Chewy Chocolate Raspberry Cookies

I have nothing against the vegans of the world. I have nothing against the raw foodies or the vegetarians. In fact, I have a lot of respect for those who follow a specific diet. (I'm trying REEEEEEEEEEAAALLY hard not to offend anyone here!)

I, however, am not one of them. My body does best when I eat what I crave in moderation. If I want a cookie,  I eat a cookie. That's why, until now I have not made anything vegan. I have a friend who does a lot of vegan baking and comes up with the most original recipes! It blows my mind! I, however, stick to butter and eggs because I am not vegan and want my real cookie.

Until now.

I was craving something with raspberry and chocolate together, because it is simply such a divine combination. I came across a recipe that just so happened to be vegan. After scratching my head and staring at my computer screen long enough, I decided it was time to take the leap into vegan-ness.

I was completely blown away by these cookies. They were moist and soft and chewy and amazing. I have to mention again how moist they were because I thought they would be pretty dry since there wasn't any butter or eggs. Not so. This is definitely a recipe I will come back and make again. I also added chocolate chips just for kicks.



Chocolate Raspberry Cookies (vegan) from Koko's Kitchen

1/2 cup raspberry preserves

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (sifted if clumpy)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, lightly grease cookie sheet.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together raspberry preserves, canola oil, sugar, vanilla and almond extracts.

In a seperate mixing bowl, sift together the other ingredients. Add the dry to the wet in 3 batches, mixing well with a fork after each addition. When you get to the last batch you may need to use your hands to work the batter into a soft and pliable dough. Add the chocolate chip and mix until incorporated.

Roll the dough into walnut size balls and then flatten them with your hands into 2 1/2 inch diameter discs. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Pad Thai

My obsession with pad thai started out innocently enough. My friend India and I wanted to go get sushi one night. So we went to Lili's on 57th, which they call "Asian Cuisine and Sushi Bar". If you like Asian food I highly recommend going here if you are in the city. It is super fresh and the variety of food on the menu is overwhelming.

Anywhoo, India and I are ravenous and checking out the menu for which rolls we want (which is silly because we always get spicy tuna of some kind) and we decide we want some noodles to go with it. So we order some pad thai. I took one bite and decided it was my new favorite food. And from that day on, India and I would go to Lili's at least once a week and order spicy tuna rolls and pad thai. And lived happily ever after. The end.

Just kidding!

I finally mustered up some courage to try my hand at pad thai one drizzly night. I couldn't find rice noodles in my grocery store (which was poor planning because there are several other grocery stores I could have tried at), so I used whole wheat linguini noodles. I also didn't include shrimp, because, saddly, I am allergic. Actually, not that sad, shrimp is too fishy for me. And I added some broccoli because its delicious. And please don't forget/leave out the lime juice. It really gives the dish the final kick it needs! And we all want a final kick, right?

This was a very basic pad thai recipe, but sure did the trick for me. Even with the whole wheat noodles, which definitely made it a bit heavier, the asian flavors definitely shined through! Which was exactly what I was looking for. I was slightly nervous to use fish sauce because it just sounds gross, but I persevered and it was worth it!

Pad Thai from Family Fun

1/2 pound dried rice noodles, linguine width (or whole wheat linguini)

1/4 cup Asian fish sauce

3 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon water

1/2 teaspoon dried red chili flakes (optional)

1 egg, lightly beaten

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken, cut into bite-size pieces

1 cup shredded carrot

2 cups fresh bean sprouts

1/2 cup chopped scallions

1 cup cut broccoli

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add the noodles and turn off the heat. Let them stand for 10 minutes, using tongs or two forks to separate the strands as they soften and turn from translucent ivory to white. Drain the noodles, rinse them well in cold water, and drain again. Set them aside. If using linguini noodles, cook as directed on package until slightly underdone.

In a small bowl, stir together the Asian fish sauce, sugar, soy sauce, water, and chili flakes if desired, until the sugar dissolves and everything is well mixed. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add the egg and scramble it as it cooks just until it is no longer runny, about 30 seconds. Transfer the egg to a plate.

Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and swirl it around. Add the garlic and toss well. Add the chicken and cook it until the edges have mostly changed color, about 1 minute. Toss it well and continue cooking to brown it, about 30 seconds, then push it to the sides.  Add the carrot and broccoli and cook everything about 1 minute. Scoop the chicken, broccoli, and carrot into a bowl, leaving as much oil as possible in the pan.

Swirl the last tablespoon of oil in the pan. When it's hot, add the noodles, spreading them to the edges. Cook for 1 minute, until the oil sizzles. Scoop up the noodles and turn them over in a big mass. Cook them another minute, then turn them again.

Pour the sauce mixture around the sides of the pan. When it sizzles, place the cooked chicken, carrot and broccoli on the noodles, along with the bean sprouts, scallions, and cooked egg. Gently scoop the noodles from the bottom and turn them over. Continue tossing them to mix in the chicken, carrot, broccoli and egg. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the lime juice and toss the noodles well. Serve the Pad Thai hot or warm. Serves 4.

Cherry Coke Cupcakes

We threw a bachelorette party for my dear friend Rebecca (who's wedding I am in and making these cookies for) this past weekend. We started at our apartment, opening gifts, eating food and hanging out. We were headed to the Awesome 80's Prom downtown so our theme for the night, other than the bride to be, was 80s.

Now, 80s attire was easy. Spice and I got out the lace, the converse and the bangles, and had no problem crimping our hair. Slightly more difficult was the menu. What kind of food, praytell, is considered 80s?? We settled for ordering Dominos, Spice made a layer dip and I made these Cherry Coke Cupcakes. Of course, no one except us really cared that we stuck to the theme, but we sure did!



Neither of us could get over how good the cupcakes were. They were very soft and moist and the cherry flavor was perfect with the chocolate. The whipped cream and cherry on top were simply perfect as well. Although I'm not a soda person, I could barely tell there was any coke in these. I doubled the recipe and made mostly extra large cupcakes with just a few regular sized ones.

We all had an awesome time at the 80's prom and wouldn't you believe it, Screech from Saved By The Bell happened to be there. He must've wanted to celebrate Rebecca being single for a little while longer!



Cherry Coke Cupcakes from Annie's Eats

3 cups all-purpose flour
6 tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cup sugar
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cup Coca-Cola
1/2 tsp. maraschino cherry juice
4 tsp. vanilla extract
Maraschino cherries, stemless

For the glaze (optional):
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tbsp. Coca-Cola

For topping:
2/3 cup heavy cream
3-4 tbsp. powdered sugar
Maraschino cherries

Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line  a muffin pan with foil or paper liners.  In a medium bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.  Stir together and set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar and butter.  Mix on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.   Mix in the egg until incorporated.   In a bowl or large measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, Coke, maraschino cherry juice, and vanilla extract; stir to combine.  (This mixture may look disgusting and/or curdled – it’s okay!)

Mix the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture on low speed, alternately with the liquid ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing just until incorporated.  Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners.  Drop 4 or 5 stemless maraschino cherries into each cupcake well and push them down into the batter.  Bake for about 18 minutes (or about 24 for extra large cupcakes), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the optional glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and Coke in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.  Spoon or drizzle a small amount of the top of each cupcake.  Allow to set.

To make the whipped cream topping, add the heavy cream to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Begin whipping on medium speed, slowly adding the confectioners’ sugar and gradually increasing the speed to high as the cream holds soft peaks.  Whip until the cream holds stiff peaks, being careful not to overbeat.  Spoon or pipe the whipped cream on top of the cupcakes and top each with a maraschino cherry.

Palmiers/Elephant Ears

When I was a youngin and my mom would take me to the mall, she would always get me what I called an elephant ear from a bakery in the food court. She would hold me up so I could see all of them and decide the specific one I wanted. It would come in a small paper bag and everytime we went into a store, my mom would tell me that I had to put it away. And I'm sure I would wander around whatever store we were in with a ring of sugar around my mouth from nibbling my elephant ear.

When I heard how easy elephant ears are to make, I just had to try. I used store bought pastry dough this time and made some with cinnamon and sugar and some with just sugar. They turned out so yummy and the only caution I have is to really watch them baking because the bottoms burn very easily.



Palmiers/Elephant Ears from Ina Garten

• 2 cups granulated sugar


• 3 tablespoons cinnamon (if desired)


• 2 sheets puff pastry, defrosted (I used Pepperidge Farm)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Combine the sugar and cinnamon (if using).

Pour 1 cup of the sugar mixture on a flat surface such as wooden board or marble. Unfold each sheet of puff pastry onto the sugar and pour 1/2 cup of the sugar mixture on top, spreading it evenly on the puff pastry. This is not about sprinkling, it's about an even covering of sugar. With a rolling pin, roll the dough until it's 13 by 13-inches square and the sugar is pressed into the puff pastry on top and bottom. Fold the sides of the square towards the center so they go halfway to the middle. Fold them again so the two folds meet exactly at the middle of the dough. Then fold 1 half over the other half as though closing a book. You will have 6 layers. Slice the dough into 3/8-inch slices and place the slices, cut side up, on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Place the second sheet of pastry on the sugared board, sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar mixture, and continue as above. (There will be quite a bit of sugar left over on the board.) Slice and arrange on baking sheets lined with parchment.

Bake the cookies for 6 minutes until caramelized and brown on the bottom. Ms. Garten says to flip the cookies, but I found that I liked them better when I didn't. Your call!

Oreo Balls

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I officially dub today "The Day O' Drunken Debauchery".

Before noon today, I had seen enough stupidity here in the city to last me all week. Of course, this stupidity is fun for me because I just get to sit there and laugh. On way way to dance this morning, I was walking behind two guys. One seemed fairly sober and the other was downright hilariously drunk. Mind you, this was at about 9:30 am. The drunk dude was bouncing on the balls of his feet and kept falling off the sidewalk. He was also talking a mile a minute. His friend was obviously getting pretty annoyed with him and a few blocks after I was behind them, he tripped the drunk dude, who immediately fell into the street, and proceeded to run off down the street laughing his butt off. Everyone around started laughing as well while the poor drunk dude sat there with a huge grin on his face looking around at all the people laughing at him.

Ridiculous!

So these little balls of wonder are filled with oreos and cream cheese and coated in green-dyed white chocolate. Doesn't get much easier than that! Happy St. Patrick's Day!



Oreo Truffles from Bakerella

1 pkg. Double Stuf Oreos (I used regular oreos, but Bakerella used Mint!)
• use 22 cookies with cream centers included
• use 10 cookies with cream centers discarded
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, room temperature
White chocolate bark or candy coating*

Finely crush the cookies in a food processor or a ziploc bag with a rolling pin.

Stir in softened cream cheese. Use the back of a large spoon to help mash the two together completely.

Roll the mixture into 1″ balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet.

Place covered in freezer or refrigerator for a few minutes to help retain shape when dipping in melted chocolate.

Melt chocolate as directed on the package and then dip balls into chocolate, tap off extra and set aside on wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry.