Black Bottom Cupcakes

Working in a bakery has its perks, such as being able to eat all the imperfect treats, access really nice ingredients, and wear jeans and t-shirts everyday. But lately my body has been getting irritated with me. I have scoliosis, and while it hasn't ever acted up much in the past, spending all day on my feet, as well as bending over to lift large bags of flour and pulling things out of the oven makes my spine very upset.

No way I'm going to let my body limit my passions though. It just means I need to take better care of myself. More exercise to strengthen my spine. Better shoes (time for some ugly kitchen clogs...). And, if necessary, seeing a doctor. But I'm trying not to let myself be too concerned. 

 

Having days off to rest helps, even if I'm still baking at home! I've been making a decent amount of black bottom cupcakes recently. I'd never had them before, and they're crazy easy to make. No mixer required! Or frosting, since they've got a cheesecake center. Nom. The recipe I prefer is from a cookbook called Wintersweet, which I unfortunately returned to the library already, but David Leibovitz's recipe is pretty solid as well. 

Black Bottom Cupcakes 
from David Leibovitz
(Mine made like, 15 cupcakes. Dunno how you'd get 12 out of this)

 

For the filling
8 ounces regular or reduced fat cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
 
For the cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
5 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup unflavored vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white or cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions 

Beat together the cream cheese, granulated sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in the chopped chocolate pieces. Put in the freezer for like an hour. 

Adjust the rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C). Butter a 12-cup muffin tin, or line the tin with paper muffin cups. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients, stirring until just smooth. Stir any longer and you will over mix the batter and end up with less-than-tender cupcakes. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Spoon a few tablespoons of the filling into the center of each cupcake, dividing the filling evenly. This will fill the cups almost completely, which is fine. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops are slightly golden brown and the cupcakes feel springy when gently pressed. These moist treats will keep well unrefrigerated for 2 to 3 days if stored in an airtight container.

Beet Red Velvet Cake

Sometimes my roommate has trouble making decisions. Not on big, important things, at least I don't think so. He merely...gets bogged down in particulars? So it's often easier to just make a decision for him. Note that I do not enjoy doing this. Especially not about birthday cakes. How can one not care what kind of cake they have?! 

"Adam. Please. What kind of cake do you want, I can make anything." Know that no one ever asks for anything out of the ordinary, but I can always hope.
"Okay, I want Red Velvet," he says emphatically. 
NOOOOO. If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you might know my dislike for red velvet. There is something sinister about all that dye. But wait...
"Ugh, fine, I'll do it. But I'm going to use beets instead of food coloring." 
He looked somewhat taken aback, but didn't object. So there was indeed a way to make this cake out of the ordinary. 

It wasn't horrible! It didn't taste like beets! If I hadn't told everyone about the beets so they could prepare themselves in case it was barfworthy, I don't think anyone would have known. It's not going to be as shockingly red as it would be if you used dye, but it was still clearly red. Now I can make red velvet again without feeling gross. On the side note, the frosting on this was fantastic, a cream cheese Swiss meringue buttercream. Yeah, a little more complex than American buttercream/cream cheese frosting, but worth it to me. 

Beet Red Velvet Cake
from Korena in the Kitchen

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup beet purée 
3/4 tsp vanilla extract 
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp natural cocoa powder (NOT Dutch process)
1/2 cup cultured buttermilk 
 1 1/2 tsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice 

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Butter two 6″ round cake pans, then line the bottoms with parchment paper and butter the paper. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in eggs one at a time. Add beets and vanilla.
In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients:
In a liquid measuring cup, combine buttermilk, rice vinegar, and lemon juice. Add the dry and wet ingredients alternately to the beet mixture, making three additions of dry and two additions of wet (starting and ending with dry). Mix gently to incorporate, scraping down the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans  Bake the cakes in the preheated 350˚F oven for 35 – 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few point crumbs sticking to it (start checking after about 25 minutes). Run a knife around the edge of the pan, invert the cakes onto a rack, and cool completely.
When cool, split the cakes in half horizontally and frost with Cream Cheese Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting. Use about 2/3 of the batch to fill between the 4 layers, then frost the top and sides with the remaining buttercream (you might need to chill the whole thing after stacking/filling the layers if the frosting gets very soft).

Put the cake in the fridge to chill while you make the 
White Chocolate-Cream Cheese Ganache:
In a small saucepan, heat until just boiling:

5 tbsp half and half cream

2 tbsp cream cheese

1 tsp butter

Pour the hot mixture over 5 oz chopped white chocolate and let it sit for a minute to melt, then stir until smooth. Stir in a pinch of salt and let it cool until thick enough to spread.

Pour the ganache over the chilled cake and spread it gently down over the top and sides of the cake (don’t be like me – put the cake on the serving platter AFTER you cover it in ganache). Chill again to set, then take out of the fridge about an hour before serving.

Applesauce Spice Cupcakes

Blogging when I should be working on my final papers. And blogging something that's probably considered autumnal for that matter. Breakin' alllll the rules. I get the apple thing, apple season is September/October. But I have no idea why cinnamon is considered a fall flavor. Is the growing season for cinnamon in the fall? Whatever. These are the great mysteries of my life (just kidding. Kind of). 

Pretty flowers from a friend !

I have not started freaking out about the fact that I'm graduating. Maybe I will when it's actually happening, but I've never been the kind of person to publicly flip out over big events. Appreciate the moment. There will be plenty of time for the future when the future is the present. And yes, many things will be new, but the most important friends and family will be by your side to make everything less scary. And maybe that's why I'm not afraid. 

These little cupcakes are plain and unassuming looking, but they have a lovely cinnamon and nutmeg flavor, and the texture of something like banana bread (perhaps due to the applesauce, which you can't taste at all). Top them off with cream cheese frosting (the PERFECT amount for this number of cupcakes, which was awesome!) and you've got something that will pretty much please anyone.

Enjoy the rest of today. You'll never get it back! 

Applesauce Spice Cupcakes + Cream Cheese Frosting
from Cooking Classy

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1 Recipe Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows 

Cream Cheese Frosting
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg, set aside. In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, whip together butter, granulated sugar and light-brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 - 4 minutes. Add in eggs, mixing after each addition. With mixer on low speed, add in applesauce. Stir in flour mixture and mix just until combined. Divide batter evenly among 20 paper lined muffin cups, filling each cup about 2/3 full. Bake in preheated oven, rotating pan once halfway through baking, for about 19 - 20 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool several minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Cool completely then frost with Cream Cheese Frosting. Store cupcakes in an airtight container.
 
 Cream Cheese Frosting
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer whip ingredients together until smooth and fluffy about 1 - 2 minutes.

Japanese Cheesecake

Hey everyone! I'm in the middle of finals week right now, which I always find to be a surprising calming time of the semester. There's no homework, extracurriculars have ended, so all that's left to do is study for four tests scattered over the course of a week. And if you've been going to class and paying attention, they're really not that bad. But that's just my opinion, feel free to disagree with me. 

Unfortunately, going home for break means I have to defrost my fridge. Always a pain. Since I don't want to throw anything away, I have to figure out how to use the odd ingredients hanging around. I'll probably end up making a bunch of pancakes later to finish off the milk and eggs. 

I'd been holding on to a block of cream cheese for quite some time, waiting and never coming across the right recipe. But now, it's crunch time! I decided to make a Japanese cheesecake. This is probably not like the cheesecake you are used to–it's closer to a cake called Castella. Though Castella (Kasutera/カステラ is now a special of Nagasaki, the cake was originally introduced to Japan by Portuguese merchants in the 16th century. I'm not sure if the terms Castella and Japanese cheesecake are interchangeable, but if you do, let me know! Anyway, this cheesecake is really simple, super light and fluffy, and gluten free! Give it a try :) 

Japanese Cheesecake 

7 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup superfine sugar (I used normal granulated, it was fine)
3 eggs, separated
1/4 cup cornstarch (DON'T use flour)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 9-inch cake tin with cooking spray. I used 3, 3" heart springform pans. I recommend a springform pan if you have one.

Make sure your beaters and bowl are really clean for this. Beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add remaining sugar and cream of tartar, beating on high speed until soft peaks form, about 8-10 minutes.

 In another bowl, beat cream cheese with milk to soften. Add half of the sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch and lemon juice. Beat until smooth. Gradually fold beaten egg whites into the cream cheese mixture, stirring gently.

Pour into cake pan and smooth the surface. Place cake pan into a larger roasting pan and place in lower rack of oven. Pour enough water into the roasting pan to come half way up the side of the cake pan. Bake 35-40 minutes, until a pick inserted in the middle of the center comes out clean.

If the surface becomes too dark while baking cover with a piece of tin foil, but be careful not to open the oven door until it has been in the oven for at least 20 minutes.

Oreo Cheesecake Truffles

I finally got an oven to work for me! But that's a story for later in the week ^__^  Okay, so you know how there are double stuffed oreos (which, apparently, are only 1.86th stuffed. The nerve!)? Now there are MEGA STUFFED OREOS. Is that too much filling for you? I'm kind of feeling yes. How do you eat oreos? I usually either spread peanut butter on them or pull one of these. 

Whoa, black and white, what is this madness? 

I don't usually buy cookies for myself, but I came into possession of some mega stuffed oreos through my father, who had received them from someone else. He can't eat oreos though, too much sodium, bad for the heart. So they became mine! And as much as I wanted to, I knew I probably shouldn't eat the whole package by myself. 

Messy....sorry, I was in a hurry >_ >

Soooo...I found a recipe for oreo cheesecake cookies. Not surprisingly, given my track record so far, they were a mega fail. All the fat oozed out the bottom without cooking the rest of the cookie. I slammed the rejects into the garbage and pondered my next course of action. I was due to meet up with some friends soon and I was not about to walk over there empty handed. So I rolled the remaining dough (eggless, hooray!) into balls, dipped them in chocolate, and popped them in the freezer. Cheesecake truffles! They were such a huge hit, I made them again a few days later. 

Oreo Cheesecake Truffles
adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 sleeve oreos
1 bag chocolate chips

Crush oreos into crumbs. It's okay to have some bigger chunks in there. Set aside. 

In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until smooth and well-combined. Add the sugar and vanilla extract and mix until the ingredients are well-combined. Add the flour and mix on low until the flour is incorporated. Stir in crushed oreos. Roll into balls (about walnut sized). If your dough is getting too soft, pop it in the freezer until it firms up. Melt chocolate chips and dip each ball into chocolate until completely covered. Freeze until solid.

Oreo Cheesecakes

"Mom, where are my Twix bars?" my brother Ian asked groggily, twisting in his seat. 
"They should be in the cooler," she called back, keeping her eyes on the road. I shifted uneasily. Do you ever wake up from a nap and just kind of...sleep eat? Without even realizing it? 
"Uh...how many are there?" I asked slowly. 
"Two I think". Sigh. Well, no point in lying. 
"I ate them," I announced. Ian turned to me in wide eyed shock and screeched his disapproval. 
"Rebecca, seriously? You ate them?" my mom exclaimed. At this point my sister bursts into laughter and my mom begins backpedaling. 
"No, I mean, it's fine, it's not like it's a big deal, but I'm just surprised! You always ask if you are going to eat the last of something, or you're more likely to let food go to waste rather than take it from someone else. That's all I meant". 
"I was sleep eating, " I grumbled. I vaguely remembered pulling the mini candy bars out of the cooler before drifting back to sleep. 
"YOU OWE ME NEW TWIX BARS!" Ian bellowed. Somehow I don't think I'll be able to live this one down. 

I owed Ian something anyway. For months and months, he has begged me for either a.) a box cake, or b.) oreo cheesecakes. For another unrelated reason, I also owe my sister her own cheesecake, but that's another story. I refer to all of this collectively as my "Cheesecake Debt". 

In the background is what I refer to as my "Grumpy Mug"

This seemed like as good a time as any to pay Ian's part of the Cheesecake Debt. I've been making these miniature oreo cheesecakes for years, as they're a favorite at graduation parties and gatherings. People seem to be delighted by it, maybe because it's neater and more self contained than a slice of cheesecake, maybe they think it's cute that each cheesecake has a whole oreo as the crust. I dunno. But they're a surefire way to be forgiven for accidental Twix eating. 

Oreo Cheesecakes 
from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes
(I halved this recipe and still ended up with 20, so if you make the full recipe you may very well end up with more than 30).

42 Oreos, 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped
2 pounds cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 275°. Line standard muffin pans with liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each liner.
Beat cream cheese at medium speed using an electric mixer. Gradually sugar, beating until combined. Beat in vanilla.
Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies.
Divide batter among pans. Bake for about 22 minutes or until filling is set.
Cool completely on wire racks. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight covered. Remove from pans just before serving.

Bagel Bombs

There is nothing in the Midwest comparable to a New York bagel. If you disagree with me, I will argue until my throat is so sore I can no longer speak. And even then I will continue to hassle you with annoying texts. Just accept it. I have no idea what the magic ingredient is to making bagels so good. I've tried, and while they're tasty, they still don't have that...je ne sais quoi (also, I have updated my bagel recipe since that blog post, and prefer to use this one now).

So maybe I don't have the magic New York bagel touch, but I can do my best with what I've got. Right? Right. So once again I turn to my beloved Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook. I may have a level 2 girl crush on Christina Tosi. If you don't understand that reference...that's perfectly fine, haha.

Do bagel bombs count as bagels? I like to think so, yes. Comprised of a very versatile "mother dough" that is stuffed with a scallion and bacon cream cheese filling and topped with everything bagel mix. Sounds downright delightful to me. But on the off chance any of you dear readers from the New York area are making a random stop in Wisconsin in the near future, please bring me a bagel. I will love you forever. 

Oh hey there, Instagram. It's been a while. 

Bagel Bombs
from the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook

Components:

• Mother Dough (Recipe Below)
• Bacon, Scallion Cream Cheese Plugs (Recipe Below)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp water
• 1 recipe Everything Bagel Mix (Recipe Below)

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or a silpat.
2. On a smooth, dry, lightly floured surface punch down the mother dough. Portion the dough into 8 equal sized pieces.
3. Taking 1 portion of dough at a time, carefully stretch it to about 3 inches wide. Place one of the prepared cream cheese plugs in the middle of the dough, then fold the dough back up to surround the cream cheese completely. Roll the dough between your hands to try and smooth out the crevices. You want it to look like a dinner roll. Place the finished ball on the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and cream cheese.
4. In a small bowl whisk together the egg and water. Brush generously over each one of the bagel bombs.
5. Generously and evenly over the 8 bagel bombs, sprinkle the everything mix until it covers every inch but the bottoms.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 -30 minutes. They will brown up and eventually expel the cream cheese goo. Don’t worry when this happens – just shove the cream cheese back inside it’s respective bomb.
7. They are best eaten immediately (slightly cooled as to not burn your tongue). If you do have some left over, wrap them individually in plastic and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Mother Dough

Makes enough for the bagel bomb recipes. It is half of the original recipe.

Ingredients:

• 275 g (1 3/4 cups) bread flour
• 6 g (1/2 tbsp) salt
• 1/2 tsp or 1/4 packet active dry yeast
• Slightly above room temperature water – 2/3 to 3/4 cup
• Oil

Directions:

1.  In the bowl of your stand mixer using the dough hook, stir together the flour, salt, yeast and 2/3 cup water until it is “a shaggy mass.”
2. Attach the bowl and hook to your mixer and set to the lowest speed for 3 minutes.
3. After the 3 minutes the dough should be smoother and 1 larger mass of dough. Continue kneading on the lowest speed for 4 minutes. After the 4 minutes it should bounce back when poked.
4. Brush a bowl with a bit of oil, the dump the dough into it and turn it over in the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and store in warm, draft free place for at least 45 minutes. The dough should double in size. 
5. Once it has doubled it is now ready to use. If you don’t want to use it that day, cover it very well in a container double it’s size and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. When you are ready to use it bring it back to room temp on the counter for 30 minutes.

Bacon, Scallion Cream Cheese Plugs

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 oz bacon – 4 or 5 slices
• 1 – 8 oz block cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Cook the bacon until dark and crunchy. You definitely want it crunchy for this so be a little patient! Reserve the bacon and bacon grease separately. 
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer using the beater attachment, mix the cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl. Mix in the cooled, reserved bacon fat until homogenous. Scrape down the bowl.
3. Add the scallions, crumbled bacon, sugar and salt. Mix on medium speed for 1 or 2 minutes, or until fully incorporated.
4. Scoop the mixture onto a lined cookie sheet. You want 8 equal sized lumps. Freeze until rock hard, 1 – 3 hours.
5. Once frozen solid they are ready to use.

Everything Bagel Mix Ingredients:

• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp white sesame seeds
• 2 tsp black sesame seeds
• 2 tsp poppy seeds
• 1 tbsp dried onion
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

1. Mix everything together in a bowl and use when needed.
2. Store in a covered container for up to 6 months.

Peanut Butter Pie

Of course the weather gets nice when finals time comes around and I have to buckle down and study. I can't complain too much though. The workload compared to my classes at home is significantly lighter. Adjusting back may be a little bit rough. But still, I want to be outside! I...have less than two weeks before I go back to the US. Wow. That just hit me. But you can understand that I want to spend that precious little time as wisely as I can. 

As far as I know, these cookies have no bourbon in them.

Spending that time wisely doesn't necessarily mean going on elaborate adventures all the time (though those are nice too). It can mean simply cherishing the moments you have with friends who you likely will not see again for a long time. Sad truths. Aw. Now I've lost my train of thought. Point I was trying to make is to enjoy what you have while you still can. 

Making whipped cream in a jar is not as hard as I expected.

Tying into that nicely is Peanut Butter Pie. I don't think I will ever be able to separate them from this. Almost two years ago Jennifer Perillo lost her husband suddenly and unexpectedly. In a gesture both beautiful and heartbreaking, she asked bloggers to make his favorite dessert, peanut butter pie. So to me, it will always be this food filled with love. And making it was a labor of love; I did everything by hand, from whipping the cream to crushing the cookies for the crust. As usual, sharing it, just taking a moment to sit back and enjoy with my friends, was the best part. 

Peanut Butter Pie

8 oz cream cheese
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 - 3/4 cups milk 
16 ounces heavy cream

(My crust was really thick, but I like it that way. Adjust accordingly)
24 chocolate sandwich cookies
1/4 melted butter

Crush cookies finely. Place in pie tin (or, like me, a 7x10 rectangle. Work with what you have.) Pour butter over the crumbs and stir until crumbs are evenly moistened. I took some crumbs and saved them for sprinkling on the top. Your call. Pat down into a dense layer with the back of a spoon, your hands, a cup, whatever. Set aside. 

Beat together cream cheese and confectioners' sugar. Mix in peanut butter and milk. Beat until smooth. Fold in whipped cream. Spoon onto crust. Top with reserved crumbs if you wish. Freeze until firm.

Oreo Truffles

Life is moving so fast and I almost feel like I'm having a difficult time keeping up, but in a way I've never really experienced before. Every day there is a new party downtown, or an international student event, or day trip. I've been trying my best to attend everything I can, sort of against my nature. Today I started to feel it get to me. 

I've spent the last week or so walking through the constant drizzle (my attempts to avoid puddles futile) to classes, the bus stop, friends' apartments...back and forth. I've enjoyed it, don't get me wrong, I'm just not used to it. My incredibly strong sense of introversion causes me to tire out in social situations at a faster rate than many other people. But instead of retreating to my room like I normally would when I feel that I've had enough, I've been forcing myself to stay out, sacrificing my alone time, but other things like proper nutrition as well (promise I'm getting back on track). 

Today, even though I still have the feeling that I let my friends down, I decided not to go into the city to visit museums. It sounded like my ideal sort of day, but I knew that if I went I would be doing my body and mind a disservice. My anxiety was beginning to bubble up, and I couldn't let that control me. I'm currently sitting in my kitchen with a pot of pasta e fagioli simmering on the stove behind me. My mind is at ease. I think I made a good call. 

I made these oreo truffles in a spare moment during the week. They really do only take minutes to prepare, and they're surprisingly awesome. I can see myself making them again soon. 

Oreo Truffles

36 Oreos or something similar

8 oz cream cheese

16 oz melted semisweet chocolate

If you have a food processor, pull it out and grind the Oreos until they become find crumbs. Otherwise, crush them by hand. Mix in the cream cheese until no white streaks remain. Roll the mixture into balls. I froze mine on a foil lined baking sheet before dipping in chocolate, but it's your call. Dip each ball into the melted chocolate and place on parchment or foil lined sheet. Refrigerate until firm.

Daring Bakers! Chocolate Coconut Cookies

 Holiday season is the time for sharing and Peta of Peta Eats is sharing a dozen cookies, some classics and some of her own from all over the world with us.

Thanksgiving break is over, and it's back to the daily grind of college. My lucky sister, whose school runs on trimesters, is already off for her six week winter break, and will be heading out to Dubai for a couple weeks to study African-Arab women. So cultured! Even though I only have three weeks left of the semester, it seems like there are so many obstacles to overcome before I get that sweet, sweet Christmas break. But there will be good things in between, and I can't forget that.

For right now, I will think about cookies and puppies (you should adopt a dog. It'll be your best friend forever. I mean, c'mon, look at this lil' guy!) Anticipating Christmas, this month's Daring Baker's Challenge was the 12 Days of Cookies! Fortunately (unfortunately?) we didn't have to make all twelve types, but instead had a choice! I like choices. One of the cookies on the list was rainbow cookies, which I adore, but I've already made them. You should make them soon. They are delightful.

I opted instead for these Chocolate Coconut Cookies, which I think was a great decision. I lurve the combination of chocolate and coconut. The outside cookie is sort of a cross between shortbread and sugar cookie, and the inside is like a coconut macaroon (except better, cause they have cream cheese, nomnomnom). If you make these, you'll likely have extra filling, so make some macaroons! Also also, these totally look like siu mai. They aren't, but you could make some and have a delicious dim sum and cookie dinner!

Chocolate Coconut Cookies
from Baking Glory

Coconut Filling

6oz / 175ml Cream Cheese, softened
¾ cup Sugar
1 Egg Yolk
1 ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
2 ¼ cup Coconut Flakes, unsweetened

 

Cookie Dough

1 ¾ cup All Purpose Flour
⅓ cup Cocoa Powder, sifted
½ tsp Baking Soda
¼ tsp Salt
1 ½ sticks Butter, unsalted
1 cup Sugar
1 Egg

Preparation Instructions

Beat the cream cheese with the ¾ cup of sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk, and vanilla extract and continue mixing for another minute.

Add the shredded coconut and continue beating until everything is well incorporated.

Preheat oven to 375° F / 190° C.

In a medium size bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda. In the bowl of a mixer add the butter and sugar and beat together until light and fluffy, add the egg and beat until smooth.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until the mixture is stiff but still pliable.

Using a tablespoon, scoop some of the cookie dough into your hand. Flatten the dough into a circle that’s about 2in to 3in (5cm to 7.5cm) in diameter, add about a teaspoon of the coconut mixture into the middle of it and then fold the sides of the dough but do not seal it at the top.

Repeat this with remaining cookie dough.

Place the cookies on a greased cookie sheet and bake the cookies at 375° F / 190° C for about 18 to 20 minutes

Cool on a wire rack.

I dislike red velvet.

There, I said it. I find that darling of the cake world, red velvet, vastly overrated and a little bit perturbing. Maybe it's because the first time I ever recall having it was at summer camp (an incredibly traumatic experience. I cried every day until they let me leave early.), where red velvet was talked up beyond belief but turned to taste just like a dried out grocery store sheet cake that happened to be red. Maybe it's because there's too much cocoa in it to taste like a yellow cake but not enough for me to consider it chocolate cake. Or maybe it's the food coloring. 

I am inherently suspicious of too much artificial food coloring. Especially red. Probably because as recently as 1982, scientists discovered that certain food dyes cause cancer and other health problems. I mean, it's worrisome to me that it's taken us until red dye #40 to find something that's safe, and it's still been known to cause allergic reactions in some people. The almost fluorescent quality of red velvet batter invoked this perverse fascination in me.

Sorry for being so negative! It's not going to kill you to have some red velvet cake once in a while. And I'm not the kind of baker who will refuse to make someone's absolute favorite just because it's not something I enjoy very much. Just to make sure I wasn't going to be feeding anyone poison, I tried one. It had a wonderful, slightly crunchy top and moist, but somehow airy texture. If I could find a way to harness the power of beets (next time I'm trying this recipe!) I think I might actually enjoy red velvet!

Red Velvet Cupcakes 

by McCormick

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 (1 ounce) Red Food Color
2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.
Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in sour cream, milk, food color and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until just blended. Do not overbeat. Spoon batter into 30 paper-lined muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely. Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Secret Recipe Club - Carrot Cupcakes + Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting

Hello from San Francisco! I've only been here one day so far, but I find it to be a lovely place and already had a delicious meal. I'll be sure to post about my adventures upon my return. Now, down to business. I will be honest, cause that's how I roll. I neglected this Secret Recipe Club post for far too long. Life got busy and there were so many recipes to choose from that I was paralyzed by indecision!

Instacarrots. Don't judge me. 

Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks (a name which always made me giggle ^_^) was the name of my supersecret blog this month. Man, this girl bakes so much, I dunno how she finds time for it. Anyway, there I was, last minute, paralyzed by indecision, when I remembered the pretty carrots in the fridge from the farmer's market (not the same carrots as these, that would be kind of gross). Luckily, Heather had a recipe for carrot cake, huzzah! Problem solved. 

Carrot cake is awesome. I made a couple adaptations to Heather's recipe, since I consider raisins to be the bane of my existence, and besides, I prefer my carrot cake pure and unadulterated. I employed some Milk Bar whippin' techniques in the cake process, and upped the vanilla in the frosting with scraped vanilla bean. Let me tell you, they were dabomb.com (which, unfortunately, is not a real website or I would link to it). The cake was SO moist, and the frosting, just barely sweet, was perfect for it. Definitely will be coming back to this one. If you have the time, grate your own carrots (or throw them in the food processor if you're lazy like me). I added some purple carrots for color variation! 

Carrot Cupcakes + Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting

adapted from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks 

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup tightly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 1/2 cups shredded peeled carrots

4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar (I think I used a bit less...I didn't really measure!)
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped and pod set aside for future use 

 Preheat oven to 350. Line cupcake pan with 12 wrappers. Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.

Combine the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs, and mix on medium-high for 2-3 more minutes. Scrape down the sides again.

On low speed, stream in the oil. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and paddle for 4-6 minutes, until the mixture is practically white, twice the size of your original fluffy butter and sugar mixture, and completely homogenous, with no streaks of fat. Don’t rush the process. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.

On low speed, add the flour mixture. Mix for 45-60 seconds, just until your batter comes together and any remnants of dry ingredients have been incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add carrots on low speed, only mixing until just incorporated. Remove the bowl, grab a spatula, and run it through the batter, making extra sure everything is combined. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 22-27 minutes, checking at the 20-minute mark for doneness. I find with cakes, baking time depends not only on how hot your oven cooks, but also on what type of pan you’re using (nonstick, dark, light, etc). Check early and as often as you need to. You want your cake to be done, but you also want it to retain its moisture and not be dry.

When it’s done, it will have risen and puffed, doubling in size, but will remain buttery and dense. At your 20-minute checkpoint, poke the cake edge gently with your finger; the cake should bounce back slightly and the center should not be jiggly. If it’s jiggly, put back in the oven, checking every 3 minutes or so. Cool, and then frost.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes