Rosemary, pecan, and parmesan cookies

I can see you. Through the computer. With that quizzical look. Rosemary + Parmesan, in a cookie?  She's for sure lost it this time.

But I haven't.  Nor has the creator of this cookie, Dorie Greenspan. (She's kinda like THE cookie goddess, if you don't know who she is.)  Nor has the person who recommended them to me, and told me that despite all the Thanksgiving baking I still had left to do, these cookies definitely needed to be made. 

These cookies are savory -- a savory shortbread, almost closer to a cracker, with a fine crumb (they're so crumbly, but in the best way possible) and just the teensiest hint of sweetness.  So much so that they're called -- get this -- cocktail cookies!  Not in the sense that there's booze in them (how can we make that happen?!), but in the sense that you eat them with booze.  White wine was mentioned somewhere, so was some champagne.  I could definitely get on board with that!

So yeah, these cookies.  It's probably too late for you to make them for this Thanksgiving, but Christmas is right around the corner....so is New Year's...or just any random Friday (or Tuesday) night!

A few thoughts about these cookies:

- They come together super easily!  Like all in the bowl of a food processor. No warming of the butter to room temperature.  Literally a few whirls in the food processor. That's it, people!

- Please, freshly grate your Parmesan. Don't use the stuff from the container from the grocery store.  I just feel like the freshly grated stuff is worlds better when it comes to baking.
- I'm toying with the idea of adding a few grinds of fresh black pepper next time.  I might also up the cheese just a little bit. 

- Lastly, don't be lazy like yours truly. Not wanting to take out your food processor because it's in the back of the cabinet behind a lot of other stuff is a pathetic reason to half the recipe so that you can use your mini-prep (which is way more accessible), yielding half as many delicious cookies, and just necessitating that you make another batch sooner.

Rosemary-Parmesan Shortbread Cookies
These were recommended to me by a friend, who has Dorie's new cookbook.  She even sent me pictures of the recipe from the book, but the flash got in the way, so a not-so-quick, very specific internet search yielded me the recipe linked above.

For a more crumbly texture, Dorie recommends not grating your cheese too fine.

Yields about 60 cookies

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp granualted sugar
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup pecans, toasted
1/3 cup Parmesan, grated and lightly packed
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small chunks
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

Special tools:
1.5" round cookie cutter

Instructions:

Season the sugar:
Working in a small bowl, run the sugar and rosemary together with your fingertips until the sugar turns moist, aromatic, and maybe even tinged green (mine was not green, and my fingers killed from all the mixing, so I left mine aromatic and moist, but still white)

Toast the pecans:
I did mine in a toasted at 400F.  
Watch closely, mine took about 5 minutes.  
Do not let them burn 

Prepare the dough:

Combine the flour, pecans, Parmesan, salt, and rosemary sugar in a food processor.
Pulse to blend.
Add in the pieces of cold butter.
Pulse until the mixture turns crumbly.
Slowly and gradually pulse in the beaten egg yolk.
Then continue to pulse the mixture until it turns to a moist dough that forms clumps and curds.

Roll the dough:

Turn the dough out and divide it in half.
Pat each half into a disk.
Working with one disk at a time, place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper.
Roll the dough out to a 1/4-inch thickness.
Repeat with the other half.
Without removing the parchment paper, slide both disks onto a baking sheet -- you can stack them -- and freeze for at least 1 hour.  (Freeze?  Haha.  My freezer is FULL TO THE MAX.  Literally.  I could not fit a baking sheet into it if I tried.  So I refrigerated mine overnight.)

Position your oven rack to the center of your oven.
Preheat to 350F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.
Have your cookie cutter on hand.

Cut the cookies:
Working with one slab of dough at a time, peel away the top sheet of parchment paper.
Use the cookie cutter to cut out as many circles as you can.
Transfer them to the prepared baking sheet.
Leave about 1 inch between cookies.
Combine the scraps from both portions of dough.
Re-roll the dough.
Freeze and repeat the process with the remaining dough.
Always make sure that you start with a cool baking sheet.

Bake the cookies, for about 15 minutes, or once they turn golden and have set.
Rotate your baking sheet 180 degrees halfway through the baking time.
Once done, let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 3 minutes and then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
Bake the remaining cookies.

To store:
If wrapped well, the rolled out dough can be frozen and stored for up to 2 months.
Simply cut out the dough and bake directly from the freezer.
Baked cookies can be kept in a covered container for up to 1 week at room temperature.

Serve with a crisp glass of white wine or champagne.  (or the whole bottle....this is a no judgement zone!)

Bucatini pie

I've had a long past 2 weeks, and so has B.  We're both working a ton, which is great, but with me leaving really early for work and him getting home from work as late as 11:15 p.m. (!!), I sometimes don't get to see him as often as I'd like (at least during wakeful hours).  Last night we both managed to be home by 9 p.m. and we even ate dinner together.  Turns out that today is my early day at work and he doesn't expect to work late, and I felt like that was cause for a (mini) celebration...or at least a home cooked dinner that was more than a protein and salad (our mainstay).  Honestly, I was probably only looking for an excuse to make this recipe, but heck, maybe I'll throw in a glass of wine and we can have a little party.

This recipe, much like the hummus I made before, is a savory one.  But unlike the hummus, it is baked and it does have the word "pie" in the title.  I've done a few savory things in the past (there was this garlic parmesan pull-apart bread and this killer mac and cheese) that also required baking, so I felt that this was an OK thing to post on this baking blog (which, by the way, turns 4 years old in 2 days!).

We usually make our own pasta sauce, which we call marinara sauce, for our meatballs and pasta.  I decided that, since I was going all out with this homemade bucatini pie, I might as well make some homemade sauce as well.  So I did just that!  We don't have a recipe, per se, but since I'm on this "savory kick," I've added a link to it here and below. 

Just one note about the pasta shape: I love bucatini but have found it difficult to find in the past.  Not all stores carry it.  Much to my dismay, there was no bucatini at either of the two grocery stores or two other bodegas that I checked out.  I used spaghetti instead and it came out really well!

Bucatini Pie
From Food and Wine

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
6 large eggs, beaten
1 pound bucatini, broken in half (Bucatini is a long pasta with a hole in the center so that it is actually a tube, also known as Perciatelli)
1.5 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (4 oz)
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp freshly ground pepper (no, that is not a typo!)
2 tsp kosher salt

Warm marinara sauce, for serving

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375F.
Lightly grease a 10-inch cast iron skillet (our cast iron skillet is technically a grill pan, with grooves on the bottom, so I baked this in a regular 9" round metal cake pain, adjusting a little for time since it was a bit thicker).

In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil.
Add the bucatini and cook until al dente (the pasta will continue to cook a little while baking)
Drain the pasta.
Run under cold water to stop the cooking.
Drain well.

In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, eggs, cheese, cream, parsley, olive oil, garlic, pepper, and salt.
Add the pasta and toss to coat.
Scrape into the prepared skillet.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until just set..
Remove from the oven.

Preheat the broiler.
Broil the bucatini pie 6 inches from the heat until golden, about 5 minutes.

Transfer to a rack and let cool for 10 minutes before cutting into wedges.

Serve with warm marinara sauce.

The pie can be kept at room temperature for 4-6 hours before serving.

Jalapeño cheddar scones

Last up, a tried and true scone that I swear by: Jalapeno-Cheddar Scones from Smitten Kitchen!!  I've made these before, several times, but shared them on the blog with you about a year and a half ago here.  They're SO good, that I decided to share the recipe again below, so that you don't have to flip back and forth between this post and the previous one!

Jalapeño Cheddar Scones are the second from the left.

Jalapeño-Cheddar Scones (from SmittenKitchen.com)

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick or 4 ounces) cold butter, diced
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 eggs, divided
1/4 pound sharp Cheddar cheese, diced - I always use white cheddar, although i'm not completely sure why.  I've also thought about trying monterey jack or pepper jack cheese, but I always stop myself, because why fix something that doesn't need fixing?
2 small jalapeño peppers, minced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a small skillet, melt 1/2 tablespoon of butter and sauté the jalapeños in it until soft.
Let them cool, then mix them with the cheddar cheese in a small bowl and coat them with one tablespoon of the flour.

Combine the remaining flour with the baking powder and salt.
Cut in the remaining butter with a pastry blender, fork or two knives, until the butter bits are pea sized.

Lightly whip two of the eggs and cream and add to the flour-butter mixture.
Using a wooden spoon, fold mixture until it begins to come together.
Add the cheddar-jalapeño mixture to the dough and mix until everything is well-mixed.

Put the dough on a well-floured surface and gently knead it till it comes together well (less than one minute).
Pat dough out to a 3/4- to 1-inch thickness and either cut into 8 triangles or the shape of your choice with a biscuit cutter. I made mine mini for the shower (and generally make them mini when serving as an appetizer).

I then froze mine, and actually baked them up AT the shower, since I think they are THE BEST when they're fresh out of the oven.

When ready to bake the scones, remove the from the freezer and then start from here:

Make an egg wash by beating the remaining egg with a teaspoon of water.
Brush the scones with egg wash and place on a parchment-lined (or well-oiled) baking sheet.
Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.  My mini ones take much less, about 8-12 minutes depending on the oven.

Prosciutto, cheese, and scallion scones

For L's baby shower this past weekend, I wanted to add some savory scones to the sweet ones that I was going to make.  These were my first savory scone that I baked for the shower, and also happen to be the second installment of the week of scones!

The Prosciutto, Scallion, and Gruyere Scones are the 4th from the left.

These were also pretty easy to make, in part to the pre-chopped prosciutto that I found near the deli counter.  What a time saver!  Definitely appreciated given the sheer variety of scones that I was making (plus, there were cupcakes, too!).  I made these mini, too, since there were going to be so many varieties of scones, and I figured people might want to try more than one flavor.  I ended up getting 19 mini scones, plus I had tons of leftover dough that I just re-kneaded and made about 10 more mini scones.

I have to say, I'm a HUGE fan of these savory scones!  They're perfectly savory, salty, and delicious without being too salty!  My only regret?  The minis are so mini...I want to eat more than one at once!

Prosciutto, Gruyere, and Scallion Scones
from Kitchen Confidante

Ingredients:

2.5 cups flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup butter
2 large eggs
2/3 cups buttermilk
2/3 cup shredded gruyere (I hand grated mine)
1/2 cup chopped prosciutto
1/4 cup grated parmesan, plus extra for sprinkling
1/4 cup chopped green onion (scallion)
2 Tbsp half and half
Sea salt

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Using a pastry cutter (or two forks, or knives, or a food processor), cut the butter into the flour mixture, until you have course crumbs.

Whisk the eggs lightly and combine with the buttermilk.
Add to the flour mixture and stir until just moist.

In a small bowl, mix together the cheeses, prosciutto, and scallions.
Add this to the batter and mix lightly.
* The dough will be sticky.

On a lightly floured surface, turn the dough out and knead lightly until all the cheese, prosciutto, and scallions are incorporated into the dough.
Roll the dough 3/4 inch thick.
Cut out 3 inch squares, then cut diagonally to make triangles.  You should have about 10.
Or, you can make mini scones like I did, with a 2" circle cutter.  Punch down with the cutter, but do not twist.
Place the scones onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.
Lightly brush the top of the scones with half and half.
Sprinkle with sea salt.

Place the scones in the freezer for 30 minutes.

*Since I made the scones a few days before and planned to bake them the morning of the shower, I left off the half and half and salt when I froze them, and did that when I took them out of the freezer to bake them.  I ended up using an egg wash and left off the salt, since I was afraid that they might be too salty.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Once the scones are chilled, bake for 20 minutes, or until golden.
I baked my mini scones for about 10 minutes.
Sprinkle with additional parmesan cheese and serve warm.
Since I did this at L's mother-in-law's apartment and I forgot to bring the parmesan cheese with me, I inadvertently left that off.  Oops!

Happy 2nd Birthday, JulieBakes!

It's amazing how quickly time flies!  I was at work on Monday talking about "smash cakes" -- of all things -- with a coworker, and I pulled up a picture on the blog of some mini cakes I had made a while ago.  While I was scrolling through the posts, I came across JulieBakes' 1st birthday post, and realized that that momentous anniversary was right around the corner (October 16th)!  I had two days to come up with a recipe and bake it, in order to get it done in time for the blog's actual second birthday (I imagine that 2 year old blogs are similar to 2 year old children, and celebrating their birthday a day or two late is beyond unacceptable).  No easy feat given the way work has been going (I was actually supposed to be off on Wednesday, but that changed, and I ended up having to work 6 days straight).  But I couldn't not celebrate.

So the first issue was what to make for the blog's second birthday.  I had some other baking I wanted to do, but didn't want to substitute one of those recipes for the birthday recipe.  Then I came across a recipe on Pinterest for what they called "Robicelli's Dom DeLuise Cupcakes."  I have to admit, I was intrigued by the name.  But when I saw that they were a cannoli-inspired cupcake, I was hooked.  I.  LOVE.  CANNOLIS!  And since this blog is an extension of me, JulieBakes.  LOVES.  CANNOLIS!

I have to say, I was a bit hesitant to make a cupcake that is another dessert altogether, but the tiramisu cupcakes that I've made on the blog were fantastic....and those Samoa cupcakes?  Well B still talks about them.  OK, so maybe it wasn't a bad idea after all. 

I have to say, these did not disappoint!  While I wouldn't say they taste exactly like a cannoli, the flavor is there, and it's delicious.

There's only one thing.  The original recipe said that it made 12 cupcakes.  I debated halving the recipe, since I'm really the only one celebrating, but decided to keep it at the full recipe, since I figured I could bring the leftovers with me on the wine tour this weekend.  But I didn't get 12 cupcakes.  Not even close.  I got 22 full-sized cupcakes AND 24 mini cupcakes.  Yes, you read that correctly!  But the most impressive thing?  The icing recipe made enough icing for all 46 cupcakes (although when I was typing the directions below, I saw that the icing recipe was for 24 cupcakes...but still, there was enough for them all!).  I just needed a little extra in terms of the decorations at the end, but I was incredibly impressed that there was enough icing for ALL the extra cupcakes!

Dom DeLuise (Cannoli-inspired) Cupcakes
From Robicelli's: A Love Story, With Cupcakes, found via Food52
(and by the way, I MUST get my hands on that cookbook!!)

Cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
3/4 cup shelled raw pistachios
10 Tbsp unsalted butter
4 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1 cup of milk
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp kosher salt
1 1/3 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Line a cupcake pan with 12 baking cups (or in my case, several cupcake pans with 46 baking cups).

 

Place the sugar and pistachios in a food processor and process until the pistachios are finely ground.

Set aside.

 

Melt the butter in a microwave.

Keep the butter warm; do not allow it to sit and cool off.

 

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and egg whites on medium-low speed for 2 minutes until lightly foamy.

 

Increase the mixer speed to medium-high.

Pour the warm butter into the eggs slowly, so that the mixture tempers and the eggs do not scramble.

Once the butter is added, reduce the speed to medium-low.

 

With the mixer running, add the milk, vanilla, and salt.

Mix for 1 minute until well combined.

 

Sift together the flour and baking powder and stir into the pistachio mixture.

Add to the batter.

Mix on medium until just combined, about 30 seconds.

Remove the bowl and paddle from the mixer and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, ensuring that everything is well mixed.

 

Scoop the batter into the prepared baking cups, filling them two thirds of the way.

 

Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes (mine took 22-23 minutes for the full-sized cupcakes, and about 12 for the mini cupcakes), rotating the pan halfway through.

The cupcakes are done when the centers spring back when you touch them.

Remove the cupcakes from the oven. Let cool completely.

 

Ricotta Cannoli Icing

 

Ingredients:

 

3 sticks unsalted butter

1 cup ricotta cheese, strained and pressed (which I did, but then I thought it was ricotta-y enough, and I added a little more ricotta without straining and pressing it)

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4cup heavy cream

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

 

Directions:

 

Cream together the butter, ricotta cheese, and vanilla with a mixer set to "high" until light and fluffy.

 

Add powdered sugar a 1/4 cup at a time, beating well between each addition.

Add heavy cream.                

 

Continue to beat on high for an additional minute to incorporate air.

 

Decorations:

 

1/4 cup shelled pistachios, roasted and chopped finely

1/4 cup miniature chocolate chips

1/4 cup candied citron or orange zest, finely diced (optional) -- I opted not to use it, because I don't particularly like the flavor, and well, it's my blog ;-)

 

Assembly:

 

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain or fluted tip with cannoli buttercream and pipe onto each pistachio cupcake.

Mix the chocolate chips, roasted pistachios, and candied citrus, if using, in a bowl and sprinkle on top of the cupcakes.

Carrot cake

How did you spend your Saturday?  I spent it....wait for it....waiting in line.  But not just any line.  I was waiting in line for an "audition" for a reality baking show!  Holding a cake, which after 3+ hours was VERY heavy.

I was told to bring my best dessert to the trials, but what I didn't read was there there would only be two taste testers....but I brought an entire two-layer carrot cake...with homemade cream cheese icing. 

I didn't make the first cut, but I'm OK with that.  Despite the fact that I didn't want to actually end up on the show, I wanted the expeirence of having tried out.  I also learned something important -- I'm not nearly dramatic enough to be on a reality show!  But I did make a delicious cake, and I'm sharing it with you!

Triple Layer Carrot Cake (I made mine two layers this time)
Adapted from several different carrot cake recipes, and prefected (in my humble opinion) by me.

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1.5 cups vegetable oil
4 large eggs
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 tsp ground ginger
3 cups freshly grated peeled carrots (I prefer to hand grate mine, but a food processor would work, too.  Don't use bagged, pre-shredded carrots).
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°F.
Lightly grease three 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides.
Line bottom of pans with waxed paper.
Lightly grease waxed paper.

Using electric mixer, beat sugar and vegetable oil in bowl until combined.
Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg into sugar and oil mixture.
Stir in carrots, chopped walnutes and raisins.
Pour batter into prepared pans, dividing equally.
Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean and cakes begin to pull away from sides of pans, about 45 minutes.

Cool in pans on racks 15 minutes.
Turn out cakes onto racks and cool completely.
Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap tightly in plastic and store at room temperature.

Cream Cheese Icing
(From epicurious, a long time ago, and committed to memory....and the original is nowhere to be found on the website now)

Ingredients:

3 8oz packages of cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 stick butter, room temperature
3-4 cups of powdered sugar
Vanilla to taste

Directions:

Blend cream cheese and butter.
Add vanilla to taste.
Add powdered sugar.  I add about 1/2 cup at a time until desired sweetness and consistency.  I usually end up with about 3 cups of powdered sugar.

Garlic parmesan pull-apart bread

Think of this bread as savory Monkey Bread.  Granted, I've never made monkey bread before, but I imagine that this is it's savory brother.  It's a homemade yeast dough rolled into balls, coated in a garlic-parsley butter, and layered into a bundt pan, with layers of grated parmesan (or, in my case, romano) cheese.

This bread would be great as an appetizer served with marinara sauce or as a side dish for an Italian dinner in place of traditional garlic bread.  I've only tasted it fresh out of the oven, but I imagine that that is the best way to serve it.

I made this recipe for my sisters.  One, more than the other, but simply because she LOVES garlic in an almost-unhealthy way.  But both of my sisters are not big fans of sweets.  Abnormal, right?  So when I saw this recipe a while ago, I knew I had to make it for them.  Savory baked goods are right up their alley.  See if you can find where I snuck a piece to taste.

A few thoughts/notes:
1. DOUBLE the butter-garlic-parsley mixture. Or, at the very least, 1.5X it. Do it at the beginning, too. I found having to mince garlic twice to be annoying.
2. You may think that you don't have enough dough when you're layering it. Do not worry. When you let it rise a second time, and then bake it, it more than rises and fills the pan!

Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread

Ingredients:

2 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/3 cups barely warm water (I used hot tap water that had been running for a few minutes)
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour (or bread flour, according to the recipe, but I used all purpose)

Coating (I recommend 1.5 or doubling this recipe):
1/4 cup butter, melted (I used unsalted, since there is a good amount of salt in the dough and the cheese is quite salty, too....oh, and I only have unsalted butter in my fridge for baking)
1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I used Romano cheese, since that is what I had - and prefer.  Romano cheese is a bit more salty than Parmesan)

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the yeast and water, and let it sit for 5 minutes until it is foamy.
Mix in flour, olive oil, and salt.
Using the dough hook on the mixer, knead the dough for 5-6 minutes until elastic.
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel.
Allow the dough to rise for 1.5 to 2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.

In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, parsley flakes, and minced garlic.  Set aside.

Punch down the dough. 
Tear off small pieces of dough (about the zise of the bowl of a medium spoon) and coat in the butter mixture.  Place the coated balls of dough in the bottom of a (nongreased) bundt pan.
Repeat until you have one layer of dough balls.
Cover with 1/3 of the cheese, sprinkled over the layer.
Continue layering the dough balls and cheese until there are 3 layers.
Cover the pan with a clean towel and allow to sit until the dough has doubled in size, 20-30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown.
Serve hot with a side of marinara sauce.

Tiramisu (mini) cupcakes

I'm sure you've all heard by now that JulieBakes has it's own facebook page.  The other day, I posted a question on the facebook page asking you, the faithful JulieBakes readers, what I should bake this weekend.  The Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake (a two layer red velvet cake with a layer of cheesecake in the middle) was the quick forerunner, but these Tiramisu Cupcakes (mini, naturally) snuck in at the end and beat out the cake by a mere 4 votes.

I have to admit that I wanted to make BOTH the cake and the cupcakes, but I didn't want to bake a cake without an occasion or event to bring it to, and the BBQ that I'm going to on Memorial Day isn't the best venue to bring it to.  And I couldn't turn it into cupcakes, since the cheesecake layer would be hard to sandwich between two layers of cupcake.  So, thank you JulieBakes fans, for choosing these cupcakes instead.  But rest assured, I will make that cake!

By now you should also know that I love everything miniaturized.  Which means these tiramisu cupcakes are mini tiramisu cupcakes.  The orginal recipe says it makes 18 cupcakes, but I got 72 mini cupcakes (plus enough batter for about 6-8 more, but I didn't bake those last few).  When making mini cupcakes from a regular cupcake recipe, you usually need more toppings, since the surface area of the mini cupcakes is much greater than that of the regular sized cupcakes made from the same amount of batter.  Sorry for getting all scienc-y and math-y on you, but it's a good rule of thumb for your future baking endeavors (in this case, it comes to about 1.5 times the amount for the regular-sized cupcakes).

These cupcakes are like soft lady fingers.  Then they're topped with a little bit of a coffee-liquor syrup, covered in a mascarpone-whipped cream icing, and lastly sprinkled with some cocoa powder.  I thought about using some chocolate shavings, but it was too hot in my apartment and they would've melted.

These cupcakes are time and dish intensive - but well worth it, if you ask me.

Tiramisu (Mini) Cupcakes

For the Cupcakes:

1 1/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/4 cup milk
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
3 whole eggs plus 3 egg yolks, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar

For the Coffee-Marsala Syrup (you may or may not run out of this mixture - I doubled it and had a LOT extra):

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon freshly brewed very strong coffee (or espresso)
1 ounce marsala (I used rum, since I didn't have marsala, and the last time I made tiramisu, it said to use rum; I halved the amount of alcohol as I assumed that rum is stronger than marsala)
1/4 cup granulated sugar

For the Mascarpone Frosting:

1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Line muffin tins with paper liners.
Sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
Heat milk and vanilla-bean pod and seeds in a small saucepan over medium heat just until bubbles appear around the edge. Remove from heat. Whisk in butter until melted, and let stand 15 minutes. Strain milk mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, and discard vanilla-bean pod.

With an electric mixer on medium speed (I used my stand mixer), whisk together eggs, yolks, and sugar.
Set mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water, and whisk by hand until sugar is dissolved and mixture is warm, about 6 minutes.
Remove bowl from heat.
With an electric mixer on high speed (I used a stand mixer), whisk until mixture is fluffy, pale yellow, and thick enough to hold a ribbon on the surface for several seconds when whisk is lifted.

Gently - but thoroughly - fold flour mixture into the egg mixture in three batches.
Stir 1/2 cup batter into the strained milk mixture to thicken, then fold milk mixture into the remaining batter until just combined.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full (I used a mini scoop to fill them evenly).
Bake, rotating tins halfway through (I didn't rotate), until centers are completely set and edges are light golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.

Make the syrup: Stir together coffee, marsala, and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Let cool.

Brush the tops of the cupcakes evenly with coffee syrup; repeat until all syrup has been used (I drizzled the syrup on the cupcakes individually, since I was afraid of making my cupcakes too soggy).
Allow cupcakes to absorb liquid 30 minutes.

Make frosting: With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk heavy cream until stiff peaks form (be careful not to overbeat, or cream will be grainy).
In another bowl, whisk together mascarpone and confectioners’ sugar until smooth.
Gently fold whipped cream into mascarpone mixture until completely incorporated.
Use immediately.

To finish, place frosting onto cupcakes (I used a pastry bag with a large circular tip).
Keep in the fridge up to overnight in airtight containers.
Dust generously with cocoa powder just before serving (I got overzealous and did that part tonight for the pictures, and I'm hoping they'll last).

Super bowl

This year's super bowl is exciting not only because the home team is playing, but also because I actually have the day off! In the past six years, I have worked every super bowl Sunday. I chose to celebrate having the day off by hosting a little get together at my apartment for the game.

In traditional Julie fashion, I planned a hugely elaborate menu, sticking mainly to hors d'ourves/snack-y foods and desserts.

I started a few days early by making the sweet and spicy candied nuts, the jalapeño-cheddar scones (which I didn't get to serve), and the roasted and shredded beef. Then, I made some of the chocolate lollipops. My original intent was to make football lollipops as well as helmet lollipops in the colors of the teams playing, but finding/making navy chocolate proved to be harder than I thought it would.

Then I pared down my menu. Pretty substantially. It was way too much food for the dozen or so people who were expected.

The day before I started with the remaining foods on my now-paired-down list. Greek lamb meatballs, buffalo chicken mini meatballs (the original recipe called for mini, it wasn't my doing!), my grandmother's hot dog appetizer (which I also didn't get to serve), spinach dip (which I also didn't get to serve), and macaroni and cheese. I took a short cut with the salsa, hummus, jalapeño poppers (from the freezer aisle), and buffalo wings (from a local bar) and bought them.

Dessert was chocolate lollipops, nutella cupcakes in football wrappers, and cookie-and-brownie "burgers" (idea taken from this blog, but I made everything from scratch). Why nutella cupcakes, you may wonder? Because tomorrow is Nutella Day and I promised a friend I'd make Nutella cupcakes for Nutella day!

Congrats to the Giants on an awesome win!

Some of the spreads

Macaroni and cheese

The first time I set out to make homemade macaroni and cheese years ago, I decided I'd go with a fancy version.  It was called "Cheesemonger's Mac and Cheese" and used, among other cheeses, brie.  I remember tediously taking off the rind of the brie and then cutting it into cubes which was, given brie's natural softness, difficult at best.  Then, I hand-grated the other cheeses.  It was hard work and I anxiously awaited the final version, only to be let down by the finished product.  I remember it being bland and not at all cheesey (in the "full of cheese" not the "corny sense of humor" way). 

I set out on a mission to find a new, cheesy-tasting macaroni and cheese, and actually found it in the same place, on epicurious.  The second one I made was exactly what I was looking for in a mac n' cheese, and it's been my go-to mac and cheese recipe since then.  Just a warning: this recipe makes A LOT of cheese sauce.  So much so that I recommend you either half the sauce or double the amount of pasta.  I add a little jack cheese just for a little extra richness.

This is mac n' cheese made with half of the sauce and topping recipe, and 1 pound of pasta! 

Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

For topping:
1/2 stick of unsalted butter
2 cups panko or 3 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs
1/4 pound (1.5 cups) coarsely grated extra-sharp cheddar (I add some jack cheese)
1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

For cheese sauce:
1 stick unsalted butter
6 Tbsp flour
5 cups whole milk
1 pound (6 cups) coarsely grated extra-sharp cheddar (again, I add some jack cheese, too)
1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano

1 pound elbow macaroni

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. Make the topping.  Melt butter and then stir with the panko crumbs and the cheese for the toppings until well combined.

3. Make the cheese sauce.  Melt butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat and stir in flour. Cook the roux, stirring, for 3 minutes.  Then whisk in milk. Bring sauce to a boil, whisking constantly, then simmer while whisking occasionally, for 3 minutes. Stir in cheeses, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper until smooth. Remove from heat and cover surface of sauce with wax paper.

4. Make the pasta.  Cooke pasta in a pot of salted water (2 Tbsp salt in 4 quarts of water) until al dente. Reserve 1 cup cooking water and drain macaroni. Stir together macaroni, reserved cooking water, and sauce in a large bowl. Transfer to 2 buttered 2-quart shallow baking dishes.

5. Put together the mac and cheese.  Sprinkle topping evenly over macaroni and bake until golden and bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes.

Jalapeño-cheddar scones

Most people will be surprised to see this recipe on this blog.  I think it's because most people forget that baking can be savory, too.  I've made this recipe a few times before, and it's always a big hit.  They have great jalapeño flavor without being too spicy (I think to increase the heat you can add extra jalapeños or sautee them briefly (or not at all) to increase the heat factor, though I haven't tried either of those yet).  I choose to cut mine into little circle scones instead of the typical wedge-shaped scone.  I also make them mini (by now, you shouldn't be shocked).  Why mini scones, you might ask?  The answer is simple - I like to serve them as an appetizer, straight out of the oven (while most sweet scones can be served room temperature, these are really the best straight out of the oven, as the cheese is still soft and melty).  And I think they'll be perfect for my superbowl party this weekend (while I am not a football fan, I am rooting for the home team, so here is my shameless bias: GO GIANTS!).

Since I have an extensive menu planned (again, not a huge shocker here), I figured I'd try and start a few days early.  I made the scones tonight and the put them in the freezer.  They can be baked straight from the freezer, too - all you need to do is add an extra minute or two.  Just be sure to put the egg wash on after you take them out of the freezer (translation: don't freeze them with the egg wash on them).  I made a double batch so that I could give some to my parents to take to the super bowl party that they're going to.

But of course I had to test them out tonight, you know, just to make sure they're OK ;-)

  

After I cut out all the circles, I refolded the dough and cut out more.
Not wanting to be wasteful, I used the scraps from the second round
and just made a few wedges to bake up tonight.

And my little taste tester (minus the egg wash, since I wasn't making an entire egg wash tonight just to glaze this little guy and his few "tester" buddies):



Jalapeño-Cheddar Scones (from SmittenKitchen.com)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick or 4 ounces) cold butter, diced
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 eggs, divided
1/4 pound sharp Cheddar cheese, diced - I always use white cheddar, although i'm not completely sure why.  I've also thought about trying monterey jack or pepper jack cheese, but I always stop myself, because why fix something that doesn't need fixing?
2 small jalapeño peppers, minced

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a small skillet, melt 1/2 tablespoon of butter and sauté the jalapeños in it until soft. Let them cool, then mix them with the cheddar cheese in a small bowl and coat them with one tablespoon of the flour.

Combine the remaining flour with the baking powder and salt. Cut in the remaining butter with a pastry blender, fork or two knives, until the butter bits are pea sized.

Lightly whip two of the eggs and cream and add to the flour-butter mixture. Using a wooden spoon, fold mixture until it begins to come together. Add the cheddar-jalapeño mixture to the dough and mix until everything is well-mixed.

Put the dough on a well-floured surface and gently knead it till it comes together well (less than one minute). Pat dough out to a 3/4- to 1-inch thickness and either cut into 8 triangles or the shape of your choice with a biscuit cutter. Make an egg wash by beating the remaining egg with a teaspoon of water. Brush the scones with egg wash and place on a parchment-lined (or well-oiled) baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Cheddar crackers

I bought my food processor over a week ago (8 days, to be exact), and I've been wanting to use it since I brought it back to my apartment the following day.  See, I can be like a kid sometimes, and want to use a new toy as soon as it has been purchased.  It sat in the box for exactly a week until I opened it today to make cheddar cheese crackers.  These crackers have been touted as being homemade goldfish crackers, yet I am waiting to purchase a fish cookie cutter (how cute!) until I confirm that the crackers are worth it.  I decided on making these crackers for two reasons.  First of all, the only recipes I have at this point that require a food processor are these crackers and pie crust, and frankly, I'm not making pies for a while.  Secondly, I had seen a recipe for another version of cheddar crackers several months ago, but promptly forgot about it (since I didn't have a food processor at the time) until another recipe came into my inbox as part of a "homemade food gifts" ideas list.  Cheddar crackers it is!

I bought enough cheddar cheese to make 2 batches of the dough (a little more than that, but not enough for 3 batches, which I now regret).  I was measuring out the ingredients in order to make a batch, and I remembered that I had some truffle salt, so instead of regular salt in the first batch, I used truffle salt.  For the second batch, I had thought that it would be fun to add another spice, but couldn't figure out which one....chives?  rosemary?  paprika?  Then I found my Northwoods Seasoning (a mixture of  salt, Hungarian sweet paprika, Tellicherry black pepper, thyme, cracked rosemary, granulated garlic, and chipotle) and knew I had found the perfect seasoning (as an aside: I think the Northwoods Seasoning has a kick, but they do make a Northwoods Fire seasoning, which is spicier).

Northwoods Cheddar and Truffle Cheddar Crackers

I got this recipe from a blog, who got it from another blog, who got it from....well, you get the picture.  I don't know the original owner of the recipe, but eventually I traced it all the way back to this blog (which I'm sure got it from somewhere else). Of course I didn't get there when I started out, so I thought I was so clever for choosing white pepper over black pepper (the recipe I found just said pepper).

Oh....and you can bet I'll be ordering that adorable little fish cookie cutter in the near future (I only wish it came even smaller than this one)!

Cheddar Cheese Crackers
(from savoryseasonings.blogspot.com, via homecookinginmontana.blogspot.com, via http://www.thekitchn.com/)
My comments are in italics

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. white ground pepper (optional)
4 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
8 ounces grated cheddar cheese (I used freshly grated cheddar cheese and not the pre-shredded bagged stuff)
3-4 Tbsp water

(For the first batch I used 3/4 tsp truffle salt instead of regular salt and the white pepper - they weren't truffle-y enough, not sure if it just needed more truffle salt or if it's because my truffle salt is aged (um, well, just old).  In the second batch, I used 3/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp white pepper, but added a teaspoon plus a hearty shake of Northwoods Seasoning [and yes, I realized that there is both salt and pepper in the Northwoods as well, which didn't really matter at all because they are AWESOME].  I didn't really get the spice of the Northwoods when they had baked, so if you're looking for spicy cheddar crackers (as had been my goal), it might be good to go with the Northwoods Fire.)

Pulse the flour, salt, and pepper (if using) in a food processor (I added the Northwoods here, too).  Add the butter a little at a time while pulsing, until it looks like coarse meal.  Then add the cheese a little at a time until it again looks like coarse meal.  Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it becomes a ball of dough (I only needed 3 tablespoons of water in each batch).

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes (and up to 24 hours). 

Roll the dough directly onto the baking sheet to 1/8  inch thickness.  Cut dough using a knife or pizza cutter (the recipes vary in terms of the shape you should cut them into.  Personally, I think triangles are the cutest, so I went with that), then bake at 350° F for 15-20 minutes or until crackers are golden brown.

Store in an airtight container for up to one week or freeze.

The possibilities to me are really endless...white cheddar instead of yellow cheddar...maybe pepper jack instead of cheddar all together?!  Onion powder, garlic powder, chives....the list can go on and on...