Oh yes, I went there.  After playing around with the idea of blueberry cinnamon rolls, I realized that regular cinnamon rolls are a bit like a blank canvas.  Sure, they are wonderful all on their own but they also lend themselves well to showcasing other flavors.  The idea of caramel apple cinnamon rolls popped into my head and it wasn’t long before I just had to make them.

I added a touch of fall spices to a basic cinnamon roll dough, rolled them with caramelized apples and cinnamon sugar filling the swirls, and drizzled with a caramel cream cheese glaze.  The result was exactly what I was hoping for.  A tender lightly spiced dough with big chunks of apple, and the glaze was positively to die for.  Ben doesn’t normally get overly effusive about the things I bake, but he called these his other true love.  They are definitely sweet enough to be a dessert, but I’m sure they would be the hit of any fall brunch.  After adding the filling, rolling and slicing the dough log, the filling may seem to be overwhelming the dough but don’t worry.  After the rolls proof the dough and filling will be nicely proportioned.

Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls
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Yield: 8-12 large cinnamon rolls or 12-16 smaller rolls
Ingredients:
For the cinnamon rolls:
6½ tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch ground nutmeg
5½ tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 tsp. lemon zest
3½ cups bread flour
2 tsp. instant (rapid rise) yeast
1 cup plus 2-4 tbsp. whole milk or buttermilk, at room temperature

For the filling:
1½ tbsp. unsalted butter
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼-inch slices
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp. cornstarch
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch ground nutmeg
Pinch salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. sugar
¾ tsp. ground cinnamon

For the glaze:
4 oz. cream cheese
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
3 tbsp. caramel sauce
1 tbsp. milk
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Directions:
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and butter on medium-high speed until smooth.  Mix in the egg and lemon zest until incorporated.  Mix in the flour, yeast and milk until a dough forms.  Switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed, about 8 minutes until the dough is silky and supple, tacky but not sticky.  (You may need to add a little extra flour or liquid to achieve this texture.)  Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, turning once to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Meanwhile, make the filling.  To make the caramelized apples, melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the apple slices, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.  Mix until the apples are evenly coated.  Cook about 18 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.  Set aside to cool.  In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon to blend; set aside.

Mist a work surface with spray oil.  Roll it out into a rectangle with a rolling pin, lightly dusting the dough with flour if needed to keep it from sticking (about 12 x 14 inches for larger rolls or 9 x 18 inches for smaller rolls).  Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and mix to blend.  Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the surface of the dough.  Evenly distribute the caramelized apples over the top of the dough.  Starting with the wide edge, roll up the dough into a cigar-shaped log, creating a cinnamon sugar spiral as you roll.  Pinch the seam shut, and with the seam side down, slice the log into your desired number of rolls.  Transfer them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, placing the rolls about ½-1 inch apart.

Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature 75-90 minutes, until the rolls have grown into each other and have nearly doubled in size.  At this point, the rolls can also be covered and retarded in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.  Pull the pan out of the refrigerator 3-4 hours before baking to let the dough proof.

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown.  Let cool in the baking about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

To make the glaze, combine the cream cheese and butter in a small heatproof bowl and microwave in 15-20 second intervals until it is warm enough to whisk together.  Whisk in the caramel sauce, milk and vanilla extract until smooth.  Whisk in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth.   Swirl the glaze over the top of the cinnamon rolls.  Let cool at least 15-20 minutes before serving.

Source: adapted from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart

Now that fall is upon us, my favorite type of meal to make is a big pot of soup with some homemade bread.  So comforting, and it makes the house smell amazing.  These garlic knots are one of my two favorite dinner rolls (the other being these honey yeast rolls), but I’m afraid they have gotten lost in the archives or overlooked because of the old (read: ugly) photo.  I also thought a step-by-step guide on shaping these rolls might be helpful.  Baking with yeast may be intimidating to those who have never tried it but it really is just following a recipe.  The dough for these rolls is easy to work with and I think a good project for yeast bread beginners.

The more you bake with yeast, the more comfortable you will feel with it until eventually it becomes second nature.  Though the recipe calls for a stand mixer, this dough (as with most bread doughs) can be kneaded by hand.  It may take a few minutes longer, but the resulting dough should be the same either way.  Gauging the texture of the dough is one of the things that comes with practice.  Many recipes say the dough should be “tacky, but not sticky”.  My own interpretation of this is that if I lightly touch the dough with a fingertip and dough sticks to my finger when I pull away, it is still too sticky and I need to add a little more flour.  If I touch the dough and it adheres just for a moment before my finger pulls away clean, that’s the texture I am aiming for.  Tying the knots of the dough is easiest if you do it in one fluid motion, and don’t stop to take pictures along the way :)

Soft Garlic Knots
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Ingredients:
For the dough:
3 cups bread flour
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. instant yeast
1¼ tsp. salt
2 tbsp. olive oil
¼ cup milk
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. lukewarm water

For the glaze:
2 cloves garlic
3 tbsp. melted butter
½ tsp. Italian seasoning

Directions:
To make the dough, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the dry ingredients.  Add the olive oil, milk and water.  Mix until ingredients have formed a dough.  Switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.  Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turn once to coat, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.

Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces.

Roll each piece into a 10-inch long rope and tie into a knot.

Take the end lying underneath the knot and bring it over the top, tucking it into the center.

Take the end lying over the knot and tuck it underneath and into the center.

Transfer shaped rolls to a baking stone, or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for 45 minutes, until puffy.

To make the glaze, finely mince the garlic or press it through a garlic press.  Mix with the melted butter and Italian seasoning.

Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Brush the glaze onto the shaped rolls.  Bake until set and lightly browned, about 15-18 minutes.  Let cool slightly before serving.

Source: Amber’s Delectable Delights originally from King Arthur Flour

A funny name for a cookie, right?  But it is fitting – these are the kind of cookies you mix in all sorts of things, whatever you have on hand and what strikes your fancy – you know, everything but the kitchen sink!  No doubt you’ve seen some variation of these cookies before.  I’ve seen them numerous times and never felt compelled to try them until I saw this version including oatmeal, peanut butter, raisins, chocolate chips and the new (and super popular!) pretzel M&Ms.  Sold.

Once I actually started making this recipe, a couple of things gave me pause.  First of all, the dough doesn’t contain any flour.  Just oatmeal, peanut butter, sugar, etc.  I double- and triple-checked this before proceeding.  The dough did have a different texture than I would expect and I’ll admit, I was skeptical.  Then I thought the combination of raisins with the other chocolate mix-ins seemed a little odd and I almost skipped them but I am so glad I didn’t.  Finally, I did end up adding quite a few more pretzel M&Ms because the original quantity meant some cookies had only one (or maybe none!)  I have reflected this change in the version below.  These cookies are somehow chewy and crisp at the same time, with a nice chunky texture and a wonderful sweet-salty balance.  Everyone who tried them was pleasantly surprised – this is one good cookie.  And as you can see, a certain little boy enjoyed these cookie too (though I think he gnawed on them more than anything.)

Kitchen Sink Cookies
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Yield: 2-3 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
1¼ cups light brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/3 cups creamy peanut butter
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 large eggs
2 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. salt
4½ cups quick-cooking oatmeal
1¼ cup pretzel M&Ms
½ cup chocolate chips
¼ cup raisins

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugars, peanut butter and butter.  Beat on medium-high speed until well blended.  Mix in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed.  Blend in the baking soda, vanilla, and salt.  With the mixer on low speed, mix in the oatmeal just until incorporated.  Fold in the pretzel M&Ms, chocolate chips and raisins with a spatula.

Drop heaping tablespoons of dough (I used a medium-size dough scoop) onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving a couple of inches between each dough ball.  Bake 8-11 minutes, until light golden and just set, being careful not to overbake.  Let cool on the baking sheets 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container.

Source: Blue Eyed Bakers

I know it’s fall now and ice cream sandwiches seem like more of a summertime treat, but really I think they are a great anytime treat for the kid in all of us.  For me, ice cream sandwiches were the treat I would always seem to find buried in our freezer when there was nothing else around.  These are like the version we all remember, only much, much better.  I’ve made homemade ice cream sandwiches before but I think this shaping method is so genius.  Cutting the cookies and ice cream layer with the same cookie cutter – so easy and it makes for a gorgeous presentation.  I don’t know why I didn’t think of it but I’m really glad someone did!

These were very easy to make, though it should be noted that the dough is fairly soft even after chilling.  I kept waiting and waiting for it to firm up more until I realized it was as chilled as it would get.  This is a good thing though, because it means these cookies are soft and easy to eat even when frozen, but don’t let it worry you when rolling and cutting the dough.  As long as you keep the work surface lightly floured, it shouldn’t be a problem.  I am looking forward to playing around with more flavor variations of ice cream sandwiches now that I have this awesome shaping method down.  Think of the possibilities!

Ice Cream Sandwiches
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Yield: about 1 dozen 3-inch square sandwich cookies
Ingredients:
For the ice cream:
1 cup whole milk
¾ cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
6 large egg yolks
¾ tsp. vanilla extract

For the cookies:
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt

Directions:
Combine the milk, sugar and 1 cup of the cream in a medium saucepan.  Heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until warmed through.  Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the mixture and add the husk of the bean as well.  Cover the saucepan, remove from the heat and set aside to steep for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Pour the remaining 1 cup of cream into a large bowl with a fine mesh sieve set over the top.  In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.  Slowly pour some of the warm milk mixture into the bowl with the egg yolks, whisking constantly to temper the eggs.  Continue until you have added all of the milk mixture.  Return the mixture to the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, being sure to scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir.  Continue cooking until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon (about 170-175°F.)  Pour the custard through the mesh sieve and stir it into the cream.  Place the vanilla bean into the custard mixture, stir in the vanilla extract, and stir until cool over an ice bath.  Cover and chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.

Remove the vanilla bean from the ice cream batter, stir well, and freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  Line a chilled 9 x 13″ pan with plastic wrap.  When the ice cream has reached a soft serve consistency, spread some of the ice cream into the pan in an even layer about 1 inch thick.  Freeze until firm.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, vegetable oil and brown sugar.  Beat on medium speed until combined.  Blend in the eggs one at a time, and the vanilla extract until smooth.  In a separate bowl combine the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and salt; whisk to blend.  With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix just until incorporated and a soft dough forms.  Gather the dough into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.  On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to about ¼-inch thick.  Use a cookie cutter to cut out as many pieces as you can, transferring the cut outs to the prepared baking sheet.  Gather and re-roll the dough scraps as needed.  If desired, use a wooden skewer to make a dotted pattern on the cookies.  Bake 8-10 minutes.  Let cool on the baking sheet a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

To assemble the sandwiches, use the same cookie cutter that was used for the cookies to cut out pieces of ice cream.  Layer one piece of ice cream between two of the cookies and return to the freezer immediately.  Wrap the sandwiches individually as desired.  Keep frozen until ready to serve.

Source: cookies from Tartlette, ice cream from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

How cute are these?!  You are probably thinking I made them for a little girl’s birthday party, but these were actually a coworker request.  Colleague birthdays provide the perfect opportunity for me to have fun baking, try new recipes and share sweet treats with others.  Nearly all the time, they choose a favorite cake/frosting flavor but this time my coworker mentioned that she is a huge fan of Hello Kitty and asked if I could incorporate that into a cupcake.  Sure, why not?!  She did request a chocolate cupcake as the base, so I started brainstorming and went to work.

I used my favorite chocolate cupcake (just the cake portion of the chocolate whiskey cupcakes).  These are my favorite based on flavor and texture, but incidentally they were especially perfect for this purpose because they bake up with flat tops.  I used pink-tinted vanilla buttercream to frost the cupcakes.  Then I used homemade fondant to make the kitty shapes.  Since I couldn’t find a good Hello Kitty cookie cutter anywhere (and it probably wouldn’t have been the right size anyway), I just found a picture via Google, sketched it out on a piece of card stock, and traced around it with a very sharp knife to make the fondant shapes.  You could, of course, just print an image and use that as a template, but we don’t have a (functioning) printer at home.  Finally, I used black and pink royal icing to do the detailing of the eyes, noses, whiskers and bows.  These would be so much fun to make for any little kid who loves Hello Kitty, and would also be a great project to work on together!

Here’s the deal: it’s officially fall.  I’m in serious pumpkin baking mode.  But, it appears that there is once again a canned pumpkin shortage this year.  This weekend was the first time I saw any cans in the stores (a whopping two cans, at that).  I ordered some online a few weeks ago and now that vendor reports it will ship in 1-2 months.  Shortage or not, I will be baking with pumpkin – a lot.  I’m also going to share the goodies here, and so I feel obligated to share the love.  Even if you aren’t able to find canned pumpkin in the store yet, you can make your own puree at home in a couple of hours and with little effort.

The principle here is exactly the same as what I did when making baby food for Andrew – roast with a little bit of water until tender, puree until smooth, and in the case of pumpkin, strain off the excess liquid.  It’s easy!

Oh, what’s that?  Yeah, my pumpkin spice latte.  I have a pumpkin problem.

So, acquire some pie pumpkins, also known as sugar pumpkins.  These seem to be readily available at grocery stores now, and I also saw them at our apple orchard last weekend.  (Note: these are not the same pumpkins you use for carving your jack-o-lantern.)  Start out by taking a large, very sharp knife and slicing the tops off of the pumpkins.  (Even pumpkins with warts and belly buttons will suffice.)

Slice in half lengthwise, from top to bottom.

Scoop out all the seeds, pulp and pumpkin guts using whatever utensil you prefer – your hand, a spoon, whatever.  I find my small cookie dough scoop very effective.

Place the cleaned out pumpkin halves cut side down in a rimmed baking sheet with 1-2 cups of water (just enough to achieve about a ¼-inch depth.)

Roast in a 350˚ F oven for 60-90 minutes.

To be sure it is cooked thoroughly, test with a fork.  The pumpkin flesh should be completely tender and give easily when poked.

Scoop out the roasted pumpkin from the shells and transfer to a food processor.  (Ideally, you should let the pumpkin cool a bit before doing this.  I’m super impatient, so I usually end up burning my fingers.)

Process until completely smooth.  I let mine go 2-3 minutes to be sure it is fully pureed.

Now, pumpkins naturally contain a lot of liquid (not to mention we added some while we roasted them) so I like to remove some of the excess liquid.  This will help it have a thicker consistency like that of canned pumpkin puree.  You can strain it however you choose.  Cheesecloth is one option, but I prefer to use a mesh sieve lined with a paper towel.

I’m not sure how well you can see from the pictures, but it condensed quite a bit.  I only strained my puree for a little over an hour, and that was time enough to remove a lot of liquid.

How much liquid?  Two and a half cups!!

Store it as you see fit.  I would keep this in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days, or freeze it as needed.  If I were planning to freeze it, I would freeze it in 1 cup portions so that I could thaw the correct amount for whatever I need.  I got nearly 2¼ pounds of puree out of these pumpkins, which is a little more than one of the large cans of pumpkin puree.

That’s it!  Now you have the tools to obtain pumpkin puree even if the store shelves are bare, so now I won’t feel guilty about posting all kinds of pumpkin goodness.  Because believe me, it’s coming.

Source: inspired by Pennies on a Platter

It’s no secret, fall is my favorite season of the year.  In fact I spend the better part of the rest of the year wishing for fall.  The chilly weather (I’ll pretend it wasn’t 90˚ F here yesterday), football, leaves changing, autumn spices, and of course pumpkin, apples, soup, and the list goes on.  So it’s finally here, and I’m ecstatic.  (On an unrelated note, what happened to that little baby in the picture from last year?  He seems to have been replaced by a big boy who uses sentences.  What will he be like next fall???)

I think pumpkin spice pancakes sprinkled with cinnamon sugar are an ideal way to start out a lazy fall morning.

Okay, if you try anything from this list, puh-lease try these chicken pot pies.  I made these for the first time last fall and they blew my mind.  Look at that flaky crust!  Seriously, I would love to eat this every single day if it weren’t so decidedly unhealthy.

Cranberry apple harvest muffins are a great breakfast to grab on the go, or a nice afternoon snack.  With chunks of apple, fresh cranberries, pecans and fall spices, they seem just the thing to welcome the season.

Cream of mushroom soup may conjure up feelings of nausea and disgust if you have only ever had the stuff from the can, but this homemade version is an entirely different thing.  Making the homemade vegetable stock for the base takes a little extra time, but every extra minute of effort is rewarded in the taste.

This is in my top three favorite cakes ever, and it’s not hard to see why.  Perfectly spiced moist pumpkin cake with a rich butterscotch filling and brown sugar frosting – I’m going into a sugar coma just thinking about it.

There are many autumn weeks when I want nothing more than to eat soup, soup, soup every night.  This broccoli cheddar soup is one of my favorites.  Rich, warm and filling, it makes for a wonderful meal.

This caramel apple cheesecake pie is the single most popular recipe I have ever posted, and for good reason.  This is one heck of a dessert – caramel, spiced apples, cheesecake, whipped cream and more caramel all in one pie plate.  It’s great for any time of year really, but especially ideal for fall.

I discovered this chicken chili at the tail end of last winter, and I’m really looking forward to making it often throughout the coming cold months.  It’s definitely on the healthier side where chili is concerned with a lean protein and lots of veggies, not to mention it is just plain delicious.

If you have trouble with forming addictions, you may want to avoid trying this caramel corn.  It is so, so, so good that I eat it compulsively and ruin my meals.  Usually Ben puts it on a shelf I can’t reach, even with the step stool, so I can pretend like I have some self control.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

An ideal fall weekend day for me is spent making a fantastic dinner that needs to simmer or roast for hours, making your house smell amazing in the process.  This garlic rosemary roast chicken is just such a dish, and is an ideal centerpiece for a nice fall meal.

Bonfires are favorite fall pastime, and with any good bonfire there must be s’mores.  These s’mores cupcakes are a fun spin on the ooey gooey campfire treat and personally I like them even better this way.

I hope you all enjoyed this round up of some of my favorite fall foods.  I have lots of new recipes to share throughout the seasons, and I probably won’t be able to resist a mid-fall round up so keep an eye out for that :)

As soon as my loaves of French bread came out of the oven, our dinner plans changed.  I don’t even remember what I had been planning to make that night, but when I saw (and smelled, and tasted) these beauties, I knew they needed to be enjoyed right away.  With some tomatoes in the fridge and my basil plants booming in the backyard, it took next to no time to decide on making a tomato basil bruschetta.

Many people think that bruschetta means exactly this – baguette slices topped with a tomato basil mixture, because that is how it is commonly served here in the US.  Actually, bruschetta is the base of the toasted baguette slices and they can be topped any number of ways.  Typically I brush the slices lightly with olive oil, rub with a cut clove of garlic, and then top them as I please.  This time around I just left the baguette slices fresh because, well, they are delicious that way too.  This has long been one of my favorite snack foods or appetizers, and it also made for a fantastic light dinner.

Tomato Basil Bruschetta
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Ingredients:
3 tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 tbsp. basil, minced
¼ tsp. kosher salt
Pepper, to taste
1½ tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. finely grated Parmesan
Toasted baguette slices, for serving

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl; mix well to blend.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.  Spoon the tomato mixture on top of the baguette slices and serve.

Source: Annie original

Orange ice cream popsicles are one of those treats that bring childhood memories flooding back, at least for me.  I’ve been wanting to try this ice cream for a while and our recent ice cream social gave me both the inspiration and motivation to give it a shot.  When I smelled the mixture in the blender, I’ll admit I was not optimistic.  You see, this is another ice cream that has sour cream in it, and though I learned with the strawberry ice cream that it actually makes for a fantastic end result, just after blending it completely turned my stomach.  But as I have also learned many times before, you must trust in David.  I let the mixture chill overnight and when I checked it the next day, it had an intoxicating orange-vanilla fragrance, like the popsicles but better.  And that is also how these tasted – like the popsicles, but way better.

All I did to make these into popsicles was pour the ice cream into small paper cups, place a popsicle stick in the center, and let them freeze firm.  Then before serving I peeled off the cups and voila, ice cream pops!  As I mentioned, I did make this in the blender but I think next time I will use the food processor in order to pulverize the orange zest more to make for a smoother texture.  A blender is fine if you have a great one, but I don’t.  These are a lovely refreshing frozen treat, and almost acted as a palate cleanser during our ice cream extravaganza.

Orange Popsicle Ice Cream
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Ingredients:
2/3 cup sugar
Finely grated zest of 3 oranges, preferably organic
1¼ cups freshly squeezed orange juice
1 cup sour cream
½ cup half-and-half
2 tsp. orange liqueur

Directions:
In a blender or food processor, combine the sugar and orange zest; pulse the mixture is well blended and the zest is pulverized.  Add in the orange juice, sour cream, half-and-half, and orange liqueur.  Blend well until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is smooth.  Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.  Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  (Optional: Pour into small paper cups, stick popsicle sticks in the center, and freeze until firm.  Peel off the paper cups before serving.)

Source: The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Not long ago, Ben asked me what my favorite type of cake was.  Such a funny question.  You see, I make birthday treats all throughout the year for coworkers, friends, and families, always asking if they have a favorite flavor or what new type they want to try.  It is so much fun, and I enjoy nearly all of the flavor combinations that people pick.  Then when my birthday rolls around I tend to bake my own cake for the joy of trying some new, über decadent treat.  As a result, I just don’t tend to think about what my own true favorite is.  When Ben asked me, I really had to think hard about it for a while (okay, a few days).

It came down to a close decision, but red velvet with cream cheese frosting won out in the end.  I have made these cupcakes countless times this year, including as a three-tiered wedding cake plus 140 wedding cupcakes, and I’m still not sick of it.  That must mean something.  Some may think of red velvet as a Valentine’s treat, but for me this is a year-round type of love.  If you’ve never tried red velvet cake, you need to.  The flavor can’t really be adequately described, you just need to taste it to know.  I’ve made many versions but this is my favorite for sure, both for flavor and the perfect red coloring.  (And yes, I use the artificial coloring and I have no qualms about it.)  One thing I learned during the wedding cake and cupcake adventure is that using clear vanilla extract in the frosting makes for a prettier color and a better texture.  Normally I’m all about the natural stuff, but in this case I go for the clear kind.

Red Velvet Cupcakes
Printer-Friendly Version
Yield: about 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the cake:
2½ cups cake flour
1½ cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1½ cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp. (1 oz.) liquid red food coloring
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. distilled white vinegar

For the frosting:*
8 oz. cream cheese
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a medium bowl, combine the cake flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt; whisk to blend.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla and vinegar.  Beat on medium speed until well blended.  Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners.  Bake, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes.  Let cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes.  Mix in the vanilla extract.  Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth.  Frost cooled cupcakes as desired. (I used a large, unlabeled star tip to frost these cupcakes.)

*If you are big on frosting as I am, you may want to increase the quantities by 50%.  That is what I typically do for a batch of 24 cupcakes.  I usually end up with some left over, but I would rather have too much frosting than not enough!

Source: originally from Apple a Day adapted from Saveur, via The Way the Cookie Crumbles, frosting adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride

I am so, so incredibly excited to share this recipe with you.  This, my friends, is the answer to getting fabulous, perfect baguettes without having to buy them from the store.  You see, I’ve made French bread at home plenty of times before but I think the old version was somewhat lacking.  Maybe too tough, too dense, just something that made me still prefer the kind I could purchase.  But this – this is just the type of bread I was hoping for.  With a crisp, crackly exterior and a light, chewy interior that is full of flavor, I have found the one.

This was actually my second attempt at this recipe, and I’ll tell you two important things I learned during the first go-round.  First, timing is key.  You will be taking the finished baguettes out of the oven approximately 24 hours after you start the sponge.  Due to the timing of the various steps, you’ll want to start these sometime between 8 am-12 pm unless you want to be staying up really late or getting up in the night to knead and shape dough (no!)  Second, the sponge is supposed to rise and then collapse.  Both times I have made this sponge, I have never witnessed the collapse.  The first attempt I even waited extra long and eventually left it out overnight, but still, the collapse never occurred.  So, I guess if you see the collapse great but if not, no worries.  I just went ahead and used the sponge, and everything worked out wonderfully.  Though I like to make a lot of my bread doughs in the stand mixer, I made this entirely by hand and let me tell you, it is FUN crashing the dough into the kitchen counter!  These may seem like a lot of work but most of the time is inactive while the sponge and dough rise, and they are totally worth the effort.  Ooh la la!

French Baguettes
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Ingredients:
For the sponge:
1/8 tsp. instant (rapid rise) yeast
¾ cup warm water (105-110˚ F)
6 oz. (1 cup plus 3 tbsp.) lower protein all-purpose flour, such as Gold Medal or Pillsbury

For the dough:
½ tsp. instant yeast
½ cup water (75˚ F), divided, plus 2 tsp. additional water if needed
10 oz. (2 cups) lower protein all-purpose flour, such as Gold Medal or Pillsbury
1 tsp. salt

For the glaze:
1 large egg white
1 tbsp. water

Directions:
To make the sponge, combine the yeast, warm water and flour in a medium bowl.  Stir with a wooden spoon until thick and smooth.  Scrape down the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and cut a couple of small holes in the plastic wrap with a paring knife.  Let stand at room temperature.  After 4-5 hours, the sponge should be about doubled in size and have tiny bubbles on the surface.  Continue to let stand at room temperature until the surface shows a slight depression in the center, about 2-3 hours longer (this never happened for me.)

To make the dough, add the yeast and 6 tablespoons of the water to the sponge.  Stir briskly with a wooden spoon until the water is incorporated.  Stir in the flour and continue mixing with the wooden spoon until a scrappy ball forms.  Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead by hand, adding drops of water as needed, until the dry bits are absorbed into the dough, about 2 minutes.  Stretch the dough into an 8 x 6-inch rectangle.  Make indentations in the surface of the dough with your fingertips; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the water.  Fold the edges of the dough up toward the center and pinch to seal in the water.  Knead lightly, about 30 seconds (the dough will feel slippery).  Begin crashing the dough by flinging it against the work surface several times.  (This helps the dough absorb the water.)  Continue to knead and crash the dough alternately until it is soft and supple, and the surface is almost powdery smooth, about 7 minutes.

Again, stretch the dough into an 8 x 6-inch rectangle and make indentations with your fingertips.  Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of water and the salt.  Fold and seal the edges once again, and knead and crash as before, about 7 minutes, until the dough feels smooth and powdery.  If the dough still feels tough, knead in the additional 2 teaspoons of water.

Stretch a small piece of dough out thin (the windowpane test).  If the dough does not tear and you can see light through the dough, it is adequately kneaded.  (If the dough tears, knead a bit more and test again.)  Form the dough into a ball, transfer to a large lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Let stand 30 minutes.  Remove the dough, knead gently to deflate for about 10 seconds.  Return to the bowl, replace the plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled, about 90 minutes.

Gently punch down the dough in the bowl, and turn it out onto a work surface.  Divide the dough into two 12-ounce pieces.  Working with one piece at a time and keeping the second piece covered, drag the dough to the edge of the work surface, forming the dough into a rough torpedo shape, about 6½ inches long.  Repeat with the second piece of dough.  Drape the dough pieces with plastic wrap and let rest 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cover an inverted baking sheet with parchment paper.  Working with one piece of dough at a time and keeping the other covered, shape the dough.  Make an indentation along the length of the dough with an outstretched hand.  Press the thumb of one hand along the indentation while pulling the upper edge of the dough down over the hand to enclose the thumb.  Repeat this process along the length of the dough.  Press the seam with your fingertips to seal closed.  Roll the cylinder of dough seam-side down, rolling and stretching until it measures 15 inches long by 2½ inches wide.  Place seam-side down on the prepared baking sheet.  Repeat with the second piece of dough.  Space the shaped dough pieces 6 inches apart on the baking sheet.  Drape with a clean, dry kitchen towel and cover the sheet loosely with plastic wrap (or seal in a very large plastic bag).  Refrigerate until the dough has risen moderately, 12-16 hours (no longer).

To bake the bread, place one oven rack in the lower middle position with a baking stone on the rack.  Adjust the other to the lower middle position and place a small empty metal baking pan on it.  Preheat the oven to 500˚ F.  Remove the baking sheet with the baguettes and let stand covered at room temperature for 45 minutes.  Remove the plastic wrap and towel and let stand an additional 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, bring 1 cup of water to simmer in a small saucepan on the stovetop.  Make the glaze by beating the egg white and water together.

With a single-edge razor blade or very sharp knife, make five ¼-inch deep diagonal slashes on each baguette.  Brush with the glaze and mist with water in a spray bottle.  Bring the baking stone out of the oven and line up the edge with that of the baking sheet.  Quickly slide the parchment paper with the baguettes off of the baking sheet and onto the hot baking stone.  Pour the simmering water into the baking pan on the bottom oven rack (be careful to avoid the steam!)  Bake, rotating the baking stone after 10 minutes, until the surface is a deep golden and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 205-210˚ F, about 5 minutes longer.  Transfer to a wire rack and cool 30 minutes.

Source: Baking Illustrated

This milkshake brings all the boys…and girls, and adults to the yard…  Sorry, you know it was impossible to resist that one ;)  When I was planning my ice cream social, I knew for certain that milkshakes needed to be part of the menu.  Strawberry milkshakes seem to be one of the most classic flavors out there, right along with vanilla and chocolate.  Since vanilla and chocolate were already represented on the menu, this was an easy decision.  After a fair amount of internet searching I found that most recipes called for vanilla ice cream with strawberries blended in.  Sounds delicious, but I wanted double strawberry flavor so I used this recipe with the oh-so-delicious homemade strawberry ice cream.  It worked beautifully and I got just what I was hoping for – a very strawberry, super creamy milkshake.

Strawberry Milkshakes
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Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 pint (2 cups) strawberry ice cream
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup milk

Directions:
Combine the ice cream, frozen berries and milk in a blender or food processor.  Puree until smooth and well blended.  Pour into chilled glasses and serve immediately.

Source: Martha Stewart

How’s that for a recipe name?  These are also apparently known around the blogosphere as WIG for short.  Whatever you decide to call them, I like to think of them as my favorite basic go-to morning-of waffle recipe.  These yeasted waffles still hold my place as number one because of the amazing flavor the yeast provides, but these are a very close second.  Perfect when my little guy is shouting, “Waffles!  Waffles!” and I did not prep the yeasted batter the night before.  This recipe does call for a short 30 minute wait time to let the batter sit before using, but that’s nothing a little distraction with books and toys can’t fix.

The flavor is just what you would want in a plain waffle and the texture is dreamy – slightly crisp on the outside, tender and airy on the inside.  My only beef with this recipe is that, at least in my waffle maker, it only yields five waffles – enough for feeding our little family certainly, but not enough extra to feed guests or freeze leftovers.  If you are feeding more than two adults and a hungry child, definitely double it!

Waffles of Insane Greatness
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Ingredients:
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup cornstarch
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1½ tsp. sugar
½ cup whole milk
½ cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
¾ tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.  Whisk together to blend.  In another mixing bowl, beat together the whole milk, buttermilk, oil, egg and vanilla.  Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and whisk just until incorporated and few lumps remain.  Set aside to rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat a waffle iron.  Fill waffle wells and cook according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  Cook until crisp and golden.  Serve immediately.

Yield: depends on the size/shape of your waffle iron

Source: Food Network via Orangette

I’ll be honest – I’m completely out of my element here.  I don’t know the first thing about Star Wars.  I’ve seen all the episodes (I think), and still have little to no understanding what they are about.  My most vivid Star Wars memory is someone at my high school dressing up as Darth Mal on Halloween and scaring the living daylights out of me.  However what I do know is, Ben loves Star Wars.  He has since he was young, long before we were together.  Williams Sonoma recently came out with this set of cookie cutters and I thought they would make a great surprise for Ben.  It’s not easy to surprise the person you live with by giving them cookies that require a few days of work and covering your kitchen in nine different colors of icing.  Eventually I just showed Ben the cookie cutters, which was surprise enough on its own.

Of course I had to have him explain who each of the characters were and whether they were good or bad (no worries, I knew Yoda and Darth Vader).  I do think it’s a little disappointing that the ratio of bad to good guys in this set is three to one.  I think a Chewbacca cookie cutter would have been a nice addition to the set.  I’m guessing there are enough characters that they could come out with a second set.  I hope they do, because this was a fun project!

Due to my total lack of Star Wars knowledge, I had to keep the cookie cutter box next to me the entire time I was decorating to get the designs as close to correct as possible.  One small change I did make was to do all the detailing on Darth Vader in black instead of gray.  I tried both options, and preferred the look of an all-black cookie – more menacing, you know.

The great thing about these cookie cutters is that since they make perfect impressions in the cookie dough, really no decorating is required and it will still be obvious what each cookie is.  In fact, I did make the impressions in my cookies but because of using royal icing and flooding some of the cookies completely, it was not really necessary.   I made sure to share them with a few of my friends who also love Star Wars and they were totally stoked.  Whatever way you choose to decorate them (or not), these are a certain hit with any Star Wars fans you know.

Say hello to the richest cake I’ve ever made.  Really, I know I’ve made some doozies in the past, but I think this one takes the cake (pun intended).  Ben’s birthday was a couple of weeks ago, and when I asked him what sort of cake he would like, he said anything would be fine and I could choose.  I immediately began scouring my ridiculously long list of recipes to try but I didn’t get very far when I saw this cake.  Ben just loves toffee so I knew this would be the perfect thing.  Plus, I made him a different brownie torte last year for his birthday and that went over very well.

So, what’s the big deal about this cake?  It consists of three layers of fudge brownie sandwiched with espresso mascarpone filling which is then frosted with an espresso whipped cream and coated in toffee bits.  And for starters, just the brownie layers alone call for a pound of butter, a pound of chocolate, and eight eggs.  I think Paula Deen just gasped.  After I got over the initial shock of the ingredient list, I decided to just go for it.  I knew it would be served at a large family gathering so there would be plenty of people to help eat it.  It really is every bit as delicious and rich as you might imagine.  It seemed like the house was filled with moans, groans, “mmm’s” and “yums” all throughout dessert.  Even after our fairly large crowd was all served, there was close to half the cake left.  Trust me, only a very thin sliver is plenty.

Despite its looks and multiple components, this comes together pretty easily.  There is no need for frosting it very carefully since the whole thing ends up covered in toffee bits.  You can use whatever technique works for you to get the toffee bits on the sides.  Personally I prefer a Jackson Pollock-style approach because it’s just so fun, and then I fill in the holes with a little more care.  It makes quite a giant mess but it’s worth it :)

Toffee Bar Brownie Torte
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Yield: about 20 servings
Ingredients:
For the brownies:
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter
16 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 cups sugar
8 large eggs
2 tbsp. vanilla extract
2½ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt

For the frosting:
3 cups chilled heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. instant espresso powder dissolved in 2 tsp. boiling water, chilled

For the filling:
16 oz. mascarpone cheese
2 tbsp. instant espresso powder dissolved in 2 tsp. boiling water
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 cup reserved frosting (above)

For garnish:
2 cups chopped toffee bits or finely chopped toffee bars

Directions:
To make the brownie layers, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Grease and flour the edges of three 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.  Combine the butter and chocolate in a large heatproof bowl set over a few inches of simmering water.  Continue heating until the butter and chocolate are melted and smooth, stirring occasionally with a spatula.  Remove the bowl from the heat and set aside.  Transfer the chocolate mixture to a large mixing bowl.  (If your heatproof bowl is very large, transfer to a new bowl is not necessary.)  Whisk in the sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth and glossy, about 1 minute.  Stir in the flour and salt, and mix just until the dry ingredients are incorporated.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared baking pans.  Gently smooth the batter in the pans.  Bake 20-25 minutes, until the brownies are just firm to the touch.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pans 30 minutes.  Then run a knife around the edge of each pan and invert the brownies onto the rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, add the chilled heavy cream to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Whip on medium-high speed until medium-soft peaks form.  Blend in the sugar, vanilla and espresso mixture, whipping just until combine.  Continue to whip until stiff peaks form.  Reserve and refrigerate 1 cup of the frosting for use in the filling.  Set aside the rest of the frosting.

To make the filling, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the mascarpone, espresso liquid, sugar, vanilla and salt.  Beat on medium speed until well blended and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Gently fold in the reserved 1 cup of frosting with a spatula.

To assemble the torte, lay 1 of the brownie rounds to a large serving platter.  Spread half of the filling mixture evenly over the top.  Layer with another brownie round, and the remainder of the filling.  Top with the final brownie layer.  Cover the top and sides of the cake with the frosting.  Garnish with the toffee bits to cover the top and sides of the cake.  Use any remaining frosting to pipe decorative swirls around the top edge of the cake, if desired.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Source: The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather

These just look like regular old truffles, right?  Trust me, these are unlike any truffles you’ve ever tried (unless of course you’ve had ice cream truffles before).  I’ve been itching to make chocolate ganache ice cream, and then I started thinking about making it into ice cream truffles since truffles are traditionally filled with ganache.  The only problem was I was slightly terrified of making truffles with ice cream centers.  I mean sure, I’ve made truffles plenty of times but the idea of dipping cold ice cream into warm melted chocolate and getting a presentable end result just seemed unlikely.  But as I’ve learned so many times, you must always trust in David Lebovitz.  It turns out ice cream truffles are actually even easier to dip than regular truffles.  Since the center is so cold, the chocolate hardens quickly and smoothly over the top.  I did end up with quite a bit of the melted chocolate mixture left over, but I think having a deep chocolate mixture makes for much easier dipping so it’s a fair trade.

Let me also just say a quick few words about the chocolate ganache ice cream.  Oh.My.Gosh.  So rich, smooth, chocolatey.  I’m sure these truffles would be wonderful with many flavors of ice cream but now that I’ve had these, I’m not sure I’ll be able to stray.  The ice cream will certainly have its very own post on the blog someday, but for now I’ll just link to the recipe via the Tuesdays with Dorie group.

Tartufi (Ice Cream Truffles)
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Yield: 8 tartufi
Ingredients:
2 cups ice cream
6 oz. bittersweet (or semisweet) chocolate, chopped
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1½ tbsp. light corn syrup

Directions:
Line a flat dinner plate or baking sheet with parchment paper and place in the freezer.  Once the plate is chilled, use a dough scoop or ice cream scoop to shape mounds of ice cream, making sure that the mounds are solid.  Brush any dangling bits of ice cream away so the surface is completely smooth.  Place each mound on the chilled plate or baking sheet.  Freeze the shaped mounds thoroughly before proceeding.

When you are ready to dip the truffles, combine the chocolate, butter and corn syrup in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.  Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth.  Working quickly, dip one ice cream mound at a time into the chocolate mixture, moving between two spoons until the coating is smooth and the excess has dripped off.  Return to the parchment-lined chilled surface (replace the parchment if necessary), and return to the freezer.  Freeze until ready to serve.

Source: The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

We may have felt the first few wisps of fall air but as much as I love it, I’m trying to enjoy summer while it lasts.  For me, a perfect way to spend part of my Labor Day weekend was hosting an ice cream social party for our friends.  Though I’m most definitely one to enjoy ice cream even in the dead of winter, this seemed the perfect end of summer gathering.  Lots of friends attended and I can say with confidence that this party was a huge hit with adults and kids alike!  Also, an awesome added bonus of this party was that in addition to receiving a stipend from Foodbuzz to make it all happen, Foodbuzz partnered with Electrolux made a $250 donation to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund for mine and each of the other 24 x 24 parties that was hosted this weekend.  Not only that, but Electrolux has committed $750,000 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, and Foodbuzz is getting involved not only by sponsoring all the 24 x 24 events, but also by donating a matching amount to the OCRF. Being a physician and seeing cases of ovarian cancer far too often, I was thrilled to be able to host a party and have it benefit a good cause as well.

When thinking about this party, I wanted it to be all about ice cream.  I thought for a while about serving some other foods to help balance the sweets, but I thought my friends would be able to handle the ice cream extravaganza so I just went with it.  I served each course one at a time so they could be savored individually, and also so we could pace ourselves – we’re talking seven courses of ice cream, after all!  I made sure to keep the serving sizes small so that everyone would have room for sampling all the treats.

Hosting an ice cream party with all homemade goodies definitely required planning and foresight, as the ice cream maker had to refreeze between each batch.  I basically made one batch of ice cream every day the week leading up to the party.  One of the best things about throwing an ice cream party was that because everything needed to be frozen, all the treats were finished well in advance of party time.  No real last minute prep was required here, which I loved.  My vision was to create a variety of homemade ice cream treats that are all variations on classic ice cream favorites.  I had so very many ideas that I could probably host four more ice cream social parties and not do the same thing twice.  Eventually, the menu was pared down to include:

Strawberry milkshakes
Tartufi (ice cream truffles)
Orange creamsicles
Brownie and coffee ice cream cupcakes
Blueberry pie a la mode cupcakes
Chocolate and vanilla ice cream sandwiches
Banana split sundae bar

Milkshakes are such a classic ice cream treat, I just had to include them in the menu.  These strawberry milkshakes greeted guests as they came in to the party.  I was a little disappointed because I really wanted to serve these in cute shot glasses, but apparently no store in my immediate area sold shot glasses – how weird!  Guess I’m just used to growing up in a college town.  Thankfully some fun straws and napkins helped with the presentation.

The next course was tartufi, or ice cream truffles.  Including chocolate ice cream as part of the menu was an absolute must, but I thought this was a fun and unique way to present it.  I used chocolate ganache ice cream as the center of these, since ganache is the traditional truffle filling.  Everyone at the party seemed to have different favorite treats, but I think I heard the most people say these claimed their top spot.

Most people remember the classic orange-vanilla ice cream pops as a childhood favorite.  These pops had a flavor reminiscent of the store bought variety, but these are much tastier.  The fresh orange zest and orange juice give these a really bright, refreshing flavor.  These were almost like a palate cleanser.

Oh, and they were a big hit with the kiddos, including my little cutie pie.

Next up were these brownie coffee ice cream cupcakes.  Cake and ice cream are always a winning combination, so ice cream cupcakes are a neat little package of deliciousness.  I’ve made ice cream cupcakes before, and it’s fun to play around with the flavor combinations.  Since coffee ice cream is my absolute favorite flavor and brownies are awesome (duh), these were a no brainer.  I topped each one with a chocolate covered espresso bean for a finishing touch.

Some of the kids weren’t excited about these because of the coffee, but Ethan sure seemed to enjoy his!

Certainly one of the most common ways to serve ice cream is alongside a slice of pie or a serving of crisp, cobbler, etc.  These blueberry pie a la mode cupcakes were my spin on the classic combo to make it mini and portable.  Blueberry is my favorite variety of fruit pie, so this was one of my favorite treats of the night.

I think Gavin liked it too.

Ice cream sandwiches are a quintessential ice cream treat, so I had to include them.  I was thrilled with how they turned out.  I’m sure any flavor combo would be great and I will definitely be playing around with many variations, but for this occasion I wanted to stick with the classic chocolate cookie-vanilla ice cream combo.

The sundae bar was the last treat of the night.  I used roasted banana ice cream as the base for the sundaes, as a fun twist on the usual banana splits.   I think this was actually my favorite of all the courses because make-your-own sundae bars are just so fun!  It makes me feel like a kid again to see how many toppings I can get on my sundae.

The sundae bar was a happenin’ place to be!

And of course, I had to send guests home with some additional sweetness.  I packaged up the leftover ice cream in these cute pint containers.  I was already planning on doing this, but now I’m really glad I did or I would have had ice cream in my freezer to last for a few months.  And we all know I need to be trying new flavors instead :)

Hope you enjoyed this peek into our party!  Recipes will be forthcoming for the strawberry milkshakes, tartufi, orange creamsicles, blueberry pie a la mode cupcakes and ice cream sandwiches.

Vendors and Resources:
Paper Source – ice cream cone stamp, pink and white polka dot paper
Garnish – pint containers
Bake It Pretty – gelato spoons, gray striped straws
Target – black and white damask napkins, green and white striped napkins
Ruffled – free printable alphabet bunting

This is an old favorite recipe that deserved a little updating, mainly in the picture department.  I tend to find chicken quesadillas pretty irresistible and I think everyone should be able to make a good version at home.  This recipe is my favorite because it is simple and can be easily adapted to suit your tastes or the ingredients you have on hand.  Though I tend to keep mine on the simple side with just grilled chicken, onions, tomatoes and cheese, you can add beans, corn, peppers, cilantro, and the list goes on.  The wet rub for the chicken adds a lot of flavor and takes next to no time to prepare, which is perfect after a long work day.  I recently started using corn tortillas instead of flour for my quesadillas and find them to be much sturdier and able to hold all the fillings.  I love being able to make this restaurant favorite at home!

Grilled Chicken Quesadillas
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Ingredients:
1 tbsp. chili powder
2 tbsp. fresh cilantro, minced
1 tbsp. olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cumin
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves
Half a yellow onion, roughly chopped
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
Corn tortillas (6-7 inches)
Cooking spray
Shredded cheese (pepper jack, cheddar, etc.)

Directions:
Heat a grill pan or skillet over medium high heat.  Combine the chili powder, cilantro, olive oil, lime juice, salt, cumin and red pepper flakes in a pie plate; whisk to combine.  Add the chicken breast halves and turn to coat.  Cook the chicken until browned on both sides and juices run clear.  Remove from the heat and shred the chicken into small pieces.  Add the onion to the pan and cook until tender and golden, about 5 minutes.

Combine the shredded chicken, cooked onion, and diced tomatoes in a mixing bowl; toss to combine.  Lightly brush or spray one side of a tortilla with vegetable oil; flip over on a work surface so the oiled side is facing down.  Place about a quarter of the chicken mixture onto one side of the tortilla.  Top with shredded cheese.  Fold over the tortilla to sandwich the filling inside.  Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling mixture.

Cook the assembled quesadillas over medium-high heat in a lightly oiled grill pan or skillet until browned on the outside and warmed through with the cheese melted on the inside.  Slice into wedges and serve with sour cream and salsa as desired.

Source: adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride

My brain seems to have a constant, never-ending stream of thoughts relating to food.  I’m sure many fellow food lovers can relate.  I think about what I’m making for dinner, what I had for dessert last night, and often what sorts of new recipes I want to try.  One day a month or so ago, inexplicably and out of nowhere, the idea of Snickers cupcakes popped into my head.  A glorious idea, I tell you, and the urge to have one was so strong, I was just dying to get home and make them.  I didn’t even have a recipe in mind but was determined to find one.  Literally the very next day I saw them pop up on one food blog, and then another.  None were the exact version I had in mind, so I combined components of various recipes to achieve the result I was hoping for.

The final version consists of a chocolate cupcake, filled with a caramel-Snickers mixture, topped with caramel buttercream and garnished with additional Snickers and caramel sauce.  Rich as can be, and full of Snickers flavor, these are a decadent treat to say the least.

Snickers Cupcakes
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Yield: 20 cupcakes
For the cupcakes:
½ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
½ cup hot water
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. coarse salt
16 tbsp. unsalted butter
1½ cups sugar
2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1¾ tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 cup sour cream, at room temperature

For the caramel sauce:
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
¼ tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

For the filling:
24 fun-size Snickers bars, chopped

For the frosting:
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 lb. confectioners’ sugar
1½ tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup caramel sauce
Pinch of coarse salt
2 tbsp. heavy cream

For garnish:
8 fun-size Snickers bars, chopped

Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line standard cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and hot water until smooth.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter and the sugar over medium heat.  Heat, stirring occasionally to combine, until the butter is melted.  Remove the mixture from the heat and transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  Beat on medium-low speed, 4-5 minutes, until the mixture is cooled.  Mix in the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed and beating well after each addition.  Mix in the vanilla and then the cocoa mixture and beat until incorporated.  With the mixer on low speed add in the dry ingredients in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, beating just until combined.

Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners, filling them about ¾ of the way full.  Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, rotating the pans halfway through baking.  Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the caramel sauce, melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat.  Add the sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar begins to foam a bit.  It will look and smell like it’s on the verge of burning.  Remove from the heat and add the heavy cream.  Stir until the sauce is smooth (you may need to return it to the heat to smooth it out), then mix in the vanilla and salt.  Let cool.  (This can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.)

To fill the cupcakes, cut a cone out of the center of each cupcake with a paring knife.

To make the filling, combine the chopped Snickers bars in a bowl with 1/3-½ cup of the caramel sauce, and mix to coat.

Drop a spoonful of the filling mixture into each cupcake.

To make the frosting, add the butter to the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat on medium-high speed 1 minute until smooth.  Blend in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth, 1-2 minutes.  Mix in the vanilla, caramel sauce and salt until incorporated.  (Note: the caramel sauce should be just warm enough that it is workable, but not warm enough to melt the butter in the frosting.)  Add the heavy cream and whip on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.

Transfer the frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip.  Drizzle the frosted cupcakes with additional caramel sauce and garnish with chopped Snickers bars.

Note: I used an Ateco 809 tip for these cupcakes.

Source: cupcakes from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes, caramel sauce from Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz, frosting adapted from My Baking Addiction

This is not the first time these soft pretzels have appeared on the blog.  Almost exactly one year ago, I hosted a summer fun and games night for my friends, and I served these pretzels.  They were a huge hit!  At that time, I mentioned that it might be a good idea to experimenting with freezing the pretzels at some point in the process to avoid having to make them fresh just before a party, therefore making them more party-friendly.  In case you haven’t noticed, I tend to keep myself fairly busy in the kitchen, and I never got around to the pretzel experiments, but I also never forgot.  Finally I decided to just buckle down and make it happen.

So, recently I tried three different methods of making the pretzels.  First, I made them the usual way – shaping the dough, boiling, baking and serving all at once (pretzel A).  I also tried freezing some that had been freshly boiled and baked (pretzel B).  I thawed these in the microwave on defrost and then rewarmed in the oven.  Finally, I tried freezing some of the shaped pretzels after shaping (pretzel C).  I boiled these directly from the freezer, adding about 15 seconds to the boiling time, and baking for a minute or two longer than normal.

The verdict?  All three methods work wonderfully.  Ben and I agreed that of the two pretzels that had been frozen, those that were boiled directly from the freezer and then baked (pretzel C) were just ever so slightly better in texture than those that had been frozen after baking. That said, all of the options were fantastic and I would not hesitate to serve any of them at the party.  That is fantastic news, so you can choose whatever option is most convenient for your schedule.  I have left the recipe below as is, but just know that you have several prep choices available.

Soft Pretzels
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Ingredients:
For the dough:
1½ cups warm water (110-115° F)
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. kosher salt
2¼ tsp. instant yeast
22 oz. all-purpose flour (about 4½ cups)
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for greasing the bowl

For finishing:
Cooking spray
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tbsp. water
Pretzel (or kosher) salt

Directions:
To make the dough, combine the water, sugar, salt and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Mix on low speed to dissolve the yeast.  Add in the flour and melted butter and mix just until the dough comes together.  Switch to the dough hook and knead on medium speed until the dough is smooth and clears the sides of the bowl, about 5 minutes.  Transfer the dough to a bowl lightly greased with vegetable oil, turning once to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place, about 50-55 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

Preheat the oven to 450° F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray.  Bring the water and baking soda to a boil in a large saucepan or stockpot.

In the meantime, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces.

Working with one piece at a time, roll a segment out into a 24-inch long rope.

Make a U-shape with the rope and holding the ends of the rope…

cross them over each other and onto the bottom of the U-shape in order to form the shape of a pretzel.  Place onto the parchment lined baking sheet.  Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 or 2 at a time, for 30 seconds.  Remove from the water with a slotted skimmer and return to the baking sheet.  Once all the pretzels have been boiled, brush the tops with the egg wash and sprinkle lightly with salt.  Bake in the preheated oven until dark golden brown, about 12-14 minutes.  Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Source: Alton Brown via Food Network

Tacos are such a simple, delicious and satisfying meal that many people make taco night a weekly occurrence.  In case you are looking for a way to change up your taco night just a little bit, making crispy baked taco bowls instead of your usual taco shells is a fun and easy twist.  This isn’t even a recipe at all, just a quick kitchen tip that I wanted to share.  All you have to do is place a warmed, lightly oiled 6-7 inch tortilla in between the cups of an overturned muffin tin.  (I prefer to warm mine in the microwave.)  Bake at 425˚ F for 8-10 minutes.  Fill as desired with all your favorite taco fixings.  And while you’re at it, be sure to make some homemade taco seasoning.  No need for those sodium-filled store bought packets!

Note: There are certainly other ways to achieve a similar result.  I have seen other methods involving laying tortillas over ramekins, folding them inside ramekins, etc.  I tried a few of these methods and this was my favorite, but you can be creative with what you have on hand.

Source: Paula of Salad in a Jar