 It was a blustery 26 degrees when I woke up this morning! That is COLD for Atlanta. 26 degrees people! Last winter when it got down to 9 degrees it just about sent all of Georgia into a state-wide snow induced panic - let us not forget snowpocalypse 2014.  By this afternoon, temperatures will probably be back into the 60's so no need for statewide panic but I am going to advantage of the cool morning temperatures as an opportunity to warm myself up in front of a warm oven. As long as I'm there, I might as well bake a batch of cookies too.
Warm cookies on a cool morning sounds like a great idea.  This batch of peanut butter monster cookies are sure to warm you up from the inside out.  Peanut Butter Monster Cookies 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 and 1/4 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup unsalted butter, softened 1 cup peanut butter 1 cup sugar 2/3 cup packed brown sugar 2 large eggs at room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup rolled oats 1/2 cup peanut butter chips 1/2 cup chocolate chips Reese’s Pieces
Stir in peanut butter chips and chocolate chips.
Refrigerate dough for 15 minutes, meanwhile preheating oven to 350 degrees (F). Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Bake, six at a time, for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to darken.
Allow to cool on cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes.  Enjoy!
Forget the cold milk this morning, I'm having my cookie with a cup of hot tea.
Ciao!
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 I really love the act of cookie baking - sometimes even more than the cookie eating. Perhaps it's because I have an aversion to drinking milk and let's face it - milk is an integral part of the cookie eating experience.
Or maybe it's the mental calorie calculation that goes on in my head that stops me from eating too many cookies. It's a constant battle between: yes, it's worth it and I'll squeeze in extra workout time tomorrow and no, I think I'd rather sleep an extra 15 minutes instead of doing hundreds of sit ups.  There are days though that reason is thrown out the window and I become a cookie eating machine. Baking any cookie with dark chocolate is especially dangerous. (Even without the tall glass of milk.) I can eat an entire batch of warm chocolate chip cookies so quick it would put even cookie monster to shame.
When you bake as many cookies as I do though, being a cookie baker instead of a cookie consumer is essential. I do love the process of cookie baking and I really don't want to have to up-size my entire wardrobe so I will stick to being the baker. (Most of the time.) These chocolate chocolate chip cookies from mybakingaddiction.com are great for both cookie bakers and consumers. They are fun to make and delicious to eat. (Yes, I tried one.)  Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies 1 2/3 cups dark chocolate chips, divided use 1 cup flour 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 large egg 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
It makes me so happy to be able to share my cookies with other people. I am very fortunate to be able to bake cookies for so many people and I it brings me joy to know that their are other people who benefit from my cookie baking as well.  Ciao!
 Baby it's cold outside!  I am cold naturally cold natured but these colder than normal temperatures lately have got me cranking up my electric blanket. (Yes, believe it or not - it's cold in Atlanta!) I've been walking around with my jacket on in the house, building fires in the fireplace and doing jumping jacks in the livingroom just to try and keep warm. It's the kind of cold that can only be reversed from the inside out. No matter how many pairs of fuzzy socks or warm scarves I put on, I still can't seem to raise my body temperature. This kind of cold has to be warmed from the inside out.  Sipping a steaming cup of hot coffee or filling my tummy with a warm, hearty soup seems to be the only way to warm my chilly self. This zuppa toscana is exactly what the meteorologist ordered to guard myself against this cold weather. It's is warm and satisfying and it will definitely warm you from the inside out.  Zuppa Toscana 4 slices bacon, diced 1 pound spicy Italian sausage, casing removed 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 onion, diced 4 cups chicken broth 3 russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced 3 cups baby spinach (optional) 1 1/2 cups heavy cream Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Add Italian sausage to the skillet and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks; drain excess fat and set aside. Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic and onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
Add potatoes and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
Stir in heavy cream until heated through, about 1 minute; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve immediately, garnished with bacon.
If this soup looks familiar, it's because it's on the menu at Olive Garden. I modified the recipe slightly and I took out the spinach (because I knew that my family wouldn't eat it). It is super easy to make and it is perfect for cold winter days. I hope that you enjoy.
Stay warm friends. Ciao!  First of all - there is nothing wrong with your computer - you did see coconut cupcakes yesterday. Secondly, although it wouldn't be totally out of the question - I did not forget to post a new recipe this morning. This is coconut cupcake post - day 2!
So here I am - the hopeless perfectionist. I simply cannot let a not-quite-perfect cupcake recipe linger on the blog without trying to correct the problem. Fortunately for me, recipe number two worked like a charm. The cake was light and fluffy and didn't sink in the middle as it cooled. The secret - condensed coconut milk.  Coconut Cupcakes 2 14-ounce cans unsweetened coconut milk 2 cups all purpose flour 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 1 1/3 cups sugar 3 large eggs Seeds scraped from 1 split vanilla bean or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup reduced coconut milk (see above), room temperature
Divide batter among muffin cups.
Bake cupcakes until tops spring back when gently touched and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes in pans to rack; cool 10 minutes. Carefully remove cupcakes from pans and cool completely on rack.
Frost with coconut buttercream.
 Sprinkle shredded coconut over buttercream.
Coconut cupcakes really are easy to bake - IF you have the right recipe. I love the combination of today's cake recipe (compliments of Epicurious.com) and yesterdays buttercream recipe.
Ciao!  I've said before and I'll say it again - Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream is the BEST! (Don't even try and debate me on this one.) Mint and chocolate is just the most perfect flavor combination. 
It was good and it had a lot of delicious mint flavor but there just wasn't enough of the chocolate flavor to compliment all of the mint flavor.
So it was time to revisit the mint chocolate cupcake. A deep, dark chocolate cupcake filled with a rich, mint chocolate ganache, topped with a creamy, minty buttercream and sprinkled with mini chocolate chips. (Shout out to Annie's Eats for the inspiration for this little gem.)  Mint Chocolate Cupcakes For the cupcakes: ¾ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder ¾ cup hot water 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. coarse salt 1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter 2¼ cups sugar 4 large eggs, at room temperature 4 tsp. vanilla extract 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature For the filling: 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped 1 cup plus 2 tbsp. heavy cream 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature For the frosting: 10 large egg whites 2 1/2 cups sugar Pinch of salt 7 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature 2-3 tsp. mint extract green food coloring
Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners, filling them about ¾ of the way full. Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, rotating the pans halfway through baking.
Transfer the bowl to the freezer or refrigerator to chill and thicken the ganache a bit. Whisk every 5-10 minutes to help it cool evenly.  Use a corer to cut a small circle out of the center of each cupcake.
To make buttercream. Make a batch of vanilla buttercream. Add a small amount of mint extract and green food coloring.  Pipe onto cupcakes. (I used a Wilton 1M tip.)
 These might just be the most delicious cupcakes that I have ever made. I just can't resist that mint chocolate combination.
Ciao! |
