Gingerbread: a second fling.

Dark Brown Sugar is not in the best mood. Molasses has ignored her for almost three months. They had a fling back in March, but maybe he just lost interest? Was she too easy? Like, it turned out great, and the result was truly magnificent…so why hadn’t they talked for so long? That’s it, Brown Sugar says to herself. She turns around and looks at Molasses, who’s facing the opposite direction at the other end of the shelf. Oh well. Here’s to being assertive.

BS: Hey, Mollass! It’s been a long time, huh?

Molasses slowly rotates himself to face her.

M: What? Oh, hi. Errm….yeah, I guess it has. How, uh, are you?
BS: Oh, you know, just chillin’ n’ killin’.
M: That’s cool…

Silence.

BS: Ok, look. I don’t get it. That gingerbread we made a few months ago was great. I don’t understand what happened. Did I do something wrong? Why’ve you been ignoring me?
M: …
BS: Hello?! Get out of my face forever or express yourself now. RUDE.
M: Um…look, Sugie, I um…I…I don’t know how to…uh…I… I went with your sister! Light Brown Sugar. I mean, she made me. It was her fault. I…really…I had no choice…
BS: …
M: I’m sorry. What we had was great. I didn’t mean to ruin it.
BS: [shouting hysterically] Well, you can take your cloyingly sweet, cheating self and stick –

Suddenly, the cabinet doors swing open and the daylight streams in. Two hands reach in (FoodGirl’s) and simultaneously scoop up Molasses and Brown Sugar. The two ex-lovers look at each other while still in mid-air.

BS: You totally don’t deserve this, but I guess I’ll have to give you another chance.
M: I promise I won’t ever-
BS: Just shut up.
M: I promise I’ll make it up to you. I’ll make it good.

And oh, was it good.

3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1 cup blackstrap molasses
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 teaspoons ground ginger
1  teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup hot water
1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Butter and lightly flour a cupcake or muffin pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Stir in egg, followed by molasses.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, soda, spices, and salt. Mix until all ingredients are evenly distributed throughout.
4. Add dry to wet ingredients, mixing well. Add hot water and continue to mix until batter is consistent.
5. Pour batter into muffin tins and sprinkle tops with brown sugar.
6. Bake for about twenty minutes, rotating pans halfway through. Test that they’re done by sticking a knife into muffin center. Knife should come out almost clean.

adapted from an old-fashioned gingerbread loaf recipe at allrecipes.

Creamy Dreamy Coconut Cupcakes

You know when you’ve just finished something amazing, and you get that wonderful feeling that begins in your soul and infiltrates every part of your body? That beaming pride, that feeling of accomplishment that swells your pumping heart, as you gaze at your finished product (or, in this case, consume it) and are astounded that it is INDEED a product of your own two hands? Well, fellow food friend, it has just happened to me with these toothsome treats.

The cake-base of the cupcake is so moist, so delicate, and most divinely complimentary to the viscous, buttery coconut cream that lives within and above it. To top it off? A refreshing dollop of cool, freshly whipped cream. Sprinkle some coconut shavings for the finishing touch, and shaBANG. We’ve got ourselves a prize winner [gobbled up in extreme velocity by those I made them for].

Oh, coconut, how delicious you are.

[Makes about 15 cupcakes.]

Cupcakes:
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 can (about 6 ounces) coconut milk (NOT light! Get the one with as much fat as possible!)

Coconut Cream:
1/2 cup coconut cream (not coconut milk!)
1 cup toasted coconut flakes (bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 5-7 minutes)
1 tablespoon sugar

Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Line your cupcake tins with colorful cupcake liners!
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and continue to mix.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, flaked coconut, and baking powder. In small batches, stirring in between, add flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Do the same for the coconut milk.
4. Fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 full. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean. Allow to cool completely (at least 40 minutes).
5. While cupcakes are cooling, mix coconut cream with toasted coconut. Make sure your cream is at room temperature or cold (just not warm or it’ll slide off your cupcake!).
6. Slightly core cupcakes (only take out a little of center!) and fill hole with coconut cream, and smooth a 1/2 inch of cream over top of cupcake.
7. Pipe or spread the whipped cream over coconut cream. Sprinkle with extra toasted coconut flakes. Gobble up!

Adapted from the delisioso Pastry Affair.

Peanut Butter Delight

Oh, peanut butter. You’re so bad. But so good.

Here, we’ve got the sweet-crunch of a sugar cookie, and the smooth-osity of Skippy, and the crunch-melt of Reeses, all in one bite. WHAT a foodgasm.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus more, room temperature, for pan
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
10 regular-sized Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
1/4 cup peanut butter (you choose: creamy or crunchy?)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with buttered parchment paper, leaving a couple inches of overhang on all sides.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour and salt. Add dry to wet, stirring well. Transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth top.
4. Arrange Reeses Cups as you please and gently press down into pan. Between each Reeses, drop dallops of peanut butter.
5. Bake until top is golden brown for about 40 minutes, or until toothpick just comes out clean.
6. Cool for 20 minutes before lifting your peanut buttery goodness (with your parchment paper overhang) onto a serving platter and cutting into bars.

adapted from Yumsugar’s original recipe.

Sunny Snickerdoodles.

Less than two months until I graduate from college. After that, no more academia. No more lectures. No more homework. No more assignments. No more professors. I will be a real adult. [Really?] And what a bizarre thing it is to really become conscious of that. It’s beginning to set in.

But let us not dwell on what is to come, but instead on what is. Today, Evanston is warm, and the trees are in full bloom. The sun is out. The grass has grown in. The birds are chirping. My last Midwest spring. Let us celebrate with Sunny Snickerdoodles.

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
your favorite sprinkles

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add eggs and mix until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
4. Add dry to wet and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Chill in fridge for 15 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, combine 3 tbs sugar and 3 tbs cinnamon in a bowl. Prepare a large parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
6. Roll dough into one-inch balls and ever-so-slightly press down in center with thumb. Roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture, place on cookie sheet, and sprinkle with sprinkles!
7. Place on cookie sheet, at least 1 inch apart, and bake about 8 minutes (depending on how crunchy you like them. I like them chewy, so I baked them for only 8.
8. Allow to cool five minutes before transferring to a rack or serving plate.

Adapted from Food.com’s original recipe.

Ideal Cookie Dough + ?

Without a strong foundation, a building crumbles. Without its roots that reach deep within the earth, a tree falls. Without a stable family life, a child is more likely to fall behind her peers. It’s the same with cookies. Without a sturdy, strong base – the dough that holds everything together – all is lost and the cookie will not only taste bad, but it will look bad.

Here, this is not the case. After many a moment spent in front of my computer, web recipe perusing, and after many another moment staring at the many inhabitants of my baking shelves, an ideal cookie dough has been achieved. I say “an” and not “the” ideal cookie dough because, as we all know, there is always room for improvement. Do you know of one, already? Let us know. In the meantime, try this very simple but abnormally delicious recipe.

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup butter
1 tablespoon. vanilla extract
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3 cups flour
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips
1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, cream sugars and butter. Add vanilla and eggs, mixing thoroughly.
2. In a separate bowl, sift dry ingredients and add, in two or three parts, to the creamed mixture. Mix well. (Use your hands! )

Done with Part 1: the foundation. NOW comes the fun part. Add whatever you like. I divided the dough into two parts and added butterscotch chips to one and large bittersweet chocolate chips to the other. Amend step 1 of Part 2, below, as you see fit.

1. Divide dough into two parts and add butterscotch to one half, kneading to incorporate chips into dough. Do the same with remaining half of dough and chocolate chips.
2. Line two baking pans with parchment paper. Roll dough into smooth, small balls and place at least one inch apart from each other on pan. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until edges are beginning to turn golden brown. Best with vanilla ice cream!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

It’s quite amazing how the simplest of ingredients have the potential manifest into something so magical. This is a rapid recipe for a bodacious dessert that will most definitely delight your eating companions.

Best served with fresh whipped cream (i.e. heavy cream and confectioner’s sugar whipped up with an electric mixer on high). This cake is so chocolaty, so dense, yet extremely smooth. Refreshing yet satiating. Chocolate lovers, prepare yourselves!

4 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus additional for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line the bottom of an 8-inch round baking pan with parchment paper and butter pan (including paper).
2. Set a metal bowl over a saucepan or pot of water (flame on medium), and add butter and chocolate. Slowly stir until melted and smooth.
3. Remove bowl and whisk in sugar. Add eggs. Whisk. Add 1/2 cup cocoa powder. Whisk.
4. Pour batter into pan and place in middle of oven for approximately 25 minutes, or until a thin crust/shell has formed on surface of cake.
5. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a platter.
6. Once cake has cooled, dust with cocoa powder (and/or confectioner’s sugar, if you so desire). Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. (Don’t refrigerate it!)

Adapted from Gourmet Mag’s 1997 original recipe.

Caffeine Surprises

HEADLINE: Espresso-Infused Cookie Dough Goes on Caffeine Rampage and Overtakes Innocent Chocolate Kisses.

Evanston, IL: It was a breezy Saturday afternoon. The sun was out, the sky was a cloudless blue. Students traipsed down the street on their way to the library. Dogs led their owners by their leashes, stopping every so often along the sidewalk. Besides the wind, all was quiet.

Inside one apartment, however, evidence of the crime was glaringly conspicuous. Pans slammed against the cupboards. Every ten minutes, the oven creaked open and shut. The aroma of melted chocolate wafted into every room. Cookie crumbs were scattered about the kitchen surfaces. Chocolate Kiss-less wrappers were strewn about the counter tops. The cookie dough, maniacal from the caffeine of the espresso within it, had gone berserk and devoured every Hershey’s kiss in sight. With every bite, it birthed a new cookie.

And then I devoured the cookies.

•

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon instant espresso (Medaglia D’oro!)
2 tablespoons sour cream (or heavy cream)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
large bag of dark chocolate Hershey’s Kisses

1. Preheat oven to 350º F and line two baking pans with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, cream sugars and butter. Add vanilla extract, espresso powder, sour cream, and egg, and beat until well combined.
3. In a separate bowl, stir flour and soda together. In two or three parts, add dry to wet, stirring constantly.
4. Once batter is complete, refrigerate for about 15 minutes.
5. With a soup spoon, drops small scoops of dough, about two inches apart, onto prepared baking pan. Lightly press a dark chocolate Hershey’s Kiss into the center of each scoop (see above). Cover with another small scoop of dough and seal each kiss into center of cookie. Make sure no part of the Kiss is visible in each cookie ball!
6. Sprinkle each cookie with a little espresso powder and place on upper middle rack in oven.
7. Bake for about 10 minutes, until edges are beginning to turn golden brown. Cool for about ten minutes, and enjoy!

Best eaten while hot…while the chocolate center will flow out, onto your tongue, with eeeevery bite.

Vanilla Yogurt Cake

As the all-too clichéd phrase goes, April showers bring May flowers. Despite trees birthing tiny buds on their branches, and despite bright green shoots that are slowly inching their way through the winter-sewn dirt along the sidewalks, it doesn’t feel like spring yet. It’s cold. And gloomy. The sky is grey and cloudless. The air is frigid and moist, and the rain is pounding against the windows. We’re in need of warmth. Of comfort food-warmth. Steaming, sweet, pound cake comfort-food warmth, to be exact.

A toasted slice of this yogurt vanilla cake, with a large pat of butter, and a warm cup of coffee, has transformed the day.

2 cups flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup thick plain yogurt (whole milk or Greek)
7 ounces unsalted butter
4 eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1. 1/2 teaspoon salt
2. Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
3. Beat sugar and butter until fully incorporated. Add lemon zest, yogurt, and vanilla extract, continuing to beat.
4. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
5. In three parts, add dry mixture to wet, storing until smooth.
6. Whisk egg whites until stiff. When peaks have formed, fold into mixture.
7. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Sprinkle with sugar or sprinkles of your choice.
8. Bake for 50 minutes, or until knife comes out of center almost clean.

Adapted from Italian Desserts!

Pumpkin Pancakes

HK and I have embarked on a baking journey. 11am. Friday morning. No class for the rest of the day. You know what that means? Two words: sugar. coma.

Part 1: foodtastically fluffy pumpkin pancakes.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup milk
6 tablespoons pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg

1. Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt, nutmeg and cloves in a medium bowl.
2. Whisk together the milk, pumpkin, butter and egg in a separate bowl. Fold this mixture into the dry ingredients.
3. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.
4. Pour 1/4 cup batter for each pancake and cook approximately 3 minutes per side.

[inspired by and transformed from Jen’s amazing recipe]