espresso butter creams

I love going to those mom & pop candy stores where almost all the candies are homemade.

Antique glass display cases, creaky wooden floors, stuffed animals sitting next to candy gift packs...the smell of sugar permeates through the air.

The butter creams, the cordials, even the peanut butter cups are all homemade and usually hand dipped too.

First thing I love to try is the peanut butter cups; some places nail the flavor spot on and others add too much sugar and the peanut flavor/texture is lost.

I find the same scenario with butter creams; they are always so sweet, too sweet to even detect what the actual flavor is. 

I've always wanted to try making my own butter creams.  And it was my first time using one of those plastic candy molds from Wiltons.  Sorry to say, I was not impressed by the plastic candy molds.

I tried everything to get the candies out of said mold: in the fridge, in the freezer, banging, in dip in hot water, etc....Someone mentioned to try using silicone molds next time. And I will.   

All of the candies I've made in the past I usually roll by hand and dip myself.  But this time I needed a mold to hold the butter cream because the butter cream is well, not rollable!

If you do want to make these and are comfortable using plastic candy molds then perfect.

If you want a suggestion or two: trying using a silicone mold or use those small candy paper cups (like the mini Reeses peanut butter paper cups) those should work perfectly!

If you like the taste of buttery espresso then you'll love these. They are rich and tasty and definitely not overly sweet like an ordinary butter cream might be.

Make sure to gently tap the molds when you put the final layer of chocolate on; you want to make sure the chocolate gets evenly coated all around.

Really hard to remove!  Banging them out finally worked!

With all the work was it worth it?  Yes, they are tasty!  Next time mini paper candy cups!

espresso butter creams

print recipe

7 ounces sweetened condensed milk

2 cups powdered sugar

1 Starbucks Via (I used the blonde roast) OR use 1-2 ts espresso powder

giant pinch of sea salt

3 TB unsalted butter, very soft

for the chocolate coating:

(I used half bitter sweet, half semi sweet chips; use what you like but I do not recommend milk chocolate as its too sweet)

7 ounces of bitter sweet

7 ounces semi sweet

½ TB vegetable oil

In a medium bowl mix the condensed milk, 2 cups of powdered sugar, salt, and espresso.  Mix by hand or with a mixer. When mixed then add in the very soft butter and mix well.  You want a nice sooth consistency.  Give it a taste and see if it needs more salt or espresso. 

Cover the top with plastic wrap and place in fridge to firm up a bit; a few hours or overnight.

When ready to use you can either use candy molds, mini paper cups or silicone molds.  You can try rolling balls on your own, but I found the candy dough to be too loose.

Place chocolate chips with the vegetable oil in a microwavable bowl, give it a good mix and then microwave in 10 second spurts till melted.  Making sure to stir each time after 10 seconds.  Or you can temper the chocolate how you like best.

Since this time I used the candy molds, I coated the bottom and sides of each mold with chocolate, let it harden, then added in little globs of the espresso, place in fridge for 20 minutes, then filled the molds with chocolate, tapping as I go along to make sure the chocolate is evenly disbursed.

Then back into fridge to set up.

I made about 56 candy pieces using these molds; if you use mini paper cups I imagine you might get about 40-50?

lemon crunch bars

Remember when I made the ginger crunch bars?
Me too.
Those were so good.
Actually I had kept them in the back of my mind to re-create with a new flavor.
And finally that new flavor hit me: lemon!
Lemon is the perfect match for these buttery, sweet, crunchy critters.
Seriously, you need to give these a go, and if you can get your hands on Meyer lemons then please do so.
I know you're going to ask me what can I use instead of golden syrup?
I just don't know, as golden syrup is really the perfect base for the glaze here because is thickens up as it cools.
Please invest in a small can of golden syrup, it's not that pricey and a little bit goes a long long way.

As I type this post up, I am thinking in the back of my head how I can sneak in another bar without ruining my gym workout.  I promised my doctor he and his wife would get this tomorrow, but I don't know if there will be any left!

They are that good. Thin, crispy, buttery, and full of lemon flavor.
Isn't that yellow color pretty too?  That would make a fabulous wallpaper color for a second bathroom.


Mix the lemon zest with the sugar and the lemon juice; let it sit a bit to marinate.

Make sure to push the dough down in all the little nooks of the tart pan.

Time for a glaze bath.
Note: I only used half the glaze for this and saved the other half for a cake, muffin or loaf.
The glaze is sweet and very tangy, so you only need a little bit.

lemon crunch bars

adapted from here and here

print recipe

cook notes:

I used an 8-inch tart pan with removable bottom. 

You could use another size/shape tart pan with removable bottom.

cookie base

9 TB unsalted butter, room temp

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cup flour

1 ts baking powder

a huge pinch of sea salt

zest of 2 lemons

juice of ½ a lemon

icing

5 TB unsalted butter

2 TB golden syrup

3/4 cup powdered sugar

zest of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Butter and/or spray up an 8 or 9-inch square tart pan.

You can use a stand mixer—I mixed by hand. 

In a small bowl, put in the sugar, add in the lemon zest and lemon juice, mix, set aside.

In a large bowl cream the butter and the seasoned sugar until light and fluffy.

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Mix the dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture until well combined. Turn the dough out onto the pan and spread it out, making sure to get into all the corners.  It’s not a sticky dough, so this part should be relatively easy.  The dough is a bit crumbly/dry—don’t panic. 

Bake the dough for 18-20 minutes, until it’s light golden brown or if you want really crunchy then golden brown (I did somewhere in between).

When the dough is almost done baking, make the icing by heating the butter and golden syrup over low heat in a small pan; add in the powdered sugar and lemon zest.  Keep stirring until it’s all smooth. Take off heat.

Once the cookie dough is done baking pour the icing over the top (I used about ¾ to ½ the glaze and save the rest for a bread).  When smoothing out the icing try not to let it get into the edges.  You want the edges to be seen as it gives a nice decorative appeal when it’s all cooled.

Let this sit for at least 30 minutes to let the icing harden up/set up. 

If your kitchen is hot, then pop in the fridge.

Use a sharp knife to slice into bars or squares.

mini corn & cheese dogs (one bowl easy!)

Ever have a dusty box of ____ in the cupboard and look at the expiration date and think "yikes, how did I let that get so old?"
That happens to me a lot,  I have good intentions of using said dusty box soon, and yet all it does it sits there for a year or more.
Said box in question is the corn bread mix from Trader Joe's.
I remember buying two boxes of the cornbread, knowing one box will be used to make corn bread muffins JUST so I can make another batch of my sweet & spicy bacon jam.
And the second box, just sat on the shelf for the longest time, it got moved from one cupboard to another in hopes I'll remember to use it to make something.
Last weekend I finally came up with a use for it:  will it will deep fry?
Yeah, let's deep fry it! (tell me your brain works this way too?).
And yes, it does deep fry, very well in fact.
One bowl easy too.
Just mix, add some cheese, dip hot dogs or mini hot dogs in batter, and deep fry.
It fries up nice and light. The batter is a little bit of a challenge to work with to coat hot dogs, but once you have the hang of it, it gets easier.
Of course if you are still weary of deep frying then make baked corn dogs!
Just pour the batter in a flat pan or brownie pan, top with a few lines of hot dogs and bake!
I made baked corn dogs ages ago, so please ignore the bad photos--it's a really old post, but a great recipe.

So easy to assemble.
Use the Trader Joe's Cornbread Mix.
Mix, add cheese if desired.
Then dip hot dogs.


You can coat the dogs one of two ways: using a small ice cream scoop.

And this will give round corn dogs or fritters.

Or you can just coat them using your fingers.

And this will give you thinner, longer corn dogs.
Of course if you had skewers then that would also work, but alas I didn't.

I served these with corn relish dipping sauce. Any excuse to eat corn relish!


mini corn & cheese dogs (one bowl easy!)
print recipe

trader joes cornbread mix (you could try another brand, but I don't know if it will deep fry)
1/2 - 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (use as much or as little as you like)
couple dashes of pepper
mini hot dogs (about 10-15) (or use tofu dogs!)

vegetable oil for deep frying

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
Using a small ice cream scoop or your hands, coat the hot dogs in batter and fry in the oil.
They fry up pretty fast so keep an eye on them, and make sure to turn them over once during frying.
Let cool and drain on brown paper or wire racks with sheet on bottom.
They really don't need to be salted when they come out of the fryer.
Use whatever dipping sauces you like; I loved using corn relish.
One box made about 12-15 mini corn dogs.
Of course you could try baking these if you're uneasy about deep frying.
Since I have not done this, I would use a brownie pan or bigger.
Place the cornbread mix in greased pan, then place hot dogs (large or small) on top of batter.
Then bake at 350 degrees for?? 15-30 minutes (or whatever the directions on the box said??)

friday links

Happy Friday kids!

It's 70 degrees, sunny and the humidity is low here on cape cod.
As I type this, I have my office window open and the breeze is cool and refreshing.
I never thought we'd get to this weather during those weeks (months?) of blizzards/storms this winter.
I am so thankful spring is here, and summer is right around the corner.
Been a little guilty of playing hookey this week and heading to the beach.

A big thank you to Sante Nuts for sending me a nice little care package of nuts to try.
Have you tried these?  They are sold at Whole Foods and a few other places, which you can find here.
They have these cardamom cashews, wow, they were good!
My favorite was the roasted salted pecans. They are so crisp, and have just the right amount of salt.
Really good nuts, high quality, great tasting.
I have a request Sante Nuts!  If all your nuts taste this good, you have to make a kicked up peanut version!
Maybe if you all leave a comment we can get Sante Nuts to do a giveaway?
How about it? Let's convince them.

The Powerball will be up to almost 300 million this Saturday?
Will you play?

Remember my "extra" crunchy broccoli salad?
Well I made a new version.  A new sauce, made with mayo, chipotle tabasco, and honey.
So good.  If you want to try it, just follow the recipe above, and instead of the sauce in the recipe, just mix mayo, chipotle tabasco sauce, and honey--all to taste.
That chipotle tabasco is so good!  I cannot get enough of it.

Any idea how much I want one of these? Found at Schoolhouse Ice Cream Harwich Port.

Dedicated plagues on benches, boardwalks, posts, etc.. are fairly common here on many cape cod beaches.  I found one that I loved and had to share it with you.  Isn't it beautiful?

Tis the season for dipped cones. It's supposed to be butterscotch, but I swear it tastes like orange.

Gorgeous right?  I love the beauty of cape cod and her ocean. Nauset Lighthouse Beach.

I love how there are now signs up.  As if people didn't already know there are sharks in the ocean.

This past winter and all the storms made us realize how much and how many trees we have to take down.  I saw a lot of damage done to houses near us.  Made me think it's time to get rid of some trees just in case.  So far we had two taken down and have about two more.  The latter are bigger trees and will cost a lot more, sadly.  I wanted to share this photo with you because it was so fascinating to me, to watch this tree guy climb up the tree, like a monkey WITH a chainsaw in hand!
He's really skilled at what he does (duh), and in really good shape too.  lol

One of my favorite photos taken this week. Early morning walk, I got to see one of the fish boats heading out.  (chatham fish pier).

around the web:
5 primal meals in 35 minutes from marks daily apple
man survives entire year w/out internet.  (LOL, yes a real story) from designtaxi
possible cure for grey hair? from youbeauty
calisthenics vs. weight-lifting from fitness republic
cicadas are coming to the east coast (a lot of them!) from io9.com
hackers indicted for withdrawing 45 million from ATM's from elitedaily
triple berry curd from some the wiser
quick & easy strawberry shortcake from just a taste
chocolate "pop tart" pie (bookmarked!) from the knead for speed
abercrombie & fitch CEO explains why he hates fat chicks (what an asshole!) from elitedaily
I really want this double infusion iced tea pitcher (BPA free) from republic of tea
one of the most powerful antioxidants from mindbodygreen
it's national arthritis month Do you know the facts & myths of arthritis? from health.com
buckeye pie from serious eats
10 reasons to keep lemons on hand from yoganonymous
"woofie" pies (whoopie pies) for dogs from bittersweetblog
homemade nutella 'magic shell' for ice cream from view from the great island
going gluten free: 24 resources to do it right from greatist
hazelnut-chocolate torte w/ espresso ganache from serious eats
honey-sriracha roasted pecans from cafe sucre farine
increase serotonin w/ these 21 foods from organic authority
love this "oversized" art installation from yatzer
homemade mallomar bars from serious eats
a dream home for cats from designtaxi
chocolate crepes from a kitchen muse
homemade ice cream "drumsticks"! from thekitchn (bookmarked)
pressure cooker pork vindaloo from the bitten word
top problem solvers aka top finalists in presidents challenge from harvard gazette
new app: Noom Weight Loss Coach from greatist
10-minute core blasting Pilates  (NOTE: I love this and do it. But doing it on the hard floor or even a yoga mat killed my back. So now I do these poses in bed. And that has made all the difference in supporting my back.) from greatist

Have a wonderful weekend!
Happy Mothers Day!

banana-butterscotch skillet cake + Kohl's Gift Card Giveaway

Kohl's asked me to test out a few items from their Bobby Flay Cookware line.
How could I say no?

Stainless steel bowls with a non-skid bottom?
What a dream these are!
I'm never going back to plastic mixing bowls!
These are some of the best bowls I've used, and trust me I've owned a lot of mixing bowls, most of them plastic--which never last long, and tend to wilt, stain, and crack.
Never really thought of stainless steel used in a mixing bowl, but now I see why.
Good thinking Bobby Flay. When he created these, he had durability in mind.
The cast iron pan from Kohl's is my favorite.
First off it's square and holds a lot more.
Second it's a lot lighter than your traditional cast iron pan.
And thirdly, it has a handle on both sides for easy removal from the oven--love that.
You know cast iron just isn't for grilling?
You can make a banana bread with it too.
AND chocolate chip cookies.
A kicked up banana bread.
I think I prefer making my banana bread in a cast iron skillet. It bakes up moist with a nice crust to it.
I call it a cake, a bread, not sure what it is really, more of a cake as it's not as heavy as a banana bread.

You need to get the Bobby Flay Cast Iron Pan. So much easier to move, use, grill and take out of a hot oven.  Square size just holds more too. Plus it comes pre-seasoned!

Stainless steel. Just those two words had me sold. We all know stainless steel will last a lot longer and is less likely to scratch, dent and warp over time.

The Bobby Flay stoneware line is stunning. You should see the other colors!
I'm partial to the yellow color.  And this 3 1/2 quart stoneware casserole dish has a whole other stoneware line that goes with it: the cutest 4-piece ramekin set, ceramic square baking dish, and a ceramic lasagna pan.

Have you made a cake use cast iron pan?
It's really quite simple--almost one-bowl easy too.


Just mix the batter, pour into greased cast iron pan, and bake!


Kohl's was kind enough to giveaway a $25.00 gift card to any Kohl's store.
All you have to do to enter is tell us what YOU think Bobby Flay Cookware line should come up with next?
What kitchen item should be Bobby Flay's next cooking/baking idea?
Have a good idea?  Tell us.
Need some inspiration?
Visit Bobby Flay's Kohl's line and have a look around...
Please leave ONE comment, and have a valid email address in your signature line.
All anonymous comments will be deleted.
Drawing will be done May 15, 2013.
USA residents only.

CONTEST CLOSED

nutty banana-butterscotch skillet cake

print recipe

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½  TB baking powder

1 ts baking soda

¼ ts salt

1 ts ground cinnamon

½ cup shortening

½ cup sour cream

½ cup buttermilk

4 ounces unsalted butter, at room temp

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs, + 1 egg yolk

3 very ripe bananas, mashed

½ cup butterscotch chips, optional

½ - ¾ cup of pecans or walnuts, chopped, optional

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease with non-stick spray your cast iron skillet.

In a small bowl, mix all the dry ingredients, set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, mix the shortening, butter, sour cream, buttermilk, and sugar. Add in the eggs, mix, then add in the eggs, and mix.  Then by hand, mix in the mashed bananas.

Doing in batches, add in half the dry mixture to the wet mixture, mix till just combined, then add in the other half of the dry mixture and mix till just combined.  Please don’t over mix.

Gently fold in butterscotch chips, if using.

Pour the batter into prepared skillet pan. Top the batter with the chopped nuts.

Bake in oven for about 30-35 minutes.

Look for golden brown edges and non-jiggly middle. 

You can also use a cake tester to see if cake is done.

My cake was done right at the 30-minute mark.

It’s a delicate cake so it can go from done to overdone in literally a couple minutes.

Remember the cast iron heats up a lot faster and holds the heat better than a metal pan, so this cake bakes up fast.