May 14 2012

Homemade Vanilla Extract

categorized as vanilla

I don’t know about you, but it PAINS me to buy vanilla extract at the grocery store. A teeny tiny little bottle for such an outrageous price. If you bake a lot (which I’m guessing you do if you’re reading this blog), consider making your own vanilla extract! It could not be more easy to do and you’ll end up saving a ton of money in the long run. It’s also really awesome to have a HUGE bottle of vanilla sitting in your pantry that will last you for months, if not years.

My dear friend and fellow food blogger Amber did a price comparison of buying vanilla vs. making your own. I encourage you to read the post about it on her blog, Bluebonnets & Brownies. Another bonus of making your own? You can give it to your friends and family for Christmas! Better than giving fruitcake, right?

So how do you make your own vanilla extract? Let me woo you with the simpleness of it!

Homemade Vanilla Extract
Recipe source: Bluebonnets & Brownies, A Beautiful Mess, Food Network
Print Recipe

1 bottle of booze (vodka, bourbon, or Southern Comfort all work beautifully)
8-12 vanilla beans

1. Slice each vanilla bean open length-wise. No need to cut it in half, but just slice it open so that the alcohol can reach all the vanilla bean goodness.
2. Place the beans into the bottle of alcohol.
3. Cap the bottle, make note of the date, and place the bottle in a dark cabinet or pantry for 2 months. That’s it!

Two months later, you’ll have an entire bottle of extract ready to use in your baking projects. You can let the extract sit for longer than 2 months, as that will only enrich the flavor. The extract can sit at room temperature indefinitely – it’ll never expire. Something to note with this — use CHEAP alcohol! Don’t spend a ton of money on a high-quality bottle of vodka. The alcohol will burn off during baking or cooking, so regress back to your college days and buy the cheap stuff!

Here is stage 1. I had a few vanilla beans but had to order more from Amazon.com. You can find vanilla beans at most specialty cooking stores and online retailers.

And here is stage 2, two months later. I poured the extract into smaller, more manageable bottles. I used small bottles that used to contain tonic, but I know you can buy small amber bottles at stores like specialtybottle.com. Something to note about vanilla extract — if you do not have amber bottles in which to store the extract, be sure you keep your vanilla in a dark environment. Over time, light can break down the vanilla and reduce the quality of your extract. Since my bottles above are clear, I will be storing my extract in a dark cupboard.

categorized as vanilla

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May 07 2012

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes

categorized as cereal, cinnamon, cream cheese, cupcakes


Cinnamon Toast Crunch was my favorite cereal as a kid. Given my aversion to milk, I don’t eat much cereal anymore… but I *do* love cinnamon! The other great thing about Cinnamon Toast Crunch was the flavor of the milk that was left behind. For the adult readers (over 21) of this blog, I’d highly recommend drinking a little RumChata – a delicious, boozy white liquid that tastes JUST like the leftover Cinnamon Toast Crunch milk!

But for those of you that can’t or don’t want to drink, I present a cupcake alternative!

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes
Recipe source: Your Cup of Cake
Print Recipe

Cinnamon Cake:
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream
Vanilla cake mix (not white cake mix)
1-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Buttercream:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup Cinnamon Toast Crunch powder (crush the cereal in a bag or food processor, then sift out 2/3 cup)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with 20-22 cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, gently combine eggs, oil, buttermilk and vanilla. Mix in sour cream.
3. Add cake mix and cinnamon and mix until smooth.
4. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.
5. Buttercream: Beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add Cinnamon Toast Crunch powder. Add vanilla and powdered sugar. Adjust the consistency using milk if it is too thick.
6. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and top with cinnamon sugar and Cinnamon Toast Crunch squares.

categorized as cereal, cinnamon, cream cheese, cupcakes

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Apr 30 2012

Banana Bread

categorized as banana, bread, pecan


I will waste no time with this: I hate banana bread. Then why did I make it?! I do LOVE bananas. I, too, think it’s weird that I love bananas but hate the fruit in bread form. But I always have and always will. My quirk about bananas is that I like to eat them when they are juuuuuust ripening… when they still have a little bit of green left in the peel. This stage of the fruit does not last long. A day, maybe.

[speaking of which, have you guys seen Eddie Izzard's bit about the fleeting ripeness of pears? It's great. The whole bit is hilarious, but he talks about pears at 4:30]

So long story short: I had a bunch of really ripe bananas that I wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole. I also happened to be staying with my parents, who both love banana bread. PERFECT! So boom, I made my most hated baked good. But I hear it was delicious. You’ll just have to trust my parents on that one.

Banana Bread
Recipe source: Martha Stewart
Print Recipe

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1-1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, and beat to incorporate.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture, and mix until just combined. Add bananas, sour cream, and vanilla; mix to combine. Stir in nuts, and pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Let rest in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.

categorized as banana, bread, pecan

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Apr 25 2012

Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies

categorized as cookies, nutella, peanut butter


Oh, peanut butter and Nutella. I would eat both of these things out of the jar without abandon if I had the metabolism of a teenager. But I don’t. [never did, really!] I exercise extreme RESTRAINT when faced with jars of PB and/or Nutella, but when I was making these cookies I did sneak quite a few extra spoonfuls.

I read a GREAT book recently called The Emperors of Chocolate (by Joel Glenn Brenner). It chronicles the history of the Hershey and Mars candy companies — and the men and women who made history at both of these companies. If you are a candy freak like me, give it a read. It’s one of the best food books that I’ve read.

I bring this book up for a reason. I learned a really interesting piece of trivia regarding peanut butter (and hazelnut!). Mars doesn’t make very many peanut butter products. It took a lot of convincing for the family to agree to produce peanut butter M&Ms. And since then they’ve developed a peanut butter Snickers. But not much else. Why? The Mars children were raised in the UK, where peanut butter isn’t popular and isn’t well-liked. Americans are peanut butter freaks – and apparently the Brits much prefer hazelnut! The Mars family tried and tried to introduce hazelnut into their product lines, but it was never a successful venture. As my friend Amber pointed out, Mars should reconsider… considering America’s current love affair with Nutella!

Give the book a read — you’ll learn tons. Like how paranoid and tenacious the Mars family was/is; how quirky Milton Hershey was (real life Willy Wonka if I’ve ever seen one!); what the Ms stand for in M&M; and how our palettes for chocolate vary depending on where we live (Americans prefer Hershey’s bitter chocolate, as opposed to the Brits loving Cadbury’s silky sweet).

Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies
Recipe source: Delightful Bitefuls
Print Recipe

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Approx. 1/4 cup Nutella

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Combine butter, peanut butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla. Mix until well blended.
3. Add flour, baking soda and salt. Drizzle Nutella on top of the dough then swirl it through the dough with a butter knife.
4. Chill dough 15 minutes in the refrigerator. Roll into balls by hand. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet. Using a fork, press down the balls to flatten slightly. Bake until edges are very lightly browned (about 7 to 10 minutes).
5. Allow to rest 2 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring cookies to a cooling rack.

categorized as cookies, nutella, peanut butter

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Apr 20 2012

Jumbo Animal Cookies

categorized as animal, cookies, novelty


I think that there are some foods that are universally nostalgic for everyone. Pink and white animal cookies have to be included on that list. I always used to think that the pink cookies tasted different (and better) than the white cookies, but that was wishful thinking on the part of my 6-year old self.

Mother’s Cookies was the original company that made pink and white circus animal cookies. In 2008 the company abruptly closed, sending pangs of nostalgia and outrage into those of us that grew up with these cookies. A t-shirt was even created that said “Lights down, little cookies” and showed drawings of the little pink and white cuties. Luckily Kellogg’s came to the rescue and purchased the trademark and recipes for the Mother’s Cookies brand in late 2008 — and the cookies have been restored to grocery shelves! [though I hear they are only sold on the west coast -- can anyone confirm this?]

I found a set of Martha Stewart animal cookie cutters during a Macy’s after-Christmas sale. That find, combined with an idea found on Pinterest, has inspired this post!

Jumbo Animal Cookies
Inspired by Munchkin Munchies
Print Recipe

You will need the ingredients for your favorite cut-out cookie recipe (I’ve included one below), a tub of vanilla store-bought frosting*, pink food coloring, and multi-colored sprinkles.

Almond Flavored Sugar Cookies
1 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg, beaten
1-1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
2-1/2 cups sifted flour

Directions:
Cream butter. Add powdered sugar. Blend in egg, almond extract, vanilla, salt and flour. Chill dough until firm. Roll to ¼” thickness on well-floured surface. Cut with cookie cutters. Place on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375° for 8-10 min. Cookies should not brown. Frost and decorate when cool. Yield will depend on size of cookies.**

*Sad story — I originally made a batch of my favorite buttercream frosting, microwaved it to create a coating, but the butter separated out and I ended up with a soupy mess. Trust me, go with store-bought frosting with these. It’s easier, it’s predictable, and you’ll have no problems heating it!

**Note, since these cookies are so large, you might want to make a double batch of this dough. I got about 6 large cookies out of one batch.

  • Once your cookies are baked and cooled, divide the tub of store bought icing into two glass bowls. Tint one batch pink and leave the other as-is.
  • Microwave the frosting for about 20 seconds. Do this at 10-second intervals, stirring in between each. Do not allow the frosting to melt too much. You want frosting that you can coat your cookies with.
  • Place all of your cookies on a cooling rack and place the cooling rack on top of a baking sheet (to catch the drips of frosting). Spoon white or pink frosting onto each cookie.
  • Sprinkle each cookie with the nonpareils.

categorized as animal, cookies, novelty

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