Not My Cup o' Tea

My last week has been crazy hectic. I've finished up work for the summer, started packing my things to move and helped out with a house demolition/remodeling. In other words I'm beat like a drum and slept in til 10:30 this morning. (Something I haven't been able to do in a long while.)


And over the week I've come to the conclusion that house remodeling is not my thing. As much as I enjoy painting and decorating, the whole tearing down walls and putting in insulation, blows.
Plaster in your eyes, itchy, fiber-glass insulation on your skin can drive you crazy. I'll leave all that fun stuff up to the others. Like Mike and Jason.

Good work, Mike.

Looks super, Jason.

I should be the official cheerer, encourager, cheerleader. "T-E-A-R D-O-W-N THOSE WALLS!!! PUT UP THAT DRYWALL!!!"

Or I could make them cookies. PB&J Cookies to be exact.

Yes, PB&J Cookies. They are awesome. And they are so cute. And they are so easy to make. This is another gluten-free recipe, so the whole no flour thing works for your benefit.



Now you'll have to excuse me, I have some cookies to make and deliver to some hungry drywallers.

PB&J Cookies

adapted from Joy the Baker

makes about 32 small cookies

1 cup all-natural chunky or smooth peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon baking soda

about 1/4 cup any fruit preserves, but strawberry rocks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet with butter and set aside. In a mixer combine peanut butter and sugars until well combined, about 2 minutes. Add egg and baking soda and mix for another 2 minutes. The dough will be crumbly. Roll into teaspoon sized balls and roll in granulated sugar. Make a small indentation in the center of the dough ball with your pointer finger. Fill the depression with fruit preserves. Bake for 12 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on a baking sheet for two minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

"To Everything There is a Season and a Time"...to make cake!

Lets talk about cake. Cake is that one dessert you can have at any time during the year.
Spring? Check.
Summer? Check.
Fall? Check.
Winter? Check.
It's never to "cold" or "hot" to devour a piece of this sweet delicacy we lovingly call cake. Halloween parties, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Office parties, Birthdays, Bar Mitzvahs, even Groundhog's Day. Because if you're like me and ol' Phil sees his shadow, you succumb to a state of severe depression and would make yourself happy by eating about 10 of those cupcakes. See, cake just makes everything better.
So when I was asked this week to make a cake for a baptism, I was more than happy to.

This is my friend, Ali. Ali decided to get baptized. :)
She was dunked in the fountain on campus.



Her dad surprised her.




It was beautiful.


Congrats, Ali. Now have a piece of cake!


This cake is super moist and a better choice than a boxed mix (though I love me some boxed cake mix.) The buttercream is also good, a little too sweet for my taste, but still delicious.

Plain or 1,2,3,4 Cake

Adapted from New Southern Baking

Makes three 9-inch round layers or two 9-inch square layers

8 ounces (1 cup or 2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
14 ounces (about 3 light cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Butter and flour the cake pans. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and gradually beat in sugar until mixture is light and lemon-colored. Beat in eggs one at a time.

In a separate bowl, sift or whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add vanilla to milk. Beat the flour and milk/vanilla mixture, alternating, in four additions, into the batter, beating well between each one.

Divide the batter equally among the pans. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops are lightly colored and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove the pans to wire racks and let the cake cool completely before taking them out of the pan and decorating them.


Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

From The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

Makes enough to frost an 8-inch, two-layered cake

4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 tablespoons whole milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat the powdered sugar and butter together in an electric mixer fit with a paddle attachment on medium low speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed. Turn the mixer speed to low. Combine the milk and the vanilla extract and slowly stream it into the butter and sugar mixture. Once incorporated, turn the mixer to high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. The longer the frosting is beaten, the fluffier and lighter it becomes. If you find that your frosting is getting to warm in the summer months, stop beating and set in the fridge for a few minutes. Once chilled, hook the frosting back up the the mixer and beat once more until you reach the desired consistency.

Nieces, Elmo and Muffins, Dang Good Muffins

This curly, red-headed child is my niece.

Isn't she adorable? And ornery? This Elmo-lovin', Yo Gabba Gabba watchin', puppy wranglin', little girl turned three. I can't believe three years ago we welcomed this precious gift into the world and I filled the role of "aunt." I have had a blast, absolute blast watching her grow up. From scooting her butt across the floor, to walking and now, running (incredibly fast, might I say), she has been a delight. She has also been fun to shop for. Anytime I go into a childrens' clothing or toy store, I immediately see five things I want to buy for her. I had trouble this year, though, deciding what to get her for turning three. Imagine my delight when I stumbled upon this in the local candy shop...

My niece LOVES Elmo and LOVES candy, so it was a no-brainer. I bought the lunchbox and filled that puppy with all sorts of goodies. Skittles, Jelly Belly's, Starbursts, M&Ms, Tootsie Pops, and candy necklaces/lipstick (throwbacks, heck yes!)

I can't wait to see her face when she opens it. What kid wouldn't go nuts for a ton of candy? Her daddy, my bro, may not appreciate it as much as her, so I will present him with these delicious Browned Butter Blueberry Muffins as a peace offering. And maybe a candy necklace.

There's not much to be said about these muffins, other than that they are yummy.

Bursting with butter and blueberries they are close to perfection.

What? A little extra butter never hurt anyone. :)

Browned Butter Fresh Blueberry Muffins

adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

makes 12 muffins

7 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1/3 cup whole milk

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups fresh blueberries

For the Topping:

3 Tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Put a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line muffin pan with paper or foil liners

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Keep an eye on the butter. Melt and cook down the butter until little brown bits appear in the pan. The crackling will subside and butter will begin to brown fairly quickly after that. Remove from heat.

Whisk milk, egg, yolk and vanilla until combined. Add the brown butter and stir to combine.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl Add milk and butter mixture all at one and stir gently to combine. Gently but thoroughly fold in the blueberries.

Divide the batter among muffin cups and spread evenly.

To make the topping combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and crumble together with your fingertips. Sprinkle crumble mixture evenly over the batter in the cups.

Bake until golden and crisp and a wooden pick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack for 15 minutes then remove from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

You Can't Be Serious...

Have you ever witnessed someone consuming a crazy combination of food and wanted to straight up hurl? I mean ridiculousness like, "pickles & ice cream" and "mayo & peanut butter?" (I think I just threw up a little.) Growing up and sitting in the lunch room at school, I saw one too many horrific combos that still haunt me to this day: Lucky Charms & grape juice(poor kid was lactose intolerant), chicken patty & strawberry sauce(my friend is just strange), and ranch & applesauce (Trashcan, PLEASE!)

However, there are some pretty delicious combinations out there, that one might shudder at. For instance, Doritos and Cap N' Crunch. Holy smokes, go and buy one of each, mix and devour. I'm totally serious. I somehow stumbled upon that combination in high school and it's a winner.

A recent combination I have come to adore is peanut butter and bacon. C'mon, you can't go wrong with either one. I love making toast, slathering the p.b on heavy (of course) and topping it with some nice crispy bacon. Delicious. So you would not believe how giddy I got when I found a recipe for peanut butter bacon cookies on Joy the Baker's blog.

These cookies are soooo good, they practically melt in your mouth. And five ingredients only! There is no flour, so they are sans gluten, perfect for any friends who have gluten free diets.

So, I'm asking you, begging you, pleading with you, down on my knees groveling, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE make these cookies. You'll be happy you did.

Peanut Butter Bacon Cookies
adapted from Joy the Baker
makes 15 cookies

1 cup all-natural chunky or creamy peanut butter (Very important that it is all-natural! Cookies will bake better.)

1 cup sugar (1/2 cup brown sugar & 1/2 cup granulated sugar)

1 egg

1 teaspoon baking soda

6 slices of bacon, cooked, cooled and diced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a baking sheet with butter and set aside. In a mixer combine peanut butter and sugars until well combined, about two minutes. Add egg and baking soda and mix for another two minutes. Fold in cooked bacon. Roll into large walnut sized balls and create a criss-cross pattern with a fork. You can also roll the dough balls in granulated sugar before making the criss-cross pattern. Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on baking sheet for five minutes. Best when made in the late afternoon, early evening, so they spoil your dinner. ;)