recipe: apple muffins

photo from The Girl Who Ate Everything

taken from: The Girl Who Ate Everything

changes: added 1/2 tsp nutmeg, otherwise made as originally written.


ingredients list: 
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup oil
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 3 cups cored & diced apples (about 3 apples)
- brown sugar for topping (about 1/4 cup)

to make: 
preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and line muffin pan with paper liners.

cream the sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla in a medium bowl. sift flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a separate bowl. add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture until combined. (the batter will be extremely thick - this is OK) add the diced apples.

fill paper liners almost to the top, about 3/4 of the way full. sprinkle with brown sugar, and bake at 350 F degrees for about 20-24 minutes. will make 18 muffins, +/-. 

results: perfect tasting muffin. i just wish i didn't know how unhealthy they are, because i felt guilty the entire time i was eating it. i'd make again but see if i can health the up next time (apples sauce for the oil, maybe decrease sugar?) 

recipe: Ferrero Roche Nutella cake

quick/crummy picture... sorry cake

changes: i needed a quick/easy cake base since i was short on time, so used a hybrid of 2 recipes for the cake base + icing for this cake. the original cake base recipe does not call for any added liquor, but i sprinkled hazelnut booze in between all layers. 

result: amazing. this icing is perfect for a cake that needs a little extra sumthin-sumthin, or even to layer in between cookies. i copy-cated the toppings from Tatayan's Everyday Food, which was really easy, but looked SO pretty. the cake was a little tricky to spread icing on but it was so moist, but the flavor was really rich and a perfect compliment to the hazelnutty icing. perfect.

ICING/FILLING:
taken from: Tatayana's Everyday Food

ingredients icing:
- 2 cups butter, softened to room temp
- 1 cup nutella
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 cups confectioner's sugar

ingredients topping:
- crunchy wafer or waffle cookies, crushed (i used Belgian almond thins)
- 1/2 cup Frangelico or other hazelnut liquor
- Ferrero Rocher candies and hazelnuts
- gold sprinkles
- hazelnut Pirouette's 

CAKE BASE: 
taken from: allrecipes.com

ingredients: 
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 & 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water

to make: preheat oven to 350F degrees. grease and flour 3 9-inch round pans.

in a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. add the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla, and mix for 2 minutes on medium speed of mixer. stir in boiling water last. batter will be very thin. pour evenly into the 3 prepared pans. 

bake 25-30 minutes in the preheated oven, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. cool pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. 

to make icing, place softened butter and Nutella into a mixer, and whisk until light and fluffy. gradually add the confectioner's sugar until frosting is thick and fluffy. add pinch of salt for flavor. 

when ready to assemble cake, lightly soak each cake layer with Frangelico before topping with frosting and an crushed cookies between each layer. frost sides and top, then garnish with candy, hazelnuts, cookies, Pirouette's, sprinkles, or whatever else you want to throw on there. 

keep refrigerated, removing from fridge 1 hour before serving to allow buttercream to soften. 

recipe: apple galette with salted maple caramel drizzle (T-Day 2 of 3)

original recipe from: Live Eat Learn

changes: none to the original recipe, other than sprinkling some sliced almonds over top before baking

result: SO good. the crust tasted good on its own -- the sprinkle of sugar over top was perfect. this was pretty easy to put together (even more so than a pie) and looked so beautiful. would definitely make again.

ingredients: 

photo from Live Eat Learn

filling: 
- 2-3 granny smith apples - peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp flour
- 2 tbsp almond paste 
- dab of butter

dough:
- 1 & 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp sugar + more for sprinkling on top
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup cold, unsalted butter, cubed
- 2 tbsp ice water
- 2 tbsp cold apple or apricot brandy
- 1 egg white

salted maple caramel: 
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp water
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt

recipe: pecan pie blondies (T-day 4 of 5)

this was one of the better Thanksgiving desserts i've ever made. they

photo courtesy of Bakerita

were insanely unhealthy, but worth it. there really isn't anything better than brown butter... especially when it's mixed up with brown sugar and other fatty, sugary goodnesses. i used the recipe from Bakerita, following it to a T. 

ingredients list - blondie layer:

- 1/2 cup unsalted butter

- 1 cup dark brown sugar

- 1 large egg

- 1 tbsp vanilla 

- 1 cup all-purpose flour

- 1/4 tsp kosher salt

ingredients list - pecan layer:

- 1/4 (4 tbsp) unsalted butter

- 1/2 cup brown sugar

- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup

- 1/4 cup heavy cream

- 1 & 1/2 cups roughly chopped pecans

recipe: chocolate stout brownies

i needed a yum dessert to bring to a fairly beer-loving crowd, and found a ton of amazing beer-inspired, beer-infused recipes. i decided to go with brownies (classic) from Foodie Crush, and omg am glad i did -- these turned out super-gooey, rich, and were actually one of the better brownies i've ever had - homemade, professional, or otherwise. i have a fear of making brownies and ending up with cake-like brownies (or... just icing-less chocolate cake?), these were more like uncooked brownie batter. YUM!

the recipe originally called for 1/2 cup stout, which reduces to about 1/4 cup... i used about 3x that as it very quickly evaporated. i'm not sure if that gave it even more of a rich, stouty flavor or not, but more beer never hurts :)

ingredients list:

- 1.5 cups stout

- 10 oz 60% bittersweet chocolate chips (i used a combo of semisweet chocolate chips & Ghirardelli dark chocolate 

- 1 cup butter

- 1 cup sugar

- 1 tsp vanilla

- 1/2 tsp kosher salt

- 3 eggs

- 1 cup flour

recipe: paleo brownies with caramel & toasted coconut flakes

one of the Portland struggles is having friends with special diets. hosting or bringing something to a party there is guaranteed to be a vegetarian, a gluten-free, a paleo, a pescatarian, a vegan, a lactose-intolerant, a organic only, or 1,000 combinations of diets in between of that. i was tasked with needing to bake a paleo-only desert, not really knowing what that was before i embarked on my journey of recipe searching. baking without grains or dairy blew my mind. 

i searched quite a few recipes, and they all sounded just based on ingredients alone that they would taste like hot garbage. the brownie recipe from Amazing Paleo sounded like one of the better recipes of the bunch, and didn't seem like they would end up as "dry and sandy" as some of the other reviewed recipes out there.

they turned out fairly tasty -- these would never be my go-to brownie if i had a choice, but the folks i brought them for said they were one of the better paleo deserts they have ever had (they recently gave up baking paleo since the results were so poor typically). i'd say if you have to bake paleo, this is a really solid recipe, BUT it is so damn expensive (i think i spent almost $30 on ingredients when all was said & done), buying a desert from a swanky paleo bakery may be a good back up as well! 

recipe: lemon poppyseed bundt cake

something about spring brings me overwhelming cravings for lemon-based desserts and orange-zested cookies. i was torn between a dope-ass lemon square and a lemon poppy seed cake, but those savory lil poppy seeds threw me over the edge. i made this cake last week with the intention of just having one slice to calm my craving... i ended up having almost half the cake, but thankfully bringing it into work easily gets rid of the leftovers.

i used the recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction -- i liked that she took no shortcuts, used no lemon pudding, nor any yellow cake mix boxed-base... she was all about lemons and the ultimate ingredients. thankfully, all of the little extra steps she included made the end result well worth while -- this was so damn good!

ingredients list - cake:
- 2 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup poppy seeds
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temp
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temp
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- zest of 4 large lemons (about 1/3 cup, packed)
- juice of 2 large lemons (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 cup buttermilk, room temp

ingredients list - lemon simple syrup:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- juice of 2 large lemons (about 1/2 cup)

ingredients list - lemon glaze:
- 1 cup sifted confectioners sugar
- juice of 1/2 (or up to 1) large lemon

recipe: chocolate Reeses Pieces cookies

i've made these cookies a bunch -- they're easy, delicious, and sometimes just more fun to bring somewhere than plain old chocolate chip cookies (which, for being plain, never fail to be amazing and delightful). somehow i never got around to putting them up on here... so alas, the official recipe (taken from allrecipes, Peanut Butter Chip Chocolate Cookies).

ingredients list: 

- 1 cup butter, room temp

- 1 & 1/2 cups white sugar

- 2 eggs, room temp
- 2 tsp vanilla extract

- 2 cups flour

- 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

- 3/4 tsp baking soda

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 2 cups Reeses Pieces (or peanut butter chips)

to make: preheat oven to 350 degrees F. prep cookie sheets with parchment paper or grease.

in medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. stir in the eggs and vanilla. combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, and stir dry mixture into creamed mixture. fold in the Reeses Pieces. drop cookie dough into large teaspoonfuls onto the cookie sheets. 

bake for 8-10 minutes, then allow to cool on wire racks. 

recipe: Easter sugar cookies with ice cream sundae malted milk balls

i needed a recipe for an impromptu iron chef event that, in keeping with Easter season, had "eggs" as the secret ingredient. they could be blended in, or the star of the dish - anything went as long as they were in there. since i had zero time to think of a creative recipe and/or cook it, i decided to go the route of buying malted milk ball eggs, smashing them up, and throwing them in a sugar cookie which naturally has eggs in them. boom.

after baking the cookies, i taste-tested one and realized it was orange ice cream flavored...and actually tasted berserk. super fake sugar sweet. i didn't even know ice cream malted milk candies existed (isn't "malted milk" the flavor??? how can you add ice cream freak show to that party?) clearly you can't trust the insanity of the new-aged holiday candy aisle, but it was too late after i made them and i forged on ahead anyway.  

the sugar cookie recipe here was good (i used the Easy Sugar Cookies recipe from allrecipes.com), super easy, and something i would make again, but honestly i hated the candy - BUY ROBINS EGGS if you make these. if you love ice cream flavored malted milk balls tho, you will love these. quite a few people did, much to my shock. different strokes for different folks. 

ingredients list: 

- 2 & 3/4 cups flour

- 1 tsp baking soda

- 1/2 tsp baking powder

- 1 cup butter, softened

- 1 & 1/2 cups white sugar

- 1 egg

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 1 cup crushed malted milk candies, or any other candy you'd like

recipe: apple crumb muffins

i've made these blueberry muffins (the To Die For Blueberry Muffins from allrecipes.com) a few times, and they are by far my favorite blueberry muffin recipe. we had some apples in the house and i modified them this weekend to make mini-apple muffins. since the apple isn't as potent as the blueberry you taste more of the crumb topping than the apple, but they are still a damn good lil muffin, and a good base recipe to mess around with other flavors. to give the apples more of a pop, i might try to soak them in hard cider or amaretto next time and see how that does... 

ingredients list: (makes about 8 large muffins)

- 1 & 1/2 cups flour

- 3/4 cup white sugar

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 2 tsp baking powder

- 1/3 cup vegetable oil

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 1 egg

- 1/3 cup milk

- 1 & 1/2 cups fresh diced apple (or blueberries if preferred)

- 1/2 cup white sugar

- 1/3 cup flour1/4 cup butter, cubed

- 1 & 1/2 tsp cinnamon

to make: grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners. preheat oven to 400 degrees.

make crumb topping by mixing together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 & 1/2 tsp cinnamon. mix with fork, and set aside. 

in a large bowl, combine 1 & 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt, and baking powder. place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg, vanilla, and enough milk to fill the cup. stir this into the flour mixture. fold in the chopped apple, and fill the muffins cups right to the top. sprinkle the crumb topping over the top of the muffins.

bake for 20 - 25 minutes in the preheated oven or until a toothpick test comes out clean.

recipe: funfetti cake batter cheesecake

i needed a lil nosh to bring to a party this weekend, and haven't baked anything and/or searched recipes in a while sadly. i had this recipe saved on foodgawker.com from Teenage Taste that seemed like the perfect lil fix. they were very easy to put together, although unfortunately did not come out as cute as the ones on TT's site - although i used less food coloring than recommended, the green i made was a tad more of a minty hue. no harm, no foul, but i personally hate overly food-colored deserts. i prepped it verbatim otherwise, adding in a bit more sprinkles and some of the mixing process. they still did taste really good which is mostly all that matters though.

ingredients list: 
- 1 & 3/4 cups vanilla cookie crumbs (Nilla wafers)
- 6 tbsp butter, melted
- 16 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar, divided
- 1/2 cup yellow cake mix
- 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp milk
- 1 & 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup sprinkles
- 3-5 drops green food coloring (the original recipe has 5 drops blue, 3 drops green... i added 5 total and found that to be a touch too much)

to make: preheat oven to 350 degrees F. grease a 9-inch baking pan, line with parchment paper, and set aside.

stir together cookie crumbs, 2 tbsp sugar, and melted butter. press into the bottom of the prepared pan. bake about 8-10 minutes, until crust just begins to brown.

beat cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. add remaining sugar and beat until smooth. add the milk, vanilla, salt, and cake mix and beat again until completely combined and smooth. stir in the sprinkles and add the eggs, gently stirring until combined. 

pour batter over the prepared crust, and bake until just set, about 40 - 45 minutes, using a water bath if preferred. allow to cool 30 minutes in the open oven, then 30 minutes at room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours before slicing and serving. 

recipe: Easter M&M Peep cookies

Easter. no prep time - needed a quick recipe, but wanted one that was still fairly cute and in theme w/ the holiday. since kids were going to be around, i went with a classic simple chocolate-chip inspired cookie. the recipe was snagged from Love Veggies and Yoga by Avery Cooks - it's a nice base recipe and i'm glad i found it b/c her trick of adding cornstarch to keep the cookies soft & chewy is smart -- and worked! i followed the recipe verbatim, with exception to adding in a few chopped up Peeps -- nothing says Easter like some dismembered marshmallow friends.  the cookies themselves are fairly light tasting, so the marshmallows added a nice extra hit of sweetness. 

ingredients list: 

- 3/4 cup (1 & 1/2 sticks) butter, softened

- 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

- 1/4 cup granulated sugar

- 1 egg

- 2 tsp vanilla extract 

- 2 cups flour

- 2 tsp cornstarch

- 1 tsp baking soda

- pinch salt

- 1 & 1/2 cups M&Ms 

- 4-5 Peeps, chopped into small chunks

to make: in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter, sugars, egg, vanilla and beat on medium speed until creamy, light, and fluffy. add in the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and mix until combined (note: it will seem like there is not enough liquid to ever absorb this flour... my mixture seemed like a pile of sand. it does eventually soak it all up and becomes "normal"). stir in the M&Ms & Peeps by hand.  

place dough onto prepared cookie sheet (cooking spray or parchment paper)in 2-inch balls. flatten dough balls slightly with your palm, then refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours before baking (this will prevent the dough from spreading if it is too warm). 

when ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. bake cookies 8-10 minutes. allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving to rack to finish cooling.

recipe: chocolate peanut pretzel cookie bars

i've made these a few times - they are one of the easiest (literally just throwing ingredients in a pan) and yummiest cookie bars, perfect for a quick dessert. the original recipe, Chocolately Peanut Pretzel Bars is from allrecipes.com. once you have the base of cookie dough, really you can through whatever cookie fixins you want on it depending on what's around / craving. 

ingredients list: 

- 2 & 1/2 cups Nestle cookie dough tub, divided (or homemade if you're not being lazy)

- 3/4 cup chocolate chips

- 3/4 cup Reeses pieces

- 1 cup mini pretzels, broken into 1/2 inch pieces

- 1 cup honey roasted peanuts

to make: preheat oven to 350 degrees F. grease 13x9 inch baking pan. place 2 cups dough into the pan, and pat down so the bottom of the pan is fully covered. 

sprinkle the chocolate chips, pretzels, peanuts, 1-inch blogs of remaining dough, and Reeses pieces over dough.

bake for 23 to 27 minutes or until it starts to brown around the edge. cool completely then cut into small squares for serving. 

recipe: chili chocolate cookies

catching up on old cookin... i made these chili chocolate cookies for new years. big fan of the Lindt dark chili chocolate bar and seemed like the cookie form would be just as delish. i used the Peanut Butter Chip Chocolate Chip cookie recipe from allrecipes.com as the base (my fav choc cookie recipe), subing in the chili chocolate & some spices.result was good - chocolatey, spicy... but something was missing. they didn't come out as ooey-gooey as they usually do - if you like a cake-like cookie, it would have been just right. something to tweak a lil for next time.

ingredients list: 

- 1 cup butter, room temp

- 1 & 1/2 cups white sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract

- 2 eggs, room temp

- 2 cups flour

- 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

- 3/4 tsp baking soda

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1 & 1/2 cups dark chili chocolate, broken into small pieces

- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

to make: preheat oven to 350 degrees F. prep cookie sheets with parchment paper or grease.

in medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. stir in the eggs and vanilla. combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon and stir dry mixture into creamed mixture. fold in the chili chocolate pieces. drop cookie dough into large teaspoonfuls onto the cookie sheets. 

bake for 8-10 minutes, then allow to cool on wire racks. 

recipe: oreo cheesecake bars

i needed a very quick but yum dessert for a Hannukah party i was going to - i found these on foodgawker.com and they looked deLIGHTful. the recipe i snagged was from Table for Two - it was as quick and as delish as i had hoped. they actually just tasted like a gigantic oreo, albeit with a slight cream cheese tang. 

ingredients list: 

crust:

- 23 Oreo cookies

- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

cheesecake:

- 12 oz cream cheese, room temp

- 6 tbsp. sugar

- 6 tbsp. sour cream, room temp

- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

- 1/4 tsp. salt

- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk

- 12 Oreo cookies, roughly chopped

to make: preheat oven to 325F degrees, and line a 8x8 inch baking dish with parchment paper (making sure it overhangs a bit so that the entire thing can be easily removed later).

to make the crust, finely grind the 23 Oreos until they are smooth crumbs. add in the melted butter and pulse until the mixture is fully incorporated and resembles wet sand. pour mixture into the prepared baking pan, pressing down crumbs into an even layer. bake crust for 10 minutes, then set aside. 

in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium high until light and smooth. mix in the sugar until well-combined. blend in the sour cream, vanilla, and salt, then gently mix in the egg and egg yolk until well-incorporated. gently stir in the chopped Oreos. 

pour cheesecake batter over the prepared crust. bake for 40 minutes, or until cheesecake is set around the edges but slightly wobbly in the center. let cheesecake cool to room temperature (about 1 hour), then refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving. 

recipe: pumpkin muffins

i haven't updated this in a while seeing these pumpkin muffins were made a week after Thanksgiving, using the leftover pumpkin pulp i had hanging around in the fridge. i had snagged the recipe from Smitten Kitchen, almost verbatim except for the oats i added in for a lil extra somethin'. it was a very simple/quick recipe, and they  came out great- light & delish. 

ingredients list: 

- 1 & 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp pumpkin-pie spice
- 1 & 1/4 cups plus 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon

- 1/2 cup plus 3 tbsp oats

to make: preheat oven to 350F degrees. prepare muffin pan with shortening or paper liners.

stir together the pumpkin, oil, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, 1 & 1/4 cups sugar, baking soda,oats, and salt in a large bowl until smooth, then stir in the flour mixture until just combined. in another bowl, stir together the cinnamon, remaining 1 tbsp sugar, and 3 tbsp oats.

divide batter among the muffin cups until about 3/4 full, then sprinkle tops with cinnamon/sugar/oats mixture. bake until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. done!

recipe: pumpkin ale cheesecake

so i'm a big fan of The Beeroness blog, however i have had yet to try anything from her site. her Pumpkin Ale Cheesecake with Beer Pecan Caramel Sauce suuuper caught my eye for Thanksgiving baking. mother of mother. it was a fun desert and even though i'm not huge on pumpkin pies, i def enjoyed this. 

ingredients list:
cheesecake:
- 9 standard sized graham crackers
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 4 tbsp melted butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 16 oz cream cheese, softened
- 4 eggs, room temp
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmet
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 & 1/4 cup pumpkin ale (i used Blue Moon Pumpkin)
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp flour

caramel sauce:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup pumpkin ale
- 1/4 cup corn syrup
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup cream
- 1/3 cup pecans

to make: prep a spring form pan with parchment/grease and set aside. in a food processor, add the graham crackers and brown sugar, and crush until it becomes all crumbs. add melted butter and process until it resembles wet sand. dump into the bottom of the prepared spring form pan, and press down until it is firmly compacted. set aside.

preheat oven to 350F degrees. in a large bowl, add the brown sugar, white sugar, and cream cheese and mix until well combined. one at a time, add the eggs and vanilla, carefully mixing until well combined. 

in a separate bowl, mix the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, and mix until combined. add pumpkin puree mixture to sugar/cream cheese mixture and stir gently until fully combined. add the beer until combined (note: the batter will be VERY liquidy at this point). sprinkle the flour over the bowl, then stir until just combined. pour batter over the prepared crust.

bake at 350F, adding a water bath if desired,  for about 1 hour or until the center no longer jiggles when you shake the rack the cheesecake sits on (be very careful not to over bake). chill until set, about 3 hours. for best results, chill cheesecake overnight before serving. 

to make caramel sauce, add the sugar, beer, and corn syrup to a saucepan and stir over medium high heat for about 1 minute. reduce heat to low and allow to boil about 10 minutes with a temp around 230F on a candy thermometer. add the butter, pecans, and the cream, and stir until combined. allow to cool to room temperature before serving. 

recipe: almond cookies

i have had a major thang for almond cookies lately. ever since having them from Daily Planet in Poughkeepsie, NY, i've been mildly obsessed. that obsession was renewed when i tried the Almond Pillow cookies from Fresh Market - enough to almost replace the italian sugar cookie which currently holds my favorite cookie ranking. MMMMM.

after seeing almond paste for sale in a specialty shop (maybe Fresh Market?), it was go-time to finally make them for T-day. i used a recipe from Pegasus Legend - What's Cookin with a slight tweak, and was not disappointed. not only that, but they are shockingly EASY to make. aaah. the only downside is that they are pretty expensive to make, otherwise... PERFECT. love. 

ingredients list:  
- 8 oz almond paste
- 2 egg whites
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup confectionary sugar
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1 cup silvered almonds (roughly)

to make: preheat oven to 300F degrees. mix together all ingredients except the silvered almonds, and stir until fully incorporated. take rounded teaspoonfuls of dough and roll into the silvered almonds. drop the almond covered balls onto parchment-lined baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.  

bake for 20-25 minutes in preheated oven, until bottoms appear slightly golden. when finished baking, remove to a wired rack immediately. sprinkle with additional confectioners sugar if desired. 

recipe: snickerdoodles

i love little snickerdoodle cookies. classier than a sugar cookie, but too silly to be fancy. and usually they can be made without having to run to the store for any ingredients, so they're a good lil go-to. i also made these last weekend, and they were delish as per usual. if you follow the recipe to a T, taken from Mrs Sigg's Snickerdoodles recipe on allrecipes.com, you can't go wrong.  

ingredients list: 

• - 1/2 cup butter, softened
• - 1/2 cup shortening
• - 1 & 1/2 cups white sugar
• - 2 eggs
• - 2 tsp vanilla 
• - 2 & 3/4 cups  flour
• - 2 tsp cream of tartar
• - 1 tsp baking soda
• - 1/4 tspn salt
• - 2 tbsp white sugar
• - 2 tsp cinnamon

to make: preheat oven to 400 degrees. cream together butter, shortening, 1 & 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and vanilla. blend in the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls, about 1 inch big.

mix the 2 tbsp sugar and the cinnamon, then roll balls of dough into the cinna-sugar mixture. place 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. bake 8-10 minutes until set but not too hard. remove to wire racks to cool.