Hearts in My Oven

Kahlua Brownies w/ Kahula Buttercream

2013-06-10T18:42:00.002-07:00

Welcome back to Week 2 of Brownie Mondays this month! :) I hope you all liked the first post last week.

One of my roommates turned 21 recently and to celebrate her birthday (along with cake and gifts), I thought it would be fitting to bake her some sort of boozy dessert. She lovesss brownies...so I thought it would be fitting to add some kind of alcohol into the brownies! I figured Kahlua would would great, so off I went to the store to get a bottle.

I let some of my other friends have some and they said these were crack brownies because these brownies were so good and addicting! Haha~ Of the brownie recipes I have tried so far, these are my second favorite! I definitely ate more than I would like to admit since I baked these for my roommate`s 21st.

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Crackled Tops Brownies

2013-06-03T13:06:00.001-07:00

Guess what? Today is the start of Brownie Mondays! :) This month I decided to post a new brownie recipe every Monday! I hope you`re excited as I am. I will tell you why I`m excited though...like, I have mentioned each time I have previously posted about brownies, they`re not my favorite dessert in the world.

Unless, of course, they are deliciously made. I can`t pass up delicious desserts, even if they`re not my favorite types. I`m this way with cheesecakes and cakes. I love cookies more than I love cake. But, I will not deny a good slice of cheesecake, like the Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake at Cheesecake factory. :P

Back to Brownie Mondays...every Monday of June, I will post a brownie recipe and rate them! I don`t usually rate my recipes, since everyone has different tastes...but I will for these so you know what my preferences are like.

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Strawberry Cake

2013-05-31T01:21:00.001-07:00

I`m currently 2 weeks away from graduating from my university! Frankly, I`m terrified of the world out there. But, I`m hoping it won`t be too bad. Haha. One thing I am definitely sad about is that I will have to move out of my college apartment, which I have been living in for 2 years now. I got used to the oven here and prefer it over the one I have at home.

Also, moving back home? Um, I have no idea how I am going to adjust to that...but we will see how it goes. I`m afraid of what`s going to happen to my baking addiction once I go home. All my ingredients and stuff will have to be reorganized according to how my mom likes it. I kind of like the system I have now. LOL.

ALSO. I don`t know if you know, but in college, you have a LOT of free time. I mean it gets taken up by extracurricular stuff and hanging out with friends...but you`re not really doing a lot of school work. Thus, I had enough free time to teach myself about baking and started baking like a madwoman!

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Blueberry White Chocolate Muffin Cookies

2013-05-22T13:47:00.001-07:00

Before I introduce you to this INCREDIBLY easy and simple recipe...I must apologize for not being able to post last week! I thought my quarter was going to be less busy, but I completely forgot about my hectic schedule last week--I had two exams, a group project and presentation. Not to mention last Saturday was my fraternity`s Big/Little revealing and family games at the park. I spent all of last week planning, shopping, and making those huge bins for my little. :)

Anyways, back to these awesome cookies! They`re made from a muffin mix. I know making cookies and other desserts out of box mixes have been a trend lately, so I had to gladly jump on board. I mean, I am a huge foodie, after all.

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Strawberry Banana Biscoff Muffins

2013-05-07T19:07:00.003-07:00

It`s strawberry season! I`m definitely one of those people who love fruits in their desserts. Muffins are considered breakfast food, but since it`s sweet and baked, I often eat them as a dessert as well. To me, muffins are quick breads, like banana bread, in individual serving sizes. Haha. Sure, they`re not as dense and the texture is different to loaf breads, but since they`re usually quick and easy to make, I enjoy baking them often.

The strawberry and banana combo is a popular favorite. I love the combination myself, so I wanted to combine the same flavors in muffin form. I also, always "happen to have" (read: I always make SURE I have) Biscoff spread in my pantry...I so knew it`ll be a great addition to the strawberry and banana combo flavor.

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownie {Experience}

2013-05-01T17:49:00.001-07:00

One day I was shopping at Target, walking down the baking aisle, and this caught my eye. It was a box mix for cookie brownies. I was like, "whatttt?" I thought the idea was similar to something I`ve seen before... So, I resisted buying the box mix because I thought I`ll just recreate it at home.

I did! :) When I started to do more research on it, I realized this was going to be hard...because most chocolate chip cookie recipes have a shorter baking time compared to brownies. I was stumped. But, I didn`t let it get to me and decided to try it out anyways.

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Berry Yogurt Popsicles

2013-04-25T19:20:00.002-07:00

I`m sure by now most of you know what a Zoku quick pop maker is? I always thought it was super cool, especially when it first came out and I saw popsicle recipes pop up everywhere. It wasn`t something I had to, HAD to have. But, would LOVE. That kind of thing. Haha.

Luckily for me, my awesome roommate gave me one for Christmas! It made me excited about all the ideas and flavor combinations I could make using it. I don`t have a popsicle mold, so I never made any popsicles before.

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Chocolate Cupcakes w/ Cream Cheese Frosting

2013-04-20T13:31:00.002-07:00

I tell people I don`t bake cake (including cupcakes) or eat them often, but it seems like I`m being contradictory lately with this post and my 1 year anniversary post. I`ll just like to say that for special occasions and reasons, I lean towards baking cakes. :)

My excuse for baking these chocolate cupcakes is because of my little! If you`re confused, let me back up. I`m in a national honor fraternity at my university and just like other sororities and fraternities, we have bigs and littles. Last quarter, I was able to pick up my first little! And what better way to welcome my little into the fraternity than cupcakes?

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White Chocolate Caramel Biscoff Oatmeal Cookies

2013-04-11T23:29:00.001-07:00

The name of these cookies seem like a mouthful, but it`s only because they are so wonderful. :) Haha. I`m definitely posting this week later than I had planned. I`m on my second week of my last quarter of college and it`s been pretty busy with my fraternity`s rush events, so I`m sorry!! It`s ending this week, so the craziness will end soon. My Google Reader is telling me I have about 650 unread posts of blogs I follow. I am definitely behind, which makes me sad, because I miss reading the wonderful blogs I follow!

I love Biscoff spread. I have so many Biscoff recipes saved in my bookmarks, it`s crazy. Since my last Biscoff treat was so delicious, naturally, I wanted to try making more desserts/goodies using the delicious spread. There have been lots of Biscoff cookies recipes out there, but I wanted to try making my own. I can happily say, these were a success! They took a few tries and I`ll definitely keep working on them, but I think they`re definitely blog worthy right now. :)

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Lemon Pound Cake

2013-04-01T16:05:00.001-07:00

Guess what? It`s Hearts In My Oven`s FIRST YEAR! Actually, the anniversary of my first post was on Friday, March 29th. However, I was on spring break at home and left the recipe at my college apartment, so I couldn`t share this post until today! :)

I cannot believe it`s already been a year! Is it just me, or do you feel the years go by faster as you grow older? I usually don`t stick with many things for this long, so I`m really happy I continued blogging. I`ve blogged before here and there (not about food, though) and it never lasted this long. I`m incredibly thankful to this food blogging community for introducing me to my favorite hobby: baking. I`m also extremely thankful for you: my readers. Thank you for stopping by and seeing what I`ve made. I know there are better things you could be doing! Haha~ Thank you, thank you, and thank YOU!

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Blueberry Muffins & Mint Brownies

2013-03-26T18:44:00.000-07:00

There are like a gazillion food blogs out there. Sometimes it becomes overwhelming when I get bombarded with so many delicious, mouth watering recipes in such a sort amount of time. I just want to try every single one, but can`t afford to. As a fellow food blogger, I get caught in the "adapting" phase where I`m constantly thinking of ways to adapt recipes. But, sometimes, I just want to try out recipes, without any sort of alterations.

However, just because I don`t change anything about the recipe, doesn`t mean I shouldn`t post about my own experience, right? Good recipes should be known and shared! Instead of posting these as individual posts, I decided to compile a few recipes every so often and make just one post.

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Chocolate Chip Cookie w/ Cornstarch

2013-03-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

I`m done with my last Winter Quarter of college!! I just took my last final yesterday and went out for pizza. I`m happy because it`s spring break, but sad I`m leaving college so soon. But, I will save all my sadness for another post.

I told you I was on a cookie eating binge! Now, my stomach is paying the price. LOL. For some reason, after you learn to bake your own chocolate chip cookies, store bought cookies do not taste as good. Now, I`m not a cookie snob or anything, it`s just that I didn`t grow up eating home baked cookies with milk after school. My parents didn`t (and still don`t) know how to bake cookies. It was always store bought cookies for my sisters and I.

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Nutella Swirled Toffee Muffins

2013-03-12T12:42:00.000-07:00

Lately, I have been on some muffins and cookies kick. It`s really bad, seeing as how these foods are packed with calories. But, hey, I gotta make what I want to make, right? Or else, where will the fun be? (My excuse for almost everything...) Haha.

I think I`ve moved on to cheesecake now, which is even worst... There was a sale on cream cheese at Target and I bought a lot of cream cheese, so I`m trying to find some recipes to use them up. I have some in mind that I`m really excited to try out. However, if any of you have delicious cheesecake recipes, feel free to share! :)
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Andes Chip Cookies

2013-03-06T01:01:00.004-08:00

Cookies, cookies, and cookies! I didn`t realize this was going to be my 3rd cookie post in a row! What can I say, I love cookies. I get random urges to bake cookies, so I`m always testing and baking cookies. They`re just a perfect snack to munch on with a cup of milk. Hehe.

St. Patrick's Day is coming up! I`m not Irish or anything close, but St. Patrick's Day means green everywhere. And, when I think of green, I think of mint! I love the flavor personally, so when I saw this recipe in Maria`s Holiday Cookie Cravings eCookbook, I was definitely on board!

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Nut Butter Blossoms

2013-02-27T19:03:00.001-08:00

A while ago, I wanted to make the famous peanut butter blossoms cookies. You know, the ones with Hershey's Kisses on top. I decided I wanted to change things up by adding chocolate hazelnut butter. Isn`t that nutella? Well, yes, but this is slightly different.

Have any of you heard of Justin's Nut Butters before? They are healthier than other nut butters. So, their chocolate hazelnut nut butter is like Nutella, but they have significantly less sugar. No, I`m not being paid to say this! Haha. One day, I decided I`ll give the chocolate hazelnut butter a chance since I`ve stumbled upon the name before online and heard it was delicious.

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Snickerdoodles w/ Butterscotch + Chocolate Chips

2013-02-19T17:28:00.001-08:00

The last time I made snickerdoodles, I almost burned down my kitchen. I think I was about 13 years old. It wasn`t from scratch since my family doesn`t use ground cinnamon at home. I guess Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine doesn`t include cinnamon...but there`s Saigon ground cinnamon...and Saigon is the capital of Vietnam, although it`s now called Ho Chi Minh City...ahh, nevermind.

Anyways, back to almost burning the kitchen down. There`s that compartment at the bottom of the oven...yeah, I think you know what I`m talking about. In our old house, the drawer under the oven was a used as a storage. When we moved to our new home, my mom assumed the bottom of the oven was the same. So she stored some random stuff down there. It was not the same. But, we didn`t know this yet.

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Buttermilk Brownies

2013-02-12T17:05:00.000-08:00

Are you all sick of Valentine's Day treats/posts yet? I hope not. But, even if you are, this doesn't have to be one. You can see this post as if it`s some regular ol` brownie post instead. :)

Regardless of whether or not I have a Valentine, I still love looking at Valentine's day treats and decorations. Mainly, because I love looking at all the hearts everywhere. If you cannot tell already, *coughstitleofblogcoughs* I love hearts and cute things. Hehe~ All the pink and cuteness just makes me smile.

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Cheesecake Pops

2013-02-09T11:52:00.000-08:00

Next week is Valentine's Day! :) I have been saving this post for a year now. I made these last year and thought they were perfect for a Valentine's Day treat! They are the perfect cheesecake bite! Plus, they are ridiculously cute, because they`re like cake pops, but made with cheesecake instead of cake. I made these with an Oreo cookie crust, instead of the standard graham cracker crust.

I'm not a HUGE fan of the plain New York Cheesecake, because it's too much for me alone. However, these are small bites of cheesecake covered with a candy coating, so I was able to eat like, 3 at a time. Hehe. :)

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Éclairs with Chocolate Glaze

2013-01-31T17:31:00.004-08:00

Last Thursday, I turned another year older! I really wanted to make my own birthday cake, but was too busy catching up on school work for my midterms this week, I didn`t get a chance. It's okay, I much prefer an ice cream cake over a regular cake any day. Plus, my roommates got me an ice cream pie from a nearby homemade ice cream parlor. It was delicious! Hehe.

Today, I`m posting about éclairs! I made them a few months ago but didn`t get a chance to post about them.

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Cakes Pops, for Hanna ♥

2013-01-22T17:25:00.000-08:00

The 23rd of January is a special day. Why? It`s one of my sisters' birthday! Happy Birthday, Hanna! She`s turning the big 21 this year! Last week was too hectic for me to attempt a layered cake for her birthday, which was my original plan.

I recently purchased The Brown Betty Cookbook and wanted to make one of their famous cakes for her. I had to rethink my original idea because Hanna goes to UCBerkeley, which is 7 hours away from me. She was home for Winter Break, but I wanted her to bring the cake back to school to share. I knew my parents were already getting a cake and her friends would too. So, I didn`t want to overload her with cake! (I bet some of you would love a cake overload, though!)

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Caramel Apple Monkey Muffins

2013-01-10T23:21:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I haven`t posted since last Wednesday! Sometimes life sucks and life was sucking a bit lately... Haha~ However, because you all need yummy foods in your belly, I had to hold off my homework for a few hours to post this delicious recipe! I`m in a co-ed fraternity and we are busy recruiting for the next few weeks, so I hope you can bare with me. :)

I`m a HUGE fan of caramel apple, if you haven`t realized...

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Oreo Thumbprint Cookies

2013-01-02T13:24:00.001-08:00

So, I was going to post yesterday. However, yesterday my dad woke me up telling me we (my family and I) are going to Vegas. Uh, what? That was a spontaneous trip, indeed. I also played my first real game of monopoly and it lasted for SEVEN hours non-stop. And, I still lost.

Seven. Hours. That`s more than the average number of sleep I get per night during the school year.

Anyways...Happy New Years everyone!! It`s finally 2013. This is going to be a big year for me, since I am expected to graduate in June. Time to force my butt into the "real" world with a job and all. It`s a life changer. (Yes, I am scared out of my mind. Terrified.)

I`m not one to make New Year's resolutions, since I feel like we can make those anytime in the year...Haha~ If a new healthy lifestyle or diet is on your resolution list, I`m sorry these cookies aren`t healthy for you. BUT, I can say, they are mighty good...and you just MIGHT have to make them.

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2012 My Top 10 Favorite Recipes

2012-12-30T18:23:00.000-08:00

I bet you all have seen these end-of-the-year list posts on all your favorite blogs, huh? Add in one more recipe compilation from me, please! This is a list of all of MY very own favorites from this year.

I enjoy looking at these posts since I usually find blogs randomly throughout the year. Many times, I don`t backtrack to read all the recipes, so I like reading these top favorites/most views/etc lists to see those recipes I`ve missed before I started following the blogs.

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2012 Top 10 Most Popular Recipes

2012-12-29T13:09:00.001-08:00

The year 2012 is almost over! Can you believe it--only 3 more days until 2013! I don`t know about you, but the older I get, the years seem to go by faster.

Anyhoo, since it`s the end of the year, I felt a compilation of some recipes were in order. This post will feature the TOP 10 Most Popular Recipes of 2012 on Hearts In My Oven! *claps* I`ll be posting them in ascending order, so let`s start!

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Holiday Chocolate Bark

2012-12-24T01:50:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!! I hope you are all enjoying your time with the ones you love and care about. :) I just want to throw in this quick post. I got very excited making holiday treats and I want to write about this experience before I forget!

I know, I know. These peppermint barks have been everywhereee lately. I made the chocolate base using Trader Joe's milk chocolate bar (17oz) and white chocolate chips (12oz). I added Peppermint covered pretzels, mint cocoa nibs, Christmas sprinkles, and melted Hershey's candy cane kisses on top! Yep, it was delicious!

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