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These grasshopper whoopie pies combine rich chocolate cookies with a fluffy mint marshmallow cream filling. Easy homemade recipe using fresh mint — ready in under 2 hours. Perfect for mint chocolate lovers
This plant attempts to strangle all of its neighbors, climbing all over my windowsill garden, wrapping itself around my other plants, and rooting itself in other pots. Clearly, it needed to be taken down a peg. This imperative to stop the tyrant is what inspired this week’s creation. Giving the mint a haircut meant that I would have a sudden influx of fresh mint to work with.
Whoopie pies lie in the intersection of cake and sandwich cookies. The cookies have a cake-like consistency, but the dough (or is it batter…) is more like a wet cookie dough. I gathered inspiration from several different recipes for these grasshopper whoopie pies. I started with this recipe for the cookies, changing only the flour, and I used this recipe and this recipe as starting points for the filling. If I were to make any after-the-fact adjustments, I might add some confectioner’s sugar to the filling to make it a bit stiffer (more like frosting), chill the dough before scooping, and use a cookie scoop to make the cookies more uniform.
For the cookies:
For the filling
Step:1 prepare your mint syrup. You will want to start this at least 8 hours in advance to allow enough time for the mint leaves to infuse the syrup fully.
Step:2 Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare your cookie sheets. I line mine with aluminum foil, shiny side down, so I don’t have to clean them, but you may also use parchment paper or grease them.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
Step:3 Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract.
Step:4 Stir half of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. While I was beating the wet ingredients with an electric mixer, I suggest using a spoon or rubber spatula for the dry ingredients because they will quickly get EVERYWHERE if you mix them too fast.
Mix in the milk. (You can go back to the electric mixer for this part.)
Stir in the rest of the dry ingredients. Your dough/batter should be thick and hold its shape.
Step:5 As mentioned earlier, you might want to refrigerate your dough for an hour or so to make it easier to shape. Drop your dough by rounded tablespoons onto your cookie sheets. Do your best to make them round and slightly flat so that they will be easier to match when you are assembling your sandwiches. This recipe should make approximately 50 cookies.
Step:6 Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. Let them cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheets, then remove them to cool on a wire rack. Make sure they cool completely before you assemble them, or they will melt your filling.
Step:7 While your cookies are cooling, begin to prepare the filling.
Place the mint leaves in a medium saucepan and gently crush them with the back of a spoon. Pour 1 cup of heavy cream into the saucepan and stir.
Step:8 Heat the cream and mint over medium heat until it just begins to boil. Remove the cream from the heat, cover, and steep for 15 minutes.
Strain the mint leaves out of the cream and return it to the saucepan.
Step:9 Add the marshmallows to the cream and return them to medium heat. Heat until the cream starts to foam and remove the mixture from the heat. Whisk or stir until the marshmallows are completely dissolved.
Step:10 Pour the cream and marshmallow mixture into a heat-proof bowl and whisk in the mint syrup and enough green food coloring to create the proper shade of green. Allow the mixture to cool completely.
Step:11 Once your mint marshmallow cream has cooled, whip the remaining cup of cream (be sure to keep it cold) until soft peaks form. Pour in the mint marshmallow cream and continue to whip the mixture until it is of piping consistency. If you would like a stiffer filling, this is the point at which you would add in some confectioner’s sugar.
Pour your filling into a piping bag or gallon resealable plastic bag. Place the bag in the freezer for 20 minutes (do not leave it in there too long or strange things might happen to the cream).
Once your cream has chilled, cut a small hole in one corner.
Step:12 Lay your cookies out on wax paper. Pipe filling onto half of the cookies and sandwich those with the rest of the cookies.
These keep best individually-wrapped in the fridge. Enjoy!
Use a cookie scoop — uniform sized cookies sandwich together perfectly. Mismatched sizes make assembly frustrating and messy Cool cookies completely — even slightly warm cookies will melt your filling instantly Do not over freeze the filling — exactly 20 minutes firms it to perfect piping consistency. Any longer changes the cream texture Steep the mint properly — a full 15 minute steep with the pan covered extracts maximum mint flavor from the leaves Use gel food coloring — liquid food coloring adds too much moisture and changes filling consistency. Gel gives vibrant color with tiny amounts Make mint syrup the night before — 8 hours minimum infuse time gives the deepest mint flavor
Q: Can I make grasshopper whoopie pies without fresh mint?
Yes. Replace the fresh mint leaves and mint syrup with 1½ teaspoons of peppermint extract added directly to the whipped cream filling. The flavor will be slightly sharper but still delicious.
Q: Can I make whoopie pies ahead of time?
Yes. Bake the cookies up to 1 day ahead and store in an airtight container at room temperature. Make the filling on the day you plan to serve and assemble just before serving for the best texture and presentation.
It’s the final week of Comfort Food Month! To end the month in a manner fitting with the spirit, I decided to bring you a treat that hits a few different comforts: soft beer pretzels and beer cheese dip. We’ve got chewy bread, gooey cheese, salt and spices, and a hint of beer. What more could you need?
I’ve known about this phenomenon for awhile, but since I’m really not into beer, I hadn’t tried it until my husband decided to give Applebees’ Brew Pub Pretzels with Beer Cheese Dip a try. We were both skeptical, but our apprehension was washed away in a sea of fluffy pretzels and cheddar cheese. Man, they are good! We haven’t been to Applebee’s in some time now due to a frustrating experience involving a cup of potato soup we didn’t order but still ended up paying for (it was supposed to be beer cheese dip, actually), but the pretzels and cheese are still on my mind from time to time. I’ve been saying for a long time that I would try to recreate this appetizer, and now I’ve finally gotten around to it.
I kluged together two different pretzel recipes for this: Alton Brown’s Homemade Soft Pretzels and Taste of Home’s Soft Beer Pretzels. As I mentioned earlier, I’m not much of a fan of beer, so I reduced the volume to 8 ounces and added 4 ounces of water to make up the difference. There was a hint of beer aftertaste, but I didn’t notice it right away. This was right up my alley, but if you want to taste the beer a bit more, you can use the full 12 ounces. It also works out well because the cheese dip calls for 4 ounces of beer, so you can make the whole thing with one bottle. I used a bottle of Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold that I bought at Trader Joe’s, since they allow you to buy them by the bottle rather than by the six pack. Feel free to experiment with whatever beer you prefer (and if there are any that you think would lend themselves particularly well to pretzels and cheese, by all means please let me know because I am beer illiterate).
My original plan was to make twisted pretzel sticks, but that turned out to be a no-go (this time, anyway). I’ve always had a bit of trouble with pretzel dough, and this time was no exception. The dough is very soft and sticky, so it was nearly impossible to get my pretzel sticks to stay straight in transit from the flat surface they were resting on to the baking soda bath and back again in one piece. I ended up throwing out the first pile of pretzel mush that came out of the baking soda bath and just cut my pretzel dough into nuggets moving forward. Thankfully, this was successful (and hey, everyone likes bite-sized food, right?). It even gave me enough confidence to make a handful of small, regular-shaped pretzels, which turned out ok. If you have any tips on making pretzels keep their shape without tearing your hair out, please share your wizardry with me!
I’ve included a seasoning blend in the recipe that you can sprinkle on top of the pretzels, but if you prefer traditional, salted soft pretzels, they’ll taste great too. I tried it both ways, and I can’t really say which I preferred. Seasoning measurements are really meant to represent that you should use an equal amount of each seasoning in the blend, so you may need more or less depending on how many pretzels you have. Again, feel free to experiment if you have the urge.
I will admit that the pretzels take a long time to make and are a bit of a pain, but don’t let this make you skip the dip! The dip is the complete opposite story. I was able to make it during commercial breaks while half watching The Mick (thankfully, both the show and the dip don’t require particularly rapt attention). There are a few variables you can play with to make the flavors suit your tastes: beer choice, cheese choice, and seasonings. I used the rest of the Dortmunder Gold I had saved from the pretzels, but you’re not tied to using the same beer in both recipes if you don’t want. I used my new favorite cheese, Double Gloucester with onion and chive, but any melty cheese will do (think Cheddar family). Finally, I stuck with the familiar and seasoned with onion and garlic, but this dip would lend itself well to cayenne pepper, paprika, or even a little bit of hot sauce. Just go with what you like, and you (probably) can’t go wrong
Better than Applebee’s — seriously
Authentic soft pretzel texture — baking soda bath gives real pretzel flavor
Bite sized and crowd friendly — perfect for sharing at parties
One bottle of beer — used in both the pretzels and the dip
Completely customizable — change the beer, change the cheese, make it your own
You will need the following ingredients:
Ingredients for Beer Pretzels with Cheese Dip
For the dip:
Beer choice: Any lager or amber ale works well. One 12oz bottle covers both the pretzels and the dip perfectly.
Cheese choice: Any melting cheese from the cheddar family works. Double Gloucester with onion and chive adds incredible flavor. Avoid pre-shredded cheese — always grate fresh for smoother melting.
Less beer flavor: Use 8oz beer and 4oz water for the pretzels as written. For stronger beer flavor use the full 12oz beer.
Stand mixer with dough hook (or large bowl for hand kneading)
Large wide pot (for baking soda bath)
2 large baking sheets
Parchment paper
Slotted spoon
Small saucepan (for cheese dip)
Whisk
For baking ambiance:
I decided to give everyone a break from my glam binge (for now), and instead put on some Stevie Wonder this week. It was a nice change of pace, and I would recommend his music to anyone who has ears. Seriously, his voice is made of melted caramel (or any other silky, smooth indulgence you prefer).
Step:1
Heat the beer and water to lukewarm. In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the sugar in the beer and water and sprinkle the yeast on top.
Step:2 Let the yeast stand until creamy, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the Kosher salt and melted butter until well–combined.
Step:3 Using a dough hook, stir in the flour until the mixture is smooth. Increase the mixer’s speed to medium and let it knead the dough until it pulls away from the side of the bowl, about 5 minutes. If you are doing this by hand, oil your work surface and hands to prevent sticking.
I found the consistency of the dough to be similar to oobleck, so my usual method of greasing the mixing bowl and putting the dough back into it wasn’t going to work (waaay too sticky). Instead, I greased a second bowl, then dumped the dough into that and turned it to coat. I’d suggest doing the same.
Step:4 Cover the bowl and leave it to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 50-55 minutes. Pro tip: heat your oven to 200°F, then turn it off and put the bowl inside. The poor man’s proofing drawer works like a charm.
Step:5 When the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 450°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and grease the paper. Set aside.
Step:6 In a large, wide pot, whisk the baking soda into the 10 cups of water and bring to a rolling boil.
While the oven is preheating and the water is getting up to a boil, turn the dough out onto a lightly-greased work surface.
Step:7 Cut the dough into 4 pieces, then cut each piece into another 4 pieces (you’ll have 16 in total). Roll one piece of dough into a log approximately 1″ thick.
Cut the log into 1″-2″ pieces, then repeat the process with the remaining dough. If you are running out of space, transfer the nuggets temporarily to the greased cookie sheets.
Step:8 When the baking soda bath is boiling furiously, drop 4 pretzel nuggets at a time into the water. Leave them in there for only 30 seconds, flipping them once halfway through. Don’t skip the flip, as it ensures that both sides of the nuggets get pre-treated.
Step:9 Using a slotted spoon, remove the pretzel nuggets to paper towels to drain. Repeat the process until all of the pretzel nuggets have gotten their time in the baking soda bath.
Step:10 In a small bowl, beat together the egg yolk and tablespoon of water until smooth. Brush the tops of all of the pretzel nuggets with egg wash.
In another small bowl, stir together the ground mustard, onion powder, and garlic powder until well-combined, then sprinkle a light layer on top of the pretzels. Alternatively, you can sprinkle a layer of Kosher salt on them instead for more traditional soft pretzels.
Step:11 Transfer the prepared pretzel nuggets to the cookie sheets (you don’t have to leave too much space because they’re not going to grow much during baking). Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the tops are a nice golden brown. This is difficult for me because I usually prefer my baked goods to be a little bit underdone, but you don’t want underdone pretzels (yuck). Fortunately, most people know what a soft pretzel looks like (here are some visuals if you don’t), so it’s not too hard to see when it’s time to take them out of the oven.
When they’re done, transfer them to a cooling rack to cool while you make the cheese dip. This should be just enough time for the danger of mouth burns to be avoided.
Step: 12 Now, for the dip. If you haven’t done this already, grate the cheese, then set it aside.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until smooth (like we talked about last week, this is called a roux).
Cook the roux, whisking occasionally, until it browns a little, about 5 minutes.
Step:13 Now start whisking the roux continuously and simultaneously pour in ¼ cup of the milk. Keep whisking until a thick paste forms.
Repeat the process above with the remaining milk, ¼ cup at a time, until it’s all incorporated.
Next, whisk in the beer, followed by the brown mustard, followed by the garlic powder, onion powder, and salt.
Step:14 Bring the sauce to a simmer, whisking regularly, and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.
Remove the sauce from the heat and either whisk the grated cheese into it, or pour it over the grated cheese and whisk them together. Normally, I do the former, but this time I did the latter because my saucepan was too small to comfortably whisk the cheese into. It’ll work about the same either way, so do whatever works for you. Just be sure to keep whisking until the cheese is fully melted and the dip is smooth.
Transfer the dip to your serving vessel of choice and serve warm with warm beer pretzels.
Step:15 Refrigerate leftover dip and store leftover pretzels at room temperature in an airtight container. The pretzels are best eaten fresh, but you can microwave day-old for about 30 seconds to soften them up a bit.
Problem: Pretzels are pale and not golden brown
Cause: Baking soda bath was skipped or too short.
Fix: Always do the full 30 second bath. Make sure water is at a full rolling boil before adding pretzels.
Problem: Cheese dip is lumpy
Cause: Cheese was added while sauce was too hot or pre-shredded cheese was used.
Fix: Remove pan from heat before adding cheese. Always grate fresh cheese.
Problem: Pretzels lost their shape
Cause: Dough too soft for twisting or sticks.
Fix: Make nuggets or bites instead — they taste identical and are much easier to handle.
Q: Can I make beer pretzels without beer?
Yes. Replace beer with equal amounts of warm water or non-alcoholic beer. The flavor will be slightly milder but the texture will be identical.
Q: What beer is best for soft pretzels?
A light lager or amber ale works best. Avoid very bitter IPAs as the bitterness can overpower the dough. One 12oz bottle is enough for both the pretzels and the cheese dip.
Q: Why do you boil pretzels in baking soda water?
The baking soda bath gives pretzels their signature chewy texture, deep brown color, and that distinctive slightly salty pretzel flavor. Skipping it results in plain bread rolls not real pretzels.
Q: Can I make the dough ahead of time?
Yes. After kneading, cover the dough and refrigerate overnight instead of doing the room temperature rise. The next day take it out, let it come to room temperature for 30 minutes, then continue from Step 4.
Q: What cheese works best for beer cheese dip?
Any cheese from the cheddar family melts well. Sharp cheddar, Double Gloucester, Colby, or Monterey Jack all work beautifully. Avoid hard cheeses like Parmesan as they do not melt smoothly into a dip.
Q: Can I make full sized pretzels instead of bites?
Yes. Roll each dough piece into a long rope and shape into a traditional pretzel. Increase baking time to 15 to 16 minutes and watch carefully for the right golden brown color.
Three incredible layers — chocolate cake, peppermint ice cream, toasted meringue all in one dessert Completely beginner friendly — no single step is difficult when taken one at a time Make ahead design — ice cream and cake made day before, assembled and baked day of serving Shortcut friendly — store bought ice cream and box cake mix work perfectly Showstopper presentation — guaranteed to impress at any dinner party or celebration Science is delicious — the meringue insulates the ice cream so it stays frozen through oven baking
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) baking series is trucking right along, even in the face of a minor setback. This week’s post was originally supposed to be based on Iron Man 2, but I’ve decided to delay that recipe due to the seasonal availability of the fruit I plan to use. To make up for it, I’ve jumped ahead to my one of my favorite superheroes: Thor!
I remember being super psyched for this movie when it came out, and I was not disappointed. Admittedly, the CGI is a little weird at times, but I still stand by the mighty Thor. On a related note, I’m really into the recent Thor comic book series and subsequent Mighty Thor line. Beautiful artwork, accessible story lines, and a female Thor. What’s not to like? I’d definitely recommend it if you’re into comic books.
But I digress. According to the IMDB summary of the movie, “The powerful but arrogant god Thor is cast out of Asgard to live amongst humans in Midgard (Earth), where he soon becomes one of their finest defenders.” After intruders break into (what amounts to) the royal vault with the help of Loki, Thor reignites the ancient conflict between the Asgardians and the frost giants of Jotunheim. As punishment for his arrogance, Odin declares Thor unworthy and sends him to Midgard to learn his lesson. There, he meets and befriends scientists Jane Foster, Eric Selvig, and Darcy Lewis, who help him to develop a sense of humility in his human form. Through a selfless act, Thor regains his worthiness and is again able to wield his hammer (as well as fly, summon lightning, etc.). Soon after, when Thor returns to Asgard, he chooses to destroy the Bifrost (rainbow bridge) in order to save Midgard from destruction, severing his link to his human friends in the process.
There’s a lot going on in this movie, so I knew I needed to bake something that had a lot going on. I landed on baked Alaska pretty quickly. Aside from it being a somewhat over the top dessert, it conveniently has three layers that can represent the three realms (there are nine total) that are represented in the movie. The chocolate cake base represents Midgard (Earth), the peppermint ice cream represents Jotunheim, and the meringue layer represents Asgard. I decided to add a rainbow arc across the top of the meringue to represent the Bifrost. Josh and I even went so far as to destroy it with Mjolnir:
While I pulled recipes together from a couple different places, I didn’t make too many changes to the actual recipes themselves. For the ice cream, I opted for peppermint extract instead of fresh mint leaves. I’ve tried it with the mint leaves before and didn’t think it had sufficient flavor. For the cake, meringue topping, and baking instructions, I looked to my trusty copy of Joy of Cooking. I added some instant coffee granules to the chocolate Genoise sponge cake recipe to accent the chocolate flavor a bit (and as a nod to the scene in the movie where Thor smashes his mug in appreciation of his coffee). I also colored a small portion of the meringue rainbow so that I could add some thematic decoration to the top. Other than that, the recipes are mostly as written.
I’m not going to lie, this is definitely a “dirty every kitchen tool and dish you own” kind of dessert. If you make all of the components from scratch, you will need something to churn your ice cream with, a large bowl, a 9″ cake pan, a rimless baking sheet, an electric mixer, various sizes of saucepans, and several mixing bowls, among other usual kitchen bits and bobs. You can definitely use store-bought ice cream and cake from a box instead. I wouldn’t judge you for shortcutting this a bit. However, while this takes a lot of time and tools, none of the steps are particularly difficult. If you take your time and pay close attention to what you are doing, you can recreate this baked Alaska, no sweat.
For the peppermint ice cream:
For the coffee chocolate Genoise sponge cake:
For the soft meringue topping:
Ice cream maker with bowl frozen at least 12 hours ahead 9 inch round cake pan Large mixing bowl (for molding ice cream) Plastic wrap Stand mixer with whisk attachment Rimless baking sheet (or rimmed sheet used upside down) Fine mesh strainer Rubber spatula 12 inch piping bag with small star tip Clean paintbrush (for rainbow decoration) Large skillet (for double boiler setup)
The first component to make is the ice cream. You will need an ice cream maker of some sort (I use this handy gadget). If you are using the one I use, be sure to freeze the bowl for at least 12 hours before you plan to churn your ice cream.
In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth. Set aside.
Whisk together the heavy cream, milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook, whisking constantly, until the sugar is completely dissolved (about 5 minutes).
Pour approximately a third of the hot cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking quickly the whole time, until smooth.
Whisk in the remaining cream mixture until smooth and return the mixture to the saucepan.
Heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring continuously, until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Stir in the peppermint extract and food coloring (if using) until fully-incorporated.
Strain the ice cream base through a fine-mesh strainer into a heat-proof bowl and leave it to cool to room temperature on the counter.
When the ice cream base is approximately room temperature, press a layer of plastic wrap directly onto the surface (this prevents it from forming a skin) and refrigerate for at least four hours.
When you are ready to churn your ice cream, first prepare the bowl you will mold your baked Alaska in. Line the inside of the bowl with plastic wrap so that it is completely covered and the plastic wrap hangs over the edge about an inch.
Take your ice cream base out of the fridge and remove the plastic wrap. Churn according to your ice cream maker’s directions.
Scrape the ice cream into the prepared bowl and smooth the top with a spatula. Place the bowl in the freezer to harden the ice cream for at least four hours.
While the ice cream is hardening, make the cake layer. Preheat your oven to 350°F and line the bottom of a 9″ cake pan with parchment paper. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, cocoa powder, and coffee granules until well-mixed and aerated.
Fill a large skillet approximately halfway with water and bring it to a simmer. In a medium, heat-proof bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar.
Place the bowl inside the skillet of simmering water and whisk continuously until the egg mixture is warm to the touch.
Remove the bowl from the water and transfer the mixture to a stand mixer. Beat with the whisk attachment until it approximately triples in volume (about five minutes). When you pull the whisk out of the egg mixture, a continuous ribbon of egg should stream into the bowl.
Sprinkle a third of the flour mixture across the top of the bowl and gently fold it in with a rubber spatula until it is fully-incorporated. Repeat twice with the remaining flour.
Reheat the melted butter and transfer it to a glass measuring cup or small bowl. Pour approximately ¾ cup of the cake batter into the hot butter and fold them together until smooth.
Scrape the butter batter mixture back into the remaining batter and fold together until well-combined.
Scrape the cake batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the cake begins to pull away from the edge of the pan and the top springs back when lightly pressed in the middle (the dark spot on the cake below is from me testing it too soon and leaving a dent).
Leave the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a sharp knife around the edge and flip it out onto a cooling rack (remove the parchment paper from the bottom in the process). Allow to cool completely.
When the cake is cool and your ice cream has hardened, it’s time to stuff it into the bowl with the ice cream. Mine was about ½” too big in diameter, so I just carefully squished it in and it worked out fine. If yours is much bigger than that, you might need to trim the edge a little to fit into the bowl. Regardless, at this point, press the cake, top facing the ice cream, into the bowl.
Return the bowl to the freezer while you prepare the meringue topping.
Preheat your oven to 450°F and line a rimless baking sheet with parchment paper. If you don’t have a rimless baking sheet, you can try using a regular cookie sheet upside down (veeeery carefully), or you can just serve it off the cookie sheet.
Prepare a 12″ piping bag with a small start tip (I used a Wilton #21) and fold the edge over. Place the bag inside a tall drinking glass to keep it standing up. Using a clean paint brush, carefully paint 2-3″ stripes of food coloring in each color of the rainbow inside the bag up to the edge of the coupler or tip.
In a small saucepan, stir together the cornstarch, granulated sugar, and water.
Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring quickly and continuously. Cook for 15 seconds to form a thick paste, then remove the saucepan from the heat and cover it.
Using a stand mixer with whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until they are foamy.
Add the vanilla extract and cream of tartar and beat on medium speed until soft peaks form.
Reduce the mixer’s speed to the lowest setting and add in the powdered sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, making sure that the sugar gets fully-incorporated after each addition.
Increase the mixer’s speed to high and beat until stiff, glossy peaks form.
Reduce the mixer’s speed to the lowest setting again and add in the cornstarch paste 1 tablespoon at a time as you did with the powdered sugar. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 10 seconds.
Fill the piping bag you prepared earlier approximately halfway with the meringue topping and twist the top shut.
Remove your ice cream and cake from the freezer and carefully turn it out onto your rimless baking sheet. This is best done with two people if you have an extra helper around.
Remove the plastic wrap from the top and discard.
Spread the remaining meringue all over the ice cream and cake, making sure that it is fully-attached to the parchment paper. You don’t want any holes. Swirl the meringue decoratively with a spatula or knife. This not only looks nice, but gives the meringue more surface area, which helps to insulate the ice cream underneath (yea for science!).
Squeeze meringue out of the piping bag until it starts to come out rainbow. Pipe an arc of rainbow swirls across the top of the baked Alaska.
Pipe another row of swirls on either side of the first to use up the remaining meringue (it will run out of color, but it still looks nice either way).
Bake for 5 minutes, watching carefully the whole time. Remove the baked Alaska from the oven as soon as the peaks are browned.
If you used a rimless baking sheet, you can carefully slide the baked Alaska onto a serving platter. Serve immediately and freeze leftovers in airtight containers.
Enjoy!
Q: How does the ice cream not melt in the oven?
The thick layer of meringue surrounding the ice cream acts as an insulator. Meringue is mostly air which is an excellent insulator against heat. As long as the meringue completely seals the ice cream with no gaps and the baking time is kept to just 5 minutes the ice cream stays frozen inside.
Q: Can I use store bought ice cream instead of homemade?
Absolutely. Use any good quality peppermint ice cream. Soften it slightly then pack it firmly into your plastic wrap lined bowl and refreeze until completely hardened before assembling. This shortcut saves hours without sacrificing any of the wow factor.
Q: Can I make baked Alaska ahead of time?
You can assemble the unbaked baked Alaska up to 2 days ahead and keep it in the freezer. Add the meringue coating and bake on the day you plan to serve it. Never bake it ahead — serve immediately from the oven.
Back in July, my husband and I went to a barbecue at his research advisor’s house. Naturally, I had to bake something. His advisor and his wife had thoughtfully given us a PieBox with a pie plate and a tart pan as a wedding gift, so something delivered in that box was the natural choice (it really is a useful and fun thing, you should get one if you transport baked goods frequently). Since I’d never made a tart before, I decided to take the new tart pan for a spin for this particular bakeventure.
As I often find myself doing, I adapted this recipe from Joy of Cooking‘s Lemon Tart recipe. In this instance, I substituted limes for lemons and used a 50/50 mix of fresh lime juice and pomegranate juice for the liquid. I found that it was easiest to prepare all of my ingredients ahead of time as if I were on a cooking show. That way, my filling didn’t have to sit and wait on the counter while I separated eggs and zested and juiced limes.
As you will soon see, there was a bit of a mishap with this tart (read: it turned out fugly). Unlike in last week’s case, I had some added motivation to make it work. Funny how needing to bring something to a party in a few hours can force you to be creative with your decorating. Hopefully this serves as an example of what you can do with an ugly dessert, some whipped cream, and some fruit.
You will need the following ingredients:
For the tart:
For decoration:
For baking ambiance:
With all the classic rock I’ve been baking to lately, I decided it was time for a change of pace. I chose some jazz a la Charles Mingus, one of the greatest jazz bassists of all time. If you haven’t heard of him (and if you’re into jazz), I recommend checking out one of his many records.
Prepare and refrigerate your pie crust if you’re making it from scratch (see here for the recipe I use). I added the zest of one lime to a full batch of crust, then froze the half of it I wasn’t using.
Preheat your oven to 425°F.
Roll out your pie crust and fit it into a 9″ tart pan, trimming the crust flush with the edge of the pan. As you can see, mine broke in transit, so I patched it. This turned out to be a huge mistake because the filling leaked out of the crack while baking and stuck to the edge of the tart pan. When in doubt, re-roll it out.
Prick the bottom of the crust all over with a fork, line it with aluminum foil, and weigh it down with pie plates or a 9″ round cake pan that fits snugly inside.
Bake the crust for 15 minutes, then remove the cake pan and foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes. The edges should be somewhat browned. Remove from the oven and set aside. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.
Now prepare the filling. Fill a large frying pan with 1″ of water and bring it just to a simmer.
In a medium, heat-proof bowl, stir together the sugar and butter cubes. Place the bowl in the simmering water and stir the sugar and butter until the butter melts completely.
Remove the bowl from the water (CAREFULLY!) and whisk in the egg yolks until they are fully-incorporated.
Whisk in the pomegranate and lime juices and return the bowl to the simmering water. Continue to whisk the mixture slowly, occasionally scraping the sides of the bowl, until it thickens and sticks to the side of the bowl when you swirl it.
Remove the bowl from the water and whisk in the lime zest.
Carefully pour the filling into the prepared crust and bake for 25 minutes, or until the center looks set when you shake the pan.
Leave the tart to cool completely on a cooling rack. If you need to take it somewhere the same day like I did, you can refrigerate it after about an hour of cooling. Don’t remove the edge of your tart pan until the tart is fully-cooled.
Now, let’s talk decorations. As mentioned above, my filling leaked out of my crust and stuck to the pan. Unfortunately, when I tried to separate the edge of the pan, it ripped off most of the edge of the crust.
This is a dessert that only a mother could love, and as its mother, I had a really hard time loving it. But don’t despair! There is still hope if you find yourself with a pastry disaster. To put some lipstick on this pig, I decided to add some lime-flavored whipped cream, a border of raspberries, and a candied lime slice in the middle (though the candied lime was always part of the plan). I also had a pomegranate and a star fruit on standby, but chose not to use those because a) I didn’t want it to look too busy, and b) I didn’t have the time to seed a pomegranate before the barbecue.
To make the whipped cream, chill a stand mixer bowl or other mixing bowl and your beater(s) or whisk. Pour 8 ounces of cold whipping cream into the bowl and mix, starting on low speed and increasing to medium as it thickens, until the cream starts to hold soft peaks. At this point, add in the powdered sugar and crystallized lime packets. Whip the cream until it is the desired consistency. If you’d like, you can stir in some green food coloring at this point.
Load your whipped cream into a pastry bag or gallon-sized, resealable plastic bag fitted with a large star pastry tip (if you don’t have one, you can just snip a 1/2″ hole in the corner of the bag). Pipe stars in concentric circles, starting at the outer edge and working your way in. Fill in any gaps with smaller stars. If you’re not into piping, you can also spread the whipped cream over the top of the tart with a spatula. If you go this route, I suggest adding some extra decorative fruit, such as star fruit slices or more candied lime slices, to pretty it up a bit.
To finish it off (and hide the glaring lack of edge crust), I added a border of fresh raspberries. This may seem obvious, but I feel compelled to note that you should definitely remove your tart from the bottom of the tart pan and transfer it to the plate you plan to serve it on before you do this (for obvious reasons). Add a candied lime slice (or other fruit) in the center, and you’re done! Crisis averted! Now revel in the ooos and aaaahs you’ll receive once everyone tries a slice of your deliciously rich pomegranate lime tart!
I had been eyeing this gimmicky tool for my last few trips to Michael’s, so when I got a 30% off coupon in the mail, I decided it was time to give it a shot.
The kit contains the interlocking coupler, six 16″ disposable piping bags, and two large Wilton tips (1M and 1A). This means that you have enough supplies to try this twice, since each color of frosting goes in a different bag. The list price is $7.99, so I got the whole thing for $5.59 plus tax. A regular large coupler is $1.99, each tip is $1.49, and a pack of 12 of the same bags is $5.49, for a grand total of $7.72 (if you were only buying half a package of decorating bags) before discount, so the convenience cost is nominal. The coupler is, of course, larger than standard, but it’s really not large enough to take up all that much space.
I have not tried making a three-color swirl by using a regular coupler with three bags or putting three colors of frosting in the same bag, but I’m guessing this tool makes it easier than that. All you have to do is insert each of the three interlocking coupler pieces into a separate decorating bag, snip the tips, fill the bags with frosting, connect the interlocking pieces (in order because they only fit one way), put a tip on it, and screw the outside piece on. Once you get the swirl started, it’s easy to pipe onto anything you want. Obviously this is best suited to working with cupcakes because you have to use the larger tips, which are going to make larger decorations, but you could also use it for larger decorations on cakes.
If you have smaller hands or suffer from arthritis, this tool might not work for you, particularly with the suggested 16″ decorating bags. It takes strong and consistent pressure to squeeze the frosting out, and the three bags together are quite bulky. My hands are on the smaller side and I was able to manage, but it took some getting used to, and the precision of my swirls probably suffered from having to work with such a large cluster of bags. Of course, you could put less frosting in each bag, but then you’ll be constantly refilling, and will run the risk of running out in the middle of a swirl.
I was able to use this with 12″ decorating bags as well. You can’t fit as much frosting (obviously), but for small projects it is convenient. I’ve also tried it with both stiff buttercream frosting (the red, white, and blue cupcakes) and cream cheese frosting (the mini cake below), and both worked very well. This might be tough to use with royal icing, but I don’t really see why you would want to.
One small issue I found was that the frosting can leak around the inner coupler piece. This wasn’t a problem, as the ring makes a decent seal, but I could see it leaking a small amount of frosting, particularly if you cut too big of a hole in your piping bag.
All in all, I found this to be a clever tool that is convenient and fun to use. If you don’t frost many cakes or cupcakes, it might not be for you, but for the price and relative small size (compared to other kitchen tools), it’s really a low-risk investment. If anyone else has bought and used one of these, I’d love to see your results!
Please note that I paid for this product with my own money and did not receive any compensation from Wilton for this review, nor am I affiliated with them in any way. I simply wanted to try this coupler to satisfy my own curiosity and to share my results with other curious bakers.
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I’ve been thinking a lot about my grandparents lately, and all the little things that remind me of them. From to the kitchen stash of sweetener and jelly packets pilfered from restaurants to afternoon Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, there are some things that always trigger happy childhood memories. Of all the things that scream grandparents to me, crumb cake is in the top 10 of the list. I can’t ever remember a time when mine didn’t have an Entenmann’s Crumb Coffee Cake on the kitchen counter next to the sink. We had always referred to it simply as “coffee cake,” but I later learned that there are, in fact, several varieties of cake which can be called coffee cake. No gathering was complete without a cup of coffee for the adults and a square of that sweet, buttery goodness for everyone.
I followed the recipe exactly, so I’m not going to repost the ingredients list here (but I will still gather them together for your viewing pleasure). You can find the full recipe here. This post is designed more to help you through the steps visually, as there are few changes I would make to this recipe. In the future, I might use buttermilk instead of regular milk to add some moisture to the somewhat dry cake, but other than that, this is a pretty spot-on crumb cake. While it may be easier (and more nostalgic) to go to the grocery store and buy that Entenmann’s Crumb Coffee Cake, this recipe is actually really easy and fun.
Thick crumb topping — generous ratio of crumb to cake just like the New York original Ready in 45 minutes — faster than driving to the store Simple pantry ingredients — nothing fancy required Perfect for any occasion — breakfast, brunch, dessert, or afternoon snack Makes 12 generous squares — great for feeding a crowd Better the next day — flavors deepen overnight making it perfect for make ahead
Preheat your oven to 325°F.
Grease a 9″x13″ baking pan (I used cooking spray and it came out fine). Drop a small handful of flour in the pan and tilt it around until the whole thing is covered. Throw out the excess.
Melt your butter and set it aside to cool.
Whisk together 1½ cups of the flour, the granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, vanilla, and canola oil (I won’t tell anyone if you substitute with a different oil). Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until you have a lumpy batter. Don’t over-mix it because it will make your cake tough (click on the images below to see them larger).
Spread the cake batter as evenly as possible in the prepared pan. The consistency is more like a wet, stretchy cookie dough, so this will be a little difficult. Just do your best to make sure it’s not too thick or thin anywhere and that it makes it all the way to the edges.
In another bowl (or the same one you used for the dry ingredients for the cake), stir together the remaining 2½ cups flour, the brown sugar, and the cinnamon. In this instance, it’s not particularly crucial to break up clumps of brown sugar unless they’re bigger than a large pea.
Pour the melted butter over the mixture and fold it in with a rubber spatula until it forms large crumbs. You can’t really screw this part up (aside from perhaps under-mixing) because you can always crumble it a bit with your hands later.
Sprinkle the crumbs over the cake batter to cover it as evenly as possible. Try not to leave any bald patches.
Bake the cake for 10 minutes, turn the pan around, then bake for another 10 minutes. Test it for doneness by sticking a toothpick in the center. If the toothpick comes out clean, it’s done. If not, bake the cake for another 3-5 minutes, being sure to watch it like a hawk to keep it from burning.
Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely on a trivet (or whatever else you use to keep hot things from burning your surfaces). When it’s cool to the touch, sprinkle it with powdered sugar.
Slice it into squares with a sharp knife and enjoy!
P.S. Happy belated Grandparents Day!
Q: Why is my crumb topping not chunky?
The most common cause is butter that was too hot when mixed into the flour and sugar. Hot butter creates a paste rather than crumbs. Let your melted butter cool for at least 5 minutes before mixing. Also use your hands to press the mixture into large irregular chunks before sprinkling over the batter.
Q: Can I make crumb cake without a 9×13 pan?
Yes. You can use two 8×8 inch pans for the same recipe. Reduce baking time slightly and start checking for doneness at 15 minutes. A 9 inch round springform pan also works but yields a thicker cake with a smaller surface area.
Q: Can I make the crumb topping ahead of time?
Yes. Mix the crumb topping and store it covered in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before using. The cold butter actually helps the crumbs maintain their chunky texture. Bring to room temperature for 10 minutes before sprinkling.
Q: Why do you rotate the pan during baking?
Most home ovens have hot spots — areas that run slightly hotter than others. A 9×13 inch pan is large enough that one end can bake faster than the other. Rotating the pan halfway through ensures even browning and doneness across the entire cake.
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Spiced Apple Pie recipe in Apple season is upon is, so naturally that means it is the season of pie. If you ever wonder how to make Apple Pie Spice at home with Basic Recipe there you go, Josh and I went apple picking on the last weekend of August and came home with a paltry 18 pounds of Earligold and Jonamac apples.
Most of the Earligolds went into apple sauce for canning, but I made sure to save most of the Jonamacs for pie. I don’t like Jonathan apples very much, but I can’t seem to get enough of every hybrid which includes Jonathan in its pedigree because it adds just the right amount of tartness. Jonagold (a cross between Jonathan and Golden Delicious) are my absolute favorite hands-down, but these Jonamacs (Jonathans crossed with Macintosh) were pretty awesome too.
This apple pie is inspired by Green Apple Pie in The Lost Art of Pie Making Made Easy. The original lemony version is also excellent, but this variation just screams fall. I used this spice blend, but if you don’t feel like getting the other spices, you can just use cinnamon. It will still be delicious.
For the pie:
For baking ambiance:
For optimal baking conditions, this pie needs some funky background music. I know I’ve suggested it before, but I am bound to suggest it again and again.
Now get ready for the ultimate apple pie experience!
Prepare your pie crust if you feel like making it and separate it into two discs, with one slightly larger than the other. Let it chill for at least at hour in the fridge before rolling it out. If it gets too warm, it will break and you will be sad.
1.When you’re ready to start, preheat your oven to 375°F.
2.Peel, core, and chop your apples and put them in a large mixing bowl.
It really doesn’t matter if they brown (the spices will make them look brown anyway), so I wouldn’t bother with putting lemon juice on them.
3.In a separate small bowl, stir together the brown and white sugars, flour, and pie spice, breaking up any large clumps of brown sugar you find.
4.Stir the sugar and spice mixture into the apples until all the apples are well-coated.
Now that your pie crust has had plenty of time to chill, take 1 disc out of the fridge and roll it out on a well-floured surface (again, I’m going to plug a silicone baking mat because I’m madly in love with mine). Carefully transfer the crust to your pie plate of choice. My favorite is this 9″ deep dish pie plate from Bennington Potters.
5.Pour the apple filling into the crust. If your pie plate is smaller than mine, just carefully pile the apples up in the middle. They’ll shrink during baking.
6.Now roll out your remaining crust disc. I chose to lattice the top (I’ll try to post about this process in the future when it’s less than a million and one degrees in my kitchen), but you could also use a solid top crust as long as you remember to vent (cut slits in) it.
I will confess that this next step is not something I normally do, but I wanted to try it this time because I’ve seen it suggested in several sources. Brush the top crust lightly with heavy cream, then sprinkle it with decorating sugar (I’ve done the sugar before, and it’s turned out well both times). I think the crust turned out a little browner and shinier with the addition of the heavy cream. If you have a tried and true crust wash, I’m all ears.
Bake the pie for an hour, or until the crust is nicely browned and the filling bubbles. The edges of my pie browned quickly, so I covered them with some aluminum foil approximately halfway through baking.
I’m not sure it helped all that much, but it at least helped with my peace of mind.
Now comes the hard part: waiting for this badboy to cool. I know your first thought is probably to eat it while it’s hot (it is mine), but you’ll be better off letting it cool because it will make the pie less soupy and easier to serve. Enjoy!
Question#1 : what spices go in apple pie
Answer: Classic apple pie uses cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger. You can use a premixed apple pie spice blend or just cinnamon alone for a simpler flavor
Question#2:
what is apple pie spice made of ?
Answer: Apple pie spice is a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and sometimes cardamom or cloves. You can buy it premixed or make your own by combining these spices at home.
Question#3: where to buy apple pie spice ?
Answer : Apple pie spice is available in the spice aisle of most grocery stores including Walmart, Target, and Whole Foods. You can also order it online through Amazon or grocery delivery apps.
Question#4: how to make apple pie spice mix ?
Answer:
Combine 3 tablespoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 teaspoon allspice, and half a teaspoon cardamom. Mix well and store in an airtight jar for up to 6 months.
We’re finally at the end of the summer birthday season, with Josh’s birthday being last week. Naturally, I wanted to go all out for his birthday cake. Chocolate was a given since it’s his favorite, and I’ve had cherries on my mind since the start of cherry season, so it made sense to me to put them together. Josh had also mentioned that he liked cream cheese frosting better than traditional buttercream last time I made it, so I figured I might as well put them all together for one super-decadent cake.
I started with the same chocolate cake that I used for the unfortunate Chocolate Raspberry Upside Down Mini Cakes since that part actually turned out well. Once again, the cake didn’t disappoint. I added 8 ounces of cherries to the batter because I didn’t want to add too much liquid, but if I were to do this again, I would probably use 16 ounces instead to up the cherry flavor (I’ve made this change in the ingredients listed below and on the PDF recipe).
The cherry filling is the filling I use for cherry pie, but a bit thicker. I drained off the excess liquid so that it didn’t soak all the way through the cake. If you plan to eat it all right away, you might be able to add the extra liquid if you feel it really needs some extra cherry flavor (I wouldn’t blame you there).
The one thing I wasn’t totally thrilled with was the molasses cream cheese frosting (adapted from the recipe for cream cheese frosting in Joy of Cooking). Don’t get me wrong, it is delicious on its own, and I’ve used it before on my Kentucky Derby Winner’s Circle Cupcakes to great avail. I just didn’t think it worked all that well with the chocolate and cherry combination. Additionally, it was somewhat difficult to pipe because the occasional chunk of cream cheese would get stuck in the smaller piping tips. If I were to do it all over again, I might use my favorite Magnolia frosting recipe (chocolate or vanilla would be good). Keep those points in mind when deciding how to decorate your own.
For the cake:
For the cherry filling:
For the frosting:
For baking ambiance:
It doesn’t take much to start a song in my head; in this case, picking up a bag of frozen cherries started “Cherry Bomb” by The Runaways, so I picked Joan Jett for this one (welcome to the strange inner workings of my mind). I’m more of a Blackhearts person, but anything Joan Jett will do.
Now that you’ve got the vocal stylings of Cherie Currie stuck in your head too, let’s get baking!
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease and flour or line the bottoms of two 9″ cake pans with parchment paper.
In a stand mixer bowl or other large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until they’re fluffy.
Beat in the vanilla, then the eggs, until the mixture is smooth.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Sour the milk by pouring the lemon juice into it. The milk will curdle, which is gross, but trust me, this will all work out.
Add the some of dry ingredients and sour milk alternately to the wet ingredients until they are all incorporated and the batter is homogeneous.
In a separate bowl, stir the cocoa powder into the boiling water until it looks like instant hot chocolate.
Beat the liquid chocolate into the cake batter until the batter is smooth, being sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl.
Divide the batter between your two cake pans.
Sprinkle half of the chopped, drained cherries (make sure you squeeze out as much liquid as possible) on top of each pan of batter. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the cherries into the batter.
Bake the cakes for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean. Let the cakes sit for 15 minutes, then carefully run a sharp knife around the edges to loosen them from the pans. Remove the cakes from the pans and let them cool completely on cooling racks.
While the cakes are cooling, prepare the cherry filling. Put the remaining cherries into a medium saucepan and heat them over low heat until they release enough juice to almost cover themselves.
In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cornstarch. Whisk the mixture into the cherries and bring it all to a boil.
Reduce the heat to medium and simmer the cherries until the sauce thickens. It should be almost like jelly, and when you scrape a spoon across the bottom of the pan, it should take a few seconds for the cherries to fill in the gap.
Let the cherry mixture cool completely. When the cakes and cherry filling are completely cool, prepare the frosting.
Beat the cream cheese, butter, molasses, and vanilla extract with a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer until it is just combined.
Add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating after each addition until the frosting is smooth. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally.
At this point, color your frosting if you want to. I used Wilton gel colors.
Your cakes should be cool by now. If they have risen in the center like mine did, carefully level them with a knife. You might want to take this opportunity to “test” your cake (read: eat its hat).
Place one cake on a serving plate or cardboard cake board (these are actually pretty nice). Fill a piping bag or a resealable plastic food storage bag with approximately 1 cup of the frosting. Cut the corner to make a 1/2″ opening. Pipe a “dam” around the edge of the cake to hold your filling in.
Carefully spread the filling inside the dam.
Carefully spread the filling inside the dam.
Put the remaining cake on top of the frosting and filling.
At this point, frost the cake however you’d like. I put a shell border around the bottom and some stars around the top edge, then wrote Happy Birthday on top. Perhaps not my best work, but I thought it came out pretty nice. If you try this cake, I’d love to see your pictures!
Last week, Josh and I went to Boston for a conference. In anticipation of my impending separation from my beloved oven, I came up with a challenge for myself: bake brownies using only things that could be found at or around the hotel. I did buy a bag of brownie mix (after all, there’s usually a good chance that you can find a CVS, grocery store, or convenience store somewhere near your hotel), but everything else I used could feasibly be found in the hotel. The availability of some items, like the banana, will most likely be determined by whether your hotel offers free breakfast or not, but hey, I managed to make brownies from a kludge of things, so I’m going to choose to suspend some disbelief here.
I tried two different versions of this recipe so I could give you some different ideas based on different potential ingredients. One version used banana in place of the egg called for in the brownie mix recipe. I was able to hoard some individual butter packets while out to dinner (grandma would be proud), but the banana theoretically could have replaced both the egg and the oil at the same time.
The second version used a single-serve mayonnaise packet I saved from a sandwich in place of the oil and the egg (since that’s all mayonnaise really is). (Dunkin Donuts also had these mayonnaise packets near the sweetener packets, so you don’t have to rely on the possibility of having a packet tucked into your pre-wrapped sandwich to try this.) I know it sounds gross, but you couldn’t taste either oddball ingredient in the final product because chocolate is a pretty overpowering flavor.
Unfortunately, this probably won’t work for you if your hotel room doesn’t have a microwave. You could try using a hairdryer (anyone who watches Cutthroat Kitchen has probably seen this done before), but I can’t comment on the efficacy of this method. We had a pretty sweet setup this time with a microwave and a mini-fridge, so my life was pretty easy.
I didn’t have access to the whole music collection while away, but my Boston-inspired suggestion would be Aerosmith, also occasionally know as “the Bad Boys from Boston.” For this one, I’d suggest going with whatever you can get your hands on given hotels’ questionable internet connections and your own likely-to-be-limited space.
Here are the ingredients for the first version:
Melt the butter in a paper cup or mug. This took about 20 seconds for me. Now cut off about 1/2″ of the banana and mash it in the butter with a fork (this was a little difficult with the plastic fork I had, but it worked eventually) until you don’t see any more large chunks.
Stir in 1/4 of the packet of brownie mix (I just eyeballed this, it’s not the end of the world if it’s not exact). It should already be looking mostly like brownie batter, albeit a bit thick.
Now add a tiny bit of water at a time to thin the batter to the proper consistency. If you add too much water by accident, just add a little more brownie mix to make up for it.
Finally, chop up your candy bar and stir as much as desired into the mix. Microwave the mix for 90-150 seconds, checking after 90 seconds for doneness, and then every 30 seconds thereafter. A fork stuck into the center should come out clean and the brownie should be firm to the touch (but be careful, it’s hot). If you use the candy, keep in mind that it’s going to still look liquidy on top because of the melted candy guts. which may rise to the surface.
It doesn’t look too pretty but, it actually tastes pretty good.
Now here are the ingredients for the second version:
This version is even easier. Pour 1/4 of the packet of brownie mix into your paper cup or mug and stir in the mayonnaise packet. The mixture should be crumbly.
Add in water a tiny bit at a time until the consistency is right (thick, but stirrable).
Add your candy at this point (I didn’t use it for this one). Microwave for 90-150 seconds, checking after 90 seconds and then again every 30 seconds thereafter. A fork inserted in the center of the brownie should come out clean.
Now that I’ve tried it two different ways, I can definitively say that this is the most ridiculous way to make brownies I’ve ever seen. Of course, you could probably just buy a brownie wherever it is you can get a packet of brownie mix, but this is a fun and silly activity that’s sure to kill some time and leave you with a surprisingly tasty, warm brownie. Enjoy my harebrained scheme!
Caramel apples may start disappearing from grocery stores soon, but that doesn’t mean that you have to go without until next fall. Today, I bring you the caramel apple in cupcake form! Soft apple cake meets homemade caramel frosting, and together they’ll make you forget about caramel apples entirely.
Seriously, this cake is ridiculously good. The recipe is based on this one from Sally’s Baking Addiction, and it’s so good that I found myself thinking that I would eat it without frosting, which is unheard of for me. [Related: you may soon see a muffin based on this recipe coming up.] I used buttermilk instead of whole milk for added moisture and swapped apple cider syrup for vanilla extract, but left the recipe otherwise unchanged. I also used Sally’s recipe for caramel frosting, my only change being the omission of salt (if you like salt in your caramel, be my guest to leave it in).
If you’re scratching your head at the mention of apple cider syrup, I don’t blame you. I only learned of it recently when King Arthur Flour sent me an email pushing it. If you like apples, you need this stuff in your life. You are welcome to buy it and save yourself the time, but it is really pretty easy to make, and only requires one ingredient: unsweetened apple cider. All you do is boil the cider until it is reduced to about ⅛ its original volume (so if you start with a gallon of cider, you’ll end up with 2 cups of syrup). Those of you who have been following along this season know that I had plenty of apples to work with, so I made my own cider and then turned it into syrup. It was so good that I now wish I had even more apples. Our local orchard is clearing them out now, so we shall see what happens.
If you’re scratching your head at the mention of apple cider syrup, I don’t blame you. I only learned of it recently when King Arthur Flour sent me an email pushing it. If you like apples, you need this stuff in your life. You are welcome to buy it and save yourself the time, but it is really pretty easy to make, and only requires one ingredient: unsweetened apple cider. All you do is boil the cider until it is reduced to about ⅛ its original volume (so if you start with a gallon of cider, you’ll end up with 2 cups of syrup). Those of you who have been following along this season know that I had plenty of apples to work with, so I made my own cider and then turned it into syrup. It was so good that I now wish I had even more apples. Our local orchard is clearing them out now, so we shall see what happens.
For the cupcakes:
For the frosting and decoration:
For baking ambiance:
At some point over the weekend, Whip It got stuck in my head and would not get out. Rather than giving in and listening to Devo, I made a compromise and went with the Talking Heads again. Whatever you choose, don’t give in to tyrant earworms.
Let’s get baking!
Preheat your oven to 350°F and line 12 cups of a muffin tin with cupcake wrappers.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until uniform. Set aside.
Melt the butter and whisk it together with the brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Whisk in the egg, apple cider syrup until smooth.
Stir in the dry ingredients just until there are no more lumps (do not over-mix).
Fill the cupcake wrappers approximately ¾ full with batter (it should divide roughly evenly between the 12). I used the Wilton Perfect-Fill Batter Tip for this, and it made things really easy.
Bake the cupcakes for 20-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, and the tops spring back when pressed lightly with a finger. If the cupcakes feel or sound at all like a sponge being squeezed when you press on them, they’re not quite done. Give them another 2-3 minutes to bake the rest of the way.
Remove the cupcakes from the muffin tins and leave them to cool completely on a cooling rack before decorating (try not to eat them all before they’re frosted).
Meanwhile, melt the remaining stick of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the brown sugar and cup of heavy cream until the sugar is fully dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil, then let it work its magic for exactly 3 minutes. Remove the caramel from the heat and let it cool at room temperature for 15 minutes (I chose to pour it into the bowl I would use to make the frosting at this point).
After your 15 minutes are up, add the remaining 2 Tbsp. of heavy cream to the caramel and beat it with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until it turns into a thick, creamy frosting. Apparently I forgot to photograph this part… sorry.
When the cupcakes are cool, decorate with frosting as desired. I chose to load it all into a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1A round tip and make frosting blobs. To do so, squeeze a little frosting about ¼” out of the decorating tip, then press it onto the top of a cupcake right in the middle. Continue to squeeze the decorating bag, without moving the tip, and the frosting will slowly spread outward.
If you find you are a little off center or your frosting mound is getting a little too tall, you can gently move the tip while you squeeze to nudge the frosting in the right direction (that’s how I ended up with some nice swirls). If they don’t come out nice, fear not! You can just lift off the botched frosting and do it again.
You can easily serve these as is, or you can decorate the cupcakes with sprinkles, chopped peanuts, mini chocolate chips, or a drizzle of some additional apple cider syrup (mmmmm). Store leftovers (if there someone are any) in an airtight container.
Enjoy!
I still plan to conquer puff pastry in the future, but considering the results I got from the store-bought version, I’d have to say that this is definitely one of those instances where the effort you save by buying it pre-made definitely makes up for any slight loss in quality you might notice. The downside is that there doesn’t appear to be any chocolate puff pastry on the market, at least not anywhere I looked. You can make up for this by drizzling melted chocolate on top, like I did, or by mixing a little bit of cocoa powder into some powdered sugar and sprinkling it on top.
For baking ambiance
This time, I remembered the Weird Al. Obviously, it made all the difference. While photographing the steps adds some time, I’d say that putting these together probably took less time than listening to Albuquerque one time through. Fortunately, I was doing other things in the kitchen while making these, so I was still able to listen to the whole album in all its nerdy, parodic glory. If you plan to make a day of it, I suggest adding Mandatory Fun, as well. Particularly if you’re going to be using aluminum foil.
Now that you’ve gathered your ingredients, put down that box of starving, crazed weasels and let’s get baking!
Thaw your puff pastry according to the package directions. It should be soft enough not to crack when you unfold it, but still cold. If it gets warm enough to droop and stick to things, put it back in the fridge until it hardens up a bit.
While your puff pastry thaws, prepare the filling. Stir together the cookie butter or nutella (or both if you’re feeling saucy), crushed walnuts, and chocolate chips in a small bowl. That’s it- it’s ready to use.
When your puff pastry is ready, lay it out on your work surface (I used a piece of parchment paper for easy cleanup). Cut the puff pastry into rectangles with a pizza cutter or sharp knife. My pastry sheets were roughly 9″ square, so I cut them into six 3″ by 4.5″ rectangles.
Drop approximately a teaspoon of filling onto one side of each rectangle (vary the amount depending on the size of your rectangles).
Moisten the edges of each rectangle with a pastry brush or your finger to help them hold together when folded.
Fold each rectangle in half, gently pressing the edges together to seal them. Make three or four 1/2″ cuts in the long seam to form the toes. Place your finished bear claws on a lined or greased cookie sheet and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. Do not skip this step! Your pastries might burn or refuse to puff up if they’re too warm to begin with.
While your pastries are chilling, preheat your oven to 400°F. When it’s ready, bake the bear claws for approximately 20 minutes, or until the tops are puffed and light golden-brown.
I know this part is hard, but now you have to let your bear claws cool. If you don’t, you will release a flood of boiling-hot lava into your mouth when you bite into one. For once, this is not firsthand knowledge, but I have enough experience with impatient pastry eating to know exactly what’s going to happen. Trust me, it won’t end well.
You can decorate your bear claws with more hazelnut spread/cookie butter, powdered sugar, or both once they have cooled. To use a drizzle of the spread, spoon 1-2 Tbsp. of hazelnut spread or cookie butter (or, again, both) into a small bowl. Microwave this for 10-15 seconds, watching it like a hawk so it doesn’t explode in the microwave.
Once it drizzles nicely when poured, give it a good stir and drizzle it over your bear claws. Alternatively (or additionally), sprinkle some powdered sugar over them. Now enjoy the fruits of your labor!
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These cookies have been in the pipeline since before I started this blog. As a matter of fact, they were part of the inspiration for the blog. I was sitting at work one Friday daydreaming wistfully (during my lunch break, of course) about the upcoming weekend and what I wanted to do, and I thought to myself “I wanna bake.” Since just about any phrase can trigger a spontaneous burst of song in my head, this immediately launched a parody of “I Wanna Rock” by Twisted Sister in my twisted mind.
This was my divine spark. What would be more fun than baking every weekend while listening to music? Doing that, then blogging about it, of course. Because part of the fun is in sharing your results. You may not win friends with salad, but you certainly do with sugar.
I don’t remember the seminal parody anymore, but the idea of rock n’ roll cookies has stuck with me since. Follow along with me as a we go on yet another rock n’ roll bakeventure!
You will need the following ingredients:
For the frosted almond fingernails:
For baking ambiance:
In honor of the inspiration for I Wanna Bake!’s name, I rocked out to Twisted Sister for these cookies. I dare you not to start headbanging and singing “I Wanna Rock” (or your own version of “I Wanna Bake”) every time you visit this site from now on. You’re welcome.
Now that I’ve established a punny mood, we are gonna bake it!
Start off by mixing together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl.
Next, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl or a stand mixer. Once the mixture is homogeneous, beat in the molasses, eggs, vanilla, and bourbon until well-combined. If you don’t want to use the bourbon (even though rock n’ roll is fueled by booze), you can either substitute water or leave it out entirely.
Now stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients (add half at a time to make the stirring easier).
Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a sheet of plastic wrap and wrap it into a flat rectangle (the dimensions are unimportant). Refrigerate the dough for at least one hour or up to overnight.
While the dough is chilling, prepare your fingernails. Pick out the most nail-shaped almond slices (make sure they are also appropriately-sized for your cookie cutter). Separate them into sets of five.
Now prepare your icing. Stir together the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and milk. Start with two tablespoons of milk and stir well. If the icing still provides a lot of resistance when everything is incorporated fully, add more a few drops at a time until it is of piping consistency. It should still hold its shape, but not be too hard to squeeze through a small hole.
Separate your frosting into portions for coloring. For the colors you plan to use as the base coat, add a little bit more milk until it becomes a bit more drizzly (flooding consistency). If you want to pipe and flood in the same color, you will have to make two separate bowls (the flood icing will smear if you try to pipe it).
When you are satisfied with the consistency of your icing, add food coloring until you achieve the desired colors. I used Wilton black icing gel coloring for the black. It doesn’t taste good on its own, but for the amount I used in the icing, I didn’t taste a difference. A word of warning: this food coloring will dye everything it touches midnight blue. Keep this in mind if you are “sampling” your frosting shortly before you plan to interact with people (unless black tongue is the look you’re going for).
Spread a small amount of flood-consistency icing onto one side of each almond slice with a toothpick. You could also use a small paintbrush as if you were painting your nails, or just dip the almond slices into the frosting.
Allow the “painted” almond slices of dry completely on a piece of wax paper. If they are too wet, your piped designs will bleed into the background, so be sure they are hardened to the touch before you start the next step.
When the base coat of icing is dry, prepare to pipe on your designs. Load your piping icing into piping or resealable plastic bags. Cut as small of a hole as possible in the tip of the bag and try to squeeze some icing out. It should flow freely, but not make too big of a line. If you can’t get any out, cut the hold slightly bigger until it works. This took some trial and error for me, so just be patient and keep trying. Now pipe your designs (in my case band logos) onto your edible fingernails. Allow them to dry on the wax paper again.
By the time you finish the decorations, your dough should be chilled enough. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Remove half of the cookie dough from the plastic wrap and roll it out on a surface sprinkled with powdered sugar. Use a cookie cutter to cut your hand shapes.
Carefully transfer the cookies to a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Even more carefully, fold the middle and ring fingers and the thumb inward to form devil horns. There’s a good chance the fingers will crack off. If this happens, just do your best to press the dough back together gently at the break. Chill any scraps and repeat the process with the remaining cookie dough until you are sick of rolling out cookies.
Bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Let them sit for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then remove them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
When the cookies are cool, it is finally time to apply the press-on nails. Apply a large drop of icing to the back of each “nail.” This will serve as your glue.
Press the nails you want showing onto the fingers facing up. When they hold their position, flip the cookies over and stick the remaining nails on the other two fingers. Now lick the frosting from your fingers and admire your handiwork!
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