A Morning in the Kitchen

Happy Saturday All! I hope everyone had a great week. I know I promised some "healthy" recipes next, but I was distracted by macaroons and a craving for something with chocolate.

I've been wanting to try to make french almond macaroons for a while. It seems like every foodblog has been making them. I used a Martha Stewart recipe that seemed the least complicated compared to the others. I've read many horror stories about the macaroon disasters and the stressful process. The appearance of mine was pretty good, however the taste - ehh not so much. When they first came out of the oven they were good, but now they have hardened and I think the almond meal I used was not as fine as it should have been. Oh well, I'll try again. Click here for Martha's French Almond Macaroon Recipe

Now, to supress my chocolate craving I tried to make blondies, but they turned into brownies because I have the patience of a 5 year old. I was supposed to wait and let the butter cool to room temperature before combining it, but I didn't... and the chocolate chips melted turning the whole mixture brown. However, these little blondie-brownies bars were still deeeelicious.

Blondie-Brownies with Butterscotch Chips and Marshmallows

1 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups mini marshmallows
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 x 9 baking dish.

In a sauce pan over medium heat, melt the butterscotch chips and butter, stirring constantly until smooth. When the butter and chips are melted and smooth remove from heat and transfer the contents of the pan to a mixing bowl. Be sure not to over heat the butter and butterscotch chips or they will separate and look chunky or curdled. Cool the mixture to room temperature (this is the step I did not wait for - if you want the bars to be blondies follow recipe accordingly). Using an electric mixer beat the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, vanilla, and eggs into the butter and butterscotch mixture. You can add all the ingredients at once. Once ingredients are combined stir in the chocolate chips and marshmallows. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared ban. Bake for 25 minutes. The center will feel a little soft, but will firm while cooling. Let cool completely before cutting.

Raspberry Almond Coffee Cake

I've started reading a couple "healthy lifestyle" blogs, they are really interesting and inspiring. I'm feeling encouraged to attempt a healthier lifestyle. I guess this includes making healthy food choices, regular exercise, taking a multivitamin? (hm, maybe I have a little more reading to do)

I've decided this new lifestyle should include making some "healthy" baked items or maybe low-fat variations. It actually sounds like a great challenge. The following recipe does not fall into the healthy category, however you could consider it nutritional with its raspberry content. Fruit in any form is nutritious - right? So get ready kids, there will be some health-conscious baked goods in the near future. In the meantime, please enjoy this delightful recipe for Raspberry Almond Coffee Cake, with cream cheese and a crumble top. Full of caloric happiness :)


Raspberry Almond Coffee Cake
Adapted from Allrecipes.com

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, cold
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sour cream
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 tsp almond extract

filling:
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup raspberry jam or preserves
1/2 cup slivered almonds*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (325 for convection oven). In a large bowl combine flour and sugar. Cut in cold butter until the mixture is crumbly. Remove 1 cup of the mixture and set aside. Add in baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the sour cream, egg and almond extract mix well. Spread mixture into a greased 9-inch springform pan. Beat together cream cheese, sugar and egg and pour over batter in pan. Spoon jam on top and cover with extra crumble mixture and almonds. Baked for 55-60 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes.

*Baker's note:
I didn't use almonds on the top, the crumble was enough crunch for us!

Big Love for Cakelove

Washington D.C. is quickly growing on me as one of my favorite cities in the U.S. It has everything you could ask for: stunning scenery, great shopping, amazing restaurants, and a very lively nightlife.

I was fortunate enough to visit D.C. this past weekend for a quick reunion with some friends. Although everyone else was happy just hanging around and chatting, I had one task that I needed to accomplish this weekend: visit at least one of D.C.'s well-known bakeries.

While shopping in Georgetown on Saturday, I made sure to allot time for my friends and I to make a stop at Georgetown Cupcake, one of D.C.'s only cupcakeries. Having read the bakery's backstory (two sisters quit their jobs and started their own little cupcake shop), I just knew I had to try one of their delicious little cakes.

Although we were tired, my friends and I walked a few final blocks to Georgetown Cupcake, spotting its cute black awning from down the street- only to be completely dismayed by the line to enter the store. It was literally wrapped around the block! We got in line and began to wait, but after about 15 minutes and barely any progress, we had to move on. I was a little disappointed, but I didn't let it get me down. There was another delicious baked good waiting for me somewhere in D.C.

The line at Georgetown Cupcake.

We woke up as early as we could on Sunday (quite difficult after a long night of, um, talking) and headed out to the next bakery on my list: Cakelove. Nestled in the fabulous U Street Corridor of the city, Cakelove is a bake shop that has grown from one location to six- and for very good reason.

We walked into Cakelove and were stopped dead in our tracks at the amazing variety of baked goods: cakes, bars, and cupcakes, all looking like absolute perfection. After going back and forth between the options, we decided on a vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting, a red velvet cupcake, a chocolate Boston creme cupcake, and a vanilla caramel cupcake.

The cupcakes were absolutely amazing! The frosting was some of the best I've eaten in my life (and that means a lot coming from me) and the cake was light and airy. Whatever they are doing over there, they are doing it right.

Moral of the story: if you are in or around Washington, D.C., get into your car/onto your bike/onto the Metro and get over to Cakelove. There is a cupcake soulmate waiting for you.

Snickerdoodles and Stuff

What a long tiring week this has been. I went from working a couple days a week to working 3 jobs and over 45 hours this week, I'm a little exhausted. I finally had a day off and lucky for me it was 70 degrees and sunny here in Chicago, but unfortunately I was catching up on sleep (running on 3 hours from the night before) and woke up at 12pm and found the rest of the day had passed me by before I had any energy to be productive. Once I got up and moving I did some laundry, cleaned up a bit and decided to make some snickerdoodles.

I decided to try out the convection oven this time and boyyy was it great. The circulating heat baked the cookies perfectly even and in a quick 7 minutes. They came out of the oven crunchy on the outside and soft in the inside, the way a great cookie should be. I did a little research before baking the cookies and found that when using a convection oven the temperature should be lowered by 20-25 degrees. I can't wait for my next convection baked item!

Another baking device that I have grown to love is the ice cream/dough scoop. Cookie making has been completely revolutionized for me. Its no longer a hassle to spoon out balls of dough, now its a quick one, two, done. I bought a wilton plastic scoop from Michael's, it only cost me about $2.00, whatta deal...but it broke on my first batch of cookies (I should've guessed). So I have upgraded to a delightful stainless steel spring-loaded scoop from Sur La Table (a gift from mom) and let me tell ya - it is wonderful, please see the perfect scoops below!

Does anyone have any baking tools they can't live without? You can never have to much kitchen "stuff".

click here for the Snickerdoodle recipe I used. I'm still too tired (or maybe its lazy) to re-type the recipe.

Mint Brownies

This was the first Saturday morning working at the bakery and as it turned out one of the head bakers was out of town and the decorator had to leave early so I was given lots to work on. I baked trays and trays of cookies, cupcakes, and I sampled my first ever taste of pumpkin pie (I had no idea what I had been missing all these years!). I was also given the task of making cream cheese frosting, when I added the sugar I forgot to change the speed on the industrial sized mixer and POOF it was an explosion of white cloudy sugar everywhere. Not only did I cover myself completely from head to toe but anyone who was standing within 5 feet of me as well. I learned my lesson.

I made these brownies for all my pals at Vertigo. They are verrry decadent and they helped pass the time on an extremely slow Friday night at the bar. They are best served cold and in small amounts. Katie's friend Michelle used to make these all the time back in the day, I couldn't find her recipe anywhere but I found a similar one online. Enjoy.


Mint Brownies
Adapted from Joyofbaking.com

Brownie Layer:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/4 cups granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mint Layer:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract or 1-2 tablespoons crème de menthe
green food coloring (optional)

Chocolate Glaze:
3 ounces (90 grams) semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 9x9 inch pan lined with parchment paper (extra over the sides).

In a stainless steel (heatproof) bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the butter and chocolate. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar and vanilla extract. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well with a wooden spoon after each addition. Stir in the flour and salt and beat, until the batter is smooth and glossy, about one minute. Pour the brownie batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes, edges should be slightly browned, inserted toothpick should come out clean. Cool completely.

To make the mint layer beat together all the ingredients until smooth. If the frosting is too thick add more cream. Spread the frosting over the cooled brownies and refrigerate for 5-10 minutes or until firm.

To make the chocolate layer use a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter. Spread over the mint filling and refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until the chocolate glaze starts to dull.

Baking News and Oatmeal Scotchies

It's been a busy week for me, I got a new job at a bakery! Thanks to my Aunt Donna they hired me without having any real baking experience. I am pretty much the official counter girl for the up-coming holiday season but I am baking as well, which is super exciting. Tuesday was my first day, along with learning the products and register functions I made snickerdoodle cookies with the owner. All the girls at the bakery are amazingly wonderful and sooo helpful. I am really lucky to have found such a great place to work and I'm already learning a lot from watching these talented bakers!

Here is a recipe for Oatmeal Scotchies that I made for my momma, she said they are her favorite but I'm pretty sure I've never seen her eat one of these before. Anyway, this recipe is straight off the toll house bag... enjoy.

Toll House Oatmeal Scotchies
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
1 2/3 cups (11-oz. pkg.) butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats and morsels. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes for chewy cookies or 9 to 10 minutes for crisp cookies. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Baker's Note: I made some with chocolate chips and butterscotch chips, delicious.

Vanilla Marshmallows

Tonight we enjoyed rich hot chocolate with homemade vanilla marshmallows. We don't usually like to drink our calories around here but I'm just trying to fatten everyone up for insulation purposes as the cold winter months are approaching.

Homemade marshmallows are nothing like the store bought kind. They are dense but light, still sticky and chewy but they have this gourmet look and a hint of vanilla flavor. They melted perfectly into the hot chocolate and I can only imagine how good they would be inside some kind of baked good....

Give them a try - I'm planning on dipping them in chocolate or caramel next time.

Vanilla Marshmallows
Adapted from Giada Laurentis and Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

1/2 cup and 1/4 cup water
3 tbsp gelatin
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Butter an 8x8 inch pan and coat in powdered sugar. In a large mixing bowl pour 1/2 cup water then sprinkle in the gelatin. Allow the gelatin to soften for about 10 minutes. In a medium sized sauce pan pour in sugar, evaporated milk and 1/4 cup water. Stir on low heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook until candy thermometer reads 240 degrees F, about 10-12 minutes. Pour this mixture into the gelatin and beat on low speed until incorporated. Beat the mixture on high speed until it is thick and has doubled in size. Add in the vanilla and salt. Quickly pour the mixture into the buttered and sugared pan. Allow the marshmallows to sit in a cool place for at least 8 hours or overnight. Use scissors to cut the marshmallows into squares.