Tag Archives: baking

Heellllooo out there!  Long time no see!  I’m so excited that I finally have the chance to create a brand new post for all of you.  This one is a pretty sweet one… literally!

When Daniel’s birthday comes around, I always love to bake him a delicious and unique treat.  In the past I’ve made him cheesecake, as that’s one of his favorite desserts.  This year, however, I was very inspired by all the boozy cupcake recipes I had been seeing on Pinterest.  After hinting a little at some possible ideas, Daniel told me he’d rather have a cake over cupcakes.  So I looked at various recipes for some ideas, and eventually created this Chocolate and Salted Caramel Whiskey Cake recipe!  Then I found a Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting to top it with.  Excited?  Check it out!

The Cake – Here’s what you need:

• 1 box of chocolate cake mix
• 2 TBSP of whiskey
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• Milk
• Butter
• Eggs
• 1 jar of salted caramel sauce

Ok, I know some people believe using a cake mix is blasphemous, but I was running on limited time and needed that little bit of extra help (did I mention I was also making Daniel a birthday dinner?).  I obviously wanted to serve a delicious cake, so I looked up some tips on how to make cake mix taste homemade.

Here’s what you do:

Follow the directions for the cake mix, BUT replace water with milk and vegetable oil with softened butter.  Also, add in one extra egg than the cake mix calls for.  Also add 1 tsp of vanilla extract and 2 TBSP of whiskey.  Mix until combined.

Divide batter into two, lightly oiled 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pans.  Swirl about 1 TBSP of salted caramel sauce into each pan.

Bake as directed, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Allow cakes to cool completely on cooling racks.

While your cakes are cooling you can make the Salted Caramel Frosting!  I followed this recipe, except I doubled it so I would have enough to frost a two-layer cake and add decorative piping.

The Frosting – Here’s what you need:

• 2 cups of butter (room temperature)
• 2/3 cup salted caramel sauce
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups of powdered sugar
• 2 pinches of salt

Here’s what you do:

1. In a large bowl, beat butter for 1 minute with an electric mixer.
2. Add salted caramel and vanilla extract, beat for 2 minutes, occasionally scraping the sides of your bowl.
3. On a low speed, beat in powdered sugar and salt until incorporated.
4. Increase speed and beat for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until frosting is creamy and well-combined.

If you prefer desserts that aren’t too sweet, you will probably want to find a different frosting, as this one is pretty sugary!

Once your cakes have cooled, use a serrated knife to slice off the rounded top layer of each cake, making cakes flat on both sides.

Spread about a 1/4-1/2 in. layer of frosting on one cake and top with the other.  Then all that’s left is to frost the whole cake and add some decorative piping.  I also drizzled more salted caramel sauce on top and sprinkled a little coarse salt for garnish.  Take a look at the finished cake below!

I’m happy to say Daniel loved the cake (can you tell?), as did I!  I hope all of you will enjoy it as well!

Note:  The whiskey flavor is subtle.  If you want more pronounced flavor, I suggest sprinkling whiskey on the cakes as soon as they come out of the oven, allowing the cakes to absorb the liquid while they cool.

As always, let me know in the comments section if you make the cake and how it turns out!  Can’t wait to hear from you.  Happy Eating!

Bonus!  You all know how I love to share gift wrapping that I’ve done.  For Daniel’s birthday I decided to focus on a modern color scheme – check it out!

[The “To My Human” card is from our cat!]

This week we’ve been having outrageously beautiful weather in Portland.  The sun is shining, the temperatures are warming, birds are singing, and there’s that distinct smell of spring in the air.  I decided to bake a batch of cookies that reflect the cheeriness I feel with this gorgeous weather, and the lingering sun (thanks to the time change).

Last year I had stumbled on this lemon cookie recipe while randomly searching for cookie recipes on Pinterest.  They sounded pretty good to me, so I decided to make them.  Guys, I cannot even begin to describe how amazing these cookies are.  They are SO buttery and soft, and have the perfect amount of lemon flavor.  They are addictive.  Daniel and I seriously can’t hold back when these are in the house.

So in honor of spring (hopefully) being around the corner, here is the Lemon Cookies with Icing Recipe!

Here’s what you need:

Here’s what you do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together softened butter, sugar, and lemon zest until light and fluffy.  About 2-3 minutes.  I used an electric hand mixer for this, but an electric stand mixer would also work well.

Add in the egg and egg yolk.  Then add in the lemon juice and vanilla extract.

Slowly add in thirds of the flour mixture until just combined.

Drop large tablespoons of cookie dough on lightly greased baking sheet (or lined with parchment paper) about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 9-11 minutes.  I baked mine until they had just set up and were lightly brown on the bottom.

Allow to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, and then GENTLY (as they will still be very soft) transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.

Once cookies are completely cooled it is time to ice!  I just made a simple sugar icing by whisking the powdered sugar with just enough milk to make it spreadable, while still being quite thick.  You’ll want it to be thick so it doesn’t drip off the sides.

Once the icing hardened, I stored by cookies in airtight containers with wax paper separating each layer of cookies.  For me, this recipe made 18 cookies.

The original recipe was just for plain cookies, but I thought adding a little sugar icing would create the perfect balance between zest and sweet.  Boy, was I right!  This is one of my absolute favorite cookies to make and, of course, eat!  And now I hope it will be one of your favorites too!

Be sure to let me know in the comments section if you try out the recipe!  Enjoy!

The very first Valentine’s Day Daniel and I celebrated together I made him cupcakes as one of his presents.  Not just any cupcakes though… Daniel has a love affair with spicy foods, and when I was looking for sweets to make, I was specifically looking for HOT recipes.

In my search I came across this recipe for Chocolate Chipotle Cupcakes, and I thought, “This is perfect!”  It’s got spicy, it’s got chocolate (who doesn’t love chocolate?), and it’s definitely more unique than other cupcake flavors I could of made.  I was sold and decided to make the recipe, and I was super impressed with how delicious they turned out!

Now I’d like to share the recipe with my changes and suggestions with you!

Here’s what you need:

• 1 box of chocolate cake mix
• Any ingredients the cake mix calls for (usually water, oil, and eggs)
• 2 TBSP pureed chipotle peppers in adobo
• 1 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/4-1 tsp of cayenne pepper (depending on heat preference)

Here’s what you do:

At first glance, what I loved about this recipe was how simple and quick it was.  It would be really great for anyone running short on time, or for a novice baker!

Preheat oven to temperature indicated on your cake mix.  Then puree your chipotle peppers.

Next, in a large bowl mix all of your ingredients until blended.  In a prepared cupcake pan, fill cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full.  Then bake in preheated oven for 15-18 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack and you’re done!

This recipe made 20 cupcakes for me.  Now, the cayenne pepper is my suggestion if you actually want these cupcakes to have a kick.  While the chipotle peppers give a delicious flavor, it really didn’t give off any heat to us.  While you may be thinking, well, why don’t I just add more chipotle… that’s what I thought too.

The second time I made these cupcakes that’s exactly what I did, I doubled the amount of pureed chipotle pepper, and it was WEIRD.  I’m not sure if it had to do with something in the adobo sauce, but it completely changed the texture of the cake and made it way too salty.  I would definitely recommend learning from my mistake!

The original recipe suggests sprinkling the cupcakes with powdered sugar and cinnamon, but a cupcake isn’t a cupcake to me without icing.  I wanted these cupcakes to take decadent, so I knew I wanted to use a buttercream frosting.

I found this delicious recipe that is apparently from a Sprinkles cupcake mix.

Here’s what you need:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 TBSP cinnamon (I added this)

Here’s what you do:

1. In a medium bowl, combine butter, sugar, salt and cinnamon.  Beat until blended.
2. Add the milk and vanilla, and beat until smooth and creamy.

This frosting is amazing!  I added in cinnamon because I wanted to play up that flavor in the cupcakes, and I was not disappointed.  One heads up though, the recipe states that the serving size is 12 cupcakes… well, I frosted 20 and had tons left over.  The second time I made them I even used some to pipe extra decorations, but still had maybe 3/4 of a cup leftover.  Maybe I don’t add as much frosting as other people though, this buttercream is also very sweet so you don’t need a whole lot either.  While it’s better to have more frosting than too little, you might want to adjust the measurements depending on how much you need.

As for decorations, I kept it pretty simple, and rimmed the sides with chocolate sprinkles and chili powder.

I remember Daniel absolutely loved them, and I know it made our first Valentine’s Day very memorable.  They also freeze really well too!  Since Daniel had a whole box of cupcakes to himself, this Valentine’s Day gift lasted for the next few months!  What a sweet reminder for your man (of their girlfriend or wife that made them)!

As promised, here is the 2nd round of apple recipes we tried after apple picking.  If you missed my first batch of apple recipes, be sure to check it out!  Lots of tasty meals to try!

The first recipe we tried this time was Momma Pritchett’s Grilled Pork Chops and Apple-Pear Topping.  If you eat pork, you must try this recipe.  The pork chops turned out so juicy and tender, and the marinade added delicious flavor.  Based on reviews, we didn’t change anything except the serving size (we reduced the recipe to 4 servings).

 For the apples and pears, I did not bring the sugar mixture to a boil as suggested.  I simply whisked the sugar until it dissolved, and then added the fruit to the pan.  We also placed the fruit directly on the grill rather than use a grill basket.

We don’t have an outdoor grill, so we just used our grill pan.  As you can see from the photos, both the pork chops and the fruit turned out picture perfect.  If you’re in the market for a grill pan, this is the one we have.  We are more than satisfied with it, and I highly recommend it!

We paired our entree with a Sausage and Apple Stuffing.  If you recall from my first apple recipe post, I used apple smoked bacon in a turkey dish.  I also used chicken breakfast sausage in our Apple and Sausage Penne recipe.

Well, we used the rest of those ingredients in this stuffing recipe!  What was great about the recipes we decided on was that a lot of them used the same ingredients, so we really got the most bang for our buck!

The recipe did not call for bacon, but other recipes we saw did, so we decided why not add it in!  I mean, who doesn’t love bacon?  I diced the bacon and cooked it with the sausage.  We used a cornbread stuffing mix, and we used water instead of chicken broth since the recipe only called for 1 tbsp.

The stuffing turned out really well and paired beautifully with the pork chops.  We chose this recipe specifically because it was quicker than most.  I must say, even though we used a stuffing mix, there were so many fresh ingredients added in that it didn’t taste like a mix AT ALL.  This would definitely be an easy and fast stuffing for Thanksgiving, not to mention impressive!  And no one needs to know it was semi-homemade… If you make it for a large group, I suggest doubling or tripling the recipe.  Maybe we just like heaping helpings, but this didn’t last 12 servings, probably only 5-6 between the two of us.

The entire meal was SO good, and a lot quicker to make than we thought it would be.  I would highly suggest trying these recipes out!

The next recipe I tried was a pin I saw on Pinterest.  I’ve been wanting to cook a faux pasta dish for awhile now, so when I saw this Gluten-Free Cheesy Veggie “Pasta” Bake, I knew I had to try it!

While grocery shopping, we were trying to figure out other ways to use up our apples.  So when I saw this gorgeous spaghetti squash at Trader Joes, I immediately thought of the “pasta” bake.  I mean, apples and spaghetti squash are both typical fall flavors, so adding apples to the recipe seemed logical.

If you’re not familiar with the spaghetti squash phenomenon, it’s a great alternative to pasta if you are gluten intolerant, trying to cut back on carbs, or just want to try something different.

After cooking the squash (fastest and easiest method would be microwaving) and removing the seeds, you use a fork to scrape the flesh out.  You eventually end up with a big pile of spaghetti-like strands like this picture.

We followed the recipe pretty exact, but we replaced the zucchini with about 4 cups of chopped apple.  We also cooked the dish about 15-20 minutes longer than the recipe indicated, as the spaghetti squash wasn’t as soft as we wanted.

Here is the finished “pasta” bake!

So tasty and a very healthy meal!

Now, I think we’d be pretty crazy if we had all these apples and we didn’t make caramel apples!  So we invited a couple of friends over for a caramel apple making/board game party.  We made this Apple Salsa for a snack!

A very unique salsa compared to a typical tomato based salsa.  We followed the recipe exactly, and it turned out really nice.  Fresh, tart, and sweet!  There wasn’t a whole lot of spice, despite the two peppers, but you could always skip deseeding them if you want more heat.

And now for the caramel apples!  We melted the caramel according to the directions on the package, we also melted some white chocolate for double dipping.  As you can see, we had quite the topping spread.  Our toppings included:  toffee bits, Nerds, cinnamon chips, crushed Butterfinger, peanut butter chips, and chopped pecans.

Here are a few pictures of some finished apples!

The apples Daniel and I made were:  Nerd covered, half Butterfinger covered, peanut butter chip and pecan covered, and the one pictured above…  Double dipped in white chocolate, and covered in cinnamon chips and toffee bits (which was by far the best apple).  This was the first time we made caramel apples, and they turned out pretty good for being novices!  The only trouble we had was the caramel and toppings sinking to the bottom.  If any of you have any tips to prevent that from happening, let me know!

And finally, the very last recipe… Apple Brownies!  Now, I will warn you, these are not technically brownies and do not have the texture of a brownie.  I’d say it’s more of an apple cake, and we knew this from reading the reviews beforehand.  Most reviewers said it was delicious despite the misleading name, so we still wanted to try it out!

We did change a few things after reading several reviews.  We added 1 tbsp of vanilla extract to the wet ingredients, and 1/2 tsp of nutmeg to the dry ingredients.  We creamed the butter with the sugar instead of melting it first.  We also diced the apples instead of slicing, and sprinkled the top generously with cinnamon sugar.

Not sure if you can tell by this picture, but after you’ve combined the ingredients the batter will be very thick.  It will look like only apples and barely any batter.  Totally fine!  The apples cook down and the batter surrounds them perfectly!

They came out incredibly moist and with a nice crust on the top.  Unfortunately, they’ve gotten a bit mushier with storage, but still very tasty.  Again, it’s more of a cake, so I’d say the best way to serve this would be warm and with a scoop of ice cream!  We started heating bars in the toaster oven to crisp them back up!

Whew!  I can’t believe how many recipes we tried in such a short timespan, and I seriously can’t believe how many apples we’ve eaten!  All in all, it was a fun experience.  It gave us the opportunity to try out new recipes, create our own, and cook with ingredients we don’t normally use.  So I hope you all enjoyed both part 1 and part 2 of our apple recipe adventure, found some new favorite recipes, and inspiration for your own everyday cooking!  Happy Eating!

As I mentioned in my Apple Picking post, Daniel and I ended up bringing home about 20 lbs. of apples.  And we were on a mission to use all of those apples in a variety of sweet and savory recipes.  We mainly looked up recipes online, but actually ended up inventing a few ourselves as well!  Below is the first round of meals we made.  Enjoy!

First up:  PIE!  I’ve never made a pie before, but have been wanting to for a while now, so this was the perfect excuse.  We followed the Apple Pie by Grandma Opie recipe, but changed a few things based on reviews.

1. We cooked the pie at 350 degrees the whole time.
2. Added 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and 1 tbsp vanilla extract to the filling.
3. Omitted 1 tbsp of water (because of the vanilla extract).
4. Mixed the apples and syrup mixture together first before putting into pie pan.
5. Brushed the top crust with milk, and generously sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

We ended up only using 6 medium sized apples, which turned out to be the perfect amount.  We cooked the pie for 45 minutes uncovered, and then covered the top with foil for another 15 minutes.  I would definitely suggest waiting until the pie is cooled before trying to cut into slices, as it WILL fall apart!

We did use a store bought crust to cut down on time (since we knew we’d be cooking a lot that week).  The crust was a little small for our pan, so we chose not to do a lattice top crust.  It turned out just fine keeping it whole and cutting a few vents.  Next time I make a pie I will be trying out this Pie Crust recipe.

The bottom crust became a bit mushy, one reviewer suggested brushing the bottom with an egg white.  Not sure if that would have helped, but I will definitely try it for my next pie!  Other than that the pie turned out beautifully, and (in the words of my boyfriend) tasted “legit.”  Sweet success!

The second recipe I made was a Curry Chicken Salad for lunch that week.  The recipe would have been fine on its own, but I added a few of our favorite spices to customize it a little.  I added 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper, and a little bit of fresh ground black pepper.

Something I always keep in the freezer is Trader Joes frozen chicken tenderloins.  These are so great to have on hand – it’s a fast and easy way to add protein to any meal.  I always cook them straight from a frozen state by adding a little olive oil to a pan, and cooking them with the lid on.  Usually as they melt it provides enough moisture to steam them, but if not I’ll add about a tablespoon of water.  This takes about 10-15 minutes to cook a whole pan of chicken.  Towards the end I take the lid off so the tenderloins can brown.

About 7 tenderloins made 2 cups of chicken (my pan is too small, so sadly I had to cook the last two separately).

Definitely try this recipe if you like chicken salad!  Next time I might add a bit more curry power and chop the apples smaller, but this was one tasty lunch!

Next up:  dinner!  We made Apple Bacon Baked Chicken and Sweet Potato Fries with Spicy Aioli.  This recipe was great not only because it incorporated apples, but it also used apple cider (which we had far too much of)!  We did not soak the cranberries as long as the recipe indicates; we just soaked them while preparing the rest of the ingredients, which seemed sufficient enough.

We wanted to switch it up a little and bought turkey breasts instead of chicken.  Trader Joes had two HUGE turkey breasts, which I cut in half and pounded out to about a 1/2 inch thick.

We used apple smoked bacon, which obviously went perfectly with this recipe!

This meal was SO good!  Hearty, tasty, comforting, and the epitome of fall flavor!  Here are a few things that I would do differently next time:  I’d add the apples and onion halfway through the cooking time, as they became extremely mushy (would have liked a little more texture).  And I’d cut the onion and apple slices a little smaller, maybe even exclude 1 of the onions.

The recipe for the sweet potato fries and spicy aioli came from a recipe binder Daniel had, so I am including them below.  Please note that I am not taking credit for inventing them!

Sweet Potato Fries

Here’s what you need:

• 1 tsp Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Here’s what you do:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  In small bowl, combine Lawry’s seasoned salt, paprika, garlic powder and chili powder; set aside.
2. In large bowl, toss sweet potatoes with olive oil; sprinkle with seasoning mixture and toss to coat.  On baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, arrange potatoes in single layer.
3. Roast, turning once, 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender and golden.

Fortunately, the temperature for the fries and turkey breasts was the same, so we were able to cook them at the same time.  Easy peasy!

Spicy Aioli

Here’s what you need:

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp kosher salt

Here’s what you do:

1. Mix all ingredients with a whisk in a medium bowl.
2. Refrigerate until ready to use.
3. Serve as a dipping sauce for fries, or as a spread on burgers.

This aioli is to die for, you’ve absolutely got to try it!

Lastly, we couldn’t forget about breakfast.  Specifically, Apple Strudel Muffins!  We read through a lot of the reviews, and here is what we changed based on reviewer suggestions:

• Added 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp nutmeg to the batter.
• Shredded half the amount of apple and chopped the other half for even distrubution.
• Used 1/2 brown sugar and 1/2 white sugar.

This recipe made 14 muffins for us (two of which were bigger than the rest).  These muffins were perfect with my cup of coffee in the morning, but they would also be delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert.

Whew, there we have it – the first round of apple recipes!  My next Foodie post will be an original apple dinner recipe.  Thanks for reading!  Let me know in the comments section if you try any of the recipes (and how you like them)!