Chocolate Cream Filled Doughnut Holes

I finally did it - I made filled doughnut holes.  And they are FANTASTIC!  After an amazing holiday weekend of mini golf, hanging out with friends and I completed it with doing something I've never done before (and might I add something I never thought I would do), I caught up on some much needed sleep since I was out until the early morning (let's just say I saw the sun come up when I went to bed - something I haven't done since my college days - i.e. a great St. Patrick's Day weekend in Southie) I decided to tackle the filled doughnuts. 

Playing off the recipe from my friend at Arubula's Kitchen, I changed up the recipe for the chocolate one a little (I made it more chocolaty) - I must of tasted the batter a ton of times before I thought it was just right. 

chocolate dough

Once all chilled and ready to go, I cut the dough into doughnut holes and back into the fridge they went to chill.  Then came time to fry them off.  Now with the normal doughnuts, you can tell when they are cooked because they turn a nice golden brown color.  This dough was dark - how could I tell if it was done or not?!  So I tossed some in and let them go - lets just say the first couple of batches are what I like to call "extra crispy".  Still very tasty though.  Once I got the hang of it I got into a groove and went to town.  And these are just as addicting as the normal ones I make. 

a bowl of doughnut holes

Once all cooled - time to make the filling.  I knew what I wanted to use for the filling - and it is the perfect filling for these bad boys.  I wasn't sure how much of it the holes would take so I made the normal amount the recipe called for - I only ended up using half.  The rest of it is in my freezer waiting to be used the next time I make these (of course there will be a next time).  And I got to finally use my new pastry gun - a gun instead of a bag - a lot easier for me to use with my injured hand - my sister was thinking when she bought it for me as a Christmas gift. :)



pastry gun ready to go

Now came the fun part....filling the doughnut holes.  There were a couple of times I put a little too much filling in and it came out the other side, but for the most part they all came out great.  And extremely tasty.  Even my "extra crispy" ones are fantastic. 

ooohhh yeah :) 
food porn shot

I have a feeling these wont last long.  :) Currently sitting in a bowl in my fridge (thanks to the gross heat and humidity) - they are hard not to snack on every time someone opens the fridge door. 

 

Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes

I don't eat cheesecake - it's one dessert I've never liked no matter how many times I try it.  Not sure what it is about it that I don't like, but I've been wanting to make these since I bought Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Cookbook when it came out.  So I finally decided that I would make them.  I knew that my sisters would eat them and I could always pass them out to my taste testers, so getting people to eat them wasn't a problem. 

I hit the grocery store after my morning appointment at OT to get a few ingredients - like the 2 pounds of cream cheese that it calls for.  That's right - 2 pounds.  I'm standing there in front of the cream cheese section double checking my math and making sure that I buy the right amount of cream cheese (its 4 8 oz boxes) - math and me don't get along.  Whenever math comes into my baking world, I always double and triple check it before I start.  And I needed some Oreo's  - trust me when I say buy 2 bags of Oreo's because you will need both bags.  I got one bag of Double Stuffed and one of the new Fudge Covered Oreo's because I thought I would make the Oreo's that get crushed inside the cupcake better - who doesn't like a fudge covered Oreo?! 

I get home and let things come to room temperature and then get going on putting an Oreo in each cupcake tin using my other fun new cupcake liners (this time they were polka dots in spring colors). 

Oreos as the crust
genius

The batter is super easy - and I'm jamming away listening to music having fun.  Once it's all together, time to scoop it out.  Fill those bad boys to the top - there is a ton of batter.  I went back after my initial scooping out to fill them up some more.  They don't overflow while baking - they just puff up.  So don't worry about spillage while baking. 

filled to the brim

Once filled - time to bake away!  I've never made a cheesecake before and was a little nervous about how to tell when they were "set" or not.  So I'm standing there in front of my oven having a little conversation with myself about if I think they are set or not.  They seemed firm and "set" so I took them out and let them cool.  Once cooled I stuck them in the fridge.  Now I had to wait for one of my sisters to come home and try one since I don't eat cheesecake. 

Finally they came home and Heay's said she would try one. 

oh yeah

She said they were AMAZING!  I was happy I didn't make something bad.  So off I sent her to the boys with treats.  They were very happy.  I am the treat fairy.  

Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes

makes 30

42 Oreos, 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped

2 pounds cream cheese, room temp

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 large eggs, room temp, lightly beaten

1 cup sour cream

pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees.  Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.  Place 1 whole Oreo in the bottom of each lined cup. 
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined.  Beat in vanilla.
3. Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time, beating to combine and scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Beat in sour cream and salt.  Stir in chopped cookies by hand.
4. Divide batter evenly among cookie-filled cups, filling each almost to the top.  Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes.  Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely.  Refrigerate (in tins) at least 4 hours (or up to overnight).  Remove from tins just before serving.  

Coffee Cake Muffins

Sorry I haven't posted in a week!  I had a mini vacation to Baltimore for my cousin's wedding.  I had a great time and got to see lots of family that I hadn't seen in years.  And one of my cousin's issued me a challenge to fix a recipe for her - which I gladly took and will happily post about.  She sent me the recipe and I'm going over it as we speak and already making corrections to it - hopefully it will turn out well.  :) 

Back to the baking!  Tuesday is treat day for my favorite 3 taste testers.  I have been wanting to make these for a while now, I mean really - who doesn't like a coffee cake?!  And in the form of a muffin/cupcake - love it.  Of course I got this from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes (they are called Struesel Cupcakes in the book).  And the batter for this is delicious.  I could eat it all day.  I literally scraped the bowl clean before I washed it - wrong I know. 

The first time I made these I had a boo boo.  I read the recipe really quick and it seemed simple and straightforward enough. I made the batter and when finished I made the topping.  After the topping was made is when I see it - refrigerate for 30 minutes.  WHAT?!  Why wasn't this part first in the cookbook?!  Nowhere in the directions does it say "Hey - make the topping first".  So now, I'm semi-freaking out.  Things are ready to go - I've got the oven on and the batter already in all the cupcake tins.  So I stick it in the freezer for 15 minutes - worked out great.  But it was a great lesson to read the whole thing slow :) 

No errors this time (and since the first time I made them).  I made the topping and let it hang out in the fridge for a while.

topping - yum

I love this batter - really easy to make and delicious. 

so tasty

Now comes the fun part.  I take my cookie scoop and scoop out one scoop into each cupcake/muffin hole.  Don't worry about smooshing it down - that comes in a minute.  Just leave it the way it falls in there.  After its all scooped out (and I've found that it really makes 30 - not 24)  comes the fun part of adding in the topping.  You place some in and squish it down into the batter.  You will have some topping left over - then you go back and sprinkle it on the top of each muffin and bake away.  Don't worry if you can't see the top, the batter bakes up through it.  And then you get these -




they smell so good
while baking

Let cool and then make the icing.  And then drizzle away - make it fancy or however you like it.  We all know I'm no artist :) 



yes please

So Heays brings them in to the men and I had to make a special trip earlier in the day to one of them before he left work (which is something I never do - why deliver it yourself when you have someone who will?) :) The feedback was hysterical.  "SOO GOOD"  "WOW"  "The best yet"  They know that I love feedback - its the only thing I ask of them now that they are taste testers :)  


Struesel Cupcakes

makes 24

Topping:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar

2 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp

Whisk together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt; cut in the butter using a pastry blender, your fingertips or 2 table knives until combined but still crumbly.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups sour cream

Milk Glaze

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.  Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as eneded.  Stir in vanilla by hand.  Add flour mixture and sour cream; stir until just combined.
3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups.  Sprinkle half the topping over cupcakes, gently pressing it into the batter.  Sprinkle evenly with remaining topping.  Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes.  Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.
4. To finish, place cupcakes on a wire rack set over a baking sheet;  drizzle evenly with milk glaze.  Glaze cupcakes can be stored up to 3 says at room temperature in airtight containers.

Milk Glaze:

1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted

3 tbsp milk

Whisk together ingredients until smooth.  Use immediately.

Lemon Tassies

Since the weather is finally getting nicer (well, not lately - its been raining her for the past week) I decided to make a spring time treat.  These are little lemon pies - love them.  Not too overpowering in the lemon department - I really hate when its overpowering...it kills the treat.  And you get to make crust!!  I enjoyed making these.  And anything that calls for me to use a zester I'm down for - I find it highly enjoyable to zest something and the smell that comes from it is so nice.  So I pulled out my cookie bible (sadly still on its last leg, pages falling out all the time and so happy that I have a backup one from Sissy) and got to making these. 

This recipe makes a lot since you make them in a mini-muffin tin.  I only had one, so I used that and a normal size muffin tin.  I sprayed the crap out of them with Pam and got going on the crust. It calls for the use of a food processor, and since mine decided to die and go out in a blaze of smokey glory, I used my stand mixer.  It worked great, just took a little longer than it would have with a food processor.  I have to say, it's one of the easiest crusts ever.  Once all made, I portioned it out and pressed the dough into each tin and bake them off until the edges are golden brown.

baked crusts

After they are baked, I pressed down the centers and let them cool while I watched an episode of Game Of Thrones.  Once finished with that, time to make the filling.  This was super easy as well.  And not too lemony as well. 

delicious filling

I fill each cup to the top and bake away.  These bake rather quick, only 10 minutes.  Let cool in the tins and then remove from tins and let set a little bit and then you are good to finally eat them! Really tasty!

a mini

I had Heays bring them into my favorite taste testers and she split them up into 2 - one of them got all the large ones and one of them got all the minis - so they didn't have to worry about sharing.  They were extremely happy for treats - as always.  :) 

Lemon Tassies

makes 4 dozen 

for the crusts:

2 cups all purpose flour

10 tbsp (1 1/4 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar

2 large egg yolks

2 tsps finely grated lemon zest

1/4 tsp coase salt

vegetable oil cooking spray

for the filling:

8 oz cream cheese, room temp

1/3 cup sugar

1 large egg

3 tbsp finely grated lemon zest

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in upper third.  Coat 2 24-cup mini-muffin tins with cooking spray.
2. Make crusts:  Process flour and butter in a food processor until mixture is the consistency of fine crumbs.  Add sugar, egg yolks, vanilla, lemon zest and salt.  Process until just combined and sandy texture; do not overprocess.
3. Divide dough into quarters.  Divide each quarter into 12 equal pieces, and shape into balls.  Place each ball in a muffin cup; press into cup, stretching dough up the sides.  Set each muffin tin on a baking sheet. 
4. Bake crusts, rotating halfway through, until lightly browned all over and slightly darker at the edges, 18-20 minutes.  Tap down any puffed centers of the shells with the end of a wooden spoon or your finger.  Transfer sheets with muffin tins to wire racks to cool. 
5. Make filling:  With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla on medium speed until smooth.  Using a 1" ice cream scoop, fill the cooled crusts with filling.
6. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until filling is set and just beginning to color at the edges, 10-12 minutes.  Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.  Tassies can be refrigerated in single layers in airtight containers up to 3 days.

Double-Fudge Pockets

It had gotten back to me that someone was sad that my sister didn't have treats for him from me.  So I made him these.  I fear no cookie and couldn't resist the sound of these - a chocolate cookie with a fudge center.....its on.  The dough was fairly easy, and once made into the fridge it goes to chill.  Once chilled, it's time to roll it out and cut them with my cookie cutters. 

chocolate discs

Now comes the fun part, taking the filling and spooning some in the center of each cookie.

chocolate with chocolate

Now I take more pre-cut cookies (definitely cut the tops ahead of putting the filling on, makes things easier) and place it on top of the filling and seal the edges of the cookies. 



filled and sealed

Toss those bad boys into the oven and let them bake. 



they puff up nicely

Let cool and then discover the deliciousness.  I think the dough is alright - there is room for improvement....I feel like it's not chocolaty enough.  But the filling is fantastic!! 



a layer of fudge
heaven

These went over very well with my 3 favorite taste testers.  But sadly one of them didn't get any, they were all gone by the time he got into work.  So I promised him some treats this week for him.  I asked if he wanted anything in particular and his response was "Anything you make will be amazing.  You're an artist."  It was highly entertaining.  I love when they give me free reign to make things. 

Double-Fudge Pockets

makes about 30 cookies

1 cup butter, room temp

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Fudge Filling

1. In a large bowl beat butter with electric mixer on medium high speed for 30 seconds.  Add sugar and baking powder, beat until combined.  Beat in whole egg, egg yolk and vanilla until combined.  Beat in cocoa powder and flour until combined.  Divide dough in half.  Cover and chill dough for at least 1 hour, or until easy to handle.  Prepare Fudge Filling and set aside.
2. Fudge Filling:  In a small saucepan melt 4 oz semisweet chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Stir in 1/2 cup sour cream.  Mixture will stiffen as it cools.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough at a time until 1/8" thick.  Using a 2 1/2" cookie cutter, cut out dough.  Place half of the cutout rounds 1" apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or Silpats.  Spoon a rounded teaspoon (I did a dollop) into the center of each round.  Place remaining rounds over of each of the filled rounds.  Press edges together to seal.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are firm.  Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute.  Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool. 




Cupcakes for Mom

There is a great cupcake divide in my house.  My mom and Heay love yellow cake with chocolate frosting while my dad and Ween love chocolate cake with white frosting.  I fall in the middle and don't really have a favorite.  When certain holidays and birthdays come around, we all know what I will be making....and since it was Mother's Day on Sunday I made yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting.  And not just any chocolate frosting, the BEST chocolate frosting.  But we will get to that in a little while.  Having found the best recipe for chocolate cupcakes that are moist and light and fluffy, I'm constantly on the search for the same in a yellow cake.  I have sadly not found one yet, but I keep testing new recipes away.  The one I used for these cupcakes were great - fluffy and very tasty, just not what my family is looking for.  So the search continues......

Somewhere over the years I've seen parts of my mom in me - like her need to have festive decorations for each holiday.  While I'm not at the level that she is at (and I hope I never get there - Mom I love you but we all joke that you have an issue when your attic is more than half full with decorations), I do have fun spatulas and baking items for holidays and seasons.  Having recently gotten a spring/summer spatula and some extremely fun cupcake liners (polka dots and fun stripes in spring colors) I was happy to use them.

one of my new fun
cupcake liners!

I get out the cupcake tins and line them with the liners and make the batter.  Bake them off and they smell so good.  I don't know why yellow cake smells so amazing while baking.  I love when I find a good candle that smells like yellow cake or white frosting.

naked cupcakes

Once all cooled, time to make the frosting.  My mom is a GIANT fan of this frosting, and I've added a couple of tweaks along the way to make it a little better.  But the fact that the frosting uses a pound of chocolate - thats right, I said a POUND of chocolate - and 3 sticks of butter always makes me giggle, not really sure why....I think it's because my mom loves butter - I mean like loads it on bread.  I make the frosting and load it into a giant plastic bag and pipe away. 

im getting good
with my piping skills

All of us except for Ween love frosting.  Ween will take most of it off and leave it for one of us to eat.  So when she was doing some frosting removal in the kitchen, my mom walks in and says "Don't throw it away...I'll eat it".  I go into the kitchen a little while later and there is this huge pile of frosting just sitting in the paper liner waiting for someone to eat it. 

Yellow Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

Makes 24

Cake:

3 cups cake flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups butter, melted

1 1/4 cups sugar

2/3 cup milk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

4 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake tins with paper liners.  Mix cake flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda; set aside.  Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer on high speed until fluffy.  Beat in flour mixture, milk, vanilla and eggs on medium speed until blended, scraping bowl occasionally.  Beat for 2 minutes.  Fill each cupcake 2/3 way full.
2. Bake for 19-23 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes; remove from tins.  Let cool completely on wire rack. 
3. Frost cupcakes

Frosting:

makes about 5 cups

1 pound semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

6 tbsp cocoa powder

6 tbsp boiling water

3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

pinch of salt

splash of strong coffee or coffee flavored liquer

Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over (but not touching) simmering water.  Turn off the heat; stir occasionally until chocolate has melted completely, about 15 minutes.  Set bowl on countertop and let chocolate cool to room temperature, 25-30 minutes.  Meanwhile, combine cocoa powder and boiling water in a small bowl; stir until cocoa is dissolved.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, confectioners sugar and salt on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.  Add melted chocolate; beat on low speed until combined, 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Beat in the cocoa mixture.  Add coffee and mix until combined.  Use immediately.  Left over frosting can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer (it holds up well).  Just let thaw and then beat for a few minutes in mixer until fluffy and then use. 

Cookie Dough Truffles

I have a true addiction to Cookie Dough.  This is a well known fact about me.  So randomly one day I was watching the Food Network and Paula Deen  was on.  I love Paula - highly entertaining...I would love to meet her in person - she seems like so much fun.  So here I am watching the show and it said that she was going to make Cookie Dough Truffles! I freaked out.  I watched her make them and then immediately went online and printed the recipe out.  Of course I made them that day too.  And so my addiction of these treats began.  It's been over a year since the first time I made them, and it's come to the point where I try not to make them all the time because they truly are that addicting.  Even if you aren't a fan of cookie dough you will be after you try these.  I hadn't made them since the summer and was getting together for a ladies day out with some friends for lunch and shopping and I said I would bring treats - and why not these?!  They are so easy and make a lot. 

This is the best no bake recipe ever.  The batter comes together within minutes and it's really just a lot of time for the dough to chill and set up.  Once the dough is ready.....

looks like normal cookie dough

.....comes the fun part of rolling it out into little balls.  The recipe calls for them to be shaped into 1 inch balls.  I found that they are huge when you make them that size.  So I make them into smaller balls - and it gives you a higher count as well.  But feel free to make them the size you want.  But just a tip - wear an apron - you will get flour all over you!  The dough is extremely sticky and flour is your best friend.  Once rolled, away into the fridge they go to chill for 2 hours.

look at all of them!!

Now comes the fun part....dipping them in chocolate.  You can use any kind of chocolate you want.  Personally, I love the dark chocolate candy coating that you can find at craft stores.  Melt it away and dip.  Make sure you get a good coating.  Sometimes if you miss spots the cookie dough will peek out, but honestly who cares right?  Once all dipped, back into the fridge they go. 

oh yeah

The next day I met up with my friends, and I had bags ready for all of them.  And Ween was meeting up with one of her friends and I made her a bag as well.  Needless to say they were all happy campers.  I warned them that they were addicting.  And Heays brought the rest into where she works and they ate them up within minutes. 

Cookie Dough Truffles

1/2 cup butter, room temp

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips

1 1/2 pounds chocolate bark candy coating, melted

In a large bowl cream butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy.  Add vanilla.  Gradually beat in flour and add condensed milk.  Add chocolate chips (regular size chips work - I use them all the time).  Shape into balls and place on waxed paper or parchment paper.  Chill for 2 hours.  *****DONT FORGET TO USE FLOUR!!*******

Melt chocolate bark candy coating.  Using 2 forks, dip cookie balls into candy coating to cover.  Place back on waxed paper and chill to set.  Store in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.