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Margarita Sugar Cookies

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Kaitlin

My goodness, cookie decorating is not a skill of mine. (You may recall my Christmas cookies that look like they were made by a 6 year old.) But I couldn’t pass up the chance to try a new sweetener option available for baking. In the Raw brand (as in Sugar in the Raw), sent the attendees of the upcoming Eat Write Retreat conference a bag of their new Monk Fruit in the Raw, a zero calorie sweetener that can be used scoop for scoop like normal sugar in baking applications. (It weighs considerably less so if you’re used to weighing ingredients, that would not work with this ingredient.) In the Raw also sent a top secret sugar cookie recipe and asked us to bake, decorate, and try these cookies. I figured no matter how they looked, I still got to eat sugar cookies! So… here’s my “decorating”. I went with making margarita cookies because I can’t get summer out of my mind. I am willing summer to be here! I added a little bit of fresh lime juice to the green icing to give a little margarita taste to the cookies. I also topped them off with some nonpareils to … Continue reading →

“Jim Dandy on the Cape” Cocktail

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Kaitlin

Philadelphia is a food lovers dream. The city is filled with amazing restaurants around every corner. I love living here because no matter where I go to eat, I am inspired by what the restaurants are able to deliver. I do my best to emulate my favorite dishes and drinks throughout the city, with a bit of a twist. I recently attended a new menu launch event at Serrano. An Old City staple, Serrano has been open for over 25 years. I’ve only eaten here once before, before attending a show at Tin Angel upstairs, so I was excited to revisit the restaurant. Serrano is a cozy restaurant that’s warm atmosphere feels like miles away from the busy Old City streets. Chef Gina Rodriguez has compiled a truly delicious spring seasonal menu. The restaurant was also debuting two new cocktails, The 6th Thyme and Jim Dandy in the Everglades. The 6th Thyme is made with in house made mead (made with locally sourced honey), Aperol, thyme, and white cranberry juice. The drink was garnished with a sprig of thyme, a perfect spring drink. Jim Dandy in the Everglades, made with orange vodka, peach bitters, and Proscecco was refreshing and right … Continue reading →

Irish Soda Bread

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Kaitlin

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! One of my favorite memories growing up was my mom making Irish Soda bread during March. It is a fairly straightforward bread and is really quite easy. The bread uses baking powder and baking soda instead of yeast as its leavening agent. Irish Soda Bread is also made with buttermilk that reacts with the baking soda to make it rise. Soda bread is a mostly savory bread, but it usually has some kind of dried fruit in it (raisins, currants, etc) that add a bit of sweetness. My mom’s version has caraway seeds in it that add a little bit of an anise flavor to it (caraway seeds are typically found in rye bread) and I just love it. I wanted to make this with currants but couldn’t find any, so I used raisins. Feel free to substitute golden raisins or currants. Ingredients: 3 cups coarse wholemeal flour 1 cup all purpose flour 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar 4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature 2 tablespoons caraway seeds 1 cup raisins or other dried fruit 2 cups buttermilk, or more if needed

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Kaitlin

I’m so ready for spring. I’m sick of the cold and wind, although we didn’t have any snow this year. So I am going to force spring upon you in the hope of it pushing the warmer months up a little bit. When I think of spring, I always think of Strawberries. And what better way to show off strawberries than in Strawberry Shortcake? I decided to make them in cupcake form because, well, I like cupcakes. I used a Martha Stewart recipe for angel food cake to make the cupcake, filled the inside of the cupcake with a strawberry-sugar mixture, and topped it off with a strawberry whipped cream icing. These are pretty delicious if I do say so myself! Ingredients: Angel Food Cake Cupcakes: 1 cup cake flour (spooned and leveled) 1/4 teaspoon salt 12 large egg whites, room temperature 4 teaspoons lemon juice and zest from 1 lemon, divided 1 1/4 cups sugar 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract Strawberry filling: 3/4 container of strawberries, hulled and chopped 2 tablespoons sugar Strawberry whipped cream: 1 8-oz container cream cheese 3/4 cup white sugar 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract lemon zest from lemon used in angel food cake 2 … Continue reading →

Tiramisu Brownies

Posted on December 24, 2012 by Kaitlin

I am a huge fan of coffee and coffee-related foods, so tiramisu is obviously a favorite of mine. When the concept of a Tiramisu Brownie was mentioned, I was immediately excited. What a fantastic combination of desserts! Barista Prima Coffeehouse® K-Cup® packs are four dark, rich coffee blends that really deliver an intense flavor that are more bold and robust than other K-Cup offerings. The four flavors offered are: Colombia, House Blend, Italian Roast, and French Roast. I’ve had a Keurig for years now (I just had to retire my original Keurig and buy a replacement, sniffle) and am always really pleased with the coffee choices that can be found in K-Cup form. I tend to use coffee grounds in a bunch of recipes, especially ones that use chocolate, to really up the flavor. Barista Prima was nice enough to send me a box of their House Blend K-Cups so I naturally wanted to make a dish that used these delicious grounds as well as a dessert that would be perfect paired with a cup of House Blend coffee. Many thanks to Barista Prima for also sending me this mouthwatering recipe! Ingredients: 12 oz. chocolate chips 1 cup butter, softened 1 cup … Continue reading →

Chai Tea Eggnog Sugar Cookies

Posted on December 22, 2012 by Kaitlin

Last year, I made sugar cookies and attempted to decorate them myself (attempted being the key word). I may be getting better at cooking, but my decorating skills are still really sub par. I didn’t want to give away funny looking cookies again this year but wanted to still make sugar cookies. Cooking Light’s Chai Tea Eggnog Cookie was the perfect choice. Plus, these cookies are really quick to whip up because you can absolutely use sugar cookie mix! Ingredients: 1 chai tea bag 1 (17.5-oz.) package sugar cookie mix 1/2 cup melted butter 1 large egg 4 tablespoons eggnog, divided 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg Note: These cookies are non-alcoholic so they are fine for all ages of cookie lovers.

Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, and Pecan Cookies

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Kaitlin

This year, I participated in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap.The Cookie Swap is in its second year and helps raise money for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, a national non-profit organization committed to funding new therapies used in the fight against pediatric cancer, which claims the lives of more children in the US than any other disease. I was assigned three food bloggers and made one dozen cookies for each of them. In return, I received three different boxes of cookies from other bloggers. I wanted to make a cookie that was a spin on a traditional cookie. This Cooking Light recipe was perfect: Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, AND Pecans! Ingredients 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 5 1/2 ounces) 1 cup Steel Cut oats 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1/3 cup butter, softened 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 large egg 1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate minichips

Rainbow Cookies (a.k.a Seven-Layer Cookies)

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Kaitlin

If you’ve never heard of these lovelies, you are not alone. Rainbow cookies are made of almond cake died fun bright colors with apricot preserves all sandwiched in between two thin layers of chocolate. They really aren’t cookies at all, more like thinly packed cake. But whatever the heck they are called, they are delicious. I don’t really recall these cookies growing up, but my boyfriend (who is from Long Island) absolutely loves them. In fact, he was kind of taken aback when I mentioned I didn’t really know what they were. One of his friends was absolutely horrified; he basically forced me to eat one right then and there which I didn’t complain about. I love them now! So I wanted to try to make these little guys… I’m not sure why. They are awfully difficult (well, more time consuming than difficult). But I was so darn proud of myself when they were done, I don’t even care about the effort I had to put in! The cookies go by a ton of names … Rainbow, Seven Layer, Neapolitan, Tricolor… but I’m pretty sure they tend to be a Christmas staple in Italian households. I found … Continue reading →

Mini Cranberry-Vanilla Coffee Cakes

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Kaitlin

What is it about tiny treats that make the food taste better? I love perfectly portioned food so I was excited to be sent Petite Treats: Mini Versions of Your Favorite Baked Delights. The cookbook has recipes for mini donuts, muffins, scones, pies, and bundt cakes. The recipes sound absolutely delicious but to make most of the treats, you’ll need quite a bit of hardware: mini bunt cake pans, mini donut pans, mini scone pans, mini cupcake pans, etc. There are a few recipes that use a normal muffin pan that sounded really appealing, including mini cakes, but I decided to make the mini coffee cakes so I could have breakfast all week. Ingredients: 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise 1 3/4 cup sugar 1 cup fresh cranberries (I used frozen cranberries, thawed) 2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided 2 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter,at room temperature, divided 2 large eggs 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Apple Cinnamon Donut Holes

Posted on November 24, 2012 by Kaitlin

I wanted to make another batch of the Applejack Spiked Hot Cider but *gasp* I couldn’t find any apple cider anywhere! There must have been a Thanksgiving rush, but I wanted some darn Apple Cider. But then I remembered I bought a Babycakes Cake Pop Maker and figured I could at least make Apple Cinnamon Donut Holes as a sweet apple-y substitute. (Because I couldn’t find apple cider, I substituted apple juice) Ingredients (this makes 2 1/2 – 3 dozen): 1¼ cups all-purpose flour ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon cinnamon ¼ teaspoon nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon allspice ¼ cup vegetable oil 1 egg ½ cup apple juice ¾ cup sugar 1½ teaspoons cinnamon