White Chocolate Cranberry Cupcakes

Since I'd already exhausted gingerbread and pumpkin before Christmas, I decided to go with another festive flavor for the day of: CRANBERRY!

I've been wanting to make these white chocolate cranberry cupcakes for a while, and after success making cranberry sauce, I decided to try them.

White Chocolate Cranberry Cupcakes (from culinography)

makes 18 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

6 (1 ounce) squares white baking chocolate
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
3 tablespoons orange juice
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake tins with liners. 
2. Chop 6 of the chocolate squares and set aside. 
3. Beat butter and sugars in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. 
4. Add eggs, orange peel, and 3 tablespoons of the orange juice; mix well. 
5. Add flour and baking powder; beat until well blended.
6. Fold in chopped chocolate and the cranberries.
7. Bake approximately 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Remove cupcakes to wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 (1 ounce) squares white baking chocolate, melted
3 tablespoons orange juice
3-4 cups powdered sugar

1. Beat butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. 
2. Mix in white chocolate. Mix in orange juice and powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached. 

If you use the typical 12 oz. bag of cranberries, you'll have about 2 cups of berries leftover. I decided to make cranberry sauce with the leftovers.

Cranberry Sauce

2 cups fresh cranberries

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1. In a medium saucepan, bring water and sugar to boil, stirring to dissolve sugar.
2. Add washed cranberries and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
3. Once mixture has boiled, reduce heat and simmer until most of the cranberries have popped. Sauce will thicken as it cools.

The Flavors of Christmas

Gingerbread, cinnamon, and pumpkin.

I arrived home from Houston and started the Christmas baking (almost) immediately.

The first project was gingerbread...

(designed for deliciousness, not beauty)

But what goes better with homemade gingerbread than cinnamon cream cheese frosting?

And, of course, there was plenty of leftover frosting.

So, better make some pumpkin cupcakes to go with the remainder.

this is like an endless cycle of the chip/dip problem

Of course, given that half the frosting was already on gingerbread cookies, there wasn't nearly enough to frost all of the cupcakes.

Per Mom's suggestion, I decided to bake just a dozen cupcakes and pour the rest into a loaf pan to make some pumpkin cakebread. 

improv pumpkin bread

 Finally, the cycle was broken, and the baking was complete.

Gingerbread Cookies (from food.com)
makes 30 cookies

3 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
6 tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 c dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 c molasses
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest (optional)

1. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves until well blended.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and egg on medium speed until well blended.
3. Add molasses, vanilla, and lemon zest and continue to mix until well blended.
4. Gradually stir in dry ingredients until blended and smooth.
5. Divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic and let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours, up to 8 hours. (Dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, but in this case it should be refrigerated. Return to room temp before using.) 
6. Preheat oven to 375°.
7. Grease or line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
8. Place one portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle flour over dough and rolling pin.
9. Roll dough to a scant 1/4-inch thick and cut out cookies with desired cutter.
10. Bake for 7-10 minutes (the lower time will give you softer cookies).
11. Remove cookie sheet from oven and allow the cookies to stand until the cookies are firm enough to move to a wire rack (about 2 minutes). Wait until cookies are cool to decorate.

I used a pumpkin cupcakes/cream cheese frosting recipe to make the frosting. When I realized I had leftover, I just decided to use the cupcake recipe from the same blog post!

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting (from the Cake Blog)

makes 30 cupcakes (or 12 with 1 loaf pan of cakebread)

For the cupcakes:

3 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 c granulated sugar
1 c brown sugar
4 eggs
1 c milk
1 1/2 c (1 can) pumpkin puree

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pans with cupcake liners.
2. In large bowl combine dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
3. In bowl of stand mixer cream butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until creamy.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Add dry ingredients and milk, alternating until well combined. Scrape down sides of bowl as necessary.
6. Mix in pumpkin puree.
7. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter.
8. Bake for 18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
9. Let cupcakes cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove to wire racks to finish cooling.
10. Once cupcakes are completely cool frost with cinnamon cream cheese frosting.

For the frosting:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon

1. In bowl of stand mixer beat butter and cream cheese on medium speed until well combined.
2. Gradually add in powdered sugar one cup at a time, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.
3. Add vanilla and cinnamon and mix until combined.

I only had enough frosting for 9 cupcakes, so I baked a dozen and used the remaining batter to make a loaf of pumpkin bread.

I used the topping from the Apple Cinnamon Bread to top the pumpkin bread. (That's 2 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tbsp white sugar, and 1 tsp cinnamon whisked together and sprinkled over the top of the batter before baking.)

All-Scratch Pumpkin Pie (from real life pumpkins!)

As you all know, every break from school means experimentation in the kitchen. This break, I decided to go for a classic recipe entirely from scratch.

It was pretty darn good, or so I'm told. If I'm being entirely honest, I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin pie, so I actually appreciated the apple pie we bought from a local restaurant more ;)

All-Scratch Pumpkin Pie

If you're doing this all at once, I would recommend that you get the pumpkin in the oven, then prepare the crust while it's cooking. Once your puree is done, you can go straight into pie-making!

I definitely recommend clicking through to the source if you're at all nervous about making the pumpkin puree! PickYourOwn has a very comprehensive guide with photos for every step. That being said, it was honestly pretty easy to do in the oven.

Pumpkin Puree from PickYourOwn
yields about 3 cups of pumpkin puree

1 pie pumpkin
large serrated knife
fairly large oven-safe casserole dish

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Wash your pumpkin with soap and water. You won't be eating the outside, but it's kind of like opening cans--you don't want any rat poop in your food. I used a potato brush, but it was probably overkill. 
2. Cut your pumpkin in half and scoop out all the guts (seeds, stringy orange bits, etc.). I used an ice cream scoop that had kind of a sharp edge, but a regular spoon would work fine as well. When you're done, it should just be the pale, hard flesh left.
3. Put your pumpkin in the casserole dish. You may have to cut it into more pieces, but try to put the fleshy side down as much as possible.

   

   (post-roast, but gives you an idea of the arrangement)

   
   
4. Cover your dish (either with the associated lid or with foil) and bake in the oven for 45-90 minutes. (It really varies based on your pumpkin. Start testing it at 45 minutes--mine took around an hour.)
5. Once your pumpkin is out, give it 10 or 15 minutes to cool, and then separate the flesh from the skin. (If it's fully roasted, this should be very easy to do.)

   

   
    

6. Blend up your pumpkin puree. I recommend a hand blender or food processor. It shouldn't take long to get your pumpkin to a smooth consistency.

Any basic pie crust recipe from any cook book or website will do fine--just make sure you're making for a pie shell, not a double-crusted pie. 

#uglysweaterftw

The filling for this pie is enough to either fill two standard (shallow) 9-inch pie pans OR one deep-dish 10-inch pie pan (which I used) plus a little extra for teensy pumpkin flans.

aforementioned teensy pumpkin flans

Pumpkin pie filling also from PickYourOwn

1 cup sugar

1.5 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp salt

4 eggs

1.5 cans evaporated milk (12 oz each)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

1/2 tsp mace (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 F. Nothing complicated here. Just throw everything together and mix it up until smooth. Pour it all into your pie crust until it's full, then bake for 15 minutes at 425. Then, lower the temperature to 350 and bake for another 45-60 minutes (until inserted knife comes out clean). 

Apple Cinnamon Bread

What does fall mean? According to Texan myth, in the Damn Yankee States (where we dare not journey), their trees are so pitiful that all of their leaves fall off in October. Supposedly, this is where the name "fall" comes from.

Here in Texas, where the trees are competent enough to retain their leaves at least through November, we only adopt the nicer customs of this "fall" season. So, raking leaves? Not necessary. Sweaters? You'll only need them from 5 to 8 in the morning. No, the only thing Those Damn Yankees got right was fall baking.

And this particular recipe is basically perfect.

I mean, it's soft and cinnamony and very, very appley, and it made the whole apartment smell like the essence of fall. 

This is definitely more of a breakfastey recipe, but it's so delicious that I keep eating it for dessert anyway. 

Anyway, if you like apples, cinnamon, or the American Dream, I would definitely recommend this recipe.

Apple Cinnamon Bread (from Brown Eyed Baker)

makes 1 loaf

1½ c all-purpose flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground allspice [Substitution: 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp cloves, 1/4 tsp nutmeg]

¼ tsp ground cloves
2 eggs
¼ c canola oil
¼ c applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c granulated sugar
2 c peeled and chopped apples (about 1½ to 2 apples)

Topping
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x4-inch loaf pan.

2. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, allspice and cloves. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl with a mixer, beat the eggs on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add in the oil, applesauce and vanilla and mix until smooth. Next, add the sugar and mix until well-combined.

4. Gradually add in the flour mixture and mix on low speed until the flour is just barely combined. Gently fold in the apples with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.

5. In a small bowl mix together the brown sugar, granulated sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over the batter in the loaf pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the loaf is golden and a thin knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

6. Cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a dull knife around the sides of the loaf and place on cooling rack. Cool completely before slicing. Wrap leftover loaf in plastic wrap or in airtight container and store at room temperature.

Toffee Crunch Cupcakes

Even though it is the middle of October, I elected to try a recipe that is not 95% pumpkin. It turned out okay, though, because they were a pretty big hit around Castle Frazier.

Toffee Crunch Cupcakes

Cupcakes: (adapted from Bakers Royale)

Makes 12 cupcakes

1 c flour

1 c + 2 tbsp sugar

1/3 c + 2 tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and warm

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp instant coffee 

1/2 c hot coffee

Caramel sauce: (from Bakers Royale)

Makes about 1 cup

5 tbsp water

3/4 c sugar

2/3 c heavy cream

Caramel frosting: (from Chocolate Moosey)

Frosts 12 cupcakes

1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 c powdered sugar

1/4 c salted caramel sauce (homemade or store bought)

Chocolate dipping sauce: (from Bakers Royale)

Tops 12 cupcakes generously

2/3 c dark chocolate chips

2 tbsp heavy cream

4 tbsp powdered sugar

4-8 tbsp warm water

3/4 c toffee bits

For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 and line a muffin pan with baking cups.

Add flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and mix thoroughly to combine. Add the butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat on medium speed for one minute. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the instant coffee powder and the hot coffee. Beat for 20-30 seconds until the batter is smooth. (The batter will be thin enough to pour.) Divide it evenly among the lined cups. Bake 18-22 minutes just until a toothpick inserted into a few of the cupcakes comes out clean. Set the pan on a rack to cool.

For the caramel sauce: 

1. Add water and sugar to a saucepan over low heat and stir until sugar has dissolved. 

2. Increase heat to high. Now and then, give the pot a swirl using the handle to keep the mixture moving (don't stir the mixture directly). The mixture will start to bubble after a minute.

3. After approximately 3 minutes, the mixture will be a light shade of amber. 

4. After another 30-90 seconds, the mixture will turn dark amber. 

5. Once the mixture is dark amber, turn off the heat and add the cream. Whisk to combine (don't worry about the bubbles, they'll disappear upon cooling).

6. Cool to warm before using. Store in a jar in the fridge. 

my leftover homemade caramel sauce

For the frosting: In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the caramel sauce and then beat until light and fluffy.

For the chocolate dipping sauce: Place chocolate in cream in a double boiler over simmering water. Let sit for 2-3 minutes before stirring slowly to combine. Add powdered sugar and stir to combine. Add water one tablespoon at a time, mixing after each addition. Add until pouring consistency is reached. Let sauce cool to warm. 

Assembly: 

1. Once the cupcakes are cool, spread a thin layer of caramel frosting over each cupcake and put in the freezer for 20 minutes (now is a good time to make the chocolate sauce).

2. Dip each cupcake in the warm chocolate sauce and then immediately in the toffee bits. Put cupcakes in the freezer for an additional 5 minutes to let the chocolate set.

freshly-dipped cupcakes

3. Finish piping frosting on top of cupcakes.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

It's been a solid 3 months, but I've finally been able to test another new recipe!

This test recipe is brought to you by a little something I like to call stress baking. Overrun with problem sets? Not really sure what any of your professors are saying, ever? The answer is always muffins. (Actually, cupcakes, cookies, or even a nice waffle will do.)

Many of my peers--at least, those who subscribe to the "official" calendar of seasons--think that it is still summer, that autumn doesn't begin for another two days. But that, I say, is ridiculous. It is September. Summer does not last until September. More importantly, the average temperature in Houston is less than ninety degrees! It can't be summer.

At least, that's what I tell myself to justify a pumpkin spice recipe. (Starbucks has brought back the pumpkin spice latte, so if that's not the start of the autumn season, I don't know what is.)

I can confirm that these muffins are dangerously delicious. In fact, I hesitate to call them muffins, as I cannot advise eating them as part of a healthy and balanced breakfast.


Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins (from Annie's Eats)
yields 24 muffins

There are three components to these muffins: muffin batter, streusel topping, and cream cheese filling. You need to make the cream cheese filling at least 2 hours in advance of the rest of the recipe.

For the cream cheese filling:

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1 c powdered sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon 

Combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a medium bowl, and mix until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Smooth the plastic wrap tightly around the log, and reinforce with a piece of foil. Transfer to the freezer and chill until at least somewhat firm (at least 2 hours).

The unwrapped frozen cream cheese log on a dinner plate, for reference.

For the muffins:

• 3 c flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 4 large eggs
• 2 c sugar
• 2 c pumpkin puree (for reference, a 12 oz. can has about 2 cups of pumpkin)
• 1 1/4 c vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 F and line muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and baking soda. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree, and oil. Mix on medium-low speed (hand or stand) until blended. Add in the dry ingredients and mix by hand just until combined. 

For the topping:

• 1/2 c sugar
• 5 tbsp flour
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Whisk together the sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add the butter in pieces, and cut into the dry mixture (using pastry blender, two forks, or--shh--your fingers), until the mixture is coarse and crumbly.

dat streusel

Avengers Muffins, Assemble!:

Fill each baking cup with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the cup. (I used a regular dinner spoon, and found that about one generous scoop did the trick.)


Cut the cream cheese log into 24 equal pieces, and place a piece of the cream cheese mixture into each baking cup.

Divide the remaining batter among the baking cups, making sure to cover the cream cheese completely. Sprinkle generously with prepared topping.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack (or inverted baking sheet, hue hue hue) to cool completely before serving. If you're going to try eating them while they're hot, be very, very, very careful of the possibly molten and face-burning-off cream cheese in the middle. 

Enjoy! I hope to be back soon with another recipe (and by soon I mean this semester). 

Chocolate Chip Cooke Dough Cupcakes

SO. As my readers (Mom...wow, maybe just Mom) will know, I recently took a job at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center near DC.

[cue celebratory reaction]

I'm writing for earthzine, an online magazine that publishes articles about Earth science. I'll mainly be writing about Earth science technology, and I'll also be doing some of the content management for the site. (As an aside: working on the content management for the site has made me realize how very little effort I've put into themeing/beautifying/SEOing this blog. That's probably why my regular readers number in the single digits.)

However, there is one drawback.

[noises of astonishment]

I no longer have a kitchen.

I know, I know. It's shocking. A scandal. This was supposed to be The Summer of Baking. But, our story does have a hero. And that hero is my Aunt Barbara (and her family).

Thanks to them and their (wonderful, well-stocked, shiny, spacious, two-oven-having) kitchen, this was possible:

 So, all (in the way of baking) is not lost. There will be cupcakes.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes (from RiCAKEulous)
makes 12-14 cupcakes

3/4 cup unsalted butter (1.5 sticks) at room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chip

1. Cream the butter and brown sugar together on medium high speed until light and fluffy.
2. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. Measure out the milk and vanilla in a measuring cup.
5. Alternate adding the dry ingredients an the milk to the creamed butter/sugar. Mix until just combined.
6. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
7. Fill cupcake papers to about 4/5 full (I'm going to make it tricky for you) and bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

Maybe I should follow Psych's example and try to include a pineapple in every post.

OKAY. So I don't know if it's because people are scared of having a recipe that makes a n y t h i n g other than a dozen cupcakes or if they just don't beta test enough, but almost every cupcake recipe I've tried that claims to make 12 cupcakes really makes more like 14 or 15 cupcakes. I mean, you can squeeze the batter into 12 (some of the time) but a few of your cupcakes will be massively oversized, spill out of the paper, and stick to the pan. If you have the space, just go for 14. More cupcakes = more people who get to eat cupcakes = world peace. 

Anyway. Frosting.

Cookie Dough Frosting

Makes enough for 24 cupcakes.

2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
2 1/3 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Beat together the butter and brown sugar until creamy.
2. Slowing add in the powdered sugar and beat to combine.
3. Beat in the flour and salt.
4. Beat in the heavy cream and vanilla until smooth and creamy.

OP was right about this frosting being delicious. BUT IS IT REALLY SO DELICIOUS THAT YOU NEED A QUARTER CUP ON EVERY CUPCAKE???!?!?!!

Yeah. I would just like to emphasize again that the frosting recipe above makes enough for two dozen (24) cupcakes. The amounts I used were intended for use on one batch of cupcakes. I made two batches, and I still had frosting left over. DO NOT USE THIS MUCH FROSTING ON ONE BATCH OF CUPCAKES. YOU WILL DIE. 

This is another problem I've run into a lot, though. Bloggers will include these frosting recipes with the cupcake recipe, and at the end of the process, I either have the option to throw out a bunch of frosting or heap each cupcake up with an ungodly amount of butter and sugar. 

Don't get me wrong, I love frosting. It's my favorite part of the cupcake, or of any cake. But...??!?!?!?!? It's ridiculous sometimes. 

Anyway, aside from the entirely mis-estimated frosting-to-cupcake ratio, I would really recommend this recipe. It's not overly sweet, and the cupcakes actually do taste like chocolate chip cookies (you may have noticed the absence of white sugar) and the frosting is a very good emulator of cookie dough (though, of course, both components are much softer than their models). 

Raspberry & Nutella Chocolate Lava Cakes

My "recipes to try" bookmarks folder has ~100 items saved in it... So, when I have some time with a well-stocked and clean kitchen, I can't help but try to make a dent in it.

Today's recipe combines all of my faves: raspberries, Nutella, and copious amounts of cocoa powder.

I can say that these are delicious. As in, "I may have eaten two of them straight out of the oven" delicious. And I didn't even use real Nutella. GAH.

Raspberry & Nutella Chocolate Lava Cakes

adapted from Eat Little Bird for American measurements

Yields 10 mini cakes

4 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cups flour

1 cup cocoa powder

1 2/3 sticks butter, melted

small box raspberries (~30)

small jar of Nutella

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease a muffin tin well.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar. Sift in the flour and cocoa and mix until everything is well-incorporated. Add the butter and mix everything again.
3. Place a tablespoon of batter in each muffin hole, enough to cover the bottom. Next, place a heaped tablespoon of Nutella on top of the batter. Then, cover the Nutella with another tablespoon of batter. 

I didn't use real Nutella, so it's a little pale, but you get the idea.

       4.  Place 2 or 3 raspberries on top of each cake and push into the batter slightly. 

       5.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the sides are cooked but the center is still gooey. 

       6.  Serve immediately or wait 20 minutes to remove cakes from muffin tin.

Enjoy carefully. 

Marshmallow Crunch Brownies

(adapted for the lazy from Brown-Eyed Baker)

As some may know, I gave up dessert for Lent (and I was only about 60% successful...oops).

Regardless, I traditionally mark Easter by completely overindulging in whatever it was I gave up. So, in trying to think of the sweetest, fattest, richest, most delicious form of dessert on the planet, I remembered these marshmallow brownie bars that I made last summer. They have all of my favorites: chocolate, peanut butter, toasted marshmallows, and chocolate. Plus, they are easily adaptable to the dorm kitchen (only minimal supplies).

Marshmallow Crunch Brownies (adapted for the dorm kitchen from Brown-Eyed Baker)

For the brownies:
(by the way, this is an excellent brownie recipe that I would recommend for any of your brownie needs)

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1/2 cup + 3 tbsp cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla extract

(these quantities are half what the creator originally suggested, and I think it made a much more balanced brownie with a smaller brownie layer)

For the toppings:

1 bag (10 ounces) miniature marshmallows (last time I did it with chopped up big marshmallows, and the mini ones work WAY better)
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
1 cup smooth peanut butter (don't use natural peanut butter)
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies cereal

Utensils 'n things:

(I've always found it to be a massive failing that recipes don't list what utensils/appliances/etc you'll need, especially as I'm cooking in a less-than-fully-stocked kitchen.)

3 mixing bowls

measuring cups/spoons

spatula

9x13 pan

whisk

cooking spray

sifter (ideally)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch pan.

2. For the brownies: In a small mixing bowl, melt the unsweetened chocolate, butter and 1/4 cup of the semisweet chocolate chips in the microwave. Microwave for 30 seconds at a time (at full power), stirring in between. (Melting should take about 2 minutes in the microwave.) Set aside and cool for 5 minutes.

3. In a medium bowl sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl , whisk the eggs thoroughly. Add the sugar and vanilla and whisk until well blended. Stir the melted ingredients into the egg mixture, mixing well. Stir in the dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in the remaining 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp semisweet chocolate chips.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface with a spatula. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the corner of of the pan comes out with moist crumbs.

5. Remove the brownies from the oven and immediately sprinkle the marshmallows over them. Return the pan to the oven for 3 more minutes.

6. Meanwhile, place the milk chocolate chips, peanut butter, and tablespoon of butter in the medium mixing bowl. Melt in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until completely melted (should take about 1.5 minutes). Remove from heat, add the Rice Krispies and mix well. Allow to cool for 3 minutes.

7. Pour the mixture as evenly as possible over the marshmallow layer, taking care not to pour too much in the middle. Spread the mixture evenly over the marshmallow layer. Refrigerate until chilled before cutting.

Spring Break Test Kitchen: The Ultimate Oreo Cupcakes

I really like Oreos. I really like cupcakes. This is the solution. 

I wanted to make the Best Oreo Cupcake Known to Man, so I pawed through a dozen or so recipes and combined my favorite parts. 

Chocolate Cupcakes

(from Serious Eats)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin pan with cupcake papers.

2. Carefully remove one cookie from 12 Oreos and place the remainder in each cupcake liner, frosting side up. Set aside the removed cookies for use in the frosting.

3. Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt into large bowl and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk sugar, sour cream, oil, egg, and vanilla until smooth.

4. Whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients until smooth. 

5. Dole batter into cupcake liners, filling about halfway. Bake about 22 minutes, until toothpick inserted into center cupcake comes out clean. Let cool in muffin pan for about 10 minutes before removing.

Oreo Cream Filling

(from Food Network)

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6. Prepare the Oreo cream filling while the cupcakes are in the oven. Using a mixer, cream the butter and shortening until fluffy. Beat in the confectioners' sugar and vanilla.

7. Use a knife to cute the center out of each cupcake, and then fill with the Oreo cream filling. (I used a frosting bag (meaning a snack baggie with a hole cut in the corner) with great success.)

Oreo Buttercream Frosting

1 stick butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup Oreo crumbs

8. Prepare the Oreo crumbs. Put the cookies into a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin until the cookies are very finely ground.

9. Cream the butter with an electric mixer. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla, and mix until fluffy.

Alternative! Oreo Cream Cheese Frosting: Replace half of the butter with 4 oz. of softened cream cheese. I tried both buttercream and cream cheese frosting. I think the buttercream works a little better with the flavor of the Oreos, but if you want to cut back on the sweetness, the cream cheese frosting is a good alternative!

10. Add the Oreo cookie crumbs and mix on low speed until combined. 

 

11. Cut Oreo cookies in half with a sharp knife, making sure to apply even pressure across the entire cookie, not just on either side (this will minimize breakage). Garnish the cupcakes!