Tag: nuts

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Chocolate & Caramel Cupcakes

These cupcakes so are rich and decadent, it’s ridiculous! Make sure you eat them with a fork, or have a napkin or two handy… or both. And, to give credit where credit is due, the cake portion of this recipe comes from Self Proclaimed Foodie with just a few tiny little tweaks —  including turning it up to eleven with the filling, frosting, and such.

Ingredients

Cupcake

  • 1/2 cup Hot Coffee
  • 1/2 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  • 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 cup White Sugar
  • 1 tsp. Baking Powder
  • 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 cup Whole Milk
  • 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
  • 1 Large Egg
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Filling

  • 1/2 Package Caramel Squares
  • 3 tbsp. Whipping Cream

Frosting

  • 1/2 cup Butter
  • 1/3 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  • 2-3 cups Powdered Sugar
  • 1/4 cup Chopped Walnuts or Pecans (for garnish)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper cupcake liners. (I like to make only 11, so they’re HUGE, but that’s just me.)
  3. Combine coffee and cocoa. Mix well to dissolve and set aside.
  4. In bowl of stand mixer, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  5. In a separate bowl, beat egg.
  6. Add milk, oil, and vanilla to egg. Mix well to combine.
  7. Add about half of the milk mixture to the flour and mix on medium high speed for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
  8. Combine the chocolate mixture with the remaining milk mixture and add to the batter.
  9. Mix combined batter on medium speed for about 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl intermittently to ensure it is well combined.
  10. Distribute batter evenly into muffin cups.
  11. Bake in preheated 425 degree oven for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 325 degrees without opening the oven door. Continue cooking at lower temperature for an additional 14-16 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
  12. Remove from the oven and transfer cupcakes to a baking rack as soon as they’re cool enough to be touched.
  13. When cupcakes are cooled, core them and enjoy the treat of eating cupcake middles while you make the filling.
  14. Place caramels and whipping cream in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes.
  15. Blend together until completely combined and smooth.
  16. Pipe most of the warm caramel into the cored cupcakes. (Save a couple of tablespoons.)
  17. In a large bowl or stand mixer, whip butter until fluffy.
  18. Add cocoa and vanilla and whip until combined.
  19. Gradually add powdered sugar, and whip until it reaches a stiff consistency, suitable for piping.
  20. Pipe frosting on top of the cupcakes. (Don’t overdo it. This is already a very rich dessert and too much frosting on a cupcake is a major faux pas in my book.)
  21. Using a small tip, pipe the remaining caramel on top of the frosting.
  22. Sprinkle each cupcake with a few chopped nuts while the frosting and caramel are still soft.
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Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Cookies

If you’re a chocolate lover, this will be your new favorite cookie! It’s a simple variation on a traditional recipe, but this small change makes a big difference. Sweet, creamy, and oh so chocolately — Get ready to pour the milk!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) Butter or Margarine, softened
  • 3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
  • 3/4 cup Packed Brown Sugar
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa
  • 1 tsp. Baking Soda
  • 1 tsp. Salt
  • 1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
  • 1 cup White Chocolate Chips
  • 1 cup Chopped Walnuts, Pecans, or Macadamia Nuts

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Line two baking sheets with foil, and set aside.
  3. In a large bowl or stand mixer, blend together butter or margarine, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and eggs until smooth.
  4. Add flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, and blend until well combined.
  5. Add semi-sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and nuts.
  6. Mix until chips and nuts are well distributed throughout the dough.
  7. Spoon generous tablespoons of dough onto cookie sheets, leaving space between each spoonful. (Note: This recipe should make 24 large cookies, plus a little dough left over for eating raw. Yum!)
  8. Bake in preheated oven for 12-14 minutes.
  9. Gently slide foil and cookies off of baking sheet and onto a cool surface (like a counter-top or large cutting board) immediately after removing from oven.
  10. Allow to cool (if you can wait that long!) before removing from foil with a thin spatula.
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Best Ever Banana Nut Bread

They say when life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade. But, what do you do when life gives you brown bananas? Bake banana bread, of course! With a hint of spice and an abundance of nuts, this recipe is hearty enough to pair with a strong cup of coffee, and so scrumptious that these loaves will disappear fast, leaving only a few tasty crumbs behind. Go bananas!

Ingredients

  • 3 Large Bananas
  • 1-1/4 cups White Sugar
  • 1/2 cup Butter or Margarine, softened
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 1/3 cup Whole Milk
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  • 2-1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 tsp. Baking Soda
  • 1 tsp. Salt
  • 1 tsp. Ground Allspice
  • 1 cup Walnuts, coarsely chopped

 

Directions

  1. Move oven rack down one notch lower than the center, so that the top of your loaves will sit in the middle of the oven.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  3. Place four small aluminum loaf pans* on a baking sheet, and coat with cooking spray.
  4. In a large bowl or stand mixer, mash peeled bananas.
  5. Add sugar, butter or margarine, eggs, milk, and vanilla, and mix until well blended.
  6. Add flour, baking soda, salt, and allspice, and thoroughly blend into wet mixture.
  7. Add 3/4 cup of the chopped walnuts, and stir to incorporate into batter.
  8. Pour batter evenly into prepared loaf pans. Each should be about 3/4 full.
  9. Sprinkle remaining walnuts on the top of the loaves, and gently pat into the batter, just enough to make sure they stick.
  10. Bake in preheated oven for 40-50 minutes, until a knife or toothpick inserted through the center of a loaf comes out clean.
  11. Remove from oven and transfer to a baking rack to cool. Ensure that the loaves have cooled to room temperature before wrapping.

*You can use one large loaf pan instead. Just increase the baking time by about 10 minutes. However, making this recipe in smaller loaves means it’s easier to share!

 

Sneaky trick: Why do I reserve some of the walnuts to sprinkle on the top? First, the nuts on the top of the loaf stay nice and crunchy, and even get a little toasted, adding a great complementary texture to the soft loaf. Second, the visible nuts are a big red flag for anyone who is allergic to nuts or wears loose fitting dentures, preventing them from getting an unpleasant surprise when they bite into a piece. I’m thoughtful like that.

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Easiest. Toffee. Ever.

Who says making candy is difficult? As long as you have a candy thermometer, it’s a piece of cake… uh… candy! This recipe is for a small batch and is easy to scale for larger batches when you need more; just prepare more than one baking sheet. Toffee is great by itself, or as a garnish on a cake, cupcake, or ice cream sundae. Sweet dreams!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Butter*
  • 1 cup White Sugar
  • 1 pinch Salt
  • 1 cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips
  • 1/2 cup Sliced Almonds

* You can substitute margarine, but your toffee will be more golden than amber. Otherwise it’ll work just fine.

Directions

  1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a heavy, medium-sized sauce pan, heat butter, sugar, and salt over medium high heat.
  3. Cook while stirring constantly, until mixture turns amber in color and a candy thermometer reads 285 degrees.
  4. Pour toffee mixture onto prepared baking sheet and allow to spread out over parchment paper. (If it’s stubborn, pick up the baking sheet and tip it to get the toffee to spread.)
  5. Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over toffee and allow to melt for about two minutes.
  6. Gently spread chocolate over the toffee with the back of a large metal spoon or spatula.
  7. Immediately sprinkle almonds onto chocolate.
  8. Gently press almonds into the chocolate using the bottom of a second baking sheet or the back of a large flat dinner plate. (Do this in as few sections as possible to avoid the chocolate and almonds sticking.)
  9. Place baking sheet in refrigerator for at least 20 minutes to cool.
  10. Remove from refrigerator and break toffee into serving-sized pieces.
  11. Serve immediately, or store in an air-tight container.

 

Sneaky Trick: When breaking the toffee, keep a layer of the parchment paper between your hands and the toffee. This will keep the chocolate from melting on your fingers.

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Raspberry Thumbprints

These cookies are scrumptious with a strong cup of coffee, a pot of tea, or a big glass of milk. They also have the benefit of having very few ingredients which make them a great “go to” cookie when your cupboard is a wee bit sparse. You can omit the nuts if they put you into anaphylactic shock, but they’re so good with the nuts you might just want to keep the EpiPen handy instead.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup Butter or Margarine
  • 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
  • 1 Large Egg
  • 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  • 1 cup All Purpose Flour
  • 1/4 tsp. Salt
  • 1/3 cup Very Finely Chopped Walnuts
  • 1/2 cup Raspberry Jam

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
  2. Line a baking sheet with foil.
  3. Separate egg, reserving whites.
  4. Blend together egg yolk, butter or margarine, brown sugar, and vanilla.
  5. Add flour and salt, and mix well.
  6. Shape the dough into balls about 1-1/2 wide. (Makes about 12 balls.)
  7. Roll balls in egg white and then in chopped walnuts, until well coated with nuts.
  8. Arrange balls on prepared baking sheet.
  9. Bake for 5 minutes and remove from oven.
  10. Put a deep dent into the center of each cookie with your thumb. (Don’t be a scaredy cat; they’re not too hot yet.)
  11. Spoon or pipe raspberry jam into the dent in each cookie.
  12. Return baking sheet to oven, and bake for 11-12 minutes more.
  13. Remove cookies from baking sheet immediately and transfer to wire rack to cool.
  14. Brew some strong coffee and enjoy!

Are you really allergic to nuts or just don’t like them? Try sprinkles, quick cooking oats, or shredded coconut instead…  although, coconut is disgusting, so please don’t tell me that you’ve corrupted my recipe with it. And of course, you can also try other flavors of jam or preserves. 

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Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Box cake? What box cake!? This recipe may start with this cheat, but it’s much better than the recipe on the box. I recommend starting a fire in the fireplace before you start cooking so you can burn the box afterward.

Ingredients

  • One 15.25 oz. box “Carrot Cake” mix. (I like the one that has the little orange pieces of fake carrot in it, but any brand will do.)
  • Three Eggs, 1/2 cup Oil, and 1 cup Water (or whatever your brand of cake mix requires)
  • Three Large Carrots
  • 3/4 cup Golden Raisins
  • 1/2 cup Coarsely Chopped Walnuts (Or you Southerners can use Pecans instead, bless your hearts!)
  • Cream Cheese Frosting (I won’t judge you if you use ready-prepared frosting. I really won’t. But, I’ll be posting my recipe for this soon!)

Directions

  1. Pre-heat oven per directions on the box.
  2. Run carrots through a food processor until finely ground (or grate and chop them if you need an upper-arm workout.) Set aside.
  3. Chop walnuts. Set Aside.
  4. Prepare cake mix per the instructions on the box.
  5. Add carrot, golden raisins, and walnuts and mix thoroughly.
  6. Spoon into muffin/cupcake tin prepared with paper cupcake liners, filling each one about 2/3 full. (If you don’t have paper cupcake liners, I’m sure it will be fine with just a coating of cooking spray, but they really turn out better with liners…. Actually, go get some liners before you start your batter, OK?)
  7. Bake per directions on the box.
  8. Remove from oven and transfer to rack to cool.
  9. After thoroughly cooled, frost with cream cheese frosting.
  10. Decorate with Sprinkles, or if you’re feeling especially ambitious, you can mix some orange and green food coloring into a bit of your frosting and pipe those cute little frosting carrots on the top instead. (Show off!)
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