peppermint white chocolate cupcakes

I reallllly don't like Starbucks. The coffee always tastes burnt + I do not appreciate the high cost for an espresso beverage. However, I do have a soft spot for one Starbucks product.... the peppermint white chocolate mocha complete with a gloriously red holiday cup. This decadent beverage warms my heart + is the perfect holiday treat. Although this drink sets you back about 400+ calories, its nice to indulge once in a while.

Inspired by my favorite holiday beverage I made some chocolate cupcakes with peppermint white chocolate frosting this past weekend for a friend's birthday; mini chocolate cakes swirled with white chocolate-pepperminty buttercream + topped with a candy garnish, they were a delight.

Enjoy.

White Chocolate Peppermint Frosting

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

12 ounce white chocolate, melted and cooled slightly

1-2 cup confectioners' sugar *

1 tsp peppermint extract

In a large bowl beat the butter at medium speed until creamy. Beat in the melted white chocolate. Add confectioners' sugar in stages + peppermint extract. Whip until light and fluffy.

* Add confectioners' sugar until reaches sweetness + consistency desired. May be more or less.

Peppermint Candy Garnish

Evenly space the circular red peppermint candy on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 300 degrees F for about 10-15 minutes. If left in the oven too long candy will turn yellow. After removing from the oven use a pizza cutter to make even (or uneven) cuts through the melted candy. Once hardened, the candy will break apart easily using the cuts as a guide.

Oops we missed November.

November flew by without a post so here is a quick summary to catch up on the past month from the West Coast:

I wrapped up the bread portion of my program finishing off the 8 weeks with bagels, pretzels + flat breads. I've been covered in butter since starting + completing the 3 week Viennoisorie portion learning croissants, brioche, danish, cinnamon rolls, sticky buns, panettone, pan d'oro, and stollen...just to name a few.

I had family + friends visiting from New York City, Chicago, Miami, London + Portugal via Austin Texas. I went back to Chicago for Thanksgiving but the 20 degree weather reminded me how lucky I am to live in beautiful San Francisco.

It's now Decemeber + time for some holiday baking. Although this recipe is one I made a while ago they are perfect for this time of year. Roll in sugar + enjoy.

Chocolate Ginger Cookies

2 cups flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp ground ginger

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves

3/4 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1/4 cup molasses

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup semisweet chocolate, chopped or mini chips

additional sugar for rolling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and all spices, set aside. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg, followed by molasses, vanilla and balsamic vinegar. Gradually stir in the sifted dry ingredients mixing until flour is incorporated. Stir in chocolate chunks. Scoop dough into balls and roll in sugar. Press lightly to flatten and bake for 10-12 minutes.

*You can also mix in crystallized ginger for added ginger flavor.

Mother's Day Brunch

For Mother's Day in Chicago, Katie flew in from NYC to spend the weekend with our Momma. We planned a light brunch to celebrate the lovely ladies in our lives. We made banana bread waffles + plain waffles served with peach or blueberry compote and fresh vanilla whipped cream. We also had scrambled eggs, bacon, fresh fruit, blueberry scones, Intelligentsia coffee + mimosas. For dessert (because we can never miss an opportunity to eat dessert) we enjoyed a yellow layer cake with raspberry frosting. This frosting is delicious and is especially great on chocolate cake. My Aunt Judy once told me that doilies can make anything look good, so... I displayed my cake on top of my new reusable doilies from Ikea.

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there! I'm lucky to have such amazing women in my life!

Raspberry Frosting:

1/2 cup margarine

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

3 1/2- 4 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1-2 tbsp milk or cream

1-2 tbsp raspberry preserves

Whip all the ingredients together, adding the raspberry preserves in last. Add as much or as little of the preserves as you would like until it reaches the taste and color you desire.

Shout out to Julia for her superb waffle iron skills!

easter cupcakes + tales of a terrible bunny.

I have fond memories of Easter- waking up and searching the house to find where the Easter Bunny had left my basket, always filled with chocolate eggs and silly putty. When I was in high school I volunteered to be Easter Bunny's wife at the local easter egg hunt. I was provided with a wonky looking costume that was too short and small that exposed my ankles (hidden by white tube socks) and the back of my neck. The mask was scary with crooked whiskers and a face that almost looked demonic. To make a long story short, I mayyyybe tripped a few kids on accident causing them to spill their eggs, ultimately ending up with many, many crying children. Needless to say, I was never asked back.

I made these cupcakes to bring for Easter Brunch tomorrow, they are yellow cake with assorted pastel buttercream and sparkling sugar. I've also included a picture of me dressed as the Easter Bunny's Wife. (It was probably also traumatic for children to see that Mrs. Bunny had lost her foot cover and was wearing adidas sandals. woops)

Hoppy Easter, enjoy the weekend!

(this really is me, I promise.)

Cookie Nine and Ten: Peanut Butter Kisses and Peanut Butter Thumbprints

I came up with our idea to do the "12 cookies of christmas" and I will be the first to admit that it did not go as planned. I have been completely overwhelmed in the past couple of weeks with work, holiday parties, a wedding and entertaining some visiting friends. Tonight, I needed to make two more cookies before Christmas so I decided on a quick but tasty holiday cookie - the peanut butter kiss. This cookie is nothing fancy but its a no-fail recipe, straight off the Hershey Kiss bag. I ended up running out of chocolate kisses and decided to fill the rest of the cookies with jam to make a sort of pb&j cookie. It turned out to be quite the time saver, one dough for two deeelicious cookies. Holiday cookies in a flash...


Peanut Butter Kiss/ Jam Thumbprints
From Hershey's.com

1/2 cup butter, softened (the original recipe uses shortening)
3/4 cup creamy Peanut Butter (I used jif)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp milk
1 tap vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Beat together butter and peanut butter. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Add sugars to peanut butter mixture and beat until fluffy. Mix in the egg, milk and vanilla, beat well. Stir in the flour mixture. Scoop dough into 1-inch balls and roll into granulated sugar. Bake for 8 minutes. Immediately after removing from the oven press a Hershey kiss into the center, let cool.

For the thumbprints:
Scoop the dough into 1-inch balls and place on cookie sheet. Using your thumb gently press into the center of each cookie to make a small indentation. Bake for 8 minutes. Once the cookies have cooled pipe or spoon jam into the center.

Cookie Eight: Fried Crullers

Watching Grandma Wanda in the kitchen is like watching an artist. Even though she thinks she's lost her touch, she's mistaken. She moves through the kitchen like she's been doing this every day of her life. The technique for her is second nature, and I was truly grateful to learn this old family recipe from her. After some debate, my dad and I decided that the recipe was a family secret, but we also wanted to share it with others. Our compromise was that I would only post what was written on the recipe card. I'm convinced that you couldn't follow the recipe and come out with the same finished product because most of the technique is absent. For instance, Grandma Wanda uses a 70-year-old cast iron skillet that I'm positive produces the most delicious Crullers on the planet. Any other pan just won't do. If you can produce an equally amazing Cruller by just following the recipe, please let me know. I'll have to send you a prize.

Fried Crullers
From the kitchen of Wanda Girard

1/2 tsp salt
3 egg whites
1 whole egg
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of mace
1/4 cup butter
1 tbsp cream
2 cups sifted flour
Powdered sugar for topping

Add salt to eggs & beat lightly. Stir in sugar, mace and butter. Add cream and flour, then mix until smooth. Knead dough on floured surface until dough no longer sticks to your hands. Chill thoroughly. Separate dough in half. Roll to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut in 7x1 inch strips, cutting ends diagonally. Make a lengthwise slit in center of each strip and pull one end through slit.


Fry in lard at 370 degrees F until delicately brown.


Drain on absorbent paper.


Sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar after cooled and serve. Makes about 45 Crullers.

Cookie Seven: Spritz Cookies

Even though Spritz cookies aren't my absolute favorite, they are a holiday must. They're very easy to make and a lot of fun to decorate. If you have more time than I did, you could get very creative with your decorations. We have a Wilton Spritz Cookie Press, but you can use any cookie press you can find at a baking supply store. I'm sorry I don't have more commentary tonight, but I'm busy packing for Christmas in Chicago. Cross your fingers for snow!

Spritz Cookies

From Wilton

1 1/2 cups butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

2 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Thoroughly cream butter and sugar. Add egg, milk, vanilla and almond extract; beat well. Stir together flour and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture, mixing to make a smooth dough. Do not chill. Roll dough into a long, skinny piece to easily slide the dough into Spritz cookie press. Press cookies onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown on bottom. Decorate with colored sprinkles or add food coloring to dough before it is baked. Makes about 6-7 dozen.

Cookie Six: Chocolate Dipped Shortbread

I'm a very big fan of shortbread cookies, these however are much different then other shortbread I've made. As I was perusing allrecipes.com looking for some holiday baking inspiration I came across these "melt in your mouth shortbread cookies", a highly rated recipe. My mom looooved them, I thought they were a little dry by themselves so I made them more festive by dipping them in chocolate and sprinkling them with either crushed peppermint or toffee bits, everything is better with chocolate. Enjoy.

Shortbread Cookies
adapted from allrecipes.com

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Whip butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Stir in the confectioners' sugar, cornstarch, and flour. Beat on low for one minute, then on high for 3 to 4 minutes. Drop cookies by spoonfuls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Watch that the edges don't brown too much. Cool on wire racks. Once cooled, dip into melted chocolate and sprinkle with toffee bits or crushed peppermint (I liked the toffee ones better).

*Baker's note: my cookies only baked for about 10 minutes, the edges browned very quickly- so keep an eye on them.

Cookie Three: Kringles

One thing that I love most about my family is our ability to take everyday things, normal things, and put our family spin on them. I discovered just how good we really were at this while I was researching my next cookie assignment.

Kringles are my absolute favorite Christmas cookies, and my Aunt Judy serves them each year to her anxious guests busily brushing up on their talent for Santa. My Uncle Ernie has an in with Santa, so he pays us a special visit on Christmas Eve with a sack full of presents. In order to receive your presents though, Santa requires a kind of toll; you must perform for the rest of the family. If you are humorous/good/young enough, there's a possibility you may not get heckled. Only the lucky few (and by lucky, I mean worst) get last year's leftover ribbons and bows thrown at them. Clearly, we are a loving family.

So loving, in fact, that we have given our own name to Kringles. Indeed, as I was rummaging through a cookbook last week, I came across a recipe for Chocolate Crinkle Cookies. I was highly confused because these cookies looked like Kringles, but they just couldn't be. We've been calling these cookies Kringles for thirty-plus years; they couldn't possibly have another name! But the recipe was just too similar and yielded too many Google hits for it not to be true. So, I offer up my family's version of this classic recipe. You may know it by a different name, but I guarantee ours tastes better.

Kringles

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 squares Baker's chocolate, unsweetened

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup powdered sugar

Melt 4 squares Baker's chocolate according to the directions on the box. In a large bowl, mix vegetable oil, melted chocolate and sugar with a wooden spoon until combined. Add one egg at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla, and mix well. Add flour, baking powder and mix well. (I found the dough difficult to stir at this point, but just give it a little elbow grease). Wrap dough in parchment paper, and refrigerate overnight.

After ample refrigeration, roll a tablespoon of dough into a ball, and then roll in the powdered sugar until the entire ball of dough is covered. Place on cookie sheet about two inches apart, and bake for 10 - 12 minutes, until cookies have expanded and look like the powdered sugar has crinkled. Yields approximately four dozen cookies, depending on how big you roll the dough balls and how much batter you eat while you're rolling the dough in powdered sugar.

The Twelve Cookies of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, we decided to bake cookies. Twelve to be exact. Inspired by the holiday spirit and the ridiculously tacky decorations we all have in our houses, we'll be posting 12 recipes now through Christmas. These recipes are some of our family favorites, and without them, Christmas would mean nothing- can you tell we're a family who likes to eat? When we think of these holiday treats, it invokes warm memories of our family and friends who continue to mean so much to us and whose traditions we intend to pass on. We invite you to bring our holiday classics into your home this season. Happy holidays from Cookie Confessions!