april showers.

So far this calendar year, I have had a couple of small orders to fulfill. This one, I've been looking forward to for a while now. 

I met Missy at an old job. We were assistants together, both promising English teachers who had yet to be given a chance. We quickly became friends, and decided to get our ESL endorsement together, you know, to make ourselves more marketable. Without her bossiness encouragement and support, I might not have taken the classes with her. And then where would I be? :) 

And even though we don't work together anymore, we still make time to get together every now and then (she's one popular chica with some pretty rockin' friends)...and every time we do, it's always full of laughter and good times. You can't help but love this girl!

One of the first few times I made cupcake pops was for her and her then-boyfriend's housewarming party. Naturally, they were a hit. Now they're engaged, and Missy gave her mom my number so I could make goodies for the wedding shower. Woot woot!

Missy and Keith are having a small destination wedding in Jamaica, and they're having a reception at home a month later. So in keeping with their wedding theme, I coordinated with their colors (pink and orange) and threw in hibiscus flower accents.

To have some variety at the shower, the goodies consisted of the following:
peanut butter delights
vanilla cake balls with m&ms and/or toasted coconut
lemon cake balls with m&ms and/or sprinkles

red velvet sunflower cupcakes

decorated sugar cookie favors 

 

I used the Williams Sonoma cookie stamp to make these cookies. I decorated some cookies that said Jamaica too, and I made some wedding dress cookies as well. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of those!

All of the guests seemed to satisfy their sweet tooth in some way or another. And had some sugar to take on the road, too. :) That's the only way to roll.

Congrats to Missy and Keith! I love you guys and I'm so pumped for your wedding!! Can't wait to dance ;) 

<3

baking without my camera.

I love reading blogs that have recipes or tips with visual explanations. As an educator, I should know that visual aids are more appealing and help with understanding while reading. So as I'm new to writing my own blog, you would think that I would include several pictures within each post. Well...I would...if I could remember the darned thing.

Oftentimes, I'm that person who brings my camera along to most every occasion. But for one reason or another, I don't take pictures. I left my camera in my purse, which is in the hall closet with my coat. I completely forget that I brought my camera cuz I'm too busy chit-chatting or what-have-you. OR I don't want to be the only weirdo that's taking pictures. That last one...I've got no explanation except that I've got quirks too. What are yours?

So when the hubs bought his brother's old camera, I was super-excited. I'm not one of those people who know all about fancy camera equipment, but this is one fancy camera...especially for the likes of me. And now, I take a *ton* of pictures of family and friends food. I should probably read the manual and maybe take a beginner photography class or something (then maybe I'd have better pictures). But for now, I just have to remember to have it around when I'm in the kitchen. It's definitely not a habit to take pictures while I'm baking. 

During my week off, I managed to use three new recipes in my kitchen -- none of which I have documentation for. To make matters worse, I didn't even snap the finish products, as I either gave them away or entertained our several visitors during the week. Okay, I lied. I kept two for myself. But I ran out of filling, so I just used Nutella. :) Pardon my camera phone picture.

Chocolate Malt Sandwich Cookies

slightly adapted from smells like home who adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

For the cookies:

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 cup plain malted milk powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup plain yogurt

3 tablespoons hot water

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, sift flour, cocoa powder, malted milk powder, baking soda, and salt. In a mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar on medium until fluffy. Add in egg, vanilla, yogurt, and hot water. Mix on low. Slowly incorporate flour mixture.

Place tablespoon-sized balls of dough about 3 1/2 inches apart (they will spread out) on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. They should be flat and firm (but not hard). Cool on parchment on wire racks. Note: This makes about 36 cookies (or 18 sandwiches). I made half of my batch with teaspoon-sized dough balls so I would have more sandwiches.

For the filling:

10 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 cup plain malted milk powder

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream and milk (equal parts)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions: Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring. Let cool. In a mixing bowl, cream together malted milk powder and cream cheese until smooth. Gradually mix in cream/milk mixture, chocolate mixture, and vanilla. Refrigerate, covered, about 30 minutes. Beat on high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Note from 'Smells Like Home' (so glad she said this!): After chilling, the filling will be very thick and dark but as soon as you start to beat it, the color will begin to lighten and the filling will become very fluffy.

To assemble the cookies, pair up cookies that are of similar sizes. Scoop about a tablespoon of the filling onto the bottom of one cookie. Sandwich with another cookie until the filling pushes to the edges of the cookies. Repeat with remaining pairs of cookies. Martha says that the cookies can be kept at room temperature between layers of parchment in airtight containers for up to 3 days. This will not be a problem.

I made a small sample so I could taste test, and I tried it in-between some sandwiching. I thought it was okay. But then, I tried one the next day, and it was soooooo much better! And like I said, I ran out of filling at the end, so either I tasted too much of it put too much filling on some cookies, or I need to make 1 1/2 times the filling to put more. The latter seems more logical. Though I'm not complaining about the Nutella. 

I brought these to friends of ours who just had a baby. They loved them (and the Irishman cupcakes too!). My sister-in-law and the kids loved them as well. The next day I found out that the kids ate them for breakfast that morning. Nothing like a breakfast of champions! hehehe...

Sorry for the lack of pictures! You won't mind anyway after you make these cookies. They're that good. Even without the filling. Cuz you'll wanna eat the filling with a spoon...just like you do with your Nutella. I won't judge.

i buy cupcakes.

It's not very often that I'm in the city these days. So within the past couple of months, when I've been in the city, I've wanted to go to nearby cupcakeries. [That's cupcake bakeries to you people who are living under a rock.]

Since cupcakeries are few and far between in the 'burbs, I was excited to hear about a new one opening up near my school. I got a notification from 'Free Things to Do in Chicago', and they said the shop, Cup of Cake, was offering free cupcakes. Free cupcakes?! Be still my taste buds! I was so excited, I was looking forward to it all week.

So March 4th rolled around, with pouring rain and blustering winds, and I made my way to The Glen after work. I didn't know exactly where the shop was located, so I ended up walking in said rain and wind. When I finally found it, much to my dismay, there was a sign in the window: 'More cupcakes at 5:00 p.m.' It was 4. Since I was soaked, I was in no mood to poke around and shop. I couldn't believe they were out of cupcakes! So to get out of the rain, I ran back to my car. I made a couple calls and polled: 'Do I leave, cupcake-less? Or do I wait it out?' 

The verdict: I'm already there, so I might as well wait. So I sat in my car for a while, and then made my way into the shop. The decor is cute: turquoise paint with black accents and paintings of cupcakes, etc decorated the walls. Although I was well before the 5 o'clock mark, I was surprised (and disappointed) that the cases were empty when their menu offered whoopie pies and cake pops. I was going for the free cupcakes, but figured I could pick up other goodies while I was there. I assumed that for a "grand opening" they would have a big ta-da, in spite of the terrible weather. Then I overheard one of the workers tell another customer to come in the next day for their "grand opening."

Blurry shot of one of their menus...I felt weird taking pictures since there was only one other person there. Oh well.

Hm. I get a grand opening spanning a whole weekend, but I don't get a partial grand opening. Why wouldn't they have offered their menu when they already had traffic coming into their store? I don't know why, but I was really turned off by this. And apparently I still am. ?? I just think it was weird.

I ended up getting two cupcakes for free: both Oreo. Again, I was a little disappointed because the free cupcakes were supposed to be vanilla, Oreo, or red velvet. And I wanted the red velvet. Oh well. I still ate both of them. You can't waste cupcakes. That's like a deadly sin.

My review of the actual Oreo cupcake? I would give it a 'B'. The size of the cupcake was a little bigger than standard, so that was nice. The cake was really moist, not too crumbly. But the frosting was just okay. I go back and forth with my Oreo frosting. Personally, I make mine with finely crushed Oreos -- that's cuz I prefer to pipe it. I honestly enjoy bits of Oreo in my frosting. However, when the frosting has pieces of Oreo in it, the pieces should be in a proper proportion to the cupcake. I don't need to eat half of an Oreo in one bite of my cupcake and frosting. That's a bit much. But maybe they were rushing to make the frosting because of the growing crowd waiting for the free cupcakes [wouldn't they have anticipated the rush hour?].

So I was underwhelmed by the 'grand opening' of Cup of Cake. And I felt bad about it. I so wanted to be excited about this place. Perhaps this is why the hubs insists: "If you make cupcakes, why do you buy cupcakes? Just make your own."

Naturally, I went back. I believe in second chances.

So on a random day after work, I headed back to The Glen. Although I still wanted to try their cake pops, I decided to stick with cupcakes this time around -- I should have some kind of limit, shouldn't I? I was looking forward to finally trying their red velvet cupcake, and after a quick glance at their display case, immediately decided on their 'krispy kreme' cupcake.

My second review?

 Red velvet cupcake: Overall, a B+ It's definitely not my favorite red velvet. The cake was okay, but not as moist as their chocolate cake was with the Oreo. The frosting was good though, a nice balance of sweetness and cream cheese. I didn't care for the red sugar sprinkles -- I just didn't think they were necessary.

Krispy Kreme cupcake: Overall, an A-. Again, the cake was okay. I don't know if they just used a vanilla cake, but either way it was okay. The frosting was sweet and creamy. It's been a while since I've had an actual Krispy Kreme (all the ones I know of have closed down), but the frosting and cake together was pretty tasty. And topped with (what I'm assuming to be) crumbled pieces of a Krispy Kreme. Not bad.

Note: These cupcakes were a little smaller than the Oreo ones, which I thought was strange.

One day, I'm sure I'll go back and check out their cake pops and whoopie pies. But I'm not dying to have their cupcakes again. Now Molly's or Sprinkles, that's a different story for another post. :)

freezer follow-up

Right after the holidays, I posted about the sticky buns I made. And I promised I would let you know how the freezer buns turned out. I was a little nervous about these sticky buns, 1) because it was a new recipe and 2) because it was a diabetic recipe that uses Splenda.

The verdict? Delicious!

I baked them straight out of the freezer. The original recipe calls for 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Since they were still frozen, I decided to do 400 degrees for 15 minutes and turned it down to 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. Perhaps I overdid it a little. But they were still yummy -- the hubs gobbled up the whole pan, minus the two that I ate. However, I think next time I make these from frozen, I'll do 375 for 30 minutes and take it from there.

Next freezer follow-up: frozen cake batter. I've successfully frozen baked cupcakes (undecorated of course, but then they became these). A couple months ago, I mixed up some batter and decided to try freezing it. I don't always need all of the batter, and I don't always have the freezer space to house the baked cupcakes. So I'll let you know how it turns out!

i got this icebox where my [stomach] used to be.

Oh Omarion. 

I used to dance like that. In my mind. hehehe. I suppose I'll stick to baking.

As St. Patrick's Day just passed and the smell of Shamrock Shakes lingers in my car, I was itching to bake something related to this glorious Irish holiday. Now, I'm not Irish. I think the hubs is a fraction Irish? And I think I only went out once to celebrate during my college years [the city is out of control, and it's not because they dye the river green].

So why the interest, you ask? Well, the Irish are known for their indulgent adult beverage intake and strong livers. I wanted to pay tribute to this by incorporating such special ingredients. My first choice: Bailey's. It seemed natural to use it, and it played nice with my homemade whipped cream.

A couple weeks ago, I was searching icebox cakes and stumbled upon this blog. I know I've read her blog before, but not regularly. I'm not sure why not though. She's a woman after my own stomach -- she created cupcakes instead of the usual icebox cake. Following her cue, it only made sense to use the icebox wafers with my Bailey's whipped cream. They're so cute!

Bailey's Whipped Cream

(I'm sure this is out there, but this one's from my tastebuds)

Ingredients:
1 c heavy whipping cream

4 tbsp Bailey's Irish Cream (or to taste)
1/3 c powdered sugar (or to taste)

Directions:
Mix heavy whipping cream on medium-high until soft peaks form. Add Bailey's and sugar. Whip until well incorporated and cream is more firm.

I think the sugar enhanced the Bailey's flavor...this could very well just be in my head. I actually started with just the Bailey's, and then added the sugar after I wasn't getting the taste I was looking for. I might have added a little bit more than 1/3 cup of sugar too...but it was definitely less than a 1/2 cup! So that's not too bad, right?

And since I was already in the supermarket aisle seeking out the Bailey's, I figured that I might as well grab some Guinness. Even though I don't drink the stuff (or its wheat/barley counterparts), I knew of recipes that called for it. Over the past years that I've spent blog-stalking, these recipes had always intrigued me, so I caved and threw some in my cart. How convenient it was for the morning news to do a segment on Irish dishes the day after my purchase.

If you scroll down on that page, the recipe for the Guinness cake is there, and I used it to a 't'. Except!! I made cupcakes. Of course I made cupcakes instead, silly! I baked these with cupcake liners at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 17-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting

adapted from Wayne's Weekend

Ingredients:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 tbs. butter, softened

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1-1/3 c. powdered sugar

1/4 c. heavy whipping cream

1/4 c. Bailey's (or to taste)

Directions:

Cream together the cream cheese and butter. Add cinnamon. Slowly incorporate powdered sugar, alternating cream and Bailey's to get a stiffer, but spreadable frosting (the Bailey's will quickly make the frosting very runny, so be careful!). 

I could definitely get used to Guinness in cupcake form. This was such a good cake! I'm mostly surprised because of said beverage. Who knew barley and hops could taste so yummy? I thought the frosting was a nice balance for the cake. My oldest sister sent me a different link to a similar recipe, but that one included a Bailey's chocolate ganache. I thought about incorporating it into my cupcake, but I didn't have the time. Perhaps next year...and I'll work on having them ON the actual day. 

You'll see that I have an abundance of ideas; I just have a hard time executing them 'on time'...or at least blogging about them on time. I'm working on my timeliness. Honest. In the meantime, you can search through my labels ;) The least I can do is be organized for you!

Happy St. Patrick's Day Wednesday!

my belated valentine post.

One of my guilty pleasures: the prepackaged sugar cookies with cake frosting and sprinkles that you can get at the supermarket. They're convenient when I don't have time to bake and I want cookies right then and there. But I know I should stick to baking them on my own. I've made my fair share of sugar cookies, but usually I make them with royal icing, like these. However, since I had about 20 valentines this past February 14th, I wanted to do something a little more special. And after seeing my aforementioned guilty pleasures at the store, I had the perfect idea.

I'm sure most of you remember having classroom valentines in grade school and getting the conversation hearts in your milk carton mailbox. I remember loving the sayings, but not caring too much for the actual candy.  But these, I would gladly welcome these in my milk carton mailbox. [Or my hot pink mailbox from a superstore's dollar section.]

 

With music being one of my first loves, I couldn't help but choose some of my favorite songs and use them for my cookie sayings. Naturally, they would be called "song-versation" hearts, right? ;) And when I brought them in to my students, some of the titles sparked some conversation, such as, Student: "What does emm-fey-oh mean?" Me: "Do you mean MFEO?" or Student: "What's P.Y.T.? Is that like 'peace to you'? I think you did it wrong." hahaha...these kids crack me up!

The kiddies thoroughly enjoyed the cookies -- and one of the teachers I work with promptly told me that I spoil them. True story. I love baking for my students, and since I have the time, I might as well, right? Plus, they think I'm extra-amazing because I bake...hehehe.

I made everything from scratch, but I know this can be a daunting task for some. Wanna make these too?

quick version of songversation hearts

You'll need:

Sugar cookie mix -- prepared to make cut-out cookies

Heart shaped cookie cutters

Vanilla frosting

Food coloring (to make pink, red, light purple, yellow, green)

Small spatula

Directions:

Make cookies according to package directions. While baking, begin preparing the frosting. Use food coloring to make your desired colors. I began with vanilla (white frosting). Take about a spoonful of frosting and place on the cookie. Using your small spatula, spread out the frosting evenly to the edge of your cookie. Take the side of your spatula (perpendicular to the cookie) and run it around the edge to clean up the sides of your cookie. 

After frosting a few cookies with white frosting, divide the remainder into two bowls: one bowl should have twice the frosting than the other. The bowl with more frosting will start with a couple drops of red coloring to make a light pink.  Frost a few cookies. Add a little blue coloring to make a light purple. Frost a few cookies. For the remainder of the light purple frosting, add more red coloring until the frosting is red (if you let this sit for a few hours or overnight, the red will be more pronounced). Transfer the red frosting into a pastry bag that is fitted with a writing tip (this is to write on the cookies). Alternatively, you could buy a red frosting cookie writer as it may be a simpler option. 

With the second bowl of white frosting, start with a couple drops of yellow coloring to make a light yellow. Frost a few cookies. Add a little blue coloring to make a light green. After all of your cookies are frosted, use the red frosting to write your message.

Another true story: I love this new plate that I bought. love and songversation cookie hearts. Sounds like a perfectly complete valentine to me.

And as a belated celebration, my niece and nephew came over, and I sent them home with valentines of their own. As the trade off, they snapped a couple pictures for me -- this was the best shot I could get where they weren't laughing their heads off. They may be grown now, but it's like they're still little! :D I love them to pieces! <3

P.S. Don't fret friends...The hubs, my numero uno valentine, received the first of the cookies, with song titles for him too. My fave? MLWSW You [My Life Would Suck Without You...hehehe]

project!

I have been pondering about this project for a couple years now: how to send a decorated cupcake in the mail. Initially, I was thinking: "I'll just send the cupcake and frosting separately." But then I decided that wasn't as special. One blogger got it down, but that required more work and worry than I wanted.

Other bloggers would bake the cupcakes, cut them up, and put them in the glass jars and layer the frosting. I preferred the idea of baking the cakes in the jar and frosting them as I would a normal cupcake. I couldn't find the jar size I was initially thinking of, but these worked just as well for my first trial.

A friend of the hubs and mine recently bought a new place (Hi Ben!). Now he's been on the search for quite some time. And finally, he found his perfect "sweet home", and I vowed to myself that he would get the first mailed cupcake jars. What better way is there to celebrate your new home?

It took me a while to actually get these baked up and shipped out. I gave him two frosting options; his choice: clearly Oreo. Naturally, I had to dress up the jars, so I took my cue from canners -- grabbed some pretty fabric that I had on hand and some matching ribbon and finished off the jars. I shipped the cupcake jars from frozen and two days later, they were received as a success! I contemplated overnighting them, but again, it was a trial. If they arrived bad, I was surely going to replace them :) and of course, re-think my strategy.

Ben was kind enough to post a couple of photos for me, and aside from the flattened frosting, they were perfect! He was excited for the package waiting for him when he got home, and he told me they were wonderful. I love me some satisfied customers!