Orange-Hoisin Scallops

Living on cape cod has many benefits: seafood.
We get access at times to lobster, scallops and cod.
I'm always more than happy to take whatever I can.
Sometimes you can tire of the same old baked stuffed or broiled scallops, so why not put a little twist
on it and add an asian flare.  Hoisin sauce pairs really nicely with scallops.

It's super easy and has the best flavor-combo one can use for seafood; any seafood too. Works great on shrimp, salmon, scallops and even lobster. Very versatile sauce, and one that will be your go to sauce. Living on cape cod one becomes used to eating a lot of scallops. This dish sounds like it's hard to prepare but its not--I just made the photo all kinds of fancy for you.
All you have to do to make this fancy is place rice in a ramekin, pack it in, then turn upside down
on the plate, cover with scallops.  Easy fancy pants post.



scallops with hoisin-orange sauce
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sauce
1 8.5-ounce jar hoisin sauce (I used little more than half of this when cooking for 2)
1/3 cup orange juice
1 1/2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger

vegetables
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons oriental sesame oil
1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce (nam pla)
1 bunch watercress, trimmed (sometimes I skip this)
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, cut into matchstick-size strips
1 medium carrot, peeled, cut into matchstick-size strips
3/4 cup cilantro leaves (from large bunch)
1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced

scallops
1 1/2 teaspoons whole coriander seeds (I used 1 ts of dried instead)
1 tablespoon oriental sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
12 large sea scallops
Vegetable oil

For sauce:
Mix all ingredients in bowl. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to room temperature before using.) ß I did not do this but cooked the sauce (see below).
For vegetables:
Mix first 4 ingredients in large bowl. Add watercress, cucumber, carrot, cilantro, and onion and toss to blend. Season with salt and pepper. Let stand 30 minutes or chill up to 1 hour, tossing occasionally.
For scallops:
Stir coriander seeds in small skillet over medium heat until fragrant and slightly darker, about 2 minutes. Transfer seeds to plastic bag. Using mallet or hammer, coarsely crack seeds. Combine sesame oil and ginger in medium bowl; mix in coriander seeds, then scallops. Let stand at least 30 minutes or chill up to 1 hour.
Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Thread 3 scallops onto each of 4 skewers. Brush barbecue rack with oil to prevent sticking. Grill scallops until just opaque in center, about 3 minutes per side. Divide vegetables among 4 plates. Top each with scallops and serve, passing hoisin-orange sauce separately.

Serves 2 in my house (might serve 4)

cook notes: It’s too cold to grill outside, so what I did was cook scallops in pan in a little oil or non-stick pan, set aside, then cooked the veggies, then combined the two together. And then in a separate pan I cooked/warmed up/reduced the sauce with about 1 TB of cornstarch. I used cornstarch to make a thicker sauce. Keep in mind the sauce is really strong and I don’t advise pouring it all over the scallops, just a few dabbles on each plate should be good. Serve with Jasmine or sticky rice. (to make the rice uniform like I did, just stuff a good amount of rice into a ramekin, flip upside-down on plate, let sit for a while or until ready to plate and you should have a nice uniform pile of rice).

double chocolate muffins

Not much cooking lately--It's cocoon season for me.
That means I'd rather be warming my cold body in a down filled cocoon on my bed sleeping winter away only to be awoken when spring shines her brilliant sun. That or I'd like to be sitting in a hot jacuzzi tub warming my cold bones up. I only have the first option, wishing I had the second as a hot bath does wonders for me on frigidly cold days. I don't know if it's me getting old or what, but I can't take the cold as I used to. And the dry cold air at night is a pain in the butt for skin care and breathing. I need to look into buying a really good warm-air humidifier.
Can anyone recommend a good one?
I think I might go to the local YMCA to use their hot therapeutic pool--that sounds so good right now. I feel so old in the winter, anyone else get like this?


These double chocolate muffins are seriously strong in chocolate.
I can always depend on Dorie Greenspan for a trustworthy, stellar recipe.
If you can, use the higher cacao chocolate in these muffins for best taste and best way to quell that chocolate craving.


A little frosting never hurt.

double chocolate muffins
adapted from dorie greenspan
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1 stick butter
4 ounces bitter sweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
½ cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup of good quality milk chocolate chunks or chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or butter, then flour a regular size muffin tray.
Melt butter and bittersweet chocolate in a pan over medium heat, do not boil! Let cool for about 15-20 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla. Pour buttermilk mixture over dry ingredients and then add the melted butter & chocolate mixture. Mix all together until just combined. Do not overmix.
Stir in milk chocolate chips or chunks.
Divide batter evenly among muffin tins. Bake for about 20 – 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool for 5 minutes and remove onto wire racks.
Makes 12 muffins

My Chicken Noodle "Stoup"

No typo in the title. I call my version of chicken soup "stoup". It's half soup half stew. See we like our chicken soup very thick around here. Full of veggies, chicken, and lots of noodles. Yes ma'am! I mean if you're going to have some soup then have some soup people! I'm sorry I don't really care for chicken soups that are all broth. What's the point there? Unless you had mouth surgery and can't chew then ok, but if you're going to have a bowl of soup then make it count, right? Hello?

It's 31 degrees outside right now. I could feel this colder weather coming on last night (no, I didn't watch the weather channel!), I could sense the colder weather coming and knew as I was falling asleep that I had to make my chicken noodle soup to warm my body and frozen fingers. You know how you can smell the rain coming or can smell the colder, drier air coming? Yeah, that's what I felt. Can I just say I hate winter? I used to love it, but now I hate it. Weren't we just in summer? What happened, where did it go? See us Cali girls do not like cold weather, we like warm, endless sun-filled days where the sky is always blue and brillant. :::sigh:::

This is another one of my recipes that is super easy to make, really fast homemade goodness. I had to sit down, think about what I put in this "stoup"and write it all out. Another one of those recipes that I make on the fly. So, I hope I got all the ingredients and instructions down for you, correctly.

Lots of fresh chopped veggies!

Dawn’s Chicken Noodle Soup

About 6 cups Organic Chicken Broth (2 boxes)
3 – 4 chicken breasts
1 ½ cups chopped carrots (thickly chopped, ½ inch)
1 ½ cups chopped celery (thickly chopped, ½ inch)
2 yellow or white onions, quartered
2 - 3 cups egg noodles, cooked, al dente
salt & pepper to taste
1 veggie or chicken organic boullion cube, chopped/crumbled
2 tb olive oil, plus more for rubbing chicken
a few pinches of fresh dill (add as much or as little as you like)

Take the chicken breasts, rinse under cool water place on paper towels to dry. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken breast on cooking sheet. Rub chicken breasts with olive oil, salt & pepper the breasts. Take quartered onions and place on cooking sheet as well. Cook in oven about 30 minutes +/- depending on oven. Chicken should be cooked through.

Meanwhile, take 2 tb of olive oil and heat in large stock pot oven medium heat. Place carrots and celery in heated stockpot and sauté a bit, add in chopped up bouillon cube and a few pinches of dried dill or fresh dill, mix well; sauté for about 10 minutes
Add in chicken stock. Bring all to a gentle simmer for about 15 minutes.

When chicken is done cooking remove from oven and let cool a bit. Once cooled chop into cubes and add to chicken broth. Add in the chunks of onions as well; you can leave as is or you can chop the onion into small pieces.

Let all gently simmer another 5 – 10 minutes. You might want to taste the soup and see if it needs anymore salt or pepper. Once done, add in as much or as little egg noodles as desired.
Serve with warm crusty rolls.

Should serve about 4 -5, I think.

First we add a lot of noodles to the bowl.

Next add a lot of the chicken & veggies.

I like to just insert my roll right into the soup. No one's watching, go ahead.

buttermilk-pumpkin pancakes

Oh. my. goodness. These were so good. Can I just let the photos do the talking? I mean these were some of the best pancakes I've made in years. Adding that pumpkin puree to them made alllllllll the difference. And using buttermilk helped a lot too. And you know what? I used a pancake mix to help me out so it was super easy to make (I was strapped for time and hadn't been to the grocery store, but had a box of this in the cupboard). I used the Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake Mix.

So basically I kind of followed the directions on the box, but instead of using water or milk I used buttermilk and added in some pumpkin puree, along with a couple dashes of salt, a couple dashes of pumpkin pie seasonings. Mixed, not overmixed till I got a nice thick, not watery batter. I got my batter to be very thick, thicker than cake batter, by not adding in the full amount as suggested of liquids. For me, in the past, the thicker the pancake batter they fluffier the batter, but then again we love our pancakes thick and hearty, not light and fluffy. And I fried these bad boys in butter, not oil, not PAM. That's it. Served with warmed maple syrup.

Have any of you tried this pancake mix? I was so surpised at how good it tasted. Normally I make my pancakes from scratch, but I'm rethinking it with this brand. And the best part is experimenting what to add in for the next batch; caramelized apples, sweet potato puree, spicy pecans, blueberries, ricotta, the list could be endless. Who would have thought a pancake like this would come out of a box? Weird I say, weird.

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
print recipe

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.)

spicy chocolate fudge w/ pecans

Something about chocolate and a bit of heat that when combined together just right sounds so good. There is a homemade candy shop in Chatham, MA that I went to a couple summers back that had spicy milk chocolate bark with pecans in it and some peanut butter. Good Charlotte it was so good! It wasn't that spicy, just enough heat & salt to really meld perfectly with the deep milk chocolate taste. Ever since that last bite of the spicy bark I've wanted to re-create it at home. As of lately I've been wanting to try my hand at fudge, and I am NOT a huge fudge eater. So why not add some heat to a good nutty batch of fudge? Seriously there are some really bad fudges out there that taste like a sugar block, ick. I'll definitely eat fudge if it has a nice butter to cream to salt to chocolate ratio, you know like a really good danish that has the perfect balance/ratio of cheese to fruit to crust. Another important point is a good fudge should have nuts in it, without a doubt. I mean what's the point of eating fudge without nuts in it to balance off the milk chocolate flavor? And I do like a good peanut butter fudge, but I have to really taste the peanut butter through the thick dense fudge in order to love it. My latest creation is nothing more than a kicked up creamy version of fudge; a smoother more creamier version of chocolate fudge with some added spicy pecans. Remember a few posts ago I told you of my love for those Sweet & Spicy Pecans from Trader Joe's and how I vowed to make something really cool with them? I did, I put them in the fudge, along with a pinch extra of heat.

This my friends, was so friggin good. I gave most of it away as I didn't want it sitting at home in my fridge staring at me to nibble on. You know how that goes. It all starts out with you going to the fridge, see the candy, the cake, the moist brownies or the buttery cookies sitting in their little tupperware container; you take a small piece out, walk away, eat it. Then you realize it tastes so good that you're just going to have one more piece: a small piece, and that's it. You take the piece back over to your desk or upstairs to your room, or back to whatever it was you were doing and eat it, realizing 'hey this is good'. And now, of course, you're craving more, and tell yourself 'one more piece and I won't have dessert tonight'. This seems rational to you at the time, so you go get another piece from the fridge, making sure to close the tupperware top all the way around as if this is going to help stop you from coming back again because the top is on tighter now. You walk back to whatever it was your were doing and by this time you've devoured the piece of goodness already. You instantly walk over to the fridge because you've already told yourself that you're not eating dessert so it's ok to go for one more little piece. you get to the fridge and take a bigger piece than last time and realize you shouldn't do it, put it back in the container and then it hits you 'I just won't have that much dinner and I will walk more tomorrow at the gym'. You go back to the fridge and get an even bigger piece....

Sound familiar? Yeah, that's why I send a lot of the goodies I make off to hubbys' work in Boston; they go on a field trip without me. (they had a blast on their field trip though!!)


spicy chocolate fudge w/ pecans

1 c. salted butter (2 sticks)
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
2 lbs. of confectioners sugar
¾ cup good quality unsweetened cocoa powder
3 ts good quality vanilla extract
A pinch or two of cayenne pepper (add as much or as little as you like)
A good sized pinch of sea salt
1 ½ cup of sweet & spicy pecans* (I used 2 cups, I love a lot of nuts. Make sure to leave them whole, not chopped up)

In a separate bowl sift together powdered sugar and cocoa; set aside. Butter a 9 x 12 non-stick pan. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and cream cheese, stirring often. Do not boil! Remove from heat add in the pinch of salt, vanilla extract and pepper, mix again. Add the sifted sugar & cocoa to the cheese mixture, mixing well.
Stir in the nuts. Pour into buttered 9"x12" pan. Chill at least 3 hours or until really firm.
My fudge came out easily from the pan. Recipe by Dawn Finicane of vanillakitchen.blogspot.com If you don’t have a non-stick pan use parchment paper. Don’t spray it with Pam….that will taste horrible.
Makes 3 pounds.

*the sweet & spicy pecans can be found at Trader Joe’s. If you can’t find them try your local grocery store or nut shop. If you're going to add in your own nuts, make sure to toast them first. You want that crispy, flavorful nut in this fudge, and toasting helps bring out the flavor of all nuts.

vanilla poundcake w/ creamsicle frosting

Creamsicle.
Remember that flavor as a kid? I can't tell you how many creamsicles I ate as a kid. That creamy flavor combo of orange and milk. I remember biting into the first creamsicle of the summer season with the hard orange crust that would break with just enough force to open up the creamy middle milky center.
Lately I've been craving a creamsicle type frosting. Since I could just make the frosting and eat it on it's own...but no, I'll make a cake to go with.
I realize poundcake doesn't always come to mind when you think of frosting something new, but I have wanted to dress up a poundcake, so here is the perfect opportunity.

 I started my search for frostings or glazes of the creamsicle variety, but most of them were just butter, milk and some orange zest. Not very creamsicle-like. So, I set out to try and find my own recipe that would hit the creamsicle flavor mark right on the head. After a few experiments I finally found one I liked and it closely resembled that of a creamsicle. I would also love to try this frosting on a carrot cake; for some reason I just think it would be awesome melding all those flavors together.
Of course you don't have to put this frosting on poundcake, any vanilla cake or cupcake will do.




vanilla pound cake w/ creamsicle frosting
pound cake recipe from America's Test Kitchen
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pound cake:
16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), cold, plus extra for greasing pan
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract + some vanilla beans about 1 ts (optional)
1¾ cups cake flour (7 ounces), plus extra for dusting pan
½ teaspoon table salt
1¼ cups sugar (8 3/4 ounces)

Cut butter into 1-tablespoon pieces and place in bowl of standing mixer; let stand at room temperature 20 to 30 minutes to soften slightly (butter should reach no more than 60 degrees). Using dinner fork, beat eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla in liquid measuring cup until combined. Let egg mixture stand at room temperature until ready to use.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Generously butter 9 by 5-inch loaf pan; dust pan liberally with flour and knock out excess.
In standing mixer fitted with flat beater, beat butter and salt at medium-high speed until shiny, smooth, and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping bottom and sides of bowl once with rubber spatula.
Reduce speed to medium; with mixer running, gradually pour in sugar (this should take about 60 seconds). Once all sugar is added, increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture is fluffy and almost white in color, 5 to 8 minutes, scraping bottom and sides of bowl once.
With mixer running at medium speed, gradually add egg mixture in slow, steady stream; this should take 60 to 90 seconds. Scrape bottom and sides of bowl; beat mixture at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes (mixture may look slightly broken). Remove bowl from mixer; scrape bottom and sides.
In 3 additions, sift flour over butter/egg mixture; after each addition, fold gently with rubber spatula until combined. Scrape along bottom of bowl to ensure that batter is consistent.
Transfer batter to prepared loaf pan and smooth surface with rubber spatula. Bake until golden brown and wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 70 to 80 minutes. Cool cake in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes; invert cake onto wire rack, then turn cake right side up. Cool cake on rack to room temperature, about 2 hours.

creamsicle frosting
(this frosting was created off the top of my head, so I might be off a bit on measurements, but taste it as you go along to find your own desired taste)

1 stick+ unsalted butter, room temp (might need 1-2 TB more)
2+ cups confectioners sugar (might need 1-2 TB more)
4 TB cream cheese, softened
Pinch or two of sea salt
1-3 dashes of half & half (or milk)
2 ts of orange zest, plus more for garnish (if desired)
1 or 2 TB of the juice from same orange

Mix all ingredients into large bowl and using an electric mixer beat until a nice creamy frosting is achieved. If you like a thicker frosting use less of the half & half, for thinner frosting add more half & half. Frost cooled pound cake, decorate with orange zest as a garnish, slice and serve.

white chocolate-pumpkin fudge truffles

These little gems are a flavor explosion. I was searching for something festive yet different for the pumpkin season but couldn't find anything that tickled my fancy. By chance, at Whole Foods, they had samples of these to-die-for pumpkin truffles. They also had little cards out of the recipe, so I took recipe home, changed it around a bit, well, a lot actually. Wanted the truffle to look different than your average white chocolate truffle, so I put the melted white chocolate "in" the mix rather then coat the outside. See where I'm going here?
The orginial recipe is here: Whole Foods Pumpkin Truffles, and my changed around recipe is below.

I wonder how these would be with a milk chocolate? Anyone up for trying that? Let me know how it tastes if you do decide to try it out. These truffles are definitely different tasting and definitely melt in your mouth. Plus they we really easy to make. And can be used for any upcoming holiday parties, house party or as a gift for your friends, family and/or business clients.

white chocolate-pumpkin fudge truffles
Adapted from Whole Foods Market
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Makes about 30 – 50 truffles (depending on size)

3 - 11.5 ounce bags of good quality white chocolate chunks
1/2 cup+ gingersnap cookie crumbs, *plus more for garnish
1/2 cup canned pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie mix, just pureed pumpkin)
1/2 cup+ cinnamon graham cracker crumbs, *plus more for garnish
3 TB confectioners’ sugar
2 ts orange zest
1/2 ts ground cinnamon
2 big pinches of sea salt
8 ounces cream cheese, softened

Pumpkin pie spice mix, optional
Melted white chocolate for drizzling, optional

A few things to note: I recommend using those really hard, all natural ginger snaps. Whole Foods has a good selection of them; gluten-free is even better; the harder the ginger snap the better for a good hearty, thick-like texture for inside the truffle and one that stands up to grinding them done to a fine crumb. White chocolate does NOT melt good in the microwave, please use a double-boiler. And if you can, use a good quality white chocolate. Again, Whole Foods has the best selection for this. Ghiradelli brand is good too. Go easy with the pumpkin pie dry spice as it's strong.

Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler over medium-low heat; make sure to stir it often to keep the chocolate from burning. Note: white chocolate burns faster than milk or dark chocolate. (I melted the chocolate right before using it so it didn’t have to sit)
In a large bowl mix gingersnap crumbs, pumpkin, graham cracker crumbs, sugar, zest, cinnamon, salt, and softened cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Add in the melted chocolate and mix well. You can do this over the double boiler if it makes it easier. I then put the bowl in the fridge for about 45 minutes to an hour. I didn’t want this to completely set as I want to roll it into balls first then a complete chill.
Get a large shallow bowl and fill it with the remaining *crumb mixture and a couple dashes of Pumpkin Pie Spice mixture if desired; this is for rolling the truffles in. (you may need a bit more crumb mixture, I did).
Once the mixture is chilled, line a large sheet tray with parchment paper. Roll a large heaping teaspoon of the pumpkin truffle mixture into a ball in your hands, then drop it into the crumb mixture and coat, then transfer to parchment paper.
Repeat truffle-ball making process with remaining pumpkin mixture. Truffle balls should be chilled for at least 4 hours until very firm.
You can decorate the truffle balls with melted white chocolate if desired. Or white confectioners sugar.
(I got the Halloween ribbon from Target in those little .50 cent and dollar bins...they are crazy tiny ribbons, but adorable for small foods. I hope they have some for Christmas time)

monster cookies

Surely you've all heard of monster cookies?
Everytime I see them in the food blogging world they are always meant for kids or kids themed events.
Cookie junkie" add in" peeps like myself LOVE these .
You can literally add anything to them; chunk them up with lots of goodies. There are just so many takes on the monster cookies that technically everyone could have their own version. Add in's include: cc chips, semi-sweet chips, white chocolate chips, pb chips, butterscotch chips, coconut, toffee, walnuts, pecans, peanuts, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, Reese's, M&M's (whichever flavor), candy chips, potato chips, pretzels, etc... You get the idea.

So, with all that said, it begs the question: what would you add?

I'll post the recipe, but you add in whatever you want to add in; I didn't include all the add in's as space is limited, but the list is endless.


monster cookies
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2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temp.
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
3/4 cup of packed brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 ts of vanilla extract
1 ts of baking soda
½ ts baking powder
1 ts of salt
2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour

For the mix-in’s you can choose: (I chose mini M&M’s, pecans, milk choco, Reese’s)
1/2 cup of butterscotch chips
1 cup of mini M&Ms
1 cup of Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts
1 cup of milk chocolate chips (or semi-sweet)
1 cup of chopped Heath bar bits
1 cup Reese’s PB Chips
Endless options for add in's

Cook notes:
As tempting as it may be to add in all the mix-in’s I wouldn’t as it would cause the cookie to break because of the weight, but you could all add the ingredients and make bars out of them, baking them in a pan.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; mix and set aside.
Beat the butter and the sugars at medium speed until well incorporated and fluffy.
Add the eggs and vanilla and beat for about 2 minutes on medium speed.
Add half the flour mixture mix 30 seconds. Be sure to scrape down the sides and bottom to ensure all the butter is well incorporated. Then add the other half, mix, but don’t over mix.
Fold in the mix-ins, then mix. Put in fridge to chill at least 30 minutes. When ready to bake preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. I made golf ball size dough balls and put on parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake about 10 – 15 minutes, turning sheets halfway during cooking time. Depending on your oven this may take longer or shorter to bake.
Be sure to let them cool on the baking sheet before you move them. If you do make them larger like I did then let them cool completely before picking them up as the middles are always softer and might break on you.
Made about 19 giant cookies.
If you don’t make them giant then you’ll probably get 35+ regular size cookies.

white chocolate rice krispie treats

Remember those rice crispy treats you used to devour as a kid? I have found an adult version of sorts, that makes them tastes even better. I saw this over at David Lebowitz food blog, but wanted to kick that recipe up a few more notches. A recipe that even Emeril would be proud of and my friends would devour at first sight.


David added candied peanuts and melted white chocolate.
I changed it by adding salted peanuts, peanut butter chips, sea salt and extra butter.
These are the best combo of sweet & salty I've had by far (well except for my chocolate covered potato chips). You really must try these, and the best part? They are so easy to make.

white chocolate rice krispie treats
recipe adapted from David Lebowitz
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6 TB salted butter
5 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
A pinch of sea salt
1 cup dry roasted peanuts
½ Reese’s peanut butter chips (the kind used for baking)
10 ounce bag marshmallows, snipped in half
5 ½ cups Rice Krispies
Melted frosting for decorating (optional)

Spray a 13 x 9-inch (approx 30 x 22cm) rectangular pan with Pam.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat.
Add the white chocolate and stir until melted; add a medium sized pinch of sea salt, stir.
Add the marshmallows and stir constantly over the heat until completely melted. (If they start to scorch on the bottom, remove from heat and continue to stir, placing the pan back on the heat occasionally, stirring until smooth).
Remove from heat and add the peanuts, Reese’s peanut butter chips and Rice Krispies until well combined. A rubber spatula or flexible pastry scraper works best.
Transfer mix to the prepared pan and smooth over. (I used my hand to push them down evenly into the pan).
Let cool before cutting. I went ahead and frosted them with some basic frosting that was piped on using a Ziploc bag.

chocolate shortbread fingers

More chocolate. Love baking and creating with chocolate; so diverse. Ok, this is a brand new recipe for me. At first I was a bit skeptical because I am accustomed to shortbread being buttery, crisp and rich. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how you can incorporate chocolate into this. And then I thought, how can you not? You know? This chocolate shortbread is buttery, is crisp and has a different chocolate flavor; different in a good way. It's does not taste like milk chocolate, nor a brownie chocolate (and it does look like a brownie), but more of a rich baking type chocolate with loads of creamy hints to it.

Hard to explain, but really a very tasty type of chocolate indeed. I know the flavor lends itself from the dutch process cocoa that you have to use. (have to being the key word).
These were surprisingly very easy to make. And yet so pretty, delicate too. You could easily make these for a holiday gift which I might just do. If packaged right, they would look gorgeous in a long sleeved plastic bag with a red or silver ribbon wrapped around the top.
The recipe is from: Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook.
The picture lends itself to looking like a brownie; trust me they taste nothing like a brownie, nor have the texture of a brownie, but rather an enjoyable new type of shortbread taste.
You must try these if you are a choco-connoisseur like myself.



chocolate shortbread fingers
by martha stewart
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3 sticks (1 ½ cups) unsalted butter, room temp, plus more for pan
2 ½ cups plus 2 TB all-purpose flour
4 ½ TB Dutch-process cocoa powder
Heaping ½ ts ground cinnamon
½ ts salt
¼ ts baking soda
1 cup superfine sugar
Granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 12 by 8 inch rimmed baking sheet and line with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on the long sides; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, cinnamon, salt and baking soda until combined.
In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and superfine sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 – 4 minutes, scarping down the sides of the bowl. Add flour mixture, and beat on medium speed until just combined.
Using a small offset spatula, evenly spread dough in prepared baking sheets. Chill in the freezer or refrigerator until dough is firm, about 15 minutes. Prick dough all over with a fork; bake until just firm to the touch, about 20 – 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, let cool a bit. Then while still fairly warm, use a large knife to cut shortbread into 4 by 1 inch pieces. Sprinkle with granulated sugar. Cool.
Can be kept in an air tight container for up to 1 week.
Note: I forked the dough before going into the freezer. I let these cool a while before cutting them, and waited for a complete cool before putting the decorative sugar on them since the heat of the bars only melts the sugar.