Chocolate-Hazelnut Cake

Guess what guys? It's my birthday! It's pretty awesome, if I may say so... I love birthdays! Birthdays are an awesome excuse to do all kinds of fun things, like drink gratuitous amounts of wine with your friends and have a nerf gun fight in your basement. And also cake. Birthdays are a great excuse to eat cake.

Everyone thought I was crazy for making my own birthday cake. In fact, everyone kept offering to buy me one, like it was sad that I had to make my own. But, sick as it sounds, I actually enjoy making my own birthday cake! If I make it myself I know I'll get exactly what I want... plus, in case you haven't noticed, I kind of like this whole cooking/baking thing.

For a while I was totally set on making a German chocolate cake, but then I ate a Ferrero Rocher truffle out of my Christmas stocking and I knew... this year's birthday cake had to involve chocolate and hazelnuts. I've always been a fan of the chocolate-nut combination, but hazelnuts and chocolate are simply irresistible. So I set out to find my perfect cake. I knew I wanted a rich, dense, chocolate cake with just a hint of hazelnut... check. And a creamy, chocolately frosting, heavy on the hazelnut flavor... check. The result was out of this world. Exactly what I wanted. And so good my friends were begging for the recipe the next day... you know, after they recovered from all the booze and nerf gun fighting.

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Biscotti

Wow guys... I am so sorry I've been gone for so long! But I promise I have a good excuse... Dane and I just moved from our teeny little apartment into our big awesome house, so needless to say we've been a little busy! Between packing, moving, getting sick on the first day we were here, unpacking, taking finals, and working, I just haven't had the time or the energy to spend here. Still, I knew I'd be out for a little while with the move, but I never expected to be out for two whole weeks! But don't worry guys... I promise the silence is over.

It's been a hectic couple of weeks, but it's so nice to have a huge, amazingly cute kitchen to work in now! I'm more excited than ever to cook and bake now that I have such an inspiring space to do it in. Isn't it great?

But enough blabbering about the house... onto the food!

Immediately after we moved, we were without internet for about a week. And while it was kind of nice not having the distraction of facebook and youtube while we began unpacking, it was a little on the frustrating side because both of us had online finals to take during that week. Fate is always convenient, right? So, since my advanced patient monitoring final simply couldn't wait a week for a technician to make out to our new house, I spent one entire afternoon holed up in the coffee shop down the road working on it. And as I sat there contemplating the use of transcutaneous CO2 monitoring and munching on a tasty peanut butter biscotti, it hit me... I should make these at home!

And I had the perfect excuse to make some... my best friend Sydney and her new husband(!) Corey are both graduating from college this Friday, and I made them a little gift basket with some cute coffee mugs, a bag of coffee, and some cool hot chocolate that turns orange when you heat it up, and these biscotti seemed like just the thing to finish it off! The nice thing about making biscotti at home is that you can make them as hard or as soft as you want by simply varying the baking time during the second step... I, for one, am not a huge fan of having biscotti that threaten to break your teeth, so I went for middle ground with these. And even though I burned the bottoms just a little thanks to my new oven - which I'm quite certain is baking at a higher temp that it tells me it is - they were still very tasty dunked in a nice warm cup of coffee. I hope Sydney and Corey enjoy these as much as I did!

Coconut Madeleines

Two months ago (almost to the day!), I married my best friend. Now, in just over a month, it's my BFF Rose Sydney's turn! Sydney and Corey are absolutely perfect for each other, and I am so excited for them! And I was so fortunate to have her as my maid of honor, I feel truly honored have the opportunity to return the favor.

To begin the celebrations, her mom threw a super fun bridal shower for her this last weekend, and I got to make dessert! ...and this super classy maid of honor couldn't let her be under-dressed for her big party. :)

I was very excited when Sydney's mom asked me to provide dessert for her shower! These are the ladies who bought me my epic Kitchenaid stand mixer as a wedding gift, so the least I could do would be to bake them some delicious goodies! I had a million extravagant ideas at first, from an epic cake to little wedding dress-shaped cookies all decorated with fun frosting. But ultimately I decided to go with these little coconut madeleines, as a simple yet elegant dessert.

I loved the idea of having little individual dessert items that people could just grab and eat, without the hassle of having to cut slices out of a whole cake. And the unfussy nature of these little goodies kept the mood happy and casual. They were a huge hit... with the light buttery flavor we all know and love in a good madeleine cake, and just a hint of exotic coconut. The addition of chocolate gave them an extra-special touch... just right for a special yet light-hearted occasion.

And the bridal shower was a blast! Thanks Angie for throwing a great party! And Sydney, I hope you enjoyed your day... can't wait to celebrate the big one with you soon!

Bachelors' Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies

I can hardly believe that my wedding is a mere 8 days away. It's been over a year in the making, and it's always seemed so far off until now... it's quite unreal to think that soon it will be over. To celebrate our last weekend as unmarried people, Dane and I are going our separate ways to celebrate with our bestest friends. While I'm renting a hotel room with my girls downtown for some bar-hopping excitement, Dane chose to spend his bachelor weekend in the mountains with his buddies at his uncle's cabin. So - being the best fiance ever - I decided to bake some peanut butter-chocolate chip cookies to send with him, in the hopes that he and the boys won't completely forget me while they're away.

This is a tried and true - and super easy - cookie recipe. Peanut butter cookies are Dane's absolute favorites, so I've made them more than a few times, but this time I thought I'd make them extra special and add chocolate chips. Nothing crazy, but a little more fun. They're soft and distinctly peanut buttery as a peanut butter cookie should be, and I added just enough chocolate chips to lend a little bit more sweetness but not enough to overpower and make you think you're eating a completely different cookie. I thought they were pretty darn delicious... and I hope the boys do too! Have a great time this weekend guys! Try not to do anything too crazy, okay?

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake

A month or so ago when my family was talking about the BBQ we would have in celebration of Megan and I graduating this spring, I had a crazy idea... I wanted to make the cake for the event. Since our graduations were so close together, Megan and I agreed that we'd just have one BBQ for the both of us, instead of one for each. But graduation is no small event for either of us. Megan was born with a chromosomal abnormality and, when she was a baby, no one was even sure how long she'd live... her graduation from high school is a momentous feat. And of course, I've worked hard to get myself through college. So I decided that even if we couldn't each have our own special party, we at least each deserved our own special cake.

So, always eager to buy a new cookbook, I bought Sky High Cakes for inspiration. Together, Megan and I decided what cakes we would have for our BBQ... and I was not a bit surprised when Megan chose one covered in chocolate and peanut butter. This kid would eat a whole jar of peanut butter with a spoon if we let her.

And oh boy... did she pick a delicious cake.

Once we cut into the cakes there was no time to get photos of the individual slices... they went too fast! This cake was by far the favorite too, and there wasn't crumb left of it by the end of the night. This cake was downright sinful. The layers of cake were fudgy, and the creamy peanut butter frosting melted in your mouth like butter in the oven. And, even though I didn't think it was possible, the chocolate-peanut butter glaze took the sinful flavor of this to a whole 'nother level. It was rich and creamy, and chocolatey, and peanut buttery... and amazing. 

After they finished with a piece of this cake I had people trying to hire to make their birthday cakes for them! My grandmother thinks I ought to turn cake-baking into a side business... and someone even suggested that I should make my own wedding cake, haha! And to be honest, I don't need the encouragement, because I'd already thought of that myself. But that would be crazy, right? Who needs the stress of putting a cake together the day before her wedding? Right? :)

Chocolate-Dipped Strawberry Madeleines

What could possibly be more romantic than strawberries and chocolate? I mean c'mon... this combination just screams Valentine's Day.

It seems that my coworkers have grown a little accustomed to me bringing sweets in on the weekends I work, so I promised something extra special for this weekend since V-Day is on Monday. And I just couldn't get the strawberries and chocolate idea out of my head! Strawberry cupcakes with chocolate frosting sounded nice at first, but a little overdone, I thought. Then one day, as I ate a buttery little madeleine cookie while at coffee with a friend, it hit me... chocolate-dipped strawberry madeleines! It would be like eating a chocolate-dipped strawberry - small, delicate, and strawberry sweet with luscious chocolate - only in cake/cookie form!

I searched and searched for such a recipe, but eventually resigned myself to the idea that I'd have to create my own... a little scary for me at this point, with my very novice baking skills. But I must admit, they didn't turn out half bad! I chose to use real frozen strawberries to flavor the madeleines rather than jello powder, as I really prefer unprocessed, non-chemical ingredients in my food. (I also took a little inspiration from this strawberry cake recipe from Courtney at Cook Like a Champion.) Worried about the moisture content of these little cakes, I opted to chop the strawberries into small pieces rather than puree them for my first attempt, but I wound up adding the drained juices for extra strawberry flavor anyway so I think pureeing next time might still be successful. Three other things I learned from this little experiment of mine: 1) Add more food coloring next time. The batter was a nice bright pink before baking, but (as you can see) they faded by the time I took them out of the oven. 2) Don't overfill the madeleine pans. They spread and rise as they bake, so one cookie scoop is plenty. Tapping the pan gently on the counter after filling also helps the batter to spread out evenly. and 3) Don't overbake! While they still taste almost as good, they quickly go from a nice golden color to brown with just a minute or two's alteration. Overall I think this is a recipe I think I'll keep playing with... they still turned out pretty scrumptious, but I do think there is some room for improvement.

Here is the recipe, as made this weekend.

Not-Diet Brownies

I know, I know... I'm supposed to be eating healthier and lighter these days, since I need to make sure I fit into that wedding dress in August. But over the years I've learned one thing about myself and sweets - if I'm really craving something specific, and especially if it's chocolate, I might as well just eat it. I know all the little low calorie tricks in the book about how to curb a chocolate craving... 60-calorie pudding cups, a cup of diet hot chocolate, a teensie-weensie handful of chocolate chips... trust me, I've tried them all. But if I'm craving a brownie or a candy bar or a piece of cake - and if, heaven for bid, it's already in the house - no amount of 60-calorie pudding is going to satisfy me... after I've eaten all six cups in the pack I usually still wind up eating the thing I was craving in the first place. Might as well just eat what I want and enjoy it! ...and then make sure I'm a super good girl for the rest of the week. :)

Well, these brownies are a product of such cravings.

I don't know what was going on, but a couple of weeks ago all the food bloggers I read were making something with chocolate. Annalise at And Now for Something Completely Delicious posted this sinful looking recipe about Brownie Chunk Cheesecake... and then there was this Almond Joy Cheesecake from The Curvy Carrot... and then the Giant Double Chocolate Cookies from Annie of Annie's Eats... it looked like chocolate cravings were going around like the flu! The more decadent pictures I saw the more I wanted needed chocolate. And my coworkers kept asking me when I was going to bring goodies in again... seems those cookies I brought in over Christmas were quite the hit...

...so I caved. I'd like to say that I made these wonderful, fudgy brownies for my coworkers, but they were really for me. And I intended to only eat one, but that little glass of milk, sitting there still half-full after my first one, was just begging for one more. Wedding diet approved? No. Totally worth it? Oooh yes.

Tasty Gifts, Professor Edition: Part 2

Continuing from yesterday's post...

The chocolate-covered pretzels were by far the easiest to make. I used store-bought mini pretzels and a few chunks of semisweet baking chocolate, and voila... chocolate-covered pretzels. I created a double-boiler using a small saucepan and a medium glass bowl, being careful to leave plenty of room between water and my bowl. The chocolate easily melted over medium-high heat, and then I simply dropped my pretzels in, one or a two at a time, to coat. Once coated, I let them dry for a few hours on wire racks (set over paper towels to catch the chocolate drips). I completely covered about half of the pretzels I made, and simply dipped the rest, leaving about half of the pretzel plain. These make a nice, salty-sweet snack and are a great way to cure a chocolate craving.

Next came the raspberry thumbprint cookies. I used this recipe from foodnetwork.com, but I'll share it for you too.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened
2/3 cup sugar, plus more for rolling
1 large egg
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped from pod, or 1/8 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup raspberry jam or preserves. cherry or strawberry would also make great choices. 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 baking sheets or line with parchment paper or silicone mats.

2. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.

3. In another bowl, whip the butter and the sugar with a hand-held mixer until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until just combined. Slowly beat in the dry ingredients in 2 additions, mixing just until incorporated.

4. Scoop the dough into 1-inch balls with a cookie or ice cream scoop and roll in sugar. (Or you can do like I did and simply scoop the dough up with a teaspoon and roll in your hands, and then roll in sugar.) Place about 2-inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Press a thumbprint into the center of each ball, about 1/2-inch deep. Fill each indentation with about 3/4 teaspoon jam.

5. Bake cookies until the edges are golden, about 15 minutes. (For even color, rotate the pans from top to bottom about halfway through baking.) Cool cookies on the baking sheets.

The butter cookie base is light, creamy, and moist... the perfect compliment to the heavy, sweet-tartness of the raspberry preserves. Plus they still look festive with the little spot of red-purple sparkling in the center... without the headache of frosting. :)

And of course I saved my favorite for last! I took my recipe for coconut macaroons from my trusty Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. 

Ingredients:

2 2/3 cups flaked sweetened coconut (7 ounces)

2/3 cup of sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (I used vanilla)

4 ounces semisweet chocolate (optional)

1 teaspoon shortening (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour (I actually sugar, to keep the cookies from getting tough) a large cookie sheet or line with parchment paper. 

2. In a medium mixing bowl combine coconut, sugar, flour, and salt. Stir in egg whites and vanilla. This is best done with a spatula, not a mixer.

3. Drop mixture by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

4. If desired, melt chocolate with shortening over medium-high heat in a double boiler. Dip the cookies in the chocolate or drizzle lightly over the top. Adding shortening to the chocolate may seem a little weird, but it does help to create a better consistency for drizzling. If planning to dip the cookies, the shortening could easily be omitted. 

Crunchy on the outside, buttery on the inside, with the warm, sweet flavor of the coconut... these cookies are hardly resistible. And with their small size, it's easy to justify eating more than one or two. :) 

For presentation, I placed a few of each cookie and several pretzels in separate baking cups, and then stacked the cups on top of each other in a small gift bag. I tied the bag with red or green ribbon, and tied on a handmade card with a heartfelt thank-you message and description of the treats on the inside. 

I left each package in the office of each professor, and got several thank-you emails later in the day. :)

I hope they enjoyed eating these goodies as much as I enjoyed making them! And, most of all, I hope they understand how grateful I am for all the hard work they do for each of us everyday.