Mini Meatloaf Cups

Homestyle comfort food, anyone? Meatloaf certainly qualifies as one of those delicious, comforting meals that tastes particularly good on a cold winter evening. I loaded this meatloaf with sauteed peppers, onions and mushrooms, then portioned it out into individual servings by cooking it in muffin cups. The result is perfect meatloaf with lots of flavor that's easy to stock the freezer with for busy nights. Just package in portions and defrost what you need, when you need it, and you're good to go.

Almond Joy Krispies Treats

Happy 4th!  Need a quick treat for today's BBQ or fireworks later tonight?  Now, you know I'm not a huge coconut fan, but the flavor is growing on me.  I incorporated some lovely Almond Joy Pieces candy bits which added coconut and almond infused chocolate to the cereal laced with more shredded coconut and sliced almonds.  These treats are light and airy with a slight tropical feel and just enough sweetness to be a great summer dessert.  I took this batch to work to share with the researchers and they got rave reviews.  A pretty nice way to interrupt the work day, don't you think?

Cookie Butter Snaps

I made cookies...out of cookie butter.  Circle of life?  No?  Whatever, they're awesome.  Speculoos Cookie Butter or Biscoff spread, either way grab a jar and get in the kitchen.  These are super simple, crispy cookies that taste as close to an actual Biscoff cookie as I'm ever going to make.  I love the crunch, the snap and excellent buttery, slightly gingery flavor from these cookies. And did I say easy? Cause they are simple.  A bowl and a spatula and five ingredients.  Why isn't everyone making these cookies?

Peanut M&M Rice Krispies Treats

Rice Krispies Treats are a perfect summer weather dessert because they're no-bake (no oven heating-yay!), quick and deliciously simple.  Plus you know how I love to make them different flavors.  I found myself with a bag of peanut M&Ms and immediately knew I wanted to turn them into dessert.  These treats are laced with peanut butter in the marshmallow and studded with the crunch of peanut M&Ms and roasted peanuts.  I love how the color of M&M's makes the treats a bit more festive and fun, and just pops off the creamy color of the Rice Krispies.  These are a great treat for a subtle peanut butter and chocolate combo--just a hint of chocolate cuts into the peanut butter and peanuts to offer an extra flavor in these gooey treats.

Adjusting the traditional recipe is pretty easy, so I don't have a source for this version (is that enough to make it original?  I say, yes!).  If you like the idea of a peanut butter flavored treat, but would prefer to not have actual peanuts in the mix, remove the peanuts, swap out and increase the amount of any other M&M, such as plain or even the peanut butter ones (double the peanut butter, double the fun).  And if you want to put your fancy pants on, color coordinate these with your event using the various holiday M&Ms.  Lovely, easy and delicious--just like summer should be.

Perfect Fudge

You know that old family recipe you have that no matter how many times you make it, everyone raves about it?  The recipe that you're almost embarrassed to share with anyone because of how simple it is to make yet the reaction it elicits causes you to think it should be more complicated than it actually is?  Well, this is that recipe for me.  My Mom made this fudge for years but passed the spatula to me (quite literally) when she could no longer physically stir the mixture.  And now it's one of my traditions.  This fudge isn't like the recipes you see on the back of a label.  It's the easiest recipe you'll ever come across and the texture is the creamiest, melt-in-your-mouthiest chocolatey fudge ever.  From the mom and pop homemade fudge shops in Maine to the nation-wide brand name candy makers, I have never had anything quite like this fudge.  I'm not making this up--it's that good.  Cindy goes absolutely bananas for this fudge, forgoing all other treats for a chance at this stuff.  And she doesn't even like chocolate.  She thinks this fudge tastes like solid frosting (I don't think it's quite that sweet, but I get where she's going.)

So this is my Mom's recipe passed to me and I have no idea where she got it.   But you'll want to make this for two reasons.  It's easy.  And it's delicious.  So even the newest person to the kitchen can whip this up for their Valentine and surprise him or her with homemade chocolates (which will probably be loads cheaper than the stuff in a box wrapped in cellophane from the drug store).  Using the microwave melting method, be sure to pay attention to the power level on your microwave because you don't want to burn the chocolate.  The mix gets very thick and the key is to keep stirring to incorporate all the ingredients.  It's a labor of love but totally worth it.  If you make this for your sweetie, your best friend or just yourself, you won't be sorry.

Tools of the Cookie Princess: Spices & Ingredients

Last year I posted about how I find good deals on the common ingredients I use to bake. While I still believe that many of your ingredients can be off-brand and you shouldn't be afraid to stock up when something you use goes on sale, I also believe in using the best quality ingredients you can afford for certain things.

While I don't shop the King Arthur Flour catalog regularly, I do know they carry high quality ingredients that often don't compare to the competitor. When I decided to buy the cinnamon oil last month that I used in my Apple Spice Bars, I did so because I knew I wouldn't find the a similar item of the same quality nearby. Splurging occasionally on the ingredients that make a difference to the flavor of a recipe is something that should be encouraged and I hope you treat yourself to something decadent every once and a while.

Apple Blondies with Pecan Pie Topping

Yummy!  And an original recipe, although based in part on the standard Blondies recipe. This is what happens when frugality meets innovation and they run into necessity.  I had a good bit of the pecan pie topping leftover from the Pecan Pie Cookies and I didn't want to see it go to waste.  I thought it would make a good topping for something with apples, maybe a bread.  Then Cindy texted me that she and her brood were coming over (they were invited) and I knew I needed to make a dessert for the occasion (since I was in the middle of making holiday cookies so I knew they'd be disappointed seeing all the tasty goodies on the racks but not allowed to eat them).  So I quickly put together these Apple Blondies and used the remaining pecan topping to create this delicious treat.

The apples keep the bars moist without them being gooey and the pecan topping is a very subtle nuttiness.  The cinnamon and spice in the blondie compliment the crunchy brown sugar top.  And they are delicious with or without a bit of vanilla ice cream.  A clever fall combination of flavors if you want to do some more apple baking before the orchards are empty.

Chocolate Banana Bread

There's so much more than plain old banana nut bread.  Don't get me wrong, there is a place for it in this delicious world, but when I've got upwards of a dozen bananas to make into tasty treats, the last thing I want to do is make the same recipe over and over again.  Having such success with Peanut Butter Banana Bread, I wondered if I could come up with a recipe matching another great flavor with the bread, chocolate.  Turns out I was right and this tasty bread delivering a subtle sweet banana note in a soft chocolate loaf was definitely the way to go.

Using my new found knowledge of ratios, I was inspired by a recipe from Sandra Lee in the April 2011 issue of Food Network Magazine.  I like Sandra Lee's "semi-homemade" style, so her take on this bread made from a prepared muffin mix was interesting.  But her recipe didn't use any fresh bananas so it wasn't very useful for my banana conundrum.  So I broke down the elements and came up with this version, including a very light glaze (almost like a thin donut glaze).  The results a homemade version of Sandra's treat both adorable and more importantly, yummy.

Strawberry Margarita Mini Muffins

You know how for the past week you've been wondering what to do with the rest of that strawberry drink mix you bought for the Strawberry Margarita Cake (by the way, the definitive answer is add tequila and ice)?  Well you're in luck because I used up some of that mix to develop this tasty recipe for a wonderful batch of mini muffins that are the perfect size for this intensely flavored batter.

Why, yes, I did say I developed this recipe.  Earlier this year I picked up a copy of Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking by Michael Ruhlman.  This is a great book for bakers and cooks in general.  Ruhlman breaks down standard foods into their basic structures (i.e., muffins are just a combination of flour, liquid, egg and fat) and provides you with the ratio of each ingredient for a particular item. Then he tells you how to use those basic ratios to come up with your own recipes, using your own flavors. It's actually less of a recipe and more of an equation.  And for geeky bakers like me, it explains why I can add flour, milk, eggs and butter one way and get bread and then add those same ingredients another way and get pancakes.

Cheesecake Brownies

Oh, brownies.  They make everything better.  Unless my husband is trying to steal mine, like he did as I finished the last one of these.  I was on the phone and cleaning up the kitchen.  After dinner there were two brownies left, of which Dave promptly ate one.  I decided to have the other, so I took a bite, set it back down in the open container and enjoyed it and my conversation while cleaning.  Suddenly, Dave appears and says, "Ooh, a brownie," and picks it up to his mouth.  Like a good doobie, he correctly interpreted the death glare he was sent and immediately put down the brownie.  And promptly left the room.

These yummy, nearly brawl-inducing treats we made as a thank you to another group I work with and were incredibly well received ( I suppose in Dave's defense it's worth noting that I gave away most of the pan and only left 4 brownies at home).  Much appreciation came my way, including a comment that, "That was so nice of you to bring us those.  And homemade no less."  Clearly this individual doesn't know me as well as others.  It's the basic brownie recipe that I've used before, but this time I added a cheesecake-like topping.  I would have liked a more swirled topping, integrating the cheesecake mix into the brownie a little more, but I think my brownie batter was too thick to accommodate a swirl.  A better option would have been to layer most of the brownie batter, then the cream cheese filling, then the rest of the batter and try to swirl that together.  Nonetheless they are delicious, pretty and will potentially start riots when you only have one left.

Orange Creamsicle Cookies

I have been dreaming of these little guys ever since I made the first Cherry Cordials back in October.  And they turned out exactly like I expected.  Dave commented that they really did taste like an orange creamsicle with a lovely blend of orange cookie and white chocolate.  Don't let the pictures scare you--I'm terrible with my camera and couldn't figure out how to balance the light so the orange wasn't so intense.  They are actually much paler than they appear.

These bake up quick thanks to prepackaged mix and flavor from orange gelatin.  They'll be a great addition to your summer cook outs.  Sandwich two cookies together with a little vanilla ice cream, pop them in the freezer for 15 minutes and you've got a treat that everyone will be craving.

Orange Cranberry Mini Muffins

 An adorable little brunch treat with one of my favorite flavor combos.  And, an original recipe!  While I often adapt other recipes to suit my style, flavors or techniques, this is the first time I've actually created the recipe.  As they say, necessity is the mother of invention and I needed to find a recipe for something I could take to a work meeting, with my heart set on mini muffins.  I searched for mini muffin recipes with ingredients I had on hand and actually wanted to bake, but came up short.  So I got creative and I think the end result was pretty good.

The muffins have a great, spongy consistency with a wonderful flavor of sweet and tart from the orange juice and dried cranberries. Next time I would add more cranberries (and I'd love to try these with fresh cranberries).  I might also infuse the glaze with orange zest, but if I'm being honest, the glaze was actually leftover from another recipe, so I worked with what I had.


Orange Cranberry Mini Muffins

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, separated
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (I just noticed the salt isn't pictured.  Oops!)
1/2 cup dried cranberries (could increase to 1 cup)

In medium bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 

Add egg yolks, one at a time, and beat until combine. 

Stir in orange juice and zest.

In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt. 

Add to creamed mixture and stir until combined. 

Add dried cranberries and gently combine, being careful not to overstir the batter.

Gently fold in egg whites.

Grease a mini muffin pan.  Using a small cookie scoop, scoop batter into pan. 

Bake at 375 degrees F for 14 minutes.  Cool in pan for a few minutes before removing to wire racks.  Repeat with any leftover batter.

Optional Glaze

Ingredients:

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2-3 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon orange zest

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and spread over cooled mini muffins.  Allow glaze to set.

Makes 3 dozen mini muffins.

Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess