Archive for February, 2012
I have always been a huge Kahlua fan. It’s sweet (enough said), and has really never done me wrong like most other alcohols have been know to do over the years (other than that time in Vegas. Oh, sweet liqueur, you really messed me up that weekend. And yet I came crawling back for more of your coffee-rummy goodness).
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Oh, yeasty-cinnamonny smelling loaf of wonder, why can’t you take just a bit less time to make? Like 2 hours less, give or take? You’re delectable, especially when toasted and slathered with butter, and yet you’re a pain in the ass. And you don’t care, because you know that I’ll keep coming back, in a dysfunctional relationship sort of way.
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When I say “Healthy”, I’m not messing around.
These Healthy Almond Butter & Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies are a serious departure from the More Sweets, Please mantra (something along the lines of More is Better, the Sweeter the Better, etc.), and they differ wildly from my general respect for all things decadent and ooey and gooey and bingeworthy (read: not “good” for you).
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I’m not being a goofball- it actually, really, honestly is National Chocolate Mint Day.
February 19th… forever mark your calendars with this auspicious anniversary. And try a few of the mint chocolate gems below: Chocolate Mint Bark, Decadent Mint Chocolate Truffles, Mint Chocolate Fudge Brownies, and a martini known as the Boozy Chocolate Minitini. (Mint + chocolate + alcohol… I’ll cheers to that.)
This Recipe for Disaster cracks me up, because bark is notoriously easy to make, and yet I managed to screw it up.
I have successfully made bark about 3,000 times in my life (give or take), and so I might have been cocky in my attempt to get creative this time. While making a few versions to properly celebrate National Chocolate Mint Day (I need very few excuses to make the minty-chocolate medly, let me tell you), I ended up with a bark-gone-wrong.
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Let’s face it- “everything in moderation” is a great philosophy when it comes to things like fiber and Facebook. And being moderate.
I am of the belief that More is Better (strange… that sounds an awful lot like the More Sweets, Please tagline), and when it comes to blueberries in a cream-cheese-rich pound cake, well, a little bit of a good thing means that More is clearly the only way to go. This recipe is stuffed silly with blueberries. Stuffed to the point where the cake takes a supporting role- and yet the cake itself is poised to be the star of the show.
So go to town with the blueberries in this moist, hint-of-lemon-flavor pound cake- because there’s nothing to feel bad about living in the land of excess when it comes to overdoing it with an antioxidant-rich fruit.
Recipe for Disaster Alert: yes, I had a mishap while baking this cake. In the spirit of shamelessness, check it out- The Great Crust… Bust.
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was so looking forward to the Blueberries & Cream Pound Cake, so much so that I decided to make a massive double batch (à la “more is better” philosophy). This Recipe for Disaster was born in that moment of gluttony, I am certain.
All you need to do is look at the picture of the crust to figure out why this gem is classified as a Disaster. After an hour of baking (filling the house with a glorious blueberry and lemon and sugar smell), this crust went rogue and decided to separate itself from the perfectly-baked cakey glory housed beneath it. (When I say “separate itself”, I mean that the crust was fully committed to its evil act of separation. The entire top of the cake peeled off as it cooled- into an almost-amusing detachable roof.) You typically don’t want to serve a cake that looks like it has been scalped.
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If the idea of a fudgy, creamy, almost-inch-thick layer of bittersweet chocolate makes you feel funny inside (in that good way), then try to imagine this lovely layer sandwiched between what is essentially a buttery, crumbly, oatmeal cookie. The cookie knows enough in this recipe to yield to the beauty of the bittersweetness- it takes a tasty yet restrained backseat to the almost intimidating layer of chocolate.
Makes your heart race, doesn’t it?
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What says love better than a heart-shaped cookie?
(Well, a heart-shaped cake probably says I Love You more than a heart-shaped cookie does, but cookies can be given to neighbors and co-workers and people you are just starting to date without scaring them.)
So if you’re looking for a festive Valentine’s Day treat, look no further. Your loved ones will love them (and therefore love you more), your co-workers will eat them up (and appreciate that you thought of them in an appropriately platonic way), and if you’re just baking for yourself, then good for you- you’ll love them too.
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Some people are a bit weirded out by the melody of chocolate and cinnamon, but most people are intoxicated by it. Don’t hesitate to try it, especially if you’re a chocolate lover. A little cinnamon never hurt anyone- and as its proponents would suggest, it does wonders when combined with the magical duo of chocolate and coffee. It’s the crazy threesome of the baking world.
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“”Guilt-Free”. Let’s talk about that for a moment, shall we?
If you like the sounds of “almost entirely fat free”, you’ll probably agree that there is very little guilt to go around when it comes to this cake.
(Really. There is one lone little egg in this recipe, and if you use the glaze- which I am going to demand that you do- one teeny pat of butter. So if you divide that minute amount of fat around a cake with 8 servings, it’s not even worth me doing the math to tell you what the fat content is or isn’t. Sounds guilt-free to me, unless you eat 3/4 of the cake on your own as your dinner as soon as it’s cool enough to eat. But I can’t help you with that problem.)
Sometimes I think I’m so smart, and then I’m promptly brought back down to earth.
I had what I thought was a brilliant idea to make miniature s’mores in little silver cupcake holders (yes, it does sound cute, doesn’t it?), and it somehow turned out to be a hideous disappointment.
Pecan Pie is not for the faint of heart, even when baked into a regular-size pie tin with a regular amount of sweet, rich filling and then topped with regular whipped cream. This version of Pecan Pie (both words capitalized because there’s nothing regular about it and caps = deserved importance) takes it to the next level, in a deep-dish-Chicago-style sort of way.
The facts: a swirl of toasted pecans creates a crispy, caramelized upper crust- a crust that dares you to poke a fork through its perfect pecan surface- a dare you will win, because you know what’s waiting for you underneath that pecan roof: an unprecedentedly (almost obscenely) thick layer of smooth, intensely (but entirely appropriately) rich Pecan Pie goo… all housed in a tender, baked-till-golden-brown cream cheese crust, capped with a generous dollop of Bourbon Whipped Cream- an adult-rated way to finish this serious, proper Pecan Pie.
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Biscotti is one of those strange desserts to me. People gobble them up, and it might be because they think they’re healthy (maybe things that are crispy seem healthier, compared to their sinfully gooey cousins?). The evil truth of it all is that biscotti is usually just as decadent as chocolate chip cookies- just disguised as a dried out stick looking for a cup of coffee to dunk itself into to come to life.
Good news, though, sinner! This version of a dark chocolate biscotti is one you don’t have to feel piggish about. Eat ’em up, and know that you’ve taken in some whole wheat and flaxy goodness… not to mention an almost-absence of fatty fat fat. The chocolate keeps the biscotti respectable in the dessert department, and the ginger, well. The ginger takes it to a whole new level.
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It’s a big world out there. Stop the search- you’ve found The Bingeworthy Brownie.
This is the brownie you’ve been waiting for.
It’s fudgy, chewy, rich, dense, and sweet (but not cloyingly so, despite an admittedly profane amount of sugar).
Although the epitome if what a fudgy brownie should be (ooey and gooey without sticking to the teeth), it’s still somehow appealing to the “I prefer a cakier brownie” type. (More Sweets Please rule of thumb- if you like a totally cakey brownie, you don’t like brownies. You like chocolate cake. Which is okay, but you must know that a fluffy brownie is a blasphemous brownie.)
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