.:RECIPE O' THE MONTH ... Now FOR SALE!

Oh. My. God. You all NEED to buy these buckeye brownies, simply to save me from eating them all myself. A.MAZING.


I chose a peanut-butter-y, chocolate-y recipe this month in honor of the Ohio State Buckeyes because I do live in Columbus, and Columbus does go bazeerk in the fall for the O-H-I-O.

I was trying to channel the (edible) buckeye flavor in a non-buckeye form, so I searched for an awesome pb brownie recipe and dipped them in a candied chocolate. They are BETTER than any buckeye, they are more like a Reeses/Buckeye Brownie blend.


Wanna see some pics??

The candied chocolate is actually different from a regular chocolate coating. At first, I tried dipping these in chocolate genache, thinking to myself "This is going to be amazing!". Wrong. The chocolate genache didn't harden like I wanted, and it tasted too... bittersweet. So, instead I tried actual 'Candied Chocolate' at my local grocery store which I've never used before. Wasn't sure what the difference would be, but it does in fact closely resemble the chocolate coating of a candy bar. (Lesson of the day: There's a distinct, appreciated difference between candied chocolate coating and reg. melted chocolate.)

.:RECIPE:.

(Serves ~16)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/3 cup margarine, softened
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 lb. Candied Chocolate (Found at local grocery in the baking isle).

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C ). Grease a 9x9 inch baking pan.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together peanut butter and margarine. Gradually blend in the brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, and vanilla; mix until fluffy. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the peanut butter mixture until well blended.
3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in preheated oven, or until the top springs back when touched. Cool, and cut into 16 squares.
4. ONCE COOLED, cut the brownies into bite-size pieces. Melt the candied chocolate according to directions.
5. Dip brownies completely in candied chocolate (a small but deep bowl is best). Set on cooling rack to dry. **NOTE: Put something below cooling rack to collect chocolate drips. Reheat chocolate as needed to keep working with it.
6. Dipped brownies set in approx. 20 minutes

Another note: I've also decided to start selling my Recipe-Of-The-Month sweets! Every month, I will have a non-cake item that is equally delicious, packaged and ready for you. I figure that if I'm going to bake anyway, why not share the love??

These Buckeye Brownies are now selling $15/dozen. They come in a combination of painted Block O's and striped red and white. Set in the containers above and wrapped for preservation. You can pick them up, unwrap them and they're ready to serve!

Want a larger order more Buckeye Sweet Treats?? 

Just Drop me a line !

These would be an AWESOME addition to any football gathering. Much better than traditional buckeyes anyway.

Want to view the full recipe?? Expect it tomorrow in the Recipe Box!

.:RECIPE o' THE MONTH:.

So sorry to get this out a little late this month! I've been busy! Four orders in one week last week and an Engagement the week before. :) That's enough to keep a girl runnin' around! Finally this week I had some down time and it felt similar to vacation. I barely knew what to do with myself! So, I began baking... naturally.


Last month I purchased the infamous and amazing book, 
Whoopie Pies...

It's so perfect, I love it. As some of you may know, I also do illustration so the STYLE of the book is right up my alley with it's cute "hand written", illustrative elements. Finally this week I got to crack it open and pick a recipe for the first time... what to make... what to make...??

I always go straight for the chocolate/carmel/toffee recipe so in an effort to branch out (slightly), I opted for the Tiramisu Whoopie Pie Recipe. Mmmm MMmmm! It really did taste JUST like a tiramisu! How fun! 

My *only* issues with this recipe was that the whoopie pies say to bake only ONE cookie sheet at a time and they take 15 minutes to bake. That's so inefficient! I followed it exactly however in hopes to not screw anything up my first go-around. But I ended up baking off like 35 whoopie pies and only 6 or so fit comfortably on one cookie sheet. So - this by far was the slowest part of the process.

Also, this recipe calls for salted carmel, made from scratch... which I have never done... it tasted great and I'm still proud of my accomplishments, however - it's end texture was that of a taffy so it was a little hard to just bite into the whoopie pie.

Also - I'm sorry but these photos are all from my phone camera! My 'real' camera was out of batteries. sad face.

So, enough of my notes now here are some pics and the recipe. Enjoy!!

TIRAMISU WHOOPIE PIES

Preheat oven to 375º. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

.:INGREDIENTS:.

• Marbled Whoopie (a.k.a.1 Vanilla Whoopie Pie Recipe and 1 Chocolate Whoopie Pie Recipe swirled together)
• Tiramisu Cream Filling (doubled)
• Salted Carmel Slather
• Dusted edges with cocoa powder

VANILLA WHOOPIE PIE RECIPE

.:INGREDIENTS:.

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 Tbs. unsalted butter - room temp.
• 4 Tbs. vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (packed) brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 Tbs milk
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. white vinegar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

.:PUT IT ALL TOGETHER NOW:.

• Sift together flour, baking powder and salt - set aside
• In a mixing bowl, beat together butter, shortening and both sugars until light and creamy (about 3 mins.)
• Add eggs and buttermilk to butter/sugar mix, beat until creamed.
• In a measuring cup, combine milk, baking soda and vinegar.
• Add milk mixture to the batter along with flour mixture and beat on low until just combined.
• Add the vanilla and beat on medium until combined (about 2 mins.)
• Set aside in seperate bowl. Wait to mix with chocolate whoopie pie recipe.

CHOCOLATE WHOOPIE PIE RECIPE

.:INGREDIENTS:.

• 1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 Tbs. unsalted butter - room temp.
• 4 Tbs. vegetable shortening
• 1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk

.:PUT IT ALL TOGETHER NOW:.

• Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside
• In a mixing bowl, beat together butter, shortening and brown sugar on low until combined.
• Increase speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Beat another 2 minutes.
• Add half the flour mixture and half of the milk to the sugar/butter mixture. Beat until just combined.
• Add the remaining flour and milk. Beat until completely combined.

NOW COMBINE THE CHOCOLATE AND VANILLA RECIPES!

•  Swirl together the chocolate and vanilla recipes - but do not thoroughly blend!
• Using a spoon or a 2 Tbs. ice cream scoop, drop batter onto parchment sheets roughly two inches apart. *They will spread to be about 4 inches wide!*
• Bake one sheet at a time, on a rack in the center of the oven, for 15 minutes. (Insert image of me impatiently tapping my foot...)
• Remove, let cool for 5 minutes before transferring them.

.:TIRAMISU CREAM FILLING:.

.: INGREDIENTS:. 

• 6 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup mascarpone cheese - room temp.
• 1 stick unsalted butter - room temp
• 2 Tbs. espresso or strong brewed coffee, or 1 tsp. instant espresso powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tsp. rum

.: PUT IT ALL TOGETHER NOW:.

• In a mixing bowl, beat together the mascarpone cheese and butter. 
• Add sugar, beat on low until combined. Then beat on medium. Beat until light and fluffy (about 3 mins.)
• Add espresso, vanilla and rum. Beat until combined

SALTED CARMEL

.:INGREDIENTS:.

• 1 cup sugar
• 4 Tbs. water
• 4 Tbs. heavy whipping cream
• Coarse sea salt

.:PUT IT ALL TOGETHER NOW:.

• Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves, swirling the sauce pan gently (do not stir).
• Allow mixture to darken to a deep amber color (about 5 mins.)
• Remove from heat, whisk in whipping cream. Be careful - the cream will sputter and bubble when added. Whisk until blended, then let cool (about 10 minutes). 
• Add sea salt

FINAL ASSEMBLY!

First comes the whoopie, 

then comes tiramisu cream. 

Then comes the carmel,

to make a salty and sweet team!

(There was no pretty way to put on the carmel. If you know of one, please... let me know)

And Viola! Jumbo Tiramisu Whoopie Pies! 

New Addition To The Recipe Box!

I love vanilla ice cream maybe even more than I love cake. It might just top as my favorite sweet treat. So, when I found this recipe - also dubbed "Vanilla Ice-Cream Frosting" - I jumped all over it. *YUM*


Originally posted on the Cupcake Project's blog, I came across it when reading about these Root Beer Float cupcakes from Cupcake Crazy Gem  (genius!):

The secret to this recipe?? It's all about the Vanilla Bean PASTE.

Vanilla Bean Paste is actually more of a syrup. It is much stronger than vanilla extract... and a bit more expensive... but you can really taste the difference! 

If you use vanilla beans, the downside there is that they can dry up. Vanilla bean paste lasts foreva. 

One tablespoon of vanilla bean paste is equal to one whole vanilla bean. Each four ounce jar contains 12 tablespoons of paste. Vanilla beans cost around $3 each (you do the math!).

If you want to purchase some of this goodness, word on the street is that you can find it at William-Sonoma and Sur la Table. However, you can also purchase it instantly here.

You can use vanilla bean paste in place of vanilla extract in any recipe, at any time. So, try it out! Let me know what cool cake flavor combos you use with it!

Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting Recipe
.:The Goods:.

• 1 1/2 C confectioners' sugar (add more until it reaches your preferred consistency)
• 1/2 C butter (room temperature)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (add more to taste)
• 1 tablespoon milk

.:Put it all together:.

Mix together sugar and butter until they are blended and creamy. Add vanilla bean paste and milk and continue to beat for another minute. If desired, add more vanilla bean paste to taste, or more confectioners' sugar to make it stiffer.