Recipe: Romantical Chocolate Hazelnut Pots De Creme

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My first Valentine's Day with my boyfriend (now hubs) was slightly dreadful. Not the company of course <shifty eyes>, but it was the whole Valentine's Day experience. We had reservations at a French restaurant and when we waltzed in, we noticed that the place was chalk full of couples...wearing pink and red...and we were one of them. We were living in a cliché and frankly, I was kinda grossed out. We were squeezed into a table, side-by-side with the couple sitting next to us, and served a below average, rushed meal. We couldn't wait to get outta there. Never, never again, we told ourselves. Since then, we've done much better usually staying in for the night, avoiding pink and red in our faces.

Remember Valentine's Day back in elementary school? It was definitely more acceptable to be clichéy...and there was more candy and crafts too. We had to give everyone in class a Valentine card and it was a delicate process figuring out which Valentine/candy hearts went to whom. You never want to give someone the wrong impression with a too forward candy heart ya know.

For this Valentine's Day, the husband is out of town for work, but I'm luckily spending it with my girlfriends. I've made us Chocolate Hazelnut Pots de Creme by the domestic goddess Martha Stewart, mostly because I'm obsessed with choco hazelnut right now and I've never made pot de creme. It should pair nicely with the RomCom I've picked out too.

Chocolate Hazelnut Pots de Creme
Recipe from Martha Stewart
Yield: Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups half-and-half
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup sugar
3 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon hazelnut-flavored liqueur, such as Frangelico
Whipped cream, for serving

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Bring half-and-half just to a simmer in a small saucepan. Remove from heat; add chocolate and sugar. Let stand 5 minutes.
2.  In a large bowl, stir together yolks, vanilla, cocoa, salt, and liqueur if desired. With a fork, stir chocolate mixture until smooth, then gradually stir into yolk mixture. Pour through a fine sieve into a glass measuring cup.
3.  Place 4 custard cups or ramekins (3 to 4 ounces each) in a shallow roasting pan, and divide chocolate mixture among them. Pour hot water into the pan so it reaches halfway up the sides of cups. Pro Tip(s): Line a towel on the bottom of the pan to keep the ramekins from sliding. Also, have a tea kettle ready with the hot water and pour in with the pan pulled out on the oven rack.
4.  Bake until custards are almost set in centers, about 30 minutes Pro Tip: How to know when it's done? Jiggle test- grab a ramekin and hit the side, if it jiggles and then stops right away, then it's done. (custards will firm as they cool). Carefully remove cups from hot-water bath; let cool slightly. Yet another Pro Tip: Use a spatula to lift the ramekins out of the pan.
5.  Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate. Just before serving, dollop with whipped cream, if desired.

The result? I was pretty happy with how it turned out. My only disappointment was that I couldn't taste the hazelnut at all. I think I'll try to work in some finely chopped hazelnuts into it next time.

Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours!

Dessert Guilty Pleasures

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Dessert guilty pleasures. We've all got 'em. Sometimes they originate from childhood, sometimes they sprout out of no where. I'm talking about that one dessert you're embarrassed to love. You may or may not feel shameful about it, but it exists and you're mostly ok with it.

What's mine? I've gotta go with ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins (or as I like to call it, Raskin Bobbins). The first time I had it was probably at one of my single digit birthday parties at the local bowling alley. I probably brattily insisted that my slice had to have the pink rose in it too. My favorite flavor is Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream with Chocolate Cake. Last year, my hubs got me this exact cake for my birthday and I just about died. Kept it cool on the outside of course, but was as giddy as a school-girl on the inside.

Time to out some people's DGPs (dessert guilty pleasures). Lets start with my sister's: vanilla Costco cake with vanilla frosting, more specifically, the corner piece because it has the most frosting. I admit, it's pretty tasty, if you like average cake. My other sister's is Ding Dongs. I literally just saw a pack of these on her kitchen counter yesterday. #noshame My husband's DGP is Betty Crocker's yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Not bad, but not good. My coworker's is chocolate/vanilla Costco frozen yogurt. The irony is that she doesn't have a membership but has somehow managed to get her fro-yo on. She told me she was denied only once for lack of a membership, which drove her to tears. Apparently it had been a long, bad day and all she wanted was a happy little $1.25 Costco fro-yo. Long story short, she ended up driving to the next nearest Costco, which was an hour away, and was luckily able to fulfill her hankering.

A few others I've heard: Nutella by the spoonful (ok, but who hasn't done that), Hostess Powdered Donettes (craptastic!), Nutrageous (hello 80s candy bar), and lastly a friend insisted that all dessert is a guilty pleasure <shakes head>.

Ok, now that I've shared mine, and outted several people's, what's YOUR dessert guilty pleasure? I promise not to mock you...much.

Recipe: Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey's Buttercream Frosting

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Don't ask me why, but I looked up the definition of "cupcake" and here's what I found:

cup·cake [kuhp-keyk]
noun
1. a small cake, the size of an individual portion, baked in a cup-shaped mold.
2. Older Slang
a. a sexually attractive young woman.
b. a beloved girl or woman.

Well hello definition number two. Can't remember the last time I've heard someone call a chick a "cupcake," but I think we should bring this back. Discuss amongst yourselves.

My definition would be more like this:

cup·cake [just sound it out you yammo]
noun
1. A three bite, pretty, miniature cake that tastes like happiness consumed often by a tall ginger.

I find it quite hard to say no to cupcakes. Especially these Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey's Buttercream Frosting. I first made these for my Guinness-addicted friend's birthday a few years ago, and they were well received. I made these again for a work bake sale this week and apparently, they sold like hot cakes. The cake is super super moist and may I just say that chocolate and Bailey's just belong together. They're the loveliest of pairs.

Side Note: For transporting these beauties or other cakes/cupcakes, I use this cupcake/cake carrier. I'm kind of in love with it.

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey's Buttercream Frosting
Recipe from food.com & grouprecipes.com
Yield: 24-30 cupcakes

Ingredients – Cake
1 cup Guinness
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup cocoa
2 cups superfine sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Ingredients – Frosting
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 pinch table salt
4 cups confectioners' sugar (ProTip: I used 3 cups so they weren't overly sweet)
3 tablespoons Bailey's
1 tablespoon milk

Directions – Cake
1.  Preheat oven to 350°F Grease cupcake tins, or fill with paper liners.
2.  Pour the Guinness into a large saucepan and add the sliced butter. Heat until the butter is melted and remove from the heat. Whisk in the cocoa and sugar.
3.  In a separate bowl, beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla.
4.  Add the sour cream mixture to the Guinness mixture in the saucepan.
5.  Beat in the flour and baking soda.
6.  Divide the batter evenly amongst the cupcake cups. Bake 19-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out mostly clean.
7.  Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

Directions – Frosting
1.  In a bowl of stand mixer, cream butter until very light and fluffy. On low, add salt, and slowly add confectioners sugar. Add a couple of spoonfuls at a time until it has all been absorbed into the butter.
2.  Add Bailey's and milk until spreadable consistency is achieved.

Review: Three Twins Ice Cream

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When my BF (now hubs) and I moved in together, we were stoked to discover an ice cream shop two blocks from our new place. "This could be very, very dangerous" I recall saying to him. The shop was Three Twins Ice Cream, and we were excited to see what it was all about. After waltzing into the hard to miss lime green shop for the first time, it didn't take long for us to fall madly in love with the shop and their ice cream. Three Twins was founded by Neal Gottlieb, his twin Carl, and his twin's wife Liz, hence the clever name. Their ice cream is organic (how very San Francisco) and they kindly donate one percent of sales to land conservation initiatives through 1% for the Planet. Eat delicious ice cream for a good cause = reason to never feel guilty about eating ice cream again! I'm game. Also, if you're feeling really generous (and hungry), you can order the World's Most Expensive Ice Cream Sundae, that clocks in at $3,333.33. When I win the lottery, this may or may not be one of the first purchases I make...I mean...how could you not be curious about this?!

Naturally, we became regulars here in no time. We loved trying each of their creative mash-up of flavors such as Chocolate Orange Confetti and Dad's Cardamom. YUM. My personal combo favorites are Sea Salted Caramel with Chocolate Malt OR Lemon Cookie with Strawberry Je Ne Sais Quoi <cue drooling>. Pro Tip: If you are going for a two scooper, I recommend you ask someone working there for a suggestion. They're the pros, after all. My hubs has many a time gone rogue and paired up flavors that create a questionable combo-bite. Order wisely my friends.

A few months after we discovered our precious spot, we were crushed to hear they had to close due to damage caused by a fire in one of the apartments over the shop. They said not to worry and that the repairs should only take a handful of months. Two years later...(which was a long painful ice cream-deprived wait), they opened their doors again, which are a boring grey now, but we didn't care. It was like Christmas when we happily skipped over to the shop's re-opening night. We giddily placed our order, after a sample or five, and felt complete again.

Hook yourself up with a double scoop at one of these shops and thank me later, or if you're feeling lazy, grab a pint at a SF grocery store (most have Three Twins), or if you're the laziest of lazy, order some pints online.

Overall Rating: 5 Ice Cream Cheers'

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A Very French Holiday

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Photo Credit: thecooksatelier.com

This year for Christmas and New Years, my hubs and I decided to ditch 'Merica and go to France! It was a lovely lovely trip that involved road trips through the French countryside, village hopping, putting regular gasoline in a diesel car, and copious amounts of bread, foie gras, cheese, bread, dessert, wine and bread. I did a top-notch job of carb-loading. After spending Christmas in Paris, we made our way down to the small town of Beaune and partook in a cooking class taught by The Cook's Atelier (The Cook's Attic). It's run by a mother/daughter team who are absolutely adorable. We heart them. They celebrate the connection between the farmer and the cook through their hands-on cooking classes. Their story, in a nutshell, is they both used to live in the states, but moved to France after the daughter fell in love with the country and a Frenchman. The mom is a trained chef and pastry chef (a girl after my heart) and the daughter is trained in viticulture a.k.a. wine (again, a girl after my heart). After gathering our ingredients at the local market, we dove into cooking. I knew the dessert was going to be something special (did I mention pastry chef?!) and it did not disappoint. We made something I've never tackled before: an apple tart. So French, right? It was a several step process, but not as challenging as I thought it would be. Simple ingredients and not overly sweet. They kindly let me make most of the dessert, after I told them about my dessert-fiendness, It was fun and looked so pretty, as French tarts often do. Their delicious recipe follows. I can't wait to make this again!

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Photo Credit: my hubs

French Apple Tart
Recipe from The Cook's Atelier
Yield: Pâte Sucrée makes enough for 2 tarts; Apple Filling: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients – Pâte Sucrée (pastry dough)
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 large egg yolks
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound unsalted butter
Whisk the cream and egg yolks together in a small bowl.

Ingredients – Apple Filling
3 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and sliced into even 1/8-inch slices
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons sugar

for the apple purée
3 Golden Delicious apples, peeled cored and diced
1 vanilla bean pod, split lengthwise
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter

Directions – Pâte Sucrée
1.  In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, sugar, salt and butter on medium speed until you have a coarse meal. Gradually add the cream and yolks, and mix until just combined. Do not overwork the dough.
2.  Transfer the dough to a large work surface and bring it together with your hands to incorporate completely. Divide the dough in half, shape into a 1-inch-thick discs, and wrap one of them to freeze and use later.
3.  If the dough is too soft, put in the refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes to firm up a little. If the dough is manageable, place it on a lightly floured work surface, sprinkle a little flour over the dough, and roll it out into a 1/4-inch-thick circle, flouring as necessary.
4.  Starting at the one side, roll and wrap the dough around the rolling pin to pick it up. Unroll the dough over a 10-inch tart pan. Gently fit the dough loosely into the pan, lifting the edges and pressing the dough into the corners with your fingers. To remove the excess dough, roll the rolling pin lightly over the top of the tart pan for a nice clean edge, or work your way around the edge pinching off any excess dough with your fingers. Chill for 1 hour.

Directions – Apple Filling
1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2.  Line the tart pan with the pâte sucrée. Prick the bottom with a fork and line the shell with parchment. Fill the lined tart with dried beans or pie weights and bake for 15 minutes until the edges are set and lightly browned. Take the tart out of the oven and carefully remove the parchment paper and dried beans.
3.  To make the apple purée, put the diced apples, vanilla bean pod, sugar and butter in a saucepan with 3 to 4 tablespoons of water. Cook gently, stirring often until soft, adding more water if necessary, for about 10 to 15 minutes. Using the tip of a knife to scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean, then discard the pod.
4.  Transfer the mixture to a food mill or mash with a fork until smooth.
5.  Heat the butter in a sauté pan and gently sauté the apple slices to coat them in the butter until just softened.
6.  Spread the purée evenly in the partially baked tart shell. Carefully arrange the apple slices in a neat circle around the edge. They should be tightly overlapping but not squished together. Depending on the size of your tart pan and the apples, you can repeat to create an inner circle or just fill in the center in a decorative pattern. Sprinkle over a tablespoon or two of sugar.
7.  Bake in the preheated oven until just browned and tender, about 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with a dollop of crème fraîche or Calvados spiked whipped cream.

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Photo Credit: my hubs    •    Sift powdered sugar over each piece for a pretty presentation.

From this...I declare that this year will be the year of the tarts! First step is to buy a tart pan. Wish me luck.

Thanksgiving Desserts Part One and Deux

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My apron of choice.

One of my family's Thanksgiving traditions is to make a crap-load of desserts. I'm talking, at least 7 desserts. Fo real. We don't mess around either, my mom and I team up and we conquer the desserts, one at a time. You should see us in action. We start first thing in the AM, tie on our aprons in sync, cue the Christmas music (it's acceptable this close to December) and it's go-time. She kindly takes on the roll of the reliable sous-pastry-chef and dishwasher while I take on the role of pastry chef diva.

This year, I jetted to Boston first to celebrate Thanksgiving early with my in-laws. They've adapted nicely to my dessert fiendness and happily join in on the dessert making. This year, we made PB Chocolate Chip Bars (see previous blog entry for the recipe), Mini Pecan Pies, Grandma's Special- Pistachio Whipped Cream Angel Food Cake Heath Bar Parfait (there's gotta be a better title for that), Croissant Pudding with Whiskey Sauce, Pumpkin Ice Cream, Vanilla Heath Bar Ice Cream and Apple Crisp. They were all delish, but the standout was, in my humble opinion, the Croissant Pudding! That recipe had me at "croissant." This is basically bread pudding, but better because it's with croissants. I've never made bread pudding before- for some reason, it always seemed very daunting to me. Luckily, it was far from that. Honorable mention goes to my mother-in-law's Apple Crisp. I'm such a sucker for it.

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Croissant Pudding...hello lover...

Croissant Pudding with Whiskey Sauce
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients – Pudding
6 large croissants, sliced in half lengthwise
8 large eggs
1 cup granulated white sugar
3 cups cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Ingredients – Sauce
5 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup Irish whiskey or bourbon

Directions – Pudding
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x13-inch baking pan.
2.  Layer the croissants in pan, making sure entire surface is covered, with no space between the slices.
3.  Whisk eggs and sugar together, and blend well. Whisk in the cream and vanilla.
4.  Slowly pour cream mixture over the croissants, allowing the bread to absorb the liquid. Push down the croissants with the back of a spoon so they absorb more of the liquid.
5.  Set baking pan into a larger shallow pan or baking dish, and pour hot tap water into the outer pan, until the level reaches halfway up the side of inner pan.
6.  Place on center rack of oven, and bake until pudding is just set, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven, and remove the inner pan from outer pan.

Directions – Sauce
1.  Beat the egg yolks and sugar in large bowl until pale yellow. Add whiskey and beat until well combined.
2.  Transfer mixture to the top of a double boiler, or a heatproof bowl set over simmering water. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium high heat until the mixture is thick and creamy.
3.  Whisk just before serving. To serve, place a slick of the pudding (warm or chilled) on a plate, and drop with sauce.

My sister-in-law's husband modified the drizzle recipe or, some would say, he went rogue (he simply used melted vanilla ice cream) but it was darn tasty. I'm definitely making this recipe again.

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Thanksgiving Desserts Part One

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My adorable nephew sous-chef

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The setup is key!

Next up, Thanksgiving Part Deux at the Thompson household. My mom and I, as I mentioned earlier, did our thing and made 6 of the 7 desserts: PB Chocolate Chip Bars (appetizers), Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake, Classic Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting, Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, Pumpkin Cheesecake and Apple Pie. My hubs made the 7th which was another round of the Vanilla Heath Bar Ice Cream, but this time with a hot fudge swirl. Such a damn showoff. Everyone's favorite, of course, was the husband's dessert (PISH POSH!). Honorable mention goes to the Ginger Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.

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Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Recipe from All Recipes & Martha Stewart
Yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients – Cupcakes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup white sugar
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant butterscotch pudding mix
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
4 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients – Frosting
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions – Cupcakes
1.  Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 24 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners. Whisk together the flour, pudding mix, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice, cloves, and crystallized ginger in a bowl; set aside.
2.  Beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. The mixture should be noticeably lighter in color. Add the room-temperature eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next. Beat in the vanilla and pumpkin puree with the last egg. Stir in the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups.
3.  Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Directions – Frosting
1.  In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy.
2.  Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.

Overall, 'twas a successful dessert Thanksgiving. The only flop we had was that we didn't grease the pan well enough for the chocolate cake so half of it decided not to come out (see below). We tried to patch it together with the frosting, but it was a hot, hot mess. Luckily, it still tasted good and, in my humble opinion, that's all that matters.

Happy Holiday baking friends!

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Thanksgiving Desserts Part Deux

Recipe: Chunky Apple Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

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Fancy froster again, FTW

I was recently given the challenge to come up with a recipe for a Chunky Apple Spice Cupcake with not-so-sweet Cream Cheese Frosting. "It has to have CHUNKS of apple in it...don't forget the CHUNKS!" my dessert challenger said. After much research, I started with one of Martha's (Miss Stewart and I are on a first-name basis) recipes but added in my own flair. Sidenote: These would make a bomb.com Thanksgiving dessert too...

Chunky Apple Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Yield: 2 dozen cupcakes

Ingredients – Cupcakes
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 pounds Pink Lady apples, 2 cups coarsely shredded, 2 cups chopped
(bite-sized)

Ingredients – Frosting
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions – Cupcakes
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners; set aside. Stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Mix in eggs and vanilla.
2.  Reduce speed to low; mix in apples. Add flour mixture; mix, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until just combined.
3.  Fill lined cups halfway with batter; bake until tops are springy to the touch, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from tins; let cool on a wire rack.
4.  When completely cool, frost cupcakes and store in fridge.

Directions – Frosting
1.  In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy.
2.  Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.

The chopped apple gave it great texture and I'm kind of in love with the frosting. I'm definitely going to reuse the frosting recipe for a Thanksgiving cupcake I'm making tomorrow (deets on that to come next week). I'm pleased to report, my dessert-challenger was darn happy with them too. : )

Recipe: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars

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"Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars." These badboys are as amazing as they sound. I had to make them as soon as I discovered the recipe over a decade ago in my mom's cookbook "All-Butter Fresh Cream Sugar-Packed Baking Book" by Judy Rosenberg. Best. Cookbook title. Ever. I whipped up my first batch for Thanksgiving and my family went absolutely nuts for them. They now insist that I make them for every Thanksgiving and Christmas or else they'd disown me. Well, they never said that last part, but it's mostly likely true. My cousins don't even call them "dessert," they instead call them "appetizers" because they can't wait to eat them until dessert. I like this recipe because clearly it's a crowd pleaser in my family, but mostly because it's a quick, simple recipe. Win-win!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars
Recipe from All-Butter Fresh Cream Sugar-Packed Baking Book
Yield: 30 bars (depends on how big you cut them)

Ingredients
1 1/3 cups plus 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour (these measurements sounded odd to me too, but they need to be precise)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup commercial smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I overflow my cup)

Directions
1.  Preheat over to 350. Lightly grease an 11x7-inch baking pan with butter or vegetable oil (note: I used an 8x8 for thicker bars).
2.  Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium-size mixing bowl and set aside.
3.  Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream the butter, peanut butter, both sugars, and the vanilla until light and fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. Stop the mixer to scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula.
4.  Add the eggs one at a time and beat on medium speed until partially blended after each addition, about 10 seconds. After the last addition, beat until blended, about 30 seconds, stopping the mixer twice to scrape the bowl.
5.  Add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix with a spatula until the flour is absorbed. Then mix on low speed until blended, 7 to 10 seconds. Scrape the bowl, especially the bottom.
6.  Add the chocolate chips and blend for several seconds. Scrape the bowl. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.
7.  Bake the bars on the center oven rack until the edges are deep golden and the center is lightly golden and slightly puffy, 25-30 mins (these taste much better undercooked!) The center will drop when the bars are taken out of the oven. Cut the bars into squares after they have cooled a bit on the rack.

Chewy texture, perfect ratio of peanut butter to chocolate. Enjoy!

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Happy Thanksgiving Baking everyone!

Thompson Sibling Dessert Drink Challenge (Guest Writer!)

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Courtney's Brother – Guest Writer

To the loyal readers of Courtney’s Dessert Blog:

A few weeks ago I posed a challenge to my siblings. We would all come up with a dessert drink and the winner would get top billing in Court’s dessert blog, a prestigious honor filled with full bragging rights. And it is with great pride and enthusiasm that I would like to announce that I am officially the winner of the Thompson Sibling Dessert Drink Challenge.

After being absolutely robbed for first place in Court’s birthday dessert competition a few years ago I’ve felt beaten down and was in despair. It wasn’t like I made this fantastic version of bananas flambé that got beaten out by my oldest sister’s age old family cake that could easily be served at a retirement home. But whatever, I’m not bitter or anything…So, I came into last Friday’s battle ready to get after it. I knew competing against all of my sisters would be a dubious task, but I felt that I needed redemption, and redemption is exactly what I would have.

The stakes of the competition were simple. Each sibling would have to make an adult flavored dessert drink. Aside from that, anything went. Our drinks were graded based on presentation, aroma, texture and taste, straight top chef style. In the week leading into the competition I spent a handful of time researching dessert drinks. I found several recipes I felt would get me competing for the top prize, but none that stood out as clear cut winners. It wasn’t until I was driving home from work that the prized concoction came to me.

If you are unfamiliar with the Thompson sisters, they are a savvy bunch of ladies, and after years and years of devouring gourmet desserts they’ve all got a refined pallet. As competitors, my oldest sis has a knack for getting into the hunt no matter what the competition is, my second oldest sis is as sharp as a tack and can never be counted out. Courtney, my younger sis, as we all know, is practically like a bloodhound when it comes to desserts.

For my drink I began thinking about one of my favorite ice cream flavors, sea salted caramel, and then it hit me while I was stuck in traffic on the 680 listening to some JT. I would combine a scoop of sea salted caramel gelato, add in some milk, and then top it off with Baileys and some caramel liqueur. I know what you’re asking yourself, and yes it’s true, caramel liqueur does exist and can be purchased at a nominal fee at your local BevMo.

At the competition my eldest sis came in strong out of the gates with her drink, “The Angry Leprechaun.” And let me tell you the name says it all. This little doozy will get you feeling good and buzzed with just a single serving! After a couple you may very well feel like tossing on a green hat and pants and start dancing around the room to an Irish jig. What it lacked in flavor it made up for in strength. A pretty nice blend of Jamison and whatever else she had in it.

The Angry Leprechaun
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients
1 part Jamisons
2 parts Baileys

Directions
Stir, pour over ice

Court was up next with her drink, “Hot Buttered Rum” and let me just say that I expected a little more out of my baby sister. I mean, Court is a well refined, married woman nowadays. I expected her drink to reflect her new level of calmness and maturity, but wow, her drink very politely put looked like a glass full of dinosaur vomit (I put that in bold so you can really get a visual). Perhaps she should have titled it, “Barney’s Barf.” It was some awful combination of brown sugar and booze. My little pooch Bacardi didn’t even want anything to do with it.  

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Hot Buttered Rum & Carmel Crush

Hot Buttered Rum
Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter, softened 
2 cups light brown sugar 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg 
Pinch ground cloves 
Pinch salt 
Dark rum
Boiling water 

Directions
1.  In a bowl, cream together butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Refrigerate until almost firm.
2.  Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the butter mixture into 12 small mugs.
3.  Pour about 3 ounces of rum into each mug (filling about halfway).
4.  Top with boiling water (to fill remaining half), stir wall and serve immediately. 

I came in next with my delightful beverage which I titled, “Caramel Crush.” A wonderful blend of the ingredients, again listed below, and let me say the judges, aka my parents and my brother-in-law, really took to it. I knew right away I was in the running.

Caramel Crush
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients/Directions
1.  Scoop of Sea Salted Caramel Ice Cream
2.  Some Milk
3.  Rip of Baileys
4.  Nip of Caramel Liqueur

My second oldest sis had the evening night cap, and being half drunk at this point, I had no clue where the judge’s heads were at. After a glass or two of wine, my dad is just as likely to start imitating a pirate much less decipher a game winning dessert drink and my mom, who has been on an absolute re-decorating binge at my pad, was probably more concerned researching ways she can make it more bachelorpadish. As it went down, my dear sister came in with not one but two drinks! #teacherspet She made these delightful looking drinks she called the “Boozy Affogato.” One had chocolate ice cream, coffee liqueur and hazelnuts and the other was a mix of vanilla ice cream, Limoncello and macadamia nuts. You go girl! I was sweating it pretty hard after my sister's drinks were brought to the table, but thankfully the taste factor went to me, but wow, she really brought the heat. Amazingly enough she didn’t even come in second! Sorry sukka, better luck next time. Maybe you should have brought an apple for the judges?

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The Angry Leprechaun & Boozy Affogato

Boozy Affogato
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients - Chocolate Shots
3 cups chocolate ice cream
3/4 cup coffee-flavored liqueur
Whole hazelnuts

Ingredients - Vanilla Shots
3 cups vanilla ice cream
3/4 cup lemon-flavored liqueur
24 whole macadamia nuts

Directions
1.  Place a small scoop of ice cream in each glass. Top with 1 tablespoon liqueur and 2 nuts. Serve immediately.

Overall it was a very enjoyable evening and if you’ve never busted out a dessert drink competition with your family, I’d highly recommend it. Let me just say that my mother is hell bent on having another contest in the near future where she can get in the mix.

To cap off my guest post all I have to say is, Caramel Crush for the win. I hope everybody reading this has a fantastic Turkey Day filled with fun, family and my award winning beverage.

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The Scorecard & Birthday Funfetti Cake (note the classy candle)

Recipe: Fluffy Vanilla Cupcakes with Whipped Vanilla Bean Frosting

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Finally got to try out my new fancy froster! Frosting has never been so easy. 

We had a fierce Halloween "spookify your cube" contest at work last week that I sadly did not win. I put in a D-level effort though, so I wasn't surprised in the least. Although, when I first heard about the contest, I was going to turn my cube into a scene from "The Birds," but quickly vetoed that when I found out fake black crows cost $2-$3 a piece and I wanted my cube to be bombarded with those buggers (you can't half-ass a scene from that movie, you've gotta whole-ass it)!

The cube deccs were to be judged by a handful of higher ups, including the CEO of our company, Williams-Sonoma (shit just got real). My angle was to bribe the judges, so I stayed up until 12am making Fluffy Vanilla Cupcakes with Whipped Vanilla Bean Frosting that I hoped would dazzle them. I dressed up as a "baker" (again, D-level effort) and brought in two dozen cupcakes. Truth be told, I actually did dazzle one of the judges- the CEO. I was told she was raving about my cupcake and said she "wanted to steal me for Williams-Sonoma." I'm not exactly sure what she meant by that (who cares! It's the CEO!), but I'll take that as a high compliment.

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Baker, Vinny, Witch & French Spider (James & The Giant Peach) 

If you're looking to impress a CEO or someone as charming as Vinny (see above), make these. Note: I frosted half with raspberry buttercream frosting, for variety, but truth be told, I fell madly in love with the Whipped Vanilla Bean Frosting. It's amaze. Other amazing things: my NEW and fancy froster! Swoon.

Fluffy Vanilla Cupcakes with Whipped Vanilla Bean Frosting
Recipe from Sweetapolita
Yield: 2 dozen cupcakes

Ingredients - Cupcakes
5 large egg whites (150 g), at room temperature|
1 whole egg
1 cup whole milk (237 ml), at room temperature
2-1/4 teaspoons (12 ml) pure vanilla extract
3 cups (345 g) cake flour, sifted
2 cups (400 g) sugar
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon (17 g) baking powder
3/4 teaspoon (5 g) salt
12 tablespoons (170 g) unsalted butter, cold and cut into 24 even pieces

Ingredients - Frosting
3 sticks + 2 tablespoons (375 grams) unsalted butter, softened and cut into cubes
3 cups sifted (475 g) confectioners' sugar (icing, powdered)
3 tablespoons (45 ml) milk
1 vanilla bean, scraped (Note: You can eliminate the vanilla bean and use a total of 1-1/2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract.)
1 teaspoon (5 mL) pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Directions - Cupcakes
1.  Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line muffin tins with liners.
2.  In a medium bowl or measuring cup, combine and stir the egg whites, whole egg, 1/4 cup of milk, and the vanilla. Set aside.
3.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the dry ingredients together on low speed (I use the "stir" setting on my mixer) for 30 seconds.
4.  Add the butter one piece at a time, about every 10 seconds, ensuring it's cold (you can keep some in refrigerator while you're adding pieces). Continue to mix on low until the mixture is a fine crumbly texture. Add milk, and mix on low speed for 5 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl and begin to add the egg mixture in 3 separate batches, mixing until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. (You want to ensure that the batter is homogenous.) Fold once or twice to ensure the batter at bottom of bowl is incorporated. Note: I don't own a Kitchen Aid, so I used a hand mixer and really wanted to find the person who invented this recipe so I could punch them right in the jugular. Yes, this part was time-consuming.
5.  Fill cupcake lined pan, each 3/4 full. ProTip: I like using a 1/4 measuring cup to scoop.
6.  Bake until a cake tester comes out with a few crumbs when inserted into the center, about 17-20 minutes ProTip: start with the lowest time, test with toothpick and adjust accordingly if needed.
7.  Let cool on racks for 15 minutesish or until completely cool before frosting.

Directions - Frosting
1.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip butter for 8 minutes on medium speed (I use "4" on my KitchenAid). Butter will become very pale & creamy. Note: I used a hand-mixer which worked just fine.
2.  Add remaining ingredients and mix on low speed for 1 minute, then on medium speed for 6 minutes. Frosting will be very light, creamy and fluffy. Best used right away. Pro Tip: If you hate, hate frosting bags like me, get this and thank me later.

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50 frosted cupcakes later... 

Some snapshots from Halloween night...

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Michael Jackson (note the crotch grab), Baberaham Lincoln (oh yes I did) and Katy Perry (notice that Katy is covered in dessert)

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Katy Perry, Peacock, Moose, Skunk & "Ghostly Gal" 

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Top Gun (rocking Abe's beard) & Man with Ginger Mullet

Recipe: Iced Pumpkin Cookies

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So the next thing I know, I'm married and it's almost November. What?! Time flies when you're in a wedding tornado, I tell ya. Now with the wedding behind me, I have MUCH more time on my hands to do important things like finish up season 2 of Homeland (holy crap that was one heck of a season finale!), partake in happy hours (hi wine! I've missed you) and BAKE (nice knowing you wedding diet)! Yes, I'm back in the saddle my friends. Since it's Fall and all, I decided to make something with gourds because that shit is so seasonal. Cue Iced Pumpkin Cookies. This is a nice straight forward recipe, no fancy moves in this one. This would also make for a fabulous Thanksgiving dessert (speaking of Thanksgiving, somebody needs to tell Macy's that Christmas is NOT the next Holiday).

Iced Pumpkin Cookies
Recipe from All Recipes
Yield: Makes 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients – Cookies
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients – Icing
2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
2.  In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of  butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly. Pro Tip: I skipped the flattening part.
3.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork. Note: Mine took 12 mins on the nose and I love me some glaze so I spread small dollops on each cookie with the back of a spoon for a better glaze to cookie ratio.
4.  To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners' sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency.

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photo cred: my hubs

I’m in love with my cookie scooper. It completes me.

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Half tempted to close this with a line from McSweeney's article, but I'm afraid I'll offend someone...so I'll go with the PG version:

Welcome to autumn, yammos!

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Our Wedding Cake

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A little over 3 weeks ago I partook in the best day of my life. No, not a day spent at an all-you-can-eat dessert buffet (great guess), it was my wedding day <cue awws>.  While I could easily talk (write?) your ear off about the wedding, I instead want to hone in on the wedding dessert highlight: the cake. I posted awhile back about the cake tasting, courtesy of the lovely Amy, that knocked my ankle boots off and holy cow did Amy deliver on the wedding cake. When I first laid eyes on the cake, it was, frankly, love at first sight. I mean, check this beauty out.

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The two flavors we chose were: (top two layers) chocolate espresso cake with vanilla buttercream frosting and (bottom layer) golden yellow cake with orange zest with vanilla buttercream frosting. Needless to say...I had 3 slices throughout the night.

Amy, thank you again for making us a stunning and ridiculously delicious wedding cake! 

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Had to be done. You can see the slight guilt on my face.

Recipe(s): The Hunt For The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie

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I have a buddy who is equally as much of a dessert fiend as I am. He’s been known to eat a WHOLE pan of brownies in the middle of the night because he “just couldn’t help himself” (true story). One of his favorite desserts is chocolate chip cookies and he’s been pestering me to post a recipe for these. Oh, I'll post one all right, how about we go on a little hunt for the BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe? Boomtown.

My game plan was to try out four different recipes (I mean, a girl can only make so many different choco chip cookies in a day) that have grabbed my attention in some way, but still have all the classic cookie ingredients. I also wanted to do a blind taste test to see which of these took the gold. I chose a sunny Sunday to stay indoors and embark on my quest and after gathering all of the ingredients, it was go time. Here are the four different recipes I tried, along with my review of each one.

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Supplies: check! The cookie scooper my new FAVORITE baking tool.

One thing to note, the taste-testers were real softies and had a hard time ranking each of these. There were a lot of cookies that tied for 2nd or 3rd place- I don’t even think anyone gave out a 4th place. It felt a lot like elementary school tee ball where everyone got a trophy at the end of the season, even if your team came in dead last. Hell, did they even keep score at that age? I digress, back to cookie makin’!

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Nestlés Chocolate Chip Cookies

First up: Nestlés Chocolate Chip Cookies. A classic. The recipe is conveniently located on the back of the Nestlés Chocolate Chip bag. Such smarties. I choose this recipe because it’s an all-American cookie to me. Anytime I needed to make a batch of choco chippers, I reached for this recipe. It’s quick, it’s easy and it’s always a crowd pleaser.

Nestlés Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield: Makes 60 cookies 

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Nestlé Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

Directions
1.  PREHEAT oven to 375° F.
2.  COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
3.  BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Thoughts?
The taste testers really enjoyed these, myself included. Some said it tastes like a chocolate chip cookie should taste like- no bells and whistles. My dad gave it 1st place because it tasted familiar and comforting, a cookie you'd have with your family after a  home-cooked meal. My sister gave it a tied 1st place (here we go) for the same reasons, but a few of the taste testers weren't as impressed and gave it a tied for 3rd place <gasp>.

Overall Rating: 4 sticks of butter

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The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found this next recipe through a gal I was in a foodie book club with. She claimed it was the best chocolate chip cookie she’s ever eaten, but you don’t get that sense by the way the recipe is named: The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies. It sounds like my 3 year old nephew named it, but I was still curious enough to give it a go, because you know, the name could be telling the truth. She’s also an amazing baker/chef so I knew they had to be pretty legit.

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield: Makes roughly two dozen cookies

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 12 oz. bags of semi-sweet chocolate chips (use the highest-quality chips you can afford)  Note: I used Ghirardelli semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions
1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  Using an electric stand mixer, cream sugar and butter until combined, about 1-2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, until mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla and mix until incorporated.
3.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add flour mixture to sugar mixture. Finally, add chocolate chips and mix until incorporated.
4.  Using an ice cream scoop or two spoons, drop golfball-sized mounds on a cookie sheet about two inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until cookies are golden brown along edges.

Thoughts?
These cookies took 1st prize for presentation. They looked really pretty coming out of the oven- nicely puffed up with a lovely light tan color. As far as taste went, they were buttery and noticeably a bit sweeter than the others. The taste testers liked these a lot, most giving them a solid 2nd place.

Overall Rating: 4.5 sticks of butter

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Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Next up was a recipe I’ve wanted to try ever since my coworker raved to me about them, saying they were her go-to cookie recipe: Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. I chose this recipe because they sound like a cookie should sound like: un-wimpy. There’s nothing worse than a wimpy cookie, am I right?

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield: Makes 18 jumbo cookies or two dozen regular sized cookies.

Ingredients
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
1 cup light or dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (more or less, as desired)  Note: I used fancy chocolate: Scharffen Berger 62% cacao semisweet chocolate baking bar, coarsely chopped

Directions
1.  Heat oven to 325°F (160°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
2.  Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together in medium bowl; set aside.
3.  Either by hand or with an electric mixer, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in egg, yolk and vanilla until combined. Add dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in chips to taste.
4.  Roll scant 1/4 cup dough into ball. Holding dough ball in fingertips of both hands, pull into two equal halves. Rotate halves ninety degrees and with jagged surfaces facing up, join halves together at their base, again forming a single ball, being careful not to smooth dough's uneven surface. Place formed dough onto cookie sheet, leaving 2 1/2-inches between each ball. Pro Tip: I didn’t do this. It sounded confusing so I just used my cookie scooper and called it a day.
5.  Bake, reversing position of cookie sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy, about 18 to 22 minutes.
6.  Cool cookies on sheets. When cooled, peel cookies from parchment.

Thoughts?
Well, these were exactly what I expected: thick and chewy. They came out looking super flat, but definitely had the best texture of the bunch. The taste testers weren’t as impressed with these mostly ranking them at tied for 3rd place. I’d have to agree with their ranking- the flavor wasn’t as buttery as I tend to like my CCCs (chocolate chip cookies).

Overall Rating: 3.5 sticks of butter

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NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookies and the taste testers in action.

Lastly, I took a stab at the famous New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, adapted from Jacques Torres. There’s a lot of hub-bub around this recipe so it seemed blasphemous not to try it out. Sadly, I did not follow the recipe exactly because high-maintenance Jacques asks for the dough to sit 24-48 hours. Frankly Jacques, that’s too long to wait for cookie consumption, come on. After cursing Jacques name, I settled on making the dough first, let it sit for most of the day, and bake them last. Close enough.

NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield: Makes two dozen cookies

Ingredients
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons
(8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content Note: I used Scharffen Berger 70% cacao bittersweet chocolate baking bar, coarsely chopped
Sea salt.

Directions - NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookies
1.  Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
2.  Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
3.  When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
4.  Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

Thoughts?
This recipe was annoying to make, but damnit, I’d be a liar if I said it wasn’t delicious. Consistency was spot on and the bittersweet chocolate with the hint of salt was a perfect pairing. The taste testers agreed, almost everyone ranked them at 1st place. Lots of love for the salty addition. Jacques, you’ve done good you handsome, baking bastard. (I just googled Mr. Torres after calling him handsome. Perhaps I was a little generous with that description.) If you have the patience to make these cookies, do it, because they’re really good.

Overall Rating: 5 glorious sticks of butter

Final Thoughts?
If you’re looking to dazzle someone with a CCC and happen to have 24-48 hours to wait, definitely make the NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookie. It’s a hit and a half. If you want to impress people with a darn good-looking cookie, go for The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie.

Lastly, to my dessert-loving friend who inspired me to go hog-wild with cookie baking, the next time you’re in town, a batch of one of these cookies is on me!

Recipe: Italian Pizzelles

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Hello my pretties

Every time my fi(ancé) and I go to his parent's house for Christmas, we are not only greeted by his lovely family, but also stacks upon stacks upon stacks of pizzelles smiling as us. They are proudly made by my future sister-in-law's father-in-law (did you follow that?) The great thing about these is that all you really need is a pizzelle maker and a fabulous recipe. I've got you half way there friends. Behold, the recipe:

Italian Pizzelles
Yield: a bazillion servings

Ingredients
12 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup butter - melted
2 cup sugar
4 cup flour
1 tablespoon anise
3 tsp other flavor (orange, vanilla, almond)

Directions 
1.  Mix together eggs, oil, butter, sugar and flour in a medium sized bowl.
2.  Stir in anise. Add other flavors OR play around with this part. Try separating out the batter and add a little of one flavor, test and so on. My fi's sister also tried adding a heaping scoop of <my favorite condiment> Nutella to the batter and she had one word for it: AMAZING!
3.  Add spoonful of batter to hot pizzelle maker, hold down for 1 min or so (it will depend on your maker) and fork off onto a cooling rack. You will probably have to do a trial and error on this part.
4.  Once cooled, pizzelles should be waffley-crispy when you chomp into them. Experiment with the time it's in the maker if it's coming out too soft.

Dazzle a Italian stallion or bella ragazza with these delights!

Story: The Laaaast One!

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I'm about 4 here, but you get the gist of what 3 year old Courtney looked like. I'm holding my very tolerant cat, Smudgie.

When I was 3 years old, I did something very, very bad. Lets take a trip back in time, shall we? It was a few days after Christmas and I was super jealous of what one of my sister's gave the other sister: a shoebox full of all of her favorite candies. My eyes lit up like a Christmas tree (pun intended) when my sis opened the lid for the first time. It was like this forbidden treasure that I wanted in a bad way. My sister's knew this of course, so they decided to keep this box o' heaven well out of my T-Rex 3 year old reach: on top of their bedroom bookshelf. You know, it would have been a great hiding place if I didn't see where it lived whenever they generously shared a piece of candy with me. Suckers.

A couple days later, when they were babysitting me and my bro, I gingerly (pun intended) snuck away with one thing in mind: IT'S CANDY O'CLOCK! I don't know how I did it, but I scaled that bookshelf like a ninja and snagged that shoebox like it was nobody's business. After making my way back to solid ground, I bolted to my bedroom, dove under the bed and settled in for a nice little snack. When my sisters noticed I was missing, they started looking and calling for me for the next hour. They passed my room several times, but I wasn't about to reveal my hiding place and what I was up to. My sister's recall this next part very clearly. When they walked past my room at one point, they heard a tiny voice call out "the laaaaaasst one!" They looked under my bed and I was popping the last candy in my mouth while sitting in a sea full of candy wrappers. They were both a tornado of anger, to put it lightly.

I'm just now having this realization, well over a decade later, MAN do I owe my sister a shoebox full of her favorite candies. Alas, Christmas isn't too far away, is it? Too soon?

Recipe: Summer Peach Pie

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It's summer! <cue song> San Francisco sadly didn't get the memo, but the rest of 'Merica did. Luckily I'm headed to a MUCH hotter climate this weekend..although, it's supposed to be 109 degrees one of the days. I might die of gingeritus.

Summer means most fruit is in season which means people start baking fruit pies! Score. In light of this, I made a peach pie with my mom over the 4th of July weekend. The recipe is from a friend of hers who's a bake-a-holic, so I knew it would be gold. The key is to have fresh peaches preferably from a farmers market or home garden. Side note: for the crust, we bought 2 Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crusts to save time, but if you feel inclined to make your own, this recipe looks amaze.

Summer Peach Pie
Yield: Makes 8 servings

Ingredients
5 cups peeled & sliced peaches
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup sugar
¼ cup flour
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon milk (for top of crust)
1 tablespoon sugar (for top of crust)

Directions
1.  Place bottom layer of pie crust into pie dish.
2.  Peel and slice peaches into medium sized bowl, stir in lemon juice, set aside.
3.  Combine sugar, flour and cinnamon in separate smaller bowl. Pour over peaches and stir.
4.  Plop mixture in pie dish with crust, dot with the butter. 
5.  Weave lattice crust on top. Pro Tip: start in a "corner" and alternate strips going perpendicularly. Trim any excess. Pinch edges for flare
6.  Brush the lattice crust with 1 tablespoon of milk, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sugar, dot with butter.
7.  Bake at 425 degrees for 35-45 minutes until it is bubbling.
8. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Anything á la mode makes everything better.

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A rough peel-job is just fine

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Easier to do this part with a helper!

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Hello lover

Review: Brown Butter Sea Salt Cookies

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Photo Cred: Sarah O'Rourke

I've happily scarfed many cookies in my day and just when I think I've tried them all, I come across a golden nugget that blows my mind. Enter Brown Butter Cookie Company- thank you for existing. Huge thanks to my lovely coworker for introducing these to me. On occasion she'll generously bring in a box to share and each time it feels like Christmas. Heck, I even bogart more than my sweet pregnant coworker does. I can't help it, they're too good! The BBCC store is located in a cute surf town: Cayucos, Ca, but luckily you can order these online whenever you please. If you happen to hit up the store, you will be greeted by free samples and possibly the two sisters who co-own this company as well.

Now lets talk flavors. I've been lucky enough to sample 4 flavors, but they make 6 total: Coco, Coconut Lime, Citrus, Original, Coco Mint and Espresso. Here is my two cents on the flavs I've tried.

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Photo Cred: Sarah O'Rourke  |  Coco Cookie 

Coco: It's so money. I mean, look at these beauties. It has a glorious light buttery chocolate flavor. Definitely one of my favorites!

Coco Rating: 4.5 Cookie Crumbs

Coconut Lime: This little guy is very intriguing. It's unlike any cookie I've had before. It has a hint of lime tucked away just enough in a butter-based cookie.

Coconut Lime Rating: 4 Cookie Crumbs

Citrus: I didn't dislike it, but it didn't make me want horde any away for later. I love citrus in chocolate, but it's not my favorite in a sugar-type cookie. They can't all be winners, right?

Citrus Rating: 3 Cookie Crumbs

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Photo Cred: Sarah O'Rourke  |  Original Cookie 

Original: This is my FAV. It's so good once it hits your lips. I love the brown sugar and pop of salt you taste in each bite. I also appreciate the buttery flavor that's not greasy by any means. These cookies are too classy to be greasy!

Original Rating: 5 Cookie Crumbs

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Photo Cred: Sarah O'Rourke

These cookies are so sweet, they even say "enjoy!" on their package. Do yourself a favor and order a box and thank me later.

People Who Don't Like Chocolate

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www.100redflags.com

Whenever I encounter someone who doesn't like chocolate, I can't help but instantly judge them. I meannnn...WHO DOESN'T LIKE CHOCOLATE? Perhaps they're missing some enzyme like people who don't like cilantro.  Boggles my mind I tell ya. I also have a buddy who doesn't like peanut butter, however, he enjoys peanuts. HUH?

And now I have a hankering for chocolate dipped in peanut butter...mmm.

Recipe: Chocolate Orange Tarts with Olive Oil Crusts

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Know what really strikes my fancy? Discovering a dessert that's easy, impressive looking and delicious. A triple threat if you will. Sadly, I rarely find these gems, but was lucky enough to come across one recently at a cooking class my family and I took. We made "chocolate orange tarts with olive oil crusts."

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At first I was perplexed that we were baking with olive oil vs butter, but let me tell ya, it was phenom. We used two different types of olive oils: a tangerine one and a rich, buttery one. I’m definitely a believer in the power of baking with olive oil now. Butter, you've got some competition friend.

Chocolate Orange Tarts with Olive Oil Crusts
Yield: 12 tarts

Ingredients – Pie Crust
2/3 cup We Olive Mission Olive Oil (any buttery olive oil)
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon of salt
2 cups All Purpose Flour

Ingredients – Chocolate Filling
2 tablespoons of Tangerine Olive Oil (Blood Orange Olive Oil works too)
2 teaspoons of Sea salt
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/4 cup cream Pro Tip: For a lighter recipe, use vanilla almond milk. Tastes just as good!
Raspberries to garnish

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Directions – Pie Crust
1.  Whisk 2/3 cup of Olive oil and 1/3 cup of water with fork for 2-3 minutes until emulsified. You will know it is ready when Olive Oil and water have become one and created a cloudy appearance.
2.  Add salt and flour continue mixing with fork. Spread on floured cutting board to finish combining by hand. Once mixture becomes tacky and well combined wrap in plastic wrap nd place in fridge for 10 minutes. Pro Tip: We skipped the fridging and it rolled out just fine.
3.  Roll out with floured rolling pin until it's roughly 1/8–1/4" thick.
4.  Cut into circles with a mug or glass. Press into greased muffin tin and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Pro Tip: We were very "rustic" with this and didn't spend too much time on the pressing.

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Directions – Chocolate Filling
1.  In a large bowl, combine chocolate, olive oil and Sea salt.
2.  In a small saucepan, bring cream to a bare simmer over medium-high.
3.  Immediately pour cream over chocolate and let stand 1 minute.
4.  Whisk gently until chocolate melts and mixture is completely smooth.
5.  Pour chocolate into cooled pie shells and refrigerate until set, 30 minutes.
6.  Slide out with a fork or knife and garnish with raspberries and mint for extra flare.

We had extra choco filling and each of my family members (mostly me) kept going back for a spoonful or five. It. Was. YUM. Special shout out to Chef Lauren for introducing me to this recipe!

Wedding Cake Tasting

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The day was finally here. WEDDING CAKE TASTING! Naturally, I was beyond excited about this. Giddy even. One of my good friends, Amy, happens to be a kick-ass baker and kindly agreed to make our wedding cake. I've had several of her desserts before so was stoked to try out the cakes she made for us. When we walked into the tasting, she had made not one, not two, but FOUR cakes that were all gorgeous and beautifully presented. We were blown away. Keep in mind, in normal cake tastings, I'm told you usually only get a few slices to share, not actual full-on cakes. Amy rocks.

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Our first slice was a golden yellow cake with orange zest and orange/Grand Marnier buttercream frosting. This cake was killer and the citrus kick made it delightfully refreshing. The Grand Marnier was a clever twist too, well played Amy.

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Second up was a dark chocolate espresso cake with espresso buttercream frosting. While Amy was describing this cake to us, I was inwardly cheering and outwardly trying to keep my cool. After my first bite...I was in love. Decadent, moist chocolate cake paired perfectly with the light, espresso buttery frosting. Swoon.

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Third round was a golden yellow cake with Nutella filling and Nutella buttercream frosting. Man oh man. This golden cake and I should be friends. Close friends. I loved the little pocket of Nutella too which happens to be one of my favorite condiments (yes it's a condiment, ask any Brit). You know what else should be a condiment? Buttercream.

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Lastly was a marble cake with chocolate ganache and hazelnut praline with vanilla buttercream frosting. I loved how pretty the slice looked with its marble swirlies. I also enjoyed the crunch the hazelnuts gave.

After we polished off all 4 of these slices each (can you say, cake coma?), my fi and I decided to blurt out our favorite at the count of three. We are very dessert compatible, but if we both said something different, heads would have rolled. Luckily, we both said the same cake and also agreed on our 2nd tier as well. Crisis. Averted.

​I've been savoring the to-go slices we were given all week- yes, we even got to take half of the cakes home with us! Can't wait to revisit these beauts on our wedding day (inwardly cheering again).