Strawberry Cupcakes and Why My Dad Thinks I'll Never Get Married

My dad often says that no guy will ever marry me. Why is that you ask? Because, I'm "not feminine enough". In some ways, I'd have to agree. I mean, I'm feminine in some ways - I love wearing dresses, I only wear high heels and I love makeup. So on the outside, I am very girly. But on the inside, I guess I am a lot more of a guy than you would think.So here are the reasons why I cannot attract a man (mostly according to my dad):

1) I love to eat. That's no secret. And I'm definitely not the type to order a soup and salad on a date. Hell No! When I eat, I really eat. I'm not dainty and I don't censor my habits around anyone - despite how cute they may be. My dad often yells at me and says that eating too much food will scare the boys away. I just laugh and stick out my tongue like a five year old. Its a ritual we've developed at the dinner table. My dad is very old fashioned, if you can't already tell. He thinks girls are supposed to be very quiet and obedient. That's how my mom was. He said that when they were dating, she never ate like I did and was very pleasant and shy. I'm sorry daddy but I can't be like mom.

2) I love action movies - the bloodier the better. I do enjoy romantic comedies and sappy love stories once in a while - but sometimes its just too much cheese for me, ya'kno? I've taken a liking to gangster films and old kung fu movies, which aren't very girly but who cares? I'd rather watch The Godfather then sit through the horrible acting that makes up Twilight.

3) I love to drink. I don't drink all the time, but when I do, I drink a lot and it takes a lot to get me drunk. I think I've only been completely wasted one time - and I never want to feel like that again. I can out-drink a lot of my guy friends and beat them at beer pong at the same time.

4)And the final thing that makes me such a guy and not the marrying type? My dating history. But that's a story for another time:)

Don't f*ck with me in the kitchen or I'll mess you up (according to my apron courtesy of Derrick)

My femininity is expressed in my baking. My friends say I'd make the perfect housewife when they come over and are greeted by the sight of me in a flowery apron with heels on and a plate of cookies in my hand. But like I said, I'm only feminine on the outside. I've learned to accept this and I've realized that I'm not going to change the way I act or think just to land me a husband, or more appropriately a boyfriend at this age. I am who I am and if you don't like it, I will gladly show you to the door:)

These girls know what a total guy I can be

These strawberry cupcakes are the picture of girliness. The cake base is soft shade of pink and the frosting is pale pink with specks of red from the strawberry puree. You can top it off with girly pink sprinkles too or a halved strawberry like I did. Serve these to your friends and they'll never suspect how un-feminine you actually are:)

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from Sky High Cakes by Alisa Huntsman
*This recipe yields a lot of cupcakes - maybe 36 OR a triple layer 9-inch cake. For less cupcakes, halve the recipe.

For the cake
4 1/2 cups cake flour
3 cups sugar
5 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups pureed frozen strawberries*
8 egg whites
2/3 cup milk
1 to 2 drops red food dye, if using (to make the pink color pop more)

Make the cake
1. Preheat the oven to 350»F. Line 24 cupcakes tins with paper or foil wraps or butter three 9-inch round or 8-inch square cake pans and line with parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.

2. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixer bowl. With the electric mixer on low speed, blend for 30 seconds. Add the butter and strawberry puree and mix to blend the ingredients. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes; the batter will resemble strawberry ice cream at this point.

3. In another large bowl, whisk together the egg whites, milk and red food dye, if using, to blend. Add the whites to the batter in two or three additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl well and mixing only to incorporate after each addition. Divide the batter among you prepared pans

4. Bake the cupcakes for 18-23 minutes or the cakes for 30 to 34 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let stand until completely cooled before assembling the cake, at least an hour.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

*Note - This was not the frosting used in the book. I chose to do something simple and just added a strawberry sauce to my usual cream cheese frosting recipe.

1 package cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
3-4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup Strawberry Sauce

For the Strawberry Sauce, macerate strawberries with about 1-2 tbs sugar for 15 minutes. Put strawberries in a small saucepan and heat under medium heat with lid on. Cook strawberries for approximately 15 minutes till strawberries cook down and become soft and saucy. Adjust sweetness with sugar until you get the desired sweetness. Using a hand blender, puree until you get the desired smoothness or chunkiness. Cool before using in recipe.

Bring cheese and butter to room temperature. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl. Beat butter and cheese at medium speed until creamy. Add half of the sugar, beat until combined. Add strawberry sauce until you achieve the right color and flavor but making sure not to add too much or the frosting will be too soft. Gradually add any remaining sugar until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like.

When the cupcakes have cooled, spread the frosting onto the cupcakes with a spatula or butter knife or pipe the frosting using a ziploc bag with a hole snipped at the corner and the piping tip of your choice.

Shopping Spree:)

I would like to think that I'm very good with money. I try not to buy things I don't need and I rarely go out to eat... but I have a weakness for baking/cooking supplies. I only spend my money on food and food related things - and since I've started working, I always have money from tips I made in my pocket which makes me want to buy things. So I splurged on a couple of things a few days ago which I couldn't be happier with:)

1) A Bright Pink Pure Komachi 2 8 Inch Chef's KnifeThis knife is so girly, I know - but I couldn't resist! And I didn't buy it solely based on the color. It's a super thin and sharp blade made of high carbon stainless steel and it feels really light in my hand. I've been looking for a knife for a while and this seemed to be the perfect choice.

2) A Victorinox Fibrox 8 Inch Chef's Knife

I was debating between getting the pink knife or this one so I bought the pink one for myself and this one for my daddy for Father's Day. Lilly has this knife and I love it. It's lightweight and super sharp as well and chopping onions just seems so much more satisfying with it:)

3) The Sweet Spot:Asian Inspired Desserts by Pichet Ong & Genevieve Ko

I've already bookmarked a bunch of recipes in this book and I've made the Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies which turned out great!! I'm definitely going to use this book to cook for family parties because they don't like super tooth-achingly sweet American desserts.

4) Ready For Dessert: My Best Recipes by David Lebovitz
Smitten Kitchen loves David Lebovitz. I love Smitten Kitchen. And therefore I love David Lebovitz. The recipes in here look great too, I wish there were more pictures though. I like David's philosophy on baking - that it should taste great without the addition of necessary adornments or fussy frostings, because I can't decorate!! So everything I make is labeled "rustic" so it doesn't have to look pretty:)
So expect a lot of recipes from these two books, and pictures of me posing with my knife(hehe jk that's a little creepy right??)

But even after this splurge I still have a Lust List which includes:
A Bundt Pan
A new 12x17 Baking sheet because Steven lost mine T_T
A 9 inch Springform Pan so I can make cheesecakes!
Ramekins for souffles
Baked:New Frontiers in Baking
A Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer (which I cannot justify purchasing right now because of its excessive pricetag and the lack of money in my bank account)

I guess I better start working for those tips if I wanna make all these purchases right?? Come visit Sweet Retreat and tip me!! And then tell the manager how great I am so he can give me more hours:)

The Baked Brownie

Up until I got to college - I always used premade mixes whenever I baked anything. Yes, I did always doctor up my cake mixes with extracts and toppings - but essentially they still came from a box. It was only when I got to college that I started really baking everything from scratch. This was when I really got into food and started reading blogs obsessively and caring about what I ate. And I found that making things from scratch always proved a lot more rewarding and delicious than a boxed mix. Plus, i like knowing that the things I bake have only the simplest ingredients - eggs, butter, sugar, flour and chocolate and not things like preservatives or partially hydrogenated oils.
I do have a guilty pleasure though - I love the texture of brownies from the mix. It always bakes up perfectly with a nice chewy consistency and fudgy flavor. Me and lilly had some a couple of weeks ago from the bake sale and we just could not stop eating them! I spread some peanut butter frosting over it and was amazed at how good it was. So yes, I know that chewiness was probably achieved through some combination of chemicals but damn that shit was good!
So even though every time I make brownies, I make them from scratch, if there happens to be a plate of boxed brownies around, I would not be opposed to eating ALL OF THEM!!

My Guilty Pleasure:)

I do have a go to brownie recipe that is delicious though. If you're gonna have only one brownie recipe, I suggest you use this one. Dense, rich with a nice crackly top, these brownies from the Baked guys in Brooklyn really have it all. And if you're feeling extra indulgent, drizzle them with some salted caramel, dark chocolate and white chocolate like I did.

They don't have the uber-chewiness of Betty Crocker but are still the best brownies I've ever had. If you want them chewier, I guess you could baked them in a larger pan so that they aren't as thick, but I haven't tried it out yet so I can't make any guarantees.

The Baked Brownie
Adapted from Baked:New Frontiers in Baking

Baked Note
A great brownie is easy to make, but here are a few pointers: (1) Use a dark unsweetened cocoa powder like Valrhona. A pale, lightcolored cocoa does not have enough depth. (2) Make sure your eggs are at room temperature, and do not overbeat them into the batter. (3) Check your brownies often as they bake. An even slightly overbaked brownie is not a Baked Brownie.

• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
• 11 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 72% cacao), coarsely chopped
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9-by-13-inch glass or light-colored metal baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and cocoa powder together.

Put the chocolate, butter, and instant espresso powder in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined, then remove the bowl from the pan. The mixture should be room temperature.

Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.

Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture. Using a spatula (not a whisk), fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just a bit of the flour mixture is visible.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Let the brownies cool completely, then cut them into squares and serve.

Tightly covered with plastic wrap, the brownies keep at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Thuy & Lilly's Excellent (Foodie) Adventures!!

Me and Lilly love food When we're not eating, we're thinking about it. And when we're full, we like to talk about what we're gonna eat next. Many hours of our life are dedicated to perusing the pages of Tastespotting, Foodgawker, Smitten Kitchen and Serious Eats looking for new things to make or new places to try. Why do we do this? Maybe because we're so deprived of good food most of the time.My diet consists mainly of eggs, tofu and kimchi. And for her, it's cereal, yogurt and salad. Only occasionally do we splurge and actually go out to eat. And when I bake anything, most of it goes to other people and we usually split one cupcake or a cookie.

I guess we just really like depriving ourselves so that when we do eat good food, its doubly delicious! Did I ever tell you about that time we didn't go grocery shopping for almost a month just to see how long we could last with only the food in the fridge/cupboard? That was a very very sad time. I think we were reduced to eating peanut butter straight from the jar for dinner for a few nights and searching for free food at dorm events. But hey! It builds character and made us quite resourceful;) Plus, we saved a bunch of money!

Anyway, to get to the point of this post, me and Lilly wanted to indulge since it was my last weekend in New York and I wanted to make the most of it. Also because we felt like we weren't spending enough time together despite being roommates. So we, in our usual fashion, went on a food crawl and ate a bunch of great stuff! Here's the round up:

First we got brunch at Cafe Orlin. We got there at 11:30 and there was already a line forming. So beware - if you wanna get a good table, go early! Lilly got the Pumpkin Pancakes with Cinnamon Yogurt. Not your traditional pancake texture, these were creamier and slightly sour from the yogurt. Really good, but not what you would want if you're looking for that traditional fluffy stack.
I got a Portabello Mushroom, Shallot and Herb Omelet. The omelet was pretty standard, nothing that blew my mind, but the side of potatoes were really good and I liked the dressing that accompanied the salad. We ended up spreading butter on the toast and dunking it in maple syrup - yummm.

Next time, I would definitely get the Eggs Benedict. The people sitting below us got that and we couldn't stop staring. I tried to take a picture but there were people giving us the eye.She was mesmerized by the hollandaise

Our next stop was supposed to be The Dosa Man, but we only got a block away from Cafe Orlin when we spotted a sign for Pichet Ong's Spot, advertising a student special - Bubble tea and a cupcake for $5? Hell yea! So we went in without a second thought - and it was well worth it. I think I just found my new favorite dessert place:)

We got the Green Milk Tea with Bubbles and a Vietnamese Coffee Cupcake. And since they take campus cash and Lilly had a lot on her card, we splurged and got their Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookie. Oh god, I still have dreams about that cookie. It was sooo good. I think this might beat my old favorite - Momofuku's Compost Cookies - but they just might be the best in their own categories. The cookie was crispy on the outside with a toasted coconutty flavor and pleasantly chewy in the middle. Plus, it was as big as Lilly's head! And girl got a BIG ASS HEAD!! (Hi Lilly, I love you).

The cupcake was great too although I think the frosting could have had a stronger coffee taste. The vanilla cake was yummy and what made it over the top was the browned butter filling inside. Genius!! I think I'm gonna have to do that to all my cupcakes from now on.
There are so may things there that I want to try - chocolate avocado cupcake anyone?? Yummm. I will definitely be a repeat customer.

So after this, we were feeling quite full, but we had to persevere! We had a mission to accomplish. We still had to hit up The Dosa Man, L'Arte del Gelato and The City Bakery!! So we walked from St. Marks to Washington Square in search of some delicious Dosa. Sadly, because it was so cold, he wasn't there! Or maybe because it was a Sunday?? Iono, but unfortunately Dosa will have to wait.
From Wash Sq., we walked to Bleecker for gelato! This is my favorite gelato place, and we hadn't gone since the beginning of Fall Semester! Lilly got Olive Oil and Mint Chocolate and I got Coconut and Chocolate Orange. The two winners were Mint Chocolate and Chocolate Orange. Olive oil was tasty and different, but not spectacular and the Coconut was just regular. Don't go to Grom down the street! Go here! You won't be disappointed:)
Ok by this time, we were really full, so we walked from Bleecker to 18th St to work up an appetite (and save $2.25 on the subway!). On the way, we saw signs for the new Limelight Marketplace on 20th and 6th ave, and decided to stop by. Limelight used to be a dance club but it got shut down a few years back. The last time I went there, it was a sample sale store that had a lot of great items. That's where I got my favorite dress!! It's completely changed and looks awesome! All the shops are way above my price range though so we only looked around. Here's a peek at the inside:


We wandered around for a bit then decided it was time to eat again, so we headed off to The City Bakery to try their Pretzel Croissant, which we've been lusting after for months. It was realllly really good. Salty and crunchy like a pretzel on the outside and soft and buttery like a croissant on the inside. I highly recommend it! I also bought some Bourbon Soaked French Toast. The flavor was good but the texture was kinda chewy in a bad way - I think it would have been a lot better if it was warm.Ok at this point we were both falling into a very deep food coma, and we had to sit there for a while because we literally could not move. It was worth it though - we checked off so many things on our to-eat list. Plus, we made up for months of deprivation! I can't wait for the next tour:)

Places we visited:

Cafe Orlin
41 Saint Marks Place
New York, NY 10003
Spot
13 St. Marks Place
New York, NY 10003
L'Arte del Gelato
33 Barrow Street
New York, NY 10014
Limelight Marketplace
656 Sixth Avenue
New York, NY 10011
The City Bakery
3 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011-4610

Bake Sale Round Up and a Name Change

I have a problem sticking to things - blog names included - so I have to keep changing it until I'm happy. The new name of my blog is Happyness is a Cookie, and it was inspired by the happyness that I get from giving cookies to people and the happyness they (hopefully) feel when they taste them. Baked goods make everything better:)
The bake sale definitely brought happyness into my life. I really really enjoy trying out new recipes and this was the perfect opportunity to do that. I know it's a bit late since the sale was last month but I haven't been able to find my camera cord so I couldn't upload any pics until now. I'll post recipes of the most popular stuff later. And I didn't get to take pictures of everything I made because I was really rushed and forgot.

Caramelized Matzo with Chocolate and Sea Salt
I made these and put them in cute little bags tied with a ribbon. Really great bake sale item!

Brownies from the Baked Cookbook
Also another great item. The brownie was dense and chocolatey with a hint of espresso. And the tops were crackly just like I like them. I drizzled them with homemade salted caramel, dark chocolate and white chocolate.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
I think these might have been the best cupcakes I've made in a while. I adapted the recipe from the Sky High cookbook and they turned out awesome. The cake was dense and moist and the frosting tasted like strawberry ice cream.

Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt
This was a combination of Jacques Torres' famous cookie and the Cook's Illustrated version. I made a similar recipe before that didn't require browning the butter and it tasted almost the same. I think next time I will skip that step because It was a lot more work for very little return.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Swirl from the Baked Cookbook
Another winner from the guys at the Baked Bakery in Red Hook, Brooklyn. In addition to the swirl, there was also a crumb topping that was delicious. I chose to drizzle it with maple icing because I am a drizzle whore and could not resist.

Sour Cream Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
&
Chocolate Peanut Butter Drizzle
Not the best picture, I know, but they tasted really good. I sold all the good looking ones before I could get a picture in so I had to take a picture of one of the reject cupcakes. This recipe came from Sky High again and it did not disappoint. I ate the leftover frosting for breakfast, lunch and dinner the next day, seriously. The cake was super moist, the frosting was HELLLA GOOD, and the drizzle made it fabulous (Did I mention I was a drizzle whore??)

Oreo Cupcakes with Oreo Cream Cheese Frosting
These looked really great right? People wanted to buy them off of me while I was walking down the street! But I think I need to find a better vanilla cake base. It wasn't as moist as I would like. I thought putting an Oreo on the bottom was genius though, because you can see the logo after it bakes! The Oreo cream cheese frosting tasted great (how could it not be right??).

I also made Salted Browned Butter Rice krispies and Ina Garten's Chocolate Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting, but I forgot to take pictures. They sold really well though! Actually I think everything sold pretty well and the only thing I would redo is the vanilla cake for the Oreo Cupcakes.

Oh and if you didn't pick up on it, I have a few things that I really really love.
1) Brown Butter
2) Salted anything
3)Cream Cheese Frosting
4) Drizzling EVERYTHING

Recipes will come soon enough:)

Home

Coming home to San Jose this summer brings a sense of ambivalence. While I was packing, I kept thinking about how I didn't want to leave because lots of things were going on that called for me to stay. My friends were staying for the summer, I met a nice guy, I still had a lot of things on my To-Bake list...

But on the plane ride home, as I flew over the California landscape, ready to land, I couldn't help but feel happy. Home is where comfort is. It's where my family is; where my bestest friends are. It's where I can open the fridge and find more than just condiments or eggs. And its where the sun always shines and the temperature fluctuates between 68 and 75 degrees.

I wish I could take pictures of everything I ate since landing, but I was too eager and finished everything too quickly to get a picture in. I spent a couple of days with Kelsey and we indulged ourselves in all the things we shouldn't have eaten.

I came home to my dad this morning and immediately was showered with hugs and food. Lots of it. Here is a list of what I ate from 11:00am to 6:00pm
- French Bread with Cheese & Coffee
- Com Tam (Vietnamese Broken Rice with Grilled Pork & Shrimp)
- 1.5 Bowls of Bun Rieu (Crab and pork Noodle Soup)
- Che Chuoi (Banana Tapioca Pudding)
- Mangoes with Chili Salt
- Che Dau (Red Bean Pudding)
- Fresh Coconut Juice
- Vietnamese Curry Chicken with Rice & Bread
- Cassava Coconut Cake

I literally did not stop eating. And I loved every minute of it. I really wish I had pictures because everything was so good. I seriously cannot wait to go to bed so that I can wake up in the morning and eat leftover curry. Yummmm.

Baking Over Boys

Lately, I find myself daydreaming about sweets more than boys. My search for the most perfect, moist, chewy, fudgy brownie has overcome my search for the most cutest boy. And my craving for deep intellectual talks with oh-so-pretty guys has been conquered by a craving for a taste of the most decadent chocolate chip cookie - crispy around the edges, chewy on the inside and fresh from the oven.
What's wrong with me? I think the kitchen has taken over my life! I don't think I mind though. A rich, creamy slice of dulce de leche cheesecake will never disappoint you, but a cute boy surely will. I've been devoting so much of my time in the kitchen, and when I'm not baking, I'm Tastespotting or Foodgawking. In class, when I'm bored (which is quite often), I'm dreaming about new recipes that I'm gonna try or jotting down ideas on how to improve old ones. I think I go shopping multiple times a week buying the same old things - butter, sugar, flour and chocolate. And whenever I buy bananas, I purposely let them go bad so that I can incorporate them into a muffin or cake.
There's been so may occasions that call for baking lately. First, I started baking for my classes every week. Then, Lilly got a huge 106 oz can of pumpkin! So we had to think of ways to use it up before it went bad. And now I've volunteered my services for the Applied Psychology Bake Sale. My oven is constantly on and it gets so hot in my apartment now, but I really don't mind. Even in this perfect weather, I'm much happier cooped up inside making something delicious to eat =)

No more boys for me (for the meantime). I just want cookies =)

Caramelized Matzo with Chocolate & Sea Salt

I really love the combination of salty and sweet. Watermelon sprinkled with salt, mangoes with chili salt, and chocolate chip cookies with salt are all high on my list of favorite things to eat. That’s why when I saw a recipe for Matzo Crackers with Caramel and Chocolate and sprinkled with salt, I knew I just had to try it! And since Passover was coming up, I decided to bring it to my very Jewish-populated class. I think they appreciated them a lot=) I had to make another batch right after the first one because once people got a taste of them, they kept asking for more. So if you decide to make this, beware! They are like crack and once you have a piece you’ll be begging for more and so will your roommates, and your classmates, and random people whom you’ve never talked to before…
I got the original recipe from David Lebovitz and Smitten Kitchen, but I thought the 2 sticks of butter was a bit excessive (and expensive yo!) so I cut the butter down by a stick and reduced the sugar to 3/4 of a cup and threw in a tbsp or 2 of heavy cream. Trust me, you won't miss it.

Spread your crackers onto the sheet pan, covering all nooks and crannies.

Make the caramel and spread it over the crackers

After you take it out of the oven, cover it with chocolate chips and let stand for 5 minutes

Spread the melted chocolate and sprinkle with sea salt

Let it cool, break into pieces and prepare for people to love you!!

Chocolate Caramel Crack(ers)
If you want the full fat recipe, check out David Lebovitz or Smitten Kitchen

4 to 6 sheets matzo

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into a few large pieces

¾ cup packed light brown sugar

A big pinch of sea salt

1 to 2 tbsp heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups semi- or bittersweet chocolate chips (or chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate)

1 cup toasted chopped almonds, pecans, walnuts or a nut of your choice (optional)

Extra sea salt for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 11-by-17-inch baking sheet completely with foil, and then line the base of the foil with parchment paper, cut to fit.

Line the bottom of the baking sheet with matzo covering all parts. You'll need to break pieces to fit any extra spaces, which will be annoying because despite being perforated, it does not actually break in straight lines. I have some luck pressing a serrated knife straight down along a section between perforations, if that (hopefully) makes sense.

In a medium heavy-duty saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar together, and stir it over medium heat until it begins to boil. Once it has begun boiling, let it bubble for three more minutes, stirring it well. It will thicken a bit as it cooks. Pour in the cream and stir until combined. Remove from the heat and add the salt and vanilla, and then quickly pour it over the matzo or crackers. You’ll want to spread it quickly, as it will begin to set as soon as it is poured.

Bake the caramel-covered crackers for 15 minutes, watching carefully as it will bubble and the corners might darken too quickly and/or burn. You can reduce the heat if you see this happening.

Remove from oven and immediately cover with chocolate chips. Let stand five minutes, and then spread them evenly across the caramel. An offset spatula works great here. Sprinkle a generous amount of sea salt onto the crackers.

Thick & Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with Browned Butter Icing

I’m taking this really interesting class this semester, called Introduction to Group Dynamics. I didn’t know what I was signing up for when I registered but I’m glad I did it! So basically, the goal of the class is to ‘observe yourself in the here-and-now’. The class is divided into two groups and each week, one group sits in a circle in the middle of the class and interacts with one another while the other group watches and analyzes them, Then we switch.

The first two weeks were nerve-racking for me because a)I hate it when people look at me and b)when I get nervous, everything I say is incoherent and irrelevant. I felt like I wasn’t contributing enough to the group, so during the 4th session, I decided to bring some baked goods to class! They were very well received and made me feel better about my lack of intellectual contributions=) So now, me bringing baked goods has become somewhat expected, not that I mind, of course. As long as it makes people happy I’m willing to do it.

For our termination session (which was not as scary as it sounds), I decided to bring oatmeal raisin cookies. I only had two hours in between classes so I had to find a recipe that incorporated most of the items in my pantry and that tasted great as well. Of course I looked on Smitten Kitchen for a reliable recipe because it has yet to disappoint me! This recipe was no different. However, although the cookies were good, they needed something that would put them over the top, so at the last minute, with 15 minutes to get to class, I made a quick browned butter icing which I drizzled on top, and ran out the door!

Thick, Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
The last trick to getting a really thick, chewy cookie is to chill the dough before you bake it. You can scoop it and then chill it, or, if you’re like us, scoop it, freeze them and store them in a freezer bag so you can bake them as you wish. I find they’re always thicker when baked from the cold — only a couple extra minutes baking is needed.

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats 1 ½ cup raisins 1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth.
In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats, raisins and walnuts, if using them.

At this point you can either chill the dough for a bit in the fridge and then scoop it, or scoop the cookies onto a sheet and then chill the whole tray before baking them. You could also bake them right away, if you’re impatient, but I do find that they end up slightly less thick.

The cookies should be two inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes (your baking time will vary, depending on your oven and how cold the cookies were going in), taking them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.
Drizzle with Browned Butter Icing

Browned Butter Icing
1 c. confectioners' sugar
4 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat until nut-brown in color, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat, and pour butter into a bowl, leaving any burned sediment behind.
Add sugar, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons of milk; stir until smooth. If the icing is too thick, add some more milk, a little at a time, until consistency is thin enough to drizzle. Let cool 5 minutes. Use immediately

Banana Muffins with Dulce de Leche Whipped Cream Frosting

At 19 cents a banana, Trader Joe’s has got to be the cheapest. So that’s why, whenever I do my grocery shopping there, I go crazy and buy like 25 bananas at a time. I really really love bananas=)

But often times, I can’t finish them all because you can only eat so many bananas a day (3 is my usual amount). Knowing this, I could a) buy less bananas each trip or b) make some type of baked good with bananas as the key ingredient. I always choose the latter and I’m always looking for new applications for uber ripe, almost black bananas. So far, there’s been banana cake, banana ice cream and banana bread. Today though, I decided to make banana muffins topped with dulce de leche whipped cream frosting leftover from a genoise cake Lilly made for Derrick’s birthday. The recipe is adapted from Smitten Kitchen, a blog which I adore. I made my own substitutions, which I put in parenthesis. I wanted a lighter texture for the muffin so I used cake flour. I also tried my hand at piping on frosting. My handiwork isn’t fantastic but I tried!!

Jacked Up Banana Bread
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

3 to 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted salted butter (I browned the butter beforehand)
3/4 to 1 cup light brown sugar (depending on the level of sweetness you prefer, I always use the smaller amount)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon bourbon (Optional, I used rum)
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1 1/2 cup of flour(or cake flour)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla and bourbon, then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour into paper lined muffin tins and bake for 18-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

Dulce de Leche

I am obsessed with dulce de leche and have experimented with the 3 ways of making it:

1) From scratch with whole milk and sugar for a few hours over the stove.

2) By opening a can of condensed milk, pouring it into a pie pan with salt, covering it with foil and baking it in a water bath for a few hours (recipe here)

3) Boiling an unopened can of condensed milk in a pot for 3- 3 ½ hours, making sure that the can is completely submerged.

Out of all the methods I’ve tried, the third option is definitely the easiest, even though it can be a little nerve racking as you cross your fingers hoping the can doesn’t explode. Of course, the first option will taste the best, but it’s the most labor intensive and sometimes you just don’t have time for that! So here is my recipe for the frosting.

Dulce de Leche Cream

Adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes

2/3 Cup Dulce de Leche (prepared by your preferred method)

3 Cups Heavy Cream

In a large chilled mixer bowl with chilled beaters, combine the cream with dulce de leche. Beat on low speed to combine and dissolve the dulce de leche. Raise the mixer to medium high and whip until stiff peaks form.

Don't forget to fully submerge it! Or else!!

Wait till it cools before opening. We were really nervous!!

But everything turned out fine and delicious=)

To decorate

Place a piping tip into a plastic bag and snip off the corner, pushing the tip through the hole. Fill the bag with frosting and decorate as you please!