teacher by day - chef by night
Think “Blondie Brownie” with all sorts of goodies added in! I guess these are called “Congo Bars” – but I had never heard them called that (I do not think I have ever had them before either). These bar cookies are a perfect way to …
“Please sir, may I have s’more” Welcome to the summer season! There is nothing that screams summer more than some warm roasted marshmallows (ok – maybe grilling screams summer pretty loudly too, but I grew up in a house where dad grilled in a winter …
It is now that time of year when the weather starts to turn warmer (in theory it should be at least), the days are get longer, we start thinking of shorts, tanks, & swim suits (yikes), and yearn for lighter spring flavors to go along with the lightless of our spring.
… These muffins fit the ‘light-spring-flavor-bill’ & have no butter: just heart-healthy olive oil!
I made these as the 2nd course of our Mothers Day Brunch (along with the Spinach Mushroom Frittata [previous post] and Chocolate Mousse Cups [post before that]) and the light flavor was awesome and perfect for a spring celebration. We found them our most favorite when cut in half, toasted, and toped with some butter.
p.s. No, I am NOT claiming these are “healthy” or “low-fat”… but they are a better alternative to your normal super-sweet muffins. Any advice on how to make these even more healthy so we have more reason to eat them?
from Jennie’s Kitchen: makes 18
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line one 12-cup muffin tin and one 6-cup muffin tin with paper liners; set aside. Whisk flour, lemon zest, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds in a bowl; set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, olive oil and lemon juice. Add flour mixture and pour in milk, stirring well with a wooden spoon to combine. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling 3/4 of the way. Bake 23 to 25 minutes, until edges are golden and center springs back when gently touched or your toothpick comes out clean.
These tasted awesome cut in half, toasted & topped with a small pat of butter!
“If I ordered these in a restaurant and they tasted like these, I would be happy.” and “I really hope you are going to make these again” … when those are the phrases I heard from Rich when he was enjoying these, I knew that …
These are my “sunshine on a cloudy day”. Because today, March 23, 2011 we had our second snow day of the week and almost 6 inches of “snowball snow” fall outside my window! I decided to make myself a breakfast skittle breakfast (you know: potato, …
… or that is at least what I am going to be calling them! Since it is the time of year where you see lots of St. Patrick’s Day themed thing, I kept stumbling across lots of recipes calling for Guinness, which I can not really take more than a few sips of… so using it in cooking I knew would be a better way for me to enjoy it. When I have really enjoyed Guinness, it has been mixed with chocolate so I just knew that I needed to make Stout Cupcakes & the perfect frosting for these is a Baileys buttercream! (This would also make a great cake recipe.)
The flavors of the stout cupcake (rich, light, & dense all at the same time) are perfectly balanced with the creamy sweet Bailey’s frosting. Topped with some Green Sugar Sprinkles (or shamrock sprinkles) and your St. Patrick’s Day Cupcakes are all ready.
As I post this – I realize that St. Patrick was the Patron Saint of Ireland and brought Christianity from England to Ireland… so it is against Judaism to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day!? Hmmm. Well – here is how I figure it: I am very “not religious” (I consider myself someone who honors and appreciates tradition and honors/respects everyone more than someone who is religious/follows a religion) AND St. Patrick’s Day has been very commercialized – just like everything else… SO: thanks to modern commercialism, everyone can enjoy this holiday, wear some green, drink some Guinness, and eat their Americanized corned beef.
Cake: (from The Culinary Chronicles)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake cups with paper liners.
Melt your butter with the beer in a sauce pan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Whisk in cocoa powder until smooth. Cool slightly while working on the next phase.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In your mixing bowl, beat the eggs and the sour cream together. Add the beer/butter/cocoa mixture and beat to combine. Add the flour mixture and beat briefly just to combine. Then (using a rubber spatula) fold the batter until completely combined.
Fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 of the way filled (for a nice dome – slightly less if you want a flatter cake). Bake about 17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely (this can easily be done one day & frost the next… spreads the cleaning out too)
Frosting: (from Pages, Pucks, & Pantry)
In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer, add the cream cheese, butter and confectioner’s sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Slowly drizzle (or pour by the shot-glass full) in the Bailey’s and beat until completely incorporated into the frosting.
Use your favorite pastry bag (or a freezer-sized ziploc bag) with a nice tip (either a large hole OR a large star-tip – I don’t know sizes, just make it look nice) and make circles starting either at the center or the edge… the more you play the easier it will get (and remember, these taste amazing so even if they don’t look perfect everyone will forget and just remember how awesome they tasted)!
* Frosting Note: after reading quite a few comments/feedback – this is just [barely] enough for all the cupcakes, but doubling it makes a lot of frosting… so I went with 1.5 times what the recipe calls for and it seemed to work out pretty well, although I still has some extra!
* GREEEN recipes can be found HERE
Happy St. Patrick’s Day… and enjoy any reason explore new corners of the globe through your kitchen!