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.

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!

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

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?

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).

Review: Luna Park's Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding

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When my sister found out I started a dessert blog, she said I absolutely had to go to Luna Park to try their Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding. She was a fan, to put it lightly. So much in fact that when she was dining here with a friend when she was 9mos pregnant and started going into labor, she insisted they stay long enough to order this dessert...and polish off every last bite, including an extra scoop of ice cream! Brav-o sister, bravo.

Don't you hate it sometimes when siblings are right? Not in this case. This dessert is kind of like eating a hug. Crispy on the outside, warm gooey chocolatey goodness on the inside and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream that melts over this bread pudding in all the right places. Yeah that sounded weird...just go with it. 

Rating: 5 Milkshakes

Thank you sister for sharing this yummalicious dessert. : )

Tip: Frosting a Cake

When frosting a cake, if the cake starts coming apart mid-frost, toss the frosting in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds- it will be a breeze after that. Make sure the frosting isn't runny though or else it'll be a hot mess. Fun (?) Fact: when the cake falls apart, it's usually because the cake temperature vs the frosting temperature is off. I'm told it's ideal to have a cold cake and room temperature frosting. Regulating these temps sounds like more work than I'd like to sign up for- hence this tip!

Is anyone else craving cake now?

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thatkindofwoman.tumblr.com​

My Dad's "Love" for Cherry Garcia Ice Cream

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Growing up in a house full of dessert lovers meant desserts didn't stick around long. This was a problem for my dad, who's favorite go-to dessert is ice cream. Whenever his sweet tooth hit, he wanted to have a dessert he could rely on being there for him, like an old friend if you will. This is where Ben and Jerry's "Cherry Garcia" ice cream came in.* My dad was crafty and was able to find the single ice cream flavor that the rest of the family hated. Keep in mind, this was far from his favorite flavor, but he grew fond of it, mostly because he didn't have to worry about it disappearing on his watch. Brilliant or desperate? Nevertheless, whenever I open my parent's freezer and find a pint of Cherry Garcia sitting there, it makes me smile.

*If you haven't had the pleasure (?) of sampling this, it consists of cherry ice cream with cherries & fudge flakes. B&J, this flavor royally sucks. Stick to what you do best like "Coffee Heath Bar Crunch" or "Half Baked".

Recipe: Vanilla Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream Frosting

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I whipped up some birthday cupcakes for my friend's very, very and I mean very belated birthday dinner (her birthday was in early November, oops). I wanted to attempt to recreate these cupcakes she raved about that my sister made several years ago: white cupcakes with raspberry buttercream frosting. This dessert had me at butter-cream, so I was up for the challenge. I ended up going with a vanilla cupcake recipe I found on browneyedbaker.com and a raspberry frosting recipe on food.com. These were easy as pie to make (sidenote: pie isn't that easy to make phrase coiner!) You basically throw all the cupcake ingredients in a bowl, blend, done, and same thing for the frosting. Even a lightly trained monkey can make these.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream Frosting
Yield: Makes 12 servings

Ingredients – Cupcakes
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature
½ cup sour cream
1 large egg, room temperature
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Ingredients – Frosting
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 -8 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
milk (if needed)

Directions – Cupcakes
1.  Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin/cupcake tin with paper or foil liners.
2.  Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add butter, sour cream, egg and egg yolks, and vanilla; beat at medium speed until smooth and satiny, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula and mix by hand until smooth and no flour pockets remain. Pro Tip: Just use a regular mixer, no need to get fancy with this.
3.  Divide batter evenly among cups of prepared tin. Bake until cupcake tops are pale gold and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 24 minutes. Pro Tip: Always start with the lower time range to avoid overcooking. Mine took 20 mins on the nose.
4.  Remove the cupcakes from tin and transfer to wire rack; cool cupcakes to room temperature before frosting.

Directions – Frosting
1.  Cream butter and jam until well incorporated, about 2 minutes.
3.  Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time until you reach desired consistency. Note: I used about 4 cups.
4.  If frosting gets too thick you can add a little milk to thin it out.

Hug a Cupcake

Ever loved a cupcake so much that you wanted to hug it? Or perhaps spoon it? Well you're in luck because now you can <said with cheesy salesman voice>! Check out this gem I found online. Can you say, Birthday gift? : )

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image courtesy of thefancy.com

Recipe: Irish Whiskey Chocolate Cake

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image courtesy of askmen.com

As a ode to St. Patrick and my ginger hair, I made an Irish Whiskey Chocolate Cake yesterday. It was fairly easy to make and I was pretty happy with the outcome. The cake was majorly moist and the whiskey gave it a nice "wang" <insert joke here>. If I were to make this cake all over again, I would add 2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips for a nice crunch and I'd make a side of whip cream to offset the richness (hint: you should do the same if you are wise). Here is the recipe lowdown, found on Epicurious.

Irish Whiskey Chocolate Cake
Yield: Makes 12 to 14 servings

Ingredients
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus 3 tablespoons for dusting pan
1 1/2 cups brewed coffee
1/2 cup Irish whiskey (or any whiskey that isn't too peaty)
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
1.  Place oven rack in the middle and preheat oven to 325°F. Butter 10-inch bundt pan well, then dust with 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, knocking out excess. Note: I only used 1 heaping tablespoon.
2.  Heat coffee, whiskey, butter, and remaining cup cocoa powder in a saucepan over moderate heat, whisking, until butter is melted. Remove from heat, then add sugar and whisk until dissolved, about 1 minute. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and cool 5 minutes.
3.  While chocolate mixture cools, stir together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together eggs and vanilla in a small bowl, then whisk into cooled chocolate mixture until combined well. Add flour mixture and whisk until just combined (batter will be delightfully bubbly). Pour batter into bundt pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Note: mine took 43 mins and the toothpick came out mostly clean.
4.  Cool cake completely in pan on a rack, about 2 hours. Loosen cake from pan using tip of a dinner knife, then invert rack over pan and turn cake out onto rack. Pro Tip: I garnished mine with confectioners sugar for flair.

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Cheers to my fellow Irish lassies!

Review: Cupcakes of NYC

On my first trip to New York City in the spring of 2009, I decided to embark on a journey: to find the tastiest cupcake NYC has to offer. It was a short trip, so I had to be focused. Sadly, I did not make it to the top of the Empire State Building or see the Statue of Liberty, but I did make it to three cupcake shops. Now that's what I call a successful trip!

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Left to right: PB, Cookie Dough & Cappuccino

First, my girlfriends and I hit up a cupcake place that has a lot of hub-bub: Crumbs Bake Shop. The shop may be small, but the cupcakes are ginormous. We snagged three to try: Peanut Butter Cup, Cookie Dough and Cappuccino. Thoughts? The frosting-to-cake ratio was off; there was waaay too much frosting/topping for your own good. Plus, each of them had a frosting filling too, not like it needed anymore. All this frosting was crazy sweet too, which is ok for a bite or two, but come bite three, things start to turn bad.​

Crumbs Bake Shop Rating:​ 1.5 cupcake wrappers

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Disneyland length line

Next cupcake stop was at another crowd pleaser: Magnolia Bakery. This place was featured in a Sex and the City episode, so yeah, it's popular. We're talking line-out-the-door-and-around-the-block popular. So we waited in line with the other schmucks for our cupcakes, hoping they would be worth all the fuss. We ordered three cupcakes to sample, and to be honest, I can't even remember what they were. They were that forgettable. The only thing I recall is thinking they were OK, nothing special about them...not to mention it made me question Carrie and Miranda's taste in cupcakes.

Magnolia Bakery Rating: 2.5 cupcake wrappers

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Left to right: Classic Chocolate , Red Velvet with Cream Cheese frosting on the right, hi old friend!​

Last, but certainly not least, on our way to walk The Highline, I spotted a cute little bakery in the distance: Billy's Bakery. I insisted that we stop by after our walk and man am I glad we did. This cute, quaint shop is very unassuming and could easily be passed by if it weren't for my cupcake radar. I ended up splitting two cupcakes with one of my friends: Red Velvet and Classic Chocolate. Red Velvet was the CLEAR winner and I immediately regretted agreeing to split the second half. Cake to frosting ratio was perfect, cake was moist and a lovely light chocolatey flavor and the cream cheese frosting was just the right amount of sweet. It made me want to track down Billy and give him a high-five.

illy's Bakery Rating: 5 cupcake wrappers

The next time you find yourself in need of a cupcake in NYC, go treat yo-self with a Red Velv at (my future BFF) Billy's Bakery.

Recipe: Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwich

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The Girl Scout cookies have arrived...everywhere. Local grocery store: Girl Scout cookies in your face. Workplace: Girl Scout cookie explosion. Sports Basement: BOOM Girl Scout cookies. I somehow had the will-power to dodge buying a box or 5 and was instead inspired to make my own version of a GSC (Girl Scout cookie). The "Do-Si-Dos" have always been a contender for my favorite GSC, so I decided to give these a shot. I found a good looking recipe on All-Recipes.com called "Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies III," meaning there is a I and II version of these bad boys out there too. Well played All-Recipes.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwhich
Yield: Makes 24 servings

Ingredients – Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened                   
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup white sugar                            
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg                                                      
3/4 cup all-purpose flour                                      
1/2 teaspoon baking soda                  
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt                               
1 cup quick cooking oats

Ingredients – Filling
3 tablespoons butter, softened        
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter         
2 1/2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Directions
1.  In a large bowl, cream together 1/2 cup softened butter or margarine, 1/2 cup peanut butter, white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Add egg and beat well.
2.  In small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add these dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir. Add oatmeal and stir.
3.  Drop using a teaspoon (scoop should be overflowing) onto greased baking sheet or wax paper, and press each mound down with a fork to form 1/4 inch thick cookies. Pro Tip: put dough in fridge for a bit to make spreading easier.
4.  Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 8–10 minutes, or until cookies are a light brown. Pro Tip: when in doubt, take them out. Better to under-cook than over-cook these.
5.  To Make Filling: Cream 3 tablespoons butter or margarine with the confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter and the whipping cream. Spread filling onto half of the cooled cookies, then top with the other half to form sandwiches.

Girl Scouts, c'est la vie!

Recipe: THE Cake

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One of my sister's makes a dessert so delicious that there can only be one name for it: THE Cake. It's actually a pretty simple recipe, but it hits on all the right things: Chocolate? Check! Toffee? You betcha! Whip cream? Of course!

Luckily, I get to eat this at least once a year, due to the fact that someone in my family requests it for their Birthday cake (it's usually me). She was hesitant to share this recipe, but we agreed that true dessert lovers would be worthy enough. That said, here is the recipe in all it's glory. Note: full credit for this recipe goes to her mom who also knows a good dessert when she sees/eats it.

THE Cake
Yield: Makes 12 hefty servings, 15 wimpy servings

Ingredients
1 pint whipping cream
add sugar to taste (about 1/2 cup)
10 crushed Heath bars
1 box German chocolate cake mix

Directions
1.  Make cake according to recipe in greased 2, 8" round pans, let cool
2.  Crush Heath bars (leave 1 crushed bar aside). Pro Tip: my sister's technique is putting them in a plastic bag and hitting them with a hammer, but any kind of mallet will do
3.  Whip whipping cream until firm
4.  Fold all but the 1 crushed bar into whipping cream
5.  Once cake has fully cooled, frost first layer of cake with whipping cream/Heath bar mixture
6.  Place second cake layer on, frost
7.  Sprinkle remaining crushed Heath bar on top
8.  Keep refrigerated until ready to serve
9.  Cut a large and in charge slice for yourself and enjoy
10.  Contemplate eating another piece