Sweet Tooth

Espresso Shortbread Cookies

2012-06-01T13:37:00.002-04:00

I know this blog is titled "Sweet Tooth", but today I'm sharing a not so overly sweet treat for those of you who can't handle the weekly sugar overload. Yes, there is two-thirds of a cup of powdered sugar, but compared to your average cookie, these don't pack the same sugary punch. This recipe comes from Dorie Greenspan, whose cookbook I've had since Christmas, but am just getting around to trying some of the recipes this spring. Dorie Greenspan is a legend among bakers, and when I saw that Deb from Smitten Kitchen also gave this recipe rave reviews, I knew I had to give it a try.

These shortbread cookies may not be as colorful or beautiful as last week's Fruit Tart or my Sunflower Cupcakes, but they serve their buttery, delicious purpose in other ways - such as being dunked in a big mug of coffee for an after-dinner treat. The deep espresso flavor really shines through with these, and not in your average "mocha" way, but in a slightly bitter way that really makes you think of rich coffee beans. Combined with the finely chopped dark chocolate, it's a sophisticated mocha combination that is definitely addicting. I love all things coffee-flavored, and these cookies were no exception.

After finally breaking in Dorie's "Baking: From My Home to Yours", I'm definitely going to have to start exploring her pages and pages of other recipes. I would love to be on the couch skimming her beautiful words and pictures with a cup of coffee and a few of these espresso shortbread cookies. Too bad they're long gone, but I might just have to put together another batch soon!

Espresso Shortbread Cookies
Recipe from Baking: From My Home to Yours

1 tbsp instant espresso powder

1 tbsp boiling water

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

4 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

- Dissolve the espresso powder in boiling water and set aside to cool to room temperature.

- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and confectioners' sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

- Beat in the vanilla and espresso.
- With the mixer now on low, slowly add the flour, mixing until just incorporated.
- Fold in the chopped chocolate with a rubber spatula. The dough will be soft and sticky.
- Transfer the dough to a gallon-size ziploc bag. Put the bag on a flat surface and with the top open, roll the dough into a 9x10.5" rectangle that's 1/4" thick. When you get the right thickness, seal the bag and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.
- Remove the dough form the plastic bag and transfer to a cutting board. Use a ruler to cut the dough into 1-1/2" squares. Transfer the cookies to the baking sheets and gently push a fork completely through the cookies twice.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. Once baked, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe yields 42 cookies

Fruit Tart with Vanilla Pastry Cream

2012-05-23T21:44:00.000-04:00

I'm beyond thrilled that berries are once again abundant and affordable so I can start overwhelming your newsfeeds and readers with treats full of summery fruit. It's difficult to incorporate more berries into a dessert than with a fruit tart, and because fresh fruit is used without being baked, they keep their beautiful vibrant colors. With a flaky crust and luscious vanilla pastry cream filling, this tart is light and flavorful and won't weigh you down - perfect for Memorial Day weekend festivities!

There are hundreds of vanilla pastry cream recipes out there, but this one actually comes from a dental assistant at my school (thanks Eileen!). She heard about my blog and my knack for baking and just couldn't wait to share her family's beloved pastry cream recipe with me. They use it mainly for cream puffs and cream pies, but I knew the recipe would also work well as the base for this summertime treat. I love the idea of recipes being passed down through generations, especially because the recipe has been recreated and enjoyed so many times, you know it has to be good! And good it was - I actually made this tart for my Dad's birthday and we had no problem scarfing down most of the tart in one night. It has a lot of fruit in it so it's healthy, right??

I certainly hope you'll give this recipe a try for the holiday weekend, it's fresh and fun and perfect for a Memorial Day party. But if you're not feeling fruity this weekend, maybe try my Corona and Blue Moon Cupcakes, Watermelon Lime Jello Shots, or Nutella Dipped Frozen Bananas - all great treats to help usher in Summer 2012!

Fruit Tart with Vanilla Pastry Cream

For the crust: Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats

1 large egg yolk

1 tbsp heavy cream

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1-1/4 cups all purpose flour

2/3 cup confectioners' sugar

1/4 tsp salt

8 tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2" cubes

- Whisk together the egg yolk, cream, and vanilla in a small bowl and set aside.

- In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, and salt and pulse briefly to combine.

- Add the butter pieces over the flour mixture and process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs - about 15 1-second pulses.

- With the machine running, add the egg mixture until the dough just comes together (about 15 seconds).

- Turn the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and press into a 6" disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.

- When the dough is ready, unwrap and roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface into a 13" round. Transfer the dough to a 9" tart pan and mold the dough to the sides of the pan. Freeze the pan for 30 minutes.

- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and press foil over the frozen shell and fill with pie weights.

- Bake for 30 minutes, rotating halfway through. Remove from oven, remove the foil and weights, and then bake another 5-8 minutes longer until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

For the vanilla pastry cream:

2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 2 tbsp

4 tbsp cornstarch

2 egg yolks

1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces

- Combine the milk and 1/2 cup sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat and stir until simmering.

- Meanwhile in another bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and remaining 2 tbsp of sugar for about 15 seconds. Then add the cornstarch and mix until pale yellow and thick.

- When the milk has reached a simmer, slowly add the milk to the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly as you combine. Return the mixture to the saucepan and return to medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture just starts to boil and the mixture is thickened.

- Remove form heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla extract. Strain pastry cream through a fine mesh sieve set over a medium bowl.

- Cover pastry cream with plastic wrap, making sure the wrap touches the top of the cream so that a skin doesn't form. Refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours and up to 2 days.

For the topping:

2 kiwis

~20 large strawberries

Handful of blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries - or whatever you want!

- To assemble tart, spread pastry cream evenly in tart shell.

- Cut up kiwis and strawberries and decorate as desired! I got my design inspiration for this tart from a local bakery - feel free to use this design or be creative come up with your own :)

Recipe yields one 9" tart

Happy Birthday Dad and Happy Memorial Day Everyone!!

Cookies and Cream Popcorn

2012-05-16T09:21:00.000-04:00

I have really bad luck with making popcorn - Ryan has even forbidden me from making popcorn in our apartment after consecutively burning 2 bags in the microwave within the same week. I love a small bag of kettle corn as a snack, but unfortunately I'm not very lucky when it comes to popping them, and the terrible smell of a burnt bag of popcorn seems to linger for weeks. However, after ignoring my microwave popcorn restriction and making this amazing cookies and cream treat, I'm pretty sure I can now make popcorn whenever I want. Ryan, myself, and a few friends I shared this with were all 100% addicted to this popcorn and the fact that it's so easy to make is a scary thought - bikinis beware!

Making this is SO SO easy, as in the hardest part is not burning the popcorn. Freshly popped kettle corn is mixed with crushed Oreos and melted white chocolate and laid out to dry. I love Oreos and everything cookies and cream (ice cream, cookies, cakes, cheesecakes) so it only makes sense that cookies and cream popcorn be added to the list. I always make sure to have a package of Oreos on hand (double-stuf, of course) for easy recipes like this, or just a late night snack. This is a great recipe for a party snack - you can simply double the ingredients and definitely impress a large group of friends. Although make sure to set aside a healthy portion for yourself - I wasn't kidding when I said it's addicting!

After such success with this "recipe", I think there will definitely be more popcorn concoctions in my future. I've spied a few peanut butter cup and even funfetti variations online and I'm pretty sure Ryan wouldn't even be mad if I burnt a batch of popcorn in the process...

Cookies and Cream Popcorn

Recipe adapted from Cooking Classy

1 bag kettle corn or regular white popcorn

12 Oreos, crushed finely

6 oz vanilla candy melts

- Pop bag of popcorn according to package instructions - listen to your microwave and make sure not to burn the kernels! Remove any unpopped kernels or you'll end up with some cracked fillings - just give me a call if you forget and need those fixed :)

- Mix the popcorn and crushed Oreos together until evenly distributed.

- Melt candy melts in the microwave in 30 second intervals, mixing well in between until glossy and smooth.

- Drizzle half of the candy melts over the popcorn and use a rubber spatula to coat evenly.

- Add the rest of the candy melts and toss mixture gently for about a minute.

- Spread mixture onto a large sheet of wax paper and allow candy coating to set completely - about 20 minutes. Store in an airtight container.

Lemon Blueberry Bread

2012-05-09T22:40:00.003-04:00

With Mother's Day coming up in a few days I wanted to share a recipe that would be perfect for your brunch table on Sunday. I found this recipe on Pinterest and like all things from that crazily-addicting website, it was all based on looks - specifically the evenly spaced blueberries and beautiful yellow color in the photo. Sweet Pea's Kitchen did a fantastic job making this bread look amazing, so I pinned it, printed the recipe, and pulled it out of my oven not too long after. Turns out Pinterest is good for a lot more than just wasting time - this bread was delicious! Okay, maybe it's more "cake" than bread, but with all the lemon and blueberries, you could probably convince yourself that it's an appropriate dish to eat before noon, especially in celebration of Mom!

Sometimes I get nervous baking loaves because they can get dried out easily, but this recipe yielded an insanely moist cake with great lemon flavor thanks to the lemon syrup bath after the cake is baked. I loved the lemon flavor in this and blueberries are always a great addition to anything lemon flavored. It's a light and bright flavor combination perfect for this time of year. Between this bread and the Sunflower Cupcakes from 2 weeks ago, can you tell I'm ready for warmer weather?? I've been in Boston for the week spending time at the children's hospital dental program but unfortunately the sun hasn't been out very much since I've been here. I'm still enjoying the city and pretending to be a real city-slicker commuting on public transportation and all, but I'm definitely looking forward to the sunnier weather predicted for the weekend and some time with my Mom back in CT.

Hope you enjoy the recipe and find it as pin-worthy as I did. And if you're not already following me on Pinterest, please come on over to my boards to see what other goodies I'm eyeing! Happy Mother's Day!

Lemon Blueberry Bread

Recipe adapted from Sweet Pea's Kitchen

For the bread
1-1/2 cups + 1 tbsp all purpose flour, divided
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1-1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

For the lemon syrup
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar

For the lemon glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
3-4 tbsp fresh lemon juice

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9x5" loaf pan, dust with flour, and tap out excess.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla, and oil.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet. In a separate bowl mix the blueberries with the 1 tbsp of flour and then gently fold them into the mixed batter.
- Pour the batter into the pan and bake 50-55 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.
- Let bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the loaf is cooling, combine the lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir continuously until sugar is dissolved, and then continue cooking for another 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Use a toothpick to poke holes in the tops and sides of the warm loaf and brush with the lemon syrup. Continue to brush the loaf until all of the syrup is added.
- To make the lemon glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice and pour over the top of the loaf. Let the lemon glaze harden before serving.

Peanut Butter S'Mores Brownies

2012-05-02T22:00:00.000-04:00

I'f you've been following my blog for some time you'll notice that I like to alternate between more artistic, creative recipes that require a bit of time and effort (i.e. Lemon Sunflower Cupcakes) with quick and easy recipes that don't call for any fancy baking techniques (i.e. Brownie Cookies). I can't always dedicate hours and hours to baking each week, so even bakeaholics like me need some no-fuss recipes every now and then. Plus I love being able to provide recipes that make you drool but are are not at all intimidating to make. If you scroll down just a bit I'm predicting you'll start drooling pretty immediately, and let me promise you, these were really easy to put together - a very dangerous combination!

I made these last weekend with my college friend Alyx who visited with her boyfriend. They are both busy medical students in NYC and joined Ryan and I in Connecticut for a few days of relaxation in the "country". We visited a vineyard, went on a hike, drank more wine than we'd probably like to admit, and also got to spend some time together in the kitchen. Alyx has always been a big supporter of my blog (probably because one of my first posts was a gift for her), so it was fun to share my baking nook with her and create something really delicious (she was the one who actually picked out this recipe!). I love baking with friends and I'm glad they were there to take half the batch with them back to the city and out of my reach - I could have definitely picked at these all week...

These brownies are made up of a graham cracker crust, fudgey brownie center with peanut butter swirled in, and all topped with a chewy layer of toasted marshmallows. My S'mores Cookies were good, but these take the marshmallow/graham cracker/chocolate combination to a whole different level. The addition of peanut butter makes them super decadent, so definitely have a glass of milk ready. I love the look of the burnt marshmallows on top, but the side view with all that peanut buttery-chocolate goodness ain't too bad either - it's hard to choose my favorite angle of these brownies!

Peanut Butter S'Mores Brownies

Recipe adapted from Tracey's Culinary Adventures

For the graham cracker crust:

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (from about 6-7 whole graham crackers)

1 tbsp sugar

4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Pinch of salt

For the brownies:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

3 oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

2/3 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

2 cups mini marshmallows

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8" square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving overhanging foil on the sides to create handles for lifting out the brownies later.

- For the crust, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter and mix until evenly combined. Transfer to the prepared pan and press the crumbs firmly to create an even layer. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown. Set aside as you prepare the brownie batter.

- For the brownies., put chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until completely melted. Mix in the butter until smooth. Set aside to cool.

- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

- In a large bowl combine the sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract until well combined.

- Add the cooled chocolate to the sugar/eggs and whisk together.

- Use a rubber spatula to fold the flour mixture into the batter, mixing until the flour is just incorporated.

- Transfer the brownie batter to the prepared pan and spread into an even layer on top of the graham cracker crust. Drop dollops of peanut butter over the batter and use the tip of a knife to swirl it in.

- Bake for 25-27 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove the brownies from the oven and set the oven to broil.

- Top the brownies with mini marshmallows and return the pan to the oven and broil them until they are puffed and toasted (about 2 minutes).

- Let the brownies cool completely in the pan for about 2 hours. Then, use the foil handles to lift the brownies out and transfer to a cutting board. Spray your knife with cooking spray to keep the marshmallows from sticking to it while you're cutting, or just let the brownies sit covered overnight to make cutting easiest.

Hope you enjoy these as much as we did!

Lemon Sunflower Cupcakes

2012-04-26T16:14:00.001-04:00

I LOVE planning out desserts to make for a special occasion, especially when it involves cupcakes. Some people have asked me what my favorite part about baking is, and often times it's the creative process that goes on before I even turn on the mixer. My best friend Sara threw a bridal shower for her sister-in-law-to-be last weekend and wanted a sunflower theme. Lucky for Sara, she happens to have a best friend with a knack for baking who can't say no to a cupcake challenge. I spent the week before the shower dreaming up what I wanted the cupcakes to look like, searching for cupcake recipes, and then of course spending a few evenings putting everything together. I was so excited to see how the sunflowers would turn out, I even skipped happy hour with friends because I was so anxious to make them! I was beyond thrilled with the result and proudly showed up to the shower with a beautiful bouquet of 30 sunflowers for the guests.

There are many ways to do sunflower cupcakes, and thanks to the authors of "Hello, Cupcake!", you'll find variations of these all over the web. I wanted something neat and pretty that still looked edible, so I opted to make my sunflowers out of royal icing. I also chose to use mini Oreos for the centers so the flowers didn't take over the entire cupcake. These lemon cupcakes were topped with cream cheese buttercream so I wanted to make sure I could fit plenty of frosting and a flower! The best part of making the sunflowers from royal icing instead of buttercream is that you can make them as far in advance as you need to (even up to weeks before) and just keep them in an airtight container until your cupcakes are ready to be topped. The flowers end up drying hard so they're not as easy to eat as a part of the cupcake, but they can just be enjoyed as a little piece of candy to be eaten on the side. And don't be intimidated by piping these flowers, if you have a ziploc bag and a pair of scissors, you can make them too!

For the cupcakes I found a lemon cupcake recipe from allrecipes.com that had a lot of great reviews. When I made the batter I was definitely concerned with how thick it was (more like muffin batter than cupcake batter) but was pleasantly surprised when they baked up soft and moist. Just make sure you don't overbake them! The lemon flavor is subtle but refreshing and light, and definitely works well with the luscious cream cheese frosting that I love so much. With warmer weather just around the corner, these bright and sunny cupcakes are perfect for many occasions - bridal showers, pool parties, birthdays, or even just because!

Lemon Sunflower Cupcakes

Cupcake recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

For the lemon cupcakes:

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

3 tsp lemon zest

1 tsp vanilla extract

3-1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups sour cream

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 30 muffin tins with cupcake liners.

- In the bowl of an electri mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

- Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

- Add the lemon zest and vanilla and mix well.

- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

- With the mixer on low speed, alternatively add the dry ingredients and the sour cream to the butter mixture, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. The batter will be thick, but don't panic!

- Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full and bake for 22-25 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.

- Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the cream cheese frosting:

12 oz cream cheese, cold

6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tbsp vanilla extract

4 cups powdered sugar

- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and beat well.

- Slowly add the powdered sugar until well combined. Continue to beat until smooth for about 2 minutes.

- Load frosting into a piping bag fit with a large closed star tip and frost cupcakes as desired.

For the sunflower toppers:

4 cups powdered sugar

5 tbsp meringue powder

1/2 cup water

Few drops vanilla extract

15 package mini Oreos

Yellow and green food coloring

- Whisk together the powdered sugar and meringue powder in the bowl of an electric mixer.

- Add the water and vanilla and beat until smooth, about 5 minutes. If icing is too thick, add more water in 1 tsp increments. For desired consistency, you'll want a peak of icing to droop back down into the bowl completely in about 30 seconds.

- Put aside 1/2 cup of the icing in a small bowl, mix in a few drops of green food coloring, cover with a wet cloth or paper towel and set aside.

- For the rest of the icing, add yellow food coloring (I also added some orange for a warmer yellow) and transfer to a piping bag fit with a leaf tip or a large ziploc bag with a small "V" cut into the corner to look like this. When you're not using the icing bag, place it tip down in a glass with a damp paper towel on the bottom so the icing in the tip doesn't dry out.

- Lay down a sheet of wax or parchment paper on the counter, and space out 30 mini Oreo halves. With the "V" shapes oriented to either side, pipe 1 row of yellow petals all around the Oreo, starting with your tip on the edge of the Oreo and pulling outward. (This tutorial gives some nice pictures for how to hold your icing bag to make petals/leaves) Finish the first layers for all 30 Oreos, then go back and add another layer of petals on top once the first layer has set after about 15-20 minutes.

- Transfer the green icing to another bag with a leaf tip and add 2 green leaves to each sunflower if you desire.

- Let the flowers dry at least overnight before attempting to separate them from the wax paper. When they're set, top them on the cupcakes and enjoy!

Brownie Cookies

2012-04-18T22:23:00.004-04:00

With the abundance of treats coming out of my oven on a weekly basis, a common question I get is "What is your personal favorite sweet?" And although this blog is populated by a majority of cupcakes and cookies, I would say I favor brownies the most. Or maybe ice cream. Or candy. Okay - I like a lot of things, but whenever I make brownies I just can't seem to stop myself from picking at the scraps and sneaking pieces from the tray. The problem I face (first world problems, people) is I prefer a chewier brownie, and most homemade recipes I've tried are still what I would consider "fudgy". My favorite brownie is still the corner edge piece from a box of the store bought variety (the horror!), but I'm constantly on the search for a recipe I can make at home without artificial flavorings. No luck so far, but these brownie cookies are the next best thing just baked in a cookie shape- great chocolate flavor, chewy edges, and a slightly fudgy center.

This is another great cookie recipe (like my Cookies and Cream Cookies and Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies) that you can put together and bake within an hour - no chilling the dough overnight and no crazy ingredients involved. I made these for a weeknight meeting when I had limited time the day before and proudly showed up with an overflowing platter of these beautiful cookies. I got several similar reactions: "Are these like brownies that are cookies??", to which I replied: "Why yes, that's exactly what they are!". If it's not the crackly tops that give it away, it's the deep chocolate brownie flavor that really put these over the top and make them a true crowd-pleaser. You'll never have to choose between bringing cookies or brownies again!

This recipe makes a lot of cookies - probably somewhere between 30 to 40 large cookies, so they're perfect for a big get-together if you're looking to serve a lot of people. And if you need a size reference, check out the milk dunking photo below in a regular-sized coffee mug! By the way, don't you love our clear glass coffee mugs? I saw a cappuccino ad on TV a few months ago and decided to order some since I also wanted to be fancy while drinking coffee at home. Or while dunking massive brownie cookies into that are too wide for our regular drinking glasses, either one...

Brownie Cookies

Recipe adapted from Pure and Yummy

1/2 cup unsalted butter

4 (1 oz) squares unsweetened chocolate, chopped (I used Baker's brand)

3 cups (18 oz) semisweet chocolate chips, divided

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

4 large eggs

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

- In a large saucepan, combine butter, unsweetened chocolate, and 1-1/2 cups of the chocolate chips. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until butter and chocolate are completely melted and smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

- In the bowl of an electric mixer beat together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the dry ingredients into the egg mixture. Scrape down the sides if necessary and beat well.

- Add the chocolate mixture and beat well. Stir in the remaining 1-1/2 cups chocolate chips with a rubber spatula.

- Use a medium ice cream scoop to form balls of dough and place 1" apart on a Silpat or parchment-paper lined cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.

- Allow cookies to rest on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Recipe yields 30-40 large cookies

Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes

2012-04-04T08:26:00.002-04:00

One of the best parts of having a baking blog is using seasonal posts as an excuse to buy the respectively-themed candy screaming my name from the ends of the grocery store aisles. And let's face it, Easter's egg-shaped treats are hard to beat. Last year I gutted Reese's eggs to make whoopie pies and this year I sacrificed some Cadbury creme eggs to make this creme-filling frosting. I had no specific occasion for baking these cupcakes (rather than making a few friends at school very happy), but I've seen similar cupcakes around the blogosphere and knew they'd be a great Sunday afternoon recipe to tackle.

The cupcakes are a devil's food cake recipe from David Lebovitz and the buttercream is vanilla with the centers of Cadbury creme eggs mixed in. Lindsay of Love and Olive Oil provides a recipe for making your own creme egg filling, so if you don't have Cadbury eggs laying around your grocery store, give the homemade version a try! The deep chocolate flavor balances the sweetness of the icing and the chocolate shell adds a sweet Easter touch. I mixed in a bit of yellow food coloring to imitate the "yolks" and I probably could have mixed it in a little less for a streakier effect, but coulda woulda shoulda, right?

Do you love the blooms behind the cupcakes as much as I do? Ryan and I attended my friend Cailtin's wedding this past weekend (remember her bachelorette cake pops?) and we got to take home one of the centerpieces. How could I not do an Easter post with such beautiful spring flowers in the house! If the change in season has inspired you too, or if you're just looking for a good reason to throw a few Cadbury eggs in your cart this week, include these cupcakes in your Easter dessert line up. And don't forget the cookie dough eggs and chick egg cookies too! Apologies to my friends celebrating Passover this weekend, but matzo just doesn't seem to motivate me to bake as much as egg-shaped candies do each year. But happy and healthy festivities to all!

Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes

Recipe adapted from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

For the chocolate cupcakes:

4-1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cups cake flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cups sugar

1 egg, at room temperature

1/4 cup brewed coffee

1/4 cup whole milk

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 10 muffin tins with cupcake liners.

- In a medium bowl, sift together the cocoa powder, cake flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.

- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy.

- Add the egg and beat until fully incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.

- Combine the coffee and milk in a small bowl.

- With the mixer on low, add half of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, then add the water and milk. Add the other half of the dry ingredients and beat until just combined.

- Divide batter among muffin tins, filling liners 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.

For the creme egg buttercream:

The centers of 10 Cadbury creme eggs scooped out - save the chocolate shells for decoration

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

3-4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tbsp vanilla extract

About 1/4 cup milk

- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.

- Slowly add half of the powdered sugar and beat until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract.

- Add the rest of the powdered sugar and beat well for 2-5 minutes until frosting is smooth and creamy.

- Add the creme centers and beat until combined. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the frosting is of desired consistency.

- Add a little yellow food coloring and gently swirl color into frosting . Transfer frosting to a piping bag fit with a large round tip and frost as desired.

- Use chocolate candy egg shells for decoration and enjoy!

Recipe yields 10 cupcakes

Salted Caramel Shortbread + FBF Orlando

2012-03-28T22:42:00.000-04:00

Spring break is over, the crazy warm temperatures in CT have gone away, and it's back to the daily grind around here. But thankfully I'm feeling refreshed and energized thanks to an amazing trip to Florida with my family. My attitude about blogging specifically benefited since I attended the Food Blog Forum in Orlando (held right inside Epcot!) put together by Jaden and Scott of Steamy Kitchen, Diane and Todd of White on Rice Couple, and Julie of The Little Kitchen. This was my first food blogging conference ever and I was blown away by the inspiring presentations, amazing food and giveaways, and the overall engaging community feel. I met so many great people, including one of my blogging idols Bakerella, and came back inspired to continue improving and telling my food stories with thoughtful words and well-styled photographs.

Caramels photo courtesy of Wanda of My Sweet Zepol

I must admit I was a bit skeptical of food blogging conferences in general before signing up, and I'm not sure I would have jumped on board if I hadn't already booked flights and planned a trip to Orlando for the same weekend (crazy coincidence!). The whole event was hosted by Walt Disney World, and since my family and I were planning on spending a few days at the parks anyway, I had no reason to wimp out this time. And WOW I'm so glad I went! Just look at the desserts in the pictures above - WDW went above and beyond providing us breakfast, lunch, and dessert, not to mention 2 nights at the Polynesian Resort and a handful of park hoppers. OXO also provided canisters of Good Karmal caramels at the center of each table, and I definitely ate my fair share - by the end of the day I had enough karma to help me win that big 7 quart mixer from Kitchen Aid! I've been wanting to make caramels for awhile now, and so when I got back to CT I decided to make these salted caramel shortbread bites to help feed my FBFOrlando-induced caramel craving.

Salted caramel is definitely a trendy flavor that people go crazy over these days, and all for good reason! The combination of salty and sweet is wonderful here, especially with the sprinkling of sea salt and the shortbread layer to help cut out some of the sweetness of the caramel. I love shortbread in any form, but especially underneath a layer of thick, creamy caramel. I decided to cut my caramel bars into little bite-sized pieces since the caramel is pretty rich, and I think they're the perfect portion to appease your sweet tooth without actually rotting your teeth in one bite!

Don't be intimidated by making caramel at home - just invest in a cheap candy thermometer, follow the recipe instructions, and you'll be licking the spoon in no time :) I probably could have let my caramel get a little deeper in color by letting it boil a bit longer, but I was anxious to put these together and they still tasted great. Just like I was nervous to attend my first blogging conference, candy-making can be nerve-wracking too, but these are too good to pass over - give them a try and you won't be sorry!

Salted Caramel Shortbread

Recipe adapted from What's Gaby Cooking

For the shortbread layer:

10 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg yolk

1-2/3 cups flour

For the caramel:

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup light brown sugar

3/4 cup light corn syrup

2 tsp sea salt, plus more for sprinkling on top

4 tbsp sugar

4 tbsp heavy cream

1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

- Line an 8x8" pan with parchment paper, leaving some hanging over the sides to make removal easier.

- In a large bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and salt with a pastry cutter or fork. Add the egg yolk and continue mixing.

- Add the flour and use your hands to combine the dough until coarse crumbs form. Transfer the dough into the prepared pan and press it down into one even layer.

- Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 25 minutes, until slightly golden brown. Set aside to cool.

- For the caramel, combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, salt, sugar, and heavy cream. Bring to a boil and stir for about 5-10 minutes until caramel reaches the "soft ball stage" at around 230 degrees.

- Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and pour caramel over the shortbread.

- Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, then sprinkle with sea salt and cut into squares. Store caramels in the fridge until you're ready to eat them.

Hunger Games Cupcakes

2012-03-19T11:26:00.001-04:00

Today I'm sharing this post from sunny Florida! I specifically remember I read the whole Hunger Games series during my spring break here in Orlando last year. Most notable was Ryan teasing me for reading a young adult series and his inquiring comments after leaning over to get glimpses from my Kindle. We all know the book's story-line is a little "out there", but obviously you have to be amidst the plot to really appreciate all the craziness. Anyway, fast forward a few months and Ryan's sleep depriving himself because he can't put the books down! So needless to say, the Hunger Games is a fantastically addicting series and I had to join the pre-HG movie frenzy the only way I know how - with cupcakes!

I've been envisioning these cupcakes for awhile now, and I'm so thrilled with how they came out. The crushed up Oreos are supposed to represent coal from Katniss's district, the fire frosting is obviously for the "girl on fire", and I also incorporated a black lollipop-stick arrow and printed paper book logo as a topper. I think they're as ferocious as the characters in the book but also kind of adorable. As I mentioned last week, I've been extremely busy recently, so I only made 4 of these, but they really weren't hard to put together with a few tricks on hand. The fire frosting is made by loading a pastry bag with a large open-star tip and filling it with orange, yellow, and red frosting. Then you press on some crushed oreos around the edges, stick in a decorated black lollipop stick/arrow, and they're ready for the Arena! Don't you think Katniss and Peeta would love a silver balloon full of these??

I have my movie tickets already for Friday night and I can't wait. If you're counting down the days to the release like I am, you should definitely give these cupcakes a try. I've tried to make the instructions below as easy-to-follow as possible so don't be intimidated, they're really not as challenging as they may look!

Hunger Games Cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
12 cupcakes, your favorite recipe or boxed mix
20 Oreos, crushed into large pieces
12 Black lollipop sticks (I "painted" white ones with a food marker)
1 sheet black construction paper for the arrow heads
12 print-outs of the HG logo cut out into circles and hole punched (I just used one from here)

For the vanilla buttercream:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp milk

- Bake the cupcakes according to your recipe or package instructions in black liners and allow to cool completely.
- Prepare the lollipop sticks and toppers while you're waiting for the cupcakes to cool. I painted my white lollipop sticks with an edible food marker and glued on black triangles for the arrowheads. For the logos, I printed them out, cut them along the edges, and punched 2 holes along the ends of the arrow the mockingjay is holding in the image. Then the lollipop sticks are slid through the hole and that's it!

- For the buttercream frosting, in the bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the sugar in 1/2 cup increments, beating until well incorporated.
- Add vanilla extract and milk and beat for 2 minutes.
- Divide the frosting evenly into 3 bowls and dye one orange, one red, and one yellow. I use Americolor gel colors and really love how easily they dye frosting such vibrant colors without using a whole bottle.

- Load a pastry bag with an open-star tip. Use a rubber spatula to pick up as much of the red frosting as possible, then stick the spatula far down the pastry bag, and spread the frosting along that side of the bag. Then use another spatula to load the orange frosting in the next third of the bag. Finally, add the yellow. When you look down into the pastry bag, it should look something like the image to the right.
- To create the flames, apply even pressure as you move the pastry bag from the cupcake up about half an inch, then release. Cover the top of each cupcake with flames.
- When the frosting is complete, stick Oreo pieces along the edges of each cupcake. I was able to just attach them by slightly sticking them to the frosting flames, but you could also spread a little extra frosting on the back of each piece to help them stick.
- Insert the decorated lollipop sticks at an angle into each cupcake.

And in the words of Effie Trinket, "Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!"

Cheesecake-Filled Strawberries

2012-03-14T13:25:00.000-04:00

I know I sound like a broken record over here, but life has been extremely busy. And by life, I mean school, because clearly 3rd year of dental school has taken over my life! March has been a whirlwind so far - I turned 25, traveled to Minneapolis for a conference, had a full schedule of patients, and scrambled to finish assignments and pass (hopefully!) 4 exams. But thankfully this weekend marks the beginning of spring break, a trip to Florida, and the end of the majority of dental classes. The weather has also been beautiful here in CT and since I'm soaking up as much sun as possible next week in FL too, I'm sharing this bright and happy recipe for cheesecake-filled strawberries. The way I styled them scream summer and I just cannot wait for some sunshine!

It must be prime berry time in South America these days because strawberries have been buy-1-get-1 for a few weeks at my grocery store, and I've been taking full advantage. So I know March might not be infamous for enjoying berries, but as long as you have sweet, ripe strawberries near you, these treats are great any time. My mom got me a fancy (and adorable) strawberry huller and I was excited to use it, so I simply washed and hollowed a handful of strawberries, dipped them in melted chocolate, and whipped up an easy cream cheese/cheesecake frosting to fill them. I've seen the tops of similar recipes sprinkled with graham cracker crumbs before, but I didn't have any on hand so I used brown sugar instead. The result is a delicious bite of some of my favorite things - strawberries, chocolate, and cream cheese frosting :)

Cheesecake-Filled Strawberries

1 box strawberries

3/4 cup good quality chocolate chips or candy melts

6 oz cream cheese, cold

4 tbsp butter, at room temperature

2-1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Graham cracker crumbs (optional)

- Rinse strawberries and pat dry.

- Hull out strawberries by using a huller or paring knife - removing as much of the interior of the strawberry as possible.

- Melt chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl by heating for 30 second intervals and stir well between each round.

- Dip strawberries in chocolate (this is tricky with the hulled-out strawberries, but you'll get the hang of it!) and set aside on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.

- While the chocolate is setting, make the cream cheese filling. Beat the cream cheese and butter together in the bowl of an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.

- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. After 30 seconds, increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes until well combined. If you want a thicker consistency icing, add more powdered sugar.

- Load the frosting into a piping bag and fill each strawberry. Chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.

If you like filling strawberries with delicious things, you should probably also try my chocolate-covered strawberry shot glasses :)

Bailey's Filled Truffles

2012-03-07T07:55:00.001-05:00

Although I'm a quarter Irish, the real reason I look forward to St. Patrick's Day each year is the excuse to bake with Bailey's. Last year I made Bailey's Cupcakes and I still have dreams about that absurdly delicious frosting. Bailey's on the rocks is one of my favorite guilty pleasures and I sneak it into my coffee whenever appropriate (aka not on school mornings before taking a drill to a patient's face,of course). So when I saw the idea of a liquor bonbon a few months ago, I knew I wanted to try to recreate them with Bailey's in time for St. Patrick's Day. As a true Bailey's aficionado, I loved these truffles and couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the 2nd best holiday of March (behind my birthday, duhh!).

What's so great about these is they're not just chocolate truffles infused with some Bailey's, they're actually chocolate shells with a liquid center. The amount of liquor included in each truffle depends on how thick you make your chocolate shells and the shape of the molds you chose. Some of my friends that sampled these thought they were a bit strong, but those that love Bailey's as much as I do thought the amount was just right. So you'd have to judge the tastes of your crowd and make them accordingly. Erring on a thicker chocolate shell is probably a better choice anyway though - it limits the amount of liquid inside but also is more protective against leaking. Either way you make them, remember to tell your guests they have to pop the whole thing in their mouths at once or they'll end up with a big mess in their hands!

I used the same mold as my Birthday Cake Jello Shots, but there are a whole variety of candy and truffle molds out there that would work (this one would definitely work, and here's the link to the one I used.) I decided to decorate them by piping white chocolate drizzles and then sprinkling them with crushed up Health bar to dress them up a bit. They're a little on the messy side rather than elegant, but I guess that's to be expected for a truffle filled with booze. If you're making these for St. Patty's, a healthy dose of green sprinkles would be great too!

Bailey's Filled Truffles
Recipe adapted from Testado, Provado, e Aprovado - she has a great tutorial, check it out!

2 bags chocolate candy melts
Bailey's liquor (or whatever kind of liquor you like)
White chocolate for drizzling
Crushed up Heath Bar or sprinkles for decoration
Candy mold (like this one)

Please refer to these photos while following the recipe instructions below:

1. Lightly grease each well with cooking spray or vegetable oil. Melt chocolate candy and use a spoon to drop some chocolate in each well and spread it up the sides. You have to be very meticulous to cover the entire thing in chocolate and ensure there's no red (or whatever color your mold is) peaking through. I would recommend doing one coat, letting it set in the freezer for a few minutes, and then adding another coat

2. While you're waiting for those to dry, find a circular object in your kitchen (the top to a bottle of vodka was the best size for me) that is slightly smaller than the diameter of the candy wells. Trace the circle repeatedly on a piece of blank paper. Slip this paper under a sheet of wax paper. Melt more chocolate and transfer it into a piping bag. Pipe the chocolate onto the wax paper to make saucers, staying within the lines you traced.

3. Fill the chocolate wells are 3/4 of the way with Bailey's liquor.

4. Place the dried chocolate saucers on top of the Bailey's - you want the saucers to be sitting slightly above the liquid so the two don't touch.

5. Finally, melt more chocolate and pipe another layer to cover the entire top of each saucer-covered-well to secure the edges and make sure there's no leakage. Let them set completely in the fridge before working to remove truffles from wells. Serve cold and enjoy!

Recipe yields 30 truffles of the size I made

Striped Cake Pops

2012-02-27T12:35:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago I posted cake balls in the form of chocolate covered strawberries, but nothing can quite beat the cuteness of a cake ball on a stick - aka the cake pop. I made a batch of white cake pops with pink stripes for my blog banner a few years ago, but since I only made them for color-coordinating decoration purposes, I never wrote a post dedicated to them. Recently I've received a number of emails inquiring about the cake pops, so I re-created them for this post and brought them to a friend's bachelorette party which worked out perfectly since her wedding color is fuchsia too :).

Since I still haven't gotten around to investing in a large block of styrofoam to dry my pops, I've made these stand upside-down. But they still have a handle, and that's the best part of eating a cake pop! Although I'm no expert in making and dipping cake balls, I have picked up a few tips along the way that I thought I would share to help you get a nice and smooth coating:

Rather than freezing the un-dipped cake balls for a few minutes to firm them up, take the extra time to place them in the fridge for a half hour instead. I've found that if the cake balls are too cold and the candy coating is too hot, the chocolate will seize.
After you've melted your candy coating for the second interval of 30 seconds, mix vigorously for at least a minute to see if you can melt any solid pieces this way before popping it back into the microwave again. If you overheat the candy coating, it will become too thick to work with.
Add a dash of vegetable oil to your candy coating to help make it less viscous.
After you've dipped your cake pop, have a few toothpicks handy to help push away any excess that may pool at the bottom.

As far as adding stripes, there are a few options. I first dipped my cake balls in Wilton's pastel color burst candy melts and let them dry completely. Then you can either put the melted candy coating into a squeeze bottle to pipe stripes or use a toothpick to "draw" on lines. I started off with the squeeze bottle method but my tip kept getting clogged, so I later opted to draw lines with a toothpick dipped in candy. Since candy melts dry rather quickly, I would suggest just piping half of the cake ball at a time and adding the sprinkles as soon as possible. Finer grain sprinkles like sanding sugar are best for this type of decorating because you don't want the sprinkles weighing down the candy melts. And make sure to put a small plate or bowl underneath so you can reuse the sprinkles that fall!

Cake pops are a great dessert to make for a party - they travel well, are single-serving, and super fun! I chose to make lemon cake for these since that is Caitlin's favorite, and even decorated a few with C+V (her and her fiance's initials) and some hearts. The possibilities are endless with cake pops, and I think this stripe design is great for a blog header, bachelorette party, or just because!

Lemon Cake Pops

1 box cake mix (I used lemon)

1/4 cup canned vanilla frosting

2 bags Candy melts (I used Wilton's color burst pastel)

Colored sanding sugar

Lollipop sticks

- Bake cake according to package's instructions and allow to cool completely.

- Crumble baked cake with your fingers and mix in frosting until a malleable dough forms.

- Form dough into balls, place on a wax-paper lined cookie sheet, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

- Melt a bit of candy melts and dip ends of lollipop sticks in the candy before inserting into cake balls. Return cake balls to fridge for another 10-15 minutes.

- Melt the rest of the candy melts in a deep bowl. Submerge each cake pop in the melted candy and gently tap the stick on the side of the bowl to help shake off any excess coating. Invert cake pops onto a wax-paper lined surface and allow to dry completely.

- To make stripes, dip a toothpick in the melted candy and draw the stripes around the ball (I suggest drawing only 1 half-circle at a time since the candy melts dry quickly). Cover with sprinkles immediately and continue decorating as desired.

Let me know if you have any specific questions regarding cake pops and I'll do my best to help you out!

New York Style Coffee Crumb Cake

2012-02-16T13:18:00.000-05:00

I think streusel-topping should be its own food group. I love it on top of muffins, cakes, and even just on its own. This is not hard to believe since it's a combination of butter, sugar, and cinnamon with flour, but there's just something magical about these delicious coarse crumbs. So it should not come as a surprise that I LOVE coffee cake - the absurd amount of streusel piled on top suits me perfectly, and I was very excited, and a little nervous, to try baking it at home. I've made coffee cake muffins before, and even blueberry coffee cake, but I was ready to try the true classic this time around. Thankfully the result came out wonderfully and I was obsessed with the look and taste of the topping as well as the cake.

I really did love this recipe - both sides of my extended family hail from the Empire State, so I've had my fair share of NY-style coffee cakes and this one was right on par. My Grandma is famous in her small town for her coffee cake recipe, so it's safe to say my expectations for this cake were high. But I as pleasantly surprised with my results - the cake had a dense crumb but also seemed light and moist and had a great taste. When I first took my cake out of the oven, the crumbs were a little crunchy - I may have cooked the cake a little too long - but after the cake sat overnight, the crumbs softened up perfectly. I couldn't help myself from immediately eating any crumb that fell off after cutting, moving, and photographing these delightful cakes. I may or may not have purposefully treated them a little rough to free off some extra crumbs along the way :)

I often bake for group meetings, get-togethers, and parties, so I really prefer preparing single-serving baked goods that are easy to grab and share. This is the reason you see a lot of cupcakes, cookies, and muffins on my blog that feed a lot of people without the hassle of cutting and serving. Coffee cake would normally be considered a bit annoying to cut and serve during class (and also pretty messy with all the crumbs), but I avoided this by cutting up the cake ahead of time and placing each serving in a cupcake liner. So when I passed around the coffee cake, everyone simply grabbed a piece and used the liner as a mini plate!

New York Style Coffee Crumb Cake

Recipe adapted from Smells Like Home

For the crumb topping:

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and still warm

1-3/4 cups cake flour

- In a medium bowl, whisk together sugars, cinnamon, salt, and butter to combine. Add flour and stir until mixture forms a thick, cohesive dough.

- Set aside to cool to room temperature (about 10-15 minutes).

For the cake:

1-1/4 cups cake flour (don't use AP here, it makes a difference!)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces (softened, but still cool)

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup buttermilk

Confectioner's sugar for dusting (I forgot this step, whoops!)

- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

- Line a 8x8" dish with parchment paper or aluminum foil (allowing excess to overhang the edges) and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

- In the bowl of an electric mixer on low speed, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer still on low, add butter one piece at a time until the mixture resembles moist crumb with no visible butter chunks remaining.

- Add egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and buttermilk and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

- Transfer batter to prepared pan and use a rubber spatula to smooth the top into an even layer.

- Break apart the crumb topping into large pea-sized chunks using your fingers and sprinkle evenly on the batter.

- Bake until crumbs are golden and cake tester comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes.

- Cool cake completely until cutting, at least 30 minutes. Dust with confectioner's sugar just before serving.

Words with Cookies

2012-02-08T22:42:00.001-05:00

Ryan and I have always loved playing Scrabble together, even before Words with Friends and Word Feud dominated our smart phones - so when I saw a Scrabble-themed Valentine's Day card a few years ago, I had to buy it. I've pulled inspiration from this card (yes he saved it, how cuuute) and from Bridget of Bake at 350 to make some lovey-dovey Scrabble-themed cookies for Valentine's Day this year. I've been wanting to make these cookies ever since I saw Bridget's post, but only just got around to it and I'm so glad I did - they're adorable and certainly embody the "play with your food" expression.

These cookies were so fun to make and play with, and best of all they were SO easy to put together. I had some leftover sugar cookie dough in the freezer, so I just let it thaw in the fridge, rolled it out into a big rectangle, and cut squares. Then I made white royal icing to flood the backgrounds and went back the next day to pipe in the letters and numbers. I love that these only required dying one small batch of icing! I used a red food marker to make the hearts, and I could have done all the letters with a black food marker if mine hadn't been out of ink. I used an Ateco #1 tip for the black lettering, but I wished I had a #0 or #00 especially for the teeny-tiny numbers. They're not perfect but they certainly get the point across :)

My cookies were a bit too big for our Scrabble board, so next time I might make sure they're smaller and prepare a full batch of the 100 Scrabble letters to play a whole game with cookies (here's a picture of all the letters you'd need). Or if you don't want to worry about fitting them to a specific board, play "Bananagrams" style and split the tiles among players to see how many words they can make free-style. Whoever wins gets to eat a cookie! And of course these cookies don't have to be Valentine's Day themed at all (I know there are a lot of V-Day haters out there), but 'tis the season and I was feeling the love .

Scrabble Cookies
Idea adapted from Bake at 350

1 batch of sugar cookie dough
1 batch of royal icing
Black food coloring or black food marker

- Prepare cookie dough according to the recipe and roll it out into a large rectangle on a floured surface.
- Measure how large you want your squares to be and cut even tiles with a sharp knife. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 9 minutes.
- Prepare the plain white royal icing and load 3/4 of the icing into a plastic squeeze bottle or piping bag to flood the backgrounds of the tiles. Reserve the rest of the icing in a small bowl covered with a damp paper towel.
- When the white backgrounds are completely dry, dye the remaining royal icing black and load it into a decorating bag with a very small round tip. (You could also skip this step and just use a black food marker!) Pipe the letters and numbers and allow the icing to dry for at least 12 hours before handling them.

Happy Valentine's Day! If you want some more inspiration, check out a recap of Valentine's Day recipes from last year and don't forget to my Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake Balls from last week too! Can you tell I kind of like this holiday??

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake Balls

2012-01-31T12:51:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited to share these cake balls with you - I made them a few weeks ago just for fun but they've been patiently sitting in my Sweet Tooth photo folder waiting for February to come along with all things red and chocolate. I had them in my fridge for a few days and every time I opened the door I would squeal with excitement - they are just so cute! And really, really tasty - red velvet cake balls double dipped in red and chocolate candy coating. A real chocolate covered strawberry is almost as good as it gets, but this brings the concept to a ridiculously delicious new level. Plus, a chocolate covered strawberry can border on being a healthier dessert choice, and we'll have none of that around here, especially around Valentine's Day!

I chose to use red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting for the cake balls because of the color, but as I was making these I was thinking how using strawberry cake with chocolate frosting would have been really true-to-form and the resulting color would probably be appropriate too. The cake balls were formed into triangle/strawberry shapes, dipped completely in red candy coating, allowed to dry, dipped again in chocolate, and then decorated with swirls of white chocolate. The "leaves" are made from green-dyed fondant and I just made the petal shapes by hand and pinched a little stem out of each. I decided to add some seeds with a black food marker and really loved the overall effect. I'm telling you, if you're looking for a dessert to wow your Valentine, I would start shopping for the ingredients right now - it takes some love to make these, but that makes the results even more special!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake Balls

1 box red velvet cake mix

1/4 cup canned cream cheese frosting

1 bag red candy coating

1 bag chocolate candy coating

1/2 bag white chocolate candy coating

Green fondant (homemade recipe found here)

Black food marker

- Bake red velvet cake in a 9x13" pan according to package instructions. Let cool and crumble cake with your fingers completely into a large bowl.

- Mix in the frosting to the crumbs using a rubber spatula or your fingers.

- Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and start forming triangular/strawberry shapes out of the cake ball mixture. You may need to wash your hands a few times in between if the cake mixture is sticking too much.

- Once all the strawberries are formed, place them in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.

- While the cake balls are chilling, roll out the green fondant and make leaf shapes with stems.

- Melt the red candy coating in a deep, microwave-safe bowl or Pyrex measuring cup in 30 second intervals. Make sure not to overheat the candy - if there are still a few solid pieces of candy, just mix furiously until everything is melted rather than microwaving for another round. If the candy seems thick, add a tbsp of vegetable oil to make it more runny.

- Remove 3 or 4 cake balls out of the fridge at a time and begin submerging them completely in the melted red candy coating. I used a spoon to drop them in, then a fork to gently lift them and shake off the excess by tapping the handle of the fork on the edge of the bowl. Transfer dipped cake ball to another parchment paper-lined sheet and use a toothpick to scrape away any excess candy around the edges if possible. Make sure to attach the green leaves/stem while the red candy coating is still wet.

- Let the red candy coating dry completely, then melt the chocolate in a similar fashion.

- Dip the cake balls in chocolate about 3/4 of the way, and place back on the parchment paper-lined sheet to dry.

- Melt the white chocolate in a pastry bag and cut a small opening to drizzle on each strawberry.

- If you desire, go back with a black food marker and draw seeds on the red coating.

- Return cake balls to refrigerate until ready to serve.

Recipe yields about 30 strawberries, depending on the size you make them.

Also, I've entered my tooth cupcakes in competition for "Most Creative Cupcake", so if you loved my Tooth Cupcakes, please go on over everyday until Februrary 12th to vote here at Celebrations.com!

Blue Moon and Corona Cupcakes

2012-01-26T10:49:00.003-05:00

With citrus at its prime this month, these cupcakes are the perfect combination of the seasonal fruit and the upcoming seasonal event - the Super Bowl. Everyone around here is very excited for the game since Connecticut people tend to be either Patriots or Giants fans, but personally I'm excited because it means the end of football season is near! Maybe I can actually get Ryan to hang out with me on Sundays again :) So if your football enthusiasm is anything like mine, consider making these beer-infused cupcakes to celebrate instead. If I can't enjoy watching the game, at least I can enjoy the food that surrounds it!

I could have used some Budweiser and Coors Light for these cupcakes if I wanted to be truly Super Bowl-esque, but Corona Light and Blue Moon are my favorite so I went with selfishness instead. Plus I wanted to incorporate a complimentary fruity frosting, and since Corona is always served with a lime wedge and Blue Moon with an orange, they were the perfect lagers for the job! I used my favorite cream cheese frosting spiked with some lime and orange zest and juice and it was a great compliment to the boozy cupcakes. The beer flavor doesn't always survive the baking process very well, so I just poked some holes in the cupcake tops and brushed a little beer on each to increase the flavor. Worked out wonderfully in the end, thanks to Miss Make for the inspiration!

Since the beer, zest, and citrus juices are added to the cupcakes at different times throughout the batter-making process, I couldn't just split the cake batter and mix in Corona/ lime in half and Blue Moon/orange in the other half - it involved a little more work than that. I actually whipped up the two batters separately, so if you're looking to save some time just choose one flavor combination to work with. I was more partial to the Blue Moon and orange combo, but probably because I've always favored orange-flavored goodies. Plus I also love the stark blue and orange contrast and think it pops incredibly. If you wanted to omit the orange slice and add red sprinkles instead of orange, they'd be perfectly festive for your favored Super Bowl team!

Blue Moon and Corona Cupcakes

Recipe adapted from Miss Make

For the beer cupcakes:

3/4 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature

1-3/4 cup sugar

2-1/2 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp orange or lime zest

1 cup Blue Moon or Corona beer, plus more for brushing on tops

1/4 cup milk

Orange/lime wedges and sanding sugar for garnish

- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line 24 muffin tins with cupcake liners.

- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

- Add eggs, beating after each addition then add the vanilla and zest.

- Combine milk and beer and alternatively add this mixture and the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture with the mixer on low speed, starting and ending with the flour.

- Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 18 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.

- When cupcakes are done, poke holes in the tops of the cupcakes with toothpicks and brush some beer on each while still warm.

For the citrus cream cheese frosting:

12 oz cream cheese, cold

6 tbsp butter, at room temperature

1 tbsp freshly squeezed orange/lime juice

1 tsp orange/lime zest

4 cups powdered sugar

- Cream together the cream cheese and butter in an electric mixer until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes.

- Add the citrus juice and zest and gradually add the powdered sugar until well-combined. Beat until smooth for about 2 minutes.

- Load frosting in a piping bag fit with a large star tip and pipe cupcake tops once cooled.

Recipe yields 24 cupcakes.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

2012-01-18T08:26:00.000-05:00

There's no cute story to go along with these cookies - Ryan and I were just in the mood for cookies a few weekends ago and since I had some Reese's leftover from my Christmas stocking, I decided to incorporate them into a batch of chocolate cookies. Nothing beats a warm homemade cookie on a lazy winter Sunday afternoon, and when the combination of peanut butter and chocolate is involved, there really is no competition. This is another cookie recipe that doesn't involve chilling the dough (like these Cookies and Cream Cookies), so you can have these out of the oven in about 30 minutes depending on how quick you can throw together the ingredients.

These cookies are a true peanut butter-chocolate lovers dream - there is peanut butter in the dough as well as peanut butter cups mixed in and more pressed on top. I love the peanut butter cup chunks that are added on top so everyone knows at first glance that these cookies are chock-full of peanut butter cups. The cookie itself is moist and cake-like and full of amazing chocolate flavor. Don't skimp on the cocoa powder here - the higher quality the cocoa, the more delicious these cookies will taste. I buy Valrhona brand cocoa powder from Whole Foods whenever it goes on sale and highly recommend it! If you don't have access to this type of chocolate, either order online or I fall back on Hershey's Special Dark if need be with good results too.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats

1-1/2 cups + 2 tbsp all purpose flour

6 tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp milk

2 cups coarsely chopped peanut butter cups, divided

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.

- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter, peanut butter, and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 inutes.

- Add the egg, vanilla extract, and milk and beat until well incorporated.

- With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients until just incorporated.

- Fold in 1-1/2 cups of the peanut butter cups with a rubber spatula.

- Use a medium ice cream scoop to drop rounds of dough onto the baking sheets, spacing 2-3 inches apart.

- Gently press a few pieces of the reserved peanut butter cups on top of each dough ball.

- Bake 12-14 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through.

- Let cookies cool on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe yields about 24 medium-sized cookies.

Swedish Fish Jello Shots

2012-01-12T13:29:00.003-05:00

When I first heard that Pinnacle released a "Gummy" flavored vodka, I immediately wanted to create a boozy jello recipe with it. After a quick search, I also found this fish-shaped candy mold and waited for an occasion to come around that warranted such a cute and delicious treat. Two of my closest friends from dental school share a birthday, and since one of them is particularly fond of all Pinnacle vodka flavors, I jumped on the opportunity to make these for their joint birthday celebration.

After some online research, I learned that red Swedish Fish candies are primarily cherry flavored, but some people thought they had a fruit punch flavor too. So in order to emulate the flavors as close as possible, I used cherry-flavored Jello and some fruit punch Kool-Aid mix as well. Although the vodka on its own is not overwhelmingly delicious, when mixed into this jello concoction the flavors were all spot-on together. They were a big hit at the party and people definitely had fun with the fish shapes rather than your conventional shaped jello shot. But then again mini Dixie cups are so passé - these days it's all about lime rinds, mini cupcakes, and now animal shapes too!

Because I only ordered 2 fish molds (which made 22 fishies total) , I used the rest of the jello mix to fill my mini-cupcake silicone mold and stuck half a mini Swedish Fish candy in each one. This method forces you to buy a bag of Swedish Fish and find something to do with the extras, so I was totally in favor of doing this too. Overall this was a really fun way to use the new vodka flavor and the leftover vodka tied with a ribbon made a great gift for the birthday girl.

Swedish Fish Jello Shots

1 cup water

2 tsp Tropical Punch Kool Aid mix

2 envelopes (1/4 oz each) plain gelatin

1 box (3 oz) cherry Jell-O

1 cup Pinnacle Gummy Vodka

- Combine water and Kool Aid mix and place in a medium saucepan.

- Sprinkle the plain gelatin over the Kool Aid and allow it to soak for a minute or two.

- Heat mixture over low heat, stirring constantly until gelatin dissolves (about 5 minutes).

- Remove saucepan from heat and stir in cherry Jell-O and vodka and mix until dissolved.

- Very lightly grease your desired mold (I sprayed Pam on a paper towel and smeared it on inside of the molds) and pour jello mixture to the top of each well.

- Refrigerate until fully set, about 2 hours.

Happy Birthday Colleen and Pamela!

(So what if their birthdays were actually in November and I'm a few months late with this post...)

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Muffins

2012-01-05T14:34:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago I was in the mood to bake (shocker) and asked Ryan if he had any requests. He immediately and randomly came up with cinnamon chocolate chip muffins and sent me on a Google search to find a great recipe. It didn't take long for me to stumble upon this recipe - it's from Baking Bites but she originally found it from the book "The Best Recipe" put together by the people of Cook's Illustrated. When it's from Cook's Illustrated, you know it good, but when the recipe title comes along with the prefix "Bakery Style", you know it's great. And these muffins were definitely great - huge in size and flavor with beautifully browned tops and the perfect amount of chocolate and cinnamon chips.

These muffins are considered "bakery style" because of their huge domed tops and fluffy interiors. They are definitely bigger than any muffins I've made at home before and could hold their own in a glitzy bakery showcase. I love cinnamon muffins, and these are no exception - they are not too sweet so there's no confusing whether or not these are cupcakes or muffins, but I'm still not sure they'd make a well balanced breakfast. But unless you have some healthy New Years resolutions going on, indulging in one of these for a mid-day snack would be heaven. Even if you don't have a boyfriend demanding cinnamon chocolate chip muffins one day, you should probably make these muffins as soon as possible anyway!

I'm definitely going to be using this recipe again as a base with different add-ins and flavors. I would love to add a streusel topping, maybe some blueberries, and a little lemon zest next time. If you have any other great combinations in mind, let me know!

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Muffins

Recipe adapted from Baking Bites

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

10 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups plain low fat yogurt

3/4 generous cups chocolate chips

1/4 cup cinnamon chips

- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a 12 cup muffin tin with liners.

- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together.

- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla.

- Alternate adding yogurt and flour mixture, starting and ending with the flour.

- Fold in chocolate and cinnamon chips with a rubber spatula.

- Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling them to the top or slightly higher.

- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.

- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe yields 12 muffins.

Nutella Filled Donuts

2011-12-27T14:31:00.000-05:00

For the past 2 years I've done my Jewish friends and family a disservice by not sharing any Hanukkah-themed treats around the holidays on my blog. Santa hats, Christmas trees, and snowmen have captured my attention instead, but I still love latkes and can rock a mean dreidel. So this year, since Hanukkah fell during my winter break, I made sure to honor the Jews in my life with some Nutella filled donuts. Hanukkah celebrates the story of oil burning for eight nights instead of one, so a lot of the food surrounding the festival of lights is fried in oil. So today, on the 7th night of Hanukkah, I bring you fluffy, light, delicious donuts tossed in sugar and filled with Nutella. L'chaim!

I really loved the way these donuts turned out - the dough was easy to work with and yielded the fluffiest donuts I've made yet. I could have just left them plain, but I've been wanting to make filled donuts for awhile now, so I simply filled a pastry bag with some Nutella and used a large Bismark tip to fill each donut. I could have filled them with some pastry cream dyed blue to be really festive, but I figured a chocolatey surprise would be more appetizing than a bright blue one. But then again I've made green, yellow, and purple cupcakes so I'm not one to talk...

As always, be careful when deep frying - I burnt my hand, my nose, and my cheek last winter break making chocolate donuts so I know from experience! But every since my burning incident, I've been very cautious and escaped this frying endeavor burn-free. Maybe it was caution, maybe it was a Hanukkah miracle, but all I know is I'm glad I won't be rocking a band-aid on my nose this New Year's Eve.

Happy Hanukkah!

Nutella Filled Donuts

Recipe adapted from Buns in My Oven

1 package (2-1/2 tsp) active dry yeast

2/3 cup milk, at room temperature

3-1/2 cups all purpose flour

1-1/3 cups sugar, divided

2 tsp salt

3 eggs

7 tbsp butter, at room temperature

Canola oil, for frying

Nutella, for filling

- In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the yeast and milk and allow the yeast to dissolve for 1 minute.

- Add the flour, 1/3 cup of the sugar, salt, and eggs and mix on low for about 4 minutes to develop the dough.

- Add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, and continue mixing for 5 to 6 minutes.

- Remove the dough and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 6-15 hours.

- When dough is chilled, lightly flour a baking sheet and your work surface. Roll out the dough into a 12" square about 1/2" thick. I used a 2" round biscuit cutter to cut out the donuts, but use whatever size you want. Arrange on the prepared baking sheet, cover in plastic wrap, and allow to rise in a warm spot for 2-3 hours or until doubled in height.

- When ready to fry, heat 3" of oil in a pot to 350 degrees. Line a plate with paper towels and put the remaining 1 cup of sugar in a small bowl.

- Add the donuts to the hot oil, being careful not to crowd the pan. Fry on each side for about 2-3 minutes, until golden brown.

- Remove donuts with a slotted spoon and transfer to the paper towel-lined plate to drain. When cool enough to handle, toss in sugar to coat and return donuts to tray to cool completely.

- Fill pastry bag fitted with a Bismarck or round tip with Nutella and squirt about 1/4-1/3 of a cup of Nutella in each donut. Best enjoyed immediately.

Recipe yields about 20 small donuts.

Mini Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes

2011-12-24T16:55:00.000-05:00

I assume everyone already has their Christmas menus all planned out, but I wanted to share these quick, delicious, mini cheesecakes with you today since they were all dressed up for the holidays for their photos. But really, these cookies and cream cheesecakes would make a great dessert any time of the year. They took very little effort to put together and were a big hit!

With a whole Oreo at the bottom of each cheesecake, it's hard to go wrong with these. Two pounds of cream cheese, some oreo pieces, and a few other things are mixed together to top them off before being baked. The cheesecake is creamy and tart and I loved the Oreo pieces adding some texture and great chocolate flavor. But then again I love everything with Oreos mixed in - Cookies and Cream Cookies, Cookies and Cream Ice Cream, Mint Oreo Ice Cream Cupcakes, and even homemade Oreos!

Mini Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes
Recipe adapted from Handle the Heat

42 Oreo cookies - 30 left whole, and 12 chopped coarsely
2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature and lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream

- Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line 30 standard muffin tins with paper liners (preferably white so you can see the Oreo through them!). Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each liner.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth. Gradually add the sugar and beat until combined. Add vanilla.
- Drizzle in eggs, a little at a time, beating and scraping down the sides as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt.
- Fold in the oreo pieces by hand. Divide batter evenly among cookie-lined cups, filling each almost to the top.
- Bake, rotating pan halfway through, about 22 minutes or until filling is set. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
- Refrigerate at least 4 hours, or up to overnight, and remove from tins just before serving.

Recipe yields 30 mini cheesecakes.

Have a Merry Christmas!!

"Melting" Snowman Gingerbread Cupcakes

2011-12-19T13:30:00.001-05:00

After one of the most tiring semesters yet, I am finally on winter break with two weeks off to do as little as possible. Last year I ran off to Puerto Rico for a few days, but this year I'm looking forward to laying low, catching up with friends and family, and sleeping A LOT. Of course I also get to be home when the sun is up which definitely makes baking, photographing, and blogging a whole lot easier too. Recently it's been a whirlwind of holiday baking for me, and these snowman gingerbread cupcakes are one of my favorite treats to exit my kitchen so far. They were a ton of fun to make and received rave reviews at our clinic holiday party last week.

Since I was so busy baking and wrapping up schoolwork, I took a few shortcuts with these cupcakes. The cupcake is a doctored cake mix that turned out deliciously and while I originally imagined cake balls for the snowman heads, I opted for store-bought donut holes dipped in white chocolate to save some time. The eyes and buttons are little chocolate candies I found at Whole Foods awhile back, the scarves are Twizzler Pull&Peels, the arms are mini pretzel rods, and the carrot noses are little bits of fondant dyed orange (but you could also use orange tic-tacs). I made my own cream cheese frosting with a bit of cinnamon added for the "melted" body, but a store-bought can of frosting would work just as well if you want another shortcut. I think hats would have put these over the top with cuteness, but I didn't think ahead enough to pull that off (I'm imaging mini Oreos with Rolos maybe...). You can be really creative with what you choose to use here, and I think it would be great to get the kids involved too!

"Melting" Snowman Gingerbread Cupcakes

For the cupcakes: Recipe adapted from Hello, Cupcake

1 box (18.25 oz) yellow cake mix

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup molasses

1/3 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

1-1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

- Combine the cake mix and all of the additional ingredients listed above (ignoring the ingredient list on the back of the cake mix box). Beat together for about 2 minutes.

- Fill paper liners 2/3 full and bake 15-20 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.

- Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

For the cinnamon cream cheese frosting:

12 oz cream cheese, cold

6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tbsp vanilla extract

4 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the vanilla extract.

- Slowly add the powdered sugar, then beat until well combined. Mix in cinnamon.

- Load frosting into a piping bag with a large round tip, and frost cooled cupcakes with "blobs" of frosting to resemble a melting puddle of snow.

For decoration and assembly:

24 glazed donut holes

Twizzler Pull&Peels

Small pretzel rods

Mini chocolate candies or chocolate chips

Orange tic-tacs or fondant

1 package white candy melts (available at craft stores)

- Melt white candy melts according to package's instructions in a deep, microwave-safe bowl. If the chocolate is too thick, add a little vegetable oil.

- Drop each donut hole into the melted chocolate, then spoon it out and tap the spoon on the side of the bowl to remove excess. Transfer immediately atop frosted cupcakes.

- Add chocolate pieces for eyes and buttons, pretzel rods for arms, tic-tac or fondant for a nose, and Twizzlers for a scarf. Add a hat too if you want!

Recipe yields 24 cupcakes.

Red Velvet Cheesecake Layer Cake

2011-12-12T10:37:00.001-05:00

This beautiful and delicious cake is serving double duty today - as a festive holiday cake for inspiration to all of you as well as a birthday cake for a wonderful, red velvet/cheesecake-loving Mom. She'll probably be mad that I hijacked her birthday cake to post something holiday-themed over here, but the cake was SO good, I don't think she'll complain too much. She said this might have even been my best cake yet! But that's not surprising considering this is a layer of creamy cheesecake sandwiched between two layers of moist red velvet cake - it was hard to go wrong.

Apparently this recipe concept is borrowed from a staple on the Cheesecake Factory's menu, the Ultimate Red Velvet Cake Cheesecake. "Ultimate" is definitely an accurate description for this concoction, and is probably applicable to everything else on their menu too. Normally I protest the Cheesecake Factory's non-human portion sizes and overindulgent choices, but when it comes to dessert I make some pardons, especially for birthdays. And since the restaurant never takes reservations, I was happy to deliver this cake to my mom hassle-free, without a wait, and homemade. Okay so maybe the cake involves a lot of steps and can be interpreted as a "hassle" by some, but I had a lot of fun making it and the components are not individually difficult, just a little bit of work to put it all together. Definitely worth it in the end!

As if the inside of the cake is not beautiful enough, I decided to try out a frosting rose technique made famous by Amanda of i am baker for the outside. I used a cream cheese frosting to compliment the cheesecake and red velvet flavors, but the consistency was a little soft for piping and didn't demarcate the roses as well as I would have liked. But overall the effect is there and you wouldn't believe how EASY it is to pipe roses like this. Please check out Amanda's tutorial so you can start impressing your friends and family with your piping skills pronto. I decorated this cake in under an hour during a lunch break last week, including clean up time, so it's definitely doable during the busy holiday season!

The red velvet cake was moist and flavorful - an improvement from a previous red velvet recipe I've used - and the cheesecake was slightly tart and perfectly creamy. I paired it with my newly discovered favorite cream cheese frosting and topped it with a row of red candy-coated chocolates. I chose to adapt this recipe for a 6" cake since I was only serving 5 people by adjusting the ingredients to be 2/3 of the 9" recipe - but I've lost my calculations somewhere and am kind of lazy to do the math again. Let me know if you really want the 6" recipe and I will go on a hunt!

Red Velvet Cheesecake Layer Cake

Recipe adapted from 17 and baking

For the cheesecake layer:

20 oz full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature

2/3 cup granulated sugar

Zest of half a lemon

1-1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature

1 tbsp all purpose flour

- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and set a pot of water to boil.

- Grease a 9" springform pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. Wrap the outside of the pain with tinfoil to keep water out, and set the pan into a larger pan (for the water bath).

- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat until smooth.

- Switch to a wooden spoon or spatula and mix in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt.

- Add eggs one at a time, making sure they are combined but not overmixed.

- Add the sour cream and stir in the flour until just combined.

- Pour the batter into the greased pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan, halfway up the cheesecake pan.

- Bake until the cheesecake is just set in the middle - about 40 minutes.

- Run a knife along the sides of the pan and let the cheesecake cool completely by placing plastic wrap onto the surface of the cheesecake and refrigerating overnight in the pan.

For the red velvet layer:

2-1/2 cups cake flour

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp salt

2 eggs, at room temperature

1-1/2 cups vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp white distilled vinegar

Red food coloring, as desired (I used about 1 tsp of gel color)

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 9" pans.

- Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.

- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs, oil, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and vinegar together until well combined.

- With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat until well combined. Add the food coloring until desired color is achieved.

- Divide the batter equally between the 2 pans. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean, rotating the pans halfway.

- Cool the cakes in the pans for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and invert them onto cooling racks to cool completely.

For the cream cheese frosting*:

12 oz cream cheese, cold

6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tbsp vanilla extract

4 cups powdered sugar

- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together cream cheese and butter until light and creamy. - Add the vanilla extract.

- Slowly add the powdered sugar and beat until well combined, about 2-3 minutes.

For assembly:

- I made the cheesecake and red velvet cake one night and let them both sturdy-up in the fridge overnight. The next day, I whipped up the frosting and assembled the cake.

- First, layer the cakes on top of each other and apply a thin coat of frosting and return to the fridge for 30 minutes. This is your "crumb coat".

- If you're decorating the cake as I did, apply another layer of smooth frosting to the top of the cake and leave the sides alone.

- Load the rest of the frosting into a piping bag fit with a large open-star tip and follow Amanda's rose tutorial to decorate the sides.

- Return to the fridge until ready to serve.

*Note: I made a whole batch of this cream cheese frosting for my 6" cake, and didn't have much left over, so if you would like to recreate the roses, I would suggest doubling this frosting recipe for a 9" cake to make sure you have enough!

Happy Birthday Mom! Here are some pictures from her birthday celebration, including a low-light but delicious shot of the inside of the cake :)

Sweet Tooth

Espresso Shortbread Cookies

Fruit Tart with Vanilla Pastry Cream

Cookies and Cream Popcorn

Lemon Blueberry Bread

Peanut Butter S'Mores Brownies

Lemon Sunflower Cupcakes

Brownie Cookies

Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes

Salted Caramel Shortbread + FBF Orlando

Hunger Games Cupcakes

Cheesecake-Filled Strawberries

Bailey's Filled Truffles

Striped Cake Pops

New York Style Coffee Crumb Cake

Words with Cookies

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake Balls

Blue Moon and Corona Cupcakes

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Swedish Fish Jello Shots

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Muffins

Top 11 Posts of 2011

Nutella Filled Donuts

Mini Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes

"Melting" Snowman Gingerbread Cupcakes

Red Velvet Cheesecake Layer Cake