What the...

I have no idea why the pics on my last post are all messed up. I'll fix them later! Stupid photobucket!

TWD: Chocolate-Chocolate Cupcakes

The TWD recipe for this week was selected by Clara of I *heart* Food for Thought. I must first just say...Clara...Thank You Thank You Thank You!!! I LOVED this recipe! The cupcakes tasted amazing and this was an A+ recipe!

Many TWDers said they had a problem with the cupcakes being a bit too dry, so knowing that, I cut a few minutes off the baking time. The recipe (which you can find here on Clara's blog) says to bake the cupcakes for 22-25 minutes. I set the timer for 18 minutes and they were perfect.

One of my favorite things about Baking From my Home to Yours is the fact that several of Dorie's recipes include a "Playing Around" section which gives you ideas on fun ways to change up the recipes. For this recipe, Dorie suggested adding marshmellow fluff to the center of the cupcakes. I did this using a pastry bag and a large tip.

I decided to forego the glaze on top of the cupcakes as Dorie's recipe calls for, and instead attempted to make a whipped ganache which I saw on another of my favorite blogs, Tartelette. Unfortunately, the whipped ganache did not quite turn out as I expected. The recipe is simple enough, heavy cream and chocolate. How hard could it be, right? Well, it just never seemed to come together and all I ended up with was a chocolate whipped cream. It never seemed to thicken up or get stiff as I expected it to and was much too runny to use as a frosting. So I decided to add some powdered sugar to attempt to salvage this concoction. After about 6 CUPS of powdered sugar, I had something close to a frosting consistency, and it tasted pretty good, so I just went ahead and used it. It seemed to be a big hit, so I guess it was a success of sorts, but wasn't quite what I had hoped it would be.

These cupcakes were still delicious nonetheless and I think this will be my go-to recipe for the cupcake portion. I would like to make them again and try the glaze as Dorie suggests because I am sure it is a perfect combination.

TWD: Pumpkin Muffins

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, Pumpkin Muffins, was selected by Kelly of Sounding My Barbaric Gulp! You can find the full recipe on Kelly's blog here.

I must say, I am not a pumpkin fan at.all. Not.at.all. I never eat pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, much to the dimay of my mother in law who was rather disappointed last year when I didn't even touch the pie she made for dessert. But my husband really enjoys pumpkin, so this was again going to be a recipe that I made just to send to work with him. His co-workers are really starting to love me!

This recipe came together very nicely. I did try a bite of the muffins and thought that the pumpkin flavor was actually very subtle and the texture of the muffins was very moist. I omitted the raisins as my husband hates raisins and would never forgive me if I actually used them in this recipe. Several TWD's added chocolate chips of white chocolate chips to this recipe. If I were to make these muffins again, I think I would try adding the white chocolate chips to kick them up a notch.

Also, several TWD's noted that the baking time on these muffins was a few minutes less than actually listed in the book. I found that to be true as well. The book says to bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. I set the timer for 20 minutes and actually checked them after about 17 minutes and they were perfectly done.

I mistakenly thought that I had cupcake liners in the pantry, and when I couldn't find them I got a little worried. But I bought Baker's Joy spray recently and just used that instead. The muffins popped right out of the pan when they were done. If you haven't tried this stuff, give it a shot. My muffins didn't stick at all and it's much less messy than buttering the pan.

TWD: Lenox Almond Biscotti

This week's TWD, Lenox Almond Biscotti, was selected by Gretchen of Canela & Comino. I've made biscotti a few times in the past, and while it was ok, I've never been much of a fan of how hard and dry biscotti can be. I like moist and chewy cookies, so this was definitely going to be a recipe to take to work and share with others, unlike the Malted Chocolate Whopper Drops from a few weeks ago which I ate tons of while sitting on the couch watching tv! Don't judge, they were good and totally worth it!

But I did decide that these biscotti needed to be "jazzed" up a bit, so I added in white chocolate chips, dried cranberries and dried cherries. The addition of cornmeal to this recipe was a bit surprising, I was skeptical, but I used it anyway. Many TWDers said they didn't like the cormeal, that it made the biscotti kind of gritty, and I have to agree. If I were to make this recipe again, I would leave out the cornmeal.

The bake time seems very short for these biscotti, only 15 minutes each time you bake them (biscotti are basically twice baked cookies). Maybe I should have baked them longer, but I sort of liked that they were not rock hard as most biscotti I have tried before tend to be.

While this wasn't my most favorite TWD recipe, I did enjoy it. With the additional of the white chocolate chips, and dried cranberries and cherries, this reminded me of the perfect cookie for Christmas time.

Where have I been!?!

It seems like forever since I have updated this blog! And it has been, my last post was nearly a month ago. But I promise to be back at it soon. Especially with the TWD updates. I made the Chocolate Chunkers from a few weeks back and they were heavenly! I added dried cherries to some and cransins to the rest and they were delish.

The plums I bought to use for the Dimply Plum Cake are shriveled up and becoming pruney in my fridge...gross I know! And the new ramekins and kitchen torch I bought to make the Creme Brulee are still sitting in the box on top of my counter. I must make the Creme Brulee because it is my husband's favorite dessert and the last time I attempted it was years ago and it was quite the disaster so I know with Dorie's help it will be better this time around!

Life has just gotten in the way of my kitchen adventures during the past couple of weeks, but hopefully things are on the right track and I can get back to baking!

TWD: Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was selected by Rachel of Confessions of a Tangerine Tart. You can find the full recipe for these delicious cookies on Rachel's blog here.

All I have to say about this recipe is mmmmmm mmmmm mmm mmmmmm mmm!!! These cookies were sooo good I made them twice in one week. My husband absolutely loved them and after the first batch was gone from both of us devouring several and taking some to work, he asked me if I would make a second batch a few days later. We both took more to work, but kept a nice little container full of cookies at home to enjoy this week as well.

Several TWD'ers said they used vanilla or plain malted milk powder for this recipe. When I was reading the recipe and it suggested using Ovaltine malted milk, I just assumed it meant the chocolate flavor as that is all I am familiar with anyway. These were super chocolately cookies, but that just made them better in my opinion.
And as many other TWD'ers reported, the Whoppers sort of melt and carmelize when baked if they are too small. I used a food processor to chop the Whoppers, which really just pulverized most of them, but I made sure during the second batch to leave some just chopped in half so there would be a little more of a crunch to the cookie. I also baked the second batch a little longer, about 14 minutes total, and it helped them to hold up better but remain moist and chewy.

I've been part of TWD for a few months now and have made several recipes. The chocolate pudding I think is still my favorite recipe to date, but these cookies are a very close second. They are super delicious and will definitely become one of my favorite go-to cookie recipes.

TWD: Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters

This week's TWD, Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters, was selected by Stefany of Proceed with Caution. You can find the full recipe by clicking the link to Stefany's blog.

This is the TWD recipe I have been waiting for! A chocolatey, yummy, mmm mmm good cookie!! I love oatmeal cookies. I love peanut butter cookies. I LOVE chocolate cookies. Combine them all together and you have the most.perfect.cookie.ever!

This recipe came together very easily and most of the ingredients are things that everyone has on hand in the pantry on a regular basis as is, so it's a great recipe to just throw together at the last minute. The recipe suggests to let the batter chill in the fridge for about 2 hours before baking, however, I found it easier to just make the cookies right after mixing the batter together. I always use a small ice cream scooper to form my cookies so that they are all uniform in size and bake evenly. I also always bake my cookies on parchment paper and they come out perfectly everytime.

This will definitely become one of my go to cookie recipes. The combination of flavors is wonderful. I thought the cinnamon would be weird with the peanut butter and chocolate, but it had a great flavor and was just enough to be noticable without overpowering.

Another winning Dorie recipe! I can't wait to make everything from Dorie's book. So far, everything has een great. Better than great really, absolutely devine!