Espresso Cookies

Mmmm coffee. Oddly enough, I'm not a huge coffee drinker. I allow myself Starbucks on Friday mornings and on the weekends. If I didn't, I'd be broke and probably a wee bit heavier. I do love me a grande iced skinny caramel latte though (or whatever order you are supposed to put the words in. I always get confused at that part.) They are only 80 calories for a grande (60 for a tall and 110 for a venti) so I'm a sucker for them. I also love anything coffee flavored. Coffee ice cream is probably my favorite.

People in my office though? They love coffee. Some don't even take lunch, just coffee all day. Crazy huh? so when it came time for said person's birthday, I knew just what to make. And believe me, these babies will make your heart race with the amount of caffeine in them! Just ask the birthday boy.

First I creamed the sugar, butter and cream cheese. Look at all that sugar! You know it's going to be good now!

I mixed the dry ingredients and added them to the creamed sugar and eggs.

They weren't kidding when they said the batter would be very thick! I added the chocolate chips and espresso beans. I think chopping them was the hardest part. Espresso beans can be quite tough, who knew?!

I baked them for 8 minutes at 350F. When they came out and cooled, they were soft and pillowy due to the cream cheese and cornstarch. You can almost feel how soft they are in the picture.

So people have asked me if I'm going to focus on having a healthy blog or just a baking blog and the answer is both. When I'm not baking for a special occasion (specifically birthdays), I will be focused on keeping my desserts and goodies as healthy as possible since that's the type of lifestyle I live. Because I love birthdays so much and truly believe that everyone should have a special day that's is "theirs" I like to focus on making things that people like. 

My tastes are so different from most people, I don't want to force what I like upon others but if I can give people other options, I'm all for that. I'm not here to have a specific type of blog, just something that documents what I'm learning and how my progression is going. I hope this answers some of your questions!

 

Recipe

Curly Girl Kitchen

Ingredients
4 ounces low-fat cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped chocolate-covered espresso beans
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks
18 whole chocolate-covered espresso beans

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 5 minutes.  Scrape the bowl down and beat in the egg and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt.  Add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl in spoonfuls, mixing on low until combined.  Stir in the chopped chocolate-covered espresso beans and chocolate chips.  Batter will be very thick.

Scoop rounded tablespoons onto a baking sheet lined with a silpat or parchment paper, spacing them 2 inches apart.  Place a whole espresso bean on half the cookies.  Bake for 8 - 8 1/2 minutes, just until pale golden.   Cool for 1 minute on the baking sheet then cool completely on a wire rack.

Happy Birthday Bake On Through!

Can you believe that Saturday was my blog's first birthday? It doesn't seem like a year has passed. Some days it seems like a year ago was light years away and other days it seems like it was last week I started. The reasons why I started a blog were simple. I wanted to document my experience with baking and record what I was learning. In one year I've learned way more than I thought I would.

I've learned about websites, HTML code, copyrights, writing, and of course, baking. The baking part being my favorite. I didn't start out to create a blog full of beautiful food pictures. I just wanted something that told my story. I have my thoughts on the direction I want my blog to go and slowly I am getting there. I've come a long way since the beginning stages but I'm no where near where I want to be. I do hope I continue to get readers and find the time to post more.

Anyway, thank you. Thank you if you visit regularly and if this is your first time, welcome! It's only going to get better, I promise!

Champagne Cupcakes

I've been on a Prosecco kick lately. I am not sure why but these cupcakes might have something to do with it. I made these for my best friend's going away party and they were a huge hit. What makes them so yummy is how light and fluffy they are. You guys all know how I love white frosting and batter because it's so pretty so these were absolutely gorgeous.

The original recipe is for pink champagne cupcakes but I adapted it to make just regular champagne (actually I used Prosecco) cupcakes. I'm not a huge fan of blush and rose wines so I opted out of going the pink champagne route.

What makes these cupcakes so light and airy is the fact that they use egg whites. Warm egg whites. When your egg whites are warmed up to room temperature, you get fluffy cake. These cupcakes were similar to Angel Food Cake but not quite as light.

This is what the batter looked like before I folded in the egg whites. So pretty.

And after the egg whites. Not a whole lot of change, just a bit wetter and fuller.

I used a cookie dough scoop to fill my cupcake liners, I greased mine but you shouldn't have to. I found that greasing them made some of the liners pull away from the cupcake.

After baking them for about 18 minutes, I let them cool. Here they are with the Bourbon-Brown Sugar Cupcakes I also made. I will post that recipe at a later date!

I also decided to bake some big ones too, since I had left over batter. I used these cupcake liners that I had no idea were able to be used with out the cupcake tin. I just thought I'd try them out that way and they worked! Woo hoo! See? Being adventurous can pay off. I should take note of that.

So here is the final product. Champagne cupcakes on the left, Bourbon Brown-Sugar on the right. I decorated them with white frosting, using a large round tip and put some strawberries on top (champagne and strawberries, get it??). I sprinkled them with clear sprinkles to give them a sparkle that is hard to see in the picture. I really like the tray I used to carry them in. I must get that back as I left it in my friend's car. Oops.

Recipe

The Baking Robot

Yields: 24 large cupcakes, 48 mini cupcakes

Cupcakes
Ingredients
3 cups cake flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup champagne (I used Prosecco instead)
6 egg whites

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake tins with baking liners.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, beat egg whites till stiff peaks form.

In a second large bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of champagne, mixing until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Fold in 1/3 of the whipped egg whites and mix thoroughly. Add in remaining egg white mixture till combined.

Divide batter evenly among the lined cups, filling each halfway full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove and let cool completely on wire rack.

Once cupcakes have cooled, gently poke 8-10 holes in cupcake using a toothpick. Using a pastry brush, glaze the cupcakes with extra champagne.

Frosting
Ingredients
3-1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup butter, softened
3 tbsp champagne (or Prosecco, I used a quarter cup of Prosecco since it's lighter than champagne)

Beat butter until creamy. With mixer on low, slowly add in confectioners’ sugar. Beat on high for 3-5 minutes or until smooth and fluffy. Add in champagne and mix till incorporated.

Chocolate Mint Bars

I don't get St. Patrick's Day. It seems like everyone is Irish when March 17th rolls around. I don't usually do anything for St. Patrick's Day since I think it's kind of silly but this year I decided I'd get a little bit festive and make chocolate mint brownies. I know what you are thinking. "How does she not like St. Patrick's Day?" Well, growing up my English parents just never talked about so I only ever knew it existed from my school friends. Even then I thought it was kind of silly. I wore green just so I wouldn't get pinched but it was always a small amount and I never made it a big deal.

But I do like mint treats and this recipe is inspired by Cooking Light so it's a tiny bit better for you. Not healthy, but a little bit lighter. After combining the dry ingredients I mixed the wet. Pouring the chocolate syrup was actually kind of fun because I was able to make these fun swirls on the egg and butter mixture. I know, I'm a huge dork.

Next I added the dry ingredients and mixed until combined. I baked the brownie/ bottom layer for about 23 minutes, give or take. I like softer brownies so it was probably closer to 21 minutes. I made this layer a day in advance so it had plenty of time to cool.

The next day I made the second/mint layer. I used a little bit more than 2 food coloring drops because I wanted mine a little bit greener.

The cake was already cooled so I put the second/ mint layer on top and spread the layer on (somewhat) evenly.

I put the pan into the refrigerator to firm up the mint layer while I made the top chocolate layer. This was your basic melted butter-chocolate blend which went over the brownies nicely, you just have to make sure they have cooled completely. When they were ready to be cut, I was pleasantly surprised by the way they turned out. The layers looked nice and they tasted pretty good as well.

See what I mean? Better than I thought. Not quite as good as the pictures in the other recipes but I am not entirely sure those aren't photoshopped.

So I'm thinking about having a Cinco de Mayo/ Kentucky Derby party but the loner in me worries that no one would come. I know it's crazy but I'm always afraid of things like that. What do you guys think?

Recipe
Culinary Covers
Yields: 20 bars

Ingredients
Bottom layer:
1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, beaten
1 (16-ounce) can chocolate syrup
Cooking spray
Mint Layer:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons fat-free milk (I used almond milk, which is even better)
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 drops green food coloring
Glaze:
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare bottom layer: Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and salt; stir with a whisk. Combine granulated sugar, egg substitute, 1/4 cup melted butter, 2 tablespoons water, vanilla, eggs, and chocolate syrup in a medium bowl; stir until smooth. Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture, stirring until blended. Pour batter into a 13 x 9–inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 23 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

To prepare mint layer:  Combine powdered sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, and next 3 ingredients (through food coloring) in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer until smooth. Spread mint mixture over cooled cake.

To prepare the glaze: Combine the chocolate chips and 3 tablespoons butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until melted, stirring after 30 seconds. Let stand 2 minutes. Spread chocolate mixture evenly over top. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Cut into 20 pieces.
20 servings (20 pieces)

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

This post won't have any pictures or recipes, I just wanted to share with you my favorite chocolate chip cookie. It's from a vegan desert blog (yes, there is such a thing) called Chocolate Covered Katie. I know not everyone has the same tastes, especially the same as mine, so I thought I'd share something that I found and I am absolutely loving right now.

If you read my blog religiously (and you should!), you know that I'm not a huge fan of chocolate chip cookies. I mean they are okay but finally I think I have found "the one." I know everyone else is a huge fan of my Jacques Torres NY Times Cookies but my taste buds tend to be a bit... different. I'm not a huge fan of things that are super sweet. I'd rather have something that's rich in flavor and I enjoy bitter chocolate. These cookies are perfect. They use oats instead of wheat and almost no sugar, which I love. I highly suggest you head over to her blog and find out what these cookies are all about!

Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mardi Gras King Cake

I warned you. I told you my posts were way behind. This is from Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras, people! In case you didn't know, Easter is Sunday. Now, I'm not a religious person at all. I am spiritual, but as the daughter of two scientists, it was never forced upon me. Presented, yes but forced, no. I even went to Catholic school for 8 years (high school and college) but after struggling with understanding religion during the first year of high school, I eventually gave up and came into my own. I realized my relationship with a higher power is definitely personal and not something that should be forced upon anyone. Which is what I think religion is.

Now, not to go on a tirade about the issues I have with religion, to put it simply, I believe it was a way to explain things that could not be explained before we discovered science and the answers we have today. I think religion has become way too political and full of the power hungry. I just believe in treating everyone the way I would want to be treated and when I do that, everything else will fall into place. Okay, done. I promise.

I do believe in baking though and I made this King's Cake for Mardi Gras. It was an interesting experience considering all of the cakes I saw did not look very appetizing. Mine was no exception. People were frightened to try it. It was delicious though and it even had an almond in it (I was creeped out by putting the plastic baby in there). So I started with the dough. First I had to warm the butter and milk in preparation for the yeast.

While I let that cool a bit, I added the sugar and cinnamon.

I made the sponge by adding the active dry yeast and waited for it to start working.

When the sponge was ready, I added the flour and other dry ingredients and used my dough hook to knead the dough for a few minutes. While that was rising in the bowl, I started on the filling.

 How awesomely unhealthy does this look??? Butter, sugar, raisins and cinnamon. This is what Fat Tuesday is about. Gluttony. I was not about to go light on this day! No matter how much I wanted to.

Next I assembled the loaf in the same way I would make my Cinnamon Rolls except I didn't cut them into slices but instead I rolled the tube into a circular loaf and cut slices in the top. I also hid an almond in there to keep with tradition. If you don't know, traditionally the person who gets the plastic baby (or in this case, the almond) is responsible for providing the cake next year.

I let the loaf rise for about 30-45 minutes and then baked at 375F. When I took it out, it was pretty! 

Golden in the right places and baked all of the way through. I used a cream cheese frosting that was completely be accident. The glaze I was using just wasn't working for me so I threw a cream cheese and confectioner's sugar icing together and mixed, topping with sprinkles.

Here is what it looked like when we cut into it:

Yep, it's basically a giant cinnamon roll! Yummy!

Well, I should get back to my real life but I have a bunch of posts coming up from the last few weeks. Hopefully I am starting to get back on track. Thank you for being patient. I love you all dearly!

Recipe

The Galley Gourmet

1 12 inch circular loaf

For the Dough

1/2 cup milk

2 Tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter

1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast

1/3 cup warm water

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 extra large egg

1 extra large egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

For the Filling

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/3 cup chopped pecans (optional, I omitted)

1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

4 Tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

For the Dough

In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk until bubbles appear around the edges.  Add the butter and set aside to cool to room temperature.  

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, dissolve the yeast in the warm water with 1 tablespoon of the sugar.  Let stand until bubbled and frothy, about 10 minutes.  Add the cooled milk mixture, the eggs, remaining sugar, vanilla, salt, and nutmeg.  With the mixer on low, knead in the flour one cup at a time.  Increase the speed to medium-high and knead until smooth, about 5-7 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead into a ball.  Spray a large bowl with non-stick spray, cover with a sheet of plastic wrap, and place in a warm, draft free place until doubled in volume, about 60-90 minutes.

For the Filling

In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, pecans if using, and flour.  Pour in the melted butter and mix until a paste forms; set aside. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

When the dough has risen, transfer it to a lightly floured surface.  Roll the dough into a 10x24-inch rectangle.  Spread the filling (it won't be smooth and even) over the dough.  Starting with the widest end, roll up the dough into a jelly roll, pinching the seems well.  Bring the ends together to form an oval, pinching the end seams, as well.  Place the oval onto the prepared baking sheet.  Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise in a warm draft free place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375° F.  Bake the cake for 30 minutes, tenting with a sheet of foil the last 10 minutes if it appears to be browning too quickly.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.