Salted Brown Butter Rice Crispy Treats

Make these right now, I'm not even joking.

Sorry about the bossiness, but you'll thank me later.

Salted Brown Butter Rice Crispy Treats

from Smitten Kitchen

1 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter

1 10-oz bag marshmallows (the small ones probably melt faster than the jumbo..)

Heaping 1/4 tsp coarse sea salt

6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (about half a 12-oz box)

1. Line an 8-inch square cake pan with 2-inch sides with wax paper. You can also butter/grease it if you prefer.
2. In a large pot, melt and brown the butter. Watch it carefully to prevent burning. As soon as the butter gives off a nutty aroma, turn off the heat and stir in the marshmallows. Stir and mix until smooth. (You may need to turn the heat back on low if the marshmallows won't melt to a smooth consistency.)
3. Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the salt and cereal together.
4. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan, using a piece of wax paper, greased parchment paper, or a silicone spatula to press it into the edges and corners. Let cool before cutting into squares.

Thin Mint Cupcakes

I saw these cupcakes on 6 Bittersweets just in time for St. Patrick's day and knew they would soon grace my kitchen with their sweet, minty presence. The chocolate cake was already the moistest, lightest chocolate cake I've ever tasted (but I had to eat all 12 cones I carved out of the centers, just to be sure...), but the creamy ganache took it to another level. Pure, sweet, chocolatey heaven.

Thin Mint Cupcakes

original recipe here

yield: 12 cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes:

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup + 2 tbsp all purpose flour

6 1/2 tbsp unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

3/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 large egg, room temperature

1/2 cup milk (not skim)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup boiling water

Mint Buttercream:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1 tsp mint extract

Pinch of salt

Green food coloring (optional)

Mint Chocolate Ganache:

3 oz. bittersweet chocolate (chips or finely chopped bar)

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 tsp unsalted butter (hint: 1 tsp = 1/3 tbsp)

3/4 tsp mint extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease or line a cupcake pan with paper liners.
2. Make the cupcakes first: In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the egg, milk, oil and vanilla and, using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Stir in the boiling water (the batter will be thin). Pour the batter into the prepared cupcake pan, filling each cup no more than 3/4 full. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick or thin knife inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
3. While the cupcakes are cooling, make the buttercream: Cream the butter using an electric mixer. When the butter is soft and fluffy, start adding the sifted powdered sugar a little at a time. When all of the sugar is incorporated, add salt and mint extract. Add the green food coloring, a little at a time, until desired shade is achieved. Beat the buttercream until creamy. Transfer to a squeeze bottle or pastry bag (I prefer the former).
4. Once the cupcakes are completely cool, carve a cone out of the top of each cupcake. (Be careful not to cut too deep; you don't want the cone to go too far past the center or that will take a LOT of buttercream filling!) Fill each cupcake with 1-2 tbsp of buttercream. Try to make the top of the buttercream level with the top of the cupcake so the surface will be smooth once dipped in ganache. Set the remaining buttercream aside for piping decoration at the end (no need to refrigerate).
5. Make the ganache after the cupcakes have been filled as it will need to be used immediately: Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream, butter and mint extract just to a boil. Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate and let sit for about 5 minutes. Begin stirring the mixture until it is uniform and smooth (may take about 5 minutes of stirring).
6. Once the ganache is smooth, dip each cupcake into it up to the liner. Let the excess drip off and place right-side-up on a wire rack to let the ganache set for about 1 hour. (If the ganache in the bowl begins to harden before all of the cupcakes have been dipped, reheat it in the microwave in 5-second intervals until it's smooth again.)
7. Once the ganache is completely set, take the remaining buttercream and pipe desired decoration on the top of each cupcake. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Happy St. Patty's Day!!

Festive cupcakes I made for the occasion. Stay tuned for the recipe :)

Apple Cake

I made this apple cake from Petra's blog exactly as she instructed, no adapting, substituting, or improvising whatsoever and it was moist and delicious beyond words. Not to mention it's one of the easiest things I've ever made, with a nearly-instant gratification to boot. I need more recipes like this in my life.

Apple Cake

from Zoom Yummy

1 cup (130 grams) all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

5 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter

2/3 cup (140 grams) granulated sugar, divided

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 apple (any kind, I used Fuji and got great results)

1. Preheat the oven to 375-degrees F. Grease a 9-inch round pie pan with butter.
2. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the butter and 1/3 cup (70 grams) of the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the whole egg and mix just until blended.
4. Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk and beating until just combined.
5. Peel, core and halve the apple. Thinly slice each apple half lengthwise.
6. Pour the batter into the round pie pan and even out the surface. Lay the apple slices on the batter in concentric circles, starting at the outside edge. Combine the remaining 1/3 cup (70 grams) sugar with the cinnamon in a bowl and sprinkle over the apples.
7. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.

You can serve it alone or with vanilla ice cream. Cover and store in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Enjoy!

Blueberry Mini Maple Pancake Muffins

These were so scrumptious, exactly what a Sunday morning calls for. I prefer to eat them plain since the maple syrup baked in sweetens them up enough for my taste, but feel very, very free to warm up a little more maple syrup for dipping on the side ;)

Blueberry Mini Maple Pancake Muffins

barely adapted from Bakerella and Baked Bree (who also adapted them from Bakerella - the brains behind the mini-maple-muffin-madness)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

2/3 cup buttermilk

1 egg

2 tbsp pure maple syrup (I used Trader Joe's Organic grade-A dark amber syrup)

2 tbsp melted butter

1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

1/2 cup frozen blueberries (do not thaw first) (you can also use chocolate chips as done by Bakerella and Baked Bree, or even omit add-ins altogether...but where's the fun in that?)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease a 24 cup mini muffin pan with non-stick spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and sugar.
3. In another bowl, stir buttermilk, egg, maple syrup, melted butter and vanilla until just combined.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until combined.
5. Fold in the frozen blueberries. Reserve a handful to sprinkle on the tops.
6. Put about a tablespoon of muffin batter into each cup in the muffin pan and top with a few more blueberries.
7. Bake for 8-9 minutes (mine took more like 11 minutes - this may have been caused by the extra moisture released by the blueberries). Let cool slightly and remove from the pan. Serve immediately, plain or with maple syrup.

Brookies

Moist and chewy on the inside, light and crispy on the outside; chocolatey through and through - everything you love about a brownie, in the convenient, sticky-finger-free size and shape of a cookie. Seriously, what more could you want?

Brookies

from the Clinton St. Baking Company Cookbook by DeDe Lahman and Neil Kleinberg

1 tbsp canola oil

1 tsp unsalted butter

2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks (52-62% cacao) (I used bittersweet and they turned out fine)

2 large eggs

3/4 cup (150 grams) light brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup (62.5 grams) all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
2. Melt the oil, butter, and 1 cup of the chocolate together in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave on high heat. Stir the mixture at 1-minute intervals. The total time to melt this mixtre will be 2.5-3 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, with a whisk, mix the eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla together until combined.
4. Fold the melted chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.
5. In another bowl, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients. Add the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture, mix until combined, and then fold in the remaining chocolate chunks.
6. Transfer the batter to a shallow pan (such as a pie plate) and put in the freezer for 6-8 minutes, until the batter sets and hardens slightly.
7. Grease or line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Scoop about 10-12 tablespoon-sized Brookies onto each sheet. Bake for 11-12 minutes, removing halfway through to rotate cookie sheets from top to bottom, front to back (this ensures even baking). Bake until the tops look dry and cracked. Cool completely on the cookie sheets before serving.