Frosted Brownies II

Frosted Brownies II

I had to repost this recipe with the main change being the type of cocoa used. I used to swear by Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate, and I technically I still do. I love the stuff; but it's gotten too expensive for me to use regularly. I can buy it from Amazon for a pretty good price, but then I'll have a three-pound container of it, and I'll make TOO many brownies. My waistline does not need that. 
At any rate, I may be one of the only people in the world who notices the difference between the Ghirardelli ground chocolate an other brands of cocoa powder. If you try this recipe here, I'm sure you'll be pleased. These brownies, as with the originals, have a great dense texture without being raw or gummy. They're thick, almost cakey, but not quite. To me, it's the perfect brownie texture, and they still have a deep chocolatey flavor. The frosting seals the deal for me, adding more sweetness and moist chocolatey goodness.
As you can see in the pics below, I only put nuts on part of the brownies. My intended audience is what helps me decide how much of the top will have nuts. This batch was just for the family, and although my one son prefers no nuts, he will still eat the nutted version. I bake the nuts on top instead of mixing them in for two reasons: #1 The flexibility mentioned already and #2 The nuts get slightly toasted on top so they have a toasty flavor along with a definite crunch. Mmmm...

Frosted Brownies II
    --Adapted from Ghirardelli

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs @ room temp. 
• 1  cup granulated sugar 
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract 
• ½ cup butter, melted & cooled 
• 1/2 cup ground cocoa powder
• 2/3 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (optional) 

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Using a spoon, stir eggs with sugar and vanilla. Add melted butter. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt with a whisk. Stir flour mixture into egg mixture. Spread evenly into a buttered 8” pan (or a pan lined with parchment paper or non-stick foil). Sprinkle nuts evenly over the top and press lightly with the palm of your hand. Bake 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool. Frost with Cocoa Frosting (half a recipe of frosting covers one recipe of brownies) Cut into squares. Makes 16-20 brownies.


Cocoa Frosting


Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup half and half 
• 3/4 cup ground cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup plus two tablespoons granulated sugar
• ½ cup butter, cut up 
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:
In 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat half and half with butter, stirring until blended. Add cocoa and sugar, mixing with wire whip until smooth. Heat on medium-low until mixture is thick and shiny and runs off the spoon like syrup and the first bubble appears on the surface (160°F). Do not boil or overcook frosting. Cool 5 minutes, add vanilla. Place pan of frosting in a bowl of ice and water (or snow in the winter). Beat slowly with spoon until frosting holds shape. Frost cake. Refrigerate to set frosting. Makes frosting for and 8-inch layer cake.

Before frosting

Flavored Stabilized Whipped Cream

Lime-Flavored Stabilized Whipped Cream (Day 2)

I've had enough people ask me about using flavored gelatin to make stabilized whipped cream, that I finally decided to try it out today. I didn't frost anything with it--purely experimental.
I really wasn't sure how much of the powder to use, since it contains both sugar AND gelatin. I went with one and a half tablespoons, and the resulting flavor was rather faint--distinctly lime-flavored, but not strong at all. If you want to try adding another 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of gelatin powder, I would recommend microwaving the mixture after it sits and before you add the hot cream, just to make sure the sugar and gelatin completely dissolve. I don't think my gelatin and/or sugar were all the way dissolved, and you may even be able to see in my photos that there is a slight graininess.
If you like your whipped cream sweet, you'll want to either use the additional gelatin powder, and/or add 2-4 tablespoons of powdered sugar when you start whipping the cold cream, before adding the gelatin mixture. 
This recipe still needs tweaking, but I think it's safe to say, "Yes, you can use flavored gelatin powder to make a flavored stabilized whipped cream." As always, if anyone reading this tries it and has some tips, please leave a comment and let us all in on it.

I was going to wait until tomorrow to post this to see how it held up in the fridge overnight, but I ended up having a snow day today (Yay, Midwest winter weather!), so I let a bit of the whipped cream sit out for four hours (see photos below). 


Flavored Stabilized Whipped Cream Frosting
     --adapted from cdkitchen

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 tablespoons flavored gelatin powder
• 2 tbsp cold water
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2-4 tablespoons powdered sugar (optional)

Instructions:
1. Sprinkle gelatin over cold water in small bowl to soften. 
2. Scald 2 tablespoon of the cream (this means you put the cream in a pan and bring it to a simmer on the stove); pour over gelatin, stirring until dissolved.
3. Refrigerate until consistency of unbeaten egg white. (This takes about 10-15 minutes.) Then, with a whisk, beat until smooth. 
4. In a stand mixer with a whip attachment, or with a hand beater, whip remaining cream and sugar just until soft peaks form; whip in the smoothed gelatin mixture, stopping to scrape the bowl twice. Whip until stiff peaks start to form, but be careful not to over beat. You will probably only need to whip it another 10-20 seconds before it's done.

Makes about two cups of flavored whipped cream

Recipe is easily doubled.

Flavored Stabilized Whipped Cream at 8:00 A.M.

Same whipped cream after sitting at room temperature (69 degrees) for four hours.

Crunchy Caramel Chocolate Chip Pecan Shortbread Cookies

 Crunchy Caramel Chocolate Chip Pecan Shortbread Cookies 

These little gems were born of a mistake, or rather, my inability to figure out on the first try how high a temperature to go to when I make caramel. Grrr. I have my candy thermometer in some boiling water right now to see if it's the thermometer's fault. I thought 240 degrees was the magic number, but that doesn't work sometimes. I probably need to try 230-235 again sometime soon, but I think I might need to use up my big bag of crunchy caramel crumble first. 
Anyway, I almost threw out the crunchy caramel, but somehow got the idea instead to grind it up in the food processor. What I ended up with was a half filled gallon sized zip top bag of Crunchy Caramel Crumble. Eaten with a spoon it tastes pretty good too. When I put it out to my Facebook and Instagram friends, I got some other good suggestions on what to do with the stuff. I have enough to implement all of the ideas eventually, but for now, I'm making these.
I've already made two batches of these cookies because I love them so much. They are a variation on the Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookie recipe I also have here on this blog, but the addition of the crunchy caramel crumble takes them to a new, even more delicious level. I prefer mine cooked to a deeper golden brown than what most people might like--it takes them to a slightly crunchier texture, rather than the tender feel of cookies with only slightly browned edges. Because the caramel crumble is made up of half pecans and half caramel, the cookies get infused with even more pecan flavor along with the distinct caramel flavor too. Love it.

Crunchy Caramel Chocolate Chip Pecan Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter,softened, but cool
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 2 ¼ cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• ½ (heaping) cup chocolate chips, or, better yet, 12 Dove Dark Chocolate Promises, chopped
• 1 cup Crunchy Caramel Crumble (see recipe below)

Instructions:

· Preheat oven to 325°F.

· Cream butter and sugar.

· Add vanilla and egg. 

· Sift dry ingredients together and add to mixture.

· Stir in nuts, chocolate chips or Dove Dark Chocolate chunks, and the caramel crumble.

· Drop tablespoon sized balls onto parchment-lined baking sheet (I used a cookie scoop), and press to flatten with a cookie stamp or bottom of glass dipped in flour or sugar. 

· Bake at 325°F for approximately 18 minutes.

· Remove to wire rack to cool.  Then store in an airtight container.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

The crumble

Crunchy Caramel Crumble
    --If you don't want to go to these lengths to get this crumble, I think you could sub 1/2 cup toffee baking chips and 1/2 cup pecans and grind them together to make a slightly different crumble. I bet it will still taste good though.

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3/4 cup light corn syrup
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• ½ cup butter
• ¼ tsp coarse salt
• 2 cups lightly toasted pecans
• seeds scraped from a 1-inch segment of vanilla bean pod

Instructions

1. Line an 8 x 8 inch baking dish with non-stick aluminum foil or parchment paper. Evenly spread 1 1/2 cups of the nuts in the bottom of prepared pan. Set aside.
2. Place remaining half cup of nuts and vanilla bean seeds in a small bowl and set aside.

3. In a large heavy saucepan, combine cream, corn syrup, sugar, brown sugar, butter, and salt.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often.  Once it comes to a boil, cook without stirring until mixture reaches 240°F on a candy thermometer. (This is where I have my "problem." I think this temperature is too high for nice soft, chewy caramel, but I can't say for sure. This is what I did to get my crunchy caramel.)  Remove pan from heat.  Add remaining half cup of nuts and vanilla seeds, stirring well to combine.  Pour into prepared dish and run the spatula through the nuts to make sure caramel seeps into all crevices.  Allow to cool for 1-2 hours.

4. Once caramel is hard, cover with foil and then drop the pan's bottom onto a concrete surface to break the caramel up into manageable size pieces.
5. Process crunch caramel chunks in batches a food processor. Process until you get a coarse sand texture. Store crunch caramel crumbs in an airtight container. It makes a lot.

Mini Cake Mix Scones

Mini Cake Mix Scones

Dressed up for Valentine's Day

I've had this white cake mix in my cupboard for a couple of months, just waiting to be made into some mini cake mix scones. I finally had the opportunity to make them the other morning when my school had a delayed start due to cold weather (yeah, it was maybe two degrees warmer after the two hours...). At any rate, I wanted to make these on a day I could take them to work or somehow share them because it makes a LOT of mini scones. Forty-eight to be exact. I did eat two of these, and that was plenty. I love them, but maybe too much. Better to have them out of the house. 
What I like about these is that they have all of the flavor of a yummy white cupcake, but without the sweetness. Their texture is that of a tender scone; and the butter and cream just make them all that much better. The sprinkles just make them look super cute.
The scones were gobbled up well before lunchtime at my school, and it made my teacher friends very happy. 
Oh, and I do have the recipe for the full size Cake Mix Scones on this blog too. It's really the same as the recipe here except for cutting the 12 scones into fourths. I could have just put a picture with the modification on that post, but I really wanted to feature these cuties all on their own.

Mini Cake Mix Scones

Ingredients:

• 2 cups white cake mix
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup butter, cold, cut into chunks
• 1/4 cup rainbow nonpareils
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 large eggs

Glaze:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons half & half or whole milk
• 1 tablespoon nonpareils for garnish

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Place cake mix and flour in a large bowl. Add cold butter chunks and cut in with a pastry blender or two knives, until mixture looks like coarse meal. Stir in 1/4 cup nonpareils.
On a work surface, sprinkle some flour and get large knife ready to cut scone dough.
Lightly beat the heavy cream with the 2 eggs in a small bowl. 
Pour liquid into dry ingredients and mix quickly with a silicone/rubber spatula until almost completely combined. Before the nonpareils bleed too much, turn dough out onto the floured work surface. Knead dough lightly so it holds together (your fingers will get quite gooey). 
Cut dough in half and one at a time, form each half into a disk about 3/4-inch thick. With your large knife, cut into 6 equal wedges. Cut each of those wedges into four triangles by cutting a little triangle out of the tip and then three from the remaining long piece. Place wedges on parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. Move wedges around so they are evenly placed.
Bake at 400 degrees for 8-9 minutes, or until they start to brown on the bottom.
Remove from oven and move scones to a cooling rack to cool. Allow scones to cool almost completely before attempting to glaze.
Prepare glaze in a medium bowl by whisking together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and half & half/milk. Drizzle glaze over scones and then sprinkle with nonpareils, if desired.
Makes 48 mini scones

Hopefully you get the idea of how to cut them somewhat evenly.

Carnitas II

As usual in the winter, this pic isn't that awesome. You get the idea though.

I have another recipe for Carnitas on this blog, but I really think I like this version better. Even the leftovers taste better. Its beauty is in its simplicity--only two ingredients. It's been a while (like a week) since I did this, so I'm not even sure what my complete process was. I know it involved looking up recipes on Pinterest  and then finding Center Cut Cook (a fantastic food blog, by the way), and adapted what she did there to my purposes and time allowances. Looking back at her recipe, I only used her method for the second round in the oven, but I got the idea from her.
Anyway, one of the awesome things about this recipe, besides being delicious, is that you can do almost anything with the leftovers, since it's only seasoning comes from the chicken broth. You can make pulled pork sandwiches or taquitos the next day without worrying about overpowering flavors.
I like it. I'll be doing this again soon.


Carnitas
    --Adapted from CenterCutCook

Ingredients:

• 3.5 to 4 pound pork shoulder roast, boneless
• 2 cups chicken broth

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 280 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place roast in a covered roasting or baking dish or Dutch oven. Pour chicken broth over roast, cover with foil, and then place cover on top. 
Place in the oven and roast for 6-7 hours.
Remove roast to a plate and then pour the juices into a medium saucepan. Allow juice to settle and skim off most of the fat off the top. Do not discard the fat immediately, but reserve it in case you think you need it in the next phase of cooking.
Turn oven up to 400 degrees. Heat the juices over medium heat until liquid is reduced by about half. You want to have about a half cup of liquid, but if you have a lot of liquid even after reducing, you may want to just use 1/2 cup of it.
Cut the roast up into chunks. Some of it will shred; some will cut. It's fine and good to have uneven sizes. Place cut meat onto a nonstick cookie sheet or open roasting pan. Pour about 1/2 cup of reduced juices onto the meat. 
Roast the meat on the cookie sheet for about 20 minutes or so, until it gets crisp here and there and seems to be sizzling in its own fat.
Remove from oven and place in a serving dish.
Serve with tortillas (flour or corn--I like corn for carnitas), guacamole, and salsa. And maybe some Mexican rice.

Banana Nut Bread

Simple Banana Nut Bread

How have I had this blog this long and not posted a recipe for banana bread? Oh, maybe it's because I rarely make it. Although I feel pangs of missed banana bread opportunity every time I throw away browned bananas, I just don't seem to take the time to make it. 
Since I'm tired of the Coconut Double Chocolate Almond Flour Cookie pic on there right now, I thought this was an easy way to put up something new. Unfortunately, I can't locate my go-to banana bread recipe I got from a friend way back when, so I had to go to Allrecipes.com. I found a recipe that called for lots of bananas and very little sugar. Healthy, right? Perhaps, but I think the half cut of butter offsets any health benefits of reducing the added sugar. Overall this is a nice banana bread. Moist, just sweet enough, and relatively dense. I think I'll try my next slice warmed up with some butter. Mmm. On my way to do just that right now.

Banana Nut Bread
    --adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened (plus more for greasing pans)
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 1/3 cup mashed overripe banana
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups walnuts, coarsely chopped

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter and flour one large or two medium sized (7 1/2 x 4 inches) loaf pan(s). Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Mix in eggs and mashed banana until thoroughly combined.
Stir in flour mixture just until combined. Fold in 1 cup walnuts. Pour batter into pan(s) and sprinkle top with remaining nuts.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove from oven and allow to cool about 5 minutes before removing from pan and placing on a wire rack to cool completely. When bread is completely cooled, slice and serve. Place leftovers in an airtight container or baggie, or wrap in foil and freeze.
Makes one large loaf or two medium loaves.

Coconut and Double Chocolate Almond Flour Cookies

Coconut and Chocolate Almond Flour Cookies

Gosh. There are so many things I could say right now, and none of them would really be about these cookies, which are really, really good. I'm trying to figure out in life what I can cut back on to give me more space in my brain and my schedule. I keep thinking that blogging is one of those things, and yet here I am, blogging. I wanted to get this recipe out though, because even though these cookies are what I would call "unusual," I would also call them, "dense, chewy, coconutty, chocolatey, and satisfying." 
They're a great gluten free cookie that I wish my gluten-limited son would try. You definitely have to not hate coconut to eat these, so if these look good to you, but your not a fan of coconut, try this recipe for Double Chocolate Almond Flour Cookies.

Coconut and Double Chocolate Almond Flour Cookies

   --adapted from The Wannabe Chef who adapted recipe from The Food Lovers' Primal Palate

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil, room temperature
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 1/2 cups almond flour (I used Trader Joe's Just Almond Meal today, but I also use Bob's Red Mill Almond Meal/Flour sometimes)
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup chocolate chips, or 16 Dove Dark Chocolate Promises, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Sift cocoa powder into a medium bowl. Stir in almond flour using a wire whisk.

Cream butter, coconut oil and sugars until very light, about 2-3 minutes.  Add egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated.  Add salt and baking soda and beat until incorporated. Mix in cocoa and almond flour mixture.  Stir in chocolate chips and shredded coconut.

Scoop about two tablespoon mounds onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet (or use a medium sized cookie scoop), placing about an inch and a half apart.  Gently smoosh dough to make almost 1/2-inch thick disks.  

Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes, or until puffed and cracked.

Allow to cool on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Makes about 28 cookies.

Mexican Churros

Delicate and fluffy Mexican churros 

I was wanting to make churros again, but not the gluten free kind. I'm still trying to make what I think is the perfect churro: crisp and slightly chewy on the outside, fluffy and almost undercooked on the inside. This recipe produced a crisp exterior and a light, fluffy, almost airy interior. I think "delicate" might be the word I'm looking for. The outside is very light as well, though, so it didn't provide the slight chew I was looking for. Maybe I need to mix it longer to develop the gluten--and maybe reduce the recipe to only one egg. I'm not sure when I'll be attempting them again, though, because seriously, I cannot keep frying up churros to blog about. It's just not wise.
The original recipe at Little Inspiration calls for 1/2 cup maseca and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour. I reduced the masa flour to 1/4 cup because I was a little wary of adding a lot of corn flavor. It was a good call for me. I liked the very slight corn tortilla flavor in the background with a tiny little cornmeal bite to the churro. I think you could use all all-purpose flour if you don't have any masa flour on hand.
At any rate, if you're looking for a light, fluffy churro and you're not afraid of frying your food, give these a try.

Mexican Churros
    --Adapted from Little Inspiration

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/4 cup masa flour
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3 eggs
• canola oil for frying
• 1/2 cup sugar plus 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

You will also need:

• Piping bag with large closed star tip
• Paper towel
• Tongs

Instructions:
In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring water, butter, sugar and salt to a boil.
Add the vanilla extract and then the masa flour and all purpose flour. Stir until mixture comes together forming a sort of ball and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Transfer dough to a mixing bowl and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly between each addition (you can use an electric mixer, a stand mixer, or a spoon). Transfer dough to the piping bag and set aside.
Mix the sugar and ground cinnamon and place in a glass or metal brownie pan. Line a plate or a cooling rack with paper towels.
Heat about 1 1/2 to 2 inches of canola oil to about 350 degrees Fahrenheit in a high rimmed frying pan/saute pan (anything you feel comfortable frying in). 
Carefully squeeze ropes about 3-5 inches in length into the oil, using a pair of kitchen shears to cut the "rope" of dough. Allow about 2 inches between ropes. My pan allowed 4-5 churros to be fried at a time.
When churros are well browned on one side, use tongs to turn them over and fry on the other side until well browned as well. Remove churros with tongs to the paper towel lined plate/cooling rack. 
Squeeze more churros into the oil. While those fry, gently toss the freshly fried churros in the cinnamon sugar mixture and then place on a serving plate or on another paper towel lined plate.
Serve warm.
Makes about 20-25 short churros

Dough before adding any eggs

Dough after third egg has been added,
and now ready for the piping bag

Ready for a cinnamon sugar coating

Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls

Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls

With the wind chill today at -35 degrees Fahrenheit, the boys and I have the day off of school. Because I have so many other things I should be doing, I decided to finally bake up some gluten free cinnamon rolls for my gluten-limited boy. So far he's eaten three, so I think it's safe to say that these are a success. Even baked five minutes longer than the original Better Batter recipe and cooled completely, these are still too gooey for me. BetterBatter.org calls these a "Cinnabon Clone," which is probably why they're extra gooey. I've always thought Cinnabons were under-baked, but apparently lots of people like them that way. Good thing I'm not much of a cinnamon roll eater any more.
These are a great gluten free option for those who really need to be gluten free, but as with pretty much most cinnamon rolls, the only healthy thing about these is how they feed the soul. I'm just glad I was able to do that today for my kid.

Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls
     --Adapted from BetterBatter.org

Ingredients

Dough:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1/3 cup butter
• 2 1/4 cups Better Batter Gluten Free Flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast

Filling:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 1/3 tablespoons butter, very soft

Topping:

• 1 1/2 ounces cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt

Instructions
In a microwave safe bowl or measuring cup, add the milk and 1/3 cup butter and microwave on high for about 50-60 seconds. Stir until butter is completely melted and then check with your (clean) finger to see if it's just warm. If it feels hot, allow to cool to just warm.
Into a medium sized bowl, measure out the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast. Stir to mix those dry ingredients.
When milk/butter is warm, pour into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the egg, and pour on the dry ingredients. Mix to moisten the dry ingredients and then scrape the sides of the bowl. Mix on high for 3 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for about 35-45 minutes (technically until doubled, but mine didn't appear to double).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mix the first three filling ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Butter a 10 inch by 7 inch baking dish and set aside.
Lay out a 20 inch piece of plastic wrap and dust with an even, thin layer of flour. Scrape dough onto dusted plastic wrap and sprinkle with more flour. Gently shape dough into about a 12 inch by 18 inch rectangle by pressing, shaping, and rolling with a rolling pin.
Spread the 2 1/3 tablespoons of very soft butter over the surface of the rectangle of dough, and then sprinkle evenly with the filling mixture. Gently roll the rectangle into a log, starting at one of the long edges. You may want to use a pastry brush to gently brush away excess flour as you roll.
Mark the dough log into eighths and then cut into eight pieces using a 2-3 foot length of dental floss (you can use a knife, but I always like using the floss method because it keeps the rolls' round shape better).
Place rolls into the pan, 4 x 2. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
Bake rolls at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until deep golden brown on top. While rolls bake, prepare the topping by mixing all of the ingredients with a hand mixer in a medium sized bowl.
When rolls are done, remove from oven and allow to cool for about 2-3 minutes before adding the topping. Place about a 1 tablespoon dollop of topping onto each roll and then use the back of a spoon or a knife to spread it evenly over each roll. Allow rolls to cool a little more before serving.
Makes 8 reasonably sized cinnamon rolls

Frozen Bubbles

Beautiful frozen bubbles.

A Facebook friend the other day posted a link to an article on Distractify which had tons of beautiful pictures of these frozen bubbles. The article indicated that a mom and her son just blew some bubbles in below freezing wether and BA-BAM! Works of art!
I know this is a food blog, but since this is what I did this morning, and because it required a recipe for bubbles, I'm posting it. One of the perks of having my own blog is being able to do what I want to on it, and today I want to post pics of my beautiful frozen bubbles. I know I have several other things I should be doing on this "cold" day where school has been shut down due to -35 degree wind chill, but I've got aaaaalllll day. If you have time today and it's freezing outside, I think you need to give this a try.
Have fun!


Bubble Solution
    --Adapted from BubbleBlowers.com

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Dawn dish soap
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup

Instructions:
Gently mix the three ingredients in a glass measuring cup. Pour about a half cup into a small drinking cup. Go outside into freezing cold weather and blow some bubbles. I recommend using a bubble wand with smallish holes because the larger bubbles seemed to just pop. The small ones are the ones that landed and froze.

My Mini Chocolate Birthday Cakes

My Mini Chocolate Birthday Cakes:
Four layers of chocolate cake with three different fillings
(from top to bottom: cocoa whipped cream, mascarpone
frosting, and French silk pie filling) and then topped with 
a dark chocolate ganache.

First of all, yes, this is a complicated recipe. It took me most of Saturday afternoon to complete these little cakes, and I had already baked the cake the night before. Consider yourself warned...
Now that you've been warned, I'll tell the tale of these fabulous little cakes. The administrative staff of the high school my husband is VP at had their "Christmas" party last night, and so I decided that I needed to make something to wow them. This is a group of people I've baked a lot for, so I didn't want to go with anything boring. At first I thought about making My Chocolate Birthday Cake because it is so very delicious, but cutting a large cake can be so cumbersome and messy. And I'm never sure how large to make the slices. I don't want people to feel obligated to eat a large piece, but I don't want to be skimpy either.
So this is what I ended up with. I was a little afraid they'd turn out ugly because that happens sometimes when I have high hopes for a new idea, but you know what? They turned out really cute, I think; and they're just as delicious as the original full-size cake. The taste is super chocolatey and very creamy. The thin layers of cake are really just a vehicle for the yummy creamy fillings. 
When the hostess asked what the cake was called, I wasn't sure what to tell her. The original cake has such a funky name. I don't even remember what I told her last night, but I'm calling them "My Mini Chocolate Birthday Cakes" for now. There's probably a better name, but I don't have the time, creativity, or unction to think of one at the moment.
Again, this is a complicated recipe, but if you're up for it, they are well worth the effort.

My Mini Chocolate Birthday Cakes

Cake Ingredients (adapted from Ghirardelli.com) :

• 1/2 cup cocoa powder 
• 1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons King Arthur Flour Cake Enhancer (optional)
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cake Instructions: Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Prepare a 13 x 18 inch half sheet pan by buttering and flouring the edges and spraying the bottom with non-stick cooking spray. Then line the very bottom with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit it exactly.  Into a mixer bowl fitted with a whisk attachment, sift flour with ground chocolate, cake enhancer, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Add butter and 3/4 cup buttermilk. Beat on low speed to combine ingredients. Scrape sides of bowl and then beat on low-medium speed for 2 minutes. Add 1/4 cup buttermilk, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat additional 2 minutes.  Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake at 350ºF for 20 to 25 minutes, or until cake is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with only a couple of cling-ons. Take care not to under-bake this cake. Set pan on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. You can do this the night before and cover cake tightly until the next day.
Cover the top with a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper. Place a cutting board that exceeds the edges of the pan on top of the parchment/wax paper covered pan and invert the cake onto the cutting board. You will end up with the sheet cake on top of the paper on top of the cutting board.
Using a 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter, carefully cut out circles of cake, getting in as tight as you can so as not to waste cake. Remove the scraps as you go along (and save them for later). You should end up with 24-28 circles. I ended up with 24, 2.5 inch circles and 4, 2.25 inch circles. The smaller ones were the samples we tried at home before taking them to our dinner party. (Also be sure to set the cake scraps aside so you can make a little trifle using the leftover fillings and cake.)
With a serrated knife, carefully slice each circle in half to create two layers from each circle (I told you this was complicated).
Cover cake with plastic wrap while you prepare the fillings.

French Silk Pie Layer Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened, but cool
• 1/4 cup white C & H sugar
• 11 unwrapped dark chocolate Dove Promises (about 3 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs

French Silk Pie Layer Instructions (adapted from allrecipes.com):  

            In a double boiler, melt Dove Promises about 2/3 of the way.  Remove top of double boiler and continue to stir until chocolate is completely melted.  Set aside to cool further.  I recommend cooling until the chocolate starts to thicken slightly so that it won't melt the butter and will be firm enough to withstand the next cake layer on top of it without smooshing out the sides.

            Cream butter.  Gradually add sugar, creaming well.  Blend in melted and cooled chocolate and vanilla.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating 4 minutes after each addition with an electric mixer on medium speed.  
           Scoop silk pie filling into a pastry bag fitted with a large piping tip. Either start the layering process* now, or place in the refrigerator while you prepare the other fillings.

Mascarpone Cream Frosting Ingredients:

• 8 oz. mascarpone cheese
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Mascarpone Cream Frosting Instructions:  In a mixer bowl, cream mascarpone, vanilla extract & sugar.  Add cream and whip on high until stiff.  Scoop frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a large piping tip. Place in the refrigerator while you prepare the cocoa whipped cream.


Cocoa Whipped Cream Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup powdered cocoa
• 1/4cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons hot tap water
• 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream

Cocoa Whipped Cream Instructions: In mixer bowl with a wire whisk attachment, mix cocoa, sugar & hot water, mixing to form a paste.  Allow to cool before adding cream.  Add cream and start mixing on low to incorporate cream into cocoa paste.  Stop the mixer and scrape the bow.  Mix on high until stiff peaks form. Scoop cocoa whipped cream into a pastry bag fitted with a large piping tip.

Assembling the Cakes/*Layering Process:

Once you've made the French silk pie layer, you can start the assembly process. 

Take 12-14 cupcake liners and flatten. Place them on another half sheet pan, ready to receive the cake layers

Working with only two to four mini cakes at a time, place the top half of a circle top-down onto the center of a flattened cupcake liner. Pipe about a 1/4 inch layer of French silk pie filling onto that bottom cake layer, and place the other half circle of cake on top, bottom-up. It's kind of important to match the layers with their circles so you keep the height of each cake consistent. Repeat until you have twelve cakes started.

Pipe a 1/4 inch layer of mascarpone frosting onto each little cake and place another half circle layer on top, again taking care to use two specific cake circles for each mini cake.

Pipe a 1/4 inch layer of cocoa whipped cream onto the third layer of cake and top with the final layer, cut side toward the cocoa whipped cream. 

Ganache Ingredients:

• 14 Dove Dark Chocolate Promises, unwrapped and roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Ganache Instructions:

Place chopped chocolate in a heat-proof bowl.
In a small pan over medium heat, bring the cream and butter just to a simmer.  Pour cream over chocolate and allow to sit for about 5 minutes.  
Stir to combine chocolate & cream.  
Spoon about a tablespoon or so of ganache on top of each mini cake and gently spread the ganache so it drips a little over the edges. If you end up with extra ganache, you can add more to each cake, or just eat it right then and there.

Refrigerate cakes until ready to serve.

Makes 12-14 mini cakes

I think this pic gives a better idea of the
size of the cakes. This was just before the
ganache was added to the tops.

You end up with more filling than cake,
but that didn't bother me at all.