Chewy Chocolate Cookies with Green Mint Chips

Hello Readers!

Let me start out by saying I have fallen into the bad habit of checking out what's on sale in the baking aisle of the grocery store. About a month ago, this led to me buying some Guittard Green Mint Chips. This habit has also led to about 3 other bags of assorted chips hanging out in my pantry, so I should be baking more cookies in the future...

Anyways, onto the mint chips! I thought they would be both delicious and look great in some chocolate cookies, and I think I was totally right. These are probably the best cookies I have ever baked, so I am quite satisfied. These guys expand and flatten out in the oven, but stay pretty soft once they cool. I started with a Martha Stewart recipe, but made a few changes to adapt to what I actually had on hand. Bake and enjoy!

Chewy Chocolate Cookies and Green Mint Chips:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
4 ounces good-quality semisweet chocolate
1 stick unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Guittard Green Mint Chips (I had a 12oz bag, but I would say used about half of it. I'll explain why!)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
Melt coarsely chopped chocolate with the butter in a small heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.
Transfer chocolate mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add sugar, eggs, and vanilla; mix on medium speed until combined. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture.

Fold in mint chips. Here is where I had a spot of trouble. Contrary to popular belief (or maybe my own belief), 12 oz of chips isn't essentially the same as 4oz of chopped milk chocolate. Oops.

(So many chips!)

Luckily, this batter was not super sticky, and it was fairly easy to take out a few chips from the cookies that would have essentially ended up as mint balls.



Drop batter in about 1 1/2 inch spoonfulls about 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are flat and surfaces begin to crack, about 15 minutes. Transfer on parchment to wire racks. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.



Make sure you have milk in the fridge. Nothing tastes better than some delicious cookies and a cold glass of milk!

Cupcake with Nutella Buttercream

Hey everyone. Sorry it's been ages since my last update, but I have been super busy and haven't had too much time for baking. I made these cupcakes last night, and let me tell you, I am a fan. I don't know why, but for some reason I had been thinking about baking with Nutella earlier in the week. Then I thought "Hey, I wonder if I can make a Nutella buttercream" and I totally could! It's really easy and came out really delicious.



For Vanilla Cupcakes (Magnolia Bakery recipe):

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I always add extra vanilla. I love it.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 4 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

For the buttercream, I basically took a normal frosting recipe and added Nutella. I had a little trouble with the consistency, so you might have to play around until you get to to how you like. Mine was a little too thick, so perhaps you can leave out some sugar. I just added more milk and it worked out fine. Spreading was a little tough because the cupcakes are so tender, so I switched to a piping bag halfway through. Anyways, without further ado...

Nutella Buttercream:

1/2 (1 stick)Butter, softened
4 cups (1lb) confectioners' sugar
1/4 + extra Milk ( I used 2%)
1tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2-3/4 cup Nutella (This was tricky. I started with about a 1/4 cup, decided it didn't taste enough like Nutella, and added more. I think I was closer to 3/4 cups)

Cream the butter in a large bowl. Add 3 cups of the sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in the milk and the vanilla, and gradually beat in the remaining cup of sugar. Heat the Nutella in a microwave safe bowl for about 20-25 seconds, until it is smooth and spreadable. Fold into your frosting. If it's too stiff after this (like mine was) add some more milk to soften it up. Frost cupcakes and enjoy!

Cake Decorating and Buttercream

I wanted to share a picture of the latest cake I've decorated for my Wilton cake decorating class. This is the last cake of course 1, and I start course 2 on March 9th, and that will be flowers and borders. I'm not too excited for that one, but in a month's time, hopefully I will move onto fondant. Yay!



Also, this cake is nothing special. It's a reduced sugar yellow cake from Pillsbury, and I don't really know if it tastes good. The buttercream is the wilton recipe, which is:
1 cup solid vegetable shortening (Crisco, but NOT in the can. They have packs that look like creamcheese)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon meringue powder
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
2 tablespoons water (this is probably wrong. I've only been making double recipes, but I've had to add 7-8 tbsps to get the right consistency, so just start with 2, and add more as needed)

I don't particularly like this recipe because shortening has always seemed unpleasant to me. It still tastes good, though! And since it doesn't use butter, it a) doesn't need to be refrigerated, and b) won't turn to sugar soup.


(Exhibit A: buttercream made with all butter)

The buttercream I am used to making, and prefer, is a Swiss meringue buttercream from Martha Stewart. I don't know if it's the meringue that keeps it together, but it works well and everyone seems to like it. Also, there is only a little bit of sugar (compared to a full pound as in the previous recipe), so it isn't overly sweet. It takes a little more time to make, but it's worth it.

5 large egg whites
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons white (granulated) sugar
pinch of salt
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp, cut into pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Place sugar and egg whites in the heat-proof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, and whisk until sugar has dissolved and egg whites are hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. Test by rubbing the mixture between your fingers; it should feel completely smooth.

2. Transfer bowl to mixer stand. Using the whisk attachment, beat on high speed until mixture has cooled completely and formed stiff and glossy peaks, about 10 minutes.
Add the butter, one piece at a time, and beat until incorporated after each addition. Don't worry if the buttercream appears curdled after all the butter has been added; it will become smooth again with continued beating. Add vanilla, and beat just until combined.
3. Switch to the paddle attachment, and beat on the lowest speed to eliminate any air pockets, about 5 minutes. If using buttercream within several hours, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature in a cool environment. Make sure you refrigerate your cupcakes/cake after using this, since it has real butter in it.

I haven't iced a cake with this buttercream, but here is a cupcake:



Phew, sorry this post was so long! I'll have a yummy recipe next time!

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes!

So really the title should be "Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes," but I always feel weird saying cake twice. I decided to make these for my first recipe post because a) they're delicious, and b) they were the first cupcakes I made using a Martha Stewart recipe. I have Martha Stewart's Cupcakes, and it is fantastic. I have tried several of the recipes, and she hasn't steered me wrong yet. I wish mine would come out as flawlessly pretty as hers, but they are yummy nonetheless.

So, here is the recipe (straight out of the book):
Ingredients:
42 cream-filled sandwich cookies, such as Oreos, 30 left whole, and 12 coarsely chopped (or 14 if you're feeling daring! I used doublestuf oreos for the bottoms and regular oreos for the batter)
2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
Pinch of salt


1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.



2. With an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.

3. Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time, beating to combine and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.

(Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the batter! There was a lot though. I ended up with 40 cookies, even though the recipe estimates a yield of 30)

4. Divide batter evenly among cookie-lined cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.



Enjoy!

PS- If you have a roasting pan big enough for your cupcake tins, perhaps you should try baking these in a water bath. I had a few of mine crack =(

So, I have decided to start a baking blog to showcase my confectionary exploits. Basically, I plan to post pictures of what I bake, and include the recipes I used.I will also actively work on my blog writing skills, so that I can at least keep my readers entertained. In other words, comments are encouraged!

Here's a treat to get the ball rollin':