Brownie Cupcakes

I have been doing a lot of baking and trying to keep it varied.  I am baking for my class and one boy asked me to make cupcakes and brownies.  I solved the problem by making these.  I think, he will be happier with the best of two worlds.

Brownie Cupcakes: adapted from Joy of Baking

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, shredded

2 cups margarine, cut into pieces

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 large eggs

3/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F  and place rack in center of oven. Line 12 muffin tins with paper or foil baking cups.

Melt the shredded chocolate and margarine  in microwave. Once the chocolate is melted and smooth, remove and let cool for a few minutes. Then stir  in the sugar.  Add the vanilla and then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the flour and salt until well blended.

Evenly divide the batter between the muffin cups.

Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake has moist crumbs. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

For the frosting recipe, go to Joy’s site.

• Fat Witch Brownies (bookcasefoodie.wordpress.com)
• Almond Flour Brownies (21nogluten.wordpress.com)
• Mexican Hot Chocolate Brownies (kitchenwithoutborders.wordpress.com)
• Baked Brownie Bites (thesmartcookiecook.com)
• Nutella Caramel Hazelnut Brownies (prismaticpastimes.wordpress.com)

This is linked to the Hearth and Soul Hop         Sweet Treats Thursdays    This Week’s Cravings

Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Measles

I have been doing a lot of baking and I decided to share with you a cookie that is either a success or failure.  I don’t know what to call it but I do know that I love to eat these.  When I say, I am going to share this with you, that is a lie, an absolute lie.  I am not going to give you the recipe or even tell you whose recipe, it is.  No, I am not selfish.  You should know better than that.  I am, actually, embarrassed.

I can’t figure out, what I did wrong, with this recipe.  I followed the directions as presented except for using all dark chocolate rather than half milk chocolate and half dark chocolate.  I can’t imagine that making my chocolate act as it did.  I even put the chocolate through a strained to get rid of the small pieces.  In the baking book, I used, there were luscious pieces of chocolate sticking out of the cookies and you will see mine just melted into the cookie and almost turned these into completely chocolate cookies.  As I said, they taste terrific.  Chocolate is chocolate and it tastes good.

I welcome suggestions as to what I have done wrong.  I am going to make these again and no matter how they turn out, it is my plan to share where they come from, with you.  In the meanwhile, this will be my secret.

I leave you with the question – have you ever been afraid that the author of the cookbook will come upon your recipe?  In this case, I am petrified.

This is linked to Sweet Indulgences Sundays     A Themed Baker’s Sunday

Cheese Puff Blintz

For years, I have made real blintzes and a blintz souffle which consists of store-bought blintzes covered with a batter that tastes like a blintz.  Both are good.  When, I spotted this one, I was curious to find out if it tasted like either.

This is an easy recipe.  You do have to time each segment and for me, that is a problem.  I love to put something in the oven and go back for a finished product.  This is a three-layered blintz with two separate baking times.  It is not really much especially, if you make the filling while the first ten minute baking, is going on.  Probably, because I was baking something else, at the same time, I got annoyed with the interruption.

I enjoy puttering around the kitchen and although I think I should not enjoy the chopping and frying and shredding and dicing, I do.  It is a challenge to organize myself and my kitchen to make for effortless (almost) cooking.

Cheese Puff Blintz adapted from Food.com  This is half a recipe.  I was only cooking for two and there was enough for 4.  I want to try this putting fruit in the middle layer with the cheese.

Ingredients:

Batter

• 2 large eggs

• 3/4 cup milk

• 1 tablespoons vanilla yogurt
• 1/8 cup canola oil
• 3/4 teaspoon pure  vanilla extract
• ½ + 1/6 cups flour  Gluten free)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder

Filling

• 8 oz farmer cheese
• 8 oz ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Toppings

• sour cream or  vanilla or fruit yogurt
• applesauce
• blueberries or strawberries or cherry , heated with sweetener
• fruit preserves , with a dash of cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

With a blender or mixer, combine the batter ingredients until very smooth.

Pour 1 1/2 cups of the batter into a greased  9 x 13 baking pan.

Bake for about 10 minutes or until set.

Meanwhile, combine the filling ingredients and mix well.

When bottom layer of batter has set, remove the baking pan from the oven and smoothly spread the cheese filling over it.

Briefly remix the remaining batter and then gently pour it over the filling, covering it completely.

Return the pan to the oven and continue to bake for 45-50 minutes or until the top is puffed, set, and browned.

remove the Blintz Puff from the oven and allow it to rest for 10 minutes before cutting it into squares.

Serve immediately, plain or with toppings.  (I used a little granulated brown sugar to sprinkle on top.  Cinnamon and sugar would also be yummy.  I would add another tablespoon of sugar to the cheese mixture.  It was not enough sweet, for my taste.  

This is linked to the following:

Simply Sweet Home Friday’s Favorites
Food on Fridays
Foodie Friday
Fun with Food Friday
Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap
Weekend Gourmet Blog Carnival

Sweet Indulgences Sunday

Vegetable Pizza Puffs

Tonight, I was making an eggplant dish and usually with this, we have rice and a salad.  The timing of my meal was completely off.  I didn’t know how long the eggplant had to be baked and realized, I could do whatever I wanted with the extra half an hour.  I always have a bunch of papers, on the kitchen table, with recipes that I want to make pronto.  Usually, “pronto” is a long time coming.  I don’t know about any of you but I bookmark and print up many too many recipes, probably more than I could make in a month or even a year.  So much looks delicious or interesting or challenging. I want to indulge in all of these interesting, challenging and delicious looking recipes.  The ones, I am referring to are ones, I find online, whether on a blog or a food site.

Of course, there are the cookbooks and my collection has grown since I started blogging.  Actually, this is my second collection.  When I first got married and through the first two kids, I had a collection of those years.  So much has changed in cooking that I finally gave these books away and kept a few special ones.  When, I became a blogger, I knew I was in the wrong place.  Who was Tyler Frances, Bobby Gray, even my favorite Dorie Greenspan.  Yes, I did know who Martha Stewart was but that was more her notoriety than her cooking and crafting.  I was a dud in knowledge.

I could cook but I didn’t use avocados or fresh ginger.  What was kale or spaghetti squash?  Oil – there was vegetable oil and that was it.  I was definitely challenged as a blogger.

I cooked for years and actually cooked a lot.  I even baked everything that came my way.  My yeast breads and rolls were delicious.  Applesauce was a treat.  Cakes and cookies reigned.  Salads were limited to macaroni salad, potato salad and three bean salad.  Stop laughing, please.

We had company at least, weekly and I made gigantic meals.  Despite all of this, I knew little.

Let’s get back to my kitchen table and the top recipe which  is these Pizza Puffs.  Actually the recipe is called Pepperoni Pizza Puffs but as a kosher Mom,  we do not use milk and meat together.  (short explanation)  Out went the pepperoni and in came the vegetables.  I found this in Lynda’s Recipe Box.  If you would like to see here which are different because of the ingredients and because of the shape, stop on over and see what else she has to offer, while you are there.

Vegetable Pizza Puffs

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs(adapted from Lynda’s Recipe Box)

Ingredients

3/4 cup gluten -free flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup milk- (I only use 1 percent)
1 egg, beaten
4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
4 ounces mixture of green pepper, tomatoes and onions
1/2 teaspoon  Italian seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup pizza sauce warmed

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl add the flour and baking powder.

 Stir in the milk and the beaten egg, and then the mozzarella, seasoning and vegetables.

Let the batter rest for 10 minutes.  (I admit it.  I didn’t do this.)

Spray a 12 count  muffin pan with cooking spray. Stir the batter and then spoon mixture evenly into each muffin cup.

Bake for 25 minutes until golden. Remove Pizza Puffs to a plate and serve with warmed pizza sauce for dipping.

We ate them plain, in our hands.  No sauce.

This had a great taste to it.  I ate it while talking to my brother and didn’t pay attention but I remember the first bite got an exclamation, “This is good.”  These are easy to make and versatile to use.

This is linked to Tuesday’s Tasty Tidbits                       Healthy 2day Wednesdays!

Totally Tasty Tuesdays         Chef in Training         All the Small Stuff           Tuesday To Do Party      Mangia Mondays    Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays      Muffin Mondays               Hearth and Soul       Makin’ You Crave Monday         Pennywise Platter Thursday

Essential Chewy Sugar Cookie – KAF

If I was going to have a love affair, it would be with KAF.  Every recipe, I make from their recipes has been a success.  Not only a success but usually the best of a kind.  I still hold that their best chocolate chip cookies are honestly the best. We see the Ultimate CCC often but in my opinion, none of them beat King Arthur Flour. 

I have tried them.  When, I see a chocolate chip cookie, proclaimed as the ultimate, the best, the greatest, I make it to see if I can find one better than KAF.  So far, I have not.  The same goes for their brownies.

This time, I made their chewy sugar cookie which is really chewy, as long as you don’t overbake it.  I went with underbake, just by a minute and it worked.  They were done and the bottoms were a light golden.

I used green and yellow sugar to coat them but the yellow hardly shows.  I have some crystalized brown sugar that I would like to try, next time.

The Essential Chewy Sugar Cookie from King Arthur Flour

Yield:  3 dozen

• 3/4 cup margarine  1 1/2 sticks)

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1/4 cup honey

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 large egg

• 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup colored crystal sugar (for coating)

1. Preheat over to 375 degrees. Lightly grease or line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2.  In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, granulated and brown sugars, corn syrup, vanilla, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and egg. Stir in the flour

3. Place the coarse sugar in a shallow dish. Drop the dough by the Tablespoonful into the sugar, rolling the balls to coat them. Place on prepared baking sheets. 

4.  Bake the cookies for 10 minutes until the edges are just barely beginning to brown, they’ll look soft. If you bake these cookies too long, they’ll be crunchy, not chewy. Remove them from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.

This is linked to My Favorite Finds and My Meatless Mondays   Sweets for Saturday    Holiday Food Blog Hop    Sweet Treats Thursdays

Puffy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

When I see an interesting looking cookie, I can’t just walk away.  I want to make it and I want to make it, at that moment.  Rarely, does it work out that way but when I saw this cookie, I followed my desire and made the cookies.   I am not at all sorry that I did.  These are delicious gems.  They are easy to make.  I am not sure why but I don’t think the peanut butter was the predominant flavor.  They almost tasted like a regular chocolate  chip cookie.  Wait!  I must get one and do a taste test.  …………  Moments later——whatever the flavor is, these are great.

I made some according to directions, making balls out of them.  They came out puffy.  Others, I used my cookie scoop and they looked wrinkled and bumpy like a chocolate chip cookie.  I like the latter look, better.

Puffy Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chips

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

8 tablespoons of salted butter, melted and cooled

6 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter, melted and cooled

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg and 1/2 egg beaters

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Add butter and peanut butter to a microwave safe bowl, and heat in 30 second increments until melted. Let cool completely.  (My oven is variable and ended up using the oven at 350 degrees.  I made a smaller cookie so I baked them from 8 – 10 minutes.)

Mix the flour and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, mix the cooled butter/peanut butter and sugars until they are combined. Add the egg and vanilla and stir until mixed. Gradually add flour and mix until a dough forms – it will look crumbly at first, but it will come together.  Fold in chocolate chips.

Shape the dough into a ball. Place on a baking sheet two inches apart and bake for 8 – 10  minutes or until the edges are slightly brown. The centers should be soft and puffy. Do not over bake.

Kids and adults should like this cookie.

Related articles

• Flourless Peanut-Chocolate Cookies (bookcasefoodie.wordpress.com)
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• Best.Peanut.Butter.Chocolate.Chip.Cookies.Ever. (amoreecucina.wordpress.com)

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake

One of my purposes in starting this blog is to use the cookbooks and magazines on my shelves.  It has been working beautifully.  I have cooked from ten new sources since I started here.

This week, I spotted the second of the Baked books, Baked Explorations, sitting  in the midst of my baking books, barely used.  There are many recipes in this book, I want to make and this is certainly a good time to start.

Some of my family was coming over for a barbecue.  The beauty of barbecues is that my husband does most of the work.  He is the grill man and this time, even made the burgers.  My younger daughter took charge of the shopping and salads.  I was designated dessert maker.  The kids even cleaned up, afterwards, leaving me to be almost a lady of leisure.  I think, we should have more barbecues.

What to make for dessert was the big question and I had already decided whatever it was to be, it would come out of  Baked.  I opened up to the breakfast section and was about to leave it to go to the cake section, when I spotted this appealing cake.  I don’t see,  putting oatmeal into a cake making it a breakfast cake, although it certainly would be good for breakfast.  I did not look anyway else, in the book.  I had found my cake, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake.

I am usually intrigued with how oatmeal becomes a player in baked goods.  In this cake, I think it got absorbed and I did not taste it.  The chocolate chips were a nice touch since we are chocolate fans.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

Ingredients

8 ounces chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon chocolate liqueur
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes, at room temperature
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and position the rack in the center. Grease the sides and bottom of a 9 x13-inch pan (either glass or light-colored metal). Microwave 1 1/4 cups water until boiling.

In a small bowl, combine the chocolate chips and liqueur and toss to coat. Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of flour over the chips and toss to coat. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the oats and cubed butter. Pour the boiling water over the oat-butter mixture, leave it alone for 30 seconds, then stir to melt the butter. Set aside for 25 to 30 minutes. (I didn’t read the recipe through before and when I got to this step, I had to step back and make some changes.  It worked out all right.)

In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, granulated and dark brown sugars, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon until well combined. Add the cooled oatmeal mixture and fold it in to incorporate. Then gently fold in the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour and the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake the cake for 38 to 45 minutes. You’ll know the cake is done when you insert a cake tester or toothpick in the center and it comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes.

A cream cheese frosting came with this recipe but I did not use it.   I sprinkled powdered sugar on top and the cake did very well, on its own.

This is linked to Tuesday’s Confessional.   

Tuesdays at the Table

Flourless Chocolate Brownie Cookie

Last month, I made a flourless peanut butter cookie and in the past, I have made a flourless chocolate cake.  There is something special about baked goods made without flour, I love.  I saw this recipe on Creative Kitchen, a blog that has not only many terrific recipes but also, interesting ideas.

I made this recipe from that blog and I think, it has topped, all other chocolate cookies, at least for now.  I am always looking for new favorites and it is going to take a lot to be better than this full flavored chocolate chewy cookie.

Flourless Chocolate Brownie Cookies  (adapted – the only change I made was to bake these for less time)

Ingredients

• 3 cups powdered sugar

• 2/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

• 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, mix together powdered sugar, cocoa powder and sea salt.

Whisk in egg whites until just moistened.

Add in chocolate chips.

Spoon thick fudgy batter onto cookie sheets in small mounds.

Chill for 5 or so minutes to keep them from spreading when they bake.

Bake for 12 minutes or until tops are glossy and lightly cracked.

 Linked to Yummy Sunday 

Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins – Barefoot Contessa Family Style

There is a group called Ina’s Garden which is collecting baking recipes, this month.  I decided, since I likeIna Garten, I will participate.  I made good old blueberry muffins.  Ina Garten calls them Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins and I don’t see why she does.  They are plain blueberry muffins with no topping, no streusel, nothing to adorn them.  If it is good enough for Ina, it is good enough for me.  I present you with Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins which have the wonderful ingredient, sour cream.  I love cakes and muffins with sour cream. They are more moist than other baked goods.  I did make some changes to this recipe.  I cut the fat and had partial butter and partial oil.  It seems like a lot of butter to me.  I got 18 muffins rather than the 16 listed.  The changes are included in my recipe.  For the original recipe, it can be found on Food Network and in her cookbook,Barefoot Contessa, Family Style.

Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins

Cook Time:   25 min

Serves:   18 muffins

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter

• 8 tablespoons oil

• 1 1/2 cups sugar

• 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• 8 ounces (about 1 cup) sour cream

• 1/4 cup milk

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 2 half-pints fresh blueberries, picked through for stems

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place 18 paper liners in muffin pans.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the oil and beat for another 2 minutes.  With the mixer on low-speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, sour cream, and milk.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low-speed add the flour mixture to the batter and beat until just mixed. Fold in the blueberries with a spatula and be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each cup just over the top, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the muffins are lightly browned on top and a sharp thin knife blade comes out clean.

Mounthwatering Monday @ A Southern Fairytale   

Sharing Monday @ Chocolate Drool and Kisses  

Tasty Tuesday   Creative Juice