Mallobars

Mallobars

I would like to say that I dropped off the face of the blogging earth because I was doing something like hiking the Himalayas or that I had finally shoved off everything and lived out my dream of moving to Bali to take a deep dive into Hinduism while practicing yoga and meditation, Eat, Pray, Love style.

I didn't go the travel route but I did get unexpectedly downsized in the corporate job I had been at for the past eight years.  This lead me down a path of self-discovery that lead to a Pilates teacher training program and a job at a non-profit.  I am also making bagels with a group of women a few mornings a week that are sold to locals who enjoy a bagel that is not bread in a bagel shape.

Perhaps this new direction speaks to an undiagnosed case of ADD or a mid-life crises.  I don't know but I can say this, I no longer think about everything I am going to do when I retire.  I had to give up the manicures, frequent hair appointments, clothes shopping, magazine/apps/news/music subscriptions, the overflow of flowers I used to have in the garden, eating out and a lot of travel.  I don't have those things anymore but I don't feel like I am missing anything.  We'll see if this hippy live in the moment shtick lasts.  At this rate, who knows, I could be blogging from Bali next month.

This new lifestyle has me extremely busy and my baking/cooking obsession has taken a back seat to following my bliss.  I had a few minutes and it is Mallomar season seeing as it is way too cold to go out and roast marshmallows for a proper S'more.  These are S'mores with the volume turned way up from Melissa Clark's, "Cook This Now".  It's a bit of an undertaking but if you can get to the finish line, it's worth it.  A pile of marshmallow on a homemade graham cracker crust with a shock of dark chocolate on top.  PSA: Support your local library and check this book out.

Happy Baking!

Blueberry Cream Cheese Cookies

As much as I think Christina Tosi is a baking pioneer and genius, I was not crazy about the Blueberry Cream cookie that I bought from the Momofuku Milk Bar in NYC a couple of years ago.  This could be because it was pre-packaged and had been baked a while ago but it just didn't grab me.  I loved the idea, though.  I thought it just needed a little punch of flavor.  Cream cheese seemed like a perfect accompaniment seeing as cream cheese on a blueberry bagel is quite tasty.

Baked Alaska

Must wash dogs, water plants, clean up house, remove plants from outside before winter.  Hair is in desperate need of cut and color (why, hello gray hair, thanks for making an appearance 😲).  Have not worked out in a week and apparently that is all my body needs these days to completely give up.  Must wrap presents and get card for my son's birthday.    

Election 2016 and Chicken Braised with Grapes

Chicken Braised with Grapes

Well, that was a doozy.  I am going to offer one thought and then I will shut up about it.  The Democratic party has always been the party of the working class, not the elites.  That narrative was flipped in this past election and here we are.  There is a lot in that statement and there are many reasons why elections go one way or another, but in my mind, that is the heart of the issue.

Potato Chip Cookies and Iowa Caucus Night

Iowa caucus night!!  Woohoo!  Election season is here and we are off to the races.  Can you feel the excitement?  I can!  Is there anything better in this great country than election season?  Um, NOOOOO!  I don't watch sports or go to church because politics is my religion.

Mashed Potato Fudge

The after holiday diet has obviously been put on hold.  Or you could just eat this and nothing else for the rest of the day.  Gasp!  Yes.  I had to!  It was a rough week.  Bowie died.  Let's Dance, Under Pressure, Fame, The Man Who Sold the World...you get the idea, I am an 80's child and those were some of the best days of my childhood.  Then he married  Iman.  Oh my God!  Gorgeous couple and both so huge in the 80's.  Bowie dying is yet one more piece of my childhood that has gone away like Garbage Pal Kids, big hair, The Golden Girls, and shoulder pads.  My nostalgia runneth over.  

So, here is the recipe from Saveur for mashed potato fudge.  One modification I made was to mix the walnuts in with the fudge rather than sprinkle them on top.  Or you can go without any nuts at all.  Go crazy.  Oh, and yes, they were delicious.        

Cranberry Bliss Bars

Cranberry Bliss Bars

I don't do traditional holidays.  Every other year, my son is with his Dad for (name the holiday) and I don't have family within driving distance.  Don't break out the tissues for me just yet.  This unconventional way of life can have an upside.

When my son is away for whatever reason, be it camps or at his Dad's house, it gives me time to regroup, clean up the house, and get my affairs in order so I can be completely on when he comes back to me.  I also never take the time I have with my kid for granted because I know that time is limited.

Packing from The Container Store

So, even though I don't celebrate holidays in the traditional sense, I do love to make holiday treats which I promptly give away to neighbors and teachers so I don't devour them all while I work from home.  These bars have to be the best invention ever to come out of Starbucks, besides the Peppermint Mocha.  I have been searching high and low for a recipe that makes a good imitation and this one is it.  Thank you, Pinterest!  This is about as close as you are going to get to the stuff at the Starbucks counter and dare I say, perhaps a little bit better.       

Chocolate Raspberry Rugelach

Chocolate Raspberry Rugelach

I have been putting off making rugelach for years.  I would always get motivated, buy the ingredients, and then get sidetracked by work or my kid or just procrastinate and forget about the project all together.  I realize that this does not speak volumes about my work ethic.  On the upside, I finally made them and so glad I did.

S'more Cake

The double digits are here.  My boy is turning 10 and I made him a huge marshmallow with a chocolate cake inside to celebrate.

I had no idea that having a kid would be the most rewarding and at the same time, the most difficult thing I have ever attempted.  I am still working on being a decent Mom since child rearing tends to be a moving target.  I figure something out and inevitably, the kid develops and I have to figure out a new set of issues.  Companies sometimes move around executives within their organizations to keep them sharp.  My kid does that very naturally and it does help me grow as a parent.

The years are short and the days are long.  It's a cliche because it's true.

The S'more cake came from Homemade Decadence, by Joy the Baker and the recipe can also be found here.  

Chocolate on Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie

Chocolate on Chocolate on Chocolate

This is the only chocolatey chocolate chip cookie recipe you will need.  The original recipe is from the Momofuku Milk Bar book but I had to make some alterations.  Christina Tosi has an obsession with corn syrup and glucose and that is a bandwagon I refuse to join.  In my mind, those ingredients are unnecessarily sweet and a poor substitute for actual sugar.  Perhaps she uses it to cut costs in mass production or to make the cookies look shiny.  I don't know why she does it but I am out.  So, I used Pure Maple Syrup where she calls for glucose and the results were fabulous.  I also added in chocolate chips because I like to feel the chocolate melting on my tongue.

Strawberry Pretzel Jell-O Salad

Foodies will probably keep on moving when they see a Jell-O salad post.  Of course, if I need to find someone of that ilk, I need not look any further than a mirror.  Yes, that's right, I was formerly a Jell-O salad snob.  My apologies but everything I have tasted of this salad variety has usually been bland and those pre-packaged Jell-O salads from the grocery store are outright disgusting.  

My thoughts on this flavor combination have been turned on their head with this recipe.  A creamy, cream cheese filling with the salty pretzels and sugary sweet Jell-O balance each other quite well.  This is one of those desserts you need to make for a crowd.  If you don't, you will end up like me and eating half the pan yourself.  Yes, I really did that and still feeling the shame.

Rainy Weekend in Chicagolandia with Rhubarb and Strawberries

Chicagolandia was pretty wet this past weekend and our temperatures dropped quite a bit on Sunday to 60 degrees.  Good news is that I have not had to water my plants for over two weeks and I just recently found out that thunderstorms are good for your garden because of the nitrogen in the lightening.  For those gardeners out there who are rolling eyes and saying, "DUH" right now, I am sorry.  I didn't know this and I was all, "Who knew?"  Bad news is that my dog freaks out with thunder and lightening, as most dogs do, and I have been comforting her like a traumatized baby over the past couple weeks.  

Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Orange Liqueur Cream

How can it be so bad for you when it tastes so good?  That just might be my life motto.

I remember seeing and tasting whoopie pies for the first time in a convenience store in Ohio when I was in college.  Yes, college was when I first saw and tasted a whoopie pie.  Sheltered life?  Perhaps.  The whoopie pie I tasted though, was anything but good.  A whoopie pie out of a cellophane package from a convenience store does not a gourmet snack make.  Fast-forward some, ahem, years and homemade and gourmet whoopie pies are somewhat of a rage or were the rage last year.

I found this recipe in The Boozy Baker by Lucy Baker and this, along with every other alcohol laced concoction in the book, was fantastic.  This was also much better than the cellophane wrapped piece of cardboard I tasted in college.

Enjoy!  xo, AJ

Bûche de Noël

I came, I made my best attempt and I somewhat conquered.  Take it easy on me, this was my first go-around and it was a little scary.  This cake was my Everest and it did not disappoint in time consumption.  After being afraid of this cake ever since my Mom brought it home from the bakery when I was in middle school, I have put off attempting this for far too long.  Then, a few weeks ago I took a cooking seminar/class solely on making the Bûche de Noël.  I wasn't thrilled with the buttercream look that the cake in our class turned out to look like so I went back to the Martha Stewart magazine that I had been carrying around for the past year with the recipe and a picture to match that looked just like the cake my Mom brought in for Christmas every year.  I am not going to even attempt to write down all of the directions that went with this so click here for the recipe.  If you attempt this, good luck and may your attempt take less time than mine! 

Pumpkin Bourbon Cheesecake

A very disturbing thing happened the other day. A wonderful and very thoughtful friend brought me a very sweet treat from a little bakery that shall remain nameless. The treat was supposed to be a Pumpkin Bourbon Cheesecake and I was excited to try something that sounded and looked so good. So you can imagine my disappointment when the treat was anything but sweet, not to mention completely lacking in taste. Don't you hate it when that happens? You expect to be wowed and end up ingesting something that could be mistaken for chalk. It's like a slap in the face!

There's not a lot that gets under my skin as much as bad food from a bakery whose sole purpose in life is to churn out great baked goods. In my insulted state, I did what anyone would do, I found a recipe and made my own. I found the recipe on Smitten Kitchen and knew it would be amazing just from reading the ingredients. I switched out the graham cracker crumbs for ginger snaps and the result was fantastic and worked wonderfully with the pumpkin and spice filling. After tasting this, my bitterness over that bakery's utter failure, slowly faded away. I am now in a blissful state of forgiveness. Enjoy!

S'mores Cupcakes with Kahula

The kid in me is out and raging. Enter the most fantastic of all fantastic treats from childhood with a little grown up injected inside and you have S’mores cupcakes with a hit of Kahula. Somebody pinch me.

I first saw these cupcakes on Annie’s Eats and then it seemed like the S’mores influence was everywhere with S’mores cakes, snack bars, energy bars, candy bars, you name it. So, this has been on my must bake list forever and I finally got around to making them. The cupcakes shown on Annie’s Eats were beautiful and refined and I wanted mine to be more rustic and, for lack of a better term, sloppy. In my mind, that’s what S’mores are, sloppy kid food that are a mess to eat. That’s the fun of them and being a kid, permission to be sloppy and unrefined. I also have to be buttoned up in a corporate office all day so I like to take a more laid back approach to my baking.

So, I used the Annie’s Eats recipe but I put my own spin on it with the Kahula injection. I also made some minor alterations to bits and pieces to suit my palate.

Enjoy! AJ – xo

Cake Pops

Have you ever heard of Bakerella? If not, scoot on over to her website stat! Thanks to this woman, I have been the hero of my son's daycare, my kid's friends, co-workers and my parents. Guess who else I am a big hero to with these fabulous treats? You guessed it, my own kid and that is the sweetest reward of all!

These can be a little time consuming up front but I made a lot of just the cake part of the cake pops, used the ones I needed and froze the rest. You can also refrigerate the chocolate so if you need these in a pinch, heat the chocolate, dip the frozen cake pops in from the freezer and voila, instant dessert/gift/little treat for a tired Mom.

Now, as I like to say, my skills as a baker are amateur at best and I am always trying to improve. Please do not judge me too harshly for not having the beautiful designs as the ultra-talented Bakerella. To say that I am short on time these days would be an understatement. So, I plan on attempting more elaborate cake pops at the end of the year when my half-marathons are over and I can relax and make Oscar and Big Bird's head just to bite it off! Until then, please do enjoy the simplified version in the picture. xoxo - AJ

Spiced Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Carrot cake is one for those recipes that is fun to play around with until you find that perfect combination that makes your palate sing. Before I sat down to put together the ingredients for this recipe, I would have never fathomed using olive oil in place of the vegetable oil that is typically used in carrot cake. Then I was thinking about the New York Times Olive Oil Granola recipe I made a few months ago and thought, if it worked for that, it just might work for this. I am really glad I made that granola and thought of that for this because the results were fantastic! The oil is so flavorful and rich and it provides the perfect complement to the fruit, nuts and spices in this recipe just as it did with the granola.

To top the cake off, it has a cream cheese frosting with maple syrup and bourbon added in that really takes this cake into the big leagues. What is it about bourbon and sweets? I am constantly blown away by how well the two go together! If I had more time, I might have scraped a vanilla bean into the frosting for a little more visual interest and flavor punch. You might also consider putting a little lemon or orange zest into the frosting, rum perhaps. You can also take heavy whipping cream, whip it until light and airy and fold it in to the cream cheese frosting to give it a little more air. The possibilities are endless and so much fun to try. Have fun and enjoy!

Recipe adapted from The New Best Recipe, from the editors of Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon soda
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 pound carrots (6 to 7 medium), peeled
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped, toasted walnuts or pecans
1 cup raisins

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, softened but still cool
6 tablespoons butter, softened but still
1 heaping tablespoon sour cream
4 tablespoons bourbon
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13x9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a medium bowl. Lightly mix in nuts and raisins until they are coasted and separate easily; set aside.

In a food processor, shred the carrots to the bowl with the dry ingredients and set aside. Wipe out the food processor and fit with the blade attachment. Process both sugars with the eggs until frothy and thoroughly combined, about 20 seconds. With the machine running, add the oil through the feed tube in a steady stream. Process until the mixture is light in color and well-emulsified, about 20 seconds longer. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl. Stir in the carrots and dry ingredients until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan from front to back halfway through the baking time. Cool about 2 hours on a wire rack.

For the frosting: When the cake is cool, mix the cream cheese, butter, sour cream, vanilla, maple syrup and bourbon in a mixer until combined. Scrape down the work bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the confectioners' sugar and process until smooth.

Spread the frosting on the cake, cut and serve.

Blondies

Sinful, my darlings. Absolutely sinful. That is the word my Mother so aptly used to describe these treats and I have to agree. On a side note, I think I should get some extra props for writing this post with a little dog resting on my arms. Ever type on a laptop with a dog on your arms? Didn't think so and let me tell you, it's a special trick.

Anyway, back to the blondies. I made these after a particularly trying day in single parent land with a very willful little man testing every last ounce of patience I had in me. This is why cooking is so wonderful. I was at the end of my rope, felt myself starting to lose it and I did what any sensible yet strung out Mom would do in this situation, I took out a bowl, butter and sugar and figured out what to make.

What is the comfort treat that only tastes better with more alcohol poured into it? Blondies baby, blondies all the way. I immediately broke out the Bourbon and chocolate chips. Since I was in a rebel type of mood, I also brought out the coconut just for kicks and giggles. All into a bowl, mixed with vigor to get the stress out, hit it with the Bourbon, took a swig for myself, into the baking dish and waited rather impatiently.

If I could make a suggestion at this juncture, it would be this; when those blondies come out of the oven hot and steamy, cut yourself a piece, throw on some vanilla ice cream and top with coffee or Bourbon. Eat and listen to the angels singing. Enjoy!

Blondies

Adapted from Baking, From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

Ingredients:
2 heaping cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup Bourbon
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chunks
1 package Heath Toffee Bits
1 cup coarsely chopped and toasted pecans
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Method:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and spray PAM into a 9x13 baking dish.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Beat the butter until light and smooth. Add both sugars and beat for another 3 minutes, or until well incorporated. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in the vanilla and Bourbon. Reduce the mixer to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing until just incorporated. Do not overmix! Using a rubber spatula, stir in the chips, nuts, toffee and coconut. Scrape the mixture into the baking dish and smooth out as best you can.

Bake for about 50 minutes with an electric oven. If you have a gas oven, starting checking around 40 minutes and remove when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the top is a honey brown. Transfer the pan to a rack cool for about 15 minutes, cut and serve.

Beignets

It is rare for me to find a piece of fried dough that I don't like. Beignets are no exception and apparently that goes for every other red-blooded person I happened to mention these little treats to. I have a few friends who knew what Beignets are and there were two memories that stick out, one was eating them while traveling in Africa and the other during time spent in New Orleans.

The first memory of Africa had me a little worried; somehow getting them abroad automatically ups the ante for the at-home cook trying to replicate a classic. I went ahead anyway and he loved them. I asked how they compared to the African version and he said just the fact that there were no rocks, dirt or other foreign substances on the paper I was serving them on automatically put them ahead of those he had overseas. Wow, talk about rustic!

The second memory was from a co-worker who spent time in New Orleans where they apparently serve these up like candy. I have never been to the bayou but I have been told that beignets are typically served with their famous deeply rich chicory coffee. The thought of strong coffee and these airy little sweet treats almost makes me want to jump out of bed in the morning for breakfast! Enjoy! AJ

Recipe adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients

3/4 cup whole milk
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons sour cream
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3 1/2 cups bread flour plus extra for flouring work surface
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Peanut oil for frying

Heat the milk in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until small bubbles form at the surface. Remove from the heat, add the buttermilk and sour cream and then pour into a stand mixer bowl. Whisk in the yeast and the sugar and set aside for 5 minutes.

Add the flour, baking soda, and salt, and mix on low speed, using a dough hook, until the dry ingredients are moistened, 3 to 4 minutes. Increase the mixer speed to medium and continue mixing until the dough forms a loose ball and is still quite wet and tacky, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set the dough aside in a draft-free spot for 1 hour.

Pour enough peanut oil into a large pot to fill it to a depth of 3 inches and bring to a temperature of 375°F over medium heat (this will take about 20 minutes). Line a plate with paper towels and set aside.

Lightly flour your work surface and turn the dough out on it. Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour, gently press to flatten, fold it in half, and gently tuck the ends under to create a rough-shaped round. Dust again and roll the dough out into a ½-inch- to ¹/³ -inch-thick circle. Let the dough rest for 1 minute before using a chef's knife, a bench knife, or a pizza wheel to cut the dough into 1 1/2-inch squares (you should get about 48).

Gently stretch a beignet lengthwise and carefully drop it into the oil. Add a few beignets (don't overcrowd them, otherwise the oil will cool down and the beignets will soak up oil and be greasy) and fry until puffed and golden brown, turning them often with a slotted spoon, for 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to the prepared plate to drain while you cook the rest. Serve while still warm, buried under a mound of confectioners' sugar, with hot coffee on the side.