Power Outages: Back to Blogging TBA

Hello friends,

NJ got hit pretty hard with Hurricane Sandy, and I am currently writing this post in a very busy dining hall at Rutgers University. I do not know how long it will take to get power back, so I will be back to blog as soon as I can.

Hope everyone is safe and okay.

Best,

Jess

Scream Cheese Swirl Brownies

OoooOoooOooooOooooOooooo!!

That was my lame interpretation of a ghost, or something spooky anyway.

Friends, we are SO close to Halloween!

In honor of one of my favorite holidays (Thanksgiving is still the favorite: it is, after all, focused on food) I am sharing with you some wonderfully spooky sweet treats you can whip up to share with your ghosts and goblins, your fiends and friends.

Today we shall start with a super simple recipe for Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies. Seriously, these are so easy I am thinking about adapting it for every color scheme I could ever need in my life. Valentine's swirl brownies, Christmas Swirl Brownies...Because who ever says no to a brownie??

No one.

At least no one I know. College students aren't typically known for being picky eaters. Free food equals friends for life.

But back to brownies!

I've included a couple of step-by-step pictures to help you in case you get lost, but the wonderful thing about this recipe is that it is so forgiving. The brownie recipe is one-bowl-wonderful and as long as you swirl your knife randomly through the brownie batter and cream cheese, you're bound to end up with a beautiful marble effect.

See? Nothing to it but to do it.

Mmmm...spooky and scrumptious.

I'll be back at the beginning of next week with a recipe that is slightly more involved, but will result in some adorably festive candy corn cookies.

See you then!

P.S. This last photo is from Instagram :O Finally getting the hang of it! 

Scream Cheese Swirl Brownies

Via Baked Perfection

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1 tbsp warm water
1 tsp vinegar
2 egg, beaten
3/4 cup flour

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
orange food coloring (red and yellow)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and butter a 9x9 baking pan.
2. In a large bowl whisk (one by one) butter, sugar, cocoa powder, egg, and vinegar together, mixing well after each addition.
3. Gently stir in baking soda and flour until just combined. Pour all but 1/4 cup brownie batter into prepared pan.
4. In a medium bowl beat cream cheese and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla, then add food coloring until desired shade is reached.
5. Gently pour cream cheese mixture over brownie batter in pan, covering the entire brownie layer. Dollop the remaining 1/4 cup of brownie batter randomly over the top of the cream cheese mixture.
6. Gently pull a knife or spatula through the layers, swirling to create a marbled effect.
7. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting and serving.

What You've Been Missing on "Feast with Me"

Hello friends!

I have some lovely Halloween recipes to share with you later this week, but being that it was my birthday yesterday (woo) and I've had midterms, I must postpone those posts just a smidge while I play catch up.

But I can't just leave you hanging!

I love you all too much for that. So today I'm going to share with you some revelations I've had while starting up my second blog, Feast with Me.

1. I can cook! So far I've made the following awesomely appetizing meals:

Chicken Tamale Pie

Skillet Gnocchi with Asparagus and Shrimp

Chicken Pad Thai

Tomato and Crab Fettuccine (my favorite so far)

and more!

2. Food is ALL OVER literature. Seriously. Even in literature you didn't think had anything to do with food. But it makes sense, since everyone has to eat at some point; Sylvia Plath, William Carlos Williams, even Washington Irving all have some serious appetites.

3. Tagging posts with "food porn" gets you a lot of traffic. Not sure if I love or hate this revelation. At any rate, it's intriguing; and I love any excuse to post about Epic Meal Time or the food love that has been deemed food porn.

If you have a moment, please check out Feast with Me and if you love it, please follow! Part of my independent study involves getting to 200 followers soooo....please help!

Crowd-sourcing = awesome so share it with your friends! Thanks in advance. :D

I'll be back Thursday with some spooky Scream Cheese Brownies; until then

Happy Baking!

Apple Cider Muffins

Hello friends!

So in my blogging class we were given an assignment to utilize a random image from a creative commons generator in our post. I must admit I was a little freaked out by this. If any of you have ever been on Flickr's Creative Commons, the first few photos are generally random people in random places that have nothing to do with anything I talk about here on the blog.

photo by USDAgov

How relieved was I that I stumbled onto this photo, totally within the "do not refresh the page over five times" requirement of the assignment?

Ah, crisis averted.

Because I have a wonderfully simple Autumn recipe for you today! So you can munch on these delicious apple cider muffins while sitting on a blanket under trees like these, breathing in the fresh fall air and savoring every bite of chewy muffin goodness.

Simple recipes are where it's at this season. Of course, I love spending tons of time in my kitchen for obvious reasons, but I could always use more "jumping in leaf piles" time so to speak. Don't appreciate the beautiful weather from a window! Go out and experience it!

Have a Happy Autumn Picnic even!

And volunteer to bring dessert: in the form of these muffins. You'll thank me later; I promise.

Happy Baking everyone!

Apple Cider Muffins Via ItBakesMeHappy

2 cups flour
4 packets Apple Spice Cider Mix
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 375 and grease/line muffin pan(s).
2. Whisk together flour, cider mix, both sugars, baking powder and cinnamon in a large bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, applesauce, milk and water.
4. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir with big wooden spoon until just moistened. Do not overmix.
5. Pour 1/4 cup batter into each cavity of muffin pan.
6. Bake at 375 for 12-16 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack.

Apple Cider Glaze:

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tbsp apple cider, room temp

1. Whisk sugar and cider together until glaze forms. If too thick, add a little more cider. If too runny, add a little more powdered sugar. Drizzle over muffins.

Caramel Apple Rice Krispie Treats

Hello friends!

So last week I know I told you there would be whoopie pies...but they ended up being such a massive failure that I swiftly spiraled into "woe is me" world and trust me, it was not pretty.

I am saving you from what was the worst pity party blog post ever.

So when life gives you the whoopie pie blues, it means it's time to get back to basics with one of my favorite fixes: rice krispie treats

Boring, you say? Too basic perhaps? But these are awesome and covered in caramel and taste like apple cake.

So, let's call it back to basics but with an upgrade. :)

I first realized you could mix cake mix into rice krispie treats when Rutgers Student Bakers held the biggest, most badass bake sale Rutgers University has ever seen. For detials check it out here. One of the more exciting items we had were red velvet rice krispie treats, courtesy of cocoa krispies and some red velvet cake mix.

But these are warm, spicy, cozy, all those wonderful adjectives I keep utilizing in my October posts.

It took a whole lot of self restraint to not eat this entire gooey caramel hot mess straight out of the pot. But patience is a virtue, and one that was happily rewarded in a few hours. Not to mention the treats doubled as a fragrance enhancer for my entire apartment.

I get to stuff my face AND my apartment smells like caramel cake. I'm feeling better already.

So if you're having a tough day, or this week appears to be a longer one than usual, spend a few minutes mixing these up. Take your mind off you work for a few moments, and reward yourself for all the hard work you do with a little Caramel Apple Rice Krispie Treat.

Happy Baking!

Caramel Apple Rice Krispie Treats Via Mother Thyme

12 tbsp butter
1 10oz bag mini marshmallows
1 1/2 cups Caramel Apple Cake Mix
1 tsp vanilla
6 cups rice krispies cereal

caramel sauce, prepared as per back of package instructions (comes with cake mix)

1. Melt butter in large pot over medium/high heat. Add marshmallows and cook until smooth.
2. Whisk in vanilla and cake mix until well incorporated. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in rice krispies cereal.
4. Pour half of mixture into a foiled and greased 9x13 inch cake pan. Drizzle half the prepared caramel sauce over top. Cover with rest of rice krispie mixture. Drizzle rest of caramel sauce over top.
5. Let cool for approximately 2 hours, then cut into squares and serve.

Mug Cakes: Too Good to be True?

Hello friends,

So remember the other day I showed you this awesome Microwave Recipe for A deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie? It even had over 100 repins on Pinterest and over 1000 page hits.

It made for a very happy me :) So thanks everyone for showing the love!

I thought I'd return the favor and try my luck with another microwaveable recipe, a mug cake, since there are so many of those floating around the internet.

Sadly, I wonder if cakes in the microwave just are not meant to be.

I attempted this Salted Caramel Chocolate Mug Cake, and man could I have used it this week. Caramel Chocolatey goodness was sorely needed...


and sorely missed! The caramels I "dropped" into the cake disappeared, assumingly into the cake somewhere. Definitely not the wonderful image of molten oozy goodness I pinned in the first place.

I hate to say it but this was, well, awful. The cake was bland and the texture was weirdly spongey. Not like sponge cake spongey...but like my kitchen sponge spongey.

So I am a tad sad because now I have no cake :(

BUT I hope to have awesome whoopie pies to share with you next week as we get closer to ....

Halloween!



Until then,

Happy Baking!

P.S. Have any of you tried Mug Cakes and found success? Which ones? Share with me! 

Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

Hello friends,

So woah did it get chilly. Like really chilly.

Like oh-my-god-how-is-it-only-35-degrees chilly. Talk about waking me up this morning. All I had to do was step outside and I was bright eyed and shivering my butt all the way to work.

But I have a way to remedy this.

Yes, I may have an issue with turning to desserts when I'm stressed but in case you didn't already know...

STRESSED is just DESSERTS spelled backwards.

So...I didn't come up with the idea. Blame Fate.

Or thank her really for directing me to these Caramel Stuffed Cider Cookies.

Also, last week I told McCormick to stuff it because I learned how to make Homemade Apple and Pumpkin Pie Spices.

This week: Starbucks gets to stuff it. Because I now have a Caramel Apple Spice, in cookie form.

Delicious, warm, chewy, portable, and way cheaper than that $4 cup of cider I always feel guilty buying.

A few hints or helpful thoughts for this recipe: chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before trying to wrap it around the caramels. It is seriously too sticky when you first make it.

Also: do NOT lick you fingers or you will pucker in sad regret.

One last note: some of your cookies may "bleed" caramel (ew) so I would suggest letting them sit on just the parchment paper (slide it off the pan) for a few minutes until the caramel cools.

But oh man, it's like, if there was ever a Caramel Apple Cider Twix Bar....

Dude. Twix: Get on that. Right now. Oreos already upped the ante with those crazy Candy Corn Oreos.

Or I will just have to create it myself :O

Happy Baking and Stay Cozy!

Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies  
Via SixSistersStuff

1 cup butter, almost melted
1 cup sugar
1 whole box (10 packets) Alpine Spice Cider Mix
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 cups flour
1 bag Kraft Caramels

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl beat butter, sugar and all the Cider Mix packets until well incorporated and fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla and salt.
3. Beat in baking soda and baking powder, then mix in flour until dough comes together. Let dough firm up in fridge for 30 minutes.
4. Scoop out heaping tablespoonfuls of dough and use your thumb to create an indent in the center. Quickly place caramel in the center and roll dough over it, covering the candy completely. Place each 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheet
5. Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Let cool on parchment paper for 5 minutes before twisting and then removing to wire rack.

Makes 16-18 large cookies

Caramel Apple Bars

Friends,

I come before you today exhausted, disillusioned, and overall grumpy.

Why you may ask? Oh, nothing major, just the first Presidential Debate last night.

Can I tell you how tired I am of all of this? I will not mention who I plan to vote for, or what I think of each of the candidates, but I will tell you that I am so freaking tired of this hot mess.

I am tired of the hatred, the fear mongering, the pandering: all of it. No matter where I go, it's on the TV, the radio, in classrooms; I can't get away from it

If you are like me, and so absolutely tired of this overwhelmingly negative ordeal, I have the perfect prescription to brighten your mood.

Turn off the TV, the radio, close the blinds if you have to...tune it all out

Instead, listen to the chopping of apples, smell the scents of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice fill your kitchen; envision a warm, gooey apple crumble bar, drizzled with caramel sauce.

Taste; embrace the coziness and drift off into bliss.

Feel better? I know I do.

I'm not advocating to just avoid the whole election; it's an important part of our lives and deserves some of your time. But don't let it get you down.

Don't let it break up friendships, or families. Don't let it separate us as a nation. We are stronger than party politics. Maybe we just all need to make some of these Apple Bars and share them with everyone around us. Apples are American after all.

Sorry, I don't mean to preach. I just really really love these Apple Bars and they helped me through some frustrating moments this week. If you are also in need of a pick me up, these are the way to go.

Remember to enjoy the simple things in life.

Happy Baking My Friends,

Caramel Apple Pie Bars Lazily Adapted from TwoPeasandTheirPod

 

for the filling:

2 1/2 cups peeled, diced Granny Smith Apples
1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of allspice

for the crust:

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
pinch of cinnamon
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into slices
1/2 egg, slightly beaten (2 tbsp of egg)
1/4 tsp vanilla

caramel sauce for drizzling

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a square 8x8 pan with cooking spray or butter.

2. For the filling: Place diced apples in a large bowl and toss gently with lemon juice. In a medium bowl combine flour, cornstarch, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Pour over apples and toss gently, making sure apples are well coated in mixture. Set aside while you make the crust.

3. For the crust/crumb topping: combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. Cut the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter, two knives, or your fingers, until the mixture is crumbly and no big lumps of butter remain.

4. Mix the egg and vanilla together and stir into flour mixture. The mixture will still be crumbly: that is ok. Press half of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan.

5. Spread apple topping mixture evenly over dough. Drizzle with about 1/3 cup caramel sauce (I used storebought). Then top with remaining crumbly mixture, spreading evenly.

6. Bake at 375 for 30-45 minutes or until top becomes golden brown. Let cool in pan completely before cutting into bars, drizzling with more caramel sauce, and serve.

Hello October! Fall Recipes and DIY Spices

Happy October Everyone!

I still can't believe it's here. Finally I have an excuse to whip up insane amounts of recipes filled with apples, pumpkins, cider and the like.

And you know what else I learned? You can make your own Pumpkin Pie Spice and Apple Pie Spice.

Take that McCormick. :P

I was perusing my Google Reader and saw Beth at Budget Bytes do a DIY Pumpkin Pie Spice, and it inspired me to share with you all a list of Fabulous Fall links for Awesomely Autumn recipes (I have mentioned I love alliterations, right?)

Amazing Apple Recipes:

Apple Cider Muffins
Apple Cider Smoothie
Apple Crumble Pie
Apple Pie Muffins
Apple Pie Oatmeal
Classic Apple Cider Doughnuts
Caramel Apple Coffee Cake
Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Perfectly Pumpkin Recipes:

Black Bottom Maple Pumpkin Pie
Brown Butter Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treats
Chai Pumpkin Spice Thumbprint Cookies
DIY Pumpkin Spice Body Scrub 
Pumpkin Fudge
Pumpkin Pie Bars
Pumpkin Pie Granola
Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes

DIY Spices

Pumpkin Pie Spice
Apple Pie Spice

There's more where that came from, but then what would I share with you on the blog for the rest of the month? A homemade, from scratch, delicious month of October awaits you.

Pull up a chair and stay awhile; things are going to get cozy.

Happy Baking!

~Jess