Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Spice, Bananie and I went to Pennsylvania this weekend to ski and snowboard. I will have to post about it tomorrow because it was Spice's first time on a snowboard. I also have to post this picture because it cracks me up. We had to share a bed at the house we stayed at.



Spice is on the left. I'm on the right. Note that Spice is reading a Sookie Stackhouse book and I am reading a trashy chick book. Don't you feel better about yourself now? ;)

And of course, immediately upon our return, Spice started making cinnamon rolls and I made these Chocolate Chip Cupcakes. Good thing we have a big kitchen...

I am very critical of cupcakes. I really like the cake to be dense and love the frosting to work with the cake and not overtake it.

Although I LOVED both the cake and frosting, I think the frosting overshadowed the cake. It was so decadent and chocolatey! I think it is my new favorite frosting! But I do think it needs to go with a chocolate cupcake. I liked the cupcake too! I think it would be better with a vanilla buttercream.



Chocolate Chip Cupcakes from Martha Stewart's Cupcake Book

3 1/4 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising)

1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

7 ounces (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

5 large egg whites, room temperature

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Combine milk and vanilla together. Add to sugar mixture and beat until combined. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with wet ingredients and ending with dry. Scrape sides of bowl.

Beat egg whites to stiff peaks, and fold into batter. Fold in chocolate chips. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake cupcakes about 22 minutes. Frost and serve immediately.

Dark Chocolate Frosting from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Book

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon boiling water

3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

Pinch of salt

1 pound best-quality semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Combine cocoa and the boiling water, stirring until cocoa has dissolved. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter, confectioners' sugar, and salt until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add melted and cooled chocolate, beating until combined and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in the cocoa mixture. If not using immediately, frosting can be refrigerated up to 5 days, or frozen up to 1 month, in an airtight container. Before using, bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth again.

Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake

"I like big bundts and I cannot lie, you other brothers can't deny..."

I won't continue with the song because I have a lot to discuss with you, blog. Sing it to yourself if you must!

I made this cake for my friend, Kali's birthday. So a shoutout to the birthday girl! I heart you!

Now, on to the bundt. Before I made this cake I was a bundt virgin. It probably had to do with the fact that I didn't have a bundt pan. A quick trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond solved that problem! Whew! I was getting worried...

Everytime I mentioned that I was making a bundt this week, I kept referring to the scene in My Big Fat Greek Wedding where the Miller family brings a bundt cake and the greek family can't pronounce it. They keep saying "bonk, bonk ceke."  If you have NO earthly idea what I am talking about and think I have gone bananas (which I probably have as well), please watch this real quick. It'll make you laugh so hard you'll cry. And who doesn't want a good cry at the end of the week?

I digress: This cake was most excellent. The cinnamon and sugar were perfect for a snickerdoodle cookie lover and the cake itselt was very moist. All in all, one super delicious birthday cake! I ended up drizzling a white chocolate glaze over the top to make it more birthday-like. But it was also perfect the way it was before too! And the crust! Whooo! Divoon!



Snickerdoodle "Bonk" Cake from My Baking Addition

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup white sugar

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup full-fat sour cream, at room temperature

In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Mix together really well and Preheat oven to 325F. Here’s the exact way Julie made the crust: Using a spray product like Pam with Flour, generously spray a 9 inch Bundt pan, being careful to cover all the nooks and crannies, as well as the center tube. (Note: If you don’t want to use Pam with Flour, you can just grease the pan with shortening.) Gently dust the entire inside of the pan with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. You should only need about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar, but you want to try and evenly coat the inside surface of the pan, including the tube. Save the remaining sugar and cinnamon mixture and set everything aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Beat just the butter on medium speed for one full minute. Add the white sugar and mix for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and blade and add the brown sugar.

Mix for 2 minutes until the mixture looks light brown and uniform in color. Add the eggs one at a time, beating each for 1 full minute. Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream; beat well.

Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of the cinnamon sugar mixture over top the cake. Spread the rest of the batter into the pan and sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture over the top. (If you run out of cinnamon sugar, you can mix just 1/4 cup of sugar + 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon together for the top of the cake. It should be more than enough.)

Bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely. aside.

And a picture of my favorite birthday girl enjoying a morning cake slice:

Peanut Butter, Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut butter...good!

Oatmeal...good!

Chocolate chips...goooood!

Then you put them all together and you turn yourself around, that's what its all about!

We have a cookie jar at our apartment that I just love to keep full. Lately, however, I have been getting in trouble for keeping it full of delicious things. Go figure. So I have been trying to keep it full of things the roomies won't like. Namely, peanut butter cookies, because both Bananie and Spice could care less! Yay for me because I adore peanut butter cookies! And so do most people who visit...

Now, these peanut butter cookies are a bit different because I used Peanut Butter and Co.'s "Dark Chocolate Dreams" peanut butter. It made almost a chocolate peanut butter cookie! I was so excited I couldn't stop shoveling cookies in my mouth! It would be fun to see how some of the other peanut butter flavors affected the cookie.



Peanut Butter, Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip Cookies from The Brown Eyed Baker

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
½ cup rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used chocolate chunks)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

On medium speed, cream together the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat to combine. On low speed, gradually add the flour until just combined. Stir in the oats, and then the chocolate chips.

Use a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons) and drop dough onto prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden. Cool completely on the baking sheet and then store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Alice's Tea Cup

This weekend we had a bridal shower for Rebecca. She is getting married in April and this little shindig is getting so close! As bridesmaids, Spice and I are in on all the action! Yes! And I get to make cookies for the wedding favors. Can't WAIT to get started on that!



We had the shower at a place here in the city called Alice's Tea Cup. I just had to share with my blog because this place was so special! When you first walk in, you see their bakery, where they have all kinds of oversized cupcakes, giant cookies and teas. You can also purchase Alice related products like books and mugs. Everything was just so dainty!

We had the back party room all set up with balloons and favors at each place. After Rebecca arrived, they brought out about 8 different kinds of teas for the table. The tops of each teapot had these adorable little ceramic animals. I couldn't help marveling over them!



A bit later, they brought out tiered stands that had three layers of goodies! It blew my mind. And my stomach!

The top tier had scones including blueberry, pumpkin and I think cranberry, although I was too busy shoving the pumpkin scone in my mouth to notice the rest of them. Poor scones. I hope they didn't feel neglected.

The next tier had little sandwiches on them. SO many different kinds! There was a cucumber sandwich, hummus sandwhich, curried chicken, and so many more that I can't remember.

Probably because I zeroed in on the bottom tier which housed the desserts. There was an espresso chocolate chip cake, lots of butter cookies, chocolate mousse cups and lemon tarts.



We sat and talked and played games for several hours and this place was just so perfect to accomodate us! I can't wait to go back for brunch sometime! But until then, we've got a wedding to plan!

Olympic Ring Cookies

I'm not huge into the Olympics, especially the winter games. I have respect for it, don't get me wrong! Lots of respect! Anyone who straps on two pieces of wood and flies down a mountain at 90 miler per hour gets my respect. No questions asked. I get a bit more excited about the summer Olympics because I am a gymnastics nut. By that I mean I have the entire gymnastics events on tape from the past 3 summer Olympics.

Bananie, on the other hand, LOVES the winter Olympics. She even organized an Olympic event with the kids where she works. She asked for some Olmpic cookies and with a few disclaimers I made these for the little tykes.

Happy (or sad) end of the Olympics! Now Biggest Loser will return and the Today Show will again be broadcast from New York. All is right with the world. =)

I'm reposting the sugar cookie recipe and royal icing recipe below for your enjoyment.



Cut Out Sugar Cookies from The Hungry Housewife

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the egg and extract and beat to incorporate.

In a separate bowl sift together to flour, baking powder and salt.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until combined. Divide the dough into 2 portions, wrap with wax paper and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.

Remove the dough, roll out to 3/8 inch thick in between sheets of parchment paper and cut into desired shapes.

Place cut cookie dough back into fridge for 10-15 minutes. Bake cookies on an un-greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes. Cool on cookie sheets for 2 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Cool completely before icing.

Royal Icing from Sweetopia

3/4 cup warm water
5 tablespoons meringue powder
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
2.25 lbs. powdered sugar

*If your meringue powder has no flavoring, add one teaspoon of clear vanilla. I've also used almond and lemon flavoring with good results.

In mixer bowl, pour in the warm water and meringue powder. Mix with whisk by hand until frothy and thickened, about 30 seconds.

Add the cream of tartar and mix 30 more seconds.

Pour in all the icing sugar at once and place the bowl on the mixer.

Using the paddle attachment on the lowest speed, mix slowly for 10 minutes. Icing will get thick and creamy.

Tint with desired food coloring.