White Cheddar Chive Biscuits

Well hello there blog.  Its been quite some time.  The last two months have been the hardest of residency so far... back to back on the in patient service.  80+ hour work weeks with either Saturday or Sunday "off."  Those quotes are because of the 11 hours I was usually awake (after a sleeping for a glorious 13) I spent several doing work related tasks.

Not this weekend.

Mom and Dad were in town to celebrate my birthday.  Saturday was the first day off in almost two months where I did NOTHING work related.  That alone would be enough to make it a fabulous weekend.  Not to mention spending much over-due time in the kitchen.  Who knew kneading was so therapeutic?




So here's to hoping there won't be another two months standing between me and the next post.

White Cheddar Chive Biscuits (inspired by the one and only JTB)
Makes 16 biscuits

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons cold water
1/4 cup sour cream, cold
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1/3 cup chopped chives
3/4 cup shredded white cheddar
1 egg beaten for egg wash
Freshly grated parm
Smoked paprika

Preheat oven to 400F.
In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients together.
With your fingers, add in the butter and mix until a coarse meal forms.
In a separate bowl combine egg, water, sour cream, and yogurt.
Pour the wet into the dry and combine just until moistened.
Mix in chives and cheese.
Turn out onto floured work surface.  Kneed just until well mixed, about 15 times.
Roll into inch thick slab and cut out biscuits.
Place evenly on greased baking sheet.
Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with Parmesan and paprika.
Bake for 12 minutes until golden brown.

We only baked half.  The other half are on the freezer to enjoy at a later date!

Chocolate-Cookie-Dough-Bacon Cupcakes

Yes, you did read that correctly. These cupcakes involve a rich, chocolatey cake, cookie-dough flavored frosting, and BACON on top. How could anyone not like these? :) 

Shout out to my friend R for ordering these from us for a friend's birthday. They are a blast to make.

Also, tip for the ladies, try making these for Valentine's Day! :)

Chocolate Cake:

1 box Chocolate Cake Mix

4 eggs

2/3 cup oil

1 small pkg. chocolate instant pudding

1 cup milk

1/2 cup sour cream (or greek yogurt)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners.

Spray liners with non-stick spray.

 In a large bowl, gently whisk eggs, oil, milk, sour cream and vanilla extract together

Add cake mix and pudding mix, stir until combined.

Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 15-20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Cookie Dough Frosting: (from Annie's Eats)

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
2 1/3 cups confectioners’ sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
2 tbsp. milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Beat together the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy. 

Mix in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth.

 Beat in the flour and salt. Mix in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.

Bacon:

Cut bacon into fourths (or thirds if you want bigger pieces).

Place bacon on baking rack on top of a cookie sheet that has sides (to collect the bacon grease).

Place cookie sheet in a COLD oven and turn on to 400 degrees.

Bake for about 20 minutes (I start checking after 10 minutes and keep checking every 5. Cooking time depends on how fast your oven heats and how thick your bacon is).

Browned-butter Pumpkin Cupcakes with Pumpkin Spice Latte Frosting

Ok, so I'm just going to come out and say it. These cupcakes have got to be one of the best I have ever made, and I think EWeage would have to agree. Reasons you may ask?

1. Its pumpkin. I mean, come on. 
2. Browned butter, need I say more?
3. Oodles of delicious spices.
4. They were so moist!
5. The frosting was pretty fantastic too. Subtle hint of coffee and pumpkin was the perfect accent to an already amazing cupcake.

Pumpkin Brown Butter Cupcakes 

with Cinnamon Frosting 

(From SprinkleBakes)
Yield:  About 24 cupcakes                                                        

Cake:

¾ cup unsalted butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ tsp. baking soda

3 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. allspice

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 ½ cups pumpkin puree

3 large eggs

½ cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake tins with papers.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Cook, swirling the pan occasionally until the butter turns golden brown. Pour the browned butter into a small bowl and let stand until cool but not solidified.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt and allspice.  Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk 1 ½ cups of pumpkin puree with the granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and sour cream until well combined.  Stir in the flour mixture until just combined.  Whisk in the browned butter until well blended.  
Divide batter between cupcake liners.  Fill them about half full.
Bake cupcakes for 20-25 minutes, or until they spring back when pressed in the middle.

Pumpkin Spice Latte Buttercream

1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened

4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)

2 tablespoons milk (Or use some coffee instead)

~4 teaspoons instant pumpkin spice latte mix

1/2 teaspoon instant coffee

dash of cinnamon and allspice

In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add mix, coffee, and spices. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

 

Here's another one of those recipes that I knew must be made as soon as I saw it!  Last year my roommate introduced me to the chocolate and pumpkin combination.  The furthest I was willing to go was throwing in a few handfuls of chocolate chips in my pumpkin bread.  But this year, I was ready to dive head first into chocolately pumpkin goodness!  Especially when Bridget of Bake at 350 reports reviews like this: "If my girlfriend made these, I might have to buy an engagement ring."

We enjoyed these on Wednesday before Thanksgiving because we already had planned the menu for Thursday, but they still needed to be made.  There was a little too much pumpkin to the amount of brownie for my taste, so the recipe is altered here for more perfect ratio.  Wednesday night we warmed them in the microwave and served a la mode.  Thursday morning we had them straight out of the fridge.  Chilled had the vote of all.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies (adapted from Bake at 350)
Serves 16

Pumpkin Cheesecake Layer
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 cup greek yogurt
2 eggs

In in a mixer with paddle attachment, beat cream cheese until smooth.
Add pumpkin, sugar, vanilla, and the spices.
Once well mixed, add the yogurt and eggs.
Set aside.

Brownie Layer
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoon vanilla
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Over medium heat, melt butter in a sauce pan.
Once melted, add sugar.
Remove from heat and whisk in cocoa powder, baking powder, and vanilla.
After sufficiently cool, beat in eggs.
Mix in flour just until well combined.
Pour into greased 9x13 pan, reserving 1/2 to 3/4 cup for top.
Spread cheesecake mixture evenly over top.
Add spoonfuls of reserved brownie batter to top.  Swirl with butter knife.
Sprinkle chocolate chips and pecans on top.
Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 until cheesecake is set.
Cool on wire rack, cover and chill in refrigerator before serving.

Grass-fed beef Meatballs and Marinara-- Paleo style

This post will be more of a photo tour than a real recipe given that I made these like 6 months ago and have never gotten around to posting them, so sorry for the lack of precise amounts. 

Meatballs:

Grass-fed ground beef

minced onion

oregano

basil

egg

(if you aren't paleo, feel free to throw in some breadcrumbs)

garlic powder

salt

pepper

Mix all together in a bowl and form into balls. 

Marinara:

can of diced tomatos (or dice your own)

onion

bell pepper

oregano

basil

garlic

salt

pepper

brown sugar or balsamic vinegar (for either a sweet or tangy sauce)

Mix together the ingredients and simmer on stove on low for how ever long you have. The longer you simmer the better :)

Add the meatballs and simmer until they are cooked through.

In the mean time, slice up some zucchini and saute them and/or some green beans until just al dente.

Serve the sauce and meatballs over the zucchini and green beans. Garnish with some freshly grated parm and some fresh basil.

Peanut Butter Cookie Chocolate Cupcakes

If you've skimmed the recipes here, you have probably noticed KWeage and I pretty much adore anything peanut butter and chocolate.  While browsing Annie's Eats, my go to for cupcake inspiration, I saw this recipe again.  My co-residents this month had a heads up about my baking from a med school classmate.  As there are two days left of this rotation, I took advantage of my extra day off to spend a little extra time in the kitchen.

Peanut Butter Cookie Chocolate Cupcakes (from Annie's Eats)
Makes 28 cupcakes

Cupcake Batter
1 1/2 cups hot coffee
3/4 cup cocoa powder
12 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix cocoa powder into hot coffee, set aside.
Beat together butter and sugars.
Add eggs one at a time.
Stir in vanilla, powder, soda, and salt.
Alternate adding flour and coffee/ cocoa mixture.
Divide batter evenly in prepared cupcake tins.
Bake for 18 minutes.

Ganache
3 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
3 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
½ cup half and half

Melt chocolate in a double boiler.
Whisk in half and half once melted.
Allow to cool briefly before frosting cupcakes.

Peanut Butter Cookie Frosting
9 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
3 cups powdered sugar

Beat together butter and peanut butter.
Slowly add powdered sugar.
Roll approximately 2 tablespoons of the frosting in your palms.
Flatten and add criss-cross patter with fork.
Top each cupcake with a frosting cookie.

Its a boy!

This weekend a friend, AT, had a baby shower, and unfortunately because of a conference, I was unable to attend. But I was able to bake cupcakes and send them instead :) 

I talked to AT's husband ST, and he said that she really loved buttercream frosting, so I set out to find a cupcake with a great buttercream frosting.

I realized that most of the cupcakes I make a pretty girly, and the baby is a boy, so I went to my favorite food blogs for inspiration. I ended up finding a Lemon Blueberry cupcake recipe and thought it would be perfect. 

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes. (inspiration from annie's eats, recipe adapted from yourcupofcake.com).
Makes 24 cupcakes.

Lemon Cake:

1 box of yellow cake mix (or lemon if you have it)
4 eggs
2/3 cup of oil
1 cup of milk
1 small package of instant pudding (I used vanilla, I would recommend getting lemon if you can)
1/2 cup greek yogurt (or sour cream)
2 teaspoons lemon extract (don't use as much if you used lemon cake mix or pudding)
zest of 1 lemon
1 small package of blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, line pans with cupcake liners and spray with non-stick spray.
Distribute the blueberries evenly between the cupcake liners.
In a large bowl, whisk eggs, oil, milk, yogurt, and extract together.
Add cake mix and pudding mix, stir until combined.
Pour mix over the blueberries (I usually use a 1/4c measuring cup to fill them.
Bake for 17-22 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
(I ran into a small problem of the cupcakes collapsing a bit, so make sure they are really done... the toothpick did come out clean, but they were only in for 17 minutes...)

Lemon Buttercream Frosting:

3 cups of powdered sugar (plus a bit extra to get the consistency right)
1 stick of butter (cold)
1+ teaspoon of lemon extract
juice from 1/4 lemon
a dash of half and half
Food coloring

Using a stand mixer and the whisk attachement, beat the butter until it is smooth. Add in the powdered sugar slowly so it has a chance to blend well.
Add the extract and juice.
Taste and add more extract if needed.
Add food coloring to desired color
Add either half and half or powdered sugar to get it to the right consistency.
Pipe using 1M tip.