Somoa Girl Scout Cookies

Girl Scout Cookie season is such a wonderful time of year, dontcha think?  Growing up, I never really had a desire to become a Brownie or a Girl Scout, but boy did I looooove eating their cookies.  I honestly can't say I have a definitive favorite between all of them, but if you were to put a box of Samoas (AKA Caramel deLites), Thin Mints, and Tagalongs (AKA Peanut Butter Patties) in front of me and told me to choose my favorite of the three I would probably....grab them all and run!  Those are definitely my top three picks, but there are different things about each of them that I absolutely love, so I can't really say which one I prefer over the others.  Unfortunately this indecisiveness leads me to buying one of each box when it is the season for Girl Scout Cookies.  It's just so hard to say no when I walk by the girls on my way into work!  They really know how to push those things.  And, considering I live with a human garbage disposal, I had to go back and buy seconds because I didn't get to enjoy even one the first time around!  Good thing I found a hiding place for these ones... :) 

 As delicious and irresistible as they are, I knew I had to stop splurging on them for my poor wallet's sake (buying a box is one thing, but once you're onto your 5th or 6th one, fuhhgedaboutit..make your own!).  Coincidentally, I happened to stumble upon a link to homemade Somoas one day and vowed that the second I got in from work that day, I would make them.  There really are some perks to working in a bank that's inside of a grocery store, afterall.  Once I ran through the aisles in excitement and grabbed everything I needed, I headed home to make magic.  (well, Somoas...but you should know they basically are magical!)  Surprisingly, these really weren't hard to make.  They do require a little bit of time and love, but judging by the outcome, they are definitely worth it.  I was able to get 24 perfect shortbread cookies out of this recipe...not to mention they were about twice the size of the originals!  Aside from the shortbread being a little thicker, they really taste just like the ones you buy from the cute little girls.  And this way, instead of having to buy stock up on an emergency supply to resort to when they aren't in season, try this recipe out instead!  They are seriously delicious...maybe I'll even try going door to door selling some.  I may not be as cute as those little girls are, but I surely can provide a cookie that's almost just as good as the real thing. :)

So, you're not much of a coconut or caramel fan, you say?  Do you happen to prefer another type of Girl Scout cookie over the Somoa?  Well, lucky for you, I will be taking a whack at some more homemade versions.   I was lucky enough to try a veganized version of the Thin Mint that Dave's sister over at Vegan Food Rocks made last week..so I will be sharing the homemade and the vegan homemade versions of that little cookie with you soon.  Stay tuned!

 

Yields: 

24 1 1/2 inch Cookies

Ingredients for cookie:

• 1 cup softened butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon milk

Ingredients for topping:

• 3 cups shredded coconut
• 12 ounces of caramels
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 8 ounces chocolate chips

Directions for Cookie:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. While the oven is preheating, begin by mixing the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl.
• Next, add in the flour, salt and baking powder.
• Finally, add the vanilla extract and milk and incorporate well.  (I found kneading it with my hands was the fastest and most effective way!)
• Lightly flour your rolling pin and roll the dough out (on top of parchment paper so it doesn't stick to the table). Make sure it is about 1/4 of an inch thick.
• Using a small, round cookie cutter, begins cutting out the cookies.  (I didn't have one small enough, so I used the top of a drinking glass and it was the perfect size!)
• Cut as many cookies as you can (it's really easy dough to work with so just re-roll it out as much as you can.  I was able to get 24 cookies from it)
• When placing on the cookie sheet, to fit more at a time you can place them close together.  The shortbread doesn't expand much while cooking.
• Next, cut a hole from the middles of the cookie using a straw, finger, knife, etc.  (I improvised and used the top of a water bottle cap and it was the perfect size.  I ended up covering the hole with the topping, but it did allow me to get a few extra cookies out of it!)
• Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Don't let them brown too much.  They may still feel soft after this amount of time, but still pull them and let them cool.  They will harden up a little while cooling, but you still want them to be soft. 
• While baking you will want to start the ingredients for the topping.

Directions for Topping:

• Unwrap the caramels. Place in a bowl with the milk and salt and microwave for about 3 minutes stirring occasionally (length of time depends on the power of the microwave).  You can also do this step on the stove top if you prefer.
• Next, spread the coconut on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. Stir it every 3-5 minutes. 
• Fold the coconut into the caramel mixture and stir well. 
• Using a small spoon, place the mixture on top of the cooled cookies (about 2 tablespoons per cookie). (In order to keep the mixture from sticking to my hands, I lightly wet them and then spread the topping over the cookie)
• Finally, melt the chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave (or on the stove top, again preference). Heat for about 30 seconds then stir, and repeat until melted completely. 
• Dip the base of the cookies into the chocolate and place onto parchment paper. Once all cookies have been dipped, place the remaining chocolate into a zip block bag and cut a small hole in the corner. Pipe the chocolate onto the cookie in a zig-zag pattern.
• Place in the refrigerator for about 5 minutes to allow the chocolate to harden.

Now, after all of your hard work through all of these little steps..you finally have your own homemade Girl Scout Somoa/Caramel deLites!

Adapted from: A Bicycle Built for Two
(There are great step-by-step photos on this link!)

For a vegan version of this classic, click here! You can also purchase "Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar" for this recipe and tons of other delicious vegan cookies.  Yum!

Spicy Black Bean Burritos

It's been a few days since my last post and it's not that I don't have anything delicious to share, but my body and brain have both been very tired from the 10 hour shifts at work (along with taking care of a home and playing zoo-keeper with my animals).  I honestly don't know how people do it everyday (not to mention with kids, too)!  Maybe it's something you get used to with time, in which case I really hope that I get used to it soon. I am so thankful to have this semester off from school or else I probably never would have never had the time to start my little blog baby which I love and care very, very much about.  Which is why I do not want to post unless the reading and recipe are worthwhile.  And in this case, I feel I have fulfilled both requirements!  Aside from me whining just a little...  

I'm not quite sure what came over me the other day, but I had a serious hankering (I think I'm one of the few out there who would shamelessly use that word) for a burrito the other day.  I absolutely LOVE them, but I haven't exactly mastered how to eat one gracefully.  I'm thinking it's probably a good thing Dave didn't take me out for Mexican on our first date, because if that was where he got his first impression of me, he probably wouldn't have ever called me back to go out a second time.  Lets just put it this way, calling me "messy" is a complete understatement.  Whenever I eat a burrito, it reminds me of the scene from an old Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen movie called "It Takes Two" where one of the girls, Alyssa, eats her first sloppy joe and her face gets absolutely covered with it.  I'll admit, I'm a close runner up to her, but I do try to be somewhat ladylike when I eat one.  But honestly, I can't even be bothered to use a napkin until I'm done because somehow I am capable of getting it everywhere.  I always manage to get my hands and face completely covered in yummy burrito goodness, but hey..that's the fun of it, right?  Attractive, I know.

I have never made my own burritos because I figured I should leave it to the pros at Moe's (my favorite!) but unfortunately there aren't any very local to where I live, and I wanted one, bad...so I decided to take the plunge and try them myself.  I have to say, I was definitely impressed and extremely satisfied with how awesome they came out!  I had it for dinner one night, and lunch the following three days.  I didn't even get sick of it of it once...but unfortunately I finished it all and am sad that it is now gone.  There is so much flavor squeezed inside and all of the components just compliment each other perfectly.  And they are definitely a great thing to just wrap up and save for dinner after a long day.  But I should probably warn you to not be wearing something nice when you eat them if you're messy like me...but if you must dress to impress, my suggestion is to invest in a big ole' bib.  That's at least slightly more attractive than burrito-face! 

Yield: about 6 servings
Ingredients:

For the bean filling:

• 2 tsp. canola or vegetable oil

• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

• 1 tsp. chili powder

• 1 tsp. ground cumin

• ¼ tsp. kosher salt

• Dash cayenne pepper

• 1/3 cup water or vegetable broth

•   2 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed

• 6 tbsp. fresh salsa

For serving:

• 6 (9- or 10-inch) flour tortillas, warmed

• Shredded cheese (optional)

• Diced tomatoes

• Shredded romaine lettuce

• Chopped green onions

• Sour cream, Greek yogurt, or Tofutti Better than Sour Cream
• Guacamole

Directions:

• To make the bean filling, heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic, chili powder, chipotle, cumin, salt and cayenne; stir, cooking just until fragrant, 30-60 seconds.  Add the beans and the water or broth to the pan.  Bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the mixture to simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove the skillet from the heat, stir in the salsa and lightly mash the mixture with a spoon or fork.

• Spoon about a third of a cup of the bean mixture down the center of each tortilla.  Top each serving with a pinch of shredded cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, green onions, guacamole, and sour cream.  Roll the tortilla up tightly, burrito style, and serve immediately.

Adapted from: Annie's Eats

Chocolate Chip Scones

 

So this weekend was the boyfriend's birthday and along with making the quintessential birthday cake, I also wanted to make something super delicious for him for breakfast.  He's been working a lot lately and enjoyed having this time sleep in, so that meant I had to plan what I made accordingly.  So after cleaning up a bit, decorating the living room, and putting his presents out, I thought it would be nice to have something ready for him to eat right when he woke up. The problem was that I had no idea when that would be.  And, well, in my opinion, cold eggs and cold pancakes don't really scream "Happy Birthday! I love you!"  So instead I dug through my brain a little bit and remembered seeing some really, really yummy looking scones while I was perusing countless recipes online (as per usual).  It was decided--these were the perfect answer.  And even better, the birthday boy completely agreed.  These were good.  Sah-weet!  

I had never made scones before and I actually haven't had them many times despite drooling every time I see them.  I'm big on Starbucks and whenever I go in my eyes are always drawn to their huge display of danish and pastries just sitting there looking all welcoming and ready to be eaten.  The thing is, I'm a little weird about certain foods and shy away from eating those types of things unless I make them myself and know exactly what has been put in them.  (Plus, my beloved soy latte is pricey enough as it is without adding anything else to my bill!)  Luckily, I happen to think it's way more fun to try making things yourself.  So, I went for it.  And I was definitely very pleased with the outcome.  Soft, flaky, and mega chocolatey.  Not necessarily the healthiest start to your day, but who really cares about that when it's a birthday/weekend treat?  Dave sure didn't, and I sure didn't mind partaking in my own scone (or two) with him either.  I definitely can't wait to try making other variations of them!

Chocolate Chip Scones:

 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour

• 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar

• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup (113 grams) (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces

• 1/2 cup (90 grams) milk or semi sweet chocolate chips or chunks

• 1/2 cup (75 grams) dried cherries or cranberries (optional)

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 2/3 - 3/4 cup (160 - 180 ml) buttermilk

• To veganize, simply replace the butter with some Earth Balance and the buttermilk with soy milk!

Directions: 

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and place rack in middle of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. (The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.)  Stir in the chocolate chunks (or chips) and dried cherries. In a small measuring cup whisk together the buttermilk and vanilla extract and then add to the flour mixture. Stir just until the dough comes together (add more buttermilk or flour as necessary). Do not over mix the dough.

• Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough gently four or five times and then pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches (18 cm) round and about 11/2 inches (3.75 cm) thick. Cut this circle in half, then cut each half into 4 pie-shaped wedges (triangles). Place the scones on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with a little milk.

• Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

Makes 8 scones.


Note: I omitted the dried cranberries from the recipe.  And after allowing them to cool, I melted chocolate and drizzled it on top.  Not only pretty, but extra tasty too!

Source: Joy of Baking

Red Velvet Cupcakes

 

Would it be biased as a redhead to say that all great things are red?  (Okay, maybe that's a bit of an overstatement, but I do adore these cupcakes).  There's something about a red velvet cupcake that never fails to impress. They ooze sophistication, deliciousness, and it's pretty obvious that they are nice to look at (and obviously even nicer to eat).  I always get excited whenever I am asked to make these cupcakes for people; I honestly never get sick of them.  There's just nothing that really can compare to a classic like this.  And if you want my opinion (I apologize if you don't, because you're going to get it anyway!), a rich cream cheese frosting is a must when it comes down to making these.  The combination is unrivaled...and who honestly wants to mess with perfection!? 

If you have never tried red velvet cake....you are seriously missing out.  I remember when I saw it for the first time and how intrigued I was. My first thought was, "I need to try it!"  And after falling in love, my second thought was, "I need to make it!"  It's amazing how a little food coloring really ups the "wow" factor of these cupcakes.  Personally, I like mine to have a bold red color to them like these ones, which contrasts quite nicely with the frosting.  You can keep them nice and simple or dress them all up for any occasion; whatever you choose they are extremely impressive, iconic, and a definite crowd-pleaser.  But, make sure you bring more than enough of these little cuties wherever you go...people will fight over who gets the last one!

 

Red Velvet Cupcakes
Yield: about 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 2½ cups cake flour

• 1½ cups sugar

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 1 tbsp. cocoa powder

• 1 tsp. salt

• 2 large eggs

• 1½ cups vegetable oil

• 1 cup buttermilk

• 2 tbsp. (1 oz.) liquid red food coloring

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

• 1 tsp. distilled white vinegar

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350° F.  
• Line cupcake pans with paper liners.  
• In a medium bowl, combine the cake flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt; whisk to blend.  
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla and vinegar.  Beat on medium speed until well blended.  
• Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.
• Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners.  
• Bake, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes.  
• Let cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting:

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. cream cheese

• 5 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

• 2½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Directions:

• To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer.  
• Beat on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes.  
• Mix in the vanilla extract.  
• Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth.  
• Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.

Note:  Since I use a lot of frosting on my cupcakes, I increased the quantity of ingredients by 50% to frost 24 cupcakes.  

Cupcakes adapted from: Annie's Eats

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

Ooh, you caught me!  I am currently ordering pants at least three times bigger than the size I wear now because I am seriously in love with making and devouring this cake.  It's amazing that this has so few ingredients and takes no time to whip up.  That's probably not a good thing in my case because it means I will be making it, a lot.  Looks like it's time to head to Home Depot and put locks on all the cabinets!  But if I were ever to do a thing like that, it would mean I wouldn't have any delicious posts for you to read, so being the selfless person I am..I will make the sacrifice for the good of the readers and chocolate lovers out there!  (I know, it's such a huge sacrifice to eat cake..poor me!)

But honestly, you see versions of Lava Cakes on most every restaurant's dessert menu and it's just something that seems so decadent, indulgent, and impressive (which it is), so I never imagined it could be so easy to make.  I first decided to try this recipe after dinner the other night for my Valentine, and he ate it right up.  It was a really close call who licked their plate clean first.  I was so happy with the outcome that I made it again to share with you...then proceeded to eat it right up.  It was just as good as I remembered!  I apologize because I must be putting you all into sugar comas with my recent posts...I'm sure you don't mind all that much, but I'll follow up all the sweet with some savory, promise. :)

PS: I'm obviously a total sucker for bokeh.  I'm sure you have noticed by now. 

(On a side note, I tend to be an impulsive buyer, but this time I was very pleased with myself that I had purchased a few little porcelain ramekins from Target out of the blue and had everything on hand to make these ooey, gooey cakes.  I hope that helps if you are wondering where you can get a few for yourself!)

Active time: 20 Minutes
Total time: 35 Minutes
Yields: 4 six-ounce cakes

Ingredients:

• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, preferably Valrhona
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450°. Butter and lightly flour four 6-ounce ramekins. Tap out the excess flour. Set the ramekins on a baking sheet.
2. In a double boiler, over simmering water, melt the butter with the chocolate. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the egg yolks, sugar and salt at high speed until thickened and pale.
3. Whisk the chocolate until smooth. Quickly fold it into the egg mixture along with the flour. Spoon the batter into the prepared ramekins and bake for 12 minutes, or until the sides of the cakes are firm but the centers are soft. Let the cakes cool in the ramekins for 1 minute, then cover each with an inverted dessert plate. Carefully turn each one over, let stand for 10 seconds and then unmold. Serve immediately.

(Note:  I dusted mine with a little confectioners sugar after plating them.  Completely optional)

Make Ahead:

• The batter can be refrigerated for several hours; bring to room temperature before baking. 

Source: Food & Wine