Double-Take Chocolate Chip Cookies

With more time in the kitchen lately I have been eager to make more than my husband can consume in a decent amount of time. I made these on a whim one week day night, P wanted a dessert, I started baking! However, I think after experience from this recipe, I will start halving my batches. Either that or bringing some to my neighbors...By the second or third night of him indulging in something I am ready to make something new! This batch lasted him more than a week and that's with him having "one-and-a-half servings" on some nights! P seems to think if he does something extra special, or he gets his dessert later than usual he deserves "one-and-a-half servings". It's kind of a joke around our house, I automatically retaliate with a small morsel on his dessert plate! :) I guess that's where he got the idea of the "pose" for this picture. You can't hide a half eaten cookie from me! He makes me smile...

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

recipe adapted from fulltreasureofhappiness

Ingredients:

1 stick butter

3/4 C sugar

1/4 t salt

1 t vanilla

1/3 C cocoa powder (unsweetened)

1 large egg

1 C all-purpose flour (I used 1/2 whole-wheat pastry flour)

1/2 t baking soda

1 C bittersweet chocolate chips (don't tell P but I used vegan carob chips instead! thats all I had!)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, cocoa powder, and eggs together until combined.

2.Add the flour, baking soda, and chocolate chips and mix well.

3.Roll out the cookie dough into balls and flatten on an oiled cookie sheet. Leave enough space for the cookies to spread, because they get rather large. I made 18 largish cookies.

4.Bake them for 10 minutes and remove from the oven. They will look like they aren’t done! Let them sit on the cookie sheet for at least five minutes before touching them–that’s where they will finish baking.

Chocolate Pie, nuff said.

Peek-a-boo!

And I quote, "This is the best pie I have ever had." - P
YUP! and that was the pie I made! There have been a package of Newman's Own "oreo's" in our pantry for a while. They were once hidden as to keep a sneaky fellow out, however during the move they somehow got reveled. It didn't take him long before the package was open and I was after him! Those cookies were suppose to be for a special dessert because it isn't just any day I'll splurge on organic oreos! I hadn't come up with my plan for them until forces from the spousal unit made me. With an open package, I had to act quick if I was going to get a chance to make anything before those sneaky hands got to them while I was at work. There's nothing I can do while I'm at work...
Thankfully I came up with something quick and the results were as P said "sooooo worth it!"

Ever since P's grandma showed up to Thanksgiving dinner with a chocolate pie last year, he has been commenting on how I need to make a pie like that. Chocolate pie always just seems booooring to me so after accidentally loosing the recipe Grawm gave me for her chocolate pie, I had given up on that endeavor. Until I decided to find and tweak one to call my own! I had never made a meringue topping before so I decided to go with that, and with the "oreo's" I made a crust.

Chocolate Pie (the way my husband likes it!)
recipe adapted from CookingLight

Ingredients:
1 (9- ounce) package Newman's Own Creme Filled Chocolate Cookies
4 tablespoons butter
2 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
3 tablespoons cocoa
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Put cookies in food processor and make a fine crumb texture. Pour 4 Tbs. butter over crumbs and mix more. Line a 9 inch pie pan with crust mixture.
2. Bake piecrust at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
3. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Add 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form and sugar dissolves. Set aside.
4. Whisk remaining 1 cup sugar and next 3 ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk together egg yolks and milk in a separate bowl.
5. Melt butter in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar mixture to melted butter, whisking until blended. Gradually whisk in milk mixture. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thickened and bubbly.
6. Remove from heat. Add chocolate morsels and vanilla, stirring until chocolate is melted. Stir in pecans. Cover and keep warm.
7. Pour hot filling into piecrust. Spread meringue over hot filling, sealing to edge of pastry.
Bake at 375° for 12 minutes or until golden. Cool completely on a wire rack. Store in refrigerator.

While P was taking pictures of the pie, he said "He's just so photogenic!" I think someone fell in love!

Homemade Banana Pudding with "Milla Wafers"

It's been way too long since I have posted an actual food/recipe post. I have still been cooking, don't get me wrong. However, the drive to post about the results of my kitchen play-time has just not been a priority. P and I had a few time-consuming months and the first thing that went was my food blogging. Now that it looks like things are going to settle a bit I was excited to sit down and actually have time to post.
The weekend we got back from Greece was a tad hectic. Since I was so diligent in emptying our perishable food supply as to have nothing go to waste while we were gone, I came home to an urgent need of grocery shopping. I bought a few things but really to keep with our budget, I wasn't able to stock up as much as I really wanted to. I had to rely on the cheaper side of produce, and the first thing I think of when looking for cheap produce is BANANAS! Not that I don't like bananas, I actually absolutely love them whipped into banana ice cream (if you haven't tried that, shame on you!). So for P's needed nightly dessert I decided to come up with something banana flavored, something homemade of course, and after searching just a few minutes I knew what I wanted to make- banana pudding! I don't think I have ever actually made banana pudding. It always intrigues me to come up with an "old-fashion" dessert and make everything in it out of scratch. I proceeded to make my own Milla wafers (I used an "m" in it because they are a "mock" Nilla Wafer- or even "mysti's" Nilla Wafers!) and the vanilla pudding was actually more simple than I thought it would be. Thankfully all of the ingredients in both the cookies and pudding were already in my kitchen. It was meant to be!

Banana Pudding
adapted from a recipe by TheWoodenSpoon

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Tbsp. Flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups milk (organic of course!)
2 eggs
1 Tbs. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
Milla Wafers* (see recipe below)
1 Banana (or more if you like it extra bananay)
Directions:
1. In a saucepan, mix flour & sugar then add eggs and mix well. Start your burner and slowly add milk; a little at a time stirring constantly. Continue stirring until it has thickened. After thick, add butter and vanilla.
2. While the pudding is thickening (make sure you keep an eye on it), line the bottom of a medium sized bowl with cookies on bottom then bananas on top, then line the sides of the bowl with the cookies/bananas to make it look pretty from the side!
3. When the pudding has thickened, poor into your prepared bowl and place in the fridge. It will set up within a few hours and should be ready to dive into!
4. If you save some Milla Wafers (if you make the whole batch below you will have plenty) left over, crumble some on top right before serving.

*Milla Wafers
recipe adapted from SeriousEats

Ingredients:
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar (210g)
1 large egg white
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk
1 1/3 cups AP flour (160g)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:
1. With an electric mixer, cream butter, salt, and sugar until light.
2. Beat in egg white until well incorporated, scraping sides and bottom of mixing bowl to insure that all white has been incorporated.
3. Beat in extract and milk until well incorporated.
4. Whisk together flour and baking powder and add to butter mixture. Mix just to incorporate, scraping down sides and bottom of mixing bowl to insure that all flour has been incorporated.
5. Fit a piping bag with a large, plain pastry tip. Fill bag with about 1/3 of the batter. Holding the filled bag perpendicular to a parchment-lined baking sheet, pipe batter into 1 inch diameter-sized mounds, about 1 inch apart. (The cookies should cover 2 to 3 standard baking sheets. Batter will hold for a while after it is piped, so trays can be baked one or two at a time, as your oven allows.)
6. Bake at 350°F for about 13-15 minutes, until cookies are lightly browned, rotating trays every 5 minutes or so for even coloring. Cool completely before storing. Cookies will keep in an airtight container for at least a week.

Not that I am an expert of Banana Pudding but I would have to say this homemade version far exceeds any I have ever tried! P also enjoyed eating the left over Milla Wafers during the week for a sweet snack! :)

Oreo Cheesecake Squares

How about one more post for 2010?

To celebrate P finishing his first semester I wanted to make him a special treat (or all of his treats special?!). Since he loves oreo's and I had cream cheese that needed to be used (which is what drives most of my cooking adventures) I made Oreo Cheesecake Squares!
These went great with our Christmas date night.
Every year P and I have a special date night for our Christmas present to each other. This year we did something different and I think both of us enjoyed it so much that we may make a tradition of it! We actually went out and bought a good/different meat and the rule was that we were not going to be overly concerned about how much it cost (even though we both knew we had to choose something within reason!) and I wasn't going to use coupons to get it! haha We also both chose the side we wanted and a salad! I made the sides and P grilled. It was absolutely divine!!! I chose Mahi-Mahi with butternut squash and P had a Rib-Eye and mac & cheese. The greatest part was that we had enough to make it into two meals :). There are times it is nice to go out for a dinner and be served but really, to be completely satisfied, I would prefer to make it myself and get what I really want...call me crazy.
Back to the cheesecake though, the recipe turned out great and it was rather simple. It made me smile when p came in to gander at what was being cooked and when he was told...he stayed to watch! Here is the recipe if you want to give it a go-

Oreo Cheesecake Squares
Ingredients:
For the crust:
23 Oreo cookies (although I used an organic kind similar to oreos)
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

For the cheesecake:
12 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tbsp. sugar
6 tbsp. sour cream, at room temperature (I used yogurt here bc that's what I had)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
12 Oreo cookies (see above)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line an 8 X 8 baking dish with foil.
2. To make the crust, place the cookies in the bowl of a food processor. Process, pulsing, until the cookies are finely ground.
3. Add in the m elted butter and pulse until the cookie crumbs are moistened.
4. Transfer the moisture to the prepared baking pan and press the crumbs into an even layer over the bottom of the pan.
5. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then set aside and prepare the filing while maintaining the oven temp.

To make the filling;
1. Add the cream cheese to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until light and smooth, about 2 minutes.
2. mix in the sugar until well combined. Blend in the sour cream, vanilla, and salt. Beat in the egg and egg yolk on medium speed until incorporated, scraping down the bowl as needed. Stir in the chopped cookies with a rubber spatula.
3. Pour the cheesecake batter over the crust, smoothing top with a spatula. Bake for about 40 minutes until the cheesecake is set around the edges but slightly wobbly in the center.
4. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool about 1 hour to room temp.
5. Cover the pan and refrigerate until well chilled, about 3 hours.
6. When ready to serve, lift cheesecake out by the foil and cut into squares. Make sure you store this in the fridge IF there is leftovers! :)

Recipe by: Annies-Eats.com

Fluffy Homemade "Mallows"

Merry Christmas Eve!!

I can't believe it has taken me so long to make these. It's always the recipes that you make a mental note more than a million times to make, that turn out so darn good! Finally, after probably over a year, I got around to making homemade marshmallows. Whatever possessed me to, I will never know, but the other morning I was going through my usual routine of gandering at recipes and found one for cane syrup.

Okay, now that I'm recollecting, the reason that I have been so hesitant to make marshmallows is that EVERY recipe I come across for them involves corn syrup. As I pass the bottles of corn syrup at the grocery store the thought crosses my mind to get it, but my body won't follow through and actually pick the stink'n bottle up. Something about corn syrup (high fructose or not) repulses me.

Well, back the story, I found a recipe for cane syrup which can be used as a replacement of corn syrup! A light bulb went on and I quickly found a recipe for marshmallows and got to work, (at 5am mind you) by 9am I had marshmallows! The homemade cane syrup wasn't the easiest thing to make, especially since my (you would think) handy dandy Pampered Chef candy thermometer was failing on me...I still think it was by the grace of God that the second batch actually turned out enough to make the marshmallows. And when the marshmallows turned out, I was SUPER excited!! They are just like what I said in the title "fluffy" and "mallowy". I am most certain that a small rodent would mistake it for a nice comfy pillow if he were to come across them! haha

If your adventurous...here is the recipe for the mallows...and if your REAL adventurous follow this link for the cane syrup recipe! Merry Christmas!!

Fluffy Homemade Mallows

Ingredients:

About 1 cup confectioners’ sugar

3 1/2 envelopes (2 tablespoons plus 2 1/2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
1 cup cold water, divided
2 cups granulated sugar (cane sugar worked just fine)
1/2 cup light corn syrup <-- As I said above, I used cane syrup!
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites or reconstituted powdered egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla (alternately: 1/2 of a scraped vanilla bean, 2 teaspoons almond or mint extract or maybe
even some food coloring for tinting)

Directions:
1. Oil bottom and sides of a 13- by 9- by 2-inch rectangular metal baking pan and dust bottom and sides with some confectioners’ sugar.
2. In bowl of a standing electric mixer or in a large bowl sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold cold water, and let stand to soften.
3. In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, second 1/2 cup of cold water, and salt over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to moderate and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy or digital thermometer registers 240°F, about 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.
4.With standing or a hand-held electric mixer beat mixture on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume, about six minutes if using standing mixer or about 10 minutes if using hand-held mixer.
5. In separate medium bowl with cleaned beaters beat egg whites (or reconstituted powdered whites) until they just hold stiff peaks. Beat whites and vanilla (or your choice of flavoring) into sugar mixture until just combined. Pour mixture into baking pan and don’t fret if you don’t get it all out (learning from my mess of a first round). Sift 1/4 cup confectioners sugar evenly over top. Chill marshmallow, uncovered, until firm, at least three hours, and up to one day.
6. Run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert pan onto a large cutting board. Lifting up one corner of inverted pan, with fingers loosen marshmallow and ease onto cutting board. With a large knife trim edges of marshmallow and cut marshmallow into roughly one-inch cubes. (An oiled pizza cutter works well here too.) 7. Sift remaining confectioners’ sugar back into your now-empty baking pan, and roll the marshmallows through it, on all six sides, before shaking off the excess and packing them away.

recipe by: smitten kitchen, originally from Gourmet

Freshly Ground Peanut Butter!

Christmas treat testing is actually coming to a close!! I only have one more week until the bake-a-thon happens. Crazy. This next recipe is not really a recipe...but I am love with the end result. A few years ago my Mimi let me borrow her heavy duty, major, mumbo jumbo, juicer. You would think that juicing yummy fruits and veggies would be the most "fruitful" thing that resulted from my borrowing but, no. The only thing that I really use it for (which is actually quite often) is peanut butter!! We have had the pleasure of fresh ground peanut butter for a few years and I don't think that there is any possible way to turn back. It baffles me to think that people actually consider the store bought (I wont mention any brands) kind, peanut butter! Its a crying shame!!

A few days ago I decided to do a fun taste test. I prepared 4 different kinds of peanut butter after grinding a big batch and had them ready for P when he got home that evening from babysitting. Yes, my husband babysits! :) (you got to do what you go to do right?)

Each bowl had a different colored toothpick that I strategically labeled on my dry erase board.

Green = Maple Peanut Butter

Red = Cinnamon Peanut Butter

Yellow = Coffee Peanut Butter

Blue = Spicy Peanut Butter

I was so pleased when my husband came home and was really excited about doing the taste testing. After the round of tests, of course one weighed out to be the best and the bowl was then devoured! haha That's when I decided this particular flavor would be given as gifts! Now who wouldn't want gourmet freshly ground peanut butter as a gift??

You might be wondering which flavor won...I think I may keep it a secret till I pass them out at Christmas! :) I must say thought, none of the flavors were rejected!! Peanut butter rains supreme in our house!

Ginger Snaps

What a novel idea...a recipe for ginger snaps that actually SNAP! For a while now I have perused through tons of ginger "snap" recipes that proudly claim to be soft cookies. What is this world coming to?? Soft ginger snaps? Well, I am pleased to say that I have finally found a recipe that provides the snap in ginger snaps. This has been the first Christmas treat I have made this year that has been hard for me to stop eating. I really really liked them. Seeing as most people prefer the soft cookie (my husband included) I figured that bringing them to a potluck would be a sneaky way for me to make a batch and end up with most of them at the end of the night! :) Well, sadly I was mistaken. None came home, but without a doubt I will be making these again! If your looking for genuine ginger snaps, here is your recipe!

Ginger Snaps

Ingredients:

1/4 C unsalted butter at room temp.

3/4 C + 2 tbs granulated sugar plus some for coating!

1 large egg beaten

1/4 C molasses

1/2 tbs balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp pure vanilla

2 C + 2 tbs all purpose flour

1/2 tbs baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp cardamom

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed. Lower to medium and add eggs, molasses, vinegar and vanilla.

2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and pepper.

3. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Beat until incorporated.

4. Place dough on a sheet of plastic wrap and form into a log that is about 2 inches in diameter. Wrap and chill for about an hour.

5. Slice each log into disks, 1/2 inch thick and dredge in a bowl of sugar to coat.

6. Place on a parchment or foil-lined baking sheet 2 inches apart and bake until crinkly around edges, about 14 minutes. Let cool on sheet for 5 minutes before transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Or if you are in my freezing apartment they will be ready to store after 5 minutes out of the oven!! :)

Christmas giving rating-

1. wowza taste- man oh man, I have already said it...but these are GOOD! I would give it a 9.5 (just cause nothing is perfect!) but P rated them an 8.

2. packability- GREAT! they definitely stack well and stay in good shape through the boxing process. 9.5

3. cuteness?- well, they look like gingersnaps...I guess there have been cuter treats so I will give this a 7.

4. expense- I am going to go with an 8 on this and that's because I am picky about my ingredients. These cookies were almost completely organic from what I had in my pantry which was awesome! I'm convinced however that if you are making them from non organic ingredients...they are pretty dang inexpensive!

Pumpkin Spice Granola

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving Day! P and I had a really good visit with our families and ate enough to last us for the week so we have planned a week long fast! HA just joking. One thing that I realized just last night was, now that Thanksgiving is over, the pumpkin season is officially over :(. It really made me want to cry as I took town my three sweet pumpkins that were part of my "fall decorations". P and I were both excited to finally pull out the Christmas lights and officially start the season...but after seeing the those sweet guys perched up my shelf I had second thoughts about ending the pumpkin season...
As an ode to my sweet orange friends....

God made your season fall

My most favorite of all!

If I had my way, you'd be here all year

But, His plan was to make you special and dear.

To those who notice His blessings above

It's evident that your made special with His sweet love.

Although your bitter, I know you as sweet

Those who could care less see you as a simple treat.

Your orange glow is contagious when eaten so much

I must say- You are truly a work of God's creative touch.

Here is a also a good recipe that I will undoubtedly use throughout the entire year. I have toyed with the possibilities of making a batch or two to share with friends and families over the holidays as well!

Pumpkin Spice Granola

Ingredients:

2 C puffed rice

1 1/2 C Oats (not instant)

1/2 C nuts (I used pumpkin seeds and cashews but I'm sure pecans or walnuts would be just as good!)

2 tsp pumpkin spice

3 Tbs pumpkin puree

3 Tbs apple sauce

2 Tbs coconut oil (melted)

2 Tbs agave nectar (or 3 depending on how sweet you like your granola)

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. On a baking sheet spread the oats and any nuts that are not already roasted. Bake for about 10 minutes or until everything is nice and toasty.

2. While the oats and nuts are toasting, mix together the spice, puree, oil, apple sauce, agave, and vanilla.

3. In a large bowl combine first the toasted oat mix with the puffed rice. Then poor the liquid ingredients and mix well.

4. Spread mixture on the baking sheet you used to toast your oats and put back in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the granola is starting to crisp and look toasted. It will get crunchier after it cools off after you take in out of the oven.

For Christmas giving sake I will rate this recipe-

Taste- does the fact that I have made at LEAST 5 batches of this stuff for snacking on tell you anything??

Packability- Can't get any easier than putting it in a bag or jar and closing. I give it a 10 in this area.

Cuteness- well, its not the best, but seeing as the packaging is so versatile, you could really make it look cute with how you present it! I say 8.

Cost- Not really bad considering how much the different ingredients make. I would suggest buying from the "bulk" section at the grocery for most of the ingredients. The fact that all of the ingredients are super healthy says a lot for how much your paying. I'm sure you could get away with cheaper (less healthy) alternatives.

Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookie Bars

This past week goes down in history as the first (yes, VERY first) time I have ever cooked an actual pumpkin. It was a momentous occasion...I almost felt like a criminal as I split the guy in half and stuck him in a 400 degree oven. The friendly orange "family member" sat so sweetly on our bookshelf for a few weeks ...much admired by a pumpkin lover such as me. It was a tragic process but well worth the plentiful bounty that came from it. Not only did I get more than a can equivalent of pumpkin puree but I also roasted pumpkin seeds for the first time and, can I say...I love pumpkin seeds.

The past week also marked the start of my tendency to turn orange. Yep, it's that time of year that I have to be conscious of how much beta carotene I consume. If I don't, I am liable to turn, as I like to call it- a golden hue...or as others claim- (laughing the whole time) a putrid orange!!!! Just kidding, no one has ever called it that, but I am not kidding about having to be careful of turning orange. P has said that the tint is developing already...

A recipe that has been on my "to make list" for a VERY long time is sugar cookie bars. They look intriguing enough to say, "yeah, those are fun looking" but when it came down to it, a sugar cookie is just so boring to me. Well, after roasting and pureeing my first pumpkin I decided to give this pumpkin rendition a go. I am not sure what all the hype is about. After making these, I concluded- a sugar cookie is a sugar cookie whether you make it in drop form, bar form, pie form, or even RARE form...
This was not intended to be on the test baking for Christmas treats so I won't be giving it a review other than, if you like sugar cookies- go ahead, make 'em. If you are indifferent- I wouldn't waist the expensive butter! :)

Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookie Bars
recipe from: Good Life Eats

For the bars:
1 cup butter; room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup pumpkin
6 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

For the Buttercream:
1/2 cup butter; room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 cups powdered sugar
5 Tbsp milk
food coloring (if desired)

Directions:

For the bars:
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg. Add vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cardamom, and cloves. Stir the flour mixture with a whisk to combine. Add half of the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix just until combined. Then add the pumpkin puree, followed by the remaining flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Spread on a greased 13x18 inch baking pan.
Bake at 375 degrees for 10-20 min, until light golden brown or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely and frost.
For the frosting:
Combine butter and shortening until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and salt. Add powdered sugar in 1-2 cup increments until combined, then add milk & mix until smooth and spreading consistency. Spread over cooled cookie.

Note: A half recipe fits well in a 9x13 inch pan, though when I tested this the baking time was slightly longer.

I know I must have seemed like a Debbie downer when giving my opinion on these. For the record P thought they were pretty good! I REALLY enjoyed the homemade pumpkin puree part! and extremely thankful the recipe only called for 1/2 cup of it!

Hope everyone has a safe, enjoyable, fun filled Turkey Day!! I will be busy trying not to turn orange!!

Whoopie Pies

First things first. I was/still am, HIGHLY disappointed in a realization that happened this weekend. As crazy as it may be, I have never made or even considered making a red velvet cake. So, as you can probably imagine my utter disgust when it came to making "red velvet" whoopie pies. For those who were in the dark like I was...the "red" in "red velvet" is actually just food coloring!!!! AGH! I can't believe that something so well known and supposedly loved...gets its name because of food coloring! What a crock! That being said, the whoopie pies that I made this weekend are no longer "red velvet," they are chocolate...I refused to put food coloring in it .....call me crazy....

I have wanted to make whoopie pies for a long time...they show up a lot on blogs and recipe sites. I would always put it on a "to make" list but I haven't gotten around to them until now.

Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling (originally red velvet)
source: Better Homes and Gardens

For the cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1-oz. bottle red food coloring (2 Tbsp.) *I omitted*

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment; set aside. In medium bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2.In large mixing bowl beat butter on medium to high 30 seconds. Beat in brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk, beating after each addition just until combined. Stir in food coloring.

3.Spoon batter in 1- or 2-inch diameter rounds, about 1/2-inch high on prepared baking sheets, allowing 1 inch between each round.

4.Bake 7 to 9 minutes for 1-inch cookies or 9 to 11 minutes for 2-inch cookies, or until tops are set. Cool completely on baking sheets on rack. Remove cooled cookies from baking sheets and frost with favorite filling.

For the filling:
3 cups powdered sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

1.In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth with no visible lumps. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. Be careful no to over beat the filling, or it will lose structure.
2.Pipe filling in between onto bottom of one whoopie pie and sandwich between another whoopie pie. Store whoopie pies in fridge until ready to serve, then allow whoopie pies to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.

And for the ratings!

1. Taste - P gave it a B + which in my rating system would equate to an 8?!

2. Cuteness- Pretty cute...but not anything special. I would give it a 7

3. Packability- Seeing as the filling is perishable I would say this dessert belongs to the eat right away list. Why do I keep trying these?? I guess I'll give them a 4...the cookies held up to packaging!
4. Cost- Not to shabby (as if I would spend an exorbitant amount on ANYTHING!) I had everything on hand...the most "unusual" product is the buttermilk and if you don't have that, its easy to make with regular milk. I give this one a 8 on the scale in the cost department!

That's it for this week! Shouldn't my husband be a hand model???

Chocolate Snowcaps

And the holiday baking has begun in the Pace house. We start with a snowcap recipe from Martha Stewart! I have decided that for the weeks leading up to my "Christmas Baking Extravaganza," I will make a new treat each week to actually test the recipe before-hand. I figure this will give me an idea of the better ones to make when I have plenty of time. Each recipe will have a rating based on 1. Taste, (duh!) 2. Cuteness, 3. Packability, and 4. Cost of Ingredients. By the time the actual extravaganza gets here I will know based on some pretty strict standards what will be the "best of the best" to give away! :) P was more than willing to participate as I proposed that he be in charge of the first rating. That poor man...
I have quite a few to try out but if anyone wants to suggest a recipe I will be more than willing to add it to the list!
Both P and I are more than ready for the holiday's this year. I feel like in years past the season has crept up on us unknowingly and before we could say "Merry Christmas" it was gone! For some reason this year...it's already been different. We bought LED Christmas lights this weekend and we are both itching to decorate ALREADY! :)
This first weekend of testing (as I said before) was on a M.S. recipe "Chocolate Espresso Snow Caps"
I changed up a few things but for the most part followed the recipe better than I normally do.

Chocolate Espresso Snow Caps

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 teaspoons instant espresso (I used nescafe)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup packed light-brown sugar (I used dark)
1 large egg
4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon milk
Confectioners' sugar, for coating

Directions:
1.In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, espresso, baking powder, and salt. With an electric mixer, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg until well combined; mix in cooled chocolate. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture; beat in milk until just combined. Flatten dough into a disk; wrap in plastic. Freeze until firm, about 45 minutes.

2.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Pour confectioners' sugar (about 1/2 cup) into a medium bowl; working in batches, roll balls in sugar two times, letting them sit in sugar between coatings.
3.Place on prepared baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies have spread and coating is cracked, 12 to 14 minutes; cookies will still be soft to the touch. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

And now for the ratings!
1. Taste - P definitely had a hard time following my scale of 1-10 rule. He wanted it based on a A-F scale which almost eliminated his vote. I laid down the law and he never gave in...hmmm His rating on his scale was an A+ so I guess that would be a 10?
2. Cuteness- Definitely a cute turn out. I loved how they looked like little snowed on mountains. I will give it an 8!
3. Packability- 5. They are perfect when your moving them from baking sheet to plate and then serve, but when it comes to putting them in a box to give, I must say the powdered sugar gets everywhere and they are really too soft to transport.
4. Cost- 7. Not to bad, I had all of the ingredients on hand which made it easy for me!

Your probably wondering why I don't rate time and ease of making. Believe me, I thought about it, when it comes down to MY baking extravaganza though, those variables don't serve as a factor for whether or not I will make them! I'll spend both the time and "trouble" it takes to make something as long as I'm in the kitchen!! :)

Until next week...

Chocolate Mousse Pie

You are NOT going to believe what this pie is made of...

Before I get to the pie, since I have neglected my "wannabechefmysti" blog-life it is only customary for me to apologize, yet again (as I'm sure this will not be the last time I do) for not posting. I am going to move forward with the intent to post out of desire instead feeling obligated. With that said, I regret to inform you that there have been quite a few GOOD recipes created in my kitchen lately that won't be blogged about! I guess you'll have to come visit me to find out the mysteries that happen in my mysti-cal kitchen.

Now onto the pie. Believe it or not, I can't recall ever making a chocolate pie! Please correct me if you find I am wrong...I seem to recall very few pies in my cooking life mainly because pies are normal. I tend to stray on the more different side. I guess this weekend I was feeling normal...or not?! I'd have to say this particular pie is NOT normal. P was thoroughly pleased with the results and he still has yet show suspicion in the ingredient list, I plan on keeping it that way. Please don't be skeptical after reading the recipe, live on the "wild side" and give it a go!

Chocolate Mousse Pie

Ingredients:
1 block firm silken tofu (GASP!)  (12.5 oz - card board container)
1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (of course the kind without hydrogenated soybean oil it it!)
1 Tbs honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 graham cracker crust (of course, I made my own)

Directions:
1. Microwave the chocolate chips in minute intervals, mixing in between. It only took mine a minute and 45 seconds. Don't over microwave them because, believe me, it ruins them.
2. Poor the rest of the ingredients in with the melted chocolate chips and blend together. I found that using my hand held blender worked really well and it made for an easy clean up. Just don't blend your finger.
3. Poor the mixture in your crust, refrigerate for at least 2 hours so the pie will "set-up".


On the school front, P has been living the life of a student....studying, studying, studying. Kaepo has to remind him that there are times for breaks, especially when it involves him!!

Skinny Figgy Bars

I have never liked "Fig Newtons" so don't ask what gave me the desire to try this recipe. Yet again, flavored food ruined my perception of something REALLY good. The poor fig has had a bad light in my perception all because of the stupid "Fig Newton"! Not anymore. These are wonderful for a light breakfast or even a light dessert. Full of whole grains and fruit, sweetened with agave and dates, low-fat and dairy free! If you like figs, or even if you don't think you like figs, try these out, you could have a new favorite fruit!

Skinny Figgy Bars
recipe adapted from Fat-Free Vegan

Ingredients:
Filling:
8 ounces dried figs (one round package)
4 ounces pitted dates
2 tbsp. silvered or chopped almonds (optional)
1 tbsp. agave nectar
2 tbsp. water
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ginger

Snip off the figs' stems, and put them, the dates, and the almonds into the food processor. Grind to a coarse paste. Stir in the remaining filling ingredients and process until mixed. Set aside.

Crust:
1 cup regular or quick oats, ground in blender until fine
1 cup regular or quick oats, uncooked (not instant oatmeal)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces unsweetened apple sauce
3 tbsp. agave nectar (or other liquid sweetener)
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir in the wet ingredients, mixing well to a thick consistency. Press half the crust mixture into the bottom of an oiled, eight-inch square cake pan (use a wooden spoon or your hands). Spread the fig mixture evenly over the crust. Smooth the remaining crust mixture over the filling. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.

Cheesecake Brownies

The no-oven streak has officially been broken. After 3 weeks of not using it, I broke down this past Sunday and according to P, it was definently worth every drop of sweat and penny spent. I thought I would make something special for dessert this week. P has definently let me know how much he appreciates it too, every night at dessert time he slowly eats one of his cheesecake brownies, puts his plate up, and exclaims "its dessert time!!" I'm not sure if he is on a sugar high and doesn't remember the fact that he tries that trick EVERY night or he thinks that trying every night, something will change?! Needless to say, these brownies are good! Not in the slightest bit "good for you" but I never promised to provide "good for you" dessert recipes! Unless your celbrating something special or decide to treat someONE special I would hold off on these. They are definently worthy of that once in a blue moon occasion. Very rich, very heavy, very chocolaty, very sweet, and for the sake of P- VERY scrumtious!!!

Cheesecake Brownies
recipe adapted from Annie's Eats

Ingredients:
For the brownies:
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup flour
1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips

For the cheesecake topping:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk
5 tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Line a 9-inch square baking dish with foil, making sure it goes up all four sides. Mist lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and chocolate, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat, then beat in the 2/3 cup sugar. Mix in the eggs. Add in the flour, cocoa powder, salt and vanilla and mix just until smooth. Gently fold in the chocolate chips. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
3. To make the topping, in a separate bowl beat together the cream cheese, egg yolk, 5 tbsp. sugar and 1/8 tsp. vanilla extract until smooth. Drop in large dollops evenly over the top of the brownie batter. Use a dull knife or spatula to swirl the cream cheese mixture with the chocolate batter.
4. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the batter in the center of the pan is just set. Let cool completely, then lift out with the foil and peel away. Cut brownies into squares. *P likes these straight from the fridge!

Crock Pot Apple Dumpling Pie

If you haven't noticed lately, it's hot outside. Not only is it hot outside but it has been incredibly hard for us to keep our apartment cool without paying a fortune in electricity. Our new apartment seemed awesome with it's big windows letting so much natural light in..that is until we got our first electricity bill and about had a heart attack. We immediately put an energy saving plan in place and have stuck with it quite well! Fans, light omitting curtains, energy efficient light bulbs, and unfortunately I have decided to stop using the oven. :( I thought at first, this will be an adventure! It will expand my creativity level beyond relying on the oven and I will learn new cooking techniques, blah blah blah... I MISS MY OVEN!!! It has only been two weeks and I feel like its been a century. I almost broke down this past weekend so I could make a dessert for my father in law's birthday. We had a couple of visitors over (p's parents!) and I wasn't going to let them leave without me cooking something that's for sure! I decided that the oven was going to have to be used...much to my surprise, I got creative at the last moment (the morning they were coming!) and used my crock pot for a fun apple dumpling dessert. I was scared, nervous, and very unsure of how it would turn out but it turned out great!! Save some energy yourself and give this interesting recipe a try!

Crock Pot Apple Dumpling Pie

Ingredients:
Pie Filling: *you could use canned pie filling but I wasn't having that! I made homemade apple pie filling!
3 braeburn apples- pealed, cored, and sliced
2 tsp lemon juice
1 cup water
2 tbs corn starch
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 c sugar

Dumpling Dough:
2 1/2 Cups Flour
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
2/3 Cup Butter
2/3 Cup Buttermilk
2 Tbs Cornstarch mixed with 1/2 Cup Water
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Tbs Sugar mixed with 1 tsp Cinnamon, for topping.
Directions:
1. Make the apple filling by tossing the apples with the lemon juice, and set aside. Combine the other ingredients in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add the apples and bring to boil again. Cover and cook for about 8 minutes.
2.  Combine all the dry ingredients of the cake and mix well. Add all of the liquid ingredients and fold the batter until just combined. The batter should be thick and nearly dough-like, as this will prevent the filling from sinking to the bottom of the crock pot.
3. Spray the inside of the crock pot with oil. Spread half of the dough in the bottom of the crock pot.
4. Poor apple filling on top of the bottom layer.
5. Dump globs of the remaining dough on top.
6. Sprinkle top with cinnamon, sugar mixture.
7. Cook with lid on, low heat for about 8 hrs or until the dough on top feels done!

Microwave Chocolate Coffee Mug Cake!

Believe me, I have turned my nose to this idea over and over. Although I use the microwave at least once a day, I continually have the thought in the back of my head that this quick-fix is destroying us! Whatever your thoughts are on microwaves, I would truly love to hear, there is much controversy over them especially in the “natural, holistic world” and being somewhat apart of that world I have read much. After a recent decision to stay away from the oven as much as possible I have been face with a need for creatively cooking in ways I haven't been fronted with. I never really realized how much I use the dang oven. Temperatures are just too high, and electricity is too expensive for the amount I use my oven. One week down and I'm off to a rough second week. Last night I came back to the microwave cake recipe and decided to try it out for P's dessert. To my surprise, it turned out good! It almost seemed like a magic trick to me. Two minutes of mixing, two minutes of microwaving and wah-lah you have yourself a dessert that satisfies. Even more, top that guy with a scoop of ice-cream and your good for the night. I wouldn't condone this practice any other time than to conserve energy, call me crazy, I know I am!!

Microwave Coffee Mug Chocolate Cake!

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons of all purpose flour
2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
2.5-3 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 small egg
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
3 tablespoons of melted butter
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2.5 tablespoons of milk

Directions:
1. Mix all dry ingredients in your mug
2. Mix wet ingredients in another container and then with the dry ingredients. (make sure its all mixed and no flour lumps remain!)
3. Microwave for 2-2.5 minutes.
4. Top with icecream and hope that you arent getting microwaved!! hehe

I think I may try to experiement with this recipe and see what I can do...I'm sure there is a healthier version!

Yellow Cake and Lemon Buttercream Icing

This past week was my sisters birthday. I was so happy when I found out that her family and my parents would be up to visit and we could celebrate! Not only did I get to see family but I also had an excuse to make and decorate a birthday cake! My sister just got a new job at a school where the mascot is an owl, her and my mom have been decorating her new classroom, all in owls, so I decided to go with the "owl theme" and make her an owl cake! I had so much fun making it. The cake was a good recipe I found for a simple yellow cake (I really wanted to defeat the boxed cake mix and I think I acheaved it!) and the main icing was a lemon buttercream. I was please with how both turned out so if your in search of a good birthday cake recipe continue reading! As far as the owl decoration, I chose to make a marshmallow fondant! If you missed my last post about marshmallow fondant follow this link. It's really easy to make and fun to play with! The only problems I had in this process was being too hot. My poor hands woudn't stop sweating while I was "kneading" the fondant's color in and it made for a sticky mess. I finally gave up and put a stand up fan in the kitchen and used my hands as little as possible. So this is a for-warning if your hands get sweaty your fondant will NOT work!!!

All in all, the cake was yummy (or so i'm told) and I had tons of fun making it!! I have to say, I wish I had more oportunities to practice my cake decorating.

Yellow Cake
recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Yield: Two 9-inch round, 2-inch tall cake layers

Ingredients:
4 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, well-shaken
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line with circles of parchment paper, then butter parchment. (Alternately, you can use a cooking spray, either with just butter or butter and flour to speed this process up.)
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition. At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined (mixture will look curdled). Add flour mixture in three batches, mixing until each addition is just Incorporated.

3. Spread batter evenly in cake pan, then rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles. (I like to drop mine a few times from two inches up, making a great big noisy fuss.) Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then run a knife around edge of pan. Invert onto rack and discard parchment, then cool completely, about 1 hour.

Lemon Buttercream

recipe from Wilton

Ingredients:

1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup butter softened
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
4 cups (approx. 1 lb.) confectioner's sugar sifted
Additional lemon juice or milk (optional)

Makes: About 3 cups.

Directions:
In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add lemon juice and zest; beat well. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, if icing is dry, add additional juice or milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.

Peach Blueberry Pake

This past weekend P and I got to go "back home"!! It was so nice because not only was it our first time back since we moved but, we also got to spend good time with both sides of our families! I have to say, it was really hard to head back home Saturday evening.
Although we were super busy going to a good friends wedding on Friday night, me, getting a hair cut Saturday morning, and then making it to an almost family reunion bbq that afternoon, I managed to make a dessert  in the middle of a house full! I ended up making a recipe from a favorite blogger and it turned out pretty good, especially if your a fruit dessert lover. I called it a "pake" because it really resembled a mixture of a cake and a pie at the same time. This dessert was only a small part of the eating feast that day. My father-in-law made some awesome bbq and everyone else brought different sides. I haven't been that full in a while!! We were also able to bring home left-overs which has literally fed us all week! :) I love left-overs.

Peach Blueberry Cake/Pie

recipe from Annie's Eats

Ingredients:
For the dough:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
16 tbsp. cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
For the filling:
¾ cup sugar
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. quick-cooking tapioca
5-6 peaches, pitted and cut into 8 pieces each
1½ cups blueberries
1½ tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375° F. To make the dough, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse just to combine. Add in the butter chunks and pulse until the butter forms small bits about the size of peas. Add the eggs and vanilla and pulse again until the dough clumps together and forms a ball.
2. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch springform pan. Press the dough evenly all the way up the sides of the pan, and cover the bottom completely. Chill the pan in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes while you prepare the filling.
3. Stir together the sugar, flour and tapioca in a large bowl. Mix in the peaches, blueberries and lemon juice, and toss gently to coat the fruit. Spoon the filling into the prepared pastry dough. Cover the pan loosely with foil. Place the springform pan on a baking sheet in case any juice leaks out during baking.
4. Place in the oven and bake until the filling is bubbling in the center and the crust is golden, about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire cooling rack and let cool at least 20 minutes. Carefully remove the sides of the pan. Let the cake cool until just warm, then cut and serve with vanilla ice cream as desired.

Red White and Blue Ice Cream Cupcakes!

Happy Independence Day! To celebrate, P and I are not doing much. Watch fireworks from our apartment window and without a doubt P will eat a few of these! We had such a relaxing weekend and I was blessed with having Friday off. It was so great getting caught up on things that needed to be done and still having time to actually relax. I hope your 4th of July is speck-tac-ular! And, if you haven't chosen a dessert to make, give this easy recipe a try. It's fun, good, and very cute!! I love how it incorporates cake and ice cream into one! This will definitely be a jumping point to some other fun ideas that are coming to mind. Brownies and Ice Cream?! oh we will come back to this! The only thing I would change is to make a natural food coloring. My cupcakes came out pale red and blue because I just didn't want to glob so much chemicals in there. That sounds like another future experiement!

Red White and Blue Ice Cream Cupcakes
recipe source Annies Eats

Ingredients:
1 batch white cake batter* (I used 1/2 batch- Arrowhead Mills organic vanilla cupcake mix)
Red and blue food coloring
1/2 of a carton of vanilla bean ice cream slightly softened
Fresh strawberry slices and fresh blueberries

*Note: A full recipe of cake batter could make a TON of these cupcakes. I only made 24 because I don’t have more cupcake pans or room in my freezer for more, but you could make extra with the full batch of batter (or bake an extra cake layer for fun).

Directions:
1. Preheat oven and prepare white cake batter as directed. Line two cupcake pans with foil liners. Divide the cake batter into two separate bowls, coloring one half with red and one half with blue food coloring. Drop approximately two tablespoons of batter into each cupcake liner so that you have 12 red and 12 blue cupcakes. Bake in the preheated oven until the cake is baked through and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Baking time will depend on the cake recipe you use, but for me it was about 10-11 minutes.) Allow to cool in the pans to room temperature. Then freeze for 15-30 minutes.
2. Once the cupcakes have frozen slightly, fill each cupcake liner to the top with vanilla ice cream. Freeze until firm and ready to serve. Just before serving, top the blue cupcakes with fresh strawberries and the red cupcakes with fresh blueberries.

Oh! I almost forgot! P and I had an adventure traveling to Fran's Fryers this weekend!! Fran's Fryers is a farm (about an hour away) that sells all natural meat and when we lived in Houston I was apart of a co-op that got their meat delivered. NOW we live close enough to pick it up at the farm!! What an adventure that was- it only took us twice as long as it should have to get there. Those country roads are confusing with only numbers as their names...who wants 308 FM as their street name??! hehe

Grapefruit Bars

With grapefruits STILL in abundance at our house, I decided to make a dessert out of them. They were ssimilar to the lemon bars that are commonly made this way, I switched out the lemon peel for grapefruit peel and for the lemon juice, grapefruit juice! I really was hoping they would turn out pink for P but, unfortunately all the pink grapefruit colored stuff I see is probably died that way because these definitely didn't have even the slightest shade of pink. Oh well. My favorite part was the powdered sugar sprinkling on top. For some reason powdered sugar makes everything beautiful to me. I better add that to my bucket list- sprinkle self with powdered sugar to be beautiful! :)
I haven't ever made lemon bars but P says he likes these better.

Grapefruit Bars

Ingredients:
for the crust:
1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
grapefruit layer:
4 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoon grated grapefruit zest (about 2 large grapefruits)
2/3 cup freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
2/3 cup flour
Confectioners sugar, for dusting

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet.
2. For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into the greased baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.
3. Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.
4. For the grapefruit layer, whisk together the eggs, sugar, grapefruit zest, lemon zest, grapefruit juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 minutes, or about five minutes beyond the point where the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.
5. Cut into triangles or squares and dust with confectioners sugar.


Kaepo, P, and I had a fun day at the park this past weekend: