Snickers Cupcakes

I made these Snicker cupcakes for my coworkers a couple of months ago and everyone raved about them!  One person commented on how gourmet and professional-looking they were (that's always fun to hear).

They are a little labor intensive, but totally worth it if you have the time.  If you wanted to make a quicker version of these you could omit the filling and just make the cupcake/ frosting/ garnish combo.

Snickers Cupcakes
Makes about 20 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 cup hot water
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. coarse salt
16 Tbsp. unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 cup sour cream, room temperature

For the caramel sauce:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup light cream
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

For the filling:
24 fun-sized Snickers bars, chopped

For the frosting:
16 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 lb. confectioners sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup caramel sauce
Pinch of coarse salt
2 Tbsp. heavy cream

For the garnish:
8 fun-sized Snicker bars, chopped

Directions:

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line standard cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and hot water until smooth.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter and the sugar over medium heat.  Heat, stirring occasionally to combine, until the butter is melted.  Remove the mixture from the heat and transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  Beat on medium-low speed, 4-5 minutes, until the mixture is cooled.  Mix in the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed and beating well after each addition.  Mix in the vanilla and then the cocoa mixture and beat until incorporated.  With the mixer on low speed add in the dry ingredients in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, beating just until combined.

Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 of the way full.  Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, rotating the pans halfway through baking.  Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the caramel sauce, in a heavy saucepan mix sugar and cornstarch.  Stir in 1/4 cup water.  Stir in cream and corn syrup.  Cook and stir until bubbly (mixture may appear curdled).  Cook and stir for 2 minutes more.  Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla.  Let cool slightly.

To fill the cupcakes, cut a cone out of the center of each cupcake with a paring knife.  Prepare the filling by combining the chopped Snickers bars in a bowl with 1/3 - 1/2 cup of the caramel sauce, and mix to coat.  Drop a spoonful of the filling mixture into each cupcake.

To make the frosting, add the butter to the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat on medium-high speed 1 minute until smooth.  Blend in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth, 1-2 minutes.  Mix in the vanilla, caramel sauce, and salt until incorporated.

Note: the caramel sauce should be just warm enough that it is workable, but not warm enough to melt the butter in the frosting. 

Add the heavy cream and whip on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.

Transfer the frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip.  Drizzle the frosted cupcakes with additional caramel sauce and garnish with chopped Snickers bars.

Source: adapted from Annie's Eats, caramel sauce from Better Homes New Cookbook

Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

I stumbled across these photos yesterday and realized I never blogged the recipe, shame on me!  These cupcakes are divine -- if you enjoyed peanut butter banana sandwiches growing up you will hands down love this cupcake.

Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
Makes about 28 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes
3 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 very ripe large bananas, mashed (about 2 cups)
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature

For the frosting
1 1/3 cups creamy peanut butter (I don't recommend using natural peanut butter for this unless you like the grainy texture)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (I never sift mine, but you can)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.  Whisk together cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.  In another bowl, whisk together bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Reduce speed to low.  Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with banana mixture, and beating until just combined after each.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full (I like to use a 1/3 cup measure).  Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes (I always check at around 17 minutes and they are usually done at that time in my oven).  Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.  Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

To make the frosting, cream the peanut butter and butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until incorporated and fluffy.  Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time and mix on low speed until incorporated some, then mix on high speed until fully incorporated and fluffy.  Repeat with remaining powdered sugar.

To finish the cupcakes I like to pipe the peanut butter frosting on top and drizzle with some Hershey's chocolate syrup.  I was planning to make my own chocolate syrup for this batch, but totally ran out of time and had the Hershey's on hand.

Source: cupcakes adapted from Martha Stewart Cupcakes; I found the frosting recipe on the Internet last year, but forgot to document the source

Pina Colada Sherbet

I've always enjoyed the taste of pina coladas, specifically the combination of pineapple and coconut.  I can remember ordering a virgin pina colada my sophomore year in high school at a luau my family decided to go to in Maui.  We were there for my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary and I specifically remember the drink coming in a hollowed out pineapple (it was so cool!).  Now every time I drink a pina colada or make anything pineapple-coconut related it brings me back to that warm evening on the island.  It's nostalgic.

I made coconut cupcakes with a vanilla-almond cream cheese frosting for a friend's bridal shower last weekend and I only ended up using one can of coconut milk instead of two so it worked out perfectly that I had all of the ingredients already on hand for this sherbet.


Pina Colada Sherbet
Makes about 1 1/2 Quarts

Ingredients:
1 pineapple, peeled and cored (4 cups, 1 liter puree)*
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 cup (250 ml) Thai coconut milk**
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice

Directions:

Cut the pineapple into chunks.  Puree in a blender with the sugar, coconut milk, and lime juice until smooth.  Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

*I used two cans of pineapple chunks in their own juice.  Simply puree the pineapple first, then make sure you only have 4 cups remaining in your blender before proceeding with the additional ingredients (my two cans of pineapple yielded ~5 cups puree).  I do recommend using fresh pineapple though and plan to do so in the future.

**You can find canned coconut milk in the ethnic isle of your local grocery store.  This is not the same thing as coconut water.

Source: adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Panko-Crusted Salmon

I'm trying to be good about planning my meals each week and this last week I realized I don't have much variety in the types of proteins I serve for dinner.  I typically lean towards chicken and beef so I made it my goal to incorporate more fish/ shellfish and even some meat-free entrees going forward.

This recipe was easy to prepare and quick to the table (which I love on a work night).  From start to finish it took less than 30 minutes to prepare. 

I'm always curious to see what Kyle thinks about a new recipe.  It's funny because he eats every meal the same way - he'll start with the item he likes the least and save the best tasting item for last.  On this particular night I was surprised to see the salmon as the last item he planned to eat.  While halfway through his potatoes I strongly recommended he either a) try the salmon to confirm it was indeed the best tasting item on his plate or b) save the potatoes for last.  He didn't seem too worried about the salmon and afterwards commented that he liked it.  We both like to critique the food after each meal to see what we would change about the recipe next time, but for this recipe we couldn't think of anything.  It had a great fresh flavor and the crunch from the panko sits nicely with the creamy salmon.  I do recommend serving this fish with the lemon wedges as the recipe recommends; a spritz of juice from the the fresh lemon wedge gives the salmon a bright, fresh taste.

Panko-Crusted Salmon
Serves 4

Ingredients:

2/3 cup panko
2 tablespoons finely minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3-4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 (6-8oz.) fillets of salmon, skin on
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425˚ F.  In a small bowl, combine the panko, parsley, lemon zest, salt and pepper.  Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and toss with a fork until the crumbs are evenly coated; set aside.

Place the salmon fillets skin side down on a work surface.  Generously brush the top of each fillet with the mustard and then season with salt and pepper.  Press the panko mixture thickly on top of the mustard on each fillet to help the panko adhere.

Heat the remaining olive oil over medium-high heat in a 12-inch oven-safe skillet.  When the oil is hot, add the salmon fillets, skin side down, and sear for 3-4 minutes without turning to brown the skin.

Transfer the pan to the preheated oven for 5-7 minutes, until the salmon is almost cooked through and the panko is browned.  Remove from the oven, cover with foil and let rest 5-10 minutes.  Serve warm with fresh lemon wedges.

Source: Annie's Eats, originally from How Easy Is That? by Ina Garten

Cookies n Cream Ice Cream

As much as I love Seattle weather (I'm a sucker for pouring rain and snuggling up indoors), I'm looking forward to this Spring and Summer.  I know a lot of that has to do with a little certain someone due at the end of May, but I'm also enjoying the lighting at night to snap photos of my latest kitchen adventures.

Last night I decided to make this Cookies n Cream Ice Cream recipe.  Kyle is a sucker for Oreos (loves them!) so I knew he would be excited to try this recipe.  The only bad thing about making ice cream is you have to be patient, it's definitely a process.  It's like baking bread.  The actual time spent preparing the dish isn't that long, but the time to consumption is usually a couple of hours.  With ice cream you really need to let it ripen in the freezer. 

Well Kyle and I were not patient and decided to test the ice cream out in its soft-frozen state last night (and don't get me wrong, it tasted great), but it tasted much better (and more like the consistency you expect from ice cream) today. 

This bowl of ice cream may or may not have been sacrificed before dinner, ahem.

I had a full night of cooking last night (three separate entrees, some granola, ice cream, and a breakfast casserole (I know!)), but tonight I plan to take it easy.  I'm going to grill some burgers, bake homemade potato wedges, and try my luck at some garbanzo chips using a recipe I received at Whole Foods on Saturday when I bought a large bag of dried beans from a local farmer.

Cookies n Cream Ice Cream
Makes about 1.5 pints

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
15-20 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Combine the milk and cream in a saucepan over medium heat.  Heat until bubbles form around the edges.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth and well combined. Slowly add the warm milk mixture to the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling.

Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, about 5-8 minutes, until the mixture is thickened and coats the back of a spoon (about 175 degrees F on an instant read thermometer).  Pour the liquid through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl.  Stir in the vanilla extract.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until completely chilled.

Once the mixture is well chilled, pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions (I use the Kitchen Aid attachment and it took about 25 minutes).  Once the mixture is softly frozen, transfer half of it to a storage container.  Add half of the chopped Oreo pieces and fold in gently with a rubber spatula.  Add the remaining ice cream and Oreo pieces to the container, and fold once more until the mixture is evenly combined.  Freeze until completely hardened.

Source: Annie's Eats 

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

This past week I've made a couple of batches of these cookies (they are seriously that good!).  I was a little surprised at how much dough you put on the cookie sheet, but they flatten out nicely and are super moist.  They almost look undercooked when you pull them out of the oven, but let them cool and they will hold their shape.

Typically I like to cook a few then freeze the rest.  You'll need to flash freeze the dough to keep them from sticking.  Just place the rolled dough on some parchment paper on a cookie sheet and let them freeze for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes transfer them to a Ziploc bag.  If you plan to cook these straight from the freezer you'll need to add 2-3 minutes to the cooking time (give or take), just make sure to watch them.

Enjoy-


Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about 16 large cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
12 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Adjust oven racks to upper and lower-middle positions.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk dry ingredients together in a medium bowl; set aside.  With an electric mixer, or by hand, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly combined.  Beat in egg yolk, and vanilla until combined.  Add dry ingredients and beat at low-speed just until combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.

Roll a scant half-cup of dough into a ball.   Holding dough ball in fingertips of both hands, pull apart into two equal halves.   Rotate halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, place formed dough onto cookie sheet, leaving ample room between each ball.   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 (approximately 11-14 minutes).   Do not over bake.

Cool cookies on sheets until able to lift without breaking.   Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Source: Annie's Eats

Chicken Gyros

During my long freezer cooking/ prepping session a couple of weeks ago I prepared this Chicken Gyro recipe.  To make it freezer friendly, cook up the homemade pitas beforehand and wrap individually in plastic wrap.  Then, prepare the marinade and add the raw chicken.  Throw everything in the freezer and let it hang out until your craving some yummy Mediterranean food :)

The night before you want to make this dish, pull the raw chicken and cooked pitas from the freezer to thaw in the refrigerator.  Then follow the recipe to make the tzatiki sauce, cook the chicken, and assemble the gyros.

I really enjoyed this recipe.  I naturally like the creamy and fresh taste of tzatiki and once you make homemade pitas you will never go back!  They can be a little time consuming to make, but totally worth it if you double the batch and freeze them ahead of time.  I also like freezer recipes that use raw meat in a marinade because they are super quick to throw together.

Enjoy-

Chicken Gyros
Makes about 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

For the tzatziki:
16 oz. plain yogurt (not nonfat, if possible)
1/2 hothouse cucumber or 1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press (or finely minced)
1 tsp. white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Extra virgin olive oil

For the chicken:
4 cloves garlic, smashed
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping Tbsp. plain yogurt
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
Salt and pepper
1 1/4 lbs. chicken pieces (I used boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, but thighs would also work great here)

To assemble:
Pita bread (I highly recommend making these homemade pitas, they are amazing!)
Fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
Red onion, sliced thin

Directions:

To make the tzatziki sauce, strain yogurt using cheesecloth over a bowl.  Let strain for several hours or overnight, if possible, to remove as much moisture as possible.

Greek yogurt would also work nicely here.  I used the plain yogurt and didn't have time to strain, but it still worked just fine.

Shred the cucumber.  Wrap in a a towel and squeeze to remove as much water as possible.  Mix together the strained yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and lemon juice.  Drizzle lightly with olive oil.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.

To prepare the chicken, combine the garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, yogurt, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a minimum bowl.  Whisk together until mixed well.  Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and mix well to coat.  Cover and refrigerate for about an hour. 

Cook the chicken as desired, either in the skillet or with the broiler.  Once the chicken is completely cooked through, transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes.  Cut into strips.

 I pounded the breasts to flatten them slightly, cut them into strips, and then froze the whole mixture until I was ready. The night before I wanted to make this for dinner I pulled out the chicken to let thaw in the refrigerator. I decided to cook them under the broiler on high and it worked great.

Heat pitas to warm and top with chicken, tzatiki sauce, diced tomatoes, and sliced onions.  Serve immediately.

I misted the pitas with a little olive oil and warmed them slightly in the toaster (only a minute or two).

Source: Annie's Eats