Sunday Comfort Food | Baked Banana Monkey Bread Sunday’s are rough around this house. It has become our day of boredom, cleaning and more boredom. My husband has to get his things together for the new work week, our son gets grumpy about school the next day and for me and the girls, it’s nothing different really. So I just decided to take some me time in the kitchen to fight the boredom, armed with biscuits, sugar, cinnamon and bananas. I just leave you with some mouth watering pictures from the monkey bread I made. Fruity and Sweet. Gooey and Crispy. Soft and Irresistible. Make an Edible Candy Bowl | Dollar Store Mom - Frugal Fun - Crafts for Kids Today’s post is a lesson in improvisation. Why? Well, this project was INTENDED to be a candy tray, a fancy version of something I saw done flawlessly at Tutto Bella. After reading through that tutorial, I thought it would be a breeze! Famous last words, right? Now, if I was a crafting perfectionist, or blogging perfectionist, or if I’d had two more cups of coffee today, maybe I’d've tried a second time to make my vision work…but I’m not, I’m not, and I didn’t. Supplies: candy canes- $1 for twelveold fashioned hard candies- $1starlight mints- $1 for a bag, I used just one for this particular project Unwrap the candy canes and starlight mint and arrange on a baking sheet lined with wax paper or parchment paper. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes, but watch it closely the whole time!! Then I realized it was still quite hot and pretty pliable, so I quickly grabbed a bowl, turned it upside down and placed the whole thing on top.
Vanilla Latte Cookies November 3, 2011 | Print | E-mail | Filed under 12weeksofchristmascookies, cookie Now that Halloween is over (and we’re halfway through the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies!), are you already planning for Thanksgiving? 1 cup unsalted butter, softened2/3 cup powdered sugar1 Tbsp instant espresso1 tsp vanilla1 vanilla bean, split and scraped1/4 tsp ground cinnamon2 cups all-purpose flour Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add in the flour, beating until combined. Roll the dough into 1″ balls. Bake about 12 minutes or until the edges are set. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days in an airtight storage container, or freeze for up to 3 months. Leave a Reply
no-bake rocky road bars Who really uses evaporated milk anymore? For reals. The stuff is a little scary and has “great grandma” written all over it. Sweetened condensed milk? But evaporated milk?? But just look at what it’s mixed with: Do you feel better now? In these bars, the crumbs are mixed with marshmallows, powdered sugar, nuts and chocolate then stuck in the fridge for an hour and sliced into dense, delicious rocky road bars! You know what they taste just like?? To my delight, you couldn’t taste any weird evaporated milk taste in these bars. I loved how thick these were! So whatdayasay? No-Bake Rocky Road Bars makes about 12-14 bars Print this recipe! Ingredients: 4 cups graham cracker crumbs 2 cups miniature marshmallows 1 cup chopped nuts 1 cup powdered sugar 1 12-oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips 3/4 cup evaporated milk Directions: Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, marshmallows, nuts and powered sugar in a large bowl. Time: 1.5 hours Tagged as: bars, Dessert, Recipe Box Challenge
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles Oh. My. God. If you could take perfection, roll it in a ball, and dip it chocolate, this would be it. My apologies to the New Years’ resolution folk. The cookie dough itself is egg-free, and potentially dairy free AND vegan if you get picky about what you coat them with. Take it or leave it (but I strongly suggest you take it. Update: Since it was first posted in 2010, I’ve updated this recipe and included it in my new cookbook, The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook (Quirk Books, 2012). You may also like... Raspberry Chocolate French Macaroons Recipe at Epicurious Make macaroons: Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Pulse almonds with 1/2 cup confectioners sugar in a food processor until very finely ground, 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a bowl. Sift in remaining cup confectioners sugar, stirring to combine. Beat egg whites with salt in another bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until they just hold soft peaks. Add granulated sugar, a little at a time, beating, then increase speed to high and continue to beat until whites just hold stiff, glossy peaks. Spoon batter into bag, pressing out excess air, and snip off 1 corner of plastic bag to create a 1/4-inch opening. Meanwhile, put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 300°F. Bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until crisp and edges are just slightly darker, 20 to 25 minutes. Assemble cookies: Carefully peel cookies from parchment (they will be fragile).
elephantine: the baked mac and cheese My favorite thing to eat, hands down, is noodles. Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Thai... whatever way you make it, I like it. But mac and cheese is high up there on the list, especially baked mac and cheese. Is there anything more comforting? First things first: cook the pasta. Next up: the béchamel sauce. ...and milk. So, back to the butter. Whisk. Gradually pour in the milk and continue to whisk. Reduce the heat, add the cheese, and keep mixing that melty-yummy-goodness. Did someone say garlic? Your macaroni is probably growing impatient. I've been playing this trick on myself recently: substitute a portion of the pasta with veggies. I like using individual ramekins instead of one larger casserole dish, because it allows you to add in whatever veggies and spices you like without offending anyone else. The last (and most important) step: breadcrumbs. Pop the ramekins in the oven. The first bite. (Nothing more to say. 1.
Hi Hat Cupcakes I did it. I finally made them. Hi Hat Cupcakes have consumed my cupcake thoughts since I first saw their tall chocolate dipped tops online after I started blogging. But, I have to tell you, I’ve been nervous to make them. They scare me. But this weekend, I tried them. So I decided to use the only recipe I remembered seeing. > Update: I just realized this recipe is also from the book, Cupcakes! Chopped chocolate. But even better with the frosting. If I had paid attention to the directions beforehand I don’t know if I would have been as eager to get started. 12 minutes later and a candy thermometer in check to make sure the frosting formed stiff peaks at the right temperature. Actually, it never made it to just the right temp, but after 12 minutes… I was over holding the hand mixer. So I took a leap of faith it would work and piped it on the cupcakes… as tall as I could get it. The cupcakes went in the freezer while I prepared for the scary part. One bag of semi-sweet chocolate. Tasty. More…
Earl Grey Macaron with blueberry compote buttercream | The Sweet Spot I’m going to make this a quick one, if I can. Not feeling too well lately cause of the stupid weather and the haze. Plus all the packing-stuffs-in-boxes is draining all my energy. LOL I’m not even halfway there in packing all these stuffs. And the main reason I’m posting this up SO FAST (with my usual speed, it will end up somewhere in November) is cause Wendy wanted to make them (cause I managed to convert her. (It really doesn’t look like it’s going to be a short post after all) Anyway, as if you have notice in my entire blog-glossary, I haven’t made much macaron at all. After few batches of the same recipe but different ingredients, I can say that 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. But well you can disagree or not believe me, after all, I’m not the master of macaron. *Made with aged egg whites, plain almond shell with blueberry buttercream I had merely wanted to make the macaron as a decoration for an entremet I was working on. 6. I did say it was going to be a quick one, didn’t I.
Sweet Potato Soup — Delishhh Monday, October 18, 2010 If you recently started reading my blog you might think that I just post soup recipes. That is not true. Once in a while I end up with a bunch of vegetables in my refrigerator that I have not used and they might go bad so I take them all out put them on the counter and wonder what I can make with them, 99% of the time I make stock. I was a little surprised but this soup was delicious. Sweet Potato SoupPrep time: 20 minutes | Serves: 6-82 Tbsp (1/4 stick) butter 1 cup chopped onion 2 small celery stalks, chopped 1 medium leek, sliced (white and pale green parts only) 1 large garlic clove, chopped 1 1/2 pounds red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams), peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 5 cups) 4 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock) 1 cinnamon stick 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 1 1/2 cups half and half 1 Tbsp honeyMelt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat.