3 Ingredient Nutella Brownie Bites

Those of you 'pinteresters' probably have seen this recipe, 3 ingredient Nutella brownies. Only 3 ingredients? I was skeptical, but I was wanting something sweet and chocolately and I did not want to break out the mixer. The directions said measure and mix. So, I broke out my bulk size Nutella jar and went to work. 12 minutes later these babies came out of my oven, and boy-oh-boy, are they good. They are dense, fudgey, and just sweet enough. Of course I had to put some Salted Caramel Sauce on them, you know, just because. I also topped mine off with some sliced almonds since I didn't have hazelnuts. These are super easy to make and even easier going down.




3 Ingredient Nutella Brownie Bites
Adapted from: Instructables-Nutella Brownies
Makes 12 Brownie Bites
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Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Nutella chocolate spread
2 eggs
10 TBS flour
slivered almonds for topping (optional)

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cupcake pan with 12 liners.

-Place the Nutella in a bowl and add the eggs. Mix with a spatula until combined. Add the flour and mix again until fully incorporated (it will be dough like). Evenly divide between the 12 cupcake liners and top with slivered almonds if you'd like. Place into oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, the centers should be a little soft. Remove from pan and cool on cooling rack.

Optional: Salted Caramel Sauce:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup heavy cream
2 TBS salted butter
3/4 tsp sea salt

-Add the sugar and water to a small sauce pot, gently stir to combine. Cook over medium heat until the water evaporates and the sugar becomes a golden amber color. **DO NOT stir the sugar mixture once you start to cook it, this will cause crystallization. If the caramel needs to be stirred, gently swirl the pot.** Once the sugar is a golden amber color, add the butter and stir with a wooden spoon, then add the heavy cream and stir again. If the caramel seizes don't worry. Continue to stir until the caramel melts into the heavy cream, 3-5 minutes, then add the salt. Once you have a uniform caramel sauce cook for another 2 minutes and then remove from heat and cool completely.

Rose Scented Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream

In downtown FLG, there's this little kitchen shop aptly named Seasoned Kitchen, that stocks all sorts of specialty food items. I love stopping in there from time to time and picking myself up a little new ingredient to cook with. On one trip I purchased a small bottle of rose water, and I was so excited to use it! But, I didn't. There it sat in my pantry, waiting, and waiting, and waiting. I finally got around to baking some cupcakes and I was determined to crack open that bottle of rose water.


[Strawberry Paste]
I thought the rose water could replace the vanilla in a cupcake recipe, and I could make fresh strawberry buttercream to top them off. I baked, and frosted the cupcakes, and of course had to taste one just to ensure quality. The results were a delicately laced floral cupcake with a bright fruity note from the strawberry buttercream. The taste of these are really elegant, perfect for a bridal shower or wedding.


Rose Scented Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream
Adapted from Billy's Vanilla Cupcakes
Makes approximately 16 regular cupcakes
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Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

1 2/3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
scant teaspoon of rose water
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk

Frosting:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup of --> Strawberry Paste:
1 lb strawberries, trimmed and washed
2 TBS sugar
2-3 TBS water

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake pan with liners and set aside.

-Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl, set aside. With an electric mixer, cream the butter with the sugar for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the rose water and blend to incorporate. Add the eggs one at a time blending until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add 1/2 of the flour mixture and mix to combine, then add 1/2 of the milk and mix again. Repeat with the remaining flour and milk until batter just comes together. Mix batter with a spatula to ensure everything in incorporated. Fill each cupcake liner about 2/3 full. Bake for about 12-14 minutes until lightly golden brown and cool on cooling rack.

-Strawberry paste: Place the strawberries in a blender with the sugar and pulse, add a tablespoon of water at a time if things aren't moving in the blender. At this point you can keep the puree as is, or pour it through a mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Then pour puree into a small sauce pot and cook over medium heat until most of the water evaporates and you have about half of what you started off with, you should end up with about 1/2 a cup.

-To make the frosting, cream the butter until fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the powdered sugar and strawberry puree and cream together for another 2 minutes until you have a light and fluffy frosting. You can now hand frost the cupcakes with an off-set spatula, or place the frosting into a piping bag fitted with the tip of your choice.

A Copy of Doubletree Hotel's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Like a few others out there, I'm a little Pinterest obsessed. It's a love/hate relationship because I scroll through the food and drink section and see the same old pins, but there's always that one pin that's new that I just have to click on and pin. So, in doing my nightly pinning I came across a copycat recipe for the chocolate chip cookies that Doubletree Hotel gives their guests upon checking in. Now, I've never stayed at a Doubletree Hotel, but I have stayed at a Springhill Suites, and the last time I was there, they also gave me freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. And they were good, really good.

There's just one tiny obstacle in the way of cookie perfection. When it comes down to it, how good a chocolate chip cookie is depends personal preference. Some like theirs crispy, some soft, others chewy. My preference for chocolate chip cookies is for them to be light and crispy on the outside, and soft and chewy in the middle. This can be a little tricky to pull off.

So when I first moved to FLG about 6 years ago, I followed what seemed like a million different recipes for chocolate chip cookies, only to have them come out of the oven as over baked, crunchy, flat discs that were like 5 inches wide. Why couldn't I bake a proper cookie?! It was driving me nuts, and when batch after batch of failed cookies continued to come out of my oven, I was ready to give up. Then I did some research. Turns out that, the higher the elevation one bakes at, the lower the air pressure. This affects baked goods in how they rise and cook in the oven. So, after almost TWO years, I perfected my recipe. It makes, in my opinion, the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I'm greedy though, and have only ever given it to one person (with regret), and I don't feel like sharing it again anytime soon. It's like my secret baking weapon I plan to use one day.

Even though I have found my go-to recipe, I still experiment with other recipes I come across. When I read this recipe, I thought some of the ingredients were a little unorthodox. Cinnamon and lemon juice in chocolate chip cookies? Somehow, it works. Also, I tried to grind up the oats in my food processor and it didn't work, so I dumped it into my blender (that did the job). The recipe I adapted this from also says that 3 tablespoons of dough makes one cookie. That's a little much for me, so I used the cookie scoop that I use for all of my cookies. It makes just the right size dough balls for baking. I picked up the scoop from Bed Bath and Beyond, but I can't seem to find it on their website. If you are interested in the scoop, you can look for it at your local BB&B or buy it online here. For perfectly portioned dough balls, scoop with a small mound on top, push, and there you have it.

This cookie recipe gives me everything I look for in a chocolate chip cookie, crispy edges, and a soft chewy middle, these are yum! And they are going into the top list of chocolate chip cookie recipes. I did make a few small changes for elevation, omitted the nuts, and halved the recipe so I wouldn't have too many cookies in my kitchen, cause I'd eat them. I mean, I ate 5 upon letting the first batch cool! So, if you like your chocolate chip cookies like I do, this recipe is for you!


Copycat Doubletree Hotel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from: The Little Kitchen
Makes 20-24 cookies depending on scoop size.
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Ingredients:

1 stick salted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp lemon juice
1 1/4 cups AP flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

-Place the oats into your blender and pulse until ground up, about 8-10 pulses. Transfer to a small bowl and add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine and set aside.

-With an electric hand mixer, cream the butter with the both of the sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla, and lemon juice. Mix again until the egg is incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl and add the dry ingredients. Mix until a dough forms, then add the chocolate chips and mix with a spatula until everything is well combined and evenly distributed. Chill the dough for at least 2 hours before baking.

-Preheat oven to 350F. Remove dough from fridge and scoop into mounds, about 2 tablespoons of dough. Place onto cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 9 minutes exactly. Remove from oven and let cool on cooling rack.

Excuse me while I go and eat a few more of these cookies!

Chocolate Eclairs

When I was about 14 years old I watched pastry chef Gale Gand make pate a choux on the Food Network and thought, I don't really know what she's making, but it looks easy enough. Little did I know at the time what pate a choux was used for, until I had my first eclair. One bite and it was like a magic trick being performed in my mouth. Light pate a choux pastry baked to golden perfection, filled with luscious cream filling, and dipped into chocolate... they are so, so good. The French are geniuses when it comes to dessert pastry.

Bucket list: Go to France and visit a patisserie to consume the magnificent butter laden goodies I see.

The first time I made pate a choux, I followed the simple directions: Mix the liquid ingredients with the flour and cook it until the flour is absorbed, let cool, and mix in the eggs. I seriously didn't think light puffy pastries could come from this dense dough. So, I continued on, I piped the dough then baked it. Lo' and behold! As I fervently stared at the dough through the oven glass I saw it, the dough was puffing up and about 20 minutes later, I had made my first batch of eclairs. I think pate a choux seems daunting because it sounds so fancy, but it's really so simple to make. I have never made pate a choux that didn't puff to golden little pastry perfection. Compare this to my chocolate chip cookie recipe that comes out different every time I make it, even though I use the same recipe, that's saying something. Though, I have a secret I'm almost ashamed of, almost. Most of the time, I cheat. I use boxed vanilla pudding -gasp!- I add a little less milk, add some cream and it's just as yummy as ever. This time however, I decided I'd make vanilla bean pastry cream and fold in lightly sweetened whipped cream to make the eclair filling, and my goodness, these have been taken to the next level! No more boxed pudding mix for me... well if I have the time to make the pastry cream.


[Piped and ready to bake]
Pate a choux pastry is very versatile. It can be piped into mounds to make cream puffs, cheese can be folded into the batter to make Gougeres. Oh! the possibilities are endless! For my baby shower last year, I made little strawberry shortcakes by creating cream puffs filled with my pudding filling and adding slices of strawberries. Making eclairs take a little prep time but they come together super fast. A piping bag (or two) makes it a breeze. I also use Wilton cake tip #240 to fill the eclairs. The tip is longer and narrow, and fills them perfectly. The only downfall is cake supplies can be a little pricey, but if you live near a Michael's or JoAnn's store, they always have a '40% off one item coupon' that you can print off to use. I buy a lot of my baking supplies this way :)


[Ready to Fill]
Chocolate eclairs are actually simple to make. Even if you are new to baking, I have confidence you can pull them off. Try them sometime and indulge in a little French pastry deliciousness!


Chocolate Eclairs
Makes 20-24 eclairs
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Ingredients:

Pate a Choux:
1 cup water
1 TBS sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cubed
1 1/4 cups AP flour
4 eggs, room temp

Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream:
1/2 cup sugar
3 TBS corn starch
1 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste
2 egg yolks
2 TBS butter, cut into small pieces

1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Chocolate Ganache:
8 oz. (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions:

-Pastry Cream: Place the egg yolks into a small bowl and gently whisk to break them up. Place the sugar and corn starch into a sauce pan. Add the milk, heavy cream, and vanilla bean paste. Whisk to combine and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Move pan from heat and take about 1 cup of the hot mixture and stream it into the egg yolks while whisking. This tempers the egg yolks so that they do not scramble. Now, pour the tempered mixture back into sauce pan and cook for another 4-5 minutes until the pastry cream thickens to a pudding like consistency. Add the butter a small piece at a time until it’s all incorporated. Pour mixture into a glass bowl, press plastic wrap directly onto it and chill until cold.

Note: The vanilla bean pastry cream can (and should) be made the night before and let to chill in the fridge overnight. The mixture needs to be cold to mix with the whipped cream.

-Pate a Choux: Preheat oven to 400F. In a sauce pan combine the water, butter, salt and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and add all of the flour. Stir with a wooden spoon until the the flour is absorbed by the liquid and continue to cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat when the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan and into a ball. Cool for about 5 minutes. Once cooled, add the eggs one at a time into the dough until it is completely incorporated. Repeat until all the eggs are mixed in. Transfer batter to a pastry bag (or large ziplock bag) and pipe 4 inch lines spaced 1 1/2 inches apart onto parchment or silpat lined baking sheets. A wet finger can be used to even out the pastry. Place into oven and turn the heat down to 350F and bake for 20-25 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR! Once baked, cool on a cooling rack.

Note: I mix the batter in the pan, less dishes for me. I also use my hand mixer with only one beater to incorporate the eggs, but a wooden spoon can just as easily be used. Just as well, you can transfer the dough to your stand mixer and mix with the paddle attachment. My pastry bag has a 1 inch opening. If using a ziplock bag or disposable pastry bag, cut a 1 inch opening.

-Ready to Assemble:Whip the heavy cream and powdered sugar together until firm peaks form. With a whisk, fold whipped cream into the vanilla bean pastry cream and transfer to a piping bag fitted with a round tip. From one end, fill all of the cooled eclairs with the cream filling (you may need to fill from both ends to completely fill the eclairs, or you can also cut them in half to fill them). Place the chocolate for the ganache an a bowl. Heat the cream until it just boils and pour over the chocolate. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes then stir to combine until all of the chocolate melts. Dip the top of the eclairs into the ganache and place onto cooling rack to harden. Voila!!

Homemade Butter Croissants

Whenever I go to New Frontiers Grocery I can't help but walk by the bakery section. Contained behind welcoming glass cabinet doors is your typical bakery fare, including fresh chocolate croissants. I can't help it, I always get one when I'm there and after I've paid, I sit in my car and eat it. The only downfall to this is the price. At $3 a croissant, my little indulgence can get a little pricey. So what am I to do? Oh, I know, I'll make my own!

I typed 'homemade croissant recipe' into Google and found one at the King Arthur Flour website. It looked easy enough, could I do it? Could I make rich, buttery, flaky croissants at home? I tried, and I did. And are they ever so delicious!

The King Arthur recipe makes 24 croissants, I halved the recipe to make 12. For some reason, it didn't occur to me that I could freeze them! Duh! I guess in the end, I can just make another batch of croissants. And since these are not your low-cal food, I made them by hand. I could at least try and burn off some calories while making them, though, I'd gain it all back after the croissants were baked.

This croissant dough is smooth, soft, and wonderful to work with. I had no problems with it sticking to my counter top. For the Butter Slab, I found it easiest to pull the butter out of the fridge and let it sit on my counter for about 30 minutes so it would be the right consistency to mix with the flour. I was also able to create two 'folds', chill the dough, then create the last two 'folds'. I filled half of them with good semi-sweet chocolate and the other half were left plain to enjoy with more butter and blueberry jam. Taking all but a few hours in the afternoon, these croissants will definitely be made again and again.


[Ready to be baked!]

Homemade Butter Croissants
Adapted from King Arthur Flour
Makes 12 delicious croissants.
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Ingredients:

Dough:
3/4 cup warm water
1 tsp active dry yeast
2 TBS sugar, divided
1 large egg
1 TBS melted butter
3 cups AP flour
1 1/2 tsp salt

Butter Slab
1 1/2 sticks salted butter, pulled from fridge 30 minutes prior to use.
3 TBS flour

Egg Wash
1 egg beaten with 1 TBS water

Directions:

-In a 2 cup glass measuring cup, measure 3/4 cup of warm water. Add 1 TBS of sugar and the yeast. Allow to proof for 10 minutes. While it proofs, place the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. After 10 minutes is up, add the egg, melted butter, and remaining 1 TBS of sugar into yeast mixture. Lightly whisk to combine and pour into dry ingredients. With your hand, stir until the flour is incorporated and dough pulls from the side of bowl. Place the dough onto clean countertop and knead for 5 minutes. Place dough into a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.

-While the dough rests, place butter into bowl and add the 3 TBS of flour, mix with a fork until all of the flour is combined and there are no lumps of butter left. It should be smooth mixture. Place onto a piece of plastic wrap, fold edges over and gently pat into a 4 inch square. Place into fridge to slightly firm up.

-Remove dough from bowl and place onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out into a 10 inch square. Remove plastic wrap from butter slab and place it onto dough so that it's a diamond shape. The corners of the butter slab should be pointed towards the straight sides of the square. Fold the corners of the dough inwards to cover butter like an envelope. Turn dough over and pat into a rectangle shape with the rolling pin.

-Roll out into a 16x8 inch rectangle. Fold the dough into thirds like you would a letter. Then fold in half like a book. This creates one 'fold'.

-If the dough is still cool enough, repeat the 'fold' process of rolling out dough into 16x8 inch rectangle, folding into thirds, and then the half fold. Place into fridge and let rest for 30 minutes. **If the dough is not cool enough, place in fridge and cool for 30 minutes, and then create the 'fold'. Repeat this process until you have performed four 'folds'. Once the four folds have been completed, chill the dough for 30 minutes.

-Take the dough out of fridge, on a lightly floured surface roll the dough into a 12x18 inch rectangle. Using a ruler and sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough in half to create two 9x12 inch rectangles. Cut the rectangles into thirds so that you end up with six 4x9 inch rectangles. Cut those diagonally to create two triangles. You'll end up with 12 triangles total. Place triangles with the point away from you and make a 1/2 inch cut at the base of the triangle. Roll up from the notch and place onto cookie sheet lined with parchment and chill for 30 minutes. **When you cut the notch, you can fill the croissants.

-While the croissants rest, preheat oven to 425F. After the 30 minutes is up, brush the croissants with egg wash and place into oven. Lower the heat to 350F and bake for 15-20 minutes, the croissants will be golden brown, remove from cookie sheet and cool. Then savor the deliciousness you just created!!

**Additional help can be found at King Arthur Flour

Brown Butter and Cinnamon Sugar Cookies

Okay, these look like Snickerdoodle cookies, but I technically can't call them that. Snickerdoodles traditionally have cream of tartar in the dough, these cookies don't, just because I don't particularly like the flavor it gives the cookies. They are however, soft, chewy, and oh-so delicious. If you've never browned butter for cookies, you are missing out. Brown butter gives cookies a sort of nutty caramelness that makes them even more yummy. I also love that the only equipment needed to make these cookies is a bowl, wooden spoon, and the amazingly toned arm muscles you just happen to have, because if you're like me and eat half the batch upon letting the cookies cool, a little arm work wouldn't hurt.

These cookies didn't make it to the following day because we ate them all. I have no shame in my level of dessert consumption :) Paired with a tall glass of ice-cold milk, these cookies will make the afternoon perfectly perfect.


[C'mon, let's roll]
Brown Butter and Cinnamon Sugar Cookies
Makes approximately 24 cookies
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Ingredients:

Cookies:
1 stick of butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

Rolling Mixture:
3 TBS sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

-Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together. Set aside.

-In a small sauce pan over medium heat, melt the butter and cook until the butter reaches a honey color. This takes anywhere from 3-5 minutes. Place into a heat proof glass bowl and let cool for a few minutes.

-To the browned butter add the sugar and brown sugar, stir together for one minute. Add the egg and vanilla and mix for about 2 minutes, it will slightly lighten in color. Add the dry ingredients and stir until all of the flour is incorporated. Chill the dough for 45 minutes.

-Preheat oven to 350F. Remove dough from fridge. Roll pieces of dough into a 1 inch ball, then into cinnamon sugar mixture and place on cookie sheet. (12 fit on my sheet pan). Bake cookies for 9 minutes, remove from oven and cool on cooling rack. Then devour half the batch shamelessly.

PB & C Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

Peanut Butter. Chocolate. Oatmeal. All together in one delicious little cookie. The inspiration for these cookies came while I was putting my little one to sleep. You see, when I put him down at night I indulge in some food television. Unique Sweets is a show I came across on Hulu.com and I was hooked from the first 20 minute show. I watched all five episodes (because there are only five episodes that Hulu.com will allow me to watch) that night and came away with inspiration from the talented minds of bakers who transform seemingly simple ingredients into drool worthy baked goods. This is my knock off version of Two Tarts Bakery's Peanut Butter Cream cookies.




[Oh hey, it's peanut butter filling!]


Peanut Butter and Chocolate Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies
Makes approximately 24 cookies
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Ingredients:

Cookies:
1/2 cup softened salted butter (one stick)
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup AP flour
1 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt

Filling:
4 TBS softened unsalted butter
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar (sifted)
2 TBS half and half

Chocolate Drizzle
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (or what you have)
2 TBS heavy cream

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 325F.

-Combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. In another bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the peanut butter and vanilla to this and mix until the peanut butter is incorporated. Add the egg and mix for one minute. Add the dry ingredients and mix until all the flour is just combined. Let the dough sit for about 10 minutes, this will allow the dough to firm up.

-While the dough rests, cream together the butter and peanut butter for the filling. Cream this until fluffy and add the powdered sugar and half and half. Mix together for 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy. Transfer to a pastry bag.

-Scoop out 1 rounded teaspoon full of dough and roll into a ball. Place onto cookie sheet and lightly press down with two fingers. Continue until no cookie dough remains. (I can fit 20 balls of cookie dough on a half sheet pan).

-Bake for 8 minutes, exactly. Take them out even if they don't look done. Transfer to a cooling rack. (The cookies will continue to cook while cooling. We don't want hard cookies! We want chewy cookies with a crisp outer ring).

-Once all the cookies have baked and cooled off pair them up and pipe filling onto one side of the cookie and sandwich them together. Continue until they are all partnered up.

-Melt the chocolate and heavy cream together. Transfer to a small ziplock bag. Cut off a tiny corner and drizzle over the tops of the cookies. Enjoy!

These cookies came out just how I wanted them, chewy, tender, and not too sweet. The cookies are small enough so you can enjoy a few and not feel as if you're going overboard. Besides, they have peanut butter and oats, hello protein and fiber!