Peach Cobbler Muffins

Summertime and the peaches are perfect!    I love fruit filled muffins and these are particularly yummy!
Easy (of course, or I wouldn't be bloggin' 'em), and perfect for breakfast or top with ice cream for a lovely dessert!

The recipe calls for buttermilk which I never have on hand, but you can use a mixture of milk and vinegar to get the same results! 1 tablespoon vinegar for every cup of milk should do it.  You will notice the vinegar will curdle the milk which is exactly what you want!


Ingredients

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 cup buttermilk (or scant 1 cup of milk with 1 tablespoon vinegar)
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large egg
¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1½ cups peeled, sliced,  fresh or unthawed frozen peaches
Turbinado sugar for sprinkling

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.    Lightly spray 12 large muffin cups with vegetable oil spray or line them with paper muffin cups.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and granulated sugar.

In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, egg,  and vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Gently fold in the peaches, using as few strokes as possible; be careful not to overmix.
Fill muffin tins about 2/3 of the way full.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the muffins are golden brown.
The tops should be firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin should come out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.


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Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes

My friend Christina got engaged last week,  and her new fiance proposed using 'thier kids'. (see below pic)...how cute is that!

Christina is known for her uber picky eating habits, so when I heard she loves cupcakes I knew that store bought would just not do!

I am not much of a perfectionist when it comes to baking.  I prefer a more 'rustic' approach.    Piped on frosting and sprinkly little things are just not me.  But with some store bought caramel topping drizzled on top and a wafer cookies from Trader Joes,  I think they came out okay!    Christina loved them and that's what counts...I believe she downed 2 of them!  (oops, didn't mean to tell!).

The secret to these beauties is using Jumbo cupcake liners in your regular size muffin tin.  It turns ordinary cupcakes into big beautiful cupcakes!

You can use a homemade cake mix (see below) or a box mix.    If you choose a box, try to go with Duncan Hines.  I think their mix is superior.  Devils Food would work nicely for this recipe.  

Congratulations Christina and Neil! 

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Black Bottom Cupcakes

This is a tried and true recipe.  It has been around since at least 1982. And how do I know that?  I know that because my parents had a small restaurant and I used to bake these cupcakes every morning.  Yup,  just me and the crickets that found there way under our refrigerator from the pet store next to our restaurant...oh yeah, those were the days. Who wouldn't wanna eat at a restaurant with crickets and cupcakes?  We did serve Starbucks though, one of the first restaurants to carry it south of Seattle,  and I'm sure the first to serve it with crickets.

My little sister Kelli and I cooked and ran the restaurant. We were famous...famous for arguing all day and stealing beer all night.  I'm happy to say, we sold the restaurant after few years, we started buying are own beer and my sister and I are pretty good pals.

The good thing about running my folks restaurant is that it culminated  my love of cooking...the second thing is it taught me to never, ever, ever consider opening up a restaurant of my own!  It is back breaking work and unless you have a trust fund with an endless supply of cash,  I suggest you get a real job and feed your foodie needs with a food blog!  
Back to the recipe.   Super easy and no frosting required!

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Amazing 3 Ingredient Chocolate Mousse!

I went to Phoenix last weekend to spend some quality time with the most influential woman in my life...my Mom!   She is the reason I cook, write and laugh. She is without a doubt the happiest person I know!  How cool is that?

Every morning she gets up and in her beautiful sing-song voice says, "Good Morning Sweetie Pie!".  I want to make it the ring tone on my cell, it just lifts my spirits!

You know that scene in the beginning of Wizard of Oz where the film is still in black and white ? Dorothy's house lands in Oz....she opens the door and there it is, a world of color.  That is my Mom every day. Everyday is magical. Magical, happy, and in full Technicolor!

She is an amazing cook in her own right, but she is also an accomplished actress...yup, my mom is a star! She was well known in the theatre world in Seattle, until she got tired of the rain and took her talent south.  She has been in countless movies, TV series, TV commercials and voice-overs. But her real love is live theatre.  When I watch her on stage, I forget she is my Mom...now that's super star quality!  She has won many accolades and awards, to list them all would be, well, bragging, oh wait, thats what I'm doing!

The one thing I really wanted to do during my visit (besides lay in the sun and swim in her pool), is cook with my Mom. We made made several recipes: Chocolate Mousse, Black Bottom Cupcakes and Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Roll ups (stay tuned for those recipes). 

We made them all in the same afternoon...she has much more energy than I do, I was done at Alfredo.  My feet hurt, my back hurt and my camera was tired, but my Mom just keeps humming and setting up camera shots.  I kept up, but was dead tired by the time we were done and quickly went to bed, exhausted.    She stayed up and watched a movie with her dear husband until 1:00am...really kids, shouldn't you be in bed?  It was a wonderful long weekend and I can't wait to do it again! 

Back to the recipe at hand, Amazing 3 Ingredient Chocolate Mousse!   If you make this once, you will make it 100 times.  It will quickly go into your most loved recipe file.  It is easy, decadent, and chocolate.  What else can I give you?   My work is done here....

NOTE:  Needs to chill at least 8 hours so it firms up in the fridge.  I was flying home the next day and we only had time to chill 3 hours.  You  can see the slices are a bit...well, let's call it 'rustic'.  It was yummy just the same.

I give this recipe and my Mom 5 stars!  

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Starbucks Pumpkin Bread

As some of you may know, I work for Starbucks...and no, I do not have any inside information on the recipe for this bread...but what I got is a daughter who is an amazing cook and loves Pinterest!  She found this recipe yesterday and whipped it up last night, and it tastes just like the Starbucks stuff...except hers is better because she added frosting.  I just love the way that brain of hers works!

Now if Starbucks sues me for plagiarism, I can only hope they sue the the gal who originally posted it on Pinterest.  Notice, I didn't mention her site...us bloggers stick together :)  

 Ingredients

1 ½ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground clove
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
¼ cup dark brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup canned pumpkin
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 cup butter cream frosting (store bought works great)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt and whisk to combine. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugars, and vanilla on high speed for about 30 seconds. Add dry ingredients and mix. Add pumpkin and oil, mix to combine. Pour batter into a 9x5 greased loaf pan.

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until the top of the bread begins to brown.

When the bread is cool, top with frosting and slice.

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Caramel Apple Cake

I love, love apple cake!  This is a dense pound cake type with tons of topping and homemade caramel sauce.  I think you could easily use store bought caramel sauce and save yourself the time...but it's kinda cool to make your own!

Let me save you some time on this cake.  I learned it the hard way and was all over the kitchen trying to put this together, when it fact it is just 4 easy steps.  Follow in this order and you will bang this out in half the time that I did...and probably make half the mess.

1.) Peel and slice apples
2.) Make caramel sauce
3.) Make topping while carmel sauce cools
4.) Make cake while topping cools

Sounds complicated...but it's not at all.  Your just preparing one part of the cake, while other parts of the cake are cooling.  Another hint, do not substitute a 7" Spring Form Pan for a 9" or you will have a mess in your oven...wonder how I know ???  I managed to save the cake but it took a little bit to get a decent picture of it. I think you could easily substitute a 9x9 square cake pan.

Since I wrote this in 3 sections, it's a bit difficult to get a decent ingredient list so I've listed the ingredients below.

Shopping List
3 Granny Smith Apples
3 sticks butter
3 cups Flour
1 1/2 cups Brown Sugar
1 1/4 White Sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cupWhipping cream 
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk


Directions

Preheat oven to 350.  Peel and slice 3 Granny Smith Apples.  Set aside.

Caramel Sauce

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup honey

Mix it all up in a saucepan. Heat to boiling and boil 2 minutes. (note:  Do not boil more than 2 minutes or your caramel sauce will harden when poured on your cake)  Set aside to cool and prepare topping.

Topping

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup firmly  packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 teaspoon salt

Mix until well combined and set aside.  As the butter cools down it will harden the topping so you can crumble it easily.

Cake

1/2 cup butter softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Beat butter at medium speed until creamy.  Add sugar, beating well.  Add eggs one at a time until well combined. Add remaining ingredients, flour, baking powder, salt, milk and extract.  Pour into 9" Spring Form pan. 

Pour 1/2 cup of cooled carmel sauce over cake batter.

Top with sliced apples, then crumbly topping.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Cover loosely with foil to prevent excessive browning and bake an additional 25-30 minutes. (a wooden toothpick will come out clean).

Cool for 30 minutes and top with the remaining caramel sauce.

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Cappuccino Biscotti with Chocolate Bunny Drizzle

Biscotti is so very easy to make, easier than cookies and really impressive as a gift.
This particular recipe includes coffee and a little milk to give it that cappuccino flavor.    
How is it that they are drizzled in chocolate bunny you ask?   I had this beautiful Dove Chocolate bunny that had been decapitated by my daughter on Easter but  never touched again. I just couldn't see chucking the poor little guy, head or no head, it was still chocolate and good chocolate at that!  So, I chopped it up, threw some in the biscotti and melted the rest for glaze.  Damn clever if you ask me!  You could certainly use chocolate chips if you don't have a decapitated bunny lounging around.

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Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

Portable Strawberry Shortcake!  You can take it on the road with you, and anytime you need a little taste of summer...take a little nibble.

I've been wanting to blog this recipe since the dark days of winter and finally, the sun is out in Seattle and there is reason to celebrate!

I consider myself a savory, not sweet girl (and there are many that would back me up on that)...that may be why I love these cookies.  They have a biscuit quality to them, not overly sweet, just enough to let those beautiful berries shine through.

These were a little difficult to master.  I finally got it right on my second try, but let me save  you a step.  After  you mix the berries in, put the dough in the fridge for about 20 minutes...otherwise they tend to spread all over the cookie pan...also, serve them within a day, the strawberries can get a bit mushy...tasty, but mushy.

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Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake - Lightened Up!

Still trying to use the plethora of lemons I have! Thought thowing one in a cake would be good idea.
 This lightened up version of a dense pound cake is based on a recipe I have been making for years from Cooking Light Magazine in 2005.  The low fat cream cheese and yogurt are a great substitute for all the butter that is usually associated with pound cake, and the lemon gives it a light flavor.  This can also be cooked in a loaf type pan for a different look.

Servings: 16

Fat: 6.9

Calories: 288

Fiber: 1g

Protein: 5 g

Carbs: 52.2

WW Points+: 8

Ingredients
Cake

2 cups sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup 1/3 less fat cream cheese (4 oz or half a block)
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (8 oz) carton low fat lemon yogurt

Icing
1/2 cup powdered sugar
4 teaspoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350°.
Beat first sugar, butter and cream cheese at  medium speed  until well-blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 2 tablespoons flour, lemon zest and blueberries in a small bowl, and toss well.

Into the wet mixture, add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix briefly then add yogurt and vanilla.  Fold in blueberry mixture gently-or you will have purple cake!   

Pour cake batter into a 10 inch tube pan coated well with cooking spray.

 Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool cake in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan. Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl; drizzle over warm cake. Cut with a serrated knife.

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Outrageous Chocolate Cookies!

These are the hubby's favorite cookies ever!  Fist pumping chocolaty goodness and of course, easy to prepare. These can be a bit sticky to get off the pan, if you have parchment paper or a silicone baking liner hanging around, use them!  If not, make sure you give a good solid spray of non stick.
Do not bake until crispy, they are meant to be soft and chewy.  A few handfuls of chopped pecans would be nice too.

Ingredients

8 ounce  semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped

4 tablespoon butter

2/3 cup  all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup (packed) light-brown sugar

1 teaspoon  vanilla extract

1 package  (12-ounce) semisweet chocolate chunks or chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second increments, stirring in between, until almost melted; do not overheat. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; beat in melted chocolate. Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks.
3. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets.Bake rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet soft in centers, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on sheets 10 minutes; with a thin metal spatula, transfer to racks to cool completely

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Cinnamon Apple Cake

As my friend Anna said to me yesterday...' For me, food and weight are associated with quantity...you should eat the things you love in moderation'.  That was all  I needed to hear to break out the cake pans!  Jeeze, I'm so easy.  
The good news is that this is a lightened up version.  It was adapted from Cooking Light and rated 5 stars by the readers.  It can be served as a dessert or breakfast coffee cake and it's a snap to make! 
The cream cheese gives it almost a bread pudding consistency.  I used Granny Smiths but you could substitute any tart apple.  Make sure and not mince the apples, the chunks give it 'character'.
You know you have made an all time favorite when your husband emails you first thing after he gets to work to tell you how yummy something was ...and I got that email this morning...yay! husband validation first thing in the morning...it's gonna be a good day!

Servings: 12

Calories: 281

Fat: 8.7

Carbs: 46.3

Fiber: 1.2

Protein: 4.8

WW Points+: 8

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup stick butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 ounces block style, low fat, cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon, seperated
3 cups chopped, peeled Granny Smith apples 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 9 inch square cake pan with cooking spray.

Beat 1 1/2 cups of sugar, butter, vanilla, and cream cheese until well  blended.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add flour, baking powder, 2 teaspoons cinnamon and salt, beat until well combined.

Combine 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon.  Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the sugar, cinnamon mixture with the apples and toss. 

Add apple's to cake batter.

Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Sprinkle remaining sugar, cinnamon mixture on top.

Bake at 350 for one hour or until the cake puffs up in the middle and the edges pull away from the sides of the pan.   Would be great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

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French Apple Tart

I am a huge fan of Ina Garten.  I just think everything she makes is so darn pretty and easy!  I totally stole this recipe from her but tweaked it a little and made it a bit easier.  You can take a look at her recipe at French Apple Tart.  There is a nice video that might help as well.
 This is my first but certainly not my last time making this.  Way to impress folks with this one and really, can't tell you how easy it was...that seems to be a theme in my blog..easy, schmeasy!
 You can see the little globs of apricot jam that I was supposed to strain prior to glazing, but I'm a lazy cook...not sure I hate the little globs...maybe I'll strain next time?  Maybe not...
I'd love to hear some feedback on how this came out for you!


Ingredients
1 package puff pastry sheets (I used Pepperidge Farms)

4 Granny Smith apples

1/2 cup sugar

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, small diced

1/2 cup apricot jelly 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.

Thaw puff pastry according to package directions.

Lightly flour working surface.  Using one full sheet plus 1/3 (seal by pressing) of the second sheet, roll into a 10 x 13 rectangle.  (refrigerate remaining dough for another use).  Keep pasty chilled while preparing the apples.

Peel the apples and cut them in half through the stem. Remove the stems and cores with a sharp knife and a melon baler. Slice the apples crosswise in 1/4-inch thick slices.

 Place overlapping slices of apples down the middle of the tart and continue making  rows on both sides of the first row until the pastry is covered with apple slices. (I tend not to use the apple ends in order to make the arrangement beautiful.) Sprinkle with the full 1/2 cup of sugar and dot with the butter.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown. Rotate the pan once during cooking. If the pastry puffs up in one area, cut a little slit with a knife to let the air out. Don't worry! The apple juices will burn in the pan but the tart will be fine! When the tart's done, heat the apricot jelly in the microwave and brush on tart.  Loosen the tart from the parchment/foil lining before it cools completely so avoid sticking.  Serve warm...would be yumbo with vanilla ice cream! 

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Cream Wafer Cookies

My grandma was a lousy cook.  I mean spit it out in your napkin kinda bad.  Everything was fried to a crisp in a cast iron skillet on her stove...you better have a sharp knife if  you are going to dine with Grandma 'cause hackin' through some of those pieces of chicken was a chore!
  Now, that being said, the one thing my Grandma made well, were these light as a feather cream wafer cookies.  She made them every Christmas.  The recipe has a total of 4 ingredients which would have served her well.
Turns out they are an old Betty Crocker recipe. I have no idea why she made them pink for Christmas, she probably had only one drop of crusty red food coloring in her cabinet! 

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup heavy cream
Sugar
1 container Butter Cream frosting
Red food coloring

Heat oven to 375ºF. Roll one-third of dough at a time 1/8 inch thick on lightly floured surface. (Keep remaining dough refrigerated until ready to roll.) Cut into desired shapes . I used a shot glass.  Generously cover large piece of waxed paper with granulated sugar. Transfer cutouts to waxed paper. Turn each cutout to coat both sides.

 Place on ungreased cookie sheet or parchment paper. Prick each cutout with fork about 4 times.

Bake 7 to 9 minutes or just until set but not brown.

 Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

Mix frosting and a drop or two of red food coloring until pink.
Spread between two cookies.

These make really cute gifts!

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Cranberry-Orange Upsidedown Cake

I thought this would be one of those recipes that I would  have to make several times before I got it right.  I was thinking the cranberries would be too tart or they would stick to the pan....I was doing my foodie happy dance when it slid out of the pan like butta and tasted just perfect!  A really nice mix of tart and sweet.

I used a tried and true white cake recipe and added orange extract , (you should have some extract in your cupboard from the orange brownie recipe I posted last week:), a bit of orange zest and I substituted 1/4 cup of orange juice for some of the milk.

This is a festive looking cake and really yummy!   

 Make a double batch, keep one and give one to someone you love..awwwww.

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Pumpkin Cheesecake

Oh great pumpkin...moist and mysterious...okay, sorry, I got a little carried away.
I am so in love with pumpkin flavored everything this year!  We had this at Shuckers Restaurant at the Fairmont Hotel in Seattle...it was to die!   I knew I had to try to remake it...I think I came pretty close!

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Orange 'Brownies'

These are just decadent and wonderful!  Blasts of sugar, butter and orange will fix that sweet tooth you have had hangin' around.  I heard some where that these won first place at a Pillsbury Bake Off contest but I can't find any info on it.  They are simple to make with only a few ingredients...hope you love them as much as we do!

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Mini Cheesecakes with Peach Preserves

I love mini food! A perfect combination: rich, creamy filling and a light, buttery crust. Try different flavors of preserves or pie filling for the topping. Great to tote to a friends house!
Ingredients
For crust

• 1 cup crushed graham crackers
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

For cakes

• 8 oz block cream cheese (1/3 reduced fat will work) softened
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Line a 12 tin muffin pan with cupcake liners. Spray the bottom of each liner with non stick cooking spray.
.

In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter; mix well. Spoon 1 tablespoon of crumb mixture into bottom of each liner and press down gently; refrigerate until ready to use. (I used a mini martini glass to tamp down crust...how clever!)

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add lemon juice, egg, vanilla extract and sugar; beat until smooth.
Spoon cream cheese mixture evenly into muffin liners; bake until set, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool

Top each cheesecake with 1 tablespoon preserves.

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Pumpkin Cupcakes with Pumpkin Frosting

Let me say first that I am sick of pictures of cupcakes...they are everywhere! They have taken over my favorite food shows they are all over the internet and there is a cupcake shop on every street corner! Enough already....cupcakes are so yesterday, can't we find a new food toy to play with?
Now that being said, I have to share with you the easiest cupcake recipe you will ever have....but I can tell you right now, it's going to be a long time before you see another cupcake on this blog so enjoy!
Ingredients

Servings: 24

Serving Size: 1 cupcake with frosting

Calories: 121

Fat: 2.8

Carbs: 23.2

Fiber: 0.5

Protein: 1.4

WW Points+: 3

• 1 18 oz box of vanilla moist cake mix
• 1 cup of pumpkin puree
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice mix
• 1 cup water

Mix it up and throw it in a cupcake lined pan and bake following the directions on the box. That's it, no eggs or oil. How cool is that?
Frosting

• 1 8 oz block of cream cheese (1/3 less fat works great too)
• 1/3 cup of pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

Whip it up with your electric mixer. Put in the fridge for about 30 minutes before frosting your cupcakes (longer if you are piping it on)... and Bob's your uncle!

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