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....  

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!

Frosted Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Brownies

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been doing P90X for a while now (I'm on my 7th week) and have been trying to follow the nutrition guide. There's one thing I'd like to make clear.... this is NOT a diet. It's simply a nutrition plan designed to help people doing the P90X program get the best possible results. What I love about it is that you have the option to follow a menu that tells you exactly what to eat for each meal and snack every day or you can go with the "portion plan" and pick what items you want to eat from the list of categories (carbs, protein, veggies, etc.) based on the appropriate number of portions for your calorie level. This is the option I chose and I've found that it's really easy to follow and it's actually pretty fun coming up with tasty (and healthy!) recipes using the stuff from the list.

So, here is my latest experiment... frosted chocolate peanut butter protein brownies! In Phase 2 of the nutrition plan I'm supposed to shoot for 40% carbs, 40% protein and 20% fat. For the calorie level I'm using that ends up being A LOT of protein so I have to come up with creative ways to get some extra protein in my day without just eating like 2 pounds of chicken. One of the easiest ways to get extra protein is to eat a protein bar, but so many of the bars you find at the store have a ton of sugar (20+ grams per serving for some of them!). I decided that not only would it be healthier to try to make my own bars, but it would actually be more cost effective since protein bars generally cost $1 to $3 each. I made my first attempt using this recipe for peanut butter protein bars. I'm not sure whether it was because I used powdered peanut butter in place of the peanut flour (does anyone know how much difference there is?) but I didn't think they turned out very well. I found them a little tasteless and dry.

 I wanted to try again but didn't think that doctoring the recipe a little bit would be enough, so I set out to completely make up a recipe. I did a little research about various leavening ingredients, baking powder versus baking soda, etc. and compiled some of the ingredients I knew I wanted to include - powdered peanut butter, chocolate whey powder, applesauce (to keep it moist), egg whites and baking powder (to make it rise) and regular peanut butter (to make the topping). Once I had all my ingredients I began tinkering with quantities, using various brownie/protein bar recipes I found online for reference. Then I tested the recipe!

I began by whisking the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients in separate bowls then added the wet ingredients to the dry, whisking them together. I then poured the batter into a foil-lined 8x8 square baking pan. It came out just fine once it cooled but in retrospect it might have been a good idea to spray the foil or just spray the pan and cut out the foil. I threw the brownies in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes and it began to rise a little bit but was still pretty moist. So, I turned up the heat to 400 and baked them for another 10 minutes and they came out perfect! Very moist and cakey with that brownie-like flakey crust on top.

I let the brownies cool while I prepared the "frosting". I started with 6T of peanut butter that I'd microwaved for about 35 seconds to get it nice and melty. I then added 2T unsweetened baking cocoa, 1T soy milk and 1t agave nectar (I wanted to sweeten it a bit but, like I said, I was trying to avoid too much sugar). As I mixed and tasted the frosting I needed to add more agave to combat the unsweetened cocoa and more soy milk to make it creamy. By the time I had it the way I wanted it I had used about 1T agave and 3T soy milk.

Once the brownies had cooled completely I spread the frosting on top and popped it in the fridge to set up. I wasn't sure whether the frosting would harden the way it did in the first recipe I tried originally, but I figured I'd give it a try. It didn't end up hardening after all, it just retained that classic frosting-like texture. I decided to keep the brownies in the fridge because I tend to like my desserts cold but you could just cover them in plastic and keep them on the counter if you prefer. I found that keeping them in a plastic bag in the fridge held in all the moisture so they are pretty moist... if you kept them out on the counter they might retain more of that cakey brownie texture. I just tasted one and it was really tasty! It is definitely dessert-like enough to satisfy my sweet tooth but also gives me some of the protein I need. Feel free to make additions in your own experiments with this recipe... try sprinkling toasted walnuts on top or, if you don't mind a few extra calories, use semisweet chocolate chips instead of cocoa powder in the frosting and skip the agave.

Here's the recipe!

Ingredients:

3 scoops chocolate whey powder (I used Muscle Milk chocolate)
3/4 c (12 T) PB2 powdered peanut butter
1/2 t salt
1/2 baking powder
6 T Egg Beaters whites (could also just use 2 egg whites)
1/2 c soy milk
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 cup applesauce
1 t agave nectar

Frosting:
6 T creamy peanut butter
2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1 T agave nectar
3 T soy milk

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 and line an 8x8-inch square baking pan with foil. You may also simply spray or grease the baking pan.
2. Combine the wet ingredients in a medium mixing bowl, using a whisk to combine.
3. Combine the dry ingredients in a small mixing bowl then add them to the wet ingredients, whisking to combine.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 400 for 16 to 20 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Set the pan on a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely as you prepare the frosting.
6. Microwave the peanut butter for 30 to 45 seconds until melted and creamy.
7. Combine the soy milk with the agave and unsweetened cocoa powder then stir it into the peanut butter.
8. Spread the frosting on the cooled brownies and cut into 8 slices. Store in the refrigerator or on the counter, covered in plastic.

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 197, Carbs: 16g, Fat: 10g, Protein: 15g, Sugar: 7g, Fiber: 4g

** Please do not copy these images for your own use. You are free, however, to share this post on Pinterest and other social media sites.

Strawberry-Stuffed Monkey Bread

I love strawberries, so any time I can figure out a way to add them to a recipe, I do. As I mentioned in my last post, I spent most of this weekend with Will's family and wanted to bring along a few tasty treats. As I was browsing online, looking at various blogs and recipes sites, I kept seeing recipes for cinnamon sugar pull-apart bread, aka Monkey Bread. That sounded pretty good to me (and the pictures looked absolutely delicious) but I wanted to come up with some way to make it a little more... interesting. I considered using apple but then I came across a box of strawberries in the fridge that I had forgotten about (jackpot!!). So began my adventure....

Normally, I like cooking completely from scratch but I was a little short on time this week so I decided to use store-bought biscuits as the dough for my strawberry-stuffed monkey bread. Even though I went with Giant Eagle brand biscuits, I decided to use the Pillsbury recipe for pull-apart bread as a base. This recipe is pretty basic and is super easy to follow, so if you're not familiar with monkey bread and aren't sure you're up to the challenge of strawberry-stuffed monkey bread, you might want to try this one first. Because this recipe was so basic, however, I had to look elsewhere for ideas on how to incorporate the strawberries. I ended up at TasteofHome.com where I found a recipe for apple pull-apart bread.

So, equipped with my recipes, I assembled my ingredients and got to work. I began by opening the biscuits - I used Giant Eagle homestyle biscuits which came 10 to a tube. Having used Pillsbury Grands before, I knew these biscuits were significantly smaller so I didn't divide them as the Pillsbury recipe suggests. Instead, I just laid them out on a well-floured counter top and stretched/flattened them out to about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Next, I prepared my melted butter and my cinnamon/sugar mixture. Finally, the strawberries. Somewhere along the way while researching ideas for this recipe I came across a strawberry breakfast bread that suggested combining the strawberries with honey. Following this suggestion, I mixed my sliced strawberries (about 3 cups) with about 1/4 cup of honey.

On to the assembly! So, if you've ever made traditional monkey bread you probably dipped the pieces of dough in melted butter, rolled them in cinnamon/sugar and stacked them in the pan. This is the basic procedure I followed but I first stuffed the pieces of dough with the strawberry/honey mixture. To accomplish this I flattened the biscuits, spooned about a teaspoon of the strawberry mixture into the center of each biscuit, then rolled it up. This part was a little tricky but I eventually I figured out a good way to go about it... Lay down the scoop of strawberry mixture then fold down one side of the biscuit over top of it. Fold the opposite side of the biscuit over and finish it off by pulling in the sides and pinching it all together. It may take you a few tries to figure out a technique that works for you -- don't worry if the strawberry mixture oozes out a little bit.

From here on out, it's pretty easy. Just dip your strawberry-stuffed biscuit pieces in the melted butter, roll them in cinnamon/sugar and stack them in your tube cake pan. I ended up using 10 biscuits single-stacked in my first layer and the second layer had two rows, totaling 21 biscuits. After putting down the first layer of biscuits I scooped a little of the strawberry/honey mixture over the biscuit pieces before putting down the second layer. I repeated this process after the second layer, using all that was left of the strawberries and honey. Since I had 9 biscuits left (and because I was worried about whether the dough would hold together with all the added liquid from the strawberries and honey) I flattened the remaining 9 biscuits, dipped them in butter then cinnamon/sugar and layered them flat on top of the second layer of strawberry-stuffed biscuit pieces.

(Sorry, the bread is already baked in this picture... forgot to take one beforehand)

The last step, of course, is to bake it! I assembled the bread on Thursday night but didn't want to bake it until I got to Erie on Friday so I just stored it in the fridge overnight and packed it on ice for the drive. When I got to Erie I discovered that there was a lot of liquid in the pan... I ended up pouring a little of it off before throwing it in the oven that I had preheated to 325. Like most of my baking endeavors, this became a bit of an experiment because while I had the Pillsbury and TasteofHome recipes to use for reference, I really wasn't sure how to bake this thing properly. I ended up baking it for about 50 minutes at 325 then poured off the rest of the liquid that hadn't baked in and turned up the temperature to 350 for another 8 minutes or so. I'm not sure if it would have helped to bake it at 350 the whole time - probably, because the dough was still pretty wet after 45 minutes in the oven. Overall, though, it turned out really well and tasted delicious! The dough was light and fluffy and the strawberry filling cooked through the bread, creating a sweet glaze on the outside of the cake.

So, here's the recipe!

Ingredients:
4 cans (10-count, small) refrigerated biscuits
1 cup granulated sugar
1T ground cinnamon
1 cup butter (melted)
3 cups sliced strawberries
1/4 cup honey

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 and grease a tube cake pan.
2. Open the cans of biscuits and set aside 9 or 10 for the top layer. Flatten the rest of the biscuits on a floured surface, stretching them by hand, to a diameter around 2 1/2 inches.
3. Dice the strawberries and combine them in a bowl with 1/4 cup honey. (I sliced the strawberries but realized it would have made it easier to stuff the biscuits if they'd been diced.)
4. Scoop 1 teaspoon of the strawberry/honey mixture into the center of each biscuit. Fold over the edges and pinch them together, creating a strawberry-stuffed biscuit pocket.
5. Dip the stuffed biscuit pockets in melted butter and roll them in cinnamon/sugar.
6. Layer 8 to 10 biscuit pockets in the bottom of the greased tube cake pan. Spoon some of the strawberry/honey mixture over top of the biscuits.
7. Layer another 20 to 22 biscuits on top of the first layer in the pan and spoon the rest of the strawberry/honey mixture over top. 
8. Flatten the remaining 10 biscuits, dip them in butter and coat them in the cinnamon/sugar mixture.
9. Lay the flattened biscuits on top of the second layer of biscuits, overlapping the edges. 
10. Bake at 325 for 45 to 50 minutes. Check the dough - if it is still wet, pour off the liquid and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes at 350. 
11. Let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes or so on a cooling rack.
12. Turn out the bread onto a large plate and serve while still warm. Cut the cake into slices or let your guests pull apart pieces of the bread by hand.

The traditional method of checking to see whether a cake is done by inserting a knife into the center may not work for this recipe because the dough will be moist from the strawberry stuffing. When it is done correctly, the top layer of biscuits should be lightly browned around the edges and the dough should be puffy and fully cooked, not wet. Like I said, this was a bit of an experiment for me so if you find a temperature/timing combination that works for you, let me know!

** Please do not copy these images for your own use. You are free, however, to share this post on Pinterest and other social media sites.

Vegan Baked Oatmeal Cups

I recently hopped on the Pinterest bandwagon (about two weeks ago) and since then have accumulated dozens of recipes I am dying to try. This weekend I'm headed up to Erie with my boyfriend Will's family to go to one of his cousin's weddings in Cleveland. As soon as we started making plans the wheels in my head began turning, churning out ideas for what kind of recipes I could try out. I decided that I wanted to make something for breakfast that I could also use here at home.... I ended up settling on these individual baked oatmeal cups!

When I first came across this recipe on Pinterest, I was super excited. For some reason, I've been craving oatmeal lately and I generally don't like oatmeal. I like it in muffin form, but not in a bowl... something about the consistency just doesn't sit well with me. My stomach started rumbling at the thought of a warm oatmeal muffin loaded with cinnamon and raisins... I ate one just before starting this post and my stomach is rumbling again just thinking about it!

So, the thing about my baking style is that it's a little.... impulsive. I like to make changes and substitutions on a whim depending what I have and what I'm craving. This project involved some necessary changes, however, because Will's two sisters are vegan. I decided to make my first attempt at using milled flaxseed as an egg substitute and swapped out the regular milk for soy milk.

I began by mixing together the wet ingredients (except for the milk) in my KitchenAid stand mixer (my new favorite toy... just splurged on it about a month ago). The recipe calls for 2 eggs but, because I wanted to make this recipe vegan, I substituted 2T milled flaxseed and 6T water. The recipe also calls for 2 cups of unsweetened applesauce and one mashed banana. I didn't have a banana and only had 2 cups of applesauce so I improvised by chopping about a cup of fresh apple and popped it in the microwave for a minute with half the honey called for in the recipe to soften it up. I then pulsed the apple/honey mixture in my food processor for a few seconds and added it to the rest of the wet ingredients.

Next came the dry ingredients. Aside from the baking powder, cinnamon and salt the only other dry ingredients are the flaxseed and oats. Unfortunately, I didn't check my supply of old fashioned oats before I started so when I ran out I had to use quick oats to finish off the 5 cups required. Last, I added the soy milk. I added the first 2 cups of it and mixed it to see what the consistency was like. The original recipe notes that the mixture will be pretty runny but I wanted to make sure that it didn't get too runny as a result of the extra moisture from the apple I substituted for the banana. Everything looked fine, though, so I added the last 3/4c of milk and finished stirring.

Once the mixture was ready I poured about 1/4c of oatmeal mix into my prepared muffin tins. I learned my lesson after making some oatmeal muffins last week that you must spray the muffin liners to prevent the oatmeal from sticking. Believe me, it's a lot easier than spending five minutes trying to peel soggy paper off your muffin before you can eat it. The original recipe says it yields 18 muffins but somehow I ended up with 30... maybe it has something to do with the quick oats? Who knows. I baked them at the prescribed temperature for the same time (30 minutes at 350) and they turned out just fine. As suggested, I sprinkled some of my favorite toppings on some of the cups before throwing them in the oven. I went with chocolate chips, raisins, fresh blueberries and chopped walnuts but you could try pecans, dried cranberries, dark chocolate chips, or whatever else you like.

Here's the recipe I used:

Ingredients:

2T milled flaxseed (this was in place of the eggs)
6T water
2c unsweetened applesauce
1c chopped apple (microwaved 1 min with 1/2 honey)
1/2c honey
1t vanilla
5 cups old fashioned oats
1/4c milled flaxseed
1.5T ground cinnamon
3t baking powder
1t salt
2 3/4c soy milk

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Prepare 24 to 30 muffin tins with paper liners and spray them with cooking spray.
2. Mix the wet ingredients together - eggs, applesauce, chopped apple (microwaved and pulsed in food processor), vanilla and honey - until well combined.
3. Add the dry ingredients and mix well on low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
4. Pour in half the milk and stir it in. Add the rest of the milk and stir until combined.
5. Scoop 1/4c of the completed mixture into your muffin cups. (The mixture won't rise too much so don't worry if the cups seem a little full.)
6. Sprinkle your desired toppings on top of the oatmeal mixture just before putting them in the oven.
7. Bake at 350 for thirty minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
8. Cool the muffins in the pans for 10 minutes then remove them and place them on cooling racks to cool completely. Store in plastic freezer bags if you plan to eat them within 2 days, otherwise freeze them.

Nutritional Information:  (with estimated yield of 24 muffins)
Calories: 114, Carbs: 23g, Fat: 2g, Protein: 3g, Sugar: 8g, Fiber: 3g
** nutritional facts for muffins without toppings

And there you have it! It's a pretty easy recipe to follow and it's very healthy because there's no sugar - the honey serves as the sweetener. If you don't have honey, you could try agave nectar, stevia or splenda (the amounts may differ). If you do end up freezing these muffins you might want to thaw them overnight in the fridge if you plan to eat them in the morning. Enjoy!!

** Please do not copy these images for your own use. You are free, however, to share this post on Pinterest and other social media sites.