doodle don't

This recipe comes from Tasty Kitchen and it's titled "Perfect Snickerdoodles". Well, they were anything but perfect! Although not completely inedible, I've never had to go to such lengths to convince myself (or my brother) to eat a cookie. You might be wondering why these cookies were so unsuccessful, well I'll tell you. Someone (me) didn't measure her shortening properly! The consequences for my actions was a batch of hard and semi-tasteless snickerdo(dont)odles. The lesson here kiddies is to always measure every ingredient properly when baking! But I'm going to assume that you all already knew that.

be still my beating heart

I certainly can't think of a better way to spend a Thursday night. Usually when I bake sugar cookies  I use Alton Brown's  recipe. This time I used the recipe from I Am Baker and, no offense to Alton, but these were knee slapping good! I think I may have found a new go-to sugar cookie recipe...

b-a-n-a-n-a-s!

My blog should be titled "Then My Jeans Don't Fit On Monday" with  a subtitle of "Worth It". My dad went to Costco the other day and brought home some beautiful big ripe bananas. I walked into the kitchen this morning and there they were just sitting there on the kitchen counter begging to be used and of course I happily obliged. Who can turn down a banana?

Banana Muffins:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

3 bananas, mashed

3/4 cups white sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup of butter, melted

Pinch of cinnamon

Crumb Topping:

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/3 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp butter
1/3 cup packed brown sugar

For the Muffins:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease 12 muffin cups.

2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. In another bowl, beat together bananas, cinnamon, sugar, egg, and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture until moistened.

3. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

Crumb Top:

1. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.

Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

I have to say I was a little worried while putting together the crumb topping. Being the cinnamon enthusiast that I am, I put more than the 1/8 tsp. that the recipe called for thinking "what the heck". Well, I don't think it turned out exactly like it was supposed to- but the muffins was still delicious. No harm no foul, right?

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

Despite the risks, I love eating straight cookie dough. I can't help it! I've tried to break the habit but it's easier said than done. Due to my love of all things cookie dough, I have recipes for chocolate dipped cookie dough balls, chocolate chip cookie dough filled cupcakes, etc. Here we have chocolate chip cookie dough brownies (I know: drool).

These were so good. And what really put them over the top was the ganache topping. Sinful.

1 box Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie mix
1 pouch Betty Brocker Chocolate Chip Cookie mix
12 oz. semi sweet chocolate
3/4 cups heavy cream
6 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking plan.
2. Prepare the brownie mix as directed. Pour into prepared pan. Set aside.
3. Prepare the cookie dough as directed.
4. Drop the cookie dough by rounded tablespoons onto the brownie batter and press down slightly.
5. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a tookpick comes out almost clean. Cool completley.

Ganache:

Chop the chocolate (or use chocolate chips).
Heat the cream and butter just intil it begins to simmer.
Pour over the chopped chocolate. Let sit for 5 minutes, then stil until smooth. Stir in the vanilla.
Pour the ganache over the cooled brownies, spead and let stand until the ganache has set (very important).

Cut and serve (preferably in a bowl with vanilla ice cream!)

White Chocolate, Chocolate Cookies

1 3/4 cups flour
1 2/4 cups cocoa powder
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsps. baking soda
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until light a fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beat well with each additon. Add the vanilla.
3. In a smaller bowl, combine the flour cocoa and baking soda. Gradually add to the creamed mixture, scrapping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes until fluffy but still soft. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completley.

Tax Day: Cinnabon

Cinnabon gave away two free samples of their new cupcakes today in honor of tax day (dun dun dun). I love Cinnabon. I love free. And most of all I love cupcakes.

I would say that the classic Cinnamon cupcake was the best. Usually I'm a chocoholic but it was too dry for my taste. I might even peel myself away from the usual friday night baking to go buy a full sized one..or four.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies? Yes, please!

It seems that every blogger/baker has their perfect go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe that they swear by. I haven't been fortunate enough to find the recipe that I can in perfect confidence call "the best" and in an attempt to do so have decided to work my way through as many chocolate chip cookie recipe renditions as possible until I find that "wow" factor.  To me the perfect chocolate chip cookie would be moist, extremely chewy, and of course extra chocolaty. I was inspired while eating chocolate chip cookies baked with a recipe from honeydukes pastries. These cookies were delicious and I was very pleased with how thick and chewy they turned out. In her blog she writes that she came out with 16 cookies. As for me, the recipe only gave me 12 cookies, but they were so big that each cookie was kind of a two in one deal.

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
6 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (6 ounces) chocolate chunks or chips
1 cup chopped nuts *

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat the salt, butter, sugars, and vanilla in a medium bowl until well combined.
3. Beat in the egg and scrape down the bowl using a rubber spatula and beat for a few more seconds.
4. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda. 
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix on low speed until absorbed. 
6. Combine the chocolate chunks and nuts* into a small bowl and stir into the dough.
7. Shape the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and drop them about 3 inches apart onto greased baking sheets (the recipe says ungreased, but I greased them out of habit).
8. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until edges are golden. Let sit for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

 * I chose not to add the nuts.

foodie

I love Mexican food. I would eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I could. Specifically I go crazy for enchiladas. There is nothing like digging into a perfectly fat enchilada that oozes cheese with every bite. I've eaten alot of different enchiladas at numerous restaurants and stands and I have to say that one of the best enchiladas I've ever eaten was at Cinco De Mayo in Culver City. These cheese enchiladas are close to perfection, no joke. And they're open 24 hours a day/7 days a week to satisfy that 2am Mexican food craving. If you are ever in the area I urge you to stop in for a plate. 

 (I finished that last bite after the picture)

Mousse Puffs

I've been wanting to make these cream puffs for a couple of weeks now and got the chance to last night. Instead of filling them with the whipped cream, I filled the choux pastry with extra mousse from the chocolate overdose cake and drizzilied them with chocolate ganache. I also added some powdered sugar for garnish. They were delicious! That mousse from the cake is still to die for and the pastry shells baked with the perfect texture. The recipe only yields 12 and I already want to make more!

Cream Puffs

as seen on Joy of Baking

Choux Pastry 

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon granulated white sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup water

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
2. In a bowl sift together the flour, sugar and salt. Set aside.
3. Place the butter and water in a saucepan over medium heat and let boil. Remove from heat and, with a wooden spoon or spatula, quickly add the flour mixture. Return to heat and stir constantly until the dough comes away from the sides of the pan and forms a thick smooth ball.
4. Transfer the dough to your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, and beat on low speed a minute or two to release the steam from the dough. Once the dough is lukewarm start adding the lightly beaten eggs and continue to mix until you have a smooth thick paste.
5. Spoon or pipe 12 mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, spacing them a couple of inches apart.
6. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes then decrease the heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 35-40 minutes or until the shells turn an amber color and are dry inside when split.
7. Turn the oven off and with the oven door slightly ajar, let the shells cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completley.

To Assemble: Split the pastry shells in half and pipe filling. Place the top half of the pastry shell on the filling and dust with powdered sugar.