Ally in Cali

New blog - AllyVerbNoun

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 23 Oct 2016 22:19:00 +0000

I've decided to expand my baking blog to lifestyle blog (including cooking, travel, photography, etc), and I've also decided to move from Blogger to Wordpress to host my blog. I'll be giving my recipes here a makeover on the new blog - check it out!

https://allyverbnoun.wordpress.com/

Bourbon Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 17:35:00 +0000

I'm not a fan of bourbon at all (too strong for my taste), but last week, I ended up getting a bottle to make a tasty-looking bourbon molasses pork recipe. It turned out great, but now I have this giant bottle of bourbon that I'm certainly not going to drink!

Luckily, the bourbon isn't going to go bad anytime soon, so I can take my time baking and cooking through it. Last night was a bourbon kitchen fest - bourbon chicken AND these featured bourbon cookies. Even after all of that, the bottle is still more than two-thirds full. Guess I'll be using it for the next year or so.

The cookies pack quite of bit of flavor. Besides bourbon, they also contain browned butter (which I have used in recipes in the past). Browned butter may seem daunting to make, but it just takes patience and a watchful eye to make sure the butter doesn't burn. You simply just melt the butter and keep heating it until it begins to caramelize and turn brown. My recipe below has more details on how to do this properly!

And since it's September, the cookies also have cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice because if Starbucks can start selling Pumpkin Spice Lattes now, we can all start using fall spices.

To top it all off, I also threw in chocolate chips, because why not? Bourbon goes well with chocolate, right? (Especially in cookie form).

Here's to the end of summer and the start of fall baking!

Bourbon Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (makes 18 cookies)
Adapted from Dixie Crystals

12 Tbsp (1½ sticks) unsalted butter
200g (1 cup) dark brown sugar
100g (½ cup) white sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
3 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp bourbon
312g (2½ cups) flour
1½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground allspice
~1 cup of milk chocolate chips

Make the brown butter: melt the butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. Whisk constantly as the butter slowly begins to brown after a few minutes. Brown bits will start collecting at the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring until butter is golden brown and smells nutty.
Remove browned butter from heat and let cool in fridge.
Mix cooled browned butter with the sugars in a stand mixer on medium speed until smooth.
Mix in egg, yolk, and vanilla extract, followed by the bourbon, and continue mixing until completely combined. The batter should be thin and smooth.
Mix the flour with the baking soda, salt, and spices in a separate bowl, and then add the dry ingredients to the wet. Mix slowly until just combined.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Wrap dough in saran wrap and chill in fridge for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 325F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
Using a cookie scoop (or your hands), form dough into 3 Tbsp balls and place at least two inches apart (cookies will spread as they bake).
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the bottoms are browned. Let cool.
Enjoy!

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 01:14:00 +0000

My new favorite weekly activity is going to the local farmer's market on Saturdays. This market sells the leftover "ugly" fruit and vegetables that groceries and restaurants have rejected. Usually this means incredible deals - whole boxes of fruit for a dollar, huge bunches of kale for a few bucks - so I've started to get all my produce from here.

The other week, I got seven lemons for just a dollar. I've been using it in mostly cooking, such as chicken picatta or pasta with lemon cream sauce, and today, I'm using my last lemon to make these cookies!

I also had some ricotta leftover, so this lemon ricotta cookie recipe was perfect timing. The ricotta makes the cookie really light and fluffy. It's also not too sweet, so it pairs well with the lemon glaze that I topped it with.

The cookie dough is less of a dough and more of a very thick batter. To form the cookies, I used a cookie scoop to form the dough into balls onto the baking sheets. Depending on your oven, it might take anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes to get them golden brown.

These will go great with ice cream, a nice cup of tea, or just by themselves! Perfect treat to end the summer with.

Lemon Ricotta Cookies (makes about 3 dozen cookies)
Adapted from Budget Bytes

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
200g (1 cup) white sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup ricotta cheese
Zest of 1 lemon
250g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
Juice of 1 lemon
~1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350F.
Cream butter and whit sugar together in a stand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Add in egg, vanilla, and ricotta and continue mixing until combined. Stir in lemon zest.
Combine flour, salt, and baking powder in a separate bowl, and then add to the wet mixture. Mix until just combined.
Drop onto baking sheets in 1/2 Tbsp balls (use a spoon or scoop - the dough is runny and batter-like).
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
Mix lemon juice and powdered sugar together to form a glaze. Spread onto the top of the cookies.
Enjoy!

Chocolate Filled Donuts

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 25 Aug 2016 00:11:00 +0000

The plan last week was to make donuts and then blog about them - except the donuts turned out...very funny looking. They were baked, not fried, and didn't have that nice golden color I was going for. In an attempt to add color, I used my kitchen torch on them. That didn't go over so well.

While the donuts didn't burn, they did take on an appearance of baked chicken. And when I posted them to Facebook, friends made the comparison of my donuts to excised mice tumors (my life as a cancer researcher). I decided against writing that recipe up until I had prettier pictures, but I didn't give up on donuts!

This week, I finally faced my fear of hot oil and actually fried these donuts. And by that, I mean I found a friend who was willing to fry them for me as I safely stood far, far away.

I'm glad to say that these donuts turned out better than last week's attempt (appearance wise)! The chocolate was a little tricky to fill - it kept leaking back out, so maybe next time, I'll wait until the chocolate is cooler before using.

This recipe comes from Gordon Ramsey - he actually has a nice Youtube video showing you how to make it. I would highly recommend watching the video before attempting these. He gives some very informative tips!

Here's to more aesthetically pleasing results!

Chocolate Filled Donuts (makes 12 donuts)
Recipe adapted from Gordon Ramsey

Donuts:

50 g (1/4 cup) white sugar
2/3 cup whole milk
2 1/4 tsp (1 packet) commercial yeast
3 1/2 Tsp unsalted butter
312 g (2 1/2 cups) flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 egg yolks
Vegetable oil, for frying
Cinnamon sugar (1/2 cup sugar + 2 Tsbp cinnamon), for rolling

Filling:

1 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp honey
9 oz dark or milk chocolate
4 Tbsp unsalted butter

In a small saucepan, dissolve the sugar into the milk over low heat.
When the milk is warm (not hot or boiling), pour half into a bowl. Add the yeast to the bowl.
Return remaining milk to the stove. Add butter and continue to heat (do not boil).
Mix salt and flour together in a separate bowl. Add the egg yolks and both milk mixtures.
Knead dough until elastic (either with stand mixer and dough hook or by hand). Add flour if dough is too sticky.
Place dough in oiled bowl and cover with dishcloth. Let rise for 1.5-2 hours (or until doubled).
After rising, knead dough slightly and roll out into a rectangle about one inch thick. Cut into about 12 rectangular pieces.
Place pieces on a baking sheet and let rise for another 45 minutes.
Make filling: heat cream and honey together in saucepan until almost boiling. Pour cream mixture over chocolate and butter and stir until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Place in fridge to cool.
Heat oil in large saucepan to about 340F. Fry doughnuts on both sides until golden brown and hollow-sounding when tapped.
Roll warm donuts in cinnamon sugar.
Fill donuts with chocolate filling using a piping bag.
Enjoy!

S'mores cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 23:48:00 +0000

Last weekend, I had plans to go camping in Acadia National Park with the roommates. It was something that I was really looking forward to, but I somehow got terribly sick. It's summer and it was just a cold, but it left me barely able to get out of bed for days. So camping was definitely out.

Besides missing the beautiful hikes and scenery, I also had plans to bake and bring cookies to eat around the campfire - specifically s'mores cookies! I have made a version of s'mores cookies in the past (with peanut butter) as well as a brownies version.

Today's cookies are similar because they use the same usual suspects (chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers), but instead of laying them like in these previous recipes, they are all mixed in together in the dough!

The end result is a delicious chocolate chip cookie with s'more flavors! The graham crackers and marshmallow do get a bit lost in the mix, but they do add flavor and crunch to an otherwise ordinary cookie.

I do wish that I could have shared these with everyone on the camping trip, but hey, there's always next time!

S'mores Cookies (makes about two dozen cookies)
Recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

218 g (1¾ cup) all-purpose flour
¾ cup (6 full crackers) graham cracker crumbs
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (room temperature)
100 g (½ cup) white sugar
100 g (½ cup) brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons molassess
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 cup milk/dark chocolate chips

Combine flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda and salt and set aside.
Using a stand mixer on medium speed, cream the butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy.
Add egg, honey and vanilla extract and continue to mix until completely combined.
Add flour mixture and combine until dough has formed. It will be a very soft dough.
Add marshmallows and chocolate chips.
Chill dough in fridge for at least 3-4 hours
Preheat oven to 325F.
Form 2 Tbsp sized-balls and bake for 14-20 minutes.
Let cool and enjoy!

Blueberry Cupcakes with Maple Frosting

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 01:21:00 +0000

The blog hiatus is over! It's been a pretty busy couple of months, and it was difficult to find time to fix up this blog. The recipe index was in dire need of re-organizing so it more visually appealing and easier to find older posts - it's finally done though! Check out "Recipe Index" above to look back through past recipes.

Despite the lack of blogging, I haven't stopped baking! During these last few months, I've branched out in making ice creams, breads, and now more recently, fondant-based decorations, like with these cupcakes today.

I was initially hesitant in trying fondant because I found store-bought fondant to be tasteless and gummy. On Pinterest though, I found a few recipes for homemade fondant that promised to be tastier. The one I tried was a marshmallow based one that turned out extremely well - easy to work with as well as actually tasty! In the future, I will make a blog about fondant specifically, but today, the focus is on these blueberry cupcakes.

More specifically, my focus is on the frosting. I love using brown butter in recipes because it takes ordinary butter and elevates its flavor by adding a nuttiness and a caramelized layer to it. Mixed with maple syrup here, it balances out the slight tartness in the blueberries just perfectly.

Plus blueberries are in season right now and at the farmer's markets, I can find them for a dollar a box. It's ridiculous - they might as well be giving it away!

Here's to more fresh summer produce and more consistent blogging!

Blueberry cupcakes with maple brown butter frosting (makes X cupcakes)
Adapted from Ming Makes Cupcakes

Cupcakes:

187g (1½ cups) all-purpose flour
150g (¾ cup) white sugar
¼ tsp baking soda
1½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
4 Tbsp (½ stick) unsalted butter (melted)
1 egg (room temperature)
¾ cup buttermilk
¼ cup milk
150g (1 cup) blueberries

Frosting:

8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter
300g (3 cups) powdered sugar
¼ cup milk
60g (3 Tbsp) maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350F and line cupcake tins with liners.
Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.
In a stand mixer, mix melted butter and egg together at medium speed until combined. Add buttermilk and milk.
Add flour mixture and continue to mix on low until just combined.
Fold in blueberries.
Fill cupcake tins, about each half full (about 3 Tbsp each). Bake for 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool
In a small saucepan, melt butter on medium-low heat until it begins to brown. There will be brown bits forming in the saucepan and start to smell nutty. At this point, remove from heat.
Mix browned butter with powdered sugar, followed by milk and maple syrup. Beat until smooth.
When cupcakes are cooled, spoon icing on top. Top with other decorations, if desired.
Enjoy!

Blog on hiatus

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 03 May 2016 17:08:00 +0000

Going on a break from blogging - combination of life things and my plan to overhaul my blog layout. Stay tuned!

Raspberry champagne cake

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 01:32:00 +0000

It's safe to say that spring is finally here! However, knowing Boston, I wouldn't be surprised if it suddenly started snowing next week. In the meantime, I'm hopeful that the nicer weather is here to stay!

Besides the warmth, I can't wait to start using all these fresh spring produce in my baking and cooking. Visions of berries and other fruit based desserts are dancing around in my head, and I just hope I have the time to attempt them all!

Today, here's a raspberry champagne cake, overflowing with fresh berries, to kick off all the spring baking.

The cake itself is a regular white cake with champagne added - the bubbles add a bit of airiness to each bite as well as a nice overall sweetness.

The champagne also goes into the frosting, along with fresh raspberries. Raspberry and champagne are pureed together and reduced to thick syrup before addition to the buttercream.

The three layer cake is then assembled with generous amounts of the raspberry frosting between each cake layer. The whole thing is slathered in the remaining frosting and topped with a simple arrangement of fresh berries. (And then, of course, you drink the remaining champagne with the leftover berries!)

Here's to even more baking to celebrate the good weather!

Raspberry champange cake (makes one three-layer cake)
Recipe adapted from The Cake Blog

Cake:

1¼ cups (2½ sticks) of unsalted butter, room temperature
350 g (1¾ cup) of white sugar
6 egg whites, room temperature
2½ tsp vanilla extract
350 g (3½ cup) of cake flour
2½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1¼ cups of champagne, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour three 8-inch round pans.
Cream butter in stand mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add in sugar and cardamom and continue mixing until combined.
Add egg whites (one at a time) and vanilla and continue mixing until combined.
Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together.
Alternate adding in the flour mixture and the champagne, to the wet mixture, starting and ending with flour, until everything is added. Mix on low speed until just combined, scraping down the sides.
Bake for 25 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool completely before assembling and frosting.

Frosting:

12 oz raspberries
¾ cup champagne
2 cups (4 sticks) of unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
600 - 750 g (5-6 cups) of powdered sugar
¼ tsp salt
Fresh berries, for decoration

Puree 9 oz of the raspberries and strain out the seeds (set aside the remaining 3 oz for later)
Mix puree with champagne and heat over medium heat. Let the mixture simmer, while stirring, until it has reduced to a little under 1 cup.
Cream butter in stand mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Mix in ½ cup of the raspberry champagne reduction and vanilla and mix well.
Add powdered sugar one cup at a time and mix until desired consistency is reached.
Remove half of the frosting and set aside. This will be outer layer of frosting. Mix in remaining raspberries. This will be your filling.
Place the bottom layer of your cake on the serving plate and spread half of your filling over the top. Place middle layer on top and spread remaining filling on top. Top with last layer.
Cover the entire cake with the remaining frosting. Decorate with fresh berries, if desired.
Enjoy!

Chocolate turtle cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 13 Apr 2016 16:02:00 +0000

I don't eat much in the way of sweets, but I do have a soft spot for all things caramel. One of my favorite candies are those turtle chocolates - you know, those little bundles of chocolate all wrapped up in caramel and pecans?

Obviously, I had to make a cookie version of these candies. These base dough of these cookies is super rich and chocolate-y (almost fudge-like), and then I roll them in pecans and more chocolate before baking. To top it all off, I make a caramel sauce from scratch to drizzle on top.

These cookies were super good, but they were also super easy to make! If you're looking for an impressive recipe that requires little effort, this cookie is the one for you. Happy baking!

Chocolate turtle cookies (makes about two dozen)
Adapted from The Kitchen is My Playground

Cookies:

125 g (1 cup) of flour
29 g (⅓ cup) cocoa powder
¼ tsp salt
8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temp
133 g (⅔ cup) white sugar
1 egg yolk
2 Tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup pecans, finely chopped
1 cup chocolate chips, finely chopped

Caramel sauce:

100 g (1 cup) white sugar
3 Tbsp of unsalted butter
¼ cup heavy cream
½ tsp salt

Sift flour, cocoa, and salt together and set aside.
Cream butter in stand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add sugar and continue mixing until combined.
Add in yolk, cream, and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
Chill dough in fridge until firm (at least an hour).
Preheat oven to 350F.
Mix pecans and chocolate together. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and roll in pecan-chocolate mixture until coated.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookies have set.
Make the caramel sauce: melt sugar in saucepan on medium heat. Stir constantly. Sugar will begin to clump up and eventually melt into a brown liquid as you stir. Don't let it burn!
Add the butter and continue mixing until all is combined.
Slowly add the cream and let the mixture boil for one minute
Remove from heat and add the salt. Let cool before using.
Drizzle caramel on cookies and enjoy!

Mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 06 Apr 2016 15:23:00 +0000

Another month goes by, and I have myself another kitchen toy! This time, it's an ice cream machine. So far, I've already made a lemon-basil sorbet, a chai ice cream, and a Nutter Butter cookies 'n cream ice cream. By peak ice cream season, I should have a good base recipe down (and a fridge filled to the brim with ice cream).

Today's attempt is one of my favorite flavors of all time: mint chocolate chip. Mint and chocolate are the perfect combination - sweet and refreshing, all in one bite.

To step it up even more, I decided to make them into ice cream sandwiches. The "bread" of the sandwich are dark chocolate chip cookies from my favorite cookie recipe. With the mint ice cream sandwiched in between them, it's eating a giant creamy frozen version of a Thin Mint cookie!

I baked my cookies the day before and froze them overnight to make them stiff enough for the assembly process. After sandwiching the ice cream, I wrapped them individually in tin foil and put them back into the freezer. Before serving, I thawed them out a little bit so people can more easily bite into them, but they were still a little hard.

Next time when I make these, I think I'll keep the cookies and ice cream separate until right before serving, so the result is a nice soft cookie sandwich that is a little easier to eat.

Still, these turned out better than expected! Plus I have leftover mint ice cream to enjoy for myself. Here's to trying even more ice cream flavors and getting creative with it.

Mint Ice Cream Sandwiches (makes one dozen sandwiches)
(Ice cream recipe from AllRecipes)

One batch of dark chocolate cookies (here's the recipe I used)
2 cups of whole milk
2 cups of heavy cream
200 g (1 cup) of white sugar
½ tsp of salt
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 tsp of peppermint extract
Green food coloring (optional)
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate shavings

Make sure your ice cream maker is ready according to manufacturing instructions.
In a mixer on low speed, combine the milk, cream, sugar, salt, and extracts together until sugar is dissolved. Tint with green food coloring, if desired.
Pour into ice cream maker and churn/freeze according to its instructions. I churned mine for 20 minutes, added the chocolate, and then churned for another 20 minutes.
Transfer ice cream into another container and store in freezer for 1-2 hours.
Scoop ice cream (about 2 tablespoons) onto flat side of one cookie. Place another cookie on top and press down to form sandwich.
Serve immediately. For storage, wrap in tin foil and place in freeze. Thaw slightly before serving.

Mini baked Alaskas

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 09 Mar 2016 03:21:00 +0000

Recently, I rewarded myself with a new kitchen gadget - the torch! I'm a little fire-phobic myself, so this new toy made me a little apprehensive, but all the freshly toasted meringues and crème brûlées that I get from it make the fire all worth it. Now I want to light everything in the kitchen on fire.

Baked Alaska has always been on my to-bake list, but it had always seemed so daunting. Without a kitchen torch, I would have to stick the whole thing, ice cream and all, into the oven, which didn't seem like it would end well. Now that I have a torch though, the process is much easier.

I was determined to make all parts of this from scratch - even the ice cream. I don't own an ice cream maker, but I was able to find a relatively straightforward recipe that didn't require churning. It seemed too simple to be true - just mix cream, condensed milk, and pureed strawberries together, freeze, and out comes strawberry ice cream!

Piecing this all together was very easy too - cut out circles of sponge cake, stack a sphere of ice cream on top and freeze overnight. Then, when you are ready to serve, whip up some meringue, plop it on top, and light it up!

Easy but impressive - I can't wait to see what else I can whip up with this new torch!

Baked Alaska - makes 12 mini portions

Ice Cream - recipe adapted from Homemade Hooplah

3 Tbsp of butter, melted
1 cup strawberries
2 cups of heavy cream
1 can (14.5 oz) of sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Red food coloring (optional)

Hull and chop strawberries into small pieces. Set half of strawberries aside. Pureed the other half of the strawberries.
Mix condensed milk, pureed strawberries, cut strawberries, melted butter, and vanilla together.
Beat heavy cream in stand mixer on high speed until soft peaks form.
Stir in fruit mixture into heavy cream.
Cover and freeze overnight.

Cake - recipe adapted from Desert for Two

2 Tbsp + 1½ tsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp + 1½ tsp white sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 Tbsp + 1½ tsp almond milk
1 1/2 Tbsp butter, unsalted
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F
Sift flour, baking powder, and cornstarch together.
Beat egg and sugar in stand mixer on high speed until light and fluffy (with soft peaks).
Melt butter in microwave with milk and add in vanilla extract.
Fold flour mixture into egg mixture until just combined.
Stir in butter mixture.
Divide batter between 12 lined cupcake tins (each tin will be halfway full).
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until inserted fork comes out clean.
Let cool and then carefully peel cupcake liners from cake.
Scoop a sphere of ice cream (see above recipe) and position on top of each round of cake.
Freeze at least a few hours or overnight.

Meringue - recipe adapted from Desert for Two

3 egg whites
1/3 cup white sugar

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form
Add sugar and continue beating until meringue is light and fluffy (not stiff!)
Spoon onto ice cream-cakes until ice cream is fully covered.
Torch the meringue until brown and serve immediately.
Enjoy!

Mocha macarons

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 03:44:00 +0000

One grad school habit that I haven't picked up on yet is drinking coffee. Never needed it in high school or college, and despite everyone insisting that it's a grad school necessity, I so far haven't needed it. I really never liked the taste of coffee - smells great, but the flavor doesn't seem to match up with the smell to me.

Tea is my choice of drink, and even then, I drink it for the taste and warmth rather than the caffeine. Ironically though, I'm now in charge of my department's coffee hour for the year. I contribute the only way I know how - by baking!

In line with the coffee theme, I decided to revisit macarons and make some coffee flavored ones. These have a chocolate shell with a coffee buttercream in the middle. I will admit that when mixed with chocolate, coffee doesn't taste half-bad, so I approve of these tasty little treats.

Here's to ~~three~~ ~~four~~ five (?) more years of coffee-free grad school!

Chocolate macaron shells - (makes 40 shells for 20 macarons)
Adapted from Joy of Baking

100 g of almond meal
170 g of powdered sugar
15 g of cocoa powder
100 g of egg whites (aged and brought to room temperature)
¼ tsp of cream of tartar
35 g of white sugar

Sift the almond meal, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder together and set aside.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Whip egg whites and cream of tartar in a stand mixer on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.
Add white sugar in. Continue mixing on medium-high until stiff peaks form. Remove bowl from mixer.
Add the almond mixture to the meringue - I added it in three parts. I sifted a third of the mixture into the meringue, and then folded/scrape the bowl for 10 strokes. Repeat with the remainder of the mixture, a third at a time. The batter should run off your spatula in thick, slow ribbons.
Transfer batter to a piping bag with a ½ open round tip.
Pipe macarons shells that are 1½ inch wide and 2 inches apart from each other. Keep the tip low and close to the paper so the shell can spread out instead of pile up.
Let shells sit at room temperature for 60 minutes or until the top no longer feels tacky when you touch it.
Bake in preheated oven at 325F for 14-16 minutes, or until the bottoms just barely separate form the parchment paper.
Let cool completely before removing from the parchment paper.
Sandwich coffee buttercream (recipe below) between two shells to form a macaron.
Enjoy!

Coffee buttercream
Adapted from Baking Bites

1/4 cup of unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp of instant coffee powder
1 Tbsp of milk or cream
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
~1 cup of powdered sugar

Cream the butter on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Dissolve coffee powder in milk and vanilla extract.
Add coffee mixture and powdered sugar to butter and continue mixing until completely combined.
Adjust consistency if needed (more milk if it's too thick, more sugar if it's too thin).
Use in macaron recipe above!

Melted ice cream cone cake

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 20:59:00 +0000

It's been awhile since my last blog post - grad school can really eat up your time! Blogging may have fallen by the wayside, but I've kept up the weekly baking to maintain my sanity.

Recently, I've started baking more cakes, usually for my fellow lab mates' birthdays. I typically prefer cupcakes, as they are easier to transport and distribute, but for someone's special day, a cake is always fun to make!

Today's cake is ice creamed themed! I saw pictures on Pinterest of all these cakes with ice cream cones "melting" on the top and knew I had to replicate this. It actually was easier to make than I thought - you just bake and ice your favorite cake recipe, and then pour chocolate ganache over the top so it drips down the sides. Take some extra cake, stuff them into ice cream cones, and turn them upside down on the cake, covering it with even more ganache to create the "melted" ice cream look. I wanted more color on my cake so I added a bunch of sprinkles.

Here's to 2016 and more frequent blogging!

Melted Ice Cream Cone Cake

Your favorite cake and frosting recipes
1 cup heavy whipping cream
9 oz dark chocolate chips
Ice cream cones (cake cones or waffle cones)
Sprinkles, for decoration

Make, bake, assemble and frost your cake according to your recipes. When you bake the cake, set aside a tiny bit of the batter and use it to bake one or two mini cupcakes at the same time.
Heat the cream to a boil over medium heat and then pour it over the chocolate chips. Stir to until completely combined and smooth.
Pour ganache over the top of the cake until it drips down the sides of the cake.
Set the mini cupcakes on top of the cake where you want the cones to be. Pour more ganache over the cupcakes to cover them.
Rest the cones on top of the cupcake mounds. Drip more ganache between the cone and the cupcake to make it look seamless.
Add the sprinkles and any other desired decoration.
Enjoy!

Mexican Brownie Tequila Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 22:37:00 +0000

Happy Halloween everyone! October's been a crazy busy month, but what month isn't busy in grad school? Good thing this month ends with being able to dress up and bake adorable Halloween-themed cupcakes!

I previously made these little owl cupcakes before, but this time, I used a different recipe for cupcake. Since I had a bunch of alcohol to get rid of (so much leftover from my last party), I decided to make Mexican brownie cupcakes - chocolate with cinnamon and cayenne to give it a little kick and tequila to give it an even extra kick!

The cupcakes ended up being very dense and fudge-y, just the way I like my brownies! As they cooled, I whipped up a batch of chocolate tequila ganache to frost the cupcakes with. Decorating these was the best part. I split Oreos in half and used the ganache as glue to stick Reese's Pieces to make the eyes. After sticking the eyes onto the cupcakes (again, with ganache), I finished them off with an orange Reese's Piece for the beak!

Looking forward to seeing all the creative costumes tonight!

Mexican Brownie Cupcakes (makes about 16 cupcakes)
Adapted from BetterRecipes

Cupcakes:

¾ cup (94 g) flour
¼ cup (21 g) cocoa powder
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cayenne
Dash of nutmeg, allspice, ginger, cardamom (to taste)
8 oz of semi-sweet baking chocolate
¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, unsalted
1¼ cup (250 g) white sugar
½ tsp salt
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp tequila

Ganache:

6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup heavy cream
½ tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp tequila
Oreos and Reese's Pieces, for decorations

Preheat the oven to 350F and line muffin tins with cupcake liners.
Sift the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, cayenne, and other spices
Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler, stirring constantly until smooth
Remove from heat and whisk in sugar and salt by hand
Whisk in eggs, vanilla, and tequila by hand until smooth.
Whisk in dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Fill cupcake liners with about 3 Tbsp of batter per liner
Bake for 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean
Let cool.
In the meantime, make the ganache. Put the chocolate chips in a bowl. Bring cream to boil in a small saucepan and pour it over the chocolate chips. Stir until combined and smooth. Stir in vanilla and tequila.
Frost the cupcakes and add the eyes and beaks!
Enjoy!

Butter and jam thumbprint cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 07 Oct 2015 01:45:00 +0000

So, I pretty much have fallen by behind in updating this blog, but I'm still baking every week!

These are shortbread-like cookies with jam nestled in the middle. I had leftover blackberry jam and apple butter from various recipes, so I used them for these cookies!

Be sure to keep an careful eye on these as they are baking - they spread out a lot in the oven and burn pretty easily after the edges start to brown. Otherwise, they are very quick to make, but look quite impressive!

Butter and Jam Thumbprint Cookies (makes about 20 cookies)
Adapted from Food Network

1¾ cups (219 g) flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter
⅔ cups (133 g) white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
¼ cup of jam (I used blackberry jam and apple butter)

Preheat oven to 350F.
Cream butter in a stand mixer on high until light and fluffy.
Add in sugar and mix until combined.
Beat in egg and vanilla until just combined.
Add in flour, baking powder, and salt slowly until just combined - don't overmix!
Form 1 inch balls and roll in sugar.
Press down in the center of each ball to form an indent
Fill indent with jam.
Bake for about 14-15 minutes until the edges are golden brown.

Caramel apple cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 20 Sep 2015 16:51:00 +0000

Fall is finally (almost) here, which means it's time for all the fall baking spices and flavors! Apples, pumpkins, cinnamon, nutmeg - all my favorite ingredients to wok with!

Like last year, I ended up with a huge crop of apples from apple picking and went a little overboard with the apple-related baking.

Over the last few weeks, I've made apple crisp bites, apple macarons, and a salted caramel apple pie. I'm pretty much out of apples by now, but not before I get one more recipe in!

These cookies taste a lot like a traditional caramel apple! The cookie itself is filled with tart apple bits and the brown sugar in the cookie and the frosting gives the caramel-y taste. The pecans on top finish up the cookies with a nutty crunch, just like a real caramel apple!

The cookies are pretty soft and spread out a lot during baking though, so be sure to leave plenty of room on the baking sheet so they don't stick together!

Now that my apples are all gone, it's time to move onto other fall flavors - bring on the pumpkin recipes!

Caramel apple cookies (makes about 3 dozen cookies)
(Recipe adapted from Cooking Classy)

Cookies:

2½ cups (312 g) flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
¾ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 cup peeled and shredded Granny Smith apple
1 Tbsp lemon juice
½ cup unsalted butter (softened at room temperature)
1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup frozen apple juice concentrate (thawed but cold)

Frosting:

½ cup (100 g) packed light-brown sugar
¼ cup butter
2½ Tbsp apple juice concentrate
⅛ tsp salt
2½ cups (300 g) powdered sugar
½ cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350F.
Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together.
Toss apples and lemon juice together in a separate bowl.
Cream butter and brown sugar in a stand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Mix in egg and vanilla extract until fully combined.
Add in half of the flour mixture, followed by the apple concentrate, followed by the rest of the flour mixture. Fold the apples into the dough.
Scoop 1.5 Tbsp of the dough onto parchment paper on baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the bottoms are set.
Let cool completely.
For frosting, warm brown sugar, apple juice, and salt in a small saucepan on low-medium heat.
Once melted, remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar to form the glaze.
Glaze the top of the cookies and sprinkle the tops with pecans.
Enjoy!

Peach Pie Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 26 Aug 2015 02:23:00 +0000

Facebook kindly reminded me this morning that I had been at MIT for a year now, showing me a picture of my roommate and I posing with the mascot, Tim the beaver. On one hand, it's kind of hard to believe that it's already been a year - it felt like the months flew by! On the other hand, I also somehow feel like I've been in Cambridge forever and that I'm definitely used to my life here now.

In baking news though, did you know that Monday was National Peach Pie Day? Well, I found out about it too late to make a peach pie to celebrate, but better late than never, right?

Because of my aversion to making pie crust (I'll get over it eventually), I decided to make peach pie cupcakes instead. I've made apple pie cupcakes before, and these are sort of similar.

The cake is a cinnamon cupcake with chunks of peaches in it, while the frosting also has peaches for added flavor. The result is a perfectly peachy cupcake in honor of National Peach Pie Day!

Peach Pie Cupcakes (makes about a dozen cupcakes)
Recipe adapted from Life Love and Sugar

Cupcakes:

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup (100 g) white sugar
1/2 cup (100 g) brown sugar
3 egg whites
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/8 cup (86 g) of plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup almond milk
1 2/3 cup (208 g) flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup peaches, diced

Frosting:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening, softened
2-2 1/2 cup (240 - 300 g) powdered sugar
2-4 Tbsp peach puree
Peaches for topping, if desired

Preheat oven to 350F and line cupcake tins with liners.
Cream butter in stand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Add in white and brown sugars and continue mixing until smooth.
Add in egg whites, vanilla, sour cream, and milk and continue mixing until smooth.
Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt separately.
Add dry mixture to wet mixture and mix until just combined.
Fold in diced peaches.
Add about 3 Tbsp of batter per liner.
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool completely before frosting.
To make frosting, cream butter and shortening together until light and fluffy.
Add in about 2 cups of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
Add in 2 Tbsp of peach puree to start.
Add more puree and/or powdered sugar until the desired consistency is achieved.
Pipe frosting onto cupcakes and top with a peach slice.
Enjoy!

Strawberry macarons

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 00:39:00 +0000

Macarons are one of my favorite things to bake. Yes, they can be a little time consuming and require some planning, but there are so many different flavors and decorations that can be done with them! Today's flavor is strawberry!

I've made these particular macarons before, as part of my macaron mass production last year, but never got to post the recipe until now!

The night before, I aged the egg whites (separating them and putting them in the fridge overnight) and made the strawberry buttercream. The buttercream was made with real strawberries - I pureed them and then reduced it over heat to concentrate the strawberry flavor.

Today, I whipped up the macaron batter and baked up the shells, before filling them with the buttercream. More details and tips about how to make macarons are in my previous posts.

It was a rainy day, so I was worried the humidity would ruin the shells, but I dried them in front of the AC before baking - and they turned out just fine! Here's to more macaron baking in the near future!

Strawberry macarons - makes about two dozen macarons

Macaron shells:

110 g almond meal
200 g powdered sugar
100 g egg whites (aged in fridge overnight)
¼ tsp cream of tartar
50 g white sugar
Red gel food coloring

Strawberry filling (adapted from here)

¼ cup of strawberry puree (pureed from fresh strawberries)
¾ Tbsp (1.5 sticks) of unsalted butter
100 g (1 cup) powdered sugar
¼ tsp vanilla extract

Sift the almond meal, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder together and set aside.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Whip egg whites and cream of tartar in a stand mixer on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.
Add white sugar in. Continue mixing on medium-high until stiff peaks form.
Add gel food coloring to the mixture and beat until the coloring is even. The amount you add will depend on the type of coloring you use. I just added more gel until I got the pink I wanted.
Add the almond mixture to the meringue - I added it in three parts. I sifted a third of the mixture into the meringue, and then folded/scrape the bowl for 10 strokes. Repeat with the remainder of the mixture, a third at a time. The batter should run off your spatula in thick, slow ribbons.
Transfer batter to a piping bag with a ½ open round tip.
Pipe macarons shells that are 1½ inch wide and 2 inches apart from each other. Keep the tip low and close to the paper so the shell can spread out instead of pile up.
Let shells sit at room temperature for 60 minutes or until the top no longer feels tacky when you touch it.
In the meantime - make the buttercream! Heat the strawberry puree in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until it's reduced to about a tablespoon. Let cool completely.
Beat butter in a stand mixer on high speed until it's light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and continue mixing until a smooth frosting forms. Add the vanilla and the strawberry reduction and mix until completely combined.
Bake in preheated oven at 325F for 13-15 minutes, or until the bottoms just barely separate form the parchment paper.
Let cool completely before removing from the parchment paper.
Sandwich buttercream between two shells to form a macaron. Chill in the fridge overnight.
Enjoy!

Key Lime Pies

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 29 Jul 2015 02:30:00 +0000

Baking in my new kitchen has been great, but while I've been making a lot of things, I haven't been as good about updating the blog with the recipes. July turned out to be a relatively busy month, between settling into the new house, traveling, lab, and just general life stuff.

One of the highlights of the month was my trip to San Diego Comic Con - my college roommate and I have been trying to go for years and we finally managed (somehow) to get tickets for this year! I could write an entire post about my four day adventure, navigating through crowds of cosplayers, sleeping outside the convention center, seeing my favorite actors talk about their shows and movies, and just all-around being a huge geek.

Between that and the other fun things I've been doing, my diversity in baking has definitely taken a drop this month. It's pretty much been all cookies for the past few weeks, so for today, I finally decided to switch it up with these little key lime pies.

The recipe is super simple - graham cracker crust with a filling that only has four ingredients. It's really the perfect lazy summer recipe, with the key lime flavors and the simplicity in making it!

Key Lime Pies (makes about 16 mini-pies)
(Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction)

1½ (150 g) graham cracker crumbs
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
⅓ cup (67 g) white sugar
4 oz cream cheese
4 egg yolks
14 oz sweetened condensed milk
½ cup key lime juice
Lime slices (for decoration)

Preheat oven to 350F and line about 16 cupcake tins.
Melt the butter and crush the graham cracker into crumbs (either using a food processor or crush them with a rolling pin in a Ziploc bag).
Mix the cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar together until it resembles coarse sand.
Add one tablespoon of the crust mixture to each cupcake tin and press down until it's compact.
Bake crusts for 5 minutes and remove.
Mix cream cheese in a stand mixer on high speed until smooth.
Add in egg yolks, followed by condensed milk and lime juice until combined.
Add filling on top of crust (about 3 Tbsp each) and bake for 15 minutes, or until the filling sets.
Let cool completely and then transfer to fridge to chill for 2 hours.
Add lime slice on top and enjoy!

Coconut macaroons

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 23:54:00 +0000

So life hasn't gotten any less busy since my last post - my roommates and I recently moved from the grad dorms into a real house! Packing everything up was a little hectic, but with the help of my generous friends, we managed to get everything out the door, into the car, and over to the new place.

The best part of the new house? An actual kitchen. With an actual oven. This means I can now prepare everything in the kitchen and put it straightaway into the oven (and not have to walk all the way down the hall to find an oven that actually works!). This means baking - more of it!

I already baked a bunch of cookies, a batch of mango lemon bars, and an apple pie for 4th of July, but I finally got around to blogging recipe! Today's post is the coconut macaroon - a simple recipe that only involves four main ingredients (plus other decorative bits). All you have to do is mix egg whites with sugar, vanilla, and almond extract and bake it up.

The result? A sweet, chewy bite-sized treat filled with coconut. I added sprinkles to mine and drizzled the tops with salted caramel sauce, but feel free to try melted chocolate, dried fruit, or nuts!

Coconut Macaroons (makes about 18 cookies)
Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

4 egg whites
½ cup (100 g) white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp almond extract
4¾ cup (14 oz) sweetened shredded coconut
½ cup rainbow sprinkles (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325F.
Beat the egg whites, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract together in a stand mixer on medium-high speed until the mixture is foamy.
Fold coconut in and be sure to coat it completely with the egg mixture. Add sprinkles in, if desired.
Scoop 1.5 Tablespoons of batter neatly and compactly onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the tops start to golden brown.
Let cool completely. Drizzle with meted chocolate, caramel sauce, or whatever topping you want!
Enjoy!

Piña colada cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 16 Jun 2015 23:35:00 +0000

It's been awhile since my last update, huh? The last month or so has been relatively hectic - finishing up crazy class projects, figuring out what I'm actually doing in lab, and attempting to study for my grad school qualification exams. Despite all of this, I still managed to find time to bake at least once a week, but just wasn't able to find time (or motivation) to post any of the recipes.

Good news is that I did pass my exams (yay!) and right after, I jetted off to Puerto Rico for the week, along with many of my fellow classmates, for a much deserved (and much needed) break on the beach. The entire trip was pretty incredible - we stayed in a giant beach house, chilled on some gorgeous beaches, hiked/zip-lined/rappelled through the rainforest, kayaked through a bioluminescent bay, snorkeled through a beautiful coral reef, and more!

The food was amazing as well - so many plantains and fish were had. And who could forget the island-themed drinks, especially the piña colada? In fact, I already missed being in Puerto Rico so much, I made these piña colada cupcakes!

Unlike a traditional piña colada, these cupcakes do not have rum in them (if I had some on hand, I would have added some), but they are bursting with pineapple and coconut flavor. The cupcake itself has pineapple juice and coconut milk in it, while there's even more coconut in the whipped cream frosting.

Cheers to a great start to summer (and hopefully more regular updates!)

Piña colada cupcakes (makes a dozen cupcakes)
Recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

Cupcakes:

1 and 2/3 cups (210 g) flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup (150 g) dark brown sugar
1/4 cup (50 g) white sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (melted)
1 egg
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup coconut milk (full fat)
2 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 Tbsp powdered sugar
1/2 tsp coconut extract
Shredded coconut and pineapple chunks, for decoration

Preheat oven to 350F
Combine melted butter with brown and white sugars.
Mix in egg, pineapple juice, coconut milk, and vanilla extract
Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together and then add to wet ingredient until combined.
Fill cupcake liners with 3 Tbsp of batter
Bake for 20 minutes
Let completely cool before frosting
Beat whipping cream in stand mixer on high speed until soft peaks form
Add powdered sugar and coconut extract and continue beating until stiff peaks form
Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and top with coconut and pineapple, if desired.
Enjoy!

Blueberries and cream cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 01:32:00 +0000

I can (hesitatingly) say now that spring is finally, finally here! At last, it's warm enough for me to run along the Charles in the morning and for me to ride my bike into work. Another plus with the warmer weather is better produce - meaning better fruits and vegetables for me to cook and bake with!

Today, I'm starting with blueberries (with a hint of lemon) and adding them to cupcakes. This recipe is reminscent of typical breakfast blueberry muffins, but these are definitely fluffier and lighter. Topping these cupcakes is a dense cream cheese frosting that goes well with the lighter cupcake texture.

I would certainly say these are more of a dessert than they are a breakfast meal!

Blueberries and cream cupcakes (makes about 12-14 cupcakes or 48 mini cupcakes)
Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

Cupcakes:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, unsalted
1/2 cup (100 g) white sugar
1/2 cup (100 g) light brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup (62 g) plain Greek yogurt
3/4 cup almond milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
Lemon zest from one lemon (~2 tsp)
1 2/3 cup (210 g) flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups of fresh blueberries

Frosting:

8 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup (half stick) of butter, unsalted
2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar
1 Tbsp of almond milk
1 tsp of vanilla extract
Food coloring and sprinkles, for decoration

Preheat oven to 350F.
Melt butter. Whisk in brown and white sugars until smooth.
Whisk in egg, yogurt, milk, vanilla, and lemon until smooth.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Slowly stir in the wet mixture and combined until completely smooth.
Fold blueberries in by hand.
For regular cupcakes, add 3 Tbsp of batter to each cupcake liner. For mini-cupcakes, add 2 tsp of batter to each cupcake liner.
Bake for 10-12 minutes (mini-cupcakes) or 22-25 min (regular cupcakes) or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
For frosting, mix the cream cheese and butter together in a stand mixer on medium speed until smooth.
Add powdered sugar and milk and continue mixing until smooth (add more milk to thin it out, if needed). You can also add color and sprinkles at this point for decoration!
Frost cupcakes and enjoy!

Oatmeal raisin peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 19 Apr 2015 20:07:00 +0000

The students from my department put on a talent show this week, and as my talent, I entered six dozen baked goods for everyone to taste. Not really a performance talent, but no one in the audience was complaining!

I made two different recipes - the first were my red wine cupcakes that I've made before. The other was a batch of oatmeal raisin cookies with peanut butter and chocolate chips. I first made these oatmeal cookies earlier this week because I needed a quick recipe (crazy week as usual...) without really expecting much from them.

Well, the response to these cookies was pretty ridiculous. I brought them to lab and class - and I got an overwhelmingly positive response from everyone. Seriously, I don't remember any of my previous recipes ever getting this much praise before!

The key apparently, as I was told, to these cookies was the addition of the chocolate chips alongside the raisins. The chocolate chips were something I added in as an afterthought, but I'm really glad that I did! These cookies are great for a quick recipe (takes 30 minutes to make!) that will definitely impress many people.

Oatmeal raisin peanut butter chocolate chip cookies (makes about two dozen cookies)
Recipe adapted from Food.com

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (room temperature)
⅜ cup (75 g) white sugar
½ cup (100 g) dark brown sugar
½ cup (129 g) creamy peanut butter
1 egg (room temperature)
¼ tsp vanilla
¾ cup (94 g) all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ cup of oatmeal (quick oats)
⅓ cup of raisins
⅓ cup of milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.
Cream butter, white sugar, and brown sugar together in a stand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Beat in peanut butter, followed by the egg and vanilla.
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt together and then mix into wet mixture until completely combined.
Mix in oatmeal, followed by raisins and chocolate chips.
Drop cookie dough in 1 inch balls on parchment paper on cookie sheets.
Bake in preheated oven for 12 minutes or until the edges begin to brown.
Let cool and enjoy!

Triple chocolate coconut cupcakes (for Easter!)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 00:19:00 +0000

So the month of March just slipped by, didn't it? Between school, life, and lab, I did manage to find plenty of time to bake, but unfortunately never got around to documenting it into this blog. It's a shame because I really wanted to show off the MIT beaver cake pops I made for recruitment weekend, the ginger apple pear pie I made for Pi Day, and the Irish Car Bomb cupcakes I made for St. Patrick's Day, but it didn't make sense to post them after the relevant holiday was long over.

Which is why I'm making a concerted effort to get these Easter-themed cupcakes blogged before Easter is over. Growing up, Easter was one of those holidays I never really celebrated, so Easter egg hunts and baskets were largely unfamiliar to me when I was younger. That didn't stop me from getting into the spirit this year, however!

I dyed eggs for the first time last night with a friend, and today, I attended an Easter potluck, complete with a ham and everything. For my share of the potluck, I brought dessert (surprise, surprise).

The cupcake was my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe - it's very deep and intense. I've used it before in previous recipes, such as my Halloween owl cupcakes or my red wine cupcakes. Nothing new, but the focus of my cupcake today was the decorations.

Because I had tons of shredded coconut leftover from a previous recipe, I decided to dye the coconut green and use it as grass. After frosting the cupcake (in perfectly yummy white chocolate buttercream), I rolled it in the coconut to make it look like a grassy field. I then piped pink roses on top (using the same white chocolate buttercream), and as a finishing touch, added an edible rice paper butterfly on top. I had gotten these butterfly toppers as a gift awhile back, but hadn't found a good opportunity to use them until now!

The result was a very Easter-appropriate cupcake, reminding me of the spring that we should be having in Boston right now...

Triple chocolate coconut cupcakes (makes 24 cupcakes)
(Cupcake recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction)

Cupcakes:

1½ (190 g) cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup (84 g) cocoa (unsweetened)
1 cup (2 sticks) butter (unsalted)
4 oz of semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 eggs
1 cup (200 g) of white sugar
½ (100 g) cup of dark brown sugar
2 tsp of vanilla extract
1 cup of buttermilk

Frosting/toppings:

3 ounces (85g) white chocolate
½ cup (1 stick) butter (unsalted, at room temperature)
1 cup ((120 g) powdered sugar
2 Tbsp heavy cream
1 ttsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
Food coloring
~1-2 cups of shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350F.
Mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt) together.
Melt butter with chocolate in the microwave (use 30 second intervals) until melted and mix until smooth. Let cool.
Mix eggs, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla together in a stand mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add cooled chocolate butter mixture. Fold in flour mixture, and then the buttermilk. Mix until just combined (don't overbeat!)
Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Fill each with ~3 Tbsp of batter.
Bake in oven for 18-20 minutes, or until an inserted fork in the middle comes out clean. Let cool.
Melt white chocolate in microwave until its smooth. Let cool slightly.
Cream butter in a stand mixer on high speed until fluffy. Add powdered sugar and continue mixing until fully combined. Add heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt and keep stirring until the frosting is light and fluffy.
Spread a layer of frosting on the tops of all cupcakes with a butter knife.
Add 4-5 drops of green food coloring to the coconut and stir with a fork until the coloring is even.
Dip the tops of the cupcakes into the green coconut until the tops are coated completely.
Add 4-5 drops of food coloring (pick your favorite color!) to remaining frosting and beat until coloring is even.
Pipe colored frosting onto cupcakes into flower designs.
(optional) Add butterfly cupcake toppers to the tops of flowers.
Enjoy!

Cinnamon Nutella muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 28 Feb 2015 20:00:00 +0000

"What's the difference between a cupcake and a muffin?"

That was the question we mused over as we munched on these little pastries. The general consensus was that cupcakes are sweeter than muffins. Also, that cupcakes were more cake-like and muffins were more bread-like (and could be used for savory flavors as well). These muffins though, were quite sweet as they were pretty thoroughly dunked in cinnamon sugar and filled with Nutella.

Whatever the official definition is, these things are pretty tasty AND ridiculously easy to make. It's just a simple muffin batter, with a spoonful of Nutella in the middle, baked up in mini-muffin tins.

They look pretty underwhelming when they first come out of the oven.

BUT then you dip the tops in melted butter and roll it around in cinnamon sugar - and it suddenly comes alive!

And ta-da! You have delicious bites of cinnamon sugar muffins, with the Nutella filling in the middle as a surprise.

Cinnamon Nutella Muffins (makes 24 mini-muffins)
Adapted from Damn Delicious

1½ cup (187 g) of flour
½ cup (100 g) of white sugar
½ tsp of cinnamon
¼ tsp of nutmeg
2 tsp of baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup milk
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
~3 Tbsp of Nutella (for filling)
3 Tbsp of unsalted butter
Topping = 2 tsp of cinnamon + 1/4 cup white sugar

Preheat oven to 400F.
Sift flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt together.
In a separate bowl, whisk milk, oil, egg, and vanilla extract together.
Add wet to dry ingredients and stir until completely smooth and combined.
Prep a mini-muffin tin with paper liners or spray with cooking spray (either works).
Add 1 tsp of batter to each cup. Add a dab (about 1/4 tsp) of Nutella on top of batter. Top off with another 1 tsp of batter.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until an inserted fork comes out clean and the sides are lightly browned.
Let cool 5-10 minutes and then dip in melted butter, followed immediately by cinnamon sugar.
Enjoy!