In A Nutshell

  I needed an excuse to use my adorable new Bundtlet (even the word is cute!) pans and St. Patrick’s Day happened to be around the corner, so I combed the internet for something with an Irish twist that didn’t involve Bailey’s Irish Cream. Because I don’t like it. Yes, you read that right and I’m sorry for it....I want to like it but I find it sickeningly cloying and in desserts it gets lost.. However, I do love Irish whiskey so I adapted a Whiskey cake from NYT Cooking. Is it cocky to say that I made some significant improvements to the recipe? You can use any whiskey or bourbon you like (or even rum, for that matter); the recipe is designed for a large Bundt pan but if you use small cute ones like I did, shorten the baking time a bit. This cake is best made the day before you want to serve it. Cake: 1 cup vegetable or canola oil 2 cups flour 2 cups sugar 5 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted 1/4 cup instant espresso powder 2 T cocoa powder 1/2 cup Irish Whiskey  1/2 t kosher s...

Indescribably good! I had this flavor at an ice cream shop called La Michoacana; they have the most amazing ice cream and paletas. It’s really a sight to see! I have tried to duplicate their Three Marias and Rice Pudding ice cream flavors with varying success but I think I nailed this one. I like to use the Jenny’s ice cream recipe (with a few changes) as my base and then tinker with it for flavors such as this. 2 cups whole milk 1 1/4 cups heavy cream 1 T plus 1 t cornstarch 3 T cream cheese (room temp.- 1 1/2 oz.) 6 1/2 oz. (half the 13 oz. container) Nutella 1/2 c sugar 2 T light corn syrup 1 t vanilla paste 5 chopped Ferrer-Rocher 1 1/2 T vodka Mix around 2 T of the milk with the cornstarch in a separate bowl and set aside. Whisk the cream cheese with the Nutella in a metal bowl and fill a larger metal bowl with ice and water.  Combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup and vanilla in a heavy saucepan; bring to a rolling boil, w...

Does anyone remember those little Martha Stewart magazines called 'Everyday Food'? I loved those mini-mags! That is the origin of these most awesome delights- sort of a brownie in cookie form. And the best part is you only have to use one pan! I love that! As always... slightly adapted from the original. 2 T unsweetened cocoa powder 8 oz. good quality bittersweet chocolate (Aldi and Trader Joe's both have great chocolate!) 1 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed 2 eggs 1 cup flour 1 t baking powder 1/2 t salt 1 cup chocolate chunks or chips 1 cup chopped, toasted pecans 1 cup dried cherries maldon sea salt for sprinkling on top Preheat oven to 350º. In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter, chocolate and cocoa powder. Whisk in the sugars and then the eggs until smooth. Add the flour, salt and baking powder. Gently fold in the chunks, pecans and cherries. Refrigerate the dough, covered, for 30 minutes. Using a cookie scoop...

This recipe is adapted from The Kitchen is My Playground ; I like to make the caramel sauce myself (the best caramel recipe ever!!! from The Pie and Pastry Bible ) rather than use the candies and also I leave off the chocolate drizzle from the original recipe because it seems downright superfluous. A sprinkle of Maldon flaked sea salt takes these to beautiful and dizzying heights! The leftover caramel sauce is great on ice cream. Cookie : 1 cup flour 1/3 c cocoa powder- (I like Valrhona) 1/4 t salt 8 T (4 oz.) unsalted butter, softened 2/3 cup sugar 1 large egg, separated plus one additional egg white 2 T milk 1 t vanilla 1 cup toasted pecans, chopped Combine the flour, cocoa and salt (being lazy, I skip this step-- but this is what you're supposed to do). Beat butter and sugar until light in color and fluffy- this takes a few minutes. Add the egg yolk, milk and vanilla. Add the dry mixture and mix until combined. Form the dough into a ball and refrigerate for 1 ho...

This takes me back to childhood when the sound of a pull-tab popping on a can of Snack Pac made my heart sing, and I risked injury to my tongue just to lick off any little bits of pudding sticking to the top of the can. Now they are made from plastic... where's the fun in that??? Adapted from Bon Appétit magazine. 1 cup sugar 2 T cornstarch 2 T unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder pinch of kosher salt 4 egg yolks 2 cups whole milk 1 cup heavy cream 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, or 1 t vanilla bean paste (much easier) 6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted (I used a combination of dark and bittersweet from Trader Joe's) 1 T unsalted butter 1 t vanilla whipped cream and crushed pretzel thins (I just got to thinking that chocolate-covered pretzel thins or chocolate-covered potato chips from Trader Joe's might be divine) for topping In a heavy saucepan, whisk the sugar, cornstarch, salt and cocoa powder. In a medium bowl, whisk yolks, milk, cream and van...

These cookies are so yummy... I like to use salted, roasted pistachios rather than raw unsalted because I think they add more depth to the flavor; the recipe is adapted from Bon Appétit magazine. I really love cookie recipes that you can make ahead of time and bake when needed. 2 1/2 cups flour 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch process) 3/4 t salt 1/2 t baking soda 3 sticks (12 oz.) butter 1 1/2 cups lightly packed light brown sugar 1 t vanilla 1 egg white 5 oz. bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped fine 1 cup salted, roasted pistachios, chopped Maldon sea salt (for sprinkling on top) Cream the butter, brown sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy- about 4 minutes. Whisk the dry ingredients together (I skip this step) and add to the butter on low speed. Mix just to combine. Add the egg white and mix. Slowly mix in the pistachios and the chocolate. Divide dough into 4 and form into logs about 1 1/2" in diameter. Chill at least 4 hours (logs...

These are to die for.... the frosting is so light (as in fluffy, not as in low in calories....) and delicious I could just shovel that in by the spoonful by itself! The recipe for the moist cake is from Ina Garten (the superhero of decadent and delicious food!) and I did not change anything except to make the batter into cupcakes rather than layer cakes. The recipe made more than 30 cupcakes! For the Cake : 1 3/4 cup flour 2 cups sugar 3/4 cup good cocoa powder (I like Valrhona) 2 t baking soda 1 t baking powder 1 t kosher salt 1 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup canola oil 2 eggs, room temp. 1 t vanilla 1 cup hot coffee Preheat oven to 350º and line muffin tins with paper. Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. You can sift the cocoa powder if it is especially lumpy. In another bowl combine all the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the coffee. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix on low just until combined; add the coffee slowly and stir with a wooden spoon unt...

This recipe comes from Bon Appetit; I'm not very good at making pretty rows of strawberries but it  ends up looking pretty nice even so. Put the strawberries on right before serving (no more than 1 or 2 hours before) otherwise they release their juices and make the tart watery. This is one of the best flavor combinations ever! For the crust : 1 cup flour 3 T sugar 1/4 t salt 1/3 cup walnuts 1 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes 2 egg yolks plus 1 T water 1/3 cup strawberry jam In the food processor, combine all the dry ingredients; add butter and pulse until looks like coarse meal. Add the yolks and pulse until moist clumps form. Gather dough into a disk and chill for 30 minutes. You can either roll it out between two sheets of wax paper or press it into a 9" tart pan with removable bottom. I rolled it out but then it fell apart when I tried to transfer it into the pan so I ended up having to press it in anyway. Freeze for 15 minutes (or r...

I made the cupcakes in these cute little cups in honor of the Sochi Olympics but then forgot to actually post the recipe until now. Chocolate cupcakes 1 cup cherry preserves (I like Bon Maman for this recipe) 2 T bourbon pitted sour cherries from a jar, drained Use any chocolate cupcake recipe you like; the  Hershey chocolate cake recipe is a good one for this recipe but you can use your favorite. Using a paring knife or a cupcake corer (who knew such a thing existed???), cut a hole about an inch deep and round. Go ahead and eat these little morsels of cake- they don't really count because they're so small... fill the center with the cherry jam mixture and top with a sour cherry. Dust with powdered sugar.

I'll start by saying that brownies, in general, don't thrill me.  I'm perfectly happy to have one but I have yet to eat a brownie that really knocked my socks off. The virtue of the Brown Butter Brownie lies in its simplicity, ease of preparation and the use of cocoa (which is a staple in my home) rather than chocolate that needs to be chopped and melted. These satisfied a serious chocolate craving, so while I may not spend my nights dreaming about them, they are a good go-to if you want an easy yet tasty chocolate treat. 10 T unsalted butter 1 1/4 cups sugar 3/4 cup cocoa (ordinary stuff- not Dutch process or any fancy business) 1 t vanilla 2 eggs 1/3 cup plus 1 T unbleached flour (I don't know why this is called for rather than all-purpose flour) 2 t water 1/4 t salt 1 cup chopped walnuts. Line an 8X8 metal baking pan with 2 pieces of foil in both directions, leaving an overhang. Spray with cooking spray. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the ...

I got the idea for these desserts from Delicieux . I served them in fancy, smaller-sized martini glasses one night and the next day made them in these small canning jars to take on a picnic.  The cake recipe is completely unchanged (other than the choice of baking sheet) from Smitten Kitchen ; it is not possible to improve this recipe-- its chocolatey-goodness is indescribable! The cherries and cheese mixture I improvised. For the cake : 2 cups flour 2 1/2 cups sugar 3/4 cups Dutch process cocoa powder (I love Valrhona) 2 t baking soda 1 t salt 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup sour cream 1 1/2 cups water 2 T white vinegar 1 t vanilla 2 eggs Sift together all dry ingredients (don't skip this or else you will have undissolved cocoa nuggets in your cake). I deviate from her recipe by (from sheer laziness) just throwing all the moist ingredients except the vinegar into the dry at once and whisking this until combined well. Add the vinegar last. The cake batter will be ver...