Candy Cane Cupcakes

The single best thing about the holiday season may be the infusion of peppermint into everything. I love it. I really can't get enough. And there is something about peppermint that just doesn't taste quite the same any other time of the year.

My absolute favorite holiday treat is peppermint stick ice cream, preferably from the local dairy back home... But I can't get that down here, in San Diego, so every year I have to settle for something sub-par (usually the generic store brand). That is why, this year, my Christmas List is topped with a homemade ice cream maker... I hope Santa is reading this, because that's what I really want. Oh, and a microwave that goes above my oven. That too, Santa.

I came home from dinner with a friend Wednesday night and, although I could have easily gotten ready for bed or sat down to grade some papers, I decided it was time for some holiday baking. Perhaps it had been a conversation about the previously mentioned ice cream over dinner. Perhaps it was my festive holiday decorations. Perhaps it was the smell of REAL Christmas tree wafting through my house. Whatever it was, the results were delicious.

Candy Cane Cupcakes

adapted from Glorious Treats

photo by Jessica Y.

These guys will give the real thing a run for their money. Candy Canes, look out!

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (best quality available)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (best quality available)
• 1 cup boiling water

1. Line muffin tin with paper liners. Heat oven to 350*F.
2. Mix together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Add each item individually and blend until just combined. Once all ingredients are added, beat on medium speed for about a minute.
4. Stir in boiling water. Yes, this will make it more like cupcake soup. Don't worry--it will be ok!
5. Fill liners slightly more than half full with the batter. They are going to puff up a lot, so don't over fill the cups! It was a heck of a lot easier to do this with a glass measuring cup than trying to use my cupcake scoop.
6.  Bake cupcakes for approximately 22-24 minutes.
7. Allow to cool completely before you fiddle with them! They will collapse if you pester them too much.

Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1/2 cup (1 stick, 8 Tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
• 6 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature (about 3/4 of a regular block of cream cheese)
• 4 cups powdered confectioners sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
• 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 to 3 Tablespoons milk

1. Put the butter in a large mixing bowl and beat until fluffy. Add cream cheese and beat until creamy.
2. Add powdered sugar (a little at a time) and blend on low speed until combined. Increase to medium speed and beat until it begins to get fluffy.
3. Add vanilla and peppermint extracts
4. Add small amounts of milk until you achieve the desired consistency.
5. Beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.

To make it LOOK like a candy cane (not just taste like one):
 Before filling a large piping bag with frosting, add some red gel food coloring to a small paintbrush, and draw two (vertical) lines with the red dye on the inside of the piping bag. You can also pipe red frosting directly into the creases of the bag (which is what I did). Then carefully fill the piping bag with frosting.  Squeeze some frosting into a bowl until you begin to see the red stripe, then frost the cupcakes using a swirling motion.

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Dang, that is a mouthful.

But it is an oh-so-delicious mouthful.

It's no secret that I tend to put a little too much on my plate, from time to time. And unfortunately, the things that seem to go by the wayside are all the baking-related endeavors that I have planned for myself.

My sister got me a drunken cupcakes cookbook for my birthday. It has about a million recipes in it that I am dying to try out and report back about. But I haven't had time.

The only real baking that I got around to do this week was out of necessity--I had a mess of bananas taunting me from my fruit basket. When I bought them, I had every intention of eating them. But then better things came along. Baked things, I'm guessing.

So, I had to do something with them. I can't just throw them away. And I'm leaving in... oh, about 20 minutes to head up to the bay area for a week. So, my taste buds and I set out on a mission...

And I bring you the results. The soooo freaking delicious results.

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 1/2 cup white chocolate (or plain) peanut butter
• 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana
• 1/4 cup peanut butter chips
• 1/4 white chocolate chips
• 1/4 chocolate chips

1. Preheat your oven to 350. Line a cupcake pan with liners.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and soda and the salt.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the peanut butter. Add the egg.
4. Fold in the banana.
5. Add the flour mixture.
6. Fold in the chips.
7. Spoon in to muffin cups. Fill 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes.
8. Enjoy!

Fantasy

This is pretty much the epitome of how I feel right now. 

99.997 percent of the time, I love my job... And I would rather be at work than anywhere else in the world. But... right now? Not so much.

Can I day dream for a moment?

This is where I want to be right now. In all of it's messy glory.

In my head, I'm at home. In my favorite sweatpants and tie dye sweatshirt (yes, I'm a hippie at heart). I'm in the kitchen. I'm baking. And it's amazing. The oven radiates heat, warming my kitchen and frozen toes (because our heater still doesn't work). The sun filtering in through the leaves of the big tree in our front yard, and creating the perfect sunning spot in our greenhouse window for Daisy.

This is where I am. Only it's way messier and not nearly as friendly or happy looking.

In reality, I'm sitting at my desk at school, trying to avoid having an aneurysm. My car, which is only 3 years old, is having serious issues. It could be the battery. It could be the starter. It could just be breaking up with me. I don't know. And I don't feel like I have time to deal with it. The internet filters at school went haywire, bringing my publications' productivity to a screeching halt. Luckily, a few smartly placed phone calls and a "don't screw with me" attitude got that fixed right quick. The piles of papers on my desk refuse to grade themselves. I just spent my entire prep cleaning my classroom and organizing my cabinets. Because my brain will not function at a capacity that allows me to do anything that is actually productive. My to-do list is literally making me sick to my stomach.

Can't I just go home and bake? Please? I'll bring you cookies tomorrow, if I can call it quits on working today...

Butternut Squash Soup

I'm sorry. I've slacked on posting. I've been busy. Crazy busy.

And it was my birthday. That gets me out of jail free, right?

I feel like I've been apologizing to people a lot lately. The last two and a half weeks or so have been absolutely insane, as far as my schedule has been concerned. Deadlines galore, and a weekend out of town to top it off. Not that I'm complaining. I like my life busy. But... really? It was a little much.

But now I'm home. And refreshed. And ready for this four-day work week followed by another week off. Gosh, being a teacher is tough. Ha. If you only knew.

Best thing about being home? Being able to cook my own food! And to celebrate that amazing freedom, I made the best soup ever on the face of the planet. Honestly, it's that good.

Butternut Squash Soup

adapted from My Aunt Virginia's Recipe

 photo by Jessica Y.

So good with cornbread! (see archives for a recipe!)

1 Butternut Squash (2 lbs. or so)

1 Acorn Squash (1 lb.)

2 Sweet Potatoes

2.5 cubed granny smith apples

3 chopped cloves of garlic

1 chopped white onion

2 chopped red bell pepper

2 T grated Ginger root

2 15 oz. cans chicken broth

4 stalks celery

1 cup half and half

1/4 cup Olive Oil

2 tsp. Lawry's seasoning salt

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. pepper

2 tsp. onion salt

2 tsp. garlic pepper

2 tsp. ground cumin

2 tsp. smoked paprika

2 tsp. dried basil

 

1. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Place it cut side down in a 9x13 baking dish, with about 1/2 cup of water in the bottom. Pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork several times. Place on a cookie sheet. Put the potatoes and squash in the oven at 350 for about an hour and 15 minutes. Remove them and let them cool enough to handle (I did these the day before and just refridgerated them until i was ready to use them).

 

 

2. In a large pot, heat the olive oil. Add the chopped onion, ginger and garlic. Once the onions start to brown, add the apple, squash, celery, potatoes, pepper and seasonings. Add the broth and heat to a boil. Continue to boil for about an hour, stirring occasionally.

 

Feel free to sample your concoction while it is boiling, and add any spices you'd like. You won't screw it up, I promise.

 

3. After the soup boils for a little over an hour, use a food processor to blend the soup until smooth, eliminating all the large chunks.

 

4. Once you have blended the soup, add 1-2 cups of half and half (depending on the consistency that you want), and mix thoroughly. Return to heat and boil for about 10 minutes.

5. Serve with corn bread. Devour.

6. Write me love letters, thanking me for this recipe.

Maple-Sausage Biscuits 'n' Gravy

If your life is anything like mine, you've got a honey-do list that is about a mile long. And a honey who doesn't so much like to "do" when you would like him to.

In my mind, weekends mean chores, catching up on everything I ignored for the week and just, plain and simple, getting things done. Apparently, this is abnormal. Who knew?

But if you want t light a fire under your honey's behind, this is what you do...

And if you know me, you know sausage and big heavy breakfasts are not my thing. But if you know my honey, you know that those things pretty much define his ideal weekend morning.

photo by Jessica Y.

Biscuits, gravy and eggy goodness (or so I've been told).

Maple-Sausage Biscuits and Gravy

1 (12 ounce) package breakfast sausage
2 tablespoons maple syrup
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Drizzle with syrup. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings in the pan. 

2. Stir in the butter until melted. Add flour, and stir until smooth. Reduce heat to medium, and cook until light brown. 

3. Gradually whisk in milk, and cook until thickened. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Stir in cooked sausage. Reduce heat, and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes. If gravy becomes too thick, stir in a little more milk. 

5. Spoon over warm biscuits and top with an over-easy egg.

6. Taunt your Honey with the plate until he agrees to your "Do" list.

7. Get stuff done! 

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Buttercream

Have I told the story about the sharks here, yet?

I can't remember, and my brain is fried, so if I have, scroll down through this next part and forget I'm mentioning this again.

My friend Kerri says I'm like a shark. Sharks (according to Kerri... not sure on the actual fact here) can't stop swimming because they'll die... My student teacher brought up a good point here---what happens when they sleep? Anyway, not the point. Sharks are constantly going. They have to keep moving, keep swimming (anyone else hearing Dori right now? Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...). And according to Kerri, I am the human equivalent of a shark. I don't know how NOT to do things. I always have to be busy. Or I die.

Case in point. Finished my Master's in the end of August. Signed up to be on my neighborhood's community council about a week later. Am now the individual in charge of the monthly newsletter. Totally loving it... But somewhat thankful for the flexibility the organization has, as my page design for this first issue left a little bit to be desired.

So, in addition to my gym addiction, my kitchen addiction, my cleaning/organizing addiction, my facebook addiction... I now have a new vice. All things Rolando Park Community Council related, addiction. I layed out a four page, 8.5x11 newsletter and loved every second of it. I am a super nerd.

It was almost as much fun as making these cupcakes. Which people have been begging for the recipe for. And the frosting? To die for. I may have told multiple people today that I want to take a bath in it. Or just wallow in vats of its frothy deliciousness. Amazing.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

photo by Jessica Y,

Pumpkin goodness topped by, quite possibly, the best frosting ever. 

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1. Combine all of the ingredients (seriously, all of them) in the bowl of your stand mixer. Beat on medium speed for 20 minutes. For real, just walk away for a little bit. Have a diet coke.

2. Once the batter is smooth, spoon into cupcake liners (about 24). Fill them about 2/3 of the way full. You can sprinkle the tops with cinnamon, if you don't plan on frosting them.

3. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

4. Allow to cool (or cheat and put them in the freezer for about 10 minutes like I do).

Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Buttercream

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 3 cups powdered sugar (varies based on temperature/humidity)
• 3 tablespoons half and half (varies based on temperature/humidity)

1. Whip together the butter and shortening.

2. Add the almond extract and cinnamon.

3. Add the powdered sugar, brown sugar and half and half until the desired texture is reached (it should be fluffy).

Cheesecake Bars (Mocha & Sweet Potato)

Cheesecake is intimidating. It wants you to think it's all fancy and complicated---like bread. Freaking show offs.

Maybe it's because cheesecake has a whole (delicious) factory dedicated to it that I just assumed it was something fairly complicated.

But surprise! It's not! (Also like bread...)

Last winter, a friend gave me a holiday baking magazine. I instantly zeroed in on the sweet potato cheesecake bar recipe.... But at that point, it was too late in the season for delectable holiday treats with fall flavors. I've been counting down the days and watching the leaves change (sort of... palm trees pretty much look the same all year) to mark the beginning of actual fall in Southern California.

And it's here! I kicked off my seasonal baking last weekend and am now throwing sweet potatoes and squash and pumpkin into everything I can (within reason, of course). These little guys were such a hit that I'm planning on working on a vegan version so that I can share them with ALL of my friends.

I recommend devouring an entire pan and washing them down with a pumpkin spice latte (in a red cup, of course) from Starbucks.

Sweet Potato Cheesecake Bars

photo by Jessica Y.

A dynamic duo of amazingness.

2/3 cup crushed graham crackers
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 8 oz. can of sweet potatoes, drained
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie (or apple pie) spice
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
ground nutmeg

1. Stir together graham cracker, flour, peanuts and 1/4 cup sugar.

2. Add the butter and mix well. Pat into a lightly greased 9x9x2 baking pan.

3. Bake in 350 degree oven for 12 minutes.

4. Beat sweet potatoes in a bowl until smooth. Add cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Beat until well combined.

5. Add egg and beat until just combined. Stir in sour cream and milk until just blended.

6. Pour over baked crust. Sprinkle with nutmeg.

7. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until the center appears set. Cool and cut into bars.

If sweet potato isn't your thing, or you want more cheesecake (because it's delicious), then you must try these as well...

Mocha Almond Cheesecake Bars

1 1/4 cups sifted flour
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons instant coffee crystals
1/2 tablespoon almond extract
1 1/2 tablespoons HOT water
8 oz. cream cheese
1 1/4 cups sweetened condensed milk (14 oz. can)
2 eggs

1. Sift together flour, powdered sugar, cocoa and baking soda.

2. Cut in butter until crumbly.

3. Press into the bottom of a 13x9x2 baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.

4. Dissolve coffee crystals in hot water.

5. Beat cream cheese in a bowl until fluffy.

6. Gradually beat in condensed milk. Add coffee and eggs.

7. Pour over baked crust.

8. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until the middle appears set. Cool and cut into bars.