Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Energy Bites

Recipe:

2 cups oats (I prefer old fashioned)
1 cup unsweetened coconut, toasted
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate)
1/2 cup honey (you can use a little more but I wanted mine a bit less sweet)
1 tsp. vanilla (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Cover and let chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so. Roll mixture into cookie dough sized balls. I like to place the balls on a cookie sheet and pop them in the freezer until hardened. Then I place them in a ziploc or airtight containers and store them in my freezer or refrigerator and eat one or two when I have a sugar craving!

Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Almond Clusters

Nuts. Chocolate. Sea Salt. Enough said, right? I want them all.

I'm usually an "eat lots of dessert because life is short" kinda girl. But, I have been participating in a family fitness challenge so I have been cutting back in the dessert department. This is a short term thing, I can assure you! ;)

But, in the mean time I have found that these dark chocolate nut clusters are perfectly satisfying and a much healthier option than other treats. Plus the added sea salt just makes these even tastier.

I like to keep these in an airtight container in my freezer and when I have a strong urge for something sweet I can just munch on one of these clusters. They are seriously so delicious and SO EASY. Which is a must when you are a busy human.

Side note: Next time I will make them a bit smaller. I like my clusters a bit more bite-sized.

Recipe:

2 cups raw almonds
10 oz. dark chocolate
Sea salt

Preheat oven to 300ºF.

Place almonds on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 15-20 minutes.

Place chocolate in a metal bowl over a bain marie. * Stir the chocolate until it is completely melted. Remove bowl from bain marie and add the toasted almonds. Stir until all almonds are coated.

Using a spoon or portion scoop, scoop the almonds in clusters on a silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle a bit of sea salt on the tops and pop the tray into the refrigerator for 10 or 15 minutes until they are cooled solid. Remove the clusters and place in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator or freezer.


*Bain marie is another name for a double boiler. You place the metal bowl over a pot that has about an inch of simmering water. The metal bowl should be nestled in the pot but should NOT be touching the water at all. The steam between the simmering water and the metal bowl is the goal!

Garden and Sky Cake

I made a birthday cake for a girl who really, really likes the tv show Cake Boss. She was very excited to email me her pinterest board with all the crazy, colorful, fondant covered cakes that she loved. And, she was also adamant about the cake having two tiers even though it was only going to be served to a family of 4. haha! So, I made her this mini-cake with a 6 inch bottom tier and a 4 inch top tier. The bottom tier was chocolate cake with salted caramel buttercream and the top tier was chocolate cake with raspberry buttercream. 

I made the butterfly, lady bugs and flowers out of gumpaste. The rest of the decor is made out of fondant. I brushed the flowers with edible luster dust to give them a little shimmer. 

Instructables Robot Birthday Cake

I was asked to make a birthday cake for a little girl who turned 3. She is basically the coolest girl in the world. She chose "robots" for the theme and black and yellow for her party color scheme. Apparently she has an imaginary robot friend. SO. AWESOME!

They asked me to make an "Instructables Robot" cake... which I had never heard of before. So, below is an image of the instructables robot. I used it as a guide in making the gumpaste robot. I really wanted a kid-friendly cake. So, I covered the cake in gumpaste gears that you could actually spin! It was a tricky process since a lot of the gears broke as I was testing them. But, after some trial and error they turned out really cool and really spin-ny! :) 

I love this picture because it captures one of the gears in action after a good spin!

Homemade Marshmallows

If you have never had a homemade marshmallow, then you are missing out! Seriously. They are little pillows of sugary delight that don't even closely compare to their store bought sisters. In a good way. 

Some people might feel intimidated to try making them because they seem a bit technical. But, honestly, as long as you have a candy thermometer lying around and you don't mind making a little powdered sugar mess in your kitchen, then you will be just fine! Scouts honor. ;)

Variations:

You can cut them with cookie cutters to make cute shapes if you don't like the classic square. You can also add flavors (just don't over do it because the flavor will get stronger as the marshmallows set) like orange extract, almond, coconut, etc. Then you could dip them in dark chocolate (or a lower class chocolate if you can't handle the good stuff) and voila! The most scrumptious and adorable little sweets have just been created in your own kitchen. You will be so impressed with yourself. 

Homemade toasted marshmallows on chocolate and homemade graham crackers made an awesome s'more!

You can find my homemade honey graham cracker recipe HERE.

Recipe:

1/2 cup (1 1/2 ounces) cornstarch
1/2 cup (1 3/4 ounces) powdered sugar, sifted
3 T. plus 2 t. unflavored gelatin powder (4 packets)
1/3 cup water, plus 1/2 cup
2 cups (14 ounces) granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 vanilla bean (optional)
3 large egg whites
1 T. vanilla extract
pinch of cream of tartar
1/4 t. salt


Lightly coat a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and powdered sugar. Dust the bottom and sides of greased 9 x 13 with mixture and tap the excess back into the bowl. Save the bowl of extra cornstarch and powdered sugar for later use.

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the surface of the 1/3 cup water. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine the granulated sugar, corn syrup and 1/2 cup water. If using a vanilla bean, cut the vanilla bean open and scrape the seeds into the mixture. Cook the mixture over medium-low heat until it reaches 246º F (use a candy thermometer clipped to the pan).

While the mixture cooks, combine egg whites, vanilla extract, cream of tartar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Once the syrup reaches 230º F, turn the mixer on low speed. When the mixture reaches 246º F immediately turn off the heat and whisk the softened gelatin into the hot syrup until there are no lumps.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the hot syrup and gelatin mixture into the egg white mixture in a thin stream. When all of the syrup has been added, raise the speed to high. Continue to whisk until the mixture has cooled down to room temperature (you can tell by feeling the sides of the bowl) and stiff peaks have formed.

Scrape the mixture into the prepared 9 x 13 pan and smooth the top as best you can. Dust the top with some of the cornstarch and powdered sugar mixture. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and set aside. The marshmallows need to set for at least 6 hours before you cut them (you can also leave them over night if you want).

Once they have set, use a knife or an offset spatula to gently pull the edge of the marshmallow away from the pan. Invert the slab of marshmallow onto a cutting board dusted with the powdered sugar and cornstarch. Using a lightly oiled knife, cut the marshmallows into desired shapes. Dust the marshmallows in the bowl of the extra cornstarch and powdered sugar so the edges aren't sticky anymore. Store in an airtight container or bag.

Old Fashioned Sour Cream Cake Doughnuts

Doughnuts will always remind me of my sweet, hard-working Grandpa. He owned a small doughnut shop in Dallas, Texas where my mom remembers falling asleep on bags of flour after a long day at school. I will never forget the amazing smell of sweet glazes and freshly fried doughnuts upon entering his shop and getting to wake up in the middle of the night to help him start doughnuts for the early morning deliveries. I don't think I have ever eaten a doughnut without the most wonderful memories of him coming to mind.

My favorite doughnuts, if you absolutely MADE me choose... :), are cake doughnuts. I love any type of cake doughnut, really. But, old-fashioned are definitely near the top of the list.

These old-fashioned sour cream cake doughnuts are crispy on the outside, tender on the inside and incredibly moist! I absolutely love them! This recipe will forever more be a favorite of mine.

Recipe:

Doughnuts:

2 1/4 cup (255 grams) cake flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 cup sugar
2 T. butter, softened
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sour cream
canola oil

Glaze:

3 1/2 cups (350 grams) powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. corn syrup
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup hot water

In a small bowl whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment, mix the sugar and butter. Add the yolks, one at a time, scraping the bowl often. In about 3 increments, add the sour cream and flour mixture, alternately, ending with the flour. Scrape the bowl between each increment. When the dough comes together, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Pour about 2 inches of canola oil into a dutch oven or a really heavy pot (cast iron works great). Heat over medium heat. Use a candy thermometer to get the oil to about 325ºF.

Lightly flour your counter. Roll dough onto counter to about a 1/2 inch thickness, picking up often to make sure it does not stick to the counter. Use your doughnut cutter or a large round cutter and a small round cutter to cut dough into doughnut shapes.

Place a few doughnuts in the oil and cook for 2 minutes on each side (about 4-5 minutes total) or until golden brown. Use a slotted spoon to remove from oil and place on a brown paper bag to cool. Cook the rest of the doughnuts.

To make the glaze, mix all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Fully immerse each doughnut in the glaze and place the doughnuts on a cooling rack. Allow the doughnuts to sit for about 20 minutes after glazing so that the glaze has time to set.

Eat them all! :) Or, you can place the leftovers in an airtight container for a few days.

Homemade Blueberry Basil Poptarts

I'm finally in the mood for blogging about my baked goods again! It turns out, having a baby kinda slows you down a little bit. :) My little man is 2 months old now. And, although having him hasn't slowed my baking down, it just made me lose some steam in the blogging department.

A few weeks ago my husband and I loaded up our 2 boys and a couple of bags into the car and headed to Niagara Falls for a little weekend getaway. It was absolutely gorgeous in the winter! All the falls were mostly frozen and heaps of ice lay beneath them. It was truly magical.

But, anyway... road trips mean junk food in my family. So, we grabbed a bunch of horrible, processed snacks for the trip, including a box of poptarts. I hadn't had poptarts in years! And, having a poptart for the first time in forever was really nostalgic. Since that trip I have been craving them. So, I figured I'd better come up with a delicious homemade version to make the guilty pleasure a little less guilty and a little more pleasurable.

So, here you go: A poptart recipe that is not only WAY more delicious than the store bought, but also easy to make and you can vary it in a number of ways.

They are buttery, flaky and very tender with a delicious filling and topped with icing and sprinkles. Enjoy!

Homemade Poptart Recipe:   Yield: 9 poptarts

Pastry:
2 cups flour
1 T. sugar
1 t. salt
1 cup cold, unsalted butter, cut into large chunks
2 eggs
2 T. milk

Filling:
1/2 cup jam or preserves of your choice- I used a homemade blueberry basil jam

Frosting:
1 T. butter, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
juice from 1/2 lemon
2 drops of food coloring

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter chunks. Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until very crumbly and pea-sized butter chunks remain. In separate bowl, whisk together 1 egg and the milk. Pour into the dry mixture and mix together. Use your hands to gently knead the dough together until all the flour is incorporated.

Split the dough in two. With each half, roll out onto a lightly floured surface. Lift dough off counter after every few rolls to make sure the dough doesn't stick to the counter. Roll each into a 9 in. x 12 in. rectangle shape (or as close as you can get). Cut each rectangle into thirds horizontally and vertically (9 pieces per rectangle, 18 pieces total).

Whisk an egg in a small bowl and use a pastry brush to brush egg onto half of all the pieces. On the other pieces, spoon about a spoonful of jam on the center of the piece. Place the egg washed piece on top (egg wash facing down) and use a fork to seal the edges all the way around.

Place the poptarts on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake at 350º F for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on pans for a few minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

For frosting, comine all ingredients. Add a few drops of food coloring and stir until completely colored. Spread a spoonful of icing on top of each poptart.



*adapted from Lark + Linen recipe

Sailing Around the World Cake

In my advanced cake decorating class we had to complete a project involving cake carving. We had to stick to the basic shapes..... no face sculptures or anything crazy like that... haha! I decided to carve my 6" cakes into a sphere shape and my 9" cakes into an hourglass shape. I kept the hourglass shape pretty subtle but after covering the cake in fondant it was almost un-noticeable. I guess that's why I'm in school, right? To figure these things out! I am learning new things every day. :)

We didn't have to decorate the cakes after covering them in fondant. But, I am always anxious to try something ambitious and so I designed a "Sailing Around the World" cake which turned out decent enough. The inspiration for this cake came because my husband and I have a dream to sail around the world some day. Of course our sailboat will need a decent oven or I will refuse to go... ;)

I made the sphere into a globe. I used a marbled blue fondant for the water and marbled green for the continents. Marbling the fondant was actually pretty easy! With a very short amount of time to complete the project, I ended up in a really big hurry to decorate the cake. So, instead of cutting accurate continents I just made random shapes and blobs that are similar enough to earth. haha!

The hourglass base was covered in a pale blue fondant. Then I cut wavy strips of white, light blue and dark blue fondant to layer and look like waves. Finally, I embellished a bit with the boats and the red markers on the globe to tie in the red sails.

I had so many more ideas that didn't end up on the cake because of a lack of time. But, I guess sometimes simplicity is best. Maybe someday someone will want me to make a similar cake and I can go to town then! :) Anyone? Anyone?

The finished project

NOT an accurate depiction of the interior of the Earth. haha! Chocolate and vanilla cake layers with chocolate swiss meringue buttercream filling. My 2 year old couldn't wait to cut it open! 

Red Velvet Brownies

With Valentine's Day right around the corner I thought these lovely (and absolutely delicious) red velvet brownies seemed appropriate. And, boy, were they good! The recipe is originally from that skinny chick can bake but I did a lot of adapting and used my own frosting recipe because I think cream cheese frosting is a must with red velvet. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! 

Recipe:

Brownies:

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/4 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 tablespoons red food coloring

Frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line an 8x8 pan with foil and grease the foil.

In small bowl mix cocoa powder, red food coloring and 1 tsp. vanilla to form a paste. Set aside.

In large bowl, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and remaining 1 tsp. vanilla making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl often. Then beat in the red cocoa paste. Add the flour and salt and mix just until barely combined. 

Spread batter into greased pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool before frosting.

For frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Add the powdered sugar in 1/2 cup increments, scraping the sides of the bowl between additions. When frosting is completely smooth and tastes the way you like, frost the cooled brownies.