Coconut Joy Brownie_(GF)

-it's something like stuffing an almond joy inside a gooey brownie-

bbq season is on, and everyone knows brownies and/or cupcakes are simply a necessity during these trying times of cold beer in the hot sun times. i mean, how else do you cool yourself off when you're standing next to an open flame in 90 degree heat, on a roof? come to think of it - why exactly do we wait until it's blazing hot to fire up a grill and stand next to it? well anyways i don't make up the rules - but i do make brownies and these are killer. seriously they may kill you. if you think you are on a diet go ahead and make these, they will cure you of that ridiculous endeavor. BUT the good news: they are gluten free and better yet - totally delicious. so all you gluten-less folks out there: eat your heart out! if you like your gluten - just use the standard AP flour. and maybe one of these days i'll make a GF burger bun for you too - until that time just eat more brownies and wallow in the joy of it all.

COCONUT JOY BROWNIE_GF

3/4c cocoa powder

12 oz butter

3 large eggs

1 1/2c sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp salt

6 tbs coconut flour

(handful) sliced almonds

JOY LAYER:

2c shredded sweetened coconut

2/3c sweetened condensed milk

pinch salt

*preheat oven to 350F, light grease an 8x8 baking pan

*melt butter, whisk in the cocoa powder and let cool slightly for a few minutes

*whisk in eggs, one at a time

*mix in sugar and extracts, stir to combine

*stir in flour and salt

*in a separate bowl combine all the ingredients for the JOY layer

*pour half the brownie batter into the prepared pan

*drop blobs of the JOY mixture on top, generously sprinkle the almonds over the coconut

*pour the remaining brownie batter over the top

*bake for 20-25 minutes until toothpick inserted shows only a few crumbs.

*let cool for about 30-45 minutes, cover and chill in frig a few hours before cutting (these guys ages very well)

Avocado Black Bean Brownies (GF)

-need i say more?-

i don't think i really need to say this but, i adore chocolate. the darker, stronger and closer to just being the raw bean the more i love it. every morning i have a square of no less than 90% and a spoonful of raw nibs - yes just the pure roasted bean - in my yogurt, or whatever ever else happens to fall prey to my morning gluttony. come to think of it i enjoy just about everything like this; tarlike coffee, oversteeped black tea, the tartest plain yogurt i can find, golden berries (if you've ever had one you would know what i mean), unsweetened nut milks... i can go on like this forever. does that say something about me? probably but who cares.
much to josh's dismay; over the years of consuming mass amounts of dark bitter food has left my taste buds accustomed to find the sweeteness in just about everything - i suppose a little something like being blind and hearing everything. so thusly there have emerged two forms of desserts that come out of my kitchen: normal for him and crazy for me. this is recipe is a bit more on my side - and i loooooove it. really its just a spin on the orginal black bean brownie i made a while back. i found this recipe on cara's cravings blog a while back and switched around the sugar content a bit, but that's about it. i've been muching down on these guys before a run and they are perfect little package of everything i need; scrumptious, full of protien and sustainable fat - oh did i mention chocolate.
my only suggestion to you: add a little more sugar, trust me. while i like everything dark and bitter i know i am basically alone so i would up it to a healthy 1/2c evaporated cane sugar; i am using palm sugar which isn't as sweet as cain. below is my exact recipe - unchanged. if you do make these let me know what you think!

BLACK BEAN AVOCADO BROWNIES

1 1/2c cooked, drained black beans (if canned, rinse well)
3 eggs
1/4c agave syrup
1/2 ripe avocado
1/4c + 2tbs cocoa powder
pinch salt
1 tbs vanilla
1/3c palm sugar
2tsp espresso powder

*preheat oven to 350F, grease an 8x8 pan
*in a food processor comebine the beans, eggs, agave and avocado until completely smooth.
*add the rest of the ingredients and continue to blend until totally smooth.
*pour into the prepared pan and cook 30 minutes, until toothpick is clean.
*let cool before slicing and munching - they actually get better with a 12hour rest.

Chocolate Banana Chocolate Cookies

-if you like chocolate...-

alright - full disclosure here: i have not actually tasted these cookies myself. BUT the entire batch was easily eaten up, given a full thumbs-up by the taster and well, smelled absolutely amazing both before and after the oven. a friend of mine house / dog sat for me during my latest weekend trip down south for a quick visit . i promised her cookies and like always i had a leftover, extra extra - ok, totally shriveled and black - banana sitting on the counter. it was somewhere around midnight and i had an early morning flight but, ugh i promised! so um, throw in some chocolate, some more chocolate, a bit of sugar, an egg and some flour. at this point i didn't have time to let butter get to room temp so uhhh - oil? perfect! throw it in the oven, pack (yes i only "pack" for about 10 minutes: short attention spam), take out, let cool while i take a shower, put em away and head to bed happy with myself for delivering my promise (deliciously) in under 30 minutes. nice!

CHOCOLATE BANANA CHOCOLATE COOKIES

1/2c chopped bittersweet chocolate

1 1/4c AP flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 very ripe banana

1/4c canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

1/2c sugar

1 egg

1/2c chopped white chocolate

3/4c chopped walnuts (optional)

*preheat oven to 400F, line baking pan w/ parchment

*over a double boiler, melt chopped bittersweet chocolate. take off heat & allow to cool slightly

* in bowl sift together flour, baking powder, soda & salt

*in a separate bowl mash the banana to very smooth. whisk in the oil, vanilla, sugar and egg

*add the flour mixture to the banana mixture, mix just to combine

*stir in the melted chocolate

*fold in the white chocolate and nuts if using

*bake for 12 minutes (makes about 12-14 cookies)

Black Bean Brownies (GF)

like i mentioned earlier, josh inadvertently put beans on my brain. and well chocolate - that is always on my brain, its more like a part of my brain. as i was perusing the online food blogosphere i stumbled upon this idea of brownies made out of beans. i've heard of baking with beans before, but never just beans. the more i read (with elation) the more it all made sense. the natural depth of the beans and the darkness of the chocolate was genius! there are varying recipes floating around one i found that was sweetened only with bananas which i will be testing out soon and some that called for tons of butter (which to me is a bit of cop-out; anything tastes great with tons of butter and sugar). so i found one that was healthy enough for my standards and adapted it to be a little more freindly with coconut oil and espresso powder.

the result? amazing. amazing. amazing. we polished them off easily and with zero quilt. try them i promise you'll be happy and all the more healthy!

BLACK BEAN BROWNIES

1 1/2c freshly cooked black beans (from dried)

3 eggs

3 tbs coconut oil (melted if needed)

3/4c evaporated cain juice

1/2c cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp espresso powder (or instant coffee)

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

1/2c chocolate chips

*preheat oven to 350F, grease an 8x8 baking pan

*in a blender or processor combine the eggs and beans until smooth

*add in remaining except the chocolate chips

*blend just to smooth then stir in the chocolate chips (by hand not blender)

*pour into prepared pan and cook 30 - 35 minutes until toothpick comes out clean, let cool before cutting.

Orangettes

i have a serious weakness for orangette. if you don't know what they are let me explain: take the best crap ever, boil it in sugary goodness then cover it in more deliciousness also know as dark chocolate. that about explains it. i had before now been able to keep my obsession at bay simply by rarely having these treats around me (when is the last time you came across some on a dessert menu? or starbucks?). but i have now unleashed a beast by tailor making these treats for myself (via fabulous oranges from my parents and 90% dark chocolate) and now, for the past month, have had at least 3-4 every single night before bed. all's well that ends well.

ORANGETTES

4 large oranges

1c sugar

1c water

5 oz unsweetened chocolate (or to your taste), chopped

5 oz 85% dark chocolate (or to your taste), chopped

*peel the oranges, cutting the rind into thin, even strips

*place all peels in large bowl, cover with cold water and let soak, covered overnight to 24 hours

*drain peels and place in pot of boiling water, let boil 2-3 minutes

*drain and repeat boil

*drain again and set aside

*in separate pan bring sugar and water to boil, add blanched peels and simmer for 45 minutes -1 hour

*remove peels to cooling rack, let them completely cool and "set" (about 6-8 hours)

*over a double broiler melt 3/4 of the chocolate

*take off the heat and stir in remain chocolate pieces until the mixture reaches 90F

*dip your candied peels in the tempered chocolate and place on parchment to cool.

GF_Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

where do you draw the line when on what can and can't be a chocolate chip cookie? there are some recipes out there that have dried fruit, mashed fruit, dried fruit purees, chopped nuts, nut butters, ground nuts, various extracts and spices that all label themselves as "chocolate chip cookies" with an addition of "with xyz" - for example: "chocolate chip cookies with walnuts, banana, oatmeal and raisins".

don't get me wrong; i love cookies made V8 style - everything crammed into one serving. as a matter of fact i love to sneak a good prune into my chocolate cookies. but alas sometimes you have to just make "plain" old chocolate chip cookies. no walnuts, no fruit, no espresso powder - just sugar, flour and chocolate. but you know me and you know i can't just leave it at that. although these are "just" chocolate chip cookies - they are special: vegan and gluten free. so anyone and everyone can indulge themselves and that they will; indulge!

1/2c coconut oil - melted

1/4c unsweetened apple sauce

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbs vanilla extract

1/2c packed light brown sugar

2 tbs flax meal

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp xanthan gum

1c gluten free flour (bob's red mill)

1/2c chocolate chips

*preheat oven to 325F

*mix together oil, applesauce, salt, vanilla and sugar

*in separate bowl sift together flax, soda, xanthan and flour

*stir dry ingredients into wet

*fold in chocolate

*drop by tbs full onto lined baking sheet

*flatten a bit and cook 13 -15 minutes

Cashew Brownies_GF

i haven't made brownies in somewhere over a year (i think). it seems that i have a tendency to get hung up on other such fantastical journeys like - mini lemon meringue pies & real glazed donuts. as delicious as these were sometimes you just have to get back to the basics, you know?

yeah well i kinda did that. i mean they are brownies, just not basic. sticking to my pseudo gluten-freeness trial i found a recipe from elana's blog for brownies made with almond butter. but considering i eat an almond butter and (delicious Louisiana homemade) jelly for lunch Monday thru Friday i opted to hoard my supply of the jarred gold and use up josh's share of cashew butter which i can't eat with out getting ill (i have no explanation for this). so in it went and i crossed my fingers that the same digestive effect would not happen once combined with chocolate and agave - i mean what can't be fixed with those two? seriously.

i am happy to say that i love these. josh had two with his eggs for breakfast - don't judge - and it didn't bother me. they remind me of a brownie "flavored" cliff bar but way, way better. if you want a more fudge like texture you can try leaving out the baking soda and amping up the cashew butter to 9oz. next time i make them, and that will happen, that is what i will try. these treats are high in protein, low in sugar, dairy free and gluten free. enjoy that!

CASHEW BROWNIES

8oz unsalted creamy cashew butter

1 egg

1/2c + 2 tbs agave nectar

1 tbs vanilla extract

1/4c cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt (scant)

1/2c dark chocolate chips

*preheat oven to 325F grease a 8x8 pan

*cream cashew butter to smooth w/ an electric mixer

*beat in egg then agave and vanilla

*in a separate bowl sift together the coco powder, soda and salt

*combine the cocoa mix into the cashew mixture

*fold in the chocolate chips

*pour into to prepared pan, cook 30-35 minutes

Birthday Cake!

ahhh yes its once again josh's birthday - and what kind of a wife / crazy person would i be if i didn't bake an entire layered cake, sized to feed 8 -10 for the two of us to enjoy on a Tuesday evening? every year i ask josh "what kind of cake do you want this year" - as if he's in kindergarten (seriously that's how i speak to him). and every year he just shrugs as if he will eat any cake i make, which is just untrue. and with high spirits i start naming off all kinds of fancy pretentious crap hoping that he will either: a) get tired of the sound of my over enthused voice and just say yes to one of them or b) cave and think of something he really wants. alas neither happens and i end up getting tired of the sound of my own voice and say something along the lines of "or do you just want a generic yellow cake?". Bingo - every friggin time; that's what he wants. so then i have to launch into the frosting options... i'll spare you.

so here we are - one super cute birthday cake, made for a man but designed for a child.

YELLOW CAKE

5oz butter softened

1 1/4c sugar

2c flour

1/4c cornstarch

4 eggs

1tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp almond extract

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4c buttermilk

*preheat oven to 350F, grease two 9" cake pans

*sift together flour, starch, leavenings & salt

*in separate bowl cream butter to light

*add sugar and beat to light and fluffy

*beat in eggs one at a time just to incorporate

*beat in vanilla and almond

*(by hand)add in flour mix and buttermilk alternatively - ending on the flour

*pour into prepared pans and cook 20-25 minutes until toothpick is clean

*allow to cool completely before icing

CHOCOLATE FROSTING

6oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

8oz butter, softened

1c powdered sugar

2 tbs water or milk

1 tsp vanilla

*melt chocolate over double broiler, take off heat and allow to cool

*cream butter to light and fluffy

*add vanilla and water / milk, cream for 3 minutes

*beat in sugar to combine

*add in chocolate and beat just to combine - do not over whip

Chocolate Balsamic Prune Cookies

evidently i'm becoming increasingly negative. or so my love says. i like to think of myself as humorously wry - i find stupid things funny and just so happen to think there are a lot of stupid things out in the world. hmmm ok well i suppose i should try and get myself to be more positive to counter-act this negative force.

here's something friggin possitive: these fudgy dense, yet fat-free, cookies. there are a few "secret ingredients" that i like to throw in when baking w/ chocolate that just seems to make life more positive (that's 1). those secrets include, but not limited to: coffee, cinnamon, prunes and balsamic vinegar. really they are positively (2) wonderful when paired with the dark silky goodness of chocolate. they are all ingredients that you would never really know are there but know you miss when they aren't - they are like a positive (3) outlook, or a silver lining of sorts.

so i included 2 of these above mentioned secret positives (4) in these healthy little treats. the result is a positively (5) chewy, rich and finely textured cookie that's super high in fiber and low in calories. don't worry you won't even know there is vinegar in these - yes i am positive (6) about that, trust me - think red wine and chocolate truffles.

i used sugar-in-the-raw so that that there is a little bit of a sugary crunch, i find this to be a positive (7) attribute; if you're not positive (8) you would agree just use regular brown sugar instead.

CHOCOLATE BALSAMIC PRUNE COOKIES

1/4c AP flour

1/2c whole wheat flour

1/4c buckwheat flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

1/2c + 1tbs cocoa powder

2/3c sugar in the raw / brown sugar - unpacked

1/2c prune puree *see note below*

1/3c yogurt

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

*preheat oven to 350F, line baking pan w/ parchment

*sift together fours, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder

*in separate bowl whisk together sugar, prune puree, yogurt, vanilla and vinegar

*stir in the flour mixture to the prune mixture

*place tbs fulls on prepared pan, smashing down with your fingers

*bake 10-12 minutes

**Prune Puree: soak 1c dried prune in near boiling water for 1-2 hours. Drain the prunes and puree in food processor until uniform and as smooth as you cab get it

Chocolate Mocha Shortbread

i can say that before i whipped these together last night - pre-house guest arrival, post dinner - that i didn't really knew what shortbread was. yeah weird for a "baker" but it just wasn't something that i found even sounded appetizing. short-bread? hmmm not nearly as appealing as say - gingersnap. (mmm gingersnap - yum).

so back to the shortbread i made: i found this recipe in my "cookies" cookbook by martha stewart. to be totally honest the main reason i picked this one was because we have no eggs in the frig. and well - this is chocolate (always gets points) and very simple (check plus plus). i have to say that i really like this treat. josh and i decided to rename it dehydrated brownies cus that's really what it seems like your eating. don't take that name the wrong way - they are totally delicious, just reminds you of a brownie in smell and basic taste, but the texture is obviously lacking the gooey fudgeness of a real brownie. these would be perfect for a christmas gift.

CHOCOLATE MOCHA SHORTBREAD (aka: dehydrated brownies)

1/2c + 2tbs flour

1/4c dutch processed cocoa powder

pinch salt

2 tsp instant coffee granules

4oz butter at room temp

1/2c powdered sugar

*preheat oven to 350F, grease a 8" round cake pan

*sift together flour, cocoa, salt and coffee

*in separate bowl cream butter to light and fluffy

*beat in the powdered sugar

*beat in the cocoa mixture to fully combined

*evenly spread the dough into the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes

*cook in pan 5 minutes then cut into 8 wedges, cook on wire rack

*when fully cooled sprinkle with powdered sugar

Halloween Cupcakes!

so we're in! i have a kitchen again! and how better to bring a kitchen to life than to whip up a batch of halloween party cupcakes? This is my usual chocolate cupcake recipe and normally I would pair that with non other than a delish chocolate icing. alas halloween demands orange and black, so there is noway around it - i had to create a vanilla buttercream and forge on with the orange dye. and be the OCD baker i am - threw in real vanilla bean. to me the beans are a must, you can't beat the distinctly authentic and fresh flavor of the freshly scraped little beans. but if you don't feel up to trucking out to the store and spending $10 for the beans (i get mine in bulk for much less, juts for the record) then go ahead and just omit; but be aware beans make it better ;).

HALLOWEEN CUPCAKES

Chocolate Cupcakes:

1c AP flour

1c sugar

1/2c cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2c buttermilk

1/4c oil

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2c coffee

*preheat oven to 350F, line muffin pan

*sift together the flour, sugar, soda, baking powder, cocoa & salt

*on separate bowl combine buttermilk, oil, egg and vanilla

*stir in buttermilk mixture into dry mix

*pour in coffee, mix to combine

*fill muffin pans and cook for 20 minutes until toothpick is clean

Vanilla Bean Buttercream:

2oz butter, room temp

1c powdered sugar

1/4 vanilla bean, split in half and beans scraped

1/2tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp milk

*cream butter until light and fluffy

*add in half of the powdered sugar

*add vanilla bean, extract and milk. beat to combine

*add remaining sugar to desired consistency then beat in food dye

Gluten Free Chocolate and Prune Cookies

we are finally moving - this saturday and of-course it looks like its going to be cold and raining. awesome! so hopefully one of these days soon i will have an apt that functions. functionality is a very very good thing.

so to the cookies - i love these little guys. again i'm cleaning out the ole pantry and trying to make something decently healthy. so for those of you who are not aware: prunes and chocolate go really well together. don't mess around with milk chocolate - go for the dark. trust me.

GLUTEN-FREE CHOCOLATE & PRUNE COOKIES

1 1/4c almond flour / meal

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

3 tbs coconut oil

1/4c agave

1 1/s tsp vanilla

1/4c chopped prunes

1/2c toasted pecans, chopped

1/4c dark chocolate, chopped

*preheat oven to 350F

*combine almond meal, baking soda and salt in bowl

*in separate bowl combine oil, agave and vanilla

*add wet to dry, stir to combine

*fold in prunes and chocolate

*roll into 1/2" ball (or heaping TBS) and flatten slightly

*bake for 8-10 minutes

Pumpkin White Chocolate & Pecans Cookies

so come sunday josh and i were reminiscing about how fabulous our thanksgiving dinner was last year - and how we can't wait to be at the end of November (and over with this NYC moving/working hell). and what says thanksgiving more than the disgustedly delicious low country sweet potato casserole!? yeah you know what i'm talking about - with the mini marshmallows and pecans on top. oh my!

so being the visually obsessive person i am; i went ahead and used pantry "leftovers" and concocted this cookie that looks like the infamous dish. i have to say it may not be a casserole, but it definitely screams autumn. the cookie itself is like a mix between a muffin and a cookie - maybe muffin top-ish? well anyways they are delish (josh ate 5 yesterday) and dare i say actually healthier for you than the marshmallow coated, buttered casserole it was modeled after. enjoy your autumn days!

PUMPKIN WHITE CHOCOLATE & PECAN COOKIES

1 1/2c + 2 tbs AP flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp clove

1/4 tsp salt

3oz butter, softened

1/2c sugar

1/2c brown sugar, lightly packed

2/3c pumpkin puree

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2c chopped white chocolate

1/2c toasted chopped pecans

*preheat oven to 350F

*sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, spices and salt

*in separate bowl cream together butter and sugar to light and fluffy

*beat in egg and vanilla to combine

*beat in pumpkin to combine

*add flour mix, beat to just combine

*fold in chocolate and pecans

*drop by heaping tbs full onto sheet, flatten a bit

*cook for 10-12 minutes

Chocolate Banana Nut Cookies

like usual we can never finish off the last banana in the bunch so it just sits on the counter, taking up space, growing more and more spotted and unappetizing in appearance. perfect - make cookies. these are fun - next time i will switch out the butter with coconut oil and put in additional chocolate chips just to amp them up a bit. but they are a simple little snack as they are.

CHOCOLATE BANANA NUT COOKIES

1/2c semi-sweet chocolate, chopped, melted and cooled for 10 minutes

1/2 sugar

1/4c butter

1 medium banana, mashed

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1c + 2 tbs flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4c chopped walnuts or pecans

*preheat oven to 375F

*cream together the butter and sugar to light and fluffy

*beat in egg, then vanilla and melted chocolate

*in separate bowl sift together the dry ingredients

*stir in the dry ingredients into the egg mixture

*fold in the nuts

*drop heaping tsp of batter onto cookie sheet

*cook 8-10 minutes

Matzoh Crunch

i had been eyeing this recipe from David Lebovitz for at least 6 months. being thoroughly not jewish - i'm a catholic from Louisiana - i had never even tried matzoh before. so i bought a huge box of it and its been sitting on the counter for this whole time. oddly enough josh either didn't notice it or is so use to my strange cooking endeavors that he didn't bother asking why i decided to start buying passover(ish) food. what's with that - weren't you curious? ha! i thought surely one day the wonder would get to him, but i guess his inquisitive energy has been depleted.

well anyways the new harry potter movie came out last night. josh was there in line waiting for the midnight showing and i couldn't send him empty handed. thus the matzoh was finally used!

this stuff is addictive - really the toasted almond slices are a must. i didn't added any extra salt like mr. lebovitz advises since i am sensitive to sodium.

Matzoh Crunch

4-6 sheets matzoh - unsalted

8oz buter, cubed

1c firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1c dark chocolate chips

1c sliced almonds, toasted

*preheat oven to 375F, line a 11 x 17 rectangular pan with foil

*line to bottom of the pan with the matzoh sheets, breaking them as needed

*in a sauce pan bring the butter and sugar to a boil and continue to boil for 3 minutes. make sure not to let it burn

*pour the hot carmel over the prepared matzoh spreading with a rubber spatula to evenly distribute

*but the pan in the oven and turn temp down to 350F, cook for 15 minutes

*remove from the oven and sprinkle the chocolate over the hot bubbly mix, let sit for 5 minutes then spread the chocolate evenly around.

*sprinkle the almonds onto the warm chocolate and press lightly to get them to stick.

*let cool completely and then break up into your desired sizes. yum!

Tofu Mexican Chocolate Pudding

i eat a ton of chocolate. really more than anyone probably should. the first thing i eat everyday is dark chocolate squares and i usually eat some kind of chocolate before bed. i realized my addiction (seriously) recently when i when to see josh for the weekend and realized his rundown little semi-bachelor pad had no traces of dark chocolate - i'm talking 90-95% dark chocolate, i can sometime drop as low as 72% if i am desperate. so i woke up ate my breakfast and everything seemed to be fine until about 2 hours later when i just felt like i needed something. i must have drank about 4 large green teas and still dragged around. finally i found a small little grocer that had a few squares of 80% chocolate that looked to be about 8 years old and marked 50 cents each. frantically i bought one and literally walked out the door sat on a bench and inhaled the chocolate. ahhhh it was like a drink of water after a 5k run. yeah so i have a problem.

with all that said i stubbled across a NYtimes recipe via mark bittman for tofu chocolate pudding. i made a few healthier substitutions, some proportion alterations (ok i completely changed it) and this delicious pudding came out of it i like to think its "healthy", relatively. i don't suggest leaving out the spices - if you must you can leave out the ancho chili, but trust me its very subtle.

TOFU MEXICAN CHOCOLATE PUDDING

12oz silken tofu

4oz bittersweet chocolate, melted

2oz unsweetened chocolate, melted

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ancho chili powder

1 tsp vanilla

1/3c + 2tbs agave syrup

*combine all in a blender to completely smooth

*chill for about an hour

Cigarettes Russes

there isn't too much that i can say about these. all i think of when i see these cookies are trips to sam's club. oh yes. sam's club is a wholesale store in the south - owned by wal-mart, yada yada. basically its a place you can buy a pack of 144 super sized snicker bars or if you felt adventurous a "gold" and "diamond" tennis bracelet. right. anyways my family loves sam's club. we're in the club.

why the heck would cigarette russes remind me of a wholesale store? well its the best place to stock up on your much needed 5lb canister of these guys. what's strange is that even though you are literally getting these treats out of a humongous can printed with an oh so sexy picture of the cookies flying around in the garden of eden and sparkles you feel like that there is something european about them. and european means delicious. right? you know you agree. sam's club wholesale european delish cookies. yum.

Cigarettes Russes

(via Martha Stewart)

2c powdered sugar

1 1/4 c flour

pinch salt

5.25 oz butter, melted

6 large egg whites, lightly beaten

1 tbs heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla

*sift together the sugar, flour & salt

*add butter, egg whites, heavy cream and vanilla

*stir to combine, cover and chill for 2 hours

*preheat oven to 425F, put silicone mat down on cookie sheet

*spoon out (4) 1tbs full scoops of the batter onto the prepared sheet

*with a knife spread the batter out to 6 x 3 1/2" paper thin ovals

*cook 6 minutes until the edges begin to brown

*lift the cookies off one at a time with a spatula and roll around a chopstick, repeat with remaining cookies / batter

GLAZE

4 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

2 tsp vegetable oil

*melt chocolate over double broiler

*take off heat and stir in oil

*dip the rolled cookies in the chocolate

Pudding Stuffed Cupcake w/ Chocolate Whipped Cream

i am one of those people that, fortunately, is easily amused. or maybe the better way to phrase that would be that i am a person who is often amazed by things. now that i have made myself appear to have an underdeveloped brain i will try and explain that.

i am about 95% sure that my infatuation with producing extraordinary chemical reactions between seemingly ordinary things (hence the freakish baking fetish) comes directly from my father: the self proclaimed "professional hobby-ist". that. is. brilliant. yes, my dad came up with title when he was about 10 years old and i am damn proud of him for it. so legend has it my father would write to numerous companies asking for a vast assortments of very serious chemicals, claiming to be a professional "hobby-ist". ok, so obviously this was before any kind of terrorist threats or mega lawsuits etc, etc and they would send it along. and from there my dad would be a mischievous boy - a very dangerous mischievous boy. he produced varying specimens of bombs, rockets and other varying explosive reactions. that is until he almost brought the family kitchen down to ashes. he was moved to a little storage shed located a safe distance from the house.

does any of this sound vaguely familiar to any of you bakers out there? how can you not feel like a little scientist measuring, weighing, folding not stirring, wood spoon only, whisking to stuff peaks, carefully watching the clock, noting in your scrappy book your equations and formulas, aiming for fireworks just to almost burn down the kitchen - or at least your taste-buds. well i do i. and my favorite reaction is whipping. i'm amazed every single time. so much so i always feel the ridiculous need to call someone into the kitchen to see what has happened. yeah, like retelling a dream: no-one cares unless it was theirs.

all of this just to share with you my whipped cream icing. oh and there is chocolate caramel pudding stuffed cupcake underneath a cloud of it. yum. the batter is the carmel cake batter from my previous post. since i can never get fresh whipped cream to stay i "stabilized" it with a tiny bit of gelatin and it worked perfectly.

CHOCOLATE WHIPPED CREAM

1/4 tsp gelatin powder

1 1/2 tsp cold water

1/2c whipping cream

2 1/2 tbs powdered sugar

1 1/2 tbs dutch processed cocoa

pinch salt

1/4 tsp vanilla

*pour gelatin into a cup

*sprinkle water over the gelatin and let sit for 5 minutes

*submerge the cup in simmering water until the gelatin mixture has melted. let cool back to room temp

*whip the cream with the gelatin until fluffy and thick (you know what whipped cream should be)

*quickly beat in the vanilla, sugar, salt and cocoa

*keep chilled

Strawberry and White Chocolate Ganache French Macarons

strawberries are everywhere in NYC these days - or at least the places i go. namely fruit carts, grocery and wine stores, oh and the occasional clothing boutique. oh what the life. hm. anyways as you know weekends are when i shake all of the baking off my brain. so last weekend i ended up with an extra egg white just sitting in the frig. and it sat there all week. aging and aging as the days went by. so i knew i had to turn that ripe old egg white in to macarons.

it rained all day long on yesterday. it was london over here: no sun, chilly, all drizzle and fog. so being idiotic and stubborn i got my mind set on making them yesterday. i was going to do it damnit! yeah, i think i have warned you about this before but just don't even think about making these when the humidity is anything above 60% definitely not 100% like i chose to do. its a waste of your time. to my defense; it was late and i didn't notice that i had started raining again. non-the-less it didn't happen.

as mention above i may sometimes be a bit stubborn. in other words i now have to produce macarons this weekend in order to correct this wrong i have done. so i woke up, monitored the humidity and went to work.

back to strawberries. they are everywhere so they are on my mind, but i just finished my two boxes for the week and i definitely didn't feel like forking over any more $$$. i remembered that i had some dried shriveled strawberries in the cupboard (i had a thing about them over a year ago). enter the coffee grinder! grind them into a powder and there you go - a way to infuse flavor into this supersensitive batter. then i remembered i have a block of white chocolate that i should try and use. i say try because i hate hate hate white chocolate, but i does go with strawberries and everyone else i know adores it. so we get white chocolate ganache. i have to say i tasted one and it was pretty darned good, white chocolate and all.

STRAWBERRY & WHITE CHOCOLATE GANCHE MACARONS

STRAWBERRY MACARONS

1/2c almond flour

1c powdered sugar

1 tbs strawberry powder

2 egg whites (at room temp)

1/4 tbs sugar

*preheat oven to 375F, line pan w/ parchment

*sift together the almond flour, powdered sugar and strawberry powder

*in a separate bowl beat the egg whites until soft peaks form

*add in sugar and beat until stiff and shiny

*gentle fold in the egg white with the powdered sugar mixture

*pipe into 1 1/2" rounds onto prepared pan and cook for 15 minutes

*let cool before removing from pan

WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE

3 1/2 oz white chocolate, finely chopped

1/4c whipping cream

1/2 oz butter, cubed

*heat the cream in a sauce pan until bubbles form

*take off heat and add the chocolate, let sit for a minute then stir to smooth

*add the butter and stir to combine

*let cool to thicken before using

Chocolate Eclair Cupcakes

you are about to get schooled on chocolate eclairs.

this delicious pastry as you probably already suspected is believed to have its roots in 19th century france. traditionally it consists of a crisp hollow shell made with your typical choux dough (my favorite pastry element ever), topped with

a chocolate glaze and piped full of coffee or chocolate pastry cream. i can hear you mumbling inside your head: "i thought it was traditionally filly with vanilla cream". yes, one would think such a thing; if they were american. i am american and that it what i thought, i will explain why.

here in fabulous america we make something called a "long john" which -like yams and sweet potatoes- we have decided are the same as eclairs. while interesting in name and definitely americanized; a long john is not the same as an eclair. they may look similar to someone who doesn't have their glasses but they are made out of very different things. long johns are really just long hotdog shaped doughnuts filled with vanilla pudding and topped with chocolate.

we do like to soak our food in molten lard. so in other words the next time you are in dunkin donuts and you see those long chocolate covered doughnut things in the corner - do not call them eclairs. speaking of dunking donuts; were you aware they have an item called "cake stick" also something called "jelly stick"? what tha? seriously!? i don't know how you feel about this, but i don't want to eat anything that has taken the stick form of itself.

anyways back to the story. so you can see how we have come to mix these two items up with each other. we like our sweets to be cakey - none of that wussy light as air baked pastry "shell" business. which brings me to boston creme pie. ah yes, if you think about it: vanilla pastry creme, chocolate glaze and some other sweet cushiony element in-between. very similar, just switch out the choux shell for a sponge cake and viola! you've just invented boston creme pie.

hopefully you find this as interesting as me: the 1st known english language recipe for eclairs was in late 19th century Boston Cooking School Cook Book. that is correct the first known english recipe was in boston! ha, very clever. and the chef at the parker house hotel (where boston creme pie came from) was of-course french. bit of a loop, eh?

all that said, i am thoroughly against bastardizing a culinary item. but i do have to agree with the rest of america and say that the vanilla filling is by far superior. so the vanilla filling stays - the rest is old school eclair baby.

so this brings me to this cupcake. i had started out thinking that i wanted to make mini boston creme pies, but then realized that the best vanilla pastry creme recipe i have ever tried is my own (yes i am bragging) and that is for my eclairs. ok, so i fill a cupcake with eclair creme, slather on the chocolate glaze and what do we have? i don't know a chocolate eclair cupcake? yep, full blooded american.

CHOCOLATE ECLAIR CUPCAKES

CUPCAKES:

1c flour

1 tbs cornstarch

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2c milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp almond extract

4 oz butter

3/4c sugar

2 eggs, separated

pinch of cream of tartar

2 tbs sugar

*preheat oven to 350F, line your pan

*sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder & salt

*in separate bowl combine the milk, vanilla and almond

*in a separate bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. add the 2tbs sugar and beat until

shiny and stiff peaks form.

*in separate bowl cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy

*add the egg yolks only, one at a time

*add 1/3 of the flour mixture, beat to combine.

*add 1/2 of the milk mixture, beat to combine

*repeat until all of the milk and flour are added, ending on the flour

*gently fold in the whipped egg whites.

*spoon into prepared pan, cook for 20 minutes until toothpick is clean

*once cooled cut out a small area from the top of the cupcake and fill with the pastry cream. cut off the access of cake

from the served piece and place back on the top of the cupcake.

*top with the chocolate glaze

VANILLA PASTRY CREAM:

1c whole milk

1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeded

3 egg yolks

2 tbs cornstarch

1/3c sugar

1 1/2 tsp cold butter

*heat milk and vanilla bean to boil, turn off heat and infuse for 15 minutes

* in a separate bowl whisk yolks and sugar to light and fluffy

*add cornstarch to yolks and whisk until no lumps

*whisk in 1tbs of the hot milk

*whisk in remaining milk

*strain egg mix into saucepan, cook over medium heat whisking constantly until thick and slowly boiling

*remove from heat and add butter

*put plastic wrap directly on top and chill for 2 hours

CHOCOLATE GLAZE:

1/2c heavy cream

4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

*heat cream until you can see bubbles forming at the edge

*take off heat and add the chocolate, let sit for a minute then stir to smooth