Mexican Chocolate Brownies

The we-move-in-less-than-2-months-so-we-better-start-eating-from-the-cuboards time crunch has begun! So far, we've successfully eaten through most of the canned goods (by canned goods, I mostly mean refried black beans and tomatoes). Still, there are random things that need eating like oats, dates, millet, de puy lentils, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, and a ton of flour (whole wheat, whole wheat pastry, all-purpose, buckwheat, rye, potato, tapioca, etc.). Also, we have at least 15 bags of chills from the Chili Cook-Off that we hosted over Easter weekend in 2013. If you can think of a dried chile pepper, we probably have it! Ancho, cayenne, chipotle, cobanero, guajillo, Japonese, morita, mulato, New Mexico, pasilla, pequin…

The other thing we bought for the chili cook off was a bright yellow and red box of Mexican chocolate for C's chili. I think I used it for something after the chili cook off, but I don't remember exactly what I made. It might have been ice cream. Whatever it was, it didn't turn out, so the box has been sitting in the cupboard taunting me since. I haven't known what to do with the rest of it. The obvious solution would be to make hot chocolate. However, it's currently June in Texas and there is no chance we'll have a day below 80ºF in the next two months. Iced Mexican hot chocolate? I don't know about that.

On Sunday, while C was on call in the hospital, I decided to bake him Mexican chocolate brownies. He says he "hates" chocolate. I find this suspicious because he loves brownies and recently came home with a pint of Steve's Mexican Chili Chocolate Ice Cream "for me," yet only gave me a few bites. Adding to my suspicions, the chocolate ice cream appeared just a day after I made cobanero chili chocolate dairy-free "oat cream." I believe that when he says "I hate chocolate" he really means "I hate chocolate cake." His hatred of cake has somehow tainted his view of chocolate.

Anyway,  last time I made brownies, he gave me a little grief. I told him that I had a brownie recipe that I was excited to try and he told me not to bother, that he had gotten the best brownie recipe from his friend Nick. He asked me how many eggs my recipe called for and told me that since it called for fewer eggs than his recipe, my brownies wouldn't be as good. We decided to have a brownie bake-off. When he pulled up the recipe from his friend Nick, he told me it was the Baked brownie recipe, the exact same recipe I was planning to make. (Clearly he didn't remember how many eggs Nick's recipe called for!)

Objective
Make the Baked brownie recipe with part dark chocolate and part Mexican chocolate.

Materials
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
pinch ground cinnamon
pinch ground hot chile pepper (ex. cayenne, cobanero, or chipotle)
4.5 ounces dark chocolate
1 ounce Mexican chocolate, grated (ex. Ibarra or Abuelita)
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 eggs (crack three, whisk together and remove 1 tablespoon)
1 teaspoon vanilla
sliced almonds, for topping (optional)
flaked sea salt, for topping (optional)

Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease an 8x8 inch square pan and set aside.
2. Sift together the flour, salt, cocoa powder, cinnamon and chile powder. Set aside.
3. Set up a double boiler (bring about an inch of water to boil in the bottom of a saucepan and set a tight-fitting glass or metal bowl over the water but not touching). Melt the dark chocolate, Mexican chocolate and butter.
4. Whisk in the sugar and brown sugar. Add half of the eggs, whisk, then whisk in the rest. Stir in the vanilla. Do not over mix (unless you like cake-like brownies; if that's the case, whisk away).
5. Sprinkle the sifted flour mixture over the top of the batter. Fold in the flour until just combined. The mixture will be a bit lumpy from the eggs but not from clumps of flour.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. If desired, sprinkle with sliced almonds and sea salt. Bake 20-30 minutes (mine took 22 minutes), rotating the pan after 15 minutes of baking. The brownies are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few crumbs on it (so that it still has moisture but isn't still gooey batter).

Results
Yum! Moist, creamy, and a little spicy. A nice crunch (and flavor) from the almonds.

Discussion
When I first met C, he was disappointed to learn that I liked pickles. He joked that his dream girl was one who hated pickles so that he'd always get to eat two. While we agree on pickles, we disagree on brownies. He's a crust guy, I'm a gooey-center girl. Thankfully we're both in the fudgey not cakey camp, so our brownie sharing partnership is nearly perfect. The only problem is that C is a purist and I like a little crunch now and again (like nuts or chocolate chips or candy canes). Even without that crunch, I'll happily leave him the crusts and dive right into the center.

To give C credit, the Baked brownie recipe makes good brownies. You do have to be mindful of your stirring or you can easily ruin a masterpiece. My only complaint about the brownies is that they are thin. Why not double the recipe for a nice, thick chuck of chocolate gooey goodness? It's possible that it would take too long for the heat to get to the center and leave you with burnt edges and gooey, uncooked, eggy centers. Once I have the heart to try wasting that much chocolate (if it doesn't turn out), I'll let you know and report back with the results!

Orange Chocolate Crinkles

Remember when I told you about my friend Andrea? A few years ago, Andrea and I got together to bake and decorate cookies for Valentine's Day. We made heart shaped vanilla shortbread cookies that we dipped half in chocolate and then drizzled with contrasting chocolate and sprinkled with colorful sugars and sprinkles. They were beautiful, but flavor-wise, nothing special. We also made Chocolate Orange Shortbread Cookies from Simply Recipes. 

If there had been a contest, the chocolate orange shortbread definitely would have won "best flavor." They were a tad salty, but delicious. I was surprised that just a little bit of orange zest could impart so much flavor into the cookies. Also, I was surprised by how well orange paired with chocolate. As I was preparing my homemade orange extract and thinking of ways to use it, I immediately thought of orange chocolate crinkles. Since my favorite chocolate cookies are crinkles and not shortbread, I figured I'd give them a try.

Objective
Make Nan's Chocolate Crinkles into orange chocolate cookies by adding orange zest and orange extract.

Materials
4 tablespoons butter
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 cup sugar
zest of 1 orange
2 eggs
1 teaspoon orange extract
splash vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup powdered sugar

Methods
1. In a microwave safe container, melt the butter and chocolate. Set aside to cool slightly.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, rub the orange zest into the sugar. Stir in the melted chocolate and butter. With the mixer running, add eggs, one at a time. Add the orange extract and vanilla. 
3. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the wet mixture and mix until the flour is just incorporated. Chill overnight.  
4. Preheat the oven to 350º. Drop the dough by the teaspoon into the powdered sugar and shape into balls. Bake at 350º for 12 minutes on a greased baking sheet. *DO NOT OVER-BAKE*

Results
After tasting the dough, C said "I like this a lot because you can actually taste the orange without it being overpowered by the chocolate." The baked cookies lost a little bit of the orange flavor, but were still quite orangey. The cookies were gooey inside like a perfectly baked brownie.

Discussion and Future Directions
Though C liked the dough, he wasn't a huge fan of the cookie. I was a little shocked because he loves the version of this cookie that I make with Andes Mints in the center. He couldn't quite put into words what he didn't like, but I know he was overwhelmed by the amount of powdered sugar on the outsides! I'd intentionally left a lot on instead of brushing off the excess. Lesson learned for next time! The only improvement I would make would be to use higher quality chocolate. We're currently trying to eat through our cupboards and freezer so that we don't have to throw food away when we pack all of our belongings into storage (hmm, another hint). I had 4 oz. of unsweetened baking chocolate left in the cupboard and used it in the dough. High quality dark chocolate would have been a better choice. Again, lesson learned for next time! So far, I've probably made these cookies sound terrible, but they're not. They're quite good. So good that the first person who tried them asked for the recipe!

It's too bad C didn't like the cookies, because that was the extent of my Valentine's Day baking this year. Instead of eating them, he's taking them to the hospital this afternoon to give to his research mentors and one of the attending physicians we know who loves cookies! Luckily, I satisfied his sweet tooth the past few weeks with Blueberry Almond Galettes and Blueberry-Cherry Almond Galettes. He liked the second version so much that he requested another (either pie or galette) for Valentine's Day. We decided not to do anything for Valentine's Day this year--especially make a pie that we can't finish--because we're leaving for vacation the next day! Though we loved all of our trips to Buffalo and Madison this year, we're so excited to break routine and go on a real vacation that's about us, not about family or friends. Hopefully I'll have a delicious Mayan recipe to share with you when we get back!

Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours!

Chocolate Zucchini Fudge Cupcakes

I'm about to enter the next phase of my health-kick. Step one was to eat healthier, specifically by eating more whole grains and vegetables. Step two is to limit baking sweets to one day a week, no Oreos, AND workout at least 3 days a week. I'd really like to make that last bit "do a cardio workout at least 3 days a week and do yoga at least twice," but that's pushing it. I did more exercise this past week than I've done the past month (thankfully that's an exaggeration)! I went to tap twice, did yoga 3 times, swam around the pool for awhile one afternoon, went for 1 run, and biked to work 3 days. I'm quite proud of that.

In terms of my baking limitations, I succeeded this week. Last Sunday, I made Rhubarb and Sorrel Scones. On Tuesday evening, I baked, but I made buttermilk oatmeal sandwich bread to use up buttermilk. I don't count that as "baking sweets" because the whole loaf of bread only had 3 tbsp. honey and I used it for sandwiches (ok, and for French toast on C's day off). I made it all the way to this Sunday before I baked again. One of C's favorite doctors is leaving the clinic where he works once a week. He wanted to make her something as a goodbye/thank you gift. She loves chocolate. This inspired me to make chocolate zucchini cupcakes, only to realize that he needed to take at least a dozen/the entire batch. I convinced him to make his own brownies for clinic so that I didn't have to give up all of my delicious cupcakes.

More on the cupcakes! I first made chocolate zucchini cupcakes (or more aptly, chocolate zucchini and carrot cupcakes) while I lived in St. Louis. I can't remember why I made them, but I did and frosted them with a super fudgey chocolate frosting. One of my classmates said they were her favorite chocolate cupcakes. For her birthday, I made another batch and they were equally as delicious. I don't like making the same recipe twice, but when someone requests something, or when I have a recipe someone really likes, I'll make exceptions. Since I'd made this recipe twice already, I knew I wouldn't be satisfied making it again unless I tried to improve it. I spent the afternoon flipping through cooking magazines looking for chocolate recipes and stumbled upon a recipe for chocolate cake with a fudge ripple. Immediately, I knew what I had to do: add a fudge ripple to these already delicious cupcakes. Oh, and add some whole grains.

Objective
Make my usual chocolate zucchini cupcake recipe, but add more chocolate to make it even better.

Materials
10 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup grated zucchini
1/2 cup grated carrot (or chop finely in a food processor)
1/4 cup half-and-half
4 oz. semi-sweet/bittersweet chocolate

Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 350º.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the whole wheat pastry flour, all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Transfer to a sifter and set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Continuing to mix on medium-low speed, add the egg, then add the vanilla.
4. Sift half of the flour mixture into the wet mixture and mix until just incorporated. Add the yogurt, then the rest of the flour mixture, mixing after each addition until the ingredients are barely homogenous. Stir in the grated zucchini and carrot. Set aside.
5. Place the bittersweet chocolate and the half-and-half in a microwavable container. Stir every 30 seconds and microwave only until the chocolate melts. Note: chocolate chips wont work as well as chocolate. If you only have chocolate chips, it's fine if they are still a tiny bit chunky, as long as they are soft. Fold this mixture into the cupcake batter, trying to leave ribbons of fudge without blending it in completely. (Alternatively, fill the muffin tin then add about 1/2 tbsp. per muffin cup and use a knife to mix it into the batter.)
6. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin. Divide the cupcake batter evenly between the cups.
7. Bake for about 18 minutes. When done, the tops should spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean (though the fudge ripple might make the toothpick-test a bit challenging). Remove the cupcakes from the oven and cool 15 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Loosen the muffins from the pan by running a plastic knife around the edge. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Results
These cupcakes have a rich chocolatey flavor and aren't too sweet to prevent the chocolate from being the star. The "fudge ripple" adds moisture and eliminates the need for frosting. You can see the zucchini and carrot if you look for them, but you certainly can't taste them. They are very rich, so you'll probably need to wash them down with a glass of milk.

Discussion and Future Directions
This was a huge success. In truth, I was worried about my "fudge ripple" because a lot of it was sitting on top of the cupcakes when I put them into the oven. That made them look a little less than perfect, but it made them taste a lot more perfect. If you're a chocolate lover, I suggest these cupcakes over the Chocolate Zucchini Cake I made last summer. The fudge ripple is really the star. I'm disappointed that I didn't think of this before! I don't think I'll ever put chocolate chips into my chocolate zucchini cupcakes/cake again because the fudge ripple leads to a far better texture. But, if you're looking for a frosted cupcake, these are a little too rich. Chocolate frosting would probably turn them into a new version of "death-by-chocolate." Plus, they're delicious as is, so why add the extra calories? But, just in case you want it, I put the recipe for my fudgey frosting in the supplementary materials.

Next time you have zucchini, carrots, or half-and-half that need to be used up before they go bad, I suggest you make these cupcakes. You could use cream or even try whole milk for the fudge ripple if that's what you have in the fridge. Even if you aren't a cake-lover, you might still like these. If you aren't a chocolate-lover, you will hate them. Really though, zucchini season is quickly approaching. As you're about to start your yearly battle of what-on-earth-am-I-going-to-do-with-yet-another-zucchini, I suggest you add this to your arsenal.

Supplementary Materials

Fudgey Chocolate Frosting
(makes enough for a 9x13" cake or 24 cupcakes)
Sift 2 3/4 cup powdered sugar and 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. cocoa powder into a small bowl and set aside. Add 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp. milk and 1 tsp. vanilla to a liquid measuring cup and set aside. Cream 6 tbsp. butter, then alternatively beat in the dry ingredients and wet ingredients. Continue to beat until fluffy.

Red Velvet Cheesecake in Jars (Small Batch)

One day, I was walking home from school in St. Louis and stopped at a small local grocer on the way home. I generally only shopped at Straubs when I needed a quick item or two for a recipe. It was right around the corner from my apartment, but more pricey than the chain. One day, they had little plastic cups with bright green labels on an end cap. It was labeled "Peppermint Puppy Chow." I was hungry and I'd been craving peppermint everything for the past week since I'd gotten a Chocolove Peppermint in Dark Chocolate bar on sale for $1.50. (I could have eaten a bar a day, but thankfully I'd only bought one. Note: it really does taste best at 70 degrees like the label says.) Anyway, I saved the label from the Mint Puppy Chow as a reference to try making my own. The tricky ingredient was peppermint oil, which I happened to get for Christmas.

When I told my boyfriend of my plan to make Mint Puppy Chow, and told him about all of the other crazy Puppy Chow flavors I found on the internet, he wanted to make one too. He chose Red Velvet Puppy Chow. I won't even bother posting the link, because it was disgusting. Like, he-took-it-to-work-and-no-one-ate-it disgusting. That left us with half a package of Red Velvet Cake mix and a 6 oz. of left-over cream cheese. Making it into half of a cake wouldn't be easy. Instead I decided to complicate it even further by making it into a fraction of a cheesecake in little canning jars. I knew there was a recipe for Red Velvet Cheesecake by Julie Ruble at Willow Bird Baking. Her Clementine Mousse Cheesecake is about as good as cheesecake can get, so I knew her recipe wouldn't fail me. The only thing with the potential to ruin my little mini-cheesecakes was math, more specifically: fractions. Before graduate school, when I was studying for the GRE, I realized that no one ever taught me fractions. I learned a lot from the GRE Math prep-book, but I still don't like fractions. Especially when it requires three units (cups, tablespoons, and teaspoons). As a scientist, I take for granted that most of the math I have to do is metric. But I'll be honest, as a microbiologist, I'm generally only changing orders of magnitude, so I'm just moving around decimal points.

Objective
Make mini Red Velvet Cheesecakes in canning jars to use up the red velvet cake mix. Instead of following Julie Ruble's method (bake the cake and cheesecake separately, then stack them), bake the cake on top of the cheesecake, in the jars.

Materials
Crust:
8 Oreos
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. unsalted butter, melted
pinch salt

Cheesecake:
6 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp. flour
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg

Red Velvet Cake batter:
Half package, prepared per the box

Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease 4 8-oz ramekins or canning jars. Set in a baking dish. On the stove, start heating a pan of water (you'll want it boiling for a water bath just before putting the cheesecakes in the oven).

2. Make the crust: Crush the Oreos. Stir in the melted butter and salt. Divide evenly among the jars and press into the bottom. Do not bake.

3. Make the filling: Beat the cream cheese and sugar on until light and fluffy. Beat in the flour. Add the vanilla and egg, beating until the mixture is homogenous. Pour the filling on top of the crust, dividing the filling evenly between the ramekins.

4. Make the water bath: carefully and gently pour boiling water into the baking dish, until the water reaches one quarter to half-way up the ramekins. Do not splash water on the cheesecakes.

5. Place the baking dish in the oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Take the cheesecakes out of the oven. Divide the pre-mixed batter evenly over the cheesecakes, return to the oven and bake 20 minutes longer, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake layer comes out clean.

6. Using tongs, remove the ramekins from the water bath. Let them cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate overnight and serve cold.

Results
Baking the cake layer on top of the cheesecake layer seemed to work well. The cheesecake layer was good, but a little over-baked. The jars made a fun presentation.

Discussion and Future Direction
As you've probably already figured out, this post is mostly an "is it possible?" post. Maybe there is someone out there with half of a red velvet cake, but probably not. What I learned was that the cake layer can be baked on top of the cheesecake layer. Yes the cheesecake layer might be a little over-baked, but it's cream cheese and sugar. Who really cares if it's slightly over-baked? If you care, then you probably aren't going to try this recipe. Or, you'll add the cake layer earlier. Your choice.

I will use the cheesecake filling recipe to make more mini-cheesecakes of different flavors. Red velvet isn't my favorite flavor, but I can think of a lot of other ideas for toppings. Because these are single serving portions in the serving dish, the crust can easily be left off. I'm imagining a crust-less fruit-on-the-bottom cheesecake.


Supplementary Materials

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

I'm not a huge fan of muffins (probably because I don't like the texture of cake). Nevertheless, for a morning baking date, muffins are the way to go. I love banana bread and quickbreads, but they take twice as long to bake. On Sunday morning, my friend Kelley came over to bake muffins. I'd given her three options based on the frozen fruits in my freezer: blueberry, cranberry or strawberry. She chose blueberry. I started wondering if people even make strawberry muffins. You can do a hundred other wonderful things with strawberries, like strawberry rhubarb pie or strawberry shortcake, so why make muffins? A quick search for strawberry muffin recipes yielded quite a few results.  Indeed, people do make strawberry muffins. However, the first strawberry muffin recipe that comes up in a Google search has one order of magnitude fewer reviews that the first blueberry muffin recipe, suggesting that people really love blueberry muffins. After I finished the last blueberry muffin, I decided I simply had to try strawberry muffins. With Valentine's day coming up, I decided chocolate had to be added. Recipe adapted from SoNo Baking Company Cookbook.

Objective
Adapt a blueberry muffin recipe to make strawberry chocolate chip muffins.

Materials
1 cup plus flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup (4 tbsp.) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup plain greek yogurt (substitute plain yogurt, sour cream, crème fraîche)
about 1 cup frozen (unthawed) strawberries, chopped and tossed in 1/2-1 tbsp. flour
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 375º. Prepare 9 muffin cups (grease the pan or use liners).
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
3. Beat butter, sugar, and salt on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add egg. Beat in vanilla.
4. With the mixer speed on low, slowly add the dry ingredients and continue mixing until flour is just incorporated. Add the greek yogurt and continue beating on low speed until incorporated. Beat in the strawberries until just incorporated. Gently fold in the chocolate with a rubber spatula. Note: the batter will be very thick.
5. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full (about 1/4 cup of batter per muffin cup). Sprinkle with additional sugar if desired (baker's sugar works well).
6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the muffin pan after 10 minutes.  Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, or the muffin springs back when gently touched.
7. Cool the muffins completely in the pan on a wire rack.

Results
Yum! The strawberries are tart which is balanced by the sweetness of the chocolate. Perfectly light in texture and moist. Lightly golden brown.

Discussion and Future Directions
Both the blueberry and the strawberry muffins turned out well. I might be more inclined to make muffins again. They don't get the caramelized dark crust of a quickbread, but that keeps the whole product soft. For banana, I'll stick with bread. Since I didn't have much luck making blueberry quickbread, I think I will continue making these blueberry muffins. The berries did not all sink to the bottom, which is what happened with the really light batter of the blueberry quickbread. This batter is thick, but don't worry, the end product will turn out light and delicious!

This recipe could be easily adapted to other berries. If you leave out the chocolate, I suggest adding citrus zest (try 1 tsp) to add depth to the flavor. For raspberries or blueberries, use lemon zest; for blackberries, use lime zest; for cranberries or strawberries, use orange zest or 2 tablespoons of orange marmalade. If you try these muffins with a different flavor combination, please let me know how they turn out!

Supplementary Materials

A-Cookie-A-Day

I haven't posted much this month, but that doesn't mean I haven't been in the kitchen. In fact, I have been "procrastibaking" like a professional (after all, that is how this blog came about)! On Friday, coincidentally the Mayan predicted apocalypse, the written portion of the qualifying exam (QE) for my graduate program is due. Just in case the world ends on Friday, I didn't want to spend my last days on alive workin' to the bone.  So, during the afternoons, I've been baking! Oh, and going on vacation!

During my last trip to Houston, Texas, I got my bake-on. While the boys were at work, I was busy trying really hard to focus on my QE. I ended up procrastibaking. In my effort to use up the ridiculous cache of baking supplies in my apartment, I flew to Texas with little baggies containing pre-measured ingredients for a cookie recipe I have in my recipe box, know I've made, but don't remember how they taste. The recipe is for German Chocolate Cookies from BHG. They are dark, they are kind of healthy (fruit, nuts, flaxseeds, oatmeal, dark chocolate, eggs) and they are very addicting!

The next day, I decided on pie. A certain boyfriend I know loves puns and liquor. That sounds bad. He's got an impressive liquor collection and loves making mixed drinks for other people. That's not to say there isn't a video of him floating around the internet where he chugs a 40. [rolls eyes] Undergrads, so irresponsible. Oh yeah, he also loves pie. We celebrated his birthday a little early with Drunken Raspberry and Portly Pear Pie from Food 52. I won't pretend that his roommate and I didn't pick it simply for the punny name. It was an interesting pie. The flavor was great but the pears gave it a gritty texture. I probably won't be using pears in baking any time soon. Also, I made the crust with lard. It was immensely flaky, but I don't really understand the hype.

I arrived back in St. Louis to an empty fridge. I was cranky and  unmotivated. With the minutes ticking away toward QE submission time, I went into A-Cookie-A-Day mode (like any rational, under-pressure graduate student would do)!

A-Cookie-A-Day, "Abby's Kitchen" Style:

Day 12: Maple Cookies from Simply Recipes
These are one of my favorite Fall cookies. While it's not technically Fall, it kinda feels like it is and I love denying that it's ever Winter. This was my first time baking with Grade B maple syrup. I have to say, I prefer these cookies with Grade A, which is good, because Grade B is really hard to find. My Grade B was from the Dane County Farmer's Market which was exciting because I bought it locally! If I'm going to pay a lot for maple syrup, I like knowing that the people who went out, tapped the trees, boiled and bottled the stuff get to see the profit.

Day 13: Triple-Ginger Cookies from Bon Appetit
My friend Kelly came over to procrastibake with me! She was craving ginger cookies. I normally follow Homesick Texan's recipe, but since I had fresh ginger leftover from Naturally Ella's delicious Spicy Peanut Sauce, we tried this recipe from Bon Appetit. We didn't have crystallized ginger, or dark brown sugar, or light molasses, but we made due. We even did a science experiment and reviewed the recipe! Check out our review!

Day 14: Almond Crunch Cookies from Bon Appetit
Because sometimes you're planning on moving and want to get rid of your liquor and decide to use it in cookies so as not to become a lush (kidding, it's really because you're a lightweight and can't possibly drink it all in time). These are super buttery, which makes me think the recipe might not have the right flour-sugar-butter ratio, but they are also kind of delicious.

Day 15: Salted Mudslide Cookies from How Sweet Eats
Not only is there a 3/4 full bottle of Amaretto, there's also a half-full bottle of Kahlua that needs drinking and a few packets of Foldger's instant coffee in the cupboard. Enter Salted Mudslide Cookies. Now, here's a funny secret, I don't like coffee (though boyfriend may have gotten me hooked on Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes [please don't get me started on how I feel about Starbucks' business practices, because falling for these lattes has really caused a moral dilemma]). Yum. I expected that I would hate these, but I really really like them.

Day 16: Andes Mint Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Mommy loves cookies. Years ago, she asked me to make Andes Mint Chocolate Cookies for her Christmas gift (the kind where you spread the mint over the cooling cookie to make the mint into frosting). Since then, I've been doing regular holiday/birthday baking. She loves my chocolate chip cookies with walnuts and her favorite cookies are snickerdoodles. This year, I decided to mix it up. I stuffed half of an Andes Mint into my great-grandma's chocolate crinkles (I got the idea from A Finn in the Kitchen). Best straight out of the oven when the Andes Mint is still gooey. Yum!

Day 17: Cereal Killer Cookies from I Adore Food (Oatmeal, Chocolate and Coconut)
Today I worked on my QE all day. I mean it. I woke up, got out of bed, went to my computer and wrote. And wrote, and wrote, and wrote. I'm nearing a full draft. What remains is to write one more section in the topical review and add a few (very important, as in, if I don't address these issues I will probably fail) things to the research proposal. After nearly 10 1/2 straight hours of writing (minus breakfast and lunch breaks), I decided that it was cookie time. What was really important to me was that my Cookie-A-Day binge include oatmeal cookies. Oatmeal cookies were the first cookies I made by myself. Home alone one summer day, I found the recipe in my brother's Boy Scout Handbook. The section was on experimenting in the kitchen and cooking. The cookies were delicious. That was my baking debut! My mom is sure lucky that I found the ingredients and supplies (after probably a dozen phone calls). I'm the official family baker (and her personal cookie-maker). This isn't my usual oatmeal cookie recipe, but it is pretty tasty! Strangely, my cookies are far more oatmealy compared to last time I made these. They also look way more oaty than the picture, though I followed the recipe (but added chopped almonds). Hmm.. ??

Day 18: Candy Cane Crinkles from The Slow Roasted Italian
Ok woah! I worked on my QE for 15 hours yesterday! At 3 o'clock this morning, I took a few papers to bed to look over. I read for a little bit then realized how exhausted I was. My alarm was set for 8:15 to get to lab meeting by 9:15. When I woke up and looked in the mirror, I saw a ghost peering back. I was so pale that I almost put on some rouge to look sanguine. I can't lie, it felt kind of good to actually get dressed. After lab meeting, I stayed at work for more QE writing. Seven hours later I needed a break (and a cookie). I stopped at the grocery store to pick up candy canes, ended up with candy canes, pickles, hummus and a Chocolove peppermint candy bar. I would be lying if I pretended I didn't eat the chocolate bar and hummus for dinner (give me a break, I'd only eaten 2 oatmeal cookies and an apple during lab meeting and half of a sandwich for lunch. Oh that, and I'm a grad student. Anything above free food from seminars puts me above my peers). Anyhow, I made these candy cane crinkles. They are the perfect sugar cookies, with a hint of peppermint. If you love sugar cookies, try these.

After submitting my qualifying exam, I went into holiday mode. Turned on Billy Gilman Classic Christmas, made a homemade New Year's card and baked cookies to take back to Wisconsin. With the crazy unhealthy lifestyle I've had the past week while finishing my qual, I couldn't be more excited to head back home.

Nan's Chocolate Crinkles

I always called my great-grandma "Nan." It wasn't until about 5th or 6th grade that I realized her name was actually Marjorie. She was a feisty, young-at-heart, Italian red-head from the east coast (Jersey, maybe?). As long as I knew her, she had white hair and deep wrinkles. She wore a bright coral-pink lipstick, always the same shade. She smelled of baby powder. I loved writing and receiving mail, and so she became my pen-pal. Everyday after school, I stopped at the mailbox to see if she'd written. Her letters were usually about the weather or her cats, Koko and Kellie. She always sent me a one dollar bill with her card. I always addressed my letters to "Nan," and the ladies in my great-grandma's apartment complex thought it was the cutest thing. One time, I accidentally put the stamp and the return address label on the wrong sides. The mail carrier still delivered it. Again, the ladies at my great grandam's apartment complex thought it was the cutest thing. I, on the other hand, was mortified!

Nan passed away when I was in 7th grade. I remember hearing my name called over the announcements between classes asking me to report to the main office, and I just knew. We made it to the hospital in time to say goodbye. A few days later, I received my last pen-pal letter from her. It contained a dollar bill as always. She wrote to tell me she loved me, that she would be watching me from heaven with my great-grandpa Bobby, and most importantly, she asked me to take good care of my mommy for her. That was nearly 13 years ago. Every year at Christmas, I get a little teary and remember her. She had her designated chair at Christmas Eve and usually wore a red or black sweater with a string of pearls around her neck. We always gave her a bottle of strawberry bubble bath from Shopko. My grandma always gave her a pastel sweatshirt with flowers or birds on it. I can almost hear her disapproving voice scolding my brother for picking on me. Holidays just aren't the same without her.

When I think of Nan's cooking, I think of spaghetti and crab cakes. I think of potato salad with sliced hard-boiled eggs on top, sprinkled with paprika. I think of coming back from the pool to eat turkey sandwiches with iceberg lettuce, Kraft Singles and Miracle Whip on white bread. I think of eating macaroni and cheese with hotdogs and ketchup, while fighting with my brother under her huge dining room table. I think of the way my great-grandpa "Bobby" used shake powdered Kraft cheddar cheese on everything, particularly mashed potatoes. I think of fridge full of Diet Coke, a full stick of butter in crystal on the countertop and a candy dish full of mini Milky Way candy bars. I think of her Flour, Sugar, Coffee and Tea canisters that were the basis of many of my first "experiments" in the kitchen. I think of her wooden spice rack hanging on the kitchen wall across from her plastic dried chiles.

Before I left for graduate school, I transcribed all of my favorite family recipes. There were surprisingly few of Nan's. One of the recipes, in her handwriting, on the back of a check register, was for chocolate crinkles. Who knows where she got the recipe, or, if she ever even made them.  Nonetheless, the recipe is written in her later-in-life hard-to-read handwriting which is enough to make it special. When I finally got around to making cookies, I was pleasantly surprised by how good they were. I made them for a Pampered Chef party and they were the first to go! If you decide to try them, keep in mind that the dough has to be chilled overnight, and be sure to heed the *DO NOT OVER-BAKE* warning! Mint-Chocolate lovers: take note of the variation at the very bottom!

Chocolate Crinkles 
1/2 cup oil
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup powdered sugar

Mix oil, melted chocolate and sugar. Continue mixing and add the eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla.  Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the oil mixture and mix until the flour is just incorporated. Chill overnight.  Drop the dough by the teaspoon into the powdered sugar and shape into balls. Bake at 350º for 12 minutes on a greased baking sheet. *DO NOT OVER-BAKE*

**Variation: Chocolate Mint Crinkles** to take these to the next level, stick half of an Andes Mint in the center before baking! Absolutely best warm from the oven, but great afterward too. I got this fabulous idea from A Finn in the Kitchen.

Red Wine Chocolate Lava Cakes

On the one year anniversary of making "Drown Your Sorrows in Cake" Red Wine Cake, I found myself in need of a pick-me-up. I don't remember why I was cranky, but I'm sure it had something to do with school or living in St. Louis. Instead of cheese to go with my wine, I was set on chocolate. Wine, chocolate, gooey. That's what I wanted. I was imagining the chocolate lava cakes that I made with one of my best friends the summer before moving to St. Louis. I flipped through the recipe cards in my recipe box until I found "molten chocolate oozy cake" in Cara's beautiful handwriting. The lava cakes are based on this food network recipe and the chocolate ganache is adapted from Like Mom Made. Recipe makes 6 "Texas muffin sized" molten lava cakes.

Objective
Make a molten lava cake with red wine ganache instead of traditional ganache filling.

Materials

Red Wine Chocolate Ganache:
1 1/2 cups red wine (Jam Jar Sweet Shiraz)
1-2 tbs sugar
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
heaping 1/2 cup dark chocolate, chopped (Ghiradelli 60% cacao)

Cake batter:
7 tbs unsalted butter
1/2 cup dark chocolate, chopped (Ghiradelli 60% cacao)
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup flour

Methods
1. Prepare the red wine chocolate ganache. In a small saucepan, simmer the red wine and sugar until it's reduced to a thick syrup (5-10 minutes). Set aside. Place the chocolate in a medium sized bowl. Warm the cream and it pour over the chocolate. Whisk the cream and chocolate chunks until the chocolate is completely melted. Stir in the red wine reduction. Set aside to cool. Once cool, cover and refrigerate. Ganache will last covered in the refrigerator for a few weeks.
2. Preheat the oven to 450°. Grease 6 Texas muffin cups.
3. Prepare the cake batter. Melt the butter and chocolate, stirring occasionally. Cool slightly. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks and sugar. Whisk the egg/sugar mixture into the chocolate. Whisk in the flour.
4. Fill muffin cups 1/3 full with the batter. Scoop a small ball of cool ganache and place on top of the batter in the center of each cup. Top with batter to fill the cups 2/3 full.
5.  Bake 4-5 minutes or until the top sets. Flip the cakes out of the muffin tin and serve immediately.

Discussion
The flavor was good and got better with time. I just finished the last lava cake and it was even better than they were when I first made them over a week ago. The red wine added a rich fruity flavor to the ganache. Other ganaches would be great: peanut butter, hazelnut, cinnamon/chile, etc. Last time I used normal chocolate ganache and served the lava cakes with a strawberry mango compote (recipe in Supplementary Materials). This is a versatile recipe because you can adjust the ganache to your taste ands serve the cakes with different garnishes. If you have leftover ganache from another recipe, this is a great way to use it up.

Next time, I would make sure the ganache is cold before using it in the lava cakes. I think that would help it hold up longer while baking. This time, I wasn't able to get the cakes out of the muffin tin in one piece. Last time, I had no trouble. The only difference this time was the temperature of the ganache, so I assume that made the difference.

Supplementary Materials

Strawberry-Mango Compote
Mix together:
1 cup strawberries, sliced
1 cup mango, chopped
1 tbs sugar
2 tbs lime juice
1/4 tsp cinnamon sugar
dash nutmeg

Fall Funtivities: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Objective
Satisfy my craving for baked goods. Last night, I was craving something loaded with chocolate, but not just chocolate. I was also craving something thicker than a cookie, but cookie-like. To celebrate the season, I decided on Bake at 350's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars.

I made a few changes. First off, I like my bars thick. I doubled the recipe and baked the bars in an 8x8" baking dish. I reduced the sugar, increased the salt and reduced all of the spices (I didn't think pumpkin pie spices and chocolate would taste good together because I'm not a huge fan of chocolate with cinnamon). I added butterscotch chips for added flavor.

Materials
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
scant 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon of beaten egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon each ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
semi-sweet chocolate chips & butterscotch chips

Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish and set aside.
2. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Stir in the pumpkin until fully incorporated.
4. Fold in the dry ingredients until just incorporated.
5. Fold in enough chocolate chips to satisfy your chocolate fix.
6. Spread the dough in the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with butterscotch chips.
7. Bake at 350° for about 35 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool before cutting.

Results
These are pretty good and did satisfy my craving for baked goods. The flavor is a little weird with chocolate and the pumpkin pie spices. The butterscotch flavor works well with the pumpkin.

Discussion
These bars are OK as is, but could be better. Because the pumpkin pie spices didn't work with chocolate but the butterscotch went well with the bars as a whole, I can see taking this recipe in two completely different directions. Option 1: Omit the pumpkin pie spices all together and increase the amount of butterscotch chips (add some to the dough). Option 2: Increase the pumpkin pie spices and swap the chocolate chips for butterscotch chips.

In the end, I wished I had just made normal chocolate chip cookie bars. But, all is not lost, because I have ideas for how to improve the recipe. I'll be sure to update if I try them again to improve the recipe. What would be even better is if I could convince a friend to try improving it and letting me be the taste tester!

Supplementary Materials

Zucchini Butterscotch Blondies

On Labor Day, we saw the sun for the first time over the holiday weekend. It was a welcome relief from the dreary clouds and hurricane rains that made their way up to St. Louis from the Gulf. I was happy to get outside and enjoy the evening at a Labor Day BBQ. We had carne asada and steak on the grill with egg salad, potato salad, a bunch of other salads, chocolate chip cookies and Zucchini Butterscotch Blondies.

I mentioned these zucchini blondies in my Chocolate Zucchini Cake post. I tried to make a version that was less cake-like and more cookie-like. I also reduced the sugar, because the original recipe from Domino Sugar was so sweet it burned on the way down. The butterscotch chips are what give these blondies their characteristic flavor. If you don't like butterscotch, skip the butterscotch chips and increase the amount of chocolate chips. I was pleased with the results: they weren't too sweet or too cake-like. The other party goers must have liked them too, because they quickly devoured the whole pan.

Materials
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar*
1/2 cup white sugar*
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 zucchini, freshly grated (1 small-medium zucchini)
1/3 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips
*Note: this makes a very sweet blondie. Feel free to cut back to 3/4 cup total sugar.

Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish.
2. Beat butter, brown sugar, white sugar, egg and vanilla.
3. Sift in flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat until just incorporated.
4. Stir in the grated zucchini, half of the butterscotch chips, and half of the chocolate chips.
5. Spread the batter evenly in the 8x8 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining butterscotch chips and chocolate chips.
6. Bake 30 minutes. Cool completely before slicing.

A Summer Must-Have: Chocolate Zucchini Cake

In my opinion, no food is as summery as zucchini. For those who grow zucchini in their gardens, they have be creative to use up the amount of squash they harvest, share it with friends, or freeze it. Growing up, my next-door-neighbors planted a vegetable garden  and left my mom in charge of tending it while they vacationed each summer. Each year they vacationed more and more, to the point where they started spending the entire summer away. That meant our family ate a lot of zucchini while they were gone!

My first memory of zucchini is a dish my mom made many years ago. We were at my grandma's house. I think it was right after my grandma moved from "The House on Monica Lane" to her condo. For dinner, she sautéed chicken breasts with onions and zucchini slices, added diced tomatoes and let it simmer. Before serving it, she sprinkled parmesan cheese over the top and covered the pan until the cheese melted. It was incredibly delicious and became a Mapes family staple. While we all liked the recipe, we couldn't rely on it as the sole meal for using up zucchini. My mom also made chocolate zucchini cake and butterscotch blondies with zucchini. I remember being skeptical and pleasantly surprised by both. The following summer, I started making chocolate zucchini cake a yearly tradition. I think I even made it for my birthday cake one year. 

Last week I made zucchini butterscotch blondies. I'm going to play around with it a little bit and I'll share it if I can make the blondies more cookie-like and less cake-like. In the mean time, I decided to make chocolate zucchini cake. I didn't want to use the recipe from my youth because it has cinnamon in it and I'm not crazy about cinnamon in baked goods (except in cinnamon rolls). After a lot of Google image searching, I decided to make a recipe from The Cutting Edge of Ordinary because I liked the look of the crumb. I made my version in a smaller pan, reduced the sugar an increased the zucchini. I was thrilled with the results! Saturday morning couldn't have been much better spent, eating chocolate zucchini cake and rescuing this adorable baby bunny who got stuck in a hole outside of my apartment:

Objective

Find a new recipe for chocolate zucchini cake that doesn't use cinnamon.

Materials

1 cup + 2 tablespoons flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup granulated sugar

4 Tablespoons butter, softened

1/4 cup olive oil

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup milk (or buttermilk, if you have it on hand)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 1/4 cup zucchini, grated (about 1 medium zucchini)

3/4 cup chocolate chips (I prefer semi-sweet)

Methods

1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Grease an 8x8" dish and set aside.

2. Stir together the milk and lemon juice. Set aside. *Omit this step if you have buttermilk, but it's not worth buying a container specifically for this recipe since it only requires 1/4 cup.

3. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into a small/medium sized bowl. Set aside.

4. Beat sugar, butter and olive oil until well-mixed.

5. Beat in the egg and vanilla.

6. Alternatively add the sifted dry ingredients and the milk/buttermilk in three separate additions.

7. Fold in the zucchini and about half of the chocolate chips.

8. Pour into the prepared 8x8" dish. Smooth the top and sprinkle with the remaining chocolate chips (if you don't think there are enough on top, add more).

9. Bake at 325° for 45-50 minutes or until the top springs back when pressed lightly/a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

10. Cool completely before covering. **I know it's hard, but if you can, wait 24-48 hours before cutting into the cake. The zucchini will release moisture over time, and the cake will be perfectly moist at around 48 hours. It's worth the wait, I promise!

Results

Delicious as is. Needs no frosting or ice cream on the side. I made it Thursday night, tried it Friday night but found that it was even better on Saturday. Incredibly moist and delicious. The moisture helped the chocolate chips stay soft, which improved the texture of the cake.

Discussion and Future Directions

This will be my go-to chocolate zucchini cake recipe from here on out (unless my mom specifically requests her recipe)! If I doubled this recipe and baked the cake in a 9x13, I would omit at least 1/4 cup of the sugar, but omitting even more would be ok. Reducing the sugar helps make it more of a snack cake, rather than a dessert. I promise it's a good idea because there is no way you won't keep going back to the kitchen for "just one more little piece." Plus, it has vegetables in it, so it's healthy, right? Next time you have zucchini, give it a try!

Supplementary Materials

More bunny pictures because he's just so adorable!!

Triple Nut Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Objective
Make chocolate chip cookies with almonds. One of my favorite ways to get to know people is the either/or game. Pancakes or waffles? Chocolate or vanilla? Day or night? History museum or science museum? Ostrich or emu? Nuts or no nuts? Sunrise or sunset? Cake or cookies? Half windsor or bow tie? For important questions, I ask them to elaborate. That's how I learned that one of my college friend's favorite cookies were his mom's chocolate chip and almond cookies. You can put almonds in cookies? Yes! This has been on my to-do list since 2007.

So why am I finally getting around to making them? Blue Bell's Moo-llenium Crunch ice cream. On a recent trip to Houston, my traitorous self ate Texan ice cream (and I loved it). Their ice cream isn't as rich as many are, which is good. If ice cream is too rich, I feel sick after just a few bites. The flavor was roasted pecans, almonds and walnuts with chocolate and caramel in vanilla ice cream. Three kinds of nuts? We would have been nuts not to try it! Eventually, I'd like to try making my own ice cream mimic, but in the meantime, I can settle for ice cream sandwiches on a hot day!

Materials
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened or melted (I do a combination, mostly melted)
3/4 cup dark brown sugar (light brown sugar would work, but I wanted them more caramely)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/2 cup whole almonds
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips, chopped into small chunks
1/2 cup chopped rolos (optional)
vanilla ice cream

Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 375°.
2. Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
3. Add vanilla and beat in eggs, one at a time.
4. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt then slowly beat into the batter.
5. Stir in the nuts and chocolate. *At this point, you can bake right away or chill the dough a little before rolling into balls and baking, which will help them be perfect circles. Your choice. But, if you're using Rolos, I recommend chilling the dough first.
6. Drop 1" (or smaller) balls  onto a parchment line baking sheet, greased baking sheet or pre-seasoned baking stone.
7. Bake 10-12 minutes until the edges begin to brown but the center is still doughy. Wait 3-5 minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire sheet to cool completely.
8. Dollop vanilla ice cream on a cookie, smush one on top and serve as ice cream sandwiches.

Results
Why haven't  I thought of this before? These are delicious! The cookies are soft, which is important when you're biting through two layers plus ice cream. The combination of nuts works well with the chocolate and the cookies are very chunky.

Discussion and Future Directions
I love chocolate chip cookies. I love chocolate chip cookies with walnuts. I love chocolate chip cookies without chocolate chips (when I was a kid, I didn't like chocolate and would make separate chocolate-free cookies). Turns out, I love chocolate chip cookies with pecans, almonds and walnuts even more. My mom came home, tried a cookie and decided they were the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever made. That could be because I don't live at home anymore and she doesn't get them often, but I think it's because they're really that good!

These are a soft, chewy cookie. If you like them crisp, overbake them and they will have a nice crunch. These are delicious alone, but better with ice cream. Toasting the nuts isn't required, but people with more sensitive palates than me say it's a must. Throw them in the oven at 250° and bake 5-8 minutes (stirring every few minutes) or until the nuts are fragrant. It doesn't add much time. The rolls were my way of adding caramel to the recipe, but using dark brown sugar helps add a caramely flavor. I would probably leave the Rolos out next time just because they are a little messy and force you to scrape the baking sheet clean. Parchment paper would be a great way to make cleanup easy if you do want to use Rolos. I made the first batch of cookies without them and they were equally delicious.

Few things remind me of summer break quite as much as ice cream treats (not to mention the ice cream truck). Ice cream sandwiches were always a favorite. These ice cream sandwiches are homemade and a little more adult. That doesn't mean they aren't as good. In fact, I think they're better!

Supplementary Materials

Art of Dessert's Chocolate Wasted Cake (Review)

Few things give me as much pleasure as the opportunity to bake for a special occasion. Most recently, I had two friends graduate from Washington University School of Medicine with their MDs. The evening before graduation, I asked one of the graduates (Kristen) to tell me her favorite dessert flavor. Her eyes got big, and without hesitation, she responded "Chocolate." I next asked her what flavor would be her favorite if it was a fruity dessert. "Chocolate. But if it's fruit to go with chocolate, then raspberry." I responded, "So you really like chocolate?" Again, with big eyes, she responded "Yes! I even love chocolate with my chocolate." With that, I knew the only suitable cake to bake for her graduation BBQ was a chocolatey masterpiece I'd had in the back of my mind since I first saw it.

Objective
Make the chocolatey masterpiece found on Art of Dessert called Chocolate Wasted Cake.

Review
I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous about this recipe. I was worried that it was too good to be true. Rianne's pictures of the cake are absolutely beautiful. Could I throw together candy and drizzle chocolate all over it and end up with something presentable? Or, would it look like a 5 year-old decorated it? In spite of my fear, Kristen had made it clear that the only thing that would satisfy her was chocolate, and preferably, chocolate with her chocolate. What choice did I have?

Cake
Before embarking on the Chocolate Wasted Cake journey, I read through the recipe. This is something I rarely do, but decided that with this cake, it would be unwise to start without a game plan. I quickly noted that the wet ingredients in the cake were milk, butter and honey. No eggs? Hmm. This seemed odd. I quickly scrolled down the page to the comments, where I found dichotomous reviews. Of those who actually made the recipe and weren't just commenting on looks, people either loved the cake or hated it. One comment even talked about being an experienced baker of 40 years and throwing this yucky cake in the trash. I decided not to let a few naysayers deter me from making what could be a chocolate lover's dream.

I have to admit, I didn't make the batter. It was sometime around midnight and I felt rushed to get the cake in the oven so I wouldn't be up all night waiting for it to cool. I was fortunate enough to have a lovely assistant who did most of the footwork. I don't actually remember what I was doing while he measured and poured and manned Betty (I think my Kitchen Aid is going to be called Betty. I'm hesitant to commit, because I also kind of like Debbie. I may be biased, but I love names with double letters that end in 'y's, which is probably why Betty has more favor than Debbie. Kitty was also in the running, but I got pooh-poohed because Kitty is apparently a name better suited for a cat).

Anyhow, I had very little trouble making the cake. I divided the batter between three 9-inch cake pans, that I sprayed with oil and floured. I should have let the cake pans cool to the touch before flipping the cakes onto a rack to cool (but let's be real, it was well after 1 a.m. at this point and I surely wasn't going to wait any longer than I had to). Additionally, it might have been worth cutting out circles of parchment paper to line the pans, as that's never a bad idea for easy removal and cleanup.

An important consideration for anyone making this cake, is, do you like cake? For me, the answer is no. This is unfortunate because cakes are fun to decorate and are ideal for events and celebrations (I seek out events that are appropriate for me to bring a themed cake). I think I finally realized that what I dislike about cake is the texture. It's light, airy and spongy. I'm a brownie girl. Dense, moist and fudgy are in my vocabulary. With that in mind, I loved this cake. That tells you that if you like a nice moist, airy cake, then this isn't the recipe for you. Go ahead and make chocolate sponge cake layers and then proceed with this recipe, or use whatever chocolate cake recipe you know you like.

Frosting
The following morning, I stayed home from work to finish the cake for the graduation BBQ that night. My lovely assistant quickly got to work on the frosting. Two words: Incredibly Delicious (um, in reference to the frosting). As he was licking off his fingers, the guy who doesn't like chocolate admitted that the frosting was delicious. It was light and very creamy. I used Ghirardelli cocoa powder and was quite pleased with the result. I plan to use this frosting again for other instances when I want chocolate frosting that isn't thick and fudgy buttercream.

Assembly
This was another "Abby-style" recipe. I had intended to drizzle the cake layers with amaretto, but blatantly forgot. Instead I slathered frosting between the layers and frosted the top and sides. We discussed the possibility of lifting up the layers and trying to add the liquor, but decided against it. It was already messy enough with cake crumbs mixed in with the frosting in the center, I didn't want crumbs all over the outside too. However, the wonderful part about frosting this cake is that it doesn't have to look pretty because it's going to be covered anyway!

That's when the real fun began! I started by mixing  bag of Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips (they are larger than semi-sweet) and a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips. At first I was trying to put them on piece by piece, but quickly discovered the quickest way was to pat a handful of chocolate chips onto the side. The not-so-wonderful part about decorating this cake is unwrapping all of the candy (and again, my lovely assistant gets a huge thank you for doing the legwork). We used Whoppers, Kit Kat bars, Twix and Hershey's Milk Chocolate Kisses. We arranged the candy on top, trying to fit as much as possible. I ended up slathering the bottom of the Kisses with frosting to stick them to the top of other candies.

Finally, I used a fork to drizzle the top with a criss-cross pattern of melted chocolate, then poured the rest of the melted chocolate along the edge so that it would drip down the sides. I poured the chocolate from the measuring cup I used to melt it, but it might have been a better idea to pipe it onto the edge from the corner of a plastic bag. The drizzle down the sides was the only part I was disappointed with (the spout from my measuring cup was too wide). We put the cake in the fridge so that the chocolate could harden, and I headed to lab for the day.

Discussion and Future Directions
While my version didn't look quite as beautiful as Rianne's on Art of Dessert, it was definitely presentable. Everyone who saw it quickly gave it a "Wow!" It was a challenging cake to cut, but a long knife did the trick. Everyone who tried the cake complimented it. It seemed like people were hesitant to try it, but once they did, they enjoyed it (more than they thought they would). My favorite bites were those with cake, frosting and Twix. I liked it all, but next time, I'd add more Twix to the top and leave off the Kit Kat bars (they got a little soggy--maybe because we split them in half and it was a little humid outside). The combination of chocolate and caramel was incredible. You could use whatever candies you like best, I certainly picked my favorite!

One of the final steps of cooking is storage. I stored the leftover cake in the cake caddy in the fridge overnight. The next day, I caught my lovely assistant (a proclaimed chocolate and cake hater) munching on the leftovers. He hadn't tried the cake at the party and was surprised by how delicious it was. He said that it reminded him of brownies instead of cake. I agree, which, along with the ridiculous candy coating, puts this cake at the top of my list of decadent cakes (plus it's a lot of fun to make and decorate)!

Supplementary Materials

Photo by Nathan Kung

Ruby Cake with Raspberry and Chocolate Filling

Objective
To bake a cake to serve to one of my best friends, Kayla. I am home for the holidays and trying to catch up with my friends who are still in Madison. Due to a cold, I had to cancel my original date with Kayla, who had requested "coffee cake with the crumbly topping." To make up for it, I decided to make a more luxurious cake than your ordinary cinnamon coffee cake, and adapted the recipe for "Ruby Cake" from Sarabeth's Bakery: From My Hands to Yours. The original recipe without modifications can be found here. I've always been afraid of recipes that use jams or preserves because I never enjoyed them on toast. This was my first experience using jam in baking.

Hypothesis: The raspberry jam filling will be disappointing and I will wish I had used a recipe with fresh raspberries.

Materials
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
2 1/4 cups superfine sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cup light sour cream
1/4 cup half-and-half

1/2 cup raspberry jam
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a bundt pan or fluted tube pan.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and set aside.
3. Cream the butter on medium speed until smooth. Slowly add in the sugar followed by the vanilla and continue to beat until it is light in color and texture. Slowly add the eggs and mix until fully incorporated. 
4. Turn to low speed and alternatively add the flour and sour cream in three additions. With the last addition of sour cream, add the half-and-half. Continue mixing until combined.
5. Put half of the batter in a large plastic bag. Cut one of the corners and pipe the batter into a thick ring in the bottom of the pan, followed by a small and large ring along the inner and outer rings of the pan. This should make a furrow for the filling. If it doesn't seem deep enough, use a spoon to make it larger.
6. If the jam is smooth, spoon it evenly into the furrow. If the jam is thick, put the jam into a plastic bag and trim the corner off. Pipe the jam into the furrow created by the batter. Squeezing the jam out of the bag will help to soften it. Make sure that the jam is contained within the batter and that none of the jam touches the pan.
7. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the jam.
8. Spoon the remaining batter over the top of the filling. Gently smooth the batter to form an even layer and completely seal the filling into the batter. Use a knife to gently swirl the filling through the cake (or don't).
9. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 60-75 minutes, or until the top is golden and a toothpick comes clean out of the center of the cake.
10. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then flip onto a rack to cool completely.
11. Sprinkle with powdered sugar prior to slicing and serving.

Results
The cake is moist and delicious. The buttery flavor shines through and the raspberry and chocolate help cut the richness of the cake.

Discussion and Future Directions
This cake was so delicious that after my original coffee date, I invited my next-door-neighbor over for cake and coffee! When Kayla requested a coffee cake with streusel topping and berries, I stumbled upon this recipe for Almond Berry Coffee Cake. However, since I had borrowed a copy of Sarabeth's Bakery cookbook from the library, I opted for her recipe. Next time, it would be fun to try Sarabeth's batter with blackberry jam and raspberries for filling and a streusel top instead of raspberry jam and chocolate filling.

Contrary to my hypothesis, I was pleasantly surprised by the raspberry filling. I did not find myself wishing that I'd used fresh raspberries instead of jam. Chocolate and raspberries are a match made in heaven. The smooth, creamy filling created by the jam and chocolate was quite lovely in a dense, rich cake such as this one. The raspberry flavor was almost refreshing. The jam I used was Koepsel's Seedless Red Raspberry Jam from Door County, Wisconsin. I recommend using seedless jam because biting into raspberry seeds would ruin the textural experience.

The original recipe called for full-fat sour cream, which I never buy. Since I didn't want to go to the grocery store, I substituted low-fat sour cream but reduced the amount slightly and added half-and-half to increase the fat content in the cake. The cake was rich and moist enough that simply adding 1 1/2 cups of low-fat sour cream would have been just fine for those counting calories (this is sort of a joke as I would never make this dessert for anyone who is dieting).

The butter flavor and the filling are what makes this cake delicious. The outside of the cake formed a thin, dark crust that was tasty, but as I'm not a "crust person," I was smitten with the cakey center. It would be fun to experiment with new fillings. However, I wouldn't experiment much with the batter because I know it's delicious and if I try to fix what isn't broken I might end up with something I don't like as well. This is a great recipe. While it is very rich, it is perfect for breakfast. I recommend calling up your best friend and inviting him or her over for coffee and this delicious "Ruby Cake." It is sure to please!