friday links + giveaway!

Happy Friday!
I was asked to review The Old Farmer's Almanac Everyday Baking cookbook and immediately said 'yes'!
It's a great cookbook, recipes by Ken Haedrich, featuring 118 recipes, baking tips, time-saving advice, step-by-step tips for easy preparation, and beautiful color photos. Cookbook categories include: breakfast baking; quick bread; cookies, bars; sweet pies; crisps, cobblers; cakes for every occasion.
Ken Haedrich developed and personally tested these recipes for Everyday Baking.
Haedrich is a winner of the Julia Child Cookbook Award and author of 11 cookbooks, including Pie, which was named one of the best baking books of the past 25 years by Cooking Light magazine.
If you go to their website, there is a free recipe download.

They sent me two copies: one for me and one for a friend.
I'd rather give one away.


It's really a great little cookbook for the price.
All you have to do to enter is just leave ONE COMMENT telling me if you've ever heard of any of the
farmer's almanac cookbooks.
And which one you have and/or like or want.
REMEMBER: there has to be an email address in your signature line or your comment.
Let's do the drawing next friday (2/8/13).

Around the web, healthy & tasty alternatives to super bowl eats:
bean & beet dip from macheesmo.com
kale pesto & white bean dip from annies-eats.com
buffalo roasted cauliflower from closetcooking.com
sweet potato sliders w/ roasted garlic cream from eatswellwithothers.com
5-minute pizza dough (way better/healtheir than pizza takeout) from injennieskitchen.com
fire cracker chicken skewers w/ lime cream sauce from aroundmyfamilytable.com
baked cannelini beans w/ sage & proscuitto from brooklynsalt
great roundup of dips & dippers from wholefoodsmarket.com
roasted cauliflower & aged white cheddar dip from closet cooking
buffalo & blue cheese veggie bake from bakeyourday.net
31 guilt-free superbowl snacks from greatist.com
margherita pizza w/ cauliflower crust from sixtyone45.com
raisin-rosemary crisps from flourarrangements.org
cal-mond cookies (raw) from bakingandboys.com
baked honey-mustard panko chicken fingers from savoryingthethyme.com
salt & pepper prawns from theperfectpantry.com
blue cheese stuffed buffalo turkey meatballs from onceuponacuttingboard.com
peanut butter-brown rice crispy balls from ahouseinthehills.com
healthy "ring dings" from pbs.org
skinny buffalo chicken bites from eat-yourself-skinny.com
gluten free chocolate-peanut butter cookies from vanillasugarblog.com

other fun eats:
snickerdoodle bars from tasteantellblog.com
homemade fruit roll ups from iambaker.net
california breakfast sushi rolls from farmgirlgourmet.com
how to make chocolate bars from davidlebovitz.com
peanut butter snickers brownie skillet from picky-palate.com
adorable mini "play food" from bakerella.com
british raisin tea cake from seriouseats.com
cheesy artichoke bread from vanillasugarblog.com
biscoff gooey butter cake from bakeyourday.net
salted caramel pineapple tart from cookingcontestcentral.com
momofuku crack cookies from thymeoftaste.com
crawfish beignets w/ cajun dipping sauce from cookingbride.com
creamy crawfish dip from thekitchn.com
shrimp queso flameado w/ ranchera salsa from homesicktexan
some of the best burgers I've ever seen from thefoodinmybeard.com
ground beef gyros from vanillasugarblog.com

Happy Weekend!

chocolate cupcakes stuffed with cookie butter crunchies

One bowl baking, one bowl cuppycakes?  What's not to love?
I finally got around to making/testing the wonders of one-bowl baking.
And guess what?
It's all in one bowl!  I know duh right?
But I decided to take this whole one bowl mixing to another level and try one of Martha Stewart's chocolate cupcake recipes to see if it would hold up to the theory of one bowl.
It did.
Not truly shocking, but I kind of figured it would.

Oh and I wanted to see if it all could be made by hand, without the use of a mixer, so I mixed it all by hand. Yes by hand.
I know the crazy things we do when the perils of winter cabin fever hits.
Or rather let's call it a better foodie term like "will the recipe stand up to one-bowl mixing".
With Martha's recipe, using one giant mixing bowl, I mixed all the wet ingredients first, then added in
all the dry ingredients and mixed again.  Perfect.

And they came out perfectly.
So if you're ever crunched for time and need a fast chocolate cupcake recipe keep this one in mind.
The idea of adding cookie butter comes from my obsession on baking with cookie butter.
If you don't like cookie butter you can use peanut butter or use a cadbury egg, a hershey kiss?
You get the idea.....

I also used some of the batter to make mini loaves.





Isn't the mini loaf adorable?

chocolate cupcakes filled with cookie butter crunchies

cupcake base from martha stewart

print recipe

3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 ts baking soda

3/4 ts baking powder

¾ ts s alt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup warm water

3 TB safflower oil

1 ts pure vanilla extract

for the filling:

½ - ¾ cup cookie butter

¼ cup or more (depending on your desired level of crunch) of finely crushed graham crackers

hefty pinch of salt

for the ganache:

6-8 ounces of semi sweet chocolate chips

a teaspoon or 2 of heavy cream

Cook notes:

You can do as I did and make this all in one bowl or you can follow Martha’s original instructions.  I used semi sweet chocolate for the ganache, you can use milk if you want, but it might be too sweet. 

Also, save a little bit of the cookie butter filling to top the tops of the cupcakes as decoration.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Make the filling by combining all ingredients in a bowl and mixing well. Set aside.

Make the cupcakes by lining 12 – 18 muffin cups with baking cups.

Sift cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon salt into the bowl of a mixer. Beat on low speed until just combined.

Raise speed to medium, and add eggs, buttermilk, water, oil, and vanilla. Beat until smooth, about 3 minutes.

(or do as I mentioned above and do this all in one bowl).

Fill each baking cup halfway with cupcake batter, add in a round ball of the cookie butter filling. Don’t press down.  Fill the baking cups with remaining batter, almost to the top. Cupcakes will rise a bit so don’t overfill the cups.

Bake until tops spring back when touched with a finger, 20 to 23 minutes. Let cool completely.

To make the ganache, melt the chocolate chips with the heavy cream until glossy and smooth. 

Using a spoon dollop the ganache over each cupcake and top with a couple crumbles of the cookie butter filling as decoration.

Should make 16-18 cupcakes (or as I did 12 cupcakes and 2 mini loaves).

friday links

Happy Friday!

Some of my recent finds at Trader Joe's. 

Some new, some not so new....

>

crunchy cookie butter! oh the baking possibilities.

anyone tried this? might get a couple for hubby.

these weren't too bad.  much better than ramen noodles. plus rice noodle is a better taste.

in the frozen section. they are small. too small for the price--I could eat the whole box in one sitting.

anyone tried this?  love the addition of brie, which makes me think to make a brie & pasta at home.

FINALLY! sweet potato tots. can't wait to try them.

small little pre-cooked pot roasts in a bag.  weird. small. afraid to try...you go first.  lol

the price can't be beat. much cheaper than whole foods. has anyone used it?  tell me if it's good?

more pre-cooked beef in a bag.  still, afraid to try.

these were decent.  get the tzatziki sauce to dip them in!

these two together = food harmony

anyone tried these danish pancakes aka ebelskivers

this was good--needs more peanut butter inside.

they were ok. not very onion-like tasting. I want to create my own now, with far less oil.

always weary of shelf-staple tofu. anyone tried this?

these are good. My homemade coconut truffles are much better though. 

not new, but I finally tried it and it was really good. The price is good too.

these were the 'sample of the day' and they were ok. a little dry, but good.

anyone tried this?

I found it hilarious that our trader joe's (cape cod) sells lobster tails at a ridiculous inflated price.

A couple of my friends got this and loved it. You?

As I've mentioned before, during the winters I tend to get a little bit of SAD (seasonal affective disorder), and while I take the fish oil, the Vit D3, etc...I haven't tried the "sun lights" yet.

I was hesitant about most of them until I came across a totally different kind of sun light that mimics the "blue sky of summer".  Did some research for reviews and most of them were positive   I was more than happy to give this a go.  

I did not shine this on the cat.  He was merely posing for the photo--ha!

About a week into using the light, I have to say I have noticed a huge improvement in my mood, and an even bigger increase in my energy levels.

The light is by Philips: Philips GoLite Blu. Sold on amazon. But look for the reviews on youtube.com.

It's a great, portable size. Hard to photograph when it's on since the light is bright, but this photo illustrates how small it is.

Don't use this at night, best to use in the morning.  Give it a couple days to start feeling a difference.

Here is the website for it, but make sure to buy it on amazon as it's much cheaper -- far cheaper!

I was at IKEA the other day and saw this wonderful bed workbar.

Isn't this the best idea?

The prices aren't that bad.

This is perfect for all our shoes in the garage. Well built too.

For this price?  Definitely getting a few for the office. Excellent way to hide all that crap and 'instantly' make the office look cleaner.

I use these for holding my dishes in the kitchen.  Five years later, and they are still going strong.

Can't remember the price of this, but it was cheap.

Would be great for a tv or play room right?

This is a dressing room model at IKEA.  Love how more modern IKEA has become.

Finally took hubby (for the first time) to Five Guys Burgers.

Let's just say he was a happy man. 

The Cadbury Eggs are already appearing!  

Around the web:

pretty pinwheel cookies from lucy's friendly foods

custard creme cookies from warm, snug & fat

pop up groundhog cookies from she knows food & recipes

iphone case doubles as coffee cup holder (very odd) from designtaxi.com

gorgeous mermaid dress from thefancy.com

'packed with love' sticky tape from thefancy.com

quick cinnamon-sugar baguette bread from wherethecookiesare.com

mermaid weathervane (must have this!) from thefancy.com

how to make homemade yogurt in a slow cooker from everybodylikessandiwches.com

gorgeous polka-dot cake! (you have to see this!) from easybaked.net

magazine stool from thefancy.com

how to brew turkish coffee (in case you wanted to know) from seriouseats.com

a list of taste-tested K-cups from seriouseats.com

fool proof pan pizza (love this) from seriouseats.com

that one light switch that you don't know what it goes to? now you do from tastefullyoffensive.com

homemade snow ball cakes

I was going to make the title "sno balls" but the grammar police might come to my house.
But wasn't that what is was called? sno balls?
The ones from Hostess right?


Anywho, cake boss man buddy valastros made sno balls via rachel ray and I of course saw how crazy/wild good they looked and had to make them at home.
They are quite easy---and I'm always honest with you on whether or not recipes are easy, but the spreading of the marshmallow frosting was tricky.
You have to coat the entire trimmed cupcake in this uber-sticky frosting and then coat it in the coconut flakes.
After that it's easy, and trust me when I say these were so good.

I was never a fan of the original snow ball, that marshmallow coating that doubled as a head warmer slash helmet was awful.
And full of chemicals!
These taste nothing like it.  These are far more moister with a creamy marshmallowy (sp) frosting.
If I had to make them all over again with changes?
I would make smaller cupcakes.
In Buddy's recipe he fills the middle cupcake with the frosting.
I did not do this because I just didn't think there would be enough frosting to go around for the coating
and the frosting.  Plus the frosting is sweet--having some in the middle would have been too much (my opinion).
But please make them how you wish.
The coconut flakes look more orange than it's original pink hue.
I think I used a red velvet dye instead of plain red.
If you do make these, first look for a pink dye rather than a red dye if you really want that true "original" sno ball look.
I just have a feeling there is a pink dye out there. Right?

homemade snoball cakes

recipe from Buddy Valastros via Rachel Ray

print recipe

12 cupcakes of your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe, cooled

for the frosting:

1 1-pound package powdered sugar

1 7-ounce jar marshmallow cream

1/4 cup softened butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 TB milk

2 cups shredded coconut

2 to 3 drops red food coloring

(I added in a pinch of salt to the frosting)

My cook notes:

I did not use a pastry bag, Just frosted the top, then the bottom.  I also did not put any frosting in the middle since it was so sweet.  But do what you want, not sure if there is enough frosting for the middle and the outside.

Trim the tops of the cupcakes to form a somewhat cylinder shape.

Cut a cone shape inside the cupcake.

For the frosting, beat sugar, marshmallow cream, butter and vanilla extract with an electric mixer. Add in milk as needed until it is a frosting consistency.

With a piping bag, fill the cone-shaped hole with the frosting, then spread frosting over tops and sides of cupcakes.

For the pink exterior, mix shredded coconut with 2 drops of red food coloring in a mixer until you get your desired color.