Cinnamon Swirl Bread

This bread was so good! I think it may have been because I used almond milk instead of regular milk. I've gotten in the habit of buying almond milk since I decided to try it a few months ago and it is so good! I also think I undercooked the bread since the timing provided was 40 - 50 minutes....it looked done after about 40 minutes so I took it out. It probably could've stayed in another 5, but I always prefer undercooked baking to overcooked. I also misjudged splitting up the batter when adding the swirl. I put much more than half of the batter in the pan before sprinkling it with the cinnamon sugar (see my picture!). Next time I'll measure it out. :)

Adapted from: http://www.bakeorbreak.com/

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted (I omitted)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk (I used almond milk)
1/3 cup cooking oil

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease/flour/spray the bottom and sides of a 9″x5″x3″ loaf pan.Combine 1/3 cup of sugar, pecans, and cinnamon. Set aside.
Combine 1 cup of sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat egg. Then, stir in milk and oil. Make a well in the flour mixture and add the egg mixture. Stir just until mixed. Do not overmix.
Pour half of the batter into loaf pan. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon mixture. Repeat. With a wide rubber scraper or spatula, swirl mixtures together with a down and up circular motion.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until done. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes. Then, cool completely on a wire rack.

Cocoa Brownies with Peanut Butter Chips

Oh my God, these were intense! Not very sweet but VERY chocolatey - my kind of brownie! I used Hershey's Special Dark cocoa which may have had something to do with how rich they were. The original recipe noted that the baker used 1/2 regular cocoa powder and 1/2 Special Dark. I think these would also be great with a cream cheese swirl, which I may try sometime in the near future! In fact, fall is here and I've been looking to try a pumpkin cream cheese swirl brownie....I may have to keep this brownie base for that recipe!

Adapted from: http://www.erinsfoodfiles.com/

INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 sticks of unsalted butter

1 1/3 cup of white sugar

3/4 cup PLUS 2 tbsp of cocoa powder (I used all Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa)

1/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup flour

1 cup of peanut butter chips

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and make sure rack is in the lower third of the oven. Coat an 8 inch baking pan with cooking spray or line it with parchment paper. In a large heat proof bowl, combine the butter, sugar, cocoa and salt. Set the bowl in a large skillet of water and simmer over medium low heat. Stir occasionally until the butter is melted and mixture is hot to the touch. The mixture will look slightly grainy. Remove from heat and cool until warm.

Add vanilla and stir with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time mixing thoroughly after each one. When the batter looks well blended, smooth and shiny, slowly add the flour and stir until it's combined thoroughly, then stir vigorously for 30 strokes. Stir in the peanut butter chips. Pour into the baking pan and place a few more peanut butter chips on top.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely then lift up ends of the parchment paper (if used) and transfer brownies to a cutting board where you cut into bite sized pieces.

Kahlua Cupcakes

Another Kulisek birthday, another booze cupcake! It was only appropriate for a 21st birthday. ;) My sister-in-law turned 21 and we celebrated on her birthday out in the city with my husband's band as the entertainment. It was lucky he was playing at a great place that night! I made these cupcakes that day - and they were amazing! I didn't want to do a buttercream icing like Annies-Eats' website called for, so I searched for a cream cheese icing recipe which I found at All Recipes. I added Kahlua to this recipe. The icing was a little watery and looked to be running off of the cupcakes, but that was fixed by keeping the cupcakes in the refrigerator. These were extremely rich and wonderful and definitely on my Must Make Again list!

CUPCAKES (makes 20 - 24)

Adapted from: www.annies-eats.com

INGREDIENTS

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tbsp. instant espresso powder (I used a dark roast instant coffee)

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1½ cups sugar

1½ tsp. baking soda

¾ tsp. baking powder

¾ tsp. salt

2 large eggs

¾ cup warm water

¾ cup buttermilk

3 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the brushing: KAHULA LIQUEUR

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line standard cupcake pans with paper liners. In a large mixing bowl combine the cocoa powder, espresso powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt; whisk well to blend. Add the eggs, warm water, buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract to the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix on medium-high speed until smooth, 2-3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake until the tops spring back when pressed lightly, about 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Let cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Poke a few holes in the top of each cupcake with the tines of a fork and brush with Kahlua while still warm. Allow to cool completely.

KAHLUA CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Adapted from: www.allrecipes.com (minus the Kahlua)

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3-4 Tablespoons of Kahlua (to taste)

DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Mix in Kahlua. I'm not exactly sure how much Kahlua I mixed in...I started with one tablespoon and keep adding a few more teaspoons until I thought the taste was right. I'm guessing about 4 tablespoons, but that could be altered depending on how strong you want the Kahlua flavor. Store in the refrigerator after use.

Tiramisu Cupcakes

Wow, it's been a while since I updated my blog! I apologize! ;) I actually only have this recipe and one other cupcake recipe that I have baked in the past couple of months...it's been a busy summer! That and turning the oven on in our house makes our downstairs feel like 100 degrees....I've been avoiding it as much as possible! These cupcakes I made for a "Beer Around the World" Party. Yes, I did bring beer too! My country was Italy, so I brought a case of Peroni and also baked these Tiramsu Cupcakes to go along with the Italian theme. The icing was the best part of this cupcake! It was outstanding. There was a lot of icing left over and I ended up eating spoonfuls before dumping out the rest. (Which is awful since it consisted of heavy cream, marscapone cheese and powdered sugar!) The cake itself was alright...it seemed a little stiff for my liking if that makes any sense. Next time I may go with a different plain cupcake recipe for that!

Adpated from: http://www.marthastewart.com/

CUPCAKE (makes 18)

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 cup milk
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces
3 large whole eggs plus 3 egg yolks, room temperature
1 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Heat milk and vanilla-bean pod and seeds in a small saucepan over medium heat just until bubbles appear around the edge. Remove from heat. Whisk in butter until melted, and let stand 15 minutes. Strain milk mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, and discard vanilla-bean pod.
With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk together whole eggs, yolks, and sugar. Set mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water, and whisk by hand until sugar is dissolved and mixture is warm, about 6 minutes. Remove bowl from heat. With an electric mixer on high speed, whisk until mixture is fluffy, pale yellow, and thick enough to hold a ribbon on the surface for several seconds when whisk is lifted.
Gently but thoroughly fold flour mixture into the egg mixture in three batches; stir 1/2 cup batter into the strained milk mixture to thicken, then fold milk mixture into the remaining batter until just combined.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until centers are completely set and edges are light golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.
To finish, brush tops of cupcakes evenly with coffee-marsala syrup; repeat until all syrup has been used. Allow cupcakes to absorb liquid 30 minutes. Dollop frosting onto cupcakes; refrigerate up to overnight in airtight containers. Dust generously with cocoa powder just before serving.



COFFEE-MARSALA SYRUP

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon freshly brewed very strong coffee (or espresso)
1 ounce marsala
1/4 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS

Stir together coffee, marsala, and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Let cool.



MARSCAPONE FROSTING

INGREDIENTS

1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

DIRECTIONS
With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk heavy cream until stiff peaks form (be careful not to overbeat, or cream will be grainy). In another bowl, whisk together mascarpone and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Gently fold whipped cream into mascarpone mixture until completely incorporated. Use immediately.

S'mores Cookies

So good and perfect for a summer barbecue! (And housewarming - don't worry Mike, you didn't get the leftovers!) I tasted one of these minutes after they came out of the oven and they were delicious. Definitely on my list of cookies to make again! Next time I will cut back on the semi-sweet chocolate chips, only because at the end of the bowl of dough it seemed like there were so many chips and they had to go to waste.

Adapted from: http://www.cookiemadness.net/

INGREDIENTS
6 oz unsalted butter, cool room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate (I think this was too much, 1 cup would've been fine)
1 cup miniature marshmallows
2 Hershey Bars, broken into pieces (or other favorite milk chocolate)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C). Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Cream butter and both sugars with an electric mixer; beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in salt and baking soda making sure they are well distributed and free of lumps; stir in the flour, followed by graham cracker crumbs. Stir in chocolate chips.
Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets, spacing about 3 inches apart. Bake for 9 minutes. Remove and quickly press marshmallows and chocolate into cookies. Return to oven and cook until done (about 3 minutes)
Makes about 3 dozen

Graham Cracker Chewy Bars

These were outstanding and so easy to make! I wasn't expecting much, but saw this simple recipe on a new blog I found and was looking for one more dessert to make for my sister's graduation party. I actually made these again a week later for a barbecue. I cut the recipe in half and made it in an 8x8 pan and cut the cooking time down to 17 minutes. When I first cut into the bars, I thought I severely undercooked them since the middle bars were very gooey. However, when I made them a second time I increased the time to 20 minutes and thought they tasted better undercooked. 17 minutes it is! (If I ever make the full recipe in a 13x9 pan, I'm not sure what it will be!)

Adapted from: http://www.erinsfoodfiles.com/

INGREDIENTS
CRUST

3 cups graham cracker crumbs

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour
TOPPING

2 1/2 cups brown sugar

4 extra-large eggs (I just used large)

2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup pecans, chopped (I omitted)

Powdered sugar, if desired

DIRECTIONS
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar and flour until moist and well-blended. Press the mixture firmly and evenly over the bottom of a 13-inch by 9-inch baking pan. Bake until the crust is golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.
While the crust is baking, in a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and eggs to blend. Whisk in the graham cracker crumbs, vanilla, salt and baking powder until well-blended. Stir in the pecans.
Spread the mixture over the baked crust and return to the 350-degree oven until the filling is dark-golden on top and jiggles slightly when tapped, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and cool completely.
Sprinkle a light coating of sifted powdered sugar over the pan if desired, and cut into 24 bars. The bars can be made 1 day in advance. Wrap in plastic and keep at room temperature.

Peanut Butter Blondies

I was slightly disappointed with these....only because I expected to be the best thing I ever tasted! They were good, don't get me wrong, but I think I was expecting a more chewy blondie than the cookie-type that it actually was. I also cut back on some of the pb cups and pb chips because I thought it looked like a lot! However, if I try these again I would add the full amount. Actually, if I try these again I may use the "Blondies - Infinitely Adaptable" from Smitten Kitchen with PB cups, chocolate chips and pb chips....they had the buttery blondie taste I was looking for!

Adapted from: http://cookiesonfriday.blogspot.com/

INGREDIENTS
2 cup flour
1/2 cup cake flour
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter
2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups chopped peanut butter cups
1-1/2 cups peanut butter chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Additional peanut butter cups (about 20)

DIRECTIONS
Linea 9 x 13 inch pan with aluminum foil, allowing the foil to hang over the sides of the pan, and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Stir together the flours, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a sized mixer bowl, stir together the melted butter and peanut butter. Whisk in the brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Switching to a wooden spoon or a spatula, mix in the flour mixture. Stir in the chips and peanut butter cups. The dough will be thick and chunky. Scrape the dough into the prepared pan and spread it in evenly. Bake for 30-35 minutes; the bars are done when the dough is set and golden. Immediately after removing the bars from the oven, press as many peanut butter cups as you want into the surface of the blondies. Let the pan and bars cool completely on a cooling rack. Lift the cookies from the pan remove the foil and cut into bars.