Lemon-Ricotta Cookies

Before we jump right into talking about these fabulous cookies, can we all take a moment to admire my gorgeous china? I know the focus is supposed to be on the food here, but I am seriously in love with my china and these are the first food photos I've taken with it! In case you're wondering, my pattern is by Noritake and it's called Platinum Wave. I just love the silver swirls... it's a classic pattern that is feminine without being overly girly, and the delicate porcelain was so perfect for these lemon tea cookies that I couldn't resist photographing on it!

I think every girl deserves to have a beautiful set of china, and to drink tea and eat delicate, scrumptious cookies off of that beautiful china. I mean, what happens if the Queen stops by in the middle of the afternoon wanting tea? Certainly, you wouldn't dream of serving her with your silly old everyday cups and plates. And you wouldn't serve her any old cookies either! But don't worry, I've totally got you covered... if the Queen ever made a random stop by my house, these are definitely the cookies I'd want to have on hand.

Something as light and aromatic as tea demands a cookie equally as delicate, and these totally fit the bill. These cookies are light and fluffy, almost more like a muffin top than a cookie, and are perfect for dipping. They're also wonderfully sweet, with a bright lemony flavor that hints of spring. These little guys are perfect for that afternoon pick-me-up, when you need a little caffeine and sugar to get you through.

So if you ever needed an excuse to have a teaparty, here you go! Invite your girlfriends over, break out your pretty china, and pretend you're 4 years old again (and if you feel like dressing up in your mom's old gawdy clothes, I won't judge). And if the Queen stops by, you'll be adequately prepared!

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.

Cranberry-Apple Tarts

Ooooh boy... have I got a recipe for you.

Dane and I hosted a housewarming / Christmas party this weekend, and these little tarts were my shining dessert. All of our closest friends came to celebrate with us... they came, they ate, they drank, and they did a marvelous job of making our house warm! We're hoping this is just the first of many rockin' parties to come.

As our guests quickly discovered, these tarts are addictive. They vanished in about 5 minutes once everyone arrived, although I'm amazed any of them lasted until the party after Dane got home from work at 4:30 and tried one... I had to practically hide them to keep him from eating them all! 

And don't let the color throw you off. At first, everyone kept asking, "What are the little tomato things?" and I kept having to explain that "No, those aren't tomatoes... they're actually apples!" You can blame the cranberries for the festive red color. And you can blame the butter and cinnamon for the epic-level flavor.

Seriously, if you like apple pie, you're going to love these. The bubbly, melted butter joins forces with sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg to form a sort of spicy caramel sauce that coats the sweet, tender apples... and piling the filling on top of light, flaky, buttery puff pastry sends the flavors out of this world. (And I have it on good authority that leftover filling goes exceptionally well with french toast the next morning.) Pop one of these guys in your mouth and you'll understand the meaning of irresistible... betcha can't eat just one! 

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!

Pumpkin Cupcakes

I think I might be a little late jumping on the pumpkin bandwagon this fall, but at last I do have a pumpkin recipe to share... just in time for Halloween! And this one is totally worth wait.

It had been a while since I'd brought goodies to work, and my coworkers were beginning to wonder if my oven was broken... so last week on my switch over night I whipped these little guys together. As much as I wanted to make something sweet I also wanted to make something seasonal, so pumpkin seemed like a no-brainer. Plus, who can pass up a cupcake?

Well, needless to say, these were a huge hit. The pumpkin really gave these an amazingly moist texture and wonderfully sweet flavor... it reminded me more pumpkin pie than of cake! At first I decorated a few of them with a pastry bag and a lot of frosting, but I found that I liked them better with a light smearing instead, so that the cake took center stage rather than the topping. (You can always, of course, frost them however you like.) But however you choose decorate, just make sure you put them on your Halloween party menu! As easy and delicious as these are, there's really no good reason to pass these up. Trust me, your guests (and your taste buds) will thank you!

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!

Peach & Blueberry Tart

Where has summer gone? It seems like just yesterday that I was counting down the days until I was finished with RT school, and now I look up and it's September. This has honestly been one of the greatest summers of my life - for many obvious reasons - so why does it have to be over? *whine*

Well I intend to hold onto it for as long as I can... with sweet summer peaches and juicy blueberries, baked into this simple yet amazing tart.

Seriously, this tart could not be more simple. The filling is nothing but fresh fruit, fruit preserves, and a little cornstarch. Definitely a case where simple is better. The crust - little more than ground pecans and whole whet pastry flour - is a stark complement to the sweet fruit filling. Nutty and crumbly... the perfect bite to offset the silky smooth peaches. It's a substantial dessert, which will leave you feeling happily sated without any discomfort and very little guilt. But hurry friends... these summer fruits won't be around much longer! Better make it while you can!

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?

Pina Colada Cake

Next up on the dessert menu for our awesome graduation BBQ was this epic Pina Colada cake! I knew the peanut butter chocolate cake was going to be rich, even before I made it, so I knew we would need a lighter option for the cake table. As a self-admitted chocolate addict, it was very difficult not to pick another chocolate cake out of the book, but I realized that not everyone loves chocolate as much as I do and that we needed something completely different for our second cake.

Enter this fine piece of dessert.

Light, brown sugar cake... pineapple-rum filling... and rich, coconut buttercream with toasty flakes of sweet coconut... what's not to love? It was the perfect airy, tropical counterpart to the other cake. It was sweet, it was boozy, and oh boy was it good. I even sent a few doggie bags home, because everyone wanted more.

I won't lie to you though... this cake was more work than I honestly expected. First, the pineapple filling took almost an hour to thicken like it was supposed to. Luckily I made it up the night before and didn't have to wait on it! Then, the frosting nearly gave me a heat attack. I decided to frost and decorate the cake the morning of the party, thinking it wouldn't take that long, but the first time I made the frosting I added the butter too soon and it separated into an oily mess and I had to make it all over again. So learn from me, and make sure you whip the egg whites and syrup until they're glossy before you add the butter! By some stroke of luck I had left extra eggs out overnight, but I hadn't softened any extra butter so I had to do it in the microwave and pray that the thinner butter would work. So I tried again. I boiled more syrup. I whipped more egg whites. And I whipped and whipped and whipped until I was afraid my mixer would overheat. And just when I had resigned myself to the idea that I would have to run to Albertson's and buy canned frosting so I could at least serve the damn cake... it came together. It was light and fluffy and glossy, just like it was supposed to be. 

And it was totally worth it. :)

So if you've got a tropical party coming up soon or any occasion that needs a spectacular cake that tastes like the beach, give this cake a try. It might be take a little extra work, but trust me... it won't disappoint.

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.

Dinner Party: Italian Cream Cake

I am a firm believer that one cannot have a party without dessert. :)

This cake was the crown jewel of my dinner party. All things considered, it turned out quite beautiful... as a very novice cake decorator, my frosting didn't turn out quite as smooth as I had hoped, but it still made a pretty centerpiece for the table, nonetheless. And that's just the outside. The cake itself was light and melt-in-your-mouth moist with a mature, sweet flavor thanks to the toasted pecans and coconut that went into the batter. And while I was afraid that the cream cheese frosting would be too rich, it was the perfect compliment to the nutty, decadent cake... creamy and sweet without overpowering the other flavors in the cake. The three layers were pretty to look at once it was cut too, and gave a little testament to the amount of work than went into it, as well.

Bronco Cupcakes

While Boise may be the home of Bronco Nation, most of BSU's hardcore fans are in Las Vegas tonight. Boise State's football team has had a crazy season this year... undefeated and looking toward the Rose Bowl (if not the National Championship) until that fateful game in Nevada in late November. Once ranked happily at #4 in the BCS standings, my beloved Broncos found themselves ranked #10 and playing #19 Utah in the Maaco Las Vegas Bowl this evening... an appreciated and well-played game, but a bitter disappointment in comparison to the golden dream that was once on the horizon.

Prestigious or not, we're still proud of our Broncos and of a well-fought win in the Las Vegas Bowl. We do live in the home of the "Smurf turf," afterall. Dane and I invited some people over for the big game... we ordered a giant sandwich from Subway, bought a few bags of chips and some cheap soda and beer... and I decided to make blue cupcakes in honor of our beloved team. :)

As you can see, the cupcakes came out more green than the true blue I was hoping for. But I put them in blue baking cups, topped with white frosting, and sprinkled some blue and orange nonpareils, and no one cared. They were tasty, and the sentiment was appreciated... and none were left by the end of the night, so I'd say they were a success. 

 For the cake, I chose to use a white cake recipe, thinking that it would be a better base for dyeing than something like, say, red velvet cake (which I considered using, substituting blue for the red food coloring). Whether it was the cake recipe, the type of food coloring I used, or the amount, my cupcakes turned out a weird teal color, so if I do these again I'll have to do some experimenting to figure out how to get a better blue. I had fully intended from the beginning to use blue and orange sprinkles, so I went with a good white frosting as a base... for which I chose a creamy frosting recipe. 

Click to read more. :)

Apple Pie

Apple pie has a special place in my heart. It was always one of my favorite desserts growing up, and it was one of the first things I made on my own after leaving home. It was the first thing I ever cooked for Dane, matter of fact. Hahaha... you should have seen the two of us in the basement of Driscoll Hall (the dorm I lived in my freshman year at BSU), peeling apples with butter knives we'd stolen from the cafeteria. It took forever to peel all the apples - especially because I was making 2 pies - and cutting them with the dull knives yielded weird, uneven chunks... but despite all of the hiccups, the pies turned out to be delicious, so much so that Dane ate almost a whole one by himself. We still joke that that was the day he knew he loved me. :)

Unsurprisingly, I make an apple pie every year around thanksgiving. My family already has pies covered for thanksgiving this year, so there's no need to take one to the annual feast, so this one is just for Dane and I. He's currently hunting but he'll be back tomorrow, and I hope he finds it a welcome surprise.

...and with all the tradition surrounding apple pie, it seemed only fitting that my first real food post should be about the beloved dessert. :)

Keeping with Mom's tradition, I like to use 2 different kinds of apples. She usually uses Rome and Granny Smith, but I've had a particular fondness for Honey Crisps this year so I thought I'd give those a try instead of Rome.

Mom also taught me to do the filling a little differently than most methods I've seen. Most recipes I've seen call for the sugar and spices to be mixed in with the apples, and then to have the whole apple-spice mixture poured into the crust... we, however, like to layer it. Keeping everything separate, make a thin layer of apples on the bottom of the crust, then place a few pads of butter on top of the apples and sprinkle with the spice mixture. Repeat.

 

Six apples gives you a nice big mound of goodness on which to place your top crust. When it cooks, the butter will melt and combine with the sugar and apples as they reduce to form a lovely sort of gravy on the inside of the pie. I almost always have some of the sugar-spice mixture left over after making a pie... I like to save it and eat it on oatmeal. :)

Look at how pretty it turned out! Next time I think I'll use at least one more apple... it cooked down a little more than I really wanted. I really only make about one of these a year, so I forget sometimes how much those delicious apples like to sink into the pie.

photo updated on 11/22/11

For a new challenge this year, I decided to try making my own whipped cream. Everyone's been telling me that once you have homemade whipped cream you'll never eat cool-whip again... and boy were they right! What have I been missing all my life? Maybe I was simply eating the wrong kind of cool whip... I mean, after all, the stuff I usually eat is almost always labeled "sugar-free" or "fat-free" or "light", in my feverish attempts to avoid the diabetes and heart disease that run so prevalently in my family. The whipped cream I made certainly had none of those three labels. But even as my arteries are clogging and my pancreas is shutting down as we speak I must say... I have never had whipped cream this tasty in my life.

It was light and fluffy... but rich.  For once in my life I could taste the cream and the vanilla, instead of just the air. And I usually claim that I could eat a whole tub of cool-whip by myself... so uh oh... this could be bad news, for sure. A whipped cream obsession, fueled by even better whipped cream? Maybe my mother was right... maybe I am going to gain 200 pounds from all this cooking. Probably not the best diet to be on 9 months out from my wedding... hahaha... especially with no time to work out these days! Oh well... all the people I care about know how much I love food anyway. :)

photo updated on 11/22/11