Peppermint Patties - Homemade

So, I was feeling like I needed some time in the kitchen today....just the two of us. We're best friends, you know? I went to my shelf and picked out a book that I haven't used yet. Sweet Temptation by Nicki Trench. To be honest with you, I was a little disappointed after getting this book. I'm not a fan of fondant, never have been. This book uses a LOT of fondant....therefore has a LOT of recipes I'll never use. None-the-less, I have the book and wanted to use it.

I decided to make the Peppermint Patties....called Peppermint Creams in the book.

The recipe is very simple, 4 ingredients (and actually only 3 of them are necessary) total and voila!

You start with powdered sugar and a lightly beaten egg white (it should be a little frothy-looking). It'll be runny at first:


Then, as you add more powdered sugar, it'll become more thick....so thick and chunky and dry-looking that you won't be able to stir it with a fork any longer:


After this point, you can add in the peppermint extract (or you could be really daring and use another kind of extract) and the food coloring (optional). You'll need to start working the dough with your hands until you get a nice "doughy" ball that is evenly colored (if you used dye) and smooth:


Now, this is where I deviated in a big way from the recipe (other than the fact that I never measured the powdered sugar. *smile*

The recipe says to roll the dough out and cut the circles with cookie cutters. I thought that I'd end up wasting a lot of the 'dough' that way, since the dough will dry out quite quickly, I probably wouldn't be able to reuse the scraps after cutting the first set. So, to alleviate this problem, I just pulled off little bits of the dough and rolled them into balls.



I used a small glass cup and dipped it into some powdered sugar and then flattened the balls. Yes, the edges will be cracked (but I didn't care), unless you flatten the balls as you go. Then they wouldn't have time to dry slightly on the edges and would be easier to flatten without cracking.



Now, you can stop here and end up with something similar to those "after-dinner mints" that come in those pastel colors...but I wanted chocolate! So, we decided to dip half of them into some semisweet chocolate. Which, I think, made them look pretty anyway.....and of course everything tastes better with chocolate.



We were able to get 26 little mints out of one batch. The recipe never says how many they 'suggest' you'll get out of it.

Here is their recipe:

1 3/4 C powdered sugar
1 free-range egg white
peppermint extract
food coloring (optional)

1. Lightly grease a large piece of waxed paper. Sift approximately two-thirds of the sugar into a mixing bowl. Lightly whisk the egg white with a fork until it is lightly frothy. Pour the beaten egg white into the icing sugar, add a few drops of peppermint extract, and mix with a fork until all the ingredients are combined.

2. Add the remaining sugar a little at a time and continue mixing until the dough is too stiff to mix with a fork. Finish mixing with your hands until the mixture has a doughy consistency. Taste and add more peppermint, if necessary. Keep your hands dusted with sugar so that the mixture doesn't stick to your fingers. Add a few drops of food coloring if desired.

3. Dust your work surface with powdered sugar and roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/2 inch. With a small round cutter, cut out the peppermint creams and lay them on the sheet of waxed paper to dry.

Enjoy!
-Erica

VOTE! (Maybe you'll get a prize)

Alright everyone! The IronCupcake: Earth April Challenge is ON! Voting is open!!!

I have entered 4 delicious cuppies for this month's challenge.

SODA POP!

Wanna win something wonderful just for voting (and not necessarily for me)?! Well, I thought you might! The winner of this giveaway will get some SUPER cute cupcake goodies, including stamps, magnets, notepad, and more!

CUPPIE PRIZE PACK:


Here's how:
Go to IronCupcake Headquarters and vote for your favorite THREE cuppies! Post back here and let me know you voted! You get an entry!

Now, if you happen to vote for ME (any of the four I entered) you can post AGAIN and say that you voted for ME....you'll get another entry!

If you subscribe to my blog, guess what?! You'll get another entry! (If you're already subscribed, just post and say so)

IronCupcake voting is open until May 4th, Noon (central time) - so this contest will be open until then also!!! GO VOTE! :)

The four cuppies I entered are:

Orange Dreamsicle


Root Beer Float


Blue Bubblegum


Berry Lemonade


Enjoy!
-Erica

Chocolate Almond Kahlua Cheesecake

It is that time again, my friends! The Daring Bakers have been busy in April........creating CHEESECAKE! Cheesecake of all kinds, sweet and savory. Glorious cheesecake. I was excited! I love cheesecake!

Me? I went for something different than I've ever made before....and it was yummy!

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

So, we pretty much had tons of freedom on this challenge. We could add flavors, change crust, etc. Which was fun....and interesting. To see what the other Daring Bakers came up with (and there are some truly phenominal creations), go here.

So, I started with the basic recipe and added 1/4 C of cocoa powder. For the vanilla, I substituted almond extract and for the liquer, I used French Vanilla Kahlua. YUMMY!

Once I had the crust ready, I sprinkled white chocolate chips over it. Then covered it with the cheesecake mixture.



Once it was set and ready....I covered it with a chocolate almond ganache. So delightful, really. Then, for just one more OOMPH! I sprinkled more white chocolate chips on top of the ganache (before it had set, of course).



This recipe is fantastic! The cheesecake is creamy....sets perfectly....and did you notice....NO CRACKS! I have been using a "water-bath-like" method for a long time to prevent cracks in my cheesecakes. I did it the same way this time.....just put a pan of hot water on the shelf below my cheesecake....BUT I put the pan of water in as soon as I turn the oven on for pre-heat. That way it gets the oven ready for my cheesecake. I find this to be a great method.

One last beautiful shot:


Here is the recipe we used (you should try it and get creative on your own!)

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake

crust:
2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

Pan note: The creator of this recipe used to use a springform pan, but no matter how well she wrapped the thing in tin foil, water would always seep in and make the crust soggy. Now she uses one of those 1-use foil "casserole" shaped pans from the grocery store. They're 8 or 9 inches wide and really deep, and best of all, water-tight. When it comes time to serve, just cut the foil away.

Prep notes: While the actual making of this cheesecake is a minimal time commitment, it does need to bake for almost an hour, cool in the oven for an hour, and chill overnight before it is served. Please plan accordingly!

Some variations from the recipe creator:

** Lavender-scented cheesecake w/ blueberries - heat the cup of heavy cream in the microwave or a saucepan until hot but not boiling. Add 2 tbsp of lavender flowers and stir. Let lavender steep in the cream for about 10-15 minutes, then strain the flowers out. Add strained cream to cheesecake batter as normal. Top with fresh blueberries, or make a quick stovetop blueberry sauce (splash of orange juice, blueberries, a little bit of sugar, and a dash of cinnamon - cook until berries burst, then cool)

** Cafe au lait cheesecake with caramel - take 1/4 cup of the heavy cream and heat it in the microwave for a short amount of time until very hot. Add 1-2 tbsp. instant espresso or instant coffee; stir to dissolve. Add this to the remainder of cream and use as normal. Top cheesecake with homemade caramel sauce (I usually find one on the food network website - just make sure it has heavy cream in it. You can use store-bought in a pinch, but the flavor is just not the same since its usually just sugar and corn syrup with no dairy).

** Tropical – add about a half cup of chopped macadamias to the crust, then top the cake with a mango-raspberry-mandarin orange puree.

** Mexican Turtle - add a bar of melted dark chocolate (between 3 and 5 oz., to taste) to the batter, along with a teaspoon of cinnamon and a dash of cayenne pepper (about 1/8 tsp.). Top it with pecan halves and a homemade caramel sauce.

** Honey-cinnamon with port-pomegranate poached pears – replace 1/2 cup of the sugar with 1/2 cup of honey, add about a teaspoon or more (to taste) of cinnamon. Take 2 pears (any variety you like or whatever is in season), peeled and cored, and poach them in a boiling poaching liquid of port wine, pomegranate juice/seeds, a couple of "coins" of fresh ginger, a cinnamon stick, and about a 1/4 cup of sugar. Poach them until tender, then let cool. Strain the poaching liquid and simmer until reduced to a syrupy-glaze consistency, then cool. Thinly slice the cooled pears and fan them out atop the cooled cheesecake. Pour the cooled poaching syrup over the pears, then sprinkle the top with chopped walnuts and fresh pomegranate seeds.

Some variations from Jenny (from JennyBakes):

**Key lime - add zest from one lime to sugar before mixing with cream cheese. Substitute lemon juice, alcohol, and vanilla with key lime juice.

**Cheesecakelets - put in muffin tins, ramekins, or custard cups. Try baking 20-35 minutes, or until still a little jiggly, and cool as before.

Enjoy!
-Erica

Gooey Turtle Brownies

Chocolate. Caramel. Pecans. Brownies.

Need I really say more?

I love brownies. I love chocolate. I love caramel. I love nuts....any kind of nuts, just about. When you put them all together, it is a celebration.



These brownies are not for the faint-hearted. These are chewy, gooey, rich, decadent, fudgy brownies. Mmmmmmm.

I started with a double chocolate brownie base with pecans. Two kinds of chocolate in there, my dear. Sprinkled with chocolate morsels and pecans.



I baked them for about 40 minutes....they looked delightful straight out of the oven. I could barely keep my hands off of them!



Oh, but this is where it gets *really* good.


Bring on the CARAMEL! Lots of it!

After the caramel set, I smothered them in even more chocolately goodness. A rich chocolate ganache. Delightful.

I was so anxious, I didn't wait for them to cool all the way. I know, I know....shame on me. But, I'm willing to bet you would've done the same thing. Let's be honest. Yeah, I thought so.



Double-Chocolate Brownies

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
2 oz. semisweet chocolate
1 C butter, softened
2 C sugar
4 large eggs
1 C all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 C chopped toasted pecans
3/4 C semisweet chocolate morsels

Preheat oven to 350 F. Microwave chocolate in a small bowl at MEDIUM for 30-second intervals until melted. Stir chocolate until smooth.

Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Add melted chocolate, beating just until blended. Add flour and salt, beating at low speed just until blended.

Stir in vanilla, 1/2 C pecans, and 1/2 C chocolate morsels. Spread batter into a greased and floured 13 X 9 pan. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 C pecans and 1/4 C chocolate morsels.

Bake at 350 F for 40 minutes or until set. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into squares.

YIELD: 32 brownies

Note: Freeze brownies in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

After my brownies set, I poured the caramel and chocolate ganache over them.

For the caramel:
12 caramels, unwrapped
1 Tb heavy cream

Melt over low heat, stirring often, in a small saucepan. Pour over brownies.

For the ganache:
1/4 C semisweet chocolate
1 Tb heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla

Melt over low heat, stirring often, in a small saucepan. Pour over caramel.

Enjoy!
-Erica

A Jar of Jelly Beans?

Thanks so much to everyone who entered into the Surprise Jelly Bean contest! It was a lot of fun to read everyone's comments. There are a couple flavors that I'd never even heard of....so I'll have to keep my eyes out for those.

For the booger-flavored beans....I *think* when I saw them they were in Fear Factor Jelly Bellys. Along with [dry heave] vomit, monkey farts, earwax, and many other disgusting flavors.

*deep breath*

Alright, so moving on......

Our fabulous winner is someone who obviously disagrees with 'buttered popcorn' flavored beans belonging in the "creepy flavors" category (and that's OK by me):



Congrats! Now, for the prize.....were you thinking you'd probably end up with this:


....or even worse....this:


Well, rest assured, my friend. Neither of those are your prize.

These glorious products are all yours:


To get you kick-started for Summer, you have:
Coconut Papaya Shower Gel with Soap Saver from Jordan Essentials
Coconut Papaya Lotion Bar from JE
Bath Scrunchie from JE
8 summer-scented tealights from PartyLite
Caramel Pecan Pie Mix (not pictured) from The Gourmet Cupboard

Once again, thanks to everyone who entered! If you haven't already, subscribe to my blog....there are plenty more giveaways coming in the next few weeks.

Enjoy!
-Erica

Know what I mean, Jelly Bean?

This is a cute little saying that my good friend Maggie says. I find it cute and whimsical....and totally appropriate for today.

That's right, did you know today is National Jelly Bean Day? Well, it is my friend. Glorious Jelly Beans. They have been around since the 1800's, and while no one knows the name of the person (probably a woman, by the way) that actually invented the Jelly Bean, we're sure glad *she* did it!



You know how I love colorful things. So, naturally I am a Jelly Bean fan. However, I cannot seem to jump on the, what I have deemed, "creepy flavors" bandwagon. A Jelly Bean just shouldn't taste like buttered popcorn or boogers. I mean, really? I thought we, as a society, agreed that eating boogers is nasty, no? So why promote eating boogers IN public, WITH your friends, AND laughing while you do it?! I don't know, my friend, I don't know.

Alright, moving on. Jelly Beans have now been created in well over 50 distinct flavors and can be found almost anywhere. Here is Jelly Belly's chart of their "standard" flavors.



Thank goodness the "booger" flavor isn't a standard, yeah?

*clears throat*

Sorry, I just cannot help but dwell on that. It really bothers me....boogers? Who would think of such a flavor?

Ok, ok....so anyway, Jelly Beans have even been served at high-end parties. They're growing up, you know. These Jelly Beans are out having a great time. I hope they have a DD* to get them home safely.


Did you know that there is even such a thing as a Jelly Bean Bar? Yes, indeed there is. It is OK if you didn't know, I didn't either. See, we're forming bonds, learning together.



Yes, evidently, someone has spent a lot (and I do mean a LOT) of time eating Jelly Beans in different combinations and seeing what it tastes like. Everything, from desserts like Tiramisu to WINE. Yes, I said wine. I found this information on Isn't She Lovely.

So, in light of National Jelly Bean Day, would you like to do something else super fun? Yes? I thought you might.

Alright, here we go:

Leave a comment and tell me YOUR favorite Jelly Bean flavor. It can even be a "specialty" flavor that is not on the "standard" flavor list.

Comments will be accepted now through 5 PM Eastern on Thursday, April 23rd.

Then, I will go to RANDOM.org and we'll have ourselves a winner!

"A winner of what?", you might ask? Well, that part is a surprise! It is something yummy, something sweet, something special. You'll just have to comment to find out what it is!

[Please remember if you choose to leave an ANON comment to include your name and some sort of contact info]

*DD = Designated Driver (non-drinker) for those who didn't know.

Enjoy!
-Erica

LIMA WINNER!

Thanks so much to everyone who shared with me the wisdom of why I should respect Lima Beans. I feel enlightened....and maybe I'll toss some beautiful green Limas in my chili next time. Probably not, but who knows? Maybe I will.

Ok, I think we both know I won't, but it sounded nice, didn't it?

Alright, on to the winner of the beautiful Lima Bean Earrings and Bracelet set.



Beth! Thanks so much for sharing....and while she doesn't really care for Lima Beans, I bet she'll love these fancy pieces of jewelry!

Congratulations, Love!

Enjoy!
-Erica

PS) Keep your eyes peeled, I have more giveaways up my sleeve and coming your way!