S'mores Cupcakes

I've probably already mentioned the fact that I spend WAY too much time on Pinterest. I never get tired of drooling over pictures of delicious-looking food. All that time on Pinterest usually inspires me to bake which unfortunately inspires me to eat what I bake... hence, S'mores Cupcakes! I generally try to limit my baking sprees to coincide with parties or game nights, times when I know I'll be able to pass off most of the goodies so I have a limited number left at home to eat myself.

Anyway, today's concoction is probably derived from something I saw on Pinterest (or a combination of somethings) but it's more or less something I whipped together on a whim. I started with a box of chocolate cake mix and added a few of my own little touches to create S'mores Cupcakes. I actually made them once a few weeks ago but they needed some tweaking. This time I think they came pretty close to perfect.

To kick things off I made a graham-cracker crust in the bottom of each cupcake liner. All I did was crush up a package of graham crackers then mixed in a tablespoon or two of sugar, a dash of cocoa powder and about a stick of melted butter. After pressing this mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner I popped them in the oven at 375 for about 10 minutes. Once the graham cracker crusts cooled I poured in the prepared chocolate cake batter and pressed a few mini marshmallows into the middle of each cupcake just for fun.

Next, I baked the cupcakes for about 20 minutes at 325 then let them cool completely. I actually put them in the fridge for a few minutes just to be sure the icing wouldn't melt. Here's the fun part, the icing... it would probably best be described by the term "omg" but I like to call it marshmallow buttercream. It's just your standard buttercream icing (2 sticks butter, 4 cups powdered sugar, little bit of milk) but I added a tub of marshmallow fluff to make it extra awesome. The first time I made these cupcakes I found that the icing didn't really "swirl" the way I wanted it to so I was pretty careful this time. I added just the tiniest bit of milk at a time to keep the icing from getting too runny and it really worked! See for yourself:

Now that's what I call cupcake perfection. Actually, the finished product is better but it's still pretty good at this stage. To finish things up I melted a combination of chocolate chips and milk chocolate baking chips in a double boiler (added a little butter to smooth it out). After I frosted the cupcakes I put them in the freezer so the frosting would harden enough to be dipped in chocolate. Once the icing was cool/hard enough I dipped all of the cupcakes in chocolate, sprinkled on some extra graham cracker crumbs and topped it off with a piece of Hershey's chocolate. 

Below I have a picture of a slight variation I tried. I promised my brother a cupcake delivery but since I ran out of graham cracker crumbs I had to try something else for the second batch. I filled the cupcake liners with chocolate cake batter then threw a handful of mini marshmallows on top and popped them in the oven. The marshmallows started to melt into the batter and browned around the edges, making them nice and toasty. The rest of the procedure was the same.

The cupcakes went over really well (both variations) so I think I'll have to add this concoction to my repertoire of favorite recipes. I have to say, I'm pretty excited about the chocolate-dipped frosting thing so don't be surprised if you start to notice a theme in future posts....  

Grilled Zucchini, Red Onion and Corn Salad

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted! Life has been pretty hectic for me, but I'm sure pretty much everyone can say that about their lives. I'm in the middle of a transition phase so it always seems like there is something I need to get caught up on. Not only am I in the process of moving (moving into a condo near Pitt next week with my sister who just started medical school) but I also quit my job at the restaurant I was working at as a baker/line cook.

I was really excited about the potential opportunities I saw with this job a few months ago when I originally interviewed, but ever since then things have been messy. It wasn't until probably two months after I was technically hired that the restaurant even opened and now, seven weeks later, it still hasn't had an official "grand" opening. There are too many problems to count but among them are a dearth of competent and reliable cooks, a lack of organization in regard to purchasing basic supplies needed to do the day's work (milk, butter, bread, etc.) and an owner who tries to be and do all things at once which only results in exhaustion and short-temperedness on her part and anxiety and frustration on everyone else's. Overall, I'm very glad to be out of that situation but also disappointed because I was really looking forward to using my skills and learning some new ones.

Anyway, now that I'm not working full-time anymore I am able to focus on my writing. I have been a freelance writer on the side (and full-time when I'm between jobs) and I've decided that it is what I should be focusing on right now. I am still entertaining the idea of starting my own baking business down the line (waaaay down the line) but for now I'm going to focus on writing. The exciting part about this is that, thanks to my experience working in the food industry, I have been able to get a few jobs writing recipe books! Not only is this a good use of my skills but it also gives me a chance to read hundreds of different recipes which serves to inspire me for my own cooking adventures. I'm not sure what the future holds for me but for now I am enjoying the opportunity to focus on something I love.

If you've managed to get all the way through this post, thanks! In my launch post I talked about how I wanted to go to culinary school and about documenting my adventures working as a baker but now that both of those things have changed I'm not entirely sure which direction this blog is going to go. I do plan to keep baking and posting recipes, so perhaps that is enough for now. Yesterday was my birthday so in addition to an ice cream cake from Coldstone Creamery, I also enjoyed some delicious homemade seafood pizza and one of my favorite summertime salads -- grilled zucchini, red onion and corn salad marinated in Italian dressing.

Ingredients:

3 medium zucchini

1 large red onion

4 to 6 ears sweet corn (or 2-3 cups frozen corn)

1 bottle Italian dressing (or your favorite vinaigrette)

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:  

1. Slice the zucchini long-ways into 1/2-inch thick pieces. Arrange the slices flat in a large glass baking dish and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle Italian dressing over the zucchini and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
2. Thickly slice the red onion and spread the slices in a glass baking dish. Season with salt and pepper then drizzle Italian dressing over the slices then refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
3. Peel off the first few layers of husk from the corn then soak the whole ears in water for at least 15 minutes. The moisture will soak into the husks and prevent the corn from burning on the grill.
4. Preheat your grill and lay down a layer of aluminum foil over an area large enough for the red onions.
5. Arrange the vegetables on the grill, laying the slices of zucchini flat and the red onions on top of the foil. Place the whole ears of corn on the grill wherever you have space.
6. Grill the vegetables for 5 to 10 minutes on each side until grill marks appear and the zucchini becomes tender. Cook the corn until the outline of the kernels are visible through the husk.
7. Remove the vegetables from the grill and let cool for 2 to 3 minutes then chop and stir them together in a large bowl. Season with more salt and pepper, if desired.

Stuffed Cookie Series: Buttered Brown Sugar Raisin Cookies

Things have been quite busy for me lately, so it's been a while since my last post. I may have mentioned my new job at a local restaurant opening near my house... well, it's open now! We just opened this past Tuesday so I've been there almost all day everyday since then. We're definitely still getting the hang of things but each day gets a little better and I'm really enjoying the job so far. The other day I got to put my baking skills to use and made a batch of stuffed sugar cookies using some of the berry compote we have for pancakes. I added a little extra flour to thicken the filling so they turned out just like mini pies. I also used the biscuit cutter (like a cookie cutter) to make them uniform and brushed the tops with an egg wash before sprinkling on some sugar to give them a little pizzazz.

Anyway, on to the next recipe... Buttered Brown Sugar Raisin cookies!

I have recently really begun to like raisins (and I've always loved sugar) so this has become one of my favorites. I started with the same sugar cookie dough I used in the Blueberry Stuffed Sugar Cookie recipe but made a different filling. To make the filling I started by melting a stick of butter in a small saucepan then I stirred in 3/4 cup of brown sugar, whisking until it melted. I also stirred in a tablespoon of white sugar and a teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Next I added 1 1/4 cups seedless raisins and let the mixture simmer until it was hot and bubbly.

Once the filling was ready I took it off the heat to set while I prepared the cookies. Rather than using my tart pans, this time I ended up just rolling the sugar cookie dough out and cut out circles of it. I had to use a bit of extra flour to keep the dough from sticking to the rolling pin but it worked pretty well. You could also just take balls of cookie dough and flatten them out by hand. Once I had a few of the cookies prepared I spooned a heaping teaspoon of my raisin mixture into the center of each cookie and topped it with another cookie. When I made those berry compote cookies at the restaurant I ended up dipping my finger in water and ran it around the edge of the bottom cookie to make the top cookie stick more. Then I pinched together the edges, making it look almost like a little pie. Once I had a sheet full of cookies prepared I baked them at 350°F for 16 to 18 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Here's what they looked like when I scooped the filling onto the bottom cookie layer:

Here's the recipe:


Ingredients:

5 c flour
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 c sugar
2 eggs, beaten (or 6T egg beaters)
4 T milk (I used almond milk and it was fine)
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt

1 stick butter
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 T granulated sugar
1 t ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cup seedless raisins


Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 
2. Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy. With the mixer running, add the eggs, milk and vanilla.
4. With the beater on low, add the flour mixture in small batches. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary and beat until combined.
5. Divide the dough in half, wrap it in plastic and place it in the refrigerator for an hour or so.
6. Combine the butter and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking until the sugar is melted. Stir in the cinnamon and raisins then cook over low heat until thick and bubbly. Set aside.
7. Take the cookie dough out of the refrigerator and knead it a little if it is too hard to work with. 
8. Roll out the cookie dough on a well-floured surface and use a cookie cutter to cut out round cookies of the desired size.
9. Scoop a heaping teaspoon of raisin filling into the center of each cookie and spread it.
10. Cut out additional circles of cookie dough large enough to cover the raisin filling on the bottom layer of cookie dough. Pinch the edges of the two cookie layers together using your fingers.
11. Bake the cookies at 350 for 16 to 18 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. After 15 minutes you may choose to brush the tops of the cookies with an egg wash or melted butter and sprinkle some white sugar on top. Place the cookies back in the oven until done, or 2 to 3 minutes.
12. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 10 minutes or so then remove them and let them cool completely on a wire rack.

Stuffed Cookie Series: Blueberry Sugar Cookie Tarts

If you spend as much time on Pinterest as I do (particularly in the food section) you may have seen posts about a smores-stuffed chocolate chip cookie. These things look amazing... you basically build a smore inside two layers of chocolate chip cookie dough and toss it in the oven. I haven't tried out the recipe myself yet but it got me to thinking... what kind of twist could I do to make it my own? Well, since I had my handy dandy little tart pans I decided to start there and see what happened.

Before I could begin baking, of course, I had to decide what kind of cookie dough I wanted to use. I do love chocolate chip cookie dough but it's been done, so I decided to go with another of my favorites - sugar cookie dough. Sugar cookies aren't exactly the most exciting cookie on the planet but the dough is pretty pliable (if you add enough flour) and the flavor pairs well with almost anything. I decided to start my stuffed cookie adventure by throwing together a blueberry filling using some of the blueberries I had in the freezer along with some Polaner's all-fruit blueberry spread I had in the fridge.

I ended up making the cookie dough first because you have to let it sit in the fridge for an hour or so before you use it. I used a pretty standard sugar cookie dough recipe but added a little more flower so I could shape it easily. After I finished the dough I separated it into two balls, wrapped them in plastic and put them in the fridge. While the dough was setting I got to work on my blueberry filling. I wasn't working from a recipe or anything but I knew I wanted it to turn out kind-of like pie filling. I thawed the blueberries (about a cup and a half) then mashed them a little bit in the bowl. Next, I added about 3 T of the blueberry spread, 2 T of flour to thicken it up and a teaspoon of sugar just for good measure. The results looked a little bit like pepto bismol, though a little more purple than pink, but I had faith it would bake up really nicely.

After the cookie dough had set for an hour in the fridge I took it out and kneaded it a little bit. I left the dough in the fridge for a little longer than I'd intended so I had to work with it a bit to soften it back up. I lightly sprayed my tart pans because I wasn't sure if the dough would stick or not then I began patting a layer of dough into each of the pans. I used a wad of cookie dough about the size of golfball to line the bottom of each pan then scooped a heaping teaspoon of the blueberry filling into the middle and spread it around. Next, I rolled out a cookie dough circle and placed it on top of the filling in the tart pan and pinched down the edges. I'm not sure it was necessary, but I also made a few slits in the center of the cookie with a knife before tossing the cookies in the oven.

Because there were two layers of cookie dough (and because these guys are pretty big) I ended up baking them for more than double the time recommended in the recipe for the cookie dough. I baked them for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through then, after brushing the tops with a little melted butter just for fun, I baked them for another 4 minutes. I wanted my cookies to have a nice crust and to be just a little brown around the edges but if you want yours to stay soft, try baking them for 20 to 22 minutes. You can also make these cookies without the tart pans by rolling out circles of cookie dough and filling them the same way. Just be sure to pinch the edges together securely so the blueberry filling doesn't ooze out in the oven.

After making these cookies I decided to continue the experiment to see what other stuffed cookie recipes I could come up with (hence the title "stuffed cookie series"). I've got a few more variations to write about including sugar cookies stuffed with buttered brown sugar and raisins as well as some stuffed with Ghiradelli dark chocolate raspberry squares. Check back soon for pictures and recipes!

Blueberry Sugar Cookie Tart Recipe:

Ingredients:

5 c flour
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 c sugar
2 eggs, beaten (or 6T egg beaters)
4 T milk (I used almond milk and it was fine)
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt

1 1/2 cups blueberries (thaw if frozen)
3 T blueberry jam or preserves
2 T flour
1 t sugar

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly spray your tart pans with cooking spray. (If not using tart pans, use an ungreased cookie sheet)
2. Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy. With the mixer running, add the eggs, milk and vanilla.
4. With the beater on low, add the flour mixture in small batches. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary and beat until combined.
5. Divide the dough in half, wrap it in plastic and place it in the refrigerator for an hour or so.
6. Place the blueberries in a small bowl and mash them slightly with a potato masher or the back side of a spoon. Stir in the blueberry jam or preserves, the flour and the sugar. Set aside
7. Take the cookie dough out of the refrigerator and knead it a little if it is too hard to work with. Place a golfball-sized ball of cookie dough in each tart pan and spread it evenly along the bottom of the pan, pressing it into the edges.
8. Scoop a heaping teaspoon of blueberry filling into the center of each tart and spread it.
9. Roll out circles of cookie dough large enough to cover the blueberry filling in the tart pans. Press the edges of the cookie dough circles into the bottom layer of dough and make a few slits in the center of the top cookie.
10. Bake the tarts at 350 for about 20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. After 20 minutes, brush the tops with melted butter and bake for another 2 to 4 minutes until the edges are crispy and have just begun to brown.
11. Let the cookies cool in the tart pans for 15 minutes or so then remove them and let them cool completely on a wire rack.
12. Serve with a scoop of french vanilla ice cream or a dollop of fresh whipped cream.

Make Boxed Cake Better

I generally like to bake entirely from scratch but there are some occasions when it isn't feasible (generally because of time) and, frankly, it isn't always practical. This week, for example, I saw an ad on craigslist for a local flea market in my area and, after contacting the coordinator, I found that they were in need of a "cupcake lady" for this week's market. I'm always looking for ways to get my name out there and to deliver delicious treats to hungry people, so this sounded like a great opportunity! I didn't know much about the area or the market... and it's been a pretty busy week for me... so I didn't want to invest a ton of time and money in making absolutely everything from scratch in case it didn't pan out. 

Anyway, I whipped together some chocolate-covered cookie dough and some fried cookie dough (I love me some cookie dough) as well as some blueberry sugar cookie tarts (look for the recipe in my next post!) from scratch but, to fill out my arsenal I enlisted the help of my old pal Duncan Hines. Even though I didn't end up making the cupcakes entirely from scratch, I did doctor up the batter a bit to make them taste a little more homemade and to make them look spectacular... these are the two variations I ended up with: oreo chocolate cupcakes with oreo creme icing and boston cream cakes with chocolate pudding icing.

To make the oreo chocolate cupcakes, I started with a box of german chocolate cake I've had in the cupboard for a while and added about 2 tablespoons of melted butter and a teaspoon or two of vanilla extract to the batter to make it nice and fluffy and to give it that homemade taste. I also crushed up 8 or 10 oreos and threw those in before I popped the cupcakes in the oven. To make the oreo creme icing, I started with a standard buttercream icing recipe and added about 10 oreos to it. Here's the kicker, though... I separated the cookies and the icing from the oreos (double stuf) so the icing would get plenty of the oreo creme flavor as well as the texture of the oreo bits. Let me tell you, that icing is dangerously good...

For the second variation I started with a standard yellow cake mix and, again, added melted butter and vanilla. Earlier this week I had whipped up a batch of pastry cream from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes cookbook, not really knowing what I was going to use it for. Since I had the yellow cake, though, I decided it would be fun to try a variation on boston cream pie. So, after baking the cupcakes, I scooped out the middle and filled them with pastry cream (the kind of yellowish cream you'd find in the middle of cream-filled doughnuts and, of course, in boston cream pie). To top it off, I made some chocolate buttercream icing. I really wanted it to be creamy and chocolatey though, so I peeked in the fridge, hoping to find some chocolate syrup. Well, I didn't find any syrup but I did find a couple of chocolate pudding cups so I threw that into the frosting and whipped it up. Again.... dangerously good.

The moral of this story is that you can make some pretty fantastic desserts in a limited time frame (and on a low budget - cake mix is usually under $2 a box). By adding some melted butter and vanilla extract to the standard batter, you can give your cake a little bit of homemade flavor, then you can doctor it up with other ingredients to make it really spectacular. Next I'd like to try swirling in some fudge (or maybe cheesecake!)... you could also do different variations on candy bars by adding peanut butter to the batter and the frosting for Reese's cupcakes or filling chocolate cupcakes with caramel and topping it with fudge frosting and peanuts as an homage to the Snickers bar. The options are endless, really... what are your ideas? I'd love to hear what you've tried.

Don't worry, I won't leave you hanging... here are the recipes for the wickedly tasty icing I used.

Oreo Creme Icing:

2 sticks butter, softened (not melted!)
4 cups confectioner's sugar
3 T milk
1 1/2 - 2 t vanilla extract
10 Oreo cookies (double stuf)

1. Cream the butter on medium speed until smooth then beat in the confectioner's sugar a cup at a time. 
2. Add the milk and blend until smooth then stir in the vanilla.
3. Beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes.
4. Separate the creme from the oreo cookies and add it to the frosting. Crush the cookies and throw them in as well.
5. Beat to combine, about 1 minute. 

Chocolate Pudding Buttercream Icing: 


1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
3 cups confectioner's sugar
2/3 cup cocoa
2 t vanilla extract
2 individual chocolate pudding cups

1. Cream the butter on medium speed until smooth.
2. Sift together the confectioner's sugar and the cocoa then beat it into the butter in small batches.
3. Stir in the vanilla extract.
4. Beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes.
5. Add the chocolate pudding and beat 1 minute more.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Tarts

Okay, so it's been a few weeks since I last posted but things have been crazy around here and I haven't had much time for recreational baking. I think today's experiment was a big success, though, so maybe it was worth the wait? I am a little bit obsessed with specialty baking pans (can't get enough of them) and I bought these mini tart pans a few weeks ago at Walmart. I wasn't sure what I was gonna use them for but I just wanted to have them in case I needed them (that was my excuse, anyway).

I've never made a classic fruit tart or anything like that but I decided rather than go the traditional route, I'd break in my new tart pans with something fun and experimental.... chocolate chip cookie tarts! It's basically a tart but the crust is chocolate chip cookie and the filling is no-bake nutella cheesecake (a recipe I found on Pinterest from the MyBakingAddiction blog). The filling options for this recipe are endless, though... you could try different flavors of cheesecake, pudding, mousse, even ice cream! Anyway, here's how I made it: 

I started with the Nestle Tollhouse cookie recipe on the bag of chocolate chips (that's the one my family always uses, though we usually add butterscotch chips on top of the chocolate chips in the recipe). After I finished the dough I put it in the fridge for about an hour so it would firm up enough that I could mold it into the tart pans. In the first batch of four tarts I sprayed the pans first but the bottoms ended up being pretty moist so I omitted that step in the second set. To mold the cookie crust I just put a ball of dough in the center of the pan (about 3 heaping tablespoons) and spread it out with my fingers. If you find that the dough is sticking to your fingers, try spraying your hands with cooking spray first or put the dough in the fridge for another 20 minutes. 

The above picture shows the cookie crust in four different stages from start to finish. The one on the right shows the approximate amount of dough I used for each pan and the second one from the right shows the dough spread out on the bottom of the pan. In the third pan you an see that I added some extra cookie dough to the sides of the pan and pressed it into the indentations. I started by adding pinches of cookie dough but then realized it would be quicker to just roll out a small cylinder of cookie dough (like you would with clay or playdough) and press it into the sides of the pan. In the final pan on the far left you can see that the dough just fills the pan and it's packed down to about 1/2 inch in thickness. Once I had four pans filled (the package only contained 4 pans) I popped them in the oven at 375 for 10 minutes.

After ten minutes the two tarts in the back of the pan had browned but the ones up front needed a little more time so I rotated the pan and put them back in for another 3 minutes or so. For the second batch of tarts I split the baking time, rotating the pan after 6 minutes and checked them after another 6. I ended up baking the second batch for a total of 14 minutes but they probably could have gone another 2 minutes or so. When I first took the tarts out of the oven I was a little concerned because they puffed up just like a normal cookie would, losing the "tart" shape with the indentation in the middle. As you can see in the picture, though, they settled as they cooled. I even went so far as to pat down the middles using the flats of my fingers just after taking them out of the oven to be sure the centers sank like I wanted them to.

I let the tarts cool for a few minutes in the pans then removed them and set them on a large cutting board to cool. After 20 minutes or so I then turned them upside down and supported the middles with a piece of balled-up paper towel so the moist bottoms of the tarts could crust over a little bit. While the tarts were cooling, I prepared the no-bake cheesecake filling I mentioned earlier. Feel free to experiment a bit with your own filling to see what works. After I'd finished the cheesecake filling I put it in a Ziploc freezer bag and tossed it in the fridge. 

The final step in this experiment was to actually fill the tarts once they'd cooled sufficiently. I took the bag of cheesecake out of the fridge and snipped the end off it then piped the cheesecake into the tart crusts with a swirl pattern. You could also just spoon the filling into the tart crusts if you want or pipe a dollop of cheesecake in the center and spread it with the back of a spoon. For the sake of making a pretty picture, I then sprinkled some Nestle cocoa powder on top and added a few extra chocolate chips just for good measure. Depending what filling you use, you could decorate your tarts with fresh whipped cream, sprinkles or some ripe berries. 

Here's the recipe!

Ingredients for Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookies:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cups packed brown sugar

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 large eggs

2 cups chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. Cream together the butter, sugars and vanilla on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in small batches, stirring on low speed to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
5. Fold in the chocolate chips. Cover the mixing bowl and place it in the refrigerator for about an hour.
6. Scoop out about 3 tablespoons of cookie dough and place it in the center of each tart pan. Use your fingers to spread the dough evenly along the bottom of the pan, pressing it into the sides.
7. Add more cookie dough as needed to cover the sides of the pan, keeping the thickness as even as possible (between 1/4 and 1/2 inch).
8. Place the tart pans on a cookie sheet and bake at 375°F for 12 to 15 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. The tarts should puff up and be uniformly browned on top when finished.
9. Remove the tarts from the oven and place them, in the pans, on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes.
10. Take the tarts out of the pans and cool them for an additional 15 minutes. Turn the tarts upside down, supporting the center with a piece of folded-up paper towel, for an additional 20 minutes or so if the bottoms are still moist and soft.
11. Let the tarts finish cooling while you prepare the filling. 
12. Fill the tarts just before serving and garnish with your choice of toppings (whipped cream, sprinkles, chocolate chips, crushed cookies, candy pieces, etc.)

Enjoy and let me know what other filling combinations you try!

Bacon-Topped Zucchini Boats

I may have mentioned that I planted a few zucchini plants this year.... well, they've finally gotten to the point where I can begin harvesting from them! Last week I went out of town over the weekend and came home to find that several of the zucchinis had almost doubled in size while I was gone. I have been keeping a running list in my head of recipe ideas to try but the first one I went with was this one for zucchini boats. Basically, it's salsa with chopped zucchini added, stuffed into the hollowed-out zucchini boats and baked in the oven. Top it off with some cheese, bread crumbs and bacon and you've got yourself a tasty meal!

(I forgot to take a picture before I ate them... will update when I make this recipe again!)

It's a pretty simple recipe and it's really easy to make changes to it according to what you like and what you have on hand. To start, slice the ends off your zucchini and cut them in half. Then, using your knife, cut into the zucchini halves at an angle so you can scoop out the inside. Arrange the zucchini halves in a glass baking dish and brush them with olive oil then pop them in the oven (preheated to 375) while you prepare the filling. Chop up the zucchini you scooped out and mix it with some chopped tomato, onion and green pepper. Stir in about a half cup of breadcrumbs and a half cup of shredded cheese. At this point you can also add whatever seasonings you like... one of my favorite combinations is ground cumin and chili powder but you could also stick with salt and pepper.

Once you've prepared the filling, take the zucchini out of the oven and spoon some of the filling into each "boat". If you want to add bacon, cook it until it's crispy then chop it up and sprinkle it on top of the filled zucchini just before you put it all back in the oven. Bake the zucchini boats for 20 minutes or so until the zucchini is tender (stick a fork in it to test). Then all that's left to do is enjoy! I can make a meal out of these zucchini boats alone but they would also be a great appetizer or side dish if you're cooking outside on the grill. 

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

3 medium zucchini, cut in half lengthwise

1 large tomato, chopped

1/2 large onion, chopped

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup shredded cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

4 to 6 strips bacon, cooked crisp and chopped

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly spray a glass baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Cut the zucchinis in half lengthwise, chop the ends off and scoop out the middles. 
3. Arrange the zucchini halves in the prepared baking dish and brush them with olive oil. Place the zucchini halves in the oven.
4. Chop the zucchini you scooped out earlier and mix it with the chopped tomato and onion. Stir in the bread crumbs and shredded cheese as well as a pinch of salt, pepper and any other spices you'd like to add.
5. Remove the zucchini halves from the oven and scoop some of the filling into each half. Sprinkle the chopped bacon on top and put them back in the over for 20 minutes or until the zucchini is tender.