cinnamon-chocolate scones

For all you dessert foodies out there - do you remember the show on Food TV called Sweet Dreams with Gale Gand? I loved that show because of her easygoing, calm personality and her perfect culinary creations.
She was beyond talented when it came to making perfect desserts, pastries, etc... A true master in creating creative sweet treats; nothing was the norm with this chef, she was so very inventive when it came to desserts as well as making them look absolutely perfect.
Talk about kicking it up a notch, oh yes she did that and then some! Even the tinest of candies or pastries she made them perfectly and with such ease. I made a point of trying my best to copy down her recipes after each episode, since her cookbooks are fairly expensive. Is Santa reading this? If so, Gale Gand cookbooks are at the top of my list as well as a new Simmons Beautyrest Black Edition mattress.

I've adapted this recipe a bit.  If you are a scone lover as I am then you simply must try this.

cinnamon-chocolate scones
adapted from Butter Sugar Flour Eggs by Gale Gand
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3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
3 ts baking powder
1/4 ts salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 stick of unsalted butter, cold
1 ¼ cups of milk (whole is best)1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chunks
Heavy cream for brushing (optional)
Coarse sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), mix the dry ingredients.
Cut the stick of butter into pieces, and with the mixer running, and add the butter and mix until coarse and sandy. You should still be able to see small lumps of butter. Mix in the milk until almost combined.
Next, add the chocolate chunks and mix just to distribute them evenly through the dough. Do not over mix; there may still be some flour not mixed in.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough 10 times to bring it together and smooth it out.
Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the dough 1-inch thick.
Using a biscuit cutter, cut out circles.
Using a spatula, transfer to an ungreased sheet pan.
Knead the scraps together just until combined, then roll out again and continue cutting out circles until all the dough is used.
I brushed the tops of the scones with some heavy cream and a few extra sprinkles of raw/course sugar
Bake until light golden brown, about 15 minutes +/- depending on your oven.

Cook notes: I cut my scones into rectangles and made them thicker by forming them to be thicker before baking; I like thick scones, so do what you want.
I also brushed the tops with heavy cream before baking and sprinkled them with coarse sugar before baking as well.
I drizzled melted caramel on the scones once they were cooled. You could try doing this with melted chocolate too.

baked cheesy corn dogs

Nothing fancy this time around, but definitely something very tasty and SUPER easy!
I saw this recipe at the Big Red Kitchen and instantly had to try it. Ohhh was it good.
The batter is so welcoming to a whole host of add in's: heat, veggies, spices, cheese, etc..
I even made a another batch of corn dogs using veggie hot dogs--so good!
I mean corn dogs with their own rolls baked on--who doesn't love that?
Takes 5-7 minutes to whip up?
Have to love instant comfort food assembly.



baked cheesy corn dogs
adapted from big red kitchen
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3 cups yellow self-rising corn meal mix
3 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup of shredded colby jack (or any kind of cheddar)
A couple pinches of cayenne pepper (add as much or as little or none)
7 hot dogs

Preheat oven to 425°.
In a stand mixer, mix all of the ingredients minus the hot dogs together.
No need to overmix the batter, lumps are good!
Once the mix is smooth, pour into a well-greased 9x13 inch baking dish.
Place the hot dogs in the batter so that the dogs are placed 3 inches apart.
I did 5 vertically/close to the bottom, then 2 horizontally across the top. (see picture).
Bake for 22-25 minutes or until corn bread is cooked through.
Let cool slightly, then with a sharp knife cut around each hot dog insuring each dog is surrounded by corn bread.
Serve with favorite condiments.

cook notes: The original recipe called for using 10 hot dogs, I don’t know how they got them in there, but you can experiment. Be really careful how you place the hot dogs in the batter as you want a 2-inch border around each dog.
I added the heat  cheese to this and it was awesome.
Next time I make these I’m adding some chopped jalapenos to it.
And if you want to make mini appetizers try using those little smokies for this. I’m sure it would be awesome.
Since some of you asked: my baked beans are nothing more than a large can of Bush's Baked Beans (boston or molasses flavor) with 1/2 cup of brown sugar, couple dashes of heat, 1 tb of molasses, 1 tb of ketchup, salt & pepper, and 1/2 cup of thick cut cooked bacon, chopped into big chunks. Mix all together in a casserole dish, reheat in oven at 400 degrees until bubbly.

apple-cheddar muffins w/ apple cider glaze

Sweet Charlotte these were so moist, so delicate and so darn tasty.
A little bit of apple, a little bit of buttermilk and some sharp cheddar all make for a truly tasty muffin.

These apple muffins came about from a recent trip to a local farmers market where I got my first (of the season) homemade batch of apple cider.
I'm a huge apple cider lover. I love that cold, crisp taste of it. This batch was organic too. There are some things that do taste better organic and some other things I can't even tell the difference. But I did notice a more "apple-ly" flavor in the organic cider.
So many things you can bake with fresh apple cider.
Apple & cheddar scones, cookies, pies, endless....
Apple muffins with a hint of cheese inside a nice warm muffin...this sounds good.
I hope there are a few of you die hard New Englanders out there that love homemade apple pies with some sharp cheddar? I know the Canadians love this too as I have a lot of relatives in Canada who wouldn't have it any other way.
Adding the cheese to the muffins gave it a bit of flavor, it was worth it. The pecans, well, you all know I can never get enough pecans; you could also use walnuts in here. But the real winner, the real deal closer for these apple muffins was the apple cider glaze frosting. Really good. The apple cider glaze came from that organic apple cider I purchased mixed with some cream cheese and confectioners sugar. The cream cheese and the apple cider mesh so perfectly together; reminds me of a good pairing of wine & cheese. It has a tart bite to it with a creamy cheese undertone all wrapped up in sugar.
In my opinion, use McCoun apples if you can, they are the best for baking.




apple-cheddar muffins w/ apple cider glaze
from vanillasugarblog.com
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3/4 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ts baking soda
1 ts baking powder
1/2 ts nutmeg
½ ts allspice
½ ts cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
4 TB buttermilk
½ cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 medium McCoun apples: peeled, cored and cut into 3/4 -inch chunks

Preheat the oven to 325°. Butter 12 regular-size muffin cups. Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and toast for about 8 minutes, or until fragrant. Transfer to a plate and let cool.
In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon and salt.
In another bowl, beat the butter and sugar until creamy and fluffy. Beat in the egg and buttermilk. Stir in the dry ingredients until fully incorporated. Recipe by dawn finicane of vanillakitchen.blogspot.com Fold in the apples, pecans, and cheddar cheese.
Spoon the batter into the muffin cups and bake for about 30 - 40 minutes (depending on oven temp and muffin pans) or until the apples are tender and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. (while these are baking I like to get my cider glaze done and into the fridge to chill for a while).
Let muffins cool before glazing.

apple cider glaze

1/2 package cream cheese (4 ounces), softened
1 package of confectioners' sugar
½ ts cinnamon
3 TB apple cider (not apple juice)

I melted the cider and cream cheese over very low heat, very slowly while constantly stirring. There will be lumps. When it was cooled a bit I added in the cinnamon. In a separate bowl put the confectioner’s sugar in there and slowly add the melted cider mix to the confectioners sugar. Don’t add all the liquid in, only add in a bit at a time until you reach the glaze thickness you desire. (I only used about ¾ of the liquid mixture, use less for a frosting). Keep mixing till fully incorporated and there are no lumps.
Make sure to chill this in the fridge for a while before using.

Cook Notes: I only like to use McCoun apples for baking. I know they are in season for a couple months (oct & nov). I have no idea what else to use instead of these. Whatever apple is sweet, juicy, crispy with a little bit of tart to it would be good. I do not recommend Granny Smith apples for this recipe.
If you want to use muffin liners you can. These are very moist muffins, almost delicate.

pecan pie cupcakes w/ cinnamon mascarpone frosting

For those on a diet, pass this post on by.....


This cupcake is pure fattening decadence. It has a ton of fat, sugar, calories, butter, etc..., but you know what? It's so totally worth it.

I love pecan pie, but I'm sorry I'm already bored with how boring it is. I mean the crust is good, but I want to kick that up a notch by adding something to it, be it heat, cheese or something. And then I saw these little pecan cupcakes over at Bake or Break.


I thought how perfect a little flavor combination in a cupcake? But I was dying to add a frosting to it--a cheese frosting on there, but didn't want cream cheese because it's way too heavy for this type of cupcake, so I settled on something lighter like mascarpone cheese. And it worked, perfectly. You seriously must try these. They are easy as pecan pie to make. And try this frosting on some of your other creations: be it breads, carrot cakes, pancakes, pound cakes, cake cookies, etc... It really is that good. The only down side is mascarpone cheese is expensive.

pecan pie cupcakes with cinnamon mascarpone frosting
recipe adapted from Bake or Break
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1 ½ cups toasted & chopped pecans
1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 ¾ cup packed brown sugar
2 sticks salted butter, melted
1 ts salt
1 ½ ts of good quality vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all ingredients and mix well. (I added all ingredients, mixed then added the butter in, mixed, then added in the eggs and mixed again)
Spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.
Fill each 3/4 full. (I filled them to the top)
Bake in preheated oven for approx. 30 – 40 minutes
(start to watch them after 30 minutes as this cooks all depending on your oven and type of cupcake pans).
You can tell they are done when a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean, just like a cake does. Cool before frosting.
To make the frosting see below.

cinnamon mascarpone frosting

8 ounces mascarpone cheese
1 - 2 TB of confectioner’s sugar
1 TB ground cinnamon

Mix the mascarpone with the icing sugar and cinnamon to taste.
Frost cupcakes have they cooled completely.
Makes 12 regular size cupcakes

Cook Notes:
I added in way more pecans, about 2 cups. I did not chop the pecans too small, but rather big chunks. The original recipe was half of what I have up there; I assume it was for mini cupcakes. I made regular sized cupcakes, but you can try the mini’s and tell me how they were. These cupcakes do not rise, so how I went ahead and filled them to the top. The batter will be liquidly, that’s ok. The original recipe did not add in vanilla; I simply had too.
The frosting should not be too sweet as the cupcake already is. So adjust the amount of sugar you put in there. I didn’t want it too sweet, but more of a mild taste with some cinnamon so I used about 1 ½ TB of confectioners sugar. I’ve also seen these cupcakes with no frosting and a good drizzle of melted milk chocolate over the tops.

Notes: Keep in mind this frosting does not have the same type of consistency as regular frosting this is thinner, and will not poof up high. So it's best to chill this first before spreading. If you put the frosting on a warm cupcake it will dribble down the sides in no time. The next time I make these I will only fill the muffin tins up halfway so the muffins aren't as thick. And I will only add in 1 cup of flour instead of 1 1/4 cup as I want more of a pie like batter.

mint glazed brownies

I am always in the mood for a brownie. And I love a good mint brownie too. I love mint anything, but what's really wierd is I do not like the herb mint at all. I do not like cooking with it, because it tastes very strange to me. I guess I only like the fabricated mint taste. ha ha. So nothing fancy on this post, just some classic brownies but I wanted to use up a bag of Andes Thin Mint baking chips up, so I decided to make a glaze/ganache/frosting with them to put on top of the brownies. I guess you could put them inside the brownie, but for whatever reason I wanted to see the green color of the Andes mints on top. You can use whatever brownie recipe you like, I thought I'd share what one I love most (plus I love Ina's brownie recipe too).

What I did differently: I did not use any nuts in the brownie mix since mint and nuts really don't go together. I did not make the frosting , but made the glaze and then on top of the glaze I sprinkled it with the baking Andes Mints.

mint glazed brownies
brownie base from cook’s illustrated

Classic Brownies
1 cup pecans or walnuts (4 ounces), chopped medium (optional)
1 ¼ cups plain cake flour (5 ounces)
½ teaspoon table salt
¾ teaspoon baking powder
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), cut into six 1-inch pieces
2 ¼ cups sugar (15 ¾ ounces)
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon peppermint extract (I added this)

Mint Frosting
1 stick unsalted butter (8 tablespoons), softened
2 cups confectioners’ sugar (8 ounces)
1-2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon mint-flavored extract

Chocolate Glaze
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped, or 4 ounces chopped semisweet chocolate
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 325 degrees. Cut 18-inch length foil and fold lengthwise to 8-inch width. Fit foil into length of 13- by 9-inch baking dish, pushing it into corners and up sides of pan; allow excess to overhang pan edges. Cut 14-inch length foil and, if using extra-wide foil, fold lengthwise to 12-inch width; fit into width of baking pan in same manner, perpendicular to first sheet. Spray foil-lined pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Spread nuts (if using) evenly on rimmed baking sheet and toast in oven until fragrant, 5 to 8 minutes. Set aside to cool. Whisk to combine flour, salt, and baking powder in medium bowl; set aside.

Melt chocolate and butter in large heatproof bowl set over saucepan of almost–simmering water, stirring occasionally, until smooth. (Alternatively, in microwave, heat butter and chocolate in large microwave-safe bowl on high for 45 seconds, then stir and heat for 30 seconds more. Stir again, and, if necessary, repeat in 15-second increments; do not let chocolate burn.) When chocolate mixture is completely smooth, remove bowl from saucepan and gradually whisk in sugar. Add eggs one at time, whisking after each addition until thoroughly combined. Whisk in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three additions, folding with rubber spatula until batter is completely smooth and homogeneous.

Transfer batter to prepared pan; using spatula, spread batter into corners of pan and smooth surface. Sprinkle toasted nuts (if using) evenly over batter and bake until toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into center of brownies comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours. When the brownies are cool, leave them in the pan.

FOR MINT FROSTING: In the bowl of a standing mixer or with a handheld mixer, beat butter and confectioners’ sugar at low speed until just incorporated, then increase the speed to medium and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon milk and mint extract and continue to beat until combined, about 30 seconds, adding up to 1 additional tablespoon milk if necessary to achieve a soft spreadable consistency. Using an offset spatula, spread the mint frosting evenly onto the cooled brownies, cover with foil, and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour

FOR CHOCOLATE GLAZE: Melt chocolate and butter in a medium heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally, until smooth; set aside to cool slightly, about 10 minutes.

Pour the chocolate glaze on the frosted brownies; using an offset spatula, spread the glaze into an even layer. Cover with foil and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Remove the brownies from the pan by lifting the foil overhang, cut into 2-inch squares, and serve. (Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.)