Honey, you're sweet!

 I think by boss is pretty awesome, and she was having a rough week.  Then I realized it was her birthday, and from experience I know that crappy birthdays suck.  Probably I don't need the experience to know that, but I have it.  And I wanted to do my best to prevent a sucky birthday.  My best being baked goods.  I decided to make brownies and decorate her desk as a surprise.  Of course I was the one who received the shock upon discovering that I had only one egg in the house.  How this happened is beyond me.  But it did.  I also did not have any of my usual egg substitutes (applesauce, tofu, flax seed, etc.).  I searched for an eggless brownie, but I didn't really like anything I found.  In the end I came up with a recipe I liked and found the whole ordeal to be a great learning experience.

First lesson: always keep more than one egg in the house.  Especially if you like to bake.
Lesson two: Two tablespoons of water and one teaspoon of oil and two teaspoons of baking powder can be substituted for an egg.  Who knew?
Lesson three: Honey is a great addition to frosting.

Let's start with the ingredients:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder

Frosting:
3 Tb butter
3 Tb cocoa powder
1 Tb honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup confectioners sugar

I listed all the ingredients you SHOULD have.  Not what I actually had.  As I explained, I had to substitute an egg.  But first, of course, I preheated the oven to 350 degrees.  Next, I poured the water into a small glass, added the oil, and then mixed in the baking powder.  It did a cool science-class-esque fizzing, and then mixed into a rather nice and gooey liquid:

Next, I melted 1/2 cup butter in a microwave safe bowl.  It's always better to melt butter on the stove top because the mixture is smoother, but I hate extra messes.  So I melted it in the bowl, and then mixed in the sugar, egg, egg substitute, and vanilla until well blended.  If you have two eggs, obviously I recommend you use both of them.  If you're allergic to eggs, this might be a great new lesson for you too.  I didn't try substituting both eggs though, so I can't make any promises that it will work perfectly.  Might be worth a shot though.

Next I measured in the cocoa, the flour, the salt, and the baking powder (I didn't include the baking powder or oil used in my egg substitute in the list of ingredients, so either way you should now add 1/4 tsp baking powder to your batter).

Spread batter into an 8x8 inch greased baking pan and place in the oven for 25-30 minutes. 

Don't over cook, especially if you like super gooey brownies.

 When I got to the frosting, I realized that I didn't have any more cocoa powder.  This was clearly not my day for baking.  But I had a birthday to celebrate and no time for the store.  I just decided to melt some chocolate I had on hand instead.  I melted about 3 tablespoons of chocolate chips over the stove and then removed the chocolate from the heat.  I dropped in the butter:

and then added the honey and vanilla.  Using beaters I mixed t together until well combined and then slowly added confectioners sugar until I got a consistency I liked:

I know that using chocolate chips instead of cocoa powder meant the frosting might be too sweet, but it didn't really bother me.  And in a pinch, it got me what I wanted (i.e. a chocolate frosting)  The original recipe recommends you frost while the brownies are still warm.  I tried this and it didn't entirely work.  I recommend waiting for at least an hour before frosting the brownies.  Then let the frosting set for a bit before serving.  I brought them to work the next day and they were gone by noon.  Most importantly, my boss went home happy.  And as far as I'm concerned, that's what spells success.

The 'I can't believe it's not butter(y)!' cookies

As promised, here are the sugar drop cookies that I dream about, drool over, and give away with love.  I made them a few days ago for an after-work party. 

It turned out that the day of the planned party ended up being horrible and shitty.  Stupid cuts in government funding lead to stupid cuts in already-promised grants which lead to stupid lay-offs at work.  When everyone is watching their friends back up their desks and wishing the damn recession would just stop, a very good cookie no longer becomes a nice thing to have.  It becomes a damn necessity.  So it was lucky I had them on hand.  Sadly I didn't have mint chips to go in them (and mint is one of my favorite added flavors to any and everything) but they were still incredibly awesome and drool-worthy.  Perhaps one day I will make enough money to buy mint extract by the pint and add it at will to whatever I want, but until then I reserve it for special occasions or days when I unexpectedly find $20 on the ground.

What makes these cookies even more awesome is the fact that they have no butter in them.  They are by no means healthy, don't get me wrong here, they just use oil instead.  Don't try to replace it with anything healthy though.  In these cookies, the oil is a necessity for texture and consistency so if you take it out they won't work.  But if you happen to be cutting dairy out of your diet they're perfect.

On to the making of the cookies.

What you'll need:
3 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 cups chocolate chips.  Mint flavored if possible.

Directions
Another reason these cookies are great is because they're so darn simple.  First preheat the oven to 350, the lovely and universal cookie temperature.  Then combine 1 cup sugar and the vegetable oil in a bowl and mix well.  You can use beaters but it's not really necessary (another perk about using oil instead of butter). 

Add in the eggs and vanilla. 

Now slowly beat in the flour, baking powder and salt.  Technically you should mix the baking powder in with the flour first and then mix the baking powder and flour mixture into the oil and egg mixture.  As you know by now, I like to cut out the use of unnecessary bowls so I usually just pour half the flour into the egg mixture and then add the baking powder into the measuring cup with the last half of the flour, mix it in there, and pour it into the egg mixture.  It looks silly but it makes me feel like I'm not skipping a step and I get to wash one less bowl so I highly recommend it.

Now mix the chocolate chips into the cookie dough.  Sometimes I think the dough is too wet and I add a little extra flour.  It can vary so add flour until you have a dough that you can roll nice balls out of, it should be somewhere between a total of 3-3 1/2 cups but don't worry about getting it exact.

Pull small amounts of dough out and roll them into little balls, these don't expand much but they're pretty rich so you shouldn't need a lot of dough for each cookie.

Now pour the remaining 1/4 sugar into a small bowl (or do what I do and just put it in the one-cup measuring cup).  Roll small balls of dough in the sugar until they're completely covered, then place them on an ungreased cookie sheet. 

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They don't spread out much so you can pack them pretty closely.  If you want to get extra fancy you can throw some cinnamon in with the sugar, but I kind of like how white the cookies are if you just roll them in plain sugar.

Bake them for about 10 minutes and then eat them while they're hot (without burning your tongue if possible).  It's impossible to eat just one.  Go on and try it, I dare you.  If you do manage to resist, you're probably one of those crazies who are allergic to chocolate and/or love and happiness and I want nothing to do with you you.

Okay dears, go eat, bake, and be merry.

Drops of Sugar

I promise I have not disappeared into the land of silent kitchens.  I have just been so overwhelmed with work that I haven't been able to post anything I've baked.  Also my camera hates me and everything keeps coming out blurry.  But this weekend I have two whole days with only half of them full of plans, so I am going to take some time to post about some amazing cookies I made that are super easy and covered in sugar.  Also I want to post about brownies I made that had honey in the frosting and the weirdest egg substitute I've ever used.  So get pumped and come back on Sunday.  Because I promise I'll post, but I also promise it won't be before then.

So go and enjoy some sweets and come back to play soon!

Stir-Crazy Pot Pie

I hear that lots of people like chicken pot pie.  I might too, except for the fact that I haven't had meat in about 11 years so I honestly couldn't tell you my personal feelings about it.  But I discovered this recipe several years ago and while I'm sure it's nothing like actual chicken pot pie, it is rather remarkably good.

 There's something about the mixing of flavors that just works kind of perfectly.  My dad will compliment everything I cook no matter what it tastes like, but I believe him when he says this is one of the better dishes I make.  Also it's pretty easy to make and it's great if you're poor because the ingredients aren't too pricey or difficult to find.  If all that doesn't convince you, then I might also add that it's pretty darn healthy too.

The ingredients are such:
Crust:
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup butter
1 1/2 Tbsp milk
pinch of cayenne pepper

Filling:
1 small or 1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
1 large carrot chopped
1/2 pepper chopped (any color will do, though red does add a nice dash of color)
1 small white potato chopped 
1 small sweet potato chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup lentils
1-2 cups vegetable stock, preferably warmed to boiling
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
2-4 Tbsp flour
1/3-1/2 cup milk

Directions:
Crust:

Last time I made a pie I had some leftover dough from the crust which I froze, so I got to skip this part and therefore have no pictures.  But it's fairly simple.  Mix the flour, salt, and cayenne pepper together in a bowl.  Then cut in the cold butter and use a fork to mix it in until you have a nice crumbly consistency.  Then slowly mix in the milk (well, recipes always say to slowly mix things in, but I'm not very good at slowly doing anything except for math.   So mix it at whatever pace you feel like.  Take that recipe world!).  Once you have a smooth but not too sticky dough you can press it into a ball and place it in the refrigerator for an hour or the freezer for 20 minutes.  You can always add more flour if the dough is too sticky or more milk if it's too dry.  Try not to knead it too much with your hands because the heat from your body will soften the butter and you'll lose that nice flaky consistency you want in the dough.


Filling:
The chopping of everything is really what takes so long.  Once you have everything all nice and chopped like so

 you'll be good to go.  Heat up some olive oil in a big frying pan until it sizzles when you drop a piece of onion into the pan.  Then saute the onion until translucent (about 5 minutes).  Next add in the celery, carrots, and peppers and saute for another 10 minutes or until the vegetables start to soften just a bit.

Now add everything else (the frozen peas, lentils, potatoes, and stock) and bring to a boil.  Timing in this recipe really varies because it all depends on the size of the vegetables you got.  Your potatoes and peppers might have been huge so you might need more cooking time and more stock.  You kind of have to guess at what looks right, but that's part of the fun of cooking.  I usually aim to have the vegetables sitting in a nice amount of liquid but not to the point where they're completely covered in stock.  Once the mixture is boiling you can turn it down to a simmer and cover.  Let it cook for as long as it takes for the lentils and potatoes to get soft.  This should be about 15-20 minutes. 

At this point you can preheat the oven to 400 degrees (if you do it before this point you're just wasting energy, though you know how much I love to start off by preheating the oven).  When the potatoes are soft and most of the liquid has been absorbed, add in the spices, flour and milk stirring until the sauce begins to thicken.  Now you can pour the mixture into a baking dish.  Roll out the cooled dough until it's big enough to cover the top of the baking dish and then drape it over the cooked vegetable mixture.  If you want to get really creative you can even cut pictures into the dough or make it festive with a dash of paprika on top.  Then put the dish on a cookie tray (just in case anything boils over you don't want it to spill on the bottom of your oven) and bake for about 20 minutes or until the dough is nice and golden.

Now you have an amazingly delicious vegetarian treat.  Go spread the word, the vegetable, and your happiness.

Bubble Biscuits? Yes Please!

Several weeks ago my sister asked me about an old Toll House Recipe I used to make called Bubble Biscuits.  I had no idea what she was talking about, but my other sister came the rescue and we found the recipe in my trusty Toll House cookbook.  It's the perfect dessert for your friends with ridiculous allergies because it doesn't use eggs and has just a bit of milk so you can easily make it non-dairy using soy milk or any other milk substitute.  Also, it's delicious.  So that's always a positive.

 To start with you'll need your basic baking supplies.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar, divided
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup butter or margarine
1 cup chocolate chips
2/3 cup milk or soy milk
1 tsp cinnamon

Obviously start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees.

You'll want your butter to be as cold as possible.  Like making a good crust, cold butter leads to a flakier dough, which we like.  So cut up 1/3 cup of the butter and place it in the freezer for 15 minutes or so (assuming you have that added patience and time).  Meanwhile mix the flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl.  Cut the frozen butter into the flour mixture:

When you're done it should have a crumbly consistency and look like this:

I got really excited by the next few steps and forgot to take pictures so you'll just have to take a guess of what it looks like.  I'm sure you'll be fine.  Anyway, stir in the chocolate chips and then add milk stirring until the dough holds shape.  Add more flour or milk if necessary to get the right consistency, but at the end it should look like this:

Now take the dough and roll it into 16-18 equal size balls and leave them in the bowl.  Next, you're going to melt the rest of the butter (remaining 1/3 cup) over the stove.

In another bowl (I know, I know, this is yet another recipe with endless bowls) mix the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon.  Pour half the melted butter in the bottom of a 9x9 inch square baking pan and sprinkle half the cinnamon/sugar mixture over the butter in the pan.  Now place the balls of dough in 4x4 rows in the butter in the pan and pour the remaining butter over the balls.  Finally sprinkle the rest of the sugar on the very top.  The balls won't be touching in the pan, but they spread out a lot while baking so don't worry.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown on top and then let cool for a few minutes before eating.  I say let cool because all recipes recommend that so you won't burn your tongue.  But I actually kind of love eating things right out of the oven.  So, on second thought, don't let it cool.  Just don't blame me if it hurts your mouth.

And look, it's just like the picture!

Now go eat and be happy.

Is there a Dr. in the House?

Like I said, this post will be worth your time.  If this is the only post on my blog you ever read, I will be ok with that.  I almost don't want to try to post after this because I just don't know if I can top it in terms of flavor.  That didn't stop me from baking brownies tonight out of sheer boredom, but I didn't even bother taking pictures because it was boring in comparison.  I mean, just look at the ingredients I used for this recipe:

For those of you attempting to repeat this glorious mess at home, the ingredients are:
Cake:
2 cups of sifted flour
2 cups of sugar
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk (surprisingly, despite the name, buttermilk isn't too bad for you)
1 Tb vanilla
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 1/2 cups marshmallows
1 cup Dr. Pepper (I was worried about using diet, but it worked, so feel free to cut the calories in that area)
3 Tb. unsweetened cocoa powder

Frosting:
1 lb bag of confectioners sugar
6 Tb. Dr. Pepper
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3 Tb. unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:
Now mind you, I was making this for a potluck, and we all know the deal about potlucks.  Everyone brings the one thing they're really good at making.  So everything is awesome.  And if you bring something crappy it stands out.  Plus you end up taking it home at the end of the night and what's more embarrassing than having to eat leftover crappy cake alone at home?  Perhaps wetting yourself in public, but I'd say that's about it.

So anyway, I found this recipe book online.  And I know that it's a book of traditionally southern African American desserts.  But I found it somehow calling out to me.  Maybe it's the deep fried chicken and kale I was deprived of as a kid, but something in this recipe book called out to me.  So I asked for it as a Hannukah gift and decided to make this recipe the second I saw it.  Dr. Pepper, marshmallows AND chocolate?  There really was no higher priority in my life than immediately getting all necessary ingredients.

After the trek to Whole Foods for kosher marshmallows (which have fish gelatin in them, and I don't usually eat fish, but this was an exception I felt somehow I had to make) I started the complicated journey on the path to perfection.  Otherwise known as making a cake.  Obviously the first thing I did was preheat the oven to 350, though the cake takes a while to put together so if you wait 15 minutes before preheating the oven you'll probably still be fine.

Next you have to melt the butter, marshmallows, cocoa powder, and Dr. Pepper in a saucepan on the oven until it's nice and smooth.  It might get a little frothy for a while but eventually it should have a nice consistent texture:

While it's melting, and assuming you can still pay close enough attention to it that nothing will burn, go ahead and mix together the flour, sugar, and baking soda:

Now slowly pour the melted and smooth marshmallow mixture into the flour mixture and mix it well:

You can beat it a little, but don't get carried away.  It will fall easily off the spoon:

Meanwhile you can beat the eggs in a third bowl until they're nice and fluffy.  I know, lots of bowls in this recipe and lots of clean up.  But I swear it's worth every dish.  Now add in the buttermilk and vanilla and beat for another 30 seconds or so:

Add the egg mixture to the batter and mix until well blended and the batter is smooth.  Pour into a 9x13 inch pan (spray first with butter spray or some equivalent) and bake for 50-55 minutes or until it looks done.  Let cool for at least 10 minutes before frosting, though with this recipe the cake doesn't need to be completely cooled before frosted.  Another reason I love it.  Also just to warn you, when I took the cake out of the oven I was not impressed.  It looked like there were lots of little air bubbles and the cake didn't seem very thick or moist.  Then I frosted it and ate it and realized I could not have been more wrong.  It was perfect.  So please take a moment before judging your naked baked cake.  Give it a chance to impress your tastebuds.  You might be pleasantly surprised.

For the frosting, you're basically going to repeat the first step but with confectioners (aka powdered) sugar.  Melt the butter, cocoa powder, and Dr. Pepper in a saucepan.  I used the same one as before and didn't even bother washing it out because it was mostly the same ingredients.  Once you have a nice smooth consistency, take it off the heat and slowly stir in the whole bag of powdered sugar.  It's a lot of sugar, it's very sweet, and like I said before, it's totally worth it.  Once it's all mixed in you'll still have a pretty drippy looking frosting.  Let it sit for about 10 to 15 minutes, and then pour it over the slightly warm cake.  Then let it sit for at least an hour, preferably two, before serving.  I dusted it with more powdered sugar to make it pretty:

And then bask in the glow of compliments you will undoubtedly receive for this piece of perfection.  You'll never look at Dr. Pepper the same way again.  I certainly won't.

Maybe you'll even get enough compliments that you can convince someone to wash your dishes for you...

Dr. Pepper in a Cake? Heck Yes!

Just a heads up that the next post will blow your mind, and if you end up making it, your taste buds too.  Seriously.  Dr. Pepper in a cake may have been the best decision I ever made.  Come back soon, it will be worth your time.  I promise.