Apple Toffee Blondies

Even though my apple picking adventure was sort of a bust, I was still in the mood for some apple flavored desserts!  I made these the other day for one of our USC football games.  My friend J who recently had a baby is still off chocolate, so I wanted to make a dessert that she would be able to enjoy as well.  I saw these and thought they were perfect for the game and for Fall!! 

I had decided to skip out on the frosting in the original recipe and it was a good thing I did since it was in the high 80’s that day.  But I totally want to try it with the frosting next time around…

Apple Toffee Blondies
adapted from Cookies and Cups

2/3 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped, peeled apples
2/3 cup toffee bits

Drizzle

1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 Tbsp maple syrup

1.  Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9 x 13 pan with baking spray.

2.  Cream butter and sugar until well mixed and smooth.  Add in eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth. 

3.  Add in flour, baking powder and salt.  Stir in apples and toffee pieces until evenly distributed.

4.  Pour batter into the baking pan and pop into the oven for 30 minutes, or until done. 

5.  Let cool and drizzle the maple syrup powdered sugar over the blondie pieces. 

The verdict?  These were totally yum and a hit with the boys, not sure if they ran out or not since I left my tailgate early to meet up with my former boss and sit with her at the game that week.  That game was a scorcher and I left with a crazy tan. 

Red Velvet Rice Krispy Treats

The next couple weeks are about to get a little crazy for me, but in a good way!  Between going out to DineLA (Los Angeles’ Restaurant Week), photography class, a trip to the Magic Castle and getting ready to go to North Carolina for a wedding it will be a busy few weeks.   I saw this on Runs with Spatula’s blog a month or so ago and I knew that this would be one of the first things that I would want to make for tailgating.  My team (the USC Trojans) sports a beautiful cardinal and gold!  And we always always have rice krispy treats, so these were right up our alley. 

I pretty much did her recipe exactly so head over to here blog and check it out here.  These were a total hit at the tailgate and I have even picked up some gold sugar sprinkles for the next game that I make it for.  Have a great week everyone!! 

Lemon Crunch Cake

If you have ever been to Honolulu, Hawaii and made friend with a local, you may have been so lucky to hear about a place with great food and dessert, at a bowling alley called Aiea Bowl.  One of the things that they are famous for is a dessert called Lemon Crunch Cake.  I had been waiting for the perfect time to make this cake, and last weekends Crab Boil seemed like the perfect opportunity.  

Lemon Crunch Cake
adapted from Star Bulletin

1 box yellow cake mix
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp. lemon extract
3 eggs, separated
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Whipped Cream Frosting

2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream, whipped
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
1 package Heath bits

1 jar Lemon curd

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Empty cake mix into a large bowl and mix in water, oil, egg yolks, and lemon extract.  Mix for 1 minute or until combined. 

2.  In a separate bowl combine egg whites and cream of tartar.  Beat until stiff peaks form. 

3. Gradually fold in egg whites into cake mix batter.  Fold until both are combined.  Pour mixture into two greased and floured 8 inch round pans.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, until done.        

4.  Remove cakes and let them cool on rack.

 

5.  For the frosting in a large bowl combine the whipped cream, powdered sugar and lemon extract. 

6.  Spread a layer of lemon curd on top of the first layer of cake, then layer the whipped cream frosting and Heath Bar bits.  Spread a layer of lemon curd on the second cake and flip so that it lies on top of the whipped cream frosting.

7.  Frost the rest of the cake with the whipped cream frosting.  Gently pat the Heath bits around the edge of the entire cake.  Let chill in the refrigerator for 3 hours. 

This cake is the BIZ.  No joke, one of the girls made this cake a week later cause she couldn’t stop thinking about it.  It’s one of those kinda things.  She added some lemon zest for garnish and into the cake batter too- which is great if you want a really lemony taste. 

Roasted Peaches with Goat Cheese Mousse

This was the super delicious and amazingly quick dessert that I made at my goat cheese dinner party!  As you may remember we started with a simple salad with strawberries, almonds, avocado and goat cheese.  Then we moved on to our main dish, Bacon Goat Cheese Gnocchi.  Since this “dinner party” was planned only a day before, I kept everything super simple.  This dessert was so good and literally only takes minutes of prep allowing you to spend time with your guests. 

   

Roasted Peaches with Goat Cheese Mousse

3-4 white peaches or white nectarines, quartered
3 Tbsp. light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger
4 oz. fresh goat cheese, room temperature
2-3 Tbsp. half and half (or whipping cream)
Honey
Balsamic Fig reduction, optional
Mint, optional

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Wash and cut fruit.  Mix brown sugar, cinnamon, and ginger in a bowl.

2.  Dip cut pieces of fruit into the brown sugar mixture and place on cookie sheet or in baking pan. *I lined with foil for super easy clean up!!*

3.  Bake for 20 minutes, or until fruit is fork tender and juices start to run out. 

4.  Place soft goat cheese in a bowl and add the half and half to the bowl.  Using a fork, whip the two ingredients until combine.  *Add more half and half if you would like a lighter consistency*

5.  Serve warm fruit with a dollop of goat cheese mousse and drizzle with honey.  Garnish with Balsamic Fig reduction and mint!  *Balsamic Fig reduction sauce is possibly the best thing that I bought myself this month!!*  

Seriously, this dessert is soooo good!  If you are grilling, pop those peaches on the grill!  My dinner guest loved it and literally couldn’t believe that it only took me 5 minutes to prep in the kitchen while they were relaxing.  And, if you have any left overs the roasted fruit was super yummy the next morning on my yogurt! 

Baked: Devils Food Cupcakes with Angel Frosting

I have never managed to make it out to Baked Bakery in Brooklyn when I go to NY.  Apparently it’s quite the trek from Manhattan, and when you are only there a couple days, you know how it goes…  However my East Coast foodies assured me that this Bakery was something special.  A couple months ago I bought their second cookbook, Baked Explorations. 

I made these cupcakes for my bosses birthday and we named them Heaven and Hell Cupcakes since it combined a Devils Food Cake and Angel Frosting.  Sorry for the lack of pictures, I think I had made these really late at night and just wanted to crank them out!  

“Heaven and Hell Cupcakes”
adapted from Baked Explorations

Devils Food Cupcakes
1 oz. high quality chocolate (at least 65% cacao)
1/2 cup Valrhona cocoa powder
2/3 cup hot coffee
1/3 cup milk
1 1/3 cup AP flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
10 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 cubes
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line the cupcake tin with liners.  Place cocoa and chocolate in a heat proof bowl and pour the hot coffee over the mixture.  Whisk until combined and add in milk. *I made around 20 cupcakes with this recipe*

2.  In a second bowl sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. 

3.  In a third bowl beat butter and sugar on medium until fluffy.  Add in the eggs one at a time (while still beating) and add in vanilla.  Mix until ingredients are well combined.

4.  Slowly add in the flour mixture (in three parts), alternating with the chocolate coffee mixture.  (Begin and end with the flour mixture).

5.  Pour batter into cupcake liners and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until done.  Remove cupcakes from the oven and let them cool completely. 
 

Angel Frosting
5 egg whites, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 Tbsp. corn syrup
1 tsp. Vanilla extract

1.  In a medium sauce pan over low heat, combine 1 1/4 cup sugar, corn syrup and water.  Let the sugar dissolve and then increase the heat to medium-high. Clip on your candy thermometer and let the mixture get to almost soft ball stage.  *Don’t stir the mixture too much, you can just swirl the pot.  Soft ball stage is about 235 degrees- it should be marked on your thermometer.*

2.  While waiting for the mixture to reach soft ball stage, start whipping the egg whites in another bowl.  Whip the eggs on medium speed until soft peaks form.  *Whether you are using a mixer or hand held mixer, use your whisk attachment. *

3.  Once the mixture reaches soft ball stage remove it from heat.  Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup sugar over the egg whites and whip on low.  Slowly stream in the hot sugar syrup.  Once it has all been added increase the speed to medium high and beat the icing for approximately 7-8 minutes.  *Mixture should be thick and shiny*

4.  Add in the vanilla and beat again for another 10 seconds. 

Assembly

1.  Using a knife or apple corer, remove the core of the cupcake.  *The apple corer is so easy to do this with!* 

2.  Put the frosting in a piping bag and fill the cupcake center and frost the cupcake. 

This was seriously so delish!  The frosting was so light and airy, it was like a huge marshmallow was melting in my mouth.  Since this frosting is basically like a marshmallow, the frosting is best made the day that you are serving them.  I had frosted the cupcakes the night before and they still held up really well, if anything I think they may have deflated a little by the time that we ate them. 

My boss was super happy and touched that I made her cupcakes and frosting from scratch!  She is a great boss and mom and I was totally happy to do this small gesture for her.  I am one of those annoying few people that actually really enjoy what they do for work and don’t dread going back to work every Monday.  (Hate me – it’s ok)  My boss and co-workers play a large part in keeping me feeling that way, so even when I do have a day where I dream of retiring at 31 years old, they keep me coming back the next day with a smile on my face.  Thanks work peeps!    

Banana Bread, an Ode to Flour Bakery!

I fell in love with Flour Bakery during my trip to Boston.  The hype around Joanne Chang and her lovely bakeries, was much deserved.  As soon as I got home I had to look up more of her great recipes.  As luck would have it, I had some over ripe bananas so I was able to make Flour Bakery’s banana bread! 

Let me tell you that this banana bread is so moist and so good!  Five days later people were still raving about how moist it was.  (I had forgotten to take it over to a friends house so I had brought it into work).  I didn’t even think it needed a little pat of butter on it either since the bread is infused with great banana flavor.  (Super awesome considering I made some changes to lighten up the recipe.)

 

Banana Bread
adapted from Flour Bakery

1 2/3 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 1/2 bananas
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. non fat vanilla yogurt
2/3 cup toasted macadamia nuts, chopped

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a bowl. 

2.  Combine eggs and sugar in a separate bowl and whisk for 10 minutes until it turns light and fluffy.  Add in mashed bananas, vanilla extract, non fat yogurt and applesauce. 

3.  Fold in wet and dry ingredients.  Stir in chopped macadamia nuts and mix well.  Pour into a parchment lined loaf pan or butter and flour pan.  Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.   

Apple Pear Crisp

Recently I helped to host one of my good friend J’s baby shower!  I have known J since the 7th grade and growing up we lived about a mile away from each other.  We both ended up going to the same college, became roommates (with two other awesome girls) –where she introduced me to Brie cheese!!! and both stayed in Los Angeles after college.  Her and her husband are also my tailgating buddies, so when I heard there would be a new addition to our tailgating crew I was beyond excited. 

I teamed up with J’s sister to plan a fun but laid back shower.  We went with an Olivia the Pig as our theme (J loves piggies) and decided to tie dye baby t-shirts!  Can you guess which one I made?  

Olivia the pig is the cutest, sassiest pig and she seems to love the colors red, black, white with some pink accents.  So I got to crafting and made some Olivia themed decorations to tie everything together.  
         

                     

I also volunteered to make the favors!  I had originally wanted to make some kind of fruit crisp in a tea cup and saucer (so cute!!) but the practical side of me won out as I wondered what people would do with a random tea cup and saucer in their cabinets.  I went with a more practical coffee mug, since I reasoned that everyone could take it to work.  It worked out well cause they also got way more Apple Pear Crisp!  I decided to use an Ina Garten recipe and have reposted it here for you!  

Apple Pear Crisp
recipe by Ina Garten via Food Network

6 apples (any baking apple I used Jonagold)
4 bosc pears
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 tsp. orange
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. orange juice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar

Topping

2 sticks cold unsalted butter, diced (1/2 pound)
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 tsp. salt

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Peel, core and cut the pears and apples into large even sized chunks.  Place fruit into a large bowl and add in the zests, juices, sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Pour fruit into a 9x12 baking dish or 8-10 individual sized dishes.  *I made this batch in coffee mugs and a couple of ramekins, if you do this just adjust baking time.  Also don’t be afraid to pack the fruit in tight, they will shrink down during baking!*

2.  For the topping, combine the flour, oatmeal, salt, sugars and butter in a bowl.  Mix ingredients until mixture turns into large crumbles.  *You can do this with an electric mixer or by hand with a fork.*

3.  Sprinkle crumble topping evenly over fruit mixture. 

4.  Place baking dish(es) onto a sheet pan and bake for 30-35 minutes (for individual containers) or 50 minutes in baking dish.  The top should be brown and the fruit should be bubbly.  Serve warm.

I sampled a cup right out of the oven (I couldn’t give everyone bad crisps as a favor!) and it was sooo good.  The apple and pear were an excellent combo together and the crisp was delish!  Next time I make this I am going to grate some ginger in with the apples and pears since I think it will complement the flavors nicely.  Maybe even some caramel bits, a little caramel never hurt anyone did it?  I tied these up using cute black and red ribbons, the perfect favor to take home with you.  One minute in the microwave and the guest is in heaven!  

Note:  J delivered a healthy adorable baby girl this week!  Welcome to LA baby Mila, can’t wait to hang out and get to know you.  =) 

Macadamia Nut Lilikoi Ice Box Pie

Lilikoi, or passion fruit is one of the flavors that I closely associate with growing up in Hawaii.  It's the perfect tangy, sweet and fruity flavor.  The last time I was home I stocked up on locally made lilikoi butters and jellies so I could enjoy them up on the mainland.  I decided to make an old school Hawaii desert, a no bake ice box pie!  This desert comes together in a snap and may even convert the passion fruit hater into a passion fruit lover. 


Macadamia Nut Lilikoi Ice Box Pie
1 cup macadamia nuts, measured then chopped
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese (I used low fat)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp sugar
3/4 cup butter
salt
1 cup powdered sugar
1 (14 oz) container of Cool Whip (or two 8oz containers)
1/2 cup - 3/4 cup lilikoi butter
1/2 cup lilikoi jelly

Crust
1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×13 pan.   In a bowl combine flour, butter, sugar, chopped macadamia nuts and a pinch of salt until crumbly.  *Make sure you crumble to small pieces or you will have holes in your crust as the butter melts!*
2.  Press mixture into pan and bake for 20 minutes. 

3.  Let cool.  Mix jelly in a bowl to make it spreadable.  Spread a thin layer of lilikoi jam over the crust. 

Filling
1.  In a bowl combine softened cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla.  Beat or mix until well combined. 
2.  Fold in 8 oz of Cool Whip into the mixture.  Spread the mixture over the cooled jam covered crust.  Cover with foil and place in the refrigerator to set.

Topping
1.  Spread a thin layer of Lilikoi butter of the cream cheese mixture.  *The lilikoi butter I bought was rich in taste and had a strong lilikoi taste so I didn't layer it on too thick, if yours is not as strong, feel free to make a thicker layer.*

2.  Cover the lilikoi butter with a layer of Cool Whip with chopped mac nuts.

Sorry I didn't take a picture of it sliced, but it comes together really nice.  I took this over to my friends house for a lunch gathering and we all ate several pieces!

When life gives you lemons, make Lemon Crumb Squares!

I have tons of lemons!  The nicest lady in my Saturday morning boot camp class has been bringing bags of lemons, oranges and grapefruit to class to share with all of us.  At first I took just a few, but the next week when she brought another bag, I greedily took a bunch- cause I had just the recipe in mind.  Last year on thekitchn they had a great looking recipe for Lemon Rolls.  I had bookmarked it and it lay there waiting for me in all its lemony deliciousness, just waiting...

Lemonpalooza

Sadly those Lemon Rolls that I have been waiting for so patiently did not come out.  *tear*  I was being lazy and did not check the temperature of my milk before I added the yeast in and I think I killed it!  Yeast is activated at somewhere around 100 degrees but is killed at 115 degrees.  Moody little sucker.  While my lemon hockey pucks somewhat defeated me for the night, I woke up with a new determination to make something great with the rest of my lemons.

Enter Pioneer Woman's Lemon Crumb Squares!  Just the other week my friend Aims had some extra Meyer Lemons that she wanted to use and this is one of the recipes we found.  So here is my second attempt at some lemony goodness...

Lemony Creamy Goodness

Lemon Crumb Squares
from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

1-⅓ cup All-purpose Flour
½ teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 stick (1/2 Cup) Butter, Slightly Softened
1 cup Brown Sugar (lightly Packed)
1 cup Oats
1 can (14 Ounce) Sweetened Condensed Milk
½ cups Lemon Juice
Zest Of 1 Lemon

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix butter and brown sugar until well combined.
2.  Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.  Add oats and flour to butter/sugar mixture and mix to combine.

3.  Press half of crumb mixture into the bottom of an 8 x 11 inch pan.

4.  Mix together condensed milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Spread onto the bottom layer of the crumb mixture.

5.  Top with the other half of the crumb mixture, but don’t press.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

I added some almond slices to half to see how it turned out...

Allow pan to sit on counter for 30 minutes after baking. Cut into squares and refrigerate for a couple of hours or until cool.  Serve cool.

These bars were a hit at work!  I thought they tasted great right out of the fridge too.  It would be cool to experiment and maybe add some ginger spice to the crumb topping as well.