Failure

I attempted to make funfetti cake balls and failed miserably.  I couldn't get the funfetti the way I wanted so it looked like a mess but the cake tasted ok and the texture was great...until I tried to make it into balls.  I've tried cake balls once before and I wasn't impressed because I ended up with gooey, pasty cake.  I thought I had just added too much frosting but as it turns out apparently that's just the way cake balls are.  I'm rapidly starting to think cake balls aren't for me and I've always had a vendetta against "fun"fetti.  I will try make a better funfetti this weekend and I think I'll stick to cookie based truffles instead of cake balls for now.

Cookies-CC cherry cordial

I finally made them!! I've been wanting to make cherry cc cookies since Christmas but I kept putting it off.  I used a Tollhouse cc cookie base recipe and added to it.

Cherry Cordial Chocolate Chip White-bottom cookies

Ingredients:

1c butter, softened
3/4c sugar
3/4c brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1tsp vanilla
1tsp baking soda (orange box)
1tsp salt
2tbs cherry brandy
2 1/4c flour
2c (1 bag) chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)
2c dried cherries, rough chopped
2c (1 bag) white chocolate chips

Direction:

1.  Cream butter, sugar, and  brown sugar then add in the egg and egg yolk one at a time and beat on medium-high for 1-2min.
2.  Add vanilla, baking soda, salt, and brandy.  Once integrated slowly add flour (1/2-1/4c increments work well), don't over mix.  The dough shouldn't be sticky but still moist.
3.  Add chips and cherries then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for ~1hr
4.  Drop rounded 2tbsful onto a greased or nonstick baking sheet, bake @ 350-375F (my oven is finicky so I get better results with the lower end of the range) for 6-9min.
5.  When the cookies are cool, microwave white chocolate in 30s intervals (stirring in between) until melted.  Dip the bottom of the cookies in the white chocolate and scrape excess off on the edge of the bowl then place on aluminum foil lined baking sheet.
6.  Refrigerate cookies for ~5min then remove from foil and store in air tight container (or just eat them)
Yield ~4 dozen

Notes:
-I took out an egg white from the original recipe to account for the added liquid with the brandy, I think it worked out really well
-You could try soaking the cherries in brandy before adding them to the mix
-You could do 1tbsful for bite sized cookies just make sure to shorten your cooking time
-The original recipe says bake at 375F but my oven is so finicky it made the bottoms over done, they cooked much better when I turned the heat down
-If your cookies don't come off the foil easily after being dipped, put them in the fridge longer.  They should pop loose from the foil when they've hardened and come off easily.
-I want to try this recipe with cranberries or raisins next


The Verdict:  Surprisingly good, no leftovers (just how I like it)   :)


Original Recipe from:  Tollhouse

Cupcakes-Valentine's 2013

It's Valentine's Day!  So I made cupcakes :)  I want to make cherry cookies and I decided to try using alcohol instead of just extract (because I'm too lazy to juice cherries).  So I had some cherry brandy around the house and figured I'd try chocolate cake with cherry brandy.  In the past I've made Bailey's cupcakes which are delicious but often end up being too dry so I fiddled, this is the outcome.

Chocolate Cherry Brandy cupcakes with Cherry Cream Cheese icing

Ingredients:

Cupcakes
1 box (15.25oz) chocolate cake mix with pudding
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
3/4c buttermilk
1/4-1/3c cherry brandy

Icing
8oz 1 box) cream cheese, softened
1c confectioner's sugar
1/2c (1 stick) butter, softened
1tsp vanilla
2tsp cherry juice (from maraschino jar)
1/4c chopped maraschino cherries

Directions:

1. Mix cake mix, eggs, oil, buttermilk, and brandy until integrated, then beat on medium-high for 2min (the whole 2min, set a timer if you have to)
2. Pour into cupcake liners, fill 2/3 full and bake @ 350F for 10min, then rotate and bake until finished at 300F (usually ~5min).
3. Remove and let cool before frosting
4. For icing, beat cream cheese until smooth, then add butter, sugar, vanilla, and 1 tbs? cherry juice; add additional juice to taste, be careful not to make it too runny.
5. Whip icing for 1-2min on medium-high and store in the fridge until cupcakes are ready to frost.
6. To frost the cupcakes, cut the top off of the cupcake at the edge of the cupcake liner (a serrated bread knife works beautifully).  Flip the top of the cupcake over (see picture) and cut out the heart shape with a cookie cutter.  Frost the cupcake and replace the top with the heart cut out.  Once all the cupcakes are topped, pipe the remaining icing into the heart to fill them to the top of the cupcake.

Notes:
-I normally use cake mix without pudding but they were all out of plan chocolate yesterday so I went with "Triple Chocolate" cake mix with pudding and it turned out really well
-I've had problems making cake with alcohol before because it ends up in a very dry cake.  I think removing an egg white, adding a little more buttermilk, and using cake mix WITH pudding made a huge difference
-Icing recipe is the "one and done" cream cheese frosting base with cherries and juice added
-The icing is softer than what I normally make but since it's sandwiched in the cupcake it doesn't make a big difference and refrigerating before frosting helped the consistency.
-If you don't want to use brandy you can still flavor the batter with maraschino cherry juice
-Reducing the temperature about 1/2 way through baking gives the cupcakes more of a dome shape
-Cutting the cupcake top upside down makes the outline sharper => prettier cupcakes


The Verdict:
-Well they were all gone by about 2pm, so I'm thinking everyone liked them.  I thought they turned out MUCH better than expected.  They weren't dry at all and the flavors worked well together.


Original Recipe from:  me

Cupcakes-Match cupcakes

Tomorrow is the match for a lot of my classmates so I decided to make cupcakes.  My original plan was to do chocolate cake with cream cheese icing and nutella filling but the Superbowl had other plans.  The store was out of cream cheese and nutella so I improvised and used some stuff I had around the house.

Chocolate cupcakes with nutella yogurt filling and vanilla icing

Ingredients:

Cake
1 box chocolate cake mix (the type without pudding works better-I like Duncan Hines)
1/3c vegetable oil
1c buttermilk
4 eggs

Filling
1 container (16 oz) vanilla greek yogurt
1/3c Nutella
1 1/2tbs almond butter
1/2 pkg of chocolate pudding
~2tbs whipping cream

Icing
Store bought vanilla (I know shame on me but I wanted cream cheese!)
whipping cream

Directions:

1. Mix cake mix, oil, eggs, and buttermilk until combined, then beat on medium-high for 2 minutes
2. Fill cupcake pans 2/3 full and bake @ 350F for 10min then turn down to 325F for 5-8min more.
3. Combine the yogurt, nutella, almond butter and pudding mix and add whipping cream slowly until smooth but not runny.  Whip for 1-2min.
4. When cool, cut triangle tops out of the top cupcakes to make a space for the filling.  Pipe in filling and recap (doesn't have to be pretty, icing will go over it)
5. Whip container of vanilla icing and slowly add whipping cream, then beat on medium-high for 1-2min until fluffy but it shouldn't be runny.
6. Frost the filled cupcakes and store in the fridge

Notes:
-Instead of the pudding, almond butter, and whipping cream, you can just add enough Nutella to get the flavor and texture you like (I just didn't have any more Nutella, but this combo was delicious)
-I did not use all the icing b/c I didn't want them to be too sweet
-You could try using just yogurt and pudding for the filling, the consistency would be right and then you would have several different flavor options


The Verdict:  Well I like them.  I was debating between greek yogurt and sour cream, the yogurt was definitely the way to go.  It's a great chocolately combo without being overly sweet


Original Recipe from:  Hello Cupcake

Cake-Butter cake

I didn't have time to run to the store (in the awful snow) but I wanted to make something for Food Friday.  I found this recipe and just happened to have all the ingredients already in my house.  I'm not sure what it says about me if my kitchen is stocked with the same things as Paula Dean but I'm not complaining

Paula Dean's Gooey Butter Cake

Ingredients:

Base
1 pkg (18 1/4oz) yellow cake mix
1 egg
1c (1stick; 8 tbs) butter, melted

Topping
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla
1c (1stick; 8 tbs) butter, melted
16oz (1 box/bag) confectioner's sugar

(13 x 9in pan)

Directions:

1. Combine cake mix, 1 egg, and 1 stick of butter and mix well.  Pat down into buttered baking pan
2. Beat cream cheese until smooth then add eggs, vanilla, and butter.  Once smooth, slowly add in confectioner's sugar and mix well.  Beat on medium-high for 1-2min to make the topping extra fluffy.
3. Spread the topping over cake and bake @ 350F for 30-40min. 

Notes:
-Next time I want to try it with a spice cake mix and cinnamon added to the topping for a holiday flavor
-Don't over bake, it should be gooey in the middle


The Verdict:  Still drooling thinking about it.  Definitely something you should make for a bunch of people so you won't have leftovers.  It's delicious but heavy and I would have eaten the entire thing myself and not been able to stop if I kept it at home.


Original Recipe from:  The butter queen herself-Paula Dean
Alternative recipe  

Cookies-Cow cookies!

I was on Food Animal and we had "Bovine" themed Food Friday

Cow Print cookies

Ingredients:

1/2c butter, softened
1/2c sugar
1 egg
1tsp vanilla
2c AP flour
2tbs cocoa powder

Cow cookie cutter

Directions:

1. Cream butter and sugar, add egg and vanilla
2. Add floor until the dough is no longer sticky but still soft (may not use the whole 2c but should use at least 1 1/2c)
3. Take 1/4 of the dough and add cocoa powder
4. Roll out the white dough just enough that it's flat USE AS LITTLE FLOUR AS POSSIBLE, then drop chunks of chocolate onto it and press them down so they stay, then flip the dough over and do the same on the back side
5. Roll the combined dough like you normally would with flour until it's ` 1/8" thick.
6. Run dental floss underneath the dough and cut out your cows
7. Place them on a greased or nonstick baking sheet and bake @ 350F for 8-10min or until golden brown at the edges.
Yeild: ~2 dozen

Notes:
-If you use too much flour to roll out the white dough initially the chocolate dough won't stick
-Waxed, unflavored dental floss is great for making sure your dough doesn't stick to your rolling surface
-The biggest problem I see with this dough is that once you roll it a second time it looks more swirly than patchy; you could try saving some chocolate dough so you've have varying degrees of white or tan with chocolate spots.


The Verdict:  definitely cow print but the flavor could be better


Original Recipe from: Pragmatic Attic

Cookies-Pudding Cookies

Sorry this update took so long, I made these a while ago and just didn't get around to posting...

Christmas time is over but I still had a few things left in the cupboard.  I had butterscotch pudding, toffee bits, and butterscotch chips and I'd tried some chocolate chip pudding cookies a classmate brought in so I figured there had be a way to combine these things into something delicious.  What I discovered was an extremely versatile and simple recipe.  While I was combining things I thought I might call them 'highschool boyfriend cookies' because even a guy who can only bake frozen pizzas could take this recipe and come up with some delicious combinations for his lady friend.  Just adjust the ingredients as needed, add her favorite fruit, change the type of chocolate etc.

Pudding cookies (the Highschool Boyfriend cookie)

I didn't take a picture apparently, which makes me mad b/c they looked really good!

Ingredients:

1c (1 stick) butter, softened
3/4c brown sugar
1/4c sugar
1 box (3.4oz) instant pudding mix (do not prepare)
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla
1tsp baking soda
1/2tsp salt
2 1/2c flour
1c butterscotch chips
1c toffee bits

Directions:

1. Cream butter, brown sugar, and sugar
2. Add eggs, vanilla, baking soda, salt, and pudding mix then slowly add in flour
3. Add toffee bits and chips
4. Drop ~2tbs balls onto greased or nonstick baking sheet and bake @ 350F for 8-12min
5. Let cool for 2 min (if you can resist eating them) on the baking sheet before moving them to a cooling rack
Yield: ~3 dozen

Notes:
-I used butterscotch and toffee but the possibilities are endless

Suggestions for recipe variations:
Valentine's Day-chocolate pudding, dark chocolate chips, and valentine's m&m candies; dollop the cookie in a V shape and end up with festive heart-shapen treats
Birthday-vanilla pudding, white chocolate chips, rainbow sprinkles; bake in a round pan for a cookie cake
St. Patrick's Day-pistachio pudding, pistachios, and gold colored white chocolate chunks
Pina Colada-coconut pudding, shredded coconut, chopped dried pinapple and cherries
Monthly cookies-cheesecake pudding, chocolate chips and pretzel sticks (salty and sweet!)


The Verdict:  extremely versatile, simple, and delicious


Original Recipe from: Two Peas and their Pod
Other tasty combinations at:  Chef in Training