Date Night

My Facebook (and real life) fiancé, Ashley, came over this afternoon for a date night! She brought the dinner, DELISH pizza, and I made the dessert! We are the cutest couple on the planet so I made her the most romantic dessert I could think of, chocolate mousse!

The recipe I found was really easy to adapt, which is exactly what I did. One of the wineries by my house, Linganore Winery, makes the most incredible raspberry wine. So instead of using water in my mousse, I replaced it with wine! Chocolate + raspberries = yum. Yum + wine = fantastic! The recipe was fantastic and incredibly easy. I think I over whipped it, but it was still delicious. 

The recipe is from Diamonds for Dessert, which is definitely a blog worth checking out. I pretty much want to make everything that she posts. Again, I over whipped, so it came out a little bit more solid than it should have... still tasty!

Chocolate Mousse

9.35 oz (265 g) bittersweet (70% cocoa) chocolate 
1 cup (240 ml) water
4 tbsp sugar, optional

cold water & ice

Place ice and cold water in one of your mixing bowls. Then place the other mixing bowl on top to chill. Chop up the chocolate and place it in a medium sized saucepan. Add the 1 cup water (and sugar if you decide to use it) and place the pan over medium heat, whisking the mixture occasionally.

When the chocolate is all melted, take the pan off the heat and pour the mixture into the mixing bowl that's been chilling (the one on top of the ice and water). Take your whisk and start mixing until the mixture starts thickening and resembling softly whipped cream.

Continue whisking until it thickens more and can be scooped up by the whisk (video below showing perfect texture). At this stage it is very easy to over-whip the mousse, so watch the texture carefully or else it will end up grainy.

Divide mixture into serving containers, garnish (if desired with whipped cream and chocolate hearts), and serve.

And voilà! 

Super Epic Smoothie

My yummy tropical-ish smoothie that isn't as weird as the ones I normally drink on a daily basis.

1 kiwi

7 small straberries

about 17 blueberries

1 mango Chobani yogurt

1 banana

about a cup of orange juice

about a cup of Naked Juice's Green Monster

It makes about two smoothies, and I drank them both. It was delicious. :)

Cookies and Cupcakes!

I apologize for the lateness of this blog. Here it is, Monday and I baked these on Friday. I decided that my whatever cupcakes I was going to make on Friday needed to have something inside them, it was either going to be chocolate, fruit, cream, or candy filling. So as I'm researching (yes, it is technical research) recipes, I stumble upon this beauty from Confection Ink. It has an Oreo baked into the bottom! What better combination?!

I felt like such a child baking these, and couldn't help but eat most of the cookies as I baked them. :)

Over all, they came out pretty awesome. A few changes I would have made would have been putting a thin layer of batter in the cupcake liner before adding the Oreo. It would have made the cookie softer and a little bit less intrusive than it was sitting rock hard on the bottom. Still, I liked taking the cookie off and eating it first anyway :) The other change I would make is in the icing... I think just a simple vanilla buttercream recipe with crushed Oreos in it would have been a little bit easier and taste better. The Crisco in the icing threw me off a bit. Emma Jean helped me make the icing, and she was not a fan of it either. Either substitute butter for Crisco or make a different icing.

The cupcakes themselves were AMAZING!! So rich and moist. A total win. I am saving this recipe for the chocolate cake recipe. YUM.

So, without further ado, Oreo Cupcakes!

CUPCAKES
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
3/4 cups cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package instant chocolate pudding
3 eggs
1cup sour cream
1/2 cup oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water (or strong brewed coffee – I would have used this but my coffee maker isn’t working!)
24 Oreo cookies, with one side twisted off and reserved for the frosting.
Preheat oven to 350. Line cupcake pans.
In a large bowl whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pudding mix. Add oil, eggs sour cream and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until well blended (about 2 minutes) Continue beating while slowly adding in the boiling water. Beat about 30 seconds after adding the water.
Put the Oreo with one side twisted off cream side up and fill cupcake liners about 1/2 way. Bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean. Let them cool completely on cooling rack.

ICING
1 cup milk
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup butter -at room temperature
1/2 cup Crisco
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
24 Oreo cookie tops -crushed
 Place milk in a small saucepan.  Sprinkle the flour over the milk, 1/4 cup at a time and whisk until smooth.  Place the saucepan over low heat and stir constantly until the mixture becomes thick pulls into a ball.  Remove from the heat and put ball into a bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the mixture and tuck around it to make sure there is no exposed parts.  Refrigerate until cooled to room temperature or colder (at least 30 minutes). In a large bowl, cream the butter and Crisco.  Add the cooled flour milk mixture and beat until well blended.  Mix in the vanilla.  With the mixer on medium speed, gradually add the sugar and then continue to beat the icing a
fter adding the sugar for an additional 10-12 minutes until noticeably whiter and creamy. Add Oreo crumbs and mix until just blended.

York Peppermint Brownies

Seriously, who doesn't like York peppermint patties?! People who don't have to be absolutely insane. So making brownies with a peppermint frosting and chocolate topping can't be anything short of heavenly.

I took the Baker's chocolate recipe for ooey, gooey brownies and kind of tweaked it a little bit because I'm lazy and did not have any unsweetened chocolate at the house. So I just used a 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips instead. I think either way would give delicious results.

Also, it's really difficult to resist the urge to eat all of the peppermint frosting. Just a friendly warning.

So, without further ado, my first adapted recipe!

York Peppermint Brownies


Brownies


3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour


Frosting


2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp peppermint extract


Topping


3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
3 Tbsp butter


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x13 pan. Microwave chocolate and butter until the chocolate melts, stir occasionally to keep chocolate from burning. Once mixture is completely melted stir in the rest of the ingredients. Mix until blended. Pour batter in pan and bake 20-30 minutes.


Once the brownies are completely cool to the touch you can ice them. Melt butter in bowl and add milk and peppermint extract. Slowly add powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. Spread over the cool brownies and wait about ten minutes for the frosting to harden. It shouldn't be sticky if you touch it.


Melt the rest of the butter and chocolate chips in a small bowl and mix until smooth. Pour over the frosted layer and smooth over with a spatula. 


Refrigerate until until hard, use a knife run under HOT water to cut when ready to serve. ENJOY! :)

This is how you start your day right! Or at least this is how I start my day right... 

I enjoyed this lovely smoothie which contents include raspberry Chobani Greek yogurt, LOTS of spinach, strawberries, blueberries, a banana, and some orange juice while sitting out on the deck this morning. Most of its ingredients are proven to increase your metabolism, which is a great kick start for your body.

To counteract the healthy that was my delicious smoothie, I ate a cute little concoction that I made last night. Bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit muffins! So bad, but oh, so good!

I failed pretty epically about making them look even remotely like muffins. But that's what happens when you don't follow the recipe and assume what the next steps of the recipe call for. The recipe (another Pintrest find) was from Cooking with My Kid. It was super fun and even though mine didn't come out looking pretty, they are still yummy! I used turkey bacon instead of regular bacon, and I super regretted it. Regular bacon would have given it an added salty taste and probably crumbled better. Anywho, here's the recipe!

Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit Muffins

Prep Time: 5 mins  Cooking Time: 20 to 25 mins

Ingredients:
1 package biscuit dough (10 biscuits)
3 eggs
3 tablespoons milk
1/3 cup of shredded cheddar
4 slices bacon (we used turkey bacon and veggie bacon)
salt and pepper

Cook the bacon in a pan or in the oven until it’s almost done. Chop into small bits and set aside. (Note: if using veggie bacon do not cook it ahead – simply defrosted it and chopped it up.) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Whisk together eggs and milk, a pinch of salt and some cracked pepper to taste and set aside. Meanwhile, roll out each biscuit until it’s slightly bigger than the circumference of your muffin tin. Grease the muffin tin with cooking spray and push one biscuit into each muffin cup being sure to push it all the way down and to the sides. Leave the ridge hanging over the edge. Divide the cheese evenly in each of the biscuit cups and then pour egg in, filling each cup only 1/2 way. They will look empty but resist the urge to top them off. You must account for the biscuits puffing up – otherwise you’ll have a mess on your hands. Sprinkle bacon atop of the egg and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until biscuits are golden and eggs are set. Use a butter knife to loosen each muffin and serve warm.

Note: if your egg does overflow, just let it bake the rest of the way and then remove the extra egg when you are loosening the muffins. They’ll still taste terrific.

Green Apple, Bacon, Gouda and Havarti Grilled Cheese

Ok, so I know this is a baking blog, but through baking I've also been trying to cook more. And lets be honest here, no one can survive on cupcakes alone, as much as we would all like to. So, thanks to a fabulous recipe I found on Pintrest from BeckyBakes.net I made some grown up grilled cheese tonight!

It was the perfect blend of sweet and savory, not to mention perfect at filling my belly! Even my brother thought it was filling enough, and my goodness, that boy can eat!

But most importantly it tasted amazing! Off to a great start in the cooking department, even if it was grilled cheese. So here's the recipe if you're interested! Thanks again to BeckyBakes! (her pictures are fantastic!)

Green Apple, Bacon, Gouda and Havarti Grilled Cheese

• 8 slices raisin bread
• 4 oz (1/2 cup) butter, softened
• 1/4 cup honey mustard
• 8 slices Havarti cheese
• 4 slices Gouda cheese
• 8 slices applewood-smoked bacon, fried crisp
• 1 large Granny Smith, sliced thinly

Spread each slice of bread on one side with soft butter. Turn over and generously spread with 1 tablespoon of honey mustard. Place a slice of Havarti on each bread slice. Top half the slices with 2 slices of bacon. Shingle 6 apple slices over the bacon. Top the remaining 4 slices with a slice of Gouda. Assemble the sandwiches, pressing together and leaving the buttered side of the bread exposed.

In a skillet or grill pan, grill over medium heat until golden brown on each side. Cut sandwiches in half or quarters diagonally. Serve immediately.

Serves 4. Easily adaptable to how ever many you’d like to make!

Welcome!

I have always been a terrible cook, a real horror in the kitchen. But that is all coming to an end now, I have finally discovered baking. I don't know how and I don't know why, but I have completely fallen in love with my kitchen. I can't stop searching for new recipes or thinking about food. I swear, I have fallen in love, and I have fallen hard. My love affair began around the end of September, or the beginning of October. It started at a slow pace, just baking every few weeks, and is now at a full fledged addiction of several times a week. Mini caramel apple cupcakes were my first recipe, and I never want to have a last.

I'm going to try to post my own pictures, and of course will cite the sites (haha) that I get my recipes from. My writing skills are pretty weak, so bear with me, because the baking adventures are completely worth it!

Welcome aboard, I'm glad you're on for the ride!