What I Did for Valentine’s Day

I’ve had quite an eventful weekend. This was the first weekend where I forced myself to do homework, tons of homework, after work  and throughout the week, instead of waiting for the weekend. This was because Friday, February 15 was my Valentine’s Day. I haven’t had a chance to really hang out and see Boyfriend the past three weeks or so. And I know there’s a chance I won’t be seeing him this weekend either (thanks odd work schedule). So we decided to be indulgent, and extravagant, and lovey-dovey (sort of), and have a Valentine’s Weekend.

Not so much because we’re lovers of the holiday (and I’ve read plenty of blog posts about how Valentine’s day should be every day, and why should men assume that they can be awesome this one day, and completely romantic and the rest of the time be completely ignorant in the ways of love) but because we haven’t seen each other in a long time, and we haven’t been alone in a long time, and just, couple-y, therefore Valentine’s way the perfect excuse to go over the top.

That being said, I was so happy with how our plans turned out that I, sadly, didn’t take many photos (being so lost in the many moments). My apologies. I did take a few photos. And I hope to be better in the future about it, however, there are recipes that I made (even though two photos are missing), that were completely amazing, and I can’t wait to make them again!

But first, say hello to my three new Otto fishes. I could only get a shot of two at a time, so you’ll have to imagine the third

First recipe up, is this lovely Molten Chocolate Cake. 

This was my first time making this recipe, so I followed it to the T, except for used two larger ramekins (to serve two, obviously), and adjusted the cooking time to 15 minutes. The original recipe follows.

4 pieces (squares) Bitter-sweet or Semi-sweet or just plain sweet Chocolate (this is a matter of preference)*

½ cups Butter, chopped into several pieces

1 cup Confectioner’s or Powdered Sugar plus an extra 1-2 Tablespoon for dusting, separated

2 whole Eggs plus 2 Egg yolks

6 Tablespoons Flour

*I actually used chocolate chips, and eyeballed what I thought 4 squares would be. It really doesn’t matter here how much chocolate you use. I think mine was roughly 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chips.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease/spray about 4 custard molds/cups or small ramekins with a non-stick spray and then place them on a baking tray (cookie sheet).The next step requires melting the butter and chocolate. You can use the microwave, in 20 second increments till the butter is melted and the chocolate is softened. Or, you can use a double boiler. (I used the microwave. It’ll look scary with all that butter surrounding the chocolate, at least it was scary for me, however you have to keep stirring, and it’ll all work out).

Add 1 cup powdered sugar then whisk together until smooth.

Add the 2 eggs and the 2 egg yolks then whisk together again until smooth. Stir in the flour till just combined. Divide the batter into the four (or two) ramekins you’re using.

Bake until the sides and top are firm, but center is slightly wobbly and gooey. Let sit for 2 minutes (no more and no less, I MEAN IT), and serve by inverting to a plate. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or top with whipped cream.

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Next recipe comes without a photo. This one came from Add A Pinch, and was really an amazing recipe. The only thing I can say I followed was the gorgonzola butter and improvised, to taste, the rest. Below is my rendition of the recipe, but you can follow the link to view the original.

Skillet Steaks with Gorgonzola Butter

2 Ribeye steaks

Salt and pepper

Herbs de Provance

1/2 cup cognac

Gorgonzola cheese, about 4 tbsp

4 tbsp butter, softened at room temp

Pat dry the steaks to they are free from blood. Take a fork and liberally stab the steaks throughout, on both sides, and by the fat areas. Season with salt and pepper on both sides. Place the steaks in a ziplock bag and add the cognac. Close the bag and refrigerate for about 30 minutes, and up to several hours.

Next, season your cast iron skillet* and heat it over medium heat. Take out the steaks and let them come to room temperature (about 10 minutes) while the skillet is heating up. Dry the steaks again, when taking out of the cognac marinade. Do not do this liberally. I did because I was so hungry and in a hurry, and my steaks did not brown as well as I would  have liked.

Place in skillet, and cook about three minuets each side. I started off with two minutes a side, but had to turn mine about two and a half times because they were thick .

While the steaks are cooking, mix the butter with the gorgonzola cheese, and place in fridge, to wait for the steaks.

When the steaks are ready, sprinkle top with herb de provance and let sit for three minutes before plating. When placing on plate add a generous tbsp of the gorgonzola butter to melt and ooze around the meat.

Serve with potatoes, salad, bread, and good wine.

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Lastly, this recipe has been in the making for a while. I added more cheese than the recipe called for and added my own spices to the mix, however, the recipe basics were thanks to allrecipes.com.

This recipe too, was too good to be photographed. I even forgot to photograph this while writing up this post, when eating leftovers. So Sorry!

Baked Ziti

1 lb dry ziti pasta

1 onion, chopped

1 lb gound beef

2 (26 oz) jars of your favorite pasta sauce (I used tomato and basil flavor)

1 tbsp salt and pepper (or to taste)

1 tbsp herbs de provance

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp dried oregano

2 tbsp grouond garlic and ground onion powders

dash of liquid smoke

1 1/2 cups sour cream

6 oz of provolone cheese (sliced)– again, I used I believe 8 oz, a full Sargento bag of sliced provolone

6 oz of sliced mozerella—again from sargento, and I used the whole bag

1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.

In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F . Butter a 9×13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese, provolone cheese, and remaining sauce mixture. Top with remaining mozerella cheese slices and grated Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.

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Lastly, I want to say Happy Valentine’s Day again to all those that celebrate or enjoy the lovey stuff that comes with the holiday. The photo above has become a standard dessert treat I’ve been making myself after working out and a light dinner. I’m feeling great and happy, and I must say, nothing makes me feel better than strawberries, chocolate sprinkles, and whipped cream.

Walnut & Pear Jam Cookies and What I Did With My January

Hello All!

It’s been a very, very long time. As my friend pointed out earlier today, it’s been about a month since I’ve lasted attempted at making anything delicious (well, I have, like ribs, but sadly I haven’t really attempted to chronicle the occasion).

Today was the day. I’m procrastinating pretty hard today when it comes to homework. I’ve been cleaning, baking (obviously), and working out. Doing anything I can not to think about the hours of work that’s ahead of me. I’m even going to be a perfect, model student and meet with a classmate to work together and study. That’s right, about 7 hours worth of study and ABA terminology for my Saturday. How fun.

Mostly, I’m excited to get work over with, and just sleep in past 7 am.

In the meantime, I get to enjoy these lovely cookies. They were adapted from Home Cooking Adventure and I couldn’t be happier with the way they smell, and taste.

The only thing that I changed really, was that I didn’t add walnuts on top of my cookies (and that was explained below) and I used pear jam I got from a trip to Yuciapa for apple picking. I know, funny how I got pear jam when I went apple picking. But I got enough apples that I thought I’d be making my own (secretly).

It turned out amazing, and since I’m trying to be healthier overall, I did a little calorie count for y’all: these cookies are a smooth 90 calories each! Which means I get to enjoy them as I’m typing this up AND when I’m done working out. Win win, indeed.

Walnut and Pear Jam Cookies

• 1 stick butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup pear jam
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped
• walnuts for top (I omitted this, as I prefer to have more walnuts IN my cookies than ON TOP of them)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until well mixed. Beat in the egg.

Add apricot jam, almond extract and vanilla extract and stir well to incorporate. Stir dry ingredients together,  flour and baking powder and add into butter mixture.

Fold in the chopped walnuts.

Using a tablespoon or your ice cream scoop take small balls and place on prepared baking sheets with distance between them. Top with chopped walnuts and bake 15-17 minutes in the preheated oven or until golden brown. Remove from sheet to a cooling rack. Cool completely.

 

 

Now that I’ve got you hooked on the cookies, I can discuss where the rest of my January went.

I’ve been eagerly (and frighteningly) preparing for my first ever visit to Cal ABA. For those of you that don’t know. Cal ABA is a California based conference for professions and students (and affiliates and parents and everyone) that discusses future and current research in Applied Behavior Analysis. My company will be going there, as well as my University program. Not to mention a few of my classmates will be presenting their research there– I couldn’t be more excited.

In other news… I accomplished one of my 2013 goals already! If you all remember, I wanted to purchase an item from Agent Provocateur , just for myself, not for anything special, or for a birthday (or Valentine’s Day). So basically, instead of that store, I chose another, based out of New York, Called Journelle.

As soon as I got this pretty package in the mail I knew I’d be happy.

In my humble opinion, I think that Journelle is a lot better (price wise for the same quality) and it’s more versatile  I can wear it for a romantic night out, or under work clothing (and not feel filthy).

I purchased about 5 different styles (bras with undies to match), and they all fit perfectly, true to size and quality to boot! Absolutely wonderful! Aaaand free shipping~

I know that January is a long month, but that’s basically all I’ve been doing with it.

Banana Poppy Seed Muffins for a New Work Week

Afternoon all!

For most people, tomorrow is not just any Monday, but it’s THE Monday. The Monday that kids go back to school, as do countless teachers, students (in college, I mean), and service members that work with children. Not to mention all the administration that work in school. I don’t know about you, but I look forward to tons of traffic and being late.

To start the work week (and school week) off right I decided to get into the kitchen, for the first time this weekend, by the way, and start cooking. I managed to make a lovely pasta (simple tomato sauce with a hint of vodka and spices) for lunch tomorrow, as well as some rice and tilapia for dinner today, and banana poppy seed muffins to make getting out of bed worthwhile tomorrow.

I adapted this recipe from Crepes of Wrath, so check that out for the original recipe. Not that I changed it much.

 

Banana Muffins with Poppy Seed Bliss 

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 large bananas, very ripe and mashed (about 1 cup)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp cup honey
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• about 3 tablespoons poppy seeds
• raw sugar, for sprinkling (optional)- I omitted this for calorie reasons

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line and/or grease 18-20 muffin cups and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together your flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In another large bowl, beat together the mashed bananas, vegetable oil, milk, lemon juice, honey, and eggs.

Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until just moistened. Fold in the poppy seeds. Place about 1/3 cup of batter into each muffin cup (don’t overfill the cups, definitely do less than 1/3 than a heaping 1/3 cup) and sprinkle with raw sugar, if you like.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden and set. Allow to cool slightly before removing from the pan and serving.

The Baking Frenzy

Well the Christmas holiday is right around the corner, and I suppose you could say I’ve gone a bit mad with the baking. Christmas Eve will be celebrated at Boyfriend’s family home (his cousin’s) to be  exact. I usually bring dessert or some sort of after dinner treat, simply because it’s what I do. Growing up I was taught that the Hostess had to have something for herself, a bottle of wine, some nice cheese, a spa set, etc, and she shouldn’t ever have to worry about dessert.

Well, I have taken care of dessert, and then some!

First, I started off with  some chocolate crackle cookies with frosting and holiday sprinkles and some Ruby Thumbprint cookies, not to mention a new snickerdoodle recipe.

It’s a little difficult to imagine how many people these cookies alone will serve, however I have vanilla cake and chocolate guinness gingerbread ahead! I’m almost positive that I’ve started to crack. But in the most delicious way.

Chocolate Christmas Cookies with Glaze

1 1/8 cups soft butter (2 1/4 sticks, 18 tbsp)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
Topping:
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
candy sprinkles or sanding sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F Line a cookie sheet with parchment or Silpat.

Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Sift 1/3 c cocoa powder into the mixture and beat well. Sift together flour, baking soda and baking powder, and add to mixture. (Optionally, combine everything in a food processor and mix until combined.).

Form 1 tbsp sized balls. Place on cookie sheet at least 2″ apart, pressing down into fat discs. (The dough will be very sticky; gloves may be a good idea.).

Bake 15 minutes. The tops will develop a cracked appearance. Cool 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack until completely cooled. (Placing a sheet of newspaper under the rack will help catch drips in the next step.).

For the topping, combine 2 tbsp cocoa powder with confectioner’s sugar, boiling water and vanilla in a small saucepan. Heat over low heat and whisk until smooth. Cool 10 minutes.

Drizzle 1 tbsp of glaze on each cookie, spreading lightly with the back of the spoon, then sprinkle with sprinkles or sanding sugar. Work with 6 cookies at a time so the glaze doesn’t dry out before applying the sprinkles.

Saveur Snickerdoodles

3 cups flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
1 3⁄4 cups sugar
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1⁄2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Using a handheld mixer on medium speed, beat 1 1⁄2 cups sugar and the butter together in a medium bowl until pale and fluffy, 2 minutes.

Add 2 tsp. cinnamon and the vanilla; beat for 1 minute more. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add reserved dry ingredients; mix on low speed until just combined.

Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 375°.

Combine remaining sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Remove dough from refrigerator and, using a 1-tbsp. measure, spoon out 48 portions, rolling each portion into a 1″ ball as you go. Roll each ball in cinnamon–sugar mixture to coat.

Arrange dough balls 2″ apart on 2 parchment paper–lined baking sheets. Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool.

Guinness Gingerbread

1 1/4 sticks 10 (tablespoons) butter, plus some for greasing
1 cup golden syrup (such as Lyle’s)
1 cup (packed) plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 cups sour cream
2 eggs

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.

Line your cake pan with aluminium foil and grease it, or grease your foil tray.

 Put the butter, syrup, dark brown sugar, stout, ginger, cinnamon and ground cloves into a pan and melt gently over a low heat.

Take off the heat and whisk in the flour and baking soda. You will need to be patient and whisk thoroughly to get rid of any lumps.

Whisk the sour cream and eggs together in a measuring jug and then beat into the gingerbread mixture, whisking again to get a smooth batter.

Pour this into your cake/foil pan, and bake for about 45 minutes; when it’s ready it will be “gleamingly” risen at the center, and coming away from the pan at the sides.

Let the gingerbread cool before cutting into slices or squares.

(I garnished my gingerbread after slicing, with some powdered sugar and pine trees with deer)

Strawberry Thumbprint Cookies with Glitter (Adapted from Curry and Comfort)

1 box yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
almond meal as needed (about 2-3oz)
Strawberry jelly as needed ( or any jam/ jelly you prefer… strawberry, raspberry, grape, etc…)
Edible glitter (if you have any)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix everything except the glitter and almond meal,  in a large bowl, making sure it’s all well incorporated. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and roll again in the almond meal. I used a bowl to roll the dough in to make it easier to get the sides coated. The dough is very sticky, so this step isn’t necessary but a nice touch.

Using your thumb or index finger, indent a hole in the middle of the cookie, making sure not to go too low. Fill with your choice of jam/jelly.

Bake for 13-15 minutes. Let cool completely (about 15 minutes) before topping with glitter.

The Chewiest Cookies and Some Good Readings

 Considering that I have this week (and the next two weeks) off, I decided to start it right, by making some lovely chocolate chip cookies on Friday. Although I’ve made plenty of chocolate chip cookies, I could never get the Chips-Ahoy chewiness. As you can imagine, it’s been a very frustrating adventure with cookies.

Until this recipe came along. I’m almost 100% positive that the reason that it’s so chewy and lovely is due to the corn starch. THE SECRET INGREDIENT!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

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

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed (I use light)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup bread flour (all-purpose flour may be substituted and used exclusively in place of bread flour)

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt, optional and to taste

12 ounces  semi-sweet chocolate chips

To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on low speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the sugars and beat on medium-high speed until creamed and well combined, about 3 minutes.

Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the egg, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flours (solely using all-purpose flour will work, but the cookies will not be as chewy), corn starch, baking soda, salt, and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.

Add the chocolate chips and chunks, and either fold in by hand or beat for a few seconds on low speed. Transfer dough to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to 5 days (although chilling the dough is theoretically not necessary; in reality cookies spread less with chilled dough).

Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a non-stick baking mat, parchment, or spray with cooking spray. Using a 2-ounce cookie scoop, form heaping mounds weighing 2 1/4-ounces each (weighed on a scale, which is approximately a scant 1/4-cup measure) and place them on the baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart; I bake 8 cookies per sheet.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges, even if slightly undercooked in the center, noting the tops will not be browned and will be pale. Do not cook longer than ten minutes as cookies will darken and firm up as they cool (The cookies shown in the photos were baked for 9 minutes and have chewy edges with soft pillowy centers).

Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.

Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.

Now that you’ve got some cookies to eat, you need some books to read while enjoying them.

The Night Circus  is one of those books  that everyone is telling you about. Telling you to read it, to make sure you tell them you’re reading it, when you finish it, and to have coffee to discuss it. Seriously, this how I was introduced to the book, from four different people.

In any case, I can say that they were not wrong. This novel is wonderful! The only word that I can think to say about it is CHARMING. Although, if I try to explain specifics about why I love it, it might give too much away; and yes, any detail can be a ruinous moment with this lovely treasure.

It’s more than a description of a game, or a love story. It’s sort of Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes  with Water For Elephants mixed in, along with some fantastical bedazzlement.

Enough said.

I’ve read this book twice. First, when I got to page 76, and I had to get ready for… life, and I didn’t it pick it up till recently. The second time I read it, I devoted at least two hours a day to it, either at work or before bed, until I was sure I was so hooked I’d carry it with me everywhere.

I can only say that while I love all of Neil Gaiman’s stories, this one was sort of close to the heart. Although it was about an ex-convict (and his unfortunately short-lived marriage) and gods, both old and new, the stories of the gods, how they interact, what their motivations are for moving from location to location, and the general nature of stories, myths, figures, creatures, and gods of every region was very– human.

This story was one that I enjoyed the most, simply because the action kept coming and the protagonist refused to give up (as is the usual case), and in the end he received minimal answers for his efforts, a lot of grief and pain, and a little bit of peace of mind.

Peace of mind was something that I desperately needed when reading this gem.

I recommend it tenfold.

How to Make a Couple Brown Bananas Happy

I was lucky enough to have the day off today. I make a very long list of things that I had to get done. A few of the items included cleaning the kitchen, finally shipping my portable piano to it’s lucky eBay owner, and doing my nails. While I was cleaning the kitchen however, I noticed two very sad, and very brown bananas staring at me from the fruit bowl.

The only logical thing would be to put them out of their misery and make…. BANANA BREAD.

I don’t really have a go to recipe, aside from my Chocolate Banana Bread, and that didn’t seem like the right thing this time of year, so I decided to go on random food blog searchers until something cause my eye. And in about five minutes I found this. I didn’t like the macadamia nut and the chocolate in the recipe, so I subbed in some chopped pecans and butterscotch chips!

Yum yum.

You can follow the link to the JPEG recipe, and follow it directly, or sub in 1/2 cup butterscotch chips for the chocolate and about 3/4 cups of chopped pecans for the macadamia nuts.

Caramel Apple Mini Pies for Apple-Picking Sunday

I know that’s it is very rare for me to post twice  in one day, but I was feeling inspired. I, along with many, many others, follow abeautifulmess blog. Elsie wrote an amazing post earlier today (or was it yesterday) about making lists, sticking to them, on completing projects, and on sticking to personal deadlines.

It applies a lot to me right now, especially since it’s two weeks till the dreaded FINAL, and I’m on such a high procrastination kick that I can’t even begin to make plans on how to celebrate after the FINAL. Ugh! So complex, I know.

I guess it all started with my own list. The big 16  to-do items staring at me. I didn’t start my errands till way after 1pm. However, once I got started, I couldn’t stop! I realized how much I’ve neglected my apartment, my laundry, and my self! To cut a long story short, I was so pleased with myself that I added an extrain item to the list: making these lovely things from Yummly.

They will be perfect for tomorrows apple picking trip. I can imagine it now, starting off with these pies for breakfast, before eating mini apple cider donuts at Snow-Line Orchards… ahh bliss. 

Caramel Apple Mini Pies

• 3 cups apples (peeled and diced, Jonathan or Granny Smith)
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp heavy cream
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 egg white
• 1 package refrigerated pie crusts (I used my own-  Martha Stewart’s!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (my oven is odd, so I baked mine at 350).
Peel and dice apples. Sprinkle with lemon juice.

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl and add apples. Toss to mix. Add vanilla and cream. Melt butter in heavy skillet. Add apple mixture and cook approximately 6 minutes to soften apples.

Remove crusts from fridge. Flatten out one of the doughs on a cutting board.

Gently cut 4 inch circles of dough using a cup, bowl, or cookie cutter with a 4-inch diameter.
Press dough into the muffin tin cups, making a thin even layer on the bottom and around the sides.

Spoon apple mixture into each cup right up to the rim , but no higher.

Roll out the remaining dough and cut out small strips (6 per pie) slightly longer than the width of the top of the pies. Lay strips across the tops in a lattice pattern and attach to edges of pies using the end of butter knife.

Lightly brush egg white over tops of lattice.

Bake pies  for 30-35 minutes or until crust is golden brown and apple mixture is bubbling.

Train Rides and Nutella Muffins

This weekend was pretty darn close to perfect. I went on a vintage train with Boyfriend and we got lots of time to do homework together, do errands together, and even pretty up my apartment… together! We did everything together and I must say it was a great and lovely time.

Fillmore and Western Railway Train

Inside the amazing and old train

we were on a “scenic” weekend tour… it was a lot of farm land and trailer parks

LOOSE CABOOSE mini chicken farm

This fan is probably older than my grandfather!

 

I even looked after a friend’s doggies this weekend. My first time pet sitting for someone that isn’t my mom and Miss Kitty Cat. I’m excited to say that they are very healthy, well fed, and happy. I hope my friend doesn’t mind me showing off her pooches, they were really adorable. And a little insane cause of the lack of attention. Nonetheless, you can see they were still fun.

 

 

As a result of this very fruitful and amazing weekend I decided to clean and bake for the first time in about two-three weeks. The fact that I’ve been too busy to bake has been astonishing for me, the person that would sometimes bake cookies or muffins and a cake in the same day to have “variety” for the rest of the week.

I’ve had a small sweet tooth for warmth lately. I don’t even know if that makes sense, but that’s what I’ve been craving: cinnamon, apples, brown sugar, caramel, all those amazing things.

I’ve had this recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction pinned on google chrome for a while now. And the last time I baked something I used one of her recipes, so I figured now is as good at time as any to get on the nutella train, knowing what I’d make would be delicious.

 

 

Nutella Stuffed Cinnamon Sugar Muffins

makes 8-9 muffins

• 1/3 cup (5 Tbsp) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk (I used almond milk, but regular is fine)
• 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 8 tsp Nutella

Cinnamon-Sugar Topping

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 425F.  Spray muffin pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl of an electric or stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together on medium speed.  Mix in the egg, vanilla extract, and milk. Gently stir in flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.  DO NOT overmix – stir until *just* combined.

Spoon 1 heaping Tablespoon of batter into muffin cavity.  Layer with 1 tsp Nutella in the center and spoon another heaping Tablespoon of batter on top.  If the muffin tins are completely full, that is ok.  They will not overflow.  Repeat layering batter + Nutella into each muffin tin.  I got exactly 8 muffins.

Bake at 425F for 5 minutes.  Reduce oven to 350F and bake for an additional 13-17 minutes until batter is set. Allow muffins to cool for about 5 minutes.

While the muffins are cooling, make the cinnamon-sugar topping.  Melt the butter for about 30 seconds in the microwave.  Stir and stick back in microwave if not fully melted.  In a separate small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon.  Dip the top of each muffin into the melted butter and dip into the cinnamon-sugar mixture.  Swirl them around in the cinnamon-sugar a bit to make sure you get a thick coating. Set upright on cooling rack.  Enjoy!*

 

 

*I didn’t make the streusal topping because I added a bit more nutella and I didn’t want them so sweet that I wouldn’t eat them, so I sprinkled some raw sugar over the top instead.

Fall Starts Now with Cinnamon Pumpkin Balls

I’ve had quite a week this past week. I started off with a terrible score on my reading quiz online. Only to be pushed almost to the edge of excitement by my decent fluency vocab quiz. It was a win/lose sort of moment for me. However, yesterday’s class was so demanding that I’m at a total loss of what to do.

My iPhone has not been working properly, either. Everyone I know never trades in their iPhones, they’re like children, once you have them, you have them for life. And I have to say, of all the phones to go down, it just had to be mine. The battery just wasn’t performing adaquately. To further show my point (and express that I’m not one of those people that uses their phone for four hours and then wonders why they have 54% battery life left), I checked my total usage since last full charge- total time: 2 hours 58 minutes, Battery left- 29%. That’s a bit extreme.

I’m rambling, but I’m just trying to explain my thought process here.

So I get home today, and I have update my iTunes (that took a good hour), and back up my bad iPhone, and restore to my new iPhone. Then rearrange all the apps to the way I had them before because I’m just OCD that way. After that was done I had sore feet, sweaty palms, nerves coming out of every pore, and hunger!

I wanted something with tea. Hot tea. And something sweet.

Nothing quick seemed to fit the description till I went on foodgawker and saw this lovely recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiciton

Wherever and whoever you are, Sally, THANK YOU FOR THIS EASY PUMPKIN LOVELY!

The whole process took about 38 minutes. I timed it.  Including making the batter, opening the eggs and can of pumpkin, cleaning the kitchen afterwards, and baking and decorating. With that said, the whole process was so fast, and I was so needy that I didn’t take any photos, aside from the ones shown of the finished goodness. Apologies, readers.

 

makes 20-24 mini muffins

• 1 and 3/4 cup white-whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)
• 1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpking pie filling)
• 1/2 cup milk

Cinnamon Sugar Coating

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 Tbsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray mini muffin tin with nonstick spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and nutmeg.  Set aside.  In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar.  Add the egg and stir for about 1 minute.  Add the egg yolk, vanilla, pumpkin puree, and milk.  Slowly pour wet ingredients into the dry.  Stir together until just combined – do NOT overmix.

Using a small spoon, spoon the batter into the muffin tins, about 2/3 way full.  For ease, I used a small spoon sprayed with nonstick spray so that the batter easily fell off the spoon into the tin without using my fingers.

Bake for 12-13 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  While the muffins are cooling, make the coating.  Combine the sugar and cinnamon a small dish.  In a separate small dish, melt the butter. Once the muffins are relatively cool, dip into the melted butter and then into the cinnamon sugar.

Cinnamon-Apple Upside Down Cake

I finally got a chance to do some more baking. I bought a ton of apples over the weeks so I needed to incorporate them. I found this recipe online, and although I enjoyed it for what it was, I would definitely add more apples, and maybe some brown sugar to the apples as well in order to get a good caramel layer after baking.

Overall, it was a complete success. Between homework and studying and baking it was quite a Saturday!

• 1-1/2 cups {about 2 medium} Gala Apples
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon, divided
• 1 cup Dark Brown Sugar
• 7 tablespoons, divided
• 2 whole Eggs
• 2/3 cup Whole Milk
• 1/2 teaspoon Real Vanilla Extract
• 1-1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/8 teaspoon Fresh Nutmeg
• 6 teaspoons Honey

Line and spray a 9-inch round cake pan.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Core and dice up 1-1/2 cups of apples, that’s roughly about 1-1/2 to 2 apples. Toss the diced apples with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and place them in the bottom of your prepared pan.

In the same bowl add the butter and brown sugar. Mix until crumbly, about one minute. Combine the flour, remaining cinnamon and baking powder. Grate in 1/8 teaspoon of fresh nutmeg, stir and set aside.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Then, with the mixer on low, blend in the vanilla and whole milk. Add in the dry ingredients and mix by hand until combined thoroughly, then pour over apples and spread evenly.

 

Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a cake plate.

Once the cake is cooled drizzle honey over the top.

Cut into eighths and serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.