Chocolate Chip Cupcakes/Muffins/Cookies
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I would probably call these “Blondies with Chocolate Chips” but who am I to change a recipe title? Don’t let the name fool you–aside from the fact they are baked in cupcake tins, they are nothing like a cupcake–they are buttery and chewy like a blondie. And they are quite delicious. So much in fact, one of my coworkers said these may be his new favorite and ranked them up there with cake balls. I know!
As you can see from the picture, mine are ugly. I omitted the nuts in the topping so I was left with a goopy chocolate chip mixture (which tastes delicious just looks sort of blah). Also, I was out of mini chips so I had to use regular size and I think they are entirely too large for the petite size of the cupcake/muffin/cookie. All that aside, I’d still eat them. In fact, I uh, may have had a few.
Photos of the process here.
Cupcake Ingedients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cupcake Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°. Line miniature muffin pans and coat with cooking spray.
Beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add vanilla extract and mix well. Add egg and beat until blended.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to butter mixture, mixing just until combined.
Spoon about 1 & 1/2 teaspoons batter into each muffin cup. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Topping Ingredients
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping Preparation
Beat brown sugar, egg, and salt until blended. Stir in chocolate chips, pecans, and vanilla.
After cupcakes have been baked, spoon topping mixture over each cupcake. Bake for 8-10 more minutes.
Makes about 3 dozen cupcakes.
Recipe from Bake or Break.
Candied Peanuts
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I was in the mood for something sweet and salty to snack on while watching the Olympics, but unfortunately didn’t have anything that fit the bill in my house. So, I made these.
Only three ingredients, and pretty easy if you don’t burn yourself with hot sugar like I did the previous time. While they are a little tedious (stir constantly, look for the color to change, stir again), they are worth the wait!
Pictures of the process here.
Ingredients
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 ½ cups salted peanuts
Peparation
Have a parchment – or, better yet, a silicone mat-lined baking sheet at the ready, as well as a long-handled wooden spoon (you’ll be cooking sugar that will climb to over 300 degrees F, so you’ll want to keep as far away from it as possible) and a medium (about 2-quart) heavy-bottomed sauce pan.
Put the sugar and water in the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Keeping the heat fairly high, continue to cook the sugar, without stirring, until it just starts to color. (If sugar splatters onto the sides of the saucepan, wash down the splatters with a pastry brush dipped in cold water.) Toss in the peanuts and immediately start stirring. Keep stirring, to coat the peanuts with the sugar. Within a few minutes, they will be covered with sugar and turn white – keep stirring until the sugar turns back into caramel. When the peanuts are coated with a nice deep amber caramel, remove the pan from the heat and turn the nuts out onto the baking sheet, using the wooden spoon to spread them out as best you can. Cool the nuts to room temperature. When they are cool enough to handle, separate the nuts or break them into small pieces.
Recipe part of the Snickery Squares recipe.
Salted Oatmeal Cookies
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My mom is hosting a baby shower on Sunday 
(and a bridal shower tomorrow–two different women and tons of baking for us!) and these cookies are the soon-to-be mom’s favorite. She first told me about them months ago, saying she ate them all the time while living in Virginia but hasn’t seen them out here in California.
Thanks to Google, I found a recipe based on the bakery’s secret cookie. These are so good–easy to make, sweet and salty, and crispy on the outside and chewy (thanks to the brown sugar) on the inside. A near perfect cookie. Why just near perfect? Because if I were baking these for myself, you better believe I’d add chocolate chips.
Ingredients
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups flour
2 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
Sea salt, for sprinkling
Preparation
In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for a few minutes on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the sugars, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon, beating until the mixture is well blended. Reduce the speed to medium and add the eggs and vanilla extract, mixing until well incorporated. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour and oats, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary and mixing just until they are incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the dough for at least an hour before baking.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Form the dough into golf ball-size balls and place about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Sprinkle sea salt generously on top of each ball of dough, as you would sugar. Bake 1 sheet at a time for 15 minutes or until the cookies are puffed and beginning to turn golden, being careful not to overbake. (The cookies should have a tender interior.) Transfer the cookies, still on the parchment paper, to a wire rack to cool completely.
Yields 18 cookies. (I made mine smaller and got about three dozen cookies.)
Recipe from The Washington Post.
Brown Sugar Brownies
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I wanted to bake, but when I went through my pantry, 
I realized I was completely out of granulated sugar (I know, for shame!). So, I searched online for an easy recipe using only brown sugar and since I was feeling lazy, I also wanted something that could be made in one bowl, and didn’t require scooping, frosting, or anything else that required much effort. (Maybe I should rename this blog baking for lazy people.)
And I found these. They are spectacularly easy, have a wonderful caramely flavor, and are nice and gooey. They most definitely did not disappoint. I doubled the recipe and baked it in a 13″ x 9″ pan with no problem, and used chocolate chips instead of nuts. I think this may be one of my new favorite recipes.
Ingredients
1 1/3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Preparation
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9 x 9 x 1-3/4 inch pan.
Sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. - Stir in the flour mixture and the nuts until well blended. Spread evenly in prepared pan.
- Bake 25-30 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed. Cool slightly. While still warm, cut into bars with a sharp knife.
Recipe from All Recipes.
Peanut Butter Fudge
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Four ingredients (plus some chocolate chips thrown on top). And a microwave. Quite possibly the easiest recipe ever.
However.
I brought the fudge into the office yesterday and at least half of it is still uneaten. Definitely not a good sign. It’s not bad tasting, it’s just not wow! either. After reading all of the rave reviews, I was expecting this to be some amazing fudge, and I have to say I’m a little disappointed. I think I’ll be sticking with the other recipe (with marshmallow fluff) I tried a few months ago. Oh well!
Ingredients
1 cup butter, plus more for greasing pan
1 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pound powdered sugar
Preparation
Microwave butter and peanut butter for 2 minutes on high. Stir and microwave on high for 2 more minutes. Add vanilla and powdered sugar to peanut butter mixture and stir to combine with a wooden spoon. Pour into a buttered 8 by 8-inch pan lined with waxed paper. Place a second piece of waxed paper on the surface of the fudge and refrigerate until cool. Cut into 1-inch pieces and store in an airtight container for up to a week.
Recipe from Food Network.
