Chocolate & Vanilla Holiday Cupcakes

Well, this was my first paid baking order! One of my coworkers asked me if I would bake her 2 dozen cupcakes for her to give to her department and family for the holidays. I was so ecstatic! This was definitely an experience for me. I had a fun time making these but, being the perfectionist that I am, I probably spent way more time on them than I should have. I charged her $1 per cupcake. Tell me..would you pay $1 for one of these cupcakes? :)

I made 1 dozen chocolate & 1 dozen vanilla. I mixed and matched Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate recipes with Katie's recipes. I got the sprinkles at Central Market. The lady I baked these for said they were awesome and everyone in her department gave rave reviews, especially for the vanilla cream cheese frosting. Thanks, Katie! :) Happy Holidays & enjoy!!

Chocolate Cupcakes adapted from Hershey's with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting adapted from Good Things Catered

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk (I used 1%)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

8 oz cream cheese, softened but still cool
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
sprinkles to decorate

Directions:
Line cupcake tins with paper cups. Heat oven to 350 F. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. About 24 cupcakes. Bake 22 to 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until creamy. Add confectioners sugar and process until smooth. Refrigerate until cupcakes are completely cool and ready to decorate. Frost and decorate cupcakes with sprinkles as you like.



Classic French Vanilla Cupcakes adapted from Good Things Catered with Chocolate Frosting adapted from Hershey's


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted
1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup whole milk (I only had 1%)
1 vanilla bean
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup HERSHEY'S cocoa
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F and line cupcake tins with paper cups. In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and whisk to combine thoroughly. Set aside. In bowl of stand mixer, beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds. Add sugar and beat on high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating after each addition. Add innards of vanilla bean and extract. Turn mixer to low and alternatively add milk and flour mixture until fully incorporated. Divide batter evenly among baking cups (should fill about 3/4 full). About 18 cupcakes. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cupcakes comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. Frost and decorate cupcakes with sprinkles.

Double Chocolate Bundt Cake

Well, I wasn't planning on using Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate Cake" recipe until later this week for cupcakes, but when my husband asked me to bake a chocolate bundt cake, I decided to try out the recipe now! Wow, I am so glad he saved me a piece (he brought it to work today) because it was definitely perfectly chocolatey! ;) The changes I made to the recipe are that I added sour cream and chocolate chips.

Thank you again to TPOX for my brand new bundt pan which she sent me for the WC Holiday Exchange. Here is the first of many bundt cakes that I will make with it! :)

Adapted from hersheys.com

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk (I used 1%)
1/2 cup vegetable oil 
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup sour cream (I added this)

1 cup chocolate chips (I added this)

1 cup boiling water

confectioners sugar

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil, sour cream and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin) and chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan. 

Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Dust with confectioners sugar.

Lemon Bundt Cake with Glaze

My great friend Kacy at work let me borrow her Bundt pan after much begging. :) I decided to bring this lemon cake as a breakfast treat during one of our HR meetings and it went over very well. Everyone loved it!  Goes great with your morning coffee or tea. Two things I will change next time: I will definitely add more lemon juice & zest to the cake mixture, for more lemon flavor, and also more milk for texture. 

Oh, and I now have my very OWN Bundt pan (thanks to Stefany!) so next up is my Mom's very own banana bread recipe. I can't wait!!

Adapted from about.com

Ingredients:

Cake:
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice (next time I will do 1/2 cup)
5 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
grated lemon zest from 1 large lemon (next time I will do 1 cup)

Glaze:
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 F. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in the 1/2 cup lemon juice until well blended. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, a little at a time, alternating with the milk. Stir in lemon zest. Pour batter into a greased 12-cup Bundt cake pan.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until cake springs back when touched. Cake will slightly pull away from sides of pan. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan; invert and cool completely on metal rack.

Glaze:
Blend confectioners sugar with 2 tablespoons lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle over the cake.

Vegan Banana Oat Chocolate Chip Muffins

What else is there to whip up when you have ripe bananas other than good ol' banana muffins??

I just found a new website tonight and I think I am officially obsessed! It is veganyumyum! Wow, this girl has some awesome recipes..and they are all vegan! This particular recipe was not on there, so I searched online and found one I liked. I changed just a couple things, like I do not have whole wheat flour so I used all-purpose.

I just ate one fresh out of the oven and they are YUMMY! So, the next time you have some ripe bananas, forget the eggs and milk and whip up these easy, delicious vegan muffins!

Adapted from gleek.net's flickr

Makes 10 large muffins

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oats 
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease muffin tins or use paper liners.

Mash bananas in a bowl. Mix in oil, sugar and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Add flour mixture to banana mixture and combine. Stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon into muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes until muffins are done and slightly browned on top.

Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Whether you have vegan friends or just want to try a variation on this Thanksgiving classic, you must taste this pie! Our best friends Molly & Tom are always testing out new vegan desserts so Molly sent me this recipe to try this year. It was so delicious that they each ate 2 pieces even after our big Tofurkey meal! ;) 

While you could make this with a basic pie dough crust, I chose a graham cracker crust instead. It was perfect! I recommend using a 9 inch deep-dish pie plate as mine was a regular one and it was a bit too much filling for that.

This is so creamy and decadent, you would never know it's missing eggs and dairy. Enjoy!

Adapted from The Whole Soy Cookbook

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

4 tablespoons vegan butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar

Filling:
1 lb (16 oz) firm, silken tofu
1 cup soy sour cream
2 cups canned pumpkin
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions:

Crust: Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Combine all ingredients; press over bottom and up sides of the pie plate. Pre-bake for about 8 minutes. Let cool while you prepare the filling.

Filling: Put the tofu and soy sour cream in the food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Add pumpkin, brown sugar and spices and mix until thoroughly combined. Pour the mixture into prepared crust and bake for 1 hour, until the center is slightly jiggly. 

Cool and serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Chocolate Banana Bread

I had bananas and cocoa in the house so this is what I came up with! :) This pairs well with coffee at breakfast or with tea as a late night snack. 

If I had dark or white chocolate chips, I would have added a handful of those, too! 

Adapted from joyofbaking.com

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 ripe bananas, mashed well (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Garnish (optional):
Turbinado or Demerara sugar (this gives the crust a nice sugary crunch with a touch of sparkle)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F and place oven rack to middle position. Butter and flour (or spray with a non stick vegetable/flour spray) the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter and vanilla. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients until just combined and batter is thick and chunky. Scrape batter into prepared pan and sprinkle the top of the bread with turbinado/demerara sugar. Bake until bread has risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 to 65 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

These were so good! We both brought some to work and they were gone in minutes. A lot of people wouldn't think to put pumpkin and chocolate together but, let me tell you, the pair is deelish!

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
2 eggs
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease and flour muffin cups or use paper liners. Mix sugar, oil, eggs. Add pumpkin and water. In separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt. Gradually add to wet mixture and combine. Stir in chocolate chips. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Just like the muffins, these were delicious! They had more of a cake consistency rather than cookie, but were very soft and moist nonetheless! 

Adapted from cooks.com

Ingredients:

1 cup pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon milk
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Dissolve baking soda in milk and set aside. In large bowl whisk together pumpkin, sugar, oil, vanilla, and egg. In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and then the baking soda mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon onto cookie sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes or until done.

White Chicken Chili Stew

I recently got my first issue of the new Food Network magazine. It has a ton of great recipes in it! As soon as I saw this particular recipe, I knew Ganesh would love it so I set out to make it. It was so easy! And I was right..he absolutely loved it!!

This would be delicious to make as a vegetarian soup as well. I would just substitute vegetable stock and soy chicken or tofu. I am going to try that next time!

Adapted from Food Network Magazine

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 bunch scallions, white and green parts, sliced (about 3/4 cup)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 to 1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
salt
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 (18 oz) bag frozen yucca, thawed, or 2 medium baking potatoes, peeled and cut into medium chunks (we used the potato)
1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen and thawed
2 carrots, cut on bias into 1 inch pieces (about 1 cup)
1 to 2 chipotles in adobo sauce, sliced
1/2 rotisserie chicken, skinned and shredded into large pieces
1 (19 oz) can white beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup packed fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the scallions, garlic, jalapeno, chili powder and 2 teaspoons salt and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth, yucca/potato, corn, carrots and chipotles and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook until the yucca/potato is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir to break up the yucca and thicken the broth slightly.

Add the chicken and beans and cook, stirring occasionally, to heat and thicken, about 10 minutes. Stir in the cilantro before serving. Garnish with avocado slices.

Zucchini Crusted Pizza

I got this recipe from one of the gals on the WC board. I've not eaten much with zucchini so I wanted to try it. It was a yummy, healthy, homemade pizza!

Adapted from Branny

Ingredients:

3 cups zucchini (or a combo of zucchini and carrots)

1/3 cup flour

1 egg and 2 egg whites, beaten

1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used a combo of soy cheddar and regular cheddar)

salt

pepper

Directions:

Shred veggies and add salt and pepper. Let drain 15 minutes. Once drained, combine with flour and eggs to form dough. Pre-bake in oven for 30 minutes at 350 F. Top with desired sauce, pizza toppings and cheese. Bake until bubbly.

Helpful hint: Pre-bake on a greased pan and then transfer to a preheated pizza stone for a nice, crispy crust.

Bhaji, "Pumpkin" & Naan

This is a savory, healthy Indian dish and, I must say, my favorite one that my Mother-in-law makes. I put the pumpkin in quotation marks because it is not really pumpkin. But through the years she has always called it that so I assumed that's what it was...until I tried to make it myself. She showed Ganesh and I the "pumpkin" at the store which in fact turned out to be a butternut squash! Needless to say, we still call it pumpkin anyway.

Now onto the Bhaji: it is spinach. However, the Indian term for spinach is Palak. We've always called it Bhaji though. Have I confused you yet? :)

Take a look at the easy recipes and delicious photos below and you won't care what it is called, you will just want to cook and eat it! So simple yet so delicious!

Adapted from Ganesh's Mom's kitchen

Ingredients:

"Pumpkin": 

2 cups frozen butternut squash (this saves so much time as opposed to using fresh but you can use either)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 onion, chopped

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons canola oil

Bhaji:

1 box frozen spinach (same as above regarding fresh)

4 garlic cloves, minced

1-2 scotch bonnet peppers, minced

1/2 onion, chopped

4 cherry tomatoes, sliced

2 slices each of red, yellow & green peppers

salt

2 tablespoons canola oil

Directions:

"Pumpkin": Add oil to pan and place over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and stir 1 minute until softened. Add butternut squash, sugar and salt. Cover and cook about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Bhaji: Add oil to pan and place over medium heat. Add peppers, tomatoes, garlic and onion. Stir 1 minute until softened. Add spinach and salt. Cover and cook for about 25 minutes, stirring frequently.

As you may have seen from our eggplant recipe below, we take a shortcut when it comes to Naan. This is the brand we buy from Whole Foods:

Ginger Pumpkin Cheesecake

So, I made this for a pie contest at Ganesh's work and won 1st place!! Yeah! Got me some new oven mitts. ;) My Mom also made this recipe last year for my step dad's work contest and also won 1st place. She won $75! This seems to be a lucky dessert!

If you do not have a springform pan or choose not to make your own crust, you will need to buy 2 pre-made crusts, as it will fill both of them, and omit the water bath. I hope you all enjoy...and let me know if this wins you a prize as well! Happy November!

Adapted from cdkitchen.com

Ingredients:

Crumb Crust:
1 cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
4 tablespoons Butter, melted
2 tablespoons Sugar

Pumpkin Filling:
2 (8 oz) packages Cream Cheese, softened
1 1/4 cup Sugar
1 (15 oz) can solid-pack Pumpkin
3/4 cup Sour Cream
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
1/4 teaspoon Salt
4 large Eggs

Topping:
1/2 cup Crystallized Ginger, sliced

Directions:

Crust: Preheat oven to 350 F. In a 9 x 3 in. springform pan, combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar. Stir with a fork until moistened. Press mixture onto bottom of pan. Tightly wrap outside of pan with heavy duty foil. Bake 10 minutes. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

Pumpkin Filling: In a large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in sugar until blended, about 1 minute, scraping bowl with spatula. Reduce speed to low. Beat in pumpkin, sour cream, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just blended.

Pour pumpkin mixture onto crust and sprinkle with a bit more ground ginger. Set springform pan into a large roasting pan. Place roasting pan on oven rack. Carefully pour enough very hot water into roasting pa to come 1 inch up side of springform pan. Bake until center of cake barely jiggles, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Remove cheesecake pan from water bath and transfer to wire rack. Remove foil. Cool completely in pan on rack. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 6 hours or overnight.

Sprinkle the crystallized ginger on top.

Frozen Peanut Butter Pie

I made this one also for the pie contest and, get this, I won 2nd place! Ha. I am quite the pie winner in the house. My best friend Molly and I saw the authors of this book do a demo for this pie at Whole Foods.We thought the pie was tasty but very rich. I guess it went over well with the Nurses though! :)

I didn't have a pie dish at the time so I cheated and bought a pre-made crust. Note the lovely foil. ;) Next time I will definitely make my own. Also, their recipe called for a hot fudge sauce on top but I think it is already sweet enough!



Adapted from the book "Baked: New Frontiers in Baking"

Ingredients:

Chocolate cookie crust (makes one 9 inch pie):

30 chocolate wafer cookies (about 6 ounces)
1 tablespoon sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Chocolate bottom:

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon light corn syrup

Peanut butter filling:

8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Directions:

Chocolate cookie crust: In a food processor, grind the cookies to a very fine powder. You should have about 1 1/2 cups. Put the crumbs in a bowl and stir in the sugar. Pour the butter over the crumb mixture and mix until well combined. The mixture will feel wet. Turn the crumb mixture out into a 9 inch pie plate and press it into the bottom and up the sides. You can use the back of a large spoon to even out the crust. Put the crust in the refrigerator while you make the filling.

Chocolate bottom: Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave oven. Add the corn syrup and stir to combine. Use a spatula to spread the chocolate in a thin layer on the bottom of the chilled pie crust. Put the crust back in the refrigerator while you make the peanut butter filling.

Filling: Put the cream cheese, peanut butter, vanilla, and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until well combined and completely smooth. Set aside.

In a clean bowl, use the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment to whip the cream until soft peaks form. Remove the bowl from the mixer and, with a rubber spatula, gently fold the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture until the mixture is uniform in color.

Pour the mixture into the prepared crust and freeze for at least 4 hours. Once the pie is frozen, you can cover it with aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 days.

Baigan Choka (Roasted Eggplant) & Naan

This is an Indian dish with lots of flavor. By roasting the eggplant over an open flame, it gives it a bold, smoky taste.

Adapted from Ganesh's Mom's kitchen

Ingredients:

1 medium eggplant

2 garlic cloves

1/2 tomato

1/4 c onion, chopped

2 tsp canola oil

2 small scotch bonnet peppers

green onion for garnishing

salt

1 package of Naan

Directions:

1. Wash eggplant and make slits in it with a knife.

2. Peel and slice garlic cloves and stick into the slits made in the eggplant. 

3. Cut peppers in half and stick those in also.

4. Wrap tightly in foil and twist ends shut.

5. Roast over a medium open flame until soft (about 15 minutes), turning every 2-3 minutes.

6. When eggplant is soft, slit the charred skin lengthways and scrape out the pulp with a spoon. Discard skin.

7. Mash the pulp, mixing together the pepper and garlic.

8. Add 2 tsp oil to a non-stick pan over medium heat and cook the onion and tomato until fragrant.

9. Add the eggplant mixture.

10. Salt to taste.

11. Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes, turning frequently.

Garnish with green onion and serve with warm Naan.

Lower Fat Oatmeal Cinnamon Muffins

I saw this recipe on veniceforever's blog and had to try it! The only change I made was that I added 1/4 c Pumpkin Pecan Butter, because I had it left over. She suggested adding 1/3 c mini chocolate chips, which I think would be delicious as well. Enjoy!

From the blog Lovestoeat 

Ingredients:

1 c milk  

1 c quick cooking oats

1 c all-purpose flour  

1/4 c white sugar

2 tsp baking powder  

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 egg

1/4 c canola oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

2. In a small bowl, combine oats and milk; let soak for 15 minutes.

3. In a separate bowl, beat together egg and oil; stir in oatmeal mixture. In a third bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Stir flour ingredients into wet mixture until combined. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups until cups are 2/3 full. 

4. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.