Baked Perfection

Pink Velvet Cupcakes

2012-01-29T17:22:00.000-05:00

Think Pink.

Are you ready for some Valentine's Day Treats? Believe it or not, I actually did not make these cupcakes with Valentine's Day in mind. One of my dear friends is pregnant with a little girl and I made these for her shower. Since Valentine's is right around the corner I thought this is the perfect time to share them with you. Of course you could save the recipe for a baby shower, a little girl's birthday party, or even Breast Cancer Awareness (which is what there were done for in the recipe I used). These cupcakes are a play on traditional red velvet. For all the haters out there, they are definitely not the real thing as they don't have cocoa powder or vinegar, but they are similar in flavor and just as cute. I topped them with my favorite vanilla frosting, but the classic cream cheese frosting would be just as delicious.

In other news...it is busy season which makes me tired :)

Pink Velvet Cupcakes
recipe from Lovin From the Oven

recipe makes 24 cupcakes

1 cup of butter softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
Pink food coloring
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Once light and fluffy add your pink food coloring. Start with a small amount and increase to reach your desired shade of pink. Blend well with butter and sugar. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in vanilla and beat well.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the batter and beat until well combined. Add in 1/2 of the butter milk, beat until combined, followed by another 1/3 of the dry, then the remaining buttermilk and finally the remaining dry ingredients. The batter may look a bit lumpy after buttermilk is first added, but beat well and it will combine nicely.

Fill paper lined muffin cups two-thirds full and bake at 350 degrees for approx 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Watch the cupcakes closely in the last few minutes of baking so that they do not over brown. Allow to cool for ten minutes before removing from pan, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Very Vanilla Frosting

recipe by Baked Perfection

2 sticks of butter, softened

6 cups powdered sugar

pinch of salt

3 tablespoons vanilla extract

2 - 4 tablespoons milk

Beat butter and vanilla until creamy. Add salt. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until combined. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency

Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies

2012-01-22T15:59:00.001-05:00

Better than I remember.

A couple weeks ago my friend Ellen came over to bake with me. We typically plan ahead what we are going to make, but this time we had not. We flipped through several of my cookbooks and all of a sudden I exclaimed "Let's make Oatmeal Cream Pies". I am really not sure where the idea came from, but we both knew it was a good one and went to the internet. The recipe we decided to go with came from the blog Back to the Cutting Board. She made a few adaptations to the original recipe which is from Food.com and we adhered too. Of course we aded a few more changes, but for the most part stuck tot he original recipes. These cookies are nostalgic and absolutely delicious! Next time you are in the mood for an Oatmeal Cream Pie, or an Oatmeal Cookie I highly suggest you give these a try.

Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies

adapted from Food.com via Back to the Cutting Board

recipe makes 24 sandwich cookies

Cookies:

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon molasses

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 cups quick oats

Cream Filling

2 teaspoons hot water

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow cream

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees FahrenheitCombine flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a bowl. In large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add in eggs, beating after each. Finally beat in molasses and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture to creamed mixture and beat until just blended; mix in the oats with a wooden spoon. Drop dough by tablespoons on parchment lined sheets, with plenty of space in between. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until just starting to brown around the edges. Let sit on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

While the cookies bake prepare the filling. In small bowl, dissolve the salt in the hot water. Set aside and allow this to cool. Combine marshmallow cream, shortening, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a bowl; mix on high until fluffy (3-4 minutes). Add the cooled salt water and mix well. Spread filling on flat side of one cookie, press 2nd cookie on top.

Chocolate Pomegranate Scones

2012-01-15T14:25:00.000-05:00

A twist on an old recipe.

If you have been following Baked Perfection for a while now, you know that I really enjoy scones. Let me clarify, I really enjoy scones that only my mother-in-law and I make. Not to go into the entire history again, but I don't like dry hard scones that must be accompanied with tea or coffee. I like them moist and crumbly and can be eaten by themselves. Last weekend I had a hankering to make scones. I had not made them since last summer so I figured it was about time. The only trouble was that I wanted to come up with a new flavor combination. I then had this brilliant idea to use the Dark Chocolate Pomegranate candies that topped and inspired these cupcakes: Chocolate Pomegranate Cupcakes. All I did was chop up a cup of the candies and mixed them in. I think it was really a nice touch. The candy did get a little chewy from the baking, but otherwise these were a delicious success. If you can't find these candies (I bought them at BJ's and have heard they are also sold at Costco), you can substitute and dried fruit or candy. The possibilities are truly endless.

Chocolate Pomegranate Scones

recipe from Baked Perfection

2 cups flour

3 tablespoons sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

zest of one small orange

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped chocolate pomegranate candy

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, orange zest, salt, and shopped candies. Pour in heavy cream. Mix by hand, just until combined. Mixture will be sticky. Flour surface. Divide dough into two sections and pat into two rounds, each approximately four inches. Using a pizza cutter, cut each round into 6 pieces and place on a greased large cookie sheet. Bake 11 to 13 minutes.

Magic Cookie Bars

2012-01-08T12:12:00.001-05:00

Simple and Delicious.

I hope everybody enjoyed the Holidays. I know I enjoyed my nice long vacation from work and spending quality time with friends and family. You have may have noticed a little lull in the blog, but don't work I am back for 2012 with more recipes to share. It seems everybody gets a little baked out after the holidays and I am also one of those people. Yesterday was my first day baking since New Years and all I made for NYE was a batch of my famous chocolate chip cookies. Anyway, I have been saving this recipe for you from before Christmas. One of my friends brought these too my cookie exchange party back in December and they were a hit. If you have never made these bars, you should really give them a try. They are incredibly easy to make and truly delicious!

So I have a question for you. What types of recipes would you like to see in 2012? Perhaps you would like to see more of something, or perhaps there is something you have never seen me post. Let me know and I will add it to my list!

Magic Cookie Bars
recipe from Eagle Brand

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 (14 ounce) can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chops
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat a 9x13 baking pan with no-stick cooking spray.

Combine the graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press into bottom of prepared pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evening with chocolate chips, coconut, and nuts. Press firmly down with a fork. Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cur into bars or diamonds. Store covered at room temperature.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-12-21T19:46:00.000-05:00

I wish I tried these.

This is another recipe from the cookie exchange I hosted. These cookies were brought by my friend Monica (the same friend that I did these wedding cupcakes). These are actually the cookies that I wish I tried the most. Zack would not stop raving about these cookies. He has continuously told me that he is not a fan of mint, but after his rave reviews of these cookies and his love of my Mint Chocolate Delights, I am starting to have my doubts. He keeps asking me to make these and I may just mix up a batch tomorrow.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

recipe from Betty Crocker

pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon mint extract

6 to 8 drops green food color

1 egg

1 cup creme de menthe baking chips or chopped Andes Mints (approximately 40 mints)

1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, extract, food color and egg until soft dough forms. Stir in creme de menthe baking chips (or andes Mints) and chocolate chunks Using small cookie scoop or teaspoon, drop dough 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool 3 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Serve warm or cool completely. Store tightly covered at room temperature.

Parisian Cream Wafers

2011-12-20T10:58:00.005-05:00

My friend Ellen made these:

I hope you have been enjoying my daily posts. Here is another cookie recipe to share with you. As I mentioned earlier, I had a cookie exchange party this December which was tons of fun. One of the guests at the party was my friend Ellen, who I have mentioned a few times on this blog before. Ellen contributed two cookies to the party, these Parisian Cream Wafers and her signature Orange and Cardamom Sugar cookies. unfortunately I did not get a change to eat either of the cookies this year since I flew out that night for travel, but I did get a chance to try these Parisian Cream Wafers last year. They are quite the delicate cookie in flavor and texture. Just sweet enough and very light. Instead of posting the recipe here, I have linked to her blog where she posted the recipe. Click on the link below for the recipe:

Ellen's Parisian Cream Wafers

Cinnamon Roll Cookies

2011-12-19T09:28:00.000-05:00

I love cinnamon.

So it should be no surprise to you that when I saw saw these cookies online I new I had to make them. I saw this recipe on "In Katrina's Kitchen". The original recipe calls for a glaze and I really wish I did not skip it. I was in a time crunch and was not able to make it, but I really think it would have kicked it up a notch. The original recipe also suggests using sugar cookie mix. I decided to make my homemade sugar cookie dough (which added to my time crunch), but think you could really use any recipe. These cookies would be great with tea or left for Santa.

Cinnamon Roll Cookies

recipe adapted from In Katrina's Kitchen

Sugar Cookie Dough (recipe from Baked Perfection)

3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 almond extract
2 eggs

Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt, set aside. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until fully absorbed. Separate dough into two disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight.

Filling and Icing

1 tablespoon melted butter

1/4 c granulated sugar

1 tbsp. ground cinnamon

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tbsp. milk

Divide the dough into two halves. On a floured surface, roll each half of dough to about ¼-inch thickness. Brush with melted butter. In a small bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over dough. Begin to roll up dough, starting at the long side. Wrap in plastic wrap and put dough in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes (until firm – not hard).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Take dough out of freezer and begin cutting into 3/4 inch slices. Place slices about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly golden brown.
Cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet, then remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely.

In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Drizzle icing over cooled cookies (making sure you have aluminum foil or waxed paper underneath cooling racks to catch excess icing).

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Frosting

2011-12-18T09:07:00.000-05:00

Festive and Delicious.

These cupcakes are delicious and adorably cute. If you can't tell, I was going for a candy cane look and I think it turned out pretty well. I decided to go with a chocolate cupcake because I think chocolate and peppermint go together so well. You could definitely try a mocha cupcake to recreate the popular seasonal drink at all the coffee shops right now. I didn't want the peppermint to be over-powering so it is very mild and really pairs perfectly with these cupcakes.I think these would be a great addition at any holiday party.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Frosting

Chocolate Cupcakes recipe slightly adapted from allrecipes.com

Makes 24 cupcakes

1 package chocolate cake mix
1 package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 tablespoon instant espresso dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water

2 cups chocolate chips (dark chocolate or semi-sweet), dusted in 1 tablespoon flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mix, sour cream, oil, eggs, vanilla extract, and espresso dissolved in water. Gently stir in the chocolate chips

Bake for 20 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Peppermint Frosting

recipe from Baked Perfection

2 sticks of butter, softened

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

6 cups powdered sugar

pinch of salt

2 -4 tablespoons milk

Beat butter and peppermint extract until creamy, add salt. Slowly add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until combined. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency. Frost as desired.

To achieve the peppermint look: Dip a toothpick in red food coloring and slowly drag the toothpick along the inside of your piping bag to create a long red line. Repeat until you have 4-6 lines. Carefully add the frosting into the piping bag trying to not disturb the lines too much. Pipe normally and it will come out like a candy cane.

Overnight Gingerbread French Toast and Overnight Eggnog French Toast

2011-12-17T08:27:00.000-05:00

This is tradition in our house.

Two years ago we started a tradition on our house. A tradition of french toast on New Years day. The first we we had several friends staying with us. I was sick in bed with a bad cold so Zack and our dear friend Nick manned the stove and made french toast for everybody. It was delicious, but very time consuming. Last year we decided to change it up a bit with an overnight french toast and it was amazing! We threw it together before we went to bed and popped it in the oven in the morning. We were all able to sit down together and eat at the same time to a DELICIOUS meal. On New Year's Day last year we actually had an overnight Eggnog French Toast. Zack and I decided to make a variation of it with some fresh Gingerbread we picked up at a local grocery store (Harris Teeter) and it did not disappoint. I have left both recipes here for you. I think either would be perfect for Christmas morning when everybody is opening presents. Jut pop it in the oven before you open gifts and when you are done, it will be ready.

Overnight French Toast (Eggnog and Gingerbread)
recipe from Baked Perfection

Eggnog French Toast

1 loaf hearty white bread (Italian, Challah, Brioche)
5 large eggs
1 1/2 cups eggnog
3/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Gingerbread French Toast

1 loaf Gingerbread
5 large eggs
2 1/4 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Generously butter the sides and bottom of an 8-inch square baking pan. Slice the loaf into 1 inch slices and arrange them in the pan, overlapping.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the eggnog (if using), milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Whisk until combined. Pour the mixture over the bread slices. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Flip bread and rearrange in the pan, making sure to coat the entire surface with the liquid. Bake for 35 - 45 minutes or until the French toast is golden brown and puffy.
Set aside to cool slightly, serve warm with maple syrup and butter.

Candy Cane Blossoms II

2011-12-15T12:02:00.000-05:00

Back by popular demand.

The cookies have by far become the most popular post on Baked Perfection. I made them last year and they became an overnight hit on Pinterest. Therefore I decided to make them again for you. This time I rolled a third of the cookies in Christmas colored non-sprinkles to make them extra festive. These cookies are really delicious and you should definitely try to make them!

Note: A couple people commented on my last post that these cookies came out flat for them. A couple tips, don't roll them too large and make sure your butter is not too soft or warm. If your dough is too sticky, just add up to 1/2 cup more flour.

Candy Cane Blossoms

recipe from Hershey's

1 bag Hershey;s Kisses brand Candy Cane Kisses

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 egg

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons milk

Red and Green colored sugar

Preheat over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove wrappers from candies (approx. 35)

Beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and egg in large bowl until well blended. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add alternatively with milk to butter mixture, beating until well blended.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in red and/or green colored sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8 - 1o minutes or until edges are lightly browned and cookies is set. Remove from oven; cool 2 to 3 minutes. Press candy piece into center of each cookie. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Yields approximately 35 cookies.

Christmas Cookie Dough Truffles

2011-12-08T21:23:00.001-05:00

Just as delicious as the first time.

I have posted these before, but they are so cute and delicious I had to share them again. Who doesn't love cookie dough? These can be made far in advance and frozen for months! If you are thinking of homemade gifts I highly suggest you mix up a batch this weekend and then save them for Christmas. You won't be disappointed.

Cookie Dough Truffles
recipe from Baked Perfection

1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
dash of cinnamon
1 stick butter, softened (it is even okay if it is melting a little)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 - 2 tablespoons water

Assorted candy melts

In a medium bowl combine the flour, salt, and dash of cinnamon. In a second larger bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract until creamy. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Add water if mixture is too dry to form into balls. Roll the mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet lined with wax paper (Should make approximately 20). Chill for several hours or freeze for 15-20 minutes until firm.

Melt candy melts in the microwave per directions on package (30 sec intervals, stirring in between). Gently dip the cookie dough ball into the candy coating. Once covered remove and let the excess chocolate fall off. Place back on wax paper to dry.

To decorate with drizzled chocolate, place melted chocolate in a plastic sandwich bag. Using scissors, cut the very tip off the sandwich bag. The smaller your cut, the smaller the drizzle. Use the sandwich bag to pipe the chocolate back and forth over the cookie dough truffle until you reach the desired look.

Mocha Toffee Cookies

2011-12-08T21:12:00.001-05:00

I can't get enough of this flavor combination!

I always like to make something for my friends birthday. One of my close friends had a birthday right before Thanksgiving. I did not have time to plan something for her, but wanted to come up with something delicious. I came up with this recipe at 8PM on the Thursday night before I wanted to deliver them. They came out even better than I expected and my friend loved them. The cookies have a definitely mocha flavor with little bits of toffee. They capture the chewiness of a brownie are very addictive. I think they would be perfect with a little milk for Santa since he will need the caffeine to fly around the world :)

Mocha Toffee Cookies
recipe from Baked Perfection

2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup baking cocoa
1 1.4 oz package of instant chocolate pudding Mix
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons instant espresso
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup toffee bits, frozen
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine flour, cocoa, pudding mix, baking soda, salt, and instant espresso in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in toffee and morsels. Drop by well-rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 11 to 13 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting

2011-12-08T08:41:00.001-05:00

A classic combination.

I feel really bad that I have not been posting much for you guys. This is by far the busiest December I have had in years. I am having a cookie exchange part at my house this weekend and plan to collect recipes from all my guests to share with you. Of course I will also share what I am making and am evening thinking about posting a few of the appetizer recipes since they may come in handy for any holiday parties you are having. To help get you though the week here is a simple, classic, and delicious cupcake.

Double Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting

Chocolate Cupcakes recipe slightly adapted from allrecipes.com

2 cups chocolate chips (dark chocolate or semi-sweet), dusted in 1 tablespoon flour

Very Vanilla Frosting

recipe by Baked Perfection

2 sticks of butter, softened

6 cups powdered sugar

pinch of salt

3 tablespoons vanilla extract

2 -4 tablespoons milk

Beat butter and vanilla until creamy. Add salt. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until combined. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency

Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

2011-11-28T16:37:00.001-05:00

Yum!

I hope everybody had a nice Thanksgiving. Mine was wonderful just like it is every year. Zack and I spent time in West Virginia with his family. This was my seventh Thanksgiving with his family and boy am I thankful for them. Zack's mom is an amazing cook and we stuffed out bellies. My favorites this year were the cranberry sauce, the dressing, and the sweet potatoes. Believe it or now I would not eat any of those dishes growing up unless it was cranberry jelly from a can. You can ask my mom, I used to love that canned stuff! Since this is a baking blog, I bet you are wondering what we had for dessert. I brought the pies this year which consisted of 2 Pecan Pies, 1 Pumpkin Pie, and a Cranberry Apple Pie. The Pecan is my favorite, which is also a pie I would not eat growing up. This post is probably shocking my mom. I suppose I had to grow up eventually.

The Pecan Pie is also the favorite of my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law, and my niece. My niece told me that she never liked Pecan Pie until she had mine which is quite the compliment from an almost 14 year old. Since it is getting closer to the holidays and just about everybody will be looking for cookie and bar recipes I thought I would share a delicious recipe for Chocolate Pecan Pie bars with you. These bars completely embody Pecan Pie. I think they were great with the addition of the chocolate chips, but if you are more of a traditionalist you can definitely leave them out.

Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars
recipe slightly adapted from Glorious Treats

Crust

1 3/4 cups flour

1/4 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup cold butter, cut into pieces

1-2 Tablespoons cold water

Filling

3 eggs

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 Tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups pecan halves, coarsely chopped

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line the bottom and sides of a 9"x13" baking pan with aluminum foil.

(For the crust) In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat 3/4 cup butter, brown sugar and salt until smooth and creamy. Add flour, and beat until coarse crumbs form. While the mixer is running, add 1-2 tablespoons of cold water, as needed to help form dough. Press dough into the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of the prepared pan. Prick the dough with a fork several times, randomly around the pan. Bake 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown.

(For the filling) In a large bowl, mix eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, melted butter, bourbon and salt with a whisk until well blended. Stir in pecans and chocolate chips. Pour filling into baked crust. Bake 20-30 minutes or until golden brown and filling is set. Cool completely before cutting.

Chocolate Pomegranate Cupcakes

2011-11-20T10:19:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the terrible photo, it is from my phone.

I know this photo is pretty bad, but these cupcakes are delicious so I wanted to share them with you. I had a rough morning Thursday (which included falling down the stairs) and forgot to take a photo before I brought them to work, I made these cupcakes Wednesday night for a coworker. She went out of her way to help me so I wanted to do something nice for her. I asked her what she liked and like most people she gave the "Oh, I like everything" response. A week earlier she happened to bring in some dark chocolate pomegranate candies which were addictively delicious. I immediately went to BJ's to pick some if the candies up (they topped the cupcakes) and they inspired these cupcakes. Now I must tell you that people seriously loved these cupcakes at work. Several people commented that they are better than Georgetown Cupcake and other DC cupcake shops. Three people even asked me if I can do parties for them. I think they would be a great addition to a Thanksgiving or Christmas Dessert Table.

Chocolate Pomegranate Cupcakes

from Baked Perfection

Makes 24 cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes recipe slightly adapted from allrecipes.com

1 package chocolate cake mix
1 package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 tablespoon instant espresso dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water

2 cups chocolate chips (dark chocolate or semi-sweet), dusted in 1 tablespoon flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mix, sour cream, oil, eggs, vanilla extract, and espresso dissolved in water. Gently stir in the chocolate chips

Bake for 20 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Pomegranate Frosting

recipe from Baked Perfection

1 cup pomegranate juice

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

6 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small sauce pan bring the pomegranate juice to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue to cook until sauce has thickened and reduce to 1/3 cup. Set aside to cool.

Cream the butter on medium speed until it is very light in texture. Add the cooled pomegranate juice, salt, and vanilla. Slowly add the powdered sugar and mix on a low speed until the sugar and butter are blended, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Increase the speed to medium, with the mixer running, add the milk one tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Half and Half Cookies

2011-11-13T16:04:00.001-05:00

Two worlds collide.

Two very delicious worlds that is. Chocolate and peanut butter go together like they were never meant to be apart. I love the combination and am pretty sure that it is on most peoples favorite lists. Of course there are those people who say they don't like chocolate, or peanut butter, or the combination. I put those people in the same group as people who claim to not like macaroni and cheese. Honestly, who does not like macaroni and cheese?!?!

Anyway, back to these cookies. These little cookies are addictive! I came up with the idea to make them after seeing another recipe of chocolate chip cookies sandwiched with a chocolate chocolate cookies. I these delectable treats on vacation with two of my friends and I am ashamed to admit that we polished them off in one night. In fact, we may have eaten all but one before we even landed at our destination! I want to share these with you now because I know it is cookie making season with the Holidays coming up. These cookies will definitely be a hit with anybody you share them with.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Half and Half Cookies

recipe by Baked Perfection

makes approximately 5 - 6 dozen

Chocolate Dough

2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup baking cocoa
1 1.4 oz package of instant chocolate pudding Mix
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 2/3 cups peanut butter morsels

Combine flour, cocoa, pudding mix, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels.

Peanut Butter Dough

1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl, cream together the peanut butter, butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until well blended. Beat in the egg, milk, and vanilla one at a time. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine 1/2 tablespoon of each dough and roll into a ball. Place onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until cookies are puffed and centers are set. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Swirl Halloween Brownies and we have a winner!

2011-10-29T10:35:00.001-04:00

Festive and delicious!

These brownies really did not take much creativity on my part. I used the recipe for the Red Velvet Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies I made last November, but instead of adding red food coloring to the brownie base I added orange food coloring to the cream cheese part. I think they are super adorable for Halloween and the coloring could be changed up for any Holiday. I also added some black food coloring to the brownie part, but clearly did not add enough as it turned out dark brown. Still works for Halloween either way.

Now for the winner of the fabulous Shabby Apple Dress I posted on my Pumpkin Snickerdoodle post:

Natalie, who said -

"I can't wait to make pumpkin snickerdoodles. Great giveaway. Shabby Apple has a fantastic line."

Halloween Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies

recipe adapted from Sunny Anderson, host "Cooking for Real"

Brownie Layer:1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon warm water
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Cream Cheese Layer:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Orange Food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 8-inch baking pan, and set aside.

Brownie layer: Add melted butter to a large bowl and add the sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, salt, warm water, and vinegar, in that order, mixing between additions. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl and stir it into the cocoa mix. Fold in the flour until lightly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, saving 1/4 cup of the batter for the top.

Cream cheese layer: Blend together the cream cheese, sugar, egg, vanilla, and food coloring in a medium bowl. Gently spread the cream cheese layer on top of the brownie batter in the pan. Dollop the remaining brownie batter over the cream cheese layer. Using a skewer or the tip of a knife, drag the tip through the cream cheese mixture to create a swirl pattern. Bake the brownies for 30 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before cutting.

Orange Cranberry Muffins...and don't forget my Giveaway

2011-10-23T09:30:00.000-04:00

Yum!

For those of you who know me well, you know I love cereal and am a creature of habit. I eat Honey Nut Cheerios mixed with Smart Bran and Cinnamon every single morning for breakfast. I stock up on extra boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios so I never run out. If there is ever a morning when I do happen to run out I am typically not a happy camper...unless there is a tasty replacement around such as these muffins. These are the perfect Fall or Winter muffin. I made these last winter and have been patiently waiting to share them with you. Fresh cranberries are going to start popping up at the grocery stores and I wanted you to be armed with this tasty muffin recipe. Of course frozen cranberries are also an option. These muffins are the perfect balance of sweet and tart. Definitely perfect for the season.

In other news, don't forget to enter my Giveaway and for those of you who are counting this is my 200th post!

Orange Cranberry Muffins
recipe from Baked Perfection

makes 12 muffins

Muffins:

2 eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
zest of two oranges
1/2 cups sour cream
1 1/2 cups cranberries, dusted in flour

Topping:

1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

In a medium bowl mix together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and orange zest. In a large bowl beat together eggs, white sugar, and brown sugar. Mix in oil, vanilla, and sour cream. Mix dry ingredients into wet mixture (be sure not to over-mix, batter will be lumpy). Gently fold in cranberries. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups so they are 2/3 of the way full.

To make the topping: mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Crumble with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles and a Giveaway

2011-10-21T21:25:00.000-04:00

These cookies are getting around lately.

I made these cookies a couple weeks ago and clearly I am not the only blogger to make them this Fall. I was inspired by the post on Sweet Pea's Kitchen who was inspired by Recipe Girl, barley adapted from Cook’s Illustrated, February, 2005. In the past week though I have seen them pop up on at least three sites. There is very good reason for this....these cookies are delicious! If you like pumpkin and you like snickerdoodles then you should seriously go make these cookies right now. You can easily polish off four or five before you know it. I am not saying that happened to me, but it most likely did. These are the perfect Fall cookie and they don't have too strong a pumpkin flavor for those folks who claim to not like pumpkin.

For those of you are here for the give away, skip to the bottom of the post.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
recipe slightly adapted from Sweet Pea's Kitchen who was inspired by Recipe Girl, barley adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

makes approximately 4 dozen

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 3/4 cups sugar, divided
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the egg and beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the pumpkin puree and beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl as needed.

Place the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon for rolling in a shallow bowl. Roll a heaping tablespoon of dough into a 1½-inch ball, roll the ball in the sugar mixture, and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the balls about 2 inches apart

Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are set and just beginning to brown but the centers are still soft and puffy, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets about 5 minutes; using a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Giveaway

In other news, the adorable clothing company Shabby Apple has decided to pair up with Baked Perfection to offer you, my readers a great giveaway and a coupon for 10% off. They have such adorable clothes and want to give one of you this dress (Click on the picture to go to the webpage).

I had quite a bit of fun sorting through their website today picking out things I want. If you want to use the coupon all you have to do is use the offer code: bakedperfection10 at checkout. To enter the give away all you have to do is leave a comment before midnight on Friday, October 28th. I will announce the winner on the 29th. Be sure to leave your email address with the comment so I can contact you to get your dress size. In the meantime, happy shopping!

Apple Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream

2011-10-09T14:56:00.000-04:00

Another seasonal cupcake for you.

If you follow me on facebook then you know I was making cakes for a friend's wedding yesterday. one of the flavors she chose was Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. This is the cupcake I served her when I had her over for a tasting. I love these cupcakes with both the Caramel Buttercream and Cream Cheese Frosting. The Caramel Buttercream is rich and sweet and the Cream Cheese Frosting is smooth and tangy. If those two frostings aren't enough for you, perhaps try Peanut Butter Frosting. I have to admit that I never actually thought to pair this Apple Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting, but it makes perfect sense. I had another set of friends over for a cake tasting and the Apple Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting (which was their idea) ended up being their favorite. Just reminds me sometimes I need to open my eyes a little wider. Either way, this is a delicious cake that should definitely be included in your Fall recipes.

I have included the recipe to the Caramel Buttercream below. Here are links to my Cream Cheese Frosting and Peanut Butter Frosting.

Apple Cupcakes
recipe from Baked Perfection

makes 24 cupcakes

3 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups grated apples**
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease or line a 12 cup muffin pan.

In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs and sugars until creamy. Beat in the the orange juice, vanilla, and vegetable oil. Slowly add the flour mixture, mix until just combined. Stir in the grated apples. Bake 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. Cool completely before frosting.

**Bakers Note - I prefer to use a mix of sweet and sour apples. For my latest batch I used a mix of Granny Smith and Macintosh.

Caramel Buttercream
recipe slightly adapted from Martha Stewart

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
4 large egg whites, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Bring 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar and the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Wash sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming. Cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until caramel is dark amber. Immediately remove from heat, and slowly add cream, salt, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, stirring with a wooden spoon until smooth. Let cool.

Beat butter with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.

Place whites and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a heatproof mixer bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Whisk until sugar dissolves and mixture registers 160 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat, and attach bowl to a mixer. Whisk on medium speed for 5 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high, and whisk until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 6 minutes. Reduce speed to medium, and add beaten butter, cup at a time, whisking well after each addition. Whisk in vanilla. Switch to paddle attachment. With mixer on low speed, add caramel, and beat until smooth, 3 to 5 minutes.

**Bakers Note - When I made the caramel I doubled the recipe and used the leftover to drizzle caramel over the cupcakes. You will still have some leftover which is great on ice cream!

Orance Spice Cupcakes...with and without Raisins

2011-10-06T20:06:00.000-04:00

Cupcakes to welcome my favorite season.

I love Fall. It is far an away my favorite season. I anxiously await every year for the heat of summer to break and the leaves to change. For the record, summer is my least favorite season. It appears Fall has finally arrived in the DC area. The air has a cool crispness and the leaves are starting to get their first hint of orange. I love it. These cupcakes are the perfect addition to welcome in my favorite season. They are not pumpkin, which is very traditional for Fall, but include the warm spices and make your house smell incredible! I promise to post some pumpkin recipes this Fall but in the meantime you should really give these a try. I made half with raisins and half without...as you know if you have been following this blog for a while that I am definitely not a fan of raisins in my food. The raisins add additional sweetness and actually change the flavor profile of the cupcakes. I took a poll and people seemed to love both so it is really personal preference.

Orange Spice Cupcakes
recipe from Baked Perfection

makes approximately 15 cupcakes

2 1/2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
Zest of large orange
1 cup buttermilk
3 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Fill cupcake pan with paper liners and set aside.

In a small sauce pan bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Place raisins in boiling water and reduce to simmer. Simmer for 3 - 5 minutes and drain. Set raisins aside.

In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, and orange zest. In a separate bowl combine the buttermilk, beaten eggs, and vanilla extra. In a large bowl beat together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Slowly add the flour and milk mixtures alternating between the two until just combined. Gently fold in the raisins. Pour batter into prepared cupcake tin. Bake 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
recipe by Baked Perfection

1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Beat butter and cream cheese with until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Add salt, cinnamon, and vanilla; beat until smooth.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate frosting...and a wedding

2011-09-25T16:10:00.000-04:00

It was a beautiful wedding.

Yesterday Zack and I attended the wedding of two friends, Monica and Justin. The wedding was beautiful, fun, and full of joy. Everything a wedding should be. In addition to being guests at the wedding, I was fortunate enough to be chosen by Monica and Justin to make cupcakes and a small cake for their wedding. This was a fun project for me. They ordered 150 cupcakes in four flavors, Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting, Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting (featured here), Lemon Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting, and my Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes with Cookies and Cream Frosting. I also recreated the Lilac Cake that was featured on "i am baker" earlier this summer. I plan to share the rest of the cupcakes and cake with you in due time. I really love the classic combination of chocolate and vanilla in this cupcake. Top it with some rainbow sprinkles and I think it would make a perfect birthday cupcake.

Congratulations Monica and Justin!

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting
recipe from Baked Perfection

For the cupcakes:

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla; mix well. Add the flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream (batter will be thick). Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Recipe makes approximately 30 cupcakes.

For the Frosting:

1 cup butter, softened
6 cups confectioner's sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream (or milk)
generous pinch of salt

Cream the butter on medium speed until it is very light in texture, add salt and vanilla. Slowly add the cocoa powder. Add the confectioner's sugar alternating with the cream until the sugar and butter are blended and you reach the desired consistency. Adjust the amount of cream as needed.

Caramel Brownies

2011-09-18T19:26:00.004-04:00

Gooey and delcious.

These brownies fit right in with the caramel theme that has been featured on Baked Perfection lately. I actually made these a couple weeks ago and am just getting around to posting them now. These brownies are truly over the top. They are really rich and indulgent. You definitely only need to eat one to satisfy your sweet tooth. I found this recipe featured in a Taste of Home Brownies and Bars cookbook. There are so many delicious recipes features in this book that it was hard for me to decide which one to make first. I let Zack decide and he chose these. Believe me, they did not disappoint.

Caramel Brownies
recipe adapted from Taste of Home

2 cups sugar
3/4 cup baking cocoa
1 cup canola oil
4 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 (14 oz) package caramels, unwrapped
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9x13 baking pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the sugar, cocoa, oil, eggs and milk. Combine the flour, salt and baking powder; gradually add to egg mixture until well blended. Fold in chocolate chips. Spoon two-thirds of the batter into greased baking pan. Bake 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat the caramels and condensed milk over low heat until caramels are melted. Pour over baked brownie layer. Drop remaining batter by teaspoonfuls over caramel layer; spread brownie batter with an offset spatula.

Bake 35-40 minutes longer or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs (do not overbake). Cool on a wire rack. Yield: 2 dozen.

Spritz Cookies

2011-09-10T11:01:00.000-04:00

Dainty and Delicious.

I truly love spritz cookies. They are slightly sweet, buttery, dainty, and perfect for any occasion. Earlier this summer one of my friends had a bridal shower. I of course volunteered to help out with the desserts and favors. For the desserts I made three types of cupcakes : Sweet Peach Tea, Lemon, and Mint Julep. All of which will be featured on Baked Perfection in the future. For the favors I made these cute little vanilla spritz cookies. If you have a cookie press, these little cookies are perfect when you need to make large batches of cookies. You can fit about 24 on a cookie sheet and they bake very quickly. My friend's wedding colors are blue and yellow so those were my decorations of choice. I typically make them for Christmas, but for one reason or another did not make them last year. I will definitely be making them again this year after this delicious reminder.

On a random note, did anybody notice the way the bubbles in the tea cup formed a heart shape?

Vanilla Spritz Cookies

adapted from Williams Sonoma Vanilla Spritz Cookies Recipe

2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
assorted decorations

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, Add the egg, vanilla, and salt and beat until well mixed. Slowly beat in the flour until well blended.

Fill the cookie press with dough according to the instructions and fit with the desired shape disk. Press the dough out onto ungreased baking sheets, spacing the cookies 1 inch apart.

Bake until the cookies are lightly golden, about 8 minutes. Transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool. Decorate as desired. Makes 50-60 cookies depending on size.

Double Chocolate Loaf Cake with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Spread

2011-09-03T08:00:00.000-04:00

Now this is breakfast.

If you are one of the many people traveling this weekend or visiting with family, there is a good chance you are with a group of people. I bet those people are hungry...and they like chocolate which means this is the perfect cake for you . This is a super rich and delicious Double Chocolate Loaf Cake, which I personally feel should be served for breakfast. This past Christmas Zack bought be a copy of "Baked Explorations: Classic Desserts Reinvented". What can I say, the man knows how to shop for me. This loaf cake was actually the very first thing I made out of the cookbook. The cookbook is fantastic and I have honestly loved every recipe I have made from it. You may be thinking "Wow, it took you a long time to actually get around to making something from that cookbook!" Well, you are wrong. I made this cake last December when we had friends staying with us for New Years and I honestly forgot to share it with you. For a while I was just waiting for the right occasion, but after a while I simply forgot. Better late than never! Anyway, this cake is really delicious. best served warm with the peanut butter spread and a tall glass of milk.

Double Chocolate Loaf Cake with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Spread
recipe slightly adapted from Baked Explorations: Classic Desserts Reinvented

Ingredients for the Cake:

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
8 ounces good-quality dark chocolate coarsely chopped

Ingredients for the Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Spread:

5 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
⅓ cup powdered sugar

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and position the rack in the center. Grease and flour a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl mix together the brown sugar, cocoa, flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and egg yolk until blended, then add the buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Whisk until combined. Slowly beat the wet ingredient into the dry ones, mixing until just until combined. Stir in the dark chocolate chunks by hand.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the peanut butter spread, beat the cream cheese and peanut butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and beat until incorporated. If you are not using the spread immediately, place it in a small container, tightly cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake

2011-08-28T21:12:00.003-04:00

Have I mentioned how much I love milkshakes?

This milkshake may not look like much, but trust me when I tell you it is heavenly. I love ice cream, always have and I am sure I always will. Growing up I loved making milkshakes with my mom. She had one of those old fashioned mint green milkshake makers from her mom. I am pretty sure the metal cup and old fashioned shake maker made them taste better. I wonder if she still has that thing. I would ask her for it, but Zack already thinks I have too many kitchen gadgets....

Now let's talk about this shake. You know I love S'mores based on all my previous posts, so obviously I am going to love a toasted marshmallow shake. I once attempted to add some chopped milk chocolate this shake to make it more s'mores like and it was a nice addition, but I think I preferred it without. I may try to mic in some graham cracker crumbs next time, but really it is perfect as is and needs nothing.

Toasted Marshmallow Shake

recipe adapted from Spike Mendelshon

makes 2 servings

1/2 of a 1lb bag of jumbo marshmallows

1 cup whole milk

1 cup good vanilla ice cream (I like Breyers)

Homemade whipped cream

Preheat broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Spread the marshmallows on the baking sheet and place in the oven until nice and brown. Let cool.

In a blender, mix the milk, ice cream, and all but two marshmallows. Blend until smooth. Pour into two glasses and top with whipped cream and reserved marshmallows. Serve immediately.

Caramel Crumb Bars

2011-08-21T13:54:00.004-04:00

I am in a caramel phase.

Ever since I found out I could make homemade caramel, I have been craving it and wanting to make it at every occasion. These bars were featured a couple weeks ago on Tracy's Culinary Adventures. I wanted to make them right away, but I managed to hold out a couple weeks. These bars were truly delightful. They are sweet, rich, gooey and surprisingly easy to make.

Caramel Crumb Bars
recipe slightly adapted from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri

2 sticks (1/2 lb) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Caramel Filling
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit with a rack in the bottom third of the oven. Spray a 13x9 pan with cooking spray, then line the pan with aluminum foil or parchment and spray again with cooking spray.

To make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar and salt on medium speed until soft and light, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla.

With the mixer on low, add 2 1/4 cups of the flour, beating just until the dough is smooth and the flour has been absorbed, and stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl and the paddle as necessary.

Transfer 3/4 of the dough into the prepared baking pan. Press the dough evenly into the pan to form the bottom layer. Transfer the pan to the refrigerator while you make the filling and top layer.

Add the remaining 1/4 cup of flour to the remaining dough in the mixer bowl and work it in with your fingertips until 1/8 - 1/4-inch crumbs form. Set aside.

To make the filling: In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, corn syrup, brown sugar, condensed milk, vanilla extract, and salt. Bring to a simmer, whisking occasionally. When the mixture begins to boil, whisk frequently until it begins to thicken and darkens in color slightly, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for about 10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the refrigerator and pour the filling over the bottom crust. Use an offset spatula to spread it evenly then distribute the crumb topping over the filling.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the filling is gently bubbling and a dark caramel color. Cool the bars in the pan on a wire rack until lukewarm, about 15-20 minutes. Use the foil (or parchment) to lift the bars out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Once completely cool, cut into 2-inch squares.

German Chocolate Cupcakes

2011-08-14T21:08:00.003-04:00

Can you say yum?

A couple weeks ago a friend of mine asked me if I could make a German Chocolate cake for her to take into work. I suggested German Chocolate Cupcakes and we planned a day together to bake these. These cupcakes were rich, gooey, and sinfully delicious! We had a ton of fun making them together and managed to take a break at the pool while the Carmel Coconut Pecan topping cooled. These cupcakes are so much easier than the German Chocolate Cake I made last summer and maybe slightly more delicious. To make these I combined elements of several different recipes and they turned out so well. These will definitely impress!

German Chocolate Cupcakes
from Baked Perfection

Makes 24 cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakesrecipe slightly adapted from allrecipes.com

1 package chocolate cake mix
1 package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 tablespoon instant espresso dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mix, sour cream, oil, eggs, vanilla extract, and espresso dissolved in water.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before topping. Once cool, pipe outline of Chocolate Buttercream. Spoon Coconut Pecan Frosting in the center of each cupcake.

Coconut Pecan Frosting
recipe from Martha Stewart

3 large egg yolks
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
1 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and brought to room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 2/3 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 1/2 cups pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

Combine egg yolks, evaporated milk, and brown sugar in a saucepan. Add butter, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick, about 10 -15 minutes. Pour through a fine sieve into a bowl.

Stir in vanilla, salt, coconut, and pecans. Let cool completely. Frosting can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 day; bring to room temperature before using.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
recipe from Baked Perfection

1/2 cup butter, softened
3 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 -6 tablespoons milk

Cream the butter on medium speed until it is very light in texture. Add the confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder, melted chocolate, and vanilla extract and mix on a low speed until the sugar and butter are blended, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Increase the speed to medium, with the mixer running, add the milk one tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

2011-08-02T19:43:00.006-04:00

A delightful summer treat.

I recently became obsessed with the blog "Bakergirl, Confessions of a Budding Baketress". If you don't know who I am talking about you may remember her from the AMAZING S'mores Cracker Candy I posted a couple weeks ago. When I found her blog, I went back and read every single post and then proceeded to mark just above every other recipe as a favorite. I was not planning to make these cookies when I did, but it was one of those nights.

I was planning on making a strawberry pie to take back to WV for the 4th of July. I have never made a Strawberry Pie and thought it would be a nice accompaniment to the blueberry pie I was planning to bring. To make the strawberry pie I was planning I needed to pre-bake the crust. I did and when it came out I was not satisfied with how it looked. I tried a new crimping technique and it was just not quite what I wanted. I had extra dough in the freezer so I let Zack eat the baked crust. Of course I should have just used the first crust and it was silly of me to be so persnickety. I proceeded to roll out the second crust (after it thawed), noting it had an odd smell. I went ahead and put it in the oven only to see the oddest things happen. Half the crust cooked, a third shrunk, and a third stayed completely raw. Not to mention that the odd smell I noticed when I rolled it out had now amplified and stunk up the entire kitchen. Apparently my pie dough recipe does not last in the freezer six months. Note taken!

At that point I knew I needed to make something with my strawberries and in came these cookies. These cookies are quite delicious, but they really MUST be eaten the day they are made. I made too many and ended up tossing most of them because they get soggy on day two. That being said, if you know they will be devoured in one day (and they will because they are delicious) you should definitely make them.

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
recipe very slightly adapted from Bakergirl

makes approximately 3 dozen cookies

12 ounces strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
scrapings of one vanilla bean
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, stir together the strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons of the sugar; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, vanilla bean scrapings, and remaining sugar. Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingertips until moist and fragrant.

Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to the zest/sugar mixture and whisk to combine. Using a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture until you have coarse crumbs. Add the cream to the bowl and stir until the dough starts to come together, then very gently fold in the strawberry mixture.

Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, evenly spaced apart. Sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown. Transfer the pans to wire racks and let the cookies cool. Serve the day they are baked.

Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes with Cookies and Cream Frosting

2011-07-23T17:30:00.003-04:00

Loved by all ages.

These cupcakes are so simple and so delicious. Just about everybody I know loves Oreos which means just about everybody would love these cupcakes. All you have to do is mix in chopped Oreos into your favorite chocolate cake recipe. I like to use one Oreo per cupcake. Most cake recipes make 24 cupcakes, so you just need to roughly chop 24 Oreos and gently stir them into your cake batter. This time around I used my favorite quick Chocolate Cake recipe which uses a mix and they turned out just as delicious as when I make this recipe from scratch. That being said, it is completely up to you which cake recipe to use. I have also made these cupcakes using my Sugar Cookie Cupcake recipe and really loved them, but the chocolate took first place.

Now the frosting is truly delicious. I may have eaten quite a bit straight from the bowl. I want to spread this frosting on everything. Seriously, I am looking for any excuse to make this frosting. I topped each cupcake with half an Oreo which is completely optional.

Quick and Easy Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes
recipe from Baked Perfection

1 package chocolate cake mix
1 package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups chopped Oreo Cookies (approximately 24 cookies)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mix, sour cream, oil, vanilla extract, eggs, and water. Gently stir in the Oreos and divide batter into 24 lined muffin cups.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Cookies and Cream Frosting
recipe from Baked Perfection

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
12 Oreo cookies, finely chopped
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Beat butter and cream cheese with until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly add sugar, 1 cup at a time. Add salt and vanilla; mix until smooth. Place Oreo cookies in a fine strainer to remove any small particles. Gently stir Oreos into the frosting, careful to not over stir. Frost cupcakes as desired. Store any remaining frosting in the fridge.

S'mores Cracker Candy

2011-07-17T18:35:00.002-04:00

You can thank me later.

If you have been following this blog for a while now, you know that I LOVE all things S'mores. I have made S'mores Bars, S'mores Cookies Pops, S'mores Cookies, S'mores Scones, and S'mores Ice Cream and them some. This S'mores Cracker Candy was no exception to the deliciousness. I found them on a webtsite called Bakergirl and I am so glad I found them. These bars are addictive and are so easy to make. I should really stop writing so I can get back in the kitchen to make more.

S'mores Cracker Candy
recipe ever so slightly adapted from Bakergirl

12 sheets of graham crackers
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 cups mini marshmallows
4 Hershey bars, broken into pieces
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan with aluminum foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang over the ends; spray foil with cooking spray. Line graham crackers on the foil, breaking any in half to cover the pan completely

In a medium saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and mixture comes just to a boil (about 4-6 minutes). Remove from heat and pour evenly over crackers. Bake 5 to 6 minutes, or until bubbly.

Remove pan from oven and immediately sprinkle mini marshmallows, chocolate bar pieces, and chocolate chips over the crackers. Return pan to oven for another 2-3 minutes, or until marshmallows begin to soften and puff up.

Cool completely before serving.

p.s. Happy Birthday Zack! I love you!!

Farm Fresh Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins

2011-07-10T21:32:00.002-04:00

I told you some things were worth re-posting.

These muffins are seriously incredible and I posted them so long ago that I thought I should share them again. Don't worry, I will post something new next week. If you have not made these yet, then you should! A good friend of mine has a local farm in Maryland, Farm at Home. We headed out there and ended up picking six pounds of blueberries. That is clearly more than Zack and I could eat before they went bad, so I went to town on the blueberries. We had these muffins, blueberry pie, and blueberry soup. That is of course in addition to the handfuls we were eating throughout the week.

Anyway..back to these muffins. They are my favorite muffins. I personally think they are better than anything you can find at a local bakery.

Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins
recipe from Baked Perfection

makes 12 muffins

Muffins:

2 eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cups sour cream
1 1/2 cups blueberries, dusted in flour

Topping:

1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

In a medium bowl mix together flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. In a large bowl beat together eggs, white sugar, and brown sugar. Mix in oil, vanilla, and sour cream. Mix dry ingredients into wet mixture (be sure not to over-mix, batter will be lumpy). Gently fold in blueberries. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups so they are 2/3 of the way full.

To make the topping: mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Pistachio Macarons with Vanilla Bean White Chocolate Ganache

2011-07-05T20:24:00.004-04:00

These never get old.

I really never get tired of macarons. I want to try every combination possible and the possibilities are endless. The pistachio flavor was very delicate and paired really nicely with the white chocolate...that is if you are a white chocolate fan. I for one don't really enjoy white chocolate, but these were very much enjoyed by my friends.

In other news, not much to report on my front. I just have not felt like baking as much as I normally do. That does not mean I have not been baking. Just in the last week I made these: Blueberry Muffins, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Strawberry Shortcake Cookies, Blueberry Pie, and a Chocolate Raspberry Cake. Expect posts soon!

Pistachio Macarons with Vanilla Bean White Chocolate Ganache
macaron recipe adapted from Tartelette, Ganache recipe from Baked Perfection

makes approximately 20 - 25 macarons

For the shells:

90 grams egg whites (use egg whites that have been left in the fridge 3-5 days)
25 grams granulated sugar
200 grams powdered sugar
55 grams almond meal/flour
55 grams ground unsalted pistachios
green powder food coloring

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, white the egg whites to a foam. Gradually add the granulated sugar and food coloring until you obtain a glossy meringue. Do not over bear your meringue or it will be too dry. Place the powdered sugar, almond meal, and ground pistachios in a food processor and pulse until well mixed. Add them to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that falls back on itself after counting to 10. Give quick strokes at first and then slow down. The batter should fall back on itself and flatten (about 50 strokes). Fill a pastry bag with a plain tip (I used an Ateco #809) with the batter and pipe small rounds (1 in in diameter, as they will spread) onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets. Let the macarons sit out for at least 30 minutes, up to an hour to harden their shells a bit. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit (285 if your oven runs hot like mine) and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool completely before filling.

White Chocolate Ganache
recipe by Baked Perfection

1/2 cup good quality white chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split length way and scraped

Place the white chocolate in a medium bowl. In a medium sauce pan, heat the cream until it begins to simmer. Remove the cream from the heat and pour over the white chocolate. Let stand for 3 minutes. Add the scrapings of the vanilla bean and slowly stir until all chocolate is melted and the consistency is smooth. Let cool completely until mixture is thick enough to pipe. This can be speed up in the fridge. Pipe, or spread, on one half of each macaron.

Cookie Dough Truffles

2011-06-26T19:51:00.002-04:00

Some recipes are worth repeating.

I made these as cookie dough pops a while ago and they are still an all time favorite of my friends. I made these to go along with the adorable sugar cookies I posted a couple weeks ago. They are so delicious that I definitely think they are worth re-posting. If you have not made them yet, you definitely should. Just about everybody loves eating raw cookie dough!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pops
recipe from Baked Perfection

1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
dash of cinnamon
1 stick butter, softened (it is even okay if it is melting a little)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 - 2 tablespoons water

Assorted candy melts

In a medium bowl combine the flour, salt, and dash of cinnamon. In a second larger bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract until creamy. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Add water if mixture is too dry to form into balls. Roll the mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet lined with wax paper (Should make approximately 20). Chill for several hours or freeze for 15-20 minutes until firm.

Melt candy melts in the microwave per directions on package (30 sec intervals, stirring in between). Gently dip the cookie dough ball into the candy coating. Once covered remove and let the excess chocolate fall off. Place back on wax paper to dry.

To decorate with drizzled chocolate, place melted chocolate in a plastic sandwich bag. Using scissors, cut the very tip off the sandwich bag. The smaller your cut, the smaller the drizzle. Use the sandwich bag to pipe the chocolate back and forth over the cookie dough truffle until you reach the desired look.

Cherry Chocolate Scones

2011-06-19T14:03:00.001-04:00

A nice breakfast (or anytime) treat.

If you have been following Baked Perfection for a while, you know that I feature scones recipes from time to time. You probably also noticed they are all a variation from the same recipe shared with me by my mother-in-law. To this day, this recipe is still the only scone recipe I like. They are soft, moist, and oh so delicious. Some people are shocked to find that they don't have any butter in them. I am pretty sure my friend Ellen did not believe me, but she still loved them. I have been wanting to make a cherry chocolate scone for a while, and I finally got around to it and was not disappointed one bit. I used the zest of a clementine (because that was the citrus I had on hand) in the dough and in the glaze and it added a nice brightness to the scones. I will definitely try these again...and you should definitely give them a try.

Chocolate Cherry Scones with Citrus Glaze

recipe from Baked Perfection inspired by Teresa Miller

Scones:

2 cups flour

3 tablespoons sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

zest of one small orange

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup dried cherries

2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, orange zest, salt, dried cherries, and chocolate chips. Pour in heavy cream. Mix or knead by hand, just until combined. Mixture will be sticky. Flour surface. Divide dough into two sections and pat into two rounds, each approximately four inches. Using a pizza cutter, cut each round into 8 pieces and place on a greased large cookie sheet. Bake 9 to 11 minutes. Let cool five minutes, then glaze.

Icing:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon orange juice

2 -3 tablespoons milk

zest of small orange

Mix together until a thin icing consistency; pour over warm scones.

P.S Happy Father's day Dad. I love you! Thanks for reading my blog and bragging about it to everybody you know!

Candy and Cupcake Shaped Sugar Cookies

2011-06-17T10:40:00.006-04:00

Adorably delicious.

I rarely feature sugar cookies on Baked Perfection. There are a few reasons behind that 1) there are many other cookies I would rather eat, and 2) they are extremely time consuming! That being said, I either really have to be in the mood to make them or really like the person I am making them for. This is a case of the latter. One of our close friends' daughter just turned one and of course I volunteered to do all the baking for the birthday party. I truly love these friends and their little girl so of course I was going to go the extra mile and make sugar cookies. I am not going to lie to you, if plan to make they, plan to do it when you have a lot of time. It definitely helps if you bake the cookies a day or two in advance to break up the time. I found the technique for the candies on a wonderful blog, Bake at 350. I am going to reference you to her blog for directions because she is very details and has great step by step photos. Everybody loved the cookies and they were completely worth the time and effort they took to make them. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Classic Sugar Cookies

recipe from Baked Perfection

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 almond extract

2 eggs

Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt, set aside. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until fully absorbed. Separate dough into two disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for a minimum of two hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. On a clean floured surface, roll out one disk of dough at a time to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are barely brown. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks. Decorate as desired. Yield depends on size of cookie cutter.

Sugar Cookie Icing

recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

1 cup confectioners' sugar

2 teaspoons milk

2 teaspoons light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon Vanilla extract

assorted food coloring

In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and vanilla extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick add more milk, if too thin add more sugar.

Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Decorate as desired.

Now that is what I call Pizza!

2011-06-12T21:45:00.002-04:00

We had this pizza on our last day in Venice and it was amazing!

I miss it.

Food for Thought

2011-06-09T19:23:00.004-04:00

You may be wondering why I have not posted in the past couple weeks. It was because we were cruising the Adriatic! The cruise and all the cities we visited were absolutely amazing. You can only imagine the delicious food we tasted. I thought I would share some of our journey with you through pictures of food, since this is a food blog after all. Expect more pics to come over the next few days.

We were lucky enough to stumble through an open-air market in Venice and here are some of my favorite pictures from the market.

In other news, Baked Perfection turned 3 this week!

Orange Macarons with Creamsicle Frosting

2011-05-22T16:51:00.005-04:00

They keep getting better.

When I first made macarons I fell in love with them. Not only are they adorable, they are delicious and the flavor combinations are endless. I am also really proud of myself since they seem to be a more challenging recipe. This time around I chose to make Orange Macarons because I love citrus flavored desserts this time of year. These flavor combination is right up there with the espresso caramel macarons I made with my friend Ellen earlier. I plan to try out many more combination in the future. I am lucky enough to have an AMAZING mother-in-law and she sent me a macaron cookbook for Easter. I can't wait to test out the recipes in there.

Remember, have no fear. These are not as hard as or scary as they look!

Orange Macarons with Creamsicle Frosting

macaron recipe adapted from Tartelette, buttercream recipe from Baked Perfection

makes approximately 20 - 25 macarons

For the shells:

90 grams egg whites (use egg whites that have been left in the fridge 3-5 days)

25 grams granulated sugar

200 grams powdered sugar

110 grams almond meal/flour

orange powder food coloring

zest of one large orange

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, white the egg whites to a foam. Gradually add the granulated sugar and food coloring until you obtain a glossy meringue. Do not over bear your meringue or it will be too dry. Place the powdered sugar, almond meal, and orange zest in a food processor and pulse until well mixed. Add them to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that falls back on itself after counting to 10. Give quick strokes at first and then slow down. The batter should fall back on itself and flatten (about 50 strokes). Fill a pastry bag with a plain tip (I used an Ateco #809) with the batter and pipe small rounds (1 in in diameter, as they will spread) onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets. Sprinkle with lavender petals. Let the macarons sit out for at least 30 minutes, up to an hour to harden their shells a bit. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit (285 if your oven runs hot like mine) and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool completely before filling.

Creamsicle Frosting

recipe from Baked Perfection

1 stick butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
zest of one orange
11/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons orange juice
pinch of salt

Cream, butter, orange zest, vanilla, and salt. Slowly add sugar, one cup at a time. Add 2 tablespoons of orange juice and beat until fluffy, adding more if needed.

Mocha Toffee Baby Cupcakes

2011-05-15T12:04:00.004-04:00

Adorable and Delicious

I am honestly sorry that I did not share this recipe with you earlier because these cupcakes are delicious. I never thought I liked coffee flavored things because I don't like coffee. I learned I was mistaken when I made these Coffee Kisses. I became a little obsessed with my Mocha Frosting after those cookies and knew I had to make cupcakes for the frosting. Zack and I love toffee and thought it would pair perfectly with the mocha and we were right. I have made this recipe as mini cupcakes and full size and they worked great both ways. I really can't express who delicious these cupcakes were and this is coming from a girl who prefers vanilla cake and does not like toffee. Make these for somebody you love.

Mocha Toffee Cupcakes
recipe from Baked Perfection

makes 24 cupcakes

1 package chocolate cake mix
1 package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons instant espresso
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 cups semisweet chocolate chips, dusted in flour
1 1/2 cup frozen toffee bits, dusted in flour(can you chopped heath bar)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Dissolve the instant espresso in the 1/2 cup warm water. In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mix, sour cream, oil, espresso, vanilla, eggs, and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and 1 cup frozen toffee bits and pour batter into 24 lined muffin cups.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting. Frost with Mocha Buttercream and top with reserved toffee bits.

*Note - If doing miniature cupcakes bake approximately 15 minutes.

Mocha Buttercream
recipe from Baked Perfection

2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened

4 rounded teaspoons instant espresso dissolved in 4 teaspoons hot water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup cocoa powder

5 cups powdered sugar
generous pinch of salt

Beat together the butter, espresso mixture, and vanilla extract until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar until completely combined. If the mixture is too thick, add milk to thin.

Savannah Style Pralines

2011-05-11T12:04:00.000-04:00

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

These little treats may not look impressive, but believe me they are absolutely divine. Growing up in Georgia, Pralines are very much part of the culture. It really surprises me how hard they are to find once you leave the South. They are an incredibly sweet candy that taste like brown sugar and pecans and I just adore them. If have ever been to Savannah, you know they are a staple of every candy shop and they make them in large copper kettles. I never made them assuming they were quite complicated. Boy was I wrong! These are super easy and are much less expensive than flying down to Savannah. I made them with my friend Ellen the day we made these caramels and they really took no time and barely any effort. These will definitely be making many more appearances in our house.

Savannah Style Pralines
recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

1 3/4 cups toasted pecans
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3/8 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup milk (we used whole)
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil.

In large saucepan over medium heat, combine pecans, sugar, butter, brown sugar, milk and vanilla. Stirring frequently, heat to between 234 and 240 degrees Fahrenheit, or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from the water and placed on a flat surface. Remove from heat and stir continuously until mixture has thickened slightly and lighted in color.

Drop by spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet. Let cool completely.

Chocoate Rose topped Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

2011-05-05T20:56:00.004-04:00

Perfect for Mother's Day

How many of you buy your mom flowers for Mother's Day? I know in the past I have sent flowers, but you know what is better than flowers...cupcakes with edible roses. What you see pictured here are Vanilla Chocolate Chip and Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cupcakes topped with my favorite Vanilla Frosting and an edible chocolate rose. I actually made these cupcakes for a baby shower, hence the blue roses, but I think they would be adorable in assorted colors for mom. What mom doesn't want a dozen edible roses? To make the chocolate roses I piped melted chocolate (using a plastic baggie with the tip cut off) onto wax paper. I drew a template on a piece of paper and then placed the wax paper over it to pipe the roses. I used a toothpick to pre-poke holes in the top of the cupcake to make sure the stem did not break when I inserted the roses. I think they turned out perfectly.

See the recipe for Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cupcakes here.

Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
recipe inspired by allrecipes.com

1 package yellow or white cake mix
1 package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (dust these in flour to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the cupcake)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mix, sour cream, oil, vanilla extract, eggs, and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into 24 lined muffin cups.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Very Vanilla Frosting Recipe

Chocolate Frosting Recipe

Lemon Curd

2011-05-01T21:12:00.006-04:00

Sweet, Tangy, and Delicious.

I have wanted to make Lemon Curd for a while and am so glad I finally had the chance. It was much easier than I thought, but did take some patience. In other words, I had to stand at the stove for 20 minutes whisking. It was completely worth all the effort. I used some of the curd for on Lemon Macarons (Photo Below), put some on toast, ate some straight from the jar, and gave a jar to my friend Ellen who used it to top a Strawberry Cheesecake.

In other news, my oven died Friday night. I think I was working it too hard. We are debating whether to get it repaired or to get a new one. I don't know how long I will be able to make it without baking.

Lemon Curd
recipe adapted from Alton Brown

5 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
zest of 4 lemons
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 stick unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pats
pinch of salt

Add enough water to a medium saucepan to come about 1-inch up the side. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, combine egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a medium size metal bowl and whisk until smooth, about 1 minute. Add juice and zest to egg mixture and whisk smooth. Once water reaches a simmer, reduce heat to low and place bowl on top of saucepan. Make sure the bowl does not touch the water. Whisk constantly until thickened, approximately 15-20 minutes, or until mixture is light yellow and coats the back of a spoon. Remove promptly from heat and stir in butter a piece at a time, allowing each addition to melt before adding the next. Remove to a clean container and cover by laying a layer of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Key Lime Cupcakes with Blackberry Filling and Blackberry Frosting

2011-04-28T10:41:00.000-04:00

Fruity and delicious.

I made these cupcakes for my friend Ellen's birthday. She loves fruit in her dessert and had recently mentioned to me that she loves blackberries. For a while I have wanted to make something using both blackberries and lime and this was what I came up with. Actually, I tried making mini-cheesecakes first and they did not turn out as well as I planned. These cupcakes were my second idea. I am glad I made them because everybody loved these cupcakes. They are a little different from your everyday cupcake and are a great spring/summer cupcake. Similar to my Strawberry filled cupcakes, I made the blackberry filling ahead of time and we used the leftovers to eat with plain yogurt. I did not use any food coloring in the frosting, the color is 100% from the blackberries. For a delicious fruity cupcake you should definitely give these a try.

Key Lime Cupcakes with Blackberry Frosting
recipe from Baked Perfection

makes 30 cupcakes

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons key lime juice
zest of two limes
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease or paper-line 30 baking cups.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla, key lime juice and lime zest; mix well. Add the flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream (batter will be thick). Fill muffin cups with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely and frost as desired.

Blackberry Filling
recipe from Baked Perfection

1 32oz container frozen blackberries
3 tablespoons sugar
Juice of one lemon
3 tablespoons cornstarch
pinch of salt

Place blackberries in a small bowl and sprinkle with sugar, let thaw. Drain blackberries, reserving liquid. Squish the blackberries and push through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds, set aside. Add enough water to the blackberry liquid to equal 1 cup. In a large saucepan, combine the blackberry liquid, lemon juice, cornstarch, and salt. Heat and stir until the mixture boils and thickens. Cool completely. Stir blackberries into the cooled mixture. Refrigerate until ready to use. (This can be made several days in advance and any leftovers works well on toast, on pancakes, or mixed in plain Greek Yogurt.)

Blackberry Buttercream
recipe from Baked Perfection

2 sticks butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup blackberry filling (seedless blackberry jam or preserves can be substituted)
pinch of salt
6 cups powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk

Beat butter and vanilla until creamy. Mix in blackberry filling and salt. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until combined. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency.

Vanilla Bean Sea Salt Caramels

2011-04-24T15:14:00.000-04:00

Wow!

A couple weeks ago my friend Ellen and I had another one of our get togethers where we make delicious treats. This time we made Sea Salt Caramels and Pralines. I always assumed that candy making was much harder than it actually is. I will post the pralines for a later day and will stick to the caramels for now (did anybody else just see my pun?). These caramels were delicious! I can't say enough about them. They are sweet, salty, chewy, and everything you want a caramel to be. We each made our own pan and it made a ton! We did not count, but each batch made at least 50. The only thing I did not like about these caramels was rolling them individually in parchment. You really can't skip this step because they will stick together, but it is worth it!

Check out Ellen's post where she has more step by step photos here.

Vanilla Bean Sea Salt Caramels

recipe adapted from Ina Garten

Vegetable oil

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1 cup heavy cream

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling

1/2 - 1 vanilla bean (depending on size)

Line an 8-inch-square baking pan with parchment paper, allowing it to drape over 2 sides, then brush the paper lightly with oil.

In a deep saucepan (6 inches wide and 4 1/2 inches deep), combine 1/4 cup water, the sugar and corn syrup and bring them to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil until the mixture is a warm golden brown. Don't stir -- just swirl the pan.

In the meantime, in a small pot, bring the cream, butter and 1 teaspoon of sea salt to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off the heat and set aside. Skim off any excess milk solids and discard.

When the sugar mixture is done, turn off the heat and slowly add the cream mixture to the sugar mixture. Be careful -- it will bubble up violently. Stir in the beans from the vanilla bean with a wooden spoon and cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, until the mixture reaches 248 degrees F (firm ball) on a candy thermometer.

Very carefully pour the caramel into the prepared pan and refrigerate, until firm.

When the caramel is cold, pry the sheet from the pan onto a cutting board. Cut the square in half. Starting with a long side, roll the caramel up tightly into an16-inch-long log. Sprinkle the log with fleur de sel, trim the ends and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. It's easier to cut the caramels if you brush the knife with flavorless oil like corn oil.

Cut glassine or parchment paper into 4-by-5-inch pieces and wrap each caramel individually, twisting the ends.

Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting

2011-04-20T21:00:00.000-04:00

I love coconut.

Zack and I both love coconut. A couple weeks ago we made coconut rice and had left over coconut milk. Of course I knew I was going to make cupcakes with the leftover. First I will tell you a little story about the coconut rice. What a lot of people don't know about me is that I am a pretty good cook. I cook more than I bake and I really enjoy it, just not as much as I enjoy baking. I have contemplated starting another blog about non-dessert items, but am really not ready to commit the time to it. Plus when I cook, I want to eat and don't want to bother taking pictures of our dinner. Anyway, over the years it seems the one thing that gives me trouble when cooking is making rice. I know it should not be that hard but it is one of those things that I just seem to screw up. When we decided to make the Coconut Rice I accidentally added 1/2 cup of water...instead of 1 1/2! The rice had great coconut flavor, but let's just say it was a bit crunchy. Zack is the official rice maker in our house and I should have let him make it.

Anyhow, I came up with these cupcakes to use the rest of the coconut. If you are a coconut lover than you will love these cupcakes. There is coconut milk and shredded coconut in the cake, coconut milk in the frosting, and topped with toasted coconut.

Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting
recipe by Baked Perfection

makes 15 cupcakes

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cups sugar
1 egg
1 egg white
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup coconut milk (full fat)
1 cup shredded coconut

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg and egg white, one at a time. Add the vanilla and almond extract; mix well. Add the flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with coconut milk (batter will be thick). Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Coconut Frosting
recipe from Baked Perfection

1 stick butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups powdered sugar
generous pinch of salt
4 tablespoons coconut milk
pinch of salt

Beat butter, vanilla, and almond extract until creamy. Add salt. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, alternating with coconut milk, beating until combined.

Funfetti Sandwich Cookies

2011-04-17T14:47:00.003-04:00

Who doesn't love Funfetti?

I have had the idea to make these cookies for quite some time. There is just something about Funfetti cake that kids and adults just love. I am sure there are some haters out there, but for the most part I think it is safe to say that Funfetti is a universal crowd pleaser and these cookies were no exception. I used the same basic idea and recipe that I used for my Lemon Sandwich Cookies, Creamsicle Sandwich Cookies, and Eggnog Sandwich cookies. I used leftover vanilla frosting to sandwich the cookies, but I think just about any frosting would go with them. You could even go with a can of Rainbow Chip Frosting to really make these easy. I rolled the edges in sprinkles for a little extra cuteness factor. I honestly have nothing bad to say about these cookies, they are inexpensive to make, easy, and delicious.

Funfetti Sandwich Cookies

recipe from Baked Perfection

makes approximately 24 sandwich cookies

1 (18.25) package Funfetti Cake

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Pour cake mix into a large bowl. Stir in eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla until combined. Drop teaspoons of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 7-9 minutes in the preheated oven. The bottoms will be light brown. Move cookies to a cooling rack, cool completely before assembling.

Frost bottom side of half the cookies. Top with unfrosted cookie. Roll edges in assorted sprinkles.

Very Vanilla Frosting

recipe by Baked Perfection

1 stick of butter, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

pinch of salt

1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons milk

Beat butter and vanilla until creamy. Add salt. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until combined. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

2011-04-09T21:02:00.005-04:00

Pretty and delicious.

I did not get to try one of these cupcakes and I wish I did. I made exactly 12 for a co-workers birthday and then gave half to Zack to take to work. The night I made these cupcakes I also made coconut cupcakes (to be posted soon) and I knew if I took more than a dozen cupcakes in they all would not get eaten. So I took six Carrot Cupcakes and six Coconut Cupcakes to work. The team I work with is not that large and is filled predominately with woman who watch what they eat. Zack works with a much larger team and they apparently will eat anything :) Since I only brought in six of these, they went fast and I did not get to taste one. I hear they were delicious.

I chose not to put raisins in them because I honestly think that is gross. Don't get me wrong, I love raisins on their own or in trail mix, but I personally think they have no place in baked goods. Next time I am going to put golden raisins in half the cupcakes because I know that not everybody is a raisin hater like me. I also chose not to put nuts in the cupcakes because I really don't want them in my cake either. I did roll the edges in chopped toasted pecans which was a nice touch. I will definitely be making these again and I think they would be a great addition to the Easter table. Bunnies love carrots after all.

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
recipe from Baked Perfection

makes 12 Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups grated carrots
3/4 cup golden raisins (optional)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease or line a 12 cup muffin pan.

In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs and sugars until creamy. Beat in the the orange juice, vanilla, and vegetable oil. Slowly add the flour mixture, mix until just combined. Stir in the grated carrots, raisins, and walnuts. Bake 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
recipe by Baked Perfection

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Beat butter and cream cheese with until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly add sugar, 1 cup at a time. Add salt and vanilla; mix until smooth.

Brownies studded with Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-04-06T20:39:00.000-04:00

Two worlds collide.

Don't you just want to dive right into those brownies? I know I do! I made these delicious brownies for a friend's mom (and my friend) who recently had pretty invasive surgery. My friend and her family have had quite a stressful time lately with everybody in the family getting sick (including their 10 month old baby), then her mom's surgery. They are absolutely wonderful friends and I just adore her mom so I knew I wanted to bring something over when her mom was out of the hospital.

I wanted to make these brownies as soon I saw them and was just waiting for an occasion. I got the idea of a brownie studded with chocolate chip cookies from a wonderful blog: Evil Shenanigans. I used a box mix for the brownie part and my own recipe for the chocolate chip cookie. These brownies were delicious and everybody loved them. The best part about these brownies was when my friend's 10 month old daughter grabbed her mom's brownie and then shoved the entire thing to her mouth! She could not get enough! I can tell she has great taste :)

Brownies studded with Chocolate Chip Cookies
recipe inspired by Evil Shenanigans

Brownies:

1 box brownie mix and ingredients needed to prepare as directed on box

Chocolate Chip Cookies:
recipe by Baked Perfection

(You will have extra cookie dough; you can use the dough to bake cookies. Drop rounded tablespoons onto a ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375F for 9-11 minutes. If you want to do mini cookies, bake at 325F for 12-15 minutes.)

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 package vanilla instant Jell-O Pudding (not prepared)
1 dash of cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 350F. Grease an 8×8-inch square baking pan, line the pan with parchment paper, then grease the paper.

Prepare Brownie mix as directed on package. Set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, salt, package of vanilla pudding mix, and dash of cinnamon. In a second larger bowl beat together the butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan, spread evenly. Drop teaspoons of cookie dough evenly over the brownie batter. Pushing the dough down so that it is level with the brownie batter. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes until cookies are golden brown and brownies are set. Cool completely before removing from pan.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

2011-04-03T20:39:00.003-04:00

Oh so delicious!

Considering that chocolate and peanut butter is one of my absolute favorite dessert combinations, I am surprised this is the first time I have made these cupcakes. I am not one bit surprised that these cupcakes were amazing! The chocolate cupcake was the basic jazzed up box variety that has been featured on Baked Perfection multiple times and the frosting...oh the frosting! The peanut butter frosting is just divine. It is perfectly light and creamy and is everything you want peanut butter frosting to be. This is one of those frostings that you can easily eat out of the bowl. If you have a chocolate peanut butter lover in your life you should definitely make them these cupcakes. I topped them with a mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cup disguised as a cupcake because it was very fitting for the cupcake and it is just plane adorable!

Chocolate Cupcakes
recipe from allrecipes.com

1 package chocolate cake mix
1 package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (dust these in flour to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the cupcake)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mix, sour cream, oil, eggs, and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into 24 lined muffin cups.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Creamy Peanut Butter Frosting
recipe from Baked Perfection

1 stick butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
generous pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk
4 cups powdered sugar

Cream the butter, peanut butter, salt, and vanilla. Slowly add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time alternating with the milk until you reach the desired consistency.

Cake Batter Ice Cream

2011-03-26T12:00:00.000-04:00

We all scream for Ice Cream.

I am an ice cream lover and I married an ice cream lover. We rarely have it in the house because we end up eating the entire container much faster than two people should. It is really quite embarrassing. The last time I bought ice cream I had to get one of those single serving Edy's cups so when we ate the entire thing in one night we would not feel sick and guilty. One flavor of Ice Cream that I really love that Zack thinks is just okay is Cake Batter Ice cream. I have seen it on a few blogs and have been waiting for an opportunity to make it. I used the recipe from Annie's Eats (who adapted the recipe from The Kitchy Kitchen) , but based on the comments made a few changes. People commented that her recipe did not taste very much like cake batter, therefore I increased the amount of cake mix in the recipe. I think it could have used even more cake mix, so I have updated the recipe below. This ice cream was super creamy and delicious. I topped mine with rainbow sprinkles, because who doesn't love sprinkles? Next time I am going to mix in chunks of actual cake. How tasty does that sound?
Cake Batter Ice Cream
recipe adapted from Annie's Eats (who adapted the recipe from The Kitchy Kitchen)

2 cups heavy cream, divided
1 cup yellow cake mix
½ cup sugar
Pinch of salt
3 egg yolks
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1½ cups whole milk

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup of the heavy cream with the yellow cake mix, sugar, and salt. Heat over medium heat until warmed through. Meanwhile, place the egg yolks in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Combine the remaining cream, vanilla, and whole milk in a large mixing bowl with a fine mesh sieve set over the top.

When the mixture in the saucepan is warm, slowly pour a small amount into the bowl with the egg yolks to temper them, whisking constantly. Continue pouring the cream mixture in a steady stream, whisking continuously until completely combined. Return the mixture to the saucepan over medium heat. Continue heating, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan, until the mixture thickens slightly and reads 170-175˚F on an instant-read thermometer.

Immediately pour the custard mixture through the mesh sieve into the bowl with the remaining cream and milk and mix to blend. Cover and chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. Once the mixture is chilled through, freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Store in an airtight container in the freezer.

Strawberry filled Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream

2011-03-23T04:16:00.001-04:00

Voted one of Baked Perfection's Best Cupcakes (by my friend Ellen)

If you work with either Zack or me you are likely going to get Baked Perfection cupcakes for your birthday. Of course you are more likely to get some if you work with me, but a several of Zack's co-workers have been lucky enough to get cupcakes too. I made these cupcakes for Zack's friend and co-worker Brian for his birthday. They were a couple weeks late because his birthday fell in the middle of busy season (fellow auditors know what I am talking about). Anyhow, Brian told Zack his favorite flavors which were strawberry, blueberry, and brownies. I wanted to make cupcakes and was not in a chocolate mood, so brownies were out. I decided to go with strawberry because what is more manly than pink cupcakes? Just kidding, I decided to go with strawberry because that is what I was in the mood for. I will be the first to tell you that these cupcakes were delicious. My friend Ellen who has tried a ton of my cupcakes said these were her favorite and her opinion matters.

I made a filling for these cupcakes with frozen strawberries packed in syrup, but have since made a blackberry and raspberry filling using frozen whole berries that I let thaw sprinkled in a couple tablespoons of sugar and used the juice it extracted while thawing. If you don't want to make a filling you can use a high quality strawberry jam and it will be just as good and nobody will need to know it was not homemade. To fill the cupcakes I used the large end up a piping tip to cut out a round section in the cupcake. I then fill the cupcake and put the cut out portion of the cupcake back over the filling. Feel free to use a knife to cut out a section to fill.

Strawberry Filled Vanilla Cupcakes
recipe from Baked Perfection

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sour cream

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda,baking powder and salt. In a separate mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla; mix well. Add the flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream (batter will be thick). Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely and fill with strawberry filling. Top with Strawberry buttercream. Recipe makes approximately 30 cupcakes.

Strawberry Filling
recipe from Baked Perfection

1 32oz container frozen strawberries packed in syrup, thawed
Juice of one lemon
3 tablespoons cornstarch
pinch of salt

Drain strawberries, reserving the liquid. Add enough water to liquid to equal 1 cup. In a large saucepan, combine the strawberry liquid, lemon juice, cornstarch, and salt. Heat and stir until the mixture boils and thickens. Cool completely. Stir strawberries into the cooled mixture. Refrigerate until ready to use. (This can be made several days in advance and any leftovers works well on toast, on pancakes, or mixed in plain Greek Yogurt.)

Strawberry Buttercream
recipe from Baked Perfection

2 sticks butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup strawberry filling (strawberry jam or preserves can be substituted)
pinch of salt
6 cups powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk

Beat butter and vanilla until creamy. Mix in strawberry filling and salt. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until combined. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency.

Lavender Macarons with Orange Honey Buttercream

2011-03-19T19:34:00.004-04:00

These taste like spring!

I really could not post a better recipe to celebrate the first day of spring tomorrow. These macarons honestly taste like springtime. They are light, floral, sweet, and fruity. Since my first venture at making macarons I have fallen in love with making them. I am constantly thinking of possible flavor combinations...I mean constantly. Zack even came up with a flavor idea tonight at diner, but I am going to save it for later when I actually make them. I am not quite sure how I came up with this flavor combination, but the lavender paired with the orange honey buttercream really worked perfectly.

I used the same exact method to make these as I did last time and it worked perfectly. When we made macarons at Ellen's house we put her oven up to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. My oven runs hot so I actually baked these at 285 degrees Fahrenheit. If you have been wanting to make them and haven't because you were afraid they would not turn out you should definitely give them a try.

Lavender Macarons with Orange Honey Buttercream Filling
macaron recipe adapted from Tartelette, buttercream recipe from Baked Perfection

For the shells:

90 grams egg whites (use egg whites that have been left in the fridge 3-5 days)
25 grams granulated sugar
200 grams powdered sugar
110 grams almond meal/flour
purple powder food coloring
dried lavender petals

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, white the egg whites to a foam. Gradually add the granulated sugar and food coloring until you obtain a glossy meringue. Do not over bear your meringue or it will be too dry. Place the powdered sugar, almond meal in a food processor and pulse until well mixed. Add them to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that falls back on itself after counting to 10. Give quick strokes at first and then slow down. The batter should fall back on itself and flatten (about 50 strokes). Fill a pastry bag with a plain tip (I used an Ateco #809) with the batter and pipe small rounds (1 in in diameter, as they will spread) onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets. Sprinkle with lavender petals. Let the macarons sit out for at least 30 minutes, up to an hour to harden their shells a bit. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit (285 if your oven runs hot like mine) and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool completely before filling.

Orange Honey Buttercream

1/2 stick butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons good quality honey
zest of one orange
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 - 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
orange food coloring if desired

Cream the butter, honey, orange zest, and salt. Slowly add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time alternating with the orange juice until you reach desired consistency. (Feel free to add orange food coloring like I did)

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

2011-03-06T16:45:00.004-05:00

Kiss me, I made Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes.

I made these cupcakes for NYE with my friend Ellen, and I have been saving them until now. Clearly they are the perfect cupcake for St. Patrick's day. This cupcake is an Irish Car Bomb in cupcake form. A Guinness chocolate cake, filled with a Jameson Chocolate Ganache and then topped with a Bailey's Irish Cream Buttercream. I'm not sure it gets much better than that. I have seen these cupcakes on many websites, but I used the recipe found on Smitten Kitchen. She really is amazing and you can trust anything you make on her website will be delicious. I really love turning alcoholic beverages into cupcake. I made White Russian Cupcakes for NYE as well and am already plotting which drinks I am going to make next. I have been waiting for an occasion to make Champagne Cupcakes. This summer I definitely plan to make some Pina Coloda, Margarita, and Fuzzy Navel Cupcakes. Anyway, back to these cupcakes. You should make them for St. Patricks Day and if not St. Patricks Day how about a random Saturday..or they would be really nice after a long Monday at work.

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

recipe slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes 20 to 24 cupcakes

For the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

1 cup stout (such as Guinness)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

2/3 cup sour cream

Ganache Filling

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate

2/3 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

2 tablespoons Irish whiskey

Baileys Frosting

4 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperatue

4 - 6 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream

pinch of salt

Make the cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs, sugar, and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.

Make the filling:

Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined. Cool until thickened, but soft enough to pipe.

Fill the cupcakes:

Using your 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. You want to go most of the way down the cupcake but not cut through the bottom — aim for 2/3 of the way. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.

Make the frosting:

Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. Add salt. Slowly add the powdered sugar beating until combined. Slowly add the Bailey's until you reach your desired consistency.

Decorate as desired.

Deep Fried Oreos

2011-02-27T20:50:00.000-05:00

You have no idea how good these are.

Just remember moderation is key. Now don't make these when you are alone because you will easily want to eat every last bite. Last month one of our friends, JM, who also has a food blog Plated Perfection, co-hosted a Deep Frying Party with her boyfriend. If you have never heard of a Deep Frying Party, it is a party where the guests bring food and then the host fries it. Zack and I decided to bring/make fried pickles, fried mac and cheese and fried Oreos. Some other items people bought/made were doughnuts, fried mozzarella, chips, chicken tenders, and calamari. I may be forgetting a couple things, but I think you get the point. The fried Oreos ended up being much more delicious than anybody expected they were tied with the pickles as my and Zack's favorite. They could not be more simple. You just make a batter with pancake mix and then fry it. When you make these, you should really serve them warm. The Oreo becomes the same soft texture as the rest of the cake. They really just melt in your mouth! I suggest dusting them in powdered sugar and going to town.

Deep Fried Oreos
recipe adapted from AllRecipes.com

2 quarts vegetable oil for frying
1 large egg
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 cup pancake mix
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 (18 ounce) package Oreos
Powdered Sugar for dusting

Heat oil in deep-fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Whisk together the egg, milk, and 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil, and vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth. Stir in the pancake mix and salt until no dry lumps remain. Dip the cookies into the batter one at a time, and carefully place into the hot frying oil. Fry only 4 or 5 at a time to avoid overcrowding the deep fryer. Cook until the cookies are golden-brown, about 2 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate before serving. Dust with powdered sugar.

German Chocolate Cake

2011-02-24T08:10:00.000-05:00

Cake for friends

First I have to tell you I made this a while ago. A long while ago. In fact I made it before Thanksgiving. I really did not mean to hold out on you, I have just baked so much lately that I have a lot I need to share with you.

You know I love my friends because I made one of them this incredibly indulgent German Chocolate Cake. This was my first time making a German Chocolate Cake and will most likely be my last. It is not that the cake was too hard to make, but there were sooooo many steps. First I had to toast my coconut and my pecans (separately of course). Then I had to make the cake batter which involved separately whipping egg whites. While they were baking I had to make the filling. Then I made the chocolate ganache frosting, and lastly had to assemble it. Oh, I almost forgot that I also made a simple syrup to brush over the cake. It seriously took half the day to make this cake. Of course my friends are worth it, but next time I will likely try to talk them into an easier cake or a cupcake version. They all told me it was delicious. Zack and I delivered the cake on Tuesday before Thanksgiving and then left town so we did not get to taste it. It smelled and looked delicious.

I used a David Lebovitz recipe for the cake. Because the recipe is so long, I am not going to post it here; you can find it on David Lebovitz's blog here: German Chocolate Cake. Pretty much anything he makes is amazing so you can trust this cake is.

Luscious Lemon Cupcakes

2011-02-20T16:17:00.006-05:00

Adorable and perfect for a baby shower.

I really love lemon cupcakes. I am not sure if I always have, but lately they have been closing in on my sugar cookie cupcakes as one of my favorites. The recipes are very similar so it makes sense that I love them both. The frosting is so tasty, perfectly balanced between sweet and sour. I added yellow coloring to the frosting to play up the lemon flavor. These particular cupcakes were for a baby shower where they did not know the sex of the baby. You can see some green frosted cupcakes in the picture which are actually my sugar cookie cupcakes topped with green tinted vanilla frosting. I was not at this baby shower, as it was an order for a friend, but I was told by my friend who purchased the cupcakes that the future father thought they were better than Georgetown Cupcake. They are pretty big here in DC (and featured on TLC) so I take that as a pretty big compliment.

I hope you are not cupcaked out, because I have many more to show you!

Luscious Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

recipe from Baked Perfection

makes 24-30 cupcakes

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
4 teaspoons grated lemon zest
4 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sour cream

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla; mix well. Add the flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream (batter will be thick). Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 3/4 full with batter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely.

Lemon Buttercream

recipe from Baked Perfection

2 cups butter, softened

zest of 1 lemon

juice from 1 lemon (2 if it is not a juicy lemon)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

generous pinch of salt

6 cups powdered sugar

Cream the butter, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time alternating with the lemon juice. (Feel free to add yellow food coloring like I did)

Super Tasty Maple Glazed Cinnamon Rolls

2011-02-16T07:01:00.000-05:00

These are worth every bit of the effort and then some.

I have to thank the Pioneer Woman for sharing her incredible recipe for these cinnamon buns. I took the photos of these after they sat out all night so you can't tell how much glaze is on them as they soaked up all the tasty maple coffee glaze. Really, I don't know why I am talking because you should stop reading and go make these, or find somebody to make them for you.

Of course Ellen made them with me. Well to tell you the truth she mostly made them. She made the dough before coming over and I just helped to roll it out and cover it in butter, cinnamon, sugar, and tasty glaze. We split the dough in half to make these and added raisins and pecans to half. We also sprinkled some cinnamon on the counter a long with flour when we rolled out the dough to give them some extra cinnamon. I preferred the hald without the raisins and pecans, but Ellen preferred the half with them. We made 7, yes 7 pans of cinnamon buns so unless you have room in your freezer or are feeding an army, you may want to reduce the recipe. Now get in the kitchen and make these ASAP!

Go to Ree's site for detailed step by step images throughout the process: The Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls

Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls

recipe from the Pioneer Woman

1 quart Whole MIlk

1 cup Vegetable Oil

1 cup Sugar

2 packages Active Dry Yeast

8 cups(Plus 1 extra cup, separated) All-purpose flour

1 heaping teaspoon Baking Powder

1 scant teaspoon Baking Soda

1 heaping Tablespoon Salt

Plenty of Melted Butter

2 cups Sugar

Generous Sprinkling of Cinnamon

Maple Frosting

1 bag of powdered sugar (not the bag that comes in a box)

2 teaspoons maple flavoring

1/2 cups milk

1/4 cups brewed coffee

1/4 cup melted butter

1/8 teaspoon salt

Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. Scald the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point). Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour. When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in both packages of Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour.

After rising for at least an hour, add 1 more cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it – overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down).

When ready to prepare rolls: Sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour and add a little cinnamon. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle 1/2 to 1 cup melted butter over the dough. Now sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.

Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it.

Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter in a seven inch round foil cake or pie pan. Then begin cutting the rolls approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans.

Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 400 degrees until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.

For the frosting, mix together all ingredients listed and stir well until smooth. It should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls. Go crazy and don’t skimp on the frosting.

You can see the raisins and pecans peeking out of these:

Valentine's Day Baby Cakes

2011-02-13T15:47:00.004-05:00

Great project for kids.

My friend Ellen came over last weekend and as usual, we baked too much. She just started her own food blog Orange and Cardamom which you should definitely check out. She and I made several things including some bundt cakes which I will save for a later day. We had some extra batter and I thought of this great idea to make miniature colored cakes for Valentine's Day.

Like I said, this is really more of an idea than a recipe, but definitely worth sharing. I think we can all agree that anything mini is cute after all. For a while I have wanted to make mini-cakes as opposed to cupcakes. I happen to have a molten chocolate cake plan that we used to make these mini-cakes, but any small sized pan would work including individual ramekins. Ellen and I decorated all of these, but I think this would be a really fun project to share with kids. Just give each one a baby cake and let them go wild.

All you have to do is:

Make your favorite vanilla/yellow/white cake recipe (or use a boxed mix)
Divide the batter into separate bowls, a bowl for each color you want on your cake and mix with food coloring. We selected to leave part of the batter un-colored, part pink, and part red.
Your favorite frosting and sprinkles.
Layer the different colors of your cake batter into greased and floured pans and bake according to your recipe (you may have to reduce the time depending on what you bake these in so keep an eye on them)
Decorate as desired.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day Candy Cane Blossoms

2011-02-09T07:21:00.000-05:00

Same recipe different holiday.

I went to Target after Christmas (I go after every holiday) and looked at holiday sale items. You can usually find a great deal on candy and other assorted goodies after any holiday. Lucky me, I found these Candy Cane Kisses 75% off and new it was meant to be. If you remember, I made these for Christmas and not only were they adorable, they were also delicious. Of course I was going to make them again. This time I used red sugar on half the cookies and pink on half. Zack thought the red looked too much like Christmas, but I thought they worked for V-Day. Now, don't worry if you don't have these kisses. I think they may be even better with traditional Hershey's kisses. I suggest you make your own colored sugar which I mentioned in the original post. Happy Baking!

Valentine's Day Candy Cane Blossoms

recipe from Hershey's

1 bag Hershey;s Kisses brand Candy Cane Kisses

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 egg

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons milk

Red and Pink colored sugar

Preheat over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove wrappers from candies (approx. 35)

Beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and egg in large bowl until well blended. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add alternatively with milk to butter mixture, beating until well blended.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in red and/or pink colored sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream

2011-02-05T15:18:00.004-05:00

Another tasty cupcake.

I have been baking...a lot. I just can't seem to stop. Both my and Zack's co-workers get to reap the benefits. In fact, after baking 4 types of cupcakes and two types of macarons last weekend I told myself I was not going to bake this weekend. Oops, I just made some cookies that I plan to post later this week and my friend Ellen is coming over tomorrow to bake some more. I suppose there are worse hobbies :)

Anyway, I made these cupcakes quite some time ago for a co-worker's birthday and they were delicious! I am not a huge raspberry fan (due to a weird allergy to artificial raspberry flavoring), but I decided I would give these cupcakes a taste. I ended up loving them. The frosting was definitely my favorite part. The chocolate and raspberry paired so well together. In addition to birthday's I think these would be perfect for Valentine's day. It is the holiday devoted to chocolate and pink after all. They are super easy to make and your sweetie will definitely be grateful.

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

makes approximately 30 cupcakes

1 package chocolate cake mix

1 package instant chocolate pudding mix

1 cup sour cream

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1/2 cup warm water

1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips (dust these in flour to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the cupcake)

1 cup fresh raspberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs, and water. Gently stir in the chocolate chips and raspberries and pour batter into lined muffin cups.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Raspberry Buttercream

recipe from Baked Perfection

2 sticks butter, softened

6 cups powder sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 cup good quality raspberry jam or preserves

1 teaspsoon vanilla extract

1-3 tablespoons milk

Beat the butter and vanilla until creamy. Add the salt and jam. Slowly add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until combined. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency.

Coffee Kisses

2011-01-30T20:38:00.003-05:00

A different kind of kiss.

Have you decided what you are going to do for your sweetheart on Valentine's Day? Zack and I actually don't do much fro Valentine's Day. For the past four years we have been celebrating by cooking a nice dinner at home, exchanging sappy cards, and eating a tasty dessert. Often there is also a large Reese's Peanut Butter Heart involved.

You see, Zack does not have to do anything special for me for Valentines Day because he does sweet things for me all the time. For instance, a couple months ago Zack went to Europe. For quite some time I have been trying to get my hands on a cookbook: Full on Irish: Creative Contemporary Cooking. I am a HUGE fan of Kevin Dundon's food. I found the cookbook on Amazon, but it was ridiculously expensive. I had this great idea that it would be cheaper in Europe. I had no idea that I was sending Zack on a wild goose chase. The sweet husband of mine looked in every bookstore he could find to no avail. Being the great guy that he is, he brought be back a different cookbook: The Great British Book of Baking. Of course, he did not realize that every recipe in the book required the use of a kitchen scale (something I did not own), but that was beside the point. Everything in the cookbook looked fantastic so I bought and kitchen scale and the first thing I made was these Coffee Kisses. I modified the recipe from the original and used my Mocha Buttercream recipe for the filling. Let me tell you, these cookie...oh I mean biscuits....are FANTASTIC!

Coffee Kisses

cookie recipe adapted from The Great British Book of Baking, Buttercream recipe by Baked Perfection

For the cookie:

350g (approx. 2 3/4 cups) all purpose flour
150g (approx. 3/4 cup) sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

200g (1 stick and 6 tablunsalted butter, chilled and diced

4 teaspoons instant espresso

2 egg

For the filling:

1 stick of unsalted butter, softened

2 rounded teaspoons instant espresso dissolved in 2 teaspoons hot water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a food processor, put the flour, baking soda, and sugar into the bowl and pulse a couple of time to just combine. Add the butter and process until the mixture looks like fine crumbs. Dissolve the coffee in 2 teaspoons hot water. Beat the eggs until frothy and mix into the coffee. Pour into the processor and run the machine until the dough comes just together.

Roll the dough into 1 teaspoon sized balls and arrange on a baking sheet leaving 1.5-2 inches between each cookie. Baked in the pre-heated oven 12-15 minutes, until light golden and firm to touch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. While cooling, prepare the buttercream.

Beat together the butter, espresso mixture, and vanilla extract until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar until completely combined. If the mixture is too thick, add milk to thin.

Sandwich the cookies with the mocha buttercream.

White Russian Cupcakes

2011-01-23T15:14:00.003-05:00

The Dude would like these.

I have wanted to make these cupcakes since last May and have been waiting on an occasion. Boy am I glad that I finally had a chance to make them. The cupcake is made with both vodka and Kahlua and is then topped with a Kahlua buttercream. I served them on NYE and they were a huge hit. I am going to be honest with you, you could have put the buttercream on a shoe and I would have told you it was delicious. The cupcake was tasty on its own, but it was the buttercream that put it over the top. Now before you decide that you don't want to make this buttercream because it has alcohol in it and none of it will be baked off, I want to point out something. Kahlua is 20% alcohol by volume, vanilla extract is 35% alcohol by volume. Just wanted to point that out. I really do hope you try this recipe because it is amazing!

White Russian Cupcakes

cupcake recipe adapted from How to Eat a Cupcake, Buttercream recipe from Baked Perfection

makes 12 cupcakes

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

6 tablespoons butter, softened

1 large egg and 1 egg white

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk

1/8 cup Vodka

1/4 cup Kahlua, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a seperate bowl or in a stand mixer, beat together the sugar and butter until combined. Add egg and egg white, one at a time. Then add the vanilla, Vodka, and 1/8 cup of Kahlua. Gradually add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions, ending with the flour mixture.

Bake 17 -20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcakes comes out clean. While the cupcakes are still warm, brush the tops with the remaining 1/8 cup Kahlua. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Kahlua Buttercream

recipe from Baked Perfection

1 stick of butter, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

pinch of salt

3 - 4 tablespoons Kahlua

Beat butter until creamy. Add salt. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until combined. Add Kahlua 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency.

French Macarons

2011-01-16T11:43:00.006-05:00

Perhaps it was beginners luck.

Above: Vanilla Bean Macarons with Raspberry Mascarpone filling

Above: Chocolate Espresso Macarons with Caramel Buttercream Filling

I finally attempted to make Macarons and I would not have been successful or even willing to try without my friend Ellen. I met Ellen through Zack and boy am I glad that I did. She loves baking and cooking just as much as I do and she is great at it! First she and I made cinnamon buns right after Christmas (don't worry I will post those soon enough), then weI made Irish Car Bomb Cupcake and White Russian Cupcakes for NYE (those will also be shared with you). We were so successful with both those items that we decided to attempt Macarons together.

I have put off making Macarons for this long because all I have heard is that they are really difficult to make. Ellen inspires me to bake new things and with her no fear attitude we set a date. Both Ellen and I read quite a bit on how to be successful making Macarons and it paid off. They turned out perfectly! We made two types: Vanilla Bean Macarons with a Raspberry Mascarpone filling and Chocolate Espresso Macarons with a Caramel Buttercream filling. I have never had Macarons in Paris, but Ellen has had many there and thought ours were just as good if not better. She actually said in regards to the Chocolate Espresso Macarons "This may be the best dessert I have ever had." Coming from Ellen that means a lot! The Macarons were really not as scary or difficult as I thought they would be. Below are a few tips that I think will help you. For more detailed information on perfection Macarons visit Tartlette's website.

Tips:

1) You need a kitchen scale, food processor, parchment paper, a large piping tip, and preferably a stand mixer.

2) Separate your egg whites 3 days in advance and leave them in a container in the fridge.

3) Measure all your ingredients and prepare your baking sheets in advance.

4) Don't be afraid to fail.

Vanilla Bean Macarons with Raspberry Mascarpone Filling

recipe adapted from Tartelette

For the shells:

90 grams egg whites (use egg whites that have been left in the fridge 3-5 days)

25 grams granulated sugar

200 grams powdered sugar

110 grams almond meal/flour

1/2 a vanilla bean

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, white the egg whites to a foam. Gradually add the granulated sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue. Do not over bear your meringue or it will be too dry. Place the powdered sugar, almond meal, and beans of the vanilla bean in a food processor and pulse until well mixed. Add them to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that falls back on itself after counting to 10. Give quick strokes at first and then slow down. The batter should fall back on itself and flatten. Fill a pastry bag with a plain tip (I used an Ateco #809) with the batter and pipe small rounds (1 in in diameter, as they will spread) onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets. let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool completely before filling.

For the filling:

4 oz. mascarpone, room temperature

2-3 tablespoons good quality raspberry preserves

In a small bowl, whisk together the mascarpone and preserves together until well incorporated. Fill a small piping bag with the filling and pipe it in the center of each shell. Store macarons in the fridge.

Above: Vanilla Bean Macarons with Raspberry Mascarpone filling

Chocolate Espresso Macarons with Caramel Buttercream Filling

Macaron recipe adapted from Tartlette, Buttercream recipe from Tish Boyle

For the shells:

90 grams egg whites (use egg whites that have been left in the fridge 3-5 days)

25 grams granulated sugar

200 grams powdered sugar

110 grams almond meal/flour

1 teaspoon espresso powder

1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, white the egg whites to a foam. Gradually add the granulated sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue. Do not over bear your meringue or it will be too dry. Place the powdered sugar, almond meal, the espresso powder and cocoa powder in a food processor and pulse until well mixed. Add them to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that falls back on itself after counting to 10. Give quick strokes at first and then slow down. The batter should fall back on itself and flatten. Fill a pastry bag with a plain tip (I used an Ateco #809) with the batter and pipe small rounds (1 in in diameter, as they will spread) onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets. let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool completely before filling.

For the Caramel Buttercream recipe you can find it here: Tish Boyle Sweet Dreams. It is possibly the best buttercream I have had in my life. We followed the recipe with the exception of using light brown sugar because that is what we had on hand and making our own corn syrup substitute because we did not have any corn syrup. The recipe for corn syrup substitute is really easy and worked perfectly. Here is the recipe in case you are interested: Corn Syrup Substitute

Above: Chocolate Espresso Macarons with Caramel Buttercream Filling

Sugar Cookie Cupcakes with Very Vanilla Frosting and a Cupcake Cupcake Topper

2011-01-09T08:52:00.001-05:00

This was my birthday cupcake.

For those of you that know me, you know my birthday was back in November. These adorable little cupcakes were in fact the cupcakes I made for my birthday. You see, I made a lot of cupcakes in 2010 which have now turned in a backlog of recipes and pictures that I need to share with you. In total I have seven cupcake recipes that I want to share with you. I thought about doing a month of cupcakes, but I don't want you to get bored so I am going to spread them out. It works out well because this is my busiest time of year at work and I may not be baking every week.

Anyway, back to these cupcakes. Vanilla has to be one of my favorite flavors, if not my favorite. Since I love vanilla so much I decided that was exactly what I wanted for my birthday. The last several years Zack baked my birthday treat, but unfortunately he was out of town for work on my birthday this past year. Several people offered to make me something, but I really wanted to make these cupcakes and that is exactly what I did. They were so delicious! The cupcake was wonderful and the frosting is my absolute favorite frosting. I have to chew gum while making it and decorating or else I eat it straight out of the bowl. I got the idea for the adorable little cupcake toppers (which are frosted mini Reese's cups) from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen. She has a ton of great stuff on her blog, so if you have not checked it out, you definitely should.

Sugar Cookie Cupcakes
recipe by Baked Perfection

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sour cream

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla; mix well. Add the flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream (batter will be thick). Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Recipe makes approximately 30 cupcakes.

Very Vanilla Frosting

recipe by Baked Perfection

2 sticks of butter, softened

6 cups powdered sugar

pinch of salt

3 tablespoons vanilla extract

2 -4 tablespoons milk

Beat butter and vanilla until creamy. Add salt. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until combined. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency.

Best of 2010

2011-01-04T18:10:00.015-05:00

I wasn't going to post a best of Baked Perfection list...but I changed my mind. You can click on any of the images below and it will take you to the page.

The most visited pages on Baked Perfection in 2010 were:

Number 10: Cookie Dough Pops

Number 9: Cake Balls

Number 8: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Number 7: Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

Number 6: Halloween Brownie Pops

Number 5: White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Number 4: S'mores Cookie Bars

Number 3: Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins

Number 2: Butterscotch Pecan Sandies

Number 1: S'mores Cookies

If you are wondering what my favorite thing was that I made during 2010, it is a tie between my Pecan Pie and my S'mores Ice Cream. I would eat either one everyday if I could...and my pants would still fit.

S'mores Ice Cream

Pecan Pie

Cherry Almond Coffee Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze

2011-01-02T14:23:00.006-05:00

You better eat this quick!

From time to time the nice people over at Lucky Leaf as me if I am interested in some samples of their products and some recipes. Of course I say yes. The only problem is, with my long lists of things I want to make some times it take me a while to actually getting around to using those items. This past month i finally got the chance to make a recipe using Cherry Pie Filling sent from Lucky Leaf. I did not want to make a pie to I searched their website for other recipes. I finally decided on a Cherry Coffee Cake and it was delicious! There was one little issue with this recipe though. I made it on a Tuesday evening hoping Zack could take it to work the next day to share with his co-workers. The cake was great out of the oven when Zack and I had a little taste, but my the next morning it was really soggy from all the moisture in the pie filling. So the take away here, still make this because it is delicious and easy, just plan on eating it fresh and not waiting until the next day.

I also wanted to let you guys know that the Lucky Leaf Made with Love Recipe Contest is underway. The grand prize of the contest wins $4,000. More information on the contest, as well as rules and regulations, can be found here:http://www.luckyleaf.com/Promotions/MadeWithLove/.

Cherry Almond Coffee Cake

recipe adapted from Lucky Leaf

1 (18 oz.) package yellow cake mix, divided

2/3 cup milk

2 large eggs

1 (21 oz.) can Lucky Leaf Cherry Pie Filling

1/3 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Stir together 1 1/2 cups cake mix, 2/3 cup milk, eggs, vanilla and almond extracts. Pour into a greased 13x9 baking pan. Top with pie filling. Cut butter into remaining cake mix. Mix until crumbly. Sprinkle over pie filling. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack. Drizzle glaze over cake when it is mostly cooled.

Cream Cheese Glaze

recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

3 oz. cream cheese, softened

3 tablespoons powdered sugar, plus extra if needed

2 tablespoons milk, plus extra if needed

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Beat cream cheese with powdered sugar until smooth and light. Add milk, vanilla, and almond extract. You want the mixture to me the consistency of corn syrup, pourable, but not too thick. Add milk/sugar until you reach desired consistency.

White Chocolate Covered Peppermint Oreos

2010-12-25T08:51:00.002-05:00

Easy and adorable.

Merry Christmas!

If you are looking for an easy last minute Christmas treat, here it is. I used the Holiday Peppermint Oreos, but you could use regular Oreos. All I did was melt down some white candy melts with some shortening until it was smooth. Then I dipped each Oreo one by one and topped them with some Holiday sprinkles. Just put them in a cellophane bag tied with a ribbon and you have a last minute personalized gift. Hope this helps!

~Risa

Pie Dough Cookies

2010-12-24T07:55:00.000-05:00

Did you make my Pecan Pie yet?

Do you ever wonder what to do with the scraps of pie dough that are left over after you make your pie? When I made my Pecan Pie this week I wondered the exact same thing. I thought I would try turning them into little cookies and it worked out perfectly. All I did was roll out the scraps and used a small cookie cutter to cut out shapes. I then brushed them with some egg whites and sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 - 10 minutes. I liked them by themselves, but I think they would be delightful with a cup of tea or some coffee.

Pecan Pie

2010-12-23T07:40:00.000-05:00

It is about time.

It is about time I posted this pie. You see, I have made this pie several times since I have been blogging. In fact I have made several times in the past couple months. The problem is, the pie is usually eaten before I get pictures! My thanks go out to my dear friend Sarah for introducing me to this amazing pecan pie. She made it once when she and her husband had Zack and I over for dinner. I had never been a huge pecan pie person. I had this idea in my head that I did not like nuts. I know insane! Well, Sarah converted me and made me realize I love pecans! I eat them all the time, but this is by far my favorite way to eat them. I am not sure where she got the recipe and I have made a few changes, but either way it is incredible! When you make this I suggest you make two because people will want seconds...and thirds...and fourths!

Instead of posting the crust recipe again, I linked back to a previous post.

Pecan Pie
recipe from my friend Sarah, adapted by Baked Perfection

9 inch pie crust
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/3 cup melted butter
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups pecans (1 cup chopped and 1 cup whole)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix corn syrup through vanilla in large bowl until blended. Stir in pecans. Pour into prepared crust. Tent crust with aluminum foil. Bake pie for 50 minutes, remove foil and bake an additional 10-15 minutes. The pie is done when you tap the center of the pie lightly, it springs back.

Candy Cane Blossoms

2010-12-22T16:27:00.003-05:00

Too darn cute.

I am the first to admit that I am a sucker for cute packaging and anything "Holiday themed" as evidenced in earlier posts. I saw these candy can kisses hit my local CVS right after Halloween. Normally I would have made some gripe about it being too early to put out Christmas Candy, but since they were so cute, I bought a bag and put it in my pantry to be saved until today. How cute are these cookies? Could they be more festive? I just love them. They are really easy to make and would be perfect to leave out for Santa with a glass of milk. I followed the recipe exactly and it said it should make 48. I got 28. I could have made them a little smaller, but I really don't see how you could get 48 cookies from the dough. Otherwise no complaints.

I made my own colored sugar which is much more affordable than buying it. All you have to do is put white sugar in a sandwich bag with some food coloring. Then shake it around until it is blended. Add more color to reach your desired shade. If you do decide to make your own sugar, I suggest you make it the night before you make these cookies (so go make it tonight), because the sugar will need time to dry. To speed up the drying I spread the sugar on a plate and then stir it every so often (when I am in the kitchen).

UPDATE: I posted this recipe again with a few additional tips and sprinkle ideas. Click here: Candy Cane Blossoms II

Candy Cane Blossoms

recipe from Hershey's

1 bag Hershey;s Kisses brand Candy Cane Kisses

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 egg

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons milk

Red and Green colored sugar

Preheat over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove wrappers from candies (approx. 35)

Beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and egg in large bowl until well blended. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add alternatively with milk to butter mixture, beating until well blended.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in red and/or green colored sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Christmas Caramel Popcorn

2010-12-21T13:42:00.004-05:00

This is still my favorite treats.

If you remember, this past October I made caramel popcorn and I told you that is was my favorite treat. I am pretty sure it still is because I have yet to come across something more deliciously addictive. This holiday season I wanted to give it as gifts because it is that good. I was curious to see if I could use food coloring to dye some of the caramel sauce red and green and you know what...it worked! Now this popcorn is delicious and super festive.

When you make this, make as large a batch as possible because everybody will want some. If all you have is a 9x13 pan, it will fit one bag of popcorn easily, two if you are super careful when you stir. To make the colored popcorn I did three bags of popcorn and divided them into three 9x13 pans. The original recipe is written for 4 bags, so I have adjusted below in case you want to color the popcorn.

Caramel Popcorn

recipe adapted from Sue Harmon

3 bags butters and salted popcorn, popped (remove any kernels) unpopped

3/4 cup butter

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1/4 + 1/8 cup light corn syrup

1/4 + 1/8 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

red and green food coloring

Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a medium saucepan, melt together the butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil, sitting frequently. Boil over low heat for five minutes. Remove from heat and add the baking soda and vanilla

Place each bag of popcorn in a 9x13 pan coated with cooking spray. Pour approximately 1/3 the caramel over one pan of popcorn. Toss to coat.

Place half of remaining carmel in medium bowl and add red food coloring until you reach the desired shade of red. Immediately pour over second pan of popcorn. Toss to coat.

Add green food coloring to the remaining caramel until you reach desired shade of green. Immediately pour over third pan of popcorn. Toss to coat.

Bake for 45 minutes, rotating pans and stirring each pan with a spatula coated with cooking spray every 15 minutes. Cool completely before serving.