Chocolate Chip and M & M Cookies

Mine didn’t come out as lusciously thick and chewy as the picture where I got the recipe from.  I’m not a huge crispy cookie person, although I did make some ice cream sandwiches with these, and they were pretty darn tasty!

Chocolate Chip M&M Cookies

Found at: Culinary Cory

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup shortening
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 6 oz. milk chocolate chips
• 8 oz. M&Ms

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter and shortening until light and fluffy.  Then add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.   Gradually add in flour, baking soda and salt, but once it is just combined stop mixing.  Fold in chocolate chips and M&Ms by hand.

Using about 1 Tbsp. of dough (small cookie scoop), place cookies on ungreased cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.  Bake 6 to 8 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through.   Allow the cookies to cool completely on the cookie sheet.

Chocolate Amaretto Cupcakes

The other variety of cupcakes I brought along were chocolate amaretto since Corrie enjoys amaretto flavor.  In hindsight I would probably make the frosting a bit stiffer to hold the peaks better, but it’s really just to your taste!

These were also yummy and the frosting addicting – did I mention there was amaretto in it?

Chocolate Amaretto Cupcakes

Very slightly adapted from Love and Olive Oil

Yields 12 cupcakes

• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp. amaretto liqueur
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 2 Tbsp. almond meal or finely ground almonds
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Frosting:

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
• 2 1/2 – 3 cups confectioners sugar
• 1-2 Tbsp. amaretto liqueur
• 2 Tbsp. cream or soy creamer (I used a non-dairy milk that was made out of almonds.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and put paper liners in your muffin pan.

Whisk together coconut milk, sugar, oil, amaretto, and vanilla extract until foamy.

In a different bowl, sift flour, cocoa powder, almond meal, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together, and add in two batches to the coconut milk mixture.  Stir to combine until no or very few lumps remain in the batter.

Fill each muffing cup with about 3 Tbsp. of batter, and bake for approximately 18-20 minutes (mine were done at closer to 16 minutes), until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove to a cooling rack immediately to cool to room temperature.

Frosting: Beat the softened butter until smooth and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.  Next add the cocoa powder and a 1/2 cup of the confectioners sugar, and beat until it’s combined.  Next add in the amaretto and then continue to add 1/2 cup of confectioners sugar at a time along with the cream as necessary, until the frosting is light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes.   Apply to cooled cupcakes and eat!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

I made these as one of two varietys of cupcakes that traveled to Columbus for Corrie’s birthday celebration.  I used a different icing from the original cream cheese icing since I was traveling with these cupcakes, but the taste-testers all gave good reviews (whether they were just being kind I don’t know, but I did manage to get rid of them all ).  These have a peanut butter ball surprise in the middle, but I forgot to take a picture of it cut open!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
Cupcake recipe found at:  Proceed with Caution (from Good Housekeeping)

Frosting recipe found at: Recipezaar

Made 24 cupcakes

Filling:

• 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Cupcakes:

• 8 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs

Frosting:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 4 cups powered sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla

Filling: Beat together confections’ sugar, peanut butter, butter, and vanilla using your mixer on medium speed.  Once combined, portion out the mixture into 24 balls (about 1 heaping teaspoon).  I found that since the balls are sticky, rubbing a little confectioner’s sugar on my hands prevented the mixture from sticking to me, but the balls don’t need to be perfectly round.   Put the balls on waxed paper and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and line your standard muffin-pan cups with paper liners.

Cupcakes: Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl or on waxed paper.   Using a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, mix together sour cream, milk, and vanilla.  In your mixing bowl (or a large bowl if using a hand mixer), beat sugar and butter on low speed until just combined.  Then, increase speed to high, and beat for 1 minute.  Lower the speed back to low, and add the eggs, one at a time beating well after each.  Once both eggs are added, beat an additional 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy.

Starting and ending with the flour mixture, alternately mix in the flour and sour cream mixtures, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice.  Cease mixing when the mixture has just been incorporated.

Portion 1 heaping tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup.  Place a peanut butter ball in center of each cup and top with another heaping tablespoon of batter.  Bake for 20 to 24 minutes or until toothpick inserted in cupcake comes out clean.  Take the cupcakes out of the pans immediately after taking out of the oven and cool completely on wire rack.

Frosting: Cream butter and peanut butter together in your mixing bowl.  Incorporate in half the powdered sugar, and then add in milk and vanilla. Finally add the remaining powdered sugar.  Blend until smooth and fluffy.

Crockpot Pork Tenderloin

I stumbled across this recipe when Jessica said she was making it.  It was super easy to throw together, and Corrie really liked it.  I was a little torn as to my feelings about it; a traditional meal that probably should have been served with potatoes.

Crockpot Pork Tenderloin

Recipe from allrecipes

• 1 – 2 pound – pork tenderloin
• 1 – 1 ounce-  envelope dry onion soup mix
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup red wine
• 3 Tbsp. minced garlic
• 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Put the pork tenderloin and soup packet contents in your crockpot.  Then add in the water, wine, and soy sauce; turning the pork to coat. Put the garlic on top of the tenderloin taking care to keep as much as possible on top of the pork during cooking.  Add the pepper on top; then cover and cook on low for 4 – 4 1/2 hours.  You can use the cooking liquid as an au jus if desired.

M & M Bars

Part of our travels included Corrie’s birthday extravaganza weekend in Columbus where we got together with old friends, went to the OSU game (Go Bucks!), and ate at some yummy restaurants.  Two of our fabulous friends hosted us for the weekend, so as I brought these as a sweet treat when we visited.  They were pretty tasty, the only thing I wasn’t thrilled with was that the M &M’s all sunk to the bottom, so I might try tossing them in a little flour next time to see if that helps or adding some chocolate chips to the batter as well.

M & M Bars

Recipe found at: IWANTCOOKIE

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups M&Ms

Grease a 9 x 13 pan, and preheat your oven to 375 F degrees.  In the bowl of your stand mixer or using your hand-held mixer, cream together butter with the white and brown sugars.  Once light and fluffy, add in the eggs and vanilla, and mix in until incorporated.  In a separate bowl, combine baking soda, salt, and flour.  Then add this mixture in portions to the batter while mixing (to avoid having the flour fly up in your face!).  Mix until combined, and then fold in the M & Ms (and chocolate chips if using) by hand.   Spread in an even layer in your pan and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool in the pan on a cooling rack, and cut into squares to serve.

Return from the Abyss

Well, I’m back.  Some extensive work/for fun travel has put a damper on time for posting.  I’m still behind on homework, so between all of this, I’ve been making a lot of repeats of recipes already posted on the blog like this or this or things I wouldn’t necessary post a recipe for – grilled chicken salad anyone? Haha.  Anyways,  I do have some new ones to share, so hopefully I’ll even be posting one this evening!  Thanks for stopping by.  :)

Carne Asada

Yum, yum, yum.  I am an annoyingly picky person meat eater.  Not when it came to this meal though, this recipe is definitely a winner.  I loved the flavor, and although this is part of the old camera series, even the picture is making me want to make it again immediately.  Best part…super easy to throw together ahead of time!

Carne Asada

Recipe found at : For the Love of Cooking (she’s got a great first name by the way )

• 1 1/2 – 2 lbs of flank steak
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1-2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 1/2 tsp.  oregano (I used dried.)
• 2 limes, juiced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced

Desired toppings: Gucamole, Salsa, Cheese, Taco Shells/Tortillas

Put all the ingredients in a gallon size food storage bag including the flank steak.  Mush it around so that everything is evenly incorporated, and marinate in the refrigerator for 6 hours at the minimum or overnight.    Grill the steak (or you could probably also cook it in the oven), and let rest for 10 minutes otherwise the juices will all run out when you slice it.  Flank steak will be very tough if you don’t cut against the grain, so make sure to slice it against the grain into chunks or small pieces.  Top with desired toppings and serve.

Cashew Chicken

Well my camera can’t decide if it wants to die or not.  For a couple weeks I couldn’t actually get it to take a picture hence the ugly flash picture below, now it’s back to working…who knows?  Indecisive…not that I can ever be that way.

This was good, I ended up taking the suggestion of doubling the sauce but wish I had also added another vegetable such as broccoli to the dish, both of these changes are reflected below.

Cashew Chicken

Adapted from Dinner & Dessert (originally from William-Sonoma/Amber’s Delectable Delights)

• 5 Tbsp. soy sauce (I used reduced sodium)
• 2 Tbsp. rice wine or dry sherry
• 2 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken, cut into chunks
• 1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 3 Tbsp. water
• 1 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
• 2 1/2 Tbsp.  canola oil
• 3 Tbsp. honey
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 cup salted cashews
• 1 cup broccoli florets, steamed
• Steamed rice

Combine together the chicken, 2 Tbsp. of soy sauce, sherry, and ginger.  Let sit for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, stir together water, remaining soy sauce, Worcestershire, sesame oil, sugar, honey, and cornstarch in a small bowl.

Heat wok or large pan over high heat.  Once hot, add 2 Tbsp. of canola oil.  Drain the chicken well and then place in the pan to stir-fry until cooked through.  Remove the chicken from the pan, and reduce heat to medium.  Add the remaining 1 Tbs. corn oil then the broccoli and green onions.  Once you can smell the green onions (20 seconds or less), add the chicken, cornstarch mixture and the cashews to the pan, allowing the sauce to reduce for 1-2 minutes.

Serve over steamed rice.

Cleveland Cassata

My dad’s three favorite cakes are cassata, german chocolate, and pineapple-upside down cake, so when we went to Cleveland this weekend for his birthday; I knew I would have to bring one of those three with me!  The Cleveland-style is custard-filled, inspired by Corbo’s in Little Italy (YUM – can I tell you how sad I missed the feast and didn’t get my cavatelli and meatball fix?) as Sweet Amandine’s post tells me.   Eating it brings back a lot of memories of Catalano’s bakery which was closer and where it was available with or without white chocolate.

I ended up making the cake in Tennessee the night before and making the custard and whipped cream in Cleveland.  While it was a bit of a project, you’re able to do it in steps, and with the exception of some jumbo eggs from a farm market which caused the custard to be a little thicker yet still totally delicious, this came out very well.   Albeit not the best picture ever since  I wasn’t too interested in making my daddy wait to eat his birthday cake so I could fix it; it will definitely make the birthday cake rotation!

Cleveland Cassata Cake
Found at the food blog of one of my fellow Mayfield Wildcats no less!  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Fed She found the recipe, which lists its slew of inspirations, at Sweet Amandine

You can make the custard and cake the night before.  I took the suggestion of refrigerating the cake before spilitting, and it was a wise move!

Cake:

• 2 1/4 c. cake flour
• 1 1/4 and 1/4 cups sugar, divided
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup cold water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 5 large egg yolks, room temperature
• 8 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Custard:

• 6 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups half and half
• 3 Tbsp. cornstarch

Macerated Strawberries:

• 3 lb. strawberries
• 2 Tbsp. sugar

Whipped cream:

• 2 cups chilled heavy cream
• 1 Tbsp. sugar

• White chocolate, for garnish, if desired

Custard:

This can be done the night before.
Whisk together the custard ingredients in a saucepan, then bring to a boil over medium-low heat, whisking constantly. Once it reaches a boil, lower the heat to a simmer and whisk until it becomes thick, 1-2 minutes.  The custard will change almost instantaneously from a liquid one second to a custard the next.  Turn down the heat so that the mixture just simmers, and whisk until thick, 1-2 minutes.   Move it to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap or wax paper to cool and then cover and refrigerate the custard for a minimum of 3 hours, maximum of 2 days.

Cakes:

This can be made the night before.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Line the bottoms of two 9-inch round cake pans with cooking sprayed or Baker’s Joy sprayed parchment paper or leave the pans ungreased.

Combine the flour, 1 1/4 c. sugar, baking powder, and salt, and then sift it twice into a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, place the yolks, water, oil, zest, and vanilla.  Use an electric hand mixer on high speed to combine.  Then mix in the flour mixture.

In a third bowl, use your stand mixer or your hand mixer to beat the mixture of egg whites and the cream of tartar until soft peaks form.   Once formed, add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and beat on high until the peaks are stiff but not dry.

Fold about a quarter of the egg whites into the yolk/flour mixture.   This “gets it started”, then you can fold in the remaining whites, but all the while you want to be as careful not to deflate the whipped egg whites while combining.  Don’t overmix – as soon as you don’t see the egg whites – Stop!

Divide the batter between your two baking pans (or use one 3″ pan like I did).  Bake for around 35 minutes, but check beforehand.  You want a toothpick inserted in the center to come out clean, and for the top of the cake to spring back to the touch.   Once done, remove to a cooling rack for at least an hour.   When the cakes are totally done cooling, run a knife around to make sure nothing is sticking and then turn out onto your plate.  The top is a little bit sticky as the cake is almost like an angel food type texture.    Wrap in saran and then stick in the fridge for at least 3 hours to make it easier to slice or leave it in there overnight.

Strawberries:

Slice the strawberries about 1/4″ thick.  Combine in a bowl with 2 Tbsp. sugar and stir; leave for one hour.  You can stir from time to time as they mascarate and give off their juice.  Then, strain the strawberries, BUT RESERVE THE JUICE!!!

Whipped Cream

Combine in a preferably chilled bowl the cream and sugar, and whip until stiff.

Assemble:

Split the  cake layers in half.    Put down your first cake layer and brush the top of it with 1/3 of the juice from the strawberries.  Then put down a layer of strawberries.  Then top that with a layer of custard.   Repeat until you finish with your final cake layer.  Then using an offset spatula or regular spatula, spread the whipped cream over the entire cake.

Chill for at least 8 hours; it only gets better the longer it has time to merry all the flavors together.   When ready to serve, bring to room temperature.   Serve with any remaining mascerated strawberries or fresh strawberries.  Or white chocolate shavings!

Enchiladas – “Ben”chiladas Style

Annie at Annie’s Eats recipe has spread over the food blogging sphere.  Even though I’ve only followed for the last couple months, I’ve seen it on several different blogs, and decided to make it myself.  I made them with larger tortillas, so I had fewer to a pan, and added a few items.  Although it’s never easy to get a good-looking picture of these kind of things, these were yummy, and super easy.  If I had cooked chicken on hand, I could have the entire thing in the oven in just a few minutes, which sounds like a winner to me!

Benchiladas

Adapted from Annie’s Eats

• 4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 8 oz. reduced-fat sour cream
• 8 oz. ranch salad dressing (I used light)
• Flour tortillas (The number you’ll need depends on their size.  For the smaller ones you’ll need 10-15, for the larger 6-8.)
• Salsa (I used jar)
• 4 cups shredded mexican cheese
• 1/2 cup black beans
• Fajitas seasoning

I cooked the chicken breasts using some fajitas seasoning on my stove top, but you can cook them however you’d like.  Once cooked, shred or chop the chicken.  Just allow to cool a little bit before adding, and while its doing that start by combining half of the sour cream and half of the ranch dressing  to a large bowl.  To that, add the chicken and stir to coat.  In a separate small bowl, mix together the remaining halves of the sour cream and ranch.

Preheat the oven to 375°, and grease a 9 x 13″ baking dish.

Spread your first tortilla evenly with ~1 tablespoon of the remaining sour cream/ranch mixture from the small bowl.   Then, put some of the chicken mixture in the center of the tortilla followed by salsa (to your preference), black beans (if using), and cheese.  Then roll up the tortilla and put it in the baking dish with the seam side down.  Repeat until you run out of ingredients and/or fill up your dish.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, and allow it to sit to cool for 5 minutes before serving.