Mocha Chip Meringue Cookies

25 Days of Cookies, Day 2.

After a very long day at work, and with the thought of the very busy week ahead I knew tonight's cookies had to be easy.  And delicious.  Because a long day calls for a delicious cookie...or five.  Yup...five.

I googled "easiest cookies ever" and found my favorite, Martha Stewart.  Of course the queen of domesticity has a list of the easiest cookie recipes on her website (great list, btw!).  I decided to go with mocha-chip meringues because I had all of the ingredients, I love mocha flavor, and I've never made meringue cookies before.

The quality of cookie you get for the amount of work you need to put in is in-SANE.  Right out of the oven, these are like mini molten cookies- super delicate crispy shell and warm, gooey, chocolately inside.  I cannot wait to see what they taste like tomorrow when they've cooled.

I know I have a lot more cookies to go this month, but these are a must try.  Really.

I followed Martha's recipe almost exactly, you can find it here.  I didn't have espresso powder, so I used a teaspoon and a half of coffee out of a K-cup I had on hand.

Are you a meringue fan?  Tell me your favorite meringue cookie in the comments below.  I've seen coconut, mint chocolate, and this mocha version.  Now I know the mocha is so good, I think I can't wait to try more flavors.

Almond Grape Tea Cake

For cake three out of four for the Cake for Every Pan challenge, I present you with Martha Stewart's Almond Grape Tea Cake!  Baked in a square loaf pan, everyone will want to call this bread instead of cake.  I am totally on board with that, because it makes it acceptable to eat this sweet treat for breakfast!

I happened to bake this cake up just in time for my family's annual Labor Day camping trip to NH.  One morning with breakfast, we cut up slices and toasted them on the camp stove.  This cake, served warm with a side of hot chocolate is one of the best camping snacks we've tried.  Even if you don't see yourself eating this fire-side, I recommend baking it up next time you're enjoying breakfast or brunch with some of your own sweeties :)

Cake for every Pan Challenge #3 - great success!

     

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food:

Need:

• 1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups slivered almonds (not salted, totally plain.)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• zest of one whole lemon
• about 15-20 grapes cut in half

Do:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Spray your loaf pan with non-stick spray
• Beat butter and 1/2 cup of the sugar on high for 3 minutes (make sure you time it!)
• Beat in eggs one by one.
• In a food processor, pulse almonds with the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar until you have a fine, home-made flour.  
• Mix your almond flour into the butter mixture until combined, then add your vanilla and lemon zest.
• Pour the batter into your loaf pan and smooth out the top.  
• Arrange your grape halves ontop of the batter, pressing them in gently.  I did a chevron pattern, Martha did polka dots, you can do whatever you like!
• Bake for about 1 hour, and then let cake cool on a wire rack.
• Enjoy!

Upside-Down Blueberry Pluot Cake

Last week my girlfriends and I were lucky enough to enjoy a Kappa Thursday dinner together!  Shannon had just won her SEVENTH dodgeball championship, so she got a Thursday night off, yay!  She grilled up some steaks, tossed a salad and made some perfect corn on the cob for us, Lindsey brought the vino and I tried a recipe from my "Cake for Every Pan" challenge.

The cake?  Upside-Down Blueberry Pluot
The pan?  8" Round Cake pan

The cake turned out yummy but I wouldn't say it was one of my favorites.  Martha has another recipe for pineapple upside down cake that uses sour cream and that one is to die for.  I really have no complaints about this one, I just don't think it's going to make any of my personal "top" lists.

The original recipe calls for plums and blueberries...I like pluots and think they are a prettier color (if you haven't seen pluots in your grocery store- it's a hybrid fruit, half plum, half apricot) so that's why I tried them instead.

Here are a few picutres and the recipe- if you try it for yourself, let me know what you think!

'Nite, sweets!

Look at the little butter heart, too cute!!

   

Upside-Down Blueberry Pluot Cake
(Adapted from Martha Stewart's Plum Blueberry Upside-Down cake in the September Everyday Food)

Need:

• 10 tablespoons of unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large pluot cut into 10/11 wedges
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries
• 1 large egg, 1 large egg white
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Do:

1- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray your 8" round cake pan with non-stick cooking spray

2- Cut out a circle of wax or parchment paper to cover the pan and go a little bit up the sides; press it into the pan and into the edge so its snug

3- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and then pour it into the pan, coating your circle of wax paper.  Swirl it around so the whole bottom is coated. 

4- Sprinkle half of your brown sugar (1/2 cup) in the pan covering the butter, then place your pluot slices on top, in any design you like. 

5- Add in the blueberries, try to fill in the gaps where your pluot is not touching so that the whole bottom of the pan is covered in fruit

6- In your mixing bowl, beat 8 tablespoons fo butter and the rest of your brown sugar together- Martha recommends 3 minutes of this, and it comes out perfect.

7- Beat in your egg and egg white to combine.

8- In a separate bowl, whisk your flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.  Turn the mixer down to low so that you don't cover yourself in flour, and slowly add the mixture in.

9- Now beat in the buttermilk and vanilla, after it's incorporated, turn the mixer up to high and beat until smooth.

10- Pour your batter into the pan, and then tap it on a table or counter to get all of the air bubbles out.

11- Bake for 45 minutes or until the cake is nice and gold, you might see some fruit bubbles, and your test toothpick comes out clean.  

12- Let the cake cook on a wire rack for about an hour.  After the hour is up, run a knife around the edge and flip our pan over to release the cake onto your serving plate of choice.  

13- Enjoy!

Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes with Strawberry Fluff Frosting

Today I am happy to share the first post of 4 in my self-made Martha Stewart Cake for Every Pan challenge.  In the September issue of Everyday Food, Martha published four different cake recipes that use four different types of cake pans.  I challenged myself to try all four and blog them, because all four look really tasty!  Here's the lineup:

-8" Round pan: Plum/blueberry upside down cake
-Cupcake pan: Cookie cupcakes with raspberry fluff frosting
-Loaf pan: Almond-grape tea cake
-Sheet pan: Vanilla sheet cake with malted milk chocolate frosting

So, for the first Cake for Every Pan project, I bring to you chocolate oreo cupcakes with strawberry fluff frosting.  I chose these because it is my birthday and I love chocolate, so I thought these would make a great treat for myself! :D  The recipe is very easy and comes together fairly quickly.  The cake is dense, the frosting is smooth and creamy- similar to oreo filling, and the whole treat together is fantastic.  It's like a supercharged sweet- delivering cake, cookies, and FLUFF all in one bite.  These babies are de-lish and I am sure these would be a hit at a dinner party or work event or any place where you want to make sure people like you (haha!)

Lastly, I'm sure many of you have heard about Hurricane Irene which has come up the east coast.  My thoughts and prayers are with all who have been affected by this storm; power outages, blowing debris, flooding, etc. are not fun and I wish people safety and fast and efficient clean-up!  Hubs and I were fortunate to have only seen a small bit of rain and a few strong wind gusts.  We've had our power all day and are comfy, cozy and safe at home.

Let me know how your cookie cupcakes come out, and keep an eye out for the 8" upside down cake I'll be posting about next!  Here is my version of Martha's recipe; I tweaked slightly for the ingredients I had on-hand.

Oreo Cupcakes with Strawberry Fluff Frosting

    

Need:

• 2 sticks of butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsweeted cocoa powder
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 12 oreo cookies 
• 3 tbsp strawberry preserves
• 3 cups Fluff
• 1/3 cup confectioner's sugar

Do:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line your cupcake pan.  The recipe makes ~12...I got 17 cupcakes at the end. 
• Melt 2 tbsp butter, and put it aside to cool. 
• In the bowl of your mixer, whisk together cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  
• In a separate bowl, beat the egg and egg yolk with a fork, and add to the cocoa mixture.
• Also add buttermilk, vanilla, melted butter, and 1/2 cup of hot water to the cocoa mixture.  Use the whisk attachment and whisk until smooth.
• Using a measuring spoon, put 1 tablespoon of batter into each of your cupcake cups.

• Drop an oreo in each cupcake cup- do not press it down

• Using your measuring spoon, put another 1- 1.5 tablespoons of batter on top of each cookie.  The cookies will show through a little bit; it's okay!

• Bake for 15 minutes, and then let cool on a cooling rack.

• For the frosting, mix the remaining butter and strawberry preserves together in your mixer with the paddle attachment until smooth.
• Add the Fluff and confectioner's sguar and beat until fluffy, about three minutes.  Note- as you can see, my frosting came out more white than pink.  If you want a prettier frosting, I'd try adding a couple drops of red food coloring to make the frosting more pinky.
• Pipe or frost cupcakes however you like (Probably a good idea to let the cupcakes cool completely because the frosting is a little runny, you don't want it to melt even more.)

I'm baaaack!

Hello!  I know it's been a while, but this summer there has been an awful lot of new-job-working, couch-cuddling with the hubs, and most importantly....

ice cream eating!!!  I think J and I are keeping the local ice cream place in business with our almost nightly trips.  As you can probably guess, I haven't had much time for baking.  Luckily I sense that little dry spell coming to an end, but in the meantime I have some Boston-area bakery reviews to share.  

For upcoming BostonSweetie baking fun, I've challenged myself to try the four cake recipes in the most recent issue of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food.  She has four recipes that use four different cake pans - a round cake, cupcakes, tea cake and sheet cake.  Over the next few weeks I'll try each one and let you know how they come out, and finally get some use of the magazines I receive each month.

Check back soon for a review of Vickie Lee's bakery in Belmont.  Ta ta til next time, sweets!

(PS- how cute are these pictures!?  We did a little love-shoot on our vacation to Bar Harbor, Maine, in July with Danielle Brady.  She. Is. Awesome.  If you're in Maine, she's your girl!!!)

Weeknight Treat - Fast Fruit Tarts!

Ever have one of those nights when you NEED a dessert, yet you dont feel like reallyyyyy baking, and you feel guilty for even thinking about sweets?

That is me, usually at least 3 times a week, HA!  I found a solution, a la my favorite, Martha Stewart - honeyed fruit tarts!

This treat is adapted from her Pies & Tarts book.  It's fast, delicious, and a little bit more healthy than a batch of brownies at least.  I used peaches and strawberries, because those are the fruits we had in our fridge, but this would be delicious with all kinds of fruits - pears, any type of berries, etc.  Also, if you are into specifics, Martha lists them in her recipe.  Me, I just read over the recipe, and eyeballed everything I had, so please excuse the vague recipe below.

Enjoy!

• Chop up about 1 cup of up fruit (I used 4 big strawberries and half of a peach)
• Put it in a bowl, drizzle over some honey (use as much or as little as you like), and squeeze half a lime.  
• If you like zest like we do, zest your lime half and mix that in with the fruits.  Cover with saran wrap and stick in the fridge.
• Take out two squares of frozen puff pastry
• Microwave for 10 seconds to defrost
• Brush with water, milk, egg wash, whatever you fancy
• Sprinkle with sanding sugar
• Bake for ~15-20 minutes, or until golden brown
• When its baked and puffed, pull out the pastry and squish down the center to form a little well
• Let cool enough so that it won't burn your mouth
• Spoon honeyed fruits into the pastry well
• Eat up, buttercup!

Happy Birthday Carrot Cupcakes for my Dad

June 12 is a special day in our family...it's like a Father's Day warm-up.  It's Dad's birthday!  Nothing says June like searching for the perfect pair of "miracle socks" (aka polypropelene/COTTON FREE/hiking friendly), packet of Gu, or a classic Dad shirt.  You know, the kind you look at and say, "that is SO Dad." Bonus points from Dad if any of said items are made in the USA (note my festive cupcake liners just for him!)

This year I was in charge of making Dad the perfect dessert.  After some serious thought, I decided to do carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, AND one of Lindsay's famous Rhubarb Bakes.  My dad is definitely into the more healthy desserts, more fruity, less chocolatey, so I wanted to do something I knew he'd love.

I'm happy to report that both desserts were right on the money.  Look at this smile!!  I wonder if it has anything to do with the ridiculous cupcake toppers that I made just for him, hah!

In a fashion typical of my family, everyone had one or two cupcakes, one or two squares of rhubarb bake, AND we each had a scoop of ice cream- Brighams Coffee or Hood Moose Tracks were the two options Grammy decided to pull out of her freezer yesterday.  Don't worry, there were 3 others IN the freezer just in case. We are so unhealthy on birthdays and holidays.  But, I love it!

I used a carrot cupcake recipe from Smitten Kitchen and I *HIGHLY* recommend it.  The cake is incredibly soft and moist, and it's so easy to whip up!  I was a little nervous pre-bake, because the batter was very runny, but the result was a really decadent carrot cake.  Cream Cheese frosting recipe was from who else, Martha Stewart!

I have always avoided making carrot cake because I can't fathom the thought of turning these:

Into these:

However after some blog-hunting I learned that my second favorite kitchen appliance, my food processor, makes this a fast and easy job.  Recipes follow, happy baking!

Carrot Cupcakes adapted from a recipe by Smitten Kitchen
This made 36 smallish cupcakes

Need:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups canola oil
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups grated peeled carrots
• You can also add 1 cup of walnuts and/or 1/2 cup of raisins if you'd like.  I left these out.

Do:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Line 24 cupcake molds with papers
• Blend flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in a medium bowl
• In a stand mixer using the whisk attachment, mix together sugar and oil until well blended
• Whisk in eggs 1 at a time, mixing well between each egg
• Add flour mixture and stir until blended
• Stir in carrots (and raisins/nuts if you're using them)
• Bake cupcakes 14-18 minutes.  Smitten recommended leaving the cuppies in the pan for 5 minutes before putting them on a cooling rack and this worked well for me.
• Let cool completely before frosting- you don't want melty cream cheese frosting!

Cream Cheese Frosting adapted from a recipe by Martha Stewart

Makes 2 cups (I needed to make 2 batches of this to generously frost all of my cupcakes)

Need:

• 8 oz. cream cheese brick, room temperature
• 1 stick of butter, room temperature
• 1-2 cups confectioners sugar (start with one, add more to make it the consistency you want)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Do:

• Put cream cheese and butter into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat with the paddle attachment until smooth
• Add in confectioners sugar, a little bit at a time until you reach your desired consistency
• Add in vanilla extract, beat well, frost cupcakes and enjoy!

Strawberry Banana Galette

My family and friends know me as a chocolate-cake-brownie dessert type gal.  90% of the time I am...nothing makes me happier than chocolate-cake-brownies-one-or-all-three-doesn't-matter-I-LOVE-IT!  Last night was one of the rare days where I was craving dessert of a different type.  I wanted something doughy, sweet, and tart.  Sitting on the couch thinking about what would be the perfect fix, my new Pies & Tarts book by Martha Stewart caught my eye.


Every time I see this book, I smile.  I had mentioned a while back to a coworker that I was looking for it, but had been unsuccessful at finding it in a store.  She happened to see it at Costco a couple weekends ago and picked it up for me!  My new favorite Martha book greeted me at my desk on a Monday morning- best way to start the week ever!

So I'm flipping through Pies & Tarts and thinking man, I don't have the ingredients for any of these things. As I was reading through the freeform section I decided to try a galette, and try putting my own spin on it with fruit I had in the house.  With some strawberries that weren't going to last much longer and bananas that were in the same boat (har har) came my creation- Strawberry Banana Galettes.

Mine looks nothing like Martha's, but it tasted great and definitely hit the spot.  A galette is a simple pate brisee with fruit filling.  It's meant to look a little rough around the edges, and served hot with a nice scoop or two of vanilla ice cream on top, it tastes like a personal open-faced pie. Perfect rainy night treat.

What type of dessert person are you? Chocolatey? Fruity? Or none at all? I noticed I have a fair amount of readers- would love to hear from you!

Strawberry Banana Galettes

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Mini Rhubarb & Raspberry Galette recipe

Need:

-Pate Brisee (make enough for one 9" pie crust, or check out my recipe below)

-All purpose flour for dusting

-1 1/2 cups chopped fresh strawberries

-1 medium chopped banana

-1/8 cup cornstarch

-1 cup granulated sugar

-coarse sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Do: 

- Divide dough evenly into 2 pieces.  Roll out each piece to approximately 7" round, 1/8" thick.  Transfer rounds to a parchment-lined cookie sheet, several inches apart.  If these feel soft at all, REFRIGERATE!  I didn't, and it led to the galette fail that I will show you below.

- In a large bowl, combine strawberries, bananas, cornstarch and sugar.  Toss to coat evenly.

- Split the berry mixture evenly between both rounds.  Leave at least 1" border, I left about 2-3".  Gently fold the edges up around the fruit mixture.  Make sure to leave a hole in the middle.  Gently brush the folds with water and press to connect them.  Refrigerate again about 30 minutes until firm.  Again- I neglected to do this and got a galette fail.  

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and brush cold galettes with water, then sprinkle with sanding sugar.  Bake for 30 minutes- crust should be golden brown.  Reduce heat to 375 for about 15 minutes more, until juices are bubbling.  Martha says to let cool completely.  I say, serve hot (and eat carefully!) with a hefty scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.  Get ready for a warm, ooey gooey delicious single-serve bowl fulla pie.  

If you're dying for dessert and decide to skip the refrigeration parts of this recipe, fear not, you will still have a delicious treat!  It will just expand and maybe not be so pretty...

Don't say I didn't warn ya!

Now, if you need a pate brisee recipe, here's Martha's, reworked by moi to make just enough for 2 mini galettes:

Need: 

1 1/4 c. all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

1 stick cold, unsalted butter cut into small pieces

1/4 cup ice water

Do:

-Whisk together flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl

-Add butter and mix around so all of the butter pieces are coated in flour.

-Quickly cut in butter with a pastry cutter until mixture resembled coarse meal, with larger pieces remaining.

-Drizzle with 1/4 c. ice water and mix together with a fork until mixture starts to come together.  If dough is too dry, add another 1/4 c. ice water.

-Divide dough in half onto two pieces of plastic wrap. Gather each into a ball, wrap loosely in plastic, and then flatten into a disc.

-Refrigerate at least 1 hour for best results.  (I put mine in the freezer for 15 min. and you can see the results above.  Coldness is key!)