter until incorporated.  Add the oat mixture and chocolate chips and stir until evenly combined.  

4.  Spread evenly into prepared pan and bake 15-18 minutes until the edges are slightly golden.  Allow to cool completely before slicing.  

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Cookies and Cups.  

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Marble Pound Cake

Let's talk on the real now.  I go to the gym.  I "run." (<< flail miserably on the treadmill).  I stair-master like no one's business.  I can hold plank with the best of them.  But I also buy several pounds of butter a week.

What I mean to say is, while I very much enjoy baked goods, I like to think that I maintain a certain level of cardiovascular fitness.  So naturally I can handle a class at the gym that involved intervals of jumping rope and weight lifting, no?

Well, no.  I can not handle it.  It's a day later and I'm still not handling it.  I think I died a little bit in that class.  My legs were and still are jello.  You cannot mentally prepare yourself for a class called Rope Rage.

So naturally when one's legs feel like jello, one decides baking a pound cake is the only solution.  A delicious, rich, chocolatey solution.  Thick slices and a tall glass of milk are necessary with this pound cake.  Jello legs are optional.  

Here's the recipe!  

Marble Pound Cake
yields: 1 loaf


Ingredients
2 cups plus 2 Tablespooons all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
4 ounces dark chocolate, melted and cooled

Instructions
1.  Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease a 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan, place the pan on top of a sheet pan. Set aside.

2.  In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.

3.  Working with a stand or hand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar and beat another 2 minutes, until well incorporated and fluffy.  Scrape the bowl and beat in the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. The batter may start to look curdled but that's ok.  Scrape the bowl and beat in the vanilla extract.  

4.  Reduce speed to low and alternately add the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Place half of the batter in a separate bowl and fold in melted chocolate (so you have two batters, one chocolate and one vanilla).  

5.  Alternately drop dollops of batter into the loaf pan until you have no batter left.  Plunge a butter knife into the batter, making a zig-zag pattern from one end of the pan to the other.  Only one zig zag is necessary to make a marbled batter.   

6.  Bake in the center of the oven for 40 minutes uncovered. Rotate pan and cover loosely with foil and continue to bake another 30-40 minutes, until the vanilla batter on top is golden brown, the top is cracked, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove from oven and cool on a rack for about 10 minutes before turning out of the pan and cooling completely.  Allow to cool completely before wrapping well with plastic to store.  

Enjoy!  

Recipe barely adapted by Hungry Girl Por Vida
  


Monday, February 18, 2013

90 Minute Cinnamon Rolls with Malt Icing

Yeasted dough.  We meet again.  And I have emerged victor!  

I want to be honest with you.  I actually made a batch, let them rise and then was crestfallen when they actually did not rise at all.  It was my own dang fault too.  I got ahead of myself and skimmed through the instructions too quickly.  So I made a batch, let them rise, and emerged victor on my second attempt! 


Cinnamon rolls have always intimidated me.  Obviously, we know my fear of yeast.  And not to mention that recipes with yeast take far too long to complete from start to finish.  Plus I own a terrible rolling pin so I tend to avoid recipes that require me to roll out dough.  All of these reasons are just code for "I'm lazy."  But I was particularly motivated last week and wanted to make something challenging and delicious and covered in icing to enjoy with my latte Saturday morning.  Oh and by the way, that's malt icing.  Yeah. 


So obviously I ate, like, 4 of them.  I ate 2 off a plate like a normal person and then I "snacked" on two more throughout the morning because snacking= no calories.  Science.  Someone please tell me that's how science works.

Here's the recipe!  

90 Minute Cinnamon Rolls
yields: 12 rolls

Ingredients:
Dough:
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water
1 egg

Filling:
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter

Icing: 
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons malted milk powder
2-4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

1.  Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it starts to bubble, then remove from heat. Mix in butter and stir until the butter melts.  Allow to cool slightly until lukewarm.  

2.  In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 1/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt and whisk to combine. Add water, egg and the milk mixture.  Beat well with an electric mixer or using a wooden spoon.  Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, using a wooden spoon to stir well after each addition (dough will be too thick and sticky to use the mixers at this point).

3.  When the dough has just pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. (dough will spring back when lightly pressed and will loose some stickiness)
Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes.

4.  Meanwhile, brown your butter by melting it in a small saucepan.  Butter will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden, then start to turn brown and smell nutty.  Keep your eyes on the saucepan and remove from heat when brown bits begin to form and the butter smells nutty.   While butter cools slightly, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.

5.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough into a 12x9 inch rectangle. (use your 9x13 baking dish as a guide.) Using a pastry brush- slather the dough with most of the brown butter. (It will feel like a lot, but use most of it.  I used about 3/4 of it.)

6.  Sprinkle dough with cinnamon sugar mixture and press in lightly.  Roll up dough tightly and pinch seam to seal.  Cut into 12 equal size rolls and place in a 9x13 baking dish.

7.  Drizzle with remaining brown butter. Cover and let the rolls rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. (I let mine rise in an OFF oven) **

8.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until browned. Let cool for about 10 minutes and then drizzle with icing. (directions below) Serve warm.

Icing: 
Place powdered sugar and malted milk powder in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.  Begin drizzling in milk and whisking.  Use as much or little milk as you need to reach your desired consistency.  Add vanilla and whisk. 

**Note: I prepared my dough at night and baked the next morning.  If you chose to do this, complete steps 1-7 and then cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate.  When you're ready to bake, allow rolls to come to room temperature for about 20 minutes before baking.  

Recipe barely adapted from Baker Chick.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Stepping out of the kitchen....


About 6 months ago, my eyebrow went rogue.  My right eyebrow constantly appeared as though I had just face-planted and took a nap on my face for 2 hours.  I had never used any brow gels or products so I just kept smoothing it back into place every time I looked in the mirror.

On a whim, I bought Maybelline Great Lash Mascara in Clear.  It was on clearance at CVS so I paid a few bucks and thought it might be nice to try on weekends when I was looking for something subtle.  Silly me.  Little did I know it was the greatest brow gel ever.


I don't have to fuss with matching colors since I'm not looking to fill my brows in.  I'm just looking for a little styling power for my crazy rogue eyebrow.  I use just a bit by swiping it on my brows with the applicator as one of the last steps of my routine and my brows look great all day long.  


So much cheaper than "real" brow gels and a lot less fuss.  At about $5 at most drugstores, you can tame those brows girl!  Show them what's what.      

Do you have any drugstore faves?

Monday, February 11, 2013

Congo Bars



They're blondies with a bunch of stuff in 'em!  Normally when I hear "blondie," I normally think "ok, I'll eat it because I love sugar but I wish this were actually a brownie."


But these blondies hold their own.  Texturally, they're just like a brownie- dense, chewy, and a crackly crust.  But they've got a wonderful mild caramely flavor and they're stuffed with chocolate chips, nuts and coconut.   Allllllll the good stuff.





Watch out brownies.  Blondies wanna fight ya'.  

Ok, I have to stop right here.  The Bachelor is on and Tierra is just too much crazy to handle and Sean is a plain ol' doofus.  Can someone please talk about this at length with me?  I have so many feelings.  Are all men as blind as Sean?  Please say no.  I'll lose faith in humanity.  




Between my Paczki incident  and Sean's decision to keep Tierra around, I'm convinced that there's no good in the world.  Food and TV is what I base my values on, by the way.  

I think maybe these Congo Bars can keep my faith alive.  

Here's the recipe!  

Ingredients:

1 cup pecans (or walnuts), chopped coarse
1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups flour
1teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

  • 1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9x13 inch pan with nonstick spray and set aside.

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

    3. Whisk melted butter and brown sugar together in medium bowl until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Using rubber spatula, carefully fold dry ingredients into egg mixture until just combined.  Do not overmix.  Fold in chocolate, coconut, and nuts until just combined.  Spread batter into prepared pan.

    5. Bake until top is shiny, cracked, and light golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes.  Careful not to overbake. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack. When cooled, slice and serve.  
    Enjoy!
    Recipe barely adapted from America's Test Kitchen.  

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Easy Paczkis





It's pronounced "poonch-key". Or at least that's how I pronounce it. And I'm not fluent in Polish so take that with a grain of salt. Actually don't take it with a grain of salt, take it dipped in granulated sugar. Zing!



But for realz, paczki's are sorta like Polish jelly donuts and you eat them on Fat Tuesday. I've been eating them since I was born, perhaps even earlier. I used to bring them for my teachers every year. I'm about to launch into a traumatizing story so get ready for it


When I was a freshman in high school, I had already long grown out of my "bring your teacher a paczki" phase. I was cooler than that. I wore butterfly clips in my hair and owned pleather pants. However, I had a World Studies teacher (Mr. Zaworski, obviously Polish) that was so nice and encouraging that I felt compelled to share my heritage with him on Paczki Day. He was just a cool guy and I was a teacher's pet so I thought he'd really enjoy it. I gave him the paczki after class, he said thank you and I went on my way. 

Later on, I was standing outside his door, waiting for a different class to let out, and I caught the tale end of a conversation in which he said "yeah, that's some greasy donut a student gave me." And then he crushed my heart and soul. I probably ran away clutching my books to my chest with tears streaming down my cheeks. Or I just stood reaction-less and stone-faced at the reality that it's a cold cruel world and kindness gets you nowhere in life.



I'M FINE THOUGH. It didn't stop me from eating paczkis. And it didn't stop me from making my own paczkis because ain't nobody gonna keep me down. I'mma do me. 

And in the spirit of "doing me," these are shortcut paczkis. I did not make a dough from scratch, I did not let it rise, I did not punch it down and I most certainly did not let it rise again. Not in my house! Instead I cracked open a can of biscuits, deep fried them and filled them with jam. 

And then I ate them all myself while wallowing in the painful truth that every day of life is one day closer to death. 

Here's the recipe!

Ingredients:
1 12-oz can of biscuits**
1/2 cup of preferred jam
1/3 cup granulated sugar, for coating
3-4 cups vegetable oil, for frying 

Instructions:
1.  In a large pot, heat oil to about 350 degrees.  Absolute preciseness isn't necessary here.  Place sugar in a shallow dish or paper bag and set aside.  Line a plate with paper towel and set aside.

2.  When oil is hot, carefully place 3-4 biscuits at a time (depending on the size of your pot) into the oil.  Fry about 60-90 seconds, until golden brown, on each side.  

3.  Carefully remove with a slotted spoon and allow to drain for about 30 seconds on a paper towel-lined plate.  Transfer to sugar bowl (or paper bag) and coat in sugar.   

4.  Pour jam into a pastry bag (or zip-loc bag with a corner snipped off ).  Gently make a hole in the side of the paczki (using the pastry tip or a small paring knife) and fill with jam until the paczki feels full.  


This recipe is more of a process than recipe.  You can make as much or as little as you please.  

Enjoy!! 

**I use regular-sized biscuits, not jumbo.  You can try jumbo but you'll need to extend cooking time.  

An Annie's City Kitchen original

Monday, February 4, 2013

Classic Red Velvet Cupcakes

I have very strong feelings about the red velvet craze sweeping the nation these days.  I'm just not okay with it.
Please let me explain myself.  Red velvet, real red velvet, is delicious.  It's slightly tangy (thanks to vinegar or buttermilk in the batter) but smooth and deep with flavor.  It's got a kick of cream cheese or cooked roux frosting.  It's goes down easy.  BUT.  BUT, people have lost their dang minds with red velvet in 2013.
Red Velvet Whoopie Pies?  Ok fine, it's like cupcakes, inside out.  Red Velvet Scones?  Ehhh alright, I guess.  Red Velvet Puppy Chow?  huh?  Red Velvet Popcorn?!  No, absolutely not.  Red Velvet Popcorn is a thing I saw on Pinterest with my own eyes, America.  And it has to stop.  And I don't mean to bash the blogger who came up with Red Velvet Popcorn.  Mad props girl cuz that's creative!  And I really mean that because people love Red Velvet anything.  Buuuttt it's sorta not really Red Velvet.  It's just red food coloring.

And by no means do I mean to claim that I'm using some old-school beet juice to color my Red Velvet. Heck no, it's 2013 after all.  But I do use a touch of cocoa and a classic acidic ingredient to create a true red velvet.  I guess what I'm saying is, red food coloring alone does not Red Velvet make.

Sometimes I make a single jumbo cupcake for myself.  Normal, yes?

And why I've chosen Red Velvet cupcakes to make a statement about my values, I do not know.  I think because truly good Red Velvet should be distinguished from boxed mixes or a few drops of food dye.  I'm nothing if not passionate.  And a little crazy.  

Here's the recipe!  

Ingredients

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons red food coloring
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

For frosting:

1/2 stick of butter (4 tablespoons), at room temperature
1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract


Instructions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard cupcake pan with liners of your choice.

2.  On med-high speed, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  Turn the mixer to high and add the egg. Be sure to scrape down the bowl and beat until well incorporated.

3.  In a separate small bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, vanilla extract and red food coloring to make a thick paste.  Add the paste to the batter and mix on medium speed until completely combined. Scrape the bowl to evenly distribute the color if necessary.  

4.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add half of the buttermilk, then add half of the flour and mix until combined.  Scrape the bowl and repeat the process with the remaining milk and flour. Beat on high until smooth.

5.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the salt, baking soda and vinegar.  Turn to high and beat for about 2 minutes until completely combined and smooth.

6.  Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners and bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then remove cupcakes from the pan and place them on a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting: 
With your mixer, whip the butter and cream cheese on high speed for about 5 minutes, scraping the bowl down as necessary. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the powdered sugar until all is incorporated, scraping down the bowl as needed.  Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Increase the speed to medium high and whip for 3-4 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy.  Frost as desired.  

Recipe from Baker Chick